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 £.x Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN 
 
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 4'
 
 THE BOOK 
 
 OF 
 
 COMMON PRAYER, 
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF THE SACRAMENTS, 
 
 AND OTHER RITES AND CEREMONIES OF 
 
 THE CHURCH, 
 
 ACCORDING TO THE USE OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND : 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 THE PSALTER OR PSALMS OF DAVID, 
 
 POINTED AS THEY ARE TO DE SUNG OR SAID IN CHURCHES ; 
 
 THE FORM AND MANNER OF MAKING, ORDAINING, AND CONSECRATING 
 
 OF BISHOPS, PRIESTS, AND DEACONS ; THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES OF RELIGION ; 
 
 AND THE CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL : 
 
 NOTES, 
 
 EXPLANATORY, PRACTICAL, AND HISTORICAL, FROM APPROVED WRITERS OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 
 
 SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY THE 
 
 RIGHT REV. RICHARD MANT, D.D. 
 
 LATE LORD BISHOP OF DOWN, CONNOR, AND DUOMORE, 
 AND DOMESTIC CHAPLAIN TO HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. 
 
 Silts CFtittion. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 FRANCIS & JOHN RIVINGTON, 
 
 ST. paul''s church yard, and wateeloo place. 
 
 1850,
 
 TO THE 
 MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, 
 
 CHARLES, 
 
 BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE, 
 
 LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, 
 
 PRIMATE OF ALL ENGLAND, AND METROPOLITAN. 
 
 MAY IT PLEASE YOUR GRACE, 
 
 In soliciting your Grace's protection to the present Edition of 
 the Book of Common Prayer, I presume to tliink that the propriety of the request 
 will be apparent, in consideration of the high office, which you occupy. The 
 Archbishop of Canterbury may be deemed the natural patron of an attempt to 
 promote the understanding and the efficacy of a work, which is not only the 
 authorized formulary of worship and of doctrine for the Church, over which he 
 presides ; but was also composed for its edification by some of the most distin- 
 guished of his predecessors : which, with the blessing of Divine Providence, and 
 under the sanction of our first Protestant Sovereigns, arose and was established by 
 the piety, the learning, and the judgment of Cranmer and of Parker ; which Whitgift 
 successfully defended against the efforts of early assailants ; and which Sheldon 
 contributed to rescue from more recent attacks, and to advance to its present state 
 of perfection. 
 
 To a consideration of the office, occupied by your Grace, might be added that 
 of the qualities displayed in the discharge of it. But I am not insensible, my 
 Lord, that upon this topick it would, on such an occasion as the present, not 
 become me to enlarge. Yet thus much I may perhaps venture to observe, without 
 indecorum or offence, that those quaUties are, I am persuaded, most highly appre- 
 ciated by such persons, as enjoy the best opportunities of estimating them. 
 
 A 2 
 
 2000555
 
 iv DEDICATION. 
 
 It would however be to impose an unnecessary restraint upon my feelings, 
 if I refrained from saying, that considerations of a pubhck nature have not exclu- 
 sively actuated me in desiring to inscribe this produce of my industry with your 
 Grace's name. For I apprehend that no impropriety can be charged upon me, 
 for thus openly avowing my sense of that considerate condescension, and kind but 
 dignified affabihty, which I have uniformly experienced during the execution of 
 the duties with which I have had the honour and happiness of being intrusted in 
 your Grace's household. 
 
 Under the influence of these considerations, my Lord, and with corresponding 
 sentiments of veneration for your office, of respect for your character, and, may I 
 be permitted to add, of grateful and affectionate attachment to your person, this 
 Edition of the Enghsh Liturgy is humbly submitted to your Grace's accept- 
 ance, by, 
 
 My Lord, 
 Your Grace's very dutiful and much obliged 
 Servant and Chaplain, 
 
 RICHARD MANT.
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 CONCERNING 
 
 THE ORIGINAL OF "THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER," AND THE SEVERAL 
 ALTERATIONS WHICH WERE AFTERWARDS MADE IN IT. 
 
 JjEFORE the Reformation the Liturgy was 
 only in Latin, being a collection of prayers, 
 made up partly of some ancient forms used in 
 tlie primitive Church, partly of some others of a 
 later original, accommodated to the supersti- 
 tions which had by various means crept by 
 degrees into the Church of Rome, and were 
 from thence derived to other Churches in com- 
 munion with it ; like what we see in the present 
 Roman Breviary and Missal. And these being 
 established by the laws of the land, and the 
 canons of the Church, no other could publickly 
 be made use of: so that those of the laity, who 
 had not the advantage of a learned education, 
 could not join with them, or be any otherwise 
 edified by them. And besides, they being mixed 
 with addresses to the saints, adoration of the 
 host, images, &c., a great part of the worship 
 was in itself idolatrous and profane. 
 
 But when the nation in King Henry VIII.'s 
 time was disposed to a reformation, it was 
 thought necessary to correct and amend these 
 offices ; and not only have the service of the 
 Church in the English or vulgar tongue, (that 
 men might " pray, not with the spirit only, but 
 with the understanding also ;" and " that he, 
 who occupied the room of the unlearned, might 
 understand that unto which he was to say 
 Amen ;" agreeably to the precept of St. Paul, 
 1 Cor. xiv. 15, 16,) but also to abolish and take 
 away all that was idolatrous and superstitious, 
 in order to restore the service of the Church to 
 its primitive purity. For it was not the design 
 of our Reformers (nor indeed ought it to have 
 
 been) to introduce a new form of worship into 
 the Church, but to correct and amend the old 
 one; and to purge it from those gross corrup- 
 tions which had gradually crept into it; and so 
 to render the divine service more agreeable to 
 the Scriptures, and to the doctrine and practice 
 of the primitive Church in the best and purest 
 ages of Christianity. In which reformation 
 they proceeded gradually, according as they 
 were able. 
 
 And first, the Convocation appointed a com- 
 mittee in the year of our Lord 1537, to compose 
 a book, which was called, " The godly and pious 
 institution of a Christen man ;" containing a de- 
 claration of the Lord's Prayer, the Ave-Maria, 
 the Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the 
 Seven Sacraments, &c., which book was again 
 published in the year 1540, and 154.3, with cor- 
 rections and alterations, under the title of " A 
 necessary doctrine and erudition for any Chris- 
 ten man :" and as it is expressed in that preface, 
 was " set furthe by the King, with the advyse of 
 his Clergy; the Lordes bothe spirituall and tem- 
 porall, with the nether house of Parliament, 
 liaving both seiie and lyked it very well." 
 
 Also in the year 1540, a committee of bishops 
 and divines was appointed by King Henry VIII., 
 at the petition of the Convocation, to reform the 
 rituals and offices of the Church. And what 
 was done by this committee for reforming the 
 offices was reconsidered by the Convocation 
 itself two or three years afterwards, namely, in 
 February 1542-3. And in the next year the 
 King and his Clergy ordered the prayers for
 
 VI 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 processions, and litanies, to be put into English, 
 and to be publickly used. And finally, in the 
 year 1545, the King's Primer came forth, 
 wherein were contained, amongst other things, 
 the Lord's Prayer, Creed, Ten Commandments, 
 ^'enite, Te Deum, and other hymns and col- 
 lects in English ; and several of them in the 
 same version in which we now use them. And 
 this is all that appears to have been done in rela- 
 tion to liturgical matters in the reign of King 
 Henry VI 11. 
 
 In the year 1547, the first of King Edward 
 VI., December the second, the Convocation de- 
 clared the opinion, " nuUo reclamante," that the 
 Communion ought to be administered to all per- 
 sons under " both kinds." Whereupon an Act 
 of Parliament was made, ordering the Commu- 
 nion to be so administered. And then a com- 
 mittee of bishops, and other learned divines, was 
 appointed to compose " an uniform order of 
 Communion, according to the rules of Scripture, 
 and the use of the primitive Church." In order 
 to tliis, the Committee repaired to Windsor 
 Castle, and in that retirement, within a few days, 
 drew up that form which is printed in Bishop 
 Sparrow's collection. And tiiis being immedi- 
 ately brought into use, the next year the same 
 persons, being impowered by a new commis- 
 sion, prepared themselves to enter upon a yet 
 nobler work ; and in a few months' time finished 
 the whole Liturgy, by drawing up publick offices 
 notoidy for Sundays and Ilolichiys, but for Bap- 
 tism, Confirmation, Matrimony, Burial of the 
 Dead, and other special occasions ; in which the 
 fore-mentioned office for the lioly Communion 
 was inserted, witli many alterations and amend- 
 ments. And the whole book being so framed, 
 was set fortii " l)y the common agreement and 
 full assent both of tlie Parliament and Convoca- 
 tions provincial ;" that is, the two Convocations 
 of the provinces of Canterbury and York. 
 
 Tiie Committee appointed to compose this 
 Liturgy were, 
 
 1. Thomas Cranmcr, Archbislmp of Canter- 
 bury ; wlio was tlie chief promoter of our excel- 
 lent Ueformation ; atul liad a principal iiand, not 
 only in com|)iling the Liturgy, but in all the 
 steps made towards it. He died a martyr to the 
 ri'ligioii of the Ueformation, which principally 
 bv his moans had been est'iblislied in the Cliurcli 
 of England ; being burnt at Oxford in tiie reign 
 of Queen Mary, Marcli 21, L55(;. 
 
 2. Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely. 
 
 3. Henri/ Holbech, alias Randes, Bishop of 
 Lincoln. 
 
 4. George Day, Bishop of Chichester. 
 
 5. John Skip, Bishop of Hereford. 
 
 6. Thovias Thirlhi/, Bishop of Westminster. 
 
 7. Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of Rochester, and 
 afterwards of London. He was esteemed the 
 ablest man of all that advanced the Reforma- 
 tion, for piety, learning, and solidity of judg- 
 ment. He died a martyr in Queen Mary's 
 reign, being burnt at Oxford, October 16, 1555. 
 
 8. Dr. William May, Dean of St. Paul's, 
 London, and afterwards also Master of Queen's 
 College in Cambridge. 
 
 9. Dr. John Taylor, Dean, afterwards Bishop, 
 of Lincoln. He was deprived in the beginning 
 of Queen Mary's reign, and died soon after. 
 
 10. Dr. Simon Heynes, Dean of Exeter. 
 
 11. Dr. Jolin Redmayiie, Master of Trinity 
 College in Cambridge, and Prebendary of West- 
 minster. 
 
 12. Dr. Richard Cox, Dean of Christ Church 
 in Oxford, Almoner and Privy Counsellor to 
 King Edward VI. He was deprived of all his 
 preferments in Queen Mary's reign, and fled to 
 Frankfort ; from whence returning in the reign 
 of Queen Elizabeth, he was consecrated Bishop 
 of Ely. 
 
 13. Mr. Thomas Robertson, Archdeacon of 
 Leicester. 
 
 Thus was our excellent Liturgy compiled by 
 martyrs and confessors, together with divers other 
 learned bishops and divines; and being revised 
 and approved by the archbisliops, bishops, and 
 clergy of both the provinces of Canterbury and 
 York, was then confirmed by the King and the 
 three Estates in Parliament, in the year 1548, 
 who gave it this just encomium, namely, "which 
 at this time HY TIIE AID OF TIIE HOLY 
 GHOST with uniform agreement is of them 
 concluded, set forth, &c." This Common Prayer 
 Book is fre(piently called the first Book of Ed- 
 ward the Sixth ; or the Book of the second year 
 of Edward the Sixth. 
 
 But about the end of the year 1550, or the 
 heginning of 1551, some exceptions were taken 
 at some things in this book, which were tiiouglit 
 to savour too much of superstition. To remove 
 these objections therefore, Archbishop Cranmer 
 proposed to review it, and to this end called in 
 the assistance of Martin Bucer, and Peter
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Martyr, two foreigners, whom lie had invited 
 over from the troubles in Germany ; who, not 
 understanding the Englisli tongue, had Latin 
 versions prepared for them: one Alesse, a Scotch 
 divine, translating it on purpose for the use of 
 Bucer ; and Martyr being furnished with the 
 version of Sir John Cheke, who had also for- 
 merly translated it into Latin. The following 
 were the most considerable additions and altera- 
 tions that were then made; some of which must be 
 allowed to be good : namely, the addition of the 
 Sentences, Confession, Exhortation, and Absolu- 
 tion, at the beginning of the morning and evening 
 services, which in the first Common Prayer 
 Book began with the Lord's Prayer. The other 
 changes were the removing of some rites and 
 ceremonies retained in the former book ; such as 
 the use of "oil in baptism;" the "unction of the 
 sick;" "prayers for souls departed," both in the 
 Comminion office, and in that for the Burial of 
 the Dead ; the leaving out of the "invocation of 
 the Holy Ghost" in the consecration of the 
 eucharist, and the prayer of "oblation" that 
 was used to follow it ; the omitting of the ru- 
 brick that ordered "water" to be mixed with 
 wine, with several other less material variations. 
 The "habits" also, that were prescribed by the 
 former book, were ordered by this to be laid 
 aside ; and, lastly, a rubrick was added at the 
 end of the Communion office to explain the 
 reason of "kneeling" at the Sacrament. The 
 book thus revised and altered was again con- 
 firmed in Parliament in the year 155L It 
 is frequently called the second Book of Edward 
 the Sixth, or the Book of the fifth year of Ed- 
 ward the Sixth ; and is very near the same with 
 that which we now use. But both this, and the 
 former Act made in 1548, were repealed in the 
 first year of Queen Mary, as not being agreeable 
 to the Romish superstition, which she was re- 
 solved to restore. 
 
 But upon the accession of Queen Elizabeth, 
 the Act of repeal was reversed; and, in order 
 to the restoring of the English service, several 
 learned divines were appointed to take another 
 review of King Edward's Liturgies, and to 
 frame from them both a book for the use of the 
 Church of England. The names of those who, 
 Mr. Cambden says, were employed, are these 
 that follow : 
 
 Dr. Mattheio Parker, afterwards Archbishop 
 of Canterbury. ; - 
 
 Dr. Richard Cox, afterwards Bishop of Ely. 
 
 Dr. May. 
 
 Dr. Bill. 
 
 Dr. James Pilkington, afterwards Bishop of 
 Durham. 
 
 Sir Thomas Smith. 
 
 Air. David Whitehead. 
 
 Mr. Edmund Grindall, afterwards Bishop of 
 London, and then Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 To these, Mr. Strype says, were added Dr. 
 Edwin Sandys, afterwards Bishop of Worcester, 
 and Mr. Edicard Guest, a very learned man, 
 who was afterwards Archdeacon of Canterbury, 
 Almoner to the Queen, and Bishop of Rochester, 
 and afterwards of Salisbury. And this last per- 
 son, Mr. Strype thinks, had the main care of the 
 whole business ; being, as he supposes, recom- 
 mended by Parker to supply his absence. It 
 was debated at first, which of the two books of 
 King Edward should be received ; and Secre- 
 tary Cecil sent several queries to Guest, con- 
 cerning the reception of some particulars in the 
 first book ; as prayers for the dead, the prayer 
 of consecration, the delivery of the sacrament 
 into the mouth of the communicant, &c. But 
 however, the second book of King Edward was 
 pitched upon as the book to be proposed to the 
 Parliament to be established, who accordingly 
 passed and commanded it to be used, " with one 
 alteration or addition of certain lessons to be 
 used on every Sunday in the year, and the form 
 of the Litany altered and corrected, and two 
 sentences added in the delivery of the sacra- 
 ment to the communicants, and none other, or 
 otherwise." 
 
 The alteration of the Litany here mentioned 
 was the leaving out of a rough expression, 
 namely, " From the tyranny of the bishop of 
 Rome, and all his detestable enormities," which 
 was a part of the last deprecation in both the 
 books of King Edward ; and the adding of 
 those words to the first petition of the Queen, 
 " strengthen in the true worshipping of thee, in 
 righteousness and holiness of life," which were 
 not in before. The two sentences added in the 
 delivery of the Sacrament were these, "the body 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for 
 thee ;" or " the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 which was shed for thee ; preserve thy body and 
 soul to everlasting life:" which were taken out 
 of King Edward's first book, and were the whole 
 forms then used : whereas in the second book
 
 via 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of that King, these sentences were left out, and 
 
 in the room of them were used, " take, eat," 
 
 or "drink" this, with what follows; but now in 
 
 Queen Elizabeth's book both these forms were 
 
 united. 
 
 Though, besides these here mentioned, there 
 
 are some other variations in this book trom the 
 
 second of King Edward : namely, tlie first ru- 
 
 brick, concerning the situation of the chancel and 
 
 the proper place of reading divine service, was 
 
 altered ; the habits enjoined by the first book of 
 
 King Edward, and forbid by the second, were 
 
 now restored. At the end of the Litany was 
 
 added a prayer for the Queen, and another for 
 
 the Clergy. And lastly, the rubrick that was 
 
 added at the end of the Communion office, in 
 
 the second book of King Edward VI., against 
 
 the notion of our Lord's "real" and "essential" 
 
 presence in the holy Sacrament, was left out of 
 
 this. For it being the Queen's design to unite 
 
 the nation in one faith, it was therefore recom- 
 mended to the divines to see that there should 
 
 be no definition made against the aforesaid no- 
 tion, but that it should remain as a speculative 
 
 oj)inion not determined, in which every one was 
 
 left to the freedom of his own mind. 
 
 And in this state the Liturgy continued with- 
 out any farther alteration, till the first year of 
 King James I.; when the Puritans, who were 
 
 now a numerous body, having petitioned for a 
 
 reform of vvliat they termed abuses, the King 
 
 appointed a conference to be held at Hampton 
 Court, between a select number of bishops and 
 divines of the Established C'iiurch on the one 
 side, and the princi[)al leaders among the dis- 
 senters on the other, before himself as president, 
 to hear wliat could be alleged for their noncon- 
 formity, and to judge whctiu'r an aeconunodation 
 between the parties would be practicable. The 
 demands of tiie Puritans were far too unreason- 
 able to be granted, and very soon set aside the 
 hope of agreement: but their objections may 
 iiave contributed to produce some of the follow- 
 ing improvements, wliicii were soon after made 
 in the Liturgy. In the Morning and Evening 
 J'rayers a collect, and in the Litany a particular 
 intercession, were appointed for the royal family: 
 the forms of thanksgiving upon several oee;isi()iis 
 were then added : the (juestions and answers 
 concerning the Sacraments were subjniiu'd to 
 tlie Cateeliisni, which i)efore that time ended 
 with tlie answer to tiie (|uestiun innnediately restoration, at the re(|uest of several of the 
 
 following the Lord's Prayer : and the adminis- 
 tration of private baptism was by the rubrick 
 expressly confined to a " lawful minister," to 
 prevent midwives or laymen from presuming to 
 baptize. These and some other small additions 
 and improvements were made by the authority 
 of King James I., and universally adopted, al- 
 though they were not ratified by Parliament. 
 The following is a list of the bishops and 
 other divines of the Church, appointed on this 
 occasion : 
 
 Dr. John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 Dr. Richard Bancroft, Bishop of London. 
 Dr. Tobie Mattheics, Bishop of Durham. 
 Dr. Thomas Bihon, Bishop of Winchester. 
 Dr. Gervase Bahbinton, Bishop of Worcester. 
 Dr. Autlioni/ Iludd, Bishop of St. David's. 
 Dr. Anthony Watson, Bishop of Chichester. 
 Dr. Henry Robinson, Bishop of Carlisle. 
 Dr. Thomas Dove, Bishop of Peterborough. 
 Dr. James Mountague, Dean of the Chapel. 
 Dr. Thomas Ravis, Dean of Christ Church. 
 Dr. John Bridges, Dean of Sarum. 
 Dr. Lancelot Andreices, Dean of W^estminster. 
 Dr. John Overall, Dean of St. Paul's. 
 Dr. JVilliam Barlow, Dean of Chester. 
 Dr. Giles Thompson, Dean of Windsor. 
 Dr. John King, Archdeacon of Nottingham. 
 Dr. Richard Field, after Dean of Gloucester. 
 
 There was little done in the English Com- 
 mon Prayer Book in King Charles the First's 
 time : but it may be noticed in passing, that in 
 the Scotch Connnon Prayer Book there were 
 several improvements made, some of which were 
 taken into the last review, and more might liave 
 been so, but that the nation was not disposed to 
 receive them, the distempers of the late times 
 having prejudiced many against it. Some of 
 the most remarkable alterations in this book 
 are : the word " priest " in the rubricks is 
 changed into " presbyter ;" the Epistles and 
 (ios])els are set down according to the New 
 Translation, as are also the Hymns and Psalms ; 
 " CJlory be to thee, O Lord," i.s ordered to be 
 said before the Ciospel, and " Thanks be to thee, 
 O Lord," after it. 
 
 But to proceed with the account of tho 
 English Liturgy; which continued in the state, 
 that has been described, to the lime of King 
 Charles the Second, wlio, innnediately after his
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I'icsl)ytciian Ministers, was willing to comply 
 to another review, and therefore issued out a 
 connnission, dated March '25, 1G61, to impower 
 twelve of the bishops, and twelve of the Pres- 
 byterian divines, to consider of the objections 
 raised against the Liturgy, and to make such 
 reasonable and necessary alterations as they 
 should jointly agree upon : nine assistants on 
 each side being added, to supply the place of 
 any of the twelve principals who sliould hap- 
 pen to be absent. The names of them are as 
 follow : 
 
 On tlie Episcoparian side. 
 
 PRINCIPALS. 
 
 Dr. Fruen, Archb. of York. 
 Dr. Sheldon, Bp. of London, 
 Dr. Cosin, I?p. of Durham. 
 Dr. Warner, Bp. of Rochest. 
 Dr. King, Bp. of Chichester. 
 Dr. Henchman, Bp.of Sarum. 
 Dr. Mnrley, Bp. of Wore. 
 Dr. Sanilerson, Bp. of Line. 
 Dr. Laney, Bp. of Peterb. 
 Dr. Walton, Bp. of Chester. 
 Dr. Slern, Bp. of Cariisle. 
 Dr. Gauden, Bp. of Exeter. 
 
 COADJUTORS. 
 
 Dr. Eurles, Dean of Westm. 
 
 Dr. Hey tin. 
 
 Dr. Hackeit. 
 
 Dr. Barwick. 
 
 Dr. Gunning, 
 
 Dr. Pearson. 
 
 Dr. Pierce. 
 
 Dr. Sparrow, 
 
 Mr. Thorndike. 
 
 On the Presbyterian side. 
 
 PRINCIPALS. 
 
 Dr. Reynolds, Bp. of Nor. 
 
 Dr. Tuckney. 
 
 Dr. Conant. 
 
 Dr. Sjmrstow, 
 
 Dr. Wallis. 
 
 Dr. Manton. 
 
 Mr. Culamy. 
 
 Mr. Baxter. 
 
 Mr. Jackson. 
 
 Mr. Case. 
 
 Mr. Clark. 
 
 Mr. Newcomen. 
 
 COADJUTORS. 
 
 Dr. Horton. 
 Dr. Jacomb. 
 Mr. Bales. 
 Mr. RawUnson. 
 Mr. Cooper. 
 Dr. Lightfoot 
 Dr. Collins. 
 Dr. Woodbridye. 
 Mr. Drake. 
 
 These Commissioners had several meetings 
 at the Savoy, but all to very little purpose ; the 
 Presbyterians lieaped together all the old scru- 
 ples tiiat the Puritans had for al)ove a hundred 
 years been raising against the Liturgy, and, as 
 if they were not enough, swelling the number 
 of them with many new ones of their own. To 
 these, one and all, they demanded compliance 
 on the Church side, and would hear of no con- 
 tradiction even in the minutest circumstances. 
 But the completest piece of assurance was the 
 behaviour of Ba.xter, who (though the King's 
 commission gave them no farther power, than 
 " to compare the Common Prayer Book with 
 " the most ancient Liturgies that had been used 
 " in the Church in the most primitive and purest 
 " times ;" requiring them " to avoid, as much as 
 
 " possible, all unnecessary alterations of the 
 " Forms and Liturgy, wherewith the people 
 " were altogether acquainted, and had so long 
 "received in the Church of Liiglaiid,") would 
 not so much as allow that our Liturgy was 
 capable of amendment, but confideiitly jire- 
 tended to compose a new one of his own, with- 
 out any regard to any other Liturgy whatsoever, 
 either modern or ancient ; which, together with 
 the rest of the Commissioners on the Presby- 
 terian side, lie offered to the bishops, to be 
 received and established in the room of the 
 Liturgy. Such usage as this, we may reason- 
 ably think, must draw the disdain and contempt 
 of all that were concerned for the Church. So 
 that the conference broke up, without any thing 
 done, except that some particular alterations 
 were proposed by the episcopal divines, which, 
 the May following, were considered and agreed 
 to by the whole Clergy in Convocation. The 
 principal of them were, that several Lessons in 
 the Calendar were changed for others more proper 
 for the days ; the " prayers for particular occa- 
 sions " were disjoined from the Litany; and the 
 two prayers to be used in the Ember-weeks, 
 the prayer for the Parliament, and that for "all 
 conditions of men," and the "general thanks- 
 giving," were added: several of the Collects 
 were altered ; the Epistles and Gospels were 
 taken out of the last translation of the Bible, 
 being read before according to the old transla- 
 tion : the office for " Baptism of those of Riper 
 Years," the two psalms prefi.xed to the lesson in 
 the Burial Service, and the " Forms of Prayer 
 to be used at Sea," for " the Martyrdom of 
 King Charles the First," and for " the Restora- 
 tion of the Royal Family," were all added. There 
 were also several other less material additions : 
 and through the whole service ambiguities were 
 removed, and various improvements were made ; 
 for a more particular account of which the reader 
 is referred to the Preface to the Common Prayer 
 Book. In a word, the whole Liturgy was then 
 brought to that state in which it now stands ; 
 and was unanimously subscribed by both Houses 
 of Convocation, of both provinces, on Friday 
 the 20th of December, 1661. And being 
 brought to the House of Lords the March 
 following, both Houses very readily passed an 
 Act for its establishment ; and the Earl of 
 Clarendon, then High Chancellor of England, 
 was ordered to return the thanks of the Lords to
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Bishops and Clergy of both provinces, for 
 the great care and industry shewn in the review 
 of it. Wheatly, Dr. Nic/iolls, Bp. Tomline. 
 
 Thus has been given a brief historical ac- 
 count of the first compiling of the Book of 
 Common Prayer, and of the several reviews 
 that were afterwards taken of it by our Bishops 
 and Convocations : from which it appears, that 
 our Liturgy was first established by the Convo- 
 cations or provincial Synods of the realm, and 
 thereby became obligatory " in fore consci- 
 enti;e ;" and was tlien confirmed and ratified by 
 the supreme magistrate in Parliament, and so 
 also became obligatory "in foro civili." It has 
 therefore all authority, both ecclesiastical and 
 civil. As it is established by ecclesiastical 
 authority, those, who separate themselves and 
 .'iot up another form of worship, are schismaticks ; 
 and consequently are guilty of a grievous sin, 
 wliich no toleration granted by the civil magis- 
 trate can authorize or justify. But, as it is 
 settled by Act of Parliament, the separating 
 from it is only an offence against the state ; and 
 as such may be pardoned by the state. The 
 " Act of Toleration " therefore, as it is called, 
 has freed the dissenters from beina: offenders 
 against the state, notwithstanding their separa- 
 tion from the worship prescribed by the Liturgy : 
 but it by no means excuses, or can excuse, them 
 from the schism they have made in the Church : 
 they are guilty of that sin, and will continue to 
 be guilty of it, as long as they separate, notwith- 
 standing any temj)oral authority to indemnify 
 them. Wheathj. 
 
 To the foregoing historical account of the 
 original aiul alterations of our Liturgy, are sub- 
 joined two excellent and just characters of it, 
 the former by Bishop Jeremy Taylor, in the 
 preface to his "Apology for authorized and set 
 forms of Liturgy ;" the latter from Dean Com- 
 ber's preface to his " Comi)anion to the Temple :" 
 a work to which the present Editor is princijially 
 indcljtcd for his annotations ; as in(h>c(l it is that 
 which lias for the most part sui)])lie(l materials 
 to other commentaries on the Common Prayer. 
 
 The Liturgy of the Church of Kngli-nd, 
 saith Bislioj) Jeremy Taylor, hath advantages 
 Ko many and so considerable, as not only to 
 raise itself above the devotions of other Churches, 
 but to endear the affections of good jjcopic to l)e 
 in love with Liturgies in general. To the 
 Churches of the Boman Connnuiiion we can 
 
 say, that ours is Reformed: to the Reformed 
 Churches we can say, that it is orderly and 
 decent. For we were freed from the imposi- 
 tions and lasting errors of a tyrannical spirit, 
 and yet from the extravagancies of a popular 
 spirit too. Our Reformation was done without 
 tumult, and yet we saw it necessary to reform : 
 we were zealous to cast away the old errors ; 
 but our zeal was balanced with consideration, 
 and the results of authority. We are not like 
 women and children, when they are affrighted 
 with fire in their clothes : we shook off the coal 
 indeed, but not our garments; lest we should 
 have exposed our Church to that nakedness, 
 which the excellent men of our sister Churches 
 complained to be among themselves. And in- 
 deed it is no small advantage to our Liturgy, 
 that it was the offspring of all that 'authority, 
 which was to prescribe in matters of religion. 
 The king and the priest, which are the antistites 
 religionis, and the preservers of both the Tables, 
 joined in this work : and the people, as repre- 
 sented in Parliament, were advised withal, in 
 authorizing the form, after much deliberation. 
 So that it was not only reasonable and sacred ; 
 but free both from the indiscretion, and, which 
 is very considerable, even from the scandal, of 
 popularity. That only, in which the Church 
 of Rome had prevaricated against the word of 
 God, or innovated against apostoHck tradition, 
 was pared away. Great part of it consisted of 
 the very words of Scripture, as the Psalms, Les- 
 sons, Hymns, Epistles, and Gospels : and the 
 rest was in every particular made agreeable to it, 
 and drawn from the Liturgies of the ancient 
 Church. The Ilubricks of it were written in 
 the blood of some of the compilers, men famous 
 in their generations ; whose reputation and 
 glory of martyrdom hath made it inunodest for 
 the best of men now to compare themselves with 
 them. And its composure is so admirable, that 
 the most industrious wits of its enemies can 
 scarce find out an objection, of value enough to 
 make a doubt, or scarce a scruple, in a serious 
 spirit. There is no part of religion but is in 
 the offices of the Church of I'lighuid. For, if 
 the soul desires to be hund)k'(l, she hath forms 
 provided of confession to God before his Church : 
 if she will rejoice and give God thanks for par- 
 ticular blessings, there are forms of thaid\sgiving 
 for all the solemn occasions, which could be fore- 
 seen, and for which provision coidd by publick
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 order be made : if she will commend to God tlic 
 ])ublick and private necessities of the Church and 
 single persons, the whole body of collects and 
 devotions supplies them abundantly : and if her 
 devotions be high and pregnant, and prepared to 
 fervency and importunity of congress with God, 
 the Litany is an admirable pattern of devotion, 
 full of circumstances proportionable to a quick 
 and earnest spirit. There are also in the offices 
 forms of solemn absolution and benediction : aiul, 
 if they be not highly considerable, there is nothing 
 sacred in the evangelical ministry, but the altars 
 themselves are made of unhallowed turf. When 
 the revolution of the anniversary calls on us, to 
 perform our duty of special meditation on, and 
 thankfulness to God for, the glorious benefits of 
 Christ's incarnation, nativity, passion, resurrec- 
 tion, and ascension, &e., then we have the offices 
 of Christmas, the Annunciation, Good-Friday, 
 Easter, and Ascension, &c. ; and the offices are 
 so ordered, that, if they be summed up, they will 
 make an excellent creed, and the very design of 
 the day te.iches the meaning of an Article. The 
 life and death of the saints, which are very pre- 
 cious in the eyes of God, are so remembered, 
 that, by giving thanks and praise, God may be 
 honoured ; the Church instructed by the propo- 
 sition of their examples ; and we give testimony 
 of the honour and love we pay to religion, by 
 our pious veneration and esteem of those holy 
 and beatified persons. To which if we add the 
 advantages of the whole Psalter, which is an in- 
 tire body of devotion by itself, and hath in it 
 forms to exercise all graces, by way of internal 
 act and spiritual intention ; there is not any 
 ghostly advantage, which the most religious can 
 either need or fancy, but what the English 
 Liturgy, in its intire constitution, will furnish us 
 withal. Bp. Jeremij Taylor. 
 
 Though all Churches in the world have, and 
 ever had, forms of prayer; yet none was ever 
 blessed with so comprehensive, so exact, and so 
 inoffensive a composure as ours: which is so 
 judiciously contrived, that the wisest may exer- 
 cise at once their knowledge and devotion ; and 
 yet so plain, that the most ignorant may pray 
 with understanding; so full, that nothing is omit- 
 ted which is fit to be asked in publick; and so 
 particular, that it compriseth most things which 
 we would ask in private ; and yet so short, as 
 not to tire any that hath true devotion : its doc- 
 trine is pure and primitive; its ceremonies so 
 
 ^QW and innocent, that most of the Christian 
 world agree in them: its method is exact and 
 natural ; its language significant and persjiicu- 
 ous; most of the words and phrases being taken 
 out of the holy Scriptures, and the rest are the 
 expressions of the first and ])urest ages; so that 
 whoever takes exception at these must quarrel 
 with the language of the Holy Ghost, and fall 
 out with the Church in her greatest innocence: 
 ami in the opinion of the most impartial and ex- 
 cellent Grotius, (who was no member of, nor 
 had any obligation to, this Church,) the English 
 Liturgy comes so near to the primitive jiattern, 
 that none of the reformed Churches can compare 
 with it. 
 
 And if any thing external be needful to re- 
 commend that which is so glorious within ; we 
 may add that the Compilers were [most of them] 
 men of great piety and learning; [and several of 
 them] either martyrs or confessors upon the re- 
 stitution of Popery ; which as it declares their 
 piety, so doth the judicious digesting of these 
 prayers evidence their learning. For therein 
 a scholar may discern close logick, pleasing rhe- 
 torick, pure divinity, and the very marrow of 
 the ancient doctrine and discipline ; and yet all 
 made so familiar, that the unlearned may safely 
 say Amen. 1 Cor. xiv. 16. 
 
 Lastly, all these excellencies have obtained 
 that universal reputation which these prayers 
 enjoy in all the world : so that they are most 
 deservedly admired by the eastern Churches, 
 and had in great esteem by the most eminent 
 Protestants beyond sea, who are the most impar- 
 tial judges that can be desired. In short, this 
 Liturgy is honoured by all but the Romanist, 
 whose interest it opposeth, and the Dissenters, 
 whose prejudices will not let them see its lustre. 
 Whence it is that they call that, which the Pa- 
 pists hate because it is Protestant, superstitious 
 and popish. But when we consider that the best 
 things in a bad world have the most enemies, 
 as it doth not lessen its worth, so it must not 
 abate our esteem, because it hath malicious and 
 misguided adversaries. 
 
 How endless it is to dispute with these, the 
 little success of the best arguments, managed by 
 the wisest men, do too sadly testify ; wherefore 
 we shall endeavour to convince the enemies, by 
 assisting the friends of our Church devotions: and 
 by drawing the veil which the ignorance and 
 indevotion of some, and the passion and prejudice
 
 xu 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of others, have cast over them, represent the 
 Liturofy in its true and native lustre : wliieh is 
 so lovely and ravishing, that, like the purest 
 beauties, it needs no supplement of art and 
 dressing, but conquers by its own attractions, 
 and wins the affections of all but those who do 
 not see it clearly. This will be sufficient to shew, 
 that whoever desires no more than to worship 
 God with zeal and knowledge, spirit and truth. 
 
 purity and sincerity, may do it by these devout 
 forms. And to this end may the God of peace 
 give us all meek hearts, quiet spirits, and devout 
 affections ; and free us from all sloth and pre- 
 judice, that we may have full churches, frequent 
 prayers, and fervent charity; that, uniting in 
 our prayers here, we may all join in his praises 
 hereafter, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. Dean Comber.
 
 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF AUTHOES 
 
 WHOSE WORKS ARE CITED IN THIS EDITION OF THE COMMON PRAYER BOOK. 
 
 AUTHOHS. 
 
 ANDREJVES, Lancelot, D.D. Bishop of Winchester . 
 Barrow, Isaac, D.D. Master of Trinity College, Cam- 1 
 
 bridge J 
 
 Bennet, Thomas, D.D. Rector of St. James's, Col-1 
 
 Chester / 
 
 Beveridge, William, D.D. Bishop of St. Asaph . . . 
 
 Bisse, Thomas, D.D. Canon of Hereford 
 
 Brewster, John, M.A. Rector of Egglescliife, Durham . 
 
 Burkitt. William, M.A. Vicar of Dedham, Essex. . . 
 Burn, Richard, D.LL. Chancellor of the Diocese of \ 
 
 Carlisle J 
 
 Burnet, Gilbert, D.D. Bishop of Salisbury 
 Cleaver, William, D.D. Bishop of St. Asaph 
 
 Clutterbuck, J. Gent 
 
 Collis, Thomas, M.A. Rector of Beaconsfield , 
 Comber, Thomas, D.D. Dean of Dmham . 
 
 Cosin, J., D.D. Bishop of Durham . . , 
 Dodwell, W. D.D. Archdeacon of Berks , 
 Gibson, Edmund, D.D. Bishop of London , 
 
 Hall, Joseph, D.D. Bishop of Norwich 
 
 Hammond, Henry, D.D. Canon of Christ Church . . 
 Hole, Matthew, D.D. Rector of Exeter College, Oxford. 
 Hooker, Richard, M.A. Master of the Temple . . . 
 
 Home, George, D.D. Bishop of Norwich 
 
 Horsley, Samuel, D.D. Bishop of St. Asaph . . . . 
 Kennet, Basil, D.D. FeUow of C. C. C, Oxford . . . 
 King, William, D.D. Archbishop of Dublin . . . . 
 
 King, Peter, Lord Chancellor of England 
 
 L' Estrange, Hamon, Esq 
 
 Lowth, Robert, D.D. Bishop of London 
 
 Nelson, Robert, Esq 
 
 Nicholls, William, D.D. 
 
 Ostervald, John Frederick, a Protestant Divine of 
 Neufchatel in Switzerland 
 
 Overall, John, D.D. Bishop of Norwich . . 
 
 Patrick, Simon, D.D. Bishop of Ely .... 
 
 Pearson, John, D.D. Bishop of Chester . . . 
 
 Poole, Matthew, M.A 
 
 Porteus, Beilhy, D.D. Bishop of London . . 
 
 Pott, Joseph Holden, M.A. Archdeacon of London 
 
 Rogers, Thomas, M.A. Master of the Grammar School, 
 &c. Wakefield 
 
 Sandford, Daniel, D.D. Bishop of Edinburgh . . 
 
 Seeker, Thomas, D.LL. Archbishop of Canterbury . 
 
 WORKS CITED. 
 
 Notes subjoined to Dr. NichoUs's Comment. 
 Sermons of Obedience to our Spiritual Guides and 
 
 Governours. 
 Parajihrase with Annotations on the Common Prayer; 
 
 and Directions for studying the 'J'hirty-nine Articles. 
 Sermons on the Institution of Ministers, and on their 
 
 manner of Institution with us. 
 The Beauty of Holiness in the Common Prayer; and 
 
 Decency and Order in Publick Worship. 
 Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles; and Practical 
 
 ReHections on the Ordination .Services. 
 Practical Exposition of the New Testament. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Law. 
 
 Exposition of the Tliirty-nine Articles. 
 
 Sermon on the Origin of Creeds. 
 
 Vindication and Explanation of the Liturgy. 
 
 Rubrick of the Church of England examined. 
 
 Companion to the Temple, 2 vols. fol. ; and Short Dis- 
 courses on the Common Prayer, 1 vol. 8vo. 
 
 Notes subjoined to Dr. NichoUs's Comment. 
 
 Athanasian Creed vindicated and explained. 
 
 On the excellent use of Psalmody ; and the Sacrament 
 of the Lord's Supper explained. 
 
 Contemplations on Holy Scripture, and Paraphrase on 
 Hard Texts in the Psalms. 
 
 Commentary on the Psalms. 
 
 Practical Discourses on the Liturgy. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Polity, Book the Fifth. 
 
 Sermons ; and Commentary on the Psalms. 
 
 Translation of the Psalms, with Notes. 
 
 Exposition of the Apostles' Creed. 
 
 Inventions of Men in the Worship of God. 
 
 History of the Apostles' Creed, with Observations. 
 
 Alliance of Divine Offices. 
 
 English Grammar. 
 
 Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church 
 of England. 
 
 Comment on the Book of Common Prayer, &c. ; and 
 Sujiplement to the Commentary. 
 
 Arguments and Reflexions on all the Books in the 
 Bible. 
 
 Notes subjoined to Dr. NichoUs's Comment. 
 
 Paraphrase on the Psalms ; and the Christian Sacrifice. 
 
 Exposition of the Creed. 
 
 Annotations on the Psalms. 
 
 Lectures on St. Matthew's Gospel. 
 
 Sermons for the Sundays throughout the Year. 
 
 > Lectures on the Morning Service. 
 
 Sharp, Thomas, D.D. Archdeacon of Northumberland . 
 
 Shepherd, John, M.A. Vicar of Pattiswick 
 
 Sparrow, Anthony, D.D. Bishop of Nonvich .... 
 Stack, Richard, D.D. Fellow of Trinity College, DubUn, 
 
 Lectiu-es on the Epistles in Passion Week. 
 
 Sermons, vol. the Sixth; Lectures on the Church 
 Catechism ; and Instructions for Candidates for 
 Orders, appended to his Charges, in the 10th volume 
 of his Works. 
 
 Charges on the Rubrick and Canons. 
 
 Elucidation of the Service of the Church of England. 
 
 Rationale on the Book of Common Prayer. 
 
 Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles.
 
 XIV 
 
 LIST OF AUTHORS. 
 
 Stanhope, George, D.D. Dean of Canterbury . . . 
 Taylor, Jeremy, D.D. Bishop of Dorni and Connor . 
 Tomline, George, D.D. Bishop of Lincoln . . . . 
 
 rrarell, F. T, M.A. Rector of Upper Slaughter, Glou-\ 
 cestershire J 
 
 Veneer, John, Rector of St. Andrew's, Chichester . . 
 
 Vincent. William, D.D. Dean of Westminster . . . 
 Wake, William, D.D. .\rchbishop of Canterbury . . 
 
 Waldo, Peter, Esq 
 
 Waterland, Daniel, D.D. Archdeacon of Middlesex . . 
 Welckman, Edward, M..\. Archdeacon of Cardigan . . 
 Wheally, Charles, M.A. Vicar of Brent and Fui'neu.x \ 
 
 Pelham, Hertfordshire / 
 
 Wilson, Thomas, D.D. Bishop of Sodor and Man . . 
 Yardley, Edward, B.D. Archdeacon of Cardigan . . 
 
 WOKKS CITED. 
 
 Paraphrase and Comment on the Epistles and Gospels. 
 The Great Exemplar. 
 
 Elements of Christian Theology, vol. 2, on the Thirty- 
 nine Articles. 
 
 Paraphrase and Notes on the Psalms. 
 
 Exposition of the Book of Common Prayer; and Ex- 
 position of the Thirty-nine Articles. 
 Sermons on the Creeds. 
 Exposition of the Chvirch Catechism. 
 Commentary on the Liturgy. 
 History of the .\thanasian Creed. 
 Notes on the Thirty-nine Aiiicles. 
 
 Rational Illustration of the Book of Common Prayer. 
 
 Introduction to the Lord's Supper. 
 Exposition of the Offices of Baptism and Confirmation; 
 and Communion Service. 
 
 An Alphabetical Index of Ecclesiastical Writers, prefixed to JJlieatli/'s Illustration of the Common 
 Prayer Book, with the times ichai they flourished. 
 
 300 
 
 Ecclesiastical Writers. Flourished in the 
 
 Year of our Lord 
 
 Alcuin 780 
 
 Ambrose 37-t 
 
 Arnobius 303 
 
 Athanasius 32G 
 
 Athenagoras 1/7 
 
 Augtistin 39G 
 
 Ba.sil the Great 370 
 
 Bernard UlS 
 
 Canons called Apostolical, most of them com- \ 
 
 posed before / 
 
 Cedrenus 1056 
 
 Chrysostom 398 
 
 Clemens of Alexandria 192 
 
 Clemens of Rome 05 
 
 Codex Theodosianus 438 
 
 Constitutions called Apostolical, about . . . 450 
 
 Cyprian 248 
 
 Cyril of .Jerusalem 350 
 
 Dionysius of .Mcxandria 254 
 
 Dionysius, falsely called the Areopagite . . . 362 
 
 Durandus Mimatensis 1280 
 
 Diirantus 
 
 Epiphanius 368 
 
 Euagrius Scholasticus 594 
 
 Eusebius 315 
 
 Gcnnadius Massiliensis 495 
 
 Gratian 1131 
 
 Gregory the Great 590 
 
 Gregory Na^anzen 370 
 
 Ecclesiastical Writers. Flourished in tlie 
 
 Year of our Lord 
 
 Gregory Xyssen 370 
 
 Hierom, or Jerom 378 
 
 Ignatius 101 
 
 Irenaeus 167 
 
 Isidore Hispalensis 595 
 
 Isidore Peleusiota 412 
 
 Justin Martyr 140 
 
 Lactantius 303 
 
 Micrologus 1080 
 
 Minucius Felix 220 
 
 Nicephorus Calistus 1333 
 
 Optatus MUevitanus 3C8 
 
 Origen 230 
 
 Paulinus 420 
 
 Paulus Diaconus 75/ 
 
 Polycarp 108 
 
 Pontius Diaconus 251 
 
 Proclus 434 
 
 Ruffinus 390 
 
 Socrates 439 
 
 Sozomen 440 
 
 Synesius 410 
 
 Tatian 172 
 
 Tertullian 192 
 
 Thcodorct 423 
 
 Thcodosius Junior. See Code.x llieodosianus. 
 
 Theoi)hilus Antiochen 168 
 
 'Ilicophylact . . • 1077
 
 THE 
 
 CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK. 
 
 1. J. HE Acts for the Uniformity of Common Prayer) &c xvi 
 
 2. The Preface xxvii 
 
 3. Concerning the Service of the Church xxix 
 
 4. Concerning Ceremonies, wliy some be abolished, and some retained xxxi 
 
 5. The Order how the Psalter is appointed to be read xxxii 
 
 6. The Order how the rest of the holy Scripture is appointed to be read ib. 
 
 7. A Table of Proper Lessons and Psalms xxxvi 
 
 8. The Calendar, with the Table of Lessons xxxviii 
 
 9. Tables and Rules for the Feasts and Fasts through the whole Year L\ii 
 
 10. The Order for Morning Prayer 1 
 
 11. The Order for Evening Prayer ............. 43 
 
 12. The Creed of St. Athanasius 51 
 
 13. llie Litany 6o 
 
 14. Prayers and Thanksgivings upon several occasions 71 
 
 15. The Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, to be used at the Ministration of the holy Communion throughout 
 
 the Year 80 
 
 16. The Order of the Ministration of the holy Communion 277 
 
 17. The Order of Baptism both Publick and Private 329, 353 
 
 18. The Order of Baptism for those of Riper Years 360 
 
 19. Tlie Catechism 305 
 
 20. The Order of Confirmation 386 
 
 21. The Form of Solemnization of Matrimony 395 
 
 22. The Order for the Visitation of the Sick, and the Communion of the Sick 409,421 
 
 23. The Order for the Burial of the Dead 422 
 
 24. The Thanksgiving of Women after Child-bbth "435 
 
 25. A Commination, or denouncing of God's anger and judgments against sinners 439 
 
 26. The Psalter 450 
 
 27. Forms of Prayer to be used at Sea 662 
 
 28. The Form and Manner of Making, Ordaining, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons . 6C9 
 
 29. A Form of Prayer for the Fifth Day of November . . . 718 
 
 30. A Form of Prayer for the Thirtieth Day of January 723 
 
 31. A Form of Prayer for the Twenty-ninth Day of May 730 
 
 32. A Form of Prayer for the Twentieth Day of June 736 
 
 33. Articles of Religion 749 
 
 • Appendix, containing the Irish Form of Prayer for the Visitation of Prisoners .... 743 
 
 * Constitution and Canons Ecclesiastical 803
 
 Ail Act for the Uniformiti/ of Common Prayer'', and Service in the Church, and 
 
 Administration of the Sacraments 
 
 PRIMO ELIZABETHS. 
 
 WHERE at the deatn of our late Sovereign Lord 
 King Edward the Sixth, there remained one uni- 
 form Order of Common Serv-ice and Prayer, and of the 
 Administration of Sacraments, Rites and Ceremonies of 
 the Church of England, which was set forth in one Book, 
 intituled, The Book of Common Prayer, and Administra- 
 tion of Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies in the 
 Church of England, Authorized hy Act of Parliament, 
 holden in the fifth and sixth years of om- said late Sove- 
 reign Lord King Edward the Sixth, intituled. An Act for 
 the Uniformity of Common Prayer, and Administration of 
 the Sacraments ; 'Ilie which was repealed, and taken away 
 by Act of Parliament, in the first Year of the Reign of 
 our late Sovereign Lady Queen Mary, to the great decay 
 of the due honour of God, and discomfort to the Pro- 
 fessors of the Truth of Christ's Religion : 
 
 Be it therefore enacted hy the Authority of this pre- 
 sent Parliament, That the said Statute of Repeal, and 
 every thing therein contained, only concerning the said 
 Book, and the Service, Administration of Sacraments, 
 Rites and Ceremonies, contained or appointed in or by 
 the said Book, shall be void and of none effect, from 
 and after the Feast of the Nativity of St. John Baptist 
 next coming : and that the said Book with the Order of 
 Service, and of the Administration of Sacraments, Rites 
 and Ceremonies, %vith the Alterations, and Additions 
 therein added and appointed by this Statute, shall 
 stand, and be from and after the said Feast of the 
 Nativity of St. John Baptist, in fuU force and effect, 
 according to the tenor and effect of the Statute : Any 
 thing in the foresaid Statute of Repeal to the contrary 
 notwithstanding. 
 
 And further be it Enacted by the Queen's Highness, 
 with the assent of the Lords and Commons '' in tliis 
 ]>rescnt Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of 
 the same, That all and singular Ministers in any Ca- 
 thedral or Parish-(;hurch, or other Place within tliis 
 Realm of Enyland, Wales, and the Marches of the same 
 or other tlie Queen's Dominions, shall from and after 
 the Feast of the Nativity of St. John Baptist next coming, 
 be b(mnden to say and use the Mattins, F^ven-song, 
 Celebration of the Lord's Supper, and .Vdministration of 
 each of the Sacraments, and all their common and open 
 
 " An Act for the llnifnrmit;/ of Ciimmnn Prayer, &c.] By 
 the fDurtf'cnth of Clmrlca II. this and all otlier lawa for uni- 
 formity of (Niniinon IVnycr, ^:c. fire aiiplicttble to tlic Book of 
 Comuuin Prayer, niitliorizt'd hy tlmt Act. Dr. NirhotlK. 
 
 t* — v'iilt the OHnent of the Lnrils and Cimtmnns'] It was not, 
 Fftid " IjOhIh spiritual," herausc «U tlie !)iH}iop9 presont tlissentcd. 
 J)r. Jiiirn. It was not in reason to be e,\pe(:te<I, tliat the po])i!4h 
 I lergy shoulil bo forward in promoting a protcstant reformation. 
 Jlp. Cusin. 
 
 Prayer, in such order and form as is mentioned in the 
 said Book, so Authorized by Parliament in the said fiftli 
 and sixth Years of the Reign of King Edward the Sixth : 
 with one alteration, or addition of certain Lessons to be 
 used on every Sunday in the Year, and the Form of the 
 Litany altered ' and corrected, and two Sentences only 
 added in the delivery of the Sacrament to the Communi- 
 cants, and none other, or otherwise. And that if any 
 manner of Parson, Vicar, or other whatsoever Minister, 
 that ought or should sing or say Common Prayer men- 
 tioned in the said Book, or minister the Sacraments, from 
 and after the Feast of the Nativity of St. John Baptist 
 next coming, refuse to use the said Common Prayer, or 
 to minister the Sacraments in such Cathedral or Parish- 
 Church, or other places, as he should use to minister the 
 same, in such order and form, as they be mentioned, and 
 set forth in the said Book ; or shall wilfully, or obstinately 
 standing in the same, use any other Rite, Ceremony, 
 Order, Form, or Manner of Celebrating of the Lord's 
 Sup])er, openly or privily, or Mattins, E^•ensong, Admi- 
 nistration of the Sacraments, or other open Prayers, than 
 is mentioned and set forth in the said Book, [open Prayer 
 in and throughout this Act, is meant that Prayer which is 
 for others to come unto or hear, either in Common Churches, 
 or Private Chapels, or Oratories, commonly called the 
 Service of the Church,'] or shall preach, declare or speak 
 any thing in the derogation, or depraving of the said 
 Book, or any thing therein contained, or of any part 
 thereof, and shall be thereof lawfully convicted, according 
 to the laws of this Realm, by verdict of twelve men, or by 
 his own confession, or by the notorious evidence of the 
 fact, shall lose and forfeit to the Queen's Highness, her 
 Heirs and Successors, for his first Offence, the profit of 
 all his Spiritual Benefices, or Promotions, coming or 
 arising in one whole Year next after bis Conviction : And 
 also that the Person so convicted, shall for the same 
 Offence suffer Imprisonment by the space of six Months, 
 without Bail or Mainjjrise. And if any such Person, 
 once convict of any Offence concerning tlie Premisses, 
 shall after his first conviction eftsoons offend, and bo 
 thereof in form aforesaid lawfully convict ; That then the 
 same Person shall for his second Offence suffer Imprison- 
 ment by the space of one whole Year, and also shall 
 
 <^ — the Form of the Litany altered Stc] The alterations 
 and additii)ns, }iere alhuUnl to, are specitied in tlie IntrcKhietion. 
 See ]ift(^e vii. It must, not l)e ItnaKiTKMl tliat eitlier the Qui'en or 
 tlu- ParUanient made Iticse alterations; for tlie review of the 
 I,itur^ywas eoniniitted hy the Queen to certain cnnimissioners : 
 these addiiu; and alterhu; as they thought meet, presented it. to 
 the Parliament, who only cstuhUsliud what they had eoiieludcd 
 upon. V Kstranyc.
 
 AN ACT FOR THE UNIFORMITY OF COMMON PRAYER. 
 
 xvii 
 
 tlierefore be deprived, ipso facto, of all his Spiritual Pro- 
 motions, and, that it shall be lawful to all Patrons, or 
 Donors of all and singular the same Spiritual Promotions, 
 or of any of them to ])reseiit or collate to the same, as 
 thoiifrh tlie Person or Persons so offending were dead. 
 And that if any such Person or Persons, after he shall be 
 twice convicted in form aforesaid, shall offend against any 
 of the Premisses the third time, and shall be thereof in 
 form aforesaid lawfidly convicted ; 'I'hat then the Person 
 so offending, and convicted the third time, shall be de- 
 lirived, ipso facto, of all his Spiritual Promotions, and also 
 shall suffer imprisonment dviring his life. And if the 
 Person that shall offend, and be convicted in form afore- 
 said, concerning any of the Premisses, shall not be bene- 
 ficed nor have any Spiritual Promotion, that then the 
 same Person so offending and convict, shall for the fii-st 
 offence suffer imprisonment during one whole Year next 
 after his said Conviction, without Bail or Mainprise. 
 And if any such Person, not having any Spiritual Pro- 
 motion, after his first Conviction shall eftsoons offend in 
 any thing concerning the Premisses, and shall in form 
 aforesaid be thereof lawfully convicted, that then the same 
 Person shall for his second Offence suffer imprisonment 
 during his life. 
 
 And it is Ordained and Enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid, 'Iliat if any Person or Persons whatsoever, after 
 the said Feast of the Nativity of St. John Baptist next 
 coming, shall in any Enterludes, Plays, Songs, Rhimes, 
 or by other o])en Words, declare'' or speak any thing in 
 the derogation, depraving, or despising of the same Book, 
 or of any thing therein contained, or any part thereof: 
 or shall by open fact, deed, or by open threatenings, 
 compel or cause, or otherwise procure or maintain any 
 Parson, Vicar, or other Minister in any Cathedral or 
 Parish-Church, or in Chapel, or in any other place, to 
 sing or say any common or open Prayer, or to minister 
 any Sacrament otherwise, or in any other manner and 
 form than is mentioned in the said Book ; or that by 
 any of the said means shall unlawfully interrupt, or let 
 any Parson, Vicar, or other Minister, in any Cathedral 
 or Parish-Church, Chapel, or any other Place, to sing or 
 say common and open Prayer, or to minister the Sacra- 
 ments, or any of them, in such manner, and form, as is 
 mentioned in the said Book ; that then every such Per- 
 son, being thereof lawfully convicted, in form abovesaid, 
 shall forfeit to the Queen our Sovereign Lady, her Heirs 
 and Successors, for the fii-st Offence, an hundred Marks. 
 And if any Person or Persons, being once convict of any 
 such Offence, eftsoons offend against any of the last re- 
 cited Offences, and shall in form aforesaid be thereof 
 lawfully convict ; that the same Person so offending, and 
 convict, shall for the second Offence forfeit to the Queen 
 our Sovereign Lady, her Heirs and Successors, four 
 hundred Marks. And if any Person, after he in form 
 aforesaid shall have been twice convict of any Offence 
 concerning any of the last recited Offences, shall offend 
 
 *^ — shall in any Enferlndes, Plays, Sont/s, Rhirnes, or hy 
 olhfr fi})en Words, declare ^'-.j It was adjudged, that if words 
 do amount to treason, a fortiori they do so when they are written. 
 Therefore, by a parity of reason, the writing of virulent hbels 
 
 the third time, and be thereof in form abovesaid lawfully 
 convict, that then every Person so offending and convict, 
 shall for his third Offence forfeit to our Sovereign Lady 
 the Queen, all his Goods and Clhattcls, and shall suffer 
 Imprisonment during his Life. And if any Person or 
 Persons, that for his first Offence concerning the Pre- 
 misses, shall be convict in form aforesaid, do not pay the 
 Sum to be paid by virtue of his Conviction, in such 
 manner and form, as the same ought to be jjaid, within 
 six Weeks next after his Conviction ; That then every 
 Person so convict, and so not paying the same, shall for 
 the same first Offence, instead of the said Sum, suffer 
 Imprisonment by the space of six Months, without Bail 
 or Mainprise. And if any Person or Persons, that for 
 his second Offence concerning the Premisses, shall be 
 convict in form aforesaid, do not pay the said Sum to be 
 paid by virtue of his Conviction and this Estatute, in 
 such manner and form as the same ought to be paid, 
 within six Weeks next after his said second Conviction ; 
 That then every Person so convicted, and not paying the 
 same, shall for the same second Offence, instead of the 
 said Sum, suffer Imprisonment during twelve Months, 
 without Bail or Mainprise. And that from and after the 
 said Feast of the Nativity of St. John Baptist next coming, 
 all and every Person and Persons itjiabiting within this 
 Realm, or any other the Queen's Majesty's dominions, 
 shall diligently and faithfully, having no la%vful or rea- 
 sonable excuse to be absent, endeavour themselves, to 
 resort to their Parish-Chm-ch or Chapel accustomed, or 
 upon reasonable let thereof, to some usual place, where 
 Common Prayer, and such Service of God, shall be used 
 in such time of let, upon every Sunday, and other days 
 ordained or used to be kept as Holy-days, and then and 
 there to abide orderly and soberly, during the time of 
 Common Prayer, Preaching, or other Service of God 
 there to be used, and ministered ; upon pain of punish- 
 ment by the Censures of the Church, and also upon pain 
 that every Person so offending, shall forfeit for every 
 such Offence, twelve Pence, to be levied by the Church- 
 wardens of the Parish where such Offence shall be done, 
 to the use of the poor of the same Parish, of the Goods, 
 Lands and Tenements of such Offender, by way of 
 Distress. 
 
 And for the due execution hereof, the Queen's most 
 excellent Majesty, the Lords Temporal, and all the Com- 
 mons in this present Parliament assembled, do in God's 
 name earnestly require and charge all the Archbishops, 
 Bishops, and other Ordinaries, that they shall endeavour 
 themselves to the uttermost of their knowledges, that the 
 due and true execution hereof may be had throughout 
 their Dioceses and Charges, as they will answer before 
 God for such evils and plagues wherewith Almighty God 
 may justly punish his people for neglecting this good and 
 wholesome law. And for their Authority in this behalf, 
 be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid. That all 
 and singular the said Archbishops, Bishops, and other 
 
 against the Common Prayer, or any part thereof, is depraving 
 it. Besides, words published in writing are, in the strictest 
 sense, " open words." Br. Nicholls.
 
 xvm 
 
 AN ACT FOR THE UNIFORMITY OF COMMON PRAYER. 
 
 their officers exercising ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, as well 
 in ])lace exempt as not exempt, within their Dioceses, 
 shall have fuU Power and Authority hy this Act, to re- 
 form, correct and punish hy Censures of the Church, all 
 and singular Persons which shall offend within any of 
 their Jurisdictions, or Dioceses, after the said Feast of 
 the Nativity of St. John Baptist next coming, against this 
 Act and Statute ; any other Law, Statute, Privilege, Li- 
 berty or Provision heretofore made, had or suffered to the 
 contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 And it is Ordained and Enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid, That all and e\-ery Justice of Oyer and Deter- 
 miner, or Justice of Assize, shall have full Power and 
 .\uthority in every of their open and general Sessions, 
 to enquire, hear and determine all and all manner of 
 Offences, that shall he committed or done contrary to 
 any Article contained in this present Act, within the 
 limits of the Commission to them directed, and to make 
 Process for the execution of the same, as they may do 
 against any person being indicted before them of Tres- 
 pass, or lawfully convicted thereof. 
 
 Provided always, and be it Enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid. That all and every Archbishop and Bishop, 
 shall or may at all time and times, at his liberty and 
 pleasure, join and associate himself by virtue of this Act, 
 to the said Justices of Oyer and Determiner, or to the 
 said Justices of Assize, at every of the saiil open and 
 general Sessions to be holden in any place within his 
 Diocese, for and to the enquiry, hearing, and determining 
 of the Offences aforesaid. 
 
 Provided also, and be it Enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid, That the Books concerning the said .Services, 
 shall at the Costs and Charges of the Parishioners of 
 every Parish and Cathedral Church, be attained and 
 gotten before the said Feast of the Nativity of St. John 
 Baptist next following ; and that all such Parishes and 
 Cathedral (Churches, or other ])laces, where the said 
 Books shall be attained and gotten before the said Feast 
 of the Nativity of St. John Baptist, shall within three 
 Weeks next after the said Books so attained and gotten, 
 use the said .Service, and put the same in use according 
 to this .\ct. 
 
 And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid. 
 That no Person or I'ersons shall be at any time hereafter 
 impeached, or otherwise molested of, or for any the 
 
 " — ArchbishnpH] See pngc 70!), note /. 
 
 ' — Bishupii] Sec ])p. iV}*.), notes A, c. 
 
 B — Chancellors,'] The word " clmnocUor" is not meiitioncil 
 in the rominission. and but rarely in our ancii-nt records : l)ut 
 sec'iticlh to have (,Town into use in imitation of the like title in 
 the state ; iiia.smueli ils the jirojjer offiec of a chancellor, as such, 
 wa.s to be keeper of tlie seals of the Archbishop or Bishop, as 
 appears from divers entries in the registry of the Archljishops of 
 Canterbury. 
 
 This office, ns it is now understood, includrtli in it two other 
 offices, which are distin^iished in the commission by the titles 
 of *' otficial principal," and "vicar-general." 'I'lu- prM[i(T work 
 of an official is, to hear causes belwcen party and i>arty, con- 
 cerning wills, h-g.-n-ies, marriages, and the like, whicli are mat- 
 ters of temporal cognizance, but have been granted to the 
 er<*Iesiasticjil courts by the concessions of princes. The i)ro])er 
 work of a " vicjir-general " is the exercise and administration of 
 jurisdiction ]iurely spiritual, by the authority and uniler the 
 
 Offences above mentioned, hereafter to be committed, or 
 done contrary to this Act, unless he or they so offending, 
 be thereof indicted at the next general Sessions, to be 
 holden before any such Justices of Oyer and Determiner, 
 or Justices of Assize, next after any Offence committed 
 or done contrary to the tenor of this Act. 
 
 Provided always, and be it Ordained and Enacted by 
 the .\uthority aforesaid, 'Iliat all and singular Lords of 
 the Parhament, for the thhd Offence above mentioned, 
 shall be tried by their Peers. 
 
 Provided also, and be it Ordained and Enacted by the 
 Authority aforesaid, that the Mayor of London, and all 
 other Mayors, Bailiffs, and all other Head-Officers of all 
 and singular Cities, Boroughs, and Towns-Corporate 
 within this Realm, Walts, and the Marches of the same, 
 to the which Justices of Assize do not commonly rejiair, 
 shall have full Power and .Vuthority by virtue of this Act, 
 to enquire, hear, and determine the Offences abovcsaid, 
 and e\-ery of them, yearly within fifteen Days after the 
 Feast of Easter and St. Ulichatl the Archangel, in like 
 manner and form as Justices of Assize and Oyer and 
 Determiner may do. 
 
 Provided altt'ays, and be it Ordained and Enacted by 
 the Authority aforesaid. That all and singidar Arch- 
 bishops" and Bishops' and every of their Chancellors^, 
 Commissaries *■, Archdeacons ', and other Ordinaries '', 
 having any peculiar Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, shall 
 have full Power and Authority, by virtue of this Act, 
 as well to enquire in their 'N'isitation, Synods, and 
 elsewhere within their Jurisdiction, at any other time 
 and place, to take Accusations and Informations of all 
 and every the things above mentioned, done, committed, 
 or perpetrated, within the limits of their Jurisilictions 
 and Authority, and to punish the same by Adiuonition, 
 Excommunication, Sequestration or Deprivation, ami 
 other Censures and Process, in like form, as heretofore 
 hath licen used in like Cases by the Queen's Eccle- 
 siastical Laws. 
 
 Pro\'ided always, and be it Enacted, Tliat whatsoever 
 Person offending in the Premisses, shall for their Offences, 
 first receive Punishment of the Ordinary, having a Tes- 
 timonial thereof under the said Ordinary's Seal, shall 
 not for the same Offence eftsoons be convicted before 
 the Justices : And likewise receiving for the said Offence, 
 Punishment first by the Justices, shall not for the same 
 
 direction of the Hishop ; a9_visitati(m, correction of nianner.s, 
 granting institutions and tlie like, with a general insjiection of 
 men and things, in order to the preserving of discipline and good 
 goverrnncnt in the ("hurch. Dr, Ihint. 
 
 '1 — Cntiimi.ysfirirs,'] Commissary is ho that is limited by the 
 Bishop, to some certjiin place of the diocese to assist him : ami 
 in nu)st cases halh the authority of official princi])al and vicar- 
 general within his limits. The Chancellor is not confined to 
 any place of the diocese, nor limited to some certain causes only 
 of jurisdiction : but every where, throughout the whole dioce.se, 
 he supplietli the Bisliop's abseuci- in all m.-ifti-rs and causes 
 ecclesiastical within !tis diocese, liul the autliority of commis- 
 saries, as it is rcstraincii to soTiie certain place of the diocese, so 
 is it also n'straiiH'd to some certain cause of jurisdiction, limited 
 unto them by the Bishop. Dr. linrn. 
 
 » — Archdpacons,'] Hee page f»77i note c/. 
 
 k — and other Ordinaries,] See page {< 1 , note /<.
 
 AN ACT FOR THE UNIFORMITY OF PUBLICK PRAYERS. 
 
 xix 
 
 Offence cftsoons receive Punishment of the Ordinary : 
 any thing contained in this Act to the contrary notwith- 
 standing. 
 
 Provided ahvays, and t)e it Enacted, That such Orna- 
 ments of the Cliurcli and of tlie Ministers tliereof, shall 
 be retained, and be used, as was in this Church of Eny- 
 land, by Authority of Parhament, in the second Year of 
 the Reign of King Edward the .Sixth, until other Order 
 sliall be therein taken by the Authority of the Queen's 
 Majesty, with the Advice of her Commissioners appointed 
 and authorized under the Great Seal of England for 
 Causes Ecclesiastical, or of the Metropolitan of this 
 Realm. And also, that if there shall happen any Con- 
 tempt or Irreverence to be used in the Ceremonies or 
 
 Rites of the Church, by the misusing of the (Orders ap- 
 pointed in this Book, the Queen's Majesty may, by the 
 Uke Advice of the said Commissioners or Metropolitan 
 ordain and publish such further Ceremonies or Rites as 
 may be most for the advancement of (iod's Clory, the 
 edifying of his Church, and the due reverence of Christ's 
 holy Mysteries and Sacraments. 
 
 And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, 
 'I'hat all Laws, Statutes and Ordinances, wherein or 
 whereby any other Service, Administration of Sacra- 
 ments, or Common Prayer, is limited, established, or set 
 forth to be used within this Realm, or any other the 
 Queen's Dominions or Countries, shall from henceforth 
 be utterly void and of none effect. 
 
 An Act for the Uniformity of Puhlich Prayers, and Administering the Sacraments, and 
 other Rites and Ceremonies : And for establishing the Form of Malxinq, Ordaining, 
 and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, in the CJnirch of England. 
 
 XIV. CAROLI II. 
 
 XTTT HE RE AS in the first Year of the late Queen 
 < T Elizabeth, there was one uniform Order of Com- 
 mon Service and Prayer, and of the Administration of 
 Sacraments, Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of Eng- 
 land, (agreeable to the Word of God, and usage of the 
 Primitive Church,) compiled by the Reverend Bishops 
 and Clergy, set forth in one Book, intituled, The Book of 
 Common Prayer, and Administration of Sacraments, and 
 other Rites and Ceremonies in the Church of England, and 
 enjoined to be used by Act of Parliament, holden in the 
 said first Y'ear of the said late Queen, intituled. An Act 
 for the Uniformity of Common Prayer, and Service in the 
 Church, and Administration of the Sacraments, very com- 
 fortable to all good people desirous to live in Christian 
 Conversation, and most profitable to the Estate of this 
 Realm, upon the which the Mercy, Favour and Blessing 
 of Almighty God is in no wise so readily and plentifully 
 poured, as by Common Prayers, due using of the Sacra- 
 ments, and often preaching of the Gospel, with devotion 
 of the hearers : And yet this notwithstanding, a great 
 numl)er of people in divers parts of this Realm, following 
 their own sensuality, and living without knowledge and 
 due fear of God, do wilfully and schismatically aljstain 
 and refuse to come to their Parish- Churches, and other 
 publick places where Common Prayer, Administration of 
 the Sacraments, and Preaching of the Word of God is 
 used upon the Sundays, and other days ordained and 
 appointed to be kept and observed as Holy-days : And 
 whereas by the great and scandalous neglect of Ministers 
 in using the said Order of Liturgy so set forth and en- 
 joined, as aforesaid, great mischiefs and inconveniences. 
 
 1 — granted his Commission under the Great Seal'] Wliicli 
 bore (late March 25, 1661, and was directed to twelve bishops, 
 and twulve presbyterian divint:s : with nine assistants on each 
 side^ to supply the places of the principals, when they should be 
 
 during the time of tlie late unhappy troubles, have arisen 
 and grown ; and many people have been led into Fac- 
 tions and Schisms, to the great decay and scandal of the 
 Reformed Religion of the Church of England, and to the 
 hazard of many Souls ; For prevention whereof in time to 
 come, for settling the peace of the Church, and for allay- 
 ing the present distempers, which the indisposition of the 
 time hath contracted, 'I'he King's Majesty (according to 
 his Declaration of the five and twentieth of October, {)ne 
 thousand six hundred and sixty) granted his Commission 
 under the (ireat Seal ' of England, to several Bishops, 
 and other Divines, to review the Book of Common 
 Prayer, and to prepare such Alteration and .Additions as 
 they thought fit to offer ; And afterwards the Convoca- 
 tions of both the Provinces of Canterbury and York, being 
 by His Majesty called and assembled, (and now sitting.) 
 His Majesty hath been pleased to authorize and require 
 the Presidents of the said Convocations, and other the 
 Bishops and Clergy of the same, to review the said Book 
 of Common Prayer, and the Book of the Form and 
 Manner of the Making and Consecrating of Bishops, 
 Priests and Deacons : And that after mature considera- 
 tion, they should make such -Additions and Alterations 
 in the said Books respectively, as to them should seem 
 meet and convenient ; and should exliibit and present 
 the same to His Majesty in writing, for his further Allow- 
 ance or Confirmation : Since wliieh time, upon full and 
 mature deliberation, they the said Presidents, Bishops 
 and Clergy of both Provinces, have accordingly re\-iewed 
 the said Books, and have made some Alterations which 
 they think fit to be inserted to the same ; and some 
 
 occasionally absent. In virtue of which commission, the com- 
 missioners met frequently at the Savoy, and disputations were 
 held, but nothing concluded. Dr. Bum. See page ix 
 
 h 2
 
 AN ACT FOR THE UNIFORMITY OF PUBLICK PRAYERS. 
 
 additional Prayers to the said Book of Common Prayer, 
 to be used upon proper and emergent occasions ; and 
 have exhibited and presented the same unto His Majesty 
 in writing, in one Book, intituled. The Book of Common 
 Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, and other 
 Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, according to the Use 
 of the Church of England ; together with the Psalter or 
 Psalms of David, pointed as they are to be sung or said in 
 Churches ; and the Form and Manner of Making, Ordain- 
 ing, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests and Deacons; 
 All which His Majesty having duly considered, hath fully 
 approved and allowed the same, and recommended to 
 this present Parliament, that the said Books of Common 
 Prayer, and the Form of Ordination and Consecration of 
 Bisho])s, Priests and Deacons with the Alterations and 
 Additions, which have been so made and presented to 
 His Majesty by the said Convocations, be the Book, 
 which shall be appointed to be used by all that officiate 
 in all Cathedral and Collegiate Churches and Chapels, 
 and in all Chapels of Colleges and Halls in both the 
 Universities, and the Colleges of Eton and Winchester, 
 and in all Parish-Churches and Chapels, within the 
 Kingdom of England, Dominion of Wales, and Town of 
 Berwick upon Tweed, and by all that Make or Consecrate 
 Bishops, Priests or Deacons, in any of the said places, 
 under such Sanctions and Penalties as the Houses of 
 Parliament shall think fit. Now in regard that nothing 
 conduceth more to the settling of the Peace of this Nation 
 (which is desired of all good men) nor to the honour of 
 our Religion, and the pro])agation thereof, than an uni- 
 versal agreement in the Public Worship of Almighty 
 God ; and to the intent that every Person within this 
 Realm, may certainly know the rule, to which he is to 
 conform in Publick Worship and Administration of 
 Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies of the 
 Church of England, and the manner how, and by whom, 
 Bislio])s, Priests and Deacons are, and ought to be 
 Made, ( )rdaincd and Consecrated ; 
 
 Be it I'^nacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, 
 by the advice, and with the consent of the Lords S))iritual 
 and Temporal, and of the Conunons in this present Par- 
 liament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, 
 Tliat all and singular Ministers, in any Cathedral, Colle- 
 giate or Parish-Church or Chapel, or other place of Pub- 
 lick Worship within this realm of England, Dominion of 
 Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed, shall be bound 
 
 "1 — or other place of Piihlick Wnrship'] By flio 22ii(l 
 George II. cliap. :i:!, .\11 (•omiiKuidcrs, raptiiiiis, iiml officers at 
 sea, shall cause tlie ptiljlick worsliip of .'Vlinij^iity God, acrordinR 
 to the Liturgy of the Cliurch of Kiii;land, to be |iiTlnnncd in 
 their respci-tive sliips : and prayers and preachings liy I he chap- 
 lains sliall Ijc performed dillKcntly. And by the rubrick, before 
 the servile at sea. The Morning and Evening service, to he used 
 daily at sea, shall he the same which is appointed in the Book 
 of Common Prayer. Dr. Ihirn. 
 
 ■> — erery Parson,'] " Parson," persona, properly signifies 
 the Rector of a parish clninh ; because, <luriiig the tinu; of liis 
 inrumhenry, he re|)resents the Church, and in tlie eye of the law 
 sustains the " person" thereof, as well in suing, as iii biingsued, 
 in any action touihing the same. Dr. liurn. The word was 
 piTuliarly applied in Knglnnd to denote the Rector of a parisli, 
 who had th(' principal clinrge of tlie souls, in conlriuhslinetion to 
 the Vicar or Curate, who waa uniKr him. IJr. Aic/iolts. 
 
 to say and use the Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, 
 Celebration and Administration of both the Sacraments, 
 and all other the Publick and Common Prayer, in such 
 order and form as is mentioned in the said Book annexed 
 and joined to this present Act, and intituled, The Book of 
 Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, 
 and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, according 
 to the Use of the Church of England : together with the 
 Psalter or Psalms of David, pointed as they are to be sung 
 or said in Churches ; and the Form and Manner of Making, 
 Ordaining, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests and Dea- 
 cons ; And that the Morning and Evening Prayers therein 
 contained, shall upon every Lord's Day, and upon all 
 other days and occasions, and at the times therein aji- 
 pointed, be openly and solemnly read by all and every 
 Minister or Curate, in every Church, C'ha])el, or other 
 place of Publick Worship " within this Realm of England, 
 and ])laces aforesaid. 
 
 And to the end that Uniformity in the Publick Wor- 
 ship of God (which is so much desired) may be speedily 
 effected ; Be it further Enacted by the Authority afore- 
 said. That every Parson", Vicar", or other Minister'' 
 whatsoever, who now hath, and enjoyeth any Ecclesiastical 
 Benefice or Promotion, within this Realm of England, or 
 places aforesaid, shall in the Church, Chapel or place of 
 Publick Worship belonging to his said Benefice or Pro- 
 motion, upon some Lord's Day before the Feast of St. 
 Bartholomew, which shall be in the Year of our Lord 
 God One thousand six hundred .sixty and two, openly, 
 publickly and solemnly read the Morning and Evening 
 Prayer ajjijointed to be read by, and according to the 
 said Book of Common Prayer, at the times thereby ap- 
 pointed; and after such reading thereof, shall openly and 
 publickly, before the Congregation there assembled, de- 
 clare his unfeigned assent and consent to the Use of all 
 things in the said Book contained and prescribed, in 
 these words and no other; 
 
 ' X A. B. Do hereby declare my unfeigned assent and 
 A ' consent to all and every thing contained and ])re- 
 ' scribed in and by the Book intituled. The Book of Com- 
 ' mon Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, and 
 ' other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, according to 
 ' the Use of the Church nf England : together tvith the 
 ' Psalter or Psalms of David, pointed as they are to be 
 ' sung or said in Churches; and the Form and Manner of 
 
 o — Vicar,'] A Vicar is a person in holy Orders, who, under 
 the Rector, or in his absence, or in case the great tithes of a 
 chvireh are impropriate, has tlie care of the souls of a parish 
 connnitfed to liim. Dr. Xirhntls. 
 
 V — or other Minister] The signitieation of the word " mi- 
 nister," both in our statutes, canons, and rubricks in the Book 
 of Common Prayer, is efjuivocal. Oftentimes it is made to ex- 
 press the ])erson ofhciating in general, wiu'ther priest or deacon : 
 at otlier times itilenolctii the priest alone, as contradistinguishi'tl 
 from the deacon, as particulai-Iy in the statute of the ISth o{ 
 Elizabetli, chap. 12, wliii'ii ordains tiiat " noiu' shall be niado 
 niinistiT, being inuhr the age of four and twenty years ;" and in 
 the .'Ust C'anon, whidi limits the times in whicli "deacons or 
 ministers may be made or ordained." And in such cases tiio 
 determination thereof can l)e ascertained only from llie connec- 
 tion and circumstances. Dr. liurn.
 
 AN ACT FOR THE UNIFORMITY OF PUBLICK PRAYERS. 
 
 XXI 
 
 ' MaKnrj, Orilaiuiiiy, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, 
 ' and Deacons.' 
 
 And tliat all and every such person, who shall (without 
 sdinu lawful IinpeJiment, to be allowed and a])proved of 
 l)y tlie Ordinary of the place) neglect or refuse to do 
 the same within the time aforesaid, or (in case of such 
 Impediment) within one Month after such Impediment 
 removed, shall, ipso facto, be deprived of all his Spiritual 
 Promotions : and that from thenceforth it shall he lawful 
 to and for all Patrons, and Donors of all and singular the 
 said Spiritual Promotions, or of any of them, according 
 to their respective Rights and Titles, to jiresent or collate 
 to the same, as though the person or persons so offending 
 or neglecting were dead. 
 
 And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid. 
 That every person who shall hereafter be presented or 
 collated, or put into any Ecclesiastical Benefice or Pro- 
 motion, within this Realm of England, and places afore- 
 said, shall in the Church, Chapel or place of Publick 
 Worship, belonging to his said Benefice or Promotion, 
 within two Months next after that he shall be in the 
 actual possession of the said Ecclesiastical Benefice or 
 Promotion, upon some Lord's Day, openly, publickly 
 and solemnly, read the Morning and Evening Prayers, 
 apjiointed to be read by, and according to the said Book 
 of Common Prayer, at the times thereby appointed ; and 
 after such reading thereof, shall openly and publickly, 
 l)efore the Congregation there assembled, declare his 
 unfeigned assent and consent to the use of all things 
 therein contained and prescribed, according to the form 
 before a])pointed : And that all and every such person, 
 who shall (without some lawful Impediment to be allowed 
 and approved by the Ordinary of the Place) neglect or 
 refuse to do the same within the time aforesaid, (or in 
 case of such Impediment, within one Month after such 
 Impediment removed) shall, ipso facto, be deprived of all 
 his said Ecclesiastical Benefices and Promotions : And 
 that from thenceforth it shall and may be lawful to, and 
 
 1 — every Deani The word " Dean" comes from the Latin 
 " Decanus," which signifies the governor or inspector over ten 
 persons ; or rather the chief of the ten, who was to keep tlie rest 
 in good order. The word was first used among the soldiers, ten 
 of whom made a party, that lodged together in one tent, or were 
 quartered together in one place. After the institution of monks 
 the name was adopted among them, to signify a chief monk in a 
 fraternity, who was to superintend nine or ten of his brethren, 
 and keep them in good order. The secular clergy made use of 
 the same sort of government : for the Archi-presbyter, who had 
 the inspection over about ten parish-priests, was called the 
 " Decanus ruralis," or the " rural dean." And so the collegiate 
 churches, or colleges of secular priests, generally instituted their 
 governor by the name of Dean, because the body did, for the 
 most part, consist of about ten or twelve. Dr. Nichotls. 
 
 r — Canon, and Prebendary^ The name " canon" probably 
 comes from the Latin word " canon," which signifies a dole, an 
 allowance, or stated quantity of provisions, either to be received 
 or delivered out. And thus it is used by Cicero and others. 
 Afterwards, when Christianity prevailed, the word was adapted 
 to an ecclesiastical use ; and those clergymen, who had the 
 ** canon," taken from the common bank of the church offerings, 
 delivered out to them for their maintenance, came to be called 
 '* Canonici." A *' Prebendary" is so called from the " prpe- 
 benda" or income he has, as being member of a cathedral 
 church. For in the ages of the barbarous Latinity " prsebenda" 
 
 for all Patrons and Donors of all and singular the said 
 Ecclesiastical Benefices and Promotions, or any of them, 
 according to their respective Rights and Titles, to present 
 or collate to the same, as though the person or persons, 
 so offending or neglecting, were dead. 
 
 And be it furtlier Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, 
 That in all places, where the proper Incumbent of any 
 Patronage, or Vicarage, or Benefice with (Jure, doth 
 reside on his Living, and keep a Curate, the Incumbent 
 himself in person (not having some lawful Impediment 
 to be allowed by the Ordinary of the place) shall once 
 (at the least) in every Month, openly and ])ublickly read 
 the Common Prayers and Service, in and by the said 
 Book prescribed ; and (if there be occasion) administer 
 each of the Sacraments, and other Rites of the Church, 
 in the Parish Church or Chapel of or belonging to the 
 same Parsonage, Vicarage, or Benefice, in such order, 
 manner, and form, as in, and by the said Book is ap- 
 pointed, upon pain to forfeit the sum of five pounds to 
 the use of the Poor of the Parish for every offence, upon 
 conviction by confession, or proof of two credible wit- 
 nesses upon Oath, before two Justices of the Peace of 
 the County, City, or Town-Corporate where the Offence 
 shall be committed, (which Oath the said Justices are 
 hereljy impowered to administer,) and in default of pay- 
 ment witliin ten days, to be levied by distress and sale of 
 the goods and chattels of the offender, by the Warrant of 
 the said Justices, by the Church-wardens, or Overseers of 
 the Poor of the said Parish, rendering the surplusage to 
 the party. 
 
 And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid. 
 That every Deani, Canon, and Prebendary' of every 
 Cathedral, or Collegiate-Church, and all Masters, and 
 other Heads, Fellows, Chaplains, and Tutors of or in 
 any College, Hall, House of Learning, or Hospital, and 
 every ])ublick Professor and Reader in either of the 
 Universities, and in every College elsewhere, and every 
 Parson, Vicar, Curate, Lecturer', and every other person 
 in holy Orders, and every School-master keeping any 
 
 was used, to signify the revenue of such a preferment. In pro- 
 cess of time, when the cathedral chiu'ches were well endowiul, 
 they left off receiving the income of their lands into one common 
 bank ; and, in lieu thereof, parcelled out their lands into several 
 shares, appropriating them for the maintenance of each single 
 clergyman, who resided about the cathedral church, calling it 
 " pricbcnda," or ** corpus prjcbendie," the " corps of the prae- 
 benil." Hence arose the difference between a Prebend and a 
 Canonry ; that a Canonry was a right, which a person had in a 
 church, to be deemed a brother, or member thereof, to have the 
 right of a stall therein, and of giving a vote in the chapter : but 
 a Prebend was a right to receive certain revenues appropriated 
 to the place. Dr. Nichotls. 
 
 The books generally confound the two words " prebend" and 
 " prebendary :" whereas the former signifieth the office, or the 
 emolument annexed to the office ; and the latter signifieth the 
 officer, or person who executeth the oflice and enjoyeth the emo- 
 lument. A " canonry" also is a name of office ; and a canon is 
 the officer. Dr. Burn. 
 
 s — Lecturer,'] In the popish times there were divinity lec- 
 tnres read publickly in the universities : but these were chiefly 
 formed from the Schoolmen, and consisted for the most part in 
 comments upon the sentences. The first that deserved the 
 name of lectures in divinity, as being expositions of tlie holy 
 Scriptures, were begun in Cambridge about the year 1524 by 
 one Staflbrd, who was university preacher ; that is, one of the
 
 AN ACT FOR THE UNIFORMITY OF PUBLICK PRAYERS. 
 
 publick or private School, and every person instructing 
 or teaching any Youth in any House or private Family, 
 as a Tutor or School-master, who upon the first Day of 
 May, which shall be in the Year of our Lord God One 
 thousand six hundred sixty-two, or at anytime thereafter, 
 shall be Incumbent, or have possession of any Deanry, 
 Canonry, Prebend, Mastershiji, Headship, Fellowship, 
 Professor's place, or Reader's place. Parsonage, Vicarage, 
 or any other Ecclesiastical Dignity or Promotion, or of 
 any Curate's place. Lecture or School ; or shall instruct 
 or teach any youth, as Tutor or School-master, shall 
 before the Feast-day of Saint Bartholomew, which shall 
 be in the Year of our Lord One thousand six hundred 
 sixty-two, or at or before his, or their respective admis- 
 sion, to be Incumbent, or have possession aforesaid, sub- 
 scribe the Declaration or Acknowledgement following, 
 scilicet : 
 
 ' T A. B. Do declare. That it is not lawful upon any 
 -JL ' pretence whatsoever to take arms against the 
 ' King ; and that I do abhor that traiterous Position of 
 ' taking Arms by his Authority against his Person, or 
 ' against those that are commissioned by him ; and that 
 ' I will conform to the l^iturgy of the Church of England, 
 ' as it is now by Law estabUshed. And I do declare, 
 ' That I do hold there lies no obligation upon me, or on 
 ' any other person, from the Oath, commonly called 
 ' 7'lie Solemn League and Covenant, to endeavour any 
 ' change, or alteration of Government either in Church 
 ' or State ; and that the same %vas in itself an unlawful 
 ' Oath, and imposed upon the Subjects of this Realm 
 ' against the known Laws and Liberties of this Kingdom.' 
 
 'Which said Declaration and Acknowledgement shall 
 be subscribed by every of the said Masters, and other 
 Heads, Fellows, ('ha])lains, and Tutors of or in any 
 College, Hall or House of Learning, and by every ])ub- 
 lick Professor and Reader in either of tlie Universities, 
 before the Vice Chancellor of the respective LTni\'ersities 
 for the time being, or his Deputy: And the said Decla- 
 ration or Acknowledgement shall be subscriljed before 
 the Respective Archbishop, Hisho]), or Ordinary of the 
 Diocese liy every other jierson hereby enjoined to sub- 
 scribe the same ; upon \yA\u, that all and every of the 
 persons aforesaid failing in such subscription, shall lose 
 and forfeit such respective Deanry, Canonry, Prebend, 
 Mastership, Ileadshi]), Fellowship, Professor's place, 
 Reader's place, Parsonage, Vicarage, Ecclesiastical Dig- 
 nity or Promotion, Curate's place. Lecture and School, 
 
 twelve whom the university had the power of licensing by a grant 
 from the Pope. And «s these Icrturcs were profitable for llie 
 students tliiTc, so wc find n like metliod of instruction was intro. 
 duccd into the convents, where persons were licensed I>v the 
 Hisliop to read ilivinity. And the tlieologiojd lectures in cathe- 
 dral churches were of the fanu' sort ; that is, intended for the 
 use of parsons, vicnrs, niul chantry jiriest.s, who are injoined to 
 attend the said lectures. And thus far they are sulficiently dis- 
 tinijiiished from sermons or popular disi-ourses. 
 
 Hut when they came to he introiliiced into parish churdu's, in 
 the great and populous towns, cither upon tlie settlement of a 
 stipend to support the Lecturer, or ujion tlic voluntary coutri- 
 butions of the inhahitnnts under the licence of th(' Bishtip, it 
 was natural to expect they would by degrees be converle<l into 
 
 and shall be utterly disabled, and ipso facto deprived of 
 the same : And that every such respective Deanry, 
 Canonry, Prebend, Mastership, Headship, Fellowship, 
 Professor's place. Reader's place. Parsonage, ^'icarage, 
 Ecclesiastical Dignity or Promotion, Curate's place. Lec- 
 ture and School, shall be void, as if such person so failing 
 were naturally dead. 
 
 And if any School-master, or other person, instructing 
 or teaching Youth in any private House or Family, as a 
 Tutor or School-master, shall instruct or teach any Youth, 
 as a Tutor or School-master, before Licence obtained 
 from his respective Archbishop, Hishop, or Oriiinary of 
 the Diocese, according to the Laws and Statutes of tliis 
 Realm (for which he shall pay twel\-e-pence only) and 
 before such Subscription and Acknowledgement made, 
 as aforesaid ; Then every such School-master, and otlier, 
 instructing and teaching, as aforesaid, shall for the first 
 offence suffer three Months Imprisonment without Bail 
 or Mainprise ; and for every second and other such 
 offence, shall suffer three Months Imprisonment without 
 Bail or Mainprise, and also forfeit to his Majesty the 
 Sum of five pounds. 
 
 And after such Subscription made, every such Parson, 
 Vicar, Curate, and Lecturer, shall prociue a Certificate 
 under the hand and seal of the respective jVrchbisho]), 
 Bishop or Ordinary of the Diocese (who are hereby en- 
 joined and required upon demand to make and deliver 
 the same) and shall publickly and openly read the same, 
 together with the Declaration or Acknowledgement afore- 
 said, upon some Lord's Day w-ithin three Months then 
 next following, in his Parish Church, where he is to offi- 
 ciate, in the jiresenee of the Congregation there assem- 
 bled, in the time of Divine Service ; upon pain that every 
 person failing therein, shall lose such Parsonage, Vicarage 
 or Benefice, Curate's place, or Lecturer's place respec- 
 tively, and shall be titterly disabled, aiul ipso facto de- 
 prived of the same ; and that the said Parsonage, Vicarage 
 or Benefice, Curate's place, or Lecturer's place, shall be 
 void, as if he was naturally dead. 
 
 Pro\ided always. That from and after the twenty-fifth 
 Day of March, which shall be in the Year of our Lord 
 God One thousand six hundred eighty-two, there shall 
 be omitted in the said Declaration, or Ai'knowledgemcnt 
 so to be subscribed and read, these words follo«'ing, 
 scilicet : 
 
 ' A ND I do declare, Tliat I do hold there lies no 
 
 -Xi_ ' Obligation upon me, or on any other person, from 
 
 ' the Oath commonly called, The Solemn League and 
 
 such practical discourses as the preachers generally made. And 
 
 so it hath provcil in tlio event. For, thouijli the name of " Ice- 
 tures" is si ill retained, yet they are heconu' in ellect one and 
 
 the same thing with preaching; this dilferenci ly remaining, 
 
 that n lecture is a sermon extra ordinem, perl'ornied by a stipen- 
 diary preacher, as being no part of the duly incumbent on the 
 minister of the parish ; atui on sut;h days, or at such hours, as 
 that they do not interfere with his ofYu-es and ministrations. 
 What iiuleed conies nearest t(t the old design of lectures, aro 
 those that are appointed to be read yearly on particular subjects; 
 as Mr. Iir)yle's and Lady Mover's l.ciclures, and likewise such 
 catechetical lectures as arc kept up by the Clergy in some largo 
 and populous towns. Archdeacon isharp.
 
 AN ACT FOR THE UNIFORMITY OF PUBLICK PRAYERS. 
 
 xxui 
 
 ' Covenant, to endeavour any chanfje or alteration of 
 ' Government either in C'liurch or State ; and that the 
 ' same was in itself an unlawful Oath, and imposed ujjon 
 ' the Suhjects of this Realm against the known Laws 
 ' and Liberties of this Kingdom.' 
 
 So as none of the persons aforesaid shall from thence- 
 forth be at all obliged to subscribe or read that part of 
 the said Declaration or Acknowledgement. 
 
 Provided always, and be it Enacted, That from and 
 after the Feast of St. Bartholomew, which shall be in 
 the Year of our Lord One thousand six hundred sixty 
 and two, no person, who now is Incumbent, and in pos- 
 session of any Parsonage, Vicarage, or Benefice, and 
 who is not already in holy Orders by Episcopal Ordina- 
 tion, or shall not before the said Feast-day of St. Bar- 
 tholomew be ordained Priest or Deacon, according to 
 the form of E|)iscoi)al Ordination, shall have, hold, or 
 enjoy the said Parsonage, Vicarage, Benefice with Cure, 
 or otlier Ecclesiastical Promotion within this Kingdom 
 of England, or the Dominion of Wales, or Town of Ber- 
 wick upon Tweed; but shall be utterly disabled, and 
 ipso facto dejirived of the same ; and all his Ecclesiastical 
 Promotions shall be void, as if he was naturally dead. 
 
 And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid. 
 That no Person whatsoever shall thenceforth be capable 
 to be admitted to any Parsonage, Vicarage, Benefice, or 
 other Ecclesiastical Promotion or Dignity whatsoever, 
 nor shall presume to consecrate and administer the holy 
 Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, before such time as he 
 shall be ordained Priest, according to the Form and 
 Manner in and by the said Book prescribed, unless he 
 lia\'e formerly been made Pi-iest l)y Episcopal Ordination, 
 upon pain to forfeit for every Offence the sum of one 
 hundred pounds ; one moiety thereof to the King's 
 Majesty, the other moiety thereof to be equally divided 
 between the Poor of the Parish where the Offence shall 
 be committed, and such Person or Persons as shall sue 
 for the same by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Informa- 
 tion, in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record, wherein 
 no Essoign, Protection or Wager of Law shall be allowed, 
 and to be disabled from taking, or being admitted into 
 the Order of Priest, by the space of one whole Year then 
 next following. 
 
 Pro\-ided, 'l"liat the Penalties in this Act shall not 
 extend to the Foreigners or Aliens of the Foreign Re- 
 formed Churches allowed, or to be allowed by the King's 
 Majesty, his Heirs and Successors in England. 
 
 Provided always. That no Title to confer, or present 
 by Lapse, shall accrue by any avoidance or deprivation 
 ipso facto by virtue of this Statute, but after sLx Months 
 notice of such avoidance or deprivation given by the 
 Ordinary to the Patron, or such Sentence of depri- 
 vation openly and publickly read in the Parish Church 
 of the Benefice, Parsonage or Vicarage becoming void, or 
 whereof the Incumbent shall be deprived by vu'tue of 
 this Act. 
 
 And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid. 
 That no Form or Order of Common Prayers, Administra- 
 tion of Sacraments, Rites or Ceremonies shall be openly 
 used in any Church, Chapel, or other pubUc Place of or 
 
 in any College or Hall in either of the Universities, the 
 Colleges of Westminster, Winchester, or Eton : or any of 
 them, other than what is jirescribed, and appointed to be 
 used in and by the said hook ; and that the present 
 Governor, or Head of every (College and Ilall in the .said 
 Universities, and of the said Colleges of Westminster, 
 Winchester, and Eton, within one Month after the Feast 
 of St. Bartholomew, wliich shall be in tlie Year of our 
 Lord One thousand six hundred sixty and two ; and 
 every Governor or Head of any of the said Colleges or 
 Halls hereafter to be elected or appointed, within one 
 Month next after his Election or Collation, and Admis- 
 sion into the same Government or Headship, shall openly 
 and publickly in the Church, Chapel, or other publick 
 place of the same College or Hall, and in the presence of 
 the Fellows and Scholars of the same, or the greater jiart 
 of them then resident, subscribe unto the Nine and thirty 
 Articles of Rehgion, mentioned in the Statute made in 
 the thirteenth Year of the reign of the late Queen Eliza- 
 beth, and unto the said Book, and declare his unfeigned 
 Assent and Consent unto, and approbation of the said 
 Articles, and of the same Book, and to the use of all the 
 Prayers, Rites, and Ceremonies, Forms and Orders in 
 the said Book ])rescribed and contained, according to 
 the I'orm aforesaid ; and that all such Governors, or 
 Heads of the said Colleges or Halls, or any of them, as 
 are, or shall be in holy Orders, shall once (at least in 
 every quarter of the year, not having a lawful Impedi- 
 ment) ojienly and publickly read the Morning Prayer, 
 and Service in and by the said Book appointed to be 
 read in the Church, Chapel, or other publick place of the 
 same College or Hall; upon pain to lose, and be sus- 
 pended of and from all the Benefits and Profits belong- 
 ing to the same Government or Headship, by the space 
 of six Months, by the Visitor or Visitors of the same 
 College or Hall; and if any Governor or Head of any 
 College or Hall, suspended for not subscribing unto the 
 said Articles and Book, and for not reading of the Morn- 
 ing Prayer and Service, as aforesaid, shall not at, or 
 before the end of six Months next after such Suspension, 
 subscribe unto the said Articles and Book, and declare 
 his Consent thereunto, as aforesaid, or read the Morning 
 Prayer and Ser-ince, as aforesaid, then such Government 
 or Headship shall be ipso facto void. 
 
 Provided always, 'Phat it shall and may be lawful to 
 use the Morning and Evening Prayer, and all other 
 Prayers and Service prescribed in and by the said Book, 
 in the Chapels or other publick places of the respective 
 Colleges and Halls in both the Universities, in the Col- 
 leges of Westminster, Winchester, and Eton, and in the 
 Convocations of the Clergies of either Province, in Latin ; 
 any thing in this Act contained to the contrary notwith- 
 standing. 
 
 And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid. 
 That no person shall be, or be received as a Lecturer, 
 or permitted, suffered, or allowed to preach as a Lectm-er, 
 or to preach, or read any Sermon or Lecture in any 
 Church, Chapel, or other ])lace of publick Worship, with- 
 in this Realm of England, or the Dominion of Wales, 
 and Town of Berwick upon Tweed, unless he be first 
 approved and thereunto licensed by the .Vrchbishop of
 
 XXIV 
 
 AN ACT FOR THE UNIFORMITY OF PUBLICK PRAYERS. 
 
 the Province, or Bishop of the Diocese, or (in case the 
 See be void) by the Guardian of the Spiritualities, under 
 his Seal; and shaU in the presence of the same Arch- 
 liishop, or Bishop, or Guardian, read the Nine and thirty 
 Articles of Rehgion mentioned in the statute of the 
 Thirteenth year of the late Queen Elizabeth, with Decla- 
 ration of his unfeigned Assent to the same ; and that 
 every person and persons, who now is, or hereafter 
 shall be licensed, assigned, appointed, or received as a 
 Lecturer, to preach upon any Day of the Week, in any 
 Church, Chapel, or place of publick Worship within 
 this Realm of England, or places aforesaid, the first time 
 he preacheth (before his Sermon) shaU openly, piiblickly, 
 and solemnly read the Common Prayers and Service in 
 and by the said Book appointed to be read for that time 
 of the day, and then and there pnblickly and openly 
 declare his Assent imto, and Ajiprobation of the said 
 Book, and to the Use of all the Prayers, Rites, and 
 Ceremonies, Forms and Orders therein contained and 
 prescribed, according to the Form before appointed in 
 this Act ; and also shall upon the first Lecture-day of 
 every Month afterwards, so long as he continues Lec- 
 turer, or Preacher there, at the place appointed for his 
 said Lecture or Sermon, before his said Lectiu-e or Ser- 
 mon, openly, publickly, and solemnly read the Common 
 Prayers and Service in and by the said Book ajipointed 
 to be read for that time of the day, at which the said 
 Lecture or Sermon is to be preached, and after such 
 reading thereof, shall openly and publickly, before the 
 Congregation there assembled, declare his unfeigned 
 Assent and Consent unto, and Approliation of the said 
 Book, and to the Use of all the Prayers, Rites, and 
 Oremonies, Forms and Orders, therein contained and 
 prescribed, according to the Form aforesaid ; and that 
 all and every such person or persons who shall neglect or 
 refuse to do the same, shall from thenceforth be disabled 
 to [)reach the said, or any other Lecture or Sermon in 
 tlie said, or any other Church, Chapel, or jilace of publick 
 Worship, until such time as he and they shall openly, 
 publickly, and solemnly read the Common Prayers and 
 Service appointed by the said Book, and conform in all 
 points to the things therein ap])ointcd and prescribed, 
 according to the purport, true intent, and meaning of 
 this Act. 
 
 Provided always, That if the said Sermon or Lecture 
 be to be preached or read in any Cathedral or Collegiate 
 Church or Chapel, it shall be sufficient for the said Lec- 
 turer, openly at the time aforesaid, to declare his Assent 
 and Consent to all things contained in the said Book, 
 according to the Form aforesaid. 
 
 .And l)e it further Enacted by the .Vuthority aforesaid, 
 'I'hut if any person, who is by this Act disabled to preach 
 any Lecture or Sermon, shall during the time that he 
 shall continue and remain so disabled, jireach any Ser- 
 mon or Lecture ; that then for every such offence, the 
 ]icrson and persons so o£Pending shall suffer three Months 
 
 t — nrrorflirtf/ h tfiP dirfic/ion of lawful Aiiffiorift/.'] \\i~ 
 tlinrity <>f Parlinmcnt is not wliat is luTc inlriidcd, it briiii^ in 
 Ilti- iinwor of tlic I'firliniiielit to nuikc surli iiIf^Talioris as to llicm 
 Mlioiild worn meet : but what is intenth?(I is, tjiiit it sliould In- in 
 till' jiuwcr of the Crown to alter the names : from which it uj>- 
 
 imprisonment in the common Gaol without Bail c- 
 Mainprise ; and that any two Justices of the Peace of 
 any County of this Kingdom and places aforesaid, and 
 the Mayor or other chief Magistrate of any City or 
 Town-Corporate within the same, upon Certificate from 
 the Ordinary of the place made to him or them of the 
 offence committed, shall and are hereby required to 
 commit the person or persons so offending, to the Gaol 
 of the same County, City, or Town-Corporate accord- 
 ingly- 
 Provided always, and be it further Enacted by the 
 Authority aforesaid. That at all and every time and times 
 when any Sermon or Lecture is to be preached, the 
 Common Prayers and Service in and by the said Book 
 appointed to be read for that time of the day, shall be 
 openly, publickly and solemnly read by some Priest or 
 Deacon, in the Church, Chapel or place of pubhck Wor- 
 ship where the said Sermon or Lectiu:e is to be preached ; 
 and the Lecturer then to preach shall be present at the 
 reading thereof. 
 
 Provided nevertheless. That this Act shall not extend 
 to the University Churches in the Universities of this 
 Realm, or either of them, when or at such times as any 
 Sermon or Lectiu'e is preached or read in the same 
 Churches, or any of them, for, or as the publick Uni- 
 versity Sermon or Lectiu'e ; but that the same Sermons 
 and Lectures may be preached or read in such sort and 
 manner as the same have been heretofore preached or 
 read ; this Act, or any thing herein contained to the 
 contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. 
 
 And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid. 
 That the several good Laws, and Statutes of this Realm, 
 which have been formerly made, and are now in force 
 for the Uniformity of Prayer and Administration of the 
 Sacraments, within this Realm of England, and places 
 aforesaid, shall stand in full force and strength, to all 
 intents and purposes whatsoever, for the establishing 
 and confirming of the said Book, intituled, 'I'he Book 
 of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, 
 and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, according 
 to the Use of the Church of England : together with the 
 Psaller or Psalms of David, pointed as they are to be sung 
 or said in Churches; and the Form and Matiner of Making, 
 Ordaining, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Dea- 
 cons, herein before mentioned to be joined and annexed 
 to this Act ; and shall be applied, jjractised, and put in 
 use for the punishing of all offences contrary to the 
 said Laws, with relation to the Book aforcsaiil, and no 
 other. 
 
 Provided always, and be it further Enacted by the 
 Authority aforesaid, That in all those Prayers, Litanies, 
 and ('ollects, which do any way relate to the King, 
 Queen, or Royal Progeny, tlic Names he altered and 
 changed from time to time, and fitted to the present 
 occasion, according to the direction of lawful Autho- 
 rity'. 
 
 pears, tliat no itltcration, nor a<lt!itirm can he made in the service, 
 not cvi-n of names, l)y aiitlioritv cillirr of the Crown or of (lio 
 Orilinary, unless expressly provided lor in the Act or Kubricks. 
 Dr. Aichu/ls.
 
 AN ACT FOR THE UNIFORMITY OF PUBLICK PRAYERS. 
 
 Providerl also, and he it Enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid. That a true printed Copy of the said Book, 
 intituled, The Book of Common Prayer, and Administra- 
 iiim of the Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies 
 of the Church, accordiny to the Use of the Church of Knf{- 
 land ; together with the Psalter or Psalins of David pointed 
 OS they are to be sung or said in Churches: and the Form 
 and Manner of Making, Ordaining, and Consecrating of 
 Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, shall at the Costs and 
 Charges of the Parishioners of every Parish Church and 
 Chapelry, Cathedral Church, College and Hall, be at- 
 tained and gotten before the Feast-day of St. Bartholo- 
 mew, in the Year of our Lord One thousand six hundred 
 sixty and two, upon pain of forfeiture of three pounds 
 by the month, for so long time as they shall then after 
 he unprovided thereof, by every Parish, or Chajjelry, Ca- 
 thedral Church, College and Hall, making default therein. 
 
 Provided always, and be it Enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid. That the Bishops of Hereford, Saint David's, 
 Asaph, Bangor, and Llandaff, and their Successors, shall 
 take such Order among themselves, for the souls' health 
 of the Flocks committed to their charge within Wales, 
 that the Book hereunto annexed be truly and exactly 
 translated into the British or Welsh Tongue ; and that 
 the same so translated, and being by them, or any three 
 of them at the least, viewed, perused and allowed, be 
 imprinted to such number at least, so that one of the 
 said Books so translated and imprinted, may be had for 
 every Cathedral, Collegiate and Parish Church, and 
 Chapel of Ease in the said respective Dioceses and 
 Places in Wales, where the Welsh is commonly spoken 
 or used, before the first Day of May, One thousand six 
 hundred sixty-five : and that from and after the im- 
 printing and publishing of the said Book so translated, 
 the whole Divine Service shall be used and said by the 
 Ministers and Curates throughout all Wales within the 
 said Dioceses where the Welsh Tongue is commonly 
 used, in the British or Welsh Tongue, in such manner 
 and form as is prescribed according to the Book here- 
 unto annexed to be used in the English Tongue, differing 
 nothing in any Order or Form from the said English 
 Book ; for which Book so translated and imprinted, the 
 Church-wardens of every of the said Parishes shall pay 
 out of the Parish-Money in their hands for the use of 
 the respective Churches, and be allowed the same on 
 their Account ; and that the said Bishops and their Suc- 
 cessors, or any three of them at the least, shall set and 
 apjtoint the price for which the said Book shall be sold : 
 And one other Book of Common Prayer in the English 
 Tongue, shall be bought and had in every Church 
 throughout IVales, in which the Book of Common 
 Prayer in IVelsh is to be had by force of this Act, before 
 the first Day of May, One thousand six hundred sixty 
 and four ; and the same Book to remain in such con- 
 venient places, within the said Churches, that such as 
 understand them may resort at all convenient times to 
 read and peruse the same, and also such as do not under- 
 stand the said language, may, by conferring both Tongues 
 together, the sooner attain to the Knowledge of the Eng- 
 lish Tong\ie ; any thing in this Act to the contraiy not- 
 withstanding : And until printed Copies of the said Book, 
 
 so to be translated, may be had and provided, the Form 
 of Common Prayer established by Parliament, before the 
 making of this Act, shall be used as formerly in such 
 parts of JVales where the English Tongue is not com- 
 monly understood. 
 
 And to the end that the true and perfect Copies of 
 this Act, and the said Book hereunto annexed, may be 
 safely kept, and perpetually preserved, and for the a\'oid- 
 ing of all Disputes for the time to come ; Be it therefore 
 Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, 'lliat the respective 
 Deans and Chapters of every Cathedral or Collegiate 
 Church within England and Wales, shall at their jjroper 
 Costs and Charges, before the twenty-fifth Day of De- 
 cember, One thousand six hundred sixty-two, obtain 
 under the Great Seal of England, a true and perfect 
 printed Copy of this Act, and of the said Book annexed 
 hereunto, to be by the said Deans and Chairters, and 
 their Successors, kept and preserved in safety for ever, 
 and to be also produced, and shewed forth in any Court 
 of Record, as often as they shall be thereunto lawfully 
 required ; and also there shall be delivered true and 
 perfect Copies of this Act, and of the same Book, into 
 the respective Courts at Westminster, and into the Tower 
 of London, to be kept and preserved for ever among the 
 Records of the said Com-ts, and the Records of the 
 Tower, to be also produced and shewed forth in any 
 Court as need shall require : which said Books, so to 
 be exemplified under the Great Seal of England, shall 
 be examined by such persons as the King's Majesty 
 shall appoint, under the Great Seal of England, for that 
 purpose, and shall be compared with the Original Book 
 hereunto annexed, and shall have power to correct and 
 amend in Writing any error committed by the Printer 
 in the printing of the same Book, or of any thing therein 
 contained, and shall certify in Writing under their Hands 
 and Seals, or the Hands and Seals of any three of them, 
 at the end of the same Book, that they have examined 
 and compared the same Book, and find it to be a true 
 and perfect Copy ; which said Books, and every one of 
 them so exemplified under the Great Seal of England, as 
 aforesaid, shall be deemed, taken, adjudged and ex- 
 pounded to be good and available in the Law, to all 
 intents and purposes whatsoever, and shall be accounted 
 as good Records as this Book itself hereunto annexed ; 
 any Law or Custom to the contrary in any wise notwith- 
 standing. 
 
 Provided also, lliat this Act, or any thing therein 
 contained, shall not be prejudicial or hurtful unto the 
 King's Professor of Law within the University of Oxford, 
 for or concerning the Prebend of Shiplon within the 
 Cathedral Church of Sarum, united and annexed unto 
 the Place of the same King's Professor for the Time 
 being, by the late King James of blessed memory. 
 
 Provided always. That whereas the Six and thirtieth 
 Article of the Nine and thirty Articles agreed upon by 
 the j\j'ehbishops and Bishops of both Provinces, and the 
 whole Clergy in the Convocation holden at London, in the 
 Year of our Lord One thousand five hundred sixty-two, 
 for the avoiding of Diversities of Opinions, and for esta- 
 blishing of Consent touching true Religion, is in these 
 words following, viz.
 
 AN ACT FOR THE UNIFORMITY OF PUBLICK PRAYERS. 
 
 Tknt the Book of Consecration of Archbishops and 
 Bishops, and Ordaining of Priests and Deacons, lately 
 set forth in the time of King Edward the Sixth, and 
 confirmed at the same time by Authority of Parliament, 
 doth contain all things necessary to such Consecration 
 and Ordaining, neither hath it any thing that of itself is 
 superstitious and ungodly : and therefore whosoecer are 
 Consecrated or Ordered according to the Riles of that Book 
 since the second Year of the aforenamed King Edward unto 
 this time, or hereafter shall be Consecrated or Ordered ac- 
 cording to the same Rites ; We decree all such to be rightly, 
 orderly, and lawfully Consecrated and Ordered j 
 
 It be Enacted, and be it therefore Enacted by the 
 Authority aforesaid, That all Subscrijitions hereafter to 
 be had or made unto the said Articles by any Deacon, 
 Priest, or Ecclesiastical person, or other person what- 
 soever, who by this Act, or any other Law now in force 
 is required to subscribe unto the said Articles, shall be 
 construed, and taken to extend, and shall be ajiplied (for 
 and touching the said Six and thirtieth Article) unto the 
 
 Book containing the Form and Manner of Making, Or- 
 daining, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Dea- 
 cons, in this Act mentioned, in such sort and manner as 
 the same did heretofore extend unto the Book set forth in 
 the time of King Edward the Sixth, mentioned in the 
 said Six and thirtieth Article; any thing in the said 
 -Article or in any Statute, Act or Canon heretofore had 
 or made, to the contrary thereof in any wise notwith- 
 standing. 
 
 Provided also, Tliat the Book of Common Prayer, and 
 Administration of the Sacraments, and other Rites and 
 Ceremonies of the Church of England, together with the 
 Form and Manner of Ordaining and Consecrating 
 Bishops, Priests and Deacons, heretofore in use, and 
 respectively established by Act of Parliament in the 
 First and Eighth Years of Queen Elizabeth, shall be still 
 used and observed in the Church of England, until 
 the Feast of Saint Bartholomew, which shall be in the 
 Year of our Lord God One thousand six hundred sixty 
 and two.
 
 THE PREFACE". 
 
 IT hath been the wisdom of the Church of England, 
 ever since the fii-st comjjiling of her jnibUck Liturgy, 
 to keep the mean between the two extremes, of too 
 much stiffness in refusing, and of too much easiness in 
 admitting any variation from it. For, as on the one 
 side common experience sheweth, that where a change 
 hath been made of things advisedly established (no evi- 
 dent necessity so requiring) sundry inconveniences have 
 thereupon ensued ; and those many times more and 
 greater than the evils, that were intended to be remedied 
 by such change : So on the other side, the particular 
 Forms of Divine worship, and the Rites and Cere- 
 monies appointed to be used therein, being things in 
 their own nature indifferent, and alterable ^, and so ac- 
 knowledged; it is but reasonable, that upon weighty 
 and important considerations, according to the various 
 exigency of times and occasions, such changes and al- 
 terations should be made therein, as to those that are 
 in place of Authority should from time to time seem 
 either necessary or expedient. Accordingly we find, 
 that in the Reigns of several Princes of blessed memory 
 since the Reformation, the Church, U])on just and 
 weighty considerations her thereunto moving, hath 
 yielded to make such alterations in some particulars, as 
 in their respective times were thought convenient : Yet 
 so, as that the main Body and Essentials of it (as well 
 in the chiefest materials, as in the frame and order 
 thereof) have still continued the same unto this day, and 
 do yet stand firm and unshaken, notwithstanding all 
 the vain attempts and impetuous assaults made against 
 it, by such men as are given to change, and have al- 
 ways discovered a greater regard to their own private 
 fancies and interests, than to that duty they owe to the 
 pubhck. 
 
 " Tfie Preface.] This Preface was written after the review 
 of the Common Prayer in lOGl ; concerning which see above, 
 page ix. It is said to have been drawn up by Dr. Sanderson, 
 then Bishop of Lincoln ; and it should seem by the style to be 
 his. However no mention of liis being the author of it is made 
 in the Acts of the Upper House of Convocation. It is there 
 only said, that, ** on Monday the 2nd of December, The Preface 
 or Introduction to the Common Prayer Book was brought in and 
 read." It was referred to a committee of the Upper House the 
 same day to consider of it : who were Dr. Matthew Wrenn, 
 bishop of Ely ; Dr. Robert Skinner, bishop of Oxon ; Dr. Hum- 
 phrey Henchman, bisliop of Sarum ; and Dr. George Griffith, 
 bishop of St. Asajdi. On tlie Uitli of that month the Acts say, 
 some amendments were made to tlie Preface. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 X — brhif) things in their own nature indifferent, and alter- 
 ahle,'] It is inconceivable wliat difficulties the bishops at that 
 time had to contend witli, about making the alterations. Titey 
 were not only to eonrjuer their own former resentments and the 
 quick remembrance of their suffei'ings, together with the unrea- 
 sonable demands of the Presbyterian party ; but they had the 
 Court to deal with hkewise, who pushed on to all acts of severity. 
 
 By what undue means, and for what mischievous 
 purposes the use of the Liturgy (though enjoined by the 
 Laws of the Land, and those Laws never yet rejiealed) 
 came, during the late unhappy confusions, to be dis- 
 continued, is too well known to the world, and we are 
 not willing here to remember. But when, upon His 
 Majesty's happy Restoration, it seemed probable, that, 
 amongst other things, the use of the Liturgy would 
 also return of course (the same having never been legally 
 abolished) unless some timely means were used to pre- 
 vent it ; those men who under the late usurped powers 
 had made it a great part of their business to render the 
 people disaffected thereunto, saw themselves in point of 
 reputation and interest concerned (unless they would 
 fi-eely acknowledge themselves to have erred, which 
 such men are very hardly brought to do) with their ut- 
 most endeavours to hinder the restitution thereof. In 
 order whereunto divers Pamphlets were published'' 
 against the Book of Common Prayer, the old objections 
 mustered up, with the addition of some new ones, more 
 than formerly bad been made, to make the number 
 swell. In fine, great importunities were used to His 
 Sacred Majesty", that the said Book might be revised, 
 and such Alterations therein, and .4ddition3 thereunto 
 made, as should be thought requisite for the ease of 
 tender Consciences : whereunto His Majesty, out of his 
 pious inclination to give satisfaction (so far as could be 
 reasonably expected) to all his subjects of what persua- 
 sion soever, did graciously condescend. 
 
 In which review we have endeavoured to observe the 
 like moderation, as we find to have been used in the 
 like case in former times. And therefore of the sundry 
 alterations proposed imto us, we have rejected all such 
 as were either of dangerous consequence (as secretly 
 
 but were willing to let the odium thereof remain with the clergj'. 
 And by the management of some great persons, then in power, 
 the minds of the episcopal clergy and zealous conformists were 
 so wrought up, ujion the talk of these alterations, that the 
 bishops, wdio were concerned in them, found it a difficult matter 
 to manage the temper of their own friends. This was tlie occa- 
 sion of this apologetical expression in the Preface, for the alter- 
 ations they had made. And the assertion, that " ceremonies in 
 their own nature are inchiferent and alterable," is grounded on 
 the doctrine of the 34th Article of our Church. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 y — divers Pamphlets were published] The pamphlets, here 
 pointed at, seem to be, " The Exceptions against the Common 
 Prayer," London, Ifiljl ; and the " Reply to ihe Bishops' An- 
 swer to the Exceptions." Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 z — yreat importunities were used to Nis Sacred. Majestij,'] 
 WTiat these were, is to be seen in the two " Papers of Proposals, 
 concerning the discipline and ceremonies of the Church of Eng- 
 land, humbly presented to his Majesty, by the reverend minis- 
 ters of tlie Presbyterian persuasion ;" London, printed in the 
 year IGOl. Dr. Nicholls.
 
 xxvui 
 
 THE PREFACE. 
 
 striking at some established Doctrine, or laudable Prac- 
 tice of the Church of England, or indeed of tlie whole 
 Catholic Church of Christ) or else of no consequence at 
 all, but utterly frivolous and vain. But such Alterations 
 as were tendered to us (by what persons, under what 
 jjretences, or to what purpose soever tendered) as seemed 
 to us in any degree requisite or expedient, we have 
 willingly, and of our own accord assented unto : not 
 enforced so to do by any strength of Argument, convinc- 
 ing us of the necessity of making the said Alterations : 
 For we are fully persuaded in our judgments (and we 
 here profess it to the world) that the Book, as it stood 
 before established by Law, doth not contain in it any 
 thing contrary to the Word of God, or to sound Doc- 
 trine, or which a godly man may not with a good Con- 
 science use and submit unto, or which is not fairly 
 defensible against any that shall oppose the same ; if it 
 shall be allowed such just and favourable construction 
 as in common equity ought to be allowed to all human 
 Writings, especially such as are set forth by Authority, 
 and even to the very best translations of the holy Scrip- 
 ture itself. 
 
 Our general aim therefore in this undertaking was, 
 not to gratify this or that party in any their unreason- 
 able demands ; but to do that, which to our best under- 
 standings we conceived might most tend to tlie preserva- 
 tion of Peace and Unity in the Church ; the procuring of 
 Reverence, and exciting of Piety and Devotion in the 
 jmblick Worship of God ; and the cutting off occasion 
 from them that seek occasion of ca\-il or quarrel against 
 the Liturgy of the Church. And as to the several Varia- 
 tions from the former Book, whether by Alteration, 
 Addition, or otherwise, it shall suffice to give this gene- 
 ral account. That most of the Alterations were made, 
 either first, for the better direction of them that are to 
 officiate in any part of Divine Service : which is chiefly 
 done in the (Calendars and Kubricks • : or secondly, for 
 the more proper e.xpressing of some words or phrases of 
 
 » — liubricis :] Rubricks are the rules or orders, directing 
 how, when, and where all tilings in divine service are to be per- 
 formed : which for distinction were formerly printed in a red 
 character, as now in an Itulick, and therefore railed " Kubricks," 
 from Rubrica, whicli in Latin siijnifies a red colouring, vermil. 
 lion, &c. Dr. Bi^ne. The Rubrieks of the Missal and other 
 Romish officc3 arc still jirinted in red characters. In our older 
 Jlooka of Common Prayer the Rubricks are distinguished from 
 the text by appearing in a smaller ty)ie. In the hooks of the 
 17th century the Rubricks are geiu'rally i)rinte<l in Roman let- 
 ters, while the Liturgy itself remains in tlie old Knglish or the 
 black letter. In this manner are jirinted the Sealed liiioks, and 
 the larger editions of lUG'^, S:c. ; but in all modern legitimate 
 
 ancient usage in terms more suitable to the language of 
 the present times, and the clearer explanation of some 
 other words and phrases, that were eitlier of doubtful 
 signification, or otherwise liable to misconstruction : or 
 thirdly, for a more perfect rendering of such portions of 
 holy Scriptm-e, as are inserted into tlie Liturgy ; which, 
 in the Epistles and Gosjiels especially, and in sundry 
 other places, are now ordered to be read according to the 
 last Translation : and that it was thought convenient, 
 that some Prayers and Thanksgivings, fitted to special 
 occasions, should be added in their due places ; particu- 
 larly for those at Sea, together with an office for the 
 Baptism of such as are of riper years : which, although 
 not so necessary when the former Book was compiled, 
 yet by the growth of Anabaptisni, through the licenti- 
 ousness of the late times crept in amongst us, is now 
 become necessary, and may be always useful for the 
 baptizing of Natives in our Plantations, and others con- 
 verted to the Faith. If any man, who shall desire a 
 more particular account of the several Alterations in any 
 part of the Liturgy, shall take the pains to compare the 
 present Book with the former; we doubt not but the 
 reason of the change may easily appear. 
 
 And having thus endeavoured to discharge our duties 
 in this weighty affair, as in the sight of God, and to 
 approve our sincerity therein (so far as lay in us) to the 
 consciences of all men : although we know it impossible 
 (in such variety of apprehensions, humours, and interests, 
 as are in the world) to please all ; nor can expect that 
 men of factious, peevish, and perverse spirits should be 
 satisfied with any thing that can be done in this kind by 
 any other than themselves '' : Yet we liave good hope, 
 that what is here presented, and hath been by the Con- 
 vocations of both Provinces with great diligence examined 
 and approved, will be also well accepted and approved by 
 all sober, peaceable, and tridy conscientious Sons of the 
 Church of England. 
 
 editions, the wliole of the ofGces, except the responses, is, I be- 
 lieve, universally printed in the Roman character, and the Ru- 
 brieks in the It.ilick. Shiphrrd, 
 
 (Nincerning the duty of the clergy, to be regidated in their 
 ministrations by the Itubricks, the reader is requested to refer 
 to page til)!), note c; and lo juige 7!M, note x. 
 
 '1 — s/tnttfil hv snt'tNfied with any thing that can be dune in 
 thin him/ hi] any itthrr than thcmnclvpa ;] This stricture seems 
 to be levelled againsl the new prayers drawn up by Mr. Baxter, 
 by :ii)poiiitmeni of the l'rcsbyteri:in comiiiissioners, in the 
 " Rctormalion of the Liturgy;" published together with the 
 " Petition for Peace," liOiidun, l(i(il. Dr. Nichalls,
 
 CONCERNING THE SERVICE OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 XXIX 
 
 CONCERNING TPIE SERVICE OF THE CHURCIP. 
 
 THERE was never any thing by the wit of man so 
 well devised, or so sure established, which in con- 
 tinuance of time hath not been corrupted : As, among 
 other things, it may plainly appear by the Common 
 Prayers in the Church, commonly called Divine Service. 
 The first original and ground whereof'' if a man would 
 search out Ijy the ancient Fathers, he shall find, that the 
 same was not ordained but of a good purpose, and for a 
 great advancement of godliness. For they so ordered 
 the matter, that all the whole Bible (or the greatest part 
 thereof) should be read over once every year ; intending 
 thereby that the Clergy, and especially such as were 
 Ministers in the Congregation, should (by often reading, 
 and meditation in God's word) be stirred up to godliness 
 themselves, and be more able to exhort others by whole- 
 some Doctrine, and to confute them that were adversaries 
 to the truth ; and farther, that the people (by daily hear- 
 ing of holy Scripture read in the church) might conti- 
 nually profit more and more in the knowledge of God, and 
 be the more inflamed with the love of his true Religion. 
 
 But these many years past, this godly and decent 
 order of the ancient Fathers hath been so altered ", broken, 
 
 <= Concerning the Service of the Church.} This preface was 
 composed by the original compilers of the Common Prayer ; 
 only the two last paragraphs are not in the 1st Book of Edward 
 VI. Dr. Nicholh. 
 
 *^ — The frst original and ground whereof &c.] Tliese 
 words are to shew, that the Latin service, wliicli had been of 
 late years defiled by tlie mixture of a great many foul and 
 popish errors, did however retain in it many ancient forms, re- 
 ceived in tlie Churcli in the best times ; and that some parts 
 thereof are still to be found in the writings of tlie ancient 
 Fathers, who meution many of these offices in tlieir books. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 « — this godly and decent order of the ancient Fathers hath 
 been so altered, &c.] The Scriptures are ordered to be read in 
 the Roman service in so confused a method, that, if they were 
 not read in an unknown tongue, the people could not receive 
 any benefit therefrom. For there are not more than tiiree or 
 four verses to be read at one time ; and then follows a response 
 or short anthem to be sung ; and then three or four verses of 
 the same chapter again ; and then another response : after this 
 rate breaking the chapter into ten or twelve lessons ; sometimes 
 mixing parts of another chapter ; at other times some of Saint 
 Austin's or Saint Ambrose's Ilomihes, or passages out of worse 
 books. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ^ — planting in uncertain Stories, and Legends,"] These 
 legendary stories are chiefly read upon the saints' days ; but 
 every day in the year being dedicated to some odd saint or other, 
 there is hardly a day free from having some of these idle tales 
 niLxed in the service thereof. And indeed there is such an in- 
 congruous mixture of Scripture and monkish fiction together, 
 as is calculated to make all wise and conscientious Christians 
 to nauseate and abominate their service. This is remarkable, 
 not only in the lessons upon their modern saints' days, con- 
 cerning whom one would exjiect nothing else but such stories ; 
 but even upon the festivals of the Apostles themselves. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 K — Responds,"] A respond is a short anthem, brought into 
 the midiUe of a chapter, which is interrupted by it : and, when 
 tlie respond is done, the chapter proceeds. This is called the 
 sliort response. The long responses are used at the close of a 
 lesson. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ^ — T^ersp.v,] Either the verses, which follow after the re- 
 spond in the Roman Breviary ; or else those hymns which are 
 proper to every Sunday and hoUday ; which are many of them 
 
 and neglected, by jilanting in uncertain Stories, and 
 Legends', with multitude of Responds n. Verses'', vain 
 Repetitions, Commemorations ', and Syniidals '', that com- 
 monly when any book of the Bible was begun, after three 
 or four Chapters were read out, all tlie rest were unread. 
 And in this sort the Book of Isaiah was begun in Advent, 
 and the Book of Genesis in Septuagesima ; but they were 
 only begun, and never read through : After like sort 
 were other Books of holy Scripture used. And more- 
 over, whereas St. Paul would have such language spoken 
 to the people in the Church, as they might understand, 
 and have profit by hearing the same ; 'I'lie Service in this 
 Church of England these many years hath been read in 
 Latin to the people, which they understand not ; so that 
 they have heard with their ears only, and their heart, 
 spirit, and mind, have not been edified thereby. And 
 furthermore, notwithstanding that the ancient Fathers 
 have divided the Psalms into seven portions, whereof 
 every one was called a Nocturn ' .- Now of late time a few 
 of them have been daily said, and the rest utterly omitted. 
 Moreover, the number and hardness of the Rules called 
 the Pie "', and the manifold changings of the Service, was 
 
 a despicable parcel of monkish Latin verses, composed in the 
 
 most illiterate ages of Christianity : only some few of them being 
 taken from parts of a better character, are pretty tolerable. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' — Commemorations,'] These were the recital of the names 
 of famous martyrs and confessors, patriarchs, bishops, kings, 
 great orthodox writers, munificent benefactors, wliich recitation 
 at the altar took up much time ; a^id these names were an- 
 ciently wont to be read out of Dijitychs, or folded tables ; and 
 tedious quarrels have been anciently, about dispunging some 
 names out of the Diptychs, which have run into schisms, Bp. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 ^ — Synodals,] These were synodical constitutions, or the 
 canons made by provincial synods, which were wont to be read 
 in the parish churches on Sundays, to the great waste of time. 
 Bp. Sparrow, Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' — Noctnnt :] So called from the ancient Christians rising 
 in the night to perform them. Dr. Burn. 
 
 ™ — the llules called the Pie,] " The Pie" is a table or rule 
 in the old Roman offices, shewing in a technical way how to 
 find out the service which is to be read upon each day : which, 
 consisting of numerous particulars, by the intermixing of the 
 several offices, which sometimes fall in together to be read, 
 makes it difficult to he understood. As to the meaning of the 
 name ; what was called " The Pie" by the Clergy before the 
 Reformation, was called by the Greeks Fla'a^, (Pinax,) or the 
 index : for, that word signifying metaphorically a painted table 
 or picture ; and the indexes, or tables of books, being formed 
 into square figures resembling pictures, or painted tables, hung 
 u]i in a frame; these hkewise were called IMvoki^, (Pinakes;) 
 or, being marked only with the first letter of the word, lit \, or 
 " Pies." This was probably the origin of the term. But the;^e 
 tables being generally made with initial letters of red, and hke- 
 wise some other remarkable letters or words thereof being of the 
 same colour, it was thought that the table was called '* Pie" 
 from the party-coloured letters whereof it did consist. And 
 upon this account, when they put it into Latin, they called it 
 Pica. Thus in former times some of the friars, from their 
 party-coloured habits, were called *' Pies." Afterwards, when 
 printing came into use, those letters, which were of a moderate 
 size, not so big as the large test hand in the manuscripts, but 
 were of the bigness only of those in the comments and tables, 
 were called Pica letters. Dr. Nicholls.
 
 CONCERNING THE SERVICE OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 the cause, that to turn the Book only was so hard and 
 intricate a matter, that many times there was more busi- 
 ness to find out what should be read, than to read it 
 wlien it was found out. 
 
 These inconveniences therefore considered, here is set 
 forth such an Order, whereby the same shall be re- 
 dressed. And for a readiness in this matter, here is 
 drawn out a Calendar for that purpose, which is plain 
 and easy to be understood ; wherein (so much as may 
 be) the reading of holy Scripture is so set forth, that all 
 things shall be done in order, without breaking one 
 piece from another. For this cause be cut off Anthems, 
 Responds, Invitatories °, and such like things as did 
 break the continual coiu'se of the reading of the Scrip- 
 ture. 
 
 Yet, because there is no remedy, but that of necessity, 
 there must be some Rules ; therefore certain Rules are 
 here set forth ; which as they are few in number, so they 
 are plain and easy to be understood. So that here you 
 have an Order for Prayer, and for the reading of the holy 
 Scripture, much agreeable to the mind and purpose of 
 the old Fathers, and a great deal more profitable and 
 commodious, than that which of late was used. It is 
 more profitable, because here are left out many things, 
 whereof some are untrue, some uncertain, some vain 
 and superstitious: and nothing is ordained to be read, 
 
 but the very pure Word of God, the holy Scriptures, or 
 that which is agreeable to the same ° ; and that in such 
 a language and Order as is most easy and ])lain for tlie 
 understanding both of the Readers and Hearers. It is 
 also more commodious, botli for the shortness thereof, 
 and for the plainness of the Order, and for that the 
 Rules be few and easy. 
 
 And whereas heretofore there hath been great diversity 
 in saying and singing in Churches within this Realm; 
 some following Salisbury Use <', some Herf/ord Use, 
 and some the Use of Bangor, some of York, some of 
 Lincoln: now from henceforth all the whole Realm shall 
 have but one Use. 
 
 And forasmuch as nothing can be so plainly set forth, 
 but doubts may arise in the use and practice of the 
 same ; to appease all such diversity (if any arise) and for 
 the resolution of all doubts, concerning the manner how 
 to understand, do, and execute the things contained in 
 this Book ; the parties that so doubt, or diversely take 
 any thing, shall alway resort to the Bishop of the Dio- 
 cese, who by his discretion shall take order for the quiet- 
 ing and appeasing of the same ; so that the same order 
 be not contrary to any thing contained in this Booki. 
 And if the Bishop of the Diocese be in doubt, then he 
 may send for the resolution thereof to the Archbishop. 
 
 THOUGH it be appointed, that all things shall be 
 read and sung in the Church in the English Tongue, 
 
 " — InviMories,] Some t<?xt of Scripture, adapted and 
 chosen for the occasion of (he day, and used before the " Ve- 
 nitc," which also itself is called the invitatory Psalm. Dr. Bur?i. 
 See page 1 7, note b. 
 
 o — the very pure Word of God, — or that which is agree- 
 able to the same,'] By tlie latter words are understood tlic 
 Apocryplia ; wliich books our f:huroh elsowlicre declares that 
 she doth use. " for example of life, and instruction of manners, 
 but yet dolli not apply tliem to establisli any doctrine," Art. vi. 
 And this practice of tlie Church of Encland is agreeable to that 
 of the ancient Cliurdi. JJr. \icholls. See the notes on the 
 la:ter part of the Otli Article : also page 21, note /. 
 
 P — some foUoviug Salisburi/ I'se, Iki:..'] No wonder tlie 
 use of Sarum, York, I^incolii, Hereford, liangor, is mentioned, 
 For the Missals and Breviaries of tlio Itoman Chur(di wore of 
 diverse models, in several countries aiul several dioceses. The 
 Tridentine Comu-il first endeavoured to brin^' them all into one 
 shape : yet that order was not obcycil till tlio year ISCH, 
 under Pope Pius the Fifth ; yea, is not observed to this day ; 
 the Spaniards in some places keepin;; the Mozarabii-k form, 
 the Priemonstratenscs another, and sundry besides. Nay, 
 that Church hath altered tlie Breviaries of Pius V. : and new 
 corrections have come forth under Clement VIII. in the year 
 I51»(t: and what hath been done since, 1 know iu)t. Hut why 
 the use of those five chun-hes .- Perhaps tliat was accidental, 
 that the diversities of them were more signal than others. Some 
 liistorians mention Osmundus, the Bishop of Salisbury, aiuI 
 Chancellor, for the compiler of the use of Sarnni, about 1(1/(1, 
 or after ; yet since we read of no use of Canterbury, ^\■intlUl, 
 Kly, perhaps those places observed the true Roman Hreviaries, 
 
 and the other live mentio 1 were discniiant dialects from the 
 
 original lireviary. However, they are called uses ami customs, 
 not appointments from provincial Synods, lip. Sparrow. 
 
 Lindwood, speaking of " the use of Sarum," says, that almost 
 the whole province of Canterbury fcdiowelh this use: and adds, 
 OS one reason of it, that the Bishop of Sarum is precentor in the 
 college of Bishops ; aiul at those limes, when the Archbishop of 
 
 to the end that the congregation may be thereby edi- 
 fied'; yet it is not meant, but that when men say 
 
 Canterbury solemnly performcth divine service in the presence 
 of the college of Bishops, he ought to govern the quire by usage 
 and ancient custom. 
 
 In the northern parts was generally obsen'cd " the use of" 
 the .Vrchiepiscopal ehurclt of " York ;" in South Wales, " the 
 use of Hereford ;" in North Wales, " the use of Bangor ;" and 
 in otiier places, the use of other of the principal sees, as parti- 
 cularly that " of Lincoln." 
 
 The rule, laid down for church musick in England almost 
 1000 years ago, was, that they should observe a jilain and de- 
 vout melody, according to the custom of the Church. And the 
 rule prescribed by (^ueen I'llizabeth in her injvuu-tious was, that 
 there sho\dd be a modest and dislinct song, so used in all parts 
 of the common prayer of the Church, that the same may be as 
 plaiidy mulerstood, as if it were read without singing. Of the 
 want of which grave, serious, and intidligible way, the reformatio 
 legum bad coniplainctl before. And wiietlicr some regidations 
 may not now be necessary, to render church nmsick truly useful 
 to the ends of devotion, and to guani against indecent levities, 
 seemeth, as Bishop Cibson says, to requu'c some consideration. 
 J>r. Jiiirn. 
 
 *1 — so that the same order be not cnntranj to any thiny con- 
 tained in this lioai:] It appears from this, that in all points, 
 where the rubricks are plain and express, the ordinary has no 
 authority to release any minister from that obedience whidl he 
 owes the Church in what she commands in her ndiricks. For, 
 though the ordinary is allowed to interpret and di'termine the 
 sense of the rubrick for us in all doubtful cases ; yet it ia with 
 tliis jiroviso, that he shall iu)t order or deteriniiu> any thing 
 "that is contrary to what is contained in (lie service book;" 
 that is, in points that are clearlv exjtressed the ordinary is as 
 much prohibited from making innovations, aa the meanest paro- 
 chial minister. Archdeacon .'Sharp. 
 
 f — 171 the Knylish Tonynr, to the end that the conyregation 
 may be thereby edijicd ;] See the 21th Article, and the notes 
 there. The pretence of the Papists to lock up the Scriptures, 
 and to have the Common I'rayer of the Church in an unknown
 
 OF CEREMONIES. 
 
 XXXI 
 
 Morning and Evening Prayer privately, they may say 
 the same in any language that they themselves do un- 
 derstand. 
 
 And all Priests and Deacons are to say daily the 
 Morning and Evening Prayer either privately or 
 openly », not being let by sickness, or some other 
 urgent cause. 
 
 And the Curate that ministereth in every Parish- 
 Church or Chapel, being at home, and not being other- 
 wise reasonably hindered, shall say the same m the 
 Parish-Church or (Chapel where he ministereth, and shall 
 cause a Bell to be tolled thereunto a convenient time 
 before he begin, that the people may come to hear God's 
 Word, and to pray with him. 
 
 IT OF CEREMONIES', WHY SOINIE BE ABOLISHED, AND SOME 
 
 RETAINED. 
 
 OF such Ceremonies as be used in the Church, and 
 have had their beginning by the institution of man, 
 some at the first were of godly intent and purpose de- 
 vised, and yet at length turned to vanity and superstition ; 
 some entered into the Church by undiacreet devotion, 
 and such a zeal as was without knowleiige ; and for be- 
 cause they \\'ere winked at in the beginning, they grew 
 daily to more and more abuses, which not only for their 
 unprofitableness, but also because they have much 
 blinded the people, and obscured the glory of God, are 
 worthy to be cut away, and clean rejected ; other there 
 l)e, which although they have been de\'ised by man, yet 
 it is thought good to reserve them still, as well for a de- 
 cent order in the Church, (for the which they were first 
 devised,) as because they pertain to edification, where- 
 unto all things done in the Church (as the Apostle 
 teacheth) ought to be referred. 
 
 And although the keeping or omitting of a Ceremony, 
 in itself considered, is but a small thing ; yet the wilful 
 and contemptuous transgression and breaking of a com- 
 mon order and discipline is no small offence before God. 
 Let all things be done among you, saith Saint Paul, in a 
 seemly and due order .- The appointment of the which 
 order pertaineth not to private men ; therefore no man 
 ought to take in hand, nor presume to appoint or alter 
 any publick or common Order in Christ's Church, except 
 he be lawfully called and authorized thereunto. 
 
 And whereas in this our time, the minds of men are 
 so diverse, that some think it a great matter of con- 
 
 tnngTie, are two of the most impudent crimes, of all those many 
 which that religion abounds with. Therefore, that a stop may 
 be put to this unreasonable tyranny of the Church of Rome 
 over men's souls. Archbishop Cranmer so dealt with Henry 
 VIII., that first the Lord's Prayer, Creed, and Decalogue, should 
 be published in EngUsh, in the year of our Lord 1530; after 
 this a translation of the Bible came out in 1540 : the order of 
 the Communion, in the begiTining of King Edward the Sixth's 
 reign, March 8, 1548: and the first Common Prayer Book, 
 1549. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The Latin services, as they had been used in England before, 
 continued in all King Henry the Eighth's reign without any 
 alteration ; save some razures of collects for the Pope, and for 
 the office of Thomas Beckct and of some otlier saints, whose 
 days were by tlie Iving's Injunctions no more to be observed : 
 but those razures or deletions were so few, that the old mass 
 books, breviaries, and other rituals, did still serve without new 
 Impressions. Dr. Burn. 
 
 ^ — say daily the Morning and Evening Prayer, either pri- 
 vately or openly,'] By the rules of the Roman Churcii, even 
 before the Reformation and the Council of Trent, the clergy 
 
 science to depart from a piece of the least of their Cere- 
 monies, they be so addicted to their old customs ; and 
 again on the other side, some be so new-fangled, that 
 they would innovate all things, and so desj)ise the old, 
 that nothing can like them, but that is new ; it was 
 thought expedient, not so much to have respect how to 
 ])lease and satisfy either of these parties, as how to please 
 God, and profit them both. And yet lest any man 
 shoidd be offended, whom good reason might satisfy, 
 here be certain causes rendered, why some of the accus- 
 tomed Ceremonies be put away, and some retained and 
 kept still. 
 
 Some are put away, because the great excess and 
 midtitude of them hath so increased in these latter days, 
 that the burden of them was intolerable ; whereof Saint 
 Augvstine in his time complained, that they were grown 
 to such a number, that the estate of Christian people 
 was in worse case concerning that matter, than were the 
 Jews. And he counselled that such yoke and biu'den 
 should be taken away, as time would serve quietly to do 
 it. But what would Saint Augustine have said, if he 
 had seen the Ceremonies of late days used among us ; 
 whereunto the multitude used in his time was not to be 
 compared ? This oiu- excessive multitude of Ceremonies 
 was so great, and many of them so dark, that they did 
 more confound and darken, than declare and set forth 
 Christ's benefits unto us. And besides this, Christ's 
 Gosjjel is not a Ceremonial Law (as much of Moses' Law 
 was) but it is a religion to serve God, not in bondage of 
 
 were obliged to recite the " canonical hours," or the offices of 
 the several hours of day and night, which arc in tlie breviary, 
 either pubHckly in a church or chapel, or privately by them- 
 selves. Wherefore our reformers chose that the ministers of the 
 Churcii should be as diligent in using the English Liturgj', as 
 the papists were the Latin : and though they thought it right 
 that tiie mumbling over of the prayers in private should be laid 
 aside, they would not exonerate the clergy fi-om the constant re- 
 petition of the publick devotions ; and therefore they changed 
 the private recital of the Morning and Evening Service, which 
 was before performed by each clergyman alone by himself, into 
 family prayer, when a congregation could not be procured at 
 church. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' Of Ceremonies,] This preface, as far as it regards the de- 
 fence of ceremonies, is more applicable to the service book, for 
 which it was first written, namely, the first book of King Ed- 
 ward the Sixth, than to our present Common Prayer Book ; 
 which has nothing to do with several ceremonies wliicb were 
 injoined in King Edward's first book, but are not now retained. 
 Dr. Nicholls.
 
 THE ORDER HOW THE REST OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 
 
 the figure or shadow, but in the freedom of the Spuit ; 
 being content only with those Ceremonies which do serve 
 to a decent Order and godly discipline, and such as be 
 apt to stir up the dull mind of man to the remembrance 
 of his duty to God, by some notable and special sig- 
 nification, whereby he might be edified. Furthermore, 
 the most weighty cause of the abolishment of certain 
 Ceremonies was. That they were so far abused, partly 
 by the superstitious bUndness of the rude and unlearned, 
 and partly by the unsatiable avarice of such as sought 
 more their own lucre, than the glory of God, that the 
 abuses could not well be taken away, the thing remaining 
 stUl. 
 
 But now as concerning those persons, which perad- 
 venture will be offended, for that some of the old Cere- 
 monies are retained still : If they consider that without 
 some Ceremonies it is not possible to keep any Order, 
 or quiet Discipline in the Church, they shall easily per- 
 ceive just cause to reform their judgments. And if they 
 think much that any of the old do remain, and would 
 rather have all devised anew : then such men granting 
 some Ceremonies convenient to be had, surely where the 
 old may be well used, there they cannot reasonably re- 
 prove the old only for their age, without bewi-aying of 
 their own folly. For in such a case they ought rather to 
 have reverence unto them for their antiquity, if they will 
 
 declare themselves to be more studious of unity and con- 
 cord, than of innovations and new-fangleness, which (as 
 much as may be with true setting forth of Christ's Reli- 
 gion) is always to be eschewed. Furthermore, such shall 
 have no just cause with the Ceremonies reserved to be 
 offended. For as those be taken away which were most 
 abused, and did burden men's consciences without any 
 cause ; so the other that remain, are retained for a disci- 
 pline and order, which (upon just causes) may be altered 
 and changed, and therefore are not to be esteemed equal 
 with God's Law. And moreover, they be neither dark 
 nor dumb Ceremonies, but are so set forth, that every 
 man may understand what they do mean, and to what 
 use they do serve. So that it is not like that they in 
 time to come should be abused as other have been. And 
 in these our doings we condemn no other Nations, nor 
 prescribe any thing but to our own people only : For we 
 think it convenient that every Country should use such 
 Ceremonies as they shall think" best to the setting forth 
 of God's honoiu- and glory, and to the reducing of the 
 people to a most perfect and godly living, without error 
 or superstition ; and that they should put away other 
 things, which from time to time they perceive to be most 
 abused, as in men's ordinances it often chanceth diversely 
 in divers countries. 
 
 H THE ORDER HOW THE PSALTER IS APPOINTED TO BE READ. 
 
 rpHE Psalter shall be read through once every 
 _L Month, as it is there api)uinted, both for Morning 
 and Evening Prayer. But in February it shall be read 
 only to the twenty-eighth, or twenty-ninth day of the 
 month. 
 
 And, whereas January, March, May, July, August, 
 October, and December have One-and-thirty days apiece ; 
 It is ordered, that the same Psalms shall be read the last 
 day of the said months, which were read the day before : 
 So that the Psalter may begin again the first day of the 
 next Month ensuing. 
 
 And, wherea.s the 119th Psalm is divided into twenty- 
 two portions, and is over-long to be read at one time ; 
 
 It is so ordered, that at one time shall not be read above 
 four or five of the said portions. 
 
 And at the end of every Psalm, and of every such part 
 of the 119th Psalm, shall l)e rejjcated this Hymn, 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the Soji : and to the Holy 
 Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
 Note, that the Psalter foUoweth the Division of the 
 Hel)rews', and the Translation of the great English 
 Bible, set fortli and used in the time of King Henry the 
 Eighth, and Edward the Sixth. 
 
 t THE ORDER HOW THE REST OF IIOF.Y SCRIPTURE IS 
 APPOINTED TO BE READ. 
 
 TIT K Old Testampnt is appointed for the first I*esson3 
 at Morning and Evening Prayer; so aa the most part 
 
 u — rrrry Countri/ should une »uch Cerpmonies aa t/iei/ shall 
 think bent ir.] Tliis expression of our Cliurch is consoimnt to 
 tlir avowed opinion of oil Protestant C'lnirclios, aa appears from 
 their t»overal eonfessions : as well us to dei'larations of |)iousper- 
 Hons many nnos before in the ancient Church. J)r. NichoUs. 
 Seethe 'SA\\\ Article, and the notes there. 
 
 X — tfip pMtil/rr Jhilouit/i the Division of the Uvhreirs,'] 
 " Whidi varieth in number from the common Latin transla- 
 tion," aw expressc*! in a tJilde of rules jtrefixed to the tirst book 
 uf Kdword VI: "And the trunsilutiun of the great Kngli:?li 
 
 thereof will Ije read every year once, as in the Calendar 
 is appointed. 
 
 Bible :" so called because it was printed in n very bulky volume ; 
 
 which was puiilisiied by authorily in Kinji Henry the Eighth's 
 time, Iiavin^ been translated by Tyndal antl C'overdalo, and re- 
 vised by Archbishop Criinmer. (t'oncerniiig the merits of thii 
 translation of the Psalter, see page AA"].) \\\ the title-paRC of 
 the (-'onimon Prayer Hook, tiie P.salms are said to be " jiointed 
 as they an- to be sung or said in churches:" the points which 
 are here sjiokcn of, are (:) ; whicli are always set down towunis 
 the middle of the verse, to denote u btop or pause in the musiik 
 there. Dr. JSicholU.
 
 IS APPOINTED TO BE READ. 
 
 The New Testament is appointed for the second Les- 
 sons at Morning and Evening Prayer, and shall be read 
 over orderly every year thrice, besides the Epistles and 
 Gospels ; except the Apocalypse, out of which there 
 are only certain proper Lessons appointed upon divers 
 Feasts. 
 
 And to know what Lessons shall be read every day, 
 look for the day of the Month in the Calendar follow- 
 ing^, and there ye shall find the Chapters that shall be 
 read for the Lessons both at Morning and Evening 
 Prayer'; except only the Moveable Feasts, which are not 
 
 y — in the Calendar following,'] The word Calendar is de- 
 rived from the Calends, the first day of the Roman month. 
 Dr. Nicholls. Our Calendar consists of several columns. The 
 first shews the days of the month in their numerical order : the 
 second contains the letters of the alphabet, affixed to the several 
 days of every week : the third, as printed in the larger Common 
 Prayer Books, has the Calends, Nones, and Ides, which was the 
 method of computation used by the old Romans and primitive 
 Christians, and is still useful to those, who read either ecclesias- 
 tical or profane history. The four last columns contain the 
 course of Lessons for Morning and Evening Prayer for ordinary 
 days throughout the year. The intermediate column, namely, 
 the fourth, contains, together with the holydays observed by the 
 Church of England, such popish holydays as it was thought best 
 to retain. The reasons, why the names of these saints' days and 
 holydays were resumed into the Calendar, are various. Some of 
 tliein being retained upon account of our Courts of Justice, which 
 usually make their returns on these days, or else upon the days 
 before or after them, which are called in the writs, Vigil. Fest. or 
 Crast. as in Vigil. Martin; Fest. Martin ; Crast. Martin ; and the 
 like. Others are probably kept in the Calendar for the sake of such 
 tradesmen, handicraftsmen, and others, as are wont to celebrate 
 the memory of their tutelar saints : as the Welchmeu do of St. 
 David, the shoemakers of St. Crisjun, &c. And again, churches 
 being in several places dedicated to some or other of these saints, 
 it has been the usual custom in such places to have Wakes or 
 Fa!rs kept upon those days : so that the people would probably 
 be displeased, if, either in this, or the former case, their favour- 
 ite saint's name should be left out of the Calendar. Besides, 
 the histories which were writ before the Reformation do fre- 
 quently speak of transactions hap])ening upon such a holyday, 
 or about such a time, without mentioning the montli ; relating 
 one thing to be done at Lammas-tide, and another about Mar- 
 tinmas, &c. ; so that were these names cjuite left out of the 
 Calendar, we might be at a loss to know when several of these 
 transactions happened. For this and the foregoing reasons oiu* 
 second reformers under Queen Elizabeth (though all those days 
 had been omitted in both books of King Edward VL excepting 
 St. George's day, Lammas day, St. Laurence and St. Clement, 
 which two last were in his second book) thought convenient to 
 restore the names of them to the Calendar, though not with any 
 regard of being kept holy by the Church. For tiiis they thought 
 prudent to forbid, as well upon the account of the great incon- 
 veniency brought into the Church in the times of popery, by 
 the observation of such a number of holydays, to the great pre- 
 judice of labouring and trading men : as by reason that many of 
 those saints they then commemorated were oftentimes men of 
 none of the best characters. Besides, the history of these saints, 
 and the accounts they gave of the other holydays, were fre- 
 quently found to be feigned and fabulous. Li the short account 
 of each of these holydays, given in the notes on the Calendar, 
 the reader will not suppose that all the stories are intended to 
 be imposed upon him as truths ; although nothing will be set 
 down but what some or other of the Romanists superstitiously 
 believe. ^Vheatly. 
 
 2 — at Morning and Evening Prayer;"] So we now gene- 
 rally call the two offices, sometimes called " Mattins and Even- 
 song." Whcatly. 
 
 ^ — in the Table of Proper Lessons.] Tt is well known to 
 what uncertainties the clergy are left in tlie use of this "Table 
 of Proper Lessons," and in tlie appointment of Epistles and 
 Gospels, when Sundays and holydays coincide. The conse- 
 quence is, that they differ iu their practice, and use the service 
 
 in the Calendar, and the Immoveable, where there is a 
 blank left in the Column of Lessons, the Proper Lessons 
 for all which days are to be found in the Table of Proper 
 Lessons*. 
 
 And note, that whensoever Proper Psalms or Lessons 
 are appointed ; then the Psalms and Lessons of ordinary 
 course appointed in the Psalter and Calendar (if they be 
 different) shall be omitted for that time. 
 
 Note also, that the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, ap- 
 pointed for the Sunday** shall serve all the week after*^, 
 where it is not in this Book otherwise ordered. 
 
 appropriate to that festival, to which in their private opinion 
 
 they give the preference. Some there are who choose to inter- 
 mix them, using the collects appointed to each, and preferring 
 the first Lesson that is taken out of a canonical book, if the 
 other first Lesson happens to be appointed in the Apocryjiha. 
 
 Other rubricks might be specified, where the directions are 
 defective, or not sufficiently clear and express. Upon all which 
 it may be observed in general, that where the rubricks are de- 
 fective, or capable of two senses, or of doubtful interpretation, 
 there is no stating a minister's obligation to observe them ; nor 
 is uniformity in practice to be expected ; because every niinirster 
 must be allowed a liberty of judgment, and consequently of 
 practice, in cases not sufficiently clear or capable of various con- 
 structions, so as he make no breach upon those rubricks that are 
 l)lain and express. In tliis, and several of the other points 
 alluded to above, the clergy take diHerent ways : and they may 
 safely and honestly do so, for there is no room to say that any 
 of them do wrong, since there is not evidence enough, which of 
 those ways are right. Something may perhaps be pleaded for 
 all. But then, whatsoever is pleaded, as it is only upon the foot 
 of private sentiments, we remain still at liberty to follow our 
 own judgment and discretion in those points, till they, who have 
 authority, do settle a rule for us concerning them. And if, in 
 the mean time, any of us have real scruples upon those points, 
 our proper recourse is to the Ordinary of the diocese for satisfac- 
 tion : because his determination in all doubtful cases, as stated 
 in the Preface, " concerning the service of the Church," is au- 
 thoritative, safe, and legal ; and is granted as a supply for all 
 the deficiencies we meet with in the letter of the rubrick. Arch- 
 deacon Sharp. 
 
 ^ — appointed for the Sunday] One day in seven seems 
 from the very beginning to have been sanctified by God, Gen. 
 ii. 3, and commanded to be set apart for the exercise of religious 
 duties. All the mysteries of it ]:)erhaps are beyond our compre- 
 hension : but to be sure one design of it was, that men, by thus 
 sanctifying the seventh day, after they had spent six in labour, 
 might shew themselves to be worship])ers of that God only, wlio 
 rested the seventh day, after He had finished the heavens and 
 the earth in sLx. 
 
 The reasons why the Jews were commanded to observe the 
 seventh day, or the Saturday, in particular for their sabbath, 
 were pecidiar and proper to themselves : it was on this day God 
 had delivered them from their Egyj^tian bondage, and over- 
 whelmed Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea : so that no day 
 could be more properly set apart to celebrate the mercies and 
 goodness of God, than that, on which He Himself chose to con- 
 fer upon them the greatest blessing they enjoyed. 
 
 But the deliverance of Israel out of Egyj)t by the ministry of 
 Moses vras only intended for a type and pledge of a spiritual de- 
 Uverance which was to come by Christ : their Canaan also was 
 no more than a type of that heavenly Canaan, which the re- 
 deemed by Christ do look for. Since therefore the shadow is 
 made void by the coming of the substance, the relation is 
 changed ; and God is no mor« to be worshipped and believed in, 
 as a God foresliewing and assuring by types, but as a God who 
 hath performed the substance of wliat He promised. The Chris- 
 tians indeed, as well as the Jews, are to observe the moral equity 
 of the fom-th Commandment, and, after six days spent in their 
 own works, are to sanctity the seventh : but in the designation 
 of the particular day, they may and ought to differ. For if the 
 Jews were to sanctify the seventh day, only because they had on 
 that day a temporal deliverance as a pledge of a spiritual one ; 
 the Christians surely have much greater reasons to sanctify the
 
 XXXIV 
 
 THE ORDER HOW THE REST OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 
 
 first, since On that very day Gcd redeemed us from this spiritual 
 thraldom, by raising Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead, and 
 bej^etting us, instead " of an earthly Canaan, to an inheritance 
 incorruptible in the heavens." And accordingly we have the 
 concurrent testimonies both of Scripture and antitjuity, that the 
 first day of the week, or Sunday, hath ever been the stated and 
 solemn time of the Christians meeting for their pubUck worship 
 and service. Acts ii. 1 ; xx. 7 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 2 ; Rev. i. 10. 
 
 In the East indeed, where the Gospel chiefly prevailed 
 among the Jews, who retained a great reverence for the Mo- 
 saick rites, the Church thougiit tit to indulge the humour of the 
 Judaizing Christians so far, as to observe the Saturday as a fes- 
 tival day of devotions, and thereon to meet for the exercise of 
 religious duties ; as is plain from several passages of the ancients. 
 But however, to prevent giving any offence to others, they 
 openly declared, that they observed it in a Christian way, and 
 not as a Jewish sabbath. And this custom was so far from 
 being universal, that at the same time all over the West, except 
 at Milan in Italy, Saturday was kept as a fast, (as being the day 
 on which our Lord lay dead in the grave.) and is still, for the 
 same reason, appointed for one of the fast days in tlie Ember- 
 weeks by the Church of England ; which, in imitation both of 
 the Eastern and Western cliurches. always reserves to the Sun- 
 day the more solemn acts of jiublick worship and devotion. 
 
 But besides the weekly return of Sunday, (whereon we cele- 
 brate God's goodness and mercies set forth in our creation and 
 redemption in general,) the Church hath set apart some days 
 yearly for the more particular remembrance of some special acts 
 and passages of our Lord in the redemption of mankind ; such 
 as are his " Incarnation " and " Nativity, Circumcision, Mani- 
 festation to the Gentiles, Presentation in the Temple;" his 
 *' Fasting, Passion, Resurrection," and *' Ascension ;" the "send- 
 ing of the Holy Ghost," and the " Manifestation of the sacred 
 Trinity." That the observation of such days is requisite, is 
 evident from the practice both of Jews and Gentiles : nature 
 tauglit the one, and God the other, that the celebration of so- 
 lemn festivals was a part of the public exercise of rehgion. 
 Besides the feast of the Passover, of Weeks, and of Tabernacles, 
 which were all of divine appointment, tlie Jews celebrated some 
 of their own institution, namely, the feast of " Purim," Esther 
 ix., and the *' Dedication of the Temple," 1 Mac. iv. 59, the 
 latter of which even our blessed Saviour Himself honoured with 
 his presence, John x. 2'2. 
 
 But these festivals being instituted in remembrance of some 
 signal mercies granted in particular to the Jews ; the Christians, 
 who were chiefly converted from the heathen world, were no 
 more obliged to observe tliem, than tliey were concerned in the 
 mercies thereon commemorated. And this is the reason that 
 wlien the Judaizing Christians would have imposed upon the 
 Galatlans the observation of the Jewish festivals, as necessary to 
 salvation, St. Paul looked upon it as a thing so criminal, 
 that he was afraid the labour he had bestowed upon tliem to set 
 tlicm at liberty in the freedotn of the Gospel liad been *' in vain," 
 Gul. iv. 10, 11 : not thrit In* thought tlie obsen-atinn of festivals 
 was a thing in itself uidawful, but because they thought them- 
 selves still obliged by the Law to observe those days and times, 
 which being only shadows of things to come, were made void by 
 the coming of the substance. 
 
 Aa to the celebration of Christian festivals, they thought 
 themselves as nmcli obliged to observe them as the Jews were 
 to observe theirs. They hiid received greater benefits, ami 
 therefore it would have been the highest degree of ingratitude 
 to have been less zealous in commemorating them. And ac- 
 cordingly we find tliat iu the very infancy of Christianity some 
 certain days were yearly set apart, to commemorate the " Resur- 
 rection " and *' Ascension " of Christ, the " coming of the Holy 
 Ghost," &c., and to glorify God, by an humble and grateful 
 acknowledgement of these mercies granted to tliem at those 
 times. Wliicli laudable and ndigious cu-^tom so soon ])revuiled 
 ov<T the universal ("hurcii, that in five hundred years after our 
 Sjivifjur, we meet with them distinguished by the same names 
 we now call them by; such as, " Epiphany, Ascension-day, 
 WliiUSunday," ^c, and a])pointed to be observed on those 
 days, on whicli the Church of Eng!and now observes them. 
 
 But besides the more solemn festivals, whereon they were 
 wont U) r^'lebrate the mysteries of their redemption, the primi- 
 tive ChristiaiiH had their " Memoriie Martyrum," or certiiin 
 days »et apart yearly in commemoration of the great heroes of 
 thu Cliristian religion, the blessed Apostles and Martyrs, who 
 
 had attested the truth of these mysteries with their blood : at 
 whose graves they constantly met once a year, to celebrate their 
 virtues, and to bless God for their exemplary lives and glorious 
 deaths ; as well to the intent that others might be encoxiraged 
 to the same patience and fortitude, as also that virtue, even in 
 this world, might not wholly lose its reward : a practice doubt- 
 less very ancient, and probably founded upon that exhortation 
 to the Hebrews, "to remember those who had had the rule 
 over them, and who had spoken unto them the word of God," 
 and had sealed it with their blood, Heb. xiii. 7* In which place 
 the author of that Epistle is thought chiefly to hint at the mar- 
 tyrdom of St. James the first Bishop of Jerusalem, who, not 
 long before had laid down his life for the testimony of Jesus. 
 And we find that those who were eye-witnesses of the sufferings 
 of St. Ignatius, published the day of his martyrdom, that the 
 church of Antioch might meet together at that time to celebrate 
 the memory of such a vaUant combatant and martyr of Christ. 
 Af^er this we read of the church of Smyrna's giving an account 
 of St. Polycarp's martyrdom, (which was in the year of our 
 Lord 1 47,) and of the place where they had entombed his bones, 
 and withal professing that they would assemble in that place, 
 and celebrate tlie ** birth-day of his martj-rdom" with joy and 
 gladness. (Where we may observe, by the way, that the days 
 of the marhTs' deaths were called their birth-days ; because 
 they looked upon those as the days of their nativity, whereon 
 they were freed from the pains and sorrows of a troublesome 
 world, and born again to the joys and happiness of an endless 
 life.) These solemnities, as we learn from TertuUian, were 
 yearly celebrated, and were afterwards observed with so much 
 care and strictness, that it was thought profaneness to be absent 
 from the Christian assemblies upon those occasions. 
 
 The following ages were as forward as those we have ah-eady 
 spoken of, in celebrating the festivals of the martyrs and holy 
 men of their time. Insomuch that at the last the observation 
 of holydays became both superstitious and troublesome ; a 
 number of dead men's names, not over eminent in their lives 
 either for sense or morals, crowding the Calendar, and jostling 
 out the festivals of the first saints and martyrs. But at the 
 Reformation of the Church, all these modern martjTS were 
 thrown aside, and no festivals retained in the Calendar as days 
 of obligation, but such as were dedicated to the honour of 
 Christ, &:c., or to the memory of those that were famous in the 
 Gospels. Such as were, in the first })lace, the twelve apostles, 
 who being constant attendants on our Lord, and advanced by 
 Him to that high order, liave each of them a day assigned to 
 their memory. St. John the Baptist and St. Stephen have tho 
 same honour done to them ; the fii-st because he was Christ's 
 forerunner ; tlie other upon account of his being the first mar- 
 tyr. St. Paul and St. Barnabas are commemorated upon account 
 of their extraordinary call ; St. Mark and St, Luke for the ser- 
 vice they did Christianity by their Gospels ; the Holy Innocents, 
 because they are the first that suflerei! upon our Saviour's ac- 
 count, as also for the greater solemnity of Christmas : the birth 
 of Christ being the occasion of their deaths. The memory of 
 all otiuT pious persons is celebrated together upon the festival 
 of All Saints : and that the people may know what benefits 
 Christians receive by the ministry of angels, the feast of St. 
 Michael and all Angeb is for that reason solemnly observed in 
 the Church. 
 
 Tliese days were constantly observed in the Church of Eng- 
 land, from the time of the Reformation to Ihc great Rebellion, 
 wlu-n it could not be expected that any thing that carried an air 
 of religion or antiquity could bear up against such irresistible 
 innndalitm of imjiiety and confusion. But at the Restoration 
 our holydays were again revived, together with our ancient 
 Liturgy, which ai>points proper Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, 
 for each of them ; and orders the "curate to declare unto tlio 
 people, on l)ie Sunday before, wliat Imlydays or fasting-days aru 
 in the week following to be observed." Riibrirk after the 
 Nicpne Creed. And the preface to tho Act of Uniformity inti- 
 mates it to be schismaticul to refuse to come to church on those 
 days. And by tho first of I'^lizabctli, which is declared by tho 
 Uniformity Act to be in full force, " all persons, having no law- 
 ful or reasotiahle e\cus(! to be absent, are oldiged to resort to 
 their parish-churcli on holydays, as well as Suiulays, and fliero 
 to abide orderly and soberly during the time of divine service, 
 upon pain of punishment by the censures of the CImrcli, anti 
 also upon puiu of twelve pence for every oflouce, to be levied 
 by distress,"
 
 IS APPOINTED TO BE READ. 
 
 XXX V 
 
 Tn rclatinn to the mnrurrence of two holydays together, we 
 have no directions either in tlie rul>rick or elsewhere, wlileh 
 must give place, or wliich of the two services must be used. 
 According to what I can eiither from the ruhricks in the Roman 
 Breviary and JNfissal, (wliich are very iutricate and difficult,) it 
 is the custom of that church, wiien two holydays come together, 
 that tiie office for one only be read, and that tlie office for tlie 
 Cjther be transferred to the next day ; excepting that some comme- 
 moration of the transferred holyday be made upon the first day, 
 by reading the hymns, verses, ^:c. which belong to the holyday 
 that is transferred. But our Liturgy has made no such provi- 
 sion. For this reason some ministers, when a holyday happens 
 upon a Sunday, take no notice of the holyday, (except that 
 sometimes they are forced to use the second Lesson for such 
 holyday, tliere being a gaji in tlie column of second Lessons in 
 the Calendar,) but use the service appointed for the Sunday ; 
 alleging that the holyday, which is of human institution, should 
 gi^e way to the Sunday, which is allowed to be of divine. But 
 this is an argument which I think not satisfactory : for though 
 the observation of Sunday be of divine institution, yet the ser- 
 vice we use on it is of human appointment. Nor is tliere any 
 thing in the services ap]>ointed to be used on the ordinary Sun- 
 days, that is more peculiar to, or tends to the greater solemnity 
 of the Sunday, than any of the services appointed for the holy- 
 days. What slight therefore do we shew to our Lord's institu- 
 tion, if when we meet on the day that He has set apart for the 
 worship of Himself, we particularly ])raise Him for the eminent 
 ■virtues that. sinned forth in some saint, whose memory tliat day 
 liapjiens to bring to our mind ? Such praises are so agi-ecable 
 to the duty of the day, that I cannot liut esteem the general 
 practice to be preferable, which is to make the lesser holyday 
 
 give way to the greater: as an ordinary Sunday, for instance, 
 to a saint's day ; a saint's day to one of our Lord's festivals ; 
 and a lesser festival of our Lord to a greater : except that some, 
 if the first Lesson for the holyday bo out of the Apocrypha, will 
 join the first Lesson of flie Sunday to the holyday service : as 
 observing that the Church, by always appointing caiionical 
 Scripture upon Sundays, seems to countenance their use of a 
 canonical lesson even upon a holyday, that has a proper one 
 appointed out of the Apocrypha, if that holyday should hai)i)en 
 upon a Sunday. But what if the Annunciation slujuld ha})j>en 
 in Passion-week; or either that or St. Mark upon Easter Mon- 
 day or Tuesday ? or what if St. Barnabas should fall U[ion Whit- 
 Monday or Tuesday ? or what if St. Andrew and Advent Sunday 
 both come together? In any of these concurrences I do not 
 doubt but the service would be differently performed in different 
 churches. And therefore I take this to be a case, in which the 
 bishops ought to be consulted, they having a power vested in 
 them *' to appease all diversity, (if any arise,) and to resolve all 
 doubt concerning the manner how to understand, do, and exe- 
 cute the things contained in the Book of Common Prayer." 
 See the Preface concerning the Service of the Church. Wheatbj. 
 c — shall serve all the week after,'] This is so appointed, 
 for that the Epistle and Gospel are to be read every day of the 
 week, as every day there should be a communion. If people 
 be married on a week-day, at that time by this book they are 
 injoined to receive : and so when women after child-birth are 
 churched ; or when men in cathedral churches, where they are 
 injoined it every Sunday at least, shall desire to have the 
 Communion on the week-day ; that then the Collect, Epistle, 
 and Gospel shall be used, which was appointed for the Sunday. 
 Bp. Overall. 
 
 C Z
 
 XXX VI 
 
 fPROPER LESSONS 
 
 To be read at Morning and Evening Prayer, on the Sundays, and other Holy-days throughout the Year. 
 
 5f LESSONS PROPER FOR SUNDAYS- 
 
 Sundays of Advent. 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 Sundays after 
 
 Chrislmas. 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 Sundays after the 
 EjJi/ihany. 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 6 
 
 Sepluar/esima. 
 
 Sexagesimn. 
 
 Quinquayesima. 
 
 Lent. 
 Sunday 1 
 2 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 C 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Easter-Day. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 Sundays after 
 
 Easter. 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 
 Evensong. 
 
 Genesis 
 
 9. to V. 20 
 
 Exodus 
 
 3 , E.\odus 
 
 Matth. 
 
 Exodus 
 Romans 
 
 2 
 24 
 26 
 32 
 
 38 
 43 
 
 46 
 53 
 56 
 58 
 64 
 66 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 22 
 34 
 
 42 
 
 45 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 26 Heb. 5./0 i7.ll 
 
 12 Exodus 
 6 Acts 2. 
 
 Numb. 16 
 
 23, 24 
 
 Deut. 4 
 
 Numb. 
 
 Deut. 
 
 14 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 25 
 
 5 
 
 Sundays after 
 Easter. 
 4 
 5 
 Sunday after Ascen- 
 sion-Day. 
 JVhit-Snnday. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 1 wesson. 
 Trinity Sunday, 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 Sundays after 
 
 Trinity. 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 6 
 7 
 
 8 
 9 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 16 
 17 
 18 
 19 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 25 
 26 
 
 Deut. 
 
 Genesis 
 Matth. 
 
 Joshua 
 Judges 
 1 Sam. 
 
 Mattins. 
 
 - 16. /op. 18 
 .Vets 10. V. 34 
 
 Evensong. 
 
 Deut. 
 
 7 I 
 
 9j 
 
 "J 
 
 Isaiah 1 1 
 
 Acts 19. <op. 21 
 
 Genesis 
 
 3 1 John 
 
 Joshua 
 Judges 
 1 Sam. 
 
 2 Sam. 
 
 1 Kings 
 
 1 Kings 
 
 2 Kings 
 
 r2!2 Sam. 
 21 
 13 
 18 
 21 
 5 
 10 
 19 
 
 Jerem. 
 
 Ezekiel 
 
 Diinicl 
 Joel 
 
 IlabakUuk 
 Proverbs 
 
 35 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 20 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 13 
 
 15 
 
 17 
 
 2 Kings 
 
 Jerem. 
 
 Ezekiel 
 
 Daniel 
 Micah 
 Proverbs 
 
 18 
 5 
 
 23 
 
 5 
 
 3; 
 13 
 17 
 19 
 24 
 17 
 19 
 22 
 
 9 
 18 
 23 
 22 
 36 
 13 
 18 
 24 
 
 6: 
 
 6 
 
 1 I 
 
 3 
 12 
 14 
 16 
 19 
 
 If LESSONS PROPER FOR HOLY-DAYS. 
 
 .S". Andrew. 
 
 S. 'I'hnmas the Apostle. 
 
 Nativity of Christ. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 I,esson. 
 
 Mattins. 
 Proverbs 
 
 20 
 23 
 
 Evensong. 
 Proverbs 
 
 21 
 24 
 
 Isaiah 9. tor. 8 Isaiah 7. v. 10 
 
 tov. 17 
 
 Luke 2. /op. 15 Tit. 3. p. 4 /op. 9 
 
 S. Stephen. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 S. John. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Mattins. 
 
 Evensong. 
 
 Proverbs 28 Eccles. 4 
 
 Acts 6. p. 8 tV Acts 7. P. 30 
 
 ch. 7. to V. 30, to V, 55 
 
 FiCclcs. 
 Revelation 
 
 5 Eccles. 
 1 Revelation 
 
 22
 
 t LESSONS PROPER FOR HOLY-DAYS. 
 
 
 Mattins. 
 
 
 Evensong 
 
 
 
 Mattins. 
 
 Evensong. 
 
 Innocents' Day. 
 
 Jer. 31. tov 
 
 18 
 
 Wisdom 
 
 1 
 
 S. Mark. 
 
 Ecclus. 4' Ecclus. 5 
 
 Circumcision. 
 
 
 
 
 
 S. Philip ^ S. James. 
 
 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 2 
 
 
 12 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 
 9 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Romans 
 
 Colossians 
 
 2 
 
 John l.». 43 
 
 Epiphany. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ascension-Day. 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 Isaiah 
 
 60 
 
 Isaiah 
 
 49 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 Deut. 10 2 Kings 2 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Luke 3. to V 
 
 23 
 
 John 2. to V 
 
 .12 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Luke 24. V. 44 Kph. 4. tov.\7 
 
 Conversion of S. Paul. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Monday in Whitsun- 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 Wisdom 
 
 5 
 
 Wisdom 
 
 6 
 
 week. 
 
 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Acts 22. to V 
 
 22 
 
 Acts 
 
 26 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 Gen.M. tov. 10 
 
 Num. 11. V. IC 
 
 Punficalion of the 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 to V. 30 
 
 Virgin Mary. 
 
 Wisdom 
 
 9 
 
 Wisdom 
 
 12 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 Cor. 12 
 
 1 Cor. 14. to V. 
 
 S. Matthias. 
 
 
 19 
 
 Ecclus. 
 
 1 
 
 Tuesday in VVhitsun- 
 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 Annunciation of our 
 Lady. 
 
 Ecclus. 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 week. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 Sam. 19 p. 18 
 1 Thess. b.v. 12 
 
 Deut. 30 
 1 John 4. to V. 
 
 Wednesday before 
 Easier. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Hosea 
 John 11. » 
 
 13 
 
 45 
 
 Hosea 
 
 14 
 
 S. Barnabas. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 to V. 24 
 
 Ecclus. 10 
 Acts 14 
 
 14 
 
 Ecclus. 1 2 
 Acts 1 5. to V. 36 
 
 Thursday before 
 
 Easter. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 
 
 
 
 S. John Baptist. 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 Malachi 3 
 
 Malachi 4 
 
 Daniel 
 
 9 
 
 Jeremiah 
 
 31 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Matthew 3 
 
 Matt. 14. to V. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 John 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 S. Peter. 
 
 
 13 
 
 Good Friday. 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 Gen. 22. tov 
 
 20 
 
 Isaiah 
 
 53 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Ecclus. 15 
 Acts 3 
 
 Ecclus. 1 9 
 Acts 4 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 John 
 
 la 
 
 1 Pet. 
 
 2 
 
 S. James. 
 
 Ecclus. 21 
 
 Ecclus. 22 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . ,. . *^-( 
 
 '^O 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 Zechariah 
 Luke 23. V. 
 
 9 
 50 
 
 Exodus 
 Hebrews 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 S. Matthew. 
 
 
 38 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 
 Monday in Easier- 
 week. 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 
 
 
 
 S. Michael. 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 Genesis 32 
 
 Dan. 10. V. 5 
 
 Exodus 
 
 16 
 
 E.xodus 
 
 17 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Acts 12. <o». 20 
 
 Judep. 6 /or. 16 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Matthew 
 
 28 
 
 Acts 
 
 3 
 
 S. Luke. 
 
 Ecclus. 51 
 
 Job 1 
 
 Tuesday in Easter- 
 
 
 
 
 
 S. Simon ^ S. Jude. 
 
 Job 24, 25 
 
 42 
 
 week. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Exodus 20 
 Luke 24. to V. 
 
 Exodus 
 1 Cor. 
 
 32 
 15 
 
 All Saints. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 Wisd. 3.<ot). 10 
 Heb. 11. c. 33 
 
 Wisd. 5. tov.\7 
 Rev. 19./0K. 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^•ch. 12. /OP. 71 
 
 H PROPER PSALMS ON CERTAIN DAYS. 
 
 Christmas-Day. 
 
 Mattins. 
 19. 45. 85. 
 
 Evensong. 
 89. 110. 132. 
 
 Easter-Day. 
 
 Mattins. 
 2. 57. 111. 
 
 Evensong. 
 113, 114. 118. 
 
 Ash- Wednesday. 
 
 6. 32. 38. 
 
 102. 130. 143. 
 
 Ascension-Day. 
 
 8. 15. 21. 
 
 24. 47. 108. 
 
 Good Friday. 
 
 22. 40. 54. 
 
 69. 88. 
 
 HTiit-Sunday. 
 
 48. 68. 
 
 104. 145.
 
 THE CALENDAR, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 JANUARY hath xxxi. Days. 
 
 r 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 
 1 Lesson. 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 
 
 A 
 
 Calendfe 
 
 GTircumctsion of our ilort. 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 b 
 
 4 Non. 
 
 
 Gen. l|Matth.l 
 
 Gen. 2|Rom. 1 
 
 3 
 
 c 
 
 3 Non. 
 
 
 3| 2 
 
 4| 2 
 
 4 
 
 d 
 
 Prid. Non. 
 
 
 5| 3 
 
 6| 3 
 
 5 
 
 e 
 
 Nonaj 
 
 
 7| 4 
 
 8| 4! 
 
 6 
 7 
 
 f 
 
 Bid. 
 
 yppipijanj) of out ?Lovt). 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 g 
 
 7 Id. 
 
 
 9| 5| 12| 5 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 A 
 
 6 Id. 
 
 Lucian, Priest and Martyr. 
 
 13| 6| 14| 6 
 
 b 
 
 5 Id. 
 
 
 151 71 161 7i 
 
 c 
 
 4 Id. 
 
 
 ' 17| 8] 18| 8i 
 
 d 
 
 3 Id. 
 
 
 19| 9| 20| 9 
 
 12 
 
 e 
 
 Prid. Id. 
 
 
 21! ioi 22| 10 
 
 13 
 
 f 
 
 Idus 
 
 Hilary, Bishop and Confessor. 
 
 23| 11| 24| 11 
 
 14 
 
 g 
 
 19 CI. Feb. 
 
 
 25| 12| 26] 12 
 
 15 
 
 A 
 
 18 Cal. 
 
 
 27| 13| 28| 13 
 
 16 
 
 b 
 
 17 Cal. 
 
 
 29| 14| 30| 14 
 
 17 
 
 c 
 
 16 Cal. 
 
 
 31| 15| 32| 15 
 
 18 
 
 d 
 
 15 Cal. 
 
 Prisca, Roman Virgin and Martj'r. 
 
 33| 16| 34| 16i 
 
 19 
 
 e 
 
 14 Cal. 
 
 
 35| 171 37|1 Cor. 1 
 
 20 
 
 f 
 
 13 Cal. 
 
 Fabian, Bishop of Rome and Martyr. 
 
 38| 18| 39 1 2 
 
 21 
 
 g 
 
 12 Cal. 
 
 Agnes, Roman Virgin and Martyr. 
 
 1 40{ 19{ 4I| 3 
 
 22 
 
 A 
 
 11 Cal. 
 
 Vincent, Spanish Deacon and Martyr. 
 
 42| 20| 43| 4 
 
 23 
 
 b 
 
 10 Cal. 
 
 
 1 44| 21 1 45| 5 
 
 24 
 
 c 
 
 1 9 Cal, 
 
 
 46| 221 47| 6 
 
 •_'.") 
 
 ,1 
 
 8 Cal. 
 
 aioiH)nf.-icin of S-f.lJaul. 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 26 
 
 e 
 
 1 7 Cal. 
 
 
 48 23| 49 1 7 
 
 27 
 
 |f 
 
 1 6 Cal. 
 
 1 
 
 1 50 24|Exod. 1| 8 
 
 28 
 2i> 
 |30 
 31 
 
 A 
 b 
 c 
 
 1 5 Cal. 
 
 1 
 
 |Exod. 2| • 25 3| 9 
 
 1 ( -,1. 
 
 3 Cal. 
 
 ^'rid. Cal. 
 
 
 1 41 26| 5| 10 
 
 Wino OTIjarlrs, iMartpr. 
 
 1 («) «i 27| 7| 11 
 
 
 1 8| 28| 9| 12 
 
 
 Note, That (a) Exodus 6. is to be read only to ver. 14.
 
 JANUARY. 
 
 The account of the Romish saints in this and the following months is taken from fMteatly. With respect to its 
 authenticity the reader is requested to refer to page xxxiii, note y. 
 
 8. Lucian, Priest and Martyr.'] Lucian, to whose 
 memory the eighth day of this'mcmth was dedicateil, 
 is said by some to liave been a disci])le of St. Peter, 
 and to have been sent by him with St. Dennys into 
 France, where, for preaching the Gospel, he suffered 
 martyrdom. Though others relate that he was a 
 learned presbyter of Antioch, well versed in the He- 
 brew tongue, taking a great deal of jiains in com- 
 paring and amending the copies of the Bible. Being 
 long e.\ercised in the sacred discipline, he was 
 brought to the city of the Nicomedians, when the 
 Emperor Galerius Maximianus was there ; and ha\'- 
 ing recited an apology for the Christian Religion, 
 which he had comjiosed, before the governor of the 
 city, he was cast into jirison ; and having endured 
 incredible tortures, was put to death. 
 
 13. Hilary, Bishop and Confessor.'] Hilary, Bishop 
 of Poictiers in France, (commemorated on the thir- 
 teenth of this month,) was a great champion of the 
 Catholick doctrine against the Arians ; for which he 
 was jiersecuted by their party, and banished into 
 Phrygia, about the year 356, where, after much 
 pains taken in the controversy, and many troubles 
 underwent, lie died about the year 3(i7. 
 
 18. Prison, Roman Virgin and Martyr.] Prisca, 
 a Roman lady, commemorated on the eighteenth, 
 was early converted to Christianity : but refusing to 
 abjure her religion, and to offer sacrifice when she 
 was commanded, was horribly tortured, and after- 
 wards beheaded under the Emperor Claudius, in the 
 year of our Lord 47. 
 
 20. Fabian, Bishop and Martyr.] Fabian was 
 Bishop of Rome about fourteen years, namely, from 
 the year of our Lord 239 to 253, and suffered mar- 
 tyrdom under the Emperor Decius. 
 
 21. Agnes, Roman Virgin and 3Iartyr.] Agnes, 
 a young Roman lady of a noble family, suffered mar- 
 tyrdom in the tenth general persecution under the 
 Emperor Dioclesian, in the year of our Lord 306. 
 She was by the wcked cruelty of the judge con- 
 demned to be debauched in a public stew before her 
 
 execution ; but was miraculously preserved by light- 
 ning and thunder from heaven. She underwent her 
 persecution with wonderful readiness, and though 
 the executioner hacked and hewed her body most 
 unmercifully with the sword, yet she bore it with 
 incredible constancy, singing hymns all the time, 
 though she was then no more than thirteen or four- 
 teen years old. 
 
 About eight days after her execution, her parents 
 going to lament and pray at her tomb, where they 
 continued watching all night, it is re|)orted that 
 there appeared unto them a \'ision of angels, arrayed 
 with glittering and glorious garments; among whom 
 they saw their own daughter a])parelled after the 
 same manner, and a lamb standing by her as white 
 as snow (which is the reason why the painters pic- 
 ture her with a lamb by lier side). Ever after which 
 time the Roman ladies went every year (as they still 
 do) to offer and present her on this day the two best 
 and purest white lambs tliey could procure. These 
 they offered at St. Agnes's altar, (as they call it,) and 
 from thence the pope gives orders to have them put 
 into the choicest pasture about the city, till the time 
 of sheep-shearing come ; at which season they are 
 dipt, and the wool is hallowed, whereof a fine white 
 cloth is spun and woven, and consecrated every 
 year by the ])ope himself, for the palls which he 
 used to send to every archlnshoj) ; and which till 
 they have purchased at a most extravagant price, 
 they cannot exercise any metropolitical jurisdic- 
 tion. 
 
 22. Vincent, a Dean of Spain and Martyr.] Vin- 
 cent, a deacon of the Church in Spain, was born 
 at Oscard, now Huezza, a town in Arragon. He 
 was instructed in divinity by Valerius, Bishop of 
 Saragosa; but by reason of an impediment in his 
 speech, never took ujion him the office of preaching. 
 He suffered martyrdom in the Dioclesian perse- 
 cution, about the year 303, being laid all along upon 
 burning coals, and, after his body was broiled there, 
 thrown upon heaps of broken tiles.
 
 xl 
 
 THE CALENDAR, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 
 FEBRUARY hath xxviii. Days. 
 And in every Leap- Year xxix. Days. 
 
 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 Lesson. 1 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 Lesson. 2 Lesson. 
 
 
 1 
 
 d 
 
 Calendse | Fast. 
 
 Exod.lOjMark 1 
 
 Exod.ll|lCor.l3 
 
 
 2 
 
 e 
 
 4 Non. llJuxifiratton of Vixqin JHarg. 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 14 
 
 
 3 
 
 f 
 
 3 Non. jBlasiiis, Bishop and Martyr. 
 
 12| 3 
 
 13| 15 
 
 
 4 
 
 S 
 
 Prid. Non. | 
 
 14| 4 
 
 15] 16 
 
 
 5 
 
 A 
 
 Nonae | Agatha, a Sicilian Virgin and Martyr. 
 
 16| 5 
 
 1712 Cor. 1 
 
 
 6 
 
 b 
 
 Bid. 1 
 
 18| 6 
 
 19| 2 
 
 
 7 
 
 c 
 
 7 Id. 1 
 
 20| 7 
 
 21| 3 
 
 
 8 
 
 d 
 
 6 Id. 1 
 
 22| 8 
 
 23| 4 
 
 
 9 
 
 e 
 
 5 Id. 1 
 
 24| 9 
 
 32| 5 
 
 
 ilO 
 
 f 
 
 4 Id. 1 
 
 33| 10 
 
 34| 6 
 
 
 11 
 
 S 
 
 3 Id. 1 
 
 Lev. 18| 11 
 
 Lev. 19| 7 
 
 
 ;i2 
 
 A 
 
 Prid. Id. 1 
 
 20| 12 
 
 26| 8 
 
 
 113 
 
 b 
 
 Id us 1 
 
 Num. 11| 13 
 
 Num.121 9 
 
 
 ,14 
 
 c 
 
 16 CI. Mar.lValentinc, Bishop and Martyr. 
 
 13| 14 
 
 14| 10 
 
 
 |15 
 
 d 
 
 15 Cal. 1 
 
 16| 15 
 
 17| 11 
 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 e 
 
 14 Cal. 1 
 
 20| 16 
 
 21| 12 
 
 
 f 
 
 13 Cal. 1 
 
 22|Lul<o39 
 
 23| 13 
 
 
 18 
 
 g 
 
 |12 Cal. 1 
 
 24| 1 t;. 39 
 
 1 25|Galat. 1 
 
 
 |ig 
 
 A 
 
 111 Cal. 1 
 
 27 1 2 
 
 301 2 
 
 
 20 
 
 b 
 
 10 Cal. 1 
 
 31| 3 
 
 321 3 
 
 
 ■21 
 
 c 
 
 1 9 Cal. 1 
 
 1 35| 4 
 
 1 36| 4 
 
 
 22 
 
 |d 
 
 1 8 Cal. 1 
 
 Deut. 1| 5 
 
 Deut. 2| 5 
 
 
 2.3 
 
 e 
 
 1 7 Cal. 1 Fast. 
 
 1 3| 6 
 
 4| 6 
 
 
 24 
 
 1 -- 
 ,25 
 
 26 
 
 '27 
 |28 
 29 
 
 |f 
 
 1 6 Cal. ist. HftaftijiaB, apost. anti jWait. 
 
 1 1 7 
 
 1 jEphes. 1 
 
 
 \s 
 
 1 5 Cal. 1 
 
 1 5| 8 
 
 6 2 
 
 
 |A 
 
 1 4 Cal. 1 
 
 7| 9 
 
 8| 3 
 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 1 3 Cal. 1 
 
 9| 10 
 
 10| 4 
 
 
 |Prid. Cal. 1 
 
 11| 11 
 
 12 5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 13|Mattli.7 
 
 14lRom. 12 
 
 

 
 xli 
 
 FEBRUARY. 
 
 3. Blasius, Bishop and Martyr.] Blasius was 
 Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, reported to have 
 been a man of great miracles and power, put to 
 death in the same city by Agricolaus the president, 
 under Dioelesian the Emperor, in the year 289. 
 His name is not put down in some editions of the 
 Common Prayer Book, but it occm'S in the most 
 authenticlc. 
 
 5. Ayatha, a Sicilian Virgin and Martyr.] Agatha, 
 a virgin honourably born in Sicily, suffered martyr- 
 dom under Decius the Emperor at Catanea. Being 
 very beautiful, Quintianus, the praetor or governor of 
 the province, was enamoured with her : but not 
 being able to work his ill design upon her, ordered 
 her to be scourged, and then imprisoned, for not 
 worshipping the heathen gods. After which, slie, 
 still persisting constant in the faith, was put ujion 
 the rack, burnt with hot irons, and had her breast 
 cut off. And then being remanded back to prison, 
 she had several divine comforts afforded her: but 
 
 the praetor sending for her again, being half dead, 
 she prayed to God to receive her soul ; with which 
 petition she immediately expired ; it being the fifth 
 of February, in the year of our Lord 253. 
 
 14. Valentine, Bishop and Martyr.] Valentine 
 was an ancient presbyter of the Church ; he suffered 
 martyrdom under Claudius at Rome. Being deh- 
 vered into the custody of one Asterms, he wrought 
 a miracle upon his daughter; whom, being blind, he 
 restored to sight ; by which means he converted the 
 whole family to Christianity, who all of them after- 
 wards suffered for their religion. Valentine, after a 
 year's imprisonment at Rome, was beheaded in the 
 Flaminian-way about the year 271, and was enrolled 
 among the martyrs of the Church ; his day being 
 established before the times of Gregory the Great. 
 He was a man of most admirable parts, and so 
 famous for his love and charity, that the custom of 
 " choosing Valentines " upon his festival (which is 
 still practised) took its rise from thence.
 
 xHi 
 
 THE CALENDAE, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 MARCH hath xxxi. Days. 
 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2, Lesson. 
 
 
 ] 
 
 d 
 
 Calendte David, Arclibishop of Menev. 
 
 Deut. 13 
 
 Luke 12 
 
 Deut. 16lEphes.6 
 
 
 2 
 
 e 
 
 6 Non. ICedde, or Chad, Bp. of Litchfield. 
 
 17 
 
 13 
 
 ]8|Phil. 1 
 
 
 3 
 
 f 
 
 3 Non. 1 
 
 19 
 
 14 
 
 201 2i 
 
 
 4 
 
 S 
 
 4 Non. 1 
 
 21 
 
 15 
 
 22| 3 
 
 
 5 
 
 A 
 
 3 Non. 1 
 
 24 
 
 16 
 
 25| 4' 
 
 6 
 
 b 
 
 I'rid. Non. 1 
 
 26 
 
 17 
 
 27|Coloss. 1 
 
 1 7 
 
 c 
 
 Nonje Perpetua Maurit. Martyr. 
 
 28 
 
 18 
 
 291 2 
 
 t 8 
 
 d 
 
 8 Id. 1 
 
 30 
 
 19 
 
 31| 3 
 
 1 9 
 
 e 
 
 7 Id. 1 
 
 32 
 
 20 
 
 331 4 
 
 110 
 
 f 
 
 6 Id. 1 
 
 34 
 
 21 
 
 Josh. IjlThes. 1 
 
 111 
 
 S 
 
 5 Id. 1 
 
 Josh. 2 
 
 22 
 
 3| 2, 
 
 112 
 
 A 
 
 4 Id. |Gregory, M. B. of Rome and C. 
 
 4 
 
 23 
 
 51 3 
 
 |13 
 
 b 
 
 3 Id. I 
 
 6 
 
 24 
 
 7| 4 
 
 114 
 
 c 
 
 Prid. Id. 1 
 
 8 
 
 John 1 
 
 9| 5 
 
 115 
 
 d 
 
 Idus 1 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 23|2Thes. 1 
 
 116 
 
 e 
 
 17 CI. Apr. 1 
 
 24 
 
 3 
 
 Judges 1 1 2 ^ 
 
 117 
 
 f 
 
 16 Cal. 1 
 
 Judges 2 
 
 4 
 
 31 3 
 
 |1» 
 
 g 
 
 15 Cal. 1 Edward, King of West- Saxons. 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 5|1 Tim. 1 
 
 |19 
 
 A 
 
 14 Cal. 1 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 71 2,3 
 
 120 
 
 b 
 
 13 Cal. 1 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 91 4 
 
 14|21 
 
 c 
 
 12 Cal. 1 Benedict, Abbot. 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 11| 5 
 
 3122 
 
 d 
 
 11 Cal. 1 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 131 fi 
 
 123 
 11|24 
 
 e 
 f 
 
 10 Cal. 1 
 
 14 
 
 10 
 
 13|2 Tim. 1 
 
 9 Cal. 1 Fast. 
 
 16 
 
 11 
 
 171 2 
 
 
 2-) 
 
 g 
 
 8 Cal. lanmmnatton of Vixqin Mat)}. 
 
 
 12 
 
 1 3 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 A 
 
 7 Cal. 1 
 
 18 
 
 13 
 
 191 4 
 
 8 
 
 27 
 
 b 
 
 6 Cal. 1 
 
 20 
 
 14 
 
 21 Titus 1 
 
 |28 
 
 c 
 
 5 Cal. 1 
 
 Ruth 1 
 
 15 
 
 Ruth 2| 2,3 
 
 !()|29 
 
 d 
 
 4 Cal. 1 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 4|Phi!cm. 
 
 5 
 
 30 
 
 f 
 
 3 Cal. 1 
 
 1 Sam. 1 
 
 17 
 
 lSam.21IIeb. 1 
 
 131 
 
 Prid. Cal. 1 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
 41 2 
 
 'ITic Numbers here prefixed to the several Days, between tlieTwetitv-first Day of March and the Kif{btccnth 
 1 )ay of April, both inclusive, denote the Days upon which those full Nloons do fall, which hajijien upon or next 
 Lfter the Twenty-first Day of March, in those Years, of which they are respectively the (Joldeii Numbers ; and
 
 xliii 
 
 MARCH. 
 
 1. David, ArMishnp of Menevia.'] Da^nd, to 
 whose memory the first of this month was formerly 
 dedicated, was descended from tlie royal family of 
 the Britons, being uncle to the f[reat King Arthur, 
 and son of Xanthus Prince of Wales-, by one Mele- 
 aria, a Nun. He was a man very learned and elo- 
 quent, and of incredible austerity in his life and 
 conversation. By his diligence Pelagianism was 
 quite rooted out, and many earnest professors of the 
 same converted unto the truth. He was made 
 Bishop of Caerleon in Wales, which see he after- 
 wards removed to Menevia; from him ever since 
 called St. David's. He sat long, namely, si.\ty-five 
 years, and (having built twelve monasteries in the 
 country thereabouts) died in the year 642 : being, 
 as Bale writes out of the British histories, a hundred 
 and forty-six years old. He was buried in his own 
 cathedral church, and canonized by Pope Calixtus H. 
 about five hundred years afterwards. Many things 
 are reported of him incredible ; as that his birth 
 was foretold thirty years beforehand ; and that he 
 was always attended by angels, who kept him com- 
 pany ; that he bestowed upon the waters at Bath 
 that extraordinary heat thej' have; and that whilst 
 he was once preaching to a great multitude of people 
 at Brony, the ground swelled under his feet into a 
 little hill ; with several other such stories not worth 
 rehearsing. 
 
 2. Cedde, or Chad, Bishop of Litchfield^ Cedde 
 was, in the absence of Wilfride Archbishop of York, 
 who was gone to Paris for consecration, and gave 
 no hopes of a speedy return, enforced by Egfrid 
 King of Northumberland to accept of that see. But 
 Wilfride being returned, Cedde was persuaded by 
 Theodorus Archbishop of Canterbury to resign the 
 see to him : after which for some time he lived a 
 monastical life at Lestingeag ; till, by the means of 
 the same Theodorus, he was made Bishop of Litch- 
 field, under Wolfhere, King of Mercia, whom he is 
 said to have converted. He died March 2, in the 
 year of our Lord 672. 
 
 7. Perpelua, a Maurilanian Martyr.'] Perpetua 
 was a lady of quality, who suffered martyrdom in 
 Mauritania, imder the Emperor Severus, about the 
 year 205. She is often very honourably mentioned 
 by Tertullian and St. Austin ; the last of whom lets 
 us know that the day of her martyrdom was settled 
 into a holy-day in his time ; and remarks of her, 
 that she gave suck to a young child at the time of 
 her sufferings. 
 
 12. Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome and Con- 
 
 fessor.'] Gregory the Great, who stands next in the 
 Calendar, was descended from noble parents. He 
 very early addicted himself to study and piety, 
 giving all his estate to the building and maintaining 
 of religious houses. He was consecrated Pojie about 
 the year 590, but vigorously 0[)posed the title of 
 " universal bishop " (which the bishops of Constan- 
 tinople did then, and the bishops of Rome do now, 
 assume) as blasphemous, antichristian, and diabo- 
 lical. Among other his glorious and Christian 
 deeds, his memory was annually celebrated here in 
 England, for his devout charity to our nation, in 
 sending Austin the monk, with forty other mission- 
 aries, to convert the Saxons, (who had testified their 
 desire to embrace Christianity,) which in a short 
 time they happily achieved. Having held the pope- 
 dom fourteen years, he died about the year 604, 
 leaving many learned books behind him, which are 
 still extant. 
 
 18. Edward, King of the tVest Saxons.] Edward 
 was descended from the West Saxon kings, and the 
 son of King Edgar, who first reduced the Hejitarchy 
 into one kingdom : after whose death, in the year 
 975, this Edward succeeded to the crown at twelve 
 years of age, but did not enjoy it al)ove two or three 
 years. For paying a visit to Elfrida his mother-in-law 
 at Corfe-castle, in Dorsetshire, he was by her order 
 stabbed in the back, (whilst he was drinking a cup of 
 wine,) to make way for her son Etheldred, his half- 
 brother. His favourto the monks made his barbarous 
 murder to be esteemed a martyrdom ; the day of 
 which was appointed to be kept festival by Pope In- 
 nocent IV. in the year of our Lord 1245. 
 
 21. Benedict, Abbot.] Benedict was born in Nor- 
 cia, a town in Italy, of an honourable family. Be- 
 ing much given to devotion, he set up an order of 
 monks, which bears his name, about the year 529. 
 He was very remarkable for his mortification ; and 
 the monks of his own order relate, that he would 
 often roll himself in a heaj) of briars, to check any 
 carnal desires that he found to arise in himself. St. 
 Gregory tells us of a very famous miracle wrought 
 upon his account, namely, that the Goths, when 
 they invaded Italy, came to burn his cell ; and being 
 set on fire, it burnt round him in a circle, not doing 
 him the least hurt : at which the Goths being enraged, 
 threw him into a hot oven, stopping it up close : but 
 coming the next day, they found him safe, neither 
 his flesh scorched, nor bis clothes singed. He died 
 on the twenty-fiist of March, in the year of our Lord 
 542.
 
 xli 
 
 1 
 
 THE CALENDAR, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 APRIL hath xxx. Days. 
 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 1 
 
 13 
 
 1 
 
 g Caleiidse j 
 
 1 Sam. 5| John 19 
 
 ISam.GjHeb. 3 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 A 4 Non. 1 
 
 7| 20 
 
 81 4 
 
 
 3 
 
 b 3 Non. 1 Richard, Bishop of Chichester. 
 
 91 21 
 
 10| 5 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 c |Prid. Non. jSt. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. 
 
 lllActs 1 
 
 12| 6 
 
 
 5 
 
 d 1 Nonse 1 
 
 131 2 
 
 ]4| 7 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 e 18 Id. 1 
 
 15| 3 
 
 16| 8 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 f |7 Id. 1 
 
 171 4 
 
 18| 9 
 
 
 8 
 
 g|6ld. 1 
 
 191 5 
 
 20| 10 
 
 151 9 
 
 A|5ld. 1 
 
 211 6 
 
 22| 11 
 
 4110 
 
 b |4 Id. 1 
 
 23| 7 
 
 24| 12 
 
 |li 
 
 c |3 Id. 1 
 
 251 8 
 
 261 13 
 
 12112 
 
 dlPrid. Id. 1 
 
 27| 9 
 
 28|James 1 
 
 1113 
 
 e jldus 1 
 
 291 10 
 
 30| 2 
 
 114 
 
 f |18 CI. Mar.| 
 
 31| 11 
 
 2Sam. Ij 3 
 
 9|15 
 
 g|17Cai. 1 
 
 2 Sam. 21 12 
 
 3| 4 
 
 |16 
 
 AjieCal. 1 
 
 41 13 
 
 51 5 
 
 17117 
 
 b|15Cal. 1 
 
 61 14 
 
 71 1 Peter 1 
 
 i; 
 
 18 
 
 c|14Cal. 1 
 
 81 15 
 
 9| 2 
 
 
 19 
 
 d 1 13 Cal. |Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 101 16 
 
 111 3 
 
 |20 
 
 e|12Cal. 1 
 
 121 17 
 
 131 4' 
 
 |21 
 
 fin Cal. 1 
 
 141 1» 
 
 15| 5 
 
 |22 
 
 gllOCal. 1 
 
 161 19 
 
 17|2Peter 1 
 
 |23 
 
 Aj 9 Cal. jSt. George, Martyr. 
 
 18| 20 
 
 191 2 
 
 |24 
 
 b 1 8 Cal. ■ 1 
 
 201 21 
 
 211 3 
 
 |25 
 
 c 1 7 Cal. |5,t. Mmk, (ffbaiifl. anti IHnrt. 
 
 1 22 
 
 jlJohn 1 
 
 
 26 
 
 d 1 6 Cal. 1 
 
 22| 23 
 
 231 2 
 
 
 ■27 
 
 e 1 5 Cal. 1 
 
 24| 24 
 
 IKingslj 3 
 
 i 
 
 28 
 
 f 1 4 Cal. 
 
 lKings2| 25 
 
 31 4 
 
 |29 
 |30 
 
 g 1 3 Cal. 1 
 
 4| 26 
 
 51 5 
 
 jAllMd. Cal. 1 
 
 6| 27 
 
 712, 3 John 
 
 the Sunday-I^etter next following any such Full Moon points out Easter-Day for that Year. All which holds 
 until the ^'ear of our Lord ln!)9 inclusive; after which Year, the Place of these Golden Numbers will bo to 
 
 be cliariLCi'il, as is hcrcuf'tiT {'xpri'SSL'd.
 
 xlv 
 
 APRIL. 
 
 3. Richard, Bishop of Chichester.] Richard, siir- 
 named de Wiche, from a ])lace so called in Worces- 
 tershire, where he was born, was brought up at the 
 Universities of Oxford and Paris. ISeing come to 
 man's estate, he travelled to Bononia ; where, having 
 studied the canon law seven years, he became pub- 
 lick reader of the same. Being returned home, he 
 was, in the vacancy of the see of Chichester, chosen 
 bishop by that chapter ; which the king opposing, 
 (he having nominated another,) Richard appealed to 
 Rome, and had his election confirmed by the Pope, 
 who consecrated him also at Lyons, in the year 1245. 
 He was very much reverenced for his great learning 
 and diligent preaching, but especially for his integrity 
 of life and conversation. Strange miracles are told 
 of him : as that, by his blessing, he increased a single 
 loaf of bread to satisfy the hunger of three thousand 
 poor people ; and that in his extreme old age, whilst 
 he was celebrating the Eucharist, he fell down with 
 the chalice in his hand, but the wine was miraculously 
 preserved from falling to the ground. About seven 
 or eight years after his death, he was canonized for a 
 saint by Pope Urban IV. in the year of our Lord 12G1. 
 
 4. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.] St. Ambrose was 
 born about the year 340. His father was Praetorian 
 Prefect of Gaul, in whose palace St. Ambrose was 
 educated. It is reported, that in his infancy a 
 swarm of bees settled upon his cradle ; which was 
 a prognostication, as was sujiposed, of his futiu-e 
 eloquence. After his father's death, he went with 
 his mother to Rome, where he studied the laws, 
 jiractised as an advocate, and was made governor of 
 Milan and the neighbouring cities. U])on the death 
 of Auxentius, Bishop of Milan, there being a great 
 contest in the election of a new bishop, this good 
 father, in an excellent speech, exhorted them to 
 peace and unanimity ; which so moved the affections 
 of the people, that they immediately forgot the com- 
 petitors whom they were so zealous for before, and 
 unanimously declared that they would have their 
 governor for their bishop ; who, after several en- 
 deavours by flight and other artifices to avoid that 
 burden, was at last compelled to yield to the impor- 
 tunities of the people, and to be consecrated bishop. 
 From which time he gave all his money to pious 
 uses, and settled the reversion of his estate upon the 
 church. He governed that see mth great piety and 
 vigilance for more than twenty years, and died in the 
 
 year 39L, Demg about fifty-seven years old : havmg 
 first converted St. Augustin to the faith ; at whose 
 baptism he is said miraculously to have comjjosed 
 that divine hymn, so well known in the Church by 
 the name of " Te Deum." 
 
 1 9. Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury.] Aljihege 
 was an Englishman, of a most holy and austere life, 
 which was the more admiralile in him, because he was 
 born of great parentage, and began that course of life 
 in his younger years. He was first Abbot of Bath, 
 then Bishop of Winchester in the year 9t>4, and 
 twelve years afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 But in the year 1012, the Danes being disa|)pointcd of 
 a certain tribute which they claimed as due to them, 
 they fell upon Canterbury, and spoiled and burnt Ijoth 
 the city and church : nine [larts in ten of the people 
 they put to the sword, and after seven months' mise- 
 rable im])risonment, stoned the good Archbishop to 
 death at Greenwich ; who was thereui)on canonized 
 for a saint and martyr, and had the nineteenth of 
 April allowed him as bis festival. 
 
 23. 67. Georye, Martyr.] St. George, the famous 
 patron of the English nation, was born in Cap- 
 ])adocia, and suffered for the sake of his religion, in the 
 year of our Lord 290, under the Emperor Diodesian, 
 (in whose army he had before been a colonel,) being 
 supposed to have been the person that pulled down 
 the edict against the Christians, which Dioclesian 
 had caused to be affixed upon the church doors. The 
 legends relate several strange stories of him, which 
 are so common they need not here be related : I shall 
 only give a short account how he came to be so much 
 esteemed of in England. 
 
 When Robert Duke of Normandy, son to William 
 the Conqueror, was jjrosecuting his victories against 
 the Turks, and laying siege to the famous city of 
 Antioch, which was like to be relieved by a mighty 
 army of the Saracens ; St. George appeared with an 
 innumerable army coming down from the hills all in 
 white, with a red cross in his banner, to reinforce the 
 Christians ; which occasioned the infidel army to fly, 
 and the Christians to possess themselves of the town. 
 This stoiy made St. George extraordinarily famous in 
 those times, and to be esteemed a patron, not only 
 of the English, but of Christianity itself. Not but 
 that St. George was a considerable saint before this, 
 having had a church dedicated to him by Justinian 
 the Emperor.
 
 xlvi 
 
 THE CALENDAR, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 MAY hath xxxi. Days. 
 
 1 
 i 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. 1 2 Lesson. j 1 Lesson. 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 1 
 
 b 
 
 Calendae 
 
 St. |3f)iltp an^ St. 3Jamcs. 
 
 1 1 |Jude 
 
 2 
 
 c 
 
 6 Non. 
 
 
 IKingsSlActs 28llKings9|Rom. 1 
 
 |3 
 
 d 
 
 5 Non. 
 
 Invention of the Cross. 
 
 10[Matth. 1| 11| 2 
 
 4 
 
 e 
 
 4 Non. 
 
 
 121 2| 13| 3 
 
 1 3 
 
 f 
 
 3 Non. 
 
 
 14| 3| 15| 4 
 
 6 
 
 g 
 
 Prid. Non. 
 
 St. John Evang. ante Port. I.at. 
 
 16| 4| 17| 5 
 
 7 
 
 A 
 
 Nonffi 
 
 
 18| 5| 19| 6 
 
 8 
 
 b 
 
 8 Id. 
 
 
 20| 6| 21| 7 
 
 9 
 
 c 
 
 7 Id. 
 
 
 22| 7|2Kingsl| 8 
 
 10 
 
 d 
 
 6 Id. 
 
 
 2Kings2| 8| 3| 9 
 
 11 
 
 e 
 
 5 Id. 
 
 
 4| 9| 5| 10 
 
 1-2 
 
 1" 
 
 4 Id. 
 
 
 S\ 10] 7| 11 
 
 '^ 
 
 S 
 
 3 Id. 
 
 
 8| 11] 9| 12 
 
 i'4 
 
 A 
 
 Piid. Id. 
 
 
 10| 12| 11| 13 
 
 ,15 
 
 b 
 
 Idas 
 
 
 12| 131 13| 14 
 
 16 
 
 c 
 
 17 CI. Jun. 
 
 
 14| 141 15| 15 
 
 17 
 
 d 
 
 16 Cell. 
 
 
 16| 151 17| 16 
 
 18 
 
 e 
 
 15 Cal. 
 
 
 18| 16| 1911 Cor. 1 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 f 
 
 14 Cal. 
 
 Dunstan, Archbishop of Cant. 
 
 20| 17| 21| 2 
 
 13 Cal. 
 
 
 22| 18| 23| 3 
 
 A 
 
 12 Cal. 
 
 
 24| 191 25| 4 
 
 22 
 
 b 
 
 11 Cal. 
 
 
 Ezra Ij 20lEzra 3| 5 
 
 23 
 
 c 
 
 10 Cal. 
 
 
 4| 21| 6| 6 
 
 124 
 
 d 
 
 9 Cal. 
 
 
 6| 22| 7 7 
 
 '25 
 
 e 
 
 8 Cal. 
 
 
 9| 23|Neh. 11 8 
 
 26 
 
 f 
 
 7 Cal. 
 
 Augiistin, first Archbishop of Cant. 
 
 Neh. 2| 24| 4 9 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 
 g 
 
 6 Cal. 
 
 Ven. Bede, Presb. 
 
 5| 25| 6 10 
 
 A 
 
 5 Cal. 
 
 
 8| 261 9| 11 
 
 29 
 30 
 31 
 
 d 
 
 4 Cal. 
 
 Ilititfl arijarlcB M. Nat. ^ iU. 
 
 10| 27| 13 12 
 
 3 Cal. 
 
 
 Esther 1| 28| Esther 2| 13 
 
 Prid. Cal. 
 
 
 3|Mark 1 j 4| 14 
 
 1
 
 xlvii 
 
 MAY. 
 
 3. Invention of the Cross.'] The third of this month 
 is celelirated as a festival by the church of Rome, in 
 memory of the "Invention of the Cross," which is 
 said to be owing to this occasion. Helena, the 
 mother of Constantine the Great, being admonished 
 in a dream to searcli for the cross of Christ at Jeru- 
 salem, took a journey thither with that intent : and 
 having employed labourers to dig at Golgotha, after 
 opening the ground very deep, (for vast heaps of 
 rubbish had purposely been thrown there by the 
 si)iteful Jews or heathens,) she found three crosses, 
 which she presently concluded were the crosses of 
 our Saviour and the two thieves who were crucified 
 with Him. But being at a loss to know which was 
 the cross of Christ, she ordered them all three to be 
 ai)])lied to a dead i)erson. Two of them, the story 
 says, had no effect ; but the third raised the carcase 
 to life, which was an evident sign to Helena, that 
 that was the cross she looked for. As soon as this 
 was known, every one was for getting a piece of the 
 cross; insomuch that in Paulinus's time (who, being 
 a scholar of St. Ambrose, and Bishop of Nola, flou- 
 rished about the year 420) there was much more of 
 the reliques of the cross, than there was of the ori- 
 ginal wood, ^^'hereupon that father says, " it was 
 miraculously increased ; it very kindly afforded wood 
 to men's importunate desires, without any loss of its 
 substance." 
 
 6. St. John Evang. ante Port. Lat.] The sixth of 
 this month was anciently dedicated to the memory of 
 . St. John the Ex'angelist's miraculous deliverance from 
 the persecution of Domitian : to whom, being accused 
 as an eminent assertor of atheism and impiety, and a 
 public subverter of the religion of the emiiire, he was 
 sent for to Rome, where he was treated with all the 
 cruelty that could be expected from so bloody and 
 barbarous a prince ; for he was immediately put into 
 a cauldron of boiling oil, or rather oil set on fire, be- 
 fore the gate called " Porta Latina," in the presence 
 of the senate. But his Master and Lord, who fa- 
 voured him when on earth above all the Apostles, so 
 succoured him here, that he felt no harm from the 
 most violent rage ; but, as if he had been only 
 anointed, like the athletae of old, he came out more 
 vigorous and active than before : the same divine 
 Providence, that secured the three children in the 
 fiery furnace, bringing the holy man safe out of this, 
 one would think, inevitable destruction ; and so 
 vouchsafing him the honour of mai'tyrdom, without 
 his enduring the torments of it. 
 
 19. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury.] Dunstan, 
 of whom we are next to speak, was well extracted, 
 being related to King Athelstan. He was very well 
 skilled in most of the liberal arts, and among the 
 rest in refining metals and forging them : which 
 being qualifications much above the genius of the 
 age he hved in, fii-st gained him the name of a con- 
 juror, and then of a saint. He was certainly a very 
 honest man, and never feared to reprove vice in any 
 of the kings of tlie West Saxons, of whom he was 
 confessor to four successively. But the monks (to 
 whom he was a very great friend, applying all his 
 
 endeavours to enrich them and their monasteries) 
 have filled his life with several nonsensical stories : 
 such as are, his making himself a cell at Glasten- 
 burg all of iron at his own forge ; bis harp's playing 
 of itself, without a hand ; his taking a she-devil, 
 who tempted him to lewdness under the shape of a 
 fine lady, l)y the nose with a pair of red-hot tongs ; 
 and several other such ridicidous relations, not worth 
 re|)eating. He was promoted by King Edgar, first 
 to the bishoprick of Worcester, soon after to London, 
 and two years after that to Canterbury; where, hav- 
 ing sat twenty-seven years, he died May 19, in the 
 year of our Lord 988. 
 
 26. Auffuslin, first Archbishop of Canterbury.] Au- 
 gustin was the person we have already mentioned, 
 as sent by Pope Gregory the Great to convert the 
 Saxons, from whence he got the name of " the Apo- 
 stle of the English." Whilst he was over here, he 
 was made Archbishop of Canterbury, in the year of 
 our Lord 59(3. He had a contest with the monks of 
 Bangor, about submission to the see of Rome, who 
 refused any subjection but to God, and the bishop of 
 Caerleon. Soon after this difference, Ethelfride, a 
 pagan king of Northumberland, invaded Wales, and 
 slaughtered a hundred and fifty of these monks, who 
 came in a quiet manner to mediate a peace : which 
 massacre is by some writers (but without just grounds) 
 imputed to the instigation of Austin, in revenge for 
 their opposition to him. After he had sat some time 
 in the see of Canterbury, he deceased the twenty- 
 sixth of May, about the year GlO. 
 
 27. Venerable Bede.] Bede was born at Yarrow, 
 in Northumberland, in the year of our Lord 073, 
 and afterwards well educated in Greek and Latin 
 studies, in which he made a proficiency beyond 
 most of his age. He is author of several learned 
 philosophical and mathematical tracts, as also of 
 comments upon the Scripture : but his most valu- 
 able piece is his Ecclesiastical History of the Saxons. 
 Being a monk, he studied in his cell : where spending 
 more hours, and to better purpose, than the monks 
 were wont to do, a report was raised that he never 
 went out of it. However, he would not leave it for 
 jireferment at Rome, which the Pope had often in- 
 vited him to. 
 
 His learning and piety gained him the surname 
 of "Venerable." Though the common story which 
 goes about that title's being given him, is this : his 
 scholars having a mind to fix a rhyming title upon 
 his tombstone, as was the custom in those times, the 
 poet wrote, 
 
 HAC SUNT IN FOSSA, 
 BED^E OSSA. 
 
 Placing the word ossa at the latter end of the verse 
 for the rhyme, but not able to think of any proper 
 epithet that would stand before it. The monk, being 
 tired in this perplexity to no purpose, fell asleep; but 
 when he awaked, he found his verse filled up by an 
 angelick hand, standing thus in fair letters upon the 
 tomb: 
 
 HAC SUNT IN FOSSA, 
 BEDiE VENERABILIS OSSA.
 
 xlviii 
 
 a 
 
 THE CALESDAR, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 
 JUNE hath xxx. Days. 
 
 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 
 1| e jCalendse 
 
 Nicomede, Rom. P. and Martyr. 
 
 Esther 3|Mark 21 Esther 61 1 Cor. 15 ; 
 
 
 21 f 14 Non. 
 
 
 7| 3| 8| 16 
 
 
 3lg|3 Non. 
 
 
 9| 4!Job 1 12 Cor. 1 \ 
 
 
 4lAlPrid. Non. 
 
 
 Job 21 51 3| 2; 
 
 
 5| b INonse 
 
 Boniface, Bp. of Mentz, and Martyr. 
 
 41 61 51 3, 
 
 
 61 c 18 Id. 
 
 
 6| 71 71 4 
 
 
 7 
 
 1 d |7 Id. 
 
 
 81 8| 91 51 
 
 
 e |6 Id. 
 
 
 101 91 111 6 
 
 
 9| f |5 Id. 
 
 
 121 101 131 7 
 
 
 JO|g 
 11|A 
 
 14 Id. 
 
 
 141 11| 15| 8 
 
 
 13 Id. 
 
 *t. Ijanialias, Sp. anti JHart. 
 
 111 
 
 
 121b|Prid. Id. 
 
 
 161 12| 17, 181 9 
 
 
 131 cildiis 
 
 
 191 131 20| 10 
 
 
 l41dll8Cl. Julii. 
 
 
 211 141 22| 11 
 
 
 15| e|l7 Cal. 
 
 
 231 1^1 24, 25| 12 
 
 
 16lf jlfiCal. 
 
 
 1 26,27| 16| 28| 13 
 
 
 17lg|15 Cal. 
 
 jSt. Alban, Martyr. 
 
 1 29 1 Luke 1| SOlGalat. 1 
 
 
 181 A 114 Cal. 
 
 
 1 31 1 2| 32| 2 
 
 
 I91b|13 Cal. 
 
 
 1 331 31 341 3 
 
 
 2C 
 21 
 
 1 c|12 Cal. 
 
 I'Fr. of Edward, K. of West- Saxons. 
 
 1 351 4| 36| 4 
 
 
 |dlll Cal. 
 
 
 1 371 5| 381 '^ 
 
 
 221 e 110 Cal. 
 
 
 1 391 61 40| 6 
 
 
 '231 f 
 
 1 9 Cal. 
 
 1 Fast. 
 
 1 41| 71 42lEphes. 1 
 
 
 '2A 
 21 
 
 tig 
 
 1 8 Cal. 
 
 Ijaat. of 5t. Sfofjn Baptist. 
 
 i 1 1 1 
 
 
 .lAl 7 Cal. 
 
 
 |Prov. 1 8lProv. 2| 2 
 
 
 2e 
 2: 
 
 )| b 1 6 Cal. 
 
 
 1 31 91 4| 3 
 
 
 ?| c 1 5 Cal. 
 
 
 1 5 10| 6| 4 
 
 
 28| d 1 4 Cal. 
 
 1 Fast. 
 
 i 7| 111 81 5 
 
 
 291 e 1 3 Cal. 
 
 iSt. Deter, ap. aim mm. 
 
 1111 
 
 
 30|f jPrid. Cal. 
 
 
 1 9| 121 lOl 6 
 

 
 xlix 
 
 JUNE. 
 
 1. Nicomede, a Roman Priest and Martyr.'] 
 Nicomede was scholar to St. Peter, and was dis- 
 covered to be a Christian by his honourably burying 
 one Felicula, a martyr. He was beat to death with 
 leaden plummets for the sake of his religion, in the 
 reign of Doinitian. 
 
 5. Boniface, Bishop of Mentz, and Martyr."] 
 Boniface was a Saxon Presbyter, born in England, 
 and at first called Winfrid. He was sent a mission- 
 ary by Pope Gregory H. into Germany, where he 
 converted several countries, and from thence got the 
 name of "the Apostle of Germany." He was made 
 Bishop of Mentz in the year "45. He was one of 
 the most considerable men of his time, (most eccle- 
 siastical matters going through his hands, as appears 
 by his letters,) and was also a great friend and ad- 
 mirer of Bede. Carrying on his conversions in Frisia, 
 he was killed by the barbarous people near Utrecht, 
 in the year of our Lord 755. 
 
 17. St. Alban, Martyr.] St. Alban was the first 
 Christian martyr in this island, about the middle of 
 the third century. He was converted to Christianity 
 
 by one Amphialus, a priest of Caerleon in Wales, who. 
 Hying from persecution into England, was hospitably 
 entertained by St. Alban at Verulam in Hertford- 
 shire, now called from him St. Albans. When, by 
 reason of a strict search made for Amphialus, St. 
 Alban could entertain him safe no longer, he dressed 
 him in his own clothes, and by that means gained 
 him an opportunity of escaping. But this, being 
 soon found out, exposed St. Alban to the fury of the 
 Pagans ; who summoning him to do sacrifice to their 
 gods, and he refusing, they first miserably tormented 
 him, and then put him to death. The monks have 
 fathered several miracles upon him, which it is not 
 worth while here to relate. 
 
 20. Translation of Edward, King of the Wist 
 Saxons.] Edward King of the West Saxons being 
 barbarously murdered by his mother-in-law, was first 
 buried at Warham without any solemnity ; but after 
 three years was carried by Duke Alferus to the min- 
 ster of Shaftesbury, and there interred with great 
 ])omp. To the memory of which the twentieth of 
 June has been since dedicated.
 
 THE CALENDAR, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS 
 
 
 
 JULY hath xxxi. ] 
 
 Days. 
 
 
 
 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 ' 
 
 
 - 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 Lesson. 2 Lesson. 
 
 lig 
 
 Calendse | 
 
 Prov. 1 1 
 
 Luke 131 Prov. 12| Philip. Ml 
 
 2 
 
 A 
 
 6 Noil. 1 Visit of the Bl. Virgin Mary. 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 14| 2 
 
 3 
 
 b 
 
 5 Non. 1 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 16| 3 
 
 4 
 
 c 
 
 4 Non. jTransl. of St. Martin, B. and C. 
 
 17 
 
 16 
 
 181 4! 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 d 
 
 3 Non. 1 
 
 19 
 
 17 
 
 20IC0I0SS. 1 
 
 e 
 
 Prid. Non. | 
 
 21 
 
 18 
 
 221 2 
 
 7 
 
 f 
 
 Nonfe 
 
 23 
 
 19 
 
 24| 3 
 
 8 
 
 g 
 
 8 Id. 1 
 
 25 
 
 20 
 
 26| 4 
 
 9 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 A 
 
 7 Id. 1 
 
 27 
 
 21 
 
 28llThes.l 
 
 b 
 
 6 Id. 1 
 
 29 
 
 22 
 
 1 31| 2| 
 
 11 
 
 c 
 
 5 Id. 1 
 
 Eccles. 1 
 
 23| Eccles. 2| 3 | 
 
 12 
 
 a 
 
 4 Id. 1 
 
 3 
 
 24 
 
 4| 4 
 
 13 
 
 e 
 
 3 Id. 1 
 
 5 
 
 John 1 
 
 6 5 
 
 14 
 
 f 
 
 Prid. Id. 1 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 8!2Thes. 1 
 
 15 
 
 g 
 
 Idus |Swithun, Bishop Winch. Tran. 
 
 1 3 
 
 3 
 
 lOj 2 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 A 
 
 17 CI. Aug. 1 
 
 1 11 
 
 4 
 
 1 12) 3 
 
 b 
 
 16 Cal. 1 
 
 Jerem. 1 
 
 5 
 
 Jerem. 21 1 Tim. 1 
 
 4| 2,3 
 
 Ic 
 
 15 Cal. 1 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 19 
 
 d 
 
 14 Cal. 1 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 6| 4 
 
 20 
 21 
 
 |e 
 
 13 Cal. [Margaret, V. and M. at Antioch. 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 8| 
 
 If 
 
 12 Cal. 1 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 10| (i 
 
 22 
 23 
 
 |g 
 
 11 Cal. |St. Mary Magdalene. 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 12i2Tim. 1 
 
 |A 
 
 |I0 Cal. 1 
 
 13 
 
 11 
 
 14| 2 
 
 24 
 
 |b 
 
 9 Cal. 1 Fast. 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 16| 3 
 
 J25 
 
 ,27 
 ,2-8 
 
 c 
 
 8 Cal. ISt. 3lameg, lap. anli iftart. 
 
 
 13 
 
 1 4 
 
 {d 
 
 7 Cal. |St. Anne, Mother to the B. V. M, 
 
 17 
 
 14 
 
 181Titus 1 
 
 e 
 
 6 Cal. 1 
 
 19 
 
 15 
 
 20| 2, 3 
 
 |f 
 
 5 Cal. 1 
 
 21 
 
 16 
 
 22lPhilem. 
 
 29 
 31) 
 37 
 
 |g 
 
 1 4 Cal. 1 
 
 23 
 
 17 
 
 24|Heb. 1 
 
 |A 
 
 3 Cal. 1 
 
 25 
 
 18 
 
 26| 2 
 
 |b 
 
 Prid. Cal. 1 
 
 27 
 
 19 
 
 28| 3 

 
 JULY. 
 
 2. Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 1 About 
 the year 1338, there was a terril)le scliism in the 
 church of Rome between two anti-jjopes, Url)an VI. 
 and Clement VII., the first chosen by the Itahan, the 
 other by the French faction among the Cardinals. 
 Upon this several disorders hajipened. To avert 
 which for the future. Pope Urban instituted a feast 
 to the memory of that famous joiu-ney, which the 
 mother of our Lord took into the mountains of 
 Judea, to visit the mother of John the Baptist ; that 
 by this means the intercession of the blessed Virgin 
 might be obtained for the removal of those evils. 
 'I'he same festival was confirmed by the decree of 
 Boniface IX., though it was not universally observed 
 until the Council of Basil : by decree of which coun- 
 cil in their forty-third session, upon July 1, 1441, it 
 was ordered that this holy-day, called the " Visita- 
 " tion of the blessed Virgin Mary," should be cele- 
 brated in all Christian churches, that " she, being 
 " honoured with this solemnity, might reconcile her 
 " Son by her intercession, who is now angry for the 
 " sins of men ; and that she might grant peace and 
 " unity among the faithful." 
 
 4. Translation of St. Martin, Bishop and Con- 
 fessor.^ St. Martin was born in Pannonia, and for 
 some time lived the life of a soldier, but at last took 
 orders, and was made Bisho|) of Tours in France. 
 He was very diligent in breaking down the heathen 
 images and altars, which were standing in his time. 
 He died in the year 400, after be had sat bisho]) 
 twenty-si.v years. The French had formerly such 
 an esteem for his memory, that they carried his hel- 
 met with them into their wars, either as an ensign to 
 encourage them to bra\'ery, or else as a sort of charm 
 to procure them victory. His feast-day is celebrated 
 on the eleventh of November. The fourth of this 
 month is dedicated only to the memory of the trans- 
 lating or remo\'ing of his body from the place wliere 
 it was buried, to a more noble and magnificent 
 toml) ; which was performed by Perpetuus, one of 
 his successors in the see of Tours. 
 
 15. Swithun, Bishop of Winchester, translated.'^ 
 Swithun was first a monk, and afterwards a prior, 
 of the convent of Winchester. Upon the death of 
 Helinstan, bishop of that see, by the favour of King 
 Ethelwolph, he was promoted to succeed him in that 
 bishoprick, in the year of our Lord 652, and con- 
 tinued in it eleven years, to his death. He would 
 not be buried within the church, as the bisho|js then 
 generally were, but in the cemetery, or church-yard. 
 Many miracles being reported to be done at his 
 grave, there was a chapel built over it : and a so- 
 lemn translation made in honour of him, which in 
 the popish times was celebrated on the fifteentii of 
 July. 
 
 20. Margaret, Virgin and Martyr at Aniinch.'] 
 Margaret was born at Antioch, being the daughter 
 of an heathen priest. Olybius, President of the 
 East under the Romans, had an inclination to marry 
 her; but finding she was a Christian, deferred it till 
 he could persuade her to renounce her religion. 
 But not being able to accomiilish his design, he first 
 put her to unmerciful torments, and then beheaded 
 her. She has the same office among the papists, as 
 Lucina has among the heathens; namely, to assist 
 women in labour Her holy-day is very ancient, not 
 only in the Roman, but also in the Greek church, 
 who celebrate her memory under the name of Marina. 
 She suffered in the year 2/8. 
 
 22. St. Mary Magdalene.'] By the first Common 
 Prayer Book of King Edward VI., the twenty-second 
 of July was dedicated to the memory of St. Mary 
 Magdalene. In the service for the day, Prov. xx.xi. 
 10, to the end, was a|)pointed for the Epistle ; and 
 the Gospel was taken out of St. Luke vii. 3G, to the 
 end. But upon a stricter enquiry, it apjiearing du- 
 bious to our Reformers, as it doth still to many 
 learned men, whether the woman mentioned in the 
 Scripture, that was appointed for the Gospel, were 
 Mary Magdalene or not; they thought it more pro- 
 per to discontinue the festival. However, as I have 
 mentioned the other parts of the service, I will also 
 give the reader the Collect that was appointed, which 
 he will observe was very apt and suitable to the 
 Gospel. 
 
 " Merciful Father, give us grace that we never 
 " presume to sin through the examjde of any crea- 
 " ture ; but if it shall chance us at any time to offend 
 " tliy divine Majesty, that then we may truly repent 
 " and lament the same, after the examjile of Mary 
 " Magdalene, and by a lively faith obtain remission 
 " of all our sins, through the only merits of thy Son • 
 " our Saviour Christ. Amen." 
 
 26. St. Anne, mother to the blessed Virgin IHary.] 
 St .Anne was the mother of the blessed Virgin Mary 
 and the wife of Joachim her father. An ancient 
 jiiece of the sacred genealogy, set down formerly by 
 Hippolitus the martyr, is j)reserved in Nicephorus. 
 " There were three sisters of Bethlehem, daughters 
 " of Matthan the jiriest, and Mary his wife, imder the 
 " reign of Cleopatra and Casopares King of Persia, 
 " before the reign of Herod, the son of Antipater : 
 " the eldest was Mary, the second was Sobe, the 
 " youngest's name ,%vas Anne. The eldest, being 
 " married in Bethlehem, had for daughter Salome 
 " the midwife : Sobe the second likewise married in 
 " Bethlehem, and was the mother of Elizabeth ; last 
 " of all the third married in Galilee, and brought 
 " forth Mary the mother of Christ." 
 
 d2
 
 lii 
 
 THE CALENDAR, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 AUGUST hath xxxi. Days. | 
 
 i 
 
 . 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. 1 2 Lesson. 1 Lesson. 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 1 
 
 c 
 
 Calendse | Lammas Day. 
 
 Jer. 29|Jolin 20 
 
 Jer. 30|Heb. 4 
 
 |2 
 
 d 
 
 4 Non. 1 
 
 31 1 21 
 
 32| 5 
 
 3 
 
 e 
 
 3 Non. 1 
 
 33] Acts 1 
 
 341 6 
 
 ■4 
 
 f 
 
 Prid. Non. | 
 
 35| 2 
 
 361 7, 
 
 5 
 
 g 
 
 Nonfe 1 
 
 37| 3 
 
 38| 8 
 
 6 
 
 A 
 
 8 Id. 1 TransHij^iiration of our Lord. 
 
 39| 4 
 
 40| 9 
 
 7 
 
 b 
 
 7 Id. [Name of Jesus. 
 
 41| 5 
 
 421 10 
 
 8 
 
 c 
 
 6 Id. 1 
 
 43| 6 
 
 441 11 
 
 19 
 10 
 
 d 
 
 5 Id. 1 
 
 45, 46| 7 
 
 47| 12 
 
 e 
 
 4 Id. |St. Laurence, A. D. of Rome, and Mart. 
 
 481 8 
 
 49| 13 
 
 11 
 
 f 
 
 3 Id. 1 
 
 50! 9 
 
 511James 1 
 
 12 
 
 g 
 
 Prid. Id. 1 
 
 52| 10 
 
 Lam. 1 1 2 
 
 :i3 
 
 A 
 
 Idas 1 
 
 Lam. 2| 11 
 
 3| 3 
 
 14 
 
 b 
 
 19 CI. Sept.| 
 
 41 12 
 
 5| 4 
 
 15 
 
 c 
 
 18 Cal. 1 
 
 Ezek. 21 13 
 
 Ezek. 3| 5 
 
 16 
 
 d 
 
 17 Cal. 1 
 
 6| 14 
 
 7|1 Pet. 1 
 
 17 
 
 e 
 
 1(5 Cal. 1 
 
 13| 15 
 
 14| 2 
 
 f 
 
 15 Cal. 
 
 18| 16 
 
 33| 3 
 
 19 
 
 S 
 
 14 Cal. 1 
 
 34| 17 
 
 Daniel Ij 4 
 
 20 
 
 A 
 
 13 Cal. 1 
 
 Daniel 21 18 
 
 3| 5 
 
 21 
 
 b 
 
 12 Cal. 1 
 
 1 4| 19 
 
 512 Pet. 1 
 
 22 
 
 c 
 
 1 1 Cal. 1 
 
 6| 20 
 
 7| 2 
 
 23 
 
 id 
 
 10 Cal. 1 Fast. 
 
 8| 21 
 
 9\ 3 
 
 24 
 
 |e 
 
 9 Cal. 1st. i3artl)oloinfto, Sp. ant iHftart. 
 
 1 2-.> 
 
 |1 John 1 
 
 25 
 
 |f 
 
 8 Cal. 1 
 
 lOj 23 
 
 llj 2 
 
 26 
 
 S 
 
 7 Cal. 1 
 
 12| 24 
 
 Hosea Ij 3 
 
 27 
 
 |A 
 
 6 Cal. . 1 
 
 Hos.2,3| 25 
 
 4 4 
 
 28 
 
 b 
 
 5 Cal. |St. Aujrustiii. n. of Ilipix), C. D. 
 
 5, 61 26 
 
 7| 5 
 
 29 
 
 c 
 
 4 Cal. jBelieading ol Si. .lolin IJaptist. 
 
 81 27 
 
 912, 3 John 
 
 30 
 
 d 
 
 3 Cal. 
 
 10| 28 
 
 lljJude 
 
 31 
 
 e 
 
 Prid. Cal. 1 
 
 121Mattii.l 
 
 13|Rom. 1 

 
 Hii 
 
 AUGUST. 
 
 1. Lammas-day. 1 Tlie first day of this month ia 
 commonly called " Lammas-day," though in the 
 Roman church it is generally known hy the name of 
 the feast of " St. I'eter in the fetters," heing the day 
 of the commemoration of St. Peter's imprisonment. 
 For Eudoxia, the wife of Theodosius the Emperor, 
 having made a journey to Jerusalem, was there pre- 
 sented with the fetters which St. Peter was loaded 
 with in prison ; which she presented to the pope, 
 who afterwards laid them up in a church huilt by 
 Theodosius in honour of St. Peter. Eudoxia, in the 
 mean time, having observed that the first of August 
 was celebrated in memory of Augustus Caesar, (who 
 had on that day been saluted Augustus, and had 
 U|)on that account given occasion to the changing of 
 the name of the month from Sextilis to August,) she 
 thought it not reasonable that a holyday should be 
 kept in memory of a heathen prince, which would 
 better become that of a godly martyr ; and therefore 
 obtained a decree of the Emperor, that this day for 
 the future should be kept holy in remembrance of St. 
 Peter's bonds. 
 
 The reason of its being called Lammas-day, some 
 think was a fond conceit the jjopish people had, that 
 St. Peter was patron of the lambs, from our Saviour's 
 words to him, " Feed my land^s." Upon which ac- 
 count they thought the mass of this day very bene- 
 ficial to make their lambs thrive. Though Somner's 
 account of it is more rational and easy, namely, that 
 it is derived from the old Saxon Dlaj- nifen-e, that is, 
 Loaf-mass, it having been the custom of the Saxons 
 to offer on that day an oblation of loaves made of 
 new wheat, as the first fruits of their new corn. 
 
 6. Trimsfiguralion of our Lord.'\ The festival of 
 our Lord's "Transfiguration" in the mount is veiy 
 ancient. In the church of Rome indeed it is but of 
 late standing, being instituted by Pope Calixtus in 
 the year 1455 ; but in the Greek church it was ob- 
 served long before. 
 
 7. Name of Jesus.^ The seventh of August was 
 formeiy dedicated to the memory of Afra, a courtezan 
 of Crete ; who, being converted to Christianity by 
 Narcissus bishop of Jerusalem, suffered martj'rdom, 
 and was commemorated on this day : how it came 
 afterwards to be dedicated to the " Name of Jesus," 
 I do not find. 
 
 10. St. Laurence, Archdeacon of Rome and Mar- 
 tyr.'] St. Laurence was by birth a Sjianiard, and 
 treasurer of the church of Rome, being deacon to 
 Sixtus the pope about the year 259. When his 
 
 bishop was haled to death by the soldiers of Valerian 
 the Emperor, St. Laurence would not leave him. but 
 followed him to the place of execution, expostulating 
 with him all the way, " O father, where do you go 
 " without your son ? You never were wont to offer 
 " sacrifice without me." Soon after which, occasion 
 being taken against him by the greedy Pagans, for 
 not delivering up the cliurch-treasmy, which they 
 thought was in his custody, he was laid upon a grid- 
 iron, and broiled over a fire ; at which time he be- 
 haved himself with so much courage and resolution, 
 as to cry out to his tormentors, that " he was rather 
 " comforted than tormented ;" bidding them withal 
 " turn liim on the other side, for that was broiled 
 " enough." His martyrdom was so much esteemed 
 in after-times, that Pnlcheria the emjjress built a 
 temple to his honour, which was eitlier rebuilt or 
 enlarged by Justinian. Here was the gridiron on 
 which he suffered laid up, where (if we may believe 
 St. Gregory the Great, who was too credulous in 
 such kind of matters) it became famous for many 
 miracles. 
 
 28. St. Auyuslin, Bishop of Hippo.] St. Augustin, 
 or Austin, was born at Togaste, a town in Numidia 
 in Africa, in the year 354. He applied himself at 
 first only to human learning, such as poetry and 
 plays, rhetorick and philosophy ; being professor at 
 Rome first, and afterwards at Alilan. At the last of 
 these ])laces St. Ambrose became acquainted with 
 him, who instructed him in divinity, and set him 
 right as to some wrong notions which he had im- 
 bil)cd. He returned into Africa about the year 388, 
 and three years afterwards was chosen bishop of 
 Hippo. He was a great divine, and the most volu- 
 minous writer of all the fathers. He died in the 
 year 430, at seventy-seven years of age. 
 
 29. Beheading of Saint John Baplint.] The twenty- 
 ninth of this month, as Durandus says, was formerly 
 called " Festum collectionis S. Johan. BaptistcC," or 
 the feast of gathering up " St. John the Baptist's 
 " relicks ;" and afterwards by corruption, " Festum 
 " decoUationis," the feast of his beheading. For 
 the occasion of the honours done to this Saint are 
 said to be some miraculous cures performed by his 
 relicks in the fourth century; for which Julian the 
 Apostate ordered them to be burnt, but some of 
 them were jirivately reserved. His head was found 
 after this, in the Emperor Valens's time, and repo- 
 sited as a precious relick in a church at Constanti- 
 nople,
 
 llv 
 
 THE CALENDAR, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 
 SEPTEMBER hath xxx. Days. 
 
 
 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 1 
 2 Lesson. 1 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 
 1 
 
 f 
 
 Caleiidse j Giles, Abbot and Confessor. 
 
 Hos. 14 
 
 Matth. 21 Joel 1 
 
 Rom. 2| 
 
 
 21 g 
 3|A 
 
 4 Non. 1 
 
 Joel 2 
 
 31 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 3 Non. 1 
 
 Amos 1 
 
 4|Amos 2 
 
 4 
 
 
 4 
 
 b 
 
 Prid. Non. j 
 
 3 
 
 5| 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 5 
 
 c 
 
 Nonje 1 
 
 3 
 
 61 6 
 
 6 
 
 6|d 
 
 8 Id. 1 
 
 7 
 
 7| 8 
 
 7 
 
 
 7|e 
 
 7 Id. |Enurchus, Bishop of Orleans. 
 
 9 
 
 SlObadiah 
 
 8 
 
 
 Sjf 
 
 6 Id. jNativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
 
 Jonah 1 
 
 9|Jona 2,3 
 
 9 
 
 
 9k 
 
 3 Id. 1 
 
 4 
 
 101 Micah 1 
 
 10 
 
 
 10] A 
 
 4 Id. 1 
 
 Micah 2 
 
 11| 3 
 
 11 
 
 
 ll|b 
 
 3 Id. 1 
 
 4 
 
 12| 5 
 
 12 
 
 
 121c 
 
 Piid. Id. 1 
 
 6 
 
 131 7 
 
 13 
 
 
 ,i3| a 
 
 Idus 1 
 
 Nah. 1 
 
 141 Nah. 2 
 
 14 
 
 
 14| e 
 
 18 CI. Oct. 1 Holy-Cross Day. 
 
 3 
 
 ISjHabakl 
 
 13 
 
 
 15|f 
 
 17 Cal. 1 
 
 Habak.2 
 
 161 3 
 
 16 
 
 
 16 
 
 Ik 
 
 16 Cal. 1 
 
 Zeph. 1 
 
 171Zeph. 2 
 
 1 Cor. i 
 
 
 ^7 
 
 |A 
 
 15 Cal. Lambert, Bishop and Martyr. 
 
 3 
 
 18|Hag. 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 :i8|b 
 
 14 Cal. 1 
 
 |Hag. 2 
 
 19|Zech. 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 191 c 
 
 13 Cal. 1 
 
 |Zec.2,3 
 
 20| 4, 3 
 
 4 
 
 
 20| d 
 
 12 Cal. 1 Fast. 
 
 1 6 
 
 21 1 7 
 
 3 
 
 
 21 |e 
 
 11 Cal. ISt. iHattijfb), ap. an^ iPbang. 
 
 
 221 
 
 6 
 
 
 j22| f 
 23|g 
 
 jlO Cal. 1 
 
 1 8 
 
 23| 9 
 
 7 
 
 
 1 9 Cal. 1 
 
 1 10 
 
 24] 11 
 
 8 
 
 
 24|A 
 
 1 8 Cal. 1 
 
 1 12 
 
 251 13 
 
 9 
 
 
 20 
 
 |b 
 
 1 7 Cal. 1 
 
 1 14 
 
 26|Malac.l 
 
 10 
 
 
 '2(3 
 
 1 c 
 
 6 Cal. |St. Cyprian, A. B. of Carth. and Mart. 
 
 Malac.2 
 
 27| 3 
 
 1 1> 
 
 
 271 d 
 
 1 5 Cal. 1 
 
 1 4 
 
 28iTobit 1 
 
 12 
 
 
 28| e 
 
 1 4 Cal. 1 
 
 |Tobit 2 
 
 Mark 1| 3 
 
 1 '•■' 
 
 
 291 f 
 
 1 3 Cal. ISf. IHicljacl ant) all angflB. 
 
 
 1 21 
 
 1 14 
 
 
 3()| K 
 
 |I'rid. Cal. jSt. Jerom, Priest, Confessor, and Dr. 
 
 1 4 
 
 1 3| 6 
 
 1 15 
 
 
 
 

 
 Iv 
 
 SEPTEMBER. 
 
 1. Giles, Abbot and Confessor.'] Giles, or Mg\- 
 dius, was one wlio was born at Alliens, and came 
 into France, in the year of our Lord 715, having 
 first disposed of his patrimony to charitable uses. 
 He lived two years with Cacsarius Bishop of Aries, 
 and afterwards took an hernietical life, till he was 
 made Abbot of an abbey at Nismes, which the king, 
 who had found him in his cell by chance as he was 
 hunting, and was pleased with his sanctity, built for 
 his sake. He died in the year 795. 
 
 7. EnuTchus, Bishop of Orleans.'] Enurchus, 
 otherwise called Evortius, was Bishop of Orleans, in 
 France, being present at the Council of Valentia, in 
 the year of our Lord 375. The circumstances of his 
 election to this see were very strange. Being sent 
 by the church of Rome into France, about redeeming 
 some captives, at the time when the people of Or- 
 leans were in the heat of an election of a bishop ; a 
 dove lighted upon his head, which he could not, 
 without great difficulty, drive away. The peojde, 
 observing this, took it for a sign of his great sanctity, 
 and immediately thought of choosing hira bishop : 
 but not being willing to proceed to election, till they 
 were assured that the lighting of the dove was by 
 the immediate direction of Providence, they prayed 
 to God, that, if He in his goodness designed him for 
 their bishop, the same dove might light upon him 
 again, which immediately happening after their 
 prayers, he was chosen bishop by the unanimous 
 suffrages of the whole city. Besides this, several 
 other miracles are attributed to him ; as the quench- 
 ing a fire in the city by his prayers ; his directing the 
 digging of the foundation of a church, in such a 
 jilace, where the workmen found a pot of gold, 
 almost sufficient to defray the charges of the build- 
 ing ; his converting seven thousand infidels to 
 Christianity within the space of three days; and 
 lastly, his foretelling his own death, and in a sort of 
 prophetical manner naming Arianus for his suc- 
 cessor. 
 
 8. Nativity of the blessed Virgin Mary.] The 
 eighth of this month is dedicated to tlie memory of 
 the " blessed Virgin's Nativity," a concert of angels 
 having been heard in the air to solemnize that day 
 as her birth-day. Ujion which account the day itself 
 was not only kept holy in after-ages, but it was also 
 honoured by Po])e Innocent IV. with an octave, in 
 the year of our Lord 1244, and by Gregory XI. with 
 a vigd in the year 1370. 
 
 14. Holy-cross day.] The fourteenth of this 
 month is called " Holy-cross day," a festival deriving 
 its beginning about the year 6)5, on this occasion: 
 Cosroes King of Persia having plundered Jerusalem, 
 (after having made great ravages in other [larts of 
 the Christian world,) took away from thence a great 
 piece of the cross, which Helena had left there : and, 
 at the times of his mirth, made sport with that and 
 the holy Trinity. Heraclius the emperor giving him 
 battle, defeated the enemy, and recovered the cross : 
 but bringing it back with triumjih to Jerusalem, he 
 found the gates shut against him, and heard a voice 
 from heaven, which told him, that the King of 
 kings did not enter into that city in so stately a 
 manner, but "meek and lowly, and riding upon an 
 ass." With that the emperor dismounted from his 
 horse, and went into the city not only afoot, but 
 barefooted, and carrying the wood of the cross him- 
 
 self. Which honoiu' done to the cross gave rise to 
 this festival. 
 
 17. Lambert, Bishop and Martyr.] Lambert was 
 Bishop of Utrecht in the time of King Pepin I. 
 But reproving the king's grandson for his lewd 
 amours, be was, by the contrivance of one of his 
 concubines, barbarously murdered. Being canon- 
 ized, he at first only obtained a commemoration in 
 the Calendar ; till Robert Bishop of Leeds in a ge- 
 neral chapter of the Cistercian order ])rocured a 
 solemn feast to his honour, in the year of our Lord 
 1240. 
 
 26. St. Cyprian, Archbishop of Carthage, and 
 Martyr.] St. Cyprian was by birth an African, of a 
 good family and education. Before his conversion 
 he taught rbetorick ; but by the persuasion of one 
 Caecilius, a priest, (from whom he had his surname,) 
 he became a Christian. And giving all his substance 
 to the jioor, he was elected Bishop of Carthage in 
 the year 248. He behaved himself with great jjru- 
 dence in the Decian persecution, persuading the 
 people to constancy and perseverance; which so 
 enraged the heathen, that they made proclamation 
 for his discovery in the open theatre. He suffered 
 martyrdom September 14, in the year of our Lord 
 258, under Valerianus and Gallienus, having foretold 
 that storm long before, and disposed his flock to bear 
 it accordingly. 
 
 But the Cyprian in the Roman Calendar celebrated 
 on this day, as appears by the Roman Breviary, is 
 not the same with St. Cyprian of Carthage, but 
 another Cyprian of Antioch, who of a conjuror was 
 made a Christian, and afterwards a deacon and a 
 martyr. He happened to be in love with one Jus- 
 tina, a beautiful young Christian ; whom trying, 
 without success, to debauch, he consulted the devil 
 upon the matter, who frankly declared he had no 
 power over good Christians. Cyiirian, not pleased 
 with this answer of the devil, quitted his service, and 
 turned Christian. But as soon as it was known, 
 both he and Justina were accused before the heathen 
 governor, who condemned them to be fried in a fry- 
 ing-pan with pitch and fat, in order to force them to 
 renounce their religion, which they notwithstanding 
 with constancy persisted in. After their tortures 
 they were beheaded, and their bodies thrown away 
 unburied, till a kind mariner took them up, and con- 
 veyed them to Rome, where they were deposited in 
 the church of Constantine. They were martyred in 
 the year 272. 
 
 30. St. Jerom, Priest, Confessor, and Doctor,] 
 St. Jerom was the son of one Eusebius, born in a 
 town called Stridon, in the confines of Pannonia and 
 Dalmatia. Being a lad of pregnant jiarts, he was 
 sent to Rome to learn rbetorick under Uonatus and 
 Victorious, two famous Latin criticks. There he got 
 to be secretary to Pope Damasus, and was afterwards 
 baptized. He studied divinity with the principal 
 divines of that age, namely, Gregory Nazianzen, 
 Epiphanius, and Didymus. And to perfect his qua- 
 liHcations this way, he learned the Hebrew tongue 
 from one Barraban a Jew. He spent most of his 
 time in a monastery at Bethlehem, in great retire- 
 ment and hard study ; where he translated the 
 Bible. He died in the year 422, being fourscore 
 years old.
 
 THE CALENDAR, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 OCTOBER hath xxxi. Days. 
 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. 1 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 
 
 A 
 
 CalendiB 
 
 Remigius, Bishop of Rhemes. 
 
 Tobit 71 Mark 
 
 4|Tobit 811 Cor. 16 J 
 
 2 
 
 b 
 
 6 Noil. 
 
 1 
 
 9| 
 
 5 
 
 1012 Cor. 1 
 
 3 
 
 e 
 
 3 Non. 
 
 
 Il| 
 
 6 
 
 12| 2 
 
 4 
 
 A 
 
 4 Non. 
 
 
 13| 
 
 7 
 
 14| 3 
 
 5 
 
 e 
 
 3 Non. 
 
 
 Judith 1| 
 
 8| Judith 2| 4 II 
 
 6 
 
 f 
 
 Prid. Non. 
 
 Faith, Virgin and Martyr. 
 
 31 
 
 9 
 
 41 5 
 
 7 
 
 g 
 
 Nonje 
 
 
 5| 
 
 10 
 
 6| 6 
 
 8 
 
 A 
 
 8 Id. 
 
 
 7| 
 
 11 
 
 81 7 
 
 9 
 
 b 
 
 7 Id. 
 
 St. Denys, Areop. Bishop and Mart. 
 
 9| 
 
 12 
 
 101 8 
 
 10 
 
 c 
 
 6 Id. 
 
 
 111 
 
 13 
 
 121 9 
 
 U 
 
 'I 
 
 5 Id. 
 
 
 I3| 
 
 14 
 
 141 10 
 
 1-2 
 
 e 
 
 4 Id. 
 
 
 151 
 
 13 
 
 16| 11 
 
 13 
 
 f 
 
 3 Id. 
 
 Transl. of K. Edward the Confessor. 
 
 Wisd. 1| 
 
 16|Wisd. 21 12 1 
 
 14 
 15 
 
 S 
 
 Prid. Id. 
 
 
 3lLu.Wo39 
 
 1 41 13 
 
 A 
 
 Idus 
 
 
 5| Iv 
 
 .39 
 
 6lGalat. 1 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 b 
 
 17 CI. Nov. 
 
 
 \ 7| 
 
 2 
 
 1 81 2 
 
 |c 
 
 16 Cal. 
 
 Etheldreda, V. Q. and Ab. of Ely. 
 
 9| 
 
 3 
 
 101 3 
 
 Id 
 
 |15 Cal. 
 
 1st. ILufep, lEbangdigt. 
 
 1 1 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 19 
 •20 
 •2\ 
 •22 
 •23 
 24 
 •if) 
 j-26 
 27 
 
 le 
 
 |I4 Cal. 
 
 
 1 IM 
 
 3 
 
 1 12| 5 
 
 |f 
 
 [13 Cal, 
 
 
 1 13| 
 
 6 
 
 1 141 6 
 
 |g 
 
 |12 Cal. 
 
 
 1 15| 
 
 7 
 
 1 16|Ephes. 1 
 
 lA 
 
 Ill Cal. 
 
 
 1 17| 
 
 8 
 
 1 18| 2 
 
 |b 
 
 |10 Cal. 
 
 
 1 19| 
 
 9lEcclus.ll 3 
 
 Ic 
 
 1 9 Cal. 
 
 
 |Ecclus.2| 
 
 10| 3| 4 
 
 Id 
 
 1 8 Cal. 
 
 1 Crispin, Martyr. 
 
 1 M 
 
 11 
 
 1 51 5 
 
 1 e 
 
 1 7 Cal. 
 
 
 1 6| 
 
 12 
 
 1 71 6 
 
 |f 
 
 1 6 Cal. 
 
 1 Fast. 
 
 1 8| 
 
 13 
 
 91 Philip. 1 
 
 29 
 3(» 
 
 k 
 
 |A 
 
 lb 
 
 1 3 Cal. 
 
 ISt. Simon airt St.SuUc. 
 
 1 
 
 14 
 
 1 1 2 
 
 1 4 Cal. 
 
 
 - 10] 
 
 15 
 
 111 3 
 
 1 3 Cal. 
 
 
 1 12 
 
 16 
 
 1 13| 4 
 
 IPrid. Cal. 
 
 1 Fast. 
 
 1 141- 
 
 17 
 
 1 ISlColoss.l 

 
 IvH 
 
 OCTOBER. 
 
 1. Remigiiis, Bishop of Rhemes.'] Remigius was 
 born at Lanilen, where he kept himself so close to 
 his studies, that he was supposed to have led a mo- 
 nastick life. After the death of Bennadius, he was 
 chosen Bishop of Rhemes, for his extraordinary- 
 learning and piety. He converted to Christianity 
 King Clodoveus, and good |)art of his kingdom ; for 
 which reason he is hy some esteemed the apostle of 
 France. After he had held his bishoprick seventy- 
 four years, he died at ninety-six years of age, in the 
 year of our Lord 535. The cruse which he made 
 use of is preserved in France to this day, their kings 
 being usually anointed out of it at their coronation. 
 
 6. Faith, Virgin and Martyr.'] Faith, a young 
 woman so called, was burn at Pais de Gavre in 
 France. She suffered martyrdom and very cruel 
 torments under the presidentship of Dacianus, about 
 the year 290. 
 
 9. St. Denys, Areop. Bishop and Martyr.] St. 
 Denys, or Dionysius the Areopagite, was converted 
 to Christianity by St. Paul, as is recorded in the 
 seventeenth of the Acts. He was at first one of the 
 judges of the famous court of the Areopagus, but 
 was afterwards made bisho]) of Athens, where he suf- 
 fered martyrdom for the sake of the Gospel. There 
 are several books which bear his name ; but they 
 seem all of them to have been the product of the 
 sixth century. He is claimed by the French as their 
 tutelar saint, by reason that, as they say, he was the 
 first that preached the Gospel to them. But it is 
 plain that Christianity was not preached in that 
 nation till long after St. Dionysius's death. Among 
 several foolish and incoherent stories, which they 
 relate of him, this is one : that, after several grievous 
 torments undergone, he was beheaded by Fescennius 
 the Roman governor at Paris ; at which time he took 
 up his head, after it was severed from his body, and 
 walked two miles with it in his hands, to a place 
 called the Martyrs- hill, and there laid down to rest. 
 
 13. Translation of King Edward the Confessor.'} 
 
 The thirteenth of this month is dedicated to the me- 
 mory of King Kdward the Confessor's Translation. 
 He was the youngest son of King Etheldred ; but, 
 all his elder brothers being dead, or fled away, he 
 came to the crown of Kngland in the year 1042. His 
 principal excellency was his gathering together a 
 body of all the most useful laws which had been 
 made by the Saxon and Danish kings. The name 
 of Confessor is sup|)Osed to have been given him by 
 the Pope, for settling what was then called Rome- 
 Scot ; but is n^nv better known by the name of 
 Peter-Pence. 'I'he monks liave attributed so many 
 miracles to him, that even his vestments are by them 
 reputed holy. His crown, chair, staff, sjiurs, &c. 
 are still made use of in the coronation of our En- 
 glish kings. 
 
 17. Etheldreda, Virgin.] Etheldreda, or Etheldred, 
 was daughter of Anna, a king of the East-Angles, 
 who was first married to one Tonljert, a great lord 
 in Lincolnshire, &c. and after him to King Egfi-id 
 about the year 671, with both which husbands she 
 still continued a virgin, upon pretence of great sanc- 
 tity. And staying at court twelve years, and conti- 
 nuing this moroseness, she got leave to depart to 
 Coldingham Abl)ey, where she was a nun under 
 Ebba, the daughter of King Ethelfrida, who was 
 abbess. Afterward she built an abbey at Ely, which 
 she was abbess of herself, and there died and was 
 buried, being recorded to posterity by the name of 
 St. Audry. 
 
 25. Crispin, Martyr.] Crispinus and Crispianus 
 were brethren, and burn at Rome ; from whence they 
 travelled to Soissons in France, about the year 303, 
 in order to pro]iagate the Christian religion. But 
 because they would not be chargeable to others for 
 their maintenance, they exercised the trade of shoe- 
 makers. But the governor of the town, discovering 
 them to be Christians, ordered them to be beheaded 
 about the year 303. From which time the shoe- 
 makers made choice of them for their tutelar saints.
 
 THE CALESDAE, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 NOVEMBER hath xxx. Days. 
 
 
 MORNING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 EVENING 
 PRAYER. 
 
 i 
 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 
 
 d |Calend£e |llll g-aints' XDap. 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 -, e 
 
 4 Noil. 1 
 
 Eccl"=16 
 
 Lukel8|Eccl"47 
 
 Coloss. 2 
 
 3 
 4 
 
 f 
 
 3 Non. 1 
 
 18 
 
 191 ly 
 
 3, 
 
 g 
 
 Prid. Non. | 
 
 20 
 
 20| 21 
 
 4; 
 
 5 
 
 A 
 
 Nonse |^aptsts' oronsptracs. 
 
 22 
 
 21 1 23 
 
 IThes.l 
 
 6 
 
 b 
 
 8 Id. 1 Leonard, Confessor. 
 
 24 
 
 221 (^) 25 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 c 
 
 7 Id. 1 
 
 27 
 
 23| ■ 28 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 8 
 9 
 
 d 
 
 6 Id. i 
 
 29 
 
 24| C) 30 
 
 4 
 
 e 
 
 5 Id. 1 
 
 31 
 
 John 1| 32 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 f 
 
 4 Id. 1 
 
 33 
 
 2| 34 
 
 2Thes.l 
 
 11 
 
 S 
 
 3 Id. |St. Martin, Bishop and Confessor. 
 
 35 
 
 3| 36 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 A 
 
 Prid. Id. 1 
 
 37 
 
 4| 38 
 
 3 
 
 il3 
 
 b 
 
 Idus |Britius, Bishop. 
 
 39 
 
 5| 40 
 
 1 Tim. 1 
 
 14 
 
 c 
 
 18 CI. Dec. 1 
 
 41 
 
 6| 42 
 
 2,3 
 
 15 
 
 d 
 
 17 Cal. jMachutus, Bishop. 
 
 43 
 
 7\ 44 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 e 
 T 
 
 16 Cal. 1 
 
 45 
 
 8| n46 
 
 5 
 
 13 Cal. 1 Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln. 
 
 47 
 
 9] 48 
 
 6 
 
 |14 Cal. 1 
 
 49 
 
 10| 50 
 
 2 Tim. 1 
 
 19 
 
 A 
 
 |13 Cal. 1 
 
 51 
 
 ll|Baruc. 1 
 
 2 
 
 20 
 
 |b 
 
 12 Cal. 1 Edmund, King and Martyr. 
 
 Baruc. 2 
 
 12| 3 
 
 3 
 
 21 
 
 c 
 
 |11 Cal. 1 
 
 4 
 
 13| 5 
 
 4 
 
 22 
 
 |d 
 
 10 Cal. |Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr. 
 
 6 
 
 14|IIis.Siis. 
 
 Titus 1 
 
 23 
 
 1 e 
 
 1 9 Cal. |St. Clement, I. B. of Rome, and Mart. 
 
 Hel&Dr. 
 
 15| Isaiah 1 
 
 1 2,3 
 
 24 
 
 K 
 
 1 8 Cal. 1 
 
 Isaiah 2 
 
 I6| 3 
 
 IPhilem. 
 
 23 
 
 \s 
 
 1 7 Cal. 1 Catharine, Virgin and Martyr. 
 
 4 
 
 17| 5 
 
 Heb. 1 
 
 26 
 
 |A 
 
 1 6 Cal. 1 
 
 6 
 
 18| 7 
 
 2 
 
 27 
 
 |b 
 
 1 5 Cal. 1 
 
 3 
 
 19| 9 
 
 1 -^ 
 
 28 
 
 c 
 
 1 4 Cal. 1 
 
 10 
 
 20| 11 
 
 4 
 
 29 
 
 [d 
 
 1 3 Cal. 1 Fast. 
 
 12 
 
 21| 13 
 
 5 
 
 30 
 
 e 
 
 |Pri.i. ( ai. 1 jt. antrrb), ^p. anlj ilttart. 
 
 |Acts 1| 
 
 6 
 
 Note, That (•) Ecclus. 25 is to be read only to v. 13. and (•>) Ecclus. 30. only to ». 18. and (') Ecclus. 4G. only to v. 20.
 
 NOVEMBER. 
 
 2. All-Snuh' day.'] The second of this month is 
 called " All-Souls' day," being observed in the church 
 of Rome upon this occasion. A monk having visited 
 Jerusalem, and passing through .Sicily as he returned 
 home, had a mind to see Mount /Etna, which is con- 
 tinually belching out flre and smoke, and u])on that 
 account by some thought to he the mouth of hell. 
 Being there, he heard the devils within com[)lain, 
 that many departed souls were taken out of their 
 liands by the prayers of the t'luniac monks. This, 
 when he came home, he related to his abbot Odilo, 
 as a true storp ; who thereupon ap])ointed the second 
 of November to be annually kept in his monastery, 
 and ])raycrs to be made there for all departed souls : 
 and in a little time afterwards the monks got it to be 
 made a general holy-day by the appointment of the 
 pope ; till in ours and other reformed churches it was 
 deservedly abrogated. 
 
 6. Leonard, Confessor.'] Leonard was born at Le 
 Nans, a town in France, bred up in divinity under 
 Remigius Bishop of Rhemes, and afterwards made 
 Bishop of Limosin. He obtained of King Clodo- 
 veus a favour, that all ])risoners whom he went to 
 see should be set free. And therefore whenever he 
 heard of any persons being prisoners for the sake of 
 religion, or any other good cause, he presently pro- 
 cured their liberty this way. But the monks have 
 im])roved this story, telling us, that if any one in 
 prison had called upon his name, his fetters would 
 immediately drop off, and the prison doors fly open : 
 insomuch that many came from far countries, brought 
 their fetters and chains, which had fallen off by his 
 intercession, and presented them before him in token 
 of gratitude. He died in the year 500, and has 
 always been implored by ])risoners as their saint. 
 
 11. St. Martin, Bishop and Confessor.] St. Mar- 
 tin's account has already been given on July 4. 
 
 13. Britius, Bishop.] Britius, or St. Brice, was 
 successor to St. Martin in the bishoprick of Toiu's. 
 About the year 432, a great trouble befel him : for 
 his laundress proving with child, the uncharitable 
 jjeople of the town fathered it u])on Brice. After tlie 
 child was horn, the censures of the people increased, 
 who were then ready to stone their bishop. But the 
 bishoj) having ordered the infant to be brought to 
 him, adjured him by Jesus the Son of tlie hving 
 God, to tell him whose child he was. The child 
 being then but thirty days old, rejilied, " You are 
 not my father." But this was so far from mending 
 matters with Brice, that it made them much worse ; 
 the jieople now accusing him of sorcery likewise. 
 At last being driven out of the city, he appealed to 
 Rome, and after a seven years' suit, got his bishop- 
 rick again. This story is told of him by Gregory 
 Turonensis, his successor in his see at Tours. 
 
 15. Mfwhittus, Bishop.] Machutus, othertt-ise 
 called Maclovius, was a bishop in Bretagne in 
 France, of that ]ilace which is from him called St. 
 Maloes. He lived about the year 500, and was 
 famous for many miracles, if the acts concerning 
 him may be credited. 
 
 17. Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln.] Hugh was born in 
 a city of Burgundy, called Gratianopolis. He was 
 first a Regidar canon, and afterwards a Carthusian 
 monk. Being very famous for his extraordinary 
 abstinence and austerity of life. King Henry H. 
 having built a house for Carthusian monks at Wit- 
 teham in Somersetshire, sent over Reginald bishop of 
 
 Bath to invite this holy man to accept the place of 
 the prior of this new foundation. Hugh, after a 
 great many intreaties, assented, and came over witli 
 the bishop, and was by the same king made bisliop 
 of Lincoln : where he gained an innnortal name for 
 his well governing that see, and new builditig the 
 cathedral from the foundation. In the year 1200, 
 ujion his return from Carthusia, the chief and ori- 
 ginal house of their order, (whither he had made a 
 voyage,) he fell sick of a quartan ague at London, 
 and there died on November the seventeenth. 
 His body was presently conveyed to Lincoln, and 
 happening to be brought thither when John King of 
 England and William King of Scots had an inter- 
 view there, the two kings, out of res|)ect to his sanc- 
 tity, assisted by some of their lords, took him u])on 
 their shoulders, and carried him to the cathedral. 
 In the year 1220, he was canonized at Rome; and 
 his body being taken up October 7, 1282, was placed 
 in a silver shrine. The monks have ascribed several 
 miracles to him. 
 
 20. Edmund, King and Martyr.] Edmund was a 
 king of the East-Angles, who, being assaulted Iiy the 
 Danes (after their irruption into England) for "their 
 possession of his country, and not being able to hold 
 out against them, offered his own person, if they 
 would spare his subjects. But tlie Danes, having 
 got him under their power, endeavoured to make 
 him renounce his religion : which he refusing to do, 
 they first beat him with bats, then scourged him 
 with whips, and afterwards, binding him to a stake, 
 shot hiur to death with their arrows. His body was 
 buried in a town where Sigebert, one of his jirede- 
 cessors, had built a church ; and wdiere afterwards 
 (in honour of his name) another was built more spa- 
 cious, and the name of the town, upon that occasion, 
 called St. Edmund's Bury. 
 
 22. Ccccilia, Virgin and Martyr!] Csecilia was a 
 Roman lady, who, refusing to renounce her religion 
 when required, was thrown into a furnace of boiling 
 water, and scalded to death : though others say she 
 was stilled by shutting out the air of a bath, which 
 was a death sometimes inflicted in those days upon 
 women of quality who were criminals. She lived in 
 the year 225. 
 
 23. St. Clement J. Bishop of Rome and Martyr.] 
 St. Clement I. was a Roman hy Ijirth, and one of the 
 first bishojjs of that place ; which see he held, ac- 
 cording to the best accounts, from the year 64 or 65 
 to the year 81, or thereabouts; and during which 
 time he was most undoubtedly author of one, and is 
 supposed to have been of two very excellent ejiistles, 
 the first of which was so much esteemed by tlie pri- 
 mitive Christians, that for some time it was read in 
 the churches for canonical Scrijiture. He was for 
 the sake of his religion first condemned to hew stones 
 in the mines ; and afterwards, having an anchor tied 
 about his neck, was drowned in the sea. 
 
 25. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr.] St. Catherine 
 was born at Alexandria, and bred U[) to letters. 
 About the year 305, she was converted to Chris- 
 tianity, which she afterwards professed with great 
 courage and constancy ; ojienly rebuking the heathen 
 for offering sacrifice to their idols, and upbraiding 
 the cruelty of Maxentius the Emjieror, to his face. 
 She was condemned to suffer ileath in a \ery un- 
 usual manner, namely, by rolling a wlieel stuck round 
 with iron spikes, or the points of swords, over her body.
 
 Ix 
 
 THE CALENDAR, 
 
 WITH THE TABLE OF LESSONS. 
 
 DECEMBER hath xxxi. Days. 
 
 
 MORNING EVENING 
 PRAYER. PRAYER. 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
 
 1 Lesson. [ 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 Lesson. 
 
 2 Lesson. 
 
 1 
 
 f 
 
 Calendae 
 
 
 Isaiahl4|Aets 2lIsaiahl5|Heb. 7 
 
 2 
 
 g |4 Non. 
 
 
 16| 3| 17| 8, 
 
 3 
 
 A 13 Non. 
 
 
 18| 4| 19| 9: 
 
 : 4 
 
 b|Prid. Non. 
 
 
 20, 21| 5| 22| 10; 
 
 5 
 
 c jNonte 
 
 
 23| 6| 241 11 
 
 6 
 
 d |8 Id. 
 
 Nicholas, Bisliop of Myra in Lycia. 
 
 25|7/»i'.30| 26| 12 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 e|7 Id. 
 
 
 27| 7 v.'60\ 281 '^i 
 
 8 
 
 f |6 Id. 
 
 Conception of the Bl. Virgin Mary. 
 
 29| 8| SOlJaines 1 
 
 9 
 
 Ifo 
 
 g|5ld. 
 
 
 31| 91 32| 2 
 
 A|4ld. 
 
 
 331 10| 34| 3 
 
 11 
 
 b |3 Id. 
 
 
 35| 11| 36| 4 
 
 12 
 
 c|Prid. Id. 
 
 
 371 ''^1 38| 5 
 
 13 
 
 d |Idas 
 
 Lucy, Virgin and Martyr 
 
 39| 13| 4011 Pet. I 
 
 14 
 
 e |19 CI. Jan. 
 
 
 41 1 14| 421 2 
 
 15 
 
 f |18Cal. 
 
 
 43| 15| 44| 3 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 |g|17Cal. 
 
 Sapientia. 
 
 45| 16| 46| 4 
 
 |A|16 Cal. 
 
 
 471 171 481 5 
 
 18 
 
 |b|15 Cal. 
 
 
 1 49| 181 501"^ Pet. 1 
 
 19 
 
 |c|l4 Cal. 
 
 
 311 191 52| 2 
 
 20 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 |d|13Cal. 
 
 1 Fast. 
 
 531 201 34| 3 
 
 |e|12Cal. 
 
 iSt. Cljomafi, ap. ant) i&att. 
 
 1 211 lUohn 1 
 
 |f 111 Cal. 
 
 
 1 551 221 361 2 
 
 23 
 24 
 
 IgllO Cal. 
 
 
 1 57 231 581 3 
 
 |A| 9 Cal. 
 
 Fast. 
 
 1 591 24| 60| 4 
 
 25 
 
 1 b 1 8 Cal. 
 
 iCTijriBtmas Unj,)., 
 
 1 1 1 1 
 
 26 
 
 1 c 1 7 Cal. 
 
 Tt. 5'irpl)f", .iFirst ittartpc. 
 
 1111 
 
 27 
 
 1 d 1 6 Cal. 
 
 Ixt. ;?tol)n, A\i. aiili JEbaufl. 
 
 1 1 1 1 
 
 2fJ 
 
 1 e 1 5 Cal. 
 
 IJnnocrnts' 23aj). 
 
 1 1 25] 15 
 
 29 
 
 1 f 1 4 Cal. 
 
 
 1 61 1 261 62|2Jolm 
 
 30 
 
 1 (T 1 3 Cal. 
 
 
 I 63| 27| 64|3John 
 
 31 
 
 |A|Prid. Cal. 
 
 1 Silvester, Bishop of Rome. 
 
 1 651 281 66|Jude 

 
 Ixi 
 
 DECEMBER. 
 
 6. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia.l Nicholas 
 was born at Patara, a city of Lycia, and was after- 
 wards, in the time of Constantine the Great, made 
 Bishop of Myra. He was remarkable for his great 
 charity ; as a proof of which this instance may serve. 
 Understanding that three young women, daughters 
 of a person who had fallen to decay, were tempted to 
 take lewd courses for a maintenance, he secretly con- 
 veyed a sum of money to their father's house, sufR- 
 cient to enable him to provide for them in a virtuous 
 way. 
 
 8. Concpplion of the Blessed Virgin Mary.'] The 
 feast of the " Conce[)tion " of the Virgin Mary was 
 instituted by Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury, upon 
 occasion of William the Conqueror's fleet being in a 
 storm, and afterwards coming safe to shore. But the 
 Council of O.xford, held in the year 1 222, left peo- 
 ple at liberty whether they would observe it or not. 
 But it had before this given rise to the question ven- 
 tilated so warmly in the Roman church concerning 
 the Virgin Mary's immaculate concejjtion ; which was 
 first started by Peter Lombard about the year 1160. 
 
 13. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr.] Lucy was a young 
 lady of Syracuse, who, being courted by a gentleman, 
 but preferring a religious single life before marriage, 
 gave all her fortune away to the poor, in order to 
 stop his farther apjjlications. But the young man, 
 enraged at this, accused her to Paschasius, the heathen 
 judge, for professing Christianity ; who thereupon 
 ordered her to be sent to the stews : hut she, strug- 
 gling with the officers who were to carry her, was, 
 after a great deal of barbarous usage, killed by them. 
 She lived in the year 305. 
 
 16. O Sapienlia.] The sixteenth of December is 
 called " O Sapientia," from the beginning of an an- 
 them in the Latin service, which used to be sung in 
 the Church (for the honour of Christ's advent) from 
 this day till Christmas Eve. 
 
 31. Silvester, Bishop of Rome.] Silvester suc- 
 ceeded Miltiades in the papacy of Rome, in the year 
 of our Lord 314. He is said to have been the author 
 of several rites and ceremonies of the Romish church, 
 as of Asylums, Unctions, Palls, Corporals, Mitres, 
 &c. He died in the year 334.
 
 1X11 
 
 TABLES AND RULES 
 
 roR 
 
 THE MOVEABLE AND IMMOVEABLE FEASTS; 
 
 Togetber with the Days of Fasting and Abstinence, through the whole Year. 
 
 Biilcs to know when the Moveable Feasts and Hohj-Days begin. 
 
 ±1jASTEB-DAY (on which the rest depend^) is always tlie First Simdo!/ after the Fu 
 Moon wliich happens upon, or next after tlie Twenty-first Day of March ; and if the Full 
 Moon happens upon a SundoT/, Easter- Dai/ is the Sunday after. 
 
 Advent Sunday is always the nearest Sunday to the Feast of St. Andrew, whether before or after. 
 
 Septuagesima ^ 
 Sexngesima ' 
 Quinquagesima i 
 Quadragesima J 
 
 • Sunday is 
 
 Weeks before 
 Easter. 
 
 Rogation- Sundag 
 Ascension-Day 
 IVhit- Sunday 
 Trinity-Sunday 
 
 f Five Weeks 
 >is< Foi'tyDays 
 J Seven ^^ eeks 
 (_ Eight Weeks 
 
 after 
 Easter. 
 
 ■ Easter-day {on which the rest depend) &c.] To 
 shew upon what occasion this rule was framed, it is 
 to he observed, that in the first ages of Christianity 
 there arose a great difference between the cluirches 
 of Asia, and otlier churches, about the day whereon 
 Easter ought to be celebrated. 
 
 The churches of Asia kept their Easter upon the 
 same day on which the Jews celebrated their pass- 
 over, namely, upon the foru-teenth day of their first 
 month Xisan (which month began at the new moon 
 next to the vernal equinox), and this they did upon 
 what day of the week soever it fell ; and were from 
 thence called " Qiiartodecimans," or such as keep 
 Easter upon the fourteenth day after the i>a(7ig, or 
 ap])earance of the moon : whereas the other churches, 
 especially those of the West, did not follow this cus- 
 tom, but kejit their Easter on the Sunday following 
 the Jewish passover; partly the more to honour the 
 day, and ])artly to distinguish between Jews and 
 Christians. 15oth sides pleaded apostolical tradition: 
 these latter pretending to derive their practice from 
 St. Peter and St. Paul : whilst the others, namely, 
 the Asiaticks, said they imitated the example of St. 
 John. 
 
 This difference for a considerable time continued 
 with a great deal of Christian charity and forbear- 
 ance; but at length became the occasion of great 
 bustles in the church ; wliich grew to such a height 
 at last, that Constantine thought it time to use his 
 interest and authority to allay tlic heat of the oppo- 
 site parties, and to bring them to a uniforuiity of 
 practice. To which end he got a canon to be passed 
 in the great general council of Nice, " 'I'liat every 
 where the great feast of Easter should be observed 
 upon one and the same day ; and that not on the 
 day of the Jewish jjassover, but, as hail been gene- 
 rally observed, upon the Sunday afterwards." And 
 that tliis dispute might never arise again, these [>as- 
 ehal canons were then also cstahlislied, namely, 
 
 1. " Tliat the twenty-first day of .March shall lie 
 accounted tlie vernal equinox. 
 
 2. " That tlic full moon happening upon or next 
 after tlie twenty-first day of March, shall he taken 
 for the full moon of Nisan. 
 
 3. " That the Lord's day next following that full 
 moon be Easter-day. 
 
 4. " But if the full moon happen upon a Sunday, 
 Easter-day shall lie the Sunday after." 
 
 Agreeable to these is the Rule for finding Easter, 
 still appointed by the Church. iVheatly. It may 
 be here convenient to observe, that our Church does 
 not reckon the full moons according to the rules of 
 the modern almanacks, but that she governs herself 
 therein by the ancient synodical determinations, and 
 paschal cycles of the Church. Dr. Nicholls. Also, 
 that it was enacted by the '2-lth of George tlie Se- 
 cond, chap. 23, that " whereas a kalendar, and also 
 certain taldes and rules for the fixing the true time 
 of the celebriition of the feast of Easter, and the find- 
 ing the times of the full moons on which the same 
 dejiendetb, so as the same shall agree as nearly as 
 may be with the decree of the said general council 
 (of Nice), and also with the practice of foreign coun- 
 tries, have been jirepared, and are hereunto annexed :" 
 therefore " the said feast of Easter, or any of the 
 moveable feasts thereon depending, shall be no 
 longer kept or observed according to the tables," 
 which had been till then |)rcfixed to the Common 
 Prayer Books, liut had been fomid considerably er- 
 roneous ; but "that the said new kalendar. tallies, 
 and rules hereunto annexed, shall be prefixed to all 
 future editions of the said book in the room and 
 stead " of the former : and that " the said feast of 
 Easter, and all other moveable feasts thereon de- 
 ]ieii(iiiig, shall be observed according to the saiil 
 new kalendar. tallies, and rules hereuuto annexed, in 
 that part of (Ireat Itritaiii called I'.ogliUid, and in all 
 the (iDUiinious and countries aforesaid, wherein the 
 Liturgy of the ('hurch of England now is, or here- 
 after shall be used." The tallies and rules to find 
 Easter and the other moveable feasts, which are now 
 prefixed to the ('oinmon Prayer Book, as indeed 
 they have been ever since the year IT.'ii, are the ta- 
 bles and rules specified in the ahove extract; and. as 
 such, are evidently part of the law of the land: by 
 whieli.it will have been remarked, that ]irovision is 
 made, not only for " the celeliralion of the feast of 
 Easter" on a day to be regulated by a certain full
 
 l,\!ii 
 
 A Tabic of all the Feasts >> that are to be observed in the Church of Enxjland 
 
 throughout the Year- 
 
 Q 
 
 03 
 
 
 All Sundays in tlie Year. 
 (■The Circumcision of our Lord JESUS 
 
 CHRIST. 
 The Epii)liaiiy. 
 The Conversion oi St. Paul. 
 I The Purification of the Blessed Virgin. 
 ] St. Matthias the Apostle. 
 The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. 
 I St. Mark tiie Evangelist. 
 \St. Pldlip and St. James the Apostles. 
 The Ascension of our Lord JESUS 
 
 CHIUST. 
 St. Barnabas. 
 *The Nativity oi St. John Baptist. 
 
 Monday and Tuesday in 
 Monday and Tuesday in 
 
 St. Peter the Apostle. 
 
 St. James the Apostle. 
 
 St. Bartholomew the Apostle. 
 
 St. Matthew the Apostle. 
 
 St. Michael and all Angels. 
 
 St, Luke the Evangelist. 
 
 St. Simon and St. Jude the Apostles. 
 
 All Saints. 
 
 St. Andrew the Apostle. 
 
 St. Thomas the Apostle. 
 
 The Nativity of our Lord. 
 
 St. Stepheji the Martyr. 
 
 St. John the Evangelist. 
 
 The Holy Innocents. 
 
 Easter-week. 
 
 Wliitsun-week. 
 
 moon ; but likewise " for finding the time of the full 
 moon on which the same dependetli." Edit. 
 
 I" A Table of all the Feasts &c.] By the fifth and 
 sixth of Edward VI, chap. 3, it was enacted, that all 
 the days therein mentioned should be kejit holydays, 
 and none other. This Act was rejiealed in the fii-st 
 year of Queen Mary : and in the first of Queen Eliza- 
 beth a bill to revive the same was broujj;ht into Parlia- 
 ment, but passed not ; so that the repeal of Queen 
 Mary remained upon this Act till the first year of King 
 James the First, when this repeal was taken off. In 
 the mean while, the Calendar before the Book of 
 Common Prayer had directed what holydays should 
 be observed ; and in the Articles published by Queen 
 Ehzabeth, the seventh year of her reign, one was, 
 that there be none other holydays observed, besides 
 the Sundays, but only such as be set out for holydays 
 as in the said statute of the fifth and sixth of Ed- 
 ward the Sixth, and in the new Calendar authorized 
 by the Queen's Majesty : who appears in other in- 
 stances, as she did ])robably in this, to have greatly 
 disliked the Parliament's intermeddling in matters 
 of religion, the ordering of which she reckoned one 
 great branch of the royal supremacy. 
 
 In this table it is observable, that all the same 
 days are repeated as " feasts," which were enacted to 
 
 be " holydays" by the aforesaid statute : and also 
 these two were added, namely, " the Conversion of 
 St. Paul," and " St. Barnabas," which perhaps were 
 omitted out of the statute, because St. Paul and St. 
 Barnabas were not accounted of the nmnber of the 
 twelve. But in the rubrick, which prescribeth the 
 lessons proper for " holydays," those two festivals 
 are specified under the denomination also of " holy- 
 days." But their eves are not appointed by the 
 Calendar, as the eves of others are, to be fasting 
 days. Dr. Burn. 
 
 It was upon very good grounds, that the last 
 Revisers of the Common Prayer added these two 
 new holydays : for St. Paul and St. Barnabas being 
 apostles of the same jiower and dignity with the 
 other twelve, there was all the reason in the world 
 that we should commemorate, and give God thanks 
 for them as well as for the others. But to distinguish 
 them from the others, the eves or vigils of these days 
 are not appointed to be observed so as those of the 
 others are. Bp. Bei-eridge. 
 
 For observations upon each of the feasts in this 
 table, as also u])on the different Sundays in the fore- 
 going table, the reader is referred to the notes on 
 them as they severally occur in the order of Collects.
 
 ].\iv 
 
 A Table of the Vigils < 
 
 Fasts, and Days of A bstineiice, to be observed in 
 the Year. 
 
 The Evens or Vigils before. 
 
 The Nativity of our Lord. 
 The Purification oftlie Blessed 
 
 Virgin Man/. 
 The Annunciation of the 
 
 Blessed Virgin. 
 Easter- Dai/. 
 
 The Evens or Vigils before. 
 Ascension- Day. 
 Pentecost. 
 St. Matthias. 
 St. John Baptist. 
 St. Peter. 
 St. James. 
 
 Note, that if any of these Feast-Days fall upon a Monday^, then the Vigil or Fast-Day shall 
 be kept upon the Saturday, and not upon the Sunday next before it. 
 
 The Evens or Vigils before. 
 St. Bartholomeic. 
 St. Matthew. 
 St. Simon and St. Jude. 
 St. Andrew. 
 St. Thomas. 
 All Saints. 
 
 = A Table of the Vigils, &c.] ITiey were called 
 " vigils," because the Christians in the jirimitive 
 times used to be up all night before the great fes- 
 tivals of the year, Christmas, Easter, &c. exercising 
 themselves in fasting and praying, as we read in 
 TertuUian. But about the year 420, a little after 
 St. Jerome's time, the nocturnal vigils were totally 
 abolished, and were turned into preparation fasts, 
 to precede some of the principal festivals of the 
 Church. Dr. Kicholls. The most probable cause 
 of this practice was the necessity which Christians 
 were under of meeting in the night and before day, 
 for the exercise of their publick devotions, by reason 
 of the malice and persecution of their enemies, who 
 endeavoured the destruction of all that a])peared to 
 be Christians. And when this first occasion ceased, 
 by the Christians having liberty given them to jier- 
 form their devotions in a more iniblick manner, they 
 still continued these night watches before certain 
 festivals, in order to prepare their minds for a due 
 observation of the ensuing solemnity. But after- 
 wards, when these niglit meetings came to be so far 
 abused, that no care could i)revent several disorders 
 and irregularities, the Church thought fit to abolish 
 them ; so that the nightly watchings were laid aside, 
 and the fasts only retained, but still keeping the 
 former name of Vigils. 
 
 It is observable that some of the festivals have these 
 vigils assigned to them by the Church of England, 
 and some have not. The reason why the latter have 
 no vigils before them, is, because they generally hap- 
 pen either between Christmas and the Purification, 
 or between I'^.aster and \\'hitsimtide ; which were 
 always esteemed such seasons of joy, that the Church 
 did not tlunk fit to intermingle them with any days 
 of fasting and luuniliation. They, that fall between 
 Christmas and the Purification, are the feasts of St. 
 Ste|)hen, St. John the Evangelist, the Holy Inno- 
 cents, the Circumcision, and the ("onversion of St. 
 Paul. 'I'lie others, that may hapjien between ICasler 
 and Wliitsuntide, are St. Alaik, St. Philip and St. 
 James, and St. Barnalias. It is true, indeed, the 
 festival of our Lord's .\scension, wliicli is always ten 
 days before Whit-Sunday, has a vigil before it; but 
 it may be worth enquiring, whether there was any 
 vigil prefixed to it before the institution of the Roga- 
 tion Fasts, which were aj)])ointed upon the three 
 days tliat precede this festival. There are two holy- 
 days not yet named, that have no vigils, though they 
 do not happen in either of the above-mentioned sea- 
 sons : the one is in Septeml)er, namely, the Feast of 
 St. Michael and all Angels; the other in October, 
 namely, the festival of .St Luke. Cpon the first of 
 these, one reason for the institution of vigils cea.seth. 
 
 which was to conform us to the example of the saints 
 we commemorate, and to remind us that they passed 
 through sufferings and mortifications before they 
 entered into the joy of their Master ; whereas those 
 ministering spirits, for whose jirotection and assist- 
 ance we return God thanks on that day, were at first 
 created in full possession of bliss. The reason why 
 the latter, namely, St. Luke, has no vigil, is because 
 the eve of that saint was formerly itself a celebrated 
 holy-day in the Church of England, namely, the 
 feast of St. litbeldred ; but that reason being now 
 removed, I su|)pose every one is left to his own 
 liberty, as to his private devotions, whether he will 
 observe the eve as a vigil or not. 
 
 All Sundays in the year being appointed by the 
 Church to be observed as festivals, no vigil is allowed 
 to be kept upon any of those days : there being a 
 particular rubrick to order, '" that if any of the feast- 
 days that have a vigil fall upon a Monday, then the 
 vigil or fast-day shall be kejit upon the Saturday, 
 and not upon the Sunday next before it." But from 
 hence a query ariseth, namely, on which evening ser- 
 vice the Collect for the festival is to be used : the 
 rubrick, indeed, relating to this matter seems to be 
 worded very plainly, namely, " That the Collect aji- 
 pointed for every Simday, or for any holy-day that 
 hath a vigil or eve, shall be said at the evening ser- 
 vice next before ;" but then this rubrick seems to 
 sujipose that the day liefore is the vigil or eve ; and 
 makes no jirovision in case the festival falls upon the 
 Monday, when we are directed by the rubrick above 
 cited to keep the vigil or fast upon the Saturday. 
 Here then we are left at an uncertainty, nor can we 
 get any fight by comparing our present Liturgy with 
 any former Common Prayer Book, because both 
 tliese rubricks, together with the table of vigils or 
 eves, were first added at the last review. IVheutly. 
 
 '' A'o/e, that if any nf these FeasI- Days fall upon a 
 Monday, &c.] It is uncertain, as the directions now 
 stand, whether the Collect for a holy-day that hath a 
 vigil, supposing the Sunday to intervene between the 
 vigil aiul the festival, shall be read "on the eve," on 
 wliich the vigil is ordered to be observed ; or " in the 
 evening immediately before" the festival, according 
 to the rubrick prefixed to the Collects, ICpistles, aiui 
 (Jospels. Tliey, whose ride it is to act closely u]) to 
 the letter of the rubrick, must separate the Collect 
 from the vigil. But they, wlio plead the stipposed 
 intention and reason of both the rubricks, think that 
 they may dispense with the letter of that rubrick which 
 orders the Collect to be read on the evening before 
 the holy-diiy, and use the Collect on the vigil in 
 compliance with the siipposed design of the other 
 rubrick. In cither case conformity to rubrick is
 
 I. 
 II. 
 
 Beiiia: the IVednes- 
 dai/, Friday, and 
 Saturday after 
 
 Dat/s of Fasting, or A batincnce ' 
 
 The Forty days of Lent K 
 
 The Ember Days ^ at the Four Seasons, 
 
 The First Sunday in 
 Lent. 
 
 The Feast of Pentecost. 
 
 September 14. 
 
 December l-'3. 
 
 in. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The Three Moyation-Days^, beiiifr the 
 Monday, Tuesday, and IVeduesday, be- 
 fore H(dy Thursday, or the Ascensiun 
 of our LORD. 
 
 All the Fridays in the 
 CHRISTMAS-DAY. 
 
 Year', except 
 
 Certain solcinn Days, for which jMrticular Services are appointed. 
 
 th 
 
 Papists' 
 
 II 
 
 The Fifth Day of Nuvember, 
 Day kept in Memory of the 
 Conspiracy. 
 
 , The Thirtieth Day of January, being 
 the Day kept in Memory of the Mar- 
 tyrdom of King Cliarles the First. 
 
 in. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The Nine and Twentieth Day of May, 
 being the Day kept in Memory of 
 the Birth and return of King Cliarles 
 the Second. 
 
 The Twentieth Day oi June, being the 
 Day on which her Majesty began 
 her happy reign. 
 
 aimed at, though diversity of practice necessarily 
 prevents uniformity. The general observation con- 
 cerning rubricks of doubtful interjiretation, see above, 
 page xxxiii. note a, is applicable to this particular case. 
 Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 It may be observed on this point, that whenever 
 the CoUect of a Sunday or holy-day is read at the 
 evening service before, the weekly Collect that had 
 been in course must be omitted and give place. And 
 the same rule, as I take it, should be observed upon 
 the holy-day itself, upon which no other Collect 
 ought to be used, but the proper one for the day. 
 For the rubrick, at the end of " the order how the 
 rest of the service is appointed to be read," directs, 
 that " the Collect, &c. for the Sunday shall serve all 
 the week after, where it is not otherwise ordered ;" 
 which sujiposes, that in some places it is otherwise 
 ordered, which must be (as it was worded in all the 
 old Common Prayer Books) when " there falls some 
 feast that hath its proper," that is, when any day 
 falls that hath a proper or pecidiar Collect, &c. to 
 itself: upon which occasions the rubrick plainly 
 supposes, that the Collect for the Sunday shall be 
 left out and omitted : the Chiu'ch never designing to 
 use two Collects at once, except within the octaves of 
 Christmas, and during Advent and Lent; when, for 
 the greater solemnity of those solemn seasons, she 
 particularly orders the Collects of the princijial days 
 to be used continually after the ordinary Collects. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 " Days of Fasting, or Abstinence.'] That fasting or 
 abstinence from our usual sustenance is a proper 
 means to express sorrow and grief, and a fit method 
 to dispose our minds towards the consideration of 
 any thing that is serious, natiu'e seems to suggest ; 
 and therefore all nations, from ancient times, have 
 used fasting as a part of repentance, and as a means 
 to avert the anger of God. This is plain in the case 
 of the Ninevites, Jonah iii. 5, whose notion of fasting, 
 to appease the wi-ath of God, seems to have been 
 common to them with the rest of mankind. In the 
 Old Testament, besides the examjiles of private fast- 
 ing by David, Ps. Ixix. 10, and Daniel, Dan. ix. 3, 
 and others ; we have instances of publick fasts ob- 
 served by the whole nation of the Jews at once upon 
 solemn occasions. See Lev. xxiii. 26, &c. ; 2 Chron. 
 XX. 3; Ezra viii. 21 ; Jer. xxxvi. 9; Zech. viii. 19; 
 Joel i. 14. It is true, indeed, in the New Testament 
 we find no positive precept, that expressly requires 
 
 and commands us to fast : butourSanour mentions 
 fasting with almsgiving and prayer; which are un- 
 questionable duties ; and the directions He gave con- 
 cerning the performance of it sufficiently suppose its 
 necessity. And He Himself was pleased before He 
 entered upon his ministry, to give us an extraordinary 
 example in his own jierson, by fasting forty days and 
 forty nights. Matt. iv. 2. He excused indeed his 
 disciples from fasting, so long as He, "the Bride- 
 groom, was with them ;" because that being a time 
 of joy and gladness, it would be an improper season 
 for tokens of sorrow; but then He intimates at the 
 same time, that though it was not fit for them then, 
 it would yet be their duty hereafter : for " the days," 
 says He, " wiU come, when the Bridegroom shall be 
 taken from them, and then they shall fast," Matt. ix. 
 15. And accordingly we find, that after his ascen- 
 sion, the duty of fasting was not only recommended, 
 1 Cor. vii. 5 ; but practised by the apostles, as any 
 one may see by the texts of Scripture here referred 
 to. Acts xiii. 2, and xiv. 23 ; 1 Cor. Lx. 27 ; 2 Cor. 
 vi. 5, and xi. 27. After the apostles, we find the 
 primitive Christians very constant and regular in the 
 observation of both their annual and weekly fasts. 
 Their weekly fasts were kept on Wednesdays and 
 Fridays, because on the one our Lord was betrayed, 
 on the other crucified. The chief of their annual 
 fasts was that of Lent, which they observed by 
 way of preparation for their feast of Easter. 
 
 In the church of Rome, fasting and abstinence ad- 
 mit of a distinction, and different days are appointed 
 for each of them. But I do not find that the Church 
 of England makes any difference between thera. It 
 is true in the title of the table of Vigils, &c. she 
 mentions " fasts and days of abstinence" separately : 
 but when she comes to enumerate the particulars, 
 she calls them all " days of fasting or abstinence," 
 without distinguishing the one from the other. The 
 times she sets apart are such as she finds to have 
 been observed by the earliest ages of the church. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 ' The Forty days of Lcnt.l See page 122, note c. 
 
 ^ The Ember Days] See page 72, note ff. 
 
 '' The Three Rogation-Days,] See page 169, 170, 
 note X from Wheatly. 
 
 ^ All the Fridays in the Year,] Friday was, both 
 in the Greek church and Latin, a Litany or humilia- 
 tion day, in memory of Clu'ist crucified ; and so is 
 kept in ours. Bp. Sparrow. See page 60, note/.
 
 Ixvi 
 
 A TABLE TO FIND EASTER-DAY, 
 
 From the present Time till the Year 1899 inclusive, according to the foregoing Calendar. 
 
 Golden 
 Number. 
 
 14 
 3 
 
 11 
 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 5 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 18 
 7 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 1 
 
 17 
 6 
 
 Days of the 
 Month. 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 
 29 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 Sunday 
 Letters. 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 G 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 G 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 G 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 G 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 G 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 THIS Table contains so much of the Calendar as is 
 necessary for the determining of Easter ; to find which, 
 look for the Golden Number of the Year in the first Column 
 of the Table, against which stands the Day of the Paschal 
 Full Moon ; then look in the Third Column for the Sunday 
 Letter, next after the Day of the Full Moon, and the Day 
 of the Month standing against that Sunday Letter is Easter- 
 Day. If the Full Moon happens upon a Sunday, then (ac- 
 cording to the first Rule) the next Sunday after is Easter- 
 Day. 
 
 To find the Golden Number, or Prime, add one to the 
 Y^ear of our Lord, and then divide by 19; the Remainder, 
 if any, is the Golden Number ; but if nothing remaineth, 
 then 19 is the Golden Number. 
 
 Al 
 
 I 
 
 D 
 C 
 B 
 
 To find the Dominical or Sunday Letter, according 
 to the Calendar, until the Year 1799 inclusive, add 
 to the Year of our Lord its fourth Part, omitting 
 Fractions ; and also the Number 1 : Divide the sum 
 by 7 ; and if there is no Remainder, then A is the 
 Sunday Letter : But if any Number remaineth, then 
 the Letter standing against that Number in the small 
 annexed Table, is the Sunday Letter. 
 
 For the next Century, that is, from the Year 1800 till 
 tlie Year 1899 inclusive, add to the current Year only its 
 fourth Part, and then divide by 7, and proceed as in the last 
 Rule. 
 
 Note, that in all Bissextile or Leap Years, the Letter 
 found as above will be the Sunday Letter, from the inter- 
 calated Day exclusive to the End of the Year.
 
 Ixvii 
 
 ANOTHER TABLE TO FIND EASTER 
 
 Till the Year 1899 inclusive. 
 
 SUNDAY LETTERS. 
 
 Golden 
 Number. 
 
 I. 
 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 V. 
 
 VI. 
 
 VII. 
 VIII. 
 
 IX. 
 X. 
 
 XI. 
 XII. 
 XIII. 
 XIV. 
 
 XV. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 16 
 9 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 2 
 
 23 
 9 
 2 
 
 16 
 9 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 2 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 2 
 
 2.3 
 9 
 o 
 
 B 
 
 March 
 
 17 
 
 3 
 27 
 17 
 
 3 
 24 
 10 
 
 3 
 17 
 10 
 27 
 17 
 
 3 
 27 
 10 
 
 3 
 24 
 10 
 27 
 
 C 
 
 March 
 
 — ■ 18 
 
 4 
 
 28 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 25 
 
 11 
 
 28 
 18 
 11 
 28 
 18 
 
 4 
 28 
 11 
 
 4 
 18 
 11 
 28 
 
 D 
 
 19 
 
 5 
 29 
 12 
 
 5 
 19 
 12 
 29 
 19 
 
 5 
 29 
 19 
 
 5 
 22 
 12 
 
 5 
 19 
 12 
 29 
 
 March 
 
 20 
 
 6 
 23 
 13 
 
 6 
 20 
 13 
 30 
 20 
 
 6 
 30 
 13 
 
 6 
 23 
 13 
 30 
 20 
 13 
 30 
 
 F 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 March 31 
 
 21 
 
 14 
 
 31 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 
 31 
 
 14 
 
 — 7 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 31 
 
 — 21 
 
 7 
 
 31 
 
 G 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 13 
 
 8 
 2.5 
 15 
 
 1 
 22 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 22 
 
 8 
 25 
 15 
 
 8 
 25 
 15 
 
 1 
 22 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 TO make use of the preceding Table, find the Sunday Letter for the Year in tlie 
 uppermost Line, and the Golden Number, or Prime, in the Column of Golden 
 Numbers, and against the Prime, in the same Line under the Sunday Letter, you have 
 the Day of the Month on which EASTER falleth that Year. But note, that the Name 
 of the Month is set on the Left Hand, or just with the Figure, and followeth not, as in 
 other Tables, by Descent, but Collateral. 
 
 e -2
 
 Ixviii 
 
 A TABLE OF THE MOVEABLE FEASTS 
 
 For Forty Years, 
 According to the foregoing Calendar. 
 
 g 
 
 f 
 
 Q 
 
 o 
 
 E 
 
 S 
 
 c 
 
 g 
 
 ■a 
 
 c 
 □ 
 
 1 
 
 c 
 
 3 
 
 a. 
 
 09 
 
 H 
 
 ■5' 
 p" 
 
 Septuagesima 
 Sunday. 
 
 CD 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Rogation-Sunday. 
 
 
 1 
 Ascension-Day. 
 
 Whit-Sunday 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 00 
 
 1 
 
 3_ 
 
 > 
 
 3 
 
 1850 
 
 8 
 
 17 
 
 F 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 
 
 27 
 
 Feb. 
 
 13 
 
 March 
 
 31 
 
 May 
 
 5 
 
 May 
 
 9 
 
 May 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 Dec. 1 
 
 1851 
 
 9 
 
 28 
 
 E 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 16 
 
 March 
 
 5 
 
 April 
 
 20 
 
 - — . 
 
 25 
 
 
 29 
 
 June 
 
 8 
 
 23 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 1852 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 DC 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 Feb. 
 
 25 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 20 
 
 May 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 28 
 
 1853 
 
 11 
 
 20 
 
 B 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 
 
 23 
 
 
 9 
 
 March 
 
 27 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 1854 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 A 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 12 
 
 March 
 
 1 
 
 April 
 
 16 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 25 
 
 June 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 Dec. 3 
 
 1855 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 G 
 
 4 
 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 
 
 21 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 13 
 
 
 17 
 
 May 
 
 27 
 
 25 
 
 ■ 2 
 
 1850 
 
 14 
 
 23 
 
 FE 
 
 1 
 
 Jan. 
 
 20 
 
 
 6 
 
 March 
 
 23 
 
 April 
 
 27 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 11 
 
 27 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 185r 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 D 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 
 
 8 
 
 
 25 
 
 April 
 
 12 
 
 May 
 
 17 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 31 
 
 24 
 
 29 
 
 1858 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 C 
 
 3 
 
 Jan. 
 
 31 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 13 
 
 
 23 
 
 25 
 
 28 
 
 1859 
 
 17 
 
 26 
 
 B 
 
 6 
 
 Feb. 
 
 20 
 
 March 
 
 9 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 29 
 
 June 
 
 2 
 
 June 
 
 12 
 
 22 
 
 27 
 
 I860 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 AG 
 
 4 
 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 22 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 13 
 
 May 
 
 17 
 
 May 
 
 27 
 
 25 
 
 Dec. 2 
 
 1861 
 
 19 
 
 18 
 
 F 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 
 
 27 
 
 
 13 
 
 March 
 
 31 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 1 
 
 1862 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 16 
 
 March 
 
 5 
 
 April 
 
 20 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 29 
 
 June 
 
 8 
 
 23 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 1863 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 D 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 Feb. 
 
 IS 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 14 
 
 May 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 29 
 
 1864 
 
 3 
 
 22 
 
 CB 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 
 
 24 
 
 
 10 
 
 March 
 
 27 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 1865 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 A 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 12 
 
 March 
 
 1 
 
 April 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 25 
 
 June 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 Dec. 3 
 
 1800 
 
 5 
 
 14 
 
 G 
 
 3 
 
 Jan. 
 
 28 
 
 Feb. 
 
 14 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 10 
 
 May 
 
 20 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 1867 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 F 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 17 
 
 March 
 
 6 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 26 
 
 
 30 
 
 June 
 
 9 
 
 23 
 
 ] 
 
 1868 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 ED 
 
 4 
 
 
 9 
 
 Feb. 
 
 26 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 21 
 
 May 
 
 31 
 
 24 
 
 Nov. 29 
 
 1809 
 
 8 
 
 17 
 
 G 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 
 
 24 
 
 
 10 
 
 March 
 
 28 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 28 
 
 1870 
 
 9 
 
 28 
 
 B 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 13 
 
 March 
 
 2 
 
 April 
 
 17 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 26 
 
 June 
 
 5 
 
 23 
 
 • 27 
 
 1871 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 A 
 
 4 
 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 22 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 14 
 
 
 18 
 
 May 
 
 28 
 
 25 
 
 Dec. 3 
 
 1872 
 
 u 
 
 20 
 
 GF 
 
 3 
 
 Jan. 
 
 28 
 
 
 14 
 
 March 
 
 31 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 1 
 
 1873 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 E 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 
 
 9 
 
 
 26 
 
 April 
 
 13 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 22 
 
 June 
 
 1 
 
 24 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 1874 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 D 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 14 
 
 May 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 29 
 
 1875 
 
 14 
 
 23 
 
 C 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 
 
 24 
 
 
 10 
 
 March 
 
 28 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 26 
 
 28 
 
 1870 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 BA 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 13 
 
 March 
 
 1 
 
 April 
 
 10 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 25 
 
 June 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 Dec. 3 
 
 1877 
 
 16 
 
 15 
 
 G 
 
 3 
 
 Jan. 
 
 28 
 
 Feb. 
 
 14 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 10 
 
 May 
 
 20 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 1878 
 
 17 
 
 20 
 
 F 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 17 
 
 March 
 
 6 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 30 
 
 June 
 
 9 
 
 23 
 
 1 
 
 1879 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 K 
 
 4 
 
 
 9 
 
 Feb. 
 
 26 
 
 
 13 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 1 
 
 24 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 1880 
 
 19 
 
 18 
 
 DC 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 
 
 25 
 
 
 U 
 
 March 
 
 28 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 6 
 
 May 
 
 10 
 
 26 
 
 28 
 
 1881 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 13 
 
 March 
 
 2 
 
 April 
 
 17 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 26 
 
 June 
 
 5 
 
 23 
 
 27 
 
 1882 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 A 
 
 4 
 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 22 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 14 
 
 
 18 
 
 May 
 
 28 
 
 25 
 
 Dec. 3 
 
 1883 
 
 3 
 
 22 
 
 G 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 
 
 21 
 
 
 7 
 
 March 
 
 25 
 
 A])ril 
 
 29 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 13 
 
 27 
 
 2 
 
 1884 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 FE 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 
 
 10 
 
 
 27 
 
 April 
 
 13 
 
 May 
 
 18 
 
 
 22 
 
 June 
 
 1 
 
 24 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 1885 
 
 5 
 
 14 
 
 D 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 14 
 
 May 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 29 
 
 1886 
 
 6 
 
 25 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 
 21 
 
 March 
 
 10 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 30 
 
 June 
 
 3 
 
 June 
 
 13 
 
 22 
 
 28 
 
 1887 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 B 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 23 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 15 
 
 May 
 
 19 
 
 May 
 
 29 
 
 24 
 
 27 
 
 1888 
 
 8 
 
 17 
 
 AG 
 
 3 
 
 Jan. 
 
 29 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 20 
 
 26 
 
 Dec. 2 
 
 1889 
 
 9 
 
 28 
 
 F 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 
 
 17 
 
 March 
 
 6 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 26 
 
 
 30 
 
 June 
 
 9 
 
 23 
 
 • 1
 
 Ixi.^ 
 
 A TABLE of the MOVEABLE FEASTS, according to 
 the several Days that EASTEll can possibly fall upon. 
 
 M 
 
 
 March 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 
 —29 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 April 1 
 
 — 3 
 
 — 4 
 
 — 5 
 
 — 6 
 
 — 7 
 
 - 9 
 -10 
 
 -11 
 
 -12 
 -13 
 -14 
 -15 
 -10 
 
 -17 
 
 -18 
 -19 
 -20 
 -21 
 -22 
 -23 
 -24 
 -25 
 
 27 
 27 
 27 
 27 
 27 
 26 
 26 
 26 
 26 
 26 
 26 
 26 
 25 
 25 
 25 
 25 
 25 
 25 
 25 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 22 
 22 
 
 > 
 
 c 
 a 
 
 Nov. 
 Dec. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 TABLE to find Eas- 
 ter, from the Year 
 1900 to 2199 in 
 elusive. 
 
 o 
 
 c 
 B 
 
 14 
 3 
 
 U 
 
 19 
 
 16 
 5 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 o «> 
 
 p. o 
 
 March 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 
 29 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 April 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 -10 
 -II 
 -12 
 -13 
 -14 
 -15 
 -16 
 -17 
 -18 
 -19 
 -20 
 -21 
 -22 
 -23 
 -24 
 -25 
 
 
 D 
 E 
 F 
 G 
 A 
 B 
 C 
 D 
 E 
 F 
 G 
 A 
 B 
 C 
 D 
 E 
 F 
 G 
 A 
 B 
 C 
 D 
 E 
 F 
 G 
 A 
 B 
 C 
 D 
 E 
 F 
 G 
 A 
 B 
 C 
 
 Note, that in a Bissextile or Leap Year, the Number of Sundays after Epi- 
 phany will be the same, as if Easter-Day had fallen One Day later than it 
 really does. And for the same Reason, One Day must, in every Leap 
 Year, be added to the Day of the Month given by the Table for Septua- 
 gesima Sunday : And the like must be done for the First Day of Lent 
 (commonly called Ash-lVednesday] unless the Table gives some Day in 
 the Month of March for it ; for in that Case, the Day given by the Table 
 is the right Day. 
 
 THE Golden Numbers in the fore- 
 goinjj Calendar will point out the 
 Days of the Paschal Full Moons, till 
 the Year of our Lord 1900 ; at whicli 
 Time, in order that the Ecclesiaatical 
 Full Moons may fall nearly on the 
 same Dayswitli the real Full Moons. 
 the Golden Numbers must he removed 
 to ditferent Days of the Calendar, as is 
 done in the annexed Table, whit-h con- 
 tains so much of the Calentiar then to 
 be used, as is necessary for linding the 
 Paschal Full Moons, and the Feast of 
 Easier, from the Year lOcO to the 
 Year 2199 inclusive. This Table is to' 
 be made use of, in all respects, as the 
 First Table before inserted, for finding 
 Easier till the Year 1S99.
 
 Ixx 
 
 GENERAL TABLES 
 
 and the Places of the GOLDEN 
 
 For finding the DOMINICAL or SUNDAY LETTER 
 
 NUMBERS in the Calendar, 
 
 TABLE L 
 
 B 
 
 1900 
 •2000 
 
 2900 
 
 8800 
 
 4700 
 4800 
 
 3700 
 
 6600 
 
 7500 
 7600 
 
 8500 
 
 2100 
 
 3000 
 
 3900 
 4000 
 
 4900 
 
 5800 
 
 6700 
 6800 
 
 7700 
 
 &c. 
 
 D 
 
 2200 
 
 3100 
 3200 
 
 4100 
 
 5000 
 
 5900 
 6000 
 
 6900 
 
 7800 
 
 2300 
 2400 
 
 3300 
 
 1600 
 
 2500 
 
 3400 
 
 4200 
 
 3100 
 3200 
 
 6100 
 
 7000 
 
 7900 
 8000 
 
 4300 
 4400 
 
 5300 
 
 6200 
 
 7100 
 7200 
 
 8100 
 
 G 
 
 1700 
 
 2600 
 
 3500 
 3600 
 
 4500 
 
 3400 
 
 6300 
 6400 
 
 7300 
 
 8200 
 
 1800 
 
 2700 
 2800 
 
 3700 
 
 4600 
 
 3500 
 3600 
 
 6500 
 
 7400 
 
 8300 
 8400 
 
 TO find tlie Dominical or Sunday Letter for 
 any given Year of our Lord, add to tiie 
 Year its Foiirtii Part, omitting Fractions, and 
 also tlic Number, which in Table I. standeth 
 at the To]) of the Cobiinn, wherein tlie Num- 
 ber of Ihiiidreds contained in that given year 
 is found: Divide tlu" Sum by 7, and if there 
 is no lieinain<ler, tlien A is tlie Sunchiy Let- 
 ter; but if any Number reinaineth, then tlie 
 Letter, whicli standeth inider that nuinl)er at 
 the Top of the Tal)ie, is the Sunchiy Letter. 
 
 TABLE IL 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 Years of 
 
 
 
 Years of 
 
 our Lord. 
 
 
 
 our Lord. 
 
 1600 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 5200 
 
 1700 
 
 1 
 
 
 5300 
 
 1800 
 
 1 
 
 
 5400 
 
 1900 
 
 2 
 
 
 5500 
 
 2000 
 
 2 
 
 B 
 
 5600 
 
 2100 
 
 2 
 
 
 5700 
 
 2200 
 
 3 
 
 
 5800 
 
 2300 
 
 4 
 
 
 5900 
 
 2400 
 
 3 
 
 B 
 
 6000 
 
 2500 
 
 4 
 
 
 6100 
 
 2600 
 
 5 
 
 
 6200 
 
 2700 
 
 5 
 
 
 6300 
 
 2800 
 
 5 
 
 B 
 
 6400 
 
 2900 
 
 6 
 
 
 6500 
 
 3000 
 
 6 
 
 
 6600 
 
 3100 
 
 7 
 
 
 6700 
 
 3200 
 
 7 
 
 B 
 
 6800 
 
 3300 
 
 7 
 
 
 6900 
 
 3400 
 
 8 
 
 
 7000 
 
 3500 
 
 9 
 
 
 7100 
 
 3600 
 
 8 
 
 B 
 
 7200 
 
 3700 
 
 9 
 
 
 7300 
 
 3S00 
 
 10 
 
 
 7400 
 
 3D00 
 
 10 
 
 
 7500 
 
 4000 
 
 10 
 
 B 
 
 7600 
 
 4100 
 
 11 
 
 
 7700 
 
 4200 
 
 12 
 
 
 7800 
 
 4300 
 
 12 
 
 
 7900 
 
 4400 
 
 12 
 
 B 
 
 8000 
 
 4500 
 
 13 
 
 
 8100 
 
 4600 
 
 13 
 
 
 8200 
 
 4700 
 
 14 
 
 
 8300 
 
 4800 
 
 14 
 
 B 
 
 8400 
 
 4 900 
 
 14 
 
 
 8500 
 
 5000 
 
 15 
 
 
 &C. 
 
 5100 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 15 
 16 
 17 
 17 
 17 
 18 
 18 
 19 
 19 
 19 
 20 
 21 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 25 
 25 
 26 
 26 
 26 
 27 
 28 
 27' 
 28 
 29 
 29 
 29 
 
 
 TO find the Month and Days of the Month to which 
 the (jolden Numbers oufjht to be prefixed in the 
 Calendar, in any given Year of our Lord, consistin;/ of 
 entire Hundred Years, and in all the intermediate Years 
 betwixt that and the next Hundredth Year following, 
 look in the Seconil Colnmn of 'I'aljlc U. for the given 
 Year consisting of entire Hundreds, and Note the 
 Number or Cvpher whidi stands against it in the Third 
 Column ; then, in Tuhle HL look for the same Number 
 in the (Joluuui under any given (ioldcn Niunlier, which 
 when you have found, guide your Kye Side-way.s to 
 the Left Hand, and in the Kirst Column you will fiiul 
 the Month and Day to which that (ioUlen Number 
 ought to be prefixed in the Calendar, during that 
 Period of One Hundred Years. 
 
 Tlie Letter 14 prefixed to certain Hundredth Y'ears in 
 I'ablc H. denotes those Years which are still to be ac- 
 counted Bissextile or Leap Years in the New Calendar; 
 whereas all the otlur Hundredth Y'eors arc to be ac- 
 counted only eouiiuou ^ ears.
 
 I.xxi 
 
 TABLE III. 
 
 Paschal 
 
 
 THE GOLDEN NUMBERS. 
 
 Full 
 
 S ■£ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 Moon. 
 
 3 1 
 
 1 2 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 5 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 8 
 
 25 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 u 
 
 28 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 17 
 
 4 
 
 1819 
 
 1 
 
 March 21 
 
 c 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 March 22 
 
 D 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 March 23 
 
 E 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 March 24 
 
 F 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 March 25 
 
 G 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 16 
 
 26 
 27 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 18 
 19 
 
 29 
 
 
 10 
 11 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 2 
 3 
 
 13 
 14 
 
 24 
 25 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 
 8 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 
 1 
 
 March 26 
 
 A 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 March 27 
 
 B 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 March 28 
 
 C 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 March 29 
 
 D 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 March 30 
 
 E 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 29 
 
 9 
 10 
 
 20 
 21 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 13 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 4 
 5 
 
 15 
 16 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 18 
 19 
 
 29 
 
 
 10 
 11 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 2 
 3 
 
 13 
 14 
 
 24 
 25 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 March 31 
 
 F 
 
 18 
 
 April 1 
 
 G 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 April 2 
 
 A 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 April 3 
 
 B 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 April 4 
 
 C 
 
 22 
 23 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 14 
 15 
 
 25 
 26 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 28 
 29 
 
 9 
 10 
 
 20 
 21 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 12 
 13 
 
 23 
 24 
 
 4 
 5 
 
 15 
 16 
 
 26 
 27 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 18 
 19 
 
 29 
 
 
 10 
 11 
 
 April 5 
 
 D 
 
 April 6 
 
 E 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 April 7 
 
 F 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 April 8 
 
 G 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 April 9 
 
 A 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 9 
 
 19 
 20 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 12 
 
 22 
 23 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 14 
 15 
 
 25 
 26 
 
 6 
 7 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 28 
 29 
 
 9 
 10 
 
 20 
 21 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 13 
 
 23 
 24 
 
 4 
 5 
 
 15 
 16 
 
 April 10 
 
 B 
 
 28 
 
 April 11 
 
 C 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 April 12 
 
 D 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 April 13 
 
 E 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 April 14 
 
 F 
 
 2 
 3 
 
 13 
 14 
 
 24 
 25 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 
 8 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 12 
 
 22 
 23 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 14 
 15 
 
 25 
 26 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 28 
 29 
 
 9 
 10 
 
 20 
 21 
 
 April 15 
 
 G 
 
 April 16 
 
 A 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 April 17 
 
 B 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 April 17 
 
 B 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 April 18 
 
 C 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 28 
 29 
 
 9 
 10 
 
 20 
 21 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 12 
 13 
 
 23 
 24 
 
 4 
 5 
 
 15 
 16 
 
 26 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 April 18 
 
 C 
 
 7 18
 
 f THE ORDER FOR 
 
 MORNING AND EVENING PRAYEIl 
 
 DAILY TO BE SAID AND USED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 
 
 TH E Morning and Evening Prayer shall be used in the accustomed Place ' of the Church ", 
 Chapel", or Chancel"; except it shall be otherwise determined by the Ordinary of the 
 Place. And the Chancels shall remain as they have done in times past. 
 
 ' The Order for Morning and Evening Prayer &c.] 
 The two times of worshipping God in jJubUck among 
 the Jews were morning and evening, and that by God's 
 own appointment : the morning and evening sacrifice 
 drawing the peojile together for that purpose. " Thou 
 shalt offer upon the altar two lambs of the first year 
 day by day continually ; the one lamb thou shalt offer 
 in the morning, and the other lamb thou shalt offer at 
 even," Exod. xxix. 38, 39. Which precept was con- 
 stantly observed as long as the city and Jjolity of the 
 Jews stood. Upon which account the primitive Chris- 
 tians constantly oliserved these two solemn times of 
 prayer : to which they very early added a third. For, 
 as some devout Jews had a third hour, which they 
 devoted to prayer, namely, our twelve o'clock, when 
 they retired to some closet or other secret place, as we 
 see in the example of St. Peter, "who went upon the 
 house-top to pray, about the sixth hour," Acts x. 9 ; 
 so the ])rimitive Christians turned this hour, which was 
 formerly voluntary, into a settled hour of public devo- 
 tion : for so it was settled in the times of St. Cyprian 
 and Clement of Alexandria ; as we find from passages 
 in their works. Soon after the monks, who desired to 
 be more devout than common Christians, added other 
 hours of stated prayer ; and, in St. Basil's time, had 
 increased them to seven. At last these were established 
 by decree of ])ope Pelagius the Second ; and the psalms 
 a])pointed for each hour, which was the rise of what 
 they call " Canonical hours" in the church of Rome. 
 But our Church in her Reformation has brought back 
 the solemn times of jirayer to the most ancient institu- 
 tion, and injoined only morning and evening prayer to 
 be used. Dr. NichoUs. At the same time, to make 
 the duty as practicalile and easy both to the minister 
 and peojile as possible, she hath left the particular 
 hours to the ministers that officiate : who, considering 
 every one his own and his people's circumstances, 
 may appoint such hours for morning and evening 
 prayer as he shall judge to be most proper and con- 
 venient. W'heutly. 
 
 In the Law it was appointed by God, that there 
 should be both morning and evening service, day by 
 day ; and that upon the sabbath there should be twice 
 as long service as upon other days. Numb. xx\nii. 9, 
 10; 1 Chron. xxiii. 30; where we read, that the office 
 of the Levites was to stand every morning to give 
 thanks, and to praise the Lord likewise at even. Bp. 
 Overall. 
 
 ' — shall be nsed in the accustomed Place &c.] In the 
 first book of King Edward the Sixth, all the rubrick 
 
 relating to the place in the church, where morning and 
 evening prayer should be used, was only one at the 
 beginning of Morning Prayer, which ordered " the 
 ])riest, being in the quire, to begin, with a loud voice, 
 the Lord's Prayer, called Paternoster ;" with which the 
 morning and evening service then began. So that 
 then it was the custom for the minister to perform 
 divine service, that is. Morning and Evening Prayer, 
 as well as the Communion office, at the upper end of 
 the choir, near the altar : towards which, whether 
 standing or kneeling, he always turned his face in the 
 prayers ; though, whilst he was reading the lessons, he 
 turned to the people. Objections being made to this 
 I)ractice, this following rubrick was introduced into 
 Edward's second book in the room of the old one : 
 namely, "The Morning and Evening Prayer shall be 
 used in such places of the chiu'ch, chapel, or chancel, 
 and the minister shall turn him, as the people may best 
 hear. And if there be any controversy therein, the 
 matter shall be referred to the ordinary, and he or his 
 deputy shall ajjpoint the ])lace." 
 
 This alteration caused great contentions, some kneel- 
 ing one way, some another, though still keeping in the 
 chancel ; whilst others left the accustomed ])lace, and 
 performed all the services in the body of tlie church 
 amongst the people. For the appeasing of this strife 
 and diversity, it was thought fit, when the English 
 service was again brought into the Church, at the 
 accession of tiueen Elizabeth to the throne, that the 
 rubrick should be corrected, and put into the same 
 form in which we now have it; namely, that the 
 "Morning and the Evening Prayer shall be used in 
 the accustomed place of the church, chapel, or chan- 
 cel ;" by which for the generality must be meant the 
 " choir," or " chancel," which was the " accustomed 
 jjlace" before the second Common Prayer Book of 
 King Edward. For it cannot be supjiosed, that this 
 second book, which lasted only one year and a half, 
 could establish a custom. However, a dispensing 
 power was left to the ordinary, who might determine it 
 otherwise, if he saw just cause. 
 
 Pursuant to this rubrick, the Morning and Evening 
 service was again, as formerly, read in the chancel or 
 choir. But because in some churches the too great 
 distance of the chancel from the body of the church, 
 occasioned sometimes by the interposition of a belfry, 
 hindered the minister from being heai-d distinctly by 
 the peojile ; therefore the bishops, at the solicitations 
 of their inferior clergy, allowed them in several jilaces 
 to supersede their former practice, and to have desks,
 
 Ixxiv 
 
 THE ORDER FOR MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 And here is to be noted, tliat such Ornaments of the Church, and of the Ministers thereof p, 
 at all times of their Ministration, shall be retained, and be in use, as were in this Church of 
 Entjland, by the Authority of Parliament, in the Second Year of the Reign of King- Edward 
 the Sixtli. 
 
 or reading- pews, in the body of the church, where they 
 might with more ease to themselves, and greater con- 
 venience to the people, perform the daily Morning and 
 Evening service. Which dispensation, began at fii'st 
 by some few ordinaries, and recommended by them to 
 others, grew by degrees to be more general, till at last 
 it came to be an universal practice ; insomuch that the 
 convocation, in the beginning of King James the First's 
 reign, ordered, that in everj- church there sliould be " a 
 convenient seat made for the minister to read service 
 in." Canon S'2. And this being almost threescore years 
 before the Restoration of King Charles the Second, 
 (at which time the last re\-iew of the Common Prayer 
 was made,) it is very probable, that when they con- 
 tinued this rubrick. they intended the desk or reading- 
 pew should be understood by "the accustomed place" 
 for reading ju-ayers. And what makes this the more 
 hkely, is a rubrick at the beginning of the Communion, 
 which expressly mentions a reading-pew, and seems to 
 sujipose one in every church. Wheatly. 
 
 It should be noted here, that the power of the ordi- 
 naries was limited and restrained to the reading of 
 Morning and Evening Prayer only : so that the Com- 
 munion Service was by this very law and order here 
 reserved to the chancel ; neither had any ordinary 
 liberty or power given him to liring it, or give leave 
 to have it brought into the body of the chiu-ch. Bp. 
 Cosin. 
 
 " — the ChnrrK] The ancient Saxon word is cyrce, 
 the Danish kireke, the Belgick kercke, the Cimbrick 
 kirkia or kurk ; probably from the Greek word KcfiiKK-oi' 
 (Kyriakon), belonging to the Lord, or Ttivpiov oIkoi; 
 (Kyriou oikos), the Lord's house : so that we ha\-e lost 
 the ancient pronunciation of the word, except in the 
 northern parts of England, and in Scotland, by soften- 
 ing the letters c or ch, as we have done in many cases : 
 which letters the ancient Greeks and Romans always 
 pronounced hard, as the letter k. Dr. Burn. 
 
 ° — Chapel.^ We have softened in English the pro- 
 nunciation of the initial letters of this word, as we have 
 dune in many like instances, for it is evidently the same 
 with the Latin word capella : the Danish word is kapel, 
 the liclgiok rapellc, the S|)anish capilla. Hut from 
 whence they have theu' derivation, seemeth not to have 
 been satisfactorily accounted for. Dr. Burn. 
 
 ' — Chancel:^ Chancel, cancellus, seemeth properly 
 to be so called a cancellis, from the lattice-work |>arti- 
 tion betwixt the quire and the body of the church, so 
 formed a.s to sejiarate the one from the other, but not 
 to intercept the sight. 
 
 It is here ordered, that "the chancels shall remain as 
 they have done in times past :" that is to say, distin- 
 guished from the body of the church in manner afore- 
 said : against which distinction Hucer, at the tinu> of 
 the RclVirmation, inveighed vehemently, as tending 
 (mly to magnify the priesthood : but tluaigh the king 
 and ])arlianu'nt yielded so far, as to allow the daily 
 service to be read in the body of the church, if the 
 ordinary thought fit ; yet they would not sulfer the 
 chancel itself to be taken away or altered. Dr. Burn. 
 
 'llic chancel was to be distinguished from the body 
 of the church by n frame of open work, and furnished 
 with a row of chairs or stools on either side : and, if 
 there were formerly any steps \\\i to the place where 
 the altar or table stoo(l, they were to be sutfered to 
 continue so still, and not to be taken down and laid 
 
 level with the lower ground, as lately they have been 
 by violence and disorder, contrary to law and custom. 
 Bp. Cosin. 
 
 p — such Ornaments of the Church, and of the Minis- 
 ters thereof &c.] Without which, as common reason 
 and experience teacheth us, the majesty of Him that 
 owneth it, and the work of his service there, will prove 
 to be of a very common and low esteem. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 There was one sentence at the end of this rubrick, 
 left out at the Restoration, which would have explained 
 it more fully. The words were these, " according to 
 the Act of Parliament set in the beginning of the 
 book." And these words will lead us to the proper 
 limitation of this rubrick. For, if we look into the 
 first Act of Uniformity by Queen Elizabeth, we shall 
 find the words of this rubrick taken verbatim from that 
 Act, and to be only a part of a clause whereby the 
 Queen expressly reserved to herself a power of " order- 
 ing botli the ornaments of the church and of the 
 ministers thereof" otherwise hereafter: which power 
 she did afterwards actually make use of, though not 
 perhaps just in the method prescribed in that Act, yet 
 so effectually, that oiu habits " at the times of our 
 ministration" stand regulated by her injunctions to 
 this day. 
 
 Now putting these things together, that the rubrick 
 hath an immetiiate reference to the Act : and that the 
 Act is made with an express reservation to the Queen's 
 future appointments ; and that the Queen, pursuant 
 to this power given her, did, in the year 1564, pubhsh 
 her " Advertisements," as they are called, " concern- 
 ing the habit of ministers to be worn by them in time 
 of divine service :" it will appear that her injunctions 
 thus set forth are authentic limitations of this ndjrick. 
 
 The rubrick then, thus limited by the Queen's 
 " Advertisements" in 1 564 : and limited to the like sense 
 by her Canons in the year 1571 ; as likewise by the 
 5Sth Canon of the year 1603, in the reign of her suc- 
 cessor. King James the First : obliges the ministers of 
 the Church, at the times of their parish ministration, 
 to the use of no other ornaments but surplices, and 
 hoods agreeable to their degrees. 
 
 Since however some ritualists are of opinion, that 
 this rubrick does not admit of the foregoing limitation, 
 but is to be understood as still prescribing the use of 
 all the ancient ministerial habits injoined by the first 
 book of King I'^dward the Sixth ; it uuiy be convenient 
 to remark, that from the beginning of Queen liliza- 
 beth's reign down to our times, the disuse of some of 
 those ornaments has been, and is now, so notoriously 
 and uni\ersally allowed of by the ordinaries ; that 
 although it covdd not in strictness be reconciled with 
 the letter of the rubrick, yet we are not bound, at this 
 time, to make any alteration in our practice. For, 
 whatever our governours in the church do openly and 
 constantly iiermit, and consei|Ueiitly by a fair con- 
 struction apjirovc of, whether it will be admitted as a 
 good inter|)rctation of ecclesiastical laws or not, yet 
 there is no doubt it is a suflicient dispensation for the 
 continuance of the usage, till fiutber order be taken 
 therein; and more especially in all doubtful or dispu- 
 table cases, the resolution of which is left to the ordi- 
 nary. Archdeacon Shurp, Dr. Bennet. 
 
 As to the " ornaments of the church," mentioned in 
 (his rubrick, it may be observed, that among otlicrs 
 then in use, there were " two lights" injoined by the
 
 THE ORDER FOR MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 Ixxv 
 
 injunctions of King Edward the Sixth, (which injunc- 
 tions were also ratified by tlie Act of Uniformity that 
 passed soon after the Reformation,) to be set upon the 
 altar, as a significant ceremony to represent the light 
 which Christ's Gospel brought into the world. And 
 this too was ordered by the very same injunction, which 
 prohibited all other lights and tapers, that used to be 
 superstitiously set before images or shrines, &c. And 
 these hghts, used time out of mind in the church, are 
 still continued in most, if not all, cathedral and col- 
 
 legiate churches and chapels, so often as divine service 
 is performed by candle-light ; and ought also, by this 
 rubrick, to be used in all jiarish churches and chapels 
 at the same times. 
 
 To this section we might also refer the pulpit-cloth, 
 cushions, coverings for the altar, &c. and all other 
 ornaments used in the church, and prescribed by the 
 first book of King Edward the Sbcth. Bishop dosiii, 
 Wheatly.
 
 THE ORDER FOR 
 
 MORNING PRAYER, 
 
 DAILY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 
 
 % At the beginning of Morning Prayer'^ the Minister shall read with a loud 
 voice^ some one or more of these Sentences of the Scriptures that follow. And 
 then he shall sag that lohich is lorittcn after the said Sentences'^. 
 
 w 
 
 that 
 
 HEN the wicked man turii- 
 
 eth away from his wielvedness 
 
 he hath committed, and doeth 
 
 » At the beginning of Morning Prnper, &c] Prayer is 
 the lifting up of the soul to converse with God, and a 
 means of obtaining all blessings. It is an high honour 
 to us, and a great advantage : but it is at the same time 
 difficult to be performed, requiring so much attention 
 and serenity of mind, that it can never be well done 
 without some preceding preparation : for which reason, 
 when the Jews enter into their synagogues to pray, they 
 stand silent for some time, and meditate before whom 
 they stand ; and the Christian priests, in the primitive 
 ages, prepared the people's hearts to prayer by a de^'out 
 preface. In imitation whereof we now use the Sentences 
 of holy Scripture, which are all of them chosen to be 
 admonitions to rejjentance, since nothing makes us more 
 unfit to pray, or unlikely to be heard, than sin unrepented 
 of, Ps. Uvi. IS; John ix. 31. And being gathered out 
 of the sacred text, the Church hojies we will not dare to 
 disobey them, as coming from the mouth of that God, to 
 whom we address ourselves in our prayers, and who may 
 justly reject our petition, if we hearken not to his com- 
 mandments. 
 
 As for the particular Sentences, the reverend com- 
 posers of our Liturgy have been curious and exact in 
 the choice of them, selecting divers of the plainest and 
 properest places to bring all sorts of sinners to repent- 
 ance. There are variety of dispositions, and the same 
 man is not always in the same temjjer ; wherefore they 
 have collected many, and left it to the discretion of him 
 that ministers, to use such of them every day, as best 
 suit with his own and his people's circumstances. 
 
 And from these Sentences those who come, as all ought 
 to do, before ]irayers begin, may find a meditation fitted 
 for their present frame of sjnrit. 
 
 The first rank may consist of those Sentences, which 
 contain support for the fearful, and are designed to pre- 
 vent that excessive dread of God's «Tath, which hinders 
 the exercise of devotion by too much dejecting the 
 spirits. Such persons may be taught I)y David and 
 Jeremiah not to run from the Almighty, but to pray to 
 Him more humbly and earnestly. Ps. li. 9 ; cxHii. 2 ; 
 Jer. X. 24. 
 
 that which is lawfid and right, lie 
 shall save his soul alive. Ezekiel 
 xviii. 27. 
 
 2. Not much unlike is the case of those who doubt of 
 God's favour, and in despair look upon Him as irrecon- 
 cileable. To strengthen their faith in God's mercy, the 
 Church provides three sentences for them ; the first to 
 shew, how fit they are to ask pardon ; the other two to 
 declare how likely God is to grant it on their re[)entance. 
 Ps. li. 17; Dan.'ix. 9; Luke xv. 18, 19. 
 
 3. For the information of the ignorant, who know not 
 how to make these penitential addresses, as being sensible 
 neither of their guilt, nor of their danger, because they 
 think either that they have no sin, or that a slight repent- 
 ance will procure pardon for it, the two following sen- 
 tences are provided, 1 John i. 8, 9 ; Ezek. xviii. 27. 
 
 4. Others there are, who are not ignorant, but negli- 
 gent ; and, though they know they are daily sinning, and 
 cannot be saved without rejientance, yet defer this duty 
 from day to day. On these the Church calls in the two 
 following sentences, Ps. U. 3 ; Matt. iii. 2. 
 
 Lastly, those, who by custom grow cold and formal, 
 confessing their sins with external reverence only, without 
 any sincere de\'otion, are presented by the Church with 
 that direction and reproof, which God gave the hypocri- 
 tical Jews, Joel ii. 13. Dean Comber. 
 
 Thus we see how wisely and efTectually the Church 
 prepares the way to the throne of grace for the various 
 descriptions of character, which may be supposed to as- 
 semble within her coiu'ts for the purposes of devotion. 
 Let us learn to be thankful for these encouragements, 
 admonitions, and instructions : and may it be our earnest 
 desire so to use the ordinances of God's house as not to 
 abuse them ; that we may find them oiu- support through 
 life, and as waters of consolation in the day of adversity. 
 Rogers. 
 
 Nothing can so effectually awaken us to a pious frame 
 of soul, as the words of God speaking to us. Oiu- ser- 
 vice therefore begins, as did that of the primitive Church, 
 with a preface, to dispose the minds of the congregation 
 to a reverent performance of the duty on which they 
 are entering : according to that precept of the Son of 
 Su-ach, " Before thou jjrayest, prepare thyself," Ecclus. 
 xviii. 23. This preface is composed of Sentences of 
 
 B
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 1 acknowledge my transgressions, 
 and my sin is ever before me. Psalm 
 li. .3. 
 
 Hide thy face from my sins, and 
 blot out all mine iniquities. Psalm 
 li. 9. 
 
 The sacrifices of God are a broken 
 
 Scripture, with an Exhortation grounded upon them. 
 
 The Sentences are very prudently selected. Tliey all 
 relate to repentance and confession of sins, which na- 
 turally stands first in the devotions of guilty creatiues, 
 as %ve all are. Till \ve feel a genuine sorrow for having 
 offended God, and come to intreat earnestly the pardon 
 which is offered us through Christ, He cannot accept us ; 
 and when we do, that will ipialify us for every other part 
 of his worship. 
 
 In these texts we are plainly taught the nature of true 
 penitence: that the "wicked must" hoth "turn away 
 from his wickedness, and do that," which the law enjoins 
 as " right, to save his soul alive:" that we must not only 
 " acknowledge our transgressions" with our tongues, but 
 have them " ever before " the eyes of our minds, to keep 
 us humble and cautious : on which we may pray, in 
 faith of being heard, that God will treat us with the 
 same kindness, as if He " hid his face from" seeing " our 
 sins," or " blotted" them "out" from his memory : that 
 He requires from us, neither the fanciful " sacrifices" of 
 superstition, nor the expensive ones of the "Mosaick" 
 dispensation; but that of " a spirit contrite" with filial 
 sorrow, and " broken" to universal obedience : not out- 
 ward expressions of vehement passion, as " rending the 
 garments," but a "heart" rent and penetrated with a 
 just sense of what we have done amiss : that on such a 
 change \^-ithin ■n'c shall find Him, not only " slow to 
 anger" for what is past, and "ready to repent him of 
 the evil" which He was bringing upon us, but bountiful 
 and gracious for the time to come ; " though we have" 
 dehberately " rebelled against him" heretofore, and still 
 too often inconsiderately neglected to " obey his voice, 
 and walk in his laws :" that we have cause to be willing 
 and even desirous, that He should "correct" us, when 
 He sees it expedient ; but to beg He would do it " with " 
 that mild and mercifid "judgment," which He exercises 
 towards his children, " not with anger," as his enemies, 
 which would "bring us" to final destruction: that re- 
 pentance is absolutely and immediately necessarj' for us; 
 for "the kingdom of heaven is at hand ;" the hour, when 
 we shall, each of us, be admitted into it or excluded out 
 of it for e\-er, draws very near, and how near we know 
 not : that therefore we must resolve to " arise and go tc 
 our heavenly Father" without delay, and acknowledge 
 our unworthiness "to be called his sons:" that whatever 
 wc may be in our own eyes, or the opinion of our fellow- 
 creatures, were we to imdergo a human trial only ; yet 
 if God " enter into judgment with u.s, in his sight shall 
 no man living be justified :" that therefore to extenuate 
 our faults, and "say" or imagine, "th.at we have no 
 sin," or but little, would be a fatal "self-deceit," and 
 a proof against us, tliat we know not, or own not, the 
 " tnith " of our case : but if wc honestly recall to oiu-- 
 Sclves, and confess to (iod the errors of our p:ist life, not 
 only his mercy but his " faitlifnlnessaiid jw.sticc" to his 
 promises will inihice Him both to "forgive us "the guilt of 
 " our sins," and "to cleanse us from "the defilement, and 
 deliver us from tlie dominion, of "all imrighteousness." 
 
 It is true. t)ut few of tlic Sentences are usvially read 
 ot the same time; but it will be very beneficial for such 
 ns come soon enough, to meditate on them all before 
 the service begins. AOp. Seckir. 
 
 spirit : a broken and a contrite heart, 
 O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 
 li. 17. 
 
 Rend your heart, and not your 
 garments, and turn unto the Lord 
 your God ; for he is gracious and 
 merciful, slow to anger, and of great 
 
 The first book of King Edward begins with the Lord'? 
 prayer. But, when a review was taken of it afterwards, 
 and alterations were made in it, the beginning was 
 thought too abrupt, and these Sentences were therefore 
 prefixed with the following Exhortation, Confession, and 
 Absolution, as a proper introduction to prepare the 
 congregation for the duty on which they were entering. 
 JVheatly. 
 
 As soon as the minister begins these Sentences, it is 
 usual for the congregation to stand up : a very decent 
 and proper custom, if we consider the true meaning and 
 intent of it ; which is to shew our reverence for the word 
 of God, now rehearsed to us, in order to awaken us to 
 repentance. JValdo. 
 
 '> — the minister shall read uith a loud voice'] That 
 is, with a clear, distinct, and audible voice : the word 
 " loud " not signifying that it should be any way strained, 
 or kept up beyond its strength ; but that it should be 
 raised and adapted to such an extended elevation, above 
 the ordinary course of reading, as he shall feel to be most 
 agreeable to himself, in order to make it the more edi- 
 fying to his congregation. Cotlis. 
 
 As it is the duty of the clergy to remember, what a 
 solemn action they are now about to join in with their 
 respective congregations ; and accordingly to read these 
 Sentences n-ith a suitable gra\-ity, with a demeanour ex- 
 pressive of their inward devotion, with attention, and 
 deliberation, and such a tone of voice, as may influence 
 their people, and quicken their zeal, and tend to excite 
 in them those heavenly affections, which are requisite in 
 ])rayer : so also is it the duty of the congregations to 
 consider, that, dm-ing the reading of these Sentences 
 and the folloi\'ing Exhortation, they must not think 
 themselves at liberty to be idle, as if they had nothing to 
 regard, whilst the minister is reading. They are cer- 
 tainly obliged to bestow that time after a quite different 
 manner ; to give a re\ercnt attention to what the minis- 
 ter reads ; to hear the voice of (lod speaking to them 
 in the Sentences, and the voice of his ambassador speak- 
 ing to them in the Exhortation; and thereby to fit and 
 prep.are their hearts for making their addresses to (jod 
 Himself in the Church's Confession. .\nd to the end 
 that they may not lose an opportunity of so doing, let 
 tlicm come to church in good time, that they may be 
 ))rcsent at the very beginning of the Oflicc. And when 
 they first coine to their respective places, let them by 
 some short prayer beg (Jod's special assistance, that they 
 may discharge their duty as they ought, and offer an 
 acceptalilc sacrifice to Mini. Let the intermediate space 
 also, between their short ])rivate jiraycr, and the minis- 
 ter's beginning to read, be spent, not in talking or gazing, 
 but in reading or meditation ; that they may bring them- 
 selves to a devout frame of mind by tlie time that the 
 minister liegins, and iiuiy be the better able to go through 
 the wliole office in such a manner as (iod expects from 
 them. Dr. Bciinrl. 
 
 ■^ And then he shrill sinj that ichich is written after the 
 said Sentmces.] 'i'he ser\'iee of the Church of England 
 always begins with one or more sentences of Scrijiturc: 
 the Exhortation, which follows, is hut little more than 
 a sort of comment or paraphrase on the several texts 
 which are ordered to be read. Veneer.
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 kindness, and repentetli liim of the 
 evil. Joel ii. 13. 
 
 To the Lord our God belont^ mer- 
 cies and forijjivene.sses, though we 
 have rebelleci aoainst him : neitlior 
 have we obeyed the voice of the 
 Lord our God, to walk in his laws 
 which he set before us. Daniel ix. 
 9, 10. 
 
 Lord, correct me, but with 
 judgement; not in thine anger, lest 
 thou bring me to nothing. Jer. x. 
 24. Psaim vi. 1. 
 
 Repent ye, for tlie Kingdom of 
 Heaven is at hand. St. Matlh. iii. 2. 
 
 1 will arise, and go to my fatlier, 
 and will say unto him, Father, I 
 have sinned against Heaven, and 
 before thee, and am no more worthy 
 
 "■ Dearly beloved brethren, &c.] To the foregoing Sen- 
 tences of God's word the Church hath annexed a per- 
 tinent Exhortation ; which is designed both to ajiply and 
 set home the jireceding Sentences, and to direct us how 
 we ought to perform the following Confession. It col- 
 lects the necessity of this duty from the word of God ; 
 and, when it hath convinced us that we must do it, it 
 insti'ucts us in the right manner, and gives us the reason 
 why we must confess and repent just now; and then it 
 invites us to that necessary duty for which it hath so 
 well prepared us. So that it connects the Sentences and 
 the Confession ; making the former so useful in order 
 to the latter, that whoever hears them, and considers tlie 
 inferences here made, cannot but be properly disposed 
 for a true confession. And, though neither the Roman 
 nor Greek Offices have any such form in this place, yet 
 the pertinency and usefulness thereof will shew, that 
 our prudent and pious Reformers have every where 
 contrived, that the people might perform each part of 
 the Office with the spirit, and with the vmderstanding 
 also. Dean Comber. 
 
 This Exhortation demands our most serious atten- 
 tion : though there is reason to fear, that too often it is 
 little, if at all, attended to, but looked upon as a mere 
 matter of form, not deserving our notice. But, if we 
 will only consider the excellent instruction which it con- 
 tains, we shall surely think otherwise ; and both si- 
 lently and attentively hearken to this useful and 
 seasonable introduction to the service of the Church. 
 IValdo. 
 
 The minister begins his admonition with the aposto- 
 lical salutation, " Dearly beloved brethren," Phil. iv. 1 . 
 Dean Comber. And it appears from several jiassagcs, 
 that this beginning is very agreeable to the style of the 
 New Testament. St. Paul, 2 Cor. vii. 1, expresses him- 
 self thus : " having therefore these promises, dearly be- 
 loved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the 
 ilesh and spirit," &c. : and in the next chapter, ver. I, he 
 calls the Corinthians his brethren, as he doth the Gala- 
 tians, Gal. iii. 15; and the Thessalonians, 1 Thess. iv. I . 
 in short, nothing is more commonly to be met with 
 than these ajipellations, " Beloved" and " Brethren," 
 throughout St. Paul's, St. James's, St. Peter's, and St. 
 John's Epistles. Veneer. 
 
 These first words of the Exhortation exjiress very 
 strongly and properly the good will and tender regard. 
 
 to be called thy son. SL Luke xv. 
 18, 19. 
 
 Enter not into judgement with thy 
 servant, O Lord ; for in thy sight 
 shall no man living be justified. 
 Psalm cxliii. 2. 
 
 If we say that we have no .sin, we 
 deceive ourselves, and the truth is 
 not in us : but, if we confess our 
 sins, lie is faithful and just to forgive 
 ns our sins, and to cleanse us from 
 all mirightcousness. 1 St. John i. 
 8, 9. 
 
 D 
 
 drv P 
 
 EARLY beloved brethren'', p1"I iv.j. 
 
 the Scripture moveth us"^ in sun- viiri.^"' 
 dry places to acknowledge and con- fTiiess. iv. i. 
 fe.ss our manifold sins and wicked- N'=''' '■«•.. 
 
 Is XXXVlll 
 
 ness ; and that we should not dis- is.'isa. i. le, 
 
 wliich the ministers of God's word should have for their 
 peo])le ; who should in return receive their admonitions 
 meekly and thankfully, since they " sjieak" to them 
 "the truth in love," Eph. iv. 15. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 After this kind and affectionate address, the Exhorta- 
 tion proceeds, comprcliending these several heads; 1. 
 The matter of the Exhoi'tation, namely, a call to confes- 
 sion, in these words; "The Scripture moveth us in sun- 
 dry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins 
 and wickedness." Secondly, A caution against cloking 
 and concealing them, in these words ; " And that we 
 should not dissemble nor cloke them before the face of 
 Almighty God our heavenly Father." Thirdly, The 
 manner and qualifications of true confession, in these 
 words ; " but confess them with an humble, lowly, ])eni- 
 tent, and obedient heart." Fourthly, The end and de- 
 sign of confession, in these words ; " to the end that we 
 may obtain forgiveness of the same, by his infinite good- 
 ness and mercy." Fifthly, The time or seasons of con- 
 fession, which the next words tell us, must be in gene- 
 ral, "at all times:" but more especially, "when we 
 assemble and meet together," for the ends after men- 
 tioned. And lastly, the conclusion, in these words, 
 " Wherefore I pray and beseech you, as many as are 
 here present, to accompany me with a ]iure heai't, and 
 humble voice, unto the throne of the heavenly grace, 
 saying after me." Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' — the Scripture moveth us &c.] That the Scripture 
 doth move us, as here affirmed, appears from the in- 
 troductory sentences, particularly fi-om 1 John i. 8, 9. 
 Veneer. Many other passages might be cited to this 
 purpose ; two or three of the most remarkable are 
 Ps. xxxii. 5; Prov. xxviii. 13; 1 John i. S, 9. Be- 
 sides these passages many others occur throughout the 
 Bible, strongly enforcing the necessity of hinniliation 
 and confession, as well as many striking instances of the 
 due performance of these duties : as may be seen in 
 1 Kings viii. 46, &c. ; Ezra ix. 6, &c. ; Nehem. i. 5, &c. ; 
 the latter part of the book of Job; the penitential 
 psalms of David, particularly the 51st; Isa. btiv. 6; 
 and sundiy passages in the wTitings of the prophets. 
 H'oWo. To add weight to his exhortation the minis- 
 ter intimates that it is not he only, but God Him- 
 self, who moveth his people to repentance, so that 
 he who refuseth, refuseth not man but God. Dean 
 Comber, 
 
 B 2
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 40 •ii"ac"s' semble nor cloke tlienif before the 
 xvji. 30. face of Almighty God our heavenly 
 Prov.Vxviii.' Father; but confess them with an 
 13. Jobxi. 7. liurnble, lowly, penitent, and obe- 
 job xm'e'*' tlient heart : to the end that we may 
 Lukexviii. obtain forgivenesss of the same, by 
 
 Acts XX. 21. 
 
 13. 
 
 Ps. li. 17. Jonah iii. 10. John v. 14. Ezek. xviii. 27, 
 
 ' — Ihat we should not dissemble twr cloke them &c.] 
 Since all our sins are known to Almighty God, who 
 understands our thoughts, words, and works, it is but 
 folly to " dissemble" our guilt by feigned excuses, as 
 Saul and Ananias, 1 Sam. .\v. 15; Acts v. 2. 8; and 
 impudence to " cloke" and cover it with false denials, 
 as Gehazi, 2 Kings v. 25; for "he that covereth his 
 sins shall not prosper," Prov. xxviii. 13. Though we 
 could deny our faults so confidently, or dissemble them 
 so cunningly, as to deceive all the world, we cannot 
 conceal them from Him, who wiXH find us out and will 
 condemn us for the transgression and the hyjiocrisy also. 
 Tlie Scripture therefore teaches us a wiser way, namely, 
 " to confess them ;" shewing us mthal what frame of 
 spirit we must put on when we do confess. For we 
 must have, first, "an humble and lowly" heart, truly 
 sensible of our own vilencss by sin, and judging our- 
 selves unworthy to lift up our eyes to heaven. Job xlii. 
 0; Lukexviii. 13. Secondly, "A penitent" heart full 
 of sorrow, and indignation against ourselves, for offend- 
 ing so good a God, and thereby being in danger, not 
 only to lose endless joys, but to fall into eternal misery, 
 for short and empty pleasures. Matt. xxvi. 75. And this 
 will produce, thii-dly, " an obedient heart," and make us 
 firmly resolve, and earnestly endeavour, to keep God's 
 commandments better hereafter, John v. 14. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 It is to no purpose to confess our sins, unless we re- 
 solve to forsake them, and to obey those laws of God, 
 which we have formerly transgressed. Thus much is 
 intimated by the word "obedient:" for an "oliedient 
 heart" in this ])lace signifies a heart that hath given it- 
 self up to the service of God, and is convinced that a 
 profession of repentance without reformation is an in- 
 sult upon God and an instance of the vilest liy])ocrisy. 
 " Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have 
 mercy." Prov. xxviii. 13. Veneer. 
 
 A moment's serious rellection on our manifold sins and 
 wickedness can scarcely fuil to convince us of the real 
 excellence and projiricty of this ])art of the Kxhortntion. 
 Have we not in many instances neglected (iod, and wil- 
 fully tran.sgresscd against Him ? Have not our sins been 
 attended with many, and almost unpardonable aggra- 
 vations ? What then can more become us, than hiunility 
 and lowliness of miiul ? Without doulit a ])enitent and 
 obedient heart is the very olTcring we ought to bring, 
 when we woidd ajijiroaeh (iod's footstool. And this 
 disposition is our preparation under the gracious inllu- 
 ence of the Holy Spirit for the reeqition of his mercy 
 and forgiveness. l{ng<TS. 
 
 ' — to the end that we may obtain forgireness &c.] 
 To encourage us to confess our sins in the maiuuT just 
 mentioned, we are told in the following .sentence, that 
 the Scrijjture hath promised us forgiveness ujion true 
 repentance ; which comforta1)le doctrine is sup])ortcd 
 by a representation of the infinite gooilncss aiul mercy 
 of (iod. "When the wicked man turiirlli away IVoui 
 his wick('dneb3 that he hath conunillcd," saith tlic pro- 
 phet I'^zckiel, " and doeth that which is lawful and 
 right, be shall save his soul alive," I'izek. xviii. 2". And 
 St. I'aul decliires. that he had "testified both to the 
 Jews, and also to the Greeks, rej)cntancc toward God, 
 
 his infinite sToodness and mercy. J"*- t'^xvi. 5. 
 
 o . rs. cxxxvi. 
 
 And although we ought at all times'' 1. s-t. 
 
 humbly to acknowledge oin- sins 1 Tim.'ii 's. 
 
 before God ; yet ought we most '^'""' "• '• 
 
 chiefly so to do, when we assemble ' Luke xvUi. 
 
 and meet together to render thanks '' Jxkxu'. 7. 
 
 and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ," Acts xx. 21. 
 Veneer. 
 
 God in his " infinite goodness and mercy" willeth not 
 the death of poor sinners, but is ready to acquit them on 
 their sincere repentance. Still we must not think, that 
 repentance is the meritorious cause, whereby we may 
 claim from God impunity for our sins : for that is 
 vouchsafed to us only by the " infinite mercy and good- 
 ness" of God, reached out to us in the mystery of oiu' 
 redemption, and procured for us by the suffering of our 
 blessed Lord. Dean Comber, Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 '■ And although ice ought at all times'] Or in those 
 more frequent courses of private devotion, (to which we 
 are obliged by our rehgion, E])h. vi. IS ; 1 Tim. ii. 8,) 
 to exercise this duty of confession. Dr. Nicholls. Not 
 that we are always to be upon our knees actually re- 
 penting and making confession to Him; for that would 
 interfere with other necessary duties : but that we are 
 to be ever willing and readily disposed, on all fit occa- 
 sions and op])ortunities, to lay ojien our offences, 
 without ever thinking or desiring to hide or cloke any 
 thing from the knowledge of God. As our confessing 
 in ])rivate will not excuse us from attending upon and 
 joining in the publick confession : so our attending and 
 making a publick confession will not excuse us from the 
 private confession of our sins : the one must not exclude 
 the other, but both are to be observed in their due and 
 proper times ; by doing which we may be said, " at all 
 times humbly to acknowledge om- sins before God ;" 
 es])eeially if it he daily done and observed by us ; for 
 we are said to do always, that which we do every day. 
 And this is no more than what is necessary and fit to be 
 done ; for since we daily renew om' sins, it is but reason 
 that we should daily renew our confession. And, be- 
 cause we daily commit some particular and secret sins, 
 which enter not the publick confession, and which no 
 eye but God's ever saw, therefore are we daily to make 
 our private confessions, to bewail and re|)ent of them 
 before God ; the doing whereof is the performing what 
 is here required, namely, the acknowledging our sins at 
 all times before him. Dr. Hole. 
 
 'I'he benefits of the frequent practice of private luuni- 
 liation and confessicm will be unspeakably great, as it 
 will check all tendency to spiritual ])ride and jiresump- 
 tiiiu, and lie the best means of jircvcnting any habit of 
 sin from getting the dominion over us. And there is 
 this peculiar advantage in it, that in our retirements we 
 can look calmly and attentively into our hearts, ftnd 
 examine our dispositions and actions more thoroughly 
 and minutely than we can in publick. IValdo. 
 
 ' — i/c< ought ifc most rhicjly so lo do, when we assemble 
 &c.] Namely, in tlic solenui assembly of Christians in 
 the church. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 As to the institution and use of such publick meetings 
 and church assemblies for the celebration of divine wor- 
 ship, they have been as ancient as religion aiul Chris- 
 tianity its<'lf; which bath ever biul, from the beginning, 
 some publick places set apart, by divine authority, for 
 such assemblies. The Jews had the temple and syna- 
 gogues consecrated for that purpose, where they were 
 couuniuidcd to make their confessions and oblations, 
 and other acts of publick worship, which were resorted
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Ps. c. 2-4. 
 Neh. viii. 8. 
 Acts xiii. 5. 
 XV. 21. 
 xiii. 44. 
 2 Tim. iv. 2. 
 Phil. iv. 6. 
 Acts i 14. 
 Matt. vii. 11. 
 
 for the ^reat benefits that we have 
 received at hi.s hands, to set forth hi.s 
 most worthy praise, to hear liis most 
 holy Word, and to asli those thinj^s 
 wiiicli are re(|iiisite and necessary, as 
 well for the body as the soul. Where- 
 fore I pray and beseech you ', as 
 
 to and frequented by Christ and his apostles. After 
 which the Christians had their churches and oratories 
 set apart for divine service, as we read in holy Scripture 
 and ecclesiastical history, and find derived down and 
 continued to us to this day. Dr. Hole. 
 
 " God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the 
 saints," Ps. l.'^.vxix. 7. ^Yhen Solomon was dedicatin;^ 
 the temple of Jerusalem, he intimated in his prayer, not 
 only that it was the projierest jjlace for the people to 
 confess their sins in, but also that when they were at a 
 distance from it, so that they were unavoidably deprived 
 of this privilege, they should " confess their sins towards 
 the house of Uod :" signifying thereby that their hearts 
 should be there, even though their bodies could not. 
 See 1 Kings viii. 29, 30. 38, 39. Veneer. 
 
 Our Saviour hath laid a peculiar stress on joint 
 prayers ; and made more especial promises to those 
 petitions, which his disciples put up in common. Matt, 
 xviii. 20 ; both to unite them closely in mutual affec- 
 tion by the mutual benefits they receive at each other's 
 request ; and to encourage a ])ractice, which he foresaw 
 would prove so powerful a means, both of our own 
 edification, and the conversion of others. 
 
 We have reason therefore to entertain a much higher 
 esteem, than we do, of the advantages to be obtained 
 from constancy in publick worshi]). But then the more 
 we expect from it, with the more care we must qualify 
 ourselves for what we expect : else we shall certainly be 
 disappointed. And, as penitent confession in the name 
 of Christ is the great qualification for pardon and every 
 mercy ; and each one's examjile, in the church, of that 
 or the contrary, must have a good or bad effect on those 
 around him, we should endeavour, if there be room for 
 any difference, to be more than ordinarily humble and 
 fervent there : yet we are in danger of being least so ; 
 unless we look well to our ways, and diligently " keep 
 our foot when we go to the house of God," Eccles. v. 1. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 '' — to rentier thanks &c.] If we consider for what 
 ends we " assemble and meet together" in those sacred 
 places, dedicated to God's serWce, we shall soon per- 
 ceive that every one of the duties, to be done there, re- 
 quires that we be first prejiared by re]>entance ; and till 
 we have confessed and bewailed our transgressions, we 
 are not fit nor likely to be acce])ted in any other jiarts 
 of the offices. St. Augustine tells us, that the Christians 
 in his time as.sembled, ' to learn God's law, to declare 
 his wonderful work, to praise Him for his gifts, and pray 
 to Him for his blessing :' and our Church here shews 
 us, that we have these four things also to do in oiur 
 assemblies : first, " to render thanks" to God for his 
 benefits, as we do in our Thanksgivings ; secondly, " to 
 set forth that praise" of which He is " most worthy," 
 which is done in our Psalms, Hymns, Anthems, and 
 Doxologies ; thirdly, to " hear his word," as we do in 
 attending to the reading of the Scri])tures, and to the 
 sermons taken from thence ; fourthly, " to ask things 
 necessary for our bodies and souls," which we do in 
 our Collects, Supplications, and Intercessions. But, 
 unless true repentance go before, we are unworthy either 
 to give thanks, or to sing praise to God, Ps. .xxxiii. 1 ; 
 unfit to hear his most holy word, Matt. vii. G ; or to 
 
 1 Tim. ii. 8. 
 I's. Ixvi. 18. 
 Hell. xii. 28. 
 lU-b. iv. l(j. 
 
 many as are here present, to ac- 2 cor. x. 1 
 company me with a pure heart and 
 humble voice, unto the throne of 
 the heavenly grace, saying after me '"; 
 
 H A general Confession" to be said of the 
 whole Congrec/utioW after the Minisier", 
 all kneeling 1. 
 
 offer U]) any prayers to Him, John ix. 31. None of 
 these services will be aceejitable to God, or can be pro- 
 fitable to us, unless we repent before we go about them. 
 Denn Comber. 
 
 ' Wherefore I pray and beseech you, &c.] That the 
 ])eople may not come to church in vain, and lose the 
 benefit of so many holy duties, as those just enumerated, 
 the priest " prays," and earnestly " beseeches all that 
 are now present," to join with him in the following 
 Confession : there are none so holy, but they have need 
 to make it ; and none so sinfid, but they may be pro- 
 fited by it. Dean Comber. 
 
 'I'he persons thus addressed and intreated, are aU 
 that are jwesent in the congregation ; high and low, 
 rich and poor, one with another, young and old, persons 
 of all ages, sexes, states, and conditions ; all being sin- 
 ners, all are here called upon to come and make con- 
 fession. The thing to which they are invited, is to 
 " accompany the minister to the throne of the heavenly 
 grace." A great privilege allowed to the peojile under 
 the Gospel, which the Jews had not under the Law ; for 
 then none entered the temple but the priest only, the 
 people being admitted no farther than the outward 
 court, where they sent and offered up their petitions by 
 the priest. But now they may come more boldly to 
 " the throne of grace," and " accompany" the minister 
 in offering up with hiiu their prayers and confessions, 
 to which he here invites them. Dr. Hole. 
 
 The conclusion of this Exhortation employs the same 
 pathetick manner of expression that is often to be met 
 with in the New Testament, particularly 2 Cor. x. ; the 
 first verse of which chapter begins thus : " Now I Paul 
 myself beseech you, by the meekness and gentleness of 
 Christ," &c. The substance of it is to teach us to pray 
 " with a jmre heart," and in " an humble" manner. 
 Thus the Apostle, 1 Tim. ii. 8, commands men "to lift 
 up holy hands in prayer;" and the Psalmist says, Ps. 
 Lxvi. IS, that "if he regarded iniquity in his heart, the 
 Lord would not hear hiin." And, though the author of 
 the Epistle to the Hebrews exhorts us, to go "boldly 
 unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and 
 find grace to help in time of need," Heb. iv. 10; yet it 
 a])pears from chap. xii. 28, that this boldness must be 
 tempered wth humility : " Wherefore we receiving a 
 kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, 
 whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence 
 and godly fear." Veneer. 
 
 It is worthy of observation, how right and judicious 
 this Exhortation is in all its parts, to instruct the igno- 
 rant, to admonish the negligent, to supjjort the fearful, 
 to comfort the doubtful, to caution the formal, and to 
 check the presumptuous ; seeing all these tempers are 
 found in every mixed congregation, and ought to be 
 ])repared for this solemn work. For without preparation, 
 what, alas ! woidd be our approach to the throne of 
 God, but a temptation ? For it is a general rule for the 
 tem))le as well as for the closet, "before thou prayest, 
 prepare thyself : and be not as one that tem])teth the 
 Lord," Ecclus. xviii. 23. Whilst then this Exhortation 
 is reading by the minister, every jierson ought diligently 
 to Usten to its sense; and not ignorantly, as the man- 
 ner of some is, to repeat the words after him ; and in so
 
 A 
 
 LM 1 G H T Y and most merciful 
 Father ' ; we have erred, and 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 from thy ways 
 
 doing they will be best prepared to accompany him in 
 making the following confession to the throne of grace. 
 Dr. Bisse. 
 
 " — saying after me ;] It is highly reasonable that the 
 minister should make such a pause between the end of 
 the Exhortation, and the beginning of the Confession, 
 that the whole congregation may have sufficient time, 
 dehberately, and mthout the least hurry, to put then- 
 bodies in a praying postm-e, and to direct their minds to 
 God, and fix them upon the divine Majesty ; so that 
 they may be thoroughly composed for so solemn and 
 heavenly an exercise by the time that the minister begins 
 the Confession. Dr. Bciinet. 
 
 " A general Confession &c.] It is certain that sin im- 
 repentedof, hinders the success of om- prayers, Isa. i. 15; 
 hx. 1, 2; John ix. 31. Such therefore as would pray 
 effectually have always begun with confession ; because, 
 when the guilt is removed by penitential acknowledg- 
 ments, there is no bar to God's grace and mercy. Thus 
 Ezra and Daniel prayed, Ezra L\. 5, 6 ; Dan. ix. 4, 5. 
 And Christ taught his disciples to ask for jjardon, as 
 often as they prayed for their daily bread, Matt. vi. 11, 
 12. Dean Comber. To begin morning prayer with con- 
 fession of sins may be called the Catholick custom of 
 the primitive Church. " Early in the morning," saith 
 St. Basil, " the people rising go straight to the house 
 of prayer, making confession of their sins to God with 
 much sorrow." Which custom was not peculiar to his 
 own Church, but consonant, he tells us, to that of all 
 other Churclies. Confession also was qualified in the 
 same manner as om's, the congregation repeating the 
 words after the minister, " every man," as he says, 
 " pronouncing his own confession with his own mouth." 
 UEstrange. Accordingly, all ancient litm'gies have 
 some form for that very purpose : but none more full 
 and proper can be found any where, than this of ours. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 There is no one subject in religion, on which the 
 various denominations of Cln-istians are more generally 
 agreed, than the bumble confession of our sins to Al- 
 mighty (ioil. If divine precepts, if the most striking 
 examples ojid the hajipy consequences resulting from a 
 right performance of this duty ought to have any influ- 
 ence on the luunan heart ; not one of us can wilfully 
 neglect the soletnn obligation without materially in- 
 juring liis own soul. Rogers. 
 
 It is called a "general confession," which it is in a 
 double respect. It is "general" in resjiect to the jjcr- 
 sons : for all men are leipiired to make it : " there is no 
 man that li\-eth and sinneth not," as the Apostle saith ; 
 and therefore there is no man living, who is not bound 
 to make confession of his sins. It is also " a general 
 confession" in respect of its contents, which are the 
 general failings and aberrations of human life, whicli 
 are common to all men, and so may and ought to be 
 confessed by all, without descending to jiartieidar sins, 
 of which pei'ha])S some of the congregation may not be 
 guilty. These are to be the subject of men's jirivate 
 confessions, but may not enter into the ])ublick con- 
 fession of the (,'hurch, which ought to be so framed in 
 general terms, that all may truly make and join in it : 
 called for that reason likewise, " a general confession." 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 This confession is in its form most solemn, in its ex- 
 tent most comprehensive : for it takes in all kinds of sin, 
 both of omission and of commission : and whilst every 
 !)ii)gle person makes this general confession witli I'.is 
 lijis, he may make a particular ciiufcsaion with hia heart; 
 
 Strayed 
 sheep'. 
 
 like 
 
 We have'foUowed too much '""''"■ 
 
 lost Ps. nix.nc. 
 lsa.liii.6. 
 1 Pet. ii. 25. 
 
 that is, of his own personal sins, known only to God and 
 to himself; which if particularly though secretly con- 
 fessed and repented of, will assuredly be forgi\-en. This 
 then is the prix-ilege of our confession, that under the 
 general form every man may mentally unfold "the 
 plague of his own heart," his particular sins, whate\-er 
 they be, as effectually to God, who " alone knoweth the 
 heaj'ts of men," as if he pronounced them in express 
 words. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 And indeed had this form been more particular or 
 exjiress, it woidd not so «-ell have answered the purpose, 
 for which it was designed : for a common confession 
 ought to be so contrived, that every person present may 
 truly speak his own case ; whereas a particulai- con- 
 fession would be little less than an inquisition, forcing 
 those that join in it to accuse and condemn themselves 
 of those sins daily, which perhaps they never committed 
 in their lives. Wheatty. 
 
 The Confession may be considered as consisting of 
 two pai'ts, besides the introduction or address to God : 
 first, the confession in'0])erly so called, wherein we ac- 
 knowledge our errings and strayings from God's ways 
 by om' original and actual ti'ansgressions, by our gene- 
 ral and particular vices, and by our sins both of omis- 
 sion and commission ; together with the forlorn and 
 helpless condition to which they have all reduced us. The 
 second part of it contains petitions for mercy and i)ar- 
 don for past offences, and likewise for grace to prevent 
 them for the future. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ° — to be said of the whole Congregation'] This pro- 
 vision of the Chm'ch is made with good reason. For 
 could there be any thing devised better, than that we 
 all, at our first access unto God by prayer, should ac- 
 knowledge meekly our sins, and tiiat not only in heart 
 but with tongue ; all that are present being madje ear- 
 nest witnesses, even of every man's distinct and deli- 
 berate assent to each particular branch of a common 
 indictment drawn against ourseh-es ? how were it i)os- 
 sible that the Church should any way else, with such 
 ease and certainty, jiroxide, that none of her children 
 may dissemble that wretchedness, the penitent con- 
 fession whereof is so necessary a preamble esiiecially to 
 common prayer? Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 The Confession is directed "to be said of the whole 
 congregation after the minister." If this bo done by 
 each person, as is also directed, " with an humble 
 voice," he will give no disturbance to others, and cvciy 
 one must experience, that what he saith, on this occa- 
 sion, with his own month, is brought more home to his 
 sold, becomes more iiersonal and affecting, than if he 
 had silently assented to it, when said for him. And as 
 it is a very useful, so it is a very old custom ; revived 
 in our Church, after being laid aside by the Cluu'ch of 
 Rome ; who begin their service with an act of humiliation 
 by the |)riest alone, in which the peO])le luu'c no share. 
 Abj). Seeker. 
 
 f — after the Minisler,'] Because the Church has in- 
 joincil, that the general Confession sh.all l)c said by the 
 whole of the ciiugregatiun alter the minislcr : therefore 
 all ministers would do well to take care, that they do 
 not begin a new portion thereof before the ]ieople have 
 had time enough to repeal Ihc former wilh due delibe- 
 ration. I'"or nothing certainly can be more indecent, 
 than the hurrying over of such an excellent form as 
 this is; which ought to be so uttered, as that the simls 
 of the people may go along with their words, that they 
 may jiass on leisurely from one thing to another, and 
 the whole may be oll'ered to God as a rational 5cr\icc.
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Gen. vi. 5. tliG clevices and desires of our own I thy holy laws ". We have left iin- Dan. ix. 9, 
 f",g"j','me3 hearts'. We have offended again.st (lone tliose things which wc ought '"g/'jj'J,',,''^ 
 
 i. 14, 15. iii. ■!. liom. vii. 12. 
 
 The people also should remember, that when they are 
 repeating the several portions of the Confession after 
 the minister, they are s]ieakiiig to God, and transacting 
 with hiin the grand aifair of repentance, and reconcilia- 
 tion to liis favour, upon which tlieir everlasting happi- 
 ness depends. Let them therefore not behave them- 
 selves after a careless and slovenly manner ; let them 
 not utter the words in such a tone as betokens 
 UTeverence, and proves tliat they do not mind what 
 they say, or to whom they speak : but consider the 
 vast importance of the duty of prayer, and the indis- 
 pensable necessity of a due performance of it, and that 
 confession of sins is the most solemn part of prayer. 
 Let these considerations sink deep into them, and pre- 
 vail upon them so to perform this duty, that it may 
 obtain a remission, and not add to the number of their 
 sins. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 And especially they should remember, that, since none 
 are fit to pray till they have confessed their sins, it is ne- 
 cessary for every one to come early to prayers, and al- 
 ways to be there so soon as to join in this Confession, 
 which, if duly considered, will greatly assist and direct 
 us in the exercise of our rcjientance. Dean Comber. 
 
 It is painful to see what numbers are habitually late 
 in coming to church. The jjractice carries with it such 
 an air of irreverence, as must be sufficient to convince 
 every soljer and thinking person of its extreme impro- 
 priety. Rogers. 
 
 '' — alt kneelitiff.'] Tliere is nothing that we do in this 
 world comparable to the pidjlick acts and exercises of 
 religion ; and therefore nothing deserves or requires a 
 greater solemnity. For which reason the Church re- 
 quires us, in all our prayers and confessions, to be on 
 our knees : for which we have the example of our 
 Saviour, and of all good men in aU ages, who have 
 always performed their publick devotions with humble 
 and lowly gestures, and most commonly in this parti- 
 cular posture of kneeling. Dr. Hole. 
 
 And that posture in prayer, esjjecially in this part, 
 hath not only ancient authority but nature itself, on its 
 side : and doth so strongly both exjiress and excite in- 
 ward humility, tliat it should never be omitted wilfully, 
 or neghgently, in favom: of ease and indolence : con- 
 siderations, very unworthy of notice at such a time. 
 Still they, whose infirmities will not permit them to be 
 on their knees without pain or hurt, may doubtless al- 
 lowably stand, or even sit : for God " wiU have mercy, 
 and not sacrifice," Matt. ix. 13 ; xii. 7. And farther; 
 as in many full congregations this rule cannot be ob- 
 served by every one without taking up more room than 
 can witla convenience be spared ; certainly the superior 
 rule, of doing " the things wherewith one may edify 
 another," Rom. xiv. 19, binds us rather to be content 
 with standing, though a less eligible posture, than ex- 
 clude numbers of our fellow-Christians from being 
 tolerably accommodated for joining in worship with us. 
 For kneeling, though greatly preferable, is not pre- 
 scribed as indispensably necessary. " The children of 
 Israel," we read in the book of Nehemiah, " were as- 
 sembled fasting," and, probably for the reason just 
 mentioned, " stood and confessed their sins," Nehem. 
 ix. 2. The penitent puljlican did not fail of being 
 accepted, though he stood, when he said, " God be 
 merciful to me a sinner," Luke xviii. 13. And on 
 some days the early Christians did not kneel at all. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Kneehng is the attitude prescribed to us in this 
 sokmn act of confession. Tliis visible expression of 
 
 humility will be adopted, so far as circumstances wiW 
 permit, by every faithful worshipper. Undoubtedly 
 every reasonable allowance will he made for age and 
 bodily infirmity : but a wilful negligence or a fashion- 
 able carelessness, in this part of our devotions, must be 
 unjustifiable, and therefore inexcusable. Rogers. 
 
 ' .Almighly and most merciful Father ;~\ 'I'his intro- 
 duction si'ts before us Him, whom we ha\'e offended, 
 under the two pro])cr titles of " Almighty and most 
 merciful Father : " the fu'st to shew us his power, and 
 strike us with a holy fear of his anger ; the second to 
 manifest his love, and melt us with the sense of his 
 mercy : the former reminds us of the danger of stand- 
 ing out in our disobedience ; the latter declares the 
 hopes of being received into bis favour again upon our 
 repentance : and though his omnipotence might terrify 
 us, yet his mercy invites us to return and confess our 
 sins both small and great. Dean Comber. 
 
 We also invoke Him by the endearing ajipellation of 
 " Father," according to the direction given us by our 
 Lord in his prayer; thereby considering Him as the 
 Author and Preserver of our Ijeing, and above all, as 
 om- "Father" by redemption, having "begotten us 
 again unto a hvely hope in C'hiist Jesus, and made us 
 accepted in the Beloved." Waldo. 
 
 And here we may obsenx once for aU the wisdom 
 and piety of the Church in selecting such titles and 
 attributes of God in the beginning of all her prayers, 
 as are most proper for the petitions that follow them, 
 and most likely to produce suitable affections. Such 
 are the titles of "Almighty and most merciful Father" 
 here prefixed to the Confession. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost 
 sheep.'] It is well known that God's ser\'ant3 are called 
 his sheep. Thus David says, " We are his people, and 
 the sheep of his jjasture," Ps. c. 2 ; and God is accord- 
 ingly called a Shepherd ; for instance, David says, " The 
 Lord is my She])herd," Ps. xxiii. 1 : and our Saviour 
 speaks of his disci])les as his sheep, particularly John .x. 
 1 — 5 : and therefore when God's ser\-ants break his 
 la«'s, and forsake the paths of his commandments, they 
 are said to wander like sheep, 'llius the Psalmist says, 
 " I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost," Ps. cxix. 
 176. And the prophet says, " All we like sheep have 
 gone astray," Isa. liii. : and our Saviour compares 
 sinners to lost sheep. Matt. xv. 24 : so that this ex- 
 pression is exactly scriptural, as well as very significant 
 and proper. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 But to understand the fuU propriety of the phrase, it 
 must be observed, that both the hkelihood of straying 
 was much greater, and the consequences of it much 
 more fatal in open countries, full of wild beasts, as 
 those of the east were, than in oius. And such "a 
 great and terrible wilderness" in this sense is the world. 
 Deut. i. 19. Abp. Seeker. Alas! how frequently do we 
 forsake the safe fold, the pure streams, and the green 
 pasture, which God hath ])rovided for us, and %vander 
 into a dry and barren wilderness, where we want all 
 true comforts, and are exposed to a thousand 6\\\s ! 
 And then how fitly are these errings and strayings of 
 ours rejiresented by a lost sheep ! Dean Comber. 
 
 Some persons here distinguish between the words 
 "erred" and "strayed;" supposing the former to 
 relate to sins of ignorance, infirmit}', and daily occur- 
 rence ; the other, to more gross violations of God's 
 laws, more wilful forsaking of his ways, and straying 
 in the destructive paths of sin and wickedness. Dr. 
 Hole.
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Ps. cxix. 153. 
 Isa. i. 5, 6. 
 Hos. xiii. 9. 
 
 to have done'' 
 those 
 
 And we have done 
 we ought not to 
 is no health 
 us >'. But thou, O Lord, have 
 
 thinffs which 
 have done ; And there 
 
 ' We have followed too much the devices and desires of 
 our own hearts.'] By this we understand the original 
 corrujjtion and depravation of our nature, which ren- 
 ders us too prone to evil, and averse from that which is 
 good. Since the fall, oui- understanding is apt to 
 imagine and devise evil, and our affections to lust after 
 it. We devise false notions of evil things, and call 
 them good, and under that false disguise we naturally 
 desire them : but we do not charge God as the author 
 of this corruption, but confess it springs from " our 
 own hearts," James i. 13 — 15. Nor do we accuse our- 
 selves for having, but for " following " those evil de- 
 vices and desires ; it is our unhappiness to have them, 
 but that which we confess as our sin is our aptness to 
 " follow them too much," our not checking these de- 
 sires as we ought, but too often fulfilling them ; and 
 then they produce actual sins, whicli St. .lohn defines to 
 be "the transgression of God's law," 1 John iii. i ; and 
 which we confess in the following article, " we have 
 offended against thy holy laws." Dean Comber. 
 
 In the two first sentences of the Confession a very just 
 and striking contrast seems to be intended : as if it were 
 said, " We have erred and strayed from thy way," O 
 Lord, from that way which leadeth to life eternal ; and 
 have wandered in " our own" ways, in that broad path, 
 which leadeth to destruction. Waldo. 
 
 " We have offended against thy holy laws.'] We can- 
 not say but that we knew God's commands : and, al- 
 though we have been so wicked as to break them, yet 
 we must confess they are " holy, and just, and good," 
 Rom. vii. 12; and therefore we have great reason to 
 acknowledge with shame and sorrow our manifold 
 breaches and violations of them. Dean Comber, Dr. 
 Hole. ^ 
 
 • We have left undone, &e.] Our breaches of God's 
 laivs consist in sins of omission and of commission : both 
 of which are here confessed and bewailed. When we 
 "leave undone those things which we ought to do," we 
 oifend against God's laws by sins of omission. The di- 
 vine laws lay many things as duties upon us, which we 
 are obliged to observe and do ; and that with relation to 
 God, our neiglibour, and ourselves. As to God we are 
 commanded to worshij) Ilim, by jirayingto Him, by hear- 
 ing his word, and receiving the holy Sacrament, and the 
 like. To men we owe the good offices of justice and 
 charity ; to ourselves, the duties of temperance, sobriety, 
 contentedncss, and the like. Now when we east off the 
 practice of all or any of these things, as when we neg- 
 lect tlie worsliip of God, or turn our back on his 
 word, and sacraments ; when we omit the duties we are 
 to j)ay our neighbour or ourselves ; then do we " leave 
 undone those things which wo ought to have done," and 
 so offend against Ood's holy laws by sins of omission. 
 Again, when we " do what we ought not to do," then do 
 we offend by sins of commission. The laws of (iod for- 
 bid some things, as well as conunand others ; yea, the 
 same law, that doth command one thing, doth always for- 
 bid the contrary to it. .\s the law, that requires us to 
 worsliip God, forbids atheism, ajiostasy, blasphemy, with 
 all other acts of irreligion and profaneness : the laws, 
 that require honesty, truth, and fidelity in all our deal- 
 ings, forbid <lishi;nesty, lying, cheating, with all matuier 
 of falsehooil and op]iression : the law that conunaiuls vis 
 to be soIkt and temperate in all things, cimdeiniis drunk- 
 enness, lu.xury, and all kinds of excess. Now the not 
 
 mercy ^ upon us, miserable offenders. Dan.ix. is, 
 Spare thou them, O God, which con- if- i"?..''- '• 
 
 f \ . c , f-i , 1 Rev. 111. 17. 
 
 less their taults". Kestore thou them Lukexviii. 
 that are penitent''; Accordino- to thy ptov. xxviii. 
 
 13. '2 S.im. xi'i. 13. Ps. li. 12. 
 
 doing our duty is a sin of omission ; and doing a thing 
 forbidden, is a sin of commission ; and by both we 
 " offend against God's holy laws." Dr. Hole. 
 
 y And there is no health in lis.] It is frequent in 
 Scripture both to set forth the corruption and unsound- 
 ness of the mind by the maladies and distempers of the 
 body ; and to express the weakness and want of spiritual 
 strength in the one by the natural defects and decays of 
 the other. So that by this part of the Confession we 
 may very well understand, first, that we are not in a state 
 of spiritual health, but are infected by sin; and, secondly, 
 that we cannot help, preserve, or deliver ourselves from 
 it, and from the consequences of it : but must look some- 
 where else : and where that is, God Himself hath told us, 
 " O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is 
 thine help," Hos. xiii. 9. Thither then we must have 
 recourse ; and thither the Church directs us. Dr. Hole, 
 Dr. Bennet. 
 
 Tlie words, " and there is no health in us," besides 
 that they profess our inward frame throughout to be 
 more or less disordered, signify too, that we have no 
 power of om" own, either to cure the spiritual diseases, of 
 which we are already sick, or to ju'event the attacks of 
 future ones. And therefore we apply to God that He 
 should " heal our souls," Ps. xli. 4 ; whom also, in the 
 conclusion, we implicitly promise, that, whatever amend- 
 ment shall be produced in us by the means which He 
 prescribes, we will give the glory of it, not to ourselves, 
 but to his holy name ; " who hath blessed us with all 
 spu-itual blessings in Christ, to the praise of the glory of 
 his grace," Eph. i. 3. (i. Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 ' But thou, Lord, have mercy &c.] This is the com- 
 mencement of the second jiart of the Confession, con- 
 sisting of petitions, for pardon of what is past, and for 
 grace to be preserved from sin in future. Dr. Hole. 
 Having described the sad estate, into which we have 
 brought ourselves by our iniquities, we are taught to 
 look up to Him, who is able to deliver us from the guilt, 
 as also from the punishment and the power of them. 
 And, first, since " we are miserable sinners " by the guilt 
 of these offences, we cry unto the Lord to " have mercy 
 upon us," that is, to jiity and pardon us, as the phrase 
 impbes, Ps. li. 1; Luke xviii. 13; for misery is the 
 proper object of mercy, and forgivenesses peculiarly be- 
 long to God. Dean Comber. 
 
 • Spare thou them, God, which confess their faults.] 
 This relates to the removal of the ]ninishment due to our 
 offences. We beseech God not to inflict the penalty they 
 deserve, but to exercise his mercy and pity in sparing us 
 from condign punishment. And the condition, upon 
 which we ask it, is the confession of sin : for we do not 
 say, Sparc all men indefinitely as miserable offenders, but 
 "Spare thou them, O (iod. that confess their faults:" 
 intimating our jiersuasion.that without confession to (iod 
 we have no hopes of being spared. Dr. Hole. Not in- 
 deed that we presume to liaxc any meritorious claim or 
 title to liis forgiveness on account of any thing we can do, 
 much less on account of a bare conl'essiim of our sins, 
 be it ever so sincere: we only mention this as the first 
 step towards that thorough irpcntiuice, which is the 
 condition absolutely reiiuired of us in order that we may 
 obtain mercy. WtiUto. 
 
 ^ Ri'sture thou them that are penitent ;] As in the 
 former petition wc prayed to be delivered from the pu- 
 nishment, 80 here wc pray to be delivered from the power
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Luke xiiv. promises declared unto mankind in 
 Heb. viii. 12. Christ Jesu our Lord^ And grant, 
 Ma°t'"x'i. '*' O most merciftd Fatlier, for his 
 
 28, 29. Job xvi. 23. 
 
 and dominion of sin . As if it were said, " Restore us, gra- 
 cious Lord, to the light that sin has deprived us of, and 
 to thy favour which we liave justly forfeited by our num- 
 berless transgressions : restore the faculties of our minds, 
 our reason, our understandings, our wills, ft'om their 
 present depraved state, to some degree of that perfection, 
 for which they were originally designed : restore both our 
 souls and bodies from being instruments of sin to be in- 
 struments of holiness, and of promoting thy glory ; " not 
 that we are to expect an entire renovation of our natiu'e 
 to its primitive purity in this life; but we may expect, 
 and humbly pray for, such a change in it, as may make 
 us " meet to be ])artakers of the inheritance of the saints 
 in light :" in which blessed state alone we shall be per- 
 fectly free from sin, and perfectly hap)iy. Waldo. 
 
 ' Accordinf/ to thy promises — in Christ Jesu our Lord.^ 
 For tlu-ough Him alone we can have access to the Fa- 
 ther ; and all our ])etitions must be offered in his name, 
 if we hope to be heard. Waldo. The favours, which the 
 Church hath here instructed us to ask, are very great ; 
 but they are no more than God hath engaged to give to 
 repenting sinners in tlie Gospel of his dear Son; there 
 He hath assm-ed us, we shall be forgiven, Heb. viii. 1 1 ; 
 spared, 1 John i. 9 ; and restored, Matt. xi. 28, 29. 
 JDeaii Comber. 
 
 ■' And (/runt, Omost merciful Father, for his sake; &c.] 
 This is the concluding part of the Confession, added by 
 the Church in order to render the Confession success- 
 ful ; for though we acknowledge and bewail our sins, yet, 
 without amendment, it will a\'aLl nothing to a ])ardon : 
 and because we are unable of ourselves to reform our 
 evil ways, we are to beg grace and spiritual strength, 
 that we may be enabled to do so. Dr. Hole. 
 
 The petition is, that we may " live a godly, righteous, 
 and sober life." For St. Paul teaches us. Tit. ii. 12, 
 that tills was the very end, why God shewed mercy to us 
 through Christ Jesus; and it must be our endeavour, as 
 well as our prayer, to hve, first, godly, that is, exercising 
 all jjiety and devotion in our services towards God : 
 secondly, righteously, that is, in all honesty and equity, 
 fidelity and charity, towards our neighbours : thirdly, 
 soberly, that is, governing ourselves, and our own bodies 
 and souls, with all temperance and modei-ation, humility, 
 modesty, and charity, which is the sum of om- whole 
 duty to God and man. Dean, Comber. 
 
 And the Apostle ha\-ing thus summed up all practical 
 Christianity, the Church has with great reason taken this 
 comprehensive expression into her Liturgy ; for it is im- 
 possible to comprise more sense in fewer, or better, or 
 plainer words. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 It should be added, that this petition, we desire " our 
 most merciful Father to grant for his Son's sake," who 
 hath purchased a pardon for us, and promised it upon 
 the terms of confession and amendment, which we there- 
 fore ask in his name ; having told us, that He will do it 
 for us, that his Father may be glorified, John xiv. 13 ; 
 and therefore it is added in the close " to the glory of 
 his holy name." For as by a bad life we dishonom- our 
 profession, and " blaspheme his holy name," so " by 
 good works" we are said to "glorify our Father which 
 is in heaven :" " For herein is my Father glorified," 
 saith Christ, " that ye bring fortli much n-uit :" which 
 fruit will redound, not only to our own good, but " to 
 the praise and glory of God." All which we shut U]) 
 and seal with " Amen" to signify our full assent and con- 
 sent to it. So that we shall be condemned out of our 
 
 sake^: That we may liereafter live ^.'='»..''': 'S- 
 
 lit. II. 12. 
 
 a godly, righteous, and sober life, 'I'o I'lui. i. 9— 
 the glory of thy holy Name. Amen, llaif. ti. 9. 
 
 Luke i. M. 1 Cor. x. 31. 
 
 own mouth, if we live and act contrary thereunto. Dean 
 
 Comber. 
 
 Since confession of sin is a duty appointed by the Al- 
 mighty, we cannot wilfidly neglect it without openly vio- 
 lating his express command. Nor can we perform it in 
 a careless and trifling manner, without justly incurring 
 the charge of great inconsistency or base hy])0crisy. The 
 only way, whereby we are to judge of our conduct in 
 this respect, so as to determine with any tolerable degree 
 of satisfaction, whether our confession be real or only 
 feigned, is by our present feelings and subsecpient deport- 
 ment. If we are anxious to be delivered both from the 
 dominion and from the guilt of sin ; and are desirous of 
 experiencing that repentance which is unto salvation ; 
 such a frame of mind may be fairly considered as a tes- 
 timony, that, wlien we acknowledge our sinfulness, we 
 speak forth the words of truth and soberness. And if 
 our future conduct be such as becometh the Gospel of 
 Christ, there cannot remain a doubt, but that the same 
 divine Power, the same grace that hath wrought all our 
 works in us, hath graciously accejjted our confession, 
 and mercifully pardoned our iniquity. But if we con- 
 fess our sins from mere custom or formality ; or arro- 
 gantly suppose, that, when we have acknowledged and 
 professed to lament them, we may safely set out again 
 in the career of vice ; we are most awfully deceiving 
 ourselves. It is he only that confesseth and forsaketh 
 his sins, that shall find mercy. Rogers. 
 
 In the Confession we acknowledge our daily offences 
 in general ; and there is no means so powerftd to obtain 
 pardon for them as the daily prayers of the Church to 
 that purpose. So that the coiu'se, which our Church 
 here prescribeth, for the pardon of our daily offences, 
 being put in practice, what can be more just, more due, 
 than to declare that forgiveness and absolution, which 
 those that are, as these profess to be, penitent for those 
 sins, do olitain ? What more comfortable than to hear 
 the news of it from the mouth of him, by whom the 
 Chm'ch ministereth these offices ? What more seasonable 
 than to do this before we come to give God his solemn 
 praise and lionour in our jiublick services, that we may 
 be assured He accepts of the same at our hands ? This 
 solemn beginning of oiu- Service with confession and 
 absolution serves to ])ut the people in mind, that all 
 which follows is the solemn service of Almighty God, 
 preparing them to that attention of mind, and devotion 
 of s])Lrit, which they owe to it, and which are requisite 
 to make it acceptaljle. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 ' The Absolution,'] The penitent, having been thus 
 humbled for his sins, doth now deserve and need some 
 comfort. And since our Lord hath endued his ambas- 
 sadors with the ministry of reconciliation, 2 Cor. v. 18, 
 they can never have a more ])roper occasion to exercise 
 it than now. Sin is compared to a bond, Acts viii. 23 ; 
 Prov. V. 22, because it binds down the soul by its guilt 
 and power, and hinders it fi'om free converse with God, 
 yea, makes it liable to eternal condemnation; but Jesus 
 came to unloose these bonds. Isa. Ixi. 1 ; and actually 
 did so to divers, when He was upon earth, and left this 
 power to his apostles and their successors, when He 
 went to heaven ; and this unloosing men from the 
 bond of their sin is that, which we ])roperly call " abso- 
 lution," and it is a necessai-y and most comfortable 
 part of the priest's office. Dean Comber. 
 
 Tlie absolution is an act of authority, by virtue of a 
 " power and commandment " of God " to his ministers,"
 
 10 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 If The Absolution', or Remission of sins', to 
 be pronounced by the Priest alone^, stand- 
 ing ; the people still kneeling. 
 
 as it is in the preface of this Absolution : and as we 
 read in St. John's Gospel, chap. .x.\. 22, 23, " Whose 
 soever sins ye remit, they are remitted." And if om' 
 confession be serious and hearty, this absolution is as 
 effectual, as if God did pronounce it from heaven. So 
 says the Confession of Saxony and Bohemia, and so 
 says the Augustan Confession. St. Cbrysostom, St. 
 Augustin, and St. Cyjirian, and generally all antiquity, 
 say the same. So does om' Church in many places, 
 particularly in the form of absolution for the sick. But 
 above all, "holy Scripture is clear, as in the passage just 
 cited from St. John. For the power of "remitting 
 sins" was not to end with the apostles; but is a part 
 of the ministry of reconciliation, as necessary now as it 
 was then, and therefore to continue as long as the 
 ministry of reconciliation, that is, to the end of the 
 world, Eph. iv. 12, 13. When therefore the priest 
 absolves, God absolves, if we be truly penitent. Bp. 
 Sparrow. Our blessed Lord, in his last instructions 
 to his apostles, as recorded by St. Matthew, bids them 
 " go, teach all nations, &c. ;" and concludes with these 
 encom'aging words, " Lo ! I am with you alway, even 
 unto the end of the world." Here, as well as in St. 
 John, we see a commission granted, and a promise 
 annexed to it. The promise is that which is somewhat 
 differently expressed in St. John's Gospel, namely, of 
 the presence and ]n'otection of Christ by the Holy 
 Spirit ; which. He assures them in the plainest words 
 possible, was to be perpetual : " I am with j-ou alioay, 
 even unto the end of the world ;" not unto the end of 
 their hves, but unto the end of the world. Now if the 
 promise of' divine assistance and protection made to the 
 apostles was to extend in some degree to their suc- 
 cessors in all after ages, so certainly was the commis- 
 sion likewise, to which that promise was annexed. A 
 very material part of which commission is the power of 
 remitting sins, or absolving, mentioned by St. John. 
 Upon the whole, the Church of England, wisely guard- 
 ing against the errors of the Church of Rome on the 
 one hand, and against those of such as have hastily 
 gone into the contrary extreme on the other; and a]i- 
 ])ealing to Scripture for the truth of her doctrine; 
 maintains, that some power of absolving or remitting 
 sins, derived from the apostles, remains with their suc- 
 cessors in the ministry; and accordingly, at the ordina- 
 tion of priests, the words of our Saviour, on which the 
 ]iower is founded, are solemnly repeated to them by the 
 bishop, and the jiower at the same time conferred. We 
 do not pretend it is in any sort a discretionai'y jjower 
 of forgiving sins : for the priest has no discernment of 
 the sjiirits and liearts of men, as the apostles had ; but 
 a power of jjronDuncing authoritati\'ely, in the name of 
 God, who has committed to the ])riests the "ministry of 
 reconciliation," his pardon and forgiveness to all true 
 penitents and sincere believers. 'I'liat (iod alone can 
 forgive sins, that He is the sole author of all blessings, 
 spiritual as well as temporal, is undenialilc : but that 
 He can declare his gracious assurance of [mrilon and 
 convey his blessings to us, by what means and instru- 
 ments He thinks fit, is no less certain. In whatever 
 way He vouchsafes to do it, it is our duty humbly and 
 thankfully to receive them; not to dispute liis wisdom 
 in the clioicc of those means and instruments ; for in 
 that case, " he, tliat dcsi)i3ctli, des|)iacth not man, but 
 (iod." li'nldo. 
 
 As to the words of the Absolution, some jicrsons have 
 aiiiirehended it to be a very |)opi,ih form, lint neitlier 
 it, nor the Confession which ])rcccdus, is taken out of 
 
 A 
 
 L M I G H T Y God ", the Father 
 of our Lord Jesiis Christ', who 
 
 any popish service. On the contrary, both of them ap- 
 peared for the first time in the second edition of King 
 Edward the Sixth's Common Prayer Book ; which was 
 made with the advice of foreign, and even Presbj-terian 
 Protestants. Xay, this Absolution was directly levelled 
 against Popery. For the popish absolutions were given 
 in private, separately to each particular person, posi- 
 tively and without reversion, in the name of the priest; 
 and this is given in public, to all persons at once, con- 
 ditionally, if they are truly penitent, in the name of 
 God. The people were misled by the former absolu- 
 tions to a groundless trust in sacerdotal ])Ower; and 
 would have taken offence, if, after then' confession, none 
 had been subjoined. This therefore was drawn up to 
 be used over them ; which tends very powerfully to 
 comfort men, but can never mislead them ; because it 
 leads them to trust only in God's mercy ; and that, no 
 otherwise, than if they " truly repent, and unfeignedly 
 beheve his holy Gospel," proving their sincerity by their 
 reformation : on which terms alone He hath " given to 
 his ministers power and commandment to pronounce to 
 his people the absolution and remission of the\i sins." 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' — or Remission of sins,'\ These words were added 
 to this rubrick by order from the Conference at Hamp- 
 ton Com't in King James the First's time, for the satis- 
 faction of those who took exception against the word 
 " Absolution," as being of too popish a sound. Dr. 
 Bisse. 
 
 s — to be pro7iounced by the Priest alone,'] The term 
 used to express the priest's delivery of the Absolution is 
 a very solemn one : for the Latin " pronuncio," whence 
 it is taken, signifies ])ro])erly to pronounce or give sen- 
 tence : and therefore the word " pronounced," here used, 
 must signify that this is a sentence of absolution or re- 
 mission of sins, to be authoritatively uttered by one 
 who has received commission from God. W'heatly. 
 
 Also, it is to be pronounced " by the jiricst alone :" 
 because none has received that power but a priest. Bp. 
 Andreices. That is, by the ])riest, not only in contradis- 
 tinction to the people, but likewise to the inferior order 
 of deacons, who have no right to this power, which is an- 
 nexed only to tlie priesthood. Dr. Hole. The Absolution 
 is to be jH'onoimced by virtue of the commission men- 
 tioned John XX. 23. U])on which account the Church 
 hath not allowed this form to be jironoimceil by a deacon, 
 to whom that commission is not given ; but hath reserved 
 it to the priests, who at their ordination are vested with 
 that authority. Though therefore the word " minister" 
 be put, both in the foregoing rubrick, before the Con- 
 fession, and in that following, before the l^ord's Prayer, 
 yet in this before the .Uisolutiou, though coming just 
 between theui, the word " priest" is inserted : which was 
 done at the last review of our Liturgy, in l(JGl, to dis- 
 tinguish and limit this power to the [iriest's office. Dr. 
 Bisse. For at the Savoy conference, the Presbyterian 
 divines, wlio were a])pointed liy the king to treat 
 with the liisho])s about (he alterations that were to be 
 made in the (,'ouunon Prayer, had desired, that, as the 
 word " minister" was used in the Absolution, and in 
 divers other i)laces ; it might also be used throughout the 
 whole book, instead of the word "priest;" but to this 
 the Bishops' answer was very ])erem])tory and full ; 
 namely, " It is not reasonable the word minister sliould 
 be only used in the Liturgy; for since some parts of 
 the Liturgy may be performed by a deacon, others by 
 none under the order of priest, namely, absolution, con- 
 secration; it is lit that some such word as priest should
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 11 
 
 Ezckiel 
 xxxiii. 11. 
 xviii. 23. 
 
 (lesiretli not the death of a siinier ^, 
 but rather that he may turn from 
 
 be used for those offices, and not minister, which signi- 
 fies at large every one that ministers in the holy offices, 
 of what order soever he be." And agreeably to this 
 answer, when they came to make the necessary altera-' 
 tions in the Liturgy, they not only refused to change 
 " priest" for " minister," but also threw out the word 
 "minister," and put " priest" in the room of it even in 
 this rnbrick Ijefore the Absolution. So that it is im- 
 denial)Iy ])laln, that by this rubrick deacons arc ex- 
 pressly forbid to jn-onounce this form : since the word 
 " priest" in this place, if interpreted according to the 
 intent of those that inserted it, is expressly limited to 
 one in priest's orders, and does not comprehend any 
 minister that officiates, whether priest or deacon. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 If farther proofs were wanting, that, according to the 
 existing regulations of the Church of England, a deacon 
 may not read the Absolution, the ecclesiastical commis- 
 sioners, ai)])ointed in 1691 to revise the Liturgy, have 
 furnished us with one full to the purpose. They knew 
 that, as matters then stood, none but a priest could law- 
 fully read the Absolution, and therefore, among other 
 alterations, they proposed, that a rubrick should be made 
 authorizing a deacon to read it. Their- proposed altera- 
 tions, it is well known, were never carried into effect, 
 and the whole of the project was entirely abandoned. 
 Of course the law empowering a " priest alone" to pro- 
 nounce the Absolution, remains unaltered, and in full 
 force. Sliepherd. 
 
 If it be asked, what course an officiating deacon should 
 pursue, when he comes to the Absolution ? The answer 
 appears plain. After the Confession he is to remain 
 kneeUng, and to proceed to the Lord's Prayer. If, in- 
 stead of the Absolution, any prayer be admissible, the 
 preference ought evidently to be given to the " prayer 
 which may be said after any of the former," which 
 stands before the prayer for the parliament. This may 
 with propriety be called a precatory absolution. Shepherd. 
 It should be also observed from this rubrick, that it 
 is an improper usurpation of the priest's office for the 
 people to repeat this form after him, more particularly 
 since not even a deacon is permitted to use it. The 
 rubrick itself enjoins the contrary, directing it to be 
 said " by the priest alone." The words of the preamble 
 also expressly say, that " God hath given pott'er and 
 commandment to his ministers to declare and pro- 
 nounce absolution and remission of sins," which the 
 people, being penitent, are to receive, not to give. 
 Farther : the difference of their postm-e declares the 
 difference of their duty : the priest being appointed to 
 pronounce it " standing," as performing an act of au- 
 thority, in the capacity of God's ambassador ; whilst 
 the peoi)le are enjoined to continue " still kneeUng," in 
 token of penitence, and of that humility and reverence, 
 with which they ought to receive the joyful news of a 
 pardon from God. Besides; whereas the Absolution 
 ends at the words, " unfeignedly believe his holy Gos- 
 pel," and the words following "wherefore let us beseech 
 him, &c.," quite to the end, are likewise not a prayer 
 but an exhortation, teaching the people what to pray 
 for; these latter words, as well as the former, do both 
 belong to the office of " the priest alone :" so that the 
 people ought to receive the one and to listen to the 
 other, and by no means to repeat either after him. Dr. 
 Bisse, Dr. Bennet. 
 
 And they should observe, that wherever in the service 
 the congregation are not directed to s])eak, but the 
 minister only, their speaking the same words low, as 
 
 his wickedness, and live ' ; and hatli joim xx. 23. 
 given power, and commandment, to xxx^v^V 
 
 many persons inconsiderately do, removes only part of 
 the imi)ropriety, and leaves the rest. On this therefore 
 and the like occasions let them remember, that their 
 business is only to hearken and assent with silent 
 reverence : of which reverence, in the present case, 
 continuing on their knees, in token of their humble 
 thankfiihiess to God, is undoubtedly a suitable ex- 
 pression. Ali/>. Seeker. 
 
 The word " alone" has still a farther use : for, as it 
 relates to the pubhck use of the service in the church, 
 where it implies that the people must not in this, as in 
 their antecedent confession, say after the minister, but 
 leave it to be pronoxmced by him alone ; so does it 
 relate to the private use. For morning and evening 
 pi'ayer were not in their original designation intended 
 by om' Reformers, as only peculiar to church assemblies, 
 I)ut as well appointed for the service of God in pri\'ate 
 families. Now lest in the private exercises of piety the 
 people or laity should ignorantly rush into the priest's 
 office, this caution is entered by the Church, declaring 
 that the minister alone, and no layman, ought then to 
 ofiiciate. U Estrange. 
 
 ■' Almighty God, &c.] The Absolution consists of 
 two distinct parts ; fu-st, a general declaration of the 
 mercy of God to retui-ning sinners, and an assurance of 
 his pardon to us, on condition of our true faith and 
 hearty repentance : and, secondly, an admonition to us, 
 to implore the assistance of his floly Sijirit, in order to 
 enable us to perform those conditions, and thereby to 
 render this pardon effectual to our eternal salvation. 
 Wnldo. 
 
 ' — the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,'] Who hath 
 made a full satisfaction to divine justice for all our sins. 
 The Son hath merited our pardon : and the Father hath 
 promised it thereupon : as his mercy therefore inclines 
 Him, so his justice now engages Him to forgive, 1 John 
 i. 9. Nothing now lies in oin- way : as He is " almighty," 
 He is able to pardon : as He is " the Father of oiu- Lord 
 Jesus Christ," He is ever mlling and ready to bestow 
 it. Dr. Hole. The Church begins this Absolution, as 
 the apostles do some of their epistles, by representing 
 to us Almighty God under the character of " the Father 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ ;" and in Him, " the Father of 
 mercies, and the God of all comfort," 2 Cor. i. 3. And 
 nothing surely can be more proper for humble penitents, 
 after having confessed their sins to God, than to con- 
 sider Him as the fountain of all goodness, derived to 
 them through the merits of his blessed Son ; " know- 
 ing that the goodness of God leadeth to repentance," 
 Rom. ii. 4. IValdo. 
 
 ^ — who desireth not the death of a sinner,'] Tliese are 
 the words of God Himself, Ezek. xviii. 23 ; and for better 
 confu'raation are again repeated, chap, x.xxiii. 1 1, and are 
 strengthened by an oath, which He is pleased to take 
 by his life, that is. Himself, Heb. vi. 13. Not that He 
 needs such bonds to keep Him to his promise ; but for 
 the confii-mation of our faith, and as a condescension to 
 our infii-mity. Indeed all God's words are most true, 
 but not many have an oath annexed, as this hath ; which 
 He would not have added, but because the belief of this 
 is the foundation of all religion, since no man can begin 
 to seek God till he believes that God delights in mercy, 
 Heb. xi. 0, and is wiUing to receive those that turn to 
 Him. Dean Comber, 
 
 ' — but rather that he may turn from his ivickedness, and 
 live :] Whilst we endeavour to prevent despair, we must 
 be cautious not to encourage presumption. Lest there- 
 fore any should think, when they hear of God's kindness
 
 12 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 his Ministers, to declare and pro- 
 nounce to his people, being peni- 
 tent, the Absolution and Remission 
 of their sins : he pardoneth and 
 Mark!. 15. absolveth all them" that truly re- 
 Ezek. xviif.' pent, and unfeiguedly believe his holy 
 "• .. .„ Gospel. Wherefore let us beseech 
 
 2 Cor. vn. 10. , . ^ 
 
 Actsxiu.39. nun" to grant us true repentance, 
 2 Tim.'ii. 25 and his holy Spirit, that those things 
 
 Acts V. 31. James i. 17. 
 
 to sinners, that He will allow them their sins, Rom. vi. 1 ; 
 this is added to shew that He so desires our happiness as 
 the end, that He desires our holiness as the way thither. 
 He would have us hve, namely, in eternal glory ; but his 
 desires cannot be accomplished, if we continue in our 
 wickedness. Denn Comber. 
 
 " — he pardoneth and absolveth all them &c.] It is here 
 to be noticed, that the minister does not presume to 
 pardon or absolve in his own right, nor to publish 
 absolution in his own name, but only in the power or 
 name of God, saying, " He pardoneth and absolveth :" 
 where the word " He " refers to Almighty God at the 
 commencement of the Absolution. It is also to be 
 noticed, that this declaration is not absolute and with- 
 out limitation : it is confined to such only as " truly 
 repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel." But 
 then, as the minister pronounces pardon only to the 
 penitent, so does he declare it to all that are so. It is 
 not withheld from any that are qualified to receive it : 
 but it is pronounced by authority of Almighty God " to 
 all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his 
 holy tjospel." Dr. Hole. 
 
 And here let us silently ])ray to God, that He will con- 
 firm, and make this declaration of his pardon effectual ; 
 which we may be assured He will do, provided %ve are 
 not wanting in the conditions required on our parts, 
 namely, faith and repentance. Waldo. These are by 
 Christ and by his apostles made the conditions of the 
 Gospel promises, Mark i. 1 5 ; Acts x.\-. 21 : and without 
 them no absohition can be had. ITiose, that have these, 
 no man can condemn : but without these no man can 
 acquit. Dean Camber. 
 
 Is it true that the Lord hath no delight in the death 
 of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his 
 \vickcdnes3 and live ? Then what excuse can we frame, 
 or how shall we be able to justify ourselves, for living 
 another day, or another hour, in the wilful commission of 
 sin? Again. Docs the Lord pardon and absolve all them 
 that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy (iospel? 
 With what earnestness and devotion ought we to beseecli 
 Him to grant lis true repentance and his Holy Spirit? 
 Without tlic forgiveness of sins, our own conscience tells 
 us we cannot l)e saved : and without true rei)entancc, 
 there is no forgiveness; nor is there any true re|)cntance 
 without the aid and assistance of the Holy S])irit. 'I'hese 
 truths ought to be dee])ly imjjressed on our minds. They 
 are brought fully into our view, whenever we assemble in 
 the house of prayer. '1 "hey sjjcak to our conscience everv 
 time we look into our Uilde. And they often force them- 
 selves upon us in private. Let us beware of closing our 
 eyes against them, and of excluding tliem from our 
 hearts. Rogers. 
 
 " Wherefore let us beseech him &c.] After the priest 
 has jironounced the Absolution, tlie t'hurch reasonably 
 exhorts us, to "beseecli .Mmighty (Jod to grant us true 
 repentance and liis Holy .Spirit :" which may perhai)S 
 require explanation, considering, tliat we liave just been 
 professing to exercise repentance, and have l)ceii assured 
 of God's forgiveness upon it, of wliicli the gift of liis 
 
 may please him, which we do at this Lukexi. i.'i. 
 
 present; and that the rest of our life hS'suS; 20, 
 
 hereafter may be pure and holy ; -'■ 
 
 so that at the last we may come to uohnm.*. 
 
 his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ 
 
 our Lord. ■"""=-'■ 
 
 1 The people shall answer here, and at the 
 
 end of all other prayers. Amen". 
 IT Theyi the Minister shall kneel, and say the 
 
 Spirit is a consequence. But, as repentance is a necessary 
 disposition to pardon, so that neither God will, nor man 
 can, absolve the im[)enitent; so is it in some of its parts 
 a necessary consequent of pardon. The remembrance 
 of sin must always, though we have been pardoned, be 
 grievous to us ; which is one jjiirt of repentance. And 
 amendment of Ufe, and the bringing forth of fruits wor- 
 thy of repentance, which is another part, is not only 
 necessary after j)ardon, but is the more necessary because 
 of pai'don, by reason of the mercy and love thereby shewn 
 to us, and the new obligation thus laid upon us to live 
 well. The pardoned therefore had need to pray for 
 rejientance and the grace of God's Holy Spirit, the con- 
 tinuance of which with us de|)ends on the continuance 
 of our sup])lications for his presence, which supplications 
 will also procure us greater degrees of it, that so both 
 our present service and our future life may be "pleasing" 
 to God. Bp. Sparroio, Ahp. Seder. 
 
 For our encouragement the Cliurch instructs us in 
 conclusion, that, if we thus apply to God, and to our 
 prayers join our own best endea\'Ours, the result will be, 
 first, present acceptance, secondly, future assistance, 
 and thirdly, everlasting happiness. First, " Those things 
 which we do at this present," our confession, al)solution, 
 prayers, praises, thanksgivings, and all the services we 
 perform in the house of God, will be well pleasing in his 
 sight. Secondly, Our lives hereafter, directed l)y the 
 guidance of his Holy Spirit, will be pure from their former 
 sins, and virtuous and holy. And thirdly. At the last 
 we shall receive the reward of our faith and obedience, 
 " liis eternal joy " through the merits of our blessed Re- 
 deemer ; who by his precious death has [uirchased for 
 us pardon and absolution from all our sins; is now a 
 prevailing Intercessor with the Father for the blessings 
 we implore; and will, at his return to judge the world, 
 receive us into those heavenly inansi<ins, wliich he is 
 gone before to jirejiare for every true penitent and sin- 
 cere belie\'er. Shepherd. 
 
 ° The people shall answer here, and at the end of all 
 other prayers, JnifH.] The word liere iiijoincd to lie 
 used is originally Hebrew, and signifies the same in 
 Enghsh as " So be it." But the word itself has been 
 retained in all languages, to express the assent of the 
 jierson that pronounces it, to that to which he returns it 
 as an answer. As it is used in the Common I'ruyer, it 
 bears different significations accor(hiig to the different 
 forms, to which it is annexed. .Vt the end of prayers 
 and collects, it is addressed to (iod, and signifies, " So 
 be it, Lord, as in our jirayers we have cxiiressed :" 
 but at the end of exhortations, absolutions, and creeds, 
 it is addressed to the jiriest ; and then the meaning of it 
 is, cither, "So he it, this is our sense and meaning;" or 
 " So be it, we entirely assent to and apjirovc of what has 
 been said." Wlienlly. 
 
 'I'his was the priutiee of the Jewish Church : it was 
 also that of the I'hristiuii in the apostles' days. " Ilow 
 shall he, that occupietli the room of the unlearned, say 
 Amen, at thy giving of tliaiiUs, seeing he understandeth 
 not what thou sayest?" 1 Cor. xiv. 10: and the subsc-
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 1.-5 
 
 Luke xi. 2. Lord's Prayer^ with an audible voice'', the 
 
 people also kneeling', and repeating it with 
 
 quent ecclesiastical writers shew, that it used to he pro- 
 nounced audibly and fervently; each expressing his 
 own faitli or desire, and animatinfi tluit of his fellow- 
 worshijjpei'S. A\'e should therefore by no means neglect 
 to gi\'e this proof, amongst others, that we, not only 
 hear the service with attention, but join in it with ear- 
 nestness. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Still it is not barely putting " Amen" to the Confession 
 and Absolution, that can prove us either true penitents, 
 or truly jiardoned. Our hearts and lives must be in a 
 growing state of conformity to the will of (iod, before 
 we can draw any just and favourable conclusions re- 
 specting our own safety. For the Lord hath clearly 
 revealed it, and our Church invariably speaks the same 
 language, that none will be admitted at the last to his 
 eternal joy, but such as have confessed and forsaken 
 their sins, and fled for refuge and pardon to the love 
 of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. And the more 
 lively sense we have of the riches of his grace, the more 
 holy shall we be in all manner of conversation. Rogers. 
 
 In our ])resent Common Prayer Book it is observable, 
 that the Amen is sometimes printed in one character, 
 and sometimes in another. The reason of which I take 
 to-be this; at the end of all the collects and prayers, 
 which the ])riest is to repeat or say alone, it is printed 
 in Italick, a different character from the prayers them- 
 selves, to denote, I suppose, that the minister is to stop 
 at the end of the prayer, and to leave the Amen for the 
 peo])le to respond : but at the Lord's prayer, confessions, 
 creeds, &c., and wheresoever the people are to join aloud 
 with the minister, as if taught and instructed by him 
 what to say, there it is printed in the same character 
 with the confessions and creeds themselves, as a hint to 
 the minister that he is still to go on, and by pronouncing 
 the Amen himself, to direct the peo])le to do the same, 
 and so to set their seal at last to what they had been 
 before pronouncing. 
 
 By the ])eople's being directed by this rubrick " to 
 answer Amen at the end of the prayers," they might 
 easily perceive, that they are expected to be silent m 
 the prayers themseh'es, and to go along with the 
 minister in their minds. For the minister is the ap- 
 pointed intercessor for the people, and consequently it 
 is his ofiRce to offer up their prayers and praises in their 
 behalf : insomuch that the people have nothing more to 
 do, than to attend to what he says, and to declare their 
 assent by an Amen at last, without disturbing those 
 that are near them by muttering over the collects in a 
 confused manner, as is practised by too many in most 
 congregations, contrary to common sense as well as 
 decency and good manners. Wheutly. 
 
 P Then the Minister shall kneel, and say the Lord's 
 Prayer^ Hitherto we have been preparing ourselves to 
 Jiray, and now we begin nith jjrayer, properly so called, 
 namely, the Lord's Prayer; which, being made by Jesus, 
 and indited by his Spirit, deserved to stand in the first 
 ])lace, but that we were not fit to call God " Oiu- Father," 
 till we had repented of our sins against Him : and, being 
 thus prepared, we dare not omit it, because we are sure 
 our Lord intended it, not only for a pattern to make 
 other prayers by, when He said " After this manner pray 
 ye," Matt. vi. 9 ; hut as a form to be used in so many 
 words : because, when He delivered it the second time. 
 He says expressly, " When ye pray, say, Our Father," 
 Luke xi. 1. Therefore St. .Jerome saith, " It is recited 
 in the Liturgy by our Lord's tradition :" St. Cyprian 
 also, and divers other ancients, call it " the daily prayer:" 
 and all the primitive Liturgies have it in every one of 
 their services : so that St. Augustin tells us, " in the 
 
 him, both here, and wheresoever else it is 
 used in Divine Service. 
 
 Church of God it is daily used at the altar ;" yea, the 
 whole congregation joined in repeating it, as our rubrick 
 requires now : for that farther adds, " if any of yon do 
 not say this prayer, though you be present in body, you 
 are out of the Church." 
 
 And, if we consider the style of it, we shall be con- 
 vinced, that its divine Author intended it chiefly for 
 publick assemblies, it being, as St. Cyprian speaks, "a 
 common prayer," and all its expressions so general, 
 " Our Father, &c." " our daily bread, &c." that every 
 man prays for others as well as himself, and exercises 
 his charity, as well as his devotion. The jjhrases and 
 particular sentences of it are all taken out of those 
 forms, which were in use among the Jews in our Sa- 
 viour's time, to shew that He liked not unnecessary 
 novelty in prayer; but the whole composure is truly 
 wonderful, being so short, that the meanest may learn 
 it; so plain, that the most ignorant may understand it ; 
 and j'et so full, that it comprehends all our wants, and 
 intimates all our duty; shewing not only what is fit to 
 be asked, but what manner of persons we that ask 
 ought to be ; whence TertuUian calls it, " the epitome 
 of the Gospel :" as containing, our persuasion of God's 
 lo\-e, our desire of his honour, our subjection to his 
 authority, our submission to his will, and our dcjiend- 
 ence on his providence ; oiu' need of his mercy to jiardon 
 former offences, and of his grace to keep us from future 
 sin, and of both, to deliver us from the punishment due 
 unto them all ; concluding with acts of faith, and ]uaise, 
 and adoration. And being drawn u]) by our glorious 
 Advocate, who knew his F'ather's treasures as well as 
 our wants, it is certainly the most complete in itself, 
 the most acceptable to God, and the most useful to 
 us, of any form in the world ; for which cause it ought 
 to be united to all om- offices, to make up their defects, 
 and recommend them to our heavenly Father, who 
 cannot deny us, when we s])eak the very same words 
 which his dear Son hath ])ut in our mouths, if we use 
 them with understanding and devotion. Dean Comber. 
 
 The Church of Christ did use to begin and end her 
 ser\'ices with the Lord's Prayer. This being the found- 
 ation, upon which all other |)rayers should be built, 
 therefore, saith TertuUian, we begin with it ; that so the 
 right foundation being laid, we may justly proceed to 
 our ensuing requests. And it being the perfection of 
 all prayer, therefore, saith St. Augustin, we conclude 
 our ])raycrs with it. Let no man therefore quarrel with 
 the Church's frequent use of the Lord's Prayer : for the 
 Church catholick ever did the same. Besides, as St. 
 Cyi)rian observes, if we hope to have our prayers ac- 
 cepted of the Father only for his .Son's sake, why 
 should we not hope to have them most speedily accepted, 
 when they are offered up in his Son's own words ? Bp. 
 Spnrroio, Dr. Hole. 
 
 What part of the world soever we fall into, if Chris- 
 tian religion have been there received, the ordinary use 
 of this very Prayer hath with equal continuance accom- 
 panied the same, as one of the principal and most ma- 
 terial duties of honour done to Jesus Christ. Though 
 men should speak with the tongues of angels, yet words 
 so pleasing to the ears of God, as those which the Son 
 of God Himself hath composed, were not possible for 
 men to frame. He therefore, which made us to live, 
 hath also taught us to pray, to the end that, speaking 
 unto the Father in his Son's own prescript form, we 
 may be sure that we utter nothing which God wUl 
 either disallow or deny. Hooker. 
 
 In conformity with the foregoing sentiments, it may 
 be observed here once for all, that the Lord's Prayer
 
 14 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 o 
 
 U R Fatlier % which art in hea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy Name. 
 
 rmj be placed at the beginning, or at the close, of any 
 office or part of worship, with great propriety and ad- 
 vantage. For, when we begin with it, as after the 
 Creed, and in the Communion ser\ice, it, being perfect 
 in its comprehension, presents to us at once all that we 
 are about to pray for in the following petitions. Be- 
 sides, having proceeded from the sacred lips of our 
 Lord God, it hallows and consecrates all our other 
 prayers, wliich must all grow out of this. On the other 
 hand, when we close mth it, as after the Litany, it 
 being a summary recollection of all our foregoing re- 
 quests, if we have through infii'mity or neghgence been 
 wandering in the larger forms, we may now double our 
 earnestness in this divine compendium. Accordingly 
 the Chiu-ch hath always shewn that deference to this 
 Prayer, that she hath inserted it in every distinct office 
 of the whole Litiu-gy : to this end, that by its perfection 
 she might supply the defects, and atone for the infirm- 
 ities, of her own composures. And it being added in 
 this place after the Confession and Absolution, makes 
 the whole, as it were, a short distinct office, which is 
 now followed by one of another kind ; namely, that of 
 thanksgiving. What has been done hitherto has been 
 penitential : it now opens into eucharistical. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 The service began with the Lord's Prayer in the first 
 book of King Edward the Sixth. But our Reformers 
 at the review of it, in 1551, added the Sentences, Ex- 
 hortation, Confession, and Absolution, as judging it 
 perhaps not so becoming in us to call God " Our 
 Father," before we have repented of our disobedience 
 against Him, and asked pardon for our sins. JVheatly, 
 Dr. Bisse. But it is a very proper time to address God 
 in that form which our Saviom- taught his disciples, 
 when we have apjiroved ourselves his real disci]iles by 
 repentance of sins, and faith in the Gospel-offers of 
 mercy. Abp. Seeker. Most justly therefore has our 
 Church enjoined the use of it in this and other places, 
 as the l)adge of om' discipleship. Most justly also doth 
 she injoin the people at all times to rejieat it together 
 \vith the minister : for by so doing they declare them- 
 selves our Lord's disciples, imitating at the same time 
 the ancient practice, when the whole congregation 
 vocally pronounced it all together. Dr. Beniiet. 
 
 Confession of sin, strengthened by absolution, thus 
 ap])earing to be the main ground of ))ublick worship, 
 upon which the.accc])tablencss of the following service 
 regularly depends ; this should be one among many 
 reasons for inducing us to give all diligence to come to 
 church before the Confession ; otherwise we lose the 
 great benefit of absolution. For though there be other 
 short confessions of sin, as in the Litany, yet there is 
 a])i)ointed no other absolution. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 It is a matter of just lamentation, that many, who 
 profess to attend religious worship, come into church so 
 late after the beginning of divine service, as not only to 
 lose the op])ortunity of joining in these ]ircparatioii9 
 themselves, but fre(|iiently to disturb and incommode 
 those who have already engaged in them. Rogers, 
 
 It has by some Ijccn thought, that the people are not 
 to rci)cat the Lord's Prayer with the minister in the 
 Communion office. But the words " both here, and 
 wheresoever else it is used in divine service," added to 
 the rubrick at the last re\'iew, contain a plain general 
 direction, which a thousand repetitions could not have 
 made more e.vpress. Shepherd. 
 
 '1 — vilh nn oiulihle rnice.l Tlic Lord's Prayer is 
 ordered to be said liy the minister " with iin nudilile," 
 or, as in the former rubrick, " with a loud voic^e," 
 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 
 chiefly, it seems, as a corrective of the practice of the 
 Chm'ch of Rome, by which it is appointed to be said 
 secretly or mentally. Another reason is, that ignorant 
 persons might the sooner learn it : and that all the con- 
 gregation might the better hear and join with the minis- 
 ter in that most excellent part of di\-ine worship. Dr. 
 Bisse, L'Estranffe. 
 
 Till the last review there was no such direction : it 
 having been the custom till then, for the minister to say 
 the Lord's Prayer alone, in most of the offices, and for 
 the people only to answer at the end of it, by way of 
 response, " Deliver us from evU." And the better to 
 prepare and give them notice of what they were to do, 
 the minister was to elevate and raise his voice, when he 
 came to the petition, " Lead us not into temptation," 
 just as it is done still in the Roman Chm'ch ; where the 
 priests always pronounces the conclusion of every ])rayer 
 with a voice louder than ordinary, that the people may 
 know when to join their Amen. Wheathj. 
 
 It was however an ancient custom of the Church for 
 the Lord's Prayer to be re])eated with a loud voice. 
 Dr. NichoUs. 
 
 ' — the people also kneeling,'] See page 7, note q, before 
 the general Confession. That kneeling was a posture 
 of religious worshij) or prayer to Almighty God amongst 
 the Jews in the most ancient times, is evident from 
 several passages in Scripture. In this jiosture Solomon 
 prayed at the dedication of the temple, 1 Kings viii. 
 54 ; 2 Chron. vi. 13. The same posture Daniel used in 
 his devotions, Dan. vi. 10. And Isaiah describes the 
 worship of God by an expression derived from the 
 same posture, Isa. xlv. 23. The same religious posture 
 was used by our blessed Lord Himself, Luke xxii. 41. 
 The same by his apostles, and by other holy men 
 amongst the first Christians ; by St. Paul, Acts xx. 36; 
 by St. Ste])hen, Acts vii. GO ; by St. Peter, Acts ix. 40. 
 And St. Paul expresses jirayer, as Isaiah did, by the 
 usual posture which accom])anied it, K]>h. iii. 14. The 
 same posture was generally observed by the Christians 
 of the first ages both in their publick and in their pri- 
 vaXe devotions. Dr. NichoUs. The same observance of 
 bodily worship |)raetised by the Church lui earth is also 
 represented as the ])ractice of the Church trium|ihant in 
 heaven. Rev. vii. 11. And thus at our confessions of 
 sin and at our prayers we jircsent ourselves before God 
 on our knees, l)y order of our Church, according to the 
 example of our Sa\'ioiU' and of the Church of God. 
 Atip. King. 
 
 " Our Father, &c.] 'I1ie Lord's Prayer consists of 
 three parts. First, a preface, expressing the goodness 
 and greatness of Ilim to whom we pray. Secondly, 
 seven jietitions, which by many learned jiersons are ac- 
 counted but six, the two last being reckoned as one, 
 becaiise they nearly relate to one another. Of these the 
 first three concern (iod's glory; namely, the honour of 
 his name, the advancement of his authority, and the 
 fulfilling of his will : and the four last concern our own 
 good; lieing offered for temporal sui)])lies, for remission 
 of sins ])ast, for prevention of future sins, and for deli- 
 verance from evils and miseries, tem])oral, si)iritual, and 
 eternal. Thirdly, a doxology ascribing to (iod domi- 
 nion and might, mercy ami iiraisc. Clulterhnek. 
 
 Para])hrasc on the Lord's Prayer, ^\'e address our- 
 selves to Thee, O (iod, wlio by thy creation art the Fa- 
 ther of us and all maidiiud, but art the jiarticidar 
 Father of us Christians by adoption, Rom. viii. 15. 
 Putting uj) our petit ions to 'I'bce the great (Iod, whose 
 throne and place of especial residence is the highest
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 15 
 
 Give us tliis day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses, As 
 we forgive them that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into temjita- 
 tion; But deliver us from evil: For 
 
 heaven, Isa. Ixvi. 1 ; Matt. xvi. 17. We do desire and 
 will endeavour, that thy name, Exod. xx. 7, and whatso- 
 ever belongs to Thee, may be hallowed, and kept free 
 from all manner of contempt ; and also be honoured by 
 distinguishing marks of esteem. We likewise earnestly 
 desire, and long for, the time, when thy kingdom of 
 glory shall begin, which flesh and blood cannot inherit, 
 1 Cor. XV. 50; and into which the blessed of the Fa- 
 ther are to enter. Matt. xxv. 34. We pray farther that 
 we Christians here upon earth may perform the will of 
 God, Mark iii. 35 ; Eph. v. 10 ; Rom. xii. 2 ; manifested 
 to us by the preaching of the Gospel, witli as much 
 readiness and exactness as the angels of heaven per- 
 form it, Ps. ciii. 21 ; Matt, xviii. 10. We enlarge our 
 petitions to beg a sufficiency of bread, 1 Tim. vi. 8 ; 
 that is, food, raiment, and other necessaries of life, in 
 such proportions as God is pleased to deal it out to iis ; 
 beseeching Thee to forgive our sins, great and small, both 
 of which make us liable to God's eternal vengeance. 
 Matt. xii. 3(3 ; 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10 ; as we on our parts 
 own, that we freely forgive aU that have offended 
 against us, knowing that God will pardon our sins 
 upon no otlier condition. Matt. \'i. 15. Lastly, we de- 
 sire of Thee that Thou wouldst be pleased to hinder 
 any strong temptation from being laid in om- way, 
 which it is not likely we shaU have the power to over- 
 come. Matt. xxvi. 41 : or if it be, give us such a power- 
 ful assistance of thy grace, as may enable us to over- 
 come it, 2 Cor. xii. 9. i?ut deliver us from all evil, as 
 well that of sin, Eph. ii. 1 ; Heb. x. 12, as that of misfor- 
 tune, Ps. cvii. 41; Acts vii. 10; and as that arising 
 from the malice of evil spirits, .lob i. 6. 8 ; Rev. xii. 8. 
 And these blessings we trust Thou ^nlt grant us, thy 
 adorable perfections giving us encouragement to expect 
 them from Thee ; for thine is the kingdom and sove- 
 reign dominion over all things, and Thou hast no one 
 to controul Thee, 1 Clu'on. xxix. 1 1 ; Jude 25 ; that ai't 
 endowed with infinite power, and hast nothing to with- 
 stand Thee, Job xxxviii. 1 1 ; Ps. Ixv. 7 ; and thine own 
 glory is manifested in making us happy. Dr. NichoUs. 
 It is the case with this, as with all other prayers, that 
 we must not expect God to listen to it, unless our life be 
 in agreement with the matter of our petitions. It may 
 here therefore be useful to observe, that eveiy particular 
 sentence and petition of the Lord's Prayer carries with 
 it a ooiTesponding duty. Tiius when we address Al- 
 mighty God as '■ Our Father," we are reminded to shew 
 Him that honour, which is his due ; and to treat aU men 
 as om- brethren, with kindness and brotherly love : and 
 when we address Him as peculiarly being in heaven, we 
 are reminded of his infinite greatness, and of our own 
 lowliness in comparison of Him, "whose seat is in hea- 
 ven, and whose kingdom ruleth over aU," Ps. xi. 4 ; 
 ciii. 19. The first petition, wherein we pray that "his 
 name may be hallowed," teaches us, not to bring any 
 dishonour upon it by our conduct, nor to treat it ])ro- 
 fanely or hghtly, but to cause it to be gloi-ilied by the 
 sincerity of our worsliip, and the goodness of our beha- 
 viour. By the second petition, wliicli prays that God's 
 "kingdom may come," we are taught, to live om-selves, 
 and to encourage others in living, a holy life ; that we 
 may be worthy subjects of his kingdom on earth, and 
 may be continually more fit, through our Saviour's 
 merits, to enter into his heavenly kingdom. From the 
 
 thine is the kingdom ', The power, 
 and the glory, For ever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 IT Then likewise he shall say", 
 O Lord, open thou our lips ^. 
 
 petition that God's "wiU may be done," we .should 
 learn, to be diligent in doing liis will ; botli by perform- 
 ing what He commands, and by aljstaining from what 
 He forbids ; and, as far as we may be able, by causing 
 his will to be done by others. As we pray God to 
 "give us om- daily bread," it should be our constant 
 practice to use those means, wliich He hath appointed, 
 for procuring it, industriously and contentedly ; and 
 we sliould upon no account accept it from the devil, 
 which we do, if we employ any dishonest means for 
 bettering our condition. From the petition that God 
 will "forgive us our trespasses," results the duty of 
 repenting of them and forsaking them, together with 
 that of forgiving " those who trespass against us." By 
 the petition that God \rill not "lead us into temp- 
 tation," but will " deliver us from evil," we are taught 
 to struggle against every temptation, that we may meet 
 with ; to resist the first motion or inclination to commit 
 sin ; and, above all, not to live in the practice of any 
 thing which we know to be evil. Lastly, by the doxo- 
 logy in the conclusion of the prayer we are taught, to 
 entertain a due reverence for that perfect Being, to 
 whom belong " the kingdom, and the power, and the 
 glory;" who "heareth not sinners," John ix. 31; but 
 who hearetli those who " worship him in spirit and in 
 truth," John iv. 23; namely, those who worship Himnith 
 their hearts, and with the offering of a holy life. Edit. 
 ' For thine is the kingdom, Sc] We conclude witli 
 the doxology, or form of giving praise to God, which 
 is contained in St. Matthew's Gospel, vi. 13, and is ex- 
 pounded Ijy the Greek Fathers, and therefore used Ijy 
 us here : but since it is left out by St. Luke's Gospel, 
 xi. 4, and by most of the Latin Fathers, therefore we 
 omit it sometimes, when the office is not matter of 
 Ijraise, as it is here after tlie Absolution. Dean Comber. 
 It was appointed to be used in this place at the last 
 review of the Common Prayer Book. IVheatly. 
 
 " Then likewise he shall say, &c.] Having presumed 
 in the foregoing solemn words to claim God for our 
 Father through Christ, we now proceed to vent the joy 
 and thankfulness belonging to such a privilege, which 
 is the second pai-t of our publick service, as it was in the 
 ancient Church ; where St. Basil informs us, the people, 
 after confession, rose from prayer, and went on to 
 psalmody. But to make the transition more natural 
 and beneficial, we first beg, that God would permit and 
 assist us, unworthy as wo are, to pay Him this homage. 
 And this we do in the short sentences wliicli follow. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 It was a very ancient practice of the Jews to recite 
 their publick hymns and prayers by course, and many 
 of tlie Fathers assure us that the primitive Christians 
 imitated them therein : so that there is no old litiu-gy, 
 whicli does not contain such short and devout sentences 
 as these, wherein the people answer the priest, and which 
 are tlierefore called " Responses." This primitive usage, 
 which is now excluded not only from popish assemblies 
 by their prajing in an unknown tongue, but also fi-om 
 those of our protestant dissenters by the device of a long 
 extempore prayer, is stiU maintained in the Church of 
 England ; which allows the ])coi)le their ancient right 
 of bearing part in the service for tliese good reasons : 
 First, hereby the consent of the congregation to what 
 we pray for is declared ; and it is this unity of mind
 
 16 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Ansicer. And our moutli shall sliew 
 forth thy praise i. 
 
 and voice, and this ajjreement in prayer, which hath 
 the promise of prevaihnij, Roin. xv. 6; Matt, xviii. 19- 
 Secondly, this grateful variety and different manner 
 of address ser^-es to quicken the peojile's devotion. 
 I'hirdly, it engages their attention, which is apt to 
 wander, especially in sacred things ; and, since they 
 have a -duty to perform, causes them to be expectant 
 and ready to perform it. Let all those then, who attend 
 the pubiick sernce, gratefully embrace the privilege 
 which the Church allows them, and make their responses 
 gravely and with an audible voice. Dean Comber. 
 
 But it must be remembered, both here and elsewhere, 
 when our prayers to God are divided into such small 
 jiortions as we call " versicles," that the people are to 
 join mentuUij in that part which the minister utters, as 
 well as in that which they are directed to pronoimce 
 themselves. And so the minister in hke manner must 
 join in what the people utter, as well as in his own jiart. 
 For otherwise they do not join in prayer. Besides, if 
 this be not done, we shall frequently offer to God that 
 which has but an imperfect sense. For instance, in this 
 place, these words, " and our mouth shall shew forth 
 thy praise," do so manifestly depend upon what the 
 minister spake just before, that the sense of the one is 
 not perfect without the other. It is true, the Church 
 requires, that the minister shall say the one, and the 
 jieople the other portion ; that is, the one portion shall be 
 vocally uttered by the minister, and the other portion shall 
 be vocally uttered by the people, alternately and by way 
 of responses ; but yet both the minister and the people 
 ought mentally to oiFer, and to speak to God, what is 
 vocally offered and spoken by the other party resjiec- 
 tively, for the reasons already given. And, tliat both 
 the minister and the congregation may be the better 
 able to do this, they should respectively take care, that 
 they do not confound and disturb each other by begin- 
 ning their several portions too soon. The minister's 
 first versicle should be finished, before the people utter 
 a word of the second; and the people should have time 
 enough to finish the second, before the minister begins 
 the third, &c. : so that both the minister and people 
 may have time enough deliberately to offer every por- 
 tion, and make, all of them together, one continued 
 act of devotion. The same rule must be observed in 
 all those psalms and hymns, which are used alternately. 
 Dr. licnnet. 
 
 " O Ijord, open Ihou our lips. &c.] The responses here 
 prescribed consist of jirayers and praises : the two first 
 are ])rayers taken out of David's psalms, the great storc- 
 liouse of primitive devotion. The first is from Ps. li. 15. 
 'I'his sentence is very frequent in ancient liturgies, ])ar- 
 ticularly in those of St. .lanu-s and St. Clirysostom ; 
 and it i^ fitly |)laecd here, with respect to those sins 
 we lately confessed, for it is part of Daviil's penitential 
 I'sahn, who hail looked on his guilt so long, till shame, 
 and grief, and the fear of punishment wliieh followed 
 thereupon, had almost sealed up his lips and made him 
 speechless ; so that he could not praise (Jod as he de- 
 sired, unless it pleased God, by speaking peace to his 
 soul, to remove tliose terrors, and then his lips would be 
 opened and his month ready to praise the I/ord. And, if 
 we be fully sensible of mxr guiU, us we ought to be, it 
 will be necessary for us to beg such evidences of our 
 jiardon, as may free us from the terrors which seal up 
 our lijis, and then we shall be fit to praise God heartily 
 in the I'salms which follow. 
 
 The second is from I's. Ixx. 1 ; and xl. l.T : " () (iod, 
 make speed, &c."thi3 also is of ancient use in the VVest- 
 
 Priest. O God, 
 save us. 
 
 nake speed to 
 
 em Church ; and it is the paraphrase of that remark- 
 able supphcation, namely " Hosannah," which signifies, 
 " Save, now. Lord, we beseech thee," Ps. cxvLii. 25. 
 When with David, xl. 12, we look back to those in- 
 numerable evils, that have taken hold of us, we cry to 
 God to save us speedily from them by his mercy ; and 
 when we look forward to the duties we are about to do, 
 we pray as earnestly that He will make baste to help 
 us by his grace, without which we cannot do any ac- 
 ceptable ser\-ice ; both which are necessary for us just 
 now ; and that is the reason why we are so importunate 
 for a speedy answer. 
 
 The other two responses are acts of praise. Upon 
 supjjosition, that our pardon is granted, we rise up with 
 joy to sing. First, " Glory be to the Father," &c. : which 
 excellent hymn, though it be not the very words of 
 Scripture, yet it is a paraphrase upon the song of the 
 Seraj)him, " Holy, Holy, Holy," Isa. vi. 3 ; and gives 
 equal worship to every Person of the Trinity, because 
 each Person is very God, 1 John v. 7. It was a custom 
 from the beginning of Christianity, as the Fathers shew, 
 to " give glory to the only Father, with the Son and the 
 Holy Ghost;" which orthodox form the Arian here- 
 ticks attempted to change into " Glory be to the Father, 
 by the Son, and in the Holy Ghost :" whereupon the 
 Church enlarged the old form, and annexed it to their 
 Liturgies in this form, " Glory be to the Father, to the 
 Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now and ever, world with- 
 out end :" and so the Greek Chiu-ch now uses it; to 
 which the Western Church added, in a council, in the 
 year of our Lord 442, "As it was in the beginning," 
 to shew t'nis was the primitive faith, and the old ortho- 
 dox waj' of praising God. And to this very day it serves 
 for these two uses. First, as a shorter creed and confes- 
 sion of our believing in three Persons and one God, 
 whereby we both declare om'selvcs to be in the com- 
 munion of the Catholick Church, and also renounce all 
 hereticks, who deny this great and distinguishing article 
 of our faith. Secondly, it serves for a hymn of praise ; 
 by which we magnify tlie Father for our creation, the 
 Son for our redemption, and the Holy Ghost for our 
 sanctification ; and to quicken us herein, we declare it 
 was so " in the beginning," for the angels sang the 
 praises of the 'I'rinity in the morning of the creation, 
 Job xxxviii. 7 ; the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, 
 saints and martyrs, did thus worshij) God from the be- 
 ginning; the whole Church militant and triumphant 
 doth it now, and shall do it for ever, not oidy in this 
 world, but in that which is without end. Let us there- 
 fore with great <lcvotion join with this blessed company 
 in so good a work, and gi\'e glory to the Father who 
 granted our pardon, to the Son who purchasi^l it, and 
 to the Holy Ghost who sealed it. Let every Person of 
 the glorio\i3 Trinity have due praise ; and, as God is not 
 weary with re|)cating his blessings, let us never be weary 
 in rej)eating this hymn, but in psalms, litanies, or where- 
 cver we find it, let us say it with a fresh sense of Ciod's 
 infinite love, for He justly deserves our most hearty 
 praises : Amen. 
 
 Secondly ; " Praise ye the Lord," &e. ; which is no 
 other but the Fnglish of " I lallelujah," a word so sacred 
 that St. John retains it, Ucv. xi\. 1. 3, 4. (i ; and St. 
 Augiistin sail h, the ('hurch of old scrupled to translate it. 
 The use of it is frccpient in the Psahus, being the title 
 to, and the conclusion of, many of them: |iarticnlarly 
 of six jisalrns, which were the Paschal hymn, and called 
 the great Hallelujah, Ps. cxiii. — cxviii. And among the 
 Christians it was so usual to sing Hallelujah, that St.
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Rom. xvi. 
 27. 2 Pet. iii. 
 
 Answer. O Lord, make haste to 
 help as. 
 
 IT Here all standing up ', the Priest shall say. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 18. isarvLX Son: and to the Holy Ghost; 
 HevlTv.'^s.'' Answer. As it was in the bcgin- 
 
 Jerome saith little children were acquainted with it. 
 The solemn times of singing it among divers Churches 
 were different ; but it was used every where on the 
 Lord's day ; and among us it is used every day, and 
 placed here, first, as a return to the Gloria Patri, for in 
 that we worship the Trinity, as we do the unity in this ; 
 secondly, as a triumphant hymn upon the joyful news 
 of our absolution, and tlie overthrow of our sjjiritual 
 enemies, for which saith the priest to the people, 
 " Praise ye the Lord," and they readily obey him, 
 replying, " The Lord's name he jiraised." lliirdly, it 
 is a proper preface to the Psalms, called in the Hebrew, 
 " The Book of Praises." The office hath been thus far 
 penitential, and now it becomes eucharistical ; what 
 more proper introduction can there be than this Hallelu- 
 jah ? Dean Comber. 
 
 ' And our month shall shew forth thy pra!se.~\ This is 
 the answer of all the jjeople. And by making this an- 
 swer they promise here and undertake for themselves, 
 that they will not sit still to hear the psalms and hymns 
 read only to them, as matter of their instruction ; but 
 that they will bear a ])art in them with the priest, and 
 keep up the old custom still of singing, and answering 
 verse by verse, as being specially appointed for the set- 
 ting forth of God's praise ; whereunto they are presently 
 invited again by the minister in these words, " Praise ye 
 the Lord." So that our manner of singing by sides, or 
 all together, or in several parts, or in the people's an- 
 swering the priest in repeating the psalms and hymns, 
 is here grounded. But if the minister say alone, in 
 vain was it for God's people to promise God, and to 
 say, that their mouth also should shew forth his praise. 
 Bjj. Cosin. 
 
 If we were to enter into this part of our devotional 
 exercises as we ought to do, it would spiritualize our 
 joy, and hcli) us, both in heart and voice, to glorify 
 our Father which is in heaven. If we do not enter into 
 it as we ouglit to do, it is because we often come before 
 the divine presence mthout thought and without re- 
 flexion. We think not of his hand, nor consider the 
 glory of his majesty. We forget our own spiritual ne- 
 cessities, and are therefore regardless of his inexhausti- 
 ble treasures. And, when we are within the walls of 
 his house, and professedly engaged in his service, we 
 too frequently suffer our thoughts to rove, and our 
 hearts to wander after things that cannot profit. It is 
 not designed that our praises and thanksgivings should 
 be expressed in a noisy and boisterous style ; far fi-om 
 it. But that sincerity of heart, and a zeal according to 
 knowledge, should be exercised by every worshipper, 
 who would praise God with accejitance. Ror/ers. 
 
 ' — all standing up,'] It was the practice of the 
 primitive Church to perform those parts of the publick 
 service, which were not celebrated kneeling, in the pos- 
 ture of standing : for this was another way of respectful 
 worship paid to Almighty God in the acts of prayer 
 and thanksgiving, used anciently in the Jewish Chm'ch, 
 and thence derived to the Christian. See Mark xi. 25; 
 Luke xviii. 11. 13. Dr. Nicltolls. 
 
 Standing is certainly a very proper posture for the 
 praises of God. For every body not oidy hears them, 
 but ought to bear a part therein. Now though sitting 
 
 17 
 
 be: 
 
 Job xxxviif. 
 7. Matt, 
 xxviii. 19. 
 Vs. civ. 31. 
 
 nirig-, is now, and ever shall 
 world withont end. Amen. 
 
 I'ricst. Praise ye the Lord. 
 
 Answer. The Lord's Name be 
 praised. P". cxmi. 2. 
 
 t Then shall be said or sung this Psalm" fol- 
 lowing '' .- except on Easter- Day ', upon 
 
 may be allowed when we only hear, as whilst the Les- 
 sons, &c. are read ; yet, since in praises every member 
 of the congregation is not barely ])assive, but also active 
 and employed ; therefore such a postiu'c becomes them, 
 as betokens their being concerned in that part of wor- 
 ship. And it is notorious, that their standing up to- 
 gether looks as if they had something to do themselves, 
 and that they were not merely attending to others. 
 
 But besides, in the use of David's Psalms diverse 
 such passages do very frequently occur, as every good 
 Chi-istian may, and therefore should, personally address 
 and speak to God. Those divine compositions are 
 every where full of the most pious breathings, the most 
 devout and pathetical ejaculations ; and a well-disposed 
 person cannot forbear lifting up his heart in those ex- 
 pressions, and adojjting them 'for his own prayers. 
 Now kneehng is not a proper posture for such jjarts of 
 the Psalms as are not directed to God : and sitting is a 
 most indecent postm'e for such parts thereof as are 
 dh-ected to Him, as all sober Christians do confess : 
 but standing does tolerably well suit both parts, though 
 it is not the very best for one of them. And therefore 
 since both these parts, namely, those which are, and 
 those which are not, directed to God, are so coiumonly, 
 and so suddenly, altered, mingled, and interwoven the 
 one with the other, that the most suitable postures for 
 each of them cannot be always used ; certainly that one 
 posture, which best suits with both together, ought 
 always to be preferred. 
 
 It should be added, that the minister ought not to 
 begin the Doxology in this place too soon, for fear the 
 people should be hurried, and not have time enough to 
 rise from their knees, and join mentally with him in the 
 former part thereof. Dr. Bennet. 
 • ' Then shall be said or sung this Psalm~\ The Church 
 orders this and the other psalms to be either said or 
 sung, as the people are best able to offer them ; not 
 being willing to lay a greater restraint upon them than 
 the Scripture has done, in which we have examples for 
 both these ways of jn-aising God. Thus the praises of 
 God were celebrated in the Jewish Church by " sing- 
 ing," 2 Chron. xxix. 30 ; and afterwards in the Christian 
 Church, as appears from the language of St. Paul, 
 Eph. V. 19; Col. iii. 16. And, not to insist on those 
 places which seem to require us to "say psalms," such 
 as Ps. c.xviii. 2, Bible translation, we find in Scri]iture 
 several sacred hymns, particularly of Hannah, the 
 blessed Virgin, Zacharias, and Simeon, and the saints 
 in heaven. Rev. vii. 12; xi. 17, which are related to 
 have been " said " by them respectively ; and the circum- 
 stances in the story do not make it probable that they 
 were sung. Abp. King. 
 
 The words "sung or said," every where signify the 
 same as " minister and people." 'ITie word, " sung," 
 relates to a hymn in parts ; as in choir service, one side 
 "singing" one verse, and the other another: and the 
 word, " said," relates only to the parochial service. 
 Collis. 
 
 "" — this Psalm following :] This Psalm is called in 
 the Latin ser\'ice " The Invitatory psalm." Some have 
 mistaken, and siq)posed the first verse of it to be the 
 Invitatorium ; which was a select text of Scripture, 
 
 C
 
 18 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 whtclt miofher Anthem'^ is appointed; and 
 on the Nineteenth day of every Month it is 
 
 generally adapted to the day, and used just before tins 
 psalm, and frequently repeated in the course of it : but 
 our Reformers, judging; this to be a vain tautology, 
 thought fit to omit it, appointing the psalm to be used 
 without the inntatory. Dr. NichoUs, L'Eslrange. 
 
 This is an invitatory psalm; for herein we do mu- 
 tually invite and call upon one another, being come 
 before his presence, to sing to the Lord, to set forth his 
 praises, to hear his voice, as with joy and cheerfulness, 
 so n-ith that reverence that becomes his infinite Majesty, 
 v.'orshipping, falling down, and kneeling before Him, 
 using all humble behavioiu' in each part of his service 
 and worship firescribed to us by his Church. And need- 
 ful it is that the Church should call upon us for this 
 duty ; for most of us forget the Psalmist's counsel, Ps. 
 xc\-i. 8, 9, "To ascribe unto the Lord the honom- due 
 unto his name." Unto his courts we come before the 
 presence of the Lord of the whole earth, and forget to 
 "worship him in the beauty of holiness." Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 This psalm, containing directions and exhortations 
 to prayer, to praise God, and to hear his holy word, is a 
 very proper preparatory for the following duties, and 
 the matter of it shews it was designed at first for the 
 publick service, on the feast of tabernacles, as some 
 think, or on the sabbath-day, as others say : but St. 
 Paul judges it fit for every day, while it is called to day, 
 Heb. iii. 1 5 : and so it hath been used in all the Chris- 
 tian world, as the Liturgy of St. Basil testifies for the 
 Greek Church ; the testimony of St. Augustin witnesses 
 for the .\Jrican Church ; and for the ^^'estern Church, 
 all its ancient offices retain it, and in the capitulars it is 
 called the in\itatory i)salm ; yea, the very Jewish doc- 
 tors have confessed it belongs to the times of Mes- 
 siah, and therefore our Reformers did very prudently 
 place it here, before the psalms, collects, and lessons. 
 It contains a threefold exhortation ; first, to praise God ; 
 shewing, 1, the manner how, namely, externally and 
 internally, ver. 1, 2; and, 2, the reason why, namely, 
 because of his infinite greatness, ver. 3, and his mighty 
 power, declared by his providence over all, ver. 4, and 
 his creating of all, ver. 5. The second exhortation is 
 to jiray to this mighty God ; as to the manner, \ery 
 humbly, ver. 6 ; giving the reason for it, because it is 
 his due from us, \'er. 7. The third exhortation is to hear 
 his word; directing us to the manner, namely, speedily, 
 willingly, and with tender hearts, ver. 8 ; and wai-ning 
 us by the example of the .lews, \vhose sin is set befoi-e 
 us, ver. 9, and their punishments, ver. 10 and 11 ; that 
 we may not destroy our scjuls, by despising and dis- 
 tnisting God's word as they did. Dean Comber. 
 
 It is a pleasing sight, a cause of real joy, to every 
 one that lias any regard for the honour of God and the 
 welfare of immortal souls, to see niunbers resorting to 
 the house of [jruyer, for the solemn purjiosc of divine 
 worsliip. .\n(l this pleasure is greatly heightened l)v 
 seeing them, when assembled, zealously complying will) 
 this exhortation ; uniting, as with one heart and one 
 voice, in tlie most h\ely and affectionate manner, to 
 praise the God of their life, and to make tlieir cheerful 
 acknowledgments to the .\uthor of all their blessings. 
 To be jiresent in a numerous congregation, devoutly 
 engaged in celebrating the goodness and loving-kind- 
 ness of the F.iord, is calculated to give us a more af- 
 fecting idea of the blessedness of heaven, than any 
 other scene in the present world. " O come tlien, let 
 us sing imto \\k Lord ;" and let us not be satisfied 
 with doing this merely with our lips ; hut " let us heart- 
 ily rejoice in the strength of our salvation " Rogers. 
 
 not to be read here, but in the ordinary 
 Course of the Psalms. 
 
 "^ — except en Easter-Day,'] See the note on the ser- 
 vice for that day among the collects, &c. 
 
 ■* — another Anthem] An anthem is supposed to 
 come from .\ntiphon, and to signify an hymn, sung in 
 parts or alternately : and in this sense the invitatory 
 psalm is here called " an anthem ;" for so much is im- 
 phed in the du-ection, that for Easter-day " another 
 Anthem" is appointed. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 As the Scriptures prescribe us the use of psalms in 
 the praises of God, so they encourage us to offer those 
 praises by way of responses, or answering. For this we 
 have the best example that can be desired, even the 
 blessed angels and glorified saints. So in Isaiah, vi. 3, 
 " And one cried unto another. Holy, holy, holy, is the 
 Lord of hosts." And the Chra-ch triumphant "through 
 the whole Revelation, is, I think, constantly represented 
 praising God after this manner. See cha]). \'ii. 9, 10. 
 12; xix. 1 — 6. I make no question but this is taken 
 by allusion from the manner of the Church's ])raising 
 God on earth : and it is agreeable to St. Paul's com- 
 mand of "teaching and admonishing one another in 
 psalms, S:c.;" which supposes every one to have a 
 share in them, either by turns, or by bearing a part. 
 This way of praising God by answering one another is 
 the most ancient we find in Scripture : for thus Miriam 
 praised God, Exod. xv. 21 : and the last song recorded 
 in Scripture is of the same sort, Rev. xix. as before 
 mentioned. According to these Scriptiu'c examples 
 the people are allowed to bear their part in the Psalms, 
 and either to sing or say them by way of answering. 
 Abp. King. 
 
 Some of our dissenting brethren ha\'e thought, and 
 so hare some papists, that di\-iding this, and other parts 
 of the service, as we do, between the priest and the con- 
 gregation ; and alloning the latter to make responses, 
 or answers ; is permitting, not only laymen, but even 
 women, against an express [)rohibition of Scripture, to 
 encroach on the ministerial office, makes a disagreeable 
 confused noise, and hinders many from understanding 
 what is said. But surely the olfice of the minister is 
 sufliciently distmguished, as he presides and leads, 
 throughout the service. And why should not the peo- 
 ple be suffered to follow him, and beai- some part with 
 their voices in in-.aying, as well as the main pai't in 
 singing ? Not to say, that the principal article, in 
 which they do bear a part, is the " Psalms" for the day, 
 which were designed to he sung, where it could be done 
 conveniently. No Scrijjturc forliids the congregation 
 to bear a part : that which forbids women to speak in 
 the ('luirch, 1 Cor. xiv. 35, means only to forbid their 
 giving instruction, or entering into questions or dispu- 
 tations there. And St. Paul conunands us to "speak 
 to one another in psalms and hymns and siiiritual 
 songs," E|)h. V. 19. .\ccordingly the primitive Chris- 
 tians arc known to have u.sed tliis alternate manner in 
 their publick prayers aiul jiraises. .\nd though, when 
 the psalms and hymns are spoken thus, and not sung, 
 there is nothing harmonious in the sound, yet St. John 
 describes the worship of the blessed above by the 
 " voice of many waters and of a great thunder," Rev. 
 xiv. 2 ; which is no unlit comimrison for tlie united 
 answers of a largir congregation. .\s to the other part 
 of the objectiim, this method in reality creates no con- 
 fusion or dillictdty at all. .\ very little jiracticc will 
 reiuler it easy to any one that can read : even they, 
 who cannot read, may join Iti it, liy altending to those 
 near them, or 1o the clerk ; il niukes a grateful variety, 
 keeps attention awake, and enlivens devotion. In thia
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 10 
 
 Venite, exidlemus Domino "'. Ps. xcv. 
 
 OCome, let us sing '' unto the 
 Lord : let us heartily rejoice in 
 tlie streiii^th oF our salvation. 
 
 Let us come before his presence 
 with thanksgiving : and shew our- 
 selves glad in him with Psalms. 
 
 For the Lord is a great God : and 
 a great King above all gods. 
 
 In his hand are all the corners of 
 the earth : and the strength of the 
 hills is his also. 
 
 The sea is his, and he made it : and 
 his hands prepared the dry land. 
 
 O come, let us worship, and fall 
 down : and kneel before the Lord 
 our Maker. 
 
 For he is the Lord our God : and 
 we are the people of his pasture, and 
 the sheep of his hand. 
 
 manner then we glorify God ; beginning always with 
 the 95th Psahn, as the whole Christian Church did in 
 early ages, and as the nature of the Psalm recommends 
 to us ; it being a distinct invitation to the several duties 
 of praise, prayer, and hearing, with an awful warning of 
 the danger of neglecting God, drawn from his judg- 
 ments on the disobedient Jews, unto whom " these 
 things hapjjened for ensamjiles, and they are written 
 for our admonition," iCor. x. 11. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' Venite, exultemns Donino.'j These are the words at 
 the beginning of the Latin version, answering to " O 
 come, let us sing unto the Lord :" from them the 
 Psalm is sometimes called " the Venite," or " the Venite 
 exultemus." 
 
 ' come, let us shir/ &c.] The general purport of this 
 psalm has been already stated. With respect to some 
 particular jjhrases in it, we may remark, that when we 
 call God in it " the strength of our salvation," we mean, 
 that by his power alone we can be saved from present 
 and future evils. When we call Him " a great King 
 above all gods :" we mean, above all that have ever had 
 that name ascribed to them : the princes of the nations ; 
 the false deities of the heathen ; ijatan, " the god of this 
 world," 2 Cor. iv. 4 ; and the holy angels in heaven. 
 AVhen we say, that " in his hand are all the corners of 
 the earth, and the strength of the hills is his also," we 
 mean, that his presence and his influence extend to the 
 remotest and most inaccessible places; and there is none, 
 where he cannot deliver or punish. When we call our- 
 selves " the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his 
 hand;" we own our Maker to be bkewise our Preserver, 
 Supporter, and Du'ector; who feeds om- souls by his 
 word and his grace, as well as om- bodies with daily 
 bread, and guides us mercifully thi'ough this world to a 
 better. " To day if ye will hear his voice harden not 
 your heai'ts," is an affecting and alarming exhortation, 
 that if we design ever to become his servants in earnest, 
 we should hearken immediately to his continual calls ; 
 else, through a habit of disobedience, our minds may 
 grow callous, and "past feeUng," Eph. iv. 19. The 
 words " when your fathers tempted me," which are put 
 into the mouth of God Himself, the " Jews," for whom 
 first this ])salm was composed, were to understand 
 literally, of their fathers according to the flesh. But we 
 are to take them of those, who have gone before us in 
 the profession of religion ; and whom we are not to re- 
 
 To day if ye will hear his voice, 
 harden not your hearts : as in the 
 provocation, and as in the day of 
 temptation in the wilderness; 
 
 When your fathers tempted me : 
 proved me, and saw my works. 
 
 I'oity years long was I grieved 
 with this generation, and said: It is 
 a jieople that do err in their hearts, 
 for they have not known my ways. 
 
 Unto whom I sware in my wrath : 
 that they should not enter into my 
 rest. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to 
 the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 H Then shrill fuUow the Psalins« in order as 
 they are appuinled. And at the end of every 
 
 semble in "tempting and proving" God, that is, doubt- 
 ing, and putting to unreasonable trials, his omnipotence, 
 his goodness, and truth : lest, as the unbelieving "Jews" 
 died in the wilderness, and so were excluded fi'om the 
 temporal rest, which otherwise they would have enjoyed 
 in the land of Canaan, we also be excluded from what 
 it jirefigured, that eternal rest, which " remains for the 
 people of God" in heaven. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 e Then shall follow the Psalms &c.] The book of Psalms 
 is a collection of praises and prayers indited by the 
 Spu-it, composed by holy men on various occasions, and 
 admirably suited to pubUck worship. They contain 
 variety of devotions agreeable to all degrees and con- 
 ditions of men, so that, without much difficulty, every 
 man may ajiply them to his own case, either directly or 
 by way of accommodation; for which cause, the Chiuch 
 useth these oftener than any other part of the Scripture. 
 It is certain, the temple service consisted chiefly of forms 
 taken out of this book of Psalms, 1 Chron. xvi. 1 . 7 — 37 ; 
 I Chron. xxv. 1,2; and the prayers of the modern Jews 
 are also most chiefly gathered from thence. The Chris- 
 tians undoubtedly used them in their publick sernce in 
 the apostles' times, 1 Cor. xiv. 26; Col. iii. 16; and in 
 the following ages it is plain, that they sang the Psalms 
 in the church by turns, each side answering the other : ' 
 indeed it appears the Psalms were placed about the be- 
 ginning of the prayers, soon after the tJonfession ; and 
 that they were so often repeated at church, that the 
 poorest Christians could say them by heart, and used to 
 sing them at then- labours, in then- bouses, and in the 
 fields. 'Phe author of them, holy David, first set thera 
 to vocal and instrumental niusick ; and pious antiquity 
 did use them in their assemblies with musick also ; and 
 so we may very fitly do, where we have convenience, for 
 this makes our churches the very emblem of the heavenly 
 choir, which is always represented as praising God in 
 this manner : and experience shews, that musick works 
 very much on the affections of well-tempered men ; it 
 calms their minds; composes their thoughts ; e.xcites 
 theu- devotion ; and fills their soul with a mighty plea- 
 sure, while they thus set forth his praise. 
 
 T'he Chm-ch having thus fitted the Psalms for daily 
 use, it is our duty to say or sing them with great devotion ; 
 and, if we have performed the foregoing parts of the 
 Liturgy as we ought, nothing can fit us better to s,ing 
 David's Psalms with David's spbit ; for all that hath 
 C 2
 
 20 
 
 MORNING PRAYER 
 
 Answer. As 
 
 Psalm'' throuykout the Year, and likewise 
 at the end of Benedicite, Benedictus, 
 Magnificat, and Nunc dimittis, shall be 
 repeated. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 been done liitherto was to tune our hearts, that we may 
 say, " O God, my heart is ready," or " fixed, I \rill sing 
 and give pruiee," Ps. cviii. 1. And, as St. Basil notes, 
 this frame of sjiirit is more necessary in the use of the 
 Psalms, than of any other part of Seriptm-e, the rest 
 being only read to us, but every man is to repeat these 
 as his own «ords. Dtan Comber. 
 
 For more concerning the Psalms, see the notes intro- 
 ductory to that division of the Common Prayer Book. 
 
 As it is so primitive and useful an order to have the 
 Psalms thus read; and as this "Psalter" is an entire 
 body of devotion, having different forms, to exercise 
 several graces, by way of internal act and spiritual in- 
 tentions, containing in it, confessions, thanksgivings, 
 prayers, praises, and intercessions ; let every one be sure 
 to do it standing, sitting being only allowed, whilst the 
 Lessons or the Epistle is reading. Collis. 
 
 ' — at the end of every Psalm &c.] We are directed 
 to praise, glorify, and confess to God every day in a 
 certain number of Psalms of his own ajipointment, out 
 of the Old Testament ; and then in such hymns as are 
 recoi'ded in the New. But inasmuch as the mystery of 
 the holy Trinity is more explicitly revealed to us under 
 the Gospel, than it was to those under the Law, therefore 
 oiu- Church requires us to annex to every psalm and 
 hymn " Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to 
 the Holy Ghost, As it was in the beginning, is now, and 
 ever shall be ;" to signify our belief, that the same God 
 was worshi])ped by them as by us ; the same God, that 
 is glorified in the Psalms, having been from the beginning 
 " Father, Son, and Holy Ghost," as well as now. So that 
 our ascribing this glory exjiressly to the three Persons, 
 in whose name we are baptized, is not any real addition 
 to the Psalms, but is a necessary expedient for turning 
 the Jen-ish Psalms into Christian hymns, and so fitting 
 them for the use of the Church now, as they were before 
 for the use of the synagogue. Abp. King. 
 
 Touching the hymn of glorj-, our usual conclusion to 
 psalms, the glory of all things is that wherein their high- 
 est perfection doth consist ; and the glory of God, that 
 divine excellency, whereby II e is eminent above all things, 
 his omnipotent, infinite, and eternal being, which angels 
 and glorified saints do intuitively behold; we on earth 
 apprehend principally by faith, in ])art also by that kind 
 of knowledge which groweth from experience of those 
 effects, tlie greatness wliercof excecdeth the jiowers and 
 abilities of all creatures both in heaven and earth. God 
 is glorified, when sudi his excellency al)ove all things is 
 with due admiration acknowledged. Which dutiful ac- 
 knowledgment of (iod's excellency by occasion of special 
 effects being the very [)roper subject, and almost the 
 only matter imrjioscly treated of in all psalms, if that 
 joyful hymn of glory have any use in the Church of God, 
 whose name we therewith extol and magnify, can we 
 place it more fitly than where now it serveth as a close 
 or conclu.sion to psalms ? Neither is the form thereof 
 newly or unnecessarily invented. " We must (saith St. 
 I$asil) as we have received, even so Imptizc; and as we 
 baptize, even so believe; and as we believe, evi'U so give 
 glory." Baptizing we use the name of tlie I''atlier, of 
 the Son, and of the Holy (iliost: confessing th(^ ("lu-is- 
 tian faith, we declare our belief in the Fatlier, and in the 
 Son, and in the Holy Ghost : ascribing glory unto God, 
 
 it was in the begin- 
 ning, is now, and ever shall be : 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
 t Then ' shall be read distinctly with an 
 audible voice the First Lesson^, taken out 
 of the Old Testament, as is appointed in 
 
 we give it to the Father, and to the Son, and to the 
 Holy Ghost. It is the token of a true and sound un- 
 derstanding for matter of doctrine about the Trinitj', 
 when in ministering baptism, and making confession, 
 and giving glory, there is a conjunction of all three, 
 and no one of the three severed from the other two. 
 Hooker. 
 
 ' Then &c.] After the Psalms it hath long been cus- 
 tomary for the organ, where one is used, to play for a 
 short time : and, as instruments of musick in divine ser- 
 \'ice are certainly law-ful, else they had not been ap- 
 pointed in the Jewish, or permitted in the ancient 
 Christian Church, or described in the Revelation as 
 accompanying the praises of the blessed above, so a 
 little pause for the use of this instrument will not only 
 give some res])ite and refreshment to the congregation, 
 and to the minister, but may be advantageously em- 
 ployed, either to reflect on what is past of the service, 
 or prepare our minds for what is to come. And there- 
 fore it should not be filled u]), either by the performer 
 with the lighter airs of musick instead of solemn strains 
 and such as may excite proper dispositions, or by any 
 of the congregation \nth needless discourse, or such 
 private thoughts or imaginations, as blot out good im- 
 pressions already made, and indispose us for receiving 
 the like afterwards. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ^ Then shall be read distinclli/ with an audible voice 
 the First Lesson, &c.] " Distinctly," that the reader 
 may be the better understood; " with an aiidihle voice," 
 that he may be the better heard. Dr. Hole. 
 
 After the Psalms follow the Lessons. For having, 
 according to the Exhortation, " set forth God's most 
 worthy jiraise," we proceed to " hear his most holy 
 word." And then a resjiite is given to the bent of the 
 mind : for, whereas in the work of praising it was 
 active, in hearing it is only attentive. Besides, a differ- 
 ent faculty of the soul is now called into employment. 
 In the Psalms the will and affections were employed : 
 but now in the Lessons chiefly the understanding. And, 
 as with the members of the body, so with the faodties 
 of the mind, a change of employment pre\-ents weari- 
 ness, and affords relief. Dr. Bisse, Dr. Bennrt. He, 
 which praycth in due sort, is thereby made the more 
 attentive to hear; and he, which heareth, the more 
 earnest to pray. Hooker. 
 
 That they, who arc blessed with a revelation from 
 (iod, should read and hear it with reverence, when they 
 assemble to worship Ilim, is a ])lain dictate of reason and 
 religion. Accordingly the .lews " read Moses and the 
 Prophets in their synagogues of old time," as the book 
 of Acts informs us. Acts xiii. 27 ; xv. 21 ; and so indeed 
 do WTiters of their own, in the same age with it ; who 
 l)oa3t of the practice as a most useful and lumourable 
 distinction jieculiar to their nation, that the laws of life 
 were thus published to all the people. The jjrimitive 
 ('hristians, as one of the earliest apologists for them, 
 .lustin Martyr, tells us, read at tlu'ir meeting, both the 
 ,lewi9h ])ri)pliets, and tlic wrilings of the a|)ostles, in 
 pri)]icr ]iortions. .\iid when tlie Church of Home had 
 broken tlicm into small friigmcnts, interrupted with 
 otlicr tilings ; and had continued to read even these in 
 Latin, after it was no longer understood; our Church 
 rectified both errors ; aiul hath taken care that the Old
 
 MORNING PRAY E R. 
 
 the Calendar^, except there be proper Les- 
 sons"' assigned for that day: He that read- 
 
 Testament should be gone through once a year and the 
 New thrice. Only we omit some parts of the former ; 
 which are repetitions of what is related in other parts, 
 or bare lists of genealogies and families, or too mystical 
 and abstruse to be edifying in publick ; on which last 
 account we omit also the book of Revelation, excepting 
 two or three chajjters : matters of such difficulty being 
 wisely thought fitter for the private meditation and 
 study of those, who are qualified to engage in them. 
 
 'llie order, in which the books of both Testaments 
 are read, is that in which they stand. Only in the Old, 
 the Projjhet Isaiah, containing the fullest predictions of 
 Christ's coming and kingdom, is placed at the approach 
 of his nativity : and in the New, the Gospels and Acts 
 are the Lessons for the morning, and the Epistles for 
 the afternoon. In this manner we make provision for 
 every day in the year : and hence one great recommen- 
 dation of daily attendance on jniblic prayers, where 
 there are opportunities for it, is, that by means of it we 
 shall proceed regularly through the sacred writings, 
 and preserve the due connexion of the several disco- 
 veries, made in them to man. But for the fij'st Lessons 
 on Sundays, those chapters of the Old Testament are 
 selected, which appear to be most useful. The second 
 Lessons being from the New, there was no necessity, 
 and little room, for choice. And to Holydays such 
 portions of both are adapted, as best agree with the 
 occasion. Abp, Seeker. 
 
 Whilst the Scri|)tures are reading, the people should 
 not be conversing with each other, or disregarding 
 them : but should reverently attend to what is read, 
 considering that it is the Word of God, which is the 
 rule of their duty, and by which they shall be judged 
 at the last day. And whensoever any thing applies to 
 their own case, whether it be instruction or correction, 
 comfort or reproof, let them take particular care thereof, 
 and treasure it up in honest hearts, and endeavour to 
 conduct themselves according to it in the whole course 
 of their conversation. Thus the publick reading of 
 God's word will become truly profitable, and they will 
 have reason to return God special thanks for every 
 opportunity of hearing it ; whereas otherwise it will 
 only aggravate their sins, and increase theu' condemna- 
 tion. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ' — out of the Old Testament, as is appointed in the 
 Calendar,'] It is plain therefore, that the Apocryiihal 
 Lessons, though not expressly mentioned, are to be 
 read by virtue of this rubrick, as it is explained by com- 
 parison with the Calendar. Dr. Bennet. With respect 
 to these books it may be observed, that they are read in 
 the congregation, not as divine, but as venerable for 
 their antiquity, and for the spirit of religion that breathes 
 in them ; that the doctrine of them in the main is ex- 
 cellent, and the narrations instructive ; that they were 
 quoted with respect in the first ages of Christianity ; 
 that they were read in publick from very early ages ; 
 that it would have given great and needless offence at 
 the Reformation to have left them out entirely; and 
 that they are never ajipointed for the Lord's day. At 
 least the second Lessons are at all times canonical 
 Scripture : of which a great deal more is read, besides 
 the Psalms, even in those of our churches which have 
 not week-day prayers, than in any one congregation not 
 of the Church of England. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 " — except there be proper Lessons &c.] The course 
 of the first Lessons for Sundays is different fi'om that 
 for week-days. From Advent Sunday to Scptuagesima 
 Sunday some particular chapters out of Isaiah are ap- 
 
 21 
 
 eth so standing" mid turning himself", us 
 he may best be heard' of all such as are 
 
 pointed, as containing the clearest prophecies of Christ. 
 I?ut upon Sejjtuagesima Sunday Genesis is begun : be- 
 cause then begins the time of penance and mortification, 
 to which Genesis suits best, as treating of the original 
 of om- misery by the fall of Adam, and of God's severe 
 judgment upon the world for sin. For which reason 
 the reading of this book was affixed to Lent, even in 
 the primitive ages of the Church. Tlien are read for- 
 ward the books as they lie in order ; not all the books, 
 but, because more can attend the publick worship of 
 God on Sundays than upon any other days, such par- 
 ticular chapters are selected, as are judged most edify- 
 ing to all that are present. And if any Sunday be, as 
 some call it, a ])rivilcged day, namely, if it hath the 
 history of it expressed in Scripture, such as Easter- 
 day, Whit-Sunday, &c., there are peculiar and jjroper 
 Lessons appointed. 
 
 Upon Saints'-days another order is observed : for 
 upon them the Church appoints Lessons out of the 
 moral books, such as the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Eccle- 
 siastieus, and Wisdom, which, containing excellent 
 instructions of life and conversation, are fit to be 
 read upon days of saints, whose exemplary lives and 
 deaths are the causes of the Church's solemn com- 
 memoration of them, and commendation of them to us. 
 
 Other holidays, such as Christmas-day, the Circum- 
 cision, the Epiphany, &c., have proper Lessons ap- 
 pointed suitable to the occasions. 
 
 And, as for the second Lessons, though generally the 
 Church observes the same course on Sundays as on 
 week-days, yet on some particular holidays and saints'- 
 days such Lessons are ajtpointed, as either explain the 
 mystery, relate the event commemorated, or apply the 
 example. IVlieatly. 
 
 The [jroper Lessons are very well chosen, especially 
 those for particular occasions ; some of which, particu- 
 larly Gen. xxii. for Good-Friday, are the same which the 
 Church used in St. Augustin's time. Dean Comber. 
 
 " He that rcodeih so standing] When our Saviour 
 read in the synagogue at Nazareth, Luke iv. 16, "he 
 stood up for to read :" hereby shewing the decent re- 
 gard and reverence to be evidenced towards holy Scrip- 
 ture. From which example of our Saviour, the Church 
 hath ordered the same posture to be used by the minister 
 in reading the Scriptures. Dr. Hole. Or, the Scrip- 
 ture being the word of God, and so a declaration of his 
 will, the reading of it to the people is an act of authority, 
 and therefore the minister that reads the Lessons is to 
 stand. IVheatly. 
 
 ° — and turning himself,] That is, towards the peo- 
 ple ; whence it appears that before the Lesson he looked 
 from the people. This was the ancient custom of the 
 Church of England, that the officiating minister in all 
 those parts of the service, which were directed to the 
 people, tiu'ued himself towards them, as in the Absolu- 
 tion, the Benediction, the reading of the Lessons, and 
 of the holy Commandments. But in those parts of the 
 office, which were directed to God immediately, as 
 prayers, hymns, lauds, confessions of faith or of sins, 
 he turned fi-om the people : and for that purpose, in 
 many parish chm-ches of late, the reading pew had one 
 desk for the Bible, looking towards the people to the 
 body of the chm-ch; another for the Prayer Book, 
 looking towards the east or upper end of the chancel. 
 Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 V — as he may best be heard] A small pause here 
 may be useful, that the congregation may be seated 
 and perfectly quiet before the Lesson begins; to the
 
 22 
 
 MORNING PRAYER, 
 
 present. And after that, shall be said or 
 sung, in English, the Hymn'' called Te 
 Deum Laudamus, daili/ throughout the 
 Year. 
 
 T Note, that before every Lesson the Minister 
 shall say'. Here beginneth such a Chap- 
 ter, or Verse of such a Chapter, of such a 
 
 end that all present may distinctly hear the whole of it, 
 and the greater respect and reverence be shewn to the 
 word of God. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 1 — the Hymnl It is certain from holy Scriptm-e that 
 the Cliristians were wont to sing hymns in the apostles' 
 times ; and it is probable that Ignatius appointed them 
 to be sung by each side of the choir : since Pliny writ- 
 ing at that time to the Emperor Trajan reports, that the 
 Christians used then to sing verses to Christ by turns, 
 which was not much above one hundred years after our 
 Sa\'ioiu'. And it is probable the place of these Hymns 
 was, as now, after the Lessons ; for St. Ambrose notes, 
 that as, after one angel had pubhshed the Gospel, a 
 multitude joined with him in praising God ; so, when 
 one minister hath read the Gospel, all the faithful glo- 
 rify God. And St. Augustin observes, that a Psalm 
 foUowed the Lesson out of the Old Testament. Not 
 much unlike was that constitution of the Council of 
 Laodicea, in the year 3G5, that a Lesson should be read, 
 and then a Psalm sung, that by this variety the people 
 might be secured against weariness and distraction. 
 But, besides antiquity, there is great reason for this 
 inter[)osition of Hymns in resjjcct to the great benefit 
 we may receive from the word of God, for which we do 
 daily praise Ilim; and if we bless Ilim for our daily 
 food of meat and drink, how much more are we obliged 
 to glorify Ilim for the food of om' souls ? As for the 
 particidar Hymns, they are, as of old in the primitive 
 Chiu-ch, generally taken out of the Scripture ; yet, as 
 they did also make use of some Hymns composed by 
 inspired and extraordinary men, so do we. Deaji 
 Comber. 
 
 When we sing or say these Hymns we stand, which 
 is the proper posture for thanksgivings and praises. Ps. 
 c.\x.\iv. 1 ; 2 Chron. vii. 0. The erection of tlie body 
 fitly expresses the hfting up of the heai't in joy. Bp. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 ' Note, that before every Lesson the Minister shall say, 
 &c.] 'i'he reason of this notice apjiears to be, that any 
 of the congregation, who arc furnished with Bibles, may 
 look out the Lessons, and so quicken their attention by 
 reading them with the minister, 'llie words to be used 
 by him are, "Here beginneth such a chapter, &c. ;" 
 and not " The fiist Lesson appointed for this morning's 
 service, &c." Collis. 
 
 It may be said ]ierhaps that there is no great reason, 
 considering how many things are left in the Liturgy to 
 our discretion, that we should be directed in such 
 minute particulars as these are. ^^ hy may wc not, for 
 instance, be intrusted witli using our own manner of in- 
 troilucing a Lesson out of the liible, or a portion of 
 Scri[)ture to l)c read at the altar, but the very words 
 must be prcscriticd us ? True : And yet I must needs 
 saj', that he is both conceited and jiresumptuous, who 
 is aliovo following rule, when it is given, even in these 
 little matters : esi)ccially when the command is i)Ositive 
 and cxjjrcss, as it is upon supposition in all the rubricks 
 of this class. Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 ' Te 7>Hm] 'i'his ancient and excellent hymn is said 
 to have been compo.scd by St. Ambrose, and lirst sung 
 at tlie baptism of St. Augustin : thougli afterwards the 
 people, OH St. .Vmbrose himself saith, duilv re|)eatcd it 
 witli great devotion aiul delight. It contams three i)ar- 
 
 Book : And after every Lesson, Here end- 
 eth the First, or the Second Lesson. 
 
 Te Dnirn^ Laudamus. 
 E praise thee, O God : we 
 knowledge thee to be the 
 Lord. 
 
 w 
 
 ticulars. First, an act of praise offered to God by us, 
 and by all creatures as well in earth as in heaven ; par- 
 ticularly the angels, and the saints which are there, join 
 with us. Secondly, a confession of faith ; declaring the 
 general consent unto it, and the particulars of it; 
 namely, concerning every Person in the Trinity, the 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; and more largely con- 
 cerning the Son, as to his divinity, his humanity, and 
 particularly his incarnation ; his death ; his jiresent 
 glory ; and his return to judgment. Thirdly, a suppU- 
 cation grounded upon it; 1. for all liis people, that 
 they may be preserved here, and saved hereafter; 2. 
 for om'sclves, who daily praise Him, that we may be 
 kept from futm-e sin, and be pardoned for what is past, 
 because we trust in Him. Dean Comber. 
 
 It appears certain that this hymn was used generally 
 by the Church in her publick devotions before the 
 middle of the sixth century, at which time St. Bennet 
 instituted his order, and prescribed the singing of tliis 
 hymn as one of his rales. Dr. Nicholls. The author 
 however was probably not St. Ambrose, but Nicetius, a 
 Bishop, who lived at that time. But be he the author, 
 or be he not, the frame is so excellently modelled, that 
 the Church could not enjoin a better of human struc- 
 ture : and indeed it is the structure only that is human, 
 the materials being divine, and of sacred derivation. 
 L'Estrange. 
 
 The IIjTnn, called Te Deum, derives that name from 
 the first words of it in the Latin : in which language it 
 was composed about the middle of the fourth centmy ; 
 and hath been used by the whole Western Church at 
 least 1200 years; in that of Rome, only on Sundays 
 and holydays, and not all those, but in ours, every day, 
 as the singular excellence of it wcU deserv'es. It begins 
 with equal mi.jesty and sim]ilicity ; " We praise thee, 
 
 God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord." And 
 not we alone, but " all the earth doth worship thee, 
 the Father everlasting :" every corner of it having re- 
 tained some ap]irehf nsicms of a supreme Ruler; on 
 which is founded tliat of St. Paul to the Athenians, 
 " ^Miom therefore ye ignorantly worshij), him declare 
 
 1 unto you," Acts xvii. 23. But uns])cakably worthier 
 honours than those of poor mortals, are incessantly 
 paid Him in heaven by the holy angels : mentioned in 
 Scripture, and thence here, under the names of"Che- 
 rubin, and Seraphin ;" the former denoting jirobalily 
 their miwearied diligence to serve Him, the latter their 
 ardent love to Him ; whose acclamations therefore we 
 hundily jiresumc to adojit, as we find them recorded in 
 that lofty descri])tion of the jirophet ; " I saw the Lord, 
 sitting >i])on (he throne, high and lifted up, and his 
 train filled the tem])le. .\bove it stood the serajihims : 
 and one cried unto another and said. Holy, holy, holy, 
 is the Lord (iod of hosts : the whole earth is full of his 
 glory," Isa. vi. 1 — 3. Where it must be obser\'ed, 
 that for " God of hosts " in the prophet, is " God of 
 sabaoth " in tlie hymn : tlic latter being the Hebrew 
 word for tlie former; whiih both the (Jreek and Latin 
 of the Old and New Testament having preserved, as 
 conqirehending more than could be well expressed liy a 
 single term of' any other language ; it is preserved in 
 the English also, both here and in two places of the 
 Epistles, Rom. ix. 29; James v. 4. And it signifies
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 23 
 
 All the earth doth worship thee : 
 Gen. xxi. 33. the Father everlasting. 
 Rev. v. 11, To thee all Angels cry aloud : the 
 
 vii. 11, 12. Heavens', and all the Powers therein. 
 Nchem. ix. 'j^^ jj^g^ Clicriibin, and Seraphin : 
 isa vi. 1—3, continually do cry, 
 kct'^?v'!'8.' Holy, Holy, Holy": Lord God of 
 James v. 4. Sabaotli ; 
 
 p». xix. 1. Heaven and earth are full of the 
 
 civ.^21.' Majesty: of thy Glory. 
 
 God to be the sovereign Lord of the "innumerable 
 company of angels," Heb. xii. 22 ; of the host of 
 heaven, which the heathen worshipped, the sun, moon, 
 and stars ; of the hosts and armies of all nations on 
 earth ; particularly the Jewish peo[(le, whom He led 
 forth to battle ; and lastly of the Christian Church ; 
 which the Old Testament foretold would be " terrible 
 as an army with banners," Cant. vi. 4. 10 ; and the 
 New describes, as furnished with " weapons of warfare, 
 mighty, through God, to the casting down of imagina- 
 tions and every high thing that e.'caltetli itself against 
 the knowledge of him, and Ijringing into captivity 
 every thought to the obedience of Christ," 2 Cor. x. 
 4, 5. This therefore the phrase, " Lord God of sab- 
 aoth," means ; not, as many suppose, though it be a 
 truth, but a very inferior one, that God is peculiarly 
 " Lord of the sabbath " day, Mark ii. 28 ; Luke vi. 5. 
 For the words are entirely different in the original, 
 though somewhat like in our manner of \vriting them. 
 
 Nor are the praises of God sung in heaven by the 
 angels alone, but " the spirits " also " of just men made 
 perfect," Heb. xii. 23 ; particularly as we go on to 
 specify, the " apostles, prophets, and mai'tyrs ;" with 
 whom the "holy Church" yet militant "throughout 
 the world " aspires to join, in celeljrating " the Father 
 of an infinite Majesty : his honoui-able, true, and only 
 Son," compared with whom, the highest of all created 
 beings is unworthy of that name; "also the Holy 
 Ghost, the Comforter " of every pious soul. Then re- 
 turning to "the Captain of our salvation," Heb. ii. 10, 
 we thankfully own, that " when he took upon him to 
 deliver man " from sin and punishment, " he did not 
 abhor," and disdain, as beneath Him,the condescension of 
 exchanging the glories of the Godhead " for the Virgin's 
 womb;" and "when he had overcome the sharpness of 
 death," for us, by suffering it Himself, which alludes to 
 the words, " O death, where is thy sting !" 1 Cor. xv. 
 55, " he opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers." 
 Not that we mean to say, it was not ojjen at all till 
 then ; any more than that "life and immortality were" 
 not at all " brought to light" before "the Gospel," 2Tim. 
 i. 10. But as the light, which men had antecedently to 
 our Saviour's coming, was augmented inexpressibly by 
 it: so the kingdom of heaven was set open vastly wider, 
 in consequence of his sufferings, to receive believers, 
 not from one peojjle only, and their neighbours, but 
 from the whole globe. To Him therefore, oiu- Mediator 
 now, "at the right-hand of God," and who "shall 
 come to be our Judge," we address our prayers, that as 
 "we magnify him day Ijy day," and let us take care to 
 make good that assertion, so He would keep us this and 
 every " day without sin ;" restrain us from offending 
 through infirmity, as far as will be really for our inward 
 benefit, but es[)ecial]y from \vilful and presum[)tuous 
 transgression ; and that his " mercy" may " lighten," 
 that is, light or come " upon us as our trust is in him." 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 It is observable, that the Church hath not added the 
 
 The glorious company of the 
 Apostles : praise thee. 
 
 The goodly fellow.ship of the Pro- 
 phets : praise thee. 
 
 The noble army of Martyrs : praise nev. vn. 9, 
 thee. '"■ "■ '■*• 
 
 The holy Church throughout all 
 the world: doth acknowledge thee"; Matt. 
 
 The Father : of an infinite Ma- ''"'"■ "• 
 jesty ; Ps. civ. i. 
 
 doxology, " Glory be to the Father, &c." after this, as 
 after all the other hymns. For the "Te Deura" itself 
 is chiefly a parajjhrase on the doxology, the same hymn 
 to the blessed 'I'rinity, only drawn into a larger form. 
 Dr. Bisse. 
 
 Neither should " Amen " be said at the end of it, as is 
 the practice in several places. Collis. 
 
 Though we generally stand when we say this hymn, 
 yet it is manifestly, from the whole form, addressed to 
 God. And indeed it is one of the most excellent pieces 
 of devotion ever written ; so that the Church has with 
 the greatest reason made it part of her Litm'gy. It is 
 therefore much to be lamented, that many persons are 
 exceedingly careless in the use of it ; repeating it with 
 as little consideration and zeal, as if they did not regard 
 what they said, or to whom the words are directed. As 
 an assistance to their congregations it is usefid for the 
 clergy to pause, after they have said, " Here endeth the 
 first lesson ;" that the people may have time to rise from 
 theu- seats, and be prepared for the beginning of this 
 solemn hymn. Indeed the same observation applies to 
 the beginning of any other hymn or psalm, after either 
 lesson, in either morning or evening prayer. Dr. 
 Bennet. 
 
 ' — the Heavens,'] Though the heavens are not rational 
 creatures, nor have any proper voice, yet they are figu- 
 ratively said to "cry to God," and utter his praises, 
 because by the contemplation of their wonderful beauty 
 the glory of their Creator is seen. In this sense the 
 Psalmist says, "ITie heavens declare the glory of God, 
 &c." Ps. xix. 1—4. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 " Holy, Holy, Holy ;] We here "praise and acknow- 
 ledge" the tlu-ice holy, as revealed to us in Scripture'by 
 the three personal distinctions of Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost, the Lord God of sabaoth, that is, of hosts or 
 armies ; who gave life and being to all the inhabitants 
 of earth and heaven, and on whom they continually 
 depend for their preservation and support. The com- 
 mencement of this hymn is a paraphrase on that sub- 
 lime song of the heavenly host, recorded by the Prophet 
 Isaiah, vi. 3, and by St. John in the Revelation, iv. 8. 
 'J'he same is likewise adopted by our Church into her 
 office for the communion. Waldo. 
 
 This is the song which we must sing in the regions of 
 everlasting bliss. Let us learn to sing it now. Whilst we 
 are on earth, let us endeavour to join with the heavenly 
 hosts in singing, " Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of 
 hosts." Let us not be discouraged by the wide differ- 
 ence that subsists between their nature and ours. It is 
 true, they are spu'itual : and it is equally true, that God 
 is waiting to make us so too. Royers. 
 
 '■ The holy Church — doth acknowledge thee, &c.] The 
 form of words to be used at the baptizing of all Chris- 
 tians is prescribed by our blessed Saviour Himself, " in 
 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost," Matt, xxviii. 1 9. This form is used through- 
 out God's holy Church, and consequently the tlu'ee 
 Persons in the ever-blessed and adorable Trinity are
 
 24 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 John T. 23. 
 
 viii. 14. 
 
 ] John iv. 9. 
 
 John xiv. 16. 
 
 Ps. xxiv. 7. 
 
 10. 
 
 1 Cor. ii. 8. 
 
 James ii. 1. 
 
 Rer. xxii. 13, 
 
 Isa. vii. 14. 
 Matl. i. 23. 
 
 I Cor. XV. 55. 
 57. 
 
 John xiv. 2. 
 1 Thess. iv. 
 14. 17. 
 John iii. 36. 
 
 Col. iii. 1. 
 1 Pet. i. 21. 
 
 Rom. xiv. 10. 
 Acts xvii. 31. 
 Job ix. IS. 
 
 Mark ix. 24. 
 1 Pet. i. 18, 
 19. 
 
 Thine honourable, true : and only 
 Sony; 
 
 Also the Holy Ghost: the Com- 
 forter. 
 
 Thou art the King of Glory : O 
 Christ^: 
 
 Thou art the everlasting Son : of 
 the Father. 
 
 When thou tookest upon thee to 
 deliver man : thou didst not abhor 
 the Virgin's womb. 
 
 AVhen thou hadst overcome the 
 sharpness of death : thou didst open 
 the Kinsidom of Heaven to all be- 
 lievers. 
 
 Thou sittest at the right hand of 
 God : in the Glory of the Father. 
 
 We believe that thou shalt come : 
 to be our Judge. 
 
 We therefore pray thee, help thy 
 servants : whom thou hast redeemed 
 with thy jirecious blood. 
 
 INIake them to be numbered with 
 2Thess. i. 10. thy Saiuts : in glory everlasting. 
 
 Eph. i. 18. 2 Cor" iv. 17. 2 Tim. ii. 10. 2 Cor. i. 2. Acts xv. II. 
 
 acknowledged. Such as deny either of them oppose 
 our blessed Sanour's own doctrine, and thereby set 
 themselves against Christ. And as it is said 1 John ii. 
 22, " That he is antichrist that denieth the Father and 
 the Son," so it follows from the te.\t above mentioned, 
 that whosoever denieth the Holy Ghost is antichrist also. 
 Veneer. 
 
 ' Thine honourable, true : and only Son ;] Christ is 
 called God's "true Son," because He is not barely an 
 adopted child, as we are by baptism : but very God of 
 very God, by eternal generation. For this reason also, 
 and in this sense. He is God's " only Son :" and being 
 such, He cannot but be "honourable," or worthy of all 
 possible resjiect and adoration. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 'llie title of honourable e\idently belongs to the Son ; 
 because " he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not 
 the Father," John v. 23. Veneer. 
 
 ' riwu art the King of Glory .- O Christ ;] This title 
 is given to Him liy the inspired Psalmist in the 24th 
 Psalm, which is a jilain [irophecy of his ascension into 
 heaven. " Lift u]) your heads, () ye gates — and the 
 King of Glory shall go in" And then follows, " Who 
 is this King of (ilory ? 'Ilie Lord of hosts, he is the 
 King of Glory," Ps. xxiv. 7. 10. It is remarkable that 
 this title of Tiip. Lono of Hosts, which is never be- 
 stowed on any Init the one supreme tiod, is licre ex- 
 pressly a])]ilie(l to Christ, as it is in several other places; 
 even to Him, "who is over all, God blessed for ever, 
 Amen," Rom. ix. r> ; and whom St. Paul elsewhere calls 
 "The Lord of (ilory," 1 ('or. ii. 8. Indeed the proofs 
 of nis divinity in every jiart of the liible arc innumer- 
 able ; both the Old and the New Testament iiroclaim- 
 ing Him to be, what this hymn styles Him, " The evek- 
 lASTi.sG Son of the Father." Uuldo. 
 
 The jiropriety of singing or reading the Te Deum 
 after the first lesson mu.st be evident to every observer. 
 The Scriptures of the Old 'I'e.stament set liefore us (iod's 
 exceeding great and jireeious promises, the rectitude of 
 his moral go\'('rinoent, and his wonderful dealings with 
 his ('hurch and |icopli^ from the earliest times. If we 
 hear these things in a proper temper of mind, they will 
 
 O Lord, save thy people : and 
 bless thine heritage. 
 
 Govern them : and lift them up Ps. xxvui. 9. 
 for ever. 
 
 Day by day : we magnify thee ; ps. xi. 16. 
 
 And we worship thy Name : ever 
 world without end. 
 
 Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us 
 this day without sin. 
 
 O Lord, have mercy upon us : 
 have mercy upon us. 
 
 O Lord, let thy mercy lighten 
 upon us : as our trust is in thee. 
 
 O Lord, in thee have I trusted : 
 let me never be confounded, 
 
 ^ Or this Canticle', 
 Benediciie^, omnia Opera. 
 
 OAU ye Works of the Lord, bless 
 ye the Lord : praise him, and 
 magnify him for ever. 
 
 O ye Angels of the Lord, bless ye 
 
 2 Sam. vii. 20. 
 Ps. cxlv. 1,2. 
 
 1 Sam. ii. 9. 
 Ps. xix. 13. 
 c.-ili. 3. 
 Ps. cxxiii. 3. 
 
 Ps. xxxiii.18. 
 
 Ps. xxii. 4, 5. 
 
 fill US with devout sentiments of adoration and praise. 
 And to express these sentiments in the most hvely and 
 vigorous manner, more suitable words have never been 
 devised than those of this rational and majestick hymn. 
 Rogers. 
 
 " Or this Canticleyl Or song of praise. Abp. Seeker. 
 The song of the Three Children is sometimes used, in- 
 stead of the " Te Deum," after the first lesson : which, 
 though it be not canonical Scripture, is an exact para- 
 phrase of the 148th Psalm, being an elegant summons to 
 all God's works to praise Him, intimating that they all 
 set forth his glory, and inviting us, who have the l)ene- 
 fit of them, to jiraise and magnify his name with them. 
 It begins n-ith the whole creation, even " all the works 
 of the Lord," and then particularizes the several parts 
 of it with their inhabitants. Derm Comber. 
 
 This was an ancient hymn in the Jewish church, and 
 adopted into the Christian worship in jiublick devotion 
 from very early times : being used, as St. Augustin af- 
 firms, in his time on the solemn festivals of the Church. 
 Indeed our Church doth not accejit it for canonical 
 Scripture, because it is not found in the Hebrew, nor 
 was allowed in the Jewish canon. But by whomsoever 
 and upon whatsoever occasion it was comp<5sed or ut- 
 tered, it is not only vci-y ancient, but is a pious form of 
 ])raise, and fit to excite a s|nrit of devotion in the reader. 
 Dr. Nicholls, Dean Comber, 
 
 It is now very seldom used, at least in parochial 
 churches : it contains however a noble acknowledgment 
 of the glory of (iod in bis works of creation, the memo- 
 rial of which was the original design of tlie sabbath-day: 
 and might be justly i>referred to the former hymn, when- 
 ever there is particular occasion to return tlianks for the 
 blessings of nature. Abp. Seeker. Or when the lesscm 
 is out of Daniel, lip. Sparrow. When we would glo- 
 rify (iod for his worlds ; or when the lesson treats of the 
 creation, or any wonderful act of God's providence. 
 Derm Comber. 
 
 When in the co\irse of this hymn we call upon " tho 
 angels and spirits of the righteous," upon the " hea- 
 vens" and the other works of creation to " bless tho
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 25 
 
 the Lord : praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O ye Heavens, bless ye the Lord: 
 praise him, and magnify him for 
 ever. 
 
 O ye Waters that be above tlie 
 Firmament, bless ye the Lord : 
 praise him, and magnify him for 
 ever. 
 
 O all ye Powers of the Lord, bless 
 ye the Lord : praise him, and mag- 
 nify him for ever. 
 
 O ye Sun, and Moon, bless ye the 
 Lord : praise him, and magnify him 
 for ever. 
 
 O ye Stars of Heaven, bless ye 
 tlie Lord : praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O ye Showers, and Dew, bless ye 
 the Lord : praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O ye Winds of God, bless ye the 
 Lord : praise him, and magnify liim 
 for ever. 
 
 O ye Fire and Heat, bless ye the 
 Lord : praise him, and magnify him 
 for ever. 
 
 O ye Winter and Summer, bless 
 ye the Lord : praise liira, and mag- 
 nify him for ever. 
 
 O ye Dews and Frosts, bless ye 
 the Lord : praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O ye Frost and Cold, bless ye the 
 Lord : praise him, and magnify him 
 for ever. 
 
 O ye Ice and Snow, bless ye the 
 Lord : praise him, and magnify him 
 for ever. 
 
 O ye Nights, and Days, bless ye 
 the Lord : praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O ye Light and Darkness, bless ye 
 the Lord : praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O ye Lightnings, and Clouds, bless 
 ye the Lord : praise him, and mag- 
 nify him for ever. 
 
 O let the Earth bless the Lord : 
 
 Lord," this is plainly no more than a figure of speech, 
 though a very sublime one : lending as it were a tongue 
 even to inanimate creatiu'es ; and calling both on those 
 who do not, and those which cannot, hear us, to glorify 
 our common Maker, just as is done in the 14Sth Psalm, 
 of which this Canticle is an evident imitation. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 '' Benedicite,'] This Canticle is so called, because in 
 the Latin version it begins with these words. It is 
 called " ITie Song of the Three Children," because 
 Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, (whom the pnnoe of 
 
 yea, let it praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O ye Mountains, and Hills, l)less 
 ye the Lord : praise him, and mag- 
 nify him for ever. 
 
 O all ye Green Things upon the 
 Earth, bless ye the Lord : praise 
 him, and magnify him for ever. 
 
 O ye Wells, bless ye the Lord : 
 praise him, and magnify him for 
 ever. 
 
 O ye Seas, and Floods, bless ye 
 the Lord : praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O ye Whales, and all that move 
 in the Waters, bless ye the Lord : 
 praise him, and magnify him for 
 ever. 
 
 O all ye Fowls of the Air, bless ye 
 the Lord: praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O all ye Beasts, and Cattle, bless 
 ye the Lord : praise liim, and mag- 
 nify him for ever. 
 
 O ye Children of Men, bless ye 
 the Lord : praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O let Israel bless the Lord : praise 
 him, and magnify him for ever. 
 
 O ye Priests of the Lord, bless ye 
 the Lord : praise him, and magnify 
 him for ever. 
 
 O ye Servants of the Lord, bless 
 ye the Lord ; praise him, and mag- 
 nify him for ever. 
 
 O ye Spirits and Souls of the 
 Righteous, bless ye the Lord: praise 
 him, and magnify him for ever. 
 
 O ye holy and humble Men of 
 heart, bless ye the Lord : praise him, 
 and magnify him for ever. 
 
 O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, 
 bless ye the Lord : praise him, and 
 magnify him for ever. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 the Eunuchs named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 
 Dan. i. 7,) are reported to have simg it in the burning 
 fiery furnace, into which they were cast by order of 
 Nebuchadnezzar for adhering stedfastly to their God, 
 Dan. iii. 19, &c. ; and in which God preserved them in 
 a miraculous manner, ver. 27. Dr. Bennel. 
 
 This and the Te Deum are the only hymns used m 
 our service, that are of man's comjjosing. Our Church 
 being carefiil, even beyond all the ancient churches, 
 in singing to God, to sing m the words of God. Dr. 
 Bisse,
 
 26 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 If Then shall be read in like manner' the 
 Second Lesson, taken out of the New 
 Testament. And after that, the Hymn 
 
 foUoxeing ' ; except u-hen that shall happen 
 to be read in the Chapter for the Day, or 
 
 for the Gospel on St. John Baptist's Day. 
 
 Benedktus. St. Luke i. 68. 
 
 BL E S S E D be the Lord God of 
 Israel : for he hath visited, and 
 redeemed his people ; 
 
 And liath raised up a mighty sal- 
 vation for us : in the house of his 
 servant Da^'id ; 
 
 As he spake by the mouth of his 
 
 ■= Then shall he rend in like manner^ Namely " dis- 
 tinctly, with an audible voice, &c." as in the rubrick 
 before the first lesson. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 li — the Second Lesson, taken nut oftheWew Testament.'] 
 The cause of reading fu-st the Old Testament, then the 
 New, and always somewhat out of both, is most likely to 
 have been that which Justin Martyr and St. Augustin 
 observes in comparing the two Testaments. " The 
 apostles," saith the one, " have taught us, as themselves 
 did learn, first the precepts of the Law, and then the 
 Gospels. For what else is the Law, but the Gospel 
 foreshewed ? What other the Gospel, than the law 
 fulfilled ?" In like sort the other, " \^"hat the Old 
 Testament hath, the very same the New containeth; 
 but that which lieth there as under a shadow, is here 
 brought forth into the open sun. Things there pre- 
 figured are here performed." Again, "In the' Old 
 Testament there is a close comprehension of the New : 
 in the New, an open discovery of the Old." To be 
 short, this method of puhlick reading either pm-posely 
 did tend, or at the least wise doth fitly serve, that from 
 smaller things the minds of the hearers may go forward 
 to the knowledge of greater, and by degrees climb up 
 from the lowest to the highest things. Honker. 
 
 As by this harmony of the lessons the faith of the 
 hearers is estabhshed ; so by the order, wherein they are 
 read, the understanding is enlightened. Whilst there- 
 fore the lessons, whether out of the Old or New Testa- 
 ment, are read in our ears, we should not let them pass 
 away as a vidgar history, or an idle legend, or as the 
 word of man ; but reverently listen to it, as it is in truth 
 the word of (iod. For the minister in reading the Scrip- 
 tures is, even as Aaron was, the mouth of God to the 
 peojile : for which cause he is directed to turn his face 
 to them as speaking to them from God, and to read 
 standing, to signify his authority. When therefore he 
 standctli up in ortfer to read the lesson, let every devout 
 hearer take that advice, which Kli gave to Samuel, wait- 
 ing likewise in the sanetuarj', saying within himself; 
 " Speak, Lord ; for thy .servant hearcth," 1 Sam. iii. !). 
 And let \m not only licarken but apply wluit we hear ; 
 if examples, let these lead us ; if precepts, let these teach 
 us ; if commands, let these bind us ; if promises, let 
 these encourage us ; if threats, let these warn us ; if 
 mercies, let tliese comfort us ; if judgments, let these 
 awaken us. In whatsoever way the Lesson brings us 
 instruction in righteousness, which it iihvays does in 
 some way, let us at the close ansner with tiu; congre- 
 gation of Israel, saying in our hearts, " all that the Lord 
 lialh spoken, we will do." I'^od. xix. H. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 ' And after that, the Hymn fnllnwinij ;] W'lien the 
 Gospel was first published to th(' world, the angels sang 
 praise j and all holy men, to whom it was revealed, en- 
 tertained these "good tidings" with great joy. And 
 
 holy Prophets : which have been 
 since the world began ; 
 
 That we should be saved from our 
 enemies : and from the hands of all 
 that hate us; 
 
 To perform the mercy promised to 
 our forefathers : and to remember his 
 holy Covenant ; 
 
 To perform the oath which he 
 sware to our forefather Abraham : 
 that he would give us; 
 
 That we being delivered out of 
 the liand of our enemies : might 
 serve him without fear ; 
 
 since it is our duty also, whenever we hear the Gospel 
 read, to give glory to God, therefore the Church ap- 
 points this hymn, which was composed by holy Zacha- 
 rias upon the fii'st notice that God had sent a Savioiu* 
 to mankind, and is one of the first Evangehcal hymns 
 indited by God's Spirit upon this occasion. Its original 
 therefore is divine, its matter unexceptionable, and its 
 fitness for this place unquestionable. Dean Comber. 
 
 This prophecy of Zacharias, called " Benedictus " for 
 the reason already mentioned, was uttered on the birth 
 of John the Bajitist ; and is a thanksgiving for the re- 
 demption of mankind, of which he was to publish the 
 speedy approach. It copies very nearly the style of the 
 Jewish projihets, who described spiritual blessings by 
 temporal imagery. Thus, meaning to praise the " Father 
 of mercies," 2 Cor. i. 3, for delivering all nations from 
 the dominion of the wicked one, it " blesses the Lord 
 God of Israel, for saving his people from their enemies, 
 and fi-om the hand of those that hate them." Now 
 this kind of language was laid aside after our Saviour's 
 ascension ; and therefore the prophecy before us is not of 
 later date, but genuine. Yet it sufficiently exijlains, to 
 what sort of " salvation " it refers : by mentioning " the 
 remission of sins, the giving of light to them that sit in 
 darkness, and the guiding of their feet into the way of 
 peace." And so it may teach us both the fitness and the 
 method, of assigning to the Old Testament i)rcdictions 
 an evangelical interpretation. The people, in repeating 
 it, should remember, that the words, " And thou. Child, 
 shalt be called the Pro])het of the Highest," belong, not 
 to our Saviour, but to the Baiitist. .\nd it is easily to 
 be apprehended, that if, in the dau'ning which pre- 
 ceded "the Sun of Highteou.sncss," Mai. iv. 2, good 
 Zacharias offered up his thanks with such transport, 
 we, to whom He shines out in full s])lend(nir, ought 
 to recite it with doulde gratitude. Alip. Seeker. 
 
 Though the lootb I'salm is almost constantly used 
 after the second lesson, there seems no good reason 
 why this hymn should be laid aside. 'I'hey are both 
 equally indited by the Holy Spirit, and both admirably 
 calculated to assist the devotion, and elevate the affec- 
 tions, of a Christian congregation : and the bynm being 
 [ilaccd first, seems to have been intendeil for more 
 general >ise than the jisalm. D'aldo. 
 
 The t'lmrch liath appointed two songs of praise and 
 thanksgiving to be used, cither of tliem after each 
 lesson : but not so inditl'erently, but that the former 
 practice of exemjilary churches and reason uuiy guide 
 us ill the choice. l''or the "Te Deuin," " Benedictus," 
 " Magnificat, " and " Nunc dimittis," being the most 
 expressive jubilations and rejoicings for the redemption 
 of tlie world, niav be said more often than the rest, 
 c-pecially on Sundays and other festivals of our Lord. 
 Up. Sparrow.
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 In holiness and righteousness be- 
 fore him : all the days of our life. 
 
 And thou, Child, shalt be called 
 the Prophet of the Highest : for 
 thou shall go before tlie face of the 
 Lord to prepare his ways ; 
 
 To iiive knowledge of salvation 
 unto his peojile : for the remission of 
 their sins. 
 
 Through the tender mercy of our 
 God : whereby the day-spring from 
 on high hath visited us; 
 
 To give liglit to them that sit in 
 darkness, and in the shadow of death : 
 and to guide our feet into the way of 
 peace. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be: world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 f Or this Psalm, 
 
 Jubilate Dcn^. Psalm c. 
 
 OBe joyful in the Lord, all ye 
 lands : serve the Lord with 
 
 ' Or this Psalm, Jubilate Deo.] So called from its com- 
 mencement in Latin. When tlie Benedictus is not 
 used, tliere is appointed anotlier divine hymn talcen out 
 of tlie Old Testament, but wholly respecting the evan- 
 gelical state there i-evealed to holy David. The title it 
 bears in the Bible is "a psalm of praise;" and it was 
 first composed for a form of publick thanksgiving to 
 be sung by course at the oblation of the peace-offering, 
 and so may well be used by us after we have heard the 
 Gospel of peace ; after which it seems to have been 
 sung about the year 450. Dean Comber. It was intro- 
 duced into this part of our service for vai'iety in King 
 Edward's second book. Wheatly. 
 
 The 100th Psalm, which being shorter than the 
 Benedictus, we use the more frequently on account 
 probably of the service being long, is peculiarly proper 
 after a lesson from the Gospel, since it peculiarly relates 
 to the Gospel times : as ajjpears from its inviting " all 
 lands to be joyful in the Lord ;" declaring them equally 
 "God's people, and the sheep of his pasture;" and 
 calling on them equally to " go into his gates, and 
 praise him for his mercy and truth." And may we all 
 accordingly so praise and serve Him "in his courts" 
 here below, that we may for ever " dwell in his taber- 
 nacle and rest on his holy hill " above, through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Ps. xv. I. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 8 Ttten shall be sung or said the Apostles'' Creed] AMiich 
 is placed between the third part of the daily service of 
 our Church, namely, the lessons, and the fourth part, 
 namely, the petitions, that we may express that faith in 
 what we have heard, which is the ground of what we 
 are a-bout to ask. For as " faith cometh by hearing, and 
 hearing by the word of God," Rom. x. 17, so we must 
 " ask in faith," if we " think to receive any thing of the 
 Lord," James i. G, 7. For "how shall we call upon 
 him, in whom we have not believed ?" Rom. x. 1 4. But 
 as all the doctrines of Scriptwe, though equally true. 
 
 27 
 pre- 
 
 gladne.ss, and come before his 
 sence with a song. 
 
 Re ye sure that the Lord he is 
 God : it is he that hath made us, and 
 not we ourselves ; we arc his people, 
 atid the sheep of his pasture. 
 
 O go your way into his gates with 
 tluinksgiviiig, and into his courts with 
 
 h; 
 
 and 
 
 ])raise : be thankful unto 
 sjieak good of his Name. 
 
 For the Lord is gracious, his 
 mercy is everlasting : and his truth 
 endurcth from generation to gene- 
 ration. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 If Then shall be sung or said the Apostles' 
 Creed ^ by the Minister and the people'', 
 standing'-: except only such days^ as the 
 Creed of Saint Atlianasius is appointed to 
 be read. 
 
 I Relieve in God ' the Father Al- Heb. xi 6. 
 mighty. Maker of heaven and , ^^^ ^.^y^ ^ 
 earth : cen. xvu. i. 
 
 are not of equal importance ; the more necessary articles 
 have been, from the beginning of Christianity, collected 
 into one body, called in Scripture "the form of soimd 
 words," 2 Tim. i. 1 3 ; " the words of faith," 1 Tim. iv. 
 C ; " the principles of the doctrine of Christ," Heb. vi. 
 1 ; but in our common way of speaking at jjresent, 
 "the Creed," from the Latin word. Credo, which signi- 
 fies " I believe." Now the ancient churches had many 
 such Creeds : some longer, some shorter ; differing on 
 several heads in phrase, but agreeing in method and 
 sense: of which that called "the Apostles' Creed" is 
 one. And it deserves this name, not so much from any 
 certainty, or great likelihood, that the apostles di-ew it 
 up in "these very expressions : though some, pretty 
 early, and many since, have imagined they did : as be- 
 cause it contains the chief apostolick doctrines ; and 
 was used by a Church, which, before it grew corrujit, 
 was justly respected as the chief apostolick settlement, I 
 mean, the Roman. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 The opinion which ascribes the framing of this Creed 
 to the apostles in person, though as ancient as the first 
 account we have of the Creed itself from Rufiinus in the 
 year 390, is yet rendered highly improbable, as by many 
 collateral reasons, so especially by this argument, that 
 it is not appealed to in elder times as the sacred and 
 unalterable standard. And therefore our excellent 
 Church with due caution styles it in her Sth Article, 
 " that which is commonly called the Apostles' Creed." 
 But though it seems not to hax-e been comjiiled or for- 
 mally drawn up by the apostles themselves, yet is its 
 authority of sufficient strength; since it may still be 
 demonstrated to be the apostles', or rather the apos- 
 tohek. Creed, in three several respects ; First, as it is 
 drawn from the fountains of a]iostolical Scripture. Se- 
 condly, as it agrees in substance with the confessions of 
 all orthodox churches, which make up the apostolick 
 ( hiu-ch in the extended meaning of the word. Thirdly,
 
 28 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 2 Cor. i. 3. 
 Johni. IS. 
 
 And in Jesus Christ™ his only Son 
 ir Lord, Who was conceived by 
 
 the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virfjin 
 Mary, Suffered under Pontius 
 
 as it was the Creed of an apostoUck Church in the re- 
 sti-ained sense of that term, denoting a Church founded 
 by the apostles, as was that at Rome. Kennet. 
 
 Though this Creed be not of the apostles' immediate 
 framing, yet it may be truly styled apostolical, not only 
 because it contains the sum of the apostles' doctrine, 
 but also, because the age thereof is so great, that its 
 birth must be fetched from the very apostolick times. 
 It is true, the exact form of the present Creed cannot 
 pretend to be so ancient by fom- hundred years ; but a 
 form, not much different from it, was used long before. 
 Irenaeus, the scholar of Polycarp, the disciple of St. 
 John, where he repeats a Creed not much unlike to 
 ours, assures us, that " the Church, dispersed through- 
 out the whole world, had received this faith from the 
 apostles and their disciples ;" which is also affirmed by 
 TertuUian of one of his Creeds, that " that rule of faith 
 had been ciurent in the Church from the beginning of 
 the Gospel:" and, which is observable, although there 
 was so great a diversity of Creeds, as that scarce two 
 churches did exactly agree therein, yet the form and 
 substance of e\-ery Creed was in a great measiue the 
 same; so that except there had been, from the very 
 plantation of Christianity, a form of sound words, or a 
 system of faith, delivered by the first i)lanter3 thereof, 
 it is not easy to conceive, how all churches should har- 
 monize, not only in the articles themselves into «hich 
 they were baptized, but, in a great measure also, in the 
 method and order of them. Lord Chancellor King. 
 
 The Creed itself was neither the work of one man, 
 nor of one day ; but the composure of it was gradual. 
 First, several of the ai-ticles therein were derived from 
 the very days of the apostles : these were the articles of 
 the existence of God, the Trinity ; that Jesus was Christ, 
 or the Saviour of the world ; the remission of sins ; and 
 the resurrection of the dead. Secondly, the others 
 were afterwards added by the priiniti\-e doctors and 
 bishops, in opjiosition to gross heresies and errors, that 
 S]>rung up in the Church. Lord Chancellor King. It 
 hath been received in all ages with the greatest venera- 
 tion and esteem. 'Hie ancients declare their respect 
 and reverence for it with the most noble and majcstick 
 expressions : and in these latter times, throughout 
 several centuries of years, so great a deference hatli 
 been rendered thereunto, that it hath not only been 
 used in l)a])tism. but in every publick assembly it hath 
 been usually, if not alwavs read, as the standard and 
 basis of the t-'hristian faith. Lord King. 
 
 Rut neither this, nor any other (,'rccd, hath authority 
 of its own, Kpial to Scrijiture; but derives its principal 
 authority from Ix-ing founded on Scripture. Nor is it in 
 the power of any man or number of men, either to 
 lessen or increase the fundamental articles of the Chris- 
 tian faith ; which yet the Church of Home, not ccmtcnt 
 with this its primiti\'e Oced, hath profanely attempted ; 
 adding twelve articles more, founded on its own, that 
 is, on no authority, to the ancient twchc, whi<'h stand 
 on the authority of (jod's word. Hut our Church hath 
 wisely refused to go a stej) beyond the original form ; 
 since all necessarj- truths are briefly comprehended in 
 it, which it is the duty of every one of us firmly to 
 believe, and openly to profess. " l''or with the heart 
 man believetli unto righteousness, and with the mouth 
 confession is made unto salvation," Uoin. x. 10. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 'J'lie iilace of the Creed in our Liturgy is, first, imme- 
 diately after the lessons of holy Scripture out of which 
 it ia taken; and since faith cornea liy hearing God's 
 
 r,- Matt. i. 20. 
 i 1- Luke i. 27. 
 31. 35. Matt, xxvii. 2. 20. 35. 50. 59, 60. 
 
 word, and the Gospel doth not profit without faith, 
 therefore it is very tit, upon hearing thereof, we should 
 exercise and profess our faith. Secondly, the Creed is 
 placed just before the Prayers, as being the foundation 
 of our petitions ; we cannot call on Him, on whom we 
 have not believed, Rom. x. 14 ; and since we are to 
 pray to God the Father in the name of the Son, by the 
 assistance of the Spirit, for remission of sins, and a, 
 joyful resurrection, we ought first to declare, that we 
 believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost, and that there is remission here and resurrection 
 hereafter to be had for all true members of the catho- 
 Uck Church, and then we may be said to pray in faith. 
 And hence St. Ambrose and St. Augustin advise Chris- 
 tians to say it daily in their pri\ate devotions ; and so 
 our old Saxon councils command all to learn and use 
 it, not as a prayer (as some ignorantly or maliciously 
 object), but as a ground for our prayers, and a reason 
 for our faith and hope of their acceptance : upon which 
 account also, as soon as persecution ceased, and there 
 was no danger of the heathens overhearing it, the Creed 
 was used in the pubUc service. 
 
 And there are many benefits which we may receive 
 by this daily use of it. For, first. This fives it firmly 
 in our memories, that we may never forget this blessed 
 rule of our prayers, nor be at any time without this 
 necessary touchstone to try all doctrines by. Secondly, 
 Thus we daily renew our profession of fidelity to Al- 
 mighty God, and repeat that watchword which was 
 given us when we were first Usted under Christ's ban- 
 ner, declaring thereby that we retain our allegiance to 
 Him, and remain his faithful servants and soldiers; and 
 no doubt that will move Him the sooner to hear the 
 prayers, which we are now making to Him for his aid. 
 Thirdly, IJy this we declare our unity amongst ourselves, 
 and shew ourselves to be members of that holy catho- 
 lick Church, by and for which these common prayers 
 are made ; those who hold this one faith, and those 
 only, have a right to pray thus ; nor can any other ex- 
 pect to be admitted to join in tliem ; and therefore this 
 Creed is the symbol and badge to manifest who are fit 
 to make these prayers, and receive the benefit of them. 
 
 A\'lierefore in our daily use of this sacred form, let 
 us observe these rules. First, To be heartily thankful 
 to (jod for revealing these divine, mysterious, and 
 saving truths to us ; and, though the "(ilory be to the 
 Father," &c., be only set at the end of St. .\thanasius's 
 Creed, yet the duty of thanksgiving must be performed 
 u])on every repetition of this Creed also. Secondly, \\'e 
 must give our positive and particular assent to every 
 article as we go along, and receive it as an infallible 
 oracle from the mouth of tiod, and for this reason we 
 must re])eat it with an audible voice after the minister, 
 and in our mind annex that word " I believe" to every 
 particular article; for, though it be but once expressed 
 in the beginning, yet it must be sup])lied, and is under- 
 stood in e\-ery article : and to shew our consent the 
 more evidently, we must stand up wlicn we rejieat it, 
 and resolve to stand up stoutly in defence thereof, so 
 as, if need were, to defend it, or seal the truth of it with 
 our blood. Thirdly, We must devoutly a])ply eveiy 
 article, as we go along, to l)e both a ground for our 
 prayers, and a guiili' to our lives ; for, if we rightly be- 
 lieve the ]iowiT of the Father, the love of the .Son. and 
 the grace of the Holy (ihost. it will encourage us (who 
 are members of the catholick Church) to pray heartily 
 for all sjiiritual and temporal blessings, and give us 
 very lively hopes of obtaining all our requests. Again,
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 29 
 
 late, Was crucified, dead, and buried, 
 Acts ii. 27. He descended into hell"; The third 
 
 since these holy principles were not revealed and se- 
 lected out from all otlier truths, for any other end but 
 to make us live more holily ; therefore we must con- 
 sider how it is fit that man should live, who believes 
 that God the Father is his Creator, God the Son his 
 Redeemer, and God the Holy Ghost his Sanctifier ; 
 who believes that he is a member of that catholick 
 Church, wherein there is a communion of saints, and 
 remission for sins, and shall lie a resurrection of the 
 body, and a life everhistinfj; afterwards. No man is so 
 ignorant, but he can tell what manner of persons they 
 ought to be who bulic\'e this, and it is evident that 
 whoever firmly and fully believes all this, his faith will 
 certainly and necessarily produce a holy life. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' — by the Minister and the people,'] Thai is, by the 
 whole congregation ; because it is the profession of 
 every person present, and ought therefore to be per- 
 sonally pronounced by every one of them, the more ex- 
 pressly to declare their behef of the same to each other, 
 and consequently to the whole Christian world, with 
 whom they maintain communion. Accordingly the 
 form runs in the singular number : the minister not 
 saying in the name of the congregation, " We believe 
 in God, &c.," but each jjerson saying in his own name, 
 " I believe in God, &c." That the congregation may 
 repeat their Creed as they ought, they shoidd frequently 
 reflect on the great importance of it. And it is much 
 to be desired that the clergy should not begin it or 
 proceed with it hastily : but so as to allow the congre- 
 gation leisure to begin together with them, and to go 
 through the whole form with due dehberation. Dr. 
 Bennet. 
 
 This open " confession with the mouth," to be made 
 by all the people, is chiefly with regard to men ; before 
 whom hereby as we give gloiy to God, so we call upon 
 others to be witnesses, approvers, and followers of our 
 faith. For with regard to God, who seeth the heart, it 
 is sufficient to a man's righteousness or justification in 
 his sight, if he "believeth \vith the heart." And in this 
 respect also the practice of the Church of Rome seems 
 deficient ; which appoints the Creed, as well as the 
 Lord's Prayer, to be said secretly ; that is, either men- 
 tally, with the heart, not with the mouth, which is no 
 confession at all ; or silently by every one to himself, 
 not audibly in the hearing of the congregation ; which 
 defeats the intended acts of confession, namely, the 
 satisfying of the congregation that we hold the same 
 faith, and the confirming and encom-aging of them 
 in the same. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 ' — standinij :] It should not be by any means with 
 negligence or indifference that we profess our faith : for 
 what we believe is the only Just foundation of what we 
 do, or hope, or fear. On this account we "stand" at 
 the repeating of the Creed ; to express oiu- stedfastness 
 in it, and owe readiness to " contend earnestly" in every 
 pro])er method " for the faith once delivered to the 
 saints," Jude ver. 3. Abp. Seeker. In Poland and 
 Lithuania, nobles used formerly to draw their swords, 
 in token that, if need were, they would defend and seal 
 the truth of it with their blood. Wheatly. 
 
 Turning at the same time towards the east, as 
 many do, is an ancient custom ; as indeed, in mo.st re- 
 ligions men have directed their worshi]) some particular 
 way. And this practice being intended only to honour 
 Christ, " the Sun of Righteousness," who hath risen 
 upon us, to enlighten us with that doctrine of salvation, 
 to which we then declai-e oiu- adherence ; it ought not 
 
 day he rose a<^ain from the dead, i cor. xv. i. 
 He ascended into heaven, And sit- 
 
 to be condemned, as superstition : and yet, being nei- 
 ther obligatory in itself nor commanded by authority, 
 the omission of it ought not to lie censured, as irreve- 
 rence or disobedience. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Most churches are so contrived that the greater part 
 of the congregation faces the east. The .lews in their 
 dispersion throughout the world, when they jirayed, 
 turned their faces towards the mercy-seat and cherubim, 
 where the ark stood. See 2 Chron. vi. 36 — 3S. Daniel 
 was found praying toward Jerusalem, Dan. vi. 10, be- 
 cause of the situation of the temple. And this has 
 always been esteemed a very becoming way of exjiress- 
 ing our belief in God, namely, by turning to the east, 
 that quarter of the heavens, where He is supposed to 
 have his peculiar residence of glory. Collis. The Chris- 
 tians from the beginning built their churches, and wor- 
 shipped towards the east, because they expected our 
 Saviour who is called the Day-Sjiring from on high, to 
 come from thence. In that jiart also the holy table or 
 altar is placed, where God affords his most gracious 
 and mysterious presence. Chitterbuck. See note from 
 Dr. Bisse before the JSicene Creed. 
 
 '' — except only such days &c.] These days are enu- 
 merated in the rubrick before the Athanasian Creed. 
 Our Church has mth good reason ordered the omission 
 of this Creed, when tlie other is appointed : because 
 that Creed contains much the same articles as this, but 
 some of them expressed in a fuller manner. Dr. 
 Bennet. 
 
 ' / believe in God &c.] Paraphrase on the Apostles' 
 Creed. 
 
 I make this confession of my faith, relating to those 
 truths, which upon the testimony of God Himself are 
 revealed unto me. I. I believe, that there is one only 
 God, Deut. iv. 35 ; 1 Cor. viii. 6 ; that He is Father to 
 all men by creation, Mai. ii. 10 ; by redemption, Deut. 
 xxxii. 6 ; adoption, 1 John iii. 1 ; but in a peculiar 
 manner the Father of our blessed Lord by eternal gene- 
 ration, Ileb. i. 1, 2; John v\. 57. I believe farther, 
 that this one God is " Almighty," and is vested with an 
 infinite power of doing all things, Isa. xlv. 12; Rev. 
 xix. 6 ; and governing all things at his pleasure, 1 Chron. 
 xxix. 11; Jer. xvi. 21; that He was "the Maker of 
 heaven and earth," that is, the whole world and every 
 thing contained therein, Exod. xx. 11; John i. 10; 
 Col.'i. 16. 
 
 II. I beheve like\vise " in Jesus Christ," being verily 
 persuaded, that He is what his name "' Jesus" signifies, 
 the Saviour of the world, Luke i. 31; Matt. i. 21; 
 Acts xiii. 23. That He is " Christ" or the Messiah, 
 which was so long before his coming promised under 
 the Old Testament, Gen. xxi. 12, and xlix. 10; Mai. 
 iii. 1 . That He is the " only Son" of God, begotten 
 from all eternity, partly, as being said to come down 
 from heaven, John vi. 38 ; partly because He is recorded 
 in Scripture to have made the worlds, Heb. i. 2 ; Col. 
 i. 16 : partly, by reason He is frequently called God, 
 John i. 1 ; Phil. ii. 6, 7 ; 1 Tim. iii. 16; Rom. ix. 5; 
 but chiefly, because of the divine essence being commu- 
 nicated to Him, John xvi. 15, and v. 20; 2 Cor. iv. 4 ; 
 and that, in a manner different from all created beings, 
 Heb. i. 13. Who is likcnise " our Lord" by being the 
 true Jehovah or Lord, Hos. i. 7 ; Matt. hi. 3; by hav- 
 ing all things put under his dominion, Ps. ex. 5 ; by 
 redeeming us from the jiowcr of the devd, who before 
 had got the mastery over us, Heb. ii. 14; Col. ii. 15; 
 by purchasing us by his blood. Acts xx. 28 ; Eph. i. 7 ; 
 by our voluntarily becoming his servants and scholars
 
 30 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 tetli on the right hand of God the 
 Markxvi 19. Father Almighty; From thence he 
 
 by baptism, Rom. ^■i. 6. 13. I believe further, that 
 though Christ was true man, Heb. iv. 15, yet He was 
 not produced after the ordinary manner of human con- 
 ception, but by the overshadowing " of the Holy Ghost," 
 Luke i. 35 ; " was born of Mary," a poor maid of the 
 lineage of David, who continued a " virgin" notwith- 
 standing that miracidous birth, Luke i. 2" ; that He 
 suffered an ignominious death as was foretold, Isa. 
 liii. 9 ; Mark i.v. 12 : and this at the time when " Pon- 
 tius Pilate" was governor under the Romans in Judea, 
 Matt, xxvii. 2 : was nailed to a cross, a terrible and 
 scandalous punishment, by which the Romans used 
 to put their mcked slaves to death : that under this 
 grievous torture He became reaUy " dead," Luke xxiii. 
 46 ; Mark xv. 37 : and after that by a kind disciple was 
 "buried," John xix. 38 : and "descended into hell," 
 or hades, the repository or place of separate souls, Isa. 
 V. 14; Ps. xvi. 10: on "the third day" after his 
 crucifixion He "rose again," Matt. xvi. 21; Mark ix. 
 31 : as He had before foretold, Matt, xxvii. 63: after 
 that, in the sight of a great many credible witnesses, 
 He in a most glorious manner " ascended up into hea- 
 ven," Luke xxiv. 50, 51 ; Acts i. 9, 10 : as the prophet 
 had long before predicted, Ps. Lxviii. 18; Micah ii. 13 : 
 and was shortly after advanced to a most especial ho- 
 nour, which was never vouchsafed to any person before, 
 Heb. i. 13; "to sit on the right hand of God," Luke 
 xxii. 69 ; 1 Pet. iii. 22 : which is a place of the greatest 
 dignity in heaven, 1 Kings ii. 19; Heb. viii. 1 : where 
 He has begun his spiritual kingdom, and treads upon 
 the necks of the gi-eat enemies of his jurisdiction ; sin, 
 Rom. vi. 14; satan, Heb. ii. 14; and death, 1 Cor. xv. 
 26 : who, at the end of the world, shall come in a tri- 
 umphant and glorious procession attended with the 
 angels, 2 Thess. i. 7; Matt. xxv. 31 ; and shall have all 
 power committed to Him, John v. 22. 27 ; Acts xvii. 
 31, to judge those who shall then be alive, 1 ITiess. 
 iv. 15; 1 Cor. XV. 51 ; and those who shall be raised 
 up from their graves. Matt. xxv. 32. 
 
 in. I believe "the Holy Ghost" to be very God, 
 and the third Person of the blessed Trinity; that He 
 is not a virtue or grace, as some fondly imagine, but 
 a person, Kph. iv. 30; Rom. viii. 26; Acts x. 19: who 
 is called frequently " the Comforter," John xiv. 26 ; 
 XV. 26; xvi. 7: and is expressly named God, Acts v. 
 3, 4. I further believe, that there is a number of men, 
 sequestered from the rest of the world by faith in 
 Christ, and governed by his laws ; who have continued 
 throughout all ages from the apostles' time, and shall 
 do so to the coming of Cbiist, which I call "the Catho- 
 lick Church," which is " holy," 2 'I'im. ii. 19, by reason 
 of the holy profession, which they are called to ; though 
 all the i)articular members are not so, Matt. xiii. 24. 47. 
 It is likewise " Catholick" or imivcrsal, because of its 
 diffusiveness throughout the world. Matt. xxWii. 19; 
 Luke xxiv. 47. I believe that there is a "communion 
 of the saints" and elect people of (iod, 1 Cor. vi. 1 1 ; 
 Kph. i. 13; with God tlic Father, 1 John i. 3; with 
 (iod the Son, John xvii. 21 ; 1 Cor. i. 9; with the 
 Holy (jhost, Phil. ii. 1 ; Rom. viii. 9; and with all the 
 saints in all the churches now upon earth. 1 Jolm i. 7 ; 
 as also with all the saints departed, Heb. xii. 22, 23. 
 I believe fiu-ther, that, whereas by our sins we arc be- 
 come debtors to (iod's justice, 1 John iii. 4; Matt. v. 
 22 ; so through the blood of (^lirist, who has made 
 satisfaction for them. Matt. xx. 2H ; 2 ("or. v. IS ; Rom. 
 v. 10; Col. i. 20; we may obtain "forgiveness" of 
 them, not only in baptism. Acts ii. 38; Acts xxii. 10; 
 
 shall come to iudtfe the quick and the itatt. xxv. 
 
 Oeaa. Acts x. 42. 
 
 Matt, xxviii. 19. 2Cor. xiii. 14. 1 John v. 7. 
 
 Eph. V. 26 ; but afterwards if we truly repent of them, 
 1 John iv. 10; 1 John ii. 1. I believe likewise "the 
 resurrection of the body," not only as a thing possible 
 to be done by an almighty agent, Luke i. 3? ; Acts 
 xx\'i. 8 ; Matt. X. 28 : but as a thing generally expected 
 by the Jews, Job xix. 25 ; Dan. xii. 2 : that this is 
 clearly promised under the Gospel, Rom. xiv. 9 ; viii. 1 1 ; 
 1 Cor. XV. 2 1 : and moreover that the selfsame body 
 shall rise again, 1 Cor. xv. 23; Rom. viii 11 ; 2 Cor. 
 v. 10 : and lastly, that the resurrection shall e.xtend to 
 bad as well as good men, 1 Cor. xv. 22; John v. 28. 
 Finally I believe the " everlasting" duration of all bad 
 men in misery. Matt. xxv. 41. 46; x. 28; Luke 
 iii. 17; Rev. xx. 10; and of all good men in a state 
 of glory, which docs ai'ise from a vacancy from all sor- 
 row. Rev. xxi. 4 ; from the vision of God, 1 Cor. xiii. 
 12 ; 1 John iii. 2 ; as also from unspeakable pleasiu'es, 
 which they shall then partake of, 1 Cor. ii. 9. Amen. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ■" And in Jesus Christl It is usual for our congrega- 
 tion to bow, when we come to this article of the Creed : 
 agreeably to a pious ordinance of our Reformers, first 
 established by the Queen's Injunctions, 1559, and after- 
 wards incorporated into the Canons of the year 1603. 
 It is there pronded, that " when in time of divine ser- 
 \nce, the Lord Jesus shall be mentioned, due and lowly 
 reverence shall be done by all persons present, as it has 
 been accustomed, testify-ing by these outward ceremo- 
 nies and gestures, their inward humility. Christian reso- 
 lution, and due acknowledgment, that the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, the true and eternal Son of God, is the only 
 Saviour of the world, in whom alone, all the mercies, 
 graces, and promises of God to mankind, for this life 
 and the life to come, are fully and wholly comprised." 
 Collis. 
 
 See the note from Dr. Bisse and Hooker on the ru- 
 brick before the Nicene Creed. 
 
 " He descended into hell ;] 'I'he meaning is, that his 
 soul, being separated from his body by a real transition 
 and local motion, went into the imseen region of spirits; 
 where, according to the laws of death, it remained 
 amongst other religious and pious departed souls till the 
 resurrection of his body on the third day. In the ancient 
 English dialect the word " Hell" was taken in a large 
 sense for the general receptacle of all souls whatsoever, 
 and it is so used in the old translation of the Psalms in 
 our Common Praver Book, Ps. Ixxxix. 47- Which sense 
 may be confirmeil from the ]irimary and original signi- 
 fication of the word : according to which it im])orts no 
 more than an invisible and hidden |>lace, being derived 
 from the old Saxon wortl liil. which signifies to hide, 
 or from the particijile thereof Helled, that is to say, 
 hidden or covered : as in the western parts of England 
 at this very day to " hele" over any thing signifies 
 amongst the common people to cover it : and he, that 
 co\-ercth an house with tile or slate, is called an Helliar, 
 Whence it ajipcars that the word " Hell" according to 
 its primitive notion exactly answers to the (ircek word, 
 " Hades," which signifies the common mansion of de- 
 parted souls, and was so called because it is an unseen 
 place. Jjord Chnneellnr h'hir/. 
 
 The assertion in the (Ireed is founded on Ps. xvi. 10, 
 where David prophesies of (!hrist, wliiit St. Peter in the 
 Acts explains of Him, that " his soul .should not be left 
 in hell,".\cts ii. 24 — 32; which imports that once He 
 was there. 'I'he most common meaning, not only 
 amongst heathens, but amongst Jews and the first 
 Christians, of the word " Hades," here translated
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 .31 
 
 I believe in tlie Holy Ghost"; The 
 23; holy CatholickP Church; The Com- 
 
 Heb. i. 14. 
 
 EflKi. 22 
 
 ii. li)-21 
 
 V. 25, 20, 27. Rom. xii. 
 
 1 Jolin i. 7. Acts ii. 42, 
 
 1 John i. 3. 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 
 Hob. xii. 22, 23. 
 
 " Hell," was in general that invisible world, one part 
 or another of which the souls of the deceased, whether 
 good or bad, inhabit. Probably therefore all that was 
 intended to be taught by this part of the Creed is, that 
 when He died, as his body was laid in the grave, so his 
 s|)irit went where other separate spirits arc. And we 
 should remember, in repeating these words of the Creed, 
 that this is the whole of what we are bound to profess 
 liy them. But in what part of space, or of what natiu-e, 
 that receptacle is, in wliich the souls of men continue 
 from their death, till they rise again, we scarce know at 
 all : excepting that we are sure it is divided into two 
 extremely different regions, the dwelling of the righte- 
 ous, called in St. Luke " Abraham's bosom," where 
 Lazarus was ; and that of the wicked, where " the rich 
 man" was; "between which there was a great gulf 
 fixed," Luke xvi. 22, 23. 26. And we have no proof, 
 that our Sa\'iour went on any account into the latter : 
 but since He told the penitent thief, that " he should be 
 that day with him in Paradise," Luke xxiii. 43, we are 
 certain that He was in the former ; where " they, 
 which die in the Lord, rest from their labours," and 
 "are blessed;" Rev. xiv. 13; waiting for a still more 
 perfect happiness at the resiirrection of the last day. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 " I believe in the Holy Ghost ;] As faith in God is 
 confessedly tlie foundation of all rehgion, so the belief 
 of the true God, as revealed to us in the holy Scriptures 
 under the ]jersonal distinction of " the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost," is doubtless the fii-st principle 
 of Christianity. On this principle the Creed jiro- 
 ceeds. The first article of our belief is in " God the 
 Father Almighty." We next declare our faith in the 
 second Person of the ever-blessed Trinity, " his only 
 Son, our Lord Jesus Christ." We then proceed to the 
 third Person, " I believe in the Holy Ghost." Here 
 ends the principal part of the Creed. And it were to 
 be wished, that, in repeating it, a pause were here made 
 to distinguish it from what follows. For hitherto we 
 have declared our faith in the holy Trinity, into whose 
 name we were baptized. The remaining articles relate 
 to some of the most important doctrines of our religion, 
 which we are required indeed firmly to believe, because 
 they are revealed to us by the word of God : but, when 
 we profess our belief in these, it is in a somewhat dif- 
 ferent and more restrained sense than when we say, we 
 " beheve in God the Father Almighty, in our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." For to believe in 
 the divine Being imjilies, not only a firm and steady 
 belief of the existence and perfections of God ; but also 
 an hearty trust and dependence on Him, a reliance on 
 his promises, a sulimission to liis will, and an entu'e de- 
 votion of ourselves to his service. This is that true and 
 hvely faith, which alone will be available to our salva- 
 tion ; and this we should always most sincerely and cor- 
 dially profess, when we declare our belief in the blessed 
 Trinity. Thus when we say " I believe in the Holy 
 Ghost" we should not confine our thoughts to the 
 nature or essence of tlie Holy Spirit, as being one with 
 the Father and the Son, though that is the first thing 
 intended to be tliereby acknowledged; but extend them 
 to the offices He sustains in the work of our redemp- 
 tion as our sanctifier and comforter ; and to our conse- 
 quent obligations to adore and obey Him. Then folloH-s, 
 '■ the holy Cathobck Church ; to believe in which, or 
 rather to believe which, signifies only, that we believe 
 that there is such a general society of Christians dis- 
 
 niunion of Saints''; The Forgiveness 
 
 of sins; The Resurrection of the Actsxm. as. 
 
 1 Cor. xv*. 
 20—22.42. Phil. iii. 21. Matt. XXV. 46. 
 
 jiersed througliout the world : not confined to any par- 
 ticular age, or nation, but catholick, or universal, ac- 
 cording to the descriptions so often given of it in the 
 sacred writings. This distinction is carefully obser\'ed 
 in the Nicene Creed ; where after the article of belief in 
 the Holy Ghost, follows; not, I believe in, but " I be- 
 lieve one catholick and apostolick Church, I acknow- 
 ledge one baptism, &c." Waldo. 
 
 p — Catholick'] The word " Catholick," apjihed to the 
 Church in our Creed, is no where used in Scri])tm'e, but 
 frequently in the early Christian «Titers : and it means 
 " universal," extending to all mankind. The Jewish 
 Church was not universal, but particular : for it con- 
 sisted only of one nation ; and their law (lerinitted sacri- 
 fices only in one temple; nor could several other precepts 
 of it be observed in countries at any considerable dis- 
 tance ft-om thence ; but the Christian consists " of every 
 kindred, tongue, and people," Rev. v. 9, equally; and 
 " offers unto the name of God in every place, from the 
 rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, in- 
 cense and a pure offering," Mai. i. 11. The catholick 
 Church then is the universal Church, sin-ead tlirough the 
 world : and the catholick faith is the universal faith ; 
 " that form of doctrine," which the apostles " deli- 
 vered," Rom. vi. 17, to the whole Church, and it re- 
 ceived. What this faith was, we may learn from their 
 writings, contained in the New Testament : and at so 
 great a distance of time, we can learn it witli certainty 
 no where else. Every church or society of Christians, 
 that preserves this catholick or universal faith, accom- 
 panied with true charity, is a part of the catholick or 
 universal Church ; and because the parts are of the same 
 nature with the whole, it hath been usual to call every 
 Church singly, which is so qualified, a catholick Church. 
 And in this sense, Churches, that widely differ in several 
 notions and customs, may, notwithstanding, each of 
 them, be truly catholick Churches. But the Church of 
 " Rome," which is one of the most corrujjted jiarts of 
 the cathoUck Church, both in faith and love, hath pre- 
 sumed to call itself the whole catholick Churcli, the 
 universal Church; which it no more is, than one dis- 
 eased limb, though jjerhaps tlie larger for being diseased, 
 is the whole body of a man. And by attempting to 
 exclude us, they take the direct way to exclude them- 
 selves, unless God impute their uncharitable way of 
 thinking and acting, as we ho])e He will, to excusable 
 ignorance and mistake. 'ITie Cliurch of England pre- 
 tends not indeed absurdly, to be the whole catholick 
 Church; l)ut is undoubtedly a sound and excellent 
 member of it. So that we have much better ground to 
 call ourselves Cathohcks, than they ; were such names 
 wortli disputing about, which they are not : only one 
 would not flatter and harden them, by gix'ing them a 
 title, which tliey both claim unjustly, and turn into an 
 argument against us. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 1 Tlie Communion of Saints;'] Tlie word "saints" is 
 of the same meaning witli the word " holy ;" and there- 
 fore comprehends all Christians in the same manner as 
 has been already explained. Having " communion" is 
 being entitled to partake of benefits and kindnesses, and 
 bound to make suitable returns for them. And thus 
 Christians, or Saints, have communion or " fellowship" 
 with " the Father from whom cometb down every good 
 and perfect gift ;" with his Son Jesus Christ, 1 John i. 3 ; 
 James i. 1 7 ; through wliom forgi^-cness and mercy is con- 
 veyed to us : witli the Holy Ghost, whose sanctifying 
 graces are conferred on such, as duly quahfy their hearts
 
 32 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 body, And tlie life everlasting. 
 Amen^ 
 
 U And afler that, these Prayers' following. 
 
 for the reception of them. And for these hlessings we 
 owe all thankfulness and all duty, in thought, word, and 
 deed. Christians have also communion with the holy 
 angels; as these "are ministering sjiirits sent forth to 
 minister for them who shall he heirs of salvation," Heb. 
 j. 14 : and undoubtedly we ought to think of what they 
 do for lis, witli an inward sense of gratitude and love. 
 But, as we are unacquainted with ])articulars, we can 
 make no particular acknowledgments ; nor ought we to 
 make any general ones, by outward expressions of re- 
 spect : since " worshipping God alone " is commanded, 
 Matt. iv. 10; and worshipping angels condemned in 
 Scripture, Col. ii. IS. 
 
 With respect to those of our own natm'c, we are bound 
 so far to hold communion even with the worst of unbe- 
 lievers, as not only to do them even,' kind of justice, but 
 sincerely to wish, and, if occasion offer, heartdy endea- 
 vour, their good, both in body and soul. But to all, 
 " who have oijtained the like precious faith with our- 
 selves," 2 I'et. i. 1, we bear a still nearer relation ; as 
 being, in a peculiar sense, children of the same Father, 
 disciples of the same Master, animated by the same 
 Spirit, members of the same body. And these things 
 oblige us to the utmost care of preserving, by prudent 
 order and mutual forbearance, as much unity in the 
 Church, as we possibly can. 
 
 Such indeed, as obstinately deny the fundamental 
 doctrines, or transgress the fundamental prece])ts of 
 Christianity, ought to be rejected from Christian com- 
 munion. But to renounce communicating with any 
 others, who are willing to admit us to it on lan'ful terms, 
 is the way to cut oif ourselves, not them, from the body 
 of Christ: who yet, we doubt not, will allow those on 
 both sides to belong to his Church, who through par- 
 donable passions or mistakes will not allow one another 
 to do so. 
 
 And, as we should maintain communion mth all 
 proper persons, we should shew our disposition to it in 
 all pro]ier wnys : attend on the ])ublick instructions, 
 join in the publick worshi]), sacraments, and discipline, 
 which our l.tjrd hath a])p()intcd; and keep the whole of 
 them pure from all forbidden or siispicious alterations 
 or mixtures : avoid, witli great care, both giving and 
 taking needless oll'ence, in respect to these or any mat- 
 ters ; and by all fit means " edify one another in love," 
 Rom. xiv. 10; Kph. iv. 16: "obeying those, who are 
 set over us ;" condescending to those, who are beneath 
 us; esteeming and honouring the wise and virtuous; 
 teaching and admonishing the ignorant and faulty ; 
 l)caring with the weak, relieving the poor, and comfort- 
 ing the alilictcd. 
 
 Nor have wc " communion" only with the " saints " 
 on earth, but are of one city and one family, with such, 
 as are already got safe to lu-avcn. Doiditless they exer- 
 cise that " communion" towards us by loving and pray- 
 ing for the brethren, whom they have left liehind llicm. 
 And we are to exercise it towards them ; not by address- 
 ing petitions to them, whirh we are neither authorized 
 to offer, n(n' have any grounds to thiidc they can hear; 
 but by rejoicing in their happiness; thanking (iod for 
 tlie grace, whicli lleh:ith bestowed on them, and the cx- 
 am|)les, whirh they liave left us; liolding their memories 
 in honour ; iniil;iting their virtues ; and beseediing the 
 Disposer of all things, that, liaving f'ullowed them in ho- 
 liness here, we may meet them in haj.piness hereafter ; 
 
 all devoutly kneeling' j the Minister first 
 pronouncing with a loud voice, 
 
 The Lord be with you. 
 Ansicer. And with thy spirit. 
 
 Ruth ii. 4. 
 2 Tliess. iii. 
 
 2 Tim. iv. 22. 
 
 and become, in the fullest sense, " fellow-citizens with 
 the saints and of the houshold of God," Eph. ii. 19 : 
 " having with all those, that are departed in the true 
 faith of his holy name, our perfect consummation and 
 bhss, both in body and soul, in his eternal and everlasting 
 glory, through Jesus Clirist om- Lord. Amen." See 
 Burial Office. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' Amen.l That is, this confession or declaration of my 
 belief I make sincerely, in the face of God, and of the 
 whole church. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 We shall constantly perceive the vigour of our prac- 
 tice to be proportionable to the steadiness and liveliness 
 of our faith : what revives one will always quicken the 
 other. From every doctrine in the Creed issues a com- 
 mandment ; and the doctrine stirs us up to keep the com- 
 mandment. 
 
 ^^'hen by reciting the Creed we declare our belief in 
 God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, with all 
 that each has done for us ; we shoidd " love the Father" 
 for his tender love, adore the " Almighty" for his infinite 
 power, and commit om' souls to Him in well-doing as 
 to a faithful " Creator." 
 
 From "Jesus" we should seek salvation: from 
 " Christ" the anointed, as a Prophet, instruction; as a 
 Priest, atonement ; as a King, protection ; as the " only- 
 begotten Son," the adoption of children. As "our 
 Lord," we should serve Him, for his " conception," in 
 faith; for his " nati\'ity," in humility; for his " suffer- 
 ings," in patience; for his "cross," in crucifying sin; 
 for his "death," in mortifying the flesh; for his "bm-ial," 
 in burying the old man with his e\il desires ; for his 
 " descent," in meditating on the other world ; for his 
 " resui-reetion," in newness of life ; for his " ascension 
 and intlu'onization," in setting oiu* affections on things 
 above, on the pleasures at God's right hand ; for his 
 " return," in awe of his second coming ; for his " judg- 
 ment," in judging om'selves before we come to be judged 
 by Him. 
 
 From the " Spirit" we should seek the breath of 
 saving grace : that so in the " Chin-ch" we may partake 
 of a high and heavenly calling ; in the " Holy ('hurch," 
 of sanctification ; in the " catholiek Church," of " com- 
 munion" with our brethren in prayers and sacraments : 
 and all this, in order to a fb'm persuasi(m of " the 
 remission of our sins," as well as a confident hope of 
 " resurrection," and translation to " life eternal." 
 
 Thus is the Creed at once a ])rofcssion of faith, a 
 manual of devotion, and a directory of practice. " The 
 just shaU live by faith." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' And after that, these Prayers &c.] Thus far, we 
 trust, that order and variety liave fully ajipeared, the 
 beauty of holiness hath shone forth, in the jirinoipal parts 
 of our service, as they are laid down in the Kxhortation. 
 Wc have seen the t'hurch acknowledging her sins in the 
 Confession ; then " setting forth (iod's most worthy 
 praise" in the Psalms; then " bearing his most holy 
 word" in the Lessons; and after that, with one heart 
 and one mouth, declaring her assent to the catholiek 
 faitli in the Creed. And now having her conscience 
 absolved from her sins, and her affections warmed willi 
 thaidtsgiving, and lur imderstanding eidightcned by 
 the word, iiiul her faith strengthened l)y her pulilick 
 ecjuCessiou, liow lit and |irepared is she to enter solenudy 
 on su|iplication and ])rayer, and "to .ask those tilings 
 that arc necessary as well for tlic body as the soul," as
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 .05 
 
 Minister. Let iis pray ". 
 Lord, have mercy upon us". 
 
 they are appointerl in the following parts of the service, 
 namely, the Collects and Litany ! Dr. Bisse. 
 
 Having all rcjieated our Creed together, and therehy 
 given good proof that we are niemhers of the catholick 
 Church, and such as have a right to join in the ])rayers 
 thereof, we now prcjjare ourseh'es to pray. And since 
 salutations have ever Ijeen the expressions and hadges of 
 that mutual charity, witliout which we are not fit to pray, 
 therefore we begin with an ancient form of salutation, 
 taken out of holy Scripture : the minister commencing 
 salutes the people with, " The Lord he with you," Ruth 
 ii. 4; Ps. cxxii. 8; 2 Thess. iii. 16: and they return it 
 with a like prayer, " And with thy spirit," 2 Tim. iv. 22. 
 Which words have been of eaily use in the Cliristian 
 Liturgies : and indeed the phrase is the veiy words of 
 St. Paul; and St. John forbids us to say to any heretick 
 "God speed," 2 John ver. 10, 11. But when the mi- 
 nister hath heard every one in the congregation repeat 
 his faith, and seen by their standing up at it, a testi- 
 mony of their assent to it, he can now safely salute them 
 all as brethren and members of the true Church : and 
 surely, as difference in religion creates great animosi- 
 ties, so agreement in one faith is an excellent means to 
 beget charity, and to make minister and people heartily 
 jiray for one another : the people are going to ]iray, 
 which they cannot do -svithout God's hcl]3, and therefore 
 the minister prays that "the Lord may be with them," 
 to assist them in the duty, according to that gracious 
 promise of our Saviour, that when two or three are met 
 to pray. He will be with them. Matt, xviii. 20. And 
 since the minister prays for all the people, and is their 
 mouth to God, they desire he may, heartily and devoutly, 
 offer up these prayers in their behalf, saying, "Tlie 
 Lord be with thy spirit." Dean Comber. 
 
 By a man's spirit in Scripture phrase is ft-equently 
 meant tlie man himself. So that the i)eopIe do in 
 reality answer thus, May God be with thee, as thou de- 
 sirest He may he with us, in the oblation of our joint 
 prayers. In this sense the word is used in the place, 
 whence this form is borrowed, 2 Tim. iv. 22. Dr. 
 Bennet. 
 
 Till every person has finished the repetition of the 
 Creed, and there is silence in the whole congregation, 
 the minister should not jironounce the words, " The 
 Lord be with you." 'lliese words ought also to be 
 pronounced by the minister in a standing postm'e, they 
 being addressed to the people. And after the people 
 have returned their answer, the minister should still 
 stand and pronounce these words, " Let us pray :" and 
 then give the people time enough to kneel down, that 
 there may not be the least noise, and every person 
 may be perfectly composed, and ready to join, when 
 the minister begins the [jrayers. 
 
 And because these words, " 'I"he Lord be with you," 
 and the reply of the people, " And with thy spirit ;" 
 and those also, " Let us pray," are all of them directed 
 and spoken, not to Almighty God, but only to men; 
 namely, by the minister and people alternately to each 
 other ; therefore care should be taken, that a difference 
 he made in the tone of voice, between these short forms 
 of mutual eompellation, and the prayers themselves. 
 Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ' — all devoutly kneeling ;] WTien we make pro- 
 fession of our faith, we stand ; when we acknowledge 
 our sins, or seek unto God for fa\'oiu', wo fall down : 
 because the gesture of constancy becoraeth us best in the 
 one, in the other tlie behaviour of humility. Hooker. 
 
 So generally was this practice adopted and appro^•ed 
 
 Christ, have mercy upon us^ 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Ps. cxxiii 3. 
 Lukexvii.l3. 
 
 in the first ages of the Christian Church, that some of 
 the zealous and holy fathers did not hesitate to rebuke 
 even those who stood during jirayers. But if standing 
 was considered an improper jiostiu'e, what woidd they 
 think, were they to come into the congregations of mo- 
 dern Christians, and see the greater part of them sit- 
 ting ? They would undoubtedly conclude, either that 
 the S]iirit of Christianity was materially altered, or that 
 its inrtuence was but little known amongst us. Cer- 
 tainly the religion of the Bible does not consist in the 
 mere external observance of forms ; yet it must lie 
 allowed, that those forms, which the Bil)le itself pre- 
 scribes for general use, ought to l)e generally adopted : 
 and kneeling in jn-ayer is one of tliese. Rogers. 
 
 " Let us pray. '\ These words are often used in an- 
 cient Liturgies, as well as in ours, and are an excitation 
 to prayer, to call back our wandering, and recollect our 
 scattered thoughts, and to awaken our devotion, bid- 
 ding us mind what we are about ; namely, now when 
 we are about to i)ray, to pray indeed, that is, heartily 
 and earnestly. The deacon, in ancient sen'ices, was 
 wont to call upon the jieople often, " Let us ])ray vehe- 
 mently;" nay, " stiU more vehemently;" and the same 
 vehemeney and earnest devotion, which the manner 
 of these old Liturgies l)rea(hed, does our Church in 
 her Liturgy call for, in these words, " Let us pray ;" 
 that is, with all the earnestness and vehemeney 
 that we may, tliat our prayers may be such as St. 
 James speaks of, active lively-spirited jjrayers ; for 
 these are they that avail much with God. And there 
 is none of us but must think it needful thus to 
 be called upon and awakened ; for thoughts ^\'ill be 
 wandering, and devotion mil abate, and scarce hold 
 out to the prayer's end, though it be a short one ; so 
 that well said the old hermit, whom Melancthon men- 
 tions in his discourse on prayer, " There is nothing 
 harder than to pray." 
 
 These words, " Let us pray," as they are an incita- 
 tion to prayer in general, so they may seem to be some- 
 times an invitation to another form of petitioning, as 
 in the Litany and other places; it being as much as to 
 say. Let us collect our alternate supplications by versi- 
 cles and answers into collects or prayers. In the Latin 
 Liturgies, their rubricks especially, " Prcces" and 
 " Orationes" seem to be thus distinguished; that 
 " Preees," or sujjplieations, were those alternate peti- 
 tions, where the people answered bj' responsive versi- 
 cles ; " Oratio," or prayer, was that which was said by 
 the priest alone, the people only answering " Amen." 
 Bp. Spa7-row. 
 
 " Lord, hare mercy vjmn us, &c.] Being imdean like 
 those lepers in Luke xvii. 11, 12, before we come near, 
 we begin to cry, " Lord, have mercy upon us ;" which 
 form is taken out of Dand's Psalms, where it is some- 
 times repeated twice together, Ps. vi. 2 ; h. I ; cxxiii. 
 3 : to which the Christian (.'hm-ch hath added a thii-d, 
 namely, " Christ, have mercy upon us ;" that so it 
 might be a short litany or supphcation to e\-ery Person 
 in the blessed Trinity. We have offended every Per- 
 son, and are to pray to every Person, and therefore we 
 beg mercy of them all. And indeed this, " Lord, have 
 mercy upon us," (spoken by the Latin Church in the 
 original Greek of the New Testament, " Kyrie eleeson," 
 but much more prudently translated by ours into En- 
 glish, Ahp. Seeker.) is of great antiquity, both in the 
 Eastern and the Western Churches. Dean Comber. 
 
 This is not only a confession, but a short Litanv : as 
 it was called by the ancients. And it hath this resem- 
 
 D
 
 34 MORNING PRAYER 
 
 IT Then the Minister. Clerks^, and people, 
 shnll say the Lord's Prayer' with a ioiid 
 voice. 
 
 OU R Father, wliicli art in hea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 
 blance ^v^th our larger Litany : for as in that we call on 
 each Person of the Trinity by a distinct invocation, 
 crying, first, " O God, the Father of heaven," secondly, 
 " O God, the Son, Redeemer of the world," thirdly, 
 " O God, the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father 
 and the Son, have mercy upon us miserable sinners :" 
 so in this supplication thrice repeated we are taught to 
 pray, saying, " Lord," the Father, " Christ," or Lord, 
 the Son, "Lord," the Holy Ghost, "have mercy upon 
 us." This tlireefold repetition of the words is with 
 regard to the three Persons in the Trinity, to which it 
 is thus thrice separately addressed. In the Greek 
 Church the same words, " Lord, have mercy upon us," 
 were thrice repeated : but the Latin Church, which 
 bon-owed it from the Greek, as appears by their still 
 retaining the Greek words, " KjTie eleeson," in their 
 Liturgy, changed the second versicle into " Christe 
 eleeson." Dr. Bisse. 
 
 It may be observed, that this earnest and humble 
 supplication to the blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost, was usually in old services, and so is in 
 om-s, set immediately before the Lord's Pr<ayer, as a 
 preparation to it ; and very fitly ; for as we cannot 
 devise a more suitable preparation to jjrayer than this 
 humble petition of mercy, and acknowledgment of our 
 own misery; so is there no jirayer, whereto greater 
 preparation is required, than that divine prayer sancti- 
 fied by the sacred Ups of our Lord, wherein we say, 
 " Our Father, &c." Clement advises us, when we say 
 this prayer, to be careful to prepare ourselves,, so that 
 we m,iy in some manner be worthy of this divine adop- 
 tion to be the sons of God ; lest, if we unworthily call 
 Him Father, He upbraid us as He did the Jews, Mai. i. 
 C, "If I be your Father, where is mine honour?" 
 The sanctity of the Son is the honour of the Father. 
 Indeed it is so great an honoiu' to call God " Our 
 Father," 1 .lohn iii. 1, that wc had need with all humility 
 beg pardon of his majesty, before we venture upon so 
 high a title. 'I'hcrcfore our mother the Church bath 
 been careful to prejjare us for this di\'inc iirayer, some- 
 times by a confession of our sins and absolution, as at 
 Morning anil Evening Service, but most commonly by 
 this short Litany ; first teaching us to bewail our un- 
 worthiness, and pray for mercy, aiul then with an luim- 
 ble boldness to look up to hcaveu, and call fiod " Our 
 Father," and beg farther blessings of Him. Bp. Sj)nrrow. 
 
 This most humble and j)athetick Litany, directed to 
 the blessed Trinity, is generally throughout the Liturgy 
 placed before tlie Lord's Prayer, as a projjcr introduc- 
 tion to it ; the (;hurch thereby seeming to intimate two 
 things : first, as to the object of our worship ; that this 
 jirayer, and by consc(juence our other jiraycrs, of which 
 this ought to l)u the pattern, is to be directed to the 
 'i'rinity ; and that by tiie word " Father" in the jireface 
 to it, not the first person alone, but the other two are 
 equally included; for we jiray not, saying, "The Fa- 
 ther," hut " Our Father." Tlie second thing intim.ated 
 is, as to the manner of our worship : that wc ought 
 with all humility to approach his majesty, acknowledg- 
 ing that it is through his mercy we presume to call 
 Him " Father :" a name, whidi the .Tews never used in 
 prayer, having " received the spirit of bondage to 
 fear," Rom. viii. 15; whereas wc Christians have re- 
 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses, As 
 we forgive them that trespass again.«t 
 us. And lead us not into tempta- 
 tion; But deliver us from evil. Amen. 
 
 ceived at our baptism " the spirit of adoption, whereby 
 we cry, Abba, Father." And for this reason, the cate- 
 chumens in the ancient Church, though embracing the 
 faith and taught therein, yet being unbaptized and so 
 unqualified to call God " Father," were not allowed to 
 be present at the Lord's Prayer, that prayer being then 
 used only at the Communion service, which began after 
 the catechumens were dismissed. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 The clerk and people are here to take notice, not to 
 repeat the last of the versieles, " Lord, have mercy upon 
 us," after the minister. In the end of the Litany in- 
 deed they ought to do it, because there they are di- 
 rected to say all the three versieles distinctly after him ; 
 each of them being repeated in the Common Prayer 
 Dook, namely, first in a Roman letter for the priest, 
 and then in an Italick, which denotes the people's 
 response. But in the daily Morning and Evening Ser- 
 vice, in the office for Solemnization of Matrimony, in 
 those of the ^'isitation of the Sick, for the Burial of 
 the Dead, for the Churching of Women, and in the 
 Commination, where these versieles are single, and 
 only the second printed in an It;ilick character, there 
 they are to be repeated alternately, and not by way of 
 repetition : so that none but the second versicle, 
 " Christ, ha\-e mercy upon us," comes to the people's 
 turn, the first and last belonging to the minister. 
 iVheatly. 
 
 ' Lord, have mercy upon us, Christ, have mercy upon 
 U.S.'] This is in different letters, to shew, tliat according 
 to the ancient custom the people use to answer the 
 minister as at the end of the Litany. And it is to be 
 noted, that the book docs not every where injoin and 
 prescribe eveiy little order, what should be said or 
 done ; but takes it for granted, that people are ac- 
 quainted with such common things, and things always 
 used already. Bp. Ocerall. 
 
 y — Clerks,'] By the clerks in this rubriek (which 
 was first inserted in the second book of King Edward) 
 I suppose were meant such persons as were appointed 
 at the beginning of the Reformation, to attend the in- 
 cumbent in his performance of the oilices : and such as 
 are still in some cathedral and collegiate churches, 
 whic^li have lay-clerks (as they arc called, being not 
 always ordained) to look out the lessons, name the 
 anthem, set the jisahns, and the like : of which sort I 
 take our parish clerks to be, though we have now 
 seldom more than one to a church. Wheritl;/. Parish 
 clerks were heretofore real clerks, of whom every mi- 
 nister had at least one, to assist imder him in the cele- 
 bration of divine offices. Dr. Hum. 
 
 The word "clerk" is hut once mentioned; and that 
 is in the office of Matrimony. Cnllis. 
 
 ' — sh(dl saij tlie Li)r(l's Vriiyer] 'I'hongh this 
 Prayer was said before, namely, after the Absolution; 
 yet that, as we ol)scrvcd, was a distinct office of itself, 
 and se])aratcd from this, on whicli wc are now entering, 
 by the interposal of two distinct ofilces : namely, of 
 praise, as in the Psalms; and of hearing, as in the 
 Lessons. And tlicreforc all now following the (^recd 
 being a distinct office, the insertion of the Lord's 
 Prayer here in the beginning serves, as to render it 
 perf'ect, so also to distinguish it. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 As before wc subjoined the Lord's Prayer to otu' con-
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 t Then the Priest slimdinr/ tip' shall sny'', 
 
 O Lord, shew tliy mercy upon 
 
 35 
 
 us. 
 
 Ps. Uxxv.r. Answer. And grant us tliy salva- 
 tion. 
 
 1 Sam. X. 24. Priest. O Lord, save the Queen. 
 Answer. And mercifully hear us 
 
 Ps. iv. 1. when we call upon thee. 
 
 fession, to obtain the confirmation of our pardon ; so 
 now we prefix it to our requests, as a summary of our 
 desires. And surely saying it again at such a distance, 
 and witli so different a view, cannot be thought a vain 
 repetition. Abj>. Seeker. 
 
 We are about to conckide this part of the Morning 
 Service with several imjjortant and solemn requests to 
 Almighty God. But after what model can we better 
 form these requests, than that which is liere ])rescribcd ? 
 The repetition of this form, which bears the royal stamp 
 of divine authority, may probably be complained of by 
 some. But the fervency of our devotion will not be at 
 all abated by the freq'ient use of it, if our minds are 
 alive to its real excellencies ; nay, it may be fairly pre- 
 sumed, that to have this pattern before us, which our 
 Saviour Himself hath shewed us, will rather tend to 
 aiiimate our souls, and lead us to urge our petitions 
 with renewed zeal, than be any impediment to our 
 intercourse with the Father at the throne of grace. 
 Rngers. 
 
 • Thrn the Priest standing «/>] The priest in the 
 holy offices is sometimes appointed to kneel, sometimes 
 to stand. The reason of this is as follows. The priest 
 or minister, being a man of like infirmities with the 
 rest of the congregation, a sinner, and so standing in 
 need of grace and pardon, as well as the rest, in all 
 confessions of sins and [jenitential prayers, such as the 
 Litany is, is directed to beg his pardon and grace ujion 
 his knees. He being moreover a priest, or minister of 
 the most high God, that hath received from Him an 
 office and authority, sometimes " stands," to signify 
 " that his office " and authority. Which office of his 
 may be considered, either in relation to God, or the 
 people. As it relates to God, so he is God's ambas- 
 sador, 2 Cor. V. 20 ; to whom is committed the " mi- 
 nistry of reconciliation," in which respect he is to 
 "teach, baptize, consecrate the holy Eucharist, bless 
 and absolve the penitent ;" and in all thebe acts of 
 authority, which he does in the name and person of 
 Christ, he is to " stand." As his office relates to the 
 people, so he is in theii' stead, for them appointed by 
 God to offer up gifts and sacrifices to God, particularly 
 the sacrifice of ])raise and thanksgiving, together with 
 their prayers ; so we read, Heb. v. 1 , " every high priest, 
 or priest," (so the words are promiscuously used, Heb. viii. 
 3, 4,) " taken from among men, is ordained for men," or 
 in their stead, " in things pertaining to God, to offer up 
 both gifts and sacrifices for sins." Which definition of 
 a priest belongs not only to a priest of the Law, but 
 also to a priest or minister of the Gospel. So that the 
 ministers of the Gospel are appointed by God to offer 
 up the sacrifices of prayers and praises of the Church 
 for the people, thus to stand betwixt God and them ; 
 and to shew this his office, in these services he is 
 du-ected to " stand." By this we may see what advan- 
 tage it is to the people, that their prayers are offered up 
 by a priest. For God, having appointed him to this 
 office, will certainly assist and accept his own constitu- 
 tion; and though the minister be '.vicked or indevout 
 in his prayers, yet God, that will punish this neglect in 
 
 Priest. Endue thy Ministers with 
 righteousness. 
 
 Answer. And make thy cliosen 
 peo])le joyful"^. ps. cxxxii. o. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, save thy people. 
 
 Answer. And bless thine inherit- ps, xxviii. 9. 
 ance. 
 
 Priest. Give peace in our time, O , „, 
 
 - , ^ '1 Chron. 
 
 L,Or<l. xxii. 9. 
 
 himself, will certainly accept of his office for the people. 
 Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 '■ — shall .foy,] Before the minister begins to pray alone 
 for the people, they are first to join with him according 
 to the primitive way of praying in some short versicles 
 and resijonsals taken chiefly out of David's psalms, and 
 containing the sum of all the following collects; the fh'St, 
 " O Lord, shew thy mercy, &c.," Ps. Ixxxv. 7, being a 
 petition for mercy and salvation, answers to the Sunday 
 collect ; the second, " O Lord, save the king," Ps. xx. 9, 
 (according to the Greek translation, ) for a blessing upon 
 his majesty, answers to the collects for the king and 
 his family : the thud, " Endue thy ministers, &c.," Ps. 
 cxxxii. 9, and the fourth, " O Lord, save thy people, 
 &c.," Ps. xxviii. 9, for the success of ministers and the 
 prosperity of their people, these two answer the collect 
 for the clergy and people : the fifth, " Give peace in our 
 time, &c.," 1 Chron. xxii. 9, for safety from our ene- 
 mies, answers the morning and evening collects for 
 peace and safety : the sixth, " () God, make clean, &c.," 
 Ps. li. 10, 11, for the help of God's Spirit, answers the 
 morning and evening collects for grace. And thus we 
 ha\'e the stun of all the ensuing jjrayers, which minister 
 and people must devoutly join in by this alternate way 
 of responses, to fit them the better for the following 
 collects. Derm Comber. 
 
 It appears that the suiting of these scriptural sentences 
 to the prayers following could not have been the inten- 
 tion of the original compilers of our service, because some 
 of the prayers, namely, those for the king, for the royal 
 family, and for the clergy and people, were added after- 
 wards at different times ; so that these sentences were not 
 designed as compendiums of their respective prayers, but 
 rather the prayers were added as para])hrases on these 
 sentences. The result is a natiual harmony of corre- 
 spondence between them : so that the different parts of 
 the sernce hang together, and answer to each other. 
 Dr. Bisse. 
 
 These versicles and aU others elsewhere, as already 
 observed, though pronounced vocally by the minister and 
 people alternately, are notwithstanding to be mentally 
 joined in throughout by them both. Dr. Bennet. Indeed 
 otherwise the sense is not perfect. For each versicle and 
 answer being connected by the conjunction "and," or, as 
 in one instance, by " because," they are but a continua- 
 tion of the same petition, though i)ut into two sentences, 
 and appointed respectively for the minister and the 
 people. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 " And mate thy chosen people joyful.'] Namely, the 
 laity, who are through Christ God's " chosen people." 
 Dr. Bennet. This petition, as well as the two following, 
 is taken from the Psalms; Ps. cxxxii. 9, and xxviii. 9: 
 and it is plain that the words " thy chosen people," or as 
 in the original, "the saints" and "thy people" and 
 " thine inheritance," all mean precisely the same thing ; 
 being applied by the Psalmist to the people of the Jews, 
 and l)y us to the whole body of Christians ; for by these 
 and such titles both the one and the other are usually 
 distinguished from heathens, or unbehevers, throughout 
 the sacred writings. Waldo. 
 D 2
 
 36 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Ps. xsxiii. 
 
 l(i, 1?. 20. 
 
 Ansicer. Because there is none 
 other'' that fighteth for us, but only 
 thou, O God. 
 
 Fricst. O God, make clean our 
 hearts within us. 
 
 '' Give peace in out time, Lord. Because there is none 
 other &c.] The meaning of this petition is, that whatever 
 help we have besides, we look upon it as nothing, with- 
 out that of the Almighty : whom therefore we beg, when 
 we are in peace, to continue it, by restraining such as 
 would disturb it; and when we are not, to restore it, by 
 turning the hearts, or overthrowing the attempts, of 
 those «'ho have infringed it. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' Then shall foUow three Collects jI Our Saviour Him- 
 self taught and commended the frequent use of brief 
 forms of prayer ; and the primitive Christians were wont 
 to pray in that manner, from whom these Collects were 
 derived ; and they are called " Collects," because they 
 are collected generally out of the Epistle and Gospel, 
 and because they are a very brief collection of all things 
 necessary for scul and body ; or, if we respect the phrase 
 of the ancients, because they were repeated in luiblick 
 when the people were collected or gathered together : 
 and the form of them is, that they generally are directed 
 to the Father, through the Son, and usually they begin 
 with the motive inducing us to ask, and then mention 
 some great or comjjrehensive blessing desired, conclud- 
 ing with the ground of our hope, that we shall obtain it 
 through Jesus Christ. They are most of them above a 
 thousand years old, having been used in the Western 
 Church from the time of St. Gregory the Great, and 
 many of them before, and are so plain, they will need 
 no explication. Dean Comber. 
 
 lliough it hath been a constant practice from the he- 
 ginning, for the people to bear a vocal part by their suf- 
 frages and answers in the publick sen-ice of God, which 
 for that very reason was by the ancients called Common 
 Prayer, yet for the more renewing and strengthening of 
 their earnestness and importunity, they desired that both 
 they and their devotions should in the close be recom- 
 mended to God by the priest, they all adjoining their 
 assent, and saying .\men to it. 
 
 As to the particular ( 'oUects in our Liturgy, they being 
 of so fi-equcnt use, and so considerable a part of the de- 
 votion of ow Church, it may be convenient to observe 
 as follows : 
 
 1. Concerning their authors and their antiquity. Our 
 Church endeavouring to preserve, not only the spirit 
 but the very forms, as much as may be, and in a known 
 tongue, of ancient primitive devotion, hath retained 
 these vciy (Jollects, the most of them, among other pre- 
 cious remains of it : for we find Ijy ancient testimony 
 that they were com])osed or ordered, cither by St. Am- 
 brose, (ielasius, or Gregory the Great. 
 
 2. For the object of these Collects, they are di- 
 rected to God in tlie name of Jesus Christ our Lord ; 
 for so usually they conclude, and very fitly : for Christ 
 is indeed the altar ujjon which all our prayers are to be 
 olfercd, that they may lie acceptable : " Whatsoever ye 
 shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you," 
 Johnxvi. 23. And so it was the custom of olil. Hut 
 yet we may observe, that a few Collects are directed to 
 Christ, and in the Litany some supplications to the 
 Holy (ihost, besides that prceatoiy hynui of " Veni 
 Creator" in the liook of Onhnation; and that .some 
 (V)llect9, e3i)ecially for great festivals, conclude with this 
 acknowledgment, " that (Hirist with the I'athcr anil llic 
 Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth one (iod world wilhonl 
 end." And this seems to be done, to testify what the 
 
 Answer. And take not thy Holy 
 Spirit from us. 
 
 1 Then shall follow three Collects'; the first 
 of the Day', which shall be the same that 
 is appointed at the Communion j the second 
 
 Scripture warrants, that, although for more congruity 
 we in the gener.il course of our prayers go to the Father 
 by the Son, yet we may also invocate both the Son and 
 the Holy Ghost; and that, while we call upon one, we 
 equally worship and glorify all three together. 
 
 3. For their form and proportion, as thej-are not one 
 long-continued prayer, but diverse short ones, they have 
 many advantages to gain esteem : the [jractice of the 
 Jews of old, in whose prescribed devotions we find a 
 certain number of several prayers or collects to be said 
 together ; the example of oiu- Lord in jjrescribing a short 
 form ; the judgment and jn'actice of the ancient Chris- 
 tians in their Liturgies ; and St. Chrysostom, among 
 others, commends highly short and frequent prayers 
 with little distances between ; and lastly, they are most 
 convenient for keeping away coldness, distraction, and 
 illusions fi'om our de\"otion; and that, not only in respect 
 of the minister, but the peojilc also, whose minds and 
 affections become hereby more erect, close, and earnest, 
 by the oftcner breathing out of their hearty concurrence, 
 and saying all of them Amen together, at the end of 
 each Collect. 
 
 4. The matter of them is most excellent and re- 
 markable. It consists usually of two jjarts : an humble 
 acknowledgment of the adorable perfection and goodness 
 of God, and a congruous petition for some benefit from 
 Him. The first is seen not only in the Collects for special 
 festivals or benefits, but in those also that are more ge- 
 neral; for even in such, what find we in the beginning 
 of them, but some or other of these and the like ac- 
 knowledgments ? " That God is Almighty, everlasting, 
 full of goodness and pity, the strength, refuge, and pro- 
 tector of all that trust in Him, without whom nothing 
 is strong, nothing is holy, no continuing in safety or 
 being : that such is our «-cakncss and frailty, that we 
 have no ])ower of ourselves to hel]) oiu'selves, to do any 
 good, to stand iqn-ight, cannot but fall ; that we put no 
 trust in any thing that we do, but lean only upon the 
 help of his heavenly grace; that He is the author and 
 giver of all good things, from whom it comes that we 
 have an hearty desire to [)ray, or do Him any true or 
 laudable service; that He is always more ready to hear 
 than we to pray, and to give more than wc desire or 
 deserve, ha\ing prejiared for them that love Him sucli 
 good things as pass man's imderstanding." 
 
 'J'hese, and the like expressions, can be no other than 
 the breathings of the primitive Christians, who with all 
 self-ih'uial made the grace of (iod their hope, refuge, 
 protection, ])etition, and profession against iiU ])rond 
 hereticks and enemies of it : and the jietitions which 
 follow these humble and ])ious acknowledgments and 
 praises, arc very projier, holy, and good. Ilj>. IS/iarrow. 
 
 The people here should remember, that these ('oUeets 
 and the following prayers are to he vocally pronounced 
 by the minister alone, though tlic people are to join 
 mentally therein. The congregation shoiild therefore 
 be careful not to disturb each other by uttering their 
 jiraycrs in an audiljle miinner, contrary to the design 
 and rule of the Church. J)r. Bviinrl. 
 
 ' — the first of the Dni/.'j .\s on every day or season 
 there is .something more partii'ularly recommended to 
 i>nr medil.'itions l)y tlie Church; so the first Collect 
 reflects c'hiefly upon tliiit, tliough somctinu'S more gene- 
 rally up(jn the whole matter oi' the Kjiistlc and Gospel,
 
 MORNING PRAYER 
 
 for Peace; the third for Grace toUve well^. Tkc 
 
 And the two last Catlects shall verer alter, 
 but daily be said at Morning Prai/er 
 throtiffhout all the Year, as followetli ; all 
 kneeling. kllowk'i 
 
 .17 
 
 desiring inspiration, strength, and protection from God 
 Almighty in the practice and pursuance of what is set 
 hefore us. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 Besides the Lord's day, whidi is the weekly memorial 
 of all God's goodness to us and our duty to Him, we 
 have annual ones, to celebrate, not only the principal 
 jiarts of the history of Christ, but also the holy lives 
 and deaths of his chief followers, who are mentioned in 
 the New Testament. For, as " the righteous are to he 
 had in everlasting remembrance," Ps. cxii. ; and the 
 ICpistle to the Hebrews jiarticularly directed the first 
 Christians to "remember them which had had the rule 
 over them, who had sjioken unto them the word of God," 
 Heb. xiii. 7; as they did accordingly pay distinguished 
 honours to the memories of the a])ostles, evangelists, 
 and martyrs; and as the Church of Rome, which had 
 gone much too far in this matter, would notwithstand- 
 ing have had a great advantage against us, if we had 
 neglected it entirely : we do therefore on the days, 
 which bear their names, read portions of holy writ rela- 
 ting to them ; return thanks to God for their labours 
 and example ; and beg, that we may profit suitably by 
 them. This then makes a consideralile portion of the 
 variable Collects. The rest are appointed, one for each 
 Sunday and week in the year. And the intention, 
 however imperfectly executed, must have been, that 
 sometimes praying more explicitly for this grace or 
 mercy, sometimes for that, we may be likelier to obtain, 
 through God's goodness, all that are needful for us. 
 
 The objection that our service is taken from the 
 Popish affects chiefly the Collects. But those of ours, 
 which are the same with theirs, are mostly derived from 
 Prayer Books, brought over in the days of that Pope, 
 by whose means our Saxon ancestors were converted to 
 Christianity, above 1100 years ago: and they were old 
 ones then ; much older than the main errors of popery. 
 However, ])artly at, and partly since, the Reformation, 
 such of the Collects in those books, as wanted and de- 
 seived it, have been carefully corrected ; many, that 
 were thought improper, quite removed ; and new ones 
 framed in their stead. But why should those be 
 changed, which are both faultless in themseh-es, and 
 recommended by venerable antiquity ? Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Concerning the ])articular Collects, see below, in 
 connexion with the Epistles and Gospels. 
 
 5 — the second for Peace ; the third for Grace to live 
 well.'j Peace and grace comprehend all temporal and 
 spiritual blessings, and therefore are to be the subject 
 of our daily prayers. Dean Comber. 
 
 ■■ — for Peace.'\ The Greek Church prayed thrice 
 for peace in the daily service : the Latin twice, as we 
 also do in forms very ancient and comprehensive. 
 Derm Comber. This prayer is translated from the 
 !..atin, being taken out of the Sacramentary of Gregory 
 the Great. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 Peace is used in Scripture for all earthly blessings, 
 because it is the mother and the nurse of them all; it is 
 the most comprehensive benefit on earth, and the tyjjc 
 of heaven ; wherefore the old Christians followed after 
 it in their lives, and begged it in their prayers ; and to 
 encourage us to pray for it, our " God " is represented 
 here as the " author of peace," Isa. xlv. 7, and the 
 "lover of concord," Ps. cxxxiii. 1. He keeps us in 
 peace, and loves us uhen we lix'e in peace together. He 
 makes us have ])eace from without, and delights when 
 we have concord within, and so no doubt \vill be well 
 
 X^/ ])i';ice ' 
 
 second Collccf, fur 
 who art the 
 and 
 
 Peace^'. 
 author 
 
 of I Cor. xiv.33. 
 , .. , . Is.i. xlv. 7 
 
 lover ol concord, in i'».c.\xxiii.i. 
 ge of whom staadoth our 'n^"'' ""'' 
 
 pleased to hear us pray for that which He is so able to 
 
 give, and so delighted with wherever He finds it. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 Peace was our Lord's legacy : " My peace I leave 
 with you." He jirayed for peace, paid for |)eace, wept 
 for it, bled for it. Peace should therefore be dear to 
 us ; all kinds of peace, outward peace and all ; for if 
 there be not a quiet and peaceable life, there will hardly 
 be godliness and honesty, 1 Tim. ii. 2. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 In this Collect we beseech God, " in the knowledge 
 of whom standeth our " hojie of " eternal life " here- 
 after, and " whose ser\-ice," in i)roportion as we im- 
 prove it, gives us here " perfect freedom" from the 
 tyranny of sin, and the stings of an evil conscience, 
 that He would likewise so " defend us in all assaults of 
 our " outward " enemies, that trusting in Him, we may 
 not fear them." Thus we embolden ourselves from the 
 consideration of his greater mercies, to hope for the 
 less : in imitation of the Apostle's reasoning, " He that 
 spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us 
 all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all 
 things:" Rom. viii. 32. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' O God, who art the author of peace &c.] It may be 
 observed mth respect to the form of our Collects, that 
 the preface is frequently addressed to God with regard 
 to some such particular attribute, as is a ground both 
 for the nature of the petition, and for our hopes of ac- 
 ceptance. Thus, to instance in the standing Collects 
 for the daily service, when we pray for peace, we invoke 
 God as "the author of peace and lover of concord:" 
 %vhen for protection, as an " iUmighty and everlasting 
 God :" when for the King, as " King of kings, and 
 Lord of lords:" when for the defence of the Church, 
 that is, the whole congregation of peo])le under their 
 Bishops and Curates, among and from all her enemies, 
 a work of the greatest power, yea, a standing miracle, 
 we say, " Almighty God, who alone workest great 
 marvels." 
 
 Thus in many others we shall find these prefaces no 
 improper re])etition3 ; but generally varying with the 
 matter of the prayer, and relating to, and being of a 
 piece with it. But, as in some few Collects the dinne 
 attribute mentioned in the preface may h&ve no direct 
 reference to the matter of the petition, yet it always 
 serves to strengthen the faith of the petitioner. For 
 instance, suppose it were God's goodness, as, " O most 
 gracious God," or his power, as, " O Almighty God ;" 
 both these serve to strengthen our hopes of acceptance, 
 whatever our petition be ; God's goodness, by certifying 
 that He is willing to help us ; his [jower, by certifying 
 that He is able to do so. And thus the preface to our 
 Lord's Prayer relates, not to the particular petitions 
 contained in it, but rather to all prayer in general ; in- 
 timating to us God's readiness to hear us, whatever we 
 ask, because He is "our Father;" and his abihty to 
 grant it to us, because " He is in heaven." Dr. Bisse. 
 
 These prefaces then give life to the petition, and to 
 the faith of the jietitioner ; and so carry with them 
 great usefulness and beauty. On the other hand the 
 conclusions of our prayers generally run in the same 
 form; namely, "through Jesus Christ oiu' Lord," or, 
 what amounts to the same thing, " through his merits 
 and mediation," or the like expressions : which is done 
 in obedience to the command of Christ Himself. Dr. 
 Bisse. And thus we are continually reminded to hft 
 up our hearts to Him, and to rest our faith in his
 
 38 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 John xyii. 3. eternal lifp, whose service is perfect 
 johnviii. 3G. freedom ; Defend us thy liumble ser- 
 Ps. hx. 1. vants in all assaults of our enemies; 
 that we, surely trusting- in thy de- 
 fence, may not fear the power of any 
 Ps. cxviii. 6. adversaries, through the might of 
 isa. ixi'ii. 1. Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The third CuUect, fur Gracc^. 
 
 OLord, our heavenly Father', 
 Almighty and everlasting God, 
 who hast safely brought us to the 
 
 merits and mediation, on which all cm- hopes and ex- 
 pectations from God intirely depend. IVhently. 
 
 i" The third Collect, for Grace?^ This follows the 
 Collect for peace, for God hath joined them in Scripture, 
 2 Cor. i. 2 ; Gal. i. 3 ; and we must not separate them 
 in om- devotions, because grace alone makes peace true, 
 beneficial, and lastinsf. The former Collect is for free- 
 dom from the evil of punishment; this from the evil of 
 sin. Dean Comber, ^^'e here pray "for grace to live 
 well:" for if there be not jieace with God by an holy 
 hfe, thei-e will never be peace in tire world. No man 
 can so much as think a good thought, much less lead 
 a godly life, mthout the grace of God : therefore this is 
 also prayed for. togetlier with God's protection for the 
 day or night following. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 ' O Lord, our heavenly Father, &c.] The very name 
 of grace shews that it is the free gift of God : of Him 
 therefore we must ask it, James i. 5. And the Church 
 hath selected such attributes of his, as are most ]>roper 
 to quicken our hopes of obtaining it. We are frail 
 creatures on earth and need it exceedingly, but He is 
 the " Lord oiu* heavenly Father," and so both loves 
 and pities us: we are weak, but He is "Almighty," 
 and therefore able to help us : our span of life is mea- 
 sured by days and nights, but He is an "everlasting 
 God," always the same without any change, and there- 
 fore ever ready to hear us : and as a further ground of 
 oiu: hojie, that He will grant us grace to defend us in 
 this day, we are taught thankfully to own that it is He 
 " who safely" kept us in soul and body the night past, 
 and " brought us" intire in both " to the beginning of 
 this day ;" and as He hath Ijegun it with his mercy, we 
 must begin it with his praise. Lam. iii. 22, 23. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 lliis Collect is not taken from the Roman, but prin- 
 cijjally from the Greek service, as others of our jirayers 
 besides are ; the coiniiilers of our Litm'gy [unulentlv 
 extracting from both, what was ])roper to ciu'ich and 
 add autliority to the work, in which tliey were engaged. 
 And it begs tliat protci-tion of God more especially for 
 the present day, wliicli the former begs in general : but 
 above all, " tlial we may fall into no sin" even tmde- 
 signedly, much le.'is " run into any kind of danger" of 
 it wilfully, but " do always what is righteous in his 
 sight." Abp. Seeker. 
 
 "• — the l/eii'inniiKj of this day ;] Tlic natural day of 
 twenty- four hours is divided into two jiarts ; the be- 
 ginning or former part, and the night or (he Mter part. 
 Ko that the word " beginning" in tliis place must not 
 be understood too strictly, as if it signilled only the 
 daybreak, or the former part of the morning. Nor 
 must the word " night" in the tliinl Collect for evening 
 prayer be understood too stric'tly, as if it signilieil only 
 that portion of time, when it is dark. Accordingly we 
 find the Scriptm-es also speaking mucli after the same 
 manner, saying, " Tlie evening and tlie morning were 
 
 beginning of this day™; Defend us Actsxvii28. 
 in the same with thy mighty jiower ; 
 and grant that this day we fall into 
 no sin, neither run into any kind of 
 danger ; but that all our doings may Jude 24. 
 be ordered by thy oovernance, to do P""- xxxvil 
 always that is righteous in thy sight; " '' ' 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 \ In Quires and Places where they sing, here 
 
 followt'th the Anthem". 
 t Titen these Jive Prayers following " are to be 
 
 the first day," Gen. i, 5 : for, as Bp. Patrick obser\'es 
 upon the place, In the Hebrew language Evening and 
 Morning signify a whole day. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 Of these two Collects, namely, " for peace" and " for 
 gi-aee," as they are intitled and distinguished, the for- 
 mer comprises all temporal goods, such as are " necessary 
 for the body ;" the latter all spiritual goods, such as are 
 " necessaiy for the soul." And in this sense and lati- 
 tude they were understood by the compilers of our 
 Litiu-gy : who therefore closed the morning and even- 
 ing service here, adding only the prayer of St. Chrysos- 
 tom and the blessing. Thus they thought they an- 
 swered the piu'pose of assembling together, as stated in 
 the Exhortation ; which was to " ask those things 
 which are requisite and necessary as well for the body 
 as the soul." Dr. Bisse. 
 
 Tliese Collects, both in the morning and in the even- 
 ing sernce, were plainly intended to be constantly used 
 every day : and though few of us ha\'e an ojiportunity 
 of doing this in publick, yet we may all use them so in 
 private, making them a part of our secret de\'otions. 
 .And indeed how can we so properly begin and end the 
 day, as with these jiious addresses to our great Creator 
 and Preser\'er r how so weU imjirint in om' minds an 
 humble and grateful sense of our dependence on Hurt, 
 who is the Giver of all good gifts, both temporal and 
 spiritual ? Ijong forms of |)rayer may be irksome and 
 tedious ; and many persons have neither time nor in- 
 clination to use them. But surely no Christian can 
 plead any good excuse for neglecting to employ at least 
 some few minutes of the day in the use of tliose excel- 
 lent prayers which our Cluircli prescribes: which are 
 the more excellent for being short ; and are infinitely 
 more useful and edifying than all other devotional 
 oomj)ositions whatsoever. Waldo. 
 
 ° In Quires and Places uhere they sing, here followeth 
 the Anthem.~\ The original of which is ])robably derived 
 from the very first Christians: for I'liny has recorded 
 that it was the custom for them in his time to meet upon 
 a fixed day before light, and to sing a hymn, in parts 
 or by turns, to Clu'ist as (iod. Tlie practice was soon 
 established throughout the Church, and has universally 
 obtained ever since. W'heatly. The Church thiido 
 this the most [iroper ])lace for singing, where there is a 
 sort of division in the ser\'ice. I'or the foregoing Col- 
 lects respect oursches : those following respect others. 
 If therefore there be any singing before the conclusion 
 of the service, this is the |ilace where it should be jjrac- 
 tised, and not after the second lesson, as is sometimes 
 done ; both because after the scconil lesson a proper 
 hynm or psalm is a|)pointed, which is interrupted by a 
 singing psalm coming between, and so far the rubrick 
 is not conformed to ; and also because, this being the 
 time specially ai)|iointe(l for singing, to sing at this 
 time, if at all, is to conform to the appointment of the 
 Church. Dr. Bisse, Wheatly. Concerning paro-
 
 MORNING PR AYE U. 
 
 no 
 
 1 Tim. vi. 14 
 
 read here, except when the lAtany is read, ; 
 and then nnty the two last are to be read, as 
 they are there placed. 
 
 A Prayer for the Queen's Mojet.tij'^. 
 
 OLord our lieaveiily Fatlier, high 
 and mighty, King of kings, 
 —111. Lord of lords, the only Ruler of 
 
 licciesl'viii. princes, who dost from thy throne 
 t ... „ . behold all the dwellers upon earth ; 
 
 Ps. cxm. .5, C. 1 ' 
 
 isa.ixvi. 1. Most heartily we beseech thee with 
 thy favour to behold our most 
 gracious Sovereign Lady, Queen 
 
 iTim. ii. 1, VICTORIA'^; and so replenish her 
 with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, 
 
 chial psalmody, see the note after the "Tlianks- 
 ginngs." 
 
 " Then these jive Prayers following'] The three first 
 of these prayers were not in our Liturgy at its first es- 
 tablishment, as already intimated. See p. 38, note m. 
 Two of them, namely, the first and last, were inserted 
 by order of Queen Elizabeth, being framed from Gre- 
 gory's Sacramentary, nearly word for word : the second 
 was inserted by order of King James the First, who 
 was the first protestant prince that was married and 
 had chikh-en. They were all three, till the last review, 
 printed at the end of the Litany ; but were read in the 
 same place or manner, as they are now e.\prcssly ap- 
 pointed. Although added afterwards in the service, 
 they are well connected with the preceding Collects. 
 For peace is the great and summary blessing to us as 
 men, the subjects of civil government ; and grace is the 
 same to us as Christians, the members of a spiritual 
 society, that is, the Church. Now, because the former 
 blessing is conveyed to us by the mse government of 
 our temporal rulers, there follows a prayer for the 
 King; and because the latter is derived to us by the 
 administration of our spiritual governors, there follows 
 a prayer for the Bishops and Clergy, and the charge 
 committed to them. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 f A Prayer for the Queen's Majesty.] The supreme 
 King of all the world is God, by whom all mortal kings 
 reign ; and since his authority sets them up, and his 
 jiower only can defend them, therefore all mankind, as it 
 were by common consent, have agreed to pray to God for 
 their kings. It is well knoM'n that the Heathens made 
 sacrifices, jjrayers, and vows for them ; and Scripture 
 records that the Persian kings desired to be prayed for 
 at the tem])le of Jerusalem, Ezra vi. 10, as the Roman 
 emperors did also afterward : the Jews had special forms 
 of jjrayer for their kings, Ps. xx. and Ps. Ixxii : .but we 
 Christians are expressly injoined to jiray for kings, 
 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2; and all the ancient Fathers, Liturgies, 
 and Councils are full of evidences that this was done 
 daily : " We celebrate daily prayers to our God, in every 
 one of our churches, for your empire," saith a Council 
 (in St. Ambrose's time) to the emperors. And our old 
 Saxon Covincils do frequently decree this shall be done. 
 And St. Paul shews it is the jjeople's interest, as well as 
 the princes'; for we pray that we may lead quiet and 
 peaceable lives under them in all godliness and honesty, 
 and in their peace we shall have jieace also. As for this 
 form, it was made by the first Reformers of this Chm-ch 
 of England, which is famous for its untainted loyalty 
 above all chm'ches in the world, as both the practice of 
 its true sons, and this excellent prayer do shew. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ITie duties of the royal station being very important 
 
 that she may alway incline to thy 
 will, and walk in thy way: Endue I's. cxix. 33 
 her pleiiteously with heavenly gifts; TKingsin. 
 grant her in health and wealth long p^'i'^^n , 
 to live ; strengthen her that she may Ezra vi. io. 
 vanquish and overcome all her cne- ''*• '"'• "• 
 mies''; and finally, after this life, p». ixxxix. 
 she may attain everlasting joy and JxT?.' 
 felicity ; through Jesus Christ our iiatt. xvi. 
 Lord. Amen. ^''■ 
 
 A Prayer for the Royal Family^. 
 
 L MIGHTY God, the foun- 
 tain of all goodness, we humbly Ps^x'xxvrg 
 
 A 
 
 and difficult, and the hazards of erring and sinning in 
 it many and great, we therefore pray Him, who is "the 
 only Ruler" of the heart and conduct " of princes," and 
 "beholds" the state of " all the dwellers" in their do- 
 minions every where " on earth, to replenish our Sove- 
 reign," both "with the graces and the gifts" needful 
 for her; "to grant her long to live in health and 
 wealth," that is, prosperity ; as we pray God, in the 
 Litany, " to deliver us in all time of our tribulation, in 
 all time of our wealth ;" " to strengthen her, that she 
 may overcome all her enemies," all that wish iU to her 
 or her peojile ; and finally to bestow on her " everlast- 
 ing felicity." Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 1 Our most gracious Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria j] 
 Whom we name in the office, as the ancients were wont 
 to do both in the Eastern and Western Churches. Dean 
 Comber. When the emperors became Christian, they 
 were particularly named in the Liturgies, with titles 
 expressing the dearest aifection and the most honourable 
 respect. IVheatly. 
 
 i'he whole of this prayer is happily adapted to that 
 spirit of loyalty, which our Church on aU occasions re- 
 commends; and no person, void of that spirit can join in 
 it without gross hyjjocrisy. The language is remark- 
 ably noble and sublime : the introductory part grand 
 and solemn : and the several petitions that follow are 
 extremely pertinent and proper. May God give us all 
 grace to use it with sincerity and de\'otion ; and to shew 
 in the whole course of our li\'es and conversations that 
 loyalty, which is one distinguishing mark of the disciples 
 of Christ. fValdo. 
 
 " — that she may vanquish and overcome all her ene- 
 mies ;] This and similar passages in our Litiu-gy have 
 been sometimes misrepresented, as recommending ag- 
 grandisement and conquest. " On Christian principles 
 the Church must presui)])ose, that Christian princes \\\\\ 
 engage in no wars, which are not undertaken in just 
 and necessary defence. She knows, that all war, ex- 
 cepting in cases of imjust aggression from abroad, or 
 unnecessaiy resistance to the measures of government 
 at home, is equally repugnant both to the letter and 
 spirit of the Christian religion. In her offices day by 
 day she prays for peace. In her Litany, or general sup- 
 plication, thrice a week, she deprecates war, and from 
 "battle and murder" intreats dehverance. AVhenever 
 she prays for a blessing on the arms of the sovereign, 
 and for victory over all her enemies, she must be 
 understood to pray for the ends of victory : the pre- 
 servation of the lawfid and just rights of her majesty 
 and of these realms, dehverance from the power of 
 enemies, and the restoration of quietness and peace. 
 Shepherd. 
 
 ' A Prayer for the Royal Family.] This was added
 
 40 
 
 M O R N I N G P 11 A Y E R. 
 
 jer. ii. 13. beseecli thee to bless the Prince 
 Ezra vi. 10. jj^^^^^.^^ ^^^^^.^^ Pnucc of Jfcilcs, and 
 
 all the Royal Family : Endue them 
 with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them 
 
 1 chron. with thy hea\enly grace ; prosper 
 
 2 sam.'vi'i. 29. them with all happiness ; and bring 
 
 them to thine everlasting kingdom ; 
 throug-h Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 A Prayer for the Clergy and people.^. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, who alone workest great 
 marvels ; Send down upon our Bi- 
 
 Ps. cxxxvi, 
 3, 4. 
 
 in conformity to that ancient desire of the Persian em- 
 peror, Ezra vi. 10; that the Jewish priests would pray 
 for the Ufe of the king and his sons ; and among the 
 Romans the heirs of the empire were prayed for as well 
 as the emperor, as Tacitus relates : the primitive Chris- 
 tians also prayed for the imperial family ; and the 
 canons of old Councils, both at home and abroad, do 
 injoin it : and our Reformers have composed an excel- 
 lent form to do it by. Dean Comber. 
 
 Because the royal family are the future hopes of the 
 puhlick, and in the mean while their whole behaviour 
 is of very great consequence to it ; we apply more dis- 
 tinctly than the ancient Church did, but surely with 
 reason, to " the Fountain of all goodness," who there- 
 fore is able to su])ply the branches, as well as the root, 
 for such blessings on every branch, especially the prin- 
 cipal by name, as their condition requires. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 But let us not supjjose that we have discharged our 
 duty by only jiraying for them. Something more is 
 certainly required of us : for if we are bound to honour 
 our sovereign, we ought surely to pay a suitable regard 
 and reverence to those, that are so nearly related to her : 
 not to listen to every idle and scandalous report, which 
 malice may propagate concerning them ; but to think, 
 and speak, of them with affection and respect ; to ad- 
 mire and a])plaud their virtues ; and to conceal, rather 
 than pid)lish, their failings. Waldo. 
 
 ' A Prayer for lite Clerr/y and people.^ Holy Scrip- 
 ture is fidl of prayers for the Church of God, and par- 
 ticularly for the governors and pastors thereof, and all 
 the ancient Liturgies have ])eculiar jjetitions for the 
 bishojis and the clergy, as well as for the congregations 
 committed to their charge ; Synesius, a primiti\'e 
 Bishop, UTitcs to his clergy to ])ray for him in all theu- 
 churches; and our Saxon Councils ordain daily prayers 
 shall be made for tlie bishop and for the Church of 
 (jod ; which order we observe in this ancient form. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 The Church, for which this prayer is ofTcrcd, is ex- 
 cellently described by " bijhops, curates, and the pcojile 
 committed to tlieir (-harge." By curates here are not 
 meant stipendiaries, as now it is used to signify, but all 
 those, whether jiarsons or vicars, to whom the bishop, 
 who is the chief [)astor under Chri.st, hath committed 
 the cure of souls of some part of his Hock, and who arc 
 thus the bishop's cunites. 'J'he bishop with tlicse 
 curates, and the Hock or congregation coumiittcd to 
 their charge, make up a Church. I'or according to our 
 Saviour's definition, a Church is a " shepherd, and his 
 sheep that will hear his voice :" to which St. Cyprian's 
 description agrees, "'I'he ('hurch is a congregation of 
 believers united to their bisliop, and a (lock adlu-ring 
 to their shepherd ; whence you ought to know," says 
 he, " that the Cluircli is in the bishop, anil the bishop 
 in the Church, and they that are not with the bishoj). 
 
 shops, and Curates, and all Congre- 
 gations committed to their charge, 
 the healthful Spirit of thy grace " ; 2 Thess. lii. 
 and that they may truly please thee, Luke"i. i.i. 
 pour upon them the continual dew ritus 11.11. 
 of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, Coi. i. 9, 10. 
 for the honour of our Advocate and 1 Joim u. 1 
 Mediator, Jesus Christ". Amen. 
 
 1 Tim. ii. 5. 
 
 2 Ihess. i. 12. 
 
 A Prni/er nf St. Chrysostom y. 
 
 AL ]\I I G H T Y God \ who hast 
 given us grace at this time with Heb. xii. 2s. 
 one accord to make our common Eph.'vi*'is.'" 
 
 are not in the Church." Now because the bishops are 
 the guides and governors of the Church, so that all 
 acts of the Chm-ch are ordered and directed by them, 
 as the same St. Cyprian says ; therefore the custom of 
 the Church always was, and not without reason, to 
 pray jiarticularly by name for their bishoj), as they did 
 for the king. 
 
 To make this Church, to gather it from among in- 
 fidels and lieathens, and to preserve it from all her 
 subtile and potent enemies, " by the healthful Spirit of 
 his grace," is an act of as great power, and a greater 
 miracle of love, than to create the world. " Although 
 thou beest wonderful, O Lord, in all thy works, yet 
 thou art beheved to be most wonderful in thy works 
 of piety and mercy," says St. Augustin : and therefore 
 the preface is suitable, " Almighty God, who alone 
 workest great marvels, send down ujion thy Church, 
 bishops, curates, and the congregations committed to 
 their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace." Bp. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 In this prayer we beseech Almighty God, that He, 
 "who alone worketh great marvels;" who hath in all 
 ages marvellously protected his Church against the 
 devil and wicked men ; who endued his apostles with 
 marvellous and miraculous gifts on the day of Pente- 
 cost, and by their means many others ; who doth and 
 ever will produce marvellous effects on the hearts of 
 believers by the ministry of his \\on\ and sacraments ; 
 and who only can do such things ; nould " send down 
 the healthfid," that is, the healing, strengthening, and 
 saving " Spirit of his grace, on aU hisliojjs and curates;" 
 jiersons to whom the cure or care of souls is intrusted : 
 for this the word " curates " signifies throughout the 
 Prayer Book, not merely those persons, who assist the 
 proper incumbent; aiul likewise on "all congregations 
 committed to their charge." And we further beseech 
 Him, not only to bestow on them at first good disposi- 
 tions ; but, " that they may truly" and lastingly " please 
 him," to " pour upon them liis continual blessing," 
 like a kindly " dew" descending from above. " For 
 neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that 
 watercth ; but (iod that giveth the increase," 1 Cor. 
 iii. 7. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 " — the healthful Spirit of thy grace ;] The Spirit of 
 God's grace is, according to the Scrijjturc idiom, God's 
 graciims Spirit. And is therefore called healthful, be- 
 cause Me brings health, that is, holiness, to the soul. 
 Dr. liennet. 
 
 As the influences of the Holy Spirit, in a greater or 
 less degree, are absolutely necessary to be experienced 
 by every individual that would be a Christian indeed: 
 so tliey are more especially by those, who are appointed 
 to teach the way of salvation to olliers. For he that 
 teachetli, and he that learneth, must be assisted by the 
 same master : tluy must be renewed by the same grace,
 
 MORNING P II A Y E II. 
 
 41 
 
 Acts xii. 12. 
 
 Matt, xviii. 
 20. 1 John V. 
 H, 13. 
 
 Ps, cxlv. 18, 
 M; XX. 5. 
 Matt. xxvi. 
 3.). 
 
 supplications" unto tliee ; and dost 
 jiroinise, that when two or three are 
 gathered together in tliy Name •> thou 
 wilt grant their retjuests: Fulfil now, 
 O Lord, the desires and petitions of 
 thy servants, as may be most expe- 
 dient for them ; granting us in this 
 world knowledge of thy truth, and 
 
 and derive their spiritual health from the same source. 
 We acknowledfje this, when we pray, that God would 
 send down upon his ministers, and the congregations 
 committed to their charge, the healtliful Spirit of his 
 grace. Rorjers. 
 
 ' — our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ.'] An 
 advocate is one that pleads tlie cause of anotlier in a 
 court of justice. Tlierefore Jesus Christ is called our 
 Advocate, hecause He pleads our cause with his offended 
 hea\'enly Father, and causes our pardon to be sealed, 
 and our persons, accused by our sins, to be acquitted by 
 Him. He is also our Mediator : that is, the person, 
 who transacts the grand affair of reconciliation between 
 God and l;is creatures. He intercedes for us, and is 
 continually offering up his own merits for our sakes, to 
 rescue and skreen us by his all-perfect righteousness 
 from that damnation, to which we otherwise must have 
 been eternally liable. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 Neither ministers nor jieople must ask for the gifts and 
 graces of the Holy Spirit, with a view to advance their 
 own glory and importance in the Chiu'ch. The honom" 
 of our Advocate and Mediator must be the grand end 
 of our petitions. It is Jesus who procures for us, by 
 his intercession with the Father, both the Spirit and the 
 blessing. Let Him have the honour of all the good 
 we have ever received ; and of all the hope, and joy, 
 and comfort we have ever experienced. And as nothing 
 can tend more effectually to jjromote his glory and the 
 promotion of his religion in the world, than that his 
 Church sliould be governed by wise and pious rulers ; 
 his ordinances conducted by zealous and holy ministers ; 
 and his house filled with humble, teachable, and godly 
 people ; we have good reason to pray that the Lord 
 will give grace to all bishops and pastors of his Church, 
 that they may diligently jireach his word, and didy ad- 
 minister the godly discipline thereof; and that He will 
 grant to the people, that they may obediently follow 
 the same ; that all may receive the crown of everlasting 
 glory, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Ror/ers. 
 
 ' A Prayer of St. C/iri/sostom.] Where ancient Litm-- 
 gies afforded proper prayers, our Reformers chose to 
 retain them rather than compose new ones : therefore, 
 as some are kept from the Western offices, so this is 
 taken out of the Eastern, where it is daily used in the 
 Liturgies both of St. BasU and St. Chrysostom, who is 
 agreed to be the author of it. And it is very proper 
 for a concluding prayer. Dean Comber. 
 
 It is taken from the middle of St. Chrysostom's Li- 
 turgy ; but much more judiciously placed in the close of 
 ours. It first thankfully confesses the great goodness 
 of our blessed Redeemer, in disposing our minds, of 
 tliemselves so variously and wrongly inclined, to ask 
 unanimously of Him such things as we ought, and 
 encoiu-aging our a])])lications by such explicit assurances 
 of hearing us. Then it submits entuely to his wisdom, 
 in what manner, and how far. He will think it for our 
 good to grant us any of our particular requests : beg- 
 ging nothing absolutely, but what He hath absolutely 
 engaged to bestow on our prayers and endeavours ; 
 namely, that practical "knowledge" here "of his truth," 
 
 in the world to come life everlasting, i titd. ii. 3, 
 
 jwcii. ^^''^r "■ 
 
 2 Cur. xiii. 
 
 TH E grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christy and the love of God, 
 and the fellowship of the Holy 
 Ghost, be with us all evermore. 
 Amen. 
 
 his doctrines and precepts, his promises and threaten - 
 ings, that hereafter we may attain " everlasting life" and 
 happiness. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Neither this nor the following benedictory prayer is 
 at the end of either the Morning or Evening service, in 
 any of the old Common Prayer Books ; which all of 
 them conclude with the third Collect. But tlie prayer 
 of St. ('hrysostom is at the end of the Litany, from the 
 very first book of King Edward ; and the benedictory 
 prayer from that of tlueen Elizabeth ; and there also 
 stood the prayers for the King, the Royal Family, for 
 the Clergy and people, tiU the last review. And I sup- 
 pose, though not printed, they were always used, as 
 now, at the conclusion of tlie daily service. For after 
 the third Collect, the Scotch Liturgy directs, that " then 
 shall follow the Prayer for the tiueen's Majesty, with 
 the rest of the prayers at the end of the Litany, to the 
 Benediction." Wheatly. 
 
 ^ Almighty God, &c.] It is a general ride in our Li- 
 turgy, (except in the Litany, in some few of the Col- 
 lects, and in the Hymn " Veni Creator Sjiiritus" in the 
 Ordination service,) to address our prayers to the Person 
 of the Father, in the name and through the mediation 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the prayer of .St. Chry- 
 sostom is directed immediately to the Son, as appeai-s 
 plainly from the promise referred to in the introductory 
 part, whicli our Saviour made in his own person, whilst 
 He dwelt on earth ; and also from the omission of the 
 usual words, "through Jesus Christ our Lord," at the 
 end. Not that, when we address ourselves to one Person 
 only in the blessed Trinity, we are to exclude the others 
 from our thoughts ; since they are one undivided na- 
 ture or substance, the joint objects of our faith and 
 worship. Accordingly it is justly remarked in the Ni- 
 cene Creed, that "the Holy Ghost with the Father and 
 the Son together is worshipped and glorified ;" and, in 
 the Athanasian, that " in all things the Trinity in Unity 
 is to be worshipped." Waldo. 
 
 ' — common supplications'] That is, joint or united ; 
 such as are " common" to more persons than one ; or 
 such as more persons than one bear part in. Thus 
 " common supplications" are opposed to jirivate siqipli- 
 cations, or such supjiUcations as a person pours forth 
 in his closet, when no one joins in prayer with him. 
 And for this reason our established Litm'gy is called a 
 " Book of Common Prayer," that is, a book containing 
 such forms of ]>rayer, as people meet together to join in, 
 and with united hearts and affections to offer up to God 
 at the snrae time. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ^ — whin two or three are gathered together in thy 
 Name &c.] This is founded on that gracious promise of 
 Christ, Matt, xviii. 19, 20, that "where two or tlu-ee 
 are gathered together in his name, he is in the midst 
 of them ;" that is. He will give them this assurance of 
 his presence, that He " will grant their requests," 1 John 
 V. 15. Perhaps we are but few at common prayer; 
 but since we come as his disciples, in obedience to his 
 precejits, to ask in his name alone, we are sm-e that 
 Jesus is among us, and hears om- prayers ; and then 
 such is his love to us and power with God, that we
 
 42 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 doubt not to obtain tbera. And oh ! whom would it 
 not move to lay aside all needless impediments, and 
 come to prayers, when we are sure to meet the Lord 
 Jesus there ! Dean Comber. 
 
 ' The ffrace nf our I,ord Jesus Christ, &c.] It was 
 ever the custom to dismiss the people from religious 
 assemblies with a "final blessing" both in the Jewish 
 and Christian Church, pronounced by tlie priest, and 
 received by the ])eople on their knees ; nor ought any 
 one to go out before it was given. The Jews had a 
 form of God's making, and ours is indited by the 
 Spirit, with which St. Paid uses to close his Epistles. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 This form of blessing seems to have been delivered to 
 the Church, that it might be used instead of the Jenish 
 form, with whicli the priest under the law dismissed the 
 congregation. The reason of its being changed was 
 undoubtedl}' owing to the new revelation made of the 
 three Persons in the Godhead. For otherwise the Jews 
 hotli worshi])ped and blessed, in tlie name of the same 
 God as the Christians ; only their devotions had respect 
 chiefly to the Unity of the Godhead, whereas ours 
 comprehend also tlie Trinity of Persons. Wheatly. 
 
 The words are somewhat altered from what they are 
 in the text whence they are taken. For, 1. the minister 
 makes use of the term " us," instead of " you," in- 
 cluding himself with the jieople : 2. the word " ever- 
 more" is added. By the former of these alterations 
 the Chiu'ch has turned this form into a prayer, rather 
 
 than a blessing. It is also e.\pressly called a "prayer" 
 in the rubrick before the prayer for the queen. 'Ilie 
 minister therefore is to kneel whilst he utters it, as he 
 does in using the otlier prayers ; and the congregation 
 are to speak it mentally to God, to whom it is addressed. 
 Dr. Bennet, Dr. Bisse. 
 
 The former things being done, it only remains, that 
 on departing from God's more immediate presence in his 
 Church, we intreat for ourselves and one another, as we 
 do accordingly in the words of Scripture, the continual 
 presence of the holy Trinity, wherever we go : that 
 " grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," «hich will secure to 
 us " the love of God " the Father, and " the fellowship," 
 that is, the communication of the needful warnings and 
 assistances, " of the Holy Ghost." Abj). Seeker. 
 
 Nor are these only desired for us, but pronounced 
 over us, and conveyed to us by the Ambassador of 
 heaven, from whose mouth when we have received this 
 blessing, let us bow our heads, and return home in 
 I)eace, saying, " Amen, Amen," and God shall make it 
 good. Demi Comber. 
 
 Thus we have attempted to set before the reader the 
 several parts or offices of the Morning or first service of 
 our Church : which upon this imperfect view appear so 
 rational in themseh-es, so e.vact in their proportions, 
 and so apt in their connexions ; that we may venture 
 to affirm, that th\is far our holy Mother doth " worship 
 the Lord in the beauty of holiness," 1 Chron. xvi. 29. 
 Dr. Bisse. 
 
 Here cndeth the Order of Morning Prayer throughout the Year,
 
 THE ORDER FOR 
 
 EVENING PRAYE 
 
 DAILY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 
 
 % At the beginning of Evening Prayer the Minister shall read tvith a loud 
 voice some one or more of these Sottences of the Serijitures that follow. And 
 then he shall say that ichich is loritten after the said ISentenccs. 
 
 WHEN the wicked man turn- 
 etli away from his wickedness 
 that he liath committed, and doeth 
 that which is lawful and right, he 
 shall save his soul alive. Ezekiel 
 xviii. 27. 
 
 I acknowledge my transgressions, 
 and my sin is ever before me. Psalm 
 li. .3. 
 
 Hide thy face from my sins, and 
 blot out all mine iniquities. Psalm 
 11.9. 
 
 The sacrifices of God are a broken 
 spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, 
 O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 
 li. 17. 
 
 Rend your heart, and not your 
 garments, and turn unto the Lord 
 your God : for he is gracious and 
 merciful, slow to anger, and of great 
 kindness, and repenteth him of the 
 evil. Joel ii. 1.3. 
 
 To the Lord our God belong mer- 
 cies and forgivenesses, though we 
 have rebelled against hiin : neither 
 have we obeyed the voice of the 
 Lord our God, to walk in his laws 
 which he set before us. Daniel ix. 
 9, 10. 
 
 Lord, correct me, but with 
 judgement; not in thine anger, lest 
 thou bring me to nothing. Jer. x. 24. 
 Psalm vi. 1. 
 
 Repent ye ; for the Kingdom of 
 Heaven is at hand. St. Matth. iii. 2. 
 
 1 will arise, and go to my father, 
 and will say unto him. Father, I 
 
 have sinned 
 
 against 
 
 heaven, and 
 
 before thee, and am no more worthy 
 to be called thy son. St. Luke xv. 
 18, 19. 
 
 Enter not into judgement with thy 
 servant, O Lord ; for in thy sight 
 shall no man living be justified. 
 Psalm cxliii. 2. 
 
 If we say that we have no sin, we 
 deceive ourselves, and the truth is 
 not in us : but if we confess our 
 sins, he is faithful and just to forgive 
 us our sins, and to cleanse us from 
 all unrighteousness. 1 St. John i. 
 8, 9. 
 
 DEARLY beloved brethren, 
 the Scripture moveth us in 
 sundry places to acknowledge and 
 confess our manifold sins and wick- 
 edness ; and that we should not 
 dissemble nor cloke them before the 
 face of Almighty God our heavenly 
 Father ; but confess them with an 
 humble, lowly, penitent, and obe- 
 dient heart ; to the end that we may 
 obtain forgiveness of the same, by 
 his infinite goodness and mercy. 
 And although we ought at all times 
 humbly to acknowledge our sins 
 before God; yet ought we most 
 chiefly so to do, when we assemble 
 and meet together to render thanks 
 for the great benefits that we have 
 received at his hands, to set forth 
 his most worthy praise, to hear his 
 most holy Word, and to ask those 
 things which are requisite and ne- 
 cessary, as well for the body as the
 
 44 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 soul. Wherefore I pray and be- 
 seech you, as many as are here pre- 
 sent, to accompany me with a pure 
 heart, and humble voice, unto the 
 throne of the heavenly grace, saying 
 after me ; 
 
 t A general Confession to be said nf the whole 
 Congregation after the Minister, all kneel- 
 ing. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and most mer- 
 ciful Father; We have erred, 
 and strayed from thy ways like lost 
 sheep. We have followed too much 
 the devices and desires of our own 
 hearts. We have offended against 
 thy holy laws. We have left un- 
 done those things which we ought 
 to have done ; And we have done 
 those things which we ought not to 
 have done ; And there is no health 
 in us. But thou, O Lord, have 
 mercy upon us, miserable offen- 
 ders. Spare thou them, O God, 
 which confess their faults. Re- 
 store thou them that are penitent; 
 According to thy promises declared 
 unto mankind in Christ Jesu our 
 Lord. And grant, O most merciful 
 Father, for his sake ; That we may 
 hereafter live a godly, righteous, and 
 sober life, To the glory of thy holy 
 Name. Amen. 
 
 ^ The Absolution, or Remission of sins, to be 
 pronounced by the Priest alone, standing ; 
 the people still kneeling. 
 
 AL M I G H T Y God, the Father 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 desireth not the death of a sinner, 
 but rather tliat he may turn from 
 Jiis wickedness, and live ; and hath 
 given power, and commandment, to 
 liis Ministers, to declare and pro- 
 nounce to his people, being penitent, 
 the Absolution and Remission of 
 their sins : he pardoneth and ab- 
 solveth all them that truly repent, 
 
 * And after that, Magnifiratl As soon as the blessed 
 Virtfin was filU'd with the Holy (jhost she uttered this 
 divine cantirle, which is the very (irst liyinii reeoriled 
 in the New 'IVstmnent, and may he reekdiied the first 
 fruits of the Spirit ; and therefore it Imth heen iin- 
 eicntlv used ainonff the Christian.^, and is received at 
 this day into Ihc service of all the rcliirined Cliurches of 
 llollnnd and (ierniany, as well as ii-tained in onrs, 
 where it is placed very litly after the lirst lesson at 
 evening prayer, in wliiih are usually set forth those 
 acts of (jod's (fracions providence over the pious, and 
 those prophecies and promises of a, Saviour to come, 
 
 and unfeignedly believe his lioly 
 Gospel. Wherefore let us beseech 
 him to grant us true repentance, 
 and his holy Spirit, that those things 
 may please him which we do at this 
 present ; and that the rest of our life 
 hereafter may be pure, and holy; so 
 that at the last we may come to his 
 eternal joy ; through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 t Then the Minister shall kneel, and say the 
 Lord's Prayer; the people also kneeling, 
 and repeating it with him. 
 
 OU R Father, which art in hea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth. As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses, As 
 we forgive them that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into tempta- 
 tion; But deliver us from evil: For 
 thine is the kingdom, The power, 
 and the glory. For ever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 f Then likewise he shall say, 
 
 O Lord, open thou our lips. 
 
 Ansiver. And our mouth shall shew 
 forth thy praise. 
 
 Priest. O God, make speed to 
 save us. 
 
 Answer. O Lord, make haste to 
 help us. 
 
 1 Here all standing vp, the Priest shall say. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 Answer. As it was in the begin- 
 ning, is now, and ever shall be : 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
 Priest. Praise ye the Lord. 
 
 Aiisicer. The Lord's Name be 
 praised. 
 
 T Then shall be said or sung the Psalms in 
 order as they are ii/ijiointcd. Then a Les- 
 son of the Old TestamenI, as is appointed. 
 And after that, Magnificaf (or the Song 
 
 for which this hymn doth jiraise the Lord : the blessed 
 Virfjin then experienced fiod's i^nodness to his servants, 
 and saw the accomplishment of all his promises, and in 
 this form she expressed her joy and frralitnde; and 
 when we hear in the lesson like examples of his mercy, 
 and are told of those iiropheeies and promises which 
 are now fnllilled in Christ's hirth. wc may he expected 
 to rejoice with her in the same worils. Drnn Comber. 
 
 'I'lic hymn after tlie lirst lesson, called " Maj^niticat" 
 from the word'wilh which it lie|{ins in the Latin, was 
 used anciently by the Western Church; and continues 
 to he used by the Protestants abroad. It is the song
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 45 
 
 of the blessed Virgin Mary) in Enr/lish, as 
 followeth. 
 
 Magnijicat. St. Luke i. 
 
 MY soul doth magnify the Lord : 
 and my si)iiit hath rejoiced in 
 God my Saviour. 
 
 For he hatli regarded : the lowli- 
 ness "^ of his hand-maiden. 
 
 For behold, from henceforth : all 
 generations shall call me blessed. 
 
 For he that is mighty hath magni- 
 fied me : and holy is his Name. 
 
 And his mercy is on them that 
 fear him : throughout all genera- 
 tions. 
 
 He hath shewed strength with his 
 arm : lie hath scattered the proud in 
 the imatrination of their hearts. 
 
 of the blessed Virgin, recorded by St. Luke, i. 46 — 55, 
 on the confirmation, which she received at EUsabeth's 
 house, of what the angel told her, that she should 
 become the mother of our Lord, Ijy the operation of 
 the Holy Ghost : and it expresses most naturally the 
 transport, which on that occasion she must feel : but 
 hke the hymn of Zaeharias, in phrases of the Old Tes- 
 tament, to be interpreted from the New : of which 
 matter I have already spoken. See page 26, note e. 
 
 " My soul doth magnify the Lord," doth acknowledge 
 the infinite greatness of his power and mercy : " for he 
 hath regarded the lowliness of his hand-maiden ;" that 
 is, " the low estate ;" for so the original signifies, and 
 so it is expressed in our Bibles ; not the humility of the 
 mind, which the Holy Virgin was too humble to ascribe 
 to herself. " From henceforth all generations shall 
 call me blessed ;" as we do accordingly, both by repeat- 
 ing this hymn, and in our common speech. " For he 
 tliat is mighty hath magnified me," hath raised me to 
 great honour : " and holy is his name :" his truth, his 
 . justice, his mercy, his concern for the goodness as well 
 I as ha|)piness of his creatures, are gloriously manifested 
 I in this wonderful dispensation. " He hath shewed" in 
 times past, and mil as certainly now, as if it were done 
 j aheady, " strength with his arm," supernatm'al power, 
 ' for the erection of the kingdom of his Son : and hath 
 often scattered, and will again, ''scatter" and defeat 
 "the proud" opposers of it, by means of those very 
 "imaginations of their hearts," in which they exult. 
 "The mighty" among the Jews and heathen "shall 
 be put down from their seat, and humble and meek" 
 Christians "exalted" in their stead. "They, that hun- 
 ger and thirst after righteousness," Matt. v. 6, shall be 
 "filled mth" "spiritual good things; and the rich," 
 that rely on the vain and false treasures of theu: own wis- 
 dom and merit. He will convict of being " poor and blind 
 and naked," Rev. iii. 17, "and so send them empty 
 away." " He hath holpen his servant Israel," all that 
 by obeying Him become his people, "as he promised 
 to our forefathers, Abraham" the father of the faithfid, 
 "and his" true "seed;" thus "remembering his" 
 covenanted " mercy," which shall last " for e\'er." This 
 is the triumph of the holy Virgin ; and e\-ery part of it 
 should be our own likewise. For God " hath regarded 
 our low estate," together with hers, and " magnified" us, 
 ^ and made us " blessed." And we should magnify and 
 ^ bless Him continually for it. Abo. Seeker. 
 
 He hath put down the mighty 
 from their seat : and hath e.xalted 
 the humble and meek. 
 
 He hath filled the hungry with 
 good things : and the rich he hath 
 sent em])ty away. 
 
 He remembering his mercy hath 
 holpen his servant Israel : as he pro- 
 mised to our forefathers, Abraham 
 and his seed, for ever. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Gho.st ; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 IF Or else this Psalm ' : except it be on the 
 Nineteenth Day of the Month, when it is 
 read in the ordinary Course of the Psalms. 
 
 " For he hath regarded the lowliness^ Or low estate 
 " of his hand-maiden." She does not speak here of her 
 humility, or lowliness of spirit, though of that indeed 
 she was an eminent example, but of the meanness and 
 obscurity of her condition ; admiring the goodness of 
 God, who in his infinite wisdom "raiseth up the poor 
 out of the dust," and " chooseth the weak things of 
 the world, and things that are despised," that is, the 
 meanest and lowest of his servants, to be the instru- 
 ments of conveying his greatest blessings to tlie sons 
 of men. Various instances of this sort are recorded in 
 the sacred ^vritings, but none so remarkable as this of 
 the blessed Vii'gin, who was raised from poverty and 
 disgrace, to be distinguished by the highest honour, to 
 be "highly favoured and blessed among women." 
 " For behold," says she, "from henceforth all genera- 
 tions shall call me blessed ; for he that is mighty hath 
 magnified me, and holy is his name." In her was to 
 be accomi)lished the ancient prophecy, that " a Virgin 
 should conceive and bear a son," Isa. vii. 14. Of her 
 was to be born the Redeemer of Israel, the Saviour of 
 the world, the Holy One, the Mighty God, the Prince 
 of Peace. Well therefore might all after-ages " call 
 her blessed :" well might they celeljrate her memory, 
 the fruit of whose womb was " the Author of eternal 
 salvation :" well might they admu-e her, as a pattern of 
 true meekness, and piety, and purity of manners : but 
 farther than this we dare not go. To invoke her, as the 
 queen of hea\'en ; to pray to her, and worship her, as 
 one having divine power , is the height of profaneness 
 and im])iety : a direct breach of " the fu'st and great 
 commandment." How must her meek and humble 
 spirit have been offended and shocked, could she have 
 foreseen the idolatrous adoration of the Church of 
 Rome, who not only "call her blessed," but place her 
 upon an equality with the blessed Lord of heaven and 
 earth ; nay, in some sense, make her superior to our 
 Saviour, by beseeching her to " command her Son" to 
 grant their requests ! H'aldo. 
 
 ' Or e/se this Psalm ;'] Instead of the " Magnificat," 
 made by tlie most excellent of the daughters of Da\-id, 
 we sometimes use a Psalm of David's own composing, 
 out of which part of the " Magnificat " was taken, 
 namely, Luke i. 54, " He hath remembered his mercy 
 and truth toward the house of Israel :" which is the 
 fourth vei'se of this Psalm, and as there " the sh-ength 
 of God's arm " is celebrated, so is " the power of his
 
 46 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 Cantate Domino. Psalm xcviii. 
 
 OSing unto the Lord a new song : 
 for he hath done marvellous 
 things. 
 
 With his own right hand, and with 
 his holy arm : hath he gotten himself 
 the victory. 
 
 The Lord declared his salvation : 
 his righteousness hath he openly 
 shewed in the sight of the heathen. 
 
 He hath remembered his mercy 
 and truth toward the house of Is- 
 rnel : and all the ends of the world 
 have seen the salvation of our God. 
 
 Shew yourselves joyful unto the 
 Lord, all ye lands : sing, rejoice, and 
 give thanks. 
 
 Praise the Lord upon the harp : 
 sing to the harp with a psalm of 
 thanksuivins'. 
 
 With trumpets also and shawms: 
 
 holy arm " magnified here also, ver. 2. And indeed 
 there is a great similitude between them, only this 
 seems more ])i'oper, when the evening first lesson men- 
 tions some great and eminent deliverance of God's 
 people. Dean Comber. 
 
 In the QSth Psalm, which om' Prayer Book tells us 
 may be used, and in some places frequently is, instead 
 of the "Magnificat," we exhort one another to "sing 
 unto the Lord a new song;" words, denoting in the 
 book of Revelation, v. 9 ; xiv. 3, Gospel praises : and 
 we foretcl that " all lands " shall join in it, " \nth 
 trumpets and shamns," another instrument of wind 
 musick, which in our Bible is called a cornet : whence 
 we may conclude, if it needed proof, that musical in- 
 struments are lawful in Christian worshij). This future 
 time of universal thanksgiving is described to be, when 
 (jod shall "remember," that is, shall give evidence that 
 He hath ne\-er forgot, " his mercy and truth towards 
 the house of Israel," according to the flesh ; and not 
 only they, but " all the ends of the world shall see his 
 salvation." No wonder, that even the irrational and 
 inanimate parts of nature arc called upon, by a lofty 
 figure of speech, to celebrate tliat glorious day : " the 
 sea" to " make a noise, and all that therein is: the 
 floods " to "clap their hands, and the hills to he Joyful 
 together before the Lord ;" partly for the jivcsent ha]i|ii- 
 ness of that period, in which possibly the lowest of 
 fiod's works may share ; but ehielly for the ap])roach 
 of the next and concluding scene of Providence, when 
 He shall " come " finally, " with righteousness to judge 
 the world, and the people with equity." Abp. Seeker. 
 
 When the first lesson treats of some great and tem- 
 poral deliverance granted to the peculiar peo|)le of (jod, 
 we have the 9^i\\ Psalm for variety ; which, though 
 made on occasion of some of David's victories, may yet 
 be very ])ro])erly applied to ourselves, who, being God's 
 adopted children, are a " spiritual Israel," and therefore 
 have all iinaginal)lc reason to bless (iod for the same, 
 anil to call upon the whole creation to join with us in 
 thanksgiving. Wlienlhj. 
 
 B — nfler llinl. Nunc rlimiltis &c.] After (he second 
 evening lesson out of tlu^ Kpistles of tlic lioly apostles, 
 this hymn is most connnoidy used; the author of it is 
 supposed to be that holy tloctor wlioni the .lews call 
 biincun the Just, son of the famous Iliibhi llillcl, a man 
 
 O shew yourselves joyful before the 
 Lord the King. 
 
 Let the sea make a noise, and all 
 that therein is ; the round world, and 
 they that dwell therein. 
 
 Let the floods clap their hands, 
 and let the hills be joyful together 
 before the Lord : for he cometh to 
 judge the earth. 
 
 With righteousness shall he judge 
 the world : and the people \vith 
 equit5^ 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 If Then a Lesson of the New Testament, as it 
 is appointed. And after that. Nunc di- 
 raittis* (or the Song of Symeon) in English, 
 as foUoweth. 
 
 of eminent integrity, and one who opposed the then 
 common opinion of the Messiah's temporal kingdom. 
 Tlie occasion of composing it was his meeting Christ in 
 the temjde when he came to be offered there, wherein 
 God fulfilled his promise to him, that he shoiJd not die 
 till he had seen the Messiah ; taking Jesus therefore in 
 his arms, inspired with joy and the Holy Ghost, he sang 
 this " Nimc dimittis :" and though we cannot see our 
 Saviour with om' bodily eyes as he did, yet He is by 
 the WTitings of the ajjostles daily jiresented to the eyes 
 of our faith; and if we were as much concerned for 
 hea\en, and as loose from the love of this world as old 
 Simeon was, and as we ought to be. we might ujion the 
 view of Christ in his holy word by faith, be daily ready 
 to sing this hymn ; which was indited by the S]iirit, 
 recorded in holy vrni. and is ado]ited into the pulihek 
 service of all Christian churches, Greek and Latin, re- 
 formed and Roman, and used to be simg in extra- 
 ordinary by divers saints and martyrs a little before 
 their death. Dean Cumber. 
 
 This hymn, called from the Latin beginning of it 
 " Nimc dimittis," expresses the gratitude of good old 
 Simeon, " a just man and devout," as we read in St. 
 Luke, ii. '2.5 — 32, " and waiting for the consolation of 
 Israel ; to whom it was revealed, that he should not die, 
 till he had seen the Lord's Christ." Aceordintjly, "he 
 came by the S|iint into the temple; and when the 
 parents brought in the child Jesus, he took him up in 
 ids arms," (image to yourselves the scene, I beg yon,) 
 "and blessed (iod, and said: Lord, now lettest thou 
 thy servant depiu-t in peace," that is, in comfort, " ac- 
 cording to tliv word ; for mine eyes have seen thy 
 salvation, which thou liast ]ire|iarcd " to set "before the 
 face of all jn'ople." And tlic following sentence hath 
 a strong ap|)caranee of being designed by the Holy 
 (Jhost to intimate, whether the speaker of it ])erceived 
 the design or not, that, contrary to the expected and 
 natural order of things, Christ should first " be a light 
 to lighten the (icntilcs ;" then atterwards, " the glory 
 of (iod's ]ieople Israi'l." To jierccive the fitness of 
 Simeon's thaid^sgiving for our use, it needs only to be 
 remeud)er('d, and ever should in repeating it, that we 
 also " have seen the Lord's salvation." I'or though we 
 have not yet beheld our Saviour with our bodily eyes; 
 to that of faith He is exhibited continually in the
 
 EVENING PR AVE It. 
 
 47 
 
 Nunc dimitlis. St. Luke ii. 29. 
 
 LO Iv D, now lettest thou tliy ser- 
 vant depart in peace: according 
 to thy word. 
 
 For mine eyes have seen : thy sal- 
 vation, 
 
 Which thou hast prepared: before 
 the face of all people ; 
 
 To be a lig-lit to lighten the Gen- 
 tiles : and to be the glory of thy 
 people Israel. 
 
 Glory be to the leather, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 t Or else this Psnlm '' ; except it be on the 
 Twelfth Day of the Month. 
 
 Deus misercatur. Psalm Ixvii. 
 
 GOD be merciful unto us, and 
 bless us : and shew us the light 
 of his countenance, and be merciful 
 unto us : 
 
 That thy way may be known upon 
 earth : thy saving health among all 
 nations. 
 
 Let the peo])le praise thee, O 
 God : yea, let all the people praise 
 thee. 
 
 O let the nations rejoice and be 
 glad : for thou shalt judge the folk 
 righteously, and govern the nations 
 upon earth. 
 
 Let the people praise thee, O 
 God : yea, let all the people praise 
 thee. 
 
 Gospel history and sacraments ; we may meet Him in 
 his Church ; we may converse with Him in our private 
 meditations. And this we should think hap]iiness 
 enough for us here, whatever else we want or suffer ; 
 and he always prepared, and always willing, to " hless 
 God," and " depart in peace." Abp. Seeker. 
 
 This hymn comes very properly after the second 
 lesson, which is always taken out of the New Testa- 
 ment, wherein is contained and delivered to us that 
 (lospel, the enjoyment and participation of which is the 
 ground and foundation of the whole hymn. It should 
 be added, that this hymn is addressed to God : and 
 since it may be used as the personal address of every 
 devout Christian, no one should repeat it after a care- 
 less manner: but consider to whom it is repeated, 
 and utter the whole after a suitable manner. Dr. 
 litnnet. 
 
 ' Or else this Psalm ;] Tlie parallel to the former 
 evangelical hymn is this Psalm of David, who prayed 
 for that " saving health," which old Simeon rejoiced to 
 see, Ps. Iwii. 2 ; Luke ii. 30 ; and both of them praised 
 God upon the foresight they had, that it would be 
 " made known" to us, and to all people, as it is this day 
 by the voices of the apostles. Since David indited this 
 Psalm for a form of prayer, for the sending of this 
 
 Then shall the earth bring forth 
 her increase : and God, even our own 
 God, shall give us his blessing. 
 
 God shall bless us : and all the 
 ends of tiie world .shall fear him. 
 
 Cilory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 H Thai shall be said or siinr/ the Apostles' 
 Creed by the minister and the people, 
 standing : 
 
 I Believe in God the Father Al- 
 mighty, Maker of heaven and 
 earth : 
 
 And in Jesus Christ his only Son 
 our Lord, Who was conceived by 
 the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin 
 Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, 
 Was crucified, dead, and buried, He 
 descended into hell ; The third day 
 he rose again from the dead. He 
 ascended into heaven. And sitteth 
 on the right hand of God the Father 
 Almighty ; From thence he shall 
 come to judge the quick and the 
 dead. 
 
 I believe in the Holy Ghost; The 
 holy Catholick Cinu'ch ; The Com- 
 munion of Saints; The Forgiveness 
 of sins ; The Resurrection of the 
 body, And the life everlasting. 
 Amen. 
 
 i And after that, these Prayers following, all 
 devoutly kneeling; the Minister first pro- 
 nouncing with a loud voice. 
 
 salvation, and of praises to God, to be used by those 
 who should see it accomplished, it cannot but be very 
 suitable for our use, after we have heard out of the 
 Epistles, how this salvation ajipeared to us, and to all 
 men. Dean Comber. 
 
 This Psalm is a prophetick jjrayer, that through " the 
 light of God's countenance," his gracious illumination, 
 "the way" of his providence and man's duty to Him 
 "maybe known upon earth, his saving health," the 
 means by which He heals and saves men's souls, "to all 
 nations:" who are invited to "rejoice and be glad," 
 because " he shall judge the folk righteously," shall 
 govern and reward the peojile of the world, (for so the 
 word, "folk," signifies, and was not a low expression 
 formerly,) by the equitable and merciful rules of Chris- 
 tianity.' For " then," on our doing this, " the earth shall 
 bring forth her increase " more plentifully ; " and God, 
 even our own God, shall give liis blessing," temporal 
 and spiritual ; for " godliness hath promise of the Ufe 
 tliat now is, and of that which is to come," 1 Tim. iv. 8. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Tliis is one of the psalms that were introduced in 
 King Edward's second Liturgy. IVheatly. 
 
 This Psalm is sometimes called " Deus misereatur," 
 because in the Latin version it begins with these words.
 
 43 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 The Lord be with you. 
 Answer. And with thy spirit. 
 
 Minister. Let us pray. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Christ, have mercy upon ut>. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 11 Then the Minister, Clerks, and people, shall 
 say the Lord's Prayer icitk a loud voice. 
 
 OL^ R Fatlier, which art in hea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Tliy liingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses. As we 
 forgive tliem that trespass against us. 
 And lead us not into temptation; But 
 deliver us from evil. Amen. 
 
 f Then the Priest standing up shall say, 
 
 O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us ; 
 
 Answer. And grant us thy sal- 
 vation. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, save the Queen. 
 
 Ansivcr, And mercifully hear us 
 when we call upon thee. 
 
 Priest. Endue thy Ministers with 
 righteousness. 
 
 Answer. And make thy chosen 
 people joyful. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, save thy jieople. 
 
 Answer. And bless thine inherit- 
 ance. 
 
 Priest. Give peace in our time, O 
 Lord. 
 
 And it is very projierly used after the second lesson, 
 which is always taken out of the New Testament ; 
 because therein we may conveniently express our desii'cs 
 of the farther pi'Dpa^ation of the Gospel. This Psalm 
 is also a prayer to (iod, and therefore it must not be 
 barely repeated, but addressed to our Maker in the 
 most soleum manner. Dr. Biniiet. 
 
 ' — the second Jor Peace; the third for Aid &c.] 
 'iliough the words of these Collects be different from 
 those of the second and third Collects for niorninj^ 
 jirayer, yet the subject is the same : only the former 
 are suited to the morniu}; and these to the evening. 
 They arc of ancient use in the Western chui-ch. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 '' The second Collect at Evening Prayer.'] Peace is so 
 desirable a blessing, we cannot ask it too often ; and 
 since there are two kinils of jjeacc, external and in- 
 ternal peace, we beg outward peace in the morning to 
 .secure us against tlie troulilcs of the world, in which 
 the business of the day eiigugeth us ; and inward 
 |)eace in the evening to comfort and (juiet our minds 
 wlien we are to take our rest. Dian Comlier. 
 
 'J'he formc'r of the two ( 'olleet.s, pecidiar to evening 
 ])raycrs, is taken from a l>a(in form, at least 1 100 y<'ais 
 old. It l)eg3 for the greatest of blessings here below, 
 that joyful peace of mind, which our .Saviour promi.sed 
 his disciples : " Peace i leave with you : my peace I give 
 
 Ansicer. Because there is none 
 other that fighteth for us, but only 
 thou, O God. 
 
 Priest. O God, make clean our 
 hearts within us. 
 
 Answer. And take not thy holy 
 vSpirit from us. 
 
 H Then shall folloiv three Collects ; the first 
 of the Day ; the second for Peace ; the 
 third for Aid' against all Perils, as here- 
 after followeth ; vhich two last Collects 
 shall be daily said at livening Prayer with- 
 out alteration. 
 
 Tlie second Collect at Evening 
 Prayer ^. 
 
 OGod, from whom all holy de- 
 sires, all good counsels, aiui 
 all just works do proceed; Give phu. «. is. 
 unto thy servants tliat peace which ^'"'''' "*'■ '• 
 the world cannot give ; that both John liv. n. 
 our hearts may be set to obey thy 
 commandments, and al.so that by phn. iv. 7. 
 thee we being defended from the 
 fear of our enemies may pass our 
 time in rest and quietness; through Luke i.fis. 
 the merits of Jesus Christ our Sa- ''' '^''' '■"■ 
 viour. Amen. 
 
 The third Collect, for Aid ar/ainst 
 all PerilsK 
 
 LIGHTEN our darkness, we 2 sam. xxii. 
 beseech thee, O Lord ; ami by r"'. xviii. 2s. 
 thy great mercy di'fend us from all 
 perils and dangers of this night ; for fa ' ow^Tr. 
 
 cxxi S, 4. 
 
 unto you : not as the world gi\'ctb, give I unto you," 
 John xiv. 27. And since it cannot be obtained, but by 
 '• holy desires, good " and prudent " counsels " for the 
 execution of them, '• and jii.st actions," done in conse- 
 quence of both ; so wc petition 1 lim, " from whom all " 
 these " jiroceed," to grant it us by means of them ; that, 
 our hearts being set " by his grace " to keej) his com- 
 mandments," and our ways " defended " by his jirovi- 
 dcnce " from the fear of our enemies," we may find 
 " the work of righteousness, peace ; and its effects, 
 quietness and assurance forever," Isa. xxxii. 1". Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 ' The third Collect, for Aid against all Perils.'] This 
 is ])ecidiar to and jiropcr for the evening. \\'e are al- 
 ways indeed environed with danger; but none are more 
 dismal, sudden, and unavoidal)le, than those of tbenight, 
 when darkness adds to tlie terror, and sleep deprives us 
 of all ])ossibility of foresight or defence; so that he must 
 be an atheist, and worse than heathen, who doth not 
 then by a .special jirayer connnit bim.sclf to God's pro- 
 vidence, the knowledge of wliieh doth enlighten our 
 miixls, and makes us full of inward peace and comfort 
 when we are in the darkest shades of night : therefore we 
 pray with David, "Lighten oiu' darkness, we beseech 
 thee, Lord," I's. xviii. 28. Light signifies, in Scrip- 
 ture, knowledge and comfort, and uiuler this mela|ihor 
 we jiray for both, namely, that our understandings may
 
 EVENING P IJ A Y E R. 
 
 49 
 
 
 
 the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, 
 Jesus Christ. Anicn. 
 
 t In Quires and Places where they simj, here 
 foUoweth the Anthem. 
 
 A Prayer for the Queen's Mrijesti/. 
 
 Lord our heavenly Father, higli 
 _ and mighty, King of kings. 
 Lord of lords, the oidy Ruler of 
 ])rinces, vi'ho dost from thy throne 
 behold all the dwellers upon eartli ; 
 Most heartily we beseech thee with 
 thy favour to behold our most 
 gracious Sovereign Lady, Queen 
 riCTORlA; and so replenish her 
 with the grace of thy Lloly S])irit, 
 that she may alway incline to thy 
 will, and walk in thy way : Endue 
 her plenteously with heavenly gifts ; 
 grant her in health and wealth long 
 to live ; strengthen her that she may 
 vanquish and overcome all her ene- 
 mies ; and finally, after this life, she 
 may attain everlasting joy and feli- 
 city ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 A Prayer for the Iloyal Family. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, the foun- 
 tain of all goodness, we humbly 
 beseech thee to bless the Prince Albert, 
 Albert, Prince of IVales, and all the 
 Royal Family : Endue them with thy 
 holy Spirit ; Enrich them with thy 
 heavenly grace ; prosper them with 
 
 be enlightened with the knowledge of his providence, 
 and our hearts cheered with the assurance of his pro- 
 tection. Dean Comber. 
 
 This latter Collect, taken in part from an office of the 
 Greek Church, prays more particularly for the safety of 
 the ensuing night : that God's power may shine upon 
 ns, and "lighten our darkness;" that is, protect us, 
 while we are unable to help ourselves, or even to know 
 our danger. The same phrase is twice used in the book 
 
 all happiness; and bring them to thine 
 everlasting kingdom 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 throusih Jesus 
 
 A Prayer for the Clergy and people. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, who alone workest great 
 marvels; send down upon our Bi- 
 shops, and Curates, and all Congre- 
 gations committed to their charge, 
 the healthful Spirit of thy grace ; 
 and that they may truly please thee, 
 ])our upon them the continual dew of 
 thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, 
 for the honour of our Advocate and 
 Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 A Prayer of St. Chrysostom. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who hast 
 given us grace at this time with 
 one accord to make our common 
 sujiplications unto thee ; and dost 
 promise, that when two or three are 
 gathered together in thy Name thou 
 wilt grant their requests; Fulfil now, 
 O Lord, the desires and petitions of 
 thy servants, as may be most expe- 
 dient for them ; granting us in this 
 world knowledge of thy truth, and 
 in the world to come life everlasting. 
 Amen. 
 
 2 Cor. xiii. 
 
 TH E grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and the love of God, 
 and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, 
 be with us all evermore. Amen. 
 
 of Psalms. " Unto the godly there ariseth up light in 
 darkness," Ps. cxii. 4. And again, "The Lord shall 
 make my darkness to be light," Ps. xmi. 28. Ah/j. 
 Secktr. This Collect is particularly seasonable at night : 
 for, being then in danger of the terrors of darkness, we 
 by this form commend ourselves into the hands of that 
 God, who " neither slumbers nor sleeps, and with whom 
 darkness and light are both alike," Ps. cx.\i. 3 ; cxxxix. 
 12. Wheatly. 
 
 Here endeth the Order of Evening Prayer throughout the Year.
 
 50 
 
 AT MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 f Upon these Feasts ; Christmas-day", the Epiphany, Saint Matthias, Easter- 
 day, Ascension-day, Whitsunday, Saint John Baptist, Saint Janios, Saint 
 Bartholomew, Saint Matthew, Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Saint Andrew, 
 and upon Trinity- Sunday, shall be sunt/ or said at Morning Prayer, instead 
 of the Apostles' Creed, this Confession of our Christian Faith, commonly called" 
 The Creed (f Saint Athanasius, bi/ the Minister and people standing. 
 
 ■° Upon these Feasts; Christmas-day, &.c.^ The Creed, 
 commonly called the Creed of St. Athanasius, is ap- 
 pointed to be said upon the days named in the rubrick, 
 for these reasons : partly, because those days, many of 
 them, are most proper for this confession of the faith, 
 which of all others is the most express concerning the 
 Trinity, because the matter of them much concerns the 
 manifestation of the Trinity, as Christmas, Ejjiphany, 
 Easter-day, Ascension-day, AVhitsunday, Trinity Sun- 
 day, and St. John Baptist's day, at the highest of whose 
 acts, the baptizing of our Lord, was made a kind of sen- 
 sible manifestation of the Trinity ; partly, that so it might 
 be said once a month at least, and therefore on St. 
 James, and St. Bartholomew's days ; and mthal at con- 
 venient distance from each time, and therefore on St. 
 Matthew, Matthias, Simon and Jude, and St. Andrew's. 
 Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 " — this Confession of our Christian Faith, commonly 
 called &c.] The doctrines of Arius, which were first 
 proposed at Alexandria, found a native of the same city 
 to op])ose them, and this was Athanasius. The integrity 
 of Athanasius, his courage in opposition, his fortitude 
 under persecution, his constancy, and his purity of life, 
 have extorted praises from those who contemn his prin- 
 ciples, and ridicule his doctrines. 
 
 At the Council of Nice, he was a deacon attending on 
 the patriarch of Alexandria, and the great maintainer of 
 the catholick doctrine against the novelties of Arius ; he 
 soon after was elected patriarch of Alexandria himself; 
 and passed the remainder of his hfe in a succession of 
 expulsions and restorations, according to the prevailing 
 opinions of the different emperors at Constantinople ; 
 and in every variety of fortune continued steady in his 
 principles, and imshaken in his constancy. 
 
 His ivi'itings are come down to our times, and in them 
 we find all the doctrines, and most of the identical ex- 
 pressions, which are now in the Creed that bears his 
 name ; but the Creed itself is generally allowed by the 
 learned not to be of his composition. 
 
 The Creed, as it now stands in our Liturgy, is sup- 
 posed to have been framed from the writings of Atha- 
 nasius ; to have been acknowledged by the Western 
 cluirch in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, as early 
 as the sixth century; and to have been received into the 
 Liturg}' in the eighth. 'I'hc general testimony of the 
 learned supjioses Vigihus, an African l)isho|)' in tlie 
 sixth century, to be tlie author; but Dr. Waterland, a 
 divine in our own Church of great erudition, after |)rov- 
 ing that the Creed itself is mentioned before the sixth 
 century, offers an ojiinion of his own, that it was com- 
 posed in Krance, as early as the year 450. l)y Hilary 
 tiishop of Aries. It was not however admitted into the 
 offices of the Roman church, at the earliest, till the year 
 930 ; in which it has continued ever since, and was 
 received into our I,itnrgy at the time of the Reformation. 
 
 I )nention these particulars, in order to shew, that a 
 Creed, which is 1300 years old, and which has been ge- 
 nerally rex;eive(l into the ( 'lun-cli for 1)00 yiars, ought 
 not to be treated lightly, or irreverently, as has lieen I he 
 case in our own country of late; or to be ni'gleeted, with- 
 out considering its merit. Dean Vincent. 
 
 'J'lie design of the author, whoever he was, in compil- 
 
 ing it, was to furnish the Church with a plain and clear 
 account of the grand doctrines of the ever-blessed Trinity, 
 and the incarnation of Christ ; in o])position to the gross 
 errors and heresies which had been maintained and pro- 
 pagated, with great zeal and industry, by the enemies of 
 the true faith. For, as the apostles had long before 
 foretold, "false teachers crept" into the Chiuch, and 
 " privily brought in damnable heresies, denying the 
 Lord that bought them, even the only Lord God, and 
 our Lord Jesus Christ," 2 Pet. ii. 1, and Jude 4. As 
 these spread then' poison, it became necessary to pro- 
 vide an antidote ; for whicli pm-])ose it was wisely 
 ordered that creeds or summaries of the Christian faith, 
 should be drawn up, and published for general use, to 
 guard and defend the Articles of religion against the 
 arts and malice of the enemy, who lay in wait to deceive, 
 and employed every stratagem to undermine them. 
 And, to op])ose these hereticks the more effectually, it 
 H'as found expedient to be more full and particular in 
 stating and explaining the doctrines they attacked, than 
 had been usual or necessary in the earlier and purer 
 ages of Christianity. Hence Creeds became more nu- 
 merous and enlarged, and some terms were introduced 
 not perhaps strictly scriptural, in order to illustrate the 
 doctrines of Scripture, and to obviate the false glosses 
 and perverse interpretations of hereticks. Cf these 
 Creeds, none has been more generally and deservedly 
 received and esteemed, than this «'hich bears the title of 
 St. Athanasius's ; \i-hich our Church has adopted into 
 her Litm-gy, as a standard of the true faith, which all 
 her mcmljers may have recourse to, and which they are 
 all directed jiidilickly to repeat on jiarticular festivals : 
 an injunction, which surely we ought to comply with ; 
 since it is an acknowledgment and declaraticm of our 
 holding fast that faith, into which we were baptized. 
 (Co Wo. 
 
 As to the matter of it, it doth very ftdly and particu- 
 larly condemn all the heresies that were of old in the 
 time of this great bulwark of the catholick faith ; for- 
 bidding us to confoiuul the Persons of the Trinity, with 
 Sabellius, or to divide the substance, with Arius and 
 Eunomius : it shews us against .Xrius and Macedonius, 
 that both the Son is (iod, and the Holy Ghost is God : 
 it confesses Cluist to be God, of the s\ibstance of his 
 Father, against Samosatcnus and Photinus, and man of 
 the substance of his motlier, against ApoUinaris; yet he 
 is not, as Nestorius dreamed, two, but one Christ, not 
 by confusion of substance, as Kutyches held, but by 
 unity of Person : so that this Creed is the (|uintessencB 
 of ancient orthodox divinity, and the means to extirpate 
 all those accursed heresies, some of which our age hath 
 seen revived ; aiul t herefore we have more need to hold 
 and repeat this useful Creed. Dean Comber. 
 
 That this Creed is not Athanasius's is certainly true : 
 but our Chnrcli receives it not upon the authority of its 
 (■om|iiler, nor determines any thing about its age or 
 autlior: but we receive it, because the truth of the doc- 
 trines contained in it " may be jiroved liy most certain 
 warrants of holy Scripttu'c," as is expressly said in our 
 eightli .\rticle. 1 nniy add, that the early and general 
 reception of tliis Creed by (ireeks and Latins, by all the 
 Western churches, not only before but since the Reform-
 
 AT MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 51 
 
 w 
 
 Quiciai/jiie viilf. 
 HOSOEVER will be 
 saved " : before all things it is 
 
 ation, must needs give it a much greater authority and 
 weight than the name of Athanasius could do, were it 
 ever so justly to be set to it. Athanasius has left some 
 creeds and confessions, undoubtedly his, which yet never 
 have obtained the esteem and reputation, that this hath 
 done : because none of them are really of the same in- 
 trinsick value, nor capable of doing the like service in 
 the Christian churches. The use of it is, to be a stand- 
 ing fence and preservative against the wiles and equi- 
 vocations of most kinds of hereticks. This was «'ell 
 understood by Luther, when he called it, " a bulwark 
 to the Apostles' Creed ;" and it was this and the like 
 considerations that haxe all along made it to be of such 
 high esteem among all the reformed churches, from the 
 days of their great leader. Ur. IValerUind. 
 
 The doctrine of the Trinity, as it is here proposed, has 
 been the doctrine of the Gospel ; the doctrine of the pri- 
 miti\'e church; the doctrine of almost every thing that 
 can be called a church in all pages : in the Greek and 
 Roman church, it siu'vived in the midst of all the cor- 
 ruptions that arose : upon the Reformation there was 
 not a Protestant church, but what recei\'ed it in its 
 fullest extent : Luther, Calvin, Beza, and all the wisest 
 and best reformers, acknowledged the Athanasian Creed, 
 and made it their profession of faith ; the Puritans in 
 our own country, the parent stock of all our modern 
 dissenters, embraced it as readily as the Church of Kng- 
 iand herself: and, if many of these reject it now, despise, 
 contemn, and deride it, they are neither true Calvinists 
 nor Presbyterians, but shelter themselves under the 
 general name of Independents, among whom it is said at 
 present that every man's private opinion is his chiu-ch. 
 
 I do not know that this is fact, nor do I wish to deal 
 in misrepresentation ; but I have no scruple to say that 
 " Scripture is not of private interpretation ;" that when- 
 soever we go contrary to a stream, which has run in one 
 channel for seventeen centuries, we ought to doubt our 
 own opinions, and at least treat the general and concur- 
 ring testimony of mankind with respect ; that the reason 
 of individuals is not true reason, but opinion ; and that 
 the standard of true reason is the well-weighed decision 
 of learned and good men, brought to a centre, and com- 
 prehending all the wisdom that their united abilities 
 could collect. 
 
 If therefore any one has his doubts on the intricacies 
 of this question, let him first search the Scriptures, and 
 settle his principles from thence ; if he afterwards M'isbes 
 to ]nu'sue his researches, let him not recur to the crude 
 and hasty judjlications of the present day, in which as- 
 sertions are rashly made without foundation in Scripture, 
 antiquity, or the principles of any church ; but to those 
 learned writers who managed this controversy fifty years 
 ago in our own country ; or, if he has learning and lei- 
 sure sufficient, to the primitive fathers themselves. Dean 
 Vincent. 
 
 Many have argued against the use of this Creed ; and 
 some, with strange vehemence : partly from the doctrines, 
 which it teaches; but chiefly from the condemnation, 
 which it pronounces on all, who disbelieve them. Now 
 the doctrines ai-e undeniably the same %vith those, that 
 are contained in the Articles of our Chiu'ch, in the be- 
 ginning of our Litany, in the conclusions of many of 
 our ('oUects, in the Mecne Creed, and, as we conceive, 
 in that of the Apostles, in the Doxology, in the form of 
 Baptism, in numerous passages of both Testaments ; 
 only here they are somewhat more distinctly set forth, to 
 prevent equivocations. Any one, who examines into the 
 
 necessary that he hold the Catholiek 
 
 Faith. Mark xvi. I(i. 
 
 Which Faith except every one p do 
 
 matter, will easily see it to be so. Accordingly our dis- 
 senting brethren, after they had long objected to other 
 parts of our Liturgy, consented readily to subserilje to 
 this Creed ; the Articles of which are the common faith 
 of the catholick church, or, by immediate consequence, 
 deducible from it ; and little or nothing more. There 
 are indeed several things in them, beyond our compre- 
 hension, as to the manner ; but the Scripture hath the 
 same. There are expressions, which may seem liable to 
 exception; but it must be for want of understanding 
 them, or admitting fair interpretations of them. The 
 assertion that " there is one Father, not three Fathers," 
 and so on, may ajjpear to the ignorant, needless and 
 trifling : but was levelled against heresies, then in being, 
 which took away all distinction between the three Per- 
 sons. That " none is before or after other" means, (as 
 the following words, " but the whole three Persons are 
 co-eternal" prove,) that none is so in point of time, not 
 that none is so in the order of our conceptions ; for the 
 Scrijiture directs us to consider the Father as first. That 
 "none is greater or less than another" is reconciled to 
 our Saviour's assertion, " the Father is greater than I," 
 (John xiv. 28, 1 by what follows in the Creed, " Equal 
 as touching his Godhead, inferior as touching his man- 
 hood" That He is "one, altogether, not by confusion 
 of sidistance, but by Unity of Person" means, (for so 
 the next words ex))lain it) that as each of us is one man, 
 not at all by blending the soul and body into one sub- 
 stance, for they are still distinct, but " altogether," by a 
 mysterious union of the two ; so He is one Christ, not at 
 all by blending the divine and human nature into one 
 substance, but " altogether," intirely and solely, by an 
 union of them, yet more mysterious than the former is. 
 The condemnation, contained in two or three clauses 
 of this Creed, belongs, (as the most zealous defenders of 
 our faith in the holy Trinity agree, and as every one, 
 who reads it considerately will soon perceive) not to all, 
 who cannot understand, or cannot approve, every ex- 
 pression in it ; but only to such as deny " the Trinity in 
 Unity," or three Persons who are one God. "This" 
 alone is said to be "the catholick faith." The words 
 that follow after, " for there is one Person of the Father," 
 and so on, are designed only to set this forth more par- 
 ticularly. And the conclusion from the whole is, not 
 that " in all things," which are " aforesaid," by the use 
 of every term above mentioned, but " in all things, 
 AS IS aforesaid; the LInity in Trinity is to be wor- 
 shipjied :" meaning, that as at first it was said, that in all 
 acts of faith we are to believe in each Person, so here it 
 is added, that in all acts of %vorship we are to adore each : 
 never considering one, even while addressed distinctly, 
 as separated or separable from the other two. Now this 
 Trinity in LInity we apprehend to have been, ever since 
 it was fully reeei\'ed, a fundamental article of the Chris- 
 tian faith. And yet those, who believe not even so much, 
 the Creed no otherwise teaches " cannot be saved," or 
 "shall without doubt perish," than as oiu- Saviour teaches 
 concerning the M-hole of the Gospel : '" He that behev- 
 eth, and is baptized, shall be sa\-ed : but he that believ- 
 eth not shall be damned," Mark xvi. IC. Our condemna- 
 tion is no more hard and uncharitable, than his. And 
 neither is so : because both are to be interpreted with 
 due exceptions ai.d abatements. Suppose a collection 
 of Christian duties had been drawn uj) : and it had been 
 said, in the beginning or at the end of it, " This is the 
 catholick" practice, "which except a man" observe 
 " faithfully, he cannot be saved :" would not everyone 
 £ 2
 
 AT MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 5-2 
 
 keep whole and iindefiled : with- 
 out doubt he shall perish everlast- 
 ingly i. 
 
 understand, that allowance must be made for such things, 
 as a man through involuntary ignorance mistook, or 
 through mere iniirmity failed in, or was truly sorry for, 
 as far as he knew he had cause ? Why then are not the 
 same allowances to be understood in speaking of doc- 
 trines ? For when the Creed says, that " whosoever mil 
 be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold 
 the cathohck faith ;" it doth not mean that true faith is 
 more " necessary" than right practice; but that natu- 
 rally it precedes it, and is to be fust learnt in order to it. 
 The intention therefore of the Creed, as well as of our 
 Lord in the Gospel, is only to say, that whoever rejects 
 the doctrine of it, from presumptuous self-opinion, or wil- 
 fiU negligence ; and doth not afterwards repent of these 
 faults : particularly if he is made sensible of them ; or if 
 not, at least in general, amongst his unknown sins ; the 
 case of such a one is desperate. But if want of infor- 
 mation, weakness of apprehension, or even c.\[cusable 
 wrongness of disposition, should make him doubt or dis- 
 bcUeve any or the main part of this Creed ; nay, which is 
 vastly a worst case, the whole revelation of Christianity ; 
 though we pass judgment on his errors without reserve ; 
 and, in general, on all who maintain them ; yet perso- 
 nally and singly we presume not to judge of his condi- 
 tion in the next world. " To his own ^laste^ he stand- 
 eth or falleth," Rom. xiv. 4. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 It is not the province of a Creed to discuss the tenets 
 which it delivers, or to investigate the formal nature and 
 sin of heresy ; but they must have paid little attention to 
 Scripttu-e, who are not aware, that those, who thus sub- 
 ject themselves to the severity of di\-ine punishment, 
 perish, not sim])ly because they have abandoned the 
 truth, but because they have abandoned the love of 
 truth, and have pleasure in unrighteousness. Their 
 condemnation is, that " hght is come into the world ; 
 and men loved darkness rather than light," Johniii. 19. 
 
 No one, I presume, will be disposed to contend 
 against the validity and equity of the argument, laying 
 a.side the authority upon which it rests. The damna- 
 tory clauses therefore of a Creed, applied to those who 
 pervert or corrupt its doctrines, are foimded equally on 
 the ground-s of reason, and the authority of Scripture. 
 
 But the use of them so ap|)lied is not barely justifiable. 
 Both i)rudence and a charitable regard to the offenders 
 themselves, as well as to those who may be misled by 
 their example, renders it a duty incumbent ujion every 
 Christian church, to hold up this most awful considera- 
 tion, that, as the highest degrees of liappiness assigned 
 to our nature are the rewards of a Christian faith in a 
 good conscience; so does the greatest degree of jiulicial 
 misery. Matt, .xxiii. 14, await those who shall purposely 
 poison these waters of salvation ; and thus frustrate, so 
 far a.s they are enabled, the salutary ends of the Gospel 
 with respect to others. 
 
 With regard to those too who probably might be af- 
 fected by the popular influence of novel propositions, it 
 was surely but consistent with that pious zeal for the 
 happiness of others, which is the distinguishing mark of 
 Christian morality, to apprise them, that, as the very 
 end of their religion, the salvation of their souls, could 
 be obtained only by the means, which that religion pre- 
 scribes, a faith in its genuine doctrines was as indispen- 
 sable as obedience to its precepts; and that whosoever 
 will, therefore, in a (Jhristian sense of the word, be 
 saved, must before all things hold the calliolick or jiri- 
 mitive and unaltered faith ; for as there is no other 
 name under heaven, by which men can be saved, that 
 
 Matt, xxviil. 
 
 And the Catholick Faith is this : 
 That we worship one God in Trinity "■, is. 
 and Trinity in Unity: i°J'„"hn v!°7. 
 
 is, by covenant secure life and immortality : because 
 there is but one Mediator between God and men, Christ 
 Jesus ; so there is no other Gospel, nor any other doc- 
 trines deducible from the Gospel which we possess, that 
 are not consistent with those taught in the primitive or 
 catholick church. There is therefore a necessity, if we 
 would be saved as Clu-istians, to maintain whole and 
 in\'iolate, so far as in us lies, the primitive or cathohck 
 faith. Bp. Cteaver. 
 
 " JVhnsoever will he saved, &c.] Tlie meaning of this 
 term in its primary signification, and as it is apphed to 
 common subjects in common discourse, means a preser- 
 vation from threatening perils, or from threatened pu- 
 nishments : but in an evangelical sense, and as it occurs 
 in the New Testament, it includes much more. It means 
 the whole Christian scheme of redemption and justifi- 
 cation by the Son of God, with all the glorious privileges 
 and promises contained in that scheme. It means not 
 merely a deliverance from danger or from vengeance, 
 but a federal right to positive happiness purchased by 
 the merits, and declared to mankind by the Gospel, of 
 Christ Jesus our Lord. St. Paul calls it, "the obtain- 
 ing of the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with 
 eternal glory," 2 Tim. ii. 10. " \\Tiosoever" then, says 
 the Creed, " will" thus "be saved," will be desirous to 
 secure the glorious promises of the Gospel, must pur- 
 sue it upon the terms, which that Gospel [iroposes ; and 
 particularly, must embrace the doctrines which it re- 
 veals. " Above all things," or in the first place, as the 
 foundation, on which he must hereafter build a holy 
 practice, and a covenanted title to pardon for past de- 
 viations from it, " it is necessary that he hold the catho- 
 hck " or universal " faith," that faith which was " once 
 delivered to the saints," and which is to be dehvered 
 unto them to the end of the world. Archdeacon Dod- 
 wetl. 
 
 f IVhich Faith except every one &c.] " WTiich faith," 
 that is, " the cathohck faith," before sjioken of, which is 
 another name for the true and right faith as taught in 
 Scripture ; called catholick, or universal, as being held by 
 the imiversal church of Christ, against which " the gates 
 of hell" shall never prevail. The meaning then is, that 
 every one is obliged, under pain of damnation, to pre- 
 serve, as far as in him lies, the true and right faith, in 
 opposition to those that endea\'our to corrupt it either 
 by taking from it, or adding to it. That men shall 
 perish eternally for unbelief, for rejecting the faith in the 
 lump, cannot be doubted ; when it is exjjressly said, 
 (Mark xvi. 10,) " he that believcth not, shall be 
 damned ;" and as to rejecting any particular branch or 
 article of it, it must of conscciuence be a sin against the 
 whole ; against truth, and peace, and therefore damnable 
 in its own nature, as all wilful sins arc without repent- 
 ance. As to the allowances to be made for invincible 
 ignor.ancc, ])rcjudice, or olhcr unavoidable infirmities; 
 as they will lie ]ilcadal)]e in the case of any other sin, so 
 they may, and tlicy will also, lie p]cadal)lc in tliis : but 
 it was foreign to tlie pm-posc of the Creed to take 
 notice of it in this case jiartimlarly, when it is common 
 to all cases of like natiu'e, aiui is always supposed, and 
 understood, though not .specially mentioned. Dr. Water- 
 land. 
 
 1 — he shall perish everlastingly.'] Shall finally forfeit 
 his claim to the benefits of (he Christian covenant : shall 
 be for ever excluded froni (lie only stated claim of pro- 
 mised mercy. And " without doubt" he, who does not 
 embrace the truths proposed by revelation, has no title
 
 AT MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Neither coiifoiinrliiiir the Persons : 
 nor dividing the Substance^. 
 
 For tliere is one Person' of the 
 
 to those hopes which that revelation, and that only, offers 
 to mankind. Archdeacon Dodwcll. 
 
 ' And I he Cathidick Faith is this : That toe ivorship one 
 God in Trinity, &c.] This new manifestation of the 
 iihjeet of our adoration is what is jjecuhar to the pro- 
 irssors of our rehgion, and indispensably necessary to 
 the right notion of salvation as laid down in the sacred 
 writings. The belief of a God, of a Providence, of duty 
 owing in this life, of an account to be given of it in the 
 next, is common to all that are in any degree reasonable 
 creatures, and jjretendto what is called natural religion. 
 H\it the worship of the holy Trinity is appropriated to 
 Christian believers; is that which Mahometans, Jews, 
 ;iii(l Pagans ridicule and blas])heme ; but which the eternal 
 Son of Ciod came down from heaven to reveal to and to 
 istablish in his Church upon earth. This requii-ing of 
 woi-ship to the sacred Three cuts off all pretence of its 
 being a speculative or uninteresting doctrine. This 
 made it practical in the highest degree, and made the 
 )iractice instructive to the understanding, as well as ex- 
 jiressive of the devotion of the heart. It implied an 
 acknowledgment of the real divinity of each, as no- 
 thing but that truth could justify this practice ; and, 
 that truth being admitted, this duty necessarily arose 
 from it. 
 
 It was prescribed, indeed, not only by precept, but by 
 the actual exercise of it : and the baptismal institution 
 was at once an injunction of tliis duty, and an eminent 
 instance of the discharge of it. The solemn dedication 
 of all disci])les to the service of " the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost," in the authoritative method of 
 their first admission into the covenant of salvation, was 
 the highest act of worshij) ; and whilst it fulfilled a i)rc- 
 sent performance of it, bound to the future perpetual 
 e.xereise of it. That we " worship one God in Trinity," 
 is what we have done already, and what we then pro- 
 fessed ourselves obliged for ever to do hereafter. Arch- 
 deacon Dodwetl. 
 
 The doctrine of the Trinity is doubtless the first and 
 fundamental article of our faith ; and for a Christian to 
 deny it, is the greatest contradiction that can be. For 
 to such we may well ap]ily the words of St. Paul, " unto 
 what then were ye baptized ?" The form of baptism, as 
 prescribed by our Sa\-iour Himself, is a ])lain acknow- 
 ledgment of the doctrine of the Trinity ; that is, of three 
 divine Persons, distinguished by the titles of Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost, constituting one divine Being or 
 nature, which we call God. To be baptized into the 
 name of these three, is to acknowledge their divine power 
 and dominion over us, and to dedicate ourselves to them, 
 as the objects of our faith, hope, and worship. Agree- 
 ably hereto, we are tolri, that " the catholick faith is this: 
 That we worshi]) one God in Trinity ;" that is, as distin- 
 guished by three Persons : and " Trinity in Unity ;" that 
 is, three Persons united in one God ; the word " Trinity" 
 signifying nothing more than " Three ;" so that to ob- 
 ject to the use of this word, because it is not found in 
 Scripture, is most absurd. It is the doctrine, not the 
 word, we contend for ; and if three divine Persons, or 
 agents, are mentioned as they are throughout the Bible, 
 and at the same time we are told that there is but one 
 God, we cannot, I think, express this doctrine more 
 properly than by the words Trinity in Unity. As to 
 the proofs of this great article of our faith, they are so 
 numerous, and so clear and obvious to every impartial 
 and unprejudiced reader of the Bible, that I shall not 
 recite them. The argument drawn from our baptism is 
 
 .-SO 
 and 
 
 Father, another of tlic Son 
 another of the Holy Gliost. 
 
 But the Godhead of the Father, 
 
 strong and conclusive; and the more it is weighed and 
 considered, the more convincing it will appear. Besides, 
 the names, attributes, and acts of the Deity are so often 
 ascribed to the Son and Holy Spirit throughout both 
 the < )ld and New Testaments, ])artieularly in the latter, 
 as to leave us no doubt of the divinity of their nature ; 
 since God, who has declared that He " will not give his 
 glory to another," would never have thus dignified the 
 highest of created beings. Waldo. 
 
 ' Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the 
 Substance.l Here would be no need of these particular 
 cautions, or critical terms, in relation to this ])oint, had 
 men been content with the plain ])rimitive faith in its 
 native simplicity. But as there have been a set of men, 
 called Sabellians, who have erroneously taught that the 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are aU one Peis<in, who 
 was incarnate, and suffered, and rose again, making tlie 
 Father (and Holy Ghost) to have suffered as well as the 
 Son (from thence called Patripassians), hence it becomes 
 necessary to caution every pious Christian against "con- 
 founding" the Persons, as those men have done. And 
 as there have been others, particularly the Arians, who 
 have pretended very falsely, that the three Persons are 
 three Substances, and of different kinds, divided from 
 each other, one being before the other, existing when 
 the other two were not, as also being present, where 
 the other two are not present; these false and danger- 
 ous tenets having been spread abroad, it is becrjine 
 necessary to give a caution against *' dividing the Suli- 
 stance," as these have done, very much to the detriment 
 of sobriety and truth. Dr. IVoterland. 
 
 If it be said that Person is not a .Scripture word, as 
 a])plied on this occasion, it would be sufficient to say, 
 that it is a word, that best sets forth the sense of Scrip- 
 ture, so as not to confound the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Ghost, with each other, but to keep u|) the 
 distinction between them without dividing the Sub- 
 stance. But. in reality, we have the authority of Scrip- 
 ture for using this very term in speaking of the distinc- 
 tion between the sacred Three. The Son of God is 
 said by St. Paul to be " the express image of his Fa- 
 ther's person,'" Heb. i. 3. The same Apostle elsewhere 
 says, " God, who commanded the light to shine out 
 of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to gi\'e the light 
 of the knowledge of the glory of God in the jierson of 
 Jesus Chi'ist," 2 Cor. iv. 6. Our translators have in- 
 jured the sense of this text, by rendering it, " in the 
 face of Jesus Christ," because the original word might 
 in itself bear that meaning : but the context shews that 
 it cannot bear it in that place ; and the same translators 
 have rightly rendered the same word in a passage very 
 little before it, " if I forgave any thing, to whom I 
 forgave any thing, for your sakes forgave I it in the 
 person of Christ," 2 Cor. ii. 10. Thus both the Greek 
 words {i'TToarairig and Ti-potTuirrov) signifying a Person, 
 are in the New Testament applied to the Son of God 
 as distinct from the Father ; and the Church had there- 
 fore even Scriptural authority for using this expression, 
 and speaking of the error of " confounding the Per- 
 sons." Archdeacon Dodwetl. 
 
 ' For there is one Person &c.] The Creed having thus 
 far declared what " is the catholick faith," and " set 
 forth in order a declaraticn of those things, which are 
 most surely believed among us," proceeds now to the 
 proof of it, and introduces, under particular heads, a 
 demonstration of the general truth of a " Trinity in 
 Unity." In this respect it differs, not in substance, but
 
 54 
 
 AT MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 John V. 17, 
 18. 
 
 Phil. ii. 5, G. 
 Heb. i. 8. 
 Acts V. 3. 4. 
 1 Cor. vi. 19. 
 Tol. i. 16, 17 
 1 Tim. i. 17. 
 
 of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
 is all one : the Glory equal, the Ma- 
 jesty co-eternal. 
 
 Such as the Father is, such is the 
 Son : and such is the Holy Ghost. 
 
 in form, from other Creeds ; for whilst they teach, assert, 
 and aclcnowledge the genuine doctrines of Christianity, 
 they do not use arguments, but leave men to the peru- 
 sal of theu' Bible for the e\idence of those truths, and 
 undertake no more than to recapitulate a summaiy of 
 the principal contents of it. Whereas this Creed goes 
 on in the argumentatix'e method to shew, why we ought 
 not, in our exposition or belief of this article, either to 
 " confound the Persons, or to tlivide the Substance." 
 Archdeacon Dodwell. 
 
 Before the proper di^'inity of Christ was questioned 
 by Arius, few words and little explanation were neces- 
 sary ; before the Persons of the Godhead were con- 
 founded by Sabellius, no affirmation to the contrary 
 was demanded. But, when these men began to judge 
 the articles of faith by reason ; when they applied rea- 
 son to combat plain and positive assertions in the word 
 of God ; they demanded satisfaction ujion points that 
 were not the object of reason, but of faith ; and H-hen 
 no satisfaction could be given them, they levelled Scri])- 
 ture to their reason, instead of building their faith on 
 Scriptm-e ; they interpreted by a figure what is literal, 
 they distorted what was plain. 
 
 If reason is the noblest gift of God, still let us not 
 raise it to an equably with divine wisdom ; if we ask 
 what is truth, and search after truth, let us restrain our- 
 selves within the bounds that God has tixed to reason. 
 Let the wisest then try tbeii' reason in contem])lating 
 God Himself, his existence, omnipotence, prescience, 
 eternity, or any other attribute : and if their reason is 
 not checked in its flight ; if truth, demonstrati\-e truth, 
 which they require, is to be found; if they are not 
 stojiped short with mystery, that word which they deride, 
 that idea which they abhor ; let them boast of a reason 
 which other men have not, and which is peculiar to 
 themselves. 
 
 If God has revealed Himself by reason to the heart 
 of the heathen, if God has revealed Himself to the He- 
 brew in the Old Testament, I maintain that there is 
 still incx])licablc mystery in both rcvelaticms ; and if 
 tliere are additional mysteries in the Christian revela- 
 tion, so be it; we are content to embrace these myste- 
 ries as articles of faith, to bow down our reason and 
 our opinions before the word of God, to believe that 
 He will not. He cannot deceive us, and that, if we ai'e 
 mistaken in interpreting his word, lie will pardon our 
 infirmity, and reward us for our intention, if not for our 
 knowledge. 
 
 We confess then the Trinity in Unity to be a mys- 
 tery; but if (Christ is called God in Scripture, and the 
 Holy Ghost Gt)d, and yet we read, "Hear, () Israel! 
 the Lord thy (iod is one (Jod," wliat remains for us 
 but to adore in silent lunnility, wh.it we cannot compre- 
 hend; and allow, with the Athanasian Creed, that, 
 though every Person by Himself is Lord and (jod, yet 
 tliere arc not three Gods or three Lords, but one God 
 and one Lord. 
 
 'I'he same reasoning applies to all those repetitions in 
 the Creed, which some assert offend their cars, and dis- 
 trtict their minds; for, if Christ is (iod and the Holy 
 Ghost God, they must be uncreate, incomprehensible, 
 anil eternal; these are all attributes of the Deity, aiul 
 each Person severally must jiarlake of these attributes, 
 if He partakes of the Godliead. 
 
 The Father uncreate, the Son un- i?"*;",''— 
 create : and tlie Holy Ghost uncreate. 2; v 20. 
 
 The Father incomprehensible", the o'eti.^^T'' 
 Son incomprehensible : and the Holy fl^'cxlilxj. 
 Ghost incomprehensible. 
 
 The substance of the Godhead is an equal mystery. 
 All pious men, and the catholick church itself, would 
 ha\'e been silent on this head if they had been [lermitted ; 
 but when Sabellius maintained on one hand, that the 
 three Persons were only three names, or three opera- 
 tions, or three modes of expressing one God; and the 
 Arians, on the other, taught that the Son was not of 
 the same substance with the Father ; the church was 
 either obliged to profess that Christ was not God, as 
 He is styled in Scrijiture, or to declare, with the Atha- 
 nasian Creed, that we neither confounded the Persons, 
 as the Sabellians did, nor di\-ided the Unity, as the 
 Arians did. For, if Christ is not of the same substance 
 with the Father, then is He not perfect God ; then two 
 different substances make two different Gods, a God 
 superior, and a God inferior ; our idea of God is con- 
 founded; we see no reason why He is called God 
 in Scriptiu'e, or what we are to understand by the 
 title. 
 
 It is agreeable to the same deduction, that we are 
 compelled to acknowledge that " in this Trinity none 
 is afore or after other, none is greater or less than 
 another; but the whole three Persons are co-eternal 
 together and co-equal." The title of God gi\en to the 
 second and third Person imphes this ; for though we 
 understand that the Father is first in order, as unorigi- 
 nate, that is, derived from none ; the Son second, as 
 begotten of the Father ; the Holy Ghost third, as ])ro- 
 ceeding from both ; though we confess that the I'ather 
 is supreme in office, and that the Son and Holy Ghost 
 condescend to inferior offices ; still in duration, dignity, 
 and other attributes pecuhar to the Deity, they are co- 
 equal. 
 
 Would to God, that questions of this sort had never 
 been agitated, or professions of this kind never been re- 
 quired of us ! Reason and language fail us, while we 
 mention these subjects ; and, while we are comjielled to 
 renounce the doctrines of our adversai-ies, we tremble 
 at the ground we stand on ourselves. 
 
 I speak this not with a s])irit of doubt, but in all 
 humility of soul ; for if we say, with St. John, " the 
 Word W.1S God," or, with St. Paul, that, " being in the 
 form of (iod, he thought it not robbery to be equal 
 with God," we cannot disallow the deduction of the 
 Creed, without explaining away the meaning of the 
 texts; and if we depart from the ])lain and literal 
 sense of the Scripture, we m.iy explain away our whole 
 religion. 
 
 The conclusion of all these several assertions in the 
 ('reed is, that the Unity in Trinity and 'I'rinity in Unity 
 is to be worshipped. Worship follows the idea of (iod ; 
 and if we are told on one hand that the worshipping of 
 angels is a sin, which St. I'aul expressly declares; and 
 on the other that the angels are commanded to worship 
 tlie Son ; and tliat the saints in heaven do worshij) 
 Him ; what doubt can we have of worship|)ing the three 
 I'ersons in the (iodhcad, or the Godhead in the three 
 Persons? l)i-an Vinceut. 
 
 " — incnm/irflianiibh;'] The English version here 
 varies from the original. In the Latin, which was the 
 language in which this Creed was first |)enned, it stands 
 thus; "the Father immense, the Son immense, and 
 tlie Holy (ihost immense." When this translation was 
 tii-st made in our native tongue, the word " iucompre-
 
 AT MORNING I'll A YE K. 
 
 55 
 
 2 Cor. iii. 17. 
 
 The Father eternal, the Son eter- 
 nal: and tlie Holy Ghost eternal. 
 
 And yet they are not three eter- 
 nals : but one eternal. 
 
 As also there are not three incom- 
 prehensibles, nor three uncreated : 
 but one uncreated, and one incom- 
 prehensible. 
 Rev. i. 8. So likewise the Father is Almiijhty, 
 
 the Son Almighty : and the Holy 
 Ghost Almighty. 
 
 And yet they are not three Al- 
 jnhn i. 1. miijhties : but one Almiofhtv. 
 
 1 Tim. iii. 10. S i.1 T7 il • /-' 1 ../ CI 
 
 Acts XX. 28; So the Tatlier is God, the Son is 
 1 Cor. vi. 19. God : and the Holy Ghost is God. 
 
 And yet they are not three Gods: 
 but one God. 
 Acts X. 3R.^ So likewise the Father is I>ord, 
 u'or. xv.J?. the Son Lord: and the Holy Ghost 
 Lord. 
 
 And yet not three Lords : but one 
 Lord. 
 
 For like as we are compelled by 
 the Christian verity : to acknowledge 
 every Person by himself to be God 
 and Lord : 
 
 hensible" was not confined to the sense it now hears, 
 as inconceivable, or beyond or above our understand- 
 ing ; but it then meant not coinpi-ehended within any 
 limits, and thu,s answered to the original expression 
 and notion of immensity. Archdeacon Dndwell. 
 
 ' So that in all thinijs, as is aforesaid : the Unity in 
 Trinity, &c.] The reference, here made to what had 
 been said before, belongs to the beginning of the t-reed, 
 wliere it had been said almost in the very same words, 
 " ITie catholick faith is this, that we worship one God 
 in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity." It was there laid 
 down as a positive assertion, as a declaration of the 
 jirofessed doctrine of the church. It is here resumed 
 as an inference from all the particulars, that had since 
 been taught and proved from i5cri])ture and reason. 
 Had that doctrine and worship been acquiesced in, as 
 plainly drawn from the baptismal form, that short sen- 
 tence had in this respect been Creed sufficient. But 
 when men, in attempting to explain the Trinity, ad- 
 vanced, or seemed to advance, notions repugnant to 
 the divine Unity ; or when, in adhering to that most 
 fundamental point, they destroyed the distinctions of 
 the sacred Three, which had been established in words 
 as jjlain as the Scripture could use, then such errors 
 were to be renounced in form ; and it was judged ne- 
 cessary, that the members of the Church should in 
 such instances be directed to declare what they did 
 not believe, as well as what they did beUeve. Whatever 
 notion " confounded the Persons," or " divided the 
 Substance," was equally to be rejected, and every sen- 
 tence which is inserted in this Creed, has a view to 
 some error or heresy on the one side or the other. 
 
 However it was particularly necessary to ])rove the 
 several attributes of each Person, as here specified, the 
 uncreatedness, the incomprehensibility, or infinity, the 
 eternity, the divinity, the lordship, or siqireme domi- 
 nion, of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, in 
 order to intitle them to worship from us, and to justify 
 us in the joint exercise of it. St. Paul severely censmes 
 
 So are we forbidden by the Catho- 
 lick Religion : to say. There be three 
 Gods, or three Lords. 
 
 The Father is made of none : nei- 
 ther created, nor begotten. John v. 20. 
 
 The Son is of the Father alone : jnim ;. 14. 
 not made, nor created, but begotten, i^j^'"; 5" j"' 
 
 The Holy Gho.st i.s of the Father ? ,"i; ''.■'^•,=- 
 and 01 tlie Son : neither made, nor 
 created, nor begotten, but proceed- 
 ing. Jolin XV. 26. 
 
 So there is one Father, not three 
 Fathers ; one Son, not three Sons : 
 one Holy Ghost, not three Holy 
 Ghosts. 
 
 And in this Trinity none is afore, 
 or after other : none is greater, or 
 less than another ; 
 
 But the whole three Persons are 
 co-eternal together : and co-equal. 
 
 So that in all things, as is afore- 
 said : the LTiiity in Trinity '^j and the 
 Trinity in Unity is to be worship- 
 ped. 
 
 He therefore that will be saved : 
 must thus think of the Trinity J'. 
 
 those ignorant idolaters, who, "when they. knew not 
 fjod, did service unto them, which by nature are no 
 Gods." (Gal. iv. 8.) And God Himself by his prophet 
 declares adoration to be unalienably his sole prerogative. 
 " I am the Lord ; that is my name, and my glory wiU 
 I not give to another," Isa. xlii. 8. Yet it; is the de- 
 clared design of the Father Himself, that " all men 
 should honour the Son, even as they honour the Fa- 
 ther," John V. 23. St. Paul adds expressly, " When 
 he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he 
 saith, And let all the angels of God worship him," 
 Ileb. i. 6. And we find this injunction obeyed and 
 exemplified by the whole host of heaven, Rev. v. 12, 
 13. Every benediction likewise "in the name of the 
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ;" every oath and 
 appeal made to Christ, and to " conscience as bearing 
 witness in the Holy Ghost," is a solemn act of adora- 
 tion, intended as an avitboritative pattern. This part 
 of the Creed concludes with the repetition of the de- 
 finitive sentence at the beginning of it. Archdeacon 
 Dodwell. 
 
 ^ He therefore that viill be saved, must thus think of 
 the Trinity.'] He, that will secure a title to the pro- 
 mised salvation through Christ, must embrace the doc- 
 trines that Christ has revealed, and obey the rules that 
 Christ has established. He must profess the belief and 
 adore the Persons, of the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghost; for, without this, he cannot so much as 
 be admitted a member of the Church. He must " with 
 his heart believe this unto justification, and with his 
 mouth make confession thereof unto salvation," as St. 
 Paul speaks, Rom. x. 10. The doctrine of the Trinity, 
 if true, must be a truth of great imjiortance, for it is 
 connected mth eveiy article of our religion, whether 
 more or less speculative or practical. The acknowledg- 
 ment or the rejection of it alters the very notion of our 
 justification and salvation, and either represents it as a 
 mystery of mercy in the conjunction of infinite justice, 
 undeviating righteousness, and unlimited goodness, or
 
 56 
 
 AT MORNING PR A YE 11. 
 
 Furthermore, it is necessary == to 
 I John w. 3. everlasting salvation : that he also 
 a'cis XX. 2]'. believe rio;htlv the Incarnation of our 
 Rom.i.3. LordJesus Christ. 
 Rom. Tiii. 3. For the right Faith is, that we 
 "olm iii'. i'ef ■ believe and confess : that our Lord 
 John i. 14. Jesus ChHst, the Son of God, is God 
 
 1 Tim. ni. 16; . I , , 
 
 ii. 5. and JNlan; 
 
 God, of the Substance of the Fa- 
 
 as the easy grant of a tender Being, who has more re- 
 gard to the happiness than to the hoUness of his crea- 
 tures. 
 
 On this account so much stress is laid on the ne- 
 cessity of embracing this article, and it is said, that 
 " he must thus think of the Trinity, who would be 
 saved." He who has such instruction offered, and 
 such endence of it laid before him, is answerable for 
 his neglect, if he does not admit the truth ; and falls 
 finally short of the only federal title to mercy : without 
 our determining any thing concerning their states «-ho 
 never heard of Christ ; or theirs, to whom the truths 
 of the Gospel are imperfectly proposed, or unfairly re- 
 presented ; or theirs, who, under all advantages in 
 these respects, have yet perhaps equal difficulties to 
 struggle with, through personal incapacity, or unsur- 
 mountable prepossessions. "To their own Master 
 these stand or fall," Rom. xiv. 4. We are only to 
 apply " to the law and to the testimony," and to say, 
 what they must believe and do to be saved, who would 
 secure their title to salvation upon the terms prescribed 
 in the Gospel. 
 
 Now the proofs of the general doctrine of the " Tri- 
 nity in Unity" are plain, and short, and easy, o]ien to 
 eveiy understanding. The Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghost are distinguished from each other by pe- 
 culiar acts and offices. Yet divine names, titles, attri- 
 butes, and offices, are ascribed to each of them ; and 
 the Unity of the Deity is as unquestionably established. 
 To this general doctrine alone belong the condemnatory 
 sentences, and not to the particulars in \'iew in the ob- 
 servations following, which may safely be unknown, 
 where the oi)])osite errors are never heard of. But, if 
 ignorance be an excuse for not understanding ortho- 
 do.\y, it is no excuse for embracing heresy. If the con- 
 troversy be looked into, the review of this Creed cannot 
 fail of being of use in it. It cannot but be observed, 
 that the several heresies contradict each other, and do 
 in their turn sui)])ort each part of (his Scrijitural doc- 
 trine of a " Trinity in Unity." The SabcUians allow the 
 strict and real divinity of the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy (jhost, and thougli they "confound the I'ersons" 
 they do not " divide the Substance." The Arians 
 allow the distinction between the sacred Three in the 
 highest degree, for they look on them as three distinct 
 Beings; and they do thercl>y "divide the Substance" 
 though they do not " confound the Persons." Take 
 the acknowledgment of the former for the undivided 
 Unity, and that of the latter for the real suljsistencc of 
 a Trinity ; and the orlliodox Creed will stand the more 
 conlirined, clear of their inconsistencies and paljiable 
 nijposition to some of the jilainest jjossages in the 
 sacred writings. Archdeacon Dodwell. 
 
 ' Furthirmori; it is jiecessnnj iC'c] From the doctrine 
 of the Trinity, the Oeed i)a.sse3 on to that of tlie " in- 
 carnation of our Lord Jesus Christ;" the riglit lielief of 
 which it declares to be " necessary to everlasting salva- 
 tion." Tlic word " incarnation," though not to be met 
 witli in Scripture, expresses precisely wliat we read there 
 
 ther, begotten before the worlds : Heb. i. 2. 
 and Man, of the Substance of his joh'n'xvii. 5.' 
 Mother, born in the world ; ^*- ^^"^Hl; 
 
 Perfect God, and perfect Man: of ■• '^^ oii-. 'yi^ 
 a reasonable soul and human flesh Matt, xxvi!" 
 subsisting; ^^J;*= 
 
 Equal to the Father, as touching ' •'»''" "■ ^■ 
 his Godhead : and inferior to the 
 
 Father, as touching his Manhood. 
 
 John X. 3J. 
 xiv. 28. 
 
 in other words, even that " great mystery of godhness," 
 as the Apostle calls it, " God manifest in the tiesh," 
 1 Tim. iii. 1(5. With an account of this wonderfid dis- 
 pensation St. John begins his Gospel, declaring that 
 the Word, or the Son of God, who "was in the begin- 
 ning with God, and was God ;" " by whom all things 
 were made ; in whom was life," &c. (all which ex- 
 pressions he uses to shew his true and jjroper divinity) 
 that this same divine Person "was made flesh" or was 
 incarnate, and " dwelt among us," &e. ; that is. He who 
 was truly God, by taking our natm'e upon Him, became 
 truly man ; " being made in all things like unto his bre- 
 thren," sin only excepted. 'Iliis doctrine, as well as 
 that of the Trinity, having been denied by some here- 
 tieks, and greatly depra\ed and corrupted by others, 
 the author of our Creed judged it necessary to state it 
 in the clearest terms jjossible; keeping close to the 
 sense of Scripture, and guarding it carefully against all 
 false glosses, and wrong interpretations. Waldo. 
 
 With respect to this article, namely, the doctrine of 
 the incarnation, fh-st, we profess to helie\-e that Jesus 
 Christ, the Son of God, is God and man : this we 
 assert in o]iposition to those, on the one hand, who 
 thought Christ not fully and completely man, but a 
 messenger from God, under a human ajipearance : and 
 who supposed his suffering on the cross to be a mere 
 representation or delusion of the senses ; while on the 
 other hand we resist the opinion of those who thought 
 Him not fully God. It is for this reason we say, per- 
 fect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and 
 human flesh subsisting ; God as begotten of the Father 
 before the worlds, man as born of the virgin in the 
 world ; and this we ai-e compelled to say, because if He 
 is not God, there is no covenant of redemption ; if He 
 is not man, the satisfaction on the cross is a delusion. 
 
 I'-ipial to the Father as touching his Godhead, and 
 inferior to the Father as touching his manhood. The 
 etiuality to the Father has been pro\-ed already from 
 St. Paul : the inferiority we the more readily acknow- 
 ledge ; because all the force of our adversaries is an- 
 nulled by the concession. They are very full uiion 
 those texts " the Father is greater than I. There is none 
 good but one, that is (Jod. Of that day knowcth no 
 man : no, not the Son, but the Father only." All 
 these texts are literal Scripture, as much as those al- 
 ready quoted ; but why are they produced against us, 
 who never deny them ? We confess the inferiority of 
 the Son as wi'll as tliey do, Imt not in their way. We 
 grant t hilt the Son while in flesh jirayeil tofhel'ather, and 
 acknowledged his own inferiority; but tlie Son in hea- 
 ven is (iod, and sits on the right hand of (Jod. partaker 
 of the Divine Majesty. All the texts, that ]irove the 
 inferiority of the Son as man, the subordination of tlic 
 Son as the second Person, are good texts ; but is there 
 a single text to be produced from Scripture whicli will 
 prove that He is not eternal, or not of the same sub- 
 stance with tlie Father? Tliis is the jioiut in tpiestion 
 between us, and we challenge them to tlic |iroof. Dciin 
 Vincent.
 
 AT MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 .57 
 
 Wlio althougli lie be God and 
 Man : yet he is not two, hut one 
 I for. viii. c. Christ; 
 
 One ; not by conversion of the 
 Godhead into Flesh : but by taking 
 Heb. ii. iG. of the Manhood into God ; 
 
 One altogether ; not by confu- 
 sion of Substance : but by unity of 
 1 Cor. viii. 0. Person. 
 
 For as the reasonable soul and 
 
 flesh is one man": so God and Man 
 
 is one Christ; 
 
 mIu'L^^s! Who suffered for our salvation'': 
 
 iTim. ii.ii. descended into hell, rose again the 
 
 1 Petl iii. IS. third day from the dead. 
 
 * For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man : so 
 &c.] This simile or comparison, the only one the 
 author has ventured to introduce into his Creed, may 
 serve to give us some faint idea, however inadequate, 
 of the mysterious vmion of the two natures in our 
 blessed Saviour ; at least thus much we may learn from 
 it, not to deny or disbeliex'e any article of faith, because 
 we cannot fully comprehend it, nor to reject a doctrine 
 as contradictory or impossible, because we cannot ex- 
 plain it; for, according to that way of reasoning, we 
 may believe nothing. How can we account for, or e.\- 
 ))lain, the manner of our living, or moving, or thinking ? 
 Yet shall we tlierefore deny that we live, move, and 
 think ? So in regard to the union of soul and body ; 
 how it is effected, I am sure the wisest man living can- 
 not explain ; but that they are so united, cannot be 
 denied. That two such different and contrary sub- 
 stances, as spirit and matter, should be so closely and 
 intimately joined together in the human species, never 
 to be separated till death, and to be reunited at the 
 general resurrection, and so to remain to all eternity, 
 is to our short-sighted and imperfect faculties truly 
 amazing and unaccountable ; but still there is nothing 
 in it impossil)le or contradictory ; nothing but what the 
 wisest and most learned persons, as well as the igno- 
 rant and illiterate, firmly believe. And if we thus 
 assent to an undoubted truth, relating to our own 
 nature, though we cannot fully comprehend, or e.\plain 
 it : surely we ought not to dispute against what the 
 word of God reveals to us concerning the di\ine nature, 
 and its union with ours, however it may exceed our 
 capacities to imderstand it. We should rather admire 
 and adore " the wisdom of God in a mystery ; even the 
 hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world 
 unto our glory," and to accomplish our salvation, 
 1 Cor. ii. 7. iValdo. 
 
 ■■ Who suffered for our salvation, &c.] The remain- 
 ing part of this Creed relates to other articles founded 
 on these already considered, but less controverted and 
 more immediately practical. These shew the im])ort- 
 ance of those princi])les on which they are established ; 
 representing the end of this mysterious incarnation, the 
 completion of it, its evidence, its effects, and its infinite 
 consequence to us in our final happiness or misery, ac- 
 cording to our improvement by, or neglect, or mis- 
 application of it. This is the great truth with which 
 we are to awaken our hearers, not only " wtnessing a 
 good confession " of faith before enemies as well as 
 friends, but shewing its influence on ourselves, and om- 
 zeal to promote its beneficial effects on others, by strict 
 example and warm admonition, as well as by sound in- 
 struction ; warning them to " flee from the ^vratlr to 
 
 He ascended into heaven, he sittcth 
 on the right hand of the Father, 
 God Almighty : from whence he 
 shall come to judge the quick and 
 the dead. 
 
 At whose coming all men shall rise 
 again with their bodies: and shall 
 give account for their own works. 
 
 And they that have done good 
 shall go into life everlasting : and 
 they that have done evil into ever- 
 lasting fire. 
 
 This is the Catholick Faith: which 
 except a man believe faithfully, he 
 cannot be saved "=. 
 
 come," and to secure, whilst it may be secured, a title 
 to everlasting bliss. Archdeacon Dodwetl. 
 
 ' This is the Catholick Faith : which except a man 
 believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.'] lliis has been 
 ah'eady explained of a federal title to the merits of 
 Christ and the glorious privileges of his covenant in the 
 secure ])romise of unmerited ])ardon, and even of end- 
 less hap])iness. But the requisite condition of obtain- 
 ing this title, here specified, directs our view to suitable 
 conduct, as well as to unfeigned assent. He does not 
 " believe faithfully," who is not sincerely influenced by 
 his faith to an holy life. This is an article never to be 
 omitted or forgotten in our discourses on these doctrinal 
 points : if our life is not amended and reformed, a 
 speculative assent to these great truths may aggravate 
 our sin and punishment, but cannot possibly atone for 
 the one, or prevent the other, or even lessen either. 
 It ^^^ll add self-condemnation to both. Archdeacon 
 Dodivell. 
 
 The sense of this concluding verse may be thus 
 given. This is the sum and substance of the true 
 doctrine of the Gospel, of that " faith, which was once 
 delivered unto the saints," and which the catholick or 
 universal church, still teaches, which if a man believe 
 faithfully and sincerely, and lives suitably to that belief, 
 he shall be saved ; but, if he wilfully and obstinately 
 refuses to believe, we condemn him not by any judg- 
 ment of our own, we wish liim no evil, but heartily ])ray 
 for his conversion and salvation ; referring him to the 
 words of our blessed Saviour which we dare not dis- 
 pute, or elude ; " he that believeth not, shall bo 
 damned." JValdo. 
 
 From what has been already said it wdl be found, 
 that damnatory clauses, or anathemas, as they are 
 angrily called, deriving their authority from Scri[)ture, 
 should be considered as awful admonitions, which it 
 hath seemed good to Divine wisdom to announce 
 generally, in order to condemn an indifference of mind 
 in matters of religious principle ; to correct a fond 
 admiration of change or novelty; and to intimidate, 
 under the severest penalties of God's displeasure, the 
 vain, or interested, from broaching their wild and per- 
 nicious heresies. 
 
 If it shall happen from the influence of prevailing 
 heresies, that it may be expedient to draw up a sum- 
 mary of faith, not simply by a ])lain recital of positive 
 articles, but to add bkewise particular and guarded e.x- 
 phcations of them, in direct refutation of subtle and 
 intricate errom's, it may well happen, that terms or 
 positions, thus calculated to preclude or obviate these 
 eri-ors, may, with the errors themselves, be sometimes 
 too remote for vulgar apprehension.
 
 58 
 
 AT MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to tlie 
 Son: and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now. 
 
 In such cases it will be evident, that neither articles 
 of faith so conceived, nor the damnatory clauses ac- 
 companying them, will, or can be intended to, apply to 
 those, who do not apprehend them. 
 
 StUl will no just presumption against the utility of 
 such a summary, or of such clauses, attach to them, 
 even as they respect those, who may not at present 
 understand their design. To these persons they will 
 be nevertheless a security for the purity of their faith, 
 whenever tliat faith shall he endangered by the mis- 
 representation of error, or artifice ; for whenever they 
 shall be tempted to admit false explications, or plausible 
 objections to their faith, they will then at least be as 
 capable of admitting such exphcations as are true ; and, 
 without delusively trusting to the apparent but unreal 
 decision of their own judgment in matters beyond their 
 reach, they will, in the Creeds of their church, always 
 have the support of that authority, to which alone the 
 unlearned ought to have recourse. A Creed of this kind 
 may therefore be considered as a preservative against 
 heresy, apphcable as occasion shall require ; and useful 
 just so far as the danger of error shall occur. 
 
 If this Creed therefore be not in daily use, it will be 
 desirable to remind the unlearned of such a preservative, 
 by the repetition of it at stated times, and upon those 
 occasions especially, when the great and leading objects 
 of our faith are made the sul)jects of our meditation. 
 
 Such an use of it wU have another important advan- 
 tage, as it regards the unlearned : for, as it is previously 
 made a test of the faith of their appointed teacher; 
 so, by the stated rejietition of it, it becomes a test of 
 his perseverance in that faith ; and they are thereby 
 rendered as secure, as human provisions can render 
 them, of the justness and consistency of his doctrinal 
 instructions. 
 
 But to the publick at large a summai-y of this kind is 
 valuable on manj' more accounts. 
 
 As an explicit and correct profession of the fimda- 
 mental doctrines of our religion in the cluirches by 
 which it is adopted, it manifests to the whole Christian 
 world the extent and unity of that faith, which, existing 
 from the commencement of the Gospel, has for the 
 space of twelve or thii-teen centuries been seciued by 
 the same form of words through the Latin or Western 
 churches of Christendom. Thus again these churches 
 present their institutes of religious faith more ex])licitly 
 to the candid and mature examination of c\'cry liberal 
 and well-informed mind, who is thereby enabled to 
 judge of the degree oi Scrip(\u-al authority, upon which 
 they rest, and of the purity of the church, within whose 
 pale he has been, or may wish to be, admitted. 
 
 The ministry are likewise therel)y instructed more 
 fully in the doctrines, which they undertake to teach, 
 and forewarned more in detail of the heresies which 
 they engaged to o])|)ose ; and, by these stated rci)cti- 
 tions, are reminded of the strict obligations, which tlicy 
 have taken ujion themselves; of the fraud, which they 
 impose upon the religious estaldishment, so long as 
 they receive the emoluments of a station and function, 
 whilst they refuse to discharge the (hitics attiu'hcd to 
 them; and of the guilt, which tlicy contract before 
 (iod, when, hy neglect or op]iosition to these doctrines, 
 they discountenance articles of faith, which they volun- 
 tarily and publickly have engaged to promote. Bp. 
 Cleaver. 
 
 With respect to tlie puldio reading of this Creed, 
 which it is become tlie practice to omit in some places. 
 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 it is desirable for the clergy to consider, how offensive 
 this omission must be to the orthodox part of their con- 
 gregation, who are thereby deprived of an opportunity 
 of professing their faith publickly in the manner which 
 the Church has directed. And they may be asked, 
 whether is it more reasonable to offend those by an 
 irregular omission; or to disgust the heterodox by 
 reading what they are commanded ? Waldo. 
 
 To the Sceptic, the Arian, and the Socinian, we do 
 not exi)ect to find such a Creed acceptable, because it 
 M-as designed to restrain the fantastick and pernicious 
 opinions started on their part upon the subjects con- 
 tained in it. 
 
 But every firm and steady belie-\'er may still, and in- 
 deed ought to, hold high the value of the only Creed 
 deli\-ered to us from antiquity ; which states that fu-st 
 and great principle of Christian revelation, the import- 
 ance and necessity of a just faith. 
 
 Upon us, the ministers of the Church, especially, it is 
 incumbent, as occasions offer, to explain and illustrate 
 its design and uses to the more uidearned, as well as to 
 obviate the crude exceptions made against its doctrines 
 or language ; to derive its due weight of authority from 
 the \-enerable antiquity of its origin ; and to draw an 
 argument of its merits from the universal approbation, 
 with «'hich it has been received, and from the place 
 which it now holds in the Confession, if not in the 
 Liturgy, of every church in Europe, papal and re- 
 formed : from no one of which coidd it be removed, 
 without authorizing, on the i)art of that church, a pro- 
 sumption, that its doctrines were erroneous. 
 
 It has now, indeed, for a long succession of ages 
 borne so great a share in the just interpretation and 
 supjiort of our Christian faith, that it may well afford a 
 doubt, how far without it this faith itself would, in the 
 jircsent degree of purity and correctness, be so well 
 maintained ; esiiecially that important principle of it 
 which stands foremost in this Creed, and which cannot 
 meet our observation too often. This they have well 
 judged, who, at different times, have jiroposed to us to 
 part with it, merely to gain in return the apjilause of a 
 liberal and candid concession, an inducement too usually 
 jiroffered in contempt, and paid without sincerity. 
 
 Concessions, indeed, in matters of less importance, 
 have too generally a very doubtful effect : but who 
 would be responsible for a concession of such high con- 
 cern ? If this Creed be really what, I trust, the pre- 
 ceding considerations prove it to be, an important fence 
 to the faith of that holy church, which Christ hath jnir- 
 chased with his blood ; who would not tremble at the 
 proposal of laying waste a fence, which, in any degree, 
 hath alforded protection to what was obtained for us at 
 so inestiiualde a ]n'ice ; and of inviting, by a voluntary 
 surrender of our present security, renewed instances of 
 insult in repeated and incessant attacks, to be made 
 upon the terms and obligations of our Christian cove- 
 nant ? /}/). Cleaver. 
 
 When this ('reed was written, it was both in the East 
 and W est churches accepted as a treasure of ines- 
 timable price by as many as had not given U[) even 
 the very ghost of belief: howbeit not then so expedient 
 to be ]nil)lickly used as now in the Church of God. 
 Hooker. 
 
 I'jion the whole, it is exceeding useful and even neces- 
 sary for every church to have some such form as this, 
 or something C(|iilvalent, o]ien and common to all its 
 members; that none may be led astray for want of
 
 AT MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 ]iroper caution, and previous instruction in what so 
 nearly concerns the whole structure and fabrick of the 
 Christian faith. As to this particidar form, it has so 
 long prevailed and has so well answered the use in- 
 tended, that, all things considered, there can be no 
 siiffieient reason for changing any part of it, much less 
 I'lir laying the vvhole aside. There are several other 
 < 'reeds very good ones, (though somewhat larger,) which, 
 liad they been made choice of for common use, might 
 ]iossibly have done as well. The (.'reeds I mean, (of 
 wliieh there is a great number,) drawn U[) after the 
 council of Chalcedon, and pur|)osely contrived to obvi- 
 ate all the heresies that ever had infected the Christian 
 
 church. But those that dislike this Creed, would 
 much more dislike the other ; as being still more jiarti- 
 cular and explicit, in regard to the Ncstorian, Kuty- 
 chian, and Monothebte heresies, and etpially full and 
 clear for the doctrine of the Trinity. 
 
 To conclude ; so long as there shall be any men left 
 to op])Ose the doctrines which this Creed contains, so 
 long will it be expedient, and even necessary, to con- 
 tinue the use of it, in order to preserve the rest; and, I 
 sujipose, when we have none remaining to find fault 
 with the doctrines, there will be none to object against 
 the use of the Creed, or so much as wish to have it 
 laid aside. Dr. Waterlund,
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 1[ Here foUotceth the LITANY"^, or General SitppUcation", to be siing or said 
 after' Morning Prayer upon Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays'^, and at 
 other times when it shall be commanded^ by the Ordinary^. 
 
 ^ Here fullnwelh the Litany,'] Till the last review in 
 1661 the Litany was designed to be a distinct service' 
 by itself, and to be used some time after the Morning 
 Prayer was over. Wheatly. And in the rubriclc be- 
 fore the Commination it was ordered, that after Morn- 
 ing Prayer is done, which was then done betimes, and 
 while it was yet morning, not put off as since till to- 
 wards noon, " the people shall be called together again 
 to the Litany, by the tolling of a bell, after tlie accus- 
 tomed manner." So that in those days the custom 
 was to go home after Morning Prayer, and to come again 
 to the Litany. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 ' Here foUowcth the Litmiy, or General Supplication, 
 &c.] The word Litany is used by the most ancient 
 Greek writers for " an earnest suiiplication to the gods, 
 made in time of adverse fortune :" and in the same sense 
 it is used in the Christian church for " a supplication 
 and common intercession to God, when his wrath lies 
 upon us." Such a kind of supplication was the fifty- 
 first Psalm, which begins with " Have mercy u])on 
 me," &c. and may be called David's Litany. Such 
 was that Litany of God's appointing, Joclii. 17; where. 
 in a general assembly, the priests were to say with 
 tears, " Spare th_v people, O Lord," &c. And such 
 was that Litany of our Sa\-iour, Luke .vxii. 44, which 
 kneehng he often repeated with strong crying and tears, 
 Heb V. 7; and St. Paul reckons up " supphcations " 
 among the kinds of Christian offices, which he enjoins 
 shall be daily used, I Tim. ii. 1 ; which supplications 
 are generally c.vpounded Litanies for removal of some 
 great evil. As for the form in which they arc now 
 made, namely, in short requests by the jn'iest, to whicli 
 the people all answer, St. Chrysostom sailh it is derived 
 from the primitive age. And not only the Western, 
 but the ICastcrn clnu'ch also, have ever since retained 
 this way of praying. 'I'his was the form of the Chris- 
 tians' prayers in Tertullian's time, on the days of their 
 stations, U'ednesdays and Fridays, by which he tells 
 us they removed drought. Tims in St. Cyi)rian's time 
 tlicy requested (iod for deliverance from enemies, for 
 obtaining rain, and for removing or moderating his 
 judgments. And St. Ambrose hath left a fcu'm of 
 Litany, which bears his name, agreeing in many things 
 with this of oars. For when miraculous gifts ceased, 
 they began to write down divers of those primitive 
 forms, which were tlie original of our modern ollicc : 
 and about the year 400 these Litanies began to be used 
 in procession, tlie people walking barefoot, and saying 
 them with great devotion. .\nd Mainertns, bislioj) of 
 Vienna, did collect a Litany to be so used, by whicli his 
 country was delivered from dreadful calamities, in the 
 year 4()0. .And soon after Sidoiiiiis, bishoji of .\rverne, 
 upon the (iothick invasion, made use of the same office; 
 and about the year .'iOO, the Council of Orleans enjoined 
 they slionld be used at one certain time of the year, in 
 fills publiek way of procession : and in the next century 
 Gregory the (jreat <hd, out of all the I/itanies extant, 
 compose that famous sevenfold Litany, by which Rome 
 
 was delivered from a grievous mortality, which hath 
 been a pattern to all Western churches ever since ; and 
 ours comes nearer to it, than that in the jiresent Roman 
 missal, wherein later popes had put in the invocation 
 of saints, which om' Reformers have justly expunged. 
 But by the way we may note, that the use of Litanies, 
 in procession about the fields, came up but in the time 
 of 'I'heodosius in the East, and in the days of Mamer- 
 tus of Menna, and Ilonoratus of Marseilles, namely, 
 in the year 4G0, in the West; and it was later councils 
 which did enjoin the use of it in Rogation week ; but 
 the forms of earnest supplications were far more ancient 
 and truly primitive. As for our own Litany, it is now 
 enjoined on Wednesdays and Fridays, the two ancient 
 fasting days of the Christians, in which they had of old 
 more solemn prayers ; and on Sundays, when there is 
 the fullest assembly : and no church in the world hath 
 so complete a form, as the curious and comprehensive 
 method of it will declare. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — on SnniJays, Wednesilays, and Fridays,'] Epipha- 
 nius referreth this order to the apostles. The Jews in 
 their sjmagogues observed for their special days of 
 assembling together those that dwelt in villages, Mon- 
 days and Thursdays besides the sabbath. 'I'he prece- 
 dent of the Jews directed the church not to do less 
 than they did. They made choice of Mondays and 
 Thursdays, in regard of some great calamities, that 
 befel their nation upon those days ; and that they might 
 not be three days together, without doing some ]niblick 
 service to God. The Cliurch had the like reason of 
 Wednesdays and Fridays, whereon our Saviour was 
 betrayed and crucified ; the moral reason of once in 
 three days, with a con\'euient distance from Sunday, 
 concurring. The obser\-aiice of these days for jiublick 
 assemblies was universal, and the practice of the oldest 
 times. B/>. Co.sih. 
 
 8 — when it shall he commanded hy the Ordinary.] 
 Next to the Morning and Evening service in our Prayer 
 Hook stands the Litany, or most eiu'nest suiiplication 
 f<ir averting God's judgments, and |irocuring his mercy. 
 This earnestness, it was thought, would be best excited 
 and expressed by the people's inter]iosing frequently to 
 rejieat with their own moutlis the solemn form of " be- 
 seeching" (iodto "deliver" andto"hear" them : inwhich 
 however the minister is uiiilerstood to join e(]ually ; as 
 the congregation are in every jiarticular specified by 
 liiui. Such Litanies have lieen used in the Church at 
 least 1400 years. And they were appointed first for 
 \\ eduesdays and Fridays, these being appropriated to 
 |)cnitence and luiuiihation, and for oilier fasts: but not 
 long after for Sundays also ; there being then the 
 largest congregation, and most solemn worship : and 
 our Litany is farther directed to be used at sueli other 
 times, as the Ordinary shall think ]iroper. Originally 
 it was intended for a (hstinet service ; to come after the 
 .Morning Prayer, as the rubrick of our Liturgy still 
 directs, and before the office for tlie Communion, at a 
 proper distance of time from each ; of which custom a
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 61 
 
 Eph. ill. 14. 
 Ps. U. 1. 
 
 OGod' the Fatlicr, of heaven'': 
 have mercy upon us miserable 
 
 few churches preserve still, or did lately, some remains. 
 But in the rest, convenience or inclination hath ])re- 
 vailcd to join them all three together : excepting that in 
 some ])lace3 there is a psalm or anthem between the 
 first and second ; and between the second and third, 
 almost every where : besides that the latter part of the 
 Morning Prayer is, most of it, ordered to be omitted, 
 when the Ijitany is said with it. But still by this close 
 conjunction many things may appear iniprojier repe- 
 titions : which, if the offices were separate, would not. 
 However, as it is, they, who use cxtem|)ore ]n'aycrs in 
 publick, have small right to reproach us on this head. 
 For doth it not frequently happen, that during one as- 
 sembly of theirs, different ministers praying successively, 
 or the same minister in several prayers, or perhaps in 
 one only, shall fall into as many rejietitions, as are in 
 the different parts of our Liturgy, or more ? But, be 
 that as it will, to these last all ]iersons would easily be 
 reconciled, if an interval were placed, in their minds at 
 least, between the services ; and they would consider 
 each, when it begins, as a new and inde]iendent one, 
 just as if it were a fresh time of meeting together. 
 
 The Litany of our Church is not cpiite the same with 
 any other : but differs very little from those of the Lu- 
 therans in (lermany and L)enmark. It is larger than the 
 (jreek ; but shorter than the Roman, which is half filled 
 up with the names of saints invoked : whereas we invoke, 
 first, the three Persons of the holy Trinity, sejjarately 
 and jointly ; then in a more particular manner our Re- 
 deemer and Mediator, " to whom all power is given in 
 heaven and earth," Matt, xxviii. 18. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 The posture, in which the minister is to repeat the 
 Litany, is not prescribed in any present rubrick, expect 
 that, as it is now a jiart of the Morning Service for the 
 days above mentioned, it is included in the rubrick at 
 the end of the suffrages after the second Lord's Prayer, 
 which orders "all to kneel" in that place, after which 
 there is no direction for " standing." And the Injunc- 
 tions of King Edward and Queen Elizabeth both ap- 
 point, that " the priests, with others of the choir, shall 
 kneel in the midst of the church, and sing or say plainly 
 and distinctly the Litany, which is set forth in English, 
 with all the suffrages following, to the intent the people 
 may hear and answer, &c." As to the posture of the 
 [leople, nothing needs to be said in relation to that, be- 
 cause, whenever the priest kneels, they are always to do 
 the same. Whectly. 
 
 If the Litany be, as certainly it is, our most fervent 
 address to God, fit is it that it should be made in the 
 most significant, that is, in the lowest postui'e of sup- 
 ])lication. L' Estrange. 
 
 '' Ordinary.^ This word, which we have received from 
 the civil law, means the person, who hath the proper and 
 regular jurisdiction, as of course and of common right; 
 in opposition to persons who are extraordinarily ap- 
 pointed. In some acts of parliament we find the bishop 
 to be called " Ordinai-y ;" and so he is taken at the 
 common law, as having ordinaiy jurisdiction in causes 
 ecclesiastical. Dr. Burn. 
 
 ' God &c.] We have a divine command to use 
 Litanies in time of trouble ; for the Scri])ture saith, " Is 
 any afflicted, let him pray," James v. 13. The person 
 we pray to, is (iod, whose order is, " Call upon me in the 
 day of trouble, and I wiU deliver thee," Ps. I. 15. The 
 thing we pray for, is mercy ; so David begins his great 
 penitential, " IIa\'e mercy on me, &c." Ps. li. 1 ; and 
 all the Litanies in the world begin with this solemn word, 
 
 O God the Father, ofhcnvai: have 
 mircij upon its mucrahle sinners. J"ii" ti- 28. 
 
 O God the Son, Redeemer of the i cor.\ 2.' 
 
 " Lord, have mercy on us :" so that this invocation is 
 the sum of the whole Litany, being a particular address 
 for mercy, first to each Person in the glorious 'i'rinity, 
 and then to them altogether : and the address is urged 
 by two motives ; first, because we are " miserable," and, 
 secondly, because we are " sinners," upon both which 
 grounds we extremely need "mercy:" which being as 
 well a confession of faith, as an epitome of the whole 
 Litany, every one is to repeat these four verses intirely 
 after the minister. Dciin Comber. 
 
 As we have the authority of Scripture for the people 
 saying, "Amen" at the end of prayers, put up by the 
 minister, so we have Scripture precedent for their joining 
 vocally throughout the whole prayer. See Acts iv. 24. 
 Dr. Bennet. 
 
 '' Grd the Father, of heaven : &c.] As we acknow- 
 ledge every person by Himself to be God and Ltird, so 
 we worshi]) each Person apart, beginning with " God the 
 Father of heaven," that is, our heavenly Father, whose 
 throne the heaven is ; and as He is our " Father," He is 
 gracious, as He is in " heaven," He is powerful, and can 
 do whatever He pleases, Ps. cxv. 3. As for us, we con- 
 fess ourselves to be " miserable sinners," and so need 
 both his power to deli\'er us out of our troubles, and his 
 iDcrcy to jjardon us for all our sins. Dean Comber. 
 
 We are " sinners" by breaking his laws : and we are 
 "miserable .sinners," by incurring all the punishments 
 due to the breach of them. We are sinners against the 
 Father of heaven, by forgetting his works, and the won- 
 derful things He hath done for us; by being unmindful 
 of the rock that begat us, and forgetting the God that 
 formed us ; by not glorifying God, as our Creator and 
 Preserver, nor regarding the operations of his hand : so 
 that we may say with the prodigal, " Father, we have 
 sinned against heaven, and before thee, and are no more 
 worthy to be called thy son." Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' God the Son, Redeemer of the toorld : &:c.] The 
 Arians, and other hereticks, denied the di\'inity of the 
 Son, and so refused to worship Him; but we, mth the 
 true catholick church, give the Son the same worship 
 with the " Father," John v. 23, calling Him not barely 
 the Son of God, but " God the Son," that is, we own 
 Him to be God equal with the Father, and make the 
 same request to Him for mercy, giving Him the title of 
 " Redeemer of the world," Heb. ii. 9; 2 Cor. v. 19; not 
 the Redeemer of one sect or sort of men, as some parties 
 proudly pretend, but the Redeemer of all mankind, and 
 therefore of us, though we confess ourselves to be 
 miserable sinners. Dean Comber. 
 
 The second Person of the Trinity hath here the name 
 of God given to Him, equally with the Father : and it 
 is given to Him by holy Scripture in sundry places. 
 St. Paul calls Him " God blessed for ever," Rom. ix. 5 ; 
 and elsewhere tells us, that " he thought it no robbery," 
 or usurpation, " to be equal with God," Phil. ii. G. The 
 author of the Epistle to the Hebrews brings in the 
 Father, saying to Him, " Thy throne, O God, is for 
 ever and ever; the sceptre of righteousness is the scejitre 
 of thy kingdom ;" and again, when He bringeth Him 
 into the world. He saith, " Let all the angels of God 
 worship him," Heb. i. C. 8. Where not only the divine 
 name, but the divine nature, and dix'ine honours, are 
 ascribed to Him : which cannot be but to a divine 
 person. Dr. Hole. 
 
 We have sinned not only against God the Father, but 
 against his Son and our Saviour, by neglecting or re- 
 fusing the tenders of salvation made by Him ; by not
 
 62 
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 1 Pet. i. \S, 
 19. 
 
 2 Cor. V. 19. 
 
 world': have mercy upon us miser- 
 able sinners. 
 
 O God the Son, Redeemer of the 
 world: have mercy upon us miserable 
 sinners. 
 1 Thess. iii. O God tlie Holy Ghost, proceed- 
 a'lh'ess. iii. ing™ from the Father and the Son : 
 it 25^1 "i'e '^^^'^ mercy upon us miserable sin- 
 johu XV. 26. ners. 
 
 O God the Hcli/ Ghost, proceeding 
 from the Father and the Son: have 
 mercy upoii ns miserable sinners. 
 
 closing so heartily as we should with the proffered terms 
 of peace and reconciliation ; by slighting his holy ordi- 
 nances, rejecting his word, neglecting his sacraments, 
 not duly repenting at his call, nor beheving his pro- 
 mises, nor giving heed to the prece])ts of his Gospel, 
 nor being thankfid for his death, nor being mindful of 
 his example, nor anxious for the welfare of those souls, 
 which He bought so deal-. To Him therefore we have 
 cause to cry for mercy and pity. Dr. Hole, Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 " God the Holy Ghost, proceeding &c.] Many of 
 the old hereticks, and especially Macedonius, denied 
 the divinity of the " Holy Ghost" also ; but we, with 
 the catholick chm-ch, own Him to be very " God," and 
 after St. Paul's example, do pray to Him as God, 
 1 Thess. iii. 12, 13, declaring that He "proceedeth" 
 (not from the Father by the Son, as the Greeks hold, 
 but) " from the Father and the Son," John xv. 20. 
 Wherefore as He is of the same nature with the Father 
 and the Son, we make the same petition to Him for 
 " mercy." 
 
 AVe were baptized in his name, and therefore we must 
 call on his name. Dean Comber. 
 
 We make the same supplication to the third Person 
 in the Trinity, because we have sinned against Him as 
 well as against the two former. For though we have 
 not, it may be, fallen into the "unpardonable sin" against 
 Him, Matt. xii. 32, yet the best of us have many other 
 ways sinned against the Holy Ghost, and grieved this 
 blessed S])irit, by quenching his good motions, by re- 
 sisting his calls, by neglecting his gifts, contemning his 
 graces, by not profiting by those ordinances which are 
 the means He uses to convert, confirm, and comfort us, 
 and by cherishing evil thoughts and pursuing wicked 
 purposes in spite of the methods He uses for our sanc- 
 tification. Dr. Hole, Dean Comber. 
 
 ° O holy, blessed, and (jlnrious Trinity, &c.] We have 
 owned the Trinity of Persons, and now we confess as 
 Scripture teachcth us, that (licsc three are one God, 
 1 Jolm V. 7, and so we worship the whole Trinity toge- 
 ther " as three Persons and one (Jod," repeating the 
 same great and necessary reqviest for mercy from the 
 Father, Son, and Holy (jhost. Dean Comber. 
 
 This we find to be .suita!)le to the ancient jiractice of 
 the catholick church, which, after a solemn invocation 
 of each person in the (iodluad, joined tliem all in one 
 and the same reijucst for mercy. .And our Churdi here 
 teuclii's us to imitate their cxaini)le by doing the same ; 
 nnil that for a very good rca-son : for every sin, which we 
 commit against any one Person in the 'I'rinity, is com- 
 mitted against the rest; and the mercy and ])ardon, 
 whi<h we <lcsirp, must come from the whole : yea, the 
 misery, from which we expect to be relieved, jiroceeds 
 not from any single Person, but from the joint and un- 
 divided concurrence of the whole Trinity. Dr. Hole. 
 
 A Litany being an earnest or vehement address to the 
 
 O holy, blessed, and o-lorious Tri- 
 nity ", three Persons and one God : 
 have mercy upon us miserable sin- i John v. 7 
 
 Matt, xxviii. 
 
 ners. 19, 
 
 O holy, bles.<^ed, and glorious Tri- 
 nity, three Persons and one God : 
 have mercy upon us ndserable sin- 
 ners. 
 
 Remember not, Lord, our of- 
 fences", nor the oifences of our fore- 
 fathers; neither take thou vengeance 
 of our sins : spare us, good Lord, 
 
 throne of grace, the earnestness or vehemence of our 
 Litany is seen in aU its parts or divisions : namely, in 
 the invocation, in the deprecations, in the intercessions, 
 and in the conclusion. 
 
 First, in the invocation : which is addressed, not as 
 in other i)rayers, to God in general, but to every Person 
 in the Trinity separately, and then to all the three Per- 
 sons jointly. By the separate invocation we are taught 
 to acknowledge " every person by himself to be God and 
 Lord ;" and by the joint invocation to acknowledge also 
 that " there are not three Gods nor three Lords." So 
 thiit herein is contained a creed or confession of faith : 
 and not only so, but also a confession of sin. We say 
 that we are " miserable sinners." And as the first con- 
 fession of sin in our Liturgy, and that of faith in the 
 Apostles' Creed, were rejieated after the minister l)y the 
 whole congregation ; so likewise are these short forms 
 of invocation, wherein both those confessions are 
 united. But if these serve to express our faith and 
 humihty, how much more oiu- im])ortimity ? Nothing 
 in any Liturgy, ancient or modern, was ever framed, 
 more artful or more forcible than this invocation. Dr. 
 Bisse. 
 
 ° Remember not. Lord, our offences, &c.-] HaWng 
 opened the way by the preceding invocation, we now 
 begin to ask ; and because deliverance from evil is the 
 first step to fehcity, and the proper business of Litany, 
 we begin with these deprecations, or, as St. Paul calls 
 them, "supplications," 1 Tim. ii. 1, which he reckons 
 as the first kind of jirayers, made for removing of evil. 
 .Vnd both the Eastern and Western church do thus be- 
 gin their Litanies ; and both theirs and ours are a para- 
 phrase upon that piece of the Lord's Prayer, " Deliver 
 us from evil." .\nd «'hether we respect the evil of sin or 
 the evil of punishment, it is never unseasonable for us 
 miserable sinners to ])ray to our "good Lord" "to deliver 
 us." Wherefore ourCluireh (after a petition for forbear- 
 ance) doth here in a curious method reckon uj) all the 
 kinds of evil in the world, as well those of sin with the 
 causes, elfects, and kinds of them in the heart and in the 
 life, in the sixth, seventh, and eighth petitions, as those 
 of jninishment, temi)oral and S])iritual, in the ninth and 
 tenth petitions, from all wliich we jiray to be delivered : 
 adding the means by whicli we desire to he delivered, 
 namely, by all that .Icsus did and sulfered for us, in the 
 eleventh and twelfth ]ietitions; and the jieculiar times 
 when we would he delivered, in our life, in death, and 
 at the last judgment, in the thirteentli petition. Dean 
 Combrr. 
 
 Here in the first place we pray to our Iledecmer and 
 Mediator, tliat He would not "remember our offences, 
 nor the offences of our forefathers :" which He may not 
 only with justice jiermit to intercept from us, as thoy 
 naturally often will, the blessings,that\vc might otlicrwise 
 have inherited ; but, if we liiive imitated « icked ancestors, 
 instead of taking warning by them, He may with equal
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 fi;} 
 
 Ps. Ixxix. 5. 
 8; cvi. G. 
 Isa. Ixiv. y. 
 Joel ii. 17. 
 
 Ps. xci. 2—6. 
 Gen. XX. G. 
 Eph. vi. in, 
 II. 
 
 1 Pet. V. 8— 
 10. 
 
 Kom. i. 18. 
 
 2 Thess. i. 7 
 —9. 
 
 Eph. iv. 17, 
 
 18. 
 
 Prov. xvi. 18. 
 
 Gal. V. 2r. 
 
 1 Pet. ii. 1.2. 
 
 1 John ill. 15. 
 
 1 Cor. xvi. 14. 
 
 spare tliy people, wliom thou luist 
 redeemed with thy most ])recioiis 
 bh)od, and be not anj^ry with us for 
 ever. 
 
 Spare its, r/uotl Tjord. 
 
 From all evil and mischief; from 
 sin I', from the crafts and assaults of 
 the devil ; from thy wrath, and from 
 everlasting damnation. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 From all hlindne.ss of heart; from 
 pride, vain-irlory, and liypocrisy ; 
 from envy, iiatred, and malice, and 
 all imcharitableness. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 justice punish us more severely, not indeed than we de- 
 serve, but than He would have done otherwise, to pre- 
 vent the contagion from growing general and inveterate. 
 Accordingly the second commandment threatens to 
 " visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children :" 
 and the Psalmist, according to the marginal, and per- 
 haps righter translation, jirays as we do, " O remember 
 not against us the iniquity of them, that were before 
 us," Ps. Ixxi.Y. 8. 
 
 The words, " and be not angry with us for ever," beg, 
 that the corrections, which He doth see fit to inflict on 
 us, for surely we all feel some. He would in mercy 
 shorten. It is common language, to speak of afflictions, 
 that last any time, as if they were endless. And the 
 ex])ostulation of David in the just quoted Psalm, " How 
 long, O Lord ? wilt thou lie angry for ever ?" ver. 5, fully 
 vindicates this petition, which was doubtless taken from 
 thence. Abp. Sucker. 
 
 In the parts now about to follow it should be ob- 
 served, that the words " Good Lord, deliver us," have 
 a respect in every place to the sentence previously 
 uttered by the minister : so that the prayer is to be 
 understood thus : " Good Lord, deli\'er us from all evil 
 and mischief, from sin, &c." These words, " Good 
 Lord, deliver us," are put in the last place, that the 
 people might not seem to beg deliverance from they 
 knew not what ; but, after they had mentally uttered 
 the several particulars together with the minister, they 
 might in this summary manner vocally beg deli\-erance 
 from them all. And certainly no words could more 
 properly be vocally uttered by them, than those, which 
 are but few, and yet are the principal ones, and include 
 the substance of the whole jjrayer. 
 
 The frequent use of " Good Lord, deliver us," is 
 however no vain repetition. It is every time ajiplied 
 to distinct matter, and consequently makes a distinct 
 prayer : and it is as if we should say frequently, as we 
 certainly must, in any other prayer, such words as these, 
 " Grant, O Lord, &c." " We beseech thee, &c." 
 
 What has been said of the words, " Good Lord, de- 
 liver us," may be easily applied to the following form, 
 "We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord :" which has 
 always a respect to the words going before ; and every 
 time that it is used, makes a distinct prayer. 
 
 It has been already observed, that, when a prayer is 
 used by way of responses, both minister and people are 
 to join, at least mentally, in the whole ; though they 
 vocally pronounce only their respective parts. This 
 should be carefully remembered in the Litany, wherein 
 there are extraordinary occasions for it. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 P From all evil and ynischief : from sin, &c.] Having 
 here besought our blessed Lord to deliver us " from all 
 
 From fornication, and all other 
 deadly sin ; and from all the deceits 
 of the world, the flesh, and the devil. 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 From liirhtnin^and temijesf; from 
 plague, ])estileiico, and famine ; from 
 battle and murder, and from sudden 
 death. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 From all sedition'', privy conspi- 
 racy, and rebellion ; from all false 
 doctrine, heresy, and sciiism ; from 
 hardness of heart, and contempt of 
 thy Word and Commandment, 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 1 Cor. vi. 13. 
 18. Exoil. 
 xxxii. 20. 
 I Sam. ii. 17. 
 Mark iv. 18, 
 II). Kjih. iv. 
 22. Rev. XX. 
 llj. 
 
 I's. xviii. 13, 
 H. Malt. viii. 
 24— 2li, 
 
 1 Kinga viii. 
 37—39. 
 
 Ps. xhi. 9. 
 Gen. iv. 1(1. 
 
 2 Sam. xxi 1. 
 Eccles ix. 12. 
 
 Gal v. 19,20. 
 Fs. Ixiv. 5. 
 Rom. xiji. 1, 
 2. Til. ii. 7. 
 1 Tor. i. 10. 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 24, 
 25. Kom. ii. 
 4. 5. Isa. v. 
 
 2 Sam, xii. 9. 
 
 evil and mischief" in general, that is, from eveiy thing 
 bad and hurtful to us : we deservedly rank " sin" the 
 foremost of such things ; and pray, fu-st, against the 
 original cause of human wickedness, the secret " crafts " 
 and open " assaults of the devil," and its dreadful con- 
 sequences, " God's wrath and everlasting damnation ;" 
 then against the principal transgression of his laws by 
 name, subjoining, " and all other deadly sin." By this 
 we mean not to deny, that the just "wages of" every 
 "sin is death," Rom. vi. 23; though "there are," as 
 we learn from St. John, "sins, not unto death," 1 John 
 V. 16, 17, that is, comparatively; but only to pray 
 against the peculiarly deadly with peculiar earnestness. 
 But still, that we may leave out none, we petition lastly 
 to be delivered " from all the deceits of the world, the 
 Hesh, and the devil;" every iniquity of every kind and 
 degree. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 1 From lir/ktning and tempest ; &c.] llien we proceed 
 to deprecate the present sufl'erings, that our sins have 
 merited : and intreat our merciful Redeemer to preserve 
 us, both from such, as God's immediate hand indicts; 
 "lightning and tempest, plague" properly so called, 
 " pestilence " or e))idemiek diseases of any sort, " famine 
 and sudden death ;" and from such also, as men's un- 
 reasonable ])assions produce ; whether they be temporal, 
 as " battle and murder ;" or spii'itual, as " false doctrine," 
 with its fruits, " heresy and schism;" and what begets 
 them all, "hardness of heart" in regard to God's com- 
 mands, and " conlemirt of his word," which contempt 
 was never more widely spread and infectious, than at 
 present. 
 
 We have indeed been blamed for praying against 
 "sudden death." But the whole Christian church 
 hath done it from ancient time : and nature and reason, 
 as well as religion, directs us to do it. Some, we own, 
 and we wish they were many, may be always prepared 
 thoroughly, in all respects, to die at any time. Yet 
 even these may have cause to wish for warning of their 
 death on account of other persons. Their example 
 under the approach of it will usually be very instructive ; 
 and their dying advice more than ordinarily Ijeneficial 
 to their friends, dependents, and relations : whom also 
 their being taken away at once may shock, to a degree, 
 for which they would be extremely sorry, whatever they 
 might otherwise choose for themselves. But, even on 
 their own account. Christian humility would surely 
 desire a little space for completer preparation. And 
 they, who profess to wish the contrary, are they so very 
 certain, as this im]ilies, that e\-ery part, both of their 
 worldly affairs and their eternal concerns, is in the best 
 condition, to which it can be brought ? Or may not 
 possibly this appearing readiness to die at any time
 
 64 
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 1 Tim. iii. 16. 
 Luke ii. 11. 
 21. Matt. iii. 
 13— li; iv. 
 1,2. 
 
 Luke xxii. 
 4t. Eiili. ii 
 11—16. 
 1 Pel. iii. IS. 
 I Cor. XV. 3, 
 
 4. 1 Pet. i. 1!> 
 Rom. iv. 25 ; 
 vi. 4. Eph.iv, 
 
 5. Heb. ii. 3,4, 
 
 By the mystery of tliy holy In- 
 carnation^; by thy lioly Nativity and 
 Circumci.sion ; by thy Baptism, Fast- 
 ing, and Temptation, 
 
 Good Lord, deliver nn. 
 
 By thine Agonv and bloody Sweat; 
 by thy Cross and Passion'; by thy 
 precious Death and Burial ; by thy 
 glorious Resurrection and Ascension; 
 and by the coming of the Holy 
 Ghost, 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 arise, eitlier from a secret dread to think of dying at all, 
 or a secret unbelief, more or less, of what will follow 
 nfter death ? But. whatever a few may imagine best 
 for themselves, justly or unjustly ; some previous notice 
 is undeniably best for the generality : and common 
 prayers must be adapted to common cases ; always 
 submitting it to God, to make e.xceplions, where He 
 shall think proper. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' Frnm all sedition, &c.] The former evils were 
 levelled against our own persons and estate, but these 
 aim at the ruin of the kingdom and the Chm-cb. Sedi- 
 tion and j)ri\y consjiiracy endeavour to subvert the 
 government ; false doctrine and heresy attempt to de- 
 stroy religion : to which (on occasion of our late ac- 
 cursed civil war) since his majesty's hajipy restoration, 
 was added, "from rebellion — and schism:" and good 
 reason was there so to do, since that rebellion and 
 schism did murder one of our best kings, and thousands 
 of his loyal subjects, and also pull the tJhurch to pieces : 
 we have seen the sad effects, and therefore we pray 
 against the causes. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' liii the mysterij of thy holy Inciirnation j See.'] Hav- 
 ing thus e.vpressed from what things we desire to be 
 ilelivered, we earnestly intreat our good and gracious 
 Lord to shew this mercy to us, " by the mystery of his 
 holy Incarnation," and so on : that is, by the means, 
 and for the sake, of all that He hath done and suffered 
 for us. The same manner of expression is used, not 
 only in common speech on other occasions, and in the 
 liturgies of the ancient church on this, but in the 
 tScripture itself: where St. Paul " beseeches" t'liristians 
 " by the mercies of God," Kom. xii. 1 ; "by the meek- 
 ness and gentleness of Christ," 2 Cor. x. 1; "by his 
 coming and their gathering together to him," 2 Thess. 
 ii. 1 : and Daniel intercedes with God thus, " Accord- 
 ing to all thy righteousness, let thine anger be turned 
 away : defer not for thine own sake, O my God," 
 Dan. ix. 10. 19. Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 The same vehemence of devotion, before noticed in 
 the invocation, breathes likewise in the deprecations of 
 the Litany, namely, in those jictitions against evils, 
 whether incident to the soul or body. Now these, 
 being many in number, and differing in kind, are cast 
 into small divisions, or short heads of prayer, in extent 
 resembling tlie (;<>lk'ct3 : which however are not con- 
 cluded, a.s the ('ollects are, by a bare assent, the peo]ile 
 s;iying " Amen ;" but by an earnest supplication, the 
 jicoplc crying, " (iood Jjord, deliver us." Again : 
 wliercas the (Jollcet.s are concluded in general, " through 
 .lesiLS Christ our Lord," or tlie hUe form ; after these, 
 all tlie particulars of his merit, all that He did, suffered, 
 and obtained for us, from " the mystery of his holy 
 incarnation," to his "glorious ascensitm and the com- 
 ing of the Holy (ihost," are summed iii) to strengthen 
 and ineren.se our faith. 'I'hese arc called by some obse- 
 crations : and, being recited in order by the minister. 
 
 In all time of our tribulation " : i s.™. x. i9. 
 in all time of our wealth ; in the ro.'s'r.Numb. 
 hour of death, and in the day of ?,'^''' '.?■ ,, 
 
 ■ Is xxii 1 5 
 
 j udgement, lu. jude a'. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver M.«. 
 
 We sinners do beseech thee to 
 hear us^, O Lord God; and that 
 it ma)' please thee to rule and govern 
 thy holy Church universal in the sj^'kp^.'v'' 
 right way ; 25—27. 
 
 II e beseech thee to hear ii.s, good Lord. Acts xiii. 10, 
 
 That it may please thee to keep H; '''°^' "' 
 
 and inforced by that repeated cry of the people, " Good 
 Lord, deliver us," how do we in a manner, " take hea- 
 ven by force !" Dr. Bisse. 
 
 ' — by thyCrossand Passion; &c.] The ancient Fathers 
 of the Greek church in their Litany, after they had re- 
 counted all the particular pains in Christ's passion, as 
 they are set down in the four Gospels, and by all and 
 by every one of them called for mercy anil deliverance, 
 as here we do, added after all, and shut up all with this 
 petition, " By thine unknown sorrows and sufferings, 
 good Lord, have mercy upon us, save, and deliver us :" 
 for He felt more of them than we know, or can distinctly 
 express. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 " In nil time of our tribulation ; &c.] As we have 
 need of protection and deliverance continually, so wo 
 proceed to beg for it, not only " in all time of our tribu- 
 lation," or adversity ; but " in all time of our wealth," 
 or i)rosperity ; for, when we seem in the most flourish- 
 ing state, we are often in the most danger of evil ; and 
 of sin, the worst evil. But. as " the hour of death " is a 
 season of pecuHar trial and terror; and "the day of 
 judgment " will determine our lot for e\-er : we there- 
 fore intreat his more esjiecial grace and fa\'Our at both. 
 The former indeed fives our condition at the latter. 
 But still, as the best life and death obtain acquittal and 
 reward, only through the jiardoning goodness of our 
 Judge ; we ha\'e great cause to jiray for ourselves, as 
 St. I'aul did for Onesi])horus, " that we may find mercy 
 of the Lord in that day," 2 Tim. i. 18. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 " We sinners do beseech thee to hear us, &c.] This 
 part of our Litany, commonly called the intercessions, is 
 instituted l)y (iod, who commands us to " make inter- 
 cessions for all men," 1 Tim. ii. 1 ; and it is drawn 
 after the best and most primitive forms, being used first 
 in those ages wherein the Christian's charity was so 
 large as to desire blessings for all sorts of men ; a 
 sordid or an evil man in his fear may i>ray for his own 
 deli\'erance, but he must have a charitable soul who can 
 with equal dexotion pray for others, as for his own 
 self: and he, who would so pray, cannot have a more 
 methodical or com]irehensive fonu than these inter- 
 cessions, which reckon up every degree of men in their 
 due jilace, and lca\-e out none that we would wisli to 
 pray for. Dean Comber. 
 
 This part of our I.,itany is very properly introduced 
 with the following su]i])lication : " \Ve sinners do be- 
 seech thee to hear us, () Lord (Jod !" We acknow- 
 ledge ourselves unworthy, through our m;uiifold sins, 
 to offer up our jirayers to Thee, who art of purer eyes 
 than to behold initiuity, and hast declared that Thou 
 " hearest not sinners." Yet for the sake of " Jesus 
 Christ the righteous " we beseech Tbec to receive us, 
 though vile and sinful, yet luimlile and penitent ; and 
 mercilidly to acccjit our jietitions whii^li we are now 
 going to present to Thee. " And that it may please 
 thee to rule and govern thy holy Church universal in
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 65 
 
 Ps. xvii. 5 ; 
 xviii. 20—23. 
 2 Sam. x.\iii. 
 3. 
 
 Pa. xxvii. l.T 
 Isxxvi. 1 1, 
 12i XX. 7. 
 
 Ps. cxliv, 10. 
 1 Chroii. xvii. 
 10. 
 
 Ezra vi. 10. 
 1 Chron. 
 xxix. 19. 
 2Sam. vii.29. 
 
 2 Tim. ii. 7. 
 
 and strengthen in the true wor- 
 shipping of thee, in righteousness 
 and holiness of life, thy Servant 
 VICTOllIA, our most gracious 
 Queen and Governour ; 
 ]Ve beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to rule 
 her heart in thy faith, fear, and love, 
 and that she may evermore have af- 
 fiance in thee, and ever seek thy 
 honour and glory ; 
 IVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to be her 
 defender and keeper, giving her the 
 victory over all her enemies ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to bless and 
 preserve the Prince Albert, Albert, 
 Prince of JVid'S, and all the Iloyal 
 Family; 
 IFe beseech t/iee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to illu- 
 minate all ]5ishops. Priests, and 
 Deacons, with true knowledge and 
 understanding of thy Word ; and 
 
 the right way ;" this sentence is not complete, till the 
 peo])le have answered, " We beseech thee to hear us, 
 good Lord." The sense and stopj)ing shew this here, 
 as well as in the former part : and all these inter- 
 cessions should be read accordingly; the minister 
 keeping up his voice throughout the service. Waldo, 
 Collis. 
 
 Because it may seem presumptuous for us to pray 
 for others, since we are unwoi-thy to pray for ourselves, 
 before we begin, we acknowledge that we are " sinners :" 
 but yet, if we are penitent, we know our prayers wiU be 
 accei)tal)le : and therefore, in humble confidence of his 
 mercy, and in obedience to his command, " We sinners 
 do beseech him to hear us " in these our intercessions, 
 which we offer up, first, for the "holy Church uni- 
 versal," the common mother of all Christians, as 
 thinking ourselves more concerned for the good of the 
 whole, than of any particular part. After this we pray 
 for our own Church, to which, next to the catholick 
 church, we owe the greatest observance and duty ; 
 and therein, in the fu-st ijlace, for the principal mem- 
 bers of it, in whose welfare the peace of the Church 
 chiefly consists : such as is the " king," whom, because 
 he is the supreme governor of the Church in his domi- 
 nions, and so the greatest security upon earth to the 
 true religion, we pray for in the tlu-ee next petitions, 
 that he may be orthodox, pious, and prosjjerous. And 
 though at present we may be happy under him ; yet 
 because his crown doth not render him immortal, and 
 the seciu-ity of the government ordinarily depends 
 upon the " royal family," we pray in the next place 
 for them (and particularly for the heir apparent) that 
 they may be supplied with all spiritual blessings, and 
 preserved from all plots and dangers. 
 
 The Jews and Gentiles always reckoned their chief 
 priests to be next in dignity to the king; and all 
 ancient Liturgies pray for the clergy immediatelj' after 
 the royal family, as being the most considerable mem- 
 bers of the Clu'istian cluirch, distinguished here into 
 those three apostolical orders of" bishops, priests, and 
 
 that both by their preaching and 
 living they may set it forth, and 
 shew it accordingly; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear lis, good Ijord. 
 
 That it may please thee to endue 
 the Lords of the Council, and all 
 the Nobility, with grace, wisdom, and 
 understanding; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear u.f, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to bless 
 and keep the Magistrates, giving 
 them grace to execute justice, and to 
 maintain truth ; 
 J\^c beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to bless 
 and keej) all thy jteople ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to give to 
 all nations unity, peace, and concord ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to give 
 us an heart to love and dread thee, 
 and diligently to live after thy com- 
 mandments ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 I'l. Til. il. 7. 
 2 Cor. ii. If), 
 liph. vi. 18, 
 IIJ. Col. iv. 3. 
 
 Prov. viii. 14 
 —111. Ezra 
 vii. 25, 2(i. 
 Jer. vii. 5— 
 7. Exod. 
 xviii. 21, 22. 
 
 Numb. vi. 22 
 —24. 
 
 Ps. cxxxiii.l ; 
 xxix. 11. 
 Pliil ii. 1, 2. 
 Jer. xxxii. 
 39. 
 
 2 Tliess. iii. 
 5. J(rr xxxii. 
 ■10 Ezek. 
 xxxvi. 26, 27. 
 Deut. vi. 17. 
 
 deacons ;" though in all former Common Prayer Books 
 they were called the " bishops, pastors, and ministers of 
 the Church," except in the Scotch Liturgy, which for 
 " pastors " had " presb}'ters." 
 
 Next to these follow those who are eminent in the 
 state, namely, " the lords of the council and all the 
 nobiUty," who by reason of their dignity and trust 
 have need of our particular prayers, and were always 
 prayed for in the old Liturgies, by the title of " the 
 whole palace." 
 
 After we have prayed for all the nobility in genera], 
 we pray for such of the nobility and gentry as are 
 " magistrates," or more inferior governors of the 
 people, according to the example of the primitive 
 Cliristians, and in obedience to the positive command 
 of St. Paul, who enjoins us to ])ray " for all that are in 
 authority," 1 Tim. ii. 2. 
 
 After these we pray for " aU the peojile," that is, all 
 the commons of the land, who are the most numerous, 
 though the least eminent ; and unless they be safe and 
 happy, the governors themselves cannot be prosperous, 
 the diseases of the members being a trouble to the head 
 also. 
 
 And though we may be allowed to pray for our o^vn 
 nation first, yet our prayers must extend to all mankind ; 
 and therefore in the next place we pray for the whole 
 world, in the very words of ancient Liturgies, namely, 
 that " all nations may have unity" at home among 
 themselves, " peace " with one another, " and concord," 
 that is, amity, commerce, and leagues. 
 
 Having thus prayed for temporal blessings both for 
 ourselves and others, it is time now to look inward, and 
 to consider what is wanting for our souls : and there- 
 fore we now proceed to pray for spiritual blessings, 
 such as virtue and goodness. And, first, we pray that 
 the principles of it may be planted in our " hearts," 
 namely the " love and dread " of God, and then that 
 the jiractice of it may be seen in our lives, by our 
 " diligent living after his commandments." 
 
 But though we recci\e grace, yet, if we do not im-
 
 66 
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 2 Cor. ix. 8. 
 James i. 21. 
 
 1 Tim. i 5. 
 Maik ir. 20. 
 Eph. V. 9. 
 
 2 Tim. ii. 24 
 —26. Ezek. 
 xiii. 22, 23. 
 
 2 Tim. iv. 17. 
 Phil. iv. 13. 
 2 Cor. vu. 6 
 Ps. cwi. G ; 
 cxlv. 14. 
 Rom. xvi. 20. 
 
 Ps. cxvi. 8; 
 Ixxii. 12. 
 2 Cor. i. 4. 
 
 Ps. cxxL 8. 
 2 Cor. xi. 25, 
 2(3. Gen. iii. 
 16; XXXV. 16. 
 Phil. ii. 27. 
 
 That it may please tliee to give to 
 all thy people increase of grace to 
 hear meekly thy word, and to receive 
 it with pure affection, and to bring 
 forth the fruits of the Spirit ; 
 fVe beseech thee to hear us, yood Lord, 
 
 That it may please thee to bring 
 into the way of truth all such as have 
 erred, and are deceived ; 
 We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to 
 strengthen such as do stand ; and to 
 comfort and help the weak-hearted ; 
 and to raise up them that fall : and 
 finally to beat down Satan under our 
 feet; 
 We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to suc- 
 cour, help, and comfort, all that are in 
 danger, necessity, and tribulation ; 
 We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to pre- 
 serve all that travel by land or by 
 water, all women lai)ouring of child, 
 all sick persons, and young children ; 
 
 prove it, we shall be in danger of losing it again ; and 
 therefore, having in the former petition desired that we 
 might become good, we subjoin this that we may grow 
 better : begging " increase of grace," and also that we 
 may use proper means thereunto, such as is " meekly 
 hearing God's word, &c." 
 
 From |)raying for the sanctification and improvement 
 of tliose within the Church, we become sohcitous for 
 the conversion of those that are without it ; being 
 desirous that " all should be brought into the way of 
 truth who have erred or are deceived." 
 
 But though those without the Church are the most 
 miserable, yet tliosc within are not yet so hajipy as not 
 to need our prayers ; some of them stanihng in need of 
 "strength," and others of "comfort:" these blessings 
 therefore we now ask for those tliat want them. 
 
 Having thus considered the souls of men, we go on 
 ne.\t to such things as concern tlieir bodies, and to pray 
 for all the alllicted in general: begging of (iod "to 
 succour all that arc in danger," by preventing the mis- 
 chief that is falling upon them ; " to helj) those that 
 are in necessity," by giving them those blessings they 
 want; and "to comfort all that are in tribidation," by 
 supporting thein under it, and delivering them out 
 of it. 
 
 And because the circumstances of some of these 
 hinder them from being present to pray for themselves; 
 we ))articularly remember them, since' they more espe- 
 cially stand in need of our prayers, such as are "all that 
 travel by land or by water," and the rest mentioned in 
 that petition. 
 
 'I'licre are otlier afllicted persons who are unable to 
 hell) themselves, such as are " fatherless children and 
 widows:" who arc too often destitute of ciirthly friends; 
 and such as arc " desolate" of iimintenance and lodg- 
 ing; or are "oppressed" by the false iinii cruel deal- 
 ings of wicked and powerful men : and tlierefdre these 
 also we particularly recommend to (ioil, and beg of 
 Iliin to " defend and provide for" them. 
 
 And after this large catalogue of sulTerers, as well in 
 
 1 Tim. V. 
 Ps. ix. 9. 
 
 and to shew thy pity upon all pri- ps. xxn. 9, 
 soners and captives; cvi. jc. 
 
 JJ'e beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to defend, 
 and provide for, the fatherless chil- 
 dren, and widows, and all that are Ps^csivi. 9. 
 desolate and oppressed ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to have 
 mercy upon all men ; 
 We beseech thee to hear its, good Lord. 
 
 Tliat it may please thee to forgive 
 our enemies, persecutors, and slan- 
 derers, and to turn tlieir hearts; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to give 
 and preserve to our use the kindly 
 fruits of the earth, so as in due time Ps, 
 we may enjoy them ; 
 IVe beseech thee to hear ?«, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to give 
 us true repentance ; to forgive us 
 all our sins, negligences, and igno- 
 rances y; and to endue us with the 
 grace of thy Holy Spirit to amend luke'xii. 47, 
 
 Matt. V. 41. 
 Ps. Ix-vxv 4. 
 Ezra ri. 22. 
 
 CIV. 
 
 13—15; cxlv. 
 15. 
 
 spiritual as temporal things ; lest any should be passed 
 who are already under, or in danger of, any affliction, 
 we pray ne.\t that God would " have mercy upon all 
 men." 
 
 And then, to shew we have no reserve or exception in 
 our charity or de\-otions, we jiray particularly for " our 
 enemies, persecutors, and slanderers;" who we desire 
 may be jmrtakers of all the blessings we have been 
 praying for, and that God would moreover "forgive 
 them, and turn their hearts." 
 
 After we have thus ])rayed first for ourselves, and 
 then for others, we proceed to pray for them and our- 
 selves, together : begging, fii'st, whatsoever is necessary 
 for the sustenance of our bodies, comprehended here 
 under the " fruits of the earth." 
 
 And then, in the next jietition, asking for all things 
 necessary to our souls, in order to bring them to eternal 
 happiness, namely, " true re])entance, forgiveness of all 
 our sins, &c. and amendment of life." Which last 
 petition is very proper for a conclusion. For we knov/ 
 that if we do not amend our lives, all these intercessions 
 will signify nothing, because (iod will not hear impeni- 
 tent sinners. We therefore earnestly beg repentance 
 and amendment of life, that so all our preceding re- 
 quests may not miscarry. Whcutly. 
 
 >■ — to fnrr/ire m.v all our sins, neglirieiices, and igno- 
 rances ;] This ])etition is somewh.at dilferently worded 
 from what we meet with in other places in the l-iturgy : 
 for here is a threefold distinction of " sins, negligences, 
 and ignorances," for all which we im|ilore the divine 
 ])ardon. Hy the first, 1 ii])prehend, we arc to under- 
 stand our gross and deliberate transgressions; the re- 
 collection of which should fill us with the deepest sor- 
 row and the most bitter remorse. By the second arc 
 meant our less heinous sins, into which we have lieen 
 leil by inadvertency, carelessness, or surprise ; how 
 many of which, idas ! do the very best of us daily run 
 into ? And though these are by no means of so griev- 
 ous a nature as the former, yet still they lu'e sins, and 
 ought to be acknowledged and repented of. All
 
 THE r. I T A N Y. 
 
 07 
 
 Heb iv 
 14— le. 
 
 48. Vs. ciii. 2, our lives accordin;^ to tliy holy 
 
 3. 1 Pet i. 22. ly 1 . 
 a.l. 2 Till!/ iii. ""'") 
 
 '5- IVe beseech thee to hear us, good Liird. 
 
 Son of God ^ : we beseech thee to 
 hear us. 
 
 Son of God : ice beseech thee to hear us. 
 O Lamb of God : that takest away 
 John i. 29. the sins of the world ; 
 John xvi. 33. Grant us thy peace. 
 
 " negligences" are at least to be considered as sins of 
 omission, inasmuch as they are contrary to that " care" 
 and " watchfulness," so expressly required of us in 
 the Gosjiel. " Ignorances," which are the last men- 
 tioned, are so far sinful and criminal, as they are in 
 any degree voluntary, or caused liy a neglect of using 
 the proper means of attaining knowleilge. Where 
 ignorance is absolutely unavoidable, it is a misfortune 
 indeed, but no sin : but to plead it in any other case is 
 rather an aggravation, than an extenuation of our guilt. 
 Wahlo. 
 
 The same fire of devotion, before noticed in the Li- 
 tany, burns likewise in these intercessions : which, be- 
 ing cast, like the dejjrecations, into small portions, are, 
 like them, not closed wAh an Amen, but by an earnest 
 supplication, the people crying, " We beseech thee to 
 hear us, good Lord." Tliis interchangeable way of 
 worship performed by turns between the minister and 
 people, is of the same advantage to the worshippers in 
 the Litany, as in the Psalms : it mutually relie\'es, and 
 yet provokes and inflames the piety of the congrega- 
 tion. 
 
 But with this grateful interchange there is kept up 
 the most exact order. For in the dejjrecations from 
 evil, we proceed gradually from the evil of siu to the 
 evil of piniishment, from S])iritual to temporal, from 
 the greater to the less. In the intercessions for good 
 we begin with the " holy Chm-ch universal ;" then par- 
 ticularizing for the jirincipal members of that part of 
 it, established among us : proceeding in order for the 
 queen and the royal family ; for the orders and degrees 
 of men in Church and state ; first, fur the spirituabty, 
 then for the temporality ; for all bishops, priests, and 
 deacons ; for the lords of the council, and all the nobi- 
 lity and magistrates ; and lastly, for all the ]ieople of 
 the realm. Then we pray for all kinds of good for all 
 men ; for the piety of the faithful ; for the conversion 
 of the deceived ; for the confirmation of the weak ; for 
 the relief of the afflicted ; for the preservation of the 
 distressed ; for the reconciliation of enemies ; for the 
 grant of plenty, and things necessary for the body ; and 
 lastly, for the pardon of sins, and the things necessary 
 for the soul : or, as in our Lord's prayer, for " our 
 daily bread," and for "forgiveness of oiu' trespasses." 
 Let those who accuse our public prayers as too general 
 in their forms ; view this punctual and regular enume- 
 ration in oiu- Litany of all evils that are hurtful, or of 
 all goods that are expedient, for the bodies or tlie souls 
 of men ; either for the Church in general, or for any 
 of its members in particular; let them seek diligently 
 through their own performances, whether extemjjorary 
 or composed ; let them search all their assemlilies, and 
 " consider diligently and see, if there be any such thing" 
 in their worship ; so full in its matter, so regular in its 
 method, and solemn in its expressions, as our Litany ; 
 or " hath been heard any thing like it." Dr. Bisse. 
 
 ' Snn nf Gnd: &c.] After going through the preced- 
 ing petitions, we endeavour to excite our desires of a 
 gracious acceptance to as much fervency as we can, by 
 short but affectionate sentences, uttered Edternately, in 
 
 1 J.ilinv. 13, 
 14. 
 
 O Lamb of God : tiiat takest away 
 the sins of the world ; ^uke xvii. 
 
 Have rueri-i/ iij/on us. 
 O Christ, hear us. 
 
 O Christ, hear us. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us ". 
 Lord, liave mere/ npoti us. 
 Christ, have mercy upon us. 
 Christ, have mercy upon us. 
 
 a sort of pious emulation, between the minister and 
 people ; and humbly importuning our Redeemer, as 
 the eternal "Son" and spotless " Lamb of God," the 
 Lord's " Christ," and the Lord of Christians, that He 
 would "grant us" his promise and "peace," which 
 includes all blessings, and " have mercy upon us," in 
 bestowing what we have asked. For this ])uri)ose, it is 
 acknowledged, we rejieat several times the same words, 
 with very little \'ariations. But such " repetitions," far 
 from " vain," Matt. vi. 7, are most expressive ones ; the 
 natural, the almost constant language of earnestness. 
 Hence our Saviour in his agony, reiterated the same 
 words thrice, Matt. xxvi. 44 : and David in a transport 
 of thanksgiving, even to the six-and-twentieth time, as 
 may be seen in the 13(jth Psalm. And these very peti- 
 tions, which we use, are warranted by the ancient offices 
 of the Christian church. Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 In these addresses to our Saviour we beseech Him 
 first, by bis divinity, as He is the " Son of God," and 
 so omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, to " hear 
 our prayers," and to become our advocate for their 
 acceptance. Secondly, We beseech Him by his sufi'er- 
 ing for us, when He " became the Lamb of God," and 
 died to " take away the sins of the world," John i. 29, 
 that He will " grant us" an interest in " his peace," 
 John xiv. 27, in the peace He made with God, and 
 that peace of conscience following thereupon : and that 
 "he will have mercy upon us," so as to pity us, and 
 deliver us fi-om the guilt and punishment of our offences. 
 And again, as He is the " Lord Christ" our anointed 
 Mediator, we beg of Him to " hear us," and procm'e 
 a gracious answer to all these intercessions. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 These shorter intercessions, which follow upon the 
 longer ones, and jiroduce an agreeable ^'ariety in the 
 Litany, are admirably calculated to give fresh vigoiu' 
 and earnestness to our devotion. No person who has 
 attended seriously to the foregoing part, can join in this 
 without feeling a peculiar warmth and fervency in his 
 mind ; whilst he thus renews his su])])lications, \v\i\\ an 
 lioly importunity, to the throne of grace. But to an- 
 swer the pious design of the Church, and that these 
 incentives to devotion may have theu' full effect, it is 
 necessary that the minister, who officiates, should read 
 every sentence with great energy and deliberation ; 
 making a jn-oper pause after each, that the people may 
 ha\'e time to answer. Waldo. 
 
 ' horil, hare mercy upon us, &c.] Finally, that our 
 conclusion may be suitaljle to our beginning, we close 
 up all with an address to the whole Trinity for that 
 " mercy," which we have been begging in so many 
 ])ai'ticulars, and this one word comprehends them all, 
 so that this is the eiiitome of the whole Litany; and 
 considering how constantly, and how many ways we 
 need mercy, surely we cannot ask it too often, and we 
 ought every time to ask it with a renewed importimity, 
 especially here, where the only impediment to all our 
 intercessions, and that which alone can hinder them, is 
 our sins ; and, if we can obtain mercy for them, all our 
 other requests shall certainly prevail. Dean Comber, 
 F 2
 
 68 
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 Vs. cxxiii. 3. 
 Luke xviii. 
 13. 
 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 t Then shall the Priest^, and the people with 
 him, say the Lord's Prayer '. 
 
 OU R Father, which art in hea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 
 This conclusion is no less excellent than the begin- 
 ning, binding up and inforcing all with redoubled ve- 
 hemency and flame of devotion. For how forcible must 
 the supjjlications of the Church be. when the priest 
 repeating twice that in\-ocation, " () Lamb of God, that 
 takest away the sins of the world ;" the people subjoin- 
 ing as often, " Grant us thy peace," " Have mercy upon 
 us ;" then followed and quickened \nth the alternate re- 
 petition of that primitive form, or lesser Litany, directed 
 to the Trinity, " Lord, have mercy upon us ; Christ, 
 have mercy upon us ; Lord, have mercy upon us :" 
 and then shutting up all in that ever acceptable jirayer 
 of our Lord ; how forcible, I say, how piercing, nuist 
 this united crj- of the congregation be ? How must it 
 come up unto God, Uke the cry of the Israelites, when 
 " God heard their groaning, and had respect unto 
 themr" E\od. ii. 24, 25. 
 
 It shoiUd be observed, that all the ]ietitions, from 
 the beginning of the deprecations to the end of the 
 intercessions, are directed to the Son, the second Per- 
 son in the Trinity, as the true and proper object of oiu' 
 worship : which ajjpears from these ex])ressions, " Spare 
 thy peo|)le, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most 
 precious blood :" " By thy holy incarnation, by thine 
 agony, &c. Good Lord, deh\'er us." And so in the 
 close, " Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us : O 
 Christ, hear us." And then, as the Litany began with 
 the 'I'rinity, going on to the Son ; so, at the close, from 
 the Son it returns to the Trinity again, saying, " Lord, 
 have mercy, &c." Dr. Bisse. 
 
 '■ 'ihtn shall the Prie.'it, &;c.] 'Ilie last part of this 
 devout Litany we call the supplications, «'hich seem to 
 have been first collected and jmt into this form, when 
 the barbarous nations began to over-run the emjiire, 
 about ()()0 years after Christ, though the jiarticular sen- 
 tences are either taken out of holy writ, or else gathered 
 from ancient Liturgies; but considering the troubles of 
 the Church militant, and the many enemies that everj- 
 good man always hath in this world, this ])art of the 
 office is suitable for all times. Deal Comber. 
 
 ' — sny the Lord's Prayer.'] Pious antiquity usually 
 annexed the Lord's Prayer to every office, to shew their 
 high esteem of it, an<l their mean ojnnion of their own 
 composures, which receive life and value from this 
 divine fonn. We have expovnuUd this ])rayer before, 
 and arc only to note here, that when our hearts arc 
 stirred up to devotion by the foregoing offices, we shall 
 find ourselves verj' fit to jiut up these ])etitions with 
 renewed affections, and so may supply the defects of 
 our more careless repetition (jf it before. Dean Comber. 
 Having |)reviously enlivened our devotion, we jiro- 
 ceed to offer up, wliat descr\'cs the most lively efforts 
 of it, that ])erfcct summary of all our jietitions, " 'I'hc 
 Lord's Prayer ;" wliirli, though it occurs several times 
 in the seveml services of the morning, occius Imt once 
 in this; and cannot easily be recited too oltcii, ]iro- 
 vided it l)e with attention and affection. Abp. Sci-kir. 
 
 '' O Lord, deal not uilh us a/Irr our sins, Hcc. ) We 
 arc all ready to say wc suffer greatly, but the Church 
 
 And forgive ns our trespasses. As 
 we forgive them that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into tempta- 
 tion ; But deliver us from evil. 
 Amen. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, deal 
 after our sins'*. 
 
 Answer. Neither 
 our iniquities. 
 
 not with us 
 reward us after 
 
 will ha\-e us remember we also suffer justly ; yea, " God 
 exacteth of us less than our iniquities deserve," Job 
 xi. G, and as David confesses, " He hath not dealt 
 with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to 
 our wickedness," Ps. ciii. 10. L^pon which plain af- 
 firmations of holy Scripture is this pious supplication 
 grounded ; in which we clear his justice in punishing 
 us, but a])ply to his mercy to ])roportion his chastise- 
 ments according to om- ability of bearing, and not 
 according to the desert of our offences. Dean Comber. 
 
 The word " after," in old English signifies " accord- 
 ing to." Thus to "live after God's commandments," 
 is to live according to them : and God's " dealing with 
 men after their sins, or ren'arding them after their ini- 
 quities," is his dealing with them, or rewarding them, 
 according to their sins or iniquities ; that is, as their 
 sins or iniquities deserve. .Dr. Beimel. 
 
 Hitherto the Litany hath dwelt on no single subject 
 of ]3rayer long ; but comprehended a surprising variety 
 of the most needful articles in a very narrow compass. 
 The remainder is of a different nature. It considers 
 our state here very justly, as furnishing perpetual 
 ground of sad reflection to every thoughtful mind ; and 
 applies itself wholly to express to our he.ivenly Father 
 the sentiments required in such a condition. The 
 seemingly hap]iiest persons in the world are very in- 
 considerate, if they do not discern a great deal to 
 mourn over, in others and themselves. Yet, at the 
 same time, the most afflicted are to blame, if they sink 
 under, cither what they see or feel. But the common 
 duty of both is, " in every thing, by ])rayer and suppli- 
 cation, with thanksgiving, to make their rctjuests known 
 unto (jod," Phil. iv. (i. And therefore this part of the 
 Litany, though first introduced on occasion of extraor- 
 dinary distress lying heax-y on Christendom eleven or 
 twelve hundred years ago, will be too seasonable in 
 every age, till one of truer jjiety and more trancjuillity 
 shall come, than hath been yet known, or is likely soon 
 to take place. 
 
 As the transgressions, hy which we offend God, are 
 the cause of our sufferings, these our sup])lication3 
 ))egin very jiroperly, with intreating. in Serijiture words, 
 that on luunbling ourselves before llim. He would not 
 " deal H'ith us after our sins, nor reward us after our 
 iniquities," Ps. ciii. 10. Next to this follows, as is re- 
 ])cated in the sequel, an exhortation, " Let us pray;" 
 which may a])pcar somewhat strange, considering that 
 ])rayers immediately precede in both jilaces. But they 
 are sliort ejaculations, not contin\icd forms, like those 
 whidi follow. And besides, this redoubled admonition, 
 towards the conclusion of the office, will very usefully 
 remind those, who may jiossibly be growing languid 
 and inattentive, in how iuqiortant a work they are en- 
 gaged. Something there was of tliis kind, even in the 
 heathen devotions. But in the old Liturgies of Chris- 
 tian Greece, " Let us pray; let us |iray earnestly; let 
 us pray more earnestly ;" often retm'us. (See p. 3i, 
 note K.) 
 
 And the succeeding prayer, which is of ancient use in
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 69 
 
 Ps li. 17; 
 xxxviii. 9 : 
 xii. 5; cii. 17. 
 
 Rom. viii. 
 26. 
 
 Ps. 1. IS; 
 Ixxi. 13; 
 xxxiii. 10. 
 Luke xxii 
 31, 32. Job V. 
 12. 2 Cor. xi. 
 3; xii. 7— a. 
 
 Ps. cxlii. 6 ; 
 
 Ixxix 13. 
 
 Epil. IN. 20, 
 
 21. 
 
 Ps. xii. 5 ; 
 
 Xliv. 28; 
 
 Ixxix. 9. 
 
 Let us |)ray. 
 
 OGod, merciful Father, that 
 dcspisest not the si^hini;- of a 
 contrite heart, nor the desire of such 
 as be sorrowful ; jNIcrcifiilly assist 
 our prayers tliat we make before 
 thee in all our troubles and adver- 
 sities, whensoever they oppress us ; 
 and graciously hear us, that those 
 evils, wiiicli the craft and subtilty of 
 the devil or man worketh ai^ainst 
 us, be brought to nought ; and by 
 the providence of thy goodness they 
 may be dispersed ; that we thy ser- 
 vants, being hurt by no persecutions, 
 may evermore give thanks unto thee 
 in thy holy Church ; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. 
 
 O Lord, arise, help lis, and ddivcr 
 us for tlty Name's sake. 
 
 o 
 
 Ps. X 
 Ixxv 
 
 God, we have heard with our 
 ears, and our fathers have de- 
 clared unto us, the noble works that 
 <!;<': thou didst in their days, and in the 
 old time before them. 
 
 Ps. cix. 21. O Lord, arise, help tis, and deliver 
 
 us for thine honour. 
 
 the Western church, deserves our utmost earnestness. 
 It begs of Him, who, as the Psahnist assures us, ''will 
 not despise a broken and contrite heart," which phrase 
 has been already explained, (see the note on the Sen- 
 tences, ]). 2,) that " in aU our troubles" he will both 
 "assist us to rriake our jn-ayers before him" as we 
 ought, " and graciously hear us :" that so the designs of 
 our enemies, visible and invisible, may be disappointed, 
 and we may feel and express a just gratitude for our 
 deliverance. To this the congregation answer, not as 
 usual. Amen : but in a short form of Scripture words, 
 Numb. X. 35; Ps. Ixxxix. 9, more strongly expressive of 
 pious fervency. The minister instantly retm'ns ano- 
 ther Scriptural address to God, Ps. xllv. 1 ; jileading 
 with him, and suggesting to us, " the noble works," 
 done by Him for his Church and people in general, and 
 many good persons in ])articular; which, if we have not 
 seen with our eyes, "we have heard with our ears;" 
 holy writ, and other history hath related them : or 
 " our fathers have declared them to us," partly as per- 
 formed "in their days," partly "in the old time before 
 them." And since " his arm is not shortened, that it 
 cannot save ; nor his ear become heavy, that it cannot 
 hear," Isa. lix. 1 ; the congregation again petition Him, 
 in the same words as before, only changing one for ano- 
 ther, still more pathetick ; that He would "arise, help 
 and deliver them" for the "honour" of "his name:" 
 not for our merits, but his own glorious perfections, 
 and the instruction of his creatures ; that we and all 
 men may learn to love and praise and serve Him. Yet 
 to this we are indispensably bound, even while the )iain- 
 fullest \'iew of our sorrows and wants is before our 
 eyes : and therefore in the midst of our supplications we 
 proceed immediately to ascribe that glory to the sacred 
 Three, which ever has been, and is, and will be, their 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 Answer. As it was in the begin- 
 ning, is now, and ever shall be : world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 From our enemies defend us, O i.\ike i. cs. 
 Christ. ''■ "• 
 
 Griicionsli/ look upon our afflictions, i.uke xvii. 
 
 Pitifully behold the sorrows of our 25I 
 hearts. j^^""- '"■ i*- 
 
 Mercifulhj forgive the sins of thy Matt. xii. 20. 
 people. \l-vi.' 
 
 Favourably with mercy liear our job xxxhi. 
 prayers. / ^^'^^.^. 
 
 O Son of David, have mercy upon Matt. ix. 27; 
 us. ' '"'• '"■ 
 
 Both now and ever vouchsiife to 
 hear us, O Christ. 
 
 Graciously hear us, O Christ ; gra- 
 ciously hear us, O Lord Christ. '/"'"i "• '*. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, let thy mercy be 
 shewed upon us; 
 
 Ansioer. As we do put our trust ps. xxxm. 
 in thee. ^"' 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 WE humbly beseech thee, O 
 Father, mercifully to look 
 upon our infirmities ; and for the \\^,' '^"'' "' 
 
 due ; whether infinite wisdom allots to us prosperity or 
 adversity. Nor is the mixture of doxologies with 
 complaints less common in acts of worship, than it is 
 reasonable. The book of Psalms uses it frequently : 
 the old Latin and Greek Liturgies use it on this 
 very occasion : and surely in our pri\'ate devotions, 
 even when most afflicted, we still give i>raise to God. 
 
 But though we own it our duty to glorify Him in 
 the severest sufferings, if it be his will that we shovild 
 undergo them ; yet, conscious of our weakness, we go 
 on to beg his protection against them, or deli\erance 
 of us from them, in mutual ejaculations of the utmost 
 warmth : not that moving expressions will any other- 
 wise incline Him to grant mercy, than as they fit us to 
 receive it, by imprinting on us a just sense of om- 
 dependence ; which, if used with sincerity, they natu- 
 rally do. 
 
 Then we close this part of the Litany with a more 
 continued form of address to our merciful " Father;" 
 composed originally above 1100 years ago; corrui)ted 
 indeed afterwards, by intreating God to " turn from us" 
 all " evils" for the sake of the intercession of his saints ; 
 but reformed in our Liturgy, not only by lea\'ing out 
 that addition, but by inserting for completer security a 
 new clause ; " Grant, that in all our troubles we may 
 put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy." And 
 thus it is, that we borrow from the church of Rome. 
 By this prayer, so amended, we humbly confess our in- 
 firmities and unworthiness : yet beg, that, notwith- 
 standing both, we may, if God sees it proper, escape the 
 afflictions, which we fear; but if not, that, being still 
 assured of his goodness to us, we may with Job 
 " though he slay us, trust in him," Job xiii. 15; and 
 that, for proof of this, we may as faithfully do our duty 
 under the heaviest pressiu'es, as the highest exaltation ;
 
 70 
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 44, 45. 
 
 Ps. Ixi. 4 
 
 Luke i. 74, 
 75. 
 
 glory of thy Name turn from us 
 all those evils that we most riglit- 
 ps. ixxix. Q. eously have deserved ; and grant, 
 prcii.7, s. that in all our troubles we may )nit 
 our whole trust and confidence in 
 thy mercy, and evermore serve thee 
 in holiness and ]nueness of living, to 
 thy honour and glory ; through our 
 only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 A Prayer of St. Chrysostom. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who hast 
 given us grace at this time 
 with one accord to make our common 
 supplications unto thee ; and dost 
 
 " and evermore serve him in holiness, and pureness of 
 living, to his honour and glory ;" saying with Job again, 
 " shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall 
 we not receive evil ? The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
 taken away : blessed be the name of the Lord," Job ii. 
 10; i. 21.' Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Thus ha\'e we gone through the consideration of this 
 excellent and peculiar office of our Church ; and upon 
 the whole we may affirm, that as in the Liturgy in gene- 
 
 promise, that when two or tiiree are 
 gatliered together in thy Name thou 
 wilt grant their requests: Fulfil now, 
 O Lord, the desires and petitions of 
 thy servants, as may be most expe- 
 dient for them : trrantino- us in this 
 world knowledge of thy truth, and m 
 the world to come life everlasting. 
 Amen. 
 
 2 Cor. xiii. 
 
 TH E Grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and the love of God, 
 and the fellowship of the Holy 
 Ghost, be with us all evermore. 
 Amen. 
 
 ral we may be said to " worship the Lord in the beauty 
 of holiness," so in the Litany we worship Him in the 
 perfection of beauty. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 May God give us grace to use these and all our devo- 
 tions in so right a manner, that, from praying to Him 
 amidst the troubles and sorrows of this world, we may 
 be taken, in his good time, to praise Him for ever amidst 
 the joys of the next, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. Abp. Seeker, 
 
 Here aideth the Litany.
 
 PRAYERS AND TIIiiNKSGIYINGS, 
 
 UPON SEVERAL OCCASIONS S 
 
 ^ To be used before the two final Prayers of the Litamj, or nf Morning and Evening Prayrr. 
 
 PRAYERS. 
 
 O 
 
 For Rain. 
 God, heavenly Father, who 
 by thy Son Jesus Christ hast 
 promised to all them that seek thy 
 kingdom, and the righteousness 
 thereof, all things necessary to their 
 bodily sustenance ; Send us, we be- 
 seech thee, in this our necessity, 
 such moderate rain and showers, 
 that we may receive the fruits of 
 the earth to our comfort, and to thy 
 jer. V. 23, 24. honour ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Jimen. 
 
 Vs. civ. 13 
 15; c.xiv. 15. 
 
 For fair Weather. 
 
 O Almighty Lord God, who for 
 the sin of man didst once drown 
 all the world, except eight persons, 
 and afterwards of thy yrreat mercy 
 Gen. vili. 2"i.' didst promisc never to destroy it so 
 
 ■ Prayers and Thanksgivings, upon several occasions,'] 
 Though the various miseries of mankind are exactly 
 enumerated in the Litany, yet they are but barely men- 
 tioned there, and at some times some particular evils lie 
 so hea\'y upon us, and some great mercies are so neces- 
 sary for us, that it is requisite we should have solemn 
 fjrms upon such occasions to annex to this ofBce, that 
 so it may fully suit all our necessities. Solomon sup- 
 poses there will be special jjrayers made in the temple in 
 times of war, drought, pestilence, and famine, 1 Kings 
 viii. 33. 3.5. 37 ; and Lactantius observes, that the very 
 Gentiles addressed themselves to the gods, in times of 
 war, plague, and drought. TertuUian also notes that the 
 Christians did make extraordinary prayers on such oc- 
 casions. And both the Greek and Latin church have 
 their several offices for such times, out of which these 
 prayers are taken, whicli are not designed for a complete 
 office ; because when any judgment continues long, and 
 grows general, our governors draw up a peculiar office, 
 and enjoin it to be observed with solenm fasting : only 
 these prayers are continually to be said with the Litany 
 upon such occasions, that so, according to that law of 
 Charles the Great, " In time of famine, jilague, and war, 
 the mercy of God may be immediately imjilored, with- 
 out staying for the king's edict." Dean Comber. 
 
 again; We humbly beseech thee, 
 that although we for our iniquities 
 have worthily deserved a plague of 
 rain and waters, yet upon our true 
 repentance thou wilt send us such 
 weather, as that we may receive 
 the fruits of the earth in due season ; 
 and learn both by thy punishment 
 to amend our lives, and for thy cle- 
 mency to give thee praise and glory ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Jer. V. 25. 
 Ezek. 
 
 .wxviii 22. 
 Exod. ix. 
 31— U. 
 Job ix 4. 
 Ps. cvii. 31. 
 
 In the time of Dearth and Famine. 
 
 OGod, heavenly Father, whose 
 gift it is, that the rain doth 
 fall, the earth is fruitful, beasts in- 
 crease, and fishes do multiply; Be- 
 hold, we beseech thee, the afflic- 
 tions of thy people ; and grant that ^-*-. 
 
 Jer. V. 24. 
 Ezek. 
 xxxiv. 2*5, 
 27. Deut. vii. 
 13. Ps. viii. 
 
 20. 
 
 Only the two first prayers, namely, for rain, and for 
 fair weather, were in the first book of Edward VL and 
 there placed at the end of the Communion Service. But 
 in the second book of Edward VL these tn-o with the three 
 following, namely, in time of dearth, war, and plague, 
 were all five inserted in the place where they now stand. 
 But their respective thanksgivings were added by order 
 of King James the First. 
 
 Note also, that the five foregoing prayers are depre- 
 cations ; whereas the three following, namely, for ember- 
 weeks, for the ]3arliament, for all conditions of men, are 
 intercessions : these were added at the last review, 1661. 
 Dr. Bisse. 
 
 Drought, deluge, or excessive rain, famine, rebellion, 
 war, tumult, plague, and pestilence, ai-e among the most 
 dreadful visitations of the Almighty. These judgments 
 He sometimes sends upon the earth, that the inhabitants 
 of the world may learn righteousness. But so much 
 have we of these realms been indebted to the mercy of 
 his providence, that, within the remembrance of more 
 than the present generation, some of these forms have 
 not been found necessary. The forms themselves, how- 
 ever, are so ])lain and perspicuous, that no particular 
 elucidation of them can be required. It may, therefore, 
 be enough to observe, that similar prayers occur in
 
 Jer. T. 25. 
 2 Chton. XX. 
 9. Isa. XXX, 
 23, 24. 
 
 2 Kings vi. 
 24, 25 ; vii. 6, 
 7. 16. 
 
 Jer. viii. 14. 
 Ps. xlvi. I. 
 Rom. XV. 4. 
 Ps. cxxxii. 
 15. 1 Cor. X. 
 31. Ps. 1. 15. 
 1 John iii. 17 
 Gen. xviii. 5. 
 
 1 Tim. vi. 15 
 Ps. xxii. 28 ; 
 cxsxr. 6. 
 
 2 Chron. xx. 
 
 6. 
 
 Lam. iii. 39. 
 
 Ps. cxix. 137 
 
 Jer. xviii. 
 
 7, 8. 
 
 1 Sam. xii. 
 10. 
 
 72 
 
 the scarcity and dearth, which we 
 do now most justly suffer for our 
 iniquity, may through thy goodness 
 be mercifully turned into cheapness 
 and plenty ;" for the love of Jesus 
 Christ our Lord, to whom with 
 thee and the Holy Ghost be all 
 honour and glory, now and for ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 Or this. 
 
 OGod, merciful Father, who, 
 in the time of Elisha the pro- 
 phet, didst suddenly in Samaria turn 
 great scarcity and dearth into plenty 
 and cheapness ; Have mercy upon 
 us, that we, who are now for our 
 sins punished with like adversity, 
 may likewise find a seasonable re- 
 lief: Increase the fruits of the earth 
 ' by thy heavenly benediction ; and 
 grant that we, receiving thy bounti- 
 ful liberality, may use the same to 
 thy glory, the relief of those that are 
 needy, and our own comfort; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 In the time of IVar and Tumults^. 
 
 Almighty God, King of all 
 kings, and Governor of all 
 things, whose power no creature is 
 able to resist, to whom it belongetli 
 justly to punish sinners, and to be 
 ■ merciful to them that truly repent ; 
 Save and deliver us, we humbly 
 be.seech thee, from the hands of 
 our enemies ; abate their pride, 
 asswage their malice, and confound 
 
 P R A Y E R S. 
 
 ancient Liturgies, from which some of these appear to 
 be chiefly taken ; and that each is well suited to the 
 emergency to wliich it is appro[)i-iated by our Chui'ch. 
 Shepherd. 
 
 These occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings are only 
 to be made use of, when we are generally distressed 
 upon emergencies ; not, as some persons may desire, 
 when they think them requisite, but when there is a 
 grievous necessity. Collis. 
 
 ' In the time of iVar and Tumull.s.'] In this prayer we 
 address ourselves to the .-Vlmighty (iovernor of all things, 
 whose justice in punishing us sinners with tliis evil we 
 acknowledge, and wliose mercy to deliver us i'rom it, on 
 our true repentanc-e, we hope for, and cannot hope for it 
 ctse; complaining of the pride and malice of our enemies; 
 of which they must be guilty, if tlie war on our side be 
 lawful, otherwise there would be jieace; and in the 
 genuine spirit of ('hristianity, intreating that the one 
 may be " al)ated," the other " asswaged ;" which is 
 praying for them, as well as ourselves. And till they 
 Bufi'cr their dispositions to be mended, we beg that their 
 "devices" and enterprises may be "confounded," 
 which word, a-s dreiulfid a-s it sounds too often in pas- 
 •ionatc commim speech, means here no more than dis- 
 appointed ; and this is the worst we wish, even to those 
 
 their devices; that we, being armed Zech. t. n. 
 with thy defence, may be preserved ix^iii'^'i'd. ' 
 evermore from all perils, to glorify ps.^^xxi^^o! 
 thee, who art the only giver of all 
 victory; through the merits of thy Ps.ixii. 1.2; 
 only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. fYs'.' ''*' 
 
 Amen. ' Chron 
 
 XXIX. II. 
 
 In the time nf am; common Plague 
 or Sickness. 
 
 Almighty God, who in thy 
 wrath didst send a plague up- 
 on thine own people in the wilder- 
 ness, for their obstinate rebellion 
 against Moses and Aaron ; and also, Numb. xvi. 
 in the time of king David, didst ^ ' 
 slay with the plague of Pestilence 
 threescore and ten thousand, and 
 yet remembering thy mercy didst 
 save the rest ; Have pity upon us 2 sam. xxiv. 
 miserable sinners, who now are vi- '^~ ^' 
 sited with great sickness and mor- 
 tality; that like as thou didst then 
 accept of an atonement, and didst 
 command the destroying Angel to 
 cease from punishing, so it may now 
 please thee to withdraw from us 
 this plajjue and grievous sickness; Jod li. 17. 12. 
 
 ,, IT /*?1 • i T J 2 Sam. xxiv. 
 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 18-2S 
 
 Kxod. xxiii. 
 25. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 1[ In the Emher U'eehs^, to he said 
 every day, for those that are to he 
 admitted into Holy Orders. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, our hea 
 venly Father, who hast pur- 
 chased to thyself an universal Church 
 
 "who hate us, and despitefuUy use us," Matt. v. 44. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 B //( the Ember Weeks, &c.] "Ember" is a word of 
 uncertain derivation. Some suppose it signifies ashes, 
 and some abstinence. Al)stinence or fasting, it is com- 
 monly known, was anciently accompanied witli the act of 
 sitting upon aslies, or of s]irinl<ling ashes ujjon the head. 
 In the Western church, the ember-weeks were styled, 
 " the fasts of the four seasons." This title, a.s well as 
 the usage mentioned above, appears to favour the deri- 
 vation already given. Hut others derive emlier from a 
 Saxon word, signifying course, or circumvolution ; for 
 the ember-weeks return at fl.ved and certain periods, 
 and are fasts in course. 
 
 The ember-days are the Wednes(hiy, Friday, and 
 .Saturday, after the first Simday in Lent, the feast of 
 I'entecost, Septeml)cr II, and December i;i. The weeks 
 in which tliese days fall are called endier^ weeks ; and the 
 .Snndays immediately following arc, according to ancient 
 institution, aiipointed by the 3lst canon of our Church 
 for the ordination of the Olcrgy. 
 
 'I'hese two prayers, though I lie latter of them is found 
 in the .Scottish Liturgy, were added to our Hook of 
 Common I'rayer only at the last review. The intention 
 ol' the forma is sufficiently obvious : and as the ordina-
 
 P 11 A Y E R S. 
 
 7.1 
 
 Arts XX. 28. 
 JEpli. V. 25. 
 
 Ps. cii. 13. 
 I lim. V. 22. 
 Acts i. 24, 25. 
 
 Acts vi. 5. 6, 
 2 Cor. ii. 16. 
 Tit. ii. 7 ; iii. 
 15. 
 
 Eph. vi. 18, 
 19. 
 
 SThess. iii. 1, 
 Acts xvi. 17. 
 Heb. xiii. 17. 
 I Tim. ii. 3, 
 4. Ezek. 
 xxxiii. 7, 8. 
 
 Eph. iv. 11, 
 12. 
 
 Eph. iv. 7. 
 
 by the precious lilood of thy dear 
 Son; Mercifully h)o]c upon the .same, 
 and at this time so i^uide and {2;'o- 
 vern the minds of thy servants the 
 Bisliops and Pastors of tiiy flock, 
 that they may lay hands suddenly 
 on no man, but faithfully and wisely 
 make choice of fit persons to serve in 
 the sacred Ministry of thy Church. 
 And to those which shall be or- 
 dained to any holy function give 
 thy grace and lieavenly benedic- 
 tion ; that both by their life and 
 doctrine they may set forth thy 
 glory, and set forward the salvation 
 of all men ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 Or this. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, the giver 
 of all good gifts, who of thy 
 divine providence hast appointetl 
 divers Orders in thy Church ; Give 
 thy grace, we humbly beseech thee, 
 to all those who are to be called 
 to any office and administration in 
 the same ; and so repleni.sh them 
 
 tion of ministers is a subject of jirimary importance, it 
 is to be regretted that one or otlier of the forms is not 
 more generally read on the \Yednesday and Friday in 
 the ember-week, in such of our parish churches as have 
 service on these days. Whether they were intended to 
 be read every day in the ember-weeks, or only on every 
 ember-day in the week, is a question that has not uni- 
 versally been answered in the same way. The words of 
 the rubrick appear to countenance the former practice. 
 Shepherd. 
 
 The former of these two prayers is thought to be 
 most properly used in the early part of the week, as it 
 is for the ordainers and the ordained ; to guide the 
 minds of the bishops and their assisting pastors, that 
 they may, with wisdom and fidelity, make choice of 
 persons, well qualified by their learning and piety, to be 
 admitted into the offices of the ministry. The other is 
 proper to be used toward the latter end of the week, to 
 beseech God to afford the grace of his Holy Spirit to all 
 those, who have been made choice of, and who are to 
 be admitted to the office of a priest, or the administra- 
 tion of a deacon. Collis. 
 
 In this appointment our Church follows the constant 
 custom of the catholick church, and that seems derived 
 from the original precedent of the apostles themselves. 
 See Acts xiii. 2, 3. A custom of the highest importance 
 to be continued for ever in the Chm'ch ; to the end, 
 that all those, who are ap])ointed to feed the flock of 
 Christ, may l)e true and lawful shepherds, ha^nng " en- 
 tered in by the door," I mean, the ajiostolical way of 
 ordination, by prayer, and laying on of the hands of 
 the bishop, and not hirelings, who climb up some other 
 way. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 ^ A Prayer that may be said after any of the former.'] 
 Tills short devout Collect is joined to the ancient Lita- 
 nies of the Western church, and, since sin is the cause 
 of aU the foregoing judgments, this may be added to 
 any of the former, as a jirayer for pardon of sin ; for 
 which reason also it is used by some devout men, (when 
 
 witii the truth of thy doctrine, ;ind 
 
 endue them with innocency of life, 
 
 that they may faithfully serve liefore 
 
 thee, to the glory of thy great Name, Johnxvii.ir. 
 
 and the benefit of thy holy Church; '^cn'h^.2. 
 
 throuj-h Jesus Christ our Lord. ! '.''' '".■ ','.; 
 
 o 1 Cor. XIV. 12. 
 
 Amcii. 
 
 ^ A Prayer that may he said after 
 any ofthcjhnncr^'. 
 
 OGod, whose nature and ])ro- 
 perty is ever to have mercy 
 and to forgive, receive our humble Rxod. x.\iv. 
 petitions; and though we be tied Jian. ix.o.'' 
 and bound with the chain of our J','^''''.";, '• 
 
 , , , is. VI. y. 
 
 Sins, yet let the pitifulness of thy 
 great mercy loose iis ; for the ho- Rom vii. 
 nour of Jesus Christ, our Mediator James v. ii. 
 and Advocate. Amen. 
 
 H' .'/ Pn 
 I 
 
 Session 
 
 ii Prayer for the High Court of 
 Parliament^, to he read during their 
 Session ^. 
 
 MOST gracious God, we hum- 
 bly beseech thee, as for this 
 Kingdom in general, so especially Ps. cxxii. o. 
 
 they use the Church-prayers in private,) instead of the 
 Absolution. Dean Comber. 
 
 This prayer is not repeated so frequently as its excel- 
 lence seems to require. It is drawn up in the metapho- 
 rical, but expressive, language of Scripture ; has been 
 long employed in the conclusion of Litanies, and other 
 forms of jjrayer, by the churches of the West, and 
 retains strong marks of primitive devotion. Tliis Collect 
 I have seen in some of Henry's Primers : but it is in 
 neither of Edward's books, having been restored to 
 the Common Prayer only in the reign of Ehzabeth. 
 Shepherd. 
 
 It is generally placed wrong in our Common Prayer 
 Books, namely, after the prayer for all conditions of 
 men ; having been so placed by the ignorance or care- 
 lessness of the printers at the re^'iew just after the 
 Restoration, and been continued there notwithstanding 
 the interference of the commissioners at that time. In 
 the sealed books, which by the Act of Uniformity are 
 ordered to be kept in all cathedral or collegiate churches, 
 in the courts of Westminster, and in the tower of Lon- 
 don, it stands before the prayer for the Parbament. 
 Collis. 
 
 ' A Prayer for the High Court of Parliament,'] Not 
 only did the primitix'c Christians pray for the senate of 
 heathen Rome, but the Gentiles used to sacrifice in the 
 beginning of their public councils, which used also to 
 be held in some sacred place : and surely we Christians 
 ought not to shew less devotion, especially when we have 
 so good a composition, to offer up oiu' desire in, as this 
 prayer is. Dean Comber. 
 
 This other occasional prayer " for the High Court of 
 Parbament" is of the like publick importance to the 
 state as the former, namely, for the ember-weeks, is to 
 the Church ; and so both jointly to oiu- constitution ; in 
 which the Church and State are so united and linked 
 together by the fundamental laws of this realm, that 
 they cannot be divided without being destroved : a 
 maxim fully proved by the consultations of that memo-
 
 PRAYERS. 
 
 Prov. xi. 14. 
 
 Isa. Ixi. S. 
 Neliem.ii. 20. 
 Prov. xxi. 30. 
 
 1 Cor. I. 31. 
 Ps. c.\xii. 7 
 —9. 
 
 2 Chron. x. 
 G— 10. 
 Prov. xxix, 2. 
 
 1 Tim. ii. 1. 
 
 2. Prov.xxiv 
 
 3, 4. 
 
 Phil. iv. 6. 
 19. Eph. vi. 
 18. Kom.ix 5 
 
 for the High Court of Parliament, 
 under our most religious and gra- 
 cious Queen' at this time assembled: 
 That thou wouldest be pleased to 
 direct and prosper all their consult- 
 ations to the advancement of thy 
 glory, the good of thy Church, the 
 safety, honour, and welfare of our 
 Sovereign, and her Dominions ; that 
 all things may be so ordered and 
 settled by their endeavours, upon 
 the best and surest foundations, that 
 peace and happiness, truth and jus- 
 tice, religion and piety, may be 
 established among us for all gene- 
 rations. These and all other ne- 
 cessaries, for them, for us, and thy 
 whole Church, we humbly beg in 
 the Name and Alediation of Jesus 
 Christ our most blessed Lord and 
 Saviour. Amen. 
 
 f A Collect or Pratjer for all Con- 
 ditions of Men™, to he used at such 
 times token the Litany is not op- 
 pointed to be said. 
 
 o 
 
 rable Parliament, which overturned both, and which 
 gave occasion to ba\e this very prayer adJerl here to 
 our pubUck intercessions after the Restoration. Dr. 
 hisse. 
 
 ^ — to be read during their Session.l If the Houses ad- 
 journ themselves for a fortnight or a longer time, it is 
 still the same session : but, if they are prorogued for a 
 shorter time, it is not reckoned a ]iart of it, they not 
 being then impowered to do business, as upon adjourn- 
 ments they are. This prayer was composed at the last 
 review, and, it is said, by Dr. Brabourn. Collis. See 
 the conclusion of the next note. 
 
 ' — under our most religions and gracious Queen] This 
 is a very fit prayer for a blessing on the consultations 
 of jiarliament. But it m-iy be asked how the compilers 
 of it coidd venture to call in it every one of our kings, 
 in all time to come, " most religious." Now certainly 
 they did not intend to prophesy, that, in the common 
 meaning of the word, they always would be so ; nor yet 
 to require, that we should call tliein so in a sense that 
 was not ti-ue. And therefore tliey must eitlier mean by 
 " religious," what it sometimes means in the language, 
 from which it is derived, the oliject of most awful regard, 
 sacred, a title frecpicntly ascribed to kings : or indeed 
 rather, " most religious" must be understood in the same 
 manner, as the next word to it, " gracious," constantly 
 is, without the least difficulty or scru])le, both in the 
 Liturgy and out of it ; and as the titles " most Chris- 
 tian," and " most C'athobck," are ; to denote the good 
 qualities, which princes profess and .shoidd liave ; and 
 therefore their sulyects are willing and ought to liope 
 they have ; and, by reminding them, endeavour tliat 
 they may have. Accordingly this verj- epilliet " most 
 religious" was constantly ascrilied to all successive em- 
 perors in St. Chrysostom's and St. Masil's Liturgies, the 
 eo[nmon ones of the (ireek church, as it is to all suc- 
 cessive kings in ours. 'I'he intention being thus cleared, 
 the lawfulness of joining in tlie expression is evident. 
 In the [)rudence of choosing it originally we are less 
 concerned. Yet in defence of that we may plead, that this 
 prayer wa.s composed and originally nse<\ in the reign of 
 a prince, ncknowhilged to he unfeignedly religious, 
 King Charles tlie First. Ahp. Scck(r. 
 
 The lirst and last parts of this prayer arc taken from 
 
 God, the Creator and Pre- isa. xiv. 12. 
 
 server of all mankind, we Rev*h"ii.' 
 humbly beseech thee for all sorts •'<"""■ ^o- 
 and conditions of men ; that thou 
 wouldest be pleased to make thy 
 waj's known unto them, thy saving 
 health unto all nations. i\Iore 1 Tim. n 1. 
 especially, we pray for the good p*'^™''- 
 estate of the Catholick Church : cai. vi.io. 
 that it may be so guided and go- ^*' "'^" '^' 
 verned by thy good Spirit, that all Johnxiv. lo; 
 who profess and call themselves ' 
 Christians may be led into the way 
 of truth, and hold the faith in unity 
 of spirit, in the bond of peace, and 
 in righteousness of life. Finally, fTJiVil."!'; 
 
 one with the same title, among the additions and alter- 
 ations made in the Litany and Prayers of the Church 
 by the command of King Charles the First. The inter- 
 mediate pai't appears to have been new at the Restora- 
 tion. Edit. 
 
 '" A Collect or Prayer for all Conditions of Men, &c.] 
 We are expressly commanded to jn'ay for all men, 
 1 Tim. ii. 1. And though we do so in the Litany and 
 Communion office, yet, that it might not be omitted any 
 day, this Collect is added to siqiply the iilace of tlie 
 Litany, and, when that is not used, this is ; hence some 
 call it " the lesser Litany," and it teaches us to express 
 a hearty charity to all, esiiecially to the afflicted, and to 
 those that are sick, who are usually prayed for in this 
 form. Dean Comber. 
 
 In this Collect we extend our intercession to all nations 
 on earth, that (jod's "name may be hallowed" among 
 the heathen, where it is not yet kno^'n; and his " king- 
 dom" of grace may "come," where it is not yet preached. 
 But more esjiecially we jirav for tlie holy catholick 
 church, that in it by the guiiiancc and go\-ernment of 
 God's Spirit, his " will may lie done cm earth, as it is in 
 heaven;" and thus is this (^illect visibly built upon the 
 ])lan of our Lord's prayer. And I must observe, that as 
 in the Creeds we acknowledge one holy catliolick 
 church ; so in our prayers we always count our own 
 Church, as contained and embodied in it. Wherefore, 
 neither in this intercession, nor in the Ijitany, nor in the 
 I)rayer for the church militant, is there any express men- 
 tion of the Church of I'ingland, or of this Church as any 
 ways distinct or separate from others : so great is her 
 charity to all national churches ; and so great her duty 
 to the cathohck (liurch, "the mother of them all." 
 See ])age 31, note p. 
 
 hi tiiis intercession for all mankind, for all Christians 
 in all wants, there is pro\ided a clause whereby any ))er- 
 son may lie ]irayed for in particular, if visited with any 
 kind of affliction, especially if witli liodily sickness, which 
 is chieliy intended in this place. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 Neither this form, nor the following one of gene- 
 ral thank.sgiving, is talien from any otlier Liturgy : both 
 are excellent ; and every one, who desires it, may, by 
 signifying that desire, have a scjiarate share in either. 
 Tliis ]irovision is a very useful and comfortable one : and
 
 THANKSGIVINGS. 
 
 we commend to thy fatherly good- 
 ness all those, who are any ways 
 afflicted, or distressed, in mind, 
 « This to be ''ofly. or estate; l*csp,'- 
 
 said when any cicll/l/ those for loluim 
 
 desire the rr.iy- ^ •',.._, 
 
 crs of the Con- OUV pVdlJcrS Cll'e CUXirCCl,] 
 
 Rregation. ^j^.^^ j^ ^^^^ ^j^.^^^, ^j^p^ 
 
 to comfort and relieve them, ac- 
 cording to their several necessities, 
 giving them patience under their 
 siilferings, and a happy issue out of Heb. xiii. x. 
 all their afflictions. And this we ^n'ron.xvi 
 beg for Jesus Christ liis sake ".'?,.„ ,, 
 
 , ■" Cul. 1 y. 11, 
 
 Amen. Ps. evii. 
 
 17—10; 
 xxxiv. in. 
 
 THANKSGIVINGS". 
 
 Gen. xxxii. 
 10. Ps. cvii. 
 8. Luke.xvii. 
 17, 18. 
 
 f A General Thanksgivinc/^. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, Father of 
 all mercies, we thine unworthy 
 servants do give thee most humble 
 and hearty thanks for all thy good- 
 ness and loviii<;-kindiiess to us and 
 
 persons would do well, on all fit occasions, to take the 
 advantage of it. Only they, who have received henefit 
 by being jjrayed for, should not forget to return thanks : 
 but conscientiously avoid our Saviour's reproof, " Were 
 there not ten cleansed, but where are the nine .'" Luke 
 -wii. 17. 
 
 The general thanksgiving may perhaps to some appear 
 superfluous, after we have thanked and praised God in 
 the use of the psalms and hymns. But it was inserted 
 at the Restoration, because others complained it was 
 wanting. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Before the addition of this prayer, which was made 
 at the last review, the Church had no general interces- 
 sion " for all conditions of men," e.vcept on those days 
 upon which the Litany was apiiointed. For which 
 reason this Collect was then drawn up, to supply the 
 want of that office U])on ordinary days ; and therefore it 
 is ordered by the rubrick " to be used at such times, 
 when the Litany is not appointed to be said :" conso- 
 nant to which it is now, 1 believe, a universal practice, 
 and a very reasonable one, I think, to read this prayer 
 every evening, as well as on such mornings as the 
 Litany is not said. 
 
 The form has been generally ascribed to Bishop 
 Sanderson : but it is a tradition at St. John's College, 
 in Cambridge, that Bishop Gunning, who was sometime 
 master there, was the author. It is said to have been 
 originally drawn up much longer than it is now, and that 
 the throwing out of a great part of it, which consisted 
 of petitions for the king, the royal family, clergy, &c., 
 who are prayed for in other collects, was the occasion 
 why the word " finally" comes in so soon in so short a 
 prayer. It is not improbable that the Bishop might 
 have designed to coinjirehend all the intercessional col- 
 lects in one ; but that the others who were commis- 
 sioned for the same afFair, might think it better to 
 retain the old forms, and so only to take as much of 
 Bishop Gunning's as was not comprehended in the rest. 
 JVheatly. 
 
 " — for Jesus Christ his sal-e."] This is a mistake, 
 either of the printers or of the coin])iler3. The English 
 language, to express different connexions and relations 
 of one thing to another, uses, for the most part, pre- 
 positions. The Greek and Latin among the ancients, 
 and some too among the modern languages, as the 
 German, vary the termination or ending of the sub- 
 
 to all men; [* particti- 
 larly to tliosc who de- 
 sire now to offer up their 
 praises and ihcm/ts/jiv- 
 inffs for thi/ late mer- 
 eirs vouchsafed unto them.'] We bless 
 thee for our creation, j)reservatioii, h.' '■'"^'"''• 
 
 • Tills to he 
 said wh-^n any 
 that have heen 
 prayed for de- 
 sire to return 
 prai.se. 
 
 stantive to answer the same purpose. These different 
 endings are in those languages called cases. And the 
 English being derived from the same origin as the 
 German, that is, from the Teutonick, is not wholly with- 
 out them. For instance, the relation of possession, or 
 belonging, is often expressed by a case or a different 
 ending of the substantive. This case answers to the 
 genitive case in Latin, and may still be so caUed ; 
 though perhaps more properly the possessive ease. 
 Thus " God's grace :" which may also be expressed by 
 the pre])osition ; as, " the grace of God." It was 
 formerly \vritten " Godis grace." We now very im- 
 properly always shorten it with an apostrophe, even 
 though we are obliged to pronounce it fully : as 
 "Thomas's book;" that is, "Thomasis book;" not 
 " Thomas his book," as it is commonly supposed. So 
 that " Christ his sake " is a mistake for " Christis 
 sake," or as now commonly ^vritten, " Christ's sake." 
 Bishop Loivth. 
 
 " Tkaiif.sffivirir/s.'] Notwithstanding the Hallelujah, 
 the Gloria Patri, and daily psalms, it was thought by 
 some that our Liturgy wanteil forms of praise, upon 
 which account the particular thanksgi\'ings were added 
 in the time of King James I. and this general one at 
 the time of King Charles II.'s restoration. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 This, which is admirably composed, is said to have 
 been drawn up by Bishop Sanderson. Wheatly. 
 
 r A General Thanksyiving."] After the general inter- 
 cession there follows likewise a general thanksgiving. 
 For though in the psalms and hymns after the lessons, 
 with the se\'eral doxologies interspersed, we have every 
 where "set forth God's most worthy praise;" yet it 
 seemed meet also in a distinct and appropriate form of 
 thanksgiving "to render thanks for the great benefits 
 we have received at his hands;" which, according to 
 the first exhortation, we therefore do, beginning ^ith 
 that original blessing, "our creation," then "preserva- 
 tion," attended with all these secondary benefits and 
 "blessings of life," "but above all," because the great- 
 est of all, "our redemption," attended with all "the 
 means of grace and hope of glory," thus ascending 
 gradually through the long scale of blessings received 
 at God's hand, from temporal to spiritual, from the 
 fh-st to the last, from our coming forth to our retm'ning 
 to Him again. Dr. Bisse.
 
 THANKSGIVINGS. 
 
 Xehera. ix. 
 Ps. ciii. 1—5. 
 
 Col.i.l2— 14. 
 John i. 17. 
 CI. i. 26, 27. 
 1 Pet. i. 3, 4. 
 
 1 Sam. xii. 
 24. Ps. il. 1. 
 
 Malt. sii. 34, 
 
 JiOin xiv. 23, 
 Kom. xii. 1. 
 
 Jer. T. 23, 21. 
 Ps. Ixv.iP, 10. 
 
 and all the blessings of this life ; 
 but above all, for thine inestimable 
 love in the rerlemjition of the 
 world by our Lord Jesus Christ ; 
 for the means of grace, and for the 
 hope of glory. And, we beseech 
 thee, give us that due sense of all 
 thy mercies, that our hearts may 
 be" uufeignedly thankful, and that 
 we shew forth thy praise, not only 
 with our lips, but in our lives; by 
 giving up ourselves to thy service, 
 and by walking before thee in holi- 
 ness and righteousness all our days ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord, to 
 whom with thee and the Holy Ghost 
 be all honour and glory, world with- 
 out end. Amen, 
 
 Fur Raiii'^. 
 
 OGod our heavenly Father, 
 who by thy gracious provi- 
 dence dost cause the former and 
 the latter rain to descend upon the 
 earth, that it may bring forth fruit 
 for the use of man ; We give thee 
 humble thanks that it hath pleased 
 thee, in our great necessity, to send 
 us at the last a joyful rain upon 
 thine inheritance, and to refresh it 
 when it was dry, to the great com- 
 fort of us thy unworthy servants, 
 and to the glory of thy holy Name ; 
 
 Indeed this is a more methodical siimmavy of the 
 several Tiieroies of God " to us and to all men," than 
 we had before : it furnishes an opportunity of thanking 
 Him more expressly for the late iustanees of his loving- 
 kindness to the members of our own congregation : 
 and besides, as we cannot be too thankful to (iod, the 
 acknowledgments, which we oifered up at the beginning 
 of the service, are veiy pro])erly repeated at the end. 
 I'or surely we ought to ask nothing of (jod, witliout 
 remembering, what we have received from Him: which 
 naturally excites both our faith and resignation; and 
 ])roposes the way for that admirable Collect, mth which 
 we conclude. Ah/). Seeker. 
 
 After enumerating the blessings for which we return 
 our humble and hearty thanks, the form from eucha- 
 rislic becomes jietilionary. We beseech (iod to make 
 us truly sensible of his mercies, and really thaidiful lor 
 them; "that we may shew our gratitude, anil promote 
 his glory, not only by celebrating his jiraises day by 
 day in "the publicU assemblies of the Church, but by 
 walking in the paths of lioliness and righteousness all 
 our lives. 'I'hese petitions we enforce through the 
 merits of Jesus ('hrist; and we conclude the whole 
 with a doxology, in wbicli wc ascribe to the Son, with 
 the Father, anrl the Holy (Jhost, all bimour and glory, 
 world without end. .Amen. S/ii'/iIutiI. 
 
 1 For Ruin, &c.] More jjarticular thanksgivings being 
 sometimes proper, wc arc supplied with forms on the 
 
 Ps.lxxxvi.17; 
 cxlv. 9, 10. 
 
 through thy mercies in Jesus Christ ccn. xxxii 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 For fair IVeatlier. 
 
 OLord God, who hast justly 
 humbled us by thy late plague 
 of immoderate rain and waters, and 
 in thy mercy hast relieved and com- 
 forted our souls by this seasonable 
 and blessed change of weather ; N^hem. ix. 
 We praise and glorify thy holy2i'3. " 
 Name for this thy mercy, and will Acts xiv. 17. 
 always declare thy lovino-kindne.ss ps- cxxxviii. 
 
 ^ •' . •' , ^ • 2; IxxiX. 13. 
 
 from generation to generation ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 For Pknl,/. 
 
 OMost merciful Father, who of 
 thy gracious goodness hast 
 heard the devout prayers of thy 
 Church, and turned our dearth and ps. cii. 17; 
 
 . , 11^ cxvi. 5; 
 
 scarcity into cheapness and plenty ; cvii. 33-37. 
 W^e give thee humble thanks for 
 this thy special bounty ; beseech- 
 ing thee to continue thy loving- 
 kindness unto us, that our land 
 may yield us her fruits of increase, ps xxxvi lo; 
 
 J J , , ^ ' Ixxxv. 12. 
 
 to thy glory and our comrort ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 For Peace and Deliverance from our 
 Enemies. 
 
 who 
 
 o 
 
 Almighty God, who art a 
 stronsi- tower of defence unto 
 
 six following occasions : (l)forrain; (2) for fair weather; 
 (3) for plenty; (4) for jieace, and deliverance from our 
 enemies; (3) for restoring public peace at home ; and 
 ((')) with two thanksgivings, either of which may be 
 used, for deliverance from the plague, or other con- 
 tagious sickness. 
 
 \Vhen the jietitions which wc may have offered up in 
 any of the preceding occasiimal prayers, ha\'c been 
 granted, and our desires fullillcd ; when either a 
 calamity has been removed, or a blessing vo\iehsafed ; 
 it is evidently tlie intention of the Church, that praise 
 should be given to God, in the words of the apjjro- 
 ])riate thanksgi\-ing here |)rescribed ; that is, in all cases 
 where the ordinary form is not superseded by one that 
 is special, and enjoined by authority. These occasional 
 thanksgivings we may pass over, after making one or 
 two geiu^ral observations. .Some of I hem are partly 
 taken from ancient ollices ; anil the whole are judi- 
 ciously com])Osed ; being not only well adapted to the 
 occasions for wbieh they are ap|iointcd, but, bkc the 
 preceding jiraycrs, with which they correspond, as ])lain 
 and pers])ieuoua, as they are rational and devout. The 
 occasional thanksgivings were composed in the reign 
 of James, and annexed to the liitany; in 1662, 
 they were detached from it, and printed as they 
 now ap])car, after having been .sanctioned by a con- 
 vocation, and authorized by the Act of Uniformity. 
 Shepherd,
 
 THANKSGIVINGS. 
 
 77 
 
 Ps. Ixi. 3. 
 
 Ps. cxviii. 
 10—15; 
 xviii. 48, 49; 
 cxxiv. 1 — 6 : 
 xxxi. 1')— 21. 
 
 Ps. xxxvi. 
 
 10. 1 Kings 
 
 viii. 59, 00. 
 
 Ps. cix. 20, 
 
 27. 
 
 Isa. xlix. 2G. 
 
 Ps. Ixviii. 6. 
 Old Tr. 
 Ps. Ixv. 7. 
 
 Ps. cxliv. I, 
 2. 
 
 Heb. xii. 28. 
 
 1 Tim. ii. 
 1, 2. 
 
 Ps.lxxix. 13 
 cvii. 21, 22. 
 
 thy servants ao;ainst the face of 
 their enemies ; We yield thee praise 
 and thank.sgiving for our deliver- 
 ance from those great and apparent 
 dangers wherewith we were com- 
 passed : We acknowledge it thy 
 goodness that we were not deli- 
 vered over as a prey unto them ; 
 beseeching theo still to continue 
 such thy mercies towards us, that 
 all the world may know that thou 
 art our Saviour and mighty Deli- 
 verer ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 For restoring Puhlick Peace at 
 Home. 
 
 O Eternal God, our heavenly 
 Father, who alone makest men 
 to be of one mind in a house, and 
 stillest the outrage of a violent and 
 unruly people ; VVe bless thy holy 
 Name, that it hath pleased thee to 
 appease the seditious tumults which 
 have been lately raised up amongst 
 us ; most humbly beseeching thee 
 to grant to all of us grace, that 
 we may henceforth obediently walk 
 in thy holy commandments ; and, 
 leading a quiet and peaceable life 
 in all godliness and honesty, may 
 continually offer unto thee our sa- 
 crifice of praise and thanksgiving 
 for these thy mercies towards us ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 For Deliverance from the PJntjuc, or 
 other common Sic/tncss. 
 
 OLord God, who hast wounded 
 us for our sins, and consumed 
 us for our tran.sgressions, by thy 
 late heavy and dreadful visitation ; Jir- vin. 12. 
 and now, in the midst of judgement 
 remembering mercy, hast redeemed 
 our souls from the jaws of death ; 
 We offer unto thy fatherly good 
 ness ourselves, our souls and bodies 
 which thou hast delivered, to be a 
 living sacrifice inito thee, always 
 praising and magnifying thy mercies 
 in the midst of thy Church ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Ps. Ixviii, 21. 
 Isa, Ixiv. 7. 
 
 Ps. cvi. 
 
 43—45 ; 
 cx'vi. 8. 
 
 Or this. 
 
 E humbly acknowledge be- 
 fore thee, O most merciful 
 Father, that all the jninishments 
 which are threatened in thy law 
 might justly have fallen ujion us, by 
 reason of our manifold transgres- 
 sions and hardness of heart : Yet 
 seeing it hath pleased thee of thy 
 tender mercy, upon our weak and 
 unworthy humiliation, to asswage the 
 contagious sickness wherewith we 
 have lately been sore af?licted, and to 
 restore the voice of joy and health 
 into our dwellings; We offer unto thy 
 Divine Majesty the sacrifice of praise 
 and thanksgiving, lauding and magni- 
 fying thy glorious Name for such thy 
 preservation and providence over us ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Ps. ciii. 
 1—4. 13. 
 Koiii. xii. 1. 
 Heb. xiii. 15. 
 Eph. iii. 21. 
 
 Deut. xxviii. 
 15, 10. 
 I.sa. lix. 12 
 1 Sam. V). 6. 
 
 2 Chron. vii. 
 
 14. 
 
 Jer. xxxi 13. 
 
 Ps. XXX. 2. 
 
 11. 
 
 Heb xiii. 15. 
 Jude 25. 
 Nchfrn. ix. 5. 
 Ps. cxlv. 5 i 
 xci. 0— U.
 
 78 
 
 As the service, which has been now examined, is al- 
 most every where separated, and veiy properly, from the 
 following one, namely, the Communion service, by the 
 singing of a psalm, this apjjears a convenient place for 
 saying a little concerning that branch of publick wor- 
 ship, which in many places is too much disregarded. 
 
 As singing is capable of expressing strongly eveiy 
 state, in which the mind can be, towards every object ; 
 so there never was perhaps any one nation upon earth, 
 ci\TUzed or barbarous, that did not make this a part of 
 the honour paid by them to the God n-hom they adored. 
 We find in the Old Testament, it was practised by the 
 Jews, before theii- law was given, as well as after. The 
 book of Psalms consists whoDy of rehgious songs : and 
 directs the " saints of the Lord, to sing unto him, and 
 give thanks for a remembrance of his holiness : to sing 
 unto the honour of his name, and make his praise glo- 
 rious ; to sing praises unto om- God, while we have our 
 being," Ps. xxx. 4 ; Ixvi. 2 ; cxlvi. 2. The prophets 
 foretel that, in the Gospel times, men shall sing for 
 the majesty " of the Lord :" and, which brings the pre- 
 dictions home to us, "they shaD cry aloud, and glorify 
 God, in the isles of the sea," Isa. xxiv. 14, 15. Accord- 
 ingly St. Paul, not only himself with Silas, even in 
 prison, "sang praises unto God;" Acts xvi. 25; but 
 appoints, that all Christians should " speak to them- 
 selves, and admonish one another in psalms and hymns 
 and spiritual songs, making melody with grace in their 
 hearts to the Lord," Eph. v. 19; Col. iii. 16. And 
 St. James prescribes, " Is anyone merry?" in a joyful 
 frame of mind, on account of blessings received, (for 
 the word, mirth, comprehended anciently the most 
 serious kind of gladness,) " let him sing psalms," 
 James v. 13. 
 
 In pursuance of these rules, the first Christians made 
 singing a constant part of their worship : as, besides the 
 ecclesiastical wTiters, even a heathen, Pliny, informs 
 us ; and the whole congregation joined in it. After- 
 wards indeed the singers by profession, who had been 
 prudently appointed to lead and direct them, by degrees 
 usiu-pcd the whole performance. Uut at the Reforma- 
 tion the people were restored to thcu- rights : and it 
 made a much quicker progress for the pleasure and 
 comfort, which they foimd in this practice : a circum- 
 stance, that ought to endear it to considerate persons 
 not a little. And as the only way of singing, known 
 in common parochial chiu-ches, is by the metre ])salms ; 
 unless we join in that, we entirely omit this branch of 
 our duty. 
 
 It is true the verse translation of the Psalms, gene- 
 rally used, is void of ornament; and hath expressions, 
 often low and flat, sometimes obsolete. And I wish a 
 better were substituted in its place. Uut still, in many 
 other cases, ancient solemn forms of words are thought 
 venerable, when they are far from elegant ; not to say 
 that the language of oin- forefathers, even where it may 
 seem veryimcouth. at ju-esent, had in its time fre(iucntly 
 full as mucli beauty and propriety, as ours. And seve- 
 ral words of it have been, for that reason, revived by 
 some of our best modern authors. But at least the 
 matter comjirised in the words, of which I am speak- 
 ing, is so highly respectable, that the mind which is 
 airected only by the phrase, and not by the sense, nuist 
 be a light one indeed. 
 
 Again, it is true also, that the tunes to which the 
 psalms are sung, are most of them ])lain and slow, and 
 tlie voices of many in the assembly unharmonious, and 
 apt to be ill-managed. Uut tunes, designed for the 
 multitude to join in. wlio have never been regularly in- 
 structed, must be plain ami slow, and such as they have 
 been accustomed to : for which purpose the number 
 should be moderate. Ours are many of them recom- 
 
 mended, and as it were consecrated by long usage. 
 Confessors for the protestant cause have comjjosed them. 
 Martyrs for it have yielded up their d)-ing breath in 
 them. And several of them are thought, by competent 
 judges, no way deficient in real melody, .\raongst a 
 variety of people, part of them with bad ears, and most 
 of them with untaught voices, there will be some who 
 had better totally abstain ; only attending to the sense, 
 as well as the sound, of what is uttered by the rest : and 
 others, that should moderate themselves to a jjrudent 
 degree of lowness, till they have learnt how to exert 
 themselves more properly. But all who are, or can be, 
 qualified, (and there are a few who cannot,) should bear 
 such a part as they are able. It may be done, wthout 
 in the least disordering the more skilful singers, who 
 perform the \-ery useful office of raising and supporting 
 the tune. This in many congregations is done by an 
 organ, the charity children, or both. But then the 
 organ should express the tunes plainly and distinctly, 
 and make very moderate intervals between the hnes : 
 the children should be taught to sing in exact time and 
 concert with it ; and the whole congregation shoidd 
 accompany them fervently, yet with prudence. Taking 
 this care, though there should still hapjjen to be some 
 little discords, they would be entirely lost in the gene- 
 ral chorus : the efl'ect of whicli would be noble and 
 elevating, if we took rightly into our thoughts the 
 whole of the matter instead of cavilling at minute par- 
 ticulars. 
 
 Consider the nature of a wild multitude, in its origi- 
 nal state, met together at the call of some vehement 
 ungoverned passion : how alarming tlie concourse, 
 how frightful and horrid the confused and hideous cries 
 of it must be. Then consider the same multitude, 
 ' softened and cultivated by the gentle influences of reh- 
 gion, and unanimously assembling at stated seasons, 
 I to sing forth the praises of the wise and good Parent 
 of all, and echo to each other the precepts of a rational, 
 I and mild, and beneficent life here, as the means of ob- 
 ! taining eternal fehcity hereafter. Can there be a hap- 
 I pier change of scene, a sweeter and more pleasing view ? 
 and, su|)pose the harmony made by them were ever so 
 httle better, than " shouting imto God with the voice of 
 triumph," as the Scripture expresses it, and " making a 
 joyful noise unto the Ro('k of their salvation," Ps. \\v\\. 
 I , xcv. 1 , yet what worthy and humane and pious heart 
 is there, that woidd not be charmed with the sound, 
 and zealously join in it? we are disposed thus on all 
 occasions. 
 
 Amongst our ancestors, who judged of jiropriety as 
 discreetly as ourselves, to say no more, tlie very highest 
 joined humbly and cheerfully with the lowest of their 
 i'ellow-Christians in the duty of ])saIinody, however 
 artlessly ])erformed. And it is worth our while to re- 
 flect what it is, either to disdain, or be ashamed, or be 
 too indolent to lift u]i our voices to the honour of our 
 Maker, when we come into his house professedly to 
 worship Him, and He hath commanded that one part 
 of his worship sliall be this. 
 
 But if we will not ein])loy our lijis in the service, we 
 may still fix our minds upon it : at least we should not 
 hinder others from doing either. .And particularly we 
 should alistain from giving tlie bad examjilc, and the 
 ofl'ence, of indecently holding conversation at that time, 
 for which there cannot surely be so jiressing an occa- 
 sion. Init that it may very safely be deferred' till after 
 church, if not altogether omitteii. 
 
 in the singing of Psalms, diU'erent persons use differ- 
 ent |)ostures. Tlie ]u-ose ])salms, 1 believe, are and 
 ever have been rcpeati'd by all jiersons every where 
 standing. In the verse psalms we all stand at the 
 Doxology. And, in what goes before, the reason for
 
 79 
 
 doing it is exactly the same, and a very strong one ; 
 tliat the whole is sung to the glory of God, and often 
 directly addressed to God. Aecordingly \\c read in 
 the Old Testament that not only the "Levitcs" were 
 " to stand e\'ery morning to thank and praise the Lord, 
 and hkewise at even," 1 C'hron. xxiii. 30; but that 
 when " they waited with instruments of musick to 
 praise the Lord, all Israel stood," 2 Chron. vii. G; and 
 that they said to the people, " Stand up and bless the 
 Lord your God," Nch. ix. 5. We read likewise, that 
 in a vision of St. John, in the book of Revelation, " a 
 great multitude which no man could number, stood 
 before the throne, and cried with a loud voice, Salva- 
 tion to our God," Rev. vii. 9, 10: and in another, that 
 "they who had gotten the victory over the beast, stood 
 and sang the song of Moses and the Lamb," Rev. xv. 
 2, 3. Standing therefore, as it is plainly the fittest 
 posture in itself, is the authorized one also : and, were 
 it more uncommon than it is, would be far from a dis- 
 honourable singularity. But still, as very many in 
 most congregations, either have by long habit been 
 prejudiced in favoiu' of sitting, or though they disap- 
 prove the custom, feel a difficulty of quitting it, unless 
 every one did : they should not be censured for a prac- 
 tice by which they mean nothing amiss ; but kindly 
 encouraged to an alteration in this point, which we 
 may thus hope wiU gradually become general. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 To prevent improprieties in the performance of this 
 excellent part of publick devotion, and to jn'ovide for 
 due solemnity in it as well as in the rest, it is much to 
 be wished, that ministers should not leave the choice 
 of proper psalms to their parish clerks, but should take 
 
 upon themselves the trouble of directing it ; or rather, 
 that they should once for all fix and establish a course 
 of psalms, to be given out and sung in their order. 
 By which means the congregations miglit be furnished 
 with those which arc most jirojier, and also with a due 
 variety; and by degrees, the most useful jiarts of the 
 Book of Psalms would be imjdanted in the minds of 
 the peojile, and become familiar to them. 
 
 And to the end the Psalms, so chosen, may be sung 
 in a more decent manner, it is further to be wished, 
 that the people of every [jarisli, and especially the 
 youth, were trained u[) and accustomed to an orderly 
 way of singing some of the Psalm tunes, which are 
 most plain and easy, and of most common use ; since 
 that is the proper season of forming the voice as well 
 as the mind : and the regularity, into which it is then 
 east with great ease, will remain with them during life ; 
 and not only enable them to contribute their part to 
 the decency of this performance, but e\'en, for the sake 
 of that talent, will incline them to be constant in at- 
 tending the jniblick service of the Church. 
 
 It is however by no means recommended, that the 
 clergy should invite or encourage the introduction of 
 those uncommon and ridiculous tunes, which have 
 sometimes been brought into churches, and the conse- 
 quence of which is, that the greater ]jart of the congre- 
 gation are silenced and do not join in this exercise at 
 all : but that they should endeavour to bring their 
 whole congregation, men and women, old and young, 
 or at least as many as they can, to sing a few of the 
 plainest and best known tunes in a decent, regular, and 
 uniform manner, so as to be able to bear their part in 
 them at the pubUck service of the Church. Bp. Gibson.
 
 THE'' 
 
 COLLECTS, EPISTLES, AND GOSPELS 
 
 TO BE USED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 
 
 f Note, that the CnUcct a])poinfed for every Sunday, or for any Holyday that liath a 
 Viyil or Eve^, shall be said at the Evening Service next before. 
 
 • The Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, to be used 
 
 throughout the year.'] Concerning the feasts, &c. ob- 
 served in the Church of England, the reader is referred 
 to notes on the Tables and Rules, at the beginning of 
 the Common Prayer Book. 
 
 '' Collects.'] For the meaning of this term, see note 
 e, p. 36, on the Order for Morning Prayer. 
 
 'File Collects, which follow, are some short, pious, 
 and impressive prayers, collected out of the holy Scriii- 
 tures, ushered in with such attributes of God, as are 
 proper and suitable to the petitions contained in them, 
 and oifered up in the name and through the mediation 
 of Jesus Christ. Dr. Hole. As on every day, or season, 
 there is something more pai-ticularly commended to 
 our meditations by the Church, so the Collect reflects 
 chiefly upon tliat, though sometimes more generally 
 upon the whole matter of the Epistle and Gospel, de- 
 siring ins]iiration, strength, and protection from (lod 
 Almighty in the practice and pursuance of what is set 
 before us. But concerning the matter of the several 
 Collects a ])articular account will be given as each 
 occurs. Bp. Spnrrow. 
 
 'ITiat most of the (Collects are very ancient, appears 
 by their conformity to the Epistles and Gospels, which 
 are thought to have been selected by St. jerom, and 
 put into the Lectionary by him : for which reason 
 many believe that the Collects also were first framed 
 by him. It is certain that Gelasius, who was bisho]) of 
 Rome in the year of our Lord 492, ranged the Collects, 
 which were then used, into order, and added some new 
 ones of his own : which oflice was again corrected by 
 Pope Gregory the (ireat in the year COO, whose Sacra- 
 mentary contains most of the Collects we now use. 
 But our Reformers observing that some of these Col- 
 lects were afterwards corrupted by superstitious altera- 
 tions and additions, and that others were quite left out 
 of the Roman Missals, and entire new ones, relating to 
 their present innovations, added in their room ; they 
 therefore examined every ('ollect strictly, and where 
 they found any of them corrupted, there they corrected 
 them ; where any new ones had been insei-ted, tliey 
 restored tlie old ones; and lastlj-, at the Restoration, 
 every Collect was again revieu'cd, when whatsoever was 
 deficient was sujjplied, and all, that was but improjjerly 
 e.xpressed, rectified. Whcalli/. 
 
 It was the opinion of our wise and pious Reformers 
 that these Collects being found in the Romish mass 
 book was no objection to the use of them. For they 
 considered, that wc ought to depart from the corrup- 
 tions only of that church : and when these were in- 
 tircly corrected, or cast ofl', they rightly judged that it 
 ivoultl have argued in them a strange and even scan- 
 dalous perverseness, not to retain those |)arts or offices. 
 the soimdncss whereof wa.s c\ident, fiy their being 
 cither expressly contained in, or undeniably founded 
 upon, the woril of (iod Himself. Dean Slimhope. 
 
 iSulyoined is a table of tlie Collects for .Sundays and 
 
 other Holydays, as they now stand in our Liturgy: 
 
 noting their origin, the time of their composition, and 
 the princi])al variations they have undergone. The 
 table, which was [lartly formed by Bishop Cosin, and 
 published by Dr. Comber, is di\-ided into three com- 
 partments. The first consists of the Collects retained 
 from ancient Liturgies ; the second, of such as were 
 taken from ancient models, but were considerably al- 
 tered and improved by our Reformers. The third, of 
 such as were eomjiosed anew, and substituted in the 
 place of others, which containing doctrines and jjosi- 
 tions, that to our Reformers seemed false, superstitious, 
 or improper, were therefore rejected. By way of ap- 
 pendix is inserted a table, exhibiting the principal 
 variations made in the Epistles and Gospels, at and 
 since the Reformation. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Covsistinr/ of such Collects us were retained from ancient 
 
 Liturgies at the lieformution. 
 
 Collects for Whence taken. 
 
 4 Sunday in Advent. In some old offices for the 
 
 first Sunday in Advent. 
 St. John's Day. St. Greg. Sacr. and Gothick 
 
 Liturg. 
 The Epiphany. St- Greg. Sacr. 
 
 1,2, & 3 Sunday after Epii)h. The same, and St. Ambros. 
 
 Liturg. 
 
 5 Epiphany. St. Cireg. Sacr. 
 Se|)tuagesima. The same. 
 Sexagesima. The same. 
 
 2, 3, 4, 5 .Sunday in Lent. 'I'he same. 
 
 6 Sunday in Lent. Thesame; butinSt..\mbros. 
 
 Liturg. for (iood Friday. 
 
 Good Friday, the three Col- They are in all Olliccs with 
 
 leets. little variation : but are 
 
 left out of the Breviaries 
 
 ofPiusV.andClem.Vni. 
 
 Easter Day. St. Greg. Sacr. and a ("oUcet 
 
 almost the same in the 
 Gallic Liturg. 
 
 3 Sunday after Easter. St. (ireg. Sacr. St. Ambros. 
 
 Liturg. 
 
 5 Sunday after Easter. St. Greg. Sacr. 
 
 Ascension Day. The same. 
 
 \\'hit-Sunday. The same. 
 
 1 Sunday after Trinity. The .same. This in some 
 old ( tlllccs is called the 
 secoTiil after Pentecost ; 
 in others the first after 
 the octa^•e3 of Pentecost. 
 
 The 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 
 12, 13, 14, 15, IG, 1". 
 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, & 25 
 after 'Frinity. Are all in St. Greg. Sacr. 
 
 'I'he Purification. 'I'he .same. 
 
 St. Michael's Day. 'Fhe same.
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 81 
 
 James iv. C. 
 
 A 
 
 Tlie first Sundai/ in Advent^. 
 
 I'hc Collect '. 
 LMIGHTY God, give us 
 grace that wo may cast away 
 
 The reader will observe, that the gi'eater part of this 
 class of Collects is found in Gregory's Sacramentary, 
 which was composed before the year (inn. All of these, 
 therefore, are, at least, 1200 years old, and many of 
 them are much older. For Gregory did not originally 
 form the offices. He only collected and improved them. 
 To wave all other proof of this, we have his own testi- 
 mony, given in vindication of his conduct. " I have 
 followed," says he, "a ])ractice common in the Greek 
 church, and have altered some old Collects, and added 
 some new and useful ones." But the generality of the 
 Collects in his Sacramentary he coni])ilcd from Litur- 
 gies, which, in his time, were esteemed ancient. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Consisting of Collects taken from ancient models, but con- 
 siderably altered and improved by our Reformers, and 
 the Reviewers of the Liturgy. 
 
 How it stood before. 
 
 Colkctsfor j„pZ'enLt 
 St. Stephen's Beginning Grant us, O Lord, to learn 
 
 Day. added 1(562. to love our enemies, &c. 
 
 4 Sund. aft. End imjiroved Grant to us the health of 
 
 Epiph. 
 
 1662. 
 
 4 Sund. aft. 
 Easter. 
 
 Sund. 
 Ascension. 
 
 body and soul, that all 
 
 those things which we 
 
 suffer for sin, &c. 
 
 Improved Who makest the minds of 
 
 1662. all faithful people to be 
 
 of one will, &c. 
 
 after A little varied This had been of old the 
 
 the works of darkticss, and put ujion Rom. xiii. i2. 
 us the armour of liglit, now in the 
 time of this mortal life, in whicli tliy 
 Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in 
 
 Collects for 
 
 The Annun- 
 ciation. 
 
 St. Philip 
 and James. 
 
 St. Bartho- 
 lomew. 
 
 Trinity Sun- 
 day 
 
 Time of 
 
 Improvement. 
 
 1549. 
 
 Collect for Ascension 
 Day, on which our vene- 
 rable Bede repeated it as 
 he was dying. 
 
 2 Sund. aft. The order in- Lord, make us to have a 
 Trinity. verted 1662. perpetual fear and love 
 
 of thy holy name, for 
 thou never failest, &c. 
 
 8 Sund. aft. Beginning im- Whose providence is never 
 Trinity. proved 1662. deceived, &c. 
 
 1 1 Sund. aft. Improved That we running to thy pro- 
 mises, may be made [lar- 
 
 Trinity. 
 
 18 Sund. aft. 
 
 Trinity. 
 10 Sund. aft. 
 
 Trinity. 
 St. Paul's 
 
 Day. 
 
 1662. 
 
 takers of thy heavenly 
 treasure, &c. 
 Improved To avoid the infections of 
 
 1662. the devil. Sec. 
 
 Imjiroved That the working of thy 
 1662. mercymay in all things, .S:c. 
 
 Improved In the Breviaries * a new 
 1549 and prayer was added men- 
 1662. tioning St. Paul's inter- 
 
 cession ; in the year 1549 
 the old prayer alone out 
 of Greg. Sacr. was re- 
 
 * Had Dr. Comber said Missal instead of Breviary, 
 be would have been more correct. For though the 
 Collect of the day was used in the Breviary, yet it was 
 taken from the Missal. Thus in our Morning Prayer, 
 tlie ruljrick du-ects that the first Collect, that is, the 
 t 'oUect of the day, " shall be the same that is appointed 
 at the Communion." By members of our Church, and 
 dissenters, the Breviary, Missal, and Ritual, tlu'ee very 
 dill'erent books, ai'C at present generally confounded. 
 
 Hoiv it stood before. 
 
 stored, which had our 
 walking after his exam])le 
 onljr, which was a little 
 varied in the year 1662. 
 
 Improved ITie Breviaries had put in 
 1549. a new prayer about the 
 
 B. Virgin's intercession, 
 which was cast out in 
 1549, and the form being 
 in St. Gregr. Sacr. re- 
 stored. 
 
 Imjiroved As thou hast taught St. 
 1662. Philip and the other 
 
 apostles, &c. 
 
 Improved To preach that which he 
 1662. taught, &c. was altered, 
 
 because there is no writ- 
 ing of his extant. 
 This Collect is no older than 
 the Sacramentary ascribed 
 to Alcuinus. The old 
 Offices have another Col- 
 lect for it, and call it the 
 Octave of Pentecost. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 Consisting of such Collects as were composed anew, and 
 substituted in the place of those, which, contuining either 
 false or sujjerstitious doctrines, were on, this account 
 rejected. 
 
 Composed in 
 First Book of Edward VI. 1549. 
 The same time. 
 1662. 
 1549. 
 
 The same time. 
 
 1662. Before this time they re- 
 peated the Collect for the fifth 
 Sunday. 
 1549. 
 
 The same time. 
 The same time. 
 
 1 662. No Collect for it ever be- 
 fore then. 
 Tire fii'st sentence (1 Cor. v. 7) 
 
 was added 1C62. 
 1549. 'llien it was used on 
 Easter Tuesday, and in 1662 
 was fixed for this Sunday. 
 2 Sunday after Easter. 1 549. 
 
 St. Andrew's Day. 1552. Second Book of Ed- 
 ward VI. 
 
 The Breviary contains matins, lauds, &c. ; and if the 
 reader considers it as corresponding with our daily ser- 
 vice, he will not form a \-ery erroneous opinion. The 
 Missal, or Mass Book, answers to " the order of the 
 administration of the Lord's Supi)er," together with 
 " the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels to be used through- 
 out the year." The Ritual is composed of occasional 
 Offices, namely. Baptism, Matrimony, Visitation of the 
 Sick, &c. 
 
 G 
 
 Collects for 
 
 1 Sunday in Advent. 
 
 2 Sunday in Advent. 
 
 3 Sunday in Advent. 
 Christmas Day. 
 Circumcision. 
 
 6 Sunday after Epiph. 
 
 Quinqiiagesima. 
 Ash-Wednesday. 
 1 Sunday in Lent. 
 Easter Even. 
 
 Easter Sunday. 
 
 1 Sunday after Easter.
 
 82 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 >AU composed anew in 15 49. 
 
 Phil. ii. 7. great humility ; that in the hist day, 
 Malt. xxi. 5. .^^iipj^ jjg gjj^jj jj^j^g again in his 
 
 Collects for Composed in 
 
 St. Thomas's Day, 
 St. Matthias, 
 St. Mai-k, 
 St. Barnabas, 
 St. John Baptist, 
 St. Peter, 
 St. James, 
 St. Matthew, 
 St. Luke, 
 
 St. Simon & St. Jude, 
 All Saints, 
 
 Yet, in the composition of some of these Collects, the 
 compilers appear to have had an eye to the Missals and 
 the Breviaries. Tliey ha\-e, in some instances, preserved 
 the introduction, and amplified or given a different turn 
 to the petitions. Shepherd. 
 
 The following Table of the Weekly Collects is gene- 
 rally annexed to the Common Prayer Books sent, by 
 order of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 
 to its members. 
 
 An alphabelic'il Table of the weekly Collects in. the Book 
 of Common Prayer, reduced under proper heads. 
 
 Affliction. Prayers for deliverance from, and support 
 under afflictions. Collects for the third Sunday 
 after the Epiphany, eighth after Trinity, and fifth 
 Sunday in Lent. 
 
 Angels. A prayer for the guardianship of angels. Col- 
 lect for St. Michael. 
 
 Charity. See Love. 
 
 Chastity. A prayer for chastity. Collect for the fu-st 
 Sunday in Lent. 
 
 Christ. .\ prayer for the imitation of Christ. Collects 
 for the Sunday next before Easter, and the second 
 Sunday after Easter. 
 
 For the benefit of Christ's death. Collect for 
 the Annunciation. 
 
 Church. Prayers for the universal Church. Collects 
 for the tiftli Sunday after E])iphany, the third 
 Sunday after Easter, St. John the Evangelist, and 
 the two first Collects for Good Friday. 
 
 For the unity of the Church. Collect for St. 
 Simon and St. Jude. 
 
 For the peace of the Cliurch. Collects for the fifth, 
 sixteenth, and twenty-second Sundays after IVinity. 
 
 Comfort. A prayer for spiritual comfort. Collect for 
 the Sunday after the Ascension. 
 
 Contrition. A prayer for contrition. Collect for Ash- 
 Wednesday. 
 
 Covelousness. A prayer against covetousness. Collect 
 for St. Matthew's Day. 
 
 Courage. A jirayer for Christian coiu'age. Collect for 
 St. John Baptist. 
 
 Enemies. A prayer for deliverance from enemies. 
 Collect for the third .Sunday in Fjcnt. 
 
 Example. Prayers that wc may follow the example of 
 Christ. Collects for the Sunday next before 
 Easter, and the second Sunday after I'laster. 
 
 Faith. Prayers for a right and firm faith. Collects for 
 Trinity Sunday, St. 'i'homas, and St. Mark. 
 
 For faitli, hope, and charity. Collect for the 
 fourteenth Sunday after 'IVinity. 
 
 Grace. I'rayers fur grace and assistance in our Chris- 
 tian coiirse. Collects for the fourth Simday in 
 Advent, second in Ixnt, Easter Day, tliiril Sunday 
 after I'",u.ster, and the first, seventh, and thirlcentli 
 after Trinity. 
 
 glorious Majesty to judge both the Lukexxis?. 
 quick and dead, we may rise to the 
 
 Heaven. A prayer for heavenly desires. Collect for 
 Ascension Day. 
 
 For admittance to the enjoyment of Cod in 
 heaven. Collects for the Epiphany, the sixth Sun- 
 day after Epiphany, and the Sunday after As- 
 cension. 
 
 Humility. A prayer for humility and patience. Col- 
 lect for the Sunday before Easter. 
 
 Illumination. Prayers for illumination, or a right judg- 
 ment in all things. Collects for Whitsunday, first \ 
 Sunday after Epiphany, and the ninth after Trinity. 
 
 Judgments. Prayers for deliverance from judgments. 
 Collects for Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and the 
 fourth Sunday in Lent. 
 
 Love. Prayers for the love of God and his laws. 
 Collects for the fourth Sunday after Easter, and 
 the sixth, seventh, and fourteenth after Trinity. 
 
 For love and charity. Collect for Quinqua- 
 gesima Sunday. 
 
 Ministers. A prayer for the fitness of ministers. Col- 
 lect for St. Matthias. 
 
 That they may be diligent. Collect for St. 
 Peter's Day. 
 
 That their labours may be successful. Collect 
 for the third Sunday in Advent. 
 
 Mortificalion . Prayers for mortification. Collects for 
 Circumcision, and Easter Eve. 
 
 Obedience. Prayers that we may obey, and follow, the 
 doctrines of the apostles. Collects for the Con- 
 version of St. Paul, and St. John Baptist. See 
 Good IVorks. 
 
 Prayers. For the acceptance of our prayers. Collect 
 for the tenth Sunday after Trinity. 
 
 Providence. Prayers for protection by God's provi- 
 dence. Collects for the second, third, fourth, and 
 twentieth Sundays after Trinity. 
 
 Purity. A prayer for purity of heart. Collect for the 
 Pmification. 
 
 Renovation. A prayer for it. Collect for Christmas Day. 
 
 Religion. A prayer that we may be truly religious. 
 Collect for the seventh Sunday after 'I'riuity. 
 
 Saints. Prayers for the imitation of them. Collects 
 for Innocents' Day, St. Stephen, St. Philip, St. 
 James, St. John Baptist, and .Vll Saints. 
 
 Scripture. A prayer before reading the Scriptiu-e. 
 Collect for the second Sunday in Advent. 
 
 Sin. Prayers for conversion from sin. Collects for 
 the fu'St Sunday in Advent, the first Sunday after 
 Easter, St. Andrew, St. James, and St. Matthew. 
 
 For pardon of sin. Collects for the twelfth, 
 twenty-fhst, and twenty-fourth Sundays after Tri- 
 nity. 
 
 Sincerity. A prayer for it. Collect for the third Sunday 
 after Easter. 
 
 Holy Spirit. Prayers for the direction of the Holy 
 Sjiirit. Collects for the nineteenth Sunday after 
 Trinity, and fifth after Easter. 
 
 Temptations. Prayers for deli\-erancc from, and support 
 under, temptations. Collects for the fourth Sunday 
 after Epiphany, and the second in Lent. 
 
 Thoughts. A prayer against evil thoughts. Collect for 
 the fifth Sunday after Easter. 
 
 Unbelievers. A jirayer for Jews, Turks, Infidels, and 
 llereticks. The third Collect for Good Friday. 
 
 Good Works. Prayers for IVuilfulness in good works. 
 Collects for tlie (iftli Sunday after Ea.ster, and the 
 first, ninth, eleventh, thirteenth, seventeenth, and 
 twenty-fifth Sundays after Trinity.
 
 THE ITRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 H3 
 
 1 Thess. iv. 
 16 17. Juhii 
 V. 29. 
 
 John xi. 23 
 —■25. 
 Acts V. ,11. 
 
 life immortal, tlirouj^h liim who livetli 
 and reignetli with thee and the Holy 
 Giiost, now and over. Amen. 
 
 IT This Colled is to be repeated every day, 
 
 ' Epistles and Gospels'] 'J'he Epistles are certain por- 
 tions of Scripture selected for the most part out of the 
 writings of the apostles, eontaininfj many excellent rules 
 and precepts for instruction and comfort in all condi- 
 tions. They are called Ejjistles, because they were sent 
 by way of letter by the apostles to the several churches 
 or places to which they are inscribed : for which reason 
 they still retain the same name. Dr. Hole. Though 
 some few of these portions are taken from the Acts, or 
 other of the canonical books, they all receive their de- 
 nomination from the greater part. Dr. NiclioUs. 
 
 The Gospels are taken out of the writings of the four 
 Evangelists, who relate the life and actions of our 
 blessed Saviour ; as the doctrine that He taught, and the 
 miracles by which He confirmed it ; both which, being 
 of great use for the strengthening of our faith and hope 
 in Him, are piously ordered to be read every Lord's day 
 in the ears of the people. And in honoiu' to our 
 Saviour, whose words and works they are, the Church 
 hath commandeil them to be read and heard standing ; 
 which is a posture of reverence and resolution to adhere 
 and stand to them. Dr. Hole. See the note on the 
 rubrick before the Nicene Creed. 
 
 That the use of Epistles and Gospels peculiar to the 
 several holydays was ancient, appears first by ancient 
 Liturgies : secondly, by the testimony of the ancient 
 Fathers. Let St. Augustin testify for the Latin church, 
 in his preface to his comment upon the Ejiistle of St. 
 John, and in his tenth Sermon. " We heard th'st," says 
 he, " the apostolical Lesson, then we sang a Psalm, 
 after that the Gospel was read." Now let St. Chry- 
 sostom testify for the Greek; "The minister stands 
 up, and with a loud voice calls, Let vs attend: then the 
 Lessons are begun :" which Lessons are the Eiiistles 
 and Gospels, as appears in his Liturgy, which follow 
 immediately after the minister hath so called for at- 
 tention. 
 
 The fitness of the Epistle and Gospel for the day it 
 belongs to, and the reason of the choice, ^^^ll jilainly 
 appear, if we observe that these holy festivals and 
 solemnities of the Church are of two sorts ; the more 
 high days, or the rest. The first commemorate the sig- 
 nal acts or ])assages of oiu- Lord in the redemption of 
 man-kind ; his incarnation and nativity, circumcision, 
 manifestation to the Gentiles ; his fasting, passion, re- 
 surrection and ascension, the sending of the Holy 
 Ghost, and thereupon a more full and express manifes- 
 tation of the sacred Trinity. ITie second sort is of 
 inferior days, that supply the intervals of the greater, 
 such as are either the remaining Sundays, wherein, 
 without any consideration of the sequence of time, 
 (which could only be regarded in the great feasts,) the 
 holy doctrine, deeds, and miracles of our Lord, are the 
 chief matters of our meditations, or else the other holy- 
 days. And for all these holy times we have Epistles 
 and Gospels very proijcr and seasonable ; for not only 
 on high and special days, but even on those also, that 
 are more general and indifferent, some respect is had to 
 the season, and the holy affections the Church then 
 aims at : as mortification in Lent ; joy, hope, newness 
 of life, &c. after Easter; the fruits and gifts of the 
 Spirit and preparation for C'hrist's second coming in the 
 time between Pentecost and Advent. But these things 
 will be shewn in the discourse of the holydays severally. 
 As for the Lessons, although they have another order, 
 
 with the other Collects in Advent, until 
 Christmas Ece. 
 
 The Epistle. Rom. xiii. 8. 
 
 OW E no man any tliiiij^, but to 
 love one another : for he that 
 
 and very profitable, being for each day of the week, 
 following usually the method of chajjters, and taking in 
 the Old Testament also, (the Communion dealing 
 chiefly with the New, as most fit for the nature of that 
 service,) yet in them also regard is had to the more 
 solemn times by select and i)roper readings, as hath 
 been shewed ; this being the Church's rule and method 
 (as she hath it from the apostle) " that all things be 
 done unto edifying," that we may be better acquainted 
 with God, and with ourselves, with what hath been 
 done for us, and what is to be done by us. And this 
 visiljle as well as audible preaching of Cliristian doctrine 
 by the solemnities and readings, in such an admirable 
 order, is so apt to infuse by degi-ees all necessary Chris- 
 tian knowledge into us ; and the use of it to the igno- 
 rant is so great; "that it may well be feared" (as a 
 re\-erend person hath forewarned) that " when the festi- 
 vals and solemnities for the Ijirth of Christ and his 
 other famous passages of life, and death, and resurrec- 
 tion, and ascension, and mission of the Holy Ghost, and 
 the Lessons, Gospels, and Collects, and Sermons upon 
 them, be turned out of the Church, together with the 
 Creeds also, it will not be in the power of weekly ser- 
 mons on some heads of religion to keep up the know- 
 ledge of Christ in men's hearts, &c." And no doubt, 
 for this and other good reasons which He gives us, it 
 was, that the primitive Christians were so exact and 
 religious in these solemnities and meditations on the 
 occasions of them ; and therefore the Sermons of the 
 Fathers were generally on the readings of the day, as 
 hereafter is shewed. And we have from another the 
 like hand, thus : " The blessings of God, whereof these 
 solemnities renew the remembrance, are of that esteem 
 to the Church, that we are not able to express too much 
 thankfulness in taking that occasion of solemnizing his 
 service. And the greatest part of Christians are such, 
 as will receive much improvement in the principal mys- 
 teries of our faith by the sensible instruction, which the 
 observation of such solemnities yieldeth. The remem- 
 brance of the birth, the sufferings, the resurrection of 
 Christ, the coming of the Holy Ghost, the conversion 
 of the Gentiles by sending the apostles, the way made 
 before his coming by the annunciation of the angel, and 
 the coming of the Baptist, as it is a jjowcrful mean to 
 train the more ignorant sort in the understanding of 
 such great mysteries, so it is a just occasion for all 
 sorts to make that a particular time of serving God, 
 upon which we solemnize those great works of his." 
 Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 Tlie Church has not appointed these following Epistles 
 and Gospels, but upon special relation to the time wherein 
 they are read. And it is admirable to see with what 
 order and wisdom all things are disposed, that they might 
 be the more suitable for putting us in mind of what we 
 are about, or what we have to do. The whole year is 
 distinguished into two parts ; the one to commemorate 
 Christ's li\'ing here on earth, and the other to direct us 
 to live after his example. For the first are all the Sun- 
 days, appointed from Advent to Trinity Sunday : for the 
 second, all the Sundays from Trinity to Advent again. 
 And because the first part is conversant about the 
 life of Christ, and the mysteries of his divine dispensa- 
 tion, therefore, beguining at Advent, is the memory of 
 his incarnation celebrated; and after that, his nativity; 
 then his cii-cumcision ; his manifestation to the Gentiles; 
 G 2
 
 84 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 
 For this, Thou shalt not commit 
 
 his nonage ; his doctrine ; his miracles ; his passion ; his 
 burial ; his resurrection ; his ascension ; his sending of 
 the Holy Ghost ; all in the most perfect order : in all 
 which n-e see the whole story and course of our Saviour 
 in manifesting Himself and" his divine mysteries to the 
 world. So that the Gospels, read through this ])art of 
 the year, have their chief end and purpose, to make us 
 know, and remember orderly with grateful hearts, what 
 excellent benefits God the Father hath communicated to 
 us, first by his Son, and then by his Holy Spirit ; for 
 which unspeakable goodness we fitly end this division 
 of the year, with giving praise and gloiy to the whole 
 blessed Trinity. 
 
 The second pai-t, which contains all the Sundays after 
 that tiU Advent, being for our guidance during oiu- pil- 
 grimage in this world, hath such Gospels in order ap- 
 pointed, as may most easily and plainly lead us in the 
 true paths of Christianity : tliat those, which are rege- 
 nerated by Christ, and initiated into his faith, may know 
 what virtues to follow, and what vices to eschew. Thus, 
 in the first pai-t, we ai-e to leai-n the mysteries of the 
 Christian religion ; and, in the second, to practise that 
 wliich is agreeable to the same. For so it behoves us, 
 not only to know, that we have no other foundation of 
 our religion, but Christ Jesus, born, and crucified, and 
 risen for us ; but also to build upon this foundation such 
 a life as He requires of us. And because the tu-st jiart 
 ends with Pentecost, the giving of a new law in our 
 hearts, therefore the second part is to begin with the 
 practice of that law : that as the children of Israel did 
 pass the desert by the direction of Moses, so we may 
 pass through this world by the guidance of our Savioiu-; 
 and, o\ercoming at last our s])iritual enemies, we may 
 come to our heavenly dwelling-jjlace, and there remain 
 with Him for ever. ' B/). Ocerall. 
 
 The I'^pistles (for so the whole collection of them is 
 commonly called, taking its denomination from the far 
 greater jjart,) are portions of Scripture, chiefly consisting 
 of moral precejits. Some few indeed must be excepted ; 
 which are either ])assages prophetical of our blessed 
 Saviour, with regard to his first or second coming ; or 
 else historical, relating the memoraljle acts of the saints, 
 whom the Church counnemorates ; or doctrinal, illus- 
 trating tlie ends and advantages of our Lord's actions 
 or sufferings. Amongst those Ejiistles (strictly so called) 
 some liave a more immediate regard to questions of 
 great iin])ortance, between the Jews and Christians, at 
 the time when they were written. Yet are they not so 
 confined to the controversies then depending, but that 
 they, at the same time, lielp to explain many essential 
 points and privileges of our religion; sucli as arc highly 
 necessar)' to be understood, and capable of bringing 
 improvement to ours, and to all ages of the Churdi. 
 
 In the <iosi)els we are furnished with tlie strongest 
 evidences of our faith. The mysteries of our Lord's 
 incarnation and nativity, the miracles He wrouglit, the 
 parables He si)oke, the holy exhortations He has left us, 
 whether in publick discourses to the multitudes, or in 
 l)rivatc conferences with his own disciples ; the liistory 
 of liis life and death, resurrection, and ascension into 
 heaven ; the promises of his Holy Spirit, and predictions 
 of the many wonderful tilings, wbieb liis followers, thus 
 assi.sted, .should be enabled to perform, in confirniution 
 of the truth ; these, upcm tlie mutter, make up tlie sub- 
 stance of this part of our service. Wbieb j^ivcs us a 
 1)erfcct system for the establishment of our fuitli, as the 
 'Ipistlcs have been observed to do, for the direction of 
 our manners. 
 
 adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou 
 shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear 
 
 It were therefore heartily to be wished, that the ex- 
 cellency and usefulness of those Scriptures, chosen for 
 the instruction and edification of our people, were more 
 generally laid to heart : that men were duly sensible of 
 the happiness of that communion, in which such effectual 
 care is taken for theu' souls, that all who frequent our 
 pubhck assemblies, are secure of being taught, even 
 there, the whole of that, which is necessary to their sal- 
 vation. And I hope I may take leave to recommend 
 this (as I conceive) very reasonable instance of modesty 
 and prudence, that such deference may be paid to the 
 authority and wisdom of our governors, as for our flocks 
 to make those passages of Scripture the subject of their 
 private study and meditation, «hich liave been judged 
 most proper for theii- pubhck instruction. For, although 
 our Church do, as indeed she ought, indulge the free 
 use of the whole book of God to all her children, and as 
 liberally imjiart unto them, in the course of daily les- 
 sons throughout the year ; j-et, since these passages are 
 singled out for such times as are supposed to draw the 
 greatest numbers together, this, methinks, is a fair inti- 
 mation, and fit to be taken by the generality of people, 
 that such portions of the Bible ai-e not only of singular 
 profit, when rightly understood ; but that they are like- 
 wise liest suited to the capacities of common men, and 
 consequently, if attended to with diligence and honesty, 
 in less danger of being misunderstood. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 The Epistles and Gospels are thought to have been at 
 first selected by St. Jerome, and put into the Lectionary 
 by him. It is certain that they were very anciently ap- 
 propriated to the days whereon we now read them ; 
 since they are not only of general use throughout the 
 whole Western churcli, but are also commented upon 
 in the homilies of several ancient fathers, which are said 
 to have been preached upon those very days, to which 
 these portions of Scripture are now affixed. So that 
 they have most of them belonged to the same Sundays 
 and Holydays we now use them on, for above tiveh'c 
 hundred years ; as I might easily shew also from several 
 authorities. 
 
 In all the old Common Prayer Books, except the 
 Scotch one, the Epistles and Gospels were taken out of 
 the Great Bible, neither of the two last translations 
 being extant when the Common Prayer was first com- 
 piled. But in regard of the many defects which were 
 observed in that version, and upon the petition of the 
 Presbyterian commissioners at tlie Savoy conference, 
 the commissioners on the Church side concluded that all 
 the Epistles and Gosjicls should bo used according to 
 the last translation. Wheutly. 
 
 The following are the ]u-incipal variations made at and 
 since the Reformation : — 
 
 Epistles and Gos- 
 pels for 
 
 St. John's Day. 
 
 Sunday after 
 Christmas. 
 
 Circumcision. 
 
 Epiphany. 
 
 4 Sunday aflcr 
 Eiiijibany. 
 
 6 Sun. aft. Epiph. 
 
 Variations made. 
 
 1 John i. 1, by Edward ^'I. instead 
 of a Lesson out of Wisdom. 
 
 Gos|). Matt. i. 1, by Edward VI. in- 
 stead of Luke li. In 1G62 the 
 (jencalogies were left out. 
 
 Epist. and Gosp. both changed by 
 
 ^ ICdward \l. 
 
 Epist. Eph. iii. 1, liy Edward VI. in- 
 stead of a jiussage out of Isaiah. 
 
 l'"pi.st. Uom. xiii. 1, by ICdward \l.; 
 before, the same with the first 
 Sunday in Advent. 
 
 Epist. and Gosp. both new, IGGJ.
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 
 
 85 
 
 false witness, TIiou shalt not covet; 
 anil if there be any other command- 
 nicnt, it is briefly comprehended in 
 this saying, namely, Thou shalt love 
 thy neighbour as thyself. Love 
 worketh no ill to his neighbour : 
 therefore love is the fulfilling of the 
 law. And that, knowing the time. 
 
 Epistles and Gos- t, ■ ^- , 
 
 ^ j„l,f„^ Vanahons made. 
 
 Monday before Epist. and Gosp. new by Edward VI. 
 
 Easter. instead of an Apocryphal Lesson. 
 
 AVednesdaybefore Epist. Heb. ix. 16, by Edward VI. in- 
 
 Easter. stead of a Lesson out of Leviticus. 
 
 Thursday before Gosp. Luke xxiii. by Edward VI. in- 
 
 Easter. stead of John xix. 
 
 Good Friday. Gosp. John xix. Epist. Heb. ii. 1, by 
 
 Edward VI. instead of portions out 
 of Hosea and Exodus. 
 Easter Even. Epist. and Gosp. both new by Ed- 
 
 ward VI. instead of two passages 
 from the Old Testament. 
 25 Sunday after Epist. and Gosp. both new, Edward 
 Trinity. VI. 
 
 St. Thomas's Day. Epist. Ephes. ii. 19, by Edward VI. 
 St. Mark's Day. Epist and Gosp. both new, Edward 
 
 VI. 
 St. Philip and St. Epist. and Gosp. both new, Edward 
 James. VI. 
 
 St. James's Day. Epist. Acts xi. 27, by Edward VI. 
 St. Barnabas. Epist. and (iosp. both new, ETdward 
 
 VI. 
 St. Bartholomew. Epist. and Gosp. both new, Edward 
 
 VI. 
 St. Matthew. Ejiist. 2 Cor. iv. 1, by Edward VI. 
 
 St. Luke. Epist. and Gosp. Ijot'h new, Edward 
 
 VI. 
 All Saints' Day. Epist. Rev. vii. 2, by Edward VI. * 
 
 ^ — a Vigil or Eve,'] See note on the Table of Fasts, 
 &e. at the beginning of the Common Prayer Book. 
 
 ' The first Sumlaxj in. Adve>it.] For the greater so- 
 lemnity of the three principal holydays, " Christmas- 
 day," " Easter-day," and " Whitsunday," the Church 
 hath appointed certain days to attend them : some to 
 go before, and others to come after them. Before 
 " Christmas" are appointed four " Advent-Sundays," 
 so called, Ijecause the design of them is to prepare us 
 for a religious commemoration of the " Advent," or 
 coming of Christ in the flesh. The Roman ritualists 
 woidd have the celebration of this holy season to be 
 apostolical, and that it was instituted by St. Peter. 
 But the precise time of its institution is not so easily 
 to be determined : though it certainly had its begin- 
 ning before the year 430, because Maximus Taurinensis, 
 who lived about that time, writ a homily upon it. And 
 it is to be observed, that for the more strict and reli- 
 gious observation of this season, courses of sermons 
 were formerly preached in several cathedrals on Wed- 
 
 * Tliere ai-e some Epistles and Gospels which are not 
 in the Lectionary, but were changed in the Roman 
 Breviary for the better. Tlie Reformers took these out 
 of the Breviary, or rather the Missal ; namely, the Gos- 
 pels for St. Thomas, St. James, and All Saints' Days ; 
 the Epistle for St. Simon and St. Jude ; both Ej)istles 
 and Gospels for St. Paul, St. Matthias, and the Annun- 
 ciation. Dean Comber, Shepherd. 
 
 that now it is high time to awake 
 out of sleep : for now is our salvation 
 nearer than when we believed. 
 The night is far sjjent, the day is at 
 hand ; let us therefore cast off the 
 works of darkness, and let us put on 
 the armour of light. Let us walk 
 honestly as in the day; not in rioting 
 
 nesdays and Fridays, as is now the usual practice in 
 Lent. And we find by the Salisbury Missal, that be- 
 fore the Reformation there was a special Epistle and 
 Gos[)el relating to Christ's Advent, ajjpointed for those 
 days during all that time. IVIieatly. 
 
 It should be observed here, that it is the peculiar 
 comjjutation of the Church, to begin her year, and to 
 renew the annual course of her service, at this time of 
 " Advent," therein diiFering from all other accounts of 
 time whatsoever. The reason of which is, because she 
 does not number her days, or measure her seasons, so 
 much by the motion of the sun, as by the course of 
 our Saviour ; beginning and counting on her year with 
 Him, who, being the true " Sun of Righteousness," 
 began now to rise upon the world, and, as " the Day- 
 star on high," to enlighten them that sat in spiritual 
 darkness. Bp. Overall, Whealhj. 
 
 The lessons and services therefore for the four first 
 Sundays in her liturgical year, projiose to ovu- medita- 
 tions the twofold Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ; 
 teaching us that it is He, who was to come and did 
 come, to redeem the world ; and that it is He also, who 
 shall come again, to be our Judge. The end proposed 
 by the Church in setting these two appearances of 
 Christ together before us at this time, is to beget in 
 our minds proper disjjositions to celebrate the one and 
 exjicct the other ; that so Hath joy and thankfulness we 
 may now " go to Bethlehem, and see this great thing 
 which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made 
 known to us," e\-en the Son of God come to visit us in 
 great humility : and thence, with faith unfeigned and 
 hope iinmoveable, ascend in heart and mind to meet 
 the same Son of God in the air, coming in glorious 
 majesty to judge the quick and dead. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' The Collect.] The Collect appointed for the day, 
 which is taken out of lioth the Epistle and the Gospel, 
 and relates to both, puts us in mind of a double advent 
 or coming of the Son of God : the one respects this 
 life, when He came as a Saviour " to visit us in great 
 humihty;" the other respects the life to come, when 
 He shall come as a Judge " in his glorious Majesty to 
 judge both the quick and the dead." And to prepare 
 us for both, the Chm-ch teaches us to pray this day for 
 " grace, that we may cast away the works of darkness, 
 and ]iut ujion us the ai'raour of light, now in the time 
 of this mortal life, that at the last day we may rise to 
 the life immortal." 
 
 The Epistle for the day, out of which the Collect was 
 taken, directs us to those graces of God's Holy Spirit, 
 and acts of a good life, that are necessary to qualify 
 and fit us to celebrate the coming of the Son of God 
 in the flesh, and to make us partakers of the benefit 
 and joy of his ajipearance. Dr. Hole. 
 
 The Gospel acquaints us with his humble, yet trium- 
 phant entry into Jerusalem. It should seem at first 
 perhaps more proper to Christ's passion than his birth : 
 but it is read now principally for those words in it, 
 " Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord ;" 
 that is. Blessed is He for coming in the flesh, the cause 
 of all om- joy, for which we can never say enough, 
 " Hosannah in the highest." Dr. Hole, Bp. Sparrow.
 
 86 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 and drunkenness, not in chambering 
 and wantonness, not in strife and 
 envying. But put ye on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and make not provi- 
 sion for tlie flesh, to fulfil the lusts 
 thereof °. 
 
 77(6 Gospel St. Matth. xxi. 1. 
 
 WHEN they drew nigh unto 
 Jerusalem, and were come to 
 Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, 
 then sent Jesus two discijiles, saying 
 unto them. Go into the village over 
 against you, and straightway ye shall 
 find an ass tied, and a colt with her : 
 loose them, and bring them unto me. 
 And if any man say ought unto you, 
 ye shall say. The Lord hath need of 
 them ; and straightway he will send 
 them. All this was done, that it 
 might be fulfilled which was spoken 
 by the Prophet, saying. Tell ye the 
 daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King 
 Cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting 
 upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an 
 ass. And the disciples went, and 
 
 8 It is the drift and design of this Epistle, to induce 
 us to lay aside all wicked and sinful practices, that 
 unfit us for the coming of oiu- Sanour; and to adorn 
 oiu'selves with all those graces and \'irtues, that serve 
 to quahfy us for his Advent, and to prepare us for the 
 great festi\'al of his Nativity. 
 
 Let us then from hence learn, first, to " cast off all 
 the works of darkness," which are put to shame and 
 discomfited hy the light. Let us avoid the nightworks 
 of " iioting and drunkenness, of chambering and wan- 
 tonness, of strife and en\-ying," which cannot bear the 
 light, but seek darkness and disguises to cover their 
 fouhiess and deformity. The night of ignorance and 
 persecution is now farther spent with us, than it was 
 with tliese Romans, and we are better instructed in the 
 evil and danger of all sinfid courses ; and therefore it 
 will not become us to live any longer in them, for if we 
 do, " this will be our condemnation, that light is come 
 into the world, and we love darkness rather than light, 
 because our deeds are evil." Let us remember that it 
 is beneath the dignity of a man, or the sim])licity and 
 sincerity of a Christian, to do what he dares not own, 
 and to covet masks and \izards to hide the deformity 
 of his ways ; es])ecially on considering, that they \v'\\\ 
 ere long be exposed before angels and men, to his 
 eternal shame and confusion of face; which should 
 make us hate all those things that hate the light. 
 
 .Secondly, Let us " |)nt on the armour of light," which 
 will defend us from all shame and rebuke now, and at 
 last bring us to the light of everlasting life. Let us have 
 " our loins girt about with truth, having on the breast- 
 plate of righteousness, and our feet shod with the pre- 
 paration of the Gospel of peace ;" tlmt being (bus armed 
 we may be furnished with spiritual strength enongh to 
 vancpiish all temptations, and to (piencli all the fiery 
 darts of Satan ; looking for the blessed hope and aji- 
 pcaraiice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus {'brist, espe- 
 cially now in the time of this mortal life, when the Son 
 of God came to visit us in great humihty, lliut we may 
 
 did as Jesus commanded them ; and 
 brought the ass, and the colt, and 
 put on them their clothes, and they 
 set him thereon. And a very great 
 multitude spread their garments in 
 the way; others cut down branches 
 from the trees, and strawed them in 
 the way. And the multitudes that 
 went before, and that followed, cried, 
 saying, Hosanna to the son of Da- 
 vid ; Blessed is he that cometh in the 
 Name of the Lord ; Hosanna in the 
 highest. And when he was come 
 into Jerusalem all the city was 
 moved, saying. Who is this ? And 
 the multitude said, This is Jesus 
 the Prophet of Nazareth of Gali- 
 lee. And Jesus went into the tem- 
 ple of God, and cast out all them 
 that sold and bought in the temple ; 
 and overthrew the t.ables of the 
 money-changers, and the seats of 
 them that sold doves ; and said unto 
 them. It is written. My house shall 
 be called the house of prayer; but 
 ye have made it a den of thieves '". 
 
 be prepared for his second coming in his glorious 
 Majesty, and from this mortal life may l)e translated to 
 a blessed immortality ; which God grant, for the merits 
 of Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the 
 Holy Ghost, be all glory and honour now and for ever- 
 more. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ^ The prophecy, alluded to in this Gospel, was deU- 
 vered by Zechariah 500 years before the Advent of 
 Christ. And St. Matthew afllrmeth it to have had its 
 accomplishment, when our Lord entered Jerusalem in 
 the manner here descril)ed, amidst the acclamations of 
 the attending multitude. 'I'he prediction was thus lite- 
 rally and most exactly fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. 
 No other king, with these chai-acteristick marks about 
 Him, ever thus came to Sion before Him ; and, since 
 the Jews rejected Him, they have lost their temple, 
 their city, and their country ; nor has there been any 
 Sion to which their King might come. Jerusalem 
 would not rejoice cm the day, when the prophet had 
 injoincd her to rejoice, and therefore she has had cause 
 to mourn from that day to this. 
 
 From this ]iassage it appears that religion hath its 
 joys : a prophet calleth us to exult and shout : and 
 often as this holy season returneth, the Church sccond- 
 eth the call. Her services dispel the gloom of melan- 
 choly, and put gladness into the hearts of all her chil- 
 dren. They are wonderfully calculated to renew good 
 impressions in our minds, to increase our faith, to 
 invigorate our hope, to blow u]) the sacred fires of 
 devotion and charity, and to fill us with holy and 
 heavenly temjiers. 'J'hey i)roduce a joy, " which no 
 man taketh from us," and in which " a stranger inter- 
 meddleth not;" they inspire a pleasure, which no pain 
 can overcome, of which no time can deprive us, and 
 which death will perfect and insure to us for ever. 
 I'er\crse Jerusalem rejecteil joy, and chose sorrow for 
 her portion. Glad tidings came to the (ientiles, and 
 were gladly received. The (Christian Cluirch, formed 
 of them, is now the daughter of Sion, and the new
 
 THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 87 
 
 Luke viii. 18. 
 Acts xvii. 11. 
 
 Horn. XV. 13. 
 Jleb. vi. 20. 
 
 The second Sundai/ in Advent '. 
 The Coikct. 
 
 BLESSED Lord, wlio hast 
 caused all lioly Scriptures to 
 be written for our leaniiutr ; Grant 
 that we may in such wise liear them, 
 read, mark, learn, and inwardly di- 
 gest them, that by patience, and 
 comfort of thy holy Word, we may 
 embrace, and ever hold fast the 
 blessed hope of everlasting life, 
 which thou hast given us in our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 The Epistle. Rom. xv. 4. 
 
 WHATSOEVER things 
 were written aforetime, were 
 written for our learning; that we 
 through patience, and comfort of the 
 Scriptures, might have hope. Now 
 the God of patience and consola- 
 tion grant you to be like minded 
 one towards another, according to 
 Christ Jesus : that ye may with one 
 mind, and one mouth, glorify God, 
 
 Jerusalem. To her the promises are transferred and 
 made good. She therefore obeyeth the projihet's in- 
 junction : she continually, with the holy virgin, " mag- 
 nifieth the Lord, and her spirit rejoiceth in God her 
 Saviour." Bp. Home. 
 
 The impressions, most useful to be left on the reader's 
 mind by this narrative, are such as regard the future 
 coming of oiu- Lord, prefigured by that of this day's 
 Gospel. And in this type we all shall find subject for 
 our imitation. These multitudes came out to meet 
 Jesus riding on an ass ; but the same Jesus shall one 
 day " make the clouds his chariot, and ride upon the 
 heavens as it wei-e upon an horse," Ps. civ. 3; Ixviii. 4. 
 They sang the praises of the Son of David to a city, 
 who would not receive Him as such ; but He, who 
 hath already demonstrated Himself to be that promised 
 " Son of David," shall then come to convince the un- 
 believing world, that He is the very " Son of God." 
 And we, like them, should all go forth to meet Him : 
 like them, I say, with the sincerity of disciples, with 
 the innocence of children. Let us, like them, cut 
 down the "branches" from our trees; those worldly 
 vanities and carnal affections, which, like luxuriant 
 boughs, must be lopped off, and cast under the feet of 
 this heavenly King, by stooping to his holy disci[)line. 
 Let us too "spread" our hearts, as "they their gar- 
 ments ;" that every faculty, and every thought, may 
 be subject to his dominion ; and labnur to adorn the 
 body of this mystical Head, the Church and doctrine 
 of Christ. So shall this clothing of Hl-sIi, which must 
 shortly be put off, be resumed again with joy ; and, 
 from a " vessel of honour and sanctification here," 
 become his attendant and companion " into the hea- 
 venly Jerusalem." So shall we be cpialified to bear our 
 part, in the most exalted sense of these hymns and 
 acclamations ; and, in that day of salvation, shout forth 
 with gladness and thanksgiving unspeakable, " Blessed 
 be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord." 
 Vea, blessed be He that cometh, not to suffer, but to 
 reign ; not to redeem, but to recompense. Hosannah 
 to the meek Son of David ! Hosannah to the glorious 
 
 even the Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Wherefore receive ye one 
 another, as C'hrist also received us, 
 to the glory of God. Now I say, 
 that Jesus Christ was a minister of 
 the circumcision for tiie truth of 
 God, to confirm the promises made 
 unto the fathers : and that the Gen- 
 tiles might glorify God for his mercy ; 
 as it is written. For this cause I will 
 confess to thee among the Gentiles, 
 and sing unto thy Name. And again 
 he saitli. Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with 
 his people. And again, Praise the 
 Lord, all ye Gentiles, and laud him, 
 all ye people. And again, Esaias 
 saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, 
 and he that shall rise to reign over 
 the Gentiles, in him shall the Gen- 
 tiles trust. Now the God of hope 
 fill you with all joy and peace in 
 believing, that ye may abound in 
 hope, through the power of the Holy 
 GhostJ. 
 
 majesty of the Son of God ! Blessed be the kingdom, 
 which is come to rule our hearts by grace ! Blessed 
 be the kingdom that cometh to reward our obedience 
 with glory ! " Blessed be our peace, who died unto 
 sin once ! Blessed be our righteousness, who liveth for 
 ever unto God," Eph. ii. 11; Rom. vi. 10; Jer. xxiii. 
 5, 6; 1 Cor. i. 30. "Hosannah" to Him, who came 
 to Jeru.salem, to be judged in great humihty ! Ho- 
 sannah to Him, who cometh with terrible jjomp to 
 judge both the quick and the dead ! " Hosannah in 
 the highest." Dean Slnnhope. 
 
 ' The second Siiiidoy in Adcetit.'^ The Church, to 
 prejiare us farther for Christ'.? coming in the flesh, 
 sends us this day, as Christ did the Pharisees, to the 
 holy Scriptures, " for they are they that testify of him :" 
 all the prophecies and promises concerning Him being 
 recorded there for our benefit. The Collect for the 
 day reminds us, that God hath 'J caused all holy Scri])- 
 tures to be wi-itten for our learning," and teaches us to 
 pray that we may receive and use them aright. The 
 Epistle, out of which the Collect was taken, tells us 
 likewise in the beginning, that " whatsoever things 
 were «Titten aforetime, were %n'ittcn for our learning," 
 that is, that the history and prophecies of old, as well 
 as the latter precejjts or promises, were all designed for 
 our instruction, " that we through patience and comfort 
 of the Scriptures might have hope." The Gospel 
 treats of Christ's second coming to judgment : an ex- 
 cellent preparative for the ajjproaching commemoration 
 of his first coming. Dr. Hole. 
 
 > The ends, for which St. Paul in this passage says 
 the Scriptures were designed, are an excellent direction 
 how to judge of our imi)rovement by reading and 
 hearing the word of God. He tells us, that the proofs 
 to be produced of it are "patience," and "comfort," 
 and " hope." Would a man then demonstrate that he 
 hath profited by the Scriptures ? Let him apply to 
 himself these proofs. Hath he learned meekness and 
 moderation to them who differ from him ? Does he 
 see the ignorance and infirmities of "weaker" Chris- 
 tians with temper and compassion; and, instead of
 
 THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 88 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke xxi. 25. 
 
 AN D there shall be signs in the 
 sun, and in the moon, and in 
 the stars ; and upon the earth dis- 
 tress of nations, with perplexity, the 
 sea and the waves roaring ; men's 
 hearts failing them for fear, and for 
 looking after those things which are 
 coming on the earth : for the powers 
 of heaven shall be shaken. And 
 then shall they see the Son of INIan 
 coming in a cloud with power and 
 great glory. And when these things 
 begin to come to pass, then look up, 
 and lift up your heads ; for your 
 redemption draweth nigh. And he 
 spake to them a parable, Behold the 
 fig-tree, and all the trees ; when they 
 now shoot forth, ye see and know 
 of your own selves that summer is 
 now nigh at hand. So likewise je, 
 when ye see these things come to 
 pass, know ye that the kingdom of 
 God is nigh at hand, ^'erily I say 
 unto you. This generation shall not 
 pass away, till all be fulfilled: hea- 
 ven and earth shall pass away ; but 
 my words shall not pass away''. 
 
 censuring and despising, labour to inform them better, 
 and gain ujion their affections by methods of gentle- 
 ness, and all becoming condescensions ? Can he bear 
 the reproaches of them who are in the nTong, when he 
 knows himself in the right ? Can he jnit uj) injuries 
 for God's sake, and quietly submit to affliction, when 
 Providence lays it upon him ? Does he support him- 
 self in hardships and temptations, under calumny and 
 causeless contradiction, by the example of a suffering 
 Saviour, and those other bright jiatterns of meekness 
 and jierseverance, whose trials and ])raises are recorded 
 in those books ? Does he labour diligently for peace 
 and order, charity and godly unity ? This if he does, 
 he is instructed, and mighty in the Scriptures, indeed. 
 But till the virtues, connncmorated and commanded 
 there, are co])ied out into his disposition and practice, 
 " though lie understand all mysteries and all know- 
 ledge," 1 Cor. xiii. 2 ; viii. '2, yet this ajiostle tells him 
 roundly, that all tliis while " he is nothing," and 
 " knows notliing, as he ought to know." Dean Stanhope. 
 ^ In its jirimarj- acceptation tliis in'ojjliecy relates to 
 the destnietion of Jerusalem. lint the forms of expres- 
 sion and the images are for the most part applicable also 
 to the day of judgment ; and an allusion to that great 
 event, as a kind of secondary object, nms through it. 
 This is a verj- common practice in tlie prophetick writ- 
 ings, where two subjects are fre(j\unlly carried on to- 
 gether. 'I'hus our Saviour here holds out the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, us a type of tlie dissolution of the world : 
 giving thereby at the same time a most interesting ad- 
 monition to his immediate licarers the Jews, and a most 
 awful lesson to all his future' dis( iple.s : so that the 
 benefit of his predictions, instead of being eotiliued to 
 one occasion or to one people, is by this adniinible 
 management extended to every sub.sequent period of 
 time, and to llic whole Christian world, lip. Porleus. 
 
 The third Sunda}/ in Advent^. 
 Tlie Collect. 
 
 OLord Jesu Christ, who at thy 
 first coming didst send thy 
 messenger to prepare thy way before 
 thee ; Grant that the ministers and '•,'^'J^ '.• ^''■ 
 stewards of thy mysteries™ may like- M.nt. xi. lo. 
 wise so prepare and make ready thy i cor. iv. i. 
 way, by turning the hearts of the 
 disobedient to the wisdom of the just, 
 that at thy second coming to judge ^^'if^'ji'', 
 the world we may be found an ac- 
 ceptable people in thv siy-ht, who i cor. iv. s. 
 
 1- I • VI il \^ ^1 1 Tim. ii. 3. 
 
 livcst and reignest with the rather 
 and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 Cor. iv. 1. 
 
 LE T a man so account of us, as 
 of the ministers of Christ, and 
 stewards of the mysteries of God. 
 Moreover, it is required in stewards, 
 that a man be found faithful. But 
 with me it is a very small thing that 
 I should be judged of you, or of 
 man's judgement: yea, I judge not 
 mine own self. For I know nothing 
 by myself, yet am I not hereby jus- 
 
 As the former prophecy was fulfilled in the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, so will the latter be fulfilled at the gene- 
 ral day of judgment, of which Jerusalem's \'isitation 
 was a type. How «'ill the glory and terror of that day 
 dazzle the eyes and terrify the hearts of all the enemies 
 of Christ ! how will it dehght the eyes and rejoice the 
 hearts of all that love and fear Him, that serve and 
 obey Him ! Then indeed, when the " hearts" of wicked 
 " men shall be failing them for fear," then may the 
 righteous "look up and lift up their heads, for their 
 redemption draweth nigh." Burkitt. 
 
 ' The third Sumlity in Advent.'] The Collect for this 
 day, adverting again to the fu'st coming of Christ in 
 the flesh, and to his second coming to judgment, 
 reminds us, that, as there was a messenger to pre- 
 pare his way for the one, so also there are ministers 
 and stewards to make ready his way for the other : 
 and furnishes us with a prayer, that as the former 
 faithfully discharged his oflice at ("hrist's fu'st coming, 
 so the latter may jierform theirs by way of jirejiara- 
 tion for his second. \\'ho tliat first messenger was ; 
 and who the ministers and stewards now are, and how 
 they are to perform their office in jn-eparing the way of 
 tlie Lord ; the Epistle informs us as to the latter point, 
 and the (jospel as to the former. Dr. Hole. 
 
 '" — Ihe minisUrs and stewards of thy mysteries'] See 
 1 Cor. iv. I. 'I'he uiysteiies of Ciod are those counsels 
 of the divine will concerning the salvation of lost man- 
 kind, which were kept wholly secret from the far 
 greater jiart of the world, and discovered only in a 
 small measure even to the Jews; but are now fully 
 made known to all muukinil by the ajiostlcs and other 
 preachers of the (iospel, who are therefore called "the 
 stewards" of them, because they are intrusted with 
 them by (iod, and ilistribute and disperse the know- 
 ledge of them. Dr. licnnet.
 
 THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 Hf) 
 
 tified ; but lie tliat jutlfretli mo is the 
 Lord. Thcroforo judne nothing' l)e- 
 foro the time, until the Lord come, 
 who both will hriii^' to light the hid- 
 den things of darkness, and will make 
 manifest the counsels of the hearts; 
 and then shall every man liave praise 
 of God ". 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mattli. xi. 2. 
 
 NO W when John had heard in 
 the ])rison the works of Christ, 
 he sent two of his disciples, and 
 said unto him. Art thou he that 
 should come, or do we look for 
 another ? Jesus answered and said 
 nnto them, Go and shew John again 
 those things whicii ye do hear and 
 see : The blind receive their sight, 
 and tlie lame walk, the lepers are 
 
 " From this day's Epistle we may learn, 1 . Who are 
 the officers appointed to make ready the way for 
 Christ's coming to judgment ; namely, the ministers 
 and stewards of his holy mysteries, who are therefore 
 to be received and respected accordingly. We are 
 here bid so to " account of them as of the ministers of 
 Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God ;" and so 
 to think them worthy of double honour, as well for his 
 sake to whom they belong, as for the work's sake about 
 which they are employed. Their calling is the highest 
 U[)on earth, their employment the nolilest, and their 
 message the most honourable ; they are the ambassa- 
 dors of Christ, sent to treat with men about their ever- 
 lasting peace and salvation. And as a prince reckons 
 himself honoured, or affronted, in the good or bad usage 
 of his ambassadors, so Christ accounts Himself re- 
 spected or despised in the good or ill treatment of his 
 ministers ; and therefore the apostle gives a strict 
 charge to all people, to " know them that are over them 
 in the Lord, and admonish them, and to esteem them 
 very highly in love for their work's sake," 1 Tliess. 
 V. 13. And the author to tlie Hebrews e.xhorts us to 
 " obey them that have the rvde over us in the Lord, 
 and sulimit oui-selves, for they watch for our souls, 
 as they that must give account that they may do it 
 with joy, and not with grief," Heb. xhi. 17. 
 
 2. If Christ's ministers are to make the way ready 
 for his second coming, then we may leai'n hence to 
 hearken to them and receive their message ; the words 
 tlipy deliver are from God, and therefore to be received 
 with all reverence and veneration, and to be counted 
 worthy of all acceptation. As the ministers and 
 stewards of God's house are to be faithful in deUver- 
 ing their Master's will, so are the people to be careful 
 of receiving and obser\'ing it ; " he that heareth you," 
 saith Christ, " heareth me ; and he that despiseth you, 
 despiseth me ; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him 
 that sent me," Luke x. 16. And dreadful wUl be the 
 doom of all such, who shall be found despisers of God, 
 and of Christ. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' From the method here taken by the Baptist, to 
 satisfy his disci])les that Jesus was the Christ, we may 
 observe what sort of evidence the Clu-istian religion 
 stands upon. Miracles, done frequently, publickly, 
 before unbelievers, before enemies, men who eould not 
 deny, and yet would have been glad with all their 
 hearts to find any flaw in them, any shelter for their 
 
 cleansed, and the deaf hear, the 
 dead are raised up, and the ]ioor 
 have the Gospel preached to them : 
 And blessed is he wliosocvcr shall 
 not be offended in me. And as 
 they departed, Jesus began to say 
 unto the multitudes concerning 
 John, Wiiat went ye out into the 
 wilderness to see ? a reed shaken 
 with the wind ? But what went ye 
 out for to see ? a man clothed in 
 soft raiment ? behold, they that wear 
 soft clothing are in king's liouses. 
 13ut what went ye out for to see? a 
 prophet? yea, I say unto you, and 
 more than a prophet. For this is 
 he of whom it is written. Behold, I 
 send my messenger before thy face, 
 which shall prepare thy way before 
 thee °. 
 
 infidelity. These carried in them a sufiicient convic- 
 tion. But to whom ? To all who would attend to 
 them, who would compare jn'ophecies and events, and 
 acknowledge Him for the Messias, in whom these two 
 concurred. But even these did not pretend to bear 
 down prejudice and passion, peevish and resolute per- 
 verseness. Blessed are they that are not offended ; 
 because they submit to that proof, which Almighty 
 God hath given of his truth, and are content to 
 hearken to reason, in despite of all the solicitations of 
 the world, and corrupt nature, to the contrary. But 
 still " offended " many will be. Religion will always 
 be spoken against ; and the rock, on which our ho])es 
 are built, will continue " a stone of stumbling to the 
 unbelieving and disobedient," 1 Pet. u. 8. And since 
 we have fair warning that thus it will be, this ought 
 not to unsettle us in our principles, but rather to con- 
 firm us in the belief of a Gospel, the truth of which is 
 manifest, even in this particular too. It shoidd awaken 
 our care and circumspection, that, whde so many are 
 ready to despise and take offence at Christ and his 
 word, we be not found among them, that contribute to, 
 or give just occasion for it. Xo : ratlier let us labour 
 by a more vigorous zeal for God, and unwearied perse- 
 verance in well-doing, to jnit to silence the ignorance 
 and malice of foohsh and gainsaying men. 
 
 2. Secondly, It may not be unseasonable upon this 
 occasion to observe the season proper for miracles. 
 They are necessary to establish new doctrines, and to 
 convert imbelievers : but, when alleged for doctrines 
 sufficiently established abeady; when wrought or 
 boasted of, only among people already possessed with 
 a belief of the points they are made to countenance ; 
 when in a manner that seems to fear the being observed, 
 or detected rather, by those of a contrary jiersuasion ; 
 they are then tpiite out of proper time and place, and 
 do not create faith, so much as suspicion of fraud. Our 
 Lord proved the force of bis mhacles, by shen-ing their 
 agreement with the predictions, that such shoidd be 
 wrought by the Messias. But the same Lord hath 
 warned us, that " in the last days " there shall be " lying 
 wonders," Matt, x-tiv. 24. 20; and therefore we have 
 reason to believe, that the pretended workers of them 
 in those days are " false projibets and false Christs." 
 So great a difference there is between the miracles of 
 Christ, which were foretold on pm-pose that men might 
 believe and be saved by them ; and those wonders of a
 
 90 
 
 THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 Ps. ]\\\. 2. 
 2 Tim. i. 7. 
 2 Cor. vi. 2. 
 Eph. vi. 10. 
 
 Heb. xii. 1. 
 Ps. ex IS. 32. 
 
 The fourth Sundmj in Advent^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 OLord, raise up (we pray tliee) 
 thy power 1, and come among 
 us, and with great might succour us ; 
 that wherea.s, through our sins and 
 wickedness, we are sore let and hin- 
 dered in running the race that is set 
 before us, thy bountiful grace and 
 mercy may speedily help and deliver 
 us ; through the satisfaction of thy 
 Son our Lord, to whom with thee 
 and the Holy Ghost be honour and 
 glory, world without end. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Phil. iv. 4. 
 
 REJOICE in the Lord alway, 
 and again I say, Rejoice. Let 
 
 more modem date, which were foretold on piarpose that 
 men might not believe, and be seduced by them. 
 
 3. Lastly, When St. John Baptist is here said to 
 " prepai-e the way of the Lord before him," we should 
 do well to recollect wherein that preparation consisted. 
 And every one in his station, but especially the minis- 
 ters of the (iospel, who ai'e messengers sent express upon 
 this errand, should be careful to make ready the way to 
 his second, as that harbinger did for his first, coming. 
 For the preparations are in both cases the same ; making 
 guilty peo]ile sensible of their sins, reproving open 
 wickedness, unmasking hypocrisy, beating down spi- 
 ritual pride; im|)ortuning men to repentance, by repre- 
 senting, witli a faithful zeal, the horrible mischiefs and 
 dreadful conclusion of a wicked course of life, and the 
 terrors of that Master, who, at his coming to ]iurge the 
 floor, will not fail to separate most nicely between the 
 wheat and the chaff, and burn the latter with un- 
 quenchaljle fire. We shall do well to take the Bajitist 
 for an exam])U' of our conduct too, in giving weight to 
 our doctrines by a life of severe virtue, Ijy boldly re- 
 buking vice, even in the greatest, when duty and a fit 
 opportunity call us to it ; and, if Iiy this we fall under 
 their displeasure, suffering with a constancy like his ; 
 and, even by our deaths, bearing testimony to (iud and 
 his truth. These things duly attended to, would make 
 a mighty cliunge, even in a profligate and [irofane 
 world. And, as it is our duty (ours esjiecially who arc 
 ministers of Christ) to pursue them vigorously : so the 
 blessed effects of reforming mankind are so very many, 
 so very great, as to deserve our daily fervent prayers, 
 that (iod would promote and succeed the good work. 
 And this our Cluirch hath taught us to recommend 
 very pertinently to the divine favour and assistance in 
 the Collect for this day. IJcuii Slunhnpe. 
 
 P The fourth Suiiilaij in Advent.^ 'Ibis day being the 
 Sunday immediately precedingthc Nativity of our l>ord, 
 the (,'hurch calls ujion us to expect llim with joy and 
 to meet llim with exidtation. 'I'lie (,'ollect for the day 
 prays (iod to afford us the powerful assistance of his 
 grace ; that we may not I)c retarded by the weight of 
 our sins, but may run with jjaticnce the race that is set 
 before us. The Epistle recommends to us several 
 (Christian graces, very suitalile to the near approach of 
 80 great a solemnity ; namely, joy, moderation, trust, 
 tlianksgiving, and prayer : to all which is aildcd the 
 gracious promise of (jod's blessing upon those who 
 cultivate them. The (iosj)el gives us a further account 
 of St. John the Baptist, m the discharge of hia oliicc 
 
 your moderation be known unto all 
 men. The Lord is at hand. Be 
 careful for nothing : but in every 
 thing, by prayer and supplication 
 with thanksgiving, let your requests 
 be made known unto God. And 
 the peace of God, which passeth all 
 understanding, shall keep your hearts 
 and minds through Christ Jesus ^ 
 
 St, 
 
 John i. 19. 
 record of John, 
 Priests 
 to ask 
 
 The Gospel. 
 
 THIS is the 
 when the Jews sent 
 and Levites from Jerusalem 
 him, Who art thou? And he con- 
 fessed, and denied not ; but con- 
 fessed, I am not the Christ. And 
 they asked him, What then? Art 
 
 as our Lord's harbinger, and in the ^vitness which he 
 bore to Him. Dr. Hole, Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 1 raise up thy power,'] God is there said to " raise" 
 or "stu- up his power," when He exerts and shews it in 
 a remarkable manner. See Ps. Ixxx. 2 ; Deut. xxxiii. 2. 
 Dr. Bcniiet. 
 
 ' By " the peace of God" in this passage some sup- 
 pose to be meant the reconciliation made with mankind 
 in our blessed Saviour ; a mystery far exceeding the 
 comprehension, not of human only, but of all created 
 and finite understandings. But the sense most appo- 
 site to the apostle's purpose seems to be, not only that 
 peace, considered in itself, but a comfortable sense of, 
 and fh-m persuasion, that we ha\-e a share in it ; and 
 that this will, even under the worst treatment, and 
 heaviest affiictions, preserve the mind seriously affected 
 with it, in such a state of undisturbed tranquillity as is not 
 possible for any to conceive, whom their own happy expe- 
 rience hath not convinced. This sense seems to be much 
 favoured by the just imjiortance of that original word, 
 which our translators render "keep." .\ military term, 
 proper to garrisons ; and intimating, that this inward 
 peace is a strong guard, and impregnable defence, 
 against all the tumults and tempests of a boisterous 
 and uncertain «-orld : such as «ill neither suQ'er oiu" 
 " hearts" to be overpowered, that is, our affections 
 vitiated by immoderate fears, or hojics, or desires of 
 earthly objects ; nor our " minds" to lie cajjtivated, 
 that is, our understanding and judgment to be imposed 
 upon by false notions of temporal good or evil ; but 
 will set" us above the world, and supjiort and entertain 
 us with spiritual consolations, the continual feast of a 
 good conscience at present, and the prospect of bliss 
 unspcaliable and immortal afterwards. 
 
 And as this steady composure and serenity of mind 
 may be ajiplicd to all the iluties, recommended in the 
 l''pistle of this day, as their effect and reward ; so it is 
 immediately annexed, and seems in a special manner to 
 belong to that of a devout and lliankfiil application to 
 God by ])rayer. Most seasonable therefore and wise is 
 the use, which our excellent motlicr, the Church, makes 
 of these words; in dismissing her children after the 
 most solemn acts of worshi]), with this passage of St. 
 Paul, in form of a blessing ; im]iloring, that what he 
 foretels and jironiiscs here, may be made good to the 
 whole congregation. Most propeiiy does she regard 
 the distinction generally oliservcd here between the 
 " heart" and " mind," by begging (hat her children 
 and members may be kept in the " knowledge and love
 
 CHRISTMAS-DAY. 
 
 01 
 
 thou Elias? And lie saitli, I am not. 
 Art tlioii tliat Prophet ? And he 
 answered, No. Tlien said tliey unto 
 liiin, Who art thou? that we may 
 give an answer to them that sent us. 
 Wliat sayest thou of thyself? He 
 said, I am the voice of one crying in 
 the wilderness. Make straight the 
 way of the Lord, as said the Prophet 
 Esaias. And they which were sent 
 were of the Pharisees. And they 
 asked him, and said unto him. Why 
 baptizest thou then, if thou be not 
 that Christ, nor Elias, neither that 
 Prophet ? John answered them, say- 
 ing, I baptize with water : but there 
 
 of God," and " of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord :" 
 and most reasonably may it be expected, that this bene- 
 diction will avail, since the nearer we approach to God 
 our Savifinr, by a spiritual communion in prayers and 
 sacraments, and all other holy ordinances, the better 
 we shall know Him; and the better we know Him, 
 the more we shall be sure to love Him : and were that 
 love entire, did He but reign in, and possess oiu- hearts 
 without a rival ; we should then feel the best sense of 
 that passage verified to the utmost, in a spiritual re- 
 gard, and in our own particular case, that " the work of 
 righteousness is peace ; and the effect of righteousness, 
 quietness and assurance for ever." Dean Stanhope. 
 
 " "I'liis record of John" is well worthy of attention, 
 [jarticidarly upon two accounts. 
 
 1. As it relates to himself, it sets him before us as an 
 excellent pattern of true humility. To those questions 
 of the Jews, which had a tendency to advance him in 
 honour and esteem with the people, he returns answers 
 in negatives so direct and plain, as would admit of no 
 ambiguity, no doubt at all. To those which concern 
 his true character he is content with such replies, as 
 refer to a past jirophecy concerning himself, and leave 
 them to draw the consequences. The glorious things, 
 spoken of John elsewhere, he might, «'ithout any 
 breach of truth, have declared to those Jews of himself; 
 but that eminent messenger, sent to prepare the way of 
 the Lord, that figurative Elias, who came in the spirit 
 and ])ower of the Tislibite, that "prophet and more 
 than a prophet," that excellent person, than whom 
 " there had not risen a greater among them that are 
 born of women," describes himself only in the character 
 of a " voice crying in the mlderness :" the lowest of 
 all the characters, by which the ancient prophets had 
 represented him. 
 
 2. The testimony which he bore to our blessed Lord, 
 is conceived in terms so respectful and magnificent, 
 that, whilst it still farther shews his humihty by pre- 
 cluding all comparison between Jesus and him, it seems 
 also to contain a clear intimation of our blessed Lord's 
 divine natiu-e and excellencies. " He it is, who coming 
 after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I 
 am not worthy to unloose." For what excellencies, 
 less than divine, could justify that awful distance they 
 express, between so eminent a person, and the holy 
 Jesus ? They are not words of compliment and form, 
 but of strict truth and equity. And yet it will be very 
 hard to understand them so, if the comparison be stated, 
 only between one prophet and another, only between 
 the prince and so venerable a harbinger : in short, if we 
 understand them any otherwise than thus, that even 
 He that " was more than a prophet," and " than whom 
 
 standeth one amongst you, wliom ye 
 know not : He it is who coming after 
 me is preferred before me, whose 
 shoe's latchet I am not worthy to 
 unloose. These things were done 
 in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where 
 John was baptizing ^ 
 
 Tlic Nntivihj of our Lord^, or the 
 Birth-day of CHRIST, cummonlij 
 called Christma's-day ". 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who hast John m. ic ; 
 given us thy only-begotten Son 'j' Joim iv. 9. 
 to take our nature upon him, and as "'''• "• '*• 
 
 there had not risen a greater ever born of women," 
 Matt. xi. 9. 11, was notwithstanding so many degrees 
 inferiour to Him, whose way he came to prepare, be- 
 cause He was so the son of a woman, as to I)e more 
 than man : the Son of God, and Himself very God. 
 And thus considered, the passage, now before us, is so 
 far from an affected strain of depressing himself, and 
 magnifying his Master; that, could .St. John have 
 found any terms yet more lowly, they were still all far 
 less than were due to that infinite distance, that essen- 
 tial greatness, between which, and the most exalted of 
 all its creatures, there is no comparison, nay, not any 
 manner of proportion, upon wdiich a comparison may 
 be foimded. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' The Nativity of our Lord,'] This feast of our Sa- 
 viour's nativity seems to have had its beginning in the 
 first, or at least in very early, times of Christianity. 
 AVe have no certain evidence of the exact time when it 
 was first observed, yet it ap])ears plainly to have been 
 very early received all over the West. And the imme- 
 morial observation of it is an argument of its primitive 
 institution. Dr. Nicholls, Nelson. 
 
 And that no one may want an opportunity to cele- 
 brate so great a festival with a suitable solemnity, the 
 Church Ijoth excites and assists our devotion, by an 
 admirable frame of office fitted to the day. In the first 
 Lessons she reads to us the clearest prophecies of 
 Christ's coming in the flesh; and in the .second Les- 
 sons, Epistle, and Gospel, shews us the com])letion of 
 those prophecies, by giving xis the entire history of it. 
 In the Collect she teaches us to pray, that we may be 
 partakers of the benefit of his birth, and in the proper 
 Psalms she sets us to our duty of praising and glorify- 
 ing God for this incomprehensible mystery. Wheatly. 
 
 " ■ — commonly called Christmas-day.'] Mass was a 
 word for festival, of Saxon origin, whence our Christ- 
 mas : retained also in Candlemas, Martinmas, Michael- 
 mas, &c. Todd. 
 
 On this festival we commemorate the incarnation of 
 the Son of God, that great mystery of godliness, the 
 jirime pillar of our religion, and the firm foundation of 
 all our hopes and expectations. Dr. Hole. The Collect 
 reminds us of the Son of God having taken upon Him 
 our nature, and been born of a pure virgin : and teaches 
 us to pray, that we, having been born again in our 
 baptism iiito a sjjiritual life, and received the adojition 
 of sons, may daily be renewed in the spirit of our minds, 
 by the operation of the Holy Ghost. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The Epistle for the day acquaints us, 1 . with one 
 great end and office of Christ's incarnation ; namely, 
 to reveal to us the mind and will of his Father, which 
 He did more fully and clearly than had been done by
 
 92 
 
 CHRISTMAS-DAY, 
 
 Luke i. 27. 
 Malt. i. 25. 
 
 John i. 12 
 13; Hi. 3. 
 Tit. iii. 5. 
 
 at this time to be born of a pure 
 Virgin ; Grant that we being rege- 
 nerate, and made tliy children by 
 adoption and grace, may daily be re- 
 newed by thy Holy Spirit: through 
 ^PM^'y^' *''^ same'our Lord Je.sus Christ, who 
 Gal. iV.'s. liveth and reigneth with thee and 
 Eph. IV. 23. ^j^^ ^^^^^^^ Spirit, ever one God, world 
 
 ■without end. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Heb. i. 1. 
 
 GOD, who at sundry times and 
 in divers manners spake in 
 time past unto the fathers by the 
 prophets, hath in these last days 
 spoken unto us by his Son, whom 
 he hath appointed heir of all things, 
 by whom also he made the worlds ; 
 who being the brightness of his 
 glory, and the express image of his 
 person, and upholding all things 
 by the word of his power, when 
 he iiad by himself purged our sins, 
 sat down on the right hand of the 
 Majesty on high ; being made so 
 much better than the angels, as 
 he hath by inheritance obtained a 
 more excellent name than they. 
 For unto which of the angels said 
 
 any or all of the prophets before. 2. It sets forth the 
 high dignity and greatness of his person, being equal 
 in glory and greatness to the Father, from whom He 
 came, ver. 3. 3. It shews us his exceeding great pre- 
 eminence above the angels in sundi-y instances and 
 particulars ; from the fourth to tlie tenth verse. 4. It 
 concludes with the eternity of liis duration, shewing it 
 to be before the worlds, which He made by his power ; 
 and that He will be after them when all things will be 
 destroyed. 
 
 The Gospel represents Him to us both in his divine 
 and human nature : by the one He is equal with (Jod, 
 by the other He is made like unto men. Both of these 
 are mentioned by St. Paul, Phil. ii. 6, 7 : and are more 
 largely set forth in this Gosjiel. As He is God, He is 
 styled' here " the Word, the Life, and the Light of the 
 world ;" which glorious titles are gi\-en to Him in a 
 way peculiar to Him, and not to be affirmed of any 
 other. As He is man, He is said to be " made (lesh, 
 and to dwell among us ;" the (Jospcl begins with the 
 one, and ends witli the otlier. Dr. Hole. 
 
 This was called in the first of iidward VI. "The se- 
 cond communion ;" for there was another before it : the 
 one to set forth his nativity of tlie blessed Virgin Mary, 
 for which the Epistle was Titus ii. the (iospel, St. 
 Luke ii ; the otlier to set forth his eternal generation, 
 which is that now continued by us, following the alter- 
 ation made in the fifth of Kdward VI. In the Church 
 of Home, and here in ICngland aforetimes, they had 
 three masses or services of communion upon that day, 
 whereof this is the last. Up. Cosin. 
 
 ' It was the object of the ajiostle in this chapter to 
 prove the just pre-eminence of the Christian disi)cnsa- 
 tion above any other, liy insisting especially upon the 
 excellence of the person, by wliom tliis revelation was 
 imparted to us. " (jod sjiake in times -past to our 
 fathers by the prophets ;" but " to us in these last days 
 
 he at any time. Thou art my Son, 
 this day have I begotten thee ? And 
 again, 1 will be to him a Father, and 
 he shall be to me a Son ? And 
 again, when he bringeth in the first- 
 begotten into the world, he saith. 
 And let all the angels of God wor- 
 ship him. And of the angels he 
 saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, 
 and his ministers a flame of fire. 
 But unto the Son he saith. Thy 
 throne, O God, is for ever and ever ; 
 a sceptre of righteousness is the 
 sceptre of thy kingdom : Thou hast 
 loved righteousness, and hated ini- 
 quity ; therefore God, even thy God, 
 hath anointed thee with the oil of 
 gladness above thy fellows. And, 
 Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast 
 laid the foundation of the earth ; 
 and the heavens are the works of 
 thine hands : they shall perish, but 
 thou remainest ; and they all shall 
 wax old as doth a garment ; and as 
 a vesture shalt thou fold them up, 
 and they shall be changed ; but thou 
 art the same, and thy years shall not 
 fail\ 
 
 he hath spoken by his Son." He therefore goes on to 
 prove the dignity of this last messenger to l)e so far 
 superior to that of any other, as to admit of no likeness, 
 no comiiarison between them : that He hath excellencies 
 peculiar to Himself, and such as are communicable, 
 not only to none, no not the best of the sons of men ; 
 but to none, no not the noblest creatures, of any other 
 kind. In a word, that He is of a nature truly divine, 
 of the same essence and eternity with God the Father ; 
 and his Son, in a manner and sense so jirojier and par- 
 ticular, as no other, however called such in Scripture, 
 is, or must be understood to be. 
 
 The result is that the Gospel claims a just pre- 
 eminence above anj' other revelation of God's will to 
 mankind ; because, not only the fii'st and remote de- 
 clai'er, but tlie immediate pul)li.sher and dispenser of it, 
 was a perscui truly and strictly divine. So that when 
 God sjioke to our forefathers by the jirophets, it was 
 by men, who in all jioints i^their jjarticular insjiiration 
 excejitcd) stood upon a level witli those they spoke to: 
 but when He S])oke to us by his Son, He spoke by 
 Himself, and without the ceremony of an inferior 
 messenger. An honour and ad\-antagc this to us, 
 a kindness and condescension in Him, which at all 
 times deserves to be considered : but, at this festival 
 cs])ecially, should be remembered with tlic most 
 zealous expressions of wonder and praise. Dean 
 Slimliope. 
 
 The condition of the Person, wliose nati\'ity wo this 
 day celebrate, is of the greatest consideration. For 
 He, that cried in the manger, that sucked the paps of 
 a woman, tliat hath ex])osed Himself to poverty and a 
 world of inconvenience, is " the Son of the living God," 
 of the same sulistance with his I'ather, liegotteu lieforo 
 all ages, before the morning stars: He is God eternal. 
 He is also, by reason of the jiersonal union of the 
 divinity with his liuinaii nature, the Son of God ; not
 
 SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY. 
 
 «;) 
 
 The Gospel. St. Joliii i. 1. 
 
 IN the bejijinning was the Word, 
 and the Word was with God, 
 and the Word was God. Tlie same 
 was in the beginning witli (Jod. 
 All things were made by him ; and 
 witiiout him was not any thing made 
 that was made. In him was life, 
 and the life was the light of men. 
 And the light shineth in darkness, 
 and the darkness comprehended it 
 not. There was a man sent from 
 God, whose name was John. The 
 same came for a witness, to bear 
 witness of the light, that all men 
 through him might believe. He was 
 not that light, but was sent to bear 
 witness of that light. That was 
 the true light which lightetli every 
 man that cometh into the world. 
 He was in the world, and the 
 
 by adoption, as good men and beatified angels are; 
 but by an extraordinary and rairacidons generation. 
 He is "the heir" of his Father's glories and possessions ; 
 not by succession, for his Father cannot die ; but by an 
 equahty of communication. He is " the exju-ess image 
 of his Father's Person" according to both natm-es : the 
 miracle and excess of his Godhead being, as upon wax, 
 imprinted ujjon all the capacities of his humanity. 
 And after all this. He is our " Saviour," that to our 
 duties of wonder and adoration we may add the affec- 
 tions of love and union, as Himself, besides his being 
 admirable in Himself, is become orofitable to us. 
 Here then are concentrated, in a mysterious and 
 incomprehensiljle manner, the prodigies of greatness 
 and goodness, of wisdom and charity, of meekness 
 and humility : if we consider Him in the bosom of his 
 Father, wbei'e He is seated in a station of lo\'e and 
 essential felicity : and in the manger, where lo\-e also 
 placed Him, and an infinite desire to communicate his 
 felicity to us. As He is God, his name is in heaven, 
 and He fills all things by his immensity : as He is man, 
 He is circumscribed by an uneasy cradle, and ci'es in a 
 stable. As He is God, He is seated upon a super-ex- 
 alted throne ; as man, exposed to tlie lowest state of 
 uneasiness and need. As God, clothed in a robe of 
 glory, at the same instant when we may behold and 
 wonder at his humanity, ^vrapped in chea]) and un- 
 worthy cradle bands. As God, He is incircled with 
 millions of angels : as man, in the comjiany of beasts. 
 As God, He is the eternal Word of the Father, eternal, 
 sustained by Himself, all-sufficient, and without need ; 
 and yet He submitted Himself to a condition imperfect, 
 inglorious, indigent, and necessitous. And this con- 
 sideration is apt and natural to produce great affections 
 of love, duty, and obedience, desires of union and con- 
 formity to his sacred person, life, actions, and laws : 
 that we resolve all our thoughts, and finally determine 
 all our reason and our passions and capacities upon 
 that saying of St. Paul, " If any man love not the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed," 1 Cor. xvi. 
 22. Bp. Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 !■ From tlie representation which this day's Gospel 
 contains of " the great mystery of godUness, God mani- 
 fest in the flesh," 1 Tim. iii. 16, many duties residt. 
 1. Let us admire and adore the infinite love and good- 
 
 world was made by him, and the 
 world knew him not. He came 
 nnto his own, and his own received 
 him not. But as many as received 
 him, to them gave he power to 
 become the sons of God, even to 
 them that believe on his Name : 
 which were born, not of blood, nor 
 of the will of the flesh, nor of the 
 will of man, but of God. And the 
 Word was made flesh, and dwelt 
 among us (and we beheld his glory, 
 the glory as of the only-begotten 
 of the Father) full of grace and 
 truth y. 
 
 G 
 
 Saint Stephen's Day''. 
 The Collect. 
 RANT, O Lord, that, in all 
 poll earth 
 
 our sufferings here uv 
 
 ness of God in this astonishing condescension, that He, 
 who was one with the Father, and of the same divine 
 nature with Him, should stoop so low as to assume our 
 himian natiue, with all its weaknesses and infirmities, 
 for us men and for our salvation. 2. Let us contem- 
 plate the infinite jiower and unsearchable riches of 
 divine wisdom in this transaction ; that God should 
 find out a way to reconcile sinners to Himself by his 
 .Son's taking u])on Him sinful flesh, and thereby giving 
 satisfaction in the same nature that offended ; by which 
 means justice and mercy met together, and righteousness 
 and peace have kissed eaeb other. 3. From the Word's 
 having been made flesh and having dwelt among us, 
 let us learn to preserve our nature more pure and un- 
 defiled from fleshly lusts, considering how highly that 
 nature has been honoured by an union with the God- 
 head. Lastly, let us celebrate this mysterious imion of 
 our nature with his in that holy sacrament of Christ's 
 body and blood, ordained on purpose for a memorial 
 of it. The Word was made flesh that He might make 
 us partakers of his Holy Sjiirit, which is con\-eyed to 
 us in that holy feast ajipointed for that end ; there we 
 may spiritually behold that flesh torn, and that blood 
 pom'ed out, which he assumed merely to make our 
 peace ; and shall we refuse to remember and rejoice in 
 that atonement ? Rather let us take the cup of salva- 
 tion, and call upon the name of the Lord, who thus 
 humbled Himself for our exaltation ; let us comjjass 
 his altar with praises and thanksgivings, and offer our- 
 selves to Him, who thus freely oft'ered and united Him- 
 self to us ; that being made one with Him, we may for 
 ever dwell in Him, and He in us. Amen. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ^ St. Stephen's Day.] Immediately after Christmas 
 follow, as attendants upon this high festival, St. Ste- 
 phen, St. John, and Innocents ; not because this was 
 the very time of their suffering, but because none are 
 thought fitter attendants on Christ's nativity than the 
 blessed martyrs, who have laid down their lives for 
 Him, from whose birth they received spuitual fife. And 
 there being three kinds of martyrdom ; 1. '• In will and 
 deed," which is the highest. 2. " In will," but " not 
 in deed." 3. " In deed," but " not in wdl :" in tliis 
 order they attend. St. Stephen fust, who sidfered both 
 in win and deed. Next St. John, who suffered martyr- 
 dom in will, but not in deed, being miraculously deli-
 
 94 
 
 SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY. 
 
 I Pft. iv. 19. 
 Heb. sii. 1. 2. 
 Rom. viii IS: 
 xii. 14. 
 Matt. V. 44. 
 
 for the testimony of thy truth, we may 
 stedfastly look up to heaven, and by 
 faith behold the glory that shall be 
 revealed ; and, being iilled with the 
 
 vered out of the boiling cauldron, into which he was 
 put before Port-Latin in Rome. Lastly, the holy Inno- 
 cents, who suffered in deed, but not in will ; yet are 
 reckoned amongst the mart}TS, because they suffered 
 for Christ : whose praise these his witnesses confessed, 
 and shewed forth not in speaking, but in dying. See 
 the Collect for the day. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 As the interests of religion and virtue require, that 
 due regard be paid to the memory of pious and good 
 pei-sons ; and as they, who have laid down their lives for 
 (jod and their duty, have given the strongest proofs of 
 attachment to the noblest cause; so the Chi-istian 
 church hath, from the beginning, shewn distinguished 
 honours to those jirofessors of its holy faith, who have 
 sealed their testimony to it with theu' blood. The fii-st 
 martyr, or witness, of this kind, after the blessed Jesus 
 Himself, was St. Stephen, a man " full of faith, and of 
 the Holy Ghost, and of power, and of wisdom," Acts vi. 
 3. 5. 8. 10: whose death is related in Acts vii. 59, 00. 
 And we find in the next verse but one, that " devout 
 men carried him," with decent solemnity, " to his 
 burial," and made great " lamentation o\-er him ;" un- 
 doubtedly mixed «'itli equal triumph, that he had 
 finished his course in so exemplary a manner : nor were 
 they withheld from it by fear of the resentment, to 
 which so publick an instance of respect must provoke 
 his murderers and all their adherents. Two of the 
 most ancient monuments of ecclesiastical history, that 
 we have, excepting the New Testament, are the accounts 
 of the martyrdom of Ignatius and Polycarp, both dis- 
 ciples of St. John, wTitten at the time of their suffering 
 hy the chm-ches of Antioch and Smyrna, of which they 
 were bishops. And in those they mention, as of course, 
 their purpose of celebrating yearly the festival of their 
 b'u-th-days, of their entrance into a better life, for the 
 commemoration of their excellent graces, and the in- 
 citement of others to imitate them. Thus did they pro- 
 vide, that " the righteous should be had in everlasting 
 remembrance," Ps. cxii. G ; and observed the more par- 
 ticular direction, given to that intent in the Epistle to 
 the Hebrews, " Remember them, which have (liad) the 
 rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of 
 God; whose faith follow, considering the end," the 
 event, "of their conversation," Heb. xiii. 7. The rest 
 of the primitive churches a])])ear to have followed the 
 same rule ; and each to have honoured the more emi- 
 nent of their own martyrs, who had Ijeen usually their 
 tcacliers also, by anniversary assemblies for i>reserving 
 the reverence due to their diaracters, and offering up 
 thanks to God for their exami)les. 
 
 Hut the increase of their numbers, and the adoption 
 of the sufferers of one church into tlie Liturgies of 
 another, and the admission of eminently good pers(ms, 
 who had " not resisted unto blood," Heb. xii. 4, and the 
 fre(iucnt grants, whidi in subsequent ages were made, 
 of so high a distinction, with little care of jircvious in- 
 quir)', multiplied the retiu'ns of these solemnities veiT 
 imi)ro|)erly and inconveniently. 'J'hen besides, a still 
 greater evil was, that ])raises and panegyricks too soon 
 grew to be immoderate, and afterwards impious. In the 
 vehemence of national encomiums and exclauiiitions, the 
 saint was called upon as |)resent, until ut length lie wa.s 
 thought so : and what at first was merely a liold and 
 moving figure of sjieech, became at length in good 
 earnest a prayer : which retiuestcd of a dead man, who 
 was not able to hear it, not only that he would inter- 
 
 Holy Ghost, may learn to love and 
 bless our persecutors by the example 
 of thy first Martyr Saint Stephen, 
 who prayed for his murderers to thee, 
 
 cede with God in behalf of his fellow- servants, but that 
 he would himself bestow such blessings ujion them, as 
 no creatm-e hath in his jiower. Tilings being found in 
 this condition at the Reformation, it was necessary both 
 to abolish intirely these unla«-ful addresses, and to hmit 
 the original sort of commemorations to a moderate list 
 of ])ersons, indisputably worthy of them. Accordingly 
 no day is appointed by our Church for the celebration 
 of any other, than the principal saints mentioned in the 
 New Testament, it being hard to stop, if more were 
 added. And amongst these, St. Stephen is the only 
 one, who stands solely on the foot of being a martyr : 
 as indeed it was fit, that the foremost, the leader, of that 
 "noble army" should be distinguished, and chosen, as 
 it were, to represent the rest. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 St. Stephen, whose festi\'al is this day celebrated, was 
 an early proselyte to Christianity, and a man of singular 
 holiness, being described to be "a man full of the Holy 
 Ghost," Acts vi. 5. He was the first person chosen by 
 the apostles into the then new-erected office of deacons. 
 He was brought before the sanhedrim, or Jewish council, 
 for ])reaching that the Jewish economy should be abro- 
 gated, and the temple destroyed. Acts vi. 14. But Ste- 
 jihen vindicating his doctrine, by several passages of the 
 Old Testament, and making therefrom some reflections 
 on the cruel and persecuting temjier of the Jews ; they 
 outrageously carried him out of the city and stoned him. 
 Acts vii. 58. I do not find exactly how ancient the 
 celebration of the festival of St. Stephen is ; it was pro- 
 bably obser^•ed in St. Chrysostom's time, who has seve- 
 ral homilies upon his memory, which may be thought to 
 be preached upon this festival, in one of which he calls 
 him the top of the martyrs, the Ste]5hanos, or crown of 
 the Church. In the second homily he calls him the 
 " glory of the Church," the " champion of religion," 
 the "leader up of the martyrs." Gregory Nazianzen, 
 in another oration iqion him, calls him the " Great 
 Stephen, whose temples were bound with the first crown 
 of martyrdom." Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 Of the Collect for this day it may be particularly 
 noted, that, as the Church offers u]) some of her Col- 
 lects directly to the second Person of the Trinity, so one 
 of them is this for St. Stephen's day, and very pro- 
 perly : for as St. Ste|ihen in the midst of his martyrdom 
 ])niyed to Jesus, saying, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," 
 and, " ijord, lay not this sin to tlieir charge;" so the 
 Church, in imitation of this blessed proto-maityr, upon 
 his dav calls upon the Lord Jesus also, desiring of Him 
 such a S]iirit as that of St. Stcjihcn, to love and pray for 
 our enemies, which is that heroical and transcendent 
 virtue, which is peculiar to the Christian religion. Bp. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 Hie Collect reminds us both of the sufferings and the 
 virtues of St. Stciihen. 'i'he l''.pistle, out of which the 
 Collect was taken, calls the same things to our remem- 
 brance and imitation. The (iospel which contains our 
 Saxionr's |)roi)hccy of the sad fate and destruction of 
 Jerusalem, acquuints us with many more that drank of 
 St. Stephen's bitter cup, and wire ]iut to death by 
 stoning; which occasioned the ( hurch's selection of 
 this ]iortion of Scripture to be rtad on this day; in 
 wliicli we are told of Jerusalem's killing the ])n)]ihets, 
 and stoning them that were sent to it, and of the .sad 
 consequences that ensued thereu])on ; for it brouglit 
 that utter ruin and dcstrucliou upon the city, as not to 
 1 ha\e one stone left upon another. Dr. Hole.
 
 SAINT STEPPIEN'S DAY. 
 
 96 
 
 Acisiii. 55, O blessed Jesus, vvlio staiidest at tlie 
 ■*''■ '■ rig'lit liand of God to succour all 
 
 iki). ii. IS. those that suffer for tliee, our only 
 Mediator and Advocate. Amen. 
 
 H Then shall follow the Colled of the Nri- 
 tivity, which shall be said continually unto 
 New-year's Eve. 
 For the Epistle. Acts vii. 55. 
 
 ST E P H E N, being full of the 
 Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly 
 into heaven, and saw the glory of God, 
 and Jesus standing on the riaht hand 
 of God, and said. Behold, I see the 
 heavens opened, and the Son of Man 
 standing on the right hand of God. 
 Then they cried out with a loud 
 voice, and stopped their ears, and 
 ran upon him with one accord, and 
 cast him out of the city, and stoned 
 him : and the witnesses laid down 
 their clothes at a young man's feet, 
 whose name was Saul. And they 
 stoned Stephen, calling upon God, 
 and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my 
 spirit. And he kneeled down, and 
 cried with a loud voice. Lord, lay not 
 this sin to their charge. And when 
 he had said this, he fell asleep ^ 
 
 " In the circumstances of the heroick action here 
 described, it is easy to discover a variety of matter, 
 conducing much to the honour of the saint now com- 
 memorated, and to the edification of every pious 
 Clu'istian. 
 
 1. We have here the great mercy and goodness of 
 God, in vouchsafing to St. Stephen such extraordinary 
 measures of his grace, such a comfortable and deliglitful 
 prospect of the glories of heaven, to sustain and fortify 
 him, in the conflicts of his approaching death, for the 
 sake of his blessed Son. And this is contained in the 
 55th and 56th verses. 
 
 2. We ha\-e likewise the stedfastness and vigour of 
 St. Stephen's faith, in committing his soul to Jesus, at 
 his last minutes. Acts vii. 59 : an action, which does 
 evidently imjily a firm lielief, (1.) That his sovd was a 
 substance distinct from his body; (2.) That it should 
 not die with, but continue to exist when separated from, 
 the body; (3.) Tliat the same Jesus, whom he had ac- 
 knowledged to be very man, is likewise very God : one 
 able to hear and grant this prayer, and to preserve the 
 souls commended to his protection and care. And, 
 (4.) That the spirits received by Him, are in a state of 
 safety and happiness. 
 
 3. Here is an admirable pattern of meekness and 
 charity; vcr. GO; of tender compassion for them, who 
 have none for us ; and of forgiving our bitterest and 
 most bloody enemies ; even then, when, if ever, our 
 angry resentments might seem allowable. For all this 
 is the result of St. Stephen's praying, that the guilt of 
 his death might not be charged to the men, who most 
 wrongfully inflicted it : doing this, at the very instant 
 of their executing their malice, and adding to his ago- 
 nies : and persevering in this invincible charity to his 
 last breath, as if God's mercy to these hardened uTetches 
 were the thing, which of all others, he was most con- 
 cerned to intreat, mth the dying accents of a tongue to 
 
 The Gospel St. Matth. xxiii. 34. 
 
 BEHOLD, I send unto you 
 prophets, and wise men, and 
 scribes ; and some of them ye shall 
 kill and crucify; and some of them 
 shall ye scourge in your synagogues, 
 and persecute them from city to city; 
 that upon you may come all the 
 righteous blood shed upon the earth, 
 from the blood of righteous Abel 
 unto the blood of Zacharias, .son of 
 Harachias, whom ye slew between 
 the temple and the altar. Verily I 
 say unto you. All these things shall 
 come upon this generation. O Je- 
 rusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest 
 the prophets, and stonest them which 
 are sent unto thee ; how often would 
 I have gathered my children to- 
 gether, even as a hen gathereth her 
 chickens under her wings, and ye 
 would not ! Behold, your house is 
 left unto you desolate. For I say 
 unto you. Ye shall not see me hence- 
 forth, till ye shall say. Blessed is he 
 that cometh in the Name of the 
 Lord^ 
 
 speak no more. Thus not only imitating that blessed 
 Lord, for whom he was content to be so barbarously 
 murdered, but, by his exam])le, confirming the truth of 
 St. Paul's assertion, that, " though a man have all faith, 
 so that he could remove mountains, and though he give 
 his body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth 
 him nothing," 1 Cor. viii. 2, 3. 
 
 If we hope in earnest to attain St. Stephen's happi- 
 ness, we should rather make his \artues than his vision 
 our [jattern ; and provided we have but the former, the 
 matter is not great if God do not allow us the latter. 
 Let us therefore make the right improvement of having 
 this eminent saint in remembrance, and endeavour, as 
 well as pray, that our minds may be brought to his holy 
 frame. So that in all our afflictions, but especially in 
 any to which it shall please God to call us for " the tes- 
 tiiiiony of his truth, we may stedfastly look up to 
 heaven, and by faith behold the glory which shall be 
 revealed ; and, being filled with the Holy Ghost," whose 
 necessary graces are never wanting to any who diligently 
 seek and use them, "may" attain to that eminent in- 
 stance of charity, to "love and bless our jjerseeutors." 
 Thus shall we find the help and favour of Him " who 
 standeth at the right hand of God, to succoiu- all them 
 who suffer for him;" and who, if not apjiointed to suf- 
 fer for, yet do their utmost to live and die, in his true 
 faith and fear, the " blessed Jesus, om- only Mediator 
 and Advocate." Dean Stanhope. 
 
 '' We have here a jn-ediction concerning the Jews, 
 and a severe denunciation upon them. 1. .\ prediction, 
 foretelling what cruel usage they should inflict ujion the 
 fii-st disciples and apostles of Christ, killing and cruci- 
 fying some, scourging and stoning others : which ac- 
 cordingly was fulfilled in the stoning of St. Stephen, 
 the crucifying of St. Peter, the scourgmg of St. Paul, 
 and the putting of St. James to death with the sword. 
 2. A severe denunciation, that upon them should come
 
 96 
 
 SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST'S DAY. 
 
 John i. i : 
 vii. 12. 
 Eph. V, U. 
 1 John i. 5 
 7. 
 
 John xsi. 21 
 jcii. 35. 
 
 Eph. V. 8. 
 John Tlii. 
 Col. i. 12. 
 
 Saint John the Evangelist's Day "■. 
 The Collect. 
 
 MERCIFUL Lord, we be- 
 seech thee to cast thy bright 
 beams of light upon thy Church, that 
 it being enlightened by the doctrine 
 of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist 
 Saint John may so walk in the light 
 Rom.iiii. 13. of thy truth, that it may at length 
 joliii Tiii.'32. attain to the light of everlasting 
 life ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 St. Joliii i. 1. 
 
 THAT whicli was from the be- 
 ginning, which we have heard, 
 whicli we ha\'e seen with our eyes, 
 which we have looked upon, and 
 our hands have handled of the 
 word of life ; (for the life was ma- 
 nifested, and we have seen it, and 
 bear witness, and shew unto you 
 that eternal life, whicli was with 
 the Father, and was manifested 
 
 all the righteous blood shed u]ion the earth from Abel to 
 Zacharias, the last iirojihet, whose murder is mentioned 
 by name in the Old Testament, 2 Chron. .\xiv. 20. 
 These words arc to be understood, not as if the intent 
 of Christ's sending the prophets was that tlie Jews 
 might put them to death ; but that this «-ould be the 
 tonscquence of their being sent. Our Lord concludes 
 with a pathetick lamentation o\'er Jerusalem, expressive 
 of his vehement affection towards them, and the sin- 
 cerity of his desire for their salvation : so that we are at 
 a loss whether more to admire his great kindness and 
 comi)assion to (lie Jews in general, and to Jerusalem in 
 jiartieiilav; or the amazing obstinacy and wilfulness of 
 this |)eople in rejecting so great favour, condescension, 
 and kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ. " I would have 
 gathered you," said Christ, " but yc would not :" and so 
 their " house was lelt unto them desolate ;" an alarm- 
 ing proof how wholly the ruin and destruction of sin- 
 ners is chargealde on their own wilfulness and olistinacy ; 
 and liow dc|ilorably and inexcusably they will jierish, 
 who i)erish by their own wilfulness under the Gospel. 
 Burkilt. 
 
 *■ St. John the Evangelist's Day.'] St. John the Evan- 
 gelist was by birtli a Galilean, the son of Zebedee and 
 Salome; his elder brother was James, not he who was 
 surnameil " the Just," and who was the brother of our 
 Ijord, -Matt. xiii. 55; Gal. i. 19, and the son of Aljibcus, 
 Murk iii. IS. lie, and his brother James, were named 
 by our Saviour "the sons of thunder," Mark iii. 17, for 
 their peculiar zeal and fervency for liis honour, which 
 we see manifested in St. John's sedulous assertion of 
 our Lord's Divinity, lie was the most beloved by our 
 Saviour of all his disciples, John xiii. 2.'!. After staying 
 some time witli the lilessed Virgin in liis house at Jerusa- 
 lem, to whose care by our Saviour she was commilted, 
 Jolin xix. 27, ]m»bal)ly till her death ; he then travelled 
 to preach the (iospel in Asia; but some say she accom- 
 jiunu'd liim to Kphesus. Hut however, that lie jireached 
 in Asia Minor, the licst writers of antiquity allow, and 
 lie was probably the founder of tlie sc\en eluirelies. 
 
 unto us : ) That which we have seen 
 and heard declare we unto you, 
 that ye also may have fellowship 
 with us ; and truly our fellowship 
 is with the Father, and with his 
 Son Jesus Christ. And these tliina:s 
 write we unto you, that your joy 
 ma)' be full. This then is the mes- 
 sage which we have heard of him, 
 and declare unto you. That God is 
 light, and in him is no darkness at 
 all. If we .say that we have fellow- 
 ship with him, and walk in dark- 
 ness, we lie, and do not the truth : 
 but if we walk in the light, as he 
 is in the light, we liave fellowship 
 one with another, and the blood 
 of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth 
 us from all sin. If we say that we 
 have no sin, we deceive ourselves, 
 and the truth is not in us. If we 
 confess our sins, he is faithful and 
 just to forgive us our sins, and to 
 cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
 
 Ejjhesus, Smyrna, &c. mentioned in his Apocalypse, 
 Rev. i. 4. From E])liesus he was carried prisoner to 
 Rome, upon account of the doctrine he taught, some 
 think, from a malicious accusation of Ebion, others of 
 ApoUonius; and this in the year of Christ 92. There 
 he was condemned to be thrown into a cauldron of 
 boiling oil, but, being miraculously preserved, came out 
 from thence alive. Afterwards he was banished into the 
 island of Patmos, one of the Sporades, where he WTote 
 his Revelation. He was afterwards by Nero the empe- 
 ror recalled from his banishment, and then returned to 
 Kphesus, where he reclaimed a young man, his former 
 convert, relapsed into a dissolute course of life, lie 
 wrote his three Epistles to confute the heresy of Basi- 
 lides, and other hereticks, who denied the divinity of 
 our Saviour. Last of all he wrote his Gosiiel, to siqiply 
 the omissions of the other Evangelists, some few years 
 before his death. He survived till the reign of Trajan, 
 and died above ninety years of age. Dr. l^'icholls. 
 
 We ccdcbratc this day the memory of St. John the 
 Evangelist, who, being Christ's " beloved disciple," or 
 " the disciple whom .Jesus loved," that leaned on his 
 bosom, and was admitted to the more private jiassagcs 
 of his life, fitly accompanies the festival of our Lord's 
 nativity. 
 
 The ('ollect for the day beseeches God's grace ujion 
 Ilia Church, that it may duly profit by the doctrine of 
 this blessed Apostle and Evangelist. Tlic Ejiistlc con- 
 tains the matter, the reason, and the end of his writing 
 his Epistles, whicli were all designed for the good and 
 benefit of the Church. 'I'he (iospel, after mentioning 
 our Lord's final charge to St. I'eter, records a remark- 
 able conversation that passed between our Sa-viour and 
 him concerning St. John, in which our Saviour obscurely 
 intimated, tliat the disei]ile should not die till the dis- 
 solution of the Jewish ]iolity, a ])ropliecy which liistory 
 records to have been punctually fullilled. This conver- 
 sation is followed by a dcclarution concerning the truth 
 of the (iospel wriften by the apostle. Dr. Hole, Dtcm 
 Slmihopi; ShcjilKnl.
 
 SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST'S DAY. 
 
 97 
 
 If we say that we have not sinned, 
 we make him a liar, and his word is 
 not in us''. 
 
 The Gospel. St. John xxi. 19. 
 
 JESUS said unto Peter, Follow 
 me. Then Peter, turning about, 
 seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved 
 following ; which also leaned on his 
 breast at supper, and said. Lord, 
 which is he that betraycth thee ? 
 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, 
 Lord, and what shall this man do ? 
 Jesus saith unto him. If I will that 
 he tarry till I come, what is that to 
 thee ? Follow thou me. Then went 
 
 ^ Let the considerations, arising from this passage of 
 Scripture, be so laid together, that the result of them all 
 may be that fulness of a solid and well-grounded joy, 
 which the ajiostle of this day designed the words, fi-om 
 whence they have been taken, should diffuse, through 
 every soul that receives them. Let us hold in highest 
 estimation that privilege which is indeed inestimable : 
 the mystical union with God the Father and his blessed 
 Son ; the most valual)le ingredient of a believer's both 
 present and future hap])iness, and tlierefore the best in- 
 gredient of his present, because the earnest and un- 
 doubted pledge of his future and eternal. But let us 
 consider withal, that to be united to God supposes a 
 likeness to Him, in all those excellencies that are imi- 
 table by creatures : and in all those proportions to which 
 such creatures as we, can raise our poor imperfect 
 and still sinful selves : for such, we must remember, we 
 yet are, even after our most sincere, our most success- 
 ful endeavours to be holy. And therefore, as we must 
 not presume upon the jn-omises and love of God " with- 
 out cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and 
 spirit, and perfecting hoUness in his fear," 2 Cor. vii. 1 : 
 so neither must we forget, that all oiu- cleanness is 
 from " him, who hath %vashed us in his own blood," 
 llev. i. 5; that humility, and taking shame for our 
 sins, and acknowledging our own unworthiness, as they 
 are most suitable to oiu' circumstances, so are they 
 most for our advantage : there being no instance which 
 does more remarkably than this, of recommending to 
 the favour, and entitUng to the mercy of God, make 
 good that maxim of oiu- blessed Master, " He that 
 exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth 
 himself shall be exalted," Luke xiv. U. 
 
 And, if these considerations, and their effects, can be 
 more seasonable at one time than another, is there any 
 fitter o])portunity for them than the festival we now 
 celebrate ? when the beloved disciple does, as it were, 
 again lean on his Lord's breast ; and join our praises 
 for the virtue of the servant, with our adorations for 
 the birth of the Master : that birth, which was so cir- 
 cumstantiated, as to intimate how detestable sin and 
 sensuality is to Him : that birth, which " manifested 
 the life," till then " hid in God," that we might thence- 
 forth live in, and by, and to Him : that birth, which is 
 so full of confusion to the proud and arrogant ; to those 
 that do not, or that will not, see their \-ileness and 
 frailty ; but so fidl of comfort and holy trust to the 
 penitent and the humble. For them, that feel and 
 acknowledge their own misery and pollution, this new- 
 born Saviour will cleanse by his blood ; them, that 
 lament and Jaboiu' against their own infirmities, He 
 will assist and strengthen by his grace. Let us then 
 
 this saying abroad among the bre- 
 thren. That that disciple should not 
 die ; yet Jesus said not unto him, He 
 shall not die; but. If 1 will that he 
 tarry till I come, what is that to 
 thee ? This is the disciple which 
 testifieth of these things, and wrote 
 these things, and we know that his 
 testimony is true. And there are 
 also many other things which Jesus 
 did, the which if they should be 
 written every one, I suppose, that 
 even the world itself could not con- 
 tain the books that should be 
 written ^ 
 
 cast ourselves entirely upon Him, who, had He not 
 not loved us, would neither have taken nor shed his 
 blood for us. A[)])roach Him as your only trust and 
 refuge; for in what else can you place your confidenee? 
 not in men, though they may appear to be something, 
 for no " man may redeem the soul of his brother, or 
 make atonement unto God for him," Ps. xlix. 7. Not 
 in yourselves, whom you may soon know to be nothing: 
 nothing at the best, since all the evil in you is worse 
 than so, and all the good is no better than so. For, 
 though you " have laboured " ever so " abundantly," 
 still, " it was not you, but the grace of God that is in 
 you," I Cor. xv. 10 : a grace given to the huml)le ; a 
 spiritual sustenance, of which the " poor in heart shall 
 eat and be satisfied, and their soul shall live for ever ;" 
 while the conceitedly rich and full, the men who think 
 they want it not, though then they want it most, shall 
 be sent empty away. Shut not then the door of mercy 
 against yourselves, by false notions of your own right- 
 eousness ; but give the glory of your cleansing to that 
 inestimable blood, which alone can take away sin; and 
 be careful so to value the blessing, as never to forfeit 
 again that fellowshij), into " which the Father and his 
 Son Jesus Christ" hereby vouchsafe to receive you. 
 A fellowship of holiness here, but that, alas ! imperfect, 
 and too often interrujjted ; yet this to be completed in 
 a fellowship hereafter in heaven, of hajiiiiness immutable, 
 endless, and inexpressible. Wliither God of his infinite 
 mercy bring us in his due time, to whom be honoiu- and 
 glory henceforth for evermore. Amen. Dean Slanhope. 
 ' From Christ's calling upon St. Peter and the other 
 disciples to leave all and foUow Him, we may learn the 
 great lesson of self-denial, and be encouraged to follow 
 Him in the rough as %vell as the smoother ways of our 
 duty. To ajiprove ourselves his disciples we must be 
 willing to accompany Him in his sufferings, as well as 
 to partake of his glories ; and to follow Him to the 
 cross, if we mean to follow Him to a cro^vn. 
 
 2. From Christ's checking St. Peter's curiosity about 
 the time and manner of St. John's death, we may learn 
 to avoid all idle and curious questions about matters 
 which concern not us to know. To all those busy and 
 inquisitive persons, who pry into things which do not 
 belong to them, the rebuke addressed by our Sa\-iour to 
 St. Peter is applicable, " What is that to thee ? FoUow 
 thou me." 
 
 3. 'Phis discourse may rectify the mistake about St. 
 John's death : for from that saying of our Saviour's, 
 " What if I will that lie tarry till I come r" there was a 
 common fame spread abroad, which obtained among the 
 ancients, that he died not at all, but was translated. 
 Others from that report believed, that he only lay 
 
 H
 
 98 
 
 THE INNOCENTS' DAY. 
 
 o 
 
 Tlie Innocents' Day^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 Almiijhty God, who out of tlie 
 
 mouths of bahes and sucklings f^ 
 
 hast ordained strength, and madest 
 
 infants to glorify thee by their 
 
 deaths'"; Mortify and kill all vices 
 
 Rom.yiii. 13. in US, and so .strengthen us by thy 
 
 oi. 111. 5. grace^ tiiat by the innocency of our 
 
 Rev. XIV. 4, liyes^ and constancy of our faith even 
 
 Heb.xii. 4. uuto death, we may glorify thy holy 
 
 1 Cor, vi. 20. Name ; through Jesus Christ our 
 
 Amen. 
 
 John xxi 18, t i 
 
 19. Lord. 
 
 Fur the Epistle. Rev. xiv. 1. 
 
 I Looked, and lo, a Lamb stood 
 on the mount Sion, and with 
 him an hundred forty and four tiiou- 
 sand, having his Father's Name 
 written in their foreheads. And I 
 
 asleep in the ffra\'e, and that he alone of all the apostles 
 was to live till Christ's second coming to jniigment. 
 AU %vhich was without any foundation, for St. John 
 himself in recording the matter, declared the sense of 
 our Saviour to be otherwise ; and the history of his 
 death, in the days of Trajan, hath abundantly confuted 
 that mistake. Dr. Hole. 
 
 Lastly, the declaration, with which St. John con- 
 cludes, concerning the truth of his Gospel, being as he 
 was our Lord's inseparable attendant and companion 
 during his ministry, is a solid foundation for our faith 
 and gratitude. Let us then thankfully receive the 
 light, with which it hath pleased God to enlighten the 
 Church, by the doctrine of this holy Ajiostle and 
 Evangelist. Let us bless him for the abundant evi- 
 dence which he hath given us to the truth of our holy 
 religion and the excellencies of its divine Author. Let 
 us study with diligence the most faithful records of his 
 most holy life ; and search for the treasures of wisdom 
 in his heavenly discourses. Let us improve, by what 
 we do or may know here, in holiness of conversation ; 
 and wait with patience and humble hope, for the 
 ravishing discovery of that hereafter, wliich as yet is 
 unattainalilc. So shall we jiay true reverence to the 
 memory of those saints, by whose labours we have 
 been instructed, when we at once dwell upon their 
 books, and live by their e.viuiiplcs : so, be sure to ob- 
 tain the seasonable requests, in which, witli a charity 
 large as bis, wlioin we commemorate this day, we 
 beseech (iod " of bis mercy ,so to enlighten liis Church 
 with the doctrine of this blessed A]iostle and Evange- 
 list," St. .lolin, tliat every nu'uiber of it "may so walk 
 in the light of his trutli, as at length to attain" the light 
 of everlasting life, through Jesus Cluist our Lord." 
 Amen. IJeuti Stnnhopc. 
 
 ' The biiKiCLtitt:' Diii/.] The Collect for this day 
 reminds us, with an allusion to the nth I'salm, how 
 (Jod by means of little children can promote hi.s own 
 glory ; anil thence tcacbes us to pray that we may 
 glorify llim by the mortification of our vices, bv the 
 innocency of our lives, and the constancy of our iiiitli. 
 'I'he ICjiistle contains ii vision of .St. John, wberiin w.is 
 represented to him something of the glories of heaven 
 and the felicities of a future state ; of which, because 
 suifering infants may be partakers, as well as adult 
 
 heard a voice from lieaven, as tlie 
 voice of many waters, and as the 
 voice of a great thunder : and I 
 heard the voice of harpers harping 
 with their harps : and they sung 
 as it were a new song before the 
 throne, and before the four beasts, 
 and' the elders; and no man could 
 learn that song, but the hundred 
 and forty and four thousand, which 
 were redeemed from the earth. 
 These are they which were not 
 defiled with women, for they are 
 virgins : these are they which follow 
 the Lamb whithersoever he goeth : 
 these were redeemed from among 
 men, being the first-fruits unto God, 
 and to the Lamb. And in their 
 mouth was found no guile ; for they 
 are without fault before the throne of 
 God', 
 
 persons, the passage is appointed to be read on the day 
 of their remembrance. The Gospel acquaints us with 
 the manner of our Saviour's preservation from the 
 ambitious rage and cruelty of Ilerod; who, fearing the 
 shaking of his throne by the birth of a new-born King, 
 sought to slay Him in his infancy, that he might 
 seciue himself in the kingdom. Dr. Hole. 
 
 6 — who out of the mouths of babes and sucklings &c.] 
 The authors of this Collect followed the common inter- 
 pretation of Matt. xxi. 15, 16; and supposed that the 
 " babes and sucklings out of whose mouths God had 
 jjerfected jn'aise, or ordained strength," Ps. xiii. 2, were 
 certain " young children," who cried in the temple 
 " Hosannah to the Son of David;" and that lie 
 caused Himself and his only-begotten Son to be 
 greatly glorified thereby. The Church notices the 
 passage in this Collect ; not that the infants, murdered 
 by Herod, did with their mouths glorify God ; but 
 because on this day, when we commemorate the death 
 of so many infants slain fin' (iod's glory, the Church 
 was willing to observe another instance, wherein God's 
 glory was greatly promoted by such as have been suii- 
 posed young children. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 '' — mridest infants to glorify thee by their deaths ;] 
 The infants slain liy Herod's command did therefore 
 glorify (iod by their deaths ; because the murder of 
 them on account of the incarnation of our Lord, whose 
 life was ]iriiu'ipally intended to be taken away, tended 
 to the promotion of (iod's glory, inasmuch as He 
 secured the holy Jesus in a miraculous manner from 
 tlie rage of that tyrant, and thereby caused that jiro- 
 ]ihi'cy concerning our Saviour, " Out of I'igypt have I 
 called my Son," to be exactly verified in our Saviour, 
 Hos. xi. 1 ; Matt. ii. l.'i. Dr. liennet. 
 
 ' In this passage we ha\e a glimjise or imperfect re- 
 jirescntation of the future joys and glories of heaven : 
 which are enough to quicken our ajipetite and desires 
 after them, though not to satisfy our curiosity about 
 them. " It doth not yet appear," saith St. John, 
 " what we sliiill be :" for "eye bath not seen, nor ear 
 lieard, nor hath it entered into the lieart of man to 
 conceive what great things (iod hath prepaird for them 
 that hive and fear him;" only \vv know that we shall 
 be " like him, for we shall see him as be is," 1 John 
 iii. 2; 1 Cor. ii. !l. We shall live forever in his pre-
 
 THE INNOCENTS' DAY. 
 
 »<) 
 
 ITie Gospel. St. Mattli. ii. i;3. 
 
 THE Angel of the Lord ap- 
 pearetli to Joseph in a dream, 
 saying, Arise, and take the young 
 child, and his mother, and flee into 
 Egypt, and be thou there until I 
 bring thee word ; for Herod will 
 seek the young child to destroy him. 
 When he arose, lie took the young 
 child and his mother by night, and 
 departed into Egypt, and was there 
 until the death of Herod ; that it 
 might be fulfilled which was spoken 
 of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 
 Out of Egypt have I called my Son. 
 
 sence, and be delighted with the incessant praises and 
 hallelujahs sung " to him that sitteth on the throne, 
 and to the Lamb for evermore." 2. We learn from 
 this discourse the qualifications of the persons that will 
 be received into those unspeakable joys. And they are 
 such as are "pure in heart," and keep themselves "un- 
 spotted from the world ;" for heaven is the mansion 
 of peace and purity, where no discord or defilement 
 enters. Again, they are such as are true followers of 
 Christ and "follow the Lamb wherever he goes;" not 
 declining the ways of virtue for any difficulties they 
 meet with in them, but being faithful unto death, and 
 " resisting even unto blood, striving against sin." Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 The passage thus proposed by the Church to our 
 meditations as the Ejjistle for this day, contains some 
 things not improperly applicable to those infants in 
 particular, whose barbarous murder by Herod was 
 made instrumental to the glory of Him for whom they 
 died. P"or tliey in the most literal sense, " were not 
 defiled" with sensual pleasures, who left the world in 
 " virgin" innocence. They were most truly " redeemed 
 from among men," whose early translation to a state of 
 bliss and security prevented the hazards and tempta- 
 tions of a corrupt age. They were, strictly speaking, 
 "the first fruits unto God and the Lamb," who began 
 to shed their blood in the cause of a new-born Saviour, 
 and %vere the first fruits of the martyrs themselves. 
 By this earliest experiment of cruelty against his blessed 
 Son, it pleased God to demonstrate, how vain all 
 future attempts of his enemies should be, v.-hose im- 
 placable and hloody malice labom'cd to destroy this 
 hated king of the Jews, either in his person or his 
 members : and that such wicked designs should have 
 no other issue, than those of this day ; disappointment 
 and vengeance to the inhuman contrivers, hapiiiness 
 and reward to the innocent sufferers, and increase of 
 honour to the Person, in whose cause they suffered. 
 Thus Herod shortly after lived and died a remarkable 
 monument of the di\'ine justice, and perished by a com- 
 plication of plagues, as amazing as the unparalleled 
 crimes, that drew them down U])on him. Thus these 
 tender plants, cut off in the bud, sprang up again and 
 flourished : and bore such fruits, as theu' circumstances 
 were capable of; the confession of their blood, though 
 not of their tongues : by which they and their memory 
 are blessed. And thus the blessed Jesus, after sojourn- 
 ing in a strange country, returned to enlighten his own 
 with that doctrine, which, from the very first setting 
 out of its author into the world, was manured with 
 blood, grew under persecutions, and by the fate attend- 
 
 Tiien Herod, when he saw that he 
 was mocked of tlie wise men, was 
 exceeding wroth ; and sent fortii, 
 and slew all the children that were 
 in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts 
 thereof, from two years old and 
 under, according to the time which 
 he had diligently enquired of tiie 
 wise men. Then was fulfilled that 
 which was spoken by Jeremy tiie 
 projjhet, saying. In Rama was there 
 a voice heard, lamentation, and weep- 
 ing, and great mourning, Rachel 
 weeping for her children, and would 
 not be comforted, because they are 
 not''. 
 
 ing it, proved, that to die in its defence was not to lose 
 a life but to save it. 'ITiis is in truth the quickest and 
 surest passage from death unto life : from a life in the 
 midst of which we are in death ; to a fife which is so 
 indeed: life immortal, and full of glory. To which 
 God of his infinite mercy bring us, for the sake of his 
 dear Son and our only Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 ^ We shaU do well to improve and apply the circum- 
 stances of this festival in the following manner. 
 
 1 . The flight of the Son of God into Egypt, who was 
 able to preserve himself from danger, may teach us, 
 how lawfully we may flee from those dangers, which 
 we cannot otherwise avoid. It is a thankless fortitude, 
 to offer oiu' throat unto the knife. He, that came to 
 die for us, fled for his own preservation, and hath bid 
 us follow Him : " When they persecute you in one city, 
 flee to another." We have but the use of our lives, 
 and we are bound to husband them, to the best advan- 
 tage of God and his Church. 
 
 2. It was warrant enough for Joseph and Mary, that 
 God commands them to flee; yet so familiar is God 
 grown with his approved servants, that He gives them 
 the reason of his commanded flight : " For Herod will 
 seek the young child to destroy him." What wicked 
 men will do, what they would do, is known unto God 
 beforehand. He, that is so infinitely wise to know the 
 designs of his enemies before they are, could as easily 
 prevent them, that they might not be ; but He lets them 
 run on in their own courses, that He may fetch glory 
 to Himself out of their wickedness. Bp. Hall. 
 
 3. The dismal effects of Herod's ambition and rage 
 should warn us always to behave ourselves with temper 
 and moderation. Especially that we do so, when our 
 enemies, or those that provoke us, he at our mercy. 
 Greatness and wealth are apt to turn our heads : but 
 the effects of insolence to their brethren are never more 
 dei)lorable, than when men have the temjitation of 
 liower, to crush those despised things that he below 
 them. Of all persons, therefore, anger is least proper 
 for princes, who can scatter death and desolation with 
 a word of their mouths. And, in proportion, it must 
 misbecome all superiors to their inferiors : because this 
 passion generally spm-s men on, to do the utmost they 
 can do ; and men are scarce ever very angry, without 
 being very unjust. It is fit then this unthinking, un- 
 ruly evil, should be held in with bit and bridle : and, 
 the less any man's condition restrains him, from mak- 
 ing his resentment of tragical consequence to others ; 
 the severer restraint, and more steady government, 
 ought such a man to keep over himself. 
 
 ^ H2
 
 100 
 
 THE SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS DAY. 
 
 Tlie Sunday after Christmas Day '. 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who hast 
 given us thy only-begotten 
 Son to take our nature upon him, 
 and as at this time to be born of 
 a pure Virgin ; Grant that we being 
 regenerate, and made thy children 
 by adoption and grace, may daily 
 be renewed by thy Holy Spirit ; 
 through the same our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who liveth and reigneth with 
 thee and the same Spirit, ever one 
 God, world without end. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Gal. iv. 1. 
 "IVJ" O W I say, that the heir, as 
 X\ long as he is a child, differeth 
 
 4. The steps, taken by Herod, toward this desperate 
 wickedness, should particularly deter us from hypocrisy 
 and dissimulation. But, above all, from that most im- 
 pious instance of it, the pretending of religion for a 
 cover to any unlawful and devilish contrivances. For 
 I cannot but think it proper to observe, that the ne.xt 
 thing we hear of Herod, after his dissembled intention 
 to come and worship Jesus, when his real intent was 
 to kill Him, is the barefaced butcheiy of this day. 
 And thus it often happens. Men find a formal show 
 of religion cannot compass those ends, which it was 
 put on to serve, or to disguise ; and then they jiresently 
 throw off the mask, and lay aside all shame, all manner 
 of regard for God and their duty. Nor is it indeed 
 much to be wondered at, that those wTetches should 
 be given over to the blackest of crimes, and most fatal 
 of all delusions ; who have sinned against their best 
 remedy, and prostituted the very ordinances of God to 
 an artifice for rendering themselves more successful, in 
 carrying on the service of the devil. 
 
 5. We should lience be disjjosed to entertain with 
 patience and mucli meekness, not only the sufferings 
 laid upon us by God's immediate hand, but likewise 
 those wliich we endure from the wrongful deahngs of 
 wicked and luireasonable men. The injustice cannot, 
 in this case, be greater than Herod's, nor can our inno- 
 cence be more than that of those infants. Since then 
 we are taught liy tliis example, that persons, the most 
 inoffensive and imdcserving, may be persecuted even 
 to the death, without any just reflection, either upon 
 their own virtue, tlnis oi)pressed, or that I'roxidencc 
 which permits it to be so opjjressed : our method in 
 this case should l)e, to take sanctuary in tlie peace of a 
 good conscience ; to look up with a holy resignation of 
 mind to the wise Disposer of every event; and to trust 
 his mercy, for the necessary comforts, the abundant 
 compensation, of all the hardships He sees lit for us 
 to undergo. Which yet we shoidd not undergo at all, 
 were it not more for his lionour, nay, more for our ad- 
 vantage, to have it thus than otlierwisc. 
 
 6. The rememljrance of Herod's disai)pointment 
 should quicken, and estaldish, our hope and faith in 
 God. When dangers liera us in, and our " enemies 
 on every side thni.st sore at us tliat we may fall," then 
 let us call to mind, that He, who rescued liis own S(m, 
 can never want means to deliver any son or servant of 
 his, when such dehvorance is seasonable and proper. 
 Hut tem])oral debverances are not always seasonable, 
 not always most beneficial. And therefore our chief 
 
 nothing from a servant, though he 
 be lord of all : but is under tutors 
 and governours, until the time ap- 
 pointed of the father. Even so we, 
 when we were children, were in 
 bondage under the elements of the 
 world : but when the fulness of the 
 time was come, God sent forth his 
 Son, made of a woman, made under 
 the law, to redeem them that were 
 under the law, that we might receive 
 the adoption of sons. And because 
 ye are sons, God hath sent forth the 
 Spirit of his Son into your hearts, 
 crjing, Abba, Father. Wherefore 
 thou art no more a servant, but a 
 son ; and if a son, then an heir of 
 God through Christ". 
 
 and most earnest desire should be, that we may find 
 his assistance and protection always at hand, to support 
 us in oiu- spiritual encounters. For let our present 
 difficulties be what they will, all will certainly be well 
 at last, pro\'ided He do but grant the petition offered 
 up to Him this day; that is, " So to mortify and kill 
 all vices in us, that by the innocency of our lives, and 
 the constancy of our faith even unto death, we may 
 glorify his holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 Amen. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' The Sunday after Christmas-day .^ This Sunday hath 
 the same Collect with Christmas-day ; and the Epistle 
 and Gospel treat about the same business, the birth of 
 Christ : for we have not yet done with the solemnity of 
 Christmas. Tlius great solemnities have some days 
 after them, to continue the memory of them, as a proro- 
 gation of the feast. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 It was a custom among the primitive Christians to ob- 
 serve the octave, or eighth day after their principal feasts, 
 with great solemnity, (the reasons whereof shall be 
 given in sjieaking of the particular prefaces in the 
 Communion Office liereafter,) and upon every day 
 between the feast and the octave, as also upon the 
 octave itself, they used to repeat some part of that ser- 
 vice which was performed upon the feast itself. In 
 imitation of which religious custom, this day generally 
 falling within the octave of Christmas-day, tlie Collect 
 then used is rejieated now : and the Fpistle and Gospel 
 still set forth the mysteries of our redemption liy the 
 birth of Christ. U'heatly. 
 
 '" The sum of this day's Ejiistle is as follows : Tlie 
 Son of God was made of a woman, that He might be 
 like us ; and was made under the law, that we might 
 be like Ilim ; that is. He became the Son of man, that 
 we might be made the sons of (iod, and partook of our 
 human nature, to make us partakers of the divine. 
 Whence we may learn, 1. To magnify and adore the 
 infinite love and condescension of our Saviour to man- 
 kind, that the Maker of all things shoidcl. for our sake, 
 vouchsafe to be made Himself, and that not only of a 
 woman, but midcr the law too ; that He, who gave 
 laws to the world, should subject Himself to a law of 
 his own making, and undergo the utmost rigour and 
 severity of it, merely to deliver us from the curse and 
 punishment of it. This is a mercy never enough to be 
 acknowledged or admired, and may justly make us say 
 with holy David, " What shaU I render unto the l.i0rd 
 for all his benefits ?" 
 
 2. Clirist redeeming us from tlic sentence and sevc-
 
 THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST. 
 
 101 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mattli. i. IS. 
 rr^ H E birth of Jesus Christ was 
 I on this wise : When as his 
 mother Mary was espoused to Jo- 
 seph, before they came together 
 she was found with chikl of the 
 Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her hus- 
 band, being a just man, and not 
 willing to make her a publick ex- 
 ample, was minded to put her away 
 privily. But while he thought on 
 these things, behold, the angel of 
 the Lord appeared unto him in a 
 dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of 
 David, fear not to take unto thee 
 Mary thy wife ; for that which is 
 conceived in her is of the Holy 
 Ghost : And she shall bring forth a 
 Son, and thou shalt call his name 
 Jesus ; for he shall save his people 
 
 rity of the moral, as well as the burthensome yoke of 
 the ceremonial law, should teach us the more hearty 
 and cheerful obedience to Him ; for hereby He hath 
 verified liis own saying, that his " yoke is easy, and his 
 burden is light." He hath taken ofF all the rigour and 
 hardship of it, and put such a sweetness and comfort 
 into it, that renders his yoke rather an ease than a clog, 
 and his burden not only light, but dehghtful ; so the 
 Psalmist assures us, " great peace have they that keej) 
 thy law, and nothing shall offend them." And else- 
 where, " in keeping thy commandments there is great 
 reward." 
 
 Lastly, Christ's receiving us into the adoption of sons 
 may teach us to cherish all filial love and duty to Him, 
 and to behave ourselves as becoraeth the sons and chil- 
 dren of God ; acting suitably to so great a privilege, 
 and doing nothing unworthy of so high a relation. As 
 God beareth towards us the bowels of a father, so let 
 us bear towards Him the duty of children; "a son 
 honoureth his father, and a servant his master." And 
 we find God Almighty justly claiming the duty of both ; 
 " If I be a father, where is my honour ? and if I be a 
 master, where is my fear ? saith the Lord of hosts," 
 Mai. i. 6. In a word, we must endeavour to please 
 Him in all things, and to avoid whatever may offend 
 Him : so shall we receive the inheritance of sons, and 
 hear that happy sentence ; " Come, ye blessed children 
 of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
 from the foundation of the world." Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' The Epistle for this day hath told us, that " when 
 the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, 
 made of a woman :" the Gospel proceeds in explaining 
 that work of wonder, and acquaints us particularly with 
 the uncommon manner of his being so made. As 
 therefore our meditations, on the day of his nativity, 
 were fixed upon the glories of his divine, so those of 
 this day more properly confine themselves to the reality 
 of his human, nature. Those shewed us " God of the 
 substance of his Father, begotten before the worlds ;" 
 these shew us " man of the substance of his mother, 
 born in the world;" but both together give us a just 
 idea of that " one Christ, who is God and man, perfect 
 God and perfect man, of a reasonable sold and human 
 flesh subsisting." Dean Stanhope. 
 
 2. FVom the angel's direction that his name shoidd 
 be called Jesus, we may learn the honoiu: that is due to 
 
 from their sins. (Now all this was 
 done, that it might be fulfilled 
 which was spoken of the Lord by 
 the prophet, saying, Behold, a Vir- 
 gin shall be with child, and shall 
 bring forth a Son, and they shall 
 call his name Emmanuel, which 
 being interpreted is, God with us.) 
 Then Joseph, being raised from 
 sleep, did as the angel of the Lord 
 had bidden him, and took luito him 
 his wife ; and knew her not till she 
 had brought forth her first-born son : 
 aiul he called bis name JESUS". 
 
 A 
 
 Tlie Circumcision of Christ". 
 
 The Collect 
 L M I G H T Y God, who madest 
 thy blessed Son to be circum- 
 
 that holy name. The apostle calls it " a name above 
 every name ;" it was given from heaven, and brings 
 salvation with it here on earth ; yea, " there is no other 
 name given under heaven, by which we can be saved, 
 but only the name of the Lord Jesus." And therefore 
 the apostle hath commanded, that "to the name of 
 Jesus all things in heaven and earth and under the 
 earth should bow and obey." Dr. Hole. 
 
 3. Let us remember the happy privilege, which we 
 have, as members of his household, who came to " save 
 his people from their sins." The knowledge of his 
 power and influence, as a Saviour, is calculated to in- 
 spire us with a never-faihng hope. It speaks comfort 
 to the penitent. It consoles the trembling and afllicted. 
 It calms the fears of conscience. It gives peace and 
 security in good days. It lends its sanction to the best 
 enjoyments ; those, of which the rational and well-dis- 
 posed alone are capable. It confirms the confidence of 
 faith. It lifts the heai-t above the trials and the griefs 
 which may befal us. It furnishes a sure stay amidst 
 the changes of this transitory life. Let us then, with 
 the venerable Joseph, who received the angel's message 
 and injunction, and complied with them, so store the 
 word of truth in om- hearts, and comply with its direc- 
 tions. The name of Jesus wiU then be to us a name 
 of trust, and a certain refuge of secmity and good hope. 
 Archdeacon Pott. 
 
 " The Circumcision of Christ.'] This feast is cele- 
 brated by the Church to commemorate the active obe- 
 dience of Jesus Christ in " fulfilling all righteousness," 
 which is one branch of the meritorious cause of oiu- 
 redemption ; and, by that means, abrogating the severe 
 injunctions of the Mosaick estabhshment, and putting 
 us under the easier terms of the Gospel. This feast is 
 older tlian St. Bernard's time, who has some homilies 
 upon it. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The institution of the feast of the Circumcision is 
 more ancient than our ritualists in general seem to have 
 thought, as appears from Gregory's Sacramentary : and 
 in the sixth century at latest a special and appropriate 
 service was provided for it. But as the octave of 
 Christmas feU on the same day, and as the octave was 
 observed mth extraordinary solemnity, the day received 
 its denomination most generally from the octave, and 
 not from the circumcision. If this festival be consi- 
 dered merely as the commemoration of " the circum-
 
 102 
 
 THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST. 
 
 Rom. ii. VJ. 
 
 Col. ii. 10, 
 ll:iii. 5 
 
 Luke Ii. 21. cised, and obedient to the law for 
 Gal. IV. 4. ij^^rj^p. Grant us the true Circum- 
 cision of tlie Spirit ; that our hearts, 
 and all our members, being mor- 
 tified from all worldly and carnal 
 lusts, we may in all things obey thy 
 iPeTitu. blessed will: through the same thy 
 1 Thess. iv. g^jj Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 The Epistle. Rom. iv. 8. 
 L E S S E D is the man to whom 
 
 the Lord will not impute sin. 
 
 Cometh this blessedness then upon 
 the circumcision only, or upon the 
 uncircuincision also ? For we say, 
 that faith was reckoned to Abra- 
 ham for righteousness. How v/as 
 it then reckoned ? when he was in 
 circumcision, or in uncircumcision ? 
 Not in circumcision, but in uncir- 
 cumcision. And he received the 
 
 B 
 
 cision of our Lord," its institution, or at least its 
 revival, commenced with our Reformation, or rather at 
 the publication of our English Litm-gy ; and was first 
 obser\-ed on January 1, ISI'. Shepherd. 
 
 The jiroper services are all very suitable to the day. 
 The first lesson for the morning gives an account of 
 the institution of circumcision ; and the Gospel, of the 
 circumcision of Christ : the first lesson at evening, and 
 the second lessons, and Epistle, all tend to the same 
 end : namely, that, since the circumcision of the flesh 
 is now abrogated, God hath no respect of persons, nor 
 requires any more of us than the circumcision of the 
 heart. iVheutly. 
 
 p — to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for 
 man,-] Our Saviour assures us, that it became Him 
 to "fulfil all righteousness," Matt. ii. 15: that is. He 
 was bound, as the Messiah, to submit to all God's 
 ordinances, and consequently to circumcision, and the 
 other legal institutions. And this He did for the sake 
 of mankind, that, by performing a sinless obedience in 
 all things. He might be an all-perfect sacrifice to atone 
 for our sins. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 1 The best practical use to be made of this passage 
 will be to consider what this rite represented, as neces- 
 sary, not only to the jjcrsons formerly using it, but to us 
 also who have the happiness of being e.xempted from the 
 carnal ordinance itself, and aU the servile consequences 
 of it. 
 
 1. The first is a readiness, and willing disposition, to 
 know the will of God, and to submit to it when known. 
 Tliis I collect from that exhortation of Moses, " Circum- 
 cise the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff- 
 necked," Deut. \. \6 ; joined with the re])roof of St. 
 Stephen, who calls the Jews " uncircumcised in heart 
 and ears," Acts vii. .01, by reason of their inflexible op- 
 position to the doctrine of our blessed Saviour and bis 
 apostles. 'Ilie foreskin to be taken away, in this sense, 
 is aU that jjrt'judice and self-conceit, all that carnal or 
 worldly reasoning, wliich obstructs the efficacy of truth 
 upon our licarts and lives. I'ur want of this circumcision, 
 the Jews, wlio bad the covenant in the flesli, were yet out 
 of it, as to its real advantages and spiritual importance. 
 And, without the same, the Christian wlio disowns and 
 disdains all marks of Judaism upon his liody, is yet, in 
 spirit, and to all the purposes of sin and reprobation, an 
 errant Jew stLU, 
 
 sign of circumcision, a seal of the 
 righteousness of the faith which he 
 had yet being uncircumcised ; that 
 he might be the father of all them 
 that believe, though they be not cir- 
 cumcised ; that righteousness might 
 be imputed unto them also : And 
 the father of circumcision to them 
 who are not of the circumcision only, 
 but also walk in the steps of that 
 faith of our father Abraham, which 
 he had being yet uncircumcised. 
 For the promise, that he should be 
 the heir of the world, was not to 
 Abraham, or to his seed, through 
 the law, but through the righteous- 
 ness of faith. For if they wliich are 
 of the law be heirs, faith is made 
 void, and the promise made of none 
 effect "J. 
 
 2. Secondly, This true circumcision of the Spirit im- 
 ports the weaning ourselves from the world, and setting 
 our affections upon God and goodness. Thus much I 
 infer from that other jiassage of Moses, " The Lord tliy 
 God shall circumcise thy heart, that thou mayest lo\e 
 the Lord thy God with all thy heart and nith all thy 
 soul," Deut. XXX. 6. So that, in this respect, "the first 
 and great commandment," Matt. xxii. 3S, as our Saviour 
 calls it, the foundation and the substance, the beginning 
 and the complement, of the whole moral law, was sha- 
 dowed in, and contained under, this most significant 
 ordinance. Covetousness and injustice, worldly-mindeil- 
 ness and vanity, luxiu-y and love of pleasiu-e, straitness 
 of hand and heart, and unmercifulness to the poor ami 
 distressed; in a word, aU those corrupt principles and 
 dispositions which argue that we do not love God, or 
 that we do not love Him better than the world, or that 
 we do not love our neighbour for his sake, are so many 
 sure symptoms of an "uncircumcised" spirit. These 
 then must be pared off, and cast away ; and tlie pious, 
 the devout, the strictly honest, the cheerfully liberal, the 
 tender and compassionate, the kind and condescending 
 Christians, tliey only are the seed of Abraham, they 
 only heirs of that covenant, made to that glorious 
 father of the faithful. 
 
 3. Tliirdlv, This circumcision of the Spirit does yet 
 more immediately denote a strict guard and government 
 over ourseh-es : rescrvedness even in the lawful pleasures 
 of sense, and a total abstinence from, and abhorrence of, 
 all manner of scandalous lewdness and debauchery in 
 conversation. Thus much is jilain from that of Jere- 
 miah, wlicre the " foreskin of the Jews' hearts" is ex- 
 I)lained by the " evil of their doings," cliap. iv. 4 : and 
 this again is described in the chapter next following, by 
 " committing adultery, assembling by troo])s in harlots' 
 houses, being as fed horses in the morning, every one 
 neighing after Iiis neighbour's wife," cha]). v. 7, 8. It is 
 obvious indeed to any one who considers at all what cir- 
 cumcision was, that the suliduing of sensual and las- 
 civious inchnations must needs have been meant by it. 
 'J'liis is the very first thought that offers itself, and was 
 no douljt one of the cliicf ends designed by it. 
 
 No man then fullils the spiritual intent of that law 
 now, but lliesolicr, tlie regular, the chaste, the mortified 
 ('hristian ; lie that subdues his body, and brings it into 
 suiyectiun ; that curbs liis appetites sharply, and keeps a
 
 THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST. 
 
 103 
 
 Tlie Gospel. St. Luke ii. 15. 
 
 AN D it came to pass, as the an- 
 frels were g'one away from them 
 into lieaven, the sliepheids said tine 
 to another, Let us now go even unto 
 Bethlehem, and see this thing which 
 is come to pass, which the Lord 
 hath made known unto us. And 
 they came with haste, and found 
 Mary and Joseph, and the babe ly- 
 ing in a manger. And wlien they 
 had seen it, they made known abroad 
 the saying which was told them con- 
 cerning this child. And all they 
 that heard it wondered at those 
 things which were told them by the 
 
 strait rein over his passions ; and though this, like the 
 circumcision in the flesh, be painful, yet done it must be, 
 and that early too. No man in this case can begin too 
 soon, because no man can be in covenant with God and 
 Christ upon other terms. " Our hearts and all our 
 members must be mortified from all worldly and carnal 
 lusts," before " we can obey his blessed will." And every 
 man is obliged to set these bounds to himself : e\exy 
 Christian hath indeed done it aheady in that baptism, 
 which the apostle hath therefore most emphatically 
 styled, " The circumcision maile without hands, and 
 putting oif the body of the sins of the flesh," Col. i. 
 11. This, and nothing less, can make it possible to 
 profit by Him, who vouchsafed to be " circumcised and 
 obedient to the law for man." Dean Stanhope. 
 
 > From the narrative contained in this day's Gospel 
 we may learn, 1 . To magnify the great condescension of 
 the Son of God, in giving the poor shepherds next to 
 his parents the first sight of Him. There were no doubt 
 many great persons at that time in or near the city, 
 whom the fame of this birth had drawn thither; yet 
 God did not think fit to send an angel with this joyful 
 news to any of them, but honoured the poor shepherds 
 with the first view oi Him. Dr. Hole. These were 
 persons, simple, and mean, and humble ; persons, likely 
 to be more ajiprehensive of the mystery, and less of the 
 scandal, of the poverty of the Messiah. And the lesson 
 to be derived from this circumstance is, that none are 
 fit to come to Christ, liut those who are poor in spirit, 
 despisers of the world, and simple in their hearts, with- 
 out craft and secular designs. Bp. Jeremy Tuylor. 
 
 2. From the pattern set to us by those humble with- 
 nesses to our Redeemer's birth, we may Itarn to re- 
 member, that it is a perpetual branch of duty in all, who 
 are made partakers of the glad word of salvation, to 
 impart the knowledge which is 0])ened to them ; and to 
 communicate the blessing of that light, which they en- 
 joy, to those about them. We are bound thus to raise 
 our own minds, and to lift up the hearts of others, to a 
 better hope than this world or its pursuits can furnish ; 
 and to shew in all ways, that, for our parts, we acknow- 
 ledge the great things which God hath done for us ; that 
 we believe them heartily, and are convinced of their 
 reahty and value. We are parts of one great family by 
 the common bond of nature ; and by the ties of grace 
 we are the adopted children of one chosen and ])eculiar 
 household. They who conceal the truth, by neglecting 
 to bear testimony to it at fit times ; they who dishonour 
 it by taunts, or cavils, or reproaches, they who by evil 
 habits disguise its whole influence, if indeed it has pro- 
 duced any measure of conviction in their hearts ; such 
 
 shepherds. But Mary kept all these 
 things, and pondered them in her 
 heart. And the shejihenls returned, 
 glorifying and ]uiiising (iod for all 
 the things that they had heard and 
 seen, as it was told unto them. 
 And when eight days were accom- 
 plished for the circumcising of the 
 child, his name was called JESUS, 
 which was so named of the angel 
 before he was conceived in the 
 womb J. 
 
 1[ The same Collect, Epistle, and Gospel shall 
 serve for every day after, unto the Epi- 
 phany. 
 
 men will fall below the pattern of the shepherds' faith ; 
 and will come short of that heavenly kingdom, the glo- 
 ries of which were revealed in part to that watchful and 
 much favoured com])any. Archdeacon Pott. 
 
 3. From the condition in wliich the shepherds found 
 oiu- blessed Savioiu', we may learn a lesson of humility. 
 He, for whom heaven is too strait, whom the heaven of 
 heavens cannot contain, lies in the strait cabin of 
 the womb ; and, when He would enlarge Himself for 
 the world, is not allowed the room of an inn. The many 
 mansions of heaven were at his disposing ; the earth was 
 his, and the fulness of it; yet lie suffers Himself to be 
 refused of a base cottage, and complaineth not. What 
 measure should discontent us, wretched men, when'ITiou, 
 O God, farest thus from thy creatures ? How should we 
 learn Ijoth to want and abound from Thee, which, 
 abounding mth the glory and riches of heaven, wouldst 
 want a lodging in thy first welcome to the earth ! Thou 
 camest to thine own, and thy own received Thee not : 
 how can it trouble us to be rejected of the world, which 
 is not ours ? What wonder is it, if thy servants wan- 
 dered aljroad destitute and afflicted, when their Lord is 
 denied harbour? Bp. Hall. 
 
 4. From our Saviour's submitting to be circumcised 
 for the good of others, which He in no wise needed for 
 Himself, we may learn to bear some hardships and re- 
 straints, which are not necessary on our own accounts, 
 when we find we may help forward the salvation of 
 others ; and to sustain some difficulties in our own 
 bodies, thereby to promote the good of others' 
 souls. 
 
 5. From the Son of God's being called Jesus, a Sa- 
 viour, merely to save his people from tlieir sins, let us 
 learn not to despise or neglect so great salvation ; for 
 it will highly aggravate our condemnation, if, when God 
 the Father sent his Son on iiurjiose to save us, we reject 
 the method of salvation, and wilfully refuse to be saved 
 by Him ; the greatest portion of vengeance will fall to 
 the lot of such ol)Stinate sinners, who abuse this un- 
 speakable mercy and slight such gracious offers. It 
 will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, and other 
 barbarous nations that sit in darkness, and never heard 
 the glad tidings of a Saviour, than for those to whom 
 salvation is tendered, and who yet cast it behind their 
 back. 
 
 Wherefore, lastly, let us beg of God, that his grace, 
 that bringeth salvation, may have its due effect upon 
 US; that He would be pleased to finish that work in us, 
 for which his Son came into the world ; in a word, that 
 He would save us from the power and pollution of sin 
 here, and then we need not feai- but that He will save
 
 104 
 
 THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 Matt. ii. 2. 
 
 9. 10. 
 
 1 Tim. iii. 16. 
 
 1 Jo n iii. 8 ; 
 ii. 13. 
 
 2 Cor. V. e, 7. 
 Matt. XXV. 
 21. 
 
 1 John iii. 2. 
 
 The Epiphany ', or the Manifestation 
 
 of Christ to the Gentiles. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 OGod, who by tlie leading of a 
 star didst manifest thy only- 
 begotten Son to the Gentiles ; I\Ier- 
 citully grant, that we, which know 
 thee now by faith, may after this 
 life have the' fruition of thy glorious 
 Godhead ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Ephes. iii. 1 . 
 
 FO R this cause, I Paul, the pri- 
 soner of Jesus Christ for you 
 Gentiles ; if ye have heard of tiie 
 dispensation of the grace of God, 
 which is given me to you-ward : 
 How that by revelation he made 
 known unto me the mystery (as I 
 wrote afore in few words, whereby, 
 when ye read, ye may understand 
 my knowledge in the mystery of 
 Chri.st) which in other ages was 
 not made known unto the sons of 
 men, as it is now revealed unto 
 
 US from the everlasting puQishment of it hereafter. Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 ' The Fpiphani/, &c.] The Chiircli celebrates this feast 
 to shew our gratitude to God in manifesting the Gospel 
 to the Gentile world, and vouchsafing to them equal pri- 
 vileges with the Jews, who had been all along his pecu- 
 liar people. The first instance of this divine favour was 
 in declaring the birth of Christ to the wise men of the 
 East, Matt. ii. 9. The ancient church called this feast 
 " Epiphaneia," or the Appearance or Manifestation, and 
 it was the common name for this and for Christmas-day. 
 And as that was the greater, this was the lesser Epiphany. 
 This festival was observed in the time of Nazianzen, 
 whose sermon upon " the Holy Lights" is upon this day. 
 Epiphanius and I'hrysostom have likewise sermons upon 
 it. St. Austin, in his time, speaks of it as universally 
 celcbratcil by the catholic church, and neglected by none 
 but the scbi.smatical Donatists. Dr. NicholU. 
 
 The word "' Epijihany'" in Greek signifies " manifesta- 
 tion ;" and was at first used both for Christmas-day, 
 when Clirist was manifested in the llesh, and for this 
 day, (to whidi it is now more properly ap))ropriatcd,) 
 when He was manifested by a star to the Gentiles ; from 
 which identity of the word some have concluded, that 
 the feasts of (,'hri.stinas-day and the E])iphany were 
 one and the same ; but that they were two different 
 feasts, observed upon two several days, at least in 
 some parts of Christendom, is plain from many of the 
 fathers. 
 
 Hut, besides this common and more usual name, we 
 find two otlier titles given to it by the ancients, namely, 
 "the day of the Holy I.iglits;" and " tlic Tbeophany," 
 or " iManifestution of (iod." The first name was given 
 it, as being tlie day whereon they commeinoratetl the 
 baptism of Christ, who from that time became a liglit 
 to those that sat in darkness : upon which account this 
 day was with some Christians as solemn for baptizing 
 the cat<;chumens as ICa-ster and Whitsimtiilc. And, for 
 tlie greater solutimity of so high a festival, it was the 
 
 his holy Apostles and Prophets 
 by the Spirit ; That the Gentiles 
 should be fellow-heirs, and of the 
 same body, and partakers of his 
 promise in Christ, by the Gospel : 
 whereof I was made a minister, 
 according to the gift of the grace 
 of God given unto me by the ef- 
 fectual working of his power. Unto 
 me, who am less than the least of 
 all saints, is this grace given, that I 
 should preach among the Gentiles 
 the unsearchable riches of Christ ; 
 and to make all men see what is the 
 fellowship of the mystery, which from 
 the beo-iniiini): of the world hath been 
 hid in God, who created all things 
 by Jesus Christ : to the intent, that 
 now unto the principalities and 
 powers in heavenly places might be 
 known by the Church the manifold 
 wisdom of God, according to the 
 eternal purpose which he jnirposed 
 in Christ Jesus our Lord : In whom 
 we have boldness and access with 
 confidence by the faith of him'. 
 
 custom to adorn the publick churches with a great num- 
 ber of lights and tapers, when they came to perform the 
 service of the day. The reason of the other name is 
 , very plain, the feast being instituted in commemoration 
 j of the first manifestations of oiu" Saviour's divinity. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 This feast is called in Latin Epiphaniae, Epiphanies, 
 in the plural ; because upon this day we celebrate three 
 glorious appai-itions or manifestations, all which are said 
 to have happened u])on the same day, though not of the 
 same year. The fij-st manifestation was of the star, 
 mentioned in the Gospel, the Gentiles' guide to Christ. 
 ' The second Epiphany, or manifestation, was of the 
 glorious Trinity at the liaptisin of Christ, mentioned in 
 the second lesson at Morning Prayer, Luke iii. 22. The 
 third was of Christ's glory or divinity, by the miracle 
 of turning water into wine, mentioned in the second 
 lesson at Evening Prayer, .Tohn ii. Bp. Sparrow. For 
 which reason this lesson, contrary to common usage, 
 is taken from one of the Gospels, and not from an 
 Epistle. Shepherd. 
 
 The first lesson contains i)ro[)hecies of the increase of 
 the Church by the abundant access of the (ientiles, of 
 which the l'",iiistle contains the comiiletion, giving an 
 account of the mystery of the (iospel's being revealed 
 to them. Wheatly. 
 
 ' The l''pistlc for the day declares to us the great 
 " mystery of godliness," how " God manifest in the 
 flesh," who was fh'st preached to the Jews only, was 
 afterwards "manifested to the (ientiles" also, and 
 " thereby preached and believed on in the world." 'I'ho 
 practical use to be made of this great mercy is, I. To 
 acknowlege and adore the infinite love of (iod to the 
 (ientiles, of whose race we are, in " turning them from 
 darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto 
 God." Herein the love of (iod to mankind appeared, 
 in that " he would have all men to be saved, and to 
 come to the knowledge of the truth," 1 Tim. ii. 4. 
 " (iod so loved the world," (saith our Saviour,) " that
 
 THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 105 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mattli. ii. 1. 
 
 WH E N Jesus was born in 
 Bethlehem of JiuUea, in the 
 clays of Herod the king, heliold, 
 there came wise men from the east 
 to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he 
 that is born King of the Jews ? for 
 we have seen his star in the east, 
 and are come to worship him. 
 When Herod the king had heard 
 these things, he was troubled, and 
 all Jerusalem with him. And when 
 he had gathered all the chief priests 
 and scribes of the people together, 
 he demanded of them, where Christ 
 should be born. And they said 
 unto him. In Bethlehem of Judaja : 
 for thus it is written by the pro- 
 phet. And thou, Bethlehem, in the 
 land of Juda, art not the least 
 among the princes of Juda : for out 
 of thee shall come a Governour 
 that shall rule my people Israel. 
 Then Herod, when he had privily 
 
 he sent his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
 in him should not perish, but ha\'e everlasting life," 
 John iii. 16. He now makes no distinction between 
 Jew and tientile, for they are all one in Christ Jesus. 
 He came first indeed to " the lost sheep of the house of 
 Israel," whom He gathered into his fold, and made them 
 his own peculiar; but He had " other sheep," (He tells 
 us,) " that belonged not to this fold," meaning the 
 Gentiles ; them also He brought in, " that there might 
 be one fold, and one flock, under the great Shepherd 
 and Bishop of our souls." Hence He is said to be " a 
 light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as the glory of his 
 people Israel." 2. We may learn hence to make a 
 right use and improvement of this great and imdeserved 
 favour to us Gentiles, and that is, " to walk in the light, 
 aa he is in the liglit," and to make it so " shine before 
 men, that they may see our good works, and glorify our 
 Father, which is in heaven ;" who hath called us mise- 
 rable sinners, " who lay in darkness and in the shadow 
 of death," to be the children of God, and hath exalted 
 us to everlasting life. Let not this then " be our con- 
 demnation, that light is come into the world, and we love 
 darkness rather than light ; because our deeds are evil :" 
 but let us " walk as children of light and of the day, 
 casting off the works of darkness, and putting on the 
 armour of light," to defend us from all iniquity. This 
 is the sense of those many precepts, to walk worthy of 
 the vocation wherewith we are called, and to let our 
 conversation be as becometh the Gospel of Christ ; 
 which requires us to lead our lives by the light we have 
 received, and to increase in grace and vLrtiie, as we do 
 in knowledge, otherwise it will only increase our guilt, 
 and heighten our condemnation. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' God, who is the universal parent of all men, at the 
 nativity of the Messiah gave notice of the event to all 
 the world, as they were represented by the grand A\\\- 
 sion of Jews and Gentiles : to the Jewish shepherds, by 
 an angel ; to the eastern magi, by a star. For the 
 Gospel is of universal dissemination, and not confined 
 within the limits of a national prerogative, but cathohck 
 
 called the wise men, enquired of 
 them diligently what time the star 
 ap])eared. And he sent them to 
 15ethlehem, and said. Go, and search 
 diligently for the young child, and 
 when ye have found him, bring me 
 word again, that I may come and 
 worship him also. When they had 
 heard the king, they departed; and lo, 
 the star wliich they saw in tiie east 
 went before them, till it came and 
 stood over where the young chihl 
 was. When they saw the star, they 
 rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 
 And when they were come into the 
 house, they saw the young child with 
 Mary his mother, and fell down and 
 worshipped him : and when they luad 
 opened their treasures, they presented 
 unto him gifts; gold, and frankin- 
 cense, and myrrh. And being 
 warned of God in a dream that they 
 should not return to Herod, they de- 
 parted into their own country another 
 way '. 
 
 and diffused. As God's love was, so was the dispensa- 
 tion of it, " without respect of persons :" for all, being 
 included under the curse of sin, were to Him equal and 
 indifferent, undistingnishable objects of mercy. And 
 Jesus, descended of the Jews, was also "the expecta- 
 tion of the Gentiles," and therefore communicated to 
 all : " the grace of God," being like the air we breathe ; 
 and " it hath appeared to all men," saith St. Paul : but 
 the conveyances and communications of it were differ- 
 ent in the degrees of brightness. The angel told the 
 shepherds the story of the nativity plainly and literally : 
 the star invited the wise men by its rareness and pre- 
 ternatm-al apparition : to which also, as by a foot-path, 
 they had been led by the pro])hecy of Balaam. 
 
 And thus, in one view and two instances, God hath 
 drawn all the world to Himself by his Son Jesus ; in 
 the instances of the shepherds and the eastern magi, 
 Jews and Gentiles, learned and unlearned, rich and 
 poor, noble and ignoble; that in Him all nations, and 
 all conditions, and all families, and all persons might 
 be blessed : having called all by one star or other, by 
 natural reason or by the secrets of philosophy, by the 
 revelations of the Gospel or by the ministry of angels, 
 by the illuminations of the Spirit, or by the sermons 
 and dictates of spiritual fathers : and hath consigned 
 this lesson to us, that we must never " appear before 
 the Lord empty," offering gifts to Him by the expenses 
 or the affections of charity ; either the worshipping or 
 the oblations of religion ; either the riches of the world, 
 or the love of the soul. For, if we cannot bring gold 
 with the rich men from the east, we may with the poor 
 shepherds come and " kiss the Son, lest he be angry :" 
 and in all cases come and " serve him \vith fear and 
 reverence" and spiritual rejoicings. Bp. Jer. Taylor. 
 
 In applying the case of these distinguished persons 
 to ourselves, we should endeavour to make them our 
 patterns, so far as their example will bear imitation, 
 first, in their zeal, conspicuous at the beginning, and 
 through the whole progress of their journey ; and, se- 
 condly, in their joy and satisfaction at the end of it.
 
 106 THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, 
 
 Thejirst Sunday after the Epiphany ", 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 OLord, we beseech thee mer- 
 cifully to receive the prayers 
 
 1 juhn V. 14. of thy people which call upon thee ; 
 
 1 . The former of these is manifest, from divers pas- 
 sages in this relation of the thing. To leave their own 
 dweUings upon the single warning of an unusual star ; 
 to continue their travels in search of a new king; and, 
 vrith a courage so undaunted, to carry the unwelcome 
 news of a suspected rival to the capital city and coui-t 
 of a jealous tyrant, already infamous for blood ; to 
 comply so readily with the voice of the Sanhedrim, and 
 persist in their purpose, notwithstanding the consterna- 
 tion of some, and the indifference of others, in a matter 
 ■n'herein aU were so deeply concerned : these are qua- 
 lities very remarkable in them. And they are so 
 many prefigurations of those Gentiles, whose conver- 
 sion their success, and this journey, represented. For 
 such were theii- disadvantages too, in comparison of 
 the privileges and preparations to Christianity, which 
 the Jews enjoyed above them. Such was theii- early 
 zeal to a new and altogether strange doctrine, which 
 broke in u])on them at once : so just a reproach to 
 them, whom neither former revelations, nor ancient 
 prophecies, nor infinite discourses, nor imblemished 
 e.\amples, nor miracles confessed to be divine, could 
 win over to the truth. 
 
 Now if we do in good earnest desire to imitate either 
 these wise men, or those Gentiles ; it must be our care 
 to keep our ears open, and our hearts teachable. We 
 must not only see but follow, and embrace most gladly, 
 the hght that shines upon us from above, and is let 
 down from heaven for a guide to us ; comply cheerfully 
 «-ith every call and motion of his good Spirit ; provoke, 
 and, if possible, shame those into a noble and holy 
 emulation, who shut their eyes against it. We must 
 not suffer ourselves to be discouraged by any hardships 
 or dangers, which our duty calls us to ; nor grow cold 
 u])on the many ill examples, we converse among ; the 
 general neglect of most, and the bold affronts of some 
 who make it an act of gallantry, to insult, and cast all 
 the contempt they can ujion religion : in a word, we must 
 persevere in jiiety and virtue, though we were left to 
 stand alone : and, in despite of all oi)i)robrious treat- 
 ment, which they or we may meet, from jjcrsons, who 
 might and sliould know better, and in truth do not see, 
 only because they will not. Of all this our Saviour 
 hath shewed us tlie necessity, by declaring that men 
 " cannot believe," while they prefer p()i)ular esteem 
 before a good conscience ; wliicli is, in Scriijturc lan- 
 guage, "receiving honour one of another, not seeking 
 that honour whicli cometh from God only, and loving 
 the praise of men more than the praise of God," John 
 V. 44 ; .\ii. 43. 
 
 2. The last thing I observe is, the mighty satisfac- 
 tion these wise men felt, at the return of the star. 
 "NVTien they saw the star" again, says the evangelist, 
 "they rejoiced with exceeding great" joy:" a joy, that 
 si)rung, no doubt, from strong assurances, that tliis 
 was a token of tlu'ir journey being well-jileasing to 
 God; and that lie would prosper it to their intended 
 purpose, of seeing and ailoring thai wonderful infant, 
 whose this star was. And here again they are a pattern, 
 which wc should be infinitely to blame not to cojiy 
 after. 
 
 I'or, as the apostle upon all occasions urges, we are 
 certainly of all creatures the most ungrateful and stupid, 
 
 and grant that they may both per- 
 ceive and know what things they 
 ought to do, and also may have Rom. xii. x 
 grace and power faithfully to fulfil coi.i. 9— u. 
 the same ; through Jesus Christ our pmi. ii. 13. 
 Lord. Amen. Heb.xiu.21. 
 
 the most unworthy of our happiness, if we do not es- 
 teem the conversion of the Gentile world to be one of 
 the most glorious mysteries of Providence, that ever 
 was exhibited to mankind. And our feeling of this 
 mercy should be the more sensible and tender ; because 
 we are the offsi)ring of those Gentiles ; and our ances- 
 tors, once a part of them, as dark perhaps as any. It 
 is possible, indeefd, we might not have retained the 
 ancient rudeness and savageness of our countrj-. From 
 that oiu- invaders would have soon delivered us. But, 
 alas ! how poor a consideration is it to Christians, that 
 they have been refined into civility and good manners, 
 taught arts and commerce, and improved in industry 
 and learning ? jVllow these advantages the great value 
 and commendation really due to them ; yet stdl, I say, 
 how Uttle and insignificant are even all these pohshings, 
 in comparison of those benefits which come from the 
 knowledge, the obedience, the hopes, and precious pro- 
 mises of the Gospel ? The exalting our minds with 
 this most holy faith, enlarging our ideas of God, giving 
 us a prospect of heaven, seasoning us with a true taste 
 of good and evil, and forming oiu' lives upon the most 
 perfect model of justice, and holiness, and order, and 
 peace, and all that can procure or preserve the tran- 
 quillity and happiness of oiu'selves, and the whole 
 world : this was, in a literal sense, to bring light out of 
 darkness ; and (])raised be God) no pai-t of his Church 
 is blessed with clearer and purer day, than ours. This 
 is our glory, this ought to be our joy. 
 
 Since then, we also are, with these eastern forerun- 
 ners, happily conducted to Christ ; let us, as they did, 
 fall down and worship Him. We see Him not indeed, 
 hke them, in arms and infancy ; but, which is at once 
 a tragical, and yet most comfortable prospect, dying 
 upon a cross for us ; nay, risen again, gone up on high, 
 shedding his gifts and graces down, and perpetually at 
 the right hand of God making intercession for us. 
 Let us then ap])roaeh with reverence, and open our 
 treasures too ; let us present Him, not with gold or 
 spices, but somewhat more beeoming Him to receive, 
 and us to offer ; even our bodies, and souls, and spirits. 
 These, though of little \aluc in themselves, will yet be 
 accounted a rich and fragrant, if they be but an humble 
 and an holj- sacrifice : the only i ifcctual sacrifice of 
 thanksgiving ; and an oblation, which cannot more please 
 llim, than it will profit us. For, by such a "reasona- 
 ble service," by such undissembled testimonies of praise 
 and ghulness it is, that we must hojie, God will be 
 inclined to accept and answer the proper [jctition of 
 this fesli\al ; even that He, " who by the leading of a 
 star did manifest his only-begotten Son to the (ieutiles, 
 would mercifully grant, that \\e, which know him now 
 by faith, may after this life have the fruition of his 
 glorious (iodhcad, through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 Amen. Demi Sliinhiijie. 
 
 " Tlir first Siaiciat/ (iftcr the Epiphany.'] From Christ- 
 mas to ii]ii|iliiuiy, the ('hurch's design is, to set forth 
 Christ's " liHiiiiuiity." to make Christ manifest in the 
 ilesh, which the oilices do, as we have seen; but from 
 i''.pi|}hany to Scptuagcsima. especially in the four next 
 Sundays' after Kpiphany. she endeavours to manifest 
 his glory and " divinity," by recounting some of hig 
 first miracles, and manifestations of his deity; so that
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY. 107 
 
 The Epistle. Rom. xii. 1. 
 
 I Beseech you therefore, brethren, 
 by the mercies of Goil, that ye 
 present your l)0(lies a living sacri- 
 fice, holy, acceptable unto God, 
 which is your reasonable service. 
 And be not conformed to this world ; 
 but be ye transformed by the renew- 
 ing of your mind, that ye may prove 
 what is that good, and acceptable, 
 and perfect will of God. For I say, 
 through the grace given luito me, to 
 every man that is among you, not 
 to think of himself more highly than 
 he ougiit to think, but to think 
 soberly, according as God hath dealt 
 to every man the measure of faith. 
 For as we have many members in 
 one body, and all members have not 
 the same office ; so we, being many, 
 are one body in Christ, and every 
 one members one of another ". 
 
 The Gospel St. Luke ii. 41. 
 
 NO W his parents went to Jeru- 
 salem every year at the feast 
 of the passover. And when lie was 
 twelve years old, they went up to 
 Jerusalem, after the custom of the 
 
 each Sunday is in this respect a kind of Epiphany. 
 Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 Tlie offices of the Sundays, which follow the Epi- 
 phany, until Septuagesima Sunday, are of the same 
 argument with the Ejiiphany itself ; all belonging to 
 the manifestation of Clirist, and to the end for which 
 He was made known to the sons of men. Bp. Overall. 
 
 The design of the Epistles is to excite us to imitate 
 Christ as far as we can, and to manifest ourselves his 
 disciples by a constant practice of aU Chiistian virtues. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 The Gospel of this day mentions Christ's manifesta- 
 tion to the doctors of the Jews, astonishing all his 
 hearers with his miraculous answers ; withal declaring, 
 that He was both God and man ; man, in being made 
 subject to his reputed father and his earthly mother ; 
 God, in going "about his Father's business." The 
 Epistle exhorts us to make a spiritual use of the wise 
 men's mysterious offerings, especially of myrrh t which 
 signifies very rightly the mortifying of the flesh, and 
 the offering of our bodies as an holy sacrifice to God 
 by Christ, llie Collect prays for grace to enable us 
 thereunto. Bp. Overall, Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 ' The Church, when appointing this portion of Scrip- 
 ture, treads exactly in the steps of the blessed apostle 
 that wrote it. He, in the foregoing chapters, had 
 vindicated, explained, and given due honour to the wis- 
 dom and the mercies of God, manifested in the glorious 
 privileges and universal extent of the Gos])el dispensa- 
 tion. He now proceeds to shew what the effects of 
 these considerations ought to be, upon the minds and 
 lives of all who have embraced it. The Church, in 
 like manner, fi-om celebrating the goodness of that 
 God, in the conversion of, and manifestation of his Son 
 and his truth to, the Gentiles, makes it her next caie, 
 
 feast. And when they had fulfilled 
 the days, as they returned, the 
 child Jesus tarried behind in Jeru- 
 salem ; arul Jose]di and his mother 
 knew not of it. But they, supposing 
 him to have been in the company, 
 went a day's journey, and they sought 
 him am.ong their kinsfolk and ac- 
 quaintance. And wiien tiiey found 
 him not, they turned back again to 
 Jerusalem, seeking him. And it 
 came to ]iass, that after three days 
 they found him in the temple, sitting 
 in the midst of the doctors, both 
 hearing them, and asking them cpies- 
 tions. And all that heard him were 
 astonished at his understanding and 
 answers. And when they saw him, 
 they were amazed: and his mother 
 said unto him. Son, why hast thou 
 thus dealt with us ? behold, thy fa- 
 ther and I have sought thee sorrow- 
 ing. And he said unto them, How 
 is it that ye sought me ? wist ye not 
 that I must be about my Father's 
 business? And they understood not 
 the saying which he spake unto them. 
 And he went down with them, and 
 came to Nazareth, and was subject 
 
 to press the same practical doctrine, and to insinuate 
 the absolute necessity of " walking worthy of the \-oca- 
 tion wherewith we are called. I beseech you therefore, 
 brethren, by the mercies of God, &c." Eph. iv. 1. Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 In compUance with the apostle's advice, let us conse- 
 crate oiu- bodies, as so many living temples, unto God, 
 and let all the members of them become the instru- 
 ments of his honour. Let the mouth praise Him with. 
 joyful h|)s, and the tongue sing of his honour; let 
 the hands be often lifted up to Him. and opened in 
 bounty to his members ; let the feet walk in his ways, 
 and run with cheerfulness the path of his command- 
 ments. And, to complete the sacrifice, let us dedicate 
 our souls to Him as the living monuments of his praise, 
 and devote all the faculties of them to the setting forth 
 of his glory. To which end, 2. Let both be kept pure 
 from the defilements of the world, to attend the ser- 
 vice of their Maker; avoiding ah sinful conformity to 
 the world, and having our natures renewed by the 
 graces of the Holy Spirit ; our minds enlightened with 
 the knowledge of God ; our wills and affections rectified 
 to the loving and obeying of Him. 3. Let us learn 
 from our Savioiu- to be " meek and lowly in heart," 
 not thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought 
 to think ; " but to think soberly and modestly, in 
 honour jireferring one another." Lastly, Let us learn 
 to live in the xmity and communion of the Chm-ch, as 
 the only means of living in love, peace, and amity, with 
 one another. For the Chm-ch being but one body, 
 there should be no schism or division in it ; but all the 
 members are to be joined and united to it in one com- 
 munion under Christ the head, that they may be fitted 
 for the communion of the saints for ever in heaven. 
 Dr. Hole.
 
 108 THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 unto them : but his motlier kept all 
 these sayings in her heart. And 
 Jesus increased in wisdom, and sta- 
 ture, and in favour with God and 
 many. 
 
 The second Sunday after the Epi- 
 phany ^. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, who dost govern all things 
 
 ^ From this narrative we may learn some useful and 
 necessary lessons. 
 
 1. From Joseph and Mary's punctual observation of 
 the feast of the Passover, and then- yearly repairing with 
 their chUd to Jerusalem to that end, we may learn dili- 
 gently to attend the seasons of God's holy word and 
 sacraments, and " not to forsake the assembling of 
 ourselves together " at the times aiijiointed for them, 
 " as the manner of some is." Dr. Hole. 
 
 2. The child Jesus, in the minority of his age, went 
 up with his jiarents to the holy solemnity ; not this 
 year only, but, in all likelihood, others also. He, in the 
 power of whose Godhead and by the motion of whose 
 Spirit, all others ascended thither, would not Himself 
 stay at home. In all his examples He meant our in- 
 struction. I'his pious act of his nonage was intended 
 to lead our first years into timely devotion. The first 
 liquor seasons the vessel for a long time after. It is 
 every way good for a man to bear God's yoke even 
 from his infancy. 
 
 3. While children of that age were playing in the 
 streets, Christ was found sitting in the temple ; not to 
 gaze on the outward glory of that house, or on the 
 golden candlesticks or tables, but to hear and question 
 the doctors. He, who as God gave them all the wisdom 
 they had, as the Son of man hearkens to the wisdom 
 He had given them: that by learning of them He 
 might teach all the younger sort humility, and due 
 attendance upon their instructors. He could at the 
 first have taiight the great Rabbins of Israel the deeji 
 mysteries of God : but, because He was not yet called 
 by his Father to the publick jiractice of a teacher. He 
 contents Himself to hear with diligence, and to ask 
 with modesty, and to teach only b)' insinuation. Let 
 those consider this, which will needs rim as soon as 
 they can go ; and, when tliey find ability, think they 
 need not stay for a further vocation of God or man. 
 lip. Hall. 
 
 •I. From this holy Child's leaving his jiarents to be 
 about his Father's bnsiiies.s, we may learn to leave 
 father anil mother, anil to do the will of our heavenly 
 Father. If our nearest relations would either olistruet 
 us in oi;r duty, or encourage us in any vice or inuno- 
 rality, they therein forfeit their authority, and lose all 
 right to our oliedience in such matters ; and therefore 
 our Saviour told his disciples that " he that loveth 
 father and mother more than him, is not worthy of 
 him." 
 
 .5. From Christ'a being subject to and observant of 
 his jiarents in all other things, children may learn to be 
 dutiful and obedient to their |)areutH in every thing, 
 that is not contrary to the will and commands of Go(l. 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 G. 'I'he answer of Christ leads to a proper notion of 
 his nature. 'I'be blessed Virgin, according to the sup- 
 position of the world, called Joseph the Father of 
 
 in heaven and earth ; Mercifully hear Ps.ciii.i9. 
 
 the supplications of thy peo])le, and 
 
 grant us thy peace all the days of 
 
 our life ; through Jesus Christ our joim xtv. 27. 
 
 Lord. Jmen. ^''"'- "■ '• 
 
 The Epistle. Rom. xii. 6. 
 
 HAVING then gifts differing 
 according to the grace that 
 is given to us, whether prophecy, 
 let us prophesy according to the 
 proportion of faith; or ministry, 
 
 Christ: "Thy Father and I sought thee." She weU 
 knew that Joseph had but a name in this business, yet 
 she says, " Thy Father and I :" the Son of God stands 
 not upon contradiction to his mother ; but leading her 
 thoughts from his supposed father to his true, from 
 earth to heaven. He answers, " Knew ye not that I 
 must go about my Father's business ?" It was honour 
 enough to her, that He had vouchsafed to take Hesh of 
 her : it was his eternal honour, that He was God of 
 God, the everlasting Son of the heavenly Father. Good 
 reason therefore was it that the respects of tlesh should 
 give place to the God of spirits. Bp. Hall. 
 
 7. From the Son of God's increasing in wisdom and 
 stature, we may learn the truth of his humanity, that 
 He grew up by the same degrees both in body and 
 mind, as we do : He was fed by the same nom-ishment 
 of meat and drink, as we are ; He inijiroved in know- 
 ledge and experience by the same means and measures 
 of education, and arrived at strength and statiue of 
 body by the same steps as we do. 
 
 Lastly, from his increasing in favour with God and 
 man, we may learn how to attain the same ; He did it 
 by his obedience and submission to the will of God, 
 and by acts of prudence, meekness, and charity towards 
 men, which made Him highly pleasing and beloved of 
 both. And we too, by doing things acceptable to God 
 and men, that is, by observing our duty to God, and 
 shewing mercy and kindness and good-will towards 
 men, shall likewise find the same. Dr. Hole. 
 
 After the event recorded in this Gospel a consider- 
 able interval succeeds, in the course of which but few 
 ])artieulars of our Saviour's history are given. It seems 
 to have been the design of Pro\idenee, to restrain the 
 exercise of fruitless curiosity on this score, by summing 
 up, in one comjjrehensive testimony, all that it con- 
 cerns us to know with regard to our Redeemer's course, 
 before the days of his ])ublick ministry arrived. Thus 
 the Evangelist comjirises in few words a description 
 of the flourishing growth of tliat " liranch of Righte- 
 ousness," wliicb liad its ap|i(iintcd seasons, and wliicli 
 was excellent in idl the measures of its iucrease. The 
 sacred writer furnishes a testimony which extends itself 
 to all that jieriod, when the narrative is not filled vvitli 
 more jiarticular accounts. " The Child," suith the in- 
 s|iired historian, " grew, and waxed strong in spirit ; 
 filled with wisdom : and the grace of (iod was upon 
 him." This is abundantly suilicient to satisfy us, that 
 the early stages of our Lord's life were unswerable to 
 his sjiotless character, aiul conformable to those more 
 shining and distinguished jiarts of bis demeanour, 
 which are described for our jicrpetual regard, and com- 
 mended by every motive of gratitude and duty to our 
 faithful recolli ctions. Archttiucon Pott. 
 
 ' Till' .lecninl Siinilnij nflir the Kpiphiiny.^ 'Hie Gosi)el 
 mentions Christ's turning water into wine, by whieli 
 He manifested both his glory by the miracle, and his
 
 THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY. 10!) 
 
 let us wait on our ministerinj^ ; or 
 he that teacheth, on teaching- ; or 
 he that exhorteth, on exiiortation : 
 he that givetii, let him do it with 
 simplicity ; he that ruieth, with di- 
 ligence ; he that sheweth mercy, 
 with cheerfulness. Let love be with- 
 out dissimulation. Abhor that which 
 is evil, cleave to that which is good. 
 Be kindly affectioned one to another 
 with brotherly love, in honour pre- 
 ferring one another : not slothful in 
 business; fervent in spirit; serving 
 the Lord ; rejoicing in hope ; patient 
 in tribulation ; continuing instant in 
 prayer ; distributing to the necessity 
 of saints; given to hospitality. Bless 
 them which persecute you ; bless, 
 and curse not. Rejoice with them 
 that do rejoice, and weep with them 
 that weep. Be of the same mind 
 one towards another. Mind not high 
 things, but condescend to men of low 
 estate ^ 
 
 The Gospel. St. John ii. L 
 
 AND the third day there was a 
 marriage in Cana of Galilee, 
 and the mother of Jesus was there. 
 And both Jesus was called, and his 
 disciples, to the marriage. And when 
 
 goodness in ministering' to the necessities of others : to 
 which virtue the Epistle exhorts us, that whatsoever 
 gifts we have, we should use them as Christ did, to the 
 good and benefit of others. The Collect, as diverse 
 others, recommends to God the supjiUcations of the 
 people, &c. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 " This Epistle begins where that of the foregoing 
 Sunday ended ; in the close of which the apostle makes 
 a comparison between the mystical body of Christ's 
 Church and the body natural : wherein as there are 
 many members, and alt members have not the same ofHce, 
 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every 
 one members one of another. Then follows the Epistle 
 for this day : in which we may observe, 1. Tlie different 
 offices and functions, wherein Christ hath set the seve- 
 ral members of 'his Church, according to the different 
 raeasiu'es of grace given to them. 2. We may observe, 
 that, as God hath placed men in different offices and 
 functions, so hath He given different gifts and measiu'cs 
 of grace for the discharge of them. 3. We may ob- 
 serve the manner how these gifts are to be exercised, 
 that is, ^vith all fidelity and diligence, to the promotion of 
 God's glory, and the good of his Church and people. To 
 this end the apostle farther recommends several graces 
 and \Trtues, which will much help towards the faithful 
 discharge of these offices. Such as contentedness in our 
 station ; industry in our proper business ; mutual love 
 and respect ; a tender concern for the prosperous and 
 adverse fortunes of our fellow-Christians ; unity in 
 matters of religion ; and constancy and meekness under 
 persecutions and wrongs, 'llie cultivation of these 
 graces will assist us in the discharge of the offices in 
 which God hath placed us ; and will bring comfort to 
 
 they wanted wine, the mother of 
 Jesus saith unto him. They have 
 no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Wo- 
 man, what have I to do with thee ? 
 mine hour is not yet come. His 
 mother saith unto the servants, 
 Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. 
 And there were set there si.x water- 
 ])ots of stone, after the manner of 
 the purifying of the Jews, contain- 
 ing two or three firkins apiece. 
 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the 
 water-pots with water. And they 
 filled them up to the brim. And he 
 saith unto them. Draw out now, and 
 bear unto the governour of the feast. 
 And they bare it. When the ruler 
 of the feast had t;isted the water 
 that was made wine, and knew not 
 whence it was, (but the servants 
 which drew the water knew,) the 
 governour of the feast called the 
 bridegroom, and saith unto him. 
 Every man at the beginning doth set 
 forth good wine, and when men have 
 well drunk, then that which is worse: 
 but thou hast kept the good wine un- 
 til now. This beginning of miracles 
 did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and 
 manifested forth his glory, and his 
 disciples believed on him^ 
 
 us in this world, and happiness in the next. Dr. Hole, 
 Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ^ This passage of Scripture shews how little ground 
 there is for that stiff and precise temjier, which con- 
 demns all outward expressions of mirth by publick and 
 solemn entertainments. Our Lord's example hath jus- 
 tified such meetings of friends in more instances besides 
 this ; and indeed his life throughout is a pattern of 
 social virtues. Matt, ix ; Mark ii ; Luke xi. xiv. xix ; 
 John xii. And, provided the mirth be innocent, the 
 conversation inoffensive, the enjoyment of God's good 
 creatures moderate ; I think no considering man can 
 deny, but that they are capable of sernng many good 
 purposes ; and it is plain too, that they do not bring us 
 under any necessity of sin. So that, if any spiritual 
 inconvenience follow, the blame is not due to the things, 
 but to the abuse of them. And this is no more than 
 every thing else is Uable to, as well as these. Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 2. The first publick miracle of the Saviour of the 
 world graceth a marriage. It is an ancient and lauda- 
 ble institution, that the rites of matrimony shoiJd not 
 want a solemn celebration. \Mien are feasts in season, 
 if not at this main change of our est.ate, wherein the 
 joy of obtaining meets with the hope of fiu-ther com- 
 forts ? It was in all hkelihood some of their kindred, 
 to whose nuptial feast Jesus was invited so far : yet 
 was it more the honour of the act, than of the person, 
 that He intended. He, that made the first marriage in 
 paradise, bestows his first miracle upon a Galilean 
 marriage. He, that was the author of matrimony and 
 sanctified it, doth, by his holy presence, honour the 
 resemblance of his eternal union with his Church. How
 
 110 THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 A' 
 
 The third Sunday after the Epiphany'^, 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 L M I G H T Y ami everlasting 
 
 God, mercifully look upon our 
 
 Rom.T)ii.26. infirmities, and in all our dangers 
 
 and necessities stretch forth thy 
 
 Heb. iv. 15, right hand to help and defend us ; 
 
 Eiodfxl^'12; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Rom. xii. 16. 
 
 E not wise in your own con- 
 ceits. Recompense to no man 
 
 B 
 
 honourable must be the state of wedlock, when the Son 
 of God thus pleases to honour it ! Hajijiy is that wed- 
 ding, where Christ is a guest. Bp. Hall. 
 
 3. The miracle here recorded was wrought, as the 
 Evangelist declares, to " manifest forth his glory ;" and 
 to lay the ground of faith : for it immediately follows, 
 that " his disciples believed on him." The connexion 
 is strongly marked between the evidence proposed, and 
 the faith which was established upon that foundation. 
 AU the miracles of Christ were indeed performed for 
 publick notice and for general conviction : they were 
 designed to rank among the solid and perpetual proofs, 
 that He came forth from God ; and to serve therefore 
 as the fixed and never-failing grounds of faith, according 
 to om' Lord's reply to the disciples of John the Baptist, 
 Mutt. xi. 4, 5 ; and to his appeal, in terfns so plain, to 
 the captious Jews, John x. 37, 38. Thus does our 
 Lord Himself lead oiu- attention in the strongest man- 
 ner to one main pillar of our common hope : teaching 
 us at all times, from whence we are to draw some of 
 the leading proofs of the truth of that which we believe, 
 and of the certainty of our persuasion. Instead of high 
 pretensions, supported by no external demonstrations, 
 and attested by no publick facts ; instead of the plausi- 
 ble discourses of such as study to mislead the world 
 with false characters of inspiration, for which their own 
 word must be taken ; our Lord points directly to his 
 miracles. 'Iliey were seen of all; done in publick; 
 WTOught in the sight of thousands ; frequently repeated ; 
 ever serving to good pm-poses ; always calculated for 
 the best and noblest ends. Archdeacon Pott. 
 
 4. Another jiarticular to be insisted on is the peculiar 
 character and efBeacy of the miracle, by which it is here 
 said that " Jesus manifested forth his gloiy." The word 
 "glory-" was used by the Jews to signify the visible 
 marks of (iod's presence with them, in the tabernacle 
 first, and afterwards in the temjile. This signification 
 appears from different passages in the Old Testament, 
 and is recognized by the apostles in the New. So that 
 the word " glorj-," applied to Christ, denotes the same 
 (Jod to have exliibited Himself in this Person, who 
 formerly exliibited Himself to the Jews in their temple. 
 And, by " manifesting forth bis glory," we are to un- 
 derstand, that (,'hrist did something, which plainly 
 proved bis power to be divine ; and argued the actual 
 presence of God with, and in, bis human body. 
 
 And, who indeed less than (iod could have the crea- 
 tures of tliis lower world so absolutely at his disposal, 
 as to make them start from their fixed laws of being, 
 and chiinge their natures and (pialities in an instant? 
 He only could repeal tliese laws, who nmde tliem. He 
 only could alter their forms, who at first app(jinted 
 tlietn. And when this Wiis done, witlioiit invoking the 
 ftid of any liijjher power, it was an evidence of no liigher 
 
 evil for evil. Provide things honest 
 in the sight of all men. If it be pos- 
 sible, as much as lieth in you, live 
 peaceably with all men. Dearly be- 
 loved, avenge not yourselves, but 
 rather give place unto wrath ; for it 
 is written. Vengeance is mine ; I will 
 repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if 
 thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he 
 thirst, give him drink : for in so doing 
 thou shalt heap coals of fire on his 
 head. Be not overcome of evil, but 
 overcome evil with good''. 
 
 power to have recourse to. It shewed the authority, 
 by which He did it, to be supreme, as well as the crea- 
 tm'es, upon which such authority was exercised, to be 
 entirely his own. Deaii Stanhope. 
 
 It was on account of these words, that this Gospel 
 was appointed by the Church, for one of the Gospels 
 to be read and pubUshed in the time of Epiphany, 
 which gives the name to all these five Sundays. For 
 Epiphany is nothing else, but the manifesting forth of 
 Christ's glory and deity, whereof this Gospel is a testi- 
 mony. And because it was the first Epiphany, that 
 He made so of Himself after his baptism, and begin- 
 ning to preach, therefore was it also appointed to be 
 the second lesson at even upon the day of Epiphany 
 itself. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 ' The third Sunday after the Epiphany.'] The Collect 
 for this day puts us in mind of the sad and calamitous 
 estate of this life, and therefore prays .-Vlmighty God for 
 help and defence. The Epistle for the day gives us 
 many usefid rules to be observed in order to that end. 
 Indeed tliis whole chapter, of which the Epistle is a part, 
 contains many excellent precepts both divine and moral, 
 to direct us in the whole course of our life ; and there- 
 fore the Church hath wisely selected them to be read in 
 tliree several portions, in the three following Sundays 
 after the Epiphany, that, having the bght, we may be 
 taught how to walk in it. Dr. Hole. 
 
 In the Gospel we have an account of two miracles 
 done by our blessed Saviour ; the one upon a leper, 
 whom He healed by a touch of his hand ; the other 
 u|)on a centurion's servant, whom He cm-ed by a word 
 of his mouth. Dr. Hole. 
 
 '' In conformity with the general tenour of his advice, 
 the apostle closes the chapter and the E])istle of the 
 day with this i)reccpt, " lie not overcome" &c. To be 
 overcome of evil, is to be so far exasperated by it, as to 
 be moved to return and avenge it ; which shews it to 
 ha\c got the mastery of us, and put us beside our pa- 
 tience, liy this a man is brouglit in bondage to his 
 jjassions, and becomes a slave and vassal to his vile 
 affections ; for " of whom a man is overcome, of him 
 he is bro\igbt in bondage." 
 
 'I'o overcome evil with good, is to conquer other in- 
 juries by acts of mercy and kindness, and to retiu-n no- 
 thing but good for the evil that is done to us ; which 
 shews that we keep the mastery of ourselves, and cannot 
 be shocked by the assaidts of any adversaries. Thus 
 "to overcome evil with good" is the noblest of all vic- 
 tories ; " it is the glory of a man (saith Solomon) to pass 
 by an offence ;" and " he tliat governs his passions, is 
 greater than he that ruklb a city." For tliese things 
 we cannot |iropoimd to ourselves a higher and better 
 pattern than tliat of our Saviour, who overcame the 
 greatest evils with the greatest good ; and in the end.
 
 THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY. HI 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mattli. viil. 1. 
 
 WHEN he was come down 
 from tlic inoiiiitaiii, jj^reat 
 multitudes followed liim. And he- 
 liold, there came a le])er and wor- 
 shipped him, saying, Lord, if thou 
 wilt, thou canst make me clean. 
 And Jesus put fortli his hand, and 
 touched him, sayinij, I will ; be thou 
 clean. And immediately his leprosy 
 was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto 
 him, See thou tell no man, but go 
 thy way, shew thyself to the priest, 
 and oft'er the gift that Moses com- 
 manded, for a testimony unto them. 
 And when Jesus was entered into 
 Capernaum, there came unto him 
 a centurion beseeching him, and 
 saying. Lord, my servant lieth at 
 home sick of the palsy, grievously 
 tormented. And Jesus saith unto 
 him, I will come and heal him. The 
 centurion answered and said, Lord, 
 I am not worthy that thou shouldest 
 
 for enduring the cross, was rewarded with a crown ; and 
 we too, by patient continuance in well-doing, shall 
 receive eternal life. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' From the Gospel of this day we may learn the fol- 
 lowing useful lessons : — 
 
 1. From Christ's healing the' leper and the cen- 
 turion's servant we may learn the great goodness of our 
 Saviour in not withholding his miraculous and healing 
 power from the meanest objects. The leper here is sup- 
 posed to be a poor [)erson, having none to present or 
 accompany him : but he was drawn only by the strength 
 of his faith, and the exigence of his distem])er. And the 
 centurion's servant, we may well think, was not much 
 better, though he had a good master to intercede for him. 
 However Christ readily exerted his power, and extended 
 his goodness in healing both. 
 
 2. From Christ's supporting his doctrine by miracles, 
 we may farther learn his great care and kindness for our 
 souls, that He leaves no means unattempted for oiu' 
 conviction and salvation. Indeed the excellence and use- 
 fulness of his doctrine, if well considered, are sufficient 
 to beget and increase oxw faith in Him ; and his word 
 alone, if duly attended to, and observed, is enough to 
 bring us to eternal life. But lest any should think that 
 a deceiver might publish as plausible a doctrine, and 
 that none is to be believed upon his bare word. He 
 thought fit to add those mighty and miraculous works, 
 that were abundantly sufficient to confu'm the truth of 
 all that He said. Dr. Hole. 
 
 3. In his healing of the leprosy, it may be remarked, 
 that there is some peculiarity. In the law of Moses there 
 are very peculiar directions given concerning the treat- 
 ment of lepers, and a ceremonial appointed for the exa- 
 mination of them by the priest, when they were sup- 
 posed to be cured. But no natural remedy is prescribed 
 by Moses for the cure of it. It was considered by the 
 Jews as a disease sent by God, and to be cured only 
 by his interposition. There could not therefore be a 
 stronger proof of oiu- .Saviour's dinne power, than h s 
 curing this most loathsome disease, of which many in- 
 stances, besides this, occiu' in the Gospels. The manner 
 
 come under my roof; but speak the 
 word only, and my servant shall be 
 healed. For I am a man under 
 authority, having soldiers umkr me : 
 and 1 say unto this man. Go, aiul he 
 goeth ; and to another. Come, and 
 he Cometh ; and to my servant. Do 
 this, and lie doeth it. When Jesus 
 heard it, he marvelled, and said to 
 them that followed. Verily I say unto 
 you, I have not found so great faith, 
 no not in Israel. And I say rnito 
 you. That many shall come from the 
 east and west, and shall .sit down 
 with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
 in the kingdom of heaven. But the 
 children of the kingdom shall be 
 cast out into outer darkne.ss : there 
 shall be weeping and gnashing of 
 teeth. And Jesus said unto the cen- 
 turion. Go thy way, and as thou hast 
 believed, so be it done unto thee. 
 And his servant was healed in the 
 selfsame hour ^ 
 
 too in which He performed this cure was equally an evi- 
 dence that "in him dwelt all the fulness of the God- 
 head bodily," Col. ii. 9 : it was instantaneous, with a 
 touch and a few words, and those words the most sub- 
 lime and dignified that can be imagined ; " I will ; be 
 thou clean ;" and immediately the leprosy departed from 
 him. 'Iliis was plainly the language, as well as the act 
 of God. "I mil; be thou clean." Bp. Porteus. 
 
 Lastly, The short and edifying history of the Roman 
 centurion a]ipeai-s to have been recorded, first, to give a 
 most striking evidence of our Saviour's divine power, 
 which enabled Him to restore the centurion's servant to 
 health at a distance, and without so much as seeing him ; 
 and, then, to set before us, in the character of the cen- 
 turion, an illustrious example of those eminent Chris- 
 tian virtues, humanity and charity, piety and generosity, 
 humihty and faith. Such were the virtues that distin- 
 guished Him : and from the contemplation of his cha- 
 racter we may remark, 
 
 1 . That the miracles of our Lord had the fullest credit 
 given to them, not only, as is sometimes asserted, by low, 
 obscure, ignorant, and illiterate men, but by men of rank 
 and character, by men of the world, by men perfectly 
 competent to ascertain the truth of any facts presented to 
 their observation, and not likely to be imposed upon by 
 false pretences. Of this description were the centurion 
 here mentioned, the Roman pro-consul .Sergius Paulus, 
 Dionysius a member of the Sujjreme court of Areopagus 
 at Athens, and several others of equal dignity and con- 
 sequence. 
 
 2. The history of the centurion teaches us, that there 
 is no situation of life, no occupation, no profession, how- 
 ever unfavourable it may ajipear to the cultivation of 
 religion, which precludes the possibihty or exempts us 
 from the obligation of acquiring those good dispositions, 
 and exercising those Christian \irtues, which the Gos- 
 pel requires. To all pretences to the contrarj', whatever 
 they may be, the instance of the centurion is a direct, 
 complete, and satisfactory answer. His profession was 
 that, which of all others is generally considered as most 
 adverse to rehgious sentaments and habits ; most con-
 
 112 THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 . 17, 
 
 Ps. xciv, 
 18. 22 1 
 xxxix. 4. 
 Mic. vii. 2. 
 El>h. vi. 10. 
 H. 
 
 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
 
 The fourth Sunday after the Epi- 
 pliany f. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 OGod, who kiiouest us to be set 
 in the midst of so many and 
 jjjreat dangers, that by reason of the 
 frailty of our nature we cannot al- 
 ways stand upright ; Grant to us 
 such strength and protection, as may 
 support us in all dangers, and carry 
 us tiirough all temptations ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Rom. xiii. 1. 
 
 LET every soul be subject unto 
 the higher powers : for tliere is 
 no power but of God : the powers 
 that be are ordained of God. Who- 
 soever therefore resisteth the power 
 resisteth the ordinance of God : and 
 they that resist shall receive to them- 
 selves damnation. For rulers are not 
 a terror to good works, but to the 
 evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid 
 of the power? do that which is good, 
 and thou shalt have praise of the 
 same : for he is the minister of God 
 to thee for good. But if thou do 
 that which is evil, be afraid : for he 
 beareth not the sword in vain : for he 
 is the minister of God, a revenger 
 
 trary to the peaceful, humane, and gentle spirit of the 
 Gospel ; and most exposed to the fascination of gaiety, 
 pleasure, thoughtlessness, and dissipauon. Yet amidst 
 these obstructions to purity of heart, to mildness of dis- 
 ])osition, and sanctity of manners, we see this illustrious 
 centurion rising above all the disadvantages of his situa- 
 tion ; and, instead of sinking into vice and irrcligion, 
 becoming a model of piety and humility, and of all those 
 virtues which necessarily spring from such principles, 
 'lliis is an unanswerable proof, that, whenever men 
 abandon themselves to impiety, infidelity, and (irolligacy, 
 the fault is not in the situation, but in the heart ; and 
 that there is no mode of life, no employment or profes- 
 sion, which may not, if we please, be made consistent 
 with a sincere belief in the (iospel, and with the practice 
 of every duty we owe to our Maker, our Redeemer, oitf 
 fellow-creatures, and ourselves. /)/). Porteiis. 
 
 ' The fnurlli Siintlny (iflcr the Epiphany.] The Col- 
 lect for the dav reminds us of the many and great 
 dangers, with whidi (iod knows us to be surrounded; 
 and teaches us to pr.ay to Ilim for strength and jiro- 
 teetion. 'I'he lOpistle directs us to the great duly of 
 subjection to our superiors, as a good means of procur- 
 ing tlieir protection, and preventing the many and great 
 evils and dangers of resistance. The Gospel reminds us 
 of other dangers, and of another way of escaping them : 
 namely, by having recourse to (iod, who is ever ready to 
 hear lis, and dcHver us out of all our troubles. Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 ' It is much to be observed, how, in all tlie ancient 
 apologies for our religion, we find tlie authors ])articu- 
 larly careful to pnive the (iospel, as it reallv is, the 
 greatest security to all temporal jurisdiction ; the surest 
 
 to execute wrath upon him that 
 doeth evil. Wherefore ye must 
 needs be subject, not only for wrath, 
 but also for conscience sake. P^or 
 for this cause pay ye tribute also : 
 for they are God's ministers, attend- 
 ing continually upon this very thing. 
 Render therefore to all their dues ; 
 tribute to whom tribute is due, cus- 
 tom to whom custom, fear to whom 
 fear, honour to whom honour s. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. viii. 23. 
 
 AN D when he was entered into 
 a ship, his disciples followed 
 him. And, behold, there arose a 
 great tempest in the sea, insomuch 
 that the ship was covered with the 
 waves : but he was asleep. And his 
 disciples came to him, and awoke 
 him, saying. Lord, save us, we 
 perish. And he saith unto them, 
 Why are ye fearful, O ye of little 
 faith ? Then he arose, and rebuked 
 the winds and the sea, and there 
 was a great calm. But the men 
 marvelled, saying, What manner of 
 man is this, tliat even the winds and 
 the sea obey him ! And when he 
 was come to the other side into the 
 country of the Gergesenes, there 
 
 promoter and best preserver of publick order and quiet ; 
 the strongest support of kings, and the most effectual 
 restraint upon sidyects. Few arguments were urged 
 more frequently ; few, we have reason to believe, con- 
 tributed more successfully to recommend this religion 
 to the general good acceptance of the world, than the 
 manifest tendency it had to the safety and welfare of 
 mankind ; the jiarticular instructions it gave, the 
 weighty obligations and motives it enforced them with, 
 and the unparalleled e.ianiides it e\-ery day |)rocured, for 
 containing all sorts of men within the liounds of tlieir 
 jiropcr station and duty ; for rendering them useful and 
 servicealile to society and government ; for a zealous 
 and active obedience to their sujieriors in all lawful in- 
 stances ; and for meek and patient sufTering under even 
 unjust oppressions, rather than tliey would become in- 
 struments of disturbing the peace of the publick, or 
 that of their o\\'n ccmscicnces. 
 
 St. Paul in tliis passage treats of the matter at large. 
 He declares the nature of tlie duty injoined, the univer- 
 sality of its obligation ; tlie reasons njion wliieh that 
 o!)hgation is founded ; the danger of refusing to comjily 
 witli it ; the equity of making it good ; the particular 
 instances whereby it ought to be expressed. And all 
 these he declares to be, not merely matters of secular 
 convenience, or Cliristian ]irudence ; but a part of reli- 
 gion, and such as directly bind the cimscience. Tins 
 is the substance of the doctrine ccmtained in the 
 Kpistle of the day : and were this doctrine duly at- 
 tended to, it would lie an excellent rule of behaviour, 
 and of infinite importance to the welfare of all the 
 world, both for this life and for the ne.\t. Dean Slan- 
 hopc.
 
 THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 li;} 
 
 met liim two possessed with devils, 
 comiiiir out of tiie tombs, exceeding 
 fierce, so tiuit no man mi^lit pass 
 by that way. And behold, they 
 cried out, sayinjj;. What have we to 
 do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of 
 God ? art thou come hither to tor- 
 ment us before the time ? And there 
 was a good way off from them an 
 herd of many swine, feeding. So 
 the devils l)esought him, saying. If 
 thou cast lis out, suffer us to go 
 away into the herd of swine. And 
 he said unto them. Go. And vvlien 
 they were come out, they went into 
 the herd of swine : and behold, the 
 
 ' This Gospel, in the former of the two miracles re- 
 counted by it, sets before us a lively emblem of God's 
 dealing with his servants ; and a plain intimation, both 
 what those servants are to expect from Him, and what 
 they are to do to justify their dependence upon Him. 
 Violent shakings and strong convidsions ai-e incident 
 to the fortunes, not of private men only, but of com- 
 mvmities and kingdoms. ITiis is the lot of the best, of 
 tlie greatest, of the Church, of the whole world. God 
 hath no where engaged to keep off assaults and temjita- 
 tions ; He thinks it encouragement enough to sustain 
 us under, to succour us in, and, at his own due time, 
 to deliver us out of, our dangers and distresses. When 
 therefore these attack us, either in our personal or our 
 l)ublick capacity, our business must he to seek his pro- 
 tection, by earnest and constant prayer; and thus to 
 silence all those \vicked distrusts which frail nature, the 
 ])revalence of sensual affections, and the extremity of 
 afflictions, are too apt to betray us into : to remember, 
 that, though oiu'sclves are weak, yet our Redeemer is 
 mighty : that the " stormy wind," which cannot " rise " 
 but at his "word," shall, when He pleases to com- 
 mand, be immediately laid by it again : that He is dis- 
 ])osed to look upon our sufferings and infirmities with 
 a very tender eye : and, ])rovided we be not wanting 
 to our duty, He wUl accept that most pious and most 
 necessary prayer, which our Church, in allusion to the 
 passage now before us, hath taught us to put up this day. 
 
 Let us come therefore to the throne of grace in an 
 humble sense of " being set in the midst of so many 
 and great dangers, that, by reason of the frailty of our 
 nature, we cannot always stand upright ;" and may 
 He " grant us such strength and protection, as may sup- 
 jiort us in all dangers, and carry us through all tempta- 
 tions, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 2. With respect to the latter miracle : not long be- 
 fore, our Saviour had commanded the winds and waters, 
 and they could not l5ut obey Him : now He speaks in 
 the same language to the evil spirit : He intreats not. 
 He persuades not ; He commands. Command argues 
 superiority. He only is infinitely stronger than the 
 strong one in possession. Else, where powers are 
 matched, though witli some inequality, they struggle 
 for the victory ; and, ^vithout resistance, yield nothing. 
 What need have we to fear, while we are under so 
 omni])otent a Commander ? " The waves of the deep 
 rage horribly; yet the Lord is stronger than they." 
 Let those principalities and powers do their worst; 
 those mighty adversai-ies are under the command of 
 Hrm, who loved us so well as to bleed for us. What 
 
 whole lierd of swine ran violently 
 tlown a steep place into the sea, and 
 perished in the waters. And tliey 
 that kei)t them fled, and went their 
 ways into the city, and told every 
 thing, and what was befallen to the 
 ]iosse.ssed of the devils. And behold, 
 the whole city came out to meet 
 Jesus : and when they saw him, they 
 besought him, that he would depart 
 out of their coasts ''. 
 
 T lie fifth Sunday after the Epiphany '. 
 The Collect. 
 
 OLord, we beseech thee to keep 
 thy Clhurch and household con- Ei>h. u. la. 
 
 can we now doubt of? his power or his will? How 
 can we jjrofess Him a God, and doubt of his jiowcr ? 
 How can we profess Him a .Saviour, and doubt of his 
 will ? He both can and will command those infernal 
 ])Owers. We are no less safe than they are malicious. 
 
 3. The devil knew Christ to be God. In this we 
 may dare believe Him, though in nothing else : he 
 knew what he believed ; what he believed, that he con- 
 fessed, "Jesus, thou Son of the most high God ;" to 
 the confusion of those semi-Christians ; that have 
 either held doubtfully, or ignorantly misknown, or 
 Ijlasphemously denied, what the very devils have pro- 
 fessed. Bj). Hall. 
 
 4. In the concluding part of this narrative we per- 
 ceive an instance of mean and obdurate folly, which 
 can scarcely be suqiassed. We behold tlie inhabitants 
 of a whole city coming forth, with deliberate j)urposes, 
 to oppose the entrance of a messenger from God, who 
 had already given proof of his divine commission by 
 working a signal miracle among them. We see them, 
 without questioning the fact, or disputing his authority, 
 desiring this illustrious guest not to approach any 
 nearer to their dwellings, and iutreating Him to depart 
 out of their coasts. What was this, but with fair 
 words to request the messenger of truth to leave them 
 to their beloved darkness, and not to disturb them in 
 their sordid habits, or their vain ])ursuits ? The mo- 
 tives which induced them to make this request, when 
 they should have run with joy to meet one who came 
 in the name and with the power of God, are e\-ident 
 enough. They were founded in the most narrow and 
 disgraceful dispositions, by which men could be go- 
 verned. It is manifest from their whole demeanour, 
 that the people of this city were so wedded to idolatries 
 and to those bad habits, which are always cou])lcd with 
 idolatry, that they could not endure to heai- what might 
 be said, to persuade them to turn from the ways of 
 error and delusion to the worship and service of the 
 living God. They dreaded, no doubt, that call to re- 
 pentance, which would require them to forsake their 
 sins, and to follow righteousness and truth, in order 
 that the final measure of God's just indignation might 
 not fall upon them. They feared to he informed, that 
 the jjeriod of God's long-suffering was now drawn to 
 its close; and that they must indeed take up a new 
 course, or from thencefoVth look for judgment without 
 mercy in the day of doom. That %ve may convert 
 this conduct of the Gergesenes to our profit, let us 
 first impress upon our minds the guilt and misery of 
 so base a temper, as that which was displayed in this 
 sordid people ; and let us then put ourselves upon our
 
 114 THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 Ps. XIV. 5 
 Matt. xlii. 
 25. 38. 
 
 tinually in thy true religion ; that 
 
 they who do lean only upon the hope 
 
 iTim.il'. 10. of thy heav'enly grace may evermore 
 
 2 Cor. xii. 9. |jg defended by thy mighty power ; 
 
 throutfh Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Col. iii. 12. 
 
 PUT on therefore, as the elect 
 of God, holy and beloved, 
 bowels of mercies, kindness, hum- 
 bleness of mind, meekness, long- 
 suffering ; forbearing one another, 
 and forgiving one another, if any 
 man have a quarrel against any ; 
 even as Christ forgave you, .so also 
 do ye. And above all these things 
 put on charity, which is the bond of 
 perfectness. And let the peace of 
 God rule in your hearts, to the which 
 also ye are called in one body ; and 
 be ye thankful. Let the word of 
 Chri^t dwell in you richly in all 
 wisdom, teaching and admonishing 
 one another in psalms, and hymns, 
 and spiritual songs, singing with 
 grace in your hearts to the Lord. 
 And whatsoever ye do, in word or 
 deed, do all in the Name of the 
 
 guard against all those steps and advances, which may 
 tend to encourage that disgraceful state of mind and 
 disposition. Farther, let us court and embrace all 
 oijjjortunities which can help to endear the great truths 
 of religion to our hearts, for then we shall adhere to 
 them with joy and readiness, whatever be our present 
 circumstance or condition ; we shall not shrink back 
 from them with terror and alarm ; but we shall cherish 
 tliem witli fondness, and regard them at all times with 
 dehght. Thus shall we make a wiser choice than these 
 (jergesenes, never failing to remember, that when 
 Christ, the merciful Redeemer, is welcomed to our 
 borders, when He is entertained in his word and sacra- 
 ments, in his precepts and assurances'; then also will 
 every benefit be received together with Him ; every 
 promise, every consolation, every good gift, every 
 pledge of perfect happiness and everlasting glory. 
 Architeacnn Pott. 
 
 ' The fifth Sunday after the Epiphany.'] llie four 
 precedent Sundays have manifested Christ's glory to us 
 in part, by the iniraclts He wrought while He conversed 
 with us on earth : the (i<i,spul for this day numtions 
 his second coming to judgment when He sliall ajijiear 
 in his full glory, and all the holy angels with Him ; 
 which glorious appearance, as it will l)e dreadful to 
 those who have resembled the tares, for they shall then 
 be burned with un(|uen(hable fire : so it will be a joy- 
 ful appearance to such us the Kpistle persuades us to 
 be, namely, the meek, and gentle, and cliarital)le. And 
 the Collect is for such, praying <iod " to keep his 
 Church and household continually in the true religion, 
 &c." Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 '' The best improvement to be made of this day's 
 Epistle is liy labouring to adi>rn our souls with tlie 
 graces, virtiu-s, and excellent (pialilies whicli it recom- 
 mends : for instar , to put on the mo.st tender " mercy, 
 
 coniposiiionj and kindness" towards others, and " bum- 
 
 Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God 
 and the Father by him ^. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. xiii. 24. 
 
 TH E kingdom of heaven is 
 likened unto a man which sowed 
 good seed in his field. But while 
 men slept, his enemy came and sowed 
 tares among the wheat, and went 
 his way. But when the blade was 
 sprung up, and brought forth fruit, 
 then appeared the tares also. So 
 the servants of the householder came, 
 and said unto him, Sir, didst not 
 thou sow good seed in thy field ? 
 from whence then hath it tares ? He 
 said unto them. An enemy hath done 
 this. The servants said unto him. 
 Wilt thou then that we go and gather 
 them up ? But he said. Nay ; lest 
 while ye gather up the tares, ye root 
 up also the wheat with them. Let 
 both grow together until the harvest; 
 and in the time of harvest I will say 
 to the reapers. Gather ye together 
 first the tares, and bind them in 
 bundles to burn them : but gather 
 the wheat into my barn '. 
 
 bleness of mind" in respect of ourselves. This is a 
 raiment which will never wa.Y old ; nor is any thing 
 more becoming to a Christian than " the ornament of a 
 meek and quiet spirit." Again, let us put on patience 
 and '• long-suffering," under all the evils and siifferings 
 that may befal us : \\hich is the best way to make them 
 sit easy on us, and will make them soonest pass away. 
 
 Moreover we are e.\horted here to " forbear one an- 
 other," not breaking out into hasty and violent pas- 
 sions, not straining matters to the utmost rigour and 
 severity of the laws, hut bearing with one another's 
 infirmities, and using a conscience and moderation in 
 all our ways and dealings with each other, and hkewise 
 " forgiving one another," if any diiference shall arise, 
 not studying revenge, or rendering evil for evil, hut by 
 Christ's example, as well as jirecept, forbearing and 
 forgiving one another, lint because charity is the 
 Sinn and perfection of all other graces, let us above all 
 things ])ut on that " bond of perfectness," which will 
 make us perfect and complete, lacking nothing ; for 
 that will procure and ])reservc ])i'ace both with God 
 and man ; and if that rule and govern our hearts, it 
 will beget and keep a lasting peace there likewise. 
 2. As a means to attain all these graces, let us set a 
 high price and value on the word of (Jod, and suffer it 
 to dwell in us richly in all wisdom ; for it is by the 
 heavenly seed of (iod's word that those graces are 
 liegotten in us. To which let us add, :>. The singing 
 of ]iHaluis aiul other hyums, and spiritual songs, making 
 melody in our hearts unto Cod. This is the way pre- 
 scrilied for our praising of (iod here on earth, and it is 
 that which can l)cst lit anil ])repare us to sing forth his 
 praises for ever in heaven. Kiiially, in all our actions 
 let us have regard to the honour of our .Maker, " that 
 whetlur we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we may do 
 all to tlu^ praise and glory of (iod through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord." Dr. Hole.
 
 THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY. 115 
 
 1 John iii. 8. 
 
 John i. 12. 
 Tit. iii. 4. 7. 
 Gal. iv. 4—6. 
 Heb. i. 4. 
 
 1 John iii. 3. 
 
 I John iii. 2. 
 Phil. iii. 21. 
 Heb. i. 8. 
 Matt. xaiv. 
 30. 
 
 The sixth Simdnij after the Epi- 
 jjliany^". 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 OGod, wliosc hlcssed Son was 
 maiiitestod tliat he might de- 
 stroy the works of the devil, and 
 maiie us the sons of God, and heirs 
 of eternal life ; Grant us, we beseech 
 thee, that, having this hope, we may 
 purify ourselves, even as he is pure"; 
 tliat, when he shall appear again 
 with power and great glory, we may 
 be made like unto liim° in his eter- 
 nal and glorious kingdom ; where 
 with thee, O Fatlier, and thee, O 
 Holy Ghost, he liveth and reigneth, 
 ever one God, world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 St. John iii. 1. 
 
 BEHOLD, what manner of love 
 the Father hath bestowed upon 
 us, that we should be called the 
 sons of God : therefore the world 
 
 ' The true import of the concluding words of this 
 Gospel, and the principal lesson to be drawn from the 
 whole parable, is this : that God hath fixed a day, in 
 which He will judge the world : a day, the proceedings 
 of which shall make a distinction between the righte- 
 ous and the wicked ; a perfect distinction, and such as 
 the condition of this world cannot admit. Tliat the 
 punishment of the damned, intimated by binding and 
 burning the tares, will be irreversible and extreme, such 
 as can leave the good no room for envying, or grudg- 
 ing, the now boasted pro.sperity of the ungodly. That 
 the distribution of final rewards and punishment is 
 therefore a royalty pecuhar to God, which He lets no 
 other into : that the time of that distribution is in a 
 future state : that such a time will in the course of things 
 as certainly come, as in nature a harvest follows a seed 
 time ; and that the reason, why it is not yet come, is 
 because matters are not yet ripe for it. So that upon 
 the whole, so long as forbearance can be any way of 
 service, either to the persons on whom it is immediately 
 exercised, or to any others by their influence or exam- 
 ple, so long it is continued ; but, when these uses cease, 
 and mercy hath done its part, then vengeance shall 
 succeed. The good corn shall be parted from the re- 
 fuse, and each assigned to a place worthy of it : the one 
 laid up as a valuable treasure in the granary of this 
 heavenly householder ; the other cast out as a nuisance, 
 no longer to be endured, and burnt in indignation, as 
 unquenchable as the fire into which it is cast. All 
 which considered, men have reason to be contented 
 with God's OMTi methods, and his own time, and should 
 not throw out rash censures of Providence, nor desire 
 to hasten a justice, that will take care to do itself right. 
 And this shall be done effectually, in its proper season, 
 to the entire satisfaction of e\'ery good man, and the 
 eternal confusion of all oljstinate and incorrigible sin- 
 ners ; when all mankind shall see abundant reason to 
 join in that celestial song of Moses and the Lamb, 
 " Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Al- 
 mighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of 
 saints," Rev. xv. 3. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 knowetii us not, liocause it knew 
 him not. lieloved, now are we the 
 sons of God, and it doth not yet 
 appear what we shall lie : but we 
 know, that, when ho shall appear, 
 we shall be like him ; for we shall 
 see him as he is. And every man 
 that hath this hope in him purifieth 
 himself, even as he is pure. Whoso- 
 ever committeth sin transgresseth 
 also the law : for sin is the trans- 
 gression of the law. And ye know 
 that he was manifested to take away 
 our sins ; and in him is no sin. 
 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth 
 not : whosoever sinneth hath not 
 seen him, neither known him. Little 
 children, let no man deceive you : 
 he that doeth righteousness is right- 
 eous, even as he is righteous. He 
 that committeth sin is of the devil : 
 for the devil sinneth from the begin- 
 ning. For this purpose the Son of 
 God was manifested, that he might 
 destroy the works of the devil p. 
 
 " Tlie sixth Sunday after the Epiphany.'] The Collect, 
 Epistle, and Gospel for this day were all added at the 
 last review ; till which time, if there happened to be six 
 Sundays after the Ejiiphany, the Collect, &c. for the 
 fifth Sunday were repeated. Wheatly. 
 
 The Collect and E[)istle for this day remind us of 
 the two great ends of Christ's manifestation in the 
 flesh ; namely, that He might destroy the works of the 
 devil, and make us the sons of God. The Gos])el 
 warns us against false Christs and false projjhets, who 
 come for other and contrary ends ; namely, to make us 
 slaves of Satan, and to promote his works. Dr. Hole. 
 
 " — we may purify ourseloes, even as he is pure ;] St. 
 John teaches us, that " every man that hath this hope 
 in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure," 1 John 
 iii. 3. The Church therefore justly prays, that "we 
 may purify ourselves, even as our Saviour Christ is 
 pure;" that is, may endeavour, as far as oiu' frail 
 nature will allow us, to imitate his purity. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 " — nice unto /n'm] 'lliat is, glorious as He is, as to 
 his human nature now in heaven ; though not in the 
 same degree, yet with the same kind of glory. Dr. 
 Bennet. 
 
 p The purpose of this day's Epistle is to teach us, 
 I . to admire and adore the infinite love and goodness 
 of God in making us his sons, and taking us into so 
 near and dear a relation to Himself. Tliis St. John 
 could not here speak of without ecstasy and amaze- 
 ment : " Behold ! what manner of love is this," what 
 unparalleled, what unspeakable, what undeserved love, 
 is this, "that we should be called the sons of God !" 
 And St. Paul elsewhere, like one in a rapture, cries out, 
 " O the height and de])th, and length and breadth, 
 of" this "love of God that passeth knowledge," Eph. 
 iii. 18. 
 
 2. Let the apprehension hereof beget in us a hvely 
 hope of the far greater bhss and happiness that will fol- 
 low after it ; for we cannot now take the full dimensions 
 of this great privilege. At present let us fill our minda 
 with well-grounded hopes, and rest assured of the full 
 and speedy accomphshraent of them. 
 I 2
 
 116 
 
 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 The Gospel St. Mattb. xxiv. 23. 
 
 THEN if any man shall say 
 unto yon, Lo, here is Christ, 
 or there ; believe it not. For there 
 shall arise false Christs, and false 
 prophets, and shall shew great sii^ns 
 and wonders; insomuch that (it it 
 were possible) they shall deceive 
 the very elect. Behold, I have told 
 you before. Wherefore, if they shall 
 say unto you, Behold, he is in the 
 desert ; go not forth : behold, he is 
 in the secret chambers ; believe it 
 not. For as the lightning cometh 
 out of the east, and shineth even 
 unto the west ; so shall also the 
 coming of the Son of INIan be. For 
 wheresoever the carcase is, there 
 will the eagles be gathered together. 
 Immediately after the tribulation 
 of those days shall the sun be 
 darkened, and the moon shall not 
 
 3. Let this hope teach us to purify ourselves, " even 
 as he is pure," that we may be meet to be received into 
 the undefiled regions ; let us endeavour to be hke God, 
 that we may be fit to enjoy Him. To attain which, 
 let us, 
 
 4. Beware of committing any wilful and deUberate 
 sin, against the light of God's laws, and the dictates of 
 our own conscience ; for that will forfeit this high 
 privilege, and make us the children of the devil, and 
 not the sons of God. 
 
 Lastly, let us abandon all the works of the devil, 
 which Christ came to destroy, and pray for all those 
 fruits of the Spirit, that He came to plant in our hearts ; 
 so shall we that are now sons be made meet partakers 
 of the inheritance of the saints in light. Dr. Hole. 
 
 1 From the warning here given against false Christs 
 and false prophets, we may learn to take the good ad- 
 vice here and elsewhere gi\-en to us, " not to believe 
 everj- si)irit," but to '• beware of false prophets " and 
 " false teachers, many whereof are gone abroad in the 
 world." To prevent the being imposed upon by them, 
 St. John directs, " to try the sjiirits whether they be of 
 God," 1 John iv. 1 : that is, to bring the doctrine and 
 principles of all such pretenders to the test of holy 
 Scripture, the only infallible standard and measure of 
 divine truths. "'I'o tlie livw and to the testimony," 
 saith the jirophet isaiah, " if they sjieak not according 
 to this word, it i.s because there is no light in them," 
 Isa. viii. 20. But because all sects tpiote Scrijiturc for 
 tlieir o])inions, and pretend to h.avc the word of God on 
 their side, we must remember, that all ]iersons are not 
 qualilied to interjiret the word of (jod ; and that, if any 
 take upon them to expound it, without any ollice, pai'ts, 
 or call thereunto, it is no wonder if they mistake error 
 for trutli, and put darkness for light. The ajiostle .St. 
 I'eter tells us, that " the imlcarncd nud unstable wrest 
 the Scriptures to tlieir own destruction," 2 I'et. iii. 10. 
 And therefore they are to rccei\'c the instructions of 
 those that are appointed to teach them ; it is " the 
 priest's lips that jirescrvc knowledge, and the people 
 arc to seek the law at bis uioutli," Mai. ii. 7. 
 
 2. From the sail fate of .lerusalcm, by the destruction 
 both of tlu; city and temple, we may learn to avoid 
 those Dfovoking sins that occasioned it. The sins of 
 
 give her light, and the stars shall 
 fall from heaven, and the powers of 
 the heavens shall be shaken. And 
 then shall appear the sign of the 
 Son of Man in heaven : and then 
 shall all the tribes of the earth 
 mourn, and they shall see the Son of 
 Man coming in the clouds of heaven, 
 with power and great glory. And 
 he shall send his angels with a great 
 sound of a trumpet, and they shall 
 gather together his elect from the 
 four winds, from one end of heaven 
 to the other "i. 
 
 The Sunday called Sejjtiiagesima, or 
 the third Sunday before Lenf. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 OLord, we beseech thee favour- 
 al)ly to hear the prayers of thy 
 that we, who are justly pu- 
 
 peopi 
 
 Ps. Ixxx. 3, 4. 
 Lam. iii. 39. 
 
 Jerusalem were obstinate impenitence and infidelity, 
 the abuse of God's mercies and a wilful resisting of all 
 the means of reclaiming her; the Jews would take no 
 warning, but resolutelj' withstood all the methods both 
 of mercy and justice. This was the occasion of their 
 misery, and this will be our fate too, if we walk in the 
 same ways ; and " except we repent," and turn from 
 om- sins unto God, " we shall all likewise perish." 
 
 Lastly, from the signs and certainty of an approach- 
 ing judgment, let us learn to look and prepare for it ; 
 not sajnng with the wicked servant, " Mv lord delays 
 his coming," and so neglecting all care and preparatiim 
 for Him ; but let us be always upon our watch lest He 
 come upon us iraawares ; let us make our accounts 
 ready, that vi'c may be able to yield them up with joy, 
 and not with grief; so shall we avoid the doom of 
 slothful, and receive the reward of good and faithful 
 servants, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 ' The Sunday called Septuagesima.'] Among the 
 several reasons given for the names of this and the two 
 following Sundays, the most ])robuble seems to be this : 
 the first Sunday in Lent, being forty days before Easter, 
 was for that reason called tiuadragesima Sunday, which 
 in Latin signifies forty; and fifty being the next round 
 number abo\'e forty, as sixty is to fifty, and seventy to 
 sixty ; therefore the Sunday immediately preceding 
 tiuadragesima Sunday, being farther from I'^uster than 
 tliat was, was called tluinquagcsinui (or fifty) Sunday, 
 which is also fifty days inclusive before F.aster; and 
 the two foregoing Sundays, being still farther distant, 
 were for the same reason called Sexagesima and Septua- 
 gesima (sLxty and seventy) Sundays. 
 
 2. The observation of these days and the weeks fol- 
 lowing appear to be as ancient as the times of Gregory 
 the Great. The design of them is to call us back from 
 our Christmas feasting and joy, in order to ])re])are oiu'- 
 sclves for fasting and humiliation, in the approaching 
 time of Lent; from tliinking of the manner of Christ's 
 coming into the world, to reflect upon the cause of it, 
 namely, our own sins and miseries; that so, being con- 
 vinced of the rcasonaliloncss of inuiishing and mortify- 
 ing ourselves for our sins, we may tlic more strictly 
 ami religiously ajiply ourselves to those duties when
 
 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 117 
 
 Vs. XXV. 7. 
 
 IN. cvi. 7, a. 
 
 41, 'ir). 
 
 iiisIuMi for our offences, may be mer- 
 cifully delivered by tliy g-oodiiess, for 
 the ^lory of thy Name : tliroiiij^h 
 Jesus Christ our Saviour, who liveth 
 and reigueth with thee and the Holy 
 Ghost, ever one God, world without 
 end. Amen. 
 
 The Ephtle. \ Cor. ix. 24. 
 
 KNOW ye not, that they which 
 run in a race run all, but one 
 receiveth the i>rize ? So run that 
 ye may obtain. And every man 
 that striveth for the mastery is tem- 
 perate in all things : now they do 
 it to obtain a corruptible crown, 
 but we an incorruptible. I there- 
 fore so run, not as uncertaiidy ; so 
 fight I, not as one that beateth the 
 air : but I keep under my body, 
 and bring it into subjection, lest 
 that by any means, when I have 
 preached to others, I myself should 
 be a cast-away ^ 
 
 the proper time for them comes. Some of the more 
 devout Christians observed the whole time, from the 
 first of these Sundays to Easter, as a season of humiha- 
 tion and fasting ; though the generaUty of the ]ieople 
 did not begin their fasts till Ash- Wednesday. Wlieathj. 
 
 The Collect for the day beseeches Almighty God 
 favourably to hear the prayers of his people, offered 
 uj) at these solemn seasons, and likewise mercifully to 
 deliver them from the just punishment of their sins, to 
 be now more jiarticularly confessed and lamented. Dr. 
 Hole. The Epistle persuades us to works of penitence 
 and holy mortification after St. Paul's exam[ile : and, 
 lest we should shrink from these hardships, it en- 
 courages us by pro])osing the rewards of these religious 
 e.\ercises, namely, a glorious and everlasting crown. 
 The (Jospel is much to the same purjiose : it tells us 
 that God's vineyard is no place for idle loiterers ; all 
 must work that will receive any reward : at the same 
 time it affords comfort and encouragement to those, 
 who have been previously negligent, liy assiu'ing them 
 of God's goodness, provided they will exert themselves 
 even now with diligence and sincerity. Bp. Sparrow, 
 IVhently. 
 
 ' To the race and the combat, prescribed in this pas- 
 sage, every man is called. And every man, if the fault 
 be not his own, may jirove victorious in it. That e.v- 
 jiression, of " one obtaining the prize," is not intended 
 liy St. Paul to lessen our hopes, but to encourage our 
 labours. It is meant to teach us, that the utmost we are 
 able to do is little enough, that the benefit we aim at 
 will recompense all our pains, and that each person, upon 
 that account, shoidd e.xert himself as \'igorously, and be 
 as careful not to be outdone by any other, as if only the 
 one best in the whole number could win the prize, that 
 all are striving for. Let us then (and God grant we may) 
 jiut forth our whole strength, fix our minds upon this 
 crown, and be continually ])ressing forward to it. Let 
 us not suffer our thoughts to be dissipated by imjjerti- 
 nence or vanity ; by any of the follies or the trifles, 
 which, upon ])retcnce of entertaining, woidd loosen them, 
 and break their force in this most necessary, as well as 
 
 The Go.ipcl. St. Matth. x.\. I. 
 
 TH E kingdom of heaven is like 
 unto a man that is an house- 
 holder, which went out early in the 
 morning to hire labourers into his 
 vineyard. And when he had agreed 
 with the labourers for a peny a day, 
 he sent them into his vineyard. And 
 he went out about the third hour, 
 and saw others standing idle in the 
 marketplace, and said unto them. 
 Go ye also into the vineyard, and 
 whatsoever is right I will give you. 
 And they went their way. Again 
 he went out about the sixth and 
 ninth hour, and did likewise. And 
 about the eleventh liour he went 
 out, and found others standing idle, 
 and saitli unto them. Why stand yc 
 here all the day idle ? They say 
 inito him. Because no man hath 
 hired us. He saith unto them, Go 
 ye also into the vineyard, and what- 
 soever is right, that shall ye receive. 
 
 most important affair. For we are not so much as at 
 liberty to engage in, or to stand clear of, this race and 
 combat. Were the choice left to us, yet not to come in 
 were to be undone : but that was happily made for us 
 long ago. We set out in this course, and were fisted 
 in this service at our baptism, and cannot retract with- 
 out desertion and apostasy. The greater reason is there, 
 why, having gone so far already, we shoidd liy all means 
 disengage ourselves from the weight of om' sensual and 
 corrupt affections ; mortifying them by the abstinence, 
 and other holy se\erities, proper for that season of 
 humiliation and fasting, to which this poition of Scrip- 
 ture is so wisely jiropounded by our admirable Church, 
 as a seasonable pre|)aration. And, lastly, let not any of 
 us presume to think those remedies a dispensation be- 
 low us, to which St. Paul himself did not disdain to 
 have recourse. For if he, who was " caught up into " 
 the third heaven, favoured with extraordinary visions 
 and revelations, aliove the jjower of human tongue to 
 utter, entrusted with the conversion of so many nations, 
 and indefatigably laborious in that ministry ; if he, not- 
 withstanding all these virtues and advantages, found it 
 necessary to " keep under his body," and " bring it into 
 subjection;" ver. 27; if be saw reason to fear, that 
 otherwise he, " after having preached to others, should 
 himself be £ cast-away;" what care can be too great for 
 us, whose attainments and zeal are so much less ? How 
 can we answer it to God, or to our souls, if we so far 
 forget our own sinfulness and frailty, as not readily to 
 submit to every method of forwarding us in the race 
 that is set before us, and make not a diligent and thank- 
 ful use of every advantage and defence, in this war of 
 the spirit against the flesh ? for sure we ought to esteem 
 it a most hajjpy thing, if, by all possible means, we can 
 at last arri\e to that unspeakable blessing, of having 
 " our whole spirit, and soul, and body, preserved blame- 
 less unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thess. 
 v. 23, and be in that great day " mercifully deUvered by 
 his goodness." Collect for the day. Which he of his 
 infinite mercy grant we may; to whom be glory and 
 honour, for ever and ever. Dean Stanhope.
 
 118 
 
 SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 So when even was come, the lord of 
 the vineyard saith unto his steward, 
 Call the labourers, and give them 
 their hire, beginning from the last 
 unto the first. And when they came 
 that were hired about the eleventh 
 hour, they received every man a 
 peny. But when the first came, 
 they supposed that they should 
 have received more ; and they like- 
 wise received every man a peny. 
 And when they had received it, 
 they murmured against the good- 
 man of the house, saying. These 
 last have wrought but one hour, 
 and thou hast made them equal unto 
 us, which have borne the burden and 
 heat of the day. But he answered 
 
 ' The design of oiu' excellent Clnirch, in recommend- 
 ing this portion of Scripture to our thoughts at this 
 time, will be best answered probably by the following 
 observations ; — ■ 
 
 1 . We are upon this occasion more especially obliged 
 to take notice of the kindness of this householder in 
 calling these labourers. 'ITius does our heavenly 
 Householder. He appoints and calls us to our duty. 
 He frequently repeats that call, and does not cast us off 
 at our first refusal : nay. He does more than any mas- 
 ter upon earth can do, for He prepares our hearts to 
 hearken to his calls ; He strengthens and assists us in 
 the duty we are called to ; He rewards us according to 
 our good disjjositions, and graciously considers what 
 opportunities we had, and what use we would have 
 made of more, if we had had more. It is by Him that 
 we begin, go on, and perse\-ere as we ought; and, when 
 He calls us to reeei\-e our wages. He pays us for tlie 
 work, which without Him we could never have done ; a 
 work which cannot deserve, but yet whicli is a necessary 
 condition of, our reward. And herein are manifested the 
 freedom of his grace, and the greatness of his boimty ; 
 not in bringing men to heaven without good works, but 
 in doing it for such works as Himself impowers them 
 to discharge. [ 
 
 2. We shall do well to observe how the command 
 here runs, " (io ye into the vineyard ;" that is, to labour 
 there. And, as in a vineyard there is a great \'ariety of 
 employment, so it is here likewise. Now a man then, 
 and then only, labours as he ouglit, when He diligently 
 and conscientiously discharges the duties of his own sta- 
 tion. \\'hen he considers the i)ost, and tlie several rela- 
 tions Providence hath placed him in ; and, whetlierhe be 
 magistrate or i)rivate suliject, priest or i]arishioner, parent 
 or child, master or servant, rieli or ])oor, trader or la- 
 liouring man, studies the part belonging to him, takes 
 care to answer all e\peetatioiis from his character, and 
 honestly follows liis particular business and calling; this 
 then is truly and properly to work in (iod's vineyard, to 
 do our duty to Him and to our neighbour. 'I'he state 
 of a Christian consecpiently is not a state of idleness and 
 case. This state is that vineyard, which we arc already 
 entered into. We were so at our l)aptism. and it is too 
 late to think of retracting, unless we resolve to give up 
 all our hopt:8, and are content to forfeit all our preten- 
 sions to our wages. 
 
 3. The instance of the murmuring labourers should 
 teach us humility and charity : not to be pulTcil up with 
 
 one of them, and said. Friend, I do 
 thee no wrong; didst not thou agree 
 with me for a peny ? Take that 
 thine is, and go thy way ; I will 
 give unto this last even as unto thee. 
 Is it not hiwful for me to do what I 
 will witii mine own ? Is thine eye 
 evil, ])ecaiise I am good ? So the 
 last shall be first, and the first last : 
 for many be called, but few chosen'. 
 
 Tlie Sunday called Sexagesimal, or 
 
 the second Sunday before Lent, 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 OLord God, who seest that we 
 put not our trust in any thing 
 that we do ; Mercifully grant that ps ctii. 
 
 a vain opinion of our own deserts ; not to undervalue 
 those of our brethren ; to receive our recompense thank- 
 fully, as the full that does, as more indeed than strictly 
 can, belong to us ; and to rejoice in the happiness of 
 others, as no diminution, but an increase rather, to our 
 own. 
 
 4. Let us be sure to make a right use of the encourage- 
 ment given here to these labourers at the " eleventh 
 hour ;" which must be done, not by rendering it an ar- 
 gument for presumption, to soothe us up in impenitence 
 or sloth, as if God were bound to receive us at what time 
 and upon what terms we please. This is extremely to 
 pervert the text, which tells us indeed, that call was the 
 last ; but it does not tell us that they, who refused his 
 former calls, were called again and again. If this he 
 done, it is grace and favour, not justice and debt. But 
 we, who live under the ministry of the Gospel, have his 
 calls daily sounded in our ears, and, if we continue ob- 
 stinately deaf, cannot be sure th.at our last call is not 
 already over. The true benefit then arising from hence, 
 is to all such as have had the unhappiness to lie long in 
 sin and ignorance, that God will accept and reward 
 them, though they come late into the vineyard, pro- 
 vided they then apply themselves heartily to their Mas- 
 ter's business, and work faithfully to the uttermost of 
 their power. He makes gnacious allowances for hin- 
 drances and infirmities ; but then He expects that we 
 should be sensible of them too ; that wc should lament, 
 and strive against them, and do the best we can. Let 
 us remember tliat the longer it is before we begin, the 
 less day we have to work in, and therefore make the 
 more liaste to be ready for the e\-ening, which draws on 
 apace, when an account of what we have done shall be 
 taken, and our wages awarded accordingly. This is the 
 true intent of the i)arable, in that part of it ; so well 
 does the Gospel fall in with the Ki)istle of tliis day; and 
 both together so very well agree to fit us for the ap- 
 proaching time of mortification, designed to awaken the 
 sluggish, to (juicken the loiteriTig, and set forward every 
 labourer in this spiritual vineyard. .\nd, oh ! that we 
 all may receive instrui'ti<ins from hence, and be wise ; 
 (mderstand our advantiiges. aiul the goodness of our 
 Maker; consider our latter end, the approach of that 
 night, which must end in day eternal ; the happiness of 
 that a|)proach to all diligent and faithful labourers, but 
 the terror and dismal conscipiences of it to every sloth- 
 ful and luiprolitablc servant. To say all in a word; let 
 us " work the works of him that sent us" into this vine-
 
 SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 119 
 
 ""xvi'"' ^y '■'•y power we may be defended 
 2Sam. iv. 9. ag^ainst all adversity; throuj^li Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 TheEphtk. 2 Cor. xi. 19. 
 
 YE sufler fools gladly, seeing ye 
 yourselves are wise. For ye 
 suffer if a man bring you into bond- 
 age, if a man devour you, if a man 
 take of you, if a man exalt himself, 
 if a man smite you oii llie face. 1 
 speak as concerning reproach, as 
 though we had been weak : hovvbeit, 
 whereinsoever any is bold, ( I speak 
 foolishly,) I am bold also. Are they 
 Hebrews? so am I. Are tliey Is- 
 raelites ? so am I. Are they the 
 seed of Abraham ? so am I. Are 
 they ministers of Christ? (I speak as 
 a fool,) I am more : in labours more 
 abundant; in stripes above measure; 
 in prisons more frecpient ; in deaths 
 oft. Of the Jews five times received 
 I forty stripes save one; thrice was I 
 l)eaten with rods ; once was I stoned ; 
 thrice I suffered shipwreck ; a night 
 and a day I have been in the deep ; 
 in journeying often ; in perils of 
 waters; in perils of robbers; in perils 
 by mine own countrymen ; in perils 
 by the heathen; in perils in the city; 
 
 yard, while it " is day, before that time come, wherein 
 no man can work !" Dean Stanhope. 
 
 " ne Sunday called Sexagesima.l This Collect, like the 
 preceding, is suitable to the season. The Epistle again 
 propounds the example of St. Paul, who was eminent for 
 works of mortification and religious exercises. The 
 Gospel in another paral)le admonishes us to be careful 
 and circumspect in the performance of our duty ; since 
 a large proportion of tliose, who hear the word, lose it, 
 after they have received it, for want of due care and 
 diligence, and do not bring forth fruit to perfection. Bj). 
 Sparrow, Wheatly. 
 
 ' The profit, fit for us to make of this passage, is as 
 follows : — 
 
 1 . The description given here of false teachers should 
 he a warning to all Christians against listening to them; 
 and a seasonable admonition to suspect and beware of 
 such, as make it their business to infuse into men jea- 
 lousies and evil surmises against their lawful pastors : a 
 method, than which there cannot be a surer sign, that 
 they, who have recourse to it, do therefore draw off oiu- 
 people, because thereout they suck no small advantage. 
 
 2. The instance now before us shews, how far we 
 ought to be from reckoning what we endure for God's 
 cause (when it is really God's cause) matter of sorrow or 
 shame to us. St. Paul was, in comparison of the rest of 
 the apostles, a labourer called in at the eleventh hour ; 
 and he thought, as he taught the Philippians to esteem 
 it, a particular grace, that it was given him, " not only 
 to believe in Jesus, but to suffer for his name." The 
 fervency of his charity and zeal made up what was want- 
 ing in point of time ; and we (especially those among 
 us, that are ministers of the Gospel) never make a more 
 
 in perils in the wilderness ; in ])erils 
 in the sea ; in perils among false 
 brethren; in weariness and |iainful- 
 ness ; in watchiiigs often; in hunger 
 and thirst; in fastings often; in cold 
 and nakedness; besides those things 
 that are without, that which cometh 
 upon me daily, the care of all the 
 churches. Who is weak, and I am 
 not weak ? who is offended, and I 
 burn not? If I must needs glory, I 
 will glory of the things which con- 
 cern mine infirmities. The God and 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 which is blessed for evermore, know- 
 eth that I lie not". 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke viii. 4. 
 
 WHEN much people were 
 gathered together, and were 
 come to him out of every city, he 
 spake by a parable : A sower went 
 out to sow his seed; and as he 
 sowed, some fell by the way-side, 
 and it was trodden down, and the 
 fowls of the air devoured it. And 
 some fell upon a rock, and as soon 
 as it was sprung up, it withered 
 away, because it lacked moisture. 
 And some fell among thorns, and 
 the thorns sprang up with it, and 
 
 just computation of o\\x services, than when we reckon 
 them by the hardships and self-denials we are content 
 to undergo, for the good of our own soids, or those of 
 our Christian brethren. 
 
 3. When St. Paul, to all his other sufferings, adds 
 the care of all the churches, and the zealous compassion 
 over them that failed, or were afflicted in them; this 
 shews the abundance of his, and instructs us what ought 
 to be the measure of our, charity. We are not to neg- 
 lect, or think ourselves excused from a tender concern 
 for the afflictions or dangers of our brethren, upon the 
 account of any sufferings of our own. Be our other cir- 
 cumstances what they will, yet still we are members of 
 Christ's body ; and, while that relation continues, all the 
 duties resulting from it must do so too. 
 
 4. The methods used for exercising St. Paul's patience 
 and virtue teach us plainly, that the way, in which God 
 would be served by Christians, but especially by his 
 ministers, is that of constancy, and indefatigable dili- 
 gence, and diffusive charity. Ani thus the apostle, as 
 in the last, so again in this Lord's day's service, does, 
 by his own example, encourage and jjrepare us for the 
 discipline of the season drawing on. One great design 
 whereof is, to break the softness of a nature too indul- 
 gent to flesh and blood, and to inure us to " endure 
 hardness like good soldiers of Jesus Christ." In which 
 warfare, the less we spare oiu' own persons, the more we 
 may depend upon his protection and support in the 
 conflict, and the brighter trophies we shall raise to his 
 glory, the honour of religion, and the unspeakable 
 advantage of our souls and bodies both, in that day of 
 triumph and joy : which God grant us all a part in, for 
 our dear Redeemer's sake. Amen, Dean Stanhope,
 
 120 
 
 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 choked it. And other fell on good 
 ground, and sprang up, and bare 
 fruit an hundred-fold. And when 
 he had said these things, he cried. 
 He that hath ears to hear, let him 
 hear. And his disciples asked him, 
 saying. What miglit this parable 
 be? And he said, Unto you it is 
 given to know the mysteries of the 
 kingdom of God : but to others in 
 parables; that seeing they might 
 not see, and hearing they might 
 not understand. Now the parable 
 is this : The seed is the Word of 
 God. Those by the way-side are 
 they that hear ; then cometh the 
 devil, and taketh away the word 
 out of their hearts, lest they should 
 believe, and be saved. They on the 
 rock are they, which, when they 
 
 >' .Scarce any passage, in the whole coiu'se of the year, 
 is more worthy our serious consideration, than that w^hich 
 our excellent (,'hurch hath wisely ajjpointed to he read for 
 the Gospel of tills day. That heathens and Jews, pro- 
 fessed intidels and enemies to Ckristianity ; that they, 
 who want ojiportunities of knowing their duty, and 
 would gladly use them if they could : that others, who 
 live within the pale of Christ's flock, and have opportu- 
 nities, but will not use them when they may ; that these 
 several sorts of people, I say, sliould continue unfruitful, 
 is nothing strange. But that many who have them, 
 and do use them, nay, and use them gladly too ; that 
 they, who " come" to the public assemblies for religious 
 worship, as " God's people cometh," and " sit before 
 his" projihets, "as God's people sitteth," and attend to 
 the ])reacher with eagerness and a sensible delight ; that 
 these, after all, should prove barren and im])rofitable, is 
 matter to be sure of great grief, and must be allowed to 
 carry somewhat of difficulty and of wonder in it. And 
 yet that so it is ; that the ministers of Christ often sow 
 where they ne\'er reap, but lose the desired cfi'ects of 
 their pious intentions and most zealous endeavours ; 
 our blessed Saviour acquaints us in this Scripture, and 
 our own daily experience does but too \isibly confirm 
 tlie truth of it. So that it concerns every Christian dili- 
 gently to examinc'into the causes of such lamentable 
 disappointments; which, that we may know and effec- 
 tually prevent, our Lord hath laid them down at large 
 in the parable and application now before us. 
 
 A careful attention to the ))arable will shew, what 
 temper is reipiired to bring forth fruit, and how it 
 comes to pass, that tliis is seldom done : that the seed 
 and the sower are blameless, and all the defects in the 
 ground itself. The (iospel sets both our duty, and 
 our danger, before our ejTs. These it is the minister's 
 part to urge. lie must ajijily Himself with all his 
 might to ])ersuade, to convince, to awaken, as occasion 
 serves. Hut all this our Master did in the utmost jier- 
 fection, and yet even He often sowed without any fruit. 
 And, the truth is, what can we do ? We can n'coni- 
 mend religion to men's consideration, and we ought to 
 do it a.s powerfully as may be. Hut, after all we have 
 said, or can say, it will lie in their own breasts, whether 
 they will CDMsider or not. And they who do not, are 
 hearers " by the wayside." We may tell our people, 
 hoiv loose the world should sit about tlicm : that a 
 
 hear, receive the word with joy; 
 and these have no root, which for a 
 while believe, and in time of tempt- 
 ation fall away. And that which 
 fell among thorns, are they, which, 
 when they have heard, go forth, and 
 are choked with cares, and riches, 
 and pleasures of this life, and bring 
 no fruit to perfection. But that on 
 the good ground, are they, which in 
 an honest and good heart, having 
 heard the word, keep it, and bring- 
 forth fruit with patience ^. 
 
 The Suntlaii culled Qiu'nquaf/e.iima^, or 
 the next Sunday before Lent. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 OLord, wlio hast taught us that 
 all our doings without charity 
 
 good life should be their main concern ; that they must 
 learn and practise their duty, all prejudice and interest 
 apart : but it is not in our power to disentangle their 
 hearts, and root out their prejudices ; and, till this be 
 done, they " are seed among thorns." So, lastly, we 
 can excite to patience, but we cannot inspu-e it; and 
 they who faint, and fall off, are " stony ground." Con- 
 sequently, wrhen the preacher hath done all he can do, 
 and all he ought to do, still the efficacy and success 
 of his instructions M'ill de]iend upon the hearers them- 
 selves. Inadvertency, and worldly-mindedness, and 
 impatience, are obstructions of every one's making, and 
 therefore they must be of every one's removing too. 
 And, where they are not taken out of the way, our 
 barrenness, and the whole guilt of it, can rest no where 
 but upon ourselves. 
 
 It must not indeed be forgotten, but much of this 
 dcjicnds upon the divine assistance; and that there are 
 certain conditions, indicated by the ])arable, by which 
 we may be sure of that, to strengthen anil to prosper 
 our endeavours. Let us but add to these our hearty 
 [jrayers, and the work will certainly be done ; and 
 therefore, " that it may please thee to gi\-e all thy peo- 
 ple increase of grace, to hear meekly thy word, and to 
 receive it with pure allcction, and to bring forth the 
 fruits of the Spirit: iVe beseech, thee to hear us, good 
 Lord ! Dean Slaiihoite. 
 
 ' The Sundutj enlted Quhiquagesimai] The services 
 of the two preceding Sundays have persuaded us to the 
 exercises of Lent ensuing; but. bccau.se all "bodily 
 exercise" without charity " profiteth" little or nothing, 
 therefore the Church in this day's K.pistle, from which 
 the Collect is taken, recoimncnds charity to us, as a 
 necessary ingredient in all the acts of religion ; and 
 shews us moreover in the latter part of the Gospel, how 
 we arc to perform our several duties ; commending to 
 us by the example of the blind beggar's faith in Christ, 
 and advising us to contiinie instant in our jirayers, and 
 not to desjiair of the acceptance of them, because we 
 arc not immediutely heard, but to cry so much the 
 more, ".lesus, thou Sou of David, have mercy on us." 
 Thus the two together rcconuucnd to us faith and 
 charity, or faith which woi'kctli by Icjve. lip. Sparrow, 
 If henlly. At the same time the fornuT jiart of the 
 (iosi)el greatly contributes to the purpose of our ])rcsent 
 devotions, by putting us in mind of our blessed Ke-
 
 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 121 
 
 1 Cor. xiii. 1 
 
 Acts X. 45. 
 
 2 Tim. i. 7. 
 llonl. .\v. 5. 
 Gal. V. 22. 
 
 1 Cor. xii.3I. 
 Eph. iv. 3. 
 Cul. iii. H. 
 1 John iii. H. 
 James ii. 26. 
 I Tim. V. 6. 
 
 are notliin;^ worth ; Send tliy Holy 
 Ghost, and ])oiir into oiir hearts that 
 most e.xcellent jjil't of charity, the 
 very hond of peace and of ail virtues, 
 witliout wliicli wliosoever livetli is 
 counted dead liefore thee : Grant 
 this for thine only Son Jesus Christ's 
 sake. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 Cor. xiii. 1. 
 
 THOUGH I spealv witli tlie 
 tongues of men and of angels, 
 and Iiave not charity, I am become 
 as sounding brass, or a tinkling 
 cymbah And though I have the 
 gift of prophecy, and understand all 
 mysteries, and all knowledge; and 
 though I have all faith, so that 1 
 could remove mountains, and have 
 not charity, I am nothing. And 
 though I bestow all my goods to 
 feed the poor, and though I give my 
 body to be burned, and have not 
 charity, it profiteth me nothing. 
 Charity suffereth long, and is kind ; 
 charity envieth not; cliarity vaunt- 
 cth not itself, is not puffed up, doth 
 not behave itself unseemly, seeketh 
 not her own, is not easily provoked, 
 thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in 
 iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth ; 
 beareth all things, believeth all 
 things, hopeth all things, endureth 
 all things. Charity never faileth : 
 but whether there be prophecies, 
 they shall fail ; whether there be 
 
 (leemer's sufferincrs and death ; and thus setting before 
 our eyes the noblest and most perfect [jattern of the 
 Krace of charity recommended in the Epistle. The 
 history and circumstances of our Lord's passion are 
 reserved to a farther occasion : the warning of it given 
 to his disciples is chosen as more seasonable at this 
 time. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 * Well were it ujion every preparation to our great 
 feast of love at the Lord's table, if the ajjostle's descrip- 
 tion in this passage were laid 0])en, and made the 
 standard of our enquiry, upon the article of charity. 
 The use of such a method would be of infinite use, in 
 order to understand and amend ourselves : that so we 
 may not live on, under a fatal deceit, and falsely 
 imagine we are something when in truth we are no- 
 thing. For nothing we are, and no better, if we have 
 not charity : and charity we have not, if we have not 
 these marks to shew for it. The necessity of this vir- 
 tue is so generally allowed, that all men flatter them- 
 selves with an opinion of possessing it. Insomuch 
 that it is a very uncommon thing, to meet %\ith any 
 one, that would of his own accord confess the want of 
 charity. And yet its natiu-e is*o little understood, or 
 so little considered, that few, I doubt, are to be found, 
 who truly have it. If we value our attainments in 
 rehgious knowledge, if our liberaUty to the poor, if our 
 readiness to die for the truth, (and yet how many are 
 there able to go thus far ?J this Scripture declares,"they 
 
 tongues, tliey shall cease ; whothcr 
 there be knowledge, it shall vanish 
 away. For we know in ]iart, and 
 we prophesy in part. 15iit when 
 that which is perfect is come, then 
 that which is in part shall be done 
 away. When I was a child, I sjiake 
 as a child, 1 understood as a child, 
 I thought as a child ; but when I 
 became a man, I put away childish 
 things. For now we see through a 
 glass darkly ; but then face to face : 
 now I know in part ; but then shall 
 I know even as also I am known. 
 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, 
 these three ; but the greatest of these 
 is charity ". 
 
 The Go.ipel. St. Luke xviii. 31. 
 
 TH E N Jesus took unto him the 
 twelve, and said unto them, 
 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and 
 all things that are written by the 
 prophets concerning the Son of Man 
 shall be accomplished. For he shall 
 be delivered unto the Gentiles, and 
 shall be mocked, and spitefully en- 
 treated, and spitted on : and they 
 shall scourge him, and put him to 
 death ; and the third day he shall 
 rise again. And they understood 
 none of these things: and this saying 
 was hid from them, neither knew 
 they the things which were spoken. 
 And it came to pass, that as he was 
 come nigh unto Jericho, a certain 
 
 are of no value without charity ; and that none of these 
 is it. It affirms, that neither the peevish, nor the doer 
 of no good, nor the livers to themselves, nor the en- 
 vious, nor the ambitious, nor the self-conceited, nor 
 the insolent and haughty, nor the selfish and narrow- 
 spij'ited, nor the furiously angry, nor the evil surmisers, 
 nor the severe censurcrs, nor the delighters in scandal, 
 nor the spreaders of it, nor the rash believers of it when 
 they hear it, are any of them charitable. Consequently, 
 what degree of religion soever these people pretend to, 
 it shall profit them nothing. And, if so, what a dread- 
 ful case are inconceivable numbers in, who think all 
 safe and well with them ? How ought this to awaken 
 us ? How to quicken our care, in seai'ching, and dis- 
 covering, and avoiding a secret danger, which some of 
 us perhaps never dreamt of till this moment ? How 
 seasonably does our Church jilace this Kpistle in the 
 front of Lent, to ])revcnt men's deluding their souls 
 with the severities of that holy season ? Those, though 
 ever so pompous and austere, would not avail, when 
 destitute of this comprehensive grace, this indispensa- 
 ble condition of salvation. How ttdsely hath she in- 
 structed us, how zealously ought we to pray, and never 
 leave off wi-estling with God, till our prayer be granted ; 
 "That he would send his Holy Ghost, and pour into 
 our heai-ts that most excellent gift of charity, the very 
 bond of peace and of all virtues ;" lest, living " without 
 this," we be at last " counted dead before him r" Hear
 
 122 
 
 THE FIRST DAY OF LENT. 
 
 blind man sat by the way-side beg- 
 ging : and hearing the multitude 
 pass by, he asked what it meant. 
 And they told him, that Jesus of 
 Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, 
 saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, 
 have mercy on me. And they which 
 went before rebuked him, that he 
 should liold his peace : but he cried 
 so much the more, Thou Son of 
 David, have mercy on me. And 
 Jesus stood, and commanded him 
 to be brought unto him : and when 
 he was come near, lie asked him, 
 saying, What wilt thou that I should 
 do unto thee ? And he said, Lord, 
 
 us, O Lord, and whatever thou deniest us, deny us not 
 this one thing needful for us, for Jesus Clirisf s sake. 
 Amen. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 '■ From the miracle recorded in the latter part of this 
 Gospel we may learn the readiness of Christ to hear the 
 prayers of the afflicted, and the usefulness of having 
 recourse to (jod by earnest and im|)ortunate prayer, 
 uttered in faith, nothing wavering. For as our Saviour 
 said to the blind man, "Thy faith hath saved thee;" 
 so we must have faith and confidence in God if we 
 hope to be heard and to succeed in our petitions. Also 
 from the blind man's praising and glorifying God upon 
 the recover}' of his sight, we learn to give praise and 
 thanks unto Him for all the mercies we recti\-e ; they 
 all proceed from his boimty, and therefore ought to be 
 owned and received with thankful hearts. Dr. Hole. 
 
 With res|)ect to the warning given by our Lord to 
 his disciples in the former part of the Gospel, it may be 
 observed, that, whether we reflect upon the danger 
 these disciples were in, of being o|)prcssed with an 
 affliction so sensible as the death of their Master, and 
 the insults and malice of his and their enemies : this 
 warning was exceeding seasonable and kind, to prepare 
 tlicm for, and sustain them under, so heavy a burden. 
 Or, whether we regard the cpidemick error, concerning 
 the Messiah's first a))pearance and kingdom ; these 
 were contrived to rectify their mistakes at)out this 
 matter. t)r, whether we consider the scandal taken 
 at a crvicified Lord ; it was fit to shew, that his death 
 was voluntary, and so a demonstration of infinite good- 
 ness and love : fit, to signify, by its agreement witli the 
 pro|)hecies, that this design, and all the strokes of it, 
 were ordered by a wiser liead than oin-s, even the 
 counsel and ajipointment of (iod Himself: fit, to 
 represent the shame of our Lord's crucifixion abund- 
 antly recompensed liy tlie glories of his resurrection : 
 fit. lastly, to take all ]iossii)le care of those, to whom 
 so weighty a truth was committed, and upon whose 
 testimony the success of the Christian rehgion would 
 in great measure depend. 
 
 'the same warning may bring considerable benefit to 
 every Christian, careful to improve it as he ought, and 
 may do. If he use it as an occasion to silence all im- 
 pious cavils and scniples. raised by his own curiosity, 
 or suggested by the profaneness of others, to the dis- 
 paragement of the Christian institution: if he learn 
 hence to value, to admire, this most wise anil glorious 
 dispensation, and to adore the condescension and good- 
 ness of a suireriiig .Saviour, who was content to under- 
 go so much for wretches so unwortliy ; if the sight and 
 8cnse of Ilia indignities and wrongs dispose ua to patience 
 
 that I may receive my sight. And 
 Jesus said unto him. Receive thy 
 sight ; thy faith hath saved thee. 
 And immediately he received his 
 sight, and followed him, glorifying 
 God : and all the people, when they 
 saw it, gave praise unto God*". 
 
 The Jirat Day of Lent", cnmmnnhj 
 called Ash-Wcdncsday^, 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, who hatest nothing that 
 thou hast made, and dost 
 
 forgive ps. cxv. 
 
 and meekness under our own ; and, if the consideration 
 of all the insolence and barbarity, all the shame and 
 pain the blessed Jesus underwent, stir us u]) to an holy 
 indignation and revenge upon our sins, the cause that 
 He was thus exposed, affronted, misused ; the traitors, 
 that with such exquisite torture scourged, and nailed, 
 and crucified the body ; and with anguish incon- 
 ceivable, pierced the afflicted soul of the Son of God : 
 if this, I say, jirovoke our zeal, without remorse, to 
 execute the duties of the ajiproacbing season ; that is, 
 by abstinence, and mortification, and true repentance, 
 to subdue and kill the old man, and utterly to abolish 
 the whole body of sin : thus shall we now be partakers 
 of his death, thus shall we also be partakers of his 
 resurrection. Amen. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 The Tuesday after Quinquagesima Sunday is gene- 
 rally called Shro\'e-Tuesday ; a name given it from the 
 old Saxon words " Shrive, Shrift," or " Shro\'e," 
 which in that langu.ige .signifies to " confess ;" it 
 being a constant custom amongst the Roman Catho- 
 licks to confess their sins on that day, in order to 
 receive the blessed Sacrament, and thereby qualify 
 themselves for a more religious observ.ation of the holy 
 time of Lent immediately ensuing. But this in process 
 of time was turned into a custom of in\-itations, and 
 their taking leave of Hesh and other dainties ; and 
 afterwards, by degrees, into sports and merriments, 
 which still in that Church make uji the whole business 
 of the ('arnival. Wheatty. 
 
 And within these few years, in many ]iarts of 
 England, its anniversary was distinguished by riot 
 and drunkenness, by IiuU-baiting, cock-fighting, and 
 such otlicr diversions as were calculated to [iromote 
 cruelty, inbunianity, and every thing the most opposite 
 to the virtues which it was the intention of the (,'liurch 
 to teach and encourage. ShephtTit. 
 
 ' The first day nf l,cnt.'\ From the very first ages of 
 Christianity, it was customaiy for the Cliristians to set 
 apart some time for mortification and self-denial, to 
 prepare themselves for the feast of F.astcr. Irena'us, 
 who lived Init ninety years from the death of St. John, 
 and conversed familiarly with .St. I'olycarp, as Polycarp 
 had with St. John, lias happened to let us know, 
 though incidentally, that, ns it was observed in his 
 time, so it was in that of his jiredcccssors. 
 
 The Christian Lent probably took its rise from the 
 Jewish ])reparalion for their yearly exjiiation. The 
 Jews began their solemn humiliation fiirty days before 
 the expiation. Wherefore the ]irimitive ('hristians, 
 following their cxiirnple, set up this fast at the begin- 
 ning of Cliristianily, us a luoper prejiarative for the
 
 THE FIRST DAY OF LENT. 
 
 1'2;} 
 
 iii. 
 
 •WiBd, 
 
 24. 
 
 Ezek. 
 
 30. 
 
 Exod. xxxiv. 
 
 7. 
 
 Ps. li. 10.17. 
 
 2 Cor. vii. 10. 
 
 Rom. vii. '2i. 
 
 2 Cor. i. 3. 
 
 Joelii. 12.13. 
 
 Luke xxiv. 
 
 Mi, 47. 
 
 Jer. xxxi. 34. 
 
 the sins of all tliem tliat are peni- 
 tent ; Create and make in u.s new 
 and contrite hearts, that we worthily 
 lamoiiting our sins, and acknow- 
 ledgiiiu- our wretchedness, may ob- 
 tain of thee, the God of all mercy, 
 perfect remission and forgiveness ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Ameji. 
 
 1 This Collect is to be read every day in Ijent 
 after the Collect appointed for the Day. 
 
 commemoration of the great expiation of the sins of 
 tlie wliole world. Wheally. 
 
 Tlie number of forty days seems to have been fixed 
 in imitation of Moses and Klias in the Old Testament; 
 but iirincipally in imitation of our Saviour's fast in the 
 New Testament, "That," as St. Aufjustine says, "we 
 might, as far as we are able, conform to Christ's prac- 
 tice, and suffer with Him here, that we may reign with 
 Him hereafter." Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 It receives its name from the time of the year where- 
 in it is observed ; " Lent," in the old Saxon language, 
 signifying " Spring," being now used to signify this 
 Spring fast, which always begins so that it may end at 
 Easter ; to remind us of our Saviour's sufferings, which 
 ended at his resurrection. IVhcalty. 
 
 In this hallowed season the Church, by the voice of 
 all her holy services, calleth the world to repentance, 
 from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof. 
 And, if ever there was an institution calculated to jiro- 
 inote the glory of God, by forwarding the salvation of 
 man, it is this aiJiiointment of a certain set time for all 
 persons to consider their ways, to break off their sins, 
 and to return from whence they have fallen through 
 the infirmities of the flesh and the prevalence of tempta- 
 tion. For though most certain it is, that sorrow should 
 be the constant attendant upon sin, and daily transgres- 
 sions call for daily penitence ; yet fatal experience con- 
 vinces us of another truth, no less certain, that in a 
 body so frail, and a world so corrupt, cares and jjlea- 
 surcs soon oppress the heart, and insensibility brings 
 on the slumbers of listlessness and negligence as to its 
 sjiiritual concerns, which, unless dissi])ated and dis- 
 ])ersed by frequently repeated admonitions, will at 
 length seal it up in the deep sleep of final impeni- 
 tence. 
 
 It was wisely foreseen, that, should the sinner be 
 ])ermitted to reserve to himself the choice of a " con- 
 venient season " wherein to turn from sin to righteous- 
 ness, that " convenient season " would never come ; 
 and the specious plea of keejiing every day holy alike 
 would often be found to cover a design of keeping none 
 holy at all. It seemed good therefore to the Church to 
 fix a stated time, in which men might enter upon the 
 great work of their repentance. And what time could 
 have been selected with greater propriety than this 
 " Lenten," or spring season, when universal nature, 
 awakening from her wintry sleep, and coming out of a 
 state of deformity, and a course of penance, imposed 
 for the transgression of man, her Lord and Master, is 
 about to rise from the dead ; and, putting on her gar- 
 ments of glory and beauty, to give us a kind of prelude 
 to the renovation of all things ? So that the whole 
 creation most harmoniously accompanieth the voice of 
 the Church, as that sweetly accordeth to the call of the 
 apostle, " Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from 
 the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." Bp. 
 Home. 
 The Church appoints, that all Christians whatsoever 
 
 For the Epistle. Joel ii. 12. 
 
 TURN ye even to me, saith the 
 Lord, with all your heart, and 
 with fasting, and with weeping, and 
 with mourning. And rend your 
 hearts and not your garments, and 
 turn unto the Lord your God : for 
 he is gracious and merciful, .slow to 
 anger, and of great kindness, and 
 repenteth him of the evil. Who 
 kiioweth if he will return, and repent. 
 
 should receive the holy communion at Easter, and 
 therefore ajjjjoints this time before, to prepare them- 
 selves by fasting and ]iraycr; thus judging themselves, 
 that they might not be judged of the Lord. And this 
 is after God's own pattern, who commanded the Israel- 
 ites to afHict themselves, and eat bitter herbs, before 
 they should eat the Paschal-Lamb. All churches 
 therefore agreed, that Lent should end in Easter, 
 though some difference there was when it should 
 begin. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 '' — commonly called Ash-\Vednesdny.'\ The Church 
 begins her Lent this day to supply the Sundays in 
 Lent ; u|ion which it was not the Church's custom to 
 fast, Sundays being high festivals in memory of our 
 Saviour's joyful resurrection. Now if you take out 
 of the six weeks of Lent, six Sundays, there will 
 remain but thirty-six fasting days ; to which, these 
 four of this week being added, make the just number 
 of forty. 
 
 This was anciently called " the head of Lent," and 
 was a day of extraordinaiy humiliati(m. Upon this day 
 were ashes sprinkled upon their heads, to mind them of 
 their mortality, and also to mind them what they had 
 deserved to be ; namely, burnt to ashes. Hence was it 
 called " Ash-Wednesday :" and upon this day they were 
 wont to clothe themselves in sackcloth. These rites are 
 mentioned, Isa. Iviii. 5, as the usual rites of penitents. 
 This was common to all penitents : but " notorious sin- 
 ners were this day put to open penance; which godly 
 disciphne," says our Clmrcb, in her office of Commina- 
 tion, " it is much to be wished might be restored again." 
 Bp. Sparrow. Hut till it can be restored, she endea- 
 vours to supply tlie want, by adding to her ordinary 
 service a very (irojier and suitable office, called " the 
 Commination." IVheatly. 
 
 In the ordinary Morning and Evening Service, in- 
 stead of the Psalms for the day, are appointed six of 
 David's penitential Psalms, (the seventh being used in 
 the office of Commination,) concerning which we need 
 only observe, that they are the very forms wherein that 
 royal prophet expressed his repentance, and were all 
 composed by him in times of affliction, and contain 
 supplications and (irayers to be delivered from all tem- 
 poral and sphitual enemies ; and have, for this reason, 
 been very much esteemed in the Church in all ages, 
 and were always thought projjer to be used in times of 
 humiliation and repentance. IVheally. 
 
 There is no selection of proper Lessons for this day. 
 The omission has been noticed ; but it cannot be satis- 
 factorily accounted for. We must be content to attri- 
 bute it, either to oversight, or to some other accident 
 or mistake. Shepherd. 
 
 The Collect is a prayer for contrition and newness of 
 heart. Agreeably to which both the portion of Scriji- 
 ture for the Epistle, and the Gospel, caution us to be 
 very careful, that, whilst we exhibit the outward signs 
 of sorrow, we be not void of true inward penitence. 
 Wheally.
 
 124 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 and leave a blessing beliind liim, 
 even a meat-offering and a diink- 
 ofFering unto the Lord your God ? 
 Blow the trumpet in Zioii, sanctify a 
 fast, call a solemn assembly, gather 
 the people, sanctify the congrega- 
 tion, assemble the elders, gather the 
 children, and those that suck the 
 breasts ; let the bridegroom go forth 
 of his chamber, and the bride out of 
 her closet ; let the priests, the minis- 
 ters of the Lord, weep between the 
 porch and the altar, and let them say, 
 Spare thy people, O Lord, and give 
 not thine heritage to reproach, tiiat 
 the heathen should rule over them : 
 wherefore should they say among the 
 people, Where is their God'=? 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. vi. 16. 
 "WT HEN ye fast, be not as the 
 y y hypocrites, of a sad counte- 
 nance : for they disfigure their faces, 
 that they may appear inito men to 
 
 ' In explanation of this passage from the Prophet 
 Joel it may be useful to remark, that the Scripture 
 takes notice of jirivate and publick fasts. The one of 
 our own, the other of our governors' appointment. 
 Iliose humiliations for personal, these for national, 
 calamities and pxiilt. Of the publick, the Prophet Joel 
 speaks in the E])istle ; of tlie prix'ate, our Saviour, in 
 the Gospel for this day. Hence is the seeming differ- 
 ence reconciled, between the solemnity and pomp re- 
 quired by the jjrophet, and the secrecy enjoined hy our 
 Ixjrd. In the publick we are to be spurs and e.\am])les 
 to others, and therefore our zeal here, if sincere, will be 
 solemn. For the |)rivate, matters are here transacted 
 between God and our own consciences ; and when our 
 whole coticern should be to recommend om-selves to 
 Him, from whom nothing can be concealed; to affect 
 ]>()inp and solenuiity then, is to confess we have 
 some indirect views, and jiroclaims our zeal to be 
 tricking and insincere. In a word, by the publick, we 
 are prescribed to ; so that the testifying our obedience 
 by visible acts there, is no more than our duty. By 
 the |)rivate we i)res(;ribe to ourselves, and should take 
 heed here of gratifying that most dangerous of all 
 temptations, the pharisaical vanity of voluntary mortifi- 
 cation and luicoinmon merit. Demi Slniihnpe. 
 
 ' In this Gosjiel our Saviour instructs ns in the right 
 manner of fasting. I . Negatively : " when ye fast, be 
 not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they 
 disfigure their faces, &c. :" where lie condemns all 
 liypocritical and mere formal fasting, i>ai'tieidarly that 
 of the Pharisees, which they assumed, to shew the 
 seeming strictness and austerity of their religion. 2. 
 He speaks positively of the jiroper way, "but thou, 
 when thou fastest, anoint thy head, &c." Anointing 
 the head and washing the face were looked u])on by 
 the Jews as tokens of joy, an<l were therefore used at 
 fea.sts and festivals, but not at fasts, or times of mourn- 
 ing : tlie I'harisccs therefore were strict observers of 
 these outward ceremonies, for they would neither 
 iinoint nor wash, that jieojile might see and know 
 when they fasted ; tliough at the same time they had 
 
 fast. Verily I say unto you. They 
 have their reward. But thou, when 
 thou fastest, anoint thine head, and 
 wasit thy face, that thou appear not 
 unto men to fast, but unto thy Fa- 
 ther which is in secret ; and thy 
 Father, whicli seeth in secret, shall 
 reward thee openly. Lay not up 
 for yourselves treasures upon earth, 
 where moth and rust doth corrupt, 
 and where thieves break through 
 and steal : but lay up for yourselves 
 treasures in Iieaven, where neither 
 moth nor rust doth corrupt, and 
 where thieves do not break through 
 nor steal : for where your treasure is, 
 there will your heart be alsoM 
 
 The first Sunday in Lent^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 OLord, who for our sake didst 
 fast forty days and forty nights; Matt. iv. i, 
 Give us grace to use such absti- 
 
 no regard to the inward humiliation of the heart ; for 
 which reason om- Saviour checked their hypocrisy, and 
 advised his followers not to affect any such outward 
 show and ostentation, but in their fasting to appear in 
 their ordinary guise, that they might not ajipear to 
 men to fast, but to God only ; so that the great lesson 
 here taught us is sincerity ; that in this and all other 
 religious duties, we endeavour not so much to recom- 
 mend om'selves unto men by any outward shows of 
 sadness, as to apjirove ourselves unto God by the in- 
 ward sorrow and humility of heart. Dr. Hole. 
 
 As to the particular religious exercise mentioned here, 
 there is little necessity to dwell on the precept concern- 
 ing it, for there are scarce any in these times and in 
 this country who seem disposed to make a show of 
 fasting, or to be ambitions of acquiring a reputation for 
 that kind of religious discipline : on the contrary, it is 
 by great mnnbcrs entirely laid aside, and too frequently 
 treated with derision and contempt. Yet fmm this 
 very passage we may learn, that it ought to be consi- 
 dered in a much more serious light : for although our 
 Sa\ioiir did not command his disciples to fast while 
 lie was with them, yet He Himself fasted for forty 
 days. He here plainly siqiposes that his disciples did 
 sometimes fast : and gives them directions how to per- 
 form that duty in a manner acceptable to God. And 
 it ajipears also, that if they did so jierform it, if they 
 fasted without any ostentation or parade, with a design 
 not to catch the applause of men, but to a])])rovc them- 
 selves to (lod. He assured them, "they should have 
 their reward." 7J/;. Porleus. 
 
 K '/'lie first Siindaij in Lnil.l The E])istle exhorts to 
 patience in afflictions. The (iospel reads to us Christ's 
 victory over temptations, to keep us from despair of 
 concpiest, that we shoidd be of good cheer and heart, 
 since He our Captain "hath overcome the world," 
 John xvi. Xi. The (,'olleet for the day is another of 
 those Collects, wherein the Chm-ch directs her petitions 
 to Christ, thereby manifesting her belief, that He is 
 the true Sim of (iod ; for she prays to none b\it (!od. 
 In praying to Him thertfore, she professes to believe
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 125 
 
 1 Cor ix 2? neiice, tliiit, our flcsli being subdued 
 
 Gil. V. 17. 24. to the Spirit, we may ever obey 
 Eph. iv. 21. ,, ,1 ' '. • •'• I . 
 
 thy godly motions ni riirhtcousiiess 
 
 and true holiness, to thy honour and 
 
 glory, who livost and rcigncst witli 
 
 the Father and the Holy Ghost, one 
 
 Grod, worhl witliont end. Amen. 
 
 T7ic Epistle, 2 Cor. vi. I. 
 E then, as workers together 
 with him, beseech you also, 
 that ye receive not the grace of 
 God in vain; (for lie saith, I have 
 heard thee in a time accejited, and 
 in the day of salvation have I suc- 
 coured thee : behold, now is the 
 accepted time ; behold, now is the 
 day of salvation;) giving no offence 
 in any thing, that the ministry be 
 not blamed ; but in all things ap- 
 proving ourselves as the ministers 
 of God, in much patience, in afflic- 
 tions, in necessities, in distresses, in 
 stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, 
 in labours, in watcliings, in fastings ; 
 by pureness, by knowledge, by long- 
 suffering, by kindness, by the Holy 
 Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the 
 word of truth, by the power of God, 
 by the armour of righteousness on 
 the right hand and on the left, by 
 honour and dishonour, by evil report 
 and good report ; as deceivers, and 
 yet true ; as unknown, and yet well 
 known ; as dying, and behold, we 
 live; as chastened, and not killed; 
 as sorrowful, yet alvvay rejoicing ; 
 as poor, yet making many rich ; as 
 
 Him to be God, as it is in the close of the Collect ; and 
 this in opposition to the tem])ter, Satan, and all his 
 adherents, who are still temi)ting Christ in his mem- 
 bers, to misbelief in that article. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 '■ We are taught by the Ejjistle for this day not to 
 receive the Gospel, which is the grace of God, in vain, 
 but to answer the end, that we may obtain the reward 
 of it. Hence we are bid to " walk worthy of the voca- 
 tion wherewith we are called," that we may not bring 
 dishonom' upon our holy profession, and elsewhere, to 
 walk " as becometh the Gospel of Christ," otherwise 
 we shall only bear the name of Christ, to expose and 
 disparage it, which will be not only to receive the grace 
 of God in vain, but to very bad |)urpose ; for if we thus 
 abuse and turn the grace of (iod into wantonness, we 
 shall turn his favour into fuiy ; and the Gos])el of 
 grace, instead of advancing our happiness, will but 
 aggravate our condemnation. 2. From what is here 
 said, we learn, that as God hath his "accepted" times 
 and seasons ; when, as He will be heard and ready to 
 succour us ; so it will be our duty and wisdom to em- 
 brace and lay bold of them. The wise man tells us of 
 some, who have prizes put into their hands, and yet 
 have no heai-ts to malce use of them ; whom he there- 
 
 having nothing, and yet possessing 
 all thing's''. 
 
 The Gospel. 
 
 rjn II E N was Jesus led up o 
 i Sinrit into the wilderness. 
 
 St. Matth. iv. 1. 
 
 of the 
 )nrit nito tne wuderncss, to be 
 tempted of the devil. And when he 
 had fasted forty days and forty 
 nights, he was afterward an hungred. 
 And when the tempter came to him, 
 he .said. If thou be the Son of God, 
 command that these stones be made 
 bread. But he answered and said, 
 It is written, Man shall not live by 
 bread alone, but by every word that 
 j)roceedeth out of the mouth of God. 
 Then the devil taketh him up into 
 the holy city, and setteth him on a 
 pinnacle of the temple, and saith 
 inito him. If thou be the Son of 
 God, cast thyself down ; for it is 
 written. He shall give his angels 
 charge concerning thee, and in their 
 hands they shall bear thee up, lest at 
 any time thou dash thy foot against 
 a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is 
 written again. Thou shalt not tempt 
 the Lord thy God. Again, the devil 
 taketh him up into an exceeding 
 high mountain, and sheweth him all 
 the kingdoms of the world, and the 
 glory of them ; and saith unto him. 
 All these things will I give thee, if 
 thou wilt fall down and worship me. 
 Then Jesus saith unto him. Get thee 
 hence, Satan ; for it is written, Thou 
 shalt worship the Lord thy God, and 
 him only shalt thou serve. Then the 
 
 fore styles fools, that afterward, when it is too late, 
 repent of their folly. Our Saviour wept o\'er Jerusalem, 
 and bewailed their folly, for letting slip the time of 
 mercy, and thereby bringing upon themseh-cs inevitable 
 destruction, saying, " Oh that thou hadst known in 
 this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace ! 
 hut now are they hid from thine eyes ! " Our apostle 
 here tells us, " that the days of the Gospel are the 
 accepted time, and that now is the day of sah-ation :" 
 which we are therefore to close with and improve to 
 the best advantage ; for if we neglect or let it slip, we 
 shall have cause to lament, but must never hojie to 
 repair our folly. Lastly, we may learn from hence, 
 patience and [lerscvex-ance in well-doing, notwithstand- 
 ing all the diiBcidties and discouragements we may 
 meet with in it. We see the apostles went through 
 many afflictions and tribulations, without weai-iness or 
 fainting under them : they still kejit on in the way of 
 their duty, and carried an indifferent and equal mind 
 in all the good or bad fortune that befel them ; they 
 went through " honour and dishonour, good reijort and 
 evU rejiort," without being elevated by the one, or de- 
 pressed by the other. Let us imitate their noble exam- 
 ples by holding out to the end ; and then, by following
 
 126 
 
 THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 devil leaveth him, and behold, angels 
 came and ministered unto him'. 
 
 A' 
 
 2 Cor. iii, 5 
 xii. 9. 
 
 I Thess. V. 
 23. 1 Pet. i. 5. 
 
 The second Sunday in Lent^. 
 
 The Collect. 
 L ]M I G H T Y God, who seest 
 that we have no power of our- 
 selves to help ourselves ; Keep us 
 both outwardly in our bodies, and in- 
 wardly in our souls; that we may be 
 defended from all adversities which 
 may happen to the body, and from 
 all evil thoughts w^hieh may assault 
 Markvii 21. and liurt the soul; through Jesus 
 s. iix. 14. (^ij^j^j Q^j Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 Thess. iv. L 
 
 WE beseech you, brethren, 
 and exhort you by the Lord 
 Jesus, that as ye have received of 
 us how ye ought to walk, and to 
 
 them in the ways of grace here, we shall ere long follow 
 them to glory, which God grant, for the sake of Jesus 
 Christ. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' One great design of our Lord's temptation seems to 
 have been the encouragement of all good Christians, 
 under the hke circumstances. This is the account given 
 of it by St. Paul, " In that he himself hath suffered, 
 being tem])ted, he is able to succour them that are 
 tempted," Heb. ii. IS. This is the Captain of our sal- 
 vation, who came to fight our battles ; and fit it was, 
 that He should first engage, and try the utmost strength 
 of the enemy of souls : but as He fought, so did He 
 conquer likemse, not for Himself, but for those whose 
 duty it is to fight under Him. And what can be more 
 effectual to animate such, in all their spiritual encoun- 
 ters, than the contemplation of their victorious Leader, 
 thus giving them a sensible proof, that their adversary, 
 fierce and subtle, great and powerful though he be, is 
 not innncible ; and conducting them against a foe, 
 already routed shamefully, and forced to quit the 
 field ? 
 
 2. Another excellent design, for which our Sa\'iour 
 was tempted, is, hereby to convince us of his compas- 
 sion and readiness to help us. This also is the apostle's 
 inference, " \Vc have not a high-priest, that cannot 
 be touched with a feeling of our infirmities, Init was in 
 all points temjited like as we are, yet without sin." 
 Hub. iv. 15. 
 
 3. Another very useful design, served by our Lord's 
 being temjjted, is that of instructing us, that not any, 
 even the liest and most e.xalted degree of virtue, sets 
 men above temptation. It is true, what Jesus suffered 
 of this kind was an instance of choice and voluntary 
 condescension ; but so was his taking that human 
 nature, which alone could render him cai)able of suf- 
 fering it. With us the matter is far otherwise. As we 
 are altogether passive in receiving this nature; so must 
 we be content with the dillieulties. to which the condi- 
 tion of it exposes us of course. And such, to be sure, 
 are tcinjitations. And with these two we have reason 
 to be very well contented, because, though they be 
 occasions of vice, yet they are also exercises of virtue; 
 and, as they may become instrumental to our punisb- 
 ineut and misery, so they may to our happiness and 
 reword. 
 
 please God, so ye would abound 
 more and more. For ye know what 
 commandments we gave you by 
 the Lord Jesus. For this is the 
 will of God, even your sanctifica- 
 tion, that ye should abstain from 
 fornication ; that every one of you 
 should know how to possess his 
 vessel in sanctification and honour ; 
 not in the lust of concupiscence, 
 even as the Gentiles which know 
 not God ; that no man go beyond 
 and defraud his brother in any 
 matter ; because that the Lord is 
 the avenger of all sucii, as we also 
 have forewarned you, and testified. 
 For God hath not called us unto 
 uncleanness, but unto holiness. He 
 therefore that despiseth, despiseth 
 not man, but God, who hatli also 
 given unto us his holy Spirit'. 
 
 4. If in our temptations we follow the example here 
 set us, we may then apply to ourselves the comforts, 
 that followed our Lord's temptation : " 'Ilien the devil 
 leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered 
 unto him." This we are told should not fail to be our 
 case too : that if we " resist the devil, he will flee from 
 us ;" and if we " draw nigh to God, he will draw nigh 
 to us," James iv. 7, 8. He will, by those " ministering 
 spirits," which are " sent forth to minister unto them 
 who shall be heirs of salvation," Heb. i. 14. protect 
 and guard us from future dangers. He will relieve 
 those wants, by a better and more effectual way, for the 
 supjjly whereof we would not submit to any la«-ful 
 courses ; reward our better choice with the inexpressibly 
 sweet satisfactions of a good conscience ; a peace and 
 joy, which the world and all its pleasures cannot give, 
 which all its afflictions cannot take away ; and, at last, 
 through these triumphs begun upon earth, will con- 
 duct us to that yet more perfect blessedness, which 
 shall alnindantly recompense our toils and sufferings, 
 and crown our constancy with glory immortal in hea- 
 ven. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' TAe second Sunday in Lent.^ 'I'he Epistle persuades 
 to temperance and abstinence from all uncleanness : 
 the Gos])el tells us how we may subdue our si)iritual 
 enemy, assaulting lis tlirnugli the medium of our lusts 
 and appetites ; namely, by steilfast faith, and fervent 
 and im|)ortunatc prayer : which instruction the Church 
 ajiplies to practice in the Collect of the day. Bj). Spar- 
 row, Dean Slanlio/ie. 
 
 ' The apostle's discourse in this ])lace is wholly em- 
 ployed upon the sins of uncleanness : concerning which 
 it is dilllcult to enlarge, and it may be sufficient there- 
 fore to remark, that the "sanrtilication," required by 
 the apostle, is a virtue extending to mind and body 
 both ; and comprehends the prohibition not only of 
 every species of actual uncleanness, but of obscene 
 language, lascivious looks, impure thoughts, immodest 
 behaviour, in short of every thing which has a tenilency 
 that way. The less cajiablc this subject is of being 
 conveniently treated by our teachers, the more minute 
 and exact it becomes pri\ate persons to be in the ex- 
 aminaticm of their own cimscienees concerning it. Kspc- 
 pecially since the apostle liatli here used such pressing 
 motives, by saying, that our " sanctification" is the
 
 THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 127 
 
 and worsliiii]ied 
 help me. But 
 said, It is not 
 children's bread, 
 dogs. And she 
 
 The Gospel St. Mattli. xv. 21. 
 
 JESUS went thence, and de- 
 parted into the coasts of Tyre 
 and Sidon. And behold a woman of 
 Canaan came out of the same coasts, 
 and cried unto him, saying, Have 
 mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of 
 David ; my daughter is grievously 
 vexed with a devil. But he answered 
 her not a word. And his disciples 
 came and besought him, saying. Send 
 lier away ; for she crieth after us. 
 But lie answered and said, I am not 
 sent, but unto the lost sheep of the 
 house of Israel. Then came she 
 him, saying. Lord, 
 he answered and 
 meet to take the 
 and to cast it to 
 said, Truth, Lord ; 
 yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which 
 fail from their masters' table. Then 
 Jesus answered and said unto her, 
 
 commandment of the Lord Jesus and "the will of 
 God ;" that the contrary affections are the scandal of 
 the " Gentiles who know not God ;" that Christians 
 are " called, not unto uncleanness, but unto holiness ;" 
 and that any of these, who hehave themselves unsuita- 
 bly to that call, draw down vengeance u])on their own 
 head, and " despise God, and the Holy Spirit he hath 
 given us." The sum of all which passages may be 
 reduced to this, that sins of uncleanness in particular 
 are a high provocation to Almighty God ; that they 
 forfeit the privilege, and defeat the ends of our Chris- 
 tian ])rofession ; and reflect upon it the greatest scandal 
 and dishonour. To the casting out of this unclean 
 spirit prayer must contribute. And therefore nothing 
 could be more accommodated to the suhject of this 
 Epistle, than the Collect by which it is introduced. 
 Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ■" The duty of prayer appears, as from other consider- 
 ations, so from the necessity of our ap|)lying to (jod for 
 some graces out of our own power. Such in particular 
 is that purity, so earnestly recommended in the epistle 
 for the day. But, in regard, it does not always happen, 
 that our petitions are granted so soon, either as we 
 make them, or as we expect a return to them, nothing 
 could be more proper and methodical than for the 
 Chiu'ch on this occasion, to encourage our importunity 
 and continuance in prayer. Nothing could more en- 
 courage this than so successful an instance of it, as the 
 miracle related in the Gospel now before us. Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 1. The compellation, with which this woman ad- 
 dresses herself to Christ, is a forcible argument of her 
 faith ; " O Lord, thou Son of David." What proselj-te, 
 what disciple, could have said more ? In this confes- 
 sion of the Syrophoenician we have an abstract of divi- 
 nity. What can we Christians confess more, than the 
 deity, and the humanity, and the Messiahship, of our 
 glorious Saviour ? his deity, as Lord ; his humanity, 
 as a Son ; his Messiahship, as the Son of David ? Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 2. From our Saviour's answering this woman of 
 Canaan " not a word," and shewing Uttle or no regard 
 
 O woman, great is thy faith : be it 
 unto thee even as thou wilt. And 
 her daughter was made whole from 
 that very hour'". 
 
 The third Sunday in Lenl'^. 
 The Collect. 
 E beseech thee, Almighty 
 God, look upon the hearty 
 desires of thy humble servants, and Ps. cxiv. la. 
 stretch forth the right hand of thy 
 Majesty, to be our defence against ps. ixxiv. u 
 all our enemies; through Jesus Christ J." 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Isa. xli. lu. 
 
 cxxxviii. 
 7. 
 
 The Epistle. Ephes. v. 1. 
 
 BE ye therefore followers of God, 
 as dear children ; and walk in 
 love, as Christ also hath loved us, 
 and hath given himself for us, an 
 offering and a sacrifice to God for a 
 sweet-smelling savour. But fornica- 
 
 to her first suit, we may learn not to be discouraged, 
 if our prayers are not always presently answered. He 
 would not grant her request immediately, because He 
 chose to try her faith, and to heighten her importunity. 
 God Almighty hath many very wise and weighty reasons 
 for denying or delaying the grant of our ])etitions : 
 and if we look into ourselves, when our petitions are 
 not granted, we shall jirobably find that the cause is 
 to be found in the want of some qualification on our 
 part. 
 
 3. From our Saviour's granting her request at last, 
 we may learn the efficacy and sure success of fervent 
 and persevering prayer. " The effectual fervent |)rayer 
 of the righteous (saith St. James) availeth much," 
 James v. 16; it conquers all difficulties and surmounts 
 all opposition. But then it must be accompanied with 
 faith, and a firm persuasion of the power and goodness 
 of Him whom we address ; so St. James adds, " Let him 
 ask in faith, nothing wavering ; for he that wavers is 
 like a wave of the sea dri\'en with the wind and tossed ; 
 let not that man think that he shall receive any thing 
 at the hands of God," James i. 6. A double-minded 
 man is unstable in all his ways, and consequently un- 
 successful in all his petitions. If then we would ob- 
 tain our requests, we must, with this woman of Canaan, 
 " continue instant in praj'er, watching thereunto with 
 all perseverance." We must never give out through 
 weariness, nor cease asking till we receive, and be daily 
 lifting pure hearts and hands without wrath and doubt- 
 ing; and then we shall not, in God's due time, miss 
 of an answer, nor want what is convenient to us. Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 " The third Sunday in Lent.~\ The Collect beseeches 
 Almighty God for favour and protection. To which 
 end the Epistle exhorts us to pursue the things that 
 are good, and then we shall be protected from all evil : 
 according to that saying of St. Peter, " \Mio is he that 
 will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good i" 
 Tlie Gospel recommends perseverance in well-doing, 
 and shews the danger of relajjsing : " for the end of 
 that man is worse than the beginning." Dr. Hole, Bp. 
 Sparrow.
 
 128 
 
 THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 tion, and all uncleanness, or cove- 
 tousness, let it not be once named 
 amongst you, as becometh saints ; 
 neiilier filthiness, nor foolish-talking, 
 nor jesting, wliicli are not conve- 
 nient : but rather givinii: of thanks : 
 for this ye know, that no wliore- 
 nionger, nor unclean person, nor 
 covetous man, who is an idolater, 
 hath any inheritance in the kingdom 
 of Christ and of God. Let no man 
 deceive you with vain words : for 
 because of these things comoth the 
 wrath of God upon the children of 
 disobedience. Be not ye therefore 
 partakers with them : for ye were 
 sometimes darkness, but now are 
 ye light in the Lord; walk as chil- 
 dren of light; (for the fruit of the 
 Spirit is in all goodness, and rigiit- 
 eousness, and truth;) proving what 
 is acceptable uuto the Lord. And 
 have no fellowshi)) with the unfruit- 
 ful works of darkness, but rather 
 reprove them : for it is a shame even 
 to speak of those things which are 
 done of them in secret. But all 
 tilings that are reproved are made 
 manifest by the light : for whatso- 
 ever doth make manifest is light. 
 Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou 
 that sleepest, and arise from the 
 dead, and Christ shall give thee 
 lights 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke xi. 14. 
 
 E S U S was casting out a devil, 
 and it was dumb. And it came 
 to pass, when the devil was gone 
 out, the dumb spake ; and the peo- 
 
 J 
 
 ° From the Rjiistle of this flay the duties which arise 
 are these : 1. 'I'iiat we henceforth Ijccome, if we are not 
 already, "followers oftjod, as dear children." and esjie- 
 cially in the divine grace of love, of which He hath set 
 us the most nohlc and most vmparallelccl pattern. 2. That 
 we forsake all things that are offensive anil ilis]ileasinfT 
 to Elim ; esjiccially all iincleanness, and the other works 
 of darkness, which are made manifest and reproved hy 
 the light. :i. That we henceforth " walk as children 
 of the light," doing and delighting only in things that 
 can hear it; that the light of the (iosjiel, which was 
 given U3 for our salvation, jirove not at last our greater 
 condemnation. 4. That we awake out of that lethargy 
 or sleep, which sin and security hath lulled too many 
 into ; that we he not deluded hy dreams or im))osed 
 upon hy the false shews and ajipearances of this world, 
 hut open our eyesin time to see and seek for hetter things. 
 Lastly, that we rise from the death of sin, to a life of 
 righteousness, and that will hring us ere long to life 
 everlasting. To which (iod of hia infinite mercy hring 
 us all for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake. .\men. Vr. 
 Hole. 
 
 pie wondered. But some of them 
 said, He casteth out devils through 
 Beelzebub, the chief of the devils. 
 And others, tempting him, sought 
 of him a sign from heaven. But 
 he, knowing their thoughts, said 
 unto them. Every kingdom divided 
 against itself is brought to desola- 
 tion ; and a house divided against 
 a house falleth. If Satan also be 
 divided against himself, how shall 
 his kingdom stand ? because ye say, 
 that I cast out devils through Beel- 
 zebub. And if I by Beelzebub 
 cast out devils, by whom do your 
 sons cast them out ? therefore shall 
 they be your judges. But if I with 
 the finger of God cast out devils, 
 no doubt the kingdom of God is 
 come upon you. When a strong 
 man armed keepeth his palace, his 
 goodd are in peace ; but when a 
 stronger than he- shall come upon 
 him, and overcome him, he taketli 
 from him all his armour wherein 
 he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 
 He that is not with me is against 
 me : and he that gathereth not with 
 me scattereth. When the unclean 
 sjiirit is gone out of a man, he 
 walketh through dry place-s, seeking 
 rest ; and finding none, he saith, 
 I will return unto my house whence 
 I came out. And when he cometli, 
 he findeth it swept and garnished. 
 Then goeth he and taketh to him 
 seven other spirits more wicked 
 than himself, and they enter in, and 
 dwell there ; and the last state of 
 that man is worse than the first. And 
 
 If the state of the sinner, or the man of the world, ho, 
 as the Scripture saith it is, one of darkness, insensihi- 
 lity, and delusion ; and if such a state be not thought 
 preferahle to one of light, and sense, and substantial 
 reality; let no man be disobedient to the voice of the 
 ('luirch, which, through the course of this penitential 
 season, incessantly addresseth every one of her children, 
 "Behold, now is the acccpte<l time; behold, now is 
 the day of salvation." Awakened by these re])eated 
 calls, be it our care to arise without delay to newness of 
 life. Jjct us be constaully employed in some good 
 work ; reailing, or ])raying, or performing some other 
 work of piety to tiod, or charity to our neighbour. Let 
 us beware that surfeiting and excess do not op])rcss and 
 weigh down the heart, inducing .sleep upon the soul, as 
 well as the body. Let us be temperate, let us be sober, 
 walking evermore as children of the light. Thus shall 
 we be (jualilied to kecj) that constant watch, which ia 
 absolutely necessary to ])erceive and re])cl the enemy, 
 at his first ajiproach : " What I say unto you," saith 
 Christ to his disciples, "I say unto all, Watch." Bji. 
 Home.
 
 THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 It came to pass, as lie spake these 
 tilings, a certain woman of tlie com- 
 pany lift up lier voice, and said unto 
 liini. Blessed is the womb that hare 
 thee, and tlie paps which thou hast 
 sucked. But he said. Yea rather, 
 blessed are they that hear the Word 
 of God, and keep if. 
 
 G 
 
 The fourth Sunday in Lenf^. 
 
 The Collect. 
 RANT, we beseech thee. Al- 
 mighty God, that we, who for 
 our evil deeds do worthily deserve 
 Ezra ix. 13. to be punishcd, by the comfort of 
 thy grace may mercifully be relieved ; 
 Joel ii. 13. through our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Gal. iv. 2L 
 
 TELL me, ye that desire to be 
 under the law, do ye not hear 
 the law ? For it is written, that 
 Abraham had two sons, the one by 
 a bond-maid, the other by a free- 
 woman. But he who was of the 
 bond-woman was born after the 
 
 I" This Gospel may instruct us in several useful and 
 important lessons. 
 
 I. From Christ's dispossessing the devil, we may he 
 ahundantly satisfied of the divinity of his power; for 
 no power, less than divine, was able to dethrone that 
 prince of darkness, and destroy that usurped dominion, 
 which he exercised over the bodies and souls of men. 
 2. From Christ's arguing against the Pharisees and 
 others, who ascribed his casting out of devils to Beel- 
 zebub the prince of the devils ; we may learn to beware 
 of all such perverse interpretations of Christ's miracles ; 
 for this is that unpardonable sin or blasphemy against 
 the Holy Ghost, which our Saviour tells us shall not 
 be forgiven in this world, nor in that which is to come : 
 not for want of mercy and goodness enough in God, 
 but for want of a capacity in the subject, who ma- 
 liciously resists the way and method of obtaining [lar- 
 don, which is only by faith in Christ, «Tought in us by 
 the Holy Ghost, whose works he opposes, and whose 
 miracles he despiseth. 3. From Christ's power over 
 the devil, we may learn, not to fear his assaults, nor 
 yield to his temptations, but to resist him, stedfast in 
 the faith, for he is only a vanquished foe, whose ])Ower 
 is broken. 4. From the unclean spirit going out, and 
 coming again with greater violence, we may learn, if 
 we have gained any point upon Satan, or any of his 
 temptations, not to neglect our watch, but still to be 
 upon our guard against him ; for he is ever looking 
 for an opportunity of returning upon us, and though 
 he may find his former seat "swept" from some filth, 
 and " garnished " with some outward shews, yet, if we 
 are not aware of him, he will " come again, and bring 
 seven sjiirits, more wicked than himself, to enter in and 
 dwell there;" and so render matters worse than they 
 were before. 
 
 The last inference to be drawn from this Gospel, 
 
 129 
 
 flesh ; but he of the free-woman 
 was by promise. Which things are 
 an allegory : for these arc the two 
 covenants ; the one from the mount 
 Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, 
 which is Agar. For this Agar is 
 mount Sinai in Arabia, and an- 
 swereth to Jerusalem which now is, 
 and is in bondage with her children. 
 But Jerusalem which is above is 
 free ; which is the mother of us 
 all. For it is written. Rejoice, thou 
 barren that bearest not; break forth 
 and cry, thou that travailest not: for 
 the desolate hath many more chil- 
 dren than she which hath an hus- 
 band. Now we, brethren, as Isaac 
 was, are the children of promise. 
 But as then he that was born after 
 the flesh persecuted him that was 
 born after the Spirit ; even so it is 
 now. Nevertheless, what saith the 
 Scripture ? Cast out the bond-woman 
 and her son ; for the son of the bond- 
 woman shall not be heir with the son 
 of the free-woman. So then, bre- 
 thren, we are not children of the 
 bond-woman, but of the free '. 
 
 wherein our Saviour pronounces those "blessed" above 
 all other persons " that hear the word of God and keep 
 it," is, to exhort us to the due observation of both. 
 Hearing is indeed the great instrument of knowledge 
 and instruction ; but it is not all hearing that is suf- 
 ficient to this end; we must be "doers of the word, 
 and not hearers only," othermse we shall but deceive 
 our own souls. In a word then, if we will build for 
 eternity, and lay a good foundation for the time to 
 come, we must receive the word into our hearts, lay it 
 up in our memories, and cause it to bring forth fruit in 
 the course of our conversation, and then we shall be 
 sure in the end to reap everlasting life, for the merits 
 of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ■' The fourth Sunday in Lent.'] In the Collect for the 
 day we acknowledge, that we deserve punishment for 
 our evil deeds; but beseech Almighty God mercifully 
 to relieve us by the comfort of his grace, through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly the Epistle for the 
 day shews the relief we receive by Ilim in our souls by 
 a freedom from the yoke of the Mosaick la%v. And 
 the Gospel shews the relief, that mankind found by 
 Him in their bodies, by the healing of their distempers 
 and the supply of their necessities. Dr. Hole. 
 
 This is generally called with us Midlent-Sunday : it is 
 sometimes caDed " the Sunday of refection," or " re- 
 freshment," probably because the Gospel treats of our 
 Saviour's miracle in feeding the five thousand. Bp. 
 Sparrow, Wheatly. 
 
 ' From the difference illustrated here between the 
 legal and the evangehcal covenants, men may be sea- 
 sonably exhorted to consider the dignity and pri\'ilege 
 of their high calling ; and to serve God upon principles 
 and with a disposition of mind, worthy of the neai' and 
 honourable relation which tliey bear to Him. At the 
 same time we must take good heed not to pervert the
 
 130 
 
 THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 Tlte Gospel. St. John vi. 1. 
 
 JESUS went over the sea of 
 Galilee, which is the sea of Tibe- 
 rias. And a great miiltitmle followed 
 him, because they saw his miracles 
 which he did on them that were 
 diseased. And Jesus went up into a 
 mountain, and there he sat with his 
 disciples. And the Passover, a feast 
 of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus 
 then lift up his eyes, and saw a great 
 company come unto him, he saith 
 unto Philip, Whence shall we buy 
 bread, that these may eat? (And 
 this he said to prove him ; for he 
 Iiimself knew what he would do.) 
 PliiJip answered him. Two hundred 
 peny-worth of bread is not sufficient 
 for them, that every one of them 
 may Uike a little. One of his dis- 
 ciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's bro- 
 ther, saith unto him, There is a lad 
 here, which hath five barley-loaves, 
 
 arguments urged by St. Paul against the works of the 
 law, to the ])rejudiee or disparagement of good works 
 in general. The former are only such works as made up 
 the ceremonial law; and those are abolished by the 
 death of Christ, and the [jromulgation of his Gosjiel. 
 The latter neither began with, nor e.\pircd with, that 
 law, but are moral duties of eternal obligation. To 
 say, we are not justified by the works of either sort, 
 but by faith only, implies, that God forgives our ])ast 
 sins, and admits us into covenant, without any such 
 previous considerations. But to say, that men may be 
 sa\'ed without good works, infers, that they are not 
 bound to do any such, after their admission into that 
 covenant. And this contradicts the whole strain, and 
 evacuates all the precepts, of the Gospel. So wide a 
 distance is there between justification in St. Paul'E 
 sense ; and salvation, or that final justification, which 
 is ])eeuliar to the day of judgment. 
 
 Let us therefore, as this apostle elsewhere advises, 
 learn to "maintain good works," and to "adorn our 
 profession" by them, 'i'it. iii. S; ii. 10. For this is to 
 answer the character of our son-ship; to be followers 
 of our Father, which is in heaven ; and to promote the 
 true end of this holy season. Hut let all this be done 
 with ])rofound humility, and many mortifying remem- 
 brances of our own frailties ; and, even in our best 
 estate, and most exalted devotions, let us apjiroach the 
 throne of grace with a modesty, of which our Church, 
 in the Collect for this day, hath set us a jiattern ; be- 
 seeching of (iod, that " we, who for our evil deeds do 
 worthily deserve to be jiunished, by the comfort of his 
 grace may mercifully be relieved, through Jesus Clmst, 
 our Lord." Amen. Diitn SInnhnpi: 
 
 ' In this reritalwc may doubt whether more to won- 
 der at the miraculous caliug, or the miraculous leaving. 
 Here were a whole bust of guests, live tht)usanil men; 
 and in all likelihood, no fewer women and cliildren. 
 Perhaps, some of these only looked on : nay, " they 
 did all eat." Perhaiis, every man a crumb, or a hit: 
 nay, they did cat to satiety; "all were satisfied." So 
 many must needs make clean work; of so little there 
 could be left nothing: yea, there were "fragments" 
 remaining. I'erhaps some crumbs or crusts, hardly to 
 
 and two small fishes : but what are 
 they among so many ? And Jesus 
 said, Make the men sit down. Now 
 there was much grass in the place. 
 So the men sat down, in number 
 about five thousand. And Jesus 
 took the loaves, and when he had 
 given thanks he distributed to the 
 disciples, and the discijiles to them 
 that were set down ; and likewise of 
 the fishes as much as they woidd. 
 When they were filled, he said unto 
 his disciples, Gather up the frag- 
 ments that remain, that nothing be 
 lost. Therefore they gathered them 
 together, and filled twelve baskets 
 with the fragments of the five barley- 
 loaves, which remained over and 
 above unto them that had eaten. 
 Then those men, when they had 
 seen the miracle that Jesus did, said. 
 This is of a truth that Prophet that 
 sliould come into the worlds 
 
 be discerned, much less gathered : nay, " twelve baskets 
 full ;" more remained than was first set down. Had 
 they eaten nothing, it was a just miracle, that so much 
 should be left; had nothing remained, it was no less 
 miracle, that so many had eaten, and so many satisfied ; 
 but now, that so many bellies and so many baskets 
 were filled, the miracle was tloubled. O work of a 
 boundless omnipotency ! Bp. Hall. 
 
 From this narrative there result the three following 
 practical reflections : 
 
 1 . From our Lord's behaviour, before the distribution 
 of the loaves, called by the e\angelists " blessing and 
 giving thanks," we may be instructed at our meals to 
 render our acknowledgments to God for his liberality, 
 and to beg that it may be sanctified to us by tending to 
 promote all the good jiurposes of his bounty. Of this 
 practice we have several instances in our Saviour's con- 
 duct, as well as in that of St. Paul, Acts .\xvii. 35. And 
 what can be better contrived, to keep up a constant awe 
 and reverence of (iod in our minds, when accustomed 
 to call ujion his name at every sujiply of our natural 
 necessities? What can more effectually humble us, 
 with a just sense of our precarious and depending con- 
 dition ? What more dis])ose men to use his gilts 
 moderately, to entertain tliem thaidifully, to be content 
 with their jjortion, if it be little ; to impart of their 
 abundance, if it be much ; to compassionate those who 
 want the same comforts, to recollect that they are 
 stewards ; and that their orders are to " give freely of 
 what they have received freely .>" What, lastly, can he 
 more likely to sanctify, to enlarge, and multi])ly our 
 blessings, than so decent, so publick, so devout, so 
 humble, a testimony of our great Benefactor's good- 
 ness i 
 
 •2. This feeling of so vast a multitude, by a method 
 altogether extraordinary and miracidous, should he 
 used, as a seasonable hint, for the consideration of, 
 and thanks due for, that boimtcous providence of God, 
 which every day feeds numbers infinitely greater, in a 
 very wcmderful though ordinary manner. For, what 
 proportion do five thousand men bear to those nmn- 
 i)erless kindreds and countries, that constantly subsist 
 ujion his liberality ? What is this one marvellous en-
 
 THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 131 
 
 W; 
 
 The Ji fill Smiilai/ in I, cut'-. 
 The Collect. 
 E beseech tlieo, Almiglity 
 Gofl, mercifully to look upon 
 thy people; that by thy great good- 
 ness they may be jrovenied and pre- 
 iThess.v. served evermore, both in body and 
 "'■ soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Heb. ix. 11. 
 
 CHRIS T being- come an High 
 Priest of good things to come, 
 by a greater and more perfect 
 tabernacle, not made with hands ; 
 that is to say, not of this building ; 
 neither by the blood of goats and 
 calves ; but by his own blood he 
 
 largement of five loaves and two fishes, to the uncon- 
 ceivable productions of animals, the variety of jilants 
 and herbs, and other increase of the earth, and the 
 many unknown ways, by which " he opens his hand, 
 and fills all things living with ]ilenteousness ?" 
 
 3. We may remark our blessed Master's care, that 
 the fragments remaining might be gathered uj), and 
 put into baskets ; for which, no doubt, this had been a 
 sufficient reason, that those might prove both the reality 
 of the miracle, and the exceeding greatness of the in- 
 crease. But, in reg.ard our Lord assigns another, when 
 saying, " Gather up the fragments, that nothing be 
 lost;" the proper use, I think, of this head is, thence 
 to form a direction, how to manage our sulistance to 
 the best advantage; and so to apjjrove ourselves 
 charitable and kind, as at the same time not to be 
 ])rofuse and indiscreet. Jesus, it is true, by setting his 
 whole store before the multitude, hath left us a pattern 
 of beneficence and largeness of heart. The provisions, 
 growing so prodigiously upon his hands, are an emblem 
 and intimation of those unaccountable accessions, which 
 we may sometimes observe, to the fortunes of generous 
 and merciful persons : and, by some passages of Scrip- 
 ture, an unwary reader might be led to think, that in 
 those actions there could be no excess, at least no possi- 
 bility of oifending by such excess : but yet the same 
 Jesus would not, that even "fragments" should be lost. 
 And herein He hath shewed, that all reserving for the 
 future is not unla\rful ; that charity is very consistent 
 with frugality ; indeed not only that they may, but 
 should, go together. For God will be sure to make a 
 mighty difference between the virtue, and the specious 
 extreme beyond it ; between the liberal, and the lavish 
 man. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' The fifth Sunday in Lent.'] ITiis is called Passion 
 Sunday : for now begins the commemoration of the 
 passion of our Lord. The Epistle treats of the [lassion ; 
 the Gospel, of our Lord's being slandered by the bold 
 malice of the Jews, who call Him Samaritan, and tell 
 Him He hath a devil, which must needs be a part of 
 his passion. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 As the death of our blessed Saviour is the spring 
 from whence all our hopes and confidences of happiness 
 and mercy flow ; and as the end of his sufferings is the 
 benefit of wretched man ; so the manner of those suffer- 
 ings is likewise adapted to oiu" good. And, if within 
 these it be fit to comprehend, not the last black scene 
 only, but those many antecedent passages of his life, in 
 which He " endured the contradiction of sinners agaiuft 
 
 entered in once into the holy ])lace, 
 having obtained eternal redemption 
 for us. For if the blood of bulls 
 and of goats, and the ashes of an 
 heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanc- 
 titieth to the purifying of the flesli ; 
 how much more shall the blood of 
 Christ, who, through the eternal 
 Spirit, offered himself without spot 
 to Ciod, purge your conscience from 
 dead works to serve the living God ? 
 And for this cause he is the Me- 
 diator of the new testament, that 
 by means of death, for the redemp- 
 tion of the transgressions that were 
 under the first testament, they which 
 are called might receive the promise 
 of eternal inheritance". 
 
 himself;" the Gospel for this day may well deserve a 
 place in our Liturgy. Thus the Church rises very 
 gradually ; in the historical jiart, from ojiprobrious 
 language, and a malicious but vain attempt upon his 
 sacred life, to that violence, which was jjermitted to 
 take effect ; in the instructive part, from a pattern of 
 reproached and spited innocence, to one of faithfulness 
 to the very death, and " resisting even imto blood " 
 when God and duty call. This I conceive the great 
 design of, this the jjroper method for, improving that 
 Scripture read in our ears this day. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 " From Christ's being the Mediator of the New Tes- 
 tament let us learn to address Him as such, and cast 
 ourselves upon his mediation ; for He hath made an 
 all-sufficient atonement, and obtained eternal redemp- 
 tion for us ; so that " whatever we ask the Father in his 
 name he will give it us :" for He hath merited for us 
 the grant of our petitions : the incense of his merits 
 and intercession give value to our prayers, and render 
 them an offering of a sweet-smeUing savour. Hence 
 we find the Psalmist praying, that " his ]irayers might 
 ascend as incense, and the lifting up of his hands as an 
 evening sacrifice," Ps. cxli. 2. Accordingly our Church 
 teaches us to conclude all our prayers with the merits 
 and mediation of Christ, which alone can gi\-e them all 
 their acceptance ; and for that reason, saith the apostle, 
 " Christ is entered into the holy place not made with 
 hands, that is, into heaven itself, there to ajipear in the 
 presence of (jod for us," Heb. ix. 24. 
 
 2. We learn hence not to set up any other mediators 
 than God hath appointed, nor unwarrantably join any 
 co-partners with Him ; for there is but one Mediator 
 between God and men, the man Christ Jesus : and 
 therefore let us not join the ^'irgin Mary or any other 
 saint or angel with Him. His merits alone are suffi- 
 cient, and need none to be joined with Him. This way 
 we may have free access, and come with boldness to the 
 throne of grace; but we affront God and disparage 
 our Mediator, if we go to Him any other way. 
 
 And therefore, lastly, to obtain the benefit of Christ's 
 mediation, let us learn to fulfil the conditions of the 
 new covenant, of which He is Mediator; that is, let us 
 repent and believe the Gospel, without which all, that 
 He hath done or said for us, will be of no avail : for 
 God cannot be at peace with us, till we lay down our 
 arms, and submit to Him. If we regard iniquity in 
 our hearts. He will not hear our prayers ; neither wiU 
 any intercession prevail, while we retain our sin. Let 
 us then do our part, by repenting and turning from 
 ' K 2
 
 132 
 
 THE SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 the^ Jews 
 that thou 
 
 The Gospel. St. Joliii viii. 46. 
 
 JESUS said, Whicli of you con- 
 vinceth me of sin ? and if I say 
 the trutli, why do ye not believe 
 me ? He that is of God heareth 
 God's words ; ye therefore hear 
 them not, because ye are not of 
 God. Then answered the Jews, 
 and said unto him, Say we not 
 well, that thou art a Samaritan, 
 and hast a devil ? Jesus answered, 
 I have not a devil ; but I honour 
 my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 
 And I seek not mine own glory ; 
 there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 
 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a 
 man keep my saying, he shall never 
 see death. Then said 
 unto him, Now we know 
 hast a devil : Abraham is dead, and 
 the prophets ; and thou sayest. If a 
 man keep my saying, he shall never 
 taste of death. Art thou greater 
 than our father Abraham, which is 
 dead ? and the prophets are dead : 
 whom makest thou thyself? Jesus 
 
 our evil ways ; and then God will not be wanting on 
 his part to give us grace here, and glory hereafter. Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 » Amongst the useful meditations suggested by the 
 Gospel of the day, none appear more worthy of notice 
 than tlie following : 
 
 1. From Abraham's "seeing Christ's day, and rejoic- 
 ing" at it at so gi-eat a distance ; we may learn to double 
 our joy, and to rejoice much more at a nearer view of 
 Him. He saw Him only " through a glass darkly, but 
 we face to face ;" he beheld Him only in the promise, 
 but %ve in the ])erformance ; his face was veiled witli 
 types and shadows under the Law, which gave a very 
 imperfect and obscure representation of Him, Ijut this 
 veil is now taken off imder the Gospel, and we behold 
 Him with open face: for He became flcsli and dwelt 
 among us, and tlic glory of this divinity shone through 
 the mantle of his humanity. 
 
 2. From Chrisl's allirming Himself to be before Abra- 
 ham, let us learn to acknowledge and ad(n'e his divinity, 
 who had a being before all time, and gave a being to all 
 things in it. Dr. Hole. 
 
 3. From this passage, we may be certainly assured, 
 that the sulferings and death of Christ were his own 
 free voluntary act. 'I'he same divine, unseen force, 
 which held the hands of the men of Nazareth, when 
 they intended to cast II im headlong down the brow of 
 their hill ; the same which evaded the Jews' ])rcsent 
 design to stone Him ; was ever ready, ever aide, to 
 produce the same wonderful elfccts. We know it was 
 so in the garden particularly: and the casting of those 
 down to the ground, who then came to apprehend 
 Him, ought to have made them understand, that, if He 
 had not thought fit to check and withdraw it, neither 
 their numbers, nor their weapons, could have prevailed 
 to his prejudice. This should inllanie our love and our 
 gratitude, that the many bitter things our Lord endured 
 for our sakes, were not upon constraint, but choice ; 
 that He so signally proved the truth of those liis own 
 
 answered. If I honour myself, my 
 honour is nothing ; it is my Father 
 that honoureth me, of whom ye say, 
 that he is your God : yet ye have 
 not known him ; but I know him : 
 and if I shoidd say, I know him not, 
 I shall be a liar like unto you ; but 
 I know him, and keep his saying. 
 Your fatiier Abraham rejoiced to see 
 my day, and he saw it, and was glad. 
 Then said the Jews luito him. Thou 
 art not yet fifty years old, and hast 
 thou seen Abraham ? Jesus said unto 
 them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
 before Abraham was, I am. Then 
 took they up stones to cast at him : 
 but Jesus hid himself, and went out 
 of the temple ^. 
 
 The Sunday tic.rt before Easter^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, who, of thy tender love James v. ii. 
 towards mankind, hast sent thy Son, 
 our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take 
 
 words : " No man taketh my life from me, but I lay 
 it down of myself;" that He was barbarously treated, 
 and ignominiously murdered, because He woidd be so; 
 and the " will of God was fulfilled" in this point only, 
 because He was " content" and well pleased "to do it." 
 What remains then, but that, as this holy season re- 
 quires, we meditate on this dying Redeemer with won- 
 der ; that we ])resent his willing jjassion to our souls, 
 in all those moving circumstances it is capable of: that 
 we think nothing too much for Him, who was so libe- 
 ral of ease, of reputation, of life for us : that we not 
 only adore but imitate that great e.\ample, who, ^hcn 
 " lie was reviled, re\iled not again ; when lie suffered, 
 he threatened not ; but committed himself to God, that 
 judgeth righteously," 1 Pet. ii. 23 : that we make not 
 wTongs of any sort, mutual, but account it our gene- 
 rosity, our duty, to suffer ourselves to be out-done, in 
 this only instance of evil doing ; so observing the a])os- 
 tle's conini;ind, not to " rcnilcr evil for evil, nor raihng 
 for railing, but contrariwise, blessing, knowing that we 
 are hereunto called, that we might inherit a blessing," 
 1 I'et. iii. !). Denn Stanhope. 
 
 '■ The Sumlay next he/ore Ea.iter.'] lliis week, imme- 
 diately preceding the feast of Easter, is more esjiecially 
 designed to fit us for that great solemnity ; and, to that 
 end, is to be spent in more than ordinary i>iety and de- 
 votion. It was anciently called, sometimes tlie Great 
 Week, sometimes the Holy Week, because it hath a 
 larger service than any otlur week; every day having 
 a second service appointed for it, in which are rehearsed 
 at large the sulferings of ( 'lirist, as they are described 
 by the four evangelists ; that by hearing and reading 
 the history of his passion, we may Ijc better jirejiarcd 
 for the mystery of his resurrection : that, by his rising 
 from the dead, we may be quickened to newness of life. 
 This day. which begins this holy week, is called by the 
 name of I'ulm-Sunday, being the day on which our 
 Sa\'iour entered Jerusalem, with great joy ; some siji-ead- 
 ing their garments, others cutting down brancucs of
 
 THE SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 lao 
 
 Rimi.viii. 32. upon liiiii OUT flcsli, and to suffer 
 10. " ' death upon tlie cro.ss, that all man- 
 kind shoidd folh)w the example of 
 Phil. ii. 5— his great humility; Mercifully grant, 
 tjiat we may both follow the example 
 of liis patience, and also be made 
 partakers of his resurrection; through 
 the same Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Phil. iii. 8. 
 10. 
 
 Rom. viii. 
 le, 17. 
 
 JTiin. ii. 11, 
 12. 
 
 The Epistle. Phil. ii. 5. 
 
 LET this mind be in you, which 
 was also in Christ Jesus : who, 
 being in the form of God, thought 
 it not robbery to be equal with God; 
 but made himself of no reputation, 
 and took upon him the form of a 
 servant, and was made in the likeness 
 of men : and being found in fashion 
 as a man, he humbled himself, and 
 became obedient unto death, even 
 the death of the cross. Wherefore 
 God also hath highly exalted him, 
 and given him a Name which is 
 above every name; that at the Name 
 of Jesus every knee should bow, of 
 things in heaven, and things in earth, 
 
 palm, carrying them in their hands, and strewing them 
 in the way, which hath been remembered with great 
 solemnity. Dr. Hole. 
 
 In the missals this Sunday is called Palm-Sunday; 
 and in many ])arts of England it still retains its ancient 
 name. On this day, till the era of the Reformation, 
 the people in solemn procession carried in their hands 
 palms, or branches of some other tree, in commemora- 
 tion of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem five 
 days before his death. The jialms were then placed on 
 the altar by the clerks, before the time of the celebra- 
 tion of the Eucharist : and numerous benedictory Col- 
 lects were pronounced over them by the priest. Shep- 
 herd. 
 
 The Collect for the day puts us in mind of the tender 
 love of God towards mankind, in sending his Son, not 
 only to take upon Him our tlesh, but to suffer in it the 
 death of the cross for our sins ; to the intent, " that all 
 mankind should follow the e.\ample of his great humi- 
 lity;" and thence teaches us to pray, " that we may 
 both follow the e.xamjile of his patience, and also be 
 made partakers of his resurrection." 
 
 The Epistle for the day ])resents us to this purpose 
 with the highest and best jjattern for our imitation, even 
 the Son of God, who hath done and suffered all these 
 great things for us. 
 
 ITiis Gospel, with the rest that follow on each day of 
 this holy week, gives us an ample account of the death 
 and passion of our blessed Saviour, together with the 
 many circumstances that went before, and came after it. 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' Tlie good effects, which oiu' Church proposes to 
 herself from this portion of Scripture, we jilainly learn, 
 from the Collect for the day, to be humility and pa- 
 tience. The former is to be e.vpressed by thinking no 
 good office beneath us, whereby we may contribute to 
 the relief of our brethren in their sufferings ; the latter, 
 by contentedness and constancy of mind, in submitting 
 
 and things under tlic earth ; and that 
 every tongue should confess that 
 Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of 
 God the Father'-. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mattli. xxvii. 1. 
 
 WW E N the morning was come, 
 all the chief priests and elders 
 of the people took counsel against 
 Jesus to put him to deatli. And 
 when they had bound him, they led 
 him away, and delivered him to 
 Pontius Pilate the governour. Then 
 Judas who liad betrayed him, when 
 he saw that he was condemned, re- 
 pented himself, and brought again 
 the thirty pieces of silver to tiie chief 
 priests and elders, saying, I have 
 sinned, in that I have betrayed the 
 innocent blood. And they .said, 
 What is that to us ? see thou to tliat. 
 And he cast down the pieces of .silver 
 in the temple, and departed, and 
 went and hanged himself. And the 
 chief priests took the silver pieces, 
 and said, It is not lawful for to put 
 them into the treasury, because it is 
 
 to our own. In order to excite and establish these 
 good dispositions in us, the Son of God, and Saviour 
 of the world, is here set forth as our pattern. His love 
 and condescension, for our examjjle ; that we, so far 
 as the difference of circumstances will allow, may not 
 grudge to do, as He hath done before us. His exalta- 
 tion and reward is also mentioned, for our encourage- 
 ment ; that we may depend u])on the like being done 
 to us in proportion, which hath already been done to 
 Him, by way of recompense for such kind humiliation. 
 Great indeed is at once the necessity, and the encou- 
 ragement we all have, to imitate the \'irtues, for which 
 our Lord was so consjjicuous : the necessity, because 
 nothing less than a likeness to his excellencies can ad- 
 vance us to a likeness of that bliss, which rewarded 
 them : the encouragement, because He is entered 
 into heaven, not for Himself, but us; the pledge of 
 our immortaUty, and glory, by our natm-e being already 
 immortalized and glorified. Let us not then think any 
 thing too much to do, or endure for our duty, and the 
 good of soids ; since where the " sufferings of Clirist 
 abound, his consolations will much more abound." 
 Let us read, and hear, and meditate on, the Serijjtures 
 commended to our thoughts this week, with minds 
 disposed to form themselves upon the model here be- 
 fore us. Let us carefully observe the interest we have 
 in them ; and rest perfectly satisfied, that, by virtue of 
 that union, which He in great humility hath been 
 pleased to make, the sufferings and the rewards of 
 Christ's human nature so far belong to us, and all 
 mankind ; that all, " who follow the example of his 
 patience, shall" undoubtedly " be partakers of his re- 
 surrection." Which He, of his infinite mercy, grant, 
 " who was dead and is abve again, and liveth for ever- 
 more, and hath the keys of death and hell," Rev. i. 1 8. To 
 whom with the Father and Holy Spirit, three persons 
 and one God, be all honom and glory, power, praise, and 
 dominion, world without end. Amen. Denn Stanhope.
 
 134 
 
 THE SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 the price of blood. And they took 
 counsel, and bought with them the 
 potter's field, to bury strangers in. 
 Wherefore that field was called. The 
 field of blood, unto this day. (Then 
 was fulfilled that which was spoken 
 by Jeremy the ]irophet, saying. And 
 they took the thirty pieces of silver, 
 the price of him that was valued, 
 whom they of the children of Israel 
 did value, and gave them for the pot- 
 ter's field, as the Lord appointed me.) 
 And Jesus stood before the governour ; 
 and the governour asked him, saying, 
 Art thou the King of the Jews ? 
 And Jesus said unto him, Thou 
 sayest. And when he was accused 
 of the chief priests and elders, he 
 answered nothing. Then saith Pilate 
 unto him, Hearest thou not how 
 many things they witness against 
 thee ? And he answered him to never 
 a word, insomuch that the governour 
 marvelled greatly. Now at that feast 
 the governour was wont to release 
 unto the people a prisoner, whom 
 they would. And they had then a 
 notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 
 Therefore when they were gathered 
 together, Pilate said unto them, 
 whom will ye that I release unto 
 you ? Barabbas, or Jesus which is 
 called Christ ? For he knew that for 
 envy they had delivered him. When 
 he was set down on the judgement- 
 seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, 
 Have thou nothing to do with that 
 just man : for I have suffered many 
 tilings this day in a dream because 
 of liim. But the chief jiriests and 
 elders persuaded the multitude that 
 they should ask Barabbas, and de- 
 stroy Jesus. The governour an- 
 swered and said unto them, Wiie- 
 thcr of the twain will ye that I 
 release unto you ? They said, Ba- 
 rabbas. Pilate saith unto them. 
 What shall I do then with Jesus, 
 which is called Clirist ? Tiiey all 
 say unto him. Let him be crucified. 
 And llic governour said, Why, wliat 
 evil halii lie done ? But they cried 
 out the more, saying, Let him be 
 crucified. When Pilate saw that lie 
 could prevail notliitig, but that rather 
 a tumult was made, he took water, 
 and washed his haiuls before the 
 multituile, saying, I am innocent of 
 the blood of this jast person: see ye 
 
 to it. Then answered all the people, 
 and said. His blood be on us, and 
 on our children. Then released he 
 Barabbas luito them : and when he 
 had scourged Jesus he delivered him 
 to be crucified. Then the soldiers 
 of the governour took Jesus into 
 the common hall, and gathered unto 
 him the whole band of soldiers. 
 And they stripped him, and put on 
 him a scarlet robe. And when they 
 had platted a crown of thorns they 
 put it upon his head, and a reed 
 in his right hand : and they bowed 
 the knee before him, and mocked 
 him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. 
 And they spit upon him, and took 
 the reed, and smote him on the 
 head. And after that they had 
 mocked him they took the robe off 
 from him, and put his own raiment 
 on him, and led him away to cru- 
 cify him. And as they came out 
 they found a man of Cyrene, Simon 
 by name; him they compelled to 
 bear his cross. And when they were 
 come unto a place called Golgotha, 
 that is to say, a place of a scull, they 
 gave him vinegar to drink mingled 
 with gall : and when he had tasted 
 thereof, he would not drink. And 
 they crucified him, and parted his 
 garments, casting lots : that it might 
 be fulfilled, which was spoken by the 
 prophet, They parted my garments 
 among them, and upon my vesture 
 did they cast lots. And sitting down 
 they watched him there ; and set up 
 over his head his accusation written, 
 THIS IS JESUS THE KING 
 OF THE JEWS. Then were 
 there two thieves crucified with him ; 
 one on the right haiul, aiul another 
 on the left. And they that ))assed by 
 reviled him, wagging their heads, 
 and saying. Thou that <lestroyest the 
 temple, and bnildest it in three dayir, 
 save thyself: if thou be the Son of 
 (Jod, come down from the cross. 
 Likewise also the chief priests mock- 
 ing him, with the scribes and elders, 
 said, lie saved others, himself he 
 cannot save : if he be the King of 
 Israel, h't him now come down from 
 the cross, and we will believe him. 
 He trusted in (Jod; let him deliver 
 him now, if he will have him : for he 
 said, I am the Son of God. The 
 tliieves also, which were crucified
 
 MONDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 105 
 
 with him, cast the same in his teeth. 
 Now from the sixth hour there was 
 darkness over all the land nnto the 
 ninth hour. And about the ninth 
 hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, 
 saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabackthdui? 
 that is to say. My God, my God, 
 why hast thou forsaken me? Some 
 of them that stood there, when they 
 heard that, said. This man calleth for 
 Elias. And straightway one of them 
 ran, and took a spunge and filled it 
 with vinegar, and put it on a reed, 
 and gave him to drink. The rest said. 
 Let be, let us see whether Elias will 
 come to save him. Jesus, when he 
 had cried again with a loud voice, 
 yielded up the ghost. And behold, 
 the vail of the temple was rent in 
 
 ■ Amongst the various lessons to be drawn from 
 this day's Gospel, a very important one regards the 
 account given of Judas. From this we may learn, 
 
 1. To consider the mighty danger and dismal conse- 
 quences of known and wilful sins, before it be too late 
 to prevent or remedy them. The example of Judas 
 may be serviceable in teaching us, that no consideration 
 can be sufficient for the commission of a deliherate sin. 
 And we may profit greatly by those fruitless jiangs of 
 remorse, which (iod rejected, when He had been first 
 rejected by the \vilful ol)stinacy of Judas ; if we will let 
 the contemplation of them work in us a dread of that 
 justice and indignation, which will not always be in- 
 treated, if we outstand the season of grace. 
 
 2. This instance should be a discouragement, as 
 against all temptations and deliberate offences in gene- 
 ral, so more especially against covetousness. It is not 
 for nothing that our Lord hath given us that very 
 solemn warning, " Take heed and beware of covetous- 
 ness," Luke .\ii. 15. He knows how apt this vice is, 
 above all others, to get within iis ; and how powerful 
 to overthrow all regard for God and religion. And 
 certainly it ought to add no small weight to this and 
 other testimonies in Scripture, that the most detestable 
 villany, which was ever thought of under the sun. was 
 owing to the force of this temptation : that the only 
 instance of a despairing sinner, left upon record in the 
 Mew Testament, is that of a treacherous and greedy 
 Judas. 
 
 3. The example of Judas instructs us, what false 
 measures those men go upon, who measure the truth 
 and efficacy of their repentance by the inward agonies 
 and sufferings of their own minds. As if God could 
 never bring a sinner to heaven any other way, than by 
 leading him through the regions of hell. It is true 
 indeed, no man repents truly without a very serious 
 and afflicting concern for having offended. But, then, 
 this must be an active and a fruitfid sorrow, such as 
 produces a just displeasure against ourselves, an irre- 
 concileable hatred of sin, vigorous resolutions, and a 
 watchful care to avoid it for the future. And it is not 
 a slight and superficial sorrow that «t11 sufiice for these 
 purposes. But, lie the degree of smart more or less, 
 whatsoever worketh repentance (that is, effectually 
 changes our spirit and behaviour) is, without doubt, a 
 "godly sorrow," and great and painful enough. Let 
 us then tiy our sorrow by these marks, and judge of 
 
 twain from the top to the bottom, 
 and the earth did quake, and the 
 rocks rent, and the graves were 
 opened, and many bodies of saints 
 which slept arose, and came out of 
 the graves after his resurrection, and 
 went into the holy city, and appeared 
 unto many. Now when the centu- 
 rion, and they that were with him, 
 watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, 
 and those things that were done, they 
 feared greatly, saying. Truly this was 
 the Son of God\ 
 
 Monday before Easter'^. 
 Fnr the Epiatle. Isaiah Ixiii. 1. 
 II O is this that cometh from 
 Edom, with dyed garments 
 
 w 
 
 the degree by the effects ; for this rule can never de- 
 ceive us. But to measure its efficacy by the degree is 
 a very pre])osterous method, and liable to many great 
 and fatal mistakes. For no remorse is so afflicting 
 as that which shuts men out from all comfort : and yet 
 this remorse is, of all other, the most fruitless, and the 
 farthest off from true repentance. There may be, and 
 there often is, great danger in the very degree of our 
 sorrow. For, if this degenerate into astonishment and 
 per])lexity of heart, into the darkness of horror and 
 confusion, into distrust of mercy through Christ, and a 
 persuasion that our sin is greater than can ever be for- 
 given ; it is as displeasing to God, and as destructive 
 to repentance, as it is tormenting and uncomfortable to 
 the patient's own self. So that, where these terrors 
 are not the effect of disease, and a melancholy consti- 
 tution, (as very often they are,) they ought to be looked 
 upon as a fresh aggravation of the fault. For this 
 reason God promises to heal the " broken in heart," to 
 pour balm into these spiritual wounds, by re\'iving 
 hopes and seasonable consolations, and the siijjporting 
 sense of his favour and readiness to be reconciled, and 
 the cheering prospect of an everlasting bliss, which 
 shall wijie away all tears from the eyes of these pious 
 mourners. And, upon the same account, St. Paul 
 commands the Corinthians, "to forgive and restore the 
 incestuous person," whom they had cast out of the 
 Church, " lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed 
 up with over-much sorrow." In a word, God -i-alues 
 men's reformation more than their sighs and tears. 
 Indeed, He values these only so far as they contribute 
 to that ; and those men are sorry as they ought, who 
 are so sorry as to sin no more. Let no man, therefore, 
 distract himself with vain and fantastical notions in 
 this matter; but let us every one now so lament our 
 past offences as to forsake and amend them. And 
 "blessed are all they who" thus "mourn; for they 
 shall" not fail to " be comforted." Dean Stunhope. 
 
 >> Monday before Easter.] The portion of Scripture 
 appointed for the Epistle of this day consists of three 
 parts : 1 . The prophet describes a victorious dehverer 
 retm-ning from the slaughter of his own and God's 
 enemies. 2. He breaks out into praise for all the won- 
 derful mercies bestowed on his Church and people. 
 3. In the name of that people he earnestly apphes to 
 God in devout prayer. In the first of these parts, 
 which seems chiefly to call for oiu- meditation, the pro-
 
 136 
 
 MONDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 from Bozrah ? this that is glorious 
 in his apparel, travelling in the 
 greatness of his strength ? I that 
 speak in righteousness, mighty to 
 save. Wherefore art thou red in 
 thine apparel, and thy garments like 
 liini that treadetli in the wine-fat ? I 
 have trodden the wine-press alone, 
 and of the people there was none 
 with me : for I will tread them in 
 mine anger, and trample them in my 
 fury, and their hlood shall be sprinkled 
 upon my garments, and I will stain 
 all my raiment. For the day of ven- 
 geance is in mine heart, and the year 
 of my redeemed is come. And I 
 looked, and there was none to help ; 
 and I wondered that there was none 
 to uphold : therefore mine own arm 
 brought salvation unto me, and my 
 fury it upheld me. And I will tread 
 down the people in mine anger, and 
 make them drunk in my fury, and I 
 will bring down their strength to the 
 earth. I will mention the loving- 
 kindnesses of the Lord, and the 
 praises of the Lord, according to all 
 that the Lord hath bestowed on us, 
 and the great goodness towards the 
 house of Israel, which he hath l)e- 
 stowed on tliem, according to his mer- 
 cies, and according to the multitude 
 of his loving-kindnesses. For he said. 
 Surely they are my people, children 
 that will not lie : so he was their 
 Saviour. In all their affliction he 
 was afflicted, and the angel of his 
 presence saved them : in his love, 
 and in his pity, he redeemed them, 
 and he bare them, and carried them 
 all the days of old. But they re- 
 
 phet introduces some person wondering at a surprising 
 object wliich then presented itself. The matter of this 
 wonder is a ( 'onqucror returning bloody from battle : 
 of whom the following accoimt is gi\-en by way of dia- 
 logue, and in answer to the questions. Who he is ? 
 and. Why so liabited ? That a mighty victory had 
 been obtained, at the expense of much blood and 
 slaughter, by the powerful, but single, arm of this 
 miglity Warrior : that, by this \-ietory, a total rout was 
 given to his adversaries at a time, when, if lie had not 
 engaged, no other was disposed, no other able, to have 
 quelled the outrage and bavock they were making : 
 and that the stained garments lie then wore demon- 
 strated the sharpness of the engagement ; as his mien, 
 and manner of approach, denoted the invincible great- 
 ness of his strength. 
 
 Hy this description there cannot, I conceive, be any 
 rca.sonable doubt whether we be not now invited to 
 cont<'m|)late the hardships, and the success, of that 
 combat with the enemies of our souls, by which Christ 
 brought salvation to mankind. For such was his con- 
 
 belled, and vexed his Holy Spirit : 
 therefore he was turned to be their 
 enemy, and he fought against them. 
 Then he remembered the days of 
 old, Moses and his people, saying. 
 Where is he that brought them up 
 out of the sea with the shepherd of 
 his flock ? where is he that put his 
 Holy Spirit within him ? that led 
 them by the right hand of ]\Ioses, 
 with his glorious arm, dividing the 
 water before them, to make himself 
 an everlasting Name ? that led them 
 through the deep as an horse in 
 the wilderness, that they should not 
 stumble? As a beast goeth down 
 into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord 
 caused him to rest ; so didst thou lead 
 thy people, to make thyself a glorious 
 Name. Look down from heaven, and 
 behold from the habitation of thy 
 holiness, and of thy glory : where is 
 thy zeal, and thy strength, the sound- 
 ing of thy bowels, and of thy mercies 
 towards me ? Are they restrained ? 
 Doubtless thou art our Father, 
 though Abraham be ignorant of us, 
 and Israel acknowledge us not : 
 Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our 
 Redeemer, thy name is from ever- 
 lasting. O Lord, why hast thou 
 made us to err from thy ways ? and 
 hardened our hearts from thy fear ? 
 Return for thy servants' sake, the 
 tribes of thine inheritance. The peo- 
 ple of thy holiness have possessed it 
 but a little while : our adversaries 
 have trodden down thy sanctuary. 
 We are thine : thou never barest 
 rule over them ; they were not called 
 by thy Name^ 
 
 quest of sin, and death ; when He ^vrested the prey out 
 of the hands of Satan, and as the apostle expresses it, 
 " spoiled iirineipalities and powers, triumphing over 
 them in his cross." Deiin Sliiiihnpe. 
 
 ■^ The i)ro])er use to be made of this portion of holy 
 .Scriptiu-e is, to be encouraged thereby, to give with all 
 humility and thaTikfuIness to oiu- great Redeemer the 
 whole glory of this noble achievement ; acknowledging 
 all our haiipiness, and uU our hopes, to be the etfect, 
 not of oiu- own, not of any others', but intirely due to 
 his, invalual)le merits. I.ct us, like the |)rophet here, 
 when publishing his kindness, and reflecting, as at this 
 time particularly wc^ are bound to do, how dear it hath 
 cost Him ; not forget at the same time, to lament those 
 sins of ours, which added to his account. For, if Isaiah 
 found it reasonable, in terms so alfectionate, to magnify 
 his peoj)le's deliverance out of I''.gypt, and settlement in 
 the promised land, how inscnsil)le, bow unworthy are 
 they, who rea<l and bear the release from a heavier 
 tyranny, the destruction of a spiritual I'haraoh, the 
 jiassage into the true and heavenly Canaan opened, at
 
 MONDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 l:)7 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mark xiv. 1. 
 
 AF T E R two (lays was the feast 
 of tlic Passover, and of unlea- 
 vened bread : and the chief priests 
 and the scribes sonirht how they 
 might take him by craft, and jint 
 him to death. Rut they said. Not 
 on the feast-day, lest there be an 
 uproar of the people. And being 
 in Bethany, in the house of Simon 
 the leper, as he sat at meat, there 
 came a woman liavinu- an alabaster 
 box of ointment of spikenard, very 
 precious ; and she brake the box, 
 and j)oured it on his head. And 
 there were some that liad indigna- 
 tion within themselves, and said, 
 Why was this waste of the ointment 
 made ? for it might have been sold 
 for more than three hundred pence, 
 and have been given to the poor : 
 and they murmured against her. 
 And Jesus said, Let her alone ; why 
 trouble ye her ? she hath wrought 
 a good work on me : for ye have 
 the poor with you always, and when- 
 soever ye will ye may do them 
 good ; but me ye have not always. 
 She hath done w hat she coidd ; she 
 is come aforehand to anoint my 
 body to the burying. Verily 1 say 
 unto you. Wheresoever this Gospel 
 shall be preached tliroughout the 
 whole world, this also that she hath 
 done shall be spoken of for a me- 
 morial of her. And Judas Iscariot, 
 one of the twelve, went unto the 
 
 the expense of our Leader's own life, without impres- 
 sions, as grateful as human hearts can admit ? If the 
 prophet confess, that after all those extraordinaiy 
 appearances of Almighty God in their Ijchalf, his 
 people's disingenuous behaviour turned him to be 
 their enemy ; how greatly ought we to fear, how care- 
 fully to avoid, any unworthy returns, to one who hath 
 loved us so tenderly, which may justly alienate his 
 affection from us, and be at once our eternal ruin and 
 reproach ? If he again thought the former favours of 
 God, and the remembrance of his covenant, proper in- 
 ducements to incline his mercy ; with what confidence 
 may we be allowed to approach Him, in the anguish 
 of our souls, in distresses and tem])tations, when we 
 plead his Son's name and merits for aceejitance, and 
 depend upon the goodness, which hath not only done, 
 but endured, so much for oiu' sakes, for all proper suc- 
 cours and comforts ? It is true, our difficulties are 
 many, our enemies mighty, ourselves impotent to the 
 last degree. But, let it be remembered, for our sup- 
 port, that more are they that are with us, than all that 
 are or can be against us : that the heat of the action is 
 over, and we march against a force already discomfited. 
 He that is " mighty to save," He that hath " trodden 
 the wine-presa of his Father's wrath alone," hath 
 
 chief priests to betray him unto 
 them. And when they heard it 
 they were glad, and promised to 
 give him money. Anil lie sought 
 how he might conveniently i)etray 
 him. And the first day of unlea- 
 vened bread, when they killed the 
 passover, his disciples said unto him, 
 Where wilt thou that wc go and 
 prepare, that thou maycst eat the 
 passover ? And he sendeth forth 
 two of his disciples, and saith unto 
 them, Go ye into the city, and there 
 shall meet you a man bearing a 
 {)itclier of water ; follow him : And 
 wheresoever he shall go in, say ye 
 to the good-man of the house, The 
 Master saith. Where is the guest- 
 chamber, where I shall eat the pass- 
 over with my disciples? And lie 
 will shew you a large upper-room 
 furnished, and prepared : there make 
 ready for us. And his disciples went 
 forth, and came into the city, and 
 found as he had said inito them : and 
 they made ready the passover. And 
 in the evening he cometh with the 
 twelve. And as they sat, and did 
 cat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, 
 One of you which eateth with me 
 shall betray me. And they began 
 to be sorrowful, and to say unto him 
 one by one. Is it 1 ? and another said, 
 Is it I 'i And he answered and said 
 unto them. It is one of the twelve 
 that dippeth with me in the dish. 
 The Son of Man indeed goeth, as 
 
 "broken them in his anger," and "trampled them in 
 his fury," Rev. xix. 15. And all the representations of 
 his bitter sufferings, which we are now esjiecially con- 
 versant with, are not only so many intimations, how 
 much this conquest stood Him in ; but certain evi- 
 dences withal that the bloody field is won. And all 
 the prayers and tears, the fastings and mournings, that 
 now humble our souls, and exercise our bodies, are not 
 the projier and efficient causes of this conquest, but the 
 instruments of ajiplying and securing it to us. 'I'hey 
 are acts of repentance and obedience, which hope to be 
 accepted in "the Beloved;" not in any virtue of their 
 own, abstracted from Him : decent expressions of grati- 
 tude and love, to a Saviour, so liberal of Himself for 
 our salvation. Tlius we may die after his example, die 
 to the sins which pierced his soul to death ; and rising 
 again to righteousness, conquer, as He hath done; con- 
 quer oiu" vicious appetites effectually, and trample down 
 every unruly passion. So shall we be qualified to at- 
 tend, to beai' a part in, his triumphs ; and, in the midst 
 of our religious sympathies, when melting away in sor- 
 row for his agonies and death, have a right to sustain 
 our spirits, with the prospect of a part in the glories of 
 his resurrection. Dean Stanhope.
 
 138 
 
 MONDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 it is written of him : but wo to that 
 man by whom the Son of Man is 
 betrayed : good were it for that man 
 if he had never been born. And as 
 they did eat, Jesus took bread, and 
 blessed, and brake it, and gave to 
 them, and said. Take, eat : this is 
 my body. And lie took the cup, and 
 when he had given thanks he gave it 
 to them : and they all drank of it. 
 And he said unto them, This is my 
 blood of the new testament, which is 
 shed for many. Verily I say imto 
 you, I will drink no more of the fruit 
 of the vine, until that day that I 
 drink it new in the Kingdom of God. 
 And when they had sung an hymn, 
 they went out into the mount of 
 Olives. And Jesus saith inito them. 
 All ye shall be offended because of 
 me tins night : for it is written, I will 
 smite the shepherd, and the sheep 
 shall be scattered. But, after that 
 1 am risen, I will go before you 
 into Galilee. But Peter said unto 
 him, Although all shall be offended, 
 yet will not I. And Jesus saith 
 unto him, Verily I say unto thee. 
 That this day, even in this night, 
 before the cock crow twice, thou 
 shalt deny me thrice. But he spake 
 the more vehemently. If I should 
 die with thee, I will not deny thee 
 in any wise. Likewise also said 
 they all. And they came to a place 
 which was named Gethsemane : and 
 he saith to his disciples. Sit ye here, 
 while I shall pray. And he taketh 
 with him Peter, and James, and 
 John, and began to he sore amazed, 
 and to be very heavy, and saith 
 unto them. My soul is exceeding 
 sorrowful inito death ; tarry ye here, 
 and watch. Aiul he went forward 
 a little, and fell on the ground, and 
 prayed, that, if it were possible, the 
 hour might pass from him. And 
 he said, Abba, Father, all things 
 are possible unto thee ; take away 
 tliis cup from me ; nevertheless, not 
 what 1 will, but wliat tiiou wilt. 
 And he cometh and findeth them 
 sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Si- 
 mon, sleepcst thou ? couldest not 
 
 thou watcli one hour ? Watcli ye 
 and pray, lest ye enter into tempta- 
 tion : the spirit truly is ready, but 
 the flesh is weak. And again he 
 went away, and prayed, and spake 
 
 the same words. And when he 
 returned he found them asleep 
 again, (for their eyes were heavy,) 
 neither wist they what to answer 
 him. And he cometh the third 
 time, and saith mito them. Sleep 
 on now, and take your rest : it is 
 enough, the hour is come ; behold, 
 the Son of Man is betrayed into 
 the liands of sinners. Rise up, let 
 us go ; lo, he that betrayeth me is 
 at hand. And immediately, while 
 he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of 
 the twelve, and with him a great 
 multitiule with swords and staves, 
 from the chief priests, and the 
 scribes, and the elders. And lie 
 that betrayed him had given them 
 a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall 
 kiss, that same is he ; take him, and 
 lead him away safely. And as soon 
 as he was come he goeth straight- 
 way to him, and saith, Master, mas- 
 ter ; and kissed him. And they 
 laid their hands on him, and took 
 him. And one of them that stood 
 by drew a sword, and smote a ser- 
 vant of the high priest, and cut off 
 his ear. And Jesus answered, and 
 said unto them, Are ye come out 
 as against a thief, with swords and 
 with staves, to take me ? I was 
 daily with you in the temple teach- 
 ing, and ye took me not: but the 
 Scriptures must be fulfilled. And 
 they all forsook him, and fled. 
 And there followed him a certain 
 young man, having a linen cloth 
 cast about his naked body ; and 
 the young men laid hold on him : 
 and he left the linen cloth, and fled 
 from them naked. And they led 
 Jesus away to the high priest: and 
 with him were assembled all the 
 chief priests, and the elders, and the 
 scribes. And Peter followed him 
 afar off, even into the palace of the 
 high priest ; and he sat with the 
 servants, and warmed himself at the 
 fire. And the chief priests and all 
 the council sought for witness against 
 Jesus to put him to death ; and 
 found none. l'"or many bare false 
 witness against him, but their witness 
 agreed not together. And there 
 arose certain, and bare false witness 
 against him, saying, We heard him 
 say, I will destroy this temple that is 
 made with hands, and within three
 
 TUESDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 lO!) 
 
 days I will build another made 
 without hands. But neither so did 
 their witness agree together. And 
 the high priest stood up in the midst, 
 and asked Jesus, saying, Answercst 
 thou nothing ? what is it whieh 
 these witness against thee ? But he 
 held his peace, and answered no- 
 thing. Again the high ])riest asked 
 liim, and said unto liim, Art thou the 
 Christ, the Son of the Blessed ? 
 And Jesus said, I am ; and ye 
 shall see the Son of Man sitting on 
 the right hand of power, and coming 
 in the clouds of heaven. Then the 
 liigh priest rent his clothes, and saith, 
 What need we any further witnesses ? 
 ye have heard the blas]>hemy : what 
 think ye? and they all condemned 
 him to be guilty of death. And 
 some began to spit on him, and to 
 cover his face, and to buftet him, and 
 to say unto him. Prophesy : and the 
 servants did strike him with the 
 palms of their hands. And as Peter 
 was beneath in the palace there 
 Cometh one of the maids of the high 
 priest ; and when she saw Peter 
 
 ■' The infirmity of St. Peter, recorded in this day's 
 Gospel, may be made the subject of much profitable 
 reflexion. 
 
 1. This example may effectually convince us, how 
 frail even the best are, how little masters of their own 
 passions, how unfit to undertake for themselves, even 
 when their desires of doing well are most fervent, and 
 their resolutions most sincere. In short, how vain all 
 confidences in our own strength and virtue must needs 
 be, which, by tempting us to imagine we are something, 
 provoke God to withdraw that grace, (the necessity 
 whereof we do not then sufficiently apprehend,) and so 
 by woeful experience make us feel, that in truth we are 
 nothing. 
 
 2. This fall of St. Peter, however, as it ought to be 
 applied for a necessary mortification of our vanity ; so 
 may it likewise serve us, for a sujiport under our frail- 
 ties and temptations. But then this is a comfort, 
 which can be regularly administered to none, except to 
 them who are careful to be hke him in that repentance, 
 whereof we have also an account in the Scripture now 
 under consideration : for, as his fault was sudden and 
 surprising, so was his recovery speedy and effectual. 
 Long it was not, before he was awakened into recollec- 
 tion, by a pitying look of his injm-ed Master, and the 
 crowing of the cock. Immediately upon the reflexion 
 he forsook the guilty scene of his foul offence, sought 
 a convenient place for retired thoughts, melted away in 
 tears for the horror of his crime, and from hencefor- 
 ward became again the same faithful, affectionate, un- 
 daunted St. Peter, he had been before. The book of 
 Acts informs us at large, what noble reparation he 
 afterwards made, for this breach of faith : how vigorous 
 and bold he was in preaching, how forward and even 
 joyful in suffering for, the Gospel of his once denied 
 Lord. And the same Jesus, who foretold by what 
 
 warming himself she looked upon 
 him, and said, Aiul thou also wast 
 with .lesus of Nazareth. But he 
 denied, saying, I know not, neither 
 understand I what thou sayest. And 
 he went out into the porch ; and the 
 cock crew. And a maid .saw him 
 again, and began to say to them that 
 stood by. This is one of them. And 
 he denied it again. And a little 
 after, they that stood by said again 
 to Peter, Surely thou art one of 
 them; for thou art a Galilean, and 
 thy speech agrecth thereto, liut he 
 began to curse and to swear, saying, 
 I know not this man of whom ye 
 speak. And the second time the 
 cock crew. And Peter called to 
 mind the word that Jesus said unto 
 him. Before the cock crow twice, 
 thou shalt deny me thrice. And 
 when he thought thereon, lie wepf*. 
 
 Tuesday hefore Easter''. 
 For the Epistle. Isaiah 1. 5. 
 
 THE Lord 
 mine ear. 
 
 God hath opened 
 and I was not re- 
 
 means he should offend, did shortly after let him under- 
 stand, by "what death he .should glorify God," John 
 xxi. 19. Now all these are testimonies of greater value, 
 because they were the long and constant practice of a 
 settled faith, the course of many years, the habit and 
 the sense of the man ; whereas his crime, though ex- 
 ceeding great, was however of short continuance ; the 
 effect of fear and infirmity in great measure ; and not 
 so much the act of the man, as the violence of passions 
 and temptations, which had then almost unmanned 
 him. 
 
 The same methods must we be sure to follow, when 
 it shall please God to suffer any grievous temjitation to 
 overtake us. We must, upon the first sense of our 
 fault, burst through, and lireak our snare : afflict our 
 souls with a sorrow, that may carry some jiroportion to 
 the sad occasion of it ; not tarry a moment in the way 
 of temptation : never look back upon our misde- 
 meanors, without a just abhorrence ; and, aliove all, use 
 our utmost diligence to bring honoiu- to virtue and 
 religion, by our future practice. It is true, indeed, we 
 cannot do all, or any part of this, witliout the assistance 
 of divine grace. It is that alone can " strengthen them 
 that stand," it is that alone must " raise up them that 
 fall." But the same Jesus, who "turned and looked 
 upon Peter," Luke xxii. 61, and brought him back to 
 himself, will not leave us to perish in our folly ; but 
 will find out some hajjpy, some awakening dispensation. 
 And ])ro\'ided we be as careful as Peter was, to observe, 
 to strike in with, to improve it, will convert even our 
 temptations and past sins, to his glory, and our own 
 profit. The same powerftd intercessor prays for every 
 sincere, though feeble servant, that " his faith fail not." 
 But they, that are sincere, should remember they are 
 feeble too; and not, -nith this apostle, sleep in the 
 hour of danger; but watch and pray : watch constantly,
 
 140 
 
 TUESDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 bellious, neither turned away back. 
 I gave my back to the smiters, and 
 my cheeks to them that plucked off 
 the hair : I hid not my face from 
 shame and spitting. For the Lord 
 God will help me, therefore shall I 
 not be confounded : therefore have I 
 set my face like a ilint, and I know 
 that I shall not be ashamed. He is 
 near that justifieth me ; who will 
 contend with me ? Let us stand 
 together ; who is mine adversary ? 
 let him come near to mc. Behold, 
 the Lord God will help me ; who is 
 lie that shall condemn me ? Lo, they 
 all shall wax old as a garment : the 
 moth shall eat them up. Who is 
 among you that feareth the Lord, 
 that obeyeth the voice of his servant, 
 that walketh in darkness, and hath 
 no light ? let him trust in the Name 
 of the Lord, and stay upon his God. 
 
 jiray fervently, that they enter not into "temptation." 
 As knowing by this example, and feeling by theii- own 
 experience, that the "wilbngness of the spirit" is not 
 preservative sufficient against the " weakness of the 
 flesh." Dean Slanhnpe. 
 
 " Tuesday before Easter.'] Tliis portion of Scripture 
 contains so exact a description of the barbarous indig- 
 nities our blessed Saviom' suffered, and of his meek 
 deportment under them, as looks more like an his- 
 torical narration of facts already past, than a prediction 
 of events then several hundred years to come. Had 
 Isaiah been present at the high ])riest's palace and the 
 judgment-hall, what fuller reiiresentation could he, 
 what indeed do the evangelists themselves, give, more 
 punctual, than that which the Holy Ghost hath here 
 inspired him with ? They, who attend to the connexion 
 of this, with the chapter next before, will see reason 
 sufficient to conclude, that the ]iro])het, in both, per- 
 sonates the Messiah. And they who compare the 
 account here, with that of our Lord's passion in the 
 New I'estament, must be utterly blind, or extremely 
 perverse, if they can any longer suffer themselves to 
 doubt, whether Jesus of Nazareth were that Messiah. 
 'J'his prophecy therefore is very well joined with the 
 Gospel of the day, as partly introductory, and partly 
 parallel, to it. 'i'hc affronts and injuries committed 
 upon our blessed Saviour, at the palace of the high 
 priest, make the subject of this Epi.stle ; which leads 
 Him, as it were, from the garden, through all the ])ain- 
 ful steps of rudeness and violence, insult, and scorn, 
 and reproach, till it sets Him at I'ilate's bar : there the 
 (jos[icl takes Him u|i, and carries Him on to crncifixi(m 
 anil death. So that both together ]iroceed in a regular 
 method, and make one continued relation. Dean Utan- 
 hope. 
 
 ' 'J'hc compilers of our Liturgy, in selecting this por- 
 tion of Scripture for our present consideration, had a 
 view chietly to tlie descripticm it contains of (he suffer- 
 ings of Messiah, of which we read the literal fuHibncnt 
 in the several (iospels apjiointed for this week. It will 
 be a pious and an useful exercise for us, to turn our 
 attention to this siibj<'ct ; the words of the pro|)het 
 naturally lead us to it ; and while we attend our 
 blessed Saviour through the trials He underwent, for 
 
 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, 
 that compass yourselves about with 
 sparks ; walk in the light of your 
 fire, and in the sparks that ye have 
 kindled. This shall ye have of mine 
 hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow f. 
 T/ic Gospel. St. Mark xv. 1. 
 
 AN D straightway in the morn- 
 ing the chief priests held a 
 consultation with the elder.s, and 
 scribes, and the whole council, and 
 bound Jesus, and carried him away, 
 and delivered him to Pilate. And 
 Pilate asked him, Art thou the King 
 of the Jews ? And he answering 
 said unto him, Thou sayest it. And 
 the chief priests accused him of 
 many things : but he answered no- 
 thing. And Pilate asked him again, 
 saying, Answerest thou nothing ? 
 behold how many things they wit- 
 ness against thee. But Jesus yet 
 
 onr sakes, may our hearts be filled with the devotion, 
 the gratitude, and the godly sorrow which such an in- 
 stance of his affection for his creatures rightfully de- 
 mands. If suffering innocence, if patience under the 
 most aggravated insults, and mute resignation to the 
 most dreadfid tortures ; if imexam])led constancy under 
 the heaviest afflictions of mind, and the sorest pains of 
 body, can move our sj-mpathy, and call forth our admi- 
 rati(m, these surely \vill be excited to the utmost, by 
 the review of those occurrences, which embittered the 
 last liom-s of our crucified Sa\-iour. Bp. Saiidford. 
 
 This ]iassage may very properly lead us to consider 
 likewise how expedient it was, that the Saviour, who 
 came to expiate the sins of mankind, should not only 
 die as a sacrifice, but should also ])reface that death 
 with all the most aggravating circumstances of shame 
 and scorn and detestation. This was done, no doubt, 
 to expose the heinousness of sin : to prove how just 
 an object it is of the wrath of (iod. how vilely it degrades 
 the committers of it, and that no disgrace or punish- 
 ment can be too great for such ; all which we see exem- 
 plified in Him, who only stood in the place of sinners, 
 and yet was loaded with all the sufferings and indigni- 
 ties cajmble of being undergone by a jierson perfectly 
 innocent, and by the human united to the divine 
 nature. 
 
 So was it expedient too for manifesting the tender- 
 ness of his love, the incomparalde greatness of his 
 humility and condescension, and his bovmdless gene- 
 rosity and zeal for accom]ilisliing the noble design 
 He came about; a zeal wliich did not disdain even 
 the most difficult terms of working out the salvation 
 of souls. 
 
 .So was it once more for instructing us, in the nature 
 of the like reproaches and sidl'erings : for this examjile 
 teaches us. that we are not to measm'c men's virtue, or 
 the state of their souls, with regard to the favour of 
 (iod and another world, by such marks as these, since 
 the Sou of his love endured them, without forfeiting 
 the one, or staining the other. 
 
 And so it was, lastly, for setting us an examjile of 
 meekness, and patience, and forgiveness of the wicked 
 instruments of such iiduunau treatment, if at any time 
 it sluill be permitted to bei'ul us. Dean Slunhope.
 
 TUESDAY BEFORE EASTEH. 
 
 141 
 
 answered nothing : so that Pilate 
 niarvcllecl. Now at tliat feast lie 
 released unto them one prisoner, 
 whomsoever they desired. And 
 there was one named Rarat)lias, 
 which lay bound with them that 
 had made insurrection with liim, 
 who had committed murder in the 
 insurrection. And the multitude, 
 crying' aloud, began to desire him 
 to do as he had ever done unto 
 them. But Pilate answered them, 
 saying, Will ye that I release unto 
 you the King of the Jews ? For he 
 knew that the chief priests liad de- 
 livered him for envy. But the chief 
 priests moved the people, that he 
 should rather release Barabbas unto 
 them. And Pilate answered, and 
 said again unto them. What will ye 
 then that I shall do mito him whom 
 ye call the King of the Jews ? And 
 they cried out again, Crucify. him. 
 Then Pilate said mito them, Why, 
 what evil hath he done ? And they 
 cried out the more exceedingly, Cru- 
 cify him. And so Pilate, willing to 
 content the people, released Barab- 
 bas unto them, and delivered Jesus, 
 when he had scourged him, to be 
 crucified. And the soldiers led him 
 away into the hall, called Pratorium; 
 and they call together the whole 
 band. And they clothed him with 
 purple, and platted a crown of thorns, 
 and put it about his head : and be- 
 gan to salute him. Hail, King of 
 the Jews. And they smote him on 
 the head with a reed, and did s])it 
 upon him, and bowing their knees 
 worshipped him. And when they 
 had mocked him they took off the 
 purple from him, and put his own 
 clothes on him, and led him out to 
 crucify him. And they compel one 
 Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, 
 coming out of the country, the 
 father of Alexander and Rufus, to 
 bear his cross. And they bring 
 him unto the place Golgotha, which 
 is, being interpreted. The place of a 
 
 ' A particular worthy to be insisted on, as arising out 
 of this history of tlie sufferings of our Redeemer, is the 
 disappointment and guilt of our great Master's mur- 
 derers and persecutors : and, in proportion, of all who 
 depend upon human force and subtlety, for compassing 
 of wicked designs. And here, who can sufficiently ad- 
 mire the wisdom of Almighty God, who thus ordered 
 the great work of man's redemption, in despite of all 
 
 scull. And they gave him to drink 
 wine mingled with myrrh; but he re- 
 ceived it not. And when they had 
 crucified him they parted his gar- 
 ments, casting lots upon them, what 
 every man sliould take. And it was 
 the third hour, and they crucified 
 him. And the superscription of his 
 accusation was written over, THE 
 KING OF THE JEWS. And 
 with liim they crucify two thieves, 
 the one on his right hand, and the 
 other on his left. And the Scripture 
 was fulfilled, which saith. And he 
 was numbered with the transgressors. 
 And they that passed by railed on 
 him, wagging their heads, and say- 
 ing, Ah, thou that destroyest the 
 temple, and buildest it in three days, 
 save thyself, and come down from 
 the cross. Likewise also the chief 
 priests mocking said among them- 
 selves, with the scribes, He saved 
 others ; himself he cannot save. 
 Let Christ the King of Israel de- 
 scend now from the cross, that we 
 may see and believe. And they 
 that were crucified with him reviled 
 him. And when the sixth hour was 
 come, there was darkness over the 
 whole land until the ninth hour. 
 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried 
 with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, 
 lama sahaclithani ? which is, being 
 interpreted, my God, my God, why 
 hast thou forsaken me ? And some 
 of them that stood by, when they 
 heard it, said. Behold, he calleth 
 Elias. And one ran and filled a 
 spunge full of vinegar, and put it on 
 a reed, and gave him to drink, say- 
 ing. Let alone ; let us see whether 
 Elias will come to take him down. 
 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, 
 and gave up the ghost. And the 
 vail of the temple was rent in twain 
 from the top to the bottom. And 
 when the centurion, which stood over 
 against him, saw that he so cried 
 out, and gave up the ghost, he said, 
 Truly this man was the Son of God^. 
 
 the malice and subtlety of the devil, and his wicked 
 instruments, to the conti'ary ? the envy and spite of 
 the chief priests and phai-isees, the easiness and fury of 
 the common people, the rage and insolence of the 
 soldiers, the proHigate consciences of false witnesses, 
 the treachery and avarice of one of Christ's own disci- 
 ])les, the timorousness of a corrupt and time-sen-ing 
 judge, the barbarity of those who derided, and scoiu-ged.
 
 142 
 
 WEDNESDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 IVednesday before Easier. 
 The Epistle. Hebrews ix. 16. 
 
 WH E R E a testament is, there 
 must also of necessity be the 
 death of the testator : for a testa- 
 ment is of force after men are dead ; 
 otherwise it is of no strength at all 
 whilst the testator liveth. Where- 
 upon, neither the first testament 
 was dedicated without blood : for 
 when Moses had spoken every pre- 
 cept to all the people, according to 
 the law, he took the blood of calves 
 
 and crucified Him, and insulted over his djnng agonies 
 and pains ; all these were made use of by the enemy 
 of mankind, to destroy Jesus, and to overtlirou- his 
 kingdom, and to root out his name, and all honour for 
 it, from among men ; and yet see how vain all these 
 attempts were in the event. They were o\-erruled by 
 Providence, so as to bring about those very pm-poses, 
 which the actors, and the evil spirit who set those 
 engines at work, laboured to defeat. They, every one, 
 conspired to render the matter more glorious, more 
 uniform, more e.vactly conformable to the original 
 scheme and design marked out for it; and each con- 
 tributed to finish that woi'k which some of them knew 
 not of, which others opposed, which none of them in 
 the least intended. This was the only way they could 
 think of, for ruining the reputation of Jesus, and blot- 
 ting out the remembrance of his miracles and his doc- 
 trine ; and j'et, in reality, it was the only way by which 
 the Gos])el could be established, beyond all contradic- 
 tion, and to all future ages ; for, had not these men 
 been so exceedingly, so pen-ersely, bai-barous and 
 wicked, this holy teacher, this innocent li\'er, this gene- 
 ral benefactor to wTctches in distress, could ne\'er ha\'e 
 been taken ofi^ by so ignominious a death. Had He 
 not been put to such a death. He could not have suf- 
 fered the shame and torment, which the di\ine Justice 
 required, as a satisfaction for the sins of men : had not 
 the proceedings against Him been injm'ious and unrea- 
 sonable, that death had not had the merit of a sacri- 
 fice, and expiation for the guilty, whose persons He 
 bore : had not the innocent Jesus thus died, the " prince 
 of this world" liad not been "judged;" but that was 
 the devil's condeumation in the present case, that He 
 "had nothing" in the Person, against whom He exer- 
 cised such cruelty. In a word, had He not died. He 
 had not conquered death, nor led captivity captive. 
 For St. Paul tells us expressly, that the Son of (iod 
 was made like unto us, and took a mortal nature upon 
 Him, " tliat bv death he might destroy him that liad 
 the power of death, even the devil," and release them, 
 wlio, through " fear of death, were all their life long 
 subject to bondage," Ileb. ii. 11, 1.'). Thus did the 
 wicked one fall " into his own snare," and " in the 
 same net that he bid privily, was bis own foot taken ;" 
 his devices " returned \ipon his own head," and his 
 mischiefs " fell upon his own pate," Ps. ix. 15 ; vii. 1(). 
 So vain and blind are all the counsels of men, so impo- 
 tent all the cunning and subtlety of hell itself, when 
 they undertake to fight against dod. .\nd (whicli was 
 eminently visible in the death of our blessed Saviour) 
 the jirophecies which they fidfilled to a tittle, while 
 they did all in their power to evacuate tliein ; tlic divine 
 counsels which tliey unawares accomplislied ; and the 
 quite contrary en. la which they served, to what they 
 
 and of goats, with water, and scarlet 
 wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both 
 the book, and all the people, .saying. 
 This is the blood of the testament, 
 which God hath enjoined unto you. 
 Moreover, he sprinkled with blood 
 both the tabernacle, and all the ves- 
 sels of the ministry. And almost all 
 things are by the law purged with 
 blood ; and without shedding of blood 
 is no remission. It was therefore ne- 
 cessary that the patterns of things in 
 the heavens should be purified with 
 these; but the heavenly things them- 
 
 hoped and laboured to have done; though it be the 
 most glorious, the most conspicuous, yet is far from 
 being the only instance of a wonderful, wise, and al- 
 mighty Providence, bringing good out of evil, and ex- 
 cellent and most beneficial events out of most unlikely, 
 most ungodly, most malicious intentions. This every 
 diligent observer will find instances of, fi'cquent enough 
 to connnce any thinking man that how casual soever 
 things at first sight may appear, yet there is " One that 
 ruleth over all," and " worketh after the counsel of his 
 own will," Eph. i. 11. Therefore how successful or 
 formidable soever the enemies of truth and goodness 
 may seem in our eyes, yet they cannot bind the hands, 
 nor cross the pm-poses, of the great Governour of the 
 world. He will assert his own honour, and do right 
 to his suffering and injured servants; and e\'en theti, 
 when the wicked think themselves most secure, will 
 
 [ shew them their folly, and blast them with the breath 
 of his displeasin-e. Blessed therefore be his wise and 
 
 ! watchful providence, which thus consults his own ho- 
 nour, and the good of his beloved ones, by dark and 
 mysterious ways ! Blessed be that admirable manage- 
 ment and skill, which turns even the obstinacy of wicked 
 men, and their attempts against religion, into means of 
 promoting and securing it ! Blessed for ever be that 
 amazing goodness, which turned an unexampled mur- 
 der into a most precious sacrifice ; transformed the 
 ignominy of the cross into a banner of honour and 
 triumph ; and, when the jirincesand rulers, with Herod 
 and Pontius Pilate, were gathered against Ilim and his 
 Christ, Acts iv. 26, 27 ; Ps. ii. 2 ; looked down from 
 heaven with scorn, and had them in derision, ver. 4, 
 put a hook in their nose, and a bridle in their lips; 
 and, while they gratified their own implacable malice, 
 suffered that malice to suggest no other things to them, 
 than what Himself had long ago determined, and his 
 prophets foretold, should be so done 1 Blessed be that 
 wisdom, which thus made sin instriunental to destroy 
 sin ; which, of the blood shed by wicked hands, opened 
 a fountain to wash away uncleanness ; and appointed 
 the holy Jesus, treated as a vile malefactor, for a Prince 
 ami Saviour, nay, for the only, the ellicaeious .Vuthor 
 of eternal salvation, to all that sincerely believe and 
 obey Ilim! Blessed, lastly, be that truth, which thus 
 preserved an exact harmony between the Law and the 
 Gospel, the prophecies and their respective accomplish- 
 ments ; which crowned the shadows of the Levitical 
 dispensation with their proper substance; which pro- 
 vided "a r.,aml) which did" indeed "take away the 
 sins of the world ;" and, to conclude, which suffered no 
 one circumstance to be wanting in his death, that could 
 be necessary to make good the i)romises, or satisfy the 
 justice, or convince men of the love and goodness, of 
 God ! Dean Stunhnpc.
 
 WEDNESDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 143 
 
 selves with better sacrifices tlian 
 these. For Christ is not entered 
 into the holy places made with 
 hands, which are the fiujures of the 
 true, but into heaven itself, now to 
 appear in the presence of God for 
 us ; nor yet that he should ofter 
 himself often, as the high priest en- 
 tereth into the holy place every year 
 with blood of others : for then must 
 he often have suffered since the 
 foundation of the world ; but now 
 once in the end of tlie world hath 
 he appeared to put away sin by the 
 sacrifice of iiimself. And as it is 
 appointed unto men once to die, 
 but after this the judgement: so 
 Christ was once offered to bear the 
 sins of many ; and unto them that 
 look for him shall he appear the 
 second time without sin unto salva- 
 tion ''. 
 
 The Goxpel. tSt. Luke xxii. 1. 
 
 O W the feast of unleavened 
 bread drew nigli, which is 
 called the Passover. And the chief 
 
 N 
 
 ' The cvanfjelical sacrifice, by which Jesus Christ 
 made " by his one oblation of himself once offered, a 
 full, perfect, and sufficient oblation and satisfaction for 
 the sins of the whole world," is here contrasted with 
 the inefficient sacrifices offered " year by year" under 
 the law, which could not make the comers thereunto 
 perfect, Heb. x. 1. The Levitical observances, which 
 were done away by the coming of Messiah, and which 
 were fulfilled by his death u])on the cross, were renewed 
 evei-y year, as well to shew their inability to take away 
 sin, (for if they had possessed the power of comjjlete 
 atonement, they " would," as the same apostle argues 
 in the next chapter, " have ceased to be offered," Heb. 
 X. 2,) as to remind the people continually of the neces- 
 sity and the ajjiiroach of the perfect offering which, " at 
 the end of the world," that is, at the completion of the 
 Mosaick dispensation, was to be made " once," as be- 
 ing the greatest fulfilment of the Almighty's designs of 
 mercy to his creatures, and the unspeakably dignified 
 and valuable expiation which He would accept for the 
 transgression of mankind. And from the consequence 
 of this one atonement, namely, that there remaineth, 
 therefore, "no more offering for sin," Heb. x. 18, is 
 argued in the concluding words of this passage the 
 nature of Christ's second advent, and the blessings 
 derived to us from his death : for " as it is appointed 
 unto men once to die, and after that the judgment" 
 will take place, which is to decide their condition 
 throughout eternity ; so " Christ" having been " once 
 offered to bear the sins of many," shall, at his second 
 coming, appear without sin, that is, not for the purpose 
 of making any more atonement for sin, " unto sah'a- 
 tion ;" to reward with eternal hfe " them that look for 
 him," who believe in his name, ti'usting in the merits 
 of his "cross and passion, and his precious death," and 
 patiently obeying his commandments in the hopes of 
 that everlasting happiness which He alone can bestow. 
 
 ITius it is, that Almighty God has been pleased to 
 
 priests and scribes sought how they 
 might kill him ; for they feared the 
 people. Then entered Satan into 
 Judas sunuimed Iscariot, being of 
 the number of the twelve. And he 
 went his way, and communed with 
 tlie chief priests and captains, how 
 he might betray him unto them. 
 And they were glad, and covenanted 
 to give him money. And he pro- 
 mised, and sought ojjportunity to 
 betray him unto them in the absence 
 of the multitude. Then came the 
 day of unleavened bread, when the 
 passover must be killed. And he 
 sent Peter and John, saying, Go 
 and prepare us the passover, that we 
 may eat. And they said unto him, 
 Where wilt thou that we prepare ? 
 And he said unto them. Behold, 
 when ye are entered into the city, 
 there shall a man meet you, bearing 
 a pitcher of water; follow him into 
 the house where he entereth in. 
 And ye shall say unto the good- 
 man of the house, The Master saith 
 unto thee. Where is the guest-cham- 
 
 assure us of the forgiveness of our sins through faith 
 in the sacrifice of the death of his ever-blessed Son. 
 Thus it is that He has entered into covenant with us, 
 and confirmed the covenant by the most powerful rati- 
 fication. Let us adore the mercy which devised this 
 redemption, and the goodness which arranged the plan 
 of it in such a manner as to make us sensible that it is 
 perfect. 
 
 While we commemorate the death of Jesus Christ for 
 our sakes, and rejoice in the actual fulfilment of those 
 things which the ceremonies of the Jewish temple 
 " shadowed out," let us not forget, that, as members of 
 the Church of Christ, we are to endeavour to obtain 
 that inward and spiritual purity, which the outward 
 piuifications ordained by the law of Moses prefigtued. 
 "If," saith the apostle, "the blood of bulls and of 
 goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the un- 
 clean, sanctifieth to the ]mrifying of the fitsh; how 
 much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the 
 eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, 
 ])urge your conscience from dead works, to ser\e the 
 living God ?" Heb. ix. 13, 14. If we would claim the 
 benefits of Christ's death, let us be mindful of the con- 
 ditions u|)on which these benefits are im])arted : " If ye 
 love me," saith our blessed Lord, " keep my command- 
 ments," John xiv. 1 5 : and when we recount the suffer- 
 ings of oiu- Saviour, and acknowledge the efficacy of 
 them, and the infinite superiority of the atonement, 
 which He has made for us, to the tyjiical exjiiations of 
 the Mosaick dispensation, we are strongly reminded, 
 sm'ely, that holiness in heart and conduct, in thought, 
 and word, and deed, is the " reasonable " and " easy 
 sei-vice," Rom. xii. 1, required of us, as the best evi- 
 dence of the sincerity of our faith, which we can render 
 to Him who laid do\vTi his Ufe, " that he might redeem 
 us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar 
 people, zealous of good works," Tit. ii. 14. Bp. Sand- 
 ftird.
 
 144 
 
 WEDNESDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 ber, where I shall eat the passover 
 with my disciples ? And he shall 
 shall shew you a large upper-room 
 furnished : there make ready. And 
 they went, and found as he had said 
 unto them : and they made ready 
 the passover. And when the hour 
 was come he sat down, and the 
 twelve Apostles with him. And he 
 said unto them, With desire I have 
 desired to eat this passover with you 
 before I suffer : for I say unto you, 
 I will not any more eat thereof, 
 until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom 
 of God. And he took the cuj), and 
 gave thanks, and said, Take tliis, 
 and divide it among yourselves. For 
 I say unto you, 1 will not drink of 
 the fruit of the vine until the King- 
 dom of God shall come. And he 
 took bread, and gave thanks, and 
 brake it, and gave unto them, say- 
 ing, This is my body, which is given 
 for you : this do in remembrance of 
 me. Likewise also the cup after 
 supper, saying. This cup is the new 
 testament in my blood, which is shed 
 for you. But behold, the hand of 
 him that betraycth me is with me on 
 the table. And truly the Son of 
 Man goeth as it was determined ; 
 but wo unto that man by whom he 
 is betrayed. And they began to en- 
 quire among tiiemselves, which of 
 them it was that should do this thing. 
 And there was also a strife among 
 them, which of them should be ac- 
 counted the greatest. And he said 
 unto them. The kings of the Gentiles 
 exercise lordship over them, and they 
 that exercise authority upon them 
 are called benefactors. But ye shall 
 not l)e so : hut he that is greatest 
 among you, let him l)e as the younger ; 
 and he tiiat is cliicf, as he that doth 
 serve. l'"or wliether is greater, he 
 tliat sittetii at meat, or he that 
 servetii ? is not he that sitteth at 
 meat ? but I, am among you as he 
 that servetii. Ye are they which 
 have continued with me in my 
 tem|)tations. And I ap])oint tmto 
 you a kingdom, as my Father liatli 
 appointed unto me; that ye may 
 eat and drink at my table in my 
 kingdom, and sit on thrones, judg- 
 ing the twelve tribes of Israel. 
 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, 
 behold, Satan hath desired to have 
 
 you, that he may sift you as 
 wheat : but I have prayed for thee, 
 that thy faith fail not ; and when 
 thou art converted, strengthen thy 
 brethren. And he said unto him. 
 Lord, I am ready to go with thee 
 both into prison and to death. And 
 he saitl, 1 tell thee, Peter, the cock 
 shall not crow this day, before that 
 thou shalt thrice deny that thou 
 knowest me. And he said unto 
 them. When I sent you without 
 purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked 
 ye any thing? And they said, No- 
 thing. Then said he unto them, 
 But now, he that hath a purse, let 
 him take it, and likewise his scrip: 
 and he that hath no sword, let him 
 sell his garment, and buy one. For 
 I say unto you, That this that is 
 written must yet be accomplished 
 in me. And he was reckoned among 
 the transgressors ; for the things 
 concerning me have an end. And 
 they said. Lord, behold, here are 
 two swords. And he said unto 
 them. It is enough. And he aime 
 out, and went, as he was wont, to 
 the mount of Olives, and his dis- 
 ciples also followed him. And when 
 he was at the jilace, he said unto 
 them. Pray, that ye enter not into 
 temptation. And he was withdrawn 
 from them about a stone's cast, and 
 kneeled down and prayed, saying, 
 Father, if thou be willing, remove 
 this cup from me : nevertheless, not 
 my will, but thine be done. And 
 tliere appeared an angel unto him 
 from heaven, strengthening him. 
 And being in an agony, he prayed 
 more earnestly ; and his sweat was as 
 it were great drops of blood falling 
 down to the ground. And when he 
 rose up from jirayer, and was come 
 to his disciples, he found them sleep- 
 ing for sorrow, and said unto them, 
 Why sleep ye ? rise and pray, lest ye 
 enter into temjitation. And while be 
 yet s])ake, beliold, a multitude, and 
 he that was called .Indus, one of the 
 twelve, went before tliem, and drew 
 neiir inito .lesus to kiss him. But 
 .lesus said unto him, .ludas, i)etrayest 
 tliou the Son of Man with a kiss i 
 When they who were about him saw 
 what would follow, they said unto 
 him, Lord, shall we smite with the 
 sword ? And one of them smote the
 
 THURSDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 145 
 
 servant of tlie lii<rli ])iiest, and cut off 
 liis riglit ear. And Jesus answered 
 and said, Suffer ye llius far. And lie 
 touched his car, and healed him. 
 Then Jesus said unto the chief 
 priests, and captains of the temple, 
 and the elders who were come to him. 
 Be ye come out as against a thief, 
 with swords and staves? When I 
 was daily with you in the temple, 
 ye stretched fortli no hands against 
 me : but this is your hour, and the 
 power of darkness. Then took they 
 him, and led him, and brought him 
 into the high priest's house : and 
 Peter followed afar off. And when 
 they had kindled a fire in the midst 
 of the hall, and were set down toge- 
 ther, Peter sat down among them. 
 But a certain maid beheld him, as 
 he sat by the fire, and earnestly 
 looked upon liim, and said. This 
 man was also with him. And he 
 denied him, saying. Woman, I 
 know him not. And after a little 
 while another saw him, and said. 
 Thou art also of them. And Peter 
 said, Man, I am not. And about 
 the space of one hour after, another 
 confidently affirmed, saying. Of a 
 truth this fellow also was with him ; 
 for he is a Galilean. And Peter 
 said, Man, I know not what thou 
 sayest. And immediately, while he 
 yet spake, the cock crew. And 
 the Lord turned, and looked upon 
 
 ' The Gospel of this day, amongst many other im- 
 portant particulars, relates the institution of the Lord's 
 Supper : of which the Church requires a devout partici- 
 pation from every member of proper years and under- 
 standinjj at the approaching festival of Easter. This 
 therefore may be a convenient, as it is an obvious occa- 
 sion for observing the reasonableness of that rubrick in 
 our Liturgy, which contains so general a command of 
 communicating at Easter. For, when indeed can it be 
 more ])ro|)erly done, than at this holy season ? When 
 may we expect more jilentiful supplies of grace ? "When 
 do we put ourselves more directly in the way of it, than 
 by thus doing honour to that hody and blood, which 
 was broken and shed for us, at the very time when it 
 was actually broken and shed ? 
 
 If ever our devotions can be exalted to a pitch, in 
 any degree worthy of those blessed mysteries ; sure it 
 must be then, when the repeated contemplation of our 
 Lord's glorious achievements for us has raised our 
 heavy souls, and put them on the wing. If ever our 
 faith in Christ be lively and stedfast ; it is then most 
 like to be so, when we celebrate his conquest over 
 death and hell, and take courage, from the rout now 
 given to his enemies and ours. If ever we be touched 
 with deep and tender remorse, and melt into penitentrol 
 
 Peter; and Peter remembered the 
 word of the Lord, how he had .said 
 unto him. Before the cock crow, 
 thou shalt deny me thrice. And 
 Peter went out, and wept bittcily. 
 AihI the men that held Jesus mocked 
 him, and .smote him. And when 
 tlicy had blindfolded him, they struck 
 him on tjic face, and asked him, say- 
 ing. Prophesy, who is it that smote 
 thee ? And many other things blas- 
 phemously spake they against him. 
 And as soon as it was day, the elders 
 of the people, and the chief priests, 
 and the scribes, came together, and 
 led them into their council, saying. 
 Art thou the C'hrist? tell us. And 
 he said unto them. If I tell you, ye 
 will not believe : and if 1 also ask 
 you, ye will not answer me, nor let 
 me go. Hereafter shall the Son of 
 Man sit on the right hand of the 
 power of God. Then said they all. 
 Art thou then the Son of God? 
 And he said unto them, Ye say that 
 1 am. And they said. What need 
 we any further witness ? for we 
 ourselves have heard of his own 
 mouth '. 
 
 Thursday before Easter^. 
 The Epistle. 1 Cor. xi. 17. 
 
 IN this that I declare unto you, 
 1 praise you not ; that ye come 
 together not for the better, but for 
 
 tears, and heartily abhor our faults and follies, and our- 
 selves for them ; sure, this will be the effect of reading, 
 hearing, recollecting, our dear Redeemer's sufferings : 
 the bitterness of his bodily pains, the anguish of his 
 soul, and the dreadful punishment inflicted upon sin, in 
 his person. If ever the love of Christ commit a holy 
 violence u])on our hearts, " and constrain us to obedi- 
 ence ;" when are we so prepared to submit to, and be 
 vanquished by it, as now that Jesus Christ is crucified 
 in our ears, and before our eyes, for a whole week 
 together; and hath thereby so fully possessed us 
 with ideas of his most astonishing kindness and con- 
 descension ? 
 
 So fit, so advantageous a time is this, for feeding on 
 the body of our Lord : so scandalous is it, not now to 
 " do this " in remembrance of Him ; so much to be 
 feared, that they do not remember Christ at all to pur- 
 pose, who refuse this respect to his command, his per- 
 son, his sufferings ; and cannot be prevailed u]ion to 
 remember Him in the method of his own appointing. 
 Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ^ Tliursiliiij before Easter.'] Tliis day is called " Dies 
 Mandati," " Mandate " or " Maundy Thursday," fi-om 
 the commandment which our Saviour gave his apostles 
 to commemorate the Sacrament of his Sujiper, which 
 
 L
 
 146 
 
 THURSDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 the worse. For first of all, when 
 ye come together in the church, I 
 hear that there be divisions among 
 you, and I partly believe it. For 
 there must be also heresies among 
 you, that they who are approved 
 may be made manifest among you. 
 When ye come together therefore 
 into one place, this is not to eat 
 the Lord's supper : for in eating 
 every one taketh before other his 
 own supper; and one is hungr)', 
 and another is drunken. What, 
 have ye not houses to eat and to 
 drink in ? or despise ye the church 
 of God, and shame them that have 
 not? What shall I say to you? shall 
 I praise you in this? I praise you 
 not. For I have received of the 
 Lord that which also I delivered 
 unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the 
 same night in which he was be- 
 trayed, took bread ; and when he 
 had given thanks, he brake it, and 
 said. Take, eat ; this is my bodj', 
 which is broken for you : this do 
 in remembrance of me. After the 
 same manner also he took the cup, 
 when he had supped, saying. This 
 
 He this day instituted after the celehration of the Pass- 
 over ; and which was, for that reason, generally received 
 in the evening of the day: or, as others think, from 
 that " new commandment " which He gave them to 
 " love one another," after He had washed their feet, in 
 token of the love He hore to them, as is recorded in 
 the second Lesson at Morning Prayer. 
 
 The Gospel for this day is suitahle to the time, as 
 treating of our Saviour's passion : but the Epistle is 
 something different, containing an accoiuit of the insti- 
 tution of the Lord's Supper: the constant celebration 
 of which on this day, both in the morning and in the 
 evening, after supper, in commemoration of its being 
 first instituted at that time, rendered that portion of 
 Scripture very suitable to the day. iVheatly. 
 
 ' With respect to two mistaken notions about re- 
 ceiving the blessed Sacrament of the Lord's Supjjcr, 
 which persons jirctend to groimd on this passage, it 
 may be remarked, I. 'I'hat the damnation, which St. 
 Paul speaks of, is not eternal misery, but temporal 
 punishments : 2. 'I1iat the imworthinesa of which lie 
 speaks, is not, nor can it be, such as persons can be now 
 g\nlty of. It is readily allowed, that men may be under 
 the danger of receiving unworthily, on other accomits. 
 J5ut how does .St. I'aul proceed on this occasion ? liy 
 lii.s expressions in the ■i:>\\\ and 2(5th verses he ab\ni- 
 duntly intimates that tliis duty ought to be ])erforined. 
 And after denouncing the judgments of (iod against 
 unworthy communicants, he exhorts them, not to eon- 
 suit their safety by abstaining altogether, but by "ex- 
 amining and judging themselves, and so eating of that 
 bread, and drinking of that cup," vcr. 28. In short. 
 he that comes not, and he that comes unwortliily, are 
 both in a dangerous state : the forituT, because he will 
 not use his best remedy ; the latter, because he pro- 
 
 cup is the new testament in my 
 blood : this do ye, as oft as )'e drink 
 it, in remembrance of me. For as 
 often as ye eat this bread, and 
 drink this cup, ye do shew the 
 Lord's death till he come. Where- 
 fore, whosoever shall eat this bread, 
 and drink this cup of the Lord, 
 unworthily, shall be guilty of the 
 body and blood of the Lord. But 
 let a man examine himself, and so 
 let him eat of that bread, and drink 
 of that cup. For he that eateth and 
 drinketh unworthily eateth and drink- 
 eth damnation to himself, not dis- 
 cerning the Lord's body. For this 
 cause many are weak and sickly 
 among you, and many sleep. For 
 if we would judge ourselves, we 
 should not be judged. But when 
 we are judged, we are chastened of 
 the Lord, that we should not be 
 condemned with the world. Where- 
 fore, my brethren, when ye come to- 
 gether to eat, tarry one for another. 
 And if any man hunger, let him eat 
 at home ; that ye come not together 
 unto condemnation. And the rest 
 will I set in order when I come'. 
 
 fanes and abuses his best remedy. And there is but 
 one way for both to be safe : namely, by coming as 
 often, and as well prepared, as they can ; and then 
 God will not fail to forgive, and kindly to accept 
 them. 
 
 As to the necessary preparation, it may he said, that 
 no man who leads a good life can ever be unprepared 
 for the Lord's Supper ; and no man, who leads a bad 
 one, can come prepared to that or to any other Chris- 
 tian ordinance whatever. L'n]n-eparedness is sometimes 
 alleged for not communicating : by which is meant the 
 want of leisure to retire so many hours, or to say so 
 many prayers, before each communion. These are, no 
 question, very proper exercises, when men have op|)or- 
 tunitics for them ; and no man can take too much 
 pains with himself, to atllict his soul with remorse, or 
 to raise his affections and de\'otion, on such occasions. 
 Hut to think, that by these meditations and jirayers we 
 are, and that without tliem we cannot be, prepared, is 
 rank su|)crstition, and an error, that draws a world of 
 ill consiMpiences after it. For even those )irayers, if we 
 hold fast any darling lu.st, are an aliomination ; an 
 hypocrisy that mocks (iod, and deludes one's own soul. 
 .Vnd I wish all ])eo])le coulil be made duly sensible, 
 tlKit although a "week's ])reparation," when such ex- 
 traordinary addresses are added to a " conscience void 
 of offence toward (jod and toward man," may be 
 exceeding well : yet nothing can be depended upon, 
 but a communicating frequently and reverently ; and 
 living, as if we were every day to commimicate, be- 
 tween one ojijiorfunity and another. To cease to do 
 evil, and learn to do well ; to love God, and keep his 
 eonun;[udinents ; to follow the works of our calling 
 with industry; and to provide for our families with 
 honesty; to trust to God's good jjrovidence, and bo
 
 THURSDAY BEFOIIE EASTER. 
 
 147 
 
 Thr Gospel. St. Eiiko xxiii. 1. 
 TMUE whole imiltitiule of tliem 
 I arose, and led him unto Pilate. 
 AikI they began to accnse him, 
 saying, We fonnd this fellow per- 
 verting tiie nation, and forbidding 
 to give tribute to CiBsar, saying. 
 That he himself is Christ a King. 
 And Pilate asked him saying, Art 
 thou the King of the Jews? And 
 he answered him, and said. Thou 
 sayest it. Then said Pilate to the 
 chief priests, and to the people, I 
 find no fault in this man. And 
 they were the more fierce, saying. 
 He stirreth up the peo])le, teaching 
 throughout all Jewry, beginning 
 from Galilee to this place. When 
 Pilate heard of Galilee, lie asked 
 whether the man were a Galilean. 
 And as soon as he knew that he 
 belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, 
 he sent him to Herod, who himself 
 was also at Jerusalem at that time. 
 And when Herod saw Jesus he 
 was exceeding glad ; for he was 
 desirous to see him of a long season, 
 because he had heard many things 
 of him ; and he hoped to have seen 
 some miracle done by him. Then 
 he questioned with him in many 
 words ; but he answered him no- 
 thing. And the chief priests and 
 scribes stood and vehemently ac- 
 cused him. And Herod with his 
 men of war set him at nought, and 
 mocked him, and arrayed him in a 
 gorgeous robe, and sent him again 
 to Pilate. And the same day Pilate 
 and Herod were made friends to- 
 gether ; for before they were at 
 enmity between themselves. And 
 Pilate, when he had called together 
 the chief ]iriests, and the rulers, and 
 the people, said unto them, Ye have 
 l>rought this man unto me, as one 
 that perverteth the people : and 
 behold, I, having examined him 
 before you, have found no fault in 
 this man touching those things 
 whereof ye accuse him : No, nor 
 yet Herod : for I sent you to him ; 
 and lo, nothing worthy of death is 
 
 content with our condition ; to preserve unity in the 
 Church, peace and order in the state ; to study to be 
 quiet, to do our own business, and the duty of the 
 capacity and the relations we stand in : to abhor un- 
 cleanness, and evil-speaking, and all uncharitableness ; 
 this is true preparation. And he that thus communi- 
 
 donc unto him. I will therefore 
 chastise him, aiul release him. ]''or 
 of necessity he must release one 
 unto thcni at the feast. And they 
 cried out all at once, saying. Away 
 with this man, and release mito us 
 Barabbas : (who for a certain sedi- 
 tion made in the city, and for mur- 
 der, was cast into prison.) Pilate 
 therefore, willing to release Jesus, 
 spake again to them. But they 
 cried, saying. Crucify him, crucify 
 him. And he said unto them the 
 third time, Why, what evil hath he 
 done ? I have found no cause of 
 death in him : 1 will therefore chas- 
 tise him, and let him go. And they 
 were instant with loud voices, re- 
 quiring that he might be crucified : 
 and the voices of them aiul of the 
 chief priests prevailed. And Pilate 
 gave sentence that it should be as 
 they required. And he released 
 unto them him that for sedition and 
 murder was cast into prison, whom 
 they had desired ; but he delivered 
 Jesus to their will. And as they led 
 him away, they laid hold upon one 
 Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the 
 country, and on him they laid the 
 cross, that he might bear it after 
 Jesus. And there followed him a 
 great company of people, and of 
 women, which also bewailed and 
 lamented him. But Jesus, turning 
 unto them, said, Daughters of Jeru- 
 salem, weep not for me, but weep 
 for yourselves, and for your chil- 
 dren. For behold, the days are 
 coming, in the which they shall 
 say, Blessed are the barren, and 
 the wombs that never bare, and the 
 paps which never gave suck. Then 
 shall they begin to say to the 
 mountains, Fall on us ; and to the 
 hills, Cover us. For if they do 
 these things in a green tree, what 
 shall be done in the dry ? And there 
 were also two other, malefactors, 
 led with him to be put to death. 
 And when they were come to the 
 place which is called Calvary, there 
 they crucified him ; and the male- 
 
 cates, though at a minute's warning, will never be 
 rejected of God, or deserve to be condemned by men. 
 And therefore men would do m'cII to consider this ; 
 and, how they can answer, either li\-ing out of such a 
 state, or neglecting the sacrament, when they are in it. 
 Dean Stanhope. 
 
 L -2
 
 148 
 
 THURSDAY BEFORE EASTER. 
 
 factors, one on the right hand, and 
 the otlier on the left. Then said 
 Jesus, Fatlier, forgive them, for tliey 
 know not what they do. And they 
 parted his raiment, and cast lots. 
 And tlie people stood beholding : and 
 the rulers also with them derided him, 
 saying. He saved others ; let him save 
 himself, if he be Christ, the chosen 
 of God. And the soldiers also mocked 
 him, coming to him, and offering 
 Inm vinegar, and saying. If thou be 
 tlie King of the Jews, save thyself. 
 And a superscription also was written 
 over him in letters of Greek, and 
 Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE 
 KING OF THE JEWS. And 
 one of the malefactors, which were 
 hanged, railed on him, saying. If 
 thou be Christ, save thyself, and us. 
 But the other answerino- rebuked 
 him, saying, Uost not thou fear God, 
 seeing thou art in the same con- 
 demnation ? And we indeed justly ; 
 for we receive the due reward of 
 our deeds, but this man hatli done 
 
 " The case of the penitent thief, recorded in the 
 Gospel of the day, is an useful subject for our re- 
 flexions, because sometimes made the ground of a false 
 security. For when this action comes to be thoroughly 
 weighed, some things will be found in it very extraor- 
 dinary, some that seldom ha\'e, some that can never 
 have, a parallel. This man, it is jjrobable, had never 
 seen or heard of Christ before : or, If he had, it is yet 
 more strange, that he, who had stood out till then, 
 should come in to the acknowledgment of Him now. 
 Now, when his enemies were insulting over Ilim, when 
 his own disciples and the companions of his ])reaching 
 and miracles had forsaken Him; when thej', who once 
 " trusted it had tjeen he, who should ha\e redeemed 
 Israel," despaired of him ; when the companion of his 
 wickedness was at the same time reproaching and 
 blaspheming Ilim ; that he, I s.-iy, should in this 
 lowest ebb of misery, and shame, and scorn, that ever 
 the Son of (jod did or could stoop to, throw him- 
 self upon his ])rotection, acknowledge his kingdom, 
 believe Him Lord of a future and better state, and the 
 disposer of rewards and luippincss after death ; and all 
 this upon so surprising a conviction, and in answer to 
 the very first calls of grace : this argues so ingenuous a 
 temper, so noble and so hold a faith, as never was out- 
 done, as never can in all resjjccts be ecpialled, except 
 the same Jesus were again to be crucified. Kor no 
 man's conversion ever had, ever can ha\'e, u])on other 
 terms, the same disadvantages and discouragements, 
 which this man's laboured under, and so generously 
 overcame. 
 
 Might not then St. Chrysostom, as with great force 
 he docs, rel)uke the impudence of those late penitents, 
 who presume to take sanctuary in this example ? 
 them, who live under the ministry of the (jos])el, and 
 enjoy both the outward calls of (iod's word, and llic iii- 
 Wird solicitations of his Sjiirit, hut turn the deaf ear 
 continually to both ? who profess to lulicve a risen 
 and glorified Kcdcemer, to expect Him us their Judge, 
 
 nothing amiss. And he said unto 
 Jesus, Lord, remember me when 
 thou coniest into thv kingdom. And 
 Jesus said mito him, \ erily I say 
 unto thee, To-day shalt thou be 
 with me in paradise. And it was 
 about the sixth hour: and there was 
 a darkness over all the earth until 
 the ninth hour. And the sun was 
 darkened, and the vail of the temple 
 was rent in the midst. And when 
 Jesus had cried with a loud voice, 
 he said. Father, into thy hands I 
 commend my spirit : and having 
 said thus, he gave up the ghost. 
 Now when the centurion saw what 
 was done, he glorified God, saying, 
 Certaiidy this was a righteous man. 
 And all the people that came toge- 
 ther to that sight, beholding the 
 things that were done, smote their 
 breasts, and returned. And all 
 his acquaintance, and the women 
 that followed him from Galilee, 
 stood afar off, beholding these 
 things". 
 
 and call Him Lord and King, and have listed them- 
 selves in his service by ba])tism, but pay Him no de- 
 gree of that respect which this stranger did, when He 
 had rendered Himself of no reputation, and a])peared 
 in the guise of the ^■ilcst malefactor ? lliis certainly 
 shews such a difference as must, if reflected on, con- 
 •\-ince all wilful delayers of re])entancc, that they have 
 no |)recedent to jiroduce for their confidence. Indeed, 
 then' state is as unlike to his, as that of a conversion 
 astonishingly speedy and gallant, is to an obstinate 
 backwardness and delay : and the only part of the 
 comparison that holds, is that of death being at the 
 door. 
 
 That God shoidil communicate the assistance of his 
 grace very liherally. to one so disposed to close with 
 the first motions of it, as this thief, agrees with those 
 exalted notions of his goodness, which both reason and 
 revelation have given us. But what assurance can we 
 have from either, of bis readiness to assist and bring 
 o\Tr those who have received it in \ain ; why should 
 they suppose, that a Sjjirit, so often (h-i\-en away, will 
 be at their call whenever they please, and, by a more 
 than conunon influence, work in them a change, just 
 «lun tlicy come to die, wliich they ne\Tr would be 
 prevaded upon to concur with, or consent to, in the 
 whole course of tlieir hves ? No, no. If these men 
 arc desirous to tiiul a parallel, they liave it here at 
 hiuid. The other thief, who went out of the world 
 railing and reviling, is much more likely to be the true 
 emblem of their sad condition. He is far from being 
 tlic only instance of a wicked creature, given up by 
 God at his last hour; but the penitent thief is the only 
 one we are sure of, reclaimed at bis last hour; and this 
 too such a one as caimot be drawn into consequence liy 
 any t'hiistian. by reason of tliose many circumstances, 
 in whicli it is not so much as ])ossil)le for tliis case to 
 agree with that of any, wlio sliall ])ri'sume to defer his 
 repentance, tliougb hut till the next hour. 
 
 l^et us therefore deal fairly with ourselves, and not
 
 GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 149 
 
 E]ih. iii. M, 
 15; ii. 19. 
 
 Matt. xxvi. 
 ib ; x.vvii. 2. 
 
 Acts ii. 22, 
 23. 
 
 rilil. ii. 8— 
 11. 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 
 ii, 13. 
 
 GOOD FRIDAY". 
 
 T/ie Collects. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, we he- 
 .seecli tliee f>'raci()usly to heliold 
 this thy family, tor whicli our Lord 
 Jesus Christ was contented to be 
 betrayed, and given up into the 
 hands of wicked men, and to siiifer 
 death upon tlie cross, who now liveth 
 and reiunetli with thee and tlie Holy 
 Ghost, ever one God, world without 
 end. Amen. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everla.sting 
 God, by whose Spirit the 
 whole body of the Church is go- 
 verned and sanctified ; Receive our 
 supplications and prayers, which we 
 
 read this story by halves. Let us in it contemjilate the 
 justice of a provoked, as well as the mercy of a for- 
 giving, God. If " to-day, while it is called to-day," 
 we do our part ; we have a title to the consolations of 
 this case. If we put off from day to day, and continue 
 to harden our hearts ; it contains not one syllable of 
 comfort for us, but all we build upon it is without 
 foundation. The extent of our lives we cannot, but 
 the difficulties of a death-bed repentance we may, 
 certainly know. And, if once matters come to this 
 pass, we cannot be sure of the power, nay, we cannot 
 be sure of so much as the will, to repent. But, su])- 
 posing this also not to be denied us, we cannot ha\'e 
 tlie same assurance of being then accepted, which this 
 thief had. For many things, at such a time, concur to 
 deceive us : and whether the good ])ur])oses, then 
 raised in oiu- minds, woulil be stedfast and perpetual, 
 God only can foresee. \\'e find by experience that 
 many, who have resolved well, if God grant an unex- 
 pected recovery, relapse into their old impieties ; and 
 do not only deceive others, but themselves too. 'I'he 
 only course then to be safe and easy, is to repent so 
 early, that the fruits may put the sincerity of our change 
 past any doubt. For we can ncx'er ha\-e too mean a 
 thought of doing this upon beds of languishing, and at 
 the approach of death. And the most that ought to 
 be said in favour of such a delay, is not to pronounce 
 it altogether desperate. But this is a danger, which, I 
 hope, the due observance of this holy season we are 
 now in hath delivered us from. And, if so, then may 
 we, with great equanimity, imitate our blessed Lord, in 
 that act, which is described in these words, ver. 4G, 
 " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." Dean 
 Stdiilinpe. 
 
 " Good Friday.'] This day received its name from 
 the blessed effects of our .Saviour's sufferings, which 
 are the ground of all our joy, and from those unspeak- 
 able good things He hath purchased for us by his 
 death, whereby the blessed Jesus made expiation for 
 the sins of the whole world, and, by the shedding his 
 own blood, obtained eternal redemption for us. Among 
 the .Saxons it was called Long Friday ; but for what 
 reasons (excepting for the long fastings and offices 
 they then used) does not appear. 
 
 2. 'I'he commemoration of our Saviour's sufferings 
 hath been kept from the very fu'st age of Christianity, 
 and was always observed as a day of the strictest fast- 
 
 offer before thee for all estates of ;!?,'''': "'"^ 
 
 22 : IV. 4, 
 
 men in thv holy C'hureh, that every i ret. i. 2. 
 
 ■ •,. ., •" • 1 • r Itom.xv. 16; 
 
 member ot the same, m ins vocation xii 4-8. 
 and ministry, may truly and godly l.;,';]°'^i^"i' ''''■ 
 si'rve thee ; through our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, /linen. 
 
 Merciful God, who liast made 
 all men, and hatcst nothing 
 that thou hast made, nor wouldest ps. cxiy. 9. 
 the death of a sinner, but rather 
 that he should be converted and live ; Ezek. xviii 
 Have mercy upon all Jews, ^I'urks, lYo^.^"'!;"" 
 Infidels, and Hereticks, and take ^J^™- "■ 
 from them all ignorance, hardness of 
 heart, and contempt of thy Word ; 
 and so fetch them home, blessed 
 Lord, to thy flock, that they may be J"im x. 11. 
 saved among the remnant of the true Lukoxv. 4. 
 
 ing and humiliation ; not that the grief and affliction 
 they then expressed did arise from the loss they sus- 
 tained, but from a sense of the guilt of the sins of the 
 whole world, which drew upon our blessed Redeemer 
 that ])ainful and shameful death of the cross. 
 
 3. The Gospel for this day (besides its coming in 
 course) is jiroperly taken out of St. John rather than 
 any other Evangelist, because he was the only one that 
 was present at tlie jiassion, and stood by the cross while 
 others fled : and therefore, the ]jassion being as it were 
 rejiresented before our eyes, his testimony is read who 
 saw it himself, and from whose example we may learn 
 not to be ashamed or afraid of the cross of Christ. The 
 Epistle proves from the insufficiency of the Jewish sacri- 
 fices, that they only typitied a moresufficient one, which 
 the Son of God did as on this day ofi'er up, and by one 
 oblation of Himself then made upon the cross, com- 
 pleted all the other sacrifices, (which were only shadows 
 of this,) and made full satisfaction for the sins of the 
 whole world. In imitation of which di^•ine and infi- 
 nite love, the Church endeavours to shew her charity to 
 be boundless and unlimited, by praying in one of the 
 proper Collects, that the effects of Christ's death may 
 be as universal as the design of it, namely, that it may 
 tend to the salvation of all, Jews, Turks, Infidels, and 
 Hereticks. 
 
 4. How suitable the proper Psalms are to the day, is 
 obvious to any one that reads them with a due atten- 
 tion : they were all composed by David in times of the 
 greatest calamity and distress, and do most of them 
 belong mystically to the crucifixion of our Saviour ; 
 especially the twenty-second, which is the first for 
 the morning, which was in several passages hterally 
 fulfilled by his sufferings, and either jjart of it, or all, 
 recited by Him upon the cross. And for that reason 
 (as St. Austin tells us) was always used upon that day 
 by the African church. 
 
 5. The first Lesson for the morning is Genesis xxii. 
 containing an account of Abraham's readiness to offer 
 uj) his son; thereby typify-ing that perfect oblation 
 which was this day made by the Son of God ; which 
 was thought so jiroper a Lesson for this occasion, that 
 the Church used it upon this day in St. -Austin's time. 
 The second Lesson is St. John xviii. which needs no 
 exjilanation. The first Lesson for the evening contains 
 a clear prophecy of the ])assion of Christ, and of the 
 benefits which the Chm-ch thereby receives. The
 
 150 
 
 GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 ST?^''^' Israelites, and be made one fold un- I 
 der one shepherd, Jesus Christ our j 
 Lord, who liveth and reigneth with 
 thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Heb. x. 1. 
 
 TH E law having' a shadow of 
 good things to come, and not 
 the very image of the things, can 
 never with those sacrifices, which 
 they offered year by year continu- 
 ally, make the comers thereunto 
 perfect : for then would they not 
 have ceased to be offered ? because 
 that the worshippers once purged 
 should have had no more con- 
 science of sins. But in those sacri- 
 fices there is a remembrance again 
 made of sins every year. For it is 
 not possible that the blood of bulls 
 and of goats should take away sins. 
 Wherefore, when lie cometh into 
 the world, he saith, Sacrifice and 
 offering thou wouldest not, but a 
 body hast thou prepared me : In 
 burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin 
 thou hast had no pleasure : Then 
 said I, Lo, I come (in the volume 
 of the book it is written of me) to 
 do thy^ will, O God. Above, when 
 he said, Sacrifice and offering, and 
 burnt-offerings, and offering for sin 
 thou wouldest not, neither hadst 
 pleasure therein, which are offered 
 by the Law : then said he, Lo, I 
 come to do thy will, () God. He 
 taketh away the first, that he may 
 establish the second. By the which 
 will we are sanctified, through the 
 offering of the body of Jesus Christ 
 once for all. And every priest 
 standeth daily ministering, and of- 
 
 second Lesson exhorts us to patience under afflictions, 
 from the example of Christ, who suffered so much for 
 us. Wlieutly. 
 
 ° The a])i)stle, having, in the ICpistle for tliis day, set 
 forth the excellency, the extent, the end, and the all- 
 sufficiency of Christ's death, in all which it \'astly ex- 
 ceeds all the sacrifices and expiations under the law 
 which were hut so many types and faint rc[)rcsentatii)ns 
 of this f^rcat ])ropitiatory sacrifice under the (Jospel, in- 
 fers from thence the foUciwinf; useful lessons. 
 
 \. "Let us draw near with a true heart, in full as- 
 surance of faith, having our hearts S])riMklcd from an 
 evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure 
 water," Hcb. x. 22 ; that is, let us serve (iod with a 
 sincere and unfeigned worship, willi a firm persuasion 
 of finding acceptance with Him, having our souls piu-i- 
 fied from all inward |)ollntion, anil our hiidics cleanseil 
 from all outward delilcuient. 'I'he expression of "sprink- 
 Ung tlic heart from an evil conscience " alludes to a 
 
 fering oftentimes the same sacri- 
 fices, which can never take away 
 sins. But this man, after he luid 
 offered one sacrifice for sins, for 
 e\ex sat flown on the right hand 
 of God ; from henceforth expecting 
 till his enemies be made his foot- 
 stool. For by one offering he hath 
 perfected for ever them that are 
 sanctified : Whereof the Holy Ghost 
 also is a witness to us : for after 
 that he had said before, This is the 
 covenant that I will make with 
 them after those days, saith the 
 Lord, I will put my laws into their 
 hearts, and in their minds will I 
 write them ; and their sins and ini- 
 quities will I remember no more. 
 Now where remission of these is, 
 there is no more offering for sin. 
 Having therefore, brethren, bold- 
 ness to enter into the holiest by 
 the blood of Jesus, by a new and 
 living way, which he hath con- 
 secrated for us, through the vail, 
 that is to say, his flesh ; and having 
 an high priest over the house of 
 God ; let us draw near with a true 
 heart, in full assurance of faith, hav- 
 ing our hearts sprinkled from an evil 
 conscience, and our bodies washed 
 with pure water. Let us hold fast 
 the profession of our faitii without 
 wavering; (for he is faithful that 
 promised;) and let us consider one 
 another to provoke unto love, and 
 to good works ; not forsaking the 
 assembling of ourselves together, as 
 the manner of some is ; but exhort- 
 ing one another : and so much the 
 more, as ye see the day approach- 
 insr". 
 
 custom tmder the law, where he, that had touched any 
 unclean thing, was to he sprinkled by the priest before 
 he entered the congregation ; and " the body's being 
 washed «ith imre water " alludes to the laver of regene- 
 ration under the Gos|>el, where b.aptizcd jiersons are 
 washed from their original corruption. And both ex- 
 pressions iinpl}', that Christ's s.aerificing Himself for 
 us shoidd engage us to the greatest purity both of soul 
 and body, which must be therefore ol)ser\'ed by all, 
 that woidd receive any l)enefit by the shedding of his 
 blood. 
 
 2. " Let us hold fast the profession of the faith with- 
 out wavering, for he is faithful that hath promised " 
 (ver. I?,); that is, let us be constant to tlie faith of a 
 crucified Sa\'iour, and be as ready to profess it with the 
 mouth, as to confess it in the heart. Let no tem])ta- 
 tions either of pros])crity or adversity shake our belief of 
 Him, or make us in the least waver in it; but ratlierlet 
 us say with St. Paul, " VVc preach Christ crucified.
 
 GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 151 
 
 The Gospel. St. John xix. 1. 
 
 PILATE therefore took Jesus, 
 and scourged him. And the 
 soUliers platted a crown of thorns, 
 and put it on his head, and tlicy 
 j)ut on him a purple robe, and said, 
 Hail, King of the Jews : and they 
 smote him with their hands. Pilate 
 therefore went forth again, and saith 
 unto them, Behold, I bring him 
 forth to you, that ye may know that 
 I find no fault in him. Then came 
 Jesus forth, wearing the crown of 
 thorns, and the purple robe. And 
 Pilate saith unto them. Behold the 
 man ! When the chief priests there- 
 fore and officers saw him, they cried 
 out, saying, Crucify him, crucify 
 him. Pilate saith unto them, Take 
 ye him, and crucify him : for I find 
 no fault in him. The Jews an- 
 swered him. We have a law, and by 
 our law he ought to die, because 
 he made himself the Son of God. 
 When Pilate therefore heard that 
 saying, he was the more afraid ; 
 and went again into the judgement- 
 hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence 
 art thou ? But Jesus gave him no 
 answer. Then saith Pilate unto 
 him, Speakest thou not unto me ? 
 knowest thou not that I have power 
 to crucify thee, and have power to 
 release thee ? Jesus answered. Thou 
 couldest have no power at all against 
 me, except it were given thee from 
 above : therefore he that delivered 
 me unto thee hath the greater sin. 
 And from thenceforth Pilate sought 
 to release him : but the Jews cried 
 out, saying, If thou let this man go, 
 thou art not Caesar's friend: whoso- 
 ever maketh himself a king speaketh 
 against Csesar. When Pilate there- 
 fore heard that saying, he brought 
 
 though it be a stumbling-block to the Jews, and to the 
 Greeks foolishness." Whatever dangers and discour- 
 agements then we may meet with, let us ever own and 
 put our trust in a dying SSaviour ; for He hath promised 
 to stand by those that stand firm to their profession, 
 and we may safely depend upon his fidelity, for He is 
 faithful that hath promised. 
 
 3. " Let us consider one another, to jirovoke unto 
 love, and to good works" (ver. 24); that is, let the 
 sense of Christ's love, in dying for us, kindle in our 
 breast the most ardent (lames of love towards Him, 
 and likewise to one another, whom He hath made par- 
 takers of the benefits of his death. Let us call u|ion 
 each other, to express this love by all the acts of duty 
 and thankfulness, abounding in the works of piety and 
 
 Jesus forth, and sat down in the 
 judgement-seat, in a place that is 
 called the Pavement, but in the 
 Hebrew, Gai)l)atha. And it was 
 the prejjaration of the passover, 
 and about the sixth hour : and he 
 saith unto the Jews, Behold your 
 King ! But they cried out. Away 
 with him, away with him, crucify 
 him. Pilate saith unto them. Shall 
 I crucify your King ? The chief 
 priests answered. We have no king 
 i)ut Csesar. Then delivered he liim 
 therefore unto them to be cruci- 
 fied : and they took Jesus, and led 
 him away. And he, bearing his 
 cros.s, went forth into a place called 
 the place of a scull, which is called 
 in the Hebrew, Golgotha : where 
 they crucified him, and two other 
 with him, on either side one, and 
 Jesus in the midst. And Pilate 
 wrote a title, and put it on the 
 cross ; and the writing was, JESUS 
 OF NAZARETH THE KING 
 OF THE JEWS. This title then 
 read many of the Jews : for the 
 place where Jesus was crucified 
 was nigh to the city : and it was 
 written in Hebrew, and Greek, and 
 Latin. Then said the chief priests 
 of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, 
 The King of the Jews ; but that he 
 said, I am the King of the Jews. 
 Pilate answered. What I have writ- 
 ten, I have written. Then the 
 soldiers, when they had crucified 
 Jesus, took his garments, and made 
 four parts, to every .soldier a part; 
 and also his coat : now the coat was 
 without seam, woven from the top 
 throughout. They said therefore 
 among themselves. Let us not rend 
 it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall 
 be : that the Scripture might be ful- 
 
 charity, knowing that " Christ gave himself for us, to 
 redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify to himself a 
 peculiar peojile, zealous of good works." 
 
 Lastly, Let us " not forsake the assembling ourselves 
 together, as the manner of some is, but exhort one 
 another, and so much the more, as we see the day ap- 
 proaching " (25); that is, let us not leave the public 
 congregations of Christ's Chiu'ch, appointed to cele- 
 bi-ate the jiraises of our Redeemer, to hear his word, to 
 receive his holy sacraments, and jointly to offer up our 
 prayers and thanksgivings unto Him. To neglect 
 these, is a degree of apostasy and defection from Him, 
 and therefore let us exhort one another, to keep to them, 
 and the rather, because the day of reckoning is at hand. 
 Dr. Hole.
 
 152 
 
 EASTER EVEN. 
 
 filled, which saith, They parted my 
 raiment among them, and for my 
 vesture they did cast lots. These 
 things therefore the soldiers did. 
 Now there stood by the cross of 
 Jesus, his mother, and his mother's 
 sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, 
 and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus 
 therefore saw his mother, and the 
 disciple standing by, whom he loved, 
 he said unto his mother. Woman, 
 behold thy son. Then saith he to 
 the disciple, Behold thy mother. 
 And from that hour that disciple 
 took her unto his own home. After 
 this, Jesus, knowing that all things 
 were now accomplished, that tlie 
 Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I 
 thirst. Now there was set a vessel 
 full of vinegar : and they filled a 
 spunge with vinegar, and put it upon 
 hyssop, and put it to his mouth. 
 When Jesus therefore had received 
 the vinegar, he said, It is finished: 
 and he bowed his head, and gave up 
 the ghost. The Jews therefore, be- 
 cause it was the preparation, that 
 the bodies should not remain upon 
 
 ' The service of the Church hath brought us down 
 to the last act of our Sa\'iour's sufferings, and the parti- 
 cular manner of liis expiring on the cross, as expressed 
 in the 3()th verse of the Gospel for the day, " He bowed 
 his head, and gave ui) the ghost." The phrase implies 
 such a dissolution and actual separation of the soul and 
 body, as every common man undergoes, when he dies. 
 But herein is a remarkable difference, that what is in 
 other men the effect of necessity, was in Jesus a volun- 
 tary act, and the effect of his own free choice. Such 
 was the decease of our blessed Redeemer : so volun- 
 tary and intirely his own : so wise and wonderful in 
 every circumstance : so victorious even in that part of 
 it, by which his enemies thought Him vanquished ; so 
 full of matter, so full of couifort is that dying word 
 of the blessed .lesus, importing that all the jiropliecies 
 in the Old Testament concerning Christ were accoin- 
 jilished, that all the types and figures concerning Him 
 in the Jewish law were fulfilled, that all the great work 
 of man's redemption, and eveiy thing necessary for 
 reconciling sinners to their incensed (iod, was exactly 
 and pimctually performed ; so justly might He then, 
 so joyfully may every Cliristian now, crj»out, "It is 
 finished." 
 
 Hence we jierceive how it came to pass, that this 
 death was an act so noble and generous in itself, and 
 80 exceedingly beneficial to us. For tlierefore, is it a 
 meritorious, because not only an invaluable, but a will- 
 ing, sacrifice. Tberefdre was this act of obedience so 
 well pleasing to his Katber: because, even in the mo.st 
 dillic'ult and puinfid instances, it ))rocee(leil not from 
 constraint, but from full consent and free choice. Upon 
 this account his love to wretched man is so unspeakably 
 tender aiul great ; be('ause it was in his power to have 
 refused the giving us such costly proofs of bis kind- 
 ness. At the same time by such chosen and cheerful 
 
 the cross on the sabbath-da\', (for 
 that sabbath-day was an high day,) 
 besought Pilate that their legs might 
 be broken, and that they might be 
 taken away. Then came the sol- 
 diers, and brake the legs of the 
 first, and of the other which was 
 crucified with him. But when they 
 came to Jesus, and saw that he was 
 dead already, they brake not his 
 legs. But one of the soldiers with 
 a spear pierced his side, and forth- 
 with came thereout blood and wa- 
 ter. And he that saw it bare re- 
 cord, and his record is true : and he 
 knoweth that he saith true, that ye 
 might believe. For these things 
 were done that the Scripture should 
 be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not 
 be broken. And again another 
 Scripture saith. They shall look on 
 him whom they pierced p. 
 
 G 
 
 Easter Eveii'^. 
 The Collect. 
 RANT, O Lord, that as we 
 are baptized into the death of 4 
 
 Rom. vi. 3, 
 11, 12. 
 
 submission to die for oiu- sakes, our Lord hath set us 
 a pattern, how we ought to behave ourseh'cs to Him, in 
 return for such marvellous compassion andlove: that 
 we should think nothing too much to do, nothing too 
 generous to suffer, for a Saviour, who of his own 
 accord and mere grace bath done and suffered so much 
 for us. 
 
 ITie pro])er use of this week's devotions is, to inflame 
 our affections, to quicken our endeavours, to arm us 
 with patience, to encourage our perseverance to the 
 end: to put us in mind, that we, like Him, can only 
 then lay down our heads with comfort, when we can 
 say, " It is finished :" when we measure our life, not by 
 the length and number of our days, but by the business 
 and design of it. No death can be hasty or unseason- 
 able, which comes when 'i man hath satisfied the ends 
 he lived for. No life is long which determines, before 
 the purjioses of living are made good, and its work 
 done ; but hajipy, hiipjiy they, who, after the most dis- 
 tressed, the most laborious, the most despi.scd instances 
 of their virtue, can sing thjs song of triumph to them- 
 selves : that they have been faithful in their charge, 
 and done what it was their duty to do. If such par- 
 take in the afflictions, and reproaches, and death of 
 their Saviour, they shall assuredly be recompensed, by 
 partaking in his resurrection. And when they give up 
 the ghost, shall iniincdiatelv "enter into the joy of " 
 this "their" crucified " Lord." Diiin H/anlmpi'. 
 
 1 Eostir 7i('cn.] This e\e was in the ancient Church 
 ceU'lirated with more than ordinary devotions, with 
 solemn watchings, with multitudes of lighted torches 
 both ill tlieir churches and their own private bouses, 
 and with a general resort and conlhience of all ranks 
 of people. All which was rh-signcd as a forerunner of 
 that great light, "the Sun of righteousness." which, the 
 next day, arose upon the world. The Church of Eng-
 
 EASTER EVEN. 
 
 150 
 
 Gal. ii. 21) ; 
 vi. H. 
 fol. ii. 11, 
 12: iii. 5. 
 
 thy blessed Son'' our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ, so by continual mortifying' 
 our corrupt affections we may be 
 buried witii him ; and tiiat through 
 the grave, and gate of death, we 
 may pass to our joyful resurrection ; 
 for his merits, who died, and was 
 Rom. iv. 25. buried, and rose again for us, thy 
 Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 The Epis/k. 1 St. Peter iii. 17. 
 
 IT is better, if tlie will of God be 
 so, that ye suffer for well-doing, 
 than for evil-doing. For Christ also 
 hath once suffered for sins, the just 
 for the unjust, that he might bring 
 us to God, being put to death in the 
 flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. 
 
 land hath laid these ceremonies aside, but provides for 
 the religious exercise of her members by calling them 
 together to meditate ujion our Saviour's deatli, burial, 
 and descent into hell. IVheally. 
 
 The Collect reminds us of our conforming to Christ's 
 death by being baptized into it, and likewise of our 
 conforming to his resurrection by mortifying our corrupt 
 affections, of which the apostle speaks, Rom. vi. 3 — 5 : 
 whence we are taiiglit to pray that we may pass through 
 the grave to a joyful resurrection for the merits of our 
 Saviour. The Epistle is designed to make us conform- 
 able to Christ, as well in his sutferings as in his glory. 
 The Gospel gi\es us a relation of his burial, with the 
 circumstances that attended it. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' — as we are baptized into the death of thy Son.'\ The 
 phrase, tal'ien from Rom. vi. 3, seems to be used here 
 by the Chiu-ch, to signify our spiritual death unto sin, 
 which she declares in her Catechism to lie part of the 
 inward and spiritual grace of baptism. And our con- 
 tinuing in the mortification of our sins is our spiritual 
 burial together with Christ here mentioned. Dr. 
 Bennef. 
 
 The phrase " by continual mortifying our corrupt 
 affections," is inaccurate. It ought to be, " by the 
 continual mortifying of," or, " by continually mortify- 
 ing," our corrupt affections. Bp. Lowth. See the 
 notes on the Collects for Whit-Sunday, and St. John 
 the Baptist's-day. 
 
 " The Epistle for the day, like the day itself, presents 
 to our minds two diffei-ent views. The one a retrospect 
 upon our dying ; tlie other, a most comfortable prospect 
 upon our risen Lord. With regard to the former, we 
 are, by his example, excited to patience in our suffer- 
 ings, even when those sufferings are extreme and un- 
 just. With regard to the latter, we are informed, that our 
 Lord returned to life, by virtue of that eternal Spirit, 
 which, long before his incarnation, strove with sinful 
 men, by seasonable instructions and warnings, to jjre- 
 vent the dismal consequences of a God ])ro\'oked to 
 anger. The ineflRcacy of which good office brought 
 destruction upon all the old world, exce]it one obedient 
 family, by the sweeping of a deluge, dreadful and gene- 
 ral, as the imjiieties that had let it in upon them. 
 
 The deUverance we likewise learn from hence, to have 
 been a figure of the sacrament of baptism; as the ark, 
 containing Noah and his family, was a figure of tlie 
 Church. None were tlicn preserved, whom that ark 
 did not bear upon the water ; in like manner it is by 
 baptism, and in the Church only, that men can now be 
 
 By which also he went and preached 
 unto the spirits in prison ; which 
 sometime were disobedient, when 
 once the long-suffering of (iod 
 waited in the days of Noah, while 
 the ark was a prejiaring ; wherein 
 few, that is, eight souls, were saved 
 by water. The like figure where- 
 unto, even baptism, doth also now 
 save us, (not the putting awiiy the 
 filth of the flesh, but the answer of 
 a good conscience towards Ciod,) by 
 the resurrection of Jesus C'hrist: who 
 is gone into heaven, and is on the 
 right hand of Ciod, angels and au- 
 thorities and powers being made 
 subject unto him^ 
 
 ordinarily saved, from their sins liere, and everlasting 
 death hereafter. The efficacy of this sacrament is 
 however ascribed not to the outward element ajiplied 
 to the body, hut to the in\\'ard dis]iosition of the mind, 
 in them, who are received by it into this spiritual ark. 
 This dis]iosition is to be ex)iressed, by declarations of 
 the party's willingness to enter into covenant with God, 
 and to expect salvation upon the terms of the Gospel : 
 a part of baptism so necessary, that it does not ajipear, 
 that it anciently was, or tliat it ever ought to be, admi- 
 nistered without such declaration. Antl therefore such 
 consent is rightly demanded of all baptized persons; 
 exjiected from all of years and discretion to be given 
 by themselves ; accepted for infants by the charity of 
 the Chiu-ch, from sm-eties in their name ; but required 
 to be jiersonally ratified by these too, in tlie too much 
 neglected rite of " confirmation," at a time when they 
 are ca])able of contracting for their pai-t of this cove- 
 nant. 
 
 'i'lie salvation, attained by t'nus entering into cove- 
 nant witli God, is most rightfully ascribed here to our 
 Lord's resurrection. That being the evidence, that the 
 sins He died for were fuUy expiated, and that immor- 
 tality was restored to the nature, in which He died. 
 The release of our surety was, in all reasonable con- 
 struction, an acknowledgment, that our debt was fully 
 satisfied : and a sufficient foundation for the firmest 
 faith in the " merits of him, who died and was buried, 
 and rose again for us." 
 
 But faith alone, we know, is not sufficient. Every 
 important article of the Christian religion ought to 
 have a powerful influence iqion our practice. And 
 therefore neither do we consider, nor believe, our Lord's 
 burial aright, unless that also be imitated and drawn 
 into example. And, because this is what every one 
 engages for, when he enters into covenant with Christ 
 by baptism ; therefore every Christian is said to be 
 " buried, and to rise with him," in that holy sacrament. 
 Let us then look upon ourselves in the circumstances, 
 wherein Christ is represented this day. Dead to our 
 trespasses and sins, as He was to the world ; buried as 
 He was ; to shew, there are no remains of our former 
 wicked life in us. As He died once onlj', to return no 
 more to corruption ; so let our repentance, and the 
 forsaking of our sins, be without any wilful relapse. 
 And, as He rose again to lix'e for ever, so let us enter 
 upon a new course, to last as long as ourseh'es do upon 
 eai-th, and to be perfected by a glorious and blessed 
 immortality in heaven. Dean Stanhope.
 
 154 
 
 EASTER DAY. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. xxvii. 57. 
 
 WHEN the even was come, 
 there came a rich man of 
 Arimathpea, named Joseph, who also 
 himself was Jesus' disciple. lie went 
 to Pilate, and begged the body of 
 Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the 
 body to be delivered. And when 
 Joseph had taken the body, he 
 wra]ij)ed it in a clean linen cloth, 
 and laid it in his own new tomb, 
 which he had hewn out in the rock ; 
 and he rolled a great stone to the 
 door of the sepulchre, and departed. 
 And there was Mary Magdalene, 
 and the other Mary, sitting over 
 against the sepulchre. Now the next 
 day that followed the day of the 
 preparation, the chief priests and 
 Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 
 saying. Sir, we remember that that 
 deceiver said, while he was yet alive, 
 
 ' It is worth our observation, that the evangelists are 
 not more circumstantial in any ])articular, relating to 
 our blessed Saviour, than in that part which concerns 
 his burial. This seems to be done not so much for the 
 sake of any consequence that action is of, considered 
 apart by itself; as for the service it does to the ])roof 
 of some things, which went before and followed after 
 it. For the two great points of the Christian religion 
 being the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 
 it was necessary that all possible conviction should be 
 given to the world, of these two most imjiortant pas- 
 sages. Were we not well assured of his being really 
 dead, we could not be certain that an atonement was 
 made for the sins of the world ; and, had we any rea- 
 sonable ground to doubt the truth of his resiun-ection, 
 we could not dejiend upon that atonement being ac- 
 ce])ted. Now what the Holy Spirit hath thought fit to 
 record of his burial, is so ordered, as to leave no just 
 suspicion, either that our Lord's body was not actually 
 dead, or that the same body, which so died, was not 
 actually restored to life again. 'I'his is what the Gos- 
 pel of the d.ay gives very full evidence of ; csjiecially 
 when comjiared with its jiarallel texts in the other 
 evangelists : in all of which the account of the jiersons 
 concerned, the manner of treating his body, and the 
 ])lace where it was laid, all cuntribute great strength to 
 those two most iin[)i)rtant articles of the Christian failh, 
 the death and resurrection of our Lord. Hence we 
 see why the Christian (Jhureh luith been so careful to 
 insert into her Creeds and solenm confessions of faith 
 this burial of Christ, as well a.s his erucitixion, death, 
 and resurrection ; because this hath so close a connex- 
 ion with those other fimdamental doctrines, that we 
 must have wanted a great and very substantial part of 
 the evidence, both of his being dead, and of his rising 
 again, had we not nmpK'stionablo assurances of his 
 being buried. Deun Slanlinpe. 
 
 " liashr Day.] This was the birth-day of our Sa- 
 ^^ou^ in his state of glory and exaltation, as his nativity 
 was his birth-day to his state of humiliation. It was 
 anciently called the "great day," and "the feast of 
 feasts:" being by eminence " tlie day whicli the Lord 
 littth made," I's. cxviii. 24 : for the I''atluTs unani- 
 mously expound that passage of this day, and therefore 
 
 After three days I will rise again. 
 Command therefore that the sepul- 
 chre be made sure until the thiril 
 day, lest his disciples come by night 
 and steal him away, and say unto 
 the people. He is risen from the 
 dead : so the last error shall be worse 
 than the first. Pilate said unto them, 
 Ye have a watch ; go your way, 
 make it as sure as you can. So 
 they went and made the sepulchre 
 sure, sealing the stone, and setting a 
 watch '. 
 
 EASTER DAY". 
 
 H At Morning Prayer, instead of the Psalm, 
 O come, let us sing, &c. these Anthems 
 shall lie sung or said '. 
 
 CHRIST our passover is sacri- 
 ficed for us : therefore let us 
 keep the feast ; 
 
 with them, as with us, that psalm was always part of 
 the office of the day. For the antiquity of the obser- 
 vation of this day innumerable authors might be pro- 
 duced : but the matter is not at all controverted. 
 L'Estrange. This is the highest of all feasts, saitli 
 Epi])hanius : this day Christ opened to us the door of 
 life, being the flrst-frnits of those that rose from the 
 dead : whose resurrection was our life ; for He rose 
 again for ovx justification, Rom. iv. 25. Bp. Spar- 
 row. 
 
 From the old Saxon word "oster," signifying "to 
 rise," we call it Easter day, or the day of the resurrec- 
 tion. Wheutly. 
 
 " — these Anthems shall be suvi/ or soiV.] In the pri- 
 mitive times the Christians of all chm-ches on this day 
 used this morning salutation, " ('hrist is risen ;" to 
 which those who were saluted, answered, " Christ is 
 risen indeed :" or else thus, " and hath appeared unto 
 Simon ;" a custom still retained in the (ireek church. 
 And our ('hurch, siqijiosing us as eager of the joyf\il 
 news as they were, is loth to withhold from us long the 
 ])leasure of ex]iressing it ; and therefore, as soon as the 
 Absolution is ])ronounced, and we are thereby rendered 
 fit for rejoicing, she begins her office of praise with an- 
 thems jiroper to the day, encouraging her raendiers to 
 call iqion one another "to keep the feast; for that 
 Christ our I'assovcr is sacrificed torus, and is also risen 
 from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that 
 sle])t," &c. W'heally. 
 
 I'araphrase of the anthems. 
 
 \. Christ our Paschal Lamb is sacrificed for us, let 
 us therefore keep a feast as well as the Jews, not with 
 the leaven of the Jewish law, 1 ( 'or. v. " ; nor with that 
 leaven of malice and wickedness which our Saviour 
 taxes the Pharisees with. Matt. xvi. G; Mark viii. 15; 
 but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and true 
 ])i('ty, which becomes the excellent professions of us 
 Christians. 
 
 2. Christ being risen from the dead, cannot die now 
 any more, as having conquered death by his divine 
 ])ower, and as being gone to heaven, a jilace where 
 death halh no domimou : for, forasmuch as it was 
 re(piisite for Iliui to die once, to satisfy for the sins of 
 the world, so the once dying of such a Person was
 
 EASTER DAY. 
 
 l.W 
 
 Not with tlio old leaven, nor with 
 the leaven of malice and wicked- 
 ness : hut with the ludeavened hread 
 of sincerity and truth. 1 Car. v. 7, 
 
 CHRIST being raised from the 
 dead dietli no more : death 
 hath no more dominion over him. 
 
 For in that he died, he died unto 
 sin once : but in that he liveth, he 
 liveth unto God. 
 
 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves 
 to be dead indeed unto siu : but alive 
 unto God through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Rum. vi. 9. 
 
 CHRIST is risen from the 
 dead : and become the first- 
 fruits of them that slept. 
 
 For since by man came death : by 
 man came also the resurrection of 
 the dead. 
 
 For as in Ad;im all die: even so 
 in Christ shall all be made alive. 
 1 Cor. XV. 20. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 As it was in the beijinnino:, is 
 now, and ever shall be: world witli- 
 out end. Amen. 
 
 abundantly sufficient to make satisfaction for the sins 
 of all men ; and forasmuch as now He liveth. He 
 liveth for ever, in the eternal glory of the Godhead ; 
 therefore I would have you improve this truth for your 
 edification. Be you Ukewise dead unto sin, and have 
 no manner of [jercejition or relish of its pleasures ; and, 
 by living a divine and sjiiritual life, live unto God, and, 
 as much as may be, pai-take of the heavenly pleasures 
 even in this world. 
 
 3. Chiist is risen from the dead, and as, under the 
 Levitical law, the crop was sanctified by the fii-st-fruits 
 offered to God, Lev. xxiii. 10 ; so is Christ, as it were, 
 the first-fruits of all those, who, having been dead, rise 
 uj) to eternal life ; for since, by the man Adam, death 
 came u])on all men, so, by Christ made man, shall all 
 men rise again with their bodies. Dr. NiclwUs. 
 
 The first Lesson in the morning is the twelfth chaji- 
 ter of Exodus, in which is mentioned the institution of 
 the passo\'er, proper for this day the feast of the pass- 
 over : for, as St. Augustin observes, "we do in this 
 feast not only call to mind the history of oiu' Saviour's 
 resurrection, but also celebrate the mystery of ours." 
 That as Christ this day i-ose again from death to life, 
 so by Christ, and the virtue of his resurrection, shall 
 we be made alive, and rise from death to life eternal. 
 Christ is therefore our true passover, whereof the other 
 was a type : the lesson then is proper for the day. So 
 is the first Lesson for the evening, Exod. xiv ; for it is 
 concerning the Israelites' deliverance out of Egypt, a 
 tyi)e of our deliverance from hell this day by Christ's 
 glorious resurrection. As that day Israel saw that 
 great work, which the Lord did upon Egypt, ver. 31 : 
 so this day we see the great conquest o\'er hell and 
 death finished, by Christ's triumphant resmrection 
 
 The Collrct. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who 
 through thine only-liegotten 
 Son Jesus Christ hast overcome i Cor. xv. 26. 
 death", and opened unto us the ajim. i. lo. 
 gate of everlasting life; We humidy :.J?''2V^*' 
 beseech thee, that, as bv thv special ueb ii. ii. 
 
 • ,, 1 -i , 15. Kcv. LIS: 
 
 grace preventing ns>^ thou dost j)utxx. c. i4; 
 into our minds good desires, so by i.^'ctix. so. 
 thy continual help we may bring 
 the same to good eft'ect ; through iiom. viii. ii. 
 Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth ^s^i"'"' 
 and reigneth with thee and the Holy 
 Ghost, ever one God, world without 
 end. Anwn, 
 
 The Epistle. Col. iii. I. 
 
 IF ye then be risen with Christ, 
 seek those things which are 
 above, where Christ sitteth on the 
 right hand of God. Set your affec- 
 tion on things above, not on things 
 on the earth : For ye are dead, and 
 your life is hid with Christ in God. 
 When Christ, who is our life, shall 
 appear, then shall ye also appear 
 with him in glory. Mortify there- 
 fore your members which are upon 
 the earth ; fornication, inicleanness, 
 inordinate affection, evil concu- 
 
 from the dead. The second lessons are plain. The 
 Gospel gives us the full evidence of Christ's resurrec- 
 tion : the Epistle tells us what use we should make of 
 it, " If Christ be risen, seek those things that are 
 above," &c. The Collect prays for grace, to make the 
 use of it which the Epistle directs. 
 
 Thus holy Church is careful to teach and instruct 
 all her children in the matter of the feast, preaching 
 Christ's resurrection to us, both in the type and pro- 
 jjhecy out of the Old Testament, and in the history of 
 it out of the New. And she does not only teach us to 
 know what God hath done for us this day, but also she 
 is careful that we may do our duty to God for this his 
 marvellous goodness, commanding and directing us to 
 pray for grace to do our duty, prescribing us excellent 
 forms of adoring and blessing God for his mercy this 
 day ! such methods as the Holy Ghost hath set down, 
 in which we may be sure to ])ray and ])raise God by the 
 S])irit. Bp. Sparrow. On this day, as on Christmas- 
 day, there were formerly two commimions, whereof 
 we have retained the former E]iistle and Gospel. Bp. 
 Cosin. 
 
 » — hast nvercnme death,^ God is said to " ha\'e 
 overcome death through our Saviour," because He has 
 resolved, that, for the sake of our Saviour, those, who 
 die, shall be raised again, and their bodies being re- 
 united to their souls shall live for ever. By these 
 means God has for the same reason " opened unto us 
 the gate of everlasting life;" for we could not have 
 lived everlastingly, if Christ had not died for us. Dr. 
 Bcnnet. 
 
 >■ — -grace preventing us~\ See the note on the Collect 
 at the end of the Communion Service, " Prevent us, 
 O Lord, &;c."
 
 156 
 
 EASTER DAY. 
 
 piscence, and covetousness, which 
 is idolatry : For wliieh things' sake 
 the wrath of God cometh on the 
 children of disobedience. In the 
 which ye also walked some time, 
 when ye lived in them^. 
 
 Tlie Gospel St. John xx. 1. 
 
 TH E first day of the week com- 
 eth INIary Magdalene early, 
 when it was yet dark, unto the 
 sepidchre, and seeth the stone taken 
 away from the sepulchre. Then 
 she runneth and cometh to Simon 
 Peter, and to the other disciple 
 whom Jesus loved, and saith unto 
 them, They have taken away the 
 Lord out of the sepulchre, and we 
 know not where they have laid him. 
 Peter therefore went forth, and that 
 
 ' The Epistle for this day is designed to enforce the 
 duties and \-irtuous dispositions whicli are natural con- 
 sequences of the hclief of a Saviour, risen from the 
 dead. Whom when we consider as now in full posses- 
 sion of immortality, living and reigning in heaven, in 
 human nature, his happiness is the pledge of all theirs, 
 who partaking of that nature, shall perform the con- 
 ditions left ujion them, as necessary to qualify them for 
 pai-taking in tlie same happiness also. Of these the ajios- 
 tle mentions two, which do indeed include all the rest. 
 1. " The setting our affections on things above." The 
 second thing, which is truly in order to the former, is 
 an effectual subduing of those lusts and inordinate 
 appetites, which, above all things, obstruct that heavenly 
 temper of mind. 
 
 It may here therefore be remarked, that as our first 
 entrance into covenant with God by baptism (which is 
 an emblem of our Lord's death and resurrection,) is the 
 spiritual birth of a Christian, so a conscientious perse- 
 verance in the obedience, there covenanted for, is his 
 spiritual life. IJoth which we most truly acknowledge 
 to proceed from the " dwelling " of that " Spirit in us, 
 which raised Christ from the dead," Rom. viii. 11. 
 And, if besiiles we reflect on the nuniljers, who in the 
 primitive Chnrch were received by that sacrament, 
 vvhic'b, at this i'estival yearly, began to be most solemnly 
 administered, and whercunto the ])reccding fast of Lent 
 was a solemn iircparation ; these things, laid aKogether, 
 may suilice to set I he wisdom of our (.'hurch aljove any 
 just exception, in a|)pointing a Collect, not only pious 
 and useful, but alluding, and by no means foreign, to 
 the subject of the day. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 The Kpistle instructs us to "set our affections on 
 things above:" by which is meant such a frecjuent and 
 serious consideration of tliat happy and glorious state, 
 which is [)repared for good men in another world, as 
 may engage our constant and sincere endeavours in 
 obtaining it : such a conviction of the e.vccllency of 
 those heavenly joys, as may determine our wills to 
 prefer thetn liefoic all the honours and riches of this 
 world; and wing all the facullics of oiu' souls to the 
 swiftest prosecution of them. And we may then be 
 said to set our alfection on these things, when we 
 govern all our actions with a respect to the next life, 
 and make it our great business to jjlease God, who is 
 the first and chiefcst good ; " for our fruit nmst be 
 
 Other disciple, and came to the 
 sepulchre. So they ran both toge- 
 ther ; and the other disciple did out- 
 run Peter, and came first to the 
 sepidchre : and he, stooping down 
 and looking in, saw the linen clothes 
 lying ; yet went he not in. Then 
 cometh Simon Peter following him, 
 and went into the sepidchre, and 
 seeth the linen clothes lie ; and the 
 napkin that was about his head, not 
 lying with the linen clothes, but 
 wrapped together in a place by itself. 
 Then went in also that other disciple 
 which came first to the sepulchre, 
 and he saw, and believed. For as 
 yet they knew not the Scripture, that 
 he must rise figain from the dead. 
 Then the disciples went away again 
 unto their own llome^ 
 
 unto holiness, before our end can be everlasting life," 
 Rom. vii. 22, when we have a low and mean opinion 
 of the enjoyments of this world, in comparison of those 
 of the next ; and are ready to jjart with what is most 
 dear to us, to secure our eternal inheritance : when we 
 are zealous and industrious in doing all the good we 
 can, and bear all the miseries and calamities of hfe, 
 with ])atience and resignation, without murmuring, 
 without despondency, because " they are not worthy to 
 be compared with the glory that shall be revealed," 
 Rom. viii. 18: when we frequently entertain ourselves 
 with sjiiritual subjects, ami eml)race all convenient 
 opjiortunities of conversing with God in prayer, and by 
 apjiroaching his holy table : and " had rather be door- 
 keepers in the house of God, than to dwell in the 
 tents of wickedness," Ps. Ix.xxiv. 10; when we can 
 look upon dciith as a jjassage to a blessed immor- 
 tality ; and welcome its apjiroach, not only without 
 terror, but «-ith comfort and satisfaction ; " knowing 
 that when this earthly tabernacle shall be (lissolved, we 
 shall have a house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 heavens," 2 Cor. v. 1. Nelson. 
 
 ' As no truth is of more im])ortance to the Christian 
 religion than the resurrection of Christ, so none had 
 greater care taken to strengthen the l)elief of it. The 
 testimony of angels, of disci]iles, of women, of numbers 
 of people, the conversation of forty d:iys, the testimony 
 of the elements themselves, the earth ticmliling and 
 (juaking. as if in pangs and travail to di.scharge this 
 new birth, the testimony of others, whose bodies ap- 
 peared in the holy city ; nay, the testimony of the most 
 inveterate enemies of Christ ; for e\en the .lews them- 
 selves, by advancing so incredible a story, as that of 
 his disciples stealing Him away, do in efl'eet confess 
 and corroborate a truth, whicli they so very weakly 
 endeavour to destroy. 
 
 A consideration of these particulars may satisfy every 
 Chri.stian, what a firm foundation his faith stands upon, 
 and Mi;iy |)Mt all its enemies to coMliision. Hut, unless 
 we <lo soinetbing mcire than argue for our Saviour's 
 resurrection, it hud been the same thing to us, if He 
 had never risen at all. The second Lesson for this 
 morning's service, and the I'ipistle for the day, tell us 
 largely, what use is to be made of this article. That 
 owning, and being baptized into the belief of it, imjilies 
 our being conformed to the likeness of what our
 
 MONDAY IN EASTER WEEK. 
 
 157 
 
 Moiidai/ in Easter Week'''. 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, wlio through 
 thy oiily-hegotteii Son Jesus 
 Christ hast overcome death, and 
 opened luito us the gate of ever- 
 lasting life ; We lunnbly beseech 
 thee, that, as hy thy sjjecial grace 
 preventing us thou dost put into our 
 minds good desires, so by thy con- 
 tinual help we may bring the same 
 to good ell'ect; through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord, who liveth and reigneth 
 with tlice and the Holy Ghost, ever 
 one God, world without end. Amen. 
 
 Fur the Epistle. Acts x. 34. 
 
 PETER opened his mouth, and 
 said, Of a truth I perceive tiiat 
 God is no respecter of persons : but 
 in every nation he that feareth him, 
 and worketh righteousness, is ac- 
 cepted with him. Tlie word which 
 God sent unto the children of Israel, 
 
 Saviour hath done ; that we must rise with Him, and 
 prove that we do so, by " setting our affection on things 
 above ; that, as Christ was raised from the dead liy the 
 glory of the Father, so we should also walk in newness 
 of life ; that, as he died to sin once, and now li\-eth 
 imto God, so we should reckon ourselves dead unto 
 sin, but alive unto God ; alive like him, over whom 
 the law of sin and death hath no more dominion, and 
 who returned not a second time to corruption," Col. 
 iii. 1, 2; Rom. vi. 4. 9 — 11. Let us remember then, 
 that Christ is risen; but let us rememljer withal, that 
 they only will have comfort of his rising, who are thus 
 risen with Him. The great revolution of the whole 
 world, its second and better creation to immortality, 
 began this day. But, if we have no part in it, by re- 
 formation and a new life, we are of all men most mise- 
 rable. Our Prince and King hath overcome indeed 
 "the sharpness of death: but it is to believers" only 
 that " he hath opened the kingdom of heaven." And 
 such believers are only they, who prove their faith by 
 their works. And to those He hath given a sure com- 
 fort. Such a one, as " neither triljulation nor distress, 
 nor even death" itself can rob them of. For, since 
 their " Redeemer liveth, they are certain, that though 
 after their skin worms destroy this body, yet there will 
 come another day, when in their Hesh they shall see 
 God," Rom. vui. 35. 3s ; Job .\i.x. 25, 26. Whom 
 God grant us to behold and to see ourselves, that is, 
 for our own uns])eakablc and everlasting hai)])iness, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Dean Stan- 
 ho/ie. 
 
 I'he occasion of this week's solemnity was principally 
 intended for the expressing of our joy for our Lord's 
 resurrection. But among the ancients there was an- 
 other peculiar reason for the more solemn observation 
 of this week. For except in cases of necessity they 
 administered ba])tism at no other times than Easter 
 and Whitsuntide ; at Easter, in memory of Christ's 
 death and resurrection, (correspondent to which are the 
 two pai'ts of the Chi-istian life, represented in baptism 
 
 ])reaching peace by Jesus C^hrist; (he 
 is Lord of all;) that word (I say) yc 
 know, which was published through- 
 out all Judffia, and began from (iaii- 
 lee, after the liaptism which .lohn 
 preached : how God anointed Jesus 
 of Na/areth with the Holy Cihost, 
 and with power ; who went about 
 doing good, and healing all that were 
 oppressed of the devil : for God was 
 with him. And we are witnesses of 
 all things which he did, both in the 
 land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; 
 whom they slew, aiul hanged on a 
 tree: Him God raised up the third 
 day, and shewed him openly ; not to 
 all the people, but unto witnesses 
 chosen before of God, even to ns, 
 who did eat and drink with him after 
 he rose from the dead. And he com- 
 manded us to preach unto the peo])le, 
 and to testify that it is he who was 
 onhiined of God to bo the Judge 
 of quick and dead. To him give all 
 the prophets witness, that through 
 
 " dying unto sin," and " rising again unto newness of 
 life ;") and at Whitsuntide, in memory of the apostles 
 being then " baptized with the Holy Gliost and with 
 fu'e," and of their having themselves at that time bap- 
 tized three thousand souls; this communication of the 
 Holy Ghost to the apostles being in some measure re- 
 presented and conveyed by bajitism. After these times, 
 they made it part of their festivity the week following 
 to congratulate the access of a new Christian progeny : 
 the new-baptized coming each day to church in white 
 garments, with lights before them, in token that they 
 had now laid aside their works of darkness, and were 
 become the children of light, an<l had made a resolution 
 to lead a new, innocent, and unspotted life. At church, 
 thanksgivings and prayers were made for them, and 
 those that were at years of discretion (for in those times 
 many such came in from heathenism) were instructed 
 in the ]n-inciples and ways of Christianity : but after- 
 wards, when most of the bajitized were infants, and 
 so not capable of such solemnities, this custom was 
 altered, and ba]itism administered at all times of the 
 year, as at the beginning of ('hristianity. H'heatly. 
 
 ^' Monday in Easter Week.'] All this week, ndiich we 
 call Easter-week, was anciently kept holy ; but above 
 others these two days were most observed. In some 
 particulars the whole interval between Easter and Pen- 
 tecost was honoured with an esteem equal to the Lord's 
 day. L'Eslranffe. To shew the great solemnity of 
 the Easter festival the Church has set apart the two 
 following days after Sunday, for the exercise of reli- 
 gious duty : to the end that we might have leisure to 
 confirm our faith in the grand article of our Saviour's 
 resurrection, and to exert our devout affections in all 
 those happy consequences that are deducible from it. 
 Nelson. 
 
 The first lesson for Monday morning treats about 
 God's sending the Israelites manna or bread from hea- 
 ven, which was a tyjie of our blessed Saviour, who was 
 the " bread of life that came down from heaven, of 
 which whosoever eateth hath eternal life." The first
 
 158 
 
 MONDAY IN EASTER WEEK. 
 
 his Name whosoever bclieveth in him 
 shall receive remission of sins °. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke xxiv. 13. 
 
 BEHOLD, two of his disciples 
 went that same day to a village 
 called Emmaus, which was from Je- 
 rusalem about tlireescore furlongs. 
 And they talked together of all these 
 things which had happened. And it 
 came to pass, that while they com- 
 minied together, and reasoned, Jesus 
 himself drew near, and went with 
 them. But their eyes were holden, 
 that they should not know him. And 
 he said unto them, What manner of 
 communications are these that ye 
 
 lesson for Monday evening contains the history of the 
 vanquishing the Amalekites, by the holding up of 
 Moses's hands ; by which posture he put himself into 
 the form of a cross, and exactly typified the victory 
 which Christians obtain over their spiritual enemies by 
 the cross of Christ. Tlie smiting also of the rock, out 
 of which came water, (mentioned in the same chapter,) 
 is another type of our Saviour : for as the water flow- 
 ing from the rock quenched the Israelites' thirst ; so 
 our Sanour, smitten upon the cross, gave forth that 
 living water, " of which whosoever drinketh shall ne\-er 
 thirst." The second lessons contain full testimonies of 
 our Saviour's resurrection ; that for the morning giving 
 an historical account of it ; the other for the evening 
 containing a relation of a lame man being restored to 
 his feet, through faith in the name of Christ, which 
 was an undeniable proof that He was then alive. 
 IVkeutly. 
 
 ' In this speech of St. Peter, the apostle gives an ac- 
 count of the word and preaching of our Lord, and also 
 of his resurrection from the dead; " Him God raised 
 up the third day, and shewed him openly ; not to all 
 the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of (iod, 
 even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he 
 rose from the dead." But, it may be said, why not to 
 all the peojjle ? Would not so publick a display of the 
 miracle be more convincing, and free from all suspicion 
 of fraud ? Perhajjs it might : but neither had the Jews, 
 who rejected a long series of publick miracles, which 
 were continued even while our Lord hung on the cross, 
 any right to prescribe conditions for their believing the 
 resurrection ; nor is there wanting a suHicient body of 
 evidence to estalilisb this beyond all power of the gain- 
 sayer and unbeliever; as will ai)i)ear from these few 
 considerations. 
 
 Although Christ did not appear to all the people after 
 his resurrection, yet they wanted not convincing jiroof 
 that He was risen. "The chief priests and Pharisees 
 came together unto Pilate, saying. Sir, we remember 
 that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive. After 
 three days I will rise again : couiniand, therefore, that 
 the se])ulelirc be made sure, lest bis disciples come by 
 night and steal him away, and say unto tlic peii|ile, He 
 is risen from the dead ; so the last error shall be worse 
 tlian the first. Pilate said unto them, Vc have a watch ; 
 go your way, make it as sure as you can. So they went, 
 and made the sepulchre sure, sealing (lie stone, and 
 setting a watch." This attention aiul vigilance are 
 remarkable, and shew the extreme caution of those 
 sagacious enemies to prevent all possibility of fraud, in 
 
 have one to another, as ye walk, and 
 are sad ? And the one of them, 
 whose name was Cleopas, answering, 
 said unto him, Art thou oidy a 
 stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not 
 known the things which are come to 
 pass there in these days ? and he said 
 unto them, What things ? And they 
 said unto him, Concerning Jesus of 
 Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty 
 in deed and word, before God and 
 all the people : and how the chief 
 priests and our rulers delivered him 
 to be condemned to death, and 
 have crucified him. But we trusted 
 that it had been he which should 
 have redeemed Israel : and besides 
 
 the followers of Christ. But finding that the body had, 
 notwithstanding all their care, disappeared from the 
 sepulchre, and that the guard, having seen an angel, 
 had become like dead men, they resort tf) the very con- 
 duct «'hich they affected to condemn, to fraud and 
 subornation of false witnesses. For, when some of the 
 watch came to the city, and shewed the chief priests 
 what was done, they gave money to the soldiers, 
 desiring them to say, that while they sle|)t, his disci- 
 ples had stolen Him away; and promising to secure 
 them against punishment from the governour. This 
 strange jiroceeding speaks fully for itself; and, like 
 many other impostures, ends in its own confusion. 
 For, out of their great zeal to prove the charge, they 
 make the soldiers prove too much : they bring their 
 testimony to a fact, which in the sauu; breath they 
 declare to have haiijiencd while they slept, ('omjmre 
 this dehberate system of fraud, this readiness in con- 
 triving, and assurance in u])holding a palpable and 
 odious lie, with the reluctant assent of our Lord's dis- 
 ciples, with their candid account of their own slow- 
 ness of conviction, with the simiilicity and integrity of 
 their whole narrative ; and you will, on the one hand, 
 discover the father of lies too successful with that un- 
 happy nation ; and, on the other, be led to adore the 
 God of truth for thus manifesting Himself by such 
 plain and evident signs. Again, the apostles, who 
 were witnesses of tlie resm'rection, had, u|ion the death 
 of their Master, and before this event took place, gi\'en 
 up all for lost, and nearly consigned themselves to de- 
 spair. Even bis own predictions of the event seem to 
 have been forgotten, or little relied upon. The first re- 
 vival of their hopes was occasioned by his resurrection : 
 and, as this change cannot be otherwise accounted for, 
 so neither were they at all likely to be deceived in a 
 matter about which they were at lirst very incredulous, 
 and in which they had several opportunities to be satis- 
 fied. Above all, they could not fancy tlicmselvcs en- 
 dued with the gifts of various tongues to preach, anil 
 other miraculous powers to confirm this doctrine. The 
 people, therefore, who were witnesses to these things, 
 could not have had a higher degree of evidence ; no, 
 not even in the sight of our Lord Himself. So that the 
 purjjose of God in shewing llim only to chosen per- 
 sons, and through them spreading a knowledge of the 
 resurrection to the rest of the world, was amply sulU- 
 cient for the conviction of all honest minds, which alone 
 are worthy to be satisfied. Others would not be jier- 
 suaded, though one rose from the dead, and were 
 actually seen by tliem. Dr. Sluck.
 
 TUESDAY IN EASTER WEEK. 
 
 159 
 
 all this, to (lay is tlic tliird clay 
 since tliesc things were done. Yea, 
 and certain women also of our com- 
 pany made us astonished, which 
 were early at the sepulchre; and 
 when they found not his body, they 
 came, saying, that they had also seen 
 a vision of angels, which said that he 
 was alive. And certain of them 
 which were with us went to the se- 
 pulchre, and found it even so as the 
 women had said; but him they saw 
 not. Then he saitl unto them, O 
 fools, and slow of heart to believe all 
 that the prophets have spoken : ought 
 not Christ to have suffered these 
 things, and to enter into his glory ? 
 And beginning at Moses, and all the 
 prophets, he expounded unto them in 
 all the Scriptures the things concern- 
 ing himself. And they drew nigh unto 
 the village whither they went; and 
 he made as though he would have 
 gone further: but they constrained 
 him, saying. Abide \\ith us, for it is 
 towards evening, and the day is far 
 spent. And he went in to tarry with 
 them. And it came to pass, as he 
 sat at meat with them, he took bread, 
 and blessed it, and brake, and gave 
 to them. And their eyes were 
 opened, and they knew him, and he 
 vanished out of their sight. And 
 they said one to another, Did not 
 our heart burn within us, while he 
 
 ■^ From the narrative contained in this day's Gospel, 
 in which our Lord discourses of the necessity of the 
 death and resurrection of tlie Messiah, we may learn, 
 as He taught the two disciples, not to take an esti- 
 mate of the counsels of God by the designs of men ; 
 for God by ways contrary to human judgment brings 
 to pass the purposes of his eternal jirovidence. The 
 glories of Christ were not made pompous by human 
 circumstances : his kingdom was spiritual : He was to 
 enter into felicity through the gate of death : He re- 
 fused to do miracles before Herod, and yet did them 
 before the people : He confuted his accusers by silence; 
 and did not descend from the cross, when they offered 
 to believe in Him, if He woidd, but left them to be 
 persuaded by greater arguments of his power, the 
 miraculous circumstances of his death, and the glories 
 of his resurrection : and by walking in the secret paths 
 of the divine counsels hath commanded us to adore his 
 footsteps, to admire and revere his wisdom, to be satis- 
 fied with all the events of providence, and to rejoice in 
 Him, if by afflictions He makes us holy, if by persecu- 
 tions He supports and enlarges his Church, if by death 
 He brings us to life. Provided we arrive at the com- 
 munion of his felicities, we must let Him choose the 
 way : it being sufficient that He is our guide, and oiu- 
 support, and " our exceeding great reward." For 
 therefore Clrrist preached to the two disciples going to 
 Emmaus the way of the cross, and the necessity of that 
 
 talked with us by the way, and while 
 he opened to us the Scriptures? And 
 they rose up the same hour, and re- 
 turned to Jerusalem, and found the 
 eleven gathered together, and them 
 that were with them, saying. The 
 Lord is risen indeed, and hath aji- 
 peared to Simon. And they told 
 what things were done in the way, 
 and how he was known of them in 
 breakina' of bread''. 
 
 Tuesday in Easter JVeefi". 
 The Collect. 
 
 AL M 1 G H T Y God, who through 
 thy only-begotten Son Jesus 
 Christ hast overcome death, and 
 opened imto us the gate of ever- 
 lasting life ; We humbly beseech 
 thee, that, as by thy special grace 
 preventing us thou dost ]iut into our 
 minds good desires, so by thy con- 
 tinual help we may bring the same 
 to good effect; through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord, who liveth and reigneth 
 with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever 
 one God, world without end. Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Acts xiii. 26. 
 
 ME N and brethren, children of 
 the stock of Al)raham, and 
 whosoever among you fcareth God, 
 to you is the word of this salvation 
 sent. For they that dwell at Jeru- 
 
 passage that the wisdom of God might be glorified, and 
 the conjectures of man ashamed. 
 
 2. Whilst his discourse lasted, they knew Him not; 
 but in the breaking of bread He discovered Himself. 
 F'or He turned their meal into a sacrament, and their 
 darkness to light : and, having to his sermon added 
 the sacrament, opened all their discerning faculties, 
 the eyes of their body, and their understanding too : 
 to represent to us, that, when we are blessed with the 
 opportunities of both those instruments, we want no ex- 
 terior assistance to guide us in the way to the knowing 
 and enjoying of our Lord. Bp. Jeremy Tatjlor. 
 
 " Tuesday in Easier HVei.] The first lesson for 
 Tuesday morning contains the Ten Commandments, 
 which were communicated to the people from God by 
 the ministry of Moses, wherein he prefigured our Sa- 
 viour, who was to be a jirophet like unto him, that is, 
 who was to bring down a new law from heaven, and 
 more perfectly to reveal the di\-ine will to man. The 
 first lesson at ex'ening represents Moses interceding 
 with God for the children of Israel, for whom (rather 
 than God should impute to them their sins) he desired 
 even to die, and be " blotted out of the book of life ;" 
 thereby also ty|)ifying Chi-ist, who " died and was made 
 a cm-se for us." The second lesson for the morning 
 is a farther evidence of our Saviour's resmrection ; and 
 that for the evening proves, by his resun"ection, the 
 necessity of ours. Wheatly.
 
 160 
 
 TUESDAY IN EASTER WEEK. 
 
 salem, and their rulers, because they 
 knew him not, nor yet the voices 
 of the prophets which are read 
 every sabliath-da)', they have fulfil- 
 led them in condemning him. And 
 though they found no cause of death 
 in him, yet desired they Pilate that 
 he should be slain. And when they 
 had fulfilled all that was written of 
 him, they took him down from the 
 tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. 
 But God raised him from the dead : 
 and he was seen many days of them 
 which came up with him from Gali- 
 lee to Jerusalem, who are his wit- 
 nesses unto the people. And we 
 declare unto you glad tidings, how 
 that the promise which was made 
 unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled 
 the same unto us their children, in 
 that he hath raised up Jesus again ; 
 as it is also written in the second 
 Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day 
 have I begotten thee. And as con- 
 cerning that he raised him uj) from 
 the dead, now no more to return to 
 corruption, he said on this wise, I 
 will give you the sure mercies of 
 David. Wherefore he saith also in 
 another Psalm, Thou shalt not suffer 
 thine Holy One to see corruption. 
 
 ' This discourse affords a correct notion of St. Paul's 
 ))reacliing. He is addressing tliose who were believers 
 of the Jewisli law, and therefore founds his argument in 
 the early history of their nation, as St. Peter and St. 
 Stephen, for the same reason, had done before him. 
 From the tendency of the Jewish disjiensation, and 
 tlie express language of the prophets, he deduces the 
 necessary and actual appearance of the Saviour Jesus. 
 " Men and brethren, cliildren of the stock of Abraham, 
 and whosoever among you feareth God, (that is, native 
 Jews and dc\out (jentiles,) to you is the word of this 
 salvation sent;" an expression according with our 
 Saviour's own declaratitm, that " repentance and re- 
 mission of sins should be preached in his name" 
 among " all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." A 
 summary of our Lord's death and resurrection is next 
 recited, and a siiitabic ajiplication made. 'J'lien follows 
 the grand eonc-hision to wliieh both the law and tlie 
 ])roi)hets had only been jircparatory. " lie it known 
 unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through 
 this man is ])rcached unto you tlie forgiveness of sins." 
 The justification of man l)y tlie faith of Christ, in o|ipo- 
 sition to the " works of tlie law," or any human works, 
 is the doctrine of St. Paul, and the true docti-iric of the 
 Church. " By him all that liclieve are jiistilied from 
 all tilings from which ye could not be justified by the 
 law of Moses." Neither tlie inirifieations of the Jew- 
 ish law, nor tlic merits of man, however aiiplied, will 
 lie elfectual to man's salvation. 'J'lie one may be ]ire- 
 ]iaratory to that happy state, and the other a genuine 
 iruit of faith ; but, as a meritorious cause, we mu.st 
 rely solely on the sacrifice of Christ, "'i'he law made 
 nothing perfect, but it was the bringing in of a better 
 
 For David, after he had served his 
 own generation by the will of God, 
 fell on sleep, and was laid unto his 
 fathers, and saw corruption: But he 
 whom God raised again saw no cor- 
 ruption. Be it known unto you 
 therefore, men and brethren, that 
 through this man is preached unto 
 you the forgiveness of sins : And by 
 him all that believe are justified from 
 all things, from which ye could not 
 be justified by the law of Moses. 
 Beware therefore, lest that come upon 
 you which is spoken of in the pro- 
 phets; Behold, ye despisers, and 
 wonder, and perish; for I work a 
 work in your days, a work which ye 
 shall in no wise believe, though a 
 man declare it unto you'. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke xxiv. 36. 
 
 JESUS himself stood in the midst 
 of them, and saith unto them. 
 Peace be unto you. But they were 
 terrified and aftVighted, and sup- 
 posed that they had seen a spirit. 
 And he said unto them. Why are ye 
 troubled, and why do thoughts arise 
 in your hearts ? Behold my hands 
 and my feet, that it is I myself: 
 handle me, and see ; for a spirit hath 
 
 hope." Therefore, the same apostle says in another 
 ])lace, " a man is justified by faith without the deeds of 
 the law;" a faith productive of e\-ery blessed, every 
 sanctifying grace. The apostle concludes this discourse 
 with a solemn warning taken from one of their own 
 projihets, and calculated to make a deep impression 
 on their minds. " Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, 
 and perish ; for I work a work in your days, a work 
 which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare 
 it unto you :" though it be laid before you, in the 
 plainest manner, sujiported by the clearest and most 
 uncontrovertible evidence. 
 
 This passage c\idently refers to the ajiproaebing ruin 
 of the .lewish people : and this solemn admonition 
 leads to this im])ortant concbisiim, that the only way, 
 by which a Jew miglit secure himself from being in- 
 volved in this national evil, was by embracing Christi- 
 anity. This indeed is the way, the only way by which 
 all temporal c\-ils may be avoided : at least it is the 
 way by which they may be converted to real and sub- 
 stantial blessings. 
 
 Mappy shall wc be if the application of this passage 
 does not rest u]ion ourselves ! for, though the Jewish 
 veil may not be n]ion our liearls, yet the darkness of 
 iniipiity, and the imjicnetrable darkness of infidelity, 
 may sjiread themselves over many souls, even in the 
 brightest region of tlie Sun of righteousness. 'I'hat 
 this may not be our case, let us Jiray, in the language 
 of our Liturgy, that " God, who did teach the hearts of 
 his faithful people, by sending to them the light of his 
 Holy .Spirit, would grant us liy the same Sjiirit to have 
 a right jiidguu'iil in all tilings, and evermore to rejuicc 
 in his holy comfort, through the merits of Jesus Christ
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 161 
 
 not flesh and bones, as ye see me ' 
 liave. And when he had tlius spoken, 
 he shewed them liis hands and his ] 
 feet. And while they yet believed } 
 not for joy, and wondered, he said 
 unto them. Have ye here any meat ? 
 And they gave him a piece of a 
 broiled fish, and of an hoiieycoml). 
 And lie took it, and did eat befoie 
 them. And he said unto tliem. 
 These are the words which I spake 
 unto you, while I was yet with you, 
 that all things must be fulfilled which 
 were written in the law of Moses, and 
 in the Prophets, and in the Psalms 
 concerning me. Then opened he 
 their understanding, that they migiit 
 understand the Scriptures, and said 
 unto them, Thus it is written, and 
 thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and 
 to rise from the dead the third day ; 
 and that repentance and remission 
 of sins should be preached in ids 
 Name among all nations, beginning 
 at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses 
 of these things. 
 
 A' 
 
 The first Sunday after Easter^. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 L M I G H T Y Father, who hast 
 
 given thine only Son to die 
 
 for our sins, and to rise again for 
 
 1 c.r. XV. 3. our justification ; Grant us so to 
 
 ^v^i2.'^^' put away the leaven of malice and 
 
 1 Cor. V. 7, 8. wickedness, that we may aivvay 
 
 serve thee in pureness of living and 
 
 our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with him, in the 
 unity of the same Spuit, one God, world without end. 
 Amen." Brewster. 
 
 s The first Sunday after Easter.'] Upon the octave, 
 or first Sunday after Easter-day, it was a custom of the 
 ancients to repeat some jiart of the solemnity which was 
 used upon Easter-day : h-om whence this Sunday took 
 the name of Low-Sunday, being celebrated as a feast, 
 though of a lower degree than Easter-day itself. In 
 Latin it is called " Dominica in Albis," or rather " pos. 
 Albas, (sc. depositas,)" as some ritualists call it, that is, 
 " the Sunday of putting off the chrysoms ;" because 
 those that were baptized on Easter-eve, on this day laid 
 aside those white robes or chrysoms which were put upon 
 them at their baptism, and which were now laid up in 
 the churches, that they might be produced as evidences 
 against them, if they should afterwards violate or deny 
 that faith which they had professed in their baptism. 
 And we may still observe, that the Epistle seems to be 
 the remains of such a solemnity : for it contains an 
 e.xhortation to new-baptized persons, that are " born of 
 God," to labour to " overcome the world," which at 
 their baptism they had resolved to do. IVheatly. 
 
 The Collect for the day reminds us of the reason of 
 Christ's death, namely, our sins ; and of the end of his 
 resurrection, namely, our justification : and thence 
 
 truth; through the merits of tlipuoimiii. 
 same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epis/le. 1 St. John v. 4. 
 
 WHATSOEVER is born of 
 God overcometh the world ; 
 and this is the victory that over- 
 cometh tiie world, even our faith. 
 Who is he that overcometh the 
 world, but he that believeth that 
 Jesus is the Son of God ? This is he 
 that came by water and blood, even 
 Jesus Christ; not by water only, but 
 by water and blood : and it is the 
 Spirit that beareth witness, because 
 the Spirit is truth. For there are 
 three that bear record in heaven, 
 the Father, the Word, and the Holy 
 Ghost : and these three are one. 
 And there are three that bear wit- 
 ness in earth, the spirit, and the 
 water, and the blood : and these 
 three agree in one. If we receive 
 the witness of men, the witne.ss of 
 God is greater : for this is the wit- 
 ness of God, which he hath testified 
 of his Son. He that believeth on 
 the Son of God liath the witness in 
 himself: he that believeth not God 
 hath made him a liar, because he 
 believeth not the record that God 
 gave of his Son. And this is the 
 record, that God hath given to us 
 eternal life ; and this life is in his 
 Son. He that hath the Son hath 
 life ; and he that hath not the Son 
 hath not life*". 
 
 teaches us to pray for grace to serve God aright. Suit- 
 able to this is the Epistle, which reminds us of our 
 new birth by Clu'ist's resurrection, and of the blessed 
 fruits and effects of it. The Gospel continues the great 
 subject of Christ's resurrection, and contains the means 
 used for convincing the disciples of the reality of it, 
 the effects it had on them, and the publick blessings 
 that were conferred thereupon. Dr. Hole. 
 
 '' The great and glorious things which our blessed 
 Saviour hath done for mankind, are not intended to 
 excuse his followers from action ; but to enable them 
 for it, and to render them successful in it. Therefore, 
 from the contemplation of that conquest, which by bis 
 death and resurrection He hath already won, the 
 Church very fitly and naturally leads us, in the Epistle 
 for this day, to that, which every disciple of Jesus is 
 expected to aspire after, and to gain in bis own person. 
 The world is one of those enemies, against which every 
 Christian engages solemnly and formally, at the instant 
 of taking that profession upon himself in baptism. 
 And our entering into this covenant, the new relations 
 we contract there, the new life we then begin and en- 
 gage to lead, and the communications of God's Holy 
 Spirit, received in that sacrament, to strengthen and 
 enable us to persevere, in the faithful discharge of those 
 engagements, do in effect make up our second and 
 
 M
 
 162 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 Tlie Gospel. St. John xx. 19. 
 
 TH E same clay at evening, be- 
 ino; the first clay of the week, 
 when the doors were shut, where 
 the disciples were assembled for 
 fear of the Jews, came Jesus and 
 stood in the midst, and saith unto 
 them, Peace be unto you. And 
 when he had so said, he shewed 
 unto them his hands and his side. 
 
 spiritual birth. So that the persons "born of God" 
 are baptized and faithful Christians ; and the Scripture 
 now in hand does not only imply the necessity such lie 
 under of fighting and conquering, by saying, that 
 " whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the worlil ;" 
 but it acquaints us, what weajjon is ]iut into their 
 hands for that purpose, by adding, " And this is the 
 victorj' that overcometh the world, even our faith." 
 
 By the "victory" we are to understand the means or 
 instrument of obtaining it ; and by " our faith " is in- 
 tended the belief of the Christian religion, as it is deli- 
 vered down to us in the Gospel, and summarily con- 
 tained at ver. 5, in this one article, that " Jesus is the 
 Son of God." Hereby are implied, a firm assent to the 
 truth of his doctrines, a stedfast reliance upon the merit 
 of his sufl^erings, and an assured expectation of his 
 glorious promises; doctrines, which a person divine 
 could not have taught, had they not been true ; sufl'er- 
 ings, which, because undergone by a person divine, 
 cannot but be of infinite worth and efficacy ; promises, 
 which a person divine can and will make good to the 
 uttermost; and therefore to men, whose minds are 
 ]iossessed with this belief, the difficulty of o\'ercoming 
 the world is more than balanced, by that absolute cer- 
 tainty of a future reward, and by the excellence of that 
 reward ; a reward incomparably, unconceivably beyond 
 any hai)piness this world can give : a reward ]ieculiar to 
 them, who are content to despise and reject the present 
 loss, in prosi)ect of the distant greater bhss; which this 
 Son of God hath pledged his truth most solemnly for ; 
 nay, hath already invested human nature in, by exalting 
 our flesh to the right hand of the Majesty on high. 
 
 In virtue of this faith it was, that difficulties and 
 dangers, scourgings and im])risonments, tortures and 
 death, haxe been encountered, endured, defeated, tri- 
 umphed over, by that glorious and in\'incible army of 
 l)roi)hets, apostles, and martyrs, who have fought this 
 good fight, and a[)])roved themselves more than con- 
 querors in it. .And what should hinder us from being 
 equally successful r Their passions and infirmities were 
 the same. Our arms and assistances are the same. 
 Human nature, and the ('bristian religion, continue 
 unchangeable in every age of the Church. 'I'bey con- 
 quered not through their own strength, but through 
 llim "that loved them;" and He "that loved them" 
 loveth us also, Rinn. viii. 37. And. (irovided we be 
 careful not to degenerate from such i)rinciples and such 
 examples. He will he equally rciidy to sustain lis in our 
 combat, and to recompense us for it, and after it, with the 
 same crown of life and righteousness. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' It is to be observed here, that Christ renewed bis 
 disciples' commission for tlic work of the ministry. 
 'Iliey were pnjbahly nuich discouraged with the remem- 
 brance of their (aint-heartedness in the time of his suf- 
 ferings : He now llierefoi'e cormnissioiis them anew, 
 and sends them I'orlli with these words, " .\s my father 
 liath sent me," that is, to preach, i)lant, and to propagate 
 
 Then were the disciples glad when 
 they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus 
 to them again, Peace he unto you : 
 As my Father liatli sent me, even 
 so send I you. And when he liad 
 said this, he breathed on them, and 
 saith unto them, Receive ye the 
 Holy Ciliost. Whose soever sins ye 
 remit, they are remitted unto them ; 
 and whose soever sins ye retain, they 
 are retained '. 
 
 the Gospel, " even so send I you." By the same au- 
 thority, and for the same ends in part, for whicli I was 
 sent by my Father, do I send you ; namely, to gather, to 
 govern, and instruct my Church. Hence we learn, that 
 when Christ left the world. He did not leave the Church 
 destitute of a regular ministry for the Gospel, which 
 should continue to the end of the world. .\s Christ was 
 sent by his Father, so are his ministers sent by Him; 
 and having the same authority and commission, they 
 may expect the same success and blessing ; and the 
 contempt, cast upon them and their message, ultimately 
 retiects on God and Christ, whose messengers they are. 
 Burkitt. 
 
 By Christ "sending" his apostles, as his " Father 
 sent him," we are to understand his owning, asserting, 
 [(rotecting, and succeeding theh laboiu-s and their per- 
 sons, as his Father had done to Him and his. Of this 
 no reasonable question can be made, by any, who con- 
 sider his discourse to those disciples in the 14th, 15th. 
 and l6th chapters of this Gospel; the manner of his 
 recommending them to God in the 1 7th, or the leave 
 He took of them at his ascent into heaven. Matt xxviii. 
 IS — 20. From hence results the firmest assiu-ance, 
 that the constant [leculiar [ircn'idence of God shall at- 
 tend them, that his grace shall assist them, that the 
 marks of his favour shall follow them, in the discharge 
 of their duty. That they shall not want the pleasing 
 comfort of seeing their pious endeavours |)rosper in 
 their hands ; or, if they do, that then their ])erseverance 
 and patience shall be taken into the account; and, the 
 less joy they have here, the greater recompense shall be 
 reserved for them hereafter. 'I'hat shall be measure, 
 pressed down, shaken together, and running over, 
 jjoured into their bosom. At which time also they will 
 not fail to see the signal vengeance, and eternal con- 
 demnation, of those incorrigible creatures, who would 
 not be persuaded by their advice, nor amended by their 
 reproofs. And, though this last be but a melancholy 
 contemplation, and such as they would nuich ratlier 
 wish there were no occasion for ; yet it is such a method, 
 as the justice of God and llic necessary vindication of 
 truth re(|uire. ICven that they, who will not glorify 
 (iod by their obedience, shall do it, wliether they will 
 or not, by sulfcring most terribly for their disobedience. 
 
 It were therefore much the wisest way, for men to 
 " account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stew- 
 ards of the mysteries of God," 1 Cor. iv. 1 : since He 
 vouchsafes to esteem us so, wlio hath promised to be 
 " with us always, even unto the end of the world," 
 Matt, xxviii. 20. And those that are scricnis and holy 
 will ever esteem us so. A prolligate person or a i)ro!li- 
 gate i)eo]ile, is never more certainly distinguished than 
 by giving themselves a liberty of vilifying tlieir clergy. 
 For it is not the man, but the euqilnyuuut. that gives 
 disgust; and religion itself is struck at tlu'ough the 
 sides of those, who administer its (jflices. This, I am 
 aware, is a very tender point. And if we, with St. Paul, 
 
 I
 
 THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 10:1 
 
 1 Pet. ii. 9. 
 1 John ii. G. 
 
 The second Sunday after Enxtcr ^. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who hast 
 g-ivcii thine only Son to be 
 iicb. ix. 26. unto us both a sacrifice for sin, and 
 l7'et!"ii. 19- 'ilso an ensample of g'odly life; Give 
 ;^ ■ ,r, lis grace that we may always most 
 
 John xni. 19. , S^. ,. , , . ,•',..•' 
 
 thanktully receive that Ins inestima- 
 ble benefit, and also daily endeavour 
 ourselves to follow the blessed steps 
 of his most holy life ; through the 
 same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 St. Peter ii. 19. 
 
 TH 1 S is thankworthy, if a man 
 for conscience toward God en- 
 dure grief, siift'ering wrongfully. For 
 what glory is it, if, when ye be 
 buffeted for your faults, ye shall 
 
 attempt to "magnify our office," what he did, out of 
 conscience, we shall be thought to do out of no very 
 commendable principle. Since therefore we are looked 
 upon too nearly interested, to be well heard in a cause 
 so much our own ; let one sjieak for us, who is above all 
 e.xception, and who will be heard at every one's utmost 
 peril. Now to those who labour to render us and our 
 profession odious and contem])tib!e, the Holy Ghost 
 applies Himself, among others, in these two very re- 
 markable passages. The one, that of our blessed 
 Saviour, " He that heareth you, heareth me ; and he 
 that despiseth you, despiseth me ; and he that despiseth 
 me, despiseth him that sent me," Luke x. 16. The 
 other, that of St. Paul, " He that despiseth, desjiiseth 
 not man, but God, who also hath given us of his 
 Spirit," 1 Thess. iv. 8. The sum whereof is, that they, 
 who use the representatives of Christ ill, would use 
 their Master so too, if they had the same power and 
 opportunities. How much better would it become 
 men, who call themselves Christians, to consider the 
 importance and end of our "high calling," and to 
 "esteem us very highly in love for our work's sake ?" 
 1 Thess. V. 13. For an esteem no doubt there is due 
 to the character and profession ; which no jiersonal 
 defects in him, that ljear.s it, can absolve men wholly 
 from paying. But even for these, and indeed for all 
 the rest, it should be the constant and most fervent 
 desire of every pri\-ate Christian, that it would please 
 God to " illuminate" every " bishop, jiriest, and deacon, 
 with true knowledge and understanding of bis word," 
 and " that both by their preaching and living they may 
 set it forth and shew it accordingly." Which may our 
 good Lord grant, for Jesus Christ's sake. Dean Slan- 
 liope. 
 
 ^ The second Swiilay after Tiaster.^ The Collect for 
 this day reminds us of a double end, for which God the 
 Father gave us his Son ; and teaches us to ajiply them 
 by thankfulness and imitation of his holy life. The 
 Epistle for the day sets before us that admirable pat- 
 tern, so remarkable under sufferings, and so deserving 
 of our imitation. And the Epistle having in its close 
 spoken of Him as the Shepherd and Bishop of our 
 souls, from whom we have erred and strayed like lost 
 sheep, the Gospel sets Him before us in the character 
 of a shepherd, noticing particularly his great love and 
 care for his sheep. Dr. Hole. 
 
 take it patiently ? but if, when ye 
 do well, and sutler for it, ye take 
 it patiently ; this is acce])table with 
 CJod. Tor even hereunto were ye 
 called: because Christ also suft'ered 
 for us, leaving us an example, that 
 yc should follow his steps : who did 
 no sin, neither was guile found in 
 his mouth : who, when he was re- 
 viled, reviled not again ; when he 
 suffered, he threatened not ; but 
 coniniitted himself to him that judg- 
 etli righteously : who his own self 
 bare our sins in his own body on the 
 tree, that we, being dead to sins, 
 should live unto righteousness : by 
 whose stripes ye were healed. For 
 ye were as sheep going astray ; but 
 are now returned unto the Shepherd 
 and Bishop of your souls '. 
 
 ' The principal lesson that we have to learn from 
 hence, is to have regard to the cause of our sufferings ; 
 that they be only for a good cause, and not the just 
 demerit of our faults. To suffer for Christ, or for 
 " righteousness' sake," is a matter of great joy, and will 
 be attended with an ample reward, for " blessed are 
 they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for 
 tlieirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when 
 men shall revile and persecute you, for great is your 
 reward in heaven," Matt, v.' 10 — 12. St. Peter 
 advises all Christians to take heed, "that they suffer 
 not as murderers, or thieves, or evil-doers, or as busy- 
 bodies in other men's matters, yet if any man suffer as 
 a Christian, let him not be ashamed," 1 Pet. iv. 1 5 ; 
 intimating, that it is no matter of glory, but of shame, 
 to suffer for our vices and enormities. 
 
 " But if ye suffer for righteousness' sake," saith the 
 apostle, " hap]>y are ye :" and be not afraid of their 
 terror, neither be trouljled, only sanctify God in your 
 hearts, and labour to have and to keep a good con- 
 science, that whereas they sjjeak of you as evil-doers, 
 they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good 
 conversation in Christ. " I'or it is better, if the will of 
 (iod be so, that ye suffer for well-doing, than for evil- 
 doing ;" therein following the example of our Saviour, 
 " who suffered for us, the just for the unjust, that he 
 might bring us to God," 1 Pet. iii. 14 — IS. 
 
 Lastly, Let the sense of our returning to Christ, the 
 great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, and being 
 made conformable to Him in all our sufferings in a 
 good cause, teach us to hft u]) our heads, and rather to 
 rejoice than repine at such tribulations. Our Sa\'iour 
 Himself was made perfect by sufferings ; He received 
 not the crown, before He had endured the cross ; and 
 truly our way to eternal hfe is gladly to suffer with 
 Him. He, that is too dehcate and tender to bear any 
 hardship for his Saviour, is not worthy of Him, and 
 shall never receive any benefit by his sufferings ; such 
 a one will soon make shi))nTeck of faith and a good 
 conscience, and in time of terairtation will fall away, 
 'fhey, that do so, will be disowned by Him in the last 
 day, and be doomed for ever to depart from Him : 
 whereas, by adhering to Him in the time of trial and 
 persecution, we engage Him in time of need to stand 
 by us : and if we suffer with Him, we shall be glorified 
 together. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ^ M 2
 
 104 
 
 THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 The Gospel. St. John x. 11. 
 
 JESUS said, I am the good 
 shepherd : the good shepherd 
 giveth his life for the sheep. But 
 he that is an hireling, and not the 
 shepherd, whose own the sheep are 
 not, seeth the wolf coming, and 
 leaveth the sheep, and fleeth ; and 
 the wolf catcheth them, and scat- 
 tereth the sheep. The hireling 
 fleeth, because he is an hireling, and 
 careth not for the sheep. I am the 
 good shepherd, and know ray sheep, 
 and am known of mine. As the 
 
 " llie Epistle concludes with giving to our blessed 
 Saviour the title of " Shepherd and Bishop of our 
 souls." The Gospel does not only introduce that 
 Saviour taking that denomination to Himself; but 
 giving a reason, why it belonged to Him, in a manner 
 so peculiar, that no other can ]jresume to lay the like 
 claim to it. The ground of this is laid in a degree of 
 love, so tender and so costly, as none beside ever came 
 up or near to ; no less than laying down his own life for 
 the benefit and preservation of his tlock, which other- 
 wise must inevitably have fallen a prey to that ra\ening 
 wolf, whose constant practice it is to hunt and devour 
 poor defenceless soids. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 From the character of the Shepherd of his flock thus 
 taken to Himself by our blessed Saviour, the following 
 duties appear to arise, and press upon us. 
 
 1. We may remark, that, as the very title of the 
 shepherd implies a flock, so Christ hath left it for the 
 characteristic mark of his flock, that they who belong 
 to it in sincerity and truth, will be ready evermore to 
 listen to his counsels, and to hear his voice. He calls 
 to us, in his word and precepts, that we may lo\-e that 
 fellowship, to which He joined Himself, and over 
 which He holds a never-ceasing charge. He calls to 
 us jointly that we may cleave to that communion, and 
 keep together in untainted and safe pastures ; and that 
 we may disappoint the arts of such as lie in wait to 
 deceive or to destroy. Christ calls us to Him by his 
 teaching and example. Nor does He sjiare to give the 
 flock that food of which He si)ake, whilst He went 
 before them in his eartljy course. He gave the Jewish 
 peo])le bread liy miracle, when He was touched with 
 their bodily necessities ; at which time too He declared, 
 that " they were as shee]) having no she])herd :" but 
 He reproved thcni, when He found that too many 
 of them followed Him for that f()<id only. He ex- 
 horted tlu'in to labour for the meat which doth not 
 perish ; and such at all times should be our care and 
 endeavour. 
 
 He, who i)rovidcd so effectually for his flock, esta- 
 blished and ordained the special channels and a[)pointed 
 means for such supjilies. He left the font of baptism 
 for ever open, na .\braham dug his wells for succeed- 
 ing generations. He instituted a ])er|)etual grant of 
 the bread of life and lilcssing for his peo])le; not 
 laying up corn, as Josejih did, for a seven years' 
 famine, but giving the true bread of life, for ever, 
 to his people. 
 
 Let us remember the great duty of clearing to that 
 faithful Guide, who humbled Himself to seek that 
 wliich was lost, and brought it to his own fold, on his 
 shoulders, rejoicing. If a tlock without a shepherd be 
 the truest image of a state of danger and destruction, 
 
 Father knoweth me, even so know I 
 the Father : and I lay down my life 
 for the sheep. And other sheep I 
 have, which are not of this fold ; 
 them also I must bring, and they 
 shall hear my voice ; and there shall 
 be one fold, and one shepherd™. 
 
 The third Sunday after Easier". 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who shew- 
 est to them that be in error the 
 light of thy truth, to the intent that Eph.v.?- 
 
 let us remember also that guilt is added to the danger, 
 when they, who, in past time, were without a shepherd, 
 shall flee from Him, when He is indeed come to gather 
 them from brinks and precipices, and to fold them in 
 perpetual safety. 
 
 It is one fold, under one shepherd, however par- 
 celled out according to the bounds of diverse nations. 
 There is one well of life in baptism ; one food of doc- 
 trine and communion : one rule of disciphne, in which 
 the duties of the pastor and the flock are marked out 
 and prescribed. 
 
 Let us then so live in Christian fellowship and con- 
 cord, in strict integrity of mind and conscience; in 
 holiness of life ; in faith and charity : returning to the 
 fold of safety by a swift repentance, if at any time we 
 shall have strayed from it into devious ways, and abid- 
 ing stedfast in that hajjpy and secure enclosure, in the 
 unity of the Spirit, and the bond of peace ; looking 
 forward to that glad day when the Christian fold shall 
 be made to enlarge its bounds ; when the flock shall be 
 more fully gathered under one good Shepherd Jesus 
 Christ, the righteous, to whom, with the Father and 
 the Holy Ghost, be ascribed all honour, worship, and 
 praise, henceforth, and for evermore. Archdeacon Poll. 
 
 " The third Siindai/ after Easter."] Hitherto since 
 Flaster, the Cbui'ch hath been as it were ovenvhelmed 
 in the joyful meditation of Christ's resurrection from 
 the dead, or chiefly about it, and that hath been the 
 subject of all the Collects since then. Now in this 
 Collect (as somewhat also in one of the readings afore- 
 going) the t-'hurch reflects upon that other ancient 
 ])aschal solemnity, the general baptism that was used 
 at that time ; so that this Collect is for the new bap- 
 tized, or new regenerates by baptism ; desiring Almighty 
 (Jod, " who shews the light of his truth to them that 
 be in error," enlightening them by baptism (which was 
 tlu'refore called " ilhunination," and the baptized "the 
 enlightened") to grant them "that be admitted into 
 the fellowship of Christ's religion," namely, by baptism, 
 " that they may eschew those things that are contrary 
 to their profession," or vow in ba))tism, &c. Though 
 this custom of general baptism at Ivister l)e not in use 
 now, yet this ('ollcct is still seasonable, as a general 
 anniversary commemoration of the great Idessings re- 
 ceived from (ioil by our ha])tism, and oiu' solemn vow 
 and profession made to Him therein. 
 
 'I'he ancients were wont to observe an anniversary 
 commemoration of their baptism ; they, that were bap- 
 tized at Faster the year before, came the year follow- 
 ing, the same day, to the church, and soleumly willi 
 obhitions, and other religious ofliccs, conunemorated 
 the anniversary day of their new birtb. Though our 
 Church does not in every particidar observe the same
 
 THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 165 
 
 Cell. i. 9, 10. 
 2 Tim, ii. lo. 
 1 Pet. ii. 11. 
 
 tliey may return into tlie way of 
 riirhteousiiess ; u^raiit unto all them 
 that are admitted into the fellowshi]) 
 of Christ's Reli<;;ioii, that they may 
 eschew those tliinus that are coii- 
 trary to their profession, and follow 
 all such thini^s as are agreeable to 
 the same ; through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle, I St. Peter ii. 11. 
 
 DEARLY beloved, I beseech 
 you as strangers and pilgrims, 
 abstain from fleshly lusts, which war 
 against the soul ; having your con- 
 versation honest among the Gentiles; 
 that, whereas they speak against you 
 as evil doers, they may, by your 
 good works which they shall behold, 
 glorify God in the day of visitation. 
 Submit yourselves to every ordi- 
 nance of man for the Lord's .sake ; 
 whether it be to the King, as su- 
 preme ; or unto governours, as unto 
 them that are sent by him, for tlie 
 punishment of evil doers, and for the 
 praise of them that do well. For so 
 is the will of God, that with well- 
 doing ye may put to silence the 
 ignorance of foolish men : as free, 
 and not using your liberty for a 
 cloke of maliciousness ; but as the 
 
 custom, yet she draws near to the ancient practice 
 in this solemn, though general, anniversary comme- 
 moration of baptism this day, minding us all this day 
 of our baptism, and our vow made therein, and praying 
 to God to enable us all to keep it. And for this very 
 reason does she appoint children to be baptized, upon 
 Sundays, and other holy-days, when most people are 
 ])resent, that they may be put in remembrance of their 
 own profession made to God in baptism. Preface be- 
 fore Baptism. And happy were it for us, if we would 
 make good use of this care of the Church, by often 
 remembering that solemn vow, by which we have dedi- 
 cated ourselves to God to be an holy [leople ; the wilful 
 breach of which vow is horrid sacrilege. 
 
 In the Gospel our Savioiu' tells his discijiles, that 
 though they " should weep and lament" (by reason of 
 his death) " their sorrow should be turned into joy, 
 which no man should take from them ;" namely, after 
 his resurrection. And such joy belongs to this time, 
 and to us in it, if we be also his true disciples and fol- 
 lowers ; which how we may be, the Epistle shews, by 
 minding us of what we promised and vowed, when we 
 were admitted into Christ's school, and gave up our 
 names to Him, "the abstaining ft-om fleshly lusts, and 
 having honest conversation" in all our relations. And 
 this is the main drift of the whole Epistle (the first of 
 St. Peter) out of which this is taken ; to persuade them 
 that were born again, and lately become Christians, to 
 walk suitably to such an holy profession, and that 
 chiefly in regard " of the lively hope, unto which they 
 were begotten again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
 from the dead ;" and so is most agreeable to the 
 
 servants of God. Honour all men. 
 Love the brotherhood. Fear God. 
 Honour the King". 
 
 The Gospel. St. .lohn .\vi. 16. 
 
 JESUS said to his disciples, A 
 little while and ye shall not see 
 me: and again, a little while and ye 
 shall see me ; because I go to the 
 Father. Then said some of his dis- 
 ciples among themselves, What is 
 this tliat he saith unto us, A little 
 while and ye shall not see me ; and 
 again, a little while and ye shall see 
 me : and. Because I go to the Fa- 
 ther ? They said therefore, What is 
 this that he saith, A little while ? 
 we cannot tell what he saith. Now 
 Jesus knew that they were desirous 
 to ask him, and said unto them. Do 
 ye enquire among yourselves of 
 that I said, A little while and ye 
 shall not see me ; and again, a little 
 while and ye shall see me ? Verily, 
 verily I say unto you. That ye shall 
 weep and lament, but the world 
 shall rejoice : and ye shall be sor- 
 rowful, but your sorrow shall be 
 turned into joy. A woman, when 
 she is in travail, hath sorrow, be- 
 cause her hour is come : but as soon 
 as she is delivered of tlie child, she 
 
 Church's meditations this day and season. Bp. Spar- 
 row. 
 
 " In compliance with the intreaties of the apostle in 
 this Epistle, let us carefully eschew all sinful lusts, as 
 contrary and disagreeable to our profession ; and follow 
 honesty in all our dealings, submission to our superiors, 
 with a right use of our Christian liberty ; giving honour 
 to all men, love to oiu brethren ; and joining to these 
 the fear of God, and honouring the king, as things 
 agreeable to the religion we profess, and answering the 
 end and designs of it. 
 
 To this we stand obliged by the decency of the 
 thing, it being highly fit and reasonable, that we should 
 be and do as we pretend ; and likewise by the great 
 indecency of the contrary, it being grossly absurd and 
 unbecoming, to pretend to great things and to do no- 
 thing like it. Again, the honour of our persons and 
 profession requires us to walk worthy of both. When 
 we live by the rules and precepts of Christianity, we 
 bring credit to our religion and ourselves, whereas both 
 are disparaged by an unsuitable conversation ; yea, we 
 reflect dishonour upon Christ, and bring an evil report 
 upon his ways, when we act contrary to what we pro- 
 fess, and wear his livery only as a cloke for our sinful 
 practices. 
 
 Lastly, our own interest obliges us to act suitably to 
 our profession ; it being a matter of great comfort to us 
 here, and of a much greater reward hereafter, for such 
 will surely find an entrance into their Master's joy, and 
 be made for ever happy with Him ; when the titular 
 and nominal Christian, th.at xisurps the name of Christ, 
 without hving answerably to it, shall be for ever e.^-
 
 166 
 
 THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 remembeieth no more the an2;uisli, 
 for joy that a man is born into the 
 world. And ye now therefore have 
 sorrow, but I will see you again, and 
 your heart shall rejoice, and your joy 
 no man taketh from your. 
 
 Jer. X. 23. 
 James i. 17. 
 Phil. ii. 13. 
 
 Ps. cxix. 5. 
 2 Pet. i. 3, 4. 
 
 Het). xi. 26. 
 
 The fourth Sunday after Easter'^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 Almighty God, who alone 
 canst order the unruly wills 
 and affections of sinful men ; Grant 
 unto thy people, that they may love 
 the thing which thou commandest, 
 and desire that which thou dost 
 promise ; that so, among the sundry 
 and manifold changes of the world, 
 our hearts may surely there be fixed, 
 where true joys are to be found; 
 
 eluded from his presence, and have his portion with 
 hypocrites and unl)ehevers, which it will concern us 
 above all things to jjrevent. Dr. Hole. 
 
 p The words of this Gospel, spoken to the disciples 
 in a very critical juncture, are of very comfortable im- 
 port, and, if thily considered, will have a like eifect up- 
 on us, as they had upon them, in proportion as our 
 circumstances and theirs agree. But surely those 
 Christians are without excuse, who do not improve 
 them to tliese two purposes at least : 
 
 1. To quicken us in the pursuit after so excellent a 
 joy. There is this good correspondence between the 
 offices of the day, that the Gosjiel enforces the ex- 
 hortation in the Epistle, of considering ourselves as 
 " strangers and pilgrims," and so cutting those desires 
 short, the olyects whereof can stay with us but "a little 
 while." And the Collect jirayetli for grace to " eschew 
 those things that are contrary to our" Christian "pro- 
 fession, and to follow all such things as are agreeable 
 to the same." To which nothing can be more contrary, 
 than a sensual and worldly mind ; nor any thing more 
 agreeable, than such earnest desires, and zealous endea- 
 vours, after future and spiritual ha])pincss, as will not 
 suifer themsch-cs to be diverted by any treacherous 
 allurements here below. 
 
 2. The other use we should make of this Gospel is 
 to compose our minds in time of trouble. Let us con- 
 sider, that this cannot last always, tliat patience bringeth 
 forth ])recious fruit, and that it will be our own fault, 
 if our laboiirs and suiferings do at last prove abortive. 
 Let us set the " bgbtncss" of the " affliction" against 
 the " weiglit of glory," and the " momentary" passage 
 of the one against the "eternal" stability of the other. 
 Tor this woulil lie sure to cast the scale, and enable us, 
 in humble imitation of our blessed Master, to "endure 
 the cross for the joy lliat is set before us." Put the 
 utmost and worst of the case, that we are called to 
 "resist unto blood;" yet even in death, we have this 
 reflection to support us, tliat there is but tliat one 
 " pain more," and then " tlie man is l)orn." Horn into 
 a world of bliss and immortality, to a life of "joy" 
 most exquisite and ravisbitig to tlu: " heart," and that 
 " a joy whicli no man taketh frt)rn him." That joy 
 may (iod of bis infMiite mercy make us all |)artakcrs of, 
 tlirough the merits antl mediation of llirii, who hath 
 shed liis blood to purchase it for us, Jesus Clirist the 
 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. St. James i. 17. 
 
 EVERY good gift, and every 
 perfect gift is from above, and 
 coineth down from the Father of 
 lights, with whom is no variable- 
 ness, neither shadow of turning. Of 
 his own will begat he us with tiie 
 Word of truth, that we should be a 
 kind of first-fruits of his creatures. 
 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let 
 every man be swift to hear, slow to 
 speak, slow to wrath : for the wrath 
 of man worketh not the righteous- 
 ness of God. Wherefore lay apart 
 all filthiness and superfluity of 
 naughtiness, and receive with meek- 
 ness the engrafted Word, which is 
 able to save your souls ^ 
 
 Son of his love, to whom with the Father, and the 
 Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory, now and for ever. 
 Amen. Denn Stanhope. 
 
 1 Tlie fourth Sunday after Easier.'] This Collect is fit 
 for this paschal time from Easter to Pentecost, a time of 
 greatest joy ; the Church therefore prays that we may 
 rightly oliserve the time, he full of joy in a joyful time, 
 and withal that our joy may be a true and real joy, that 
 our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys 
 are to be found : such joys as (Christ's resurrection and 
 the promised Comforter afford. And one or both of 
 these two grand occasions of joy and exultation (to 
 wit, Christ's resurrection, and tlie promise of the Com- 
 forter) are the principal subject of the Gospels fi-om 
 Easter to Whitsuntide ; but lest our joy should grow 
 presumptuous and luxuriant (as joy is apt to exceed), 
 the Epistles for the same time admonish us of duties 
 answeralilc, to believe in Christ, to rise from the grave 
 of sin, to be ])atient, loving, meek, charitable, &c. ; 
 having our Lord for an examjilc, and the promise of 
 his Spirit for our guide, strength, and comfort. Bp. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 ' From this passage we should learn, 1 . To ascribe 
 with all ])ossib]c tliankfulncss every advantage we enjoy, 
 whether of nature, of fortune, or of grace, to the good 
 (Jod alone, who is the giver of (hem. '2. Hence we 
 are likewise taught, where in jiarticular to lay the in- 
 estimable benefit of our spiritual regeneration and sal- 
 vation, 'i'hat it is intirely owing to God, and an in- 
 stance of his free and undeserved grace. 3. It is ob- 
 servable, that He assigns to the "word of truth" a 
 ])art in this work ; and such a jiart as intimates it to 
 be the instrumental cause of our new and siiiritual 
 birth. \\'itb regard to which "word" lie lays down 
 directions for our behaviour in the three following 
 verses, iuiporling that we make use of all proper means 
 and opportunities for being instructed in this "word," 
 and so uudcrslaniling our duty: that we bo modest, 
 and do not tak<' upon ourselves to be teachers, through 
 a vain conceit of our own sullicicncy : that we endea- 
 vour to govern our iiassions, particularly that of anger, 
 and cultivate its ojiposite virtue, meekness ; and that 
 we lay ajiart that sensuality and those fleshly lusts, 
 which are irreconcilable with the jiurity of heart and 
 life iiijoincd by the (iospel. lyiistly, we may observe 
 the significance of that metaphor which commands
 
 THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 The Gospel. St. John xvi. 5. 
 
 167 
 
 JESUS said unto his disciples, 
 Now I fro my way to him that 
 sent me, and none of you asketh 
 me, Wiiither goest thou ? V>\\\, be- 
 cause I have said these things unto 
 you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 
 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth ; 
 it is expedient for you that I go 
 away : for if 1 go not away, the 
 Comforter will not come unto you ; 
 but if 1 depart, I will send him 
 unto you. And when he is come, 
 he will reprove the world of sin, 
 and of righteousness, and of judge- 
 ment : of sin, because they believe 
 not on me ; of righteousness, be- 
 
 us to receive the " ingrafted " word. Ingrafting, it is 
 well known, incorporates one sort of plant with a tree 
 of another : hy which means the old stock is not 
 destroyed, but a new quality so su])erinduced, that the 
 fruit is from thenceforth changed, and made more 
 generous. Thus the " word " must be thoroughly 
 joined to us, and made of a piece with us : it must 
 penetrate, and mingle with, and influence, every facidty 
 of our minds. The wild suckers, which sprout from 
 the old sour stock, must be cut low and kept under, 
 that the new scion may receive nourishment, and shoot 
 more ^^gorously. Thus nature is not taken away, but 
 its luxuriances pared off. Our appetites are not extin- 
 guished, but impro\'ed, and turned to nobler objects. 
 Our affections (according to the Collect for the day), 
 from being unrvdy, alter their taste ; and from hence- 
 forth " love that which God commands, and desire that 
 which He does promise ;" and by making this happy 
 change in our originally corrupt temper and inclina- 
 tions, and so becoming a principle of a new and nobler 
 ])roduct, we " have our fruit unto holiness, and the end 
 everlasting life." And thus it is, that " the ingrafted 
 word" becomes "able to save our souls." Dean Stan- 
 hope. 
 
 '' The Holy Ghost is here spoken of as guiding the 
 apostles into all truth. A consideration of the true 
 import of the guidance ascribed to Him m.ay enable us 
 to judge what method He usually takes in the ordinary 
 operations of his grace. 
 
 1. He is a guide to Christians, in the sense of one 
 who leads a traveller on the way. He directs them 
 what course to take. He warneth them against the [)its 
 and jirecipices, the difficulties and by-paths, by which, 
 if destitute of such direction, they might wander, or 
 ])erish in their journey ; and so He brings them for- 
 ward in that holiness, of which Himself is the perfection, 
 and the brightest pattern. 
 
 2. He is a guide, inasmuch as He assists and sup- 
 jiorts men in their passage. This sort of guidance the 
 Holy Spirit jjerforms, when He condescends to our in- 
 firmities, accommodates Himself to our capiicities, and 
 imparts his gifts and graces ; not according to his own 
 fulness and power to give, but in such ijrojiortions, as 
 the vessels, into which they are poured, are qualified to 
 receive them. 
 
 3. A guide is one who performs the office of a master 
 or teacher. Such a guide is the Holy Ghost. He en- 
 lightens dark eyes, but by such illumination, as sup- 
 
 cause I go to my Father, and ye 
 see me no more; of judgement, 
 because the prince of this world is 
 judged. I have yet many things 
 to say unto you, but ye cannot 
 bear them now. Howbeit, when 
 he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he 
 will guide you into all truth : for 
 he shall not speak of himself; but 
 whatsoever he shall hear, that shall 
 he speak : and he will shew you 
 things to come. He shall glorify 
 me : for he shall receive of mine, 
 and shall shew it unto you. All 
 things that the Father hath arc 
 mine : therefore said 1, that he shall 
 take of mine, and shall shew it unto 
 vou'. 
 
 poses a willingness to see. He leads men into paths of 
 holiness and salvation, but then He expects a readiness 
 to follow. He gives ability to perform that, which 
 without Him never could be done ; but it is that, 
 which mil not be done neither, without our own pains 
 and concurrence. " The meek" (says David) " he will 
 guide in judgment, and the meek shall he learn his 
 way," Ps. XXV. 9. But still they are "meek." And, 
 although He strengthen our weakness, and inspire our 
 dispositions, and assist our endeavours, to be good ; 
 yet is He no where said, by an almighty and irresisti- 
 ble operation, to comjiel the obstinate, or to drag men 
 along whether they will or no. 
 
 Hence it will lie no difhcult matter, to reconcile 
 those texts of Scripture, which attribute our sanctifica- 
 tion and salvation to the " word," with some others 
 which give the same effects to the " Sjiirit " of God. 
 The short is, this is the efficient, that the instrumental, 
 cause. We cannot come to Christ, except we be drawn ; 
 and it is his Spirit that draws us : and He draws us by 
 the word. He gives a new turn to our thoughts and 
 inclinations, disposes us to hearken, and consider, and 
 endeavour; and then He renders those actions and en- 
 dea\'ours successful. So that all this is effected by 
 application of proper means, l)y seasonable suggestions, 
 by inliuences so gentle and sweet, that all is done with 
 us, and in us. The work is so much the Spirit's, that 
 if we be tractable and willing to do our jiart, He will 
 not fail to do his : and it is so much our own too, that, 
 if we refuse or neglect our part, He will not do it, 
 either for us, or without us. 
 
 So great agreement may we easily perceive, between 
 the Epistle and the Gospel for this day : the " word of 
 truth begets" us, and the " Spirit of truth guides" us. 
 So exactly alike are the predispositions, necessary for 
 profiting by both. I conclude, therefore, with most 
 earnestly exhorting everj' man, as He values his salva- 
 tion, so to receive the one, and submit to the conduct 
 of the other, that each may attain its jiroper effect upon 
 him : and, since " Almighty God alone can order the 
 unruly wills and affecticms of sinfid men ;" let us not 
 be wanting to pray, with our Church, that He would 
 "grant unto" all his " ]ieople, to love the thing which 
 he commandeth, and desire that which he doth pro- 
 mise : that so, among the sundry and manifold changes 
 of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, 
 where true joys are to be found, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen." Dean Stanhope.
 
 16« 
 
 THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 James i. 17. 
 
 2 Cor. iii. 5. 
 James i. 22. 
 
 
 
 The Jiflh Sunday after Easter^. 
 The Collect. 
 Lord, from whom all g;ood 
 _ tliinujs do come ; Grant to 
 us thy humble servants, tliat hy 
 thy holy inspiration we may think 
 those things that be good, and by 
 thy merciful guiding may perform 
 the same ; through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. St. James i. 22. 
 
 BE ye doers of the Word, and 
 not hearers only, deceiving 
 your own selves. For if any be a 
 hearer of the Word, and not a 
 doer, he is like unto a man behold- 
 
 ' The fifth Sunday after Easter.'] The Gospel before 
 promised a Comforter : the E]iistle and Gospel this 
 day direct us, what to do to obtain that promise. Two 
 conditions are required on our parts for the receiving 
 of that promised Comforter : first, prayers or rogations, 
 this the Gospel teaches, " Ask, and ye shall receive, 
 that your joy may be full : secondly, to love God, and 
 keep his commandments, John xiv. 1 5 ; this the Epistle 
 exhorts to, " See that ye be doers of the Word," &c. 
 The Collect prays, that we may feel the fruits and com- 
 forts of this Holy Sjiirit in oin- hearts by good thoughts 
 and abilities' to perform them. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 " By resembling the "word" to a glass, it is the 
 apostle's intention to convince the " hearers only," and 
 " not doers," that they mistake the very end and proper 
 use of " the word." For the use of a glass is to repre- 
 sent men to themselves. But the end of that represen- 
 tation is, not that they may sit, and contemjjlate, and fall 
 into rapturous admiration of their own imagined beauty ; 
 but that they may see, and so see, as to correct what- 
 ever upon that view is found to be amiss. It is thus 
 they are to take effectual care, that their jiersons and 
 habit be comely and composed ; which could not be 
 taken, unless this beholding of theii- own image had 
 made them sensil)le how matters are, and how they 
 ought to be with them. 
 
 Such is the use and end of the "word" too. By 
 comparing the contents of this with our own disposi- 
 tions and actions, we may ilistinctly learn the state 
 of our own souls : and, as that is found to agree or to 
 disagree with the will of God, we have there, not only 
 an opjiortunity of knowing ourselves, but a certain rule 
 and model wliereby to amend (uu'Sclves. Tliey who 
 will not look into this glas.s. are not so much as hear- 
 ers ; they who look carelessly, and straightway forget 
 their form, are t!ie hearers, withovit right appliciition, 
 and that jiractice which woidd certainly follow there- 
 ujjon : for this is a glass which Hatters none, who are 
 content to hold it fairly, and take the report it gives ; 
 a glass, which, men are 8cnsil)le enough, ought not to 
 be held in vain, lint then they are more entertained 
 with the refhtctions of otlicr people's visages than their 
 own. You shall have them very acute in discovering 
 blemishes and imperfections, and recommending tliis 
 correction upon their account ; ingenious and ready to 
 ajiply ever)' smart (liing they read, every Ncrmon they 
 hear, to their neighbours, anil wondcrlolly jilcased to 
 think, how such a om-'n picture liatli been drawn to 
 the life: but in all lliis they can find no likeness of, 
 no concern fur, any fault or failing in the proper place. 
 
 ing his natural face in a glass. For 
 he beholdeth himself, and goeth his 
 way, and straightway forgetteth what 
 manner of man he was. But whoso 
 looketh into the jicrfect law of liberty, 
 and continueth therein, he being not 
 a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the 
 work, this man shall be blessed in his 
 deed. If any man among you seem 
 to be religious, and bridieth not his 
 tongue, but deceiveth his own lieart, 
 this man's religion is vain. Pure re- 
 ligion, and inidefiled before God and 
 the Father, is this. To visit the 
 fatherless and widows in their aiflie- 
 tion, and to keep himself unspotted 
 from the world". 
 
 Hence it is, I mentioned a right application of the 
 word : for this glass is intended to shew, not others to 
 us, but every man to himself: to inform us what we 
 are, in order to make us what we should be ; not to di- 
 vert us with the s\mts and deformities of our brethren; 
 for this would jirove the certain way to keep us, nay, 
 and to render us yet a great deal more, «hat we should 
 not be. Such false appliers and censurers are always 
 too busy abroad, not to overlook that at home, which, 
 of all the rest, stands in most need of being nicely 
 looked into. And, whoever they be, that turn this 
 glass another way, casting off all the discoveries made 
 by it from themselves, and becoming judges of their 
 brother's liberty and conscience ; they are the very 
 hypocrites re])ro\'ed by our l^ord for employing them- 
 selves about the mote in another's eye, without regard- 
 ing the beam in their own. And how "religious" 
 soever they may "seem," depend upon it, all their 
 "religion is vain." 
 
 And so is theirs likewise, who reduce the Christian 
 religion to a mere science, and place all perfection in 
 reading, and hearing, and knowing the precepts of it ; 
 who measure their proficiency by the number of ser- 
 mons they run about to attend, or the good books they 
 are eager to peruse ; or by the niceness of the points 
 they are able to argue upon : as if tlie word had done 
 its business by filling the head, though it never in- 
 fluence the heart at all. A sort of understanding this, 
 to which even ignorance itself, when honest and un- 
 affected, is infinitely preferable. For so our Lord Him- 
 self pronounced, " that servant which knew his master's 
 will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to 
 his will, shall be beaten with many stripes : but he that 
 knew not," (that is, was not in a capacity of knowing,) 
 " and did conunit things worthy of stripes, shall be 
 beaten with few stripes," l.uke xii. 47, 48. Alas! it is 
 action only that crowns all our studies. The word is 
 of c(pial service and necessity, for (juickcning and ex- 
 citing us to what H-e already do, as for instructing \13 
 in what we do not yet understand. It is not said, 
 " Happy are ye if ye know these things ;" but, " If ye 
 know these things, bajipy arc ye if ye do them," John 
 xiii. 17. In short, to be wise in spiritual matters, is 
 no fariher an advantage, than as it disposes us to be 
 good, for that alone is being " wise unto salvation." 
 .•\nd he, in the ('hristian sense, knows most, who leads 
 his life best. 
 
 So great reason have all those well-meaning people 
 to be very jealous over tlicir own hearts, who use a 
 very comniendal)le industry indeed, in learning the pre-
 
 THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 
 The Gospel. St. John xvi. 2.'5. 
 
 Ifi9 
 
 VERIIA', verily I say unto 
 you, Wluitsoever ye shall ask 
 the Father in my name, he will give 
 it you. Hitherto have ye asked 
 nothing in my name : ask, and ye 
 shall receive, that your joy may be 
 full. These things have I spoken 
 unto you in proverbs: the time 
 Cometh when I shall no more speak 
 unto you in proverbs, but I shall 
 shew you plainly of the Father. 
 At that day ye shall ask in my 
 name : and I say not unto you, 
 that I will pray the Father for you ; 
 for the Father himself loveth you, 
 because ye have loved me, and have 
 believed that I came out from God. 
 I came forth from the Father, and 
 
 cepts of this law: so much it concerns them to ex- 
 amine, by the marks laid down under my former head, 
 what effect they feel upon their temper and behaviour. 
 And whether, after so frequent, and so zealous, I had 
 almost said, such infinite hearing, they be not like the 
 men of voracious appetites, who eat much and greedily, 
 but digest and thrive by nothing; for such are some- 
 times the keenest and devoutest hearers; deceived 
 by the quantity they take in, and still " hearers" 
 only. And therefore so seasonable and important is 
 the petition of our Church this day ; that " He, from 
 whom all good things do come," would " grant us, not 
 only by his holy inspiration to think those things that 
 be good, but by his merciful guiding to perform the 
 same, through oui- Lord Jesus Christ. Amen." Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 • It may be useful to consider what our Saviour 
 means in this place by calling on his disciples to " be 
 of good cheer." 
 
 I. The being of "good cheer" under "tribulation" 
 docs by no means infer that firmness of mind, (as some 
 philosophers of old miscalled it) which jireserves the 
 man from being at all affected with calamities, or 
 moved from his usual easiness of temper. How far 
 human nature might be beholden to them, who be- 
 stowed this fanciful perfection upon it, is not worth 
 staying to examine ; let it suffice to observe, that reli- 
 gion is not at all obliged by it; for the Gospel no 
 where goes about to delude us with romantick notions : 
 it tells no man upon a cross, or in a fire, that he feels 
 no pain ; or that such jiain is nothing to him, because 
 it cannot reach his soul : and yet, it commands every 
 man to continue stedfast in his duty, notwithstanding 
 the most exquisite tortures to deter him from it. It is 
 entirely suited to the condition and common sense of 
 mankind, and would not require more constancy in 
 suffering, if it did not furnish more substantial com- 
 forts, than any other system in the world : in short, 
 Christianity leaves nature, and its passions, in the pro- 
 per exercise of their powers ; offers no false ideas of 
 things without us, which experience vnW be sure to 
 prove false, when we most need and wish to find them 
 true ; hut it allows the tenderest sense of pain and 
 grief, and yet contrives a way to conquer that sense, 
 and sustain our sjjirits under the utmost weight of 
 them. 
 
 am come into the world : again, I 
 leave the world, and go to the Father. 
 His disciples said unto him, l.o, 
 now speakest thou plainly, and speak- 
 est no ])roverb. Now are we sure 
 that thou knowest all things, and 
 needcst not that any man should 
 ask thee : by this we believe that 
 thou earnest forth from God. Jesus 
 answered them. Do ye now believe ? 
 Behold, the hour comcth, yea, is 
 now come, that ye shall be scattered 
 every man to his own, and shall leave 
 me alone : and yet I am not alone, 
 because the Father is with me. 
 These things I have spoken unto 
 you, that in me ye might have peace. 
 In the world ye shall have tribula- 
 tion ; but be of good cheer, I have 
 overcome the world". 
 
 2. This command to be of "good cheer" belongs to 
 such "tribulation" only, as the hand of God brings 
 upon us. The sufferings of these discij)les, in propa- 
 gating the faith, seem to have been principally in our 
 Lord's view at this time ; and for these He had long 
 since declared them " blessed." But He had also 
 directed them to join the " wisdom of the ser|)ent with 
 the harmlessness of the dove," Matt. v. 10 — 12, x. 16; 
 and made prudence, as well as iierseverance in good- 
 ness, a truly Christian duty. When, therefore, men 
 court danger, and draw upon themselves unnecessary 
 sufferings, it is not the best cause, nor the best meaning 
 in the world, that will bear such people out, or entitle 
 them to the comforts of persecuted Christians. For 
 these in truth do suffer, not for Christ's and righteous- 
 ness' sake, but for their own humour and folly, the 
 enthusiasm of a mistaken, or the heat of an indiscreet, 
 zeal. 
 
 3. But, though by "being of good cheer when we 
 have tribulation," be not meant, either that we should 
 be insensible, or that we should be fond of it ; yet thus 
 much certainly is meant, that neither the sharpness of 
 any affliction we feel, nor the terror of any we fear, 
 should so far vanquish our reason and religion, as to 
 drive us npon unlawful methods, for declining the one, 
 or delivering ourselves from the other. We are to 
 satisfy ourselves in the justice, the wisdom, the good- 
 ness, of Him, who orders all our events to us ; to en- 
 tertain them all with meekness and much patience ; to 
 bring our wiU into subjection to the divine will ; to re- 
 joice in the testimony of a good conscience, and pre- 
 serve this at any rate, though with the hazard, nay, the 
 certain loss of all our worldly advantages : and to set the 
 supports and the rewards of persecuted truth, or afflicted 
 piety, in opposition to all the discouragements and pres- 
 sures from abroad, and all the frailties of feeble, and 
 too yielding, flesh and blood at home. This is the 
 "good cheer" our Lord requires, and hath Himself 
 contributed to, "by overcoming the world." Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 About the middle of the fifth century, Mamercus, 
 Bishop of Vienne, upon the prospect of some particular 
 calamities that threatened his diocese, appointed that 
 extraordinary jirayers and supplications should be 
 offered up with fasting to God, for averting those im- 
 pendent evils, upon the three days immediately pre-
 
 170 
 
 THE ASCENSION DAY. 
 
 G' 
 
 The Ascension Dat/^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 RANT, we beseech thee, Al- 
 
 miirhty God, that like as we 
 
 do believe thy only-begotten Son 
 
 Markxvi.io. QUI' Lord Jesus Clirist to have as- 
 cended into the heavens; so we 
 may also in heart and mind thither 
 ascend, and with him continually 
 
 Col. iii. 1,2. dwell, who liveth and reigneth with 
 thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, 
 world A\ithout end. Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Acts i. 1. 
 
 TH E former treatise have I 
 made, O Theophilus, of all 
 that Jesus began both to do and 
 teach, until the day in which he 
 was taken up, after that he through 
 
 ceding the day of our Lord's ascension ; from which 
 supplications (which the Greeks call " Litanies," but 
 the Latins " Rogations") these days have ever since 
 been called " Rogation-days." For some few years 
 after, this example was followed by Sidonius, Bishop 
 of Clermont, (though he indeed hints that Mamercns 
 was rather the restorer, than the inventor of the Roga- 
 tions,) and in the beginning of the si.xth century the 
 first council of Orleans appointed that they should be 
 yearly observed. 
 
 2. In these facts the Church had a regard, not only 
 to prepare our minds to celeljrate our Saviour's ascen- 
 sion after a devout manner ; but also, by fervent prayer 
 and humiliation, to ajipease God's wTath, and deprecate 
 his displeasure, that so He might avert those judg- 
 ments which the sins of the nation deserved ; that He 
 might be pleased to bless the fruits with which the 
 earth is at this time covered, and not pour upon us 
 those scourges of his wrath, pestilence, and war, which 
 ordinarily begin in this season. 
 
 3. At the Reformation, when all processions were 
 abolished by reason of the abuse of them, yet, for re- 
 taining the " Perambulation of the Circuits of Parishes," 
 it was ordered, "'J'hat the jieople shall once a year at 
 the time accustomed, with the curate and sidistantial 
 men of the j)arish, walk about the jiarishes, as they 
 were accustomed, and at their return to church make 
 their common jirayers. Provided that the curate, in 
 the said common perambulations, used heretofore in 
 the days of Rogations, at certain ccmvenicnt |)laces, 
 shall admoni.'sh the pco]ile to give thanks to God, in 
 the beholding of (jod's l)encfits, for the increase and 
 abundance ol his fruits tipon the face of the earth, with 
 the saying of tlie 104th Psalm, Binedic, Aiiimn men, Ike. 
 At which time also the same minister shall inculcate 
 this and such like sentences, Curxclli hi: he whicU Iraiis- 
 litelh tlie bounds and doles of his tieii/hlmur, or sUch 
 other order of prayer as shall be hereafter appointed." 
 No such prayers indeed have been since ])ul)lislied ; 
 but there is a homily appointed, which is divided 
 into four parts ; the three first to l)e used upon tlie 
 Monday, 'i'uesday, and \\'ednesday, and the fom-lh 
 upon the day when the parish make their procession. 
 Wliealli/. 
 
 ' Tlie Ascension Daij.li Forty days after his resurrec- 
 tion, otU" blessed Saviour publickly ascended with our 
 
 the Holy Ghost had given com- 
 mandments unto the Apostles whom 
 he had chosen : to wjiom also he 
 shewed himself alive after his pas- 
 sion, by many infallible proofs; 
 being seen of them forty days, and 
 speaking of the things pertaining 
 to the Kingdom of God : and, 
 being assembled together with them, 
 commanded them that they should 
 not depart from Jerusalem, but wait 
 for the promise of the Father, 
 which, saith he, ye have heard of 
 me. For John truly baptized with 
 water, but ye shall be baptized with 
 the Holy Ghost not many days 
 hence. When they therefore were 
 come together, they asked of him, 
 saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time 
 restore ao-ain the kinjrdom to Israel ? 
 
 human nature into heaven, and presented it to God, 
 who placed it at his own right hand, and by the recep- 
 \ tion of those first-fruits sanctified the whole race of 
 mankind. As a thankful acknowledgment of which 
 great and mysterious act of our redemjition, the Church 
 hath from the beginning of Christianity set apart this 
 day for its commemoration ; and for the greater solem- 
 nity of it, our Chiu-ch in particular hath selected such 
 peculiar offices as are suitable to the occasion ; as may 
 be seen by a short \-\e\v of the particulars. iVhently. 
 
 This day hath proper lessons as well as Psalms. Tlie 
 first lesson at Morning Service is Deut. x ; wherein is 
 recorded Moses's going u]) into tlie mount to receive 
 the law from God, to deliver it to the Jews, a type of 
 Christ's ascension into heaven to send down the new 
 law, the law of faith ; " For when he ascended up on 
 I high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men, 
 I apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers," to publish 
 the new law to the world, Kph. iv. 8. Tlie first lesson 
 at F^vening Service is 2 Kings ii ; wherein Klias's as- 
 cending into heaven was a type of Christ's ascension; 
 but Christ went far beyond his type in many particu- 
 lars. Elias went up with a single chariot, but Christ 
 was attended with thousands, I's. Ixviii. 17. "The 
 chariots of (iod are twenty thousand, even thousands of 
 angels, and tlie Lord" ascending "is among them." 
 F^lias, upon his ascension, doubled his spirit upon 
 Elisha ; but Christ gave such an abundance of the Holy 
 Sjiirit to his disci|iles u])on his ascension, that they not 
 only were filled with it themselves, but it ran over upon 
 others from them ; " by laying on of hands," they im- 
 parted it to others, .Acts viii. 17. 
 
 'I'lius the Church hath in the lessons and Gospel 
 preached to us the ascension of Christ, in the type and 
 antitype. In the Lpistlc she toachcs us our <luty, not 
 to stand gazing up to heaven, wondering at the strange- 
 ness of the sight, but to take heed to demean our- 
 selves so, as that we may with comfort behold llim at 
 his second coming, his coming to judgement, .Acts i. 1 1, 
 " Why stand ye gazing ui) into heaven ?" 'I'here is 
 other business to be done ; fit yourselves for another 
 coming ; for " this same .lesus, which was taken up 
 from you into heaven, shall so come, even as ye have 
 him go into heaven." In the Collect we are taught to 
 pray, that we, as far as may be, may conform to our 
 Lord in his ascension, that " like as we believe him to
 
 SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY. 
 
 171 
 
 And lie said unto tliem, It is not for 
 you to know the times or the seasons, 
 which the Father hatli put in his own 
 power. But ye shall receive power 
 after that the Holy Ghost is come 
 upon you ; and ye shall be witnesses 
 unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in 
 all Judaja, and in Samaria, and unto 
 the uttermost parts of the earth. 
 And when he had spoken these 
 thing-s, while they beheld, he was 
 taken up, and a cloud received him 
 out of their sij^lit. And while they 
 looked stedfastly toward heaven, as 
 he went uj), behold, two men stood 
 by them in white a|iparel ; which 
 also said. Ye men of Galilee, why 
 stand ye gazing up into heaven ? 
 This same Jesus, which is taken up 
 from you into heaven, shall so come, 
 in like manner as ye have seen him 
 go into heaven ^ 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mark xvi. 14. 
 
 JESUS appeared unto the eleven 
 as they sat at meat, and up- 
 braided them with their unbelief and 
 hardness of heart, because they be- 
 
 have ascended into the heavens, so may we also in 
 heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continu- 
 ally dwell." Bj). Sparrow. 
 
 ' Tlie portion of Scrijjture for the Epistle, and that 
 of the Gospel, for this great and solemn day, do Ijoth 
 agree in acquainting us how our Lord employed his 
 last minutes with his discijiles here U|)on earth ; and 
 how his blessed person was disposed of, when ceasing 
 to converse any longer among men. They relate, 
 that, by a fate very distant from that of common men, 
 his body was not deposited in the grave, whose gates 
 and strong holds He, at his resurrection, had already 
 broken through ; but that it was received up on high, 
 and conveyed into heaven. Thus far both passages 
 agree ; and then St. Mark adds, that He " sat on the 
 right hand of God." 
 
 These two glorious actions make the si.tth article of 
 our Creed. I'be sum whereof will be comprehended in 
 these very few words : " That the same bliss, and glory, 
 and power, which the Son of God did, before his in- 
 carnation, enjoy with his Father from all eternity, his 
 human nature is now made partaker of in the high- 
 est heavens. That this God-man is in\-ested with an 
 absolute authority and boundless d(miinion ; and does 
 now, in both natures rule, as He shall one day judge, 
 the whole world. That, till that day come, it is the 
 duty of us, and of all mankind, to rex'erence and obey, 
 to trust in and jiray to Him, as our only head and 
 King, our rightful and universal Lord." This is the 
 substance of that, which we are to understand, by 
 "Jesus Christ being received up into heaven, and 
 sitting at the right hand of God." Dean Stanhope. 
 
 Concerning the practical uses of the doctrine, see at 
 the end of the Gos])el for the day. 
 
 ' From Christ's being e.xalted to the right hand of 
 Godj we may learn the infinite wisdom and justice of 
 
 lieved not them which had seen him 
 after he was risen. And he said unto 
 them. Go ye into all the world, and 
 preach the Gospel to every creature. 
 He that believeth and is baptized 
 shall be saved; but he that believeth 
 not shall be damned. And these 
 signs shall follow them that believe : 
 in my name shall they cast out 
 devils; they shall s])eak with new 
 tongues; they shall take ii)) serpents ; 
 and if they driidv any deadly tinng, 
 it shall not hurt them ; they shall lay 
 hands on the sick, and they shall 
 recover. So then after the Lord had 
 spoken unto them, he was received 
 up into heaven, and sat on the right 
 hand of God. And they went forth 
 and jireached every where, the Lord 
 working with them, and confirming 
 the Word with signs following S 
 
 o 
 
 Sunday after Ascension Day ''. 
 The Collect. 
 God the King of glory, who ps. xxw. lo. 
 hast exalted thine only Son 
 
 i. 0, 10. 
 
 Jesus Christ with great triumph fi"" "• ^''' 
 
 God, the Father, in recompensing the sufferings of his 
 Son with so high and honourable a reward. 
 
 2. From Christ's exaltation at the right hand of power 
 and glory, we may learn all due reverence and subjec- 
 tion to Him ; for " God hath thus highly exalted him, 
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and 
 every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the 
 glory of (Jod the Father," Phil. ii. 9 — 11- Let us then 
 be subjects of his kingdom of grace here, that v/e may 
 become the subjects of his kingdom of glory hereafter : 
 suliject we must be either to his mercy or his power ; 
 for they that will not submit to his golden sceptre, 
 shall be " bruised with his rod of iron, and those his 
 enemies, that will not have him to reign over them, 
 shall be brought forth, and slain before him," Luke 
 .\ix. 27. 
 
 3. From Christ's sitting at the right hand of God, we 
 may learn to triumph over death and the grave in the 
 words of the apostle ; " O death, where is thy sting ? 
 O grave, where is thy victory ? but thanks be to God 
 who givcth us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ," 1 Cor. .xv. 57. 
 
 4. From Christ's sitting at the right hand of God, 
 let us learn by the eye of faith, frequently to look up 
 to him, to enable us to bear up with courage under all 
 the troubles and tribulations of the world ; so St. Ste- 
 phen did ; and so the apostle e.xhorts all good Chris- 
 tians to do, Heb. .xii. 2, " Looking unto Jesus, the 
 Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that 
 was set before him endured the cross, despising the 
 shame, and is now set down at the right hand of the 
 throne of God." 
 
 5. From Christ's interceding for us at the right hand 
 of God, let us learn to " come boldly to the throne of 
 grace;" where we have a prevalent Friend and Advo- 
 cate to obtain grace and mercy for us. And let us so
 
 172 
 
 SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY. 
 
 pin, ii. 9— 
 II. 
 
 John xiv. 
 16—18. 
 
 Heh, vi. 
 1?— 20 
 John xiv. 3. 
 
 unto thy kingdom in heaven ; We 
 lieseech thee, leave us not com- 
 fortless ; but send to us thine Holy 
 Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us 
 unto the same place whither our 
 Saviour Christ is gone before, who 
 liveth and reigneth with thee and 
 the Holy Ghost, one God, world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 St. Peter iv. 7. 
 
 THE end of all things is at 
 hand ; be ye therefore sober, 
 and watch unto prayer. And above 
 all things have fervent charity among 
 yourselves : for charity shall cover 
 the multitude of sins. Use hospi- 
 tality one to another, without grudg- 
 ing. As every man hath received the 
 gift, even so minister the same one to 
 
 rely upon his intercession, as not seek to any other 
 mediators, for there is " one Mediator between Uod and 
 men, the man Christ Jesus." Dr. Hole. 
 
 Lastly, This ascent, and session of our blessed Master 
 at God's right hand, do lay upon all his followers the 
 strongest obligation to be heavenly-minded. He is said 
 to have "endured," in prospect of "the joy" to follow; 
 Heb. xii. 2 ; and we, like Him, should keep our eyes, 
 as much as may be, fixed u])on that joy : for how shall 
 we ever love what we do not desire ? And how shall 
 we desire what we do not value ? And how shall we 
 learn to value what we never bestow any thought upon .> 
 Now the glories of heaven want no true worth to re- 
 commend them ; there only needs serious meditation, 
 to render them more familiar and present to our minds : 
 for, the better we grow acquainted with these things, 
 the more ardently we shall be sure to love, and thirst, 
 and iiant after them. Let us therefore remember, that 
 we are Christians : that our Lord and leader is gone 
 far above out of our sight ; that we are still able to 
 follow Him with the eye of faith ; that oiu' true blessed- 
 ness consists in being with Him; that our main con- 
 cern lies in another country; and that the afl'airs of 
 this, in which we now sojourn, are always in some 
 measure to employ our ])ains, but by no means to pos- 
 sess our hearts. In short. com|>letely hajipy we cannot 
 be, till we arrive at those blissful mansions, whither 
 our Saviour Christ is gone before : but the nearest 
 aiiproac-li to happiness, ])ossililc to be made by us in the 
 mcanwhili'. is " in heart and mind tliither to ascend, 
 and with Him continually dwell." For this we must 
 labour, for this we must implore the assistance of his 
 grace; and () "thou that sittest at the right hand of 
 (iod, have mercy upon tis : thou that sittest at the 
 right hand of (iod, receive our prayer. For thou oidy 
 art lioly. thou only art the Lord, tliou only, () Christ, 
 with tlie Holy (jliost, art most high in the glory of 
 God tlie I''ather. Auien." Dean Sinnhnpe. 
 
 •■ SiiikIiiij aflcr .l.icen.iiim Da;/.] This is called Expec- 
 tation week : for now the apostles were earnestly ex- 
 pecting the fulfilment of our Lord's |)ronii.sc, " If I go 
 away, 1 will send the Comforter to you," .lolin xvi. ". 
 'I'he Kpistle exhorts to earnest prayer for the Com- 
 forter promised in the Gospel; which exhortation the 
 Church |ierform3 in the Collect. It also exhorts us all 
 to make such an use of those gifts which the holy 
 
 another, as good stewards of the ma- 
 nifold grace of God. If any man 
 speak, let him speak as the oracles of 
 God : if any man minister, let him 
 do it as of the ability which God 
 giveth ; that God in all things may 
 be glorified through ,Iesus Christ, to 
 whom be praise and dominion for 
 ever and ever. Amen'^. 
 
 Tlie Gospel. St. John xv. 26, and 
 part of Chapter xvi. 
 
 WHEN the Comforter is come, 
 whom I will send unto you 
 from the Father, even the Spirit of 
 truth, whicli proceedeth from the 
 Father, he shall testify of me : and 
 ye also shall bear witness, because 
 ye have been with me from the be- 
 ginning. These things have I spoken 
 
 Spirit shall bestow upon us, as becomes good stewards 
 of the manifold grace of God. Bp. Sparrow, Wheatly. 
 
 ' By " the end of all things" mentioned in this Epis- 
 tle we shall do well to understand that day of the Lord, 
 the terrors of which are described in the 24th chapter 
 of St. Matthew, and the 21st of St. Luke. A revolu- 
 tion of that infinite consequence, that the utmost pre- 
 paration, possible to be made for it, is all little enough : 
 and a revolution so uncertain, as to the time when it shall 
 overtake us, that our Lord upon all occasions taken to 
 mention it, inculcates the great dutv of watchfulness ; 
 a duty incapable of being discharged by any who have 
 not attained to a mastery over their sensual appetites, 
 the indulging whereof, to any degree of excess, clouds 
 the reason that it cannot keep awake, atul indisposes 
 the mind to every thing serious, that it hath no inch- 
 nation to consider and provide itself against, the sur- 
 prises of its sjiiritual enemy. His temptations can at 
 no time attack us with more fatal ad\-antage, than 
 when unlawful liberties and jileasures ha\-e put us off 
 our guard ; and, if this be our danger in every common 
 event of life, how much more dreadful is it. with re- 
 gard to our end, in whicli whati^ver we suffer is final 
 and incajiable of any reparation ? Most seasonably 
 therefore does the apostle here press the duty of 
 sobriety. And, in regard the strength and succour 
 of the very best men is not from themselves, most rea- 
 sonably docs he add " watching tmto prayer." Thus 
 treading in the stejis of our blessed Saviour, who, on 
 the like occasion, gives the following warning. "Take 
 heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be over- 
 charged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of 
 this life, and so that day come upon yon unawares. 
 For as a snare shall it ciime on all them that dwell on 
 the face of the whole earth. Watch ye, therefore, and 
 jtray always, that ye iniiy be accounted worthy to escape 
 all those tilings that shall come to pass, and to stand be- 
 fore the Son of Man," Luke xxi. ;i4 — :iG. The only 
 reniarl;s 1 would leave this particular with, are, (l)That 
 by comparing our Lord and St. I'eter together, it ap- 
 pears that sobrii^ty means, not only what we call a 
 temperate use of meats, and drinks, and jilcasurcs, and 
 recreations, and the like, lint also a moderating of our 
 desires and jiursuits, in the business and advantages 
 of the world. .\nil (2i That there is a mutual sub- 
 serviency of these virtues to each other; sobriety is
 
 WHIT-SUNDAY. 
 
 ua 
 
 unto you, that ye should not be 
 offeiKlefl. They shall j)ut you out 
 of the synagogues : yea, the time 
 Cometh, that whosoever killeth you 
 will think that he doeth God service. 
 And these things will they do unto 
 you, because they have not known 
 the Father, nor me. But these things 
 have 1 told you, that, when the time 
 
 necessary to qualify a man for devotion, and prayer as 
 useful to i)reserve and confirm us in the love of sobriety. 
 Dean Stanhope. 
 
 '' The word in this Gospel rendered " Comforter" is 
 in the original " Paraclete," which signifies three things, 
 a {'omforter, an Advocate, and a Teacher or remem- 
 brancer : which offices, as they were necessary to the 
 apostles at that time, so \v\\l they be to all Christians 
 to the end of the world. This Paraclete is the Holy 
 (ihost, the third Person in the ever-blessed Trinity : 
 and He is truly and pro])erly a Paraclete in all the fore- 
 mentioned senses. I. He is a Comforter ; for He ad- 
 ministers consolation capable of bearing up the spirits 
 in all conditions, and communicates joys that are suffi- 
 cient, not only to keep us from fainting under, but even 
 to make us rejoice in, tribulation. 2. He is an Advo- 
 cate, or Intercessor, which office he performs for us, 
 partly by acting our cause for us with God, helping us 
 to pray, forming our petitions, and inspiring us with 
 holy affections, Rom. viii. 2G ; partly by pleading our 
 cause before men. Matt. x. 1 9 ; and partly by pleading 
 Christ's cause against the world, John xvi. 8 — 10. 
 3. He is a 'I'eacher or Remembrancer : which office he 
 executed for the apostles, by " leading them into aU 
 truth, and teaching and bringing all things to their re- 
 membrance which Christ had said unto them." And 
 the same He still executes for us, by instructing us out 
 of the holy Scriptures, which are the dictates of the 
 same Spirit; and by bringing to our minds all necessary 
 truths for our benefit and consolation, as occasions shall 
 require. 
 
 From Christ's promise then of this Comforter, Advo- 
 cate, and Instructor, let us be ready to welcome Him for 
 all these purposes. Let us hearken to his consolations 
 in all our troul)les and distresses, and be ever willing to 
 receive the cordials He is pleasetl to administer, to kee]) 
 us from fainting under them. Let us rely upon Him as 
 our Advocate and Intercessor, against the ci-y and guilt 
 of our sins ; let us cast ourselves upon the merits of 
 Christ's satisfaction, and depend upon his Holy Spirit, 
 who is ever ready to plead our cause, and to make inter- 
 cession for us. Moreover, let us hearken to the advice 
 and directions of this holy Monitor, both in his private 
 whispers, and more publick instructions ; never turning 
 the deaf ear to either, but always listening to that voice, 
 saying to us, " This is the way, walk in it," when we are 
 turning to the right hand, or to the left. And then He 
 who now " guides us by his counsel here, will hereafter 
 bring us to glory." Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' IVhit-Sunday.l This day the Holy Ghost came 
 down from heaven upon his Church, as the Epistle 
 tells, according to the promise of the Gositel ; in honour 
 of whom and of his gifts we keep this holy day. Bp. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 As to the name, the most received opinion is, that the 
 word is at length " White-Sunday:" so called from the 
 white garments worn by the persons liajitized in the an- 
 cient church. For the administering of which sacra- 
 ment, Easter, and this, and the Sundays between, were 
 the most solemn seasons. Particularly on this day, the 
 
 shall come, ye may remember that 1 
 told you of them''. 
 
 WHIT-SUNDAY". 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 GO D, who as at this time didst 
 teacii the hearts of thy faitlit'id 
 people, by the sending to them the 
 
 last of those Sundays (when that solemnity determined, 
 and the preparation for it had been extended to the 
 utmost length) ; as well on that account, as for the de- 
 served veneration due to so great a festival, vast num- 
 bers offered themselves to be received to baptism. And, 
 in token of their lieing cleansed from all past sins, as 
 well as for an emblem of that innocence and purity, to 
 which they then obliged themselves, they were clad in 
 white : and, from the multitude of such ^'estments then 
 jmt on, are su])posed to have given occasion for this 
 Lord's day being distinguished by that name. Dean 
 Sliinhope. 
 
 The reason why this time was of old appointed for 
 solemn baptism, was, 1. Because this day the apostles 
 were baptized with the Holy Ghost and tire. Acts ii. 3. 
 2. Because this day three thousand were baptized by the 
 apostles. Acts ii. 41. In memory of which, the Church 
 ever after held a solemn custom of baptizing at this 
 feast. Bp. Sparroiv. 
 
 Some conclude from St. Paul's earnest desire of being 
 at Jerusalem at this time, that the observation of it as a 
 Christian festival is as old as the apostles : but, whatever 
 St. Paul's design was, we are assured that it hath been 
 universally observed from the very first ages of Christi- 
 anity. Wheatly. 
 
 This day is called Pentecost, because there are fifty 
 days betwixt the true passover and Whit-Sunday. As 
 there were fifty days from the Jews' passover to the 
 giving of the Law to Moses in Mount .Sinai, which Law 
 was wiitten with the finger of (iod ; (for from the four- 
 teenth day of the first month, the day of the passover, 
 to the third day of the third month, the day of the 
 Law's giving, Exod. xix. 1. 1(5, are fifty days;) so from 
 the true Passover, which was celebrated when Christ 
 was offered up for us, are fifty days to this time, when 
 the Holy Ghost came down upon the Chiu'ch, to «Tite 
 the new law of charity in their hearts. Upon this me- 
 ditation, St. Augustine breaks out thus : " Who would 
 not prefer the joy and pleasiue of these mysteries, be- 
 fore all the empires of the world ? Do you not see, 
 that as the two Seraphim cry one to another. Holy, 
 holy, holy," Isa. vi. 3 ; "so the two Testaments, Old 
 and New, faithfully agreeing, evince the sacred truth of 
 God ?" It should be noted, that we must not count 
 the fifty days from the very day of the passover, but 
 from the Sunday following ; and so God directed the 
 Jews, Lev. xxiii. 15, speaking of their Pentecost or 
 Feast of Weeks, " and ye shall count from the morrow 
 after the sabbath ; from that day seven weeks shall be 
 complete." Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 The first lesson for the morning contains the law of 
 the Jewish Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks, which was 
 a type of ours : for as the Law was at this time given to 
 the Jews from Mount Sinai, so also the Christians upon 
 this day received the new evangelical law from heaven, 
 by the administration of the Holy Ghost. The first les- 
 son for the evening is a prophecy of the conversion of 
 the Gentiles to the kingdom of Christ, through the in- 
 spiration of the apostles by the Spirit of God ; the com- 
 pletion of which prophecy is recorded in both the second
 
 Acts ii. 3. 
 John xiv. 20 
 xvi 13. 
 
 1 Cor. ii. 15. 
 
 Rom. xiv. 17 
 
 174 
 
 liiflit 
 
 WHIT-SUNDAY. 
 
 of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us 
 bv the same Spirit to have a right 
 judgement in all things, and ever- 
 more to rejoice in his holy comfort: 
 through the merits of Christ Jesus 
 our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth 
 with thee, in the unity of the same 
 Spirit, one God, world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 Ftir the Epistle. Acts ii. 1. 
 
 WHEN the day of Pentecost 
 was fully come, they were all 
 with one accord in one place. And 
 suddenly there came a sound from 
 lieaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, 
 and it filled all the house where they 
 were sitting. And there appeared 
 mito them cloven tongues, like as of 
 fire, and it sat upon each of them : 
 and they were all filled with the 
 Holy Ghost, and began to speak 
 with other tongues, as the Spirit 
 gave them utterance. And there 
 were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, 
 devout men, out of every nation 
 
 under heaven. 
 
 slow wiien 
 
 this 
 
 noised abroad, the multitude came 
 togetlier, and were confounded, be- 
 cause that every man heard tliem 
 
 lessons, but especially in the portion of Scripture for the 
 Epistle, which contains a particular description of the 
 fii-st wonderful descent of the Holy Ghost ujion tlie 
 apostles, who were " assembled toifether in one place," 
 in expectation of that blessed Spirit, according to the 
 promise of our Saviour mentioned in the Gospel. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 The same harmony of Epistle, Gospel, and Collect, 
 and Lessons, and Psalms, that has been observed upon 
 Clu-istmas, and Easter, and Ascension, may with plea- 
 suj-e be mentioned upon this day. Bp. Spurrow. 
 
 ' — by the sfnilin;/ to them the tic/lit'] " Sending" is in 
 this place a noun ; for it is accomiianicd with the article ; 
 nevertheless it is also a transitive vcrl), for it governs 
 the noun " light" in tlie olijective case : but this is in- 
 consistent. " 'I'hc sending" is the same with "the 
 mission;" wliich necessarily re(|uircs the preposition 
 '■ of" after it, to mark the relation between it and " the 
 light:" the missiim of the light; and so, "the sending 
 of the hglit." The pluase would lie proper either way: 
 by l<ee])ing to the construction of tlie noun, " by the 
 sending of the light ;" or of the jiarticiple, or gerund, 
 " by sending the light." Bp. Lowtli. 
 
 ' This Scripture relates one of the most imjjortant 
 events that ever happened to mankind. For su<h was 
 the mission of the Holy .Spirit, and the ])oui'ing out of 
 bis miraculous gifts U[ion the disciples, in a manner 
 most amazing, most elfectual for the mighty purposes 
 appointed to be accomplished by tlicir means. An event 
 deservedly commemorated by the (.'luistian church, since 
 the influence of it extends to all ages; and the benefit 
 consetpicnt upon it is no less than the conversion and 
 instruction of a whole world. Upon this occasion first, 
 that jiowcr from on high exerted itself, wherewith our 
 
 speak in his own language. And 
 they were all amazed, and marvelled, 
 saying one to another, Behold, are 
 not all these which speak Galileans ? 
 And how hear we every man in our 
 own tongue wherein we were born ? 
 Parthians, and JNIedes, and Elamites, 
 and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, 
 and in Judtea, and Cappadocia, in 
 Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pam- 
 jdiylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of 
 Libya about Gyrene, and strangers of 
 Rome, Jews, and Proselytes, Cretes, 
 and Arabians, we do hear them speak 
 in our tongues the wonderful works 
 of Gods. 
 
 The Gospel. St. John xiv. 15. 
 
 JESUS said unto his disciples, 
 If ye love me, keep my com- 
 mandments. And I will pray the 
 Eather, and he shall give you an- 
 other Comforter, that he may abide 
 with you for ever ; even the Spirit 
 of truth, whom the world cannot 
 receive, because it seetli him not, 
 neither knoweth him : but ye know 
 him ; for he dwelleth with you, and 
 shall be in you. I will not leave 
 you comfortless ; I will come to you. 
 
 Lord promised to endue those delegates, to whom he had 
 committed the care of finishing the great work. A work, 
 which himself declares necessary to have been begun in 
 his own person ; but to have been carried on and 
 finished by other hands. 
 
 All the circumstances, that concurred to give authority 
 and efficacy to their undertaking, are of great significance 
 and consideration : such in jiarticular are the time, the 
 place, the surprising a])])earanees of this Spirit's descent. 
 But such more especially were the immediate effects it 
 produced, and the condition of the persons so jiowerfuUy 
 wrought upon. 
 
 Now that effect was " sjicaking with other tongues, as 
 the Sjiirit gave them utterance," .\cts ii. 4. 7 ; and the 
 persons who sjiakc thus were all (ialileans; natives of a 
 countiy held in great contempt among the Jews, and, in 
 particular, for being heavy, and ignorant, and iinpolisbed. 
 The men before us were known to be such. Hred up to 
 mean trades, and destitute both of ca])acity and ojijior- 
 tunity to acquire any degree of those abilities, «'hicb they 
 now exerted in the utmost ])erfection. And what could 
 be a more evident proof of (ioil speaking in them, and 
 by them, than the doing of that in an in.stant, which the 
 study of a whole life conlil hardly, if at ;dl, cpialify any 
 man to do? Here was no room for delusion, where 
 every liearer was a .judge lor himself; and where those 
 that beard were so nuiny, of regions so distant, and of 
 languages so very diflVrent from each other. So amaz- 
 ing arc the iinproNcments where (iod condescends to 
 teach ; and so manifestly does it appear, that He teaches 
 immediately by II imsell, where art and nature are so far 
 outdone: where the "foolish" are empowered in a 
 moment to "confound the wise:" and the "weak" 
 chosen to " confound the mighty," 1 Cor. i. 27. 29. This
 
 MONDAY IN WlirrSUN WEEK. 
 
 17.'5 
 
 Yet ;i little while, and the world 
 seeth me no more ; but ye see me : 
 because 1 live, ye sliall live also. 
 At that day ye sliall know, that I 
 am in my Father, and ye in me, and 
 I in you. Ho that hath my com- 
 niandnients, anil keepeth them, he 
 it is that loveth me; and he that 
 loveth me shall be loved of my Fa- 
 ther, and I will love him, and will 
 manifest myself to him. Judas saith 
 unto him, (not Iscariot,) Lord, how 
 is it that thou wilt manifest th)self 
 unto us, and not unto the world ? 
 Jesus answered and said unto him. 
 If a man love me, he will keep my 
 words, and my Father will love him, 
 and we will come unto him, and 
 make our abode with him. He that 
 loveth me not keepeth not my say- 
 ings : and the word which ye hear 
 is not mine, but the Father's which 
 sent me. These things have I 
 spoken inito you, being yet pre- 
 sent with you. But the Comforter, 
 which is the Holy Ghost, whom the 
 Father will send in my Name, he 
 shall teach you all things, and bring- 
 
 left no room for " flesh to glory in his presence," but 
 proved itself, beyond all contradiction, to be a " power 
 from on hifjh." Dean Slanhope. 
 
 ' Tliis solemnity being consecrated in a jieculiar 
 manner to the honour of the blessed Spirit of God, this 
 is a convenient opportunity for setting forth that light, 
 which the Gospel for the day and other passages of 
 Scripture have given us, into the nature of the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 1. The testimony of Scripture will, I conceive, abun- 
 dantly justify us in stating that the Holy Ghost is a 
 [)erson. and not a mere quality, or operation. It is 
 confessed, that some passages in the New Testament, 
 where the word " spirit "' is used, do carry that sense. 
 And these are such, as by an usual figure of the cause 
 for the effect mean only the gifts and influences of that 
 Spirit. But then some other passages are observable, 
 to which no other signification, but that of a person, 
 can fairly be applied. Thus this Spirit is said to 
 "come," and to "be sent," to "come in the name" of 
 one person upon a message from another ; to " re- 
 ceive " from one. and to "shew "to others; to "as- 
 sist," to "teach," to "guide," to refresh the memories 
 of them, to whom He comes; and to discharge the 
 office of a " paraclete :" all these are attributed to the 
 Spirit in this very discourse to the disciples. Else- 
 where we also read of the Sjiirit " making intercession," 
 of his being "grieved," of his proceeding with dis- 
 cretion and choice, and "dividing" his gifts to "every 
 man severally as he will:" of " blaspheming " Him, of 
 "lying" to Him, of "tempting" Him; of persons 
 being " baptized " into his name, " separated " or 
 consecrated to Him, and "called" by Him to the 
 "work" of the ministry. Rom. viii. 26, 2"; Eph. iv. 
 30; 1 Cor. xii. 11; Matt. .\ii. 31, 32; Acts v. 3. 9; 
 Matt. x.\viii. 19; Acts .viii. 2. Now fi-om hence, I 
 
 all things to your rememijrance, 
 whatsoever I have said unto you. 
 Peace I leave with you, my peace 
 1 give unto you : not as the world 
 giveth, give I unto you. I..et not 
 your heart be troubled, neither let 
 it be afraid. Ye have heard how I 
 said unto you, I go away, and come 
 again unto you. If ye loved me, 
 ye would rejoice, because I said, 
 I go unto the Father : for my Fa- 
 ther is greater than I. And now 
 I have told you before it come to 
 pass, that, when it is come to pass, 
 ye might believe. Hereafter I will 
 not talk much with you : for the 
 prince of this world cometh, and hath 
 nothing in me. But that the world 
 may know that I love the Father ; 
 and as the Father gave me com- 
 mandment, even so I do\ 
 
 Monday in JVIdtsun JVeehK 
 The Collect. 
 
 GO D, who as at this time didst 
 teach the hearts of thy faithful 
 people, by the sending to them the 
 
 conceive we are abundantly warranted to infer the per- 
 sonality of the Holy Ghost; because such things are 
 here attributed to Him, as cannot, with any propriety 
 of speech, be afiu'med of a quality, or operation, or 
 indeed of any but a person. 
 
 2. The Gospel for the day does likexiise strongly in- 
 timate, that the Spirit here spoken of is a divine person. 
 For none but God can know all truth ; and none can 
 teach all, who does not know all. None but He, who 
 is essentially iraited to the Son of God, could bring all 
 those things to remembrance, which the Son had said : 
 because whoever docs so, must be privy to all that was 
 said. This arginnent St. Paul makes use of, and it is 
 drawn indeed from experience and common sense. 
 " What man knoweth the things of a man, save the 
 spirit of a man, which is in him? Even so the things 
 of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God," 
 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11. Now it is obser\-able, that the argu- 
 ment, of no mind being perfectly known by any but 
 itself, is there alleged in proof of the " !>pirit's search- 
 ing all things, even the deep things of God :" and to 
 shew, how safely we may, upon that account, yield 
 our assent to every thing, n-hich shall by this Spirit be 
 revealed to us; though such as no collections of our 
 own reason can give satisfaction in, or make any dis- 
 covery of. To these we may add those other passages 
 which call the Holy Spirit " God " and " Lord," Acts 
 .xiii. 2 ; V. 3, 4. 9 ; which affirm, that He inspired the 
 Messiah, Isa. Ixi. 1; Luke iv. 18, &c. ; that He spake 
 by the prophets, Isa. vi. 8, 9 ; compare .\cts x.xviii. 25, 
 2(3; Jer. xxxi. 33; Heb. x. 15, l(i ; 2 Pet. i. 21; and 
 that by his inhabitation regenerated Christians become 
 Uving temples and dwelUngs of God, 1 Cor. iii. 1(3, 17 ; 
 vi. 19; liph. ii. 20 — 22; 2 Cor. vi. 16. .\s therefore 
 the unity of the Son with the Father is frequently im- 
 pUed by the Father being "seen of him, known by him.
 
 176 
 
 MONDAY IN WHITSUN WEEK. 
 
 light of thy Holj' Spirit; Grant us 
 by the same Spirit to have a right 
 judgement in all things, and ever- 
 more to rejoice in his holy comfort; 
 through the merits of Christ Jesus 
 our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth 
 with thee, in the unity of the same 
 Spirit, one God, world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 T 
 
 For the Epistle. Acts x. 34. 
 
 I H E N Peter opened his mouth, 
 I and said. Of a truth 1 perceive 
 that God is no respecter of persons ; 
 but in every nation lie that feareth 
 him, and worketh righteousness, is 
 
 manifesting himself to him, shewing him all that him- 
 self doth," and the like : so may the unity of the Holy 
 Ghost \vith the Father and Son both, be not imfitly 
 gathered, from his "being sent by the Son," and "by 
 the rather in the Son's name; receiving" of the 
 " Son's " and of " the Father's, to shew to the dis- 
 ciples ;" (for He is therefore said to receive of the Son's 
 because " all things that the Father hath are the Son's ;") 
 John xiv. 20; xvi. 14, 15. So again "teaching," and 
 " calling to mind," all that ever t!ie Son had taught 
 before : esjjecially, if to all this we add, that He is ex- 
 pressly styled, not only " the Spirit of God," and the 
 "Spirit" of the "Father," but the " S])irit " of the 
 "Son," and the "Spirit of Christ," 1 Pet. iv. 14; 
 Eph. iv. 30 ; Matt. x. 20 ; Rom. viii. 9 ; 1 Pet. i. 1 1 ; 
 Gal. iv. 6. 
 
 3. The texts referred to do also imply that procession 
 of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son, which 
 the ('luu'ch bath generally received as a matter of faith. 
 For, though these three Persons be, in all considera- 
 tions relating to the divine nature, equal ; so as that 
 with, regard to time, or power, or any other like per- 
 fection, none is greater or less than another ; yet in 
 dignity, and order of relation, there is some difference. 
 The l'"atli('r is in this regard supreme, because the 
 original, the source, the root of the Godhead. A God- 
 head, from all eternity communicated to the Son : who 
 is therefore acknowledged for the second Person : and 
 the same divine nature is again imparted liy both these 
 to the Holy Ghost, whose eternal procession from the 
 two former gives Him the third i>]ace in the evcr- 
 lilessed Trinity. Tliis must l)e confessed a vast and an 
 adorable mystery; too ])rofound for man to penetrate, 
 or distinctly to conceive. For bow should a \)oot worm 
 be able to comprehend the perfections of an infinite 
 God .> Hut since revelation teaches that so it is ; rea- 
 son agrees that it ought to be received with an lunnble 
 and submissive faith. As (iod hatli not, so I think I 
 might venture to say, that (according to those bounds 
 of perfection, witbin which He hath thouglit fit to limit 
 the several lieings created l)y Him) He could not, let 
 men into a complete knowledge of all the de])ths of 
 the Deity. But then 1 add, tliat so much as He hath 
 revealed is sufficient to conunand our belief of those 
 things, which we cannot perfeilly know. .\nd such I 
 take to be tlie intimations given in this and other Scrip- 
 tures, of the Holy (Jbost being a I'erson, a divine Per- 
 son, and a I'erson proceeding from (iod the Father, 
 and (iod tlie Son. Dean Slanho/n: 
 
 ' Monday in H'hitsun-week.^ 'I'he Whitsun-wcek was 
 
 accepted with him. The Word 
 which God sent unto the children 
 of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus 
 Christ; (he is Lord of all;) that 
 Word, I say, ye know, which was 
 published throughout all Juda>a, and 
 began from Galilee, after the baptism 
 which John preached : how God 
 anointed Jesus of Nazaretli with the 
 Holy Ghost, and with power ; who 
 went about doing good, and healing 
 all that were oppressed of the devil : 
 for God was with him. And we 
 are witnesses of all things which he 
 did, both in the land of the Jews, 
 and in Jerusalem ; whom they slew, 
 
 not intirely festival, like that of Easter ; the Wednes- 
 day, Thursday, and Friday being observed as fasts, and 
 days of humiliation, and suppHcation for a blessing 
 upon the work of ordination, which was usually on the 
 next Sunday. But the Monday and Tuesday were ob- 
 served after the same manner and for the same reasons, 
 as in the Easter-week. 
 
 The Collects, Epistles, and Gospels for both these 
 days are ancient : both the Ejiistles are concerning the 
 bajitism of converts, (this being, as we have already 
 noted, one of the more solemn times appointed for bap- 
 tism,) and concerning their receiving of the Holy Ghost 
 by the hands of the apostles, (this being also a time for 
 confirmation, which was always performed by the impo- 
 sition of hands). The Gospel for Monday seems to have 
 been allotted fjor the instruction of the new baptized ; 
 teaching them to believe in Christ, and to become the 
 children of light. The (lospel forTuesday seems to have 
 been appointed, as it is one of the ember or ordination 
 weeks ; the design of it being to |)ut a difference between 
 those who are lawfully apjiointcd and ordained to the 
 ministry, and those who without any commission arrogate 
 to themselves that sacred office. 
 
 The first lesson for Monday morning is a history of 
 the confusion of tongues at Babel, whereby the Church 
 reminds us, that, as the confusiim of tongues spread 
 idolatry through the world, and made men lose the 
 knowledge of (jod, and true religion ; so God provided 
 by the gift of tongues to repair the knowledge of Him- 
 self, and lay the foundation of a new religion. In the 
 first lesson for Monday evening is recorded the resting 
 of God's Spirit ui)on the seventy elders of Israel, to 
 enalile them to ease Moses of part of his burden in 
 governing tluit numerous people ; which exactly ]irc- 
 figured the descent of the same Holy Spirit at this time 
 upon the apostles and others, to the same end, namely, 
 that the care of all the churches miglit not lie upon one 
 single ])erson : and accordingly the second lessons for 
 this day instruct us that these sjiiritual gifts, of wluit- 
 ever sort they be, are all given to profit withal, and 
 therefore nmst be all made use of to edification, as to 
 their true and jiroper end. 
 
 The first lesson for Tuesday morning contains the 
 inspiration of Saul and his messengers by the Spirit of 
 God ; and that at evening is a |)ro]ilieey of Moses, how 
 (iod would in after-times deal willi tlie Jews upon their 
 reiiintance. Tlie uioniing second lesson forbids US to 
 "(pieucb the Siiiiit" of (iod, or to "despise the jiro- 
 jiheeies" uttered by Him: but, because " there are many 
 false jirophcts gone into the world," the second lesson
 
 MONDAY IN WHITSUN WEEK. 
 
 177 
 
 and liansjo<l on a tree : Him God 
 raised up the tiiird day, and shewed 
 him openly ; not to all the people, 
 but unto witnesses chosen before of 
 God ; even to us who did eat and 
 drink with liim after he rose from 
 the dead. And he commanded us 
 to preach unto the people, and to 
 testify that it is lie which was or- 
 dained of God to be the Judge of 
 quick and dead. To iiim give all the 
 prophets witness, that through his 
 Name whosoever believeth in him 
 shall receive remission of sins. While 
 Peter yet spake these words, the 
 Holy Ghost fell on all them which 
 heard the word. And they of the 
 circumcision, which believed, were 
 astonished, as many as came with 
 Peter, because that on the Gentiles 
 also was poured out the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost. For they heard them 
 speak with tongues, and magnify 
 God. Then answered Peter, Can 
 any man forbid water, that these 
 sliould not be baptized, which have 
 received the Holy Ghost as well as 
 we ? And ho commanded them to 
 
 for the afternoon warns us, not to believe all teachers 
 who boast of the Spirit, but to try them by the rules of 
 the catholick faith. Whenlly. 
 
 ^ It should be observed from this narrative, that the 
 effusions of the Holy Spirit, liberal and glorious and 
 manifestly divine, as they were, in the apostolical age, 
 did not yet supersede the necessity of those sacraments, 
 which Christ had left, as ordinary marks and means of 
 conferring and expressing church-membership among 
 his followers. For what is St. Peter's inference from 
 these miraculous gifts ? Is it, that the persons on whom 
 they rested, had no need of baptism ? No : but that 
 these extraordinary gifts were an evidence, that God had 
 a favour for them, and saw their sincerity, and thus was 
 pleased to testify that they were fit objects for baptism. 
 Accordingly he took care, that they should immediately 
 be made disciples, who had this evidence of being be- 
 lievers before. " Can any man " (says he) " forbid water, 
 that these should not be baptized ? &c." Acts x. 47. So 
 far is the baptism of the Spirit, even where that is unde- 
 niable, from excluding the bajitism of water ; so far any 
 of the extraordinary methods of grace, from intending to 
 break in upon and overturn the regular establishments 
 and orders of the Church. And sure one cannot wish a 
 stronger proof, than the instance liefore us, that the out- 
 ward washing is not merely a figure, or representation, 
 of the inward in this sacrament ; but a rite of initiation, 
 and an essential part of the sacrament : and that the 
 graces of the Holy Spirit may be tlie fovmilation of a 
 just claim to bajitism ; but ne\-er (where that sacrament 
 can be had) a lawful dispensation to any man, for the 
 refusal or neglect of it. 
 
 ITie more usual course indeed is for those inward 
 effects to accompany, and the increase of them to follow 
 after, the use of the outward visible sign. Of this also 
 we have remai'kable instances in the book of xVcts. One 
 
 be baptized in tlie Name of the 
 Lord. 'I'lien prayed they him to 
 tarry certain days'*. 
 
 The (losjii'L St. John iii. 16. 
 
 O D so loved the world, that he 
 _ gave his only-begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth in him should 
 not perish, but have everlasting life. 
 For God sent not his Son into the 
 world to condemn the world, but 
 that the world through him might be 
 saved. He that believeth on him is 
 not condemned : but he that believ- 
 eth not is condemned already ; be- 
 cause he liath not believed in the 
 Name of the only-begotten Son of 
 God. And this is the condemnation, 
 that light is come into the world, 
 and men loved darkness rather than 
 light, because their deeds were evil. 
 For every one that doeth evil hateth 
 the liglit, neither cometh to the light, 
 lest his deeds should be reproved. 
 But lie that doeth truth cometh to 
 the light, that his deeds may be 
 made manifest, that they are wrought 
 in God'. 
 
 of which will be brought under consideration, by the 
 Scripture appointed for to-morrow's Epistle. Dean 
 Stimhope. 
 
 ' If the question be asked why many of those, to whom 
 the Gos])el of Christ is preached, reject and despise it, 
 though it be, as it is here described, " light come into 
 the world," the reason is here gi\en : " Because their 
 deeds are evil ;" " they love darkness rather than light, 
 because their deeds are e\'il." The course of men's lives 
 has a strange and strong influence upon their belief and 
 opinion of things, and evil practices do very much cor- 
 rupt and debauch good [jrinciijles. It is obvious to ob- 
 serve, that good uien, who lead holy and virtuous lives, 
 easily believe the truths of the Gospel, which they see 
 tend so much to the happiness of this life and the next; 
 they feel their minds inclined to receive Christ as the 
 Saviour of the world ; and both desire and delight in 
 the knowledge of his ways ; they choose light rather 
 than darkness, and prefer'knowledge before ignorance, 
 and that because their deeds are good ; they labour to 
 regulate their ])ractice by the rule of God's word, and, 
 instead of shutting then- eyes against the light, they 
 pray God to ojien them, that they may more clearly see 
 the wondrous things of his law. And thus an honest 
 mind leads them to the knowledge of divine truths. 
 Whereas bad men, on the other hand, who lead loose 
 and wicked lives, do all they can to extinguish the light 
 of truth, which shews them the error and danger of 
 their way, and would stop their career in wickedness : 
 for this reason they hate knowledge, and endeavour to 
 stifle and suppress the Ught of it fi-om shining into their 
 understandings, and that because their deeds are evil. 
 Their works being contrary to God's word, they care 
 not to receive or hearken to what makes against them, 
 but rather seek to put out that light, which they have no 
 mind to work or walk by. And therefore the Evan- 
 
 N
 
 178 
 
 TUESDAY IN WHITSUN WEEK. 
 
 Tuesday in Whitsun If'eck. 
 The Collect. 
 
 GO D, who as at this time didst 
 teach the hearts of thy faithful 
 people, by the sending- to tliem the 
 light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us 
 by the same Spirit to have a right 
 judgement in all things, and ever- 
 more to rejoice in his holy comfort ; 
 through the merits of Christ Jesus 
 our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth 
 with thee, in the unity of the same 
 Spirit, one God, world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Acts viii. 14. 
 HEN the Apostles, which 
 were at Jerusalem, heard 
 
 w 
 
 that Samaria had recei^•cd the word 
 of God, they sent unto them Peter 
 and John ; who, when they were 
 come down, prayed for them, that 
 they might receive the Holy Ghost : 
 (for as yet he was fallen upon none 
 of them ; only they were baptized in 
 the Name of the Lord Jesus.) Then 
 laid they their hands on them, and 
 they received the Holy Ghost™. 
 
 T'he Gospel. St. John x. 1. 
 
 VE R I LY, verily I say unto 
 you. He that eiitereth not by 
 the door into the sheep-fold, but 
 climbeth up some other way, the 
 same is a thief and a robber. But 
 he that entereth in by the door is the 
 
 gelist, in the next verse, adds, that " every one that 
 doeth evil hatetli the light, neither cometh to the light, ; 
 lest his deeds shoidd be reproved." There are some ' 
 sins so foul, as to shun all discovery, and to covet a 
 black veil of darkness, to hide their deformity. 'Iliere 
 are others attended with that shame and disgrace, as 
 not to be able to bear the light, and so are acted under 
 vizors and disguises, to avoid the reproach and cen- 
 sures of the world. Again there are others, so full of 
 mischief and danger both to body, soul, and goods, that 
 few care to own or be thought actors of them. And 
 generally all sorts of sinners seek secrecy, to conceal the 
 baseness and obliquity of their actions. " But he that 
 doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be 
 made manifest, that they are wrought in God." Where 
 by works of truth are meant \'irtuous and good works, 
 done in conformity to God's word, and the rules of right 
 reason. Such works do not decline, but desire the light ; 
 they come to it to be made manifest, and rather court 
 than tiy observation ; for these being wrought in (iod, 
 that is, according to his holy will, and by the direction 
 of his Holy Spirit, have the approbation of God and 
 conscience too : and the more they are exposed to light, 
 the more joy and comfort do they bring to them that do 
 them. Ur. Hole. 
 
 " 'llie passage, appointed for the Epistle of the day, 
 is generally understood as meant principally of the lay- 
 ing on of the hands in confirmation, reckoned among 
 the first jirinciples of the doctrine of Christ, common 
 to all Christians, Heb. vi. 2. The jiassage suggests to 
 our thoughts the following considerations. 
 
 1. It maybe observed, that confinnation in its nature 
 is the ratifying or confirming of the vow or promise 
 made in ba|)ti9m. This in ailult or grown jicrsons is 
 done soon after they arc baptized: as in these Samaritan 
 converts. Hut in children, wlio by the mercy of Christ 
 and the charity of the Church are admitted to baptism, 
 and are received into the Churrh on the engagements 
 of others, before they are capable of understanding 
 their duty, this is to he done when they come to years 
 of discretion : when, being arrived at some competent 
 knowledge of what has been undertaken for their 
 benefit in their behalf, they renew and ratify those 
 promises in their own persons ; and take upon them- 
 selves in their riper years, what by their sureties was 
 engageil for tliem in their infancy. 
 
 '2. The rite of confirmation was ever accompanied 
 with prayer and imposition of hands, 'lluis I'eter and 
 
 John " prayed for " the disciples in Samaria, " that 
 they might receive the Holy Ghost :" this is the ordi- 
 nary means of conveying divine grace, and is appointed 
 by God as the way for conferring his Holy Spirit, and 
 withal spiritual strength sufficient to enable us to per- 
 form the baptismal vow. And thus Peter and John 
 '■laid their hands on" the disciples, "and they re- 
 cei\ed the Holy Ghost." This custom, derived from 
 ancient times as a mode of conveying blessings, was 
 adopted in the Christian chm-ch, after the example of 
 our Saviour, who " laid on his hands," when He 
 "blessed the children that were brought unto him." 
 And his apostles and their successors have, by the 
 imjiosition of hands accompanying jirayer, confirmed 
 Christians from the earliest times. 
 
 3, As to the persons concerned in this rite; those, 
 who administer it ha\-e ever been the chief jiastors and 
 governours of the Church ; thus in this Einstle, when 
 Samaria had received the word of (iod and been bap- 
 tized by I'hilip, a deacon or inferior minister, Peter 
 and John were sent to administer confirmation to them. 
 And so it has been always adtninistered by the hands 
 of bishops, the successors of the a])0stlcs, as is well 
 known and attested through all ages of the Cluu-ch. 
 The persons, to whom it is administered, are all 
 baptized jiersons, competently instructed in the princi- 
 ])les of religion. Persons must first be received into 
 the (Church, before they can receive the blessings 
 promised and bestowed in it. And therefore the 
 Samaritans were baptized by Philij) the deacon, be- 
 fore they were confirmed by Peter and John the apos- 
 tles. And oiu' Church, by the warrant of this and 
 other examples, acts accordingly : taking care, that 
 children be jircpared bt'forchanil for confirmation by 
 being catechized, and so instructed in the nature of the 
 Christian covenant. 
 
 Lastly, the blessings. con\-eycd by confirmation, are 
 here intimated : "then laid they their hands upon them, 
 and they received the Holy Ghost;" wherel)y is meant 
 the participation of the gifts and graces of God's Holy 
 Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit are either extraor- 
 dinary and miraculous, as the gifts of tongues, of 
 miracles, and |)rophecy, and the like, given to tlie 
 njioslles and others in the beginning of Christianity, for 
 the planting and propai'ating of the (iosjiel; or com- 
 mon and ordinary, as the accpiircd knowlcilge of the 
 tongues, imjirovements in learning, skill in the arts and 
 sciences, and the like, which come from the same
 
 TRINITY SUNDAY. 
 
 179 
 
 slicpliprd of the slieep : to liiin tlio 
 porter opciietli ; and tlie sheep hear 
 his voice, and he calleth Ins own 
 sheep l)y name, and jeadetli tlieni 
 out. And, when he putteth forth 
 his own sheep, he goeth before 
 them, and the slieep follow him ; 
 for they know his voice. And a 
 stran|jjer will they not follow ; but 
 will flee from him; for they know 
 not the voice of strangers. This 
 ])arable spake Jesus unto them : but 
 they understood not what things 
 they were which he spake unto 
 them. Then said Jesus unto them 
 again ; Verily, verily I say unto 
 you, I am the door of the sheep. 
 
 Sjiirit, though not in the same extraordinary way, but 
 by means of study and diligence. And, though the 
 former ceased with the reason of them, yet the latter, 
 being of standing use in the Church, will be continued 
 to the world's end. But besides the gifts of the 
 Spirit, his graces are conferred in confirmation, by 
 prayer and imposition of hands ; as generally affu-med 
 by the Fathers. We read in Scripture of a " spirit of 
 wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and 
 might, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the 
 Lord." All which in the office of confirmation we are 
 directed to pray for : and which by a devout use of this 
 ordinance will be granted, so as to enable us to perform 
 our baptismal vow, and overcome our spiritual enemies. 
 
 All Christians' should therefore highly esteem and 
 value this sacred rite. Those, who are to give, shoidd 
 be ready duly to administer it ; and those, «ho are to 
 receive, should be carefully brought to it. Parents 
 should take care that their children be prepared by 
 catechizing and due instruction in the nature of the 
 office. Sponsors, who are bound to see them brought 
 to confirmation, should take care that it be properly 
 and effectually done. And all, who come to it, should 
 come so prepared, that they may receive the benefit of 
 it ; which is to fit them for the holy sacrament of the 
 Lord's Sujiper, and the fellowship of Christians here 
 upon earth, and to prepare them for the communion of 
 saints hereafter in heaven. Dr. Hole. 
 
 " In the circumstantial ])arts of the allegory con- 
 tained in the Gospel for the day, our Lord hath inti- 
 mated to us the qualifications of a good shepherd. That 
 he must be diligent thoroughly to know his flock, to 
 consider their several wants and infirmities, and ac- 
 commodate himself seasonably and jiroperly to each of 
 them ; which we may very well suppose implied, in 
 that e.vpression of "calling his own sheep by name." 
 'I'hat he must be careful not only to instruct, and e.\- 
 hort, and encourage them, by sound doctrine, and 
 seasonable admonitions, but also to guide and excite 
 them by the piety of his example ; for thus some have 
 understood " leading out his own sheep," and " going 
 before them." That his main view must he, the bene- 
 fit of his peojjle, the welfare and salvation of their 
 souls, the preserving of them from the rapine and 
 A'iolence of a foe, always ready to devour them : in a 
 word, he must esteem his own wealth and happiness to 
 consist chiefly in the bettering of their condition ; not 
 regarding the milk and the fleece only, nor undertaking 
 this charge only, or principally, for his own private ad- 
 vantage. All this may very well be understood by the 
 
 All that ever came Itefore mo are 
 thieves and robbers; but the sheep 
 (lid iu)t hear them. I ;iin the door ; 
 by me if any man enter in, he shall 
 be saved, and shall go in and out, 
 and find pasture. The thief Com- 
 eth not but for to steal, and to kill, 
 and to destroy : I am come that they 
 might have life, and that they might 
 have it more abundantly". 
 
 TRINITY SUNDAY". 
 
 The Collect. 
 A L MIGHTY and everlasting 
 J\ God, who hast given unto us 
 thy servants grace by the confession 
 
 lOth \-erse, " The thief cometh not but for to steal, 
 and to kill, and to destroy : I am come that they 
 might have life, and that they might have it more 
 abundantly." Once more ; he is such a one, as enters 
 u])on this office, by a regular call and mission, as let 
 into the fold by those, who are entrusted to kee|) the 
 door ; who, in the personal absence of the chief Shep- 
 herd have commission to act for and under Him : so 
 that what they do according to the powers received 
 from Him, He is esteemed the doer of; and all, whom 
 they employ, are owned as his servants and stewards. 
 These are only " shepherds, that enter by the door," 
 and to whom "the porter openeth ;" the rest "climb 
 up some other way." And such as do so, are here 
 declared by the Master of the flock to be no better than 
 " thieves and robbers." 
 
 Once again. As these parabolical expressions hint 
 the duties of the shepherd, so they do likewise those of 
 the sheep. Such are attention and diligence to get 
 instruction, application to their proper business, ad- 
 hering stedfastiy to their regular pastor, imitating the 
 good example he sets them, " enduring sound doc- 
 trine," not " having itching ears," nor " heaping to 
 themselves teachers," 2 Tim. iv. 3 ; but being con- 
 stantly upon their guard against all seducers, and 
 suspecting the wicked designs of any, who attem])t to 
 draw them off from a regular communion with him, 
 to whose care the laws of God and man have com- 
 mitted their souls. All which some interpreters ha\'e 
 collected from hence, that they are called the rightful 
 shepherd's " own sheep," that " they follow him," 
 because " they know his voice ;" that " a stranger 
 they will not follow, but will flee from him, for they 
 know not the voice of strangers," John x. 4, 5. 
 
 These remarks I the rather insist upon, because they 
 seem, at this time especially, pro])er considerations lioth 
 for priest and people. A fit introduction for the Ember 
 fast : as well for those, who are now about to be " or- 
 dained to any holy function ;" that they may learn from 
 hence the greatness of the obligation lying on them, 
 " both by their life and doctrine to set forth the glory 
 of God, and set forward the salvation of all men :" as 
 for them, to whom they shaU be sent ; that the)- may 
 take good heed to those means of edification and sal- 
 vation, which a faithful ministrj- ])uts into their hands, 
 that they may preserve the order and unity of the 
 Church, and at once secure the peace of the pubhck, 
 and that of their own consciences. Which God give 
 priest and jieople grace to do, for his sake, whose " pre- 
 cious blood " was shed to " purchase " to his Father 
 N2
 
 180 
 
 TRINITY SUNDAY. 
 
 2TLm. ii. 25. of a true faith to acknowledge the 
 
 glory of the eternal Trinity, and in 
 
 the power of the Divine Majesty to 
 
 worsliip the Unity P; We beseech 
 
 thee, that thou wouldest keep us 
 
 Lukexxii. stedfast in this faith, and evermore 
 
 I'pet. V. 9. defend us from all adversities, who 
 
 Ps. xciv. 12, Jiyggf ai)(i reignest, one God, world 
 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Rev. iv. 1. 
 
 AFTER this I looked, and be- 
 hold, a door was opened in 
 heaven : and the first voice which 
 I heard was as it were of a trum- 
 
 " an universal" church, "Jesus Christ oiu* Lord." 
 Amen. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ° Trinity Sunday^ The solemn festivals, which in the 
 foregoing parts of our annual service have projjounded 
 to our consideration the mysterious work of man's re- 
 demption, and the several steps taken to accomplish it, 
 naturally k-ad us up to, and at last conclude with, that 
 of the present daj'. The incarnation and nativity, the 
 passion and resurrection of the hlessed Jesus, demon- 
 strate how great things the " Son" of God hath con- 
 descended to do for us. 'ITie miraculous jiowers, with 
 which the first disciples were endued, and the sanctify- 
 ing graces, with which all the faithful are assisted, do 
 prove, how great, and liow necessary a part the " Holy 
 Spirit" bore in this work, both for publishing the sal- 
 vation of the world, and for rendering it effectual. And 
 all agree in representing to us the inestimable love of 
 the " Father," by whom that " Son" was sent, and 
 that " Spirit" so wonderfully and so jjlentifuUy shed 
 abroad. Most justly, therefore, after such informa- 
 tions, how fit a subject this is for our wonder and 
 adoration, does the Church to-day call upon us to 
 celebrate the mystery of those " three" Persons in tlie 
 imity of the Godhead; each of whom hath so kindly, 
 and so largely, contributed to this united and stujicnd- 
 ous act of mercy, upim wliich the whole of all oiu' hopes 
 and hap])iness depends. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 >.'otwith.standing on each day, and especially Sundays, 
 the Church celebrates the praises of the Trinity, in her 
 doxologies, hymns, creeds, &c. ; yet the wisdom of tlio 
 Church thought it meet, tliat such a mystery as this, 
 though ])art of the meditation of each day, should bi) 
 the chief subject of one, and this to be tlie day. For 
 no sooner had our Lord ascended into heaven, and 
 (jod's Holy Spirit descended upon the Church ; but 
 there en.sucd the notice of the glorious and incomjire- 
 hensible 'I'rinity, which Iiefore that time was not so 
 clearly known. The Cluu-cli tlicreforc, liaving solem- 
 nized in an excellent order all the high feasts of our 
 Lord, and, after, that of the descent of God's Spirit 
 upon the apostles ; thought it a thing most seasonable, 
 to conclude these great solemnities with a festival of 
 full, special, and express senice to the holy ami blessed 
 Trinity. Ii/). Sparrow. 
 
 This mystery was not clearly delivered to the Jews, 
 because they, being always surroimded by idolatrous 
 nations, would have easily mistaken it for a doctrine of 
 jdurality of (iods ; but yet it was not so much hiililcn 
 in those times, but that atiy one with a spiritual eye 
 might have discerned some glimmerings of it dispersed 
 through the Old Testament. The first chapter in the 
 Bible seems to set forth three Persons in the Godhead ; 
 
 pet talking with me ; which said. 
 Come up hither, and I will shew 
 thee things which must be here- 
 after. And immediately I was in the 
 Spirit ; and behold, a throne was 
 set in heaven, and one sat on the 
 throne: and he that sat was to look 
 upon like a jasper and a sardine 
 stone : and there was a rainbow 
 round about the throne, in sight 
 like unto an emerald. And round 
 about the throne were four and 
 twenty seats ; and upon the seats 
 I saw four and twenty elders sitting, 
 clothed in white raiment; and they 
 
 for, besides the " Spirit of God'" which " moved upon 
 the waters," ver. 2, we find the great Creator (at the 
 •2Gth verse) consulting with others about the greatest 
 work of his creation, the making of man, of which we 
 may be assured the Word or Son of God was one, since 
 " all things were made by him, and without him was 
 not anj' thing made that was made." So that those 
 two verses fully jjointing out to us the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost, make this a very proper lesson for 
 the solemnity of the day. The reason of the choice 
 of the other first lesson is as obvious : it records the 
 appearance of the great Jeuov.^u to .\braham, whom 
 the patriarch acknowledges to be the " Judge of all the 
 earth ;" and who therefore, by vouchsafing to appeal- 
 with two others in his company, might design to repre- 
 sent to Him the " Trinity of Persons." But this sacred 
 mystery is no where so jilainly manifested as in the 
 second lesson for the morning, which at one and the 
 same time relates the bajitism of the Son, the voice of 
 the Father, and the descent of the Holy Ghost : which 
 though they are (as ajipears from this chapter) three 
 distinct Persons in number, yet the second lesson at 
 evening shews they are but one in essence. Wheally. 
 
 The E])istlo and the Gosjiel are the same that were 
 anciently assigned for the Octave of Pentecost ; the 
 Epistle being the vision of St. John, Rev. iv; and the 
 Gospel the dialogue of our Lord with Nicodemus ; and 
 the mention, which we find therein, of Ijajitism, of the 
 Holy Spirit and the gifts of it, though it might then fit 
 the day as a repetition, as it were, of Pentecost, so it is 
 no less fit for it, as a feast to the blessed Trinity. The 
 mission of the Holy Ghost brings with it as aforesaid, 
 more light and clearness to the doctrine of the Trinity : 
 and when more fit to think of the gifts of the Spirit, 
 than on a solemn day of ordination, as this is one, 
 when men are consecrated to spiritual offices? But 
 besides this, we have in the (jos])c1 set before us, all 
 the Three Persons of the sacred Trinity, and the same 
 likewise represented in the vision, which the Kpistle 
 speaks of, witli an hymn of praise, " Holy, holy, holy. 
 Lord (jod .\linighty, dtc. :" which expressions, by an- 
 cient interpretation, relate to tlie holy Trinity, as is 
 above said. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 r — and in the pou'er of the Diriv Majesty to worship 
 the Unity .-"l 'J'hese words are rendered rather obscure 
 by too close an adherence to the order of the Latin. 
 I'hey are to be understood as if they were placed thus: 
 " and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine 
 Majesty;" lluit is, to worship the unity I'f I'ersons, or 
 the tlii-ec IVrsons which are united, in the power of the 
 Divine Majesty, as having one and the same infinite 
 power common to them all. l)r. licnmt.
 
 TRINITY SUNDAY. 
 
 181 
 
 liad on their lieads crowns of gold : 
 And out of tlie tlirone proceeded 
 lightnings, and thiinderiiigs, and 
 voices. And there were seven lamps 
 of fire, burning l)efore the tlirone, 
 which are the seven spirits of God. 
 And before the throne there was a 
 sea of glass like unto crystal : and in 
 the midst of the throne, and round 
 about the throne, were four beasts 
 full of eyes before and behind. And 
 the first beast was like a lion, and the 
 second beast like a calf, and the 
 third beast had a face as a man, 
 and the fourth beast was like a 
 flying eagle. And the four beasts 
 had each of them six wings about 
 him ; and they were full of eyes 
 witliin : and they rest not day and 
 night, saying. Holy, holy, holy. 
 Lord God Almighty, which was, and 
 is, and is to come. And when those 
 beasts give glory, and honour, and 
 thanks, to him that sat on the throne, 
 who liveth for ever and ever, the 
 four and twenty elders fall down 
 before him that sat on tlie throne, 
 and worship him that liveth for ever 
 and ever, and cast their crowns before 
 the throne, saying. Thou art worthy, 
 O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, 
 and power ; for thou hast created all 
 things, and for thy pleasure they are 
 and were created i. 
 
 Till' Gospel. St. John iii. 1. 
 
 THERE was a man of the 
 Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a 
 ruler of the Jews : the same came 
 to Jesus by night, and said unto 
 him. Rabbi, we know that thou art 
 a teacher come from God : for no 
 man can do these miracles that 
 
 1 For remarks on the Epistle, the reader is referred 
 to the comment following the Gospel. 
 
 ' To such an instance of jiiety and devotion, as the 
 Church manifests in this day's solemnity, we are ex- 
 cited, first, by the portion of Scripture appointed for 
 the Epistle ; wherein the angels and blessed spirits, 
 which pay their constant attendance about the throne 
 of the Majesty on high, are represented to St. John, as 
 with most awfid and ]n'ofouml reverence acknowledg- 
 ing and worshipping the three holies, which are one 
 eternal and almighty God. A tit example for the 
 Church militant on earth to follow ; because, in so 
 doing, they do not only copy after, but, as it were, an- 
 ticipate the constant employment of the Chiu'ch tri- 
 umphant in heaven. 
 
 To the contemplation of this mystery we are likewise 
 invited by the Gospel for this day. In which is made 
 express and distinct mention, of God the Father, ver. 
 2 ; by whose power and immediate presence with Jesus, 
 
 thou doest, except God be with him. 
 Jesus answered and said unto him, 
 Verily, verily I say unto thee, E.x- 
 cept a man be born again, he cainiot 
 see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus 
 saith unto him. How can a man be 
 born when he is old ? can he enter 
 the second time into his mother's 
 womb, and be born ? Jesus answered, 
 Verily, verily 1 say unto thee, E.x- 
 cept a man be born of water, and of 
 the Spirit, he cannot enter into the 
 Kingdom of God. That which is 
 born of the flesh is flesh ; and that 
 which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 
 Marvel not that 1 said unto thee, Ye 
 must be born again. The wind 
 l)loweth where it listeth, and thou 
 hearest the sound thereof, but canst 
 not tell whence it cometh, and whither 
 it goeth ; so is every one that is 
 l)orn of the Spirit. Nicodemus an- 
 swered and said unto him. How can 
 these things be ? Jesus answered 
 and said imto liim, Art thou a mas- 
 ter of Israel, and knowest not these 
 things ? Verily, verily I say unto 
 thee. We s])eak that we do know, 
 and testify that we have seen; and 
 ye receive not our witness. If I 
 have told you earthly things, and 
 ye believe not; how shall ye believe, 
 if I tell you of heavenly things? 
 And no man hath ascended up to 
 heaven, but he that came down from 
 heaven, even the Son of man who 
 is in heaven. And as Moses lifted 
 up the serpent in the wilderness, 
 even so must the Son of man be 
 lifted up: that whosoever believeth 
 in him should not perish, but have 
 eternal life^ 
 
 the miracles attesting to his divine authority were 
 wTOught : of God the Son, who declares Himself to 
 have come down from heaven, ver. 1 3, and even to be 
 in heaven at the instant of conversing with Nicodemus 
 upon earth, ver. 5, 6 : and of that Holy Spirit, whose 
 prolifick operation upon the waters of baptism effecta 
 the new and spiritual, as of old it did the natural, crea- 
 tion, when moving upon the face of the yet unformed 
 dee]), ver. 7, 8 : and whose sanctifying graces act pow- 
 erfully, though often undiscernibly, in changing the 
 minds of men. 
 
 But as the blessed spirits above are our pattern for 
 acknowledging this mysterious truth, so are they for 
 the manner of contemplating it. Like them, we should 
 fall down before the throne, and with humble wonder 
 adore a dejjth which we cannot penetrate. In regard, 
 therefore, this is a doctrine entu-ely owing to divine 
 revelation, the safest and most becoming method of 
 treating it will be, to shew those intimations thought to
 
 182 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 Ps. xlvi. 1 
 x.xxiv. 22 ; 
 xxvii. I. 
 2 Kings svii 
 
 20. 
 
 The first Sunday^ after Trinity^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 OGod, the strength of all them 
 tliat put their trust in thee, 
 
 be given of it under the Old Testament, and then the 
 clearer discoveries made of it in the New. From both 
 which, it will afterwards be natural and easy to infer 
 the reasonableness of embracing it, as a necessary arti- 
 cle of faith. 
 
 1. The intimations, supposed to be given of this doc- 
 trine under the Old Testament, are such as follow : 
 
 The frequent mention of God, by a name in the plu- 
 ral number with a verb singular. Of which some 
 learned Jews observe, that it is a warning not to be- 
 lieve more Gods than one : and yet at the same time 
 they confess, that, were it not thus wTitten, it could 
 not be lawful for men to express themselves after that 
 manner. The consequence, they apprehend from hence, 
 holds indeed against a plurality of Gods, but is of no 
 weight at all against a plurality of Persons in one only 
 true God. 
 
 The several texts wherein God speaks, as it were in 
 considtation and concert, " Let us make man in our 
 own image after om* likeness ; The man is become as 
 one of us : Let us go down and confound their s])eech : 
 Whom shall I send, and who shall go for us?" and 
 the like. Gen. i. 20 ; iii. 22 ; xi. 7 ; Isa. vi. S. 
 
 The passages, which name God as sustaining several 
 capacities, in one and the same sentence. Such is that 
 by which our Sanour gravelled the scribes and Phari- 
 sees, " The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my 
 right hand," Ps. ex. 1 ; Matt. xxii. 42, &c. ; and that 
 other, which makes use of the name Jehovah twice, (a 
 name acknowledged incommimicable to any but the 
 true God,) where we read that " the Lord rained down 
 fire upon Sodom from the Lord out of heaven," Gen. 
 xix. 24. 
 
 Such intimations in particular manner are those 
 [jlaces, where the name of God, or any of his attributes, 
 are thrice repeated ; of which kind have been reckoned 
 by some, Deut. vi. 4 ; Ps. Ixvii. G, 7 ; Jer. xxxiii. 2 ; 
 Uan. ix. 19. And especially that hymn of praise in 
 Isa. vi ; repeated in the Epistle for this day, and taken 
 into the daily services of the Christian church. (See 
 page 23, note u.) But these I choose to term intima- 
 tions ; and I am content to lay but little weight upon 
 them, in a point of doctrine so much more manifestly 
 asserted in the (iospel, as generally to be allowed a 
 distinction peculiar to Christians. Let us observe 
 therefore, in the 
 
 2, Second place. What those clear discoveries of this 
 matter are, which have been made to us under the New 
 'J'estament. 
 
 In this argument I am to a considerable degree pre- 
 vented, by having had occasion heretofore to iiroduce 
 several passages, which not only speak of God the Fa- 
 ther, (concerning whom there is in the present question 
 no dispute at all,) but of the Son, and Holy Spirit also, 
 in the same form of speech as of the Father. In such 
 terms, I mean, an<l with such titles, and with those 
 properties and jicrfec^tions expres.sly attributed to them, 
 as were most false, al)surd, and impious, if applied to 
 any other, than to the true (iod only. 
 
 lleferring my reader l)ack to those endenccs, that 
 dach of these Persons liy Himself is God and Lord, I 
 shall at present confine myself to some places, which 
 rncntirm all three, with such notes of distinction, as are 
 a sullicient inili<'ation, that they cannot be God, in one 
 person only. That the blessed Virgin should become 
 
 mercifully accept our prayers ; and ^*i','',''xVi''3 
 because through the weakness of our Man. xxvi. 
 mortal nature we can do no good 2 cor. iii. 5. 
 thing without thee, grant us the help K^m.'vli'.^' 
 of thy grace, that in keeping: of thy \^,.-,h ,, 
 
 •' o ^ r o w Phil IV. 13. 
 
 a mother, without any concurrence of man, is thus 
 foretold by the angel, " The Holy Ghost shall come 
 upon thee, and the i)ower of the Highest shall over- 
 shadow thee ! therefore also that holy ITiing which 
 shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God," 
 Luke i. 35. Here are plainly distinguished from each 
 other, the " Holy Ghost," or "power" overshadowing ; 
 the "Highest," whose "'power" that Spirit is; and 
 the " holy Thing," or Person, who, because born of a 
 mother impregnated by that power divine, had upon 
 this account a right to be " called the Son of God." 
 
 At our blessed Lord's baptism, " the Spirit of God," 
 we read, " descended like a dove, and rested upon 
 him," and "a voice from heaven" declared Him to be 
 " the beloved Son of God," Matt. iii. IG, 17; Luke iii. 
 21, 22; John i. 32, 33. Xow what can be plainer, 
 than the distinction here, between the "Spirit" de- 
 scending and resting, the " Father," whose voice pro- 
 nounced "Jesus" his Son, and that "Son" Himself, 
 whom this "Spirit" rested upon, and this voice bore 
 testimony to ? 
 
 The same is to be said of those texts in St. John's 
 Gospel, wliich we have lately had occasion to consider : 
 " I will i)ray the Father, and he shall give you another 
 Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, even 
 the Spirit of truth," John xiv. IG. 26. And, "When 
 the Comforter is come, whom I will send imto you 
 fi-om the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which pro- 
 ceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me," xv. 
 26. Here are manifestly acts, and persons, and caiia- 
 cities different ; the " Father," from whom the " Spirit" 
 proceeds, whom the Son prays, and by whom, at the 
 "Son's" request, that " Comforter" was given. 'Ilie 
 " Son " praying the " Father," sending the " Comforter" 
 from the "Father," and testified of by the " Spirit" so 
 sent. .\nd the " Spirit" prayed for, given by the " Fa- 
 ther," sent from the " Father" by the " Son," testifying 
 of the "Son," and "abiding" for ever with those dis- 
 ciples, from whom the " Son" had departed. 
 
 Again, " If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus 
 from the dead d«ell in you, he, that raised up Christ 
 from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies by 
 his- Spirit that dwclleth in you," Horn. viii. 11. St. 
 Paul, in this jilacc, does evidently refer to Jesus the 
 " Son " of (iod raised from the dead ; to the " Spirit" 
 of God, by which He was raised; and to Him, that 
 raised Jesus, and shall raise all, in whom that " Spirit" 
 dwells, because it is his " Spirit." 
 
 In the name of these three Persons all nations are 
 to lie bajitized, as the staiuling form and method of 
 making men Christ's disciples. Matt, xxviii. 19. In 
 the name of these three those disciples are solemnly 
 blessed : and oiu' congregations, who were first ad- 
 mitted Clu-istians, by being " liaptized in the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy (ihost," 
 have all the privileges of that chiiracter implored for 
 them by that benediction, with which they are daily dis- 
 missed, " 'i'he grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the 
 love of (iod, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be 
 with us all evermore," 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 
 
 Meanwhile I must not omit to observe, that the 
 Scriptures, which are so clear in the Trinity of Persons, 
 are not in any point whatsoever more express, tlian in 
 the luiity of the (iodliead. Hence we so often read of 
 " one Lord, one God," and " none other but he," who
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 183 
 
 llcli. xiii. 
 20,21. 
 
 commanclments we may please thee, 
 both in will and tleed ; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 is therefore styled the " only tnie God," Deut. vi. 4 ; 
 Mark xii. 32 ; John xvii. 3. That although to the 
 heathen there "are that are called gods many, and 
 lords many;" yet "tons" Christians "there is hut one 
 (iod, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in 
 him ; and one Lord Jesus Christ, hy whom are all 
 things, and wc hy him," 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6. That we 
 are indeed hajitized in the name of "three," hut still 
 taught, and bounri to profess " one Lord," and " one 
 God," as well as "one faith" and "one baptism," 
 Eph. iv. 5. In all which, another apostle assures us, 
 there is no absurdity or inconsistence, hy aflh-ming, 
 that " there be three that bear record in hea\-en, the 
 Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and" that 
 " these three are one," 1 John v. 7. And what greater 
 ]iroof can be reasonably demanded, for a doctrine of so 
 abstruse a nature, so remote from our conception, so 
 much above our comprehension, than that "three" 
 Persons should be mentioned in Scriptiu'e (the only 
 source of supernatural knowledge) in terms proper to 
 God alone ; that each should have perfections attributed 
 to Him, which are visibly peculiar to God alone; and 
 yet all this is done so, as, from more Persons in the 
 Godhead, to leave no umbrage for inferences, against 
 the unity of that Godhead notwithstanding. 
 
 This indeed is a point necessary to be guarded, be- 
 cause leaving it liable to just objection had defeated 
 one great end of Scripture. For the Old Testament 
 was intended to bring off the Jews, and the New to 
 deliver the Gentiles, from idolatry. And that idolatry 
 did consist in worshipjjing them which " by nature are 
 no gods," not instead of, or exclusive to, but besides 
 and together with, the one supreme and true God. So 
 that, had not the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, been 
 the one suiireme and true God ; those Scri])tures, which 
 so frequently, so solemnly, so industriously, and so 
 plainly, give to the Son and Holy Spirit the names and 
 titles, the projierties and honours, given to the Father, 
 had taken the ready and most effectual coiu'se for esta- 
 blishing and propagating that very idolatry, which they 
 were designed to suppress and utterly abolish. An 
 absurdity, which no writers of common sense and pru- 
 dence, much less they that wrote by divine insphation, 
 can be supposed to be guilty of. 
 
 ITiis likewise shews, that there can be no need of 
 the many little shifts, to which some interpreters have 
 had recourse, for avoiding the plain and literal con- 
 structions of the texts alleged in defence of this doctrine. 
 All danger, jjossible to arise from such construction, 
 being sufficiently provided against by the many Mhev 
 texts, which inculcate the unity of the Godhead. And the 
 niceties, by which they labour to turn oif those which 
 assert more divine Persons than one, being too subtle for 
 the generality of people to be masters of, to whom the 
 Scripture was meant for a rule. Men, I concei\'e, may 
 be much more easily brought to understand the consist- 
 ence of the word of God with itself in this matter, than 
 to be satisfied in the evasions and artifices, by which a 
 meaning is fastened upon it, so foreign from that common 
 and natural one, which the expressions evidently carry. 
 
 Nor, lastly, does it appear that our reason is affronted 
 by any contradiction in this doctrine. For these per- 
 sons are no where affirmed to be three and one in the 
 same respect ; but one in substance, and three in the 
 different manner of having and communicating that 
 substance. One in all perfections essential to the God- 
 head ; three in their mutual relations and capacities. 
 
 71ie Epistle. I St. John iv. 7. 
 K LOVED, let us love one 
 another : for love is of God, 
 
 Thus much is revealed ; and more than is revealed of 
 this matter we cannot know. So much as is revealed wo 
 have reason ujion that account to believe ; but the main 
 difficulties, commonly objected in this case, will, when 
 strictly considered, be found to lie, not so much against 
 " that which is written," as against the notions of Ijold 
 and fanciful men ; who, not content to " be wise accord- 
 ing to that which is written," will needs obtrude ujion 
 the world systems of their own, and undertake to ex- 
 jilain what they do not understand. Nor is the use 
 of reason, within its pro]ier sphere, at all infringed by 
 this belief. For, by submitting to things above it which 
 we cannot comprehend, it does not give up its right ; 
 nor enslave us to tlie degree of believing contrary to our 
 reason, in things witliin our level, which we may and do 
 comprehend. 
 
 Since then Scripture is clear in the truth of this 
 mystery, and reason cannot gainsay it : since this belief 
 is the distinguishing character of Christians, and the 
 ])rofession of it a necessary antecedent condition of our 
 heing such ; since we have devoted ourseh'es in baptism, 
 and there promised constant homage, and obedience, 
 and adoration, to the Trinity in unity : let us, in all 
 humility and reverence, agree with "angels," and all 
 the "heavenly powers," with "cherubim" and "se- 
 raphim," with "apostles" and " prophets," and " mar- 
 tyrs," and with " the holy Church throughout all the 
 world," in " praising" and " acknowledging" this "holy, 
 holy, holy. Lord God of Sabaoth." Even " the Father 
 of an infinite Majesty, his honourable, true, and only 
 Son," and "also the Holy Ghost the Comforter;" 
 li\'ing and reigning one God world without end. Amen. 
 Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' — after Trinity.'] The Church hath now finished the 
 celebration of the high festi\-als, and thereby run, as it 
 were, through a great part of the Creed, by setting before 
 us, in an orderly manner, the highest mysteries of our 
 redemption by Christ on earth, till the day He was taken 
 up into heaven, with the sending down of the Holy 
 Ghost at Pentecost. Now after she hath, in consequence 
 and reflection upon these mysteries, broke out into a 
 more solemn and special adoration of the blessed Trinity; 
 she comes, according to her method, in the intervals of 
 great feasts, to use such Epistles, Gospels, and Collects, 
 as suit with her holy affections and aims at this season. 
 Such, namely, as tend to our edifying,andbeing the hving 
 temples of the Holy Ghost our Comforter, with his gifts 
 and graces ; that, having oil in our lamjis, «e may be in 
 better readiness to meet the Bridegroom at his second 
 advent or coming to juilgment. And this is done in the 
 remaining Sundays, till Advent ; which in their services 
 are, as it were, so many echoes and reflections upon the 
 mystery of Pentecost, the life of the Spirit, or as trum- 
 peters for preparation to meet our Lord at his second 
 coming. Which will be more manifest, if we take a 
 general view of the Gospels together, and afterwards of 
 the Epistles and Collects. 
 
 The Gospels for this time, according to the method 
 which hath before been declared, are of the holy doc- 
 trine, deeds, and miracles of our Saviom- ; and so may 
 singularly conduce to making us good Christians, by 
 being followers of Christ, and replenished with tlmt 
 Spirit, which He both promised and sent, and for which 
 the Church lately kejit so great a solemnity : for to 
 be charitable, heavenly-minded, repentant, merciful, 
 humble, peaceable, religious, compassionate, and thank- 
 ful; to trust in God, and abound with such spiritual
 
 184 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 and every one that lovetli is born I for God is love. In this was ma- 
 of God, and knowetli God. He 1 nifested tlie love of God towards us, 
 that loveth not knoweth not God ; because that God sent his only- 
 
 qualities, are the lessons taught us by our Lord in these 
 Uosjiels ; and that not only by word and deed, but many 
 miracles also ; for diverse Gospels are of such, and tend 
 much to our edifying. From his healing of the sick, 
 and going about doing good, we may learn, to employ 
 that power and ability we have, in works of mercy and 
 goodness. He that raised the dead, and did such 
 mighty works, can be no other, we may be sure, than 
 God and man, the Saviour of tiie world, able to protect 
 us even against death itself, to raise oiu' bodies from the 
 dust, and glorify them hereafter. 
 
 Thus we have in general the intent of these Gospels, 
 as may easily appear by particular observations ; and 
 withal, how pertinent they are to the time. And with ; 
 them the Church concludes her annual course of such 
 readings ; having thereby given us, and in such time 
 and order, as are most apt to make deep impression, the 
 chief matter and substance of the four Evangelists. 
 
 In the Epistles for this time there is an harmony with 
 the Gospels; but not so much (as some have thought) 
 in their joint jjropounding of particular considerations, 
 and those several and distinct, as the days they belong 
 to ; for that belongs to more special solemnities ; but 
 rather, as they meet all in the common stream, the ge- 
 neral meditation and affection of the season. 
 
 We may therefore observe, that, as all the Gospels for 
 Sundays, since Easter- day hitherto, are taken out of the 
 beloved disciple St. John, «'ho therein gives us many of 
 the last and most tender and affectionate words of our 
 dear Lord, before his passion and ascension, his promising 
 of a Comforter, bidding them not fear, bequeathing his 
 peace to them, and the like : so now the two first 
 Epistles are taken and most fitly, out of the same 
 apostle, who therein minds us with much earnest affec- 
 tion, of that Spirit which our Lord promised for our 
 Comforter, and of the great effect and sign of it, " the 
 love of one another. If," saith he, " we love one ano- 
 ther, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfect in us : 
 hereby know we, that we dwell in him, and he in us, 
 because he hath given us of his Spirit." And the Epistle 
 for the second Sunday exhorteth us in like manner, "to 
 love one another as he gave commandment, and he that 
 kccpeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in 
 him ; and hereby we know that he abideth in us, even 
 by the Spirit which he hath given us." In the Epistle 
 for the third Sunday, we are put in mind by St. Peter, 
 of submission and being humble ; for God gives grace 
 to such ; of soliriety, watching, faith, and patience in 
 affliction, with an exhortation " to cast our care upon 
 God, who cares for us, and shall perfect, settle, strengthen, 
 and stal)lish us ;" which is according to what Christ 
 said, " that he would not leave us comfortless." The 
 fourth Epistle is out of Rom. viii, and is a comfort 
 against alllictions, " as not wortliy of that glory, which 
 shall be shewn upon us;" jirovided we be such as they 
 whom the apostle there sjieaks of, " wlio had received 
 the Krst-fruits of the Spirit." Tlic ICpistle for the lifth, 
 being taken out of St. I'eter, exhorts us to love, peace, 
 innocence, and such spiritual alfections; and if any 
 trouble us, " not to be afraid," but to " sanctify the Lord 
 (iod in our hearts." The rest of the l'',pistl(S, for all 
 the ilays following, relate nuidi to the same business, 
 as newness of life, and all the fruits and gifts of (ioil's 
 Holy Spirit; as a parlicular insight will solliciently 
 manifest. lUit being not the flr.st that are used in this 
 season, they seem to have been chosen with more in- 
 dilferency ; for they are taken out of St. Paul, and keep 
 
 the very order of his Epistles, and the place they have 
 in each Epistle. For of them, the first are out of the 
 Epistle to the Romans, and so in order : the next out 
 of the Epistles to the Corinthians, the first and second, 
 Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians ; for 
 so far the order reacheth, till the time of Advent. Only 
 two of the Sundays, the eighteenth and twenty-fifth do 
 vary from this method in the choice of their Epistles ; 
 and there is reason for both. 
 
 The Collects remain to be now spoken of: and they, 
 in the same manner with the Epistles and Gospels, have 
 a general congruity with the affection of the season. For 
 as faith, hope, and charity, the graces and gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost, are tlie general subject, more or less, of 
 these Epistles, and the same taught, exemplified, and 
 confirmed in the Gospels ; so are these Collects certain 
 general invocations upon God, for the assistance of his 
 Holy Spirit, and bringing forth the fruits of it, and con- 
 sist usually of a most humble acknowledgment, and a 
 petition suitable, as was above declared. 
 
 .\nd as we have taken before a brief view of the 
 piotis sense and spirit of these acknowledgments, so it 
 will not be amiss to do the same here concerning the 
 petitions ; which in each Collect are some or other of 
 these following, or such like : " That God would be 
 pleased to jjrevent and follow us always with his grace, 
 and with his mercy in all things direct and rule oiu' 
 hearts ; to stir \qj our wills, jiour into our hearts, and 
 graft in them the love of liis holy name, make us to 
 have a perpetual fear and love of it, to ask such things 
 as shall please Him, to have the Spirit, to think and 
 do always such things as be rightful, and to jilease 
 Him both in will and deed ; that He would increase, 
 nourish, keep us in true religicm and all goodness, give 
 unto us the increase of faith, hope, ami charity, that we 
 may live according to his will, with jnire and free hearts 
 follow Him, accomplish those things He would have 
 done, and may be cleansed, assoyled, delivered from all 
 our offences, have pardon, peace, protection, and de- 
 fence, may |)lentifully bring forth the fruits of good 
 works, and by Him be plenteously rewarded, and ob- 
 tain his promises, which exceed all that we can desire." 
 Such requests as these, besides some others, " that God 
 wotdd hear the prayers of the people," are by the 
 priest presented to God ; fit for the Church's medi- 
 tations at this time after Pentecost : and not unfitly 
 following the lessons, the decalogue, and the following 
 supplications of the people, as the jiropcr place of Col- 
 lects : being all of them | though in several branches 
 and expressions! in effect thus much : that by the mer- 
 ciful grace, inspiratiim, defence, and protection of God 
 Almighty, we maybe cleansed from our sins, may obey 
 his commandments, may live as Christians ought, not 
 after the Hesh, but after the S|iirit, and so be fitter to 
 meet our blessed Lord, at his second ad\'ent to judge 
 the world. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 ' 'I'hc _fir.it Sunday after Trwili/~\ The Collect for 
 this day teaches us to beg of God the acceptance of our 
 prayers, and the assistance of our infirmities, that by 
 keeping his commandments we may j.lcasc Him both 
 in will and deed. The l'',pistle mentions and insists 
 upon the great commandment of love, which is indeed 
 the sum of all the commandments, and the keeping of 
 which is therefore styled "(he fullllling of the law." 
 The (iospel sets forth the extreme danger of neglecting 
 this duty, or casting it off by hardheartedness and in- 
 humanity. Dr. Hole.
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 1^ 
 
 I)egotten Son into the world, that 
 \vi> inii^lit live thruuiih him. Herein 
 is love, not that we loved God, 
 init that he loved ns, and sent his 
 Son to he the pro])itiation for our 
 sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, 
 we ought also to love one another. 
 No man hath seen God at any 
 time. If we love one another, God 
 dwelleth in ns, and his love is ])er- 
 fected in us. Hereby know we that 
 we dwell in him, and he in us; 
 because he hath given us of his 
 Spirit. And we have seen, and do 
 testify, that the Father sent the Son 
 to be the Saviour of the world. 
 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus 
 is the Son of God, God dwelleth 
 in him, and he in God. And we 
 have known and believed the love 
 that God hatli to us. God is love; 
 and he that dwelleth in love dwell- 
 eth in God, and God in him. Here- 
 in is our love made perfect, that 
 we may have boldness in the day 
 of judgement; because as he is so 
 are we in this world. There is no 
 fear in love ; but perfect love casteth 
 out fear; because fear hath tor- 
 ment : He that feareth is not made 
 perfect in love. We love him, be- 
 cause he first loved us. If a man 
 say, I love God, and hateth his 
 brother, he is a liar: for he that 
 loveth not his brother, whom he 
 hath seen, how can he love God, 
 whom he hath not seen ? And this 
 
 " There is singular force in the expression, employed 
 by the apostle in this passage, when he says, that 
 "God is love." He does not say, that God is benevo- 
 lent, or kind, or merciful, or compassionate, or affection- 
 ate : he does not say, that God is a being of infinite 
 goodness, or mercy, or loving-l<in(lness. But, as if he 
 intended to magnify above measure this most adorable 
 of the divine attributes, he pronounces Him to be the 
 quality in the abstract, and thus, as it were, identifies 
 the Godhead with love. Of that perfect Being indeed, 
 who declares of Himself "I am that I am," and who 
 describes " I am" as his characteristick appellation, 
 Exod. iii. 14; the same might equally well be affirmed 
 with respect to his other projierties. It might as well 
 he affirmed concerning Him, that He is power, or holi- 
 ness, or \visdom, or justice, or any other jn-operty, the 
 effects of which are displayed in his operations. But 
 I do not remember, that this form of expression is 
 employed by any of the sacred writers, in so pointed a 
 manner, as by St. John in the text : where a special 
 mark of distinction appears to be set on that quality of 
 God, which the Holy Spirit describes as having actuated 
 Him in the redemption of mankind. 
 
 The moral perfections of the Deity are, in our con- 
 tracted sphere, and to the extent of our capacities, the 
 
 commandment have we from him. 
 That he who loveth God love his 
 brother also". 
 
 T 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke xvi. 10. 
 
 "Ill E R E was a certain rich man, 
 
 which was clothed in purple, 
 
 and fine linen, and fared sumptuously 
 every day. And there was a certain 
 beggar named Lazarus, which was 
 laid at liis gate full of sores, and 
 desiring to be fed with the crinnbs, 
 which fell from the ricli man's table: 
 moreover, the dogs came and licked 
 his sores. And it came to pass, that 
 the beggar died, and was carried by 
 the angels into Abraham's bosom. 
 The rich man also died, and was 
 buried : and in hell he lift up his 
 eyes being in torments, and seetli 
 Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in 
 his bosom. And he cried and said. 
 Father Abraham, have mercy on me, 
 and send Lazarus, that he may 
 dip the tip of his finger in water, 
 and cool my tongue ; for I am tor- 
 mented in this flame. But Abraham 
 said. Son, remember that thou in 
 thy life-time receivedst thy good 
 things, and likewise Lazarus evil 
 things ; but now he is comforted, 
 and thou art tormented. And be- 
 sides all this, between ns and you 
 there is a great gulf fixed : so that 
 they who would pass from hence to 
 you cannot; neither can they pass 
 to us, that would come from thence. 
 
 fittest objects for our imitation : and they are so largely 
 and so frequently set before us in holy Scripture, un- 
 doubtedly for this reason in common with others, that, 
 by striving to imitate them with the assistance of his 
 grace, oiu- corru])t and sinful nature may be continually 
 purified, and we may become more and more like unto 
 Him. t)f all these adorable perfections, as there is no 
 one, in «hich our heavenly Father ajijiears to be more 
 delighted, so also there is no one more carefully recom- 
 mended for our exam])le, or more adapted to our conti- 
 nued imitation, than that which is set before us in this 
 Ejiistle. As it was " love," which actuated oiu' hea- 
 venly Father to send his Son into the world for our 
 redemption, so has He injoined upon us the cultivation 
 of that divine quality, as the indispensable duty, and 
 the distinguishing and never-failing mark, of every 
 disciple of his Son. " We love him, because he first 
 loved us." " Beloved, if God so lo\-ed us, we ought 
 also to love one another." Thus does the beloved 
 disciple connect the duty of a Christian, in its two 
 great divisions of religious and moral obligation, with 
 this most adorable attribute of the Deity, illustrated in 
 one of the most interesting and imjiortant articles of 
 the Christian faith. Nor can we desire or possess a 
 more powerful inducement to the dihgent observance
 
 186 
 
 THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 Then he said, I pray thee tlierefore, 
 father, that thou woiildest send him 
 to my father's house : for I have five 
 brethren ; that he may testify unto 
 them, lest they also come into this 
 place of torment. Abraham saith 
 unto him, They have Moses and the 
 prophets ; let them hear them. And 
 he said, Nay, father Abraham ; but if 
 one went unto them from the dead, 
 they will repent. And he said unto 
 him, If they hear not JNIoses and the 
 prophets, neither will they be per- 
 suaded, though one rose from the 
 dead ^. 
 
 The second Sundai/ after Trinily^'. 
 The Collect. 
 
 OLord, who never failest to 
 help and govern them whom 
 
 of this duty, than the assurance of the same apostle, 
 that "God is love;" and that "he, that dwelleth in 
 love, dwelleth in God, and God in him." Ei/it. 
 
 ' From this Gospel we learn, 1. what mistaken mea- 
 sm-es they go upon, who form a judgment either of 
 their own, or another's happiness and misery, by their 
 different fortunes or stations in the world ; for, accord- 
 ing to this standard, who would have scrupled to pro- 
 nounce the rich man in this parable most blessed, and 
 Lazarus the most wretched of all mortal creatures ? 
 And yet, how distant had this rash sentence been from 
 the truth of the case ? 
 
 2. Here is comfort and eneouragemetit for those of 
 our brethren, whose circumstances are strait and low in 
 the world. This passage shews, they shall not always 
 be forgotten ; but, if their poverty be sustained with 
 imtience, and contentedness, and trust in a good God, 
 there is a time coming when He will not neglect them, 
 though men may. And they, who so haughtily and 
 coldly look do«'n upon their sufferings in the mean 
 while, may one day find cause to en\'y their happiness. 
 For, wlien the gay, but fleeting, vanities of this world 
 shall be reduced to a coffin and a shroud, when jiomp 
 and honour vanish like a shadow, when proud- 
 lieartcd wealth lies covered in the dust, the ])ity, or 
 the scorn anil curse, of survivors ; then shall the godly 
 ])()or be taken up by angels, and carried into rest ; from 
 grief and labour to mansions of peace, and joy, and 
 glory everlasting. 
 
 3. But, above all, in the third place, the rich should 
 take this warning, to use their plenty wisely and profit- 
 ably; lest either their luxury and vanities, if it be em- 
 ])loyed amiss, or the intemperate love and rust of this 
 talent, if not em])loycd at all, be a witness against them 
 in the last day. 'I'his ])arable casts no rejiroacli upon 
 the rich man for raising his estate by unjust and frau- 
 dulent methods, or for not jiaying punctually for all his 
 gay clothing and sumptoous table. And yet, su])i)os- 
 ing him tlie fairest dealer tliat ever lived, this single 
 fault of harillieartedness, and not distributing to the 
 necessities of the poor, was sufficient to consign him to 
 the flames of hell. So true it is, that they, who fall 
 into temptation liy wealth, |)erish by a snare of their 
 own laying, and that it is not money, but the " love " 
 und the abuse " of money," which is " the root of all 
 
 thou dost bring up in thy stedfast 
 fear and love ; Keep us, we beseech 
 thee, under the protection of thy 
 good providence, and make us to Ps. xvii. s. 
 have a perpetual fear and love of Ps. ixxxvi. 
 thy holy Name ; through Jesus x5[v,^"h 
 Christ oiu- Lord. Amen. 
 
 Matt. x.Yii. 
 37. Ps. c.\i.9. 
 
 Tiie Epistle. 1 St. John iii. 13. 
 
 A R V E L not, my brethren, 
 if the world hate you. We 
 know that we have passed from 
 death unto life, because we love 
 the brethren. He that loveth not 
 his brother abideth in death. Who- 
 soever hateth his brother is a mur- 
 derer : and ye know that no mur- 
 derer hath eternal life abiding in 
 him. Hereby perceive we the love 
 of God, because he laid down his 
 life for us : and we ought to lay 
 
 evil," ) Tim. vi. 9, 10. For good this may do much; 
 much to other people, more to the owners ; and there- 
 fore they who ha\-e the power and means, must look 
 well to it, that the inclination be not wanting ; which 
 want must indeed be inexcusable, especially when such 
 opportimities for imjiroving, and siu-h objects for in- 
 viting, the exercise of this noble grace of charity, are 
 plentifully and perpetually offering themselves. 
 
 If then your riches and the glory of your houses be 
 increased, remember how th.is Scrijjture reminds you, 
 that you " can carry nothing away \\\ih you when you 
 die, neither shall" one whit of " yom- jionip follow yo<i," 
 Ps. xlix. 17. If any, like another rich man in this 
 Gospel, Luke xii Ki, l)e in perplexity and doubt, where 
 to bestow his fruits and his goods. let him reflect upon 
 tlie ai)])lication. Thence he will learn how little need 
 there is to ]ndl down his barns, and build greater; 
 when so many large and safe storehouses stand ready 
 pro\'ided to his hands, where he may bestow, where he 
 may lay them up for many years ; nay, where he may 
 put them out to the most growing interest, with a most 
 infallible security to the princijial : for by these good 
 works it is, that men escape the condenmation of the 
 rich man now before us ; which God give us grace to 
 do for his sake, who Himself vouchsafed to "become 
 poor," that " we through bis ]ioverty might he made 
 rich," 2 Cor. viii. i), even .Tesus Clu'isl our Lord ; to 
 whom with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all 
 honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen. Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 f The second Siindiiy after Trinity.'] The Collect for 
 this day reminds us of the never- failing care of Al- 
 mighty God, to help and govern them, whom Ho 
 doth bring up in his stedfast fear and love : and thence 
 beseeches Him to take us under the protection of his 
 good ])rovidcnce, and to make us have a iierpetual fear 
 and love of his holy name. To this end, the beloved 
 disciple, in the l''.pisllc for the day, first warns Chris- 
 tians of the hatred and malice of the world against 
 them; after whirli lie sliews the blessed fruits of a 
 true love to the lirctln-en, together with the mischievous 
 effects of hatred and ill-will towards lliem; concluding 
 with some marks and direclions for satisfying and 
 assuring our con.scienccs in tlicsc matters. 
 
 In the Gospel our blessed Saviour, according to his
 
 THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 187 
 
 down our lives for the brethren. 
 But whoso hath this world's good, 
 and seeth liis brother liave need, 
 and sliuttetli up his bowels of com- 
 passion from him ; how dwelletii 
 the love of God in him ? My little 
 children, let us not love in word, 
 neither in tongue ; but in deed, and 
 in truth. And hereby we know 
 that we are of the truth, and shall 
 assure our hearts before him. For 
 if our heart condemn us, God is 
 greater than om- heart, and know- 
 eth all things. Beloved, if our 
 heart condemn us not,* then have 
 we confidence towards God. And 
 whatsoever we ask, we receive of 
 him, because we keep his command- 
 ments, and do those things that are 
 pleasing in his sight. And this is 
 his commandment. That we should 
 believe on the name of his Son 
 Jesus Christ, and love one another, 
 as he gave us commandment. And 
 he that keepeth his commandments 
 dwelletii in him, and he in him : and 
 hereby we know that he abideth in 
 us, by the Spirit which he hath 
 given us'^. 
 
 77(8 Gospel, St. Luke xiv. 16. 
 
 A Certain man made a great sup- 
 per, and bade many ; and sent 
 his servant at supper-time to say to 
 them that were bidden. Come, for 
 
 usual way of instructing the people, sets forth in a 
 parable the liberal provisions He bath made in the 
 Gospel, for all that will come to Him ; as also the way 
 and manner of his inviting them; together with the 
 danger of refusing his invitations. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' As this portion of Scripture suggests some con- 
 siderations, which should fortify and support good 
 men in the discharge of their duty, when they meet 
 with unsuitable and unworthy returns from an in- 
 jurious and wicked world ; so does it suggest others 
 calculated to be a warning to us, not to give way to the 
 least motions towards an uncharitaljle disposition. 
 The former case hath the justice, the goodness, and the 
 unchangeable promises of God, the examples of the 
 blessed Jesus Himself, of his apostles and disciples, 
 saints and glorified spirits innumerable, and the sweet 
 satisfactions of a clear conscience, for its comfort and 
 encouragement. The latter hath the instance of Cain ; 
 the dreadful guilt of all, whose malice renders them his 
 cursed seed ; the sentence of the divine law ; and the 
 severity of a Judge, "from whom no secrets are bid :" 
 as so many monuments of justice, and sure indications 
 of condemnation and severe vengeance for its terror and 
 scourge. Let us not therefore be weary of tt-ell- doing, 
 how ill soever our good actions are received, Ijccause 
 there is a time coming, when we shall certainly reap, if 
 we faint not. And let us not cherish any thought of 
 the least tendemy towards uncharitableness or malice, 
 
 all things are now ready. And they 
 all with one consent began to make 
 excuse. The first said inito him, 
 I have bought a piece of ground, 
 aiul 1 must needs go and see it; I 
 pray thee have me excused. And 
 another said, I have bought five 
 yoke of oxen, and I go to prove 
 them ; I pray thee have me excused. 
 And another said, I have married a 
 wife, and therefore I cannot come. 
 So that servant came, ami shewed 
 his lord these things. Then the 
 master of the house being angry 
 said to his servant. Go out quickly 
 into the streets and lanes of the city, 
 and bring in hither the poor, and 
 the maimed, and the halt, and the 
 blind. And the servant said. Lord, 
 it is done as thou hast commanded, 
 and yet there is room. And the 
 Lord said unto the servant. Go out 
 into the high-ways and hedges, and 
 compel them to come in, that my 
 house may be filled. For I say 
 unto you. That none of those men 
 which were bidden shall taste of my 
 supper". 
 
 The third Sunday after Trinity^K 
 The Collect. 
 
 OLord, we beseech thee mer- 
 cifidly to hear us ; and grant Ps. xxx. lo. 
 that we, to whom thou hast given 
 
 remembering that our veiy inclinations and desires lie 
 open to Him, with whom we have to do, and that, if 
 we could in this matter deceive and mock even our 
 own consciences, yet cannot He be mocked, who (as 
 we read to-day) " is greater than our hearts, and know- 
 eth all things." Dean Stanhope. 
 
 " By comparing this with a passage elsewhere of ^■ery 
 close affinity to it, we may see evident reason to con- 
 clude that the " kingdom of heaven," Matt, x.xii. 2, 
 that is, the Gospel dispensation, was represented by it. 
 This, as ministering true plenty and pleasure, all that 
 men can want, all that they can wish, to render them 
 perfectly happy, is compared to a "supper." The 
 bounty and inhnite love of Almighty God are signified 
 by the " greatness " of that " supper," and the multi- 
 tudes bidden to it. The first bidding denotes all the 
 [previous notices of the Messiah, by wliich the law and 
 the prophets were intended to prepare the Jews for 
 receiving Him and his doctrine. The second bidding, 
 when all things were ready, seems to import all that 
 Jesus did, and taught, and suffered, for their conversion 
 and salvation ; and all the testimonies, and importunate 
 exhortations of his apostles and disciples to the same 
 jnirpose. The excuses sent for their absence, are those 
 prejudices, and passions, and worldly interests, which 
 dill not only hinder those Jews from coming into the 
 faith ; but disposed them to treat all attein]its to win 
 them over, with the most inflexible obstinacy and ut-
 
 188 
 
 THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 Ps. Isii. 5, 6. 
 Isa. li. 12. 
 Ps. lixx\ i, ?. 
 
 an hearty desire to pray, may by 
 thy mighty aid be defended and 
 comforted in all dangers and adver- 
 sities ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 St. Peter v. 3. 
 
 ALL of you be subject one to 
 another, and be elotlied with 
 humility : for God resisteth the 
 proud, and giveth grace to the 
 humble. Humble yourselves there- 
 fore under the mighty hand of God, 
 that he may exalt you in due time ; 
 casting all your care upon him, for 
 
 most contem])t. The guests, brouglit in from abroad 
 to supiily their places, are the Gentile world ; to whom, 
 after the Jews had thrust it from them, the subsequent 
 tenders of this grace and salvation were made. And 
 the declaring, that " none of those that were bidden " 
 should "taste of" his "supper," implies the giving of 
 those Jews over to a reprobate sense, and leaving 
 them under that infidelitj' and perverseness, in which 
 they continue hardened to this \-ery day. 
 
 Such is the analogy, no doubt, of the [larable here 
 before us. But, though its primary intention be what 
 we have seen, with regard to the different entertain- 
 ment, which the Gospel found at its first setting out ; 
 vet have « e a part and concern in it also. For by the 
 same reason, that they who would not receive it at all, 
 were punished for their refusal, shall every Christian, 
 who professes to have received it, if he be slothful, or 
 lukewarm, in the duties of that profession, be punished 
 for his indifference and neglect. It were easy enough 
 to shew, that a bare acknowledgment and belief of our 
 Saviour's doctrine is far from answering the ends of it 
 to us. And I think I may venture to say, that they, 
 who " hold the truth in imrighteousness," hold it more 
 by chance than by choice. For the same seducements, 
 w'hich now obstruct their practice, would, if they had 
 been born and educated in any other iiersuasion, most 
 probably \\a\e obstructed their behef of the Christian 
 religion. 
 
 The ministers of God's holy word and sacraments 
 are the servants sent out to invite to this supper. 
 F'aith cometh by "])reaching ;" but if faith does not 
 produce a life of piety and virtue, agreeable to its 
 princijjles, our [ireaching is \-ain, and your faith is also 
 vain. They, therefore, u])on wlxiin tlie name of Clu-ist 
 is called, are not thereby quite Ijcymid read) of the 
 true imjiort of this jiarablc. They may still retain the 
 vicious dispositions reprehended in it ; they, conse- 
 quently, may incur the sentence of exclusion, denounced 
 in the "close of it. 'J'liey actually do the one, and will 
 certainly fall under the other; iftlu'y suffer the cures or 
 the pleasures of this world to draw them into an in- 
 difference for, or neglect of, the duties of religion and 
 the concerns of eternity. And, therefore, we shall do 
 well to make such ajjplication of tlu: parable, as may 
 (by (iod's blessing) |>revent the folly, and sin, and 
 misery, of so doing. Dean Slanhope. 
 
 '' Tltc third Sitiidny iiflcr 'I'riiiiltj.] 'llie Collect for 
 this day beseeches God mercifully to hear our prayers; 
 that we, to whom lie hatli given an liearty desire to 
 pray, may Ijy his mighty aid be d( t'eiulcd, and comforted 
 in all dangers and adversities. Now because jjride and 
 haughtiness of 8j)iiit is the greatest obstacle to the suc- 
 
 he careth for you. Be sober, be 
 vigilant; because your adversary the 
 devil, as a roaring lion, walketh 
 about seeking whom he may devour : 
 whom resist stedfast in the faith, 
 knowing that the same afflictions are 
 accomplished in your brethren that 
 are in the world. Rut the God of 
 all grace, who hath called us into 
 his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, 
 after that ye have suffered a while, 
 make you perfect, stablish, strength- 
 en, settle you. To him be glory 
 and dominion for ever and ever. 
 Anient 
 
 cess of our prayers, and to our security from dangers ; 
 and nothing conduces more to a good event and issue 
 in both, than humility and lowhness of mind ; there- 
 fore the Epistle for this day cautions us against the 
 one, and earnestly exhorts to the other. Dr. Hole. 
 
 'ITie Gospel in the form of two similitudes, of which 
 it principally consists, ministers arguments to wicked 
 men for repentance and amendment of life : being in- 
 tended to encourage and support those publicans and 
 sinners, who at the time of its delivery drew nigh in 
 great numbers to our Savioiu-. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' This Epistle contains a recommendation of several 
 \-irtues, always fit to be cultivated by Christians, but 
 especially useful and necessary in alflicted circum- 
 stances, such as the apostle is here describing, and 
 such as were felt by the persons to whom his Epistle 
 is addressed. 
 
 The first is humility : which is the most effectual 
 expedient for containing every man within his own 
 sphere ; for securing the deference and submission due 
 to superiors of every sort and capacity ; and so for pre- 
 serving inviolate the order, and unity, and peace of the 
 Church. This virtue, likewise, aboxe any other, dis- 
 poses men to be liberal in those mutual comforts and 
 assistances, which, in times of hazard and difficulty, 
 are most wanted, and most welcome. But especially 
 this virtue is of mighty service for preparing men to 
 receive from the hands of God any events, which his 
 wisdom shall think fit to send, with a becoming resig- 
 nation of mind. 
 
 That " care," which the apostle would have persons 
 under hardshijis " cast" entirely "upon God," is, no 
 doubt, that anxious and disquieting solicitude, which 
 distracts the mind, perplexes all our thouglits, breaks 
 and confounds all our measures, and so not only docs 
 more hurt than good, but betrays a want of considera- 
 tion and religion. 
 
 By " sobriety " is meant, not only a temperate use of 
 the creatures apjiointed for our sustenance and re- 
 freshment, but tiie government of our passions and 
 desires in general, with respect to any objects or events 
 whatsoever, which, in the ])rescnt life, arc wont to pro- 
 voke them to violence and cxi'css. 
 
 By " watchfulness," no (jucstion, is meant a continual 
 circumspection and care, that we be not surprised either 
 through our own neglect, or the infunnities of our 
 nature. 
 
 This is the gener.il acceptation of the word, which 
 yet here may perhaps have a view somewhat more 
 particular and restrained. That branch, I mean, of 
 watchfulness, which considers, and is aware, of what 
 importance the diilerent events of this life are to the
 
 THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 ]»!) 
 
 Tlie Gospel. St. Luke xv. 1. 
 
 TH E N drew near unto liiin all 
 the Publicans and sinners for 
 to hear him. And the Pharisees 
 and Scribes niurnuired, sayint^, This 
 man recoiveth sinners, and eatetli 
 with them. And he spake this 
 parable unto them, sayiui^. What 
 man of you having an liundred 
 sheep, if he lose one of them, doth 
 not leave the ninety and nine in 
 the wilderness, and go after that 
 which is lost, luitil he find it? And 
 when he hath found it, he layetli it 
 on his shouhlers, rejoicing. And 
 when he eometli home, he calleth 
 together his friends and neighbours, 
 saying unto them, Rejoice with me, 
 
 happiness or misery of the next ; and what advantat;es 
 the enemy of souls is ever taking to convert them to 
 our destruction. 
 
 In this encoimter, St. Peter tells us, all we have to 
 flo, is stoutly to stand our ground, sujjiiorted by a 
 vigorous faith, and animated by the examples of other 
 good Christians, engaged in the same cause, and 
 pressed with the same difficulties. 
 
 After these seasonable admonitions, the apostle con- 
 cludes with a prayer, which does so im])lore the good 
 effects, as at the same time to suggest, that they are the 
 certain comforts and consequences of afflictions rightly i 
 undergone. That these are every way consistent with 
 the gracious design of making good men eternally 
 hapjiy; that they are but of short continuance; that 
 they add lustre to such men's virtue, inflame their zeal, 
 fix theu- resohUion, cpialify them for greater under- 
 takings, render them at last impregnable, and by con- 
 forming them to the likeness of a suffering, resemlile 
 them in the end to the triumphs of a victorious. Re- 
 deemer. But till this be, (which, if we do not obstruct 
 our own ha])piness, will not fail to be,) let us remember 
 that we are creatures and servants, and He our Maker 
 and Lord ; consequently, that to us belongs submis- 
 sion and obedience and fidelity ; to Him " power and 
 glory and dominion, for ever and ever." Amen. Deun 
 Stanhope. 
 
 * Our blessed Master here makes no difficulty to 
 affirm the joy in heaven to be greater, u])on the account 
 of one instance of a reclaimed ])enitent, than for a great 
 many, who, having never been so bad, never stood in 
 need of so strict and painful a repentance. These cir- 
 cumstances, and the reason of them, deserve our \'ery 
 serious attention. 
 
 1 . Now, as to the angels ; although we are but little 
 acquainted witli their condition, and the ingredients of 
 their ha])piness; yet thus much the Scripture hath in- 
 formed us concerning them, that " they are ministering 
 si)irits, sent out to minister for them that shall be heirs 
 of salvation," Heb. i. 14 ; and that children, both in the 
 natural and spiritual capacity, have those which are 
 styled their angels. Matt, xviii. 10. Those spirits then 
 may be very reasonably, and seem generally to be, 
 thought full of tenderness for their charge, solicitous 
 for their particular safety, and extremely glad of any 
 good that befals them. How these heavenly hosts 
 were affected with the salvation of mankind in general, 
 is e\-ident, from the hymn, with which they attended 
 
 for I have found my sheep which 
 was lost. I say unto you. That 
 likewise joy shall be in heaven over 
 one sinner that repenteth, more than 
 over ninety and nine just jicrsons, 
 which need no repentance. Either 
 what woman having ten j)ieces of 
 silver, if she lose one [Mcce, dotJi 
 not light a candle, and sweep the 
 house, and seek diligently till she 
 find it? And when she hath found 
 it, she calleth her friends and her 
 neighbours together, saying. Re- 
 joice with me, for I have foinid 
 the piece which I had hist. Like- 
 wise, I say unto you. There is joy 
 in the presence of the angels of God 
 over one sinner that repenteth ''. 
 
 at the birth of Christ, to welcome Him into the world, 
 Luke ii. 9, &c. ; as also from their constant earnest de- 
 sire of contemplating the mystery of our redem|)tion, 
 I Pet. i. 12. Every occasion then of this kind may be 
 glad tidings to them. And, though their nature be far 
 distant from us mortals, and their bliss exquisite, be- 
 yond what we are able to conceive : yet, in regard lioth 
 their nature and their bliss are finite, tlieir joy may 
 certainly admit of an increase. And, as often as a 
 sinner is converted from the evil of his ways, there may 
 spring up a fresh object, and a large and hteral addi- 
 tion to it. 
 
 But can tliis properly be said of God too, whose 
 perfection of happiness allows no such accumulations ? 
 No, doubtless. And therefore, with resjject to Him, 
 we must interpret this, as religion and reason oblige us 
 to understand many like passages, where human parts 
 and passions are attributed to Him. All which is 
 done, that, by such condescending resemblances. He 
 might the better manifest Himself to the weakness of 
 our capacities. As therefore the Holy Ghost, meaning 
 to represent his dis|)leasure and our baseness, does it, 
 by saying that we " jirovoke him to anger, kindle his 
 fury, grieve" and "weary" his Spirit, and the like : so 
 here, by saying, that God "rejoiceth " over a repenting 
 sinner, is intended that such repentance is highly 
 agreeable to Him. 
 
 If it be urged, why so partial in this love ? Why 
 "the fatted calf killed " for the prodigal, when he, who 
 paid a constant duty to his father, never had so much 
 as a " kid given him " to make " merry with his 
 friends .' " If some, nay, if great joy be just for one. yet 
 ought it to be greater for one, than for ninety and nine ? 
 for one once bad, than for so many always good ? or, 
 shall we say, it is better to sin and afterwards repent, 
 than not to sin at all, so as shall need such repentance ? 
 This difficulty still remains to be considered. 
 
 Now we are to remember, that God hath declared, 
 "all souls are mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die," 
 Ezek. xviii. 4. Im])lying, that all mankind are, by 
 nature, equally related to God ; and that the distinc- 
 tions. He makes between one man and another, are 
 upon the account of virtue and vice. If then the stray 
 shee]) be sought, and the rest, in appearance, neglected 
 in the meanwhile, it is not that the shepherd hath a 
 ])articidar fondness for that sheep above the rest ; for 
 He would have done the same for any of them under 
 the same circumstances.
 
 190 
 
 THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 Prov. xxix. 
 25 
 
 P'. xxxvii. 
 39. 40; 
 x\xi. 19; 
 Uviii. 34, 35. 
 John vi. 44 ; 
 XV. 4, 5. 
 Ps. Ixix. 16 ; 
 Ixxiii. 24. 
 2 Cor. Hi. 5 1 
 iv. 16—18. 
 Matt, xvi 2G. 
 
 The fourth Sunday after Trinity'. 
 Tlie Collect. 
 
 OGod, the protector of all that 
 trust in thee, without whom 
 nothing is strong, nothing is holy ; 
 Increase and multiply upon us thy 
 mercy ; that, thou being our ruler 
 and guide, we may so pass through 
 things temporal, that we finally lose 
 not the things eternal: Grant this, 
 O heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ's 
 sake our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Rom. viii. 18. 
 
 I Reckon that the sufferings of 
 this present time are not worthy 
 to be compared with the glory which 
 shall be revealed in us. For the 
 
 Therefore neither is this part to he too rigorously 
 understood ; but as spoken after the manner of men. 
 And the resentments of men are evidently raised by 
 tlie greatness of a change from the contrary. Thus 
 sickness and pain and danger give a more sjirightly 
 relish of safety and ease and health. The surprise of 
 an escape which we did not e.vpect, and the regaining 
 of a treasure we had given for gone, is entertained with 
 transport and rapture ; because this gives it us afresh, 
 it is a kind of new accession to our fortunes, and a like 
 thing we ne\'er enjoyed before. And such is the case 
 of men immersed in a dissolute and debauched life : an 
 ample subject of pleasure, and even of wonder, when 
 they are " recovered from the snare of the devil," who 
 were long used to be "taken captive by him at his 
 will," 2 Tim. ii. 26. This is a new conquest, and en- 
 larging of Christ's dominion, an addition made to the 
 number of the blessed, and an example, of noble influ- 
 ence, for encouraging others to shake off their chains. 
 
 In a word. Joy there will be somewhere, let us act 
 how we please. Only it is at our clioice, whether this 
 shall be the joy of devils insulting us in torments, or the 
 joy of God and angels congratulating their own and our 
 unspeakable felicity to endless ages. And the odds be- 
 tween these is so great, the difference so plain, that, if 
 we had not to deal with a generation that have no know- 
 ledge, it might look like an affront to the common sense 
 of mankincl, to desire that they would " advise and see 
 which" of the two " they will choose, that God may do 
 it unto them." Dean Slrinhnpe. 
 
 " The fourth Simdai/ aflcr Trinity.'] Tlie Collect for 
 the day teaches us to pray unto (iod. without whom 
 nothing is strong, nothing is holy, to multi|ily upon us 
 his mercy, that. He being our ruler and guide, we may 
 so pass through things temiioral, that «-e finally lose not 
 the things eternal. Now, because nothing is so ajrt to 
 discourage and hinder us from seeking or attaining 
 eternal good things, as the teinjmral evils and sufferings 
 of this present life ; therefore the I'^pistle for the day 
 heartens us under them, with the e.vpectation not only 
 of a speedy relief, but of an eternal reward for them ; for 
 " if we siiffer with Christ (saith the foregoing verse) 
 we shall also be glorified together." And tlien setting 
 them one against I be other, "I reckon," .saith the apostle, 
 " that the snlfiTings of this present time are not worthy 
 to be compared witli tlic glory that shall be revealed in 
 us." 
 
 The Gospel is taken out of oiu: blessed Saviour's 
 
 earnest expectation of the creature 
 waiteth for the manifestation of the 
 sons of God. For the creature was 
 made subject to vanity, not willingly, 
 but by reason of him who hath sub- 
 jected the same in hope : because 
 the creature itself also shall be deli- 
 vered from the bondage of cor- 
 ruption, into the glorious liberty of 
 the children of God. For we know 
 that the whole creation groaneth, 
 and travaileth in pain together until 
 now. And not only the)', but our- 
 selves also, which have the first-fruits 
 of the Spirit, even we ourselves 
 groan within ourselves, waiting for 
 the adoption, to wit, the redemption 
 of our body '. 
 
 divine sermon on the mount, as delivered by St. 
 Matthew and St. Luke. The ])art or iiortion of it, 
 selected for this day's meditation, contains the great 
 duty and virtue of mercifulness, which is here recom- 
 mended to us in aU its branches. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' St. Paul, having mentioned our being " joint heirs 
 with Christ," and signified that being likewise "joint 
 sufferers" with him is a condition of obtaining that in- 
 heritance, here proves the reasonableness of being well- 
 content with submitting to this condition. 
 
 This he proves, as by the common sense and wants of 
 mankind in general, and by the concurrence of Chris- 
 tians in the same opinions and vehement expectations, 
 so by his own authority and certain knowledge. For that 
 word ■' I reckon" is not, as we sometimes use it in our 
 language, a form of S])eech importing some remains of 
 doubting, or the giving of an opinion catitiously, witli a 
 reserve of deference for others of a different judgment : 
 but it carries the signification of a persuasion, as strong 
 and peremptory', as can possibly be entertained. It im- 
 plies the having stated an account, considered all mat- 
 ters nicely ; the sufferings, the very worst of this pre- 
 sent time, on the one ])art ; the glory, the not yet 
 revealed glorr, on the other part: and, after all reasonaule 
 allowances, and deductions made, U])on a fair and exact 
 computation of the whole, St. Paul pronounces the latter 
 so vastly superior to the former, that it is an indignity 
 done to it, so much as to name them together ; or to 
 sujipose a proportion between them, capable of forming 
 a comparison upon. 
 
 It is true, this glory is not yet "revealed" in us. We 
 neitlier enjoy it, nor hai'e a distinct and adciinate notion 
 of it. But this is far from any argument, fin- abating (Uir 
 value, or cooling our zeal in the pursuit of it. We know 
 it is ])repared, and we may know, that its excellence, and 
 onr infirmities, arc the true reasons, why we continue so 
 much in the dark about it. We know, that it is jierfect ; 
 that it is all, and above all, that can be wished or 
 thought : whereas our present sufferings are jiartial, and 
 never destitute of some allay to. or support under, them. 
 In a word, we know, that this is uninterrupted and 
 eternal: but experience ]ilainly demonstrates, that most 
 of our sufferings have eoinfortable intervals; and that 
 all we can ])Ossihly suffer, must (piiekly have an end. 
 
 l'"rom this it follows, that " the glory that shall be re- 
 vealed" is a most |)owerfnl argument, for enduring with 
 constancy and meekness "those sufferings of this ])resent 
 time;" to which, how sharp soever, that glory is so in-
 
 THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 191 
 
 Tlie Gospel. St. Luke vi. .'5G. 
 
 BE ye therefore merciful, as 
 your Father also is merciful. 
 Judge not, and ye shall not be 
 judged ; condemn not, and ye shall 
 not be condemned : forgive, and 
 ye shall l)e forgiven : give, and it 
 shall be given unto you ; good 
 measure, pressed down, and shaken 
 together, and running over, shall 
 men give into your bosom. For 
 with the same measure that ye mete 
 withal, it shall be measured to you 
 again. And he spake a parable unto 
 them. Can the blind lead the blind ? 
 shall they not both fall into the 
 ditch ? The disciple is not above his 
 master; but every one that is perfect 
 
 finitely an overbalance, as, upon a fair and due calcula- 
 tion, to be injured and dishonoured, by lieing so much 
 as brought into any comparison with tbein. God grant 
 us grace to consult, not our duty only, but our interest 
 and ha])piness, by seriously laying to heart this vast in- 
 equality. Which would not only soften, and sujiport us 
 under, any aHlictions that can possibly befal us ; but 
 curb and conquer that sla\'ish fear of death, of all pas- 
 sions, the most tyrannical and tormenting. A passion, 
 which nothing, but this persuasion thoroughly imbibed, 
 can be a niatcli for ; by enabling us to conquer it as 
 Christians, though we cannot wholly siqipress and 
 remove it as men. JDean Stanhope. 
 
 B As Christianity exjjeets of us the most merciful and 
 affectionate deportment, even where offences and injuries 
 are manifest and flagrant ; so much more does it oblige 
 us, not to aggravate or resent the actions of others by 
 unjust jealousies, and hard misconstructions. The ten- 
 dency of these is to render all conversation uneasy, and 
 to destroy peace and charity and mutual good under- 
 standing : very particular care therefore is taken by the 
 Christian religion to correct the vice of censuring and 
 judging ; than which, as lamentable experience too 
 plainly demonstrates, there is scarce any one more mis- 
 chievous, and yet more common and predominant in 
 the whole world. 
 
 Amongst other arguments used against it by Scrip- 
 ture, a very forcible one is suggested by this jjassage, 
 which informs us that herein consists the advantage of 
 tlie charitable man, that God will judge him according 
 to his disposition ; and overlook, and be as kind to, his 
 failings, as he hath been sjiaring of, and tender to, those 
 of his brethren. Wherens to the rigid and censorious 
 and bitter, He will mete their own measure exactly, and 
 go to the extremity of justice. And surely this is dis- 
 couragement and terror enough in all conscience ; to 
 reflect, that by giving a loose to a licentiousness of 
 thought and tongue, we must expect to find no more 
 kindness from God, than men have found from us : for, 
 if God " enter into judgment with his servants, no flesh 
 living can be justified in his sight :" and if He will " be 
 extreme to mark what is done amiss," where is the man 
 able to " abide it?" Ps. cxliii. 2 ; cxxx. 3. 
 
 Least of all are those men qualified to abide it, whose 
 critical observation, and inhuman exposing of other 
 people, is here insinuated by our Lord Himself, to be an 
 effect and mark of their hypocrisy : and whose zeal, to 
 
 shall l)e as his master. And why be- 
 holdest thou the mote that is in thy 
 brother's eye, but perceivest not the 
 beam that is in thine own eye ? 
 Either how canst thou say to thy 
 brother, Brother, let me pull out tiie 
 mote that is in thine eye, when thou 
 thyself beholdest not the beam that 
 is in thine own eye ? Thou hypo- 
 crite, cast out first the beam out of 
 thine own eye, and then shalt thou 
 see clearly to pull out the mote that 
 is in thy brother's eye^. 
 
 G 
 
 The fifth Sunday after Trinity^. 
 Tlie Collect. 
 RAN T, O Lord, we beseech 
 thee, that the course of this 
 
 pull out the " mote in their brother's eye," proceeds 
 from being insensible of the " beam, which is in their 
 own." Herel^y is likewise intimated, that men, who 
 themselves are grievous sinners, are by no means proper 
 persons to reprove, and put to shame, those who at worst 
 are but their own resemblance : and that the true «-ay 
 to amend mankind is for each man to look at home, and 
 begin with mending one. How much better were it to 
 employ ourselves, in publishing the praises of God, and 
 vindicating the innocence of our abused brethren; in 
 setting every action in its most advantageous light, and 
 pouring balm into the many bleeding reputations, which 
 have been wounded deep, by artificial malice, and words, 
 which, though " smoother than oil," are yet in effect 
 "very swords?" Ps.lv. 21. So should we promote 
 peace and goodness and charity in this world. So shoidd 
 we likewise ensure to ourselves favour at that great and 
 terrible day, when " by our words we shall be justified, 
 and by our words we shall be condemned," Matt. xii. .37. 
 That day, in which even the secrets of all hearts shall 
 be brought into judgment; evei-y hard uncharitable 
 thought placed to account ; and in which therefore it is 
 of the last concern, most earnestly to endeavour, and to 
 pray, that our " good Lord" may " deliver us." Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 '' The fifth Sunday after Trinity.'] We are taught in 
 the Collect for this day to beseech Almighty God, that 
 the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered 
 by his governance, that the Church may joyfully serve 
 Him in all godly quietness. To effect or bring this to 
 pass, the Eiiistle for this day prescribes this excellent 
 advice to that end, " Be ye all of one mind ;" signify- 
 ing to us, that unity of mind and judgment is the best 
 means to preserve the peace of the Church and all godly 
 qiiietness ; and likewise that diversity of ojiinions is the 
 main cause of all the discord and confusi(jn that haj)- 
 pens in it. And therefore, St. Paul, in his last ad\'iee 
 to the Corinthians, joins them both together, saying, 
 " Finally, brethren, be of one mind, live in peace," 
 2 Cor. xiii. 1 1 ; thereby intimating, that there is a con- 
 nexion, or mutual dejiendence of these two upon each 
 other, that unity will put an end to divisions, and the 
 best way to live in peace, is to be of one mind. Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 The Gospel relates the manner of calling four great 
 apostles, who were main pillars of the Christian Church. 
 Dean Stanhope.
 
 192 
 
 THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 Acts ix. 31. 
 1 Tim. ii. 2. 
 
 world may be so peaceably ordered 
 by thy governance, that thy Church 
 may joyfully serve thee in all godly 
 quietness ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 St. Peter iii. 8. 
 
 BE ye all of one mind, having 
 compassion one of another, 
 love as brethren, be pitiful, be cour- 
 teous ; not rendering evil for evil, or 
 railinu: for radinof; but contrariwise 
 blessing ; knowing that ye are there- 
 unto called, that ye should inherit a 
 blessing. For he that will love life, 
 and see good days, let him refrain 
 his tongue from evil, and his lips 
 that they speak no guile : let him 
 eschew evil, and do good ; let him 
 seek peace, and ensue it. For the 
 eyes of the Lord are over the right- 
 eous, and his ears are open unto 
 their prayers : but the f;ice of the 
 Lord is against them that do evil. 
 And who is he that will harm j'ou, if 
 ye be followers of that which is good ? 
 But and if ye suffer for righteous- 
 ness' sake, happy are ye : and be not 
 afraid of their lerror, neither be trou- 
 
 ' The apostle had, in the close of the second and 
 beginning of this chapter, inculcated such duties, as 
 Christians are obliged to, by virtue of some particular 
 relations and capacities, wherein the pro\idence of God 
 hath ])laced them. After which, he jiroceeds here to 
 some of a more general nature, ver. 8, whose obliga- 
 tion is of extent, equal with this religion itself; and 
 such, as all who profess it have a concern in. But, 
 though no person be exempted from, no time improper 
 for, the exercise of them ; yet are they more especially 
 seasonable in persecution and affliction. Unanimity in 
 principles, mutual forbearances, tender affection, fellow- 
 feeling of hardships, that bear close upon onr brethren, 
 anil all the comforts and encouragements of a kind and 
 condescending deportment; as they are indications of a 
 temper most truly resembling the meek and holy Jesus : 
 so are they the best defence against a common enemy ; 
 and of mighty efbcacy, to soften, and keep U]) the 
 hearts of each other, imder the calamities, which a 
 whole set of men .shall be exposed to, by being all em- 
 barked in the same good cause. Assi.stanccs, which 
 nothing can so well prove the power of, as experience. 
 And such, as they, wlio want the wisdom mutually to 
 coiitriliute to each other, do manifestly take the ad- 
 versary's part, and betray their own safety, or lose their 
 consolation. They break that force, which, united, 
 might make head against their danger; and add to 
 that hurden whose weight would be abated, if coeh 
 were ready to bear u part in it. l)v esteeming the sull'er- 
 ings of others his own, and actmg in concert against 
 them accordingly. 
 
 Hut even, when tluis joined, and disposed to all the 
 charitable ofllces, ver. 9. which the same profession, and 
 the same distress, ought to ])roduee in jjcrsons, so 
 nearly and so many ways allied ; they arc not at liherty 
 to cater into all sorts of measures. I'hcy are presumed 
 
 bled ; but sanctify the Lord God in 
 your hearts '. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke v. \. 
 
 IT came to pass, that as the peo- 
 ]ile pressed upon him to hear 
 the Word of God, he stood by the 
 lake of Gennesareth, and saw two 
 ships standing by the lake ; but the 
 fishermen were gone out of them, 
 and were washing their nets. And 
 he entered into one of the ships 
 which was Simon's, and prayed him 
 that he would thrust out a little 
 from the land : and he sat down, 
 and taught the people out of the 
 ship. Now when he had left speak- 
 ing, he said unto Simon, Launch out 
 into the deep, and let down your 
 nets for a draught. And Simon 
 answering said unto him. Waster, 
 we have toiled all the night, and 
 have taken nothing ; nevertheless, 
 at thy word I will let down the net. 
 And when they had this done, they 
 inclosed a great multitude of fishes, 
 and their net bmke. And they 
 beckoned unto their partners which 
 were in the other ship, that they 
 
 to suffer wrongfully, and to be blackened with malicious 
 calumnies ; which are designed to give countenance to 
 the injuries they sustain, by representing them as per- 
 sons that deserve to suffer. But wrong nmst not be 
 repaid with WTong, nor falsehood M'itli falsehood, no 
 nor yet true reproaches with the like. 
 
 That then, which Christians, when persecuted and 
 injured, have to do, is not to let any of those despond- 
 encies over\vhelm their s])irits, which their oppressors 
 are labouring to drive them to ; and which they, who 
 have none but human helps to depend upon, find it 
 impossible to bear up against, 'i'hcy must " sanctify 
 the Lord (iod in their hearts ;" that is, testify their 
 belief of his gloricms attributes to all the world. And 
 this is done, when they dc])cnd upon his ])owcr to ex- 
 tricate them out of (otherwise invincible) difhculties, 
 and so flee to, and rest U])on llim, as a sure sanc- 
 tuary. When they refer to his wisdom and justice tlie 
 season and the methods of executing vengeance upon 
 those wicked men who " .smite down his jieople," and 
 " trouble his faithful " ones : when, notwithstaiuling 
 any delays in the accom|)lishmcnt, they buoy up their 
 sinking spirits with the certainty of his promises ; and 
 lastly, l)e tlie event of these things at present what it 
 will, wlicn they stedfastly adhere to thiir duty, at tlio 
 expense of all the world ccxmts dear, and will not be 
 ])revailed upon for any terms to incur his displeasure. 
 Men of this disposition do llim true honour; and as 
 thej' may rcas<jnalily hope that " his eyes will be " 
 always " over them," and " his ears open to their 
 prayers," I's. xxxiv. 1.5 ; so are they in the true frame 
 of mind, for offering up the prayer of this day in par- 
 ticidar, even that " the course of this world may be so 
 l)eaceatily ordered by bis gcivernauce, lliat his t'hurcli 
 may joyfidly serve llim in all godly (piietncs-s, through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord." Dvun SInnhope.
 
 THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 103 
 
 should come and lielp tliem. And 
 they came, and filled both the ships, 
 so that they bejran to sink. When 
 Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at 
 Jesus' knees, saying-, Depart from 
 me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 
 For he was astonished, and all that 
 were with iiim, at the draught of the 
 fishes which tiiey had taken ; and so 
 was also James, and John, the sons 
 of Zebedee, which were partners 
 with Simon. And Jesus said unto 
 Simon, Fear not, from henceforth 
 thou slialt catch men. And when 
 they iiad brought their ships to 
 land, they forsook all, and followed 
 him K 
 
 The sixth Sunday after Trinity^. 
 The Collect. 
 God, who hast prepared for 
 them that love thee such erood 
 things as pass man's understanding ; 
 1 Cor. ii. 9. Pour juto our hearts such love to- 
 
 o 
 
 '' By following Christ, which the apostles are said to 
 have clone, three things are manifestly intended. 
 
 1. The disciples were the constant followers and at- 
 tendants ujion his person ; for they went up and down 
 with Him wherever He went, they were the eye-wit- 
 nesses of his miracles, and the ear-witnesses of his dis- 
 courses ; and, though He sometimes withdrew from 
 them into places of solitude and retirement upon some 
 extraordinary occasions, yet, for the most part, they 
 were daily companions with Him, and the constant 
 spectators both of his glories and troubles ; as we may 
 read at large in all the four E\-angelists. This way of 
 following Christ was peculiar to the apostles and first 
 disciples, who had the honom- of seeing and conversing 
 with Him during his at)ode upon earth; a privilege not 
 to be enjoyed by any since his ascension into heaven. 
 But there are two ways of following Christ still attain- 
 able by us ; in both which senses we are still his 
 followers. 
 
 As, '2. By following his doctrine and learning of 
 Him. This privilege the apostles had by receiving the 
 word from Christ's own mouth ; but we have it at 
 second hand by receiving it from them who have 
 handed it down to us. Howci-er, the doctrine is the 
 same in both, and we are as well taught by Him now, 
 as they were then. Ele that teaches another, and 
 instils his instructions into him, is said to be his 
 master; and they that are taught by him, and em- 
 brace his tenets, are styled his followers. Now we are 
 bid as much to " learn of him " as his first disciples ; 
 and his apostles inculcate upon us the same lessons as 
 He did upon them; namely, that "the same mind 
 should be in us, as was in Christ Jesus :" so that as 
 He was equally a teacher to them and us, so are we 
 equally his disciples and followers as well as they ; and 
 so we may all well be. for He was a "Teacher come 
 from God :" and was alone able to deliver " tlie words 
 of eternal life." He hath given us the best instructions 
 and assistances too that were ever communicated to 
 the world, and hath delivered the most sublime and 
 
 ward tiiee, that we, loving thee above 2 Thess. iii. 
 all things, may obtain thy promises, ^' 
 which exceed all that we can desire; James i. 12. 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 2 Pet. i. 3, 4. 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Rom. vi. 3. 
 
 KNOW ye not, that so many 
 of us as were baptized into 
 Jesus Christ were baptized into his 
 death ? Therefore wo are buried 
 with him by baptism into death; that 
 like as Christ was raised up from the 
 dead by the glory of the Father, even 
 so we also shoidd walk in newness of 
 life. For if we have been planted 
 together in the likeness of his death, 
 we shall be also in the likeness of 
 his resurrection : knowing this, that 
 our old man is crucified with him, 
 that the body of sin might be de- 
 stroyed, that henceforth we should 
 not serve sin. For he that is dead is 
 freed from sin. Now if we be dead 
 with Christ, we believe that we shall 
 
 heavenly truths, that we are capable of receiving ; by 
 learning whereof, we cannot miss the way to eternal 
 life ; and so by embracing them, we are truly and 
 properly said to be his followers. 
 
 3. To be a follower of Christ, is to follow his example, 
 and to act by the pattern that He hath set us ; he that 
 treads in the same steps after another, is said to follow 
 him : and he that takes Christ for his director and 
 guide, and walks even as He walked, may be justly 
 reckoned in the number of his followers. Xow Christ 
 hath given us the best example for our imitation ; He 
 hath gone every step of our way to heaven before us, 
 to the intent, saith tb.e a])0stle. " that we should follow 
 liis steps, who did no sin, neither was any guile found 
 in his mouth." He liath set before us the most excel- 
 lent pattern of love, meekness, humility, and patience, 
 and indeed of all other virtues ; in which we are bid to 
 " be followers of him as dear children ;" and when we 
 are arrived to that, we may lie said with the discijiles 
 in the Gospel, to " forsake all, and follow him." Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 ' The sixth Sunday after Triniti/.'] The Collect for 
 the day reminds us of the good things which God hath 
 prejjared for them that love Him, ndiich are indeed 
 such as pass man's imderstanding ; and from thence 
 teaches us to pray to Him to pour into our hearts such 
 love towards Him, that we, loving Him above all things, 
 may obtain his promises, which exceed all that we can 
 desire, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now because 
 these good things are obtained for us by the death of 
 Christ, and the promises of them depend much upon 
 his resurrection ; therefore the Epistle for the day 
 mentions our conformity to both, as the best means to 
 procure a title to them, and to secure an interest in 
 them; which things are represented to us in our bap- 
 tism, and the profession made in it obliges us to them. 
 
 The Gospel contains another part of Christ's sermon 
 on the mount, wherein He vindicates the law from all 
 false glosses, and refines it into a more pure and per- 
 fect rule of life and manners. Dr. Hole. 
 
 O
 
 194 
 
 THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 also live with him ; 
 
 Christ being raised from 
 dieth no more ; 
 
 knowing that 
 the dead 
 death hath no more 
 dominion over him. For in that he 
 died, he died unto sin once : but in 
 that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 
 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves 
 to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive 
 unto God through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord ". 
 
 The Gospel St. Matth. v. 20. 
 
 JESUS said unto his disciples, 
 Except your righteousness shall 
 exceed the righteousness of the 
 Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in 
 no case enter into the Kingdom of 
 heaven. Ye have heard that it was 
 said liy them of old time, Thon shalt 
 not kill : and whosoever shall kill, 
 shall be in danger of the judge- 
 ment. But I say unto you, that 
 whosoever is angry with his brother 
 
 "How greatly and ardently is it to be desired, that 
 the generality of Christians would seriously lay this 
 Scripture to heart ! That they would now and then 
 reflect upon the eniragements, and the end, of baptism ! 
 That they would carefully examine, what confoi'mity is 
 to be found, between themselves and a dead and risen 
 Saviour; and be convinced, that they have no founda- 
 tion for hope in, nor benefit from, that death and resur- 
 rection, farther than such conformity can justify their 
 title ! Men would not then content themselves with 
 such a lame obedience, as covers, and quite swallows 
 up, a few faint essays towards, or acts of, piety and 
 virtue, with frequent and grievous relapses in sin: as 
 if the Lord, whom they are boimd to imitate, had died 
 often, and lain long buried, but rose and lived for very 
 short intervals. 'I'hey woidd not think it suflieient to 
 lead a life of ease and idleness, of no use, no exanijile, 
 as if the doing of good were of no consequence, but 
 the abstaining from notorious evil were the whole of 
 their engagement ; which, indeed, is in some degree to 
 copy after a dead, but by no means after a risen and 
 living Saviour. Much less could any, who attend to 
 this passage, allow tliemselves in such habits, as are a 
 scandal to religion, and a virtual alijuration of their 
 bai)tismal covenant. Adultery and lewdness, gluttony 
 and drunkenness, covetousness and ambition, strife 
 and revenge, profaneness and irreligion : these are such 
 raging plagues, as assault the very seat of our spiritual 
 life : the jiersons guilty of them could not do a kinder 
 thing to the credit of Christianity, than ojiculy to re- 
 nounce it. 1 had almost said, not a kinder tiling to 
 themselves, since they only profess it to their heavier 
 condemnation ; suice they neither imitate their Lord, 
 nor any servant of his, exeejit that traitorous one, who 
 said, " Master, Master, and kissed him," as a signal to 
 those enemies, who came under his conduct to take, 
 and to mock, and to kill llim. Dean Stunhope. 
 
 " The (iosjiel of this day may teach us, 1. to carry 
 our righteousness above and beyond that of the scribes 
 and Pharisees; they were curious about the outside, 
 and were fair and beautiful without, but within full of 
 filth and rottenness, liut let us endeavour to cleanse 
 the heart, and sec that matters be right within. 'J'liey ^ 
 
 without a cause shall be in danger of 
 the judgement: and whosoever shall 
 say to his brother, Raca, shall be in 
 danger of the council : but who- 
 soever shall say, Thou fool, shall be 
 in danger of liell-fire. Therefore if 
 thou bring thy gift to the altar, and 
 there rememberest that thy brother 
 hath ought against thee ; leave there 
 thy gift before the altar, and go thy 
 way, first be reconciled to thy bro- 
 ther, and then come and offer thy 
 gift. Agree with thine adversary 
 quickly, whiles thou art in the way 
 with him; lest at any time the ad- 
 versary deliver thee to the judge, 
 and the judge deliver thee to die 
 officer, and thou be cast into prison. 
 ^'erily I say unto thee. Thou shalt 
 by no means come out thence, till 
 thou hast paid the uttermost far- 
 thinif ". 
 
 stuck to the letter of the law, without minding the true 
 intent of it ; but let us look more to the spiritual sense 
 and meaning of it, and observe it in the full extent of it. 
 They condemned gross sins, and connived at less ; and, 
 if they abstained from tlie outward act, could allow 
 themselves in the inward motions, occasions, and ten- 
 dencies to it ; but let us lay the axe to the very root, 
 and cut down every branch of inicjuity. lliey rested 
 in the external acts of religion, as prayer, fasting, and 
 almsgiving, witiiout regarding the true ends or manner 
 of performing them ; but let us look more to our aims 
 and intentions in these duties, that they may be rightly 
 to the glory of God, and the good of our own and 
 others' souls. In a word, the Pharisees were proud, 
 liartial, and hypocritical, in their righteousness; and 
 therefore let us exceed them in the humilitv, integrity, 
 and sincerity of ours ; for since heaven and happiness 
 lie beyond the bounds and extent of their righteousness, 
 we must inevitably perish and niisearry with thcni, if 
 we go not farther than they. 2. Let our obedience to 
 Cod's laws extend to the whole design and intention of 
 them. In the affirinative precepts, let it reach to all 
 the means, motives, and incentives requisite to the ob- 
 servance of them ; in the negati\'e precepts, let it take 
 in all the occasions, steps, and tendencies, to the breach 
 of them. Particularly in keeping the sixth Command- 
 ment against killing, here mentioned, let us avoid all 
 rash and causeless anger, all malice and hatred, that 
 naturally lead to it ; for malice is a fre(|iient occasion 
 and forerunner of murder, and St. .lohii tells us, that 
 " he that hatelli his brother is a murderer," 1 .lolin iii. 
 1 .') ; for hatred is attended with a desire of taking away 
 the object of it, either by himself or another. More- 
 over, let us avoid all virulent and o]iprobrious siieeehes, 
 such as calling our brother |{aca, or fool, a vain, empty, 
 witless, and wicked fellow, wbiidi commonly provoke to 
 rage, and draw on murder. In short, "let all bitter- 
 ness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil 
 speaking, be jnit away from us, with all malice;" es- 
 pecially when we draw nigh to holy things ; and let ua 
 " be kind one to another, teiider-liearti'd, forgiving one 
 another, as Cod ior Christ's sake hath forgiven us;" 
 reconciling ourselves to our greatest foes. And let
 
 THE SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 195 
 
 Ps. Ixii. 11. 
 Jiinics i. 17. 
 2 Thess. iii. 
 
 Col. ii. 19. 
 2 Thess. iii. 
 3. 
 
 The seventh Sunday after Triiiitij". 
 The Collrrt. 
 
 LORD of" all power and niii^lit, 
 who art tlie aiitlior and giver of 
 all g-ood tilings ; Graft in our hearts 
 the love of thy Name, increa.se in us 
 true religion, nourish us with all 
 goodness, and of thy great mercy 
 keep us in the same; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epiftle. Rom. vi. 19. 
 
 I Speak after the manner of men, 
 because of the infirmity of your 
 flesh : for as ye have yiekled your 
 members servants to uncleanness, 
 
 that be done quickly, lest it be too late ; anrl so, by 
 living in peace and charity with God and man here, we 
 shall li\'e in eternal peace and joy with both hereafter. 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 ° The seventh Sundai/ after Trinity.'] The Collect for 
 the day beseeches the I^ord of all power and might, 
 who is the author and giver of all good things, to graft 
 in our hearts the love of his name, to increase in us 
 true religion, to nourish us with all goodness, and of 
 his great mercy to keep us in the same. The Epistle 
 for the day is the latter ]iart of the same chajjter from 
 whence that for the lust Sunday was taken ; where the 
 apostle having shewed the new converted Romans the 
 efficacy of Christ's death for the killing of sin, and the 
 virtue of his resurrection for the quickening of them to 
 a life of righteousness, he exhorts them to a conform- 
 able practice. To which end, he here in the close of 
 the chapter accommodates himself to their weakness, 
 and labours to convince them of the great danger of 
 their former sinful courses, and likewise of the safety 
 and happiness that is to be found in the ways of 
 righteousness. Dr. Hole. 
 
 The miracle recorded in the Gospel, though differing 
 in some few circumstances, is. with regard to the al- 
 mighty operation effecting it, the same as is recorded in 
 the Gospel for the fourth Sunday in Lent. The parts of 
 Dalmanutha, ver. 10, answer to the coasts of Magdala, 
 Matt. XV. 39. Magdala is said to have been a town so 
 considerable, as to give name to a. tract of the country 
 about it. Hence some have thought Dalmanutha a 
 village uithin that division. Others, taking Magdala 
 for the town of that name only, supjjose our Lord to 
 have come into that part of the coast between this and 
 Dalmanutha ; so that either of them might be named 
 indifferently. These places lie near each other, in the 
 half tribe of Manasseh, beyond Jordan. Dean Stan- 
 hope 
 
 " In drawing a comparison in this passage between a 
 state of sin and of holiness, St. Paul does not set himself 
 here to prove, as might most easily be jiroved, that the 
 toil and drudgery of a course of vice is insupi)ortal)le ; 
 and that men would have unanswerable objections to 
 religion, should it impose upon us commands, in any 
 degree so slavish and tyrannical as our own lusts and ])as- 
 sions do ; but, as he is treating with converts, that had 
 broken their chains, and asserted their native liberty, he 
 therefore contents himself with the mention of such 
 consequences, as that service, even when forsaken, does 
 naturally produce. Of these one present and inseparable 
 effect is " shame;" which, to a mind of any ingenuity, 
 must needs be very grating and terrible : for what can 
 make a man amends for the continual reproaches of his 
 
 and to inifpiitv, unto ini(iuity ; even 
 so now yield your iiu'iiiliers servants 
 to righteousness, unto holiness. For 
 when ye were the servants ot .sin, ye 
 were free from righteousness. What 
 fruit had ye then in tliose things 
 whereof ye are now ashamed ? for 
 the end of those things is death. 
 But now being made free from sin, 
 and become servants to God, ye 
 have your fruit unto holiness, and 
 the end everlasting life. For the 
 wages of sin is death : but the gift of 
 God is eternal life, through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord p. 
 
 own breast, and the reflections of having long persisted 
 in facts which cannot be remembered without the ut- 
 most confusion ? On the contrary, when we are hap])ily 
 got loose from this tyranny, and become our own men, 
 reason never fails to justify, nor conscience to applaud, 
 our better choice. And these are satisfactions so suited 
 to human nature, that all the commendations, nay, all 
 the honours and rewards, capable of being bestowed by 
 the whole world upon an ill action, are not an equiva- 
 lent for the private pleasure and peace, which result 
 from a testimony within, borne even to the most tra- 
 duced, afflicted, and persecuted virtue. 
 
 Again; the "end of these things is death;" death of 
 the body, even when renounced and re]iented of: but 
 otherwise death, that is, infinite and irreversiljle misery 
 of body and soul both. And what a lamentable con- 
 sideration is this, that, after unconceivable labour and 
 pain, a man hath not only purchased reproach and self- 
 eondenination, but ensured to himself remorse and tor- 
 ment, without interval or end ? Whereas, by employing 
 his time in the gentle and agreeable service of God, he 
 acts every day more and more in compliance with the 
 dictates of reason, advances and improves human nature, 
 exults and triumphs with inward peace and joy, which 
 carry him through his work with alacrily and delight; 
 but, when that work is brought to a conclusion, he is 
 paid, and overpaid, for all the difficulties in it, by a 
 bliss, of which all his former satisfacticms were fore- 
 tastes and pledges : a bliss therefore styled " life," 
 because all that is dear and desirable is im[)lied and 
 included in it : and a liliss that is life indeed, because 
 subject to no decay from within, nor to any destruction 
 from without. 
 
 There is yet one very remarkable circumstance behind, 
 greatly to the advantage of a holy life. It is that the 
 " death" inflicted upon sin is the " wages" of it ; what 
 God hath expressly threatened and given men sufficient 
 warning of; and therefore what they, who know before- 
 hand upon what terms they ensla\-e themselves, and who 
 have so many assistances and opportunities put into their 
 hands of being free and happy, do by their obstinacy 
 deserve. But the " eternal life," awarded to good men, 
 is what the very best of them neither do, nor ever can 
 deserve. For what can we deserve of reward hereafter 
 for embracing that \'irtue which so amply rewards its own 
 practice here ? How can a hajiijiness be strictly merited, 
 between the eternity whereof, anil the very short term we 
 serve for it, there is no manner of projjortion ? What 
 claim can an obedience lay, which is interrujited with 
 multitudes of backshdings and neglects, each whereof 
 would in rigour evacuate its title ? We may indeed de- 
 serve our punishments, because sin is our own, entirely 
 02
 
 196 THE EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 down on the groimcl. And he took 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mark viii. 1. 
 
 IN those t'ays the multitude being 
 very great, and having nothing 
 to eat, Jesus called his disciples 
 unto him, and saith I'.nto them, I 
 have compassion on the multitude, 
 because they have now been with 
 me three days, and have nothing to 
 eat : and if 1 send them away fasting 
 to their own houses, they will faint 
 by the way ; for divers of them 
 came from far. And his disciples 
 answered him, From whence can a 
 man satisfy these men w^ith bread 
 here in the wilderness ? And he 
 asked them. How many loaves have 
 ye ? And they said. Seven. And 
 he commanded the people to sit 
 
 our own act ; but can we, with any good sense, be said 
 to deserve a recompense, and such a recompense, for 
 acts, not entirely, not originally, ours ; and tbat at his 
 hands too, whose free grace and good Spirit it is that 
 worketh in us both the will and the deed? Most justly, 
 therefore, doth the apostle put the difference here between 
 " wages" and " gift :" that is the effect of justice, this 
 of bounty ; a bounty not inclined by any consideration 
 moving it on our part ; but redounding to, and descend- 
 ing ui)on us, by and for the sake of a person who hath, 
 it must be confessed, merited it to the uttermost ; even 
 Jesus Christ, whose ser\'ants we are, who condescended 
 to purchase it at the price of his own blood : and there- 
 fore not unto us be the praise, or any part of it, but 
 unto Him be honour, and glory, and thanks, "for this 
 his unspeakable gift." Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ■i .Since the necessities of our brethren in want are by 
 far more and greater, than the liberality of the wealthiest 
 and most open-handed man can possibly supjily ; it is 
 absolutely necessary that we should make some distinc- 
 tion. Wherein we shall do well to imitate our Lord's 
 conduct, as exemplified by this miracle, in the following 
 particulars. 
 
 1. 'lliat we generally bestow our charity u|K)n such, 
 as are least in a condition of sustaining themselves ; for 
 that which the desert was to these multitudes, the same 
 in effect are old age, maimed limbs, long sickness, nud- 
 titude of heliiless children, and the calamities which more 
 immediately and visibly come from the hand of God, to 
 the poor in general. 'I'hey disable them, 1 mean, from 
 furnishing tliemselves by painful labour and honest iu- 
 dustry ; and, in so doing, they lay them at oiu> doors, and 
 charge us with them : but as for them, whom pride or 
 profusion, sloth or vice, have reduced ; them, who con- 
 tinue; i)c)or only because they will not take any trouble to 
 be otlierwise ; the laws of (iod have not commanded, 
 and those of men wisely discoimtenance, the same com- 
 passion for such. To them, who make wandering and 
 beggary a trade, anil clioose tlie shume, Imt ease, ot that, 
 before an lionest and laliorious livililiood, the best and 
 truest charity is what Solomon and our own laws have 
 prescribed, " a scourge for the sbiggiird. and a rod for 
 the fool's back." \Vant tlien, involuntary want, is the 
 proper recoinmi'ndation to our pity and relief ,\nd this 
 13 to be rated, not always according to what men stand 
 in need of, but sometimes according to the circumstances 
 from which they arc fallen ; not always according to what 
 
 the seven loaves, and gave thanks, 
 and brake, and gave to his disciples 
 to set before them ; and they did 
 set them before the people. And 
 they had a few small fishes ; and he 
 blessed, and commanded to set them 
 also before them. So they did eat, 
 and were filled : and they took up of 
 the broken meat that vv-as left seven 
 baskets. And they that had eaten 
 were about four thousand. And he 
 sent them away ''. 
 
 The eighth Sunday after Trinity''. 
 The Collect. 
 God, whose never-failing pro- 
 idence ordereth all things both 
 
 OJ 
 
 they endure, but often by their being more or less des- 
 titute of remedies and helps against it. This gives the 
 widow and the fatherless, the outcast and the stranger, a 
 double title to our pity ; if their necessities be the same 
 with those of other persons, who yet have relations and 
 friends, to assist and take care of them. 
 
 2. 'Hiese multitudes followed Christ for his miracles 
 and his doctrine ; and hence we may learn, that those 
 poor ought to have a preference, who frequent and love 
 the worship and service of God, and lead honest and 
 orderly lives. If the image of God in man be the true 
 ground of our charity, then tliey, who are doubly like 
 Him, are doubly worthy of our charity ; ami therefore 
 great difference shoidd be made, between those lewd and 
 scandalous wretches, who deface and dishonour his like- 
 ness impressed upon their souls ; and them, who by their 
 virtues, and such improvements as their circumstances 
 are capable of, endeavour to resemble Him more and 
 more : to the similitude of nature, adding that better 
 and more valuable one of goodness and grace. 
 
 3. Once more, this action of our Lord instructs us, 
 that it suffices, if our charity minister to present neces- 
 sities ; without thinking itself obliged to provide either 
 that wliich is su])erfluous, or so much as may arm men 
 against futiue contingencies. It shews us too, that 
 managcry is an ornament, and an advantage to our 
 charity. And to this purpose that advice of St. Paul is 
 highly commendable, that men would contrive their 
 distributions so, as to be regular and easy, l)y " laying 
 up in store of that which God hath prospered tliem 
 with," 1 Cor. xvi. '2, as their affairs will permit. Thus 
 would our alms be always in readiness, and the poor 
 would have a separate purse ; a fund that, by rising in- 
 sensibly, would be parted with less grudgingly; a 
 tribute <lue for our successes; a most reasonable return 
 to Ilim, from whom we receive our all; nay, who con- 
 descends to accept of |)art of his own again, as not only 
 jiaid back, but given to Himself; and who will not fail 
 in his own time and way to recompense it accordingly, 
 cither before, or at, the last great day of account. Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 ' The ckjhth Snnchnj aftir Trinity.'] The Collect for 
 the day beseeches God, whose never-failing jmividence 
 ordereth all things, both in heaven and earth, to jnit 
 away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those 
 things which be profitable for us. 
 
 Now the things hurtful to us arc chiefly the works of
 
 THE EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 197 
 
 Ps. ciii. i3i in heaven and earth; we humbly 
 "ro^v'.'xvi .13. beseech thee to put away from us 
 sTiiess. ill. jj[[ hurtful tliuiirs, and to g-ive us 
 
 tlio.se things which be iirofitahle for 
 Ps. ixxxv.12 us; throujrh Jesus Christ our Loril. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Rom. viii. 12. 
 
 BR E T H R E N, we are debtors, 
 not to the flesh, to live after the 
 flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, 
 ye shall die ; but if ye throuo^h the 
 Spirit do mortify the deeds of the 
 body, ye shall live. For as many as 
 are led by the S|>irit of God, they are 
 the sons of God. For ye have not 
 received the spirit of bondage again 
 to fear ; but ye have received the 
 spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 
 Abba, Father. The Sj)irit itself bcar- 
 eth witness with our spirit, that we 
 are the children of God : and if chil- 
 dren, then heirs ; heirs of God, and 
 joint-heirs with Christ : if so be that 
 
 the flesh, which lead us to death and damnation ; and 
 the things profitable for us are the fruits of the Spirit, 
 which lead to life and salvation. Accordingly the Epis- 
 tle for the day treats of both these, exhorting us to put 
 away the one, and to put on the other. 
 
 I'he Gospel is another part or portion of our blessed 
 Saviour's sermon on the mount, wherein He cautions 
 his disciples and followers against false prophets and 
 teachers ; letting them know the manner and ends of 
 their coming, and giving them some marks of distinction 
 to discover and discern them by. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' From this Epistle we are instructed in the following 
 lessons : 
 
 1. From our not being debtors to the flesh, we are 
 taught to abandon all the sinful lusts and desires of it, 
 and that too upon pain of death and damnation ; for, 
 if we live after the flesh, we shall die. Indeed to satisfy 
 the ordinary and natural cravings of the flesh, is neces- 
 sary to preserve our bodily life ; but to gratify the un- 
 lawful and irregidar motions of it, will bring upon us 
 death temporal and eternal. 
 
 2. Being debtors to live after the Spirit, let us labom* 
 to discharge that obligation, by giving up ourselves to 
 the guidance and conduct of (jod's Holy S]iirit, follow- 
 ing the direction of his light, and the influence of his 
 grace in all our ways. 'I'his is to walk " worthy of the 
 vocation wherewith we are called," and to " walk as be- 
 cometh the Gospel of Christ ;" which will stand tlie 
 trial of the last day, and secure to us the reward of 
 eternal life ; " for there is no condemnation to them 
 that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, 
 hut after the Spirit." 
 
 3. From the great privilege of sonship granted to all 
 such, we may learn to behave ourselves as the sons and 
 children of God. The duty of children, we know, is to 
 love their parents with a hearty and entire affection ; 
 to shew to them obedience ; to place a trust and confi- 
 dence in them, and a de])endence upon their care and 
 provision for them : and in like manner should we 
 consider it our bounden duty to love, to shew our obe- 
 
 we suffer with him, that we may be 
 also glorified together". 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. vii. 15. 
 
 BE W ARE of false prophets, 
 which come to you in sheep's 
 clothing, but inwardly they are 
 ravening wolves. Ye shall know 
 them by their fruits : do men gather 
 grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? 
 Even so every good tree bringeth 
 forth good fruit ; but a corrupt tree 
 bringeth forth evil fruit. A good 
 tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; 
 neither can a corrupt tree bring 
 forth good fruit. Every tree that 
 brinireth not forth jfood fruit is hewn 
 down, and cast into the fire. Where- 
 fore by their frints ye shall know 
 them. Not every one that saith unto 
 me. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the 
 Kingdom of heaven ; but he that 
 doeth the will of my Father which is 
 in heaven'. 
 
 dience to, and place our trust and confidence in, our 
 heavenly Father. 
 
 4. From God's making all his sons heirs, we learn 
 the exceeding great honour and dignity, to which 
 Christianity brings its followers ; it makes them heirs 
 at present, and if they act in a manner worthy of their 
 Christian profession, will shortly enter them into the 
 possession of a kingdom, and that not an earthly fading 
 kingdom, that soon vanishes away, but a kingdom in 
 heaven, that never can be moved or taken from them. 
 " Now are we the sons of God," saith the apostle, " but 
 it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; this we know, 
 that when he shall appear, we shall appear with him in 
 glory." Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' Our Saviour in this passage warns his disciples 
 against two sorts of deceivers : " false Christs," or such 
 as should pretend to be the Messiah ; " false prophets," 
 or such as should pretend to own Christianity, but 
 should draw jjcrsons away from the simplicity of the 
 Gospel. The ground of his caution is, " they come in 
 sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves :" 
 that is, they make fair pretences to strictness in religion, 
 with which their real character is at variance. Hence 
 we may learn, 
 
 1 . That such as go about to seduce others, usually 
 pretend to extraordinaiy measures of sanctity them- 
 selves, that they may raise an admiration among those, 
 who judge of saints more by their looks than their lives ; 
 more by their expressions than their actions. What 
 pious looks and devout gestures ; what long prayers 
 and frequent fastings, were observed by the hypocriti- 
 cal Pharisees, beyond what Christ and his disciples ever 
 practised ! 
 
 2. From the rule laid down by oiu' Saviour, " by 
 their fruits ye shall know them," we may learn, that the 
 best method which we can take forjudging of teachers 
 pretending to be sent by God, is to examine the design 
 and tendency of their doctrines, and the course and 
 tenour of their conversations. Good teachers, like good 
 trees, will bring forth " the good fruits" of truth and.
 
 198 
 
 THE NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 Luke xi. 13. 
 Rosu. viii. 
 8, 3. 
 
 John XV. 5. 
 Heb. xiii. 21. 
 
 TIlc ninth Sunday after Trinity'^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 GRANT to us, Lord, v/e be- 
 seech thee, tlie spirit to tliink 
 and do always such tilings as be 
 rightfnl ; that we, who cannot do any 
 thing that is good without thee, may 
 by thee be enabled to live according 
 to thy will ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 Cor. x. 1. 
 
 BRETHREN, I would not 
 that ye should be ignorant, how 
 that all our fathers were under the 
 cloud, and all passed through the 
 sea ; and were all baptized unto 
 Moses in the cloud, and in the sea ; 
 and did all eat the same spiritual 
 meat, and did all drink the same 
 spiritual drink: (for they drank of 
 that spiritual Rock tliat followed 
 them; and that Rock was Christ.) 
 But with many of them God was 
 not well ]ileasecl : for they were over- 
 thrown in the wilderness. Now 
 these things were our examples, to 
 
 holiness : but evil men and seducers, like corrupt trees, 
 will bring forth error and wickedness in tlieir life and 
 doctrine. 
 
 3. From our Saviour's declaration, " Not every one 
 saith unto him. Lord, Lord," that ownetli Him by way 
 of profession, liy way of prayer, by way of a|ipeals, sliail 
 be saved ; " but be that doeth the will of his I'atlier," 
 sincerely and universally : we may learn that nmltitiides 
 at the great day shall be disowned by Christ, as none 
 of his servants who did nominally own Him for their 
 Lord and Master : that the bai-e name of Christianity, 
 without the practice of it, is a very insufficient ground, 
 whereon to build our hopes of heaven : and that a 
 profession of faith, and purposes of obedience, witli(Uit 
 actual obedience to the commands of God, will avail 
 no man living to salvation. Biirkil/. 
 
 " 'Ihe iiintk Sunday nfler Trinity.'^ The Collect for 
 this day beseeches God to grant to us bis Spirit, to 
 think and do always such things as be rightful, tliat 
 we, who cannot do any tiling that is good without 
 Him, may by Him be enabled to live according to his 
 will. Accordingly, tlie Epistle for the day teaches us 
 to think ariglit concerning the ('luircli, both under the 
 Law and under the (iospd; and likewise to do aright 
 by the directions of it under both dispensations. And 
 because, of ourselves, we can neither think nor do as 
 (jod would liave us, we are to implore the assistance of 
 his Holy Sjiirit, to enable us to please Him in both. 
 Lest Christians now should boast of higher and greater 
 privileges than tlie .lews bad of old, and so be e.xaltcd 
 above measure by (lie abundance of the (iospel revela- 
 tions; the apostle tells them, that the Israelites of old 
 were the people of (i<id as well as we, and bad the like 
 favours and miraculous works vouclis.afed to them 
 under the Law, as are now all'ordcd to us under the 
 (iospel ; and as they were punislieil for their ingratitude 
 and abuse of (jod's mercies, so we may not hope to go 
 unpunisihed, if we run into the like enormities. 
 
 the intent we should not lust after 
 evil things, as they also lusted. Nei- 
 ther be ye idolaters, as were some of 
 them ; as it is written. The people 
 sat down to eat and drink, and rose 
 up to play. Neither let us commit 
 fornication, as some of them com- 
 mitted, and fell in one day three and 
 twenty thousand. Neither let us 
 tempt Christ, as some of them also 
 tempted, and were destroyed of ser- 
 pents. Neither murmur ye, as some 
 of them also murmured, and were 
 destroyed of the destroyer. Now all 
 these things happened unto them for 
 ensamples : and they are written for 
 our admonition, upon whom the ends 
 of the world are come. Wherefore 
 let him that thinketh he standeth 
 take heed lest he fall. There hath 
 no temptation taken you, but such 
 as is common to man : but God is 
 faithful, who will not suffer you to 
 be tempted above that ye are able ; 
 but will with the temjitation also 
 make a way to escape, that ye may 
 be able to bear it ". 
 
 In the Gospel for the day we are presented with the 
 parable of the master and the unjust steward : in which 
 are figuratively rejiresented to us, 1 . The great liounty 
 and goodness of God in dispensing his blessings. 2. The 
 great injustice and unfaithfulness of men in wasting 
 and abusing them. 3. The great danger and difficul- 
 ties that ensue upon so doing. And, 4. The best 
 means to ]irevent these evils, and to turn the good 
 tilings to a better account. Dr. Hole. 
 
 " The history of Moses, as referred to in the several 
 instances mentioned in tliis Kpistle, leads us to ex- 
 amples of God's severity, even upon his chosen and 
 covenanted people; and shews, that Christians cannot, 
 by being such, promise themselves exemption from the 
 like judgments, if they shall, by the like disobedience, 
 render tliemsehes obnoxious to his angry justice. Hut 
 the inference, which, in the infancy of the Christian 
 church, St. Paul could ground ujion ]iarity of reason, 
 and in conijiarison with the .le«s only : we, in these 
 latter ages, may strengthen from matter of i'act ; and 
 events that have already befallen this Christian church 
 itself. The ])arts of it, once most cons]iicuoiis and 
 HourLshing for soundness of faith, and jiiety of life, 
 have long since been overrun with Mahometism and 
 barbarity. The light of the Gospel is taken a«'ay from 
 them, and they are once more given up to the blackest 
 darkness of sin and infidelity. Nor is the case thus 
 with whole nations only, who have been abandoned 
 by God, after having first abandoned themselves to 
 wickedness ; but, where the truth is still iirofesscd, 
 with ])rivate jiersons also, whose punishments resemble 
 those of the Israelites, wliere their transgressions have 
 done so. I'or how often docs the wisdom of I'rovideneo 
 exert itself, in undoing men by their own foolish 
 choice? How common a thing is it, for the sensual 
 and the worldly to have liis inordinate desires gratified 
 to his manifest detriment; and those honours, orrielies, 
 or pleasures, which he sought, as the most desirable
 
 THE NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 199 
 
 Tlie Gospel. St. Luke xvi. 1. 
 
 JESUS said unto his disciples, 
 Tiiere was a certain ricli man 
 wln'cli had a steward ; and the same 
 was accused unto liim that he had 
 wasted his troods. And he called 
 him, and said ntito him, How is it 
 that I hear this of tliee ? Give an 
 account of thy stewardship ; for 
 thou mayest be no longer steward. 
 Then the steward said within him- 
 self. What shall I do ? for my lord 
 taketh away from me the steward- 
 ship ! I cannot dig, to beg I am 
 ashamed. I am resolved what to 
 do, that, when I am put out of the 
 stewardship, they maj^ receive me 
 into their houses. So he called 
 every one of his lord's debtors unto 
 
 blessings of life, made his curse, and his ruin ; How 
 frequently do discontent and distrust, weariness and 
 impatience, delay, or utterly put by, those good, and 
 liasten or occasion those evil things, wliich, by waiting 
 the leisure, and submitting to the methods of the great 
 Governor of the world, would be ordered infinitely 
 more to our advantage ? But esjiecially (which is tlie 
 l)unishment, common to all the instances of disobe- 
 dience recited in this Scrijiture, and which indeed is 
 the heaviest of them all) how certain are the vicious 
 dispositions and practices, contrary to our vows and 
 our duty, to bring us under that common fate of tlie 
 rebellious Israelites, of being excluded the land of 
 promise : and so, wdiatever be oiu- portion in the wilder- 
 ness of this world, to cut off all access to the heavenly 
 Canaan ? 
 
 In one word, no covenant can be more solemn and 
 express, than that between God and his ancient people. 
 No promises on his, no engagements on man's part, 
 more firm. The marks and miracidous appearances of 
 his presence and favour were then as evident and as 
 glorious ; their privileges and deli\-erances were as dis- 
 tinguishing and valuable, as the condition of that 
 church could admit. Yet, all this notwithstanding, 
 when they so foully violated their part, they did at the 
 same time release God of his. They therefore, from 
 the most signal monuments of the divine goodness 
 and mercy, becoming by their own jierverseness the 
 most stujiendous monuments of wi-ath and vengeance ; 
 have furnished us with abundant ground for that in- 
 ference at the 12tb verse, "Wherefore let him that 
 thinketh be standeth take heed lest he fall." Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 ^ This parable sets before us a steward, about to be 
 dismissed from that gainful olRce, for his improvident 
 behaviour in it. This melancholy prosjiect puts him 
 upon contriving, how to secure himself a future mainte- 
 nance at his master's cost. The method chosen for 
 this pm-pose was to deal secretly with his lord's 
 debtors, and, by making false, but favourable entries, 
 into their books of account, to engage their kindness 
 when he should stand most in need of it. as a grateful 
 return for the sums thus remitted to them. In this 
 practice indeed there \i-as great dishonesty, for which 
 reason our Saviour calls him an " unjust steward," 
 ver. 8 ; but that part of his character, not falling 
 
 him, and said unto the first, How 
 much owest thou unto my lord ? 
 And he said, An hundred measures 
 of oil. And he said unto him. Take 
 thy bill, and sit down quickly, and 
 write fifty. Then said he to another, 
 And how much owest thou? And he 
 said. An hundred measures of wheat. 
 And he said unto him, Take thy 
 bill, and write fourscore. And the 
 lord commended the unjust steward, 
 because he had done wisely: for the 
 children of this world are in their 
 generation wiser than the children of 
 light. And 1 say unto you, Make 
 to yourselves friends of the mammon 
 of unrighteousness ; that when ye 
 fail, they may receive you into ever- 
 lastiuff habitations''. 
 
 within the compass of our Lord's design in propound- 
 ing this parable, is passed over, without farther ntitice 
 taken of it. Meanwhile his silence in that point can 
 by no means be construed into ap[>robation ; but an 
 instruction rather, that, in the interpretation of para- 
 l)les, we are to content ourselves with drawing such 
 consequences from thence, as their substance and main 
 intent naturally lead us to; without insisting too nicely 
 upon circumstances which are incidental only, and be- 
 side the pur]iose. properly to be served by them. Now 
 that, in the case before us, is manifestly to ]irovoke our 
 imitation of this man's wit and forecast ; who so dex- 
 trously laid the scheme for sidjsisting hereafter, by the 
 management of a trust, which although a present sup- 
 port, yet he ])erceived was not likely long to continue 
 so. And his great providence and application, so agree- 
 able to that earnestness of thought and care, which 
 sticks at nothing to secure the so uncertain advantages 
 of this world, is insinuated as a just reproach to the 
 inconsideration and remissness, which even thev, who 
 make it their principle and profession to secure the 
 everlasting advantages of another world, are observed 
 to be guilty of in the management of that affair. 
 
 Let us then make a projier use of the jjarable, and 
 allow it to awaken our diligence in this great concern 
 of our souls and a future state. Let us consider our 
 character, and the account to be given of it : that our 
 stewardship can be but short : and therefore, that no 
 time should be lost in getting the best security we can, 
 for an haliitation which may last for ever. Let us be 
 wise and generous at the same time, by turning that 
 wealth, which is one of our most dangerous temjita- 
 tions, into an occasion of the most ])rofitable virtue. 
 Let us adore the wisdom of our gracious Lord, who 
 thus instructs us, how to improve the perishing dross 
 of this world, into a " crown that fadeth not away for 
 ever in the heavens," 1 Pet. v. 4. Let us adore that 
 goodness which so amply rewards a small return of 
 his own gifts : and " shew mercy with cheerfulness," 
 Rom. xii. 8, since sm-e to lie accepted when employing 
 his riches to our own true interest : in a word, let us 
 always remember, that %ve are stewards ; and manage 
 e\-ery gift entrusted with us, as men that must give an 
 account. So shall we provide effectually against our 
 dismission from this service ; and, when we fail, as 
 shortly fail we must, shall be sure to find " friends "
 
 200 
 
 THE TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 1 Pet. iii. 12. 
 Ps. xxxiv. 
 15. 
 
 James iv. 3. 
 1 John V. 14. 
 
 Tlte tenth Sunday after Trinity'^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 LET tiiy merciful ears, O Lord, 
 be open to the prayers of thy 
 humble servants; and that they may 
 obtain their petitions make them to 
 ask such things as shall please thee ; 
 throuofh Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 Cor. xii. \. 
 
 CONCERNING spiritual 
 gifts, brethren, I would not 
 have you ignorant. Ye know that 
 ye were Gentiles, carried away unto 
 these dumb idols, even as ye were 
 led. Wherefore I give you to un- 
 derstand, that no man speaking by 
 the Spirit of God calleth Jesus ac- 
 cursed ; and that no man can .say 
 that Jesus is the Lord, but by the 
 Holy Ghost. Now there are diver- 
 sities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 
 And there are differences of ad- 
 
 ready and glad to " receive us into everlasting habita- 
 tions." ^^■hich God of his mercy grant we may, for 
 Jesus Christ's sake. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' The tenth Suniluy after Trinity.'] 'ITie Collect for 
 the day heseeclies the Lord, to let his merciful cars he 
 open to the prayers of his humble ser\'ants ; and that 
 they may obtain their petitions, to make them ask such 
 things as shall please Him. And that we may he the 
 better enahled to ask such things, the Epistle of the 
 day treats " concerning spiritual gifts," which the 
 a^jostle here declares to he so useful and so necessary a 
 piece of knowledge, that he would hy no means " have 
 us ignorant of it :" and to the end that the Christian 
 church might he rightly instructed in so divine and 
 e.vcellent a suhject, he" here treats at large of the 
 nature, the Author, the number, and the use of these 
 sjjiritual gifts. Dr. Hole. 
 
 In the ])assage preceding the Gospel of the day, the 
 Evangelist had just described our blessed Saviour's 
 triumphant passage to Jerusalem, the respects ])aid 
 Him in his way, and the general joy and acclamations 
 at his entrance into the city. The di\-ine mi.xture of 
 compassion and zeal, then expressed hy Himself, is the 
 subject of this day's Gosfjcl. The " former " was seen 
 in those tears of |)ity drawn from his eyes, and in the 
 tender lamentations of that ruin, and all the dismal 
 circumstances of it, which He here most punctually 
 foretels, as a imnisliment now determined, for avenging 
 the Jews' obstinate infidelity, and affected lilindniss. 
 The " latter " appears in his resentment of the profa- 
 nations committed upon the " temple," in driving out 
 those that sold and bought there, and ri-proacliing 
 them witli that injustice and extortion, which turned 
 tliat " house " into a " den of tliieves ;" though they 
 could not but be sensible that (iod had asserted a 
 peculiar ))roperty in it, and designed it purely for the 
 uses of piety and devotion. Diun .'itanhope. 
 
 • Although it be allowed on all hands, that the gifts 
 mentioned in this passage are those mirarulous ones, 
 wliich. tliougli nei'cssary in the first ages of the Church, 
 have long since lieen withdrawn, ui)on tliat necessity 
 
 ministrations, but the same Lord. 
 And there are diversities of opera- 
 tions, but it is the same God, who 
 worketh all in all. But the mani- 
 festation of the Spirit is given to 
 every man to profit withal. For to 
 one is given by the Spirit the word 
 of wisdom ; to another the word of 
 knowledge by the same Spirit ; to 
 another faith by the same Spirit ; 
 to another the gifts of healing by 
 the same Spirit ; to another the 
 working of miracles ; to another 
 prophecy ; to another discerning of 
 spirits ; to another divers kinds of 
 tongues ; to another the interpre- 
 tation of tongues. But all these 
 worketh that one and the selfsame 
 Spirit, dividing to every man seve- 
 rally as he will*. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke xix. 4L 
 
 AND when he was come near, 
 he beheld the city, and wept 
 
 ceasing ; we ought nevertheless bear in mind, that 
 there are also assistances and gifts, of use and con- 
 tinuance in all ages of Christianity, to which the 
 force of the apostle's reasoning extends itself. Tliese 
 likewise are the gifts of (iod ; these are given to be 
 exercised for promoting his glory, and the good of 
 mankind ; and these are so distributed, that every 
 man may be in some, though none in all, respects 
 serviceable ; but all have their particular stations and 
 endowments, in which, if rightly chosen, and diligently 
 improved, they are fitted to discharge their duty, by 
 bringing honour to God and benefit to the world. 
 
 It is also presumed, by some, that St. Paul here, as 
 well as at the end of the chapter, speaks of gifts im- 
 parted to, and exercised by, those that are frequently 
 distinguished under the title of " spiritual persons ;" 
 such as bore some office in the Church, or administered 
 in holy things. The occasions, and in ]n-oportion the 
 supplies, of these persons, no doubt, were greater than 
 those of common men. And some of the gifts, speci- 
 fied in this i)assage, seem in a more ])eculiar manner 
 accommodated to their character. liut liere again I 
 cannot but apprehend it of importance for every Chris- 
 tian, in what capacity soever, to think himself con- 
 cerned. And this, without all controversy, is the in- 
 tent of our excellent C'luirch, when jn'opounding this 
 Scripture, in the yearly Kpistle for this day, to the 
 pious meditation of all her children. It is, that they 
 might be reminded whence their good gifts come; 
 awakened to a conscientious iiii])i-ovemeiit of tliem ; 
 tliankful for, and contented witli, what tliey have 
 received ; luimlile and modest in their opinions of 
 themselves ; diligent in the business of their particular 
 callings; useful and jirofitablc to the body in general; 
 tender and respectful to their brethren ; compassionate 
 to their failings, liberal and kind to their wants, and 
 glad of their advantages. For these are the good qua- 
 lities which this Kpistle aims at ])i'oinoting : qualities, 
 whicli it is as reasonable for us to cultivate, as we are 
 liound by our religious obligations to cultivate them. 
 Dean Stanhope,
 
 THE ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 201 
 
 over it, saying, If thou liadst known, 
 even tliou, at least in this tliy day, 
 the things wliich iielong unto thy 
 j)eace ! but now they are liid from 
 tiiine eyes. For the days sliall come 
 upon thee, that thine enemies sluiU 
 cast a trench about thee, and com- 
 pass tliee round, and l\eep thee in 
 on every side, and shall lay thee 
 even with the ground, and thy chil- 
 dren within thee ; and they shall 
 not leave in thee one stone upon 
 another ; because thou knewcst not 
 the time of thy visitation. And he 
 went into the temple, and began to 
 cast out them that sold therein, 
 and them that bought, saying unto 
 them, It is written, My house is the 
 house of prayer : but ye have made 
 
 '' The expression, by which our Saviour here descriljes 
 the jilace dedicated to God's worship, suggests to us 
 with what respect tlie Church ought to be regarded, 
 considering it, 1 . as it is " the house of God," and, 2. 
 as it is " the house of prayer." 
 
 1. The church, considered as God's house, obliges 
 us to demean ourselves in it, as under God's more 
 immediate presence and observation. His presence 
 and his eyes, no doubt, are every where; but yet we 
 are taught to believe, that He manifests Himself in 
 some places after a more especial manner than in 
 others. Not that we attribute to these places an holi- 
 ness inherent and essential, but such as is relative only, 
 and due for the sake of their owner and inhabitant ; 
 and therefore all aspersions, that charge such respect 
 with idolatry or superstition, proceed either from great 
 ignorance or great pervei-seness. 
 
 2. As the church is a "house of prayer," eveiy man 
 should be careful effectually to make it such to himself; 
 that the offices, jjerformed there, may be frequented 
 conscientiously, and joined in devoutly. The benefits 
 of publick prayer are many and great; and our peti- 
 tions, when with united force ascending to hea\'en, bid 
 much fairer for acceptance and success, than any the 
 most vehement importunities of a single and solitary 
 devotion : particularly the unanimous and uniform 
 prayers of the Church express the unity of our faith, 
 our mutual charity, our joint relation to Christ, the 
 mystical Head of this body. In this regard, prayer 
 and sacraments have an advantage above reading, or 
 hearing, or any other religious duties : and probably 
 this may be one main reason why God's house is called 
 the "house of prayer;" for preaching and expounding 
 are indeed instructions in our duty, sent from God for 
 our good ; but we may be instructed by ])ious advice, 
 and useful books at home : we may likewise pray alone, 
 but we cannot do the one or the other alone so as to 
 testify to the world oiu- communion with Christ and 
 with one another, like the same things done in the 
 publick assemblies of Christians. Hence every one 
 should make a conscience of improving every oppor- 
 tunity for such prayers ; because every one is obliged 
 to acknowledge that spiritual society, the being a mem- 
 ber whereof does (originally speaking) put him in a 
 cajjacity of salvation. 
 
 But to come is a small thing, unless we join too ; 
 join with our hearts, with our mouths, with our whole 
 bodies. The minister pronounces the petitions in the 
 
 it a den of thieves. And he taught 
 daily in the temple''. 
 
 o 
 
 The eleventh Sundaij after Trinity ". 
 The Collect. 
 God, who declarcst thy al- 
 mighty power most chiefly in 
 shewing mercy and pity ; Merci- Jam 
 fully grant unto us such a measure 
 of thy grace, that we, running the Epii 
 way of thy commandments, may ob- 
 tain thy gracious ])romises, and be 
 made partakers of thy heavenly trea- 
 sure; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 Cor. xv. 1. 
 
 BR E T H R E N, I declare unto 
 you the Gospel which I preached 
 
 1 Cor. ix. 24. 
 Fs. cxi.x. 32. 
 
 people's name and behalf; but let it not be supposed, 
 that he will be heard for any, who neglect to pray for 
 themselves. Every one, therefore, should repeat the 
 confessions, to acknowledge his own sin and vileness; 
 and the creeds, to declare and confirm his own faith ; 
 and the Lord's Prayer, to call God Father with his own 
 mouth. The hearts of the jieojile should go silently, 
 and reverently, along with him, in all the other jiarts 
 of the service, and confirm every Collect for themselves, 
 by expressing the earnest desires of their souls, in a 
 distinct and hearty Amen. As oft as he says, " Let 
 us pray," they should recollect their wandering thoughts, 
 rouse their heavy hearts, and double their vehemence 
 and zeal. And throughout all the Litanies and an- 
 swers, they should be very diligent to do their part ; 
 esteeming it (as in truth it is) a singular privilege, that 
 the lay-members of the Church of England have a 
 greater share allotted to them in her offices, than those 
 probably of any other persuasion. This may be safely 
 affirmed ; that, if our ])ublic ])rayers be defective, it 
 must be on the part of those that use them. For the 
 Church hath taken admiralile care of her ])art : and by 
 the jirudent constitution of a most excellent Liturgj', 
 gives us great hopes of obtaining the mercy, which we 
 are directed to beg in the Collect for this day. Namely, 
 that being thus taught to " ask such things as please 
 God, his merciful ears will be open" (and may they 
 ever be open) "to the prayers of" us "his humble 
 servants, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Amen. 
 Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' Tlie elcpenth Sunday after Trinity.'] We are taught 
 to pray this day for such a measure of divine grace, 
 that, by running the way of God's commandments, we 
 may obtain his gracious promises, and be made par- 
 takers of his heavenly treasure. The grace here chiefly 
 prayed for, is the grace of faith, to which the running 
 of the ways of God's commandments, and the obtaining 
 of the promises, are frecjuently ascribed. And in this 
 we may be the more conlii'med by the Epistle appointed 
 for the day : in which the apostle labours to establish 
 the Corinthians and in them all Christians in a firm 
 belief of the death, burial, and resurrection of oiu' 
 Saviour ; which he the rather did, because some false 
 teachers had crept in among them, who denied the 
 resurrection, and had shaken the faith of many in that 
 great article, as some have Mkewise attempted to do in 
 our days. 
 
 The Gospel for the day sets forth, in a parable, the
 
 202 
 
 THE ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 unto you, which also ye liave re- 
 ceived, and wherein ye stand : by 
 which also ye are saved, if )'e keep 
 in memory what I preached unto 
 you, unless ve have believed in vain. 
 For I delivered unto you first of all, 
 that which I also received, how that 
 Christ died for our sins, according 
 to the Scriptures ; and that he was 
 buried ; and that he rose again the 
 third day, according to the Scrip- 
 tures ; and that he was seen of Ce- 
 phas, then of the twelve ; after that, 
 he was seen of above five hundred 
 brethren at once ; of whom the 
 greater part remain unto this pre- 
 sent ; but some are fallen asleep : 
 after that he was seen of James ; 
 then of all the Apostles : and last of 
 all, he was seen of me also, as of 
 one born out of due time. For 1 
 am the least of the Apostles, that 
 am not meet to be called an Ajiostle, 
 because I persecuted the Church of 
 God. But by the grace of God I 
 am what I am : and his grace which 
 was bestowed upon me was not in 
 vain: but I laboured more abun- 
 
 right way and manner of praying unto God, and tlie 
 certain good success that mil ensue iijion the due per- 
 forming of it; as also a uTong way of address to Him, 
 too often used, with the bad issue and unsuccessfulness 
 thereof. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ^ The assertion of our Lord's dying and rising from 
 the dead, as a necessary and well-attested article of the 
 Cliristian faith, which is contained in the former part of 
 this Kjiistle, having been spoken to on former occasions ; 
 it may be more useful here to remark on the latter part, 
 which is introduced incidentally by the apostle, and con- 
 tains a digression concerning bimsell'. In this he hath 
 left us an cxam])le of these following virtues : 
 
 1. Of humility, and a mean opinion of our own per- 
 formanci.s, even when highly useful and commendable; 
 in allowing to others their just ])raiscs and ilescrts, and 
 being so far from any vain-glorious emulation, or de- 
 tracting from their wortli, as to jjractise that modesty 
 and " lowliness of mind" elsewhere prescribed, of "es- 
 teeming others better than ourselves. 1 am the least of 
 the ajjostles," &c. I'liil. ii. .3 ; 1 Cor. xv. 9. 
 
 2. X frequent recollection even of those faults from 
 which it is our hajipiness to !)e ])erfectly reclaimed. For 
 though God, in the greatness of his mercy, vouchsafe to 
 blot out and forget these, yet it is highly necessary for us 
 to keep them in rcmemlirance. This is an admirable ex- 
 ])cdient for jireventing all ill efTeets of that spiritual 
 pride, so apt to get ground upon men eminently good, 
 for awakening our caution and just fears of rclaiisc, by 
 modest remembrances what we ba\-e been, and humble 
 apprehensions what we may be again, and for ])reserv- 
 ing, by these means, a thankful sense of the change 
 maih' in us. " I am not meet to be called an apostle, 
 because I persecuted the church of (jod," ver. !). 
 
 3. A very extraorduiary diligence and zeal, to make 
 reparation hy the following part of our li^'cs, for any 
 
 dantly than they all ; yet not I, but 
 the grace of God which was with 
 me. Therefore whether it were I 
 or they, so we preach, and so ye 
 believed"*. 
 
 Tlie GoxpcL St. Luke xviii. 9. 
 
 JESUS spake this parable unto 
 certain \xhich trusted in them- 
 selves that they were righteous, and 
 despised others : Two men went up 
 into tbe temple to pray ; the one a 
 Pharisee, antl the other a Publican. 
 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus 
 with himself, God, I thank thee, that 
 I am not as other men are, extor- 
 tioners, unjust, adulterers, or even 
 as this Publican : I fast twice in the 
 week, I give tithes of all that I pos- 
 sess. And the Publican, standing 
 afar off, would not lift tip so much 
 as his eyes unto heaven, but smote 
 upon his breast, saying, God be 
 merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, 
 this man went down to his house 
 justified rather than the other : for 
 every one that exalteth himself shall 
 be abased ; and he that humbleth 
 himself shall be e.xalted*. 
 
 omissions, neglects, or notorious crimes, whereby our 
 consciences have been wounded, or the cause and credit 
 of truth and religion may ha\'e suffered heretofore. " I 
 laboured more abundantly than they all," ver. 10. 
 
 4. Even when this change and reparation shall be 
 made, arrogating no merit or glory to ourselves, but 
 ascribing the whole to (iod's goodness, and the opera- 
 tions of his blessed Spirit. " By the grace of God I am 
 what I am." And again, "Yet not I, but the grace of 
 God which was with me." 
 
 In all these particulars we shall do well to follow the 
 apostle; for otherwise we shall hardly obtain (iod's gra- 
 cious promises, and be made [lartakers of his heavenly 
 treasure, for which the Collect teaches us to pray. Dean 
 Slnnlwpe. 
 
 " The sum of the instruction, intended to be conveyed 
 by this ])arable, anu)unts to thus much. 'J'bat, however 
 men may mistake themselves, or one another, " (iod 
 always bath respect tuito the lowly, but beholds the 
 proud afar off," I's. cxxxviii. (i : that no jiast offences, 
 how many, how heinous, bow habitual and inveterate 
 soever, will shut out from bis jiardou any sinner, who 
 humbly liewails and heartily forsakes them ; that a lofty 
 conceit of our own suiliciency differs as much from the 
 testimony of a truly gooil conscience, as the swellings of 
 a disease, from th<' kindly pro]iorti(ms of a healthful 
 boily : that a theatrical aH'cctation of godliness, with 
 pride and imcharitalileness, anil disdaiid'ul jtulgmcnt of 
 others, is nearer to hell tlian a profligate and scandalous 
 course of life, witli contrition, and cliarity, and lowliness 
 of sjiirit; that it behoves us therefore to take good heed, 
 lest even the most solemn duties of religion be abused 
 and turned against us; and that he only attends upon 
 these as he ought, who really inorlillcs his vanity and 
 his passions, and brings himself to be more humble, 
 more charitable, more sensible of his own failings, and
 
 THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 203 
 
 A' 
 
 The twclflli Siiiidinj after 'rrinihj ^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 LMIGHTY and everlasting 
 GofI, wlio art always more 
 ready to hear than we to pray, and 
 isa. ixv. 21; art wont to give more than either 
 rs X. 17; we desire'', or deserve; Pour down 
 I ivVih^ 12^' I'pon us the abundance of thy mercy ; 
 H>ii. ii. 4, 5, fortfivina- us those tliino;s whereof our 
 iii. 21, 21. conscience is afraid, and ii'ivinjj: us 
 Ii I"'" "' those good tilings which we are not 
 (icn. xxxii. wortliy to ask, but through the me- 
 Numb. xiv. rits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy 
 
 Juliu xvi. 23. 
 
 Son our Lord. Amen. 
 
 s 
 
 The Epistle. 2 Cor. iii. 4. 
 
 U C H trust have we through 
 Christ to God-uard : not that 
 
 less severe upon those of other people : and, lastly, that 
 the i)roper way of a sinner's applying for mercy and 
 urace, (and all of us are sinners.) is, not arrogantly to 
 tliank God, that we are " not as other men are ;" but, 
 as the [lurest of churches hath directed us, " meekly to 
 acknowledge our vileness, and truly to repent us of our 
 faults." For our good Lord hath promised, and it is 
 the express design of this parable to assure us, that 
 '■ they, whose consciences by sin are accused, by his 
 merciful pardon shall be absoh-ed, through Jesus Christ 
 our Saviour." Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' 'ilie twel/th Sunday ajter Trinity.'] The Collect for 
 this day puts us in mind of God .Almighty's great readi- 
 ness to hear our prayers, and to gi\'e more than we desire 
 or deserve; and thence teaches us to implore the abun- 
 dance of his mercy, for the pardon of our sins, and the 
 pouring out of his graces ujjon us. To which end, the 
 Epistle for the day speaks of [lutting our trust in God 
 through Jesus Christ: "such trust" (saith the apostle) 
 "have we through Christ to God-ward :" which words 
 relate chieHy to the fidelity of the apostles in the work 
 of the ministry, and the success they had thereby, which 
 they looked upon as their greatest glory, and needed no 
 other commendation ; not arrogating any thing of it to 
 themselves, but ascribing all to the ])owcr and grace of 
 God ; for in the ne\t words he acknowledges their utter 
 insufTiciency to think or do any good thing of them- 
 selves ; saying, " Xot that we are sufficient of ourselves 
 to think any thing as of ourselves :" to which he adds 
 God .Almighty's all-sufficiency to help them; "but our 
 sufficiency is of God." AN'liich they found in the 
 exercise of a ministration far beyond that of Moses, 
 as plainly ap])ears from the sequel of this Epistle. Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 The subject of the Gospel is the relation of a miracle 
 wrought by our Saviour on the person of a deaf and 
 dumb man, who was thereby healed of both his infirmi- 
 ties. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ^ — m'>re than either we desire,'] It may be said, that 
 ■we often offer up to God such general requests, as include 
 all jjarticulars whatsoever. How then cau God be said 
 to give "more than we desire?" The answer is, that 
 the expression relates to such requests, as are not general 
 but particular. We do not always know, what parti- 
 cular things are most fit for us ; and therefore we can- 
 not desire those things in ])articular. So that though 
 we do desire them in general terms, when we beseech 
 
 we are sufficient of ourselves to think 
 any thing as of ourselves; but our 
 suifieieiicy is of God. Who also 
 luitli made us able ministers of the 
 New Testament; not of the letter, 
 but of tlie Spirit : for the letter 
 killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. 
 Hut if the ministration of death 
 written and engraven in stones was 
 glorious, so that the children of Is- 
 rael could not stedfastly behold the 
 face of Moses for the glory of his 
 countenance, which glory was to be 
 done away; how shall not the minis- 
 tration of the Spirit be rather glo- 
 rious ? For if the ministration of 
 condemnation be glory, much more 
 doth the ministration of righteousness 
 exceed in glory ''. 
 
 God to give lis whatever we stand in need of; yet we 
 do not desire them in that sense, in which the phrase is 
 manifestly understood in this place. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 *" The purport of this day's Epistle may be improved 
 into the following lessons : 
 
 1 . Our great weakness and inability to do any thing 
 of ourselves may serve to check all pride and ]iresump- 
 tion, and to kee)) us from trusting too much to our 
 own strength. He that relies upon his own ])ower, 
 leans but upon a broken reed, which will fail and 
 deceive him. 2. As the sense of our insufficiency 
 should keep us from presumption ; so should the sense 
 of the sufficiency we have of God preserve us from 
 des])au' : for though we are unable to think or do any 
 thing of ourselves, yet " his grace is sufficient for us ;" 
 and " we can do all things through Christ that 
 strengthens us :" who is nex'er wanting to the hearty 
 desires and endeavours of his people ; for He is ever 
 more ready to hear us, than we are to pray to Him; 
 and the returns of his goodness far exceed both our 
 desires and deserts. 3. This discourse may teach us 
 to banish all vain conceit of merit, and to ascribe all 
 that we have, are, or can do, entirely to the divine 
 bounty; for if all our sufficiency be of God, then we 
 are nothing of ourselves, and consequently can merit 
 nothing at God's hands ; for He that can do nothing 
 can deserve nothing. 4. If all our sufficiency be of 
 God, then let us thankfully own from whence we re- 
 ceive it, and duly em]iloy what we have in his service. 
 This is the end of all the gifts and graces bestowed 
 upon us, that we should use them to the honour of 
 God, who gave them, and the good of them for %vhose 
 sake they were given. 5. Since this sufficiency is de- 
 rived to us by the Gos])el covenant, we learn the ex- 
 cellency and benefit of it above the legal dispensation. 
 The law exacted duty, but afforded no strength to 
 perform it ; it required perfect and universal obe- 
 dience to all its prece])ts, and pronounced a curse upon 
 every one that continued not in all things that are 
 written in the book of the law, to do them ; but gave 
 no power to keep, nor any pardon for the breach of 
 them : for which reason the letter of the law is said to 
 " kill," and the law itself to be a " ministration of death 
 and condemnation," because it left men in a hopeless 
 and helpless state without any remedy or relief. Whereas 
 the Gospel, on the other hand, not only requires duty, 
 but promises grace to assist and enable to the perform-
 
 204 THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 The Gospel. St. iSIark vii. 31. 
 
 JESUS, departin;; from the coasts 
 ot Tyre and Sidon, came unto 
 the sea of Galilee, through the midst 
 of the coasts of Decapolis. And 
 they bring' unto him one that was 
 deaf, and had an impediment in his 
 speech ; and they beseech him to 
 put his hand upon him. And he 
 took him aside from the multitude, 
 and put his fingers into his ears, and 
 he spit, and touched his tongue ; 
 
 ance of it ; and therefore as the law is styled " The 
 Letter," so the Gospel is styled " The Spirit':" the one 
 is said to " kill," called therefore a " dead letter;" the 
 other to " give life," called therefore " the ministration 
 of the Spirit and righteousness." In short, the Gospel 
 reheves us from the curse and sentence of the law, by 
 the sanctifying graces and assistances of the Holy Spi- 
 rit ; it requires no more than it gives strength to per- 
 form; it accepts of sincerity, instead of perfect obedi- 
 ence ; and if we happen to faU by a temptation, it heljis 
 us to rise again by reijentance. And therefore we 
 should bless God for making this new covenant, and 
 taking us under this easy and gracious dispensation ; 
 " we are not under the law," saith St. Paul, " but 
 under grace :" for which we have great reason to thank 
 God, and to make a right use of it. Lastly, since all 
 our sufficiency is of God, we are taught where to seek 
 it, and how to find it, in time of need ; namely, by 
 having recourse unto God by prayer, who hath' i)ro- 
 mised to give wisdom to them that ask it, and grace to 
 them that lack and desire it : to Him therefore let oiu- 
 prayers and praises be directed, who is able and \i-illing 
 to do more for us than we can ask or think. Amen. 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' From the Gospel of this day the following reflexions 
 arise : 
 
 1. Our blessed Saviour, by looking up to heaven, 
 whilst He performed this miracle, not only reminds us, 
 that there was his home, and his throne, and the scat 
 of his majesty, and that there the greatest angels adore 
 Him ; but teaches us likewise, that there our eye should 
 be fixed, whence Cometh down e\Try good and perfect 
 gift. He did not teach us to say, O infinite (iod, which 
 art every where; but, "O our Father, which art in 
 heaven." 'I'herc let us look up to Him. Thence let 
 us acknowledge all the good we receive : thence let us 
 c.vpcct all the good wc want. 
 
 '2. Our Saviour sighed: surely not for need; the 
 least motion of a thought was in Him cfTectual. He 
 cindd not^ but be heard of his Father, who was one 
 with bis I'atlier. But He sighed, jiartly for compas- 
 sion ; partly for cxamjile : for compassion of those 
 manifold infirmities, into which sin liud |)hmge(l man- 
 kind, a mournful example whereof was here presented 
 unto him ; for exanii)le, to fetch siglis from us for the 
 miseries of others, sighs of sorrow for theui, sighs of 
 desire for their redress. 
 
 3. Christ was not silent, while He cured the dmnli. 
 His " ephpliatha" gave life to all his other actions. His 
 command of the ear and mouth to open was the act of 
 (iod. He coulil not cnmmaud that which Me made 
 not. His word is im|)crative; ours issu])plicatory. He 
 doth what He will with us: we do by Him, what He 
 thinks good to impart. 
 
 and looking up to heaven, he sighed, 
 and saith unto him, Ejihpliatha, that 
 is. Be opened. And straightway his 
 ears were opened, and the string of 
 his tongue was loosed, and he spake 
 plain. And he charged them that 
 they should tell no man : but the 
 more he charged them, so much the 
 more a great deal they published it ; 
 and were beyond measure astonished, 
 saying. He hath done all things well; 
 he niaketh both the deaf to hear and 
 the dumb to speak'. 
 
 4. In his mouth the word cannot be severed from the 
 success. Our Saviour's lips are no sooner opened in 
 his " ephphatha," than the mouth of the dumb and the 
 ears of the deaf are opened. At once we behold here 
 celerity and perfection. Natural agents work by leisure, 
 by degrees : nothing is done in an instant : by many 
 steps is every thing carried from the entrance to the 
 consummation. Omnipotence knows no rules. No im- 
 perfect work can proceed from a cause absolutely per- 
 fect. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Lastly, Our Lord, having wrought this miracle, 
 " charged them that they should tell no man." The 
 reasons, which induced llim to forbid the divulging of 
 this and of some other miracles, might probably be 
 these : 
 
 1. To decline, as much as was possible, the emy 
 and o])position of the Pharisees. He did not only 
 " know what was in man," John ii. 25, and, conse- 
 quently, what entertainment each of his actions would 
 meet with; but He had, by many experiments, found, 
 how those men in jiarticular stood affected towards 
 Him. He saw them so far from any disjiosition to im- 
 prove, by fresh demonstrations of his divine power; 
 that those did but add to their guilt, and provoke them 
 to blasphemy and rage. The construction they made 
 of such miraculous recoveries was, that He dispossessed 
 devils, by a good understanding and secret collusion 
 "with the prince of the devils," Matt. xii. 24. This 
 point He sometimes vouchsafed to argue with them, 
 and exposed the unreasonableness and absurdity of 
 such malice ; but this gave him great interruption in 
 his main work, and engaged Him in contests, disagree- 
 able to tlie peacefulness of his temper. So that, though 
 our l^ord could have confuted the folly and malice of 
 his slanderers, yet it was more for liis purpose to con- 
 ceal some evidences of his ]iower, than to pn;voke them 
 to be troublesome, by m:diing that ]iower pidilick. 
 
 2. But neither was envy and contradictiim all He had 
 to avoid : for those enemies did not only blaspheme his 
 person, but attem|it upon his life, 'i'lie Sou of God 
 indeed came into the world with a purjiose to die: liut 
 the selii'ine l;iid by the divine wisdom had ordained a 
 course of many things before, anil iu order to, his dying. 
 He coidd also, by his almighty jiower, have defeated 
 their wicked conspiracies, ami borne down their utmost 
 force; (as He afterwards maile ajipear in the garden, 
 by striking to the ground, with a word of his month, the 
 men who came to apprehend llim ;) but this was nota 
 proper season for exertinji; that jiower. John xviii. 6. 
 The truth of his human nature was now to be attested. 
 And, bis aiipearaiice at present being that of a mere 
 man, the same uu'thods of priulent care were fit to be 
 taken, by which couunon men, in like cases, are wont 
 to preserve themselves.
 
 THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 205 
 
 A" 
 
 T 
 
 The thirteenth Sundai/ after Trhntt/^. 
 
 The Colkct. 
 
 LMIGHTY and merciful 
 
 God, of whose only gift it 
 
 Cometh that thy faithful jieopie do 
 
 unto thee true and laudalile service ; 
 
 1 Cor. XV. 10. Grant, we beseech thee, that we may 
 
 so faithfully serve thee in this life, 
 
 iicb. vi. 11, that we fail not finally to attain thy 
 
 heavenly promises ; through the 
 
 merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 The EpistU. Gal. iii. 16. 
 
 O Abraham and iiis seed were 
 the promises made. He saith 
 y not, And to seeds, as of many ; but 
 
 as of one ; And to thy seed, which 
 is Christ. And this I say, That the 
 covenant that was confirmed be- 
 fore of God in Christ, the Law, 
 which was four hundred and thirty 
 
 3. A third probable reason of this concealment might 
 be, to prevent any sedition or tumults among the ])eo- 
 ple. The common notions of the Messiah at that time 
 are sufficiently known; and, as it could not become 
 our Saviour to countenance those errors, so neither 
 could it, by rendering himself suspected to the govern- 
 ment, to give his ad\-ersaries the ad\'antage they de- 
 sired. Now every thing that contributed to their be- 
 lief of his being the ^Iessiah, would be a temptation 
 to desert their established governors and put them- 
 selves under his protection, as ordained liy God to be 
 their rightful king and victorious deliverer. Hence, it 
 is likely the disciples are forbidden to declare Him the 
 Christ, till He should be risen from the dead. Matt. 
 xvi. 20; as well as because the miraculous effusion of 
 the Holy Ghost was a requisite qualification for the 
 bearing of that testimony effectually. 
 
 4. But, I make no doubt, another reason for our 
 Lord's conduct in this matter was, that He might set 
 us an example of humility, and of doing good for good's 
 sake. He had directed his disciples to content them- 
 selves with the knowledge and approbation of God, and 
 the inward satisfactions of having discharged their duty. 
 Matt. \-i. 4 ; that they should consider, they serve one, 
 who sees in secret, and who will one day shew that He 
 knows and remembers their good deeds, by rewarding 
 them openly. As therefore, in other instances of virtue ; 
 so here our Lord apjiroves Himself a pattern and prac- 
 tiser of his own doctrine ; by not corn-ting the fame and 
 praise of men, and declaring his behaviour free from all 
 suspicion of vanity. What other hidden caiises there 
 might be for such commands of secrecy, is best known 
 to the infinite wisdom of Him who gave them ; but to 
 us these are sufficient. Dean Stanhnpe. 
 
 •* The thirteenth Sunday after Trinity?^ llie Collect 
 for this day teaches us to pray unto God for grace, that 
 we may so faithfully serve Him in this life, that we fail 
 not finally to attain his heavenly promises. The pro- 
 mises here meant are those of justification and salva- 
 tion by faith in Christ, whereby all mankind, who, by 
 the sin of our first parents, were doomed to temjjoral 
 and eternal death, are, by the merits of a Saviour, 
 happily restored to a spiritual and everlasting life. 
 'ITiese St. Peter styles " exceeding great and precious 
 
 years after, cannot disannul, that 
 it should make the promise of none 
 effect. For if the inheritance be of 
 the Law, it is no more of ])romise ; 
 i)ut (iod gave it to Abraham by 
 promise. Wherefore then serveth 
 the Law? It was added because of 
 traiLsgressions, till the seed should 
 come, to whom the promise was 
 made ; and it was ordained by 
 angels in the hand of a mediator. 
 Now a mediator is not a mediator 
 of one; but God is one. Is the 
 Law then against the jironiises of 
 God? God forbid : for if there iiad 
 been a law given which could have 
 given life, verily righteousness should 
 have been by the Law. But the 
 Scripture hath concluded all under 
 sin, that the promise by faith of 
 Jesus Christ might be given to them 
 that believe'. 
 
 promises," as proceeding from the rich inexhaustible 
 treasure of divine goodness, 2 Pet. i. 4. And of these 
 St. I'aul here treats in the Epistle for this day. 
 
 The Epistle having spoken of Christ in the promise 
 made to Abraham long before his coming, the Gospel 
 speaks of Him as actually come, shewing Himself to his 
 disciples, and delivering to them the words of eternal 
 life : and thence declares the much greater blessedness 
 of those that saw Him in the flesh, than of those that 
 only beheld Him in the promise. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' From this Epistle may be inferred the following 
 weighty and useful lessons : 
 
 1. We may learn hence to magnify the infinite 
 wisdom, power, and goodness of God, in providing a 
 remedy for us in the promised seed. We were all k.st 
 in Adam, but are hapjiilj' restored in Jesus Christ : the 
 sin of the one being done away by the righteousness of 
 the other. This was the blessed contrivance of heaven 
 for the restoration of mankind ; who had neither know- 
 ledge nor ability to help themselves. In this forlorn 
 condition our gracious God took pity upon us, and 
 found out this expedient to relieve us in our lowest 
 state, and thereby distinguished us in his favour abo\'e 
 the noblest rank of creatures ; for, though the angels 
 fell from their station of glory, and afterwards drew 
 us into the same misery with themselves, yet the Son 
 of God was pleased to pass by them, and restore us : 
 for He took not on Him the nature of angels, but took 
 on Him the seed of Abraham : which is an instance of 
 the divine goodness, ever to be acknowledged and ad- 
 mired by the sons of men. 
 
 2. We learn hence the right way and method of our 
 justification, which is not bj' the works of the law, where- 
 by no flesh living can be justified, but by faith in Christ. 
 The law speaks nothing but death and condemnation : 
 and as many as are under the law, are under the curse. 
 It is the grace and spirit of the Gospel, which alone 
 speaks life and sah'ation : it is that which provides us 
 with the pardon of our sins, and the acceptance of our 
 persons as righteous before God. We all stand con- 
 demned by the sentence of the law, which the best of 
 us daily break in thought, word, and deed : so that we 
 can expect no favour thence, and it would be arrogance 
 and folly to build the hopes of salvation on so bad a
 
 206 THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 TIic Gospel. St. Luke x. 23. 
 
 BLESSED are the eyes wliich 
 see the things that ye see. For 
 I tell you, That many prophets and 
 kings have desired to see those 
 things which ye see, and have not 
 seen them : and to hear those things 
 which ye hear, and have not heard 
 them. And behold, a certain Lawyer 
 stood up, and tempted him, saying, 
 Master, what shall I do to inherit 
 eternal life ? He said unto him, What 
 is written in the Law ? how readest 
 thou? And he answering said. Thou 
 shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
 thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
 with all thy strength, and with all 
 thy mind ; and thy neighbour as 
 thyself. And he said unto him, 
 Thou hast answered right ; this do, 
 and thou shalt live. But he, willing 
 to justify himself, said unto Jesus, 
 And who is my neighbour ? And 
 Jesus answering said, A certain man 
 went down from Jerusalem to Jeri- 
 cho, and fell among thieves, which 
 stripped him of his raiment, and 
 
 foundation. To find mercy, we must have recourse to 
 the ])romise made to us in Abraham, and look for a 
 blessing to the promised seed ; and to obtain justilica- 
 tion, we must appeal from the rigour and curse of tlie 
 law, to the mercy and favour of the Gospel, and rely 
 upon the atonement revealed in it as purchased by 
 Christ, and bestowed on them that believe. 
 
 La-stly, let us learn to qualify ourselves for that bless- 
 ing, and that is by faith in Christ : for the promise is 
 made and given only to them that believe. !t is not 
 the bare descent from Abraham that will intitle to it : 
 for St. John the Baptist bade the Jews, not to think it 
 sufficient to say, "We have Al)raham to oiu" father; 
 for (iod," he added, " is able of these stones to raise up 
 children unto .\l)raham," Matt. iii. 9. And our Saviour 
 tells them, that "calling Abraham their father" would 
 be of no use to them, without doing the works and 
 following the faith of .\braham, John viii. 39. 50. No 
 external jirivileges could do them any service, without 
 internal grace in the heart : for " neither circiuncision 
 availeth any tiling, nor uncircumcision, b\it a new 
 creature," or " faith which worketh l)y love." Where- 
 fore let us pray and labour for a firm and st<'dfast faith 
 in Christ; and that, not a dead, idle, and ineilectiial 
 faith; but a faith that is lively and operative, and is 
 accompanied with good works ; for a dea<l faith will 
 never bring us to life, nor obtain for us the promise of 
 salvation. Dr. Hole. 
 
 " I'Vom tliis Gospel we learn two very material 
 points, relating to the duty of love to our neighbour. 
 The first concerns the persons, to whom it ought to 
 extend ; the second the instances, whereby it ought to 
 be e.vprc9scd. 
 
 I. (Jf the enmity and aversion between the Sama- 
 ritans and the .lews the Scriptures have given ns 
 frecpient intimations: the result of wliirli is. that there 
 was not ujioii earth a creature more detested by the 
 
 wounded him, and departed, leaving 
 him half dead. And by chance 
 there came down a certain Priest 
 that way, and, when he saw him, he 
 passed by on the other side. And 
 likewise a Levite, when he was at 
 the place, came and looked on him, 
 and passed by on the other side. 
 But a certain Samaritan, as he jour- 
 neyed, came where he was ; and, 
 when he saw him, he had compassion 
 on him, and went to him, and bound 
 up his wounds, pouring in oil and 
 wine, and set him on his own beast, 
 and brought him to an inn, and took 
 care of him. And on the morrow, 
 when he departed, he took out two 
 pence, and gave them to the host, 
 and said unto him. Take care of 
 him ; and whatsoever thou spendest 
 more, when I come again, I will 
 repay thee. Which now of these 
 three, thinkest thou, was neighbour 
 inito him that fell among the thieves? 
 And he said, He that shewed mercy 
 on him. Then said Jesus unto him, 
 Go, and do thou likewise". 
 
 Jeivs than a Samaritan. Tliey loaded these sepa- 
 ratists with execration ; they refused all dealing with 
 them in the common business of life : they would not 
 allow them the usual civilities to strangers ; nor do for 
 them any of those offices of humanity, which no one 
 man would think much to do for any other man. And 
 the Samaritans (like the generality of those on whom 
 the guilt of separation lies) were, on their part, no whit 
 behindhand in perverseness and spite. 'I'he instance, 
 therefore, of charity here described, was such, as, all 
 circumstances considered, could least be expected. So 
 that this example (when drawn into a rule, and made, 
 as here it is, a jjattern for others to cojiy after) docs 
 manifestly import, that lit a jierson in necessity and 
 affliction be who or what he will, still he is a jiroper 
 object of our charity, and we are bound to be tou( bed 
 with, and to have a very tender compassion for, his 
 case. 
 
 2. The Samaritan, who made good the character of a 
 neighbour, did not express his pity in idle and unpro- 
 fitable bemoanings, but in active and cU'ei'tual relief. 
 lie expended his own provisions ; jKnucd the oil and 
 wine, bought for bis own use, into the bleeding wounds 
 of the forlorn stranger; dismounted luiuself, and set 
 the impotent wretch ujion his own beast ; conveyed 
 him to a jilace of rest and refreshment ; fiu-nisbe<l him 
 witli necessaries during their stay together, and at 
 parting undertook for the continuance of bis supjiort, 
 and the perfecting of his recovery. And all this he 
 frankly did; when his own countrymen, when tliey, 
 whose ])rofessi(m obliged them more especially to be 
 charitable, had overlooked him, and done nothing at all 
 for him. 
 
 'I'his deportment again instructs us, that it is not suffi- 
 cient, to have a tender sense of want and distress, with- 
 out expressing that sense in such instances of succour, 
 as our own and the suil'erer's circumstances shall render
 
 Tin-: FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 207 
 
 I Cor. xiii. 
 13. 
 
 .Kihn xiv. 
 I'l— 21. 
 Rov. xxii. 
 
 The fourteenth Sunday after Trinili/ ". 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, give unto us the increase 
 of faith, iiope, and charity ; and, tliat 
 we may ol)tain that whicli thou (hist 
 promise, make us to love tiiat winch 
 thou dost command ; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Gal. v. 16. 
 
 I Say then. Walk in the Spirit, and 
 ye sliall not fulfil the lust of the 
 tlesh. For the flesh lusteth aufainst 
 the Spirit, and the Spirit against the 
 flesh ; and these are contrary the one 
 to the other ; so that ye cannot do 
 the things that ye would. But if ye 
 
 seasonable and proper : that we ought to be content with 
 some inconvenience, to give ourseh'es some troul)le, not 
 to grudge some expense, for sucb a one's comfort and 
 relief: that we should not be weary of well-doing, but 
 carry on our compassion and liberality to perfection ; 
 and not think much to continue our assistance, so long 
 as there continues to be need of it : that we may not turn 
 a fit object off. and shelter our inhumanity, under that 
 too common, but very frivolous excuse, of some, who are 
 more nearly allied, or more strongly obliged to such care 
 than we are, having neglected him. For what is more 
 absurd, than to suppose, that another's crime can be our 
 justification ? A countryman, an acquaintance, a near 
 relation, may be hard-hearted and unnatural : but, if they 
 have not done their part, the obligation is not less, and 
 the occasion is greater, for us to do ours. And though 
 the party in affliction be neither kinsman nor friend; 
 nay, an heretick, an heathen, an enemy though he be ; 
 yet he is still in the Gospel sense " our neighbour :" and 
 consequently, it is our part to contribute all we can, that 
 may be serviceable for his consolation and assistance, his 
 support under, and his deliverance out of, his sufferings 
 and sori'ows. 
 
 And " this" is truly and properly to " love our neigh- 
 bour as ourselves." The meaning of which command is 
 not, either that we should love any neighbour with equal 
 tenderness as ourselves : (for that I conceive is hardly 
 possible :) or that we should love every neighbour ahke : 
 (which, if we suppose it possible, were neither just nor 
 natural :) or that we should do for our neighbour all that 
 he now does, or that we, if in his circumstances, might 
 perhaps wish and desire to be done for ourselves (for 
 such desires may be irregular ; or, if not sinful, yet un- 
 reasonable). But it is, to do all that for him, which, 
 were our case his, and his ours, we should in reason and 
 good conscience e.xpect, and he glad, to have done to us. 
 And as the love a man bears to himself is always sincere, 
 so should the love of our neighbour be, in this respect, 
 as that to ourselves : not mercenary and designing, but 
 disinterested and hearty ; intending the benefit of the 
 party we ex])ress it to ; not indirectly seeking our own 
 profit or pleasure ; and, as an evident proof whose good 
 it is we aim at, not balking any proper expression of it, 
 either to " them," who have no past or personal consi- 
 derations to induce it ; or to " them," from whom we can 
 have no jn-ospect or human possibility of a return to be 
 made for it. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 he led by the Spirit, ye are not under 
 the law. Now the works of the 
 flesli are manifest, which are these, 
 adultery, fornication, uucleanuess, 
 lascivionsness, idolatry, witchcraft, 
 hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, 
 strife, seditions, heresies, envying.s, 
 murders, drunkenness, revellings, and 
 such like ; of the which I tell you 
 before, as 1 have also told you in 
 time past. That they who do such 
 things shall not inherit the kingdom 
 of God. But the fruit of the Spirit 
 is love, joy, peace, long-suftering, 
 gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, 
 temperance : against such there is 
 no law. And they that are Christ's 
 have crucified the flesh, with the 
 affections and lusts". 
 
 " The fourteenth Sunday after Tritiity.'] The Collect 
 for the day teaches us to pray for the increase of faith, 
 hope, and charity, the three great virtues and ornaments 
 of a Christian's life; which, by inclining us to love what 
 God commands, will entitle us to all that He hath pro- 
 mised. 
 
 Now these excellent graces of God's holy Spirit being 
 mainly, if not only, opposed by the works of the flesh, 
 the Epistle sets forth both the works of the flesh, and 
 the fruits of the Spirit ; to the intent that we may eschew 
 the one and embrace the other. 
 
 The Gospel records the miracle wrought by our Saviour 
 on the ten lepers. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ° From this passage it may be observed, 1. That the 
 word " spirit," besides other significations, sometimes 
 denotes the tlm-d Person in the blessed Trinity ; some- 
 times the gifts and graces of that Spirit ; sometimes the 
 Gospel of Christ. In this place it must be taken in one 
 of these three senses : and in any of them it will answer 
 the apostle's purpose ; as is manifest by his 0])]Dosing it 
 to the flesh and the law. For the flesh liere denotes that 
 corrupt princijile in every man, whicli strongly disposes 
 us to sinful and jiresent profits and pleasures. And, as 
 the Gospel is sometimes called the Sjjirit, because the 
 graces and guidance of the Holy Ghost are a privilege 
 peculiar to this dispensation, and expressly covenanted 
 for under it; so the law is sometimes called the " flesh," 
 because it neither could convey, nor did contract for, 
 any such suiiernatural assistances, but left men under 
 the power of their sensual inclinations, without the 
 counterbalance of any higher and better jirinciple. 
 
 Now the use I would make of these several distinctions 
 is, to infer from them, that leading a life of purity and 
 virtue, in ojiposition to our brutish and carnal lusts, and 
 a law of carnal ordinances, " li\ing by faith and grace," 
 in opposition to works, and any confidence in moral 
 duties performed by reason and natural strength ; that 
 go\'erning ourselves by the word of Christ, and following 
 the directions and holy motions of his good Spirit within 
 us ; that these, 1 say, however expressed variously, do 
 mean and come all to the same thing at last. That he, 
 who does one of them, does the other, and that " having 
 the Spirit, living after the Spirit, walking in the Spirit," 
 and " being led by the Spirit," include them all, in which 
 soever of the forenamed meanings the word Spu-it be 
 used or interpreted. For evidence hereof no other ai-gu- 
 ment is needful, than St. Paul's catalogue of vu-tues
 
 203 THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke xvii. 11. 
 
 AND it came to pass, as Jesus 
 went to Jerusalem, that he 
 passed through the midst of Samaria, 
 and Galilee. And as he entered 
 into a certain village, there met him 
 ten men that were lepers, which 
 stood afar off, and they lifted up 
 their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, 
 have mercy on us. And when he 
 saw them, he said unto them. Go, 
 shew yourselves unto the priests. 
 And it came to pass, that, as they 
 
 here, which he so positively affirms to be the " fruit of 
 the Spirit," and that long black roll of vices, which he 
 denominates " works of the flesh," and the " crucify- 
 ing" whereof he gives in as a certain mark of being 
 Christ's. So perfectly unscriptural are the fancied no- 
 tions, which some have advanced concerning the actings 
 and the signs of the Spirit ; so great an indignity to true 
 evangelical religion are all the reproaches and disparage- 
 ments cast upon moral duties, when performed by the 
 assistance of his grace. 1 say by the assistance of his 
 grace, because the 
 
 Second thing I would observe is that encouragement 
 for "walking in the Spirit," but especially the ground 
 and foundation of it which we have in the 1 Oth and 1 7th 
 verses. " Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the 
 lust of the flesh." How can we be sure, that such walking 
 will be attended with so ha]ipy an effect? \\ by, even 
 from hence: " For," (says he,) that is, because "the 
 flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against 
 the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, 
 so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." The 
 true meaning whereof must certainly be, that, as Chris- 
 tians, who still continue to be men, do carry about with 
 them a cornii)t principle, inclining them oneway; so 
 have they, by virtue of their being Christians, a super- 
 natural and dixine principle, drawing them another way. 
 In a word, as he, who is lelt to the powers of nature, 
 cannot do the good which his own reason, or " the law 
 in his mind," tells him is fit to be done ; because, des- 
 titute of that Spirit which is the cause of all the good 
 we do : so he, that is conducted by the Spirit, can- 
 not comi)ly with the " law in his members," which is 
 the cause of uU the evil wc do. 'i'hc former is the case 
 of persons " luider the law," represented at large in the 
 7th to the Uomans ; the latter is the pri\-ilege of jier- 
 sons " led by the Sjiirit," assigned here as a reason for 
 their " not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh." 
 
 I observe once more, thirdly, that among " the works 
 of the flesh" .some are reckoned which seem to consist 
 in the errors and evil disjiositions of the mind. Such in 
 particular arc " heresy, malice, envy," &c. lint the pro- 
 priety of this denomination may very well be justified, 
 t)y considering that even tliesc are clfccts of the same 
 cause, a wicked and worldly principle ; and that the ends 
 men propose to themselves, by indulging them, are gra- 
 tifications of the outward man, by some pleasures and 
 advantages peculiar to the ])rescnt state, and of a sensual 
 nature. Meanwhile, when tliese works of the flesh are 
 said to be " manifest," we may fairly understand it, that 
 the malignity of their nature and consequences evidences 
 itself to the reason of every thinking man, and that no- 
 thing but corruption and prejudice and passion, could 
 blind our judgment, or ever reconcile us to the ])raetice 
 and indulgence of vices so pernicious and detestable. 
 Dean Slanhnpe, 
 
 went, they were cleansed. And one 
 of them, when he saw that he was 
 healed, turned back, and with a loud 
 voice glorified God, and fell down 
 on his face at his feet, giving him 
 thanks ; and he was a Samaritan. 
 And Jesus answering said. Were 
 there not ten cleansed ? but where 
 are the nine ? There are not found 
 that returned to give glory to God, 
 save this stranger. And he said unto 
 him, Arise, go thy way, thy faith 
 hath made thee wholes. 
 
 '' 'I'his miracle, and the circumstances attending it, 
 (like sundry others done by our blessed Lord,) carried a 
 very significant sense, couched under that which lies 
 open to common view. It is a Uvely image of the 
 reception which Jesus and his Gospel met with in the 
 world ; bow the ungrateful Jews rejected both with in- 
 dignation and scorn ; how the Gentiles, like this Sama- 
 ritan, from whom such an instance of ingenuity could 
 be least expected, received his doctrine thankfidly, im- 
 proved it diligently, and shewed that they valued the 
 inestimable mercy justly, 
 
 But it ofl'ers to our consideration something besides, 
 which we are more nearly concerned to take strict 
 notice of. For, the truth is, this passage is the very 
 picture of mankind, and holds to us a glass, in which 
 almost every soul may see its own disposition hut too ex- 
 actly resembled, too strongly reflected. 'Hie generality 
 of the world, are they not like these lepers, extremely 
 clamorous and importunate in their cries and cnm- 
 ]ilaints, impatient of sorrow and distress ; but when 
 those cries have prevailed for ease and deliverance, 
 are they not then every whit as like them in the other 
 ])art of their deiiortment too ? For rarely, very rarely, 
 do we meet with such vigorous impressions, such be- 
 coming acknowledgments, as every considering stander- 
 by can easily discern the goodness of God to call for at 
 our hands. How often in the anguish and bitterness of 
 our souls, when a sudden danger hath threatened our 
 jiersons, or a wasting sickness hath brought us down to 
 the gates of the gra\-e ; when the guilt of our past lives 
 hath stared us in the face, and the prosjiect of Jiell, 
 gajiing to receive us, hath distracted the conscience 
 with amazement and despair ; how often, I say, in 
 seasons of publiek or ]iri\-ate calamity, in concerns for 
 ourselves, or for some \cry dear to us, have we jiourcd 
 our hearts before God, and shewed Him of all our 
 trouble? Promised if He woidd spare that relation, 
 recover us from that disease, or put away from us that 
 death only, or ])ardon fbiit sin which wounded our 
 hearts, that we would ne\-er forget the mighty mercy ? 
 And yet how suddenly, how scanilalously, ha\'e his 
 gracious condescensions, and our most solemn and 
 alfcctionate vows slipjied out of our minds ? How 
 have all remendirances, all effects of his rod, been 
 quite lost and gone, as soon as ever the smart of it 
 ceased ? All, 1 say, except that worst and most dc- 
 ploralde effect, of increasing our condemnation, and 
 having his mereifid answers to our requests rise up in 
 ju<lgement against us ? Wc read the (iospel for this 
 day in cold lilood, and stand perhaps astonished at the 
 stujiidity of those base unthankful lepers; and yet, if 
 we descend into our own breasts, they are able to 
 reproach us, as Nathan did David, with a"'I'hou art 
 the man." Nay, thou art worse than the worst of 
 those men, whom thou blamcst for forgetting one
 
 THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 209 
 
 K 
 
 The fifteenth Sunday after Trinity'^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 E E P, we beseecli tlicc, O 
 
 Lord, thy Church with thy 
 
 Mati. xvi. IS. perpetual mercy: and, because the 
 
 frailty of man without thee cannot 
 
 jer. X. 23. hut fall, keep us ever by thy help 
 
 Matt, vi 13. from all things hurtful, and lead us 
 
 to all things profitable to our salva- 
 
 Ps. ixxiii.24. tion; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Gal. vi. 11. 
 
 YE see how large a letter I have 
 written unto you with mine 
 own hand. As many as desire to 
 make a fair .shew in the flesh, they 
 constrain you to be circumcised ; 
 only lest they should suffer persecu- 
 
 mercy ; for every one of us have received frequent and 
 eminent instances of the divine goodness : no day 
 passes without refreshing our memories, hy new de- 
 monstrations of it, and yet (insensible \vretches that 
 we are) scarce one among us takes care to acknowledge 
 it in any tolerable manner; or makes his praises in 
 ease and prosperity hold proportion with his prayers 
 when in misery and want. These are reflexions which 
 the case before us ministers but too just occasion for. 
 And therefore it greatly behoves us all, to take all the 
 means we can for remedying so great an evil : especially 
 by taking pains to represent to our minds in the most 
 lively manner the infinite variety of mercies we receive. 
 Those that seem to be benefits of course, and enjoyed 
 in common with all mankind : those that are national, 
 or local, or domestick, or personal : and these shovild 
 be recounted very often, because scarce any day passes 
 without some memoraMe instance ; not any, to be sure, 
 without the renewal of manifold blessings, in some 
 capacity or other. But those which shoidd be always 
 uppermost in our esteem, and consequently would be 
 so in our thoughts, are the spiritual mercies, " the in- 
 estimable love of God in the redemption of the world 
 by Jesus Christ, the means of grace, and the hope of 
 glory." All these should be nicely observed, justly 
 valued, and seriously considered. And, were they so, 
 we should be out of all danger of falling under the 
 reproach of the nine Jews ; and daily, hourly, \\ith the 
 humble zeal of that ingenuous Samaritan, should " with 
 loud voices glorify God, and fall down at Jcsus's feet, 
 and give" Ilim those thanks, which to Him, n'ith the 
 Father, and the Holy Ghost, do continually belong. 
 To whom therefore be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 Dean Stnnhnpe. 
 
 1 Thefiflcenth Sunday after TrmityP^ The Collect for 
 the day directs us to pray, that God would keep his 
 Church with his perpetual mercy : and, because our 
 own great frailty daily exjioscs us to many dangers, 
 we beseech Him to keep us from all things hurtful, 
 and to lead us to all things profitable to our salvation. 
 Now the keeping of the Church, here ]irayed for, is 
 chiefly to keep it in the true faith ; and, because there 
 are many things that are apt to corrupt it, and to make 
 men fall away from the purity of it, as prosperity and 
 persecution, we are here taught to pray to be preserved 
 from all things that may prejudice, and to be led to all 
 
 tion for the cross of Christ. For 
 neither they themselves who are 
 circumcised keej) tlie law; but de- 
 sire to have you circumcised, that 
 they may glory in your flesh. But 
 God forbid that I should glory, 
 save in the cross of our Lord .Jesus 
 Christ, by whom the world is cruci- 
 fied inito me, and I unto the world. 
 For in Christ Jesus neither circum- 
 cision availeth any thing, nor uncir- 
 cumcision, but a new creature. And 
 as many as walk according to this 
 rule, peace be on them, and mercy, 
 and upon the Israel of God. From 
 henceforth let no man trouble me ; 
 for I bear in my body the marks of 
 the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ be with 
 your spirit. Amen^ 
 
 things that may promote, our salvation. Accordingly 
 the Ejiistle for this day acquaints us with St. Paul's 
 great care to preserve the Galatians in the purity of the 
 Christian faith, against the attempts of false teachers, 
 who sought to bring them back to the antiquated rites 
 and ceremonies of the Jewish worship. 
 
 The design of the Gospel is to take off men's hearts 
 from an inordinate love and pursuit of the perishable 
 things of this world, and to place them upon a more 
 lasting and substantial treasure in heaven. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' From St. Paul's discourse here we may learn to 
 " stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made 
 us free, and not to be entangled again in the yoke of 
 bondage." St. Luke tells us, that the Church some- 
 time groaned under a heavy and burdensome yoke of 
 carnal ordinances, such as neither they nor their fore- 
 fathers were able to bear ; from this yoke Jesus Christ 
 hath ha])inly delivered his church, having blotted out 
 the hand-wi-iting of ordinances against us, and rescued 
 us from the beggarly rites and rudiments of the cere- 
 monial law, and jmrticularly the jiainful rite of circum- 
 cision. Let us not then suffer ourselves again to be 
 brought into bondage to these things ; Christ being 
 the sole Master of our faith, let us not become the 
 servants of men. This advice St. Paul frequently 
 gave in most of his Epistles, which yet we must not 
 strain so far, as to think all comely ceremonies relating 
 to time, place, and gesture, to be now forbidden in the 
 service of God ; for, without some of these, it cannot 
 be ])erformcd in that decency and order that is re- 
 quired ; but that we are not to return again to the 
 Mosaical ceremonies and sacrifices, which being types 
 and shadows of good things to come, must vanish and 
 cease at the coming of them. Insomuch that we are 
 now called to no other circumcision, save that of the 
 heart, nor to offer up any other calves than those of the 
 lips ; for " we are the circumcision " (saith the apostle) 
 " that worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ 
 Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh," Phil, 
 iii. 3. 
 
 2. From what is here said, we may learn not to shrink 
 from the faith for fear of persecution, but rather with 
 our apostle to glory in the cross of Christ, by which we 
 shall be crucified to the world, and the world to us. 
 
 3. We learn here, that no external privileges or ad- 
 vantages are sufficient of themselves to bring us to
 
 210 THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. vi. 24. 
 
 " ^r O man can serve two masters : 
 _^^ for either lie will hate the one, 
 and love tlie other ; or else he will 
 hold to the one, and despise the 
 other. Ye cannot serve God and 
 Mammon. Therefore I say nnto 
 you, Take no thought for your life, 
 wjiat ye shall eat, or what ye shall 
 drink ; nor yet for your body, what 
 ye shall put on : Is not the life more 
 than meat, and the body than rai- 
 ment ? Behold the fowls of the air : 
 for they sow not, neither do they 
 reap, nor gather into barns; yet 
 your heavenly Father feedeth them. 
 Are ye not much better than they ? 
 Which of you by taking thought can 
 add one cubit unto his stature? And 
 why take ye thought for raiment ? 
 Consider the lilies of the field how 
 
 heaven : for " in Christ Jesus neither circumcision 
 
 availeth any thinfj, nor uneircumcision, but a new 
 creature :" nor will baptism, or any other Gospel 
 privileges, do us any service, \rithout a true faith, and 
 the answer of a good conscience. 
 
 4. They that walk by the rules of the Gospel, shall 
 find peace and mercy heaped upon them ; and so shall 
 " the whole Israel of God," both Jew anJ Gentile, for 
 there is no difference. 
 
 Lastly, since the Gospel of Christ is attended with 
 trouble and persecution, let us make the yoke as easy 
 as we can to one another : and, since the best suffer 
 much by the professed enemies of Christianity, let 
 them not find any additional troubles from its friends 
 and professors. ITiis is St. Paid's request in his own 
 and others' behalf, " From henceforth, let no man 
 trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the 
 Lord Jesus;" which honourable scars I esteem higher 
 than the greatest marks and badges of worldly glory. 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' A true understanding of our Lord's words in this 
 ])assage will lead us to perceive what sort of care is 
 here forbidden, and what is not only allowed, but even 
 expected from us. 
 
 1. That care is certainly forbidden, which betrays a 
 greater love for the world, than for Almighty (iod. 
 And this we may reckon done, by consenting to any 
 unlawful means to promote our temporal advantage ; 
 l)y retaining any thing we are already possessed of, at 
 the expense of liis favour and a good c(mscienoe ; by 
 following our worldly affairs with delight, and attending 
 his service with weariness and grudging ; or. by wholly 
 neglecting the latter, ratluT than miss the least ojijior- 
 tunity of prosecuting tlie former. 
 
 2. That concern for the world is here forbidden, 
 which jjuts us upon calling into question the power or 
 the goodness of (iod; whieli forgets to be thankfid for 
 mercies already received, and wliich neglects the daily 
 instances of his bounty to the world in general. -Vnd 
 herein do all those (|iierulou3 and desponding tem|)er3 
 vcrj' grievously offend, whicli murmur and coni])lain of 
 Providence ; aggravate their siiU'erings to impatience 
 and their wants to despair; as if tliere were no (Jod 
 
 they grow : they toil not, neither do 
 they spin : and yet I say unto you, 
 That even Solomon in all his glory 
 was not arrayed like one of these. 
 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass 
 of the field, wlucli to-day is, and to- 
 morrow is cast into the oven ; shall 
 he not much more clothe you, O ye 
 of little faith ? Therefore take no 
 thought, saying. What shall we eat ? 
 or what shall we drink ? or where- 
 withal shall we be clothed ? (for after 
 all these things do the Gentiles seek :) 
 for your heavenly Father knowetk 
 that ye have need of all these things. 
 But seek ye first the kingdom of 
 God, and his righteousness, and all 
 these things shall l)e added unto you. 
 Take therefore no thought for the 
 morrow : for the morrow ."^hall take 
 thought for the things of itself : suffi- 
 cient unto the day is the evil thcreof^ 
 
 that governs the world, or as if they were the only 
 things in the universe disregarded by Him. 
 
 3. That concern for the world is certainly forbidden, 
 which makes us regardless of our duty and eternity, 
 which places all its endea\ours and aims here below, 
 and looks upon the present advantages as its proper 
 happiness. Such as is not content to refer the measure 
 of these to the discretion of that Father above, and ac- 
 quiesces not in his appointments ; but had rather be 
 wealthy and great, than righteous ; and is induced to 
 virtue, more for the promises of this life, than either for 
 the sake of its own intrinsick value, or for the rewards 
 to be had by it in a future state. 
 
 4. That concern again is forbidden, which is placed 
 on superfluities, and fixes a careful eye upon things a 
 great way off: «'hich will not let the man enjoy himself, 
 for fear he should want several years hence, or lest his 
 family should suffer for it, when he is asleep in his 
 grave. Wretched folly ! As if God would not be the 
 same iiowerful and good (iod then as now; and suffi- 
 cient to ])rovide for thy children, who hath so long and 
 so plentifully provided for thee. In short, under this 
 particular we may include all that care of the men, 
 who are fretful and uneasy, sordid and niggardly, 
 griping and uncharitable. 
 
 2. (jn the other hand, if there be, as no doubt there 
 is, and may lie in any of us, such a concern to provide 
 for one's self and family, as loves the world in subordi- 
 nation to God, and would not, to gain it all, do any 
 thing to dis])lease Ilim : a mind, that disposes us to 
 serve God cheerfully, to follow the business of a lawful 
 and useful calling, industriously and conscientiously, 
 to labour hard, and manage frugally, not because we 
 dare not trust (iod, but hecause we dare not tempt 
 Ilim ; if there be in us a concern for ])resent comforts, 
 which still remembers, that there are yet much better 
 and higher tilings, to which these must give way; and 
 that tlie jirovisions it seeks are only the recruits of a 
 traveller, not the stores of a fixed inhabitant : a con- 
 cern, lastly, that ])ermit3 a man to enjoy his present 
 blessings, with moderation, and thuiikfiilness, and an 
 even temper; a care, in the jiursuit of which he still 
 contentedly and chicrfiiUy trusts (iod for his future
 
 THE SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 211 
 
 The sixlcentli Sunday after Triniti/'^. 
 The Colh'ct. 
 
 OLord, we beseech tlice, let thy 
 continual pity cleanse and de- 
 Kph. iii. iii, fend thy C'hurch ; and, because it 
 v.'V7-2o. cannot continue in safety without thy 
 Prov xxi 31. succour, prescivc it evermore hy tliy 
 I's. 11.18. ]^p]p ^ij^j troodness ; through Jesus 
 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Ephes. iii. 13. 
 
 I Desire that ye faint not at my 
 tribulations for you, which is 
 your glory. For this cause I bow 
 my knees unto the Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the 
 whole family in heaven and earth 
 is named, that he would grant you, 
 
 subsistence : is decent in his e.xpenses, hospitable to 
 strangers, friendly to neighbours, just to all, and chari- 
 table to the poor : this is a concern for the things of 
 the world, against which our blessed Saviour's whole 
 discourse here contains not one syllable. A care, which 
 the Scri|)ture, wheresoever diligence and frugality are 
 recommended, and sloth and profuseness discounte- 
 nanced, jjlainly encourages and applauds : and which 
 the laws of nature, of human society, and of revealed 
 religion, all agree in demanding of us. 
 
 jVnd now, how can we consider this matter as it de- 
 serves, and sufficiently admire the wisdom of religion, 
 in this kind distribution of our cares ? For, upon the 
 whole, God forbids the making ourselves uneasy here, 
 to prevent our being miserable hereafter, 'that care, 
 which is of service, He hath left us to pursue ; and 
 that, which can do us no good. He hath commanded 
 us to cast upon Him : that, which promotes the use of 
 our reason, and chooses the ])ro|)erest method for suc- 
 cess, by preserving our minds in steadiness and tran- 
 quillity, we are allowed ; and of that, which brings dis- 
 order and ])erple.\ity, and jjerfectly bereaves us of our 
 peace and of our conduct, we are debarred : in short, 
 God hath so tempered the matter that we may neither 
 despair of this blessing, nor jiresume upon subsisting 
 without it. We are at full liberty to use such means, 
 as argue, not despondency and fear, but an honest 
 application to the duties of our station, and a willing 
 submission to his disposal of events. If therefore our 
 lives be uneasy, let us remember who it is that makes 
 them so ; and not accuse, either the ordinances of God, 
 or the necessities of nature, but oidy our own selves : 
 for they are then only uneasy, when we refuse to follow 
 the directions of oiu' Saviour, by not serving God with- 
 out distraction in the one, and by not rejjosing our 
 souls upon his fatherly care for all proper supplies of 
 the other. Derm Stunlwpe. 
 
 ' The sixteenth Sunildy (if'er Trinity.'] The Collect 
 for this day teaches us to implore the divine pity to 
 purify and protect his Church ; and, because it cannot 
 continue in safety without his succour, we beseech Him 
 to preserve it evermore by his help and goodness. 
 
 In the Epistle for the day we have an account of St. 
 Paul's praying thus in the behalf of the Church of Ephe- 
 8US ; which Epistle begins with his request to these 
 Ephesians, and is continued with his prayer for them, 
 and concludes with his doxology, or praising God in 
 their behalf. 
 
 according to the riches of his glory, 
 to be strengthened with might by 
 his S])irit in the inner man ; that 
 (Christ may dwell in your hearts by 
 faith ; that ye, being rooted and 
 grounded in love, may be able to 
 com|)rehend with all saints, what is 
 the breadth, and length, and depth, 
 and height ; and to know the love ot 
 Christ, which jiasseth knowledge, that 
 ye might be filled with all the ful- 
 ness of God. Now unto him that is 
 able to do exceeding abundantly 
 above all that we ask or think, ac- 
 cording to the power that worketh in 
 us, unto him be glory in the Church 
 by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, 
 world without end. Amen". 
 
 The Gospel gives us a relation of a certain miracle 
 wi'ought by our Saviour upon a dead man, whom He 
 raised to life again, in the view of many witnesses. 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 " From this Ejjistle we learn upon all occasions to 
 make our requests known unto God, the .\uthor and 
 Fountain of all our mercies; but more especially in 
 times of trouble and trial, when we stand in greatest 
 need of his most gracious aid and assistance. And this 
 we are here taught to do, not for ourselves only, but 
 for all that we are any v/ay related to, or concerned 
 with, whose good we ought to have as tender a sense 
 of, as our own ; for so we find the apostle had in all 
 his Epistles, giving those to whom he wrote to under- 
 stand, that whether present or absent he was always 
 mindful of them in his prayers. 2. We learn hence, 
 not to think the worse of any cause, because it may 
 sometimes meet with opposition and persecution ; for 
 so we find St. Paul and the other apostles did in pro- 
 pagating the GosjK'l, though they had their commission 
 from heaven for so doing; and therefore, we should 
 not faint or be dismayed at these things, whensoever 
 we see or hear of them. 3. We are taught from hence, 
 that patience and persever.mce in times of trouble and 
 persecution is the gift ol God ; and consequently to 
 Him we are to address ourselves for it; for all the 
 strength, by which we stand, is not ours, but his, and 
 is to be sought from Him. For this cause we find St. 
 Paul jjraying here for himself and others ; and " if any 
 man lack wisdom," or grace to persevere, " let him ask 
 it of God, who is willing to give liberally to all men, 
 and ujibraideth not." 4. We learn hence, that all our 
 addresses to this purpose must be made with all hu- 
 mility and reverence both of body and mind ; for St. 
 Paul here " bowed his knees to the Father of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ," in praying for it; yea, the example of 
 our Saviour, who kneeled down and jiraycd, the com- 
 mand of the apostle requiring every knee to bow to 
 Him, and the [jractice of Christians in all ages, shew 
 this to be the proper posture of devotion. We find no 
 instance in sacred history of any holy man that ever 
 sate at his ])rayers : and this may teach us to avoid 
 that irreverent and indevout practice, which, by our 
 unhappy divisions, hath lately crept in among us ; and 
 to observe the Psalmist's call, to " come and worship, 
 and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker." 
 5. We are here directed in the matter, as well as the 
 manner, of our prayers, and taught for what as well as 
 P2
 
 212 THE SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke vii. 11. 
 
 AN D it came to pass the day 
 after, tliat Jesus went into a 
 city called Nain ; and many of his 
 disciples went with him, and much 
 people. Now when he came nii^h 
 to the gate of the city, behold, there 
 was a dead man carried out, the 
 only son of his mother, and she 
 was a widow ; and much people of 
 the eitv was with her. And when 
 the Lord saw her, he had com- 
 passion on her, and said uuto her. 
 
 how to ask ; and that is, for spiritual strength to arm us 
 against the power of temptation, and for grace to help 
 in time of need. This the apostle thought necessary 
 to do in the behalf of these Ephesians, and let us make 
 this the platform of our devotion both for ourselves 
 and others. Lastly, from the doxology in the close, 
 let us learn, to all our prayers to add praises and 
 thanksgivings unto God by Christ Jesus : adoring his 
 power; extolling his goodness ; admiring his wisdom ; 
 submitting to his will; and giving Him the glorj- of 
 all ; so shall we engage the divine Providence to take 
 care of us, and keep us blameless to the coming of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' In this narrative we read an account of one of the 
 greatest of all miracles, the raising of a dead person to 
 life ; a wonderful jiroof of di\'ine power and good- 
 ness. From the narrative the following lessons may be 
 drawn : 
 
 1 . We have here a wonderful example of the divine 
 goodness. When the widow, following her only son 
 to the grave, gave herself up for a forlorn mourner, 
 past redress, the God of comfort meets her, pities her, 
 relieves her. Here was no solicitor, but his own com- 
 passion. In other occasions He was sought and sued 
 to. The centurion comes to Ilim for a servant; the 
 ruler, for a son; Jairus, for a daughter; the neighbours, 
 for the paralytick : here, He seeks up the patient, and 
 offers the cure unre(|uested. While we have to do with 
 tlie Father of mercies, our afflictions are the most 
 powerful suitors. Xo tears, no prayers can move Him, 
 so much as his own commiseration. () God, none of 
 our secret sorrows can be eitlier hid from thine eyes, 
 or kept from thy heart : and when we are past all our 
 hopes, all possibilities of help, thou art then nearest to 
 us for deliverance. Bp. Hull. 
 
 1. From Christ's readiness to go from the centurion's 
 servant at Capernaum, to the widow's son at Nain, we 
 may learn not to omit any 0])portiinities of doing good 
 to the souls or liodies of men. We see here how for- 
 ward and solicitous our Saviour was about both ; making 
 no scruples or delays in serving either; but cheerfully 
 embracing all opportunities of contributing to their 
 bodily health, and promoting their eternal welfare. 
 He sooner wanted objects, than will to shew kindness; 
 and nothing pleased llim better, than to find men have 
 faith enough to come to Him, and to be healed by Ilim. 
 This was the business, the recreation, and the whole 
 employment of our blessed Lord; and nothing renders 
 us more like unto Him, tliiui a ilesire and ilclight in 
 doing good in the best way and iiiuniur that we arc 
 able. 
 
 3. From the miracle liere wrought in raising the 
 widow's dead child to life again, we may learn farther 
 to confirm oiu' faith in Him, and to take Him for the 
 
 Weep not. And he came and touch- 
 ed the bier, (and they that bare him 
 stood still,) and he said, Young man, 
 I say unto thee. Arise. And he that 
 was dead sat up, and began to speak : 
 and he delivered him to his mother. 
 And there came a fear on all, and 
 they glorified God, saying. That a 
 great Prophet is risen up among us, 
 and that God hath visited his people. 
 And this rumour of him went forth 
 throughout all Jiid;ea, and througfh- 
 out all the region round about'''. 
 
 Son of God and the Saviour of the world, for the 
 mighty works that were done by Him, which nothing 
 less than a di\ine power and goodness were able to 
 effect. Miracles are the broad seal of heaven, which is 
 never set to any commission but what comes from 
 God ; which made Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, say 
 to our Sa\-iour, " I know that thou art a teacher come 
 from God, for none can do the works that thou doest, 
 except God be with him," John iii. 1, 2. These mira- 
 cles abundantly testify, that his doctrine is divine, and 
 contains the words of eternal life, and that liis precepts 
 are the best and wisest and the safest rules to lead us to 
 it : and therefore it must be not only our duty, but our 
 wisdom, and truest interest, to receive the one, and to 
 obey the other. Dr. Hole. 
 
 4. Let us remark the manner in which this miracle 
 was HTOught. " Young man, I say unto thee. Arise." 
 The Lord of life and death speaks with command. No 
 finite power could have said so without presumption, or 
 with success. That is the voice, which shall one day 
 call up our vanished bodies from these elements into 
 which they are resolved, and raise them out of their 
 dust. Neither sea, nor death, nor hell can offer to 
 detain their dead, when He charges them to be deli- 
 vered. Why should we incredulously shrink at tlie 
 possibilitj' of a resurrection, when the God of nature 
 undertakes it ? It is no more hard for that almighty 
 Word, which gave being \into all things, to say. Let 
 them be re]iaired, than. Let them be made. Our Sa- 
 viour doth not here stretch Himself upon the dead 
 corpse, as Vilijah and Elisha upon the sons of the 
 Shunamite and Sarejitan; nor kneel down and pray 
 by tlie bier, as Peter did to Dorciis : but He so speaks 
 to the dead as if he were alive ; and so speaks, that by 
 the word He makes him alive, " Young man, I say unto 
 thee. Arise." Bp. Hull. 
 
 .'). From the fear that fell on the people at the sight 
 of this miracle, we may learn to " fear the Lord and his 
 goodness," as it was promised and jirojihesied of the 
 l.-itter days, llosea iii. 5. Let us fear to offend so great 
 and so good a God, who is able to do such great things 
 for our lia]i]iiness, or our destruction. Such was the 
 fear of these in this (iospel; a fear of astonishment, 
 that made them wonder at the greatness of his |iower; 
 not a fear of des])eration to make them distrust his 
 goodness : for we find tlieir fear did not drive them 
 from, but to. Him ; it leil them to admire and adore 
 his infinite jiower, and instead of falling away, they 
 began to glorify (iod. Dr. Hole. 
 
 Lastly, let us reflect on the manner in which they 
 cimdueted themselves to our blessed Saviour : what 
 awful and admiring looks they cast ujiou that Lord of 
 life, who, seemiiig homely, was ajiproved omnipotent. 
 How gladly did every tongue celebrate both the work
 
 Pliil. ii. 13. 
 
 THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 21.3 
 
 The seventeenth Sunday after Tri- 
 nity^. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 LO R D, wc pray tlice tliat thy 
 grace may always prevent)' and 
 follow us, and make us continually to 
 lie given to all good works ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Ephes. iv. 1. 
 Therefore the prisoner of the 
 Lord beseech you, that ye walk 
 
 and the author! "A great prophet is risen up amongst 
 us, and God hath visited his people ! " A prophet was 
 the highest name they coukl find for Him, whom they 
 saw hke themselves in shape, above themselves in 
 ])o\ver. 'I'hey were not yet acquainted with God mani- 
 fested in the flesh. Tliis miracle might well have 
 assured them of more than a prophet ; but He, who 
 raised the dead man from the bier, would not suddenly 
 raise those dead hearts from the grave of infidelity. 
 They shall see reason enough to know, that the jiro- 
 phet, who was raised up to them, was the God that 
 now visited them ; and at last should do as much for 
 them, as He had done for the young man ; raise them 
 from death to life, from dust to glory. Bp. Hall. 
 
 ' The snenlecnth Sunday after Trinity^ We are taught 
 to pray in the Collect for this day, that the grace of God 
 may always prevent and follow us, and make us to be 
 continually given to all good works, through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. To this end, St. Paul, then a pri- 
 soner at Rome for the cause of Christ, makes mention 
 in the Epistle for this day of some of those graces and 
 good works, that we are continually to follow and be 
 given to ; beginning in the first verse with a general 
 exhortation to these Ephesians, and in them to all 
 Christians, " to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith 
 they were called." Where by the " vocation wherewith 
 they were called" is meant the Christian ])rofession, by 
 which they were called out of their former heathen 
 state, to a state of Christianity; that is, to become 
 Christians, and to embrace the Christian faith, re\-ealed 
 to them by the Gospel. To walk worthy of this voca- 
 tion, is to lead holy lives suitable to the commands and 
 obligations it lays upon us. So St. Peter e.xjjounds it. 
 " That as he which hath called us is holy, so we should 
 be holy in all manner of conversation ; because it is 
 written, Be ye holy, for I am holy," 1 Pet. i. 15, 10. 
 From this general exhortation he proceeds to some of 
 those particular graces which we pray may always pre- 
 vent and follow us. 
 
 The Gospel sets before us the insidious falsehood 
 and treachery of the Pharisees towards our Saviour; 
 and the wisdom with which He put them to silence and 
 corrected their pride. Dr. Hole. 
 
 '' — prevent] See the note on the Collect at the end 
 of the Communion Service, " Prevent us, O Lord, &c." 
 
 ' This Epistle contains many weighty and cogent 
 arguments for unity of heart and mind among Chris- 
 tians ; yea, it shews all our religion to be founded upon 
 unity, and to be only promoted by it ; for we are all 
 united in one " mystical body" of Christ's Church ; and 
 this body is actuated and animated by " one Holy 
 Spirit ;" there is one door of entrance into it, that is, 
 by "one baptism:" there is but "one faith" professed 
 in it ; and, in a word, there is but one object of all 
 divine worship, namely, the " one God and Father of 
 
 worthy of tlie vocation wherewith 
 ye are called, with all lowliness and 
 meekness, with long-siiirering, for- 
 bearing one another in love ; endea- 
 vouring to kee]5 the unity of the 
 spirit in the bond of peace. There 
 is one body, and one Spirit, even as 
 ye are called in one hope of your 
 calling; one Lord, one faith, one 
 baptism, one God and Father of all, 
 who is above all, and through all, 
 and in you all^ 
 
 all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all." 
 From all which we learn, 
 
 1. The nature and sinfulness of schism, which is the 
 dividing of the body of Christ, and making it not one 
 body, but many. "Is Christ divided?" saith the 
 apostle to the Corinthians, upon their breaking into 
 schisms and factions ; implying, that these things not 
 only divide Christians, but Christ Himself, by tearing 
 in pieces his body the Church ; and therefore the same 
 apostle advises, that " there be no schism in the body," 
 nor "any divisions among Christians," 1 Cor. i. 10. 
 " We being many," saith he, " are one bread, and one 
 body, and all partakers of one bread :" signifying, tliat 
 by breaking communion, and setting u|) altar against 
 altar, we break the unity of Christ's Church, and make 
 a schism in his body ; for thereby one member is rent 
 and torn from another ; and, as a member cut off is no 
 longer a part of the body from which it is severed, so 
 they who cut themselves off from the communion of 
 the Church, by a wilful and causeless separation, are 
 no longer members of Christ's body. 
 
 2. From the unity of the Spirit and the fruits of it, 
 we may learn what spirit we are of, and how far we are 
 actuated by it ; for the Spirit of God is a Spirit of love, 
 peace, lowliness, meekness, patience, and the like : these 
 tend to promote unity of heart and mind among men, 
 and dispose them to agree and join together in the 
 worship of God. But the evil sjjirit lusteth to envy, 
 strife, variance, and contention ; and these kindle a 
 bitter zeal and emulation among Christians, which lead 
 them into division and separation. 
 
 3. From the unity of faiih. and the one hope of our 
 Christian calling, we may learn to unite and go hand 
 in hand together in it, without differing or falling out 
 about inferior matters : for, whilst we adhere and hold 
 to the same faith, and expect the same end of it, even 
 the salvation of our souls, no smaller things can justify 
 a contention, or much less warrant a separation. We 
 are bid to contend earnestly for the faith ; and to con- 
 tinue stedfast in the profession of it ; but for the 
 inferior matters of order and decency, we are bid to 
 submit and shew all lawful compliance, which is abso- 
 lutely necessary to preserve unity. 
 
 4. From the one Lord, or the unity of the Head, 
 we may easily learn this compliance ; for the head is 
 the seat of wisdom and power, to direct and command 
 the other members ; and this may in the most eminent 
 manner be affirmed of this mystical Head, in whom are 
 hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and who 
 hath the sole right to govern and guide his whole body. 
 Besides, as the head conveys down animal spirits, heat, 
 and vigour to the other members, by which they live, 
 move, and have their being ; so Christ, the mystical head 
 of the Church, sends down the kindly influences of his 
 grace and Holy Spirit upon his members, to quicken and
 
 214 THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke xiv. 1. 
 
 IT came to pass, as Jesus went 
 into tlie house of one of tlte 
 chief Pharisees to eat bread on the 
 sabbatli-day, that they watched liim. 
 And behold, there was a certain man 
 before him which had the dropsy. 
 And Jesus answering spake unto the 
 Lawyers and Pharisees, saying. Is 
 it lawful to heal on the sabbatii-day ? 
 And they held their peace. And he 
 took him, and healed him, and let 
 him go ; and answered them, saying, 
 Which of you shall have an ass, or 
 an ox, fallen into a pit, and will not 
 straightway pull him out on the 
 sabbath-day ? And they could not 
 answer him ag'ain to these thinofs. 
 And he put forth a parable to those 
 which were bidden, when he marked 
 
 excite all their operations ; which may teach us to live, 
 to unite, and to abide in his body ; for as the branches 
 cannot live or bring forth any fruit, except they abide in 
 the vine, so neither can we, except we ai-e united to and 
 abide in Him. 
 
 5. From the unity of the Sacraments, let us learn to 
 keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ; for 
 these are the ligaments and arteries to hold all the parts 
 together. It is by one baptism that we are all initiated 
 into Christ's Church, and by one communion that we 
 are all confirmed and continued in it; so vain and foolish 
 are they who think they belong to Christ, wthout the 
 initiating ordinance of baptism, and so profane and pre- 
 sumptuous are all such as expect any benefit from Him, 
 without the confirming ordinance of the holy commu- 
 nion. These are the seals of the new covenant, without 
 which we can lay no claim to the title or ])rivilcges of 
 Christians. 
 
 Lastly, From the one God and Father of all, let us be 
 persuaded with one mind and one mouth to glorify our 
 great Creator; so shall we, by preserving |)eace and 
 unity on earth, arrive at last to the unity of the Cliurch 
 in heaven ; and " come to the measure of the stature of 
 the fulness of Christ;" to which, (!ud of his infinite 
 mercy bring us all, for the merits of his Son, and our 
 ever blessed Saviour and Redeemer. Amen. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' This (iospel may instruct us in the following les- 
 sons : 
 
 1 . From our Saviour's freedom of conversation we 
 may learn to be affable, courteous, and condescending 
 to all men ; this Christ's command and example plainly 
 teach us : " Learn of me," says he, " for I am meek and 
 lowly in heart :" it is no part of his religion to lie sour, 
 morose, or cynical ; for He conversed familiarly with all 
 sorts of men, and liath willed his disciples to do so too. 
 2. P'rom the I'harisees watching our Saviour to ensnare 
 and entrap Him, we learn the civil effects of malice and 
 hypocri.sy, what a jiernicious influence tliey have u|ion 
 conversation, and how they poison and cmliitter all 
 society. 3. From Chrisfs defeating the malicious 
 designs of the I'liarisces in watcliing I litn, we may learn 
 to walk warily and circumspectly, not as fools, hut as 
 wise, and to arm ourselves against the wiles of the 
 wicked. When Christ sent his disciples al)road into 
 the world. He told them, " Heboid I send you forth as 
 shccj) among wolves," that is, among wicked and 
 
 how they chose out the ehie rooms, 
 saying unto them, When thou art 
 bidden of any man to a wedding, 
 sit not down in the highest room ; 
 lest a more honourable man than 
 thou be bidden of him ; and he that 
 bade thee and him come and say 
 to thee, Give this man place ; and 
 thou begin with shame to take the 
 lowest room. But when thou art 
 bidden, go and sit down in the 
 lowest room ; that, when he that 
 bade thee cometh, he may say unto 
 thee, Friend, go up higher : then 
 shalt thou have worship in the 
 presence of them that sit at meat 
 with thee. For whosoever exalteth 
 himself shall be abased ; and he 
 that humbleth himself shall be ex- 
 alted ^ 
 
 ungodly men, who will be apt to worry and lie in wait 
 for you, as the ravening wolves do for the innocent 
 shee]) ; therefore saith ye, " be ye wise as serpents, and 
 harmless as doves :" we should therefore use all good 
 means to escape the treachery and malice of designing 
 men ; but yet to the wsdom of the serpent we are to 
 add the harmlessness of the dove, that is, to use nothing 
 but good and lawful means to that end, and not to betake 
 ourselves to sinister and indirect courses to promote our 
 safety. Dr. Hole. 4. Although the best way of setting 
 ourselves at ease against malice, frcc]uently is to let it 
 spend itself, and the most effectual answer to its scandals 
 is by silence and scorn ; yet sometimes there are occa- 
 sions of importance to require our defence. ' And when 
 argument is seasonable, we shall do well to imitate our 
 blessed Master's jirudence in the choice of it. He 
 might have discoursed vei-y nicely upon the nature, the 
 institution, the end of the sabbath ; that a rest, meant 
 for the refreshment and benefit of mankind, could not 
 possibly oblige to an absolute cessation from works of 
 necessity and charity, because this would tend directly to 
 the prejudice and destruction of mankind. Hut He 
 rather chooses to turn their own |)ractice upon them. 
 And this in truth is the method of treating violent and 
 self- conceited men. To accommodate our discourse to 
 their jiassions and interests ; to shew the iuu-eas(mable 
 creatures to themselves : for such are immoderately 
 fond of their own doings, and will be tender in con- 
 demning the measures of their brethren; when made 
 sensilile that there is no remedy, luit they must at the 
 same time, and in the same or a greater degree, con- 
 demn those taken by themselves. Such an instance either 
 wins them over to our favour, or at least it stops their 
 mouths; and puts them more ellectually out of coun- 
 tenance, than all the dry reasoning in tlie world. For 
 in this effect and success also oiu' Saviour is our prece- 
 dent. This so sensible application to tlie I'harisees' own 
 example (equalling, and, as is usual with men of that 
 temper, even out-doing, the vciy thing they so severely 
 blamed in Him) touched them so close, and so utterly 
 confounded them, that, the (ith verse acquaints us, 
 " They could not answer liim again to these things." 
 Dean Slnulmjie. Lastly, from oiu' Saviour's checking 
 the I'harisees Uir their affecting ]irecedence and pre- 
 eminence, we may learn to cast off all pride, and to be 
 clothed with humility; for Ciod and uuui " resist the
 
 THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 215 
 
 The chjhiccnth Sunday after Trinihj^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 LORD, we beseech tliee, tyrant 
 thy people grace to withstand 
 uai i 3 4 '■'"^ temptations of the world, the 
 V iG. flesh, and the devil, and with pure 
 
 :■ Tin/'i. .1. hearts and minds to follow thee the 
 isa. iiiv. 6. ^jj^iy Qj,j . through Jesus Christ our 
 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 Cor. i. 4. 
 
 I Thank my God always on your 
 behalf, for the grace of God 
 which is given you by Jesus Christ ; 
 
 ])roud" and pull down such as are lifted U]i ; but both 
 conspire to "give pjrace and favour to the humble." 
 " He putteth down the mighty from their seats," (saith 
 the blessed ^'irgin,) that is, from those upper rooms 
 and higher seats, to which their ])ride had mounted 
 them; "and exalteth the humble and meek," that is, 
 such as they seek to dejiress and desjiise. Wherefore 
 let us strive not so much to be great, as good, and 
 labour more for lowliness than haughtiness of mind ; 
 and, by our thus humbling ourselves, God shall exalt 
 us in due time, which God grant for the sake of Jesus 
 Christ. Dr. Hole. 
 
 '' The eighteenth Sunday after Triniti/.^ The Collect 
 for the day teaches us to lieseech God for grace to 
 withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and 
 the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow 
 Him the only true God. Suitable hereunto, the Epistle 
 for this day contains St. Paul's thanksgiving unto God, 
 for giving this grace imto the Corinthians, together 
 with the many blessed fruits and effects, that proceeded 
 from it. 
 
 The Gospel furnishes us with a much higher and 
 better instance of it in the ])erson of our Saviour, who 
 was set upon by all the Sadducees, scribes, and Phari- 
 sees, with all the art and subtlety of tem|)tation ; and 
 yet we read that he eifectually withstood, worsted, and 
 vanquished them all. We read elsewhere how he van- 
 quished the power and temptations of the devil. 
 Matt, iv; and here how He batlled the wisdom and 
 meekness of the world. Dr. Hole. 
 
 I'his Sunday does not follow the method of the rest ; 
 for the Epistle is taken out of the first to the Corinthians, 
 not out of that to the Ephesians, as those for the Sundays 
 ne.Kt before and after. For this variation the following 
 reason may be given. It was an ancient custom of the 
 Church in the ember-weeks, to have proper service on 
 the Wednesdays and Fridays, but especially on the 
 Saturdays : when, after a long continuance in prayer 
 and fasting, they performed the solemnities of the C)r- 
 dination either late on Saturday evening, (which was 
 then always looked upon as jiart of the Lord's day,) or 
 else early on the morning following ; for which reason, 
 and because they might be wearied with their prayers 
 and fasting on the Saturdays, the Sundays following 
 had no public services, but were called " Uominicce 
 vacantes," that is, " vacant Sundays." Hut afterwards, 
 when they thought it not convenient to let a Sunday 
 Jjass without any solemn service, they dispatched the 
 Ordination sooner on Saturdays, and performed the 
 solemn service of the Church as at other times on the 
 Sundays. But these Sundays, having no particular 
 service of their own, for some time borrowed of some 
 
 that in every thing ye are enrichetl 
 by liim, in all utterance, and in all 
 knowledge ; even as the testimony 
 of Christ was confirmed in 30U; so 
 that ye come behind in no gift; 
 waiting for the coming of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm 
 you unto the end, that ye may be 
 blameless in the day of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ ^ 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. xxii. 34. 
 
 WHEN the Pharisees had 
 heard that Jesus had put 
 the Sadducees to silence, they were 
 
 other days, till they had proper ones fixed pertinent to 
 the occasion. So that this eighteenth Sunday after 
 Trinity, often happening to be one of these vacant Sun- 
 days, had at the same time a particular Epistle and 
 Gospel allotted to it, in some measure suitable to the 
 solemnity of the time. For the Epistle hints at the 
 necessity there is of spiritual teachers, and mentions 
 such qualifications as are s|)ecially requisite to those 
 that are ordained, as the being " enriched with all 
 utterance and in all knowledge," and being " behind in 
 no good gift." The (ios])cl treats of our Saviour's 
 silencing the most learned i>{ the Jews by his questions 
 and answers; thereby also shewing how his ministers 
 ought to be qualified, namely, alile to sjeak a word in 
 due season, to give a reason of their faith, and to con- 
 vince, or at least to confute, all those that are of hetero- 
 dox opinions. Wlieiitly. 
 
 ' From this Epistle the foUo^'ing practical lessons 
 may be inferred : 
 
 1. From the apostle's thanking God for the grace 
 bestowed on these Corinthians, and the benefits re- 
 ceived thereby, we may learn to congratulate the good 
 that others enjoy, as well as ourselves, and to thank 
 God for one another's welfare. 
 
 2. F'rom the riches of divine grace conveyed to these 
 Corinthians by the preaching of the Gospel, we may 
 learn to set a due price and value upon the light of 
 the Gospel, and the many inestimable blessings we 
 receive by it. If we weigh things aright, we cannot 
 raise our thoughts too high of this transcendent privi- 
 lege ; for without it, we should, hke the benighted 
 heathens, walk on still in darkness ; and being left to 
 the blind and uncertain conduct of nature, be unavoid- 
 ably bewildered, and lose our way to heaven. ^\ e had 
 then been destitute of all saving knowledge of God, of 
 Christ, and of ourseh-es, and so must have gro])ed on 
 in the dark to our utter ruin. But now, by the preach- 
 ing of the Gospel, we are thoroughly instructed in all 
 these, and infallibly directed in the way that leads to 
 true ha]ipiness. This is a mercy that is highly worthy 
 of our loudest praises and thanksgivings, and may 
 teach us to make a right use and improvement of it. 
 While we have the light, (saith the apostle,) let us walk 
 in the light, and work by it, lest our ingratitude and 
 abuse of it cause it to be withdrawn from us, and so 
 lose an invaluable blessing, which we knew not how to 
 use. The neglect or contempt of it will heighten both 
 oiu- sin and our punishment; and better had it been, 
 not to have had the Gospel and the means of grace, 
 than to despise or neglect them, and to turn a deaf ear 
 to its calls and admonitions. This we shall do well to 
 remember before it be too late, lest the night come too
 
 216 THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 tratliered together. Then one of 
 them, who was a Lawyer, asked 
 liiin a question, tempting liim, and 
 saying. Master, which is the great 
 commandment in the Law i Jesus 
 said unto him, Thou slialt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
 and with all thy soul, and with all 
 thy mind. This is the first and great 
 commandment. And the second is 
 like unto it, Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbour as thyself. On these two 
 commandments hang all the Law 
 and the Prophets. While the Pha- 
 
 fast upon us, and this prove at last to be " our con- 
 demnation, that light is come into the world, but we 
 loved darkness rather than light, because our deeds 
 were evil," .John iii. 19. 
 
 3. The testimony given of Christ being so fully con- 
 firmed by the gifts and graces of the Gospel, let us 
 learn to persevere in the faith, and love of the truth, 
 even to the end. To this the apostle exhorts, in all his 
 Epistles, to continue stedfast in the faith, and not to 
 be shaken by the subtlety of false teachers, many of 
 whom are gone abroad into the world, to deprave or 
 destroy the faith. There are other temptations from 
 the allurements of the world and the flesh, which we 
 are to labour by the grace of God to withstand and 
 conquer. To which end, the apostle, in the last place, 
 directs us, to " wait for the second coming of our Lord 
 Jesus, who shall confirm us to the end." The con- 
 tinual expecting and preparing for that day will keep 
 us always upon our watch, and fortify us against the 
 wiles of tlie wicked ; it will make us " hold fast the 
 profession of our faith without wavering," and daily 
 move us forward in our Christian course ; and by 
 that means we shall be found "blameless" and un- 
 repro\aUe " in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 The conclusion of this Scri|)tin'e sets us a precedent 
 for a most comfortable inference, to be drawn ft-om the 
 past liberality of God to us ; who begins with grace, 
 that He may end with glory. But then this must be 
 so understood, as to imply all those conditions which 
 the new covenant hath interposed, to qualify us for 
 additions of spiritual strength here, and for a reward, 
 vijjcm the iin])i'ovement of it, hereafter. We may safely 
 promise ourselves that God will not be wanting on his 
 part ; but we have no warrant to jiresume ujion bcmg 
 either "confirmed" here, or "found blameless" at the 
 day of Christ, if there be no care taken not to be want- 
 ing on our ])art. Something is expected from every 
 one ; more from each, as each hath received more 
 abilities. And the consequence of our neglect to 
 cm|)loy these to the ]>rofit of the publick, and tlie 
 honour of our Master, is not to be " confirmed," but 
 deserted and confounded. The talent, instead of be- 
 ing doubled, sliall be taken (juite away, and the sloth- 
 ful un|)rofitable servant cast into outer darkness. Matt, 
 xxv. 20. :io. All this is much more just in God, than 
 any parable can jKissibly rejiresent ; liccause not only 
 cur talents, but our power to em|iloy them rightly, are 
 his gift ; and both are like seed sown in tlic ground, 
 which, only jirovided we take good heed to cultivate it 
 diligently, will bless us with a large increase. And 
 when this care is taken, though the best we do, or can 
 do, will be allayed with infirmities and sins, yet we 
 
 risees were gathered together, Jesus 
 asked them, saying. What think ye 
 of Christ ? whose son is he ? They 
 say unto him. The Son of David. 
 He saith unto them, How then doth 
 David in spirit call him Lord, saying. 
 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit 
 thou on my right hand, till I make 
 thine enemies thy footstool ? If 
 David then call him Lord, how is he 
 his son ? And no man was able to 
 answer him a word ; neither durst 
 any man from that day forth ask 
 him any more questions ''. 
 
 shall be " blameless," that is, such as (according to 
 the allowances of the Gospel) no reproach or fault 
 shall be charged ujjon " in the day of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." Dean Stanhope. 
 
 '' The Pharisees had often put several questions 
 maliciously to Christ, and now, in the latter part of 
 this Gospel, Christ ))uts one question innocently to 
 them ; namely, what they thought of the Messiah 
 whom they expected. They reply, that He was to be 
 "the Son of David," a secular prince descending from 
 David, who should deli\-er them from the power of the 
 Romans, and restore them to their civil rights. This 
 was their notion of the Messiah, that He should be a 
 man, the Son of David, and nothing more. Our Sa- 
 viour replies, Whence is it then that David calls the 
 Messiah Lord? Ps. ex. 1, "The Lord said unto my 
 Lord." How could He be both David's Lord and 
 David's Son ? No son is Lord to his father : there- 
 fore if Christ be David's sovereign. He must be more 
 than man; more than David's Son. Hence we learn, 
 first, that although (^hrist was really and truly man, yet 
 He was more than a mere man : He was Lord imto, 
 and was the salvation of, his onn forefathers. Secondly, 
 we learn, that the only way to reconcile the Scriptures 
 which speak concerning Christ, is to believe and ac- 
 knowledge Him to be God and man in one person. 
 Tlie Messiah, as man, was to come forth out of David's 
 loins: but, as God and man united. He was David's 
 Sovereign and Saviour : as man, He was bis Father's 
 .Son; as God, He was Lord to bis own Father. Burkitt. 
 
 .\s to the subject of the former part of this (iospel, 
 it may be observed, that if the loving of God be the 
 first and great commandment, then this ought to be 
 first regardc<l and endeavoured by us, that we may be 
 rooted and grounded in the love of Him; and that 
 love, growing and increasing in us, will lead us to all 
 the other jiarts of our duty to Him. To «hicb end, we 
 are to think often of his infinite and adorable perfec- 
 tions, together with bis uns|ieakable love and kindness 
 to us, which are great enough to engage and inflame 
 our afl'ections ; adding hereunto our daily prayers, that 
 He would shed abroad his love into our hearts, that we 
 may no longer resist his jiowerful charms, and that we 
 may at last obtain that crown of life, which He hath 
 promised and prepared for them that love Him. 2. If 
 the love of our iuiglil)our be " the second command- 
 ment and like unto the ftrst." then ought this in the 
 next ))lace to lie regarded and laboured for; and let us 
 not thiidi (as too many dol that their duty to (iod will 
 excuse them from tlieir duty to tluir neighbour. We 
 may not make the two tables of tlie Law to clash or 
 interfere with one another, nor think that the keeping 
 of the one will atone for the breaking of the other;
 
 THE NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 217 
 
 Rom. 
 S-il. 
 
 Eiih iv. 
 IS— 24. 
 
 Tlie nineteenth Sunday after Trinity ". 
 The Collect. 
 
 OGod, forasmuch as without tliee 
 wo are not able to please thee ; 
 Mercifully grant, that thy Holy 
 Spirit may in all things direct and 
 rule our hearts ; through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Ephes. iv. 17. 
 
 ri^ H I S I say therefore, and tes- 
 i tify in the Lord, that ye hence- 
 forth walk not as other Gentiles 
 walk, in the vanity of their mind ; 
 liaving the understanding darkened, 
 being alienated from the life of God 
 through the ignorance that is in 
 them, because of the blindness of 
 their heart : who, being past feeling, 
 have given themselves over inito 
 lasciviousness, to work all unclean- 
 ness with greediness. But ye have 
 not so learned Christ ; if so be that 
 ye have heard him, and have been 
 taught by him, as the truth is in 
 Jesus : that ye put off, concerning 
 the former conversation, the old man, 
 which is corrupt according to the 
 
 but, being both alike in their authority and obligation, 
 they are to be equally kept, and obser\'ed by us, loving 
 God for his own and our neighbour for his sake. And, 
 lastly. If on these two conunandments hang all the 
 Law and the Prophets, then all our hopes and expecta- 
 tions must depend upon the observation of them. The 
 will of God must not be performed by halves, nor may 
 we hope to enter into life without keeping both these 
 commandments. And as God hath in both consulted 
 our good, so let us make both the standing rule of our 
 lives and actions. Dr. Hole. 
 
 Most glorious and happy will be that day, when faith 
 shall give place to sight, and hope be swallowed up in 
 present and complete enjoyment ! when all imperfec- 
 tions shall cease, all differences be composed, and 
 nothing remain but strict unanimity, and boundless 
 love, and exquisite delight ! when a new scene shall 
 open, of an eternity to be employed in concerts of 
 praise and thanks, for the excellent glory of God, and 
 his inestimable goodness to us and to all mankind ! 
 But, till that blest day come, if there be any sense of 
 interest, or of duty ; if any regard to the ha])pincss of 
 the publick, to the honour of religion, to the salvation 
 of our own souls ; in a word, if any care, to ap|)rove 
 ourselves Christians in good earnest ; let it be seen, by 
 abounding in that love to God and to our neighbour, 
 which is the " very bond of peace, and of all virtues." 
 Let it be seen, by addressing ourselves most de\-outly 
 to the throne of grace, with those petitions which the 
 best of Churches puts into our mouths : beseeching 
 "Almighty God to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts 
 by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, that we may 
 perfectly love him ;" and to " i)our down " into them 
 "that most excellent gift of charity, without which 
 whosoever liveth is counted dead before him." And 
 
 deceitful lusts ; and be renewed in 
 the spirit of your mind ; and that ye 
 put on the new man, which after 
 God is created in righteousness and 
 true holine.ss. Wherefore, putting 
 away lying, speak every man truth 
 with his neighbour : for we are 
 members one of another. Be ye 
 angry and sin not : let not the sun 
 go down upon your wrath ; neither 
 give place to the devil. Let him 
 that stole steal no more ; but rather 
 let him labour, working with his 
 hands the thing which is good, that 
 he may have to give to him that 
 needeth. Let no corrupt commu- 
 nication proceed out of your mouth, 
 but that which is good to the use 
 of edifying, that it may mirdster 
 grace unto the hearers. And grieve 
 not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby 
 ye are sealed unto the day of re- 
 demption. Let all bitterness, and 
 wrath, and anger, and clamour, and 
 evil-sj)eaking, be put away from you, 
 with all malice. And be ye kind 
 one to another, tender-hearted, for- 
 giving one another, even as God for 
 Christ's .sake hath forgiven you K 
 
 may He grant this for his only Son Jesus Christ's sake. 
 Amen. Derm Slanhnpe. 
 
 " The nineteenth Sunday after Trinity.^ The Collect 
 for the day teaches us to pray to God, that forasmuch 
 as without Him we are not able to please Him, He 
 would mercifully grant us his Holy Spirit in all things 
 to direct and rule our hearts. 
 
 Accordingly, the Epistle for the day shews us, 1. Our 
 utter inability of ourselves to please God, set forth by 
 the natural state of the Gentiles before they received 
 the Gospel. 2. The gracious aids and assistances of 
 God's Holy Spirit in order to please Him, represented 
 in the hapjjy estate of Christians by the grace and 
 favour of the Gospel. 3. Some of those rules by which 
 the Holy Spii-it in all things directs our hearts in the 
 right way. Dr. Hole. 
 
 The Gospel brings before us the friends of a person 
 sick of the palsy, testifying in a remarkable manner 
 their eager desire of obtaining, and their confident 
 expectation of receiving, a cure from the power and 
 goodness of Christ; upon which He, who never wanted 
 inclination to pity and relieve the distressed, and only 
 waited till men were duly qualified to receive the mer- 
 cies which He was always ready to bestow; "seeing 
 their faith," that is, finding them capable, and judging 
 this a fit opportunity for exercising his divine com- 
 passion, granted their request, and healed the distemper 
 presently. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' The absolute necessity, as well as the invaluable 
 benefits, of that divine re\'elation and grace, which is 
 ministered by the Gos])el of Christ, need no other evi- 
 dence, than the dcscrijition given here by St. Paul, of 
 those miserable circumstances, to which the heathens 
 were reduced for want of them. The wretched igno- 
 rance and errors, thereby the candle of the Lord within
 
 218 THE NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. ix. 1. 
 
 JESUS entered into a ship, and 
 passed over, and came into his 
 own citv. And liehold, tliey brought 
 to him a man sick of the palsy, lying 
 on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their 
 faith, said unto the sick of the palsy. 
 Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be 
 forgiven thee. And behold, certain 
 of the scribes said within tliemselves, 
 This man blasphemelh. And Jesus, 
 knowing their tlioughts, said, Where- 
 
 them, the faculties of reason and judgment, were almost 
 quite put out : the total depravation of the will and 
 affections, addicted and fastened down to objects of 
 flesh and sense ; and iiTeconcileably averse to all the 
 ends and methods, wherein tlie dignity of human na- 
 ture, and the excellence of a spiritual and di\-ine life, 
 do consist : the utter insensibihty and obduration of 
 the heart and conscience, wliich customary sinning 
 introduces ; partly by men's own obstinate indulgence 
 of their wicked lusts, and resisting the checks and ad- 
 monitions of their own and God's Spu-it ; and jiartly, 
 by that judicial hardness, which God is provoked to 
 inflict, by withdrawing those preventing and assisting 
 graces, which they have continued to abuse and des]iise : 
 and, lastly, the inability of corru])t nature to discern 
 and apply itself to matters of religion ; plainly demon- 
 strated, by the examples of eminent heathen philoso- 
 phers, who, though exceeding slu'cwd and sagacious in 
 other respects, were yet in this mistaken, and absurd, 
 even to the most des])icable degree of childishness and 
 folly : .these are experiments too plain to be gainsaid, 
 and such as conspire at once to give us a very mean 
 opinion of oiu* own natural powers, and to oblige us to 
 thankfulness for those supernatural assistances, to 
 which we ou'e the \'ery capacity, either of " pleasing 
 God" or of thinking and acting hke men. 
 
 Concerning the change said afterwards to be wrought 
 upon persons converted to Christianity, it may be sea- 
 sonable to obser\e, that the manner of the apostle's 
 expressing it intimates their becoming quite another 
 sort of people ; indeed, the very re\-erse of wliat they 
 had been before. "The old man to be put off" is said 
 to be "corrujrt according to the deceitful lusts;" those 
 lusts, which cheated men with flattering promises of 
 satisfactions which they cannot yield : and therefore 
 the change in this jioint will consist in stojiping our 
 ears against all false insinuations from that (luarfcr, 
 abandoning the unjirofitable corruption, and having 
 our " fruit unto holiness." 'I'his imjilics mortifying 
 and renoimcing all sinful desires ; repenting and effec- 
 tually forsaking all our past faults: but " i)utting on 
 the new man" implies a great deal more. This sup- 
 poses activity atul diligence in i)iety and virtue ; doing 
 good no less than abstaining from evil. This jirovcs, 
 liow sandy a foundation tliose hopes are built upon, 
 which look for salvation and acceptance with (jod, for 
 not being vicious only ; and, proviiled the sins of com- 
 mission be carefully avoided, arc as little concerned for 
 those omissions, as if they were to make no article in 
 our account. The danger of which too conunon deceit 
 we may reasonably suppose our blessed l^ord had in 
 view, and intended effectually to warn us all against, 
 by so directly levelling at them his descriptions of the 
 general judgment, under those two famous parables of 
 
 fore think )'e evil in your hearts ? 
 For whether is easier to say, Thy 
 sins be forgiven thee ? or to say, 
 Arise, and walk? But that ye may 
 know that the Son of man hath 
 power on earth to forgive sins, (then 
 saith he to the sick of the palsy,) 
 Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto 
 thine house. And he arose, and 
 departed to his house. But when 
 the multitude saw it, they marvelled, 
 and glorified God, who had given 
 such power unto men?. 
 
 the "talents" and of the "sheep and the goats," 
 Matt. XXV. 
 
 Again : as the great depravity of an unregenerate state 
 consists in an "alienation from the life of God:" so 
 does the commendation of a regenerate one, in being 
 " created after God in righteousness and true holiness," 
 Eph. iv. 24. And this consideration duly borne in 
 mind would, I cannot but think, abundantly suflice to 
 satisfy those doubts and scruples men dispute so 
 variously about, concerning some liberties, the lawful- 
 ness whereof is questionable ; or concerning the mea- 
 siu'c and circumstances of others, the lawfulness whereof 
 in themselves is unquestionable. For, in such eases, 
 would we but ask our consciences, whether a total ab- 
 staining from the former, and a prudent and somewhat 
 severer restraint with regard to the latter, or whether a 
 larger or more unguarded allowance, ha\-e more of the 
 spirit of religion, more of a new heart and affections, 
 more of conformity to the holiness of God ; after whose 
 image it is om- glory to be created, and whose likeness 
 it is our duty to preser^•e, and express, and aspire after 
 higher degrees of: the resolution of this single question 
 would clearly inform us, though not what is strictly 
 lawful or unla%\'ful, yet (which is more useful) what is 
 fit or unfit, agreeable or disagreeable to our character ; 
 better than all the subtilties of casuists, or entering 
 into the niceties of any such particular points whatso- 
 ever. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 8 From this Gospel we may observe our Saviour's 
 great kindness to this poor paralytick, in healing the 
 maladies both of body and soul together: for lie at 
 once removed his palsy for the health of his body, and 
 pronounced his ])ardon for the welfare of his soul, and 
 by both blessed him «itli a perfect and complete ciu'C 
 of all his infu-mities; He did not things by halves, nor 
 made any empty and insignificant ofters of kindness, 
 but ever did more than he seemed to promise or jirc- 
 tcml to, yea, more than any could ask or think; which 
 is a farther instance of his inexpressible love to man- 
 kind, and ought to be both admired and imitated by 
 us as well as we may. '2. I'Voni the scribes atul I'hari- 
 sces cari)ing at our Saviour, and charging Him with 
 blasphemy for forgiving the sins of this ])oor pandytick, 
 wc learn the proneness of evil men to defame the best 
 persons, and find fault with the l)cst actions; and, if 
 they dealt so with Christ Himself, his discijjles may 
 not expect better treatnu'nt from them. The disci)ile 
 is not above his Lord ; and, if our Master met with 
 evil treatment from the scribes niui Pharisees, we may 
 learn to bciir with like usage from the like persons : 
 daily experience shews us how apt ill-minded men are 
 to accuse and traduce such as are every way better than 
 themselves, and to spy a mote in their brother's eye 
 when they cannot see a beam in their own ; wc fiiui
 
 THE TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 
 
 219 
 
 O 
 
 The twentieth Sundnij after Trinitij'^K 
 The Collect. 
 Almightly and most merciful 
 _ God, of thy bountiful f!;oodiiess 
 keep us, we beseech thee, from all 
 2Thes'i.iii. 3. things that may hurt us; that we, 
 IS. XXXI. . ijgji^j,. i-^.;i,ly both in body and soul, 
 
 I Cor. vi. 20. may cheerfully accomplish those 
 I's. xi. 8. things that thou wouldest have done; 
 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Ephes. v. 15. 
 
 E E then that ye walk circum- 
 I spectly, not as fools, but as wise, 
 
 s: 
 
 what perverse comments and constructions they make 
 (if the most innocent and well-meant actions, and how 
 greedily they seek occasions of troubles and disturb- 
 ance. We observed this in many other instances of 
 the Pharisees, and we may easily observe the same in 
 tot) many of their followers. 3. From our Saviour's 
 Moi'kiiifi; a miracle to take off the charge of blasphemy, 
 and e.teiting his divine power to silence his enemies, 
 we may learn to use all possible means, and particularly 
 "by well-doing" (as the apostle directs) "to put to 
 silence the ignorance of foolish men." St. Paul's ad- 
 vice is, " Let not your good be evil spoken of." Now 
 though it be not always in our power to prevent this, 
 yet we are to do the best we can, to elude the cavils 
 and cabunnies of evil men. Lastly, from the people's 
 glorifying and blessing God upon this miracle of heal- 
 ing a sick man, let us learn to give God the glory of all 
 his mercies, and to ascribe to Him the honour due to 
 his name ; particularly, as we are taught by the Gospel 
 for this day, let us jiraise God as for the life and 
 doctrine, so for the miracles of our blessed Savioiu-, 
 ^^hich gave the highest honour and confirmation to 
 both. Let us frequently meditate on the number and 
 greatness of them, the better to raise our minds to a 
 higher esteem and thankfulness for them ; that will 
 mightily conduce to the confirming of us in the belief 
 of his doctrines and to the building of us up more 
 firmly in our most holy faith, and that will bring us at 
 last to the end of our faith, even the salvation of our 
 soul. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' The tweniieth Sunday after Trinity] We are taught 
 in the Collect for this day, to pray that we may be kept 
 from all things that may hurt us, that so being ready 
 both in body and soul, we may cheerfidly accomplish 
 those things that God would have done, &c. Which 
 things requiring no small care and diligence to accom- 
 plish them, the Epistle for the day begins with an ex- 
 hortation to a wise, wary, and circumsjiect walking, to 
 prevent the evils that may otherwise befal us. 
 
 The Gos])el contains a jiarable, in which, under the 
 resemblance of a king's making a marriage for his son, 
 and inviting many to it, is set forth the free and gra- 
 cious offer of the Gospel, together with the invaluable 
 blessings and ])rivileges of it ; which offer was first 
 made to the Jewish Church and nation, and upon their 
 refusal it was made to the Gentiles, and in them to all 
 nations ; adiling, withal, a severe sentence upon those 
 that rejected this tender, or received it not as they 
 should. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' From the Epistle of this day the following lessons 
 may be learned : 
 
 1. We may learn, that it is impossible for a Christian 
 
 redeeming the time, because the 
 days are evil. Wherefore be ye not 
 unwise, but understanding what the 
 will of the Lord is. And he not 
 drunk with wine, wherein is excess ; 
 but be filled with the Spirit; sj)eak- 
 ing to yourselves in psalms, and 
 hymns, and spiritual songs ; singing 
 and making melody in your heart 
 to the Lord ; giving thaid\s always 
 for all things unto God and the 
 Father, in the Name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ ; submitting your- 
 selves one to another in the fear of 
 God'. 
 
 to maintain a holy course of obedience to the commands 
 of God, without great care and caution, heedfnlness and 
 circiunspection. None can walk holily, who do not walk 
 watchfully. Also we may learn the excellence, as well 
 as the necessity, of circumspect walking : it is not a 
 foolish, unadvised course, of which we can give no 
 rational account ; but it is such as the wisdom of God 
 recommends to us, and such as bespeaks us truly and 
 really wise : wise for ourseh'es, and to our best and true 
 interest : wise both for this world and for the next. 
 
 2. We may learn another very important duty : 
 namely, to redeem the time : this cannot be done in a 
 natural sense ; time once past is irrecoverably lost : we 
 can no more recal it. But in a moral sense time may 
 be said to be redeemed, when our diligence to improve 
 it is redoubled, and when we do much in a smaU por- 
 tion of it. To redeem time supposes and imphes a 
 right knowledge of the use and enil of it, a high valua- 
 tion of the worth and excellency of it, and resolution to 
 rescue it from the hands of those who would destroy 
 it; namely, idleness, excess of sleep, inordinate adorn- 
 ing of the body, immoderate recreations, vain company, 
 an excess of worldly business. 
 
 3. We may learn not to allow oin-selves in intempe- 
 rance, or in any sinful excesses ; but to let our desires 
 and endeavours be directed to procure the grace of the 
 Holy Spirit of God ; so that, being filled therewith, our 
 souls may be kept holy, and our bodies chaste, and the 
 whole man may be rendered fit for the service of God 
 on earth, and meet for the fruition of God in heaven. 
 
 4. We may learn, that the hearts and sjnrits of good 
 men are full of spiritual mirth and joy : that it is lawful 
 and praiseworthy in them to give vent to their inward 
 delight by singing ; that ]>salms and hymns and spiritual 
 songs well become their mouths, when they perform their 
 S])iritual exercises ; and that, in singing these, there 
 should l)e an inward harmony, and a melody of the soul 
 and heart, as well as of the tongue. 
 
 Lastly, we are here instructed in the duty of thanks- 
 giving. That we should perform it "ahrays;" that is, 
 at least every day, and on every solemn occasion, keep- 
 ing the heart continually in a frame for praising as well 
 as praying. That we should " give thanks for all 
 things :" that is, fii-st, for all providences, whether 
 prosperous or adverse, for sickness as well as for health, 
 God intending our good by both : and secondly, for all 
 mercies ; for mercies of forbearance, of jirevention, of 
 recovery, for common benefits, for peculiar favours, for 
 mercies received, for mercies expected, for what we ])0S- 
 sess, and for what we have in hoiie. That we should 
 offer our thanksgivings "to God and the Father;" to 
 God, our Creator; to God, as the Father of om- Lord
 
 220 
 
 THE ONE AND TWENTIETH 
 
 J 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mattli. xxii. 1. 
 
 E S U S said. The Kingdom of 
 heaven is like unto a certain 
 king, who made a marriage for his 
 son ; and sent forth his servants to 
 call them that were bidden to the 
 wedding ; and they would not come. 
 Again, he sent forth other servants, 
 saying, Tell them which are bidden. 
 Behold, I have prepared my dinner ; 
 my oxen and my fatlings are killed, 
 and all things are ready ; come unto 
 the marriage. But they made light 
 of it, and went their ways, one to 
 his farm, another to his merchandise : 
 and the remnant took his servants, 
 and entreated them spitefully, and 
 slew them. But when the king heard 
 thereof, he was wroth ; and he sent 
 forth his armies, and destroyed those 
 murderers, and burnt up their city. 
 Then saith he to his servants, The 
 wedding is ready, but they wiio were 
 bidden were not worthy. Go ye 
 therefore into the high-ways, and 
 
 Jesus Christ, and our Father in Him. And that our 
 thanksgivings should be oifered " in the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ :" that as all our spiritual addresses, 
 both of prayer and praise, must be offered up to God ; 
 so their acceptance mth God is to be exjiected only by 
 and through our Lord Jesus Christ, the only propitia- 
 tion for our sins, the one Mediator between God and 
 men. Burkilt. 
 
 '' Two reflections suggested by the latter pai-t of this 
 Scripture are particularly deserving of notice. 
 
 1. The statement concerning the man that had not 
 on a wedding-garment, shews that a bare compliance 
 with the invitations, and appearing at the feast, would 
 not suffice ; and thus ministers serious subject of thought 
 and just matter of fear to the professors of Christ's reli- 
 gion. The apostle, speaking of the Church's marriage 
 to the Lamb, says, " to her it was granted that she 
 shoidd be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white ; and 
 the fine linen is the rigliteousness of saints," Kev. xix. S. 
 This passage will hel[) us in explaining the wedding- 
 garment, and slicws that by it are intended all that iiurity 
 of mind and conversation, all that charity and those 
 good works, which are the genuine fruits and evidences 
 of a truly Christian faith. .So that the jjcrson thrust out 
 for want of such a garment, is an emblem of all those 
 who profess and receive, but do not live up to, the jirin- 
 ciples of Clirist's religion. Their eml;racing of tlu'se, 
 and being baptized into tliem, may pass for an accept- 
 ance of the itivitation, and a coming to the feast. Hut 
 their coming in so imgiilar and indecent a garl), not 
 " putting olf the old man with his affections and lusts," 
 nor " putting on the new man, which after God is 
 created in righteousness and true holiness," K|)h. iv. 
 22 — 24, do as effectually exclude tliem from the saving 
 benefits of this feast, as if tliey had never been persuaded 
 of the truth, and so had never come at all. 
 
 2. A consideration of this parable may serve to in- 
 etruct us, who are the " called," and who the " chosen" 
 
 as many as ye shaL find bid to the 
 marriage. So those servants went 
 out in the high-ways, and gathered 
 together all, as many as they found, 
 both bad and good ; and the wed- 
 ding was furnished with guests. And 
 when the king came in to see the 
 guests, he saw there a man which 
 had not on a wedding-garment. 
 And he saith unto him. Friend, 
 how camest thou in hither, not hav- 
 ing a wedding-garment ? And he 
 was speechless. Then said the king 
 to the servants. Bind him hand and 
 foot, and take him away, and cast 
 him into outer darkness : there shall 
 be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 
 For many are called, but few are 
 chosen''. 
 
 The one and twentieth Sunday after 
 Trinity '. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 GRANT, we beseech thee, mer- 
 ciful Lord, to thy faithful peo- 
 
 of God. All, to whom the knowledge of Christ and his 
 religion is come, whether they embrace it or not ; and 
 those that embrace it, whether, after embracing it, they 
 live agreeably to it or not ; all these are the " called." 
 And they who do embrace and live up to it, these only 
 are the " chosen." Chosen freely, because ^vithout any 
 thing on their part to deserve, but not so as that nothing 
 should be requisite on their part to incline this choice : 
 for those works, which are by no means to be allowed 
 as a "meritorious" cause, because acce])ted only in and 
 for the sake of Christ, (the only meritorious cause of 
 our salvation,) are yet necessary in the quality of an 
 instrumental and conditional cause, because " without 
 holiness no man shall see the Lord," Heb. xii. 1-4. 
 
 The ministers, the word of (iod, and bis holy sacra- 
 ments, are the mcaiis whereby we are ordinarily called. 
 To neglect these is to reject God's call ; to attend them 
 hypocritically and formally, and rest upon these ordi- 
 nances without a life suitable to them, is to come without 
 a wedding-giu-ment. To hear and read and ])ray and 
 communicate and live accordingly, is to follow the 
 apostle's advice, (which he woidd never have left us, if 
 we had no ])art or concern in tliis great work ourselves,) 
 that, 1 mean, of " giving all diligence to make our call- 
 ing and election sure." Which, tliat we may effectually 
 do, let us earnestly beseech God, as directed in the Col- 
 lect for this day, " of his bountiful goodness to keep us 
 from all tlungs that may hurt us; that we, being ready 
 both in bodvaud so\il, may cheerfully accomplish those 
 things that he would have doiu', through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord." Amen. Dean Slaiili(ij)e. 
 
 ' The one and twentieth Sunday after Trinity.'] The 
 [jctitions we offer up in the Collect for this day, are for 
 pardon and peace ; that, lieing cleansed from all our sins, 
 we may serve God with a (piiet mind. To obtain which, 
 the Lpistle for the day begins with an exhortation to 
 " be strong in the Lord, and in tlic ])0wer of his might," 
 that is, to be confirmed in the faith of Christ, to be for-
 
 SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 221 
 
 pie pardon and peace, tliat tliey 
 jer. xxxiii.8. may be cleansed from all their sins, 
 
 Luke i. 74, f ,, -.i • ^ • 1 
 
 75. and serve thee witli a quiet mnid ; 
 
 Fs. ixxxv. 8. tlji-Qyo-li Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Ephes. vi. 10. 
 
 MY brethren, be strong in the 
 Lord, and in the power of 
 his miii;ht. Put on the whole ar- 
 mour of God, that ye may be able 
 to stand airainst the wiles of the 
 devil. For we wrestle not aganist 
 flesh and blood, but against princi- 
 palities, against powers, against the 
 rulers of the darkness of this world, 
 against spiritual wickedness in high 
 places. Wherefore take unto you 
 the whole armour of God, tliat ye 
 may be able to withstand in the evil 
 day, and, having done all, to stan<l. 
 Stand therefore, having your loins 
 girt about with truth ; and having 
 on the breast-plate of righteousness ; 
 
 tified with grace and spiritual strength from him, and 
 to labour for such a firmness and constancy of mind, as 
 may carry us above and beyond all tem]rtatJons. 
 
 'Ilie Gospel contains the narrative of a miracle wTOught 
 on a nobleman's son at Capernaimi. Dr. Hole. 
 
 "■ We shall do well to observe the directions here 
 given to the Ephesians, for so deporting themselves 
 against their spiritual enemies, and so managing the 
 armour recommended to them, that they might come 
 off with safety and honour in their dangerous en- 
 counter. 
 
 1 . By representing the multitude and the quality of 
 our enemies, the apostle plainly intends to awaken our 
 care and provoke us to action. And this point indeed 
 ought to be more frequently and more seriously laid to 
 heart, than generally it is. For to what, hut the want 
 of this consideration, can we ascribe the %vi-etched negli- 
 gence and sloth, the thoughtlessness and profound 
 security, in which the greater part of Christians spend 
 their days ? Alas ! our danger calls for all our activity 
 and thought ; and all is little enough, to obtain victory 
 at last. But then do we most effectually give advantage 
 to, and take part with our enemies, when we seem to 
 forget that we have any enemies at all. And their de- 
 feat in this spiritual war is unavoidable, who say to their 
 own souls, " Peace, peace," when there is not, cannot 
 be, peace. 
 
 2. By being called on "to put on the whole armour 
 of God," we are taught not to be discouraged or sink 
 into despair, by reason of the danger previously de- 
 scribed. This shews us where our strength lies ; that 
 neither are we left naked and defenceless, nor are the 
 foes, we have to wrestle with, invincible. To have 
 bidden us " be strong," and " stand" (as we say) upon 
 our own legs, against such enemies, had indeed been 
 most absurd. But when we are commanded to be 
 " strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, to 
 put on the armour of God," and to resist under his as- 
 sistance and protection ; this proves them that are with 
 us to be more and mightier than all that are, or can be, 
 against us. It shews that we go out against them in 
 
 and your feet shod with the prepara- 
 tion of the Gospel of peace ; above 
 all, taking the shield of faith, where- 
 with ye shall be able to (piench all 
 the fiery darts of the wicked ; aiul 
 take the helmet of salvation, and 
 the sword of the Spirit, which is the 
 Word of God : praying always with 
 all prayer and sup])lication in the 
 Spirit, aiul watching thereunto with 
 all perseverance, and supplication 
 for all saints; and for me, that utter- 
 ance may be given unto me, that I 
 may open my mouth boldly to make 
 known the mystery of the Gospel, 
 for which I am an ambassador in 
 bonds ; tliat therein I may speak 
 boldly, as I ought to speak". 
 
 The Go.tpel. St. John iv. 46. 
 
 TH ERE was a certain nobleman, 
 whose son was sick at Caper- 
 naum. When he heard that Jesus 
 was come out of Judaea into Galilee, 
 
 the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of battles ; and 
 under the co^'er of one, who can, nay, who actually did, 
 conquer them long ago. It jjroves, that courage and 
 vigour, resistance and resolution, diligence and jiersc- 
 verance, are required on our part. We must fight, and 
 maintain our ground, and not exjiect deliverance and 
 conquest without our own endeavours : but if we con- 
 tinue fighting, we shall not fail both to keep and get 
 ground ; because armed and strengthened by one, who 
 will not fail to bring us off, when those endeavours are 
 sincere and constant. 
 
 3. In order hereunto it is necessary, that as our exi- 
 gencies and wants are, so our requests for seasonable 
 recruits in this war should be, pressing and continual. 
 That no opportunity be lost by our neglect, nor any 
 assistances either mthheld or withdrawn, for want of 
 ajiplication. And, because the danger and the cause are 
 common, our concern must be so too. Ourselves cannot 
 be safe without that charity, which gives us an interest 
 in the safety of every Christian : for no member of this 
 mystical body is made or fights for, and therefore none 
 ought to regard, or pray for, himself alone ; and because 
 in this, as in the body natural, every member is not of 
 the same use and consequence ; therefore our jirayers 
 should be, in a more especial manner, for those, by 
 whose labours and the success of them the welfare of 
 the whole is more especially promoted. Such was St. 
 Paul, with regard to these Ephesians ; such in ])ro[)or- 
 tion are all ministers of the Gospel to their respecti\-e 
 charges. Each whereof may very reasonably bespeak, 
 and each ought certainly to be heard when he does be- 
 speak, the constant intercessions of his people. For 
 though we are not " ambassadors in bonds," yet we are 
 all "ambassadors," if not strictly and first to "make 
 known the mystery of the Gospel ;" yet to press faith 
 and obedience to it, in jjlaces where it is already known ; 
 to instruct the many ignorant even there ; to comfort 
 the feeble-minded, to suppoi-t the weak, to warn the 
 unruly, and to oppose gainsayers. In all which we have 
 great occasion for the prayers of good Christians, " that 
 utterance may be given to us, that we may open om-
 
 2-22 
 
 THE ONE AND TWENTIETH 
 
 he went unto liim and besought 
 him that he would come down and 
 heal his son ; for lie was at the 
 point of death. Then said Jesus 
 unto him, Except ye see signs and 
 wonders, ye will not believe. The 
 nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come 
 down ere my child die. Jesus saith 
 unto him, Go thy way, thy son 
 liveth. And the man believed the 
 word that Jesus had spoken unto 
 him, and he went his way. And, 
 as he was now going down, his ser- 
 
 rnouths boldly;" and in despite of difficulties and dis- 
 couraCTeraents, "' may speak" upon all occasions " as we 
 oufflit to speak."' Dean Starihojte. 
 
 "In this miracle the manner of our Lord's proceeding 
 is remarkable, and deserves the more notice, because so 
 very different from his beha\'iour to an inhabitant of the 
 same city, a dependent upon the same court, and in a 
 case of very like nature. \Mien a centurion, whose ser- 
 vant lay sick at Capernaum too, solicited his help, the 
 message met with this encouraging reply, " I will come 
 and heal him," Matt. viii. 7 : accordingly, without the 
 least delay, our Lord was moving thither; but was 
 stopped, by this most noble, yet humble declaration of 
 his faith, " Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest 
 come under my roof, but speak tlie word only, and my 
 servant shall be healed," Luke vii. — S. Now here a 
 person in much more eminent post makes pressing 
 application that He would "come and heal his son." A 
 relation, as much dearer, as the figure of the courtier 
 was superior to that of the centurion ; and yet, we find 
 nothing like the same readiness, in complying with this 
 request ; which I mention for this very purjiose, that, by 
 comjiaring the cases together, it may a])])ear, that our 
 Lord did. what we may discern to be highly prudent and 
 proper, in each of them. 
 
 That centurion was duly sensible, both of our Lord's 
 power, and of his own unworthiness : to him therefore 
 the kindest advances were made, that those jircvcntions 
 might furnish an ojijiortunity for i-endering both his 
 humility, and his faith, exemplary and publick. The 
 nobleman here seems rather to look for attendance and 
 respect; and to have thought, that nothing less than 
 our Lord's own ))rc.sence could do any service ; nay, and 
 that even this, if not ipiicUly granted, would come too 
 late. This imperfection of his faith is ex|)ressed, in that 
 second instance made, ver. -It), "Sir, come down ere my 
 child die:" he therefore was to be treated another way ; 
 to be taught, that the Messiah is no respecter of |ier- 
 sons, that the outward state and dignity is of far less 
 regard with him, than the inward dis])osition and virtue 
 of the man : to be convinced, that God is a (iod afar 
 off a.s well as near at hand ; and that one single word, 
 at a distance, should be as effectual to the patient, as a 
 sight of him, or a touch, or any corporal application 
 whatsoever. These are instructions and convictions, 
 which could not so fully have been given, had our Lord 
 complied with the lirst entreaty, and gone down to 
 the house ; and therefore. He coiU rived amethod of more 
 coldness and reserve, to make at once the miracle ap- 
 pear greater, and the effect and benefit of it upon the 
 askcr, greater and more successful too. Dean Slan- 
 hope. 
 
 2. He. who came to complain of his son's sickness, 
 hears of his own : " Ivicept ye see signs anil wonders, 
 yc will not beheve." (.)ur Saviour tells hiiu of his 
 
 vants met him, and told him, saying, 
 Thy son liveth. Then enquired he 
 of them the hour when he began 
 to amend : and they said unto him, 
 Yesterday at the seventh horn- the 
 fever left him. So the father knew 
 that it was at the same hoar in the 
 which Jesus said unto him. Thy son 
 liveth ; and himself believed, and 
 his whole house. This is again the 
 second miracle that Jesus did, when 
 he was come out of Judtea into 
 Galilee ". 
 
 unbelief. He feels not himself sick of that disease. 
 All his mind is on his dying son. As easily do we 
 com])!iun of bodily grief, as we ai-e hardly affected with 
 spiritual. 
 
 3. Let us admire the meekness and mercy of this 
 Lamb of Uod ! When we would have looked, that He 
 should have punished this suitor for not beheving. He 
 condescends to him, that he may believe . " Go thy 
 way; thy son liveth." If we should measure our hopes 
 by our own worthiness, there were no expectation of 
 blessings : but if we shall measure them by his bounty 
 and compassion, there can be no doubt of prevailing. 
 
 4. Justly doth Christ forbear to go down with this 
 ruler, lest He should confirm him in an opinion, of 
 measuring his pow'cr by conceits of locality and dis- 
 tance ; but He doth that in absence, for which his pre- 
 sence was required, with a re])ulse, "Thy son hveth:" 
 giving a greater demonstration of his omnipotency than 
 was craved. How oft doth He not hear to our will, 
 that He may hear us to our advantage ! The " chosen 
 vessel" would be rid of temptations; he hears of a 
 supply of grace : the sick man asks release, receives 
 patience ; life, and receives glory. Let us ask what 
 we think best : let Him give what He knows best. 
 
 5. With one word doth Christ heal two i)atients ; the 
 son and the father ; the son's fever, the father's unbe- 
 lief. That operative word of our .Saviour was not 
 without the intention of a trial. Had not the ruler 
 gone home, satisfied with that intimation of his son's 
 life and recovery, neither of them had been blessed 
 with success. Now, the news of ]ici'formance meets 
 Him one half the w.ay, and He that lielieved somewhat 
 ere he came, and more when he went, grew to more 
 faith in the way ; and, «hen he came home, enlarged 
 his faith to aU the skirts of his family. A weak faith 
 may be true; but a true faith is growing. iJ/i. Hail. 
 
 Lastly, we may remark the success of the miracle ; 
 by which is meant the conviction that it wrought upon 
 the nobleman and his family, described by its being 
 said, that " himself believed, and his whole house." 
 
 liy his own believing we are to understand, that a 
 consideration of the power and goodness of Christ, in 
 raising his son from that languisliing and ho|)clcss con- 
 dition, (iis])osed him to attend to his doctrine, to acknow- 
 ledge his divine authority, and to become his disciple 
 upon a reasonalde and full ]iersuasiou of the triUh of 
 both, liy his "whole liousc lielieving" is meant, that 
 he did not content himself witli these im|)rovements 
 of that mercy, made singly in his own jierson ; but 
 took good care to i)roi)agate all possible ell'ects of this 
 miracle, and to press the natural consccpienccs of it, 
 upon as many as bis capacity gave him anv conuuaiid or 
 influence over; in both, he is and ought to be our 
 example ; for all deliverances should luive the like 
 operation. We do not, God be blessed, need the for-
 
 SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 223 
 
 The two and twentieth Sundai/ after 
 Triniti/ ". 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 LO R D, we beseech tliee to keep 
 thy househohl the Church in 
 
 Ps. Ixxxiv. 
 
 coiitlmial frodliiiess ; that tliroiigh 
 
 tliy jirotectioii it may be free from 
 "ciirW' ^" adversities, and devoutly given 
 Phil. i. (j. 10, to serve thee in good works, to tlie 
 
 glory of thy Name ; through Jesus 
 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Phik i. 3. 
 
 I Thank my God upon every re- 
 membrance of you, (always in 
 every prayer of mine for you all 
 making request with joy,) for your 
 fellowship in the Gospel from the 
 first day until now ; being confident 
 of this very thing, that he who hath 
 begun a good work in you will per- 
 form it until the day of Jesus Christ; 
 even as it is meet for me to think 
 this of you all, because I have you 
 in my heart, inasmuch as both in 
 my bonds, and in the defence and 
 confirmation of the Gospel, ye all 
 are partakers of my grace. For God 
 is my record, how greatly I long 
 after you all in the bowels of Jesus 
 Christ. And this I pray, that your 
 
 iner part, of being brought to the confession of Christ 
 and his Gospel ; but, alas ! we need, but too much, to 
 be quickened and confirmed in the faith we make pro- 
 fession of; and to be put upon using all our might, 
 for establishing and advancing others in good prin- 
 ciples and practices. For which the fresh experiments 
 of God's great goodness to us minister very proper 
 occasions. And if we duly improve them, we shall 
 with most devout and affectionate hearts admire, adore, 
 and serve Him ; and account it our greatest joy, by 
 example, persuasion, and everj' holy act, to increase 
 the number of his zealous worshippers upon earth now, 
 and of his glorified saints in heaven hereafter. Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 ° The two and tioentieth Sunday after Trimty.'] Tlie 
 Collect for the day prays to God, to keep his household 
 the Church in continual godliness ; that through his 
 protection it may be free from all adversities, and de- 
 voutly given to serve in good works. Suitably where- 
 unto the Epistle for the day contains St. Paul's prayer 
 for those things in behalf of the I'hilippians, that God 
 would prosper the Church among men, and that they 
 might persevere in godliness and good works. 
 
 The Gospel relates to the great duty of men forgiving 
 one another their trespasses, and illustrates by a parable 
 the nature, necessity, and other circumstances of this 
 duty. Dr. Hole. 
 
 p From this prayer of the apostle in behalf of the 
 Phihp])ians, and from the several parts of it, we learn, 
 
 1 . That it is an office of great charity to pray for one 
 another : for this is the best, and sometimes the only, 
 
 love may abound yet more and 
 more in knowledge, and in all judge- 
 ment : that ye may ajiprovc things 
 that are e.\celleiit, that ye may be 
 sincere, and without olfeiice, till the 
 day of Christ : being filled with the 
 fruits of righteousness, which are by 
 Jesus Christ, unto the glory and 
 praise of God p. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. xviii. 21. 
 
 PETER said unto Jesus, Lord, 
 how oft shall my brother sin 
 against me, and I forgive him ? till 
 seven times? Jesus .saith unto him, 
 I say not unto thee, Until seven 
 times ; but until seventy times 
 seven. Therefore is the Kingdom 
 of heaven likened unto a certain 
 king, which would take account of 
 his servants. And when he had 
 begun to reckon, one was brought 
 unto him, which owed him ten 
 thousand talents. But forasmuch 
 as he had not to pay, his lord com- 
 manded him to be sold, and his wife 
 and children, and all that he had, 
 and payment to be made. The 
 servant therefore fell down and 
 worshipped him, saying. Lord, have 
 patience with me, and I will pay thee 
 all. Then the lord of that servant 
 
 way we have to do them any service. So did St. Paul 
 here to the Philippians, whom he always " remembered 
 in every jirayer, making request with joy." The like 
 we find him doing for the Colos-sians, chap. i. 9 ; 
 " Since the day we heard of your faith, we cease not to 
 pray for you." And elsewhere, " God forbid, that I 
 should sin against God, in ceasing to pray for you." 
 As if it were an act of the greatest impiety against 
 God, as well as injustice and unkindness towards our 
 neighbour, to neglect so weighty a duty in their behalf. 
 These ])ious examples recommend to us this great office 
 of charity, to be tenderlj' affected to, and to be always 
 mindful of, one another in our prayers. 
 
 2. We learn hence the sidjject matter of our prayers, 
 or what it is that we are to pray for in the behalf of 
 each other ; and that is, for the increase of love to God 
 and man ; that it may abound more and more towards 
 both : for the knowledge and approbation of the best 
 things, namely, such as are necessaiy to our present 
 peace and future hapjiiness ; for such a sincere and 
 unblemished fife, as may lead to the attainment of 
 both ; and finally for such a stock of grace and good 
 fruits, as may tend to the glory of God and our own 
 salvation. 
 
 This is a good direction both for the matter and 
 manner of our prayers for one another ; to which if we 
 keep, we shall do well, being assured of finding the 
 retiu-n of such jirayers in our own bosom ; for Christ 
 hath encouraged us with the promise of and ans«-er to 
 such ])etitions, and that whatsoever we ask the Father 
 in his name. He will gi\e it. Dr. Hole.
 
 224 
 
 THE THREE AND TWENTIETH 
 
 was moved with compassion, and 
 loosed him, and forgave him the 
 debt. But the same servant went 
 out, and found one of Ids feHoiv- 
 servants, which owed him an liun- 
 dred pence ; and he hiid hands on 
 him, and took Inm by the throat, 
 saying. Pay me that tliou owest. 
 And his fellow-servant fell down at 
 his feet, and besought him, saying, 
 Have jjatience with me, and 1 will 
 pay tliee all. And he would not ; 
 but went and cast him into prison, 
 till he should pay the debt. So 
 when his fellow-servants saw what 
 was done, they were very sorrj'', and 
 came and told unto their lord all 
 that was done. Then his lord, after 
 that he liad called him, said unto 
 him, O thou wicked servant, I for- 
 
 "i Our obligation to the duty of forgiveness is here 
 illustrated by com[)aring the two cases in the parable 
 together, and so shewing the disparity between them. 
 In'ow that disparity consists chiefly in three things ; the 
 parties concerned, the quality of the debt, and the 
 ability of making satisfaction. These are differences, 
 each of them desen-ing our most attentive considera- 
 tion. 
 
 1. For that of the parties. First, our sins against 
 God, are a "debt" to a "King," a "trespass" upon a 
 " Father ;" those of men against us are between ser- 
 vant and fellow-servant, brother and Virother. One 
 known aggravation of any fault is estimated by the 
 qnality of the person offended. And the capacities, 
 which God is here represented imder, are such as do, 
 above all others, render sinners in this respect inex- 
 cusable. His dignity and distance above us, his au- 
 thority and dominion over us, are implied in the 
 character of a King ; his boundless affection, and good- 
 ness, and tender care for us, under that of a Father. 
 The former convicts us of most insolent rebellion ; the 
 latter, of the basest and most unnatural ingratitude. 
 
 2. Secondly, The ijuality of the debt itself, figured 
 by sums so distant, as that of our offences against (iod 
 amounting to " ten thousand talents," those of our 
 brethren against us rising no higher than a " hundred 
 pence." They who take the pains to comjiute these 
 two sums will, I think, find the disproportion between 
 them to be much about six hundred thousand to one. 
 Js'or may we imagine the comparison to stand good, 
 only in the case of very notorious and profligate sinners 
 on the one hand, anil of the slightest injuries on the 
 other ; but every man, even the most circumsjiect, owes 
 his "ten thousand talents" to God, and no man. even 
 the most unworthily treated, bath more than " a hun- 
 dred pence" tn demand of his brother. 
 
 .T. A third diffd'cnce is with regard to the ability of 
 tlu'se several debtors. What we have offended God in, 
 we are in no conditicm to make satisfaction for ; but 
 for all that men have done amiss to us, we may receive 
 large and sudieient rcjiaration. This remark likewise 
 the ])arable suggests, by aflirming, that "the .servant 
 had not" wherewithal "to pay" his Lord, Matt, xviii. 
 '2.'>. His a.sking " ])atiencc" therefore, and iiromising 
 full i)ayment, were but the artifices of common delitors, 
 who, to gain time and (juiet, malic no serujile to engage 
 
 gave thee all that debt, because thou 
 desiredst me : shouldest not thou 
 also have had compassion on thy 
 I fellow-servant, even as I liad pity 
 on thee ? Aiul his lord was wroth, 
 and delivered him to the tormentors, 
 till he should pay all that was due 
 unto him. So likewise shall my 
 heavenly Father do also unto you, 
 if ye from your hearts forgive not 
 every one his broth.er their tres- 
 passes''. 
 
 The three and twentieth Sunday after 
 Trinity^. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 OGod, our refuge and strength, Ps. xci. 2; 
 who art the ai'ithor of all god- ";''xh.i.'L 
 liness ; Be ready, we beseech thee, John xv. ;>. 
 
 for such things as they are unable to make good. But 
 now, by no such intimation being left us of the fellow- 
 ser\'ant, ver. 28 — 30, we may I'easonably presume, that 
 his "hundred pence" might, and would have been 
 easily compassed, with a little forbearing and gentle 
 usage. 
 
 Thus it is hkewise in the application. Many offences 
 the ^'cry persons offending may make us good amends 
 for ; many the laws will right us in ; and those in 
 which neither of these ways can help us to restitution, 
 God hath a thousand methods in reserve, and will not 
 fail to do us justice for. 
 
 But though men may sometimes, and God can and 
 will always, make us amends, yet we are not in a capa- 
 city of making him any. All the payment He can 
 receive for this vast debt on oiu- part, is of his own. 
 For we have nothing, and we are nothing ; and there- 
 fore, knowing that we had not to ]iay, this gracious 
 Lord hath provided Himself a Lamb, of more value 
 than millions of millions of us : a Lamb, whose blood 
 He therefore accepts in full satisfaction for the debts 
 and trespasses of a whole world of sinners. 
 
 So strongly is this duty bound ujion us, by a compa- 
 rison of tile two cases. To men dispassionate and 
 un])rejudiced these reasons will be sufficient : to them 
 that are not, nothing will be so. I conclude therefore 
 with an excellent passage out of the Son of Siraeh, 
 than which I can think of none more pertinent to the 
 Gospel of this day: "He that revengetb shall find 
 vengeance from the Lord, and he will surely keeji bis 
 sins in renuMubrance. Forgive thy neighbour the hurt 
 that he hath done imto thee, so shall thy sins also be 
 forgiven when thou jn-ayest. One man beareth hatred 
 against another, and doth he seek pardon from the 
 Lord? He shewcth no mercy to a man, which is like 
 himself; and doth he ask forgiveness of bis own sins? 
 If he that is bvit flesh nmu-ish hatred, who will iutreat 
 for ])ardon of his .sins ? Ucuiember tlie cornmandmenfs, 
 and bear no malice to thy neighbour; remember the 
 covenant of the highest, and wink at ignorance," Eoclus. 
 xxviii. 1, Ike. Dean Slniihnpe. 
 
 ' The three nfiH twentielli Sunday after Trinity.'] 'I'he 
 Collect for the day beseeches (iod to hear the devout 
 prayers of liis Cburcb, and to grant that those things, 
 which we ask faithfully, may be obtained effectually. 
 To which end, the lOpistle for the day teaches us how
 
 SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 225 
 
 to bear tlie devout prayers of tliy 
 Cliurcli ; and grant that those things 
 which we ask taitiifidly we may oli- 
 Mark xi. 24. tain eftectually; through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Phil. iii. 17. 
 
 BR E T H R E N, be followers to- 
 gether of me, and mark them 
 whicli walk so as ye have us for an 
 ensample. (For many walk, of 
 whom I have told you often, and 
 now tell you even weeping, that 
 they are the enemies of the cross 
 of Christ ; whose end is destruc- 
 tion, whose god is their belly, and 
 whose glory is in their shame, who 
 mind earthly things.) For our con- 
 versation is in heaven ; from whence 
 also we look for the Saviour, the 
 Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change 
 our vile body, that it may be 
 fashioned like unto liis glorious 
 body, according to the working 
 whereby he is able even to subdue 
 all things unto himself'. 
 
 our persons must be qualified, that our prayers may be 
 accepted : to wit, by fnllowing our forerunners in the 
 faith, and a pious imitation of their examples. The 
 Gospel sets before us the malicious and crafty designs 
 of the Pharisees and others against our Savioiu' ; and 
 his great prudence in confounding their devices and 
 eluding their snares, together with the excellent in- 
 struction which He thence took occasion to deliver. Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 ' The great lesson taught in this Epistle is, that we 
 be followers of the holy apostles, and set their lives and 
 actions before us, as a jiattern for ours. To this end, 
 we should read often the Scriptures of the New Testa- 
 ment, where their memorable works and actions are 
 recorded, and bear them in mind, that we may have 
 them always ready as occasion may recpiire ; not that 
 we are to be followers of them, in doing the miracles 
 and other wonderful works that they did, for that was 
 a power or pri\-ilege jieculiar to them, granted for a 
 while only for the confirmation and propagation of the 
 Gospel ; which being now well confirmed and projja- 
 gated. there can be no farther need or use of (hem, and 
 therefore are not to be prayed for or pretended to by 
 us. Nor yet are we to lie followers of the apostles in 
 their failings and infirmities, some whereof were very 
 great ; as St. Peter's denying his Master, St. Paul per- 
 secuting the church, and the like, which are recorded 
 in Scripture, not that we should follow but forsake 
 them ; but that, which we are called upon to imitate in 
 them, is their virtues, to follow their good works, to 
 have them before us as a rule to govern oiu' action.?, or 
 as a copy to transcribe in our lives and con\'ersations, 
 and to walk even as they walked. .-Vncl indeed what 
 better precedents can we follow, than those persons, 
 who have not only chalked out our way for us by their 
 precepts, but likewise trod every step of it before us by 
 their examples ? To both whicli let us all learn to con- 
 form our lives, and labour not to swerve from either in 
 the whole course of our conversation. To which end. 
 
 T/ie Goxpel. St. Matth. x.xii. 15. 
 Ty\ II E N went the Pharisees and 
 
 I took counsel how they might 
 entangle him in his talk. And they 
 sent out unto him their disciples, 
 with the Ilerodians, saying, Master, 
 we know that thou art true, and 
 teachest the way of God in truth, 
 neither carest thou for any man : for 
 thou regardest not the person of 
 men. Tell us therefore, what thiidi- 
 est thou? Is it lawful to give tribute 
 unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus 
 jjerceived their wickedness, and said. 
 Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites ? 
 shew me the tribute-money. And 
 they brought unto him a peny. And 
 he saith unto them, Whose is this 
 image and superscription ? They 
 say unto him, Ctesar's. Then saith 
 he unto them. Render therefore unto 
 Cfesar the things which are Csesar's ; 
 and unto God the things that are 
 God's. When they had heard these 
 words, they marvelled, and left him, 
 and went their way'. 
 
 2. Let us abandon the ways and works of all loose, 
 profane, and profligate persons ; and such disorderly 
 walkers, as the apostle could not speak of without 
 weeping, let us not think of without abhorring and 
 avoiding, for their end is destruction, to which they 
 lead themselves and all their followers : we have seen 
 their description, being such, " whose god is their belly, 
 whose glory is in their shame, and who mind only 
 earthly things." In opposition whereunto let us, 3. 
 Especially imitate the apostles in their holy and hea- 
 venly conversation ; for, though they lived upon the 
 earth, yet they declared that they belonged to another 
 country; they were but ])ilgrims and strangers here, 
 their citizenship and conversation was in heaven ; they 
 were dead and crucified to this world ; their hearts 
 were there, where their treasure was, even in heaven, 
 from whence they expected their Sa\'iour, to come and 
 take them to Himself. And since we also look for 
 the same, let us learn to do and to demean ourseh'cs 
 likewise : especially considering the great and glo- 
 rious change, that will then befal both our body and 
 soul, from the many miseries and infirmities of this 
 earth, to all the glories and felicities of heaven. Dr. 
 Hole. 
 
 ' The things that are Cecsar's, or the rights of sove- 
 reign princes, are honour, obedience, and tribute ; as 
 also, the things that are God's, or the rights of the 
 great Sovereign and Ruler of the world, are religious 
 worship, which is due to Him only; and some diWne 
 honoiu's, and resjiects that are to be paid to sacred per- 
 sons and things, for the relation they bear to Him. And 
 it belongs to us all to practise a careful and conscien- 
 tious discharge of these duties, by rendering to each 
 what of right belongs to them. And, 1. Let us be care- 
 ful that we render imto Caesar, or so\-ereign kings or 
 queens, the things that are theirs : that is, honour their 
 persons astiod's vicegerents, with all the expressions of 
 inward and outward honour, and take care not to dis- 
 honoiu- them in thought, word, or deed. 2. Let U3 
 
 Q
 
 226 
 
 THE FOUR AND TWENTIETH 
 
 Tlie four and twentieth Sundai/ after 
 Trinity'^. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 OLord, we beseech thee, absolve 
 thy jieople IVom their offences ; 
 Ps. li. 9. that through thy bountiful goodness 
 we may all be delivered from the 
 Matt. i. 21. bands of those sins, which by our 
 frailty we have committed : Grant 
 this, O heavenly Father, for Jesus 
 Christ's sake, our blessed Lord and 
 Saviour. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Col. i. 3. 
 
 WE give thanks to God and 
 the Father of our Lord Je- 
 sus Christ, praying always for you, 
 since we heard of your faith in 
 Christ Jesus, and of the love which 
 ye have to all the saints ; for the 
 hope which is laid up for you in 
 heaven, whereof ye heard before 
 in the word of the truth of the 
 Gospel ; which is come unto you, 
 
 render unto them all due submission and obedience to 
 their laws, owning and yielding to their authority for 
 God's sake, and not listening to any suggestions or 
 temptations to the contrary. 3. Let us render tribute 
 unto them as occasions shall require, which is here 
 plainly commanded by our Saviour, and is necessary 
 for the safety both of prince and people ; the denying 
 whereof to a lawful and pious prince of these kingdoms 
 hath brought many miseries and heavy burdens upon 
 them ever since. But above all, lastly, let us be careful 
 of "rendering unto Ood the things that are God's," 
 that is, by giving to Him divine worship, and to none 
 beside Him, and likewise by paying all due respect and 
 reverence to those persons, times, and places, that are 
 consecrated to Him ; honouring his ministers, hallow- 
 ing his sabliath, and reverencing his sanctuary. In a 
 word, by rendering unto ('icsar the things that are 
 Caesar's, we may live quietly and easily here ; and by 
 rendering unto God the things that are God's, we shall 
 live hajipily for ever hereafter. Dr. Hale. 
 
 " The fimr and tii-iiitietli Sunday tifler Trinity.'] The 
 Collect for the day beseeches God to alisolve his people 
 from their offences, that, through his bountifid good- 
 ness, they may all be delivered from the bands of those 
 sins, which l)y their frailty they have conunitted : which 
 things cannot better be obtained tliaii by frequent and 
 fen-ent jirayer. And therefore tlie apostle in tliis 
 Kjiistle puts up his hearty prayers in the behalf of the 
 Colossians, that all sin might decay and die in tliem, 
 and that all the graces of the Spirit might grow and 
 flourish among them. The Gospel gives an account of 
 two of our blessed Saviour's miracles. Dr. Hole. 
 
 • The state of endless glorj' and happiness hereafter 
 is here called liy the name of an " inheritance," to 
 signify the title we have to it as [)iuchased for us by 
 ■lesns Christ : and tlie tenure by which wc hold it, 
 wliich is not by a term of lives, or a lease of years, but 
 by an inheritance for ever. Hence it is sometimes 
 called, "a kingdom that cannot be moved," and "an 
 everlasting kingdom ;" at other times " an inheritance 
 iindefiled, incorruptible, that never faileth or fadeth 
 away," 1 Pet. i. 4. 2. It is called tlie inheritance "of 
 
 as it is in all the world, and bring- 
 eth forth fruit, as it doth also in 
 you, since the day ye heard of it, 
 and knew the grace of Ciod in truth. 
 As ye also learned of Epaphras, our 
 dear fellow-servant, who is for you 
 a faithful minister of Christ ; who 
 also declared unto us your love in 
 the Sj)irit. For this cause we also, 
 since the day we heard it, do not 
 cease to pray for you, and to desire 
 that ye might be filled with the 
 knowledge of his will in all wisdom 
 and spiritual understanding : that 
 ye might walk worthy of the Lord 
 unto all pleasing, being fruitful in 
 every good work, and increasing in 
 the knowledge of God : strengthened 
 with all miffht, accordinof to his sjlo- 
 rious power, unto all jiatience and 
 long-suffering with joy fulness; giving 
 thanks unto the Father, which hath 
 made us meet to be partakers of the 
 inheritance of the saints in light". 
 
 the saints," to signify the persons to whom it belongs, 
 which is not to all, whether in the church, or out of 
 the church ; nor yet to those, that live loose, careless, 
 and wicked lives in it ; but only to " the saints," that 
 is, to such as are admitted into Christ's holy church, 
 and continue true and faithful members of it to their 
 lives' end. For these it is, that " there is laid up a 
 crown of glory, which God the righteous Judge shall 
 give at the last day, to all such as love and look for his 
 appearing." 3. It is called the inheritance of the 
 saints " in bght ;" to signify the glory and splendour 
 of that happy state ; for as darkness is made to repre- 
 sent a state of horror and endless misery, for which 
 reason hell is described to be a place of black and 
 eternal darkness ; so light is set to signify a condition 
 of joy and blessedness ; and therefore heaven is repre- 
 sented as a place of bright and ever-shining light. 
 
 But how are we made partakers of this inheritance 
 of the saints in light.' Why, that is by the graces of 
 God's Holy Spirit wrought in us, which alone can fit us 
 for glory. They that delight in the deeds of darkness 
 arc no ways qualified for this inluritance of tlie saints 
 in light ; their jiortion will be to inherit darkness, and 
 to be shut up ill the black aliyss of outer darkness for 
 evermore. It is the children of light and of the day 
 that are alone (jualilied to inherit light, and to inhabit 
 for ever in the regions of bliss and glory. What con- 
 cord hath light with darkness, or what fellowship hath 
 the carnal and sensual mind with pure and refined 
 spirits ? These things cannot agree or abide together, 
 and consequently cannot be luqipy together. 
 
 Heaven is the habitation of lioliness, where no un- 
 holy thing or person can dwell ; " without holiness no 
 man can see the Lord;" and they, that cannot see 
 Him, can never be liaiipy in enjoying Him. Holiness 
 is not only aconililion, liut a necessary (|iiali(ication for 
 happiness : and to be made " meet ]iarlakers of the 
 iidicritauce of the saints." we imist be holy in all 
 milliner of conversation and godliness ; for it is called 
 "the inheritance among them that are sanctified;" to 
 signify, that no uii.sanctified person can have any share 
 in it. Again, heaven is the region of purity, where no
 
 SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 227 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mattli. ix. 18. 
 
 WHILE Jesus s]);ike these 
 tliiiif^s unlo John's (lisci])les, 
 behokl tlieie c;iine a certain ruler, 
 and worshipped him, saying, My 
 daughter is even now dead ; but 
 come and hiy tliy hand upon her, and 
 she siiali live. And Jesus arose, and 
 followed him, and so did his disciples. 
 (And behold, a woman, which was 
 diseased with an issue of blood twelve 
 years, came behind him, and touched 
 the hem of his garment ; for she said 
 within herself. If I may but touch 
 his garment, I shall be wiiole. But 
 
 defilement enters ; and to fit ourselves to come there, 
 we must " cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh 
 and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God." 
 No unclean person, or whoremonger, or adulterer, can he 
 admitted into those undefiled regions ; nor if he could, 
 would he find any ha])piness there, where there is 
 nothing to gratify his sensual desires. We cannot see 
 or enjoy God, unless we are like Him ; so the apostle 
 tells us, and he that hath this hope, " must ])urify him- 
 self, even as he is pure," 1 John iii. 2, 3. Moreover, 
 heaven is the mansion of peace and love, there is no 
 discord or dissension thei-e, hut all the inhahitants of 
 those hlessed regions conspire together in perfect peace 
 and amity ; they all agree in the worship of their 
 Maker, and join with one heart and one voice in their 
 incessant Hallelujahs. Xow to he meet partakers of 
 these joys we must tune our hearts to the same har- 
 mony of peace and concord, sulxluing all that pride, 
 passion, and prejudice, that lead to contention, and 
 lal)ouring for those gracious qualities and dispositions, 
 that tend to the closest union of hearts and minds. In a 
 word, the way to he made meet partakers of this heavenly 
 inheritance, is hy the daily exercises of a holy life, and 
 the constant practice of religion and virtue. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' The Gosjiel for the day consists of two miracles : 
 the one, if I may he allowed so to distinguish, princi- 
 pally designed ; the other, as it were, incidental only. 
 In the former we have a tender father, applying in 
 behalf of one only daughter, lying at the last; gasp ; 
 yet so, that he seems to have judged it possible for our 
 Lord to ha\-e arrived at the patient time enough to 
 prevent her death, had He not permitted Himself to be 
 detained by the cure of the bloody issue and the expostu- 
 lations that followed thereupon, as He manifestly and 
 in truth most wisely did : for, though every moment 
 was precious, and the least delay seemingly cruel to a 
 sorrowful and impatient father, yet was even this delay 
 for his improvement and benefit : .so sudden a recovery 
 of an inveterate distemper, the obstinacy whereof had 
 baffled all the skill and medicines of man, gave a de- 
 monstration of our Saviour's power so full of wonder, 
 that the sight and experience of it might reasonably 
 confirm this ruler in a belief, that nothing could be too 
 diflicult for the person who had effected it. So provi- 
 dent is God in all his dispensations ; so gracious, even 
 in withholding his mercies and sujjplies for a season, 
 that the very delays we suffer in temporal affairs, are 
 for our advantage. They do not only contribute to 
 our improvement in another kind, but oftentimes make 
 way for a more surprising and bountiful grant in the 
 same kind ; and provided we make the right use of them. 
 
 .lesus turned liim about, and when 
 he saw her, he said. Daughter, be of 
 good comfort, thy faith hatii made 
 thee whole. And the woman was 
 made whole from that hour.) And 
 when Jesus came into the ruler's 
 house, and saw tlie minstrels and 
 the peo])le making a noise, he said 
 unto them. Give ])laee ; for the maid 
 is not dead, but sleepcth. And they 
 laughed him to scorn. But when 
 the people were put forth, he went 
 in, and took her by the hand, and 
 the maid arose. And the fame hereof 
 went abroad into all that land>. 
 
 wait God's good leisure with patience, consider his 
 methods with prudence, and trust in his ])ower and 
 goodness with perseverance, these will not fail, in the 
 end, to render us both hajjpier and better men. Dean 
 Stanhope. 
 
 2. The example of the power of faith, in the healing 
 of the woman here recorded, may serve to produce a 
 valuable effect upon our minds. Let this then be the 
 first use to be made of it. Let it remind us to seek 
 and to embrace all fit opportunities for receiving bene- 
 fits and blessings at the hand of God. Thei'e are some 
 among men who ajjpear to think it sufficient that their 
 needs must be known to God, although they neglect the 
 means and opportunities which are furnished to them, 
 in order that they may have access to the source and 
 well-spring of all benefit and blessing. To such men 
 the season of participation, and the hours of prayer, 
 return from time to time, but are still suffered to pass 
 away unheeded. 'I'here is no press tlirongh the throng, 
 no wish to draw near, no care to signify the faith and 
 persuasion of the heart by some act of reverence, or 
 some device of humble piety and undissembled zeal. 
 Let it be our first aim, in all our lives, to shun this 
 ungratefid S])irit ; let us strive to put away this evil 
 heart of unbelief; for surely if we know and believe 
 from whence those benefits descend which liring health 
 and life with them, we shall be glad to stoop and to 
 extend the hand, nay, to come, in some respects un- 
 bidden, where the succour may be found, to seek re- 
 lief unsolicited by friends or monitors, upon the wish 
 and moti\cs of our own hearts, and from the sense and 
 recollection of our own necessities. Again, let this be 
 one reflection to be grounded on the example of the 
 text, in which humility was joined with faith ; that 
 it is a vain thing to dispute concerning the respective 
 value of the Christian graces. Certain it is that none 
 of them prevail by their own worth in fallen creatures. 
 We have to bless God that another ground is laid for 
 our acceptance. Certain it is too, that although there 
 may be an order and succession which marks the 
 Christian graces, and shews their several advances, yet 
 each has its ])art and its peeidiar office, and all should 
 meet together, whilst faith forms the common bond of 
 union. Whether they be numbered in a comjirehen- 
 sive sense and meaning, as effects of faith, and thus fall 
 under one denomination and description of a lively 
 saving faith, or whether they be added to it as comrades 
 and attendants, faith is still the common tie, by which 
 they are united. Above all, let the ])attern in the text 
 remind us, how earnest we should be to seek for suc- 
 cour, when some secret taint of sin, like a sore disease, 
 Q 2
 
 228 
 
 THE FIVE AND TWENTIETH 
 
 S' 
 
 The Jive and twentieth SunJai/ after 
 Trinity^. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 T I R up, we beseech thee, O 
 
 Lord, tlie wills of thy faith- 
 
 Ps. cxis. ss. fill people ; that they, plenteously 
 
 bringing- fortii the fruit of good 
 
 works, may of thee be plenteously 
 
 Heb. X. 34, rewarded ; through Jesus Christ our 
 
 ^- Lord. Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Jer. xxiii. 5. 
 
 BEHOLD, the days come, saith 
 the Lord, that I will raise unto 
 David a righteous Branch, and a King 
 shall reign, and jirosper, and shall 
 
 which drains the life-blood, has preyed long upon us, 
 and has made the cure more difficult, and the ease 
 more full of danger. Let us not delude ourselves, or 
 think that faitli requires no further effort than to ha\-e 
 our names enlisted in the number of that company, of 
 which faith is th.e common badge. The faithful heart 
 should take a due impression from its object. In com- 
 mon instances of hope or expectation, they who really 
 believe that some good thing awaits them at a certain 
 hour, or in a known place, will not let the hour slip, or 
 permit themsch'es to stray far from the i)lace. They 
 will lie watchful, diligent, and ready for the momentary 
 season of adx-antage. It is the want of this faith which 
 keeps men in a careless indolence, or habitual neglect 
 of time and place, when the choicest blessings might be 
 gained by their attendance. 
 
 Let the pattern thus contemplated serve, therefore, to 
 excite a better spirit in our minds, that we may not be 
 as idle gazers in the tlu-ong, when the «ord of truth 
 and the lessons of instruction should encourage that 
 faith in our hearts which may bring us near to Him 
 who condescended to assume the garb of Hesh, in order 
 that from his sacred head the gracious current of all 
 mercies, and the grant of every blessing, might flow 
 down even to the hem or skirt, and that the whole 
 body might partake in that renewal, of which He is 
 the perpetual source and everlasting autlior. Arch- 
 deacon Poll. 
 
 Lastly, from the miracle of raising the ruler's daugh- 
 ter, we may learn to give due honour to our blessed 
 Lord. " lie took her liy the hand, and called, saying. 
 Maid, arise : anil lier spirit came again, and .she arose 
 straightway," Luke viii. r>4, .'i.^). How could that touch, 
 that call, he other than effectual ? He, who made that 
 hand, touched it: and He, who shall one day say, 
 " Arise, ye dead," said now, " Mai<l, arise." Death 
 caimot but obey Ilirn, who is tlie Lord of life. The soul 
 is ever equally in his hanil, who is the (jod of sjiirits : 
 it cannot but go, and come, at his command. When 
 He says, " Maid, arise," the now dissolved spirit knows 
 his office, bis place ; and instantly re-assumes that 
 room, which by his appointment it had left. (J 
 Saviour, if thou do but l)id my soul to arise from the 
 death of sin, it cannot lie still ; if thou bid my body 
 to arise from the grave, my soul cannot but glance 
 down from her heaven, and animate it. In vain shall 
 my sin or my grave offer to withhold inc from thee. 
 Bj). Hall. 
 
 ' T/tc Jive and luenlieth Sunday nfler Triiiili/.'] The 
 portion of Scripture from the prophet Jeremiah, con- 
 
 execute judgement and justice in the 
 earth. In his days Judah shall be 
 saved, and Israel shall dwell safely : 
 and this is his name whereby he 
 shall be called, THE LORD OUR 
 RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore 
 behold, the days come, saith the Lord, 
 that they shall no more say, The 
 Lord liveth, which brought up the 
 children of Israel out of the land of 
 Egypt ; but, The Lord liveth, which 
 brought lip, and which led the seed 
 of the house of Israel out of the 
 north-coinitry, and from all countries 
 whither I had driven them ; and they 
 shall dwell in their own land\ 
 
 taining both a prophecy and a promise of the Messias, 
 is selected for the Epistle for this day, and ordered by 
 the Church to be always read upon the Sunday next 
 before Advent, to preserve the memory of his coming, 
 and to prepare for his reception. Accordingly the 
 Collect for the day beseeches God to stir up the hearts 
 of his faithful people, to be ready for Him, that they 
 ])lenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may 
 of Him be plenteously rewarded. Dr. Hole. 
 
 The Gospel recounts Christ's miracle of the loaves, 
 with the occasion that led to it, and the conclusion 
 drawn from it by the people. Dr. Hole. 
 
 The Epistle of this Sunday varies from the order of 
 the rest for a manifest reason. For this Sunday being 
 looked upon as a kind of preparation or forerunner 
 to Advent, as Advent is to Christmas, an Epistle was 
 chosen, not according to the former method, but such 
 a one as so clearly foretold the coming of our Saviour, 
 that it was afterwards ap])lied to Him by the common 
 people, as ajipears by an instance mentioned in the 
 Gospel for the same day ; for when they saw the 
 miracle that Jesus did, they said, " Tliis is of a truth 
 that l'ro[)liet that should come into the world." And 
 it was probably for the sake of this text, that this |K)r- 
 tion of Scripture (which has before been ap])ointed for 
 the Gospel on the fourth Sunday in Lent) is here re- 
 peated ; namely, because they thought this inference 
 of the multitude a fit ])re|)aration for the ajiproaching 
 season of .\dvent. \\ heallij. 
 
 " Tlie use to be made of this prophecy is, 1. To con- 
 firm us in the truth of Christ's Messiahship, in whom 
 all the titles, promises, and predictions of the Messiah 
 do so plainly concentre and agree. 2. If Christ be a 
 king, reigning and executing judgement and justice 
 U|)on earth, then let us learn to obey and sulimit to 
 Him, and to the jiowers set uj), and ordained by Ilim ; 
 for " it is by Him that kings reign, and princes decree 
 justice." He it is th.at gives them their commission, 
 and it is his authority by which they .let ; and therefore 
 the apostle bids lis " to be subject not only for wrath, 
 but for conscience sake ;" and to " submit to every 
 ordinance of man for the Ijord's sake," whose dejiu- 
 ties and vicegerents they are. 3. Erom his bringing 
 salvation to Israel and Juilah, let us endeavour to 
 have a share in it, and to rely upim it ; for " there is 
 no salvation in any other." 4. I'roin his being "the 
 Loituour righteousness," wc learn where we are to seek 
 for justification, namely, not from any inherent righte- 
 ousness of our own, for that is nolbing, or worse than 
 nothing, and cannot abide the trial ; but by the right-
 
 SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 
 
 229 
 
 Till' Gosprl. St. Jolin vi. 5. 
 
 WHEN Jesus then lift iij) liis 
 eyes, and saw a great com- 
 pany come unto him, lie saith unto 
 Philip, Whence shall we buy bread 
 that these may cat? (And this he 
 said to prove him ; for he himself 
 knew what he would do.) Pliili]) 
 answered him, Two hundred j)eny- 
 worth of bread is not sufficient for 
 them, that every one of them may 
 take a little. One of his disciples, 
 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, 
 saith unto him. There is a lad here, 
 which hath five barley-loaves, aiid 
 two small fishes ; but what are thev 
 among so many ? And Jesus said, 
 Make the men sit down. Now 
 there was much grass in the place. 
 
 eousness of Christ imputed to us, and by faith in Him 
 made ours. "Abraham bebeved" in Christ, "and it 
 was counted to liim for righteousness ;" and to them 
 that follow the faith of Abraham, is the same righteous- 
 ness imputed, as we read Rom. iv. It was the pride 
 of the Pharisees to trust too much to their own right- 
 eousness, and to expect justification by the merit of 
 their own works ; but the poor ])ublican, that trusted 
 only to God's mercy, was justified far before them ; the 
 reason whereof is given, that they being " ignorant of 
 Christ's righteousness and going about to estal)lish their 
 own, submitted not to the righteousness of God," and 
 so lost all the benefit of it : Rom. x 3. And therefore 
 St. Paul desired to be found in Christ, not having on 
 his own righteousness, but to be clothed with his, which 
 alone could cover the multitude of his sins. Lastly, 
 from his being called "the Lord our righteousness," 
 let us learn to honour and rejoice in bis name, saying, 
 with the Psalmist, " Not unto us. but to thy name be 
 all the glory ;" praying with him, " Lord, deal thou 
 with us according to thy name ;" that is, forgive us 
 our sins, justify us by thy righteousness, as thou usest 
 to do to them that love thy name. Dr. Hole. 
 
 Let the Scripture then at ])resent before us be im- 
 proved to the purpose our Church a|)pears to have in- 
 tended it for ; by confirming our faith in the first, and 
 awakening us into effectual preparation for the second, 
 advent of our Lord. Both which are, by the yearly 
 revolution of our holy offices, about to be again pre- 
 sented to our thoughts. And let us to that end give all 
 possible diligence to be led by, and to work together 
 with, that grace and good Spirit of our God, which 
 the Collect of this day so opportunely im])lores, for 
 " stirring up the wills of his faithful people ; that they, 
 plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may 
 of him be plenteously rewarded, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord." Amen. Dean Staiiho/ie. 
 
 *" This Scrijiture has occurred before in the Gospel for 
 the fourth Sunday in Lent. The reason for repeating it 
 here seems to have been the inference, which the mul- 
 titudes drew from this miracle, at the fourteenth verse. 
 This general expectation of the Messiah, and of his ap- 
 proach at that time, was particularly intimated, by giving 
 to Him the title of " He that should come." So "that the 
 people, when declaring upon the sight of this miracle, 
 that Jesus was " the Prophet that should come into the 
 world," meant, that it was unquestionable evidence of 
 
 So the men sat down, in number 
 about five tliousaiul. And Jesus 
 took the loaves, and, when he had 
 given thanks, he distributed to the 
 disciples, and the disciples to them 
 that were sat down, ami likewise of 
 the fishes, as much as they would. 
 When they were filled, he said unto 
 his disciples, Gather up the frag- 
 ments that remain, that iu)thing be 
 lost. Therefore they gathered them 
 together, and filled twelve baskets 
 with the fragments of the five barley- 
 loaves, which remained over and 
 above unto them that had eaten. 
 Then those men, when they had 
 seen the miracle that Jesus did, said. 
 This is of a truth that Prophet that 
 should come into the world ^ 
 
 his being the Messiah, John vi. 15. This meaning is 
 yet more fully explained by their intentions to make 
 Him a king, under which character the Messiah was 
 foretold and expected. And, most probably, this judg- 
 ment of theirs was now again set before us as a fit pre- 
 paration for the now returning season of Advent. 
 
 Miracles in general are an evidence that the person 
 working them is a teacher come from God. But our 
 Saviour's miracles in particular proved Him to be that 
 eminent Teacher, distinguished by the title of Messiah, 
 " He that should come," or " the Prophet that should 
 come into the world." 
 
 This was the Prophet foretold by Moses, in whom, 
 every soul, that believed not, was threatened with utter 
 destruction, Deut. xviii. 15. 19; Acts iii. 22. And, since 
 He was to be received with a deference superior to any 
 prophet besides, it is but reasonable to expect some 
 marks, by attending to which men might be delivered 
 from the danger of mistaking any prophet besides for 
 the Messias. Again, since miracles were the proof 
 of coming from God, common to all that brought any 
 new revelation : and none but He came so, as that men 
 were not to look for another; it is necessary that his 
 miracles should have some iieculiar characters, whereby 
 the person doing these might be known to be the Mes- 
 sias ; and distinguished from any other person, who 
 should do " miracles," and yet was not the Messias. 
 Now, not to insist at present u])on any other considera- 
 tions, there are two things observable in our blessed 
 Saviour's miracles, which cannot be attributed to those 
 of any others ; and both of them acknowledged to be 
 distinctions of the Messiah, from any meaner prophet. 
 And they are, 
 
 1. The number of them. That the Messiah should 
 excel all that ever went before Him in this respect, ap- 
 pears to have been tiie constant opinion of the Jews. 
 Heffce, some, we find, undertook to vindicate their 
 going over to Him with that argument : " Many of the 
 people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, 
 will he do more miracles than these which this man 
 hath done ?" John vii. 31. And hence our Lord seems 
 to charge his enemies with perverseness and a peevish 
 malice, in terms that admit their incredulity to have 
 had some excuse, in case any teacher besides had given 
 equal demonstration of a divine commission. " If I 
 had not done among them (says he) the works which 
 no other man did, they had not had sin ; but now have
 
 230 
 
 SAINT ANDREW'S DAY. 
 
 IT Jf there be any more Sundays' before 
 Advent Sunday, the Service rf some of 
 those Sundays that were omitted after the 
 Epiphany shall be taken in to supply so 
 many as are here u'antiny. And if there 
 be fencer, the overplus viaij be omitted : 
 Provided that this lust Collect, Epistle, and 
 Gospel shall alicays be used upon the Sun- 
 day next before Advent. 
 
 they both seen and hated both me and my Father," 
 John XV. 24. 
 
 2. Tlieir qiiahty. By which I mean not only that 
 Christ's miracles were, in regard of the beholders, and 
 in common estimation at least, greater, more stupendous 
 demonstrations of a divine power, than those e.xhibited 
 by any other prophet ; but also, that they were such, as 
 the doing of had many ages before been foretold, for an 
 infallible sign to distinguish the Messiah by. Those in 
 particular, mentioned in Matt. xi. 5, are singled oBt as 
 such by Isaiah, who describes the happy state of Christ's 
 kingdom, by benefits which were never fully and lite- 
 rally accomphshed in any other person. For, though 
 some of the prophets might, upon very important occa- 
 sions, be enabled to work one, or a few such miracles, 
 yet to make it a general practice in all kinds, at all 
 places and times, was so peculiar to Jesus, as to be an 
 incommunicable property, and incontestable argument 
 of his being the Christ. 
 
 But there is somewhat more yet, which I woidd say 
 upon this occasion : it is, that these miracles were ex- 
 ceedingly well chosen, to characterize the Messiah, in 
 regard of their suitableness to the design of his coming. 
 The law was enacted with a very terrible pomp, such as 
 spoke it to be, what indeed it was, a dispensation of 
 ser\'itude and great severity. But the Gospel is a cove- 
 nant of reconciliation and jieace, of friendship, nay, of 
 sonship, with God ; intended not so much to strike an 
 awe upon men's minds, as to charm and win them o\er 
 with all the endearing methods of gentleness and love. 
 And therefore the wonders, that bore testimony to its 
 truth, were ^\■ork3 of mercy and pity. And the kind 
 relief they brought to the bodies, resembled the infinite 
 compassion and tender regard which this Messiah ex- 
 pressed for the souls of men. The ancient pro])hets 
 proved their commission by acts of divine vengeance 
 and sore jilagues, as well as by cures and corporal deli- 
 verances ; but our Lord " went al)out" always " doing 
 good," Acts X. 3S ; rescuing wretched creatures from 
 the tyranny and possession of evil spirits ; healing 
 diseases and inliruiities. but inflicting none; releasing 
 from death, but never hastening it; insomuch that, 
 throughout the whole course of our Saviour's ministry, 
 we have not any one instance of his power demonstrated 
 in the suffering or harm even of his bitterest enemies. 
 So that if the Messiah were to be known by some par- 
 ticular sorts of miracles, then Jesus must of necessity 
 be that j)erson ; because the iniracles, foretold to be 
 wrought by tlic Messiah, were done Ijy Jesus, and had 
 been done by no other person whatsoever. JJean Stan- 
 hope. • 
 
 ' If there he any more Sundays &c.] 'Iliat is, if there 
 be fewer Sundays, the overplus is to he omitted ; but if 
 there be more, the service of some of those .Sundays, that 
 were omitted after the l'/])ipliuny, arc to be taken in to 
 eupjily so many a.s are wanting ; but which of those 
 services the rnbrick does not say. And for that reason 
 there is generally a diversity in the practice; some 
 reading, on those occasions, the services next in course 
 to what had been used at the Kpiphany before ; and 
 Others, at the same time, reading the last or two last, 
 
 Saint Andrcic's Dai/''. 
 The Collect. 
 LMIGHTY God, who didst 
 ^ive such grace unto thy lioly 
 Apostle Saint Andrew, that he rea- 
 dily obeyed the calliuir of tliy .Son is— 20. ' 
 Jesus Christ, and followed him" with- fc-)s: 
 
 A' 
 
 accordingly as one or both of them are wanting. Tlie 
 last of these practices I think to be preferable : partly 
 upon the account, that when there is an overplus of 
 Sundays after Trinity one year, there is generally a pretty 
 full number after Epiphany the next : so that if any 
 of the services for the early Sundays after Epiphany are 
 taken in to supply those that are wanting after Trinity, 
 the same services will come in turn to be read again 
 pretty soon ; but the chief reason why I think the latter 
 serWces should be used, is, because the service that is 
 appointed for the last Sunday after E|)i])hany, is a more 
 suitable preparation for the season that is ajiproaching, 
 and makes way for the service for the last Sunday after 
 Trinity, as that does for the services ap))ointed for 
 Advent. IVheatly. 
 
 The following festi\'als are all of them fixed to set 
 days, and so could not be conveniently placed among 
 those we have already treated of because (they having 
 all of them, except those from Christmas Day to 
 Epiphany, a dependence upon Easter, which varies 
 e^•ery year) they happen sometimes sooner, and some- 
 times later. So that if the mo\'eable and immoveable 
 had been placed together, it must of necessity have 
 caused a confusion of the order which they ought to be 
 jilaced in; for the prevention of which, the fixed holy- 
 days are placed by themselves, in the same order in 
 which they stand in the calendar. 
 
 'I'hey are most of them set apart in commemoration 
 of the a])ostles and first martyrs. IVheatly. 
 
 ■* St. .Andrew's Day.~\ This saint's day is the first that 
 is kept solemn ; because he first came to Christ, and 
 followed him, before any of the other apostles, St. 
 John i. 40. He brought his brother Simon to Christ, 
 ver. 41, 42. He it was that said, " We have found the 
 Messiah ;" and therefore his day is rightly set at the 
 beginning of .\d\ent for ever, to bring news of the ad- 
 vent, or coming of our Lord. Bp. Sjiarrow. 
 
 This festival is celebrated in memory of St. Andrew, 
 who was first of all a disciple of John the Baptist; but 
 learning from his master that he was not the Messias, 
 :iud hearing him say, upon the sight of our Saviour, 
 " Behold tlie Lamb of God," he left the Baptist, and 
 became our Lord's disciple, John i. 40. And being 
 convinced himself of our Saviour's divine mission, by 
 conversing with Him some time at the jilace of his 
 abode, he finds out his brother Simon, whom after- 
 wards our Lord siirnamed I'eter, telling him he had 
 found the Messias, John i. 41. But he did not become 
 our Saviour's constant attendant till some time after, 
 when "Jesus walking by the sea of (ialilce, saw two 
 brethren, Simon, called Peter, and Andrew liis brother, 
 casting a net into the sea. bidding them follow him, 
 and that he would make them lisliuis of men," Matt, 
 iv. IS. Henceforward he waited constantly upon our 
 Saviour, and was instructeil by his doctrine as long as 
 He stayed upon earth. After his ascension, when the 
 apostles distributed themselves to preach the (josjiel to 
 the different \y.irta of the world, the province which 
 came to St. Andrew's share was the northern part of 
 the then known world, which was called by the name 
 of Seythia, as Origen and Eusebins inform us. After-
 
 SAINT ANDREW'S DAY. 
 
 281 
 
 out delay ; Grant unto us all, tliat 
 we, l)eing called by thy holy Word, 
 may forthwith ajive up ourselves obe- 
 diently to fulfil thy holy comnumd- 
 
 I Thcss. iii. ments ; tlirough the same Jesus 
 
 Ps. cxix. (io. Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. Rom. x. 9. 
 
 IF thou shalt confess with thy 
 mouth the Lord Jesus, and slialt 
 believe in thine heart that God hath 
 raised him from the dead, thou shall 
 be saved. For with the heart man 
 believeth unto righteousness, and 
 with the mouth confession is made 
 imto salvation. For the Scripture 
 saith, Whosoever believeth on him 
 shall not be ashamed. For there is 
 no difference between the Jew and 
 the Greek : for the same Lord over 
 all is rich unto all that call upon 
 him. For whosoever shall call upon 
 the name of the Lord shall be saved. 
 How then shall they call on him, in 
 whom they have not believed ? And 
 how shall tiiey believe in him, of 
 whom they have not heard ? And 
 
 wards he came back and preached the Gospel in Epirus. 
 The modern Greeks are more particular in relating the 
 acts of his apostleship. 'I'hey tell us, that the apostles 
 casting lots for their mission, St. Andrew's lot lighted 
 to be to preach in Caiipadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia ; 
 after this he jjenctrated the coasts of the Anthropo- 
 phagi, going up to both sides of the Euxine sea, even 
 to the most solitary parts of Scythia, and the very 
 bounds of the north ; afterwards travelling backward, 
 he jireached in the country about Byzantium, [after- 
 wards named Constantinople,] going through Thracia, 
 Macedonia, and Achaia : in which pro\inces he con- 
 tinued a long time preaching the Gospel, and confirm- 
 ing it with great miracles. At last he glorified (jod by 
 his martyrdom, being crucified at jEgea (where he last 
 preached) by the jiroconsid of the place, a great bigot 
 to the heathen su])erstition. He was only tied to the 
 cross after his scourging, and not nailed as the usual 
 way was, that his death might be more lingering. 
 He shewed a wonderful resignation and alacrity under 
 his suffering, being pleased that he should undergo the 
 same death as his blessed Master did. Dr. NiclioUs. 
 
 The instrument of his martyrdom is commonly said 
 to have been something ])eculiar, in the form of the 
 letter X, being a cross decussate, two jiieces of timber 
 crossing each other in the middle ; and hence usually 
 known by the name of St. Andrew's cross. Nelsnv. 
 
 The Collect for the day recommends his example to 
 us, and founds upon it a suitable prayer. For his un- 
 daunted courage in confessing the Lord Jesus and his 
 constancy in believing in Him, the Clnu'ch hath se- 
 lected the Epistle. And in the (iospel we have a par- 
 ticular account of his course of life Ijefore he became 
 an apostle, of his call to the apostleship, and of his 
 ready obedience to the call. Dr. Hole. 
 
 " From the Epistle of this day we may learn, 1. not 
 only to believe in our heart, but to confess with our 
 
 ])reacli, except they be sent ? As it 
 is written, IIow bcautifid are the 
 feet of them that preach the Gospel 
 of peace, and bring glad tidings of 
 good things ! Rut they have not all 
 obeyed the Go.spel. For Esaias 
 saith. Lord, who hath believed our 
 report? So then faith cometh by 
 hearing, and hearing by the Word 
 of Go(l. But I say. Have they not 
 heard ? Yes verily, their sound went 
 into all the earth, and their words 
 unto the ends of the world. But I 
 say. Did not Israel know ? First 
 Moses saith, I will provoke you to 
 jealousy by them that are no peojjle, 
 and by a foolish nation I will anger 
 you. But Esaias is very bold, and 
 saith, I was found of them that 
 sought me not ; I was made manifest 
 unto them that asked not after me. 
 But to Israel he saith, All day long 
 I have stretched forth my hands 
 unto a disobedient and gain.saying 
 people °. 
 
 11 
 
 low siia 
 preacher t 
 
 they 
 And 
 
 Jiear 
 how 
 
 without a 
 shall they 
 
 mouth, the Lord Jesus, in times of greatest danger and 
 difficulty : so St. Andrew, the saint of this day, did ; 
 and so we are all commanded to do. The love oi' Christ 
 should [jrevail abo\-e tlie love of this world ; and that 
 will carry us through all the troubles and tribulations 
 we can meet with in it. The way to heaven is sonic- 
 times beset with briars and thorns ; and through many 
 tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God, 
 which will for ever cease when we come thither. Let 
 us not then be so discouraged by these difficulties, as 
 to desert or draw back from the ways of righteousness : 
 for, " if any draw back," saith Goil Almighty, " my 
 soul shall have no pleasure in him." Yea, He is so 
 far from taking |)lcasure in apostates and revolters, that 
 He will " punish them with e\-erlasting destruction 
 from the [jresence of the Lord, and from the glory of 
 his power." Wherefore let us not be in the number of 
 these that " draw back unto jierdition :" but let us be 
 among " them that believe to the salvation of their 
 souls;" that so, by owning and adhering to Christ 
 here, we may be for ever owned and accepted by Him 
 hereafter. 
 
 2. This Epistle teaches us, to call upon the name of 
 the Lord, and to hear his most holy word from persons 
 duly sent and authorized to preach it to us, which are 
 here made the necessary means of salvation. " How 
 shall they hear," saith the apostle, " without a preacher .' 
 and how shall they preach, except they be sent?" 
 Where, as hearing is made the duty of the people, so is 
 a commission required in the preacher : and therefore 
 our Saviour directs us to beware of false prophets and 
 teachers, who intrude into this sacred office, and run 
 before they are sent. " The priest's lijis preserve 
 knowledge, and the jieople are to seek the law at his 
 mouth ; Mai. ii. 7 : and "no man is to take this honour 
 unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was 
 Aaron," Heb. v. 4.
 
 232 
 
 SAINT THOMAS THE APOSTLE. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. iv. 18. 
 
 JESUS, walking by the sea of 
 Galilee, saw two brethren, Si- 
 mon called Peter, and Andrew his 
 brother, casting a net into the sea, 
 (for they were fishers;) and he saith 
 unto them, Follow me; and I will 
 make you fishers of men. And 
 they straightway left their nets, and 
 followed him. And going on from 
 thence he saw other two brethren, 
 
 Lastly, we are taught by this Epistle to beware of 
 infidelity, and " to take heed that there be not in us an 
 evil heart of unbelief in departin;^ from the h\'ing God." 
 We see the Jews were rejected \iy Him for their obsti- 
 nacy, in not believing in Christ ; and the Gentiles were 
 received into favour, because they accepted Him as 
 their Saviour, and believed in Him. Let not this then 
 be our " condemnation, that light is come into the 
 world, and we love darkness rather than light, because 
 our deeds are e\il :" but rather let us close with the 
 terms offered by Him in the Gospel ; and then we 
 shall receive the end of our faith, even the salvation of 
 our souls. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' It should be remarked, both that the call of these 
 apostles differs from that now ordinarily vouchsafed to 
 us : but that at the same time there is a correspondence, 
 which still continues to affect us. 
 
 1 . They were drawn off from their secular employ- 
 ments, and commanded so to follow their Master, as to 
 depend upon his jirovision for the future : but the 
 generality of Christians are refpiired to " work with 
 their own hands ; to abide in their respective callings 
 with God ;" Eph. iv. 28 ; 1 Cor. vu. 24 ; in short, 
 not to quit their professions, but to do their dutj' in 
 them. And this duty is well done, by an honest indus- 
 trious care for ourselves and families; when that care 
 is not suffered to get so far within us, as to shut out 
 those measures of living, which justice and decency, 
 beneficence and charity, the otfices of religion, and 
 the placing of our treasure and hearts in heaven, de- 
 mand from us. The world may be our concern, ])ro- 
 vided it be not otir only, nor our chief concern ; and 
 the comforts of it may be esteemed good, so they lie 
 not mistaken for our supreme good. So jilain it is, 
 that the call, which our Church, in this day's service, 
 ])rays (iod that we may be ready to obey, is \'astly dif- 
 ferent from that, vouchsafed to the saint of it and bis 
 coui|)anions. Let us then look, what correspondence 
 there is, which still contimics to affect us : and for 
 that we may give attention to the two fdllowing par- 
 ticulars : 
 
 First, The case of these apostles is so far our pattern, 
 that, whatsoever is enjoined us by Christ in his word, 
 we should immediately submit to it ; whether it be any 
 truth couunanding our belief, or any precept calling for 
 our |>ractice : such a subnussir)ii, lie sure I mean, as 
 agrees with the jiropcr cliuracter of these apostles. 
 Sudi as is the result of wisdom and deliberation, a 
 reasonable service and a well-weighed choice ; all lu'at 
 and precipitance apart on the one hand, all obstinacy 
 and prejudice on the other. 
 
 liut, secondly, I'lie case of these apostles shews, how 
 loose tlic things of the present world ought to sit abotit 
 us. The command of " going and selling all we have 
 and following Christ" is what very few are put ujion; 
 but yet it is that, which every one ought to be provided 
 for. Now tlie best preparation for abandoning that. 
 
 James the son of Zebedee, and 
 John his brother, in a ship with 
 Zebedee their father, mending their 
 nets ; and he called them. And 
 they immediately left the ship and 
 their father, and followed him f. 
 
 A 
 
 Saint Thomas the ApostleK 
 
 The Collect. 
 L MIGHTY and everliving 
 God, who for the more con- 
 
 which cannot be kept mthout guilt, is to employ it 
 innocently and virtuously, while we have it. It is not 
 wealth, but the inordinate love of wealth, that justifies 
 the comparison of the camel and the needle's eye : for 
 how small is the aiijiearance, that a sordid wretch, who 
 cannot find in his heait to spare a part of his superflui- 
 ties to pious or charitable uses, will be brought to 
 sacrifice the whole even of his necessaries, to God and 
 a good conscience? "Using this worhl," therefore, 
 "as not abusing it," 1 Cor. vii. 31 ; a constant thank- 
 ful sense of all we have being lent us from above ; 
 enjoying it mth modesty and meekness ; dedicating a 
 portion of it to the service of the great Proprietor; 
 consulting the honour and dignity of his service, the 
 decency and beauty of his house ; laying out our pains 
 and oiu' possessions upon publick benefactions, for 
 increase of arts and sciences and honest industry ; and 
 studying to render the talents intrusted with us the 
 most instrumental that may be to the benefit of others : 
 these disjiositions and actions are a good step towards 
 being well content, nay, glad, to purchase a distant 
 treasure in heaven, with a surrender of all om' sidjstance 
 U])on earth. .\nd, if we be so resigned, as to "take up 
 our cross and follow Christ;" that is, to strip off every 
 comfort, even life itself, when called to it, then have 
 we attained to the grace of these apostles. .'\nd as oft 
 as God by his providence orders matters so, that a 
 man's honours, or riches, or employments, cannot be 
 preserved with a good conscience : in a word, when any 
 Christian is reduced to an vmavoidable necessity of 
 either sinning or suffering; then is he called by Christ; 
 then ooght he to luiderstand the obligation to be as 
 great, and the command as express and peremjitory, as 
 if (like this apostle) he had hearil the voice of .lesus 
 sounding in his ears, " Leave all and follow me." It 
 is not iiuleed for every man to reiKJiuice an active life, 
 and deprive the publick of a serviceable mend)er, in a 
 station of care and trust : nor are any man's pos- 
 sessions so entirely his own, but that his family and 
 his friends have some right to share in them. 
 
 Let those then, who are desirous to imitate these 
 apostles in leaving all and following Christ, be careful 
 especially to imitate that first circumstance, of staying 
 till He call them, liut call them He does not, till all 
 things are so ordered, that no relation or capacity 
 where they stand, no duty or benelit justly expected 
 from them, shall come under a necessity of remaining 
 luisatisfied, by means of such a choice. 
 
 Xow this being a case, which happens much seldomer 
 than men are aware; it shall suilice for us, and for 
 Christians in general, to use what the houtity of God 
 hath given us conscientiously; to iiromote, and as we 
 can, be liberal and rich in pious and good works ; not 
 to be guilty of any evil thing for the greatest advan- 
 tage ; if onr dearest enjoyments caimot be |)reserved 
 with innocence, to give them up cheerfnlly ; and, how 
 low soever reduced, to take every aiipointmcnt of the
 
 SAINT THOMAS THE APOSTLE. 
 
 233 
 
 firmatioii of the faitli'' didst suffer tliy 
 lioly A])Ostle Thomas to be doiiht- 
 
 john XX. fill in thv Son's resiineetioii ; Grant 
 US so jierfectly, and without all doubt, 
 to believe in thy Son Jesus Christ, 
 that our faith in thy sight may never 
 
 Luke xxii. be reproved. Hear us, O Lord, 
 throuoli the same Jesus Christ, to 
 whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, 
 be all honour and glory, now and for 
 evermore. Amm. 
 
 N 
 
 The Epistle. Ephes. ii. 19. 
 
 O W therefore ye are no more 
 strangers and foreigners, but 
 
 divine Providence patiently and contentedly; trusting 
 to God for the ])resent su[)])lies, and for a future 
 reward. This is truly " to give ourselves up obediently 
 to fulfil his holy conunandments :" and they who thus 
 pass " through things temporal, shall not fail in the 
 end of things eternal : through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 Amen. Denn Slanhope. 
 
 8 Si. Thomns the Apostle. ~\ Called also Didj'mus, which, 
 according to both the Greek and Syriack sense of his 
 name, signifies a twin : as Thomas also doth amongst 
 the Hebrews. It being customary with the Jews, when 
 tra\'elling into foreign countries, or familiarly convers- 
 ing with Greeks and Romans, to assume to themselves 
 a Greek, or a Latin name of great affinity, and some- 
 times of the very same signification, with that of their 
 own country. Nelson. 
 
 This festival is kept in honour of the memory of 
 St. Thomas, one of our Savioiu''s twelve disciples. 
 His lineage and e.xtraction is no where recorded in 
 Scripture ; though it is very probable he was by nation 
 a Galilean, and it is certain that he was by jirofession a 
 fisherman, and for some time partner with Peter, John 
 XXI. 2. He appeared very zealous in attending on the 
 person of his Master; for, when the rest of the disciples 
 dissuaded Christ from going again into Judea, lest the 
 Jews should stone Him, John xi. 8, St. I'homas de- 
 clares his willingness to go and die there, v. 16. In- 
 deed his faith was but slow in retiu'ning after our Sa- 
 viour's crucifixion, so that he could not very soon 
 credit the report of his resurrection, John xx. 25 ; but 
 when our Saviour indulged him the liberty of seeing 
 and handling his yet fresh wounds, which He received 
 upon the cross, he made amends for all, by his noble 
 confession, not only of the truth of Christ's resur- 
 rection, but of his divinity likewise, John xx. 28. 
 After Christ's ascension, Thomas's apostleshi|) was ex- 
 ercised in preaching the Gospel to the Parthians. 
 Nazianzen says, that he travelled in his preaching as 
 far as India. St. Chrysostom intimates his preaching 
 in Ethiopia, when, speaking of St. Thomas, he says, 
 "And Thomas has whitened the Ethiopians." Theo- 
 doret attributes the conversion of other nations to him, 
 as of the Persians and Medes ; and asserts that he 
 preached among the Indian Brachmans. And indeed 
 relations of travellers into India (since in the last ages 
 commerce has been established there) do confirm, that 
 there is a tradition among the Indians of St. Thomas's 
 preaching among them. His martyrdom is reported to 
 have happened in India, occasioned by the Brachmans, 
 the Indian priests, who hated him for his preaching the 
 Gospel, and therefore stirred up some of the rabble of 
 soldiers to murder him. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 fellow-citizens with tlie saints, and 
 of the housiiold of God ; and are 
 built upon the foundation of the 
 Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ 
 himself being the ciiief corner- 
 stone ; in whom all the building, 
 fitly framed together, groweth unto 
 an holy temple in the Lord ; in 
 whom ye also are builded together 
 for an habitation of God, through 
 the Spirit'. 
 
 The Gospel. St. John xx. 24. 
 
 THOMAS, one of the twelve, 
 called Didymus, was not with 
 
 Because St. Thomas's preaching was chiefly among 
 the Gentiles, many of whom he turned from the dark- 
 ness of paganism to the light of Christianity, and from 
 the power of Satan unto (jod ; therefore the Church 
 hath selected the portion of Scripture appointed for 
 this day's E|)istle. Dr. Hole. 
 
 The Gosjiel for the day gives us a particular account 
 of the proof afforded to St. Thomas of our Lord's re- 
 surrection. His day seems to have been ])laced next 
 to St. Andrew's, not because he was the second that 
 believed Jesus to be the Messiah, but the last that 
 believed his resurrection : of which though he was at 
 first the most doubtful, yet he had afterwards the 
 greatest evidence of its truth ; which the Church re- 
 commends to our meditation at this season, as a fit 
 [jreparative to our Lord's nativity. For unless we 
 believe with St. Thomas, that the same Jesus, whose 
 birth we immediately afterwards commemorate, is the 
 very Christ, "our Lord and oiu- God;" neither his 
 birth, death, nor resurrection will avail us any thing. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 St. Andrew's Day was for the apostles' oifice ; and 
 this next day in order of the year, to shew the success 
 and the exercise of their office. Bp. Orernll. 
 
 '' — for the more coiifirmotion of the foith &c.] See 
 John XX. 26, &c. St. Thomas's doubting occasioned 
 our Saviour to give the most convincing proof of his 
 being truly risen from the dead ; and consecjuently it 
 greatly confirmed the faith of his disciples in a crucified 
 Saviour. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ' Because union gains strength, and stability is 
 founded upon union, the apostle leads us in this 
 Epistle to consider the unity of the church, which, 
 he saith, is " a building so fitly framed together in 
 Christ, as to grow unto an holy temi)le in the Lord :" 
 meaning, that, as the temjile of old was but one, so all 
 believers together make up but one temple of the Lord ; 
 and that Jews and Gentiles, however distant they were 
 formerly, are now so closely united and knit together 
 in Christ, as to constitute one Christian church, to 
 which they all belong, and in which they are to adore 
 and worship God together. 
 
 Now this unity of the church consists, 1. In the 
 unity of the head, which is Christ : for as the church 
 is said to be " one body," E[)h. iv. 4, so is Christ said 
 to be the " one head " of that body. Col. i. 18. For as 
 though a body may have many members, yet, being 
 all joined to one head, they are but one body : even so 
 the church may consist of many congregations ; but, 
 having but one head, they all make but one church, 
 united to Christ as the head, and to one another as 
 members, Rom. xii. 4, 3. In which the apostle tells
 
 •234 
 
 SAINT THOMAS IHE APOSTLE. 
 
 them when Jesus came. The otlier 
 disciples therefore said unto liim, 
 We have seen the Lord. But he 
 said unto them, Except I shall see 
 in his liands the print of the nails, 
 and put my fiufjer into the print of 
 the nails, and thrust my liand into 
 his side, I will not believe. And 
 after eia;ht days again his disciples 
 were within, and Thomas with them : 
 then came Jesus, the doors beinu- 
 sluit, and stood in the midst, and 
 said, Peace be unto you. Then 
 saith he to Thomas, Reach hither 
 thy finger, and behold my hands ; 
 and reach hither thy hand, and 
 
 us, there is but one Lord to direct and govern it, Eph. 
 iv. 5. 
 
 Secondly, the unity of the church consists likewise 
 in the unity of the Spirit : " There is one body and 
 one Spirit :" for, as one body hath but one soul to 
 quicken and enliven it, so the church is animated and 
 actuated by one Sjiirit, e\'en the Holy Spirit of God, 
 who is in it by his i)rcsence, over it by bis power, and 
 through it by his ])rovidence : so we read, " By one 
 Sjjirit are we all received into one body, and made all 
 to drink of one Spirit," 1 Cor. xii. 13. 
 
 Thirdly, the church is one by an unity of faith : 
 there being but " one faith," or " form of sound 
 words," professed in it, Eph. iv. 5 : such, for instance, 
 is the Apostles' Creed, which contains all the funda- 
 mental points of doctrine necessary to be belie\'ed in 
 order to sah-ation, and is that one " faith once delivered 
 unto the saints," of which we are required to " hold 
 fast the profession without wavering," Jude, ver. 3 ; 
 Heb. x. 23. And when all the members of the church 
 consent and agree in this harmony of doctrine, then 
 are they one by an unity of faith. 
 
 Fourthly, the church is one by the unity of the 
 sacraments, which are the bond or ligaments to bold 
 all the jiarts of it together: "There is one baptism," 
 saith the apostle, Eph. iv. C> ; " by «hich we are all 
 baptized into one body ; whether we be Jews or Gentiles, 
 bond or free, male or female, we are all one in Christ 
 Jesus," (inl. iii. 2S. .\nd, "we being many are oiu' 
 bread and one body, eating the same sjiiritual meat, 
 and drinking the same spiritual drink." 15y which we 
 are united together, in one fellowship and comnnuiion. 
 
 .•\nd lastly, the church is here said to be one, by the 
 unity of the foundation ; being " built upon the fouiula- 
 tion of the apostles and i)ro])hets, Jesus Christ himself 
 being the chief corner-stone." I'or, as a house built 
 upon one foundation, though it may have many rooms 
 and a])artments, is but one house; so the church, 
 being built ujion one foundation, though it may have 
 many congregations for the convenience of wor.^ihip and 
 disciprme, is yet but one church : in which " we also 
 are bnildcd together for an habitation of God through 
 the .Spirit:" that is, being thus united in Christ, we 
 are l)uilt up as so many temples of (iod, in which He 
 is |)leascd to reside as an inhabitant, and to communi- 
 cate the influences of his grace and presence by his 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 I'rom this unity of the church let \is learn to unite 
 in its worship and service, and with one minil iuid one 
 mouth glorify tiod in it together. Christ having given 
 us " first apostles, then pr(i]iliets, then pastors and 
 
 thrust it into my side ; and be not 
 faithless, but believing. And Tho- 
 mas answered and said unto him. 
 My Lord, and my God. Jesus saith 
 unto him, Thomas, because thou 
 hast seen me, thou hast believed ; 
 blessed are they that have not 
 seen, and yet have believed. And 
 many other signs truly did Jesus 
 in the presence of his disciples, 
 which are not written in this book. 
 But these are written, that ye 
 might believe that Jesus is the 
 Cinist, the Son of God ; and that 
 believing ye might have life through 
 his Name''. 
 
 teachers, for the edifying of his church in love," and 
 the building of us u[) in our most holy faith ; let us all 
 join and build upon that foundation, still " keeping the 
 imity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," till we all 
 come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of 
 the Son of God, to a perfect man, unto the measure of 
 the stature of the fulness of Christ, which (lod grant for 
 his Son's sake. .\mcn. Dr. Hole. 
 
 '' Much imjirovement riiay result from the Gospel of 
 this day, if we endeavour to fix upon oiu- minds re- 
 flections like those that follow. 
 
 1 . That men would observe the immediate occasion 
 of St. Thomas's falling into this imbelief ; which was 
 his aljsence from the rest of the apostles, when Christ 
 a])peared to them. It seems most likely, that those 
 assemblies, held secretly for fear of the Jews, were 
 always employed to religious purposes. And, from the 
 advantage which Thomas lost by not being there, we 
 may and ought to take warning against the neglect of 
 God's publick worship. It is in his own house, and in 
 the congregations of the faithful, that Christ exhibits 
 Himself. 'I'liere we are to e.\peet the enlightening of 
 our minds, the purifying of our actions, the convictions 
 of his truth, the assistance of his grace ; for giving us a 
 right understanding of oin- duty, and for disposing us 
 to practise it, wihen we do understand it. These are 
 the means of growing in goodness, which (iod hath or- 
 dained ; aiul it is usual and just with Him, to suffer 
 their virtues to fade, and wither, and perish, who will 
 not come hither for strength and refreshment. 
 
 2. From the instance before us I would briefly take 
 notice, what benefits and uses are to be made of the 
 faults and failings of eminent jicrsons recorded in 
 Scripture. When these a])ostles do so freely and fully 
 transmit to all future ages such blots as the denial of 
 St. I'eter, the unbelief of St. Thomas, the fears, and 
 cowardice, and heaviness of all their brethren ; this 
 may satisfy us that they were men of integrity ; that it 
 was not their study to magnify themselves, or to im- 
 pose u|ion the world, or promote any thing but the 
 very truth. For a ])rivate design would have tempted 
 tliem to disguise, and excuse, and conceal, any blem- 
 ishes in their own eliaractcrs. And therefore this 
 frankness is a great motive to our belief of their 
 writings; since tliem, who would not dissemble, when 
 their own credit lay at stake, we have no reason to 
 suppose false in other matters. 
 
 Again, these spots in the very saints themselves teach 
 us, tliat no mere man whatsoever is in all points so 
 ]ierfeet, that wc should rest upon his example, or 
 idindly make bis behaviour the rule of our own : that
 
 THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL. 
 
 235 
 
 Tlie Conversion of Saint PanP. 
 The Collect. 
 
 
 
 God, who, tlirougli tlic preach- 
 iig of the blessed Apostle Saint 
 
 the law of God is the only true stanrlanl of our actions ; 
 and that even the best of men, when weii^hed in this 
 balance, have been found wanting. Consti|Ucntly, 
 that this consideration should make us humble and 
 meek ; especially, since most of us have so unequal a 
 mivturc, so many more and greater vices, for an allay 
 and embasement to our so many less or fewer virtues. 
 It is an argument of great vanity fur any man to say, 
 he would not have fallen with David, or have forsworn 
 Christ with St. Peter, or the like : alas ! we are but 
 little acquainted with their circumstances, the violence 
 of their temptations, or the infirmities of human nature 
 in general : and, least of all, with our own ; who per- 
 ha])s fall, if not so deep, or so notoriously, yet more 
 frequently, and U])on less provocations to sin ; and 
 whose sins, though they be more, yet our relentings for 
 them are slighter, and our repentance infinitely less 
 exemplary, than theirs. 
 
 And, therefore, thirdly, this should inspire great ten- 
 derness and caution, how we presume to censure and 
 judge others. But, above all, it should hinder our 
 taking upon ns to determine any thing concerning their 
 spiritual and future state, upon the account of any very 
 ill action, which appears to us, or which in reality hath 
 been done by them. For, if prophets, if ajjostles, if 
 other shining lights, who are now so many " suns in 
 the kingdom of heaven," have had these misfortunes; 
 and yet, by the grace of (iod, and their own better con- 
 sideration, have recovered their station, and come forth, 
 like the morning light, with douljle lustre, after dark- 
 ness and error: who are we, that we should set bounds 
 to the grace of God, or despair even of the worst of our 
 brethren ? 
 
 Lastly, let us observe the success of the means used 
 by our Lord, for removing Thomas's unbelief, expressed 
 in the 'isth verse. And " Thomas answered and said 
 unto him, My Lord, and my God." I call this the 
 noblest confession ; becavise the catholick interjireters 
 of Scripture have understood by it, that St. Thomas did 
 not only recognize Jesus for the Messiah, the very same 
 Lord, to whom he had lieen a servant and com])anion 
 during the space of his ministry ; but that he moreover 
 owned his divine nature, and drew the consequence to 
 • himself, which St. Paul did afterH'ards to the Romans, 
 "That the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and the 
 power he" exerted in it, " did" abundantly " declare 
 him to be the very Son of God," Rom. i. 4. Accord- 
 ingly, the original here is in terms so strict, and with 
 such an addition of the Greek article, as the very here- 
 ticks and enemies of the truth confess to be a character 
 of the word God being taken in its proper and natural 
 sense, and intended of the " only true God." And in- 
 deed, when they go about to malie these words a note 
 of admiration only, they do not lea\'e them a sufficient 
 force for expressing Thomas's conviction. For expres- 
 sions of wonder, though they properly speak astonish- 
 ment and surjirise, yet they do not always imply belief; 
 and may therefore import the strangeness, without in- 
 ferring the truth, of the thing. But our Lord (you see 
 in the next words) accepts this, as a full and sufficient 
 declaration of assent ; " Thomas, because thou hast 
 seen, thou hast beheved." And to make it thus, we 
 must allow that paraphrase, which some ancient trans- 
 lations supply it with, by reading, " Thou art my Lord, 
 
 Paul liast caused the liolit of the 
 Gospel to shine throughout the Acts ix. is. 
 
 n 1. 11 *l.^„ IttJln. XV. 19, 
 
 Grant, we heseecli tliee, ^.^ 
 
 his wonderful con- j,''"!;.''^''- 
 version in remembrance, may shew i'<l \. c. 
 
 ■' niiCis. 1.8,9. 
 
 world 
 
 that we having 
 
 thou art my God :" which is but in effect to say, what 
 our Saviour had before pronounced concernirig Himself; 
 that the truth of those declarations was now apjiarent, 
 " Destroy this tem])le, and in three days I will raise it 
 up. No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down 
 of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have 
 [lower to take it up again," John ii. 19; X. 18. Now 
 no mere man can do these things ; none but God can 
 have that power. So mighty, so sudden a change do 
 we find in this apostle ; that the person, whom so lately 
 he could not be prevailed ujion to think otherwise of, 
 than as a dead man ; lost to all hopes, all jjossibility of 
 returning ; he now adores and admires, as the almighty 
 and the everliving (jod. 
 
 From hence let e\'ery disci|ile of Jesus learn, with 
 all becoming reverence, to contemjilate this resurrection 
 of our Lord, and to adore the glories and the wonders 
 of Him and it. Let us take all possible care to confirm 
 ourselves in the assured belief of this, and of all other 
 mysteries of the Christian faith. Let us observe, and 
 be thankful for, the wisdom and goodness of our God 
 and Saviour, who converted the failings of an eminent 
 servant, to such excellent advantage ; that not only his 
 own mind was better established from his own doubts; 
 but that gainsayers should be more effectually ]iut to 
 silence by them, and out of his weakness all succeeding 
 belie\'ers should be made strong. Let us again, with St. 
 Thomas, be ready to lay aside all our scruples upon 
 sufficient conviction; and zealous to make some amends 
 by our after-acts, for any offence, which those scruples 
 might have given, while we entertained them. Above 
 all, let us beg the grace and assistance of the Holy Spirit 
 of God, to keep us always in that sincere, teachable, 
 meek disposition of soul : and likewise in tliat due regard 
 and observance of all ^-irtues and good works, agreeable 
 to the ])rinciples we profess, " that our faith in his sight 
 may ne\'er be reproved." But that, from a perfect and 
 active belief in his Son Jesus Christ here, we may be at 
 length received to the sight and ravishing enjoyment of 
 Him; and be, and live, and reign, with our dear Lord 
 for ever in the heavens. ^^ hich God of his infinite 
 mercy grant, for the same Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. 
 Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' Tke Coiwersion of St. Paul.'] Whereas other saints' 
 martyrdoms, or at least the days of their death, are cele- 
 brated by the holy church ; St. Paul's conversion is 
 made the holy-day, for these reasons : 1 . For the exainjile 
 of it : that no sinner, how great soever, might hereafter 
 despair of pardon, seeing Saul a grievous persecutor 
 made St. Paul : " For this cause I obtained mercy, that 
 in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffer- 
 ing, for a pattern to them that should hereafter believe," 
 1 i'im. i. 16. 2. F'or the joy, which the church had at 
 his conversion. 3. For the miracle wrought at his con- 
 version. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 Probably also, because as it was wonderful in itself, 
 and a miraculous effect of the powerful grace of God ; 
 so was it highly beneficial to the church of Christ : 
 for, whilst other apostles had their jiarticular pro- 
 vinces, he liad " the care of all the churches," and by 
 his indefatigable labours contributed very much to 
 the propagation of the Gospel throughout the world. 
 Nelson. 
 
 This great apostle was born at Tarsus, the chief city
 
 236 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL. 
 
 forth our tliankfulness unto tliee for 
 23,24. the same, by foUowing the holy doc- 
 trine wlik-h he taught ; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 For the Ejji'itlc. Acts ix. 1. 
 
 AND Saul, yet breathing out 
 threateiiings and slaughter 
 against the disci])les of the Lord, 
 went unto the high priest, and de- 
 sired of him letters to Damascus to 
 the synagogues, that if he found 
 any of this way, whether they were 
 men or women, he might bring them 
 bound unto Jerusalem. And, as he 
 journeyed, he came near Damascus, 
 and suddenly there shined round 
 about him a light from heaven. 
 And he fell to the earth, and heard 
 a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, 
 why persecutest thou me ? And he 
 said, Who art thou. Lord ? And the 
 Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou 
 persecutest : it is hard for tiiee to 
 kick against the pricks. And he, 
 trembling and astonished, said. Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do ? 
 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, 
 and go into the city, and it shall be 
 told thee what thou must do. And 
 the men which journeyed with him 
 
 of Cilicia, a place remarkable for trade, and where 
 learning and good arts likewise eminently flourished. 
 His being born here did not entitle him to the privi- 
 leges of a Roman citizen, as some have thought ; for it 
 does not appear that Tarsus was a Roman colony or 
 Municipium ; it is most probable, that one of St. Paul's 
 ancestors had the right of the Roman city given him in 
 the civil wars, cither between Ca'sar and I'ompey, or 
 Augustus and .\iithony; at which time the assistants, 
 that had done the victor any considerable service, were 
 rewarded with this jirivilcge. Having laid a founda- 
 tion of human literature at Tarsus, he travelled to .Icru- 
 salem, to study the .Jewish divinity under (Jamalitl, one 
 of the most celebrated rabbles of that age. He joined 
 himself to the sect of the I'harisees, a very rigid order 
 among the Jews at that time, remarkable for their 
 zeal, and for their tenaciousncss of every the least 
 punctilio of the Mosaieal ceremonies. This occasioned 
 him to persecute the ('hristians, whom he thought to be 
 licretical violators thereof, with a furious severity ; and 
 to run into the mad jiroccedings of those cruel zealots 
 wlio took away St. .Steplicu's life. Hcing converted to 
 Cliristianity after a very miraculous manner, he made 
 amenils for bis former errors, by the wonderful dili- 
 geuce of his labours in ])reacbing the (iospel; for he 
 propagated the (iospel of Christ throughout all (ireece 
 and the Lesser .Asia, in Italy, Spain, anil lllyricum, 
 establishing Christian churches in the principal towns 
 thereof. Ancient writers alllrm, that he sviffered mar- 
 tyrdom at Rome under Nero, at the same time with 
 .St. I'etcr. The most probable reason assigned for his 
 condemnation was, his infecting several Roman ladies 
 
 Stood speechless, hearing a voice, but 
 seeing no man. And Saul arose 
 trom the earth, and when his eyes 
 were opened he saw no man ; but 
 they led him by the hand, and 
 brought him into Damascus. And 
 he was three days without sight, 
 and neither did eat nor drink. And 
 there was a certain disciple at Da- 
 mascus, named Ananias, and to Iiim 
 said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. 
 And he said, Behold, I am here, 
 Lord. And the Lord said unto him, 
 Ari.se, and go into the street which 
 is called Straight, and enquire in the 
 house of Judas for one called Saul, 
 of Tarsus : for behold, he prayeth, 
 and hath seen in a vision a man 
 named Ananias, coming in, and put- 
 tin"- his hand on him, that he miirht 
 
 ... ^ 
 
 receive his sight. Then Ananias 
 
 answered, Lord, I have heard by 
 many of this man, how much evil 
 he hath done to thy saints at Jeru- 
 salem ; and here he hath authority 
 from the chief priests to bind all that 
 call on thy Name. But the Lord 
 said unto him. Go thy way; for he 
 is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear 
 my Name before the Gentiles, and 
 kings, and the children of Israel : 
 
 with a foreign religion, as the Romans used to call 
 Christianity, and pai-ticularly some ladies with whom 
 Nero had had formerly an unlawful familiai-ity ; but 
 who, after their conversion to Christianity, refused his 
 embraces; which story is not improbable, since .Sue- 
 tonius, Tacitus, and Dio, and indeed all that write of 
 Nero, speak of his debauching nvimbers of ladies, as 
 well of chief quality as others. Our apostle, for this 
 pretended crime, being condeuuied to deatli. he, lieing 
 a Roman citizen, could not he cnu-iticd by the Roman 
 laws, as his colleague .St. I'eter was, and was therefore 
 beheaded by a great sword, which gave the occasion , 
 for his being pictured with such a sword in his hand. 
 ( )ther writers give an account of his [lersonage, from 
 the pictures 1 suppose they had seen of him. For 
 Kusebius writes, that the pictures of St. Peter and St. 
 Paul were ke[)t by some of the Christians in his time. 
 .St. Chrysostom says that he was of a low stature, hut 
 three cubits high. And Nicephorus describes him to 
 he of a little body, &c:. Dr. S'icliolls. 
 
 The Epistle for this day gives an account of the time. 
 mamuT, and otlier circiuustances of St. I'aiil's conver- 
 sion : sliewing what he was before, and what he was 
 after it. 
 
 The (iospel is selected for the day, because St. Paul 
 was one of those, that forsook all worldly interests and 
 relations, to attend the work aiul business of his Sa- 
 viour. And though he was not one of the twelve apos- 
 tles, yet had he the honour of being an ajxistle in ex- 
 traordinary, and of being immediately called in a way 
 l)eculiar to himself, as is shewn in the Epistle of the 
 day. Dr. Hole.
 
 THE C0NVP:IISI0N of saint PAUL. 
 
 237 
 
 for I will shew liim how irreat things 
 he must suffer for my Name's sake. 
 And Ananias went his way, and 
 entered into the house ; and, ])uttinir 
 his hands on him, said. Brother 
 Saul, the Lord, (even Jesus that 
 appeared unto thee in the way as 
 thou earnest,) hath sent me, that 
 thou mightest receive thy sight, and 
 be filled with the Holy Ghost. And 
 immediately there fell from his eyes 
 as it had been scales ; and he re- 
 ceived sight forthwith, and arose, 
 and was baptized. And when he 
 had received meat, he was strength- 
 ened. Then was Saul certain days 
 with the disciples which were at 
 Damascus. And straightway he 
 preached Christ in the synagogues, 
 that he is the Son of God. But all 
 that heard him were amazed, and 
 said, Is not this he that destroyed 
 them which called on this Name in 
 Jerusalem, and came hither for that 
 
 " The example before us furnishes a good rule, for 
 judging of our own, or of other peo]ile's zeal. It shews 
 the possibility of being under strong prepossessions, 
 exceeding vehement for grievous errors, furiously bent 
 against those of a different judgment, and yet, that all 
 this may be consistent with honesty and a good mean- 
 ing. And, ought we not to learn from hence to en- 
 large our charity, by forbearing to censure even our 
 adversaries, nay, even our ])ersecutors, as wretches lost 
 to all integrity and conscience ? Such sentences are 
 too often barbarous and unjust, and, in St. Paul's case, 
 had been manifestly false. And doubtless we should 
 do more real ser\'ice to God and our cause, by believing 
 the best, hoping almost against hope, pitying the igno- 
 rance, patiently contending with the prejudices, and 
 praying for the pardon and amendment of the faults 
 and furious op])ositions, of contradictors and persecu- 
 tors ; than by rashly impleading their integrity, pro- 
 nouncing their intentions wicked, and accounting them 
 all to be the children of hypocrisy and hell. 
 
 2. But the same example, which persuades such ten- 
 derness in judging others, is a very good argument for 
 being exceeding nice and severe in judging ourselves. 
 Men are too frequently imposed upon by specious ap- 
 pearances of zeal ; and think thereby not only to excuse, 
 but even to sanctify, many unwarrantable actions. 
 Whereas, would they bring tliese to St. Paul's standard, 
 the difference would soon be found between that, which 
 is really a zeal for God, and that, which affects to pass 
 for it. For, if men will not he brought fairly to consi- 
 der ; if they stick pertinaciously to their point, and 
 refuse to submit to all methods of conviction ; if, upon 
 conviction, they do not effectually disengage themselves 
 from such prepossessions, as can no longer be justified ; 
 if the same affectionate and vigorous desires do not 
 appear, in favour of truth lately discovered, as were 
 used to exert themselves for beloved and inveterate 
 errors : these persons have none of those marks to 
 shew, which proved St Paul's sincerity ; and mistaken 
 zeal is too tender a name in such cases. And it ought 
 to be remembered that one, in much better circum- 
 
 P 
 
 intent, that he might bring them 
 bound unto the chief jiriests .'' But 
 Saul increased the more in strength, 
 ami confounded the Jews vvhicii 
 dwelt at Damascus, proving that this 
 is very Christ". 
 
 T/ie Gospel. St. Matth. xix. 27. 
 
 E T E R answered and said unto 
 Jesus, Behold, we have for- 
 saken all, and followed thee ; what 
 shall we have therefore ? And Jesus 
 said unto them, Verily I say unto 
 you, That ye which liave followed 
 me in the regeneration, when the 
 Son of man shall sit in the throne 
 of his glory, ye al>o shall sit upon 
 twelve thrones, judging the twelve 
 tribes of Israel. And every one 
 that hath forsaken houses, or bre- 
 thren, or sisters, or father, or mo- 
 ther, or wife, or children, or lands, 
 for my name's sake, shall receive an 
 hundred-fold, and shall inherit ever- 
 
 stances, who had no partiality or indirect ends to be 
 suspected of, did yet style himself "blasphemer, inju- 
 rious, and chief of sinners," for even those very things, 
 which he did ignorantly, and "\'erily thought" himself 
 " obliged to do, against the name of Jesus of Naza- 
 reth." 
 
 Lastly, Let us admu-e and extol the wisdom of Al- 
 mighty God, for the mighty advantages which the 
 Christian religion received by the conversion of this 
 apostle in particular. For, (as an ancient father well 
 represents it,) "Who was Paul? Once a persecutor, 
 hut now a preacher, of Christ. And what made this 
 change? Was he bought over? .Alas', there was no 
 body disposed to bribe him to it. No ! it was because 
 he saw Christ, was convinced, and worshijiped, and 
 was caught up into heaven. He took his journey to 
 Damascus, that be might jierseeute : and after three 
 days did there commence preacher. And with what 
 power ! others, in matters concerning themselves, pro- 
 duce the testimony of their own friends and retainers ; 
 but I produce a witness, who was once an enemy. And 
 can any doubt stick with you after this ? The evidence 
 of Peter and John are of great weight, it is true ; but a 
 man, disjjosed to be jealous, might object that these 
 were companions and servants. But can any one 
 question the truth of his evidence, who first was a pro- 
 fessed enemy to Jesus, and afterwards died for Him ? 
 I have, for my part, always admired the wise manage- 
 ment of the Holy Ghost on this occasion, in ordering 
 that the Epistles written by others should be few, but 
 Paul's, the late persecutor, no less than fourteen. Not 
 that Peter or John were inferior to Paul ; but because 
 his were more likely to persuade." And accordingly 
 we read, " M\ that heard him were amazed, and said, 
 Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this 
 Name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, 
 that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests ? 
 But now he preacheth the faith which once he de- 
 stroyed. And they glorified God in him." To the^ 
 same God let us also give glor)', for ever and ever. 
 .\men. Dean Stanhoi)e.
 
 238 
 
 THE PURIFICATION OF SAINT MARY, 
 
 lasting life. But many that are first 
 shall be last, and the last shall be 
 first". 
 
 The Presentation of CliriU in the 
 Temple ", commonly called. The 
 Purijication of Saint Mary the 
 Virgin. 
 
 Tlie Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everliving 
 God, we humbly beseech thy 
 
 " That " many who are first shall be last," ought to 
 be a warninij to all those, who have had the happiness 
 of instruction, imbibed good principles early, and made 
 jiroportionable improvements ; that they do not depart 
 iVom the way in which they have been trained, nor suffer 
 their latter end to be worse than their beginning. It 
 should also jirove an effectual prevention to all those 
 intemperate overvaluings of our own virtue : than which 
 no other temptations are more likely to destroy it, by 
 betraying us into spiritual pride and security. How well 
 aware was our gi'eat apostle of this rock ? How careful 
 to admonish others of the danger of splitting upon it ? 
 The vain confidences of his converted Gentiles at Rome 
 h.e takes down, with "Be not high-minded, but fear; 
 for if God spared not the natural branches," the Jews, 
 " take heed lest he also spare not thee," Rom. xi. 20, 21. 
 The falsely presumed indefectibility of his Corinthians 
 he confutes, from the example of God's dealings under 
 the Old Testament; and leaves this advice upon those 
 who depend too far upon the |)rivileges of the New, 
 " Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he 
 fall," 1 Cor. X. 12. His Philiiijiians he instructs, that 
 the " salvation " of a Christian " is to be «Tought out 
 with fear and trembling," Pliil. ii. 12; and therefore 
 declares, that he " counts not himself to' haxe aj)pre- 
 hended already," but that, in order to it, he " kept on 
 continually pressing forward to the mark," Phil. iii. 
 13, 14; as being duly sensible, that such only, who 
 " continue faithful unto the end," can have reasonable 
 hopes of receiving " a crown of life," Rev. ii. 10. 
 
 2. .\s our Lord's declaration, that " the last shall be 
 first," is a gracious intimation of mercy on God's part; 
 so is the example insisted on from it a good direction, 
 what is fit and necessary on our ])art, in order to such 
 advancement. That very large abatements in the ac- 
 count of past faults, and liljeral allowances for i)assions, 
 and infirmities, and mistakes, are made liy our great 
 .Master and Judge, men are forward enough to infer, 
 from the example of .St. Paul ; and they so far reason 
 justly. But then they would do well to proceed a step 
 or two farther ; and to observe, from the same example, 
 to what sort of [icrsons such marvellous grace is ex- 
 tended: that they are such, as he was. They that 
 bewail and forsake their jiast faults ; that sec, and are 
 humbled with a sense of tliem ; that conflict with, and, 
 to the best of their ability, subdue their passions and 
 infirmities. Hence again we learn, that late jjcnitents, 
 when truly and effectually sueli, will double their dili- 
 gence, fetch up the time they have lost, and by an un- 
 common ])iety and zeal testify the sincerity of their con- 
 version, and tl e thankful esteem they have of it. In a 
 word, that nothing will l)e more at the heart of such 
 men, than making reparation to the world for any past 
 offences given ; and not only wiping out tlie scaiuhd of 
 a liad example, but exerting all the power and lustre of 
 nn eminently good one. 
 
 Majesty, that, as thy only-begotten 
 
 Son was this day presented in the 
 
 temple in substance of our flesh, so Luke it. 22. 
 
 we may be presented unto thee with 
 
 pure and clean jiearts, by the same coi. i. 21, 22. 
 
 thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, i"' "'''"'■ ^• 
 
 Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Mai. iii. L 
 
 BEHOLD, I will send my mes- 
 senger, and he shall prepare 
 the way before me : and the Lord, 
 
 To all which purposes I know not what better expe- 
 dient to advise, than a devout compliance with the 
 Church in the solemnity of this day ; by endeavouring 
 to make the apostle of it more and more our pattern, 
 from lively remembrances of his conversion and follow- 
 ing life. Both these are most deservedly commemo- 
 rated by the Church in general, because an invaluable 
 blessing to all the Christian world : but more particu- 
 larly so to us of this nation, whose once blind and 
 barbarous region was most ])rubably enlightened by his 
 presence and ministry in Britain. 
 
 Let us therefore beg most earnestly of God to give 
 " us his grace," and labour (as the Church hath 
 taught us to pray) " that we may shew forth our 
 thankfulness, by following the holy doctrines %vhich he 
 taught." So shall n-e at last obtain a " crown of 
 righteousness laid u])," not for him only, but for all 
 them, who, like him, serve the Lord Jesus, "and love 
 his ap])earing," 2 Tim. iv. S. 
 
 To whom with the Father, and Holy Spirit, three 
 Persons and one God, lie aU honour and glory for ever- 
 more. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ° The Presentation of Christ iit the Temple.^ ^^ herc- 
 as some churches keep four holy-days in memory of 
 the blessed Virgin, namely, the Nativity, the .Annuncia- 
 tion, the Purification, and the .Assumption; our Church 
 keeps only two, namely, tlie Annunciation and Purifi- 
 cation ; which though they may have some relation to 
 the blessed Virgin, do yet more peculiarly belong to 
 our Saviour. 'I'he .Vimunciation hath a peculiar re- 
 spect to his Incarnation, who, being the eternal Word 
 of the Father, Has at this time made flesh : the Puri- 
 fication is jirineipally oliserved in mciiiiiry of our Lord's 
 being made manifest in the llesli, when He was jirc- 
 seiited in the temple. 
 
 On the Purification the ancient Christians used 
 abundance of lights both in their churches and pro- 
 cessions, in remembrance (as it is supposed) of our 
 blessed .Saviour's being this day declared by old 
 Simeon, to be "a light to lighten the Gentiles," &c. ; 
 wliicli portion of Scripture is for that reason aiipointed 
 for the (iospel for the day. A practice continued with 
 us in l'',ngland till the second year of king Edward VI. 
 when Bisliop Cranincr forbad it by order of the Privy 
 Council. And from this custom 1 suppose it was, 
 that this day first took the name of Candlemas-day. 
 ll'heatlj/. 
 
 This liolidav is kept in memory of the ]ircsentation 
 of Clirist in the temple. For it was a ]irecept, "That 
 every male that i)|iciielli the womb," (that is, every 
 first-born,) "should tie holy unto the Lord," Kxod. xiii. 
 2. 1.'). Tlie first-liorn of tlie cattle were to be reserved 
 for sacrifices tor (iod : and the first-born children were 
 to attend in the service of the temple or tabernacle ; or 
 were to be redeemed by an offering of money or sacri- 
 fice, Numb, xviii. 1(). .\nd besides, the mother was
 
 THE PURIFICATION OF SAINT MARY. 
 
 239 
 
 whom ye seek, shall siuklenly come 
 to his temple ; even the messenger 
 of the covenant, whom ye deliiijlit 
 ill ; behold, ho shall come, saith the 
 Lord of hosts. Hut who may ahide 
 the day of his cominj)- ? and who 
 shall stand when he appeareth ? for 
 he is like a refiner's fire, and like 
 fullers' soap. And he shall sit as a 
 refiner and purifier of silver; and he 
 shall purify the sons of Levi, and 
 purge them as gold and silver, that 
 they may offer unto the Lord an 
 
 obliged to separate herself forty days from the congre- 
 gation after the birth of a male, and eighty after the 
 birth of a female ; and then was to present a lamb, if 
 in good circumstances, or a coujjle of pigeons, if she 
 was poor, Lev. xii. This was exactly performed after 
 the birth of our Saviour, who came to " fulfil all right- 
 eousness," and was willing in all particulars of his life 
 that a just obedience should be paid to the publick 
 ordinances of his religion and country. 
 
 This feast is of considerable antiquity in the Chiu'ch ; 
 those, that place the beginning of it the latest, say it 
 commenced in Justinian's time, about the year 540, 
 upon the occasion of some publick calamities, as a 
 great. earthquake, showers of blood, and some malig- 
 nant distempers following thereupon. The Greeks call 
 this feast by the name of Hypante, which signifies the 
 Meeting, because Simeon and Anna met our Lord in 
 the tcmjile this day. But I take this feast to be much 
 older than Justinian's time; for St. Chrysostom men- 
 tions it as a feast celebrated in the Church in his days. 
 Dr. NichoUs. 
 
 The Collect for this day puts us in mind of the 
 only-begotten Son of God being presented in the tem- 
 ple in the substance of our flesh : and thence teaches 
 us to pray, that we may be presented unto God with 
 pure and clean hearts, by the same Jesus Christ our 
 Lord : which presentation of the Son being accom- 
 panied with the jjurification of the mother, and both 
 for our sake, they have been thought fit to be kept in 
 remembrance ; and, to that end, to be yearly com- 
 memorated in the publick devotions of the Church. 
 Accordingly the Epistle for this day speaks of it in the 
 prophecy ; and the Gospel, in the event or accomplish- 
 ment of it. Dr. Hole. 
 
 p The prophecy, contained in this portion of Scripture, 
 partly received its accomplishment in the event comme- 
 morated on this day. A consideration of it may suggest 
 us the following useful lessons ; 
 
 I. From Christ's coming to the temple, to fulfil the 
 prophecies, let us come to it, to fulfil his prece])ts ; so 
 the Psalmist resolved, '" We will go into his tabernacle, 
 and worship towards his holy temjjle." And elsewhere, 
 " I was glad when they said unto me, We will go into 
 the house of the Lord : our feet shall stand in thy gates, 
 O Jerusalem." This was the practice likewise of the 
 holy apostles, who " were continually in the temple, 
 blessing and praising God," Luke xxiv. 53. This God 
 requires and expects of us, that we should meet toge- 
 ther in his house, to praise Him : and then He hath 
 promised to meet us there, to bless ns ; and to make us 
 joyful in his house of prayer. Let us not then " forsake 
 the assembling of ourselves together in God's house, 
 as the manner of some is :" but let us exhort and call 
 upon one another daily to resort to it ; and the rather, 
 
 offering in righteousness. Tiien shall 
 the offerings of Judah and .Feriisaiem 
 be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the 
 (lays of old, and as in former years. 
 And I will come near to you to juflge- 
 ment, and 1 will be a swift witness 
 against the sorcerers, and against the 
 adulterers, and against false swearers, 
 and against those that oppress tiie 
 hireling in his wages, the widow, and 
 the fatherless, and that turn aside 
 the stranger from his right, and fear 
 not me, saith the Lord of hosts p. 
 
 because the day of our final account is ajiproach- 
 
 Secondly, from Christ's being presented in the temple, 
 and thereby honouring it with his |)resence, let us learn 
 to honour and esteem it holy, by keeping it from all 
 profanation : He having taken possession of his Father's 
 house, and thereby dedicated and devoted it to his ser- 
 vice, we may not desecrate or jjollute it, by putting it to 
 any other common uses. And therefore we read, that, at 
 our Saviour's entrance into Jerusalem, He went into the 
 temple, where He had been formerly presented ; and 
 finding his Father's house made a market, or place of 
 merchandise. He was highly incensed at the profanation, 
 insomuch that, as St. John tells us, He made a scourge 
 Himself, and with great indignation whijjt the buyers 
 and sellers out of it, saying, " It is written, My Father's 
 house shall be called a house of ]iraycr, but ye have 
 made it a den of thieves :" hereby fulfilling that pro- 
 ])hecy of Him, " Tlie zeal of thine house hath even eaten 
 me U|)." It was God Almighty's own command, that we 
 should " hallow his sabbath, and reverence his sanc- 
 tuary," Lev. xix. 30. And it is our .Saviour's jirecept, 
 that we should keep it holy ; by setting it apart from 
 vulgar uses, and consecrating it to divine service. And 
 therefore, we should take care, decently to repair and 
 beautify the temple, and after that diligently to repair 
 and resort to it. 
 
 Thirdly, from Christ's coming as a refiner's fire, to 
 purify the sons of Levi, and, as fullers' soaji, to wash and 
 cleanse the Church, we should learn all inirity both in 
 life and doctrine. " Blessed are the pure in heart," saith 
 our Saviour, " for they shall see God," Matt. v. S. And 
 "without" purity and "holiness no man shall see the 
 Lord :" for " he that hath this hope," saith St. John, 
 " purifieth himself, even as he is pure." Into heaven no 
 defilement enters : nor can any unclean thing inliabit 
 those pure and unpolluted regions. Our Saviour's 
 coming was to free us from the defilement, as well as the 
 ])ower of sin ; and thereby to fit and qualify us for the 
 beatifick \'ision : for otherwise we are neither prepared 
 for that, nor that for us. And therefore, " having these 
 promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness both 
 of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of 
 God." 
 
 Lastly, from Christ's coming to sit in judgment, and 
 to be a swift witness against several sorts of sinners, let 
 us learn to prepare for his coming, and to escape the 
 doom by true repentance : turning from all sin unto 
 God ; and especially from those mentioned in the Epistle 
 for this day : as, from all sorcery and witchcraft ; from 
 adultery and uncleanness; from perjury and false 
 swearing ; from all sorts and degrees of oppression : in 
 a word, let us turn from all sin and wickedness ; and 
 then God will in much mercy tiu'n to us, and stand by
 
 240 
 
 SAINT MATTHIAS'S DAY. 
 
 Tlie Gospel. St. Luke ii. 22. 
 
 AN D when the days of her puri- 
 fication, according to the Law 
 of Moses, were accomplished, they 
 brouirlit him to Jerusalem, to present 
 liim to the Lord: (as it is written in 
 the Law of the Lord, Every male 
 that openeth tlie womb, shall be 
 called holy to the Lord ;) and to 
 oiFer a sacrifice, according to that 
 which is said in the Law of the 
 Lord, A pair of turtle-doves, or two 
 young pigeons. And behold, there 
 was a man in Jerusalem, whose 
 name was Simeon ; and the same 
 man was just and devout, waiting 
 for the consolation of Israel : and the 
 Holy Ghost was upon him. And it 
 was revealed unto him by the Holy 
 Ghost, that he should not see death, 
 before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 
 And he came by the Spirit into the 
 temple ; and when the parents 
 brought in the child Jesus, to do for 
 him after the custom of the law, then 
 took he him up in his arms, and 
 blessed God, and said, Lord, now 
 lettest thou thy servant depart in 
 peace, according to thy word : for 
 mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 
 which thou hast prepared before the 
 face of all people ; a light to lighten 
 the Gentiles, and the glory of thy 
 people Israel. And Joseph and Jiis 
 mother marvelled at those thino-s 
 
 us in the needful time of trouble, for his Son Jesus 
 Christ's sake, our Lord. Dr. Hole. 
 1 I'Vdtn this day's festival we may learn, 
 
 1. 'I'd bless God for the confirmation of our faith in 
 the holy .lesus, f^iven us by these two witnesses, wlio 
 were blessed witli a siijht of Him : as also for tlie mani- 
 festation, thereby made to us, of the consolation of Israel. 
 For, thoufih we now cannot see our Saviour with our 
 bodily eyes, as they did ; yet we may behold Him with 
 the eye of faith, as He is revealed to us in holy Seiipture, 
 where our .Saviour hath pronounced those " blessed, 
 who have not seen, and yet have l)clieved." 
 
 2. Kroin the purilication of tlic \'iri,'in nu)thcr, wc 
 may learn to ])urify ourselves both in liody and soul ; 
 and to practise that holiness and purity, to(jethcr with 
 that obedience, which our Saviour and the blessed 
 Vii-(,'in have tau;,'ht us by their own examjile ; and from 
 them to be meek and lowly in heart. Dr. Hole. 
 
 3. From her presentation of the holy child Jesus to 
 God, from whom and for wliose jjlory she had received 
 Hiin.wc^ may learn to return totiod whatsoever wc have 
 received from Him : and, if we unite our olfei-in^rs and 
 devotion to this holy present, we shall by tlie merit and 
 excellency of this obhitioii exliibit to (iod an olfei'lory. in 
 which He cannot hut delir;lit for the c(Muliin:itiou's sake, 
 and society of his holy Son. H/i. Ji-niiuj 'Dnjlor. 
 
 4. Let us learn from the f;ood old Simeon, never to 
 think of dying in peace, till wc have embraced our Sa- 
 
 which were spoken of him. And 
 Simeon blessed them, and .said unto 
 Mary his mother, Behold, this child 
 is set for the fall and rising again of 
 many in Israel ; and for a sign which 
 shall be spoken against ; (yea, a 
 sword shall pierce through thy own 
 soul also;) that the thoughts of 
 many hearts ma)^ be revealed. And 
 there was one Anna a prophetess, 
 the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe 
 of Aser ; she was of a great age, and 
 had lived with an husband seven 
 years from her virginity; and she 
 was a widow of about fourscore and 
 fom- years; which departed not from 
 the temple, but served God with 
 fastings and prayers night and day. 
 And she coming in that instant gave 
 thanks likewise unto the Lord, and 
 spake of him to all them that looked 
 for redemption in Jerusalem. And 
 when they had performed all things 
 according to the Law of the Lord, 
 they returned into Galilee to their 
 own city Nazareth. And the child 
 grew, and waxed strong in spirit, 
 filled with wisdom ; and tlie grace of 
 God was upon hiini. 
 
 o 
 
 Saint Matlhia.s's Drit/'. 
 The Collect. 
 Almighty God, who into the 
 ]ilacc of the traitor .ludas didst 
 
 viour -inth our uuderstandinjjs and affections, and 
 heartily believe and practise what He hath revealed and 
 taught lis. 'I'lien will He shortly embrace us with the 
 arms of his mercy, in order to brinj; us to the blessed 
 vision of Himself in the hiifhest heavens. Dr. Hole. 
 
 Lastly, from the story of the afjed [irophetess Anna, 
 who had lived lona; in chaste widowhood, in the service 
 of the temple, in the continual oflices of devotion ; and 
 «ho was now rewarded by (Jod with a great benediction, 
 and an earnest of a greater ; we may learn that the re- 
 turns of prayer and the blessings of ])iety arc certain ; 
 and though not dis])cnscd according to the exjiectanccs 
 of our narrow conceptions, yet shall they so come, at such 
 times and in such measures, as shall crown the piety, 
 and satisfy the desires, and reward tlic expectation. It 
 was in the temple, the same place where slie had for 
 many years |>oured out her heart to (iod, that God 
 [loured forth his heart to her, sent his Son from his 
 bosom, and there she received his benediction. Indeed 
 in sucli places God docs most particularly exhibit Him- 
 self, and blessing goes along witli Him wherever He 
 goes. In holy |ilaees ( Iod hath put his holy name ; and 
 to holy persons (!od doth oftcutiuics manifest the inte- 
 rior and more secret glories of liis holiness; proviiled 
 they come thither, as .Simeon and .\iina did, not with 
 designs of vanity, or curiosity, or sensualily, but by the 
 motions of tliat holy Spirit ol (!od. Jlji.Jcrnni/ Tiiylor. 
 
 ' St. Mall/lias's Dot/.] The Scrijiture takes notice of
 
 SAINT MATTHIAS'S DAY 
 
 241 
 
 choose tliy fiiitlifiil servant Matthias 
 A'-tsi. to be of the immbcr of the twelve 
 
 scor.'xi. Apostles; Grant tliat thy C'liureh, 
 2 m.^i. 1, 2. being ahvay jireserved from false 
 
 Apostles, may he ordered and ij;ui(led 
 1 Cor. iv. 2. by faitliful and true pastors; through 
 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Acts i. 15. 
 
 IN those daj's Peter stood up in 
 the midst of tlie discijjles, and 
 said, (the number of the names to- 
 gether were about an hundred and 
 twenty,) Men and brethren, this 
 Scripture must needs have been 
 fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by 
 the mouth of David spake before 
 concerning Judas, which was guide 
 to them that took Jesus : for he 
 was numbered with us, and had ob- 
 tained part of this ministry. Now 
 this man purchased a field with the 
 reward of iniquity ; and falling head- 
 long he burst asunder in the midst, 
 and all his bowels gushed out. And 
 it was known unto all the dwellers at 
 Jerusalem, insomuch as that field is 
 
 St. Matthias, in that jflace and upon that occasion only, 
 which comes into the service of tlie day. He is, both by 
 Eusebius and St. Jerome, affirmed to have been one of 
 the seventy discijiles. The province assigned him is said 
 by the latter to have been one of the Ethiopias. 'I'he 
 rivers, mentioned in that account, incline Dr. Cave to 
 think it should be C'appadocia. He was there murdered 
 by the pagans. In what manner it is uncertain; but an 
 hymn, cited by Dr. Cave out of the Greek offices, 
 seems, as from a received opinion, to speak him cruci- 
 fied. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 The Collect and Ejiistle for this day acquaint us, first, 
 with a vacancy in the a])ostolate by the untimely death 
 of Judas : secondly, with the filling up of that vacancy by 
 the election of St. Matthias, together with the manner 
 and circumstances, that attended both. 
 
 The Gospel appears to have been chosen upon the 
 presumption, that Matthias, like some others of the 
 apostles, was a person of mean birth and obscure 
 parentage; and was instructed in the mysteries of the 
 kingdom of heaven, and chosen for an apostle, when 
 persons of greater birth and parts had not the know- 
 ledge of those divine truths, nor were admitted to so 
 high and sacred a function. Dr. Hole. 
 
 * St. Peter's discourse in this passage concerning the 
 wretched man, into whose place this day's apostle was 
 chosen, contains some things calculated to be very pro- 
 fitable if duly noticed. 
 
 1. First, then. It is observable, that St. Peter men- 
 tioning the fact for which Judas perished, does it in 
 these terms : " Judas, who was guide to them that 
 took Jesus." We cannot reasonably imagine this 
 apostle, or any to whom he s]ioke, to be wanting in 
 a just indignation at the treachery of this fallen bro- 
 ther ; and yet the most villainous of all crimes could 
 not have been expressed in softer words. Now my 
 design is, by this remark, to give check to that liberty 
 
 called in their proper tongue, Acel- 
 dama, that is to say. The field of blood. 
 For it is written in the book of Psalms, 
 Let his habitation be desolate, and 
 let no man dwell therein ; and, His 
 bishoprick let another take. Where- 
 fore, of these men which have com- 
 panied with us all the time that the 
 Lord Jesus went in and out among 
 us, beginning from the baptism of 
 John, unto that same day that he 
 was taken up from us, must one be 
 ordained to bo a witness with us of 
 his resurrection. And they appoint- 
 ed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who 
 was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 
 And they ])rayed, and said. Thou, 
 Lord, which knowest the hearts of 
 all men, shew whether of these two 
 thou hast chosen ; that he may take 
 part of this ministry and apostleship, 
 from which Judas by trangression 
 fell, that he might go to his own 
 place. And they gave forth their 
 lots ; and the lot fell upon Matthias, 
 and he was numbered with the 
 eleven Apostles ^ 
 
 men are apt, and think themselves abimdantly war- 
 ranted, to take, in speaking of ill actions and ill men, 
 with the most aggravating terms of infamy and ri - 
 proach. There are, I confess, some occasions, which 
 even require this sort of treatment from us. But, 
 except in particular circumstances, and for promoting 
 very good ends, it argues more of a charitable and 
 truly Christian spirit, to abate of our fierceness, even 
 against those jiractices, of which we do well to concei\e 
 the utmost abhorrence. For the virulent language so 
 often poured or.t upon profligate and wicked people, 
 is many times the effect, not of zeal, but ill-nature. 
 But how barbarous and wicked a pleasure is it to u]i- 
 braid, expose, and insult over, the faults of our bre- 
 thren, which we ought to jiity, and be sorry for, even 
 then, when we ought to condemn and detest them ? 
 
 2. To this ])urj)ose we shall do well to attend to a 
 second particular, very considerable in St. Peter's ma- 
 nagement of this subject : which is, referring the audi- 
 ence to an ancient prophecy, foretelling that crime of 
 Judas many hundred years before. Thus it appeared, 
 that in the whole matter there was a secret over-ruling 
 Pro\-idence, without whose knowledge and permission 
 none of those things are done, which in themselves 
 carry so great a degree of guilt and horror, that one 
 would stand amazed, how even the most abandoned 
 of men should ever be capable of committing them. 
 Such events they, who think too superficially, have 
 frequently made objections against the being and pio- 
 vidence of God. But the apostle here hath taught us 
 to ])enetrate deeper into, anil pronounce more justly 
 of, them. He hath shewed the reflections properly 
 resulting from thence to be, that it is reasonable to 
 endure patiently the ill effects of that astonishing 
 wickedness, \vhich (iod sees fit to permit : to contem- 
 plate his wisdom and long-suffering in them all ; and 
 not give way to im.patience or irreligious suggestions, 
 
 R
 
 242 THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 
 
 Tke Gospel. St. Matth. xi. 25. 
 
 AT that time Jesus answered and 
 said, I thank thee, O Father, 
 Lord of heaven and earth, because 
 thou hast hid these things from the 
 wise and prudent, and hast revealed 
 them unto babes. Even so, Father, 
 for so it seemed good in thy sight. 
 All things are delivered unto me of 
 my Father : and no man knoweth 
 the Son, but the Father ; neither 
 knoweth any man the Father, save 
 the Son, and he to whomsoever the 
 Son will reveal him. Come unto 
 
 upon account of any injuries or uneasiness to ourselves, 
 from practices which He, who knew, did yet not pre- 
 vent or interpose against, though they were manifest 
 affronts to his honour, and outrageous violations of his 
 laws. In short, we should satisfy ourselves, that He, 
 who always orders that which is best, and can at plea- 
 sure put an effectual stop to the most daring and 
 potent offenders, forhears to do so, for no other reason, 
 than because He knows it to be better, though we 
 short-sighted mortals cannot tell why, that their im- 
 pieties should not be more restrained. 
 
 3. But then those offenders should by all means ob- 
 serve, thirdly, that St. Peter, together with the crime, 
 does also relate the punishment, of Judas ; as a thing 
 no less foreknown and foretold. And the natural con- 
 sequence of this would be that wickedness, so connived 
 at and foreseen, does involve the actors in no less 
 degree of guilt, for bringing about such events, and 
 effecting such wise counsels of Providence, as are pro- 
 duced from thence : for God, as a wise man expresses 
 it, hath left men in the hand of their own counsel, 
 Ecclus. XV. 14. And, although the divine omniscience 
 do perfectly understand all their doings, and all their 
 thoughts, long before : yet are those thoughts and 
 doings still their own. He does not determine their 
 wills by any physical or forcible restraint, but He hatli 
 given them great variety of moral restraints ; the light 
 of reason, the guidance of revelation, the ])Ower of 
 conscience : and by these He expects men shoidd 
 govern themselves. If they do not. He convinces 
 them, that, though the fact l)e tlieirs. the consequences 
 are his: and therefore He frequently exerts Himself in 
 turning to his own glory, and the good of the world, 
 the malice and mischievous designs of base and vil- 
 lainous wTetches. Thus He did in the very case before 
 us. But still (Sod punishes men, not according to 
 events, but intentions; and considers, as a judge, the 
 mischief they actually did, or designed ; without any 
 regard to the benefit He turned it to, which it was not 
 any part of their nu'aning to [mimote. Dean Stan- 
 hope. 
 
 ' 'llie comment on the Epistle for this day having 
 been occupied upon the case of .ludas, that on the 
 (iospel, instead of fixing on tlic jiartieular jiassage 
 there contained, may lie made useful by re\'erting to 
 the case of Mattliias, who was chosen into the place of 
 that wretched man. 
 
 The manner of his appointment was remarkable, and 
 may be tlius explained. The heads of the tribes of 
 Israel after the llesh, acconhng to the nuinlier of wliom 
 the twelve apo.stles seem to have been chosen, were 
 first named liy (ioil Himself: the |)riiices of the Israel 
 
 me, all ye that labour and are heavy 
 laden, and I will give you rest. Take 
 my yoke upon you, and learn of me : 
 for 1 am meek and lowly in heart : 
 and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 
 For my yoke is easy, and mj' burden 
 is light'. 
 
 The Annunciatiun of (he Blessed 
 Viryin Mary". 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 WE beseech thee, O Lord, 
 pour thy grace into our 
 hearts ; that, as we have known Oai. iv. 4. 
 
 after the Spirit were chosen by Christ. And the per- 
 son, here chosen, was of divine designation. For the 
 manner of the proceeding is such, as manifestly refers 
 the issue to God's determination. The nominations of 
 this kind were afterwards made by the apostles them- 
 sehes, because then their act was pro])erly God's act ; 
 and the choice of fit persons to serve in so high a 
 station, was a matter of so great importance to the 
 church, that no doubt can be made, but his very parti- 
 cular assistance was present with them in it. But at 
 this time the Holy Ghost was not yet given ; therefore 
 in a case, which was singular, they had recourse to a 
 method, which had often been practised, and was 
 always believed to denote the special aiipointment of 
 God. 
 
 The deciding of things contingent by lots was a 
 practice instituted by God's own command. Thus tlie 
 two goats, on the solemn day of atonement, were 
 separated ; the one for slaughter to be sacrificed, the 
 other for eseajie into the wilderness. Lev. xvi. 7, 8. 
 Thus the land of Canaan was divided, and a portion 
 of it assigned to each tribe. Numb, xxxiii. 54. Thus 
 the cities of the Le\-ites were set ajiart, out of the 
 inheritance assigned to the other tribes. Josh. xiii. 
 2 — 6; xxi. 8. Thus it was determined who should 
 revenge the wickedness of Benjamin, by attacking 
 Gibeah, Judges xx. 9. Thus the services of the priests 
 in the sanctuary were distributed, 1 Cliron. xxiv. 5, 
 &c. ; Luke i. ."J. 0. All which were so constantly be- 
 lieved to be of (iod's immediate assignation, as to give 
 occasion for that a])horisin of Solomon, " The lot is 
 cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of 
 the Lord," Prov. xvi. 33. 
 
 From hence, as a matter universally acknowledged, 
 among persons conversant in the religion and customs 
 of the Jews, it appears, that putting the choice of an 
 apostle ujion tliis issue «'as a very solemn way of re- 
 ferring it to the decision of God Himself, which is yet 
 farther evidenced by that solemn invocation of Him 
 upon this so very important exigence. Whereby these 
 great iiatterns of ])icty have set us an example, which 
 the wisdom of our excellent Church hath directed us 
 all to follow, by begging, in her Collect for this 
 festival, that we and all Christians, "being ahvays pie- 
 served from false apostles, may be ordered and guided 
 by faithful and true pastors, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord," Amen. Dean Staiihojir. 
 
 " T/ie Annuiiciiilinit nf the lili'ssed Viryin J/ffry.] The 
 great business of this day's festival is to celebrate the 
 Annunciatiou of the blessed Virgin Mary: by whieli 
 is meant the deelanition made to her by an angel, of 
 her being the mother of the jiromised Messiah, toge-
 
 THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY. '243 
 
 Luke i. 30, 
 
 .11. 
 
 Matt. i. 20. 
 
 Pom. iv. 
 vi. 6. 
 
 tlic incarnation of tliy Son Josus 
 Christ by the message of an arifrel, 
 so by his cross and passion we may 
 be brouglit unto tlie glory of his re- 
 surrection ; through the same Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Isa. vii. 10. 
 
 MOREOVER, the Lord 
 spalve again unto Ahaz, say- 
 ing, Asli thee a sign of the Lord thy 
 God ; ask it eitlier in the depth, or 
 
 ther with the glory, greatness, and everlasting duration 
 of his kingdom. Which things are this day comme- 
 morated, both in the pro])hery of them in the Old 
 'restament, and in the accom])Iishment of them in the 
 New; the former being containeil in the Ei)istle, the 
 latter in the Gospel for the day. Dr. Hole. 
 
 This day is appointed by the Chiu-ch in memory of 
 the blessed Virgin, and particularly of the message of 
 the angel to her, concerning her being to bring forth 
 the Messias our blessed Lord. This holy ])erson was a 
 young woman of the tribe of Judah, «'ho deri\ed her 
 pedigree from King David, the branches of that royal 
 family, after many descents, being reduced to a low de- 
 gree of fortune. Some ancient writers of the Church 
 do write, that her father's name was Joachim, and her 
 mother's Anna. Some time after she was espoused to 
 Joseph, it was declared to her by an angel, tliat she 
 should bring forth one, who should be the Son of (iod, 
 and who should have an everlasting kingdom, Luke 
 i. 32 ; and that this extraordinary offspring, which should 
 he born of her body, should not be produced after the 
 usual way of hiunan conceptions, but by the over- 
 shadowing of the Holy Ghost, Luke i. 35. The holy 
 Scrijitures record of her, that she was a person eminent 
 for devotion and holy contemplation ; by observing 
 and remarking the extraordinary occurrences concern- 
 ing her Son, and " pondering them in her heart," ]>uke 
 ii. 19; by "keeping his wise sayings in her heart," 
 Luke ii. 51 ; by frecpiently following after Him to hear 
 his divine sermons, Matt. xii. 46 ; Mark iii. 32 ; Luke 
 viii. 20 ; and lastly, by constantly joining herself in 
 the publick devotion with the apostles, Acts i. 14. 
 There was a tradition in the church that she travelled 
 with St. John to Ephesus ; for the fathers of that 
 council, in an Epistle of theirs to the clergy of Con- 
 stantinople, mentioning Ephesus, say, " In which John 
 the Divine, and the Deiparous Virgin Mary some time 
 dwelt." Tliere are various opinions about the time of 
 her death, some ])laeing it in tlie fifty-eighth year of her 
 age, some in the seventy-second, but most in the si.xty- 
 second or third year of her age, and in the year of 
 Christ 48. Some writers, both in the Greek and Latin 
 church, tell a strange story about her assumption into 
 heaven, and that with great variety in their relations ; 
 some affirming her to be conveyed thither alive, like 
 Enoch and Elias; others, that, after her death, she 
 arose again, and was carried triumphantly into heaven. 
 But as all the legendary history of this translation is 
 taken out of apocryphal books, it deserves not much 
 credit : and, though the church of Rome has adopted 
 this story of the assumption of the blessed Virgin into 
 her belief and worship, yet the authors, which support 
 this histor)', are condemned by all the learned authors 
 of that church. Dr. Niclwlls. 
 
 ' The i)roper Scriptures, now ofl'ered to our medita- 
 tion, exactly answer the design of this festival : the 
 
 in tlielieight aliovc. But Ahaz said, 
 I will not ask, neither will I tempt 
 the Lord. And he said. Hear ye 
 now, O house of David ; Is it a small 
 thing for you to weary men, but will ye 
 weary my God also ? I^herefore the 
 Lord himself shall give you a sign ; 
 Beliold, a Virgin shall conceive, and 
 bear a son, and shall call his name 
 Immanuel. Butter and honey siiall 
 he eat, that he may know to refuse 
 the evil, and choose the good ". 
 
 mercy which it commemorates, being in the Epistle 
 with great solemnity foretold, and in tlie Gos])el for 
 the day related with very particular circumstances, as 
 punctually accomplished. The consequence of the thing 
 itself, and therefore of our belief of it, must needs be 
 very great ; by reason it lets us into a knowledge of 
 the first act, whereby the Son of God vouchsafed to 
 empty Himself for our sakes. In that act it reveals the 
 mystery of " God made man :" upon which the whole 
 scheme of the Christian religion seems principally to 
 turn. Hence all avowed adversaries of the faith have 
 with open malice attacked, and all the corrupters of it 
 have with subtlety and dissembled friendship, endea- 
 voured to subvert, the article of our blessed Savioiu-'s 
 miraculous incarnation. 
 
 It is important then to shew, how this prediction, 
 purporting that the " name" of the promised child 
 "should be called Immanuel," can belong to Him, 
 whose name we acknowledge to have been, by express 
 command from heaven, called Jesus, Luke i. 31 ; ii. 21 ; 
 Matt. i. 21. Now nothing is more common in Scrip- 
 ture, than, by the calling or naming of a jicrson or 
 thing, to mean that the person or thing shall really be 
 ndiat that name imjiorts ; and so again, " being called" 
 stands generally for " being." In the former sense 
 we find it foretold of Jerusalem by this jirophet, that 
 she should be called " the city of righteousness." 
 Why ? because, as was jjromised in the words forego- 
 ing, " God would restore her judges, as at the first, and 
 her counsellors as at the beginning," Isa. i. 2G. 
 
 In the latter sense it is twice used liy the angel, in 
 the Gospel for this day; who says of Jesus, that "he 
 shall be great," and "shall be called" (that is, shall 
 be) "the Son of the Highest," Luke i. 32; and again, 
 " that holy thing, which shall be born of thee, shall be 
 called" (that is again, shall be) "the Son of God," 
 ver. 35. 
 
 Without proving this, therefore, by a multitude of 
 instances, which might make it endless ; it shall suffice 
 to say that, according to the usage of the Jewish, more 
 es])ecially the proiihetic language, the name of a person 
 or thing, so called, imported only such quahties or 
 eff'ects, in or from it, as that name signified. And by 
 consequence, that Christ's name was truly and strictly 
 called Immanuel, in full and punctual completion of 
 this ])ro])hecy, if He were " God with us," (which is 
 the adequate meaning of the IIel)rew word,) in so dis- 
 tinguishing a manner, as none besides ever was or 
 can be. 
 
 Now (not to mention that presence of God, whereby 
 He is in every place, and Mith every person, and which 
 cannot be the meaning of the name we are considering) 
 there is a presence of favour and distinction, whereby 
 God is said to be, in a peculiar manner, with those, 
 whom He loves and blesses above others. In this regard 
 the child here spoken of is justly called Immanuel; 
 R2
 
 244 THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke i. ^O. 
 
 AN D in the sixth month tlie 
 angel Gabriel was sent from 
 God unto a city of Galilee named 
 Nazareth, to a Virgin espoused to 
 a man whose name was Joseph, of 
 the house of David ; and the Vir- 
 gin's name was Mary. And the 
 angel came in unto her, and said, 
 Hail, tliou that art higldy favoured, 
 the Lord is with thee : blessed art 
 thou among women. And when 
 she saw him she was troubled at 
 his saying, and cast in her mind 
 what manner of salutation this 
 should be. And the ang-el said 
 unto her. Fear not, Mary ; for tliou 
 hast found favour with God. And 
 behold, thou slialt conceive in tiiy 
 viomb, and bring forth a Son, and 
 shalt call his name JESUS. He 
 shall be great, and shall be called 
 the Son of the Highest ; and the 
 
 because, as St. Paul speaks, " God was in him reconcil- 
 ing the world to himself;" for his sake and " sufferings 
 not imputing their tresj)asses unto them," 2 Cor. v. 10 : 
 and again, by Him, they who "were sometimes afar off 
 are made nigh, have access to the Father, are accepted 
 in the Beloved," Ejih. ii. 13. IS, 10; i. 6 ; and be- 
 come, of enemies and strangers, friends and children ; 
 insomuch, that God vouchsafes to dwell in us, and be 
 one with us. And, as He unites us to Himself by grace, 
 so did He in this child condescend, by an ineffable 
 generation, to unite our substance and nature to Him- 
 self: to be "perfect God, and perfect man," that so 
 He "might be the first-born among many brethren, 
 and redeem tlie children from death, who are jjartakers 
 of flesh and blood, by himself taking part of the same," 
 Rom. viii. 29; Heb. ii. 14. Let it not then be any 
 more objected that the child of this [jrophecy could not 
 be called " Iinmaniul." whom we confess to have been 
 called Jesus; for He is therefore our " Immanuel," 
 because our Jesus ; therefore most eminently, most 
 literally, " God with us," because, by so miraculous an 
 union, a " saver of his jieople from their sins." 
 
 But, lastly, as the name " Immanuel" leads \is to 
 contem|>late the reality of our Saviour's divine nature, 
 so does the description, which follows, help us yet more 
 to a thankful sense of bis inimitable condescension. 
 For, by adding, " butter and lioney shall he cat, that," 
 or until, " be know to refuse the evil and choose the 
 good :" the prophet is reasonably supposed to signify 
 to us, not only the reality of our .Saviour's human na- 
 ture ; but all the frailties and infirmities of it, which 
 might render Him, as the apostle speaks, in every point 
 " like unto us," sin alone excepted, Heb. ii. I" ; iv. 15. 
 The first .Adam was created in the utmost matin-ity and 
 ])erfeetion both of body and mind, that any of the 
 species ever attained to; but the second .Adam, though 
 " the I,ord from heaven," 1 ('or. xv. 4", vouchsafed to 
 enter the worM a tender babe, stonjied to the wcdtnesses 
 of infancy, and the graduid progressions of youtli. His 
 body was nourished with the food usually aibninistered 
 in those countries to couunon children ; and liis un- 
 derstanding brightened like theirs, and received en- 
 largements proportionable to his years. So that Isaiah 
 
 Lord God shall give unto him the 
 throne of jiis father David. And 
 he shall reign over the house of 
 Jacob for ever ; and of his king- 
 dom there shall be no end. Then 
 said Mary unto the angel, How 
 shall this be, seeing I know not a 
 man ? And the angel answered and 
 said unto her. The Holy Ghost shall 
 come upon thee, and tiie power of 
 the Highest shall overshadow thee : 
 therefore also that holy thing wliich 
 shall be born of thee shall be called 
 the Son of God. And behold, thy 
 cousin Elisabeth, she hath also con- 
 ceived a son in her old age ; and 
 this is the sixth month with her who 
 was called barren : for with God 
 nothing shall be imjiossible. And 
 Mary said, Behold the handmaid of 
 the Lord ; be it unto me according 
 to thy word. And the angel de- 
 parted from her-*. 
 
 here foretels in other terjns, what St. Luke relates to 
 have been exactly fulfilled : when acquainting us, that 
 the " child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, tilled with 
 wisdom;" and again, that " Jesus increased in wisdom 
 and stature, and in favour with God and man," Luke 
 ii. 40. 52. 
 
 There are many usefid inferences arising from this 
 subject. Let it suffice at present, briefly to observe, 
 the reverence which becomes the devotions apjiointed 
 for, and the glorious pre-eminence due to, this happy 
 day. For this is the day, that began first to scatter the 
 thick night of ignorance and error, and the veil of types 
 and shadows, in which till then mankind were all in- 
 volved. The day, which of right begins our ecclesi- 
 astical year ; because on it, the redemption and true 
 life of mankind was first put into motion, by the 
 author and giver of it taking ovir substance in the 
 womb of bis holj- mother. The day. which, by this 
 wonderful operation, began to reconcile, not only (Jod 
 .and man. but the word of (Jod with itself ; and is the 
 common centre of agreement and union between the 
 Old and the New Testament, 'i'he day, in short, 
 whose honour it is, that, to the glorious event set for- 
 ward in it, the mysterious )]roceedings of four thou- 
 sand years had been made subservient. And therefore, 
 on this day especially, let us be glad, and rejoice, and 
 give glory, and praise, and humble adoration, to God 
 the Father, "creating this new thing," Jer. xxxi. 22; 
 to (jod the Son " incarnate ;" and to God the Holy 
 (ihost " overshadowing;" three persons and one God 
 for ever and ever. .\mcn. Daan Stanhope. 
 
 '' We have in this (iospel an account of the glorious 
 mystery of our I^ord's incarnation, intermixed with such 
 a description of his blessed mother's virtues, as seemed 
 to have inclined Almighty (iod to make choice of her, 
 for the happy instrmnent of conveying this inestimable 
 mercy to mankind. Having, therefore, ujion the por- 
 tion of Scripture ii])pninted for tlic F.pistle, treated of 
 the former of these |)oints ; we will endeavour to do due 
 lM)nour to the saint of this day, by taking such a view 
 of her excellent graces, as the Gospel, now read, does 
 plainly set liefore us. 
 
 I. 'i'he first of these is that contained in the cha-
 
 SAINT MARK'S DAY. 
 
 '245 
 
 
 
 Saint Mark's Day ^ 
 
 T/ie Collect. 
 
 Aliniglity God, ^vlio Last iii- 
 sfructcd thy holy Church with 
 
 racter of her state, the purity and chastity of a virgin. 
 A heart free from vain imaginations, or loose desires ; 
 and so unsuUicd with all those filthy ])ollutions, that 
 defile and deform the wanton and unclean soul. It is 
 not indeed the singleness of life, hut all that modesty, 
 and purity, which are figured hy it, and ornaments of 
 it, that must recommend men to God. 'I'he divine 
 '•Spirit flees deceit," and "removes far from folly;" 
 and " will not ahide when unrighteousness cometh in," 
 Wisd. i. 5. 'J'he imspotted mind makes the hody a 
 temple fit for the Holy Ghost. And, hecause that [)art 
 of Mary was clean and unblemished, because she was 
 entirely devoted to piety, and abominated the \-ery 
 thoughts of filthiness, therefore was she " highly 
 favoin-ed." It was her chaste and virgin heart, that 
 prevailed with the Son of God, when He "took U])on 
 him to deliver man, not to abhor" or disdain her 
 " virgin womb." And of such virgins as these it is, 
 St. John speaks, when he says, they are clothed with 
 white robes, and have the honour, in the New Jerusa- 
 lem, to attend upon the person of Christ, and " follow 
 the Lamb whithersoever he goeth," Rev. xiv. 4 : a 
 bright and shining innocence, which with good care 
 maybe preserved in any condition of life; and such 
 whereof e\'en celibacy itself, and all the affected vows 
 of it, are but too often destitute. 
 
 Secondly, Another grace, very conspicuous in this 
 blessed \'irgin, is humility. In the whole account of 
 this affair, we find no circumstance, that speaks her 
 exalted with the thoughts of this revelation to intem- 
 perate joy, or lofty conceits of herself : no pleasing re- 
 flections upon her own virtue ; nor any of those things, 
 that are usually looked upon as symptoms of pride 
 and arrogance. How natural, indeed how almost un- 
 avoidable, may we think it in such a case, for a woman 
 to be transported with being thus ])referred abo\-e the 
 rest of her sex, and enjoying such tokens of the divine 
 favour, as none ever did, none ever should, beside her- 
 self; to be tempted to look down with some sort of 
 pity and contempt upon mankind, in the retrieving of 
 whom she was thus made instrumental, and think 
 something extraordinary due to that ]ierson, whom the 
 King of heaven thus delighted to honour, by joining 
 her substance and human nature to his own divine 
 nature ? But, instead of all this, she receives the 
 astonishing message with modesty, and meekness, and 
 awful wonder ; she seems to make no other use of the 
 strangeness of the thing, than from thence to enter- 
 tain the mystery with a becoming reverence, and to 
 be more amazed at the greatness of the condescension : 
 " Behold the handmaid of the Lord," and " he hath re- 
 garded the low estate of his handmaid," and " God 
 hath done to me great things," and " he hath exalted 
 them of low degree," and " he hath filled the hungry 
 with good things." These are the meditations that rise 
 in her heart ; these the meek and modest expressions, 
 by which she gives vent to that joy, which the embassy 
 of an angel, the salutation of her cousin Elisabeth, and 
 the exulting of a babe, yet unborn, produced in her. 
 A joy, than which never was any more justly indulged, 
 and yet so indulged, as to be profuse only in the praises 
 of God, and the depressions of herself. 
 
 Thirdly, St. Luke takes notice of one grace more, 
 very remarkable in the Virgin upon this occasion, 
 
 the lieavenly doctrine of tliy Evan- 
 g-elist Saint Mark ; (live iis <rrace, 
 tliat, heiiijr not like children carried 
 away with every blast of vain doc- 
 trine, we may be established in the 
 
 Ilfb. xii!. 9. 
 Kph. iv. 14, 
 1.5. 
 
 which is her faith : and this, in a matter so foreign, so 
 wholly new, so mysterious and above the power of all 
 created nature, is very e.itraordinarj'. It is true she 
 questioned the angel, (ver. 34,) "How shall this be, 
 seeing I know not a man ?" But that was in a sense 
 very different from Zachary's at the 1 8th verse, " where- 
 by shall I know this r" He questioned the messenger, 
 because he looked upon himself as deluded. She 
 doubted not the truth, nor the authority of the mes- 
 sage ; but desired satisfaction, only as to the manner 
 of bringing about an event, altogether unusual, and for 
 which she saw no competent means. Less than this 
 could not be done to save her credulity ; and more 
 than this she insisted not upon, to indulge her curi- 
 osity : for when it was declared, that the operation 
 should be God's ; that, however strange it might ap- 
 pear, yet his ]iower knew no bounds ; and, as an 
 evidence that it did not, how He had already exerted it 
 in a very wonderful instance, by giving a child to 
 persons of her own kindred, whom both age and nature 
 had made barren, and cut off from all expectations of 
 such a blessing ; when once, I say, this had been de- 
 clared, she raises no fresh scruples, nor urges any of those 
 difficulties which to human reason are insuperable ; but 
 returns this submissive answer, at once declaring her 
 expectation that it would, and her desires that it might, 
 be so; "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto 
 me according to thy word." She left God to fjnish his 
 own work in his own way : not doubting, but his 
 omnijjotence would take care of his truth : she offered 
 herself, the contented, the ready, nay, the glad object of 
 this miracle, for heaven to fulfil all its good pleasure 
 upon. This, without dispute, is the import of the 
 Virgin's reply ; and accordingly we find her carriage 
 thus interpreted by Elisabeth, to her mighty commen- 
 dation : (ver. 45) "Blessed is she that believed; for 
 there shall be a performance of those things, which 
 were told her from the Lord." This was a noble 
 resignation ; fit for her, whose son was to ])lant a re- 
 ligion built upon faith : and where such virtues as 
 these conspire, where each is so eminent, each so 
 acceptable, we may allow the jjcrson to be " full of 
 grace ;" and discern reason sufficient, why this bright 
 constellation should render her lovely in God's eyes 
 and "highly favoured by him." Dean Slonhope. 
 
 ' St. Mark's Day.'] St. Mark is, in the preface to 
 St. Jerome's comment on his Gospel, said to be by 
 descent a Levite. It is much disputed, whether he be 
 the same with that "John surnamed Mark," men- 
 tioned in the thirteenth and fifteenth chapters of the 
 Acts, as the attendant, first of Paul and Barnabas ; and 
 afterwards, of the latter, whose sister's son he %vas. 
 The question is not of any great consequence : but per- 
 haps it is the more general opinion, that they are two 
 different Marks. Dean Slatihnpe. 
 
 As to the question, which of the two Marks was the 
 Evangelist, John Mark the comjianion of St. Paul, or 
 the other Mark, the convert or son, as he is called, of 
 St. Peter, and who was likewise the attendant upon his 
 person ; antiquity, if we have regard to that, will deter- 
 mine for the latter. For the most ancient ^Titers of 
 the church aftu-m, that Mark, in his attendance upon 
 St. Peter, wrote his Gospel at the command of St. 
 Peter ; that that great apostle supervised it after it was
 
 246 
 
 SAINT MARK'S DAY. 
 
 Rom.xvi. 23 truth of thy holy Gospel; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 u 
 
 The Epistle. Ephes. i\'. 7. 
 
 N T O every one of us is given 
 grace, according to the mea- 
 sure of the gift of Christ. Where- 
 fore he saith, When he ascended 
 up on high, he led captivity cap- 
 tive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now 
 that he ascended, what is it but 
 that he also descended first into 
 the lower parts of the earth ? He 
 that descended is the same also that 
 ascended up far above all heavens, 
 that he might fill all things.) And 
 he gave some Apostles, and some 
 Prophets, and some Evangelists, 
 and some Pastors and Teachers ; 
 for the perfecting of the saints, for 
 the work of the ministry, for the 
 
 done; and recommended it to the church under the 
 authority of his name. Upon which reason TertuUian 
 does not scruple to call his Gospel, " The Gospel ac- 
 cordinfr to St. Peter." He «Tote his Gospel in the 
 year of Christ 45, as Eusebius relates. He is supposed 
 to be a Jew by extraction, and that his name was 
 Mordecai, and that he took Marcus as a Roman name, 
 something like in sound, it being the custom of the 
 Jews so. to do, when they travelled from home; as 
 Jesus, the brother of Onias, was called Jaso, Saul was 
 called Paulus. 
 
 He planted a Christian church at Alexandria, and 
 was the first bishop of that place. The particulars of 
 his martyrdom are not mentioned in any very early 
 writers. Some say that his death was occasioned by 
 an insurrection of the heathen rabble upon him, as he 
 was officiating in his church at Alexandria ; \\\\o tied 
 a rope about his neck, and dragged him up and down 
 the craggy rocks liy the sea-side, till they had killed 
 liim. Dr. Nicliolls. 
 
 The Collect for the day having reminded us of the 
 instruction gi\Tn by (iod to the church by the doctrine 
 of St. Mark, and having thence jiraycd for grace to 
 profit by it ; the E|)istle acquaints us, 
 
 1. W ith God's giving several gifts unto men for the 
 instruction of the church, together with the time, man- 
 ner, and measure of his bestowing them. 
 
 2. The several ranks and degrees of persons, on 
 whom these gifts were bestowed. 
 
 And, 3. with the great ends for which they are 
 given, together with the right use we are to make of 
 them. 
 
 In the close of the Kjiistle St. Paul tells the Ephe- 
 sians, and in them all CJiristians, that, by adhering to 
 the truth, and living in it, we live in Clirist, and 
 "grow up into him in all things," who is the Head of 
 the ('hristian church. This he afterwards illustrates 
 by the similitude of the natural body, wherein as all 
 the members are sujiplicd with s|)irits, strength, and 
 vigour from the head ; so, in the mystical body of 
 Christ, all the memtiers receive spiritual life, growth, 
 and nourishment from Christ the Head of his clnu-eh. 
 This is further illustrated in the (jospel of the day, by 
 the reHcmblance of tlie vine and brunches, wliich is our 
 Saviour's own comparison. Dr. Holt: 
 
 edifying of the body of Christ ; till 
 we all come in the unity of the 
 faith, and of the knowledge of the 
 Son of God, unto a perfect man, 
 unto the measure of the stature 
 of the fidness of Christ ; that we 
 henceforth be no more childron, 
 tossed to and fro, and carried about 
 with every wind of doctrine, by the 
 sleight of men, and cunning crafti- 
 ness, whereby they lie in wait to 
 deceive ; but speaking the truth in 
 love, may grow up into him in 
 all things, which is the head, even 
 Christ: from whom the whole body 
 fitly joined together, and compacted 
 by that which every joint supplieth, 
 according to the effectual working in 
 the measure of every part, maketh 
 increase of the body, unto the edify- 
 ing of itself in love ". 
 
 • The Epistle having spoken of the gifts of God 
 being distributed to the ministers of the church, for 
 " the edifying of the body of Christ," the following 
 practical inferences concerning edification may be sea- 
 sonably suggested : 
 
 1. That, although every thing, which hath a ten- 
 dency to good, may in a larger sense be said to edify ; 
 yet a man is not properly and tndy edified, either by 
 any new light or knowledge acquired, or by any pious 
 affections and desires kindled or cherished in him, im- 
 less these pro\-e and exert themselves in the acts of 
 practical and jn'ofitable virtues. 
 
 2. That, in order to render even the practice of such 
 virtues strictly edifying, it is requisite that the benefit 
 resulting from thence be not confined to the doer's 
 private advantage, but that it aim at the good of 
 others, especially the general good of religion ; and of 
 Christians, considered as one house built up together 
 in the faith and love of Christ. Whereof each, as " a 
 living stone," is a pai-t ; and each is bound to demean 
 himself in all points, as may become a jierson pos- 
 sessed with, and minilful of, that persuasion. 
 
 3. 'J'hat ath'ancing the [leace, order, and unity of 
 this common body is, in Scripture language, the true 
 Cliristian edification, (."onsequently, whatsoever tends 
 to make any breach or division in that body, is con- 
 trary to, and destructive of, edification : consequently 
 again, separating from a regular established church, or 
 leaving one's pro])cr pastor, on pretence of edifying 
 more elsewhere, is not only wic^ked, but absurd. As 
 absurd, as it would be to say, we intend to strengthen 
 a wall by drawing out the stones ; or that we design 
 the im|)rovcmcnt of health, vigom-. and beauty, in the 
 body natural, liy unnecessarily taking away the useful 
 limbs, anil loosing the ligaments, which should com- 
 l)a('t and keep them in tlicir functions. 
 
 •1, l!y the apostle's urging this edification of the 
 body in faith and love, as the great end of that mi- 
 nistry cstablislied by Christ and continued to the 
 church, both ministers and people are moved to make 
 such rcllections as these. The ministers, and all who 
 undertake to execute that oilice, that they are highly 
 aecounlalile, if by their means any heresies or schisms 
 get ground ; if tliey do not faithfully warn the i)eo])lo 
 against these things; delect the artiliccs of then), who
 
 SAINT PHILIP AND SAINT JAMES'S DAY. 
 
 247 
 
 The Gospel. St. Jolin xv. 1. 
 
 I Am tlic tr\io vine, umiI my Fa- 
 ther is the husljaiidmaii. Every 
 branch in nie that bearcth not fruit 
 he taketh away ; and every branch 
 that beareth fruit, lie puriretli it, 
 that it may brin^ forth more fruit. 
 Now ye are clean through the word 
 which I have spoken unto you. 
 Abide in me, and I in you. As the 
 branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 
 except it abide in the vine ; no more 
 can ye, except ye abide in me. I 
 am the vine, ye are the branches. 
 He that abideth in me, and I in him, 
 the same bringeth fortli much fruit ; 
 for without me ye can do nothing. 
 If a man abide not in me, he is east 
 forth as a branch, and is withered ; 
 and men gather them, and cast them 
 into the fire, and they are burned. 
 
 lie in wait to deceive ; expose the error, the sinfulness, 
 the infinite both private and pviblick danger of those 
 vile latitudinarian principles, which would not only 
 break down the walls, but undermine and root uj) the 
 very foundation, of this spiritual building. In short, 
 if they do not set forth the wickedness of all needless 
 and wilful, and the misery of all judicial and deserved, 
 separations from the church of ('hrist, with all the 
 aggravating circumstances, so warmly, so frequently, 
 inculcated in Scripture. For where in truth do we 
 find any one sin more expressly forbidden, more severely 
 threatened, or represented as more fatal and damnable, 
 than those of division and heresy ? where any duty 
 more jilainly taught, more authoritatively commanded, 
 more earnestly recommended, or more zealously prayed 
 for, than those of unity, and peace, and love, in all the 
 fellow-members of this spiritual body ? 
 
 But if the teachers shall either touch this matter too 
 tenderly, or explain it too superficially ; the hearers, in 
 the next ])lace, may, from the passage now before us, 
 learn both the importance and the nature of their duty 
 in this particidar. The importance indeed is so evident, 
 that few go about to deny it; but tlie nature of it 
 should be more attended to, than it generally seems to 
 have been. 
 
 Let us therefore labour, indefatigably labour, for our- 
 selves ; and let us incessantly ]iray for " all estates of 
 men in God's holy church, that every member of the 
 same in his vocation and ministry may truly and godly 
 serve him." That they may not be, " like children, 
 carried away with every blast of vain doctrine," but "so 
 established by his grace in the truth of Christ's holy 
 Gospel,'" as "to hold the faith in imity of spirit, in the 
 bond of peace, and in righteousness of life." Amen. 
 Dean Stanhope. 
 
 •• The agreement between the Epistle and Gospel for 
 this day may be readily observed : for though repre- 
 senting it under different images, they both agree in 
 describing the union between Christ and Christians : 
 both tend to illustrate the advantages of it : both 
 earnestly excite our utmost diligence to jircserve it : 
 with this only difference, that St. Paul insists upon 
 the benefits accruing from thence to the body in gene- 
 
 If ye abide in me, and my words 
 abide in you, ye shall ask what ye 
 will, and it shall be dune unto you. 
 Herein is my Father glorified, that 
 }e bear much fruit; so shall ye be 
 my discij)les. As the Father hath 
 loved me, so have I loved you : 
 continue ye in my love. If ye keep 
 my commandments, ye shall abide in 
 my love ; even as I have kept my 
 Father's commandments, and abide 
 in his love. These things have I 
 spoken unto you, that my joy might 
 remain in you, and that your joy 
 mio-ht be full ''. 
 
 Saint Philip and Saint James's Daij''. 
 The Collect. 
 
 Almighty God, whom truly to 
 know is everlasting life; Grant Joiinxvni. 
 us perfectly to know thy Son Jesus 
 
 ral ; but our Lord regards those chiefly, which belong 
 to each member in particidar. From both together, 
 we may form an unanswerable argument, for keeping 
 that unity and promoting that edification, which, if 
 neglected and broken, is certain, not only to disturb 
 the jieace of the church, but by cutting off, to destroy, 
 at last, those very persons, who are guilty of making 
 the breach. For it is by grace only, that men can be 
 saved : that grace is no where promised to be given in 
 an extraordinary way : it is first bestowed in, and 
 ordmarily annexed to, the use of the sacraments, the 
 ministry of the word, and other Christian ordinances ; 
 called, for that reason, " means of grace." What there- 
 fore can become of those branches, who are severed from 
 all communication with the trunk ? And how careful 
 ought every one to be, neither to break himself off 
 wilfully ; nor by any unworthy and scandalous beha- 
 viour, to incur a forfeiture of those kindly influences ; 
 nor by a profane abuse or su])ine neglect of those reli- 
 gious offices, whicli are ap))ointed to convey them, to 
 draw down the fate of those sapless boughs, whose 
 present curse (we are told here) is withering and decay, 
 and whose end is to be burned ! 
 
 2. I would call upon my reader to take notice, how 
 pious, and ])rudent, and exactly agreeable to our Lord's 
 declaration, that " without him we can do nothing," 
 our excellent established liturgy is. In this we daily 
 acknowledge, that " all holy desires, and all good 
 counsels, and all just works proceed from God." In 
 this, after the most exalted act of worship, we pray to 
 be " jirevented with his most gracious favour, and 
 furthered with his continual hel]i, tliat in all our works 
 begun, continued, and ended in him, we may glorify 
 his holy name, and finally by his mercy obtain e\'er- 
 lasting life." The acknowledgments of this kind are 
 frequent and full. No church ever took more care to 
 declare her sense of the vanity and danger of relying 
 upon our own sufficiency. iS'one magnifies the free- 
 dom, none urges the necessity, of divine grace more 
 industriously : none begs it with more humility and 
 pathetick zeal. Aiul they, who pray in dependence of 
 our Saviour's promise to hear those that abide in Him, 
 cannot implore his assistance more suitably, than in
 
 248 
 
 SAINT PHILIP AND SAINT JAMES'S DAY. 
 
 Heb. vi. 12. 
 Matt. vii. 14. 
 
 Christ to be the way, the truth, and 
 the life ; that, following the steps of 
 thy holy Apostles, Saint Philip and 
 Saint James, we may stedfa.'^tly walk 
 in the way that leadeth to eternal 
 life ; through the same thy Son 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. St. James i. I. 
 
 JA ]M E S, a servant of God and 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 
 twelve tribes which are scattered 
 abroad, greeting. My brethren, 
 count it all joy when ye fall into 
 divers temptations ; knowing this, 
 that the trying of your faith worketh 
 patience. But let patience have her 
 
 some of the Collects ; that particularly for the ninth 
 Sunday after Trinity ; with which (it comes so close up 
 to the Scripture now in hand) I will finish this dis- 
 course. " Grant to us. Lord, ne beseech thee, the 
 spirit to think and do always such things as be right- 
 ful ; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good 
 without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according 
 to thy will, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 
 Dean Stunhope. 
 
 ' St. Philip and St. James's Day.'] Two saints are 
 commemorated by the Church this day, the first 
 whereof is St Philip. 
 
 1. Of St. Phihp. — St. Philip was born at Bethsaida, 
 a town of Galilee, a barren country of Judea, near the 
 sea of Tiberias, John i. 44. Our Saviour, living in 
 this obscure remote place, was pleased to choose his 
 disciples out of the plain ordinary men of this neigh- 
 bourhood, who were mostly fishermen, by reason of 
 the nighness of the sea of Tiberias, which was a great 
 lake well stored with fish, and which therefore invited 
 many of the neighbouring inhabitants to take upon 
 them that profession. He was the next, after St. .\n- 
 drew and St. Peter, called to the apostlesbip ; and, as 
 some think, before them; the others, after their first 
 call, returning to their employs. He was the person 
 to whom the Greeks applied themselves, that they 
 might have some knowledge of the Messias, John .vii. 
 20, 2). It was he, whose curiosity led him to know 
 more of the Divine nature than our Saviour was 
 willing to reveal imto him, in his address to Him, 
 " Lord, shew us the l''ather, and it sidlicetb us," .lobn 
 xiv. H. To whom our Saviour returns this gentle 
 rebuke, " Have I been so long with you, and yet hast 
 thou not known me, Philip ? Me that hath seen me, 
 hath seen the I'lillicr." After our Saviom''s ascension, 
 be is recorded to liave preachetl the Gospel in the 
 higher .\sia. Others will have him to have joined with 
 .St. liartliolomew, in ])reaching to the Scythians. Isi- 
 dorus .says, lie emiverted the Gauls ; but it is ]irobable 
 he means the (!aliogr;eci, or inhabitants of (ialatia. 
 His last prcacliing before his death was in Hierajiolis, 
 a city of .^sia Minor, now called .Meppo, where he 
 underwent liis martyrdom, as St. Chrysostom writes. 
 And Kusebius expressly says, that Philip the apostle, 
 having preached the (jospel at Hierapolis, was cruci- 
 fiid, and, while lie was fastened to the cross, was 
 killed by stones thrown at him. 
 
 2. Of St. .lames. — 'I'lie saint, which is this day com- 
 memorated, is commonly called by the name of James 
 
 perfect work, that ye may be perfect 
 and entire, wanting nothing. If any 
 of you lack wisdom, let him ask of 
 God, that giveth to all men liberally, 
 and upbraideth not, and it shall be 
 given liim. But let him ask in faith, 
 nothing wavering ; for he that wa- 
 vereth is like a wave of the sea, 
 driven with the wind, and tossed. 
 For let not that man think that he 
 shall receive any thing of the Lord. 
 A double-minded man is unstable 
 in all his ways. Let the brother 
 of low degree rejoice in that he is 
 e.xalted ; but the rich in that he is 
 made low ; because as the flower of 
 the grass he shall pass away. For 
 
 the Less. The reason of this compellation was, either 
 because he was less in personage, as some have ima- 
 gined ; or, most jirobably, because he was younger 
 than the other, and not so much advanced in years 
 when he came to the apostlesbip. He was the son of 
 Alpheus, otherwise called Cleopas, Luke xxiv. 1 8 ; and 
 is for distinction sake called the brother of the Lord, 
 Gal. i. 19. He was, after our Saviour's resurrection, 
 constituted bishop of Jerusalem, and seems to have 
 presided in the first council held there. Acts xv, and to 
 have directed the debates of the apostles concerning 
 the Jewish ceremonies. There is mention made of 
 him, and that too as the lirother of Jesus Christ, by 
 Josephus, who says, he was delivered up to be stoned 
 bj' the cruelty of Ananias the high priest, whose death 
 gave great dissatisfaction to the good people of the 
 city. There was an extraordinary ojiinion of his sanc- 
 tity throughout all the city of Jerusalem, where he 
 lived ; from whence he got the surname of The Just. 
 His martyrdom is recorded by the ecclesiastical histo- 
 rians after this manner : the scribes and Pharisees, 
 being impatient at the great growth of Christianity in 
 Judea, were resolved to set upon St. James, and by 
 menaces force him to renounce that religion publickly 
 before the people. And the better to do this, they 
 hurry him u]i into a gallery of the tcni]ile, and would 
 oblige him to make a recantation before a multitude of 
 ]ieople who were gathered together upon the rumour 
 which was spread abroad concerning this matter. But 
 instead of denying Christ, he made a jiublick confes- 
 sion of Him before that great assemhly, who there- 
 upon almost unanimously cried out, " Hosanna to the 
 Sim of David ;" which so enraged the unbelieving 
 Jews, that they threw him down headlong from the 
 high jilace which they had set him on. Hut being not 
 quite killed by his fall, he jiruyed to (iod for forgive- 
 ness to his murderers. However, this iliil but enrage 
 his S]iiteful persecutors the more ; and one of them 
 being a fuller, and having in bis hand a staff which he 
 made use of in his trade to beat bis doth in the scour- 
 ing, he struck him over the head therewith, and killed 
 him. Dr. I\'icliolls. 
 
 St. Phihi) and St. James being here placed together, 
 to be commemorated in one day, for what reason 
 does not clearly appear, the Collect likewise joins them 
 together in a jirayer that we may have grace to follow 
 their steps. The Epistle gives some account of the 
 life and doctrine of St. James; and the Gospel, of St. 
 Philip. Dr. Hole.
 
 SAINT PHILIP AND SAINT JAMES'S DAY. 
 
 249 
 
 the sun is no sooner risen with a 
 biirninu; lieat, hut it witheroth the 
 grass, and the flower thereof falletii, 
 and tlie grace of the fashion of it 
 perisheth : so also shall the rich man 
 fade away in his ways. Blessed is 
 the man that endurcth temptation ; 
 for when he is tried, he shall receive 
 
 ■■ The Ejiistle of the day affords a seasonable oppor- 
 tunity, and it will also be generally useful, to say 
 somewhat concerning the nature of tern])tation. 
 
 To " tempt," in the full extent of the word, is to 
 "try:" and, by analogy, whatever is a trial of our 
 virtue, may be called a temiitation. In tliis most com- 
 prehensive signification we may say, that every circum- 
 stance, every event of human life, is a tem]itation. 
 Because there is not any one of these, but, according 
 as it falls under the ])rinciple of free choice natural to 
 mankind, is capable of being used to right, or abused 
 to wrong, pur])oses ; and so, of becoming the occasion 
 of our doing well or ill, in the management of it. 
 
 But, in regard some of these require less skill and 
 resolution to manage them, than others ; and, since 
 the use proper to be made of tliem is so little disagree- 
 able to our reason and inclination, that they can hardly 
 deserve to be called trials ; therefore that name is 
 generally confined to such, as carry apparent danger 
 and difficulty in them. Such, as offer violence to flesh 
 and blood ; and create great struggles, between the 
 affections of nature, and the principles of religion. 
 Hence it comes to pass, that great afflictions, of any 
 kind whatsoever, and especially the sufferings under- 
 gone for the sake of God and a good conscience, are 
 peculiarly distinguished by the title of temptations. 
 
 In all these cases the Scripture acknowledges tempta- 
 tions to come from God. Thus He is said to tempt 
 Abraham, when commanding him to sacrifice Isaac : 
 the conflict which must naturally rise between the 
 natural affection to a son, the son of his old age, his 
 only son, the son of promise, and the consideration of 
 his obedience due to that command ; being the most 
 difficult experiment of faith in, and love to, God, that 
 perhaps was ever made : and consequently, the virtue 
 of complying with it, in despite of so much suggested 
 for declining it, is the noblest instance to be met with 
 in story. Thus again, the temptations of affliction and 
 suffering in a good cause are frequently attributed to 
 God in Scripture; even when most violent, and such 
 as the weakness of human nature is aptest to startle at, 
 and to shrink back from. This is plainly the meaning 
 of several passages, which do not only mention God's 
 trying men in their hearts ; but intimate the severe 
 manner of doing it, by comparing the aftiictions them- 
 selves to fire, and the persons enduring them to metals 
 passing through, and separated from theu- dross in 
 that fire. Hence they are said to be " tried," to he 
 " refined," to be " melted " as " silver and gold :" and 
 with regard to persecutions, upon the account of re- 
 ligion in particular, the trial of Christians is said to be 
 "much more precious than that of silver and gold 
 which i)erisheth, though it be tried by fire ;" Ps. 
 Ixvi. 10; Zech. xhi. 9; Ezek. xxii. 20. 22; 1 Pet. i. 7 ; 
 and such sufferings are called a " fiery trial," or, ac- 
 cording to the more literal rendering, " a fire kindled 
 for their temptation," 1 Pet. iv. 12. Now as God 
 is said expressly to be the author of these tempta- 
 tions, so He ordains them for very \vise and kind 
 reasons. 
 
 the crown of life, wliieli the Lord hath 
 promised to them that love him''. 
 
 The Gospel. St. John xiv. I. 
 
 AND Jesus said unto his disci- 
 ples, Let not your heart be 
 troubled ; ye believe in God, believe 
 also in me. In my Father's house 
 
 Another more restrained sense of it there is, which 
 imports seducing men into sin. Thus the devil is most 
 emphatically styled the "temjiter:" as always lying in 
 wait and industriously suggesting evil thoughts : either 
 drawing us from good purposes, or egging us on, and 
 emboldening us in wicked ones, 1 Thess. iii. 5; 1 Cor. 
 vii. 5. 
 
 This sort of temjjtation is also ascribed to the cor- 
 rupt inclinations of our own hearts. Particularly in 
 this chajjtcr : for here the apostle declares, that it can- 
 not without the utmost injustice and impiety be ascribed 
 to God, in that remarkable text, James i. 13, 14 : " Let 
 no man, when be is tempted, say, I am tempted of 
 God ; for (iod cannot be tempted with evil, neither 
 tempteth he any man : l)ut every man is tempted, 
 when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." 
 
 The truth is, in all seducement the tempter plays 
 our own artillery upon us. For man, in his ])rimitive 
 purity, was made capable of standing or falling by a 
 limited understanding possible to be imposed upon, 
 and by a liberty of will to choose, according to the true 
 or false apjjearances of good. But by the corruption, 
 whicli, since the fall, mankind lie under, these faculties 
 are miseraiily weakened ; the understanding is clouded, 
 the will wai'ped, and tliat concupiscence, which signifies 
 a strong propension to sensuality and wickedness, is 
 become a fit matter for the subtle enemy of souls to 
 work upon. By these all the evil motions, excited in 
 us, find the mind disposed to receive and indulge 
 them ; and all the deluding representations put upon 
 the things of the world, and the appetites of nature, 
 are now much more apt to deceive us into a wrong 
 choice, and to draw us off from the true prmciples of 
 right reason and duty. When therefore a man is 
 tempted by his own " lust," he is also temjjted of the 
 devil ; and when temjited of the devil, he is tempted 
 of his own " lust." Because the corru])tion of our 
 nature, meant by that word " lust," is the instrument 
 the devil makes use of; and it is our present unhappi- 
 ness to have a false party within, which holds corre- 
 S])ondence with the enemy, and furnislies those very 
 arms that he labours to slay us by. For, ^'cre it not 
 for the dciiravity of our sensual appetites and |iassions, 
 we should find it much more easy to form right judge- 
 ments, and make wise choices of things. And were it 
 not for the malice and cunning of our spiritual adversary 
 without, who takes advantage of these disorders and 
 frailties of lapsed human natiu'e ; the affections of our 
 own breasts, and the appointments of Pro\-idence con- 
 cerning us, which in the design of them are temptations 
 of experiment only, would not, as now they so often do, 
 prove temptations of seducement in the issue and un- 
 happy event of them. 
 
 Thus much, one would hope, might suffice to shew 
 how men are said in Scripture to be temjited of God ; 
 and how, of the devil, and their own treacherous 
 naughty hearts. What those temjitations are, which 
 deserve our joy and thanks ; and what those, which it 
 is our duty with our utmost might to strive and pray 
 against. Dean Stanhope.
 
 250 
 
 SAINT BARNABAS THE APOSTLE. 
 
 are many mansions ; if it were not 
 so, I would have told you. I go to 
 prepare a place for you: and if I go 
 ami prepare a place for you, I will 
 come again, and receive you unto 
 myself, that where I am, there ye 
 may be also. And whither I go ye 
 know, and the way ye know. Tho- 
 mas saith unto him. Lord, we know 
 not whither thou goest, and how 
 can we know the way ? Jesus saith 
 unto him, I am the way, the truth, 
 and the life : no man cometli unto 
 the Fatiier but by me. If ye had 
 known me, ye should have known 
 my Father also : and from hence- 
 forth ye know him, and have seen 
 him. Piiilip saith unto iiim, Lord, 
 shew us the Father, and it sufficetli 
 us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I 
 been so long time with you, and yet 
 hast thou not known me, Pliili])? 
 He that hath seen me liath seen .the 
 Father ; and how sayest thou then, 
 Shew us the Father? Believest thou 
 
 ' Our blessed Lord here informs us, that to " ask in 
 his name" is a condition, necessary to quahfy all our 
 jjrayers for success : it is a subject therefore, which may 
 well employ our thouf^hts. 
 
 Now a thing is said in Scripture to be done in the 
 name of another four several ways. Either, 1. When 
 it is done at the command of and by commission from 
 another. Or, 2. ^^'hen men act or do it for the service 
 and honour of another. Or, 3. When they proceed in 
 conformity to tlie rules and directions set by that other. 
 Or, 4. ^\'hen they interpose the autliority and media- 
 tion, the sake and merits, of another. 
 
 But the i)rinci])al and most projjcr intent of this 
 exjiressinn is the last : a])proaching the throne of grace, 
 I mean, with an humble confidence in the merits and 
 mediation of (,'hrist, and resting our souls upon Him 
 alone for the mercy and good acceptance of (iod. Tims 
 did the apostles in the matter more ininicdiati-ly con- 
 cerned in this i)assage. In the miracles, wrought by 
 them for confu-mation of the truth, they constantly 
 invoked tlie name of Jesus Christ. When strength 
 and limbs were restored to the lame, they are com- 
 manded in "the name of Jesus to stand up and walk," 
 Acts iii. G; when the sick recovered their lu-altb, they 
 declare, that"Jesiis (,'hri.st made them whole," .\cts 
 \x. 34 ; wlien evil spirits were to be (hs])ossessed, they 
 are " commanded in the name of Jesus Christ to come 
 out of " the patient, .\cts .\vi. IS. 'I'he usual method 
 of jierforming such cures was by laying on of hands, 
 and i)rayer. Acts xxviii. 8; James v. 14, l."). The re- 
 quests ])ut up to Uod for the ccmfirmation and increase 
 of this power, intreat that " Me would stretch forth 
 his band to hc'al, and that signs and wonders might be 
 done by the name of liis holy child Jesus," .Acts iv. 30. 
 And when these petitions at any time hail their ell'ect 
 to the amazement of all l)eh()lders, ])artieular care was 
 taken to prevent those eirects being attributed to the 
 apostles themselves; by solemn and publick declara- 
 tions, that they were not owing to any " jjower or holi- 
 ness" of their own, but uuist be ascribed entirely to 
 
 not that I am in the Father, and the 
 Father in me? The words that 1 
 speak unto you I speak not of my- 
 self; but the Father that dwelle'tli 
 in me, he doeth the works. Believe 
 me, that I am in the Father, and 
 the Father in me ; or else believe 
 me for the very works' sake. Verily, 
 verily I say unto you. He that be- 
 lieveth on me, the works that I do 
 shall he do also ; and greater works 
 than these shall he do ; because I 
 go unto my I'ather. And what- 
 soever ye shall ask in my Name, 
 that w'ill I do, that the Father may 
 be glorified in the Sou. If ye shall 
 ask any thing in my Name, I will 
 do it''. 
 
 Saint Barnahas the ApostIeK 
 Tlie Collect. 
 
 OLord God Almighty, who didst 
 endue thy holy Apostle Barna- 
 bas with singular gifts of the Holy 
 
 Acts xi. 24; 
 xiii. 2. 
 
 " Jesus, whom God had glorified, and to faith in his 
 name," Acts iii. 12, 13. 16; iv. 10. So constant a 
 dejiendence upon Christ did tlie very manner of work- 
 ing those miracles express, whicli lie promises the 
 [lower of, and prescribes the qualitication for, here. 
 And so just were the doers of tliem to their great 
 Master's honour, in disclaiming all right to any glory 
 from thence, any part in the operation, except that only 
 of suppliants for, and instruments in, the use of these 
 sujiernatural and truly divine gifts. 
 
 And herein they are our |iatterns. For we, liketliem, 
 must bring the name of Christ along with us ; and, 
 whether we desire to lie " forgiven those tilings, whereof 
 our consciences are afraid," or to receive supjilics suit- 
 able to our weakness and our wants, must come to 
 God, in a due sense, that both the one and the other 
 sort are such things, " as we are not worthy to ask but 
 through the merits and mediation of thy Son, Jesus 
 ('hrist our Lord." Accordingly such forms as these have 
 obtained in all ages and jiarts of the church. And 
 most deservedly, since this is a manner of worship 
 pecuhar to Christians. It is an essential and distin- 
 guishing property of our religion : of absolute necessity 
 to be observed, i^'t us, therefore, in due sense of our 
 obligation and interest, be fervent and frequent at the 
 throne of grace ; and esteem it a most valuable privi- 
 lege, that we may come tbilher boldly, when " asking 
 in Christ's name." That is, as we liave now seen, when 
 we humbly and heartily acknowledge ourselves less 
 than the least of all (iod's mercies ; when wc disclaim 
 all desert of our own, and iqiproach as becomes misera- 
 ble, liut believing and iieiiiteiit oil'enders ; when (after 
 the example of our established Church in her admira- 
 lile Liturgy) we interpose the most prevailing name of 
 Jesus the iielovcd in all our devotions ; and when with 
 the lowest oiiinion of our own vileness, which makes us 
 unwortliv to beg " any thing," we do join so high and 
 honouraiile a trust in his merits, that we make no 
 doubt ol' obtaining, for his sake, "every thing" that is 
 expedient for us. i'or the more meanly we conceive
 
 SAINT BARNABAS THE APOSTLE. 
 
 •251 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 31 
 Horn. xii. G 
 
 1 Coi. X. 31. 
 
 Ghost ; Leave us not, we beseech 
 thee, destitute of thy manifold u,'ifts, 
 nor yet of t^race to use tiiein alway 
 to thy honour and glory ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Fur the Epistle. Acts xi. 22. 
 
 TI D I N G S of these things came 
 unto the ears of tlie Chinch 
 which was in Jerusalem ; and they 
 sent forth Barnabas, tiiat lie should 
 go as far as Antioch. Who, when 
 he came, and had seen the grace 
 of God, was glad ; and exhorted 
 them all, that with purpose of heart 
 they would cleave unto the Lord. 
 For he was a good man, and full of 
 the Holy Ghost, and of faith : and 
 much people was added unto the 
 Lord. Then departed Barnabas to 
 Tarsus, for to seek Saul. And when 
 he had found him, he brought him 
 unto Antioch. And it came to pass, 
 
 of ourselves, (and it is but too evident we cannot ex- 
 ceed on that hand,) the nobler and juster is our faith 
 in our Sa^'iour's inestimable sacrifice, and all-powerful 
 mediation for us. To whom, with the P'ather, and the 
 Holy Spirit, be ascribed, as is most due, all honour 
 and glory, thanksgiving and praise, now and for ever. 
 Amen. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' St. Bariuihas's Day^, St. Barnabas was of Jewish 
 e.xtraction, though born in the island of Cyprus, being 
 descended from ])arents of tlie house of Levi, who had 
 settled in that country, Acts iv. 36. He was sent to 
 Jerusalem to perfect his studies in the Jenish law, under 
 the tuition of Gamahel. Some of the most ancient 
 writers do affirm, that he was one of the seventy disci- 
 ples sent out to ])reach by our Saviour, Luke x. 1. 
 He readily complied with that injunction of the apos- 
 tles, for throwing all their wealth into a common bank, 
 for the better propagation of the Gosjiel, by selling his 
 land, and laying the money at the a])ostles' feet, Acts 
 iv. 37 : which some authors say was not a little field, 
 but a very large estate in Cyprus. His first inibhck 
 employ in the ministry was to settle a Christian church 
 in Antioch, several Jews in that city being well dis- 
 posed to the faith in Christ by the conversation and 
 preaching of some Christians, wlio were scattered abroad 
 upon the persecution which arose about Stephen, and 
 had fled to that city. Here his labours had great 
 success ; and, the converts multijilying upon him very 
 fast, he goes to Tarsus to bring Paul thither to be his 
 fellow-labourer in that great work of the conversion 
 of so populous a city. Here God blessed their joint 
 labours with wonderful success, the numljer of the 
 faithful growing so considerable, as to be distinguished 
 first by the name of Christians in that city. Acts xi. 22, 
 &c. After some time of their continu,ance here, by the 
 particular direction of the Holy Ghost, Niger, Lucius, 
 and Manaen were appointed to take care of the churches 
 in Antioch, and Paul and liarnabas were separated to 
 preach the Gospel to tlie Gentiles at a more remote 
 distance. Acts xiii. 1, 2; whicli they accordingly did, 
 planting many churches in Asia Minor, for the space 
 of three years travelling and preaching together. At 
 
 that a whole year they assembled 
 themselves with thi' C'hurch, and 
 taught much pco]ile : and the dis- 
 ciples were called CHiristians first in 
 Antioch. And in these days came 
 prophets from Jerusalem unto An- 
 tioch. And there stood up one of 
 them named Agabus, and signified 
 by the Spirit, that there should be 
 iiTcat dearth throuohout all the 
 world ; which came to pass in the 
 days of Claudius Csesar. Then the 
 disciples, every man according to 
 his ability, determined to send relief 
 unto the brethren which dwelt in 
 Juda'a. Which also they did, and 
 sent it to the elders by tlie hands of 
 Barnabas and SaulR. 
 
 The Gospel St. John xv. 12. 
 
 TH I S is my commandment. That 
 ye love one another, as I have 
 loved you. Greater love hath no 
 
 last there hajipened a contention between them, which 
 occasioned them to part asunder, and preach sepa- 
 rately, which God ordered for the good of the church, 
 the Gospel being further propagated Ijy their single 
 preaching, than it would have Ijeen by the conjunct 
 labours of two such eminent apostles. After this he 
 is said to have settled the Gospel in his native country 
 of Cyprus ; and sailing from thence into Italy, to haie 
 [ilantcd Christianity in Milan, not being sulfered to 
 come to Rome, by reason of the edict of Claudius, 
 which had prohibited all Jews to come into that city. 
 He is supposed to be the author of an Epistle which is 
 full of pious instructions, though very full of allegories, 
 according to the way of writing used Ijy the Jews. It 
 was allowed for a genuine jiiece of St. Barnabas by 
 some of the best critics among the ancient fathers, and 
 who lived nighest to the apostolical times ; by St. 
 Clement of Alexandria, by Origen, and by Tertullian. 
 Dr. Nictiolls. 
 
 The Collect for this day makes mention of the " sin- 
 gular gifts of the Holy Ghost, witli which this a])ostIe 
 was endou'cd ;" withal teaching us to pray for a com- 
 petent measure of the "like gifts," and "likewise for 
 grace to use them alway to God's honour and glory." 
 The Epistle gives us some account of St. Barnabas's 
 first emijloyment in the service of the church ; and 
 since he was noted for an example of great love and 
 charity to mankind, being therefore called Barnabas, 
 which signifies " a son of consolation," from the great 
 comfort and relief which he was wont to afford to dis- 
 tressed persons ; therefore the church selected for the 
 Gospel a portion of Scripture, wherein love to one 
 another, in all the acts and good offices of it, is recom- 
 mended to us by the precept and example of our blessed 
 Saviour Himself. Dr. Hole. 
 
 s A circumstance worthy of remark in this narrative 
 is the imposing upon the believers that name, which 
 hath ever since been made their distinction, and justly 
 esteemed their glory, all the world over. The enemies 
 of the Gospel did in scorn call them Nazarenes, the 
 " men of the sect," and the like. Among themselves 
 they were styled " disciples, behevers, brethren ;" and
 
 252 
 
 SAINT BARNABAS THE APOSTLE. 
 
 man than this, that a man lay down 
 his life for his frienrls. Ye are my 
 friends if ye do whatsoever I com- 
 mand you. Henceforth I call you 
 not servants ; for the servant know- 
 eth not what his lord doeth : hut I 
 have called you friends ; for all 
 things that I have heard of my 
 
 liad such other titles, as imported faith and charity. 
 But now the success of Paul and Barnabas had given 
 them so much confidence, that, at Antioch first, they 
 adventiu'ed publickly and solemnly to take the name 
 of ■• Christians :" or persons belonging to, and be- 
 lieving in, Jesus of Nazareth ; as the Christ of God, 
 the Lord and promised Sa\-iour of the world. That 
 this distinguishing character was taken in a solemn 
 manner, we have reason to conclude from the propriety 
 of the original word. For that word is used with re- 
 gard to edicts and proclamations; such particidarly, 
 as contained the people's profession of allegiance to 
 emperors, and the privileges granted by them to the 
 people ; after which mutual declaration, the emperor in 
 that place was publickly acknowledged, and the ac- 
 coiHit of state transactions were reckoned from that 
 era. .\s a further proof of this, we have the manner 
 of imposing this name described ; that it was done in 
 an open assembly, by Euodius, then bishoj) of .Vntioch, 
 and successor to the apostle St. Peter in that see at the 
 beginning of Claudius's reign, and ten years after our 
 Lord's ascent into heaven. These are circumstances 
 too considerable to be overlooked, because all virtually 
 contained in the Greek e.xju-ession ; which gives a quite 
 different notion of the thing, from that too feeble 
 rendering of being"called Christians." And as St. Luke, 
 the author of this book, could not find a more forcible 
 or proper [)hrase for the solemnity of this denomination ; 
 so he could not do greater honour to his own city 
 Antioch, than by acquainting posterity, that the pro- 
 selytes of that ])lace had, first of all others, the courage 
 thus to take upon them a name, which eveiy ])art of the 
 believing world gladly derive from them, and desire to 
 be known by. 
 
 But it is of much less concern, that my reader should 
 understand the manner of this name being first given, 
 than that he should be duly sensible of the weiglity 
 oldigations which follow upon its being constantly 
 borne by us. Now these cannot possilily be less, than 
 a firm belief of the doctrines, a conscientious ol)edicnce 
 to the precepts, and as exact a conformity as we are 
 capable to the example of that Christ, after whom we 
 are railed. When these are not ob.served, the name, 
 which is meant for our crown and joy, becomes our 
 condemnation and reproach. To preserve an incessant 
 remembrance of these engagements, each person, at 
 the time of being incorporated into Christ's body, re- 
 ceives that which is termed his Clnislian name. A 
 name, deservedly ])laced before the other l)y reason it 
 inclines us to advantages more valuable, than any 
 possible to descend from our ancestors. .\ name, 
 more strictly ours, than that of our resjieetive families ; 
 because taken by us, not derived down to us. A name, 
 which we are infinitely more concerned to do credit to, 
 tlian lliat other; because it is a mark and badge of that 
 covenant with (iod.npon tlie sincere (hscharge whereof 
 all our hopes and ha|>pineHS depen<l. .And tlierefore, 
 lastly, a name very properly in(|uircd of at tlie begin- 
 ning of our Cluircli (,'ateilMsm ; because it is the sig- 
 nature of our profession, and an indelible monument 
 
 Father I have made known unto 
 you. Ye have not chosen me, hut 
 I have chosen you, and ordained 
 you, that ye should go and bring 
 forth fruit, and that your fruit should 
 remain : that whatsoever ye shall ask 
 of the Father in my Name, he may 
 give it you*'. 
 
 of having contracted for those duties, in which the 
 child is there about to be instructed. In a word, if it 
 be deservedly accounted baseness and degeneracy, to 
 stain our blood, and reflect shame back upon those 
 forefathers, who were men of like frailties and passions 
 with ourselves ; think, how heinous a jirovocation it 
 must needs be, when those who " name the name of 
 Christ do not depart from iniquity," '2 Tim. ii. 19; 
 when such minister occasion to libertines and infidels 
 to blaspheme the Son of God and his Gospel, through 
 their impure and vicious, that is, indeed, their infamous, 
 absurd, and contradictoiy conversation. Dean Stanhnpe. 
 
 '■ \Ve are here told that we must " love one another 
 as Christ hath loved us." Which may lead us to con- 
 sider the proofs of our love, or the instances wherein it 
 ought to be expressed. For they, who " love one an- 
 other as" He "loved us," must, according to their 
 power, and as occasions offer, be ready to give the 
 same evidence of their affection, which He was pleased 
 to do of his. .\nd what that was, the history of his 
 life and death takes very particular care to acquaint us. 
 
 To enter into the detail of these proofs were endless; 
 since every action, every word of his was a fresh one. 
 Or rather, all He did, and taught, and suffered, in the 
 whole course of his a]ipearing in our nature, was but 
 one continued act of love ; diversified in its circum- 
 stances, as the wisdom of the agent, and the occasions 
 of the persons, for whose immediate benefit it was in- 
 tended, made such variety requisite. In this He was 
 so constant, so perfect, so lively and heroiek a pattern, 
 that we need only contemplate his behaviour, and 
 frame our own by that model, to practise this virtue in 
 its utmost excellence. For, though such sinful sordid 
 souls as ours can never aspire to all the ])erfections of 
 this Son of (iod, who is love itself; thougli the effect 
 of the kind inclinations we may have, can never be so 
 great and so dill'usive as his, by whose kindness un- 
 speakable benelits devolve upon all mankind : yet we 
 shall do well to cojiy after this great original so far as 
 we can. And that we are more especially concerned to 
 do in these three jiartieulars : 
 
 1. By suiting our expressions of love to the circum- 
 stances of other people, in such a manner as may be 
 most proper and ])rofitable for them. And as our 
 blessed Lord sometimes instructed and exhorted, some- 
 times cherished ami fed his hearers by miracles, some- 
 times reproved and u]ihrai(leil (heir faults with great 
 severity ; so we. in like manner, if we will follow his ex- 
 ample, must dispense to each, as we ourselves are able, 
 am! as their condition requires. To the needy we nuist 
 bring relief; to the o|)|)resse(l and injured, protection 
 and assistance ; to the honest, well-meaning, and igno- 
 rant, instruction ; to the weak, encouragement ; to the 
 sorrowful, comfort; to the wicked, reproof ; and to the 
 scandalous and incorrigible, shame an<l punishment; 
 forgiveness to our enemies ; prayers and good wishes 
 to all the world. In a word, Christ's behaviour is a 
 rule to 'IS, for doing all (he good we can ; and for 
 doing it to as many as we can ; and for doing it in the 
 best and most prudent manner (hat we can.
 
 SAINT JOHN BAPTIST'S DAY. 
 
 253 
 
 Luke i. 
 57, Sic. 
 
 A 
 
 Sdint John Bajdisfs Day'. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 LMIGHTY God, by whose 
 providence thy servant John 
 
 2. We must make it our principal endeavour to ex- 
 press nur love in acts of kindness to the souls of men. 
 Our Sa\'iour, it is true, was very merciful to the Ijotiies 
 of men. He sustained their hunj^er; He healed their 
 diseases, He released them from the torment and bond- 
 age of evil spirits; and He died at last to purchase 
 eternal redemjition for (his viler, in conjunction with 
 the other more valual)le ])art of us. But still in all 
 these, and in all his other acts of mercy. He had regard 
 chiefly to the souls of men. 'i'hose very miracles, 
 which hestowed hodily health and soundness, had yet 
 a farther end in view, and were designed for gaining 
 them over to holiness and truth. And in this spiritual 
 life and health it was, that their true, their great hap])i- 
 ness consisted. Thus also we must shew all the kind- 
 ness we can to men, in every kind and capacity : but 
 chiefly should we labour for their S])iritual advantages. 
 For no charity is truly Christian, «'hich does not always 
 keep God and heaven in its eye, and direct the good 
 works it does, to the salvation and amendment of the 
 parties to whom they are done. 
 
 3. We must think no instance, no act, whereby we 
 may testify this love, and jirofit others, too great ; but 
 must be ready and willing to ]iromote the eternal good 
 of our fellow- Christians, at the expense of any tem- 
 poral inconvenience or liazard. St. John, you must 
 needs allow, hath carried this point very higli ; when 
 arguing expressly, that, " as Christ laid down his life 
 for us, we ought to lay down our lives for the bre- 
 thren," 1 John iii. 16. But Christ would not have 
 thought the bodies of men, or any temporal hajipiness, 
 a cause or consideration sufficient for his death and 
 sufferings. The reason this great work cost so much 
 was, because it was to redeem their souls : and each of 
 these He who bought them hath taught us to prize 
 above the whole world. Since therefore the body is 
 not the man, but only the least and meanest ])art of 
 him ; when the parting with this may prove an instru- 
 ment of great and manifest advantage to our own, or 
 another's soul, the laying down of life, in such a case, 
 is agreeable to that general rule in traffick and human 
 prudence, of exchanging a less for a greater value. 
 But we, who are commanded upon occasion to expose 
 or sacrifice our lives, are no where commanded, or so 
 much as permitted, to commit a wilful sin, for the sake 
 of any man. And the reason is, because this brings 
 the soul into a manifest hazard and ruin. God can 
 make a man good amends for the loss of this life, but 
 there can no amends be made for the loss of the next. 
 
 I conclude with desiring my reader to observe, how 
 prudent a choice our Church makes in jjropounding to 
 our consideration this lecture of charity, on a day, 
 which give us the advantage of receiving, together with 
 the precept, an example enforcing the practice of it. 
 For such, in a most eminent manner, was the saint of 
 this festival. He cheerfully devoted first his fortunes, 
 then his labours, and last of all his life, to the service 
 of God and his fellow-Christians, Acts iv. 36, 37. This 
 was indeed to love his brethren, as Christ had loved 
 him. This we have reason to esteem one of those 
 " singtdar gifts of the Holy Ghost, with which" this 
 holy apostle " was endued;" and wliich we beg not to 
 be destitute of, nor yet of grace to use them always to 
 
 Baptist was wonderfully born, and 
 sent to prepare tlie way of thy Son 
 otir Saviour, by jircaehinfr of re- 
 pentance; Make ns so to follow iu's JL^a^ '"• 
 doctrine and holy life, that we may 
 
 God's honour and glory, through Jesus Christ our 
 I.iOrd. Amen. Denn Stanhn/ie. 
 
 ' Si. John Bnplisl's liny.'\ We celebrate the birth of 
 St. John Ba[itist, and of our Saviour, for these reasons ; 
 the births of both were full of joy and mystery. Our 
 Saviour's we have already obser\'ed : now for St. Jolm's, 
 it is iilain, there was more than ordinary joy at his 
 liirth, Luke i. M; and full of mystery and wonder it 
 was. As a virgin conceived our Lord, so a barren 
 woman brought forth St. John, Luke i. 36. Again, 
 his birth was proplietical of our Lord, wliom he saluted 
 out of his mother's womb. Lastly, his birth was made 
 memoralile by the jirediction of the angel Gabriel, 
 Luke i. 19. 
 
 There was formerly another holy-day for the behead- 
 ing of St. John Baptist ; but our Church kee|)S only 
 this holy-day in memory of him ; wherein, though she 
 principally commemorates his mysterious nati\-ity, as 
 you may see in the Gospel ; yet she does not omit his 
 life and death : his life and office in the morning 
 lessons are recorded ; his death is related in the second 
 evening lesson, and the Collect prays for grace to 
 imitate his example, patiently suffering for the truth's 
 sake. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 It is well worth observing, that, whereas other 
 festivals are celebrated on the supposed day of the 
 saint's death then commemorated, this is calculated for 
 the nati\'ity of St. John : the only nativity, except that 
 of our blessed Saviour, for wdiich the Church assembles 
 with thanksgiving. The rest did by their deaths bear 
 testimony to Christ already come ; he died a martyr 
 too, though not properly a martyr for the faith of 
 Jesus. But the circumstances and design of his birth 
 were so full of significance and wonder, that this in a 
 particular manner claims our praise to God. Because 
 his nati\'ity was a warning and pledge of our Saviour's ; 
 and rendered him, as St. Chrysostom expresses him- 
 self, a preacher, and worker of miracles, from the very 
 womb. Hence, says St. Augustin, it is, that the Church 
 this day goes out of her usual method, and ])ays a par- 
 ticular respect to the fh-st setting out of this wonderful 
 forerunner. 
 
 All, that concerns this part of St. John's story, is so 
 fully related in St. Luke's first chapter, that no more 
 need be said of it. The Evangelist acquaints us, that 
 the fame and expectation of this child had spread itself 
 through all the country. This, we are told, jirovoked 
 the jealousy of Herod to endea\'our his destruction 
 also, at the time of slaying the children in and about 
 Bethlehem. Zacharias is reported to have been killed 
 in the temple, for refusing to deliver up his son : and 
 Elisabeth, to have fled with him into the wilderness, 
 and so early to have entered him upon that solitary 
 life, which he persevered in, till the exercise of his 
 ministry called him forth, and manifested this more 
 than a prophet to Israel. St. Matthew describes to us 
 his habit and diet ; " a garment of camel's hair, a 
 leathern girdle, locusts and wild honey," Matt. iii. 4 ; 
 all resembhng the rigour of that Elias, in whose spirit 
 and power he came. And, that the correspondence 
 might hold as well in the miraculous provision, as in 
 the plainness of his food, there was a tradition that his 
 mother Elisabeth died about forty days after their
 
 254 
 
 SAINT JOHN BAPTIST'S DAY. 
 
 Matt. xxi. 
 31, 3i. 
 
 Matt. xiv. 
 .■?— 12. 
 Tit. ii. l.i. 
 2 Tim. i. 8. 
 
 truly repent aeeorfling to his preacli- 
 ing ; and after his example constantly 
 speak the truth, iiohlly rebuke vice, 
 anil patiently suffer for the truth's 
 sake ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Isa. xl. I . 
 
 COMFORT J e, comfort ye my 
 people, saith your God. Speak 
 ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and 
 cry unto her. That lier warfare is 
 accomplished ; that her iniquity is 
 pardoned : for she hath received of 
 the Lord's hand double for all lier 
 sins. The voice of him that crieth 
 in the wilderness, Prepare ye the 
 way of the Lord, make straight in 
 the desert a high-waj' for oin- God. 
 Every valley shall be e.xalted, and 
 every mountain and hill shall be 
 made low, and the crooked shall 
 be made straight, and the rough 
 places plain. And the glory of the 
 Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh 
 shall see it together : for the mouth 
 
 arrival in the desert, and that God commanded an 
 angel to feed this important infant, till he was able to 
 look out for his own sustenance. 
 
 His ministry will be considered in its place. His im- 
 prisonment is by Josephus imputed to Herod's jealousy, 
 lest a person of such influence upon the people should 
 dispose them to any insurrection. Macherus was the 
 place of his confinement : a town and castle of great 
 strength, a little beyond Jordan, and near the Dead Sea. 
 Here he was beheaded, and buried (say some) between 
 Elisha and ()l)adiah the projjhets. The Gospel tells us 
 the provocation : that it was rebuking Herod for taking 
 his brother's wife; and that Ilerod, who had a rever- 
 ence for John, was trepanned into tliis execution by the 
 subtlety and malice of Herodias, who took the ad- 
 vantage of a rash i)romise made to her daughter, and 
 in.strucfed her to ask the IJaptist's head in a charger. 
 Josephus relates at large the wickedness, both of that 
 marriage, and of this murder : the severe revenge taken 
 by .\retas, king of .\rabia I'etrsea, brother to Herod's 
 repudiated wife : the miseries which tlie restless ambi- 
 tion of Herodias brought aftcrwarils upon both Herod 
 and herself, no less than dejirivation of his government 
 and perpetual e.\ile. And the daughter is also said, by 
 a fall through ice which broke tuiiler her, to have had 
 her head severed from her body : so resembling that 
 death, which at lier rcipiest the Baptist had suifered 
 before. Derm Slanhnpe. 
 
 There is an iiineeuracy in the wording of this Collect, 
 opposite to that noticed in the Collect for Whitsunday. 
 See the note there. " Sent to prepare the w.iy of thy 
 Son our Saviour, by preaching of repentance." Here 
 the participle, or gerund, hath improperly the prcjiosi- 
 tion " of " after it : and so is dejirived of its verbal 
 regimen, liy which, as a transitive, it would govern the 
 noun " repentance " in the objective ease. Hesides, 
 the phriusc is rendered obscure and amliiguous; for 
 the obvious meaning of it in its present form is, 
 " by preaching concerning repentance, or on tliat sulj- 
 
 of the Lord hath spoken it. The 
 voice .said. Cry. And he said. What 
 shall I cry ? All flesh is grass, and 
 all the goodliness thereof is as the 
 flower of the field. The grass wi- 
 tliereth, the flower fadeth, because 
 the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon 
 it : surely the people is grass. The 
 grass withereth, the flower fadeth ; 
 but the word of our God shall stand 
 for ever. O Zion, that bringest 
 good tidings, get thee up into the 
 high mountain : O Jerusalem, that 
 bringest good tidings, lift up thy 
 voice with strength ; lift it up, be 
 not afraid : say unto the cities of 
 Judah, Behold your God. Behold, 
 the Lord God will come with strong 
 hand, and his arm shall rule for him : 
 behold, his reward is with him, and 
 his work before him. He shall feed 
 his flock like a shepherd ; he shall 
 gatlier the lambs with his arm, and 
 carry them in his bosom, and shall 
 gently lead those that are with 
 young '^. 
 
 ject ;" whereas the sense intended is, " by publishing 
 the covenant of repentance, and declaring repentance 
 to be a condition of acceptance with God." The 
 phrase would ha\'e been perfectly right and determinate 
 to the sense, either way : by the noun, " the preaching 
 of repentance ;" or by the participle, " by preaching 
 repentance." Bp. Lowth. 
 
 '' The portion of Scripture for the Epistle, and that 
 of the Gospel now before us, will be most properly 
 treated of together ; because both agree in the same 
 design, of explaining to us the office and business of 
 that holy jierson, whose wonderful birth the Christian 
 church tliis day commemorates. It was, say Isaiah 
 and Zacharias unanimously, that he might "go before 
 tlie face of the Lord, to preimre his way." 
 
 This he did, by his ]!reaching ; by his baptism ; and 
 by some significant circuiustances relating to his person 
 and manner of life. 
 
 !. One cannot reflect at all ujion the particulars re- 
 corded of his preaching, and not see the fitness of that 
 preparation made bv tiuin, for Him who came to reform 
 the world, to establish righteousness, to complete and 
 to reveal the whole mystery of our redemption. Had 
 these ])rineiples been entertained with the same zeal 
 they were taught, how smooth and easy had liis way 
 been made ! liut they, who lay grovelling in their mire 
 of sin, alfeeted still to retain tlie situation of valleys, 
 and refused to be " exalted." The " mountains " and 
 '■ hills " of pliarisaical superstition and self-suiliciency 
 would not endure to be " made low." The " crooked " 
 dis])ositi(ms of covetousness, ambition, sensual plea- 
 sures, and worldly lusts, were not "straightened;" 
 nor the '•roughness" of angry, revengeful, haughty, 
 and uncliaritable passions " made jilain," by this doc- 
 trine of repentance. ,\nd, from that inetlicacy of a 
 preparation, so competent in itself, the history of our 
 .Saviour's and his apostles' ministry assures us, it was, 
 that so great a jiart even of their laliours was in vain. 
 Meanwhile, what hath been said abundantly proves.
 
 SAINT JOHN BAPTIST'S DAY 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke i. 57. 
 
 .TLISABETH'S full time 
 ' caine tluit she should be deli- 
 
 how well this part of John's office was discharged, and 
 how eminently he, above any other prophet whatsoever, 
 deserved the title of our blessed Lord's forerunner, upon 
 the account of his preaching. 
 
 2. John was most eminently our Lord's forerunner, 
 not only as a preacher, but as a baptist too ; in that his 
 baptism was a solemn rite of renouncing sin ; in that it 
 was a profession of oljedience for the future ; in that it 
 opened the way for a more jierfcct institution of the like 
 nature ; in that it exhibited Christ, as the object of 
 faith, the master and guide whom men ought to follow: 
 for being thus baptized, they were thereby led and con- 
 signed over to Llim; and qualified for the Christian 
 baptism, which exceeds that other in dignity and 
 efficacy : for here the Spirit accompanieth the water. 
 This confers by its own virtue, actnallj' and imme- 
 diately, the jirivileges imparted by that, accidentally and 
 remotely. 'J'his confirms and completes that pardon of 
 sins, and those assistances of grace, which belonged to 
 no antecedent washings, farther than as they were 
 figures of, and approaches toward, the Christian ; which 
 is therefore by way of distinction and eminence styled, 
 " the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost," Tit. in. 5. 
 
 3. Let us now, in the last place, observe the Baptist 
 preparing the way for Christ, in some remarkable cir- 
 cumstances relating to his person and behaviour. 
 
 The first of these is his being foretold by the ancient 
 prophets ; both as to the character he should sustain, 
 and as to the successful discharge of it. This we find 
 done ])articularly by Isaiah, in his fortieth, and by 
 Malachi, in his third and fourth chapters : passages 
 all applied to John, by the evangelists, and by our 
 blessed Saviour Himself, Matt. iii. 3 ; Mark i. 2, 3 ; 
 Luke in. 4—6; Matt. xi. 10. 14; xvii. 11 — 13. An 
 honour so vmcommon, that some have understood him 
 to be entitled " more than a prophet," not only upon 
 the account of his immediately forerunning our Lord ; 
 but because his doing so, and the spirit and manner in 
 which it was done, were thought a subject worthy of 
 former and long distant jiropliecies. Add to this the 
 prediction of his conception, birth, name, manner of 
 living, and ministry, by an angel sent from heaven for 
 that jiurjiose : the same angel which so quickly after 
 brought the like, but more joyful message, concerning 
 our Lord Himself, Luke i. 13 — 17. 19. 2(3. The par- 
 ticulars of both indeed as nearly resemble each other, 
 as it is possible for the accounts of persons so distant 
 to do. So circumstantial in this respect was the pre- 
 paration made for the Son of the great God's approach, 
 by the predictions of him, than whom " there had not 
 been a greater among them that are born of women." 
 
 A second particular in his birth. His stock was of 
 that set of men, whom God had chosen of his own, and 
 sanctified for the nearest approaches to Himself in the 
 priestly office. Luke i. 5, 6. Both his parents were of 
 an age that rendered issue unexpected ; and his mother 
 besides under a natural incajiacity from her youth. So 
 that this child was altogether miraculous ; and, as such, 
 a proper forerunner for Him, who was born of a pure 
 Virgin, without the knowledge of man : because the 
 sight and certain assurance of the former astonishing 
 event would, when rightly considered, dispose to the 
 belief of the latter. That this was one intent and use 
 of it, we have the authority of an angel to instruct us ; 
 
 vere( 
 Aud 
 heard 
 mercy 
 
 255 
 
 ; and she brought forth a sou. 
 
 ler iieii);hi)ours aud her cousins 
 
 liowtlie Lord iiad shewed great 
 
 upon her ; anil they rejoiced 
 
 i|)( 
 
 who, to establish the Virgin's faith, in a message unac- 
 countable to reason, and impracticable to nature, urges 
 this argument : " And l)ehold thy cousin Elisabeth, 
 she hath also conceived a son in her old age ; and this 
 is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 
 For mth God nothing shall be impossible," Luke i. 
 3f), 37. 
 
 Thirdly, St. John did also "prepare the way of 
 Christ," by his manner of life. This was retired and 
 abstemious, austere and mortified to the last degree ; 
 and such a life became a preacher of rcjientance, who 
 thundered out terrors to the vicious and hy])ocritical. 
 But, when reproofs and threatenings had awakened 
 the fears and remorse of guilty sinners, and rendered 
 comfort and encouragement seasonable to be adminis- 
 tered, Jesus came to declare pardon and reconciliation : 
 and it was no less agreeable to the character He sus- 
 tained, to be gentle, and affable, and courteous. It 
 was foretold of Him, that He should "not break the 
 bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax," Matt, 
 xii. 20 : and therefore, that He might bind up the 
 wounds of penitents cut to the heart, and blow up the 
 least sparks of virtuous inclination, he shewed Himself 
 easy of access to the most jirolhgate, and disdained not 
 to eat and drink even with publicans and harlots fur 
 their reformation. 
 
 Thus there was a difference indeed in the conduct of 
 that less, and this greater exam]ile ; but it was a dif- 
 ference of decency and order and use and great pro- 
 priety. It was not only profitable, but necessary, for 
 bringing all to Christ, that they, who admired the 
 austerity of John, might come to Jesus, for the sake 
 of his testimony ; and that they, \v\\o preferred the 
 social \'irtues of Jesus, might come for the love of his 
 own engaging easiness. 
 
 4. How " John jirepared the Lord's way" in the 
 whole course of his public ministry, hath been already 
 shewed. I add, therefore, in the last ])lace, that he did 
 it also by his imprisonment and death. Although, in 
 the series of our Saviour's actions, we are to place all 
 that we find related by St. John, from the first to the 
 fifth of his Gospel, between St. Matthew's account of 
 his temptation, and that of his ]ireaching in Galilee; 
 John ii. and v. ; though our Lord had begun to mani- 
 fest his glory by some mii'acles, and received some 
 disciples, and ba|)tized in Judea, while John continued 
 to baptize in Enon, near Salem, John iii. 22, 23; yet 
 He did not so solemnly enter upon his preaching, till 
 the confinement of John made it seasonable for Him 
 to come into the same parts, and set out with the same 
 subject. For the evangelists are express, that, " after 
 John was cast into prison, Jesus came into Galilee, and 
 from that time he began to preach, and to say, Uepent 
 ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," Mark i. 14 ; 
 Matt. iv. 13. 17. 
 
 Out of this confinement it was, that John, by send- 
 ing two of his disci])les, for the confirmation of their 
 faith, made them at once witnesses of the divine power, 
 aud divulgers of the fame of Jesus and his miracles. 
 Matt, xi ; Luke vii. Thus he contributed greatly to 
 fixing them in, and inviting others to, the discijileship 
 of that heavenly Master after his death. Upon the news 
 whereof we find those that adhered to him, and had 
 done the last offices of respect to his body, immediately 
 repairing to Jesus, Matt. xiv. 1 2. And it is probably
 
 •256 
 
 SAINT PETER'S DAY. 
 
 with her. And it came to pass, that 
 on the eighth day they came to cir- 
 cumcise tile child ; and they called 
 him Zacharias, after the name of his 
 father. And his mother answered 
 and said, Not so ; but he shall lie 
 called John. And they said unto 
 her, There is none of thy kindred 
 that is called by this name. And 
 they made signs to his father, how 
 he would have him called. And he 
 asked for a writing-table, and wrote, 
 saying, His name is John. And 
 they marvelled all. And his mouth 
 was opened immediately, and his 
 tongue loosed, and he spake, and 
 praised God. x\nd fear came on 
 all that dwelt round about them ; 
 and all these sayings were noised 
 abroad throughout all the hill- 
 country of Judtea. And all they 
 that had heard them laid them ii]i 
 in their hearts, saying. What man- 
 ner of child shall this be ? And the 
 hand of the Lord was with him. 
 And his fiither Zacharias was filled 
 with the Hoi)' Ghost, and prophe- 
 sied, saying. Blessed be the Lord 
 God of Israel : for he hath visited 
 and redeemed his people, and hath 
 raised up an horn of salvation for 
 us in the house of his servant Da- 
 vid ; as he spake by the mouth of 
 his holy prophets, which have been 
 
 believed not only that they were from thenceforth 
 Christ's constant followers, but that the more consider- 
 alile part, both of the twelve apostles, and the seventy 
 disciples of our I/ord, were first initiated under the pre- 
 paratory discipline of John. 
 
 Hut his death was farther instrumental to this end, 
 as it raised the esteem of John yet hijjher with the 
 Jews, who held biin " for a pro])hct before," Matt. 
 xxi. 26. The scrilies and Phari.sees durst not return 
 a direct answer to Christ's question, concerninfr the 
 authority of John's baptism, for fear of either condemn- 
 ing themselves, by allowini; it ; or of " being stoned 
 by the peo|)le," if they "should have denied it," l.uUc 
 XX. 0. The o]iinion tliey had of his virtues was sucli, 
 that some thouglit our Saviour to be Jiilm restored to 
 life; and that (iod had endued him with a ])ower of 
 miracles to testify bis innocence and the wrongfulness 
 of bis death. The perplexity which this surmise cast 
 Herod into, proceeded from a guilty conscience, and 
 a dread that the peo|)lc should revenge upon him the 
 cruelty committed on so deservedly celebrated a person. 
 Matt. xiv. And the subsetjuent calamities on him and 
 his family, were generally interpreted a i)arlicular ven- 
 geance, for the barlmrity of that murder. 
 
 All these circumstances arc meant to shew, that the 
 death of John, as it addeil to bis own honour, so nnist 
 it in i)roportion add to our .Saviour's ; and dispose 
 tbeui, who belli Joliu in such veneration, to think so 
 mucli more honourably of the person, to whom he 
 
 since the world began ; that we 
 should be saved from our enemies, 
 and from the hand of all that hate 
 us ; to perform the mercy promised 
 to our fathers, and to remend)er his 
 holy covenant ; the oath which he 
 sware to our father Abraham, that 
 he would grant unto us, that we, 
 being delivered out of the hands of 
 our enemies, might serve him with- 
 out fear, in holiness and righteous- 
 ness before him all the days of our 
 life. And thou. Child, shalt be 
 called the Prophet of the Highest : 
 for thou shalt go before the face of 
 the Lord to prepare his ways ; to 
 give knowledge of salvation unto his 
 people, by the remission of their 
 sins, through the tender mercy of 
 our God, whereby the day-spring 
 from on hiffh hath visited us : to give 
 light to them that sit in darkness and 
 in the shadow of death, to guide our 
 feet into the way of peace. And the 
 child grew, and waxed strong in 
 spirit ; and was in the deserts till the 
 day of his shewing unto Israel. 
 
 Scivtt Peter's Day^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 O Almighty God, who by thy 
 Son .lesus Christ didst give to 
 thy Apostle Saint Peter many excel- fsfio."''' 
 
 bore such ample testimony ; and to whom he was 
 upon all occasions so solicitous to declare the prefer- 
 ence, infinitely above himself, to be strictly due. Ac- 
 cordingly the (iospels seem to say, that the prodigious 
 increase of our Lord's fame broke forth and difi'used 
 itself immediately after the death of John. A death, 
 in this yet further respect, forerunning his ; as it was 
 provoked by the discharge of his duty, borne with 
 exemplary courage and patience, and a maityrdom in 
 the cause of trutli and virtue. 
 
 Thus, after a long dark night of ignorance and vice, 
 God was pleased gradually to restore liglit to a wretched 
 world. 'I'he law and the pn>])hets, like the glimmerings 
 of the twilight, dawned first. The Haptist, like the 
 morning star, gave notice of its ap]>roach : and, in pro- 
 portion as this disappeared, clear day came on, anil the 
 Sun of righteousness arose. God give all them, who 
 live under his shine, the grace to " walk as children of 
 light," and in that " way of peace," for " guiding their 
 feet, in which" He "visited us from on high," Kjjb. 
 v. H; r.uke i. 7S, 79. To whom, with the Father, and 
 the Holy Spirit, three persons and one (iod, be all 
 honour and glory for evermore. Amen. Dean Stan- 
 hope. 
 
 ' 67. Frier's Dny.l This eminent apostle was born at 
 Hethsaida, a town of (lalilee, John i. -tt, being by pro- 
 fession a fisherman. Matt iv. is. He was brother to 
 St. Andrew, and his elder brollu'r most probably; be- 
 cause, in the catalogue of the apostles, he is mentioned
 
 SAINT PETER'S DAY. 
 
 257 
 
 Acts iv. 8 ; 
 V. 15. 
 John xxi. 
 15-17. 
 
 iU'h. xiii. 17. 
 1 Pet. V. 4. 
 
 lent gifts, and commandcdst liim ear- 
 nestly to feed thy Hoc-k ; Make, we 
 bcseecli thee, all liishops and Pastors 
 diligently to preach thy holy Word, 
 and the people obediently to follow 
 the same, that they may receive the 
 crown of everlasting glory ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Acts xii. 1. 
 
 ABOUT that time Herod the 
 king stretched forth his hands 
 to vex certain of the Church. And 
 he killed James the brother of John 
 with the sword. And, because he 
 saw it ]ileased the Jews, he pro- 
 ceeded further to take Peter also. 
 (Then were the days of unleavened 
 bread.) And when he had appre- 
 
 before him. Matt. x. 2. The Papists indeed are very 
 loth to allow this, because they would have him to he 
 entitled to this precedence by his jji-etended sujiremacy ; 
 and therefore they rely most upon the authority of 
 Pjpiphanins, who says he was younger than St. Andrew. 
 But the Protestants bring the better authorities of St. 
 Jerome and St. Chrysostom, and many others, who 
 assert that lie was the elder brother. He had, in his 
 character, some eminent qualifications, which gave him 
 a distinction above the generality of the apostles, though 
 not what the Papists pretend, a supremacy over them. 
 He was the first of the ajiostles who publickly professed 
 his belief of the divinity of our blessed Lord, Matt. xvi. 
 16; which frank declaration of his made our Saviour 
 promise him, that his preaching and confession should 
 be a principal foundation of the church which he 
 designed to build. He, together with James and John, 
 had a particular intimacy with our blessed Lord, as ap- 
 pears by his being with them so frequently in pri^■ate, 
 Matt. x\-ii. 1 ; Mark ix. 2 ; Matt. xxvi. 3". He had a 
 mighty zeal for his Master, which prompted him to 
 draw his sword in his defence, and to cut off Malchus's 
 ear, John xviii. 26 ; but withal it must be said, that 
 these good qualities were eclipsed bj' the cowardice 
 which he shewed in denying his Master, Matt. xxvi. 70, 
 and l)y his dissimulation, which he used in complying 
 with tlie Jews in the observation of their ceremonies, 
 Gal ii. 11—14. 
 
 After our Saviour's ascension he did singular service 
 in the propagation of the GosjjcI ; he, by one sermon, 
 converted three thousand souls, Acts ii. 41. He was 
 sent by the apostolical college, together with John, to 
 confirm the new converts that Philip had gained to the 
 faith in Samaria, which office they discharged with great 
 faithfulness, Acts viii. 17; though, by the way, this 
 mission is not very consistent with the sujireinacy of this 
 apostle, which, in latter ages, has been pretended ; for 
 such a papal authority as some persons would vest 
 St. Peter with, could hardly ha\-e brooked to have been 
 sent upon an errand, and that too with a colleague in- 
 trusted with equal powers with himself. He was im- 
 prisoned by Herod about the year of Christ 44, and was 
 in a miraculous manner delivered from thence by the 
 ministry of an angel. Acts xii. 7- After this, when the 
 apostles divided themselves to preach the Gospel, (if we 
 may credit the latter Greek writers,) he constituted a 
 Christian church at Caisarea Palestinse, called otherwise 
 
 bended him, he put him in prison, 
 and delivered him to four (juateriiions 
 of soldiers to keej) him, intending 
 after Easter to bring him forth to 
 the people. Peter therefore was 
 kept in prison ; but prayer was 
 made without ceasing of the Church 
 unto (iod for him. And when He- 
 rod wouiil have brought him forth, 
 the same night Peter was slcejiing 
 between two soldiers, bound with 
 two chains ; and the keepers before 
 the door kept the prison. And 
 behold, the angel of the Lord came 
 upon him, and a light shined in the 
 prison ; and he smote Peter on the 
 side, and raised him uji, saying. 
 Arise iij) quickly. And his cliains 
 fell off from his hands. And the 
 
 Turris Stratonis; from thence he came to Sidon, and 
 placed another bishop there : he next converted many 
 of the inhabitants of Berytus, another town of Pha?nicia, 
 and settled a bisho|) likewise in that country : he then 
 extended the Gospel to Biblos, another city of Phoenicia; 
 after that to Tripolis ; next to Antandros, a town of 
 Phrygia: proceeding to the island of Aradus, to Balana?a 
 and Planta, he carried on his preaching to Laodiccca, 
 where converting many, and curing the sick, he settled a 
 bishoprick. But besides St. Peter's preaching in these 
 neighbouring towns of Judea, St. Jerom says, he con- 
 verted many to the faith in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, 
 Bithynia, and at last settled a bishoprick, «'here he him- 
 self some tiine [iresided in Antioch. Some time after 
 this he came to Rome, as Eusebius, Irenanis, St. Cyprian, 
 Lactantius. and other authors relate : but that he came 
 hither in the second year of Claudius, in the year of our 
 Lord 45, as Eusebius, in his Chronicon, sets it, can 
 hardly be evinced. When he and St. Paul had for a 
 considerable time preached here, their ministry in the 
 Gos]iel was much injured by the magical arts of Simon 
 the magician. This was the cause, as some later writers 
 affirm, of St. Peter's being thrown into ])rison at Rome, 
 and likewise of his inartyrdom, Xero taking to himself 
 the affront which was done to the magicians. «-hich sort 
 of jieojile he was particularly fond of. St. Peter being 
 first scourged, was led out to be crucified upon the hill 
 called Janiculus, desiring to be fastened to the cross with 
 his head downwards, alleging, that he thought himself 
 unworthy to die exactly after the same manner with his 
 Lord. 
 
 That Peter was a married man, is mentioned in 
 Scripture, his wife's mother being sjioken of there, 
 Matt. vui. 14; and that his wife suffered martyr- 
 dom, the ancient ^Titers do affirm ; for Clemens of 
 Alexandria writes thus of her : " It is reported, that 
 St. Peter, when he saw his mfe drawn to execution, 
 rejoiced at her being called to so great an honour, and 
 that she was now going to her own home : that he ex- 
 horted her and comforted her, calling her by her proper 
 name, and bidding her remember her Saviour; and 
 telling her, that now she was going to be married in 
 heaven." Dr. NichoHs. 
 
 The Epistle for this day gives us some account of the 
 sufferings of St. Peter, and particularly of his imprison- 
 ment by Herod, together with his deliverance from it. 
 nie Gospel acquaints us «ith his doctrine ; and parti-
 
 25S 
 
 SAINT JAMES THE APOSTLE. 
 
 angel said unto him, Gird thyself, 
 and bind on thy sandals: and so he 
 did. And he saith unto him, Cast 
 thy garment about thee, and follow 
 me. And he went out and fol- 
 lowed him ; and wist not that it 
 was true which was done by the 
 angel ; but thought he saw a vision. 
 When they were past the first and 
 the second ward, they came unto 
 the iron gate that leadeth unto the 
 city, wiiich opened to them of his 
 own accord ; and they went out, and 
 passed on through one street, and 
 forthwith the angel departed from 
 him. And when Peter was come to 
 himself, he said, Now I know of 
 a surety, tiiat the Lord hath sent 
 his angel, and hath delivered me 
 out of the hand of Herod, and from 
 all the expectation of the people of 
 the Jews™. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. xvi. 13. 
 
 WHEN Jesus came into the 
 coasts of Csesarea Philip])!, 
 be asked his disciples, saying. Whom 
 do men say that 1, the Son of man. 
 
 cularly «ith the famous confession of his faith in Christ, 
 together with tlie stability of the Christian church 
 founded upon it. Dr. Hole. 
 
 " From the narrative in this portion of Scripture 
 arise the following observations, upon which our 
 thoughts may be usefully employed: 
 
 1. We have in this, as in a former Herod, a tragical 
 instance of the abuse of [lOwer ; and of the merciless 
 cruelty into which rulers and great men are betrayed ; 
 when once they let go the reins of justice, and become 
 unsteady in the measures of government, for the sake 
 of envy, amliition, jealousy, partiality, or any other 
 corru|)t passion whatsoever. 
 
 2. Of all those passions, this Scri])ture points us out 
 one of the most dangerous, affectation of ])opularity 
 will ap])lause. With this the deadly jioison is generally 
 gilded by those, who would insinuate miscliief, aiul 
 persuade to wicked, because acceptable, methods. It 
 was because the death of .lames " ]ileased the i)cople," 
 that llcrod " ])roceedcd farther to take Peter also," 
 ver. 3. Nor is this any great matter of wonder: for 
 the humours of the people are so extravagant, and 
 their expectations so unreasonable, that whosoever 
 takes his directions from thence is the greatest of 
 slaves. A ])rince may see this, and repent too late, and 
 wish to retrieve his liberty ; but, except resolution, as- 
 sisted by the grace of (iod and trust in his protection 
 and assistance, break this chain, he will certainly mi- 
 nister occasion for that, which is my 
 
 :!. 'I'hird observation : the danger and misery of 
 going past retreat, losing all remorse, and falling from 
 one wickedness to another. Herod first vexed some 
 private {'hristians, then nmrdere<l one apostle; and, 
 after that, imprisoned another, with intent to give him 
 no better quarter. Hut against these melancholy ob- 
 
 am ? And they said. Some say that 
 thou art John the Baptist, some 
 Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of 
 the prophets. He saith unto them, 
 But whom say ye that I am ? And 
 Simon Peter answered and said. 
 Thou art Christ, the Son of the 
 living God. And Jesus answered 
 and said unto him. Blessed art thou, 
 Simon Bar-jona : for flesii and blood 
 hath not revealed it unto thee, but 
 my Father which is in heaven. And 
 I say also unto thee, I'hat thou art 
 Peter, and upon this rock I will 
 build my Church : and the gates of 
 hell shall not prevail against it. And 
 I will give unto tliee the keys of the 
 kingdom of lieaven : and whatso- 
 ever thou shalt bind on earth shall 
 be bound in hea\'en ; and whatso- 
 ever thou shalt loose on eartli shall 
 be loosed in heaven". 
 
 G 
 
 Saint James the Apostle". 
 
 The Collect. 
 R A N T, O merciful God, that 
 as thine holy Apostle Saint 
 
 sensations, the following verses help us to set another 
 most comfortable one, ver. 5 — 11. 
 
 4. The wisdom, I mean, and goodness of that ever- 
 watchful Providence, by which the e\il designs of such 
 wicked men are disappointed, and his faithful servants 
 wonderfully preserved from them. 
 
 5. The fifth verse instructs us, how instrumental the 
 intercessions of gt)od peojile are towards procuring such 
 deli\-crances. Mighty indeed is the efficacy of prayer, 
 when imanimous and publick ; especially if the subject- 
 matter of it be somewhat emineiUly ser\'iceable to the 
 glory of (iod, and the benefit of religion. 
 
 G. 15iit if tliose prayers be not jircscntly successful, 
 the case of St. Peter forbids vis to despair. " Prayer 
 was made without ceasing of the Cluirch to God for 
 him," ver. .'), (1 ; but the angel was not sent for his 
 release, till the very night before his intended execution. 
 Thus it is usual with (iod, for the clearer illustration of 
 liis mercy and power, for the exercise of his servants in 
 faith and |iatience, and for otlier excellent ends, to for- 
 bear the inter])ositioii of extraordinary means till human 
 Iiel|)s and hopes are given over. 
 
 7. As the season jiroper for miraculous operations is, 
 when ordinary methods prove vain ; so, when such 
 otherwise inextricable difficulty is over, that season is 
 at an end ; and we arc left to the use of common 
 means, and the ]irotection of a common Providence 
 again. 'I'luis our Lord commands .lairus to preserve 
 the life of bis diiughter, by the usual refresbinents of 
 nature, which nothing less tlian an aliiiighty Power 
 had, or could have, restored, Luke viii. ."i.^. And thus 
 the angel here, alter knocking olf St. Peter's cboins, un- 
 locking the ]irison-(loors, and causing the city-gate to 
 open of its own accord, leaves him, when thus set at 
 large, to provide for himself, Acts xii. 7 — 10. A
 
 SAINT JAMES THE APOSTLE. 
 
 259 
 
 James, leaviiif^ his father and all 
 that he had, without delay was obe- 
 
 ])lain instance of our duty to be diligent in the use of 
 means, when put into our liands ; and not to expect 
 those tilings should be done without us, which, by the 
 due use of prudence anil industry, we are sufficiently 
 qualified to do for ourselves. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 " It will be useful to point out a few inferences which 
 may be drawn from a proper explanation of our Sa- 
 vioiu-'s promise that " the gates of liell shall not prevail 
 against liis church." 
 
 And, first, from hence we learn, what that church is, 
 to which the promise in my text belongs. The term 
 church is of an ambiguous signification. It must 
 therefore be of great consequence to fix a right notion 
 of it, that we may not suspect the truth of our blessed 
 Master, nor bring the punctual performance of this en- 
 gagement into question, by a wrong application of his 
 words. 
 
 Sometimes the church signifies the elect, who are 
 heirs of salvation, by virtue of an inward efl'ectual call- 
 ing of the Holy Spirit : and, because this inward ope- 
 ration of the Sjjirit is what we cannot discern, this is 
 called the " invisible church." Against this church 
 the gates of hell do not prevail indeed : but the pro- 
 mise does not seem to be peculiar to them only, be- 
 causes it supposes some marks, whereby we maj' dis- 
 cover who are, and who are not, the persons, to whom 
 it IS made good. 
 
 Sometimes again, the church signifies that company 
 of men who live in the outward profession of the truth, 
 and own the name of Christ any where in the world. 
 Now their doctrine and worship being open and ob- 
 servable, such as they may be taken notice of and 
 distinguislied by; this is, in that regard, called the 
 " visible," and, in regard of its not being confined to 
 any limited place, it is also called the " universal 
 church." 
 
 Sometimes also the particular branches of this great 
 body are called " churches ;" as St. Paul mentions " tlie 
 care of all the churches," the cluu'ch of Jerusalem, the 
 church of Rome, of Corinth, of Ephesus, and the like. 
 In this last sense, it is manifest, the jiromise is not 
 meant. For those churches mentioned in Scripture, 
 having some of them revolted from the doctrine and 
 worship of Christ, and being over-run witli errors and 
 heresies, destructive of the first and fundamental arti- 
 cles of our faith, it is evident that the gates of heU have 
 actually prevailed against them. So that the universal 
 and visible chiurch is plainly that society of persons 
 concerned here. And so long as the Christian religion 
 does not absolutely disappear ; so long as there are, 
 any where, men, who continue to hold all the necessary 
 and essential points implied in that confession of St. 
 Peter, that " Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living 
 God," so long the promise is made good still. The 
 candle is not put out, though the candlestick may be 
 removed from some " particular visible" churches, and 
 so translated out of one country or province into 
 another. 
 
 2. Secondly, this promise does not infer, that tlie 
 church shall always continue in outward peace and 
 splendour. We know, at the beginning after our Lord's 
 resurrection, almost tlie whole of it, the church rejire- 
 sentative at least, was contained in that single ujijier- 
 room, where the disciples assembled jirivately for fear 
 of the Jews, Acts i. And, afterwards during the 
 primitive persecutions, it was only to be found in 
 desei-ts, and mountains, and caves of the earth ; among 
 
 dieiit unto the calling' of thy Son Mait. iv. 21, 
 Jesus Christ, and followed him ; so ^o.' "''"'' '' 
 
 such persons who, to avoid the rage of their enemies, 
 served God, not in temples and synagogues, but in such 
 manner and places as the wisdom of the seqient, joined 
 with the harmlessness of the dove, put them ujion 
 taking shelter in. Therefore the character of the 
 church is not its being countenanced by human laws, 
 and protected by tlie secular arm ; it lies not in the 
 multitude of its professors, nor in the freedom of its 
 worship ; but in the truth of its doctrine, and the 
 sincerity of its members. 
 
 3. Tliirdly, it docs not follow from hence, that the 
 church of God cannot err. For as men may be saved, 
 though they be not absolutely void of all sin ; so the 
 church may continue a true church, though it be not 
 totally exempted from all error. All men, as such, are 
 subject to mistakes ; but all mistakes do not overthrow 
 the being of a church. Though therefore it should be 
 granted, that no society of men ever served God in 
 perfect purity ; yet so long as their corruptions did not 
 overturn the main ])oints of faitli, so long as they held 
 fast "the form of sound words," and kept to the 
 foundation ; such errors and corruptions, in matters 
 of less moment, are by no means inconsistent with his 
 promise. For the "gates of hell" have not "pre- 
 vailed," till error rides triumphant, and draws them off 
 from the belief and confession, that " Jesus is the 
 Christ, the Son of the hving God." From hence I 
 argue, 
 
 4. Fourthly, that holding communion with this or 
 that particular see or set of men, is no necessary qua- 
 lification of the true church. For the truth of any 
 church lies in making St. Peter's confession, and hold- 
 ing communion with pastors duly qualified, according 
 to Christ's ordinance, to administer the word and 
 sacraments to the people. And they, who continue to 
 hold his doctrine, and this communion, though they 
 may see good cause to separate from some practices, 
 which they think by necessary consequence destructive 
 of the faith, are yet truly members of Clu-ist's church, 
 let them hold outward communion with any particular 
 Christian bishop or regularly constituted church what- 
 ever. 
 
 5. Fifthly, this promise may be of great comfort to 
 us in these wicked and dangerous days, when heresy, 
 and profaneness, and all manner of impiety and shame- 
 less wickedness, do so wi'etchedly abound : for, though 
 the cause be bad, yet it is not desperate. God may 
 try us, and suffer many to fall off, but He -kWX vindi- 
 cate Himself and his honour. Error may spread, but 
 it shall not prevail : some trouble his church may 
 have; great distress, but no interruption. And if our 
 sins, which God forbid, should provoke Him to let out 
 this " vineyard to other husbandmen, who uill give him 
 the fruits in due season," Matt. xxi. 41, yet religion 
 shall never be totally destroyed, nor can He suffer his 
 truth to fail. But, 
 
 G. Lastly, this should be a warning to us, to pre- 
 pare for difficulties and trials, and to resolve against 
 falhng from our o%vn stedfastness. The kingdom of 
 Christ and that of the devil are described as two 
 societies ever at war with one another. And therefore 
 every one who hath listed himself under Christ's ban- 
 ner, should provide for engaging every hour, and fight 
 manfully against sin, the world, and the devil. NVe 
 should all pray most earnestly to God for the assistance 
 of his grace ; we should seek and love the truth ; we 
 should all pursue the things that make for peace, and 
 S -2
 
 260 
 
 SAINT JAMES THE APOSTLE. 
 
 I John ii. 15. 
 Itom. viii. 7. 
 Tit. iii. 1. 
 
 we, forsaking all worldly and carnal 
 aft'ections, may be evermore leady 
 to follow thy holy commandments : 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Acts xi. 27. 
 
 IN those days came prophets from 
 Jerusalem unto Antioch. And 
 tliere stood up one of them named 
 Agabus, and signified by the Spirit, 
 that there should be great dearth 
 throughout all the world ; which 
 came to pass in the days of Claudius 
 Caesar. Then the disciples, every 
 man according to his ability, deter- 
 mined to send relief unto the bre- 
 thren which dwelt in Jud;ea. Which 
 also tliey did, and sent it to the 
 elders by the hands of Barnabas 
 and Saul. Now about that time 
 Heroil the king- stretched forth his 
 
 wherewith one may edify another; we should hold 
 fast to the church, of which we are members, and not 
 content ourselves with beliei-ing, but to be sure to live 
 up to what we are taught : always remembering, that, 
 so long as we continue honest inquirers, zealous pro- 
 fessors, and holy livers, though God may suifer us in 
 some points to be mistaken, yet his goodness will not 
 suffer us to perish, nor to err fatally ; and that the only 
 means to triumph and obtain the crown of righteous- 
 ness, is to " live soberly, justly, and godly in this 
 present world, and to continue Christ's faithful soldiers 
 and servants unto our lives' end." Dean Stanhope. 
 
 " St. James the Apostle.'] St. James the (Jreat, or 
 the Elder, was one of the sons of Zebedee, and brother 
 to St. John. His mother's name was Marj', otherwise 
 called Salome, a kinswoman of the blessed Virgin. 
 This was she that came to our Saviour with a jietition 
 in behalf of her two sons James and John, that one 
 might sit on his right hand, and the other on his left, 
 in the kingdom of heaven. Matt. .\x. i\. 'J'hat this 
 importunity did not proceed so much from the fond- 
 ness of the mother, as from the ambition of her two 
 sons, whilst they kept their uncorrected nature, not yet 
 sufficiently cultivated liy the (Jospel doctrine, is jjlain ; 
 because our Saviour directs Himself to them, as well 
 knowing it was they that had put her upon this unrea- 
 sonable jietition : " Ye know not wiiat ye ask ; are ye 
 able to rlrink of the cuj) that I drink of?" &c. An- 
 other instance of the ungovcrned passions of these two 
 disciples, and which the evangelical goodness and wis- 
 dom taught by our I^ord had not sufHciently restrained, 
 was their calling for fire from heaven to fall upon the 
 Samaritans, because of their inliospitaljle treatment of 
 our blessed I>ord, as Elijah liad done before on the liki^ 
 occa-siim. For which indiscreet and furious zeal our 
 blessed Lord gently rebukes them, telling them, (hat 
 they knew not what "manner of sjiirit" they were 
 acted by: this cruel imprecation did most certainly 
 shew, they were not led by that gentle spirit which He 
 had taught them; for lie came among them, not to 
 teach them by a cruel and l)igoted zeal to take away 
 men's lives, but his chief message into the world was 
 to save them, Luke i.\. 55. 'I'lic Spaniards have a 
 
 hand to ye.x certain of the Church. 
 And he killed James the brother of 
 John with the sword. And, because 
 he saw it pleased the Jews, he pro- 
 ceeded further to take Peter also*!. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. .xx. 20. 
 
 THEN came to him the mother 
 of Zebedee's children with lier 
 sons, worshipping him, and desiring 
 a certain thing of him. And he 
 said unto her. What wilt thou ? 
 She saith unto him. Grant that these 
 my two sons may sit, the one on thy 
 right hand, and the other on the 
 left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus an- 
 swered and said. Ye know not what 
 ye ask. Are ye able to drink of tlie 
 cup that I shall drink of, and to be 
 baptized with the baptism that I am 
 baptized with? They say unto him. 
 We are able. And he saith unto 
 
 notion, that, after our Saviour's ascension, he came to 
 preach in their country, upon which account he is 
 acknowledged the tutelar saint of Spain ; but that is a 
 story raised without any ground, no ancient author 
 making mention thereof, and it does not appear that 
 this apostle ever stirred out of Judea during his hfe, 
 he imdergoing mart\Tdom there very early : for he was 
 killed by Herod in the second year of Claudius, about 
 eight years after Christ's ascension. He was the first 
 of the apostles that suffered mai't\Tdom, being brought 
 to that trial by the wicked vain-glory of Herod Agrippa, 
 who, being newly advanced to his kingdom, was willing 
 to do some popular act to please the generality of the 
 Jewish i)eo])le, who, being managed by the priests, had 
 conceived a great hatred against the Christians ; which 
 he taking notice of, thought he coidd not do them a 
 more obliging favour, than to slay before their faces 
 one of the chief teachers of this new sect. This was the 
 occasion of the martyrdom of this blessed saint. Euse- 
 bius relates this particular circumstance at his martyr- 
 dom, out of Clement of Alexandria; Clement in his 
 aforesaid book, asserts a very memorable story of St. 
 James, which he tells of as a tradition handed down 
 from his ancestors ; namely, " That the |)erson who had 
 given in information against St. James, and had been 
 witness against bim at his trial, when he saw him so 
 readily laying down his life for Christ, he likewise con- 
 fessed himself a Christian, and so they both together 
 were led to execution. St. James, for some little time 
 revolving in his mind the strangeness of this accident, 
 accosts him with this evangelical salutation, ' I'eace be 
 to you ;' and he kissed him, and so they both were 
 beheaded together. Dr. 1^'icliolls. 
 
 The Collect for the day reminds us of this holy 
 ajiostlc's leaving all that he had, that he might beeoine 
 a follower of Cbri.st; and teaches >is to ])rayin suitable 
 terms. The Epistle gives us a farther proof of liis sin- 
 cerity in submitting to die for his Christian profession. 
 The (losjiel records a very inconsiderate reipicst i)re- 
 fcrred to our blessed Savioiu-; ami his answer to it. 
 Dr. Hole, Dean Slatihopc. 
 
 I' Upon the subject of this Epistle see the comment on 
 that for St. Peter's Day.
 
 SAINT JAMES THE APOSTLE. 
 
 261 
 
 them, Ye sliall driiik iiulcod of my 
 cup, and be hiiptizcd with the liap- 
 tism that 1 am baptized witli : l)ut 
 to sit on my rii^lit liand, and on my 
 left, is not mine to give ; but it shall 
 be given to them for whom it is pre- 
 pared of my Father. And when 
 the ten heard it, they were moved 
 with indignation against the two 
 brethren. But Jesus called them 
 unto him, and said, Ye know that 
 the princes of the Gentiles ex- 
 
 1 We are here informed, that the mother of Zebedee's 
 children, together with her two sons, James and John, 
 entertaining a very mistaken notion of Christ's kingdom, 
 besonght our Lord that when He shoukl enter upon it, 
 (which they seem to think would immediately follow his 
 resurrection, foretold at the nineteenth verse,) these two 
 ajjostles might have the jirivilege of being next in honour 
 to this King Himself. To this our blessed Lord replies, 
 that " they knew not what they asked," ver. 22. Their 
 apprehensions (that is) of the kingdom of the Messias, 
 so often spoken of by the jirophecies of old, were gross, 
 and low, and carnal. For, as his kingdom was not of 
 this world, so neither should the manners and advan- 
 tages of it hold any such pro])ortion or resemblance to 
 those upon earth, as they fondly imagined. Himself 
 was not to acquire and possess this crown, by wars and 
 triumphs, and common conquests; but by sufferings, and 
 shame, e.xceeding great hartlships, and universal malice 
 and contempt. And since his servants must follow his 
 e.xample, as well in the methods of obtaining honour, as 
 in the nature of the honours appointed for their recom- 
 pense ; He inquires whether they were content, and qua- 
 lified to accept the ad\'antage they ignorantly desired, 
 upon such hard conditions. They, with a hasty zeal, 
 natural to men eager in their wishes, and liberal in 
 promising what great things they would do, answer, 
 that they were ready to do and suffer any thing, and 
 had not the least distrust of their own performance. 
 Whereupon our Lord tells these bold undertakers, they 
 should be taken at their word ; and, in jiroportion to 
 their making it good, they should not fail to be con- 
 sidered for their pains and fidelity. " Jesus answered 
 and said. Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to 
 drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be bap- 
 tized with the baptism that I am bajitized with ? They 
 say unto him. We are able. And he saith unto them. 
 Ye shall indeed drink of my cup, and be baptized with 
 the baptism that I am baptized with ; but to sit on my 
 right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give: but" 
 ifshall l)e given to them, " for whom it is prepared of 
 my Father," ver. 22, 23. Little doubt can be made, 
 but the true importance of which words is neither more 
 nor less than this, that the sincerity and ability of these 
 two apostles should be brought to trial, by Proxidcnce 
 ordering matters so, that they should be conformed to 
 the example of their Master, and suffer bitter things 
 for the honour and confirmation, and great advantage 
 of the Christian religion, as Jesus had done before them. 
 This prediction, or |)romise, call it which you will, was 
 literally and punctually fulfilled in St. James, to the 
 honour of whose memory this festival is designed ; the 
 Kpistle for the day informing us, that, when the malice 
 of Herod had instigated him to vex certain of the 
 church, the storm fell upon this eminent jjerson parti- 
 cularly; and when that tyrant killed him with the 
 sword, then did he, in the highest sense of the words, 
 
 erciso dominion over them, and 
 they that are great exercise au- 
 thoiity upon them. But it shall 
 not be so among you : but whoso- 
 ever will be great among you, let 
 him be your minister ; and who- 
 soever will be chief among you, 
 let him be your servant : even as 
 the Son of man came not to be 
 ministered unto, but to minister, 
 and to give his life a ransom for 
 manyi. 
 
 " drink of his Lord's cup," and was "baptized with the 
 
 same baptism" that " he had been baptized with," 
 Acts xii. 1, 2. 
 
 Respecting St. John, the other son of Zebedee con- 
 cerned here, Scrijjture indeed is silent, as to the manner 
 of his death. But, since the cup and bajrtism imply per- 
 secutions and afflictions, even short of death, the same 
 honour cannot be denied to St. John, who, as St. Luke 
 informs us, was both " scourged" and " imprisoned" by 
 the council at Jerusalem, Acta v. 18.40; and afterwards 
 (as himself says) banished into "the isle of I'atmos, for 
 the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ," 
 Rev. i. 9. Besides that, ecclesiastical history mentions 
 his being put into a cauldron of hot oil, by the barbarity 
 of the proconsul at Ejihesus, under Domitian. And cer- 
 tainly that man may with great justice be esteemed a 
 martjT, who had undergone such tortures, as nothing 
 less than a miracle could have supported his life under, 
 or delivered him from. 
 
 Thus much shall suffice for explaining the " cup" and 
 the " baptism" meant here. But it is of no less import- 
 ance, to be truly informed concerning another passage 
 now before us, which is, how our Saviour meant, that 
 " sitting on his right hand and left hand was not his to 
 give, but it should l)e given to them for whom it is 
 prejiared of the F'ather." 
 
 The meaning whereof is by no means, what some 
 adversaries to the divinity of our blessed Saviour would 
 infer from it ; that to distribute rewards in the kingdom 
 of glory is a prerogative peculiar to the Father alone, 
 and such as no way belongs to the Son. For this Son 
 is that very Lord, whom St. Paul calls " the righteous 
 Judge," that " shall give a crown of righteousness to all 
 that love his ajipearing." He is that King, " who shall 
 sepai'ate the sheep from the goats, and reward eveiy man 
 according to his works," 2 Tim. iv. 8 ; Matt. .xxxv. 31, 
 &c. ; xvi. 2". But the design of this passage is to shew, 
 that those rewards shall not be distributed, upon such 
 considerations, and in such manner, as these petitioners 
 vainly supposed. To which jnirposc we may take notice, 
 that those words, " it shall be given to them," are in a 
 different character in the Bible ; which is a mark of 
 their not being in the original, but only a supplement 
 made by the translators. So that the " sitting on the 
 right hand and on the left," the honours and degrees 
 of happiness, are not the Son's to give, in the sense 
 these apostles fancied ; that is. He does not give them 
 absolutely and arbitrarily ; He is not led by i)artiality 
 and fondness, or respect of persons; He is not carried 
 by humour, or vanquished by the importunity of fi-iends 
 and suitors, as earthly princes are ; but He is hraited 
 by the considerations of equity and strict justice, from 
 which it can never be consisteiit with the perfections of 
 his nature to depart. This then is the purjiort of the 
 words, " To sit on my right hand and on my left is not 
 mine to give, but," or except, to them alone, " for
 
 262 
 
 SAINT BARTHOLOMEW THE APOSTLE. 
 
 Matt X. 
 5. 7. 
 
 Saint Bartholomew the Apostle'. 
 The Collect. 
 
 Almighty and everlasting God, 
 who ciidst give to thine Apostle 
 Bartholomew grace truly to believe 
 and to preach "thy Word ; Grant, we 
 beseech thee, unto thy Church, to 
 
 whom it IS prepared of my Father." And, since we are 
 so perfectly assured, both from the nature of God, and 
 from express revelation, that " every man shall at the 
 last day receive according to the things done in the 
 body;"' it follows, that these are " prepared" for those 
 who did most to obtain them. That is, every Chris- 
 tian shall then be e.talted to a higher degree of bliss and 
 glory, in proportion as he hath drunk deeper of Christ's 
 cup." As his humility, his obedience, his sufferings, his 
 patience, and his meek disposition, have brought him to 
 a nearer conformity mth his Master: so shall he be 
 considered, and be placed nearer Him in happiness. 
 
 .\nd thus this answer explains and confirms the 
 parable in the beginning of the chapter. There the 
 labourers in the vineyard, whose work one hour had 
 expressed an equal diligence to theirs who were hired 
 sooner, were in their pay like%vise made equal to them, 
 ivho " had borne the bin-then and heat of the day." The 
 apostles, and primitive Christians, in like manner, they, 
 who had the advantage of conversing personally vnih. 
 Christ, or who actually laid down their li\es for Him, 
 shall in no degree have the advantage of any other 
 Christians, whose zeal and pious disjiosition, obedience, 
 and sufferings, have set them upon the same foot of 
 fidelity, and fervency, and undaunted love of Him and 
 his truth. Dean Stanhope. 
 
 ' St. Bartholomew the AposlIe.'\ St. Bartholomew is 
 reckoned in the catalogue of the ajiostles, which is given 
 by St. Matthew x. 3 ; St. Mark iii. 1 4 ; and St. Luke vi. 
 14 ; Acts i. 1 3. But his name not being mentioned by 
 St. John, but several things being recorded by him of 
 another disciple who is called Nathanael, of whom there 
 is a perfect silence in the other Evangelists, it has made 
 some ])ersons think, that Nathanacl and Bartholoniew 
 is the same person, 'lliis opinion, as far as I can find, 
 was imknown to the ancient writers of the chiu-cli : the 
 first author that is to be met with who espoused this 
 notion, is Rupertiis, who wrote about the year 1 130, and 
 is followed therein by Tostatus, and by many learned 
 men after them. They give several reasons, not alto- 
 gether imjirobable, why the same person is to be under- 
 stood by these two names : because the evangelists, 
 who writ the catalogties, join Philip and Bartholomew 
 together, !is John docs Philiji and .Nathanacl ; because, 
 the vocation of all the apostles being recorded, there is 
 no calling of Bartholomew mentioned, unless that of 
 Nathanael be it; Iiecause the other three Kvangelists 
 make mention of Bartholomew, and not of Nathanael, 
 and St. John makes mention of Nathanacl, and not of 
 Martliolomew; which is liardly to be accounted for, unless 
 they were the same person; because St. Jolin makes 
 mention of Nathanael as one of the apostles, John xxi. 
 2, and his character is not agreeable to any of the 
 apostles, unless it be Bartholomew ; because Bartholo- 
 mew is not a proper name, but is as much as the son of 
 'I'olmai, in the same manner as I'eter, whose name was 
 Simon, is called Barjona. Tlicre is not much to be 
 said against the cogency of these reasons, but that this 
 opinion is but late in the church, the ancient fatlurs 
 being of another opinion. Nay, if Bartholomew be Init 
 
 love that Word which he believed, 
 
 and both to preach and receive the i Thess. n. 
 
 same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Acts v. 12. 
 
 BY the hands of the Apostles 
 were many signs and wonders 
 wrought among the people : (and 
 
 a patronymical name, then this saint appears to be the 
 son of Tolmai, or of a family which bore that name 
 among the Jews ; for Josephus, in his iVntiquities, 
 mentions one ThoIomtPus. 
 
 He is recorded by the ancients to have preached the 
 Gospel in the greater Armenia, and to have converted 
 the Lycaonians to Christianity'. Others say he preached 
 to the Albanians, a people upon the Cas]ji,i.n sea. 
 Origcn and Socrates write, that he preached likewise 
 in India. But, that he preached the Gospel in the 
 Indies, is a truth which is most evidently confirmed by 
 the testimony of Pantrenus, the famous Christian 
 philosopher, who was master of the Christian Univer- 
 sity at Alexandria about the year 180; but, resolving 
 to take upon him the office of a missionary, went and 
 preached the Gos|)el in India, and after some time, 
 retm'ning home safe to Alexandria, he made this report 
 concerning his mission ; that he found in the hands of 
 some of the Indians, St. Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew, 
 which was brought among them by St. Bartholomew, 
 and that the original book was kept among them to 
 that day. 
 
 Some more modern authors relate, that he was cru- 
 cified, like St. Peter, with his head downwards; others, 
 that he was flayed alive ; which last account is most 
 probable, cruciiLxion being a Roman jjunishment ; and 
 since it is not recorded, that he ever retiu'ncd from 
 among the barbarous Indians, excoriation was a death 
 which was most likely to be inflicted by the rude 
 cruelty of those savages. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The Collect for this day takes notice of God's 
 " giving grace to this apostle truly to believe and to 
 preach his word ;" which he did, with great fidelity and 
 success, in the coimtries of India and Ethio))ia, together 
 with the western and northern jiarts of .Vsia ; where 
 he was a great instrument of rooting out idolatry, and 
 planting the Gospel among them. And from thence 
 we are taught to jiray, that God would grant to hia 
 church " grace, to love the word which he believed, 
 and to receive the doctrine which he preached :" by 
 his exam]ile firmly adhering to it, and persevering in 
 it even unto the end. The E|)istle for the day speaks 
 of the many miracles and wonderful works done by 
 the ajiostlcs, of whom St. Bartholomew was one, for 
 the confirmation of the truths, which they delivered. 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 It may be observed upon the (iospel aiipointcd for 
 the festival of St. Partholomew, tliat the parallel place 
 to it in St. Matthew is appointed to be read on St. 
 James's day: and then indeed more proiierly, it being 
 occasioned by the request of Zebedce's children, of 
 which James was one. With submission, therefore, I 
 should think, that a more suitable (iospel for the 
 festival of .St. Bartholomew woidd be John i. 43, to 
 the end, which is the history of Natlianael's coming to 
 our Siu'iour, who is generally allowed to be the same 
 with Bartholomew. The occasion why that passage in 
 .St. Luke was allixeil to this day was a conceit that 
 .St. P.artholomew's noble descent was the occasion of the 
 strife tliat is there recorded. But, if this relate to the
 
 SAINT BARTHOLOMIiW THE APOSTLE. 
 
 '2G3 
 
 all with one accord in 
 porch ; and of the rest 
 
 they were 
 Solomon's 
 
 durst no man join liimself to them : 
 but the people m;i<riiiti('(l tlicin : and 
 believers were the more adiled to the 
 Lord, multitudes both of men and 
 women;) insomuch that tliey brouj^iit 
 forth the sick into the streets, and 
 laid them on beds ami couches, that 
 at the least the shadow of Peter pass- 
 ing by might overshadow some of 
 them. There came also a multitude 
 out of the cities round about unto 
 Jerusalem, bringing sick folks and 
 
 same dispute which is mentioned by two other of the 
 cvangehsts, namely, St. Matthew and St. Mark, it is 
 plain that it was owing to another cause. JVhealli/. 
 
 ' The Epistle for the day contains the divine testi- 
 mony given to confirm the apostle's doctrine, by the 
 many signs and wonders, which they did among the 
 people ; and which carried with them such conviction, 
 as to convert the world to the belief of it. 
 
 This affords a seasonable occasion to remark, that, 
 upon all e.xtraordinary and new discoveries of God's 
 will to mankind, recorded in Scripture, it appears to 
 have been his constant usage to strengthen their 
 authority by miracles. The power of working these 
 was usually imparted to the persons whom He thought 
 tit to employ as instruments, for publishing those dis- 
 coveries to the world. In proof of this there is no need 
 to labour; the whole historical part of the Old and 
 New Testaments bears clear and ample testimony of it. 
 For, from the very first call of Abraham, out of a 
 country over-run with idolatry and blind superstition, 
 down to the latest memorials of St. Paul and the other 
 apostles, the narrative of two thousand years' transac- 
 tions abounds with instances of this kind, so very 
 numerous, that it were an undertaking almost as end- 
 less as it is superfluous but barely to repeat them. 
 Let it suffice then to remark, ujjon this occasion, that 
 the end, such wondrous operations were designed to 
 serve, is not merely the manifestation of God's almighty 
 power, but, generally speaking, the employing of that 
 power so as thereby to give evidence to some import- 
 ant truth, to establish the authority of some eminent 
 teacher, to convince them who did not yet believe, or to 
 confirm such as were still weak and wavering. They 
 who will be at the pains to consider, and comiiare the 
 facts, and their several circumstances, will quickly 
 satisfy themselves, that this was their general intent; 
 and will easily discern one or more of these jnirposes, 
 to have been the motives, even where they were not 
 the effects, of them. Tlicy ought indeed to have been 
 both : and we may justly think it matter of wonder, 
 that they should at any time fail of their intended suc- 
 cess : when that hath been considered, which I desire 
 may be observed in the 
 
 2. Second place. That there are few things, wherein 
 mankind seem to be more agreed, than in the acknow- 
 ledgment and acceptance of miracles, as an authentic 
 and indisputable testimony, that the jjcrsons intrusted 
 with such power were emjjloyed by God. This sense 
 of the thing appears from the confession and practice, 
 not of such only, upon whom the acknowledgment of 
 the true God, and the prejudices of educati<in, might 
 be pretended to have influence, but of heathens and 
 idolaters too. Thus Pharaoh's magicians confess the 
 miracles of Moses and Aaron to be " the finger of 
 
 them which were vexed with unclean 
 spirits ; and tliey were healed every 
 one". 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke xxii. 
 
 AN D there was also a 
 among them, which of 
 
 24. 
 
 strife 
 them 
 
 .sliould be accounted the greatest. 
 And he said unto them. The kings 
 of the Gentiles exercise lordship 
 over them ; and they that exercise 
 authority upon them are called 
 benefactors. But ye shall not be 
 so : but he that is greatest among 
 you, let him be as the younger ; 
 
 God," Exod. viii. 19. Thus, in the controversy between 
 Elijah and the priests of Baal, it was without any diffi- 
 culty accepted, as a fair proposal, that he, who answered 
 by " fire from heaven," should be unanimously served 
 and worshipped : and accordingly, upon the i)ro])het's 
 sacrifice being consumed, the cause was immediately 
 yielded. For " all the people when they saw it, fell on 
 their faces, and said. The Lord, he is the God ; the Lord, 
 he is the God," 1 Kings xviii. 24. 39. Thus Ehsha 
 desires Naaman the Syrian might be sent to him, that 
 his miraculous recovery from leprosy might make him 
 know there "was a God in Israel," 2 Kings v. 8. And 
 this effect it had, as appears by his solemn declaration, 
 " that he would thenceforth offer neither burnt-offering 
 nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord," 
 ver. 17. Thus again Nebuchadnezzar, and after him 
 Darius, was so affected with the wonderful deliverance 
 of the three children, and Daniel, as presently to 
 reverse their impious decrees, to put to death the 
 advisers of their i)unishment, to advance these peculiar 
 favoiu-ites of heaven to the highest trusts, and to enjoin 
 the worship of the only true God, by a most solemn 
 ordinance, to take place throughout their whole domi- 
 nions, Dan. iii. vi. Can we, after all this, think it 
 strange, that in a country so much better informed, so 
 much more accustomed to events of this kind, a learned 
 ruler of the Jews should in these terms accost our 
 blessed Lord, " Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher 
 come from God ; for no man can do these miracles 
 that thou doest, except God be with him?" John iii. 2; 
 or, that a m.ean man, who had been born blind, should 
 take the confidence to confront a whole assembly of 
 Pharisees with this argument, " Since the world began 
 it was not heard that any man opened the eyes of one 
 that was born blind. If this man were not of God, 
 he could do nothing ?" John ix. 32, 33 ; or, that a 
 council of wicked rulers should assign this, as a poUtick 
 reason for conspiring the death of Jesus : "This man 
 doeth many miracles ; if we let hira thus alone, all men 
 will believe on him ?" John xi. 47. 48 ; or, lastly, that 
 our blessed Savioiu- Himself shoidd put the credit of 
 his doctrine upon this short issue, " If I do not the 
 works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do, 
 though you lielieve not me, believe the works ; that ye 
 may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I 
 in him ?" John x. 37, 38. 
 
 I forbear simdry other passages to the same effect, 
 presuming that these sulHce to make it plain, how 
 received a testimony this of miracles was, and what 
 success it hath used to meet with, in aU ages and parts 
 of the world. The obstinacy of some, that have stood 
 out against it, proves it indeed to ha\'e been not a com- 
 pulsive or invincible argument, for nothing can be so 
 to reasonable agents. But the sufficiency of it hath
 
 '264 
 
 SAINT MATTHEW THE APOSTLE. 
 
 and lie tbat is chief, as lie that 
 cloth serve. For whether is greater, 
 he that sitteth at meat, or he that 
 serveth i' Is not he that sitteth at 
 meat ? but I am among you as he 
 that serveth. Ye are they which 
 have continued with me in my 
 temptations. And I appoint unto 
 you a kingdom, as ray Father hath 
 appointed unto me ; tliat ye may 
 
 been abundantly seen, as upon other occasions, so 
 especially in the entertainment it prepared for the 
 Gospel, with all «'hose minds were not before blocked 
 up by those two ordinary impregnable barriers, wilfid 
 ignorance and worldly interest. Dean Sta/iliojje. 
 
 ' From the case of these contending ajiostles some 
 reflexions may be drawn, such as suit the circumstances 
 of men in general. 
 
 1. .Vs, first, since the temptations mentioned in the 
 Gospel were poverty, shame, danger, and other liinds of 
 ailversitv ; it may be of use to observe, how well the 
 ends of religion are served by such pro\-idences. For 
 they render the virtue of the jiersons more conspicuous ; 
 their jiatience, and constancy, and trust in God more 
 a])proved; and especially they vindicate their sincerity 
 from that insinuation of the devil against Job, and the 
 too common jealousy of wicked men, that God is served 
 only for the sake of temporal interest. When adversity 
 falls upon pious people, it shews them to themselves, 
 and to others. It gives them the satisfaction of know- 
 ing their own stedfastness ; and convinces the unbeliev- 
 ing world, that there is ready such a thing, as cleaving 
 to God out of a principle of duty and conscience ; that 
 some can abstract from all those adx'antages and encou- 
 ragements, for which Christians are often suspected to 
 have a greater regard to the gain, than to the godliness, 
 of their obedience. 
 
 2. But, secondly, we ought to observe likewise, what 
 proof is given of our integrity in such cases, and upon 
 wliat terms any benefit is to be expected from them. 
 AVhich is, only ui)on condition of our continuing witli 
 Christ in these temptations. Perseverance and faith- 
 fulness unto the end, not fainting under tribulation, not 
 growing weary of well-doing ; these are the terms, 
 these are the evidences of our virtues, to which a crown 
 of life and rigliteousness is promised. The Galatians 
 " ran well once," but " they suffered themselves to be 
 hindered from the obeying of the trulli," (ial. v. 7 ; 
 Init he, that wins the prize, must run on till he reaches 
 the goal. Several others addressed to Christ, and kept 
 Ilim company for a while, but they forsook Him again; 
 and the commendation here distinguishes these a])oslles 
 from such a levity, as those deserters were guilty of. 
 We cannot indeecl conliime witli Clirist at tliis day, in 
 the same manner they diil then ; because we do not con- 
 ver.se with Him as they did, nor see tlic abuses He suf- 
 fered in our flesh. Hut we do continue with Him in 
 temptation, as oft as anv dilliculty besets lis, Init cannot 
 draw us off from our iluty ; as oft as any misfortune 
 assaults, but cannot vuni|uisli our hope and patience ; 
 as oft as we sec his holy doctrine traduced and vilified, 
 his blessed name profaned, liis precepts neglected, his 
 promises and threatenings sliglited and ridiculed, and 
 yet slacken not our zeal one whit, nor arc in any degree 
 ashamed of being esteemeil those simple honest men, 
 wliich the (iospel calls Christians. 
 
 .'). 'I'liirdly, if we consider the persons to wlioni, and 
 the time when, tliese words were spoken, there is yet 
 this farther comfort to be gatlicrcd out of them, tliat 
 
 eat and drink at my tabic in my 
 kingdom, and sit on thrones judging 
 the twelve tribes of Israel'. 
 
 Saint Matthew the Apostle^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 O Almighty God, who by thy 
 blessed Son didst call Matthew 
 from the receipt of custom to be an 
 
 God hath great compassion upon our weakness ; and 
 does not reckon a good man's perseverance lost and 
 broken by any interrujition. which human frailty and a 
 surprising occasion may make in it. For did not our 
 Lord deliver Himself in these words a little before his 
 passion ? Did not every one of these apostles forsake 
 Him ? Did not one of them deny Him in a few hours 
 after ? Did He not know, nay, had He not already 
 foretold, this scattering and oft'ence because of Him ? 
 Yet you see all this notwithstaniliug. He allows these 
 very persons the character of friends, " that continued 
 with him in his temptation ;" and promises a reward 
 for their courage and constancy in so doing. From 
 whence now we have leave to argue, that God does not 
 shew Himself "extreme to mark what is done amiss," 
 but sets a just distinction between failings and faults. 
 That some calamities, when sudden and violent, may 
 put ns lieside our duty, and jirevail too far upon our 
 passions, without the utter ruin of our souls, or forfeit- 
 ing the in-aise due to our former piety. And ]irovided 
 we be diligent in calling back reason and religion to 
 our assistance ; if we return, as soon as possible, to a 
 right mind, and do well, and lament our offence, all may 
 be \'erj' well. F'or to those, who do not transgress 
 wilfully, nor indulge their jiassions till they grow into 
 voluntary and i)resiim])tuous sins, the sli])s of mere 
 infirmity shall never be im])uted to their prejudice. 
 
 4. Lastly, the subject before us teaches us to despise 
 the world, and to long for a better. This, you see, is 
 not the ]ilaee of rewards ; it hath nothing in it capable 
 of being a reward ; nothing worth the sufferings and 
 obedience of a good Christian ; nothing that can satisfy 
 the desires of a truly great soul. If therefore we would 
 indulge a lawful and coinmcndalile ambition, let us 
 seek tliat honour, which eometh from God only ; and 
 endeavour to be [lersons whom the King of heaven 
 may delight to jircfer. If we thirst after plenty and 
 pleasure, none of the trifles here below can satiate our 
 appetite. It must be sincere and lasting pleasure; it 
 must be true and stable honour; and such is only 
 to be had in that kingdom, which Christ appoints to 
 all them who continue faithful in tcmjitations. Which 
 (iod grant us all grace to do here, tliat we may have 
 glory for it liercaller. Amen. Dnin Sliinhope. 
 
 ' 'St. Matthew tlie .-Iposlli:] St. Matthew was the last 
 called of the apostles, lie hiid another name which he 
 was likewise called by, and that was Levi ; for St. Mark 
 and St. Luke mention him under that name, when tlicy 
 reliitc his calling. He was a |)ublican by profession, 
 whereliy lie livcci in very handsome circumstances, as 
 ajipears by his making a considerable entertaimnent at 
 his house for our Saviour, to wliich he invited a great 
 many more of his own profession. Some have thought 
 he was one of the I'idilicani, of which there was a sort 
 of order or brotlicrliood in Uome, who were the farmers 
 of tile publick revenues, wliom Cicero calls "the flower 
 of the llomari kniglils. the ornament of the city, and 
 the support of the commouwcalth." These were places 
 of vast profit which gentlemen of the fairest fortunes
 
 SAINT MATTHEW THE APOSTLE. 
 
 '265 
 
 Malt. ix. a. 
 Mark ii 14. 
 Luke V. -27, 
 28. 
 
 Luke xviii. 
 22. 
 
 I 
 
 Apostle and Evangelist ; Grant us 
 grace to forsake all covetous riesircs, 
 and inordinate love of riches, and to 
 follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ, 
 who livetii and reigneth with thee 
 and the Holy Ghost, one God, world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 2 Cor. iv. 1. 
 
 THEREFORE seeing we have 
 this niini.stry, as we have ri'- 
 ceived mercy, we faint not ; but 
 have renounced the hidden things 
 of dishonesty, not walking in crafti- 
 ness, nor handling the Word of 
 God deceitfully, hut by manifesta- 
 tion of the truth commending our- 
 
 in the Roman state procured to themselves, many of 
 them so great, that they would not have e.'cchanfjed 
 them for Herod's tetrarchate, mucli less would have 
 gone to have ])icked U|) the tolls of a few fishermen in 
 the sea of Tiberias. But the word publican is extended 
 likewise to signify the deputies and servants of the 
 master Publicanus, who was the pi-ovincial redemptor, 
 and farmed the revenue of a whole province, or some 
 considerable part of it, from the Roman state. It re- 
 mains therefoi-e, that Matthew was a custom-officer, 
 I)laccd by the Publicanus, or his deputy, to take up the 
 duties laid upon the fishing trade in the lake of Tibe- 
 rias; or however, to receive those which were due in 
 the neighliourhood of Capernaum, which was the place 
 of his settlement ; for this town seems to be a very 
 commodious [jlace for this purpose, not only as situated 
 upon the lake, but because all vessels, which came up 
 and down the Jordan, must pass by it ; and the Porto- 
 rium, or duty for wattage of persons or goods over the 
 lake, was probably paid here. The Telonium, or receijit 
 of custom, was the custom-house of the place, probably 
 a great table and bench imder cover, but o])en to the 
 sea-side, so that the clerk or customer, sitting thereat, 
 might have a clear vie%v of the ships and lading ; and 
 upon this reason it was, that our Saviour, passing by, 
 could see St. Matthew sitting thereat. The wonderful 
 efficacy of the Holy Spirit of God was visible in this 
 man's conversion ; for our Saviour said no more but 
 " FoUow me, and he arose and followed him," Matt. 
 i.x. 16. Indeed oiu- Saviour doing so many miracles in 
 the country aliout Capernaum might make some re- 
 S])ectful impressions upon him, with regard to his cha- 
 racter ; but that he should become his disciple only by 
 his beckoning to him shews an omnijjotent |)ower of a 
 divine grace infused into the heart of this saint, to 
 engage him to leave a wealthy employ, for the want, 
 and ])enury, and dangers of the apostleship. The feast 
 which he made to entertain our Saviour just after his 
 call, at which several pubhcans or custom-gatherers 
 were jiresent, gave great disgust to the Pharisees, who 
 thought, with the rest of the Jews, that all pidjlicans 
 were wicked men, and not fit for an ordinary Jew, 
 much less for a holy ])rophet, to converse with. The 
 usual name which they were wont to give to the pub- 
 licans was Parisim, pitiful rogues, a name ajipropriated 
 to rascally fellows, who used to pluck up hedges and pull 
 down walls in the night-time. Our Saviour therefore 
 thought fit to choose one of his followers out of an 
 order of them whom they had the worst opinion of, to 
 shew that the grace of the Gospel was not extended only 
 
 selves to every man'.s conscience 
 in the sight of God. l?ut if our 
 gospel be hid, it is hid to them tliat 
 are lost: in wluun the god of this 
 world hath blinded the minds of them 
 which believe not, lest the light 
 of the glorious Gospel of Christ, 
 who is the image of God, should 
 shine unto them. For we preach 
 not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the 
 Lord ; and ourselves your servants 
 for Jesus' sake. For God, who 
 commanded the light to shine out of 
 darkness, hath shined in our hearts, 
 to give the light of the knowledge of 
 the glory of God, in the face of Jesus 
 Christ ". 
 
 to good men, but that all men, however flagitious, might 
 be saved u|)on their repentance. Not that the employ 
 of the publicans was imlawful. for the ])ublicans did 
 with more honesty gather the legal taxes, than the Jews 
 deny them, or revile the collectors of them ; hut our 
 Saviour chose to make one, whom they thought of a 
 \'ile character, one of his disciples, to demonstrate to 
 them the pre\'alency of his doctrine, though they by 
 their perverseness made the worst use of it. 
 
 This apostle wrote the Gos]>el which bears his name 
 about eight years after Christ's ascension, just before 
 the apostles dispersed themselves, to go to i)reach the 
 Gospel in foreign parts. He undertook this work at 
 the entreaty of the converted Jews in Palestine, who 
 being desirous to have some memoirs of our Saviour's 
 life left with them, that they might have recoiu'se to it 
 in the apostles' absence, St. Matthew complying with 
 this their desire, wrote this excellent Gosjiel which 
 we have now in oirr hands. He wrote his Gospel in 
 the vulgar Hebrew, or Syriack, as all antiquities do 
 agree. And it should seem that all the apostles took 
 a copy of it with them when they went to travel. And 
 Athanasius says, that the (ireek translation, we have 
 thereof, was made by Jacobus Minor, Bishop of Jeru- 
 salem, and oiu' Lor<l's In-other. The province allotted 
 for his preaching the Gospel, as ancient writers relate, 
 was Ethio])ia, from whence we do not read that he ever 
 returned, but he probably suffered martyrdom there. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The Collect of the day makes mention of God's 
 " calling him from the receipt of custom to the office of 
 an apostle and evangehst;" and from thence teaches us 
 to pray for " grace, to forsake all covetous desires, and 
 inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same Lord 
 Jesus Christ." In his call to the apostleship may be 
 remarked, 1. his dihgence and fidelity in the work of 
 the ministry, to which he was called, which is the sub- 
 ject of the Epistle : and, 2. his readiness to obey our 
 .Saviom-'s call, which is the subject of the Gospel for 
 the day. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ^ This Scripture is very properly taken into the 
 offices of this festival ; which commemorates that 
 apostle and evangelist, to whose holy labours the 
 Church is indebted for the earliest account she now 
 enjoys of our blessed Savioiu's actions and discourses : 
 a Scri])ture equally applicable to him, and the suc- 
 ceeding writers and jireachers of the Gospel in its pri- 
 mitive purity, as to St. Paul and his companions. 
 
 Their integrity in preaching the Gospel may be 
 shewn from various considerations. Amongst others.
 
 •266 
 
 SAINT MATTHEW THE APOSTLE. 
 
 The Gospec. St. Matth. ix. 9. 1 
 
 AN D as Jesus passed forth from ; 
 tlience, he saw a man named 
 Matthew, sitting at the recei]it of J 
 custom : and he saith unto him, 
 Follow me. And he arose and fol- 
 lowed him. And it came to pass, 
 as Jesus sat at meat in the house, 
 behold, many Publicans and sin- 
 ners came, and sat down with him 
 and his disciples. And when the 
 
 if we look to those rules of living, by which Christians 
 were to walk, we shall find undeniable marks of it, 
 particularly in the following instances : 
 
 1. They urged the absolute necessity of a virtuo\is 
 life, as the natural product of a true faith ; and that, 
 without which Christ is called " Master and Lord" to 
 no manner of purpose. 
 
 2. ITiey ground the necessity upon the commands 
 of our Saviour, the encouragements and assistances 
 of his grace, the awe due to the all-seeing God and 
 searcher of hearts, the present rejiroaches of conscience, 
 the certainty of a futiu-e judgement, and the eternity of 
 rewards and punishments ; each in their kind uncon- 
 ceivably great, according to the good or bad things 
 done in this body. Motives too forcible to be in 
 reason withstood ; such as leave no room for indulging 
 one's self in hypocrisy or secret sins ; but must jirc- 
 vail, if any can, for " cleansing ourselves from all filthi- 
 ncss both of flesh and spirit, and perfecting holiness in 
 the fear of God." And this the apostle seems to have 
 had in view, when professing himself here to have 
 " renounced the hidden things of dishonesty." 
 
 3. They inculcated these rules " without respect of 
 persons;" not accommodating their doctrines to the 
 lusts or humours of men ; not courting the fiivom- of 
 the great, nor soothing the A'anity of the learned and 
 witty, at the expense of truth and their own integrity. 
 They gave all people plainly to understand, that (jod, 
 in the day of trial, will make no such distinctions, 
 as are but too much regarded in this «orld ; and 
 those, whom this plain-dealing would not go down 
 with, they dared, in conscience of their duty, to dis- 
 oblige : as knowing, that, whatever were the conse- 
 (|uenccs, they " ought not to go beyond the word of 
 the Lord, to say less or more." A noble pattern for 
 their successors, the ministers of the Gospel in all ages : 
 which they, who are not careful strictly to imitate, 
 betray the cause of (jod, jirostitute their character, and 
 liave lost all riglit to this most valuable comfort of 
 •St. Paul before us, of not " walking in craftiness, nor 
 handling the word of God deceitfully." 
 
 •t. They lived u]) to the ])rineiples taught by them, 
 and conlirnicil tluir instructions by their exam])les. 
 Of how great inllucnee this is, common experience 
 I)roves. Kvery one sees the justice of tliat indignation, 
 with which our Lord rebukes the liypocrisy of those 
 " I'liarisees and serihes, who boimd heavy liurdens and 
 grievous to be borne, and laid them on men's shoul- 
 ders ; but they themselves would not move them with 
 one of tlieir fingers," Matt, xxiii. ."i, -1. These teachers, 
 quite contrary, declined no hardshi|), omitted no duty 
 to which they exhorted others; but. lil<e true leaders in 
 this s|)irifual warfare, distinguished tliemselves by the 
 most ctiiinent degrees of |)iety and virtue. 'I'liey could 
 n|ipeiil to eviTV place they came to, ■' how holy, and 
 just, anil unblamealde " their behaviour there had 
 been, 1 Thess. ii. 10. Their bitterest enemies indeed, 
 
 Pharisees saw it, they saiil unto his 
 disciples. Why eateth your Master 
 with Publicans and sinners ? But 
 when Jesus iieard that, lie said unto 
 them, They that be whole need not 
 a physician, but they that are sick. 
 But go ye and learn what that 
 meaneth, I will have mercy, and 
 not sacrifice ; for I am not come to 
 call the righteous, but sinners to 
 repentance y. 
 
 though they sought with all the nicety that envy and 
 hatred could inspire, were not able to find any occasion 
 of reproach in them. The only crime alleged against 
 them was undaunted zeal in propagating Christianity, 
 and inflexible constancy in the profession of it. Which 
 was in truth not a crime, but one of their brightest 
 virtues, and gave another undeniable evidence of their 
 faithfulness and honesty. That, 
 
 5. Lastly, Of suffering and dying in testimony of 
 the doctrines taught and wTitten by them. This was 
 the case of every evangelist, every apostle, (St. John 
 only excepted,) so far as any notices of their lives and 
 deaths have been delivered to posterity. And how 
 justly he also may be reckoned among the martyrs, 
 hath been formerly observed. Of what they endured, 
 and how little threatenings and persecutions weighed 
 with them, the book of Acts gives a large specimen. 
 But, after endiu'ing bodily torments, and all that 
 makes this life uncomfortable, to lay down even Ufe 
 itself; to "refuse deb veranee;" and neither be softened 
 with allurement, nor broken with terrors ; is not this 
 a jiroof of believing themselves, and being in very 
 good earnest ? Can lies and forgeries, can humour 
 and obstinacy, can artifice and jiopularity, can affecta- 
 tion of novelty living, or of a name \\\\vn dead, |U-oduce 
 one such martjT since the creation ? But if some one 
 were so infatuated, could twehe men be supposed to 
 persist in such wickedness and folly ? Could those 
 twelve not only sacrifice themsel\-es, but ])ersuade 
 others, that it is their duty to do tlie like, when called 
 to it ; and in this argument succeed so well, that 
 lumdreds and thousands should actually do the like ; 
 and, for three centuries together, continue to oifer up 
 themselves with joy and triumph : and in so great a 
 niunber, and so long time, not one, when ])ut to the 
 question, discover the fraud, and at once save himself, 
 and do his duty? These are extravagances never to 
 be sujijiosed ; and those are effects, that nei'cr were or 
 could be produced by any cause less jiowerful, than a 
 full assurance of innoccncy and truth. Both which 
 are so evident and illustrious in the first preachers and 
 writers of the Christian religion, that a candid and 
 considerate man may almost .stand amazed, how there 
 should remain such a thing as an infidel in the world. 
 He must do so, had not St. I'aul here told us, whence 
 this comes to i)ass : when saying at the third and 
 fourth verses, " If our Gospel be bid, it is hid to them 
 that are lost : in whom tlie god of this world hath 
 blinded the minds of theui which believe not, lest the 
 light of the glorious gosp<i of Christ, who is the image 
 of God, should shine unto them." Dean Sinnhnpe. 
 
 1 It is worth while to consider the readiness of the 
 obedience, with which the a|)ostles resigned tliemselves 
 up at our Saviour's call: fur of St. .Nbitthew it is here 
 said, that " he arose and followed biin ;" and of some 
 of the rest St. LuUe tells us, that, being called, they 
 "left all and followed him." They delayed not the
 
 SAINT MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS. 
 
 267 
 
 
 
 L 
 
 Saint Michael and all Anyds': 
 The Colkft. 
 Everlasting Gofl, wlio liast 
 ordained and constituted the 
 services of angels and men in a won- 
 Ps.xxxiv. 7i derful order; Mercifully grant, tliat 
 Matt, xvili. as thy holy Angels always do thee 
 vi ciii. 20, service in heaven, so by thy a]i]ioint- 
 :' , . ,„ ment thev may succour and defend 
 ueb. i. H. US on earth ; through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Rev. .\ii. 7. 
 
 THERE was war in heaven : 
 Michael and his angels fought 
 against the dragon, and the dragon 
 fougiit and his angels ; and pre- 
 vailed not, neither was their place 
 found any more in heaven. And 
 the great dragon was cast out, that 
 old serpent, called the devil and 
 
 time, nor disputed the equity or reasonableness of his 
 command ; but presently obeyed, and gave themselves 
 rip to Him. Of St. Matthew, the saint of this day, it 
 may be more particularly observed, that he, without 
 any hesitation, quitted his publican's stall, and rose 
 from the receipt of custom, where he was sitting : and 
 though he was then engaged in a very rich and profit- 
 able em])loyment, the sea of Galilee pouring a copious 
 supply of wealth into his lap ; yet in the midst of his 
 affluence and plenty he renounced all, and became a 
 follower of the blessed Jesus : the reason was, that 
 our Sa\'iour being a teacher come from God, an extra- 
 ordinary person, that brought salvation %vith Him, as 
 by his doctrine and miracles plainly ap])eared : it had 
 been folly to refuse obedience to his summons, as it 
 was wisdom to make all haste to come to Him, pre- 
 pared, as Matthew was, by the wonderful works of our 
 blessed Lord, to receive a due impression from his 
 call. 
 
 But, though St. Matthew exchanged a lucrative em- 
 ployment for poverty and hardship ; and quitted his 
 house, and all that was dear to him in the world, to 
 attend upon one who " had not where to lay his head ;" 
 he was no loser, but a great gainer by the exchange. 
 For he parted with the perishing things of this life, for 
 a much more enduring substance in heaven ; and in 
 effect only exchanged a few precious trifles for a 
 far more precious treasure. For this reason he cheer- 
 fully obeyed our Saviour's call ; and diligently attended 
 his person, to hear his sermons, and to see his works : 
 nor was he discouraged by the mean circumstances of 
 his appearance; for he discerned majesty under the 
 garb of meanness, and discovered the divinity of his 
 Lord and Saviour through the veil of his humility. 
 
 Therefore to his readiness in following Christ, he 
 added constancy and perseverance in keeping %vith 
 Him ; he never left his .Saviour, for wliom he had left all 
 things else, but continued \vith Him to the last : he 
 followed Him in bonds and imprisonment, and a variety 
 of sufferings, till he arrived at last to the crown of mar- 
 tyrdom. His example may teach us the great duty of 
 self-denial and contempt of the world. This is the 
 first lesson to be learned in Christ's school : " If any 
 will be my disciple," saith our Sai-iour, " let him deny 
 himself, and take up his cross and follow me." This 
 
 Satan, wliich deceiveth the wliole 
 world ; he was cast out into tlie 
 earth, and liis angels were cast out 
 with him. And I heard a loud 
 voice saying in heaven. Now is come 
 salvation, and strength, and the 
 kingdom of our God, and the power 
 of his Christ : for the accuser of our 
 brethren is cast down, which accused 
 them before our God day and night. 
 And they overcame him by the 
 blood of the Lamb, and by the 
 word of their testimony ; and they 
 loved not their lives unto the death. 
 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and 
 ye that dwell in them. Wo to the 
 inliabiters of the earth, and of the 
 sea : for the devil is come down unto 
 you, having great wrafh, because he 
 knoweth that he hath but a short 
 time\ 
 
 is the first step in Christianity, and \vill lead us on to 
 the rest : but if we do not take this, we desert our 
 Saviour at the first setting out, and then, as He tells 
 us, " we are not worthy of him :" and so we shall be 
 accounted unworthy to receive any mercy or favour 
 from Him, unless we wean our affection from this 
 world, and fix it chiefly on the things of a better. 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' St. Michael and all Angels^ This festival is cele- 
 brated by the Church, in thankfulness to God for the 
 benefits we receive by the ministry of the holy angels : 
 and because St. Michael is recorded in Scripture as an 
 angel of great power and dignity, and as presiding and 
 watching over the church of God, with a particular 
 vigilance and ajiplication, Dan. x. 13; and triumphing 
 over the devil. Rev. xii. 7; Jude 9; it therefore bears 
 his name. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The Collect for the day reminds us of God Almighty's 
 having " ordained and constituted the services of angels 
 and men in a wonderftd order ;" and thence teaches us 
 to pray, that " as the holy angels always do God service 
 in heaven ; so, by his appointment, they may succour 
 and defend us on earth, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord ;" where we not only contemjdate the order and 
 excellences of the holy angels ; but likewise commemo- 
 rate the service they do to God in heaven, and the 
 succour they afford to men on earth. 
 
 The Epistle tells us of " a war in heaven," wherein 
 " Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and 
 his angels." The Gospel contains our Saviour's advice 
 to his discijiles, in favour of humility, and against the 
 affectation of worldly greatness ; and his caution to 
 them, not to offend any of the little ones that believe 
 in Him ; together with the reason of this caution, from 
 the care taken of such little ones by the holy angels. 
 Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' Amongst different interpretations given by learned 
 men of this passage, there is one which applies it in the 
 most literal sense to the ex])ulsion of the devil and the 
 angels from their seats of light and bliss, after their 
 rebellion against God. For that some of the angels did 
 " sin," and were " cast out of heaven," the Scripture is 
 express, 2 Pet. ii. 4 ; Jude (3. The ]iarticulars of their 
 rebellion and punishment, being a subject of no great 
 use or concern to us, are not indeed described at large.
 
 268 
 
 SAINT MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mattb. xviii. L 
 
 AT the same time came the dis- 
 ciples unto Jesus, sayiiio:, AVJio 
 is the greatest in the Kingdom of 
 heaven? And Jesus called a little 
 child unto him, and set him in the 
 midst of them, and said, Verily I 
 say unto you. Except ye he con- 
 verted, and become as little children, 
 ye shall not enter into the Kingdom 
 of heaven. Whosoever therefore 
 shall humble himself as this little 
 child, the same is greatest in the 
 Kingdom of heaven. And wlioso 
 shall receive one such little child 
 
 The several allusions to, and apjjlieations of, this matter 
 to other subjects, do hon-ever imply and presup])ose a 
 sense of literal and historical truth, as their basis and 
 support. And the crime, whereof tliey weK oriLjinally 
 guilty, seems, if not a plain and necessary, yet at least a 
 jirobable and fair deduction from the hints left us in 
 holy WTit, to ha^•e been pride ; and o\-er-\'aluc of, and 
 too great self-complacency in, the excellences of their 
 nature and condition ; such as, instead of disposing 
 them to grateful obedience, lifted up their minds to a 
 vain affectation of equality with God, at least inde- 
 pendence upon the giver and source of all good. 
 
 This literal sense of the Scripture, which, by referring 
 it to the fall of the angels, seems best to answer the 
 Church's design in the use of it on this festival, may be 
 serviceable to us in several respects. 
 
 As first, (for that cannot be inculcated too often,) by 
 making us duly sensible of the spiritual hazards, to 
 which we stand cxjiosed. If beings so far sui)erior to 
 us in wisdom and power ; disengaged from such bodies 
 and their affections, as we bear about nith us ; happy 
 in the presence of (iod, and highly advanced in the 
 court of heaven : if these glorious spirits, i)rovoked by 
 no ill persuasion or example from without, did yet sin; 
 and so highly incense xVImighty God, as by Him to be 
 laid imder an irrevocable decree to everlasting dai-kness 
 and torments : liow should we, poor worms, betray oiu- 
 deluded souls, by vain imaginations of safety, and the 
 carelessness naturally consequent thereupon ? 
 
 So reasonable and necessary it is, that the fate of evil 
 angels should rouse us out of sleep, and quicken our 
 care. Hut then, secondly, to render that care elfectual, 
 it is no less necessary to reflect upon their fault, too, and 
 what it was tliat caused them to fall. Now this we 
 have seen was pride. The properties whereof are, an 
 inordinate value of any real or supposed excellences, by 
 attributing the merit, the j)raise of them to one's self; 
 forgetfulness of, and unthankfulness to, the author aiul 
 giver of them ; discontent with the present state of 
 things ; a.spiring and grasping after more and higher, as 
 is su]>posed due ; and envy at the advantages of all 
 others. IJy which vile comjilication of qualities, it is 
 manifest, that pride hath in its own nature the seeds 
 and i)rinciples of rebellion, and is the source of malice, 
 contention, and every evil work. 
 
 It should raise in us a yet greater detestation of this 
 vice, that not angels only, but mankind also, fell liy it. 
 The aspiring to be like gods, and affecting to know what 
 (iod thought fit to be concealed from them, was the 
 ])revailing temptalion urged liy liim, who from his own 
 experience had learnt im wliat side a rational soul is 
 most successfully attacked. The same disdain of con- 
 
 in my Name, receiveth me. But 
 whoso .shall oiiend one of these little 
 ones which believe in me, it were 
 better for him that a millstone were 
 hanged about his neck, and that he 
 were drowned in the depth of the 
 sea. Wo unto the world because of 
 offences: for it must needs be that 
 offences come : but wo to that man 
 by whom the oflence cometh. Where- 
 fore if th)' hand or thy foot offend 
 thee, cut them off, and cast them 
 from thee : it is better for thee to 
 enter into life halt or maimed, rather 
 than having two hands or two feet to 
 
 tinning ignorant in matters above our comprehension 
 hath been the bitter root of aU the heresies and schisms, 
 that ever infested the church. Vanity, self-conceit, and 
 not submitting to allow any other wiser and better than 
 themselves, could debauch even heavenly beings. And 
 earth was made a scene of misery, by an inordinate 
 desire of that, which to desire regularly, and to possess 
 humbly, is the greatest accomjilishment of a wise and 
 good man. So far are they from being truly wise or 
 mortified who are yet imtaught to be content with 
 " thinking soberly," and have not ceased to be " wise in 
 their own conceits." 
 
 But, thirdly, while we contemijlate the wisdom and 
 justice of God, in permitting and punishing the sins of 
 evil angels, and all the dire effects of their malice to 
 mankind ; let us by no means forget the dilFerencc his 
 mercy hath put between their case, and that of sinners 
 tenijjted by them. It is true, they offended against a 
 liglit infinitely clearer, without the imimlse of any sug- 
 gester ; and consequently they sinned with more per- 
 verseness, as well as baser ingratitude. But, all these, 
 and any other aggravations notwithstanding, it is to 
 the free and imboimded mercy of God, that we o\i'e the 
 redemption of men ; while S])irits, once so much higher 
 in dignity, and so much more nearly allied to the divine 
 nature, are left under hopeless and irrecoverable con- 
 deumation. For who can sufliciently adore the kind- 
 ness and compassion, which i)assed by this glorious 
 order of beings, and did not disdain to assume the 
 flesh and blood of poor feeble mortals into the God- 
 head, that, by becoming one of thetn, lie might exalt 
 them to that state, from wliich their betters by trans- 
 gression fell. 
 
 Their hearts, which turned themselves away from 
 God, are finally left in that alienation. Our alienation is 
 chosen too, but yet we are not given over to sin. The 
 S|)irit of God strives with us, and, by his sweet attrac- 
 tives, regulates our affections when warjicd, helps us to 
 be sensible of and sorry for oiu' follies, and brings the 
 prodigals back to their right mind. One fault drove 
 them out of the beatifick |)resence of (iod ; but that one 
 (the grace of repentance not being granted) productive 
 of infinilc more, and so at once the increase both of 
 their guilt and misery : we after many uuiy obtain an 
 entrance there: and though our "sins" be "red as 
 crimson, and more than the hairs of our head;" yet 
 may they be " white as snow," when washed in that 
 " blood of the Laml)," by which the victory was gained 
 over the devil and his accomplices, making " war in 
 heaven," Isa. i. 18; I's. xl. 1'2; Rev. xii. 11. 7; that 
 blood which overcomes biui, no less in the quality of 
 our enemy, than God's. Dean Stanhope.
 
 SAINT LUKE THE EVANGELIST. 
 
 269 
 
 be cast into everlasting fire. And if 
 thine eye offend tiiee, pluck it out, 
 and cast it from tiiee : it is better 
 for thee to enter into life with one 
 eye, rather than haviiiii;- two eyes 
 to be cast into hell-lire. I'ahe heed 
 that ye despise not one of these little 
 ones; for 1 say unto you, That in 
 heaven their angels do always behold 
 
 ^ The meaniniT of our blessed Sa\nour, and that which 
 lie designed to teach us in these conchiding words, 1 
 conceive to be this. Not to inform us, that the holy 
 angels in heaven enjoy the presence of God perpetually ; 
 nor to assure us that every good man and sincere be- 
 liever is imder the constant care and inspection of these 
 spiritual guardians (for both these tilings the persons, 
 to whom Christ sjioke, most fii'inly believed and took 
 for granted before). But He intended to shew, that 
 the very meanest, meekest, and most despicable of those 
 " little ones," who believe in Ilira, are thought not un- 
 worthy the very solicitous concern, and never-failing 
 jiatronage, of the highest and greatest of the angels : 
 such as, in their jjower and capacity above, answer to 
 the nobility and prime-ministers of state, in the courts 
 of earthly princes : and because the consequences of 
 slighting and injuring those, who are secure of such 
 zealous and such powerful friends, must in all reason 
 be supposed very terrible, "Therefore take heed that ye 
 despise not one of these little ones," says Christ ; whom 
 the great God, and his servants, tlie blessed spirits 
 above, are so far from despising, that " I say unto you, 
 In heaven their angels do always behold the face of ray 
 Father which is in heaven." 
 
 This appears to be the meaning of the passage. At 
 the same time it may be observed, that from the infor- 
 mation given us in .Scripture concerning the holy angels 
 several useful inferences may be drawn. 
 
 1. A reflection upon these ministering spirits being 
 employed for the benefit of good men should pow- 
 erfully excite us to thankfulness and praise. For 
 what is man, that God shall give his angels charge 
 over him ? that these bright guards should jiitch 
 their tents about us ? and that their joy should l)e 
 increased by every conquest that we make over sin 
 and Satan ? 
 
 2. We should imitate this their loving-kindness and 
 condescension, as we have power and opportunity. Be- 
 loved, if God and the holy angels are so solicitous for 
 our souls, we ought also to be concerned very tenderly 
 for one another's souls : and by no means to " despise" 
 those, whom even these sons of God do not disdain to 
 attend on, and to serve. 
 
 3. This may fortify us in our conflicts with tempta- 
 tions. Whatever be the power, the subtlety, and fatal 
 diligence of that evil angel, the devil, we may comfort 
 ourselves with the thought, that the armies of 'the most 
 high God, the good angels, are encamjied aroimd us, 
 vaUant and wise, faithful to their charge, and zealous in 
 our defence. So that we may encoiu-age ourselves, in 
 the language of Ehsha, 2 Kings vi. IG, 17, " Fear not; 
 for they that be with us, are more " and mightier, " than 
 they that be against us." 
 
 4. The constant presence of these angels with us, and 
 the knowledge they have of our actions and affairs, 
 should make us very careful of our behaviour. I'hey are 
 spirits of holiness and purity ; they have an irreconcile- 
 alile aversion to filthiness and vice ; and therefore we 
 ought by no means to provoke or grieve them, by in- 
 
 the face of my Father whieh is in 
 heaven''. 
 
 Saint Luke the Lvanr/rlixf. 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who call- 
 edst Luke the Physician, whose coi. iv. i4. 
 praise is in the Gospel, to be an ']l"''^"^' 
 
 dulging such lusts and jiractices as they cannot but 
 hate ; especially we shall do well to conduct ourselves 
 with all comeliness and gravity and reverence, in our 
 pubbck and jirivate devotions ; that no lightness, or 
 negligence, betray a disres])ect of those who stand by 
 us, and overlook us in these actions ; and that they, 
 who " always behold our Feather's face in heaven," may 
 have no cause to think themselves affronted, or to 
 complain of oiu- rudeness and ill usage to them, in that 
 court above. 
 
 But, fifthly, this respect must be so tempered too, 
 as not to run out into excess or superstition. Their 
 knowledge of, and care for <is, challenge our reverence ; 
 but neither this, nor any thing else, can demand our 
 adoration, or render it allowable to worshij) and jiray to 
 them. They are of a nature more excellent than ours, 
 but still they are brethren : and we must not pay that 
 duty to any of the children, whieh belongs to their and 
 our common Father only. They are our fellow-servants, 
 though servants in a higher post ; but let their station 
 be ever so high, still we must preserve the distinctions, 
 which are due and peculiar to the Master of the family. 
 And therefore "see thou do it not; worship God." 
 For God alone is, God alone can be, the lawful, the 
 proper object of worship. 
 
 Lastly, From the several cases of the angels being 
 said to assist and defend holy men in Scri|iture, we have 
 reason to believe, that the benefit of their protection 
 extends, not only to spiritual, but also to temjioral, 
 dangers and adversities : that they shield us from many 
 misfortunes, prevent many sad casualties, and ])ut by 
 many a sore thrust, which our enemies endeavour to 
 make us fall by. Let us then thank God for these 
 bright guardians ; let us imitate their diligence and 
 condescension in doing good ; let us hearten ourselves 
 with their assistance against temptations; let us behave 
 ourselves, as becomes men under their observation : 
 and not only pray, but endeavour daily, that the "will 
 of our Father may be done by us upon earth," with the 
 same cheerfulness and vigilance, as it is by them in 
 heaven. And let us beg of God, that " as they alwaj^s 
 do him service in heaven, so they may succour and 
 defend us on earth ;" and at last, when we shall leave 
 this earth, that they may conduct us to the regions of 
 immortal happiness, to " the innumeralile company of 
 angels," Heb. xi. 22, where we shall be ever with them, 
 and like them. All which we may hope to obtain, 
 through the sole merits and mediation of their and our 
 Lord and King, even Jesus Christ the righteous ; \\ ho 
 submitted for our sakes, to be " made lower than the 
 angels," Heb. ii. 7. 9 ; but is now set down at the 
 right hand of God, "angels, and authorities, and 
 powers, being made subject unto him," 1 Pet. iii. 22. 
 To Him, therefore, with the Father and the Holy 
 Ghost, three persons and one God, be ascribed, as is 
 most due, all honour and glory, thanksgiving and 
 praise, might, majesty, and dominion, henceforth and 
 for evermore. Amen. Di'im Stanhope. 
 
 ' Si. Luke the Evangelist.'] That famous Evangelist
 
 270 
 
 SAINT LUKE THE EVANGELIST. 
 
 ^Y-• 
 
 Evangelist, and Physician of the 
 soul ; May it please thee, that, by 
 the wholesome medicines of the doc- 
 trine delivered by him, all the dis- 
 john 5ii. 40. eases of our souls may be healed ; 
 through the merits of thy Son Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Ephtle. 2 Tim. iv. 5. 
 ^ATCH thou in all things, 
 endure afflictions, do the work 
 of an Evangelist, make full proof of 
 thv ministr\% For I am now ready 
 to be offered, and the time of my 
 departure is at hand. I have fought 
 a good fight, I have finished my 
 course, I have kept the faith. Hence- 
 forth there is laid up for me a crown 
 of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
 righteous Judge, shall give me at 
 that day : and not to me only, but 
 
 whose memory we celebrate this day, was born at 
 Antioch, where there flourished schools of the liberal 
 sciences. In these St. Luke had his education ; and, 
 having passed through his preliminary studies, he ap- 
 plied himself to the study and practice of physick. It 
 is thought that for some years he practised pliysick at 
 Rome, being a servant in the household of one of the 
 family of the Lucilii, and, upon his liberty obtained, he 
 took the name of Lucas, a diminutive of Lucilius. That 
 this was the " Ijcloved physician " mentioned by St. 
 Paul, Col. iv. 14, and "the brother whose praise is in 
 the Gospel," 2 Cor. viii. IS, the most ancient writers 
 of Christianity do allow ; for this is acknowledged by 
 Ignatius, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, who lived in 
 or ne.xt to the apostolical times. Some have thought 
 him to be one of the seventy disci]iles, but this is 
 asserted without ground ; for all antiquity make St. 
 Luke the disciple of the apostles, and not of Christ. 
 ITie time when St. Luke joined himself to St. Paul, 
 was soon after the contention happened between him 
 and P.irnabas at .\ntioch, in the year of Christ 51. 
 For taking only Silas with him, in his journey to Troas, 
 .\ct3 xvi. 8, it is very probable that Luke was taken 
 into company when he came to that place : for in the 
 whole relation before this time of St. Paul's acts, the 
 author of the Acts of the .'V])ostles (which was tm- 
 doubtedly St. Luke) says Paul " spoke," Paul " de- 
 parted," Paul " went." &c. but almost ever after his 
 being at Troas, to the end of the book, he sjieaks of 
 St. Paul's actions, as if he himself had mingled with 
 them. " We loosing from Troas ; we were abiding 
 certain days; we went out; we sat down." lie wrote 
 his (idspcl about seven years after liis conjunction with 
 St. I'uul, whom lie never left until his (lealli. He is 
 recorded to have written this excellent work in Achaia 
 and Hosotia, whilst St. Paul stayed there, which was in 
 the year of C'hrist .IS. lie is .said to liavc written his 
 Gospel to hinder the faithful from being poisoned liy 
 tlie heretical relations of the Cerinthians, a very early 
 race of heretics sjirnng up in the church. lie wrote 
 his book of " the Acts of the .\postles " about tliree 
 years after, in the fifth year of .N'ero, and of Christ 6l. 
 There has lieen a general tradition concerning this 
 saint, that he was not only a iihysician, but an cinincnt 
 painter in his time, that he jiainted the \'irgin Mary, 
 St. Peter and I'aul, and (if we m.ay credit Metaphrastes) 
 
 unto all them also that love his 
 appearing. Do thy diligence to 
 come shortly unto me : for Demas 
 hath forsaken me, having loved this 
 present world, and is departed 
 unto Thessalonica ; Crescens to Ga- 
 latia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only 
 Luke is with me. Take Mark and 
 bring him with thee : for he is 
 profitable to me for the ministry. 
 And Tychicus have I sent to Ephe- 
 sus. The cloke that I left at Troas 
 with Carpus, when thou comest, 
 bring with thee ; and the books, but 
 especially the parchments. Alexan- 
 der the coppersmith did me much 
 evil : tlie Lord reward him accord- 
 ing to his works. Of whom be thou 
 ware also, for he hath greatly with- 
 stood our words **. 
 
 our Saviour Himself. How St. Luke disposed of him- 
 self after St. Paul's martyrdom at Rome, is not so very 
 certain ; Epiphanius says he preached in Dalmatia, in 
 Gaid, Italj', and Ma<;edonia. Others affirm, that when 
 he left Rome, he returned into the east, and from 
 thence he went to preach in Africa, and that he con- 
 verted the Thebans to the faith. That he at last 
 suffered martyrdom, the best authors of antiquity 
 allow. The later Greek writers relate his death with 
 more particularities, sajnng, that he was crucified or 
 nailed to the branches of an oli\-e tree, there not being 
 upon the ]5lace dry wood sufficient to make a cross for 
 him to suffer on. Dr. Nicliolls. 
 
 In the Collect for the day he is styled " Luke the 
 Pliysician, whose praise is in the Gos])el :" from which 
 profession he was " called to be an E\'angelist," which 
 at first signified in general a preacher of the Gospel, but 
 was afterwards restrained to those four, who wrote the 
 history of the life and doctrines of our Saviour. He 
 was likewise called from a jibysician of the body to be 
 a " physician of the soul." And tlience our Church 
 teaches to |>rav, '" that by the wholesome medicine of 
 the doctrines delivered by him all the diseases of our 
 souls may be healed." 
 
 The Epistle contains St. Paul's directions to Timothy 
 for the faithful discharge of the office, to which he was 
 called. 
 
 'I'he (jlospel gives us a short account of Christ's send- 
 ing forth his disciples into the world, together with the 
 conmiission given to them. Dr. Unle. 
 
 ■' Prom what is here said by .St. Paul we may observe 
 the constancy of St. Luke's faith. For, when Demas 
 forsook Christ and St. Paul from an inordinate love of 
 tliis iircseiit world, St. Luke kept firm and stedfast to 
 both; "only Luke is with me." Our Saviour had 
 some mercenary disciples who followi'd Him only for 
 the loaves; thcv ke]it with Him whilst any thing could 
 be gotten by hi'nn ; but, when that failed, they " drew 
 back and walked no more with him," John vi. Cfi. 
 \\'e read of others, who for a while received liis word 
 with joy ; but when any tribulation or jier.secution arose 
 because of the word, " by and by tlu'y were offended," 
 Matt. xiii. 21. The apostle also speaks of some among 
 the (i.alatians, that tliey began well, and set out right 
 at their entrance on the Christian cour.se, with some 
 fair and jiromising hopes of their continuance : " Yo
 
 SAINT LUKE THE EVANGELIST 
 The Gospel. St. Luke x. I. 
 
 271 
 
 ri"lIIE Lord appointed other se- 
 I venty also, and sent tliem two 
 and two before his face into every 
 city and place whither he himself 
 -would come. Therefore said he 
 unto them, The harvest truly is 
 great, but the labourers are few ; 
 pray ye therefore the Lord of the 
 harvest that lie would send forth 
 labourers into his harvest. Go your 
 ways ; behold, I send you forth as 
 
 did run well," saith He ; " who did hinder you, that ye 
 should not obey the truth ?" Gal. v. 7. 
 
 But we are taught other and better things of St. Luke, 
 the saint of tliis day : who not only began well, but 
 helil out to the last ; being neither diverted by the love, 
 nor discouraged by the hatred or terror, of the world. 
 lie never left .St. Paul because he saw him resolved 
 not to leave our Saviour ; and so was a constant fol- 
 lower of him, as he was of Christ. He was not, with 
 Demas, bewitched by the sorceries of the world, nor 
 enchanted by the charms of earthly profits or pleasure : 
 but he kept on his Christian course, as well when beset 
 with thorns, as when strewed with palms and roses. 
 In a word, he never shrunk or started aside from the 
 truth : but continued with St. Paid in defence of Chris- 
 tianity, when others left it : and, to crown aU, be cheer- 
 fully laid down his life, for the testimony of the Gospel 
 which he had written. 
 
 2. We may observe here, not only the constancy of 
 his faith, but the sincerity of his friendship : for, when 
 others forsook St. Paid in his troubles and calamities, 
 the saint of this day faithfidly adhered to him. " Only 
 Luke is with me." The chief mark and property of a 
 true friend is not to leave another in the time of adver- 
 sity : and affliction is the best touchstone, whereby to 
 try the truth and reality of friendship. " A true 
 friend," saith Solomon, " will love at all times : and a 
 brother is born for adversity," Prov. xvii. 17. Thus 
 St. Luke continued with the apostle in his troubles 
 and afflictions, in his trials at Rome, and arraignments 
 at Jerusalem : and never deserted bim in all his perils 
 and persecutions, but constantly attended him, till he 
 had finished his course, and received the crown of 
 martyrdom. 
 
 3. Here is observable, not only the constancy of his 
 faith and friendship, but his diligence in the work of 
 the ministry. He continued a fellow-labourer, as well 
 as a companion with St. Paul, and spared no pains in 
 publishing and propagating the Gospel : in which 
 respect likewise he used the words, " Only Luke is 
 with me." When others grew cold and remiss in this 
 world, as Demas did, who left it to follow the %vorld ; 
 St. Luke adhered to his calling, and abated nothing of 
 his zeal and diligence, notwithstanding all the dangers 
 and discouragements he met with in it. Having " put 
 his hand to the plough," he would not " look back," 
 but " continued faithful unto death," and hath, we 
 trust, " received the crown of life." 
 
 Thus we see in St. Luke a pattern of constancy and 
 perseverance in the faith ; of true and sincere friend- 
 ship ; of unwearied diligence and fidelity in his calling. 
 It is a lesson worthy of imitation, and may teach us to 
 go and do likewise. Dr. Hole. 
 
 ' The following observations and inferences will con- 
 tribute to our improvement by this passage of Scrip- 
 ture : 
 
 lambs among wolves. Carry neither 
 purse, nor scrip, nor slioes, and 
 salute no man by the way. And 
 into whatsoever house ye enter, first 
 say. Peace he to this house. And 
 if the son of peace be there, your 
 peace shall rest upon it: if not, it 
 shall turn to you again. And in 
 the same house remain, eating and 
 drinking such things as they give : 
 for the labourer is worthy of his 
 hire '. 
 
 1. And first, this spiritual "harvest," and the great- 
 ness of it, gives us a fair occasion to contemplate and 
 admire the power, and wisdom, and goodness of Al- 
 mighty God, in the astonishing success of his Gospel. 
 This is undoubtedly the Lord's " doing," and such as 
 can never be sufficiently " marvellous in our eyes." 
 And therefore we who are, as the Apostle calls his 
 Corinthians, " God's husbandry," 1 Cor. iii. 9, ought 
 to reflect upon the mighty operations of his grace in 
 ourselves and others, with holy wonder and humble 
 thankfulness. We should constantly stir up our zeal 
 and diligence, to answer the good intents of so amazing 
 a Providence, and take all possible care to bring forth 
 fruits worthy of such mercy. For dreadful will be our 
 case at last, beyond what we are able to fear or to con- 
 ceive, if we shall fall under that aggravation of our 
 other sins, to have received this " grace of God in vain," 
 2 Cor. vi. 1. 
 
 2. Secondly, when the ministers of the Gospel are 
 here called " labourers," this shews us the nature of our 
 calling. That it is by no means a profession of ease and 
 idleness, but of constant and painful care. When these 
 again are said to be " labourers in harvest," this is still 
 a greater reproach to them that are slothful ; since, at 
 such times, and ujion that emergency, even the laziest 
 are content to work, or are thought inexcusable if they 
 do not. It likewise intimates to us, with what vigour 
 and alacrity we should perform the several offices re- 
 quired of us ; since the labour of harvest is not only 
 hard, but, notwithstanding all the hardship of it, usually 
 attended with a sensible cheerfulness and willing heart, 
 above all others. And again, when we are told, that this 
 is the Lord's har\'est, this shews us, what end we ought 
 chiefly to propose to om'selves ; that neither honour nor 
 reputation, interest nor po])ularity, must be the things we 
 seek ; for this were to forget our Master's, and to do our 
 own business. And, however any, or all those advan- 
 tages may be the consequence of our fidelity and pains, 
 and such as we may very lawfully desire in their proper 
 place and degree, yet the glory of God, the good of 
 souls, the promotion of virtue and truth, are, and ought 
 to be, the principal, the constant ends we should aim 
 at. Nor is it any reasonable mortification to our dib- 
 gence, thus not to seek ourselves in what we do : since 
 He who appoints us our task, hath engaged to pay us 
 noble wages ; and we have ground sufiicient always " to 
 abound in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know, 
 that our labour is not in vain in the Lord. Wlio then 
 is that faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath 
 made ruler over his household, to give them meat in 
 due season ? Blessed is that servant, \vhom his Lord 
 when he cometh shall find so doing," 1 Cor. xv. 58 ; 
 Matt. xxiv. 45, 46. 
 
 3. A third thing to be inferred from the text is, the 
 great care men ought to take, in distinguishing between 
 the regidar and true, and those other busy and pragma-
 
 272 
 
 SAINT SIMON AND SAINT JUDE. 
 
 Eph. ii. 
 19-21. 
 I Cor. i. 10 
 
 Saiiit Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles^. 
 The Collect. 
 
 Almighty God, who hast built 
 thy Church upon the fouuila- 
 tioii of the Apostles and Prophets, 
 Jesus Christ himself being the head 
 corner-stone ; Grant us so to be 
 joined together in unity of spirit by 
 
 tical labourers, who, without any warrant or command 
 from their Lord, will needs be "thrusting themselves" 
 into " his harvest." It was God's complaint by the 
 ])ropliet Jeremy of old, " I have not sent these prophets, 
 yet they ran ; I have not spoken to them, yet they pro- 
 ])hesie(i," Jer.x.xiii. 21. 'ITie abounding of such teachers, 
 who of their own heads intrude into so weighty a con- 
 cern, is ever represented in Scripture, as a very grievous 
 curse and judgment. And, how God comes to suffer 
 this, St. Paul hath given us some account when he 
 says, " The time will come, when men will not endiu-e 
 sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap 
 to themselves teachers, ha\'ing itching ears ; and they 
 shall turn away their ears from the truth," 2 Tim. iv. 
 3, 4. It seems, the curiosity of the people, and their 
 not enduring to be told necessai-y and plain truths, is 
 the beginning of this mischief: a mischief, which soon 
 grows to dangerous errors, and fatal deceit, and a settled 
 dislike of sound doctrine. For it is scarce to be ex- 
 ])ected, that they, who set up themselves, should bear the 
 same conscientious regard to what they deli\-er, as others 
 will, who are sensible they come by the direction, and 
 ujion the errand, of their Master; and who know, they 
 must be answerable for the discharge of their duty, to 
 that regular and fi.xed authority by which they were 
 sent. i5ut still, allowing they contain themseh-es within 
 the bounds of truth; admitting it were true, which for 
 the most part it is not, that their gifts excelled those of 
 our lawful jiastors; yet is there still one prejudice 
 against them, which singly ought to weigh down all 
 their boasted, and even supjiosable advantages in other 
 respects ; I mean, that these are not tlie labourers sent 
 bv the l.,ord ; that is, they have not the same commis- 
 sion derived from Him, nor are entrusted witli tlie 
 charge of souls, as lawful pastors are. Tliis is a warn- 
 ing, wliich I could not omit, where there is given so fair 
 an occasion for it. And I do, in the spirit of meekness, 
 and in the name of our Lord Jesus (Christ, beseech all 
 those \'erj' seriously to consider it, who ha\-e suffered 
 themselves to conceive any |)rejudice to their own duly 
 established ministers ; and who, upon any sjiecious 
 pretence whatsoever, are jn-evailed ujion to make a 
 breach in the order and imity of the Church. .And for 
 the rest, I leave this paiticular U])on thein, with that 
 exhortation of St. Paul, (lleb. xiii. 1/,) "Obey them 
 tliat liave the rule over you;" that is, your spiritual 
 guides, " and sul)init yourselves : for they watch for 
 your souls, as they that must give account, that they 
 may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is 
 unprolitable for you." 
 
 After wliat hath b('cn already spoken, tliere will cer- 
 tainly need 1)ut httle to enforce that, which I design for 
 my last inference, contained in this command of our 
 .Saviour. " I'ray ye therefore the Lord of the liarvest, 
 that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." 
 'J'he success of each mini's undertakings in his res])cctive 
 profession depends upon the blessing of (iod for making 
 the means effectual : but the success of ministers is 
 more entirely his. In other cases he needs only not 
 forbid, or at most couunand, natural clleets : but in 
 
 thy doctrine, that we may be made Eph. iv. s. 
 an holy temple acceptable unto thee; 2 Cor. tl le. 
 through J(?sus Christ our Lord. K"™- "'■ '• 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. St. Jude 1. 
 
 JU D E, the servant of Jesus 
 Christ, and brother of James, 
 to them that are sanctified by God 
 
 this, when our persuasion bends corrupt minds to truth 
 and goodness. He produces an effect by instruments, in 
 no degree sufficient for it. And therefore, in our daily 
 ]iraj-er for " the clergy and the people," we do most 
 pertinently apjjly to God, as a " God who alone worketh 
 great marvels." For such indeed it is, to turn men's 
 hearts by the ministry of their weak and sinful breth- 
 ren ; who without the continual dew of his grace, must 
 needs plant and water in vain. Dean Slanho/>e. 
 
 ' St. Simon and St. Jude.^ There are two saints com- 
 memorated by the Chiu'cli this day. The first is Simon, 
 sm-named the Canaanite, Matt. x. 4 ; and Zelotes, Luke 
 vi. 1 a ; Acts i. 1 3 : which two names are the same : for 
 the Hebrew word Canaan signifies a Zealot. There were 
 a sect of men called Zealots, about the time of ('hrist, 
 in Judea, who, out of a jiretended zeal for God's honour, 
 would commit the most grievous outrages; they would 
 choose and ordain high jiriests out of the basest of the 
 people, and murder men of the jirincipal dignity. It is 
 probable, that Simon, before his conversion and call, 
 might be out of this sect : or, however, some fire and 
 fierceness in his temper gave occasion for his being 
 called the Zealot. He was one of the twelve apostles, 
 and kin to our blessed Lord ; either his half brother, 
 being one of Joseph's sons by another wife, as all the 
 Greek fathers contend, or C(nisin by his mother's side. 
 Most certain this is that Simon which is meant, Matt, 
 xiii. 55, " Are not his brethi"en, James, and Joses, and 
 Simon, and Judas ?" There is a tradition, that it was 
 at his marriage in Cana of Galilee that our Sa\-iour was 
 present. After our Saviom''s ascension, he is recorded 
 to ha\e ])reachcd the Gospel in Mesopotamia ; tliat he 
 preached likewise in Egypt and Africa, is related by 
 others. And (if we may credit Nieeiihorus, a later 
 writer) that he extended his mission as far as Britain. 
 He suffered martyrdom in Persia. 
 
 Jude, the other apostle whose memory is this day 
 observed, was one of the twelve apostles, brother to 
 James, Jude 1, and therefore bore the same relation 
 with liiin to our Sax'iour. He was that same Judas 
 mentioned in the verse before cited : " Are not his bre- 
 thren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?" 
 He had two siu-namcs, one was Thaddirus, which does 
 not seem to be more than a diminutive, or small alter- 
 ation of .ludas, and is derived from the same root in 
 Hebrew as Judas is. Lebbanis is derixed from a word 
 in Hebrew which signifies heart, and is as much as 
 ('orculum, or Little Heart. He ])reached the (iospel 
 with his brother in Meso|iotaniia, .\rabia, and Idurna-a, 
 &c., and suffered martyrdom at Herytus. ])r. Niclwll.i. 
 
 'I'he Collect for this day jirays God, who hath " built 
 his church ujion the foundation of the ajjostles and 
 prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the head corner- 
 stone," to grant us, " so to be joined together in unity 
 of spirit, tliat we may be made an holy temjile accept- 
 able unto him." To this end the I'.pistlc directs us to 
 adhere stcdf'astly to the Christian faith. 
 
 And in the (iospel we are exhorted to brotherly love, 
 as the best cement of that union, and the firmest bond 
 to hold us together. Dr. Hole.
 
 SAINT SIMON AND SAINT JUDE. 
 
 27;i 
 
 the Father, and preserved in Jesus 
 Christ, and called : Mercy unto you, 
 and peace, and love be niultii>lied. 
 Beloved, when I gave all diliiriMice 
 to write unto you of the common 
 salvation, it was needful for me to 
 write unto you, and exhort you, 
 that ye should earnestly contend 
 for the faith which was once de- 
 livered unto the saints. For there 
 are certain men crept in unawares, 
 who were before of old ordained to 
 this condemnation ; ungodly men, 
 turning the grace of our God into 
 lasciviousness, and denying the only 
 Lord God, and our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. I will therefore put you in 
 remembrance, though ye once knew 
 this, how that the Lord, having saved 
 the people out of the land of Egypt, 
 afterward destroyed them that be- 
 lieved not. And the angels which 
 kept not their first estate, but left 
 their own habitation, he hath re- 
 served in everlasting chains under 
 darkness unto the judgement of the 
 great day. Even as Sodom and Go- 
 morrha, and the cities about them in 
 like manner giving themselves over 
 to fornication, and going after strange 
 flesh, are set forth for an example, 
 suffering the vengeance of eternal 
 fire. Likewise also these filthy 
 dreamers defile the flesh, despise do- 
 minion, and speak evil of dignities s. 
 
 8 The apostle here exhorts us to contend earnestly 
 for the faith ; hy which we unilerstand, 
 
 1. That we are to contend earnestly or sincerely for 
 the faith, in opposition to all false or feigned pretences 
 to it. 
 
 2. We are to contend earnestly, that is, zealously 
 and warmly, for the faith, in op|)Osition to all indif- 
 ference and coldness about it. " It is good," saith the 
 apostle, " to be zealously affected always in a good 
 thing." 
 
 3. We are to contend earnestly, that is, constantly 
 and perseveringly, for the faith, unto the end, in oppo- 
 sition to all weariness and apostasy : " We shall reap," 
 saith the apostle, " if we faint not." 
 
 This however is not to be done by arms ; by any ex- 
 ternal acts of violence. But we must contend for it, 
 1. By arguments, being " ready always," as St. Peter 
 saith, " to give a reason of the hope" and faith " that is 
 in us," 1 Pet. iii. 15: and we should be always ready, 
 by Scripture and reason, to convince and convert gain- 
 sayers. 
 
 2. We are to contend for the faith by earnest and 
 fervent prayer ; since we cannot propagate or defend it 
 by our own strength. Peter's faith had failed, if Christ 
 had not prayed for him : and ours will fail much more 
 without the like assistance. But though we can do 
 nothing without Him, yet "we can do all things tlurough 
 
 The Gospel. St. John xv. 17. 
 
 ri^ II E S E things I comnumd you, 
 J_ that ye love one another. If 
 the world hate you, ye know that 
 it hated me before it hated you. If 
 ye were of the world, the world 
 would love his own : but because 
 ye are not of the world, but I have 
 chosen you out of the world, there- 
 fore the world hateth you. Remem- 
 ber the word that I said unto you, 
 The servant is not greater than the 
 lord : if they have persecuted me, 
 they will also persecute you ; if they 
 have kept my saying, they will keep 
 your's also. But all these things will 
 they do unto you for my Name's 
 sake, because they know not him 
 that sent me. If I had not come 
 and spoken unto them, they had not 
 had sin : but now they have no cloke 
 for their sin. He that hateth me 
 hateth my Father also. If I had not 
 done among them the works which 
 none other man did, they had not 
 had sin ; but now have they both 
 seen, and hated, both me and my 
 Father. But this cometh to pass, 
 that the word might be fulfilled that 
 is written in their law, 1 hey hated 
 me without a cause. But when the 
 Comforter is come, whom I will 
 send inito you from the Father, even 
 the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth 
 
 Christ which strengtheneth us : his grace will be suffi- 
 cient for us ;" and if He be for us, it matters not who 
 is against us. 
 
 Lastly, we are to contend for the faith by magnani- 
 mity and patience in sufferings. So did the apostles 
 and primitive Christians, who overcame all their ene- 
 mies, not by fighting, but by suffering. They jilanted 
 the faith by their doctrine, and watered it with their 
 blood; till, by the blessing of God, it grew and o\'er- 
 spread the earth. 
 
 In short, " the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 
 but spiritual ; and are mighty through God to the pull- 
 ing down of the strongholds of Satan, and the build- 
 ing of us up in our most holy faith." Christ, the Cap- 
 tain of our salvation, was made perfect by sufferings ; 
 and his followers, the apostles, attained to perfection 
 the same way: and, if we suffer with, or for Him, we 
 shall also be glorified together. 
 
 Let us then contend earnestly for the unity, the purity, 
 and the continuance of the faith : for the unity of the 
 faith, against those who would divide it ; for the purity 
 of the faith, against those who would deprave and cor- 
 rupt it ; for the continuance and propagation of the 
 faith, against those who would subvert and undermine 
 it. Till, by fighting the good fight of faith, and living 
 answerably to it, we attain at length a crown of glory, 
 through the merits of Jesus Christ. Dr. Hole. 
 
 T
 
 274 
 
 ALL SAINTS' DAY. 
 
 from the Father, he shall testify of 
 me. And ye also shall hear witness, 
 because ye have been with me from 
 the begiiininff''. 
 
 Col. i. 18. 
 Rom. xii. 5. 
 1 John i. ?. 
 Eph. iii. 15 ; 
 iv. 15, 16. 
 Heb. xii. 1 ; 
 vi. 12. 
 
 1 Cor. ii. 9. 
 Eph. vi. 24. 
 
 All Saints' DayK 
 The Collect. 
 
 O Almighty God, who hast knit 
 together thine elect in one 
 communion and fellowship, in the 
 mystical body^ of thy Son Christ 
 our Lord ; Grant us grace so to 
 follow thy blessed Saints in all vir- 
 tuous and godly living, that we may 
 come to those unspeakable joys, 
 which thou hast prepared for them 
 that unfeignedly love thee ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 For the Epistle. Rev. vii. 2. 
 
 AND I saw another angel as- 
 cending from the east, having 
 the seal of the living God ; and he 
 cried with a loud voice to the four 
 angels, to whom it was given to hurt 
 the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt 
 not the earth, neither the sea, nor 
 the trees, till we have sealed the 
 servants of our God in their fore- 
 
 *■ From this clay's Gospel we may learn, 1. The great 
 lesson of brotherly lo\'e and kindness, wliich our Saviour 
 here commands, and charges upon all his followers, 
 and elsewhere makes the distinguishing mark of his 
 disciples : willing them to love their neighbour as 
 themselves ; and to do unto all men as they would that 
 men should do unto them. 
 
 2. We learn hence that the hatred of the world is no 
 discharge from this duty of loving them, nor should it 
 be any discouragement from it : for our Saviour teaches 
 us, to " love them that hate us :" and here tells us, that 
 " if the world hate us," we need not " wonder, for it 
 hated him before it hated us," and the disciple cannot 
 e.\|)ect to be better than his Ma,ster. It is honour 
 enough for us to be made conformable to his sufferings 
 that we may be partakers of his glory; and we may 
 well be content to bear the cross, which will surely 
 bring us to a never-fading crown. 
 
 3. \Vc learn hence the heinoiisness of the sin of un- 
 belief, which the clear discoveries and revelations of the 
 Gospel have rendered altogether inexcusable. I"or after 
 all that Christ hath said and done for man's salvation, 
 it must be mere obstinacy and pcrvcrseness of will, to 
 refuse or neglect it. 
 
 Whence, lastly, we learn, the gre.it danger of infi- 
 delity, or sinning against light and knowledge j which 
 our Saviour makes tlie reason and aggra\ation of their 
 condemnation ; that " light is come into the world, but 
 men love darkness rather than light, because their 
 deed.s are evil." 
 
 Upon the whole then, let us take heed, that there be 
 not found in any of us " an evil lieart of unbelief in 
 departing from the living God." Dr. Ilnlc. 
 
 heads. And I heard the number of 
 them which were sealed ; and there 
 were sealed an hundred and forty 
 and four thousand, of all the tribes 
 of the children of Israel. 
 
 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed 
 twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed 
 twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Gad were sealed 
 twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed 
 twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Nephthali were 
 sealed twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Manasses were 
 sealed twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed 
 twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Levi were sealed 
 twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed 
 twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed 
 twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed 
 twelve thousand. 
 
 Of the tribe of Benjamin were 
 sealed twelve thousand. 
 
 After this I beheld, and lo, a 
 
 ' All Saints' Day.'] The feast of All Saints is not of 
 very great antiquity in the Church. About the year of 
 our Lord 610, the heathen pantheon, or temple, dedi- 
 cated to all the gods, at the desire of 15oniface IV. 
 bishop of Rome, was taken from the heathen by Phocas 
 the emperor, and dedicated to the honour of All Mar- 
 tyrs ; hence came the original of All Saints, which was 
 then celebrated ujion the first of May. Afterwards, by 
 an order of Gregory I\'. it was removed to the first of 
 November, in the year of our Lord SM, as it has stood 
 ever since. Our reformers having laid aside the cclc- 
 liration of a great many martyrs' days, which had grown 
 too numerous and cumbersome to the church, thought 
 fit to retain this day, wherein, by a general comme- 
 moration, our Church gi\'es God thanks for them all. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 In the Collect for this day we are reminded of that 
 one fellowship and communion of saints, into which (iod 
 hath knit togetlier bis cbo.'ien people in the mystical 
 body of Christ : to the intent that we may continue 
 stedfast in the communion of the Cliurcb militant here 
 upon earth, and so be fitted to join for ever with the 
 Cluircli triumpliaiit bcreaftcr in heaven. To this end 
 wc pray for grace to imitate their lioly lives in this 
 world, that we may be (pialified to partake wth them 
 in the bajipiness of the ne.vt. 
 
 In the Kpistlc, a seal is ordered by Abnighfy God to 
 be set on his true and faithful servants : and in the 
 Gospel, our Saviour marks out tlie persons that arc 
 intitled to this distinction. Dr. Hn/e. 
 
 '' — the mystical bntly] A mystical body is a body in 
 a figurative sense ; in which sense the Church is called 
 our Saviour's body. Dr. Bennet.
 
 ALL SAINTS' DAY. 
 
 275 
 
 great multittitle, wliieli no man could 
 mimber, of all nations, and Isindrcds, 
 and people, and toni^iies, stood hetore 
 the throne, and before the Laiuh, 
 clothed with white robes, and palms 
 in their hands ; and cried with a loud 
 voice, saying, Salvation to our God 
 which sitteth upon the throne, and 
 unto the Lamb. And all the angels 
 stood round about the throne, and 
 about the elders, and the four beasts, 
 and fell before the throne on their 
 faces, and worshipped God, saying, 
 Amen ; Blessing, and glory, and 
 wisdom, and thanksgiving, and ho- 
 nour, and power, and might, be unto 
 our God for ever and ever. Amen'. 
 
 J 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mattli. v. L 
 E S U S, seeing the multitudes, 
 went up " 
 
 into a mountain ; and 
 
 ' The following remarks may be suggested from the 
 love of God to his saints ; a due improvement whereof 
 would be the best and most Christian method of 
 rendering to Him, and them, the honours intended to 
 both, by the observation of this festival. 
 
 1 . First, then, the integrity of these sealed, and that 
 l)urity of faitli and worship so carefully maintained by 
 them, may be of signal use to us, when attacked with 
 violent temjitations to sin. It will represent to us, by 
 their example, the possibility of resisting and over- 
 coming all attempts made u])on our virtue, tiy sincere 
 resolutions and endeavours, backed with that grace 
 which alone can render them effectual. It will fill us 
 with assm-ed expectation of, and dependence upon, all 
 such necessary strength and assistances from God, pro- 
 vided we hold fast by Him, and do not tamely desert 
 his cause ; wliich always is the cause of goodness and 
 strength. It would guard us against the dangerous 
 seducements of numliers, and authority', and examples ; 
 and not suffer us to love piety and virtue one whit the 
 less, because not valued by the many, or not counte- 
 nanced by the great. Quite contrary, it would possess 
 us with a terrible apprehension of \-ices, that have credit 
 and vogue, and are grown fashionable in the world ; 
 when we reflect, that these great champions of faith 
 and holiness attained the honour and privilege of God's 
 seal, by an inflexible, even when a persecuted, singu- 
 larity in the true rehgion. And this leads us naturally 
 to a 
 
 2. Second remark resulting from the eminent de- 
 liverances they were " sealed " to. These should con- 
 vince us, however im])robable discouraging circum- 
 stances may sometimes hap[)en to render it, that abiding 
 stedfastly by our duty is the best security, with regard 
 to our present interests ; it often pro^'es so in fact. 
 Nay, it always proves so, when God, for wise and 
 better purposes, does not see fit to suffer the contrary. 
 For in such cases the justice, the goodness, and the 
 honour of God are concerned, not to forsake those 
 good men in their distress, who made that very dis- 
 tress their choice, and refused to accejit any other 
 deliverance in pure love and obedience to Him. Such 
 an assurance that Pro\-idence is engaged on our behalf, 
 should, even to private persons, be found a firmer sup- 
 port, than any human appearances of safety or success. 
 
 when lie was set, his disciples came 
 inito him. And he opened his 
 moutii, and taught them, saying. 
 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for 
 their's is the kingdom of heaven. 
 Blessed are they that mourn : for 
 they shall be comforted. Blessed 
 are the meek : for they shall inherit 
 the earth. Blessed are they which 
 do iiunger and thirst after righteous- 
 ness : for they shall be lilled. Blessed 
 are the merciful : for they shall ob- 
 tain mercy. Blessed are the pure 
 in heart : for tiiey shall see God. 
 Blessed are the peace-makers : for 
 they shall be called the children of 
 God. Blessed are they which are 
 ]iersecuted for righteousness' sake : 
 for their's is the kingdom of heaven. 
 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile 
 you, and persecute you, and shall 
 
 But there is another case, not subject to the same 
 reserves : and that is the protection of the Church in 
 general, notwithstanding all the malice and subtlety of 
 its manifold adversaries and insulters : a very com- 
 fortable reflection, to all that love the Lord Jesus and 
 his Gospel. Such a one, in truth, as it were heartily 
 to be wished, the dissoluteness of some, the profane- 
 ness of others, the industrious propagation of infidelity 
 by a third sort, and, which gives success and encourage- 
 ment to all these, the general lukewarmness and in- 
 difference of those, who ought to op|)ose and suppress 
 them, had not rendered almost the only anchor of our 
 hope. For never sure could one have expected less, 
 and never yet did religion suffer more from an un- 
 controlled licentiousness of striking at the very funda- 
 mentals of Christianity, than in our age and country. 
 God in his mercy touch the consciences of those, who 
 take, or who encourage, or who connive at, such 
 liberties. God dispose us all, with a becoming in- 
 dignation to exercise the powers we have ; or, if these 
 be too feeble, to contrive new and more effectual 
 methods, for sujiiu-essing and reforming them ; lest 
 these crying abominations be visited upon our nation, 
 in judgements suitable to the horror of their guilt. 
 But I retiu'n, and observe, 
 
 .3. Thirdly, tliat the sufferings and rewards of those 
 saints, who died in the cause of religion, ought to be a 
 most powerful incitement to our zeal and perseverance. 
 ITiey were men of like passions and infirmities with us, 
 which takes off all pretence of their virtues being im- 
 practicable. 'Vac promises of divine assistance are the 
 same still, and therefore the like difficulties cannot be 
 invincible. Their examples indeed are left us, and our 
 memories are refreshed with them for this very purpose, 
 that we also should " run with patience the race that is 
 set before us." Their courage and constancy, their 
 resignation and charity, should be copied by us, as 
 occasion requires. Their sincerity and devotion, the 
 purity of their faith, the innocency of their conversa- 
 tion, their fruitfulness in good works, their contempt of 
 the world, and heavenly-mindedness, should be patterns 
 always before our eyes : because these are \'irtues that 
 may and should be always in our practice. In a word, 
 let us express our thanks to Almighty God for the 
 advantage of such shining examples, and pay all due 
 T 2
 
 276 
 
 ALL SAINTS' DAY. 
 
 say all manner 
 falsel)' for my 
 be exceeding glad 
 
 of evil against you 
 
 sake. Rejoice, and 
 
 for great is your 
 
 reverence to their memorj', by endeavouring to be like 
 them. For, when all is done, the best and most ac- 
 ceptable honour we can possibly do those renowned 
 Christian heroes, is the forming of our conduct upon 
 the model of their graces, and aspiring after the weight 
 and the brightness of their crowns. Dean Stan- 
 hope. 
 
 ■^ The Scripture, read for the Epistle, sets before 
 us the peculiar favour of Uod towards those faithful 
 servants of his, of whom this festival is designed to 
 transmit an honourable remembrance to all posterity. 
 The Gospel, in order to our more ready attainment of 
 the like advantages, sets before us those good dis- 
 positions, which recommend the saints to the care and 
 protection, and exalt them to the dwelhng and fruition, 
 of God. For the pri\Tleges of good men we have the 
 beloved disciple's authority : for their happiness, and the 
 way to it, both, we have the word of the Master Him- 
 self; who at once pronounces such persons "blessed," 
 and instructs us how they come to be so. 
 
 The \'irtue3 here mentioned, and the particular 
 blessedness appointed to each, are a subject too co- 
 pious to be enlarged upon. A few general remarks shall 
 be offered on those virtuous actions, and good disposi- 
 tions, which are prescribed as means proper for attaining 
 the blessings here promised. 
 
 Concerning the dispositions prescribed here for the 
 attainment of true blessedness, I observe. 
 
 First, That most of them are what we call moral, and 
 many of them social, virtues. The former wiU be a 
 warning to my reader what men of skill those are, and 
 how far endued with the spirit of Christ, wlio ujion all 
 occasions disparage moral virtues as mean and legal, 
 and beneath the dignity of spiritualized Christians ; who 
 blame us for not preaching Jesus Christ, and his Gos- 
 pel, when we preach what Jesus Christ Himself preached 
 and practised ; who slanderously misrepresent this 
 established Church as derogating from faith and grace, 
 because her ministers urge upon their people those good 
 works «-hich oiu- Saviour says, in this very chapter, 
 ought so to shine as to be "seen of men," Matt. v. 16; 
 which St. James demands as the necessary evidence of 
 a true and living "faith," James ii. H, &c. ; which St. 
 I'aul declares to be the " fruits of the Spirit," Gal. v. 22 ; 
 Kphes. v. 9 ; and which, if a man " do not," .St. John 
 ])ronounces him to be, " not of God, but of the devil," 
 1 John iii. 10. How dangerous is the delusion of those 
 poor souls who give themselves up to the guidance of 
 such teachers ! How safe and comfortable that com- 
 munion, whose guiiles, in this regard, bear no reproach 
 but what falls upon the apostles and tlieir blessed 
 Master Himself! For so long as their Epistles are 
 allowed, we shall never be convicted for thus detracting 
 from grace and faith ; and so long as his sermon on 
 the mount stands upon record, this will vindicate our 
 endeavours to bring our flocks to heaven, by taking the 
 way that (,'hrist first led them in. 
 
 Hut I likewise observed that many of them are social 
 virtues ; such as mankind arc benefited and endeared to 
 each other by. Of this kind are humility, and meek- 
 ness, and mercy, and peaceableness (and if, as some 
 have done, we sliall inter|)ret the sixth verse of justice 
 in our dealings, we may add righteousness also). iNow 
 it is plain God could not have expressed a greater 
 
 reward in heaven : for so persecuted 
 they the prophets which wore before 
 you™. 
 
 friendliness for the common good of the world, and the 
 comforts of society, than by first enjoining the virtues 
 that promote these excellent ends ; and then providing 
 such am])le compensation in another world for habits 
 and practices, which self nill be always opposing in this 
 %vorld. So plainly is he the best Christian who is the 
 greatest benefactor to order, and peace, and love; and 
 so much more jjrecious is an active charity than an idle 
 and unprofitable, though never so rapturous contempla- 
 tion, in his eyes who prefers " mercy before sacrifice," 
 and who is ever doing good to all his creatures. 
 
 2. I observe of these virtues, secondly. That they are 
 plain and easy marks to judge of our blessedness by. 
 Many of them are such as will render themselves con- 
 spicuous to other people ; but it is impossible for any of 
 them not to be discernible to a careful examiner of his 
 own breast ; and this is an inquiry which deserves all our 
 care ; for since all of us cannot but desire to be happy, 
 and since we must be so or otherwise, according as we 
 excel or are defective in these good qualities ; who that 
 is so, would want the satisfaction of knowing it ? ^Yho 
 that is not, woidd not gladly be awakened by such a 
 sense of his misery as might effectually engage his ut- 
 most endeavours to become so ? The spirit and temper 
 of a Christian, as here described, does indeed differ 
 greatly from that of the world ; and this difference is 
 another argument for our circumspection, without which 
 men are too apt to flatter their own consciences, because 
 like unto, or not worse than, the generality of them 
 they live among. But, alas ! this fallacy, if indidged, 
 will ruin all ; for it is not custom, or common opinion, 
 but the rules and measm-es of the Gospel by which this 
 most concerning point must be determined. And let 
 all the world say, or act, as they please, it is not more 
 certain that the persons thus qualified shall, than it is 
 that none but they (ordinarily speaking) shall ever par- 
 take of the blessedness here promised. 
 
 3. Lastly, When this inquiry is made, we must not 
 content ourseh'cs with a jjartial return to it, or imagine 
 that one or a few of these qualities will entitle <is to 
 happiness, if they be manifestly not accompanied by the 
 rest ; for without entering into any niceties about the 
 number, the order, or the necessary connexion of the 
 virtues here enjoiiu'd, it is evident from the whole tenor 
 of Scripture, that (!od requires, in every one of us, all 
 the dispositions of mind here mentioned, and looks that 
 each shoulil exert its i)roper acts as fit occasions offer. 
 The merciful shall obtain no mercy from God, if he be 
 impure ; nor shall the ])ure see God, if he be not peace- 
 able. In sliort, they are all bound u])on us by the same 
 authority, and all must go to the composition of a per- 
 fect C^'hristian. Even the jireparation to undergo per- 
 secution for righteousness' and Christ's sake is neces- 
 sarj', though (iod may never bring us into circumstances 
 of reducing that readiness into act. IJut persecution 
 alone had ne\-er exaltt:d the martyrs and confessors of 
 this day, had not their other virtues, like so many 
 jewels, adorned and addeil lustre to that crown they 
 now wear in heaven : tlie brightness whereof we justly 
 praise (iod for; and ilo best express our thanks, by 
 as|)iring after it in the way they have gone before us. 
 Which may He give us grace to do, for his blessed 
 Son's sake, the ('aptain of their and our salvation, 
 Christ Jesus. Dean Stanhope.
 
 THE ORDER OF THE 
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER, 
 
 OR 
 
 HOLY COMMUNION. 
 
 f So many as intend to le partakers of the Iioli/ Commtmion shall signify their 
 namesP to the Curate, at least some time the day liefare. 
 
 " The Order of the Administration &c.] Since the 
 death of Christ hath reconciled God to mankind, and his 
 intercession alone obtains all good things for lis, we are 
 enjoined to make all our jirayers in his name; and, as a 
 more powerful way of interceding, to commemorate his 
 passion by celebrating the holy Eucharist, which in the 
 purest ages was always joined to their publick and 
 common prayers. Acts ii. 42. And to evidence our 
 Church wishes it were so still, she a])]ioints a great part 
 of this office to be used on all Sundays and holy- days, 
 and orders the priest to say it at the altar, the place 
 where all the prayers of the church of old were wont to 
 be made, because there was the proper place to com- 
 memorate Jesus our only Mediator, by whom all our 
 prayers become accepted. And hence the ancients call 
 this office " the Service of the Altar," which in tlie time 
 of celebration was then also, as our ruhrick now enjoins, 
 covered with a fair linen cloth. As for the primitive and 
 original form of administration, since Christ did not in- 
 stitute any one method, it was variou.s in divers churches, 
 only all agreed in using the Lord's Prayer, and reciting 
 the words of institution, which therefore some think was 
 all the apostles used : l)ut their successors in several 
 churches added several devout forms thereunto, which 
 being joined to the original order used by the founder of 
 each church, was for greater honour called by the name 
 of that first author : and hence we have now the Liturgy 
 used at Jerusalem, called "The Liturgy of St. James;" 
 that of Alexandria, called "The Liturgy of St. Mark;" 
 that of Rome, called " The Liturgy of St. Clement ;" 
 with others of lesser value : which by the fancy of add- 
 ing to them in every age, have contracted many super- 
 stitions of later times, and yet do still contain many 
 genuine and substantial pieces of true primitive devo- 
 tion, easily distinguished from the modern and corrupt 
 additions. But since none of these apostolical Litur- 
 gies were believed of divine institution, St. Basd and 
 St. Chrysostom made new forms for their- own churches, 
 now generally used in the Kast : and St. Ambrose and 
 St. Gregory the Great composed Sacramentaries for 
 their several churches ; and the Christians in Spain had 
 a peculiar order for this office, called " The Mozarabic 
 form ;" the Gallican church had another distinct from 
 all these; and St. Gregory was so far from imposing 
 the Roman Missal on this Church of England, that he 
 advises Augustine the monk to review all Liturgies, and 
 take out of them what was best, and so to compose a 
 
 form for this nation. And when the Roman Missal 
 (afterward im])osed here) was shamefully corrupted, 
 our judicious Reformers made use of this ancient and 
 just liberty; and, comparing all Liturgies, they have 
 out of them all extracted what is most pure and primi- 
 tive, and so comjiosed this admirable office, which, as 
 Bishop Jewel affirms, " comes as nigh as can be to the 
 apostolick and ancient Catholick Church," and indeed 
 is the most exact now extant in the Christian world, 
 the explaining whereof will effectually serve to assist the 
 communicant in order to a worthy preparation before 
 the receiving, devout affections in receiving, and the 
 confirming of his holy purposes afterv\'ards : for it doth 
 instruct us in all that is necessary to be known, and to 
 be done in this sacred and sublime duty, and is con- 
 trived in this curious method. 
 
 2. The whole communion office consists of four parts. 
 First, a more general prejiaration to the Communion, and 
 as either common to the whole congregation in the ex- 
 ercise of, 1. Repentance, by "the Lord's Prayer, the 
 Collect for Purity," and "the Ten Commandments." 
 2. Holy desires, by " the Collects for the King," and 
 " the Day." 3. Of obedience, by the hearing of the 
 " Epistle and Gospel." 4. Of faith, by repeating "the 
 Creed." 5. Of charity, by " the Offertory" and "the 
 prayer for the holy Catholick church." Or else this 
 general preparation is proper to those who ought to 
 communicate, namely, " the warning before the com- 
 munion," and " the exhortation to it." Secondly, here 
 is the more immediate preparation, contained in, 1. The 
 projjer instructions, in "the Exhortation at the Com- 
 munion," and " the immediate invitation." 2. The 
 form of acknowledging our oifences, in "the Confes- 
 sion." 3. The means of ensuring our pardon, by " the 
 Absolution," and " the Sentences." 4. The exciting 
 our love and gratitude "in the Preface" and "the 
 Hymn" called "Trisagium." Thirdly, here is the cele- 
 bration of the mystery consisting of, 1. The communi- 
 cant's humble approach, in " the Address." 2. The 
 minister's blessing the elements, in " the Prayer of Con- 
 secration." 3. His distributing them according to 
 " the form of Administration." Lastly, here is the 
 post-communion, containing, 1. Prayers and vows, in 
 " the Lord's Prayer, the first and second Prayers after 
 the Communion." 2. Praises and thanksgiring, in 
 " the Gloria in Excelsis." 2. The dismission by " the 
 final Blessing." Dean Comber.
 
 278 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 f And if any of those he an open and notorious evil liver% or have done am/ 
 wrong to his neighbours hy word or deed, so that the Congregation be thereby 
 
 ° Or holy Com/niwion .^ Tliis sen-ice is so called in the 
 Liturg)- : and well it were that the piety of the people 
 were such, as to make it always a communion. The 
 Church, as appears by her pathetical exhortation before 
 the Communion, and the rubrick after it, labours to 
 bring men oftener to communicate than she usually 
 obtains. Private and soUtary communions, of the 
 priest alone, she allows not ; and therefore, when others 
 cannot be had, she appoints only so much of the service, 
 as relates not of necessity to a present communion, and 
 that to be said at the holy table : and upon good rea- 
 son ; the church thereby keeping, as it were, her ground, 
 visibly minding us of what she desires and labours 
 towards, our more frequent access to that holy table : 
 and in the mean while, that part of the service which 
 she uses, may ])erhaps more fitly be called " the second 
 service" than "the Communion." And so it is often 
 called, though not in the rubrick of the Liturgy-, yet in 
 diverse fast-books, and the hke, set out by authority. 
 If any should think, that it cannot properly be called 
 the second service, because the morning service and 
 Litany go before it, which indeed are two distinct 
 services ; whereby this should seem to be the third, 
 rather than the second service ; it is answered, that 
 sometimes the " Communion Service" is used upon 
 such days as the Litany is not ; and then it may, with- 
 out question, be called the second service. Nay, even 
 then, when the Litany and all is used, the Communion 
 ser\-ice may be very fitly called the second service : for 
 though, in strictness of speech, the Litany is a service 
 distinct, yet in our usual acce])tation of the word ser- 
 vice, namely, for a complete service with all the several 
 parts of it, psalms, readings, creeds, thanksgivings, and 
 prayers ; so the Litany is not a service, nor so esteemed, 
 but called "the Litany," or supplications; and looked 
 upon sometimes, when other offices follow, as a kind 
 of preparative, though a distinct form, to them, as to 
 " the Communion, Commination, &c." And therefore 
 it was a custom in some churches, that a bell was 
 tolled, while the Litany was saying, to give notice to 
 the people, that the Communion service was now 
 coming on. lip. Sparrnw. 
 
 Of the many compcllations given to this sacrament 
 in former ages, our Church has very wisely thought fit 
 to retain these two in her ])id)lick service, as those 
 which arc most ancient and scriptural. As for the 
 name of " the Lord's supper," which name the papists 
 cannot endure to have this sacrament called by, because 
 it destroys their notion of a sacrifice, and their use of 
 private mass, we find this given to it, as its proper name 
 in the apostles' time Ijy St. Paul liimself, " when ye 
 come together into one place, this is not to eat tiie 
 Lord's supper," 1 Cor. xi. 20. And this name is fre- 
 quently given to it by ancient writers. So for " the 
 Communion ;" this is i>lainly another scrijitural name 
 of the same holy sacrament. " The cup of blessing 
 which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood 
 of Christ?" 1 Cor. x. 10. \Vhicli name is given to it, 
 partly, because by this we testify our communion with 
 Christ our head ; partly, because it unites us together 
 with all our fellow-Clu-istians ; partly, because all good 
 Christians have a right to partake of it : hence with 
 St. Chrysostom and St. Basil " to communicate" is the 
 common word to express the participation of this sacra- 
 ment. Dr. Nichnlln. 
 
 ' So mnny as iulniil to he partiikir.i —shnU signifij their 
 names S:c.] The reason of tliis injunction is, that the 
 ;r of the parish may liave time to inform liimself 
 
 minister i 
 
 of the parties n'ho design to receive : so that if there be 
 any among them who are not duly qualified, he may 
 persuade them to abstain for some time ; or, in case 
 of their refusal, repel them. Xow in several cases per- 
 sons may be unqualified to partake of this sacrament, 
 either by the prescript of God's word, or by the canons 
 of the Church. 
 
 1. A want or a contempt of the rite of Confirmation 
 unqualifies persons to receive : for the rubrick of the 
 Common Prayer, which is confirmed by the Act of Uni- 
 formity, says, " No one shall be admitted to the holy 
 Communion, until such time as he tie confirmed, or be 
 ready and desirous to be confirmed." This is agreeable 
 to the provisions of the ancient church. And the only 
 reasonable impediment to Confirmation is the want of 
 a bishop near the place. 
 
 2. Persons excommunicate, or who are doing penance 
 by church censure for any notorious fault, are unquali- 
 fied to receive ; for such persons are shut out from the 
 Communion, and therefore called excommunicate. 
 
 3. Persons under frenzy are unqualified to partake of 
 the holy Communion. And all persons, under the fore- 
 going want of qualification, may lawfully be refused ad- 
 mission to the Communion by the minister : for the 
 ecclesiastical law imposes great penalties ui)on the mi- 
 nister, who shall give them the Communion in such 
 cases. 
 
 4. A person may be unqualified by notorious wicked- 
 ness, or rtagitiousness of life. But of this more in the 
 next note. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 1 And if any of those be an open and noloriot(s eril 
 liver, &c.] In the primitive times, when discipline was 
 strictly maintained, all such [lersons, as soon as known, 
 were jiut under censure ; but if, before censure, they 
 offered themselves at the Communion, they were re- 
 ])elled. And indeed such severe discipline might not 
 be amiss, whilst it was grounded only upon piety and 
 zeal for (jod's honour, as it was in those devout times. 
 But afterwards, some persons being debarred from the 
 Communion out of private jiique and resentment, an 
 iiiilierial injunction prohibited " all, both bishojis and 
 presbyters, from shutting out any one from the Com- 
 munion, before just cause be shewn, that the holy canons 
 do give them power so to do." And the canon law 
 did not allow a discretionary power to the priest to 
 thrust away every ill person from tlie sacrament : " a 
 vicious person, offering himself to receive the Commu- 
 nion, is not to be expelled, but is to be carried ]iri\ately 
 aside, and to be exhorted not to receive the C'ommu- 
 nion." Indeed the later canonists did intcrjiret this 
 only of occult crimes, and such as were not generally 
 known ; allowing only persons " notoriously guilty" to 
 be expelled : and of this opinion were tlie compilers of 
 our rubricks in ICdward the Sixth's time, as appears 
 from their wording this rubrick, " If any be an open 
 and notorious evil liver, &c." l^ut, however, they 
 limited this discretionary jiower of the minister, obliging 
 him, even in " notorious" crimes, to "admonish" such 
 persons first to ab.stain, and only upim obstinacy to 
 rcjiel. But, ne\-ertheless, this formerly gave occasion 
 to several exceptions and dis|)uto» ; and therefore, in 
 the last revision of the Common Prayer, repulsion was 
 not left to the alisolute power of the minister, but he was 
 obliged to give notice thereof to the diocesan, and to 
 take his advice therein. And still it remains so uncer- 
 tain, what is " notoriety," both in iiresumption, law, 
 and fact, tliat a minister i.» not out of diiiiger of trans- 
 gressing his rule, if, before judicial conviction of a crime,
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 279 
 
 offended; the Curate, liaviruj knowledge thereof, shall call him and advertise 
 him, that in any wise lie presume not to come to the Ijord's T(djlc until he liaili 
 openli/ declared himself to have truly repented and amended his former iiriuyhty 
 life, that the Conyrcr/ution may thereby he satisfied, which hefore ivere offen<le<l; 
 and that he hath recompensed the parties, to whom he hath done wrony ; or at 
 least declare himself to he in full jmrpose so to do, as soon as he conveniently 
 may. 
 
 If The same order shall the Curate use' with those betwixt whom he perceivcth 
 malice and hatred to reign ; not suffering them to he partakers of the Lord's 
 Table, until he know them to be reconciled. And if one of the parties so at 
 variance be content to. forgive from the bottom of his heart all that the other 
 hath trespassed against him, and to make amends for that he himself hath 
 offended; and the other party will not he persuaded to a godly unity, hut remain, 
 still in his frmvardness and malice: the Minister in that case ought to admit 
 the penitent person to the holy Communion, and not him that is obstinate. 
 Provided that every Minister so repelling any, as is specified in this, or the 
 next precedent Paragraph of this Rubriclt, shall be obliged to give an account of 
 the same to the Ordinary icithin fourteen days after at the farthest. And the 
 Ordinary shall proceed against the offending person according to the Canon. 
 
 % The Table ^, at the Communion time, having a fair ivhite linen cloth upon it^, 
 
 he goes farther than admonishing any person to abstain. 
 Dr. Nicholls. Our hiw in England will not suffer the 
 minister to judge any man as a notorious offender, but 
 him who is convicted by some legal sentence. Bp. 
 Andrewes. 
 
 Notoriety in fact is one thing ; and notoriety in 
 presumption is another. And in either case it should 
 be a notoriety in law too, to indemnify the minister for 
 proceeding upon the ruljrick, or to render him safe, in 
 point of law, for repelling any person from the Com- 
 munion. 
 
 Upon the whole of the matter, however, though this 
 rubrick may "require some explanation," as Bishop 
 Cosin remarks, " for the avoiding of disputes and 
 doubts between the communicants and curates ; yet, if 
 it be taken in all its jiarts, namely, that no person, 
 however "notoriously wicked," shall be withheld from 
 the Communion, till he be admonished to with- 
 draw himself ; and that, when he is repelled upon his 
 obstinacy, it is only till such time as the ad\-ice of the 
 ordinary can be had therein, to whom the curate is 
 obliged to give early notice of such his act ; it seems 
 in this view the best, and I think the only ecclesiastical, 
 rule, we have to go by in such case : nor doth it appear 
 liable to exceptions, unless it be in that particular, of 
 how far we are safe in acting according to it. 
 
 But, as this is projierly a point of law, it is not so fit 
 for me to undertake any determination of it, it must be 
 left to the gentlemen of that profession. Only thus 
 much I would put in ; that, if a clergyman's conduct 
 in this matter shall a])pear to be ujiright, dispassionate, 
 and disinterested, and I wish it may never appear other- 
 wise, so as to gain the approbation of reasonable and 
 indifferent persons, which I think it would gain in all 
 notorious and flagrant cases, which are those mentioned 
 in the Rubrick, it is to be hoped and presumed, that 
 the interpreters of the law would, in their turn too, 
 shew him all the favour and regard they could. Arch- 
 deacon Shpr/). 
 
 ' Tlie sume order shall the Curate tise &c.] The mi- 
 nister here seems to have jiower given him, to deny 
 the sacrament ujion his own jjersonal knowledge of tlie 
 party's imfitness to receive it. There is only one in- 
 stance indeed of this unfitness mentioned ; namely, in 
 cases where he " perceiveth malice and hatred to reign," 
 in which cases " he is to use the same order as before," 
 
 of admonishing, and, upon obstinacy, of excluding from 
 the Communion. And this too without regard to the 
 notoriety of the malice or the offence given thereby to 
 the congregation. And by ])arity of reason, what he 
 is allowed to do upon his own knowledge in one case, 
 he may be presumed to have the lil)erty of doing in 
 any other that is ]iarallel ; that is, where he himself is 
 equally convinced that he has a just and sufficient cause, 
 according to the canons, to refuse the Sacrament, 
 though at the same time he cannot produce any legal 
 testimony of the crime for which he debars the party 
 from communicating. 
 
 Hence there arises another question, different from 
 the former ; namely, whether a minister ought at any 
 time, by denying the Sacrament, to pass a ])ublick and 
 open censure upon secret crimes, to which none are 
 privy but the parties and himself, and that perhajis by 
 accident, as may be, and sometimes hath been declared 
 to be, the case. 
 
 Upon the whole, the conclusion here is the same as in 
 the former point ; namely, that every minister must be 
 his own judge and guide in extraordinary occurrences, 
 which come not within the letter or supposed meaning 
 of the rulers that are set him by authority for his direc- 
 tion. Only it will greatly concern him to act with the 
 utmost care, fidelity, and circumspection, that he do 
 not either dejjrive any persons of the privilege of Chris- 
 tian communion, or set upon them such a publick 
 mark of infamy and disgrace as a rejjulse from the 
 Sacrament is commonly held to be, without a real 
 necessity to justify his conduct herein. Archdeacon 
 Sharp. 
 
 ' The Table,^ Altar was the name by which the holy 
 board was constantly distinguished for the first three 
 hundred years after Christ; during all which time it 
 does not appear that it was above once called " table," 
 and that was in a letter of Dionysius of Alexandria to 
 Xystus of Rome. And, when in the fourth century 
 Athanasius called it a "table," he thought himself 
 obliged to exjilain the word, and to let the reader know 
 that by " table " he meant " altar," that being then the 
 constant and familiar name. Afterwards indeed both 
 names came to be jjromiscuously used ; the one having 
 respect to the " oblation " of the eucharist, the other to 
 the " participation :" but it was always placed altar- 
 wise in the most sacred part of the chm-ch, and fenced
 
 280 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 shall stand in the Body of the Church, or in the Chancel'^, where Morning and 
 Evcninrj Prayer are appointed to be said. And the Priest standinq^ at the 
 North side of the Tabled shall say the Lord's Prayer^, iciih the Collect followiny, 
 tite people kneeling. 
 
 in with rails to seciu'e it from irreverence and disrespect. ' 
 Wheatly. 
 
 In King Edward's first ser^-ice book the word " al- 
 tar" was permitted to stand, as being the name that 
 Christians for many hundred years had been acquainted 
 withal, 'lliercfore when there was such pulling down 
 of altars, and setting up of tables, in Queen Elizabeth's 
 reifjn, she was fain to make an injunction to restrain 
 such ungodly fury ; and appointed decent and comely 
 tables covered to be set up again in the same place, 
 where the altars stood ; thereby giving an interpreta- 
 tion to this clause in oiu- Communion-book. For the 
 word " table " here stands not exclusively, as if it 
 might not be called an " altar," but to shew the indif- 
 ferency and liberty of the name; as of old it was called 
 "mensa Domini," the table of the Lord: the one 
 having reference to the ])articipation, the other to the 
 oblation of the eucharist. Bp. Overall. 
 
 It is called an "altar," 1. Because the holy eucharist 
 being considered as a sacrifice, we offer up the com- 
 memoration of that sacrifice which was offered upon 
 the cross. 2. We offer with the action prayers to (iod 
 for all good things, and we need not fear to call the 
 whole action by the name of a sacrifice, seeing part of 
 it is an oblation to God of hearty prayers, and it is not 
 unusual for that to be said of the wliole, which is ex- 
 actly true but of one ]iart : and as the word " sacri- 
 fice " may be used without danger, so also the ancient 
 church did understand it. 
 
 And it is called a " table," the eucharist being con- 
 sidered as a sacrament ; which is nothing else, but a 
 distribution and application of the sacrifice to the re- 
 ceivers, and the proper use of a table is to set food 
 upon, and to entertain guests, both which are ajjpli- 
 cable to this. Clutterbuek. 
 
 ' — karinff a fair white linen cloth upon t<,] It was 
 the practice of the primitive chiu-ch to have the altar 
 covered witli a clean linen cloth. In the Sacramentary 
 of St. Gregory it is called " I'alla altaris," to distin- 
 guish it from tlie " Corporis palla," or the cloth thrown 
 over the consecrated bread. The Scotch Liturgy 
 orders, that " the holy table at the Communion time 
 should have a carpet, and a fair white linen cloth upon 
 it, with other decent furniture, meet for the high mys- 
 teries there to Ijc celebrated." And by our own canons, 
 at all other times, when divine service is i)erformed, it 
 is to be " covered with a car|)et of silk, or rather decent 
 stuff, thought meet by the ordinary of the place, if any 
 question lie made of it; which was originally designed 
 for tlie clean keeping of the said " [white linen] 
 " cloth ;" tlioogli th(^ cliicf use of it now is for orna- 
 ment and decency. Dr. NicIkiUs, Wliiatly. 
 
 " — shall stand in the lindy nf the Cluirch, or in the 
 Chancel,] Custom has generally prevailed that it sliould 
 stand in the chancel ; and our governours manifestly 
 approve it. .And, if in the chancel, it should stand 
 close to the east wall ; the shorter sides or ends of it 
 pointing northward and southward. Dr. liennet. 
 
 The words " where morning aiul e\ening prayer are 
 a|)pointed to be said," oiiglit to have been expunged, 
 alter the place was transferred from the table to the 
 reading-desk. Shepherd. 
 
 ' And the I'riexl .s'andinr/'] " We pray standing." saith 
 St. .\ngustin. "which is a sign of the resurrection," 
 at the time of Easter : whence also on all Lord's days 
 
 that practice is observed at the altar. Bp. Cosin. See 
 page 33, note a. 
 
 !■ And the Priest standing at the North side of the Table] 
 Wherever the table be i)laced, the priest is obliged to 
 " stand at the north side," (or end thereof, as the 
 Scotch Liturgy expresses it ; which also orders, that it 
 " shall stand in the ujiiiermost jiart of the chancel or 
 church,") the design of which is, that the priest may 
 be the better seen and heard ; which, as our altars are 
 now placed, he cannot be but at the north or south 
 side. And therefore the north side, being the right 
 hand or upper side of the altar, is certainly the most 
 proper for the officiating priest, that so the assisting 
 minister (if there be one) may not be obliged to stand 
 above him. And Bp. Be\eridge has shewn tliat when- 
 ever, in the ancient liturgies, the minister is directed to 
 stand " before" the altar, the north side of it is always 
 meant. IVheatly. 
 
 This seems to have been ordered, for the purpose of 
 avoiding the fashion of the priest's standing with his 
 face towards the east, as is the Popish practice. 
 L'Esfrange. 
 
 This rubrick is to be understood even of that part of 
 the otlice, by which another rubrick, namely, the fu-st 
 at the end of the office, is apjiointed " to be said when 
 there is no Communion." This case will admit of ex- 
 ceptions from unforeseen circumstances. For, since 
 the customary placing of altars in chancels, it becomes 
 almost impossible in large churches, and where the 
 chancels are almost equal in length to the churches 
 themselves, to perform that part of the Communion 
 ser\-ice. which is to be read always on Smulays and 
 holy-days, at the Lord's table, without quite defeating 
 the intention of its being read at all ; namely, " that it 
 should be heard of the people." Hut then, pray let us 
 observe further, that where this necessity for breaking 
 through the rubrick cannot be pleaded by us ; that is, 
 where this service " may be conveniently enough per- 
 formed at the table itself," situated in the chancel ; 
 there will be no excuse for lis for reading it in the 
 desk ; as it is but too commonly done in our churches, 
 contrary to the letter and ])lain meaning of tlie rubrick. 
 .4rchd('acon Sharp. 
 
 It was the custom of the ancients, that all things, 
 which pertained to the celebration of the Lord's supper, 
 should be said at the altar. In this celebration there 
 is hardly any difference between us and the Protestants 
 in Germany, but that among us the prayers are said by 
 the bishop or minister at the altar, but among them in 
 the desk : in which matter they do not agree with the 
 ancients. Bj). Cosin. 
 
 As tlic Church gives it the name of the " Commu- 
 nion Service," so .she orders it to be read at the com- 
 munion table : and thus by retaining the aiu'ient place 
 and name, as memorials of her primitive zeal, she tes- 
 tifies to all her children, that there ought to be now in 
 these days, as in the days of old, an holy Communion, 
 whenever this service is appointed; that is, on every 
 Lord's day and on every holy-day, whether festival or 
 fast. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 It was an ancient custom of the Church, to be traced 
 up as high as the third century, to sing an anthem in 
 this place, called the " Introit ;" because, while this 
 was singing, the priest made his inlroit, that is, en- 
 trance, within the " septum " or rad of tlie altar; which
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 OU R Father, whicli art in hea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth. As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses. As we 
 forgive them that trespass against us. 
 
 introit was usually a psalm suited to the day or 
 solemnity. And this custom was ordered in the first 
 book of Kdward the Sixth ; and, though omitted in the 
 rubrick of the second book, yet it has been, and is still, 
 continued down in our cathedral chm'ches, and in 
 quires and places where they sing. 
 
 Now in many parish churches, instead of this an- 
 them, is commonly sung a jisalm : which is very proper, 
 though the minister should not go u[) to the commu- 
 nion table ; and rather the more so when he does : 
 because this inter|)osal of a psalm makes a separation 
 and distinction between the two services, which ought 
 to be thus made by distance of time, when it cannot be 
 done by difference of place. Not but in all parish 
 churches, as well as in quires, where it can be done 
 with convenience to the congregation, this service 
 ought regularly to be said at the Lord's table : a 
 thing, which Bishop Beveridge, that great saint and 
 ornament of our Church, and great admirer and pro- 
 moter of our Liturgy, much desires and insists upon, 
 as useful to remind people, that there ought at least 
 to be a sacrament, though there be not, on every .Sun- 
 day and holy-day. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 ' — shall say the Lord's Prayer.'] This holy sacra- 
 ment, and this di\'ine prayer, had one and the same 
 author; and therefore the Lord's Prayer must be the 
 most proper preface to the Lord's supper, in the cele- 
 bration of which the primitive church always used this 
 prayer, as the Fathers testify ; and St. Jerom affirms 
 that Christ Himself taught it his apostles to be said at 
 the holy Communion. It seems indeed that our Sa- 
 viour intended it should be joined to all our offices 
 of devotion, because He ushers it in with this injunc- 
 tion, " When ye pray, say Our Father, &c." Luke 
 xi. 2. In compliance theremth, as the Church hath 
 again placed it at the entrance into this service, so let us 
 repeat it with a fresh devotion : considering that these, 
 being the words of the .Son of God, will, if duly re- 
 peated, make way for the accejitance of all the rest of 
 our petitions and ser\'ices. Dean Comber. 
 
 When this divine form of prayer is said, the people, 
 being humbly on their knees, are to accompany the 
 minister, not only in their hearts, but with their lips. 
 For, though it be not particularly ordered in this place, 
 yet it is in the rubrick after the ('onfession in the 
 "Order for Morning Prayer:" where the minister is 
 to use the Lord's Prayer, "the people also kneeling, 
 and repeating it with him, both here, and whereso- 
 ever else it is used in divine service." Archdeacon 
 Yardley. 
 
 I'he reason of the Church's appointment, that the 
 Lord's Prayer should be said by the whole congre- 
 gation, is to shew a jieculiar regard to this divine form 
 of our Lord's inditing above all human compositions, 
 for "full of grace were his lips" above the sons of 
 men : but chiefly in obedience to his injunction, who 
 commanded it to be said by his disciples when- 
 ever they ])rayed : which, lest any one should omit 
 through ignorance or neglect, our Church hath in- 
 joined it to be rehearsed by the peojjle, " whenever it is 
 used in the divine service." But in all the other 
 prayers the people are directed to accompany the mi- 
 
 And lead us not into temptation 
 deliver us from evil. Amen. 
 
 281 
 
 But 
 
 The Collect \ 
 L M I G H T Y God, unto wjiom Ai^'s i^24. 
 
 all hearts beo])en'' 
 
 known, and from whom 
 
 A' 
 
 all desii 
 no 
 
 res Pa cxxxix. 
 
 1 3 . 
 
 secrets xxxviii. 9, 
 
 nister only with a pure heart, and at the close to 
 " answer, Amen," with an humble voice. 
 
 The distinction between the use of the " Amen " at 
 the end of the Lord's Prayer, as also of the general 
 Confession, and at the end of the other Prayers, or 
 Collects, is this. In the former tliey repeat the Amen 
 as a jiart : in the Collects they add it as an answer. 
 In these the Amen is said by the minister himself, as 
 one joining with the congregation (and that it ought to 
 be so said, must be evident to any one, who will in- 
 spect the " general Confession," and consider by what 
 authority the minister is to stop before he has com- 
 pleted the whole form, jirescribed for the joint use of 
 himself and the congregation ; and liy what authority, 
 if he stojis, the congregation, who are to say the Con- 
 fession "after him," are to proceed. Edit.). In the 
 Collects the Amen is said only by the congregation, as 
 separate from, and replying to, the minister. In the 
 former it is said by way of repetition ; in the latter, of 
 response. Wherefore in the Collects the minister would 
 err, if he subjoined " Amen ;" as much as the people, 
 if they repeated the form : both mistaking and mutu- 
 ally invading each other's part, appointed severally in 
 the rubrick. 
 
 To prevent this irregularity, the Church hafh ob- 
 served even a literal distinction in the jirint. In the 
 Confession and Lord's Prayer, as also in the Creeds 
 and Doxology, whereof the Amen is a part, to be said 
 therefore both by priest and [leople, it is printed in the 
 same letter with the form. But in the Collects, %vhereto 
 it is subjoined only as an answer, to be made only by 
 the jjeople, it is printed in a different character. But 
 why do not men even of themselves in these obvious 
 cases judge what is right ? ^^'hy not with their own 
 eyes discern, what the church hath so visibly dis- 
 tinguished ? 
 
 As to the Confession, necessary it was that every 
 worshipper should repeat the whole form, confessing 
 his own sins with his own mouth : otherwise were this 
 performed by the lijis of the minister alone, it would 
 not be in a proper sense confession, but consent. The 
 same may be said of the confessions of faith in the 
 Creeds. 
 
 As to the Lord's Prayer, why it is appointed to be 
 said by the whole congregation, is stated at the begin- 
 ning of this note. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 • The Collect.] This short and devout Collect is both 
 a very fit introduction to the Communion Service, and 
 a proper preface to the repeating of the Ten Command- 
 ments. 'I'he Western church of old used this very form 
 in this office, and the Eastern prayed before the .Sacra- 
 ment, " O Lord, purify our souls and bodies from all 
 pollutions of flesh and S])irit ;" for the pure body of 
 Christ must be received into a pure heart. .Vnd as the 
 peo])le were to be purified before the first publication of 
 the law, Exod. six. 14; so must we have clean hearts 
 before we are fit to hear it ; lest, if our minds be im- 
 pure, sin take occasion by the Commandment to stir up 
 concupiscence in us, Rom. vii. 8. Dean Comber. 
 
 In this very old and excellent Collect, we proceed to 
 beg of Him, " imto whom all hearts be open," " so to 
 cleanse the thoughts of oiu- hearts, by the inspiration of
 
 282 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Job xlii. 2. 
 Jer. xvii. 10. 
 Ps. li. 10. 
 2 Cor. X. 4, 5 ; 
 iii 3. 
 Matt. xxii. 
 
 are hid ; Cleanse the thouglits of 
 our hearts by the inspiration of thy 
 Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly 
 love thee% and worthily magnify thy 
 
 his holy Spirit," by breathing into us with lasting effi- 
 cacy good inclinations and purposes, " that we may," 
 as •' perfectly " as our present state admits, " love " 
 Him in our souls and " magnify " Him in our words 
 and lives. Purity of intention is both in general 
 requisite for approaching God's altar, and more es- 
 jjecially for going through the ne.\'t part of the office 
 aright; in which, after hearing the Ten Command- 
 ments rehearsed to us, we pray God to " have mercy 
 upon us," and jiardon us, so far as we ha\'e trans- 
 gressed either the letter or the spirit of tliem, as ex- 
 plained by our blessed Redeemer, "and incline our 
 hearts to keej) " each of them better for the future. It 
 doth not aj]|)ear that this form of devotion was ever 
 used in any Liturgy before our own. But surely, 
 taking the Commandments with the Gospel interpreta- 
 tion of them, it is a very instructive and edifying one. 
 And they, who think the Confession in the morning 
 jjrayer not particular enough, have sufficient room here 
 to supply that imagined defect. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 '' Almighty God, unio whom all hearts be open, &c.] Of 
 all the divine attributes there are none so likely to 
 make us afraid, in this our nearest approach to God, of 
 coming with an unclean heart, as his omnipotence and 
 omniscience. Tliese two therefore are in Scripture 
 phrase here set before us, to remind us that we come 
 before an almighty and all-seeing Majesty : so that if 
 anv wickedness be but imagined in the heart, desired 
 by the will, or acted by the hand, in the darkest night, 
 or most secret corner, it is apparent to Him; and He 
 will condemn us for it, unless we first condemn ourselves. 
 Deati Comber. 
 
 ' — that ive may perfectly love thee, &c.] We cannot 
 love God so much as He deser\-es ; but, if we love Him 
 sincerely, that is accounted " jjerfectly." And although 
 we cannot sufficiently set forth all the praise, of which 
 He is worthy, yet when we value Him in our hearts 
 above all things, we are accounted to " magnify him 
 worthily," that is, suitably in some measure to his 
 goodness. Dean Comber. 
 
 ■* Then shall the priest, turning to the people,'] The 
 priest, in rehearsing the Commandments, speaks as 
 from God ; and therefore is ordered to " tiu'ii himself 
 to the peo])le:" whilst they receive them " kneeling;" 
 the posture of reverence and submission to what God 
 commands, and of humiliation for the breach thereof. 
 Dr. Bisse. 
 
 ' — rehearse distinctly all the Ten Commandments,'] 
 "Distinctly;" that is, slowly and delilierately : in a 
 manner suitable to the importance of the subject, .and 
 the dignity of Him who.sc conmiands they are. Waldo. 
 With ])auses between them. I do not; find in any 
 liiturgy, old or new, before this of the fifth of Ivhvard 
 VI. here continued, that the Jews' decalogue was used 
 in the service of the Christian church. lUit it seems, 
 that the rehearsal of it in the beginning of tlie Com- 
 munion was ajjpointed witli the people's answers and 
 craving pardon and grace to observe them, instead of 
 ccmfession of sins, always set in this ]ilace. It serves 
 to actuate our re])entancc by calling to mind our of- 
 fences by retail. lip. Cosin. 
 
 Tliese divine jjreccpts of tlie mor il law were not ap- 
 propriated to the Jewish synagogue, but do as much 
 eimccrn and oblige us, as they did them : we vowed to 
 keep thtm in our baptism, and we renew that vow at 
 
 holy Name ; through Christ our Lord. 
 Allien. 
 
 % Then shall the Priest, turning to the peo- 
 lile'^, rehearse distinctly all the 'TEN 
 
 Ps, xxxiv. 3; 
 cxix. 7 ; 
 ciii. 1. 
 Prov. XV. 8. 
 Acts X. 40. 
 
 every Communion, and therefore it is \-ery fit we 
 should hear them often, and have them repeated now, 
 when we are going to make a fresh engagement to 
 observe them. God hath told us, that " his prayer 
 shall be abomination who turns away his ear from 
 hearing the law," Prov. x-wiii. 9. And our diligent 
 attention to his will, will incline Him to hear our 
 desires ; so that our obedient and humble hearing of 
 the Commandments makes way for the success of our 
 prayers. And where could the Law be placed in our 
 service more conveniently, than immediately before 
 the Gospel, to make that more welcome to us, when 
 the Law hath humbled us by its terrors ? Anil since 
 we are to confess all our sins before we come to this 
 blessed sacrament of pardon, the Church holds out this 
 glass unto us by which we may discover all oiu' offences. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 These Ten Commandments contain all the things 
 requisite in reference to all moral actions, as being the 
 summary and general heads, under which are compre- 
 hended all the duties we are to do in particular, and all 
 the sins we are to avoid. Uut there are other positive 
 precepts, to which our obedience is required. God 
 Himself first divided this law into two tables : the first 
 four containing our duty to God, and the last six our 
 duty to our neighbour. Clutterbuck. 
 
 The benefit of the ]>riest"s here reading the Com- 
 mandments may be considered with a double respect : 
 1. with a particular regard to the holy Communion; 
 or, 2. with a general regard to their standing and in- 
 trinsick use. 
 
 First, with regard to the Communion, this rehearsal 
 of the Commandments, with the siqiplications of the 
 people subjoined to each, is an excellent i)reparative for 
 i-eceiving tluise holy mysteries ; for it contains those 
 penitential acts, which the Ch'irch requires. For in its 
 exhortation for the worthy partici])ation of the Lord's 
 supper it thus directs : " 'i'he way and means thereto 
 is ; first, to examine your lives and conversations by the 
 rule of (Jod's commandments : and whereinsoever ye 
 shall perceive yourselves to have offended, either by 
 will, word, or deed, there to bewail your own sinfulness, 
 and to confess yourselves to .Mmighty (iod, with full 
 I)urposc of amendment of life." Now, whilst each 
 Commandment is reading, every communicant ought 
 by a secret recollection, at least of his grosser sins, to 
 examine his own conscience ; and being conscious 
 wherein he hath offended, for, alas ! who is there that 
 liveth and sinnethnot.' he then may " bewail his own 
 sinfulness " with the rest, crying out, •' Lord, have 
 mercy U])on us ;" and also strengthen his purpose 
 of amendment, adding, " and inchne our hearts to 
 keep tliis l;iw." The keeping of tlie Commandments 
 is one of the three things, which we did " promise and 
 vow in our baptism:" and the hearing of them dis- 
 tinctly rehearsed to us must be of peculiar use, when 
 we are going to renew that vmv in the Lord's supper. 
 
 Not but without this relative use of the ('oinmaud- 
 ments, secondly, tlie rehearsal of them, in the manner 
 prescribed, is of general and standing ailvantage to 
 Christians. For I would ask, what can lie of greater 
 advantage to them, than the familiar knowledge of 
 those things, the performance whereof is tlie condition 
 of salvation ? Now our Saviour bath said, " If thou 
 wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments."
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 283 
 
 COMMANDMENTS, and the people still 
 kncelinff sliaW, nfter vvery Commandment, 
 ask God mercy for their Iransr/rcssion 
 thereof for the time past, and i/race to keep 
 the same for the time to come, as followetk. 
 
 Moses, to enforce the keeping of them, saith, " They 
 shall be in thine heart : and thnu shalt hind them 
 for a sifjn U])on tliine hand, and they shall be as 
 I'rontlets between thine eyes." Doid^tless this recital 
 of them in the hearing of the peo])le has all these 
 effects ; for it regularly reprints them upon their 
 memories, which otherwise would regularly be worn 
 out and effaced by the impressions of tlieir weekly 
 affairs. .\nd the people themselves, being obliged 
 after every Commandment to " ask God mercy for 
 their transgression thereof for the time jiast, and grace 
 to kee]) the same for the time to come," what do they 
 at each rehearsal, but, as by a new tie, " liind them for 
 a sign upon their hands and as frontlets between their 
 eyes ?" Dr. Bisse. 
 
 These laws never any man did or can observe, without 
 God's preventing and assisting grace : and therefore we 
 are directed by the Church to in\'oke God's grace for 
 the performance of his will : to every precept we are 
 taught to apply St. Augustine's petition, " Grant me to 
 do what thou commandest." The sum of this petition- 
 ary response is derived from Deut. v. 29: " O that there 
 were such an heart in them, that they would keep all 
 my commandments !" And, as we crave such an heart 
 from God, so we implore his mercy for our violation of 
 them. L' Estrange. 
 
 ' — and the people still kneeling shall &c.] When we 
 hear these holy Commandments read in the church, we 
 must receive them with equal reverence and humility as 
 if God Himself spake them from mount Sinai : and, 
 because we ha\'e offended against them all, we must 
 kneel down as criminals ought to do, and diligently 
 consider, as the priest reads them, what sins we have 
 done against each Commandment ; and when we have 
 found out the jfarticular transgressions, we must at the 
 close of every command, most earnestly beg pardon for 
 them, saying, " Lord, have mercy upon us," and forgive 
 us for these great offences ; and, that we may never 
 commit the like again, O do thou " incline our hearts 
 to keep these laws." And thus the law of God may 
 be a daily means of om' repentance and reformation. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 Though I cannot say, this prayer for mercy after 
 every one of the Commandments was very ancient, yet 
 surely it cannot be denied to be very useful and pious. 
 And if there be any, that think this might be spared, 
 as fitter for poor publicans than saints, let them turn to 
 the parable of the publican and Pharisee going uj) to 
 the temple to pray, Luke xviii, and there they shall 
 receive an answer. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 It were well that the people should consider attentively 
 the seriousness of this [lart of the office. The words of 
 God Himself are read unto them by God's ambassador; 
 and they are to be received with the utmost reverence, 
 and a mind sincerely resolved to obey them. Now the 
 congregation must not even mentally repeat them to- 
 gether with the minister: much less must they mutter 
 them over aloud, and thereby disturb those wdio are 
 ])laced near them : but attend to them as sjjoken by the 
 minister, with an awful silence; and at the end of each 
 Commandment fervently say, " Lord, have mercy u[ion 
 us," &c. 
 
 It is much to 'oe desired also that the clergy should, 
 1 . not hurry the Commandments, but utter them with 
 due deliberation, and give the people sufficient time to 
 
 Minister. 
 
 OD s|i;iko these words f, luid 
 said ; I am tlie Lord thy God : 
 
 repeat, " Lord, have mercy upon us," &c. ; that, in the 
 use of that excellent petition, their minds may leisurely 
 go along with tlie words, and accompany them with 
 intense devotion. 2. 'i'hat they should jironounce tlie 
 Commandments, not in the same tone of voice with 
 the other jiarts of the service, much less after the same 
 maimer with the prayers. But let such a difference be 
 made, that the people may perceive and be sensible, that 
 the minister is speaking to them in the name of God, 
 and dehvering to them a summary of that duty, upon 
 the ])erformance of which their eternal salvation does 
 depend. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 The Ten Commandments were not appointed to be 
 read in the first English Liturgy of 1549. They made 
 no part of any ancient Liturgy : nor, if my information 
 be correct, are they read in the Communion office of 
 any of the reformed churches, excejit our own : and in 
 ours they were first inserted at the review of Edward's 
 Liturgy in 1552. The order for the rehearsal of them 
 however requires neither vindication nor apology. At 
 the same time the place, which they occiqiy, is more 
 ])roi)er than any other that could easily be found. They 
 stand in that part of the office, which is more generally 
 preparatory to the holy Commtmion, immediately after 
 the Collect for purity, and before the Ejiistle and Gos- 
 pel. And when there is a Communion, they are conse- 
 quently heard by all, by the younger as well as the 
 older part of the congregation ; by those, who do not 
 communicate, as well as those who do. Shepherd. 
 
 B God spake these words, &c.] Paraphrase on the Ten 
 Commandments. 
 
 1. These are the precepts wdiich God Almighty has 
 commanded us, saying, first. Thou shalt have me for 
 thy God, paying me all the duties which are owing to 
 me as an eternal Creator, and an almighty Go\-ernour. 
 "Believing" in me, Heb. xi. C. "Trusting" in me, 
 Prov. iii. 5. "Hoping" in me, iTim.i. 1. "Loving" 
 me, 1 John iv. 19. "Obeying" me, 1 John v. 3. 
 " Fearing" me, Ps. cxi. 10. Secondly, Thou shalt 
 worship no God together with me, or exclusively of me, 
 by avoiding "polytheism," Deut. vi. 14; "idolatry," 
 Jer. V. 19; "sorcery," Deut. .win. 10, II; and the 
 " idolizing of riches," Job xxxi. 24 ; Col. iii. 5. 
 
 2. Thou shalt not worship me after the ])agan M-ayof 
 images, Deut. iv. 12. 15 ; either of celestial bodies, as 
 sun, moon, or stars. Job xxxi. 26 ; or of the inhabitants 
 of the earth, as of men and beasts, &c., Dan. iii. 5 ; or 
 of the fishes in the water. No manner of religious wor- 
 ship shalt thou pay to them, either by bowing to them, 
 or kneeling, or by shewing any other token of religious 
 regard ; for I am very jealous of my honour in this 
 resjject, assuring you, that any that shall be guilty of 
 this fault, I shall not only jiunish him in his own ])erson, 
 but in his family likewise for several generations. But, 
 secondly. Thou shalt pay me my worship in the way 
 which I shall direct, Deut. xii. 31, by " praying" to me, 
 Lukexxi. 3C; by "praising" me, Deut. x. 21 ; Acts 
 xvi. 25; by "hearing" my holy word, Deut. iv. 10; 
 Matt. iv. 4 ; by " frequenting the publick " congrega- 
 tions assembled for my worship, Ps. xxii. 22 ; Heb. x. 
 25. 
 
 3. First, Thou shalt not make use of my name in 
 an oath to attest a false matter. Lev. xix. 12; Numb. 
 XXX. 2 ; nor upon any tri\ial occasion. Matt. v. 34 ; 
 James v. 12; nor speak of my attributes, Ps. Ixxviii.
 
 284 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Ps. xli 4. 
 1 Kings viii. 
 57, 58. 
 
 Thou slialt have none other gods but 
 me. 
 
 People. Lord, have mercy upon 
 us, and incline our hearts to keep 
 this law. 
 
 Minister. Thou shalt not make to 
 thyself any graven image, nor the 
 likeness of any thing that is in hea- 
 ven above, or in the earth beneath, 
 or in the water under the earth. 
 Thou shalt not bow down to them, 
 nor worship them : for 1 the Lord 
 
 19 ; Exod. V. 2 ; or my holy word, irreverently, 1 Tim. i. 
 13 ; nor slialt tliou yet make a vow, which is an inferior 
 kind of oath, rashly, Eccl. v. 2 ; insincerely, Ps. Ix.vviii. 
 36 ; nor without sufficient authority. Numb. xxx. 5 ; 
 nor upon any but a very weighty occasion. Gen. xxviii. 
 20; Numb. xxx. 14 ; and when made, thou shalt care- 
 fully and readily perform it, Numb. xxx. 3 ; Acts v. 4. 
 But, contrariwise, thou shalt honour me, by swearing 
 truly and reverently by my name, Deut. vi. 13; x. 20; 
 especially if it be for a charitable design, in deciding 
 ditferences, Gen. xxvi. 28; Heb. \'i. IG; if thou shalt 
 at any time speak of me, it shall be with reverence, and 
 an a\rfnl admiration of my being, Rom. ix. 5 ; 2 Cor. xi. 
 13; and if thou reason out of my revealed words, it 
 must be not out of wantonness, but for edification, Acts 
 xvii. U ; Ps. cxix. 1"2; if thou shalt make a vow upon 
 any good and laudable account. Gen. xxviii. 20, thou 
 shalt perform it conscientiously, Ps. cxxxii. 2. Now for 
 a man to be faulty in any of these particulars, is to 
 commit a great sin against God, for which He will most 
 severely punish him. 
 
 4. 'lake great care to observe religiously the Sabbath- 
 day, one day in the week, which I have especially set 
 aside for my worship in remembrance of my creation of 
 the imiverse : that day thou shalt keep holy, by thy own 
 abstaining, and of all that belongs to thee, from work 
 and ordinary caUing : not to buy or sell, Neh. xiii. 15, 
 or carry burdens, Jer. xvii. 22, or make journeys, Exod. 
 xvi. 29, excepting works of necessity, as provision of 
 food, and looking after cattle. Matt. xii. 1 1 ; fighting for 
 defence of our country, 1 Mac. ii. 41 ; and works of cha- 
 rity, as healing the sick, and assisting women in their 
 travaU, Matt. xii. 7. 12 ; IIos. vi. (i ; labour of ministers 
 in the exercise of their calling. Matt, xii .'> ; and the tra- 
 velling of |)eople to tile jilaces of public worship, 2 Kings 
 iv. 23. I5nt the better part of the sanctilication of this 
 day does consist in performing the spiritual exercises, 
 which all devout persons ought to spend their time in 
 upon that day; joining in the jiuhlick devotion, and 
 hearing the word ]ircaelu'd. Lev. xxiii. 2; 1 Cor. xvi. 2, 
 and meditating upon it afterward.s at home: in jirivatc 
 devotions with tlieir families, and in a more retired one 
 by themselves in their own closets; by reading the holy 
 Scriptures, and other good books ; by visiting the poor, 
 and relieving the needy ; and by making up unha])py 
 differences among neighbours. 
 
 ."i. Take care to jierfonn thy duties as well to thy 
 political parent the jirince, who governs thee ; to thy 
 domestick parent tby master, who feeds and elotlies 
 thee; to thy ecclesiastical |iarent, wlio instructs thee; 
 a.s to thy natural father and mother, who begat thee. 
 1. If Ihon art a subject, thou must honour the prince 
 whom (iod has set over thee, 1 Pet. ii. 17 ; stand in awe 
 of him, and obey him in all things not forbid by (iod, 
 and contrary to national constitutions, and the liberties 
 of a free people. Koin. xiii. 1 ; 1 Pet. ii. 13. Submit to 
 
 thy God am a jealous God, and visit 
 the sins of tlie fathers upon the chil- 
 dren, unto the third and fourth gene- 
 ration of them that hate me, and 
 shew mercy unto thousands in them 
 that love me, and keep my com- 
 mandments. 
 
 People. Lord, have mercy upon 
 us, and incline our hearts to keep 
 this law. 
 
 Minister. Thou shalt not take the 
 Name of the Lord thy God in vain : 
 
 his correction and punishment, 1 Pet. ii. 19, 20, and 
 assist him with thy person, or thy money, in his just 
 wars, or maintenance of the royal dignity. Matt. xxii. 
 1 7 ; Rom. xiii. G, 7. And, on the other side, I will re- 
 quire of him to govern thee according to the rules of 
 justice and piety, 1 Tim. ii. 2 ; that he shall seek thine 
 and all his people's good, Rom. xiii 4. 2. If thou beest 
 a servant, " reverence" and honour thy master, 1 Tim. 
 vi. 1 ; " fear" to displease him, Mai. i. 6 ; " obey" his 
 commands, E])h. vi. 5; be "patient" under his correc- 
 tions, 1 Pet. ii. 18 ; and be " diligent" in thy business. 
 Col. iii. 22, 23 ; studying in all things to " jilease" him. 
 Tit. ii. 9. As, on the other side, I will for thy sake 
 require of thy master, that he should not behave him- 
 self jieevishly and perversely towards thee, 1 Pet. ii. 18; 
 Deut. xxiv. 14, 15 ; but that he be " gentle and kind," 
 as he shall expect to find favour from me. Col. iv. 1, 
 and provide for thee in thy old age, if thou spendest 
 thy whole time in his service, Prov. xvii. 2. 3. If thou 
 art a lay person, thou must love thy pastor who has the 
 care over thee, 1 Thess. v. 13; thou must ])ay him just 
 reverence and respect, Phil. ii. 29; 1 Tim. v. 17; thou 
 must submit thyself to his direction in spiritual matters, 
 Heb. xui. 17; thou must contribute to make him up a 
 handsome and liberal maintenance, 1 Tim. v. 17, 18; 
 Gal. vi. G, 7 ; 1 Cor, ix. 7, &c. And, on the other side, 
 I will require of him, that he shall look upon thee, and 
 the rest of his flock, as his children. Gal. iv. 19 ; Phil, 
 ii. 20 ; that by his holy life and conversation he shall 
 set an examjile for thee to copy by. Tit. ii. " ; 1 Tim. iv. 
 12 ; that he shall be diligent in preaching the word in 
 season, and out of season. 2 Tim. iv. 2 ; and, lastly, that 
 he shall be meek, ]H'aeeable, and C(mrteous, 2 Tim. ii. 
 22. 24. 4. As thou art a son or daughter, reverence 
 and respect thy ]iarents, though they happen to be in a 
 mean condition, Mai. i G ; Matt. x\i. 31 ; obey them 
 in all lawful things which they conunand thee, E|(h. vi. 1 ; 
 Col. iii. 20; relieve them when in want. Matt. xv. 4, 5; 
 I Tim. V. 4; submit thyself to their instruction. Prov. 
 i. 8, and, when thou art young, to their correction, 
 Heb. xii. 7 ; and when thou art grown up thou shalt 
 take their advice in any imjiortant affair of life, (ien. 
 xxiv. 1, 2; xxvii. 4G. Now, to answer this, I expect on 
 thy ]>arents' side, that they should nourish and bring 
 thee up in thy childhood, 1 Tim. v. 10, (irovidc neces- 
 saries for thee in that state, raiment, S:c., Prov. xxxi. 15; 
 
 1 Tim. V. 8 ; instruct thee in religion, Deut. vi. fi, 7 ; 
 
 2 Tim. iii. 15; shew thee a good example, .Tob i. 5; 
 Josh. xxiv. 15; keep thee in obedience !)y a just awe, 
 avoiding fondness and rigour. 1 Tim. iii. 4, and laying 
 up for thee, to i)ut thee out into the world, according to 
 thy birth and cpiality, 2 Cor. xii. 14. Now if thou dost 
 discharge these duties, I will reward tliee not oidy with 
 temporal but with s]iiri(ual blessings. 
 
 (). Thou shalt not only avoid the barbarous crime of 
 muriler upon the body of thy neighbour, (ien. ix. 5, G;
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 285 
 
 for tlio Lord will not liolfl liiin guilt- 
 less, that taketli his Name in vain. 
 
 People. Lord, liave mercy upon 
 us, and incline our hearts to keep 
 this law. 
 
 Minister. Remember that thou 
 keep holy the Sabbath-day. Six 
 days shalt thou labour, and do all 
 that thou hast to do ; but the seventh 
 day is the Sabbath of the Lord 
 thy God. In it thou shalt do no 
 manner of work, thou, and thy son, 
 and thy daughter, thy man-servant, 
 and thy maid-servant, thy cattle, 
 and the stranger that is within thy 
 gates. For in six days the Lord 
 made heaven and earth, the sea, 
 and all that in them is, and rested 
 the seventh day : wherefore the Lord 
 blessed the seventh day, and hal- 
 lowed it. 
 
 People. Lord, have mercy upon 
 us, and incline our hearts to keep 
 this law. 
 
 Minister. Honour thy father and 
 thy mother ; that thy days may be 
 long in the land, which the Lord thy 
 God giveth thee. 
 
 Numb. XXXV. 16 ; but the laying of violent hands upon 
 thyself, as some discontented wicked men have done, 
 
 1 Sam. xxxi. 4; Acts i. 18; as also the careless med- 
 dling with such instruments of death, as may destroy 
 those that are near us, especially the striking with them 
 in rage. Numb. xxxv. 16, 1", &c. Thou shalt avoid 
 likewise the occasions of murder, immoderate " anger," 
 Matt. v. 21, '22; "hatred," 1 .John iii. 15; "malice," 
 and bitterness of speech, Ej)h. iv. 31. But on the 
 contrary, thou shalt practise the virtues of peaceable- 
 ness, Rom. xii. 18; meekness, Rom. xii. 17; and cha- 
 rity, Rom. xii. 20. 
 
 7. Thou shalt not defile thyself with the foul sin of 
 " adultery," by unlawfid familiarity with the husband or 
 wife of another. Lev. xx. 10; Heb. xiii. 4; Ezek. xxii. 
 11; or, which is worse, to cover it under pretence of 
 marriage, which is called "polygamy," Lev. xviii. 18; 
 Mai. ii. 14, 15 ; 1 Cor. vii. 2 ; and, which is still more 
 criminal, have unlawful commixtures with those of the 
 " same blood," Lev. xviii. 6 ; 1 Cor. v. 1 ; or mth those 
 of the " same sex," Rom. i. 26, 27 ; Lev. xviii. 22 ; or 
 with those of a " different kind," Lev. xviii. 23 ; xx. 15. 
 Thou shalt likewise avoid " fornication," or unclean- 
 ness committed between single persons, 1 Cor. vi. 9 ; and 
 the incitements thereunto, " drunkenness," 1 Pet. iv. 3; 
 Prov. xxiii. 31. 33; "wanton behaviour," 2 Pet. ii. 7; 
 
 2 Cor. xii. 21; "attire," Prov. vii. 10; Zeph. i. 8; 
 " idleness," Ezek. xvi. 49. But contrary to all these 
 foul vices, thou must be chaste in thy " thoughts," 
 Matt. XV. 19; "words," I Cor. v. 6; Col. iii. 8; and 
 " behaviour," Tit. ii. 3. 
 
 8. Thou shalt not commit the outrageous act of rob- 
 bery, or forcibly taking away from thy neighbour. Lev. 
 xix. 11. 13; nor be guilty of private "stealing," Eph. 
 iv. 28 ; nor of extortion or unjust gain, Prov. xxviii. 8 ; 
 Ilab. ii. 9 ; 1 Cor. v. 11: nor of fraud in deaUng, 
 
 People. Lord, have mercy upon 
 us, and incline our hearts to keej) 
 this law. 
 
 Minister. Thou shalt do no mur- 
 der. 
 
 People. Lord, have mercy upon 
 us, and incline our hearts to keep 
 this law. 
 
 Minister. Thou shalt not commit 
 adultery. 
 
 People. Lord, have mercy upon 
 us, and incline our hearts to keep 
 this law. 
 
 Minister. Thou shalt not steal. 
 
 People. Lord, have mercy upon 
 us, and incline our hearts to keep 
 this law. 
 
 Minister. Thou shalt not bear 
 false witness against thy neighbour. 
 
 People. Lord, have mercy upon 
 us, and incline our hearts to keep 
 this law. 
 
 Minister. Thou shalt not covet 
 thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not 
 covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his 
 servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor 
 his ass, nor any thing that is his. 
 
 People. Lord, have mercy upon 
 
 Prov. XX. 10; xxix. 5; nor of gripingness and hard- 
 ship towards the poor, Prov. xxii. 16; Isa. iii. 15. But 
 on the other side thou shouldest be honest in all thy 
 dealings, Prov. xvi. 1 1 ; if thou hast done any wTong, 
 thou shalt make restitution for it, Ezek. xxxiii. 15; 
 Exod. xxii. 1 ; thou shalt be merciful and charitable to 
 the poor. Lev. xix. 9 ; Prov. xix. 17 ; and thou shalt be 
 diligent in thy calhng, 2 Thess. iii. 11, 12; Matt. .xxv. 
 30 ; Prov. xvi'ii. 9. 
 
 9. Thou must take care not to commit that horrid 
 villany, of giving a false testimony in a judicial matter, 
 to the prejudice of thy neighbour, 1 Kings xxi. 13; or 
 by glossing, with artificial words or circumstances, a 
 true one. Matt. xxvi. 60, 61 ; or suborn wicked men to 
 give a false testimony, 1 Kings xxi. 10. Thou shalt 
 not slander thy neighbour by uttering a malicious he, 
 in prejudice of his reputation or interest, James i. 26; 
 iv. 1 1 ; Eph. iv. 25 ; nor report abroad his secret faults, 
 unless irreclaimable, Prov. x. IS ; nor willingly hear or 
 repeat ill stories of thy neighbour, Prov. xvii. 4 ; Exod. 
 x.xiii. 1; Gen. xxxix. 19; 2 Sam. xvi. 3, 4; nor rashly 
 censure his actions, 1 Sam. i. 13; Acts ii. 13; Luke vii. 
 39. But, on the contrary, thou oughtest to vindicate 
 him when he is wi-onged, John vii. 50, 51; and in 
 every thing which will bear it, judge charitably of 
 him, 1 Cor. xiii. 5. 
 
 10. Thou shalt not allow thyself in any unlawful 
 hankering after thy neighbour's estate, Deut. v. 21 ; 
 
 1 Kings xxi ; or wife, 2 Sam. xi ; or any other of his 
 goods and possessions, I Sam. xii. 3 ; or in any evil 
 fancies or thoughts, which may incline thee to evil, 
 Prov. xxiv. 9; Zech. viii. 17; Deut. xv. 9; Isa. Iv. 7; 
 Acts viii. 22 ; but shall be content with thy present state, 
 Heb. xiii. 5 ; and be diligent in thy own calling, 
 
 2 Thess. iii. 10. 12; 1 Cor. vii. 20; and shalt mortify 
 the lusts of the flesh. Gal. v. 24. Dr. Nicholls.
 
 286 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 us, and write all tliese thy laws in 
 Heb. viii. 10. our hearts, we beseech thee. 
 
 t Then shall follow one of these two Collects 
 for the Queen^, the Priest standing as 
 btfore', and saying. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 LMIGHTY God, 
 
 whc 
 
 Ps. xlv. 6. A 
 
 Matt.xix.26. j7\_ kingrdom is everlasting, and 
 cxiwfs. ''' power infinite; Have mercy upon 
 Eph. V. 25. the whole Church ; and so rule the 
 Prov. xxi. 1. heart '^ of thy chost'n servant VIC- 
 Dan. iv. 25. TORI A, OUT Qucen and Governour, 
 
 Ilom. xiiL 4. , 1,1 • 1 • • , 
 
 Dan. V. 22, that she (knowing whose mnnster 
 Tcor. X. 31. she is) may above all things seek 
 
 ^ Then shall follow one of these two Collects for the 
 Queen,'] St. Paul commands us to pray first of all for 
 kings, 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2 ; and therefore in the beginning of 
 this office we place these prayers ; and though we had 
 prayed for them before, yet the king's prosperity is so 
 great and uni\'ersal a blessing, we cannot ask it too 
 often. This of old was a distinct ofiice used some 
 hours after Morning Prayer, and in the jjiimitive 
 church they did especially pray for the king in the 
 Communion office, where, by virtue of the sacrifice of 
 Christ's death commemorated, these great requests 
 might be most likely to prevail. And in our Liturgy 
 these prayers do not (as in the Roman missal) disturb 
 the prayer of consecration, but are more conveniently 
 ])laced ; for we pray for the king immediately after the 
 Commandments, because he is the defender of both 
 tables ; and just before the daily Collect, that when we 
 have [jrayed for outward prosperity to the church, the 
 consequent of the king's welfare, we may in the Collect 
 ])ray for inward grace, to make it completely happy. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 The primitive Christians, in every publick office, pre- 
 sented a supplication for their sovereign. Now, in this 
 office, unless it were put in the beginning, few in pro- 
 portion would join in it when the sacrament is admin- 
 istered, considering how many retvirn home without 
 receiving : and therefore it was placed here, ju.st after 
 the 'I'en Commandments, of which the authority of the 
 magistrate is one main su])port, as they are of that in 
 return : and we jiray the .-Vlmighty, that, in " mercy to 
 his Church, he will so rule the king's heart," whom in 
 the course of his providence He hath " clioscn" to reign 
 over us, and to be his " servant" and " minister" to 
 us for good, Rom. .viii. 4, "that he may above all things 
 seek his honour and glory," by maintaining his laws 
 above mentioned ; and will so rule our " hearts" like- 
 wise, and tliosi; of " all his subject.s, that we may faith- 
 fully and humbly ol)ey him: in (iod,"that is, in tlie 
 strength of liis grace, and in subordination, not con- 
 tradiction to liis supreme will; and "for Cod," not 
 only " for" fear of " man's wrath," " l)utfor conscience 
 sake also." Koui. xiii. :j. Ah/). Seeker. 
 
 ' The Priest standing as before,'] .Not standing, as he 
 rehearsed the Commandments: for,if that were designed, 
 nothing would have been said liere. I5ut " standing as 
 before." namely, as he stood at the north side of the 
 table, " before" he was ordered to " turn to the |ieople." 
 When the Counnandments are read by liim. he directs 
 himsi-lf to the pii>|ile ; when he comes to tlie Collect, 
 he directs liiuisdf to the .\hnighty by prayer. Cullis. 
 
 ^ Have mercy u/ion the whole (Church ; and sri rule the 
 heart &c.] 'J'he blessings which arc bestowed upon the 
 
 thy honour and glory ; and that we, 
 and all her subjects' (duly consider- 
 ing whose authority she hath) may 
 faithfully serve, honour, and humbly 
 obey her, in thee, and for thee"', 
 according to thy blessed Word and nom. xui. 
 ordinance ; through .lesus Christ our i^et. ii. is. 
 Lord, who with thee and the Holy 
 Ghost liveth and reigneth, ever one 
 God, world without en !. Amen. 
 
 Or^. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, we are taught by thy holy 
 Word, that the hearts of Kings are r™v. xxi. i. 
 
 single members of a church, are the comfort and ad- 
 vantage only of a few : but if it may please God to 
 direct the king always to seek his glory, herein he 
 shews mercy to the whole church, and blesseth all the 
 nation at once. For the prince's piety doth jjut such 
 discouragement upon vice, and cast so great reputation 
 and lustre upon religion, that good men ovit of love 
 will follow, and evil men for fear will ])retend to com- 
 ply with, so excellent an example. And thus virtue 
 Ijeeomes publick, is encouraged, aiul prevails ; but 
 wickedness become infamous and obscure, and loseth 
 many of its followers. Dean Cumber. 
 
 ' And that we, and all her subjects &c.] We must 
 not only look at the king's duty, but also be mindful 
 of our own ; for the happiness of a nation consisteth, 
 not only in a religious prince, but also in obedient 
 people. And therefore we are here taught to pray, 
 that not only we, but all that are imder his majesty's 
 dominion, may be loyal and faithful, humble and obe- 
 dient, revering his authoritj', observing his laws, and 
 opposing all his and our enemies : that we may serve 
 him with our estates and persons, if need be ; and 
 never desert his interest, either for cost or jieril. Which 
 prayer we must not only make with respect to our tem- 
 jjoral felicity : but as " duly consideiing," that the 
 -Vlmighty and invisible Go\ernour of the world doth 
 not rule us immediately by Himself; but by kings, 
 to whom He hath delegated his authority ; so that 
 they bear his name, and act by his power, lixod. xxii. 
 •28 ; Ps. Ixxxii. 1. 0. And such as rebel do fight 
 against Uod, Acts v. 39, opjjose his word, and resist 
 his ordinance, Rom. xiii. 2. Wherefore we desire grace 
 to obey, not only for fear of wrath, but " for the 
 Lord's sake," 1 Pet. ii. 13; that is, "for conscience 
 sake," Rom. xiii. 5. And this will produce the firmest 
 and readiest obedience to all the commands of our 
 governours ; when we observe llu'm as subordinate to 
 the laws of Cod ; " in the liOrd." I''.]))!, vi. 1 ; as far as 
 they do not contradict the plain will of the Almighty ; 
 anil " for the Loi-d," Rom. xiii. 1 , that is, because of his 
 authority vested in them. -\nd thus the best Cliristian 
 will be the best sidiject. Dean Comber. 
 
 m — ;,j ^;,p^_ and for thee,] St. Paul says, " Children, 
 obey your parents in the Lord," Kph. vi. 1, that is, in 
 all such particulars, as are agreeable to, and consistent 
 with, the laws of the Lord. In this sense we pray, 
 that we may obey the king " in the Lord," namely, as 
 far as we can with a safe conscience : and we also pray 
 that we may obey him " for the Lord," that is, for his 
 s:ikc, out of a principle of duty, as he has tjod's au- 
 thority, and is his vicegerent. /);•. licnnvt. 
 
 " Or, &C.J 'I'his i)rayer is only added to hclji our
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 287 
 
 Ezra i. 1 ; 
 vii. 28; ix. r 
 Neh. i. II. 
 Dan. iii. 28. 
 Rev. xvU. U 
 
 D.in, V. 22 
 2.'!. 
 
 in tliy rule and frovernancc, and that 
 thou dost dispose and tuin them as it 
 secmeth best to thy godly wisdom ; 
 We humbly beseech thee so to di.s- 
 posc and govern tiie lieart of J'lC- 
 TOllIA tliy Servant, our Queen 
 and Governour, that, in all her 
 thoughts, words, and works, she may 
 ever seek thy honour and glory, and 
 
 devotion with a ^eater variety : but being as to the 
 main so little tlifferent from the former, it shall suffice 
 to remark, that the petitions are here grounded on a 
 never-failing foundation, the word of God, I'rov. xx. 1. 
 Although "the king's heart be unsearchable" to men, 
 Prov. XXV. 3, and his purposes seldom to be altered by 
 his inferiors ; yet Almighty God hath shewn many in- 
 stances tliat He can change the decrees of the greatest 
 monarchs; and direct their counsels to his own glory, 
 and the prosperity of his Church. See Ezra i. 1 ; vii. 
 28; ix. 9; Neh. i. 11 ; Dan. iii. 28. Dean Comber. 
 
 Both of these prayers are very excellent : but the for- 
 mer certainly the more complete; as it includes a petition 
 for the Church, and for the discharge of the duty of sub- 
 jects towards their sovereign, of which the other prayer 
 takes no notice. It may perhaps be objected, on the 
 other hand, that the former is silent about the duty of 
 kings in promoting " the wealth, peace, and godliness " 
 of their subjects. But this, though not mentioned so 
 explicitly as in the other, is evidently implied in that 
 clause, where we pray that the king, '• knowing whose 
 minister he is, may above all things seek the honour 
 and glory of God ;" which he cannot do, without seek- 
 ing the welfare and happiness of his people ; imitating 
 Him in his goodness, whom he represents in his office. 
 The remaining part of the prayer, which concerns our 
 duty, is most happily expressed : " that we, and all his 
 subjects, duly considering whose authority he hath," a 
 consideration we should ever seriously attend to, " may 
 faithfully serve, honour, and humbly obey him, in thee 
 and for thee," from a principal of conscience, and a 
 thorough con\-iction of our duty, " according to thy 
 blessed word and ordinance;" which prescribes nothing 
 more fully and clearly than our indispensable obhgation 
 to " honour and obey the king." Waldo. 
 
 The petitions in the latter Collect particularly are 
 grounded ujion the assurance of the word of God, that 
 " the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and 
 that as the rivers of water he turneth it whithersoever 
 he will." To preserve internal tranquillity, to protect us 
 from foreign enemies, and to defend us in the exercise 
 of true religion, is the object of the royal prerogative, 
 for the stability and due regulation of which, it is the 
 duty and interest of every good subject devoutly to 
 pray. Shepherd. 
 
 ° Then shall be said the Collect of the Day, &e.] After 
 these prayers for the outward prosperity of the Church, 
 follows " the Collect of the Day," for inward grace, 
 (of wliich we ha\'e spoken before,) and to this is imme- 
 diately subjoined "the Epistle and Gospel;" the Jews 
 read the history of their deliverance from Egypt before 
 the passover, and all the ancient fathers and liturgies 
 declare that the Christians did read select portions of 
 the New Testament, before they received the Eucharist; 
 they did not eat their common meals without reading 
 some part of Scripture, because St. Paul had said, the 
 creatures "were sanctified by the word of (iod and 
 prayer," 1 Tim. iv. 5 ; much less would they eat this 
 spiritual food, without reading first some of God's word. 
 
 1 Cor. X. 31. 
 I's. Ixxviii. 
 7u— 72. 
 
 study to preserve thy people com- 
 mitted to her charge, in wealth, 
 peace, and godliness: Grant this, O i xim. n. 2, 
 merciful Father, for thy dear Son's 
 sake, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 U Then shall be said the Collect of the Day ". 
 And immediately after the Collect p the 
 Priest shall read the Epistle, saying'^, The 
 
 As for the particular places, they are the most choice and 
 practical parts of all the New Testament ; and have been 
 fixed to those very Sundays, on which we now use them, 
 above 1200 (1300) years, as could be proved by divers 
 passages in the homilies of the ancient fathers. And 
 there is an old tractate, called " I'he Lectionary of St. 
 Hierome," which being compared with our Epistles and 
 Gospels, they are generally the same now as they were 
 then. The council of Valentia, in the year 524, ordered 
 them to be read before the Creed, that the Catechumens 
 might hear them. The Epistle is read first, as being the 
 word of the servants : the Gospel follows, as being the 
 word of om' great Master ; and of old, when the minister 
 was about to read this, " all the people stood up, and 
 said. Glory be to thee, O Lord," as St. Crysostom re- 
 lates; and, after it was finished, they sang Hallelujah, 
 or said, " Thanks be to God for his holy Gospel." Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 r And immediately after the Collect'] Hitherto the 
 minister, who officiates, is injoined to " stand," and the 
 people to "kneel:" because the posture of standing is 
 in him very becoming in eucharistical or thanksgiving 
 offices ; and it is especially proper, when he delivers the 
 Commandments from God, as Moses from Mount Sinai, 
 that he should do it in a gesture intimating his autho- 
 rity, and that he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 
 And kneeling is as proper for the congregation, whUst 
 they humbly implore grace and pardon of God, and beg 
 a blessing for those, whom He hath set over them. And 
 this is the rather taken notice of, because several, for 
 want of observing the directions of the rubrick, though 
 they kneel during the other parts of the ser\-ice, are, 
 whilst the Communion office is reading, wanting in the 
 decent and humble posture here required of them. 
 Whereas the very nature of this solemn office demands 
 of us as much penitential humility and lowly reverence 
 in our gestures, as any other part of the Liturgy. Arch- 
 deacon Yardley. 
 
 1 — the Priest shall read the Epistle, saying, &c.] We 
 call it " the Epistle," because it is usually taken out of 
 one of the Epistles. But, if at any time a portion of 
 other Scripture is read instead of one taken out of some 
 of the Epistles, then we say, "The portion of Scripture 
 appointed for the Epistle :" so that our Church, when 
 she makes so manifest a difference at the time of read- 
 ing, ought not to be blamed, though the word Epistle 
 be sometimes given to such portions of Scripture as are 
 taken elsewhere. The Gospel is always taken out of 
 one of the Gospels, and has its name accordingly. Dr. 
 Bennet. 
 
 The words between brackets [or, Tlie portion of Scrip- 
 ture appointed for the E])istle] were added at the last 
 review, to satisfy the dissenters, who charged the 
 minister with telling a lie, when the portion of Scripture 
 was taken not out of an Epistle. Dr. Bisse, Dr. 
 Nicholls. They are to be said, when either a portion of 
 the Old Testament, Acts of the Apostles, or Revelation 
 is appointed in the place of a passage from an apostolick 
 Ei)istle. Otherwise the words " The Epistle is written "
 
 288 
 
 THE COMMUMIOX. 
 
 Epistle [^or, The portion of Scripture ap- 
 j)ointed for the Epistle] is written in 
 
 the Chapter of heginning at 
 
 the Verse. And the Epistle ended, 
 
 he shall say. Here endeth the Epistle. 
 Then shall he read the Gospel (the people 
 
 &c. are to be used. Shepherd, Collis. See page 22, 
 note r. 
 
 That a portion out of one of the Epistles, WTitten by 
 the holy apostles, was read constantly, when the Com- 
 munion was celebrated in the ])riinitive church, may be 
 proved from many passages out of ancient writers. 
 'ITiese readings indeed out of the Ejiistles were larger 
 portions than the Epistles now read. But however 
 these are of so long standing, that a «Titer who flou- 
 rished near a thousand years ago, could not assign the 
 time of their original. The reading of the Gospel, as 
 well as of the Epistle, in the Communion service, was a 
 practice in the church, at the latest in the si.xth centm-y ; 
 for in the council of ^'alentia, which was a provincial 
 council, held in Spain, about 520, the following order 
 was made : " We think it fit to be observed, that in 
 that part of the Communion service, which the Cate- 
 chumens are to be present at, before the offertory, the 
 Gospels be read according to the order prescribed, after 
 the Epistle." But, that the custom prevailed long 
 before this council, is plain, because the council, in its 
 preface, says, " they did only gather together ancient 
 canons." 
 
 It may be here noted, that the former part of the ser- 
 vice was called " Missa Catechuraenorum ;" because the 
 Catechumens were obliged to go out before the conse- 
 cration, when the deacon made proclamation, " Let 
 none of the Catechumens stay : Ite, missa est ; Go, 
 Catechumens, your ])art of the service is over." Hence 
 St. Augustin says, " Ecce, post sermoncm fit missa 
 Catechuraenis : After sermon the Catechumens are dis- 
 missed." Hence, towards the latter end of the third 
 century, the Communion service came to be called 
 " missa" or " mass." Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' — (the people all standing tip)] .\t the reading of the 
 Gospels two peculiar marks of honour were shewn in 
 the ancient church, which continue in our Church at 
 tliis day. 
 
 'J'he first is, that all the congregation stand up at the 
 reading of them, as being the word of the >laster ; 
 whereas at the reading of the Epistles they are indulged 
 the posture of sitting, as being the words of the ser- 
 vants. This reverence the catholic church, throughout 
 the East and West, hath always paid to the Son of (iod, 
 above all other messengers. And our (,'hurch hath con- 
 tinued the jiractice of the same, as directed in her 
 rubrick ; so that this is not only recommended by anti- 
 quity, but also injoincd by authority : a reverential cus- 
 tom, surely very meet to be kept up e\Try where in 
 honour to the Son of (jod, but csiiecially in this Church 
 and nation; since no less is paid to our king himself, 
 at the reading of whose commissions the highest court 
 among us, even of our nobles, stand up and uncover 
 the head. 
 
 Secondly, the other liononr, paid to the (Jospel, was, 
 that after the naming of it all the people standing U]) 
 said, " Glory l)e to thee, () Lord." Tliis usage, bor- 
 rowed from ancient liturgies, our reformers continued 
 in ours; and, though afterwards discontinued in the 
 rubrick, yet custom still continues the use of it in most 
 cathedral and in many ])arocliial churches : and the 
 voice of custom is in many cases the voice of law. Dr. 
 Bisse. 
 
 llie antiquity and piety of these rites, used botli by us 
 
 all standing up') saying, Tlie holy Gospel 
 
 is written in the Chapter of 
 
 beginning at the Verse. And the 
 
 Gospel ended', shall be sung or said the 
 Creed' folloiving", the people still standing 
 as before^. 
 
 and the ancient church about the reading of the Gospel, 
 
 deserve notice. As first, when the Gospel is named, the 
 clergy and the people present say or sing, " Glory be to 
 thee, O Lord :" so it is in St. Chrysostom's Liturgy, 
 " glorifying God that hath sent to them also the word 
 of salvation :" as it is in the .\cts of the Apostles, chap. 
 .\i. 18, "When they heard these things they glorified 
 God, saj-ing. Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted 
 repentance unto life." 2. While the Gospel is reading, 
 all that are present " stand." So Gratian says. And 
 Sozomen in his history tells us, it was a new fashion in 
 Alexandria, that the Bishop did not rise up when the 
 Gospel was read : which, says he, " I never observed 
 nor heard amongst any others whatsoever." The reason 
 was this ; anciently, whensoever the holy lessons were 
 read, the people stood to express their reverence to the 
 holy word ; Neh. viii. 5. But because this was counted 
 too great a burthen, it was thought fit to shew our re- 
 verence especially at the reading of the Gospel, which 
 historically declares somewhat which our Sa\iour spake, 
 did, or suffered, in his own person ; by this gesture 
 shewing a reverend regard to the Son of God above other 
 messengers, although sjieaking as from God. And 
 against Arians, Jews, Infidels, who derogate from the 
 honour of our Lord, such ceremonies are most profitable; 
 as judicious Mr. Hooker notes. 3. After the Gospel is 
 ended, the use was to praise God, saying, " Thanks be 
 to God for this Gosjiel." So was it of old ordained, by 
 the Council of Toledo, that the lauds or praises should 
 be said, not after the Ejiistle, but immediately after the 
 Gospel, for the glory of Christ, which is preached in the 
 Gospel. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 Tlie custom of saying " Glory be to thee, Lord," 
 when the minister is about to read the holy Gospel, has 
 no authority for it in oiu" present Liturgy. It was 
 injoincd indeed by King Edward the Si.xth's Ikst 
 Common Prayer Book ; and so the custom has con- 
 tinued ever since. And I do not know how it came 
 to l)e left out of the rubrick afterwards. It certainly 
 could have nothing objected to it ; and therefore it is 
 restored in the Scotch Liturgy. W'heatly. It seems 
 to have been left out by the printer's negligence. Bp. 
 Overall. 
 
 > And the Gospel ended,'\ At the end of the Epistle 
 the minister is directed to say " Here endeth the 
 Epistle." But at the ending of the Gospel he is left 
 without direction, and so nnist jirocecd on in course to 
 the Nicene Creed. They, who undertake to account 
 for every thing, tell us, that the reason of this is, that 
 the (Jospel is sujiposed to be continued in the Creed, 
 and endeth not properly till «c conclude with "life of 
 the world to come. Amen." But, whether this be 
 thought a satisfactory reason or not, yet the silence of 
 the rubrick is a sidlicicnt argument, that we ought not 
 to put in any wiu'ils of our own at the end of the 
 (jospel ; the want of an order in this case amounting to 
 a |)rohibition. Archdeacon Sharp. See p. 22, note r. 
 
 ' ■ — shall he .<:ung or siiid the Creed] I'lie Church for 
 three lumilrcd years had been content to ))rofcss in her 
 Creed tliat Clu'ist was tlie Lord; comprehending under 
 this title the highest appellations given to Him in 
 Scripture, without stating minutely, or scrutinizing too 
 narrowly, a doctrine proposed rather to us as an object 
 of faith, than of underslanduig. Happy had it been for
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 289 
 
 Sec the otlier 
 Creeds, Te 
 Deum, &c. 
 
 Believe y in one God' the Father 
 Ahniglity, Maker of heaven and 
 
 the Christian world, if this moderation of the church 
 had lii'en suffered to continue ; Init Arius, a discon- 
 tented priest of Alexandria in ligypt, either having 
 conceived a different opinion, or wishing to bring 
 himself into notice Ijy the assertion of a novelty, took 
 u])on him to maintain, that Christ was not a divine 
 person, in the higliest sense, but a creature sujierior 
 indeeil to human nature, but not partaker of the 
 su])reme Godhead. 
 
 The imblishing of this o])inion raised a violent fer- 
 ment and schism in tlie church. Constantine the 
 Roman emperor summoned a Council at Nice in 
 Bithynia, to settle this disjnite ; and there, in the year 
 325, Arius's doctrine was condemned in an assembly 
 of 300 Ijishops, and that Creed framed, which from the 
 name of the city was called the Nicene Creed. And 
 here it is necessary to observe, that the meaning of the 
 three Creeds of our Church, and all Creeds that can be 
 composed on Gospel principles, is nothing more than a 
 declaration of the sense, in which we accept the pro- 
 fession made in our baptism. By baptism we are 
 admitted into the church of Christ ; by the command 
 of Christ we are ba|)tized " in the name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." This is the 
 condition, by which alone we can partake of the Chris- 
 tian co\-enant ; this is the mark, by which alone we are 
 distinguished from the professors of every other religion 
 upon earth. 
 
 When we repeat a Creed, therefore, we do no more 
 than declare our repeated assent to the conditions of 
 the baptismal covenant ; and it would be sufficient to 
 do this in the very words that Christ enjoins, " I believe 
 in the Fatlier, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," if expla- 
 nations had not been demanded, to shew what we mean 
 by this declaration. Creeds then do not, ])roperly 
 speaking, contain articles of faith, but an explanation 
 of the sense in which we understand the primary 
 position of our religion. And this view of the matter 
 will shew us the reason, why no creed is [jrescribed in 
 Scripture ; why all creeds ever have been, and ever 
 must be, the composition of men. Dean Vincent. 
 
 The three Creeds, which are the three barriers of the 
 faith of our Church, extracted from the holy Scripture 
 in the purer ages of Christianity, though variously 
 expressed, are yet the same in substance; agreeable 
 to each other; and all agreealile to the word of God, 
 and approved all along by the Catholick church. In 
 these forms she calls ujjon her members to declare 
 their belief to be consonant to tliat of the church uni- 
 versal. The Apostles' Creed, as the plainest and shortest 
 form, is appointed for common and daily use. The 
 Athanasian for festivals, which relate more immediately 
 to our Saviour ; or which are placed at such convenient 
 distances from each other, as that none may be wholly 
 ignorant of the mysteries therein contained. And the 
 Nicene Creed is to be repeated on every festival ; and, 
 as a creed was used in the Communion office of the 
 primitive church, whenever the Eucharist is adminis- 
 tered according to the institution of our Lord ; whose 
 eternal generation. Godhead, incarnation, sufferings, 
 and exaltation, are therein summarily contained and 
 acknowledged. Archdeitcon Ynrilley. 
 
 " — the Creed following,'] Called " the Nicene Creed," 
 because it was for the most ])art framed at the great 
 Council of Nice. But because the great Council of 
 Constantinople added the latter part, and brought it to 
 the frame which we now use, therefore it is called also 
 " the Constantinopolitan Creed." This creed began to 
 
 earth, And of all thing.s visible and 
 invisible : 
 
 be used in churches at the Communion service im- 
 mediately after the Gosjiel, in the year of our Loril 33!). 
 Afterwards it was estaldished in the cluirclics of Spain 
 and France, after the custom of the Eastern church, 
 by the Council of Toledo, and continued down to our 
 times. 'I'he reason why this Creed follows imme- 
 diately after the Epistle and Gospel, is the same that 
 was given for the Apostles' Creed following next after 
 the Lessons at Morning and Evening Prayer. See 
 ])age 27, note g. To which the Canon of 'I'oledo hath 
 added another reason for saying it here, before the 
 people draw near to the holy communion : namely, 
 , that the brea.sts of those, who ajiproach to those dread- 
 ful mysteries, may be purified by a true and right faith. 
 Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 The Creed is a summary of the doctrine of the 
 Gospel, and here is placed next to it, because it is 
 grounded upon it. In the Gospel we " believe with 
 our heart unto righteousness:" in the Creed we "con- 
 fess with our mouth unto salvation," Rom. x. 10; for 
 all the ])eo])le ought to repeat the Creed after the 
 minister. It doth more largely condemn all heresies 
 than the Apostles' Creed : wherefore it is fitly enjoined 
 to be recited by all before the Sacrament, to shew that 
 all the commimicants are free from heresy, and in the 
 strictest league of union with the catholick church; as 
 also to prepare themselves for worthy receiving, by exer- 
 cising that faith, of which they have so much use at 
 the Lord's table, as the Council of Toledo ordained in 
 the year 600. So that every one must openly profess and 
 firmly embrace all these articles, before he can be fit 
 to receive ; yea, and while he repeats them with his 
 lips, he must resolve to shew forth in his hfe, that he 
 doth sincerely believe them, by strictly living according 
 to them. Dean Comber. 
 
 As in the Morning Prayer, so in the Communion 
 service, for the same reason, after reading the Scrip- 
 ture, we recite the Creed : only then we have that of the 
 ancient Latin church ; here that of the ancient Greek : 
 made in the fii'st General Council, held at Nice, above 
 1400 years ago, and thence called Nicene: excepting 
 that some small additions were inserted since ; all of 
 them, but one, consisting of the words "and the Son," 
 about 50 years after. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Besides the general reasons for repeating the Creed, 
 the rehearsal of our faith before the receiving of the 
 holy communion is founded on these two special 
 grounds. 1. It is meet that all should first profess 
 the same faith, who partake of the same mysteries ; for 
 siu-ely, if " no stranger nor uncircumcised person " could 
 eat of the passo\'er, that typical sacrament, Exod. xii. 
 43. 48 ; much more no stranger to the Christian faith, 
 nor unbeliever, should partake of the real sacrament of 
 the Lord's supper. 2. As the acknowledgment of the 
 articles of our Christian faith is part of the vow made 
 at oiu' baptism, so ought the same acknowledgment to 
 be repeated at the Lord's sujiper, wlierein we renew 
 that vow. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 Add to this, that every solemn confession of our faith 
 must be looked upon as giving glory and honour to 
 God, in recognising his essence and attributes, and the 
 blessings which (low from those sources on mankind : 
 and hence it, in a peculiar manner, befits this holy 
 service of thanks and praise. In this we imitate the 
 most ancient Liturgies of the Church ; which, when 
 this holy sacrament was celebrated, had an eucharistical 
 form, wherein God's power and goodness were acknow- 
 ledged in the creation, preservation, and redemption of
 
 290 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 And in one Lord Jesus Christy 
 the only-begotten Son of God, 
 
 the world. Thus we, though in a shorter form of un- 
 doubted authority, confess to the holy and undivided 
 Trinity, and distinctly own the divinity of each person. 
 We commemorate the creation of the world hy " God 
 the Father Almighty." We acknowledge Jesus Christ 
 to be our " Lord ;" to have been " begotten " from all 
 eternity, to be " of one substance with the Father," and 
 with Him Creator of all things : that " for our salvation 
 he came down from heaven, was made man, suifered, 
 and died " for us. We commemorate his resurrection, 
 ascension, and sitting at God's right hand ; express 
 our expectation of his second coming; and declare that 
 " his kingdom shall have no end." We confess to 
 God, that He hath inspired the prophets ; that He hath 
 built a church on the foundation of the apostles; that 
 He hath appointed baptism for the remission of sins; 
 and given us leave to " look for the resurrection of the 
 dead," and an happy eternity. 
 
 M'hat more glorious hymn, than this, can we sing to 
 the honour of God? Is it possible to mention any 
 thing else that can so much redound to his glory ? May 
 not this our service be well styled the Eucharist, when 
 we thus give praise and glory to Almighty God for the 
 wonderful manifestation of his attributes, and the in- 
 estimable blessings He hath bestowed upon us ? Let 
 not any one therefore think, that repeating the Creed 
 is barely a declaration of his faith to the rest of the 
 congregation : for, besides that, it is a most solemn act 
 of worship, in which we honour and magnify God, 
 both for what He is in Himself, and for what He hatli 
 done for us. And let us all, sensible of this, repeat 
 it with reverential voice and gesture ; and lift up our 
 hearts with faith, thankfulness, and humble devotion, 
 whenever we say, " I believe, &c." Archdeacon Yardley. 
 
 ' — Ihe peo/ile still standing as before.^ For reasons 
 assigned in the note before the Apostles' Creed. See 
 page 29, note i. 
 
 To what is there said about the custom of turning to 
 the east, and bowing at the name of Jesus, when we 
 make confession of our faith, the following remarks, 
 explaining and recommending those customs, may be 
 here added. 
 
 As to the first, it was the custom of the ancient 
 church to turn to the altar or east, not only at the 
 confessions of faith, but in all the publick prayers. 
 And therefore Epiphanius, speaking of tlie madness of 
 the impostor Elz^eus, counts tliis as one instance of it 
 among other things, that lie forbade ])raying towards 
 the east. Now this is the most honouralilc ])lace in the 
 house of God, and is therefore separated from the hiwer 
 and inferior parts of the churcli, answering to tlie holy 
 of holies in the Jewish tal)ernacle, which was severed 
 by a veil from the sanctuary : and tlie lioly table or 
 altar in the one answers to the mercy-seat in the other. 
 As tlien the Jews worshipped, " lifting up tlieir hands 
 towards the mercy-seat," I's. x.xviii. 2, and even the 
 Clierubim were formed with their faces looking towards 
 it, Exod. XXV. 19; so the primitive Christians did in their 
 worship look towards tlie altar, of which tlic mercy-seat 
 was a tyjie. .And tlierefore the altar was usually called 
 " the tabernacle of God's glory." his " chair of state," 
 " tlie throne of God," " tlie type of lieaven," " heaven 
 itself:" for these rca-sons did they always in praying 
 look towards it. Hut in rehearsing our Creeds this 
 custom is still more proper and significant : for wc are 
 appointed to jierform it "standing," liy this jiosturc 
 drclaring our resolution to stand by. or dc fend, that 
 faith, which we have professed : so that at these times 
 
 Begotten of his Fatlier before .ill James i.n. 
 worlds, God of God, Light of Light, 
 
 we resemble not so much an assembly, as an army : as 
 then, in every well-marshalled army all look and move 
 one way, so should we always do in a regular assembly ; 
 but especially at the confessions of faith all " Christ's 
 faithful soldiers " should shew by this uniformity of 
 gesture, that they hold the unity of faith. 
 
 The other usage, of bowing at the name of Jesus, 
 seems founded on that Scripture, where it is declared, 
 that " God hath given him a name which is above 
 every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee 
 should bow, and every tongue should confess that 
 Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father," 
 Isa. xlv. 23 ; Phil. ii. 9, &c. Xow though the rubrick 
 be silent herein, yet the Canon of our Church thus 
 enjoins : " that when in time of divine service, &e." 
 see p. 30, note m. Now if such re\'erence be due to 
 that great and ever-blessed name, when it is mentioned 
 in the lesson or sermon, how niiich more in the Creeds, 
 when we mention it with our own lips, making con- 
 fession of our faith in it, adding the very reason given 
 in the Canon, that we believe in Him, as " the only 
 Son," or " only-begotten Son of God," the Saviour 
 of the world ; and when too we do this " standing," 
 which is the proper posture for doing reverence ? Dr. 
 Bisse. 
 
 Because the Gospels, which are weekly read, do all 
 historically declare something, which our Lord Jesus 
 Christ Himself either spake, did, or suffered in his own 
 person, it hath been the custom of Christian men then 
 especially in token of the greater reverence to stand, to 
 utter certain words of acclamation, and at the name of 
 Jesus to bow. Which harmless ceremonies, as there is 
 no man constrained to use ; so we know no reason 
 wherefore any man should yet imagine it an unsuffer- 
 able evil. It sheweth a reverend regard to the Son of 
 God above other messengers, although speaking as 
 from God also. And against Infidels, Jews, Arians, 
 who derogate from the honour of Jesus Christ, such 
 ceremonies are thus profitable. .Vs for any erroneous 
 estimation, advancing the Son above the Father and 
 the Holy Ghost, seeing that the truth of his equality 
 with them is a mystery so hard for the wits of mortal 
 men to rise unto, of all heresies that which may give 
 Him superiority abo\e them is least to be feared. 
 Honker. 
 
 >' I believe &c.] Paraphrase on the Creed. " I" con- 
 fess with my mouth, and " believe" with my heart " in 
 one (iod," a pure and infinite S|)irit, distinguished into 
 three I'ersons. the fir.st of which is God " the Father 
 .Vhnighty," who is tlie Creator and " Maker of heaven 
 and earth, and of all things" contained in cither of 
 them, bdtli " visible" and liodily sulistances on earth, 
 " and invisible" or spiritual substances which are in 
 heaven. 
 
 " And" I also believe "in one Lord Jesus Christ," the 
 second Person of the glorious Trinity, not the adopted, 
 but " the only-begotten Son of God," not created in 
 time, but " begotten of his Father" from eternity " be- 
 fore all worlds;" of the same nature with the Father, 
 "God" begotten "of tiod," after a wonderful manner, 
 as " light" is kindled "of liglit," not diminisliing his 
 Father's substance, yet lieing " very God of very God ;" 
 He was " licgotten" by eternal generation, " not made" 
 as the creatures were, " being ol one" nature and " sub- 
 stance witli the Father," and ecjiud to Him in dignity 
 and power ; for He is that eternal Word " liy whom all 
 tilings were made" out of notluiig; yea, I lielieve it is 
 He " who for us men, and for our salvation," when we
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 291 
 
 Very God of very God'', Bco^otten, 
 not made, Bcinsi' of one substance 
 
 were fallen into a deplorable estate of sin and misery, 
 " came down from heaven" to this earth ; left his glory 
 " and was incarnate," assuming a body of flesh like 
 ours, only it had no sin, because it was conceived " Ijy 
 the" power of the " Holy Ghost" in the womb " of the 
 Virgin Mary :" so that though he remained very God 
 still, yet He took on Ilim our nature, " and was made 
 man," being both God and man in one person : He 
 taught lis by his precejits, and led us by his example 
 while He lived, and at last He suffered '" and was cruci- 
 fied also," enduring that painful and shameful death, to 
 satisfy God's justice " for us," who were lialjle to suffer 
 eternal death : and though as to Himself He was inno- 
 cent, yet he was condemned unjustly to this " under 
 Pontius Pilate," the Roman president of Judea, and 
 " he suffered" it with admirable patience, till he died in 
 those torments, "and was buried;" yet when He had 
 paid the full price for our sins, upon " the third day" 
 after his crucifixion " he rose again" to life, " according 
 to" what was prophesied in "the Scrijitures" of the Old 
 Testament, and declared to be fulfilled in the New : 
 after tliis He conversed forty days with his discijjles, 
 " and" then "ascended" in their sight " into heaven," 
 where He is restored to all his glory, " and sitteth at 
 the right hand of the Father" interceding for us : 
 " and lie shall come again" from thence at the end of 
 the world "with glory" and great majesty, "to judge" 
 all mankind " both the quick and the dead" according 
 to their works, condemning the wicked to endless tor- 
 ments, and advancing the righteous to reign in glory 
 with this their Saviour, "whose kingdom shall have 
 no end." 
 
 " And I believe" also " in the Holy Ghost," the third 
 Person of the glorious Trinity, who is very God, " the 
 Lord and Giver of" spiritual " life" and sanctifying 
 grace, "who" is not begotten as the Son, but " pro- 
 ceedeth from the Father and the Son," yet is not less 
 in dignity ; for it is He " who with the I'ather and the 
 Son together" in all offices of the Church " is worshijiped 
 and glorified," and " who spake by the ijrojjhets" in 
 the Old Testament, and by the apostles in the New. 
 " A.nA" finally " I believe" the whole body of Chris- 
 tians, holding the right faith, do make "one Catholick," 
 universal, true, " and Apostolick Church." In which 
 blessed society " I acknowledge" there are many privi- 
 leges, namely, "one btiptism" instituted by Christ "for 
 the remission of" all the "sins" we are guilty of when 
 we enter into this covenant. " And I," as a member 
 of this society, " look for" and expect my body, though 
 corrujjted in the grave, shall be restored to life in " the 
 resurrection of the dead," and I hope then for a portion 
 in the glory "and the life" everlasting which Christ 
 hath promised to all his servants, in his kingdom " of 
 the world to come." And oh that it may be unto me 
 according to my faith ! " Amen." Dean Comber. 
 
 ' I believe in one God,'] The word "one" is not in 
 the Apostles' Creed, but it is properly inserted here, not 
 only in opposition to the error of the Gentiles, who held 
 that there were more than one God ; but also to meet 
 the calumny of hereticks, who called the Catholicks 
 worshippers not of one God, but of three Gods. The 
 consubstantiality of the three Persons constitutes the 
 unity of the Godhead. Bj>. Cosin. 
 
 " And in one Lord Jesus Christ, &c.] We make this 
 profession of our belief, because some had spoken of the 
 human and divine nature of our Saviour, which they 
 called Jesus and Christ, as two Persons not imited. 
 The words " light of light," intimating that his divine 
 
 with tlie T-'atlicr, By whom all thiiiijs 
 were made "^ : Who for us men, and 
 
 nature is from the Father, as light is from t)ie sun, 
 or as one light without diminution of itself kindles 
 another, were intended for some imperfect illustration, 
 and doubtless a very imperfect one it is, and any other 
 must be, of his mysterious generation. Abp. 6VcApr. 
 
 This Creed is somewhat more full and exjjlicit than 
 that of the Ajiostles. That grand article of our faith, 
 the divinity of our blessed Saviour, is here strongly 
 asserted : that He is " God of God, Liglit of Light, 
 very God of very God," really, truly, and jirojierly 
 God ; " begotten, not made," or created : " being of 
 the same substance," that is, of the same nature, or 
 essence, "with the Father;" and that "by Him," 
 namely, by the Son, (see below, note c,) "all things 
 were made." After speaking of his incarnation, birth, 
 suffering, resurrection, and coming to judgment " with 
 glory," which are noticed in the other Creeds, these 
 words follow, " of whose kingdom there shall be no 
 end;" which are part of the angel's address to the 
 Virgin Mary, Luke i. 33. For though his mediatorial 
 kingdom shall cease, and be deli\-cred up to the I'ather, 
 yet, as God, He shall reign with Him and the Holy 
 Sjiirit, for ever and ever. Waldo. See below, note d. 
 
 The articles, in which tliis Creed particularly differs 
 from the .Apostles', were introduced into it, not because 
 the Church believed more in the year 3U0 than in the 
 year 50, but because the Arians believed less. Parti- 
 cular attention is due to this point, because the enlarge- 
 ment of the Creed seems to present an appearance, as if 
 the Church had enlarged her faith : and great stress has 
 been laid upon this, without the least shadow of truth, 
 in modern publications. 'I'he reverse was the fact. The 
 Arians explained away what before was not doubted, 
 and the Church only asserted her former belief in plainer 
 terms. Dean Vincent. 
 
 ■■ — God of God, Lit/ht of Liyht, very God of very 
 God,'] That is, true God of true (iod. All these ex- 
 pressions were introduced into the Creed, to express, if 
 possible, what is meant by styling Christ, God. That 
 is, we declare that He is God the Son from God the 
 Father, truly and verily God as we conceive the Father 
 to lie : and the addition of light derived from light was 
 intended to exemplify a communication of the divine 
 attributes, without detracting any thing from the |)re- 
 rogative of the Father. These, as before observed, are 
 not articles of faith, but an endeavour to express our 
 meaning. We are accused of turning a similitude or 
 comparison into an article of faith. God forbid ! But 
 it was the language of Scripture and of the fathers, to 
 ex])res3 the communication of the Godhead to the Son, 
 by the comjiarison of light from light ; because light 
 communicated detracts nothing from the original light ; 
 fire communicated diminishes not the fire from which it 
 is derived. This is the explanation meant to be deli- 
 vered. It marks the sameness of substance in the 
 two Persons. In a word, we profess nothing more in 
 this part of the Nicene Creed, than we professed in 
 the Apostles', that we "believe in Jesus Christ, his 
 only Son, our Lord." 
 
 As all the explanations of this Creed arise from the 
 circumstance of Christ being caDed God in Scripture, 
 and described ■nith the attributes of God, let us first 
 establish the proof of this, and then leave the conse- 
 quence to the authority of Scripture. 
 
 He is styled God by St. John, who says in direct 
 
 terms, " The Word was with God, and the Word was 
 
 God," John i. 1. It is in consequence of this passage, 
 
 that the Catholick chm-ch maintained the distinction of 
 
 U2
 
 292 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Luke xxiv. 
 
 25—27. 
 
 for our salvation, came down from 
 heaven, And was incarnate by the 
 Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And 
 was made man, And was crucified 
 also for us under Pontius Pilate. He 
 suifered and was buried, and the 
 third day he rose again according to 
 tlie Scriptures, And ascended into 
 
 persons and the unity of substance ; if the Word was 
 ^^ath God, the Word and God were two : if the Word 
 was God, they were as manifestly one. 
 
 St. Matthew says, " They shall call his name, Em- 
 manuel; which, being interpreted, is God with us," 
 Matt. i. 23. St. Luke declares, that John the Baptist 
 should '• turn many to the Lord their God, and he shall 
 go before him," Luke i. 1(5, 17. St. Paul asserts, that 
 " Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever," 
 Rom. i.Y. 5. And, lastly, the Epistle to the Hebrews 
 applies the words of David to Christ, " unto the Son he 
 saith, 'ITiy throne, O God, is for ever and ever," Heb. 
 i. 8. 
 
 Now if all these Scriptures declare Christ to be God, 
 what accusation can lie against the Church, for profess- 
 ing to believe that He is God i The Jew, the heathen, 
 or the deist, may use these passages as a reason, why 
 he rejects the Gospel : but the .\rian, who allows the 
 Gospel, can have no ground to stand on, but l)y ex- 
 plaining away the meaning of the word " God ;" by 
 pretending that it has two meanings ; and in short by 
 calling the Father and the Son two Gods, whom the 
 Gospel and the Church never call two Gods, but two 
 Persons. 
 
 We say also, that, as Scripture gives Christ the title 
 of God, so likewise does it give Him the divine attri- 
 butes of eternity, omniscience, and omnipresence. The 
 language of Scripture is, " In the beginning was the 
 AVord. He is before all things. Thy throne, O God, 
 is for ever. Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid 
 the foundation of the earth. Thou, Lord, knowest the 
 hearts of men." And, finally, our Saviour himself says, 
 " Where two or three are gathered together in my name, 
 there am I in the midst of them." 
 
 .Again, the work of creation is attributed to both the 
 Father and the Son. Eor, as the Old Testament declares, 
 " In the beginning (iod created the heaven and the 
 earth," so thcGosiiel asserts, "all things were made by 
 the Word (the Son), and without him was not any thing 
 made that was made," John i. 3. And St. Paul adds, 
 " 15y him were all things created, that are in heaven, 
 and that are in eartli, visible and invisible, all things 
 were created by him and for him, and by him all things 
 consist," Col. i. IG, 17. 
 
 Other prerogatives ascribed to the Son are, that " he 
 is the image of the invisible God, Col. i. l.'i ; the bright- 
 ness of the glorj' of the Father, the express image of his 
 Person, ileb. i. 3; that in him dwelleth all the fulness of 
 the (iodhead bodily," Col. ii. !). 
 
 And. finally, the Scrii)ture declares, that He is equal 
 with the Father, and that worshi|) is due to Him as God. 
 St. Paul, in the Epistle to the Pliilippians, says, "being 
 in the form of God he thought it not robbery to be 
 equal with God," Phil. ii. (i. .\nd ('brist Himself de- 
 clares, that " all men shoiild honour the .*>nii, even as 
 they honour the Father: be, that honourcth not tlie 
 Son, honourcth not the Father that sent liim," John v. 
 23. I^astly, the ICpistle to the Hebrews proclaims, 
 " Let all the angels of (iod worship him," llcb. i. 0. 
 This worship liia discijUes actually did iniy to Him after 
 
 heaven, And sitteth on the right 
 hand of the Father. And he shall 
 come again with glory to judge both 
 the quick and the dead : Whose 
 kingdom shall have no end"*. 
 
 And I believe in the Holy Ghost% 
 The Lord and Giver of life, ^^"ho Rom. vin. 2. 
 proceedetli from the Father and the 
 
 his resurrection : and from the Revelation we learn, 
 that the " saints in heaven shall worship him for ever 
 and ever." 
 
 Having all these texts before us, what must we think 
 of the Arian teachers, who are forced to exjjlain away the 
 clear and obvious sense of e\'ery passage, and ap])ly a 
 meaning of their own, which they can only deduce by 
 figurative, metaphorical, or metaphysical interpretation ? 
 The Church abides by the written word : and, without 
 seeking to be wise abo\-e that which is written, adores in 
 pious reverence a mystery, which she pretends not to 
 comprehend, but which she receives from the word of 
 God, and acknowledges as an article of faith. Dean 
 Vincent. 
 
 ' — by whom all things were made ;] These words, 
 from their position in the Creed, may seem to refer to 
 the Father ; and the improper manner of reading them 
 sometimes may countenance this mistake. But it is 
 very plain, that they are here a|)phed to the Son : the 
 Father being spoken of in the first part, as "the Maker 
 of heaven aiul earth, &c." Waldo. 
 
 ^ — whose kingdom shall have no end.] Lest we should 
 imagine, that Christ should ever cease to be King, the 
 ancient fathers at Constantinople, in the year 3S1, 
 added these words to the Nicene Creed, against the 
 heresy which then newly arose, denying the eternity of 
 the kingdom of Christ. Bp. Pearson. 
 
 ° And I believe in the Holy Ghost, &c.] This next 
 article of the Creed, relating to the Holy Ghost, de- 
 scribes Him, in the language of Scripture, as " the 
 Lord and (jiver of life." He is expressly called "the 
 Lord," 2 Cor. iii. 17, 18. "The Lord is that Siiirit:" 
 and, at the end of the last verse, " e\cn as by the Spirit 
 of the Lord," which should be rather translated, as it 
 is in the margin, " by tlie Lord, the Spirit." In the 
 same cha|)ter, ver. 0, it is said, " The Spirit giveth life." 
 And still more strongly, Rom. viii. 2, He is called "the 
 Spirit of life :" the Fountain, the .Vuthor, the Giver, of 
 spiritual life : with nit whose divine intluence and as- 
 sistance we are " dead in trespasses and sins." He is 
 farther spoken of, as " iiroccctling from the Father and 
 the Son," with respect to his mode of existence, which 
 the compilers of the Creed most probably had in view 
 in this article ; or in the sense of being sent by them, 
 with respect to the economy of grace, and the office Ho 
 sustains in the work of man's redem])tion ; which, his 
 official procession, is more frequently taken notice of in 
 Scripture, and therefore more material for us to be in- 
 structed in. Waldo. 
 
 The words, " Lord and Giver of life," ascribed to the 
 Spirit, are not to be joined, as one single attribute ; 
 but are taken from two dill'iTcnt texts of .Scripture : in 
 the one of which He is called, according to the mar- 
 ginal reading, "the Lord, the Spirit," 2 Cor. iii. 18; 
 and said in the other "to give life," vcr. (i ; that is, the 
 s])irilUHl life of grace. 'I'lie phrase, " who proceedetli 
 from the Father and the Son," may signify cither his 
 deriving from the latter, as well as the former, his 
 eternal 8ul)stance ; or since that hath been disputed 
 between the Latin and Greek church, his being sent
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 29.3 
 
 Acts ii. 
 
 Son, Who with tlie Father and tlie 
 Son togetlier is worshipped and 
 2ri.t. i. 21. glorified, Who spake by the Pro- 
 phets. And I believe one Catholiek 
 Eph ii. and Apostolick Church f. I acknow- 
 
 la— 21. ledge one Baptism for the remission 
 
 Eph. iv. 4, 5. of sins, And I look for the Resurrec- 
 tion of the dead, And the life of the 
 world to come. Amen. 
 
 ? Then the Curate shall declare unto the 
 
 by both into tbe hearts of men, as the Scripture plainly 
 affirms He is, John xiv. 26; .\v. 20; xvi. 7. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 This one expression was added to the Creed after the 
 alterations made in it at the Council of Constantino])le 
 in 38 1 ; the Con.stantinoi)olitan Creed having only 
 " who proceedeth from the Father." Different ac- 
 counts are given of the insertion of the clause " and 
 the Son." It probably came in at first by a private 
 hand in the middle of the 5th century, after the pro- 
 cession from the Son was denied by some of the Greek 
 writers. However this was the occasion of a schism 
 between the Greek and Latin churches. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' — one Catholiek and Apostolick Church, &c.] The 
 Church is called A])03tolick, because it was planted by 
 the Apostles, in subordination to our blessed Saviour. 
 Dr. Bennet. This article implies, that there is an unity 
 in the Church, or perhaps only that there is but one 
 true profession of the faith ; and, " one baptism " im- 
 plies that this Sacrament is not to be repeated. Dean 
 Vincent. This article, concerning baptism, is very pro- 
 perly inserted to remind us of the efficacy and necessity 
 of that divine ordinance : whereby we are admitted 
 into the new covenant, and are entitled to all the 
 benefits of it, which are here comjirised under that 
 most important one, "the remission of sins," provided 
 we do not forfeit our title to them by our infidelity or 
 disobedience. Waldo. 
 
 B Then the Curate shall declare vnto the people what 
 holy-days, &c.] The first reason of this direction was, 
 lest the people should observe any such days as had 
 been formerly kejit, but were laid aside at the Re- 
 formation : and therefore the Bishops inquired in their 
 visitations, " whether any of their Curates bid any 
 other days than were ap])ointed by the new calendar." 
 This danger is now pretty well over ; there being no 
 great fear of the people's observing superstitious holy- 
 days. But there is still as much reason for keeping 
 up the rubrick, since now they are run into a contrary 
 extreme, and, instead of obser\'ing too many holy-days, 
 regard none ; which makes it fit tliat the Curate should 
 discharge his duty, by telling them beforehand what 
 holy-days will happen, and then leaving it upon his 
 people to answer for the neglect, if they are passed over 
 without due regard. IVheatly. 
 
 ^ — and then also (if occasion he) shall notice be cjiven 
 of the Communion ,-] But by another rubrick, just before 
 the exhortation, this is supposed to be done after the 
 sermon. For there it is ordered, that " when the minister 
 giveth warning for the celebration of the Holy Commu- 
 nion, (which he shall always do upon the Sunday, or 
 some holy-day immediately preceding,) after the Ser- 
 mon or Homily ended, be shall read the exhortation 
 following." The occasion of this difference was the 
 placing of" this rubrick of directions," at the last review, 
 before the rubrick concerning the Sermon or Homily. 
 For by all the old Common Prayer Boolts, immediately 
 
 people what Holy -day s^, or Fasting-days, 
 are in the Week fullowinrf to he ohserred. 
 And then also (if occasion he'') shall notice 
 he yiren of the Cornmunion ; and^ Briefs, 
 Citations, and Excommunications read. 
 And nothing shall be proclaimed or puh- 
 lished in the Church, during the time of 
 Divine Service, but by the Minister: nor 
 by him any thing, hut what is prescribed 
 in the Rules of this Book, or enjoined by 
 the King, or by the Ordinary of the 
 place. 
 Then shall follow the Sertnon^, or one of 
 
 after the Nicene Creed, the Sermon was ordered ; and 
 then after that " the Curate was to declare unto the 
 peo|)le whether there were any holy-days or fasting- 
 days in the week folloxving. and earnestly to exhort 
 them to remember the poor, by reading one or more of 
 the sentences, as he thought most convenient by his 
 discretion." This was the whole of that rubrick then. 
 All the remaining part was added at the Restoration, 
 as was also the rubrick above cited just before the ex- 
 hortation. Wheatly. 
 
 The primary object of the rubrick before the exhorta- 
 tion was to order, that, in compliance with the request 
 of the Presbyterians, notice should be given before the 
 day of its celebration. It accordingly directs the ex- 
 hortation to be read " on the Sunday, or some holy-day 
 immediately preceding." 'llie words, " after the Ser- 
 mon ended," might be inadvertently added, it having 
 been hitherto the practice to read the exhortations after 
 the Sermon. Shepherd. 
 
 ' — and &c.] The rubrick formerly prescribed this 
 time for publishing the banns of marriage. But the 
 clause is now omitted, since by the 26th of Geo. II. chap- 
 ter 33, commonly called the marriage act, it is provided 
 that banns of marriage be published upon three Sundays 
 preceding the solemnization of marriage, during the time 
 of morning service, or of the evening service if there 
 be no morning service, in the proper church or chapel 
 on any of those Sundays, immediately after the second 
 lesson. 
 
 I" Then shall follow the Sermon,'] For more effectually 
 explaining the mysteries of the Creed, and for more 
 vigorously pressing the duties of the Gospel, the ancient 
 church appointed a Sermon or Homily in this place, 
 which is useful every Sunday, and more especially 
 when there is a Communion ; because by a pious and 
 liraetical discourse, suited to the Holy Communion, the 
 minds of the receivers are put into a devout frame, and 
 made fitter for the succeeding mysteries. Dean Comber. 
 
 It was the custom of the primitive church, that at 
 the close of the common serrice the Bishop or Priest 
 should make an exhortatory discourse to the people. 
 This ])lainly appears to be at least as early as the tinae 
 of writing the Aijostolic Constitutions. St. Ambrose 
 and St. Austin S])eak of this being the constant prac- 
 tice every Sunday in their time. And indeed innumer- 
 able are the Sermons or Homilies, which were spoken 
 in the ancient churches, and are preserved to our times 
 in the works of St. Chrysostom, Basil, Nazianzen, 
 Austin, and others : which" are generally practical dis- 
 courses, full of excellent piety and warmth ; and in 
 which they very rarely intermix any thing of contro- 
 versial divinity, but explain a portion of Scripture in a 
 familiar though mthal a very affecting way, and well 
 adapted for the instruction of the common people. 
 Indeed this province generally was undertaken by the 
 Bisho])S, who at first voluntarily, and afterwards by in- 
 junction, preached eveiy Sunday, unless hindered by
 
 294 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 the Homilies^ already set forth, or hereafter 
 to be set forth", by authority. 
 
 sickness. But however, in the absence of the bishop, 
 this duty was performed by presbyters, and, by their 
 permission, in their presence. Dr. NichoUs. 
 
 The Sermon was usually an exposition of some part 
 of the Epistle or Gospel, or proper Lesson for the 
 day ; as we may see in St. Augustine, in his Sermons 
 "de Tempore," according to the pattern in Nehem. 
 viii. S ; " They read in the book, in the law of God, 
 distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused the people to 
 luiderstand the reading." And the preacher was in 
 his exposition appointed to observe the cathohek inter- 
 pretation of tlie old doctors of the church ; as we may 
 see in the nineteenth canon of the sixth council of Con- 
 stantinople, held in Triillo. The canon is this. " Let 
 the governours of churches, everj' Sunday at the least, 
 teach their clergy and people the oracles of j)iety and 
 true religion ; collecting out of divine Scripture the 
 sentences and doctrines of truth, not transgressing the 
 ancient bounds and traditions of the holy fathers. 
 And, if any doubt or controversy arise about Scripture, 
 let them follow that interpretation, which the lights of 
 the church and the doctors have left in their writings. 
 By which they shall more deserve commendation, than 
 by making |)rivate interpretations, which if they adhere 
 to, they are in danger to fall from the truth." To this 
 agrees the canon made in Queen Elizabeth's time, in the 
 year 1571. "The preachers chiefly shall take heed, 
 that they teach nothing in their preaching, which they 
 woidd have tlie people religiously to observe and believe, 
 but tliat whicli is agreeable to the doctrine of the Old 
 Testament and the Xew, and that which tlie catholick 
 fathers, and ancient bishops, have gathered out of that 
 doctrine." These golden canons, had they been 
 duly ol)ser\'ed, would have been a great preservative 
 of truth, and the church's peace. The Sermon was 
 not above an hour long, as St. Cyril informs us. Bp. 
 Sjiarrow. 
 
 It immediately followed the Gospel, and was an 
 usual exjjlication upon it ; whence I conceive the name 
 Postil is derived, quasi post ilia Evangelia, Postil being 
 nothing but a discoiu:se upon, and subsequent to, the 
 Gospel. 1j' Estrange. 
 
 The ancient practice of explaining considerable jjor- 
 tions of Scripture to the people was revived by our re- 
 formers. Before them Colet had employed many years 
 in jiublickly expounding all the Epistles written by St. 
 Paul. Archljishop Cranmer expounded lli'l)rews, as 
 Bishops llooUer, Latimer, and Jewel, did .lonah, the 
 Lord's Priiyer, many of the E])istles, and all the Epistles 
 and (jospels used in the Communion service on Sun- 
 days aiul holy-days. Erom the practice of Ambrose, 
 Origen, Chrysostom, and .'Vustin, among the ancients, 
 and of our reformers and other more modern divines, 
 we may with safety aflirm, that explaining and applying 
 portions of .Scripture read in the Lessons, (and other 
 parts of the pulilick service,) is a very beneficial mode 
 of preacliing to ordinary congregations. Shepherd. 
 
 As to the preacliing used in the Cliurcli of England, 
 if we consider either tlie excellency or frequency of it, 
 we may justly aflirm, that, if any church under heaven 
 " hath wherewithal to glory on this behalt," our Church 
 " liath much more." 
 
 As to the excellency of it, tliis praise lias been long 
 yielded to our clergy both at liome and from abroad, 
 ny the universal voice both of Protestants and of Papists. 
 And the rea.son of it is apparent : for no nation under 
 heaven hath sucli seminaries of learning in all kinds, as 
 tills nation hath, or any thing like them : 1 mean, our 
 
 t Then shall the Priest return to the Lord's 
 Table", and begin the Offertory", saying 
 
 renowned Universities. And if ever the enemy would 
 come up against our Church, the city of our Sion, to 
 take and to destroy her, that jiolicy of Holofernes against 
 Bethidia will be most effectual, to seize upon "those 
 fountains of our waters." 
 
 And as to the frequency or jilenty of the word 
 preached which continually flows from these fountains, 
 this provision of our Church, which ajipoints a Sermon 
 once on the Lord's day, must appear sufficient, yea, 
 abundant ; if we look back to the scarcity of it in the 
 days of the Reformation, when the provision of a Ser- 
 mon was but quarterly, as made in Edward the Sixth's 
 time, 154"; and for many years after but monthly, 
 according to an injunction of Uueen Ehzabeth, 1559. 
 Wherefore this present provision of our Church, in ap- 
 pointing one Sermon on the Sundays, ought to be 
 received with all thankfulness. And in truth a greater 
 plenty than this may turn perhaps not to our nourish- 
 ment, but only create in us a waste and wantonness. 
 That appetite in many after a multitude of Sermons is 
 no other than that of tlie Israelites, when, not content 
 with the regular pri5vision of their daily manna, " they 
 required meat for their lusts." Far be it from me that 
 I should discourage or straiten the ordinance of preach- 
 ing : but God forbid, that the enlarging of that should 
 ever straiten the ordinances of divine worship, or be 
 esteemed before them ! God forbid that ever in the 
 Church of England the Sermon, how excellent soever, 
 should be valued before the Service, which is incom- 
 parable ! For to what end do we come to the house of 
 prayer? It is to adore God, or to admire men ? Is it 
 to praise Him for the excellency of his greatness, or 
 them for the excellency of their talents ? Should this 
 plenteous provision of preaching be ever again exalted 
 and abused to the neglecting, desiiising, and disparag- 
 ing of our publick worship, as it was before the (jreat 
 Rebellion, it will well ]irovoke God to take it again 
 from us : and instead thereof to feed our lusts with 
 preaching, as He did the Israelites with quails, till it 
 " came out of their nostrils, and became loathsome 
 unto them," Xumb. xi. 20. It was a remarkable say- 
 ing, so founded on the judgments of God, that a 
 preaching church cannot stand ; and it is also founded 
 on the judgments of God, that a church which plans its 
 religion in preaching shall never stand. Dr. B»,s'se. 
 
 ' — or one of the Homilies^ These Homilies are two 
 books of plain Sermons, (for so the word signifies,) set 
 out by ])ulilick authority, one whereof is to be read upon 
 any Sunday or holy-day, when there is no Sermon. 
 Tlie first volume of them was set out in the beginning 
 of King Edward the Sixth's reign, liaving been com- 
 posed (as it is thought) by Arclibisho]) Cranmer. liishops 
 Ridley and Latimer, at the beginning of the Reforma- 
 tion, when a competent number of ministers, of sufficient 
 abilities to preach in a publick congregatitm, was not to 
 be found. Tlie secon<l volume was set out in Queen 
 Elizabeth's time, by order of Convocation, in the year 
 150.3. And that this is not at all contrary to the prac- 
 tice of the ancient church, is evident from the testimony 
 of Sixtus Sinensis, who, in the fourth book of his 
 library, saitli, " That our countryman .Mcuinus col- 
 lected and reduced into order, by the command of 
 Charles the (ircat, the Ilomihes of the most famous 
 doctors of the church iqiou the (Jospels which were 
 read in churches all the year round." Dr. Nicholls, 
 Wheatly. 
 
 At the time of the Reformation in England, many of 
 the clergy were exceedingly illiterate, and it was also
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 295 
 
 one or more of these Sentences following^, 
 as he thinketh most convenient ill his dis- 
 cretion 1. 
 
 L 
 
 E T your light so sliiiic l)cf()ie 
 men, tliUt they may see your 
 
 suspecteil that some of them still favoured the tenets of 
 the church of Rome. Therefore to siip])ly the defects of 
 some, and to ohlifre the rest to teach according to the 
 form of sound doctrine, there were two books of Homi- 
 lies prepared ; the first was ]nd)lished in King Edward 
 the Sixth's time, 1547,sn])posed to he written chietiy I)y 
 Ahp. Cranmer; the second was not finished till about 
 the time of Edward's death, so it was not published be- 
 fore Queen Elizabeth's time, 1 5G0, having been proba- 
 bly written by Bp. Jewel. The design of them «"as to 
 mix speculative points with practical matters ; some 
 explain the doctrine, and others enforce the rules of 
 life and manners. These are plain and short discourses, 
 chiefly calculated to possess tlie nation with a sense of 
 the purity of the Gospel, in opposition to the corruptions 
 of popery, and to reform it from those crying sins, 
 which had been so much connived at under iiojjery, 
 while men knew the price of them, how to compensate 
 for them, and to redeem themselves from the guilt of 
 them by masses and sacraments, by indulgences and 
 absolutions. 
 
 These two books of Homilies, upon their first publi- 
 cation, were distributed throughout the kingdom ; and 
 the parochial clergy were commanded to read them in 
 their churches. \\'hen compared with the age in which 
 they were written, they may be considered as very ex- 
 traordinary compositions, though perhaps every argu- 
 ment and expression in them is not to be ajiproved ; 
 but wht)ever will peruse them with candour and atten- 
 tion, will be convinced that they contain, as the 35th 
 Article expresses it, " a godly and wholesome doctrine." 
 The compilers of the Articles thought them " necessary 
 for the times" in which they lived : and directed them 
 " to be read in churches by the ministers, diligently 
 and distinctly, that they may be understanded of the 
 people." The English language has changed so much 
 since those homihes were written, that they would 
 scarcely now be understood by a common congrega- 
 tion : and therefore the reading of them publickly, as 
 it would no longer answer any good purpose, has fallen 
 into general disuse, with the tacit consent of the govern- 
 ing part of the Chm-ch. The clergy, however, may still 
 study them with advantage to themselves ; and may, 
 with advantage to others, transfer parts of them into 
 their sermons, with such alterations as the change of 
 circumstances may render expedient. 
 
 The want of learning in the clergy at the time of the 
 Reformation has been already noticed : and indeed so 
 incompetent were they to the duty of preaching, that it 
 was forbidden by four successive sovereigns of very dif- 
 ferent religious princijdes ; by Henry the Eighth, Ed- 
 ward the Sixth, Qvieen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth. 
 Towards the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign the clergy 
 were considerably improved in point of literature : but 
 even at that time it has been reckoned that there were 
 8000 parishes without jn-eacbing ministers. James the 
 First made a canon, directing that a Sermon should be 
 preached e\'ery Sunday, in every parish church, which 
 had a minister licensed for that jjurpose ; but, by 
 another canon, unlicensed ministers were permitted 
 only to read a Homily. And our present form of order- 
 ing deacons does not emjiower them to preach, unless 
 they " be thereunto licensed by tlie bishop himself:" 
 but to a priest the bishop says, " 'I'ake thou authority 
 to preach the word of God." Bp. Burnet, Bp. Tomline. 
 
 good works, and glorify your Father 
 which is in heaven. St. Mutt. v. 
 
 Lay not up for yourselves trea- 
 sure upon the earlii ; where the rust 
 and moth doth corrupt, and where 
 
 " — alreiiihj set forth, or hereof ter to be setforlh^ It 
 seems the author of the Homilies wrote them in baste, 
 and the Church did wisely to reserve this authority of 
 correcting them and setting forth others. For they have 
 many scajies in them in sjiecial, though they contain in 
 general many wholesome lessons for the people ; in 
 which sense our ministers do subscribe unto them, and 
 no other. Bp. Unerull. 
 
 Before the Sermon, the minister who is to preach, 
 " moves the people," by the direction of the S.^tb canon, 
 " to join with him in" a short form of " ])rayer." This 
 was more jiarticularly neeilful in |)ast ages, when the 
 sermons were commonly at a difl'erent hour from the 
 Liturgy, as they are still at our IJni\'ersities. And, at 
 whatever hour they were, great stress was laid on the 
 use of this jirayer for some time after the Reformation : 
 because when that took place, an acknowledgment of 
 the King's supremacy, which the i}apists denied, was 
 very prudently, as things then stood, inserted into it. 
 And hence it hath continued to our days, though it is 
 frequently shortened into a Collect and the Lord's 
 Prayer, tlie reason for enlarging being now become less. 
 The original manner of jierforming this part of the 
 preacher's office was by " bidding," that is, inviting 
 and exhorting, the people to jiray for the several par- 
 ticulars, mentioned by him : which they were under- 
 stood to do, either silently in their minds, as they went 
 along with him, or by comprehending them all in the 
 Lord's Prayer at last. But in process of time some 
 imagined it better to put the whole into the sliajie of a 
 direct address : others followed their examjile, as think- 
 ing it a matter of indifference : but most have kept to 
 the old way. And the intention being the same, neither 
 custom should give offence. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 This form of bidding prayers is \'ery ancient ; we may 
 see the like in St. Chrysostom's and other Liturgies, 
 which they called Allocutions, in which the deacon 
 speaks to the jieople from ])oint to point, directing them 
 what to pray for, as hath been said before. This is all 
 the difference betwixt them and this, that in them the 
 peojile were to answer to every point severally, " Lord, 
 have mercy," &c. ; in this, they are taught to sum up 
 all the petitions in the Lord's Prayer, and to pray for 
 them all together. This was the practice in King Ed- 
 ward the Sixth's time, as appears by Bishop Latimer, 
 Jewel, and others in those days, whose forms of bidding 
 jn-ayers, before sermon, are to be seen in their wiitings. 
 Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 " Then shall the Priest return to the Lord's Table, &c.] 
 After the confession of our faith follows the exercise of 
 our charity, without which it would be but a dead faith, 
 James ii. 22. Now as charity is to be expressed three 
 ways, so we have directions for each of those ways, by 
 giving, " in the Sentences ;" by praying, " in the prayer 
 for the Church militant;" and by forgiving, " in the 
 general warning :" as for the charity of gi\'ing toward 
 the relief of the poor, it is frequently and strictly com- 
 manded in the Gospel, hath the best examples of it, and 
 the largest rewards promised to it, being instead of all 
 the costly offerings of the Jews, and the only chargeable 
 duty to which Christians are obliged : it recommends 
 our prayers, and thence St. Paul prescribes, and the 
 ancient church in Justin Martyr's time used to have 
 collections every Sunday : however, when we receive the 
 sacrament, it is absolutely necessaiy. Christ gave his
 
 296 
 
 THE COMMCiNION. 
 
 thieves break through and steal : but 
 lay up for yourselves treasures in 
 heaven ; where neither rust nor moth 
 doth corrupt, and where thieves do 
 not break through and steal. St. 
 Mntt. vi. 
 
 ^^'hatsoeve^ ye woidd that men 
 should do unto you, even so do unto 
 them : for this is the Law and the 
 Prophets. St. Matt. vii. 
 
 Not every one that saith unto me, 
 
 alms at the passover, John xiii. 29, and supposes we w-ill 
 never come to the altar without a gift, Matt. v. 23. The 
 first Christians gave all they had, and those in after- 
 times dedicated large and noble oblations wlien they 
 communicated, nor was any (of ability) allowed to re- 
 ceive M-ithout giving something : and to reject any man's 
 oblation, was to deny him a share in the benefit of tliese 
 mysteries : wherefore to stir us up more effectually to 
 give bountifully, here are divei-s select sentences. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 " — the Offertory,'] So called, because it is that pai-t 
 of the Communion service, in whieli the offerings ai-e 
 made. The custom of making oblations at tlie Com- 
 munion is certainly apostolical, as appears from 1 Cor. 
 xvi. 2 : '■ On the first day of the week let every one lay 
 by him in store as God hath prospered him." Which 
 custom continued down to the following ages, as ap- 
 pears from different passages in Justin ^la^tyr, Tertul- 
 lian, St. Cyprian, St. Ambrose, and other ancient writers. 
 Out of those offerings, which were not always in money, 
 but in bread, wine, corn, &c. were taken as much bread 
 and wine, as served I'or the celebration of the Commu- 
 nion at the time : but if any persons were under pubhck 
 infamy, by reason of any ill actions by them committed, 
 their offerings were not to be received. These offerings 
 in the primitive times were so considerable, that they 
 were divided into foiu- portions : one for tlie rehef of the 
 poor; the second the bishop retained for his mainte- 
 nance ; the third was for the maintenance of the church 
 and its ornaments; and the fom-th for the Clergy. 
 The office of the offertory was used in Walafiid Strabo's 
 time, who hved in the middle of the ninth century; and 
 it was so long before his time, that he could not tell to 
 whom to ascribe its original. Dr. \'icliolls. 
 
 ' — these Sentences foltuuhuj,] These are in the place 
 of the -Vntipliona or .\nthem which we find in the old 
 Liturgies after the (iospcl, and which, from thcu- being 
 sung whilst the people made their oblations at the altar, 
 were tailed " Offertory." The sentences which oiu- 
 Church has here selected for that ])urpose are such as 
 contain instructions, injunctions, and exhortations to 
 this great duty ; setting before us the necessity of ])er- 
 forining it, and the manner of doing it. Some of them 
 (namely, those from the sixth to the tenth inclusively, 
 imlcss the ninth be excepted) resjiect the clergy. .Vnd 
 it was with an eye, I sujipose to this difference, that in 
 the last review there was a distinction made in the 
 rnbrick that follows these sentences, between " the alms 
 for the poor," and " the other devotions of the people." 
 Itkeatly. 
 
 1 — as he Ihinketh most convenient in his discretion.'] 
 That is, " according to the length or shortness of the 
 time, that the people are offering," as it was worded in 
 King Edward's first Common I'rayer. U'healhj. 
 
 One or more of these sentences, or Scripture injunc- 
 tions of bounty and almsgiving, as also the " I'rayer for 
 the whole state of 'Christ's Cliurch," arc aj)pointcd to be 
 
 Lord, Lord, shall enter into the King- 
 dom of heaven ; but he that doeth 
 the will of my Father which is in 
 heaven. St. JSlatt. vii. 
 
 Zacchseus stood forth, and said 
 unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the 
 half of my goods 1 give to the poor ; 
 and if I have done any wrong to 
 any man, I restore fourfold. St. 
 Luke xix. 
 
 Who goeth a warfare at any time 
 
 read, " if there be no Communion," before the congre- 
 gation be dismissed : neither of these things being ever 
 unsuitable. .\nd " the first day of the week" is recom- 
 mended in Scripture for purposes of charity, 1 Cor. 
 x\T. 2, as well as set apart for "making supplications 
 and giving thanks for all men," 1 Tim. ii. 1. But they 
 are both more jjeculiai'ly proper with a view to the 
 Communion. 
 
 When we commemorate cm Saviour's dying love to 
 us all, we ought surely to think of expressing our love to 
 our brethren : wliich must be sliewn by promoting both 
 their spiritual good and their temporal. To the former 
 belong tliose sentences, which require, that the}-, who are 
 able, should contribute to the maintenance of a Gospel 
 ministry, where it wants their help. And they require 
 it strongly, as any person will perceive by reading them. 
 For indeed they are seldom or never read to the peojjle 
 by the Clergy, that they may not seem to plead their 
 own cause : excepting in some few of our churches, 
 where the primitive practice, needful in too many more, 
 of giving oblations to the minister, as well as alms to the 
 poor, at the Sacrament, is preser\ed or restored. The 
 rest of the sentences exhort to the latter duty of relieving 
 the sick and needy. What is generally given for them 
 on this occasion, must be considereil, not as the whole, 
 but a sample and earnest of our charity ; a small one, it 
 is to be hoped, in comparison of what we give at other 
 times ; and let us trust that it is every where faithfidly 
 apphed, as it ouglit, with most religious and prudent 
 care. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 It may not be amiss on this subject of the offertory to 
 observe farther, that, when there is no collection of alms 
 made, there is no occasion to use any of the sentences 
 appointed to be recited during the time of a collection. 
 For the sense of the Church ap|H'ars to have been, that 
 alms ami the sentences are intended always to accom- 
 pany each other : and the obvious inference is, tliat, 
 where the former are wanting, the latter will seem su- 
 pcrlluous and without warrant. 
 
 Yet I dare not blame any minister, who continues the 
 common |)ractice of reciting one or two of them, before 
 he proceeds to the i)raycr for the Church militant. And 
 the rather, because it is observable, tliat in most of the 
 occasional oilices for fasts and thanksgivings, injoined 
 by authority, one of these sentences, which bears the 
 nearest relation to the occasions in hand, is directed to 
 be read at the offertory. And these directions jdainly 
 carry their authority along with them. Hut, while we 
 arc left to the ajiparoiit directions in the rubrick only, 
 it will be difficult to shew, that we have any authority 
 from thence to use them, when there are no stated offer- 
 ings of alms. The just conseipience of which would 
 have Ijeen, that we might not at tliose times use any of 
 these .sentences, had not custom, and an almost univer- 
 sal j)racticc of the t'lergy, forbid the drawing of such a 
 consequence. 
 
 Therefore, as the matter now stands, it seems to be
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 297 
 
 of Ills own cost ? Who ]il;uitetli a 
 vineyard, and cateth not of tlie fruit 
 thereof? Or who feedeth a flock, 
 and eateth not of the milk of the 
 flock ? 1 Cor. ix. 
 
 If we have sown unto you spi- 
 ritual things, is it a great matter if 
 we shall reap your worldly things ? 
 1 Cor. ix. 
 
 Do ye not know, tliat they wlio 
 minister about holy things live of 
 the sacrifice ; and tliey who wait 
 at the altar are partakers with the 
 altar ? Even so hath the Lord also 
 ordained, that they who preach the 
 Gospel should live of the Gospel. 
 1 Cor. ix. 
 
 He that soweth little sliall reap 
 little ; and he that soweth plente- 
 ously shall reap plenteously. Let 
 every man do according as he is dis- 
 posed in his heart, not grudgingly, 
 or of necessity ; for God loveth a 
 cheerful giver. 2 Cor. ix. 
 
 Let him that is taught in the Word 
 minister unto him that teachetli, in 
 all good things. Be not deceived, 
 God is not mocked : for whatsoever 
 a man sowetli, tliat shall he reap. 
 Gal. vi. 
 
 While we have time, let us do 
 good unto all men ; and specially 
 unto them that are of the household 
 of faith. Gal. vi. 
 
 Godliness is great riches, if a man 
 be content with that he hath : for 
 we brought nothing into the world, 
 neither may we carry any thing out. 
 I Tim. vi. 
 
 Charge them who are rich in 
 this world, that they be ready to 
 
 left as a point determinable at our own discretion : 
 namely, either to do what has been most usually done, 
 or not to do what we are persuaded in our judgments 
 was not originally designed to be done. Archdeacon 
 Sharp. 
 
 ' IVhilst these Sentences are in reading, the Deacons, 
 &c.] The deacons are the most proper persons for this 
 business, it being the very oifice for which their order 
 was instituted, Acts vi. And for this reason the Scotch 
 Liturgy does not allow the church-wardens to do it, but 
 at such times " when there are no deacons present." It 
 is now indeed grown a custom with us for the chiu'ch- 
 wardens to perform this office, namely, to gather the 
 alms and devotions of the congregation, which, by all 
 the books liefore the Scotch Liturgy, they were ordered, 
 as I have observed, to " put into the poor man's box ;" 
 not, I presume, into that fixed in the chiu-ch, but into a 
 little box which the church-wardens or some other proper 
 jiersons carried about with them in their hands, as is still 
 the custom at the 'I'emple Church in London. Now in- 
 deed they ai-e ordered to make use of a " decent bason 
 
 give, and glad to distribute ; laying 
 u]) in store for themselves a good 
 foundation against the time to come, 
 that they may attain etenuil life. 
 1 Tim. vi. 
 
 God is not unrighteous, that he 
 will forget your works, and labour 
 that proceedeth of love ; which love 
 ye have shewed for his Name's sake, 
 who have ministered unto the .saints, 
 and yet do minister. Hcb. vi. 
 
 To do good, and to distribute, for- 
 get not ; for with such sacrifices God 
 is well pleased. Heb. xiii. 
 
 Whoso hath this world's good, and 
 seeth his brother have need, and 
 shutteth up his compassion from him, 
 how dwelleth the love of God in 
 him ? 1 St. John iii. 
 
 Give alms of thy goods, and never 
 turn thy face from any poor man ; 
 and then the face of the Lord shall 
 not be turned away from thee. 
 Tob. iv. 
 
 Be merciful after thy power. If 
 thou hast much, give plenteously : 
 if thou hast little, do thy diligence 
 gladly to give of that little : for so 
 gatherest thou thyself a good reward 
 in the day of necessity. Tob. iv. 
 
 He that hath pity upon the poor 
 lendeth unto the Lord : and look, 
 what he layeth out, it shall be paid 
 him again. Prov. xix. 
 
 Blessed be the man that provideth 
 for the sick and needy : the Lord 
 shall deliver him in the time of trou- 
 ble. Psalm xli. 
 
 f Whilst these Sentences are in reading, the 
 Deacons', Church-wardens, or other fit per- 
 son appointed for that purpose, shall re- 
 
 to be provided by the parish for that purpose." With 
 which, in most places, especially here in town, they go 
 to the several seats and pews of the congregation. 
 Though in other jilaces they collect at the entrance into 
 the chancel, where the people make their offerings as 
 they draw towards the altar. This last way seems the 
 most conformable to the practice of the primitive 
 church, which, in pursuance of a text delivered by our 
 Saviour, ordered tliat the people should come up to the 
 rails of the altar, and there make their offerings to the 
 priest, Matt. v. 23. 
 
 And with an eye, I suppose, to this practice, the 
 deacons, or church-wardens, or whosoever they be 
 that collect the alms and other devotions of the people, 
 are ordered by the present rubrick to " bring it reve- 
 rently to the |)riest," (as in their name,) " who is 
 humbly to present and place it upon tlie holy table ;" 
 in conformity to the jjractice of the ancient .lews, who, 
 when they brought their gifts and sacrifices to the 
 temple, offered them to God by the hands of the priest. 
 Wheatly.
 
 298 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 ceive the Alms for the Poor, and other 
 devotions of the people, in a decent boson 
 to be provided by the parish for that pur- 
 pose ; and reverently bring it to the Priest, 
 who shall humbly present and place it upon 
 the holy Table. 
 H And when there is a Communion, the Priest 
 shall then place upon the Table' so much 
 Bread and Wine, as he shall think suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 ' And when there is a Commxmion, the Priest shall then 
 place upon the Table &c.] " Then," that is, after pre- 
 senting the bason with the ahns. Shepherd. This 
 riihrick, being added to our Liturgy at the same time 
 with the word " oblations," in the prayer following, 
 (that is, at the last re\'iew,) it is clearly evident, as 
 Bishop Patrick has observed, that by that word are to 
 be untlerstood the elements of bread and wine, which 
 the jiriest is to offer solemnly to God, as an acknow- 
 ledgment of his sovereignty over his creatures, and 
 that from thenceforth they might become iirojjerly and 
 peculiarly his. For in all the Jewish sacrifices, of 
 which the people were partakers, the viands or mate- 
 rials of the feast were first made God's by a solemn 
 oblation, and then afterwards eaten liy the commu- 
 niconts, not as man's, but as God's ])ro\'ision ; who, by 
 thus entertaining them at his own table, tleclared Him- 
 self reconciled and again in coi'enant with them. And 
 therefore our blessed Saviour, when He instituted the 
 sacrifice of his own body and blood, first " gave thanks, 
 and blessed the elements," that is, offered them up to 
 God as Lord of the creatures, as the most ancient 
 fathers c.x])ound that passage : who, for that reason, 
 whenever they celebrated the holy Eucharist, always 
 offered the bread and wine for the communion to (iod, 
 upon the altar, by this, or some such short ejaculation, 
 " Lord, we offer thee thy own, out of what thou hast 
 bountifully given us." After which they received them, 
 as it were, from Him again, in order to convert them 
 into the sacred banquet of the body and blood of his 
 dear Son. In the ancient church, they had generally 
 a side-talile near the altar, u])on which the elements 
 were laid till the first jiart of the Commimion service 
 was o\-er, at which the catechumens were allowed to be 
 present ; but when they were gone, the elements were 
 removed and placed upon the holy altar itself, with a 
 solemn pniycr. Now though we have no side-table 
 atithori/.ed by our Church ; yet, in the first Common 
 Praver of King Edward the Sixth, the priest himself 
 was ordered in this place to set both the bread and 
 wine upon the altar: but at the review in 1551 this and 
 several other such ancient usages were thrown nut. After 
 which tlic Scotch l^iturgy was the fu-st wherein we find 
 it restored : but there the [iresltytcr is directed " to 
 offer lip and jilace the bread and wine i)re])ared for the 
 Sacrament upon tlie Lord's table, that it may be ready 
 for that servi<'e." And Mr. Mede, having observed 
 our own Liturgy to be defective in this pariicnlar, was 
 probably the occasion, that, in the review of it after the 
 Restoration, this i)rimiti\'e |>racticc was restored, and 
 the bread and wine ordered by the rulirick to be set 
 solemnly ujion the table by the ])riest himself. From 
 whence it appears, that the placing of the elements 
 ujxin the Lord's tal)lc, before the l)eginning of morning 
 ])raver, by the hands of a clerk or sexton, (as is now 
 t\\e general ])™(tiee,) is a l)reach of the aforesaid 
 rnbrick : and conse(|uently lliat it is the duty of every 
 minister to ])reveiit it for the future, and reverently to 
 place the bread and wine himself upon the table, inunc- 
 diutely after he has i>laced on the alms. H'lieatly. 
 
 After which done, the Priest shall soy'. 
 Let us pray for the whole state of 
 
 Clirist's Church" militant" here in F.pii. vi. 12, 
 
 .1 1:;. 18. 
 
 earth. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everliving ^^ ^ . ^ 
 God, who by thy holy Apostle jobxxi. is. 
 hast taught us to make prayers, and Kevii'v.'a?' 
 supplications, and to give thanks, 
 
 "Though our Church," as Dr. Nicholls truly says, 
 " has not ordered any partitular prayer for this action 
 of the priest, he ought not to neglect the action itself :" 
 which reason holds much stronger when we consider, 
 that there is an expression to be used in the prayer 
 following the action, that jjresnjiposes the action to be 
 done by the minister : which expression is rendered 
 insignificant, if he omit the action. Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 ' After which done, the Priest shall soy,] The second 
 way of expressing our charity is by jirayer; and though 
 we cannot reUe\e all men, God can, and so we must 
 pray for all to Him that is able to su]i])ly all mankind. 
 And because the Communion is the highest exercise of 
 charity, therefore of old this universal intei'cession was 
 used in this office, «here they prayed for the peace of 
 the Church and state, for kings and for all Christians, 
 especially the afflicted, as St. Cyril assures us ; and 
 Optatus calls this "the appointed form in the mysteries 
 of the Saeraiuent, in wliich we offer for the whole 
 church." And we do not (as the Roman church) 
 crowd this into the Prayer of Consecration; but, as in 
 St. Chrysostom's Liturgy, we make this jiraycr soon 
 after tlie Gospel, since none are so likely to say this 
 charitafjle prayer devoutly for all, as they who observe 
 the roles of the Gospel. And there are two things to 
 recommend this prayer; first, our alms just now offered 
 to God by his minister, which the Scri])ture assures us 
 give great efficacy to our prayers ; secondly, our com- 
 memoration of the great sacrifice of Christ's death, the 
 symbols of which are now to be set upon the holy 
 table, that we may jjlead for all the world by the 
 memorial of that oblation which obtained mercy for all, 
 and by M'bich Christ now intercedes for all in heaven. 
 
 2. As for the prayer itself, besides the preface and 
 conclusion, it doth contain prayers, su|i]ilications, in- 
 tercession.s, and giving of thanks, which are to bo 
 made for all men, for kings, and all tliat arc in au- 
 thority, as St. Paid directs, 1 Tim. h. 1, 2. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 " Let us pray for the whole state of Christ's Church 
 &c.] As there are few in proportion to whom we can 
 do good with our substance ; and many, that are much 
 above our alms, and yet need our jirayers; we proceed 
 to offer them u]) " for the whole state of Christ's 
 Church militant," that is, carrying on a warfare against 
 the eneinies of the soul, " here on earth :" that all the 
 members of it may not only have " the spirit," the 
 fervent desire, " of truth, unity, and ccnicord," but 
 may actually "agree in the truth of (iod's holy word, 
 anil live in unity and godly love." ']'ben we jictitiim 
 more especially for those whose stations, us kings, 
 magistrates, and clergy, or whose sufferings of any 
 kind require it most: and give thanks for those, who 
 are got iieyond the reach of sufferings; begging that 
 we may " follow their example," as far as it was a 
 "good" one, and share in their hapiiiness. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 This prayer for tlic Church militant contains in it 
 "supplications, prayers, and intercessions, and giving of 
 thanks for all men, for kings, and all in authority," as
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 299 
 
 iTim. ii. for all men; We hiimhly hpseocli 
 p».xx. 3, 4. thee most mercifully 
 
 2 Sam. XXIV. ^^ ^j^^^ j^ ^^ ^^^^ |-^^ accept our alms 
 
 or oblittions, ilicit shall 
 
 and oblations, aiiiQ 
 
 2.1. 
 
 IK'l). xiii. 16. ,, , r *. 
 
 Qj^l ^,j Q Ihe tftuth [nf accept- 
 
 ini! our alms and ob- {o reccive tlicse our 
 
 lalions] be lift nut . , 
 
 uinaid. prayers, winch we 
 
 offer unto thy Di- 
 vine Majesty ; hesecching thee to 
 John xiv. inspire continually the universal 
 M'ku''xxviii. Church with the spirit of truth, 
 2?- . unity, and concord : And grant, 
 
 1—3'. that all they that do confess thy 
 
 the apo.stle directs. AVhich expression of our universal 
 cliarity is highly necessary, when there is a celebration 
 of the Lord's Siip])er : but, when there is none, yet 
 being a general intercession it is necessary to fill up and 
 complete the second service, which is a distinct service, 
 and in the first institution was performed at different 
 times. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 The form of this prayer is most ancient and aposto- 
 lical. Ne.'ct to the ajiostle, who wills " snpplications and 
 prayers and thanksgivings to be made for all men, 
 especially for kings and such as be in authority, that 
 we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness 
 and honesty;" which is the sum and subject of this 
 whole prayer ; we find in the Constitutions of the 
 apostles, which was a book made to declare the cus- 
 toms of the church before Constantine's time, this 
 prayer at large, first for the state of Christ's church : 
 and then for the particular members of it ; chiefly for 
 the emperor and powers of the world, that they may be 
 at peace with us : which is the reason that it is called 
 in the Greek Liturgies " the catholick or general collect," 
 and " the prayer for peace." And it is the source and 
 fountain of those prayers, which were afterwards framed 
 into the form of our litanies. St. Ambrose saith, that 
 this prayer was always made before the consecration of 
 the sacrament. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 The words "Let us pray" are manifestly addressed 
 to the people, and the voice should be managed accord- 
 ingly. 'I'he minister ought also to make a jiause after 
 the pronunciation of them, that the people may have 
 full time enough to kneel down and com])ose them- 
 selves for prayer, and so be ready to join in the very 
 beginning of this form. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 " — Christ's Church mililnnt^ Christ's church, that 
 is, the whole number of the faithful, is usually divided 
 into two [larts : namely, the church militant and the 
 church triumphant. By the church " militant," or in 
 a state of warfare, we mean those Christians, who are 
 at present ali\'e, and perpetually harassed with the 
 temptations and assaults of the world, the flesh, and 
 the devil ; and whose life is consequently a continual 
 warfare under the banner of our blessed Saviour. By 
 the church triumphant we mean those Christians who 
 have departed this life in God's true faith and fear; 
 and who now enjoy in some measure, and after the day 
 of judgment shall be fully possessed of, that glory and 
 triumph, which is the fruit of their labours, and the 
 reward of those victories which they obtained over their 
 spiritual adversaries, during the time of their trial and 
 combat here upon earth. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 After the offertory is said, and the oblations of bread 
 and wine, with the alms for the poor, are jilaced upon 
 the table, the minister addresses this e.\hortation to the 
 people ; " Let us pray for the whole state of Christ's 
 Church militant here in earth." The latter part of this 
 
 holy Name may agree in the truth John xiiisj; 
 of thy holy Word, and live in unity, "n'm. iu. 
 and godly love. We beseech thee "'• "■ 
 also to save and defend all Christian p<. cxiiv. 10. 
 Kings, Princes, and Governours ; and 1 i>™i,'.'' ''^ 
 especially thy servant VICTORIA '•''• '♦• 
 our Queen ; that under her we may 1 lim. » 2. 
 be godly and quietly governed : And 
 "■rant unto her whole Council, and Ps.cxix.irj4; 
 to all that are put in authority under ,' ,' .. 
 
 , , , ^ , -,...,, I'S. IXXll. 
 
 Iier, that they may truly aiul iiidit- 2, .i. 
 ferently" minister justice, to the J'"™' ""'' 
 
 sentence is wanting in Edward's first book. The words 
 " militant here in earth," which were designed e.xpressly 
 to exclude prayer for the dead, were inserted in the 
 second book, in which that part of this prayer, which 
 contained intercession for the dead, was expunged. It 
 was the intention of the divines, who made this altera- 
 tion, to denote that jirayers are not to be offered up for 
 the dead, whose spiritual warfare is already accom- 
 plished ; but for those only, who are yet " fighting the 
 good fight of faith," and are consequently in a capacity 
 of needing our ])rayers. 
 
 Alms and oblations give efficacy to prayer. They are 
 the wings, on which it moimts more ra])idly to heaven. 
 In "the Prayer for Christ's Church" we shew that our 
 charity extends whither oiu' alms cannot reach : we re- 
 commend all mankind to the mercy of Him, who is able 
 to relieve all, and of whose bounty all have need. And 
 can we at any time more effectually plead with God, 
 than when we commemorate the sacrifice of the death 
 of Christ, the symbols of which are now placed upon 
 the altar ? This sacrament has been styled the " grand 
 intercession :" and we most efficaciously intercede for 
 all the world by the memorial of that " one oblation 
 once offered," which obtained forgiveness for all, and 
 by virtue of which our Mediator in heaven stiU inter- 
 cedes for all. 
 
 Prayers to the same effect were offered in the primi- 
 tive church at the celebration of the Eucharist, and 
 occur in ancient and modern Liturgies. One similar to 
 this, but inferior in point of composition, occurs in the 
 Liturgy ascribed to St. Chrysostom, a little before the 
 consecration. But a form of superior, or even equal 
 excellence to this, is no where to be found. It is com- 
 posed upon the ])rinciples laid down by St. Paul, in his 
 exhortation to Timothy ; and accordingly consists of 
 prayers, supplications, and intercessions for the whole 
 catholick church : beseeching God to inspire it with 
 the S])irit of truth and concord, and that the individual 
 members may live together in unity and charity. It 
 then prays more distinctly for the different orders, of 
 which the church is composed ; first, for the higher 
 estates; secondly, for the Clergy; and lastly, for the 
 people : that they may all, with sincerity and fidelity, 
 discharge the duties allotted to their respective stations. 
 The conclusion contains a thanksgiving for the deceased 
 members of the Church, \\-ith a petition that the living 
 may follow their good examples, and be finally partakers 
 of the same inheritance of everlasting hfe and glory. 
 Shepherd. 
 
 ^ — that they may truly and indifferently &c.] That 
 they may " truly " determine all causes, " and indif- 
 ferently," without any respect of persons, " minister 
 justice ;" aiming purely at that, which was God's great 
 end in constituting all magistrates ; namely, " the 
 punishment of the wickedness and vice" of all e\'il
 
 300 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 punishment of wickedness and vice, 
 and to the maintenance of thy true 
 religion, and virtue. Give grace, O 
 heavenly Father, to all Bishops and 
 Curates'', that they may both hy 
 johnxvii 17. their life and doctrine set forth thy 
 Acts Til. . j^^^^ ^^^^^ lively Word, and rightly 
 
 and duly administer^ thy holy Sacra- 
 Heb. iv. 2. ments : And to all thy people give 
 18—23^"' t'^y heavenly grace; and especially 
 
 to this congregation here present ; 
 
 that, with meek heart and due re- 
 jaraesi.2i. verence, they may hear, and re- 
 is3.ix.vi. 5. pgj.^,g (.[jy jjQjy Word, truly serving 
 
 thee in holiness and righteousness all 
 Luke i. 75. the days of their life. And we most 
 Ps. XXV. 7. humbly beseech tliee of thy good- 
 Heb. xiii. 3. jjggg Q LqpJ tQ comfort and succour 
 
 doers, and for the " maintaining of his true religion and 
 virtue," by encouraging and rewarding them that do 
 well, Rom. xiii. 3, 4 ; I Pet. ii. 14. Dea7i Comber. 
 
 ' — Bishops and Curates,'] " Bishops," who are 
 called of God to govern his flock : jjriests and deacons, 
 to whom these bishops commit the care of particular 
 congregations, thence called of old their " cui'ates." Dean 
 Comber. See page 40, note t. 
 
 ' — ■ rightly anil July administer &c.] " Rightly," ac- 
 cording to our Lord's institution ; and " duly," as the 
 necessities of the Church do re(|uire. Dean Comber. 
 
 " — And we also bless thy holy Name &c.] Those 
 prayers for the dead, which the Roman Missal hath 
 here added to this office, our Church hath prudently 
 rejected, because they have no ground in Scripture, nor 
 good foundation in the purest antiquity : and also be- 
 cause they can do no good to the nicked, who only 
 need them ; and are a disparagement to holy persons, 
 by supposing them in a state of misery. Our Church 
 here restores the eucharistical prayer, which many of 
 the fathers mention ; not jjraying for the dead, but 
 praising (Jod for such of them as are departed in the 
 faith and fear of (iod. Dean Comber. 
 
 ^ — Grant this, O Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, &c.] 
 The prayer concludes with entreating our heavenly 
 Father to grant our former petitions, " for Jesus Christ's 
 saUe, our only Mediator and Advocate." This general 
 conclusion of all our prayers would not be remarked 
 ])articularly here ; but thai the mass bath thrust in the 
 names of the IMcssed Virgin and other saints into this 
 supplication, through whose merits and ])rayers they 
 intercede even in this place, where there is a lively com- 
 memoration of the death of Christ our only .Mediator; 
 which seems to intimate, that to ])lead in virtue of our 
 Lord's passion is not sufficient, and that that interces- 
 sion, by which the holy Virgin and all other saints be- 
 came accepted by (Iod, was not alone forcible enough. 
 But we desire no other Mediator, nor need any other 
 Advocate but our Lord .Jesus, who is here represented. 
 1 Tim. ii. .5. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' lVh(m the Minister r/ivetk warning &c.] Great mys- 
 teries ought to have great preparation ; the paschal lamb 
 wa.s to lie chosen four days before it was slain, Kxod. xii. 
 3. (j. 'I'ho .lewisb feasts were jiroclaimed some time be- 
 fore. Lev. .\xv 0; anil Ilc'/.eUiah gave jiublicU warning 
 of his intended passover a good while before the cele- 
 bration, 2 Chron. xx\. But we have a higher mystery 
 to perform, and do it now so seldom, and are so unprc- 
 
 all them, who in this transitory life 
 are in trouble, sorrow, need, sick- 2 cor. i. 3 : 
 ness, or any other adversity. And neb" ii.'i's. ' 
 we also bless thy holy Name^ for all 
 thy servants departed this life in thy 
 faith and fear; beseeching thee toHcb. xi. 4; 
 give us grace so to follow their good vi'.' 12.^' 
 examples, that with them we may be 1 cor. xi. 1. 
 partakers of thy heavenly kingdom: Matt.viii. ii 
 Grant this, O Father, for Jesus 
 Christ's sake*, our only Mediator iTim.u. 5. 
 and Advocate. Amen. 
 
 1[ M'hen the Minister girelh learning' for the 
 celebration of the Holy Communion, {which 
 h( shall always do upon, the Sunday, or some 
 Holy-day, immediately precediny.) after 
 the Sermon or Homily ended'', he shall read 
 this Exhortation following" . 
 
 pared for it, that it is necessary to give us so large a time 
 before it, to dispose our souls for the worthy receiving 
 thereof; and this present exhortation not only declares 
 the intended time, but also may be very serviceable to 
 our preparation. Dean Comber. 
 
 The ancient church indeed had no such exhortations : 
 for their daily, or at least weekly communions made it 
 known that there was then no solemn assembly of Chris- 
 tians without it ; and every one (not under censure) was 
 expected to communicate. But now, when the time is 
 somewhat uncertain, and our long omissions have made 
 some of us ignorant, and others forgetful of this duty ; 
 most of us unwiUing, and all of us more or less indis- 
 posed for it; it was thought both prudent and neces- 
 sary to provide these exhortations, to be read " when 
 the minister gives warning of the Communion, which 
 he is always to do upon the Sunday, or some holy-day, 
 immediately precechng." 
 
 As to the composures themseh'es, they are so extraor- 
 dinarily suitable, that if every commimicant would duly 
 weigh and consider them, they would be no small help 
 towards a due jireparation. The first contains jirojier 
 exhortations and instructions how to ]inpare ourselves; 
 the latter is more lu'gent, and a]iplit'able to those who 
 generally turn their backs U|)on those holy mysteries, 
 and shews the danger of those vain and f'ii\-olous ex- 
 cuses which men frequently make for their staying 
 away. l'"or which reason it is ajipointed by the rubrick 
 to be used instead of the former, whene\'er the minister 
 sliall observe that the people "are negligent to come." 
 IVheally. 
 
 It is earnestly to be wished, that the Clergy should 
 take great care how they read this or the following ex- 
 hortation. Let not the tone of their voice be such as 
 betrays a carelessness and want of concern : but se- 
 rious, alfeetionate, and such as may awaken the peojile, 
 who are generally very backward in this duty. Dr. 
 Bennct. 
 
 ' — after the Sermon or Homily ended,'] See above, 
 page, 203, note h. 
 
 ' — ;/ji,v Exhortation follouing.'] The Exhortation 
 contains, first, an informaticm, 1. of the time when we 
 celebrate it; 2. of the jicrsous to whom we shall ad- 
 minister it; 3. of the maimer bow tluy must receive it, 
 namely, in remembrance of Christ's death, and with all 
 thankfulness, both for it, and fortius ordinance to com- 
 memorate it. Secondly, it contains an exhortation 
 grounded on the benefit of doing it well, and the dan-
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 301 
 
 Jrilui vi. 51. 
 53— 5G. 
 
 Horn iii. 
 
 Acts iv. 
 10—12. 
 
 Dl'iAllLY beloved, on — day 
 next I purpose, through (jod's 
 assistance, to adiniiiister to all such 
 as shall be religiously and devoutly 
 tlisposed the most comfortable Sacra- 
 ment of the Body and Blood of 
 Christ ; to be by them received in 
 remembrance of his meritoriou.s Cross 
 and Passion ; whereby alone \ve ob- 
 tain remission of oiir .sins, and are 
 made partakers of the Kingdom of 
 lieaven. Wherefore it is our duty 
 to render most humble and hearty 
 
 ger of doing it ill, and e.vciting us to the duties of, 
 1. seriously considering the dignity of this Sacrament, 
 and the peril of profaning it ; 2. and strictly examining 
 our hearts in order to our acce])tance. Thirdly, this 
 warning contains directions, 1 . to the penitent, who is 
 advised to prepare by repentance, which is now to be 
 exercised in self-examination, contrition, confession, 
 and holy jnu-poses : and by charity to be shewed by 
 making satisfaction for all injuries done by us, and for- 
 giving those done against us. 2. Here is direction to 
 the im|)enitent not to come unworthily ; and these are, 
 1. solemnly warned; 2. shewed what they may do in 
 order to fit them; 3. foretold of the danger of neglect- 
 ing these ])reparatives. Lastly, here are directions to 
 the doubting, shewing to what end they need ghostly 
 counsel, and in what case they want it, of whom 
 they must desire it, and what benefit they may have 
 by it. These ai'e the parts of this warning. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 When it is considered how many poor Christians 
 there are, who have little or no means of coming to 
 the knowledge of this ordinance, and the manner of 
 preparing tliemseh'es for it, but by what they learn 
 from hearing these exhortations; every pastor will 
 think himself obliged in conscience, and as he values 
 the edification of his flock, to read these exhortaticms 
 with the greatest deliberation, and with an affection that 
 shall even force the attention of his hearers. 
 
 And if the ])eople seriously attend to the following 
 exhortations or warnings, they will learn what they ought 
 to do, in order to be worthy communicants. And they 
 will do well to read them over again, when they return 
 home ; that they may fix them in their memory ; and 
 that they may be a standing rule to go by, through their 
 whole life. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 ' — ■ to be our spiritual food and sustenance in that holy 
 Sacrameni .~\ The grace, which we have by the holy 
 Eucharist, doth not begin, but continue life. No man 
 therefore receiveth this Sacrament before baptism, be- 
 cause no dead thing is capable of nourishment. That 
 which groweth must of necessity first live. If our 
 bodies did not daily waste, food to restore them were a 
 thing superfluous. And it may be that the grace of 
 baptism would serve to eternal life, were it not that the 
 state of our spiritual being is daily so much hindered 
 and impaired after baptism. In that life therefore, 
 where neither body nor soul can decay, our souls shall 
 as little require this Sacrament as our bodies corporal 
 nourishment. But as long as the days of our warfare 
 last, during the time that we are both subject to dimi- 
 nution and capable of augmentation in grace, the words 
 of our Lord and Saviour ('hrist will remain forcible, 
 " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink 
 his blood, ye have no life in you," John vi. 53. Life 
 
 tlianks to Almiglity God our liea- Ps. cm. i; 
 venly Father, for that lie hath given "■"■"• 
 his Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, John iii. lo. 
 not only to die for ns, but also to be 
 our spiritual food and sustenance in 
 that holy Sacrament ^ Which being 
 so divine and comfortable a things 
 to them who receive it worthily, and , „ 
 
 . 1 Cor. XI 
 
 so dangerous to them that will jire- 26—28. 
 sume to receive it unworthily''; my ,, , ... 
 
 I . . . ^ -^ hxek. 111. 
 
 duty IS to exhort you in the mean i?. is. 
 season to consider the dignity ' of that i cor. .\i. 25. 
 holy mystery ^, and the great peril of 
 
 being therefore proposed unto all men as their end, 
 they, which by baptism have laid the foundation and 
 attained the first beginning of a new life, have here their 
 nourishment and food prescribed for continuance of hfe 
 in them. Such as will live the life of God, must eat 
 the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man : be- 
 cause this is a part of that diet, which if we want we 
 cannot live. Hooker. 
 
 6 — IVhich being so divine and comfortable a thing'\ It 
 is not easy to recount the many divine and admirable 
 effects, which the ancient church attributed to a devout 
 and pious reception of this holy Sacrament. From pas- 
 sages in the writings of St. Ignatius, St. Irenscus, Ter- 
 tullian, St. Cyril, and others, it is jilain that these early 
 fathers held, not only that much Christian grace and 
 spiritual assistance was conveyed by a due receiving of 
 this holy Sacrament ; but that this was a sort of seed 
 sown in them, which, by a jireternatural virtue con- 
 tained in it, would raise them up to eternal life. Dr. 
 Niclwlls. 
 
 This Sacriiment, like all things that are high and fair, 
 hath excellency enough to invite us to desire it, and yet 
 danger sufficient to make us afraid to go about it rashly. 
 And here our spiritual guide, having surveyed them 
 both, makes a faithful re])ort, as Caleb and Joshua did. 
 Numb. xiv. 6, 7. He doth not deny that there is hazard 
 and pains in the attempt, but the honour and advantage 
 doth far outweigh them both. He considers it is " a 
 divine thing," as the ancients called it, to be a com- 
 panion of God's table, and to be made ]iartaker of his 
 nature; and also it is the sweetest " comfort" in the 
 world, to behold these lively representations of our ])er- 
 fect expiation, to receive the pledges of pardon and 
 immortality. On the other side, our spiritual guide 
 considers, that for the obstinate and profane, for those 
 that have sinned and will sin, it is very dangerous to 
 press into this celestial banquet, ^^'hercfore upon the 
 whole inquiry the minister doth exhort us, to spend the 
 time between this and the Sacrament well : for, if we 
 come not to it, we lose this " divine comfort;" if we 
 come unworthily, we run into an unknown danger : he 
 is unwilling therefore we shoidd be deprived of the 
 comfort, or incur the mischief; and therefore he doth 
 exhort us to prepare, for so we shall be sure of the 
 advantage, and a\-oid the evil. Dean Comber. 
 
 '' — and so dangerous to them who will presume to re- 
 ceive it unworthily ;] See below, ]iage 305, note x. 
 
 ' — to exhort you in the mean season to consider the 
 dignity &c.] There are two things especially to be 
 done in this "mean season." The first is consideration 
 of " the dignity" of the Sacrament, which St. Paul calls 
 '■ discerning the Lord's body," 1 Cor. xi. 29 ; that is, 
 making much diiftrence between this and our ordinary 
 food. The second is that, wliich St. Paul and we both
 
 302 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 I Cor. xi. 28. 
 Ps. iv. 4. 
 
 Matt xsii. 
 11-13. 
 
 Isa. Till. 20. 
 
 Matt. XV. 19. 
 James lit. 6. 
 Jude 14, 15. 
 M.itt. iii. 
 2, 3. 
 
 Jer. xxxi. 
 18—20. 
 Prov. xxviii. 
 13. 
 
 Matt. 
 24. 
 
 t. 23, 
 
 Matt. vi. 14, 
 15; xviii. 35 
 
 the unworthy receiving tliereof ; and 
 so to search and examine your own 
 consciences, (and that not lightly, and 
 after the manner of dissemblers with 
 God ; but so) that ye may come holy 
 and clean to such a heavenly Feast, 
 in the marriage-garment required by 
 God in holy Scripture, and be re- 
 ceived as worthy partakers of that 
 holy Table. 
 
 The way and means thereto is ; 
 First, to examine your lives and 
 conversations' by the rule of God's 
 commandments ; and whereinsoever 
 ye shall perceive yourselves to have 
 offended, either by will, word, or 
 deed, there to bewail your own sin- 
 fulness, and to confess yourselves to 
 Almighty God, with full purpose of 
 amendment of life. And if ye shall 
 perceive your offences to be such as 
 are not only against God, but also 
 against your neighbours ; then ye 
 shall reconcile yourselves unto them ; 
 being ready to make restitution and 
 satisfaction, according to the utter- 
 most of your powers, for all injuries 
 and wrongs done by you to any 
 other ; and being likewise ready to 
 forgive others that have offended 
 you, as ye woulc 
 
 ff,- Mark xi. 25. 
 '"' Luke xvii. 
 
 have forgiveness of 
 
 call " examination," I Cor. .\i. 28. And these are no 
 more than what every prudent man doth, before he sets 
 upon any great affair. First, he survej-s the nature of 
 the worii ; secondly, he e.xamines his own fitness to 
 undertake it. Thus we must consider the " dignity" of 
 this holy mystery, to make us full of desires and huuihlc ; 
 and the danger, to put us upon the strictest care and 
 preparation. Our next duty is to search and try how we 
 are fitted for it : we must not only admire the guest, 
 hut prepare and cleanse the heart for his reception. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 '' — that hoUj mystery,'] "Sacrament" and "mystery" 
 arc the same thing. Only that which is seen is pro- 
 perly called a " sacrament ;" and that which is sig- 
 nified by the former is called a " mystery." Bp. 
 Cosin. 
 
 ' — First, to examine your lives and conversations &c.] 
 A due ]irc])aration before the receiving of the holy .Sa- 
 crament was a thing, which the ancient fiithcrs, lioth in 
 their writings luiil lioinihes, frequently inculcated on the 
 peoi)le. Dr. Nicltolls. 
 
 "■ — repent j/nii nf your sins, or else come not &c.] The 
 first ages of ('hristianity considered how positively our 
 Saviour had forljiddcn us to give that which is holy to 
 the malicious, and to cast this pearl, as they interpreted 
 it, of tlic Lord's body to those that wallow in swinish 
 j]lcasures. Matt. vii. fi ; and oliscrved, how jilainly St. 
 Paul had described the danger of such, if they should 
 receive it, 1 Cor. .xi. 29. Wherefore tlicy did very 
 strictly forbid all such to approach the.se mysteries, and 
 1)V canons of councils and the sentence of excommuni- 
 cation did keep back all notorious sinners. 'I'he Chris- 
 tian bishops also ojiposcd the profane apjiroach of siii- 
 
 3, 1. 
 
 Cul. iii. 13. 
 
 Luke xxii. 
 3, 4. 
 
 your offences at God's hand : 
 otherwise the receiving of the liidy 
 Communion doth nothing else but 
 increase your damnation. Therefore 
 if any of you be a blasphemer of 
 God, and hiiiderer or slanderer of his 
 Word, an adulterer, or be in malice, 
 or envy, or in any other grievous 
 crime, repent you of your sins, or 
 else come not" to that holy Table; 
 lest, after the taking of that holy 
 Sacrament, the devil enter into you 
 as he entered into Judas", and fill 
 you full of all iniquities, and bring 
 you to destruction both of body and 
 
 soul. ver. 22. 
 
 And becau-e it is requi^te, that 
 no man should come to the lioly 
 Communion, but with a full trust J")";';,"- ^=- 
 in God's mercy, and with a quiet 
 conscience ; therefore if there be i Joim iii. jo. 
 
 c 1 1 ..1 ■ Rom. xiv. 5. 
 
 any ot you, wlio by tins means can- 
 not quiet his own conscience herein, 
 but requireth further comfort or 
 counsel, let him come to me, or to m.i1. m. r. 
 some other discreet and learned I4 ''^^''' '" 
 Minister of God's Word, and open '*"■ '■ ^■ 
 his grief; that by the ministry of 
 God's holy Word he may receive , , 
 
 , , c r I 1 • 1 Luke xxn. 
 
 tlie benent ot absolution", together 32 
 
 with ghostly counsel and advice, to ''°''" ''"' ^^' 
 
 ners, if any such presumed to come, even of the empe- 
 rors themselves. Besides all which, when the celebra- 
 tion was to begin, the deacon stood up and proclaimed, 
 that all unbaptized persons, infidels, hereticks, &c. 
 should dejiart, and none stay that had any quarrel, nor 
 any come in hypocrisy. '\\'hich custom is imitated by 
 our Church, in this denunciation ; wherein, we most 
 plainly shew obstinate sinners their danger, as St. Peter 
 did to Simon Magus, Acts viii. 21 — 23. We appeal 
 to their own consciences, charging them to examine 
 faithfully ; and, if they find themsi Ives guiltv. we warn 
 them not to come till they have repented. \Vc no not 
 finally bid them not to come at all, but only to stay, till 
 they have repented ; because it may be usefnl, as St. 
 Augustine notes, for such notorious offenders to stay till 
 another communion, and (o meditate, that their being 
 excluded here on earth, whilst olhcrs enter in, to have 
 communion with Christ, is the sad emblem of that day, 
 when, if they do not now repent, they shall see many 
 holy persons go in and sit down with .\braham in the 
 kingdom of God, while they themselves are cast out. 
 Dea7i Comber. 
 
 " — tke (teril enter into you ns he entered into Judas,^ 
 The Church docs not here affirm, that the devil entered 
 into .Tildas, after he had received the holy I'-iicbarist ; 
 but only, that he entered into .Tiidas, whether he re- 
 ceived tlie holy Eucharist or not : and she exhorts her 
 members to take care, that their unworthy participation 
 do not cause the devil to enter into them. The circum- 
 stance of receiving therefore is no ]>art of the comi)a- 
 rison : for tlie comparison goes no farther than the 
 entering in of tlie devil. Dr. liennet. 
 
 ° — he may receive the benefit of absolution,] By our
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 ;J03 
 
 D 
 
 2 Cor. V. 20. 
 
 Matt. xxii. 
 3. 9. 
 
 Luke xiv. 
 16—24. 
 
 Matt. vii. IS 
 
 the quietint^ of liis coriscionce, tiiul 
 iivoiiliiig of all scruple and doubt- 
 fulness. 
 
 IT Or, in case he shall see the people negligent 
 to come' to the Holy Communion, instead of 
 the former, he shall use this Exhortation'^. 
 
 EARLY beloved brethren, 
 
 on I intend, by God's 
 
 grace, to celeinate the Lord's Sup- 
 per : unto which, in God's behalf, 
 I bid you all that are here ])resent ; 
 and beseech you, for the Lord Jesus 
 Christ's sake, that ye will not re- 
 fuse to come thereto, being so 
 lovingly called and bidden by God 
 himself. Ye know how grievous and 
 unkind a thing it is, when a man 
 hath prepared a rich feast, decked 
 his table with all kind of provision, 
 so that there lacketh nothing but the 
 guests to sit down ; and yet they 
 who are called (without any cause) 
 most unthankfully refuse to come. 
 Which of you in such a case would 
 not be moved ? Who woidd not 
 think a great injury and wrong done 
 unto him? Wherefore, most dearly 
 
 pronouncing such a pardon as God will confirm, if they 
 be what they seem to us. Dean Comber. 
 
 Some explanation may be requisite of the direction 
 here laid down, that they, " who cannot quiet their own 
 consciences," as to their spiritual state, and fitness for 
 the Sacrament, should " open their grief to some dis- 
 creet and learned minister of God's word, that they may 
 receive the benefit of absolution," if they ajipear entitled 
 to it, " together with ghostly," that is, spiritual " coun- 
 sel." Now here it should be observed, that this private 
 absolution is not affirmed to be, as it is by the jjapists, 
 necessary for all ])ersons ; but only advisable for some. 
 It therefore is only a declaration of the minister's judge- 
 ment, a fallible one indeed, but the jn'oper and appointed 
 one, that if the person's case be truly represented, he is 
 pardoned and absolved by om- heavenly Father, who 
 alone can forgive sins. And such credit is only due to 
 this declaration, as in other affairs we allow to author- 
 ized ])rofessors and practitioners of skill and probity ; 
 whose opinions we often think it prudent to ask, and 
 are happy to have in our favour : and God forbid, that 
 we should not gix-e you ours, when we are asked it, 
 with as much fidelity and as much secrecy, as any 
 ministers of any church whatever! Abjj. Seeker. 
 
 P Or, in case he shall see the people negligent to come^ 
 No minister of (jod must say, that he cannot get such 
 a convenient numlier, as the rubrick requires, to com- 
 municate with him as often as he himself is disposed, 
 rmtil he can truly saj', that he has applied to his people 
 more than once, in the words of this E.xhortation fol- 
 lomng ; and until he has begged of God, to touch their 
 hearts with a due sense of their duty and danger, as he 
 promises, and will not fail to do, considering how very 
 much depends on so sacred and saving an ordinance. 
 
 When the tender love of God wiU not prevail with 
 Christians to consider their ways, they will leai'n from 
 
 beloved in Ciirist, take ye good heed, 
 
 lest ye, withdrawing yourselves from 
 
 this holy Supper, ])rovoke God's 
 
 indiirnation atjainst vou. It is an 
 
 1*11 
 easy matter tor a man to .say, 1 will 
 
 not communicate, because I am 
 otherwise hindered with worldly 
 business. But such excuses are 
 not so easily accepted and allowed 
 before God. If any man say, I am 
 a grievous sinner, and therefore am 
 afraid to come : wherefore then do ye 
 not repent and amend? When God 
 calleth you, are ye not ashamed 
 to say ye will not come ? When 
 ye should return to God, will ye 
 excuse yourselves ; and say ye are 
 not ready ? Consider earnestly with 
 yourselves how little such feigned 
 excuses will avail liefore God. They 
 that refused the feast in the Gospel, 
 because they had bought a farm 
 or would try their yokes of oxen, 
 or because they were married, were 
 not so excused, but counted un- 
 worthy of the heavenly feast. I, 
 for my part, shall be ready ; and 
 according to mine Office, I bid you 
 
 Acts xvii. 
 .•i . 31. 
 Gill. vi. 7. 
 Hum. ii. 4. 
 
 JIatt. X\V. 
 
 C, 7, Stc. 
 
 Matt. xxii. 
 2-7. 
 
 Matt. xxiv. 
 
 15 
 
 1 I'et. V. 2. 
 
 this Exhortation what they must expect from the des- 
 pised offers of mercy. Bp. M'ilso7i. 
 
 ' He shall use this Exhortation.'] Though the fre- 
 quency of our commimicating be not exjiressly deter- 
 mined in Scripture, yet it is there supposed we will do 
 it often ; and this latitude was left, to give us ojiportu- 
 nity to shew our lo\-e by coming freely and frequently, 
 not to excuse our negligence or imiiiety in a customary 
 or constant omitting of this duty, which is so heinous 
 and so common a sin in this age ; and so great a scandal 
 in some who call themselves protestants, that there was 
 never more need of this pious and rational Exhortation, 
 than in these days. For it contains, first, a declaration 
 of the time when this Sacrament is to be celebrated. 
 Secondly, an invitation of all that are present to come. 
 'J'hirdly, the arguments to move them to it, being, 1. 
 A plain similitude from the guests who are invited by 
 an ordinary man to a rich and costly feast, and they un- 
 gratefully refuse to come ; for if this would highly dis- 
 please us, much more must our withdrawing from the 
 Sacrament provoke God. Secondly, we argue from the 
 frivolousness of those pretences which men use to excuse 
 their staying away, namely, That they are busy and can- 
 not, or sinful and "dare not come, both of these being \-ery 
 base and very vain in God's sight. Thirdly, We argue 
 froiu the example of those who were in\ited to the 
 feast in the Gospel, and made such kind of excuses, 
 yet were justly condemned. Fourthly, We apply all by 
 shewing, 1. Our care in providing this heavenly feast; 
 •2. Our desire that all may come; 3. Their duty to 
 come in thankfulness for the death of Christ; 4. Their 
 danger if they %\Tlfully stay away, since it is likely they 
 will be severely punished for so great a sin against God, 
 and so foid a scandal to their brethren. Lastly, We 
 conclude with hopes that they will, and prayers that 
 they may, return to a better mind. Dean Comber.
 
 304 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 in the Name of God, I call you 
 2 Cor. V. 20. in Chi'ist's behalf, I exhort you, as 
 ye love your own salvation, that 
 ye will be partakers of this holy 
 Communion. And as the Son of 
 God did vouchsafe to yield up his 
 soul by death upon the Cross for 
 Lukexxii. Your salvation : so it is vour duty 
 to receive the Communion in re- 
 membrance of the sacrifice of his 
 death, as he himself hath com- 
 
 1 Cor. xi. manded : which if ye shall neglect 
 ^^'~''''- to do, consider with yourselves how 
 
 o;reat injury ye do unto God, and 
 
 how sore [junishment hangeth over 
 
 Malt. xxii. your heads for the same ; when ye 
 
 john'vi. 53. wilfully abstain from the Lord's 
 
 Prov. XX. 2. Table, and separate from your bre- 
 
 2 Cor. viii. 11^ r 1 .^l 
 
 12. Jude 19. thren, who come to teed on the 
 
 John vi. 50, banquet of that most heavenly food. 
 
 These things if ye earnestly con- 
 
 ' These tkint/s if ye earnestly consider, &c.] Were the 
 sin and danger of neglecting this holy Sacrament duly 
 considered, there would he fewer offenders in this kind ; 
 and if we have heen guilty therein, whatsoever we have 
 deserved for former omissions, it appears that our estate 
 is not yet desperate, because God hath spared us, and 
 gi\-en us this one invitation more. It is likely we heai'd 
 this exhortation but slightly before, and resolved not 
 to come however : but if we will weigh it seriously now, 
 and beg the help of God's grace, there is no doubt but 
 we may repent and amend. For we are herein courte- 
 ously invited, and earnestly ])ressed to come; our 
 scrujiles are satisfied ; our excuses shewed to be vain ; 
 our duty is made evident; and our peril of neglecting 
 i< full, expressed : so that it should seem that nothing, 
 but ob.stinate purposes to despise reason, and example, 
 the injunctions of God, and the request of our well- 
 wishers, can after this keep us back. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' At the lime of the celebration of the Communion, &c.] 
 Tlie former exhortation is designed to increase the 
 numbers, and this to rectify the dispositions, of the 
 communicants, that they may be not oidy many, but 
 good : the very mysteries of the (ientilcs were \-eiled 
 with many co\'erings to make them more sacred : and 
 in the Greek church, besides all other ]ireparatory 
 matters, the priests in\-ited the worthy, and warned the 
 unworthy, when they were come to tlie Lord's table ; 
 which repeated warning is more necessary in this looser 
 age, and this excellent form is rarely suited to this 
 occasion : for it recommends to us two great and neces- 
 sary duties ; first, the duty of self-examination ; which 
 is, 1. pressed by arguments taken from the divine 
 authority enjoining it, 1 Cor. xi. 2S; from the great 
 benefits which follow the doing it well, and the great 
 sin and danger consecjuent to the doing it ill. 2. It is 
 described exactly by the several parts of it, namely, 
 true repentance, a lively faith, an intire amendment, 
 and a jierfect charity : to all uliich we are exhorted. 
 Secondly, here is recommended the duty of thanks- 
 giving ; 1. Hy way of consideration, .shewing the neces- 
 sity of this duty, and tlic general ground tliereof, 
 namely, for tlie redemption of the world ; withal declar- 
 ing, what reason there is to praise (iod for tliis redemp- 
 tion, considering it in itself; and what cause to ])iaise 
 Ilim for il in this sacrament, which was instituted on 
 
 D 
 
 sider% ye will by God's grace re- 
 turn to a better mind : for the ob- ps. cxix. so, 
 taining whereof we shall not cease Lament, v. 
 to make our humble petitions unto jj'^^ ^^ , 
 Almighty God our heavenly Father. ' *^'"- '^''• 
 
 H At the time of the celebration of the Com- 
 munion^, the Communicants btinfj conve- 
 niently placed' for the receiiing of the holy 
 Sacrament, the Priest shall say this Ex- 
 hortation. 
 
 EARLY beloved in the Lord, see the re- 
 
 ^1 ^ ■ J , i il ft-rences 
 
 ye that mind to come to the •■ when the 
 
 holy Communion of the Body and ^[^"J^''' 
 Blood of our Saviour Christ, must warning." 
 consider how Saint Paul e.xhorteth 
 all persons diligently to try and 
 examine themselves, before they 
 presume to eat of that Bread, and 
 drink of that Cup. For as the 
 benefit is great", if with a true 
 penitent heart and lively faith we 
 
 purpose for this end. 2. I'his duty is directed by way 
 of practice, and we are assisted to do it both with our 
 lips at the holy table, and in our lives by submitting to 
 his will, and keeping his commandments for ever after. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 St. Chrysostom informs us that in the Greek church, 
 when the communicants were conveniently placed, the 
 priest standing in a conspicuous station, and stretching 
 forth his hand and lifting up his voice in the midst of 
 profound silence, invited some, that is, the worthy, and 
 forbade others, the unworthy, toa])proach. In this ex- 
 hortation the minister excites us to two general duties, 
 self-examination and thanksgiving. He states the 
 benefits of receiving the Sacrament worthily, and the 
 danger of receiving it unworthily, lie inforces the 
 duties of true repentance, lively faith, com])lete refor- 
 mation, and perfect charity, in order to our becoming 
 meet partakers of these holy mysteries. He insists, 
 above all things, on the necessity of thanksgiving to 
 God, for the redemption of the world by the death and 
 passion of our Saviour Christ. 'I'lianksgiving is a 
 jirincijial jiart of the eucharistick ban(iuet, and the con- 
 cluding iiaragrajihs of the exhortation furnish us with 
 various considerations, on which our gratitude may 
 c\|iatiate. Shejihird. 
 
 It is much to be desired that this exhortation be 
 read with a serious gi'a\-ity and an aircctionate wai-mtb. 
 Tor nothing siu-cly can more effectuaUy stir up the 
 devotion of the congregati(ni than this admirable dis- 
 course, if it does not suffer in the pronunciation of it. 
 Dr. Bevnet. 
 
 ' — the Communicants being conveniently placed] This 
 seems to have an eye to an old custom, still retained in 
 some country chiu'ches, where the communicants kneel 
 down in rows one behind aiiotlier, and there continue 
 till the minister comes to them. In the (ir.st Comniim 
 Prayer of King Kdward, il is thus ordered, just after 
 thcOn'ertory or sentences; "Then so many as shall be 
 jiartakcrs of the holy Communion shall tarry still in 
 the choir, the men on the one side, and the women on 
 the other side:" where it may be remarked, that 
 separating the men from tlie women, and allotting to 
 each sex a distinct |)laee, was what was \-ery strictly 
 observed in the primitive church. Wheutly. 
 
 " For as the benefit is great, &c.] " The cup of bless-
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 305 
 
 receive that holy Sacrament; (for 
 then we spiritually cat tlie flesh of 
 Christ, and drink his Wood ; then 
 we dwell in Christ, and Christ in 
 us ; we are one with Christ, and 
 Christ with us;) so is the danger 
 great, if we receive the same ini- 
 
 ing which we bless, is it not the communion of the 
 blood of Christ ? The bread which we break, is it not 
 the communion of the body of Christ ?" 1 Cor. x. 10. 
 Now the " dwellinrr of us in Christ, and of (,'hrist in 
 us;" "our being one with Christ, and Christ with us :" 
 are the necessary consequences of this spiritual com- 
 munion of Christ's body and blood, t'or by " our 
 dwelhng in Christ " is meant our continuing in obedi- 
 ence to his laws, and by "Christ's dwelling in us" is 
 meant the continuation of his fa\'ourable ])resence with 
 us. And " by our being one with Christ, anil Christ 
 with us," is meant that in a spiritual sense we are more 
 and more closely rmited to our iSaviour, even as the 
 members of the body are united to the head ; and that 
 we do from Him receive those spiritual influences and 
 gracious assistances, by which our souls are strength- 
 ened and invigorated in hohness. And that these are 
 the necessary consequences of the spu-itual communion 
 of Christ's body and blood needs no proof. Dr. Be?met. 
 As this Sacrament will naturally strengthen us in all 
 good dispositions, we cannot doubt but God will add 
 his blessing to the use of such proper means, especially 
 being appointed means. For since He hath threatened 
 punishment to unworthy receivers, He wiU certainly 
 bestow rewards on worthy ones. Our Saviour hath 
 told us, that " his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is 
 drink indeed," John vi. 55 ; sustenance and refreshment 
 to the souls of men. When He blessed the bread and 
 wine. He undoubtedly prayed, and not in vain, that they 
 might be effectual i'or the good purjjoses, which He 
 designed should be attained by this holy rite. And 
 St. Paul hath told us, if it needs, more expressly, that 
 " the cup, which we bless, is the communion," that is, 
 the communication to us, "of the blood of Christ; and 
 the bread, which we break, of the body of Christ ;" 
 1 Cor. X. 16 : that is, of a saving union with Him, and 
 therefore of the benefits ])rocurcd to us by his death : 
 which are, forgix'eness of our offences; for He hath 
 said, " This is my blood of the New Testament, which 
 is shed for the remission of sins," Matt. xxvi. 28 : in- 
 crease of the gracious influences of the Holy Ghost ; 
 for the apostle hatli said, ))lainly speaking of this ordi- 
 nance, that " we are all made to drink into one Spirit," 
 1 Cor. xii. 13: and everlasting life, for "whoso eateth 
 his flesh, and drinkcth his blood, dwelleth in Christ, 
 and he in him, and he will raise him up at the last day," 
 John vi. 54. 56. Whence a father of the apostolick 
 age, Ignatius, calls the Eucharist " the medicine of 
 immortality; a preservative, that we should not die, 
 but live for ever in Jesus Christ." Ahj). Seeker. 
 
 ' — so is the danijer great, if we receire the same unwor- 
 thily.'] It must be always carefully observed, that the 
 benefits of partaking of this sacrament are to be ex- 
 pected only from partaking wox-thily of it ; " for he 
 that eateth and drinketh unworthily," St. Paul hath 
 told us, " is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord," 
 1 Cor. xi. 27 ; that is, guilty of irreverence towards it, 
 and " eateth and drinketh judgment to himself," ver. 
 29. Our translation indeed hath it, " damnation to 
 himself." lint there is so great danger of this last 
 word being understood here in too strong a sense, that 
 it would be much safer and exacter to translate it, as it 
 
 worthily". For then we are guilty 
 of the Body and Blood of Christ 
 our Saviour)'; we eat and drink our 
 own damnation, not considering 
 the Lord's Body ; we kindle God's 
 wrath against us ; we provoke him 
 to plague us with divers di.seases, 
 
 is often translated elsewhere, and once in a few verses 
 after this passage, and from what follows ought un- 
 deniably to be translated here "judgment" or "cimdcm- 
 nation :" not to certain punishment in another life, but 
 to such marks of God's displeasure as He sees fit ; 
 which will be confined to this world, or extended to 
 the next, as the case requires. For "judgment " is a 
 general term, that signifies any degree of correction or 
 punishment in this life or the next. That which had 
 been incurred by those imworthy receivers, to whom 
 the ap!)stlc wrote, was only correction in the jjresent 
 life. For undoubtedly he told them the worst of their 
 danger, and he tells them of nothing else. The very 
 next words are : " For this cause many are weak and 
 sickly among you, and many sleep," or are dead. 
 Then follows what entirely clears up the matter: "If 
 we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 
 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, 
 that we should not be condemned with the world." 
 The punishment therefore of receiving unworthily will 
 either be extended to another world, or confined to this, 
 according to the degree of the fault : for " receiving 
 unworthily " may, according to the kind and degree of 
 it, be either a very great sin, or comjjaratively a small 
 one : and if we repent sincerely and in time, it will be 
 forgiven in both. But all dangerous kinds and degrees 
 may with ease be avoided, if we only take care to come 
 to the sacrament with proper dis])ositions, and, which 
 will follow of course, to behave at it in a proper manner. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Although it is certain, that by " damnation," in the 
 place above cited, the apostle means sickness and other 
 judgments upon the body : yet it is as certain, that 
 whoever presumes to come to the Lord's table without 
 such an honest and good heart, as shews itself in a 
 wilhngness to forsake all sin, and a conscientious 
 desire and resolution to serve and please God in the 
 general course of a sober, virtuous, and godly life, is 
 liable to eternal damnation, till he rcjicnt of that his 
 presumption, and reform his wicked hfe. But then it 
 must also be remembered, that they, who have not 
 such honest and sincere hearts, are in a state of damna- 
 tion, whether they come to the holy sacrament or not : 
 because the sentence of damnation is not inflicted upon 
 such men, barely for receiving the sacrament unworthilj-, 
 but chiefly for living and dying with corrupt hearts : the 
 guilt whereof is indeed aggravated by the presumption 
 and hyijocrisy of making open vows of obedience with 
 secret resolutions to continue in disobedience. But, as 
 long as the heart of a man is not right in the sight of 
 God, he has nothing to expect but eternal damnation, 
 although he never come to the holy sacrament : and 
 moreover such a heart renders him unfit to serve God 
 with benefit in any other office of religion whatsoever : 
 nay, even makes his prayer " an abomination to the 
 Lord," Prov. xv. 8. Bp. Gibson. 
 
 y — For then we are guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ 
 our Saviour ;] That is, we do in some measure partake 
 of the sins of the Jews, who crucified our blessed Lord, 
 when we irreverently approach and make bold with 
 these holy mysteries, which represent his meritorious 
 death and passion. Dr. Nicholts.
 
 306 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 and sundry kinds of death. Judge 
 therefore yourselves, brethren^, that 
 ye be not judged of the Lord ; re- 
 pent you truly for your sins ))ast ; 
 have a lively and stedfast faith in 
 Christ our Saviour ; amend your 
 lives, and be in perfect charity with 
 all men ; so shall ye be meet par- 
 takers of those holy mysteries. And 
 
 Heb. xiii. 15. above all things ye must give most 
 humble and liearty thanks to God% 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost, for the redemption of the 
 world by the death and passion of 
 our Saviour Christ, both God and 
 
 Phil, ii, s. man ; who did humble himself, even 
 to the death upon the Cross, for 
 us, miserable sinners, who lay in 
 
 Col. i. 12, 13. darkness and the shadow of death ; 
 that he might make us the children 
 
 ' — Judge therefore yourselves, brethren,'] When in this 
 exhortation we are required to "judge ourselves" then, 
 namely, at the time of communicating, this by no 
 means implies, that we need not do it before, but that 
 we should take care it be now perfected. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 » — And above all things ye must gice most humble and 
 hearty thanks to God,'] The meaning is not that faith 
 and repentance are less necessary than thanksgiving ; 
 but that, these lieing supposed to precede, the principal 
 point in the act of communicating is a thankful remem- 
 brance of God's mercy, disposing us to lay hold of it. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Most reasonably doth the priest invite us to praise 
 the Lord with him at this time, and calls on us almost 
 in the very words of St. Paul, Heb. xiii. 15. We ha\'e 
 seen the everlasting love of the Father, the unspeakable 
 kindness of the Son, the incomparable grace of the 
 Holy Ghost, and our own infinite obligations. Let us 
 therefore all join in offering up all possible praise and 
 glory, worshi])ping the holy Trinity «'ith such sincere 
 and hearty thanksgivings, that we may be like the 
 angels, with this only difference, that they openly 
 behold that which we discern l)y faith, but both they 
 and we " rejoice " in it " with joy uns|)cakable anil full 
 of glory." But because, when we have done all wc 
 can, we shall come far short, we must resoh'e, not only 
 to make a few i)raises in this highest part of our devo- 
 tion, but to perpetuate the duty to our lives' end ; 
 striving to imjirint the love of the Lord .lesus so deeply 
 in our minds, that the memory of it may never depart 
 from us, but may dispose us to bless the Lord at all 
 times, in all places, and upon all occasions. And 
 farther, since no jiraiscs of our lips can be suflicient, we 
 are here prescribed another way to make oiu- thanks to 
 be "continual:" namely, by glorifying God in our 
 lives : that is, by resigning up ourselves to the disjiosal 
 of his providence; and by yielding obedience to all his 
 commandments. 'I'hc Kucliarist is but for one liour ; 
 the hymns will soon be over : but by submission and 
 obedience we may glorify our (iod continually and 
 every moment. Dean Comber. 
 
 ^ — all the days of our life. Amen.] We cannot 
 BufTiciently conunend the great care our Church has 
 taken, not only to ])rei)are the hearts of the congrega- 
 tion, but also to drive away unwortliy communicants, 
 by the foreguinj; excellent exhortation, and the following 
 
 of God, and exalt us to everlasting 
 life. And to tlie end that we should 
 alway remember the excetding great 
 love of our Master, and only Saviour, .lohn xv. u. 
 .lesus Christ, thus dying for us, and i'™- ^- '• s- 
 the innumerable benefits which by 
 his precious blood-shedding he hath 
 obtained to ns ; he hath instituted 
 and ordained holy mysteries, as 
 pledges ^f his love, and for a con- 
 tinual remembrance of his death, to 
 our great and endless comfort. To iieb. xin. 15. 
 him therefore, with the Father and 
 the Holy Ghost, let us give (as we 
 are most bounden) continual thanks; 
 submitting ourselves wholly to his 
 holy will and pleasure, and studying 
 to serve him in true holiness and 
 righteousness all the days of our life. 
 Amcii ^. 
 
 address. Certainly if theu- consciences are capable of 
 being wrought ujjon, they cannot but receive a deep 
 impression from these discom-ses. And if their hearts 
 are not fitly disjiosed, if their souls are not in a spiritual 
 hea\-enly frame, it sliould seem impossible for them 
 after such solemn warnings, to ajiproach the holy table. 
 It shotdd be observed also, that during the reading of 
 the exhortation, and the brief address which follows it, 
 the people ought to be employed in a serious attention 
 to them, having their hearts o|)en and ready to be in- 
 fluenced tbereliy, that their de\otion may be enkindled, 
 and accompany every part of the office with all possible 
 ardour and zeal. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 According to our sincerity in devoting ourselves to 
 our Lord, we shall find the jiowerful communication 
 of his good Spirit to us, to unite us closer to Himself. 
 When this outward action declares the inward devo- 
 tion of our hearts, to knit themselves to Him, and to 
 become one spirit with Him, withotit all doubt He will 
 make us feci that He dwells in us by the jjower of his 
 Spirit, to enliven, heJ|), and strengthen us in a Chris- 
 tian course of life. For this "communion" is mutual; 
 and the word |)ri)])crly signifies a participation of 
 something from Ilim, by our joining ourselves to Him. 
 "We dwell in Christ, and Christ in us ; we are made 
 one witli Christ, and Christ with us;" as the words are 
 in this exhortation : and so we may expect all those 
 graces and favours, which he hath received from (iod, 
 to impart to faithful souls : particularly, it is a |)ledge 
 of his divine presence with us, and that He will send 
 his heavenly influence into our hearts. Being knit 
 and joined to Him, as members of his body, we may 
 be assured He will take care of us, as our head. He 
 engages Himself to guide, quicken, refresh, powerfully 
 move and assist us in all well doing. This we may 
 humbly wait for, by virtue of oiu' union with Him. As 
 the evil sjiirit wrought in the children of disoliedience, 
 who were joined to devils by eating of their meat ; so 
 will the Spirit of grace work in those that obey our 
 Lord, being joined to Him by partaking of his table. 
 And for that end wc may come to it; that, being knit 
 still faster to Iliin, we may have a more aliundant 
 communication of his Holy Spirit to us. We may 
 intreat Him to be a constant friend to us ; to make his 
 abode with us ; " so that we may e\'crmore dwell in 
 him, and he in us." He will say "Amen" to it, as
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 no7 
 
 Y 
 
 f Then shall the Priest say' to them that 
 come to rcceire the holy Communion'^, 
 
 E that do truly aiul oariicstly 
 
 repent you of your sins, and 
 
 are in love and charity with your 
 
 iieigldjours, and intend to lead a 
 
 new life, following the commaiul- 
 
 ments of God, and walking' from 
 
 Heb X. 22. henceforth in jiis holy ways ; Draw 
 
 John vi. 53. near with faith % and taite this holy 
 
 well as we : if in the uprightness of our hearts we per- 
 form tliis holy action. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 'Then skull the Priest say &c.] The feast heing now 
 ready, and the guests jirepared with due instructions, 
 the priest, who is the steward of these mysteries, ac- 
 cording to the ancient Liturgies, invites them " to 
 come near with fear and faith." And that God may 
 accejit them, He repeats those graces with which they 
 must be adorned, which are, 1. re)ientaiice, 2. charity, 
 .3. holy purposes, without which they can neither come 
 with faith, receive with comfort, nor dejiart with a 
 blessing. But supposing them to be so adorned, He 
 then in\'ites them to " draw near with faith, &c." shew- 
 ing them what is the first duty to be done, namely, 
 making an humble confession upon their knees. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 "■ — to them that come to receive the holy Communion,'] 
 This rubrick before the invitation stood, as it now does, 
 from 1549 to 1061. During this period, the three pre- 
 ceding exhortations were, or might be, read to the 
 whole congregation, but not to the communicants 
 alone after others had withdrawn. This in\'itation was 
 addressed to those only, who came to receive the Com- 
 munion. When, in l(i0'2, the two former exhortations 
 were appointed to be read " on some Sunday or holy- 
 day before ;" and to the third was ]>refixed this rubrick, 
 " At the time of the celebration of the Communion the 
 communicants being conveniently placed for the re- 
 ceiving of the holy Sacrament, the jiriest shall say this 
 exhortation ;" it became in some degree improper to 
 retain here the words "to them that come to receive 
 the holy Communion." "Then shall the priest say," 
 was all the rubrick that was necessary. 
 
 This invitation consists of three parts ; the qualifica- 
 tions required in those that are invited ; the invitation 
 itself; and a direction to make their confession to Al- 
 mighty God. Invitations similar to this are mentioned 
 in the writings of the fathers, and are found in ancient 
 Liturgies. Shepherd. 
 
 ' — Draw near with faith,] It has been said, that at 
 the delivery of these words it would be a significant 
 and expressive act, for the communicants to approach 
 the Lord's table, and at the confession to place them- 
 selves on their knees at the rails of the chancel. This 
 however can be done only by a small ])art of the com- 
 municants, except there be a \-ery few in number. The 
 expression is therefore to be taken rather in a sjiiritual, 
 than a literal sense, as the words " with faith" seem to 
 determine. Shepherd. 
 
 '1 he drawing near which is here mentioned, cannot 
 well be supposed to relate to the bodily approach of the 
 communicants. For the Church supposes them to be 
 conveniently placed for receiving, before the late ex- 
 hortation was read, as appears from the rubrick pre- 
 fixed to it : and it is notorious that there is no change 
 of ]ilace intended now. The " drawing near " is meant 
 in a sjjiritual sense. It is a drawing near to God in 
 this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving ; a more 
 solemn approach to the divine Majesty ; or entrance. 
 
 Sacrament to your comfort ; and 
 make your lunnble confl^s^ion to Al- 
 miii'lity (iod, meekly knei'linii;- upon 
 your knees '. 
 
 K Then shall this general Cmifessinn be 
 madef, in the name of all those that are 
 minded to rereire the holy Communitm^ by 
 one of the Ministers ; both he and all the 
 people kneeling^ humbly upon their knees, 
 and saying, 
 
 as it were, into liis more immediate presence. And in 
 this sense the phrase is used in Scripture : " Let us 
 draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith," 
 Heb. X. 22. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ' — meekly kneeling upon your knees.] As becomes 
 offenders who sue for their jiardon to the King of 
 kings. Dean Comber. If in all the prayers we make, 
 we should carry ourselves with reverence and sub- 
 mission, surely this must in an especial manner be 
 attended with the most profound humility and devo- 
 tion. Our voice at the same time should be as humble 
 as our gesture ; not clamorous, so as to disturb any, 
 but sober, so as to excite and animate the devotion of 
 others. Archdeacon Yardley. The people are evidently 
 supposed to have been in a [losture different from 
 " kneeling," during the exhortation, " Dearly beloved 
 in the Lord," and the invitation, " Ye that do truly and 
 earnestly repent," which precede the Confession now 
 about to be made. At this time, according to the 
 injunction now delivered by the priest, and according 
 to the rubrick which follows, they, as well as the 
 minister himself, are to " kneel meekly and humbly on 
 their knees." I venture to make this remark, because 
 in se\-eral congregatiims I have observed, that it is a 
 practice for the peojile to kneel during the exhortation 
 and the invitation ; a practice, not only hardly con- 
 sistent with the rubrick, but incorrect also, as I a])])re- 
 hend, in principle ; inasmuch as the posture, in which 
 they receive the exhortation of the minister, should 
 differ from that, in which they join with him in making 
 confession of their sins, or hear from him a declaration 
 of pardon. Edit. 
 
 6 Then shall this general Confession be made,] From 
 the foregoing admonition we proceed immediately to 
 the first thing recommended in it, a penitent confession 
 of our sins : which the ancient church made also on 
 the same occasion. Abp. Seeker. Beside the private 
 confession of the closet, used by all good Christians 
 before they come to the Sacrament, and that made to 
 the priest in special cases of a great doubt or a strong 
 temptation, there was anciently a general prayer for 
 mercy, as St. Chrysostom informs us, used by all the 
 comnumicants when they were come to the altar; and 
 since Christ's sufferings are here remembered, we must 
 own our sins which were the causes of them ; yea, 
 since we hope to have our pardon sealed, we ought 
 first with shame and sorrow to own the transgressions, 
 for his honour who doth so freely remit them : and 
 hereto this excellent form directs us. Dea7i Comber. 
 
 The Church very aptly disposeth confession in this 
 part of the Communion service : for considering that 
 solemn penance, of so laudable practice in the primitive 
 church, is laid aside, and the necessity of auricular 
 confession worthily abolished ; there is good reason 
 some account should be given to the church, and in 
 the church, of our humble acknowledgment of our 
 sins, and hearty contrition for them, as preparatives 
 necessary to the ensuing duty. Ij' Estrange. 
 
 ' — by one of the Ministers ; both he — kneeling] During 
 X 2
 
 308 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 2 c.r. i. 3. ALMIGHTY God \ Tatlier of 
 _£\_ our Lord Jesus Clirist, Maker 
 Gpti. xviii. of all things, Judge of all men ; We 
 acknowledge and bewail our mani- 
 fold sins and wickedness, Which 
 Ps. xxxviii. we, from time to time, most griev- 
 xiiv' \?!^' ously have committed, By thought, 
 Lukexxiii. word, and deed "'i Aaainst thv Divine 
 
 Lam. i 8. 
 
 14'^ ■ ■ wrath and indignation aganist us. 
 fc'r.'^'.'iol'' ^^'e do earnestly repent, And are 
 
 Dan. ix. 7. 
 2 Cor. vii. 
 9. 10. 
 
 Ps. xxxviii. 
 4. 
 
 Majesty, Provoking most justly thy 
 
 heartily sorry for these our mis- 
 doings; The remembrance of them 
 is grievous unto us ; The burden of 
 
 the whole time of the priest's officiating at the Com- 
 munion, he is directed to kneel only thrice : at this 
 confession ; at the Collect before the prayer for conse- 
 cration ; and at the act of receiving. In eveiy other 
 part of the office he is to stand. This was the practice 
 of the ancient church ; and the attitude was probably 
 borrowed from the senice of the temple, where the 
 legal sacrifices were offered by the priest standing. 
 Between the legal and evangelical sacrifices there is 
 the same correspondence that exists between the 
 shadow and the substance. Tlie Christian priest 
 offers uj) the incense of jirayers, praises, and alms ; the 
 oblation of ourselves, our souls and bodies ; and the 
 memorial of the sacrifice of the Lamb slain from the 
 foundation of the world. At the confession, and the 
 Collect before the prayer of consecration, which form 
 no part of those oblations, he kneels. In the former 
 he confesses his own sins, as well as the sins of the 
 people ; and in the latter he acknowledges his and 
 their imworthiness to approach the Lord's table. He 
 receives the Communion kneeling, because that is the 
 posture prescribed by the Church of England to all 
 that communicate. At every other ])art of the service 
 it ajipears to have been the intention of the Church 
 that the priest should stand. L'Estrunge, Shepherd. 
 
 ' Almiyhly God, &c.] The attributes, here selected, 
 clearly set before us the greatness and good.ness of the 
 Lord, and may support our ho])e, and encourage us to 
 ask forgiveness. 1. lie is " Almighty," ever absolute 
 and siipremc ; so that, if lie ])lease, He can forgive with- 
 out controul, and none can reverse his acts of grace. 
 2. lie is the " Father" of our Redeemer; and in Him 
 He loveth us with an evcilasting love, by Him our peace 
 is made, so that through Him we may go with bold- 
 ness to the throne of grace. 3. He is " the Maker of 
 all things," and of us among the rest. Now He hateth 
 nothing that He hath made, for "his mercy is over all 
 bis works ;" wherefore we may have good hopes that 
 He will ]iity and help the work of his own hands. 
 Lastly, He is " the Judge of all men :" let us therefore 
 now make our supplication to Him, for it is yet the 
 time of mercy, .lob ix. I.'); and He is now willing to 
 help them whom his beloved .Son hath redeemed with 
 his precious blood. Dean Cmnher. 
 
 I" — ■ liij thought, vnrd, and deed,"] Although it is 
 impossible to recite here all the i)arliculars in which we 
 have sitmed, yet the church puts our tbouglits into some 
 method for the furtherance of our ])enitentiul recollec- 
 tions : and how could that Ik; better done, than by this 
 brief yet full division, so often found in the ancient 
 Liturgies, and so nuu'h used among the Fathers, direct- 
 ing us to consider of the several sins of our "thoughts," 
 our " word.s," and our " deeds." I'"or .Solomon tells us 
 that for every " secret thought ;" Christ, that for " every 
 
 them is intolerable '. Have mercy ^'?y.- , , 
 upon lis, Have mercy upon us, most Jul) vu. 20, 
 merciful Father; for thy Son ourps. n. i; 
 Lord Jesus Christ's sake, Forgive J,!i"'ii'i.' 3. 
 us all that is past; And srrant diat Lute xv. 21. 
 
 ' , r ^ 1 1 John ii. 12. 
 
 we may ever Iiereatter serve and 
 please thee" In newness of life. To Rom. vi. 4. 
 the honour and glory of thy Name : 
 Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen ". 
 
 H Then shall the Priest" (or the Bishop, being 
 •present,) stand vp, and turning himself to 
 the peojile, pronounce this Absolution^, 
 
 idle word ;" St. Paul, that for " every evil deed," God 
 will bring us into judgment. Let us therefore now 
 prevent that, by considering and judging ourselves. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — The burden of them is intolerable.'] By this phrase 
 we mean not always, that the sorrow, which we that 
 instant feel for them, is extreme; for, though very sin- 
 cere, it may be imperfect in its degree; or, though as 
 perfect, as the natural constitution of our mind and 
 body admits, it may be not very passionate and affect- 
 ing ; or, though it were once so, it may now be mode- 
 rated by a joyful sense of God's mercy to us : but we 
 mean, that the weight, with which our guilt, if not 
 removed, will finally sit heavy on our souls, is un- 
 speakably greater, than we shall be able to bear. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 ° — Andgrant that we may everhereafter serve and please 
 thee, &c.] In the same breath, that we ask for par- 
 don, we must also petition for grace to amend our 
 lives ; or else we affront the holiness of (iod, while we 
 pretend to crave his mercy. He that only desires for- 
 giveness, to be quit of his present fear, is an hypocrite; 
 and doth not hate or grieve for his iniquity, but for the 
 punishment annexed to it : and, when that fear ceaseth, 
 he will be as bad as ever. But, if we ha\-e truly felt the 
 weight of sin, and duly apprehended the misery of 
 having God to be our enemy, we shall l)e desirous to 
 be kept from future sins, as we are to be delivered from 
 our past offences. Dean Comber, 
 
 " — Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.'] This con- 
 fession of sins is conceived in words so ajiposite and 
 jjathetical, that if the repentance of those, who use it, 
 be answerable to the form, it is im])0ssible that it should 
 ever be more hearty and sincere. Wheatly. 
 
 'J"hc Confession was com])osed by the Reformers. 
 The Absolution, which is a benedictory prayer, occurs 
 in the penitentiary of Egbert Archbishop of York, 
 about the year of our Lord 730; and is said to have 
 been composed by I'ope I'ontian, orDamasus. Though 
 it is the form generally found in the more ancient 
 missals of both tlic Roman and other cluu-ches, yet I 
 do not know that it has been so scrupulously retained 
 in any modern Liturgy, as in that of our Church. With 
 the old precatory form whicli is literally translated, we 
 have incorporated an introductory sentence, declaratory 
 of the evangelical promise of pardon and forgiveness. 
 Shepherd. 
 
 " Thin shall the Priest kc] jVfter this confession, the 
 minister, himself one of the sinners, who have joined in 
 it, agreeably to the duty of bis (idicc, assures the i)eo- 
 plc, that "God batli promised forgiveness to all, that 
 turn to him" as they ouglit ; and earnestly ]irays, that 
 they may obtain it, adding exjiress authorities of Seriji- 
 turc to conlu'in their faith and hojic. Al/p. Seeker.
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 309 
 
 Isa Iv. 7. 
 Ezek. xiiii. 
 SO. Jolm iii. 
 l(i, See. 
 
 mercy 
 
 LMIGIITY Uoii, our hea- 
 iilv Fatlicr, vvLo of his great 
 til - - ■ 
 
 roiiuset 
 
 forgiveness 
 
 of 
 
 p — pronounce this Absolution.'] When the discipline 
 of the ancient church was in fcirce, no notorious offender 
 could escape the censures that his sin deserved, nor was 
 he admitted to the Sacrament without a puhlick and 
 solemn absolution upon his repentance. And althouKh 
 this discipline be now (to the ffreat hurt of tlie Chris- 
 tian world) laid aside, yet we are required to judge our 
 own selves, and howe\-er to confess our sins to God 
 with shame and sorron'. And now, lest our guilt 
 should terrify us from coming to this holy table, the 
 ]jriest doth here very ])ro[)erly exercise the pou'er given 
 him Ijy Christ, and pronounces absolution in his name 
 in the form of a prayer, or a benediction. Numb. vi. 
 24 ; which, coming from a person commissioned by 
 Christ for this end, ought to be received with faith and 
 gratitude, and is the only way to quiet the conscience 
 of a poor humble sinner, now that revelations are 
 ceased. Dean Comber. 
 
 The priest is to pronounce this Absolution, because 
 to him, and not to the deacon, it is said at ordination, 
 " Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted :" unless 
 the Bishop be present ; and then, for honour's sake, 
 and in token of his spiritual superiority, this act of 
 authority is reserved for him. Here it is that he, in a 
 peculiar manner, acts as the messenger of the Lord of 
 hosts, as the ambassador of Christ ; and therefore he 
 is ordered to " stand," while he pronounceth it ; and 
 to " tmn himself to the people," because the good news 
 he brings, and the pardon he opens, directly concerns 
 them. ArchUencon i'lirdley. 
 
 There are three several forms of absolution in the 
 Service. The first is that which is used at Morning 
 Prayer. "Almighty God, tlie Father of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, &c. and who hath given po«'er and com- 
 mandment to his ministers to declare and pronounce to 
 his people being penitent, the absolution and remission 
 of their sins : he pardoneth and absolveth." 
 
 The second is used at the Visitation of the Sick. 
 " Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his 
 church to absolve all sinners which truly repent, of his 
 great mercy forgive thee ; and by his authority com- 
 mitted to me, I absolve thee, &c." 
 
 The third is at the Communion. "Almighty God 
 our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath [iro- 
 mised forgiveness of sins to all them, that with hearty 
 repentance and true faith turn unto him, have mercy 
 upon you, pardon and forgive you, &c." 
 
 All these several forms, in sense and virtue, are the 
 same : for as when a prince hath granted a commission 
 to any servant of his, to release out of prison all peni- 
 tent offenders whatsoever, it were all one, in effect, as to 
 the prisoner's discharge, whether this servant says, By 
 vhtue of a commission granted to me, under the prince's 
 hand and seal, which here I shew, I release this prisoner; 
 or thus. The prince who hath given me this commission, 
 he pardons you ; or lastly, The prince pardon and deli- 
 ver you ; the prince then standing by, and confirming 
 the word of his servant : so is it here all one as to the 
 remission of sins in the penitent, whether the priest 
 absolves him after this form : Almighty God, who hath 
 given me and all priests power to pronounce pardon to 
 the penitent, " he pardons you ;" or thus. By virtue of a 
 commission granted to me from God, " I absolve you;" 
 or lastly, " God pardon you," namely, by me his servant 
 according to his promise, " Whose sins ye remit, they 
 are remitted." All these are but several expressions of 
 the same thing, and are effectual to the penitent by 
 
 sins to all tliom tliat with Iiearly re- 
 pentance and true faith turn unto 
 him; Have mercy upon you; parihjii 
 
 virtue of that commission mentioned, St. John xx. 23, 
 " Whose sins ye remit, they are remitted." Which 
 commission, in two of these forms, is expressed, and 
 in the last, namely, that at the Communion, is suffi- 
 ciently iin|ilied and supposed. For the priest is directed 
 in using this form, " to stand up and turn to the ])eo- 
 ple;" (rubrick immediately before it ;) wliieb behavicnir 
 certainly signifies more than a bare prayer for the ]ieo- 
 ple : for if it were only a prayer for the jieople, he 
 should not be directed " to stand and turn to 
 the ])coi)le" when he speaks, but to (iod from the 
 people. This gesture of standing and turning to the 
 people signifies a message of God to the peojile by the 
 mouth of his priest, a part of his ministry of recon- 
 ciliation, a solemn application of pardon to the ])enitent 
 by God's minister, and is in .sense thus much, "Almighty 
 God pardon you by me." Thus the Greek church, 
 from whom this form is borrowed, uses to express it 
 and ex|)lain it : " Almighty (>od pardon you, by me his 
 unworthy servant :" or, "Lord |)ardon him; for thou 
 hast said, Whose sins ye remit, they are remitted :" 
 sometimes expressing, always including, God's com- 
 mission. So then m which form soever of these the 
 Absolution be pronounced, it is in substance the same; 
 an act of authority by virtue of Christ's commission, 
 effectual to remission of sins in the penitent. 
 
 Of all these forms, the last, in the Communion 
 service, was most used in jirimitive times by the 
 Greek and Latin chm-ch ; and scarce any other form 
 was to be found in their rituals, or ecclesiastical 
 history, till about four hundred years since. Bp. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 As to the contents of this Absolution, the priest first 
 reminds the people, that he who is " Almighty" and 
 only can forgive, Mark ii. 7, is also their " heavenly 
 Father, and full of compassion towards them ; yea, like 
 as a father pitieth his own children, even so is the 
 Lord merciful unto them that fear him," Ps. ciii. 13. 
 Secondly he shews that God is not only engaged by his 
 affection, but by his truth also, to deliver them, for 
 "he hath" solemnly "promised," that He will freely 
 forgive and fully be reconciled to all such as unfeignedly 
 grieve for their sins, and wholly cast themselves upon 
 his mercy. The latter part of the Absolution comjjrises 
 every thing which the contrite can need or desire to 
 cheer their hearts. Are they miserable ? Here is 
 " mercy." Are they sinful ? Here is " pardon." Are 
 they liable to punishment? Here is "deliverance." 
 Are they desirous but unable to do good ? Here is 
 " strength and confh-mation." Are they fearful of 
 death and hell ? Here is heaven and everlasting life. 
 And all this asked of God by one, whom He hath 
 commissioned to make this jirayer : so that their only 
 care is, that their repentance be sincere, and then this 
 Absolution shall certainly be confirmed in the high 
 court of heaven, and not one word thereof fall to the 
 ground. Dean Comber. 
 
 It has been observed on the Order for Morning 
 Prayer, page 10, note g, that the Absolution is to be 
 pronounced " by the priest alone," in contradistinction 
 to the people ; it may be here observed, that the rea- 
 sons against the pcojile's pronouncing the Absolution 
 after the ])riest in Morning and Evening Prayer hold 
 still more strongly against their doing it in the Commu- 
 nion service : because the absurdity of their pronounc- 
 mg it here is aggravated with this circumstance, that 
 this is in the express form directed to the people.
 
 310 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 2 Sam. xii. 
 13. 
 
 Numb. vi. 
 22—26. 
 Acts xs. 32. 
 
 and deliver you from all your sins ; 
 confirm and strengthen you in all 
 goodness ; and bring- you to everlast- 
 ing life 
 Lord. Amen 
 
 tlirouofli Jesus Christ our 
 
 1 Then shall the Priest say ', 
 Hear what comfortable words'' our 
 Saviour Christ saith unto all that 
 truly turn to him. 
 
 COM E unto me all that travail 
 and are heavy laden, and I will 
 refresh you. St. Matt. xi. 28. 
 
 So God loved the world, that he 
 giive his only-begotten Son, to the 
 end that all that believe in him 
 
 running thus, " pardon and deliver you from all your 
 sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, &c." 
 Yet here we find too many of the poorer rank, and of 
 the honourable not a few, returning the same jiardon 
 upon the priest, and dispensing it among their neigh- 
 bours. These mistakes are " spots in our feasts of 
 charity," too visible to be passed over without a just 
 reprehension. Dr. Bisse. 
 
 Let every one, with a lowly demeanour and sober joy, 
 aitend to the Absolution. Let no one by any means 
 usurp the peculiar office of the priest, and disturb the 
 congregation by repeating it after him. But let all the 
 people beg of God to confirm what the priest pro- 
 nounces, by adding to it a decent and hearty "Amen." 
 Archdeacon Ynrdley. 
 
 •i Then shall the Priest sny,'] It is so necessary for 
 every one that woulil receive comfort and benefit here, 
 to have a li\'ely faith, and a mind freed from imreason- 
 able doubts and fears, that the church hath chosen 
 these sentences to confirm the faith, and revive the 
 ho])e of poor penitents, and they are those very |iro- 
 mises on which the foregoing Absolution is grounded ; 
 so that unless any doubt of the truth of God's word, 
 they must belie\'e these promises of mercy. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' Hear what comfortable words &c.] These most 
 comfortable words should always be read with great 
 deliberation, that the jieoplc may have time to reflect 
 upon them, and to apply thcui every one to the comfort 
 of his soul ; and to prevent all unreasonable fears and 
 doubts of God's gracious pardon and accejitance. Bp. 
 Wilson. 
 
 * Come unto me all that travail &c.] This gracious 
 invitaticm is the proof of the first assertion in the 
 Absolution : namely, that our [..ord " doth promise for- 
 giveness of sins to all them that with hearty repentance 
 turn unto him." The second assertion, namely, that 
 " .\lmighty (iod will forgive all, that with true faith 
 turn unto him," is confirmed by the next declaration in 
 the words of our blessed Lord, " .So (jod loved the 
 world," &c. Hut, lest any should despair of (iod's 
 mercy, because they have been great sinners, St. I'aul 
 is introduced avouching this excellent truth, tli.at there 
 is mercy for jienitent sinners, liy averring the certainty 
 of it, so th.it it may be received as un<piestionable, and 
 alleging himself as a great and remarkable exam|)le of 
 it. Finally, if any disconsolate ])enitent should yet ask, 
 how can these things be ? the beloved disciple is lirought 
 in to shew, by what means our ])ardon is effected. We 
 have situied indeed against a glorious Majesty who 
 dwells in heaven, whither we cannot come ourselves; 
 
 should not perish, but have everlast- 
 ing life. St. John iii. 16. 
 
 Hear also what Saint Paul .saith. 
 
 This is a true saying, and worthy 
 of all men to be received, That 
 Christ Jesus came into the world to 
 save sinners. 1 Tim. i. 15. 
 
 Hear also what Saint John saith. 
 
 If any man sin, we have an Advo- 
 cate with the Father, Jesus Christ 
 the righteous ; and he is the propitia- 
 tion for our sins. 1 St. Jo/m ii. 1. 
 
 1 After which the Priest shall proceed, 
 saying ', 
 
 Lift up your hearts". 
 
 Lam. iii. 
 41. 
 
 but we ha\-e a friend there, a Mediator to make oiu" 
 peace, an Advocate to plead our cause, who appears in 
 our stead and intercedes for our pardon : an .-Xdvocate, 
 peculiarly styled " the righteous," as being wliolly inno- 
 cent and without exception ; and, above all, one who 
 hath paid our debt, and was Himself that sin-offering 
 and " propitiation," which satisfied the divine justice, 
 and reconciled his Father by the merits of his own 
 precious blood. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' After which the Priest shall proceed, saying, &c.] 
 This sacrament is a feast of joy and thanksgiving : the 
 apostles ate it with gladness of heart, Acts ii. 40 ; and 
 the primitive Christians did not think fit to receive 
 upon any day of humiliation, because they were to 
 rejoice in this feast, '^^'herefore the nature of the 
 Eucharist rerpiires some acts of praise and gratitude : 
 and this is a very fit ])lace for them, since we ha\-e now 
 cleared our consciences by confession, and our hopes 
 are raised by the former comfortable assurances of our 
 pardon : now therefore the priest admonishes us to 
 praise God in the resjionses ; gives the reason of it in 
 the prefaces ; and joins with us in the doing of it in 
 the trisagium. Dean Comber. 
 
 After we ha^■e exercised our charity, repentance, and 
 faith, the next ])art of the office is thanksgiving, which 
 is so considerable a ])art of our present duty, that it 
 hath given name to the whole, and caused it to be 
 called the Kucharist, or " s.acrifice of praise." And here 
 we begin with the lauds and anthem, wliich, together 
 with most of the remaining part of the office, are purely 
 primitive, near as old as Christianity itself, being to be 
 foimd almost verbatim amongst the ancient writers. 
 lla\ing tlierefore exercised our faith u])on the fore- 
 going sentences, and so got above this world, we are 
 now ready to go into the other, and to join with the 
 glorified saints and angels, in jn'aising and adoring 
 that (iod who hath done so great things for us. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 The versicles and the trisagium were so anciently, 
 and so universally, and with such little variation ad- 
 mitted into the Litm-gies of botli the I'',astern and 
 Western churches, that some have, iu>t without ap- 
 parent justice, concluded them to be forms received 
 from the a|)ostles themselves. However this may he, 
 those jiarts of the service are entitled to our admir.ation, 
 by their own intrinsick excellence, by that genuine 
 spirit of Christian ]iicty which they breathe, not less 
 than by their high anticpiity, and general reeepticm. 
 Dean Comber, Shrjiherd. 
 
 LiJI 11/} your hearts. &c.] Our hearts were i)rcased 
 "i guilt and fear, In 
 
 down with gii 
 
 but now we ha\c searched
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 311 
 
 Thess. V 
 16. 
 
 Ps. \TL\: 1 ; Ansiocr. We lift tliem up unto the 
 xxvii. s. Lord. 
 
 Priest. Let us give thanks" unto 
 our Lord God. 
 Col. ii. 6, 7. Answer. It is meet and ritrht so to 
 
 Ps. XXXIV. 1. . " 
 
 3; Ixxxi. 1 ; 00. 
 xcv. 1 : 
 xcvi. 1. 
 
 % Then shall the Priest turn to the Lord s 
 Table, and say, 
 
 IT is very meet, right y, and our 
 bounden duty, tiiat we should 
 Eph V. 20. at all times, and in all places, give 
 thanks unto thee, O 
 
 These words {Uo\y L ,,^1 JJ^ly l.'ather. 
 
 Father] WM.^/ be omit- . , . , •',-, 
 
 ted on Trinity Sun- Almighty, Lvcrlast- 
 
 *^' ing God. 
 
 1[ Here shall follow the Proper Preface, ac- 
 cording to the time, if there be any sjje- 
 
 and tried our ways, and turned again to the Lord : we 
 are enjoined to lift up our liearts, Lam. iii. 40, 41 . And 
 hence all the Liturgies in the world have this exhorta- 
 tion ; and the most ancient of the fathers expound it, 
 as a seasonahle admonition to take off our minds from 
 all worldly thoughts, and fix them tipon the mystery 
 now in hand ; and as a just command, to lift up our 
 souls above all hase fear, to consider the goodness of 
 Him that hath taken our hea\-y load from us. And the 
 people do comply with this reasonable injimction, and 
 assure their pastor that they do now actually lift up 
 their hearts unto the Lord, Ps. xxv. I , and they must 
 be careful that they not only say these words, but do 
 the thing ; and now, casting off all thoughts of the 
 world, that they turn their mind towards God only. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 These versicles are called by the ancients. " Sursnm 
 Corda," from the two first words thereof. They are of 
 very great antiquity in the church. St. Cyprian in his 
 time says, that the priest prepared the minds of the 
 faithful by saying, " Sursum Corda," " Lift up your 
 hearts :" and the people made answer, " Haberaus ad 
 Dominum," signifying, " We lift them up unto the 
 Lord." The same form is mentioned by St. Cyril of 
 Jerusalem, and by St. Chrysostom. Dr. Nictiolls. 
 
 These \vords with the answers, and the substance of 
 all that follows constantly, as far as, " Glory be to thee, 
 (_) Lord most high," ajjpear to have been used in the 
 Communion ser\nce more than 1 500 years ago ; and 
 might probably descend from the apostolick times. 
 Abf). Seeker. 
 
 ' Ltt lis give thanks &c.] AVhen the priest finds the 
 communicants' hearts thus fixed upon the thoughts of 
 the divine goodness, and elevated therewith, he doth, in 
 the words of primitive antiquity, taken at first from the 
 Psalms, and ever since retained in the churches of the 
 East and West, exhort them to join with him in eucha- 
 rist and thanksgiving, for the mercy of absolution now 
 received, and for the comfortable feast they are going 
 to partake of. And the people being convinced that 
 God justly deserves these praises, and that they are 
 highly obliged to give them to Him, do answer, that it 
 is i-ery fit and very just so to do. And none, who is 
 truly sensible of God's goodness, can forbear blessing 
 Him for it in so great an occasion as this. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 '■ It is reiy meet, right, &c.] When all are agreed, in 
 the responses, to join in praising God, the priest, by 
 this general oreface, still the words of ]jious antiquity. 
 
 cinlly appointed: or else immediately shall 
 follow, 
 
 r n II E II E FOR E with Angels i.a. vi. s. 
 X and Archangels'-, and with all '"'"•'^•'• 
 the company of heaven, we laud and 
 magnify thy glorious Name; ever- 
 more ])raising thee, and saying, Holy, 
 holy, holy. Lord God of hosts, hea- jtr. v. i4. 
 von and earth are full of thy glory : 
 Glory be to thee, O Lord most high. Ps. xcH. i. 
 Amen. 
 
 Proper Prefaces^. 
 
 Upon Christmas-day, and seven clays 
 
 after. 
 
 ECAUSE thou didst give 
 Jesus Christ thine only Son to 
 be born as at this time for us; who, j„^i,n'I li 
 
 gives a general reason of this duty, and on great 
 festivals adds jirojier prefaces, containing special rea- 
 sons for our thanksgiving on those special occasions : 
 and now he begins his sacrifice of praise, he turns from 
 the people (to whom he was speaking before) unto God, 
 and addresses himself to Him. professing and declaring, 
 that "it is meet and right," fit and just in itself, " and 
 our bounden duty," who have received so many and 
 great favours, " that we should " continually remember 
 them, "and at all times" whenever we have leism-e, 
 "and in all |)laces" where\-er we be, in publick or 
 private, that we should " give thanks " and jiraise 
 " unto thee, O Lord," for thou art to us a most gracious 
 and "holy Father," and in thyself an "almighty and 
 everlasting God," whose mercies have no measure nor 
 no end. Dean Comber. 
 
 '■ Therefore with Angels and Archangels. &c.] The 
 prophet Isaiah heard that hymn, mth which the angels, 
 cherubins and serajihins, praised God in heaven, Isa. 
 vi. 3; whicli, because the word "holy" is thrice re- 
 peated in it, was by the Greeks called Trisagium ; and 
 because the primitive Church believed the angels were 
 present in Cfiristian assemblies, 1 Cor. xi. 10; and that 
 they desired especially to look into these mysteries, 
 1 Pet. i. 12; considering also that the "thrice holy" 
 plainly declares the Trinity, the ])eculiar doctrine of 
 the Christians ; therefore they did, in the \'ery first 
 ages, take this hymn into the office for the Sacrament, 
 believing it tit for angels and men to join in this 
 heavenly song, over the memorial of our redemption. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 This hymn expressly and almost to a syllable agrees 
 with that in the Gregorian service, in St. Chrysostom's 
 liturgy, and before them in the Constitutions : the com- 
 position is most excellent, wherein the celestial choir 
 are drawn into concert with the Church, joining as a 
 chorus in the words of the people. L' Estrange. 
 
 It was long since ordained, namely, in the year 450, 
 that this hymn should be used eveiy day. But surely 
 it is most proper for this blessed sacrament, that as 
 every Person in the Trinity concurred for our redemp- 
 tion, so every one may be adored in the memorial 
 thereof. The Father is " Holy," who gave us such a 
 Saviom' ; the Son is " Holy," who effected this salva- 
 tion ; and the Spirit is " Holy," who sanctifieth us by 
 vu-tue thereof; and yet these three are one Lord, to 
 whom we must now with the most fervent gratitude 
 offer up the sacritice of thanksgiving, ^^'h;ch way in- 
 deed can we look, or what can we think upon, that
 
 312 
 
 THE COiSIMUNION. 
 
 by the operation of the Holy Ghost, 
 
 was made very man of the substance 
 
 Seethe of the \'ir!i!a Mary his mother: and 
 
 Apostles I . , ~ r • 1 
 
 Creed. that witliout spot 01 SHI, to make us 
 
 2Cor. V. 21. clean from all sin. Therefore with 
 
 Anjrels, &;c. 
 
 B 
 
 Upon Easter-day, and seven days 
 after. 
 
 U T chiefly are we bound to 
 praise thee for the glorious Re- 
 surrection of thy Son Jesus Christ 
 our Lord : for he is the very Pas- 
 johni 29 ^^^^^ Lamb, which was offered for 
 Heb. is. 28. us, aiul hath taken away the sin of 
 the world; who by his death hath 
 
 Heb. ii. 14, destroyed death, and by his rising- 
 15. 1 Cu' •■ ■•' ■ • - •' - '^ 
 
 XV. 55—5 
 
 to life again hath restored to us 
 
 Angels, §'c. 
 
 Upon Ascension-day, and seven days 
 after. 
 
 THROUGH thy most dearly 
 beloved Son Jesus Christ our 
 
 doth not declare how great and glorious their Creator 
 and Preser^■er is ? And how can we then refrain from 
 gi\'ing glory also unto the Lord most high, in his 
 nature most holy, in all his works gloiious .' Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 " Proper Prefaces?^ The decay of devotion let fall 
 the a]iostolical and pvimitive use of daily and weekly 
 communions, and the people in the later ages did not 
 receive hut at the greater festivals ; upon which custom 
 there were added to the general preface mentioned 
 before some special prefaces relating to the peculiai' 
 mercy of that feast on which they did communicate, the 
 Church thinking it fit, that, since e\'ery festi\al was 
 instituted to remember some great mercy, therefore 
 they who received on such a day, besides the general 
 praises offered for all God's mercies, should at the 
 Lord's table make a si)ecial memorial of the mercy 
 proper to that festival : and this seemed so rational to 
 our reformers, that they ha\-e retained those |)roper 
 l)refaccs which relate to Christmas, Kaster, Ascension- 
 day, Whit-sunday, and Trinity-sunday, so as to jiraise 
 (jod for the mercies of Christ's birth, resurrection, and 
 ascension, for the sending the Holy Ghost, and for the 
 true faitli of the lioly Trinity. Dean Comber. 
 
 Our Lord Himself, before He brake the bread and 
 distributed it, gave thanks ; and the Church has 
 thought fit to do the same thing. But beciuise our 
 Lord has not prescribed any set form for this, but used 
 one agreeable to the thing and tlie time; the (Jhurcli 
 therefore, as matters and occasion recpiired, has accord- 
 ingly adapted peculiar forms of imiyer and thanks- 
 giving, suited, as St. .\ugustin says, to the diversity of 
 festival days, in which different benefits arc comme- 
 morated. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 ( )n the greater festivals there are proper prefaces 
 aiijjointed, wliich are also to be reiieated, in case there 
 be a Communion, for seven diivs after the festivals 
 themselves; (excepting that for \\ hit-stmday, which is 
 to be repeated only six days after, because 'I'rinity- 
 bunduy, which is the seven! Ii, hath a preface peculiar 
 
 Lord ; who after his most glorious 
 
 Resurrection manifestly appeared to 
 
 all his Apostles, and in their sight Luke xxW. 
 
 ascended up into heaven to prepare ^"'''' 
 
 a place for us ; that where he is, 
 
 thither we might also ascend, and 
 
 reign with him in glory. Therefore johnxw. 2, 
 
 with Angels, cj-c. ^ Ti^. ii. ,2. 
 
 Col. iii. 4. 
 
 Upon Whit-sunday, and six days 
 after. 
 
 THROUGH Jesus Christ our 
 Lord ; according to whose 
 most true promise, the Holy Ghost 
 came down as at this time from 
 heaven with a sudden great sound, 
 as it had been a mighty wind, in 
 the likeness of fiery tongues, light- Acts u. 1—4. 
 ing upon the Apostles, to teach 
 them, and to lead them to all truth ; joim xvi. u. 
 giving them both the gift of divers 
 languages, and also boldness with Phii. i. 20. 
 fervent zeal constantly to preach the 
 Gospel unto all nations ; whereby we Rom. x. is. 
 have been brought out of darkness 
 
 to itself;) to the end that the mercies may be the 
 better remembered l)y often repetition, and also that 
 all the ])eople (who in most places cannot communicate 
 all in one day) may have other opjiortunities, within 
 those eight days, to join in praising God for such great 
 blessings. 
 
 2. The reason of the Church's lengthening out these 
 high feasts for several days is plain : the subject-matter 
 of them is of so high a natm-e, and so nearly concerns 
 our salvation, that one day n-ould be too little to medi- 
 tate U])on them, and praise God for them as we ought. 
 A bodily deliverance may justly require one day of 
 thanksgiving and joy : but the deliverance of the soul 
 by the blessings commemorated on those times, de- 
 serves a much longer time of praise and acknowledg- 
 ment. Since therefore it would he injurious to Chris- 
 tians to have their joy and thankfulness for such 
 mercies confined to one day; the Church, ujion the 
 times ^^■hen these imspeid<able blessings were wrought 
 for US, invites us. by her most seasomdile commands 
 and counsels, to fill our liearts with joy and thankful- 
 ness, and let them overflow eight days together. 
 
 3. The reason of their being fixed to eight days, is 
 taken from tlie jn-actice of the Jews, who by God's ap- 
 ])ointment observed their greater festi\'als, some of 
 them for seven, and one, namely, the feast of taber- 
 nacles, for eight days. And therefore the primitive 
 church, thinking that the obscrvaticm of Christian fes- 
 tivals (of whit'h the Jewish feasts were only ty|)es and 
 shadows') ought not to come sliort of thein, lengthened 
 out their higher feasts to eight days. Bp. Sjtarrow, 
 fVfiml/ij. 
 
 These prefaces are veiy ancient : though there were 
 some of them, as they stood in the Latin service, of 
 later date. I"or as there are ten in that aenicc, wliere- 
 of tlie last, concerning the \'irgin Mary, was added by 
 l'o])e Urban, lOD.'i; so it follows that the rest must be 
 of a more considerable aiiti(|uity. Our Church has 
 only retained five, and those upon (he iiriiicipal festivals 
 of the year, which relate only to the I'ersons of the
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Min 
 
 and error into tlie clear liii;ht and 
 2Cor. iv.5,c. tnie knowledj^c of tliee, and of tiiy 
 Son Jesus Christ. Therefore with 
 Angels, Sj-c. 
 
 Upon the Feast o/" Trinity onlt/. 
 
 See Hie '\1t7' ^ ^ ^'"'' °"® God, One Lord ; 
 
 A.i,a,,:.Man yy j^^j ^^^ ^^,y Person, but 
 
 three Persons in one Substance. 
 For that which we believe of the 
 glory of the Father, the same we 
 believe of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost, without any difference or 
 inequality. Therefore with Angels, 
 Sfc. 
 
 H ylfier each of which Prefaces'" shall 
 immediately be sung or said, 
 
 THEREFORE with Angels 
 and Archangels, and with all 
 the company of heaven, we laud and 
 magnify thy glorious Name ; ever- 
 more praising thee, and saying. 
 Holy, holy, holy. Lord God of hosts, 
 heaven and earth are full of thy 
 
 ever-blessed Trinity, and not to any saint. Dr. Ni- 
 cholls. 
 
 ^ After each of which Prefaces &c.] The proper pre- 
 faces, or those forms by which thanks were given to 
 God, are always concluded witli the trisagium, the 
 triumphal, the cherubical hymn, for so it is styled in 
 all the ancient Liturgies. Which because it contains the 
 Eucharist, and does that, which oiu- Lord did, before 
 the distribution and reception, therefore the Church 
 would by no means have it neglected. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 ' Then shall the Priest, kneeling down &c.] The 
 nearer we come to God, and to these holy mysteries, tlie 
 greater reverence we ought to e.ijiress : for since it is out 
 of God's mere grace and goodness, that we have the 
 honour to approach his table ; it is at least our duty to 
 acknowledge it to be a free and undeserved favour, 
 agreeing rather to the mercy of the giver than to the de- 
 serts of the receivers. And therefore, lest our exultations 
 should savour of too much confidence, we now allay 
 them with this act of humility, wliich the priest offers 
 up " in the name of aU them that receive the Commu- 
 nion ;" therein excusing his own and the people's un- 
 worthiness, in words taken from the most ancient 
 Liturgies. Dean Comber, Wheutly. 
 
 This address the priest, kneeling down at the Lord's 
 table, offers up in the name of all them that shall receive 
 the Commimion. In ancient Liturgies we meet with 
 prayers resemliling this. Thus in the Liturgies ascribed 
 to St. James, " we come to this divine mystery, un- 
 worthy indeed, but relying on thy goodness;" and 
 again, " we trust not in our own righteousness, but in 
 thy mercy." But in no form extant can the humble 
 and devout Christian so fuUy, as in this, express his 
 sense of his own unworthiness, and pray the gracious 
 Father of all mankind to have compassion upon his 
 infirmities, to relieve his necessities, and to fulfil his 
 desires. Dean Comber, Shepherd. 
 
 When the priest acknowledges, in the following 
 humble form, his own and the communicants' unwor- 
 thiness, and God's unmerited kindness in admitting 
 
 glory : Glory be to tlioe, O Lord 
 most high. Amen. 
 
 t Tlien shall the Priest, kneeling down' ol 
 the Lord's Table, say in the name of all 
 them that shall receive the Communion this 
 Prayer following. 
 
 WE do not presume to come Dan ix. is. 
 to this thy Table, O merciful ^°'"' "'■ "' 
 Lord, trusting in our own righteous- 
 ness, but in thy manifold and great 
 mercies. We are not worthy so Cen. xxxii. 
 much as to gather up the crumbs ^1;^^ xiv. lo. 
 under thy Table. But thou art the Matt. xv. 27. 
 same Lord, whose property is always Ps. c 5. 
 to have mercy : Grant us therefore, 
 gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of 
 thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to 
 drink his blood, that our sinful bodies 
 may be made clean by his body, and 
 our souls washed through his most 
 precious blood, and that we may 
 evermore dwell in him, and he in us. neb. xii. 2s. 
 
 4,„„„ Kom- vii. 18. 
 
 Amen. j„,,n ,.;, 
 
 53 5g 
 
 H When the Priest, standing before the Ta- 
 ble^, hath so ordered the Bread and Wine, 
 
 them to his table; each person should make this act of 
 humility his own by attending to it most devoutly. Bp. 
 Wilson. 
 
 In this prayer we again solemnly acknowledge our 
 unworthiness, as all the old Liturgies did, though not so 
 fully ; and pray, " that our sinful bodies may be made 
 clean by Christ's body, and our souls washed through 
 his most precious blood ;" which expressions have been 
 censured, as if they implied, that each of these, at least 
 the latter of them, his blood, had some peculiar efficacy, 
 of which the other was destitute. But this cannot be 
 intended : because very soon after, the " preservation of 
 our bodies and souls" also "unto everlasting life" is 
 ascribed separately, both to his body and to his blood, 
 as it is in Scripture also, Heb. x. 10. 19. Therefore 
 the distinction, made here, was only meant for some 
 kind of elegance of speech ; and it much resembles what 
 St. Clement the Roman, whom St. Paid intitles hil 
 " fellow-labourer," Phil. iv. 3, hath said, in his Epistle 
 to the Corinthians, that " Clu-ist gave his flesh for our 
 flesh, and his soul for our souls." Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ■' When the Priest, standing before the Table, &c.] If 
 it be asked, whether the priest is to say this prayer 
 standing before the table, or at the north-end of it ; I 
 answer, at the north end of it : for, according to the 
 rules of grammar, the pai'ticiple "standing" must refer 
 to the verb " ordered," and not to the verb " say." So 
 that whUst the jiriest is " ordering the bread and wine," 
 he is to stand before the table : but when he says the 
 prayer, he is to stand so as " that he may with the 
 more readiness and decency break the bread before the 
 people," which must be on the north-side. For if he 
 stood "before" the table, his body would hinder the 
 people from seeing : so that he must not stand there ; 
 and consequently he must stand on the north-side; 
 there being, in our present rubrick, no other place men- 
 tioned for performing any part of this office. In the 
 Romish chiuch indeed they always stand " before" the 
 altar during the time of consecration : in order to pre- 
 vent the people from being eye-witnesses of their opera-
 
 314 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 thai he may with the more readiness and 
 decency break the Bread be/ore the people, 
 and take the Cup into his hands, he shall 
 say the Prayer of Consecration', as fol- 
 loiveth. 
 
 A"-. 
 
 LMIGHTY God, our 
 
 iK-a- 
 
 ■enly Father, who of thy tender 
 
 mercy didst give thine only Son 
 
 Jesus Christ to suffer death 
 
 tion in -.vorking their pretended miracle : and in the 
 Greek church tliey shut the chancel door, or at least 
 draw a veil or curtain before it, I suppose, u]ion the 
 same account. But our Church, that pretends no such 
 miracle, enjoins, we see, the direct contrary to tliis, by 
 ordering the priest so " to order the bread and wine, 
 that he may with the more readiness and decency break 
 the bread, and take the cup into his hands, before the 
 peo|)le." And with this view, it is probable, the Scotch 
 Liturgy ordered, that " during the time of consecration 
 the presbyter should stand at such a part of the holy 
 table, where he may with the more ease and decency use 
 both his hands." Wheutly. 
 
 The consecration of the elements being always es- 
 teemed an act of authority, and standing being there- 
 fore a more projier posture, as well as a more commodious 
 one for this purpose, the priest is here directed to stand. 
 Collis. See page 35, note a. 
 
 ' ■ — he shall say the Prayer of Consecration,'] We do 
 not eat our common food, without first praying for a 
 blessing on it ; which pious custom is so universal, that 
 it is certainly a piece of natural religion ; how much 
 more then are we obliged, before we eat and drink this 
 bread and wine, which Christ designed to set forth the 
 mystery of his death, to consecrate it and set it apart by 
 a solemn prayer; especially since Christ Himself in the 
 institution of this sacred ordinance, while He was teach- 
 ing his apostles how to celebrate it, did use a form of 
 blessing over it. Matt. xxvi. 26 ; which St. Paul calls 
 "giving thanks," 1 Cor. xi. 24. Wherefore all churches 
 in the world from the apostles' days have used such a 
 form, the ancient and essential jiart of which is the 
 words of our Saviour's institution ; fur, since he makes 
 this sacramental cliange, it hath liccn thought fit by all 
 churches to keep his own words, which being pro- 
 nounced by a lawful priest, do jirojierly make the con- 
 secrati(m ; wherefore our Church hath cut off all the later 
 s>i])erstitious additions, by which the Roman church 
 hath corrupted this form, and given \is a prayer of con- 
 secration, consisting only of the words of our Sa\iour's 
 institution, and a proper prayer to introduce it. The first 
 part is a jiruyer directed ti) " Almighty (iod our heavenly 
 Father," commemorating his mercy in giving his Son 
 to die for us, and the all-suflicient merit of his death, 
 together with his command for our remembering it in 
 this sacrament : and on these grounds desiring, that, 
 since we obey Him in thus celebrating it, we may therein 
 receive (Christ's body and blood. 'Jlie second part is 
 the repetition of the words and actions of our Lord at 
 the institution, concerning both the time and the man- 
 ner of its institution. Dean Comber. 
 
 If it be here demanded, to what words the consecra- 
 tion of the elements ought to be ascribed ; I answer, to 
 the prayer of the faithful od'ercd by the jiriest, and to 
 the words of institution repeated by him. This was the 
 sense of the ancient church of Christ, which used them 
 both in their cucharistical offices; and never held, that 
 tlie elements were changed from their common to a 
 more sublime use and cliicacy by the bare re])ea1ing of 
 the words, " This is my body," and " This is my blood," 
 as the Papists absurdly hold. To l)ring uliout this 
 change must be the work of the Holy (Jliosl: and 
 tlicriiipon it is reijuisite, that we should jiray to (iod, 
 to eu(hu; tli(r elements witli this life-giving virtue. Now 
 the words of institution can by no means be called a 
 
 prayer : they were addressed by our Saviour to his dis- 
 ciples, and not to God ; to them He said, "Take and 
 eat." When we use them, they are historical, recount- 
 ing what our Lord said and did, when He ordained this 
 sacrament. And though when He said, " This is my 
 body, this is my blood," these words ettectually made 
 them so, shewing that it was his will and pleasure that 
 they should be taken as his sacramental body and 
 blood ; though the virtue of those words, once spoken 
 by Christ, doth still operate towards making the bread 
 and wine his body and blood ; yet, as now used and 
 spoken by the priest, they do not contain in them 
 any such power, imless they be joined with prayer to 
 God. 
 
 Our Lord Himself did, besides pronouncing them, 
 give thanks and bless the elements. Thus om- Church 
 uses prayer, as weU as the words of institution ; and 
 doth not attribute the consecration to the one without 
 the other. " If the consecrated bread or wine be all 
 S])ent, before all have communicated, the priest," it is 
 true, is ordered by the rubrick to " consecrate more," 
 b)' repeating only the words of institution. But the 
 virtue of the prayer, which the (Jhurch hath last made, 
 is to be understood as concurring therewith : and this 
 is only a jiarticular application to these jjarticular ele- 
 ments. Hence comes the projn-iety of saying " Amen" 
 at the end of those words : which would not be so pro- 
 perly added, unless it referred back to the preceding 
 ])etitions. And that this is the sense of the Church of 
 England is farther plain, in that she in her rubrick calls 
 this " the prayer of consecration," in which the words 
 of institution are contained ; and it is addressed to 
 Almighty God, &c., whereas the words of Christ were 
 not supplicatory to God, but declaratory to his dis- 
 ciples. 
 
 After tlie same manner, in the " Office of Publick 
 Baptism," in imitation of the custom of the ancient 
 Christians, who dedicated the baptismal water to the 
 holy and spiritual use, for which it was designed, our 
 Church not only repeats the words of institution of that 
 other sacrament; but likewise adds a solemn l)rayer, 
 that God would " sanctify the water to the mystical 
 washing away of sin." And. as in that sacrament she 
 joins the jirayer of the faithful to the words of Clu-ist, 
 so in the sacrament of the altar she thinks them both 
 necessary to complete the consecration. Archdeacon 
 Ynrdley. 
 
 A ]]rayer of consecration, or setting apart the bread 
 and w'mv. to the sacred ]mu'])osc, in which they are about 
 to be employed, hath been used for that end at least 
 IGOO years. And the mention, which oin-s makes of the 
 institution of the Lord's supjier, from the words, " wlio 
 in the same night that h(^ was betrayed," to the conclu- 
 sion, is in every old liturgy in the world. The Roman- 
 ists have put into their prayer of consecration names of 
 saints, and commemorations of tlic dead, which we have 
 thrown out. And indeed we have left nothing that so 
 much as needs explaining : unless it may be u.seful to 
 observe, that our Saviour's "one oblation of himself" 
 is opposed to the various kinds of obliitions under the 
 law ; and, " once ofl'ered," to the continual rciu'tition of 
 them : though probably a i'urther view was, to intimate, 
 that he is not, as the Papists pretend, really sacrificed 
 anew in this holy ordinance. Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 The death of Christ, if we regard the persons for
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 3U 
 
 John iii. 16. 
 Ri>m. viii. 
 
 Hell. X. 
 12—11. 
 
 I.uke xxii. 
 
 la 
 
 1 Cor. xi. 
 
 25, 26. 
 
 the cross for our redemption ; wlio 
 made there (Ity his one ohiation of 
 himself once offered) a full, perfect, 
 and sufficient sacrifice, ohiation, and 
 .satisfaction, for the sins of the wliole 
 world ; and did institute, and in his 
 holy Gospel command us to con- 
 tinue, a perpetual memory' of that 
 his precious death, until his cominir 
 aj^ain ; Hear us, () merciful Father, 
 we most humbly beseech thee ; and 
 
 whom it was iinrJergone, is a "sacrifice;" if we regard 
 Him wlio offered it, it is a free " oblation ;" if we con- 
 sider I lim to whom it was offered, it is a " satisfaction ;" 
 and, in every one of these respects, it is "full, jierfect, 
 and sufficient :" or, particularly, it is a " full satisfac- 
 tion," a " perfect oblation," and a " sufficient sacrifice ;" 
 not, like the legal offerings, for the sins of one kind, or 
 the offences of one nation or of one person, but for the 
 sins of all the world. Let none therefore mistake ; or 
 imagine we are about to sacrifice Christ again, as the 
 Roman church falsely tearhcth ; for that is not only 
 needless and impossible, but a plain contradiction to 
 St. Paul, who affii-ms, that Jesus was offered only 
 "once," Heb. ix. 2(3; x. 10. 12: and by that "one 
 oblation he hath perfected for ever them that are sanc- 
 tified," ver. 14, so that there needs " no more offering 
 for sin," ver. 18. Dean Cnmber. 
 
 From these passages of the Epistles to the Hebrews 
 it is jUain that Christ can be no more offered, as the 
 doctors and ])riests of the Roman imrty fancy it to be, 
 vainly thinking that, every time they say mass, they 
 offer up and sacrifice Christ anew, as pro])erly and 
 truly as He offered up Himself in his sacrifice upon the 
 cross. And this is one of the ])oints of doctrine, and 
 the chief one, whereof the ])0])ish mass consisteth ; 
 abrogated and reformed here by the Church of Eng- 
 land, according to the express word of God. Bp. 
 Overall. 
 
 ' — a perpetual memorp'] Tliat is, a memorial or 
 monumental record. Todd. 
 
 s — c/rant that we receiving these thy creatures &c ] 
 AVe behold " the creatures of bread and wine," and we 
 know them to be as yet no more. But we desire they 
 may be made to us "the body and blood of Christ;" 
 that, although they remain in substance what they 
 were, yet to the worthy receiver they may be something 
 far more excellent, which nothing can effect but that 
 Word, which made all things out of nothing. We are 
 not now begging for the meat that perisheth, but for 
 that which endureth to everlasting life, John vi. 27 : 
 yet we ought to hope He will grant us this request, be- 
 cause we are about to partake of this ordinance, both 
 in a right manner, as Christ did institute it, and to a 
 right end, for a memorial of his death. We earnestly 
 desire to be partakers of our Sa\'iour, and in this 
 manner He hath chosen to communicate Himself: 
 therefore we may cheerfully request, that by receiving 
 this bread and wine, which He hath chosen, we may 
 become " jiartakers of his most blessed body and 
 blood :" for St. Paul assures us, the bread thus blessed 
 is the communion or communication of Christ's body : 
 there needs no real change in the substance of the 
 elements, for this particij)ation is not by sense, but by 
 faith. Dean Comber. 
 
 After the bread and wine are deputed, by holy 
 prayer to God, to be used for a commemoration of 
 
 orant that wo receiving- these thy 
 creatures s of bread and wine, ac- 
 cording to thy Son our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ's holy instituiioii, in 
 remembrance of liis death and 
 passion, may be partakers of his 
 most blessed Body and Blood : 
 who, in the same night that he 
 was betrayed", « took . ^^^^ „,^ ^^.^„ 
 Bread''; and, when <> in laice ii,e Pau 
 he had given thanks, 
 
 1 Cor. xi. 
 
 23—25. 
 
 • Here the 
 t to take the j 
 into his handt : 
 
 Christ's death ; though they do not cease to be what 
 they were before, yet they begin to be something which 
 they were not before this consecration : that is, they 
 become now to us " visible signs of an inward and 
 spiritual grace ;" and do not merely figure to us the 
 breaking of Christ's body, and the shedding of his 
 blood : but are a i)ledge of that inward and sjiiritual 
 grace which they represent. What that grace is, we 
 are taught by our Catechism ; when it tells us, that 
 it is " the body and blood of Christ, which are verily 
 and indeed received of the faithful in the Lord's sup- 
 per :" that is, they have a real i)art and portion given 
 them in the death and sufferings of the Lord Jesus, 
 whose body was broken, and blood shed, for remission 
 of sins, 'fhey truly and indeed partake of the virtue 
 of his bloody sacrifice, whereby He hath obtained an 
 eternal redemjition for us. This is the meaning of 
 partaking of his body and blood, which are here com- 
 municated. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ^ — who, ill the same night tliat he was betrayed, &c.] 
 It is manifest from the connexion of these words nath 
 the former part of the form, that they are addressed to 
 God, and not to the congregation. I'hey are therefore 
 a ])art of the jn-ayer of the congregation, and in th.e 
 repetition of them the mind of the minister must be 
 directed to God, and not to the people. Dr. Bonnet. 
 
 The best ])attern for the celebration of this mystery 
 is to be taken from its divine Author ; whose words 
 and actions are so |)unctually related as a direction to 
 us in this solemnity : and, when the rite was disordered 
 in the church at Corinth, St. Paul sends them to the 
 first institution, 1 Cor. xi, as to the rule and canon 
 whereby they ought to rectify all that was amiss. And 
 for this reason, as before observed, no church in the 
 world ever omitted these words of our Saviour, by 
 which tliey believed the consecration to be principally 
 made. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — the Paten'] 'Hie "paten" is the plate, in which 
 the sacred bread is laid. The original word, which is 
 patena, signifies a wide open dish. In the more pri- 
 mitive times, when the Christians were but of mean 
 condition, and their state of persecution would not 
 allow them to pretend to any thing that was magnifi- 
 cent, the sacramental bread was only laid upon a plate 
 made of osiers or wood. After this pope Zephirinus, 
 about the year 230, brought in the use of glass jjatens, 
 But in the Council of Rheims, 813, it was ordered, 
 that ]iatens and chalices should be made either of gold 
 or silver. But this was the custom before in the 
 churches of wealthy cities. Dr. Nii-hotls. 
 
 k — took bread—took the cup] At these words the 
 priest was appointed by the first Liturgy, set forth in 
 the first year of King Eihvard VI. to take the bread 
 and cup into his hands, which is still observer! by us. 
 But he was not ai)])ointed to make any elevation of 
 them, as the new iioman-Catholicks do at their mass :
 
 316 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 •■he brake it, and gave it to Ins clis- 
 
 And here to break cipleS, Sayillg, TaltC, 
 
 °""'"- eat, ftliisismyBocly 
 
 wliicli is given for 
 you : Do this in re- 
 membrance™ of me. 
 Likewise after sapper 
 lie J took the Cup ; 
 and, when he had 
 given thanks, he gave 
 saying, Drink ye ail 
 
 t Anii here to lay 
 his hand upon all the 
 Bread. 
 
 X Here he is lo 
 take the Cup into his 
 hand: 
 
 it to tli< 
 
 where the priest, saying, " Hoc est corpus meum," 
 " This is my body," suddenly Ufts up the wafer over 
 his head, and afterwards the chalice, that the people 
 may all fall down upon their knees and worship them. 
 Which rite neither we, nor any of the Reformed or 
 Protestant Churches, observe; but, in regard of the 
 jieril of idolatry, liave wholly omitted it. Besides it is 
 but a novelty as the Roman priests now use it ; for in 
 the ancient fathers we do not read of any such custom : 
 but it is a late device of the new Homan-Catholicks, 
 after they had brought in their novelty of transubstan- 
 tiation. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 ' — break the Bread-I Before the use of wafers was 
 brought into the Church, breaking the bread was used, 
 as more agreeable to our Savioiu-'s jjractice, and an 
 ajjter representation of his sufferings. This appears 
 from various passages in Irena?us, .\ustin, Clement of 
 Alexandria, Chrysostom, Cyjjrian, and others. This 
 ancient usage of breaking the bread was fu-st altered by 
 the Greeks, who brought in a way of cutting it : for 
 which purpose they provided an iron instrument, 
 called " a spear," being something like a chisel with a 
 long handle, by which they chopped a flat cake of 
 bread into pieces ; hereby pretending to exhibit a re- 
 presentation of our Saviour's side being pierced by the 
 soldier's spear. But in the church of Rome the break- 
 ing of the bread, in order to communicate it among 
 the faithful, is quite vanished. The priest only divides 
 the sacrificial wafer, in a superstitious way, into three 
 parts, which he eats up himself ; but the wafers de- 
 livered to the communicants are all entire. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 "> — Do this in remembrance'] lliat is, of Christ put 
 to death, and sacrificed for us upon the cross : which 
 is the sacrifice, which He truly and projierly once 
 made, and whereof we only make a commemoration 
 and rcijrescntation, as often as we celebrate this his 
 sacrament, and observe the precept which He gave us 
 about it. Vp. Cosin. 
 
 " — Chalice'] The cup, which the consecrated wine 
 is delivered in, is called by this name. In the earlier 
 times of (,'hristianity the chalices were made of wood. 
 About the second century glass ones were substituted, 
 vuilcss in very |)i)or churches, or some finely cut out of 
 marble. Wbeu the government became (Christian, 
 gold and silver chalices came in use. By a canon of 
 the ('ouncil of Rheims, in Charles the (Jreat's time, all 
 churches were obliged to have clialices of some jiurer 
 metal. The ancient chalices were of two kinds : the 
 greater, whicli were in the nature of our tlagons, con- 
 taining a large (pianlity of wine, which was all conse- 
 crated in them together; and the lesser, which were 
 otherwise called " ministeriales," because the jiriest 
 delivered the wine to be drunk out of tluin. Tor 
 corninuniim in one kind was not then invented by the 
 Romish church. Dr. !\'ich()lls. 
 
 ° — shed for you and for many] "For many" in 
 
 IS 
 
 Blood 
 
 of this ; for this § 
 of the New Testa- 
 ment, which is shed 
 for you and for many ° 
 for the remission of 
 sins: Do this, as oft as ye shall 
 it, in remembrance of me. Amen. 
 
 my 
 
 § And here to lay 
 his hand upon every 
 vessel ibe it Chalice" 
 or Flagon) in which 
 there is any JFine to 
 be consecrated. 
 
 nuK 
 
 H Then shall the Minister first receive^ the 
 Communion in both kinds hiniself, and then 
 proceed to deliver the same to the Bishops, 
 Priests, and Deacons, in like manner, {if 
 
 this place means the same as " for all," as in St. Paul's 
 Epistle to the Romans, v. 19; where, since by one 
 man "many" are said to have been made sinners, 
 "many" are used for " all." Bp. Cosin. 
 
 p Then shall the minister first receive &c.] Tlie holy 
 symbols being thus consecrated, the communicants 
 must not rudely take every one his own part ; because 
 God, who is the master of the feast, hath proWded 
 stewards to divide to every one their portion. Some 
 persons indeed have disliked the minister's delivering 
 the holy elements to each communicant ; pretending that 
 it is contrary to the practice of our Saviour, who bid the 
 apostles " take the cup and divide it among themselves." 
 But one would think that any one that reads the con- 
 text woidd perceive that this passage does not relate to 
 the Eucharist, but to the paschal supper ; since it ap- 
 pears so evidently from the nineteenth and twentieth 
 verses of the same chapter, that the sacrament of the 
 Lord's sup])er was not instituted till after that cu]) was 
 drunk. But as to the manner of his delivering the 
 sacrament, the Scriptures are wholly silent ; and con- 
 sequently we have no other means to judge what it n'as, 
 but by the practice of the first Christians, who doubt- 
 less, as far as was convenient and requisite, imitated 
 our Saviour in this as well as they did in other 
 things : and therefore since it was the general jiractice 
 among them for the minister to deliver the elements 
 to each communicant, we have as much authority and 
 reason as can be desired to continue this [iracticc 
 still. 
 
 2. The minister therefore that celebratcth "is first to 
 receive the Communion in both kinds himself; then to 
 proceed to deliver the same to the bishops, ju'lests, and 
 deacons in like manner," (that is, in both kinds,) "if 
 any be present, (that they may help the chief minister," 
 as the old Conunon Prayer has it, or " him that cele- 
 bratcth," as it is in the Scotch Liturgv.) and " after that 
 to the ]ieople also in order." And this is consonant to 
 the ])ractice of the primitix'e church, in which it was 
 always the custom for the clergy to comm\micate with- 
 in the rails of the altar, and liefore the sncnunent was 
 delivered to the jieople. Dean Cinnher, Wheatly. And 
 herein only consists the true diil'crence between eccle- 
 siastical and lay Communion ; and not, as the Papists 
 pretend, in the clergy's receiving muler both kinds, 
 and the cup being denied to the laity. Archdeacon 
 Yardley. 
 
 'I'he minister is here ordered first of all to receive the 
 Communion in both kinds himself before he adminis- 
 ters it to the people. But how or in what form of 
 words, he shall take it himself is not said : which is 
 ai)t to j)roduce some variety of exjiression on such 
 occasions. Bishop Cosin indeed had drawn up a 
 form, which all the clergy «-ere to follow, when 
 they received the Communion themselves : but it 
 was not put in at the last revisal. Archdeacon 
 iSliurp.
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 ni7 
 
 I 
 
 any be present,) and nfler that to the peo- 
 ple'i also in order, into their hands', all 
 
 1 — and after that to the people"] Clirysostom teaches, 
 that " as the prayers, so the partaking of the mysteries, 
 are common to tlie people with tlie priest." Which is 
 directly contrary to the solitary masses of the Papists, 
 wlien the priest only takes the mysteries. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 ' — into their hands,] We have the unanimous testi- 
 mony of the fathers, that the communicants always 
 received the elements into their own hands. Cyril, in 
 his tifth Mystagogick catechesis, directs the communi- 
 cant to receive the hody of Christ in the hollow part of 
 the right hand, which he advises him to support with 
 the left. This is what others call receiving it in the 
 hands placed in the form of a cross. During the cor- 
 rupter ages, when sacramental bread and wine were 
 belie\'ed to be the actual body and blood of Christ, a 
 wafer was substituted for bread, and that was by the 
 priest put into the mouth of the communicant, that no 
 ]iarticle of the body of Christ sboidd be wasted or lost. 
 And, lest the blood should be spilt, or any accident 
 happen, the cup was totally withheld from the laity. 
 At the Reformation the primitive practice was restored, 
 and the Communion in both kinds dehvered into the 
 hands of the people. Shepherd. 
 
 ' — alt meekly kneelinr/.] No posture can be too 
 humble when we are to receive a jiardon ; and a par- 
 don, which must deliver us from death eternal. Bp. 
 Wilson. 
 
 All the communicants in this heavenly feast are to 
 approach in the posture of kneeling, as well to express 
 their humility, and the sense they have of their own 
 unwortbiness, as that they may be in the posture of 
 prayer ; for they have many jietitions to put up all the 
 time of the celebration, for ])ardon, ]jeace, and grace, 
 for themselves and their friends, for the church, and 
 for all mankind : so that if the posture were left at our 
 hberty, no good man would do other than kneel ; but 
 we are more obliged so to do, since our Church enjoins 
 it, and all the well-ordered churches in the world prac- 
 tise it : nor do any scruple it, but they who study for 
 pretences to palliate their most unjustifiable separation, 
 or designed neglect of this ordinance ; for our Church 
 declares we adore Christ, not the bread ; and there is 
 no more reason to call it idolatry to kneel before the 
 altar with the consecrated bread ujjon it, than to kneel 
 before a desk on which a Bible is jdaced : and if 
 the devout communicant lift up his heart to Jesus, he 
 will never scruple to bow his knee to Him also. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 The posture of kneeling, which we use when we re- 
 ceive, is a very proper one. Some indeed think, that 
 the apostles received in the posture which they used at 
 meals, and that we ought to imitate them in this. Now 
 if so, to imitate them strictly, we must not sit, as these 
 persons do, but lie all along ; for so did the apostles at 
 table. But indeed we may rather suppose, that when 
 our Saviour blessed the bread and wine, this being an 
 address to God, both He and they were in some posture 
 of adoration ; and that they changed it before receiving 
 it, is not likely, considering how different that was from 
 a common meal. Nor does it appear, that any part of 
 the Christian church, till of late years, ever used any 
 other posture than that of kneeling or standing ; by 
 each of which they meant to signify worship. We use 
 the former; but with an express declaration inserted in 
 all our Prayer Books, "that no adoration is hereby in- 
 tended or ought to be dime, either to the sacramental 
 bread and wine; (for that were idolatry to be abhorred 
 of all Christians ;) or to any corporal presence of Christ's 
 
 meekly kneeling'. And, when he delivereth 
 the Bread to any one, he shall say'. 
 
 natural fiesh and blood ; for they are in heaven, and not 
 here." (.See rubrick after the t'oinmunion.) We kneel 
 therefore only to adore the invisible (iod ; and to be in 
 a fit irosture for those ])rayers and praises, which can 
 never be more jjroperly ottered up to Him. And why 
 any persons should prefer a different postm'e we cannot 
 see. Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 As for the punctual time, when the jiosture of kneel- 
 ing first began, it is hard to determine : but we are 
 assured, that it hath obtained in the Western churcli 
 above 1200 years; and though anciently they stood 
 in the east, yet, as St. Cyril says, it was " with fear 
 and trembling, with silence and downcast eyes, bowing 
 themselves in the posture of worshi)) and adoration." 
 
 But it is now the custom of the Greek, Roman, 
 Lutheran, and most churches in the world, to receive 
 kneeling. 
 
 And it is worth observing, that they who at other 
 times cry out so much against the Church of Kiigland 
 for retaining several ceremonies, which, though indif- 
 ferent in themselves, they say, become unlawful by 
 being abused by superstition and popery, can, in this 
 more solemn and material ceremony, agree even with 
 the Pope himself, (who receives " sitting,") rather 
 than not differ from the best and purest Church in the 
 world. 
 
 Nor may I pass by unobserved that the posture of 
 "sitting" was first brought into the Church by the 
 Arians ; who, stubbornly denying the divinity of our 
 Saviour, thought it no robbery to be equal with Him, 
 and to sit down with Him at his table: for which 
 reason it was justly banislied the reformed church in 
 Poland, by a general Synod, in the year of our Lord 
 1583. And it is the Pope's opinion of his being 
 St. Peter's SMCcessor, and Christ's vicegerent, which 
 jirompts him to use such familiarity with his Lord. 
 H'hently. 
 
 Our kneeling at communions is the gesture of piety. 
 If we did there jiresent ourselves but to make some 
 shew or dumb resemblance of a spiritual feast, it may 
 be that sitting were the fitter ceremony : but coming as 
 receivers of inestimable grace at the hands of God, what 
 doth better lieseem our bodies at that hour, than to be 
 sensilile witnesses of minds unfeignedly luunble ? Our 
 Lord Himself did that, which custom and long usage 
 had made fit : we that, which fitness and great decency 
 hath made usual. Hooker. 
 
 'I'he directing here, concerning " kneeling," hath 
 reference as well to the minister himself, as to the 
 people and other ministers. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 ' — And, when he delwereth the Bread to any one, he shall 
 say,] This form of words, used by him whom God hath 
 made tlie steward of these mysteries to give his children 
 their portion in due season, consists of three particulars : 
 1. Instruction, declaring what it is, namely, "The body 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, the blood, &c." And this was 
 used in St. Ambrose's time. 2. Prayer, desiring this 
 communication of them to us may" preserve our bodies 
 and souls unto e\'erlasting life," and this is as ancient as 
 St. Gregory at least. 3. Direction n-hat we are to do, 
 namely, " take, eat," or " drink this in remembrance that 
 Christ died" and " his blood was shed for us;" and to 
 " feed on him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving," 
 and to "be thankful" for bis'blood-shedding. And this 
 ))art is a full parajihrase on Christ's own words, and the 
 whole form together comes as nigh our Lord's own 
 words, in his administering this his last supper, as can 
 well be. Dean Comber.
 
 318 
 
 THE COMMUNIO>J. 
 
 THE Body of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ", wliich was given for 
 tliee, preserve thy body and soul 
 unto everlasting life. Take and eat 
 this in remembrance that Christ died 
 for thee, and feed on him in thy 
 heart by faith with thanksgiving. 
 
 t And the Minister that delivereth the Cup^ 
 to any one shall say, 
 
 TH E Blood of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, which was shed for thee, 
 preserve thy body and soul unto 
 everlasting life. Drink this in re- 
 
 Tlie first part of these words, namely " The body," or 
 " The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ," was the only 
 form used in St. xVmbrose's time at the delivery of the 
 bread and wine, to which the receivers answered, 
 " Amen ;" both to express then- desire that it niijfht be 
 Christ's body and blood unto them, and their firm be- 
 lief that it was so. The ne\t words, " Preserve thy 
 body and soul unto everlasting life," were added by St. 
 Gregory : and these with the former were all that were 
 to be used at the delivery of the elements, during the 
 first Common Prayer Book of King Edward VI. But 
 these words, I sui)pose, being thought at that time to 
 savour too much of the "real presence" in the sacra- 
 ment, which was a doctrine that then was thought to 
 imjily too much of transubstantiation to be believed ; 
 they were therefore left out of the second book, and the 
 following words prescribed in the room of them, " Take 
 and eat this," &c., or " Drink this," &c., as in the latter 
 part of our present forms. But these on the other side 
 reducing the sacrament to a bare eating and drinking 
 in remembrance of the death and passion of our Lord ; 
 they were in a little time as much disliked as the for- 
 mer. And therefore, upon Queen Elizabeth's accession 
 to the throne, (whose design and endeavour was to 
 unite the nation as much as she could in one doctrine 
 and faith,) both these forms were enjoined to be used 
 (as we have them still) to satisfy both parties. Though 
 in the Scotch Liturgy the last clause was again thrown 
 out, and the former only (which was ])rescribed by the 
 first book) retained, with a direction to the receiver to 
 say " Amen :" which is undoubtedly the most agreeable 
 to the primitive practice, and to the true notion of the 
 Eucharist. IVhcathi. 
 
 The first |)art of the words, which the minister speaks 
 at delivering the elements, is very ancient ; the rest is 
 added by our ('hurch : and the whole is unexceptionable. 
 Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 " The Budy of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c.] After the 
 consecration of the elements immediately follow the 
 reception and distribution of them : which continue still 
 in their natural substances of bread and wine, though 
 they are changed, as to their virtue and efficacy, into 
 the sacramental body and Itlood of Christ. Archdeacon 
 Yurdh-y. 
 
 While the minister and others are receiving the Com- 
 munion, those who arc preparing to receive may emjiloy 
 the time they have to s|)are in reading some appro- 
 priate Scriptures, and meditations upon tliem. lip. 
 Wilson. Such as lie will find in the " Short and plain 
 instruction for the better understanding of the Lord's 
 supper, with the necessary preparation re(|uired, &c. ;" 
 by the excellent prelate, whose name is annexed to the 
 foregoing rei'ommenilatiiin. Edit. 
 
 ' — the Minister that delivereth the Cup] Where there 
 
 membrance that Christ's Blood was 
 shed for thee, and be thankful y. 
 
 H If the consecrated Bread or 1]'ine be nil 
 spent before all hai'e conimunicated, the 
 Priest is to consecrate more according to 
 the Form before prescribed ; beginning at 
 [Our Saviour Christ in the same night, 
 ^■C-lfor the blessing of the Bread; and at 
 [Likewise after Supper, ^-c] far the bless- 
 ing of the Cup. 
 
 1 U.hen all hare communicated, the Minister 
 shall return to the Lord's Table, and 
 reverently place upon it what remaineth of 
 the consecrated Elements, covering the same 
 with a fair linen cloth". 
 
 are two or more ministers present, it is the custom for 
 the chief minister, or for him that consecrates, to ad- 
 minister only the bread, and for another to follow and 
 administer the cup. This is agreeable to an old rubrick 
 in King Edward's tii'st Liturgy, which orders, that " if 
 there be a deacon or other priest, then shall he follow 
 with the chalice : and as the jiriest ministereth the sa- 
 crament of the body, so shall he (for more expedition) 
 minister the sacrament of the blood, in form before 
 written." For oiu- Church does not (with the Roman 
 church) rob the people of half the sacrament, but ad- 
 ministers to the laity as well as the clergy, under " both 
 kinds." W'heatly. 
 
 Flere is an express distinction between a ]iriest and a 
 deacon, who by the ancient canons of the Church was 
 not to deliver the bread. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 f — and be thankful.'] When each person has commu- 
 nicated, let him retiu-n to his seat, that he may not 
 hinder others from coming to the altar. At the end of 
 the service (see above, note u,) he will find |iroper medi- 
 tations, wherewith to entertain himself until all have 
 received the communion. Bp. Wilson. 
 
 Or, if he have sufficient time, he may remember, that 
 since all our prayers are accepted for Christ's sake, now 
 we have received Him, and are full of the ai)prehen- 
 sions of his love, we may very affectionately in our 
 hearts ])ray for all mankind, and for the whole Cluirch ; 
 as also for any special blessings for this Church, for the 
 king, the magistrates, minisiers, and jieojile thereof; 
 and particularly for our neighbours and friends, rela- 
 tions, and acquaintance, especially for such as are sick 
 or sorrowful, poor or distressed : and also for ourselves, 
 for pardon, for grace, and courage to keej) our vows : 
 yea, if we ha\-e time, we may meditate of the baseness 
 and danger of the ways we ha\'e renomiced, of the wis- 
 dom and comfort of a holy life, the greatness of (iod's 
 assistance, and the mercy of his acceiitance, with the 
 sweetness of his rewards. And further we may resolve 
 upon such acts of charity to the souls and bodies of 
 o\n' brethren, as we will afterwards ]ierform ; and this 
 will banish vain and impertinent tlKuights, and keep 
 our devotions alive till the priest have done the celebra- 
 tion; and then having most heartily wished that all 
 the communicants may be accepted as well as oiu'- 
 selves, we must join in the Post-Communion. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' When all have communicated, &c. — covering the 
 same with a fair linen cloth.] Which by the ancient 
 writers, and the Scotch Liturgy, in wliich this rubrick 
 first ajipeared, is called the " Corporal," from its being 
 spread over the body or consecrated bread, and some- 
 times the " Pall," 1 suppose for the same reason. The 
 institution of it is ascribed to Eusebius, Bishop of Home, 
 who lived about the year 300. And that it was of
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 t Then shall the Priest say the Lord's 
 Prayer^', the People repeatiny after him 
 ccery Petilion^. 
 
 OU li Father, wliicli art in liwi- 
 ven, Hallowed be tliy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses, As 
 we forgive them that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into tempta- 
 
 common use in the Church in the fifth century, is evi- 
 dent from the testimony of Isidore I'eleusiota, who also 
 observes that the desifjn of using it was to rejiresent 
 the body of our Saviour being wrajiped in fine hnen by 
 Josejih of Ariniathea. IVheuthj. 
 
 ^ Then shall the Priest sny the Lord's Prayer,'] Our 
 Saviour conckided this feast with prayers and hymns. 
 Matt. xxvi. 30 ; John xvii. 1, &c. ; and all churches have 
 followed his example : and if we rise not from our 
 common meals without prayer anil thanksgiving, surely 
 we must more solemnly use them before we de|)art from 
 the Lord's table. And the first part of this office is the 
 Lord's Prayer; it being very fit, that after we have 
 received our Saviour into our hearts, the first words we 
 speak should be his ; to as many as receive Him, He 
 gives power to become the sons of God, John i. 12. 
 Wherefore we may now, upon good grounds, call God, 
 " Our Father," andjare obliged to desire his name may 
 be " hallowed" and praised for all his kindness towards 
 us : and if ever we be in a fit posture to wish his 
 " kingdom" may " come," it is now when we ha\'e 
 made our peace with Him ; we ha\'e now such assur- 
 ances that He always wills that which is for our good, 
 that with intire submission we may say, O Lord, not 
 my "will," but thine "be done:" He hath given us 
 heavenly bread to feed our souls, and so we need not 
 question but He wiU " give us" every day " our daily 
 bread" to sustain our natural life : we have set forth 
 the memory of that great propitiation, and now by the 
 virtue of that sacrifice we may cheerfully ask the " for- 
 giveness of our trespasses," and shall jirevail the sooner, 
 because in this feast of charity " we" have " forgiven" 
 all them that have " trespassed against us :" we have 
 vowed to forsake all evil ways, and so may reasonably de- 
 sire to " be kept" from " temjitation," and " delivered" 
 from all kind of " evil ;" and as well with res])ect to 
 what He hath done for us already, as to our hojies of 
 his hearing these requests, we must conclude with the 
 Doxology, and acknowledge that his is "the kingdom, 
 power, and glory," both now and "for ever. Amen." 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 The Post-Communion, like the Ante-Communion, 
 begins with tlie Lord's Prayer; and we can at no time 
 repeat this prayer more pro]ierly, or more effectually, 
 than when we have just commemorated the meritorious 
 sufferings and death of its divine .\uthor. The Doxo- 
 logy is here annexed, because this part of the office is 
 principally eucharistical : all these devotions being de- 
 signed as an act of praise, for the benefits received in 
 the holy sacrament. Shepherd, Wheatly. 
 
 It was the institution of Christ and his apostles, 
 according to St. Jerome, that the Lord's Prayer was 
 said at the celebration of the sacrament : and it seems 
 from St. Ambrose and St. Austin, that by the Church 
 it has been ever used in this ]]lace. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 ' — the People repeatini) after him every Petition.] So 
 says the rubrick. And if the Church did ever devise a 
 
 .319 
 
 tion ; But deliver us from evil : For 
 thine is the kingdom, Tiie power, 
 and the glory. 
 Amen. 
 
 For ever and ever. 
 
 IT After shall be said asfollometh''. 
 
 Lord and heavenly Father, 
 we thy humble servants en- 
 tirely desire tliy fatherly goodness 
 mercifully to accept this our sacri- Heb. xui. 1.5. 
 fice of praise'' and thanksgiving : cxix^o's. ' 
 
 
 
 thing fit and convenient, what more than this ? that 
 when together we have all received those heavenly 
 mysteries, wherein Christ imparts Himself to us, and 
 gives visible testificatitm of our blessed communion 
 with Him, we should, in hatred of all heresies, factions, 
 and schisms, declaredly a])])rove ourselves united as 
 brethren in one, by olfering up with all our hearts and 
 tongues, that most effectual jirayer, " (Jur Father, &c. ;" 
 in which we jirofess ourseh-es sons of the same Father, 
 and in which we pray lor (jod's pardon, no otherwise 
 than as we forgive them that trespass against us : for 
 which cause communicants have ever used it, and we 
 at that time do shew we use it, yea, every syllalile of it, 
 as communicants, saying it together with one consent 
 and voice. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 ■^ After shall be said as followeth.'] After the Lord's 
 Prayer, the priest offers up the sacrifice of the holy 
 eucharist, or the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for 
 the whole Church, as in all old Liturgies it is aii])ointed; 
 and together with that is offered up that most accept- 
 able sacrifice of ourselves, souls and bodies, devoted 
 to God's service. Of which see Rom. xii. Bp. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 For the further exercise and improvement of our 
 devotion, the Cbin-ch, in imitation of ancient Liturgies, 
 hath provided two larger forms of ])rayer ; the first of 
 which is principally designed for the practice of that 
 advice of St. Paul, who " beseeches us by the mercies of 
 God to ]iresent our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and 
 acceptable to God, as our reasonable service," Rom. xii. 1. 
 L'pon which account the fathers esteemed it one great 
 part of this office to dedicate ourselves to God ; and 
 this jirayer is the direction for doing that duty, which 
 is very seasonable to be done just now : for since Christ 
 hath put us in mind of his infinite love in giving Him- 
 self for us, and in this sacrament hath given Himself 
 to us, and we have chosen Him for our Lord, and 
 solemnly vowed ourselves his servants ; now it is most 
 just and reasonable we should give om-selves wholly 
 to Hira in this proper and pertinent form. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 In this ])rayer " we intirely," that is, with our whole 
 hearts, " desire" Him, " to accept this our sacrifice," of 
 service, of ]n-aise, and thanksgiving, which we have 
 offered up to Him : begging leave at the same time to 
 " offer up ourselves, body and soul," as dedicated to 
 his will : which is the great end of all our devotions : 
 yet never mentioned in the Romish mass-book. We 
 ])ray also once more for the whole Church : and lastly 
 for our fellow-communicants, as well as ourselves, that 
 we may be " fulfilled," that is, filled full, and, as the 
 Psalmist expresses it, "abundantly satisfied, with God's 
 grace and heavenly benediction." Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' — our sacrifice of praise] The ancients called the 
 whole Communion " the sacrifice of praise," as our 
 Church here doth : whereas the Romanists only call it 
 a sacrifice, without any other addition. But it is not
 
 320 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Rom. iii. 
 23-25. 
 Eph. V. 
 25—27. 
 
 I Cor. vl. 20. 
 
 Rom. xii. 1. 
 1 Cor. in. 
 16, 17. 
 
 John vi. 
 54—58. 
 Matt. V. 6. 
 
 Matt. viii. S. 
 
 Luke sviii. 
 
 13. 
 
 Isa vi. 5. 
 
 Ptov. XX. 9. 
 
 Vs. cxliii. 
 
 1. 2. 
 
 2Cor. viii. 12. 
 
 most humbly beseecliing thee to 
 grant, that by the merits and death 
 of thy Son Jesus Christ, and through 
 faith in his blood, we and all thy 
 whole Church may obtain remission 
 of our sins, and all other benefits of 
 his passion. And here we offer and 
 present unto thee, O Lord, our- 
 selves f, our souls, and bodies, to be 
 a reasonable, holy, and lively sacri- 
 fice unto thee ; humbly beseeching 
 thee, that all we, who are partakers 
 of this holy Communion, may be ful- 
 filled with thy grace and heavenly 
 
 but pardoning 
 
 benediction, 
 unworthy, 
 
 And although we be 
 through our manifold 
 
 sins, to offer unto tliee any sacrifice, 
 yet we beseech thee to accept this 
 our bounden duty and service; not 
 
 the sacrifice of Christ which we here speak of ; for that 
 ij always pleasing to God, and was absolutely perfect : 
 but it is our own peace-oifering, in commemoration 
 thereof, in which there have been many failings, and 
 therefore we desire and beg that it may be accepted in 
 mercy. Dean Comber. In this regard, and in divers 
 others also, the Eucharist may, by allusion and analogy, 
 be fitly called " a sacrifice," and the Lord's table " an 
 altar;" the one relating to the other: though neither 
 of them can be strictly and properly so termed. It is 
 the custom of Scripture to describe the service of God 
 under the New Testament, be it either internal or ex- 
 ternal, by the terms which othernnse belonged to the 
 Old : as, immolation, offering, sacrifice, and altar. So 
 the evangelical pro])het Isaiah, foretelling the glory 
 and amplitude of the Christian Church, s])eaketh of 
 Gods altar which shall be there, U])on which " an ac- 
 ceptable offering shall be made," Isa. Ix. 4, &c. See 
 also Rom. xv. 16; Phil. i. 17; lleb. xiii. 10. And in- 
 deed the sacrament of the Eucharist carries the name 
 of a sacrifice, and the table, whereon it is celebrated, 
 an altar of oblation, in a far higher sense, than any of 
 their former sacrifices diil, which were but the ty[)es 
 and figures of those services, that are ])erformed in 
 recognition and memory of Christ's one sacrifice, once 
 offered upon the altar of his cross. The jirophecy of 
 Malachi concerning the C^hurch under the New Testa- 
 ment, (see Mai. i. 10,) appbed by the doctors of the 
 Roman duircli to their ])roper sacrifice, as they call it, 
 of the mass, is interpreted and applied by the ancient 
 fathers, sometimes in general to all tlie acts of our 
 Christian religion, and sometimes in particular to the 
 Eucharist : that is, the act of our prayers and thanks- 
 giving for the sacrifice of Christ once made for us upon 
 the cross, as here we use in the Church of iMigland. 
 The Church of England tliorefore herein followetb the 
 holy Scripture and the ancient fathers. See also I's. 1. 
 14; IIos. xiv 2; llcb. xiii. 15; Ilev. v. 8; viii. .3; 
 I's. cxli. 2. Bj>. Cosin. 
 
 ' — here tve offer and present unto thee, Lord, our- 
 seli:es,'\ The sacrifices under tlic law were irrational 
 creatures ; that is, such creatures as were not endowed 
 with reason ; and they were also killed before they were 
 oll'ered ; but when we offer ourselves to (jod as a sacri- 
 fice, we offer "reasonable and living" sacrifices; wliich 
 arc also "holy," because all Christians are separated 
 from the world, and made lioly, by their covenant in 
 
 weighing our merits, 
 
 our offences, through Jesus Christ 
 
 our Lord ; by whom s, and with Heb. xiii. 15. 
 
 whom, in the unity of the Holy 
 
 Ghost, all honour and glory be unto 
 
 thee, O Father Almighty, world 
 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 Or this^. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everliving 
 God, we most heartily thank 2 Cor. ix. is. 
 thee, for that thou dost vouchsafe 
 to feed lis, who have duly received 
 these holy mysteries, with the spi- 
 ritual food of the most precious 
 Body and Blood of thy Son our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ ; and dost as- 
 sure us thereby of thy favour and John ts. sb. 
 goodness towards us ; and that we ^°^' ^"'' ^'' 
 
 baptism. Now by offering ourselves as " reasonable, 
 holy, and lively," that is, living " sacrifices," we com- 
 ply with St. Paul's exhortation, who says, " I beseech 
 you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye 
 present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable, 
 to God, which is your reasonable service," Rom. xii. 1 . 
 Dr. Bennet. 
 
 As if it were said. Here at tlijf altar, where thy 
 Son hath given Himself to us, "we" humbly and sin- 
 cerely "offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves" 
 wholly and entire, even all the faculties of "our souls, 
 and" all the members of our " bodies," solemnly dedi- 
 cating them and resigning them up most absolutely to 
 thy service, and vowing them " to be a reasonable, 
 holy, and li\-ely sacrifice unto tliee ;" for we are not 
 now to kill and offer any more brute creatures, as tliey 
 did under the Law ; but we must offer U]) ourselves to 
 be pure and holy, by abstaining from all sin, and to be 
 lively and active in every good work, which is our 
 rational way of owning the divine mercies under the 
 Gospel, and justly styled " our reasonable service :" we 
 consecrate therefore om' understandings and wills, our 
 affections and jjassions, our senses and all oiu' jiowcrs 
 of body and soul, to be employed in thy command- 
 ments for ever; O Lord, acce])t us, and take posses- 
 sion of us, that we may never have any other master. 
 Dean Cnmher. 
 
 ^ — through Jesus Christ our Jjord; by %i<hom, &c.] We 
 know our own services to be altogether imperfect : 
 wherefore we here declare, that our only hope of ai'- 
 ce])tance and pardon is " through Jesus Christ," by 
 whom we are directed to ofl'er the sacrifice of thanks- 
 giving, lleb. xiii. 15 ; as we here do in this doxology, 
 which comes very near to the ancient form used in this 
 office, and glorifies the whole 'J'rinity, from every 
 Person whereof we have now rccei\'ed ])cculiar testi- 
 monies of grace and favour : and if we do it with a 
 devotion iiroportionable to the great obbgatiims now 
 laid upon us, it will tlicn be accepted according to our 
 desire. Dean Comher. 
 
 '' Or this ] For the help of devotion, the Church 
 hath added another form to l)e used when we have 
 more than ordinary comfort in recei\'ing : for as tile 
 other consists chiefly of vows, so doth this of praises 
 and thaidtsgivings, yet so, us here is a \-ery earnest 
 prayer for perseverance, which is highly necessary after 
 the sacrament. The I'arts of which prayer arc, a
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 321 
 
 1 Cor X. 
 Gal. iii, 
 2!i. 
 
 E])h. V. 
 1 Cor. xi 
 Joliri vi. 
 Heb, ix- 
 
 1 J.)hn i 
 Iloni. ii. 
 Eph. ii. 
 
 . 3.?. 
 6, 7. 
 10. 
 
 are very members incorporate in tlie 
 mystical body of tliy Son, wliicli is 
 the blessed eom])any of all faitliful 
 people ; and are also heirs throii<<li 
 liope of thy everlasting kingdom, 
 by the merits of the most ])recious 
 death and passion of thy dear »on. 
 And we most humbly beseech thee, 
 O heavenly Father, so to assist us 
 with thy grace, that we may con- 
 tinue in that holy fellowship, and do 
 all such good works as thou hast 
 prepared for us to walk in ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, 
 with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all 
 honour and glory, world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 hearty tliaiiksgiving directed to God the Father; and 
 an humble petition for his grace, to make us persevere, 
 and he fruitful in good works. Derm Comber. 
 
 ' Then shall be said or siaiff,'] The angelical hymn, 
 as it is commonly called, or " Glory be to God on high, 
 &c." wherein tlie ecclesiastical hierarchy ^es ad- 
 mirably imitate the heavenly, singing_Jifai~at the sa- 
 crament of his body, which the angels did at the birth 
 of his body. And as good reason there is, to sing this 
 for Christ's being made "one with us" in the Sacra- 
 ment, as for his being made "one of us" at his birth: 
 and if ever we be fit to sing this angels' song, it is 
 then, when we draw nearest to the estate of angels, 
 namely, at the receiving of the Sacrament. Bp. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 After such high favours, and such great blessings 
 received, it is fit and necessary we should express our 
 joy; and how can we welcome our Saviour into our 
 hearts more properly than by the hymn which the 
 angels welcomed him into the world withal, Luke ii. 
 14; and by that descant the primitive doctors made 
 upon it, to suit it to this ordinance, where it hath been 
 sung in all churches from the beginning ? Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 To conclude this oflace with an hymn is so direct an 
 imitation of our Saviour's practice, that it hath ever 
 been observed in all churches and ages. And though 
 the forms may differ, yet this is as ancient as any now 
 extant. The former part of it is of an heavenly original, 
 being sung by angels at our Saviour's nativity ; and 
 was from thence transcribed into the oriental Liturgies, 
 especially St. James's, where it is thrice rejieated. The 
 latter part of it is ascribed to Telesphorus about the 
 year of Christ 1 39 ; and the whole hymn, with very 
 httle difference, is to be found in the Apostolical Con- 
 stitutions, and was established to be used in the 
 church-service by the fourth council of Toledo about 
 a thousand years ago. In the present Roman missal 
 it stands in the beginning of this office, as it does also 
 in the first Common Prayer of King Edward VL, 
 where it immediately follows the " Collect for purity;" 
 though it now apjjears to be placed much more properly 
 at the close of the Communion, when every devout com- 
 municant being full of gratitude, and longing for an 
 opportunity to pour out his soul in the praises of God, 
 cannot have a more solemn and com])act form of words 
 to do it in than this. In the Greek church it makes a 
 constant part of the morning devotions, as well upon 
 ordinary days, as upon Sundays and holy-days ; only 
 with this difference, that upon ordinary days it is only 
 
 If T/icn shall he said or sumj ', 
 
 GLORY bo to God on high, 
 and in earth peace, good will to- i-i'ke ii. h. 
 wards men. We ])raise thee, we bless 
 thee'', we worshij) thee, we glorify 
 thee, we give thanks to thee, for thy itev. vii. 12; 
 great glory, O I^ord God, heavenly "' '^' 
 King, God the Father Almighty. Kzrk. iii. ii'. 
 O Lord, the only-begotten Son' sc*i"t)!c'Te ' 
 Jesu Christ ; O Lord God, Lamb J'p™-, 
 of God, Son of the Father, that s.^u- the c-n.i 
 
 , , , . c 1 1 I ol"tli(.-Litaiiy, 
 
 takest away the sins 01 the world, .imi tiie 
 have mercy upon us. Thou that crel-d.'" 
 takest away the sins of the world, 
 have mercy upon us. Thou that 
 takest away the sins of the world, 
 receive our prayer. Thou that sit- 
 
 " read," whereas upon more solemn times it is appointed 
 to be sung. Dean Comber, ]Vhcully. 
 
 As our blessed Lord sang an hymn with his disciples 
 after the passover, in imitation of whom the whole 
 Christian church hath used one in commemorating 
 "our passover, sacrificed for us," we use one likewise, 
 as ancient, in substance, as the fourth century at least. 
 It were better indeed, that we sung it ; if (here did not, 
 alas, often want numbers, and generally skill. The 
 beginning of it is the song of the holy angels in St. 
 Luke ; on which foundation we jiroceed to " glorify " 
 God, and "give thanks to him for his great glory;" 
 meaning, that of his goodness, wisdom, and power, 
 disjilayed in the work of redem])tion ; fer\entiy be- 
 seeching " the Son and Lamb of God," that his suffer- 
 ings to "take away the sins of the world," and his 
 " sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high," 
 Heb. i. 3, may bring down "mercy upon us;" and 
 acknowledging, that we are all impure, " He only is 
 holy :" men and angels are servants, " He only is the 
 Lord ; He only with the Holy Ghost " united to the 
 " Father in glory " unspeakable " is most high " above 
 all. Abp. Secktr. 
 
 ^ — lie praise thee, we bless thee, &c.] We are taught 
 with many words to express our gratitude and joy, in 
 imitation of those celestial hymns recorded in the Keve- 
 lation, vii. 12; v. 13: as also because every word here 
 used is highly pertinent, and hath its peculiar significa- 
 tion. We " praise " God, by setting forth his greatness ; 
 we " bless " Him, by declaring his goodness ; we " wor- 
 ship " Him with our bodies; we " glorify " Him with 
 our mouths; we " give him thanks " with our hearts, 
 "for the great glory," which He hath gotten to Him- 
 self by these his mercies towards us. .Vnd further the 
 adding of so many words well expresses the \ehemency 
 of our affections, and shews that we are full of admira- 
 tion and delight. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Lord, the only-beyotlen Son &c.] As the Father 
 is the primary object, so the Son is the subject of the 
 angelick jn'aises : wherefore we here glorify Him, who 
 is remembered and rejjresented, gi^•en by God, and 
 received by us, in this mystery. And, repeating all the 
 names belonging to his person, to his nature, and his 
 offices, we thereby declare the majesty and glory, the 
 mercy and goodness, of Him whom we have now ac- 
 cepted for our Lord and King. And, whilst we are 
 setting out his glories, we .ilso invoke Him by all these 
 honourable and endearing names, that He will em])loy 
 his power, his interest, and merits, to make our persons 
 and our prayers acceptable. Dian Comber.
 
 322 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Rev. XV. 4. 
 1 Tim. vi. 15. 
 
 test at the right hand of God the 
 Father, have mercy upon us. 
 
 For thou only art holy™; thou 
 only art the Lord"; thou only, O 
 Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art 
 most high in the glory of God the 
 Father. Amen. 
 
 " For thou only art holy ;] Those that overcome the 
 beast, and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, use 
 this amongst other expressions, " For thou only art 
 holy," Rev. iv. A. These words we here apply to our 
 Saviour, as distinguished, not personally, but essen- 
 tially : that is, not as He is the second Person in the 
 Trinity, for God the Father, and God the Holy Ghost, 
 are also as holy as God the Son, and all Three together 
 are the only holy One; but as He is a Being uncreated 
 and infinitely excellent above all other beings ; as He is 
 God Himself, and for that reason supremely holy, or 
 the only holy One. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 " ■ — thou only art the Lords'] God is called "the 
 blessed and only Potentate," 1 Tim. vi. 1 5 ; that is, the 
 only Lord : and consequently this appellation belongs 
 to our Savioiu- Christ as He is God, in the same sense 
 as He is the only holy One : namely, not personallv, 
 but essentially. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 There are indeed holy angels and samts ; and there 
 are lords many, 1 Cor. viii. 3. Yet none of these have 
 a propriety in this title, because their hohness is im- 
 perfect and derived : only Jesus is holy in and of Him- 
 self, and of his holiness all others do receive. " He 
 is holy and hallo«-ed, because he halloweth and sanc- 
 tifieth us," as the Littirgy of St. James paraphraseth. 
 "He only is the Lord," saith St. Augustine, "who 
 hath no other Lord above him." For He only with 
 the Holy Ghost is equal to the Father, " God blessed 
 for ever." And this is the reason, why we exalt Him 
 so highly, and ])ass by the mediation of saints and 
 angels ; because none is so hoh', none so mighty, none 
 so high in the favour of God, nor none so gracious and 
 loving to us, as Jesus is. This we acknowledge there- 
 fore with all ])ossible joy and triumph ; and it is a 
 mighty rejoicing to our spirits, that He, who hath 
 given Himself for us, and is come to dwell with us, is 
 so high and magnificent. Dean Comber. 
 
 " Then the Priest (or Bishop if he be present) &c.] 
 'Ilie peo])le were always dismissed from this ordinance 
 by a solemn blessing pronounced by the bishop if ])re- 
 sent, or, in his absence, by the priest ; and none were 
 allowed to depart till this was given by the one or the 
 other. Wheatly. 
 
 This benediction is a pecuhar of the bishop's office, 
 if ])rcsent ; because " the less is blessed of the greater," 
 Heb. vii. 7. L'Estrange. 
 
 P — rvilh this Blessing.'] Our Lord took his leave of 
 his disciples with a lilessing, Luke xxiv. .'iO; and the 
 blessing He left them was his )>eacc, .lohn xiv. 27; the 
 form of giving which is set down by St. Paul, I'liil. 
 iv. 7 ; from whom the ])rimitivc Church took this form, 
 ordering the bishop (if present) to pronounce it, and 
 all to stay till this blessing was given, which is a 
 solemn desire that the ])eace of (jod may remain in us, 
 and his blessing be upon us for ever. Dean Comber. 
 
 In this solemn and affectionate form of dismission, 
 most of which is taken from the words of holy writ, the 
 minister of Christ, in pronouncing it, jirays, that " tlie 
 peace of God, wliich passeth all understanding," that 
 inward sense of our .Maker's goodness to u.s, which 
 even now is delightful, beyond the conception of those, 
 who have not exiierienccd it ; and shall hereafter he so 
 
 f Then the Priest (or Bishop if he he 
 present") shall let them depart icith 
 this Blessing^. 
 
 TH E peace of God, which passeth 
 all understanding, keep your 
 hearts and minds in the knowledge phii. iv. 
 
 heightened, as vastly to exceed the present conceptions 
 of the best of us; may "keep our hearts and minds," 
 oiu" judgments and affections, " in the knowledge and 
 love of God and his Christ :" and that every " bless- 
 ing" of the holy Trinity may be distributed " amongst 
 us, and remain with us always." Alip. Seeker. The 
 form of this Christian blessing runs in the name of 
 the three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, into 
 which we were baptized ; and therefore seemingly most 
 projier for the use of the Christian church. Dr. Bifse. 
 
 Our final blessing is taken out of Scripture. The 
 former part is evidently borrowed from St. Paul ; and 
 the latter is a Christian paraphrase, or rather summary, ' 
 of the form originally delivered to Moses, Numb. vi. 
 •2'2 — 25. St. Paul, after directing us to address God 
 in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, immedi- 
 ately adds, " .\nd the peace of God, which jiasseth 
 all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds 
 through Christ Jesus." The words of St. Paul, had 
 they been purposely designed, could scarce have been 
 better suited to form a conclusion for this office. We 
 have, according to his direction, offered tip prayers, 
 sup]ilications, and thanksgivings to the divine Majesty, 
 and before our departm'e the minister of Christ pro- 
 nounces upon us the blessing of peace. 
 
 This benediction of the priest is not to be considered 
 merely as a ])rayer. It is likewise an absolution ; an 
 assurance of blessing and of peace ; for God Himself 
 will bless those that are duly qualified to receive the 
 sacerdotal blessing ; and the benedictions and abso- 
 lutions, which the ambassadors of Christ ministerially 
 pronounce upon earth, will be ratified in heaven. 
 Shepherd. 
 
 The people should receive this blessing as coming 
 from God Himself, with all imaginable devotion. Bp. 
 JVilson. .\nd should most ferxently desire of God to 
 ratify and confirm it. Dean Comber. 
 
 And they should take care not to repeat it after the 
 jiriest, for this is not only a mark of great ignorance, 
 but it is an improjier usurpation upon the jiriestly 
 oltlce : the rubrick ordering the blessing to be given 
 " by the priest, or bishop if present :" so that it ought 
 not to be iironounced by a deacon, much less by the 
 people. And farther it may be observed, that the 
 priest himself, if the bishop be ])i'csent, is to become as 
 one of the congregation ; and, instead of standing up 
 to give the blessing, ought like the rest to receive it on 
 his knees from the bislio]) ; according to that undoubted 
 maxim, " without all contradiction the less is blessed 
 of the greater," Ileb. vii. 7. In case therefore of the 
 bishop lieing present, which is supposed to happen in 
 all cathedral churches, the peo]ile in pronouncing the 
 blessing invade the office of the bishop himself: and 
 the greater is blessed, not of the less, as of the priest, 
 but even of the least, of the lowest of the jieople : a 
 practice this, which, where\cr it ])re\ails, inverts the 
 order establishcil liy reason as well as religion, and is 
 the grossest of absurdities. Dr. liisse. 
 
 The blessing was so highly esteemed in the jirimitivc 
 times, that none durst go out of the church, till they 
 had received it. .And when (liey received it, they 
 knelt or Ijowed down their heads. This wrj done
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 323 
 
 John xvii. 3. 
 
 F.Jh."vi:24:'' Jesus Christ 
 
 2 Tor. xiii. M. 
 Numb. vi. 
 
 and love of God, and of Ids Son 
 our Lord : and the 
 blessing of God Almighty, the Fa- 
 ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
 be amongst you and remain with you 
 always. Amen. 
 
 in imitation of the Jewish manner, which is thus de- 
 scribed : " When the service was finished, the higli 
 priest hfted up his hands over the congregation, to 
 give the blessing of the Lord with his hps ; and they 
 bowed theinseh'es to worship the Lord, that they might 
 receive the blessing from the Lord, the Most High," 
 Ecclus. i. 21. Thus did the .lews : for they considered 
 it as the blessing, not of man, but of God. They had 
 indeed his express promise for it, when given in the 
 ])ublick worship. " And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying. Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, On this 
 \vise shall ye bless the children of Israel : The l-ord 
 bless thee," and so on. Numb. vi. 22, 23 : " and they 
 shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I 
 will bless them." 
 
 The same authority to bless, yea, and greater autho- 
 rity than this, seems to be given to the ministers of the 
 Gospel. " For into whatsoever house they shall enter, 
 and shall say, Peace be to this house ; if the son of 
 jieace be there," that is, according to inter|n-etation, if 
 he, that dwells there, does not hinder it by his wicked- 
 ness, or reject it tlu-ough unbelief, " then their peace 
 shall be upon him." If not, if he be not capable nor 
 worthy of their blessing, " it shall turn to them again," 
 Luke X. G. And if this virtue be annexed to the bless- 
 ing of the bishop or priest, so as to go and come with 
 it, when bestowed upon a jirivate house, how much 
 more, when dispensed in the house of God in his name 
 and by his command, over the holy congregation ! ^s 
 many of them doubtless as are " sons of jjcace," as are 
 capable and desirous thereof, upon them shall the bless- 
 ing of the minister rest, but from them that are not, 
 that either neglect or reject it, " his blessing shall turn 
 to him again." Dr. Bisse. 
 
 Here, before we conclude the office, let us reflect upon 
 the admirable contrivance of it, and the beautiful har- 
 mony and order of its parts. After we have jircmised 
 the Lord's Prayer, the Collect that follows it. the Com- 
 mandments, the Prayer for the Sovereign, the Collect 
 for the day, the Epistle, the Gospel, and Nicene Creed, 
 which are as it were the introduction to this solemnity ; 
 we ])roceed to the offertory or contribution of our alms. 
 And indeed it highly becomes us, when we approach the 
 holy table to partake of God's unspeakable kindness 
 towards lost mankind, to prepare our way by liberality 
 to the poor, that is, to oiu' Saviour Himself: for He ac- 
 cepts of what we give to his distressed servants as a mercy 
 shewn to his own ])erson. Then we offer the excellent 
 prayer for the Church militant, than which nothing can 
 more effectually express our most fervent charity towards 
 all our fellow-Christians. By these steps we ascend to 
 the divme mystery, and enter upon the suljlimer ]]arts of 
 the office. Our hearts being raised to the highest pitch 
 of religious fervour by the exhortation and the short 
 address annexed to it, we pour forth a most jjathetick 
 form of confession, containing also an earnest petition 
 for pardon ; and for the assistance of God's grace in 
 order to our greater spiritual improvement for the 
 future. Upon this the priest pronounces the Absolu- 
 tion ; and, to strengthen our hope, adds divers comfort- 
 able texts of holy Scriptm'e. Being thus filled with the 
 sense of God's infinite mercy, and exalted almost to 
 rapture and ecstasy, we immediately break forth into a 
 
 % Collects to he said after the Offers 
 tori/'^, when there is no Cumrnuuion^, 
 every such day one or more ; and 
 the same may he said also, as often 
 as occasion shall serve, after the 
 Collects either of Morning or Even- 
 
 seraphick hymn of praise and thanksgiving. Tlien we 
 acknowledge our own unworthiness to taste of this holy 
 feast, and humbly beseech God to make us worthy com- 
 municants; and so, the elements being consecrated, we 
 ])artake of them. TliC-n we offer up the Lorrl's Prayer, 
 which is the badge of our discipleshij) : and having re- 
 turned thanks fur the incstimaiile blessing of the holy 
 Eucharist, and subjoined the angehck hymn, than which 
 nothing can be more sublime and heavenly, together 
 with one or more short collects at the discretion of the 
 minister, we are dismissed with a solemn blessing. Dr. 
 Bennet. 
 
 Thus we have gone through om' publick service from 
 the one end to the other, from the Exhortation to tlie 
 Blessing ; and we may well close with that exclamation 
 of the prophet concerning Sion, " How great is its 
 goodness, and how great is its beauty !" And we ought 
 not to omit that memorable testimony, worthy not only 
 to be fixed u])on record, but to be engraven on the 
 horns of the altar, which was given to our Common 
 Prayer by the King and Parliament in that act which 
 established the use of it : " That it was bv the aid of 
 THE Holy Ghost with uniform agreement concluded 
 and set forth." May it ever enjoy the same testimony 
 from their successors ; and may they ever support, 
 strengthen, and invigorate those laws, which have been 
 ])laced as a fence about it ; that no i)ersons whatsoever 
 jn-esume under the highest penalties " to preach, 
 declare, or speak any thing in derogation, depra\'ing, or 
 despising of the said book, or any thing therein con- 
 tained, or any part thereof." Act for Uniform. 1 Ehz. 
 Dr. Bisse. 
 
 1 Collects to he said after the Offertory,'] Lest there 
 shoiild be any thing left imasked in this excellent office, 
 the Church hath added six Collects more, to be used at 
 the minister's discretion : concerning which it may be 
 observ'cd, that they are [jlain and comprehensive, and 
 that almost every sentence of them is taken out of the 
 Bible ; and they are as jiropcr to be joined to any other 
 office as to this. For which reason the rubrick allows 
 them to be said " as often as occasion shall serve, after 
 the Collects either of Morning or Evening Prayer, Com- 
 munion, or Litany, by the discretion of the minister." 
 IVheat/y. 
 
 The titles are here given, that it may be known on 
 what occasions to use them : and doubtless, if devout 
 affections be brought with them, they may be useful to 
 us all, and accepted by our heavenly Father. The first 
 is a prayer For safety in all worldly changes : the second, 
 For the prcsei-vation of our souls and bodies : the third. 
 For a blessing on God's word : the fourth. For direction 
 and success in all our undertakings : the fifth, For ex- 
 cusing the defects of our former prayers : the last. For 
 the acceptance of all the rest of oursuppUcations. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 '■ — after the Offertory, when there is no Communion,'] 
 Hence some have imagined, that " the prayer for the 
 Church militant" is part of the offertory ; because in the 
 first rubrick, at the end of the whole office, that prayer 
 is always to be used " on Sundays and other holy-days, 
 if there be no Communion," and then one or more of 
 these Collects are to follow. But the offertory only sig- 
 nifies the sentences that are read whilst the alms and 
 Y2
 
 324 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 ing Prayer, Comrminion, or Litany, 
 hy the discretion oftlte Minister. 
 
 AS S I S T us mercifully, O Lord % 
 in tl 
 
 Pom. Tin. 26. pravers, and 
 
 Ps. Ixxiii. 24; fi "^ , . " i 
 
 x.xxvii. 23. thy servants toward 
 
 Job V. 7. 
 Heb. is. 27. 
 Eccles. ix. II. 
 
 Ps. xlvi. I. 
 
 Ps. cxix. 
 
 35—37. 40. 
 1 Thess. V. 
 23. 
 
 Ps. Ixxxi.f. 
 13. IS. 
 
 these our supplications and 
 dispose the way of 
 the attainment 
 of everlasting salvation ; that, among 
 all the changes and chances of this 
 mortal life', they may ever be de- 
 fended by thy most gracious and 
 ready help; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 Almighty Lord", and everlast- 
 ing God, vouchsafe, we beseech 
 thee, to direct, sanctify, and govern, 
 both our hearts and bodies, in the 
 ways of thy laws, and in the works 
 of thy commandments ; that through 
 thy most mighty protection, both 
 
 here and ever, we 
 
 be 
 
 other devotions of the people are collecting. To recon- 
 cile this difference it should be observefl, that, by the 
 first hook of King Eilward the Sixth, the prayer for 
 Christ's cliurch was never to be read, but when there 
 was a Communion. So that then, if there was no Com- 
 munion, these Collects were properly ordered to be said 
 " after the offertory." But the Commimion service 
 being afterwards thrown into a different form, the 
 prayer for the Church militant was added to that part 
 of the service, which was ordered to be read " on Sun- 
 days and holy-days that had no Communion," without 
 altering this ruhrick. And this makes the ruhrick be- 
 fore and the ruhrick after these Collects a little incon- 
 sistent : however the difference is not much. For the 
 Collects are still to be said " after the offertory," though 
 not immediately after, as formerly, the jjrayers for the 
 Church militant coming in between. U /leutli/. 
 
 ' Assist us ineTcifulbj, Lnrd, litc] In the Latin it is, 
 "Adesto, Domine, supplicationibus nostris." So that 
 to " assist mercifully in prayers" is to be mercifullj' pre- 
 sent at them, or to he mercifully jirescnt to those who 
 offer them. Now God is then said to be so present 
 when he hears and receives them graciously. And ac- 
 cordingly our ('hurch translates, " .Vdeato piis Ecclesia^ 
 tuae jjrecibus," in the Collect for the twenty-third Sun- 
 day after Trinity, thus, " Be ready, we beseech thee, to 
 hear the devoiU prayers of thy Church." And in the 
 Collect for the (irst Simday after Trinity, " adesto pro- 
 pitins invocalionihns nostris." is rendered, "mercifully 
 accept our ]ii'ayers." Dr. licnncl. 
 
 ' — ■chunrcs of this tnorlal life,] Some have objected 
 against this phrase, as implying somewhat irreligious. 
 But our Saviour hath not scrupled to say, " And by 
 chance there came down a certain priest that way," 
 Jjuke X. .Tl. A//p. Sicker. 
 
 When we apprehend any danger by reason of the 
 sudden changes aiul sad accidents to which we and all 
 the world are liable, there are two main ])articulars whidi 
 we are to beg of God for our security. Tir.st, that lie 
 will alwiiy.s assist our prayers. Secondly, that lie will 
 direct u.i toward the right end. I'"or so long as we can 
 pray fervently, and are going on in the right course to 
 heaven, we are in no danger, whatso(j>'er may ha])pen. 
 iJ'-aa Comber. 
 
 " Alm'r/hty Lord, &c.] The former prayer men- 
 
 Jamcs i. 21. 
 Luke vjii. 
 1,1. 21. 
 
 Arts xvi. 1 1. 
 Col. i, :j, 10. 
 1 Cor. iii. 6. 
 
 .Ter. X 2-\. 
 Ps. lix. 10, 
 Ixxix 8; 
 xxi. 3; 
 xxxvii. 5. 
 2 Cor. iii. 5. 
 Phil. i. 6. 
 Jol.n XV. S. 
 
 served in body and soul ; through 
 our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 Amen. 
 
 GRANT, we beseech thee, Al- 
 mighty God ", that the words 
 which we have heard this day with 
 our outward ears, may through thy 
 grace be so grafted inwardlv in our 
 hearts, that they may iiring forth in 
 us the fruit of good living, to the 
 honour and praise of thy Name ; 
 throuo-h Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 RE VENT us, O Lord, in all 
 our doings y with thy most gra- 
 cious favoiu', and further us with 
 thy continual help; that in all our 
 works begim, continued, and ended 
 in thee, we may glorify thy holy 
 Name, and finally by thy mercy ob- 
 
 tions the evils, from which we would be defended ; this 
 declares what it is which we desire should be preserved : 
 it is grounded u]ion St. Patil's prayer, 1 Thess. v. 23, 
 and may fitly be used when we fear or feel any tempta- 
 tion to sin; as the other, when we a]iprehend any danger. 
 For so long as our hearts and bodies are kejit in the 
 ways of righteousness, we may be assured of uni\-ersal 
 and continual safety. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Grant, we beseech thee, Almhjhty God, &c.] This 
 short Collect is of excellent use, after the Sermon or 
 Lessons in ])ublick, as also when the Scripture hath 
 hren read in jirivate. And because it is not the hearing 
 of God's word with our cars, but the engrafting in our 
 heart, James i. 21, which makes it powerful to our sal- 
 vation, we ought always after it to praj' as here ; first, 
 that it may take root in our hearts ; secondly, that it 
 may spring forth in our lives. Derm Comber. 
 
 y Prerent us, Lord, in nil our doings, &c.] " It is 
 God who worketh in us both to will and to do of his 
 good ))leasure," Phil. ii. 13. His grace therefore must 
 go before us in all good actions, and dispose us for the 
 ])erf()rinance of them. This is what we call preventing 
 grace, that is, grace going before us. For to " prevent" 
 in old Knglish signifies, to go before. Accordingly 
 the Cluirch here begs Almighty (iod to "prevent" or 
 go before " us in all our doings with his most gracious 
 favour," that is. to give us his ])re\-enting grace, to 
 pre|)are us for good actions, and that, our hearts being 
 inlluenced thereby, all our doings may be good. Dr. 
 lienuet. 
 
 In this ]iraycr, which is frefpiently used before sermon, 
 some have stumbled at the expression, " Prevent us, C) 
 Lord, in all our doings ;" because ]ireventing most com- 
 monly signifies hindering. But the original meaning, 
 and tlie true one here, is. Go before us : which may in- 
 deed he, either to further us liy opening the way, or to 
 obstruct us by stopping it. But surely it can no more 
 be doubted, which we intend, than what David in- 
 tended, when he said, " Thou shalt jirevent him with 
 the blessings of goodness;" and again, "The God of 
 my mercy shall prevent me," Ps. xxi. 3 ; lix. 1(1. Atij). 
 Seeker. 
 
 If we .acknowledge God's providence, we mu.st under- 
 take nothing till we liavc first asked his counsel to 
 direct us, and as we go on we must call for his assist-
 
 THE COMMUNIOiN. 
 
 .■325 
 
 Prov. ii. 6. 
 Janit's i 5. 
 Matl. vi. 8. 
 
 Rom. vi. 22. tain everlastini^ life; tlirougli Jesus 
 Clirist our Lord. Amen. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, the foun- 
 tain of all wisdom'-, who know- 
 itcini. viii. 2(). est our necessities before we ask, and 
 our ignorance in asking"; We be- 
 seech thee to have compassion upon 
 our infirmities : and those things, 
 fien. xxxii. wluch for our unworthiness we dare 
 Eiih. iii. 2(1. not, and for our blindness we cainiot 
 Re'v'I V. 12. ' ask'', vouchsafe to give us, for the 
 worthiness of thy Son Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who liast 
 ])roniised' to hear the petitions 
 of them that ask in thy Son's Name; Joim xvi 24. 
 We beseech thee mercifully to in- 
 cline thine ears to us that have made w. xvii. c. 
 now our prayers and supplications \i"^"^ "" "' 
 unto thee ; and grant, that those 
 things which we have faithfully asked Man xxi. 22. 
 according to thy will, may eft'ectually piiii. iv. id, 
 be obtained, to the relief of our J!'!; 'ij,^v^'23'. 
 necessity, and to the setting forth of ps. 1 13- 
 thy glory : through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 % Upon the Sundays and other Holy-days^ [if there he no Communion) shall 
 be said all that is appointed at the Communion, until the end of the general 
 
 I 
 
 ance to further us, and when we have done, we must 
 wait for his blessing to crown all with supcess : all 
 which we are taught to do in this compendious and 
 pious form, which is never unseasonable, but very fit to 
 be used, especially in the morning, before we begin 
 work. Dean Comber. 
 
 In the first part of this godly prayer, we ha\-e the state 
 of the question concerning the concurrence of grace and 
 free will, more pithily and more plainly set down, than 
 in any contro\-ersy-writers, whether in the Romish or 
 Reformed churches. 'I'he sum is, that without God's 
 preventing grace, or peculiar disposition of his fa\-our- 
 able pro\'idence, we cannot do any good works at all, 
 though but civilly or morally good, as a learned Jesuit 
 aeknowledgeth ; nor any works spiritually good without 
 God's assistant grace, or gifts of the Spirit inherent in 
 us. This is that, which is in the same prayer better e.x- 
 pressed by "the furtherance of his continual help." In 
 the latter clause of the prayer, " that in all our works 
 begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify 
 thy holy name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlast- 
 ing life," we have all, I am |)ersuaded, that the Romish 
 church would have said concerning the necessity of 
 good works, whether unto salvation or justification ; 
 and all again, that the Protestants have said, or can 
 say, against the Romish church, concerning justification 
 by faith only, without works. When we pray " that 
 we may glorify God's name by our good works," this 
 argues their necessity to salvation, if not to justification. 
 And when we pray, that, after we have glorified God's 
 name by our good works, " we may attain everlasting 
 life, by God's mercy in Christ, and through Christ;" 
 this is an argument most concludent, that we must not 
 rely upon, or put oiu' confidence in, the best works 
 which we do, though we do them continually ; but in 
 God's mercies, and Christ's merits only. And this is 
 the full and lively expression of the Apostle's meaning, 
 when he saith, " We are justified by faith in Christ 
 alone." Dr. Jackson. 
 
 ' AlmUjhlii Gnd, the fountain of all wisdom, &c.j 
 ^yhen St. Paul had asked all he could for his Ephe- 
 sians, he commits them to Ilira that was able to do 
 more for them than he coidd ask or think. And from 
 thence we have taken this supplctory prayer; being 
 \'ery proper for the beginning or ending of ]niblick or 
 private supjilicatioris; because it sets before us, first, the 
 incomparable wisdom of God : secondly, our own im- 
 perfections ; and thence deduceth, 1. a general petition 
 for compassion, as to all the defects of our prayers ; 
 
 2. a particular request for the adding of that which we 
 omitted. 
 
 This prayer is very proper to be said to ourselves, 
 when we kneel down at our first coming into the church, 
 to prayers. Dean Comber. 
 
 * — our ignorance in asking ;] That is, in asking what 
 is most proper and convenient for us. For we too often 
 ask amiss, because we do not understand what is best 
 for ourselves. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ^ — for our blindness we cannot n.si,] Here it maybe 
 said, that though we are indeed so blind, that we do not 
 know what particulars are most proper and convenient 
 for us ; yet we often ask for what is most ])ropcr and 
 convenient for us in general, without descending to par- 
 ticulars. How then can it be said, that there are some 
 things, which for our blindness we cannot ask ? See 
 page 203, note ff. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ' Almighty God, who hast promised, &c.] There are 
 three qualifications of an acce])table prayer. 1. That 
 it be made in Christ's name, John xiv. 13 ; xvi. 23. 
 
 2. That it be agreeable to God's will, 1 John v. 14. 
 
 3. That it be asked in faith. Matt. xxi. 22; James v. 15. 
 Xow because it were imjirudent to expect to be heard 
 upon other terms, the Church hath here ])ut them all 
 together in this finishing prayer, which is very properly 
 used after any of our prayers, especially the common 
 prayers, which if we have said in faith, we are siu'e 
 the ])etitions are according to God's will, and made in 
 the name of Christ. Dean Comber. 
 
 ^ Upon the Sundays and other Holy-days &c.] In the 
 primitive church, while Christians continued in their 
 strength of faith and devotion, those who were qualified 
 generally communicated once every day ; which custom 
 contnuicd till after St. Augustine's time : but afterward, 
 when charity grew cold, and devotion faint, this custom 
 was broken off; and they fell from every day to Sun- 
 days and holy-days only, and thence at Antioch to once 
 a year and no more. 
 
 In regard of this neglect, canons were made by 
 several councils to oblige men to receive three times a 
 year at least, namely, at Christmas, Easter, and Whit- 
 suntide, (probably in conformity to the ancient Jews, 
 who uere commanded by God Himself to appear before 
 the Lord at the three great feasts that correspond to 
 these ; namely, " in the feast of unleavened bread, and 
 in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles,") 
 and those, that neglected to communicate at those 
 seasons, were censured and anathematized. 
 
 At the Reformation our Church took all the care she
 
 326 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Prayer [For the whole state of Christ's Church militant here on earth], 
 
 tocjcther icith one or more of these Collects last before rehearsed, concluding 
 
 tcitk the Bh'ssing. 
 f And there shall he no celebration of the Lord's Supper^, except there be a 
 
 convenient number to communicate with the Priest, accordinr/ to his discretion. 
 % And if there be not above twenty persons in the Parish of discretion to receive 
 
 the Communion ; yet there shall be no Communion, except four [or three at the 
 
 least) communicate with the Priest. 
 ^ And in Cathedral and Collegiate Churches', and Colleges, where there, are 
 
 could to reconcile her members to frequent Communion. 
 And therefore in the fh-st Common Prayer Book of King 
 Edward VI. it was ordered, that "upon Wednesdays 
 and Fridays, though there were none to communicate 
 wth the priest, yet (after the Litany ended) the priest 
 shoulil put upon him a plain alb or surplice, with a 
 cope, and say all things at the altar, (appointed to be 
 said at the celebration of the Lord's Supper,) until after 
 the OfFertor}'. And the same order was to be used all 
 other days, whensoever the peojile were accustomably 
 assembled to pray in the church, and none were dis- 
 posed to communicate with the priest." From whence 
 it appears they took it for granted, that there would 
 always be a sufficient number of communicants ujjon 
 every Sunday and holy-day at tiie least ; so that they 
 could not so much as suppose there would be no Com- 
 munion upon any of those days. But it seems they 
 feared that upon other days there might sometimes be ' 
 none to communicate with the jiriest, and so no Com- 
 munion : and therefore they ordered, that, if it should 
 so hajjpen for a u'hole week together, yet nevertheless 
 upon Wednesdays and Fridays in every week so much 
 should be used of the Communion-service as is before 
 limited. But afterwai-ds, as piety grew colder and 
 colder, the Sacrament began to be more and more 
 neglected, and I)y degrees quite laid aside on the 
 ordinary week-days. ,Vnd then the C'hureh did not 
 think it convenient to appoint any of this service upon 
 any other days than Sundays and holy-days. But ujjon 
 those days she still requires that ("although there be 
 no Communion, yet) all shall be said that is apjiointcd 
 at the Communion, until the end of the general prayer, 
 [For the whole state of Christ's Cluu-ch militant liere 
 on earth,! together with one or more of the Collects at 
 the end of the Communion-ofiice, concluding with the 
 Blessing." 
 
 One rca-son of which order seems to be, that the 
 Church may still sliew her readiness to administer the 
 Sacrament ujion these days; and so that it is not hers 
 nor the minister's, but the people's fault, if it be not 
 administered. 
 
 But another reason why so much of this service is 
 ordered to be read, though there be no Communion, is, 
 because there are several particular things in that part 
 of it, which ought to be read, as well to those who do 
 not communicate, as to those who do. As first, the 
 Decalogue or Ten (.'ommandments of -Mmighty God, 
 thesu]ireme Lawgiver of the world, which it is requisite 
 the people should often hear and be put in mind of, 
 especially upon those days which arc iunnediately dedi- 
 cated to his service. Secondly, the ('oUects, I'',pistles, 
 and (Jospels, proper to all Sundays and holy-days, 
 without which those festivals could not be distinguished 
 cither from one another, or even from ordinary days. 
 nor consequently celebrated so as to answer the end of 
 their iustitution. Thirdly, the Nicene Creed, wherein 
 the divinity of our blessed Saviour is asserted and de- 
 clareil, an(l therefore very i)roper to be used on tlmsc 
 daya which arc kcut in memory of Ilim and of his holy 
 
 apostles, by whom that doctrine, together with our 
 whole religion grounded upon it, was ))lanted and 
 propagated in the world. Fourthly, the Offertory, or 
 select sentences of Scripture, one or more of which are 
 to be read to stir up the congregation to offer unto God 
 something of what He hath given them, as an acknow- 
 ledgment that they receive from Him all they have ; 
 wliich, howsoever it be now neglected, the people 
 ought to be put in mind of at least e\'ery Lord's day, 
 1 Cor. xvi. 2. Fifthly, the prayer for the " whole state 
 of Christ's Church miUtant here on earth," in which we 
 sho\ild all join as fellow-members of the same body, 
 especially ujion the great festi\'als of the year, which are 
 generally celebrated by the whole Church we pray for. 
 Most of these things made up the " Missa Catechume- 
 norura " of the ancient church, that is, that jiart of the 
 service at which the Catechumens, who were not ad- 
 mitted to the reception of the Eucharist, were allowed 
 to be present. And in our own congregations, when 
 there is a Communion, those who do not communicate 
 never depart tiU the end of the Nicene Creed, for the 
 above said reasons ; which shews that there is nothing 
 in that jjart of the service, but what may very ])roperly 
 be used upon any Sunday and holy-day when there is 
 no Communion. Nor is this a jiractiee of our own 
 Church alone, but such as is warranted both by Greeks 
 and Latins. Socrates tells us, that in Alexandria upon 
 Wednesdays anil Fridays the Scriptures were read anil 
 expounded by their teachers, and aU tilings were done 
 in the Communion, but only consecrating the mysteries. 
 .\nd, as for the Latin church, Durandus gives direction 
 how the Communion-service might be read without any 
 Commimion. Whcatly. 
 
 ' And there shall be no celebration of the Lord's Supper, 
 except &c.] This and the next rubrick were provided, 
 to prevent the solitary masses, which had been intro- 
 duced by the church of Rome, where the priest says 
 mass, and receives the Sacrament himself, though there 
 be none to commimicate with hiui : which our Church 
 disallows, Tiot jiermitting the priest to consecrate the 
 elements, unless he has " three at least " to communi- 
 cate with him, because our Saviour seems to require 
 "three" to make up a congregation. Bp. Cvsiii, 
 Whealhj. 
 
 In the ])rinii(ivc church it is most plain, both by 
 the canons of the old councils, and by the writings of 
 the ancient fathers, that some part of the ])eoiile at 
 least never failed to communicate with the priest. Bp. 
 Orerall. 
 
 ' And in Cathedral and Vollegiale Chiirche.<!, Scc.~\ 
 How zealous the Church still is in desiring to bring her 
 members to communicate oftencr than she can obtain, 
 is apparent from this injunction : and from her farther 
 requiring "every iiarishiouer " in general " to commu- 
 nicate at the least three times in the year, of which 
 Luster to be one;" because at that time Clirist. our 
 I'assover, was sacrificed for us. and by his death (which 
 we commemorate in this Sacruuient) obtained for us 
 everlasting life. IVheatly.
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 327 
 
 viany Priests and Deacons, tlietj shall all receive the Communion with the 
 Priest every Sunday at the least, except they have a reasonable cause to the 
 contrary. 
 
 f And to take aioay all occasion nf dissension, and superstition, which any Person 
 hath or might have concerning the Bread and Wine, it shall suffice that the 
 Bread he such as is usual to be catcn^; but the best and purest IVhcat Bread 
 that conveniently inai/ be (/otlcn. 
 
 ^ And if any of the Bread and IVine remain unconsecratcd''^, the Curate shall 
 have it to /lis own use: but if any remain of that which was consecrated', it 
 shall not be carried out of the ChurcJi, hut the Priest and such other of the 
 Communicants as he shall then call unto him, shall, immediately after the 
 Blessing, rcverenthj eat and drink the same. 
 
 % The Bread and Wine for the Communion shall be provided by the Curate and 
 the ChurchuHirdcns at the charges if the Parisli. 
 
 fl And note, that every Parishioner shall communicate at the least three timcs^ 
 in the year, of which Easter to be one\ And yearly at Easter every 
 Parishioner shall reehim™ tvith the Parson, Vicar, or Curate, or his or their 
 
 s — that the Bread be such as is usual to be eaten ;] 
 This i-ubrick is set down in ojiposition to the practice 
 of the Greek and Roman churches, in late afjes, to use 
 wafers. For it is certain that our Saviour, in dehvering 
 the Sacrament to his disciples, used the common hread. 
 And there is no trace in antiquity of wafers being used, 
 till the eleventh century. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ■■ And if any nf the Bread and IVine remain unconse- 
 craled, &c.] In the primitive times the bread and 
 wine designed for the consecration, were a part of 
 the offerings, which the clergy likewise had a share in : 
 therefore our Church has restored the remaining part of 
 them to the ancient proprietors, by ordering "the 
 curale to have it to his own use." And this was par- 
 ticularly injoined by the old canons of the Church. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 Though it hath not been actually consecrated, yet, by 
 its being dedicated and offered to God, it ceases to be 
 common, and therefore properly belongs to the minister, 
 as God's steward. Wheatly. 
 
 ' — but if any remain of thai which was consecrated, 
 &e.] In the primitive church whatever of the con- 
 secrated elements were left, after all had communicated, 
 were either reserved by the priest to be administered to 
 infirm persons in cases of exigency, that they might 
 not die witliout receiving the blessed Sacrament ; or 
 else were sent about to absent friends, as pledges and 
 tokens of love and agreement in the unity of the same 
 faith. I?ut this custom, being abused, was afterwards 
 prohibited by the Council of Laodicea, and then the 
 remains began to be divided among the clergy ; and 
 sometimes the other communicants were allowed to 
 jiartake with them, as is now usual in our Church, 
 where care is taken to prevent the superstitious reserva- 
 tion of them formerly practised by the papists. How- 
 ever, it would be convenient if the Scotch rubrick were 
 observed, by which, " to the end there may be little 
 left, he that officiates is required to consecrate with the 
 least." Wheatly. 
 
 The reservation, which is practised by the Roman 
 church, is most intolerable, and tends to little else but 
 to increase superstition, and to profane the holy elements. 
 For they keep the Sacrament in the pix upon the altar, 
 because God, as they term the host, may be present 
 there, and that it may be worshipped by the people : 
 they reserve it for processions, to be adored as it is 
 carried along the streets : they reserve it as a sort of 
 charm to jjut out fires ; and to be a sort of mace, 
 and a guard likewise to be carried before the pope, 
 when he goes a journey. But because these abuses 
 
 have happened, and may happen again, by the reserva- 
 tion of the elements, our Chm'cli has ])rudently orilered, 
 that, as for what remain.^ thereof, "tlie minister and the 
 communicants shall reverently eat and drink the same." 
 And though the Council of Trent do excommunicate us 
 for it, yet we have the ancient canons of the Church on 
 our side. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ^ And note, that every Parishioner shall communicole 
 at the least three times &c.] See above, notef. " Every 
 parishioner;" that is, all males as well as females, as 
 soon as they are of jjroper age. Bp. Cosin. The Church 
 ordering every parishioner to communicate at least 
 three times in the year, is far from requiring them not 
 to communicate oitener. Collis. God forbid that any 
 good Christian should make this an excuse for receiv- 
 ing no oftener, if he lias an ojjportunity ! and woe be 
 to that pastor, who will not give the well-disposed part 
 of his flock more frequent opportunities of testifying 
 their love to Jesus Christ ; of increasing their graces, 
 and securing their pardon and salvation! Bp. Wil- 
 son. 
 
 ' — of which Easter to be one.] There is no time, at 
 which it is not our duty to remember the most cruel 
 death, which the Author of life imderwcnt for us. This 
 time of the year however peculiarly claims the remem- 
 brance of so great a mystery : which has not only been 
 observed by all antiquity, and indeed from the very 
 infancy of the Chm-ch ; but the very reason also and 
 nature of the thing requires, that at that time, when 
 the work of our redemption was accomplished, we 
 should dwell upon the contemjilation of it with the 
 strictest attention as well as the greatest devotion. 
 Bp. Cosin. See page 14,5, note i. 
 
 " — And yearly at Easter every Parishioner shall 
 reckon &o.] What are the " ecclesiastical duties" here 
 mentioned is a matter of doubt : Bishop Stillingfleet 
 supposes them to be a composition for personal tithes, 
 (that is, the tenth part of every one's clear gains,) due 
 at that time : but Bishop Gibson imagines them to be 
 partly such duties or oblations, as were not immediately 
 annexed to any particular office ; and partly a comjio- 
 sition for the " holy loaf," which the communicants 
 were to bring and offer, and which is therefore to be 
 answered at Easter, because at that festival every per- 
 son was, even by the rubrick, bound to communicate. 
 They both perhajis may have judged riglit : for by an 
 Act of Parliament, in the second and third of Edward 
 VI, such personal tithes are to be i)aid "yearly at or 
 before the feast of Easter,"' and also "all lawfid and 
 accustomary offerings, which had not been paid at the
 
 328 
 
 THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Deputy or Deputies; and pay to them or him all Ecclesiastical Duties, 
 accHstoj/iabli/ due, then and at that time to he paid. 
 % After the Divine Service ended, the money tjiven at the Offertory shall he 
 disposed of to such pious and charitahle uses, as the Minister and Church- 
 icardens shall think Jit. Wherein if they disaijree, it shall he disposed of as 
 the Ordinary shall appoint. 
 
 " 'V\7' •'^ ^ -'^ ^ "^ "^ '' '* ordained in this Office" for the Administration 
 " Y T of the Lord's Supper, that the Communicants shoukl receive the 
 "same kneeling; (which order is well meant, for a signification of our 
 " liumble and grateful acknowledgment of the benefits of Christ therein 
 " given to all worthy Receivers, and for the avoiding of such jirofanation 
 "and disorder in the holy Communion, as might otherwise ensue:) yet, 
 " lest the same kneeling should by any persons, either out of ignorance 
 " and infirmity, or out of malice and obstinac)', be misconstrued and 
 " depraved ; It is hereby declared, That thereby no adoration is intended, 
 " or ought to be done, either unto the Sacramental Bread or Wine there 
 " bodily received, or unto any Corporal Presence of Christ's natural 
 " Flesh and Blood. For the Sacramental Bread and Wine remain still 
 " in their very natural substances, and therefore may not be adored; (for 
 "that were idolatry, to be abhorred of all faithful Christians:) and the 
 " natural Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ are in Heaven, and not 
 " here ; it being against the truth of Christ's natural Body to be at one 
 " time in more places than one." 
 
 usual offering days, are to be jiaid for at the Easter 
 next following." IVIieally. 
 
 " Whereas it is ordained in this Office &c.] Tliis 
 protestation concerning tlie gesture of " kneeling" at 
 the sacrament of the Lord's supper, and exjilaining the 
 Church's notion of the jn-esence of Christ's hody and 
 blood in the same, was lli-st added in the second hook 
 of King Edward, in order to disclaim any adoration to 
 he intended hy tliat ceremony " either unto the sacra- 
 mental bread or wine there bodily received, or unto any 
 real and essential [jresence there being, of Christ's 
 natural flesh and blood." But upon Queen Elizabeth's 
 accession this was laid aside. Fur it being the Queen's 
 design (as I have already ol)served more than once) to 
 unite the nation as much as she could in one faith ; it 
 was therefore recouunendcd to the divines, to see that 
 there should be no ticfinition made against the aforesaid 
 notion, but that it should remain a.s a speculative opi- 
 nion not determined. Init, in which every one might lie 
 left to the freedom of his own mind. And, being thus 
 left out, it ajijicars no more in any of our Common 
 Prayers till tlie last review ; at which time it was again 
 added, with some little amendment of the exjiression 
 and transpos.al of the sentences; but exactly the same 
 throughout as to the sense ; excepting that the words 
 
 "real and essential presence" were thought proper to 
 be changed for " corporal presence." I''or a " real 
 presence" of the body and blood of Christ in the 
 Eucharist, is what our Church frecpicntly asserts in this 
 very ofBce of Commimion, in her Articles, in her Homi- 
 lies, and her Catechism: particularly in the two latter, 
 in the fii-st of which she tells us, " 'I'hus much we must 
 be sure to hold, that in the supper of the Lord there 
 is no vain ceremonj-, no bare sign, no untrue figure of a 
 thing absent ; — but the communion of the body and 
 blood of the Lord in a mar\ellous incorporation, which 
 by the operation of the Holy (jhost is through faith 
 ^\Tought in the souls of the faithful, &c. ; who there- 
 fore" (as she farther instructs us in the Catechism) 
 " verily and indeed take and receive the body and l)lc)od 
 of Christ in the Lord's supper." This is the doctrine 
 of our Church in relation to the " real presence" in the 
 sacrament, entirely different from the doctrine of tran- 
 sidistantiation, which she here, as well as elsewhere, 
 disclaims ; a doctrine which requires so many ridicu- 
 lous absiu'ditics and notorious contradictions to support 
 it, that it is needless to offer any confutation of it in a 
 (-'hurch, which allows her memliers the use of their 
 senses, reason, SeripfurCj and aiUi<iuity. Wheatly.
 
 THE MINISTRATION 0F° 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM^ OF INFANTS 
 
 TO BE USED IN THE CHURCH ^ 
 
 f The people are to be admonished^, that it is most convenient that Baptism 
 should not be administered but upon Sundays, and other Holy-datjs, when the 
 
 ° The minis'ration of — Baptism] Ilaringf now gone 
 throiigli the constant offices of the Church, we come in 
 the next place to those, which are only to be used as 
 there is occasion. And of these the office of baptism, 
 being the first that can be regularly administered, as 
 being the first good office that is done to lis when we 
 are born, is therefore jiroperly set first. And here it 
 will be necessary, in the fii-st place, to say something of 
 the sacrament itself. 
 
 1. " Water" therefore (which is the matter of it) bath 
 so natural a property of cleansing, that it hath been 
 made the symbol of " purification" by all nations, and 
 used with that signification in the rites of all religions. 
 The heathen used divers kinds of bai)tism to exjnate 
 their crimes ; and the Jews baptize such as are ad- 
 mitted proselytes at large ; and when any of those 
 nations turn Jews, who are already circumcised, they 
 receive them by baptism only : with which ceremony 
 also they ]jurified such heathen women as were taken 
 in marriage by Jewish husbands. And this is that 
 universal, plain, and easy rite, which our Lord Jesus 
 adopted to be a mysterj' in his religion, and the sacra- 
 ment of admission into the Christian church, Matt. 
 xxviii. 19. 
 
 2. For can any thing better represent " regeneration" 
 or " new birth," which our Sa\'iour requires of us before 
 we can become Christians, John iii. 3 — 7 ; than " wash- 
 ing with water." For as that is the first office done 
 unto us after our natural births, in order to cleanse us 
 from the pollutions of the womb, Ezek. xvi. 4 ; so when 
 we are admitted into the Church, we are first bajjtized, 
 (wherel)y the Holy Ghost cleanses us from the pollu- 
 tions of our sins, and renews us unto God, Tit. iii. 5,) 
 and so become, as it were, spiritual infants, and enter 
 into a new life and being, which before we had not. 
 For this reason, when the Jews baptized any of their 
 proselytes, they called it their " new birth, regenera- 
 tion," or " being born again." And therefore when 
 our Saviour used this phrase to Nicodemus, He won- 
 dered that He, "being a master in Israel," should not 
 understand Him. And even among the Greeks this 
 was thought to have such virtue and efficacy, as to give 
 new life as it were to those who were esteemed reli- 
 giously dead. For if any one that was living was 
 re])orted to be deceased, and had funeral solemnities 
 performed upon this account ; he was afterwards, upon 
 his return, abominated of all men, as a person unlucky 
 anil profane, banished and excluded from all human 
 conversation, and not so much as admitted to be 
 present in the temjjles, or at the sacrifices of their gods. 
 
 till he was born again, as it were, by being washed like 
 a child from the womb. 
 
 And thus in the Christian church, by our Saviour's 
 institution and appointment, those who are dead to 
 God through sin, are born again by the " washing of 
 regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost," Tit. 
 iii. 5. And bow proper (by the way) "water" is to 
 typify the " Holy Ghost," may be seen by consulting 
 several texts of Scrii>ture, where " water" and the 
 " Blessed Spirit" are mentioned as corresponding one 
 to another, Isa. xliv. 3; John iv. 14; vii. 37 — 39. 
 
 That the ])rimitive Christians bad this notion of bap- 
 tism, may very fairly be asserted from those other rites 
 which they anciently used in the celebration of this 
 mystery : such as were giving the new-baptized " milk" 
 and " honey," and " salt," which were all given to 
 infants new-born, Isa. vii. 15; Ezek. xvi. 4; and put- 
 ting upon them "white garments," to resemble the 
 " swaddbng" spoken of by Ezekiel, Ezek. xvi. G. 
 
 All these, the ancient fathers tell us, were done to 
 signify and represent spiritual birth and infancy, and 
 out of reference to \\'hat was done at the natural birth 
 of children. And therefore who can doubt hut that 
 the i>rincipal rite of "washing with water" (and the 
 only one indeed ordained by our blessed Saviour) was 
 chosen by Him for this same reason, to be the sacra- 
 ment of our initiation ; and that those, who brought 
 in the other rites above mentioned, did so conceive of 
 it, and for that reason took in those imitations ? In 
 some churches indeed they have now for a long time 
 been discontinued : for they being only used as emblems, 
 to signify that the persons were become as new-born 
 babes, they were left off at such times, when, whole 
 nations becoming Christians, there were hardly any 
 other baptisms than of babes in a proper sense, who 
 needed no such representations, to signify their in- 
 fancy. 
 
 As to the form of baptism, our Saviom- only insti- 
 tuted the essential part of it : namely, that it should be 
 performed by a proper minister, with " water, in the 
 name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost," Matt. 
 xxviii. 1 9. But as for the rites and ch'cumstances of 
 the administration of it, he left them to the determina- 
 tion of the apostles and of the church. Yet without 
 doubt a form of bajitism was very early agreed U])on, 
 because almost all the churches in the world do admi- 
 nister it much after the same manner. The latter ages 
 indeed had made some superfluous additions ; but 
 our Reformers removed them, and restored this 
 office to a nearer resemblance of the ancient model.
 
 330 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 most nuniher of people come together ; as icell fur tliat the Congregation there 
 present may testify the receiving of them that be newly baptized into the number 
 
 than any other church can shew. Dean Comber, 
 Wheatly. 
 
 As baptism is the sacrament of our initiation and 
 entrance into Christianity, it may be demanded. Why 
 liath not the office belonging to it the pre-eminence ? 
 Why is it not in our service-book inserted and mar- 
 shalled before that of the Communion, this sacrament 
 being in order of natiu-e after that ? The answer is, 
 the Communion was, both in the primitive chiu-ch and 
 in the beginning of our Reformation, accounted the 
 principal part of the daily service of God in publick. 
 The eucharistical office being then so concomitant with 
 the daily prayers, and baptism more rarely happening, 
 the Church thought fit to make them contiguous in 
 order, which were so frequent companions in use. 
 L'Estraiiffe. 
 
 p — Public Bnptism of Infants.'] The subjects of bap- 
 tism are infants, or persons grown up, wlience there are 
 three several offices. First, puljlick baptism of health- 
 ful infants: and, since infants were circumcised, and 
 not excepted by Christ, when lie instituted baptism in 
 the place of circumcision ; since they need it to wash 
 them from original sin. and were baptized in the primi- 
 tive church ; they ought to be baptized now, and to be 
 brought to the church, that there may be many %\it- 
 nesses of this solemn act, and that others may be put 
 in mind of their vow; as also because thus they are 
 admitted members of our religious assemblies in the 
 proiier place. Secondly, when children are weak, there 
 is a private and short office : and, since Christ makes 
 this the ordinary means of entering into heaven, John 
 iii. 5 ; ])arents and ministers must in this case be \'ery 
 careful to get them Ijaptizcd, bemg assured this will 
 wash away their original sin, and graft them into the 
 body of Christ, so tliat if they die before they have done 
 actual sin, they are undoubtedly saved ; and if this be 
 neglected by the fault of parents or ministers, (how- 
 ever God's infinite mercy may deal with the child.) 
 they must answer for putting its salvation on so great 
 a hazard. Now this short office is good and sufficient 
 if the child die, but if it recover it must be brought to 
 church afterwards; that the congregation may be cer- 
 tified it was rightly baptized, and the covenant solemnly 
 entered into for it. The third office is for those of 
 ri])cr years, who are converted from being .Ictt's, Turks, 
 heatlitns, or from those sectaries, who with those infi- 
 dels renounce baptism. These nuist be well catechized 
 before they come, and spend some time in fasting and 
 jirayer to |jre|)are them : because they answer for them- 
 selves, and make the covenant with their own mouths, 
 so that their godfathers are only witnesses to the fact, 
 and must be monitors to them to live according to 
 tlieir vow. Dean Comber. 
 
 The first of these three offices is that which is now 
 most commonly used. For there being Init very few 
 adult ])ersons, who now come over to the church, in- 
 fants are generally the jiersons that are ba])tized : and 
 they being apiiointcd to be brought to clnirch, except in 
 dajigiT of death, the puldick I'orm of baptism is there 
 ordered to be used. Of this therefore it will be requi- 
 site to treat in order at large, and ordy to take notice 
 of those particulars in the others, which differ from 
 this. tVlii'ully. 
 
 1 — Biiplism of Infants,'] The office we are now 
 upon being appointed for uifants, it will be proper to 
 premise a few general hints in relation to baptizing 
 them. For that reason it should be here observed, 
 that, as baptism was ainioinlcd for the sunic cud that 
 
 circumcision was, and did succeed in the place of it ; it 
 is reasonable that it should be administered to the 
 same kinds of persons. For since God commanded 
 infants to be circumcised. Gen. xvii. 12, it is not to 
 be doubted, but that He would also ba\-e them bap- 
 tized. Nor is it necessary that Christ should particu- 
 larly mention children in his commission : it is sufficient 
 that He did not except them : for that supposeth He 
 intended no alteration in this particular, but that 
 children should be initiated into the Christian as well 
 as into the Jemsh religion. And indeed if we consider 
 the custom of the Jews at that time, it is impossible 
 but that the apostles, to whom He delivered his com- 
 mission, must necessarily imderstand Him as speaking 
 of children, as well as of grown or adult persons. For 
 it is well known that the Jews baptized, as well as 
 circumcised, all proseh-tes of the nations or Gentiles, 
 that were converted to their religion. And if any of 
 those converts had " infant children " then born to 
 them, they also were, at their father's desire, both cir- 
 cumcised and baptized, if males; or if females, only 
 baptized, and so admitted as jiroselytes. The child's 
 " inability " to declare or promise for himself was not 
 looked upon as a bar against his reception into the 
 covenant : but the desire of the father to dedicate him 
 to God was accounted available and sufficient to justify 
 his admission. Nor does the ceremony of baptism 
 appear to have been used amongst the Jews upon such 
 extraordinary occasions only; but it seems rather to 
 have been an ordinary rite constantly administered by 
 them, as well to their own, as to the cbiliiren of pro- 
 selytes; for the Mishna prescribes the solemn "wash- 
 ing," as well as the circiuncision of the child, which I 
 know not how to interpret, if it is not to be understood 
 of a baptismal washing. 
 
 This therefore being the constant practice of the 
 Jews, and our Saviour in his commission making no 
 exception, but bidding his apostles " go and disciple all 
 nations, baptizing them, &c. ;" that is a sufficient argu- 
 ment to pro\'e, that He intended no alteration in the 
 objects of baptism, but only to exalt the action of 
 baptizing to a nobler purpose, and a larger use. For 
 when a commission is given in so few words, and there 
 is no ex|n'ess direction what they sliould do with the 
 infants of those who become disciples ; tlie natural and 
 obvious interpretation is, that they must do in that 
 matter as they and the cluu-eh in which they lived 
 had always used to do. And we may assure ourseh-es, 
 that had the a])ostles left children out of the covenant, 
 and not received them as mendjers of the church ; the 
 Jews, who took such care that their children should 
 not want their own sacrament of initiation, would cer- 
 tainly have urged this as a great objection against the 
 Christian religion. 15ut we do not read of any such 
 objection ever made, and therefore we may depend 
 ujjon it, that the apostles gave them no room for it. 
 
 It is true iiuleed, it has been often olijectcd to us, 
 that the Scri])tiires make no express mention of the 
 ba])tisin of infants ; to wliieli we miglit reply, were the 
 objection true, that neither do tlie Scriptures make any 
 e\|iress mention of the alteration of the sabl)ath ; and 
 yet 1 belie\-e there are but \'i:\\' of those who are of a 
 different opinion from us, in the point before us, but 
 who tbiidc the observation of the first day of the week 
 is sufficiently aulhoiized from the New Testament: 
 and yet this is not more clearly implied than the other. 
 We read in several places of whole " households being 
 bajitized," Acts xvi. 15. 33; 1 (.'or. i. 10, without any
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 331 
 
 of Christ's Cliwch; as also because in the Baptism nf Infants every Man 
 present may he put in rememhrance nf his own prnfession made to God in his 
 
 exception of their infants or children. Now it is very 
 unlikely that there should be so many households 
 without children; and therefore, since none such are 
 excepted, we may conclude that they were baptized as 
 well as the rest of the family : only the baptism of 
 adult persons beinp; more for the honour of the Chris- 
 tian religion, the holy writers chose only to name the 
 chief persons baptized, thinking it sufficient to include 
 their children and servants under the general terms of 
 " all theirs," or " their households." And what makes 
 it still more jirobable that children were really included 
 in these terms, is that the Scriptures no where mention 
 the deferring of the baptism of any Christian's child, 
 or the putting of it off till he came to years of dis- 
 cretion. An argument that surely may as justly be 
 in-ged against the adversaries to infant baptism as the 
 silence of the Scriptures is against us. Dean Comber, 
 U'heatly. 
 
 It has been a very ancient usage of the church, de- 
 rived, as there is all the reason to think, from the 
 apostolical times, that the children of believing parents 
 should receive the lienefit of Christian baptism. Origen 
 makes this to be a ])art of apostolical tradition : " For 
 this the church recei\-ed as a tradition from the apostles, 
 namely, to gix'C baiitism to infants." The writings of 
 C'lement, Ignatius, Polycarp, and such other very early 
 Christian writers, are so short, that one cannot expect 
 to find every Christian usage therein : but I think that 
 Paedobai)tism could be hardly so generally used in the 
 second and third century, unless it had been a custom 
 in the former ages ; nay, from the beginning of Chris- 
 tianity. For, if it had been a custom which had gra- 
 dually grown up, some of those ancient writers would 
 somewhere or other in their works have opposed it. 
 There is not indeed any thing in the holy Scriptures, 
 which does in express terms command it. But yet 
 there do not want probable arguments drau'n from 
 thence, which do evince the truth thereof. I'"or, since 
 the Gospel is said to be " a better covenant " than 
 the Jewish law, Heb. \'iii. C : we cannot think, that an 
 injunction to admit members into the church, only 
 after years of discretion, should be so good an one, as 
 that which allows them to come into it the eighth day 
 after their birth, Gen. xvii. 12. When " Lydia was 
 ba])tized and her household," Acts xvi. 15; and when 
 St. Paul " baptized the household of Stephanas ;" it is 
 hard to be believed that there was never a child in 
 those families. When the apostles were commanded 
 to " baptize all nations," Matt, xxviii. 19; it is not to 
 be supposed, but that the children therein were to be 
 baptized, as well as the persons of riper age ; unless a 
 particular restriction had gone along with the com- 
 mand. Since the apostle assures us, that " they which 
 are of the faith," that is, all Christians, " are children 
 of Abraham." Gal. iii. 7; then surely their offspring 
 have as good a title to partake of the federal rite of 
 baptism whereby they may enter into the Christian 
 covenant, as the carnal progeny of Abraham had to 
 enter into the Jewish covenant by circumcision. When 
 the apostle declares that the children of a believing 
 parent "are holy," 1 Cor. vii. 14, it cannot be denied, 
 but that, either they were actually entered into the 
 Christian covenant, or that at least they had a title 
 thereunto. Dr. NichoUs. 
 
 But when we come to the ancient fathers, who lived 
 nighest to the a])ostolical times, and were the best 
 judges both what was the jiractice of the very first ages, 
 and how they understood the words of holy writ, when 
 
 it was first delivered to the church ; they do uniformly 
 declare in favour of infant ba])tism. And surely they 
 must be allowed to be competent witnesses of what was 
 done by the ajiostles themselves. They could tell 
 whether themselves or their fathers were bajitized in 
 their infancy, or whether it was the apostles' doctrine 
 or advice to stay till they were grown up to years of 
 maturit)'. But now in none of these do we meet with 
 any thing that favours the opinion of our adversaries, 
 but almost in all of them a direct confutatiim of their 
 eiTors. In some of them we liave express and direct 
 mention of the practice of the church in ba])tizing in- 
 fants ; and even in those, in whose way it does not 
 come to say any thing as to the age when baptism 
 should be administered, we have frequent sentences 
 from whence it may be inferred by way of implication. 
 St. Clement, in the apostles' times, speaks of original 
 sin as affecting infants : if so, then bajitism is necessary 
 to wash it away. Justin Martyr affirms, that bajjtisra 
 is to us in the stead of circumcision ; from whence we 
 may fairly conclude, that it ought to be administered to 
 the same kinds of jiersons. In another jilace he men- 
 tions several persons, " who were (lisci])le(l {or made 
 disciples) to Christ, whilst children ;" which plaiidy in- 
 timates, that children may be made " disci]iles," and 
 consequently may be baptized. I'or the only objection 
 of the AntiiicPdobaptists against infant baptism is their 
 incapacity of being made disciples. Now here they 
 may perceive, that, if Justin rightly understood the 
 word, children may be disciples. And it is worth 
 observing, that the persons he here speaks of are said 
 to be " sixty and seventy years old :" and therefore, if 
 they were discipled and bajitized when children, it 
 follott's they must be baptized even in the days of the 
 aiiostles. But to ])rocecd : Irenaeus, who lived but a 
 little after Justin, reckons infants among those who 
 were "born again to God." A phrase, which in most 
 ecclesiastical writers, and especially in Irena?us, is gene- 
 rally used to signify that " regeneration," which is the 
 effect of baptism. .\nd, that this must be the sense of 
 the word here, is jilain, because infants are not capable 
 of being born again in any other sense. Tertullian 
 again, a few years after him, speaks of infant baptism 
 as the general practice of his time. In the next cen- 
 tury, Origen, in se^■eral ])laces, expressly assures us 
 that " infants were baptized by the usage of the 
 church." And lastly, about the year 250, (which was 
 but 150 years after the apostles,) St. Cyprian, with 
 sixty-six bi.sho]is in council with him, declared all 
 unanimously, that none were to be hindered from 
 baptism and the grace of God : " AVhich rule," saith 
 he, " as it holds for all, so we think it more especially 
 to be observed in reference to infants, and ]]ersons 
 newly born." The same might be shewn from all the 
 other fathers of the three first centm'ies, who all speak 
 of it as a doctrine, settled and established from the 
 beginning of Christianity, wthout once questioning or 
 opposing it; which certainly they would have done in 
 some or other of theii- works, had they known it to 
 have been an innovation, contrary to the doctrine or 
 practice of the apostles. Dr. Niclmlls, Wheutly. 
 
 ' — tobe used in the Church.'] In the \ery early times 
 of Christianity, whilst the faithful were under a state of 
 persecution, there was no settled place of administering 
 the rite of baptism. The apostles baptized in ponds 
 and ri\crs ; and in any other place, where there was 
 convenience of water. ThusPhihp bajitized the Eunuch 
 in a watery pkue, which they met with accidentally in
 
 332 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 Baptism. For which cause also it is expedieiit that Baptism be ministered 
 in the vulgar tongue. Nevertheless, [if necessity so require,) Children may 
 be baptized upon any other day. 
 
 the road, Acts viii. 38. But the apostles Ukewise began 
 a custom in their time, of baptizing in houses ; and so 
 it shouki seem that St. Paul was baptized. Acts ix. 1", 
 IS ; there being no mention of any river : probably the 
 water which was about the house, serving for that occa- 
 sion. The same seems to be the case with the jailor, 
 who was converted by St. Paul, and was '• baptized, he 
 and all his, straightway," Acts xvi. 33. This custom 
 of bajjtizing in houses, where the congregations of the 
 faithful met, continued for the first ages, when the 
 persecution obhged them to perform all religious acts 
 with as much privacy as might be. After the empire 
 became Christian, and temples were every where erected, 
 a baptistery or room to baptize persons in, was joined to 
 the church ; \\here the persons, who were Ijaptized, had 
 the prayers of the congregation for God's blessing upon 
 them. This being neglected b_v some persons, who 
 performed the baptismal rites in pri\-ate houses and 
 oratories, they thereby seeming to slight the publick 
 baptisteries, occasioned the 59th canon of the Constan- 
 tinopolitan council under Justinianus the younger : 
 " Let not baptism be celebrated in any oratory within 
 a private house : but they that would pai'take of an 
 undefiled baptism, let them go to the publick churches, 
 and there let them enjoy this gift. But, if it shall be 
 proved against any one, that he has transgressed against 
 this ordinance, if he be a clergyman, let him be de- 
 posed ; and if he be a layman, let him be excommuni- 
 cated." Our Church has not been so severe, as to 
 have recourse to excommunications and depositions, 
 upon- the breaking in upon this duty : but she orders, 
 that " the baptism be administered in the church," in 
 the publick congregation : " that the congregation there 
 present may testify the recei\'ing of them that be newly 
 baptized into the number of Christ's church." And it 
 is a pity that so wholesome a constitution should be 
 trara|)led under foot by the vanity of some, and the 
 comjiliance of others, though there be not so great a 
 jienalty annexed to it, as formerly was. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' The people are In be ailmonished, &c.] " It a])pearcth 
 by ancient writers," as was expressed in the rubriek till 
 the last review, "that the sacrament of l)aptism in the 
 old time was not commonly ministered but at two times, 
 at Easter and at Whitsuntide :" at Easter in remem- 
 brance of Christ's resurrection, of which baptism is a 
 figure, Rom vi. 4 ; and at Whitsuntide in remcml)rance of 
 the three thousand souls liaptized by the apostles at that 
 time, .-Vets ii. 41. Eorthis reason in the Western church 
 all, that were born after I'^aster, were kept until Whit- 
 sunday ; and all, that were born after Wliitsuudaj-, were 
 reserved until the next Easter; unless some imminent 
 danger of deatli hastened the administration of it l)efore. 
 Though in the I'.astern eluireli tlie feast of l'".piphany was 
 also assigned for the aduiinistration of this sacrament, 
 in memory of our Saviour being, as it is supposed, baji- 
 tized upon that day. .\nd, about the cightli or ninth 
 century, the time forsoleum bajjtism was enl.irged even 
 in the Latin church, all churches t)eing moved by reason 
 of the thing, to administer bajitisni, as at first, at all 
 times of the year. Wheiitl^. The wise reformers of 
 our Liturgy thought it too great a liberty, to be left to 
 the i)arents to keep I heir children from baptism from 
 the time of their birth to tlie following Easter, which 
 was indulged by tlie jirovincial council only a little to 
 comjily with tlie see of Rome, who tenaciously adhered 
 to an old custom, the reason of which was vanished : 
 and therefore tliey very prudently order, that the 
 
 people should be admonished to bring their children to 
 church for baptism upon Sundays only and holy-days, 
 and that in any time of the year ; not with any par- 
 ticular regard to those Sundays and holy-days, but 
 because the greatest congregations then meet at church, 
 who may be witnesses of their reception into the church, 
 and may thereby receive benefit, by refreshing their 
 memories with a recital of those sacred engagements, 
 which they themselves formerly made. Dr. Nicholls. 
 See page 164, note 71. 
 
 The reason of the former part of this nibrick is plain 
 enough. That this ofiice, which is designed to be a 
 publick one, should not be used on sucli days, or at 
 such hours of the day, when there is no iniblick service 
 performed, or congregation attending; and when con- 
 sequently the administration of baptism would only be 
 private in effect, though executed \\-ithin the walls of 
 the church and with the publick form. But how the 
 allowance is to be interpreted depends upon the mean- 
 ing of the word " necessity :" which can hardly be 
 conceived to take place here in any such strict sense as 
 that in which it is used in the rubriek before the otfiee 
 of private baptism. For what necessity can there be, 
 to prefer any other day for publick baptism before a 
 Sunday or holy-day, which would not equally warrant 
 a private bajitism ; that is to say, supposing the ex- 
 pression, " if necessity so require," to be tantamount to 
 that other in the following ofiice " if need shall compel." 
 If there were room to belie\e that lioth these expressions 
 related to the "same" causes or "urgent causes," 
 then the allowance to baptize "on any other day " must 
 be understood only of " private " baptisms. But as I 
 fear it can hardly be so construed, especially as pro- 
 vision is made for such cases in the jirivate office, so 
 neither am I able to assign the instances, of which it 
 may be projierly understood. Should it be alleged, 
 that no more might be intended by the expression, 
 than to except some cases of great inconvenience, as it 
 seems to be opposed to the words foregoing " most 
 convenient," this meaning might well enough be ap- 
 proved, if such construction miglit be allowed. 
 
 Under such uncertainty the point which I chiefly rest 
 ujion is this. That it doth not appear that we of the 
 clergy have any ]iower lodged with us to judge and 
 determine what are those cases of "necessity" or "in- 
 convenience," which deserve a dispensation, or exception 
 from the general rule. It is said, that " the iieo])le shall 
 be admonished " to bring their children to be baptized 
 " only on .Sundays or holy-days." Wliich I supjiose 
 with regard to us, is no more than a general direction 
 to discourage their neglect of this rubriek, as we have 
 op])ortunity, and to put them in mind, as often as there 
 shall be occasion to remind them, to bring tlieir children 
 when there is a enngri'gation to witness their liaptism: 
 at least " on such days and at such hours, as there is 
 publick service usually performed." .\nd if tliey conqily 
 with the rubriek tlius far, as to bring their children to 
 church on any day when there is stated service, taking 
 ujion themselves to answer for the " necessity " of the 
 case ; and withal give notice to the curate of their in- 
 tention " either the night before, or in tlic morning before 
 jirayers begin," as a following rubriek directs; I do not 
 sec that the baptism of llieir cliildreii can be refused or 
 postponed. Uiit then, on the other hand, how far a 
 curate, thougli he take not upon himself to judge of the 
 necessity, M;c., may take upon liiiiiself to baptize on any 
 day, or hour of the day, when there is no publick ser-
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 333 
 
 5f And nolo, that thrre shall he for cveri/ Male-child to he haptizrd tivo God- 
 ftiiliers^ and one Godniutlier ; and for cvcri/ Female, one Godfather and two 
 Godmothers. 
 
 1[ Jf'hen there are Children to he baptized, the Parents sh/dl rjive hwwled/je 
 thereof over niijht, or in the mornim] hi fore the het/inninr/ of Mornimj I'raijer, 
 to the Curate. And then the Goifalliers and Godmothers, and the people with 
 the Children, must he ready at the Font", either immediately after the last 
 Lesson at Morninq Prayer, or else immediately after the last Lesson at Evcniny 
 Prayer, as the Curate hy his discretion shall appoint. And the Priest^ cominy 
 
 vice is another question. This I think is clear, that he 
 may justify himself in refusing to do so, hoth hy the 
 office, one part of which is the puhlick " reception of 
 the haptized infant into the congregation of Christ's 
 Hock;"' and hy the ruhrick, which enjoins that the 
 ha;)tism shall he administered " immediately after the 
 second lesson either of morning or evening prayer :" 
 which of the two is left to the curate's discretion, hut 
 his discretionary power goes no farther. 
 
 It will he ohserved, that, for the same reason, hap- 
 tism ought never to he deferred till the stated service 
 is over, where it can be performed in time of service ; 
 which proviso I put in on account of those places, as 
 cathedral and collegiate churches, for instance, where 
 the usual situation of the font is at so great a dis- 
 tance from the choir or the ]ilace of divine service, 
 as to render the compliance with this injunction im- 
 practicahle. 
 
 For, wherever the font is, there, and there only, can 
 this office be regularly ])erformed : which we of the 
 clergy should take the more notice of, because it is the 
 only point in these ])revious rubricks, placed at the head 
 of the office, which is ex|iressly charged upon the 
 minister ; " The priest coming to the font and standing 
 there shall say." Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 ' And note, that there shall be for every Male-child to 
 be baptized two Godfathers, S;c.] This rubrick, which 
 was added at the last review, is concerning the God- 
 fathers and Godmothers. The use of which in the 
 Christian church was deri\'ed from the Jews, as well as 
 the initiation of infants itself. And it is hy some 
 believed that " the witnesses" mentioned by Isaiah at 
 the " naming of his son," Isa. viii. 2, were of the same 
 nature with these sureties. 
 
 2. In the [jriinitive church they were so early, that 
 it is not easy to fix the time of their beginning. Some 
 of the most ancient fathers make mention of them, and 
 through all the successive ages afterwards we fiiul the 
 use of them continued, without any scru|)le or interrup- 
 tion, till the Anabaptists, and other Puritans of late 
 years, raised some idle clamours against them. Some 
 of these there will be a properer place to speak to here- 
 after. In the meanwhile it may be observed in general, 
 that since the laws of all nations (because infants can- 
 not speak for themselves) have allowed them guardians 
 to contract for them in secular matters ; which con- 
 tracts, if they be fair and beneficial, the infants must 
 make good when they come to age ; it cannot, one 
 would think, be unreasonable for the Church to allow 
 them spiritual guardians, to promise those things in 
 their name, without which they cannot obtain salvation. 
 And this too, at the same time, gives " secvuity" to the 
 Church, that the children shall not apostatize, from 
 whence they are called " sureties ;" provides monitors 
 to every Christian, to remind them of the vow which 
 they made in their presence, from whence they are 
 called " witnesses ;" and better represents the new birth, 
 by giving the infants new and spiritual relations, 
 whence they are termed " Godfathers and Godmothers." 
 
 3. How long the Church has fixed the number of 
 these sureties, I cannot tell : but by a constitution of 
 Edmund Archbishop of Canterbury, in the year 1236, 
 and in a synod held at Worcester, in the year 1240, I 
 find the same provision made as is now required by our 
 rubrick, namely, " That there should be for every male- 
 child, that is to be baptized, two Godfathers and one 
 Godmother; and for every female, one Godfather and 
 two Godmothers." 
 
 4. By the twenty-ninth canon of our Church, " no 
 parent is to be admitted to answer as Godfather for his 
 own child." For the jiarents are already engaged under 
 such strict bonds, both by nature and religion, to take 
 care of their children's education, that the Church does 
 not think she can lay them under greater : but still 
 makes provision, that if, notwithstanding these obliga- 
 tions, the parents should be negligent, or if it should 
 please God to take them to Himself hefore their children 
 be grown up ; there yet may be others, U])on whom it 
 shall lie to see that the children do not want due in- 
 structions, by means of such carelessness, or death of 
 their parents. And for a farther prevention of people's 
 entering upon this charge, before they are capable of 
 understanding the trust they take upon themselves, it 
 is farther provided by the above-mentioned canon, that 
 " no person be admitted Godfather or Godmother, 
 before the said jierson, so undertaking, hath received 
 the holy communion." Wlieully. 
 
 " — must be ready at the Font,'] What the font is, 
 every body knows, but not why it is so called. The 
 rites of baptism in the first times were performed in 
 " fovmtains" and "rivers," both because their converts 
 were many, and because those ages were unprovided of 
 other baptisteries, ^^"e have no other remainder of 
 this rite but the name : for hence it is, that we call our 
 baptisteries " fonts ;" which, when religion found peace, 
 were built and consecrated for the more reverence and 
 respect of the sacrament. These were set at first some 
 distance from the church ; after, in the church-porch; 
 and that significantly, because baptism is the entrance 
 into the church mystical, as the ])orch to the temple. 
 At the last, they got into the church, but not into 
 every, but the city-church, where the bishop resided, 
 hence called " the mother-church" because it gave spi- 
 ritual birth by hajjtism ; afterwards they were brought 
 into rural churches. Wheresoe;-er tliey stood, they 
 were had in high veneration. Bp. Spairoio. 
 
 " — And the Priestl Our Church here declares who is 
 the proper and ordinary minister of bajitism. The com- 
 mission to bajitize was given to the apostles and their 
 successors, and other persons whom they should appoint 
 for that office. In common cases our Church has in this 
 rubrick declared who is the ordinaiy minister of bap- 
 tism ; namely, the [jriest : liberty being allowed in 
 extraordinary cases, or in the absence of the priest, as 
 it was in the [jrimitixe church, for a deacon to 
 ba])tize. Dr. ISiichol/s. The jiriest, who, under the 
 bishop, and by authority derived from him, is the 
 proper and ordinary minister of bajitism; or the
 
 334 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 Eph. iv. 5. 
 
 to tlie Fojify, {which is then to be JiUed with pure JVater^,) and standing there, 
 shall say, 
 
 T Jf they answer, No : Then shall the Priest 
 proceed'' as followeth. 
 
 HATH this Child been already 
 baptized, or no ^ ? 
 
 deacon, as his deputy and assistant. Archdeacon 
 Yardley. 
 
 f — coining to the Font ^ There is an obvious remark 
 to be made upon this restriction as to place : namely, 
 that no minister ought to use this publick form in a 
 private house ; or indeed in any place, except at the 
 font itself, to which the use of it is restrained. Nay, if 
 the rubrick did not forbid him, the verj- office itself 
 would, in which he is directed to jiray in these words, 
 " Grant, that whosoever is here dedicated to thee by 
 our ofBce and ministry, may be endued with heavenly 
 virtues. &c." Consider whether these words can con- 
 sistently, or indeed without absurdity, be iiscd in a 
 parlour or bedchamber, or in any other jilace save at 
 the common baptistery, or " fountain of baptism," as 
 the old offices terra it, appropriated to each parish or 
 congregation. Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 If the occasion be so urgent as to require baptism at 
 home, the Church has provided a particular office for 
 the administration of it ; which directs, that the essential 
 parts of the sacrament be administered immediately in 
 private ; but defers the performance of the other solem- 
 nities till the child can be brought into the chiu-ch. As 
 to the office we are now upon, it is by no means to be 
 used in any place but the church. It is ordered to be 
 said "at the font," in the middle of the Morning or 
 Evening Prayer, and all along supposes a congregation 
 to be present ; and jiarticularly in one of the addresses 
 which the priest is to use, it is very absurd for him to 
 tell the Godfathers and Godmothers in a chamber, that 
 " they have brought the child thither to be bajitized," 
 when he himself is brought thither to ba]itize it. It is 
 still more absurd for him in such a place to use that 
 expression, " Grant that whosoever is here dedicated to 
 thee by our office and ministry, &c." For he knows 
 that the word " here" cannot be apjilicable to the place 
 he is in : nor yet has he any authority to omit or alter 
 the form. 
 
 If we look back into the practice of the primitive 
 church, we shall find that the ]>Iace where this solenm 
 act was performed was at first indeed unlimited : " in 
 any place where tlierc was water," as Justin Martyr 
 tells us ; " in ponds or lakes, in springs or rivers," as 
 'I'crtullian speaks : but always as near as might be to 
 the ])lace of their publick assemblies. For it was never 
 (except Tipon extraordinary occasions) done without the 
 )>rcsence of the congregation. \ rule of the primitive 
 (Jliristians so zealously kcjit to, that the Trullan Council 
 docs not allow this holy sacrament to be ailministercd 
 even in chapels that were api)ro[)riate or ])rivate, but 
 oidy in the puldick or jmrish churches; punishing the 
 ]iersons offending, if clergy, with deposition ; if laity, 
 with excommunication. 
 
 In our own Cliurch indeed, since our unhappy con- 
 fusions, this office hath l)een very frequently made use 
 of in "private;" and .some ministers have thought 
 themselves, to prevent the greater mischief of se|)ara- 
 tion, necessitated to comply with the obstinacy of the 
 greater and more powerful of their jjarishioncrs ; wlio, 
 for their ease or humour, or for the convenience of a 
 more splendid and pompons christening, resolving to 
 have their cliildrcn l)a|)tizcd at home, if their own 
 minister refuse it, will get some other to do it. 
 
 lint such persons ought caliuly to consider, how con- 
 trary to reason and the jilain design of the institution of 
 
 the sacrament this custom is. For what is the end of 
 that sacred ordinance, but to initiate the person into the 
 church of Christ, and to intitle him to the privileges of 
 it ? And where can tlierc be a better representation of 
 that society, than in a congregation assembled after the 
 most solemn and conspicuous manner for the worship of 
 God, and for the testifying of their communion in it ? 
 Where can the profession be more properly made be- 
 fore such admission ; where the stipidation given, where 
 the promise to undertake the duties of a Christian ; but 
 in such an assembly of Christians ? The ordinance is 
 certainly ])ublick ; ])ublick in the natm-e and end of it ; 
 and therefore such ought the celebration of it to be ; 
 the neglect whereof is the less excusable, because it is so 
 easily remedied. iVheatly. 
 
 ' — (which is then to be filled uith pure Water,)'] Water 
 is the element appointed by our Saviour as an essential, 
 without which the sacrament cannot be administered : 
 and it ought to be " ])ure," both in regard to decency, 
 and to the spiritual significancy of it, as employed to 
 wash away sins. Archdeacon Yardley. 
 
 * Hath this Child been already baptized, or no?] The 
 minister is injoined to ask this (juestion, that he may 
 not unawares baptize a child, that has been ba])tized 
 before : which is contrary both to the word of (iod, 
 and to the usage and laws of the church in all ages. 
 For though se\-eral persons are recorded in Scripture 
 to be baptized, there is no mention of anyone that was 
 ever re-baptized, though they were to receive the sacra- 
 ment of the Lord's supper often, 1 Cor. xi. 24, &c. 
 And, since baptism succeeded in the place of circum- 
 cision, the latter being never reiterated in the Jewish 
 church, so neither ought the former. For since this 
 sacred rite is the initiatory one, whereby we are ad- 
 mitted into our holy religion, it ought not to be repeated : 
 since we enter into our religion but once, to reiterate 
 the form were only to make sport w-ith, or at least to 
 perv'crt the intent of, the sacred mystery. And to this 
 probably relate the " one faith, one baptism," Eph. 
 iv. .') ; and the "once enlightened." Heb. vi. 4, is not 
 improbably to be luulerstood of the same. But the 
 whole current of antiquity runs against the repetition 
 of baptism. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 Iteration of baptism once given hath been always 
 thought a manifest contempt of that ancient apostolical 
 aphorism, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism;" bap- 
 tism not only one, inasmuch as it hath every where 
 the same substance, and oiferclh unto all men the same 
 grace ; but one also, for that it ought not to be received 
 l)y any man above once. We serve the Lord, which is 
 but one, because no one can l)e joined with Ilim; wc 
 embrace th.at faith, which is but one, because it ad- 
 mittcth no innovation ; tluit baptism we receive which 
 is but one, because it cannot l)c recv-ivcd often. For 
 how should we practise iteration of ba])tisin, and yet 
 tcacli, that we are by baptism born anew; that by 
 baptism we are admitted into the heavenly society of 
 saints ; that those things be really and cfl'ccfually (lone 
 by baptism, which are no more ])(>ssible to be often 
 done, than a man can naturally be often born, or civilly 
 be often adojited into any one stock or family ! This 
 also is the cause, why they, tliat present us unto liap- 
 tism, are entitled for ever after our parents in (!od; 
 and the reason why tlurc we receive new names, in 
 token that by bajitism wc arc made new creatures. As
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 335 
 
 Ps. li. 5. 
 Eph. ii. 3. 
 
 D 
 
 EARTHY beloved, forasmiid 
 
 as all men'- are conce 
 
 ived 
 
 Christ liath therefore died and risen from the dead but 
 once, so tliat sacrament, which both extinguisheth in 
 I!im our former sin, and beginneth in us a new condi- 
 tion of life, is by one only actual administration for 
 ever available, according to that in the Nicene Creed, 
 " I acknowledge one bajjtism for the remission of sins." 
 Hoolu r. 
 
 The first part of the office, or the preparation before 
 baptism, concerns either the child or the sureties : as to 
 the child, we first inquire if it want baptism; secondly, 
 shew the necessity of it in an exhortation ; thirdly, we 
 ])ray it may be fitted for it in the two Collects. First, 
 the priest asks if this child have been already baptized, 
 because St. Paul saith, " there is but one baiitism," 
 Kph. iv. 5 ; and as we are born, so we are born again, 
 but once. Secondly, the minister begins the exhorta- 
 tion, shewing, 1. What reason there is to baptize this 
 child, namely, because of its being born in original sin, 
 Ps. li. 5, and by consequence liable to condemnation, 
 Rom. V. 12 ; the only way to free it from which is ba[)- 
 tizing it with water and the Holy Ghost, John iii. .5. 
 And secondly, beseeching all jjresent, ujion this accoimt 
 to pray to God, that, while He baptizes this child with 
 water, God will give it his Holy Spirit, so as to make it 
 a lively member of Christ's church, «'herel)y it may 
 have a title to " remission of sins." 'I'liirdly, the two 
 Collects follow, made by the priest and all the people 
 for the child : the first Collect commemorates how God 
 did tj'pify this salvation, which He now gives by bap- 
 tism, in saving Noah and all his by water, 1 Pet. iii. 2 1 ; 
 and by carrying the Israelites safe through the Red 
 Sea, 1 Cor. x. 2. And it declares also how Christ 
 Himself by being baptized sanctified water for remis- 
 sion of sin : and upon these grounds we pray, that God 
 will by his Spirit cleanse and sanctify this child, that 
 he may be delivered from his wrath, saved in the ark 
 of his church, and so filled with grace as to live holily 
 here, and happily hereafter. 'I'he second Collect, after 
 owning God's power to help this child, and to raise 
 him fi-om the death of sin to the life of righteousness, 
 doth petition Him to grant it may receive remission 
 and regeneration, jileading with God to grant this re- 
 quest, by his promise to give to them that ask, that so 
 this infant may be spiritually cleansed by God's grace 
 in its baptism, and come at last to his eternal kingdom, 
 through Christ our Lord, Amen. 
 
 2. The next part of the jn-eparation concerns the 
 Godfathers or sureties, who are, 1. encouraged in the 
 (iospel and its apphcati(m, with the thanksgiving; 2. 
 instructed in the preface before the covenant; 3. en- 
 gaged in the questions and answers. The Jews had 
 sureties at circumcision, who jiromised for the child till 
 it came to age, Isa. viii. 2 ; and the primitive Christians 
 had sponsors to engage for such as were baptized ; and 
 since children cannot make a covenant themselves, it is 
 charity to appoint (as the laws of men do) others to do 
 it for them till they be of age ; and this gives security 
 to the church, the child shall not be an apostate ; 
 provides a monitor for both the child and its parents, 
 to mind them of this vow, and keep the memory of this 
 new birth, by gi\'ing the child new and spu'itual rela- 
 tions of Godfathers and Godmothers : now to these the 
 priest ne.xt addresseth, 1. in " the Gospel," Mark x. 13; 
 which shews how the Jews, believing that Christ's 
 blessing woidd be very beneficial to young children, 
 brought them to Him in their arms, and when the 
 disciples checked them, Christ first declares that infants, 
 and such as were like them, had the only right to the 
 
 honi in sin''; and tliat our Saviour nom. v. 12. 
 Christ saitli, None can enter into J|l',, ^iv. 4. 
 
 kingdom of heaven, and therefore they had good riglit 
 to his love and his blessing, and to all means which 
 might bring them to it, and accordingly He took them 
 in his arms and blessed them. After this follows the 
 explication, and applying this Gospel to the sureties; 
 for if tliey doubt, here they may see Christ's love to 
 infants, and their right to heaven and to this means, so 
 that they may firmly believe He will pardon and sanc- 
 tify this child, and grant it a title to his kingdom ; and 
 that He is well jileased with them, for bringing this 
 child to his lioly baptism ; for He desires that this 
 infant, as well as we all, may come to know and Ijelieve 
 in Him. Wherefore, thirdly, here is "a thanksgiving" 
 to be offered up by all, beginning with praising God for 
 calling us into his church, where we may know Him 
 and obtain the grace to believe, it being very |)roper 
 for us to bless God for our being Christians, when a 
 new Christian is to be made ; and then follows a prayer, 
 that we who are Christians may grow in grace, and that 
 this infant may receive the Spirit in order to its rege- 
 neration and salvation. After which form of devotion, 
 fourthly, there is a " preface to the covenant," wherein 
 the Godfathers and (iodmothers are put in mind, first, 
 what hath been done already, namely, Tliey have 
 brought the child to Christ, and begged of Him in tlie 
 Collects to accept it, and Christ hath shewed them in 
 the Gospel, that the child is capable to receive, and He 
 willing to give it salvation, and the means thereof upon 
 the conditions required of all Christians, that is, repent- 
 ance, faith, and new obedience. Secondly, therefore, 
 they are required to engage in the name of this child, 
 till "it come of age, that it shall perform these conditions 
 required on -its part, that it may have a title to that 
 which Christ doth jn-omise, and wiU certainly perform 
 on his part. Fifthly, the engagement itself follows, 
 which is very necessary, since baptism is a mutual 
 covenant between God and man, and therefore in the 
 beginning of Christianity, (when the church consisted 
 chiefly of such as were converted from the Jews and 
 heathens, after they came to age,) the parties baptized 
 answered these very same questions, and entered into 
 these very engagements for themselves, which infants 
 (who need the benefits of baptism as much as any) not 
 being able to do, the Church lends them the feet of 
 others to bring them, and the tongues of others to 
 promise for them ; and the priest stands in God's stead 
 to take this security in his name ; he " demands" there- 
 fore of the sureties, first, if they in the name and 
 stead of this child will renounce all sinful comjiliances 
 with the "devil," the "world," and the " flesh," which 
 tempt us to all kinds of sin, and so are God's enemies 
 and ours also, in so high a measure, that unless we vow 
 never to follow and be led by them, we cannot be re- 
 cei\'ed into league and friendship with God : to this 
 they reply in the singular number, as if the child spake 
 by them, " I renounce them all." Secondly, as Philip 
 asked the eunuch, if he did believe before he baptized 
 him. Acts viii. 31, so the priest asks, if they beheve 
 all the articles of the Christian faith, into which reli- 
 gion they are now to be entered, and therefore they 
 must engage to hold all the fundamental princijiles 
 thereof revealed in Scripture, and comprised in the 
 Apostles' Creed, and they are to answer, " All this I 
 stedfastly believe." Thirdly, that it may appear to be 
 their own free act to admit themselves into this holy 
 religion, they are asked if they will be baptized into 
 this faith, and they answer, " that is my desire ;" for 
 who would not desire to be a child of God, a member
 
 336 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 John iii. 5. 
 
 the kingdom of God% except he be 
 regenerate *^ and born anew of Water 
 and of the Holy Ghost s, I beseech 
 
 of Christ, and an heir of heaven ? But since these 
 benefits of baptism are promised only to them who 
 hve liolily, fourthly, it is demanded if tliey will keep 
 God's holy will and commandments as long as they 
 hve, since they now take Christ for their Lord and 
 Master, and list themselves under his banner, and 
 receive his grace in this sacrament, to renew and 
 sta-engthen them to keep this vow. Upon these ac- 
 counts they promise " they will " keep God's com- 
 mandments. And now the covenant is made between 
 God and this infant. He hath promised it pardon, grace, 
 and glory, and is willing to adopt it for his own child : 
 and this child by its sureties hath engaged to forsake 
 all evil «'ays, to believe all truth, and to practise all 
 kind of virtue. Dean Cumber. 
 
 ^ — Then shall the Pi iest proceed &c.] If the minister 
 be answered, that the child hath not been baptized, he 
 then begins the solemnity with an exhortation to 
 prayer : for there being a mutual covenant in this 
 sacrament between God and man, so vast a dispropor- 
 tion between the parties, and so great a condescension 
 on the [jart of the Almighty, (who designs only our 
 advantage by it, and is mo\'ed by nothing but his own 
 free grace to agree to it,) it is very reasonable, the 
 whole solemnity should be begun with an humble 
 address to God. Dean Comber, iVheatty. 
 
 ' Dearly beloved, forasmuch as ail men &c.] Holy 
 Church's aim being in all her services to make them 
 "reasonable," that according to St. Paul, 1 Cor. xiv, 
 we may all join with her in her offices, both with our 
 " spirit and understanding," she hath been careful, 
 not only to ])ut them into a known tongue, but also to 
 instruct us in the nature of them : making thus her 
 Prayer Book a sum of divinity. Therefore here in the 
 beginning, she instructs out of holy Scriptm-e con- 
 cerning the necessity and efficacy of baptism, as veiy 
 briefly, so very pithily and fully. First, laying down 
 this for a rule, that we are all born in sin, as it is in 
 Rom. V. IS. 10; all guilty in Adam's fall, (so the 
 Catholick cluirch spread o\'er the world always under- 
 stood it,) and therefore by our iu'st birth ba\'c no riglit 
 to heaven, into which " no unclean thing shall enter," 
 Eph. v. 5. Secondly, that therefore there is need of 
 a second birth to give us a right to that, as it is in St. 
 John iii. 3, " Except a man be born again, he cannot 
 enter into the kingdom of God." Thirdly, that this 
 second or new birtli is by water and the Holy Ghost, 
 St. John iii. b, " Except a man be born again of water 
 and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom 
 of God." IJy water and the Holy (Jhost is there meant 
 holy baptism. For first, this is tlie most literal inter- 
 pretation of the words ; for what is baptism but water 
 and the Holy (Jliost? aud therefore tlie best : for that 
 is certainly the sense of tlie Holy (jhost, who, as we all 
 ljelie\e, was the author of the letter of the Scripture, 
 and therefore of the literal sense, where that is not 
 contrary to, but agreeable with, the other Scrip- 
 tures. Now this literal sense given is agreeable to other 
 texts : as, namely, to Acts viii. 3S ; x. 17 ; where water 
 is declared to be the clement of ba|)tism : and expressly 
 again, Eph. v. '-'0, " Christ loved the chureb, and gave 
 liimself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it 
 with the wiishing of water." And as this is the most 
 literal, .so is it the most catholick intcrpretalion of the 
 worils ; and therefore also the best, by St. I'eler's ride, 
 2 St. Peter i. 20, " Knowing this lirst, that no ]U'ophcey 
 
 you to call upon God the Father'', 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
 of his bounteous mercy he will grant 
 
 of Scripture is of private interpretation." Tliat this is 
 the most catholick inter])retation, apjiears by all the 
 ancient inter|)reters ujjon the ])lace, who all expound it 
 of baptism. And indeed if it were lawful to expound 
 it otherwise, seeing no other Sci-iptnre contradicts this 
 literal sense ; I know not how it can be avoided, but 
 that men may lose all their creed by playing so with 
 Scripture, leaving the letter for figures. Thus are we 
 instructed in the nature, necessity, and efficacy of holy 
 baptism ; that it is the only ordinary means of our re- 
 generation, 01' second birth, which gives us a right and 
 title to heaven. Bp. Sparroio. 
 
 Of all the ancients there is not one to be named, that 
 ever did otherwise either expound or allege the place, 
 than as imi)lying external baptism. Hooker. 
 
 '' — forasmuch as all men are conceived and born in 
 sin ;] The Church here assigns as an arginnent why we 
 should pray for the infant, the consideration of that sin, 
 in which it was ''conceived and born :" which although 
 arrogantly denied by the old Pelagians, and their re- 
 vived issue, the Socinian and Anabaptist, yet is it 
 affirmed in Scripture, Ps. li. 5 ; Rom. v. 1 2. 18 ; Job xiv. 
 4, 5 : and was observed by the light of nature among 
 the heathens ; believed by revelation among the Jews, 
 and all the orthodox Christians ; yea, it hath a thousand 
 witnesses in e\-cry man's breast, who will but consider 
 how miserably he is inclined in many cases against his 
 reason, bis judgment, and his resolutions. And it was 
 very necessary for the Chin-ch to lay this foundation, 
 because the denial of original sin hath always been 
 followed by the contempt of infant baptism. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 "■ — he cannot enter into the Icini/dom of Gorf.] That is, 
 he can neither have part in the kingdom of grace nor 
 of glory ; neither be made a member of the Clun-ch 
 militant nor trium])hant. Nothing defiled can come 
 there. Rev. xxi. 2"; 2 Cor. xvi. 15, 16: and, alas! they 
 are defiled both in body and soul. But (iod hath 
 provided a remedy as large as the evil : water, to 
 cleanse the outward, and the Spirit, to jiurify the in- 
 ward man. The baptism of water without the Spirit 
 will not suffice; no, nor yet the bajjlism of tlie Sjiirit 
 without water; for .St. Peter orders those to be bap- 
 tized with water, who had received the Spirit before. 
 Acts X. 47, 48. So tliat since cliiUh'en need this grace 
 so exceedingly, and (iod hath so graciously provided 
 this remedy, and assinrd us of the necessity thereof; we 
 must not allege that God is able to sa\'e «ithout it ; 
 but most devoutly beseech Him that "this child" 
 may become partaker of this blessed means. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' — except he he regenerate and born aneiv of IVater and 
 of the lloly Ghost,'] That is, excejit he be baptized. Bp. 
 Cosin. 
 
 ' — born anew of Water and of the Holy Ghost,'] To ue 
 "born of water" signifies to be baptized with water; 
 and to lie " born of the Spirit " signifies to be renewed 
 in the inner man, to be sanctified or luade holy by the 
 gracious influence of (he Holy Spirit. .\nd lliis birth of 
 water and of the .Spirit is a new birth, as it is dis- 
 tinguishcil from that old or former birth of nature, by 
 which we enter into the world. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 '' — to cult ii/ion (iod the luither.] Who gives this 
 grace, "through our I>ord Jesus Christ," who insti- 
 tuted this ordinance, and intercedes for us, and with 
 us. Dean Comber.
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 3:37 
 
 I Cor, xii. 
 13, 14, 
 
 Rom vi. 
 3-11—13. 
 
 to this Child tliat tliiiitr wliicli by na- 
 ture he cannot have'; tliat he may 
 be baptized with water and the Holy 
 (ihost'', and received into Christ's 
 holy Church, and be made a lively 
 member of the .same. 
 
 A 
 
 1 Pet iii, 
 20, 21, 
 
 1 Then^ shall the Priest sny. 
 Let us pray ". 
 LMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, who of thy threat mercy 
 didst save Noali and his family in 
 the ark from perishing by water ; 
 and also didst safely lead the chil- 
 dren of Israel thy people through 
 the Red Sea, figuring thereby thy 
 
 ' — that thing which by nature he cannot have ;] No- 
 thing is more evident, than that the blessings of the 
 covenant with God by Christ cannot be had by nature : 
 for by nature we are the children of wTath, and conse- 
 quently tlie objects of God's displeasure. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 '' — baptized with water and the Holy Ghost,^ Baptism 
 with the Holy Ghost does in >Scrii)ture phrase betoken 
 the being endued with the extraordinary gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost. But in human writings it very commonly 
 signifies otherwise; and particularly in this [ilace it 
 denotes the being endued with the sanctifying and 
 regenerating grace of the Sjnrit. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ' Then &c.] The rubrick here is deficient with 
 respect to the posture or action of the minister. It is 
 not said, whether he shall kneel or stand, at these and 
 the other prayers previous to the administration of 
 baptism in the two first offices. In that for adults 
 indeed the rubrick is far more clear for his standing ; 
 it being said before the two first prayers in the ofiice, 
 "And here all the congregation shall kneel ;" whereby 
 the minister seems to be excepted. But nothing cer- 
 tain can lie gathered as to the two former offices, which 
 occasions the clergy to practise differently in this cir- 
 cumstance. Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 Every one in the congregation ought devoutly to 
 join in this and all the other jjrayers, and to shew their 
 piety, their zeal, and their charity, in interceding for 
 the child or children here offered to God, that they 
 may effectually receive all the benefits annexed to this 
 holy sacrament. Archdeacon Yardley. 
 
 "• Let us pray.'] Being prepared with the former 
 motives and directions, the minister invites us in the 
 ancient form, " Let us pray ;" and goes I)efore us in 
 these two pious composures. In the first of which 
 there are three ])arts : 1. A preface, laying down the 
 encouragements to his request; 2. The request itself ; 
 3. The end for which we make it. 
 
 1. The preface, having reminded us, that He, whom 
 we call ui)on, is " Almighty " in power, and " Everlast- 
 ing " in duration, commemorates the ancient types of 
 holy bajitism, together with the consignation thereof in 
 the person of our Lord Jesus Christ : that by remember- 
 ing what Gud hath done by, and for, the element of 
 water, with respect to this mystery, we may heighten 
 our own expectations, and learn to hope for great 
 things from it, and engage the Almighty to make the 
 present effect answerable to so early and so noble an 
 apparatus, as Himself had made therennto, 
 
 2, The petition advanced upon these promises is, 
 first, for God's general j)ity to be exjircsscd towards 
 this infant, because it is miserable by natm-c, and 
 
 iioly Baptism": and by the Bajitism 
 of thy well-beloved Son .lesus Christ, 
 in the river .Ionian, didst sanctify 
 Water" to the mystical washing 
 away of sin ; We beseech thee, for 
 thine infinite mercies, that thou wilt 
 mercifully look upon this Child; 
 wash him and sanctify him with the 
 Holy Ghost: that/(c, being delivered 
 from thy wrath, may be received 
 into the ark of Christ's C'hurch; 
 and being stedfast in faith, joyful 
 through hope, and rooted in cha- 
 rity, may so pass the waves of this 
 troublesome world, that finally he 
 may come to the land of everlasting 
 
 Matt. 111. 
 13-15, 
 
 1 Pet. V 
 
 !). 
 
 l!cl). iii. 
 
 14. 
 
 Ikl, ill. 
 
 .■i, (1 
 
 vi 10. 
 
 
 1 Cor. X 
 
 ii.1.3 
 
 Col. iii. 
 
 14. 
 
 Acts xi\ 
 
 . 22. 
 
 liable to his wrath ; secondly, particularly that He will 
 please to wash and purify it from all its natiu'al jioUu- 
 tions by the living water, John vii. 38, even his holy 
 Spirit, which alone can cleanse the soul, and which 
 gives the power of cleansing to this water. 
 
 3. And we ask -this the more fervently because there 
 will follow so blessed an effect upon our being heard : 
 namely, first, privative; if it please Him so to wash 
 away the sin of this child, it shall be " dehvered from 
 God's wrath," Matt, iii. ". Secondly, there will follow 
 also positive effects, e\-en the seeds of sanctifying 
 graces, which will manifest themselves in due time, 
 so as to conduct him to happiness hereafter. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 " — figuring thereby thy holy Baptism ;] The apo.stle 
 tells us, that "the long-suffering of God waited in the 
 days of Noah, while tlie ark was a preparing, wherein 
 few, that is, eight souls, n-ere saved by water. The like 
 figure whereunto, even baptism, doth also now save us, 
 &c." 1 Pet. iii. 20. Whence it is plain, that in the 
 deliverance of Noah's family by the ark, God did pre- 
 figure, or represent by way of type, the Christian b:ip- 
 tisin. We are told also, "that the children of Israel 
 were all of them " baptized unto Moses in the cloud 
 and in the sea," I Cor, x, 2 ; that is, they were by that 
 baptism made the disciples of Moses; and consequently 
 that baptism was a type or figure of the Christian 
 baptism, by which we are made our Saviour's disciiiles. 
 Dr. Bennet. See page 153, note s. 
 
 ° — didst sanctify Water &c.] Such was the language 
 of the primitive church : not that they thought the 
 water contracted any new quality in the nature ; but 
 was only said to be " sanctified " in the use thereof, 
 being converted by Christ's institution from common 
 to sacred purposes. L'Estrange. 
 
 The action of our blessed Saviour, here alluded to, 
 serves to shew us, that though baptism, or the being 
 washed or sprinkled with water, be in itself of no con- 
 sequence, yet, when it is appointed by God, it is to be 
 other%vise esteemed of; and, by thus doing, He hath as 
 effectually declared, that baptism, when thus appointed, 
 is an holy thing, as if He had expressly said so : and 
 God's declaring a thing holy by the words or deeds of 
 our Saviour may be properly called a sanctifying of it. 
 The end and design of his sanctifying baptism may be 
 shewn from innumerable places of the New Testament. 
 It will be sufficient to mention but one in this place, 
 namely. Acts ii, 38 : " Repent, and be baptized every 
 one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 
 of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." 
 I'cneer.
 
 338 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 Matt. vii. n. 
 Rev. sxii. 5. 
 Heb. xi 16. 
 
 life, there to reign with thee world 
 witliout end ; through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Anun. 
 
 A' 
 
 LINIIGHTY and immortal 
 
 GodP, the aid of all that need, 
 
 Ps. cxxiv. 8; the helper of all that flee to thee 
 for succour, the life of them that 
 believe, and the resurrection of the 
 dead ; We call upon thee for this 
 Infant, that he, coming to thy holy 
 Baptism, may receive remission of 
 Ids sins'! by spiritual regeneration'. 
 Receive him, O Lord, as thou hast 
 promised^ by thy well-beloved Son, 
 
 Ixxii. 1 
 ix. 10. 
 
 John ill. 36 
 li. 25. 
 
 Tit. iii. 5. 
 
 saying, Ask, and ye shall have; seek, Mau vii 
 and ye shall find; knock, and it shall 
 be opened unto you ; So give now 
 unto us that ask ; let us that seek 
 find ; open the gates unto us that 
 knock; that this Infant may enjoy 
 the everlasting benediction of thy 
 heavenly washing, and may come 
 to the eternal kingdom which thou cai. ni. 
 hast promised by Christ our Lord. ''— ^"• 
 Amen. 
 
 t Then shall the people stand up, and the 
 Priest shall say ', 
 
 Hear the words of the Gospel, written 
 
 p Almighty and immortal God, &-c.] In this second 
 prayer, in which we renew our address to express our 
 earnestness and importunity, we request, 1. that this 
 child may be pardoned and regenerated ; 2. that it may 
 be adopted and accepted by Almighty God : both which 
 are enforced with their proper motives. The first 
 petition is ushered in by a solemn invocation, wherein 
 we call upon God by all those attributes, which e.xpress 
 his power and mercy ; we confess Him to be " Omnipo- 
 tent" and " Immortal," 1 Tim. vi. 16; the "reliever" 
 of the needy, I's. x. 1(5, and l.vi.v. 33 ; the •' helper" of 
 those that fly to his protection, John vi. 37 : He giveth 
 eternal " life" to " believers," and raiseth those that are 
 " dead," John .\i. 2.5 : and therefore He is fittest to be 
 solicited in behalf of a weak and helpless infant, dead 
 in trespasses and sins. Dean Comber. 
 
 1 — may receive remissio7i of his sins &c.] 'ITiese words 
 are cajiable of two different senses. Either original sin 
 may. with respect to the several actual transgressions, 
 to which it leads, be called " sins" in the plural number ; 
 or else " remission of sins" may signify the state of re- 
 mission of sins, even that covenant state through Christ, 
 by which the remission of sins, both original and actual, 
 is made over to us. Into this state infants are put by 
 baptism. Their original sin is immediately forgiven ; 
 and they have an assurance, that their future actual sins 
 shall be forgiven also, provided they continue in their 
 duty. Dr. Bennel. 
 
 ' — by sjiiritual regeneration. 1 What is meant here by 
 " spiritual regeneration," requires to be spoken to. To 
 be " regenerate and born anew of water and of the Holy 
 Ghost" are, in the beginning of this office, spoken of as 
 the same thing : " the inward and spiritual grace," con- 
 veyed to us in tliis sacrament, is by our Church Cate- 
 chism said to be " a death unto sin, and a new birth unto 
 righteousness ; for being by nature born in sin, and the 
 children of wrath, we are hereby made the cliildren of 
 grace." St. I'aid says, " We are buried with Christ by 
 baptism into death, that like as ('hrist was raised up 
 from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we 
 also should walk in newness of life," Rom. vi. 1. And 
 tlie same St. Paul styles baptism " the washing of re- 
 generation," Tit. iii. ■' ; because in l)aptism the holy 
 Spirit works in tis a cliange something like a new birth, 
 translating us from a natural state in .\dam to asjiiritual 
 state in Clirist ; both the water anil the Spirit at the 
 same time concurring to this new tiirth : for, as we are 
 but once born into our natural life, so are we but once 
 burn into our spiritual or Christian life? we are lint 
 once baptized, and once regenerated; regenerated at 
 tlie very time when we are baptized, 'i'his is the lan- 
 guage of Scripture : thus this term was applied by the 
 
 ancient fathers ; and thus it is used by our Church. So 
 that to speak of a Christian's being regenerated in any 
 other stage of his life ; or to apjily the term of regene- 
 ration, or new birth, to the turning from a lajised state 
 to a state of holiness, to that renovation, amendment, 
 or rcncM'al of the heart of man, which is the duty of a 
 Christian, and which the word of God e.\horts us to 
 acquire ; to make it signify conversion or repentance ; 
 is, if there were no worse consequences attending it, 
 mixing and confounding distinct notions, misapplying 
 Scriptm-c phrases, and abusing the ancient and known 
 language of the Church. Archdeacon Yardley. 
 
 ' Receive him, Lord, as thou hast promised &c.] 
 The motive, by which we urge this second petition, is no 
 less than God's gracious promise by Jesus Christ, 
 Matt. vii. 7, that " if we ask, we shall have :" which 
 St. Luke applies to the giving of the Holy Spirit, Luke 
 xi. 13; and some of the ancients refer the promise to 
 this very mystery. Nor can this promise be urged 
 more properly. For we have brought this infant to 
 heaven's gate; but we cannot make it the child of God, 
 nor let it in : so that all we can do is to " ask" and 
 "seek" to Him to open the gate, and to receive it, who 
 hath promised to hear the prayers of his Church. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' Then shall the people stand up, and the Priest shall 
 say, &c.] " The people standing up," which shews that 
 tlK'y were to kneel at the two foregoing |)raycrs ; the 
 minister, in tlie next jilace, is to read to them a portion 
 out of the (josjiel of St. Mark. Which, though anciently 
 aiiplied to the sacrament of baptism, has been censured 
 I by some as improjicr for this |)lace, because the chil- 
 I dren there mentioned were not brought to be baptized. 
 ] But if jieojile woidd but consider upon what accotmt 
 { the Gosjiel is placed here, without doubt they would 
 retract so imjiertinent a charge. In the making of a 
 covenant, the ex]nTSs consent of both parties is re(|uired : 
 and therefore, the covenant of baptism being now to be 
 made between Almighty God and the child to be l)a])- 
 tizcd ; it is reasonable, that, before the sureties engage, 
 in behalf of the infant, they should have some comfort- 
 able assurances, that (iod on his part will be pleased to 
 consent to and make good the agreement. For their 
 satisfaction, therefore, the jiriest, who is (Jod's ambas- 
 sador, produces a warrant from Scrijiture, (the decla- 
 ration of his will.) whereby it apjiears that (iod is 
 willing to receive infants into his favour, and hath by 
 Jesus Christ decl.ared them capable of that grace and 
 glory, which on God's ]iart are promised in this biqilis- 
 mal covenant ; wherefore the sureties need not fear to 
 make the stipulation on their part, since they have 
 God's own word, that there is no impediment in chil-
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 339 
 
 by Saint Mark, in tlio tentli Ciiap- 
 tor, at the tliiitooiitli Verso. 
 
 1"1 H E Y broiij^lit youii<i- children 
 to Christ, that he shouhl touch 
 tliem ; and his disciples rebuked 
 those that brought them. But when 
 Jesus saw it, he was much dis- 
 pleased, and said unto them, Suffer 
 the little children to come unto me, 
 and forbid them not; for of such is 
 the kingdom of God. Verily I say 
 unto you. Whosoever shall not re- 
 ceive the kingdom of God as a little 
 child, he shall not enter therein. 
 And he took them up in his arms, 
 put his hands upon them, and blessed 
 them. 
 
 \ After the Gospel is read, the Minister shall 
 make this brif-f Exhortation upon the words 
 of the Gospel. 
 
 BELOVED, ye hear in tliis 
 Gospel the words of our Sa- 
 viour Christ, that he commanded the 
 children to be brought unto him ; 
 how he blamed those that would 
 have kept them from him ; how he 
 exhorteth all men to follow their 
 innocency. Ye perceive how by 
 his outwaril gesture and deed lie 
 declared his goodwill toward them ; 
 for he embraced them in his arms, 
 he laid his hands upon tliem, and 
 blessed them. Doubt ye not there- 
 
 dren to make them incapable of receiving that, which 
 He hath promised, and will surely perform. 
 
 From all which premises, the Church in a brief ex- 
 hortation that follows, concludes, that the sureties may 
 cheerfully ])romise that which belongs to their part, 
 since God by his Son hath given sufficient secvu'ity 
 that his part shall be accomplished. Dean Comber, 
 Wheatlt/. 
 
 Lest any should doubt, whether Christ will acce[)t an 
 infant to baptism, and the effects of it, holy Church pro- 
 ])oimds to us the tenth chapter of St. Mark, out of 
 which she concludes Christ's love and good-will to 
 children in general ; " for he commanded them to be 
 brought to him ; he rebuked those that would have 
 kept them from him ; he embraced them in his arms, 
 and blessed them :" which are all ])lain arguments, that 
 He will receive them when they are brought to Him. 
 Yea, and that He will so far embrace them, as to re- 
 ceive them to eternal life, if they be brought to Him, is 
 ]iUun by his own words in that Gospel : " Suffer little 
 children to come unto me ; for to such," and therefore 
 to themselves, (for what belongs to others, because they 
 are such as children are, must needs belong to the chil- 
 dren,) "belongeth the kingdom of God." .Since then 
 they be capable of the kingdom of heaven, and there is 
 no ordinary way for them to the kingdom of heaven, 
 but by a new and second birth of water and the Holy 
 Ghost, that is, baptism ; doubt ye not, but that he," 
 who expressed so much love to them, as is mentioned 
 in the Gospel, " will favourably receive the present 
 
 fore, but earnestly believe, that he 
 will likewise favourably receive this 
 present Infant ; that he will embrace 
 him with the arms of his mercy; that 
 he will give unto /lim the blessing of 
 eternal life, and make him pai-tuker 
 of his everlasting kingdom. Where- 
 fore we being thus persuaded of the 
 goodwill of our heavenly Father 
 towards this Infant, declared by his 
 Son Jesus Christ; and nothing doubt- 
 ing but that he favourably alloweth 
 this charitable work of our's in bring- 
 ing this Infant to his holy Baptism ; 
 let us faithfully and devoutly give 
 thanks unto him", and say, 
 
 AL M I G H T Y and everlasting 
 God, heavenly Father, we give 
 thee humble thanks, for that tliou 
 hast vouchsafed to call us to the i Pet. ii. 9. 
 knowledge of thy grace, and faith ] l^.'tii. 
 in thee ; Increase this knowledge, F.pii. i. 
 and confirm this faith in us ever- s'^^t^iij. ,8. 
 more. Give thy holy Spirit to this 2 Tiiess. i. 3. 
 Infant, that he may be born again. Tit. iii. 5-7. 
 and be made an heir o( everlasting ■'"'"'"'■ s- 
 salvation ; through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who liveth and reigneth with 
 thee and the Holy Spirit, now and 
 for ever. Amen. 
 
 t Then shall the Priest speak unto the God- 
 fathers and Godmothers^ on this wise. 
 
 infant to baptism, and graciously accept our charitable 
 work in bringing him to it." Thus holy Church con- 
 cludes out of Scrijiture, according to the practice and 
 doctrine of the Catholick church. 
 
 Cyi)rian tells us, that the infant is not to be hindered 
 from baptism. This was the sentence of that council in 
 the year of our Lord 24G j and this was no new decree, 
 but the most established faith of the Church, as St. 
 Augustine saith. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 " — let us faithfully and devoutly give thanks unto him, 
 &c.] The willingness of God to receive us into his 
 favour being the overflowings of his ])ure mercy and 
 goodness, and not owing to any merits or deserts in us, 
 it is fit it should be acknowledged in an bumble manner. 
 And therefore next follows a thanksgiving for our own 
 call to the knowledge of, and faith in, God, which we 
 are put in mind of by this fresh occasion : and wherein 
 we also beg of God to give a new instance of his good- 
 ness, by " giving his Holy Spirit to the infant" now to 
 be baptized, that so " it may be born again, and made 
 an heir of everlasting salvation. Wheatly. 
 
 ' Then shall the Priest sjieak unto the Godfathers and 
 Godmothers &c.] No doubt now remaining, but that 
 God is ready and willing to jierform bis part of the 
 covenant, so soon as the child shall promise on his ; the 
 priest addresses himself to the Godfathers and God- 
 mothers to promise for him : and from them takes secu- 
 rity, that the infant shall observe the conditions that are 
 requii'ed of him. And in this there is nothing strange or 
 new ; nothing which is not used almost in every con- 
 Z2
 
 340 
 
 PUBLICK BAl'TISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 DEARLY beloved, ye have 
 brought this Chi hi here to be 
 baptized, ye have prayed that our 
 Lord Jesus Christ wouhl vouchsafe 
 to receive him, to release liim of Itis 
 sins, to sanctify /'/'" with the Holy 
 Ghost, to give liini the kingdom of 
 lieaven, and everlasting life. Ye 
 have heard also that our Lord Jesus 
 Christ hath promised in his Gospel 
 to grant all these things that ye have 
 prayed for : which promise he, for 
 his jiart, will most surely keep and 
 
 tract. By an old law of the Romans, all magistrates 
 were oblij^ed, within li\-e days after admission to their 
 office, to take an oath to ohsei-ve the laws. Now if hap- 
 pened, that C. Valerius Flaccus was chosen Edile, or 
 overseer of the publick buildings But he, being 
 before Flamen Dialis, or Jupiter's High Priest, couki 
 not he admitted by the Romans to swear : their laws 
 supposing, that so sacred a person would voluntarily do 
 what an oath would oblige him to. C. Valerius how- 
 ever desired, that liis Ijrother, as his [iro.xy, might he 
 sworn in his stead : to this the commons agreed, and 
 passed an act that it should he all the same as if the 
 Kdile had sworn himself. Much after the same man- 
 ner, whenever kings are crowned in their infancy, some 
 of the nobility, deputed to represent them, take the 
 usual oaths. The same do ambassadors for their prin- 
 cijials at the testifying of leagues or articles ; and 
 guardians for their minors, who are bound by the law 
 to stand to what is contracted for them. Thus the 
 ("hurch, acting after the same method as all nations and 
 orders of men, admits infants to baptism by sponsors 
 undertaking for them. IVheatly, Dr. NichoUs. 
 
 The custom of (jodfathers and Godmothers seems 
 to have had its original from a like practice among the 
 Jews : (see above, page 333, note t :) the modern Jews, 
 as Huxtorf informs us, have always a sjionsor or sus- 
 ceptor at the circumcision of the child. i5ut the use of 
 them in the Christian church is of so ancient a date, 
 tliat they are mentioned by some of the earliest writers 
 of our religion : such as Justin Martyr, Tertidlian. 
 St. Cj-ril of Alcxanch'ia, and St. Austin. Hut if there 
 were nothing of antiquity in favour of this usage of 
 our Cluirch, yet mcthinks the benefits of it to common 
 Christianity should skreen it from tliose furious as- 
 saults, which liave been sometimes made against it. 
 For what an excellent security is it to the Church, that 
 several Christian men and women pass their word that 
 the child shall be instructed in the Christian faith ; 
 that they will take this duty upon themseh-c'S, in case 
 the ])arents of it die, or be negligent of it ? Dr. 
 Nicliiilh. 
 
 It is the duty of (Jodfathers and Godmothers, not 
 only to answer for the child, as we call it, when it is 
 baptized ; hut also and principally to take care of the 
 education tlicrcof, to assist the jiarents in that great 
 dutv, ami, in case of their death, to take it more parti- 
 cularly upon themselves. 'I'licy are therefore obliged 
 to have a watcliful eye over their charges; to give them 
 good instructions ; to admonish, correct, and reprove 
 tbem ; to encourage tliem in well doing, i<('. .Vnd 
 tliis care must not cease, till the children either are 
 confirmed, or have received the Lord's Supper, and 
 thereby in a solemn manner taken upon tlu'inselves 
 their haptiamal covenant, llencc it is evident, how 
 
 perform. Wherefore after this pro- 
 mise made by Christ, this Iiifant 
 must also faithfully, for Ids part, pro- 
 mise by you that are his sureties, 
 (until he come of age to take it upon 
 hiiiisilf,) that he will renounce the 
 de^nl and all his works, and con- 
 stantly believe God's holy Word, 
 and obediently keep his command- 
 ments. 
 
 I demand therefore^', 
 O S T thou, in the name of this 
 Child, renounce the devil and 
 
 1 John iii. 
 8, 9. 
 
 2 Tim. ii. 19. 
 Acts viii. SO, 
 .17. 
 
 Cul. i. 21— 23. 
 Rom. vi. 
 3-11. 
 
 1 Jolin iii. 
 8, ;i. 
 
 useful this institution is ; and with what good reason 
 our Church insists upon having Godfathers and God- 
 mothers at the ba])tism of infants. For, thcnigh the 
 parents are indeed obliged, both by nature and religion, 
 to bring uj) their children virtuously ; yet the Church, 
 for the greater security, requires sponsors also to see 
 that it be done : and has thereby made every ])rovision 
 in her power for avoiding neglect in the education of 
 children, and for bringing tliem up in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord. Only let parents remember, 
 of what importance this matter is ; and let them ihs- 
 charge a good conscience therein, by ])rociiring jjroper 
 persons for tliis office ; such as are truly pious ; such 
 as have a deep sense of their duty, and are zealous for 
 the promotion of God's glory, and the salvation of 
 souls. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 >■ / di-mand therefore, &c.] The reasonableness of a 
 vicarious stipulation having been justified, the form, 
 that is here used, is now to be considered. It is drawn 
 up all along by way of question and answer, which 
 seems to have been the method even in the days of the 
 apostles ; for St. Peter calls baptism the " answer of a 
 good conscience," 1 Pet. iii. 21 : and in the primitive 
 church (pieries were always put to the jjcrsons bajitized, 
 which persons at age answered themselves, and cliil- 
 dren by their representatives, who are therefore to 
 answer in the fii'st person, (as tlie advocate sjieaks in 
 the [lerson of the client,) " I renounce, &c." because 
 the contrai't is properly made with the child. 
 
 2. b'or «hich reason, in the first book of King YA- 
 ward, the priest is ordered to demand of " the child" 
 these several questions proposed ; and in our present 
 Liturgy, though the minister directs himself to the 
 Godfathers and Godmothers, yet he speaks by them 
 to the child, as is manifestly a]iparcnt from the third 
 (jiiestion: and consequently the child is sup|)osed to 
 return the several answers which arc made by the 
 Godfathers, &c. and " to promise by those that are his 
 sureties" (as the above preface expresses it) " that he 
 will renounce the devil and all liis works, and constantly 
 believe God'.s lioly word, and obedicnily keep bis com- 
 mandments." 
 
 3. The queries proposed are four, of which the last 
 was added at the Restoration ; there being hut three of 
 them in any of the former liooks, tliough in the first of 
 King Fdward they are broke into eiglit. 'I'liey being 
 all of them exceedingly suitable and jiropcr, I think it 
 not amiss to take notice of them severally. 
 
 4. l''ir.st, then, when we enter into covenant with (!od 
 we must have the same friends and enemies as He huth ; 
 especially wlien the same, that are enemies to lliin, arc 
 also enemies to our salvation. And therefore, since 
 children are by nature the slaves of the devil, and, 
 though llicy have not yet been actually in his service,
 
 PUBIJCK HAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 341 
 
 i/°i'ci"'vio ^'' '''^ works, the v.un ixiinp and 
 1 cnr. vii. 31. frloi'v of tlic World, witli all covetous 
 12—11. ' desires of tlie same, and the carnal 
 
 will nevertheless be a[)t to be dritwn into it, by the 
 " pomps and glory of the world, and the carnal desires 
 of the tlesli ;" it is necessary to secure them for Ciod 
 betimes, and to enjjage them to take all these for their 
 enemies, since whoso loveth them cannot love God, 
 1 John ii. 1.5. This first jiart of the baptismal vow, 
 tof^ethcr with the answer, is so exactly [irimitive, that 
 if we compare ours and the ancient forms together, we 
 shall thereby ])erceive, that although they somewhat 
 differed among themsch-es, yet we have extracted the 
 marrow and substance of them all. 
 
 5. Secondly, faith is a necessary qualification for 
 liaptism, Mark .\vi. 16: and therefore before Philip 
 would baptize the eunuch, he asked him, " If he believed 
 with all his heart?" and received his answer, that "he 
 believed Jesus Christ to be the Son of God," .\ets 
 viii. 3". From which remarkable precedent the Church 
 liath ever since demanded of all those who enter into 
 the Christian jirofession, " if they believe all the arti- 
 cles" which are implied in that profession ; and this 
 was either done by way of question and answer, or else 
 the jjarty baptized (if of .age) was made to repeat the 
 whole Creed. 
 
 0. But thirdly, it is not only necessary that the 
 party to he baptized do believe the Christian faith ; but 
 lie must also desire to be joined to that society by the 
 .solemn rite of initiation : wherefore the child is farther 
 demanded, " Whether he will he baptized in this faith ?" 
 because (jod will have no unwilling servants, nor ought 
 men to be compelled by violence to religion. And yet 
 the Christian religion is so reasonable and profitable 
 both as to this world and the next, that the Godfathers 
 may very well presume to answer for the child, that 
 " that is his desire :" since if the child could under- 
 stand the excellency of this religion, and speak its 
 mind, it would without doubt be ready to make the 
 same reply. 
 
 7. Lastly, St. Paul tells us, they that are baptized 
 must " walk in newness of life," Rom. vi. 4 : for which 
 reason the child is demanded, fourthly, " If he will 
 keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in 
 the same all the days of his life ?" For since he now 
 takes Christ for his Lord and Master, and lists himself 
 under his banner, it is fit he should vow, in the words 
 of this sacrament, to observe the commands of his 
 general. Wherefore as he promised to forsake all 
 "evil" before, so now he must engage to do all that 
 is "good," without which he cannot be admitted into 
 the Christian church. Dean Comber, Wheally. 
 
 For the better understanding of the true sense and 
 meaning of these questions, which are put to the spon- 
 sors, and the answers, which the S])onsors are to make; 
 it must be observed, that when an adult jierson is bap- 
 tized, those questions are put to the person himself, 
 and he himself returns the answers to them. So that 
 there is a most express and formal co\'enant then made 
 between God and the party baptized : G(jd acting by 
 Ills lawful minister, anrl the person baptized acting in 
 his own person. But infants are not capable of enter- 
 ing into covenant in their own persons : and yet they 
 are obliged to the terms of the co\-enant, when they 
 come of age. Wherefore, that this may be the more effec- 
 tually represented and shadowed forth to tlie congrega- 
 tion, the questions are put to the sureties, and the 
 sureties do make answers in the infants' names. Not 
 that the infants can be supposed actually to renounce 
 the devil, &c. ; to believe the articles of the Christian 
 
 desires of the flesli, so that tlioii wilt '[|'^j'| 
 not follow, nor he led hv them ? 
 
 An 
 
 siuer'' 
 
 lie led 
 I renounce them all^ 
 
 faith; or to promise obedience to God's command- 
 ments ; but all this is done to signify the engagements 
 which the infants are brought under, and which they 
 must actually perform when they are able so to do. 
 The sureties do therefore act in the infants' stead, as 
 is usually done in other cases : for instance, when a 
 copyhold estate is taken U]) in the name of an infant, 
 some one personates the infant, and makes the same 
 assurances as if the infant were of age. Ever, so here 
 the sureties answer for the infant in the same manner 
 of words, as if the infant himself were capable of return- 
 ing the answers in his own perstm. 
 
 This is manifestly our Church's intention and design 
 in this case : as farther ajipears, if there be any farther 
 need of |)roof, from that exjiosition of the interrogato- 
 ries in baptism, which was acce]itcd by King James 
 the First, and affirmed by the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury to be the true sense and intention of the Church 
 of England, when it was given in by Dr. Burgess in 
 these words following; namely, " I conceive that those 
 interrogatories made to the infant, and answered as in his 
 name by the sureties, intend only an adumljration of 
 that stipulation and co^■enant, which is really entered 
 into by receiving the sacrament of bajitism, and not to 
 import, that the child actually hath such a distinct 
 faith, repentance, or desires as are there professed : or 
 that he is indeed supjilied thereof from his sureties, 
 who cannot make over their own faith and repentance 
 to others, as goods and chattels used to be conveyed." 
 Dr. Benne/. 
 
 Whilst these demands and answers are making, the 
 rest of the congregation are not to join therein : the 
 wdiole transaction being between the minister on the 
 one side, and the Godfathers and Godmothers on the 
 other. But that this time, instead of being lost, may 
 be emjiloyed to the sjiiritual advantage of all, let every 
 one seriously recollect what passed at his own ba])tism ; 
 and let him take this projier opportunity of renewing 
 the vows wdfich were then made for himself. \\'hen 
 the minister begins, " Dost thou renounce r" let him 
 say, not aloud, so as to disturb the congregation, but to 
 himself, with a devout heart, " I do renounce the devil 
 and all his works, &c., so that, God being my helper, 
 I will not follow nor be led by them." When the 
 minister saith, " Dost thou believe ?" rejicat to yourself 
 the articles of your Christian faith, and at the end say 
 in your heart, " All this I stedfastly believe." When 
 fie saith, " Wilt thou be baptized r" say softly, " Lord, 
 I thank thee, that I have been baptized in this faith." 
 x\nd when he comes to the last demand, " Wilt thou 
 then obediently keep?" say within yourself, "I will 
 obediently keep God's holy will and commandments, 
 and walk in the same all the days of my life : and may 
 the grace of God assist me herein." Thus shall we 
 turn this jiart of the service to our own use, into an act 
 of true devotion, beneficial to our own souls, and ac- 
 cejitable to .\hnighty God. Archdeucon Yurdlcy. 
 
 '■ Answer. &c.] Since this is so solemn a covenant, 
 the sureties must sjieak with a ])lain and audible voice 
 to the several queries. Dean Comber. And in the 
 words set down in the Common Prayer Book ; and 
 not, as is too much the practice of the times, give 
 assent only by silence or a consenting bow. Archdeacon 
 Yardley. 
 
 ' I renounce them all.] Here some persons object, that 
 they ])romise more than they are able to perform. For, 
 say they, how can we undertake that the child shall
 
 342 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 Matt, xxviii 
 
 19. 
 
 Acts viii. Z7 
 
 3Iinister, 
 
 DOST thou believe in God the 
 Father Almighty, Maker of 
 heaven and earth ? 
 
 And in Jesus Christ his only-be- 
 gotten Son our Lord ? And that he 
 was conceived by the Holy Ghost : 
 born of the Virgin iSIary ; that he 
 suffered under Pontius Pilate, was 
 crucified, dead, and buried ; that he 
 went down into hell, and also did 
 rise again the third day ; that he 
 ascended into heaven, and sitteth 
 at the right hand of God the Father 
 Almighty ; and from thence shall 
 come again at the end of the world, 
 to judge the quick and the dead? 
 
 And dost thou believe in the Holy 
 Ghost ; the holy Catliolick Church ; 
 
 renounce the devil, &c., when perhajis, after all our 
 care, he will prove very untoward and wicked ? The 
 answer is, that it appears from the forej^oing note, that 
 neither the sureties do promise, nor does the Church 
 desire them to promise, that the child shall certainly do 
 what they say in his name. They only rejirescnt the 
 child, and sjieak in his name, and bring solemn obli- 
 gations upon him, for his own soul's good : and they 
 are bound to endeavour, by good advice and instruc- 
 tion, to jirevail with the infant, as he grows up, to act 
 accordingly. But, if the infant after all their care shall 
 prove refractor^', the sureties have nothing to answer for. 
 They have discharged the trust reposed in them, and 
 done what they solemnly undertook as sureties: and the 
 neglect and forfeiture of the baptismal covenant is what 
 the child himself must answer for at God's tribunal. 
 Dr. Bemiet. 
 
 This form of interrogating the Godfathers in the name 
 of the child is very ancient and reasonable. Its anti- 
 quity appears from various jjassages in St. Chrj'sostom, 
 Cyprian, Cyril, and Augustine. And that it is reason- 
 able we shall |)erceive, if we consider, that in ba])tism 
 we are making or concluding a " covenant," the new 
 covenant of the (Jospel ; in which covenant God's part 
 is promises, precious i^romises, as St. Peter culls them, 
 2 I'et. i. 4, for iicrformancc of which lie hath given 
 his word ; and then fore good reason it is, that we also 
 Bhould give our word and ])romise for |)erformancc of 
 the conditions on our parts, namely, to renounce the 
 devil and the world, and swear fidelity to our l-ord. In 
 all other covenants and C(mtracts it is thought reason- 
 able, that the several parties shotdd umtually engage for 
 performance of conilitions, and that at the making and 
 concluding of the contract. And why should not that. 
 which is thought reasonable in all other contracts, be 
 thought reasonable in this? As thus to give our faith 
 and word for perrorniance of conditions is reasonable; 
 so, if it lie done with grave solenuiity, and in pnblick, it 
 is so much the better, and more obliging : for grave 
 solemnities make a deep impression upon the ap- 
 prehension : (whence it is, that a corporal oath vested 
 with the religious solemnity of laying the hand upon, 
 and kissing the holy (iospels, is more dreaded, than a 
 naked and sudden oath ; ) and promises in.ide in jiublirk 
 bind more, because of the siiame of falsifving, where so 
 many eyes look on ; which very .shame of being noted 
 to be false oft-times is a greater bridle to sin, than the 
 
 Acts viii, 36; 
 xvi. 33. 
 
 the Commimion of Saints ; the Re- 
 mission of sins ; the Resurrection of 
 the flesh ; and everlasting life after 
 death ? 
 
 Ansii-cr. All this I stedfastly be- 
 lieve. 
 
 Minister. 
 
 WILT thou be baptized in 
 this faith ? 
 Answer. That is my desire. 
 
 Minister. 
 'T'TTILT thou then obediently 
 y f keep God's holy will and 
 commandments, and walk in the Matt. xix. i7. 
 same all the days of thy life ? "'""• " '• 
 
 Answer. I will. 
 
 1 Then shall the Priest say^. 
 
 fear of punishment, as the world knows. And this use 
 the ancient fathers made of it, to shame gross offenders, 
 by remembering them of their solemn jiromise made in 
 baptism, to renounce the devil, and give up themselves 
 to God. 
 
 " Children, who by reason of their tender age, cannot 
 perform this solemnity," have ajipointed them by the 
 Church, Susce]itores, Godfathers, mIio shall in the name 
 of the child do it for them. As, by the wisest laws of 
 the world, guardians may contract for their minors or 
 pupils to their benefit ; and what the guardians in such 
 cases undertake, the minors or jnipils are biituid, whin 
 they are able to perform; for the law looks upon them, 
 not the guardians, as obliged : so did the Church always 
 account, that these promises, which were made by the 
 Godfathers in the name of the child, did bind the child, 
 as if in jierson himself had made it. Aiul when the 
 ancients did ui>braid any offenders «ith the breach of 
 their |iromise made in baptism, none of those, that 
 were bajitized in their infancy, were so desperate, as to 
 answer scornfnlly. It was not I, but my Godfathers, 
 that ])romised ; and if any should .so have answered, he 
 woidd have been loudly laughed at for that his empty 
 criticism. 
 
 Though this promise of abrenunciation made in bap- 
 tism be ancient and reasonable, yet it is not " absolutely 
 necessary" to baptism ; but when danger rerpiires haste, 
 it may be omitted, as the Church teaches in " Private 
 Baptism ;" yet if the child lives, it is to be brought 
 to church, and this solemnity to be ])erformed alter 
 bajitism. See " Kubrick at Private Baptism." Jlji. 
 Sjmrrnw. 
 
 '' Thru shall the PriesI sny, &c.] I'he administration 
 of baptism, which now follows, contains, first, jirayers 
 for sanctifying the child and the water: secondly, the 
 form of baptizing instituted by Christ Himself: thirdly, 
 the solemn receiving of it into the Chiircli. The first 
 prayers are four short collects for the child, that it may 
 receive the benefits of baptism. Kirsl. that the evil in- 
 clinations which it draws from old .\dam may be mor- 
 tified, and that it may put on those virtuous dispositions 
 callecl the new man. " Secondly, that the concupiscence, 
 and all carnal aflections, may be destroyed, so as the 
 (■fleets of the Spirit may live and grow in it. Thirdly, 
 that it may have sireiiglli to triiimiih over (he enemies 
 it hath renoiuiced. Lastly, that it may grow in grace, 
 and be endued with all kinds of virtue. Secondly,
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 343 
 
 F.ph. iv. 
 20-21. 
 
 Merciful God", j^rant'' that the 
 oUl A(hiin'= in (his Child may 
 1)6 so buried, that the new man may 
 be raised ii)) in him. Amrn. 
 
 Grant that all carnal aifections 
 
 the Prayer of Consecration for sanctifying the water 
 (which was ahvays made in the primitive church) con- 
 tains, first, a jireface commemorating how baptism was 
 one of those sacraments of remission, typified by the 
 blood and water shed out of our Saviour's side on the 
 cross ; and how it was instituted after his resurrection 
 l)y his own ex|)ress command ; the words of which di\'ine 
 institution were anciently believed to consecrate the 
 water, and to oblige the most holy Author to join his 
 .Spirit to the water, to make it effectual to that regene- 
 ration which is the inward part of tliis sacrament. And 
 since tlie Spirit is necessary as well as the water, the 
 whole congregation joins in lieseeching Him by whose 
 commission we do this, to sanctify the water for the 
 washing away of sin, and so to let his Spirit go along 
 with the outward part, that it may not only seal the 
 child's parilon, but convey grace into it, to make it a 
 living member of Christ, and a child of God, and to 
 keep it in that estate for ever. Thirdly, the holy 
 actions follow ; first, naming the child with a new name, 
 answerable to the new nature it here receives, a Chris- 
 tian name, as a remembrance of that religion it is 
 entered into, given by the Godfather as a memorial of 
 its new relation.? which it gets in baptism. Secondly, 
 the form by which it is baptized, being of Christ's 
 own inditing, " In the name of the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost:" and as the apostles only had 
 commission to do this, so with us only lawful ministers 
 may baptize. And since the belief of the Trinity is the 
 peculiar and distinguishing article of the Christian 
 religion, therefore Christ a])points they shall be made 
 Christians by being thus baptized in the name of the 
 three Persons of the Trinity : and while we jironounce 
 Christ's words, we di]) the child in the water, or (which 
 custom, and the coldness of our climate, hath now 
 made almost necessary) sprinkle it, because the efiicacy 
 of the sacrament depends not on the quantity of water, 
 but on the grace of God, which we believe to be con- 
 veyed l)y this di\-ine sacrament, and therefore say 
 " Amen." Fourthly, having thus baptized it as Christ 
 appointed, we first declare the child is a Christian, and 
 a member of the Church, into which holy society the 
 minister (as a steward of God's family) doth solemnly 
 receive it, (and of old this was done with a kiss of 
 charity,) and for the clearer manifestation that this 
 child now belongs to Christ, we set his sign and 
 peculiar mark ujion it, signing it with the sign of the 
 cross on the forehead, (a custom by which the jirimitive 
 Christians declared what religion they were of,) for 
 Christians only believe in a crucified Saviour, and there- 
 fore the cross was the badge of a Christian, and that in 
 which St. Paul gloried : and though the Pa]iists ha\-e 
 abused this to superstition, yet that ought not to hinder 
 us from restoring it to its first innocent use, namely, to 
 be a token that this child shall confess the faith of 
 Christ crucified, and to be the soldier's badge, to de- 
 clare it is now listed under Christ's banner, and hath 
 engaged to fight very courageously against all its spi- 
 ritual enemies, imder that victorious leader : and now 
 that it is thus listed and signed with Christ's cogni- 
 zance, we hope it will continue his faithful servant and 
 soldier to its life's end, and we [jray it may do so. 
 Amen. Deuii Camber. 
 
 ' O merciful God, &c.] It is desirable, that the 
 minister at this jilace make a short pause, that the 
 
 may die in hii/i, and that all things nom. vin. 6. 
 belongiiifi^ to the Spirit may live aiul 
 grow in hini. Amen. 
 
 Grant that he may have i)ower _ , . ,„ 
 
 J , 1 Epli. VI. 10, 
 
 and .strength to have victory, and to ii. 13. 
 
 congregation may have sufficient time to kneel down, 
 and direct their minds to God, and be ready to join in 
 the following excellent prayer. Dr. Bennel. 
 
 The contract being now made, it is fit the minister 
 should more [leculiarly intercede with God for grace to 
 [lerform it : and therefore in the next ])lace he oilers up 
 four short petitions : the first, for the child's regenera- 
 tion ; the second, for his sanotification ; the third, for 
 power against spiritual enemies ; the fourth, for in- 
 crease of grace. Dean Comber, Wheutbj. 
 
 There was a custom which obtained in the early ages 
 of the Church, which was to exorcise the baptized per- 
 son, or to cast Satan out of him, who was supjjosed to 
 have taken jjossession of his body in his unregenerate 
 state. But because, in ])rocess of time, many supersti- 
 tions and unwarrantable practices mixed with this 
 ancient rite, especially in the Roman church, our re- 
 formers wisely thought fit to lay it quite aside, and to 
 substitute in lieu of it these short excellent ])rayers : 
 wherein the minister and the congregation ])ut up their 
 petitions to Almighty God, that the child may be 
 delivered from the power of the devil, and receive 
 all the benefits of the divine grace and protection, with- 
 out the ancient ceremony attending it. Dr. Nichotls. 
 
 ^ merciful God, grant &c.] The first Collect is taken 
 out of Romans, vi. 4 — ; where the apostle teaches us, 
 that a principal end of baiitism is for the mortifying of 
 the old man, or old .Vdam ; that is, for the destruc- 
 tion of original corrujition, and the extirpation of all 
 evil concupiscence, which being slain and buried as 
 it were, then the new man, that is, a gracious disposi- 
 tion, doth succeed by the S])int's entering into us. 2. 
 As the former Collect petitions for the removing of the 
 cause, so the second does for the destruction of the 
 effects ; carnal affections, and inclinations to lust, 
 covetousness, and vain-glory, spring from original sin, 
 and are the branches and fruits of that root of liitter- 
 ness ; these evil fruits we pray may be rooted up by the 
 Spirit, and that in their stead may be |)lanted spiritual 
 affections, heavenly desires, holy jnuposes, the love of 
 God, and the like ; that so the child may keep his cove- 
 nant with ease and delight. 3. The third Collect goes 
 farther, and sues for spiritual strength, not only that he 
 may not be conquered, but may conquer and triumph 
 over those enemies, wdiich he hath now defied : and 
 since human nature hath no such power of its own, we 
 therefore beg of Him who is able to subdue all things 
 to Himself. 4. The last Collect advanceth still higher, 
 desiring that this child, and all others to whom this 
 salutary rite shall be administered, may not only " cease 
 to do evil," but "learn to do well," Isa. i. IG, 1"; not 
 only " escape the pollutions of the world, but " add to 
 their faith virtue," 2 Pet. i. 4, 5. We pray that they 
 may be endued with grace and hea\'enly qualities, 
 meekness and charity, faith and patience, temperance 
 and sobriety, zeal and devotion, &c. : so that they may 
 obtain eternal life, which, though it be not due by 
 the servant's merit, yet shall be bestowed by the mercy 
 of the Master ujion all that are so qualified. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' — that the old Adam &c.] By " the old Adam " we 
 mean that original pollution, which we derive from our 
 parents : and l)y " the new man " we mean that gracious 
 renovation, wdiich is wrought in us by the Spirit of God 
 through Jesus Clu'ist. And by the biu-ial of the one,
 
 344 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 1 John V. 4. triumph against the devil, the world, 
 f2°"-4i:'" and the flesh. Amen. 
 
 Grant that whosoever is here de- 
 
 I Cor. iii. dicated to thee by our office and 
 
 a'cor iv. 7. ministry, may also be endued with 
 
 Markxvi.ie. heavenly virtues, and everlastingly 
 
 rewarded, through thy mercy, O 
 
 blessed Lord God, who dost live, 
 
 Ps. ciii. 19: and STOvern all things, world without 
 
 end. Amen. 
 
 A' 
 
 L M I G H T Y, everliving God ', 
 _ __^ whose most dearly beloved Son 
 Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of 
 our sins, did shed out of his most 
 johnxix.34. jirccious side both water and l)loodP, 
 and gave commandment to his dis- 
 
 and the raising up of the other, we mean the mortifica- 
 tion of the one, and the increase and vigour of the 
 other. Dr. Beimel. 
 
 ' .-llmirihly, ert'Tliving God,'] The word of God teaeh- 
 etli us, that tlie world was darkness, and a chaos, until 
 " the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," 
 Gen. i. 2 ; whence the rude and indigested matter 
 received a quickening influence, which produced that 
 heautj- and order that we now hehold. And, as it was 
 in the first creation and generation of all things, so it 
 is in the new creation and generation of a Christian : 
 the Spirit moving u|)on the waters of baptism giveth 
 lif/ht and life, and bringeth in order and comeliness 
 instead of the confusion and darkness which sin had 
 caused. Whei'efore, since there is so great a work to 
 be done by the .Spirit, we must most humbly beseech, 
 that the lloly Spirit may return to its ancient seat. 
 That the primitive Christians always used a prayer for 
 the consecrating of the water, appears I)y many wit- 
 nesses ; and, what is more, their prayers consisted of 
 two principal parts, as ours also doth: namely, 1. the 
 repetition of Christ's word, Matt, x.wiii. 19; and 2. a 
 [letition for the Holy Spirit. Only the present form is 
 somewhat fuller. Dean Comber. 
 
 * — did shed out of his most precious side hnlh uviltr 
 and b'ood,] We read that when our I.,ord was crucilied, 
 " one of the soldiers with a spear picrce<l his side, and 
 forthwith cauie thereout lilood and water," .lohn \\\. 
 .34. This was a part of our .Saviour's passion, which 
 He underwent for oiu- sakes. And whether it had any 
 signillcancy in it witli respect to Christian baptism or 
 not ; or whether it was only the n,^tu^al conse(pience of 
 a wounil in that part of our Saviour's body : for, the 
 jierieardiom being wounded, a liquor resembling blood 
 and water would jirobably issue forth ; yet, since the 
 matter of fact was undoubteilly true, it may lawfidly 
 he mentioned and taken notice of in this place. Dr. 
 Bemiet. 
 
 ^ — sanctify this Water to the mystical washin;/ away 
 of sin ;] l?y a passage of St. Cyprian it should seem, 
 tli.at the ancient ('hristiaiis had a cuslom in their bap- 
 tinm. to have a consecratory prayer for the derlication 
 of the baptismal water to the saereil use, for which it 
 was designed. I5ut the Roman church afterwards 
 added to this several strange and sn])erstitious rites : 
 breathing into it, making crosses over it, quenching- in 
 it a wa.f candle, mixing chrism in it, and this to be 
 done only U|)on a certain day of the year, aiul kept 
 afterwards for use. Kul our Cluin-h lias rcihieed all to 
 primitive practice, being content with only a prayer, to 
 
 ciples, that they should go teach all 
 nations, and baptize them In the 
 Name of the Father, the Son, and mmi. xwm. 
 the Holy Ghost; Regard, we beseech 
 thee, the supplications of thy con- i John v. 14. 
 gregation ; sanctify this Water' to the sJi"'' ""'■ 
 mystical washing away of sin*'; and Actsxxji. ic. 
 grant that this Clnld, now to be 21.*^ '"' ' 
 baptized therein', may receive the 
 fulne.ss of thy grace, and ever remain Johni.ic. 
 in the number of thy faithful and jj^'-'"'^- 
 elect children ; through Jesus Christ Jude 24. 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 1 Then the Priest shall take the Child into 
 his hands^, and shall say to the God- 
 fathers and Godmothers^ 
 
 1 1 hess. V. 
 23. 
 
 Name this Ciuld. 
 
 Luke i. 58 - 
 C3; li. 21. 
 
 separate the water from a vidgar to a sacred use. Dr. 
 
 Nicholls. 
 
 ' — grant that this Child, noiv to be baptized therein, 
 &c.] In baptism, the nature and substance of water 
 doth still remain, and yet it is not bare water : it is 
 changed, and made the sacrament of regeneration. It 
 is water consecrated. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 '' Then the Priest shall take the Child into his hands, 
 8cc.~\ All things being thus prepared for the baptism 
 of the child, the minister is now to " take it into his 
 hands," and to ask the Godfathers and (jodmothers to 
 " name " it. For the " Christian name " being given as 
 a badge that we belong to Christ, we cannot more 
 [iroiierly take it upon us, than when we are enlisted 
 under his banner. We bring one name into the world 
 with us, which we derive from our jiarents, and which 
 serves to remind us of our original guilt, and that we 
 are born in sin : but this new name is gi\-en us at our 
 baptism to remind us of our new birth, when, being 
 washed in the laver of regeneration, we are thereby 
 cleansed from our natural imjiurities, and become in a 
 manner new creatures, and solemnly dedicate ourselves 
 to God. So that the naming of children at this time 
 hath been thought by many to imjiort something more 
 than ordinary, and to carry with it a mysterious signifi- 
 cation. We find something like it even among the 
 lieathens: for the Komans had a custom of naming 
 their ehihhen on the day of their lustration, (that is, 
 when they were cleansed and washed from their natural 
 polhilion,) which was therefore called " Dies Nomi- 
 nalis." And the Greeks also, when they carried their 
 infants, a little after their birth, about the fire, (which 
 was their ceremony of dedicating or consecrating them 
 to their gods,) were used at the same time to give them 
 their names. 
 
 And that the .lews named their children at the time 
 of circumcision, the holy Scriptures, (!en. x-.vi. 3, 4 ; 
 Luke i. 59, OO; ii. -21, as well as their own writers, ex- 
 pressly tell us. And though the rite itself of circum- 
 cision was changed into that of bai)tism by inn- Saviour, 
 yet lie made no alteration as to the tiuu' aiul custom 
 of giving the name, but left that to continue under 
 the new, as lie had found it under the old dlspen.sa- 
 tlon. Accordingly we find this time assigned and used 
 to this purpose ever since; the Christians continuing 
 from the earliest ages to name their children at tho 
 time of baptism. JVheatly. 
 
 ' — and shall say to the Godfathcis anil Godmother.^, 
 &c,] This rubrick directs that tlie name, though it 
 may be |iltched ujion by the relations, be dictated by
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 345 
 
 M.itl. xxviii. 
 13. 
 
 t And then nnmitig it after them {If they shall 
 certify him'" that I lie Child mny well en- 
 dure It) he shall dip U in the IVater dis- 
 creetly and warily, saying, 
 
 baptize thee In tlie Name of" 
 the Father, and of the Son, 
 anil of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 
 N.;. 
 
 the Godfathers and Godmothers. For this being the 
 token of our new birth, it is fit it should be given by 
 tliose who undertake for our Christianity, and engage 
 tl:at we sliall be bred up and live hke Cliristians ; 
 whicli, being confirmed by the custom and autliority of 
 tlie Church in all ages, is abundantly enough to justify 
 tlie practice, and satisfy us of the reasonableness of it. 
 W'luatly. We derive one name, together with our 
 original guilt, from our parents, which ought to humble 
 us, and remind us of our being born in sin. But this 
 new name we receive at the time of oiu' regeneration, 
 to admonish us of our new birth and oiu- heavenly 
 kindred. This Christian name was given us, when we 
 were listed under Christ's banner; and it is a badge 
 that we belong to God ; so that, as often as we hear it, 
 we should remember the \ow then made in our behalf 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 "■ — (if they shall certify him &c.] After the name is 
 thus given, "the priest (if the Godfathers, &c. certify 
 him that the child may well endure it) is to dip it in the 
 water discreetly and warily ;" which was in all proba- 
 bility the way by wliich our Saviour, and for certain 
 was the usual and ordinary way by which the primi- 
 tive Christians did receive their baptism, Acts viii. 38 ; 
 Rom. vi. 3, 4 ; Col. ii. 12. And it must be allowed, that 
 by dipping, the ends and effects of baptism are more 
 significantly expressed ; for as in immersion there ai'e 
 three several acts, namely, the putting the person 
 under water, his abiding there for some time, and his 
 rising up again ; so by these were represented Christ's 
 death, burial, and resurrection ; and in conformity 
 thereunto (as the apostle jdainly shews, Rom. vi. 3, 4) 
 our dying unto sin, the destruction of its jjower, and 
 our resurrection to newness of life. Though indeed 
 a(fusion is not wholly without its signification, or 
 entirely inexpressive of the end of baptism. For as 
 the "immersing" or " dipping" the body of the bap- 
 tized represents the burial of a dead person under 
 ground ; so also the " affusion" or " pouring water" 
 upon the jiarty, answers to the covering or throwing 
 earth Uj)on the deceased. So that both ceremonies 
 agree in this, that they figure " a death and burial unto 
 sm :" and therefore, though immersion be the most 
 significant ceremony of the two, yet it is not so necessary 
 but that " affusion" in some cases may supply the room 
 of it. For since baptism is only an external rite, repre- 
 senting an internal and spiritual action, such an act is 
 sufficient, as fully represents to us the institution of 
 biiptism ; the divine grace which is thereby conferred, 
 being not measured by the quantity of water used in 
 the administration of it. It is true " dipping" and 
 " affusion" are two different acts ; but yet the word 
 " baptize" implies them both : it being used frequently 
 in Scripture to denote not only such washing as is per- 
 formed by di])ping, but also such as is performed by 
 pouring or rubbing water upon the thing or person 
 washed, Mark vii. 4; Luke xi. 33. And therefore when 
 the Jews baptized their children, in order to circumci- 
 sion, it seems to ha\-e been indifferent with them, 
 whether it was done by immersion or affusion. And 
 that the primitive Christians understood it in this lati- 
 tude, is plain, from their administering this holy sacra- 
 
 t But if they certify " that the Child is weak, 
 it shall siijive to pour IVuler upon it", 
 saying the foresaid words. 
 
 NI baptize thee In the Name p of 
 p tiie Father, arul of the Son, 
 and of tlie Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 
 ment in the case of sickness, haste, want of water, or 
 the like, by affusion, or pouring water upon the face. 
 Thus the jailor and his family, who were bajitized by 
 St. Paul in haste, the same hour of the night that they 
 were converted and believed. Acts xvi. 33, are reason- 
 ably sujiposed to have been baptized by affusion ; since 
 it can hardly be thought that at such an exigency 
 they had water sufficient at hand to lie immersed in. 
 yVheatly. 
 
 " But if they certify &c.] Although dipi)ing or plung- 
 ing into the water were the more ancient practice, and 
 more universal in the primitive times ; yet sprinkling 
 or pouring water on the head of the baptized person 
 was of great antiquity in the Church likewise. It had 
 its beginning in the cases of sick i)ersons chiefly, who 
 could not come to the publick baptistery, nor could the 
 weakness of their constitution admit of their being 
 dipped all over in the water : and therefore the sprink- 
 ling or pouring of a small quantity of water upon the 
 face or head was judged sufficient. In the fourth and 
 fifth centuries as]iersion was more common. After the 
 heathen nations were converted to Christianity, and by 
 that means the baptisms of adults were less frequent, 
 the tenderness of children's bodies, esiiecially in the 
 colder countries, not enduring to be dipped in water, 
 the use of sprinkling generally succeeded in the Church, 
 instead of that of dipping. And indeed during the 
 more early ages of the Church, and when adults were 
 frequently bajitized, there were some jiarticular cases, 
 when aspersion was used instead of immersion : as in 
 that of some young women, noticed by St. Chrysostom. 
 Our Church with great moderation does not totally lay 
 aside immersion, if the strength of the child will bear 
 it, as indeed it seldom will without danger in our cold 
 country ; in which case she admits aspersion only, 
 rather than occasion any injury or danger to the body 
 of a tender babe ; wisely considering that in the sight 
 of God "mercy is better than sacrifice." Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 Either of these modes of administering baptism is 
 sufficient. For it is not in this spiritual washing, as it 
 is in the bodily, where, if the bath be not large enough 
 to receive the whole body, some parts may be foul, 
 when the rest are cleansed. The soul is cleansed after 
 another manner : a little water can cleanse the believer, 
 as well as a whole river. The old fashion was to dip 
 or sprinkle the person "thrice," to signify the mystery 
 of the Trimtv. The Church so appointed then be- 
 cause of some hereticks that denied the Trinity ; upon 
 the same ground, afterwards it was apiiointed to do it 
 but once, (signifying the Unity of Substance in the 
 Trinity,) lest we should seem to agree with the hereticks 
 that did it thrice. This baptizing is to be at the " font." 
 Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 ° — it shall suffice to pour Water upon ('/,] It should 
 here be noticed that our Church doth not direct sjirink- 
 ling or aspersion, but affusion or " pouring of n'ater" 
 upon the children to be baptized. It is true the quan- 
 tity of water to be used is no where prescribed, nor is 
 it necessary that it should be : but, however the (juan- 
 tity be left to the minister's discretion, yet it must be 
 understood to determine itself thus far : first, that the 
 action be such as is properly a " washing," to make the
 
 346 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 I Cor. xii. 1 
 Gal. vi. 14. 
 
 ws 
 
 H Then the Priest shall say ', 
 E receive this Child into 
 le congree^ation of Chri.st's 
 flock *, and do .siarn 
 
 ♦ Here the Priest , . -.i ^i • " c 
 
 sliall make » cro.,. Inm With thC Slgll 01 
 
 "ponihe Child; fore- (],g Cross ', in token 
 that hereafter he shall 
 
 administration correspond with the institution ; and 
 this we should obser\'e as ministers of Christ at large ; 
 secondly, that the action be such, as is properly a 
 " pourinij of water," which is the rubrickal direction to 
 express that washing at all times, when " dipping ' is not 
 practised ; and this we are bound to observe as minis- 
 ters of the Church of England in particular ; taking it 
 always for granted, that there is a reason for whatever 
 is prescribed in a rubrick, and such an one as is not to 
 be contradicted by our private practice, or rejected for 
 the sake of any modes or customs brought in we know 
 not how. 
 
 And we should the ratlier keep to this rule of affusion, 
 because we have in a manner lost that more primitive 
 way of baptizing by immersion. Custom having " cer- 
 tified" in general, that it is the opinion and judgment 
 of all who bring their children to the font, that they 
 are " too weak to endure dipping." Or, if we would have 
 their sentiments certified more explicitly, there being a 
 rubrick to that puqmse, we are sure, as Dr. Wall ob- 
 serves, to find a certificate of the children's weakness 
 in their dress : and to ask for farther satisfaction would 
 be a mighty needless inquiry. I mention this observa- 
 tion of bis, as the best apology I know of for our 
 present practice of baptizing by affusion, without any 
 formal declaration being made, according to rubrick. 
 of the danger of " dipping." It is not said we shall 
 ask any questions. And «'hen we are sure beforehand 
 what would be the answer, if tlie question were asked, 
 we seem under no obligation, as we are under no 
 direction, to put it at all. ArchJencnn Shcrp. 
 
 p / baptize thee In the Name Src] As this form of 
 ba])tism was given us by our blessed Lord, so the 
 Catholick church has in all ages been very careful not 
 to vary from it. And we learn from passages in the 
 writings of Justin Martyr and Tertullian, that the 
 ("hristians of their times were careful to ba])tize in the 
 name of every one of the Persons of the ever-blessed 
 Trinity distinctly. Dr. Sichulls. 
 
 When the jiriest dips or jiours water ujion the child, 
 he is to say, (calling the child by its name,) " N. I 
 baptize tliee," which \i-as always the form of the Western 
 church. 'I'he Ivastern church useth a little variation, 
 " Let N. I)e baptized, &c." or else, " 'I'he servant of 
 God, such a (me is baptized, &c." but the sense is 
 much the same : however, in the next words, that is, 
 " In tbc name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy (ihost," all orthodox Christians did ever agree ; 
 because they are of Clirist's own ap]iointment, aiul for 
 that reason unalterable. Wherefore, when the hercticks 
 presumed to vary from this form, tliey were censured 
 by the church, and th<)S(! baptisms declared null, which 
 were not adriiinistereil " in the name of the l''atber, 
 Son, and Holy (ihost." Some inileed took liberty to 
 mingle a ]).-ira])brase with them, baptizing "in the 
 name of the I'alher who sent, of the Son that came, 
 and of the Holy (ibost that witnessed;" but our Re- 
 formers tliought it more prudi'ut to ])reserve our l^ord's 
 own worrls ititire, witliout addition or dimiiuition. 
 
 Now liy baptizing in th(^ name of the three I'ersons, 
 is not only meant tliat it is done by the commission and 
 authority of God the I''ulher, Son, and Holy Ghost; 
 
 not be ashamed to confess the faith 
 
 of Christ crucified % and manfully ' for. i. 
 
 to fight under his banner, against Eph'. ii. lo, 
 
 sin, the world, and the devil; and 5j„',fnv. 4 
 
 to continue Clirist's faithful soldier H""i- 'iii 
 
 and servant unto his life'.s 
 
 Amen. 
 
 end. 2X101. ii. 3. 
 
 but also that we are baptized into the faith of the holy 
 Trinity ; and are received into that society of men, who 
 are distinguished from all false professions in the world, 
 by believing in three Persons and one God. This is the 
 great fundamental article, on which all the rest depend, 
 and to which they may be referred. Dean Comber, 
 Wheatly. 
 
 ' Then the Priest shall say, &c.] Baptism is, by the 
 appointment of Christ Himself, the sacrament of our 
 initiation and admission into his Church ; wherefore, 
 when any one is solemnly baptized, it is requisite he 
 should be solemnly declared a member of the visible 
 church, and when God hath received him into his 
 favour, and sealed hira «-ith his Spirit, as He ever doth 
 in this mystery where there is no impediment, we may 
 then very justly receive him into our communion, and 
 sign him with the cognizance of Christ's religion, as 
 we do in this form. If we seek any precedent in Scrip- 
 ture for the woi-ds which follow, it may be deduced 
 from that solemn proclamation made by God the 
 I'ather, immediately after the baptism of Jesus Christ, 
 " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," 
 Matt. iii. 17. .'\s He by the Master, so we by the 
 servant, are declared to belong to God. He, as his 
 own only-begotten Son ; we, as adopted by Him into 
 the family of our heaxenly Father. Again, St. Paul, 
 S])eaking of the F-phesians, who were baptized, which is 
 meant by their being " raised up together in Christ," 
 I'^jih. ii. 6, declares, that, whereas they were before 
 " aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers 
 from the covenant of promise," ver. 12, they were now 
 become " fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the 
 houshold of God," ver. 19. Our Lord Jesus hath 
 rescued this poor soul from the bondage of Satan; He 
 hath found tliis strange and str.iying sheep, and hath 
 sent it home : ^'herefore let us joyfully receive it. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' — and do sign him with the sign of the Cross,'] After 
 the priest hath baptized the child, he receives it into 
 the congregation, liy this solemnity declaring that he 
 is by l)aptism made a member of the Church, 1 Cor. 
 xii. 13. " W'c are all baptizeii into one body." And 
 when he thus receives it, he signs it witli the sign of 
 the cross, as of old it was wont, accorcbng to St. Au- 
 gustin ; and on the forehead, tlie seat of blushing and 
 sliaine, that he may not hereafter blush and be ashamed 
 of the disgraced cross of Christ, as St. Cyprian saith. 
 Hy this badge is the child dedicated to his service, 
 whose benefits bestowed upon him in l)aptism, the 
 name of the cross in holy Scripture does represent. 
 \\'hosoever desires to Ite fully satisfied concerning the 
 use of tbc cross in baptism, let him read tbc thirtieth 
 canon of our Church, in the year l(i(>3. liji. Sparrow. 
 
 This rubrick must be expounded by the thirtieth 
 canon of the Church, and by that which followcth : for 
 the signing is not immediately to succeed the formal 
 words of liaptisui. But the minister is first to say, 
 "We receive this cliild into the congregation of (Jhrist's 
 flock ;" and then to sign : and so the words " do sign" 
 in the jircsent tense do infallilily import. For the 
 ('burih, studious to retain tliis .ancient and universal 
 ceremony of the purest iirimilive times, was also careful
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 :]\7 
 
 s 
 
 t Then shall the Priest say', 
 E E I N G now, doarly beloved 
 brethren, that this Child is re- 
 
 to decline all fear of superstitious intendment; as if 
 
 she thought the sacrament imperfect without it. There- 
 fore, whereas the primitive mode made it to usher in 
 baptism, our Church inverted the order, and made it 
 come after, and so to follow it, as she expressly first 
 declarcth, " the child to l)e received into the congre- 
 gation of Christ's flock, as a perfect member thereof, 
 and not by any power ascribed to the sign of the 
 cross," Canon 30. And further to assure all dis- 
 trustfid minds, that she maketh it not of the substance 
 of the sacrament, she hath totally omitted it in the 
 office of private baptism. U Estrange. 
 
 'I'he child, being now baptized, is become a member 
 of the Christian church, into which the minister (as a 
 steward of God's family) doth solemnly receive it; and, 
 for the clearer manifestation that it now belongs to 
 Christ, solemnly signs it in the forehead with the sign 
 of the " cross." For the better understanding of 
 which primitive ceremony, we may observe, that it was 
 an ancient rite for masters and generals to mark the 
 foreheads or hands of their servants and soldiers with 
 their names or marks, that it might be known to whom 
 they did belong ; and to this custom the angel in the 
 Revelation is thought to allude : " Hurt not the earth, 
 &e., till we have sealed the servants of our God in 
 their foreheads," Rev. vii. 3 : thus again, the retinue 
 of the Lamb are said to " ha\-e his Father's name 
 written in their foreheads," chap. xiv. 1. And thus, 
 lastly, in the same chapter, as Christ's flock carried his 
 mark on their foreheads, so did his great adversary the 
 beast sign his servants there also ; " If any man shall 
 receive the mark of the beast in his forehead, or in his 
 hand, &c." ver. 9. Now that the Christian church 
 might hold some analogy with those sacred ajipli- 
 cations, she conceived it a most significant ceremony in 
 baptism, (which is our first admission into the Chris- 
 tian profession,) that all her children should be signed 
 with the cross on their foreheads, signifying thereby 
 their consignment up to Christ ; whence it is often 
 called by the ancient fathers, the " Lord's signet," and 
 " Christ's seal." Wheiitly. 
 
 The true sense and intention of the Church of Eng- 
 land in appointing this sign apjiear from Dr. Bur- 
 gess's sense of the matter, which was accepted by King 
 James the First, and affirmed by the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury to be the sense of the Church. His words 
 in the place being referred to, (see p. 341,) are these 
 which follow : " I know it is not made any part of the 
 sacrament of baptism, which is acknowledged by the 
 canon to be complete without it, and not perfected or 
 bettered by it. 
 
 I understand it not as any sacramental, or ope- 
 rative, or eflicacious sign bringing any virtue to bap- 
 tism, or the baptized. 
 
 Where the book says, 'and do sign him with the 
 sign of the cross in token &c. ;' I understand the book 
 not to mean, that the sign of the cross has any virtue 
 in it to effect or further this duty ; but only to intimate 
 and express by that ceremony, by which the ancients 
 did avow their profession of Christ crucified, what the 
 congregation hopeth and expecteth hereafter from the 
 infant : namely, that he shall not be ashamed to pro- 
 fess the faith of Christ crucified, into which he was 
 even now baptized. 
 
 And therefore also, when the 30th canon saith, that 
 the infant is ' by that sign dedicated unto the service 
 of Christ,' I understand that dedication to import, not 
 
 generate", and grafted into the body 
 of Christ's C'hnrch, let us give thanks 
 unto Almighty God for these be- 
 
 a real consecration of the child, which was done in 
 
 baptism itself; but only a ceremonial declaration of 
 that dedication, like as the ])riest is said to make clean 
 the lejier, whose being clean he only declared." 
 
 The Church's use of the sign of the cross, and her 
 expressions concerning it, are fairly ca])able of this 
 construction ; and so authcntick a declaration is suffi- 
 cient to satisfy any sober inquirer, that this sense not 
 only may be, but ought to be, received. Dr. liennet. 
 
 ' — to confess the faith of Christ crucifieil,] The 
 heathens were wont to deride the Christians, and to 
 speak disdainfully of them, as worshi])])ers of a male- 
 factor crucified. To encounter which reproach, and to 
 shew that they " gloried in the cross of Christ," Gal. 
 vi. 14 ; taking it to be an honour, not an ignominy; 
 they assumed this ceremony of signing themselves 
 with the cross, both in baptism, and at several other 
 times. And this sign being significant of a duty to be 
 elicited by future practice, good reason had our Church 
 to continue it. L'Sstrange. 
 
 It is, in brief, a mark, by which we, as the primitive 
 Christians did, declare our religion ; and no more 
 than that, wherewith we conclude all our prayers and 
 thanksgivings, when we say, through Jesus Christ, our 
 Lord and Saviour. Clutttrbuck. 
 
 Upon the whole, the ceremony is exceeding proper, 
 and very innocent; used by most Christians; ajiproved 
 by all the ancients, and by some of the most eminent 
 reformed divines cx[)ressly; and condemned by no 
 church ; so that, if this ceremony be rejected by any, 
 they ought to consider that the fault is in themselves, 
 not in the thing, at which offence is taken, but none 
 justly given, if the Church be but rightly understood. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Then shall the Priest say, &c.] After the child is 
 baptized, we conclude all with, first, declaring the 
 benefits of baptism; secondly, praying the child may 
 receive them ; thirdly, directions to the sureties in 
 order thereto. First, there is an Exhortation to the 
 congi'egation, grounded on the benefits which this in- 
 fant (who, being guilty of no actual sin, could put no 
 bar to God's grace) hath received : so that we doubt 
 not it is inwardly regenerate, and hath obtained a new 
 principle of grace, which will always guide it in holy 
 ways (if it do not afterwards wickedly resist it). And 
 secondly, we are sure it is by this holy rite made a 
 lively member of Christ's Church. Wherefore the 
 priest exhorts all present, first, to jiraise God for these 
 benefits, and then to pray it may lead the rest of its 
 life in a way answerable to God's mercy, and its own 
 vows. Secondly, the priest begins these devotions, 
 and now can say with and for this infant, being a child 
 of God as well as any of us, " Our Father, &c." And 
 then follows a prayer, wherein we, first, give thanks for 
 the benefits of baptism, blessing God, first, for rege- 
 nerating this child with his Holy Sjiirit; secondly, for 
 adopting it in Christ Jesus to be one of liis own chil- 
 dren, and consequently making it an heir of glory ; and 
 thirdly, in order to the obtaining thereof, that he hath 
 by this rite made it one of the members of his Church, 
 one of that body whereof Christ is the head. .And 
 because it is possible by its wilful apostasy it may lose 
 these benefits, secondly, we pray for grace to assist it 
 in the whole course of its life, so that what is signified 
 by this rite, may indeed be fulfilled, even that it may 
 forsake all evil, and as it were be dead to all the 
 motions of it, and may be lively and active to all good,
 
 348 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 Ps. ciii. 2. iiefits, ami with one accord make 
 Ac'siv. 24. our prayers unto him, that //(/.•>■ Child 
 
 so that it may have the benefit of Christ's death and 
 resurrection, and with all faithful Christians may come 
 to inherit the kino;dom of glory. Amen. Lastly, we 
 turn to the (jiidfathers and Godmothers, and we mind 
 them, first, what they have done in entering this bond 
 to God in the child's name ; so that it hath jjromiscd 
 by them to renounce all evil, to belie\-e all saving truth, 
 and to live in all holiness. Secondly, we shew them 
 «'!iat they must do, namely, sincerely endca\'our the 
 tlald may kee]) this vow, by bringing it to church to 
 be instructed by preaching and catechising in the 
 nature and benefits of this baptismal vow, and by 
 jjrivate endeavours with the parents and the child, that 
 it may have a \irtaous education. And the reason of 
 this is given also, namely, because the design of bap- 
 tism is to make us holy, and to oblige us to live agree- 
 able to our reUgion, and to \i-alk in a manner according 
 to the example of Christ in all ]Hnity and virtue : and 
 though they shall not be condemned, who use their 
 best care to make this child keep its vow, though it 
 should fall away ; yet it is a great faidt in sureties not 
 to look after those they have engaged for, and an 
 occasion that some fall into evil principles, others into 
 wicked practices ; which may be prevented in many, 
 if the sureties will do their duty, esijecially if they will 
 labour, first, to fit them for contirmation, and then 
 bring them to it, for then the child enters the bond in 
 its own name, and the surety is discharged from all but 
 the duty of charity. Deau Comber. 
 
 " — that this Child is regenerate,'] The former part of 
 this exhortation is very frequently objected against, be- 
 cause it supposes all baptized infants to be " regene- 
 rated ;" which, the objectors say, we cannot be certain 
 of. But since they are "baptized into Christ's body," 
 1 Cor. xii. 13; and "into Christ," and have "put on 
 Christ," Gal. iii. 27 ; and consequently are " new crea- 
 tures," 2 Cor. v. 1 7 ; since they are " baptized for the 
 remission of sins," Acts ii. 3S ; and since baptism is 
 called " the washing of regeneration," Tit. iii. 5 : 
 therefore the Scriptiu-e, as well as the Church, su])- 
 ])()ses them to be " regenerated," unless the ordinances 
 nnil ])romises of God are of none effect towards them. 
 Veneer. 
 
 There have been some very unreasonable exceptions 
 taken against this expression : as if all persons, who are 
 baptized, were truly regenerate, whereas several of them 
 prove afterwards very wicked. 15ut this oliji'ctlou is 
 groutuled upon a modern notion of the word " rcgcnc- 
 raiion," which neither the ancient fathers of tlie ('hurch, 
 nor the comi)ncr3 of oiu- Liturgy, knew any (liing of. 
 Indeed some writers of the last century ran into this new- 
 fangled phrase, to denote conversion, or a returning from 
 a lapsed state, after a notorious violati<in of the baptismal 
 covenant, to an hahitual state of holiness. 15ut no an- 
 cient writer that I know of, ever expressed tliis by the 
 word " rcg(!neration." Regeneration, as often as it is 
 used in tlie Scrii)ture books, signifies the l)a|)tismal rege- 
 neration. 'J'here is but one word which answers to this 
 in the New Testament, and that is 7rii\iyyn'i(Tiu ; and 
 that TTiiXiyyu'miit refers to l)aptisni is ]]lain, by having 
 tlie word XoiTfiin' joined with it : " .\ceording to his 
 mercy he saved us by tlie washing of regeneration," 
 'lit. iii. 5. Our .Saviour in<leed made use of the like 
 expression, before the apostle, to Nicodemus; " ICxccpt 
 a man be horn again, he cannot see the kingilom of 
 <iod," .lohn iii. 3. ISiit what lie means by being born 
 again lie explains, ver. ;'>, bv dircctini; it positively to 
 bajjlism, " Kxcc])! a man be l)orn of water and of tlic 
 
 may lead the rest of his life accord- ^ij^lj \ '^ 
 iiisr to this befflnning:. "-n. 
 
 Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 
 " Regeneration," in the language of the fathers, con- 
 stantly signifies the participation of the sacrament of 
 baptism. The Greeks have a variety of words to ex- 
 press regeneration by: not only avayiiryiTtg, which is 
 an exact translation of it; but aroKaiiT^/oi-, "renova- 
 tion;" ni'ak.-7i"ic, "recreation;" arai'tojiric,', "renewing;" 
 avarrraais, "resurrection;" iiiraj3o\)), the "change;" 
 /ifr(i7roi;;rri(;, the "refitting;" 7ra\tyyiyeffli, the being 
 "born again;" 5rnXuroi:ia, the " bcjj;etting again :" all 
 which expressions are used of baptism, and seldom or 
 never of the rise after a lapse. The language of the 
 Latin fathers is the same. The Latin translator of 
 Irenseus, which undoubtedly is very ancient, expresses 
 the Greek ai'aysi'i'7iiric by "regeneration:" "baptism 
 which is a regeneration unto God:" and so likewise 
 calls the avayD'viiinvoi. the baptized, " regenerati," the 
 " regenerate." St. Ambrose, speaking of baptism, 
 expresses himself thus : " By baptism we are renewed, 
 by which also we are born again." St. Austin, besides 
 innvnnerable other passages, within the compass of a 
 few lines has several expressions all to this purpose : he 
 calls baptism " the spiritual regeneratiim ;" he says the 
 baptized person " is born again, because he is regene- 
 rated ;" and, lastly, he calls baptism " the sacrament of 
 regeneration." And in another place he moves a ques- 
 tion, whether the baptism of the schismatical Donatists 
 does confer regeneration or not ; but ne\er doubted 
 whether that of the Catholicks did so. But when any of 
 the ancients have occasion to express a returning to God 
 after a state of sin; the Greeks use the word fttrafiiXua, 
 fnrai'cia, &c. ; the Latins, jKcnitcntia, convcrsio. The 
 language of the Schools is exactly that of the Latin 
 fathers in this point; they make the effect of baptism 
 to be a " regeneration," or "a generation to a spiritual 
 life;" but the turning to God after a course of sin they 
 call, either " penitence," or " conversion to God." The 
 most eminent divines of the Reformation use these 
 words in the ancient sense. Peter Martyr uses " rege- 
 neration" for baptism; and calls the turning to God, 
 after a state of sin, the " conversion and change of a 
 man." Calvin, where he designs to speak with exact- 
 ness, uses regeneration for the baptismal renovation, as 
 in his catechism ; though sometunes he uses it to sig- 
 nify conversion : but this is but seldom ; he generally, 
 with the ancient Latin writers, expressing this by " con- 
 version." When the Quiiupiarticular controvcr.«y came 
 afoot, and long treatises were written about the me- 
 thods of conxerting grace, the divines, who managed 
 them, being willing sometimes to vary their expressions, 
 to make these discourses, dry enough iu themselves, 
 thereby something more pleasant, began to use " rege- 
 neration" as a synonymous word witli "conversion." 
 But in the Synod of Dort itself, though in some of the 
 particular declarations of the divines of the several 
 countries "regeneration" and " conver.'iion " are used 
 reciprocally; yet in the Synodical resolutions the word 
 "conversion" is always used. In the sermons and 
 books, written about the hcirinning <if the late civil 
 wars. " regeneration," for "repentance" or " conver- 
 sion," became a very fashionable word : but sometimes 
 oddly expressing it "by " regencr;ition-work," &c., they 
 made sport for vain people, llowcver, by frecpu-nt use 
 the word has come to obtain among grave and judicious 
 writers, though tlie use of it was so very modern ; in- 
 somuch tliat some divines, who had their education 
 since the Quinipiarticular controver.sy, and were con- 
 cerned in the review of the Liturgy at the Restoration,
 
 o 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. ;]l<) 
 
 Thy kinirdom come. Tliy will ho 
 (lone ill earth, As it is in liciMcn. 
 Give us this day our daily bread, 
 
 t Then shall be said, all kneeling ; 
 U 11 Father, which art in hea- 
 ven ", Hallowed be thy Name. 
 
 Iiretcnili'd to find fault with the (/imimon I'raycr Buok 
 i'ur usinf^r tlic wurd " regeneration " in tlie ancient sense, 
 wliicli it had kejit for sixteen hundred j'ears, in oppo- 
 sition to theirs, which was har(ily sixty years old. And 
 this is sufficient to justify the Common Prayer Book 
 expression; and, I hope, to silence all objections under 
 this head. Dr. Nic/ialls. 
 
 'I'lie sense of the Church in this passafje is so ])lain, 
 that no more woidd need to he added, Init only that 
 some, with Nicodcmus, are a])t to say, " How can these 
 these things be?" John iii. 9; judging it impossible, 
 that so great a matter as regeneration can be efi'ected so 
 soon, and by so mean an instrument as they account 
 it : whereas the effect is to be ascribed to tlie divine 
 power of the Author, not to the intrinsiek efficacy of 
 the outward means. Yet in regard we can nc\-cr bless 
 God heartily for a mercy, unless we believe Me hath 
 bestowed it, we must labour to remove these scruples 
 by a fuller account of this bajitismal regeneration, that 
 H'e may not withhold the di\'ine praises, by o\ir doubt- 
 ing and unbelief. The word "regeneration" is but 
 twice, that I know of, used in Scripture : first. Matt. 
 .\ix. 28 ; " Ye that have followed me in the regenera- 
 tion ;" where, though by altering the point, " Fol- 
 lowed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man," 
 &c., it may signify the resurrection ; yet, as we read, it 
 signifies the renewing of men by the Gospel and bap- 
 tism. Secondly, Titus iii. 5, " He saved us Ijy the 
 laver of regeneration and renewing of the Holy 
 Ghost," «hich is a paraphrase U]Jon that of our Saviour, 
 John iii. " Excejit a man be born of water and the 
 Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heayen," 
 ver. 5. 
 
 And because persons, come to age before their con- 
 version, are first taught and persuaded by the word of 
 God, the language of holy writ enlarges the metaphor, 
 and saith, such are " begotten by the word of God," 
 1 Cor. iv. 15; and then born again or regenerated in 
 bai)tism. In like manner speak the fathers, who do 
 constantly and unanimously affirm, that we are regene- 
 rated in or by baptism. So that we must next inquire 
 wherein this regeneration doth consist. 
 
 And first, whereas both children and those of riper 
 years are by nature dead in sin, so that they live under 
 the guilt and power thereof; our gracious Father doth 
 here in bajitism seal a covenant with us, wherein He 
 promises to pardon us ; and, when this deadly load is 
 removed, the soul receives, as it were, a new life, and 
 takes new hoi)es and courage, being restored to the 
 divine favour, and being set free from the sad expecta- 
 tions of condemnation for former sin, original in infants, 
 and both it and actual in those of riper years. Before 
 this covenant we were dead in law, and hy the pardon 
 of our sins we are begotten again to a lively hope ; and 
 herein stands the first particular of our regeneration, 
 namely, in the remission of sins: wherefore both Scripture 
 and antiquity teach us, Luke iii. 3 ; Acts ii. 38 ; chap. xxii. 
 16; that baptism is the means for remission of sin; 
 and hence they join pardon and regeneration commonly 
 together, because this forgi\'eness puts us into a new 
 estate, and an excellent condition, in comparison of 
 that which our natural birth had left us in. 
 
 Secondly, but further, by baptism we gain new rela- 
 tions, and old things being done away all things become 
 new. Hence the Jews called their proselytes " new- j 
 horn children," because they forsook all theh heathen i 
 
 kindred ; so we, although we do not renounce our 
 earthly parents, because they also are Christians, yet 
 we gain new alliances ; for God hereby doth become 
 our Father, and Jesus our Master, aiul all the saints 
 both in heaven and earth our l)retbren ; so that it is as 
 if we were born in'er again, since baptism doth entitle 
 us to this celestial kindred. 
 
 But this is not all. For, thirdly, our corrupt nature 
 is changed in baptism, and there is a renovation effected 
 thereby, both as to the mortification of the old aU'ec- 
 tions, and the quickening of the new, by the Holy S|iirit, 
 which is hereby given to all that put no bar or im])edi- 
 ment imto it. This was the ancients' doctrine, who 
 affirmed a real change to be wrought, and believed the 
 Spirit to be therein bestowed, as God had promised, 
 Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 20, " That he would sjirinkle clean 
 water U]jon them, and they should be clean from all 
 their filthiness, and then a new heart would he give 
 them, and jiut a new s|)irit within them." And it is 
 manifest, that, in the first ages of the Church, there was 
 abundance of gifts and graces miraculously bestowed 
 upon Christians in their baptism; and no doulit, if the 
 cateclumiens of our days, who are of age, would ])repare 
 themselves as strictly by repentance, fasting, and |)rayer, 
 as they of old did, tliey should find incomjiarable effects 
 of this sacred laver, if not in as miraculous measures, 
 yet to as real jiurposes ; that is, they should be truly 
 regenerated, and their hearts changed by the influence 
 of the divine Spirit. But some may doubt whether 
 infants be regenerated in this sense, because they are 
 not capable of giving any evidences of their receiving 
 the Spirit, nor doth there any immediate effects of 
 their regeneration ap[)ear : hence the Pelagians denied 
 it ; but tbey are therefore condemned by the Milevitan 
 council, and confuted by St. Augustine. It is con- 
 fessed they can shew no visible signs of spiritual life in 
 the operations thereof, no more can they of their having 
 a rational soul, for some time ; and yet we know they 
 have the power of reason within them : and since all 
 infants are alike, either all do here receive a princijjle of 
 new life, or none receive it ; wherefore I see no reason 
 why we may not believe, as the ancients did, that God's 
 grace, which is dispensed according to the capacity of 
 the suscipient, is here given to infants to heal their 
 nature, and that He bestowed on them such measures 
 of his Spirit as they can receive ; for the malignant 
 effects of the first Adam's sin are not larger than the 
 free gift obtained by the second Adam's righteousness, 
 Rom. V. 15. 18. And if it be asked how it comes to 
 pass then that so many chikb'en do afterwards fall off 
 to all impm'ity ; I answer, so do too many grown per- 
 sons also ; and neither infants, nor men, are so regene- 
 rated in this life, as absolutely to extinguish the 
 concupiscence ; for the flesh will still lust against the 
 Spirit : but then God gives the Spirit also to lust 
 against the flesh. Gal. v. He leaves the corruption to 
 try and exercise us, but so that He engageth to enable 
 us to get the better, through this new natm-e planted in 
 us, if we will improve it, and follow the dictates of his 
 Holy Spirit ; but by neglect, or wilful comjilying with 
 the flesh, we may lose this grace again ; our gracious 
 Father hath already done his part, and will do it more 
 and more as the child shall be cajiable and wilhng to 
 receive it. And, if this seem strange to any, whose 
 ojiinions are taken up from later definitions of regene- 
 ration, let them dispute with holy Cyprian, not with
 
 350 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 And forgive us our trespasses, As 
 we forgive tliem that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into tempta- 
 tion; But deliver us from evil. 
 Amen. 
 
 H Then shall the Priest say, 
 
 WE yield thee hearty thanks % 
 most merciful Father, that 
 it hath pleased thee to regenerate 
 this Infant witii thy holy Spirit, 
 Gal. iv. 4, 5. to receive him for thine ov,n Child 
 by adoption, and to incorporate him 
 into thy holy Church. And humbly 
 we beseech thee to grant >', that he, 
 being dead unto sin, and living unto 
 righteousness, and beino: buried with 
 
 rae, who saith, "Tlie grace of God is equally dis- 
 tributed in baptism, but it may either be diminished 
 or increased afterward, by our acts and conversa- 
 tion." 
 
 The sum is, that baptism doth seal a pardon to us 
 for all former transgression, and begets us again to the 
 hope of eternal life ; that it restores us to the favour of 
 God, and gives us a new relation to Him ; and finally 
 it heals our nature by the Spirit hereby conveyed to 
 us : and, though all this be upon condition of our 
 keejiing our part of the covenant, yet that makes not 
 God's mercy less, nor ought it to diminish any of our 
 praises ; but only it must make our prayers at present 
 more earnest, and the child's care more strict hereafter 
 to make this its calling and election sure. 
 
 This is I hope the sense of our Church, as well as of 
 the primitive ; and if so, it will not be material to a 
 judicious Christian for any to say, it doth not agree to 
 some modern systems. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Our Father, which art in heaven, &c.] Tlie Lord's 
 Prayer having been iirescribcd by our Saviour to his 
 disciples, as a badge of their belonging to Him ; it can 
 never be more reasonable or proper to use it than now, 
 when a new member and discijjle is admitted into liis 
 cluirch. .'\nd therefore, whereas, in other offices, this 
 prayer is generally placed in the beginning, it is here 
 reserved till after the child is bajjtized, and received 
 solemnly into the Clun-ch : when we can more |irii])crly 
 call (iod " our Kutlier," with respect to the infant, who 
 is now by baptism made a member of Christ, and more 
 ])eculiarly ado])tcd a child of (iod. Anil this is exactly 
 conformable to the ])rimitive Churdi : i'or the catechu- 
 mens were never allowed to use this jirayer, till they had 
 first made themselves sons by regeneration in tlie waters 
 of baptisiTi. l''or which reason this jirayer is frequently, 
 by the ancient writers, called " The I'rayer of the re- 
 generate," or " believers," as being, ])roi)crly speaking, 
 their privilege and birthright. W'heally. 
 
 ' l\'e yield thrc hriirty thanks, S;c.] We begin this 
 form with acknowledgments and ]iraises. in imitation of 
 the Jews; who, when tlie diilil is eircmncised, use to 
 sav, " lilessed be the I.onl onrCdd, who hath sanetilieil 
 us with his precepts, aiul conunanded us to bring this 
 child into the covenant of .\br»liam :" but this child 
 enters into a lietter covenant, established ujjon better 
 promises, so that we have more cause to bless God than 
 they. Hence in the Kast tliev sung after baptism the 
 thirty-second I'salin, " lilessed is he whose iniipiity is 
 forgiven, &c. :" and, St. Ambrose saith, llie jiriest spoke 
 to the person baptized in this manner, " God the I'utlier 
 
 Christ in his death, may crucify the 
 old man, and utterly abolish the 
 whole body of sin ; and that, as he is Rom. vi. 
 made partake}- of the death of thy ' 
 Son, he may also be partaker of his 
 resurrection ; so that finally, with 
 the residue of thy holy Church, he Heb. xu. 
 may be an inheritor of thine ever- ^^' 
 lasting kingdom; through Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 II Then, all standing up, the Priest shall say 
 to the Godfathers' and Godmothers this 
 Exhortation following. 
 
 FORASMUCH as (his Child 
 hath promised by you his sure- 
 ties to renounce the devil and all his 
 works, to believe in God, and to 
 
 Almighty, who hath regenerated thee by water and the 
 Holy Ghost, and forgiven thee thy sins, &c. :" which 
 shews, that the ancients did not question the effect of 
 the sacrament, no, not in persons of age, until their 
 future conversation declared they had broken their 
 covenant. How much more then ought we to believe 
 this in the case of infants, who can put no impediment 
 to the grace of God, and are all alike, so that either all 
 or none receive these blessings ? Dean Comber. 
 
 y — And humbly we beseech thee to grant, &c.] In this 
 second jiart of the prayer also we have a precedent in 
 the Jewish rites after circumcision : only that our 
 prayers are more spiritual ; for inward grace rather 
 than outward blessings ; and good reason, for all the 
 benefits of baptism will vanish, unless they be after- 
 wards improved ; they will not have their full effect, 
 unless the conditions be performed. Neither we do, 
 nor did the primitive Church, believe them to he so 
 regenerate or so endued n'ith the Sjiirit, but that by 
 sloth and wilful iniquity they may be dejirived of all 
 again : their corruptions ai-e not so mortified, but that 
 by com])liance and base negligence they may revive 
 again, so that the last state shall be worse than the 
 first, and it shall be more toleralile for heathens than 
 for vile apostates. Wherefore we beg most humbly 
 and earnestly, that this child may love as one, ujion 
 whom such great favours are bestowed. 'I'lie worils of 
 these requests are St. Paul's, Kom. vi. 4 — G, and 
 11 — 13; and the phrase is frefiuently used by the 
 fathers in this ease. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Then, (ill standing np, the Priest shall say to the God- 
 fathers I'tc] Peeause nothing tends more directly to the 
 securing of luiliness and religion, than a conscientious 
 performance of this vow of baptism, to our prayers for 
 the fulfilling thereof are here added our endeavours. 
 In the first ages, when those of discretion were bap- 
 tized, the " a|)p!ications" were dircited to the jiersons 
 themselves, (as they now are in our " oiliee of l)apfism 
 for tliosc of riper years,") but since children are now 
 mo.st conunonly the subjects of baptism, who are not 
 capable of admonition, here is a serious and earnest 
 exhortation made to the sureties. Wheatly. 
 
 it is earnestly to be desired, that sponsors would 
 seriously consider this excellent exhortation : and 
 take due care of practising accordingly in every ])arti- 
 cular; considering what a dreadful acccmnt they must 
 give to (iod, if they neglect the performance of that 
 duty, which in the face of (iod and his Cliurcb they 
 have so solemnly taken upon themselves. Dr. liennet. 
 And this exhortation, if well considered, will shew
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 051 
 
 serve him ; ye must remember, that 
 Gal. iv. 1, 2. it is your parts and duties to see 
 Deut. IV. Ki. j.j^^j. ^'^^-^ Infant bo tauo^lit, so soon 
 
 as lie siiali be able to learn, wluit 
 a solemn vow, jiromise, and pro- 
 
 Eccks. V. 4. fession, lie lialh here made by yon. 
 And that he may know these tliini^s 
 the better, ye shall call upon him to 
 
 itoiii. X. 17. hear Sermons ; and chiefly ye shall 
 provide that he may learn the Creed, 
 the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Com- 
 mandments, in the vuljrar tonirue^ 
 and all other thinu^s which a (Jhris- 
 tian ought to know and believe to 
 his soul's health; and that this Child 
 may be virtuously brought up to lead 
 a godly and a Christian life; remem- 
 bering always that Baptism doth re- 
 present unto us our profession; which 
 
 I Cor iii. 5 
 Heb. V. 14. 
 
 Eph. vi. 4. 
 John xvii. 3 ; 
 viii. 24. 
 Acts xiii. 39. 
 
 is, to follow the example of our Sa- 
 viour Christ, and to be made like 
 unto him ; that, as he died, and rose 
 again for us, so should we, who are 
 ba]>tized, die from sin, and rise again 
 unto righteousness; continually mor- 
 tifying all our evil and corrupt atfec- 
 tioiis, and daily proceeding in all 
 virtue and godliness of living. 
 
 1 Then shall he add and say, 
 
 YE are to take care that this 
 Child be brought to the Bishop 
 to be confirmed by him, so soon as 
 he can say the Creed, the I.,ord's 
 Prayer, and the Ten Command- 
 ments, in the vulgar tongue, and be 
 further instructed in the Church- 
 Catechism set forth for that purpose. 
 
 Itom. vi. 
 3—14. 
 
 IT is certain by God's Word '', tliat children which are baptized, dying before they 
 commit actual sin, are undoubtedly saved. 
 
 To take away all scruple ' concerning the use of the sign of the Cross in Baptism ; the 
 true explication thereof, and the just reasons for the retaining of it, may be seen in the 
 x.x.vth Canon, first published in the year MDCIV. 
 
 how improper it is for any to imdertake this trust 
 merely in compliment ; how absurd to jjut little chil- 
 dren (whose bond is not good in human courts) upon 
 this weighty office ; and also how ridiculous for those 
 who have taken this duty U])on them, to think they can 
 shake oif this charge again, and assign it over to the 
 parents. But yet this is frequently the custom of this 
 licentious age, and the chief occasion of many [jeojile's 
 falling into evil jjrinciples and wicked jiractices, which 
 might easily be prevented, if the sureties would do 
 their duty, and labour to fit their God-children for 
 confirmation, and bring them to it ; which therefore 
 the minister is in the last place to advertise the sureties 
 of; for till the child by this means enters the bond in 
 his own name, the sureties must answer for all mis- 
 carriages through their neglect : whereas, as soon as 
 the child is confirmed, the sureties are freed from that 
 danger, and discharged from all but the duty of charity. 
 Dean Comber, IVheatly, 
 
 ° — in the vulgar tongue,^ It stood formerly " in the 
 English tongue." The alteration was made in compli- 
 ance, as it would seem, with a suggestion of Bishop 
 Cosin, that " suppose, as it often falls out, that children 
 of strangers, which never intend to stay in England, be 
 brought there to be baptized," it would be exception- 
 able that " they also should be exhorted ftnd enjoined to 
 learn those principles of religion in the English tongue." 
 Edit. 
 
 '' It is certain by God's Word, &c.] Since it has been 
 already shewn, page 348, note u, that infants, rightly 
 baptized, are born again of the Holy Ghost, and put 
 into a state of salvation ; it necessarily follows, that chil- 
 dren rightly ba])tized, which is here supposed, are un- 
 doubtedly saved, if they die before they commit actual 
 sin. For, without the commission of actual sin, it is 
 impossible that they should forfeit the benefits of the 
 covenant, of which they are made partakers by baptism. 
 Dr. Bennet. 
 
 " To take away all scnipte &c.] The thirtieth canon, 
 here referred to, is as follows : " We are sorry that his 
 Majesty's most princely care and pains taken in the 
 conjference at Hampton Court, amongst many other 
 
 points, touching this one of the cross in baptism, hath 
 taken no better effect with many, but that still the use 
 of it in baptism is so greatly struck at and impugned. 
 For the further declaration therefore of the true use of 
 this ceremony, and for the removing of all such scruple, 
 as might any ways trouble the consciences of them who 
 are indeed rightly religious, following the royal steps of 
 our most worthy King, because he therein followeth the 
 rules of the Scriptures, and the practice of the primitive 
 Church ; we do commend to all the true members of 
 the Church of England these our directions and obser- 
 vations ensuing. 
 
 First, it is to be observed, that, although the Jews 
 and Ethnicks derided both the apostles and the rest of 
 the Christians, for preaching and believing in Him, 
 who was crucified upon the cross ; yet all, both apostles 
 and Christians, were so far from being discouraged 
 from their profession by the ignominy of the cross, as 
 they rather rejoiced and triiunphed in it. Yea, the 
 Holy Ghost by the mouths of the ajiostles did honour 
 the name of the cross (being hateful among the Jews) 
 so far, that under it He comprehended, not only Christ 
 crucified, but the force, effects, and merits of his death 
 and passion, with all the comforts, fruits, and promises, 
 which we receive or expect thereby. 
 
 Secondly, the honour and dignity of the name of the 
 cross begat a reverend estimation even in the apostles' 
 times (for ought that is known to the contrary) of the 
 sign of the cross, which the Christians shortly after 
 used in all their actions ; thereby making an outward 
 shew and profession, even to the astonishment of the 
 Jews, that they were not ashamed to acknowledge 
 Him for their Lord and Saviour, who died for them 
 upon the cross. And this sign they did not only use 
 themselves with a kind of glory, when they met with 
 any Jews, but signed therewith their children, when 
 they were christened, to dedicate them by that badge 
 to his service, whose benefits bestowed upon them in 
 baptism the name of the cross did re])resent. 
 
 And this use of the sign of the cross in baptism was 
 held in the primitive Church, as well by the Greeks as 
 the Latins, with one consent and great applause. At
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 what time, if any had opposed themselves against it, 
 the_v would certainly have been censured as enemies of 
 the name of the cross, and consequently of Christ's 
 merits, the sign whereof they could no better endure. 
 This continual and general use of the sign of the 
 cross is e\ident by many testimonies of the ancient 
 fathers. 
 
 Thirdly, it must be confessed, that in process of time 
 the sign of the cross was greatly abused in the church 
 of Rome, esi)ecially after that corruption of popery had 
 once possessed it. But the abuse of a thing doth not 
 take away the lawful use of it. Nay, so far was it 
 from the purpose of the Church of England to forsake 
 and reject the churches of Italy, France, Spain, Ger- 
 many, or any such like churches, in all things which 
 they held, and practised, that, as the ajiology of the 
 Church of England confesseth, it doth with reverence 
 retain those ceremonies, which do neither endamage 
 the church of God, nor offend the minds of sober men; 
 and only departed from them in those particular points, 
 wherein they were fallen botli from themselves in their 
 ancient integrity, and from the apostolical churches 
 wliich were their first founders ; in which respect, 
 amongst some other very ancient ceremonies, the sign 
 of the cross in baptism hath been retained in this 
 Church, both by the judgment and practice of those 
 reverend fathers and great divines in the days of King 
 Edward the Sixth, of whom some constantly suffered 
 for the profession of the truth : and others, being ex- 
 iled in the time of Queen Mary, did after their return 
 in the beginning of the reign of our late dread Sovereign 
 continually defend and use the same. 
 
 This resolution and jjractice of our Church hath been 
 allowed and approved by the censure upon the Com- 
 munion Ijook in King Edward the Sixth's days, and by 
 the harmony of confessions of later years ; because 
 indeed the use of this sign in baptism, was ever accom- 
 panied here with such sufficient cautions and exceptions 
 against all |)oi)ish superstition and error, as in the like 
 cases are cither fit or convenient. 
 
 First, the Church of England, since the abolishing of 
 popery, hath ever held and taught, and so doth hohl 
 and teach still, that the sign of the cross used in bap- 
 tism is no part of the substance of that sacrament : for, 
 when the minister, dipping the infant in water, or lay- 
 ing water upon the face of it, (as the manner also is,) 
 
 hath pronounced these words, ' I bajitize thee in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 (ihost,' the infant is fully and |ierfectly baptized. So 
 as the sign of the cross, being afterwards used, dotli 
 neither add any thing to the virtue and perfection of 
 baptism, nor being omitted doth detract any thing from 
 the effect and substance of it. 
 
 Secondly, it is apparent in the Communion hook, that 
 the infant baptized is by virtue of baptism, before it be 
 ! signed with the sign of the cross, received into the con- 
 gregation of Christ's ilock, as a perfect member thereof, 
 and not by any power ascribed imto the sign of the 
 cross. So that for the very remembrance of the cross, 
 which is very precious to all them that rightly believe 
 in Jesus Christ, and in the other respects mentioned, 
 the Church of England hath retained still the sign of it 
 in baptism: following therein the primitive and aposto- 
 lical churches, and accounting it a lawful outward cere- 
 mony and honourable badge, whereby the infant is 
 dedicated to the service of Him that died upon the 
 cross, as by the words used in the Book of Common 
 Prayer it may appear. 
 
 Lastly, the use of the sign of the cross in baptism, 
 being thus purged from all po])ish superstition and error, 
 and reduced in the Church of England to the primary 
 institution of it, upon those true rules of doctrine con- 
 cerning things indifferent, which are consonant to the 
 word of God, and the judgment of all the ancient 
 fathers, we hold it the part of every ])rivate man, both 
 minister and other, reverently to retain the true use of 
 it prescribed by publick authority: considering that 
 things of themselves indifferent do in some sort alter 
 their natures, when they are either commanded or 
 forbidden by a lawful magistrate ; and may not be 
 omitted at every man's pleasure, contrai-y to the law, 
 when they be commanded, nor used when they are 
 prohibited." 
 
 The Church in this canon is so exceedingly express 
 and perspicuous in her explanation of the use of the 
 sign of the cross, as nothing can be desired more : 
 which exidication, being the jiroduct of the conference 
 at Hampton Court, was so abundantly satisfactory to 
 the foreman of those o]ijionents, Dr. Reinolds, aS, 
 having once perused it, he ingenuously ]irotested, •' ho 
 would never gainsay that ceremony any more." L' Es- 
 trange.
 
 THE MINISTRATION OF 
 
 PHI Y ATE BAPTISM ^ OF CIIILDEEN 
 
 IN HOUSES. 
 
 % The Curates of every Parish'' shall often admonish the peoj)lc, that tltey defer 
 not the Baptism of their Children longer titan the first or second Sunday ncjct 
 
 ' The Ministration of Private Baptism &c.] Though 
 holy Cliiu'ch prescribes the font for the place, and Sun- 
 days and holy-days for the usual times of baptism, that 
 she may conform, as much as conveniently may be, to 
 the usages of jirimitive antiquity, which is her aim in all 
 her services; and for other reasons mentioned in the first 
 rubrick before baptism ; yet in case of necessity she 
 permits and provides, that a cliild may be baptized in 
 any decent place at any time ; in such cases requiring 
 the performance only of the essentials, not the solemni- 
 ties, of baptism ; according; to the practice of the 
 apostles, who baptized at any time, as occasion required, 
 and in fountains and rivers ; and according to the use 
 of succeeding ages. Nor can I see what can be rea- 
 sonably objected against this tender and motherly love 
 of the Church to her children, who chooses rather to 
 omit solemnities, than hazard souls; which indulgence 
 of hers cannot be interpreted any irreverence or con- 
 tempt of this \-enerable sacrament, but a yielding to 
 just necessity, which defends what it constrains, and to 
 God's own rule, " I will have mercy, and not sacrifice," 
 Matt. xii. 7. Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 Our Saviour Himself hath said, that "except a man 
 be born again of water and of the Holy Ghost, he can- 
 not enter into the kingdom of (iiid," John iii. 5; and 
 He makes baptism as well as faith necessary to salvation, 
 Mark xvi. IG. Whereupon the ancient Christians did 
 constantly affirm, that there could he no salvation in an 
 ordinary way without baiitism ; and whosoe\'er died 
 without it, their estate was believed doubtful, unless it 
 were in such a case as that of the emjieror Valentinian, 
 who St. Ambrose hopes might be saved by the desire of 
 baptism, because be had no ojiportunity. Upon the 
 stock of this principle grew that great care, that no ])er- 
 son might die unbaptized, insomuch that it was allowed 
 in danger of death to bajitize them who had not passed 
 through all their prejjarations ; provided tliat they 
 should answer more fully if God restored them. 'I'he 
 like care hath our Church taken of little children : for, 
 though she require that they should be speedily and 
 publickly baptized in the house of God, yet in cases of 
 extremity she admitteth of that which is done in pri\'ate 
 houses, even without ceremony ; upon condition there 
 may be added more of the solemnity afterw.ards, when 
 it is publislied in the church. And, that it may not be 
 neglected, we are taught, that " it is certain by God's 
 word, that children baptized, dying before they commit 
 actual sin, arc undoubtedly saved." I'or it is certain 
 
 liy God's word, that bajitism is appointed for " remis- 
 sion of .sins," Acts xxn. 16; ii. 3S : and it is also cer- 
 tain, that all they, whose sins are forgiven, are un- 
 doubtedly saved, Ps. xxxii. 1. But infants have no 
 other sin but their original corruption, which being 
 remitted in baptism, they are undoubtedly saved. And 
 it is [ilain from numerous passages that the fii-st Chris- 
 tians believed the same doctrine. Wherefore let no 
 parents, who love their own or their children's souls, 
 upon pretence of (jod's power or mercy, presume to 
 neglect that, which is so certainly a means of sah-ation : 
 neither let them think it indifferent, whether their chil- 
 dren be ba])tized or no ; for this springs from a dan- 
 gerous mistake. If chiklren be weak, the parent must 
 immediately endeavour to procure their baptism : but, 
 if notwithstanding all possible care they die before, we 
 must not then confine the Almighty to the outward 
 means ; but believe He may save without, where He 
 did not give the ojijiortunity. And in such case the 
 parent may take comfort in his having done what he 
 could, and ought to hope in the divine mercy. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' T/ie Curates of every Parish &c.] By this rubrick 
 the curate is required to " admonish the jieojile not to 
 delay the ba])tism of their children, nor cause them with- 
 out necessity to be baptized privately in their houses." 
 As it is not said whether these monitions shall be from 
 the desk, or the pulpit, or given in private as need 
 requires, so we are at liberty, as I judge, to execute this 
 direction in such a manner as we think uiU most effec- 
 tually serve the end designed. 
 
 The former admonition against deferring baptism 
 there is ])erha]is seldom occasion for : and the latter 
 concerning private baptism is always most reasonable, 
 when the thing itself is proposed to us without the 
 rubrickal warrant of a great and reasonable cause to 
 justify it. It is the curate's ])art on such occasions to 
 declare and explain the rule, liy which he is to act. But 
 when he hatli done this, I will not say how far he is 
 authorized to refuse private baptism, when seriously 
 desired, though he be not altogether satisfied in the 
 greatness and sufficiency of the cause. For he cannot 
 always be a proper judge of it. He must for the most 
 part trust to the judgment and integrity of others. But 
 as he can, generally siieaking, distinguish between rea- 
 sons and pretences, between an accidental extraordi- 
 nary cause and a cause of mere humour or private 
 interest, he will do well, and as he ought, never to 
 
 2 A
 
 3j4 
 
 PRIVATE BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 after their birth, or other Holy-dmj fallint/ hetween, unless upon a great and 
 
 reasonable cause, to be approved by the Citrate. 
 if ylnd also they shall warn them, that without like great cause and nccessiti/ 
 
 they procure not their Children to be baptized at home' in their houses. But 
 
 when need shall compel them so to do, then Baptism shall be administered on 
 
 this fashions : 
 % First, let the Minister of the Parish [or, in his absence, any other lawful 
 
 Minister^ that can be procured) with them that are present call upon God, 
 
 sacrifice the rules of his ministration, and the orders of 
 the Church, to any man's fancies, or doraestick conve- 
 niences. Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 ' — u-ithout like great cause and necessity they procure 
 not their Children to be baptized at Aome&c] The cause 
 of the necessity of haptizing in private houses ought to 
 be expressed : as, " When the child is in sudden danger 
 of death, and not likely to live so long a time, that it 
 may he brought to publick baptism in the church :" lest 
 otherwise all persons take upon them to judge of tliis 
 cause and necessity at their pleasure. Bp. Cosin. 
 
 8 — then Baptism shall be administered on thisfashioji .-] 
 So that, \vhene\'er baptism is administered in a pri\'ate 
 house, this ])ri\'ate oiRce only must be used : and the 
 Church must be understood to forbid the use of the 
 ofHce of publick baptism upon such occasions. Arch- 
 deacon iardley. 
 
 '' First, let the Minister of the Parish (or, in his ab- 
 sence, any other lawful Minister &c.)] The person. «'ho 
 baptizeth, ought to be a lawful minister : for Christ 
 gave this commission only to the apostles. Matt, .xxviii. 
 1 9 ; joining the office of preaching together with it ; so 
 that unordained persons may as well presume to preach 
 as to bajjtize. .-\nd therefore the Cluu'ch of old forbade 
 women to baptize ; and Epiphanius accounts it ridicu- 
 lous in Marcion and his followers, to permit women to 
 do this office : so that our Cliurch requires it to be done 
 by a lawful minister. I know there are some allegations 
 out of antiquity, which seem to allow of a layman to 
 baptize in cases of great necessity. But there are others 
 of the fathers, who disallow that practice. And cer- 
 tainly it is a great presinnption for an ordinary person 
 to invade the ministerial office without any warrant. 
 And, as to the pretence that a child may be in danger, 
 I sup))osc the salvation of the child may be as safe ujion 
 the stock of (iod's mercy without any baptism, as with 
 a baptism which is not commanded by God, and to 
 which lie hath made no promises. So that where 
 (Jod gives not opportunity of a person who may do it 
 aright, it seems better to leave it undone. Dean 
 Comhcr. 
 
 The admission of persons by ba|)tism into the (Huirch 
 is an act of authority which ncme sliouUl pretend to, but 
 those who are thereunto empowered by (Christ the head 
 of it : and in his name it is, that they on (iod's jiart 
 promise remission of sins and spiritual regeneration, 
 which came primarily and originally from (iod, and are 
 never conveyed to man in the sacraments, but by those 
 whom He hath been |)leased to make his instruments. 
 That this is the opinion of ourCluirch is plain from her 
 declaration in the twenty-third Article, wiiere she saith, 
 " It is not lawful for any man to take u|)on him the 
 oilice of i)ublick preaching or mini.stry of the sacraments 
 in the congregation, before he be lawfiiUy called and 
 .sent to execute the same :" ami in her twenty-si.xth 
 Article she discovers the groimds, on which she pas.scth 
 this judgment, because " 'I'liose. who have autliority in 
 the ministration of the word and sacraments, do notthe 
 same in their own name, but in Christ's, and do 
 minister by his commission and authority." Archdeacon 
 Yardley. 
 
 When necessity requires that baptism be privately 
 administered, " the minister of the parish, or (in his 
 absence) some other lawful minister, is to be procured." 
 This is an order which was not made till after the con- 
 ference at Hampton Court, upon the accession of King 
 James I. to the throne. In both Common Prayer liooks 
 of King Edward, and in that of Queen Elizabeth, the 
 rulirick was only this : " Eirst, let them that be present 
 call upon God for his grace, and say the Lord's Prayer, 
 if the time will suffer; and then one of them shall 
 name the child, and dip him in the water, or pour 
 water upon him, saying these words, X. I baptize thee, 
 &c." iSow this, it is plain from the writings and 
 letters of our first Reformers, was originally designed 
 to commission lay-persons to baptize in cases of neces- 
 sity; being founded U|)on an error which our Reformers 
 had imbibed in the Romish church, concerning the 
 im]iossibility of salvation without the sacrament of 
 baptism : which therefore being in their opinion so 
 absolutely necessary, they chose should be administered 
 by any body that was present, in cases of extremity, 
 rather than any should die without it. 
 
 But afterwards, when they came to have clearer 
 notions of the sacraments, and perceived how absurd it 
 was to confine the mercies of God to outward means ; 
 and especially when they came to consider that the 
 salvation of the child might be as safe in God's mercy, 
 without any baptism, as with one performed by jicrsons 
 not duly commissioned to administer it : when the 
 governours of our Church, I say, came to be convinced 
 of this, they thought it proper to e.vplain the rubrick 
 above mentioned in such a manner, as should e.vclude 
 any ]n-ivate ])ersons from administering baptism. Ac- 
 cordingly, when some articles were passed by botli 
 Houses of Cinivocation, in the year 157S, the Arch- 
 bishop and Bishoj)S (who had jiower and authority 
 in their several dioceses " to resolve all doubts concern- 
 ing the manner how to understand, do, and execute 
 the things contained in the Book of Common Prayer") 
 unanimously resolved, that " even private baptism, in 
 case of necessity," was only to be administered by a 
 lawful minister or dcac(m ; and that all other ])ersons 
 should be iidiibited to intermeddle with the ministering 
 of baptism privatelj', as being no jiart of their vocation. 
 Bisliop (iil)son tells us, this -Article was not published 
 in the i)rinted copy : but whether on the same account 
 that the fifteenth Article was left out, (which was, that 
 marriage might be solcnmizcd at any time of the year, 
 provided the banns were duly published, and no impe- 
 diment objected,) namely, because disapjiroved by the 
 crown, he cannot certainly tell : but it seems by the 
 account tliat Mr. Collier gives us, as if it was pub- 
 lished ; for after all the Articles he only remarks from 
 the journal of the t'onvocation, that the Queen refused to 
 assent I o the last -Vrticlc, (that is, the filteenth above men- 
 tioned,! for wliich reason, saith he, it was not published 
 with the rest, which seems plairdy to iuq'ly that all the 
 rest were ))ulilished. However, whetlier it was p\ib- 
 lished or not, the bare "publishing of it in writing in 
 every parish-church of every diocese in the province (jf 
 Canterbury" by order of the Bishops, who had un-
 
 PRIVATE BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 355 
 
 and say the Lord's Prayer, and so many of the Collects' appointed to he said 
 before in the Form of Fublick Baptism, as the time and present exigence luill 
 suffer. And then, the Child being named by some one that is present, the 
 Minister shall pour IVater upon it>, sayiny these words; 
 
 NI haptize tliet- In the Name of 
 , the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 
 t Then, all hieeling down, the Minister shall 
 give thanks unto God, and say, 
 
 E yield thee hearty thanks, 
 most merciful Father, that it 
 
 w 
 
 doubted aiithority to explain the nihrick, was sufficient 
 to restrain t!ie sense of the rubrick in such a manner 
 as should inhibit all persons not ordained from pre- 
 suming to intermeddle with the administering of bap- 
 tism. But besides this, Mr. Collier tells us, that not- 
 withstanding none but the Archbishop and Bishops 
 are mentioned for their concurrence in these Articles, 
 yet in the Archbishop's mandate for the publication, 
 they are said to be agreed, settled, and subscribed by 
 both Houses of Convocation. So that from this time, 
 notwithstanding the rubrick might continue in the 
 same words, it is certain it gave no licence or permis- 
 sion to lay-persons to baptize. On the contrary, the 
 Bishops, in tlieir visitations, censm-ed the practice, and 
 declared that the rubrick inferred no such latitude. 
 
 However, upon the accession of King James I. to 
 the throne, the matter was again debated in the Hamp- 
 ton Court conference : the rcsiJt of which was, that 
 instead of those words, " Let them that be present call 
 upon God, &c." the rubrick should be, " Let the law- 
 ful minister, and them that be present, &c." And in- 
 stead of what follows, namely, " Then one of them 
 shall name the child, and dip hira in the water, or pour 
 water upon him, saying ;" it was ordered, that, " the 
 child being named by some one that is present, the 
 said lawful minister shall dip it in water, &c." And 
 thus the rubrick stood till the review at the Restoration, 
 when it only underwent some small variation ; " the 
 minister of the parish" being first named as the most 
 proper person to be sent for, if not out of the way ; but 
 "in his absence any other lawful minister is to be 
 called in that can be pi'ocured." The Church only 
 provides that none but a " minister," or one " duly 
 ordained," presume to intermeddle in it : well knowing 
 that the persons, by whom baptism is to be administered, 
 are plainly as positive a part of the institution, as any 
 thing else relating to that ordinance ; and consequently 
 that the power of administering it must belong to those 
 only whom Christ hath authorized by the institution. 
 It is true, there are some few of the i)rimitive writers, 
 who allow laymen to baptize in case of necessity : but 
 there are more and earlier of the fathers, who disallow 
 that practice : and upon mature consideration of the 
 several passages, it will generally be found that these 
 latter, for the most part, speak the judgment of the 
 Church, whilst the former only deliver (heir private 
 opinion. And therefore certainly it is a great presump- 
 tion for an unordained person to invade the ministerial 
 office without any warrant. What sufficient plea the 
 church of Rome can pretend, for suffering even mid- 
 wives to perform this sacred rite, I am wholly igno- 
 rant. For as to the pretence of the child's danger, we 
 may be sure that its salvation may be as safe in God's 
 mercy without any baptism, as with such a one as He 
 
 hath pleased tliee to reg-enerate this 
 Infant with thy holy Spirit, to re- 
 ceive lam for thine own Child by 
 adoption, and to incorporate Idm into 
 thy holy Church. And we humbly 
 beseech thee to grant, that as he is 
 now made partaker of the death of 
 thy Son, .so he may be also of his 
 
 has neither commanded nor made any promises to : so 
 that where God gives no ojiportunity of having baptism 
 administered by a jierson duly commissioned, it seems 
 much better to leave it undone. 
 
 If it be asked, whether baptism, when performed by 
 an unordained person, be, in the sense of our Church, 
 "valid" and "effectual ?" I answer, that, according to 
 the best judgment we can form from her publick acts 
 and offices, it is not. For she not only sujjposes, in the 
 sixty-ninth Canon, that a child will die unbaptized, if 
 the regular minister does not come time enough to 
 baptize it; Init in the abovcsaid determination of the 
 Bishops and Convocation, she expressly declares, that 
 even in " cases of necessity," bajitism is only to be 
 administered by a "lawful" minister or deacon, and 
 directly inhibits all other persons from intermeddUng 
 \vith it, though ever so " pri\-ately, as being no part of 
 their vocation :" a plain intimation that no baptism, 
 but what is administered by persons duly ordained, is 
 valid or effectual. For if baptism administered by 
 persons not ordained be valid and sufficient to convey 
 the benefits of it, why should such persons be prohi- 
 bited to administer it in cases of real necessity, when 
 a regular minister cannot be procured ? It would 
 surely be better for the child to have it from any hand, 
 if any hand could give it, than that it shoidd die with- 
 out the advantage of it. Our Church therefore, by 
 prohibiting all from intermeddling in bajrtism but a 
 " lawful" minister, jilainly hints, that when ba])tism is 
 administered by any others, it conveys no benefit or 
 advantage to the child, but only brings upon those who 
 pretend to administer it the guilt of usurping a sacred 
 office : and consequently that persons so ])retendedly 
 baptized (if they live to be sensible of their state and 
 condition) are to ap])lyto then' la^rful minister or bishop 
 for that holy sacrament, of which they only received a 
 profanation before. Wheatly. 
 
 ' • — say the Lord's Prayer, and so many of the Collects 
 &c.] Of which it is much to be desired, that the prayer, 
 appointed for the consecration of the water, be never, 
 unless absolutely necessary, omitted. For, besides the 
 jn-opriety of this prayer to beg a blessing upon the ad- 
 ministration in general, it lias already been shewn how 
 important a part of the Office of Baptism the primitive 
 Christians esteemed the consecration of the water. 
 IVheatly. 
 
 > — the Minister shall pour JVater upon it,'] AU the old 
 Common Prayers say, he shall either " dip it in water, 
 or pour water upon it:" but baptism in private being 
 never allowed, but when the child is weak, the rubrick 
 was properly altered at the last review, and the order 
 for dipping left out ; it being not to be supposed, that 
 the child in its sickness shoidd be able to endure it. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 2 A 2
 
 356 
 
 PRIVATE BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 resurrection ; and that finally, witli 
 the residue of thy Saints, he may 
 inherit thine everlasting kingdom; 
 through the same thy Son Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 1 And let them not doubt •', but that the Child 
 so baptized is laiefuUy and sufficiently 
 baptized, and might not to he baptized 
 again. Yet nevertheless, if the Child, which 
 is after this sort baptized, do afterward 
 live, it is expedient that it be brought into 
 the Church, to the intent that, if the Minis- 
 ter^ of the same Parish did himself baptize 
 that Child, the Congregation may be certi- 
 fied of the true Form of Baptism, by him 
 privately before used; In which case he 
 shall say thus ", 
 
 I Certify you, that according to 
 the due and prescribed Order of 
 the Church, at such a time and at 
 such a place, before divers witnesses 
 I baptized this Child. 
 
 '' And let them not doubt, &c.] The Church adds this 
 by way of explanation, lest any one should imagine, 
 that the sacrament, administered in this short and con- 
 cise manner, is not complete, and the child hereby not 
 made a Christian, or should be apt to think or say, that 
 the child is only half-christened, as too many ignorant 
 people foohshly and absurdly express themselves. Arch- 
 deacon Yardley. 
 
 ' — to the intent that, if the Minister &c.] In King 
 Edward's and Queen Elizabeth's books, the former [lart 
 of this and the latter part of the next rubrick were joined 
 together, and made but one betiveen them : " to the 
 intent that the priest may examine and try whether the 
 child, &c." AH between was first added in King 
 James's book after the conference at Hampton Court, 
 except that the particular form of certification, in case 
 that the minister of the same parish baptized it himself, 
 was inserted at the Restoration. Wheatly. 
 
 '" — hi which case he shall say thuSfl In this office a 
 doubt may ofl'er itself to the minister, as to the manner 
 of certifying a baptism, which he himself administered. 
 When he certifies upon the answer to the interroga- 
 tories, that the baptism was duly administered by 
 another lawful hand, the form of the certificate, which 
 is the same that stood in the old Prayer Books, is clear 
 and imexce])tionablc, in which there is a proper transi- 
 tion to the Gospel or connexion of the certificate with 
 the following part of the office. But, when he certifies 
 his own act, by a form, that was put in at the last 
 revisal for that purpose, it doth not appear either by 
 the words themselves, or by the rubrick relating to 
 these certificates, whether that form is comjjlcte as it 
 stands, or wliethcr it was designed only as a different 
 preamble to be prefixed to that jmrtof the other certifi- 
 cate which will connect it witli the Gospel ; or rather 
 whether they are not both to be looked ujjon as one 
 and the same form of certifying, with this only dilfer- 
 cnce, that theu* respective introductions are a little 
 diversified, mutatis mutandis, as the case to be certified 
 requires. 
 
 In Bishop Cosin's scheme of alterations and amend- 
 ments, drawn uj) at the Restoration, the new form of 
 certifying, then designed to be added, stands thus ; 
 
 " I certify you, that according to the due and ])re- 
 scribed order of the Church, in cases of necessity, at 
 
 1 But if the Child were baptized by any other 
 lawful Minister, then the Minister of the 
 Parish where the Child teas born or 
 christened, shall examine and try whether 
 the Child be lawfully baptized, or no. In 
 which case, if those that bring any Child 
 to the Church do answer, that the same 
 Child is already baptized, then shall the 
 Minister examine them further, saying", 
 
 BY whom was this Child bap- 
 tized ? 
 
 Who was present when this Child 
 was baptized ? 
 
 Because some things essential to 
 this Sacrament may happen to be 
 omitted through fear or haste, in such 
 times of extremity ; therefore I de- 
 mand further of you, 
 
 ^Yith what matter was this Child 
 baptized ? 
 
 With what words was this Child 
 baptized"? 
 
 such a time, and in such a place before divers witnesses, 
 I baptized this child, who being born in original sin," 
 &c. referring to the remainder of the old form as a 
 proper transition to the Gospel ; by which it is plain 
 that his design and meaning was, that, when a man 
 certified his own act, the two forms should be thus 
 joined or incorporated. But as neither such direction, 
 nor such reference, is to be found in our present books, 
 it seems a matter of discretion which method we take. 
 We cannot be said to transgi-ess rule by omitting that 
 clause in the second form of certifying : nor can we be 
 charged with altering or adding to the oflice. if we 
 complete the first form by the second, as Bishop 
 Cosin judged we ought to do, and as the natural con- 
 struction of the ofiice intimates we should. Archdeacon 
 Sharp. 
 
 " — then shall the Minister examine them further, say- 
 ing, &c.] When a child is brought to be received, 
 which was ba|)tized by some other hand, we ought to 
 be punctual in putting the interrogatories relating to 
 that i)ri\'ate baptism, and in requiring the parties that 
 are interrogated, to be clear and explicit in then- 
 answers. 
 
 Bishop Cosin's note at tliis place which he designed 
 for a rubrick was this, " To every one of these questions 
 must answers be directly gi\'cn by those who bring the 
 child :" and with goofl reason ; because ui)on these 
 answers depends our direction, either first, " to certify 
 that in this case all is well done, and according to due 
 order," &c. j or secondly, to use the publick office of 
 baptism, with the hypothetical form ; or, thirdly, to 
 remit the child to those wlio brought it, without either 
 hypothetical bajitism, or reception into the congrega- 
 tion. Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 ° With what words was this Child baptized!''] The 
 essential words of Christ's institution are, " In the name 
 of the Fatlicr, and of the .Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
 For, though mention be made in the Acts of the 
 Apostles of hajitizing " in the name of Christ," ii. 38 ; 
 xix. 5 ; yet must not the apostles be supposed to have 
 baptized as excluding the other two Persons. For in 
 truth, as Bcza huth well observed, St. Luke doth not 
 there describe the rite and fortnular of baptism, but 
 the end and sco|)e of initiating persons into (,'hristianity 
 thereby. The express preeejit of oiu' Saviour obliged
 
 nilVATE BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 357 
 
 1 And if the MinistcT shall Jtntl^ by the an- 
 swers of suck as biitiij t/w Child, that all 
 IhivffS were drmc as they our/ht In he; then 
 shall not he christen the Child ai/ain, but 
 shall receive him as one ofthefiock of true 
 Christian people'', saying thus, 
 
 I Certify you, that in this case all 
 is well done, and aecoidin<)j unto 
 due order, concernint^ the l)a])ti/inii; 
 of this Child ; who i)einir horn in 
 original sin, and in the wrath of God, 
 is now, by the laver of Regeneration 
 in Baptism, received into the num- 
 ber of the children of God, and heirs 
 
 even the Apostles themselves, and all their ecclesiastical 
 derivatives, to such a form of Ijaptism, as might dis- 
 tinctly and nominally mention the three Persons of the 
 glorious Trinity, which was so indispensably necessary, 
 as the omission of any one constituted the baptism 
 null. L' Estrange. 
 
 p And if the Xlinister shall find &c.] Some direction 
 is wanteil in what manner we are to use this office, 
 when there is one or more children to be baptized, as 
 well as one or more children to be received by it into 
 the congregation. The greatest part of each office 
 being word for word, the same may reasonably and 
 consistently be applied to both cases, and be used in 
 common ; provided those parts of each office which are 
 particular and ap])roi)riate to the different cases be 
 also used separately. And this I take to be the usual 
 practice. Nor doth it seem liable to censure, though 
 it is not authorized by any rubrick. And all the ends 
 and uses of both offices are as completely answered 
 this way as if they were to be performed distinctly. 
 
 But this indeed is said u])on a supposition that the 
 questions to be put to the sponsors are put on behalf of 
 each child. For the third question in the first office 
 cannot possibly be made an interrogatory in the second. 
 
 And I may here further remark, that we are to ob- 
 serve the same rule in certifying the jirivate baptisms of 
 those with whom the second office is to be used. That 
 is to say, when there are more than one to be received 
 into the congregation, we must certify the baptism of 
 each of them distinctly, whether baptized by om'selves 
 or by others : as appears from the manner in which 
 these certificates are printed, if compared with the rest 
 of the office. Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 ■i — shall receive him as one of the flock of true Chris- 
 tian people,'] Which, after he has certified the people 
 that all was well done, and declared the benefits which 
 the child has received by virtue of its baptism, he is 
 directed to do in much the same form as is appointed 
 for publick baptism. He reads the Gospel there ap- 
 pointed, and the E.xhortation that follows it. After 
 which he repeats the Lord's Prayer, and the Collect 
 that in the office for i)ublick baptism follows the Ex- 
 hortation. Then " demanding the name of the child," 
 he proceeds to examine the Godfathers and God- 
 mothers, " whether, in the name of the child, they 
 renounce the devil and all his works, &c. ; whether they 
 believe all the articles of the Christian Faith," and 
 "whether they will obediently keep God's will and 
 commandments, &c." For though the child was bap- 
 tized without Godfathers at first, (when, being more 
 likely to die than to live, tliere seemed no occasion for 
 any to undertake for its future beha\-iour;) yet if it 
 lives and is brought to chm-ch, it is fit there should be 
 some to gi\-e security, that it shall be well educated 
 
 of everlasting life ; for our Lord 
 .lesus Christ (loth not deny his grace 
 and mercy nnto such Infants, but 
 most lovingly doth call them unto 
 him, as the holy Gos])el doth witness 
 to our comfort on this wise. 
 
 St. Mark X. l;}. 
 
 ry\ HEY brought young cli 
 B to Christ, that he should touch 
 
 I em 
 
 EY 
 
 Chr 
 and 
 
 ins 
 
 ildren 
 tone 
 liid<c 
 
 disciples reliid<ed 
 those that brought them. But when 
 Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, 
 and said unto them, Suffer the little 
 
 and instructed. As soon as this is done therefore, the 
 child is " received into the congregation of Christ's 
 flock," and is " signed with the sign of the cross." 
 After which the service concludes with the Thanks- 
 gix'ing and Exhortation that close the office f(5r jjublick 
 baptism. IVheutly. 
 
 At the end of this office there is a want of a di- 
 rection, which we have in the former office of publick 
 ba]itism, to aduKmish the sureties " tliat they take care 
 to bring the children to be confirmed by the bishop." 
 
 To say how this comes to pass is not easy. In all 
 the old Prayer Books before tlie Restoration there was 
 a rubrick in the first office requiring the minister to 
 admonish the sponsors to this effect ; but leaving him 
 to his own manner of expressing himself. Which 
 rubrick was not repeated at the end of this office, but 
 was referred to by these words, " and so forth as in 
 publick baptism." Which reference was as good as 
 the repetition of the rubrick ; for it made the direction 
 equally clear. But now, at the re\'isal, what had been 
 a rubrick at the end of the former office was changed 
 into a prescribed form of admonition, and what had been 
 a reference at the end of this office was quite omitted. 
 By what means I know not. But it was not an over- 
 sight, at least, not in all the revisors. For in Bishop 
 Cosin's copy, where all the designed amendments 
 stand added in the margin, there is a reference made 
 at the end of this office to the form of admonition thep 
 newly added to the former office : which reference is 
 thus exjjressed : "Then shall he add and say, Further- 
 more I require you to take care, &c." 
 
 What I collect from hence is, that it seems most 
 likely to have been the design of the revisors, that this 
 direction should be given in the same words at the end 
 of both the offices, the reason of it being the same in 
 both cases. But, as this design is not exjiressed in our 
 printed copies, it remains yet a question with any man 
 who guides himself by the letter of rubrick, whether 
 he should on mere presumption of such design take 
 upon him to add this supplement out of the former 
 office or no. Surely no minister can be blamed for not 
 doing what he is not commanded. But my own reso- 
 lution of the doubt should rather be this. 'I'hough the 
 admonition is not made part of the authorized form in 
 our printed books, and is not necessary for completing 
 the office : yet, as it is nevertheless a proper one, and 
 the omission of it, or of a direction about it, was pro- 
 bably accidental and not designed, therefore to use it 
 as an admonition from ourselves, or at least to give a 
 direction to the same effect and purpose, as was done 
 before the form of admonition was jirescribed. And 
 thus we shall keep up to the supposed intention of the 
 Cluu'ch, without transgressing any wTitten rule. Arch- 
 deacon Sharp.
 
 358 
 
 PRIVATE BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 children to come unto me, and forbid 
 them not ; for of such is the kingdom 
 of God. Verily, I say unto you, 
 Whosoever shall not receive the 
 kingdom of God as a little child, he 
 shall not enter therein. And he took 
 tliem up in his arms, put his hands 
 upon them, and blessed them. 
 
 IT After the Gospel is read, the Minister shall 
 make this brief Exhortation vpon the words 
 of the Gospel. 
 
 E E O V E D, ye hear in this 
 Gospel the words of our Saviour 
 Christ, that he commanded the chil- 
 dren to be brought unto him ; how 
 lie blamed those that would liave 
 kept them from him ; how he ex- 
 horted all men to follow their inno- 
 cency. Ye perceive how by his out- 
 ward gesture and deed he declared 
 his good will toward them ; for he 
 embraced them in his arms, he laid 
 liis hands upon them, and blessed 
 them. Doubt ye not therefore, but 
 earnestly believe, that he hath like- 
 wise favourably received this present 
 Infant; that he liath embraced liiin 
 with the arms of his mercy ; and (as 
 he hath jironiised in his holv Word) 
 will give unto him the blessing of 
 eternal life, and make him pnrtn/tcr 
 of his everlasting kingdom. Wiiere- 
 fore, we being thus persuaded of the 
 good will of our heavenly Father, 
 declared by his Son Jesus Christ to- 
 wards this Infant, let us faithfully 
 and devoutly give thanks unto him, 
 and say the Prayer which the Lord 
 
 nimself taught us : 
 
 OF 11 Fatlier, which art in hea- 
 vrn, llalloued be thy Name. 
 'Jliy kingdom come. Thy will he 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our tresjiasses. As 
 we forgive them tliat trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into temptation; 
 But deliver us from e\il. Amen. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, lieaveidy I'ather, we give 
 thee luiiubie thaidis tiiat thou hast 
 vouchsafed to call us to the know- 
 ledge of thy grace, and faith in thee; 
 Increase this knowledge, and confirm 
 this faith in us evermore. Give tiiv 
 lioly Spirit to this Infint, that he, 
 being i)orn again, and being made an 
 heir of everlasting salvation, through 
 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, may continue 
 thy siTvanf, and attain thy jnomise ; 
 through the same our Lord Jesus 
 Christ thy Son, who liveth and reign- 
 eth with thee and the Holy Spirit, 
 now and for ever. Anim. 
 
 1 Then shall the Priest demand the Name of 
 the Child; which being by the Godfathers 
 and Godmothers pronounced, the Minister 
 shall say, 
 
 DOST thou, in the name of 
 this Child, renounce the devil 
 and all his works, the vain pomp 
 and glory of this world, with all 
 covetous desires of the same, and 
 the carnal desires of the flesh, so that 
 thou wilt not follow, nor be led by 
 them ? 
 
 Answer. I renounce them all. 
 
 ISIinister. 
 
 DOST thou believe in God the 
 Father Almighty, Maker of 
 heaven and earth ? 
 
 And in Jesus Christ his only-be- 
 gotten Son our Lord ? And that he 
 was conceived by the Holy Ghost; 
 born of the Mrgin Mary ; that he 
 suffered under Pontius Pilate, was 
 crucified, dead, and buried ; that he 
 went down into hell, and also did 
 rise again the third day ; that lie 
 ascended into heaven, and sitteth at 
 the right hand of God t!ie Father 
 Almighty ; and from thence shall 
 come again at the end of the 
 world, to judge the quick and the 
 dead ? 
 
 And dost thou believe in the Holy 
 Ghost ; the holy Catholick Church ; 
 the Communion of Saints; tlie Ue- 
 mission of sins; the Resurrection of 
 the flesh ; and everlasting life alter 
 death ? 
 
 AiMucr. All this I stedfastly be- 
 lieve. 
 
 Minister. 
 
 "^^T'lI^T tl'oi" then obediently 
 Y Y keep God's holy "ill anil 
 
 commandments, and \\alk in 
 
 same all the days of thy life ? 
 Answer. I will. 
 
 II Tlien the Priest shall say, 
 
 'Wf E receive this Child 
 W the congregation of Christ's 
 
 flock *, an<l do sign 
 
 him with the sig,. of .,:,/^-V"'/;,t' 
 
 the Cross, in token ''vn the CMhes fore- 
 
 that hereafter /if shall 
 
 th. 
 
 into
 
 PRIVATE BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 
 
 ^59 
 
 not be asliamc'd to confess tlio faith 
 of Christ criieifu'd, and manfully 
 to fight under his banner, against 
 sin, the world, and the devil ; and 
 to continue Christ's faithful soldier 
 and servant unto his life's end. 
 Amen. 
 
 IF Then shall the Priest say, 
 
 SEEING now, dearly beloved 
 brethren, that this Child is by 
 Baptism regenerate, and grafted into 
 the body of Christ's Church, let us 
 give thanks unto Almighty God for 
 these benefits, and with one accord 
 make our prayers unto him, that he 
 may lead the rest of his life accord- 
 ing to this beginning. 
 
 1 Then shall the Priest say, 
 
 WE yield thee most hearty 
 thanks, most merciful Father, 
 that it hath pleased thee to rege- 
 nerate this Infant with thy holy 
 Spirit, to receive him for thine own 
 Child by adoption, and to incorpo- 
 rate him into thy holy Church. And 
 liumbly we beseech thee to grant, 
 that he, being dead unto sin, and 
 living unto righteousness, and being 
 buried with Christ in his death, may 
 crucify the old man, and utterly 
 abolish the whole body of sin ; and 
 that as he is made partaker of the 
 death of thy Son, he may also be 
 partaker of his resurrection ; so that 
 finally, with the residue of thy holy 
 Church, he may be cm inheritor of 
 thine everlastini^ kingdom : throujih 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 t Then, all standing up, the Minister shall 
 make this Exhortation to the Godfathers 
 and Godmothers. 
 
 O R A S M U C H as this Child 
 hath promised by you his sure- 
 
 F 
 
 ties to renounce the devil and all 
 his works, to believe in Ciod, and 
 to serve him; ye nnist renienibcr, 
 that it is your parts and duties to 
 see that this Infant be taught, so 
 soon as he shall be able to learn, 
 what a solemn vow, promise, and 
 profession, lie hath made by you. 
 And that he may know these things 
 the better, ye shall call ui)on Itim to 
 liear Sermons; and chiefly ye shall 
 ])rovide, that lie may learn the Creed, 
 the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Com- 
 mandments, in the vulgar tongue, 
 and all other things which a Chris- 
 tian ought to know and believe to his 
 soul's health ; and that tliis Child 
 may be virtuously brought up to lead 
 a godly and a Christian life ; remem- 
 bering alway, that Ba])tism doth re- 
 present unto us our profession; which 
 is, to follow the example of our Sa- 
 viour Christ, and to be made like 
 unto him ; that, as he died, and rose 
 again for us, so should we, who are 
 baptized, die from sin, and rise again 
 unto righteousness; continually mor- 
 tifying all our evil and corrupt aft'ec- 
 tions, and daily proceeding in all 
 virtue and godliness of living. 
 
 t But if they which bring the Infant to the 
 Church do make such uncertain ansivers to 
 the Priest's questions, as that it cannot 
 appear that the Child was baptized with 
 Water, In the Name of the Father, and 
 of the ISon, and of the Holy Ghost, 
 (which are essential parts of Baptism,) 
 then let the Priest baptize it in the form 
 before appointed for Publick Baptism of 
 Infants ; saving that at the dipping of the 
 Child in the Font, he shall use this form of 
 words. 
 
 IF thou art not already baptized, 
 N. 1 baptize thee In the Name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost. Amen.
 
 THE iMINISTRATION OF 
 
 BAPTISM 
 
 TO SUCH AS ARE OF RIPER YEARS^ AND ABLE TO 
 ANSWER FOR TIIE^ISELVES. 
 
 5f Jf'hen any such Persons, as are of riper years, are to he baptized', timely 
 notice shall he yiven to the Bishop, or xchom he shall appoint for that purpose, 
 a week before at the least, by the Parents, or some other discreet persons ; that 
 so due care may be taken for their Examination, ivhether they be sufficiently 
 instructed in the jirinciples of the Christian Religion; and that they may he 
 exhorted to prepare themselves xcith Prayers and Fasting for the receiving of 
 this holy Sacraynent. 
 
 f And if they shall be found Jit ^, then the Godfathers and Godmothers (the 
 people being assembled upon the Sunday or Holy-day appointed) sh(dl be 
 ready to present them at the Font immediately after the second Lesson, either 
 at Morning ur Evening Prayer, as the Curate in his discretion shall think 
 fit. 
 
 1 The Miiiistralion of Baptism to such as are of Riper 
 Years, &c.] We had no office in our Liturgy for the 
 baptism of persons of " riper years " till the last review. 
 Tor though in the infancy of Christianity adult persons 
 were generally the subjects of baptism ; yet after the 
 several nations that have been converted were become 
 Christian, bajitism was always administered to children. 
 So that when the Litiu'gy of the Church of England 
 was first compiled, an office for " adult jjersons " was 
 not so necessary. But by the growth of Anabaptism 
 and Quakerism, during the grand Rebellion, the want 
 of such an office was plainly perceived. For which 
 reason the commissioners appointed to review the 
 Common Prayer drew up this which I am now going 
 to make some remarks upon, which is very useful for 
 the baptizing of natives in our plantations, when they 
 shall be converted to the faith, and of such unhajipy 
 children of those licentious sectaries I just now named, 
 as shall come to be sensible of the errors of their 
 parents. WheiilUj. 
 
 Tliis office was thought to be composed by Dr. 
 George (iriffith, bishoji of St. Asaph. Anthony Wood 
 says, in the .\tlu'iuc O.xonienses, " In 1 002, in a con- 
 vocation of the clergy then held, he concurred eifcctu- 
 ally, in drawing up the -Vet of Uniformity, and making 
 certain alterations in the (,'ommon Prayer then set out; 
 and it is thought the form of baptizing those of riper 
 years was of his composing." Cullis. 
 
 ' When nnij such Persons, as are of riper years, are to 
 be baptized, &c.] In the baptism of persons who arc 
 of age and understanding, tliere is more required than 
 in that of infants. For, they being capable to receive 
 instruction, to declare their faith, and to exercise an 
 actual repentance, our (Church conunands that they be 
 first taught and catechised ; which of old lasted all the 
 forty (lays of Lent : and then that they he examined 
 concerning their faith and repentance, Luke iii. H — 11. 
 Finally, the persons themselves are advised, according 
 to the primitive disciidine, to prepare themselves for 
 this seal of remission by fasting, and ])raycr, and a 
 
 serious consideration of the covenant, into which they 
 are about to enter. Tliis difference between their duty 
 and that of infants hath occasioned the compihng of a 
 pecidiar office. Dean Comber. 
 
 This office is so seldom used, that, whenever it is, 
 more than ordinary care is commonly taken about it. 
 The persons are beforehand examined, whether they be 
 sufficiently instructed in tlie principles of the Christian 
 religion, and able to answer for themselves when they 
 take this great charge ujjon them. 
 
 .Ml sureties are equally obliged to be thus qualified, 
 «ho take upon themselves the trust of answering for 
 others ; as these are required to be, when they come to 
 answer for themselves. 
 
 The (jospel is the discourse, which our Saviour had 
 with Xicodemus touching the necessity of ba]]tism : 
 and it is followed by an admirable exhortation of the 
 same nature, taken out of several parts of Scrip- 
 ture. 
 
 It would be very useful for all persons to read this 
 ministration carefully over, before they come to be 
 confirmed. Collis. 
 
 ' And if they shall be found fit, &c.] In this case the 
 minister is to baptize them in the same manner and 
 order as is ai)])ointed before for the baptism of infants ; 
 except that the Gospel is concerning our Saviour's 
 discourse with Xicodemus touching the necessity of 
 baptism, which is followed by an exhortation suitable 
 and i)ro])er. Again, the persons to be baptized being 
 able to make the profession that is recjuisite, in their 
 own persons, the minister is ordered to put the ques- 
 tions to them. There are (iodfathers and (iodmothers 
 indeed ajipointed to be present, but they are only ap- 
 jiointed as witnesses of the engagement, and undertake 
 no more than to remind them hereafter of the vow and 
 profession which they made in their jircsence, and to 
 call U])on them to be diligent in instructing themselves 
 in (iod's word, &c., the chief part of the charge l)eing 
 delivered at la-st by tlie priest to the persons tlmt are 
 baptized. Whcatly.
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF SUCH AS ARE OF RIPER YEARS. 361 
 
 Pom. viii. 
 7, 8. 
 
 % And siandinf/ there the Priest shall 
 presented lie baptized, or no : If' tlieu 
 say thus, 
 
 DEARLY beloved, forasmuch 
 as all men are conceived and 
 born in sin, (and that which is born 
 of the flesh is flesh,) and they that 
 are in the flesh cannot please God, 
 but live in sin, committinf^ many 
 actual transgressions ; and that our 
 Saviour Christ saith. None can enter 
 into the kingdom of God, except 
 he be regenerate and born anew 
 of Water and of the Holy Ghost ; 
 I beseech you to call upon God 
 the Father, through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, that of his bounteous good- 
 ness he will grant to these persons 
 that which by nature thet/ cannot 
 have ; that fhei/ may be bajitized 
 with Water and the Holy Ghost, 
 and received into Christ's holy 
 Church, and be made lively members 
 of the same. 
 
 t Then shall the Priest say. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 (IT And here all the Congregation shall kneel.) 
 
 AL M I G H T Y and everlasting 
 God, who of thy great mercy 
 didst save Noah and his family in 
 the ark from perishing by water ; 
 and also didst safely lead the chil- 
 dren of Israel thy people through 
 the Red Sea, figuring thereby thy 
 lioly Baptism ; and by the Baptism 
 of thy well-beloved Son Jesus 
 Christ, in the river Jordan, didst 
 sanctify the element of water to 
 the mystical washing away of sin ; 
 We beseech thee, for thine infinite 
 mercies, that thou wilt mercifully 
 look upon these thy servants; wash 
 tlietn and sanctify them with the 
 Holy Ghost, that they, being de- 
 livered from thy wrath, may be 
 received into the ark of Christ's 
 Church ; and being stedfiist in faith, 
 joyful through hope, and rooted in 
 charity, may so pass the waves of 
 this troublesome world, that finally 
 they may come to the land of ever- 
 lasting life, there to reign with thee 
 world without end ; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 A 
 
 LMIGHTY and immortal 
 God, the aid of all that need. 
 
 ask, whether /my of the persons here 
 shall ansioer. No ; then shall the Priest 
 
 the hel]ier of all that flee to thee 
 for succour, the life of them that 
 believe, and the resurrection of the 
 dead ; We call upon thee for these 
 persons, that they, coming to thy 
 holy Baptism, may receive remission 
 of tlieir sins by spiritual regeneration. 
 Receive them, O Lord, as thou hast 
 promised by thy well-l)eloved Son, 
 saying. Ask, and ye shall receive ; 
 seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and 
 it shall be opened unto you: So give 
 now unto us that ask ; let us that 
 seek find ; open the gate unto us 
 that knock ; that these persons may 
 enjoy the everlasting benediction of 
 thy heavenly w^ashing, and may 
 come to the eternal kingdom which 
 thou hast promised by Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 II Then shall the people stand up, and the 
 Priest shall say, 
 
 Hear the words of the Gospel, 
 written by Saint John, in the 
 third Chapter, beginning at the 
 first Verse. 
 
 THERE was a man of the Pha- 
 risees, named Nicodemus, a 
 ruler of the Jews. The same came 
 to Jesus by night, and said unto 
 him. Rabbi, we know that thou 
 art a teacher come from God ; for 
 no man can do these miracles that 
 thou docst, except God be with him. 
 Jesus answered and said unto him. 
 Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except 
 a man be born again, he cannot see 
 the kingdom of God. Nicodemus 
 saith unto him, How can a man be 
 born when he is old ? Can he enter 
 the second time into his mother's 
 womb, and be born ? Jesus answer- 
 ed. Verily, verily I say unto thee, 
 Except a man be born of water and 
 of the Spirit, he cannot enter into 
 the kingdom of God. That which is 
 born of the flesh is flesh ; and that 
 which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 
 Marvel not that I said unto thee. Ye 
 must be born again. The wind 
 bloweth where it listeth, and thou 
 hearest the sound thereof; but canst 
 not tell whence it cometh, and wlii-
 
 362 
 
 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF SUCH 
 
 B 
 
 ther it lajoeth : so is every one tliat is 
 born of the Spirit. 
 
 t After xvhich he shall say this Exhortation 
 follouing. 
 
 I E L O V E D, ye liear in this 
 Gospel the express words of our 
 Saviour Ciirist, that except a man 
 be horn of water and of tlie Spirit, 
 he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
 God. Whereby )'e may perceive 
 the great necessity of this Sacra- 
 ment, where it may be had. Like- 
 wise, immediately before his ascen- 
 sion into heaven, (as we read in the 
 last Chapter of Saint Mark's Gos- 
 pel,) he gave command to his dis- 
 Markxvi. ciples, Saying, Go ye into all the 
 "'• world, and preach the Gospel to 
 
 every creature. He that believeth 
 and is baptized shall be saved ; but 
 he that believeth not shall be damn- 
 ed. Which also sheweth unto us 
 the great benefit we reap thereby. 
 For which cause Saint Peter the 
 Apostle, when upon his first ]ireach- 
 ing of the Gosjjel many were pricked 
 at the heart, and said to him and the 
 rest of the Apostles, Men and bre- 
 Ai-tsii. 37— thren, what shall we do? replied and 
 *"• said unto them, Repent, and be bap- 
 
 tized every one of you for the remis- 
 sion of sins, and ye shall receive the 
 gift of the Holy Ghost. For the pro- 
 mise is to you and your children, and 
 to all that are afar oft', even as many 
 as the Lord our God shall call. And 
 with many other words exhorted he 
 them, saying, Save yo'H'selves from 
 this untoward generation. For (as 
 the same Apostle testifietli in an- 
 1 Pet. Hi. 21. other ])lace) even Baptism doth also 
 now .save us, (not the putting away 
 of the filth of the flesh, but the an- 
 swer of a good conscience towards 
 God,) by tlie resurrection of Jesus 
 Clirist. Doubt ye not therefore, but 
 earnestly believe, that he will favour- 
 al>ly receive these ])rcsent jwrsnns, 
 tridy repenting, aiul coming unto 
 liim by faith ; that he will grant them 
 remission of their sins, and bestow 
 upon tliern the Holy Ghost; that he 
 will give (hem the blessing of eternal 
 life, and make them parlahers of his 
 everlastiu'T kinirdom. 
 
 Wherefore we being thus per- 
 suaded of the good will of our liea- 
 venly Fatiicr towards these persons, 
 declared by his Son Jesus Christ; 
 
 let us faithfully and devoutly give 
 thanks to him, and say, 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, heavenly Father, we give 
 thee humble thanks, for that thou 
 hast vouchsafed to call us to the 
 knowledge of thy grace, and faith 
 in thee : Increase this knowledge, 
 and confirm this faith in us evermore. 
 Give thy holy Spirit to tliese persons, 
 that they may be born again, and 
 be made heirs of everlasting salva- 
 tion ; through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who liveth and reigneth with tliee 
 and the Holy Spirit, now and for 
 ever. Amen. 
 
 IT Then the Priest shall S2ieak to the persons 
 to be baptized on this wise: 
 
 WE L L-beloved, who are come 
 hither desiring to receive 
 holy Baptism, 7/e have heard how 
 the congregation hath prayed, that 
 our Lord Jesus Christ would vouch- 
 safe to receive you and bless you, 
 to release you of your sins, to give 
 you the kingdom of heaven, and 
 everlasting life. Yc have heard also, 
 that our Lord Jesus Christ hath 
 promised in his holy Word to grant 
 all those things that we have prayed 
 for ; which promise lie, for his part, 
 will most surely keep and perform. 
 
 Wherefore, after this promise 
 made by Christ, i/e must also faith- 
 fully, for your part, promise in the 
 presence of these your Witnesses, 
 and this whole congregation, that 
 1/e will renounce tiic devil and all his 
 works, and constantly lH'lie^'c God's 
 holy Word, and obediently keep his 
 commandments. 
 
 U Then shall the Priest demand of each of 
 the persons to be baptized, severallr/, these 
 Questions follouing : 
 
 Qjtestion. 
 
 DO S T thou renounce tlie devil 
 and all his works, the vain 
 jiomp and glory of the world, with 
 all covetous desires of the same, and 
 the carnal desires of the flesh, so that 
 thou wilt not follow, nor be led by 
 them ? 
 
 Ansiver. I renounce them all. 
 
 Question. 
 
 DOST thou believe in God the 
 Father Almighty, Maker of 
 heaven and earth ?
 
 AS ARE OF RIPER YEARS. 
 
 0G;3 
 
 And in Jesus Christ liis oiily-l)o- 
 gotten Son our Lord ? And that ho 
 was conceived by the Holy (ihost ; 
 born of the Virgin Mary ; that lie 
 suffered under Pontius Pilate, was 
 crucified, dead, and buried ; that 
 lie went down into liell, and also 
 did rise aj^ain tlio tliird day ; that 
 he ascended into heaven, and sitteth 
 at the rit;lit hand of God tiie I'ather 
 Almighty ; and from thence .shall 
 come again at the end of the 
 world, to judge the quick, and the 
 dead ? 
 
 And dost tlioLi believe in the Holy 
 Ghost ; the holy CatholicU Church ; 
 the Communion of Saints ; the Re- 
 mission of sins ; the Resurrection of 
 the flesh; and everlasting life after 
 death ? 
 
 Answer. All this I stedfastly be- 
 lieve. 
 
 Question. 
 ILT thou be baptized in this 
 faith? 
 Answer. That is my desire. 
 
 w 
 
 Question. 
 
 WILT thou then obediently 
 keep God's holy will and 
 commandments, and walk in the 
 same all the days of thy life ? 
 
 Ansioer. I will endeavour so to 
 do, God being my helper. 
 
 H Then shall the Priesl sai/, 
 
 O Merciful God, grant that the 
 old Adam in these persons may 
 be so buried, that the new man may 
 be raised up in them. Amen. 
 
 Grant that all carnal affections 
 may die in tltem, and that all things 
 l)elonging to the Spirit may live and 
 grow in them. Amen. 
 
 Grant that they may have power 
 and strength to have victory, and to 
 triumph, against the devil, the world, 
 and the flesh. Amen. 
 
 Grant that they, being here dedi- 
 cated to thee by our office and 
 ministry, may also be endued with 
 heavenly virtues, and everlastingly 
 rewarded, through thy mere)', O 
 blessed Lord God, who dost live, 
 and govern all things, world without 
 end. Amen. 
 
 L :M I G H T Y, everliving God, 
 whose most dearly beloved Son 
 
 .lesiis Christ, for the forgiveness of 
 our sins, did shed out of his most 
 precious side both water and blood, 
 and gave commandment to his dis- 
 ciples, that they should go teach 
 all nations, and baptize them In the 
 Name of the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Gho>,t; Regard, we beseech 
 thee, the su])]>lieati()ns of this con- 
 gregation ; sanctify this Water to the 
 mystical washing away of sin ; and 
 grant that the persons now to be bap- 
 tized therein may receive the fulness 
 of thy grace, and ever remain in the 
 number of thy faithful and elect 
 children ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Loril. Amen. 
 
 H Then shall the Priest tahe each person to 
 be baptized by the right hand, and placinr/ 
 him cniivenieiitly by the Font, accnrdiiiff to 
 his discretion, shall ask the Godfathers 
 and Godmothers the name ; and then shall 
 dip him in the water, or pour water upon 
 him, saying, 
 
 NI baptize thee In the Name of 
 , the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 
 1 Then shall the Priest say, 
 E receive this person into 
 the congregation of Christ's 
 flock *, and do sign 
 
 him with the sign of ,.:/^;:;j"; ^<;;;:;i 
 
 the Cross, in token "p^'iitn'i'mon'sMe- 
 that hereafter he shall 
 not be ashamed to confess the faith 
 of Christ crucified, and manfully to 
 fight under his banner, against sin, 
 the world, and the devil ; and to 
 continue Christ's faithful soldier and 
 servant unto his life's end. Amen. 
 
 1 Then shall the Priest say, 
 
 SEEING now, dearly beloved 
 brethren, that tJiese persons are 
 regenerate, ,1nd grafted into the 
 body of Christ's Ciuirch, let us give 
 thanks unto Almighty God for these 
 benefits, and with one accord make 
 our prayers unto him, that they may 
 lead the rest of their life according to 
 this beginning. 
 
 I Then shall be said the Lord's Prayer, all 
 kneeling. 
 
 OU R Father, which art in hea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Tliy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread.
 
 364 PUBLICK BAPTISM OF SUCH AS ARE OF RIPER YEARS. 
 
 Gal iii. 2'- 
 
 23. 
 
 1 Tliess. V. 
 
 23. 
 
 r.ccles. V. 4. 
 Ilcb. iii. 13. 
 
 And forgive us our trespa.sses, As 
 we forgive tlieni that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into teni])- 
 tation ; But deliver us from evil. 
 Amen. 
 
 WE yield thee humble thanks, 
 O heavenly Father, that thou 
 hast vouchsafed to call us to the 
 knowledge of thy grace, and faith 
 in thee : Increase this knowledge, 
 and confirm this faith in us ever- 
 more. Give thy holy Spirit to 
 these persons; that, being now born 
 again, and made heirs of everlasting 
 salvation, through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, ihei/ may continue thy ser- 
 vants, and attain thy promises ; 
 through the same Lord Jesus Christ 
 thy Son, who liveth and reigneth 
 with thee, in the unity of the same 
 Holy Spirit, everlastingly. Amen. 
 
 H Then all standing up, the Priest shall vse 
 this Exhortation following j speaking to 
 the Godfathers and Godmothers first. 
 
 FORASMUCH as these per- 
 sons have promised in your pre- 
 sence to renounce the devil and all 
 his works, to believe in God, and 
 to serve him ; ye must remember 
 that it is your part and duty to put 
 them in mind, what a solemn vow, 
 
 promise, and profession they have 
 
 now made before this congregation, 
 
 and especially before you their 
 
 chosen witnesses. And ye are also iTim.vi. 12 
 
 to call upon them to use all diligence 
 
 to be rightly instructed in God's holy coi. lii. 16. 
 
 Word ; that so thei/ may grow in 
 
 grace, and in the knowledge of our 2 Tiiess. ii. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and live godly, 2^i>et. i. 5, 
 
 righteousl)', and soberly in this pre- !^'-, '?.■ ,, 
 
 sent world. 
 
 (1 And then, speaking to the new baptized 
 persons, he shall proceed, and say,) 
 
 AN D as for you, who have now 
 by Baptism put on Christ, it oai. ui, 27. 
 is your part and duty also, being 
 made the chihlren of God and of cai. in. 2r,. 
 the light, by faith in JesiH Christ, i^i'"- '• «• 
 to walk aiiswcrably to your Chris- 
 tian calling, and as becometh the Eph. iv. 1. 
 children of light ; remembering al- 
 ways that Baptism representeth unto 
 us our profession ; which is, to follow 
 the example of our Saviour Christ, 
 and to be made like unto him ; tiiat 
 as he died, and rose again for us ; 
 so should we, who are baptized, die 
 from sin, and rise again unto righte- 
 ousness ; continually mortifying all 
 our evil and corrupt affections, and 
 daily proceeding in all virtue and 
 godliness of living. 
 
 f It is expedient that every person, fhiis hajilizetl, should be confirmed hy the 
 Bishop so soon after his Baptism as conveniently may be ; that so he may be 
 admitted to the holy Communion. 
 
 ^ //' any persons not baptized in their infancy shall be bronyht to be baptized 
 before tliry come to years of discretion to ansicer for themselves ; it may suffice 
 to use the office for Publick Baptism of Infants, or {in case of extreme danyer) 
 the Office for J'rivate Baptism; oidy chatiyiny the icord [Infant] yy/' [Child 
 or Person] as occasion requireth.
 
 A CATECHISM, 
 
 THAT IS TO SAY, 
 
 AN INSTRUCTION TO BE LEARNED OF EVERY PERSON, BEFORE 
 HE BE BROUGHT TO BE CONFIRMED" BY THE BISHOP. 
 
 w 
 
 Question. 
 
 H A T is your name " ? 
 
 Answer. N. or M. 
 
 ' A Catechism, &c.] Since children in their baptism 
 engage "to renounce the devil and all his works, to 
 believe in God, and to serve him ;" it is fit that they be 
 " taught, as soon as they are able to learn, what a 
 solemn vow, promise, and profession" they have made. 
 Accordingly, after the offices appointed for baptism, 
 follows, " A Catechism, that is to say. An Instruction 
 to be learned of every person, before he be brought to 
 be confirmed by the Bishop." Wheatly. 
 
 Catechism is derived from a Greek term, and signifies 
 instruction in the first rudiments of any art or science, 
 communicated by asking questions, and hearing and 
 correcting the answers. From the earliest ages of the 
 Chm-ch the word has been einjiloyed by ecclesiastical 
 writers in a more restrained sense, to denote instruction 
 in the principles of Christian religion by means of 
 questions and answers. Dean Comber, Shepherd. 
 
 The catechizing of children is enjoined by God, Deut. 
 vi. 7; Prov. xxii. 6; Ephes. vi. 4; and was always 
 practised by pious men, Gen. .wiii. 19; 1 Chron. x.wiii. 
 9 ; 2 Tim. i. 5 ; and it is Christ's especial charge to 
 ministers, to feed his lambs, John xxi. 15. Tlie Jewish 
 doctors took care of this, Luke ii. 42. And in the 
 Christian churches there was a peculiar officer who was 
 the catechist ; and all the new converts, who were to be 
 baptized at Easter, were catechized all the forty days of 
 Lent. But since we have few such now, and generally 
 baptize infants, who cannot at that time understand the 
 covenant which is entered into, therefore we are bound 
 to take more care to make them understand it after- 
 ward, by instructing them in the " Catechism of the 
 Church ;" which is drawn up according to the primitive 
 forms, by way of question and answer. Acts viii. 3" ; 
 1 Pet. iii. 2 1 : being not a large system of divinity to 
 puzzle the heads of young beginners, but like those of 
 the ancients, a short and full explication of the bairtis- 
 mal vow; teaching them, first, what their baptismal 
 vow is, namely, what were the benefits promised on 
 God's part. Quest. I, IL And what were the duties 
 promised on their part, to renounce all evU, to believe 
 all divine truth, and to keep God's commandments, 
 Quest. Ill; together with their grateful owning of this 
 covenant, Quest. IV. Secondly, The parts of the vow 
 are explained : fh'st, as to the matter of them, in repeat- 
 ing and expounding the Creed, Quest. V, VI, and 
 repeating and explaining the Ten Commandments, 
 Quest. VII, VIII, IX, X, XI. Secondly, as to the 
 
 Quest, Who gave you this namey? 
 Answ. My Godfatliers and God- 
 mothers^ in my Baptism^; wherein 
 
 means to enable them to keep them, which are prayer 
 and the holy sacraments : and the duty of prayer is 
 taught them in the Lord's Prayer and the explication 
 thereof. Quest. XII, XIII. 'Plie due sense of the sacra- 
 ments is taught them, first in general, as to their 
 number, nature, and necessity. Quest. XIV, XV. Se- 
 condly in particular, baptism. Quest. XVI — XX ; and 
 the Lord's Supper, Quest. XXI — XXV. This is all 
 that is absolutely necessary to be known in order to 
 salvation, and all that the primitive church did teach 
 their catechumens. And if children he but made to 
 repeat this perfectly, and understand it fully, they wiU 
 increase in knowledge as they grow in years. Dean- 
 Comber. 
 
 It is the peculiar glory of Christianity to have ex- 
 tended religious instruction, of which but few partook 
 at all before, and scarce any in purity, through all 
 ranks and ages of men, and even women. The fii'st 
 converts to it were immediately formed into regular 
 societies and assemblies ; not only for the joint wor- 
 ship of God, but the further " edifjang of the body of 
 Christ," Eph. iv. 12: in which good work, some of 
 course were stated teachers, or, to use the apostle's own 
 expression, " catechizers in the word;" others taught 
 or catechized. Gal. vi. 0. For catechizing signifies in 
 Scriptiu-e, at large, instructing persons in any matter, 
 but especially in religion. And thus it is used. Acts 
 xviii. 25; where we read, "This man was instructed in 
 the way of the Lord ;" and Luke i. 4 ; where again we 
 read, " That thou mayest know the certainty of those 
 things, wherein thou hast been instructed." The ori- 
 ginal word, in both places, is catechized. 
 
 But as the different advances of jjcrsons in know- 
 ledge made difi'erent sorts of instructions requisite : so 
 in the primitive church, different sorts of teachers were 
 appointed to dispense it. And they who taught so 
 much only of the Christian doctrine, as might qualify 
 the hearers for Christian communion, had the name of 
 catechists appropriated to them ; whose teaching being 
 usually, as was most convenient, in a great measure by 
 way of question and answer ; the name of Catechism 
 hath now been long confined to such instruction, as is 
 given in that form. But the method of employing a 
 particular set of men in that work only, is in most 
 l)laces laid aside. And I hope the people will not be 
 losers, if they, who are appointed to the higher mi- 
 nisters of the Church, attend to this also.
 
 366 A CATECHISM 
 
 icor. XU.2?. 1 was made'' a member of Christ"^ 
 GaLUiie: the child of Go(H, and an iiiheritoi 
 Rom. Tui.i?. of the kiiiffdom of heaven ^ 
 
 Qiiest. Wliat did your Godfathers 
 and Godmothers then for you^? 
 Answ. They did promise and vow 
 
 Under the darkness of popery almost all religious in- 
 struction was neglected. " Very few," to use tlie words 
 of one of om- Homilies, " even of the most simple peo- 
 ple, were taught the Lord's Prayer, the Articles of the 
 faith, or the Ten Commandments, otherwise than in 
 Latin, which they understood not ;" so that one of the 
 fii-st necessary steps taken towards the Reformation, 
 in this country, was a general injunction, that parents 
 and masters should first learn them in their own 
 tongue, then acquaint their children and servants with 
 them : which three main branches of Christian duty, 
 comprehending the sum of what we are to believe, to 
 do, and to petition for, were soon after formed, with 
 proper ex[)lanations of each, into a Catechism. To 
 this was added, in process of time, a brief account 
 of the two sacraments; altogether making up that 
 very good, though still improveable, •' form of sound 
 words," 2 Tim. i. 13, which we now use. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 As to the form of om- Catechism, it is drawn up after 
 the primitive manner by way of question and answer : 
 so Philip catechized the eunuch. Acts viii. 37 ; and so 
 the persons to be baptized were catechized in the first 
 ages. And indeed the very word Catechism implies 
 as much ; the original KaTii\m. from whence it is de- 
 rived, being a compound of Hxw, which signifies an 
 Echo, or repeated soimd. So that a Catechism is no 
 more than an instruction fii-st taught and instilled into 
 a person, and then repeated upon the catechist's exami- 
 nation. 
 
 •2. As to the contents of otir Catechism, it is not a 
 large system or body of divinity, to puzzle the heads of 
 young beginners ; but only a short and full explication 
 of the baptismal vow. The primitive Catechisms indeed 
 (that is, all that the catechumens were to learn by 
 heart before their baptism and confirmation) consisted 
 of no more than the Renunciation, or the repetition of 
 the Baptismal Vow, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer : 
 and these, together with the Ten Commandments, at 
 the Reformation, were the whole of ours. But it being 
 afterwards thought defective as to the doctrine of the 
 Sacraments, (which in the primitive time were more 
 largely explained to baptized persons,) King James L 
 appointed the bishops to add a short and plain expla- 
 nation of them, which was done accordingly in that 
 excellent form we see ; being penned by Bishop Overall, 
 then Dean of St. Paul's, and allowed by the bishops. 
 So that now (in the opinion of the best judges) it ex- 
 cels all Catechisms that ever were in the world ; being 
 so short that tlie youngest children may learn it by 
 heart ; and yet so full that it contains aU things neces- 
 sary to be known in order to salvation. 
 
 In this also its excellency is very discernible, namely, 
 that as all persons arc baptized not into any particular 
 church, but into the Catholick church of Christ; so 
 here they are not taught the opinion of this or any other 
 jjarticular church or jjcople, but what the whole body 
 of Christians all the worhl over agree in. If it may 
 any where seem to be otherwise, it is in the doctrine 
 of the Sacraments ; but even this is here worded with 
 30 much caution and temper, as not to contradict any 
 other particular church ; liut so as that all sorts of 
 Christians, when they have duly considered it, may 
 subscribe to every thing that is here tauglit or delivered. 
 tV'heulli/. 
 
 " — lo he learned of evert/ person, before he be brought 
 to be confirmed &c.] At the time of confirmation, every 
 one, in the presence of Uod, and of the congregation, 
 
 renews with his own mouth and consent the promises 
 and vows made in his name when he was baptized : he 
 ratifies and confirms the same in his own [lerson, ac- 
 knowledging himself " bound to believe and to do all 
 those things which at his baptism his Godfathers and 
 Godmothers" undertook for him. In this open awful 
 manner must every one, before he can be confirmed, 
 take upon himself the profession of the Christian reli- 
 gion. It is reasonable therefore, that he be well in- 
 structed in its principles, and understand aright the 
 nature of those doctrines and duties, which he so 
 solemnly declares himself to believe and engages to 
 perform. Shepherd. 
 
 I'here was some difference between the persons, who 
 were catechized in the primitive times, and those whom 
 we instruct now. For there the catechumens were 
 generally such as were come to years of discretion ; 
 but, having been born of heathen ])arents, were not yet 
 baptized. So that they catechized them before their 
 baptism, as we also do those who are not baptized till 
 they come to " riper yeai's." But as to the children of 
 believing parents, it is certain that, as they were bap- 
 tized in infancy, they could not then, any more than 
 now, be admitted catechumens till after bajitism. Nor 
 is there any necessity of doing it before, if so be we 
 take care that due instruction be given them, so soon 
 as they are capable of receiving it. For our Saviour 
 Himself in that commission to his Apostles, " Go ye, 
 make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, &c. — 
 teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have 
 commanded you," seems to intimate that converts may 
 first be entered into his Church by baptism, and after- 
 wards instructed in the fundamentals of their rehgion. 
 And indeed we read, that, when St. Basil was baptized, 
 the bishop kept him in his house some time afterwards, 
 that he might instruct him in the things pertaining to 
 eternal life. And a learned writer affirms, that all 
 baptized ])ersons in the primitive times (altho\igh they 
 had been catechized before) were yet wont to stay 
 several days after their baptism, to be more fully cate- 
 chized in all things necessary to salvation. And there- 
 fore there is much more reason for us to catechize chil- 
 dren after baptism, who are naturally incapable of being 
 instructed beforehand. Dean Comber, Wheatly. 
 
 ' What is your name?~\ The Catechism begins with 
 a prudent condescension and familiarity, by asking the 
 introductory questions, " What is yoin- name ?" and 
 " "Who gave you this name r" which lead very naturally 
 the ])crson catechized to the mention of his bajitism, at 
 which time it was given him. Not that giving a name 
 is any necessary part of bajitism ; but might have been 
 done" cither before or afterwards, though it bath always 
 been done then, as indeed it was likely that the first 
 I)ublick o]i])()rtunity would be taken for that purpose. 
 But besides, it was no uncommon thing in ancient times, 
 that, when a person entered into the service of a new 
 master, he had a new name bestowed on him. Whence 
 perhaps the .lews might derive the practice of naming 
 the child, when it was circumcised ; it being then de- 
 voted to the service of God. The first Christians in 
 imitation of them would of course do the same thing, 
 for the same reason, when it was baptized: and no 
 wonder that we continue the practice. For it might be 
 a verv useful one, if persons would but rcmend)er, what 
 it tends to remind them of, that they were dedicated to 
 Christ, when their Christian name was given them; 
 and would make use of that circumstance frequently
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 .367 
 
 three things R in my name. First, 
 tluit I should'' renounce the devil 
 
 to recollect those promises, which were then solemnly 
 made for them ; and which they ha\'e since confii-med, 
 or are to confirm and make personally for themselves. 
 Without performing these, we are Christians, not in 
 deed, hut in name only; and shall greatly dislumour 
 that name, while we bear it and boast of it. Ahp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 ' Who gave you this name .^] Our baptismal name is 
 given us, not by our parents, as we read in Scrijiture 
 the name of Jewish cliildren was ; but by our God- 
 fathers and Godmothers. And this custom also may 
 have a double advantage. It may admonish them, 
 that having conferred the title of Christians upon us, 
 they are boimd to endeavour that we may Ijehave 
 worthily of it. And it may admonish us, that, our 
 name having been given us by persons who were our 
 sureties, we are bound to make good their engagement. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' My Godfathers and Gndmnlhers'] Our Christian 
 name is given by our Godfathers ; because, Ijaptism 
 being a new and spiritual birth, which has no relation 
 to our natural parents, it is, not without prudence, 
 ordained by our Clun-ch, that our name, which we 
 receive then, should be given us by our Godfathers, 
 who do, as it were, supply God's stead, and are his 
 instruments to make us partake of this new birth. The 
 reason, why the Church requires Godfathers and God- 
 mothers in baptism, is jiartly to conform herself to the 
 usage of God's Church, not only in the earliest ages 
 of Christianity, but even among the Jews, who had 
 their witnesses of the covenant in circumcision, Isa. 
 viii. 2 : but chiefly to be sureties or vouchers for the 
 children that are to be bajitized : to transact that 
 momentous business of entering into covenant with 
 God in their names, which, by reason of their infancy, 
 they cannot perform themselves ; and to promise for 
 them, that when they come to years of discretion, they 
 shall be instructed in, and make ])rofession of, that holy 
 religion, into which through their engagement they 
 are admitted. The reason, why the Church does not 
 think parents so proper to do this, is, because in case 
 the parents should either die before the children are 
 brought up, or shoidd a])ostatize from the Christian 
 faith, or be negligent in the education of their children, 
 the suretyship of several other good persons will, in all 
 probability, su|)ply the part, which the parents should 
 have taken. Dr. MiclioUs. 
 
 ' — in my Boplism ; &c.] Baptism being our fii'st 
 entrance into the Christian church, by which we be- 
 come intitled to certain privileges, and oliliged to certain 
 duties ; religious instruction begins very properly by 
 teaching young persons what both of them are. And, 
 in order to recommend the duties to us, the privileges 
 are mentioned first. Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 '' — wherein I was made &c.] The privileges, thus 
 conditionally secured to us in baptism, we find in our 
 Catechism very fitly reduced to these three heads : that 
 the person who receives it, is " therein made a member 
 of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the king- 
 dom of heaven." Ahp. Stoker. 
 
 ' — a member of Christ.^ The first privilege, and the 
 foundation of others, is, that he is " made a member of 
 Christ." This figure of speech all persons may not 
 immediately understand : but when it is understood, 
 they will perceive in it great strength and beauty. It 
 presupposes, what we must be sensible of, more or less, 
 that we are every one originally prone to sin, and 
 actually sinners ; liable thence to punishment ; and 
 
 and all liis works', the pomps and 
 vanity of this wicked world '', and all Gai. i. ■). 
 
 without hope of jireserving ourselves, by our own 
 strength, either from guilt or from misery. It further 
 implies, what the Scrii)ture clearly teaches, that Jesus 
 Christ hath delivered us from both, in such maimer as 
 shall hereafter be explained, on the most e(|uitable terms 
 of our becoming his, by accepting Him from the hand 
 of God for our Saviour, our Teacher, and our Lord. 
 This union to Him in order to receive these benefits 
 from Him, our Catechism, in conformity with the lan- 
 guage of holy writ, compares with that of the members 
 of the body to the head. And how proper the com- 
 parison is, will easily appear, by carrying it through the 
 se\'cral particulars, in which the similitude holds. 
 
 As, in every living creature, perception and motion 
 proceed from the head ; so, to every Christian, know- 
 ledge of God's will, and power to obey it, flow from 
 Christ. As the head governs and directs each limb, 
 so Christ is the Sovereign and Lawgiver of each be- 
 liever. As being joined to the head makes the whole 
 body one animal frame ; so being joined to Christ 
 makes the whole number of Christians one spiritual 
 society. As communication with the head preserves 
 our natural life ; so communion with Christ supports 
 our religious life. He therefore is to the Church what 
 the head is to the body : and each person who belongs 
 to the Church, is a member of that body, or, in the 
 language of the Catechism, " a member of Christ." 
 For He, as St. Paul expresses it, is " the Head : from 
 which all the body, having nourishment ministered, 
 and knit together by joints and bands, increaseth with 
 the increase of God," Col. ii. 19- 
 
 And this manner of speaking is frequently repeated 
 in Scripture, as it well deserves ; being not only, as we 
 have seen, admirably fitted to represent the happy 
 relations, in which we stand to our Redeemer, but 
 also to remind us of the duties, which are derived 
 from tliem : of the honour and obedience due to Him, 
 who is " Head over all things to his body, the Church ;" 
 E]ih. i. 22, 23; of our continual dependence on Him, 
 "since he is our life;" Col. iii. 4; and of the tender- 
 ness and kindness, which we owe to our fellow-Chris- 
 tians, and they to us, being all united, through Him, so 
 intimately to each other. For since, as the apostle 
 argues, " by one Spirit we are all baptized into one 
 body :" as in the natural body, " the eye cannot say 
 unto the hand, I have no need of thee," nor any one 
 member to the rest, I have no need of you ; but even 
 the "more feeble and less honourable members are 
 necessary,"! Cor. xii 13.21 — 23; so in the spiritual body, 
 they, who in any respect may seem to excel others, ought 
 by no means to despise them ; since every good Christian 
 is, in his proper degree and place, both a valuable and 
 useful "member of Christ." And again: as, in the 
 natural body, there is a connexion and sympathy of the 
 se\'eral parts ; by which the good state of one ])reser\'e3 
 the others in health and ease, or its bad state gi\-es them 
 pain and disorder; so should there be in the spiritual 
 body, and there is in all true members of it, a mutual 
 caution not to do harm to each other, and a mutual 
 desire of each other's benefit. " If one member suffer, 
 all the other members" shoidd by a compassionate tem- 
 per " suffer with it ;" and " if one member he honoured, 
 all" the rest should sincerely " rejoice with it," 1 Cor. 
 xii. 2G. Let us think then. Do we feel in our hearts this 
 good disposition, as a mark of being members of Christ ? 
 If not, let us study to form ourselves to it without delay. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' — the ehild of God,'] The second privilege of bap-
 
 368 
 
 A CATECH1;SM. 
 
 the sinful lusts of tlie flesh'. Se- 
 condly, that I should believe all the 
 
 tism is, that by it " vre are made the children of God," 
 in a sense and manner, in which by nature we are not so. 
 
 Our blessed Saviour indeed is called in Scripture "■ the 
 onh'-begotten Son of God." Nor can the highest of 
 creatures claim God for his Father by the same right 
 that He doth. But in a lower sense God is the Father 
 of angels and men; whom He hath created in their 
 several degrees of Ukeness to his own image. Adam, 
 our first parent, was the son of God by a strong resem- 
 blance to his heavenly Father in original uprightness. 
 But as this similitude was greatly obscured both in him 
 and in his descendants bythe fall, though preserved bythe 
 covenant of the promised seed from being utterlyeffaced ; 
 so in time it was almost entirely lost amongst men, by 
 the prevalence of sin ; and they became in general 
 "enemies" of God, Rom. v. 10; Col. i. 21, and " chil- 
 dren of the devil," 1 John iii. 10. 
 
 But our gracious Maker, pitj-ing us notwithstanding, 
 and treating us like children, even when thus degene- 
 rated, hath mercifully ajipointed a method for adopting 
 lis into his family again, after we have cast oiu-selves 
 out of it ; and for restoring and raising us gradually to 
 the same and greater likeness to Him and favour with 
 Him, than even our first parents ever enjoyed. Now 
 this inestimable blessing was procured for mankind 
 through the means of Jesus Clirist ; and we become 
 entitled to it by taking Him for our Head, and becom- 
 ing his members, in such manner as hath 1)een briefly 
 explained. F"or"to as many as receive him, to them 
 gi\es he power to become the sons of God, even to 
 them that believe in his name," John i. 12. Being 
 therefore tluis united to Him, who is in the highest 
 sense the Son of God ; and claiming not in our own 
 name, but under Him ; we are admitted again into 
 such a degree of sonship as wc are cajiable of; and 
 made "the children of God, by faith in Jesus Christ," 
 Gal. iii. 26. 
 
 Indeed not only Christians, but the Jews, are called 
 in Scri])ture "the children of God," Ueut. .\iv. 1 ; and 
 such they really were ; being first, as (Christians were 
 afterwards, the " children of his covenant," .\cts iii. 25. 
 But still, as theirs was a state of less knowledge, more 
 Inirthensome precepts, and stricter government; the 
 ajjostle sijeaks of them, compared with us, oidy as ser- 
 vants in his family. " Now I say, that the heir, as long 
 as he is a child, dKfereth nothing from a servant, though 
 he be lord of all. Even so we," speaking of the Jewish 
 nation, " when we were children," imciuulified for any 
 great degrees of liberty, " were in bondage under the 
 elements of the world. But when the fulness of time 
 was come, God sent forth his Son to redeem tlicm,that 
 were under the law. Wherefore we arc no more ser- 
 vants but sons," Gal. iv. 1. ^, 4. ". "Behold" then, 
 as St. John e\|)resscs it, "what manner of love the 
 Father hatli bestowed upon us, that we should be called," 
 in this distinguished sense, "the sons of God," 1 John 
 iii. 1 ; especially considering the consequence drawn by 
 St. Paul, "If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and 
 joint-heirs with ('lirist," Rom. viii. 1". Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' — and an inheritor of the kingdom e>f heaven.'\ The 
 consequence, noticed under the former head, is the third 
 and last privilege of baptism, and completes the value of 
 if, that by entering into the Christian covenant we are 
 " made inheritors of the kingdom of heaven ;" that is, 
 entitled to perfect and eiulless liuppiness in body and 
 .soul. Had we continued in the |)riniitive uprightness 
 of our first parents, and never sinned at all, we could 
 have liad no claim, but from God's free iJromise, to any 
 
 Articles of the Christian Faith. And Markxvi. ir>. 
 thirdly, that I shoidd keep God's ^7!" "" '"• 
 
 thing more than that our being should not be worse to 
 us than not being. But as we are originally de])raved, 
 and have artually sinned, far from ha^•ing any claim to 
 happiness, we are liable to just punishment for ever. 
 And least of all could we have any claim to such happi- 
 ness, as eternal life and glory. But " blessed be the 
 God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who of his 
 abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively 
 hope, to an inheritance incorruptible and imdefiled, and 
 that fadeth not awav, reserved in heaven for us," 1 Pet. 
 i. 3, 4. 
 
 These then are the privileges of the Christian cove- 
 nant : and for these %ve must give due " thanks to the 
 Father, who hath made us meet to be jiartakers of the 
 inheritance of the saints in light," Col. i. 12; and be 
 duly careful to " walk worthy of God, who hath called 
 us to his kingdom and glory," 1 Thess. ii. 12. For we 
 have a right to the pri\'ileges of the covenant, only on 
 the supposition and presumption of our performing the 
 obligations of it. Children indeed of belie\'ers, who are 
 taken out of the world before they become capable of 
 faith and obedience, we doubt not, are happy. For the 
 general declarations of holy writ plainly comprehend 
 their case : and our Sanour hath particularly declared, 
 "that of such is the kingdom of God," Mark x. 14; 
 Luke xviii. 16. But all, who live to maturer years; as, 
 on the one hand, they may entitle themseh'es, through 
 God's bountiful promise, though not their own merit, to 
 higher degrees of future felicity, in proportion as their 
 service hath been considerable ; so on the other, they 
 are entitled to no degree at all, any longer than they 
 practise that " holiness," in which they have engaged 
 to live, and " without " which " no man shall see the 
 Lord," Ilel). xii. 14. We shall be acknowledged as 
 children, only whilst we obey our heavenly Father : and 
 " the baptism, which saveth us, is not the" outwai'd 
 " putting away the filth of the flesh, but the" inward 
 " answer of a good conscience towai'ds God," 1 Pet. hi. 
 2 1 . AbiK Seeker. 
 
 ' H'hat did your Godfathers and Godmothers then fur 
 you t"] After the pri\'ileges to which our baptism gives 
 us a claim, our Catechism proceeds to set forth the 
 duties, to which it binds us : those things, "which our 
 Godfathers and Godmothers promised and vowed in 
 our name." F"or, without the performance of these 
 conditions, neither hath God engaged, nor is it con- 
 sistent with the holiness of his natm'C and the honour 
 of his government, to bestow such benelifs upon us ; 
 nor indeed shall we be capable of receiving them. For 
 a virtuous and religious tem])cr and behaviour here is 
 absolutely requisite, not only to intitle, but to qualify 
 and prepare us for a virtuous and religious blessedness 
 hereafter, such as that of heaven is. A/ip. Seeker. 
 
 >■' 'I'/iey dill prnmi.ie and vow three things X:c ] These 
 conditions, or obligations on our jiart, are three : that 
 we renounce what (iod forbids ; that we believe what lie 
 teaches ; and ilo what lie commands : or. in other words, 
 repentance, faith, and obedience. These things are 
 plainly necessary : and they are plainly all that is ne- 
 cessary; for as, through the grace of God, we lia\-e 
 them in our power; so we liave nothing more. Anil 
 therefore they have been constantly, and without any 
 material variation, expressed in baptism from the earliest 
 ages of the church to the present. A/)/). Seeker. 
 
 '' — First, thai I should rennunee &c.] The first tiling 
 is, that we renounce wliat (iod forbids, every sin of 
 every kind. And this is put first because it opens iho 
 way for the otiicr two. \Vhen once wc come to have a
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 Matt, xxviii. 
 ?o. Luke i. 
 74, 75. 
 
 holy will and commaiulmeiits, and 
 walk in the .same all llie days of niy 
 life. 
 
 due sense that we are sinners, as all men are, and per- 
 ceive the haseness, the guilt, the mischief of sin, we shall 
 (ly from it, with sincere iieiiitence, to the remedy of 
 failh which God hath ai)])ointed. And when we in 
 enrnest resolve to forsake whatever is «Tong, we shall 
 gladly emlirace all such truths as will direct us nght, 
 and do what they require. But %vhilst we retain a love 
 to any wickedness, it will make us, with respect to the 
 doctrine of religion, backward to receive them, or unwil- 
 ling to think of them, or desirous to interpret them 
 unfairly : and «ith respect to the duties of religion, it 
 will make our conduct unequal and inconsistent ; per- 
 ple.xing us «-ith silly attempts to reconcile vice and vir- 
 tue, and to atone jjerhaps by zeal in little duties for 
 indulgence of great faults ; till at last we shall either 
 fall into an open course of transgression, or, which is 
 equally fatal, contrive to make ourselves easy in a secret 
 one. The only effectual method therefore is to form a 
 general resolution at once, though we shall e.vecute it 
 but imperfectly and by degrees, of following in every 
 tiling the Scripture rule, " cease to do evil, learn to do 
 well," Isa. i. 1 6, 17. 
 
 Now the evil, from which we are required to cease, is 
 also ranged in our Catechism under three heads. For 
 whatever we do amiss, proceeds either from the secret 
 suggestions of an invisible enemy, from the temptations 
 thrown in our way by the visible objects around us, or 
 from the bad dispositions of our own nature : that is, 
 from the devil, the world, or the flesli. And though 
 every one of these, in their turns, may incline us to 
 every kind of sin ; and it is not always either easy or 
 material to know, from which the inclination proceeded 
 originally ; yet some sins may more usually flow from 
 one source, and some from another. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' — renounce the devil and all his loorks,'] This, in the 
 [jrimitive ages, was the only renunciation made ; the 
 works of the devil being understood to signify, as they 
 do in Scripture, every sort of wickedness : which being 
 often suggested by him, always acceptable to him, and 
 an imitation of him, was justly considered as so much 
 service done him, and obedience paid him. But the 
 method now taken, of renouncing the devil, the world, 
 and the flesh separately, is more convenient, as it gives 
 lis a more particular account of our se\'eral enemies. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 The devil is the common name given in Scripture to 
 those wicked spirits; who, having rebelled against God, 
 and Ijeing thereupon justly cast off from that glorious 
 state in which they were created by Him, do make it 
 their constant business and endea^•our, to draw as many 
 off as they can into the same rebellion, and thereby into 
 the same state of misery with themselves. Matt. xiii. 
 39 ; Luke viii. 12 ; John viii. 44 ; Eph. iv. 27 ; vi. 1 1 ; 
 1 Tim. iii. 6, 7; Heb. ii. 14; James iv. 7; 1 John iii. 
 8—10; 1 Pet. V. 8. Ab/>. JVake. 
 
 By renouncing the devil is meant, declaring a defiance 
 to, and utterly forsaking the cause and empire of, that 
 wicked spirit, the prince of the fallen angels, Matt. i.\. 
 34; and the declared enemy of God, and all good men. 
 Job i. C ; 2 Cor. ii. 11; Eph. vi. 1 1 ; 1 Pet. v. 8 ; «ho 
 has set up a kingdom of wicked men and unbelievers. 
 Matt. xii. 25 ; Eph, ii. 2 ; which it is the design of the 
 religion of Jesus Christ to overthrow, 1 John iii. 8. By 
 the works of the devil are to be understood, first, all 
 those horrible sins, to which the devil makes those poor 
 unbelievers, who are under his vassalage, slaves : such as 
 idolatry, Rom. i. 25 ; witchcraft, and abominable super- 
 
 Quest. Dost thou not think 
 thou art bound'" to believe, an<; 
 do, as they have promised for thee ? 
 
 069 
 
 that 2 Tim. i, 13. 
 
 ^ Jhiiu'S ii. 17, 
 I" 18 Heb.xi.ti. 
 
 stitions, Deut. xv'm. 10. Secondly, Those sins of a sjii- 
 ritual nature, which are ascribed more immediately to 
 the influence of the devil ; such as fulsehooil, pride, 
 envy, malice, murder, &c. John viii. 44 ; Acts xiii. 9, 
 10;" 1 Tim. iii. C; James iii. 14, 15; 1 John v. 19. 21. 
 'I'hirdly, all other wicked practices, which all men com- 
 mit through the instigation of the devil, 1 John iii. 8; 
 Luke viii. 12 ; 1 Tim. iii. 7 ; Ejih. vi. 1 1. Dr. NichoUs. 
 
 '' — the pomps and vanity of t/iis wicked uorld,^ By 
 "renouncing the pomps and vanity of the world" is 
 meant, not to set our hearts on any of the fine things 
 which this world affords. Col. iii. 2 ; I John ii. 1 5 ; such 
 as riches, honoirrs, and pleasures, 1 Cor. vii. 31 ; 1 Tim. 
 vi. 17 ; not to be eager in the pursuit of them ; but, if 
 it shall please God to give us a greater share of them, 
 to use them sparingly and with humility : and, when it 
 shall please God to take them from us, to bear the loss 
 with jiatienee, and with a modest resignation to his 
 divine will and )>leasure, Phil. iv. 6; Luke xxi. 19; 
 1 Thess. iv. 13. It is called " this wicked world," be- 
 cause the generality of the world are wicked, 1 John 
 v. 19; and Christians are elected out of the world, to 
 be a chosen generation, and a peculiar people, Eph. iv. 
 1 ; 1 Pet. ii. 9. Dr. NichoUs. 
 
 The world is called a wicked world, to shew how far, 
 and in what resiiect, we are to renounce it : namely, in 
 all such cases, in which it would draw us into any 
 wickedness, for the sake of any thing, which we desire 
 or enjoy in it. Abp. IVake. 
 
 ' — and all the sinful lusts of the flesh.'] " The sinful 
 lusts of the flesh," which we here " renounce," are aU 
 those sensual desires and inclinations, whereby we are 
 disposed to those sins, which are, in a peculiar manner, 
 called in Holy Scripture "the works of the flesh;" 
 such as uncleanness, drunkenness, &c. See Gal. v. 19; 
 Rom. viii. 13; Col. iii. 5; 1 John h. IC. Abp. IVake. 
 
 It should be observed, concerning each of the things, 
 which we renounce in bajjtism, that we do not under- 
 take what is beyond our power : that the temptations of 
 the devil shall never beset and molest us ; that the vain 
 shew of the world shall never apjjear inviting to us ; 
 tiiat our own corrujit natm-e shall never [iroinpt or 
 incline us to evil : but we undertake, what, through 
 the grace of God, though not without it, is in our 
 power ; that we will not, either designedly or carelessly, 
 give these our spiritual enemies needless advantages 
 against us ; and that, with whatever ad\'antage they 
 may at any time attack us, we will never yield to them, 
 but always resist them with our utmost prudence and 
 strength. This is the renunciation here meant : and 
 the office of baptism expresseth it more fully : where 
 we engage " so to renounce the devil, the world, and 
 the flesh, that we will not follow nor be led by them." 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 '" Dost thou not think that thou art bound &c.] Before 
 the Catechism proceeds to the second and third things, 
 promised in our name when we are baptized, it puts a 
 fourth question, and a very natural one, considering 
 that children do not, as they cannot, promise these 
 things for themselves, but their Godfathers and God- 
 mothers in their names. It asks them therefore, 
 " whether they think they ai-e bound to believe and to 
 do, as they have jiromised for them." And to this 
 the person instructed answers, "Yes, verUy." Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 We are bound by our sureties' promise, because they 
 were our proxies, or agents, who acted in our stead : so 
 
 2 B
 
 370 
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 Col. ii. 6. 7. 
 Jude 24. 
 Ps cxix. 
 
 106, 1U7. 
 Col. i. 3. 9. 
 
 Rom. i 16. 
 Actsiv. 12. 
 
 Phil. i. 6 ; 
 
 ii. 13 
 
 2 Cor. iii. 5. 
 
 Ansii\ Yes, verily ; and bj' God's 
 help so I will". And I heartih' tliank 
 our heavenly Father, that he hath 
 called me to this state of salvation", 
 through Jesus Christ our Saviour p. 
 And 1 pray unto God to give me his 
 grace's, that I may continue in the 
 same unto my life's end. 
 
 that what they did on our behalf we are obliged to stand 
 to, especially when the promise is in itself so reasonable, 
 and so highly beneficial to us. Dr. Nicholh. 
 
 Certainly we are not bound to do, whatever any other 
 person shall take upon him to promise in our name. 
 But if the thing promised be part of an agreement 
 advantageous to us, we are plainly bound in point of 
 interest ; and indeed of conscience too : for we ought 
 to consult our own happiness. Even by the laws of 
 men, persons, unable to express their consent, are yet 
 presumed to consent to «'hat is for their own good : 
 and obligations are understood to lie upon them from 
 such presumed consent ever after : especially if there be 
 a representative acting for them who is em[iowered so 
 to do. And parents are empowered by nature to act 
 for their children ; and by Scripture to do it in this very 
 case : and therefore may employ others to do it under 
 them. But further still : the tilings promised in baptism 
 would have been absolutely incumbent on us, whether 
 they had been promised or not. For it is incumbent on 
 all persons to believe and do what God commands. 
 Only the tie is made stronger by the care then taken, 
 that we shall be taught om- duty. And when we have 
 acknowledged ourselves to have learned it, and have 
 solemnly engaged ourselves to perform it, as we do 
 when we are confirmed, then the obligation is com- 
 plete. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 " — and by God's help so I will.'] As our acting ac- 
 cording to the engagement made for us depends on 
 ' two things ; our own resolution, and assistance from 
 above : so lioth are expressed in the following words of 
 the answer, " and by God's help so I will." Further : 
 because our own resolution is best supported by our 
 sense of the advantage of keeping it ; therefore the 
 person instructed goes on, in the same answer, to ac- 
 knowledge that the state, in which he is placed by 
 baptism, is a " slate of salvation :" and because assist- 
 ance from above is best obtained by thankfulness for 
 God's mercy hitherto, and prayer for it hereafter, he 
 concludes by " thanking our heavenly Father, for 
 calling him to this state ; and jiraying for his grace, 
 that lie may continue in the same to his life's end." 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ° — halh eallcd me lo this stale of salvation,! By 
 calling us to a state of salvation is meant, God's ad- 
 mitting us at our bai)tisin into that holy religion, which 
 we profess, and Ijy wliich we enjoy all the necessary 
 means of salvation, Kom. i. IG; 2 Tim. iii. 15. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 'I'lie state to which God hath called us, is a " state 
 of salvation ;" a state of deli\erance from the jiresent 
 slavery of sin, and the future punishment of it; a state 
 of the truest hajjiiiness, that this life can afford, in- 
 troducing us to perfect and everlasting hapi)iness in 
 the next. Such is the condition, in which, through the 
 mercy of God, we Christians are placed; and in which, 
 by a (-Christian behaviour, we may secure ourselves ; 
 and not only preserve, but continually enlarge, our 
 share of its blessings. But if we now neglect to do 
 for ourselves what we ouglit ; all, that hath Ijcen done 
 
 Catechisf. 
 Rehearse the Articles of thy Be- 
 
 lief' 
 
 I 
 
 earth 
 
 ylnsjcer. 
 
 Believe in God^ the Father Al- 
 mio^hty, Maker of heaven and 
 
 for us by others, will be of no avail. Neither our bap- 
 tism, nor our instruction ; nor our learning ever so 
 exactly, or understanding ever so distinctly, or remem- 
 bering ever so particularly, what we were instructed 
 in, can possibl}' have any effect, but to increase our 
 condemnation, unless we faithfully " continue in " the 
 practice of every part of it " to our life's end." This 
 therefore let us all determine to make our constant 
 and most earnest care, with humble gratitude to God, 
 " our heavenly Father," for his undeserved mercy to 
 us ; and with sure confidence, that if we be not wanting 
 to oiu-sehes, " he that hath begun a good work in us, 
 will perform it, until the day of Jesus Christ," Phil. i. G. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 p — through Jesus Christ our Saviour.l We are said to 
 be "called to a state ofsalvation through Jesus Clirist," 
 because, unless it were for the merits and intercession of 
 Jesus Clu'ist, we coidd not be saved : for it is his blood 
 alone. Acts xx. 28; 1 Pet. i. IS, 19; which has made 
 an infinite satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, 
 Rom. V. 10 ; 1 John ii. 2 ; so that we are redeemed 
 from everlasting punishment ; and it is by his pleading 
 with the Father his merits in our behalf, Heb. ix. 24 ; 
 vii. 25 ; xii. 24, that we are cajiable of being made par- 
 takers of eternal happiness. Dr. Nieholls. 
 
 1 — / pray unto God to give nie his grace,'] By " the 
 grace of God," which we here pray for, is meant that 
 influence and assistance of God's Holy Spirit, which 
 He has promised to give us, u])on our de\'out prayer to 
 Him for it: which grace, concurring with our own dili- 
 gent endeavours, doth render the conditions of the 
 Gospel, not only possible, but in some measure easy to 
 be performed. We pray for God's grace to " continue 
 us in the state of salvation ;" because, unless God's 
 grace doth remain with us, we may fall into a total 
 ajiostasy and unbelief of our Saviour ; and so be 
 debarred even of the means of salvation : or, if He 
 doth not afford us grace to perform the conditions 
 required by the Gos])el, we can have no pretence to the 
 jjromises of it. Dr. I\'ieholls. 
 
 ' Rehearse the Articles of thy Belie/.] After the things, 
 which Christians by the covenant of their baptism re- 
 nounce, follow, first, those which they are to believe; 
 and then those, wliich they are to do. For all reason- 
 able practice must be built on some belief, or persuasion, 
 which is the ground of it : virtuous jiractice, on a per- 
 suasion, that what we do is fit and right; religious 
 practice, on a persuasion, that it is the will of God. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 The general jiarfs, of which this Creed consists, are 
 these four. 1. It shews us what is most needful to be 
 believed and professed liy us, concerning God the 
 Father; secondly, concerning our Lord Jesus (,'hrist; 
 thirdly, concerning the Holy Ghost; and fourthly, con- 
 cerning the Church of Christ ; its duties and privileges 
 here, and the blessings and glory which God has pre- 
 pared for it hereafter. Abp. f\'uke. 
 
 ' 1 believe ill God &c.] See notes on the Apostles' 
 Creed in the Morning Prayer : pages 2" — 32. 
 
 'I'lie foundati(jn of all religion is faith in God : the
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 .371 
 
 And in Josns Clirist liis only Son 
 our Lord', Wlio was conceived by 
 the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin 
 Mary, Suffered under I'ontius Pilate, 
 Was crucified, dead, and iiuried, He 
 descended into hell ; The third day 
 he rose ai^ain from the dead, He 
 ascended into heaven, And sitteth at 
 the right liand of God the Father Al- 
 mighty ; From thence he shall come 
 to judge the quick and the dead. 
 
 I believe in the Holy Ghost"; 
 The holy Catholick Church"; The 
 Communion of Saints ; The For- 
 giveness of sins ; The Resurrection 
 of the body ; And the life everlasting. 
 Amen. 
 
 persuasion that there doth, ever did, and ever will 
 exist, one Being, of unbounded power and knowledge, 
 perfect justice, truth, and goodness, the Creator and 
 Preserver, the Sovereign Lord and Ruler of all things. 
 With this article therefore our Creed begins. And, as 
 all the rest are built upon it, so the trutli and certainty 
 of it is plain to every man, when duly [jroposed to his 
 consideration, how unlikely soever some men would 
 have been to discover it of themseh'es. Jbp. Seclier. 
 
 ' And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, &c.] 
 "To believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of 
 heaven and earih," is the universal creed of nature and 
 reason. But divine revelation adds further jirofessions 
 to it ; of which the first is that of faith in our ever- 
 lilessed Redeemer; whose direction was, " Ye believe 
 in God, believe also in me," John xiv. 1. Therefore, 
 that we may believe in Him as we ought. He is de- 
 scribed in the Creed by his name and offices, his 
 relation to God and to us. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 " I believe in the Holy Ghost ; &c.] The former articles 
 having expressed the belief of Christians concerning 
 the two fhst Persons of the sacred Trinity, the Father 
 and the Son : our Creed proceeds in this to the third 
 object of our baptismal faith, the Holy Ghost. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 ' — The holy Catholick Church ; &c.] The most ancient 
 creeds of all went no farther than a declaration of faith 
 in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in whose name we 
 are baptized. For in this profession all those other 
 points of doctrine were understood to be implied, which 
 it was very soon after found most convenient to ex- 
 press by additional ai-ticles. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 >■ What dost thou chiefly lenrn in these Articles of thy 
 Belief ? A. First, I learn to believe &c.] In the divine 
 essence, which is but one, there ai-e three distinct per- 
 sons. Matt. iii. 10, 17; namely, the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost, Matt, xxviii. 19, who are distin- 
 guished by their properties. 
 
 It is the property of the Father, to have begotten the 
 Son, Ps. ii. 7. It is the property of the Son, to be 
 begotten of the Father, John i. 14. It is the property 
 of the Holy Ghost, to proceed from the Father and the 
 Son, John xv. 26. 
 
 The creation of the world is ascribed to the Father, 
 who made all things by the Son, Heb. i. 2 ; and the 
 efficacy of the Holy Ghost, Ps. civ. 30. 
 
 The redemption of mankind is ascribed to the Son, 
 as the person that became a ransom for them, 1 Tim. ii. 
 
 The sanctification of God's elect people is ascribed to 
 
 Queat. What dost thou chiefly 
 learn in these Articles of thy Be- 
 lief? 
 
 Answ. First, I learn to believe ^ in 
 God the Father, who hath made me, Heb. i. 2. 
 and all the world. 
 
 Secondly, in God the Son% who 
 hath redeemed me, and all man- 1 Tim. u. 
 kind. '• '■ 
 
 Thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost", 
 who sanctifieth me, and all the elect iPet. 1.1,2. 
 people of God. 
 
 Question. 
 
 You said, that your Godfathers 
 and Godmothers did promise for you, 
 that you should keep God's Com- 
 
 the Holy Ghost, as the spirit of holiness, by whose 
 operation they are made holy, 1 Pet. i. 2. Oxford 
 Catechism. For the sense of " the elect," or " chosen 
 people of God," see page 35, note c. 
 
 • Secondly, in God the Son, &c.] lliat Christ has the 
 same divine nature with the Father, and so has been 
 from all eternity " God," together with Him, we must 
 believe, if we believe the Scriptures to give a true 
 account of the nature of Christ : for we find the same 
 evidences in them of the Godhead of Christ, that we do 
 of that of the Father. 
 
 First, they give the name of God to Him, Ps. xlv. 
 0, 7 ; Isa. vii. 14; ix. ; Acts xx. 28 : and that in such 
 a manner as plainly shews it is to be understood in its 
 most proper import and signification ; John i. 1 ; xx. 
 28 ; Rom. ix. 5 ; 1 Tim. iii. 1 6 ; Phil. ii. 6 ; 1 John 
 V. 20. 
 
 Secondly, they ascribe the most proper and incom- 
 municable ATTRIBUTES of God to Him. Such as omni- 
 potence, John V. 17, 18 J Rev.). 8; xi. 17- Omnisci- 
 ence, John xvi. 30 ; xxi, 17 ; Luke vi. 8 : compare John 
 ii. 24, 25; Rev. ii. 23, Immensity, Matt, xviii. 20; 
 xxviii. 20; John iii. 13, Immutability, Heb. i. 11, 12; 
 xiii. 8. And even Eternity itself. Rev. i. 8. 17; xxii. 
 13; Prov. viii. 22; Mic. v. 2; Isa. ix. 6, 7. 
 
 To Him, thu-dly, they ascribe such works, as can 
 belong to none that is not God. The creation of the 
 world, John i. 3. 10; Col. i. 16; Heb. i. 2. 10. The 
 preservation of it, Heb. i. 3. The power of miracles, 
 even to the raising of the dead, John v. 21. 26 ; vi. 40. 
 The mission of the Holy Ghost, John xv. 26 ; xvi. 7. 
 14. And, in short, all the works of grace and regene- 
 ration, John V. 21 ; x. 16; xiii. 18; Acts xvii. 31 ; xx. 
 28 ; Rom. i. 7 ; 1 Cor. i. 3 ; 2 Cor. i. 2 ; Gal. i. 3 ; 
 Eph. i. 2, &c. 
 
 Add to this, fourthly, that He is there sheuTi to be 
 noNouREO as God, John v. 23; Heb. i. 0. Prayer is 
 made to Him, Acts vii. 59; 1 Cor. i. 2. Faith and 
 hope are directed to be put in Him, John xiv. I ; Ps. ii. 
 12. Praises and thanksgivings are given to Him, glory 
 and honour are rendered to Him, Rev. v. 1 3. Compare 
 iv. 11. 
 
 And no wonder ; since, lastly, the nature of God is 
 therein also expressly ascribed to Him, Heb. i. 3 ; Phil. 
 ii. 6; Col. ii. 9. Comiiare Col. i. 15. 19. Abp. JVake. 
 
 • Thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost, &c ] The Holy 
 Ghost is not merely an attribute or power of the Father, 
 but hath a real subsistence, distinct both from the 
 Father and the Son. For the New Testament expressly 
 and repeatedly uses the word, " he," concerning Him, 
 
 2 B 2
 
 372 
 
 mandments''. 
 there be ? 
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 Tell me how many 
 
 John xiv. 26; xv. 26; xvi. 13 ; which is never used in 
 that manner of a mere attribute or power. It ascribes 
 to Him will and understanding, Rom. viii. 2"; Heb. 
 ii. 4 ; comp. 1 Cor. .\ii. 1 1 : it speaks of Him as being 
 sent by the Father, coming and acting on various occa- 
 sions, "relative botli to the Son and to others ; nay, as 
 shewing " himself in a bodily shape, hke a dove," Luke 
 iii. 22. 
 
 Further : the Holy Ghost is, truly and strictly speak- 
 ing, God. For the language of Scripture concerning 
 Him is such, as cannot belong to any created being. 
 He is there called " the eternal Spirit," Heb. i.\. H ; 
 " the Lord," 2 Cor. iii. 17 : said to " quicken" or "give 
 life," 1 Pet. iii. 18 ; to be every where present with all 
 good Christians, John xiv. 16, 17; to "search all 
 things, yea, the deep things of God, even as the things 
 of a man are known by his own sjiirit, which is in him," 
 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11. Christ, being conceived by Him, 
 became " the Son of God," Luke i. 35. Cln-istians, by 
 his dwelling in them, become " tlie temples of the Holy 
 Ghost," 1 Cor. vi. 19; or, as another place expresses it, 
 "the temples of God," 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. Ananias, by 
 lying to Him, " lied not unto men, but unto God," 
 Acts V. 3, 4. He is said to distribute spu-itual and 
 miraculous gifts, " dividing to every man severally, as 
 he will," 1 Cor. xii. 11. "And as the disciples minis- 
 tered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said. 
 Separate me Barnabas and Said for the worlc whereunto 
 I have called them," Acts xiii. 2. He is represented by 
 our Savioiu-, as able fully to supply the want of his per- 
 sonal presence witli tlie apostles, John xvi. 7. And 
 lastly He is joined witli the Father and the Son, on equal 
 terms, both in the form of baptism, where Ins name and 
 theirs are used alike. Matt, xxviii. 19; and in the so- 
 lemn form of blessing, where " tlie fellowship of the 
 Holy Ghost" is jilaced on a level with " the love of 
 God, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. 
 xiii. 14. 
 
 These, and many other Scrijiture exjiressions, are 
 surely such as cannot be userl of any creature ; but prove 
 the Sjiirit, as others, already mcnticmed, prove tlie Son, 
 to iiartake of the same authority and jierfections, and 
 therefore the same natiu-e, with the l-'atlier. Yet we 
 know, that thougli in holy writ, men and angels are, 
 sometimes on account of their extensive power, some- 
 times as representatives of the Deity, called gods, yet 
 in literal pro]iriety of speech there is but one (iod, and 
 not either tliree su]>reiiie Beings, or a sujierior and infe- 
 rior oliject of adoration. " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our 
 God is one Lord," Dcut. vi. 4. " Is there a (iod be- 
 side me ? yea, there is no God : I know not any," Isa. 
 xliv. 8. " Before mc was no God formed : neither shall 
 there be after me," Isa. xliii. 10. "I am the Lord, — and 
 my glory will I not give to another," Isa. xlii. 8. 
 " 'riiou slialt worship the Lord thy God, and him only 
 shall thou serve," Matt. iv. 10. Since then there is not 
 a jihirality of Gods : and yet the Son and Spirit are 
 each of them God, no less than the Father : it plainly 
 follows, that they are, in a manner by us inconceivable, 
 so united to Him, tliat "these three are one," 1 John 
 V. 7 ; but still, in a iiianniT equally iiieoneeivable, so 
 distinguished from Him, that no one of them is the 
 other. Ahj). Seeker. 
 
 '' Yiiu said, that ynar Gntlfut hers— that you should keep 
 Cod's Commundmetils. &c.] The whole duty of man 
 consists in three jioiiits : renoimcing what (iod halli 
 forbichlen, believing what lie hath tiiught iis, and doing 
 what lie hath required of us : wliicli UfCordingly are the 
 
 Answer. Ten. 
 
 Question. Which be they ? 
 
 things promised in our name at our baptism. The two 
 former having been noticed, we here proceed to the 
 third. 
 
 Now the things, which God requires to be done, are 
 of two sorts : either such, as have been always the duty 
 of all men : or such, as are pecuharly the duty of Chris- 
 tians. And oiu- Catechism very properly treats of the 
 former sort first, comprehending them under those Ten 
 Commandments, which were delivered by the Creator 
 of the world, on mount Sinai, in a most awful manner, 
 as we read in the nineteenth and twentieth chapters 
 of Exodus. F'or thougli indeed they were then given to 
 the Jews particularly, yet the things contained in them 
 are such, as all mankind from the beginning were boimd 
 to observe. And therefore, even under the Mosaick 
 dispensation, they, and the tables on which they were 
 engraven, and the ark in«-hich they were put, were dis- 
 tinguished from the rest of God's ordinances by a jiecu- 
 liar regard, as containing the co\'enant of the Lord, 
 Exod. xxxiv. 28; Deut. iv. 13; ix. 9. 11. 15; Josh, 
 iii. 11; 1 Kings viii. 9. 21; 2 Chron. v. 10; vi. 11. 
 And though the Mosaick dispensation be now at an 
 end, yet concerning these moral precepts of it our 
 Saviour declares, that " one jot or one tittle shall in no 
 wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled," Matt. v. 
 IS. Accordingly we find both Him, and his apostles, 
 quoting these 'I'en Commandments, as matter of perpe- 
 tual obligation to Christians : who are now, as the 
 Jews were formerly, "The Israel of God," Gal. vi. 16. 
 
 Indeed the whole New Testament, and especially the 
 sermon of our blessed Lord on the mount, instructs U3 
 to carry their obligation farther, that is, to more jioints, 
 than either the Jews, a people of gross understanding 
 and carnal dispositions, commonly took into considera- 
 tion ; or their prophets were commissioned distinctly to 
 represent to them ; the wisdom of God foreseeing, that 
 it would only increase their guilt : and farther indeed, 
 than the words of the Commandments, if taken strictly, 
 express. But the reason is, that being visibly intended 
 for a summary of human duty, they both may, and 
 must, be understood, by those who are capable of 
 penetrating into the depth of their meaning, to imjily 
 more than they express. And therefore, to coni|)re- 
 hcnd their full extent, it will be requisite to observe the 
 following rules. Where any sin is forbiddt'U in them, 
 the opposite duty is implicitly enjoined : and where any 
 duty is enjoined, thco])|)ositesin is imidicitly foibiildcn. 
 Where the highest degree of any tiling evil is prohibited ; 
 whatever is faulty in the same kind, though in a lower 
 degree, is by consciiucnce ]irohibited. And where one 
 instance of virtuous bdiaviour is commanded, every 
 other, that hath the same nature, and same reason for 
 it, is understood to be commauded too. ^^'llat we are 
 expected to abstain from, we arc expected to avoid, as 
 far as we can, all tem|itation3 to it, and occasions of it : 
 and what we are exjiected to |)ractisc, we arc expected 
 to use all fit means, that may better enable us to prac- 
 tise it. ,\11, that we are bound to do ourselves, we are 
 bound, on fitting occasions, to exhort and assist others 
 to do, when it belongs to them : and all, that we are 
 bound not to do, we are to tcin])t nobody else to do, 
 but keep them back from it, as much as we have op- 
 portunity. The Ten Comuiaudinents, excepting two 
 that recpiired enlargement, are delivered in few words : 
 which brief manner of speaking hath great majesty in it. 
 But cxpluiiiing tliein according to these rules; which 
 are natural and rational in Ihemselves, favoured by 
 ancient Jewish writers, authorized by oiu: blessed Sa-
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 07.3 
 
 Ansioer. 
 
 THE same which God spake in 
 the twentieth Chapter ot" Ex- 
 odus, saying', I am tlie Lord thy 
 God"^, wlio brought tliee out of tiie 
 land of Egypt, out of the liouse of 
 
 bondage. 
 
 I. 
 
 Thou shalt have none other gods 
 
 but me. 
 
 II. 
 
 Thou shalt not make to thyself 
 any graven image, nor the like- 
 ness of any thing that is in hea- 
 ven above, or in the earth beneath, 
 or in the water under the earth. 
 Thou shalt not bow down to them, 
 nor worship them : for I the Lord 
 thy God am a jealous God, and visit 
 the sins of the fathers upon the chil- 
 dren, unto the third and fourth gene- 
 ration of them that hate me, and 
 shew'mercy unto thousands in them 
 that lo\'e me, and keep my com- 
 mandments. 
 
 III. 
 
 Thou shalt not take the name of 
 the I^ord thy God in vain : for the 
 Lord will not hold him guiltless that 
 taketh his Name in vain. 
 IV. 
 
 Remember that thou keep holy 
 the Sabbath-day. Six days shalt 
 thou labour, and do all that thou 
 hast to do ; but the seventh day is 
 the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. 
 In it thou shalt do no manner of 
 work, thou, and thy son, and thy 
 
 viour, and certainly designed by the makers of the 
 Catechism to be used in expounding it : we shall find, 
 that there is no part of the moral law, but may be fitly 
 ranked under them. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' — / am the Lord Ihy God, &c.] Before all these Ten 
 Commandments is jjlaced a general preface, expressing, 
 first, the authority of Him who gave them, " I am the 
 Lord thy God :" secondly, his goodnes.s to those whom 
 He enjoined to observe them ; " who brought thee out of 
 the land of Egyjjt, out of the house of bondage." Now 
 the authority of God over us Christians is as great, as it 
 could be over the Jews. And his goodness is much 
 greater, in freeing us from the bondage of sin, and open- 
 ing to us the heavenly land of promise, than it was in 
 leading them, from Egy|)tian slavery, to the earthly 
 Canaan ; though indeed this deli\'erance, having made 
 so fresh and so strong an imjiression on them, was the 
 fittest to be mentioned at that time. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 For the purport of the several Commandments, see 
 the notes, pages 283 — SB,*). 
 
 '' What dost thon chiefly learn by these command- 
 ments? A. I learn two things: &c.] The Ten Com- 
 mandments being originally written, by the finger of 
 God Himself, on two tables of stone ; and consisting of 
 
 daughter, tliy man-servant, and thy 
 maid-servant, tiiy cattle, ami the 
 stranger that is within thy gates. 
 For in six days the Lord made 
 heaven and earth, the sea, and all 
 that in them is, and rested the 
 seventh day; wherefore the Lord 
 blessed the seventh day, and hal- 
 lowed it. 
 
 V. 
 Honour thy father and thy mo- 
 ther, that thy days may be long 
 in the land which the Lord thy God 
 givetli thee. 
 
 VI. 
 Thou shalt do no murder. 
 
 VII. 
 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 
 
 VIII. 
 Thou shalt not steal. 
 
 IX. 
 Thou shalt not bear false witness 
 against thy neighbour. 
 
 Thou shalt not covet thy neigh- 
 bour's house, thon shalt not covet 
 thy neighbour's wife, nor his servant, 
 nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, 
 nor any thing that is his. 
 
 Question. 
 
 What dost thon chiefly learn by 
 these commandments ? 
 
 Aiistv. I learn two things '': my 
 duty towards God, and my duty Matt. xlu. 
 towards my Neighbour. *°' 
 
 Quest What is thy duty towards 
 God'^? 
 
 two parts, oiu: duty to our Maker, and to our fellow- 
 creatures ; which we can never perform as we ought, if 
 we neglect that we owe to ourselves ; the four first are 
 usually called duties of the first table ; the si.Y last of 
 the second. And our Savioiu', in effect, dindes them 
 accordingly, when He reduces them to these : " Thou 
 shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart : and 
 thy neighhour as thyself," Matt. xxii. 37. 39. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 ' What is thy duty towards Godf] Our duty towards 
 God is, to think so of Him, and to behave so to Him, 
 as his infinite perfection, and oiu' absolute dependence 
 on Him, require : which general duty oiu- Catechism 
 very justly branches out into the following particulars. 
 
 First, that we " believe in him." " For he that 
 Cometh to God must beheve that he is," Heb. xi. 6. 
 The great thing in which this belief consists, is, that 
 we &. firmly in our minds, recal frequently to our 
 memories, and imprint deeply upon our hearts, an 
 awful persuasion of the being and presence, the power 
 and justice, the holiness and truth, of this great Lord 
 of all. The consequence of this will be. 
 
 Secondly, that we "fear him." For such attributes 
 as these, duly considered, must fill the most innocent
 
 374 
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 Ansic. My duty towards God, is 
 2 chron. xx. to believe in him, to fear liim, and 
 Eccies. xii. to love him with all my heart, with 
 Luke X 27 ^'^ •")' nii»f') "'"li all my ^on\, and 
 Matt, iv.'io. with all my strength; to worship 
 1 Thess. V. jjjjj^^ j^ gj^.g Ynm thanks, to put my 
 
 creatures with reverence and self-abasement. But sin- 
 ful and guilty ones, as we know ourselves to have been, 
 have cause to feel yet stronger emotions in their souls 
 from such a meditation : apprehensions of his dis- 
 pleasure, and solicitude for his pardon ; leading us 
 naturally to that penitent care of our hearts, and lives, 
 on which He hath graciously assured us, that, through 
 faith in Christ Jesus, we shall be forgiven. And then, 
 gratitude for his mercy will prompt us to the 
 
 Third duty towards Him, which our Catechism spe- 
 cifies, that we " lo\-e him : the fear of the Lord " being, 
 as the Son of Sirach declares, " the beginning of his 
 love," Ecclus. xxv. 12. For whenever we come to 
 reflect seriously on that goodness, which hath given us 
 all the comforts that we enjoy ; that pity which offers 
 pardon, on most equitable terms, for all the faults that 
 we have committed ; that grace, which enables us to 
 perform every duty acceptably ; and that infinite bounty, 
 which ren-ards our imperfect performances with eternal 
 happiness : we cannot but feel ourselves bound to love 
 such a benefactor, " with all our heart, and with all our 
 mind, with all our soul, and all oiu- strength :" to re- 
 joice in being under his government ; " make our boast 
 of him all the day long," Ps. xliv. 8 ; and choose Him 
 for " our portion for ever," Ps. L\xiii. 25, 26. A mind, 
 thus affected, would be uneasy, without paying the 
 regard set down in the 
 
 Fourth place, which is, " to worship him :" to ac- 
 knowledge our dependence, and ])ay our homage to 
 Him ; both in ]irivate, to preserve and improve a sense 
 of religion in oiu'selves ; and in publiek, to support and 
 spread it in the world. 'I'he first part of worship, 
 mentioned in the Catechism, and the first in a natural 
 order of things, is " giving him thanks." God origi- 
 nally made and fitted all his creatures for happiness ; if 
 any of them have made themselves miserable, this doth 
 not lessen their obligation of thankfulness to Him : but 
 his continuing still good, and abounding in forgiveness 
 and liberality, increases that obligation unspeakably. 
 With a grateful sense of his past favours is closely con- 
 nected, " putting our trust in him " for the time to 
 come. And justly doth the Catechism require it to be 
 our " whole trust." For his power and goodness are 
 infinite : tliosc of every creature may fail us ; and all, 
 that they can possibly do for us, ])roceeds ultimately 
 from Him. Now a princi|)al expression of reliance on 
 God is, petitioning for his hel|). For if we " jjray in 
 faith," James i. fi ; v. Kl, we shall live so too. Anil 
 therefore trusting in Him, which might have been 
 made a se])arate liead, is included in this of worsliip; 
 and put between the first jiart of it, " giving thanks to 
 him ;" and the second, " calling upon him :" ac- 
 cording to that of the Psalmist : " () Lord, in thee have 
 I trusted: let me never be confounded," Ps. xxxi. 1. 
 'J'o call upon (iod is to place ourselves in his jircsence ; 
 and there to beg of Hiin, for ourselves and each other, 
 with unfeigned humility and submission, such assist- 
 ance in our duty, such provision for our wants, and 
 such defence against our enemies, of everv kind, as 
 infinite wisilom sees fit for us all. After this evident 
 obligation, follows a 
 
 Fifth not less so: "to honour his holy name and 
 word :" not presuming even to speak of the great God 
 
 whole trust in him, to call upon him, Prov. lii. 5. 
 to honour his holy Name and his 1 Thess. v. 
 Word, and to serve him truly all the lV^ ,.„. ,2 
 days of my life. ^.^i"" '■ 21. 
 
 Quest. What is thy duty towards ueb. xii. 28. 
 thy Neighbour f? 
 
 in a negligent way ; but preserving, in every expression 
 and action, that reverence to Him, which is due : pay- 
 ing, not a superstitious, but a decent and respectful 
 regard, to whatever bears any peculiar relation to Him ; 
 his day, his church, his ministers : but especially ho- 
 nouring his holy word, the law of our lives, and the 
 foundation of our hopes, by a diligent study and firm 
 beUef of what it teaches ; and that universal obedience 
 to what it commands, which our Catechism reserves 
 for the 
 
 Sixth and last, as it is undoubtedly the greatest, 
 thing : " to serve him truly all the days of our life." 
 Obedience is the end of faith and fear : the proof of 
 love; the foundation of trust; the necessary qualifica- 
 tion to make worship, and honour of every kind, 
 acceptable. This therefore must complete the whole, 
 that we " walk in all the commandments and ordinances 
 of the Lord blameless," Luke i. 6 ; not thinking any 
 one so difficult, as to despair of it ; or so small, as to 
 despise it ; and never be " weary in well-doing : for we 
 shall rea]i in due season, if we faint not," Gal. vi. 9 : 
 and " he " alone " shall be saved, that endujeth to the 
 end," Matt. xxiv. 13. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' What is thy duty towards thy Neighbour?^ The 
 whole law, concerning oiu* several obligations one to 
 another, " is briefly comprehended," as St. Paul very 
 justly obsei'ves, " in this " one " saying, Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbour as thyself," Rom. xiii. 9. Our 
 " neighbour " is every one with whom we have at any 
 time any concern, or on whose welfare our actions can 
 have any influence. For whoe\-er is thus within our 
 reach, is in the most important sense near to us, how- 
 ever distant in other respects. To " love our neigh- 
 bour," is to bear him good-will ; which of course will 
 dis])0se us to think favourably of him, and behave 
 projierly to him. And to " love him as ourselves," is 
 to have, not only a real, but a strong and active good- 
 will towards him ; with a tenderness for his interests 
 duly proportioned to that, which we naturally feel for 
 our own. Such a temper would most ])owerfully 
 restrain us from every thing wrong, and jirompt us 
 to every thing right ; and therefore is " the fidfilling of 
 the law," so far as it relates to our mutual beha- 
 viour. 
 
 Hut because, on some occasions, we may cither not 
 see, or not confess we see, what is right, and what 
 otherwise ; our Saviour hath ])ut the same duty in a 
 light somewhat different, which gives tlie safest and 
 fullest, and clearest direction for practice, that any one 
 ]irecept can give. " All things whatsoever ye would 
 that men should do unto you, e\'en so do ye unto 
 them." Pehaving properly depends on judging truly; 
 and that, in cases of any doubt, deijcnds on hearing 
 with due attention both sides. To our own side wo 
 never fail attending. The rule therefore is, give the 
 other side the same advantage, by supposing it your 
 own ; and after considering carefully and fairly, wliat, 
 if it were indeed your own, you should not only desire 
 (for desires may be unreasonable 1 but think you had an 
 equitalile ekiim to, and well-groundcil e\]>ectation of, 
 from the other ]iarty, that do in regard to him. Would 
 we but honestly take this method, our mistakes would 
 be so exceeding few, and slight, and innocent, that
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 375 
 
 Matt. xxii. 
 
 3!!, 
 
 Malt. vii. 12, 
 
 1 Pet. ii. 1.1, 
 
 II. 
 
 Tit. iii. 1. 
 
 lleh. xiii. 17 
 
 I Pet. ii. 18; 
 
 V, 5. 
 
 ftfatt. V. H. 
 
 1 .Inhn ii. 9. 
 1 C.ir. xlv. 
 20. 
 
 Jnnies iv. II. 
 Col. iii 9. 
 Prov. X. 18. 
 Luke xxi. U. 
 1 Cor. vi. \3. 
 Matt. V. 27, 
 28. 
 
 I Thess. iv. 
 
 II. 
 
 Eph. iv. 28. 
 
 Ansxo. My duty tovvard.s my 
 Neiglibour, is to love liim as myself, 
 and to do to all men, as I would 
 they .should do unto me : To love, 
 honour, and succour, my father and 
 mother : To honour and obey the 
 Queen, and all that are ])ut in autho- 
 rity under her : To submit myself to 
 all my governours, teachers, spiritual 
 pastors and masters : To order my- 
 self lowly and reverently to all my 
 betters : To hurt no body by word 
 nor deed : To be true and just in all 
 my dealing : To bear no malice nor 
 hatred in my heart: To keep my 
 hands from jiicking and stealing, and 
 my tongue from evil-speaking, lying, 
 and slandering : To keep my body 
 in temperance, soberness, and chas- 
 tity : Not to covet nor de.sire other 
 men's goods; but to learn and la- 
 bour truly to get mine own living, 
 and to do my duty in that state of 
 life, unto which it shall please God 
 to call me. 
 
 well might our blessed Lord add, " For this is the law 
 and the prophets." 
 
 Yet, after all, there might be difficulty sometimes, 
 especially to some persons, in the application of a rule 
 so very general. And therefore we have, in the Com- 
 mandments, the reciprocal duties of man to man 
 branched out into six i)artieulars. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ^ — Let me hear therefore, if thou canst say the Lord's 
 Prayer.'] The Mediator, through whom our Maker hath 
 appointed that we may " come boldly to the throne of 
 his grace," Heb. iv. 16, hath not only procured us the 
 privilege, but hath instructed us how to use it, by de- 
 Lvering to us a prayer of his own composition ; which 
 might be at once a form for us frequently to repeat, 
 and a pattern for us always to imitate. 
 
 That the Lord's Prayer was designed as a form, 
 appears from his own words : " After this manner pray 
 ye:" or, translating more literally, "Thus pray ye," 
 Matt. vi. 9 ; and, wliich is yet more e.\-press, " When ye 
 pray, say. Our Father," &c. Luke xi. 2. Besides, it 
 was given by Him to his disciples on their request, 
 that He would " teach them to pray, as John also 
 taught his disciples," ver. 1 : which undoubtedly was, 
 as the great rabbis amongst the Jews commonly taught 
 theirs, hy a form. And accordingly this prayer hath 
 been considered and used as such, from the earliest 
 ages of Christianity down to the present. 
 
 Yet our Saviour's design was not, that this should be 
 the only prayer of Christians ; as appears both from the 
 precepts and the ])ractice of the apostles, as well as from 
 the nature and reason of the thing. But when it is not 
 used as a form, it is however of unspeakable advantage 
 as a model. He proposes it indeed more pai-ticularly 
 as an e.vamjjle of shortness. Not that we are never to 
 rnake longer prayers : for He Himself " continued all 
 night in prayer to God," Luke vi. 12 : and we have a 
 much longer, made by the apostles, in the fourth chap- 
 ter of the Acts. But his intention was, to teach by this 
 instance, that we are not to affect unmeaning repeti- 
 tions, or any needless multiphcity of words, as if we 
 
 Catecliist. 
 
 My good Child, know this, that 
 thou art not able to do these things 
 of thyself, nor to walk in the Com- 2 cor. iii. 5. 
 mandments of God, and to serve 2 \helL k' 
 him, without his special grace; which "• 
 thou must learn at all times to call 
 for by diligent prayer. Let me 
 hear therefore, if thou canst say the 
 Lord's Prayers. 
 
 Answer. 
 
 OU II Father'', wliich art in hea- 
 ven. Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth. As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses. As 
 we forgive them that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into tempta- 
 tion ; But deliver us from evil. 
 Amen. 
 
 Quest. What desirest thou of God 
 in this Prayer ? 
 
 Answ. 1 desire my Lord God our 
 
 "thougftt that we should be heard for our much 
 speaking," Matt. vi. 7- And not only in this respect, 
 but every other, is our Lord's Prayer an admirable 
 institution and du-ection for praying aright. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 ^ Our Father, Sec.'] The prayer, which our blessed 
 Saviour taught his disciples, doth not need to be 
 e.xplained, as being, in itself, and originally, oljscure. 
 For no words could be more inteUigible to his apostles, 
 than all those, which He hath used throughout it. And 
 even to us now there is nothing that deserves the name 
 of difficult ; notwithstanding the distance of time, the 
 change of circumstances, and the different nature and 
 turn of the Jewish tongue from our own. But still, in 
 order to apprehend it sufficiently, there is requisite some 
 knowledge of religion, and the language of religion. 
 Besides, as we all learnt it when we were young, whilst 
 we had but little understanding, and less attention ; it 
 is not impossible, but some of us may have gone on 
 repeating it to an advanced age, without considering it 
 near so carefully as we ought. And this vei-y thing, 
 that the words are so familiar to us, may have been the 
 main occasion, that we have scarce ever thought of 
 their import. Now we are sensible it would be a great 
 unhappiness to have our devotions, as the church of 
 Rome have the principal part of theirs, in a language 
 that we could not understand. But surely it is as great 
 a fault, if, when we may so easily understand them, we 
 do not; or if, though we do understand them, when 
 we think of the matter, we think about it so little, that, 
 as to all good purposes, it is much the same with 
 praying in an unknown tongue. The Lord's Prayer, 
 in itself, is very clear, very expressive, very comprehen- 
 sive. But all this is nothing to us, if we say it with- 
 out knowing, or %vithout minding, what we say. For 
 how excellent words soever we use ; if we add no 
 meaning to them this can be no praying. And there- 
 fore to make it really beneficial to us, we must fix 
 deeply in our thoughts what it was intended by its 
 Author to contain. Abp. Seeker.
 
 376 
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 heavenly Father, who is the giver of 
 all goodness, to send his grace unto 
 me, and to uU people ; that we may 
 worship him, serve him, and obey 
 him, as we ought to do. And I pray 
 unto God, that he will send us all 
 things that be needful both for our 
 souls and bodies ; and that he will 
 be merciful unto us, and forgive us 
 our sins ; and that it will please him 
 to save and defend us in all dangers 
 ghostlv and bodil)' ; and that he will 
 
 For remarks on the Lord's Prayer, see page 13, note 
 p : and page 14, note s. 
 
 ' How many sacraments hath Christ ordained &c.] Tlie 
 far greater jiart of the duties, which we owe to God, 
 flow, as it were, of themselves, from his nature and 
 attributes, and the several relations to Him in which we 
 stand, whether made known to us by reason or Scrip- 
 ture. Such are those which have been hithei'to ex- 
 plained : the ten Commandments : and prayer for the 
 grace which our fallen condition requires, in order to 
 keep them. But there are still some other important 
 precepts peculiar to Christianity, and deriving their 
 whole obligation from our Saviour's institution of them ; 
 concerning which it is highly requisite that om' Cate- 
 chism should instruct us, before it concludes. And 
 these are the two Sacraments. Abji. Seeker. 
 
 ^ Tcoo] It appears, that the two ordinances of "Bap- 
 tism" and "the Supper of the Lord" are properly sacra- 
 ments, because the whole nature of a sacrament, as 
 about to be described, does belong to them. For, fu-st, 
 there is in both these " an outward and visible sign ;" 
 namely, water, in Baptism ; bread and wine, in the 
 Lord's Supper. 
 
 Secondly, There is " an inward and spiritual grace," 
 signified and conveyed by these signs. " The washing 
 of regeneration," Tit. iii. 5, by the one : " the body 
 and blood of Christ" by the other, 1 Cor. x. 16. 
 
 Tliirdly. There is for botli a divine institution. For 
 baptism. Matt, xxviii. 19, " Go ye, and teach all nations, 
 baptizing them, &c ;" for the Lord's Supper. Luke 
 xxii. 19, 20, "'I1iis do in remembrance of me." See 
 1 Cor. xi. 24, 25. 
 
 Fourthly, they were both ordained as means, whereby 
 to convey tlieir several graces to us, and as a pledge to 
 assure us of them. Baptism, to regenerate us, John 
 iii. 5 ; Tit. iii. 5. The Lord's Supper, to communicate 
 to us tlie body and blood of Ciirist, 1 Cor. x. 10. 
 
 For which reason, lastly, they are generally necessary 
 to salvation. All Cliristians have a right to them: nor 
 may any, without hazard of missing of these graces, 
 refuse to use tlieni, who have the opportunity of lieing 
 partakers of them. See John iii. 5 ; Mark xvi. 1 li ; 
 1 Cor. xi. 24. Ahp. Wake. 
 
 ' Two onlj/.~\ There are two only that are truly such : 
 and these two are jjhiinly sufficient; one for our en- 
 trance into the Cliristian covenant ; the other, during 
 our whole continuance iu it : " liaptism, and the Sup- 
 per of the Lord." 'I'he pa]iists reckon no less tlian 
 seven sacraments. And thongli this uinid)er was not 
 named for above 100 years after Clirist, nor fixed by 
 the authority of even tlieir own duircli till 200 years 
 ago, that is, since the Keforrualion ; yet now they 
 accurse us, for not agreeing with them in it, but ac- 
 knowledging only two. 
 
 'I'liC first of these five is ('onfirination. And if this 
 be a sacrament, wc administer it as well as they, indeed 
 
 keep us from all sin and wickedness, 
 and from our ghostly enemy, and 
 from everlasting death. And this I 
 trust he will do of his mercy and 
 goodness, through our Lord Jesus 2Cor.i. 20. 
 Christ. And therefore I say. Amen, 
 So be it. 
 
 Qnestio7i. 
 O W many Sacraments hath 
 Christ ordained ' in his Church ? 
 Aii.w. Two'' only', as generally 
 
 H 
 
 much more agi-eeably to the original practice ; and are 
 therefore intitled, at least, to the same benefit from it. 
 But though Christ did indeed " put bis hands on chil- 
 dren, and bless them," Mark x. lO ; yet we do not 
 read, that He ajipointed this particular ceremony for a 
 means of conveying grace. And though the apostles 
 did use it after Him, as others had done before Him ; 
 yet there is no foundation to ascribe any separate effi- 
 cacy to the laying on of hands, as distinct from the 
 prayers that accompany it : or to look upon the whole 
 of Confirmation as any thing else than a solemn man- 
 ner of persons taking upon themselves the baptismal 
 vow, followed by the solemn addresses of the bishop 
 and the congregation, that they may ever keep it : in 
 which addresses, laying on of hands is used, partly as 
 a mark of good-will to the person for whom the prayers 
 are offered up; and partly also as a sign, that the 
 fathei-ly hand of God is over all who undertake to 
 serve Him : yet without any claim of conveying his 
 grace particularly by it; but only with intention of 
 praying for his grace along with it: which jirayers 
 howe\'er we have so just ground to hope He will hear, 
 that they who neglect this ordinance, though not a 
 sacrament, are greatly wanting both to their interest 
 and their duty. 
 
 Another sacrament of the church of Rome is pe- 
 nance ; which they make to consist of jiarticular con- 
 fession to the j)riest of every deadly sin, i)articulm' 
 absolution from him, and such acts of devotion, morti- 
 fication, or charity, as he shall think fit to enjoin. But 
 no one part of this being required in Scripture, much 
 less any outward sign of it ajipointed, or any in- 
 ward grace annexed to it ; there is nothing in the 
 whole that hath any ajipearance of a sacrament ; but 
 too much suspicion of a contrivance to gain an undue 
 inllucnce and power. 
 
 A third sacrament of theirs is extreme unction. But 
 their jilea for it is no more than this. St. James, at a 
 time when miraculous gifts were common, directed 
 "the elders of the church," who usu.ally had those 
 gifts, to " anoint the sick with oil," James v. 14, 15; 
 as we read the discijiles did, whilst our Saviour was on 
 eartli, Mark vi. 13 ; in order to obtain by the " prayer 
 of faith," (that "faith" which could "remove moun- 
 tains," Matt. xvii. 20; xxi. 21; Mark xi. 23,) the re- 
 covery, if (jod saw fit, of their bodily health ; and the 
 forgiveness of those sins for which their disease was 
 inflicted, if they had committed any such. .\ud upon 
 this the church of Rome, now all such miraculous gifts 
 arc ceased, continues notwithstanding to anoint the 
 sick, for a (juite different purpose : not at all for the 
 recovery of their health ; for they do not use it till they 
 think them \-ery nearly, if not quite, past recovery ; 
 nor indeed for the pardon of their sins ; for these, they 
 say, are pardoned upon confession, which commonly is 
 made before it; but chielly, as themselves own, to
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 877 
 
 John iii. 5. 
 Acts ii. 38. 
 Mark xvi. 16. 
 John vi. 53. 
 Matt, xxvii:. 
 19, 20; xxvi. 
 26—28. 
 
 necessary to .salvation, tliat is to 
 say, Baptism, and the Supper of tlie 
 Lord. 
 
 Quest. Wliat meanest tliou l)y tliis 
 word Sacrament''" i' 
 
 Answ. I moan an outward and 
 visible sign" of an inwanl and spi- 
 
 procure composedness and courage in the hour of 
 death ; a purpose not only unmentioned by St. James, 
 but inconsistent witli the purpose of recovery, whicli 
 he doth mention, and very often impossible to be 
 attained. For tliey frequently anoint persons after 
 they are become intirely senseless. And yet, in S])ite 
 of all these things, they will needs have this practice 
 owned for a sacrament : which indeed is now, as tliey 
 manage it, a mere piece of superstition. 
 
 Another thing, which they esteem a Christian sacra- 
 ment, is matrimony : though it was ordained, not Ijy 
 Christ, but brag before his appearance on earth, in the 
 time of man's innocency ; and hath no outward sign 
 appointed in it, as a means and pledge of inward grace. 
 But the whole matter is, that they have hap])ened most 
 ridiculously to mistake their own Latin translation of 
 the New Testament ; where St. Paul, having compared 
 the union between the fii'st married pair, .\dam and 
 Eve, to that between Christ the second Adam, and bis 
 S])ouse the Church ; and having said that " this is a 
 great mystery," Eph. v. 32 ; a figure, or comparison, 
 not fully and commonly understood : the olil inter- 
 preter, whose version they use, for " mystery " hath 
 put " sacrament ;" which in his days signified any 
 thing in religion that carried a hidden meaning : and 
 they have understood him of what we now call a sacra- 
 ment. Whereas if every thing, that once had that name 
 in the larger sense of the word, were at present to have 
 it in the stricter sense ; there would be a hundred sacra- 
 ments, instead of the seven, which they pretend there are. 
 
 The fifth and last thing, which they wrongly insist 
 on our honouring with this title, is, holy orders. But, 
 as there are three orders in the Church, bishops, 
 priests, and deacons ; here would be three sacra- 
 ments, if there were any : but indeed there is none. 
 For the laying on of hands in ordination is neither 
 a[)pointed, nor used, to convey or signify any spiritual 
 grace : but only to confer a right of e.\ecuting such an 
 office in the church of Christ. And though ])rayers, 
 for God's grace and blessing on the person ordained, 
 are indeed very justly and usefully added ; and will 
 certainly be heard, imless the person be unworthy : yet 
 these prayers, on this occasion, no more make what is 
 done a sacrament, than any other prayers for God's 
 grace on any other occasion. 
 
 However, as I have already said of confirmation, so 
 I say now of orders and marriage, if they were sacra- 
 ments, they would be as much so to us, as to the 
 Romanists, whether we called them sacraments, or not. 
 And if we use the name ever so erroneously, indeed if 
 we never used it at all ; as the Scripture hath never 
 used it : that could do us no harm ; provided, under 
 any name, we believe but the things which Christ 
 hath taught ; and do but the things which He hath 
 commanded ; for on this, and this alone, depends oin- 
 acceptance, and eternal salvation. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 " H'hat meanest thou by this word Sacrament i''] The 
 word " sacrament," by virtue of its original in the 
 Latin tongue, signifies any sacred or holy thing or 
 action : and among the heathens was particularly ap- 
 plied to denote, sometimes a pledge, deposited in a 
 sacred place ; sometimes an oath, tlie most sacred of 
 
 ritual grace" given unto us, ordained 
 by Ciirist himself'', as a means 
 whereby we receive the same '', and 
 a pledge to assure us thereof ^ 
 
 Quest. How many ])art.s are there 
 in a Sacrament ? 
 
 Answ. Two; tlie outward visible 
 
 obligations ; and especially that oath of fidelity, which 
 the soldiery took to their general. In Scripture it is 
 not used at all. By the early writers of the Western 
 church it was used to e.xpress almost any thing relating 
 to our holy religion : at least any thing that was 
 figurative, and signified somewhat further than at first 
 sight appeared. But afterwards a more confined use 
 of the W(u-d jirevailed by degrees : and in that stricter 
 sense, which hath long been the common one, and 
 which our Catechism follo«'s, the nature of a sacrament 
 comjirehends the following particulars. Ab/i. Seeker. 
 
 " I mean an outward and visible siffti^ I . 'i'here must 
 be " an outward and visible sign :" the solemn applica- 
 tion of some bodily and sensible thing or action to a 
 meaning and purpose, which in its own nature it hath 
 not. In common life, we have many other signs to 
 express our meanings, on occasions of great conse- 
 quence, besides words. And no wonder then, if, in 
 religion, we have some of the same kind. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ° — of an inward and spiritual f/raee^ 2. In a sacra- 
 ment, the outward and visible sign must denote " an 
 inward and S])iritual grace gi\-en unto us :" that is, 
 some favour freely bestowed on us from heaven ; by 
 which our inward and spiritual condition, the state of 
 oiu' souls, is made better. Most of the significative 
 actions, that we use in religion, express only our duty 
 to God. Thus kneeling in prayer is used to shew our 
 reverence towards Him to whom we pray. And sign- 
 ing a child with the cross, after it is baptized, declares 
 our obligation not to be ashamed of the cross of Christ. 
 But a sacrament, besides exi)ressing, on our part, duty 
 to God, expresses, on his part, some grace or favour 
 towards us. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 1" — ordained by Christ himself,^ 3. In order to in- 
 title any thing to the name of Sacrament, a further 
 requisite is, that it be " ordained by Christ himself." 
 We may indeed use, on the foot of human authority 
 alone, actions, that set forth either our sense of any 
 duty, or our belief in God's grace. For it is certainly 
 as lawful to exjjress a good meaning by any other 
 proper signs as by words. But then, such marks as 
 these, which we commonly call ceremonies, as they are 
 taken up at jdeasure, may be laid aside again at plea- 
 sure ; and ought to be laid aside, whenever they grow 
 too numerous, or abuses are made of them, which 
 cannot easily be reformed : and this hath frequently 
 been the case. But sacraments are of perpetual obUga- 
 tion : for they stand on the authority of Clu'ist ; who hath 
 certainly apjjointed nothing to be for ever observed in 
 his church, but what He saw would be for ever useful. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 I — as a means whereby we receive the same^ Nor 
 doth every appointment of Christ, though it be of per- 
 petual obligation, deserve the name of a sacrament, 
 but those, and no other, which are, 4. not only signs of 
 grace, but " means " also, " whereby we receive the 
 same." None but our blessed Lord could ajipoint 
 such means : and which of his ordiniinces should be 
 such, and which not, none but Himself could determine. 
 From his word, therefore, we are to learn it : and then, 
 as we hope to attain the end, we must use the means. 
 But when it is said, that the sacraments are means of
 
 378 
 
 sign, and 
 
 tlie inward 
 
 A CATECHISM 
 
 spiritual 
 
 Quest. ^A'lmt is tlie outward visible 
 sign or form in Baptism^? 
 
 grace ; we are not to uncJerstand, either that the per- 
 formance of the mere outward action doth, hy its own 
 virtue, produce a siiiritual effect in us; or that God 
 hath annexed anj' such effect to that alone : but that 
 He will accompany the action with his blessing, pro- 
 vided it be done as it ought ; with those qualifications 
 which He requires. And therefore, unless we fulfil the 
 condition, we must not expect the benefit. 
 
 Further; calling the sacraments means of grace, doth 
 not signify them to be means by which we merit grace : 
 for nothing but the sufferings of our blessed Sa\-iour 
 can do that for us ; but means, by which what He hath 
 merited is conveyed to us. 
 
 Nor yet are the\' the only means of conveying grace : 
 for reading, and hearing, and meditating upon the word 
 of God, are part of the things which He hath appointed 
 for this end : and jjrayer is another part, accompanied 
 with an express promise, that, if we "ask, we shall re- 
 ceive," John xvi. 24. But these, not being such actions 
 as figure out, and represent, the benefits which they 
 derive to us, though they are means of grace, are not 
 signs of it ; and therefore do not come under the 
 notion of sacraments. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' — and a pledge to assure us thereof^ But, 5. A 
 sacrament is not only a sign or representation of some 
 heavenly favour, and a means whereby we receive it, 
 but also " a pledge to assure us thereof." Not that 
 any thing can gi\'e us a greater assurance, in point of 
 reason, of any blessing from God, than his bare 
 promise can do : but that such observances, appointed 
 in token of his promises, affect our imaginations with a 
 stronger sense of them; and make a deeper and more 
 lasting, and therefore more useful, impression on our 
 minds. For this cause, in all nations of the world, 
 representations by action have ever been used, as well 
 as words, upon solemn occasions : especially upon 
 entering into and renewing treaties and covenants with 
 each other. And therefore, in condescension to a prac- 
 tice, which being so universal among men, appears to be 
 founded in the nature of man ; God hath graciously 
 added to his covenant also the solemnity of certain 
 outward instructive performances; by which He de- 
 clares to us, that as surely as our bodies arc washed by 
 water, and nourished Iiy bread broken and wine poured 
 forth and received ; so surely are our so\ds purified from 
 sin l)y the l)ai)tism of repentance ; and strengthened in 
 all goodness, l)y partaking of that mercy, which the 
 wounding of the body of Christ, and the shedding of 
 his blood, hath obtained for us. And thus these re- 
 ligious actions, so far as they are performed by God's 
 minister, in jjursuance of liis appointment, arc an 
 earnest or jiledge on his part, which was one ancient 
 signification of the word sacrament : and so far as we 
 join in them, they are an obligation, Ijinding like an 
 oath, on our jiart : which was the other iirimitive 
 meaning of the word. /)/;/). Seeker. 
 
 ' What is the outward visible siijn or form in Baptism .^] 
 Baptism is tlie sacrament of our new and spiritual birth, 
 John iii. 4, 5 ; the seal of our adoption, Rom. iv. 1 1 ; 
 and tlie solemn means of our admission into the com- 
 munion of tlic ("liristian church. Acts ii. 41. By the 
 outward washing whereof, our inward washing from 
 our sins by tlie blood and Spirit of (-'hrist is both 
 clearly exhibited, and ccrtainlv sealed to us, Acts ii. 
 38, 39; Tit. iii. 5. Compare I'lcb. ix. 1.'), 14. 
 
 Ansic. Water; wherein the per- Acts x. 47. 
 son is baptized ' In the Name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Hohj Ghosf^. 
 
 The necessaiy parts of this sacrament are water and 
 the word : the one to represent our spiritual washing 
 and cleansing by the blood of Christ ; the other to de- 
 clare the faith, into which we are baptized, and by 
 which we hope to be saved; namely, of God "the Fa- 
 ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." Abp. Wake. 
 
 ' Water ; wherein the person is baptized^ The element 
 of water is a part of this sacrament, of divine institution; 
 and was designed to signify our spiritual cleansing by 
 Christ's blood : that, as our bodies are washed with, 
 and cleansed from their pollution by, water ; so are 
 our souls purified from sin by the blood of Christ. And 
 for both these reasons it is a necessary and immutable 
 part of this holy sacrament, .ihp. Wake. 
 
 Baptism being intended for the sign and means of 
 our ])urification from sin ; water, the proper element for 
 purifying and cleansing, is appointed to be used in it. 
 There is indeed a sect, sprung up amongst us within a 
 little more than an hundred years, that deny this ap- 
 pointment; and make the Christian baptism signify 
 only the pouring out of the gift of the Holy Ghost 
 upon a person. But our Saviour expressly requires that 
 we be "born of water," as well as "of the Spirit," to 
 "enter into the kingdom of God," John iii. 5. And 
 not only John, his forerunner, " baptized with water," 
 Matt. iii. 1 1 ; but his " disciples" also, by his direction, 
 "baptized" in the same manner, even "more than 
 John," John iv. 1, 2. When therefore He bad them 
 afterwards " teach all nations, bajitizing them," Matt, 
 xxviii. 19; what baptism could they understand, but 
 that, in which He had employed them before ? And 
 accordingly, we find, they did understand that. Philip, 
 we read, baptized the Samai-itans, Acts viii. 1 2 : not 
 with the Holy Ghost, for the apostles went down some 
 time after to do that themselves, verse 14, &c. ; but 
 with water undoubtedly, as we find, in the same chapter, 
 he did the eunuch : where the words are, " Here is 
 water : «liat doth hinder me to be bajitized ? And 
 they went down to the water : and he baptized him," 
 verse 36. 3S. Again, after Cornelius, anil his friends, 
 had received the Holy Ghost, and so were already bap- 
 tized in that sense, Peter asks, " ("an any man forbid 
 water, that these shoulil not be baptized, which have 
 received the Holy Ghost as well as wc?" Acts x. 4 7. 
 When therefore John says, that "he baptized with 
 water, but (Christ should baptize with the Holy (ihost," 
 Matt. iii. 1 1 : he means, not that Christians sliould not 
 be bajitized with water, but that they should have the 
 Holy (ihost poured out upon them also, in a degree 
 that Jolin's disciples had not. When St. Peter says, 
 " The ba])tisni, which saveth us, is not the putting away 
 of the filth of the flesh," 1 Pet. iii. 21 ; he means, it is 
 not the mere outward act, unaccompanied by a suitable 
 inward disposition. When St. Paul says, that " Clirist 
 sent him not to liajitize, but to ]iiTacli the (iospel." 
 1 Cor. i. 17; he means, that iircaching was the princi- 
 pal thing he was to do in person : to baptize, he might 
 appoint others under him ; and it seems, commonly 
 dill : as St. Peter did not baptize Cornelius and his 
 friends himself, but " commanded tlicm to be baptized," 
 .\cts X. 4S : and we read in .St John, that " Jesus bap- 
 tized not, but his disciples," John iv. 2. 
 
 Water-biiptisui tlicreforc is appointed. And whythe 
 Cliunli of Home sliould not think water sulliciciit in 
 bajitism, liut aim at mending what oiu" Saviour hath
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 379 
 
 Rom. vi. 
 
 3—15. 
 Eph. ii. a. 
 Tit. iii. 5. 
 
 Quest. Wliat is tlie inward and 
 spiritual grace ? 
 
 Ans)L\ A deatii unto sin", and a 
 new birth unto riglitcousness : for 
 being by nature born in sin^, and 
 
 directed, by mi.\ing oil and balsam mth it, and dipping 
 a lighted torch into it, I leave them to explain. Abp. 
 Seeker, 
 
 " — In the Nimie qf the Father, and nf the Son, and nf 
 the Holy Ghost.'] Washing with water is not the whole 
 outward part of this sacrament. Kor our Saviour com- 
 manded his a|)ostles, not only to " baptize all nations," 
 but to " baptize them in the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," Matt, .x.tviii. 19. 
 Sometimes indeed the Scripture speaks of bajrtism, as if 
 it were administered only " in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus," Acts ii. 38 ; x. 48 ; xix. 5. But it fully appears, 
 Acts xix. 2, 3, that the name of the Holy Ghost was 
 used at the same time : and therefore that of the Fa- 
 ther, we may be sure. Now being baptized " in the 
 name" of these three, may signify being baptized by 
 virtue of their authority. But the exacter translation 
 is, " into the name :" and the fuller import of the ex- 
 pression is, by this solemn action taking upon us their 
 name ; (for servants are known by the name of their 
 master;) and ])rofessing ourselves devoted to the faith, 
 and worship, and obedience of these three ; our Crea- 
 tor, our Redeemer, our Sanctifier. In this profession 
 the whole of Christianity is brietly comprehended : and 
 on this foundation therefore the ancient creeds are all 
 built. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 This form of baptism is necessary to the administra- 
 tion of this sacrament : nor can it be duly administered 
 by any other. Abp. Wake. 
 
 ' A death unto sin, &c.] By dying unto sin, which is 
 the great benefit conferred by baptism, in Scripture 
 language is understood, that baptism does free us from 
 the guilt and punishment of sin, and confers good dis- 
 positions and tendencies to live better for the future. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The phrase refers to the old custom of " baptizing" by 
 dipping: though the precise manner, in which water 
 shall be ajiplied in baptism. Scripture hath not deter- 
 mined. For the word, " baptize," means only to wash : 
 whether that be done by ])lunging a thing under water, 
 or pouring the water upon it. The former of these, 
 burying, as it were, the person haptized, in the water, 
 and raising him out of it again, \vithout question was 
 anciently the more usual method ; on account of which, 
 St. Paul speaks of baptism, as representing both the 
 death, and burial, and resurrection of Christ, and what 
 is gi'ounded on them, our being " dead and buried to 
 sin ;" renouncing it, and being acquitted of it ; and our 
 rising again, to "walk in newness of life," Rom. vi. 
 4. 11 ; Col. ii. 12 ; being both obliged and enabled to 
 practise, for the future, e\'ery duty of jiicty and virtue. 
 But still the other manner of washing, by the pouring or 
 sprinkling of water, sufficiently expresses the same two 
 things ; our being by this ordinance purified from the 
 guilt of sin, and bound and qualified to keep ourselves 
 pure from the defilement of it. Besides, it very natu- 
 rally represents that " sprinkling of the blood of Jesus 
 Christ," 1 Pet. i. 2 ; to which our salvation is owing. 
 And the use of it seems not only to be foretold by the 
 prophet Isaiah, speaking of our Saviour, " He shall 
 sprinkle many nations," Isa. Iii. 15; that is, many shall 
 receive his baptism ; and by the prophet Ezekiel, " Then 
 will I s]irinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be 
 clean," Ezek. x.x.xvi. 25 : but to be had in view also by 
 
 the cliiklren of wrath, we are liereby 
 made the eiiihlreii of grace. 
 
 Quest. Wliat is required of j)er- 
 sons to be baptized == ? ..••,„ 
 
 Answ. llepentance, whereby they viii. 36, 37. 
 
 the apostle, where he speaks of " having our hearts 
 sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies 
 washed with ])ure water," Heb. x. 22. And though it 
 was less frequently used in the first ages, it mustalmo.st 
 of necessity have been sometimes used : for instance, 
 when ba])tism was administered, as we read in the Acts 
 it was, to several thousands at once, Acts ii. 41 ; when 
 it was administered on a sudden in ])rivate houses, as 
 we find it, in the same book, to the gaoler and all his 
 family, the very night in which they were converted. 
 Acts xvi. 33 ; or when sick persons received it ; in 
 which last case, the [iresent method was always taken, 
 because the other, of dipi)ing them, might have been 
 dangerous. And from the same apprehension of dan- 
 ger in these colder countries, pouring the water is 
 allowed, even when the person baptized is in health. 
 And the particular manner being left at liberty, that is 
 now universally chosen, which is looked on as safer : 
 because were there more to be said for the other, than 
 there is ; God " will have mercy, and not sacrifice," 
 Hos. vi. 0; Matt. ix. 13; xii. 7. Abp. Sicker. 
 
 ^ — for being by nnlure born in sin, &c.] All men are 
 by nature born in sin, ever since that by the transgres- 
 sion of our first parents sin entered into the world, Ps. 
 Ii. 5 ; Rom. v. 12 ; nor was ever any exempt from this 
 unhappy state, hut He only, who knew no sin, the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. And, being "born in sin," all men must 
 of necessity be also "children of wriith," E])h. ii. 3: 
 seeing all sin is both hateful to God and worthy of 
 punishment. But those who are ba])tized are thereby 
 made " children of grace," as by baptism they are taken 
 into covenant with God ; are regenerated by the Holy 
 Spirit; are sanctified and cleansed from their sins by 
 the blood of Christ ; are intitled to God's favour ; and 
 made heirs of his heavenly kingdom : so that should 
 they die before they commit any actual sin, we are 
 assured by God's word, that they shall certainly 
 be saved. Mark xvi. 16; Acts ii. 38, 39; xxii. 17; 
 Gal. iii. 27 ; Eph. ii. 4, 5 ; v. 2G ; Tit. iii. 5 ; 1 Pet. 
 iii. 21. 
 
 But, though all persons are by baptism put into a 
 state of salvation, and become children of grace ; those 
 only continue in this state, and hold fast their right to 
 those benefits, who take care to live according to the 
 Gospel of Christ ; and to fulfil those promises, which 
 either themselves made, or which were by others made 
 in their name, and on their behalf, at their baptism. 
 Abp. IVake. By being " made children of grace" we 
 understand that by baptism, as an initiatory rite, we 
 enter into covenant with God ; are members of Christ's 
 mystical body, the Church ; are partakers of all his 
 gracious promises ; and also do thereby receive suffi- 
 cient strength to enable us to perform the precepts of 
 the Gospel. For, 1. this is the federal rite, by which 
 we are initiated into the Christian body or society, Rom. 
 vi. 3 ; Matt, xxviii. 19 ; and by which, from strangers 
 and aliens to God, we become members of the family of 
 Christ, Eph. i. 22, 23 ; v. 23 ; and enter into the com- 
 munion of the saints, Heb. xii. 22, 23. Hereby we are 
 freed from the empire of the de\'il and the society of 
 wicked men ; we are listed under Christ's banner, and 
 are made denizens of his kingdom ; are fellow-subjects 
 with all the great apostles and glorious martyrs in 
 Christ's kingdom ; and have a title to all his glorious
 
 330 
 
 A CATECHISM, 
 
 forsake sin"; and Faith, whereby 
 thev stedfostly believe'' the promises 
 of God made to them in that Sacra- 
 ment. 
 
 Q^m'tt. \A"hy then are Infants bap- 
 tized"^, when by reason of their ten- 
 der age they cannot perform 
 them ? 
 
 promises, Mark xvi: 16, if we square our lives according 
 to his laws. Secondly, by baptism we have sufficient 
 strength afforded us, to practise the ndes of the Gos- 
 pel, by the grace of God's Holy Spirit then conveyed 
 unto us, working in us. This is clear from many pas- 
 sages of Scripture, such as Johniii. 0; Tit. iii. 5; Rom. 
 vi. 6, 7. By all which it is plain, that by baptism we 
 do receive the advantage and assistance of God's Holy 
 Spirit, to enable us to encounter all the wiles and malice 
 of the devd, and the temptations of the world ; and 
 have courage afforded us manfully to discharge our 
 duty, whatever difficulties and dangers beset us in the 
 performance of it. Dr. Nicholts. 
 
 'What is required of persons to be baptized?'] The 
 mere outward act of being baptized is, as St. Peter, in 
 the words already mentioned, very truly expresses it, 
 the mere " putting away of the filth of the flesh ;" unless 
 it be made effectual to save us, as he teaches in the same 
 place it must, by " the answer of a good conscience 
 towards God," 1 Pet. iii. 21 ; that is, by the sincere sti- 
 pulation and engagement of " repentance, whereby we 
 forsake sin ; and faith, whereby we believe the promises 
 of God made to us in that sacrament." For it is impos- 
 sible that He should forgive us our past sins, unless we 
 are sorry for them, and resolved to quit them : and it is 
 as impossible that we should quit them effectually, un- 
 less a firm persuasion of his helping and rewarding us 
 excite and support our endeavours. These two things 
 therefore we see our Catechism justly mentions as ne- 
 cessary in answer to the question, " What is required of 
 persons to be baptized ?" Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' Repentance whereby they forsake sin ;] The first 
 qualification for baptism is repentance. For every per- 
 son, in order to be baptized, must engage to forsake 
 every known sin, howe\er near and dear to him, Acts 
 ii. 3S. 41 ; James ii. 10 : to suffer no vicious hal)it to 
 remain within him, Rom. vi. 6 ; or any thing else that 
 is contrary to the commands of the blessed Lord, whose 
 religion he doth tliun solennily espouse, resolving 
 wholly to give himself up to his directions. Dr. 
 Nicholts. 
 
 •' — aiid Faith, whereby they sicdfastly believe &c.] The 
 second qualification is faitli ; and that is to liolieve all 
 that God has expressly revealed to us by liis holy word. 
 Acts viii. 3". And upon this account it is, that the 
 Church has all along required of jicrsons to be baptized, 
 to give an assent to all the articles of the Clu-istian 
 faith, by repeating the Creed at the time of their bap- 
 tism. Dr. Nirhrdls. 
 
 " iVhy then are Infants baptized, &c.] 'llierc is an 
 objection against faith and re])entance being (pialifica- 
 tionsfor bajjtism : for we allow cliildren to be baptized, 
 and yet it is very plain, tliat they ncitlier beheve nor 
 repent. To this we answer, that tlie sureties of the 
 children promise, that they shall discharge both these 
 duties, wlicn they come to a competent age. .And this 
 they are obliged to, though they do not actually consent 
 to their sureties' ]iromise ; whicli, as a beneficial act, 
 liinds them, as the acts of a guardian fi>r the good of 
 his ward bind such an oriihati. .\nd, by being brought 
 into the Christian covenant by this stipulation of their 
 
 Answ. Because they promise them 
 botli by their Sureties; which pro- 
 mise, when they come to age, them- 
 selves are l)ouiid to perform. 
 
 Quest. Why was the Sacrament 
 of the Lord's Supper ordained''? 
 
 Aiisto. For the continual remem- icor. xi. 26. 
 brance of the sacrifice ■= of the death J-'*=^='''- 
 
 sureties, they are as much obliged to the performance 
 of the articles of it, as the Jewish children, who were 
 admitted by circumcision into the Mosaical covenant 
 at eight days old, Deut. xix. 10 — 12; Gen. xvii. 12, 
 were tied up to perform the precepts of that law. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 We are not to consider what we think best, but what 
 God has directed us to do. Now God expressly ordered 
 the children of the Jews to be admitted into covenant 
 with him at eight days old. Gen. xvii. 12, 13; Deut. 
 xxix. 10 — 12. Into the place of circumcision baptism 
 has succeeded, Col. ii. 11, 12; as the Gospel has into 
 the place of the law. There is therefore the same rea- 
 son, why our children should from the beginning be 
 admitted into the Christian, as why the Jews' children 
 should ha\'e been entered into the legal covenant. 
 God has made no exception in this particular : our 
 infants ai-e as capable of covenanting as theirs were : 
 and, if God thought fit to receive them into the legal 
 covenant, and did not account the incapacit)-, which 
 their age put them imder, any bar to hinder them from 
 circumcision ; neither ought we to think the same de- 
 fect any suflicient obstacle, to keep our infants from 
 being baptized, and admitted thereby into that of the 
 Gospel. Abp. tVake. 
 
 ■' Why was the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper or- 
 dained!''] As by the sacrament of baptism we enter 
 into the Christian covenant, so by that of the Lord's 
 Supper we profess our thankful continuance in it : and 
 therefore the fii-st answer of oiu' Catechism concerning 
 this ordinance tells us, that it was appointed " for the 
 continual remembrance of the sacrifice of the death of 
 Clirist. and of the benefits which we receive thereby." 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 it is called the Lord's Supper, because it was both 
 instituted by our Lord at supper, and was designed to 
 succeed into the place of the paschal supjjer of the 
 Jews. Matt. xxvi. 2(), &c. ; Mai'k xvi. 22 ; 1 Cor. xi. 
 23—25, &c. Abp. Wake. 
 
 ' For the continual remembrance of the sacrifice &c.] 
 Tlie design of our Saviour in this institution was to 
 leave to his church a pcr|)etual, solemn, and sacred 
 memorial of his death for us : that as often as we come 
 to the Lord's table, and there join in the celebiation of 
 this holy sacrament, we might be moved by what is 
 there done, at once both to call to our remembrance 
 all the iiassagcs of his passion, to consider Him as there 
 set fortli crucified before our eyes ; and to meditate upon 
 the love of Christ thus dying for us, and ujKm the 
 mighty l)encfits and advantages, which have accrued 
 to us thereby; and to have our hearts affected after a 
 suitable manner towards Him. Abp. Wake. 
 
 It is said to be " for a continual remembrance," be- 
 cause it is a remembrance, which is not to determine 
 after a certain time, as that of the paschal sup|)er did ; 
 but is to continue to be kept uj) by this holy sacrament, 
 to the very end of the world. J Cor. xi. 20; compare 
 Acts i. 1 1 ; John xiv. 3. 
 
 By this expression it is also intimated, that this sacra- 
 ment ought not to be celebrated only once in the J'car, 
 as the passover was; but to be administered from time
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 Oftl 
 
 Matt 
 20—28 
 
 of Clirlst*^, .and of the benefits wliich 
 we receive tlioreby. 
 
 Quest. What is the outward jiart 
 or sign of tlie Lord's Sii|)|)er? 
 
 Aiisw. Bread and WineR, whicli 
 the Loril hath commatiilcd to he 
 receivech 
 
 Quest. What is the inward part, 
 or tiling siifnified ? 
 
 to time, so as to keep up a constant lively remembrance 
 in our minds of the sacrifice of the death of Christ. 
 Abp. Wake. 
 
 ' — of the sacrifice of the death of Christ, &c.] The 
 death of Christ is called a " sacrifice," because Christ, 
 by his dying, became an expiatory sacrifice for the sins 
 of mankind: lieb. ix. 12. 24. 2S ; .v. 10; 1 Pet. ii. 21. 
 24; iii. IS: Christ having taken upon Him our sins, 
 and died for them ; that by his death we might be 
 freed, both from the guilt, and punishment of them. 
 Rom. iv. 25; v. 20; viii. 32; 2 Cor. v. 21; Col. i. 
 21, 22. Abp. JVake. 
 
 B Bread and Wine, &c.] Christ instituted this sacra- 
 ment in both these: He first took bread, &c. ; and then, 
 after the same manner, He took the cup, &c. : see 
 1 Cor. .\i. 23—25. And for what end He appointed 
 these outward signs of this sacrament, the words of his 
 institution plainly shew; namely, that those, who cele- 
 brate this sacrament, might eat of the one, and drink 
 of the other, at his table. So that it is necessary, that 
 every communicant should receive this sacrament in 
 both kinds, because our Saviour has so appointed it. 
 Thus He gave it to his disciples, and thus they received 
 it at his hands, 1 Cor. xi. 27 — 29. And it is certain 
 that the apostles gave the cup to the lay communicants 
 in their churches : or else St. Paul would never have 
 argued with the Corinthians against communicating 
 with idolaters, as he does, 1 Cor. x. 1 5, &c. : nor have 
 spoken of this sacrament, as he does in the next chap- 
 ter, ver. 20 — 29. In every one of which he takes 
 notice of their drinking of the sacramental cup, as well 
 as of their eating of the sacramental bread. Abp. 
 Wake. 
 
 '■ The Body and Blood of Christ, &c.] That, which is 
 given by the priest in this sacrament, is, as to its sub- 
 stance, bread and wine ; as to its sacramental natiu-e 
 and signification, it is the figure or representation of 
 Christ's body and blood, which was broken and shed 
 for us. The very body and blood of Christ, as yet, it 
 is not. But, being with faith and piety received by the 
 communicant, it becomes to him by the blessing of 
 God, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, the very body 
 and blood of Christ ; as it entitles him to a part in the 
 sacrifice of his death, and to the benefits thereby pro- 
 cured to all his faithful and obedient servants. Abp. 
 Wake. 
 
 ' — which are verihj and indeed taken &c.] These words 
 are intended to shew, that our Church as truly believes 
 the strongest assertions of Scripture concerning this 
 sacrament, as the church of Rome doth ; only takes 
 more care to understand them in the right meaning : 
 which is, that, though in one sense, all communicants 
 equally partake of what Christ calls his body and 
 blood, that is, the outward signs of them ; yet in a 
 much more important sense, " the faithful" only, the 
 pious and virtuous receiver, eats liis tlesh and drinks his 
 blood ; shares in the life and strength derived to men 
 from his incarnation and death ; and through faith in 
 Him, becomes, by a vital union, one with Him ; " a 
 
 Ansiv. Tiie Body and Blood of 
 C'hrist'', wliich are verily and indeed i cor. x. lo. 
 taken' and received hy the faitiiful in 
 tlie Lord's Supper. 
 
 Quest. What are the benefits 
 wliereof we are partakers tiiere- 
 by? 
 
 Answ. The strengthening and re- joim vi. 56. 
 freshing of our souls'' by the Body 
 
 member," as St. Paul expresses it, "of his flesh and of 
 his bones," Eph. v. 30; certainly not in a literal sense, 
 which yet the Romanists might as well assert, as that 
 we eat his flesh in a literal sense; but in a figurative 
 and spiritual one. In appearance, the sacrament of 
 Christ's death is given to all alike: but "verily and 
 indeed," in its beneficial effects, to none besides the 
 faithful. Even to the unworthy communicant he is 
 present, as He is wherever we meet together in his 
 name : but in a better and most gracious sense, to the 
 worthy soul; becoming by the inward virtue of his 
 Spirit, its food and sustenance. 
 
 This real jjresence of Christ in the sacrament, his 
 church hath always believed. But the monstrous 
 notion of his bodily presence was started 700 years 
 after his death : ancl arose chiefly from the indiscretion 
 of preachers and writers of warm imaginations, who, 
 instead of explaining judiciously the lofty figures of 
 Scripture-language, heightened them, and went beyond 
 them : till both it and they had their meaning mistaken 
 most astonishingly. And when once an opinion had 
 taken root, that seemed to exalt the holy sacrament so 
 much, it easily grew and spread; and the more for its 
 wonderful absurdity, in those ignorant and superstitious 
 ages : till at length 500 years, ago, and 1200 years after 
 our Saviour's birth, it was estabhshed for a Gospel- 
 truth by the pretended authority of the Romish church. 
 And even this had been tolerable in comparison, if they 
 had not added idolatrous practice to erroneous belief: 
 worshipjjing, on their knees, a bit of bread for the Son 
 of God. Nor are they content to do this themselves, 
 but with most unchristian cruelty, curse and murder 
 those, who refuse it. 
 
 It is true, we also kneel at the sacrament as they do : 
 but for a very different purpose : not to acknowledge 
 " any corporal presence of Christ's natural flesh and 
 blood ;" as our Church, to prevent all possibility of 
 misconstruction, expressly declares : adding, that " his 
 body is in heaven, and not here:" but to worship Him, 
 who is every where present, the invisible God. And 
 this posture of kneeling we by no means look upon, as 
 in itself necessary : but as a very becoming appoint- 
 ment : and very fit to accompany the ])rayers and 
 praises, which we offer up at the instant of receiving ; 
 and to express that inward spirit of ])iety and humility, 
 on which our partaking worthily of this ordinance, and 
 receiving benefit from it, depend. Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 '' The strengthening and refreshing of our souls &c.] 
 By nourishing our faith, and assurance that our sins 
 are remitted ; by giving us increase of grace to lead 
 a godly hfe ; and by conih-ming our hope, that we 
 shall hereafter come to hfe eternal : which are all the 
 true food of our souls, and without which they are 
 dead, having no true spiritual life in them at all. Bp. 
 Cosin. 
 
 The receiving of this holy sacrament strengthens our 
 souls, as it adds a new confirmation to us, every time 
 we receive it, of God's mercy towards us, through the 
 sacrifice of Jesus Christ; and thereby fortifies and
 
 382 
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 I Cor. xi. 28. 
 Lam. Hi. 40. 
 Ps. xxvi. 6. 
 M^tt. xxii. 
 
 and Blood of Clirist, as our bodies 
 are by tlie Bread and Wine. 
 
 Quest. What is required of tbem 
 wlio come to the Lord's Supper'? 
 
 Ansic. To examine themselves™, 
 whether they repent them truly of 
 
 corroborates us more and more, both in the discharge 
 of our duty ; and in the resistance of all such temj^ta- 
 tions, as may be likely to draw us away from it. 
 
 Besides %vhieh, being thus secured of a part in Christ's 
 sacrifice for us, we are thereby fortified against all doubts 
 and fears of our salvation : are confirmed against the 
 apprehension of anj' present dangers, or sufferings, for 
 righteousness' sake, which we shall " reckon not worthy 
 to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in 
 us :" and finally are strengthened against the fear of 
 death itself, which we are hereby taught to look upon 
 as a passage only to a most blessed and everlasting life. 
 Abp. Wake. 
 
 ' What is required of them irho come to the Lord's 
 Supper ^~\ What qualifications and dispositions are re- 
 quired of them who come to the Lord's Supper, the 
 Scripture hath not particularly expressed : for they are 
 easily collected from the nature of this ordinance. But 
 our' Catechism, in its fifth and last answer concerning 
 it, hath reduced them veiy justly to three : repentance, 
 faith, and charity. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Under these three heads the principal subjects of our 
 examination are comprehended. But as to any par- 
 ticular method to be taken, or time to be spent in it, or 
 in any other further preparation subsequent to it, we have 
 no command : it is left to every one's prudence and 
 voluntary piety. They who live in a constant practice 
 of religion and virtue, are always fit for the sacrament ; 
 and may, if the call be sudden, by reflecting for a few 
 moments, sufficiently know that they are fit. Persons 
 who live in any sin, may as easily and quickly know 
 that they are not. And it is only in doubtful cases, 
 that any length of consideration is necessary to satisfy 
 us about this matter. But it must be extremely useful 
 for all persons, not only to be attentive to their ways 
 constantly, but to look back upon them frequently ; 
 nmch more frequently than almost any one recei\-es 
 thc' sacrament. And as things, which have no certain 
 season fixed for them, are very apt to be neglected ; 
 we should fix upon this, as one certain season for as 
 particular an ins]>ection into the state of our hearts and 
 lives as we can well make, and can hope to be the better 
 for ; joining with it suitable meditations, resolutions, and 
 devotions. But ihen in the whole of this work we must 
 be careful, neither to hurry over any part thoughtlessly, 
 or lengthen it wearisomely. And in our examination we 
 must be esiieciuUy careful, neither to flatter nor yet to 
 idlright ourselves : but observe imjiartially what is 
 right in us, thanlc God, and take tlie comfort of it; 
 acknowledge what is wrong, beg jjardon, and amend it. 
 l''or, without amendment, being ever so sorry will avail 
 nothing. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 " Tu examine Ihem.'sehes, hc.~\ 'lliis examination must 
 be performed by a careful and diligent search into our 
 lives and actions ; so that we may, if possible, know 
 the true state of our souls in all tliose jjarticulars, con- 
 cerning which we are here directed to examine ourselves. 
 And this accompanied with earnest jjrayer to (iod, for 
 liis assistance in, and blessing upon, our endeavours. 
 Abp. Wake. 
 
 " — whether they repent them — « new /t/e.] Of this we 
 can only judge by tlu' present frame and (lis|)osition of 
 our souJs. if wc ore heartily sorry for and ashamed of 
 
 their former sins, stedfastly purposing i cor. v. s. 
 to lead a new life", have a lively Heb. x. 21. 
 faith" in God's mercy through Christ, 
 with a thankful remembrance p of his 
 death ; and be in charity with all Matt v. 21. 
 men"*. cai. vi. 10. 
 
 our sins : if we earnestly desire God's forgiveness of 
 them : if we are instant with God in our prayers for 
 pardon ; and, where we ha\'e done any injury to our 
 neighbour, are ready to ask his forgiveness also, and to 
 make all reasonable satisfaction to Him : if, lastly, as 
 far as we can judge of ourselves, we do all this uprightly 
 and sincerely ; if we reserve no secret affection for any 
 sin in our souls, but universally resolve to forsake all 
 our evil ways, and in every thing to follow the rules of 
 our duty ; we may then justly conclude, that our re- 
 pentance and resolutions are hearty and without deceit ; 
 and, as such, «ill qualify us for the worthy receiving of 
 this holy sacrament. Abp. JVake. 
 
 " — have a lively faith &c.] This is the second head 
 of examination, namely, "whether we have a lively faith 
 in God's mercy through Christ :" that is, do stedfastly 
 believe, that, if we truly repent us of our sins, God will 
 not only most certainly forgive them ; but, as an earnest 
 of it, does here, in this very sacrament, ratify and seal 
 anew his covenant with us ; and make us partakers of 
 the benefit of that redemption, which our blessed Sa- 
 viour purchased for us by the sacrifice of his own body 
 and blood. And this faith is called " a lively faitli," to 
 shew, that our faith is then only acceptable unto God, 
 and profitable to our salvation, when it is lively and 
 active ; and works in us such a sincere repentance of our 
 past sins, and such a constant and uniform obedience 
 to God's commandments, as our Saviour in his Gospel 
 requires of us. For otherwise to know, and assent to, 
 the truths of our religion, without living agreeably 
 thereunto, will carry us no farther than the worst of 
 men may go, and even the de\ils themselves, as St. 
 James says, do go. James ii. 1!). Abp. l]'ake. 
 
 The rule of judging, both in the Catechism and the 
 Scripture, is not by the positi\Tness, but the liveliness, 
 of oin- faith ; that is, the fruits of a Christian life, which 
 it produeeth : for "faith without works is dead," James 
 ii. 17. If we cannot shew the evidence of tliese, the 
 highest confidence «-ill do us no good : and, if we can, 
 we need have no doubts concerning our spiritual con- 
 dition ; and though «'e have ever so many, pro\ided we 
 perceive no sufilcient reason for them, wc may celebrate 
 this holy ordinance very safely. For such weaknesses 
 in om' natural temper aiul s|iirits are no way incon- 
 sistent with having, in our fixed aiul deliberate judg- 
 ment, that " fidl trust in God's mercy," which the 
 (Communion-service requires : and we cannot take a 
 more likely method, either to i>erfect our repentance or 
 to strengthen our faith, than receiving the Sacrament 
 freiiuently. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 P — tcith a thankful rttnembratice &c.] I'arlher ; this 
 faith is to be accompanied " with a thankful remem- 
 brance of Christ's death," which iu the holy communion 
 is designed to be set forth and shewn to us. We are to 
 examine ourselves therefore, whether we are truly sen- 
 sible of the infinite love of (ind, and condescension of 
 Jesus Christ, thereby declared to us: whether we are 
 always careful to keejiup in oiu- minds a lively memory 
 of his death and passion ; ami do, liy the sincerity of our 
 love to God, and the zeal we have for our duty, endea- 
 vour iu some measiu'e to testify, how hearty a sense we 
 have of (hose luispeakable mercies, which lie has been 
 pleased thereby to favour us withal. Abji. Hake.
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 383 
 
 % The Curate of every Parish ' shall (Ull(jcidh/ upon Sundai/s and Ilnly-daijs, 
 after the second Lesson at Eveniiuj I'raijer, ojieidij hi the Cliurcli instruct and 
 
 Our Catechism teaches us, that our faitli in Christ 
 must he accompanied " with a thanl^f'ul rcmemhrance 
 of his death." And surely, if we helieve, that He died 
 to save us, we must he thankfid for it. Hut then tlie 
 measure of our thanl<fulness must he taken from the 
 goodness and constancy of its effects, not from that 
 sensiljle warmth and fervency, which we cannot, ordi- 
 narily speaking, feel so strongly in spiritual things as 
 in temporal ; and of which had persons may at times 
 have very much, and good persons little. For that is 
 the true thankfulness, which produces love. And " this 
 is the love of God, that we keep his commandments," 
 1 John V. 3. 
 
 But there is one commandment pecuharly connected 
 with this ordinance. And therefore our Catechism 
 specifies it separately, and in express terms, hy re- 
 quiring, that we " he in charity with all men." Abji. 
 Seeker. 
 
 1 — and he in charity wit/i all mfn.] This is the last 
 thing, concerning which we are to examine ourselves ; 
 namely, whether we do not only freely forgive whatso- 
 ever injuries any may chance to have done us ; hut are 
 so intirely friends with them, as to be ready to do them 
 all the kindness we can ; and that as sincerely, and 
 heartily^ as if they had never offended us, or otherwise 
 done us the least injury. Abp. IValce. 
 
 We can have no share in the love of our Creator, our 
 Redeemer, and Sanctifier, unless, in imitation of it, we 
 love one another : and, as the goodness of God is uni- 
 versal, so must oiu's be. Receiving the Holy Commu- 
 nion was indeed intended to increase the degree of it : 
 but the reality we must have, before we are worthy to 
 receive. And we must shew it is real, by " forgiving 
 them who trespass against us ;" hy assisting, as far as 
 can be reasonably exjjected, those who need assistance 
 in any kind ; hy our hearty prayers for those, whom we 
 can hel]) no other way; by faithfully jierforming the 
 duties of our several stations and relations in life; and 
 by condescension, mildness, and humanity towards 
 every person, as occasion offers. 
 
 These then being the dispositions requisite for re- 
 ceiving the Holy Sacrament, as indeed they are for 
 obtaining eternal happiness : we are all greatly con- 
 cerned to examine ourselves, whether we have them or 
 not : and should have been concerned to do it, though 
 this ordinance had never been appointed. But we are 
 now more especially Ijound to it with a view to this 
 ordinance ; both from the nature of it, and from St. 
 Paul's positive injunction : " Let a man examine him- 
 self, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that 
 cup," 1 Cor. xi. 2S. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' Tlie Curate of every Parish &c.] Our first book re- 
 quired the curate once in six weeks at least, on some 
 Sunday or holy-day, to instruct such children as should 
 be sent to him, half an hour before even-song, in some 
 part of the Church Catechism. Bucer objected that the 
 interval of six weeks was too long : in Germany he re- 
 marked many churches exercised the children in the 
 Catechism three days in a week, of which Sunday was 
 one; and he reconnnended that in England it shoidd 
 be taught on every Simday and holy-day. Accordingly 
 the ruhrick in Edward's second book was modelled, as 
 it stands at present, excepting only that the time of 
 catechizing was, at the last review, appointed to be 
 after the second lesson at Evening prayer, instead of 
 half an hour before. 
 
 Bishop Cosin has observed, that the rubriek is 
 couched in indefinite terms, and he is of opinion that a 
 
 parochial clergyman is not obliged hy it to catechize 
 the children on every Sunday and holy-day, but only 
 as often as is necessary, according to the nuinbcT of his 
 parishioners, who may stand in need of catechetical in- 
 struction. And this is one of the rubricks, which, 
 according to Archdeacon Shar]), require to be under- 
 stood with limitations, or at least «ill fairly admit of 
 them. " No obligation," he observes, " can be urged 
 from hence, that ministers should catechize on all Sun- 
 days and holy-days ; hut that, if they do it as often as 
 the occasions of their parishes reqvure, and do it on 
 such days and at such times as are here S])ecified, and 
 shew their diligence therein, so far as their diligence is 
 necessary in this respect to the faithful discharge of their 
 duty in the place where they ofliciate ; then they fulfil 
 both the intention and letter of the ruhrick." 
 
 The canon, however, is more explicit than the rubriek. 
 It enjoins, that " the minister, iqjon every Sunday and 
 holy-day, shall, for half an hour or more, examine and 
 instruct the youth and ignorant jiersons of his parish in 
 the Ten Commandments, the Articles of Belief, and the 
 Lord's Prayer : and shall diligently hear and teach them 
 their Catechism set forth in the Book of Common 
 Prayer." 
 
 The ruhrick of 1662, which is now to be adhered to, 
 where it differs from the canon, orders the catechizing 
 to be performed after the second lesson, that is, nearly 
 in the middle of the Evening service. One principal 
 object of the alteration was, it has been said, that 
 persons more advanced in years might, as well as the 
 youth, receive benefit from the minister's exjiosition, 
 and that servants and children might be excited by the 
 presence of their masters and parents, to pay more 
 diligent attention to his instructions. These good in- 
 tentions, however, have been generally disa])pointed, 
 and at present catechizing youth must be either too 
 frequently neglected, or many of the churches in the 
 evening will be deserted. In the early ages of Christi- 
 anity, catechizing was never performed in the church, 
 neither did it in England, till after the Restoration, in- 
 terfere with the puhlick worship. Were a separate time 
 allotted for catechizing, as was formerly done, the 
 youth would be free from the embarrassment, which 
 they experience, when called upon by the minister to 
 answer interrogatories in the midst of a numerous con- 
 gregation : and it is perhaps desirable, that the prac- 
 tice of catechizing children and servants early in the 
 afternoon, or before the Evening ser\'ice, should be 
 again revived. 
 
 After all, I conceive, that what we ha\'e to comjilain 
 of, is not so much the awkwardness of the time in some 
 particular places, as the too general neglect of the duty. 
 The early Fathers insist much upon the imjiortance and 
 necessity of catechizing : and the extreme care that was 
 taken in the primitive church to instruct the catechu- 
 mens in the principles of Christianity is generally 
 known. Its beneficial effects were as generally expe- 
 rienced. It was principally by catechizing that the 
 religion of Jesus, as Hegesippus observes, was in a few 
 years spread over the greater part of the known world : 
 and, however individuals or societies may have differed 
 in other points, on the utility and necessity of cate- 
 chizing all have agreed ; both ancients and moderns ; 
 Europeans, Asiatics, and Africans ; Greeks and Latins; 
 Papists and Protestants, Lutherans and Calvinists; 
 Church of England men and Dissenters. Luther, in 
 the beginning of the Reformation, wrote two Cate- 
 chisms. The duty, which he prescribed to others, he
 
 384 
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 examine so many Children of his Parish sent unto him, as he shall tliiiik con- 
 venient, in some part of this Catechism. 
 
 % And all Fathers, Mothers, Masters, and Dames^, shall cause their Children, 
 Serva77ts, and Apprentices, (tchich have not learned their Catechism,) to come 
 to the Church at the time appointed, and obedientli/ to hear, and be ordered btf 
 the Curate, until such time as they have learned all that is liere appointed for 
 them to learn. 
 
 % So soon as Children are come to a competent age^, and can say, in their Mother 
 Tongue, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments ; and also 
 can ansioer to the other Qjiestions of this short Catechism ; they shall be brought 
 to the Bishop. And every one shall have a Godfather, or a Godmother'^, as a 
 JVitness of their Confirmation. 
 
 H And tohensoever the Bishop shall give knowledge ^ for Children to be brought 
 unto him for their Confirmation, the Curate of every Parish^ shall either bring. 
 
 likewdse performed himself; and assures us, that cate- 
 chizing afforded him more dehght than any other 
 ministerial duty. The same care was taken hy Calvin, 
 and other eminent Reformers abroad. Nothing con- 
 tributed more to the enlargement of the Protestant 
 faith, than the diligent catechizing of the reformed 
 divines. To the truth of this the Romanists themselves 
 bear witness. In their jireface to the (.'atechism, set 
 forth by order of the council of Trent, they complain, 
 that " the age is sadly sensible what mischief they 
 (the Protestants) have done the church (of Rome) not 
 only by their tongues, but especially by those writings 
 called Catechisms." The council was sensible that 
 catechizing was the most eflScacious mode of preserving 
 their religion, and therefore they composed the Roman 
 Catechism, which they enjoined the Priests to teach to 
 the people. Shepherd. 
 
 ' And all Fathers, Mothers, Masters, and Dames, &c.] 
 The laws, which require parents, and masters and mis- 
 tresses of families, to send their children and servants 
 to be instructed in the Catechism, mean evidently, un- 
 less they make some other more convenient provision, 
 to answer the same end. Ahp. Seeker. 
 
 ' So soon as Children are come to a competent age, &c.] 
 The things, required of them who come to the Lord's 
 Supper, are mentioned at the end of the Catechism : 
 but there is another thing, not there mentioned, namely, 
 that they be first confirmed by the bishop ; it being 
 ordained by our Church, "That none shall be admitted 
 to the holy ('ommunion, until such time as he be con- 
 firmed, or bo ready, and desirous, to be confirmed." 
 Rubrick at the end of the Confirmation Office. Hy Con- 
 firmation is meant, the solemn laying on of the hands 
 of the bishop, upon such as ha\'e been baptized, and 
 are come to years of discretion. Abp. ll'ake. 
 
 What is meant by " a competent age" in this rubrick, 
 or, as the title of the office expresses it, " years of dis- 
 cretion," the Church has no where defined. Our dio- 
 cesans, I believe, generally recommend, that none under 
 full fourteen years of age at least be ])re3cnted for con- 
 firmation. Some children arrive at years of discretion 
 sooner than others. Much dp])onds upon the capacity 
 of the child, and more upon the mode of its education. 
 The Church requires, that such, as are brought to be 
 confirmed, be well instructed in the Catechism. At 
 their baptism their sponsors promised for tliem, and 
 they themselves arc now called U])on solemnly to en- 
 gage, that they will renounce all evil, believe the .Vrticles 
 of the ChrLstian faith, anil keep (iod's couunandments. 
 It is therefore indispensably requisite, that they under- 
 stand the rcasonul)lencss and propriety of tliis renunci- 
 ation, the truths of the Creed, and tlie meaning of the 
 ('oinmandmrnts, together with the use and import of 
 jirayer, and of the two sacraments. Shepherd. 
 
 What is required of persons to be confirmed is, 
 1. That they be "of years of discretion;" that is to 
 say, of a capacity to understand the nature of their 
 baptismal covenant: what God therein promises to us; 
 and what we are thereby obliged to believe, and to do, 
 in obedience to his will. Secondly, That they be not 
 only capable of this knowledge, but be actually instructed 
 in these things. Tliirdly, That being hereby brought to 
 a clear sense of what was done for them by their God- 
 fathers and Godmothers at their baptism, they be now 
 ready and desirous, in their own persons, to ratify and 
 confirm the same. And lastly, that in testimony of 
 their sincere resolutions to make good what they here 
 promise and vow, they do now truly repent of all their 
 sins, and stedfastly resolve, by the grace of God, to go 
 on in a constant obedience to God's commands unto 
 their lives' end. Abp. Wake. 
 
 " — And every one shall have a Godfather, or a God- 
 mother, &c.] These are required at the confirmation of 
 a youth, for the same reasons as they are at the bap- 
 tism of a person who is an adult. In both cases they 
 are witnesses of the engagements, which the persons, 
 so baptized or confirmed, lay themselves under; and 
 consequently will be proper and continued monitors to 
 check or reclaim them, should they at any time here- 
 after be tempted to abandon the interest of Christ, and 
 take jjart witli his enemies. And, to prevent any one 
 entering upon this trust, who will not be careful to dis- 
 charge the duties of it, the Church jirovides, that "no 
 ])ers(m be admitted Godfather or Godmother to any 
 child at christening or confirmation, before the said 
 person so imdertaking hath received the holy Commu- 
 nion," Canon xix. W'heatltj. 
 
 ' And whensoever the Bishop shall give knowleilge 
 &c.] Persons jjroperly prepared for confirmation (see 
 abo\'e, note t) are to be confirmed .at such times as 
 the bishop appoints for this office. Only, if it be ])os- 
 sible, they should endcax'our to be confirmed, and 
 thereby fully take upon themselves the first sacrament, 
 l)cfore they proceed to the ])articipation of the second. 
 Ahp. Wake. 
 
 ' — the Curate of every Parish &c.] It is earnestly to 
 be desired, that the clergy slundd consider seriously the 
 weight and excellence of these directions ; and of what 
 unspeakalile advantage it woidd be for the promotion 
 of Christian |)iety, if confirmation were duly adminis- 
 tered, anrl none but such, as are sulficicntly prepared, 
 were admitted to it. It is impossible that the bisliops 
 should be able jiersonally to examine every one that is 
 oilVrcd, and to rectify tlu)se disorders whii'b are but too 
 common in relation to this most useful solemnity. 
 They can oidy refuse to admit such, as the minister 
 does not eitlier bring or .send in an account of, with his 
 hand subscribed as the rule requires. But the parochial
 
 A CATECHISM. 
 
 .•385 
 
 cr send in writing, with his hand subscribed thereunto, the names of all such 
 Persons loithin his Parish, as he shall think Jit to be presented to the Bishop 
 to be confirmed. And if the Bishop approve of them, he shall confirm them '^ 
 in manner folliuclng. 
 
 clergy have this matter almost wholly in their own 
 power ; and may very easily secure the due ])erformance 
 of this office. Let me hesecch them therefore by the 
 mercies of (iod and the love of souls, to take esjiecial 
 pains when the times of confirmation approach ; and to 
 use their intluence with parents and otlier guardians of 
 children, to second their endeavours, that the persons 
 to be confirmed may be sufficiently instructed in the 
 nature of their baptismal covenant ; and be thoroughly 
 convinced of the necessity of their taking it personally 
 upon themselves, and of the obligations they lie 
 under to lead suitable hves for the future. Dr. 
 Bcnnet. 
 
 '■ — And if the Bishop approve of them, he shall con- 
 jinn them &c.] From the history, contained in the 
 eighth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, ver. V2 — 17, 
 it appears, that Philip the Deacon, ordained at the same 
 time with St. Ste])hen, had converted and baptized the 
 people of Samaria: which the apostles at Jerusalem 
 hearing, sent down to them Peter and John, two of 
 their own body : who, by jirayer, accompanied with 
 imposition of hands, obtained for them a greater degree, 
 than they had yet received, of the sacred influences of 
 the Divine Spirit : which undoubtedly was done on their 
 signifying in some manner, so as to be understood, their 
 
 adherence to the engagement, into which they had en- 
 tered at their baptism. 
 
 From this and the like instances of the practice of the 
 apostles, is derived, what bishops, tlieir successors, 
 though every way beyond com])arison inferior to them, 
 have practised ever since, and which we now call Con- 
 firmation. Preaching was common to all ranks of 
 ministers: baptizing was performed usually by the 
 lower rank ; but, perhaps to maintain a due subordi- 
 nation, it was reserved to the highest, by prayer and 
 laying on of hands, to communicate further measures of 
 the Holy Ghost. It was indeed peculiar to the apostles, 
 that, on their intercession, his extraordinary and mira- 
 culous gifts were bestowed ; which continued in the 
 Church no longer, than the need of them did ; nor can 
 we su[)posc, that all were partakers of them. But un- 
 questionably by their petitions they procured, for every 
 sincere convert, a much more valuable, though less 
 remarkable blessing, of universal and perpetual neces- 
 sity, his ordinary and saving graces. 
 
 For these therefore, after their example, trusting that 
 God will have regard, not to our unworthiness, but to 
 the purposes of mercy which He bath appointed us to 
 serve, we intercede now, when persons take upon them- 
 selves the vow of baptism. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 'iQ
 
 THE ORDER OF 
 
 CONFIRMATION, 
 
 OR LAYING ON OF HANDS UPON THOSE THAT ARE BAPTIZED 
 AND COME TO YEARS OF DISCRETION ^ 
 
 5f Upon the (huj appointed, all tliat are to be then conjinned, hcing placed, and 
 standing in order, before the Bishop ; he [or some other Minister appointed by 
 him) shall read this Preface folloioinp''. 
 
 * The Order of Confirmation, &c.] When children 
 are well instructed in the vow made for them at bap- 
 tism, by the Church Catechism, it is then required they 
 should talie it upon themselves, and be confirmed by 
 the bishop : which holy rite of " Confirmation," though 
 it were not instituted by Christ, and so be not properly 
 a sacrament, yet the a])Ostles did lay tlien hands on 
 such as had been before baptized by an inferior mi- 
 nister. Acts viii. 14 — \7 ; and xix. 6. This custom the 
 ])rimitive church imitated in the bishops laying; on their 
 hands, with holy prayers, upon persons that had been 
 baptized ; which was believed to convey the Holy Spirit 
 to tliem for enabling them to keej) their vow. And 
 this holy rite is still retained in the Eastern and 
 AVestern churches, and in all Protestant churches 
 where they have bishops. And we have an excellent 
 office for it, containing, first, the preparation for it by 
 a serious admonition to all that come to it, a solemn 
 engagement from the parties to keep their vow, with 
 some acts of jiraise and prayer suited to the occasion. 
 Secondly, the rite itself consists of the ceremony, which 
 is the laying on of the bishop's hands, and his bene- 
 diction. Thirdly, the oiKcc is concluded with prayers ; 
 general, as the Lord's Prayer ; and peculiar to the 
 occasion, as the two Collects : and with a final blessing. 
 2. The person who doth confirm is a bishop, to 
 which order tlic ancient church did ahva_vs reserve the 
 dispensing of this rite, because the apostles only did 
 this. Acts viii. 14; and therefore the bishops are 
 highly obliged to take care that all in their dioceses, 
 who need and desire it, may not «'ant the ojiportunity 
 of coming to it. 'i'lie persons who are to be confirmed 
 are all that have been baptized from the time they 
 come to years of discretion, or however to be able to 
 imderstand the nature of their bai)tismal vow, wliich 
 tlicy arc here to take upon themselves ; and since we 
 baptize infants, it is more necessary to bring tlicm to 
 confirmation, and their (Jodfathers can no way better 
 ao((uit tliemselves of the cliargc they have undertaken, 
 than Ijy taking cure, as the Churcli in this exhortation 
 requires, tliat they may learn tluir Catechism, and 
 iinch'rstand their vow, and here solemnly, before (iod 
 and many witnesses, renew it in their own name. For 
 eecondly, the Itishop doth jjurlicularly iii()uire, if they 
 do liere in (jod's presence, and liel'ore all the congre- 
 gation, renew that solemn vow in their own names 
 made at their baptism ; and if they do engage to per- 
 
 form and do what was promised for them by their 
 sureties : to which they must eveiy one answer with 
 great reverence and serious consideration that "they 
 do." Thirdly, the bishop and the priests that ai'c pre- 
 sent begin their devotions, encouraging the parties who 
 have promised this, by minding them that they shall 
 have "help" fi'om Him that made heaven and eai'th, 
 Ps. cxxiv. 7. And jiraising God for bringing these 
 persons into so blessed a condition, Ps. cxiii. 2. Fi- 
 nally, desiring Ilira to hear the prayers now to be 
 made for them. Fourthly, there is a larger form of 
 prayer made by the bishop, wherein he first acknow- 
 ledges God's mercy in granting them regeneration and 
 ]iardon of their sins in their baptism : and now that 
 they are to exercise that warfare they then engaged 
 themselves to, he prays for a larger supply of God's 
 Holy Spirit with its sevenfold gifts, Isa. xi. 2, so that 
 they may be made so wise as to imderstand their 
 duty, and so strong as to perform it, desiring they may 
 by his ministry have these gifts conveyed to tlicm now, 
 and by their diligent improving of them, keep them for 
 ever. 
 
 3. Being thus prepared, flie rite itself is now to be 
 administered by the ancient ceremony of laying the 
 bishop's hand on the head of each ]ierson, used by the 
 ajiosties as the means of conveying the Holy Spirit, 
 -Vets viii. 1 7 ; whence tlie whole ofiice is called laying 
 on of hands, lleb. vi. 2 (yet the papists omit this 
 apostolical ceremony, and use tlie anointing with 
 chrism, wliieh came later into the Church). The 
 bishop also gives a solemn blessing to every one, de- 
 siring (iod to defend tliat jierson with his heavenly 
 grace, from forsaking his faith, or breaking (iod's 
 conunaudments, that is, to take liim for his own, and 
 seal him with his .Spirit, so tliat he may ever after look 
 on him as one of his own children ; and jiraying tliat 
 he may daily increase in grace and grow wiser and 
 better, imtil lie be fit for that heavenly kingdom which 
 God hath promised to him in baptism : and this 
 inayerthus oU'ered np by a holy man, and one of the 
 chief oillcers of Christ's church, shall be effectual to 
 the obtaining of the S])irit for all that have duly pre- 
 pared themselves, and do sincerely make and renew 
 this vow. And now the bishop concludes the oifice, 
 first with the usual form, desiring (iod may be with 
 them to assist them in these ]>niyers, a,s they also de- 
 sire He may be with his sjiirit who is to oli'cr them ;
 
 THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION. 
 
 387 
 
 TO the end that Confirmation 
 may be ministered to the more 
 edifying' of siicii as sliall receive it, 
 the Chnrch hatii thonght good to 
 order, that none liereafter shall be 
 Confirmed, but such as can say the 
 
 calling also upon God as the common Father of all 
 that are confirmed, and so in covenant with Him : to 
 which is joined the proper Collect, beginning with a 
 preface which confesseth, that this good desire and 
 resolution of these ])ersons to keep their vow came 
 from God, and by Ilim they must have grace accept- 
 ably to perform it. And then here are petitions for 
 them, first, that as the bishop's hand was over them, 
 so the good hand of his providence signified thereby, 
 may be ever over them to jjreserve them : secondly, 
 that the Holy Spirit now imjiarted to them l)y this 
 lioly rite, may be ever with them, the blessed effect of 
 which is here declared to be, that this will make them 
 understand God's word, and enable them to obey it, 
 so that at the end of their lives they may be certainly 
 saved through Jesus Christ ; to whom, witli the whole 
 Trinity, for these means of salvation we offer up our 
 praises and acknowledgments ; and to this is added a 
 devout Collect out of the Communion Service, that 
 God who hath sealed these his vowed servants with 
 his Spirit, will direct, sanctify, and govern their souls 
 and bodies in the ways of his laws, so that they may 
 ever be holy, safe, and hajipy. Finally, the office is 
 concluded with the bishop's blessing, who now in the 
 name of God wishes the blessing of the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost, may be now bestowed on you, and 
 remain upon you for ever. Thus our Church appoints 
 this necessary and pious office shall be done; and the 
 due administration thereof would highly conduce to 
 make the benefits of baptism more visible, to increase 
 knowledge and piety in the younger sort, and to 
 secure them from being seduced by papists or sectaries ; 
 it would make the Church to flourish and he at unity, 
 and convey mighty blessings to all that reverently and 
 devoutly receive it: wherefore as the bishops are ready 
 to do their part, let all that want it be willing and very 
 desirous to come, and let parents and masters, and 
 especially Godfathers and Godmothers, encourage them 
 to come to it, and labour to fit them for it, that it may 
 he done to God's glory and their comfort. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 *■ — and come to years of discretion.'] Before the 
 Reformation here in England, parents might have their 
 children confirmed at seven years old ; that is, between 
 the ages of seven and fourteen. Our Church has not 
 settled any jjarticular time ; but only limits it to 
 "years of discretion," which in several persons are 
 sooner or later. Dr. Nicholts. See jiage 3S4, note t. 
 
 ' — this Preface folloiiing .] The ])reface, with which 
 the oflice begins, was only a rubrick in all the old 
 Common Prayer Books : but at the last review was 
 changed into a preface, to be directed to those that 
 shall offer themselves to be confirmed ; that so the 
 Church might be sure they are ajijirized of the (jualifi- 
 cations that are requisite to this holy orilinance, and of 
 the solemn engagements under which they are going 
 to enter themselves by it. Wheutly. 
 
 The Church of England is so far from esteeming 
 ignorance to be the mother of devotion, that she em- 
 ploys every jjossible endeavour to make each of her 
 offices ])roperly understood. The present, like most 
 other of her forms, begins with a preface, composed 
 witli great plainness and simplicity, and addressed to 
 
 Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the 
 Ten Commandments ; and can also 
 answer to such other Questions, as 
 in tlie short C^atechism are contained: 
 which order is very convenient to be 
 observed ; to the end, that children, 
 
 those who are to be confirmed. In it they are taught, 
 what are the two great objects of the rite of confirma- 
 tion : first, that they may " with their own mouths and 
 consent ratify and confirm" their baptismal covenant; 
 and secondly, that they solemnly engage evermore to 
 endeavour faithfully to perform their part of the cove- 
 nant. Shepherd, Dean Comber. 
 
 In this preface, directed in the first place to be read, 
 notice is given, that " for the more edifying of such as 
 shall receive confirmation," it shall he administered to 
 none but those, "who can answer to the questions of 
 the Catechism " preceding : that so " children " may 
 "come to years of" some "discretion," and "learn 
 what the promise " made for them in baptism was, 
 before they are called upon to " ratify and confirm it 
 before the Church with their own consent," and to 
 engage " that they will evermore observe it." 
 
 Prayers may be offered uj) for infants with very good 
 effect. Promises may be made in their name by such 
 as are authorized to act for them ; especially when the 
 things ijromised are for their interest, and w-ill be their 
 duty ; which is the case of those in baptism. But no 
 persons ought to make ])romises for themselves, till 
 they reasonably well understand the nature of them, 
 and are capable of forming serious pm-poses. There- 
 fore, in the jiresent case, being able to say the words of 
 the Catechism is by no means enough, without a com- 
 petent general knowledge of their meaning, and inten- 
 tion of behaving as it requires them ; %vhich doubtless 
 they are supposed to have at the same time. And if 
 they ha\'e not, making a profession of it is declaring 
 with their mouths what they feel not in their hearts at 
 the instant, and will much less reflect upon afterwards : 
 it is hoping to please God by the empty outward per- 
 formance of a religious rite, from which if they had 
 been withheld, till they were duly qualified, their souls 
 might have been affected, and their conduct influenced 
 by it, as long as they lived. 
 
 Therefore I hope and beg, that neither ministers nor 
 parents will be too eager for bringing children very 
 early to confirmation : but first teach them carefully, to 
 know their duty sufficiently, and resolve upon the 
 practice of it heartily; then introduce them to this 
 ordinance. 
 
 But as there are some too young for confirmation, 
 some also may be thought too old : especially if they 
 have received the holy sacrament without it. Now 
 there are not indeed all the same reasons for the con- 
 firmation of such, as of others : nor hath the Chm-ch, I 
 believe, determined any thing about their case, as it 
 might be thought unlikely to happen. But still, since 
 it doth hajipen too frequently, that persons were not 
 able, or have neglected, to ajiiily for this purpose : so 
 whenever they apply, as by doing it, they e.\press a 
 desire to "fulfil all righteousness," Matt. iii. 15; and 
 may certainly receive benefit, both from the profession 
 and the prayers appointed in the office ; my judgment 
 is, that they should not be rejected, but encouraged. 
 
 Only I must intreat you to observe, that when you 
 take thus on yourselves the engagement of leading a 
 Christian life, you are to take it once for all ; and no 
 more to think of ever being confirmed a second time, 
 than of being baptized a second time Ahp. Seeker. 
 2 C 2
 
 388 
 
 THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION. 
 
 being now come to the years of dis- 
 cretion, and having learned what 
 their Godfathers and Godmothers 
 promised for them in Baptism, they 
 may themselves, with their own 
 mouth and consent, openly before 
 the Church, ratify and confirm the 
 same; ami also promise, that by the 
 
 ■* Then shall the Bishop say. Sec.'] The end of con- 
 firmation being thus made known, the bishop in the 
 next place, by a solemn question, (which was added at 
 the last review,) demands of the candidates an assurance 
 that they will comply with it : asking them, " in the 
 presence of God and the congregation, whether they 
 will renew their baptismal vow, and ratify the same in 
 their own persons, &c." To this every one to be con- 
 firmed, as a token of his assent, is audibly to answer, 
 " I do." iVheatlij. 
 
 Now the things, [iromised in our name, were, to re- 
 nounce nhate\'er God hath forbidden, to believe what 
 He hath taught, and to practise «'hat He hath com- 
 manded. iS'obody can promise for infants absolutely, 
 that they shall do these things ; but only, that they 
 shall be instructed and admonished to do them : and, 
 it is hoped, not in vain. This instruction and admoni- 
 tion, parents are obliged by nature to give ; and if they 
 do it efTectually, Godfathers and Godmothers have no 
 further concern than to be heartily glad of it. liut if 
 the former fail, the latter must supply the failure, as 
 far as they have oi)poi'timity of doing it with any rea- 
 sonable prospect of success. For they were intended, 
 not to release the parents from the care of their chil- 
 dren, which nothing can ; but for a double secm'ity 
 in a case of such importance. 
 
 If nothing at all had been promised in our names, 
 we had still been l)ound, as soon as we were cajjable of 
 it, to believe in God, and obey Him. But we are more 
 early and more tirmly bound, as not only this hath 
 been ])romised for us, but care hath been taken to 
 make us sensible of our obligation to ])crform it : which 
 obligation, therefore, persons are called upon, in the 
 question under consideration, to ratify and confirm. 
 And great cause have they to answer, that they do. 
 For doing it is a duty, on which their eternal felicity 
 peculiarly depends ; as a little attention to what 1 am 
 about to say will clearly shew you. 
 
 Our first parents, even while they were innocent, had 
 no title to happiness, or to existence, but from (jod's 
 notification of his good |)leasure : wliieh being condi- 
 tional, when thi'v fell, they lost it; and derived to us a 
 corrupt and mortal nature, intitled to nothing; as both 
 the diseases and the poverty of ancestors often descend 
 to their distant posterity. This bad condition we fail 
 not, from our first use of reason, to make worse, in a 
 greater or less degree, liy actual transgressions : and so 
 j)er3onally deserve the displeasure, instead of favour, of 
 Him who made us. Vet we may hojie, that, as He is 
 go<id. He will on our repentance forgive us. But then, 
 as He is also just and wise, and the ruler of the world; 
 we could ne^er know with certainty, of ourselves, what 
 his justice and wisdom, and the honour of his govern- 
 ment miglit require of Him with res|iect to sinners: 
 whetlier lie would ]iardon greater oll'ences at all ; aiul 
 whether He woulrl reward those, whom He might be 
 jdeased not to jiunlsh. lint most liappily the revela- 
 tion of his holy word hatli cleared up all these doubts 
 of unassisted reason ; and oflererl to the worst of sin- 
 ners, on the condition of faith in t'hrist, added to 
 
 grace of God they will evermore en- 
 deavour themselves faithfully to ob- 
 serve such things, as they, by their 
 own confession, have assented unto. 
 
 D 
 
 f Then shall the Bishop say '', 
 
 O ye here, in the presence of 
 God, and of this congregation. 
 
 repentance, and productive of good works (for all which 
 He is ready to enable us), a covenant of pardon for 
 sins past, assistance against sin for the future, and 
 eternal life in return for a sincere, though imperfect, and 
 totally undeserving obedience. 
 
 The method of entering into this covenant is, being 
 baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghost : that is, into the acknowledgment of the 
 mysterious union and joint authority of these three ; 
 and of the distinct offices, which they hai-e imdertaken 
 for our salvation : together with a faithful engagement 
 of paying suitable regard to each of them. In this 
 appointment of baptism, the washing with water aptly 
 signifies, both our promise to preserve ourselves, with 
 the best care we can, jjure from the defilement of sin, 
 and God's [u-omise to consider us, as free from the 
 guilt of it. Baptism then, through his mercy, sec\n'es 
 infants from the bad consequences of Adam's trans- 
 gression giving them a new title to the immortality, 
 which he lost. It also secures, to persons grown uj), 
 the intire forgiveness of their own transgressions, on 
 the terms just mentioned. But then, in order to re- 
 ceive these benefits, we must lay our claim to the cove- 
 nant, which conveys them : we nuist ratify, as soon as 
 we are able, what was promised in our name by others 
 before we were able; and done for us then, only on 
 presumption that we would make it our own deed after- 
 wards. For if we neglect, and a])pear to renounce 
 one part of the covenant, we have plainly not the least 
 right to (iod's ]icrforming his : but we i-emain in our 
 sins, and " Christ shall profit us nothing," Gal. v. 2. 
 
 Vou see then of what unsijeakable importance it is, 
 that we take on ourselves the vow of our baptism. And 
 it is very fit and useful, that we should take it in such 
 form and manner as the office i)rescribes. It is fit, that 
 wlien persons have been projierly instructed by the 
 care of their parents, friends, and ministers, they should 
 with joyful gratitude acknowledge them to have faith- 
 fully ])erformcd that kindest duty. It is fit, that be- 
 fore they are admitted by the church of Christ to the 
 holy Communion, they should give publick assurance 
 to the Cluu-eh of their Christian belief and Christian 
 purposes. This may also be extremely useful to them- 
 selves. For, consider : young jiersons are just entering 
 into a world of temiitations, with no cx])erience, and 
 little knowledge to guard them ; and much youthful 
 rashness, to expose them. The authority of others 
 over them is beginning to lessen, their own passions to 
 increase, "evil comuuinicatiou" to have great opportu- 
 nities of " corrupting good maimers," 1 Cor. xv. 33 : 
 and strong impressions of one kind or another, will lie 
 made on them very soon. ^\ hat can then he more 
 necessary, or more likely to jneserve (heir innocence, 
 than to ibrm the most deliberate resolutions of acting 
 right; and to deelare them in a manner, thus ndajited 
 to move them at the time, and be remembered by them 
 afterwards; ill the presence of (iod, of a number of his 
 ministers, and of a large congregation of his |)eoplc, 
 assembled with more than ordinary solemnity for that 
 very piupose ? Alip. Secl^er.
 
 THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION. 
 
 389 
 
 renew the solemn jiromisc and vow 
 that was made in )oiir name at your 
 Baptism ; ratifying and confirminjr 
 the same in your own persons, and 
 acknowleduiiiiT yourselves bound to 
 believe, and to do all those thing's, 
 which your Godfathers and Godmo- 
 tliers then undertook for you ? 
 
 " I rfo.] It should be observed, that they, who are to 
 he confirmed, must either do their own j)art, or the 
 whole of the previous preyja'-ation will be utterly thrown 
 away upon them. If they make the answer, which is 
 directed, without sincerity, it is lying to God : if they 
 make it without attention, it is trifling with Him. 
 Watch over your hearts therefore, and let them go 
 along with your lips. The two short words, " I do," 
 are soon said ; but they comprelicnd much in them. 
 Whoever uses them on this occasion, saith in effect as 
 follows : " I do heartily renounce all the temptations 
 of the devil ; all the unlawful pleasures, jirofits, and 
 honours of the world ; all the immoral gi'atiflcations of 
 the flesh. I do sincerely believe, and will constantly 
 profess, aU the Articles of the Christian faith. I do 
 firmly resolve to keep all God's commandments all the 
 days of my life ; to love and honour Him ; to pray to 
 Him and praise Him daily in private; to attend con- 
 scientiously on the pulilick worship and instruction, 
 which He hath appointed ; to a[ii)roach his holy table, 
 as soon as I can qualify myself for doing it worthily ; 
 to submit to his blessed will meekly and patiently in 
 all things ; to set Him ever before my eyes, and acknow- 
 ledge Him in all my ways. I do further resolve, in 
 the whole course of my behaviour amongst my fellow- 
 creatures, to ' do justly, love m-ercy,' Mic. vi. 8, speak 
 truth, be diligent and useful in my station, dutiful to 
 my superiors, condescending to those beneath me, 
 friendly to my equals ; careful through all the relations 
 o£ life, to act as the nature of them requires, and con- 
 duct myself so to all men, as I should think it reason- 
 able that they should do to me in the like case. Further 
 yet : I do resoh-e, in the government of myself, to be 
 modest, sober, temperate, mild, hum!)le, contented; to 
 restrain every passion and appetite within due bounds; 
 and to set my heart chiefly, not on the sensual enjoy- 
 ments of this transitory world, but the s])iritnal happi- 
 ness of the future endless one. Lastly, I do resolve, 
 whenever I fail in any of these duties, as I am sensible 
 I have, and must fear I shall, to confess it before God 
 with unfeigned concern, to ajiply for his promised 
 pardon in the name of his blessed Son, to beg the 
 promised assistance of his Holy Spirit ; and in that 
 strength, not my own, to strive against my faults, and 
 watch o^'cr my steps with redoubled care." 
 
 Observe then ; it is nut gloominess and melancholy, 
 that religion calls you to ; it is not useless austerity, 
 and abstinence from things lawful and safe; it is not 
 e.xtravagant flights and i'a])tures ; it is not unmeaning 
 or unedifying forms and ceremonies : much less is it 
 bitterness against those who dift'er from you. But the 
 forementioned unquestionable substantial duties are 
 the things to which you bind yourselves, when you 
 pronounce the awful words, " I do." Utter them then 
 with the truest seriousness : and say to yourseh-es, 
 each of you, afterwards, as Moses did to the Jews, 
 " Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy 
 God, to walk in his ways and to keep his statutes, 
 and to hearken to his voice : and the Lord hath 
 avouched thee this day to be bis ; that thou shouldst 
 
 ^ And every one shall audihhj answer, 
 I do^ 
 
 The Bishop'. 
 /~\ U R help is in the Name of the 
 
 Lords; 
 An aw. Who 
 and earth. 
 
 hath made heaven ps. cxxIv. s. 
 
 keep all his commandments, and be holy unto the 
 Lord thy (Jod, as he hath spoken." It is a certain 
 truth, call it therefore often to mind, and fix it in your 
 souls, that if breaking a solemn ])romise to men be a 
 sin ; breaking that, which you thus make deliberately 
 to God, would be unspeakably a greater sin. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 ' The Bishnp.'] In the next part of the office, after 
 persons have confirmed and ratified the vow of their 
 baptism, prayers are offered u[), that God would confirm 
 and strengthen them in their good purjiose : on both 
 which accounts this appointment is called Confirmation. 
 Abj). Seeker. 
 
 6 Our help is in the name nf the Lord ; &c.] Here follow 
 three short versicles and responses betwixt the bishop 
 and the congregation, with which the order of Confir- 
 mation in all the old Common Prayer Books used to 
 begin. They are a proper preparation to the following 
 solemnity, are often used in ancient liturgies, and are 
 taken out of the book of Psalms : though the last of 
 them has been varied since the first book of King 
 Edward, in which, in the room of it, was the usual 
 salutation of, " The Lord be with you : And with thy 
 spirit." Wheally. 
 
 Scripture teaches, and sad experience proves, that 
 " of ourselves we can do nothing," John xv. 5 ; that we 
 "are not sufficient," 2 Cor. iii. 5, for the discharge of 
 our duty, without God's continual aid : by which He 
 can certainly influence our minds, without hurting our 
 natural freedom of will, and even without our perceiving 
 it; for we can influence our fellow-creatures so. Nor 
 is it any injustice in Him to require of us what exceeds 
 our ability, since He is ready to su])])ly the want of it. 
 Indeed, on the contrary, as this method of treating us 
 is excellently fitted both to keep us humble, and yet to 
 give us courage, using it is evidently worthy of God. 
 But then, as none can have reason to expect his help 
 but those who earnestly desire it, so He bath promised 
 to "give the holy Spirit" only "to them that ask him," 
 Luke xi. 13. And to unite Christians more in love to 
 each other, and incline them more to assemble for pub- 
 lick worship, our blessed Redeemer hath especially pro- 
 mised, that " where two orthree" of them " are gathered 
 together in his name, he will be in the midst of them," 
 Matt, xviii. 20. And farther still to ])romote a due 
 regard in his people to their teachers and rulers, the 
 sacred writings ascribe a peculiar eilicacy to their pray- 
 ing over those who are committed to their charge. 
 Even under the Jewish dispensation, the family of Aaron 
 were told, that " them the Lord had seiiarated to minis- 
 ter unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord," 
 Deut. X. 8 ; xxi. 5 : " and they shall put my name," 
 saith (iod, " upon the children of Israel, and I will 
 bless them," Numb. vi. 27. No wonder then, if under 
 the Christian disjionsation we read, that the apostles, 
 " when they were come down to Samaria, prayed for" 
 the new-baptized converts, " that they might receive 
 the Holy Ghost ;" and that they did receive it accord- 
 ingly. 
 
 Therefore, pm-suant to these great authorities, here
 
 390 
 
 THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION. 
 
 Bishop. Blessed he the Name of 
 the Lord ; 
 
 Answ. Henceforth, vvorhl without 
 end. 
 
 Bishop. Lord, hear our prayers. 
 
 Answ. And let our cry come unto 
 thee. 
 
 The Bishop. Let us pray". 
 
 AL ^11 G H T Y and everliving- 
 God', who hast vouchsafed to 
 
 is, on the present occasion, a number of young disciples, 
 about to run the same common race, met together to 
 pray for themselves and one another : here is a number 
 of elder Christians, who have experienced the dangers 
 of life, met to pray for those who are just entering into 
 them : here are also God's ministers, purjiosely come to 
 intercede with Him in their behalf: and surely we may 
 hope, their joint and fervent petitions will avail, and be 
 effectual. 
 
 They begin, as they ought, with acknowledging, and 
 in Scripture words, that " our help is in the name of 
 the Lord, who hath made heaven and earth," Ps. 
 cxxiv. 8 : "it is not in man to direct his own steps," 
 Jer. X. 23 ; but his Creator only can preserve him. 
 Then we go on to pronounce " the name of the Lord 
 blessed, henceforth world \rithout end," for his readi- 
 ness to bestow on us the grace which we want. And 
 lastly, in confidence of bis goodness, we intreat Him to 
 "hear our prayers, and let our cry come unto him," 
 Ps. cii. ] . Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Of such short ejacidations in general hath been said 
 in the Morning Prayer : concerning these in particidar, 
 that they are fitted to the office, will appear to them, who 
 consider, that confirmation is appointed for the strength- 
 ening of us against all our ghostly enemies ; which 
 though they be many and great, yet is there no reason 
 to despair of obtaining strength enough to resist them ; 
 for " our help stands in the name of the Lord, who hath 
 made heaven and earth ;" who is therefore able enough, 
 and willing also, to help them that call upon his name. 
 " Blessed therefore be the name of the Lord, henceforth 
 and for ever." Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 ■■ Let us pray. &c.] The bishop and people having 
 thus joined their requests, the bishop, in the next place, 
 proceeds alone to collect their petitions into a continued 
 form; in which he ])rays that God, "who had vouch- 
 safed to regenerate" the persons who now come to be 
 confirmed, •' by water and the Holy Ghost, and had 
 given unto them forgiveness of all their sins, would now 
 strengthen them with the Holy (Jbost the Cotnforter, 
 and daily increase in them the gifts of grace," namely, 
 the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are tran- 
 scribed into this jjrayer from tlie old Greek and Latin 
 translations of Lsaiab xi. 2, and which were repeated in 
 the very same words in the Office of Confirmation, as 
 long ago as Saint Aiidirose's time ; from whence, and 
 the ( jrcck l>iturgy, this whole prayer is almost verbatim 
 transorilted. H'luatl;/. 
 
 'lliis is a prayer, that God would strengthen the bap- 
 tized with " the Holy tihost tlie (Comforter," whom they 
 bad in their baptism received as a sanctiticr. These two 
 ways, to omit others, we are taugiit in holy Scripture, 
 that tlie Holy (ihost may be received: as a sanctifier 
 and cleanser in holy baptism. Tit. iii. .'j, " He saved us 
 by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the 
 lloly (ihost:" and alter bapttsm we may receive Him 
 again as a comforter and strengtbener. 'J'lie ajioslles, 
 wlio received Him the first way in baptism, are pro- 
 
 regenerate tlicse thy servants by joim iii. s. 
 Water and the Holy Ghost, and has't 2 cor^v.'n.' 
 triven unto them forgiveness of all 9''''- ".'■ ,"• 
 
 ", . . -, 1 , Apis 11. is. 
 
 then- snis ; Strengthen them, we Tit. iii. 5. 
 beseech thee, O Lord ^, with the 
 Holy Ghost the Comforter, and daily isa. xi. 2. 
 increase in them thy manifold gifts Jj^''"^'' "' 
 of grace'; the spirit of wisdom and 
 understanding ; the spirit of counsel 
 and ghostly strength; the spirit of 
 
 mised to receive Him the second, John sv'i. 7 ; Acts 
 i. 8 : which was performed. Acts ii. 4, when " they were 
 filled with the Holy Ghost." Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 Before the imposition of hands in the rite of confirm- 
 ation, prayer was always made for the gifts of the Holy 
 Spirit. At baptism, according to the opinion of Chris- 
 tian antiquity, the Holy Spirit bestowed grace suflicient 
 to make us innocent, and to cleanse us from the pollu- 
 tion of sin : but at confirmation a more abundant 
 increase of grace was vouchsafed, and additional sjjiri- 
 tual strength was given. Upon this principle the 
 present prayer was evidently composed. It first ac- 
 knowledges former mercies, " regeneration and forgive- 
 ness of sins" in baptism : it then petitions, that they, 
 on whom the bishop lays his hands, " may be strength- 
 ened with the Holy Ghost the Comforter," and that God 
 will " daily give them increase of grace." It prays in 
 particular for what theologians have styled the seven- 
 fold grace of the Holy Spirit : first the spirit of wisdom, 
 and secondly of understanding, thirdly the spirit of 
 counsel, and fourthly of ghostly strength, fifthly the 
 spirit of knowledge, and sixthly of true godliness, and 
 seventhly the s|iirit of holy fear. 
 
 The introductory part of this prayer appears to have 
 been borrowed from a form, that in an ancient Greek 
 office followed baptism, and preceded confirmation : 
 and the latter part was copied from a form of confirma- 
 tion mentioned by Ambrose, which is evidently taken 
 from Isaiah xi. 2 ; where, in the Septuagint and Vul- 
 gate, these seven gifts or graces are enumerated. In 
 our translation the sixth is omitted. Dean Comber, 
 Shepherd. 
 
 ' Almighty and everliving God, &c.] This longer act 
 of devotion, following the preparatory ejacidations, and 
 the usu;d aduKinition to be attentive, " Let us pray," 
 first conuncmorates God's mercy already bestowed, then 
 Ijetitions for an increase of it. The commcmoratitm sets 
 forth, that He " bath regenerated these bis servants by 
 water and the Holy Ghost :" that is, intitled them by 
 baptism to the enlivening influences of the S|)irit, and 
 so, as it were, begotten them again into a state inexpres- 
 sibly hajipier than their natural one ; a covenant-state, 
 in which (iod will consider them, whilst they keep their 
 engagements, with |iecidiar love, as his dear children. 
 It follows, that He " hath given unto them forgiveness 
 of all their sins;" meaning, that He hath given them 
 assurance of it, on the gracious terms of the (iospel. 
 Hut that every one of them hath actually received it, by 
 complying with those terms since he sinned last, though 
 we may charitably hope, we eaimot |n'esume to affirm : 
 nor were these words intended to allirm it ; as the 
 known doctrine of the Church of ICogland fully jiroves. 
 .\nd therefore let no one misunderstand this expression 
 in the office, wdiich hath parallel ones in the New Tes- 
 tament, ICph. i. " ; Col. i. 11; so as either to censure it, 
 or delude himself with a fatal imagination, that any 
 thing said over him can possibly convey to him a 
 pardon of sins, for which he is not truly peiiiteut.
 
 THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION. 
 
 091 
 
 knowledge and true godliness ; and 
 fill tliem, O Lord, with the spirit 
 of thy holy fear, now and for ever. 
 
 1 Tlien (ill of them in order kneeling'" before 
 
 We only acknowledge, with duo thankfulness, that 
 God hath done his part : hut which of the conf^regation 
 have done theirs, their own consciences must tell them. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ^ — Strengthen them, we beseech thee, O Lord, &c.] 
 After the commemoration, we go on to request for the 
 jiersons before us, that God woidd " strengthen them" 
 against all temptation, and supjjort them under all 
 affliction, by " the Holy Ghost the Comforter, and 
 daily increase in them his manifold gifts of grace ;" 
 which gifts we proceed to enumerate in seven particulars, 
 taken from the i)rophet Isaiah, Isa. xi. 2 ; by whom 
 they are ascriljed to our blessed Redeemer : but as the 
 " same mind" ought to " be in us which was in Christ 
 Jesus," Phil. ii. 5 ; a petition for them was used, in the 
 Office of Confu'mation, 1400 years ago, if not sooner. 
 The separate meaning of each of the seven, it is neither 
 easy nor needful to determine with certainty. For in- 
 deed, if no more was designed, than to express very 
 fully and strongly, by various words of nearly the same 
 import, a ])ious and moral temper of mind : this is a 
 manner of speaking Ijoth common and emphatical. 
 But each of them may be taken in a distinct sense of its 
 own. And thus we may beg for these our fellow- 
 Christians, a " spirit of wisdom," to aim at the right 
 end, the salvation of their souls; and " of understand- 
 ing," to pursue it by right means: "of counsel," to 
 form good jjurposes ; and of " ghostly" or spiritual 
 "strength," to execute them: "of" useful " know- 
 ledge" in the doctrines of religion; "and true godli- 
 ness," disposing them to a proper use of it. But 
 chiefly, though lastly, we ]iray, that they may be " filled 
 with the spirit of God's holy fear ;" with that reverence 
 of Him, as the greatest and purest and best of beings, 
 the rightful Pro])rietor and just Judge of all, which will 
 effectually excite them to whatever they are concerned 
 to heheve or do. For "the fear of the Lord is the 
 beginning of wisdom," Ps. cxi. 10. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 The blessed gifts, for which the bishoi) prays, are, 
 that we may be wise and apprehensive, prudent and 
 courageous, discreet in our choice, devout in our 
 duties, and pious in our lives : and, if these can be ob- 
 tained, we may be assured all graces will S])ring from 
 these roots ; charity and the love of God, humility and 
 watchfulness, faith and holiness, meekness and jiatience, 
 temperance and chastity, and aU other inestimable gifts. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — thy manifold gifts of grace ;] That is, thy mani- 
 fold gracious gifts ; or, thy manifold gifts, which of thy 
 special grace and favour tlirough Jesus Christ thou 
 bestowest upon thy servants. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 We here i)ray for aU the gifts of the Holy Spirit, 
 which in the old Greek and Latin translations are 
 reckoned up to be seven, Isa. xi. 2 ; and from thence 
 are transcribed into this prayer : and the seven are put 
 for all, because the Scriptures describe the gifts of the 
 Holy Spirit by " seven spii-its," Rev. i. 4 ; iv. 5 ; v. : 
 whence also we often read in the ancients of the seven- 
 fold grace of the Spirit; and the number seven is put 
 for the Holy Spuit Himself. Dean Comber. 
 
 ■" Then all of them in order kneeling &c.] The pre- 
 paratory part of the office being now finished, " and 
 all of them in order kneeling before the bishop," (which 
 is a suitable postm'e for those that are to receive so 
 
 the Bishop, he shall lay his hand" upon 
 the head of every one" severally, saying, 
 
 DEFEND, O LordP, this thy 
 Chikl [or this thy ScriMmt] witi 
 thy heavenly grace, that he 
 
 Jud<!24. 
 
 "''ly Col. i. 8-11. 
 
 great a blessing,) the bishop is "to lay his hand upon 
 the head of every one severally." This is one of the 
 most ancient ceremonies in the world, and has always 
 been used to determine the blessing pronounced to those 
 particular persons on whom the hands are laid ; and to 
 import, that the persons, who thus lay on their hands, 
 act and bless by divine authority. Tlius Jacob blessed 
 Ejihrium and Manasses, not as a parent only, but as 
 a prophet. Gen. xlviii. 14 : Moses laid his hands on 
 Joshua by express command from God, and as supreme 
 minister over his peojjle, Numb, xxvii. IS : and thus 
 our blessed Lord, whilst in his state of humiliation, 
 laid his hands upon little children. Matt. xix. 13; 
 Mark x. 16 ; and those that were sick with divers 
 diseases, Luke iv. 40, to bless and heal them, 'lire 
 apostles, from so ancient a custom, and universal a 
 practice, continued the rite of " imposition of hands," 
 for communicating the Holy Spirit in confirmation, 
 which was so constantly and regularly observed by 
 them, that St. Paul calls the whole office " laying on of 
 hands," Heb. vi. 2 ; a name which it usually i-etained 
 amongst the Latin fathers ; confirmation being never 
 administered for many centuries afterwards, in any part 
 of the Church, without this ceremony. 
 
 But though the laying on of hands is a token that 
 the bishops act in this office by divine authority ; yet 
 at the same time they sue to heaven for the blessing 
 they bestow in humble acknowledgment that the 
 precious gifts hereby conferred are not the effect of 
 their own power and holiness, but of the abundant 
 mercy and favour of Him who is the only fountain of 
 all goodness and grace. Under a due sense of this, 
 even the apostles themselves, when they laid their 
 hands upon the Samaritans, prayed that they might 
 receive the Holy Ghost, Acts viii. 15. And after their 
 example do their successors with us pray, that the 
 person on whom they lay their hands may " be defended 
 with the heavenly grace of God, and continue his for 
 ever, and daily increase in his Holy S])irit more and 
 more, until he come unto his everlasting kingdom. 
 Amen." IVheatly. 
 
 Having concluded the prayer for them all in general, 
 the bishop implores the divine protection and grace for 
 each one, or each pair of them, in particular : that as he 
 is already God's professed "child" and "servant," by 
 the recognition which he hath just made of his bap- 
 tismal covenant, so "he may continue his for ever," by 
 faithfully keeping it : " and," far from decaying, " daily 
 increase in his Holy Spirit," that is, in the fruits of the 
 Spirit, piety and vhtue, "more and more;" making 
 greater and quicker advances in them, as life goes 
 on, " until he come to " that decisive hom-, when his 
 portion shall be unchangeable "in God's everlasting 
 kingdom." 
 
 And, along %vith the utterance of these solemn words, 
 he lays his hands on each of their heads : a ceremony 
 used from the earliest ages by rehgious persons, when 
 they prayed for God's blessing on any one ; used by 
 our Saviour, who, when " children were brought to him, 
 that he should put his hands on them, and pray, and 
 bless them, was much displeased," Matt. xix. 13 — 15; 
 Mark x. 13 — 1 6, with those who forbad it; used by 
 the apostles, after converts were baptized, as the text 
 plainly shews ; reckoned in the Epistle to the Hebrews
 
 392 
 
 THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION. 
 
 ! Cor. xii. 13, 
 
 2 Thess. iii. 
 
 IG. 
 
 2 Tim. iv. 22 
 
 continue thine for ever ; and daily 
 increase in thy Holy Spirit more and 
 more, until he come unto thy ever- 
 
 lastinu 
 
 kingdom. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 H Then shall the Bishop say '', 
 Tlie Lord be with you. 
 Answ. And with thy Spirit. 
 
 H And {all kneeling down) the Bishop shall 
 add, 
 
 Let us pray, 
 
 OU R Father, which art in hea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy Name. 
 
 among " the foundations " of the Christian profession, 
 Heb. vi. 1 ; constantly practised, and highly esteemed, 
 in the Church from that time to this ; and so far from 
 being a popish ceremony, that the pajiists administer 
 confirmation by other ceremonies of their own devising, 
 and have laid aside this primitive one ; which therefore 
 our Church very pnidently restored. And the custom 
 of it is ajiproved, as ajiostolical, both by Luther and 
 Calvin, and several of their followers, though they 
 rashly abolished it, as having been abused. But I am 
 credibly informed, that at Geneva it hath lately been 
 restored. 
 
 The laying on of the hand naturally ex]iresses good 
 will and good wishes in the person who doth it : and in 
 the present case is further intended, as we find in one 
 of the following jirayers, to " certify those," to whom 
 it is done, " of God's favour and gracious goodness 
 towards them ;" of which goodness they will certainly 
 feel the effects, provided, which must always be under- 
 stood, that they i)reserve their title to his care by a 
 proper care of themselves. This, it must be owned, is 
 a truth : and we may as innocently signify it by this 
 sign as by any other, or as by any words to the same 
 purpose. Further efficacy we do not ascribe to it : nor 
 would have you look on bishops, as having or claiming 
 a power, in any case, to confer blessing arbitrarily on 
 whom they |)lease ; but only as petitioning God for 
 that blessing from above which He alone can give ; yet, 
 we justly hope, will give the rather for the i)raycrs of 
 those whom lie hath placed over his jiuople, unless 
 your own unworthiness ]irove an impediment. Not 
 that you are to e.\peet, on the ijcrformance of this good 
 office, any sudden and sensible change in your hearts, 
 giving you. all at once, a remarkable strength or com- 
 fort in piety, which you never felt before. Hut you 
 may reasonably promise yourselves, from going through 
 it with a proper disposition, greater measures, when 
 real occasion requires them, of such divine assistance as 
 will be needful for your support and orderly growth in 
 every virtue of a Chiistian life. Ahp. Seckir. 
 
 " — he shall hnj his hand &e.] Now the party con- 
 firmed ought cheerfully to boi)e, that this prayer will be 
 accepted; ami, while the bishop's hand is over his 
 head, we ought to meditate, that (iod Himself will 
 " keep us in the shadow of his hand," Isa. xlix. 2 ; 
 and that by this rite it is signilied, that the Lord will 
 "stretch out his hand to defiiul us" against all our 
 spiritual enemies. We have given up ourselves to be 
 his servants, and " the hand of the Lord is with us," 
 Luke i. CO ; that is, his .Spirit is upon us ; and, if we 
 keep close to Him, "none can pluck us out of bis 
 hand," John x. '2«, 29, but we may continue his for 
 ever. Dean Comber. 
 
 » — vpon the head of every one &c.] 'llie ancient 
 
 Tliy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses, As 
 we forgive them that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into tempta- 
 tion ; But deliver us from evil. 
 Amen. 
 
 And this Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everliving 
 God"^, who makest us both to 
 will and to do those thinufs that be Piiii «. is. 
 
 practice in England seems to have been, for the bishop 
 to repeat the form appointed, while his liands remained 
 upon the head of each child, or, at the utmost, u|)on the 
 heads of as many as his hands could reach at one 
 time. In the late Galilean church, the bishop laid his 
 hands upon as many as could con\-eniently kneel before 
 him ; and, after he had laid his hands upon each of 
 them, he repeated the form prescribed : and it is now 
 the custom in some dioceses of England, for the bishop 
 to cause the children to kneel, either at the rails of the 
 communion-table, or in some wide convenient aisle of 
 the church ; and, after laying hands separately on each, 
 to say the precatory benediction. Shepherd. 
 
 p Defend, Lord, &c.] These words are different 
 from those which were directed in Edward's first Book 
 to be used by the bishop, and which were conformable 
 to the prayers anciently used at confirmation. But as 
 the Church had, from the first establishment of the 
 Book of Common I'rayer, omitted the chrism or material 
 unction, and as the signing with the cross in this office 
 was laid aside at the revisal of the book, consistency 
 required that the words, which adverted to those cere- 
 monies, should be changed, when the two correspond- 
 ing ceremonies were abolished. Our Reformers knew, 
 that anointing with chrism, and signing with the sign 
 of the cross, were not specified in Scripture, nor es- 
 sential to confirmation. They might hon-ever, without 
 sidijecting themselves to just censure from any quarter, 
 have lawfully continued the chrism and crossing ; but, 
 by abohshing botli these ceremonies, and retaining only 
 what the ajiostles practised, prayer and imposition of 
 hands, they have restored to this office its original 
 simplicity. Shepherd. 
 
 1 Then shall the Bishop sat/, &c.] The imposition of 
 hands being finished, the bishop and congregation mu- 
 tually recommend each other to (!od, and return to such 
 joint and puhliek devotions as are suitable to the solem- 
 nity. The first of these is the Lord's I'rayer : a form 
 seasonalile always, but peculiarly now ; as every |)etition 
 in it will shew to every one who considers it. In the 
 next jilace, more especial supjilications are poured forth, 
 for the persons particularly concerned, to lliui who 
 alone can enable them " both to will and to do " what 
 is " good ;" that, as the liand of his minister hath been 
 laid <ipon them, so "his fatherly hand may ever be 
 over tlicm, and lead them in" the oidy way, "the 
 knowledge and obedience of his word," to " everlast- 
 ing life." After lliis a more general prayer is offered 
 up for them anil the rest of the congregation together, 
 that (!od would "vouchsafe." unworthy as we all arc, 
 so " to direct and govern !)oth our hearts and bodies," 
 our iiu-linations and actions, (for neither will sufllce 
 without the other,) " in the ways of his laws, and in 
 the works of his commandments," that, " through hia
 
 THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION. 
 
 09:3 
 
 good and acceptable unto tliy divine 
 
 Majesty ; We make our liumble 
 
 supplications unto thee for tlicse tliy 
 
 Actsviii. 17, servants, upon whom (after the 
 
 18; XIX. c. example of thy holy Apostles) we 
 
 have now laid our hands, to certify 
 
 them (by this sij^ii) of thy favour 
 
 and gracious goodness towards them. 
 
 rs. ixxxiv. Let thy fatherly hand, we beseech 
 
 i.ukexi. 9. thee, ever be over them; let thy 
 
 '^" Holy Spirit ever be with them ; and 
 
 so lead tliem in the knowledge and 
 
 Ps. cxxvix. obedience of tliy Word, that in the 
 
 ' ^'""' ■ end they may obtain everlasting life ; 
 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 
 with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth 
 
 most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may be 
 preserxeil in body and soul ;" having the former, in 
 liis good time, raised up from the dead, and the latter 
 made happy, in conjunction with it, to all eternity. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' Almii/htij and everlwing God, &c.] In this Collect 
 the bishop prays, that what he has done may not be an 
 empty and insignificant sign. And this he does with 
 so noble a mixture of humility and faith, as well agrees 
 with the purest times. Depending upon the faith and 
 ])romise of God, he knows that the graces he has now 
 been conferring are as sure a consequence of the office 
 he has performed, as if he had in himself a power to 
 give them. But still he considers from whom these 
 gifts and graces come, and who alone can preserve and 
 secure them ; and therefore, \mder a due sense of this, 
 he makes his humble supplications, that, as *' he has 
 now laid his hands " upon these people " (after the ex- 
 ample of the apostles) to certify them thereby of God's 
 favour and gracious goodness towards them ; the fatherly 
 hand of God may be ever over them, his Holy .Spirit be 
 e\'er with them, and so lead them in the knowledge and 
 obedience of his word, that in the end they may obtain 
 everlasting Ufe." IVIieally. 
 
 It is here desired, that the hand and Spirit of God 
 may continue with the confirmed : the one to assist 
 them in the understanding, the other to help them in 
 the performance, of the divine «'ill, till they come to 
 everlasting hap])iness. " The word of God " shews 
 us the way to heaven, " the Spirit " makes us to under- 
 stand and obey the direction thereof: so that, if God 
 hear this prayer, we cannot miss of that blessed end. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Almighty Lord, &c.] Because the ancients be- 
 lieved confirmation to be a preservative both of body 
 and soul, an additional Collect was added at the Re- 
 storation, from those that are ])laced at the end of the 
 Communion-office, that God would " direct, sanctify, 
 and govern, both our souls and bodies, in the ways 
 of his laws, and in the norks of his commandments, 
 &c." 
 
 'riie Blessing concludes all oflSces, and particularly 
 ought to end this, in regard it is the epitome of the 
 whole administration, which is only a more solemn 
 benediction. Dean Comber, IVheatly. 
 
 ' Then the Bishop shall bless them, &c.] These re- 
 quests being thus made, it only remains, that all be 
 dismissed with a solemn blessing; which will certainly 
 abide with them, unless, by wilful sin, or gross negli- 
 gence, they drive it away. And in that case, they must 
 not hope, that their baptism, or their confirmation, or 
 
 and reigncth, ever one God, world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 O Almighty Lord", and everlast- 
 ing God, vouchsafe, we beseech 
 thee, to direct, sanctify, and govern, 
 both our hearts, and bodies, in the 
 ways of thy laws, and in the works 
 of thy commandments; that, through 
 thy most mighty protection both 
 here and ever, we may be preserved 
 in body and soul ; through our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 1 Then the Bishop shall bless them', saying 
 thus, 
 
 the prayers of the bishop, or the Church, or the whole 
 world, will do them any service. On the contrary, 
 every thing which thty might have been the better for, 
 if they had made a good use of it, they will be the worse 
 for, if they make a bad one. They do well to renew the 
 covenant of their baptism in confirmation ; but, if they 
 break it, they forfeit the benefit of it. They do well to 
 repeat their vows in the sacrament of the Lord's Sup- 
 per ; it is what all Christians are commanded by their 
 dying Saviour, " for the strengthening and refreshing 
 of their souls :" it is what I beg all, who are confirmed, 
 will remember, and their friends and ministers remind 
 them of: the sooner they are prepared for it, the hap- 
 pier ; and by stopping short, the benefit of what pre- 
 ceded will be lost. But if they are admitted to this 
 privilege also, and live wickedly, they do but "eat and 
 drink their own condemnation." So that all depends 
 on a thoroughly honest care of their hearts and beha- 
 viour in all respects. 
 
 Not that, with our best care, we can avoid smaller 
 faults. And if we intreat jmrdon for them in our daily 
 prayers, and faitlifuUy strive against them, they will 
 not be im]nited to us. But gross and habitual sins we 
 may avoid, through God's help; and if we fall into 
 them, we fall from our title to salvation at the same 
 time. Yet even then our case is not desperate ; and 
 let us not make it so, by thinking it is : for, through 
 the grace of the Gosjiel, we may still repent and amend, 
 and then be forgiven. But I beg you to observe, that, 
 as continued health is vastly preferable to the hajipiest 
 recovery from sickness ; so is innocence to the truest 
 repentance. If we sufl'er ourselves to transgress our 
 duty; God knows whether we shall have time to re- 
 pent: God knows whether we shall have a heart to do 
 it. At best we shall have lost, and more than lost, the 
 whole time that we have Ijeen going back : whereas we 
 have all need to ])ress forwards, as fast as we can. 
 Therefore let the innocent of wilful sin preserve that 
 treasure with the greatest circumspection ; and the 
 faidty return from their errors without delay. Let the 
 young enter upon the way of righteousness with hearty 
 resolution ; and those of riper age persevere in it to the 
 end. In a word, let us all, of every age, seriously con- 
 sider, and faithfully jjractise, the obligations of religion. 
 For " the vows of God are" still " upon us," Ps. Ivi. 12 ; 
 how long soever it be since they were first made, either 
 by us, or for us : and it is in vain to forget what He 
 will assuredly remember ; or hope to be safe in ne- 
 glecting what He expects us to do. But let us use 
 proper dihgence ; and He will infallibly g\ve us proper 
 assistance, and " confirm us" all " unto the end, that
 
 394 
 
 THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION. 
 
 TH E Blessing of God Almiglity, 
 the Father, the Son, and tlie 
 Holy Ghost, be upon you, and remain 
 with you for ever. Amen. 
 
 we may he blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ," 1 Cor. i. 8. 
 
 " Now unto hira, who is able to keep us from falling, 
 and to present us faultless before the presence of his 
 glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our 
 Savioiu', be glory and majesty, dominion and power, 
 both now and ever. Amen." Jude 24, 25. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 " And there shall none be admit fed to the Holy Com- 
 munion, ice] Tliis is conformable to the practice of the 
 ])rimitive church, which always ordered that Confirma- 
 tion should precede the Eucharist, unless there was ex- 
 traordinary occasion to the contrary ; such as was the 
 case of clinick baptism, of the absence of a bishop, or 
 
 H And there shall none be admitted to the 
 Holy Communion", until such time as he 
 be confirmed, or be ready and desirous to 
 be confirined^. 
 
 the like, in which cases the Eucharist is allowed before 
 Confii'mation. Il'heatly. 
 
 ^ — or be ready and desirous to be confirmed.'] These 
 words were added at the last review, in compliance with 
 the request of tlie Presbyterian divines, that Confirma- 
 tion might not be made so necessary to the holy Com- 
 mimion, as that none should be admitted to it, unless 
 they had been confirmed. 
 
 By "ready" is meant that they "are arrived at a 
 competent age, and can say the Creed, the Lord's 
 Prayer, and the Ten C'ommandments ; and also can 
 answer to the other questions of the Church Catechism." 
 Shepherd.
 
 THE FORM OF 
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY' 
 
 ^ First the Banns^ of all that arc to he married together must be published^ in 
 the Church three several Sundays, during the time of Morning Service, or of 
 Evening Service, {if there be no Morning Service,) immediately after the second 
 Lesson ; the Curate saying after the accustomed manner, 
 
 >■ The form of solemnization of Matrimony.'] That this 
 holy state was instituted by God is evident from the 
 two first chapters in the Bible; Gen. i. 28; ii. IS. 24. 
 Whence it came to pass, that, amongst all the descend- 
 ants from our first parents, the numerous inhaljitants of 
 the different nations in the world, there has been some 
 rehgious way of entering into this state, in consequence 
 and testimony of this divine institution. Among 
 Christians especially, from the very first ages of the 
 church, those, who have been married, have been always 
 joined together in a solemn manner by an ecclesiastical 
 person. And both in the Greek and Latin churches, 
 offices were drawn up in the most early times for the 
 rehgious celebration of this holy ordinance : but, being 
 afterwards mi.xed with superstitious rites, our Reformers 
 tliought fit to lay them aside, and to draw U]) a form 
 more decent and grave, and more agreeable to the usage 
 of the primitive church. Wheatly. 
 
 Manlvind is naturally inclined to society; and the 
 bond, as well as the foundation, of all societies is mar- 
 riage ; which ought to be made sacred, and adopted 
 into religion, because it is the interest of mankind it 
 should be inviolable. Wherefore our Church ajipoints, 
 first, that none but a lawful minister shall tie these 
 bonds, for God Himself married the first man and wo- 
 man, and the covenant is made to Him, and the minister 
 is God's re])resentative, to take the securities and bless 
 the pai-ties in God's name, for which cause the primitive 
 Christians did not account it a lawful marriage unless 
 it was celebrated by a lawful minister ; and the laws of 
 this and all other Christian nations affirm the same 
 thing. Secondly, our Church allows no clandestine 
 marriages, for it orders that the banns (that is, the de- 
 cree) of matrimony shall be [niblished three several 
 days in the church before the marriage he celebrated ; 
 a custom as ancient as the days of Tertullian, and used 
 in the Protestant churches abroad as well as here, and 
 it is designed to i)revent all objections that might be 
 made in vain, when once the bonds are tied. Thirdly, 
 for better security against clandestine marriage, the 
 Church orders that all marriages shall be made in the 
 day-time ; for those, who intend honourably and ho- 
 nestly, need not fly the light : and since the parties 
 are most serious in the morning, it is appointed that it 
 shall be celeln'ated between the hours of eight and 
 twelve ; and of old it was required, the bridegroom 
 and bride should be fasting when they made this reh- 
 
 gious vow in God's presence, and by that means they 
 were safe from being made incapable by drink, of mak- 
 ing a wisi-' and voluntary choice in this great and 
 weighty affair. There are also some times which are 
 set apart for extraordinary devotion, namely, from Ad- 
 vent .Sunday, till a week after Epiphany; from Septua- 
 gesima Sunday, till a week after Easter; and from 
 Ascension-day, till Trinity Simday; which some old 
 canons and the custom of this nation reckon times pro- 
 hibited from marriage : the frequent returns and long 
 continuance of which times give the parties more space 
 for consideration and good advice. Fourthly, and that 
 this holy rite may be still more solemn, it is expressly 
 required that the marriage Ije celebrated in the church, 
 tlie [ilace of God's special jjresence, before whom they 
 make this religious covenant; and the sacrcdness of 
 tlie place should make them more re\'erent in entering 
 into it, and more careful in keeping it. For the better 
 assurance whereof, lastly, it is enjoined to be done in 
 the presence of their friends and neighbours, who ought 
 to be there, to testify their consent unto it, to be conti- 
 nual witnesses of it, and to join with the holy man in 
 prayers for a blessing on it : for which end o\ir Church 
 hath provided a most proper, pious, and judicious form ; 
 consisting of, fh'st, the ijreparation, by instructing the 
 wliole congregation, and charging the parties to declare 
 all known impediments; secondly, the solemnization, 
 by asking their mutual consent, joining their hands, 
 plighting their troth to each other, and confirming it 
 by the pledge of a ring : as also the priest's ratifying 
 this covenant, by praying for a blessing on it, publish- 
 ing the validity of it, and pronouncing his benediction 
 over the parties. Thirdly, the conclusion of the office, 
 by praises in the Psalms, by prayers in the Collects, 
 and finally, by instructing them in their duty out of 
 God's word. Dean Comber. 
 
 '■ — the Banns~\ The word " bann" comes from the 
 barbarous Latin word bannum, bandum ; or from ban- 
 nire, which signifies to ])ut out such an edict or pro- 
 clamation. It came into use about the seventh or 
 eighth centiu-y, when the Latin tongue was vitiated by 
 the intermixture of a number of Gothick, Teutonick, 
 and Gaulish words. For we find the use of it in the 
 Capitulars of Charles the Great, in the year of our 
 Lord 802. " Bannimus firmiter, ut nemo amplius 
 faciat, &c. ;" " We pubhsh it as a ban, that no one 
 hereafter &c." Dr. Nicholls.
 
 n06 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 I Publish the Banns of Marriage I If any of you know cause or just 
 between M. of — and N. of — . ! impediment ^ why these two persons 
 
 Before any can be la\vfully married together, the 
 " Banns " are directed to be published in the church, 
 that is, " PuWick Proclamation" (for so the word 
 signiiies) must be made to the congregation, concern- 
 ing the design of the parties that intend to come 
 together. This care of the Church to prevent clandes- 
 tine marriages is, as far as we can find, as old as 
 Christianity itself. For TertuUian tells us, that in his 
 time all marriages were accounted clandestine, that 
 were not published beforehand in the church, and 
 were in danger of being judged adulteiy .and fornica- 
 tion. .\nd l)y several ancient constitutions of our own 
 Church, it was ordered, that none should be married 
 before notice should be given of it in the publick con- 
 gregation on three several Sundays or holy-days. And 
 so it was also ordered by the rubrick prefixed to the 
 form of solemnization of matrimony in the Book of 
 Common Prayer, namely, that " the Banns of all that 
 are to be married together be ])ublished in the church 
 three several Sundays or holy-days, in time of divine 
 service ;" unto which was added at the last review, 
 "immediately before the sentences for the offertory:" 
 but it is ordered by a late .\ct of Parliament, namely, 
 the statute 26 George II. "To prevent clandestine 
 marriages," which should be carefully perused by eveiy 
 parochial clergyman, that " all banns of matrimony 
 shall be published upon three Sundays ])receding the 
 solemnization of marriage, immediately after the second 
 Lesson." 
 
 The design of the Church in publishing these banns, 
 is to be satisfied whether there be any just cause or im- 
 pediment why the parties, so asked, should not be joined 
 together in matrimony. JVhealli/, 
 
 Some of the reasons for these alterations are suffi- 
 ciently obvious. When there is no Communion, the 
 sentences before the offertory are seldom read ; and, 
 when there is a Communion, the greater part of our 
 congregations withdraw immediately after the sermon, 
 and none hear the sentences read, but they who mean 
 to receive the Communion. To give therefore the 
 greater publicity to the banns, the time of publishing 
 is now a])pointed to be immediately after the second 
 Lesson, wlien it must be presumed that the whole con- 
 gregation is assembled. 
 
 .Again, banns may now be published during the time 
 of Evening service when there is no Morning service. 
 Whereas, according to the former regulation, lianns 
 could be published only in the morning, for the sentences 
 before the offertory are not read in the evening. 
 
 Before the last review there was no sjiecial form of 
 words a|)pointed fur the minister to use in the publica- 
 tion of banns. The present form was then added, and 
 the late statute enacts, tliat "all banns shall be pub- 
 lished according to this form." 
 
 " No curate is obliged to ])ublish banns of matrimony 
 between any persons whatsoever, unless they, seven 
 flays at the least, before the time re(|uired for such 
 publication rcsjiectively, deliver notice in writing of 
 their Christian and surnames, and of the house or 
 houses of their respective abodes, and of tlic time they 
 have dwelt in such houses." Shi-pherd. 
 
 • — tlie lif.iin.i nf all Itiat are In he married together 
 must be jinhlishcd f<.v.] By tlie (iind Canon a licence 
 doth nolhing more than barely supply tlie place of 
 banns. It dolh not make any other cliange in the 
 rules of our ministration in the ofllce of marriage ; it 
 13 only an eijuivalent to tlie jirevious pubhcation of 
 
 banns, or to a certificate of such publication in another 
 parish. 
 
 .\nd any reason whatsoever, that ought to hinder or 
 retard the solemnization of marriage after banns thrice 
 ])ublisbed, will be equally good reasons for refusing or 
 suspending compliance with a licence, where the like 
 circumstances occur. Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 ^ — cause or just impediment,^ The impediments to 
 lawful marriage in England are not numerous. Inde- 
 pendent of impotency and of mental imbecility, which 
 latter invalidates marriage, as it does every other en- 
 gagement, they are only three : ! . A ])receding mai-- 
 riage, or precontract still existing; 2. Consanguinity 
 or affinity, that is, relationship either by blood or 
 marriage ; and, 3. In cases of minority, want of the 
 consent of parents or guardians. 
 
 On each of these three impediments, I shall offer a 
 few observations. They may serve as directions to the 
 younger part of the clergy, if any of them be without a 
 better guide ; and may also be of use to the parties 
 intending to contract matrimony. 
 
 1. .\ simple precontract to one person is not now 
 regarded as an impediment to a legal marriage with 
 another. Still the party disappointed may obtain by a 
 legal process all the comjjensation that in such a case a 
 trilling sum of money can afford. 
 
 But a second marriage, during the life of a former 
 husband or wife, is by the ecclesiastical law a mere nul- 
 lity : and the jiarty affecting to contract such marriage 
 the statute law has made guilty of felony, on account of 
 its being so gross a violation of iniblick decency as well 
 as justice. Yet, where the husband has been abroad 
 seven years, though the wife might have received inti- 
 mation of his being alive, and vice versa ; or where the 
 husband has been absent from his wife for seven years 
 within the kingdom, and she had no knowledge of his 
 being alive within that time, and vice versa ; though any 
 subsequent marriage is void, yet it is not felony. Thus 
 likewise, in case of separation " a mensa et thoro," a 
 second marriage is not felony, but simply void, 
 
 2. Either consanguinity or affinity, within certain 
 degrees, forms a second im]iediment to legal marriage. 
 The statutes that mention the degrees, within which 
 marriage is prohibited, and the talile of degrees set 
 forth by authority in lf)(i3, required by the Canons to 
 be hung Uji in churches, and frequently annexed to the 
 larger editions of the Book of Coininon Prayer, are 
 founded upon the prohiljitions recorded in the eighteenth 
 cba])tcr of Leviticus. In Leviticus it is to lie uoliccd, 
 that not every one of the ilcgrees, exhibited in tlu' table, 
 is |)articularly specified; but the whole is deduciljle by 
 fair inference. Por exauqile, the statutes and the table 
 expressly forbid a man to marry his wife's sister; upon 
 which Bishop Jewel argues thus: "For when Ood 
 commands me, tliat I shall not marry my brother's 
 wife, it follows directly that he forljids me to marry my 
 wife's sister. For between one woman and two brothers 
 there is like an.alogy or pro]iiirtion.'' The most remote 
 degree prohibited from marrying by the Levitical law, 
 and the law of this realm, is that between the uncle 
 and niece, or between the nephew and the aunt. 
 
 :i. Till' only remaining iinpediuient is want of age. 
 15y our statute law it is enacteil, "lluit all marriages 
 solemnized by licence where eillier of the jiarties not 
 being a widower or widow." whiili supposes einanci|)a- 
 tion, "shall be under the age of twenty-one years, 
 which sliall be had without the consent of the father,
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATIllMONY. 
 
 397 
 
 sliould not be joined together in holy 
 Matrimony, ye are to declare it. 
 This is the first [^xccoyul, or thinly 
 time of askinsr. 
 
 l And if the persons Ihrit are to be married' 
 dwell in dwers Parishes^ the Btnuis must 
 be asked in both Parishes; and the Curate 
 
 or, he being dead, of the mother, if unmarried ; or of 
 
 the guardian lawfully appointed ; shall he absolutely 
 null and void to all intents and purposes whatever." 
 
 With respect to marriage by banns the case is differ- 
 ent. Some clergymen 1 know are of opinion, that the 
 minister ought to be certified that the [lartics are full 
 twenty-one years of age, or tliat the consent of the 
 parent or guardian has been obtained, before he can 
 lawfully proceed to celebrate a marriage by banns. 
 
 This opinion is evidently grounded u[)on the sixty- 
 second Canon, which ordains, that no minister, upon 
 pain of suspension per triennium ipso facto, shall cele- 
 brate matrimony between any jiersons when banns are 
 thrice asked, and no licence in that resi)ect necessary, 
 before the parents or governors of the parties to be 
 married, being under the age of twenty and one years, 
 shall either personally, or by sufhcient testimony, signify 
 to him their consents given to the said marriage. The 
 rule was plain, and the penalty upon con\'iction was 
 both severe and inevitable. Though suspension for 
 three years ipso facto did not take place till it was 
 judicially declared, yet, when the offence was proved, 
 the lumislunent could neither be dispensed with nor 
 mitigated. The courts had nothing more to do, and 
 it was not in their power to do less, than declare 
 the jienalty awarded by the canon, pronounce the 
 sentence, and see it put in execution. 
 
 But it is now enacted by a statute, that " no minister 
 solemnizing marriages between persons, both or one of 
 whom shall be under the age of twenty-one years after 
 banns published, shall be ]umishable by ecclesiastical 
 censures for solemnizing such marriages without con- 
 sent of parents or guardians, whose consent is required 
 by law, unless he shall have notice of the dissent of 
 such parents or guardians." The statute likewise 
 enacts that, " in case such jiarents or guardians, or one 
 of them, shall openly and publickly declare or cause to 
 be declared, in the church or cha]iel where the banns 
 shall be published, at the time of such publication, 
 his, her, or their dissent to such marriage, such ])ub- 
 lication of banns shall be absolutely void." Shepherd. 
 
 ' And if the persons that are to be married &c.] This 
 ruhrick seems to suppose, what both the ancient and 
 modern canons enjoin, namely, that marriage shall 
 always be solemnized in the church or chapel where 
 one of the parties dwelleth. And by our own canons, 
 whatever minister marries them any where else, incurs 
 the same [jcnalty as for a clandestine marriage. Canon 
 62. Nor is even a licence allowed to dispense with 
 him for doing it, Canon 102. And the late Act for 
 preventing clandestine marriages expressly requires, 
 that, in all cases where banns have been published, 
 the marriage be solemnized in one of the churches 
 where such publications had been made, and in no 
 other place whatsoever; and that no licence shall be 
 granted to solemnize any marriage in any otlier church 
 than that which belongeth to the parish, within which 
 one of the parties to be married hath dwelt for four 
 weeks immediately preceding. Formerly it was a 
 custom that marriage should be performed in no other 
 church, but that to which the woman belonged as a 
 parishioner : and the ecclesiastical law allowed a fee due 
 
 of the one Parish shall vol solemnise Ma- 
 trimony bettvi.rl them, without a Certificate 
 of the Banns beinrj thrice asked, from llie 
 Curate of the other Parish. 
 
 H At Ihe day and lime appointed'^ for solemni- 
 zation ff Matriatoiiy, the persons to be 
 married shall come into the body if the 
 Church' with their friends andneiyhbours', 
 
 to the curate of thtit church, whether she was married 
 
 there or not; which was generally reserved for him in 
 the words of the licence : but those words have been 
 omitted in licences granted since the Act 26 George II. 
 took ])lace, wdiich gives no jjreference to the woman's 
 parish. Wheatly. 
 
 The statute of the 26th of George II. explains in 
 detail, and supplies the deficiency of the ruhrick. In 
 particular it gives instructions relative to the publica- 
 tion of banns where both or either of the jiersons to be 
 married dwell in an extra-jiarochial place, having no 
 church or chajiel where banns have been usually ])ub- 
 lished. Shepherd. 
 
 ■* At Ihe day and time appointed'] For better security 
 against clandestine marriages the Church orders that 
 all marriages be celebrated in the " day-time :" for 
 those that mean honourably need not fly the light. By 
 the sixty-second Canon they are ordered to be per- 
 formed in " time of divine service ;" but that practice 
 is now almost, by universal consent, laid aside and dis- 
 continued : and the rubrick only mentions "the day 
 and time appointed," which (he aforesaid canon ex- 
 pressly requires to be "between the hours of eight 
 and twelve in the forenoon :" and though even a 
 licence be granted, these hours are not dispensed with. 
 IVheatly. 
 
 In England marriage may now be celebrated at all 
 seasons of the year, and on any day. But it can only 
 be done at a certain time of the day, " between the 
 hours of eight and twelve in the forenoon." This 
 regulation is consonant to the spirit of tlie old canons 
 of our Church, which prohibit the solemnization of 
 matrimony at unseasonable or secret hours, and en- 
 join that the parties plight their troth before they have 
 broken their fast. 'I'his does not extend to sjiecial 
 licences, granted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 which authorize the jjarties to marry at any suitable 
 time and place. Shepherd. 
 
 ' — into Ihe body of the Church'] Partly that tlie office 
 may be performed in a visible ])lace ; and partly in imi- 
 tation of antiquity; for in the ancient church marriages 
 were solemnized in this place. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 llie custom formerly was, for the couple, who were to 
 enter into this holy state, to be placed at the church 
 door, where the priest was used to join their hands, and 
 perform the greatest part of the matrimonial office. 
 But at the Reformation the rubrick was altered, and 
 the whole office ordered to be performed within the 
 church, where the congregation might afford more wit- 
 nesses of the fact. 
 
 And since God Himself doth join those, that are 
 lawfully married, certainly the house of God is the 
 fittest place wherein to make this religious covenant. 
 x\nd therefore by the ancient canons of this Church 
 the celebration of matrimony in taverns, or other un- 
 hallowed places, is expressly forbidden. And the office 
 is commanded to be performed in the cluirch, not only 
 to prevent all clandestine marriages, but also that the 
 sacredness of the jJace may strike the greater reverence 
 into the minds of the married couple, while thev re- 
 member they make this holy vo«- in the place of God's 
 peculiar presence. Dean Comber, Wheatly.
 
 398 
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 D 
 
 and there standing together, the Man on 
 the right hand^, and the }l'oman on the 
 left, the Priest shall say^, 
 
 EARLY beloved, we are ga- 
 thered together liere in the 
 Prov. XV. 3. sight of God, and in the face of 
 tliis congregation, to join together 
 this Man and this Woman in holy 
 
 As to the place of solemnization, the statute of 26 
 George II. enacts, that " no licence shall he granted to 
 solemnize any marriage in any other church or chapel, 
 than in the jiarish church or jnihlick chapel of the 
 parish or chapelry, which shall have heen the usual 
 place of abode of one of the parties for four weeks im- 
 mediately before the granting of such licence : and in 
 all such cases, where banns shall have been published, 
 the marriage shall be solemnized in one of the jiarish 
 churches where the banns were published, and in no 
 other place whatsoever." 
 
 Yet in a subsequent clause of this statute, it is like- 
 ^vise "provided, that, after the solemnization of any 
 marriage, under a publication of banns, it shall not be 
 necessary to give any proof of the actual dwelling of 
 the parties in the resjiective parishes, wherein the banns 
 of matrimony «-ere published. Or, \\-here the marriage 
 is by licence, it shall not be necessary to give any proof 
 that the usual place of abode of one of the parties for 
 the space of four weeks, as aforesaid, was in the parish 
 Avhere the marriage was solemnized ; nor shall any 
 evidence in either of the said cases be received to prove 
 the contrary in any suit touching the validity of such 
 marriage." 
 
 The penalty which a clergyman incurred for marry- 
 ing any persons without a la\vful licence, or the regular 
 publication of banns, was, according to the Canons of 
 1603, susjjension for three years. To this, several 
 statutes, made in the reigns of AVilliam and of Anne, 
 added the forfeiture of one hundred pounds. But 
 by 26 George 11. it is enacted, that, "if any person 
 shall solemnize matrimony in any other place than a 
 church or chajiel where banns have been usually pub- 
 lished, unless by special hcence from the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury : or shall solemnize matrimony without 
 ])ul)lication of banns, unless licence be first had and 
 (jblained ; every person, knowingly and wilfully so 
 offending, and being lawfully convicted, shall be 
 deemed and adjudged to be guilty of felony, and shall 
 be transporteil i'or fourteen years, according to the laws 
 in loree for the trans|)ortation of felons ;" it is to be 
 observed the iiroseeution must however lie commenced 
 within tlu-ee years of the commission of the offence : 
 " and all such marriages shall be null and void, to all 
 intents and ])ur|)oses whatsoever." The jirovisions of 
 this act do not extend to the marriages of any of the 
 royal family j nor to the marriages by sjiecial licence 
 obtained from the Archbishoi) of Canterbury; nor to 
 marriages between Quakers, nor Jews, where both 
 parties arc Jews or (Quakers ; nor to marriages abroad, 
 or in Scotland, ('liuidestine marriages contracted in 
 Scotland by Knglish ]>artics, even under the age of 
 twenty-one years, and without consent of ])annts or 
 guardians, our courts, I ai)prehend, allow to be bind- 
 ing and gooil. Hhepherd. 
 
 ' — with thnr fi iends and neighbours,'] That is, their 
 relations and acquaintance, who ought to attend on this 
 solemnity, to testify their consent to it, and to join witli 
 the minister in jirayiTS for a blessing on it. 'I'hougli it 
 may not be iinprobalile, but tliat by the "friends" here 
 mentioned may be uuilerstood sucli as the ancients used 
 
 Matrimony ; which is an lionour- neb. xiii. 4. 
 able estate, instituted of God in 
 the time of man's innocency, signi- oen. n. is. 
 fying unto us the mystical union that ^'~^*- 
 is betwixt Christ and his Church ; Eph. v. 
 which holy estate Christ adorned and 
 beautified with his presence", and 
 first miracle that he wrought, in 
 
 to call " Paranymphs," or " Bridemen ;" some traces 
 of which custom we find to be as old as the days of 
 Samson, whose wife is said to have been delix'cred to 
 his companion, who in the Sejjtuagint version is called 
 'Hv^iipcifioybQ, or Brideman, Judges xiv. 20. And that 
 bridemen were in use among the Jews in our Saviour's 
 time, is clear from John iii. 29. From the Jews the 
 custom was received by the Christians, who used it at 
 fii'st rather as a civil custom, and something that added 
 to the solemnity of the occasion, than as a religious 
 rite ; though it was after^'ards countenanced so far as 
 to be made a necessary part of the sacred solemnity. 
 An account of this custom as it prevailed here in the 
 time of King Henry VIII. may be seen in Polydore 
 Vergil. Some remains of it are still left among us : 
 but as to countenancing or discountenancing it, our 
 Church has left it (as in itself) a thing indifferent. 
 yVheatly. 
 
 The co\-enant is to be made in presence of friends 
 and neighboiu's, that is, of relations and acquaintance, 
 who are competent witnesses. In the primitive chm-ch 
 ten witnesses were required to attest a marriage. It 
 was afterwards ordered that there should not be fewer 
 than si.\ : at length two were thought sufficient, as 
 they are still to substantiate the most important facts 
 in any other case. And by the statute of 26 George 
 II. "All marriages shall be solemnized in the pre- 
 sence of two or more credible witnesses, besides the 
 minister who shall celebrate the same." Dean Comber, 
 Shepherd. 
 
 6 — the man on the right hand, &c.] Because the right 
 hand is tlie most honourable place ; which is therefore, 
 both by the Latin and (ireek and all Christian churches, 
 assigned to the man, as being head of the wife. The 
 Jews are the only jiersons that, I ev«r heard, acted 
 otherwise, who place the women on the right hand of 
 her husband, in allusii:n to that expression in the forty- 
 fifth I'salin, " At thy right hand did stand the ipieen 
 in a vesture of gold, itc." ]\'heallg. 
 
 t — the Priest shall say.] To prevent that \-ain and 
 loose mirth which is too frequent at these solemnities, 
 the office is begun with a grave and awful preface, 
 which represents the action, we are about, to be of so 
 divine an original, of so high a nature, and of such in- 
 finite concerununt to all mankind, that they are not 
 only vain and imprudent, but even void of shame, who 
 will not lay aside their levity, and be composed, U])ou 
 so serious and solemn occasion. And to ])revent any 
 misfortune, which the two parties might raslily, or 
 perliai)S inconsiderately, run into by means of their 
 marriage, the minister charges the congregation, " If 
 they know any just cause why they may not lawfully 
 be joined together, they do now declare it," before 
 this holy bond be tied; since afterwards tlieir discovery 
 of it will tend perliajis more to the prejudice than to 
 the relief of the parlies. Whcatly. 
 
 ' — wtiich holy estate Christ adorned and beautified 
 with his pre.i/ncr. &c.] The passage relating to our 
 blessed Saviour here mentioned, ami recited at large 
 by St. John in tlie 2nd cha|)ter of liis (iospel, shews 
 that matnmony was in tliose days, in which our Lord
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATIilMONY. 
 
 .399 
 
 johnii. 1, 2. C'aiia of Galileo ; and is commended 
 of Saint Paul to be honourable 
 Heb. iiii4. amonjr all men : and therefore is not 
 l)y any to be cnterjirised, nor taken 
 in hand, unadvisedly, lii;htly, or wan- 
 tonly, to satisfy men's carnal lusts 
 and a])|;etitos, like brute beasts that 
 liave no undurstandint;- ; but reve- 
 rently, discreetly, advi.-^edly, soberly, 
 and in the fear of God ; duly consi- 
 dering the causes for which Matri- 
 mony was ordainech 
 GcM. i. 2?, First, It was ordained for the jiro- 
 
 E|iii. vi. 4. creation of children, to be brought 
 Joiinxv. 8. yp i,^ fi,g f^,^J. jjjjjj jinrtuj-e of the 
 
 Lord, and to the praise of his holy 
 Name. 
 
 Secondly, It was ordained for a 
 
 1 Cor. vii. 2. remedy against sin, and to avoid 
 fornication ; tliat such persons as 
 have not the gift of continency might 
 marry, and keep themselves unde- 
 filed members of Christ's body. 
 
 Gen. ii. IS. Thirdly, It was ordained for the 
 
 ~ ' mutual society, help, and comfort, 
 that the one ought to have of the 
 other, both in ])rosperity and adver- 
 sity. Into which holy estate these 
 two persons present come now to 
 be joined. Therefore if any man 
 can shew any just cause, why they 
 
 Himself was on eai-th, celebrated in a pulilick manner, 
 and also with his approbation. And it may be here 
 observed, that innocent festivity and mirth at projier 
 seasons are not unbecominrr the {jravity of a good and 
 serious Christian, since Christ Himself was pleased to 
 honour a wedding with his company ; and to be at the 
 ex])ense of a miracle, lest the cheerfulness of the guests 
 should flag for want of such a quantity of wine as was 
 necessary upon such an occasion. 'I'he publick celebra- 
 tion of matrimony is likewise apparently alluded to in 
 the parable of the ten Virgins; Matt. x.xv. 1 — 13. Veneer. 
 See page 109, note b. 
 
 ' And also, speaking vnto the persons that shall be 
 married, &c.] Though others are first called upon to 
 discover the impediments, if any such be known, as 
 being most likely to reveal them ; yet the parties them- 
 selves are charged, in the next place, as being most 
 concerned to declare them. Since, should there after- 
 wards appear any just impediment to their marriage, 
 they must either necessarily live together in a perpetual 
 sin, or be separated for ever by an eternal divorce. 
 IVheally. 
 
 I cannot but commend the wisdom and piety of oiu' 
 Church, expressed in the great care she hath taken to 
 prevent unlawful marriages, not only by requiring the 
 publication of banns, or the obtaining of a licence in a 
 regular way, but also by gi\'ing a strict charge to the 
 parties themselves. For surely, if conscience be not 
 utterly scared, it must needs be affected by such tre- 
 mendous words, and force the ])arties to confess, if 
 there be any lawful let or impediment to hinder the 
 marriage. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ''Ifno impediment be alledged, then &c.] The impedi- 
 
 may not lawfully be joined together, 
 let him now speak, or else hereafter 
 for ever hold his peace. 
 
 H And also, speakinr; vnto the persons that 
 shall be married', he shall say, 
 
 I Require and charge you both, 2 Tim. iv. 1. 
 as ye will answer at the dread- 
 ful day of judgement, when the se- 
 crets of all hearts shall be disclosed, Eccies. xii. 
 that if either of you know any im- '*' 
 pediment, why ye may not be law- 
 fully joined together in Matrimony, 
 ye do now confess it. For be ye 
 well assured, that so many as are 
 coupled together otherwise than 
 God's word doth allow, are not 
 joined together by God ; neither is Mark vi. 17, 
 their Matrimony lawful. j john t. i7; 
 
 iii. 4. 
 
 H At which day of Marriage, if any man do 
 alJedge and declare any impediment, why 
 they may not be coupled together in Matri- 
 mony, by God's Law, or the Laws of this 
 Realm; and will be bound, and svfficieut 
 sureties with him, to the parties; or else 
 put in a Caution {to the full value of such 
 charges as the persons to be married do 
 thereby sustain) to prove his allegation: 
 then the solemnization must be deferred, 
 until such time as the truth be tried. 
 
 f If no impediment be alledged, then^ shall 
 the Curate say unto the Man, 
 
 ments being removed, we proceed to the marriage 
 itself, which being a solemn com|)act, we first "ask 
 the mutual consent of the parties," because consent of 
 the persons is so essential, that the marriage is not 
 good without it : hence Rebekah's friends asked her 
 consent. Gen. xxiv. 58. And in the firmest kind of 
 matrimony among the Romans the parties did mutu- 
 ally ask this of each other, and amongst all Christians 
 the ])riest in God's stead puts this question, that the 
 declaration may be made as to God Himself. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 The man therefore is asked, "AA'hether he will have 
 this woman to his wedded wife;" and the woman, 
 " Whether she will have this man to her wedded hus- 
 band, to live together after God's ordinance in the 
 holy estate of matrimony." And that they may the 
 better know what are the conditions of this state, the 
 minister enumerates the duties which each of them by 
 this covenant will be bound to ])erform. 
 
 The man, for instance, is obliged, in the fh-st place, 
 to "love" his wife, which is the principal duty re- 
 quired by St. Paul, Eph. v. 25 ; and is here mentioned 
 first, becavise, if the man hath this affection, he will 
 perform with delight all the other duties ; it being no 
 burden to do good offices to those whom we heartily 
 and sincerely love. 2. He must " comfort her," which 
 is the same that St. Paul expresses by " cherishing," 
 Eph. v. 29 ; and implies here, that the husband must 
 support his wife under all the infirmities and sorrows, 
 to which the tenderness of her sex often makes her 
 liable. 3. He is to " honour " her, which is also di- 
 rectly commanded by St. Peter, 1 Pet. iii. 7 ; for 
 though the wife, as he says, be the " weaker vessel,"
 
 400 
 
 m: 
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 WILT thou have this Wo- 
 man to tliv wedded wife, 
 juugc!, .Mv. ^^ j.^^ together after God's ordi- 
 uen. II. 24. ],a,)cg \^ ff^g \ici\y estate of Matri- 
 F.ph. V. moiiv ? Wilt thou love her, comfort 
 1 Pet. iii. 7. her, honour, and keep lier in .sickness 
 and in health ; and, forsaking all 
 1 Cor. vii. 4. Other, keep thee only inito her, so 
 Mill. ii. 10. lonij as ye both shall live ? 
 
 1 Cor. vii. 10. ^ ■' 
 
 \ The Man shall answer, I will'. 
 
 Gen. xxiv. 
 58. 
 
 H Then shall the Priest say unto the Woman, 
 
 X^fT/'ILT thou have this jNIan 
 
 \ f to thy wedded husband, to 
 
 live together after God's ordinance 
 
 yet she must not be despised for those unavoidable 
 weaknesses, which God has been pleased to annex to 
 her constitution, but rather respected for her usefulness 
 to the man's comfortable being. •%. He must " keep 
 her in sickness and health," which in St. Paul's jihrase 
 is to " nourish," Eph. v. 20, or to afford her all neces- 
 saries in every condition. Lastly, he must consent to 
 be faithful to her, and " forsaking all other, keeji him- 
 self only to her so long as they both shall live," Mai. 
 ii. 15, IG; 1 ('or. vii. 10; which is added to prevent 
 those three mischievous and fatal destroyers of mar- 
 riage, adultery, polygamy, and divorce. 
 
 There is no difference in the duties, nor conse- 
 quently in the terms, of the covenant between a man 
 and his ^vife ; e.xcept that the woman is obliged to 
 "obey" and "serve" her husband. Nor is this a 
 difference of our own devising, but is expressly ordered 
 by God Himself, who, in those places of Scripture 
 where He enjoins husbands to love their wives, com- 
 mands the wives to be " subject " and " obedient" to 
 their husbands, E|)h. v. 22. 24; Col. iii. IS; Tit. ii. 5; 
 1 Pet. iii. 1. 5. The rules also of society make it 
 necessary; for equality, saith St. Chrysostoin, breeds 
 contention, and one of the two must be superior, or 
 else both would strive perpetually for the dominion. 
 AVherefore the laws of God, and the wisdom of all 
 nations, have given the superiority to the husband. 
 IVhcallij. 
 
 ' — 1 will.'] The whole matter being thus proposed to 
 each party, they should each of them seriously weigh 
 and consider it. And if they like this state of life, and 
 the duties annexed to it; if they neither of them have any 
 objection against the person of the other, liut arc ])er- 
 suaded llicy can each of them love the otlicr, and that 
 for ever, in all conditions of life; let each of them 
 answer as the ('luirch directs them, " 1 will;" which 
 are the jiropcr words that oblige in com])acts, but 
 which can never lay a more solemn oliligation than 
 when they are iiroiuiunced on this occasion. I'or if we 
 start back after sjjeaking them here, we shall have 
 as many witnesses of tlie falsehood, as there are jier- 
 Bons jiresent at the solemnity, namely, God and his 
 angels, the minister and the congregation ; and tliere- 
 forc in regard to so venerable an assembly, let them 
 here be pronounced with all deliberate gravity, and for 
 ever made good witli all i)ossible sincerity. IVhcntly. 
 
 "' 'ihin shall the Miiiisler say, &c.] 'I'lie next thing 
 in tlie solenuiization is, " the mutual stipulation," or 
 tlie covenant they make with one another, wliieh is 
 introduced wilh two very significant rites: (list, "the 
 futlicr'a giving the woman in marriage," Luke. xvii. 
 
 in the holy estate of Matrimony ? 
 
 Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, Eph. v. 21'. 
 
 love, honour, and keep him in sick- coi iii. is. 
 
 ness and in health ; and, forsaking Ge„."i'i.^i8.' 
 
 all other, keep thee only unto him, -*■ 
 
 so long as ye both sliall live ? Rom. vii. 2. 
 
 f The Woman shall answer, I will. 
 
 IT Then shall the Minister s»y". 
 
 Who giveth this Woman to be jo-h. w k;. 
 married to this ]Man ? 
 
 1 Cur. vii. 38. 
 L\ike xvii. 
 27. 
 
 H Then shall they give their troth to each 
 other" in this manner. 
 
 The Minister receiving the Woman at her 
 father's or friend's hands", shall cause the 
 
 27 ; 1 Cor. vii. 38 ; which custom was used amongst 
 the Romans and the Christians in all ages, for divers 
 reasons. 1. Because the weaker sex is always sup- 
 posed to be under the tuition of a father or guardian, 
 whose consent is necessary to make their acts valid. 
 2. This declares that the ])areiits and friends agree to 
 this marriage, and that the father doth emancipate his 
 daughter, and make her free to engage in lier own 
 name. 3. This also shews the woman doth not seek 
 an husband, but is given to one by her friends, follow- 
 ing herein their commands, rather than her own incli- 
 nations, which doth very well suit the modesty of this 
 sex. Secondly follows the "joining of hands," which 
 all the world over is a ceremony signifying the con- 
 tracting of friendship and making of covenants, Prov. 
 xi. 21 ; 2 Kings x. 15 ; and hath ever been used in the 
 covenant of marriage, Tobit vii. 13. The father deli- 
 vers her up to the priest as it were to commit her to 
 God's disposal, and he in God's presence joins their 
 " right hands," because the right hand is generally 
 used in plighting our troth, antl engaging our faith to 
 any person ; and having thus delivered them into each 
 other's hands and power, 1 Cor. \ii. 4, the priest, while 
 they thus give each other their hands, causeth them to 
 make the mutual stipulation, or solemn engagement 
 and vow to each other : he asked the parties' consent 
 before, and then in words of the future tense tliey pro- 
 mised they would have this jicrson in marriage, l)ut 
 th.it is no more than " es])0usals," which of old was a 
 different office from this of matrimony, and done some 
 weeks or months before ; but because some cast off their 
 spouses, before the m.arriage was completed, the Church 
 hath now put the espousals and marriage both into one 
 office, only tliere tliey say, " I will;" and here, "I do 
 take," &c. Dean Camber. 
 
 " Then shall they give their troth to each other] This 
 nlil English expression answers exactly to the Latin, 
 " fidcm dare," to ])romise faithfully : this was the old 
 usual form of S]ieaking in stipulations and making bar- 
 gains. So that when the Cburcli iT(|uires of tlie per- 
 sons to be married, that they shall give eacli other their 
 troth; her meaning is, that they shall make a solemn 
 assurance to each other, that they design to be busliand 
 and wife, and to live together in a faithful discharge of 
 those rules and obligations, which God's law requires in 
 that state. Dr. I^icholls. 
 
 " — at her father's nr friend's hands,] Tlie tnie rea- 
 son, why the fatlier gives away his danghlcr, proliably 
 is, because, in ancient times, tiie authority of a father 
 was almost despotiek, 'I'hc childien were considered 
 as liis projifrty. When any other person gives her
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 401 
 
 Man with his right hand'' to take the 
 J\'omnn by her riyht hand, and to say after 
 him as foUoweth'K 
 
 IM. take thee A^. to my wedded 
 wife, to li.'ivc and to liold from 
 this day forward, for better for worse, 
 for rielier for |)oorer, in sickness and 
 in health, to love and to clierisli, till 
 Kora. vii. 2, deatli us do part', according to God's 
 iiark X 2. lioly Ordinance ; and thereto I plight 
 thee my troth". 
 
 IT Then shall they loose their hands; and the 
 l]'oman, with her riyht hand taking the 
 Man by his right hand, shall likewise say 
 after the Minister, 
 
 away, he is supposed to be deputed by the father, or to 
 act with his permission. At present the ceremony 
 shews the father's consent; and that the authority, 
 which he before possessed, he now resigns to the hus- 
 band. Shepherd. 
 
 p — shall cause the Man with his right hand &c.] The 
 joining of hands naturally signifies contracting a friend- 
 ship, and making a covenant, as observed Ijefore, note 
 m : and the right hand especially was esteemed so sa- 
 cred, that Cicero calls it the " witness of our faith :" 
 and therefore, the joining of these being used in all 
 covenants, no wonder it should be observed in the 
 solemn one of marriage. Accordingly we find it has 
 been used, upon this occasion, by Heathens, Jews, and 
 Christians in all ages. IVheally. 
 
 In both the ancient and modern offices of the Eastern 
 and Western churches, the priest is directed to join the 
 Iiands of the man and woman, that each may confirm 
 the covenant to the other. Shepherd. 
 
 1 — and to say after him as folloxoeth.'] The declara- 
 tion of the consent of the parties, already given, may be 
 considered as a form of esjjousals ; but the mutual sti- 
 jjulation, which each is to rejieat with their own lips, is 
 the most essential jjart of the marriage ceremony. For, 
 to make the marriage legal and binding, the parties 
 must not only be able anil willing to contract, but they 
 themselves must actually contract in the form required 
 by the laws of the realm. 
 
 As a form of contract, the mutual stipulation pre- 
 scribed by our Church is explicit and full. It compre- 
 liends whatever is essential to any contract. What adds 
 to its beauty and excellence, is its plainness and sim- 
 plicity. The sense is so clear, that it cannot be mis- 
 taken by the most ordinary capacity. Shepherd. 
 
 ' — till death ns do pnrt,'\ In Edward's first book, 
 and in all the books till the last review, we read, " till 
 death us depart :" that is, divide, separate, or, as it now 
 stands, " do part." She/iherd. 
 
 "To depart" is one of our oldest verbs, in the usual 
 sense of divide or separate. WiclifFe, Gower, and 
 Chaucer, thus employ the word ; and many later 
 ^Titers. Thus in the translation of the Bible, 15/8, 
 Ruth i. 17, "The Lord do so to me, and more also, if 
 aught but death depart thee and me." It was not in 
 use, or at least was not thus understood, soon after the 
 Restoration. For, among the exce[)tions of the dis- 
 senters against our Book of Common Prayer in 1661, 
 the word, in the old marriage service, is thus branded ; 
 " Till death us depart : the word ' depart ' is here im- 
 properly used." The word was extended into the present 
 form " do part." Todd. 
 
 ' — and thereto I plight thee my troth.'] Or, as the 
 woman says, " I give thee my troth :" that is, for the 
 
 IN. take thee M. to my wedded 
 liusband, to have and to hold 
 from this day forward, for better for 
 worse, for richer for poorer, in sick- 
 ness aiul in health, to love, cherish, 
 and to obey, till death ns do part, 
 according to God's holy ordinance; 
 and thereto I give thee my troth. 
 
 U Then shall they again hose their hands; 
 and the Man shall give unto the Woman a 
 Ring', laying the same upon the book", 
 with the accustomed duly to the Priest and 
 Clerk'^. And the Priest taking the Ring, 
 shall deliver it unto the l\Iun, to put it 
 upon the fourth f tiger of the H'oman's left 
 
 performance of all that has been said, they, each of 
 them, lay their faith of truth to pledge ; as much as if 
 they had said. If I perform not the covenant I have 
 made, let me forfeit my credit, and ne\er be counted 
 just, or honest, or faithful any more. And therefore 
 they ought well to consider this vow, before they make 
 it ; and beware, that they never lireak it. Dean Comber, 
 IVheatly. 
 
 ' — the Man shall give unto the Woman a Ring,] 
 Besides the ])ledge of our truth, there is a visible 
 pledge also, namely, "the ring," which being anciently 
 the seal by which all orders were signed, and all choice 
 things secured, the delivery of this was a sign, that the 
 |)arty to whom it was given was admitted into the 
 nearest friendship and the highest trust, so as to be in- 
 vested with our authority and allowed to manage our 
 treasure and other concerns, Gen. xli. 42 ; and hence 
 it came to be a token of love, Luke xv. 22 ; and was 
 used in matrimony not only among the Jews and 
 Gentiles, but the Christians also, who, in Clemens 
 Alexandrinus's time, gave their spouse a ring to de- 
 clare her worthy of the government of the family, and 
 thus it hath been used ever since. And we may 
 observe, the matter, of which this ring is made, is gold, 
 to signify how noble and durable our affection is ; the 
 form is round, as the [jroperest figure to unite things 
 separated before, and to im]ily that oiu' respect shall 
 never have an end : the jilace of it is on the fourth finger 
 of the left hand, where the ancients thought was a vein 
 which came directly from the heart, and where it may 
 be always in view ; and, being a finger least used, 
 where it may be least subject to be worn out. B>it the 
 main end is to be a visiljle and lasting token and re- 
 membrance of this covenant, which must never be 
 forgotten ; and if in ordinary bargains we have some 
 lasting thing delivered as an earnest or pledge and 
 memorial, much more is it needful here : and to scruple 
 a thing so prudent and well designed, so anciently and 
 universally used, does not deserve our serious confuta- 
 tion. Dean Cotnber. 
 
 'ITie ring is by positive institution " a token and 
 ])ledge of the covenant made " by the ]iarties con- 
 tracting marriage : and, as it is a permanent monu- 
 ment of the vows and promises then reciprocally made, 
 so it ought to be a perpetual monitor, that these vom's 
 be religiously obser\-ed, and these promises faithfully 
 jjerformed. Shepherd. 
 
 " — laying the same upon the booi.] Intimating that 
 it is our duty, to offer up all we have to God as the 
 true proprietor, before we use them ourselves ; and to 
 receive them as from his hand to be employed towards 
 his glory. Whenthj. 
 
 * — Clerk.] See page 34, note y. Custom has intro- 
 
 2 D
 
 402 
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 hand. And ike Man holding the Ring 
 there, and taught by the Priest, shall say, 
 
 WITH this Ring I tliee wed^, 
 with my body I thee wor- 
 
 duced the office of "clerk" in oiir parish churches, 
 obliging him to a constant attendance on the puljlick 
 sernee : but to this intent, that the worship might not 
 suffer by a general defailure either in the absence or 
 answers" of the people ; not that such jierson should 
 supply or excuse either. Custom has also authorized 
 him to exercise such office before, yet jointly with, the 
 congregation in a distinguished manner; he with a 
 more audilde, they «-ith a more humlile voice, but to 
 this twofold intent : first, that the indecency of a 
 general loudness, as well as deficiency by a total silence, 
 might be prevented in the publick answers : secondly, 
 that by the clerk's audible jironunciation of Amen and 
 the responses, the close and completion of the prayers 
 and other parts might appear; and their separation 
 from, and succession to, each other might be heard and 
 distinguished. But though such officer be admitted 
 into the Church, and for such ends, yet by his assist- 
 ance no member of the congregation is either excluded 
 or excused. All persons present, of whatever age, sex, 
 or condition, are bound to act, to worship for them- 
 selves : all, as the eighteenth Canon expressly directs, 
 " either man, woman, or child, of what calling soever, 
 must repeat audibly the Confession, the Lord's Prayer, 
 and the Creed, and make the several answers as aj)- 
 uointed in the Common Prayer :" must pronounce 
 each Amen ; must perform every part and parcel of the 
 service, that the clerk is accustomed to do ; otherwise 
 they disajipoint the order of the Church. If indeed 
 there be, as it is to be feared there is, a vulgar error 
 crept in and spread among our pcojile, that the office of 
 a parish cleric is appointed, and a seat erected for him 
 in the church, only that in tlie i)idilick answers and 
 parts he may su|iply, and be instead of a mouth for the 
 congregation ; it is so gross an errror, so directly con- 
 trary to the intention of our Cluirch; that, as if it were 
 to prevent and beat down sudi a conceit, the Church 
 hath not in all the rubricks taken the least notice of 
 such office, or once mentioned the title of clerk, but on 
 this single occasion. For, when the rubrick before the 
 Lord's I'rayer, after the Ajiostles' Creed, saith, "the 
 minister, clerks, and jieople shall say it with a loud 
 voice," by " clerks " it doth not mean the parish clerk ; 
 for it sjieaks in the plural, of more clerks than one: 
 but it means real clerks in holy orders, and refers only 
 to choirs in cathedrals and collegiate churches, where 
 many such clerks or clergymen are supposed to he 
 present. 
 
 Hefore the Reformation, tlicre were one or more of 
 these real clerks also in ])ari.sh churches, who were as 
 assistants to the rector or vicar; and liad for their 
 maintenance, besides the jn'ofits of the place and 
 teaching school, the office of Aijuaebajuli, to carry the 
 holy water. 
 
 lint, as before said, the jiarish clerk is not noticed in 
 the rubricks, excejrt here. Is tlic minister ordered by 
 the rubrick to begin the Confession ? " The whole con- 
 gregation," not tlie clerk, are ordered to " say it after 
 him." Is the |)ricst ajipointcd to pronounce the Abso- 
 lution ? " 'I'lie people," not any single person, are ap- 
 ])ointed, " at the end of tliat, and of all other prayers, 
 to answer .Vmcn." Dr. liisse. 
 
 ' IVilh this Rin(j I thee I'ff/,] When the ring is 
 delivered, the husband S|)caks to his wife, declaring, 
 I. I'lic general meaning of this significant token, " witli 
 
 ship^ and with all my worhlly goods 
 I thee endow ^: In the Name of tlie 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost ^ Amen. 
 
 this ring I thee wed," that is, this is a pledge of that 
 covenant of matrimony \\-hich I just now make with 
 thee. 2. He shews the particular rights accruing to 
 her thereby, namely, to share in all the honours be- 
 longing to his person, which is the meaning of those 
 words " with my body I thee worship :" and to have 
 an interest in his estate, signified in that jihrase, " with 
 all my worldly goods I thee endow ;" and in that 
 ancient usage of laying down a sum of money on the 
 book, part of which is the man's oblation to God, 
 (namely, the dues of the priest and clerk.) and all the 
 rest was by the priest delivered to the wife, to give her 
 " livery and seisin " of her husband's estate, which 
 though she may not alienate without his consent, yet 
 she may and ought to have the use of as she hath 
 occasion, which is no more than justice requires, 
 because she hath already endowed her husband in her 
 fortune ; so that hereaiter they are to have all things 
 in common, and the husband is bound to provide for 
 his wife according to his power while he lives, and 
 when he dies ; especially since he makes this solemn 
 covenant, " In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost," that is, by his Christianity, and before the 
 Trinity, as witness thereto, who, if he break it, will be 
 the avenger of this perjury ; for these words, calling 
 God to witness, turn this promise into a solemn and 
 sacred oath. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — n'ilh my body I thee jcore/;;;),] For the better 
 understanding of this phrase, we must know, that 
 anciently there were two sorts of wives ; one whereof 
 was called the ]irimary or lawful wife; the other was 
 called the half-wife, or conc\ibine. The difference 
 betwixt these two was only in the differing purpose of 
 the man, betaking himself to the one or the other : if 
 his pur])0se was only fellowship, there grew to the 
 woman by this means no worshii) at all; but rather the 
 contrary. In professing, that his intent was to ad<l 
 by his person honour and worship tmto hers, he took 
 her plainly and clearly to be his wife, not his concu- 
 bine. This it is, wliich the civil law doth mean, when 
 it makes a wife differ from a concubine in dignity. The 
 worship that grew unto her being taken with declara- 
 tion of this intent, was, that her children became by 
 this means free and legitimate, heirs to tlieir father. 
 Gen. XXV. 5, 0, and herself was made a mother over his 
 family. Lastly, she received such advancement of 
 stiitc, as things annexed to his jierson might augment 
 her with: yea, a right of parlici])ation was thereliy 
 given her, both in him, and even in all things which 
 were his ; and therefore he says not only " with my 
 body I thee worship," but also, " with all my worldly 
 goods I thee endow." The former branch having 
 granted the i)rinci])al, the latter granteth that which is 
 annexed thereto. Honker. 
 
 The Jews anciently used tlie same phrase: "Be 
 imto me a wife, and 1, according to the word of (Jod, 
 will worship, honour, and maintain thee according to 
 the manner of husbands amongst the Jews, who wor- 
 ship, honour, and maintain their wives." And that no 
 man ipiarrcl iit this liiuniless plu'ase, let him take 
 notice, that to worship here signifies, to make worsliip- 
 tul or honoin-able, as you niiiy see, 1 Sam. ii. 30. For 
 where our last translation reads it, " him that honours 
 nic, I will honour;" in the old translation, which our 
 Common Prayer Book uses, it is, " him that worshii)S
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 403 
 
 1 Then the Ulim lenvinrj the Ring npon the 
 fourth finijcr of the Woman's lift hniul, 
 they shall both kneel down; and the Minis- 
 ter shall say, 
 
 Let us pray"', 
 isa. xiv. 12. /~\ Eternal God, Creator and Pre- 
 
 Ps. xxxvi.O. II 1- IT 1 ■ 1 /-'■ 
 
 Rev. iv. 11. \^ server or all maiikiiul, (jiver 
 jot)vii.2o. ^^ j^,[ spiritu-ii grace, the Author of 
 
 1 Pet, V. 10. everhisting life ; Send thy blessing 
 
 me, I will worship ;" that is, I will malie worshiiiful ; 
 for that way only can (jod be said to worship man. 
 Bp. Sparrow. 
 
 These words are objected to by our adversaries, as a 
 great crime in our Church, for obliging the bridegroom 
 to make an idol of his bride, and to declare in the most 
 extravagant strain of all compliments, that he worships 
 her. But this imputation is owing to the want of a 
 just consideration of the purport of the old English 
 word "worship," which signifies an honourable regard, 
 as is yet to be seen in our usual e.\|iressions still retained 
 in common discourse, as your \\'orship. Worshipful, 
 &c. And so King James in the conference at Hamjiton 
 Court told Dr. Reynolds, who made this olijection. For 
 our Church is not only content, that the wife should be 
 endowed with a share of the husband's goods ; l)ut 
 that the husband should oblige himself to promote his 
 spouse to the dignity of the uxorial honour : for she 
 would not have the men joined to concubines by this 
 religious solemnity : and therefore she ties the man to 
 make profession, that he is willing to have the person 
 he marries not only to be a partner in his bed, but that 
 she should have all the dignity cf a wife allowed her. 
 And that is the meaning of these words, " with my 
 body I thee worship :" I not only give thee a right in 
 my body, but that in the honourable and worshipful 
 way of a wife. For by the old Roman law this was the 
 difference between a wife and a concubine : that the 
 husband before marriage promised, that he designed 
 to [jromote the woman he was married to, to the honour 
 of Mater-familias, or mistress of the family. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 The first right, accruing to the wife by marriage, is 
 honour : and therefore the man says, " with my body I 
 thee worship ;" that is, " with my body I thee honour :" 
 for so the word signifies in this place; and so Mr. Sel- 
 dcn, and before him Martin Bucer, who lived at the 
 time when our Liturgy was comjiiled, have translated 
 it. The design of it is to express that the woman, by 
 virtue of this marriage, has a share in all the titles and 
 honours which are due or belong to the person of her 
 husband. It is true, the modern sense of the word is 
 somewhat different : for which reason, I find, that at 
 the review of our Liturgy, after the restoration of King 
 Charles II. "worslii[)" was promised to be changed for 
 " honour." How the alteration came to be omitted I 
 cannot discover: but so long as the old word is e.\- 
 l)lained in the sense that I have given of it, one would 
 think no objection could be urged against using it. 
 IVheatly. 
 
 " — with all my worldly poods I thee endow ;] These 
 words promise a maintenance suited to the man's 
 quality, or a participation of his fortune and estate. 
 Wherever he is master, she is mistress. The wife is 
 to have all things in common with her husband, e.xcejjt 
 the power of alienating his estate. Shepherd. 
 
 '■ — In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost.^ This is a solemn ratification of the 
 engagement : and he that has made it should remem- 
 
 u])on these thy servants, this man 
 
 and tills woman, whom we bless in 
 
 thy Name ; that, as Isaac and Re- Numb. vi. 
 
 Iiecca lived faitiifiiUy toj^ether, so ~ 
 
 these persons may surely perform 
 
 and keep the vow and covenant Ecdes. v. t. 
 
 bctwi.xt them made, (whereof this 
 
 Riiif^ given and received is a token 
 
 and pledge,) and may ever remain 
 
 her, that every \vilful violation of the covenant is an 
 act of injustice done to the woman, and an offence 
 committed against the Almighty. Dean Comber, Shep- 
 herd. 
 
 ' • — the Minisler shall say. Let vs pray, &c ] The 
 custom of old was to conclude all covenants with sacri- 
 fices, (ien. x.x.xi. 5-t ; which being now ceased, we finish 
 this with a ])rayer, in which we describe God, to ndiom 
 we pray, by his attributes and works. We are mortal ; 
 and must marry, to repair the decay which is caused by 
 death : but He is an " eternal God." We are but in- 
 struments : He is " the Creator and Preserver of man- 
 kind," Rev. iv. 11. We do but contribute to the body 
 and the temporal life of our children : He is " the Giver 
 of grace and the Author of everlasting life." Of this 
 God therefore, on this great occasion, we beg "a bless- 
 ing upon this man and this woman," who, by marrying 
 according to his rules, have declared that they are " his 
 servants :" and the priest, who is God's representative, 
 being assured that his great Master is pleased with holy 
 marriage, doth authoritatively "bless them in God's 
 name." Dean Comber. 
 
 In the old manuals of York and of .Sarutn, as well as 
 in the Roman ritual, are ])rayers for the benediction of 
 the ring, which was likewise crossed by the aspersion of 
 holy water. 'I'he compilers of the Liturgy neither 
 rejected what was useful in the old Knglish offices, nor 
 retained any thing that seemed impro])er. Of this latter 
 kind were the prayers for the benediction of the ring, 
 which have no claim to their pretended antiquity, for 
 they are found neither in Gregory's Sacramentary, nor 
 in any office of that or of the following age. To attempt 
 to give holiness to an inanimate substance, in the sense 
 in which the generality of Christians at that time under- 
 stood, and many at this time understand, the word 
 " holy " was at best but a kind of charm. Yet some 
 of the sentiments and expressions used in those bene- 
 dictions our office still retains. 
 
 The introduction to this benedictory prayer is copied 
 from the form in the manual of Sarum, and other of 
 the sentiments are borrowed from the Rcjman ritual : 
 but instead of a blessing on the ring, which is prescribed 
 in these offices, we are directed to implore a blessing on 
 the parties which ha\'e contracted marriage ; beseeching 
 God that they may be enabled surely to perform the 
 vow and covenant betwixt them made, whereof the ring 
 given and received is a token and pledge, and may ever 
 remain in perfect love and jieace together, and live ac- 
 cording to God's holy laws. 
 
 As an exam])le of matrimonial fidelity our form spe- 
 cifies Isaac and Rebekah, who were probably selected 
 for this reason. Isaac is the only jiatriarch who had 
 not a plurality of wives. He lived with Rebekah accord- 
 ing to the divine ordinance in the primitive institution 
 of marriage. The Greek offices enumerate .\braham 
 and Sarah, Jacob and Rachel, Moses and Zijjporah, 
 and others : but in the Roman ritual no particular in- 
 stance of conjugal fidelity is either mentioned or alluded 
 to. Dean Comber, Shepherd. 
 
 2 D 2
 
 404 
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 roi. iii. 19. in perfect love and peace together, 
 prov"jxi.29. and live according to thy laws ; 
 Ps. cxix. 35. through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Al>lC7l. 
 
 ^ Then shall the Priest join their right hands' 
 together, and say, 
 
 Matt. xix. 6. Those whom God hath joined 
 together, let no man put asunder. 
 
 F 
 
 H Then shall the Minister speak unto the 
 people. 
 
 iORASMUCH as M. and 
 
 N. have consented together in 
 
 Mai. ii. H. holy wedlock, and have witnessed 
 the same before God and this com- 
 pany, and thereto have given and 
 pledged their troth either to other, 
 and have declared the same by 
 giving and receiving of a Ring, and 
 by joining of hands : I pronounce 
 that they be Man and Wife together. 
 
 '' Then shrill the Priest join their right hands &c.] Tlie 
 covenant being thtis made, and a blessing begged on it, 
 the ne.xt thing is " the Church's ratification" thereof in 
 the name of (iod, who, being the supreme Lord, ought 
 to confirm his servants' marriages : and this is done 
 first, by declaring the authority upon which this cove- 
 nant is founded, namely, U])on the divine authority : for 
 the rite is of God's own instituting, the vow hath been 
 made in his presence, and the proiuise made to Him 
 and in his name, wherefore God hath joined those who 
 are thus married ; and we declare in our ISaviour's 
 words, Matt. xix. C, " Those whom God hath joined 
 together, no man may put asunder :" none but God (by 
 death) can untie this holy knot; which shews there is 
 no power upon earth can annul a lawful marriage : and 
 though for some causes there may be a separation, 
 (which when it is for causes allowed in God's law seems 
 to be made by Him,) yet there can be no final divorce: 
 and this declaration .shews the covenant is irreversible, 
 and not to be repealed. Secondly, the priest i)ublisheth 
 the marriage-covenant, by repeating the manner in 
 which it was made, by mutual "consent" declared, and 
 by a solemn vow made "in the presence of (iod" and 
 the "congregation," by plighting their troth "and 
 giving a ring" as the visible and lasting pledge thereof, 
 as well as " by joining hands :" therefore he now sets 
 God's seal to this holy and religious compact, to make 
 it ])erfect and com])lcte, " pronouncing them to be man 
 and wife together, In the name of the Father, of the 
 Son, and of the Holy (ihost, Amen." 'J'hat is, tliey 
 arejoiiieil rightly, according to the Christian rules, and 
 by (iod's own authority, so that the union is sacred, 
 inviolable, and never to be dissolved. Thirdly, this 
 part is concluded with a solemn benedictiim ; for being 
 made by the divine authority and direction, the institu- 
 tion liemg his, the method is, and He being the au- 
 thorizer of, and witness to, the marriage, the priest may 
 without scrn])le ])rononnce (jod's blessing on the jiarties, 
 mentioning the whole Trinity, in whose name tlie vow 
 was made, and desiring God to bless them with all good 
 tilings, " to preserve and kcej) them" from all evil, 
 |)raying that He will be kind and " favourable" to tlieni. 
 giving them such "grace," that tliey may "live" so 
 lovingly and liolily together " in this life," thai, when 
 
 In the Name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 Amen. 
 
 t And the 3Iinister shall add this blessing, 
 
 GO D the Father, God the Son, 
 God tlie Holy Ghost, bless, 2Cor.xiii h. 
 preserve, and keep you ; the Lord 
 mercifully with his favour look upon 
 you ; and so fill you with all spiritual 
 benediction and grace, that ye may Eph. i. .i. 
 so live together in this life, that in R""- >'■ 22. 
 the world to come ye may have life 
 everlasting. Amen. 
 
 IT Then the j\linister or Clerks, going to the 
 Lord's Table', shall sag or siiig this 
 Psalm following. 
 
 Bcati omnes. Psalm cxxviii. 
 LESSED are all they that 
 
 fear the Lord : and walk in his 
 
 ways. 
 
 they come into that world where they neither marry 
 nor are given in marriage, " they may be both" made 
 happy, and meet " in everlasting life. Amen." This is 
 the priest's blessing, which is so comprehensive, and so 
 effectual, that the whole ofiice was anciently called, 
 " The blessing of the priest," which happily concludes 
 this part. Dean Comber. 
 
 The benediction is drawn up in imitation of the 
 blessing prescribed by God Himself in the book of 
 Numbers, 'llie first mai-riage, celebrated in paradise, 
 was concluded with a blessing; and the example has 
 been followed by the Christian church. Tertullian 
 observes, that " the blessing of the Church sealed the 
 marriage :" and this was thought so important a ])art of 
 the nuptial rites, that the older forms of the solemniza- 
 tion of matrimony were styled, " 'J'he order for blessing 
 the espoused," sometimes " The blessing of the priest," 
 and sometimes " The blessing of (iod." 
 
 In the Romish ritual there is no benediction, at least 
 none resembling ours : but in the (ireek offices we find 
 a very solemn benediction, which has a considerable 
 degree of affinity with our own. It begins, " The Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy (ihost, the most holy and con- 
 substantial- 'I'rinity, the fountain of lite, who ha\'e one 
 divinity and one kingdom ; bless you, and give you 
 length of ilays ; fruitfulness, increase of i)iety and faith ; 
 fill you with all the blessings of the earth ; and fit you 
 for the enjoyment of his excellent promises, &o." Dean 
 Comber, Shephfrd. 
 
 '■ Then the Minister or Clerks, going to the Lord's 
 Table, &c.] To impress this religious covenant still 
 more deeply on the parties' minds, they arc to go up 
 and kneel at the stejis of the altar, and then the office 
 is finished with hymns, jirayers, and exhortations. 
 First, with hymns, or psalms ; for since joy becomes a 
 marriage, instead of the heathens' looser songs, Chris- 
 tians are to rejoice in psalms. .lames V. 13. And here 
 are two very jiropcr ones chosen ; 1. the l'2Sth I'salin, 
 which was composed at first to be an F,]iithalamium, 
 and is used in this ofiice, both in the I'.astern and 
 Western churches, because it contains the blessings 
 juddiek and ])rivatc which attend |>iety in the state of 
 marriage. 2. The 671 h I'salm is sometimes used, 
 being a prayer for the blessing promised in the. former
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 405 
 
 For tlioii s]ialt oat the labour of 
 tliine liaiids : O well is thee, and 
 liaj)py slialt tlioii he. 
 
 Tliy wife sliall he as the fruitful 
 vine : upon the walls of thine house ; 
 
 Thy chilflren like the olive- 
 branches : round about thy table. 
 
 Lo, thus shall the man be blessed : 
 that feareth the Lord. 
 
 The Lord from out of Sion sliall 
 so bless thee : that thou slialt see 
 Jerusalem in prosperity all thy life 
 lon^; 
 
 Yea, that thou shalt see thy chil- 
 dren's children : and peace upon 
 Israel. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginnins^, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 H Or this Psalm. 
 
 Deus misereatur. Psalm Ixvii. 
 
 ("^ O D be merciful unto us, and 
 ~J[ bless us : and shew us the li<^ht 
 of his countenance, and be merciful 
 unto us. 
 
 That thy way may be known upon 
 earth : thy saving health among all 
 nations. 
 
 Let the people praise thee, O 
 God : yea, let all the people praise 
 thee. 
 
 O let the nations rejoice and be 
 glad : for thou shalt judge the folk 
 righteously, and govern the nations 
 upon earth. 
 
 Let the people praise thee, O 
 God : yea, let all the people praise 
 thee. 
 
 Then shall the earth bring forth 
 her increase : and God, even our 
 own God, shall give us his blessing. 
 
 God shall bless us : and all the 
 ends of the world shall fear him. 
 
 Psalm ; and the argument used to obtain it is taken 
 from the glory, which God will gain thereby. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' The Psnlin ended, &c.] To the foregoing acts of 
 praise we add "supplications and prayers," introducing 
 them with that ancient form, " Lord, have mercy upon 
 us," and the " Lord's Prayer," which sanctifies and 
 makes way for all the rest ; to which are annexed " the 
 sup])lications," chosen out of the Psalms, and put into 
 the form of responses, that the friends here assembled 
 may all shew their love to the parties by publickly 
 joining in them. Dean Cmnber. 
 
 e God of Abraham, &c.] AftM- the versicles and 
 responses follow three prayers, to be used by the minis- 
 ter alone ; the first being a prayer for spiritual blessings ; 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 t The PsaJm ended', and the Man and the 
 IVoman kneelinr/ before the Lord's Table, 
 the Pi test standing at the Table, and 
 turning his face towards them, shall sat/. 
 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Answ. Christ, have mercy upon 
 us. 
 
 Minister, Lord, have mercy upon 
 us. 
 
 OU R Father, which art in hea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses. As 
 we forgive them that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into temp- 
 tation ; But deliver us from evil. 
 Amen. 
 
 Minister. O Lord, save thy ser- 
 vant, and thy handmaid ; Ij- '"'"'■'*• 
 
 Ansiver. Who put their trust in 
 thee. 
 
 Minister. O Lord, send them 
 help from thy holy place ; ps. xx. i, 2. 
 
 Answer. And evermore defend 
 them. 
 
 Minister. Be unto them a tower 
 of strength, Ps. ixi. 3 
 
 Answer. From the face of their 
 enemy. 
 
 Minister. O Lord, hear our prayer. Ps. ch. 2. 
 
 Ansioer. And let our cry come 
 unto thee. 
 
 Minister. 
 
 OGod of Abraham s, God of Mate. xxh. 
 Isaac, God of Jacob, bless ^"' 
 these thy servants, and sow the seed ps. t. 12. 
 
 the second for the temporal blessing of children, which 
 is the chief end of marriage, and which is the blessing 
 that God pronounced at first to Adam and Eve, and 
 which all mankind hath ever since wished to new- 
 married [lersons, and which is therefore always to be 
 asked at the solemnization of a marriage, except the 
 advanced age of the persons make our prayers unlikely 
 to prevail, in which case our rubrick has therefore 
 ordered it to be omitted. The last prayer is made for 
 the accomplishing of those duties which ai-e aptly signi- 
 fied and implied by marriage. IVhcatly. 
 
 The thbd Collect is of greater antiquity than either 
 of the preceding. The introductory part resembles the 
 prayer of Tobias, Tobit viii. G ; and the substance of 
 many of the clauses is found in the Greek Euchology,
 
 406 
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 Rom. vi. 22. 
 James i. 22. 
 
 Deut. xxvi. 
 15. 
 
 Gen. jtxiv, 1 
 xvii. 16. 
 
 1 Pel. i. 2. 
 Ps. xxxi. 23. 
 
 Gen. i. :8i 
 xxiv. CO. 
 
 I Sam. i. 27. 
 Ruth IV. 11. 
 
 Ps. xci. 16 
 2 C.ir. xiii. 7. 
 Ron), xiii. 13. 
 
 F.ph. vi. 4. 
 John XV. 8. 
 
 of eternal life in flieir hearts ; tliat 
 whatsoever in thy holy Word they 
 shall protitalily learn, tliey may in 
 deed fulfil the same.- Look, O 
 Lord, mereit'ully upon them from 
 heaven, and bless them. And as 
 thou didst send thy blessing upon 
 Abraham and Sarah, to their great 
 comfort, so vouchsafe to send thy 
 blessing iijioii these thy servants ; 
 that they obeying thy will, and 
 ahvay being in safety under thy jiro- 
 tection, may abide in thy love unto 
 their lives' end; through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 H This Prayer next following shall he omitted, 
 where the Woman is past child-bearing. 
 
 OlNIerciful Lord, and heavenly 
 Father, by whose gracious gift 
 mankind is increased ; We beseech 
 thee, assist with thy blessing these 
 two persons, that they may both 
 be fruitful in procreation of children, 
 and also live together so long in 
 godly love and honesty, that they 
 may see their children christiaiily 
 anti virtuously brought up, to tliy 
 praise and honour; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 OGod, wjio by thy mighty power 
 hast made all things of nothing; 
 who also (after other things set in 
 order) didst appoint, that out of man 
 (created after thine own image and 
 similitude) woman should take her 
 beginning; and, knitting them to- 
 gether, didst teach that it should 
 never be lawful to put asunder those 
 whom thou by Matrimony hadst 
 
 and the Racramentary of Gregory the Great. It be- 
 seeches Goil to tjrant, that the man and n'oman may 
 perforin those duties, which, agreeably to the writer of 
 the chief of the ejiistolary ])art of the New Testament, 
 the lioly estate of Matrimony mystically rejjresents : 
 that tlie man may love bis wife, according to the com- 
 mand of God and the e.tample of (Christ ; and that 
 the woman may be loving, failhfnl, amiable, and obe- 
 dient. It concludes with a request for lioth, that they 
 may enjoy temporal blessings and everlasting felicity. 
 Sh(phcrd. 
 
 '■ Then shall the Priest say, kc.'] La.st of all there is 
 added a blessing, the worils of which have an eviiient 
 respect to the prayer immediately foregoing ; which was 
 offered up upon such excellent grounds, and with so 
 very great a probability of success, that the priest may 
 bolilly venture to ])ronounce anil ensure it to the 
 parties, if they are but duly jirejjarcd to receive it. 
 
 IVhrathj. 
 
 .Ml the ancient Christian forms liave several sorts of 
 bles.iing, according to the several parts of the oUice; 
 
 Gen. i. 27 i 
 ii. 18.21—24, 
 
 1 Pet. iii. 
 1-7. 
 
 made one : O God, who hast con- 
 secrated the state of ^Matrimony to 
 such an excellent mystery, that in it 
 is signified and represented the spi- 
 ritual marriage and unity betwixt Eph. v. 25— 
 Christ and his Church ; Look merci- ^^' 
 fully upon these thy servants, that 
 both this man may love his wife, 
 according to thy Word, (as Christ 
 did love his spouse the Church, who 
 gave himself for it, loving and che- 
 rishing it even as his own tlesli,) and 
 also that this woman may be loving 
 and amiable, faithful and obedient to 
 her husband ; and in all quietness, 
 sobriety, and peace, be a follower of 
 holy and godly matrons. O Lord, 
 bless them both, and grant them to 
 inherit thy everlasting kingdom ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 t The7i shall the Priest say^, 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who at the 
 beginning did create our first 
 ]iarents, Adam and Eve, and did 
 .sanctify and join them together in Gen. ii. is, 
 marriage ; Pour upon you the riches *''^' 
 of his grace, sanctify and bless you, Eph. u. t, s. 
 that ye may please him liotli in body IVhess. v. 
 and soul, and live together in holy ^s- 
 love unto your lives' end. Amen. 
 
 t After which, if there he no Sermon^ de- 
 claring the duties nf Man and Wife, the 
 Minister shall read asfollowelh. 
 
 AL L ye that are married, or that 
 intend to take the holy estate 
 of matrimony upon you, hear what 
 the holy Scripture doth say as touch- 
 ing the duty of husbands towards 
 
 and since it hath been usual to take leave with a bless- 
 ing at the ])arting, (icn. xlvii. 10; 2 Chron. .\.x.\. 27; 
 our Church ])laccth this in the conclusion of the oftice, 
 following herein the example of other liturgies. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' After which, if there he no Sermon &c.] The office is 
 conehidcd with exhortations taken out of holy .Scrip- 
 ture. For the mtirried jicrsons having mutuully engaged 
 to live together "according to (iod'.s holy ordinance," 
 that is, according to those laws which He has ordained 
 in his word : it is very necessary they shonlil liear and 
 know what those laws arc which they have engaged to 
 ])crform. It was God's own conimand. (hat tlie kings 
 of Isr.ael should have a copy of the law delivered to 
 them at their coronation ; Dent. .xvii. is, ig; 2 Kings 
 xi. 12: and there is the same reason to give this ab- 
 stract to those that have taken upon them.selves the 
 state of Mtitrimony. l'"or which reason, instead of the 
 Kpistle and (Jospel tised in the offices of the Greek 
 and Komim churches, here is a full collection of the 
 duties of both parties, drawn from the Epistles of two
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY, 
 
 407 
 
 of the husband toward the wife. 
 Now, likewise, ye wives, hear and 
 learn your duties toward your hus- 
 bands, even as it is plainly set forth 
 in holy Scripture. 
 
 Saint Paul, in the aforenamed 
 Ej>istle to the Ephcsians, teacheth 
 you thus ; Wives, submit yourselves 
 unto your own husbands, as unto 
 the Lord. For the husband is the 
 head of the wife, even as Christ is 
 the head of the Church : and he is 
 the Saviour of the body. Therefore 
 as the Church is subject unto Christ, 
 so let the wives be to their own hus- 
 bands in every thing. And again he 
 saith. Let the wife sec that she reve- 
 rence her husband. 
 
 And in his Epistle to the Colos- 
 sians. Saint Paul giveth you this 
 short lesson ; Wives, sulmiit your- 
 selves unto your own husbands, as it 
 is fit in the Lord. 
 
 Saint Peter also doth instruct you 
 very well, thus saying ; Ye wives, be 
 in subjection to your own husbands; 
 that, if any obe)' not the Word, they 
 also may without the Word be won 
 by the conversation of the wives; 
 while they behold your chaste con- 
 versation coupled with fear. Whose 
 adorning, let it not be that outward 
 adorning of plaiting the hair, and of 
 wearing of gold, or of putting on of 
 apparel ; but let it be the hidden 
 man of the heart, in that which is 
 not corruptilde ; even the ornament 
 of a meek and quiet spirit, which is 
 in the sight of God of great price. 
 For after this manner in the old time 
 the holy women also, who trusted in 
 God, ordained themselves, being in 
 subjection unto their own husbands; 
 even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, 
 calling liim lord; whose daughters ye 
 are as long as ye do well, and are 
 not afraid with any amazement. 
 
 ^ It is convenient that the new-married persons should receive the holy Com- 
 munion^ at the time of their Marriage, or at the Jirst opportunity after their 
 Marriage. 
 
 their wives, and wives towards their 
 husbands. 
 
 Saint Paul in his Epistle to the 
 Ephesians, the fifth Cluqiter, doth 
 give this connnandmcnt to all mar- 
 ried men ; Husbands, love your 
 wives, even as Christ also loved the 
 Church, and gave himself for it, 
 that he might sanctify and cleanse 
 it with the washing of water, by 
 the Word ; that he might present it 
 to himself a glorious Church, not 
 having spot, or wrinkle, or any such 
 thing; but that it should be holy, 
 and without blemish. So ought men 
 to love their wives as their own 
 bodies. He that loveth his wife 
 loveth himself: for no man ever yet 
 liated his own flesh, but nourisheth 
 and cherisheth it, even as the Lord 
 the Church ; for we are members of 
 his body, of his flesh, and of his 
 bones. For this cause shall a man 
 leave his father and mother, and 
 shall be joined unto his wife; and 
 they two shall be one flesh. This is 
 a great mystery ; but I speak con- 
 cerning Christ and the Church. 
 Nevertheless, let every one of you in 
 particular so love his wife, even as 
 himself. 
 
 Likewise the same Saint Paul, 
 writing to the Colossians, speaketh 
 thus to all men that are married; 
 Husbands, love your wives, and be 
 not bitter against them. 
 
 Hear also what Saint Peter, the 
 Apostle of Christ, who was himself 
 a married man, saith unto them that 
 are married ; Ye husbands, dwell 
 with your wives according to know- 
 ledge ; giving honour unto the wife, 
 as inito the weaker vessel, and as 
 being heirs together of the grace of 
 life, that your prayers be not hin- 
 dered. 
 
 Hitherto ye have heard the duty 
 
 great apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, in imitation of 
 the practice of the primitive church, which, ahvays after 
 the celebration of a marriage, exhorted the parties to 
 keep their matrimonial vow inviolate. Denn Comber, 
 Wheally. 
 
 ^ It is convenient that the new-married persons should 
 receive the holy Communion &c.] The rubrick here ad- 
 vises the persons who are miirried to receive the holy 
 Communion, either that day, as the ancient usage was. 
 
 or as soon after as is possible, in order to confirm their 
 vow to each other by that blessed sacrament, and to 
 bind themselves more strictly to their several duties ; 
 which prudent and ])ioTis use hath of later years been 
 banished by tliose imchristian and vain revels which 
 are so generally the conclusion of this religious rite, 
 that the persons scarce have any serious thoughts of 
 the vow they have made, or the duties they have pro- 
 mised. Dean Comber
 
 408 
 
 SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 Such religious solemnities, as these or some of these, 
 which are appointed by the Chiu'ch, were used by the 
 Jews at marriages. The primitive Christians had all 
 these which we have. The persons to be married were 
 contracted by the priest ; the marriage was solemnly 
 pronounced in the church ; the married couple were 
 blessed by the jiriest ; prayers and thanksgivings were 
 used, and the holy Communion administered to them. 
 And it is said that these religious rites the Church 
 received from the apostles. And doubtless highly 
 Christian and useful these solemnities are : for, first, 
 they beget and nourish in the minds of men a reve- 
 rend esteem of this holy mystery, Eph. v. 32 ; and 
 draw them to a greater conscience of wedlock, and to 
 esteem the bond thereof a thing which cannot without 
 impiety be dissolved. Then are they great helps to the 
 performance of those duties, which God Almighty hath 
 required in married persons ; which are so many, and 
 those so weighty, that whosoever duly considers them, 
 and makes a conscience of performing them, must 
 think it needful to make use of all those means of 
 grace, which God Almighty hath appointed. For if we 
 duly consider the great love and charity, that this holy 
 state requires, even to the laying down of life; " Hus- 
 bands, lo\-e your wives, even as Christ loved the 
 church, and gave himself for it," E])h. v. '25 : or the 
 weighty charge of the education of children, which, if 
 , well jjerformed, jirocures a blessing, and an advantage 
 to salvation, 1 Tim. ii. 1 5, " She shall be saved in 
 childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity," &c. 
 
 so if it be carelessly performed, it procures a most 
 hea^-y curse, 1 Sam. ii. 29. 31, &c. : or, lastly, the 
 chastity and holiness necessary to that state of mar- 
 riage, heightened now up to the representation of the 
 mystical union of Christ with his church, Eph. v. 32, 
 " This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning 
 Christ and the Church ;" to which holy conjunction our 
 marriage, and all our works and affections in the same, 
 should correspond and be conformable ; I say, if we 
 consider all these duly, can we think, we may spare any 
 of those divine helps to performance ; whether they be 
 vows and holy promises to bind us, or our father's and 
 mother's, God's, and the Church's blessings, or holy 
 prayers for God's assistance ; or lastly the holy Com- 
 munion, that great strengthener of the soul ? If men's 
 vices and licentiousness have made this holy service 
 seem unseasonable at this time ; reason would, that 
 they should labour to reform then- lives, and study 
 to 1)6 capable of this holy service ; and not that the 
 Church should forbear admonishing them to receive 
 the holy Communion for their unspeakable good. For 
 would men observe God's and the Church's admoni- 
 tions, and enter into this holy state like Christians, 
 with these religious solemnities, the happiness would 
 be greater than can easily be expressed. " I know not," 
 saith Tertnllian, " which way I should be able to shew 
 the happiness of that wedlock, the knot whereof the 
 Church doth fasten, and the sacrament of the Church 
 confirm." Bp. Sparrow.
 
 THE ORDER FOR THE 
 
 VISITATION OF THE 8ICK. 
 
 IF When any person is sick, notice shall be 
 given thereof to the Minister of the Parish; 
 
 ' The Order for the Visitation of the Sick.'] In so 
 uncertain a world where sickness sometimes interrupts 
 the very joys of marriage, it is no wonder that this sad 
 office should be placed next to matrimony : for all 
 people in all conditions, of all ages and sexes, are sub- 
 ject to diseases continually : so that when any person 
 falls sick, those that are in health must " remember 
 them, as being themselves also in the body," Heb. xiii. 
 3, and hable to the same calamities ; and all Christians 
 ai-e commanded to visit their neighbours in this estate, 
 and are promised they shall be rewarded by God for 
 so doing, Ps. xli. 1, 2 ; Matt. xxv. 34. 3G ; James i. 
 27 ; Ecclus. vii. 35. And in the primitive times they 
 were famous for tliis piece of charit}'. But it is espe- 
 cially the duty of the clergy " to visit the sick," a duty 
 instituted and enjoined by God Himself; " Is any sick 
 among you ? let him call for the elders of the Church, 
 and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in 
 the name of the Lord ; and the prayer of faith shall 
 save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if 
 he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him," 
 James v. 14, 15. In which words (being the original 
 and foundation of this office) we may note, first, that 
 the duty is enjoined by divine authority, and therefore 
 it is not barely a point of civility, but an act of religion, 
 and a necessary duty which God requires from us. 
 Secondly, the time to perform it is, "when any ai'e 
 sick among us;" for then the parties have most need 
 of comfort, advice, and prayers to sujiport them and 
 procure help for them, as also to prepare them for their 
 last and great account : and then these religious exer- 
 cises will do us most good, because sickness embitters 
 the world and endears heaven to us, making us ]n'ay 
 devoutly, and hearken willingly to holy advice ; so that 
 this happy opportunity must not be lost : nor may it 
 be deferred till the sick jjersons be very weak and nigh 
 to death, for then they are incapable either to join in 
 the office, or to receive the main benefits thereof; and 
 the word in St. James is, " if any be infirm," ver. 14 ; 
 to note, this should be done in the beginning of sick- 
 ness, and not put off till the physicians give men over. 
 Thirdly, x\.s to the manner of jjerforming this duty; 
 First, 'llie sick man (or his friends) must " send for the 
 priest," who else may cither not know of his sickness, 
 or when it may be seasonable to visit ; and if he come 
 imsent for, it is more than he is obliged to do : but yet 
 it IS an act of great charity, because God requires the 
 elders of the Church shall do this duty. The sick man 
 must pray for himself, ver. 13 ; and his neighbom-s 
 may pray with him and for him, ver. 16; but neither 
 of these sufficeth, he must send for the minister besides, 
 who, now the Church is settled, lives not far from him, 
 and he is most able to give counsel, and most likely 
 
 who, coming into the sick person's house, 
 shall say '", 
 
 to prevail, because God requires him to perform this 
 office, which is described in St. James, 1 . 15y " praying 
 over him," that is, besides him in the house where he 
 lies sick. And since God enjoins jjrayer shall be made, 
 and doth not prescribe the form ; as all other churches 
 have made proper forms, so hath oiu's also comjiosed 
 this, which is the most full and useful office on tliis 
 occasion extant in the world. 2. In St. James's time, and 
 as long as the miraculous gift of healing continued, they 
 "anointed the sick witli oil also in the name of Jesus," 
 not to convey any grace to the soul, (as the Papists 
 now pretend to do by theii' extreme unction, lately 
 made a sacrament,) but to work a miraculous cure, 
 which was the usual effect in those ages. But the 
 power and gift being now ceased, the reformed churches 
 left off the oil, which was the sign, because the tiling 
 signified was now taken away. But yet we retain 
 all the substantial ])arts of this office. 3. Here are 
 by St. James set down "the benefits" which may 
 be obtained by it, which are annexed to the " jirayer 
 of faith," the part which is not ceremonial, and which 
 continues still as the benefits also shall do, namely. 
 This shall be a means " to save the sick ;" and more 
 particularly, 1. "The Lord shall raise him up," that is, 
 if God see that health be good for him, the devout 
 peforming of this office shall contribute to his recovery ; 
 or, 2. However (because men are mortal and must die 
 at some time) it shall be a means " to procure forgive- 
 ness" of the sins he "hath committed;" not the priest 
 only will absolve him upon his penitent confession, 
 but God will seal his pardon, and then, whether life or 
 death follow, the man shall be happy. Wherefore as 
 we love our friends, or our own souls, all care must be 
 taken that this necessary and profitable office be not 
 neglected. The method of performing which in tliis 
 church may be thus described : llie usual office con- 
 tains, 1. Supplications to avert evil in "the salutation 
 and short Litany." 2. Prayers to procure good things 
 in " the Lord's Prayer and the two Collects." 3. Ex- 
 hortations prescribed in the " large form of Exhorta- 
 tion :" and directions in the rubrick, to advise the 
 sick man " to forgive" freely, " to give" lilierally, " to 
 do justice" in settling his estate, and " to confess his 
 sins" humbly and ingenuously unto God's minister 
 now with him. 4. Consolations in the " jVbsolution, 
 the Prayer" to God to confirm it, in "the 71st Psalm," 
 and the concluding " Benedictions." 
 
 Secondly, There are added, 1. " Extraordinary prayers 
 for a sick child, for one past recovery, for a dying per- 
 son," and " for one troubled in conscience." 2. The 
 manner of administering " the Communion " to the 
 sick. Dean Comber. 
 
 As to the form of prayer to be used on this occasion.
 
 410 
 
 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 
 
 PEACE be to this 
 all that dwell in it. 
 
 house, and to 
 
 t niien he comelh into the sick man's pre- 
 sence he shall say, kneeling down, 
 
 RE INI E M B E R not, Lord, our 
 iniquities, nor the iniquities of 
 our forefathers : Spare us, good Lord, 
 spare thv people, whom thou hast 
 redeemed with thy most precious 
 blood, and be not angry with us 
 for ever. 
 
 Answ. Spare us, good Lord. 
 
 T Then the Minister shall say, 
 
 Let us pray. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us". 
 C/iJ'ist, have mercy 2ipon us. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 OUR Father", which art in hea- 
 ven. Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth. As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses, As 
 
 it is left to the prudence of the Cliurch : since God 
 hath only in general ordered prayers to be made, but 
 not iirescribed any particular words, therefore several 
 churches have made and used several forms proper for 
 the occasion. The Greek church bath a very large 
 office in their Euchologion; which seems to have been 
 much corrupted by the superstitious additions of later 
 ages, though some of the ancient jirayers may yet be 
 discerned there. The most ancient of the Western 
 church are those which bear the names of St. Ambrose 
 and St. Gregory ; and that which Cardinal Bona cites 
 with this title, " Pro infirmis," written about OOO (1040) 
 years ago, and sup|)osed to be part of the old (iallican 
 service. And upon tlie Reformation the se\-tTal Pro- 
 testant churches had their several forms, which are in 
 use among them at this day. But this office of the 
 Church of England may be thought to excel all that 
 are now e.vtant in the world : anil it exactly agrees 
 with the method of the [jrimitive visitation of the sick 
 in St. Chrysostom's time. Dean Comber. 
 
 "■ — who, coming into the sick person's house, shall soy, 
 &o.] When tlie priest enters the sick man's house, be 
 salutes all that are in it, with that ])brase which our 
 Lord ordered his disciples to use when tlicy went to 
 cure both souls and bodies, Luke x. 5, " Peace be to 
 this house ;" which is a pious wish, for the health and 
 ])rosperity of all " that dwell in it," and Christ bath 
 promised it shall have its effect, and prove a real liless- 
 ing. And because the litany is the |)ropcr office for 
 averting evil, all of it should be used liere, only in 
 consideration of the parties' weakness, one petition is 
 taken out of it, wherein we beg of (jod (who for our 
 sins lays sickness on us) " not to remember our ini- 
 quities, nor those of our forefathers," which we have 
 made ours by imitating tbcin ; but to "spare us" even 
 from temporal judgmeuls. Ijccause Christ bath " rc- 
 dei'Tued us witli liis jirccious blood :" liowcvcr we in- 
 trcat Ilim to deliver us from eternal deatli, and "not 
 to be ungry with us for ever." To whicli all (hat are 
 present, as suil'cring, or deserving to sulfer, say. 
 
 we forgive them that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into temp- 
 tation ; But deliver us from evil. 
 Amen. 
 
 Minister. O Lord, save thy ser- 
 vant ; 
 
 Answ. Which putteth his trust in Ps. ixxxvi. 
 thee. ^• 
 
 Minister. Send him lielj) from thy 
 holy place ; Ps. xx. i, 2. 
 
 Answer. And evermore mightily 
 defend him. 
 
 Minister. Let the enemy have no Ps. Uxxix. 
 advantage of /(i//(; ' ' ' 
 
 Answer. Nor the wicked approach 
 to hurt Ilim. 
 
 Minister. Be unto him, O Lord, a 
 strong tower, Ps. iii. 3. 
 
 Answer. From the face of his 
 enemy. 
 
 Minister. Lord, hear our 
 prayers. 
 
 Ansiccr. And let our cry come Ps. cH 1. 
 unto tlioe. 
 
 " Spare us, good Lord." And as all those who came 
 to Jesus of old to be healed, used to cry, " Lord, have 
 mercy on us," so do we here on the like occasion sup- 
 plicate the whole Trinity for mercy, in that ancient 
 form, called the lesser litany, of which we sjiake before. 
 See page ii, note v. Dean Comber. 
 
 ° Lord, hare mercy upon us, &c.] This seems to be 
 the pro])er petition for miserable persons ; for those 
 sick and distressed creatures, that came to Jesus for 
 belji. did generally address themselves to Him in these 
 words. "Have mercy on us" was the prayer of the 
 two blind men. Matt. xx. 30; Lx. 27 : and the woman 
 of Canaan, with the father of the lunatick, used the 
 same su|)plication, Matt, .x v. 22; .xvii. l.'i; and since 
 it jirevailed with our Lord in his humiliation to pity, 
 heal, and help those who used it there ; we may with 
 more comfort send it up to Ilim now in his exaltation. 
 The whole Catholick church bath ever esteemed it very 
 fit for this ])ur|iosc, in that it is so early found in the 
 Western, and so often repeated in the Eastern olfices 
 for the sick. Dean Comber. 
 
 " Our Father, &c.] After we have prayed against 
 evil, we proceed to petition for good, beginning, after 
 the example of both the Latin anil (!reck churches, 
 with the " Lord's Prayer," which ought to lie joined 
 with all our prayers, cs])ecially these for the sick ; for 
 many of the petitions do well agree to that estate : 
 herein the aUhcted party may shew his love of (iod by 
 desiring his " name may be hallowed ;" his desires of 
 heaven, by wishing " bis kingdom may come ;" and 
 his suljmission to the divine ])leasnrc, by praying " his 
 will may lie done :" herein he may beg earthly com- 
 forts, in asking for nis " daily bread ;" he may crave 
 pardon for what is past, in beseeching God to " forgive 
 his trespasses ;" and express his charity, l)y declaring 
 he " forgives " them that " trespass against him ;" 
 herein he may testily his resolutions to amend, by re- 
 questing he may not " be led into temjilation ;" and 
 procure IVeciloin from the ])unishin('nt of sin, by pray- 
 ing to be " delivered from evil." In which necessary
 
 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 
 
 411 
 
 Job V. IS, 19. 
 Ps, Ixxi. 20, 
 21. 
 
 Ps Iv. 22; 
 
 l\i. 5. 
 
 Is.n. xxvi. 3. 
 
 Mlnistc): 
 
 OLord, look dovvii'' from lioa- 
 vi'iii, bcliokl, visit, and relieve 
 tliis tiiy servant. Look upon him 
 with the eyes of tliy merey, give him 
 comfort and sure confidence in thee, 
 defend him from tiie (kinjrer of the 
 enemy'', and keep him in ])erj)etiial 
 peace and safety ; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Vs. c. 5. 
 Isa. Ix. 10. 
 
 E A R us, Almighty and most 
 merciful God and Saviour ; 
 extend thy accustomed goodness to 
 this thy servant who is grieved with 
 sickness. Sanctify, we beseech thee % 
 
 petitions all present must join with the priest and the 
 sick person, as also in the responses which follow, 
 taken out of David's Psalms. Dean Comber. 
 
 f Lord, look down &c.] That which hath been 
 more briefly desired in the responses, is now collected 
 into two larger prayers, thence rightly called Collects. 
 The first of which is for su|)port under the affliction ; 
 the second, either for removing the affliction, or how- 
 ever for sanctifying it. Dean Comber. 
 
 The last of these prayers was shorter before the last 
 review. It then contained instances borrowed from 
 the Roman offices ; which, being examples of mira- 
 culous cures, such as are not now to be expected, were 
 prudently left out, and suii]ilied with some other more 
 suitable petitions. Dean Comber, Wheatly. 
 
 1 — look clown from heaven, &c.] Though God dwell 
 in heaven, yet He hath commanded his people in their 
 trouble to cry unto Him, and desire Him to " look 
 down" from thence, Deut. xxvi. 15; Isa. Ixiii. 15. 
 Wherefore we call on Him, from heaven to "behold " 
 this .servant of his, yea, to come to " visit and relieve 
 him," or else our visiting him is vain. Dean Comber. 
 
 The introduction to this Collect is found \'ery anci- 
 ently in the offices of the Greek or Latin church : but 
 God Himself also instructed the Jews in Moses's time 
 to pray so ; Deut. xxvi. ] 5 : and the use of the form 
 continued for many ages in the Jewish church, Isa. 
 Ixiii. 5. Solomon also was assured, that, when sickness 
 was upon the people, if they called ujion God, He 
 would "hear them in heaven his dwelling-])lace," 
 1 Kings viii. 37 — 39; ix. 3. So that the Church had 
 good reason to transcribe this jiiece of sacred devotion 
 into the present office. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — defend him from the danger of the enemy,'] Faith 
 and confidence in God is the only shield to secure the 
 sick man from Satan's darts, Eph. vi. IG. And if this 
 fail not, Luke xxii. 32, though he may be temjitcd and 
 assaulted, he shall not be overcome. There is " dan- 
 ger" that this "enemy" may now tempt him, if he 
 have lived carelessly, to despair ; if jiiously, to presump- 
 tion ; if he be weak, to impatience ; if he be wavering, 
 to unbelief; if he be worldly, by unwillingness to die; 
 if he be secure to defer his repentance : but we pray 
 that God will preser\'e him from " the danger." and 
 mischief, of consenting to any of these temptations, 
 and make him trust firmly in his mercy, and see clearly 
 his own unworthiness ; bear ])atiently what he hath so 
 justly deserved ; hold fast his good principles, and be 
 very willing to die if God jileaseth, and very diligent 
 while he lives to repent sincerely ; so shall he be " kept 
 perpetually " in " peace and safety," his mind shall be 
 
 J.imfH i. 3. 
 Job vii. 20. 
 Jc-r. ii. 30. 
 
 1 Cor. xi. 32. 
 Ps. xxxix. 
 
 13. 
 
 Jubli XV. 8. 
 
 Ps. xxxix. 9. 
 J(ib V. 7. 
 
 James i. 12. 
 
 tilis thy fatlierly correction to him; 
 tliat the sense of his weakness may 
 add strength to hi.s faith, and serious- 
 ness to A/.v repentance: That, if it 
 shall be thy good jdeasiire to restore 
 him to his former health, hn may lead 
 the residue of his life in thy fear, 
 and to thy glory : or else, give him 
 grace so to take thy visitation, that, 
 after this painful life ended, he may 
 dwell with thee in life everlasting ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 ylmcn. 
 
 H Then shall the Minister exhort the sick 
 person' after this form, or other like". 
 
 in quiet, and his outward condition safe ; this therefore 
 we beg, "through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Sanctify, we beseech thee, &c.] The sufferer and 
 his weaker friends may perhaps only desire jiresent ease 
 and restoration to health; but since health itself would 
 not be a mercy, till the correction had elfected that 
 good end for which God sent it, we first pray. That lie 
 will " sanctify it to him," so as it may make him 
 penitent and devout, humble and holy; for we know 
 it is not the stroke of an enemy designing present de- 
 struction, but a " fatherly correction," for he hath time 
 given him, and is yet sensible of his condition ; we 
 pray therefore " that the sense of his weakness " and 
 extreme danger may make him take faster hold of 
 God's mercy, (so absolutely necessary now,) and "add 
 strength to his faith and seriousness to his repentance," 
 that he may perforin it thoroughly and sincerely now, 
 since this may be the last opportunity that ever he will 
 ha\'e to judge himself before he come to God's judg- 
 mcnt-se.at ; or if he have a longer time, this sickness 
 cannot end well, whether it be in life or death, without 
 this unfeigned repentance. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Then skull the Minister exhort the sick person &c.] 
 It is a part of a minister's oflice to exhort, as well as to 
 pray for his people, and that not only in time of health, 
 hut also in sickness, 1 Thess. v. 14 ; 2 Tim. iv. 2 : for 
 then they stand in most need of directions, and are then 
 most likely to follow wholesome advice. The Church 
 therefore, being unwilling to lose so likely an 0]iportu- 
 nity of doing good, when the sufferings of the patient 
 make him tender and tractable, hath drawn up a jiroper 
 and pious exhortation, to imjirove that ha]ipy temper 
 for his soul's salvation. The form here jn'escribed ex- 
 actly agrees with the heads of exhortation, which the 
 priest was ordered to use to the sick by an ancient 
 council above eight hundred years ago. It consists 
 first of " instructions," concerning the author of afflic- 
 tions, the ends for which they are sent, the manner how 
 we are to bear them, and the benefits of imjiroving 
 them. And here, "if the person be very sick, the 
 curate may end his exhortation." 
 
 But if his distemper will allow him to proceed, the 
 minister is to admonish and stir him up to the practice 
 of those virtues which are now especially needful : such 
 as, in the first place, is " patience ;" since, till his mind 
 is made calm, it is in vain to jiress him either to faith 
 or repentance. For which reason this second part of 
 the exhortation we are speaking of endeavours to cheer 
 up the spirits of the sick, by proper arguments, precepts, 
 and examples.
 
 412 
 
 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 
 
 Deut. xxxii. 
 
 39. 
 
 1 Cliron. 
 xxix. 12. 
 
 Amos iii. 6. 
 Matt. X. 30. 
 Job V. 6. 
 
 James v. 10. 
 1 Pet. i. 6, 7. 
 
 Pa. cxix. 71, 
 72. 
 
 Eccles. vii. 
 
 14. 
 
 Mic. vii. 9. 
 
 1 Pet. V. 7. 
 
 1 Jobn ii. 1, 
 2. 
 
 Rom. V. 3—5. 
 Ps. cxix. 7j. 
 
 Heb. xii. 5 — 
 II. 
 
 DE A R L Y lieloved, know this, 
 that Almiii;hty God is the 
 Lord of life and death, and of all 
 things to them pertaining, as youth, 
 strength, health, age, weakness, and 
 sickness. Wherefore, whatsoever 
 your sickness is, know you certainly, 
 that it is God's visitation. And for 
 what cause soever this sickness is 
 sent unto you ; whether it be to try 
 your patience for the example of 
 others, and that your faith may be 
 found in the day of the Lord, laud- 
 able, glorious, and honourable, to the 
 increase of glory and endless felicity ; 
 or else it be sent unto you to correct 
 and amend in you whatsoever doth 
 oft'end the eyes of your heavenly Fa- 
 ther; know you certainly, that if 
 you truly repent you of your sins, 
 and bear your sickness patiently, 
 trusting in God's mercy, for his dear 
 Son Jesus Christ's sake, and render 
 unto him humble thanks for his fa- 
 therly visitation, submitting yourself 
 wholly unto his will, it shall turn to 
 your profit, and help you forward in 
 the right way that leadeth unto ever- 
 lasting life. 
 
 t }f the person visited be very sick, then the 
 Curate may end his exhortation in this 
 place, or else proceed, 
 
 TAKE tlierefore in good part 
 the chastisement of the Lord : 
 For (as Saint Paul saith in the 
 twelfth Chapter to the Hebrews) 
 whom the Lord lovcth he chasteneth, 
 and scourgeth every son whom he 
 reccivctli. If ye endure chastening, 
 God dealeth with you as with sons; 
 for what son is ho whom the I'ather 
 chasteneth not? Ihit if ye be with- 
 out chastisement, whereof all are 
 partakers, then are ye bastards, and 
 not sons. Furthermore, we have 
 had fathers of our Hesli, which cor- 
 
 And now, being in hopes that his mind is composed, 
 the minister |)rocpeds to fjivc liim such advice as is 
 proper for one that i.s preparing; for death. And since 
 at his l)aplism he made a solemn vow to God, which he 
 liroiniscd to keep all the days of his life ; it is fit he 
 sliould examine, now the end of his life may probably 
 draw near, how he has performed and dischar;.;ed tliat 
 promise. And because one i)art of liis vow was, " to 
 believe all the articles of the Christian faith," therefore 
 the jiriest particularly in((nire9 into the sick man's 
 belief. Kor to doubt of, or deny any of these articles, 
 is declared to be a dangerous and damnable state. It 
 
 Rora.vi. 3, 4. 
 
 rected us, and we gave them reve- 
 rence : shall we not much rather be 
 in subjection unto the Father of 
 spirits, and live ? For they verily for 
 a few days chastened us after their 
 own pleasure ; but he for our profit, 
 that we might be partakers of his 
 holiness. These words, good brother, 
 are written in holy Scripture for our icor.x. ii. 
 comfort and instruction ; that we 
 should patiently, and with thanks- 2 cor. vii. 4. 
 giving, bear our heavenly Father's 
 correction, whensoever by any man- 
 ner of adversity it shall please his 
 gracious goodness to visit us. And 
 there should be no greater comfort Heb. xi. 26. 
 to Christian persons, than to be made 
 like unto Christ, by suifering pa- 
 tiently adversities, troubles, and sick- 
 nesses. For he himself went not up 
 to joy, but first he suffered pain ; he Heb. xii. 1, 
 entered not into his glory before he ^' 
 was crucified. So truly our way to 
 eternal joy is to suffer here with 
 Christ; and our door to enter into 2 Tim. ii. 12. 
 eternal life is gladly to die with 
 Christ ; that we may rise again from 
 death, and dwell with him in ever- 
 lasting life. Now therefore, taking 
 your sickness, which is thus profit- 
 able for you, patiently, I exhort you, 
 in the Name of God, to remember 
 the profession which you made unto 
 God in your Baptism. And foras- 
 much as after this life there is an ac- Actsxvii. 31, 
 count to be given unto the righteous 
 Judge, by whom all must be judged, 1 pet. 1. 17. 
 without respect of persons, I require 
 you to examine yourself and your i,am. iii.40. 
 estate, both toward God and man ; ' ^°'' "'' ^'" 
 so that, accusing and condemning 
 yourself for your own faults, you may 
 find mercy at our heavenly Father's 
 hand for Christ's sake, and not be2ror. v. 11. 
 accused and condemned in that j',";^- ^'- """ 
 fearful judgement. Therefore I shall 2 cor. xiii. 5 
 rehearse to you the Articles of our 
 Faith, that you may know whether 
 
 is to forsake the faith into which he was baptized : and 
 what else is this but to cut hiniself olf from all the ]irivi- 
 Icffes and advanfaj^es to which his baptism intitled him? 
 l'"or which reason it is necessiu-y that our brother should 
 shew that he has kept his faith entire, that so we may 
 be satisfied (hat lie dies a sound meud)er of the t'atho- 
 lick church, out of which no salvation can ordinarily be 
 obtained. Whcalhj. 
 
 " • — after this form, or other like'] 'I'lic prayers are all 
 prescribed: but the exhortation is left arbitrary to the 
 discretion of the priest, who can hardly be thought to 
 make a better, lip. Sparrow. 
 
 Heb. ix. 27.
 
 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 
 
 413 
 
 you ilo believe as a Cliristian man 
 should, or no. 
 
 1 Here the Minister shall rehearse the Ar- 
 ticles of the Failh^,sai/iiir/ thus, 
 
 DOST tlioii believe in God the 
 Father Almighty, Maker of 
 heaven and earth ? 
 
 And in Jesus Christ his only-be- 
 gotten Son our Lord ? And that he 
 was conceived by the Holy Ghost, 
 born of the Virgin Mary : that he 
 suffered under Pontius I'ilate, was 
 crucified, dead, and l)urie(l ; that he' 
 went down into hell, and also did 
 rise again the third day ; that he 
 ascended into heaven, and sitteth at 
 
 ' Here the Minister shall rehearse the Articles nf the 
 Faith, &c.] In the office of Sarum, the sick jjcrson, 
 instead of beinf; examined upon the Ajiostles' Creed, 
 was interrogated upon the abstniser articles of faith : 
 as the indivisibility of the Persons in the divine essence; 
 the coequality of the Son ; and the consubstantiahty 
 both of the .Son and the Holy Ghost; the procession 
 of the Holy Ghost both from the l''ather and the Son, 
 &c. Which, tending to perplex the more unknowing 
 Christians, were deservedly in om- Reformation omitted. 
 Dr. Nichotls. 
 
 This examination concerning the faith of the jicrson, 
 whether it be C^hristian, is very necessary : for, if that 
 be wrong, all is wrong. Christian religion consists in 
 these two : a right faith, and a righteous life : and as a 
 right faith without a righteous life will not save, so nei- 
 ther will a righteous life, without a right belief. He 
 that hath said, " Do this, and live," hath said, " Be- 
 lieve, and live :" and how can we think him safe, that 
 lives indeed justly, but blasphemes impiously ? This 
 then is a principal interrogatory, or question to be put 
 to the sick person, whether he believes as a Christian 
 ought to do ? And this the minister does by rehearsing 
 to bira the Creed. And there can be no better rule to 
 try it by : for whatsoe\'er was prefigured in the patri- 
 archs, or taught in the Scriptures, or foretold by the 
 prophets, concerning God the Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost, is all briefly contained in the Apostles' Creed. 
 The ancient fathers say, " This Creed is the touchstone 
 to try true faith from false ; the rule of faith, contrary 
 to which no man may teacli or believe." "'I'his the 
 Catholiek church received from the apostles. Holding 
 this rule, we shall be able to convince all hereticks 
 whatsoever, that they departed from the truth." Bjj. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 It hath been an ancient practice to propound these 
 articles to djdng Christians. The Roman church hath 
 devised two new forms, one consisting of fourteen arti- 
 cles, the other somewhat briefer; but both leavened 
 with their own novel errors, and much differing from 
 the .Apostles' Creed. But this Church uses no other 
 form, but that into which we were baptized ; wherein 
 we agree \vith all other Protestants, it having been a 
 custom to repeat this Creed to the most famous German 
 reformers on their death-beds. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Then shall the Minister examine &c.] The former 
 instructions, exhortations, and advice agree to all sick 
 persons, and therefore are prescribed in a " set form :" 
 but because of the great variety of men's cases and 
 tempers in time of sickness, the Chiu-ch leaves it to the 
 
 the right hand of God the Fatlier 
 Almighty ; and from thence shall 
 come again at the end of the 
 world, to judge the quick and the 
 dead ? 
 
 And dost tiioii believe in the Holy 
 Ghost ; the holy Catholiek Church ; 
 the Communion of Saints; the Re- 
 mission of sins; the Resurrection of 
 the flesh ; and everlasting Life after 
 death ? 
 
 H The sick person shall answer, 
 All this I stedfastly believe. 
 
 If Then shall the Minister examine'' whether 
 he repent him trultj of his sins', and be in 
 charity with all the world*, exhorting him 
 
 discretion of the minister who visits, to assist and direct 
 them in other matters as he sees the particular case 
 requires : only in the rubrick here are some general 
 things described. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — whether he repent him truly of his sins,'] Tlie first 
 direction given (which was added at the last review) is, 
 that the " minister shall examine whether he repent him 
 truly of his sins." For it is very certain that all have 
 sinned, Rom. iii. 23 ; and consequently, that all have 
 need of repentance : and therefore before the minister 
 can give the sick man comfort upon any good grounds, 
 it is fit that he should be satisfied of the truth of his 
 repentance. Wheatly. 
 
 And if he find the sick person hath examined slightly, 
 or is not very sensible of the number, natin-e, and desert 
 of his sins, not heartily grieved for them, or not sted- 
 fastly resolved (if he recover) to amend his life: the 
 priest must imjiartially tell him the danger of dying in 
 that impenitent state, and labour to bring him to re- 
 pentance now, or else he must perish for ever. God's 
 minister must not fear any man's anger, or destroy him 
 by concealing this necessary though unjileasing truth 
 from him : and every man ought to give his spiritual 
 physician leave to be )ilain and impartial, since his own 
 salvation depcmls njinn it. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — and be in charily with all the world, &c.] In the 
 next place he is to consiiler, " whether he be in charity 
 with all the world, exhorting him to forgive, from the 
 bottom of his heart, all persons that have offended him." 
 For there is not any duty more enforced in the Gospel, 
 than that of brotherly reconciliation, or forgiving of in- 
 juries, which even in the prayer that our Lord has taught 
 us is made the condition of God's forgiving us. The 
 example therefore of our Lord and his first martyr St. 
 Stephen, who ])rayed for their murderers at the very 
 instant of their death, should always be considered 
 upon these occasions. " Father, forgive them, for they 
 know not what they do," Luke xxiii. 34 ; and, " Lord, 
 lay not this sin to their charge," .Acts vii. 60 : which 
 were their dying words, shpuld always be ours. For 
 sure it is high time for men to forget their resentments 
 against their neighbours, when they are just going to 
 answer for their own misdoings ; especially when we 
 are taught so plainly by our Savioiu-, that, unless we 
 have compassion on our fellow-ser\'ants, our Lord will 
 exact from us all that we owe to Him, and will deli\er 
 us over to the tormentors till we shall have p.aid what 
 is due. Matt, xviii. 23, &c. 
 
 But besides the sick person's forginng those that 
 have offended him, " if he has offended any other, he
 
 414 
 
 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 
 
 to forgive, from the bottom of his heart, all 
 persons that have offended him; and if he 
 hath offended any other, to ask them for- 
 giveness : and where he hath done injury or 
 wrong to any mn«, that he make amends to 
 the uttermost of his power^. And if he 
 hath not before disposed of his goods', let 
 him then he admonished to make his IVitl'^, 
 and to declare his Debts, what he oweth, 
 and what is owing unto him; for the better 
 discharging of his conscience, and the 
 
 must ask tliem forgiveness ; and where he hath done 
 injury or wrong to any man, he must also make amends 
 to the uttermost of his power." For he who refuses to 
 do this is not a penitent for the injury he has done, hut 
 would certainly do more, if he had time and opportu- 
 nity ; and therefore he can expect nothing but condem- 
 nation from that Judge, who knows the tendency and 
 temper of his mind. Our Lord, we know, did not re- 
 ceive Zacchcus into the number of his followers or 
 disciples, till he had made profession of his willingness 
 to restore, Luke .\ix. 8 : who then can expect to be 
 received into his kingdom, that refuses so necessary a 
 part of justice ? Since therefore the sick person may 
 now, for what he knows, be going to appear before the 
 Judge of all the world, from whom " he that doeth 
 wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, 
 without respect of persons," Col. iii. 25 ; how much 
 doth it concern him to " agree with his adversary while 
 he is yet in the way with him, lest afterwards the adver- 
 sary deliver him to the judge, and the judge deliver him 
 to the officer, and so he be cast into prison, from whence 
 he shall by no means come out till he has jiaid the ut- 
 termost farthing." Matt. v. 25, 26. So necessary is it 
 even for those, who but suspect themselves of any 
 wrongful deed, to judge and examine themselves with 
 all possible strictness, and by publick acknowledgments 
 and tender of satisfaction to declare their unfeigned and 
 hearty rejjentance. JVheatly. 
 
 ■■ — that he make amends to the uttermost of his power.'\ 
 By " the uttermost of his power," is not meant, that he 
 must give to the injured jierson all his estate, nor that 
 he must restore fourfold for injuries done ; (which was 
 required in some cases under Moses's law, by way of 
 punishment, rather than satisfaction ;) but that he be 
 careful to the uttermost of his power, that the person 
 injured be so repaired, that he be no loser by him ; 
 which is all that by the law of justice, which commands 
 to give every man his due, is required, F.zek. xxxiii. 14, 
 15. " When I say to the wickeil, be shall surely die : 
 if he turn from his sin, if he restore the pledge, give 
 again that he liath robbed," (it is not, if he restore 
 fourfold, but if he restore that he hath roblied,) " lie 
 shall surely live." lip. Sparrow. 
 
 ' — And if he hath not before di.iposed of his goods, 
 &c.] .\ftur tlu^ exerciseofthe.se two branches of cha- 
 rity, should follow the third, namely, that of giving to 
 the poor : l)ut before the sick man be exhortecl to this, 
 it is necessary that he should know what is his own to 
 give. For wln<'h reason, " if he has not before disjiosed 
 of his goods, he is then to be a<hnonished to make his 
 will, and to declare his debts, what he oweth, and what 
 is owing unto him, for the better discharging of his 
 conscience and the (piietness of his executors." .And 
 though the making of a will be a secular matter, which 
 does not relate to tliose spiritual concerns which the 
 minister comes to the sick man about ; yet, since the 
 affairs of intestates are generally left in so confused a 
 manner, that strifes and contests are often the result, it 
 is very jirudently enjoined by our Church, that the mi- 
 
 quietness of his Executors. But men 
 should often be put in remembrance to take 
 order for the settling of their temporal es- 
 tates, u'hilst they are in health. 
 
 t These words be/ore rehearsed may be said 
 before the Minister begin his Prayer, as he 
 shall see cause. 
 
 H The Minister should not omit earnestly to 
 more' such sick persons as are of ability to 
 be liberal to the poor. 
 
 H Here shall the sick person be moved to make 
 
 nister should remind them of settling their affairs. 
 '■ Men indeed should often be put in remembrance, to 
 take order for the settling of their temporal estates 
 whilst they are in health :" for no man is sure but that 
 he may be taken off suddenly, without ha\-ing time to 
 perform it ; or though he may be seized with a lingering 
 disease, yet it may be such a one as may incapacitate 
 him from doing it. Or supposing the best, that he may 
 have timely notice or warning of his death, and his un- 
 derstanding hold good and perfect to the last ; yet sure 
 it must be a disturbance to a dying man, to have those 
 moments taken up in ordering and disposing of his 
 worldly affairs, which ought to be cmidoyed in prepar- 
 ing him for eternity. However, if our carelessness has 
 deferred it till then, it must by no means be omitted 
 now. We must not leave our friends and relations 
 involved in endless suits and contentions; none of our 
 family must be left tmprovided for, through our ne- 
 glect of assigning their portion ; nor must our creditors 
 be defrauded of theu- just demands, for want of our 
 clearing or dcelnriDg otu- debts. If in any of these 
 cases our last act be unjust, we leave a blot upon our 
 name in this world, and can expect nothing but a sad 
 doom in the next. 
 
 For this reason the Church makes it a part of the 
 minister's care. And by an ancient constitution made 
 in the year 1236, people were forbid to make their wills 
 without the jiresence of the parish-]iriest, as they desired 
 that their wills might be fulfilled. However, if the 
 minister think this a matter of too secular a nature to 
 be mingled with his discourses concerning his spiritual 
 concerns, he is allowed to manage and di.siiatch this 
 first before he begins the holy ofHce. For that is the 
 intent of the following rubriek, which allows, that " the 
 words before rehearsed may be said before the minister 
 begin his jirayer, as he shall sec cause." Which, if 
 compared with King Kdwavd's Common Praver liooks, 
 plainly refers to the man's disposal of his goods ; against 
 which part of the direction the contents of this rubriek 
 are printed in the margin. W'hentty. 
 
 ^ — to make his J)"///,] .\s by the law of nature every 
 one has a right to his goods, which he has acquired by 
 I his industry, so he has a right to dispose of them, either 
 in his life by sale or gift, ot at his death by will. The 
 usage of making wills at or liel'ore death has obtained 
 in all nations, and is as old as any history reaches. We 
 find in the book of (icnesis, that Abraham, in case that 
 he hail no child, made F.liezcrof Damascus, the steward 
 of his house, his heir by will, (Jen. xv. 2. Now though 
 the making of a will be a secular matter, which doth 
 not relate to those spiritual concerns, about which the 
 minister comes to the sick man ; yet, considering that 
 the affairs of intestates are generally left in so confused 
 a manner, that great strifes and contests are raised in 
 families upon that occasion, and sonu- brandies of the 
 family left unprovided for; it is very prudently enjoined 
 by the Chin-cli. tliiit the ininislcr ,'^liould remind every 
 one of settling his all'airs before he dies, as he would 
 avoid not only tlie loss of his eli'ects in expensive law-
 
 a special Confession of his sins', if he feel 
 his conscience troubled with any weir/hty 
 matter. After which Confession the Priest 
 shall absolve hirn« (if he hmnbly and 
 heartily desire it) after this sort. 
 
 suits, but chiefly that he may not occasion the dis- 
 union of the affections of his dearest relations. Dr. 
 Nichol/s. 
 
 ' Tlie Minister should not omit earnestly to move Ike.'] 
 The man's affairs being now settled, the minister, in the 
 next place, is " not to omit earnestly to move him, if he 
 be of ability, to be liberal to the jioor." By the old 
 canon law every one was obliged to k'a\'e such a pro- 
 portiim of his goods or estate to charitable uses, as he 
 bequeathed to each of his children. 'I'his moiety, 
 which lielonged to the Church, was laid U|) by the 
 bishop for the maintenance of the clergy, the repair of 
 the fabrick, and the like. But we are only enjoined to 
 put the rich in mind of the poor, that out of the abun- 
 dance, which they are going to leave, they should be- 
 stow some liberal largess on them. And indeed, of all 
 our treasures, that alone which we thus dispose of is 
 laid up in store for ourseh'es. Our good works are 
 our only moveables that shall follow us to the grave : 
 and therefore there is no time more seasonable for them 
 than sickness, when we are preparing to be gone. 
 IVheatly. 
 
 The minister " may not forget to mo\'e the sick per- 
 son," and that most earnestly, "to liberality towards 
 the poor." " This is to have mercy u])on our own 
 souls," says St. Augustin, or " to make Cbri.st our 
 heir." For when the poor receive from us, Christ stands 
 by, and reaches out his hand to receive with them. 
 " Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of these little 
 ones, ye have done it to me," Matt. xxv. 40. And as 
 it is always necessary to be ]iut in mind of this duty, 
 so especially at this time of sickness : for then " we 
 are faiUng," and therefore most necessary it is then, 
 to " make friends of the unrighteous mammon, that, 
 when " we fail, " they may receive us into everlasting 
 habitations," Luke xvi. 9. Then we are going to give 
 up our account to God; and therefore then most neces- 
 sary it is, to do the best we can, to ])rocure a gracious 
 absolution at the day of judgment. Now nothing 
 seems more ])owerful mth God, to procure that, than 
 liberality to the poor : " Come, ye blessed ; for I was 
 hungry, and ye gave me meat," Matt. xxv. 34, 35. Bp. 
 Sparrow. 
 
 Say not, we must not think to merit heaven by alms- 
 deeds. For though heaven be too glorious to be bought 
 by them, (as we teach against the papists, 1 Pet. i. IS,) 
 yet God bath promised to reward them in heaven who 
 relieve the poor on earth, and gives heaven only to 
 charitable men. Matt. xxv. 42 : not for the merit of 
 their charity, but of his free grace (as we teach against 
 liypocritical and sordid protestants who pretend this 
 only to save their jiurses) : give therefore with assurance 
 of reward. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Here shall the sick person he moved to make a special 
 Confession of his sins, &c.] Lastly, the priest must ad- 
 \ise the sick man " to confess those sins " which do 
 most trouble his conscience. To confess our sins to a 
 priest even in health is a pious and ancient custom, and 
 not only a sign of repentance, but tlie best means for 
 obtaining pardon and for amending our lives, and 
 (though grossly abused by papists) is but too much 
 neglected by protestants. But in sickness it may be 
 still more useful to confess to the ciders of the Church 
 whom we have sent for, James v. 1(5. For if they be 
 clearly told the case, they can better apply ])ropcr 
 
 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 41.1 
 
 UIl Lord Jesus Christ'', wljo 
 
 V / liatli left power to his Chureli 
 to al)Solvc all sinners who truly 
 repent and believe in him, of his 
 
 spiritual remedies, and will both pray more heartily 
 for us, and may on better grounds absolve us. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 Our Church here having considered, that the con- 
 sciences of most men are very tender under the fear of 
 approaching death ; that reflections on their former sins 
 do then most sensibly affect them ; and that withal 
 many scruples do arise in their minds, either concern- 
 ing some acts of injustice, which they may in the course 
 of their lives have committed, and miiy be at a loss how 
 to find out proper methods of restitution ; or concerning 
 some other sins of a more heinous nature, which they 
 are not certain that they have [lursued the most jiroper 
 methods in repenting of: the Church, I say, upon 
 these considerations has ordered, that the sick jierson, 
 when he is visited by the minister, may be moved to 
 make confession of svich sins, as he finds trouble his 
 conscience ; to the end, that by the spiritual advice 
 and comfort, which he may receive from the minister, 
 his mind may be eased. Now it is to be observed, that 
 our Church herein acts very differently from the church 
 of Rome ; for that church hath adjudged it " necessary 
 by the divine law, to confess all and single mortal sins, 
 which any one does remember or can recollect, by due 
 and dihgent premeditation." Our Church only orders 
 persons to be moved to it : that church requires it, as 
 necessary for the forgiveness of sins. Our Church 
 motions special confession, with relation only to such 
 sins, as disquiet the person's mind : that church 
 absolutely demands it, upon account of all sins what- 
 soever. Our Church does this, only with a view of in- 
 structing and comforting the sick person : but the 
 church of Rome anathematizes all them who say so : 
 " If anyone shall say, that confession is only ])rofitable 
 for the instruction and consolation of the penitent, let 
 bira be accursed." But. as the auricular confession of 
 the pa])ists, «bieh they hold necessary for all penitents, 
 and have enjoined to be ])crf(5rmed by a particular 
 enumeration of all sins which can be remembered, is a 
 doctrine which was never known in the Cliristian world 
 till very late ages of it ; so the sjiecial confession of 
 some very aifecting sins, which disquiet the mind, to be 
 made to the minister as a spiritual physician or coun- 
 sellor, as our Church enjoins, was practised by the 
 purest ages of Christianity, as we find from \-arious 
 passages in the writers of both the Latin and the Greek 
 church. From all which it is manifest, that s])ecial con- 
 fession is not required, absolutely as necessary for the 
 forgiveness of sins ; but is only adx-ised, as our Church 
 advises, for the penitent to receive the sjiiritual advice 
 of the minister, for easing the conscience in some par- 
 ticular cases, and for the more profitable jjcrforming of 
 repentance. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 s- — After which Confession, the Priest shall absolv. him 
 &c.] Having done all this to fit our penitent sick man 
 for comfort, it is now time to disjiensc it. Job vi. 14. 
 And since his first and greatest trouble is sin, our first 
 comfort is to remove that by the Absoluticm, which St. 
 James doth expressly require shall be given to a sick 
 penitent after we have ]irayed over him, James v. 15, 
 according to one translation of the ])assage, which is 
 confirmed by the jjractice of the primitive church. 
 And the primitive church by many canons took care, 
 none that repented should die without it ; for since it 
 is certain Christ did leave such a power with his
 
 416 
 
 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 
 
 James iv. S. 
 
 Ps. Isxxvi. 
 
 15. 
 
 Hell. viii. 12 
 
 Eph. iv. 22- 
 
 24. 
 
 great mercv fors;ive thee thine of- 
 fences : And by his authority com- 
 mitted to me, 1 al)solve thee from all 
 thy sins, In the Name of the Fatlier, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost. Amen. 
 
 f And then the Pries/ shnU say the Collect 
 following '. 
 
 Let ns pray. 
 
 OIMost merciful God, who, ac- 
 cording to the multitude of 
 
 church, there is never more need to use it than now. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 Our Church here, in appointing the Absolution to be 
 used for sick persons, has shewn a great deal of wisdom 
 and moderation : neither laying aside an ancient usage, 
 so very comfortable to the souls of men ; nor yet retain- 
 ing those corruptions, which the Romish church had 
 introduced into it. For it must be observed, that our 
 Churcli does not look upon the absolution of the priest 
 to be absolutely necessary for the forgiveness of sins, as 
 the church of Rome does ; which, as being a ])art of 
 the sacrament of penance, they hold necessary for the 
 faithful, as often as they fall into sin after baptism. 
 Our Church here, by the former part of the form of 
 absolution, which is ])i-ccatorv, and by addressing Al- 
 mighty God for jiardon, declares tliat the priest does 
 not act judicially and authoritati\'ely : but the Romish 
 church is of an opinion directly opposite to this ; and 
 has declared our sense of giving absolution heretical : 
 " If any one shall say, that the sacramental absolution 
 of the priest is not a judicial act, but barely a minis- 
 terial one, in declaring that the sins of tho person who 
 confesses are pariloned, &c. let him be accursed." Now 
 this notion does betoken a great degree of arrogance in 
 the maintainers of it, to think that (iod Almighty should 
 divest Himself of bis inherent right of forgiveness of 
 sins, which, the Scripture says, belongs to Him alone, 
 and confer it upon one of his creatures. But the con- 
 stitution of the Church of England, in ordering the 
 jiricst to pronounce the absolution ministerially, and to 
 specify by whose autliority be [ironounces it ; and 
 witlial, beginning the form with a prayer to invoke 
 (iod's forgiveness, docs with a due submissicni and 
 humility recognise that omnipotent authoritj', on 
 which it is fomuled. Dr. Nicliulls. See the note from 
 15l) Sparrow, p. 309, note/). 
 
 This form is very ancient ; consisting now, as it did 
 of old, of two parts : the one deprecative, the second 
 indicative ; the one entreating for pardon, the other 
 dispensing it. Denn Comber. 
 
 I'ossildy this ])art of the office may seem to have 
 ascribed so high a jiowcr to the minister, of absolving 
 the sick from tlicir sins, as may lead them into great 
 mistakes. .\nd it is indeed more liable to be so niis- 
 imderstood, than the earhcr forms, whidi were ex- 
 ])rcssed in the manner of a prayer. Hut still all writers 
 on the s\d)j(^ct have agreed, that this absolution either 
 was intended, whicb indeed is most probable, only to 
 set persons free from any ecclesiastical censures, which 
 they might have incurred : an indulgence, granted in 
 every age of the Church to such as were dangerously 
 ill, on their humble refpicst ; but whicb is no more 
 pretended to make a change in their eternal state, than 
 a Jiardon from the king is : or, if it means also to 
 di'clare them restored to the favour of (iod, means it 
 only on supposition of a sincere and thorough rcpent- 
 
 thy mercies, doth so put away the 
 
 sins of those who truly repent, that 
 
 thou rememberest them no more ; 
 
 Open thine eye of mercy upon this 
 
 thy servant, wlio most earnestly 
 
 desireth pardon and forgiveness. 
 
 Renew in him, most loving Father, 
 
 whatsoever hath been decayed by 
 
 the fraud and malice of the devil, 'Thess. m. 
 
 or hv his own carnal will anil frail- 2 cor n. ii. 
 
 ■' , . , . . , 1 I'et. V. 8. 
 
 ness; preserve and continue this sick Matt. xwi. 
 member in the unity of the Church ; Ep,,. iv. 3. 
 
 ance ; which being professed by them, it may be 
 charitably presumed, though not certainly known, that 
 it is real; and without whicb all persons are entreated 
 to observe, no absolution here, granted by whomsoever 
 or in what words soever, will do them the least good 
 hereafter. Accorthngly this form is not apjiointcd 
 ever to be used, but when the sick have made, hy their 
 own choice, " a special confession of some weighty 
 matter, troubling their consciences, humbly and heartily 
 desiring," that it may be used for their consolation. 
 And as this is but seldom requested, and consequently 
 the absolution seldom pronounced over any one ; so 
 whenever it is, it may and ought to be accompanied 
 with such explanations, as will prevent any wrong con- 
 structions. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 AVhen we see good evidence, that the sick man is 
 prejiared to receive this grace, we give it him in God's 
 name ; and he ought to look on us but as the in- 
 struments to convey the pardon «'hich Jesus gives. So 
 the Church of England taught our forefathers to be- 
 lieve, as we read in "the institution of a Christian 
 man ;" " which words being spoken by the priest on 
 earth, he ought to believe they shall be ratified in 
 hea\'en, and that he is akeady freely pardoned for the 
 merit of Christ's jiassion." The Absolution is only 
 ministerially conveyed by the priest ; but tlie Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost, in whose name it is pronounced, 
 do join in the confirmation thereof. Wherefore let the 
 sick man value it highly, receix'c it with reverence, ami 
 ho]ie for the blessed ciTeet tlicreof. And let not the 
 ]iricst rashly cast this pearl before swine; nor [U'esumc 
 to absoh'e those, whom he dolh not believe to be truly 
 penitent : for in so doing he abuses the jiowcr which 
 God gave him ; exceeds the bounds of his commission ; 
 and dangerously deceives the man whom he so undidy 
 absoh'es. The obdurate must not have it, lest they 
 presume ; and the contrite must not want it, lest they 
 despair: let it be prudently dispensed ; and then there 
 will be gained abundant satisfaction both to the giver 
 and receiver. Dcati Cotnher. 
 
 '' Our Jjord Jesus Christ.l Instead of the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the form before the Reformation ran 
 in tlic name of St. I'etcr. Which, being both super- 
 stitious and blasphemous, was well changed to the 
 form that we now have. Dr. Nichnlls. 
 
 ' And then the Priest shall say the Collect following.'] 
 'J'liat this comfortable ilis]ieusing of remission may not 
 want its ilue cll'ect, we suUl a prayer after it. to beg of 
 (iod to ratify our act, and to ileclare He hath done so 
 by other visible testimonies of his favour; by renewing 
 in the sick person the graces of faith, hope, devotion, 
 and sincere obedience. There is such a jirayer as this, 
 anciently found in the Western scrviix' on this occasion ; 
 and another to the siune efi'eet in the Eastern Liturgy. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 In the jicnitcntial of Ecbcrt, who was Archbishop of
 
 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 
 
 Pa. li. 2, 3. 
 
 Isa. xxxviii. 
 
 5. 
 
 Luke xxii. 
 
 Pa. XXV. 18. 
 
 20. 
 
 Eiih. iii. le. 
 
 Luke xxiii. 
 
 46. 
 
 Numb, xxiii, 
 
 10. 
 
 consider his contrition, accept his 
 tears, asswagc his jiain, as sliall seem 
 to thee most expedient for hitn. 
 And forasmuch as he ijiitteth Ids full 
 trust only in thy mercy, impute not 
 unto him his former sins, but 
 streii<(then /(/;/( with tliy blessed 
 Spirit ; and, when thou art pleased 
 to take hivi iience, take him unto thy 
 favour, throuirli the merits of tliy 
 most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 If Then shall the Minister say this Psalm^. 
 In te, Domini; speravi. Psalm Ixxi. 
 
 IN thee, O Lord, have I put my 
 trust ; let me never be put to 
 confusion : but rid me, and deliver 
 me in thy righteousness ; incline 
 thine ear unto me, and save me. 
 
 Be thou my strong hold, vifhcre- 
 unto I may alway resort : thou hast 
 jiromised to help me ; for thou art 
 my house of defence, and my castle. 
 
 Deliver me, O my God, out of 
 the hand of the ungodly : out of the 
 hand of the unrighteous and cruel 
 man. 
 
 For thou, O Lord God, art the 
 thing that I long for : thou art my 
 hope, even from my youth. 
 
 Through thee have I been liolden 
 up ever since I was born : thou art 
 he that took me out of my mother's 
 womb ; my praise shall alway be of 
 thee. 
 
 I am become as it were a monster 
 unto many : but my sure trust is in 
 thee. 
 
 O let my mouth be filled with thy 
 praise : that I may sing of thy glory 
 and honour all the day long. 
 
 Cast me not away in the time of 
 
 York in the middle of the eiglith century, this prayer, 
 with very little variation, was one of the ancient formu- 
 laries for clinical ahsolution. Whentli/. 
 
 ^ Then shall the Minister say this Psalm.'] After the 
 sick person is absolved by the Church, and recom- 
 mended to the pardon and grace of God, the minister 
 is directed to use in his behalf the seventy-fii'st Psalm ; 
 which is so very apt and proper to express the sick 
 man's desires and wants, and at the same time to exer- 
 cise his faith, to inflame his love, to uphold his patience, 
 and revive his hope, that not only our own, but the 
 Eastern, Western, and most churches in the world 
 agree in the choice of it for this office. At the review 
 at the Restoration indeed the five last verses were left 
 out of our own, as supposing the person restored to 
 his former state and jirosperity, and so not being suit- 
 able to be used over one whose case is languishing and 
 dangerous. Dean Comber, Wheatly. 
 
 not when 
 
 417 
 
 my 
 
 age : forsake me 
 strength faileth me. 
 
 I'or mine enemies speak against 
 me, and they that lay wait for my 
 soul take their counsel together, 
 saying : God hatli forsaken him, per- 
 secute him, and take him ; for there 
 is none to deliver him. 
 
 Go not far from me, O God : my 
 God, haste thee to help me. 
 
 Let them be confounded and 
 perish that are against my soul : let 
 them be covered with shame and 
 dishonour that seek to do me evil. 
 
 As for me, 1 will jiatiently abide 
 alway : and will praise thee more 
 and more. 
 
 My mouth shall daily speak of thy 
 righteousness and salvation : for I 
 know no end thereof. 
 
 I will go forth in the strength of 
 the Lord God : and will make men- 
 tion of thy righteousness only. 
 
 Thou, O God, hast taught me 
 from my youth up till now : there- 
 fore will I tell of thy wondrous 
 works. 
 
 Forsake me not, O God, in mine 
 old age, when I am gray-headed : 
 until I have shewed thy strength 
 unto this generation, and thy power 
 to all them that are yet for to 
 come. 
 
 Thy righteousness, O God, is 
 very high, and great things are they 
 that thou hast done : O God, who is 
 like unto thee ? 
 
 Glory be to the Father, &;c. 
 
 As it was in the beginning, §"c. 
 
 T Adding thisK 
 Saviour of the world, who by coi i. 20. 
 thy Cross and precious Blood ' ^"'^ ' '°' 
 
 ' Adding this, &c.] And now being for aught we 
 know to take our last leave of our dear brother, we do 
 it with giving him a solemn blessing at the parting, in 
 which way the office is concluded as well in the Eastern 
 as the Western church. The blessings concluding this 
 service of our own Church are more and fuller than in 
 any other place. I'hey consist of three solemn forms. 
 The first is directed to God the Son, jirincipally de- 
 signed to obtain pardon for sin by his death and pas- 
 sion. The second is a formal blessing in the name of 
 God the Father, chiefly intended to |)rocure the defence 
 of his Providence. The last, which was added at the 
 last review, and is a ]iaraphrase on that divine form. 
 Numb. vi. 24 — '20, is an address to the whole Trinitj'; 
 wherein, that the sick person may be safe in life or 
 death, " unto God's gracious mercy and protection," 
 who is able to keep him from falling, and to present 
 him spotless before his throne, " we commit him ;" 
 
 2 E
 
 4)8 
 
 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 
 
 Prov xviii. 
 10. Ps. XX 1 
 cxxv. 1. 2. 
 1 Chron. 
 xxix. 11. 
 
 Arts iv. 10. 
 12. 
 
 Ads XX. 32, 
 
 Pa. Isxxvi. 
 
 15. 
 
 Job xiii. 15. 
 
 Numb. vi. 
 21—26. 
 Ps. Ixxi. 3. 
 
 Isa. xxvi. 3. 
 
 hast redeemed us, Save us, and help 
 us, we humbly beseech thee, O 
 Lord. 
 
 \ Then shall the 3Iinister say, 
 ri^ H E Almighty Lord, who is a 
 J_ most strong tower to all them 
 that put their trust in him, to whom 
 all things in heaven, in earth, and 
 under the earth, do bow and obey, 
 be now and evermore thy defence ; 
 and make thee know and feel, that 
 there is none other Name under 
 heaven gi\en to man, in whom, and 
 through whom, thou niayest receive 
 health and salvation, but only the 
 Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Amen. 
 
 <1 Ayid after that shall say, 
 
 UNTO God's gracious mercy 
 and protection we commit thee. 
 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. 
 The Lord make his face to shine 
 upon thee, and be gracious unto 
 thee. The Lord lift up his counte- 
 nance upon thee, and give thee 
 peace, both now and evermore. 
 Amen. 
 
 Ps. xxxvi. 9 
 
 Ixviii. 20. 
 
 A Prayer for a sick child'°. 
 
 O Almighty God, and merciful 
 Father, to whom alone belong 
 the issues of life and death ; Look 
 down from heaven, we humbly be- 
 
 praying that God and the Father may "bless him" 
 with all good, " and keej) him" from all e\il ; that (iod 
 the Son may look cheerfully on him " and he gracious 
 to him" in the pardon of his sins; and that (jod tlie 
 Holv (Jhost may behold him favourably, "and give 
 him" tb;it sweet " [jcace" of conscience which will fill 
 him «ith joy. and carry him through death to a glori- 
 ous immortality, anil will support him " now and ever- 
 more. Amen." Demi Combir. 
 
 " A Prayer for a sick child.'] There is so mut.'h variety 
 in the state of sickness, that it is impossible one form, 
 though it were ever so comi)lete, should be contrived to 
 fit all jiarticidar occasions. As to those wliose distemper 
 lies chiefly in the body, and who arc of an age that is 
 capable of comfort and advice, and have abso their senses 
 and understandings entire, and faculties and time enough 
 to exercise all the forementioned duties of religion ; the 
 former office is very suitable and proper. Hut there 
 are singular cases which rerpure ])i!culiar prayers, and 
 more indeed than it is easy to provide for in any stated 
 forms: however, there are four which our Church took 
 notice of at the last review, and for which therefore she 
 hath provided four suitable prayers. 
 
 The first of these is " for a sick child :" in which 
 case, as a fondness and love of the jiarents will direct 
 them to use all luiman means for its recovery ; so 
 Christianity .should instruct them to turn the violence 
 of their passion into fervent addresses to .Mmi^hty (iod 
 to help it. lie gave it at first, and lie only can prc- 
 
 seech thee, with the eyes of mercy 
 upon this child now lying upon the 2,s.™. xn. 
 bed of sickness: Yisit him, Lord, ""'' ' 
 with thy salvation; deliver Itim in .Maikx. i3— 
 thy good appointed time from his 
 bodily pain, and save his soul for 
 thy mercies' sake : That, if it shall 
 be thy pleasure to prolong his days 
 here on earth, he may live to thee, 
 and be an instrument of thy glory, 
 by serving thee faithfully, and doing 
 good in his generation; or else re- Tit. iu. i. 
 ceive him into those heavenly habi- 
 tations, where the souls of them that 2 cor. v. i. 
 sleep in the Lord Jesus enjoy per- 
 petual rest and felicity. Grant this, Rev. xw. u. 
 O Lord, for thv mercies' sake, in the 
 same thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who livcth and reigneth with thee 
 and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
 A Prayer for a sick person, rchen 
 there cippeareih small hope^ of re- 
 cover!/. 
 
 Father of mercies, and God of Ps. cxix. iso. 
 all comfort, our only help in ps. "cvw. 12. 
 time of need; We fly unto thee for 
 succour in behalf of this thy servant, James v. n;. 
 here lying under thy hand in great 
 weakness of body. Look graciously 
 n[)on him, O Lord; and the more 
 the outward man decayeth, strengthen 2 cor. iv. ic. 
 Iiim, wc beseech thee, so much the 
 
 serve it : and it was the trust of the Shunammite in his 
 power to save, that encouraged her to apply herself to 
 the pro))het Elisha, e\'en when her son was actually 
 dead, which procured for her a success as wondcrfid 
 as her faith, 2 Kings iv. .\nd though when Jairus went 
 to Jesus for his dying child, the disease proved swifter 
 than his utmost haste ; yet our Lord rewarded the 
 faith of the parent with the restoration of the daughter's 
 life. Such miracles indeed we must not now expect; 
 but yet if we seek the prayers of the Chiu'cb with due 
 humility and faith, there is no doubt but they will 
 assist very much in the cure; and that, if any means 
 can move God to spare thetn, this will. Whcalhj. 
 
 " A Prayer fur a sick person, when there appcarelh 
 small hope Jtc] When the disease has idinost got the 
 victory of the sick, it is not to be expected that the 
 man should do much on his part for the bettering 
 of his future state. And therefore since (it is to be 
 hoped) be hath tUready gone through the preparatory 
 exercises of patience and submission, of faith and 
 repentance, of thaukfuliuss and charity; but is now 
 rendered incapable of any other oHlce ; the minister 
 must take care that at least he do not want such fiirther 
 benefits as the Church has provided for him in this ex- 
 cellent form : which is also very ])roper to be used, 
 when any sudden disease jint a man beyond all hopes 
 of recovery at the first assault; or when any, though 
 visited with a lingering disease, have yet wretchedly 
 deferred to send for a minister, till there is as little to
 
 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 
 
 419 
 
 Act< xi. 18. 
 Ezek. xviii. 
 27. 
 
 E|)ll. ii. 8. 
 Acts X. 43. 
 
 Job xiv. 10— 
 
 12. 
 
 Eccles. ix. 10, 
 
 2 Cor. V. 10. 
 
 Luke i. 37. 
 
 Joliniv. -10, 
 
 47. 
 
 Luke xii. 37. 
 
 Heb. xii. 23. 
 2 Cor. V. 6. 8. 
 
 1 Pet. iv 
 
 19. 
 
 Isa. xlv. 
 
 21, 
 
 22. 
 
 
 Luke xxiii. 
 
 4(1. 
 
 
 Ps. XXV. 
 
 20. 
 
 Rev. i. 5 
 
 
 1 Pet. i. 
 
 18, 
 
 19. 
 
 
 1 John \ 
 
 . 19 
 
 2 Cor. ii 
 
 11. 
 
 1 Pet. V 
 
 8. 
 
 Jude 24. 
 
 more contiiumlly witli tliy f>;niee and 
 Holy Spirit in thf imuT man. (iivc 
 him initVigiiC'd repentance for all the 
 errors ot" his life i)ast, and stedfast 
 faitli in thy Son Jesas ; that his siius 
 may be done away by thy mercy, 
 and his pardon sealed in heaven, 
 • before he go hence, and be no more 
 . seen. We know, O Lord, that there 
 is no word impossible with thee ; and 
 tiiat, if thou wilt, thou canst even 
 yet raise him up, and grant him a 
 longer continuance amongst us : Yet, 
 forasmuch as in all ap])earance the 
 time of his dissolution draweth near, 
 so fit and jjrepare him, we beseech 
 thee, against the hour of death, that 
 after his departure hence in peace, 
 and in thy favour, his soul may be 
 received into thine everlasting king- 
 dom, through the merits and media- 
 tion of Jesus Christ, thine only Son, 
 our Lord and Saviour. Amen. 
 
 A commendatory Prayer ° for a sick 
 person at the poijit oj' departure. 
 
 O Almighty God, with whom do 
 live the spirits of just men 
 made perfect, after they are deli- 
 vered from their earthly prisons ; 
 We humbly commend the soul of 
 this thy servant, our dear brotlicr, 
 into thy hands, as into the hands of 
 a faithful Creator, and most merciful 
 Saviour ; most humbly beseeching 
 thee, that it may be precious in thy 
 sight. Wash it, we pray thee, in the 
 blood of that immaculate Lamb, that 
 was slain to take away the sins of the 
 world ; that whatsoever defilements 
 it may have contracted in the midst 
 of this miserable and naughty world, 
 through the lusts of the flesh, or the 
 wiles of Satan, being purged and 
 done away, it may be presented pine 
 and without spot before thee. And 
 
 be done for the procuring of their salvation, as there 
 is for the restoring of their bodily health. However, 
 since they are now incapable of those other comforts 
 anil advantajres which this office directs, it is fit we 
 should do all that possibly we can, and that is to pray 
 for them heartily in this form, the only means left in 
 such an emergency. Wheully. 
 
 ° A commendatory Prayer &c.] We know that "when 
 the dust returns to the earth as it was, the sjiirit returns 
 unto God that gave it," Eccles. xii. 7 : and therefore 
 our Saviour Himself, when He was ex])iring on the 
 cross, cries out to his Father, " Into thy hands I com- 
 mend my spirit," Luke x.xiii. 4G. And tliat we are to 
 imitate his holy example, is evident from the practice 
 of his first martyr St. Stephen, who also at his death 
 
 Pa. cxix. 156. 
 2 Cor. i. 3. 
 James v. 11. 
 
 Job xiii. 2G. 
 
 Ps. Ixsxviii. 
 3. 7. 
 
 teach lis who survive, in this and 
 other like daily sjiectaclcs of mor- i-"ies. vii. 2. 
 tality, to see how frail and uncertain 
 our own condition is ; and so to 
 number our days, that we may seri- 
 ously apply our hearts to that holy p». xc 12. 
 and heavenly wisdom, whilst we live 
 here, which may in the end bring us 
 to life everlasting, through the merits Prov. xiii. 14. 
 of Jesus Christ thine only Son our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 A Prayer for persons troubled'^ in 
 mind or in conscience. 
 
 Blessed Lord, tlie Father of 
 mercies, and the God of all 
 comforts ; We beseech thee, look 
 down in pity and compa.ssion upon 
 this thy afflicted servant. Thou 
 writest bitter thino-s asrainst him, 
 and makest him to ))osscss his former 
 iniquities ; thy wrath lieth hard upon 
 him, and his soul is full of trouble : 
 But, O merciful God, who hast 
 written thy holy Word for our learn- 
 ing, that we, through patience and 
 comfort of thy holy Scriptures, 
 might have hope ; give him a right 
 understanding of himself, and of thy 
 threats and promises ; that he may 
 neither cast away his confidence in 
 thee, nor place it any where but in 
 thee. Give Idrn strength against all 
 his temptations, and heal all his dis- 
 tempers. Break not the bruised 
 reed, nor quench the smoking flax. 
 Shut not up thy tender mercies in 
 displeasure ; but make him to hear 
 of joy and gladness, that the bones 
 which thou hast broken may re- 
 joice. Deliver him from fear of the 
 enemy, and lift up the light of thy 
 countenance upon him, and give 
 him peace, through the merits and 
 mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Eph. i. 15, 
 
 Ike. 
 
 Ps. cxix. 31. 
 
 Ps. Ixxxiv. 
 
 12. Isa. i. 2. 
 
 Jer. xvii. 5. 
 
 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
 1 Pet. V. 10. 
 Ps. ciii. 2, 3. 
 
 Ps. Ixxvii. 9. 
 
 Ps. Ii. 8 ; 
 Ixi. 3. 
 
 Numb. vi. 
 24-26. 
 
 2 Thess. 
 lii. 
 
 commended his soul into the hands of his Redeemer, 
 Acts vii. 59. Accordingly the succeeding ages of the 
 Church always observed the same religious rite. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 P A Prayer for persons troubled &c.] Wlien any be- 
 come melancholy through bodily distempers, or by evil 
 princijiles are troubled with dismal and false apprehen- 
 sions of God, or are too much disturbed in their inward 
 peace and quiet through a dreadful sense of their former 
 sins ; it is fit that the spiritual physician should be 
 called that he may discreetly ap])ly the promises of 
 God, and endea\-our to obtain his consolation and 
 mercy for the dejected penitent's deplorable state : to 
 which purpose the prayer that is here provided, is very 
 pertinent and useful. Wheatly. 
 2 E 2
 
 THE 
 
 COMMUNION OF THE SICK' 
 
 Hel>. 3 
 5-11. 
 
 Ps. c. 5. 
 
 Job V. 8. 
 
 Ps. xxxix. 
 
 13. 
 
 Luke xxii. 
 
 42. 
 
 % Forasmuch as all mortal men be subject to manij sudden perils, diseases, and 
 sicknesses, and ever uncertain what time tlieij shall depart out of this life; 
 therefore, to the intent the)/ may be always in a readiness to die, ivhensoevcr it 
 shall please Almiyhti/ God to call them, the Curates shall diligently from time 
 to time (but esprcially in the time of pestilence, or other infectious sickness) 
 exhort their Parishioners to the tften receiving of the holy Communion of the 
 Bodi/ and Blood of our Saviour Christ, tvhen it shall he jmblickly administered 
 in the Church ; that so doing, they may, in case of sudden visitation, have the 
 less cause to be disquieted for luck of the same. But if the sick person be not 
 able to come to the Church, and yet is desirous to receive the Communion in 
 his house; then he must give timely notice to the Curate, signifying also hoiv 
 many there are to communicate irith him, {ivhich shall be three, or two at the 
 least,) and having a convenient place in the sick man's house, with all things 
 necessary so prepared, that the Curate may reverently minister, he shall there 
 celebrate the holy Communion, beginning icith the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, 
 here following. 
 
 The Collect. 
 L M I G H T Y, everliving God, 
 
 Maker of mankind, who do.st 
 
 correct those whom thou dost love, 
 and chastise every one whom thou 
 dost receive ; We beseech thee to 
 have mercy upon tliis thy servant 
 visited with thine Iiand, and to u;rant 
 that he may tal<e his sickness patient- 
 ly, and recover his bodily lieaith, (if 
 it be thy gracious will ; ) and when- 
 soever his soul shall dei)art from the 
 body, it may be witiiout s])ot ]ire- 
 seiited unto thee ; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 A" 
 
 M^c. 
 
 The Epistle. Hebrews xii. 5. 
 
 son, despise not thou the 
 chastening of the Lord, nor 
 faint when thou art rebuked of him. 
 For whom the Lord loveth he chas- 
 teneth ; and scourgeth 
 whom he receiveth. 
 
 every son 
 
 The Gospel. 
 ^rERILY, 
 
 1 TAe Communion of the sick.l It has been the con- 
 stant usage nf the Church, in all jirobability derived 
 from the ajjostolical times, for ])crsons dangerously sick 
 to receive tbe holy Sacrament of the Lord's Sujiper for 
 their spiritual comfort and assistance. Hence tliis jiri- 
 vate Communion obtained the name of viaticum among 
 the l-atins, and a correspondent name among the 
 Greeks ; that is, jirovision as it were laid in to sustain 
 them in their journey to the other world. Our Church 
 follows this c.\ami)le of the jirimitivc ages. And rather 
 than the sick man should want so necessary a comfort, 
 we arc allowed to dispense it in a jirivate house, and to 
 a small company, which in other cases we avoid. In- 
 deed there are divers weighty reasons why the djing 
 Christian should receive this sacrament, and why mmis- 
 ters should jiersuadc tliem to it, and labour to lit them 
 for tlic worthy receiving of it. for, 1. This is tlie 
 highest mystery of religion, and fittest for (hose who 
 are by sickness ])ut into a heavenly frame and are near- 
 est to perfectifm. 2. 'Ibis is (jod's seal of remission to 
 all that receive it with ])enitence and faith. 3. This 
 anns them against the fear of death, by setting Jesus 
 
 St. John V. 24. 
 
 verily I say unto 
 you, He that lieareth my word, 
 and believeth on him that sent me, 
 hath everlasting life, and shall not 
 come into coiidemnalion ; but is jiassed 
 from death unto life. 
 
 before them, who died for them, and hath pulled out 
 the sting of death. 4. This assures them of their re- 
 surrection, by keeping them members of C'hrist's body, 
 John vi. .')4. 5. It declares they die in tbe peace and 
 communion of the true Church, out of which there is 
 no salvation. And if the sick man have done all the 
 duties in the foregoing office, he is ])rcpared to die, and 
 therefore fit for this Communion ; and if he do receive 
 it with devotion, the comfortable assurances of (iod's 
 love, which he gets here, will never lca\'e him till he see 
 God face to face. We shall only add, that lest the fears 
 of the divine displeasure which sick men arc very apt to 
 entertain, should trouble their minds, and hiiuler their 
 joy and comfort in this holy ordinance, tbe Church hath 
 chosen a peculiar Epistle and (iospel on purpose to 
 comfort them and deliver them from these fears; and 
 also made a projier Collect to beg ]iatience for them 
 under this their allliction. All which arc so plain, 
 they need no cxjilication, ])ut only re(|uirc the sick 
 man's devout attention, and then it is hoped they will 
 not fail of their desired effect. Dr. i\icholls. Dean 
 Comber.
 
 THE COMMUNION OF THE SICK. 
 
 421 
 
 If After w/iirh the Priest sluill proceed accordinr/ to the form hefire pre^erihedjor 
 t/ic lioli/ Coiniimuion., he(iiimui(f at these ivords [Ye that do truly, ij'''-] 
 
 ^ At the time of the distribution^ of the holy Sacrament, the Priest shall Jlrsf 
 receive the Communion himself, and after minister unto them that are appointed 
 to comniuidcate irith the sick, and lust of all to the sick person. 
 
 H But if a man, either hi/ reason^ of extremitij of sickness, or for loant ofwarninf/ 
 in due time to the Curate, or fur lack of conipnnij to receive with him, or 
 by am/ other just imj)cdimenf, do not receive the Sacrament of Christ' s Body 
 and Blood, the Curate shall instruct him, that if he do truly repent him of his 
 sins, and stedfasfly believe that Jesus Christ hath suffered death upon the Cross 
 for him, and shed his Blood for his redemjition, earnestly remcmberiny the 
 benefits he hath thereby, and (jiving him hearty thanks therefore, he doth eat 
 and drink the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ jirofitably to his Soul's 
 health, although he do not receive the Sacrament with his mouth. 
 
 % When the sick person is visited, and receiveth the holy Communion all at one 
 time, then the Priest, for more expedition, shall cut off' the form of the Visita- 
 tion at the Psalm [In thee, O Lord, have 1 put my trust, l^c] and go straight 
 to the Communion. 
 
 f I?i the time of the Plague, Sweat, or such other like contagions times of sickness 
 or diseases, ivhen none of the Parish or neighbours can be gotten to communicate 
 with the sick in their houses, for fear of the ijfection, upon special request of 
 the diseased, the Minister may only communicate toith him. 
 
 ' At the time of the distribidhm &c.] The minister, 
 we know, is always to receive the Communion himself, 
 before he proceeds to deliver it to others : but the rea- 
 son perhaps why the sick man is to receive last, may 
 he, because those who communicate with him, through 
 fear of some contagion, or the noisomeness of his dis- 
 ease, may be afraid to drink out of the same cup after 
 him. Wtieatly. 
 
 ' But if a man, either by reason &c.] This rubrick is 
 added for the comfort, and to remove the fears, of such, 
 as desire to receive the Communion, but may by some 
 casualty be hindered from doing it. The curate is then 
 directed to instruct the sick man as is expressed above. 
 For the means, whereby we partake of the benefits of 
 this sacrament, is a " lively faith :" and therefore as 
 our Chiu'ch asserts in her 39th Article, that " the 
 wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although 
 they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as 
 St. Augustine saith) the sacrament of the body and 
 blood of Christ ; yet in no wise are they partakers of 
 Christ, but rather to theii- condemnation do eat and 
 drink the sign and sacrament of so great a thing :" so 
 here she declares, that if a sick man be hindered by 
 any just impediment from rccei\-ing the sacrament of 
 
 Christ's body and blood ; yet by faith and repentance, 
 and by mentally laying hold of the benefits obtained 
 for him by Christ, " he doth eat and drink the body 
 and blood of our .Saviom' Christ profitably to his soul's 
 health, although he do not receive the sacrament with 
 his mouth." Wkeatly. 
 
 We have seen the Church's care to provide all neces- 
 saries for a sick person's salvation : it were an happy 
 thing, to see in the people an answerable diligence in 
 the use of these ghostly offices ; that they would, when 
 they are sick, send for the priest ; not verbally only to 
 comfort them, by rehearsing to them comfortable te.vts 
 of Scripture, whether they belong to them or not, 
 (which is not to heal the sick, but to tell them that they 
 have no need of the spiritual physician, by which means 
 precious souls [lerish, for whom Christ died,) l)ut to 
 search and examine the state of their souls, to shew them 
 their sins, to prepare them by ghostly counsel and ex- 
 ercises of penance, for absolution, and the holy Com- 
 munion ; whereby they might indeed find comfort, 
 remission of sins, and the Holy Cihost the Comforter. 
 And this should be done, while the sick jierson hath 
 strength and ability to attend and join with him in 
 these holy services. Bp. Sparrow.
 
 THE ORDER FOR 
 
 THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD 
 
 ^ Here is to he noted, that the Office ensuing is not to be itscd^ for any that die 
 unhaptized"', or excommunicate, or have laid violent hands ujwn themselves''. 
 
 ' The Order for the Burial of the Dead.'] If all our 
 prayers and endea\'ours fur oiir friend jirove unavailable 
 for the continuance of his life, we must with jiatience 
 submit to the will of God, " to whom the issues of life 
 and death belong ;" and therefore, after recommending 
 his sold to God, which immediately u])on its dissolu- 
 tion returns to Ilim, it is fit we should decently dispose 
 of his body, which is left to our management and care. 
 Not that the dead are any thing the better for the 
 honours which we perform to their corpses ; (for we 
 know that several of the ancient philosojihers cared 
 not whether they were bm-ied or not ; and the ancient 
 martyrs of the Christian church despised their jiersecu- 
 tors for threatening them n'ilh the want of a grave ;) 
 but those who survi\-e could never endure that the 
 shame of natiu'e shoidd lie exposed, nor see the bodies 
 of those they loved become a prey to birds and beasts. 
 For these reasons the very heathens called it a divine 
 institution, and a law of the immortal gods. And the 
 Romans especially had a peculiar deity to preside over 
 this affair. The Athenians were so strict, that they 
 woidd not admit any to be magistrates, who had not 
 taken care of their parents' sepulture ; and beheaded 
 one of their generals after he had gotten a victory, for 
 thromng the dead bodies of the slain, in a temjiest, into 
 the sea. And Plutarch relates, that before they engaged 
 with the Persians, they took a solemn oath, that if they 
 were concpierors, they would bury their foes ; this 
 being a privilege which even an enemy hath a right to, 
 as being a debt wliich is owing to hmnanity. 
 
 2. It is true indeed, the manner of funerals has varied 
 according to the dilferent customs of several countries : 
 but all ci\ili/.ed nations have ever agreed in performing 
 some funeral rites or other. The most ancii'nt manner 
 was by " burying them in the earth :" which is indeed 
 so natural, that some brutes have been observed, l)y 
 mere instinct, to bury their dead witli wonderful care. 
 The body, we know, was formed of the dust at first, 
 and therefore it is fit it should "return to the earth as 
 it was;" Gen. iii. 19; Kccles. xii. 7: insonuich that 
 some heathens have, by the light of reason, called 
 lim-ying in tlie earth, the being " hid in our mother's 
 lap," and the being "covered with her skirt." And [ 
 that " interment," or enclosing tlie dead body in the ' 
 grave, was used anciently by the l';gyptians aiid otluu- 
 nations of the Kasf, ij i)lain from the account we have 
 of tlie embalming, anil from their mummies, which are 
 frctpiently f mnd to this day whole and entire, though 
 some of them have lain above three thousand years in ' 
 their graves, '/'hat the same practice of burying was 
 used by the patriarchs, and their successors the Jews, I 
 we have abundant testimony from (he most ancient 
 records in the world, the books of Moses; by which i 
 
 we find, that their funerals were performed, and their 
 sepulchres provided with an officious piety ; Gen. xxiii. 
 4; XXV. t); XXXV. 29; xlix. 31 : and that it was usual 
 for ])arents to take an oath of their children (which 
 they religiously performed ) that they should bury them 
 with their fathers, and carry their bones with thera, 
 whenever they quitted their land «here they were. Gen. 
 xlvii. 2!)— 31; xlix. 29-33; 1. 25, 26; Exod. xiii. 19. 
 See also Josh. xxiv. 32; Acts vii. 16; Heb. xi. 22. 
 In succeeding ages indeed it became a custom in some 
 places to " burn" the bodies of the dead; which was 
 owing jiartly to a fear that some injury might be offered 
 them if they were only buried, by digging their corpses 
 again out of their graves; and partly to a conceit, that 
 tlie souls of those that were bm-nt were carried up by 
 the flames to heaven. 
 
 3. But though other nations sometimes used inter- 
 ment and sometimes biu'ning ; yet the Jews confined 
 themseh'es to the former alone. 'Iliere is a place or 
 two indeed in om' translation of the Old Testament, 
 1 Sam. xxxi. 12; Amos vi. 10, which might lead us to 
 imagine that the rite of burning was also used by them 
 sometimes. But upon consulting the original texts, 
 and the customs of the Jews, it does not ajipear that 
 the burnings there mentioned were any thing more than 
 the burning of odours and S])ices about their bodies, 
 which was an honour they usually jicrforined to their 
 kings, 2 Chron. xvi. 11; xxi. 19; Jcr. xxxiv. 5. So 
 that, notwithstanding these texts, we may safely enough 
 conclude, that interment or burying was tlie only rite 
 with them ; as it was also in after-times with the 
 Christian church. For wherever ])aganism was extir- 
 ])ated, the custom of burning was disused ; and the 
 first natural way of laying up the bodies of the deceased 
 entire in the grave obtained in the room of it. 
 
 4. And this has always been done with such solem- 
 nity, as is ])roper to the occasion. Sometimes indeed it 
 has been attended with an expensive jiomi), that is un- 
 seemly and extra\agant. But this is no reason why wo 
 should not give all tlie exiircssions of a decent res]iect 
 to the memory of those whom (!od takes from us. The 
 description of the jierson who interred our Saviour, the 
 cnumcralion of llieir virtues, and the everlasting com- 
 mendation of her who S|ieiit three hundrid ]iennyworth 
 of spikenard to anoint his body to tlie burial, have 
 always been thouglit sullicient grounds and encourage- 
 ments for the careful and decent se])ult lire of ('hristians. 
 And indeed, if the regard due to a human soul rendered 
 some respect to the dead a principle that manifested 
 itself to the common sense of heathens, shall we think 
 that less care is due to the bodies of Christians, who 
 once entertained a more glorious inhabitant, and were 
 living temples of the Holy (iliosl? 1 Cor. vi. 19; to
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 423 
 
 ^ The Priest and Clerks meetimj the Corpse at the entrance'' of the Church-yard''., 
 and f/oiiig befrrc it% cither into the Church, or towai'ds the Grave^\ shall sai/, 
 or sine) °, 
 
 bodies which were consecrated to the service of God ; 
 which bore their part in the duties of religion ; fought 
 the good fight of faith and patience, self-denial and 
 mortification ; and underwent the fatigue of many 
 hardshi])3 and afflictions for the sake of piety and 
 virtue ? to liodies which, we believe, shall one day be 
 awakened again from their sleep of death : have all 
 tlieir scattered particles of dust summoned together 
 into their due order, and be " fashioned like to the 
 glorious body of Christ," Phil. iii. 21 ; see also 1 Cor. 
 XV. 42 — 44 ; as being made partakers of the same glory 
 with their immortal souls, as once they were of the 
 same sufferings and good works ! Surely Ijodies so 
 honoured here, and to be so glorified hereafter, and 
 which too we own, even in the state of death, to be 
 under the care of a divine providence and protection, 
 are not to be exjiosed and des]iised by us as imworthy 
 of our regard. Moved by these considerations, the 
 primitive Christians, though they made no use of oint- 
 ments whilst they lived, yet they did not think the 
 most ])recious too costly to be used about the dead. 
 And yet this was so far from being reproached with 
 superstition, that it is ever reported as a lawlahle cus- 
 tom, and such as bad something in it so engaging, so 
 agreeable to the notions of civilized nature, as to have 
 a very considerable influence upon the heathens, who 
 observed and admired it; it becoming instrumental in 
 disposing them to a favourable opinion at first, and 
 afterwards to the embracing of the Christian religion, 
 where these decencies and tender regards to deceased 
 friends and good peo])le were so constantly, so care- 
 fully, and so religiously practised. Dean Comber, 
 Wheiilli/. 
 
 As to the office and order of burial, we must note 
 that tlie ignorance and corruption of the later centuries 
 had not vitiated any of the sacred administrations more 
 than this of burial ; on which the fancies of purgatory 
 and jirayers for the dead had so great an influence, 
 that most of the forms now e.\tant consist of little else 
 but impertinent and useless petitions for the dead. 
 Our Protestant Reformers therefore, remembering St. 
 Augustine's rule, that all this oflice is designed rather 
 for the comfort of the living, than the benefit of the 
 dead, have justly rejected these superstitions ; and con- 
 trived this present form wholly for the instruction, 
 admonition, and comfort of the attendants on this 
 solemnity, and therein have reduced this matter to its 
 jjriuie intention and use. It is not easy to tell exactly, 
 what the primitive form of burial was : but the Psalms 
 were a principal part of it, as all the fathers testify. 
 They are now also a chief jjart of this office : and the 
 rest is generally taken out of holy Scripture, being such 
 places as are most pro])er to the occasion, so as to 
 form altogether a most pious and practical office. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 It should be observed, that too many, who attend 
 funerals, seem wholly imconcerned at those prayers, 
 which the minister offers up to God : as if they had 
 nothing more to do, than barely to listen to and hear 
 them. I beseech these inconsiderate persons to remem- 
 ber, that the solemnity of funerals is part of religious 
 worshi]), and that the whole congregation ought to 
 assist and join therein. And surely were they duly 
 affected with spectacles of mortality; were they sensible 
 of the uncertainty of their own lives, and the infinite 
 concerns of that eternity, into which one of their bre- 
 thren is newly entered ; they coidd not forbear lifting 
 
 up their hearts to God, and pouring forth the most 
 fervent devotions, when they pay the last office to their 
 departed friends and neighbours. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 " Here is to he rioted, that the Office eiisuinij is not to 
 be used &;c.] Though all persons are, for decency, and 
 some other of the reasons that have been mentioned 
 above, to be ]nit under ground ; yet it appears by this 
 rubrick, which was ]irefixed to the office at the last 
 review, as well as by the canons of the ancient 
 church, that some are not capable of Christian burial. 
 Wheally. 
 
 The ]iersons, capable of Christian burial, are only 
 those within the pale of the Church ; for the rubrick 
 exclude all others from this privilege : which is agree- 
 able to the sense of all nations, who have generally 
 thought fit to punish some kinds of malefactors with 
 the want of these rites after their death, as well to 
 afllict the criminal, while he lives, with ajiprebensions 
 of the disgrace to be done to his body, which is natu- 
 rally dear to all men, as to perpetuate the odiiun of 
 the crime, while the corpse is exposed to ])ublick scorn 
 after the offender hath parted with his life. Thus 
 murderers were pimished among the Romans : and 
 among the Greeks robbers of temples and sacrilegious 
 persons, as also those that betrayed their country, 
 with divers other notorious transgressors. But none 
 have been so justly and so universally deprived of that 
 natural right, which all men seem to have in a gra\'e, 
 as those who break that great law of nature, the law of 
 self-preservation, by laying violent hands upon them- 
 selves. These were forbidden to be bm-ied among the 
 Jews, and am.ong the ancient Romans also. .\nd, when 
 many of the Milesian virgins made themselves away, 
 the rest were restrained from so vile a crime by a de- 
 cree, that, wdiosoever so died, she should not be buried, 
 but her naked body should be exposed to the common 
 view. And, to confirm the equity of these customs, 
 we find the Christian councils, as well abroad as at 
 home, have forbidden the clergy to bury those that 
 killed themselves ; as doth also our present rubrick in 
 imitation of those ancient constitutions. And for very 
 great reason : namely, to terrify all from committing 
 so detestable and desperate a sin, as is the wilful de- 
 stroying of God's image, the casting away of their own 
 souls, as well as their opportunities of repentance : the 
 Church hereby declaring, that she hath little hopes 
 of their salvation, who die in an act of the greatest 
 wickedness, which they can never repent of, after it be 
 committed. 
 
 To these are to be added all that die under the sen- 
 tence of excommunication, who in the primitive times 
 were denied Christian burial also, with the intent of 
 bringing the excommunicated to seek their absolution 
 and the Church's peace for their soul's health, ere they 
 leave this world ; and, if not, of declaring them cut off 
 from the body of Christ, and liy this mark of infamy dis- 
 tinguishing them from obedient and regular Christians. 
 
 This office is also denied to infants, not yet admitted 
 into the C'hurch by baptism ; not so much to punish the 
 infants who have done no crime, as the )iarents by 
 whose neglect this too often happens. And perhaps 
 this external and sensible kind of punishment may 
 move them to be more careful to accomplish the office 
 in due time, than higher and more spiritual considera- 
 tions will do. 
 
 All other persons, that die in the conununion of the 
 visible Church, are capable of these rites of Christian
 
 424 
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 I Am the resurrection and the 
 life'', saith the Lord«: he that 
 believeth in me, thouoh he were 
 
 burial, according to the rules and practice both of the 
 primitive and tlie present ages. Dean Comber. j 
 
 Though this rubrick was not drawn up till 1661, and 
 none of the regulations which it enjoins, excepting only 
 what relates to persons excommunicate, was before that 
 time specified in any of oiu- articles, or ecclesiastical i 
 constitutions ; yet it must not be considered as a new 
 law, but merely as exjjlanatory of the ancient canon 
 law, and of the previous usage in England. Shepherd. 
 
 " — any that die unbaptized,'] Not that the Church 
 determines any thing c{mcerning the future state of 
 those that depart before they are admitted to baptism : 
 but since they have not been received within the jiale of 
 the Church, we cannot projjerly use an office at their 
 funeral, which all along supposes the person that is 
 btu'ied to have died in her communion. 
 
 \Yhether this ofiice is to be used over such as have 
 been baptized by the dissenters or sectaries, who have 
 no regular commission for the administering of the 
 sacraments, has been a subject of dispute ; people gene- 
 rally determining on one side, or the other, according to 
 their different sentiments of the \alidity or invalidity of 
 such disputed baptisms. Wlualty. 
 
 • — or have laid violent lianrls upon ihemselrcs.'] Of 
 which sort are to be understood, nut all who ha\'e ])ro- 
 cured death unto themselves, but who have done it 
 voluntarily, and consequently have died in the com- 
 mission of a mortal sin ; and not idiots, lunaticks, or 
 persons otherwise of insane mind. 'I'he proper judges, 
 %vhether persons, who died by their own hands, were 
 out of their senses, are the coroner's jury. The minister 
 of the parish hath no authority to be jiresent at viewing 
 the body, or to summon or examine witnesses. And 
 therefore he is neither entitled, nor able, to judge in 
 the affair : biit may well acquiesce in the publick deter- 
 mination without making any jirivate inquiry. Indeed, 
 were he to make one, the opinion, which he might 
 form from thence, could usually be grounded only on 
 common discourse and bare assertion. And it cannot 
 be justifiable to act on these, in cimtradiction to the 
 decision of a jury after hearing witnesses upon oath. 
 And though tliere may be reason to suppose, that the 
 coroner's jury are frecjuently favouraljle in their judg- 
 ment, in consideration of the circiunstances of the 
 deceased's family \\\i\\ respect to the forfeiture, and 
 their \-erdict is in its own nattire traversable ; yet the 
 burial may not be delayed, until that matter upon trial 
 shall finally be determined. Hut, on acquittal of the 
 crime of self-murder by the coroner's jury, the body in 
 that case not being demanded by the law, it secmeth 
 that a clergyman may and ought to admit that body to 
 Christian burial. Dr. Hum. 
 
 On the other haml it has been contended, as to the 
 coroner's warrant, I take that to he more than a cer- 
 tificate, tliat the body is not demanded by the law, and 
 tliat therefore the relations may dispose of it as they 
 please. Tor I cannot a))prebend, that a coroner is to 
 determine the sense of a rubrick, or to ])rcscrihe to the 
 minister when Christian burial is to be used. The 
 scandalous practice of them and their inquests, not- 
 witb.itanding the strictness of tlieir oath, in almost con- 
 stantly returning every one they sit u])on to be non 
 comjKis mentis, (though the very circumstances of their 
 murilrriiig tliemselves are frequently a proof of the 
 soundness of their senses.) sullieiently shews how much 
 their verdict is to lie depended on. I'hey plead indeed, 
 that it is liard to give away the subsistence of a family : 
 
 dead, yet siiall lie live : and who- 
 soever liveth and believeth in me 
 shall never die. St. Juhu xi. 25, 26. 
 
 but these gentlemen should remember, that they are 
 not sworn to be charitable, but to be just ; that their 
 business is to inquire not what is convenient and projier 
 to be done with that which is forfeited, but how the 
 person came by his death ; whether by another or him- 
 self; if by himself, whether he was felo de se, or non 
 compos mentis. As the coroner indeed summons whom 
 he pleases on the jury, and then delivers to them what 
 charge he pleases, it is easy enough for him to influence 
 their judgments, and to instil a general supposition, 
 that a self-murderer must needs be mad, since no one 
 would kill himself, unless he were out of his senses. 
 But the jury should consider, that, if the ease were so, 
 it would be to no jiurpose for the law to appoint so 
 formal an inquiry. For, according to this supposition, 
 such inquiry must be vain and impertinent, since the 
 fact itself would be evidence sufficient. It is true in- 
 deed, there may be a " moral " madness, that is, a 
 misa])plication of the understanding, in all self-mur- 
 derers ; but this sort of madness does not come under 
 the cognizance of a jury ; the question with them being, 
 not whether the understanding was "' misapplied," but 
 wheflu'r there was any uiulerstanding at all. In short, 
 the best rule for a jury to guide themselves by in such 
 a case, is to judge whether the signs of madness, that 
 are no«- ]iretended, would avail to acquit the same per- 
 son of murdering another man : if not, there is no 
 reason why they should be urged as a plea for acquitting 
 him of min-dering himself. But this is a little wide 
 from my subject : however, it may be of use to shew, 
 what little heed is to be given to a coroner's warrant, 
 and that there is no reason, because a coroner jn'osti- 
 tutes his oath, that the clergy should be so complaisant 
 as to prostitute their office. tVhealli/. 
 
 ^ The Priest atid Clerks meeting the Corpse at the 
 entrance of the Church-yard,^ So that the attendance 
 of the minister at the house of the deceased, and his 
 accom])anying the cor]isc all the way from thence, is a 
 mere voluntary resjiect, which he is at lilierty to pay or 
 refuse as he pleases. Also, by the (isth Canon, not 
 only " the corpse nuist be brought to the church or 
 chureh-yard," but "con\'enient warning too must he 
 given the minister beforehand," or else there is no 
 penalty tqjon him for cither delaying or refusing to 
 bury it. IVheatly. 
 
 '■ — the Church-ynrd.'] All nations whatsoever, Jews, 
 Heathens, and Christians, have ever had solenm places 
 set apart for this use ; but in permitting their dead 
 to be buried either in or near their ])liices of worship, 
 the Christians differ from both the former. l"or the 
 Jews, being forbid to touch or come near any dead 
 body, and it being declared that they who did so were 
 defiled, had always their sc|mlchres without the city, 
 Luke vii. 12 : and from them it is probable the (ireeks 
 and Ivoinans derived, not only the notion of being 
 ])ollutcd by a dead corpse, l)ut the law also of burying 
 without the walls. For this rcasim tlie Christians, so 
 long as the law was in force throughout the llouian 
 ein|iire, were obliged, in compliance with it, to I)iiry 
 their dead without the gates of the city : a custom 
 which prevailed here in F.ngland till about the middle 
 of the eighth century, when .Ardiliisliop Cullibert of 
 (.'anterbnry obtained a dispensation from tlie I'opc for 
 making eliurch-yards within the walls. However, that 
 the Christians diil not do this out of any belief that the 
 body of a dead Christiau de(ile(l the place or persons 
 near it, may be inferred from their consecrating their
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD 
 
 425 
 
 Knowtliat my Redeemer livetli'^, 
 and tliat lie sliall stand at tlie 
 
 old jilaces of burial into places of divine worship, and 
 by building their cluu'clies, as soon as they had lilicrty, 
 over some or otlicr of the martyrs' graves. After 
 churches were built indeed, they suffered nobody to be 
 buried in them ; but bad distinct places contiguous to 
 them appropriated to this use, which, from the metaphor 
 of slee|), by which death in Scrijjture is often described, 
 were called Koi/iiir/jpm, that is, ccemeteries, or sleeping- 
 idaces. The first that we read of, as buried any where 
 else, was ('onstantine tlie Great, to whom it was in- 
 dulged, as a singular honour, to be biuied in the 
 church-porch. Nor were any of the Eastern emjjerors, 
 for several centuries afterwards, admitted to be buried 
 any nearer to the chureh : for several canons had been 
 made against allowing this to any person of what dignity 
 soever : and even in our own Church we find, tliat, in 
 the end of tlie seventh century, an x\rehbishop of Canter- 
 bury had not been buried within tlie churcli, but that 
 the porch was full with six of his predecessors that 
 had been buried there before. By a canon made in 
 King Edgar's reign, about the middle of the tenth cen- 
 tury, no man was allowed to be buried in the church, 
 unless it were known that he had so ])leased God in his 
 lifetime, as to be worthy of such a buryiiig-place : though 
 above a hundred years afterwards we meet with another 
 canon, made at a council at Winchester, that seems 
 again to prohibit all corpses whatsoever, without any 
 exception, from being buried in churches. But in later 
 times, every one that could pay for the honour, has 
 been generally allowed it ; but since all cannot pur- 
 chase it, nor the churches contain all, there is a necessity 
 of pro\-iding some other conveniences for this use. 
 And this has generally been done, as was observed 
 before, by inclosing some of the ground round the 
 rliurch, for a burying-place or church-yard : that so, as 
 the faithful are going to the house of prayer, they may 
 be brought to a fit temper and disposition of mind, by a 
 prosjiect of the graves and monmnents of their friends : 
 nothing being more apt to raise our devotion, than 
 serious thoughts u|)on death and mortality. But 
 wherever the grave is, the priest is to " go before," 
 and to lead the comjiany thither, and to conduct, and 
 introduce, as it were, the corpse of the deceased into its 
 house of rest. Dean Comber, Wheat I y . 
 
 In England, the church- yard is now intended for the 
 use of the parishioners, and others dying in the parish; 
 who, as the civilians express it, are intitled to burial 
 there of common right. But no clergyman is com- 
 pellable to bury any extra-parochial corpse in his 
 church-yard. It is no part of his parochial duty. It is 
 a matter of mere indulgence, grace, and favour, which 
 he may grant upon whatever terms he ])leases : provided 
 such extra-parochial jierson, or his predecessors, have 
 not, with the concurrence of the minister and parish- 
 ioners, obtained a faculty from the judge of the bishop's 
 court, to have a burying-place in such chm'ch-yard for 
 ever. Shepherd. 
 
 No person is at liberty to be buried in the church, 
 without the permission of the parson or lawful minister. 
 He is the sole judge of the propriety of refusing, or 
 admitting, any corpse to be buried in his parish church, 
 being in this instance not subject to control, even by the 
 court of the ordinary himself. 
 
 To this general principle however there is an excep- 
 tion or two. Where a faculty or a licence from tlie 
 judge of the ordinary's court has, with the consent of 
 the parties interested, been obtained, apjiropriating to 
 any person and his heirs a vault, or a place of burial, 
 
 latter day upon the earth. And 
 thoujrh alter my skin worms destroy 
 
 in a cluu-ch for c\'er, then interment of such jierson, 
 his family and heirs, may be demanded upon the [lay- 
 ment of the accustomed dues. Tlie same equally liolds 
 good, where a faculty has been obtained for making a 
 family vault, or tomb, in a church-yard. Impropriators 
 likewise have, in some parish churches, the sole and ex- 
 clusive right of Ijurying in the chancel, or \'aults formed 
 under the chancel. In neither of these cases can the 
 deceased be denied interment in his family vault by any 
 minister, even though he may have lived and died in 
 another jiarish. Shepherd. 
 
 * — goinrj before it,'\ Without enlarging upon the 
 ancient manner of burial in other particulars, it may be 
 here noted, that the body of the deceased Christian was 
 fh'st washed. Acts ix. 37 ; and sometimes embalmed with 
 great cost and care ; and being decently wrajiped in fine 
 linen, and dressed for the grave, it was ])ut into a coffin, 
 brought forth by the friends ; and, if the person was of 
 great sanctity, or one of the clergy, it was carried on the 
 shoulders of priests or bishops towards the church or 
 cemetery where it was to be laid. However, the ]iriest 
 ever went before the corpse, both in the Eastern and 
 Western church, as our rubrick miw enjoins, for he was 
 to begin those holy hymns, wherewith the deceased were 
 brought to their graves ; the nearest friends and jirincipal 
 mourners went next ; and then all the compuny followed 
 in order after the bier : which ancient custom hath tliis 
 excellent moral in it ; To be a memento to us, who sur- 
 vive, that this our deceased friend is gone before us ; 
 and that we must all follow him very shortly to the 
 same place. Deem Comber. 
 
 ^ — either into the Church, or towards the Grave,'\ That 
 is, if I rightly understand the words, if the corjise be to 
 be buried within the church, he shall go directly thither: 
 but if in the church-yard, he may first go to the grave. 
 By the first Common Prayer, both the ]isalms and les- 
 son, with the suffrages above mentioned, were " to be 
 said in the church either before or after the liurial of the 
 corjise." But from that time to the Restoration of 
 King Charles, the lesson (for I have observed during 
 all that time there were no psalms) was appointed to be 
 read wherever the grave was, whether in the church or 
 church-yard, immeiliately after the sentence taken out 
 of the Revelation. But the Presbyterians objecting, 
 that this exposed both minister and ])eople to many 
 inconveniences, by standing in the air, there was a ru- 
 brick added at the last review, which orders, that the 
 psalms and lesson shall be said, " after they are come 
 into the church :" so that now, I sujipose, it is again 
 left to the minister's discretion (as it was in the rubrick 
 of the first book of King Edward) whether he will read 
 them before or after the burial of the corpse. For the 
 second rubrick at the beginning of the office permits 
 him to go "to the church, or to the grave," that is, to 
 either of them directly, which he ])leases : nor is there 
 any farther direction, that if he goes into the church, it 
 shall be before be goes to the gra\'e : but only that 
 "after they are come into the church," one or both of 
 the psalms shall be read with the lesson that follows ; 
 and " when they come to the grave," the rest of the de- 
 votions that are to be used. 
 
 I know some are of opinion, that the design of the 
 rubricks, as they are worded now, is to give liberty to 
 tlie minister to go immediately to the grave, and so 
 wholly to omit the lesson and jisalms : but if that were 
 tlie design of them, one woidd ha\-e expected some 
 hint, that they might be omitted ; wdiereas the expres- 
 sion in the rubrick, " after they are come into the
 
 426 
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 this body, yet in my fiesli shall I 
 see God : whom I shall see for my- 
 
 clmrch," seems to suppose that either first or last they 
 will come thither. I am therefore rather incUned to 
 thinls, that the meaning of leaving the rubrick so du- 
 bious is, that if the minister go directly " into the 
 church," the grave being there, he should use the 
 psalms and lesson before the bm'ial ; but if the gra\-e 
 \>e without the church, he may fii'st go thither to biu'v 
 the corpse, and then afterwards, to prevent any incon- 
 veniency from the air, proceed to the church itself, to 
 read the psalms and lesson, according to the rubrick in 
 the first Common Prayer. For I do not kno\v any in- 
 stance in the whole Liturgy besides, where the minister 
 is at liberty to leave out so considerable a ])art of an 
 olHce, when it is so proper to be used. But I only give 
 this as my jjrivate opinion : for I know it belongs to 
 a much higher authority " to ajipease diversity, and to 
 resolve doubts concerning the manner how to under- 
 stand, do, and execute, the things contained in this 
 book." U'/ically. 
 
 Though it is not e.\-pressly stated in the rubrick, yet 
 it is imderstood by the Church, and ought to be ex- 
 ])lained to the peojile, that the prayers and exhortations 
 in the burial oiBce are not for the benefit of the dead, 
 but for the instruction and comfort of the Uving. Whe- 
 tlier the psalms and lesson be read before, or after, the 
 interment; whether the corpse is, or is not, taken into 
 the church; are in their own nature matters of indiffer- 
 ence ; and so the Church has left them. Still the psalms 
 and lesson are so exceedingly proper for the occasion, 
 that I jjresume few clergymen would be dis])osed to 
 omit them, even if they had, what in this instance they 
 have not, a discretionary power. 
 
 When the rubricks were formed, there was a reason 
 for the minister's going to the grave in the first place, 
 which does not at present exist. It was then in some 
 places not uncommon, to bury the ])Oorer [leople with- 
 out a coffin, the body being wrapjied in some thick 
 coarse clothing. On such occasions there might be an 
 obvious reason for not admitting the corpse to be 
 lirought into the churcli. And even at present, where 
 the 'deceased may have died of the small pox, or any 
 other infectious disease ; or when the body is putrid, 
 or otherwise offensive; the minister, for the sake of the 
 health of the company attending the funeral, as well as 
 on account of the congregation, who may assemble the 
 same or the following day, would not, I conceive, exer- 
 cise his discretion improperly, if he should first go to 
 tlie grave, and then into the church. S/ippherd. 
 
 ' — .ihall snij, or si?iff.] Since the following of a dear 
 and beloved friend to the grave must naturally raise in 
 us some melancholy and concern, the CIuutIi calls in the 
 aids of religion to raise and cheer our dejected hearts. 
 It was with this design that i)ious anticpiity carried out 
 tlieir deail witli hymns of triumph, as conipu'rors that 
 had gloriously finished their coiu'sc, and were now 
 going to receive their crown of victory. To this end 
 again were those Hallelujahs sung of old, as they went 
 to the grave ; a custom still retained in many ])arts of 
 this nation, where they divert the grief of the friends 
 and mourners, by singing psalms from the bouse to tlie 
 very " entrance of the chunh-yard." .\nd here the holy 
 man comes forth to meet us, and immediately salutes 
 us with the (lospel of peace. And indeed whither 
 should we go for consolations on this occasion, but to 
 that storehouse of comfort, which is furnished with 
 rctnedii'S for every grief.' .And herein we exactly fol- 
 low tlie primitive pattern, according to an ancient au- 
 thor, who thus describes the oflicc of tlie priest on this 
 
 self, and mine eyes shall behold, and 
 not another. Job xix. 25, 26, 27. 
 
 occasion : " The ministers read the infallible promises 
 of our holy resurrection, contained in the divine ora- 
 cles; and then devoutly sing the anthems of holy 
 psalms, which are on the same subject, and tend to the 
 same purjiose." This is the very same with our me- 
 thod : for we fu-st begin with the promises and sentences 
 of Scripture, and then pass to the proper jisalms. 'J'he 
 subject of these sentences, and the intent of them, is, to 
 teach us the three necessary graces to be exercised at a 
 funeral: namely, faith, patience, and thanksgiving; 
 and tliese ]ilaced in their proper order. For by faith 
 we gain patience; and, when patience hath her perfect 
 work, it will produce thanksgiving. Dean Comber, 
 Whcatly. 
 
 '' 1 am the resurrection onii the life, &c.] The priest 
 begins with the words, which were spoken at first by 
 the blessed Jesus, as he was going towards the grave of 
 a beloved friend, \i-ith intent to comfort a pious 
 mourner; words so proper to the occasion, that they 
 have been used in the burial office of almost all 
 churches whatever ; having been anciently read for one 
 of the Gospels in the Western church, and often re- 
 peated by the priest in the Greek office. Poor Martha's 
 affection and sorrow for her brother had almost swal- 
 lowed up her faith in .Tesus, and it is not unusual for 
 the same passions still to prevail to the same excessive 
 degree : but our Lord here comforts both her and us, 
 by reminding us of his omnijiotence, and absolute power 
 to raise the dead, and restore them to life, as well in a 
 natiual as a spiritual sense. If then we can recover 
 but the exercise of our faith, we shall be much more at 
 ease ; as remembering that the soul of our deceased 
 friend, though parted from his body, is still alive, and 
 that even his corpse, which we follow, shall live again 
 as soon as ever Christ shall call it. Dean Comber, 
 Wheatly. 
 
 ' — saith the Lord:'] This is one of the very few 
 places, where the comjiilers of our Liturgy have pre- 
 fixed to a jiassage from the (iosjiel the name of the 
 s])eaker, when it is not found in the Gosiiels. Hence 
 some of the (iospcls for Sund.ays and holydays begin too 
 al)ru))t.ly. The old missals often introduce the passage 
 with "Jesus said," or "at that time;" and sometimes 
 substitute the proper name for the pronoim in the first 
 sentence. Shepherd. 
 
 ' I know that my Redeemer Itvet/i, Sec.'] The book 
 of Job contains so many lively descriptions of the mi- 
 scries of human life, and the felicity of a religious and 
 holy death, that it hath been anciently esteemed of 
 S])ecial use in this office : and the Western church of 
 old had nine several lessons at burial from hence, be- 
 ginning at Job vii. IG. And this very sentence is 
 there reckoned the eighth lesson. .\nd it is very pro- 
 per to this occasion, as being a noble exi\m]ile of the 
 exercise of that failli jirescrihed in the fornu'r verse. 
 And .siu'cly if he, who lived among tlic Gentiles so long 
 before tlie revelation of Christianity, could sustain his 
 s]iirit with the hojies of a resurrection ; it will be no 
 small reproach to us, who have fuller and better assur- 
 ances of it, to be slower in our belief of lliis article than 
 he. 'I'heold translation of these verses in Job, (wliich 
 was retained in our ollice till the last review, when from 
 the Scotdi Liturgy it was changed for the new one.) as 
 it was more agreeable to tlic ancient versions and the 
 sense of the f'ather.s, so was it more applieiible to the 
 [iresent occasion. Tlic words, aslbcy stood then, were 
 as follow: " I knowlliat my Kcdeeiiicr livetli, iind tluit 
 I shall rise out of tlic earth in tlie lu.st day, and sliall ho
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 427 
 
 WE l)roiii>lit iiotliiiif^ into this 
 world ^', and it is certain we 
 can carry notliinir out. The Lord 
 ji^ave, and the Lord hath taken away ; 
 blessed he tiie name of tlie Lor(L 
 1 Tim. vi. 7. Job i. '1\. 
 
 1 After they are come into the Church, shall 
 be read one or both of these Psalms^' fot- 
 lowiiuj. 
 
 IJixi, Cntitodiam. Psalm xxxix. 
 
 I Said, I will take heed to my 
 ways : that I offend not in my 
 tongue. 
 
 1 will keep my mouth as it were 
 with a bridle : while the ungodly is 
 in my sight. 
 
 I held my tongue, and spake 
 nothing : I kept silence, yea, even 
 
 covered again with my skin, and shall see God in my 
 flesh ; yea, and I myself shall behold him, not with 
 other, but with these same eyes." Thus the fathers 
 read it, and aceordingly explained it of a particular re- 
 surrection of this very body. And in this sense it is an 
 admirable consolation to all that moinn for the loss of 
 friends, namely, to believe with holy Job, that the same 
 person we are now laying in the earth, there to crumble 
 and moulder into dust, shall in due time, by the jjower 
 of God, arise from his grave, and lix'e again. We lose 
 indeed the sight of him for a season, but " we know 
 that Jesus our Redeemer liveth," who will in due time 
 raise us all from the dust, when both our friend and 
 we shall all behold Him, and even know and distinguish 
 each other again with these very eyes. Dean Comber, 
 IVheathj. 
 
 e We broiKjkt notldng into this world, &c.] The next 
 grace to be exercised at this time is patience, which, 
 upon these occasions, is often violently assaulted by 
 worhlly considerations : for when we reflect on our own 
 loss, in being deprived of a friend ; or descend lower, to 
 reflect upon the comforts of the world which he hath 
 left Ix'hind him ; oiu' passions are apt to o\'erflow. But 
 here a third sentence comes in to allay both these griefs. 
 We have lost perhajis a tender, dear, and useful fiiend : 
 biit what then ? we brought no friends with us i]ito the 
 world, nor can we carry them out from hence. They 
 M'ere gwen us by God, who can raise uj) others in their 
 stead; and they are taken away by Him, to wean our 
 affections from any thing here. We should therefore 
 rather bless the giver for the time we have enjoyed 
 them, than murmm- at his taking them, after He has 
 lent them us so long. 
 
 Again, as to our friend, it is true, he is going naked 
 to the grave : but, alas ! he goes no otherwise than he 
 came: for (saith the wise man) "as he came forth of 
 his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he 
 came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he 
 may carry away in his hand," Eccles. v. 15. "He 
 shall carry nothing away with him," saith the Psalmist, 
 " when he dicth, neither shall his pomii follow him," 
 Ps. xlix. 17. Whatever he had, or possessed here, was 
 only useful to him so long as he stayed : where is the 
 misfortune then, if, upon reitioving from hence, he leaves 
 that behind him, wliieh will be of no service to him in 
 the place he is going to ? ^^'hilst he was engaged on 
 this stage of the world, God fiu-nished him with a habit 
 
 from good words ; hut it was ])ain 
 and grief to me. 
 
 My heart was hot within me, ami 
 while 1 was thus musing the fire 
 kindled : and at the last 1 sj)uke with 
 my tongue; 
 
 Lord, let me know mine end, and 
 the number of my days : that I nia}' 
 be certified how long 1 have to live. 
 
 Behold, thou hast made my days 
 as it were a span long : and mine 
 age is even <is nothing in respect 
 of thee ; and verily every man living 
 is altogether vanity. 
 
 For man walketh in a vain shadow, 
 aTid dis(piieteth himself in vain : he 
 heapeth up riches, and cannot tell 
 who shall gather them. 
 
 And now, Lord, what is my 
 
 suitable to the part which He expected him to perform : 
 shall any of us therefore think it strange, that the actor 
 is imdrcssed when his part is done ? In a word, let ua 
 consider ourselves under what character we ])lease, 
 there is still the same reason to join with the holy pen- 
 man in these noble reflections : " We brought nothing 
 into the world, and it is certain we can carry nothing 
 out. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; 
 blessed be the name of the Lord." Dean Comber, 
 Wheatly. 
 
 ^ — one or both of these Psalms.'] The singing of 
 psalms and hymns at funerals was a custom used 
 among Christians even from the first ages, and men- 
 tioned frequently by St. Jerome, St. Chrysostom, and 
 many others. St. Jerome aflirms that this usage arose 
 from primitive tradition : which is very likely, if we 
 consider how generally it hath been observed in the 
 Greek rubrick. The like use there is also in the Latin 
 church. In compliance with this ancient and universal 
 custom, we have ])salms prescribed also, which are as 
 agreeable to this solemnity, as any that have place in 
 the best offices of this kind now extant in the world. 
 Dean Comber, 
 
 The former of these psalms, the 39th, is supposed to 
 have been composed by David, u])on Joab's reproach- 
 ing him for his ])ublick grief for Absalom's death ; and 
 is of use in this jilace, to direct and comfort those that 
 mourn, to check all loud and unseemly com])!aints, and 
 to turn them into prayers and devout meditations. 
 
 The other was composed by Moses in the wilderness, 
 ui)on the death of that vast multitude, who for their 
 murmuring and infidelity, were sentenced to leave their 
 carcases in the wilderness; and who accordingly wasted 
 by little and little before they came into the land of 
 Canaan. Upon this the prophet breaks forth into these 
 religious meditations, not accusing the divine Provi- 
 dence, but applying all to the best advantage ; shemng 
 us withal what thoughts we should entertain, when we 
 have the pros]iect of a funeral before our eyes ; namely, 
 that we should reflect upon, and consider our own lot, 
 and endeavour to ajiply the instance of mortality now 
 before us, to the bettering and improving of our ou n 
 condition. 
 
 In the first book of King Edward, instead of the 
 psalms, of which we have now been speaking, there 
 were three others appointed, namely, the llGth, the 
 139th, and llGlh. .Vnd when they were left out at the
 
 428 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD 
 
 truly my hope is even 
 
 in 
 
 hope 
 thee. 
 
 Deliver me from all mine offences : 
 and make me not a rebuke unto the 
 foolish. 
 
 I became dumb, and opened not 
 mv mouth : for it was thy doing. 
 
 Take thy plague away from me : 
 I am even consumed by means of 
 thy heavy hand. 
 
 When thou with rebukes dost 
 chasten man for sin, thou makest 
 his beauty to consume away, like 
 as it were a moth fretting a gar- 
 ment : every man therefore is but 
 vanity. 
 
 Hear my prayer, O Lord, and 
 with thine ears consider my calling : 
 hold not thy peace at my tears. 
 
 For I am a stranger with thee : 
 and a sojourner, as all my fathers 
 were. 
 
 O spare me a little, that I may 
 recover my strength : before I go 
 hence, and be no more seen. 
 
 Glory lie to the Father', and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 Dmninr, refuijium. Psalm xc. 
 
 LO 11 D, thou hast been our re- 
 fuge : from one generation to 
 another. 
 
 Before the mountains were brought 
 forth, or ever the earth and tiie 
 world were made : thou art God 
 from everlasting, and world without 
 end. 
 
 Thou turnest man to destruction : 
 again thou sayest, Come again, ye 
 children of men. 
 
 For a thousand years in thy sight 
 are but as yesterday : seeing that is 
 past as a watch in the night. 
 
 As soon as thou scatterest them, 
 they are even as a sleep : and fade 
 away snddcnK- like the grass. 
 
 next review, there were no other whatever ordered in 
 the room of them, till these were inserted at King 
 Charlie's Kcstiirafii)n. Dmn Comber, W'heiithj. 
 
 ' Uhiry he to the Fiilher, &c.] Kacli of the psalms is 
 condiided with that ancient and excellent hymn, the 
 Gloria I'atri ; U|ion which we may liere note, that the 
 Chin-ch of l'',n};l:iii.i doth not licrein follow the chnrch 
 of Koine, who rije-t this hymn, as heinj,' too joyfnl for 
 the solemnity. Whereas the ancient (.'liristians hnried 
 the faithfid "with all possilile demonstrations of joy. 
 And therefore with the (Jrcek church, and indeed with 
 
 Li the morning it is green, and 
 groweth up : but in the evening it is 
 cut down, dried up, and withered. 
 
 For we consume away in thy dis- 
 pleasure : and are afraid at thy 
 wrathful indignation. 
 
 Thou hast set our misdeeds before 
 thee : and our secret sins in the 
 light of thy countenance. 
 
 For when thou art angry all our 
 days are gone : we bring our years 
 to an end, as it were a tale that is 
 told. 
 
 The days of our age are three- 
 score years and ten ; and though 
 men be so strong, that they come to 
 fourscore years : yet is their strength 
 then but labour and sorrow ; so soon 
 passeth it away, and we are gone. 
 
 But who regardeth the pow-er of 
 thy wrath : for even thereafter as a 
 man feareth, so is thy displeasure. 
 
 O teach us to number our days : 
 tliat we may apply our hearts unto 
 wisdom. 
 
 Turn thee again, O Lord, at the 
 last : and be gracious unto thy ser- 
 vants. 
 
 O satisfy us with thy mercy, and 
 that soon : so shall we rejoice and be 
 glad all the days of our life. 
 
 Comfort us again now after the 
 time that thou hast plagued us : and 
 for the years wherein we have suf- 
 fered adversity. 
 
 Shew thy servants thy work : and 
 their children thy glory. 
 
 And the glorious JNIajesty of the 
 Lord our God be upon us : pros- 
 per thou the work of our hands upon 
 us, O prosper thou our handv-work. 
 
 Cilory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son: and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was ill the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be: world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 H Then shiill fiillnm the Lesson^ taken nut of 
 the fiflccnih Chapter of the former Epistle 
 of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. 
 
 the inimitive, we express our gratitude and joy in this 
 cucharistical conclusion of the jisalms, as \mng well 
 assured of the resurrection, and the happiness that 
 shall follow to all that dcjiart hence in the Lord. Dean 
 Comlxr. 
 
 ' Then shall fiillow the Jjesson kc] 'I'hc admirahlc 
 composers of this ollice, like thatjjood scrihe instructed 
 to the kingdom of heaven. Matt. xiii. 52, do Ijiinjr forth 
 out of their treasures thiiij^s new and old ; that is, as 
 St. .lerome expomid.s it, the choicest jmrts hoth of the 
 Old and New Testament; after the psalms out of the
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 429 
 
 1 Cor. XV. 20. 
 
 NO W is Christ risen from the 
 (lead, and hecome tlie first- 
 fruits of them that slept. For since 
 by man came death, by man came 
 also the resurrection of the dead. 
 For as in Adam all die, even so in 
 Christ shall all be made alive. But 
 every man in his own order : Christ 
 the first-fruits; afterward they that 
 are Christ's, at his c()min!>'. 'I'hen 
 Cometh the end, when he shall have 
 delivered up the kingdom to God, 
 even the Father ; when he shall have 
 put down all rule, and all authority, 
 and power. For he must reign, till 
 he hath jnit all enemies under his 
 feet. The last enemy that shall be 
 destroyed is death. For he hath put 
 all things under his feet. But v.hen 
 he saith, all things are put under 
 liim, it is manifest that he is ex- 
 cepted, which did put all things 
 under him. And when all things 
 shall be subdued unto him, then 
 shall the Son also himself be subject 
 inito him that put all things under 
 him, that God may be all in all. 
 Else what shall they do which are 
 baptized for the dead, if the dead 
 rise not at all ? Why are they then 
 baptized for the dead ? and why 
 stand we in jeopardy every hour ? 
 I protest by your rejoicing, which I 
 have in Christ Jesus our Lord, 1 die 
 daily. If after the manner of men 
 I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, 
 what advantageth it me, if the dead 
 rise not ? I>et us eat and drink, for 
 to morrow we die. Be not de- 
 ceived: evil communications corrupt 
 good manners. Awake to righteous- 
 ness, and sin not ; for some have not 
 the knowledge of God. I speak this 
 to your shame. But some man 
 will say. How are the dead raised 
 up ? and with what body do they 
 
 Old Testament therefore, they have added this lesson 
 out of the New. And since the faith of the resurrection 
 is not only the principal article of a Christian's belief, 
 but also that which chiefly concerns us on this occasion, 
 as well to allay our sorrow for the party deceased, as 
 to prepare lis freely to follow when God calls ; there- 
 fore they have chosen this chajiter, which, though it 
 stand among the Epistles, is called St. Paul's Gospel, 
 ver. 1, and is the fullest account of tlie resurrection 
 that the whole Scripture doth afford : that article being 
 here so strongly proved, so plainly described, and so 
 pertinently applied, that nothing could have been so 
 suitable to this purpose, which made it to be anciently 
 
 come ? Thou fool, that which thou 
 sowest is not cpiickened, except it 
 die. And that which thou sowest, 
 thou sowest not that body that shall 
 be, but bare grain, it may chance 
 of wheat, or of some other grain : 
 But God giveth it a body, as it 
 hath jileased him, and to every seed 
 his own body. All flesh is not the 
 same flesh ; but there is one kind of 
 flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, 
 another of fishes, and another of 
 birds. There are also celestial bo- 
 dies, and bodies terrestrial ; but the 
 glory of the celestial is one, and the 
 glory of the terrestrial is another. 
 There is one glory of the sun, and 
 another glory of the moon, and an- 
 other glory of the stars ; for one star 
 diflVMetli from another star in glory. 
 So also is the resurrection of the 
 dead : It is sown in corruption ; it is 
 raised in incorruption : It is sown in 
 dishonour ; it is raised in glory : It 
 is sown in weakness ; it is raised in 
 power : It is sown a natural body ; 
 it is raised a spiritual body. There 
 is a natural body, and there is a spi- 
 ritual body. And so it is written, 
 The first man Adam was made a 
 living soul ; the last Adam was made 
 a quickening spirit. Ilowbcit, that 
 was not first which is spiritual, but 
 that which is natural ; and afterward 
 that which is spiritual. The first 
 man is of the earth, earthy : the 
 second man is the Lord from heaven. 
 As is the earthy, such are they that 
 are earthy : and as is the heavenly, 
 such are they also that are heavenly. 
 And as we have borne the image of 
 the earthy, we shall also bear the 
 image of the heavenly. Now this I 
 .say, brethren, that flesh and blood 
 cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; 
 neither doth corruption inherit in- 
 corruption. Behold, I shew you a 
 
 taken notice of as a very proper passage for funeral 
 occasions. Hence the Western church of old did read 
 one Epistle out of it, beginning at ver. 51 ; and our 
 Salisbury office hath taken one little portion out of it, 
 beginning at ver. 20. But our judicious reformers 
 thought not fit to mangle it : beginning therefore %\-ith 
 ver. 20, they continue it to the end of the chapter. The 
 lesson consists of three parts ; first, tlic certainty of 
 the resurrection is proved, ver. 20 — 34. Secondly, 
 ' the (pieries relating to it are solved, ver. 35 — 54. 
 Thirdly, the ajiplication of the whole is made, ver. 
 55—58. Dean Comber.
 
 430 
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 mystery : We shall not all sleep, but 
 we shall all be changed, in a mo- 
 ment, in the twinkling of an eye, 
 at the last trump, (for the trumpet 
 sliall sound,) and the dead shall be 
 raised incorruptible, and we shall be 
 changed. For this corru])tible must 
 put on incorrujition, and this mortal 
 must put on immortality. So when 
 this corruptible shall have put on 
 incorruption, and this mortal shall 
 have put on immortality ; then shall 
 be brought to jkiss the saying that 
 is written, Death is swallowed up in 
 victory. O death, where is thy 
 sting ? O grave, where is thy vic- 
 tory ? The sting of death is sin, and 
 the strength of sin is the law. But 
 thanks be to God, which giveth us 
 the victory through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Therefore, my beloved bre- 
 thren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, 
 always abounding in the work of 
 the Lord, forasmuch as ye know 
 that your labour is not in vain in the 
 Lord. 
 
 t When they come to the Grave^, while the 
 CoTjpse is made ready to be laid into the 
 
 ' When they come to the Grave, &c.] Being come to 
 the fjrave, which is by the Jews called " the long habita- 
 tion," and by Christians "the bed of rest," wliilst the 
 corpse is made ready to be put into it, instead of those 
 vain and ridiculous blessings of the grave, sprinkling 
 it with holy water, perfuming it w-ith incense, and the 
 like, prescril)cd by the Roman office ; our Church hath 
 drawn up a most pious meditation for the blessing and 
 sanctifying of our own souls, and the application of this 
 example to our s))iritual advantage. When the boily 
 is stript of all but its grave-attire, and is just going to 
 be put into the ground, it is most likely to make the 
 dee|)est impression upon us, and to strike ns with the 
 most serious ajiprehensicms of our mortality. This 
 liiippy opportunity the Church is unwilling to lose; 
 ami thiTctore, whilst we are in sticb good dispositions 
 of mind, she presents us with a noble strain of devo- 
 tion, consisting of a meditation on the shortness, and 
 misery, and uncertainty of life, together with an acknow- 
 ledgment of our dependence on (Jod, whom yet we 
 have disobliged and oUVnded with our sins. However, 
 wc presinne to tly to llim for succour, and beg of Iliui 
 to preserve us from iternid death hereafter, and to sup- 
 port us under the ])ains of temporal death here. Dean 
 Cotnher, IVheutly. 
 
 " — suffer ns not, at our last hour, for any pains of 
 death, to fall from thee ] Tliat is, we pray (iod tliat no 
 jiains or terror of temporal death may make us "fall" 
 otF from " (iod" by a dangerous despair; and if we can 
 ])revail we shall escape uU that is evil in natural death, 
 anil be wholly free from eternal death. And here we 
 must note that our Church hath wholly rejected the 
 needless and vain prayers for the dead, and by all 
 these meditations and ])rayers strives to make the 
 occasion as profitable as may be to the living. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 Job xiv. 1. 2. 
 J.inios i 10. 
 1 Pet. i. 2-1. 
 
 Ps. cxix. 100. 
 James iv. H. 
 
 Heb ii. IS. 
 Ps xlvi. 1 ; 
 
 vii. 11. 
 Rom. iii. 2.'!. 
 
 1 Sam. ii. 2. 
 Zeph. iii. 17. 
 
 2 Pet. ii. 9. 
 
 Ps, xxxviii. 
 9. Luke x\i. 
 16. 2 Kiuga 
 xix. IG. 
 
 Joel ii. V. 
 
 1 Pet. i. lf>. 
 Lev. xix. 2. 
 Deut. vii. 21. 
 Acts X. 42. 
 
 1 Cor. X. 13. 
 
 earth, the Priest shall say, or the Priest 
 atid Clerks shall sing: 
 
 liiT A N that is born of a woman 
 XtX hath but a short time to live, 
 and is full of miser)'. He cometh 
 up, and is cut down, like a flower ; 
 he fleeth as it were a shadow, and 
 never continueth in one stay. 
 
 In the midst of life we are in 
 death : of whom may we seek for 
 succour, but of thee, O Lord, who 
 for our sins art justly displeased? 
 
 Yet, O Lord God most holy, O 
 Lord most mighty, O holy and most 
 merciful Savioiu-, deliver us not into 
 the bitter pains of eternal death. 
 
 Thou knowcst, Lord, the secrets 
 of our hearts ; shut not thy merciful 
 ears to our prayer ; but spare us. 
 Lord most hoi)', O God most mighty, 
 O holy and merciful Saviour, thou 
 most worthy Judge eternal, suffer us 
 not, at our last hour, for any pains of 
 death, to foil from thee". 
 
 H Then while the earth shall be cast upon the 
 Body", by some standing by, the Priest 
 sliall say, 
 
 FORASMUCH as it hath 
 pleased Almighty God° of his 
 
 ° Then while the earth shall be cast upon the Body, &c.] 
 Ne.\t after the sentences follows the solemn interment : 
 immediately before which the (ientiles took " their 
 leave" of then- deceased friends, by bidding them 
 " farewell for ever." And the ancient Christians used to 
 give a parting kiss of charity, just as the body was 
 about to be put into tlie grave, to declare their affec- 
 tion, and evidence that he died in the unity and jieace 
 of the eluireh, a custom still retained in the Greek 
 church, and in some of the northern parts of England. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 The casting of earth upon the body was esteemed an 
 act of ])iety by the very heathens ; insomuch that to 
 find a body vmburicd, and leave it uncovered, was 
 judged amongst them a great crime. In the (ireek 
 church this has been accounted so essential to the so- 
 lemnity, that it is ordered to be done by the i)riest 
 himself. And the same was enjoined by our own ru- 
 hrick in the first ("ouiiuon Prayer of King l'",dwanl VI. 
 Hut in our present Liturgy it is only ordered that it 
 "shall be cast upon the body by some standing by :" 
 and so it is generally left to one of the bearers, or se.x- 
 ton, who gives three casts of earth U])on the liody, or 
 Collin, whilst the jiriest jironounces the solemn form, 
 whieli cx])lains the ceremony ; naiucly, " earth to earth, 
 ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Whealhj. 
 
 " Forasmuch as it hath pleased Ahnlghly God &c.] 
 The form of words appointed to be said, "while the 
 eartli is cast u|)on the body," is peculiarly pertinent and 
 ad'eeting. The introduction commemorates what has 
 happened : " that (iod has taken to himself the soul of 
 our departed brother or sister." The form tlien de- 
 scribes the jireseut act of " committing the body to the 
 ground, earth to earth, a.shes to ashes, and dust to 
 dust;" and eonelndes with a declaration of our finu and 
 stedfast hope of the general resurrection. Shepherd.
 
 Efcles. xii 
 
 Gf n. ill. 19 ; 
 xviii. 27. 
 I Cor. XV. -f?. 
 Actsxxiv. Ij. 
 
 great mercy to take unto Iiimself the 
 soiilP of our dear hrotho- iicre ilc- 
 ])arte(l'', we tliereforc coininit his 
 body to the trrouml''; earth to earth, 
 aslies to aslie.s, dii.st to dust; in sure 
 and certain hope of tlie Kesurrection 
 to eternal life, tliroujjh our Lord 
 Je.sus Christ; who shall change our 
 vile body, that it may be like unto 
 liis glorious body, according to the 
 mighty working, whereby he is able 
 to subdue all things to himself. 
 
 ^^ to take unto himself the soul &e.] It is said that 
 
 these words are very improjier at tlie burial of wicked 
 men. But, first, since it halli pleased God to declare, 
 that " he hath no i>leasure in the death of the wicked, 
 but rather desires that he should turn from his wicked- 
 ness and live," Ezek. xviii. 23. 32 ; we ma.y fairly con- 
 clude that, when it ]>leases God to take a wicked man 
 out of the world. He does it in mercy, that he may not 
 go on to " heap up wrath to himself against the day of 
 \vrath," Rom. ii. 5. Secondly, since Solomon saith of 
 death with respect to all men, " tlien shall the dust re- 
 turn to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall retm-n 
 unto God who gave it," Eceles. xii. 7 ; it follows, that 
 God may be properly said to take the souls of all men 
 that die, to Himself, without excepting tlie most noto- 
 rious and impenitent offenders. Wlaen good men die. He 
 takes them to Himself, that is, to eternal life and hap- 
 piness J and though this cannot be said of wicked men, 
 yet it is as true that He takes them to Himself, that 
 is, to his own most righteous and just judgment. 
 Veneer. 
 
 When we say, that God has taken a person to Him- 
 self, we must not be understood to mean, that the per- 
 son is undoubtedly gone to heaven. For the wise man 
 says of men in general, and consequently of the wicked, 
 whose portion is not in heaven, that at their death " the 
 spirit returns to God who gave it," Eceles. xii. 7. And 
 if the sijirits of all men go to God, then God certainly 
 takes them to Himself. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 When the soul, by which the body lives, is once re- 
 called by Him who first jilaced it therein, death doth 
 immediately foUow that separation : and those several 
 parts, the body and soul, go to receptacles as distant as 
 those originals are, whence they had their beginning, 
 Eceles. xii. 7. God disposes of the soul Himself, and 
 leaves the corruptible carcase to our care. It seems 
 both unreasonable and absurd for the Roman office now 
 to commend a soul to God's hands, which He hath 
 already disposed of, and wliich the ancient church com- 
 mended to God before it was de)iarted : and indeed it is 
 best done by the party himself, while his life remains. 
 And concerning that better and nobler jjart we have 
 nothing to do now, but only to acknowledge that God 
 liath disposed of that according to his good pleasure ; 
 which is seasonably intimated here, because our pas- 
 sions are usually at the very highest upon this last 
 parting. Dean Comber. 
 
 1 — here departed,'] This is the phrase of holy Scrip- 
 ture, Luke ii. 29 ; I'hil. i. 23 ; and the sense of all good 
 Christians concerning death ; that it is but the entrance 
 into a long journey, the going a little before in that ]iath, 
 wherein we must all shortly follow : so that w& may 
 comfort ourselves concerning them with David, saying, 
 " We shall go to them, but tliey cannot come back to 
 us," 2 Sam. xii. 23. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — we therefore commit his body to the ground ; &c.] 
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 431 
 
 1 Then shall be said or sung. 
 
 Heard a voice from heaven", say- Rev. 
 ing unto me. Write, From hence- 
 
 forth blessed are the dead which die 
 in the Lord: even so saith the Spirit; 
 for they rest from their labours. 
 
 f Then the Priest shall say, 
 
 Lord, have mercy ujion us'. 
 Christ, have mercy upon us. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 This phrase, of " committing his body to the ground," 
 
 implies, that we deli\'er it into safe custody, and into 
 such hands as will faithfully restore it again. We do 
 not cast it away as a lost and jierished carcase ; but 
 carefully lay it in the ground, as having in it a seed to 
 eternity, and " in sure and certain hope of the resurrec- 
 tion to eternal life ;" not that we believe that every one 
 we bury shall rise again to joy and felicity, or profess 
 this " sure and certain ho])e" of the resurrection of the 
 person who is now interred. It is not his resurrection, 
 but the resurrection, that is here exjiressed : nor do we 
 go on to mention the cliange of his I)ody in tlie singular 
 number, but of " our vile body," wliich comprehends 
 the bodies of Christians in general. That this is the 
 sense and meaning of the words, may be shewn from 
 the other parallel form, wliicli the Church has appointed 
 to be used at the burial of the dead at sea. And this 
 being a princijial article of our faith, it is highly reason- 
 able, that we shoidd publickly acknowledge and declare 
 our stedfastness in it, when we lay the body of any 
 Christian in the grave. Wheatly. 
 
 " / heard a voice from heaven, &c.] After the fore- 
 going form follows a consolatory sentence from Rev. 
 xiv. 13, "to lie said" by the priest alone, or to be 
 " sung " by him and the clerks together. The propriety 
 of it to the ])resent solemnity occasioned its being used 
 in the Western church many centuries ago. It is a 
 special revelation that was made to St. Jolin, and or- 
 dered to be recorded for ever by him to be a perpetual 
 consolation in relation to the state of departed saints. 
 For since Jesus hath now conquered death, " from 
 henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." 
 They are no more to be lamented, but to be the sub- 
 jects of our joy. The Spirit assures us that they " rest 
 from their labours," their work is done, their warfare 
 accomplished, and now they enjoy crowns of victory as 
 the rewards of their pains. Wheatly. 
 
 This Scri[)ture was anciently ajjprojiriated to tliis 
 office, being read in some parts of the Western church 
 of old, at the ending of the lessons; and since it is ge- 
 nerally used for one of the Epistles. Nor had we any 
 reason to leave it out, but only to set it in a more pro- 
 ])er place. And, as it stands now in oiu service, we 
 may consider it, first, as it looks back to the interment; 
 where, having declared our hope of the resm'rection, we 
 bring a further confirmation of it from this place, which 
 was a special revelation by an immediate voice from 
 heaven, ordered to be recorded for the preserx-ation 
 thereof, and attested peculiarly by the Spirit ; and is 
 singularly well calculated to allay grief on account of 
 all holy persons deceased, who are here declared to be 
 in a blessed condition. Secondly, the Protestant 
 Church placed this sentence here before the succeeding 
 collects, to give a just reason, why we do not therein 
 pray for the dead; who, if they have died in the Lord, 
 are blessed already, so that we cannot with any sense
 
 432 
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 OU R Father, which art in liea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdona come. Thy will be 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses. As 
 we forgive them that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into tempta- 
 tion ; But deliver us from evil. 
 Amen. 
 
 Priest. 
 
 Luke XV. 33. 
 £xod, iii. G. 
 
 AL MI G H T Y God, with who 
 do live the spirits" of them th 
 
 nom 
 lat 
 
 pray for them to obtain that, which they actually enjoy. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Then the Priest shnll say, Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 &c.] Having sufficiently improved this occasion by 
 way of instruction and pious meditation, we now ad- 
 dress our requests to Almighty God in our own behalf, 
 who alone are capable of receiving benefit by these 
 prayers: praying for mercy, 1. to the Father, that He 
 may deliver us from the miseries of this life ; 2. to the 
 Son, that He may pardon us the guilt of our sins : 3. to 
 the Holy Ghost, that He may sanctify us, and cleanse 
 us from our corruptions. And because we need all 
 manner of good things, and know not what to ask for 
 as we ouglit, to these sujiplications we add the Lord's 
 Prayer, the petitions of which comprehend every bless- 
 ing, that we can require. In it we acknowledge, that, 
 though we have lost a friend on earth, we have a 
 greater, " Our Father, which is in heaven." At this 
 dispensation we do not murmur, but " hallow his 
 name ;" and jiray, that " his kingdom" of glory may 
 " come," when we and all our friends shall meet again ; 
 and that, whether He ordain life or death, " his will," 
 and not ours, " be done." The rest of the prayer de- 
 picts our miserable condition in this life. We require 
 " daily bread," to sustain us : mercy to "forgive us :" 
 and grace to " deliver us from evil," both temporal and 
 eternal. Dean Cornier. Shepherd. 
 
 " .itmiiihty God, with irhom do live the spirits &c.] 
 The i)rimitive Christians used many religious solemni- 
 ties at the burial of their dead, aiul jiartieularly made 
 prayers upon the occasion, as is done at this day in all 
 tJhristian countries as well as ours. Our forms how- 
 ever are generally our own ; being composed by the 
 compilers of our Liturgy, who could luive very little 
 assistance in this matter from the Roman otlices, which 
 are filled with vainly rejieatcd and ridiculous jietitions 
 for the dead, whose doom is already certain ; and have 
 no respect to the living, for whose sakcs, as St. .\ugus- 
 tiu ailirms, these things arc chiefiy intended. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 In each of the two following ])rayers, there is such a 
 noble mi.'cture of acts of faith and hope concerning the 
 state of our deceased friend, ajid of pravcrs and peti- 
 tions for our liapi)incs3 witli hiui, as, lieing duly at- 
 tended to, will edcctually pacify that unnecessary grief, 
 which is pernicious to ourselves, without bcnedtmg the 
 deceased ; and will turn our tlioughts to a due care of 
 our own souls, in order to oiu' nu'cting again, with in- 
 finitely more joy, than we now part with sorrow and 
 grief. W'heallij. 
 
 'I'lie former of tlie two prayers consists of three 
 parts. In the introduction, which is a i)anipln'iiscof the 
 words of our Saviour, Luke .v.t. 3s, we profess our 
 
 depart hence in the Lord, and with 
 
 whom the souls of the faithful, after 
 
 they are delivered from the burden 
 
 of the flesh, are in joy and felicity; Job i. 21. 
 
 We give thee hearty thanks for that 
 
 it hath pleased thee to deliver this 
 
 our brother out of the miseries of this 
 
 sinful world ; beseeching thee, that 
 
 it may please thee^, of thy gracious 
 
 goodness, shortly to accomplish the 
 
 number of thine elect, and to hasten Matt. vi. 10 
 
 thy kingdom ; that we, with all those 
 
 that are departed in the true faith of "'■''■ "'■. 
 
 th)' holy name, may have our perfect 
 
 40. 
 xii. :^0. 
 
 belief of the happy state of the spirits of good men 
 departed, '\^'e then give thanks to God for having 
 delivered our deceased friend from the miseries of this 
 sinful world, knowing, that the longer he had con- 
 tinued here, the more sins he would have committed, 
 and the more calamities he would have endured. And 
 in tlie last ])lace we jiray for the speedy advent of 
 Christ's kingdom, that " we with all those, that are 
 departed in the true faith of his holy name, may have 
 our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and 
 soul, in his eternal and everlasting ^^lory." 
 
 It has been objected to this ])rayer, that to give 
 thanks for the death of a friend is unnatural. It would 
 indeed be unnatural not to be affected by the death of 
 a relation or friend. But, while we feel, as men, the 
 loss that we have sustained, we should learn to bear it, 
 as Christians : and, when we consider, from what our 
 departed friend is delivered, and «'hat be has gained, 
 not to be thankful for this is an act of luikindness to 
 him, and of ingratitude to God. Dean Comber, Shep- 
 herd. 
 
 ' — beseeching thee, that it may phase thee, &c.] 
 This petition follows after the preceding Kucharist in 
 the very method of the l^ord's Prayer : the act of praise 
 being a paraphrase of " Hallowed be thy naiue ;" and 
 this petition the explication of " Thy kingdom come." 
 We have hitherto been considering tl\e miseries of this 
 life, and the happy estate of those that are religiously 
 dejiarted in [)eace : wliereupon we cannot but wish 
 ourselves in the same blessed condition with those holy 
 souls that are gone before us ; at least, that we may 
 happily meet each other in the kingdom of heaven, 
 when God's good tiuu- is come. We know, so long as 
 this «'orld endm-es, Satan will rage, and sin will reign ; 
 enemies will o|)]iress us, and uiiserics disquiet us and 
 all good peo]ile that live in it. Wherefore we arc not 
 only willing, but desirous, that the last and great day 
 may come, when those that love (iod, and tire beloved 
 by Him again, those choice and excellent jiersons, 
 whom the Scripture calls the elect, who are scattered 
 here, shall be gathered together from the f'oiu' winds. 
 Matt. xxiv. :U ; and all of that blessed number shall 
 have their wrongs righteil, their miseries eternally re- 
 moved, and their enemies finally vantpiished : and 
 then both those deceased, and such as remain alive, 
 shall begin their never-ceasing felicity. And is there 
 not good reason we sliotdd jiray for the luistening of 
 this blessed time, and say, " Lord .Icsus, come quickly?" 
 Rev. xxii. 20. Here we serve; there we shall reign: 
 here we are afllicted ; there we shall be haiijiy : ami, 
 when his kingdom begins, ours begins also. Neither 
 the saints di'|iarled, nor we, have oiu' perfect consum- 
 mation in bliss as yet : we are imperfect, both iu body
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 430 
 
 o 
 
 consummation and Iiliss, liotli in Ijody 
 anil sold, in tliy eternal and ever- 
 lastingf g,\oTy ; through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The Collect y. 
 
 Merciful God, the Father of 
 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 
 is the resurrection and the life ; in 
 
 .i())inxi. 25, wliom whosoever believeth shall 
 
 live, though he die ; aud whosoever 
 
 liveth, and believeth in him, shall 
 
 and soul ; and till the resurrection their felicity is not 
 complete, " tliat they without us should not be made 
 jjcrfeot," Ileb. xi. 40. So that they, as well as we, do 
 wish aud i)ray for the coming of this last day, and the 
 completing of Christ's kingdom. Rev. vi. 10 : that 
 being the time, which will unite the church militant 
 and triumphant, and give unto all saints their jjcrfeet 
 consummation of bliss both in body and soul. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 i" The Collect.^ This prayer is called the Collect, be- 
 cause in King Edward's first book, at the end of the 
 burial-ofHce, there is an order for "the celebration of 
 the lioly (.'ommunion, when there is a burial of the 
 dead." The forty-second psalm is appointed for the 
 introit. The prayer I am now S])eaking of, with a 
 little alteration at the end, stands there for the Collect : 
 1 Tbcss. iv. 13 to the end is ordered for the Epistle; 
 and for the Gospel, John vi. 37 — 48. H'heally. 
 
 The former prayer seems to respect the whole com- 
 pany ; whereas this is peculiarly designed for the com- 
 fort of the relations and friends of the deceased : and 
 it may well be called a Collect, because it is a collection 
 of the choicest sentences of holy Scripture, which may 
 minister thereunto ; being intermingled with such acts 
 of hope concerning the deceased, and such a prospect 
 of the means to make us happy with him, as, being 
 duly considered and devoutly recited, will effectually 
 remove that unnecessary grief, which hurts us, and 
 helps not him ; and will turn our thoughts and endea- 
 vours towards the more useful exercises of repentance, 
 in order to our meeting again with more joy than now 
 we part with sorrow. Dean Comber. 
 
 In the introduction, borrowed from the words of our 
 Sa\'iour, we declare our certainty of the resurrection of 
 all true believers to eternal life ; assign a reason from 
 St. I'aid, why we should not grieve immoderately, like 
 infidels, who ha\-e no ho])e. This is followed by sup- 
 ]ilications for ourselves : first, that we may be partakers 
 of the first or S])iritual resurrection here, by " rising 
 from the death of sin imto the life of righteousness ;" 
 secondly, that, when we depart this life, " we may rest 
 in Christ;" and thirdly, that at our resurrection at the 
 last day we may "receive that blessing, which will then 
 be pronounced to all that love and fear him." To 
 evince the earnestness of our desire, we iterate our 
 petitions ; and beseech " our merciful Father, through 
 Jesus Christ our Redeemer," to grant our requests. 
 Shepherd. 
 
 ' — not lo be sorry, as men without hope. &c.] The 
 former Scrijiture shewed us, why we should not grieve 
 extremely : these words are a jilain prohibition of ex- 
 cessive grief They have been generally thought very 
 proper to restrain extravagant sorrow, being found in 
 the offices of the Eastern, as well as those of the 
 Western church : and they are most Judiciously in- 
 serted in this consolatory prayer, where they may be 
 most likely to have their desu-ed effect; being very 
 
 not die eternally ; who also hath 
 
 taught us, by his holy A])OStle Saint 
 
 Paul, not to be sorrv, as men without 
 
 hope'', for them that slee]i in him; i tiicsb. iv. 
 
 We meekly beseech thee, O Father, ''• "• 
 
 to raise us from the death of sin unto 
 
 the life of righteousness ; that, when 
 
 we shall depart this life, we may rest ]?■'''"■ "■ '• 
 
 in him, as our hope is this om bro- icor. xiii 5 
 
 thcr dot\i^; and that, at the general liom. xiv. 4. 
 
 Resurrection in the last day, we may pstcxu'ii. 11. 
 
 duly inferred from the iireccding assurance of the 
 resurrection, since whosoever firmly believes that, can- 
 not rationally grieve in excess. It is for those to be 
 immoderate in their grief, who have no mixture of 
 ho]ie to alleviate and allay their sorrow. Still Chris- 
 tianity doth not prohibit the shedding of some pious 
 tears. The apostle, as St. .Vugustine notes, says not. 
 Be not sorry at all ; but. Be not sorry as infidels with- 
 out ho|je. Jesus Himself wept at Lazarus's grave, 
 John xi. 35. And the primitive saints made great 
 lamentation at St. Stephen's burial. Acts viii. 2. 
 Christianity will allow us to express our love to our 
 departed friends, so it be within the bounds of mo- 
 deration ; and provided it make us not forget those 
 divine comforts, wherewith religion refreshes us again. 
 "We are troidiled," saith St. Augustine, "at the death 
 of our friends, because of our loss in parting with them, 
 but not without hojie of meeting them again. By that 
 we are perplexed : by this we are comforted. On that 
 side our infirmity affects ua : on this side our faith 
 revives us. On that side we lament the condition 
 of man : on this we are cheered with the promise of 
 God." Deati Comber. 
 
 " — us our hope is this our brother doth ;] f )f whose 
 final estate being not absolutely certain, we are bound 
 in charity to hope the best. Dean Comber. 
 
 Against this passage it is often objected, that we 
 make declaration of "hope," that all the persons, 
 whom we bury, are saved. In order to appease the 
 scru])les about which, as far as the nature of the ex- 
 ])ression will bear, we desire it may be considered, that 
 there are very different degrees of hope, the lowest of 
 which is but one remove from desjjair. Now there 
 are but very few, with whom we are concerned, that 
 die in a state so utterly des))erate, as that we may posi- 
 tively affirm they are damned; which yet we might do, 
 did we absolutely and entirely despair of their salvation. 
 It remains therefore that we must have some, though 
 very faint, hopes of their salvation : and this seems 
 sufficient to warrant this declaration, especially if it be 
 pronounced as faintly as the hope itself is entertained. 
 IVheatbj. 
 
 We are often said to hope that, which we do only 
 wish or desire, but have not particular grounds to be- 
 lieve ; only we are not sure of the contrary, or that the 
 thing is impossible. For instance, suppose that in a 
 storm wc should speak of a friend at sea. One man, 
 considering the greatness of the tempest, and the cir- 
 cumstances we imagine our friend to be in, says, I fear 
 he is lost. Another replies, I hope not. What now is 
 meant by this hope ? Xo assurance can be had on 
 either side. One hopes, and another fears : and both 
 consistently. The hope therefore denotes no more 
 than a charitable wish or desire that it may be as we 
 speak. Now this hope may be accompanied with the 
 greatest fear. There is therefore a twofold hope ; the 
 one of assittance, built upon grounds of beUef, which 
 
 2 F
 
 434 
 
 AT THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 James i. 12. 
 Ps. ciii. 11. 
 
 Matt. x\v. 
 34. 
 
 be found acceptable'' in thy sight;- 
 and receive tliat blessing, which thy 
 well-beloved Son shall then pro- 
 nounce to all that love and fear thee, 
 saying, Come, ye blessed children of 
 my Father, receive the kingdom pre- 
 pared for you from the beginning of 
 the world : Grant this, we beseech 
 
 rises or falls according to the appearance of evidence ; 
 the other of desire, built upon our affections, which 
 rises or falls according to the degrees of probability and 
 chai'ity. Now the hope in this place is of the latter 
 sort : by which we may hope well of a person, unless 
 we are absolutely sure that it is ill with him. And 
 consequently we may hope, that the deceased does 
 " rest in Christ," unless we are absolutely sure, which 
 we can hardly be, that he is doomed to hell fii'c. Dr. 
 Beimet. 
 
 'The Chiu-ch supposes her children will take all her 
 offices together ; and the person now bm'ied is by the 
 Church supposed to have repented his sins and re- 
 ceived the holy Sacrament according to her du'ections : 
 and surely she may well judge and hope the best con- 
 cerning those who are thus jircpared for the grave. 
 However, let us suppose the men, who take exceptions 
 at this passage, were left at liberty to omit it to any 
 particular person which they were to bury. Doubtless 
 they would be much at a loss to know, which were the 
 men and women of whose resting in Christ they could 
 have no hope at all, since none can set bounds to God's 
 mercy, not till the final sentence that shall pass upon 
 any single person : and, if they did presume at any 
 time to hmit it, their blindfold ccnsoriousness might be 
 reproved justly with that saying of St. Paul, " \\'ho art 
 thou that judgest another man's servant?" Rom. xiv. 
 4 : and they ought to tremble when they remember, 
 "Judge not, that ye be not judged," Matt. vii. 1. I 
 am sure our Lord severely checked the Jews for their 
 jiresumptuous censure of some, that they su])])osed to 
 die in their sins, Luke xiii. 1, 2. We will easily grant 
 them, that aU professed Christians do not sleep in 
 Christ : but, since we bury single persons, we cannot 
 certaitdy know the state of particular men ; and, 
 where wc are ignorant, it is safest to speak and hojje 
 the best. 
 
 If it be alleged that evil men will hereby be en- 
 couraged to continue in their sins, I answer, that the 
 whole office confutes that \ain conceit, for it promises 
 hajjpiness only to the pious : and particidarly the very 
 clause preceding this duos jilainly obviate this miscon- 
 struction by m()\ing e\x'ry by-stander to i)ray, that he 
 may be raised from the death of sin here, without 
 which the Church declares that he cannot hope for a 
 happy death or a joyful resurrection. And, if it be well 
 observed, we sup])ose the party deceased to have had 
 his share in the work of grace, before he obtained a 
 ])ortion in glory : and accortlingly we pray for the first, 
 as to ourselves, before we presume to ask the latter. 
 J)enn Comber, 
 
 ^ — a/id thai — we miiy he found acceptable &e.] As to 
 our brother departed, we can only exercise our chai'ity 
 and our hope ; liut for ourselves we liave need to pray, 
 tliat we may by holiness here be fitted for hap])iness 
 liercafter : for in vain do we hojie to be foinul acceptable 
 at the last day, if we do not jilease (iod now. That 
 blessing is only to be pronounced on tliose who love 
 and fear lliin : God is a lioly (iod, and heaven a holy 
 jilacc : the saints and angels are uU holy ; nor can any 
 
 thee, O merciful Father, through 
 Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Re- 
 deemer. Amen. 
 
 TH E grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christy and the love of God, 
 and the fellowship of the Floly Ghost, 
 be with us all evermore. Amen. 
 
 dwell in that society, who is not first made holy. If 
 we could suppose an evil man should carry his evil 
 inclinations of pride and envy, malice and revenge, 
 lust and intemperance, to that glorious kingdom with 
 him, heaven would be no heaven to such an one : the 
 place would be odious ; the company troublesome; the 
 employment ungrateful; and the eternity a burden in- 
 tolerable : he woidd be uneasy to holy sotils, and they 
 to him. He, that is a good man, hath his heaven 
 begun in the peace of his own conscience ; and he is 
 going thither where it will be completed. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c.] This 
 benediction was added at the last review. In it we 
 pray, that the merits of Christ, the love of the Father, 
 and the aid of the Holy S])irit, may secm-e and protect 
 us in oiu- passage through this sublunary world, and 
 bring us at length to the haven, where we would be. 
 Deati Comber, Shepherd. 
 
 In the course of the foregoing service we have trium- 
 phant hymns o\'er death, taken from holy Scripture : 
 then a lesson out of St. Paul, to the same purpose : 
 then a thanksgiving for our departed brother's safe 
 delivery out of misery : lastly, a jiraycr for our con- 
 summation in glory, and joyful absolution at the last 
 day. By all which prayers, praises, and holy lessons, 
 and decent solemnities, we do glorify God, honour the 
 dead, and comfort the living. " Take away these 
 prayers, praises, and holy lessons," saith Hooker, 
 " which were ordained to shew at burials the peculiar 
 hope of the Chm'ch concerning the resurrection of the 
 dead ; and in the manner of the dumb funerals, what 
 one thing is there, whereby the world may ])erceive that 
 we are Christians?" 'I'liere being in those dumb 
 sho«'S nothing but what heathens and [)agan3 do ; how 
 can any unlearned or unbeliever be convinced by them, 
 that either we, who are ])rcsent at tliem, do, or that he 
 ought to, believe any part of Christian religion ? 15ut 
 when the unlearned or unbeliever hears us sing trium- 
 phant songs to God for our victory o\'er death ; when 
 he hears holy lessons and discourses of the resurrection ; 
 when he hears us pray for a liapjiy and joyfid resurrec- 
 tion to glory ; by all these he must l)e con\inced, that 
 we do believe the resurrection, which is a i)rinci])al 
 article of Christian faith ; and the same may lie tlie 
 means to convince him also, and m.tke him believe the 
 same, "and so fall down and worshi|i God." And 
 this is according to St. Paul's rule, 1 Cor. xiv. 23 — 25 : 
 who thence concludes, that all our publick religious 
 services ought to be so done, that the " unlearned or 
 unbeliever may be convinced, and brought to worship 
 God." lip. t>/>arrou\ 
 
 Let us not tlien stand at the gra\-c weeping. Let us 
 go home silently, and study how liy holiness wc may 
 come to that felicity, to which they are gone before us. 
 'J'he Lord jiardon and amend us all! And then we 
 shall courageously meet death ourselves, anil patiently 
 bear it in others, till they anil we lie awakeneil by the 
 voice of Jesus, to receive us to hia everlasting kingdom. 
 Dean Comber.
 
 THE 
 
 THANKSGIVING OF WOMEN AFTER CHILD-BIRTH ^ 
 
 COMMONLY CALLED, THE 
 
 CHURCHING OF WOltlEN. 
 
 % TJie Woman, at the usual time after her Delivery'', shall come into the Church^ 
 deccnthj apparelled^, and there shall kneel down in some convenient place, as 
 
 ^ The thanksgiving of women after child-birth, &c.] 
 'Hie birth of man is so truly wonderful, that it seems to 
 he designed as a standing demonstration of the omnipo- 
 tence of God. And therefore that the frequency of it 
 may not diminish our admiration, the Church orders a 
 publick and solemn acknowledgment to be made on 
 every such occasion by the woman on whom the 
 miracle is wrought; who still feels the bruise of our 
 first parents' fall, and labours tmdcr the curse which 
 Eve then entailed upon her whole sex. 
 
 As to the original of this custom, it is not to be 
 doubted, but that, as many other Christian usages 
 received their rise from other ])arts of the Jewish 
 ceconomy, so did this from the rite of jiurification, 
 which is enjoined so particularly in the twelfth chapter 
 of Leviticus. Not that we observe it by \'irtue of that 
 precept, which we grant to have been ceremonial, and 
 so not now of any force ; but because we apprehend 
 some moral duty to have been im])lied in it l)y way of 
 analogy, which must I)e obligatory upon all, even when 
 the ceremony is ceased. 'I'he uncleanness of the woman, 
 the set number of days she is to abstain from the 
 tabernacle, and the sacrifices she was to oflFer when she 
 first came abroad, are rites wholly abolished, and what 
 we no ways regard : but then, the open and solemn 
 acknowledgment of God's goodness in dehvering the 
 mother, and increasing the number of mankind, is a 
 duty that will oblige to the end of the world. And 
 therefore though the mother be now no longer obliged 
 to offer the material sacrifices of the law ; yet she is 
 nevertheless bound to offer the evangelical sacrifice of 
 praise. She is still publickly to acknowledge the bless- 
 ing vouchsafed her, and to profess her sense of the 
 fresh obligation it lays her under to obedience. Nor 
 indeed may the ('hurch be so reasonably supposed to 
 have taken up this rite from the practice of the Jews, 
 as she may be, that she began it in imitation of the 
 blessed Virgin, who though she was rather sanctified 
 than defiled by the birth of our Lord, and so had no 
 need of purification from any uncleanness, iidiether 
 legal or moral ; yet wisely and humbly submitted to 
 this rite, and offered her praise, together with her 
 blessed Son, in the temple. And that from hence this 
 usage was derived among Christians, seems probable, 
 not only from its being so universal and ancient, that 
 the beginning of it can hardly any where be found ; but 
 also from the practice of the Eastern chmch, where the 
 
 mother still brings the child along with her, and pre- 
 sents it to God on her churching-day. The jjricst 
 indeed is there said to "purify" them: and in our 
 first Common Prayer, this office with us was entitled 
 " I'he order of the Purification of Women." But that 
 neither of these terms ira])lied, that the woman had 
 contracted any uncleanness in her state of child-bearing, 
 may not only be inferred from the silence of the offices 
 both in the Greek church and ours in relation to any 
 uncleanness ; but is also farther evident from the 
 ancient laws relating to this jiractice, which by no 
 means grounil it upon any imi)urity, from which the 
 woman stands in need to be purged. And therefore, 
 when our own Liturgy came to be reviewed, to prevent 
 all misconstructions that might be ]iut upon the word, 
 the title was altered, and the oflSce named, (as it is still 
 in our present Common Prayer Book,) "The Thanks- 
 giving of Women after Cliild-birtli, commonly called, 
 The Churching of Women." Denn Comber, IVheatly. 
 
 When holy Scripture descriljcs excessive sorrow in 
 the most exjircssive manner, it likens it to that of a 
 woman in tra\'ail. And if this sorrow be so excessive, 
 how great must the joy Ije to be delivered from that 
 sorrow ? Commensurate certainly, and of adecjuate 
 l)roj)ortion, must be the debt of thankfulness to the 
 benefactor, the donor of that recovery; whence a 
 necessity of " thanksgiving of women after child-birth." 
 If it be asked, why the Church hath appointed a par- 
 ticular form for this deliverance, and not for deliverance 
 from other cases of ecjual danger ? the answer is, the 
 Church did not so much take measure of the peril, as 
 accommodate herself to that mark of separation, which 
 God Himself hath put between this and other maladies. 
 " To concei\'e and bring forth in son-ow " was signally 
 inflicted ujion Eve : and, in her, ujion all mothers, as 
 a penalty for her first disobedience. Gen. iii. IC: so 
 that the sorrows of child-birth have, by God's express 
 determination, a more direct and peculiar reference to 
 Eve's disobedience than any other disease whatsoever : 
 and, though all maladies are the jiroduct of the first 
 sin, yet is the malediction specifically fixed and ap|)lied 
 to this alone. Now, when that, wdiich was ordained 
 ])rimarily as a curse for the first sin, is converted to so 
 great a blessing, God is certainly in that case more to 
 be praised in a set and solemn office. L'Estrange. 
 
 ' The Wotniin, at tlie usual time after her Delivery , &c.] 
 In the Greek church the time for performing this office 
 2 F2
 
 436 
 
 THE CHURCHING OF WOMEN. 
 
 hatli been accustomed^, or as the Ordinary shall direct: And then the Priest 
 shall sai/ unto her ', 
 
 John xvi. 21, 
 Gen. iii. IG ; 
 
 FORASMUCH as it hath 
 pleased Almighty God*^ of his 
 goodness to give you safe deliver- 
 ance, and hath preserved you in the 
 great danger of Child-birth ; you 
 
 is limited to be on the fortieth day. But in the ^Yest 
 tlie time was never strictly determined. And so our 
 present rubrick does not pretend to limit the day wlien 
 the woman shall be chiu'clied, but only suii])Oses that 
 she will come "at the usual time after her delivery." j 
 The " usual time " is now about a month : for the 
 woman's weakness will seldom permit her coming 
 sooner. -\nd if she be not able to come so soon, she 
 is allowed to stay a longer time ; the Church not ex- 
 pecting her to return her thanks for a blessing before 
 it is received. Wluatly. 
 
 ' — shall come into the Church'\ It is required, that 
 whenever she docs it, she " shall come into the church." 
 And this is enjoined, tii-st, for the honour of God, whose 
 marvellous ^orks in the formation of the child, and 
 the preservation of the woman, ought publickly to be 
 owned, that so others may learn to put their trust in 
 Him. Secondh', that the whole congregation may 
 have a fit opportunity for praising God for the too- 
 much-forgotten mercy of their birth. And, thirdly, 
 that the woman may in the proper place own the 
 mercy now vouchsafed her, of being restored to the 
 ha])py privilege of worshijiping God in the congrega- 
 tion of his saints. 
 
 How great therefore is the absurdity which some 
 would introduce of stitling their acknowledgments in 
 private houses, and of giving thanks for their recovery 
 and enlargement in no other place than that of their 
 confinement and restjaint ! a i)ractice which is incon- 
 sistent with the very name of this office, which is called 
 "The Churching of Women," and which consequently 
 implies a ridiculous solecism of being " churched at 
 home." Nor is it any thing more consistent with the 
 end and devotions prescribed by this office, than it is 
 with the name of it. For with what decency or pro- 
 priety can the woman pretend to " jiay her vows in the 
 presence of all (iod's i)eople, in the courts of the 
 Lord's house," when she is only assuming state in a 
 bed-chamber or parlour, and jicrhaps only accompanied 
 with her midwife or nurse? To "give thaido therefore 
 at home" (for by no means call it " churching") is not 
 only an act of disobedience to the Churcli, but a high 
 affront to .\lmighty God ; whose mercy they scorn to 
 acknowledge in a churcli, and think it honour enough 
 done Ilim, if Me is summoned Iiy his priest to wait on 
 them at their houses, and to take what thanks they 
 will vouchsafe Ilim there. Hut inethinks a minister, 
 who has any regard for his character, and considers the 
 honour of tlie Lord he serves, should disdain such a 
 servile compliance and submission, and abhor the 
 betraying of his Master's dignity. Here can be no 
 I>retcnce of danger in the case, should the woman 
 prove obstinate upon the priest's refusal ; (which minis- 
 ters are apt to urge for their excuse, when they are 
 prevailed upon to give publick bajitism in private ;) 
 nor is the decision of a council wanting to instruct hirn 
 (if he has any doubts upon account of llie woman's ill 
 liealtli) that "he is not to perform tliis o(fi<'e at home, 
 though she be really so weak as not to be able to come 
 to church." I'or if she be not able to come to church, 
 
 shall therefore give hearty thanks xxxv. le, s.c. 
 unto God, and say', fxi.'i.'^' 
 
 (H Then shall the Priest say the cxvi'' 
 Psalm",) 
 
 let her stay till she is ; God does not require any 
 thanks for a mercy, before He has vouchsafed it : but 
 if she comes as soon as her strength permits, she 
 discharges her obligations both to Him and the Church. 
 IVhealti/. 
 
 s — deceyitly apparelled,'] That is, as the order and 
 custom was formerly, with a white covering or \eil. 
 And this custom was maintained as late as in the reign 
 of King James I.; but, it having been now for some 
 time discontinued, long enough to make it obsolete, 
 the decency of the woman's apparel seems to be left 
 intirely to her own discretion, li'heatly. 
 
 '■ — ill some convenient place, iis hath been accustomed,'] 
 That is, at the communion-table, or altar, where the 
 ordinary has not otherwise enjoined. Wheatly. See the 
 note from Dean Comber, page 438. 
 
 ' — And then the Priest shall say unto her,] This office 
 consists of three parts : fu-st, the preface, shewing the 
 reason and occasion of the duty; secondly, the praises 
 contained in the two proper psalms ; thirdly, the prayers 
 fitted to the present case, contained in the lesser Litan}', 
 Lord's Prayer, Suffrages, and Collect of thanksgiving. 
 Dea/t Comber. 
 
 ' Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God Sec] It 
 is a common defect in all other Liturgies, that they 
 have no preface to introduce the several offices, and to 
 prejiare the parties concerned to do their duties with 
 understanding. Hut it is the jicculiar care of the 
 Church of England to insti-uct us how to do every duty, 
 as well as to assist us in the doing it. Hence the 
 daily prayers begin H-itk an exhortation, as do most of 
 the other offices of the church. Even this short one is 
 not without a suitable preface directed to the woman, 
 whereby the priest first excites her to a thankful ac- 
 knowledgment for the mercy she has received, and 
 then (Urects her in what words to perform it. Dean 
 Comber, Wheatly. 
 
 ' — you shall therefore give hearty thanks xinto God, 
 and say,] The praises of the woman, as they must be 
 " hearty," so also must be publick : for .she is required 
 to " say" the psalm of thanksgiving, that is, to repeat 
 it with an " audible voice," as she does the daily confes- 
 sion, after the minister. Eor the iisalm is properly 
 ap|ilicable to her alone; and the minister reads it, not 
 u]ion his own account, but only to instruct and Icail 
 the woman, by going before her, and, ns it were, put- 
 ting intii her mouth what words she must say. Dean 
 Comber, Wheatly. 
 
 "' — the llti/A Psalm,] The Psalm, appointed on 
 this occasion, in all the Common Prayer Hooks till the 
 last review, was the 121st, which with the I'isth was 
 also prescribed by the oHice used in the church of 
 Rome. Hut neither of these is so very ajit to the case, 
 as those are which we have now. The first of wliieh, 
 though composed by David upon his recovery from 
 some dangerous sickness, is yet, by leaving out a verso 
 or two, which makes mention of tlie other sex, easily 
 enough applicable to the case of a woman, who comes 
 to gi\i; her thanks for SO great a dehvcrance. Deait 
 Comber, Wheatly.
 
 THE CHURCHING OF WOMEN. 
 
 437 
 
 Dilexi quoniam. 
 
 I Am well pleased : that the Lord 
 hath heard the voice of my 
 prayer ; 
 
 That he hath inclined his ear unto 
 me : tiierefore will I call upon him 
 as \o\v^ as I live. 
 
 The siuires of death compassed me 
 round about : and the pains of hell 
 gat hold upon me. 
 
 I found trouble and heaviness, and 
 I called upon the Name of the Lord : 
 
 Lord, 1 beseech thee, deliver my 
 soul. 
 
 Gracious is the Lord, and righte- 
 ous : yea, our God is merciful. 
 
 The Lord preserveth the simple : 
 
 1 was in misery, and he helped me. 
 
 Turn again then unto thy rest, O 
 my soul : for the Lord hath rewarded 
 thee. 
 
 And why? thou hast delivered my 
 soul from death : mine eyes from 
 tears, and my feet from falling. 
 
 I will walk before the Lord : in 
 the land of the living. 
 
 I believed, and therefore will I 
 speak ; but I was sore troubled : I 
 said in my haste. All men are liars. 
 
 What reward shall I give unto the 
 Lord : for all the benefits that he 
 hath done unto me? 
 
 I will receive the cup of salvation : 
 and call upon the name of the Lord. 
 
 I will pay my vows now in the 
 presence of all his people : in the 
 courts of the Lord's house, even in 
 the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. 
 Praise tlie Lord. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now. 
 
 " Or Psnlm 127.] This second Psalm more regards 
 the birth of the child, and is very seasonable to be used 
 whenever it is livinff, to excite the parents to the f^reater 
 thankfulness. And as the first is most projier, when 
 we respect the pain and peril which the mother has 
 gone through : so the last ought to be used when an 
 heir is born, or a child bestowed on those who wanted 
 and desired one. Nor may it less aptly be used when 
 those of meaner condition are churched : for by enlarg- 
 ing on the blessings of a numerous family, it obviates 
 the too common murmnrings of those discontented 
 persons, who think themselves oppressed by such an 
 increase. Wheully. 
 
 ° Then the Priest shall say, Let us pray, &c.] That 
 part of this ofBce, which is petitionary, is modelled ex- 
 actly by the great Apostle's rule, 1 Tim. ii. 1 : consist- 
 ing, first, of " supplications" in the lesser Litany ; 
 secondly, "prayer," in the Lord's Prayer; thirdly, 
 
 and ever shall be : world without eiul. 
 Amen. 
 
 Or, Psalm c.x.xvii". Nisi Dominus. 
 
 EXCEPT the Lord build the 
 house : their labour is but lost 
 that build it. 
 
 E.xcept the Lord keep the city : 
 the watchman waketh but in vain. 
 
 It is but lost labour that ye haste 
 to rise up early, and so late take 
 rest, and eat the bread of careful- 
 ness : for so he g-iveth his beloved 
 sleep. 
 
 Lo, children and the fruit of the 
 womb : are an heritage and gift that 
 cometh of the Lord. 
 
 Like as the arrows in the hand of 
 the giant : even so are the young 
 children. 
 
 Hapj)y is the man that hath his 
 quiver full of them : they shall not 
 be ashamed when they speak with 
 their enemies in the gate. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 t Then the Priest shall say. 
 
 Let us pray". 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Christ, have mercy upon us. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 U R Father, which art in hea- 
 ven. Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth. As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses. As 
 
 " intercession," in the suffrages ; fourthly, " giving of 
 thanks," in the CoUect. 
 
 The hymn being over, the Churcli intimates that 
 another part of duty, namely, jjrayer, is beginning : 
 and that the woman and the whole congregation may 
 unite therein, the priest excites them by the invitation, 
 " Let us pray." And that the address may be humble, 
 it is begun with the short Litany, " Lord, have mercy 
 upon us, &c. :" tliat it may be also effectual, it is con- 
 tinued in the Lord's Prayer, to which the doxologv was 
 added at the last rexiew, by reason of its being an office 
 of thanksgiving : and, that all may bear a part, two or 
 three short responses are added for the woman's safety 
 and defence. And at last the whole office is closed with 
 a short and pious Collect : consisting of a devout mix- 
 ture of [jrayer and ]iraise, so iieculiarly fitted to the 
 present occasion, that it needs no enlai-gement to shew 
 its propriety. H'heatly.
 
 438 
 
 THE CHURCHING OF WOMEN. 
 
 we forgive tliem that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into tempta- 
 tion ; But deliver us from evil : For 
 thine is the l^ingdom, The power, 
 and the glory, For ever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 JMinisfcr. O Lord, save this woman 
 .2. thy servant ; 
 
 Answer. Who putteth her trust in 
 thee. 
 
 Minista: Be thou to her a strong 
 tower ; 
 
 Answer. From the face of her 
 
 enemy. 
 
 Minister. 
 
 Lord, hear our prayer. 
 
 Answer. 
 unto thee. 
 
 And let our 
 
 cry 
 
 Almighty GodP, we give 
 humble thanks for that 
 
 Minister. Let us pray. 
 
 thee 
 thou 
 hast vouchsafed to deliver this wo- 
 man thy servant from the great ]iaiii 
 and peril of Cliild-hirth ; Grant, we 
 beseech thee, most mercifid Father, rs. Uiiii.24. 
 tliat she, through thy help, may both 
 faithfully live, and walk according 
 to thy will, in this life present ; and 
 also may be partaker of everlasting 
 glory in the life to come ; 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 through 
 
 5i The Woman, that cometJi to give her Thanhs, must offer '^ accustomed Offerings; 
 and, if there he a Communion, it is convenient that she receive the holy Com- 
 munion, 
 
 p O Almi'jhty God, &c.] Tliis Collect hath some simi- 
 litude to the old Western form, but is mucli improved 
 in style and inethod. The otRees of other churches 
 have'larg;er and more prayers ; but they exceed this in 
 multitude of words, not in perfection of sense; for this 
 contains all that remains to be done in this case. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 1 The IVomnn, that Cometh to gice her Thartis, must offer 
 &c.] By " the accustomed offeringjs" is to he understood 
 some offering to the minister, who performs the office, 
 not under the notion of a fee or reward, hut of some- 
 thing set apart as a tribute or acknowledgment due to 
 God, who is pleased to declare Himself honoured or 
 robbed according as such offerings are paid or with- 
 held. "We see under the law, that every woman, who 
 came to be purified after child-bearing, was required to 
 bring something that put her to an expense ; even the 
 poorest among them was not wholly excused, hut 
 ohliged to do soinething, though it were but small. 
 And though neither the kind nor the value of the ex- 
 ])ense he now prescribed ; yet sure the expense itself 
 should not covetously be saved : a woman that comes 
 with any thankfulness or gratitude .should scorn to offer 
 what liavid ilisdained, namely, " of that which costs 
 nothing." And indeed with what sincerity or truth 
 can she say, as she is directed to do in one of the 
 Psalms, " 1 will pay my vows now in the presence of all 
 bis peo|>le," if at the same time slic designs no volun- 
 tary oll'eriug, which \'ows were always understood to 
 imply ? 
 
 But, besides the accustomed offering to the minister, 
 the woman is to make a yet much better and greater 
 offering, namely an offering of herself, to be a reason- 
 able, holy, and lively sacrifice to God. For the rubrick 
 declares, that " if there be a communion, it is convenient 
 that she receive the holy Communion ;" that being the 
 most solemn way of praising God for I]im by whom 
 she received both the jiresent, and all other God's 
 mercies towards her : and a means also to bind herself 
 more strictly to spend those days in his service, which, 
 by this late dehverance, He hath added to her life. 
 JVhcallf. 
 
 In the Greek and Ethiopick churches women upon 
 these occasions always did receive the holy Sacrament : 
 and it seems in this very Church above a thousand 
 years ago : and still we carry them up to the altar to 
 remind them of their duty. And doubtless the omis- 
 sion of it occasions the too soon forgetting of this 
 mercy, and the sudden falling off from piety, «bich we 
 see in too many. Here they may praise (iod for our 
 Ijord Jesus Chri4, and for this late temjioral mercy 
 also : here they may quicken their graces, seal their 
 vows and jiromises of obedience, offer their charily, and 
 begin that ])ious life to which they are so many ways 
 obliged. To receive the Sacrament, while the sense of 
 Goti's goodness and her own engagenu-nts is so fresh 
 upon her, is the likeliest means to make bi'r remember 
 this blessing long, ajijjly it right, and effectually to 
 profit by it. Wherefore let it not be omitted on this 
 occasion. Dean Comber.
 
 A COMMINATION, 
 
 OR 
 
 DENOUNCING OF GOD'S ANGER' AND JUDGEMENTS 
 
 AGAINST SINNERS, 
 
 With certain Prayers to be used on tlic First Day of Lent, and at other times, as 
 
 the Ordinary shall appoint. 
 
 f After Morning Prayer, the Litany ended accnrding to the accustomed manner, 
 the Priest shall, in the Reading- Pew or Pulpit \ say, 
 
 ' A Commination, or denouncing of God's anger, &c.] 
 The preface, which the Church has prefixed to this 
 office, will supply the room of an introduction. It in- 
 forms us, that '■ in the primitive Church there was a 
 godly discipline : that at the beginning of Lent such 
 persons, as stood convicted of notorious crimes, were 
 jiut to open penance, and punished in this world, that 
 their souls might be saved in the day of the Lord ; and 
 that others, admonished by their example, might be 
 the more afraid to offend." The manner, in which this 
 disciphne was intlicted, is thus recorded by Gratian : 
 On the fu'st day of Lent the penitents were to present 
 themselves before the bishop clothed with sackcloth, 
 with naked feet, and eyes turned to the ground : and 
 this was to be done in the jn-esenee of the jirincipal 
 clergy of the diocese, who were to judge of the sincerity 
 of their repentance. These introduced them into the 
 church, where the bishop, all in tears, and the rest of 
 the clergy, repeated the seven penitential psalms. 
 Then, rising from prayers, they threw ashes upon 
 them, and covered their heads with sackcloth ; and then 
 with mournful sighs declared to them, that, as Adam 
 was cast out of paradise, so they must be cast out of 
 the Church. Then the bishop commanded the officers 
 to turn them out of the church doors ; and all the 
 clergy followed after, repeating that curse ui)on Adam, 
 " In the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat bread." 
 The like penance was inflicted upon them the next 
 time the sacrament was administered, which was the 
 Sunday following. And all this was done to the end 
 that the penitents, observing bow great a disorder the 
 Church was in by reason of their crimes, should not 
 lightly esteem of ])enance. 
 
 Though this disciphne was severe, yet the many good 
 consequences of it shewed it worthy the imitation of the 
 Church in succeeding ages : so that it was anciently 
 exercised in our own, as well as in foreign churches. 
 But in latter ages, during the corruption of the church 
 of Rome, this godly discijiline degenerated into a formal 
 and customary confession upon .\sh- Wednesdays, used 
 by all persons indifferently. «'hether ])enitents or not, 
 from whom no other testimony of their repentance was 
 required, than that they should submit to the em]ity 
 ceremony of sprinkling ashes upon their heads. But 
 this our wise Reformers prudently laid aside as a mere 
 
 shadow and show ; and not without hearty grief and 
 concern, that the long continuance of the abominable 
 corruptions of the Romish cburoli, in their formal con- 
 fessions and pretended absolutions, in their sale of in- 
 dulgences, and their sordid commutations of penance 
 for money, had let the people loose from those primitive 
 bands of disci]iline, which tended really to their amend- 
 ment, but to which through the rigour and severity it 
 enjoins, they found it impracticable to reduce them 
 again. However, since they could not do what they 
 desired, they desired to do as much as they could : and 
 therefore till the said discipline may be restored again, 
 (which is rather to be wished than expected in these 
 licentious times,) they have endeavoured to su])ply it as 
 well as they were able, by ajipointing an office to be 
 used at this season, called " A Commination, or de- 
 nouncing of God's anger and judgments against sin- 
 ners :" that so the people, being apprized of God's 
 wi-ath and indignation against their wickedness and 
 sins, may not be encouraged, through the want of dis- 
 cipline in the Church, to follow and pursue them ; but 
 be moved, by the terror of the dreadful judgments of 
 God, to sujiply that discijiline to themselves, by severely 
 judging and condemning themselves, and so to avoid 
 being judged and condemned at the tribunal of God. 
 
 2. But besides "the first day of Lent," on which it 
 is expressly enjoined, it is also supposed in the title of 
 it to be used " at other times, as the ordinary shall di- 
 rect." This was occasioned by the observation of 
 Bueer : for it was originally ordered upon Ash- Wed- 
 nesdays only ; and therefore in the first Common 
 Prayer Book it bad no other title, but " The first day 
 of Lent, commonly called Ash- Wednesday." But Bu- 
 eer a])])roving of the office, and not seeing reason why 
 it should be confined to one day, and not >ised oftener, 
 at least four times a year, the title of it was altered when 
 it came to be reviewed ; from which time it was called, 
 " A Commination against sinners, with certain prayers 
 to be used diverse times in the year." How often, or at 
 what particular times, we do not find prescribed ; ex- 
 cept that Bishop Cosin informs us from the Visitation 
 Articles of Archbishop Grindal for the province of Can- 
 terbury, in the year 1576, that it was appointed three 
 times a year ; namely, on one of the three Sundays next 
 before Easter, on one of the two Sundays next before
 
 440 
 
 A COMMIXATION. 
 
 B 
 
 R E T H R E N, in the Primitive 
 Church ' there was a godly dis- 
 cipline, that, at the beginning of 
 Lent, such persons as stood con- 
 victed of notorious sin were put to 
 open penance ", and punished in this 
 world, that their souls might be 
 I Cor. T. 7. saved in the day of the Lord ; and 
 that others, admonished by their ex- 
 1 Tim. V. 20. ample, might be the more afraid to 
 oft'end. 
 
 Listead whereof, (until the said 
 
 Pentecost, and on one of the tn-o Sundays next before 
 Christmas ; that is, I suppose the office was appointed 
 yearly to be used on these three days, as well as on Ash- 
 Wednesday. For that Ash- Wednesday was then the 
 solemn day of all, and on tt'hich this office was never to 
 be omitted, may be gathered from the preface, which is 
 drawn up for the jieculiar use of that day. And accord- 
 ingly we find, that in the Scotch Common Prayer a 
 clause was added, that it was to be used '• esjjecially on 
 the first day of Lent, commonly called Ash- Wednes- 
 day." However, in our own Liturgy, the title stood as 
 above, till the last review, when a clause was added for 
 the sake of explaining the word Commination ; and 
 the appointing of the times, on which it should be 
 used, was left to the discretion of the bishop, or the 
 ordinary. So that the whole title, as it stands now, 
 runs thus: "A Commination, or denouncing of God's 
 anger and judgments against sinners, with certain 
 jjrayers to be used on the first day of Lent, and at 
 other times, as the ordinary shall ajipoint." The ordi- 
 naries indeed seldom or never make use of the power 
 here given them, excejit that sometimes they ajipoint 
 part of the office, namely, from the fifty-first Psalm to 
 the end, to be used u]K)n solemn days of fasting and 
 humiliation. But as to the whole office, it is ne\-er 
 used entirely but upon the day mentioneil in the title 
 of it, namely, "The first day of Lent." Wheatly. 
 
 ' — the Priest shall, in the Reading-Pew or Pulpit,'] 
 Till the Restoration the priest was to go into the pulpit, 
 and say the following preface and exhortation. And 
 indeed that is a jdace not improper for the office, since 
 the denouncing of Clod's judgments is as it were the 
 preaching of his word. And it is certain that the juilpit 
 was at first designed, not only for preaching, but for 
 any thing else that tended to tlie edification of the 
 peojdc. There the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the 
 Ten Commandments, were formerly appointed to be 
 read to the ])eople in English on every holy-day in the 
 year, when there was no sermon to hinder it : and there 
 also at the beginning of the Reformation, whilst the 
 Romish Mass was continued tdl the Knglish Liturgy 
 Cf>vild be prepared, the Kpistle and (iospel for tliu day, 
 with a Lcs.son out of the New Testament in the morn- 
 ing, and another out of the Old Testament in the after- 
 noon, were read to the peo])le in the Knglish tongue. 
 However. reading-|)ews having been generally brought 
 into use before the Restoration, it was not then tliought 
 proper to confine the use of this office any U)nger to the 
 pidpit, but to allow it to be said as the ministers should 
 tliiiik ]>roper, either tliere or in the reading-pew. 
 ll'henlly. 
 
 ' Brethren, in the Primitive Church &c.] To bring the 
 minds of the congregation into a .serious composure, 
 the office is introduced with a grave and solemn pie- 
 face ; by wliicb the Church informs them, in the first 
 place, of the ancient discipline, and then proposes to 
 
 discipline may be restored again, 
 which is much to be wished,) it is 
 thought good that at this time (in 
 the presence of yon all) shoidd be 
 read the general sentences of God's 
 cursing" against impenitent sinners, 
 gathered out of the seven and twen- 
 tieth Chapter of Deuteronomy, and 
 other places of Scripture ; and that 
 ye should answer to every Sen- 
 tence, Amen^: To the intent that, 
 being admonished of the great in- 
 
 them the best means to supply it. Tlie ancient disci- 
 pline, she tells them, was " to jnit those to open shame," 
 who by " any notorious sins" had given publick scandal 
 and offence. By which means both the sovds of those 
 that sinned were often rescued from damnation, and 
 others also, being admonished by their example, were 
 deterred from incurring the same danger or punishment. 
 But as this discipline is now lost through the degene- 
 racy of the times, and even beyond retrieval as affairs 
 stand now, she proposes that the congregation would 
 supply it to themselves, by hearing the curses which 
 God has denounced against impenitent sinners ; by 
 which means, as in a glass, each one will be able to dis- 
 cern his own sins, and the curses he is exposed to ; the 
 serious prosjiect of which will be a])t to awaken them 
 from their thoughtlessness and security, and to put 
 them upon flying from such imminent danger, by hav- 
 ing recourse to a speedy repentance. Wheotly. 
 
 " — tvere put to opfii penauce,^ In this prefatory in- 
 troduction, and in the following exhortation, it must be 
 remembered that the word " penance" sometimes signi- 
 fies repentance, and at other times a punishment in- 
 flicted ujion a sinner, either by himself, or by ecclesias- 
 tical authority, for some oflence committed by him. 
 In the latter sense it is here used : and in the former 
 sense it is used in the exhortation. Dr. Beuntt. 
 
 ' — the general sentences of God's cursing &c.] The 
 original of repeating the curses in the manner wherein 
 we now use them, was a positive and divine institution, 
 which twice enjoined it by Moses, Dent. xi. 20; xxvii : 
 and in ol)edience to which we find Joshua aferwards 
 most religiously observed it. Josh. viii. 33. And Jose- 
 phus also reckons it amongst those things which the 
 Jews always used to perform. And though the circum- 
 stances in the Jewish manner of reciting these curses 
 were purely ceremonial, yet doubtless the end for which 
 this liuty was prescribed was truly moral. For to iiub- 
 lish the ccpiity and truth of (iod, and to profess our 
 belief that his laws are righteous, and the sanctions 
 thereof just and certain, is an excellent means of glori- 
 fying (iod, and a jiroper method for converting siiuiers. 
 So that it cannot be unfit for the <!osi>el-times. nor at 
 all unsuitable to our Christian worship ; especially when 
 the necessities of the Church rc(|uire the sinner should 
 be warned and brought to repentance. Christ indeed 
 hath taken away the curse of the law, by lieing Himself 
 made " a curse for us ;" hut this is only with res])cct to 
 those that truly rc])ent ; for as to all others the curse 
 stands in full force still. It is therefore fit, that all 
 shoidd declare their belief of the truth and reasonable- 
 ness of these curses : the good man, to own what his 
 sins had deserved, aiul to acknowledge bis oldigation 
 to our Lord for redeeming him ; the bad man, to 
 awaken him from his security and case, ami to bring 
 him to repentance before it be too late. Dean Comber, 
 U'heatly.
 
 A COMMINATION. 
 
 441 
 
 dignation of Goil against sinners, 
 ye may the rather he moved to 
 earnest ami true repentance ; and 
 Jer. vi. !(!. may walk more waiiiy in these 
 dangerous days ; fleeing from such 
 vices, for which ye affirm with your 
 own moutlis the curse of God to be 
 due. 
 
 lit xxvii. \_y maketh any carved or molten 
 image, to worship it. 
 
 1.5—26, 
 
 IT And the people shall answer and say, 
 Amen. 
 
 Minister. Cursed is he that curscth 
 his father or mother. 
 
 y — • and that ye should answer to every Sentence, Amen :] 
 The word " Amen," which is to be said after the curses, 
 being commonly vised after jirayers, may perliaps here 
 be accounted l)y some, a wish or prayer, and so the 
 people be thought to curse themselves. For the satisfy- 
 ing of which scrupulosity, it is enough to say, that 
 God Himself commanded these Amens to he said after 
 these curses. Dent, xxvii ; and therefore good there 
 may be in saying them, hut harm there can be none, 
 if men, when they say them, understand them. Now 
 that we may understand them, when we use them, let 
 us consider, that Amen is not always a wish or prayer. 
 For it signifies no more but verily, or truly, or an 
 assent to the truth of that, to which it is added. If 
 that, to which it is added, be a ])rayer, then this must 
 needs be a joining in the prayer, and is as much as 
 " so be it ;" but if that, to which it is added, be a creed, 
 or any affirmative pro[)osition, such as these curses are, 
 then tlie Amen is only an affirmation, as that is, to 
 which it is annexed. In this jilace therefore it is not 
 a wishing, that the curses may fall upon our heads, 
 but only an affirming with our own mouths, " that the 
 curse of God is indeed due" to such sins ; as the Church 
 here propounds it. Tlie use of it is, to make us fiee 
 such vices for the future, and earnestly repent of them, 
 if we be guilty; since, as we acknowledge, the curse 
 and vengeance of God doth deservedly follow such sins 
 and sinners. Bp. Sparroic. 
 
 This pious and rational office hath been traduced 
 and derided by some, who pretend the saying of Amen 
 to these sentences of God's law is a cursing of our- 
 selves, and a wicked as well as a foolish thing. But 
 let it be considered, first, that God Himself commanded 
 this very manner of answering : so that it can be no 
 less than blasphemy to call it either wicked or foolish ; 
 yea, though it had been pm-ely ceremonial, since it is a 
 divine institution, it cannot be imjiious or ridiculous : 
 but they are so in the highest degree, who affront 
 Heaven, while they endeavour to vilify our sacred 
 usages. 
 
 Secondly, Nor do they shew less ignorance than im- 
 piety, while they affirm this Amen to be a wishing of 
 ourselves accursed ; since Amen is not originally nor 
 properly an adverb of wishing, but affirming ; being 
 derived from a root signifying truth, whence it is so 
 often traivslated " verily" in the (lospels ; and Jesus, 
 who is the truth, is called "'the Amen," Rev. iii. 14; 
 that is, the faithful and true witness : and in Him the 
 promises are yea and Amen, 2 Cor. i. 20 ; that is, cer- 
 tain and true ; in which sense the primitive Christians 
 
 Ansvjcr. Amen. 
 
 Minister. Cursed is he that re- 
 movetii ids neigliljour's land-mark. 
 
 Answer. Amen. 
 
 Minister. Cursed is lie that makctii 
 the blind to go out of his way. 
 
 Answer. Amen. 
 
 Minister. Cursed is he that per- 
 vertelh the judgement of the stran- 
 ger, the fatherless, and widow. 
 
 Ansiver. Amen. 
 
 Minister. Cursed is he that smiteth 
 his neighbour secretly. 
 
 Answer. Amen. „ 
 
 Minister. Cursed is he that lieth 
 with his neighbour's wife. uv. xx. lo. 
 
 said Amen at the receiving of the Eucharist, to testify 
 their belief that it was truly the body and blood of 
 Christ, 1 Cor. xiv. 1 6. So also in that mystical vision, 
 the truth of those promises is sealed with Amen, Rev. 
 vii. 10. 12; v. 12 — 14. Nor did the people curse them- 
 selves ; but only testified their belief that God would 
 curse them who stood not to Nehemiah's covenant, 
 Nehem. v. 13. Even so, when the people said in 
 .loshua's time, and we, in imitation of them, say Amen, 
 after the reading of this divine malediction, we do no 
 more but to set to our seal that (iod is true, and his 
 threatening to be feared. Nor dotli this assenting to 
 tlie truth of God's word bring any curse on the peni- 
 tent, nor so much as make the impenitent any other 
 ways or more accursed than they were before. 'I'hough 
 they be guilty, it brings not the curse on them, but it 
 shews it to them at a distance, to affright them into 
 the avoiding of it by rejientance, and so it jiroves a 
 blessing in the event ; being like our Saviour's woes, 
 of which the Gospel is so full, not wishes or procurers 
 of evil, but compassionate predictions of it, in order to 
 prevent it. It is certain that sinners, while they remain 
 such, are really accursed : and to convince them of 
 this, and make them own it, is the truest blessing we 
 can give them ; and to bless them in that estate is to 
 curse them. Dent. xxix. 1 9 ; Ps. x. 3. So that Amen 
 is no more here than a declaration, that he whom God 
 blesseth is blessed, and he whom God curseth is cursed : 
 and if we believe this with our hearts, when we say it 
 with our lips, it will shew us our danger, and bring us 
 to repentance. 
 
 As for the sins here enumerated in the order wherein 
 they lie in holy Scripture, they are of the greatest and 
 worst kind, and such as are threatened with curses and 
 damnation in the Law, the Prophets, and the New 
 Testament. Idolatry against God ; disobedience to 
 parents; injustice to neighbours; contempt of the 
 miserable; oppression of the helpless; secret mischief; 
 adultery ; bribery and corruption ; relying on the crea- 
 tures : to which are added those sins, which the Gos- 
 pel reckons to be damnable ; namely, uncharitableness, 
 fornication, lust, co\-etousnes3 and spiritual idolatry, 
 slander, drunkenness, and extortion. Now surely those, 
 who are guilty of these crimes, are in a state of con- 
 demnation, whether they answer Amen or not; and 
 had need judge themseh-es impartially, rejient heartily, 
 and amend speedily, that they may escape the wrath to 
 come : and, to move them to this necessary duty, the 
 following exhortation is admirably contrived. Dean 
 Comber.
 
 442 
 
 A COMMINATION. 
 
 Matt. XXV. 
 
 41. 
 
 I Cor. vi. II, 
 
 10. 
 
 Ps. xi. 0. 
 
 Ansicer. Amen. 
 
 Minister. Cursed is he that tiikcth 
 reward to slay the innocent. 
 
 Answer. Amen. 
 
 Minister. Cursed is he that jnitteth 
 his trust in man, and taketh man for 
 his defence, and in his heart goeth 
 from the Lord. 
 
 Answer. Amen. 
 
 Minister. Cursed are the unmer- 
 ciful, fornicators, and adulterers, co- 
 vetous persons, idolaters, slanderers, 
 drunkards, and extortioners. 
 
 Ansicer. Amen. 
 
 Minister. 
 
 NOW seeing that all tliey are 
 accursed^ (as the prophet Da- 
 vid beareth witness) who do err and 
 go astray from the commandments of 
 God; let us (remembering the dread- 
 ful judgement hanging over our 
 heads, and always ready to fall upon 
 lis) return unto our Lord God, with 
 all contrition and meekness of heart ; 
 bewailing and lamenting our sinful 
 life, acknowledging and confessing 
 our offences, and seeking to bring 
 forth worthy fruits of penance. For 
 now is the ax put unto the root of 
 the trees, so that every tree that 
 bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn 
 down, and cast into the fire. It is a 
 fearful thing to fall into the hands of 
 the living God : he shall pour down 
 
 • Now seeing that all they are accursed &c.] Hanng 
 declared to what sins the curse of God is due, the 
 (;hurcli lias too much reason to conclude that we are all 
 of lis iiiiilty of more or fewer of them ; and conse- 
 quently all of us in danirer of (jod's wrath, ex-ccjit we 
 repent. To excite us tlierefore to so necessary a duty, 
 tliat so we may escape those dreadful jud}{inents, she 
 hatli collected a ])ious and pathctick discourse, to set 
 home the foregoin<r denunciations to our consciences. 
 It is all of it {(athercd from holy Scvijiture, that it may 
 be more regarded as coming directly from the word of 
 (iod : and it is so methodical, and apt to the occasion, 
 that the fault must he in the hearers, if the delivery of 
 it Ije not attended with a happy effect. IMieallij. 
 
 In this ajiplication there is, tirst. a {jeneral exhorta- 
 tion to repentance : because we all have sinned, and so 
 are in danger of (Jod's wrath, we onj^ht all to K" to 
 Him with inward (,'rief and outward expressions of 
 sorrow, confessing; our sins hefore Ilim now, and resolv- 
 ing to forsake them for the time to come. Secondly, 
 here are divers motives to bring us to this hearty re- 
 pentance. First, the consideration of (Jod's wrath 
 against impenitent sinners. He proceeds strictly when 
 lie begins witli them, Matt. iii. 10; his judgments are 
 "fearful," Ileh. x. .il ; terrible and unavoidable, I'salin 
 xi. (i. Me Himself will manage it, Isa. xxvi. '21. .\nd 
 no guilty person can either " abide," Mai. iii. 2, or 
 "escape" discovery, Matt. iii. 12. -Nor will there be 
 
 1 Tliess. V. 
 2, .1. 
 
 ?rov. i. 2S- 
 30. 
 
 rain upon the sinners, snares, fire 
 and brimstone, storm and tempest ; 
 this shall be their portion to drink. 
 For lo, the Lord is come out of his i 
 place to visit the wickedness of such 
 as dwell upon the earth. But who i 
 may abide the day of his coming? 
 Who shall be able to endure when 
 lie appeareth ? His fan is in his 
 hand, and he will purge his floor, 
 and gather his wheat into the barn ; 
 but "he will burn the chaff with 
 unquenchable fire. The day of the 
 Lord cometh as a thief in the night ; 
 and when men shall say. Peace, and 
 all things are safe, then shall sudden 
 destruction come upon them, as sor- 
 row cometh upon a woman tra\'ail- 
 ing with child, and they shall not 
 escape. Then shall appear the wrath Rom. li. 4, s. 
 of God in the day of vengeance, 
 which obstinate sinners, through the 
 stubbornness of their heart, have 
 heaped unto themselves ; which de- 
 spised the goodness, patience, and 
 long-sufferance of God, when he 
 calleth them continually to repent- 
 ance. Then shall they call upon 
 me, (saith the Lord,) but 1 will not 
 hear ; they shall seek me early, but 
 they shall not find me ; and that, be- 
 cause they hated knowledge, and re- 
 ceived not the fear of the Lord, but 
 abhorred my counsel, and desjiised 
 my correction. Then shall it be too ioli2!'^^' 
 
 any time to repent then, for his wrath comes " sud- 
 denly," 1 Thess. V. 1,2; like a thief in the night, or 
 ]iains on a labouring woman. Nor can they make any 
 excuse, because it is so justly deserved by them, Rom. 
 ii. 3 — 5. Or if they do entreat., they shall not then he 
 heard, Prov. i. 28 — 30. For Christ comes tlien not to 
 argue but to condemn and jironounce the dreadful 
 sentence. Matt. xxv. 41 ; which consigns them over to 
 eternal misery. Wherefore, secondly, here are otlier 
 motix'es taken from God's mercy to the penitent, who 
 may he forgiven if they rejient presently, Heh. iii. 7; 
 before the time be jiast, John xii. 35, 3(5. For He 
 hath ]ironiised u|ion these terms to forgive, Isa. Iv. ". 
 So that if our sins be never so heinous, they may be 
 jiardoned, Isa. i. 18. Yea, they shall he forgiven if we 
 forsake them, F.r.ek. xviii. 30. And the reason is, be- 
 cause Christ who died for our sins on earth, is " now 
 our .\dvoeate" to beg our pardon in heaven, 1 ,Fohn ii. I , 
 2. Thirdly, upon these grounds we exliort all ])i'esent 
 to " turn to him," firmly assured of his willingness to 
 receive us, and fully resolved to amend our lives, and 
 " take the easy yoke" of his commandments upon us 
 for the time to come, Matt. xi. 28 — 30. And lastly, 
 here is shewed the liinefit of so doing, for hereby we 
 shall certainly be delivered from the curses of tlie law, 
 Gal. iii. 13; and be acijiiitted at ('liri.st's last tribunal 
 by tliat joyful sentence. Matt. xxv. 33, 34 : wliieli shall 
 consign us unto eternal linp]>iiiess. Dam Comber.
 
 A COMMINATION. 
 
 443 
 
 Matt. XXV. 
 30. 
 
 Is.i. i. 18. 
 
 late to knock when tlic door sliall 
 be sliiit ; and too late to cry for 
 mercy wlien it is tlie time of justice. 
 O terrible voice of most just judge- 
 ment, wliich sliali be ])ronounced 
 upon tliem, wlien it sliall be said 
 unto tliein, Go, ye cursed, into the 
 fire evcrlastinu;-, which is prepiired 
 for tlie devil and his anjrels. Tliere- 
 fore, bretliren, take we heed betiine, 
 while the day of salvation lasteth ; 
 for the nifrlit cometh, when none can 
 work. But let us, while we have the 
 light, believe in the lij^ht, and walk 
 as children of the liii^ht; that we be 
 not cast into utter darkness, where is 
 weeping and gnashing of teeth. Let 
 us not abuse the goodness of God, 
 who calieth us mercifully to amend- 
 ment, and of his endless pity pro- 
 miseth us forgiveness of that which 
 is past, if with a perfect and true 
 heart we return inito him. For 
 though our sins be as red as scarlet, 
 they shall be made white as snow ; 
 and though they be like purple, yet 
 they shall be made white as wool. 
 Ezek. xviii. Tum yc (saith the Lord) from all 
 ^"^ your wickedness, and your sin shall 
 
 not be your destruction : Cast away 
 from you all your ungodliness that 
 ye have done : INIake you new 
 hearts, and a new spirit : Wherefore 
 will ye die, O ye house of Israel, 
 seeing that I have no pleasure in the 
 death of him that dietli, saith the 
 Lord God ? Turn ye then, and ye 
 ijohnii. 1, shall live. Althougli we have sin- 
 ^' ned, yet have we an Advocate with 
 
 the Father, Jesus Christ the righte- 
 ous : and he is the propitiation for 
 isa. lui. 5. our sins. For he was wounded for 
 our offences, and smitten for our 
 wickedness. Let us therefore return 
 unto him, who is the merciful re- 
 ceiver of all true penitent siiniers ; 
 assuring ourselves that he is ready 
 to receive us, and most willing to 
 pardon us, if we come unto him with 
 faithful repentance ; if we submit 
 ourselves unto him, and from hence- 
 Matt, xi. 29, forth walk in his ways ; if we will 
 ^"^ take his easy yoke, and light burden 
 
 upon us, to follow him in lowliness. 
 
 • — shall say this Psalm,'] The Church may now 
 justly suppose we are all resolved to rejient ; and hath 
 therefore prejiared such penitential devotions as are 
 suitable to these resolutions. And first we are presented 
 
 ])atience, and charity, and be or- 
 dered by the governance of his Holy 
 S])irit; seeking always his glory, and 
 serving him didy in our vocation 
 with thanksgiving : 'J'his if we do, 
 Christ will deliver us from the curse 
 of the law, and from the extreme 
 malediction which shall light upon 
 them that sIidH be set on the left wait. xw. 
 hand ; and he will set us on his right ' ' 
 hand, and give us the gracious bene- 
 diction of his Father, commanding 
 us to take possession of his glorious 
 kingdom; unto which he vouchsafe 
 to bring us all, for his infinite mercy. 
 Amen. 
 
 IT T/ien shall they all kneel vpon their hiees, 
 and the Priest and Clerks kneeling {in the 
 place where they are accustomed to say the 
 Litany) shall say this Psalm", 
 
 Mi 
 
 severe vim. 
 
 De 
 
 Pi 
 
 li 
 
 A V E mercy upon me, O God, 
 after thy great goodness : ac- 
 coriling to the multitude of thy mer- 
 cies do away mine offences. 
 
 Wash me throughly from my 
 wickedness : and cleanse me from 
 my sin. 
 
 For I acknowledge my faults : and 
 my sin is ever licfore me. 
 
 Against thee only have I sinned, 
 and done this evil in thy sight : that 
 thou mightest be justified in thy 
 saying, and clear when thou art 
 judged. 
 
 Behold, I was sha]>en in wicked- 
 ness : and in sin hath my mother 
 conceived me. 
 
 But lo, thou requirest truth in the 
 inward parts : and shalt make me to 
 understand wisdom secretly. 
 
 Thou shalt purge me with liyssop, 
 and I shall be clean : thou shalt 
 wash me, and I shall be whiter than 
 snow. 
 
 'Iliou shalt make me hear of joy 
 and gladness : that the bones which 
 thou hast broken may rejoice. 
 
 Turn thy face away from my sins : 
 and ])ut out all my misdeeds. 
 
 ]\Iake me a clean heart, O God : 
 and renew a right spirit within me. 
 
 Cast me not away from thy pre- 
 
 v\-ith the most famous of all the penitential psalms ; 
 which, being the forms wherein lioly David expressed 
 his repentance, have been accounted veiT sacred, and 
 much esteemed in the Church ever since. Dean Comber.
 
 A COMMINATION. 
 
 444 
 
 sence : and take not tliy Holy Spirit 
 from me. 
 
 O give me tlie comfort of tliy help 
 again : and stablish me with thy free 
 Spirit. 
 
 Then shall I teach thy ways unto 
 the wicked : and sinners shall be con- 
 verted unto thee. 
 
 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, 
 O God, thou that art the God of my 
 health : and my tongue shall sing of 
 thy righteousness. 
 
 Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord : 
 and my mouth shall shew thy praise. 
 
 For thou desirest no sacrifice, else 
 would I give it thee : but thou de- 
 lightest not in burnt offerings. 
 
 The sacrifice of God is a troubled 
 spirit : a broken and contrite heart, 
 O God, shalt thou not despise. 
 
 O be favourable and gracious unto 
 Sion : build thou the walls of Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 Then shalt thou be pleased with 
 the sacrifice of righteousness, with the 
 burnt offerings and oblations : then 
 shall they offer young bullocks upon 
 thine altar. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 Amioer. As it was in the begin- 
 
 Send unto them help 
 ^htily 
 
 evermore migl 
 
 ning, is now, and 
 world without end. 
 
 ever shall be : 
 Amen. 
 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Christ, have mercy upon us. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 OU R Father, which art in hea- 
 ven. Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth. As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses. As 
 we forgive thorn that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into tomiHa- 
 tioii : Hut deliver us from evil. 
 Amen. 
 
 Minister. O Lord, save thy ser- 
 vants ; 
 
 Answer. That jjut their trust in 
 thee. 
 
 >■ Let lis pray.] Of the lesser Litany, the Lord's 
 Prayer, and siiffrajics, which introduce these devotions, 
 we have spoken before. The rest are three Collects, 
 two of them to be repeateil by the minister alone, the 
 third by the priest and jieople tojjelher; hot all of 
 tliL-m are earnest jietitioiis for pardon. We dare not 
 here, with the Roman cluirch, in a mixed assembly, 
 ])ronounce a ]>ositivc and formal absolution to all : 
 
 o 
 
 Minister. 
 from above. 
 
 Answer. And 
 defend them. 
 
 Minister. Help us, O God our 
 Saviour. 
 
 Answer. And for the glory of 
 thy Name deliver us ; be merciful to 
 us sinners, for thy Name's sake. 
 
 Minister. O Lord, hear our prayer. 
 
 Answer. And let our cry come 
 unto thee. 
 
 Minister. Let us pray*". 
 
 OLord, we beseech thee, mer- 
 cifully hear our prayers, and 
 spare all those who confess their sins 
 unto thee ; that they, whose con- 
 sciences by sin are accused, by thy 
 merciful pardon may be absolved ; 
 through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 INIost mighty God, and mer- 
 ciful Father, who hast com- 
 passion upon all men, and hatest 
 nothing that thou hast made ;_ who 
 wouhlest not the death of a sinner, 
 Init that he should rather turn from 
 his sin, and be saved; Mercifully 
 forgive us our trespasses ; receive 
 and comfort us, who are grieved and 
 wearied with the bin-den of our sins. 
 Thy property is always to have 
 mercy ; to thee only it appertaineth 
 to forgive sins. Spare us therefore, 
 good Lord, spare thy people, whom 
 thou hast redeemed ; enter not into 
 judgement with thy servants, who 
 are vile earth, and miserable sinners; 
 but so turn thine anger from us, who 
 meekly acknowledge our vileness, 
 and truly re])ent us of our faults, aiul 
 so make haste to help us in this 
 world, that we may ever live with 
 thee in the world to come ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 •J Then shall the people smj this' thaffollow- 
 elh, after the Minister. 
 
 TURN thou us, O good Lord, 
 and so shall we be turned. Be 
 favourable, O Lord, be favourable 
 
 Job vii. 20, 
 21. 
 
 Malt. V. 4. 
 Rom. V. 1. 
 
 Ps. cxlv. S, 
 9. Ezek. 
 xxxiii. 11. 
 
 Heb. viii. 12. 
 
 Prov. xviii. 
 
 14. 
 
 2 Thess. ii. 
 
 16, 17. 
 
 Ps. cxxxvi. 
 
 1. 
 
 Mark U. 7. 
 
 .Topl ii. 17. 
 I Pet. i 18. 
 Ps. cxliii. 2. 
 
 Ps. ciii. 14. 
 
 Ps. Ixxxv. 4. 
 Prov. xxviii. 
 18. 
 
 Jcr. iii. 23. 
 Rom. vii. 2.>. 
 Heb. iv. 1(1. 
 Ps. xxii. rj. 
 
 Horn. V. 20, 
 21. 
 
 Jer. xxxi. IS. 
 
 yet we address ourselves to Almighty God, who best 
 knows who needs a pardon, and who is fit for it; 
 beseechinfj Ilim importunately to {,'rant it to all such. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Then shall the people snij this &e.] The priest 
 liavin« made way by the forenoing im])ortnnate ad- 
 dresses, the people are now prepared and allowed to 
 open their lips, and to i)lead for their own pardon:
 
 A COMMINATION. 
 
 445 
 
 ■Tnb xxxiil. 
 
 2il. 
 
 Joel ii 12,1: 
 
 Ezra ix. 13. 
 P-*. Ixxviii. 
 38, 39. 
 
 Ps Ivii. 10 I 
 Ulx. 13. 
 
 weepinu;', 
 thou ;iit 
 
 to thy pco|)]o, Who turn to tlice in 
 fasting, and jirayinir. I"or 
 a nuTcifiil (Sod, Full of 
 compassion, [^onji^-suffiTiiij^, and of 
 great pity. Thou sparest when we 
 deserve ]iiinishment, And in thy 
 wrath tliiukcst upon mercy. Spare 
 thy people, good Lord, si)are them, 
 And let not thine heritage be brought 
 to confusion. Hear ns, O Lord, for 
 thy mercy is great, And after the 
 
 and they are here furnished with so proper a form, 
 tliat, if it be presented with an united devotion snitable 
 to the e.xpressions of it, it cannot but prevail, and 
 will fit us all to receive the following blessing. Dean 
 Comlier. 
 
 '' Then the Minister alone shall say,'] After the con- 
 gregation hath expressed so much penitence and devo- 
 tion, so humbly confessed their sin, and so heartily 
 
 multitude of thy rrercics look upon 
 us; Through the merits and media- 
 tion of thy blessed Son, Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 K Then the Minister alone shall sny''. 
 
 Til E Lord bless us, and keep 
 us ; the Lord lift up tiie liglit 
 of his countenance upon u.s, and give 
 us peace, now and for evermore. 
 Amen. 
 
 Numb. vi. 
 24—26. 
 
 begged their pardon, the Church pronounces a blessing 
 in God's name, taken from that divine form of his own 
 composing. Numb. vi. 24. So that all, who are pre- 
 ])ared to receive the benefit of it, must kneel humbly ; 
 and may belie\'e firmly, that He who ]>rescribed it will 
 ratify it to their infinite advantage, and endless comfort. 
 Dean Comber.
 
 NOTES 
 
 INTRODUCTORY TO THE PSALMS. 
 
 The Psalms are an epitome of the Bible, adapted to 
 the purposes of devotion. They treat occasionally of 
 the creation and formation of the world ; the dispensa- 
 tions of Providence, and the economy of gi-ace ; the 
 transactions of the patriarchs; the exodus of the 
 cliildren of Israel ; their jom-ney through the wilder- 
 ness, and settlement in Canaan ; their law, priesthood, 
 and ritual; the evploits of their great men, wTought 
 through faith ; their sins and capti\itics ; their repent- 
 ances and restorations ; the sufferings and victories of 
 David ; the peaceful and happy reign of Solomon ; 
 the advent of Messiah, with its effects and conse- 
 quences; his incarnation, birth, life, passion, death, 
 resurrection, ascension, kingdom, and priesthood ; the 
 effusion of the Spirit; the conversion of the nations; 
 the rejection of the Jews ; the establishment, increase, 
 and jjerpetuity of the Christian chiu'ch ; the end of the 
 world ; the general judgment ; the condemnation of the 
 wielded, and the final triumjjh of the righteous with 
 their Lord and King. These are the subjects here 
 jiresented to our meditations. We are instructed how 
 to conceive of them aright, and to express the different 
 affections which, when so conceived of, they must 
 excite in our minds. They are, for this purjiose, 
 adorned with the figures, and set off with all the 
 graces of poetry ; and poetry itself is designed yet 
 farther to be recommended by the charms of musielc, 
 thus consecrated to the service of God ; that so delight 
 may |)repare the way for improvement, and jileasurc 
 become the handmaid of wisdom, while every turl)ulent 
 passion is calmed by sacred melody, and the evil spirit 
 is still dispossessed by the harp of the son of Jcs.se. 
 This little volume, like the paradise of Eden, affords us 
 in perfection, though in miniature, every thing that 
 growcth elsewhere, " every tree that is jiluasant to the 
 sight, and good for food :" and, above all, what was 
 there lost, but is here restored, the tree of life in the 
 midst of tlie garden. 'I'hat which we read, as matter of 
 speculation, in the other Scriptures, is reduced to prac- 
 tice, when we recite it in the Psalms ; in those, rejient- 
 ance and faith are described, but in these, they are 
 acted ; l)y a perusal of the former, wc learn how others 
 served Uod, but by using the latter, wc serve llim our- 
 selves. " What is there necessary for man to know," 
 says the ]iious and judicious Hooker, "which the 
 Psidins arc not able to teach ? They are to beginners 
 an easv and fiimiliar introduction, a miglity augmenta- 
 tion of all virtue aiul knowledge in such as are entered 
 before, a strong confirmation to the most perfect among 
 others. Ilcroieal magnanimity, exquisite justice, grave 
 moderation, exact wisdom, re|)entance unfeigned, un- 
 wearied i)atiencc, the mysteries of (iod. thcsulferings of 
 Christ, tlie terrors of wrath, tlic comforts of grace, tlie 
 works of l'rovid<'nce over this worlil, and the promised 
 joys of that world which is to come; all good necessary 
 
 to be either known, or done, or had, this one celestial 
 fountain yieldeth. Let there be any grief or disease 
 incident unto the soul of man, any wound or sick- 
 ness named, for which there is not, in this treasure- 
 house, a present comfortable remedy at all times ready 
 to be found." In the language of this divine book, 
 therefore, the prayers and praises of the Church have 
 been offered u]) to the throne of grace, from age to age. 
 And it appears to have been the manual of the Son of 
 God, in the days of his tlesh ; who, at the conclusion of 
 his last supper, is generally supposed, and that upon 
 
 \ good grounds, to have sung an hymn taken from it ; 
 who pronounced, on the cross, the beginning of the 
 
 ] twenty-second Psalm, " My God, my God, why hast 
 thou forsaken me ?" and expired with a jiart of the 
 
 j thirty-first Psalm in his mouth, " Into thy hands I 
 commend my spirit." Thus He, who had not the 
 Spirit by measm-e, in whom were hidden all the trea- 
 sures of wisdom and knowledge, and who spake as 
 never man spake, yet chose to conclude his life, to 
 solace Himself in his greatest agony, and at last to 
 brcatlie out his soul, in the Psalmist's form of words 
 rather than his own. No tongue of man or angel, as 
 Dr. Hammond justly observes, can convey an higher 
 idea of any book, and of their felicity who use it aright. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 i The Psalms vei-y justly make a principal part of the 
 joint praises that we offer up to (iod. For though 
 several of them were composed on jjarticular occasions, 
 yet they are plainly fitted for general use ; and their 
 insertion into the canon of Scripture proves them to be 
 designed for it : the Jews anciently recited them in the 
 temple, and do still in their synagogues : the New 
 Testament hath recommended them to Christians; 
 and the whole Church hath sung them ever since. 
 Indeed the subject-matter of them is verj- different : 
 but those of joy are much more munerous than any 
 other sort : and all of them afford ground of jiraise at 
 least ; the doctrinal, the exhortatory, the historical, as 
 well as the rest. Even the plaintive and ])etitionary 
 minister cause of thanksgiving to Him, who hath 
 promised to hear and support and deliver, and make 
 all " things work together for good to them that love 
 llim," Rom. viii. 28. (ilory therefore to the blessed 
 Three in One is a fit conclusion to every I'.salm. 
 
 But in reading them it must be cai-cfully observed, 
 and may with moderate care be eouunonly distinguished, 
 in whose person the several sentences are spoken. In 
 some Psalms, or portions of Psalms, it is ( jod, or (Christ ; 
 in others it is wicked men, that sjieak. These we must 
 repeat as their sayings : and none as our own, but what 
 were intended for us. Even the words of the Psalmist, 
 if we are to adojit tliem, may frequently seem so unap- 
 plicable to the o\itwaril condition, or inward frame, of 
 many in every congregation, that, if they attend to them.
 
 NOTES INTRODUCTORY TO THE PSALMS. 
 
 447 
 
 they cannot say them with truth. But most of them all 
 gouil peo])le may say, even of themselves singly, with 
 mucli truth. For they have constantly enemies, tem- 
 poral or spiritual, afflictions more or less heavy, vaUiable 
 mercies, and at times warm feelings of pious disposi- 
 tions : whicli if not present, may be so recalled, and 
 made tlieir own again, as to be very sincerely expressed 
 to (ii>d. .And what they cannot say in their own name 
 separately, tlicy may truly say in the name of Christ's 
 church, of which tliey are members : and they ought, 
 and surely do, bear some share of the mercies and 
 sufferings, the fears and desires, of every part of it, in 
 every state. And as Uavid, in some of the Psalms, 
 takes on him the jierson of Christ ; in others he seems 
 to take that of his disciples ; and to speak, not in any 
 one particular character, but as representing the whole 
 body of believers. Or if there be any passages, which 
 neither of these methods will suit ; still we may rehearse 
 them as expressing the case of some eminent worthy of 
 old times, and be affected by it accordingly : for we 
 often are strongly affected by the circumstances, well 
 described, not only of distant but of imaginary persons. 
 We may consider, as we go on, the likeness, or the 
 difference, between his situation, his temjier, and our 
 own : and raise from it many retlections of synijiatliy 
 and caution, of humiliation, encouragement, and thank- 
 fulness. Thus, at least, we may bring every thing we 
 say home to ourselves ; and by so doing furnish om- 
 minds with a most valuable store of devout thoughts 
 and language, perhaps for many future occasions of 
 our own or others. For the book of Psalms is so in- 
 exhaustible a treasure of every branch of piety, that a 
 more constant use of it, than of any other in the whole 
 Bible hath, with very just reason, been appointed in 
 publick forms of prayer, and recommended in private 
 ones. 
 
 It may be objected, that in several of them David 
 utters most bitter imprecations against his enemies : in 
 which, to say nothing harsher, we cannot follow him ; 
 for the rule of the New Testament is, " Bless and curse 
 not," Rom. xii. 14. But indeed most, if not all, the 
 places, which appear wishes of evil, may, according to 
 the confessed import of the original, be understood 
 only as predictions of it. Or, supposing them wishes, 
 David might be directed by infinite wisdom to pro- 
 nounce them even against the opposer of his reigning 
 over Israel; who opposed, at the same time, the known 
 decree of Providence. Re])eating them in this view, 
 solely as his, must be innocent : and strongly suggest 
 an important admonition, "not to fight against Cod," 
 Acts xxiii. 9. But perhaps in some of these, as well as 
 other passages, he speaks in the person of the whole 
 church of God, against all its irreconcileable adversaries, 
 whoever they be. Such was Judas : to whom there- 
 fore the two most dreadful of these Psalms are aiiplied. 
 Acts i. 20 : and, with the utmost tenderness to the 
 whole of God's creation, we may and must desire the 
 overthrow of them, who obstinately hate Him and his 
 laws. For, though we ought much more to desire the 
 repentance, than the death of a sinner, as He Himself 
 doth : yet if they will not rcjjent, we ought to think 
 and speak with approbation and satisfaction, yet mixed 
 with an awful concern, of their punishments here, 
 and sentence hereafter : which last, St. Paul represents 
 good persons as joining to pronounce : " Do ye not 
 know, that the saints shall judge the world ?" 1 Cor. 
 vi. 2. 
 
 It may be objected further, that, however this be, the 
 Psalms are unfit for our use on another account : they 
 are full of Jewish notions and phrases. But they were 
 composed by the aid of the Holy Spirit with a view to 
 Christian times : om* Saviour appeals pai'ticularly to 
 
 those things, "which are ^v^itten in the Psalms con- 
 cerning him," Luke xxiv. 44 : and they are many. 
 Nor is the dilliculty great, in applying the peculiarities 
 of one dispensation to what answers them in the other : 
 of understanding by the law, the doctrine of Him, who 
 came to fulfil it; by Jerusalem and Zion, the Christian 
 church ; by the several sacrifices, that of our blessed 
 Lord, or of our own prayers and praises offered uj) in 
 his name; by the altar, the holy table; by tem])oral 
 enemies and dehverances, spiritual ones ; and so of 
 the rest ; thanking God, at the same time, that we 
 have light afforded us to see so much deeper into this 
 and every book of the Old Testament, than they who 
 wrote it. 
 
 Still there may be more passages than a few in the 
 Psalms which many understand not. Howe\'er, even 
 these they may allowably read over, as undoiditedly 
 they often do other things, in order and in hope to 
 imderstand them : and by reading with attention, they 
 will come gradually to understand more and more of 
 them. But they would make this much easier to 
 themseh'es, liy reading carefully in pri\'ate some para- 
 phrase of the Psalms, if they are able to procure one, 
 along with them : such as the larger of Dr. Hammond, 
 or rather of Bisboj) Patrick, or the smaller of Dr. 
 NichoUs, or Mr. Johnson (or Mr. Tra^■ell). The par- 
 ticular ])assages, which one or other may find obscure 
 to him, are too many to be explained from the pul])it. 
 But the darkest and least edifying in appearance will, 
 by the use of any of these authors, be perceived, either 
 to ha\'e some one determined sense of importance, or 
 at least to be capable of several such. 
 
 And indeed all considerate Christians will acknow- 
 ledge the excellence of the Psalter in a good translation. 
 But some object against that, which we have in our 
 Prayer Books, as matle in times of less learning and 
 exactness, than the other in our Bibles : which being 
 more correct, they conceive ought to be used instead of 
 it. But indeed as the latter is, in some places, juster 
 than the former; so is the former, in some, juster than 
 that : and it hath one general ground of preference ; 
 that, not rendering the words of the Hebrew so strictly, 
 it gives the sense of them more intelligibly : notwith- 
 standing that a few exjiressions, and but very few, are be- 
 come in the space of 200 (270) years, which have passed 
 since it was made, less clear or proper than they were 
 at first. Indeed this old version hath here and there 
 additions to what we now find in the original. But the 
 only considerable one is taken from, if not warranted 
 by, the New Testament : they are all harmless : they 
 are most of them founded on authorities not con- 
 temptible, particularly on that of the very ancient 
 Latin interpreter, departing from which, without neces- 
 sity, would ha\'e given occasion of ca\'il to the Roman- 
 ists. And, as this translation in our Prayer Books 
 was made by martyrs and confessors for the Protestant 
 religion, so it was with reason highly esteemed by tlie 
 I)eo])le ; and soon grew, by often repeating it, so familiar 
 to them, that changing it for another, though somewhat 
 better on the whole, would have been disagreeable to 
 them. Therefore tlie sense of both being sufficiently 
 the same, as any one, by comparing them, will be con- 
 vinced, the words to which the congregation were 
 accustomed, have been retained to this day. 
 
 It hath been further objected, that, granting the use 
 of this translation to be justifiable, yet the manner in 
 which we use it is not. For we read it on, just as the 
 Psalms lie : and thus we blend together those of joyful 
 and those of soi-rowful imjiort, without distinction and 
 without method ; yet we cannot be supposed to vary 
 our affections so quick as this requires. But it shoiUd 
 be remembered that on the principal stated fasts and
 
 448 
 
 NOTES INTRODUCTOKY TO THE PSALMS. 
 
 festivals, and on all occasional ones. Psalms proper to 
 thera are appointed out of the common com-se. On 
 days indeed, M-hich have nothincf so jiarticular in them, 
 we follow the order in which they are set down. For 
 we could not vary it, without omitting some of them, 
 which none of them deserve ; or disposinjj them in a 
 way intirely new. Now what that should be, would 
 be very hard to settle : and whatever was done, at least 
 as many faults would be foimd then, as now. The 
 present arranj^jement is certainly older than our Saviour's 
 days : the ])ublick offices of the whole Christian churches 
 have followed it from the very first account of them 
 that we have ; and why should we make alterations, 
 only to raise perplexities ? The Psalms are indeed 
 miscellaneous : but so are many other parts of Scrip- 
 ture. The Book of Proverbs is vastly more so. Yet 
 no one objects against reading those as they lie. In 
 truth, scarce a chapter of the Bible or any author what- 
 ever can be read, but what calls for variety of disposi- 
 tions and affections to be exercised, within a very small 
 compass. Even in a short prayer is there not great 
 variety if it be well considered ? In ])oetry and musick 
 these transitions are often extremely abrupt and sudden, 
 from one thing to its contrary in the highest degree. 
 Yet the mind goes along with them very easily. Much 
 more then may it do so, when prepared, as in the pre- 
 sent case, by a previous knowledge of ndiat is to come 
 next, and long practice in the change. And if repeat- 
 ing the Psalms in course be right, we have certainly 
 fixed a right period of this course, that of a month : 
 whereas the church of Rome goes through thera in a 
 week, which is making one part of the service too long ; 
 and the Greek church in twenty days, which is making 
 it hard to find. On the whole then let us but be careful 
 that our behaviour be as good in this branch of wor- 
 ship, as the regulation concerning it is ; and notwith- 
 standing the unhappy disadvantage of bai-ely saying, 
 what ought to be enlivened by the power of harmony, 
 we may still, through God's grace, be warned and filled 
 with his S])irit while we " speak to one another and 
 ourselves," as the apostle directs, " in psalms and hymns 
 and spiritual songs, singing and making melody," if 
 not with ovir voices, yet " in our hearts, to the Lord," 
 Eph. V. 19; Col. ui. IG. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 That the reader may the more easily turn to such 
 Psalms as will best suit the present state of his mind, 
 according to the different circumstances, whether exter- 
 nal or internal, into which, by the changes and chances 
 of life, or the variations of temper and disirosition, he 
 may at any time be thrown, the common Table of 
 Psalms, classed under their several subjects, is here 
 subjoined. 
 
 Pr.wers, 
 
 I. Prayers for pardon of sin. Psalm 6. 25. 38. 51. 1.30. 
 Psalms styled Penitential, 0. 32. 3S. 51. 102. 130. 143. 
 
 II. Prayers composed when the Psalmist was deprived 
 of an opportunity of the jjublick e.vercise of religion. 
 P.salm 42, 43. 03. 84. 
 
 III. Prayers wherein the Psalmist seems extremely de- 
 jected, though not totally deprived of consolaticm 
 imder his alHictions. Psalm 13. 22. 09. 7". 88. 143. 
 
 IV. Prayers wherein the Psalmist asketh the help of 
 (jod, in consideration of his own integrity, and the 
 uprightness of his cause. Psalm 7. 17. 20. 35. 
 
 V. Prayers expressing tlie firmest trust and confidence 
 in God under atllictions. I'salm 3. 10. 27. 31. 54. 
 50, 57. 01, 02. 71. 80. 
 
 VI. Prayers comjjoscd when the jieople of God were 
 imder affliction or persecution. Psalm 44. Oo. 74. 79, 
 80. 83. hO. 94. 102. 123. 137. 
 
 VII. The following arc likewise Prayers in time of trou- 
 
 ble and affliction. Psalm 4, 5. 11, 28. 41. 55. 59. 
 04. 70. 109. 120. 140, 141, 142. 
 VIII. Prayers of intercession. Psalm 20. 07. 122. 132. 
 144. 
 
 Ps.iLMS OF Thanksgiving. 
 
 I. Thanksgivings for mercies vouchsafed to particular 
 persons. Psalm 9. 18. 21. 30. 34. 40. 75. 103. 108. 
 110. 113. 138. 144. 
 
 II. Thanksgivings for mercies vouchsafed to the Israel- 
 ites in general. Psalm 40. 48. 05, 00. OS. "0. 81. 
 85. 98. 105. 124. 120. 129. 135, 130. 149. 
 
 Psalms of Praise and Adoration, displaying the 
 Attributes of God. 
 
 I. General acknowledgments of God's goodness and 
 mercy, and particularly his care and protection of 
 good men. Psalm 23. 34. 30. 91. 100. 103. 107. 
 117. 121. 145, 140. 
 
 II. Psalms displaying the power, majesty, glory, and 
 other attributes of the divine Being. Psalm 8. 19. 
 24. 29. 33. 47. 50. 05, 00. 70, 77. 93. 95, 90, 97. 99. 
 104. HI. 113, 114, 115. 134. 139. 147, 148. 150. 
 
 Instructive Psalms. 
 
 I. The different characters of good and bad men : the 
 happiness of the one, and the miseries of the other, 
 are represented in the following Psalms, 1. 5. 7. 9, 
 10, 11, 12. 14, 15. 17. 24, 25. 32. 34. 30, 37. 50. 52, 
 53. 58. 73. 75.84.91,92.94. 112. 119. 121. 125. 
 127, 128. 133. 
 
 II. The excellence of God's law. Psalm 19. 119. 
 
 III. The vanity of human life. Psalm 39. 49. 90. 
 
 IV. Advice to magistrates. Psalm 82. 101. 
 
 V. The virtue of humility. Psalm 131. 
 
 Psalms more eminently and directly 
 Prophetical. 
 Psalm 2. 10. 22. 40. 45. 08. 72. 87. 1 10, 118. 
 
 Historical Psalms. 
 Psalm 78. 105, 100. 
 
 A SHORT VOCABULARY, 
 
 Giving the signification of some old English words 
 used in this translation, but not commonly s))oken or 
 written in this age, at least not in that sense in which 
 our Translators took them (.\bridged from " Holy 
 David and his Old English Translators clear'd," 8vo. 
 17O0.) 
 
 Beast. Any livinr/ creature, except man; not only 
 our Translators, Init Mr. Ainsworth, calls serpents 
 and fish " beasts," Gen. iii. 1 ; Ps. civ. 25. .\nd 
 indeed our last Translators do the same ; which 
 shews that the word was taken in this sense for above 
 sixty years after this translatiim was made. 
 
 Blaspheme. To sjieiik rcpronchfuUy either of God or 
 man. If we rcs])cct tlu^ etymology only, it is more 
 properly np])li('al)le to man than to God ; for it pro- 
 jierly signifies to hxtrt the fame or credit of another. 
 Ps. iv. 2. 
 
 Blasphemy. Reproach or slander, either against God, 
 or man, Ps. Ixxiii. 8. 
 
 Commune. To discourse familiarly, to confer notes. 
 
 Counsel. Design, device, decree, or resolution, and not 
 only advice or direction, as it is now commonly taken ; 
 Ps. xxxiii. 10. 
 
 Eschew. Avoid, shun, decline. 
 
 Fain. Glad, merry. We now use it adverbially, 
 namely, " I would fain," that is, gladly .- but we do
 
 NOTES INTRODUCTORY TO THE PSALMS. 
 
 449 
 
 not commonly use it as an adjective, as our ancestors 
 did. See I's. Ixxi. 21. 
 
 Flitting. A liasty removal, or flight. It i.s still used 
 in this sense in some parts of Enj^land. Ps. 
 Ivi. 8. 
 
 Flood. A river or slream. See I's. Ixxii. 8 ; Ixxxix. 
 •26. It should seem this word retained this signifi- 
 cation commonly in our language at the beginning 
 of the seventeenth century ; for our last Translators 
 use it in this sense, Josh. .xxiv. 3 ; Ps. .xcviii. 8. 
 
 He.^lth. Safety, protection, power of saeinij, snlvalion 
 both spiritual and temporal. It evidently comes 
 from the old English li<el, which had the very same 
 signification, Ps. ,xxii. 1, &c. ; and our last Transla- 
 tors used the word " health" in this sense, Ps. 
 xhi. 1 1 . 
 
 Hell. Not only the place of torments, but the place or 
 state of deceased souls, or what we commonly call 
 the other world. It seems to come from " Helan," 
 to cover, or hide, as the Greek " Hades" likewise 
 signifies an obscure or unknown place. Our Trans- 
 lators did well to retain the word in this sense, as 
 they do, Ps. xxx. 3, and often elsewhere : for this 
 helps us to understand those words of our Christian 
 faith, " He descended into Hell ;" whereas, by losing 
 the ancient signification of words, the ijeojjle are 
 in danger to lose the sense and meaning of their 
 Creed. Further, sometimes " Hell" signifies death 
 only, as Ps. xviii. 4 ; cxvi. 3. 
 
 Host. Army, or very cjreat company, very often. 
 
 Imagine. 'Vo contrive, plot, desir/n ; so it signifies in 
 the statute of treason, which makes it a crime ])unish- 
 able with death "to imagine the death of the King," 
 &c. as Ps. ii. 1, and very often. 
 
 Instantly. Importunately, zealously, Ps. Iv. 18. We 
 still say that a thing was done " at the instance," 
 that is, at the earnest request, of another. The adjec- 
 tive INSTANT signifies importunate, in oiu' last trans- 
 lation, Luke xxiii. 23, and in other places. 
 
 LEASI.^G. hying, cheating, dissetnbling, Ps. iv. 2. 
 
 Lust. Not only filthy carnal desires, but any eagerness 
 of appetite, or violent irregular inclination, Ps. x. 2. 
 So to "lust," and to "list," signify the same thing 
 in this translation, Ps. Ixxiii. 7. 
 
 Malicious. Very had, evil, &c. Ps. lix. 5. We now 
 commonly understand by this word, spiteful, envious ; 
 the ancients did not so. 
 
 Nethermost. Lowest, Ps. Ixxxvi. 13. "Nether" is 
 used for lower, by our last Translators, Deut. xxiv. 
 6, &c. 
 
 Plaguk. Any hloio or stroke of God's correcting or 
 punishing hand, Ps. xxxviii. 1 7 ; not the pestilence 
 only. " To plague," in common discourse, signifies, 
 to use any severe proceedings. 
 
 Port. Gate, from the Latin " Porta." AVe still call 
 him who keeps the gate por/pr, Ps. ix. 14. 
 
 Preacher. Not only he that discourses publickly of 
 religion, but any one that publishes or declares any 
 thing, Ps. Ixviii. 1) ; lix. 12. So "to preaeli" signi- 
 fies to publish or declare. 
 
 Prevent. To go, or be before. There are two designs 
 which one may have in "going before" another; 
 either to guide and help, or to hinder or stop : accord- 
 ingly the word signifies two contrary things, namely, 
 to help forward, and to oppose, hinder, &c. In the 
 Scripture and Liturgy, it is for the most ]iart taken 
 in the good sense, to guide, help forward, assist, or 
 be beforehand in kindness, as Ps. xxi. 3 ; sometimes 
 in the bad sense to hinder, stand in one's way, &c. 
 Ps. xviii. 1 8 : at other places barely to go, or be before, 
 as Ps. cxix. 148; and 1 Thess. iv. 15. 
 
 Quick. Alive : and so to " quicken," signifies to give 
 
 or restore life, to revive or enliven, Ps. cxxiv. 2 ; 
 xxii. 30. 
 
 Reiiukk. 'Kot m\\y severe reprehension, but any man- 
 ner of Aorrf or rf/»oflc/j/H/ /nni/Hni/c. I's. Ixix. 21. 
 
 Reproof is used in much the same sense witli the 
 former word rebuke, and does not only import, grave 
 and serere admonition, but any maimer of reproachful 
 language, any s|)eeeh wliereby we shew our dislike of 
 another's words or actions. I's. Ixix. 20. 
 
 Simple. Unmixt, plain, without any fraud or guile, or 
 worldly policy; like a child, that has no heart or 
 cunning to help liimself in any difficulty, and there- 
 fore is often oppressed and over-reached by crafty and 
 sharp men. It is generally used in a good sense in 
 the Psalms and New Testament; namely, for plain, 
 undesigning, though abused men ; but then, because 
 such are subject to be caught and drawn into evil, 
 by political and artificial men, therefore sometimes it 
 denotes those who by this means are betrayed to sin, 
 and a fault committed through this easy unwary tem- 
 per, is called " sim])leness," Ps. Ixix. 5. 
 
 Well. A spring, fountain, or small stream, not only a 
 deep dug pit, as now it commonly signifies, Ps. xxxvi. 
 9 ; Ixxxiv. 6. 
 
 Wholesome. Safe. We still say, " wholesome food, 
 air, law, counsel," Ps. xx. 0. 
 
 WiLiNESs. Cunning, guile. We still use the word 
 "wiles," from whence this comes, Ps. x. 2. 
 
 WoRLn. Age, lime, not only the universe or earth: 
 thus it signifies in the doxology " world," that is, 
 age, or time, " without end." So in the Nicene 
 Creed, " before all worlds ;" that is, before all ages, 
 or before time itself \va,9, Ps. xlv. 18. 
 
 Worship. Majesty, dignity, excellency, what deserves to 
 be honoured, or is honoured; that glory and power 
 in God, to which we pay our devotion : for so it 
 signified to our .Saxon ancestors. Our Translators 
 use the word in this sense, Ps. iii. 3 ; xevi. G ; and 
 elsewhere. We now by " worship," most commonly 
 mean that honour which we pay to God; and our 
 Translators often take it in that sense also. Further; 
 " worship" does not only signify the eminent dignity 
 which is in God, but that wliich is in a low degree in 
 man : and this sense of the word is not yet lost even 
 in our own common language ; for we still call that 
 honour and autliority wliich belongs to a magis- 
 trate, " his worshi])." Our Translators retain the 
 word also in this sense, when they say that " God 
 gives worship." that is, honour and dignity, "to 
 them who lead a godly life," Ps. Ixxxiv. 12. Nay, 
 our last Translators use the word in the same sense, 
 Luke xiv. 10 : where it is said, that the humble 
 guest " shall have worship in the presence of those 
 who sit at meat with him." Who can then wonder, 
 that in the matrimonial office the husband is taught 
 to "worship" his wife? that is, to pay her all due 
 respect. For no one e\'er understood more by that 
 expression, except he were blinded by unpardonable 
 ignorance, or prejudice. There is then an honour, 
 glory, dignity, or worship in the divine nature ; and 
 so there is, or may be, in men too. We must pay 
 honour, glory, worship, principally to God, but in an 
 inferior sense to men. It has been said that most 
 controversies now depending, are chiefly a strife 
 about words. And from- what has been said briefly 
 concerning this and other words in this sliort voca- 
 bulary, it will aiijiear, that several ]iarticulars nduoh 
 have been objected against in om- Psalter, our Li- 
 turgy, and our very Creed, are far enough from 
 being faulty in tliemselves, and have been thought 
 so by some men, merely because they do not under- 
 stand their own tongue. 
 
 2 G
 
 THE 
 
 PSALMS OF DAVID. 
 
 THE FIRST DAY. 
 
 doth he 
 meditate. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM i.*" Beatus vir, qui non ahiit Sfc. 
 
 BLESSED is the man"^ that 
 hath not walked in the counsel 
 of the ungodly, nor stood in the way 
 of sinners : and liath not sat in the 
 seat of the scornful. 
 
 2 But his delight is in the law of 
 the Lord'^ : and in his law will he 
 exercise himself day and night. 
 
 3 And he shall be like a tree'' 
 
 ' The Psalms of Daind.'\ The whole collection of 
 Psalms goes by the name of " The Psalms of David," 
 not because tUey were all composed by him, but because 
 most of them were : the whole receiving their denomi- 
 nation from the greater part. Some were written be- 
 fore David's time, as the 90th Psalm by Moses ; some 
 after the Babylonian Captivity, as the 1 20th and 12rth. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 '' Psalm i.] Tliis Psalm, which is generally looked 
 upon by e.\|)ositors as a preface or introduction to the 
 rest, describes the blessedness of the righteous : consist- 
 ing, ver. 1, negatively, in their abstaining from sin ; 2, 
 po.sitively, in holy meditation on the Scriptm'es, produc- 
 tive of continual growth in grace ; which, 3, 4, is beau- 
 tifully represented imder an image borrowed from vege- 
 tation : as. .">, is the o])[)osite state of the mdielieving 
 and ungodly by a comparison taken from the threshing- 
 floor. The two last verses foretel the final issue of 
 things, with respect to botli good and bad men, at tlie 
 great day. Bp. Iloriip. The end of man is blessedness ; 
 and the way to it observance of (iod's law : which the 
 Psalmist lays down here, as the foundation of the whole 
 ensuing work. lip. Patrick. 
 
 ' 1. Blessed is the man &c.] The Psalter, like the 
 sermon on the Mount, openeth with a beatitude for 
 our comfort anil encouragement, directing us immedi- 
 ately to that happiness, which all mankind, in diCFcrent 
 ways, are seeking an<l iumiiriiig after. All would se- 
 cure themselves from the meursions of misery; but all 
 do not consider that misery is the ofl'spring of sin, from 
 wliich it is therefore necessary to be deli\'ered and 
 preserved, in order to become happy or blessed. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '' 2. Bui his ileliyhl is in the law of the Lord : S:c.] He, 
 who liath once brouglit himself to delight in the Scri])- 
 tures, will firul no temptation to exchange that pleasure 
 
 planted hy tlie water-side : that 
 will bring forth his fruit in due 
 season. 
 
 4 His leaf also shall not wither : 
 and look, whatsoever he docth, it 
 shall prosper. 
 
 5 As for the ungodly, it is not so 
 with them : but they are like the 
 chaff, which the wind scattereth away 
 from the face of the earth. 
 
 ri-.i r 1 11 f 1 II snnli not be 
 
 6 ilieretore the ungodly' shall not acquitted. 
 
 be able to stand in the judgement 
 
 See Luke 
 xxi. 36. 
 
 for any which the world or the flesh can offer him. 
 Such an one will make the lively oracles of (lod his 
 companions by day and by night. He will have re- 
 course to them for direction, in the bright and cheerful 
 hours of prosperity ; to them he will applv for comfort, 
 in the dark and dreary seasons of adversity. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 3, &c. And he shall be like a tree &c.] By continual 
 meditation in the sacred writings, a man as naturally 
 improves and advances in holiness, as a tree thrives and 
 flourishes in a kindly and well-watered soil. In this 
 description of the righteous all ajipears verdant and 
 fruitful, lovely and enduring : but in that, which fol- 
 lows, of tlie ungodly, we are by way of contrast jire- 
 sented with nothing but what is withered and worthless, 
 without form or stability, blown about by every wind, 
 and at length finally dispersed from the face of the earth 
 by the breath of tiod's displeasure, and driven into the 
 fire prejiared for it. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. I'hcrtfore the ungodly &c.] The judgment here 
 intended is evidently the last judgment, and the congre- 
 gation of the righteous is their assembly at the tribunal 
 of Christ at the last day. B/i. llorsley. A day is coming, 
 when the divine Husbandman shall ap|)earwith his " fan 
 in his hand," and shall " throughly ])iu'ge his floor." 
 The wheat, which shall stand the wiimowing of that 
 day, will be gathered into the celestial gmruiry ; while 
 the chaff, for ever sejiarateil from it, shall be hiuTied 
 out of the floor, and carried, by a mighty whiriwind, to 
 its own |)lace. 'I'heii shall there be a "congregation of 
 the righteous," in which " sinners shall not stand." 
 At present wheat and cbafl' lie on one floor; wheat and 
 tares grow in one field; gooil and bad li.shes are com- 
 ])rehen(led in one net; gooil and bad men arecontaineil 
 in the visible church. But, however we may be deceived 
 in the judgment we form of men in this scene of confu-
 
 Day 1. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 aiiprnves 
 and highly 
 esteems tlieir 
 oliediLTice. 
 J?p. Patrick. 
 
 Easter Hay, 
 fust Psalm 
 Morn. Serv. 
 
 contrive, 
 devise. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 neitlier tlip sinners in tlie congrega- 
 tion of" tlip ri^liti'ous. 
 
 7 But tlie Lord knowetli the way 
 of tlio righteous : and tiie way of tlie 
 ungodly shall perish. 
 
 PSALM ii.s Quare fremuerunt gentes F 
 
 WHY do the heathen'' so fu- 
 riously rage together : and 
 why do the people imagine a vain 
 thing? 
 
 2 The kings of the earth stand np, 
 and the rulers take counsel together : 
 against the Lord, and .against his 
 Anointed. 
 
 sion, "The Lord knoweth them that are his," 2 Tim. ii. 
 19. Their good deeds are not unobserved, nor will 
 they be forgotten by Ilim. Ilis eye seeth them in se- 
 cret, and his hand will reward them openly in the day 
 of final retribution : when crowns of glory shall gjiarkle 
 on the heads of the righteous, but shame and torment 
 shall be the portion of the wicked ; " the way of the 
 ungodly shall perish." Bp. Home. 
 
 s Psalm ii.] 'Was Psalm is a most divine mixture of 
 history and prophecy, certainly composed by David, and 
 referring visibly to his person, and both typically and 
 pro])hetically to Christ, and so understood expressly by 
 the writers of the New Testament. Dr. Hammond. That 
 this was a prophecy of the Messiah all the ancient Jews 
 did allow : and Rabbi Solomon .Jarchi says plainly, 
 " Our doctors explained the signification of this psalm 
 of King Messias; but that we may better answer the 
 Minnim," that is, the heretical Christians, "it is better 
 to interpret it of David." Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 David, seated ujjon the throne of Israel, notwithstand- 
 ing the opposition made against him, and now about to 
 carry his victorious arms amongst the neighbouring 
 heathen nations, may be suiiposed to have jienned this, 
 as a kind of inauguration psalm. But that " a greater 
 than David is here," appears not only from the strength 
 of the expressions, which are more properly ajiplicable 
 to Messiah, than to David himself; but also from the 
 citations made in the New Testament ; the appointment 
 of the Psalm by the Church to be read on Easter-day ; 
 and the confession of the Jewish rabbis. It treats 
 therefore, 1 — 3, of the opposition raised, both by Jew 
 and Gentile, against the kingdom of Jesus Christ; 
 4 — 6, of his victory, and the confusion of his enemies ; 
 7 — 9, after his resurrection, He preaches the Gospel, 
 and 10 — 12, calls the kings of the earth to accejit it; 
 denouncing vengeance against those who shall not do 
 so, and jironouncing a blessing on those who shall. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 The song consists of three parts : the first, consisting 
 of the first six verses, spoken in the person of the Psalm- 
 ist ; the second, namely, the "th, 8th, and 9th verses, 
 in the person of Messiah ; and the third again by the 
 Psalmist. Bp. Horsier/. 
 
 '' 1. JVkj/ do the heathen &c.] Tlie true David is in- 
 troduced, like his ancestor of old, expostulating with 
 the nations, for their vain attempts to frustrate the di- 
 vine decree in his favour. These two verses are cited 
 Acts iv. 25, and expounded of " Herod and Pontius 
 Pilate," who " with the Gentiles and the peo])le of Is- 
 rael were gathered together against the holy Jesus, 
 whom the Lord had anointed." After the ascension of 
 Christ, and the effusion of the Spirit, the whole power 
 
 451 
 
 break tlioir bonds' 
 
 .3 Let us 
 asunder : and cast away their cords 
 from us. 
 
 4 He.thatdwelleth in heaven shall 
 laugh them to scorn ^ : the Lord shall 
 have them in derision. 
 
 5 Then shall he speak' inito them 
 in his wrath : and vex them in his 
 sore displeasure. 
 
 6 Yet have I set my King : upon 
 my holy hill of Sion. 
 
 7 I will preach™ the law", whereof i win declare 
 the Lord hath said unto nie : Thou sto. r'ani 
 art my Son, this day have I begotten 
 
 thee. 
 
 of the Roman empire was employed in the same cause 
 
 by those, who, from time to time, swayed the sceptre of 
 the world. But still, they who intended to extirpate 
 the faith, and destroy the church, how many and how 
 mighty soever they might be, were found only to " ima- 
 gine a vain thing." And equally vain will every imagina- 
 tion be, that exalteth itself against the counsels of God 
 for the salvation of his jjeople. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. Lei us break Iheir bonds &c.] These words, sup- 
 posed to be spoken by the jjowers in arms against 
 Messiah, discover to us the true grounds of opposition, 
 namely, the unwillingness of rebellious nature to sub- 
 mit to the oliligations of divine laws, which cross the 
 interests, and lay a restraint upon the desires of men. 
 Corrupt affections are the most inveterate enemies of 
 Christ : and their language is, " We will not have this 
 man to rule over us." Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 4. He Ihal dwellelh in heaven shall laugh them to 
 scorn., &c.] By these, and such like exjiressions, which 
 frequently occur in the Scri])ture, we are taught, in a 
 language which we understand, because borrowed from 
 ourselves, and our manner of shewing contempt, how 
 the schemes of worldly politicians ajjpear to Him, who, 
 sitting upon his heavenly throne, siu'veys at a glance 
 whatever men are doing, or contriving to do, upon 
 earth. The same is to be said with regard to words 
 which seem to attribute many other human passions 
 and affections to the Deity : as, for instance, these 
 which follow. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5, G. Then shall he speak &c.] The meaning is, that, 
 by pouring out his indignation upon the adversaries of 
 Messiah, as formerly upon those of David, God woidd 
 no less evidently convict and reprove their folly and im- 
 piety, than if He had actually thus spoken to them from 
 his eternal throne above : " Yet, notwithstanding all 
 your rage against him, have I raised from the dead, 
 and exalted as the Head of the church, my appointed 
 King Messiah ; in like manner as I once set his victo- 
 rious representative Da\'id upon my holy hill of Sion, in 
 the earthly Jerusalem, out of the reach of his numerous 
 and implacable enemies." Bp. Home. 
 
 "7. I will preach the taw, &c.'\ Jesus, for the suffer- 
 ing of death, crowned with honoiu' and immortality, 
 ixpon the holy hill of Zion, in the new Jerusalem, now 
 " declares the decree," or preaches the Gospel of the 
 everlasting covenant. His part in the covenant was 
 performed by keeping the law, and dying for the sins 
 of men. Nothing therefore remained, but the accom- 
 plishment of the promise made to Him by the Father, 
 upon those conditions. One part of this promise was 
 fulfilled, saith St. Paid, " in that he had raised up Jesus 
 again ; as it is written in the second Psalm, Thou art 
 2 G 2
 
 45-2 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Darj 1. 
 
 an iron scep- 
 tre J>r. 
 
 Nich'jlts. 
 
 be instruct- 
 ed. Bii. 
 Trans. 
 
 8 Desire of mc, and I shall give 
 tliee the heathen lor thine inherit- 
 ance : and the utmost parts of the 
 earth for thy possession. 
 
 9 Thou shalt bruise them" with 
 a rod of iron : and break them in 
 pieces like a potter's vessel. 
 
 10 Be wise now therefore, O ye 
 kinirsP : be learned, ye that are 
 j udges of the earth. 
 
 11 Serve the Lord in fear : and 
 rejoice (nito him with reverence''. 
 
 1-2 Kiss the Son', lest he be 
 angry, and so ye perish from the 
 right way : if his wrath be kindled, 
 (yea, but a little,) blessed are ail they 
 that put their trust in him. 
 
 my .Son, this day have I begotten thee," Acts xiii. 33. 
 Anotlier part was fulfilled in the ascension of Christ, 
 and his inauguration to an eternal kingdom, and an 
 imchangeable priesthood, as the true Melchizedek, 
 King of righteousness, King of peace, and Priest of the 
 most high God. The next article in the covenant, on 
 the Father's side, was the enlargement of Messiah's 
 spiritual kingdom, by the accession of the nations to 
 the church. And accordingly, this was the next thing 
 which " Jehovah said luito him," after having ]n-o- 
 claimed his sonship and j)re-eminence; as we find by 
 the following verse. Bj>. Home. 
 
 " — the /««'.] The original word signifies many 
 things ; a writing, and so |)articularly a covenant, sub- 
 scribed by the parties' hands, a decree, a precept, a rite, 
 &c. In the historical sense it was first a decree in hea- 
 ven ; then a covenant with David and his seed, see I's. 
 Ixxxix. 3 ; and withal a command of obedience to his 
 subjects. In the mystical sense it principally denotes 
 the covenant made with and in Christ ; which covenant 
 also was an immutable decree under God's oath, Luke 
 i. 73 ; and a law also, first in respect of Christ, requiring 
 somewhat of Hiiu, for He " was to sufl'er and so to enter 
 into his glory ;" and, secondly, in respect of us, the law 
 of faitli, exacting tVom us an luiiforui (jlicdicnce to llim 
 in the exercise of all liis olliccs. Dr. Umnmond. 
 
 ° 9. Thou shall bruise them &c.] The irresistible 
 power and infiexible justice of Christ's kingdom are 
 signified by his " ruling willi a rod of iron :" tlie impo- 
 tence of those, who jjresmne to opjmse llim, is com- 
 pared to that of "a jiotter's vessel," which must fly in 
 ])ieces at the first stroke of the iron rod. The jiower of 
 (.'hrist will be manifested in all, by the destruction either 
 of sin or of the sinner. Bp. Home. 
 
 p 10 — 1 '2. lie wise now t/ierrfnre, O ye Icings : ^c."] The 
 decree of the Father, concerning the kingdom of the 
 Son, licing tints promulgated Ijy the hitler, an exhort- 
 ation is here made to the kings of the eartli, that they 
 should learn true wisdom, and suffer themselves to be 
 instructed unto salvation ; tliat they would bow their 
 sccjitres to the cross of Jesus, and east their crowns be- 
 fore his throne ; csteeiuing it a far greater honour, as 
 well as a more exalteil jiletisure, to serve lliin, than to 
 find themselves at the heiiil of victorious m-mies, sur- 
 rounded by applauding nations. li/>. Home. 
 
 1 — uith reverenne.^ Literally, " witli trembling;" 
 but the thing meant is that sort of fear, which arises 
 from a man's dinidciiceof bis own strength and power: 
 a notion which llie word " trembling" not at all conveys 
 in our lungnage. '• .Serve the Lord," says the I'salmist, 
 
 PSALM iii.' Domine, quid jtiuJlipUcati? 
 
 LO K D, how are they increased 
 that trouble me : many are they 
 that rise against me. 
 
 2 ]Many one there be that say of 
 my soul : There is no help for him 
 in his God. 
 
 3 But thou, O Lord, art my de- 
 fender': thou art my worship, and my glory, 
 the lifter up of my head. seVvocab!' 
 
 4 1 did call u])on the Lord", with 
 my voice : and he heard me out of 
 his holy hill. 
 
 5 I laid me down and slept" and 
 rose up again : for the Lord sus- 
 tained me. 
 
 6 I will not be afraid for ten 
 
 " with fear ; and rejoice," take satisfaction, joy, and 
 glory to yourselves in becoming his servants. But let 
 it be a holy, temperate joy, fearful of offence, not heed- 
 less and presumptuous, verging on the licentious kind. 
 Bp. Horsley. 
 
 ' 12. Kiss the Son, &c.] To " kiss" is used for ador- 
 ation. So in 1 Kings xix. 18, we find together the 
 " bowing of the knees" to Baal, and the " mouths 
 kissing him." And so it fitly belongs to Messiah, in 
 respect of his dixine nature, to which that is truly due, 
 which was idolatrously jiaid to Baal. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 Christ beseeches kings, no less than their subjects, to 
 be reconciled to llim, and by Him to the Father: since 
 a day is at hand, when mighty men shall have no dis- 
 tinction, but that of being mightily tormented. And 
 then will be seen the " blessedness" of those who " put 
 their trust in" the Lord Jesus. For when the glory of 
 man shall fade away as the short-lived flower of the 
 field, and when all, that is called great and honourable 
 in princes, shall be laid low in the dust. He shall give 
 unto his faithful servants a crown without cares, and a 
 kingdom which cannot be moved. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm iii.] Tliis Psalm is said to have been com- 
 |)Oseil by David, when he fled from his stm Absalom. 
 Thus circumstanced, he exjiresscd himself in tcrtns well 
 adapted to the jiarallel case of the Son of David, jierse- 
 cuted by rebellious Israel ; as also to that of bis church 
 suffering tribulation in the world. 1, 2, he complains, 
 in much angtiish, of the miiltititde of his enemies, and 
 of the reproaches cast ujiim him, as one forsaken by 
 God ; but, 3, declares, notwithstanding, his sure trust 
 in the divine promises ; 4, 5, he relates the success of 
 his jiraycrs ; (5 — 8, derides the im)iotent malice of his 
 enemies, and ascribes salvation to Jehovah. lip. Home. 
 The forlorn condition of David, as recorded in 2 Sam. 
 XV, and coimnemorated in this IV-alin, is in some degree 
 tyiiical of our Saviour's sadness and agony and prayer 
 in the garden, John xviii. I, wbiih is the same with 
 (iethsemane, Matt. xxvi. 30; Mark xiv. 32; and that 
 on mount Olivet, Luke xxii. 3!). 41, the very same 
 mount, to wliich David went uj), when he poured out 
 the substance of this jirayer. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ' 3. But thou, U Lord, art my defender .- &c.] In this, 
 as in till the Psalms of the like argument, the complaint 
 and jielitions for relief and help are intermixed with ex- 
 jiressions of praise anil tbank.sgiving for former mercies, 
 professions of seciu'e reliatice on (iod's protection, ami 
 of joy in the expectation of a final deliverance. Bp. 
 Horsley. 
 " I. / did call vpon the Lord, &c.] David, driven
 
 Day 1 . 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 the nefcmler 
 of my ri^'lit. 
 Dr. Nic!,olls. 
 
 tliousaiuls of tlie people : that have 
 set tht'inselves against me round 
 about. 
 
 7 U|1, Lord, and liolp me, O my 
 God : for tliou sniitest all mine ene- 
 mies upon the cheek-bone >'; thou 
 hast broken the teeth of tlie un- 
 godly. 
 
 8 Salvation belongetli unto the 
 Lord=^ : and thy blessing is upon thy 
 people. 
 
 PSALM iv." Cum iiwocarem. 
 
 HE A 11 me when I call, O God 
 of my righteousness : thou 
 hast set me at liberty when I was in 
 
 from Jerusalem, still looked and prayed towards the 
 "holy hill" of Sion. Christ, when a stranger on the 
 earth, "made supplication with strong crying," to his 
 Father in heaven. Christ was heard lor his own sake : 
 David was heard, and we shall be heard, through Him. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. / laid me down and slept &c.] Behold David in 
 the midst of danger, sleeping without fear; secure, 
 through the divine protection, of awaking to engage 
 and vanquish his enemies. Behold the Son of David 
 composing Himself to his rest upon the cross, that bed 
 of sorrows ; and commending his spirit into his Father's 
 hands, in full confidence of a joyful resurrection, ac- 
 cording to the ])romise. at the time ajipointed. Behold 
 this, t) Christian, and let faith teach thee how to sleep, 
 and how to die ; while it assures thee, that as sleep is a 
 .short death, so death is only a longer sleep ; and that 
 the same God watches o\er thee, in thy bed and in thy 
 grave. Bp. Home. 
 
 '7. — thou smilest all mine enemies upon the cheek- 
 hone : &c.] Striking the cheek is an expression of the 
 greatest reproach, see 1 Kings xxii. 24; Job xvi. 10; 
 Lam iii. 30. And so it is a proverbial phrase to signify 
 putting to flight, for that is the most shameful and re- 
 proachful to an army. The same is the meaning of the 
 latter part of the verse, " thou hast broken their teeth ;" 
 the teeth being the weajions by which lions tear their 
 prey. See Psalm Iviii. 6. Dr. Havimond. 
 
 '8. Salvation belongeth unto tile Lord: &c.] The 
 Psalm ends with an acknowledgment, which ought 
 always to fill the heart, and upon every proper occasion 
 to flow from the mouth, of a Christian : namely, that 
 salvation is not to he had from man, from the kings of 
 the earth, or the gods of the heathen, from saints or 
 angels; but from Jehovah alone : to whom alone there- 
 fore the glory should be ascribed. If He will save, 
 none can destroy : if He will destroy, none can save. 
 Let Balak then curse Israel, or hire Balaam to curse 
 them for him : be but "thy blessing, O Lord, upon thy 
 people," and it sufiiceth. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' PsAi.M iv.] The person speaking in this Psalm, 1, 
 prayeth to be heard by (Jod ; 2, convinceth the world of 
 sin ; 3, declareth the righteous to be under the divine 
 protection ; 4, 5, jirescribeth solitude and meditation, 
 as the proper means to lead men to repentance and 
 faith ; 6, 7, sheweth that in God alone peace and com- 
 fort are to be founi! ; and, 8, how superior the joys of 
 the S])irit are to those of sense ; 9, reposeth himself, in 
 full assurance of faith, on the loving-kindness of the 
 Lord. Bp. Home. 
 
 The Psalm is said to have been composed by David, 
 
 4.53 
 
 me, and 
 
 See Vocab. 
 
 Lyiiif:, fdlsc- 
 liood. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 trouble ; have mercy upon 
 hearken unto my prayer. 
 
 2 O ye sons of men, how long will 
 ye blaspheme mine honour'' : and reprnaci. ami 
 have such pleasure in vanity, and 
 seek after leasing? 
 
 •'3 Know this also% that the Lord 
 hath chosen to himself the man that 
 is godly : when I call upon the Lord, 
 he will hoar me. 
 
 4 Starul in awe, and sin not'' : 
 commune with your own heart, and 
 in your chamber, and i)0 still. 
 
 5 Offer the sacrifice of righteous- 
 ness" : and put your trust in the 
 Lord. 
 
 possibly on the same or on a like occasion as the third. 
 Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ^ 2. — how long will ye hla.yyheme mine honour : &c.] 
 How long will you revile and speak evil of my regal 
 dignity ? How long will you give out such base calum- 
 nies against me, and industriously make use of lying to 
 sujiport your bad cause ? Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' 3. Know this also, &c.] Be the opinions or the 
 practices of men what they will, the counsel of the 
 Lord, that shall stand. Is David "set apart " for the 
 kingdom of Israel ? Saul shall not be able to detain, 
 nor .\bsalom to wrest it from him. Is Messiah ordained 
 to be King of the Israel of God ? death and hell shall 
 not prevent it. Are his discijiles appointed to reign 
 with Him ? infallibly they shall. Our intercessor is 
 already on high ; and for his sake the Lord will hear 
 us when " we call upon him." What, then, can be 
 said for us, if we neglect to call upon Him. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 '' 4. Stand in awe, and sin not : &c.] The enemies of 
 Christ, as well as those of David, are here called to re- 
 pentance, and the jjrocess of conversion is described. 
 The abo\-e-mentioned consideration of the divine coun- 
 sel, and the certainty of its being carried into execution, 
 by the salvation of the righteous, and the confusion of 
 their enemies, makes the wicked "tremble." "The 
 fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ;" it 
 arrests the sinner in his course, and he "sins not," he 
 goes no farther in the way of sin, but stops and reflects 
 upon what he has been doing : he " communes with his 
 own heart upon his bed, and is still ;" his conscience 
 suffers him not to rest in the night, but takes the 
 advantage of solitude and silence, to set before him his 
 transgressions, n-ith all the terrors of death and judg- 
 ment; stirring him up to confess the former, and 
 deprecate the latter, with unfeigned compunction and 
 sorrow of heart ; to turn unto the Lord, and to do 
 works meet for repentance ; to learn to do good, as 
 well as to cease from doing evil. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. Offer the sacrifice of righteousness : &c.] The 
 Jews are no longer to offer the shadowy sacrifices of 
 their law, since lie, who is the substance of them all, 
 is come into the world. The Gentiles are no more to 
 offer their idolatrous sacrifices, since their idols have 
 fallen before the cross. But returning sinners, whether 
 Jews or Gentiles, are to offer the same " sacrifices of " 
 evangelical " righteousness," not " putting their trust" 
 in them, but " in the Lord " Jesus, through whose 
 Spirit they are enabled to offer, and through whose 
 blood their offerings are acceptable unto God. Bp. 
 Home.
 
 454 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 T)ay 1. 
 
 more than in 
 the lime. 
 Bib, Trans. 
 
 Give ear to 
 
 my words. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 my cry. 
 Uii. Trans. 
 
 6 There be many that say^ : Who 
 will shew us any good ? 
 
 7 Lord, lift "thou up : the light of 
 thy countenance ujion us. 
 
 8 Thou hast put gladness in my 
 hearts : since the time that their 
 corn, and wine, and oil, increased. 
 
 9 I will lay me down in peace'', 
 and take my rest : for it is thou, 
 Lord, only, that makest me dwell in 
 safety. 
 
 PSALM V.' Verba men miribus. 
 
 PONDER my words, O Lord : 
 consider my meditation. 
 
 2 O hearken thou'' unto the voice 
 of my calling, my King, and my 
 God : for unto thee will I make my 
 prayer. 
 
 3 ISIy voice shalt thou hear be- 
 
 times, O Lord : early in the morn- 
 ing will I direct my prayer unto thee, 
 and will look up. 
 
 4 For thou art the God that hast 
 no pleasure in wickedness : neither 
 shall any evil dwell with thee. 
 
 5 Such as be fooli.sh shall not 
 stand' in thy sight : for thou hatest 
 all them that work vanity. 
 
 6 Thou shalt ilestroy them that 
 speak leasing™ : the Lord will abhor 
 both the blood-thirsty and deceitful 
 man. 
 
 7 But as for me", I will come into 
 thine house, even upon the multi- 
 tude of thy mercy : and in tliy fear 
 will I worship toward thy holy 
 temple. 
 
 8 Lead me, O Lord, in thy 
 righteousness", because of mine ene- 
 
 ' 6. There he inany that say : &c.] The two former 
 verses were addressed to rebellious sinners, inviting 
 them to repentance and reformation. This seems to 
 relate to the righteous, who, in times of calamity and i 
 persecution, like the friends of disti-esscd David, are 
 tempted to despond, on seeing no end to their troubles, j 
 The Psalmist, therefore, jjrescribes prayer to all such, as 
 an antidote against the temptation ; he directs them, | 
 in the darkest night, to look towards heaven, nor doubt ; 
 the return of day, when the rising sun shall diffuse 
 light and salvation, and sorrow and sighing shall fly 
 away. How many are continually asking tlie question 
 in this verse ! How few a])plying to Him, who alone 
 can give an answer of jicace and comfort ! Bp. Home. 
 
 e H. Thou hast put (/tadness in my heart : &c.] .Vc- 
 cording to this translation, the verse is an expression 
 of the Psalmist's gratitude, that God had given him 
 grace not to make any ill returns for the unkindness 
 of his enemies, but had enaliled him to be heartily 
 glad for the benefits, especially the fruitful seasons, 
 whicli (jod had bestowed ni)on them. Dr. Tiichotls. 
 Or, according to the Bible translation, it is a declara- 
 tion, that the very thoughts of (jod's love liad filled the 
 Psalmist's heart with such joy, that it far exceeded all 
 the jileasure his enemies could take, in seeing their 
 barns full of corn, and theu- |)re3scs overflow with wine. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ■■ 9. / will lay me down in peace, &c.] Tliis conclusion 
 afTords ample matter for iirofitable and delightfid 
 meditation, if it be eonsidereil, first, as spoken by 
 David, or any other believer, when lying down to rest, 
 full of the joys of a good conscience, and faitli un- 
 feigned : secondly, as ])rononnccd by tlie true David, 
 when composing Himself to his rest, in certain hoiie of 
 a resurrection. And happy tlie Christian, who having 
 nightly, with this verse, eoiiniiitted himself to his bed, 
 as to his grave, shall at last, with the same words, 
 resign himself to his grave, as to liis lied, from which 
 he e.vpects in due time to arise, and sing a morning 
 hymn, with the children of the resurrection. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' PsAi.M v.] This Psalm was composed l)y David: 
 but whutlier when he was persecuted liy Said or liy Al)- 
 salom, caimot 1)C (XTtainly determined. Bp. I'lilrick. 
 
 The Psalmist in allliction, 1 — -3, contimies and re- 
 solves to continue instant in i)raycr; 4 — 0, declares the 
 
 irreconcileable hatred which God bears to sin, and, 7. 
 his own confidence of being accepted ; 8, he petitions 
 for grace to direct and jireservc him in the way; 9, 10, 
 sets forth tlie wickedness of his enemies; 11, foretels 
 their punishment; and 12, 13, the salvation of the 
 faithful. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 2. hearken thou 6:0."] Although nothing can really 
 hinder or divert the divine attention, yet God is repre- 
 sented as " not hearing," when either the person is 
 unacceptable, or the ]ietition improper, or when He 
 would thoroughly i)ro\-e tlie faith and [latience of the 
 petitioner. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. Suck as be foolish shall not stand &c.] Or " the 
 mad men," as the word properly signifies, as Eccles. ii. 
 2. 1 2 ; vii. 7 ; .\. 13 ; Isa. xliv. 25 : tliat is, wicked men, 
 as the next words explain it ; who are indeed morally 
 and really mad men in fighting witli the Lord (iod 
 Almighty, and in exposing themselves to such dreadful 
 hazards and mischiefs for sucli mean and momentary 
 advantages. Poole. 
 
 '" 0. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing .- &c.] 
 Falsehood, blood-thirstiness, and deceitf'ulncss, are here 
 markeil out as characteristical of the enemies of David, 
 of Christ, and the church ; and history evinces them so 
 to have Ijeen. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 7. But as for me, &c.] Wisdom, righteousness, 
 truth, mercy, and sincerity, form a character the reverse 
 of tliat drawn in the preceding verses, and such an one 
 as tjod will accept, wlien appearing before Him in his 
 house, and oll'ering witli humility and reverence the 
 sacrifices of the new law, as David did tliosc of the 
 old, through faith in Him who alone filled up the 
 character, and procured acceptiuice for believers, and 
 their obhitions. B/). Home. 
 
 " S. Lend me, Lord, in thy righteousness, &c.] The 
 child of (Jod, admitted into his holy temjilc, there 
 jircfers this petition, jiraying to be led by llie divine 
 Spirit in a course of holy obedience, all iuipcdiiuents 
 being removed out of the way, which olherwisc might 
 obstruct the progress, or cause the fall, uf one beginning 
 to walk in the path of life ; of one who had many 
 "enemies" ready to contrive, to take advantage of, to 
 rejoice and triumph in. his ruin. li/i. Home. 
 
 'I'he words are a petition both for illimiinating, and 
 for directing and assisting grace. The Ps:diiust prays 
 the Lord, to give him a clear sight of his tliity ; and to
 
 Day 1. 
 
 mies : make thy way plain before my 
 face. 
 
 9 For there is no faithfulness in 
 his mouth p : their inward parts are 
 very wickedness. 
 
 10 Their throat is an open se- 
 pulchre : they flatter with their 
 toni^ue. 
 
 11 Destroy thou them, () Ciodi; 
 let them ])cri.sh through their own 
 
 projects or imau^iuatlons : cast them out in the 
 
 desiKos. See uv I r ii • n* r 
 
 vocab. multitude oi tlien- ungoulniess ; lor 
 
 they have rebelled against thee. 
 
 12 And let all them' that put their 
 trust in thee rejoice : they shall ever 
 be giving of thanks, because thou 
 defendest them ; they tiiat love thy 
 Name shall be joyful in thee ; 
 
 1.3 For thou, Lord, wilt give thy 
 blessing unto the righteous : and with 
 thy favourable kindness wilt thou de- 
 fend him as with a shield. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 455 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM vi.' Domine, ne in furore. 
 Lord, rebuke me not in thine 
 neither chasten 
 
 Asli- Wed- 
 nesday, first 
 Psalm Morn, 
 
 correct n,e \J iudignatioU 
 
 not with ex- jry^g in tliy displeasure 
 
 treme seve- .' a 
 
 rity. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 incline his heart to wallc e.xactly, and so acceptably 
 before God. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 p 9. For there is no faithfulness in his mouth : &c.] A 
 part of this verse is cited, Rom. iii. 13, together with 
 several other passages from the Psahiis and Propliets, to 
 evince the depravity of manliind, whether Jews or Gen- 
 tiles, till justified by faith, and renewed by grace. It is 
 plain, therefore, that the descrijition was designed for 
 others besides the enemies of the literal David, and is of 
 more general im])ort, reaching to the world of the un- 
 godly, and to the enemies of all righteousness, as 
 manifested in the person of Messiah, and in his church. 
 The charge brought against these is, that "truth" and 
 " fidelity " were not to be found in tlieir dealings with 
 God or each other; that their " inward parts " were very 
 wickedness ; their first thoughts and imaginations were 
 defiled, and the stream was poisoned at the fountain; 
 that their " tliroat was an 0])en sepulchre," continually 
 emitting, in obscene and impious language, the noisome 
 and infectious exhalations of a putrid heart, entombed 
 in a body of sin ; and that, if ever they put on the ap- 
 pearance of goodness, they " flattered with their tongue," 
 in order the more eft'ectually to deceive and destroy. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 '11. Destroy thou them, O God, &c.] Concerning 
 passages of this imprecatory kind in the book of 
 Psalms, it is to be observed, that they are not spoken 
 of private and personal enemies, but of the op])oser3 of 
 God and his Anointed ; nor of any among these, but j 
 the irreclaimable and finally impenitent ; and this by • 
 way of prediction, rather than imprecation ; which 
 would a])pear, if the original verbs were translated uni- 
 formly in the future tense, as they might be, and in- 
 deed, to cut off all occasion from them which desire it, 
 
 2 Have mercy upon me, () I^ord, 
 for I am weak : O Lord, heal me, for 
 my bones are ve.xed'. 
 
 3 My soul also is sore troubled : 
 but. Lord, how long wilt thou j)unish 
 me ? 
 
 4 Turn thee, O Lord, and deliver 
 my soul : O save me for thy mercy's 
 sake. 
 
 5 For in death no man remem- 
 bereth thee : and who will give thee 
 thanks in the pit ? 
 
 G I am weary of my groan- 
 ing; every night wash I my bed: 
 and water my couch with my 
 tears. 
 
 7 My beauty is gone for very 
 trouble : and worn away because of 
 all mine enemies. 
 
 8 Away from me", all ye that workers of 
 work vanity : for the Lord hath tr^a.s. 
 heard the voice of my weeping. 
 
 9 The Lord hath heard my pe- 
 tition : the Lord will receive my 
 prayer. 
 
 10 All mine enemies" shall be 
 confounded and sore vexed : they ashamed, 
 shall be turned back, and put to "'''■ ^"""■ 
 shame suddenly. 
 
 should be translated. The verse before us would then 
 riin thus — " Thou wilt destroy them, O God ; they 
 shall perish by their own counsels : thou wilt cast them 
 out in the multitude of their transgressions ; for they 
 have rebelled against thee." The words, when ren- 
 dered in this form, contain a prophecy of the infatu- 
 ation, rejection, and destruction of such as should 
 obstinately persevere in their opposition to the counsels 
 of Heaven, whether relating to David, to Christ, or to 
 the church. The fate of Ahithoijliel and Absalom, of 
 Judas and the Jews, should warn others not to offend 
 after the same example. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 12. And let all them &c.] As the last verse foretold 
 the perdition of the ungodly, this descrilies the felicity 
 of the saints; who, trusting in God, rejoice evermore, 
 and sing aloud in the chiu'ch the ]iraiscs of their Sa- 
 viour and mighty Defender; the love of whose name 
 fills their hearts with joy unspeakable, wl-.ile they ex- 
 perience the comforts of grace, and expect the rewards 
 of glory. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm vi.] This is the first of those Psalms which 
 are styled penitential. It contains, 1, a deprecation of 
 eternal vengeance, and 2, 3, a petition for pardon ; 
 which is enforced from the consideration of the peni- 
 tent's sufferings ; 4, from that of the divine mercy ; 5, 
 from that of the praise and glory which God would fail 
 to receive, if man were destroyed ; 0, 7, from that of 
 the penitent's humiliation and contrition: 8 — 10, the 
 strain changes into one of joy and triumi)h, upon the 
 success and return of the prayer. Bp. Home. 
 
 This Psalm was penned by David on some occasion 
 of special humiliation, for the confession of his sins, 
 and averting God's wi-ith. Dr. Hammond. Being 
 one of the penitential Psalms, it is appointed to be used
 
 456 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 1. 
 
 PSALM \\\J Domine, Deus meus. 
 
 
 
 Lord mv Gofl, in tliee have I 
 put my trust : save me from 
 
 all tliem that persecute me, and 
 
 deliver me ; 
 
 2 Lest he devour my soul, like a 
 lion% and tear it in pieces : while 
 there is none to help. 
 
 3 O Lord my God, if I have 
 done^ any such thing : or if there be 
 any wickedness in my hands ; 
 
 4 If I have rewarded evil unto 
 him that dealt friendly with me : 
 yea, I have delivered him that with- 
 out any cause is mine enemy ; 
 
 5 Then let mine enemy persecute 
 my soul, and take me : yea, let him 
 
 bury all my tread my life down upon the earth, 
 wuh'my" and lay mine honour in the dust. 
 
 body in the grave. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 on Ash-Wednesday, and is suitable to the condition of 
 those, who are any way afflicted or distressed in mind, 
 body, or estate. Travell. 
 
 ' 2. — my bones are vexed.'] That is, every part of 
 my body ; it being an ordinaiy figure among the 
 Hebrews to express a tiling by the names of its jjarts. 
 Thus Psahn xxxv. 10, " All my bones shall say, Lord, 
 who is hke unto thee ?" where the " bones " signify 
 the Psalmist himself, his tongue, and heart, and every 
 part of him. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 " 8. Away from me, Sec] Repentance, having per- 
 formed her task, having taught her votary to forsake 
 sin, and to renounce all communication with sinners, 
 now gives place to faith, which appears with the glad 
 tidings of pardon and acceptance, causing the penitent 
 to rejoice in God his Saviour, with joy unspeakable : 
 and inspiring his heart with \'igour and resolution to 
 run his course in the way of righteousness. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. All mine ene7nies &c.] Many of the mournful 
 Psalms end in this manner, to instruct the believer, 
 that he is continually to look forward, and solace him- 
 self with beholding that day, when his warfare shall be 
 accomplished ; when sin and sorrow shall be no more; 
 when suilden and everlasting confusion shall cover the 
 enemies of righteousness ; when the sackcloth of the 
 penitent shall be exchanged for a robe of glory ; when 
 to sighs and groans shall succeed the songs of heaven, 
 set to angelic harps, and faith shall be resolved into 
 the vision of the .Mmigbty. lin. Home. 
 
 'PsAiMvii.l David is said to have composed this 
 Psalm concerning the words, or the matter of Ciisli the 
 Benjaniite. Whether Saul, or Shiinei, or any one else, 
 be intended under this name, it is sufliciently clear, 
 that David bad been maliciously asi)ersed and cahnn- 
 niated by such a [lerson ; that the Psalm was written 
 to vindicate himself from the imputaticm, whatever 
 was the nature of it ; and, consctpientlj', may be consi- 
 dered as the apjieal of the true David and his disciples, 
 against the grand accuser and his associates. The 
 per.son speaking, 1, 2, declares his tnist to be in God ; 
 3 — 5, ])rote3t3 his innocence; (i — H, desires that judg- 
 ment may be given in the cause; — 11, prays for 
 the abolition of sin, and the fidl cstablisluncnt of 
 righteousness; 12 — 14, sets forth the divine judgments 
 against sinners; 15 — 17, describes the beginning, pro- 
 
 6 Stand up, O Lord, in thy 
 wrath ''j and lift up thyself, because- 
 of the indignation of mine enemies : 
 arise up for me in the judgement 
 that thou hast commanded. 
 
 7 And so shall the congregation of 
 the people"^ come about thee : for 
 their sakes therefore lift up thyself 
 again. 
 
 8 The Lord shall judge the pec- judge me, o 
 
 , . . '' ~ I ' y^ Lord, accord- 
 
 pie"; give sentence witli me, U ing to ic. 
 
 Lord : according to my righteous- ^''^ ^'^""*- 
 
 ne.ss, and according to the innocency 
 
 that is in me. 
 
 9 O let the wickedness of the un- 
 godly ° come to an end : but guide 
 thou the just. 
 
 10 For the righteous God : trieth 
 
 the very hearts and reins. aii the desires 
 
 1 1 INIy help Cometh of God : who ^ojigh" 
 
 Dr. Hammond. 
 
 gress, and end of sin, with, IS, the joy and triumph of 
 the faithful. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. Lest he devour my smd, like a lion, &c.] Tlie 
 " lion," of whom David stood in fear, was probably 
 Saul, roused by a false accusation, to destroy him. 
 The rage of tj'rants is often in the same manner excited 
 against the church. And we all have reason to dread 
 the fury of one who is "the roaring lion," as well as 
 the "accuser of the brethren." From him none can 
 deliver us, but God only. Bp. Home. 
 
 • 3. Lord my God, if I have done &c.] David 
 makes a solemn ajipeal to God, the searcher of hearts, 
 to judge of his innocence, with regard to the particular 
 crime laid to his charge. Any person, when slandered, 
 may do the same. But Christ only could call upon 
 heaven to attest his universal uprightness. Bp. Home. 
 
 *■ 6. Stand vp, Lord, in thy urath, &c.] To a ])ro- 
 testation of innocence succeeds a prayer for judgment 
 u]ion the case, which is formed on these two consider- 
 ations : first, the unreasonable and unrelenting fury 
 of the persecutors; secondly, the justice which (iod 
 has " commanded " others to execute, and which there- 
 fore He Himself will doubtless execute ujion such occa- 
 sions. Let injured innocence ever comfort itself with 
 the remembrance of another day to come, when, every 
 earth-born cloud being removed, it shall dazzle its o])- 
 pressorswith lustre far superior to that of the noon-day 
 sun. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. And so shall the congregation of the people, &c.] 
 The meaning is, that a visible display of God's right- 
 eous judgment would induce mullitudes who sliould 
 behold, or hear of it, to adore and glorify Him. I'or 
 their sakes, therefore, as well as that of the sufl'erer. He 
 is intreated to re-ascend the tribunal as formerly, and 
 pronounce the wislu-d-for sentence. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 8. The Lord shall judge the people ; &c.] Con- 
 scious of his " righteousness " and " integrity," as to 
 the matter in question, David desires to be judged l)y 
 Him who is to judge the world at the last day. How 
 few, among Christians, have seriously and deliberately 
 considered, whether the sentence of that day is likely 
 to be in their favour! \H, how many, with the ut- 
 most coni|)osure and self-complacency. re])eat con- 
 tinually the words of this Psalm, as well as those in 
 the Te Deum, " We believe that thou shall come to be
 
 his mischief. 
 Bill. Tram. 
 
 Bay 1. 
 
 preserveth them that are 
 heart. 
 
 12 God is a righteous Judge, 
 strong, and patient : and God is jiro- 
 voked every day. 
 
 13 If a man will not turn', lie will 
 whet his sword : lie hath bent his 
 bow, and made it ready. 
 
 14 He hath prepared for him 
 the instruments of death : he or- 
 daineth his arrows against the perse- 
 cutors. 
 
 15 Behold, he travaileth e with mis- 
 chief : he hath conceived sorrow, and 
 brought forth ungodliness. 
 
 16 He hath graven and digged up 
 a pit'' : and is fallen himself into the 
 destruction that he made for other. 
 
 17 For his travail shall come upon 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 true of 
 
 457 
 
 our Judge ! " Legal, or perfect righteousness and in- 
 tegrity, are peculiar to the Redeemer ; but evangelical 
 righteousness and integrity all must have, who would 
 be saved. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 9 — U. let the mckedness of the nngodly &c.] 
 It is ])redicted, that wickedness will, in the end, be 
 abolished, and the just immoveably established, by 
 Him who knoweth intimately the very thoughts and 
 desires of both good and bad men, and will give to 
 each their due reward. Happy the man whose liope is 
 therefore in God, because He saveth the upright or 
 "true of heart !" Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 13. If a man will not turn, &c.] The sinner, who is 
 not converted by the vengeance inflicted on others, will 
 himself at length be made an example of. I'he wrath 
 of God may be slow, but it is always sure. In thought- 
 less security man wantons and whiles away the precious 
 hours ; he knows not that every transgression sets a 
 fresh edge on the sword, which is thus continually 
 whetting for his destruction ; nor considers, that he is 
 the mark of an archer who never errs, and who, at this 
 very instant perhaps, has fitted to the string that arrow 
 which is to pierce his soul with everlasting anguish. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 6 15. Behold, he travaileth &c.] "He," namely, the 
 wicked. This metaphor denotes his deep design, and 
 continued course, and vigorous endeavours for the do- 
 ing of mischief, and his restlessness and pain till he 
 have accomplished it. Poole. 
 
 " 16. He hath graven and digged up a pit : &c.] All 
 the world agrees to acknowledge the equity of that sen- 
 tence which inflicts upon the guilty the punishment 
 intended by them for the innocent. No one pities the 
 fate of a man buried in that pit which he had dug to 
 receive his neighbour; or of him who owes his death- 
 wound to the return of an arrow shot against heaven. 
 Saul was overthrown by those Philistines «'hom he 
 would have made the instruments of cutting off David. 
 Haman was hanged on his own gallows. The Jews, 
 who e.xcited the Romans to crucify Christ, were them- 
 selves, by the Romans, crucified in crowds. Striking 
 instances these of the vengeance to be one day executed 
 on all tempters and persecutors of others; when men 
 and angels shall lift up their voices, and cry out toge- 
 ther, " Righteous art thou, O Lord, and just are thy 
 judgements.' Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm viii.] This Psalm was composed by David 
 for the magnifying of God's wonderful goodness, as 
 
 his own head : and his wickedness 
 shall fall on his own pate. 
 
 18 1 will give thanks inito the 
 Lord, according to his righteousness : 
 and I will praise the Name of the 
 Lord most High. 
 
 Domine, Dominus nosier. 
 
 Ascension- 
 
 Gl^ , day. firsl 
 
 overnour", how p»,iim 
 
 Name in all '''""'• ^''"• 
 
 hast set thy 
 
 PSALM viii.i 
 Lord 
 
 excellent is thy 
 the world : thou that 
 glory above the heavens ! 
 
 '2 Out of the mouth' of very babes 
 and sucklings hast thou ordained 
 strength, because of thine enemies : 
 that thou mightest still the enemy, 
 and the avenger. 
 
 3 For I will consider thy heavens'", 
 even the works of thy fingers : the 
 
 more general in the fabrick of the world, and liis 
 bounty to mankind, in making him Lord of that great 
 work of his; so moi'e particular to himself, in using 
 him as his instrument, to discomfit Goliath of Gath, the 
 proud boasting giant, the champion of the Philistines ; 
 and in the prophetical mystical sense, his more admi- 
 rable mercy to men, in exalting our human nature 
 abo\'e all the creatures in the world ; which was emi- 
 nently completed in our Saviour's assumption of our 
 flesh, and ascending to, and reigning in heaven in it. 
 Dr. Hammond. 
 
 This is the first of those Psalms, which the Church 
 has appointed to be read on Ascension-day. It treats, 
 as appears from Heb. ii. 0, &c. of the wonderful love 
 of (iod, shewn by the exaltation of our nature in Mes- 
 siah, or the second Adam, to the right hand of the 
 Majesty on high, and by the subjection of all creatures 
 to the word of his power. Bp. Home. 
 
 ''1.0 Lord our Governour, &c.] As if he had said, 
 O thou Lord, Creator, and sole Governour of heaven 
 and earth, which hast pleased to be knott-n to us men 
 in a pecuhar relation of care and special kindness, to 
 instruct and reveal the knowledge of thy will to 
 us : how art thou to be admired and praised and mag- 
 nified by men and angels, and by all both in heaven 
 and earth : «hose superlative greatness and super- 
 eminent majesty is infinitely exalted above all the most 
 glorious creatures. This is most true of Thee in thy 
 divine invisible nature : true also in thy strange vouch- 
 safements to me at this time : but abo\-e all is most 
 admirable matter of observation and acknowledgment 
 to us vile sinners, if considered in the great mystery of 
 our redemption ; the descension first, and then exalta- 
 tion of oiir Savioiu'! To which this Psalm is distinctly 
 a])plied. Matt. xxi. IG; 1 Cor. xv. 27; Heb. ii. 6 — 8. 
 Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ' 2. Out of the mouth &c.] This verse is cited by our 
 Lord, Matt. xxi. 10, and applied to "little children in 
 the temple, crying, Hosanna to tlie Son of Da\id ! " 
 which vexed and confounded his malignant adversaries. 
 The import of the words, therefore, i)lainly is, that the 
 ])raises of Messiah, celebrated in the church by his 
 children, have in them a strength and ]io«-er which 
 nothing can withstand ; they can abash infidelity, when 
 at its greatest height, and strike hell itself dumb. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 3. For I will consider thy heavens, &c.] At the time 
 of inditing this Psalm, Da\-id is evidently supposed to
 
 458 
 
 moon and tlie stars, whicli tliou hast 
 ordained. 
 
 4 What is man, that thou art 
 mindful of him : and the son of man, 
 that thou visitest him ? 
 
 5 Tliou madest him lower" than 
 the ancrels : to crown him with glory 
 and worship. 
 
 6 Thou makest him to have do- 
 minion of the works of thy hands : 
 and thou hast put all things in sub- 
 jection under his feet. 
 
 7 All sheep and oxen " : yea, and 
 the beasts of the field ; 
 
 8 The fowls of the air, and the 
 fishes of the sea : and whatsoever 
 walketh through the paths of the 
 seas. 
 
 9 O Lord our GovernourP : how 
 excellent is thy Name in all the 
 world ! 
 
 have had before his eyes the heavens as they appear by 
 night. He is struck with the awful magnificence of 
 the wide extended firmament, adorned by the moon 
 walking in brightness, and rendered brilliant by the 
 v\v\d lustre of a multitude of shining orbs, dilfering 
 from each other in magnitude and splendour. And 
 when, from surveying the beauty of heaven, with its 
 glorious shew, he turns to take a view of the creature 
 man, he is still more affected by the mercy, than he 
 had before been by the majesty of the Lord ; since far 
 less wonderful it is, that God should make such a 
 world as this, than that He who made such a «-orld as 
 this should be " mindful of man," in his fallen estate, 
 and should " visit" human nature with his salvation. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " 5, 0. Thnu madest him lower &c.] On these two 
 verses, with that preceding, St. Paul has left the fol- 
 lowing comment : " One in a certain place testified, 
 saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him ? 
 or the son of man, that thou visitest him r Thou 
 madest him a little lower than [miirr/. a little while 
 inferior to] the angels; thou crownedst him with glory 
 and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy 
 hands; thou hast ])ut all things in sulijection luuler his 
 feet. For in that lie put all in subjection under him, 
 he left nothing that is not put under him. But now 
 we see not yet all things ]iut under him. lint we see 
 Jesus who was made a little lower tli;iii the angels for 
 the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour," 
 Ueb. ii. G, &c. See also 1 (.'or. xv. 27. Bp. Hume. 
 
 " 7, 8. All slierp and oxen : &e.] Adam, upon his 
 creation, was invested with sovereign dominion over 
 the creatures, in words of the same import with these ; 
 (jen. i. '2S ; whicli are therefore here used, and tlie 
 creatures particularized, to inform us, that wliat the 
 first Adam lost by transgression, the second Adam 
 regained by obedience. 'I'hat " glory" which was " set 
 above the heavens," could not but bo over all things 
 " on the earth." And accordingly we hear our Lord 
 saying, after his resurrection, " All jiowcr ia given unto 
 me in heaven and in earth," Matt, xxviii, 18. All 
 tilings are juit under the feet of King Messiah: who, 
 " because lie humbled himself, and liecame obedient 
 unto death, even the death of the cross, was tiierefore 
 liiglily exalted, and had a name given him above every 
 
 THE PSALMS. Day 2. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 right 
 
 PSALM ix.i Confilebor libi. King 
 
 I Will give thanks inito thee, O Jian. «rst 
 Lord, with my whole heart : jiOT^Serv. 
 I will speak of all thy marvellous 
 works. 
 
 2 I will be glad and rejoice in 
 tliee : yea, my songs will I make of 
 thy Name, O thou most Highest ^ 
 
 3 While mine enemies are driven 
 back* : they shall fall and perish at 
 thy presence. 
 
 4 For thou hast maintained my 
 and my cause : thou art set in 
 
 the throne that judgest right. 
 
 5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, 
 and destroyed the ungodly : thou 
 hast put out their name for ever and 
 ever. 
 
 6 O thou enemy ', destructions are 
 
 name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should 
 bow, whether of things in heaven, or things on earth, 
 or things under the eai'th ; and that every tongue 
 should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God 
 the Father," I'hil. ii. S, &c. Bp. Home. 
 
 r Lord our Govemour : &c.] Let therefore the 
 universal chorus of men and angels join their voices 
 together, and make their sound to be heard as one, in 
 honour of the Redeemer, evermore praising Him, and 
 saying, O Lord, our Lord Jesu Christ, King of righte- 
 ousness, peace, and glory. King of kings, and Lord of 
 lords, how excellent, how jjrecious, how lovely, how 
 great and glorious is thy name, diffused over all the 
 earth, for the salvation of thy chosen ! Blessing, and 
 honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth 
 upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and 
 ever. And let heaven and earth say, Amen. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 1 I's/VLM ix.] This Psalm consists of two parts, a 
 thanksgiving, 1 — 12; and a jiraycr, 13 — 20. Upon 
 what jiarticular occasion it was composed, is not known : 
 probably to celebrate tlie victories gained by I)a\id 
 over the neighbouring nations, after God had exalted 
 him to be king in Sion, see ver. 11. He first exhorts 
 tlie righteous to join with him in jiraising the power, 
 wisdom, and justice of the Lord, who delivers those that 
 trust in Him, and confounds the malice and devices of 
 tlie wicked; secondly, he beseeches (iod to protect 
 always those who fear Him, against the violence of 
 their enemies. Bp. Home, Osttrrald. 
 
 ' 2. O thou most Highest.'] The double superlative 
 "most highest" is a phrase peculiar to the old vulgar 
 translation of the Psalms, where it acquires a singular 
 propriety from the subject to which it is applied, the 
 supreme Being, who is higher than the highest. Bp. 
 Lowth. 
 
 ' ;i. JVhile ntine enemies are driven bnek : S:c.] As if 
 he had said, By Thee arc our enemies |iut to lligbt ; and 
 to Thee only it is to be aseribed. It is thy miijesty that 
 hath done the whole work for us : Thou fouglitest 
 against them, and thereby they were thus worsted, 
 scattered, and destroyed. J)r. Iliimmond. 
 
 ' G. thou enemy, &c'.] This is a sudden apostro- 
 phe to the enemies of (iod's peopU', I'lulistincs, Aino- 
 rites, or other nations, who had formerly made great
 
 Bay 2. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 459 
 
 judgement in 
 uprigliliiesH. 
 Bib. Traits. 
 
 the Iiumble. 
 Bih. Trans. 
 
 come to a perpetual end : even as 
 the cities wliicli tiiou hast destroyed ; 
 tlieir memorial is perished with 
 them. 
 
 7 V>\\i tlie Lord shall endure for 
 ever : he hath also prepared his seat 
 for judi^ement. 
 
 8 For he shall judge the world in 
 rig'hteousness : and minister true 
 judirement unto the people. 
 
 9 The Lord also will be a defence 
 for the oppressed : even a refuge in 
 due time of trouble. 
 
 10 And they that know thy Name" 
 will put their trust in thee : for thou, 
 Lord, hast never failed them that 
 seek thee. 
 
 110 praise the Lord which dwell- 
 eth in Sion" : shew the people of his 
 doings. 
 
 \'2 For wlien he maketh inqui- 
 sition for blood, he remembereth 
 tliem*": and forgetteth not the com- 
 plaint of the poor. 
 
 liavock and waste among them. It may purport, that 
 they were not only frustrated of their desires and hopes 
 of destroying the Israehtes, but were also subdued, and 
 in a great part destroyed by them. Poole. As if were 
 said, O thou enemy, thou hast now, I hojie, done de- 
 stroying : thou hast made an end of seeking and ruin- 
 ing our cities ; there is no more work for thee further 
 to do : and now, when thou hast done thy worst, 
 thyself and thy memorial is utterly rooted out. £/;. 
 Hall. 
 
 The Christian church, when repeating these words, 
 may be supjjosed to take a retrospective \'iew of the 
 successive fall of those empires, with their capital 
 "cities," in which the "enemy" had from time to time 
 fixed his residence, and which had vexed and perse- 
 cuted the people of God in different ages. Such were 
 the Assyrian, or Babylonian, the Persian, and the 
 Grecian monarchies. All these vanished away, and 
 came to nothing : nay, the very " memorial" of the 
 stupendous Nine\'eh and Babylon is so " jjerished with 
 them," that the jjlace where they once stood is now no 
 more to be found. The Roman empire was the last of 
 the pagan persecuting powers ; and when the church 
 saw " that" under her feet, well might she cry out, 
 " The destructions of the enemy are completed to the 
 utmost !" Bp. Home. 
 
 " 10. And they that know thy Name &c.] They, who 
 " know God's name," that is, who are acquainted with, 
 and have experienced, his merciful nature and disposi- 
 tion, expressed in that name, will take no unlawful 
 methods to escape affliction, nor " put their trust" in 
 any but Him for deliverance. Bp. Home. 
 
 * 1 1 . praise the Lord which dwelleth in Sion .-] This 
 is an invitation to all the inhabitants of Judea, to join 
 with the Psalmist in praising God, whose particular 
 residence upon earth was in his ark, in mount Sion. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 '■ 12. Fur when he maketh inquisition for blood, he 
 remembereth them .] " Them," that is those «-ho " seek 
 him," mentioned in the tenth verse : so that the ex- 
 hortation to " sing praises," ver. 11, seems parenthetick. 
 
 \ii Have mercy upon me, O Lord; 
 consider the trouble which I suffer 
 of them that hate me : thou that 
 liftest me up from the gates of 
 death. 
 
 14 That I may shew all thy 
 ])raises'' within the ports of the Bi'es- i>i'>. 
 
 dl , !• .•' a T '11 • • . Trans. See 
 
 augliter ot bion^ : 1 wul rejoice in vocab. 
 
 thy salvation. 
 
 15 The heathen are sunk down'' 
 in the pit that they made : in the 
 same net which they hid jirivily, is 
 their foot taken. 
 
 It) The Lord is known to execute 
 judgement : the ungodly is traj)ped 
 in the work of his own hands. 
 
 17 The wicked shall be turned 
 into hell'' : and all the peoj)le that 
 forget God. 
 
 18 For the poor shall not alvvay 
 be forgotten'' : the patient abiding 
 of the meek shall not perish for 
 ever. 
 
 19 LTp, Lord, and let not man 
 
 Bp. Home. The meaning of the verse is, the blood of 
 humble, i)ious, helpless men, that is shed by oppressors, 
 hath a cry that goes up to heaven. Gen. iv. 10; and is 
 most jirecious to God : He will never suffer it to go 
 unpunished, but will inflict severe vengeance for it; 
 pursue and find out the guilty, and pour his plagues 
 upon them. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ' 14. That I may shew all thy praises &c.] .4s if he 
 had said, 'i'hen will I in sacred verse sing out thy 
 praises in the most publick assemblies of the people 
 of .lerusalem, which used to be held at the gates of the 
 city : and thy deliverance shall be the theme of my 
 Psalm. Dr. Nicholls. These gates he elegantly op- 
 poseth to the former ; and declareth, that, if he be 
 brought off them, he will go into these, Poole. 
 
 " — the daiKjhter of Sion :~\ The word "daughter," 
 appbed to a city or nation, signifies the people or 
 inhabitants of it ; the city being as it were the parent 
 from whence they spring. Accordingly the Chaldee 
 here expresses it by "the assembly of Sion." Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 ^ 15. The heathen are sunk down &c.] Faith beholds, 
 as already executed, that righteous judgment, whereby 
 wicked men and evil spirits will fall into the perdition 
 whicli they had jirepared for others, either ojienly by 
 persecution, or more covertly by temptation. See Ps. 
 vii. 15, IC. Bp. Home. 
 
 Nothing is a more convincmg proof of the providence 
 of God, than the righteous judgment which he executes 
 upon the ungodly, when they are intangled in their own 
 devices, and thus bring upon themselves that destruc- 
 tion, which they had prepared for others. Travcll. 
 
 ' 17. The wicked shall be turned into hell : &c.] All 
 wickedness came originally with the wicked one from 
 hell ; thither it will he again remitted, and they who 
 hold on its side must accompany it on its return to that 
 I)lace of torment, there to be shut up for ever. The 
 true state both of " nations," and the individuals of 
 which they are composed, is to be estimated from one 
 single circumstance, namely, whether in their doings 
 they remember or " forget God." Remembrance of
 
 460 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 King 
 Cliarles'3 
 Mart, second 
 Psalm 
 Morn. Serv. 
 
 to gratify his 
 own insolent 
 temper. Dr, 
 Ntchults. See 
 Voeab. 
 devices. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 have the upper haiul : let the hea- 
 then be jiulued in thv sight. 
 
 •20 Put them in fear, O Lordi^ : 
 that the heathen may know them- 
 selves to be but men. 
 
 PSALM X.' Ut quid, Domine ? 
 
 WH Y standest thou so far off, 
 O Lords : and hidest thy face 
 in the needful time of trouble ? 
 
 2 The ungodly for his own lust 
 doth persecute the poor : let them 
 be taken in the crafty wiliness that 
 they have imagined. 
 
 3 For the ungodly hath made 
 
 .h . 
 
 Him is the well-spring of virtue ; forgetfulness of Him, 
 the fountain of vice. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 18. For the poor shall not alway beforgolten: &c.] 
 They, who rememher God, shall infallihly he remem- 
 bered hy Him : and let this he their anchor in the most 
 tempestuous seasons. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 20. Put them in fenr, Lord: &c.] Strange, that 
 man, dust in his original, sinful by his fall, and con- 
 tinually reminded of both by every thing in him and 
 about him, should yet stand in need of some sharp 
 affliction, some severe visitation from God, to bring 
 him to the knowledge of himself, and make him feel 
 who and what he is. But this is frequently the case ; 
 and when it is, as there are wounds which cannot be 
 healed without a previous apjilication of causticks, 
 mercy is necessitated to begin her work with an inflic- 
 tion of judgment. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm .\.] This Psalm is one of David's: and is 
 a complaint made to God of the riotous oppressions of 
 wicked men, and an humble reliance on llim for re- 
 pressing them. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 The church, under persecution from the spirit of 
 antichrist in the world, after, 1, an huinble exjiostula- 
 tion with her Lord, settetli down the marks whereby 
 that spirit may be known ; such as, 2, hatred of the 
 faithl'iil ; 3, self-wiUedness and worldly-mindedncss; 4, 
 inlidelity; 5, G, jirotligacy and pride; 7, profaneness 
 and jHi-jury; 8 — 11, subtilty and treachery employed 
 against the ])eople of God ; 12, security and presump- 
 tion. From the persecutious of such a spirit, the 
 chiu'ch, 13 — 17, prayeth earnestly to be delivered; 
 and, 18 — 20, through faith, rejoiceth in tribulation. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 « 1. tVhy standest thou so far off, Lord: &c.] During 
 the conflict between the church and lier adversaries, 
 God is represented as one withdrawing to a distance, 
 instead of affording succour ; nay, as one concealing 
 Himself, so as not to be found liy those who petitioned 
 for aid or cotmscl. To beholil tlu; righleous cause 
 oppressed, anil good men seemingly deserted by heaven, 
 at a time when they most need its assistance, is apt to 
 offend the weak, and oftentimes stagger those who arc 
 strong. It is indeed a sore trial, but intended to make 
 us ])erfect in the practice of three most important duties, 
 humility, resignation, and faith. That we may not faint 
 under tlic severity of this disci])line, let us ever bear in 
 minil, thiit the beloveil Son of the I'ather, the Son in 
 whom lie was well pleased, had once occasion to utter 
 these words, " .My (iod, my God, why hast thou for- 
 saken me;" /)/). Home. 
 
 '' 3. For the wKjiiillij hath made boast of hLi own heart's 
 desire : &c.] 'I'he first jiart of this verse points out that 
 
 boast of his own heart's desire 
 and speaketh good of the covetous, 
 whom God abhorreth. 
 
 4 The ungodly is so proud', that 
 he careth not for God : neither is 
 God in all his thoughts. 
 
 5 His ways are alway grievous'' : 
 thy judgements are far above out of 
 liis sight, and therefore defieth he 
 all his enemies. 
 
 6 For he hath said in his heart, 
 Tush', I sliall never be cast down : 
 there shall no harm happen unto 
 me. 
 
 7 His mouth is full of cursing™, 
 
 tlirough the 
 l»ri(ie of liis 
 couiitenance 
 Mill not sefk 
 .nfter God. 
 Sill. Trans. 
 otiensive to 
 God. Bp. 
 Halt. 
 
 alarming symptom of a reprobate mind, a disposition to 
 exult and glory in those lusts, which are the shame and 
 disgrace of human nature, n-hether the world or the 
 flesh be their object. Bp. Home. The latter part de- 
 scribes the wicked as not satisfied with doing evil him- 
 self, but commending and praising the unjust extortions 
 and rapines of other violent men, whom he accounts 
 ha]ipy, though the Lord aljhors them. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' 4. The nngodlij is so proud, &c.] The counsels of 
 heaven are not known by the wicked, because they are 
 not sought after ; and the}' are not sought after, because 
 of a diabolical self-sufficiency, which, having taken ])os- 
 session of the heart, displays itself in the countenance, 
 and reigns throughout the man. He wants no Projihet 
 to teach him, no Priest to atone for him, no King to 
 conduct him ; he needs neither a Christ to redeem, nor 
 a Spirit to sanctify him : he believes no Providence, 
 adores no Creator, and fears no Jiulge. Thus he lives 
 a " stranger from the covenants of promise, and with- 
 out God in the world," Ejihes. ii. 12. () that this cha- 
 racter now existed only in the Psalmist's description ! 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 5. His ways areaJway grievous: &c.] As are a man's 
 principles, such will be his practices : and if lie hath not 
 (iod in his thoughts, liis course of life will he corrupt 
 and abominable, his end, his means, and his motives 
 being all wTong, and jiolluted with concupiscence. 
 'I'here would have lieen some chance of holding him by 
 fear, but that is gone with his faith; for no man can 
 tremlile at judgments in which he does not believe. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. For he hath snidin his heart. Tush, &c.] Prospe- 
 rity begets presumption, and he. who has been long 
 accustomed to see his designs succeed, begins to think 
 it impossible they should ever do otherwise. The long- 
 suffering of God, insteail of leading such an one to 
 repentance, only hardens him in his iniciuity. Heeatise 
 sentence against an evil work is not evecuted speedily, 
 he thinks it will not lie executed at all. He vaiintcth 
 himself, therefore, like the proud Chalilean monarch, in 
 the IJabylon which be hath erected, and fondly jiro- 
 nounceth it to be iinmortid. Such, it is too evident, are 
 often the vain imaginations of triumphant wickedness. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 "' 7. His mouth is full of rursitig, ^e.] From the 
 thoughts of the sinner's " heart," mentioned in the 
 ]ireeeding verse, Ua\'id goes on to describe the words 
 of his " mouth." B/i. Home. When he speaks, it is 
 only to utter curses, in order to cheat and deceive those 
 who trust him ; anil wlmte\-er fair siieeches he may 
 make, they arc intended to hide the secret malice of his 
 licart. 'lYavelt.
 
 Dmj 'i. 
 
 deceit, and fraud 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 461 
 
 in every 
 blind corner 
 of the ways. 
 Dr. NicltMs. 
 
 catch. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 under his tongue 
 is unirodliness and vanity. 
 
 8 He sitteth lurking" in tlic 
 tliievish corners of tlie streets : and 
 privily in his hirking (Umis <hith he 
 murder the innocent; liis eyes arc 
 set against the poor. 
 
 9 For he lieth waiting secretly, 
 even as a lion lurketh he in his den : 
 tiiat he may ravish the poor. 
 
 10 He doth ravish the poor : when 
 he getteth him into his net. 
 
 1 1 He falleth down, and humbleth 
 himself" : that the congregation of 
 the poor may fall into the hands of 
 his captains. 
 
 1-2 He hath said in his hearty 
 Tush, God hath forgotten : he hideth 
 away his face, and he will never see 
 it. 
 
 1.3 Arise, O Lord God, and lift up 
 thine hand : forget not the poor. 
 
 14 Wherefore should the wicked 
 
 " Under his tongue :" that is, under his fair and 
 ])lausible speeches the mischief here following is hid 
 and covered. The Psalmist seems to allude to serpents, 
 whose poison lies hidden " under their tongue," or 
 within their teeth. Poole. 
 
 ° 8 — 10. He xilteth lurking &c.] If deceitful words 
 will not enable him to compass his ends, he scruples not 
 to be guilty of the most atrocious deeds : lurking in 
 secret places, he lies as close as a Hon in his den to 
 catch his prey. A fowler is not more cunning to draw 
 the birds to his net, than he is to get the poor helj)- 
 less men into his power, that he may devour them. 
 Travell. 
 
 ° 11. He falleth down, and humbleth himself: &c.] Our 
 Lord, who is styled "the Lion of the tribe of .ludah," 
 became a " Lamb," for the salvation of mankind : but 
 when his adversary at any time "humbleth" himself, 
 when the wolf ajipcars in sheep's clothing, let the flock 
 beware; it is for their more effectual destruction. And 
 if, allured by an outward shew of moderation and bene- 
 volence, the simjjle ones shall venture themselves within 
 his reach, they will soon find that his nature is disguised, 
 but not altered. Bp. Hume. 
 
 ■■ 12. He hath said in his heart, &c.] For the chas- 
 tisement of his peojile, God often suffers the enemy to 
 prevail and jirosper, wlio then ridicules the faith and 
 hope of the church, and solaces himself in the conceit, 
 that if there be a God, He either knows not, or cares 
 not, what is done ujjon earth. These Epicurean no- 
 tions, however absurd anil unworthy of the Deity they 
 may seem, do yet in some measure take possession of 
 eveiy man's mind at the instant of his committing a sin ; 
 since it is most certain, that with a due imjjression of 
 the divine omniscience u])on his soul at the time, he 
 would not commit it, for all that the tempter could offer 
 him. But faith is apt to sleep, and then sin awakes. 
 Sp. Home. 
 
 '15. Surely thou hast seen it, &c.] Above, "the 
 wicked saith in his heart. Thou wilt not reipiite it." 
 But the faithful are taught other things by the promises 
 of Scriptiu-e, and the experience of unnumbered histo- 
 ries. They know assuredly, that God beholds all that 
 
 blaspheme God : while he dotli .say 
 in his heart, Tash, thou God carest 
 not for it. 
 
 15 Surely thou hast seen if : 
 for tlioii heholdest ungodliness and 
 wrong. 
 
 l(i That thou maycst take the 
 matter into thine hand : the poor 
 committeth himself unto thee ; for 
 thou art the helper of the friendless. 
 
 17 Break thou the power' of the 
 ungodly and malicious : take away 
 his ungodliness, and thou shalt find 
 none. 
 
 18 The Lord is King' for ever 
 and ever : and the heathen are 
 perished out of the land. 
 
 19 Lord, thou hast heard' the 
 desire of the ])oor : thou preparest 
 their heart, and thine ear hearkeneth 
 thereto; 
 
 20 To help the fatherless" and 
 poor unto their right : that the man 
 
 travail and vexation which some inflict, and others sus- 
 tain, upon the earth ; and that He will infaUibly recom- 
 pense to the former their deeds, to the latter their 
 sufferings. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 17. Break thou the power &c.] Tliis may be either 
 a prayer, or a prediction, implying that the time will 
 come, when the power of Jehovah will dash in pieces 
 that of the enemy, by the demolition either of sin or the 
 sinner, imtil wickedness be come utterly to an end, and 
 righteousness be established for ever in the kingdom of 
 Messiah. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 18. The Lord is King &c.] This verse is an asser- 
 tion that the Lord can surely do what the Psalmist 
 asked of Him; being the same everlasting King, by 
 whose authority and power the seven imjiious nations 
 were ex])elled out of the land of Canaan. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' 19. Lord, tliou hast heard Scc.'l How many import- 
 ant and comforting truths have we here, in a few words ! 
 As, that the " humble" and lowly, whatever they may 
 suffer in the world, are the favourites of Jehovah : that 
 He attends to the very " desires" of their hearts : that 
 such hearts, " prejiared" to jirayer, are so many instru- 
 ments strung and tuned by the hand of Heaven : and 
 that their prayer is as musick, to which the Almighty 
 Himself listens with pleasure. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 20. To help the fatherless &c.] For the sake of the 
 elect, and their jirayers, the days of persecution anil 
 tribulation will be shortened ; the insolence of the earth- 
 born ojipressor, the man of sin, will be chastised ; the 
 cause of the church will be heard at the triljunal of God ; 
 and victory, triumph, and glory will be given unto her. 
 In the foregoing exposition, regard has been chiefly had 
 to the case of the church, and to her sufferings from 
 the spirit of antichrist, in whomsoever existing and act- 
 ing, from time to time, in the world ; this being judged 
 the most generally useful application, which Christians, 
 as such, can make of the Psalm. Particular accommo- 
 dations of it to the various oppressions of innocent 
 jjoverty, by iniquitous opulence, will meet the eye, and 
 offer themselves at once to persons so cu'cumstanced, 
 for their su))port and comfort, under their respective 
 afflictions. Bp. Home,
 
 4G2 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 King 
 Charles's 
 Mart, third 
 Psalm 
 Morn. Serv. 
 
 xipnn the 
 string. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 what can the 
 riglltenus dot 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 of tlie earth be no more exalted 
 against them. 
 
 PSALM xi.^ In Domino conjido. 
 
 IN the Lord put I my trust s": 
 how say ye then to my soul, that 
 site should flee as a bird unto the 
 hill ? 
 
 2 For lo, the ungodly bend their 
 l)ow% and make ready their arrows 
 within the quiver : that they may 
 pri\-ily shoot at them which are true 
 of heart. 
 
 3 For the foundations will be 
 east down^ : and what hath the 
 righteous done ? 
 
 4 The Lord is in his holy temple'' : 
 the Lord's seat is in heaven. 
 
 ' Ps.-vLM xi.] Tlie Psalmist, under persecution, 1 — 3, 
 declareth himself resolved to trust in God alone, at a 
 time when he was advised to fly to some place of refuge ; 
 4, 5, he expresses his faith in the omniscience and over- 
 ruling power of Jehovah ; 6, assigns the reason why 
 good men are afflicted ; who, after that the wicked, 7, 
 shall he destroyed, will appear to have heen all along, 8, 
 the favoured of God. J3;>. Home. 
 
 The Psalm shoidd seem to have been composed by 
 Darid under some great trouble, when he was perse- 
 cuted by Saul. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' \. in the Lord put I my trust : S:c.] Tlie Christian, 
 like David, in perilous times, should make God his for- 
 tress, and continue doing his duty in his station ; he 
 should not, at the instigation of those aliout him, like a 
 poor, silly, timorous, inconstant bird, either fly for refuge 
 to the devices of worldly wisdom, or desert his post, and 
 retire into solitude, while he can serve the cause in which 
 he is engaged. Nor indeed is there any " mountain" 
 on earth out of the reach of care and trouble. Temjita- 
 tions are every where ; and so is the grace of God. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '- 2. For In, the nvgodly bend their bow, &c.] These 
 seem to be still the words of David's friciuls, represent- 
 ing to him, as a motive for his flight, the e.\ti'eine dan- 
 ger he was in from the " arrows" of the enemy, already, 
 as it were, fitted to the " string," and jiointcd at him 
 " in secret," so that not knowing from whence they 
 were to come, he could not guard against them. Tlie 
 Christian's danger from the dai ts of the infernal arch- 
 ers, lying in wait for his soul, is full as great as tliat 
 of Daviil. But " the shield of faith" sufliceth, in both 
 cases. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' .3. Fur lliefaimd/ilionswill be cast doxvn : &c.] Piety, 
 and justice, and fldchty. and incrc}', which arc the 
 " |)illars" or " foiuiilations"' of a state or kingdom, as 
 thcv are called, I's. \\\v. 3, or 4 ; and Ixxxii. 5 : and by 
 which they areestal)lished, I'rov. xxix. 14. Poole. This 
 likewise seems to be spoken by the same persons, dis- 
 couraging 1 )iivid from making any farther resistance, by 
 the consideration, tliat all was over ; the " foundations" 
 of religion and law were subverted ; and what could a 
 man, engaged in tlic most " rightootis" designs, liope 
 to " do," when that was the case ? Such argiunents arc 
 often urged by the timid, in similar circumstances; l)ut 
 they are fallacious ; since all is not over, while there is a 
 man left to reprove error, and bear testimony to the 
 trutli. liji. Uorne. 
 
 5 His ejes consider the poor : and 
 his eye-lids try the children of men. 
 
 6 The Lord alloweth the right- 
 eous : but the ungodly, and him 
 that deligliteth in wickedness doth 
 his soul abhor. 
 
 7 Upon the ungodly he shall rain 
 snares'^, fire and brimstone, storm 
 and tempest : this shall be their por- 
 tion to drink*. 
 
 8 For the righteous Lord lovcth'^ 
 righteousness : liis countenance will 
 behold the thing that is just. 
 
 .ncquitstlicnt, 
 and approves 
 of tlieir ar- 
 tions. Dr. 
 NicholU. 
 
 look upon it 
 with speci.il 
 regard and 
 favour. 
 Travell. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xii.' Salmim mefac. 
 E L P me, Lord, for there is 
 not one godly man left : for 
 
 ^ 4. The Lord is in his holy temple : &c.] In the first 
 verse, the Psalmist had declared his trust to be in 
 Jehovah. After reciting the reasonings of his friends, 
 he now proceeds to evince the fitness and propriety of 
 such trust, notwithstanding the seemingly desperate 
 situation of affairs. " Jehovah is in his holy temple ;" 
 into which, therefore, unholy men, however triumphant 
 in this world, can never enter : "Jehovah's throne is in 
 heaven ;" and consequently superior to all jiower ujion 
 earth, which may be controlled and over-ruled by Him 
 in a moment; "his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the 
 children of men ;" so that no secret wickedness can 
 escape his knowledge, who scrutinizeth the hearts as 
 well as the li\'es of all the sons of Adam. Why, then, 
 should the man despair, who hath on his side holiness, 
 omnipotence, and omniscience ? Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. Upon the ungodly he shall rain snares, &c.] St. 
 Jude, ver. 7, tells us, that the cities of Sodom, Gomor- 
 rah, &c. for their abominable sins, "are set forth for 
 an example or sjiecimcn, sufl"ering the vengeance of 
 eternal fire." .\nd here we see the images are plainly 
 taken from the dreailful judgment inflicted on those 
 cities, and transferred to the vengeance of the last day. 
 Then the sons of faithful Abraham shall behold a pros- 
 jicct, like that which once presented itself to the eyes of 
 their father; when rising early in the morning, and 
 looking toward .Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all 
 tlie land of the jilain, he " beheld, and lo, the smoke of 
 the country went U]) as the smoke of a furnace !" Gen. 
 xix. 28. Such must be the "portion of their cup," who 
 have dashed from them the cup of sah'ation. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '' — this shall be their portion to drink.^ 'I'his phrase 
 is ]n'overI)ial in Scripture: (iod's gifts and ilispensa- 
 tions, good and liad, are ordinarily expressed by a cup, 
 pourecl out. and given men to drink. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 '■ 8. For the nyhteoiis Lord loreth kc.'] He, who is 
 in Himself essential righteousness, cannot but love liis 
 own resemblance, wrought in the faithful by his good 
 Spirit ; wilh a countenance full of paternal allVction, Ho 
 beliolcls. and speaks peace and comfort lo Ihem, in the 
 miilst of their sorrows ; until, admitted, through mercy, 
 to the glory, from which justice excludes tlie wicked, 
 and bclmlding that countenance which has always be- 
 held them. 1li<'y shall enter ujion a life of boundless and 
 everlasting fclicily. /(/'. Home. 
 
 ' I'sAi.M xii. I 'i'his I'salin. which was composed by 
 David, is spent in meditation on the malice and wicked-
 
 Day 2. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 cut off. 
 Trans. 
 
 the faithful are miiiished from among 
 the chililreu of men. 
 
 2 'I'hcy talk of vanity ^ every one 
 with his neii;lil)our : they flo hut 
 flatter with their lips, and dissemble 
 in their double heart. 
 
 3 The Lord shall root out all 
 deceitful lips : and the tongue that 
 speaketh proud things; 
 
 4 Which have said, With our 
 tongue will we prevail "^ : we are 
 they that ought to speak, who is lord 
 over lis ? 
 
 5 Now for the comfortless troubles' 
 sake of the needy ' : and because of 
 the deep sighing of the poor, 
 
 6 I will up, saith the Lord : and 
 will help every one from him that 
 
 ness of men, and the relief which is to be expected from 
 none but God. Dr. Hammond. ITie church, through 
 David, 1 , 2, laments the decrease of God's faithful ser- 
 vants, and the universal corruption among men, but, 
 3 — 6, rests upon the divine promises, the truth and 
 certainty of which, 7, 8, she celebrates, and comforts 
 herself therewith, while in a world where oftentimes, 9, 
 the wicked walk uncontrolled. Bp. Home. 
 
 5 2. They Inlk of vimily &c.] When men cease to be 
 faithful to their God, he who ex])ects to find them so to 
 each other, will be much disappointed. The primitive 
 sincerity will accompany the primitive piety in her flight 
 from the earth ; and then interest will succeed conscience 
 in the regulation of human conduct, till one man cannot 
 trust another farther than he holds him by that tie. 
 Hence, by the way, it is, that although many are infi- 
 dels themselves, yet few choose to have their families 
 and dependents such; as judging, and rightly judging, 
 that true Christians are the only persons to be de- 
 ])cnded on, for the e.tact discharge of social duties. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '■ 4. Which have said. With our tongue will we prevail : 
 &c.] Rather, "with our tongue will we be valiant." 
 Infidels profess to set all autliority of public opinion 
 and ancient tradition at defiance, as the prejudice of 
 education. They follow no teacher, human or divine. 
 They form their own ojiinions from their own reflections, 
 and they claim a right to speak as freely as they think ; 
 to propagate and maintain their own notions, however 
 opposite to the general belief, and even to revile the 
 established religion. Bp. Horsley. 
 
 ' 5. Now for the comfortless troubles' sake of the needy : 
 &c.] For the consolation of the afflicted and poor in 
 spirit, Jehovah is here introduced promising, out of 
 compassion to their sufferings, to " arise and set them 
 in safety," or " place them in a state of salvation." 
 Such all along has heen his promise to the church, who, 
 by looking back to the deliverances wrought of old for 
 the servants of God, and, above all, to that wrought for 
 the Son of God, is now encouraged to look forward, and 
 expect her final redemption from the scorn and inso- 
 lence of infidelity. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 7. The words of the Lord are pure joords .• &c ] The 
 church rejoices in the promises of God her Saviour, 
 because they are such as she can confide in. His words 
 are not like those of deceitful boasting man, but true 
 and righteous altogether. Often have they been put to 
 the test, in the trials of the faithful, like silver committed 
 to the fm-nace, in an earthen crucible ; but, like silver in 
 
 463 
 
 set 
 
 swelletli against him, and wil 
 him at rest. 
 
 7 'I'he words of the Lord are pure 
 words'': even .is the silver, which 
 from the earth is tried, and purified 
 seven times in the fire. 
 
 8 Thou shall keep them, O Lord ' : 
 thou shalt preserve him from this 
 generation for ever. 
 
 9 The ungodly walk '" on every 
 side : when they are exalted, the 
 children of men are put to rebuke. 
 
 tried in a 
 furiijici? of 
 earth. Ilib. 
 Trans. 
 
 PSALM xiii." Usque quo, Domine ? 
 
 O W long wilt thou forget me °, 
 O Lord, for ever : how long 
 wilt thou hide thy face from me ? 
 2 How lony shall I seek counsel 
 
 H 
 
 its most refined and e.xalted purity, found to contain no 
 dross of imperfection, no alloy of fallibility in them. 
 The words of Jehovah are holy in his precepts, just in 
 his laws, gracious in his promises, significant in his in- 
 stitutions, true in his narrations, and infallible in his 
 predictions. What are the thousands of gold and 
 silver, compared to the treasures of the sacred page ! 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' S. Thou shalt keep them, Lord: &c.] The best 
 way of taking this verse is to understand " them" of 
 the words of the Lord in the i)receding verse : and 
 " liim" of the godly or just man, to whom those words 
 or promises are made. Dr. Hammond. As if it had 
 been said. Yes, blessed Lord, what thou hast promised 
 shall surely be performed, since there is with thee no 
 ^•ariableness, nor shadow of turning : thou wilt keep 
 thy poor and lowly servants, as thou hast promised, 
 from being circumvented by treachery, or crushed by 
 po«'er ; thou %vilt preserve them undefiled amidst an 
 evil and adulterous generation ; thou wilt be with thy 
 church to the end of the world, and then admit her to 
 be with thee for ever. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 9. Tlie ungodly walk &c.] While the faithful re- 
 pose, as they ought to do, an unlimited confidence in 
 God's promises, they have, in the mean time, but too 
 much reason to mourn the prevalence of wickedness, 
 stalking like its author, to and fro, and up and down in 
 the earth, uncontrolled by those who bear the sword, 
 but who either blunt its edge, or turn it the wrong 
 way. Such is often the state of things here below; 
 and a reflection, made upon the subject by our Lord, 
 when his enemies drew near to apprehend Him, may 
 satisfy us how it comes to be so : " It is your hour, and 
 the power of darkness." But that hour will quickly 
 pass with us, as it did with Him, and the po«'er of 
 darkness will be overthrown ; the Lord will be our 
 everlasting light, and the days of our mom-ning shall 
 be ended. Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm xiii.] This Psalm (written by David in 
 time of some great distress. Dr. Nicliolls) contains, 1, 2, 
 a complaint of desertion ; 3, 4, a prayer for the dirine 
 assistance ; 5, 6, an act of faith and thanksgiving. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 1. How long wilt thou forget me, &c.] While God 
 permits his servants to continue under aflliction. He is 
 said, after the manner of men, to have "forgotten, and 
 hid his face from them." For the use, therefore, of 
 persons in such circumstances, is this Psalm intended ; 
 and consequently it suits the different cases of the
 
 464 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Daijl. 
 
 in my soul, and be so vexed in my 
 heart : liow long shall mine enemies 
 triumph over me ? 
 
 ;i Consider, and hear me, O Lord 
 my God : lighten mine eyesP, that I 
 sleep not in death''. 
 
 4 Lest mine enemy say, I have 
 prevailed against him : for if I be 
 cast down, they that trouble me will 
 rejoice at it. 
 
 5 But my trust is in thy mercy "■ : 
 and my heart is joyful in thy salva- 
 tion. 
 
 G I will sing of the Lord, because 
 he hath dealt so lovingly with me : 
 
 church universal, languishinir for the advent of our 
 Lord to deliver her from this evil work! ; of any par- 
 ticular church, in time of persecution ; and of each 
 individual when harassed by temptations, or broken by 
 sickness, pain, and sorrow. He who bore our sins, and 
 carried our sorrows, may likewise be jiresumed to have 
 made it a part of his devotions in the day of trouble. 
 Up. Home. 
 
 '3. — lighten mine eyes, &c.] The deliverance here 
 requested is evpressed figuratively. In time of sick- 
 ness and grief, the " eyes " are dull and heavy ; and 
 they grow more and more so as death ap])roaches, 
 which closes them in darkness. On the other hand, 
 health and joy render the organs of vision bright and 
 sparkling, seeming, as it were, to impart " light " to 
 them from within. The words, therefore, may be fitly 
 applied to a recovery of the body natural, and thence of 
 the body politick, from their res|)ective maladies. Nor 
 do they less significantly describe the restoration of 
 the soul to a state of spLi'itual health and holy joy, 
 which will manifest themselves in like manner, by 
 " the eyes of the understanding being enlightened ;" 
 and in this case, the soul is saved from the sleep of sin, 
 as the body is, in the other, from the sleep of death. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 1 — that I sleep not in death.] Lest I sink under my 
 burden and die : for death is often called a sleep in 
 Scripture: as in Job iii. 13; xiv. 12; I's. Ixxvi. 5; 
 John xi. 11. Poole. 
 
 ' 5, 0. But my trust is in thy mercy : &c.] The heart, 
 which "trusteth in (iod's mercy," shall alone "rejoice 
 in his salvation," and celebrate by the tongue, in songs 
 of praise, the loving-kiiuincss of the Lord. It is ob- 
 servalile, that this, and many other Psalms, with a 
 mournful beginning, have a triumphant ending; to 
 shew us the prevailing ])owcr of devotion, and to con- 
 vince us of tlie certain return of prayer, sooner or later, 
 bringing with it tlie comforts of heaven, to revive and 
 enrich our weary and barren spirits in the gloomy 
 seasons of sorrow and temptation, /i/j. Home. 
 
 ' I's.vLM xiv.l The design of this I'salin of David is 
 to describe and bewail the dreadfid wickedness and 
 corruption of mankind, and especially of ungodly men, 
 and of his own enemies. Poole. It is in a manner the 
 same with the llfly-third. It sets forth, 1 — 7, the cor- 
 ruption of the world; 8 — 10, its cmnity against the 
 ])eo])le of God ; 11, the prophet longs and jirays for 
 salvation, lip. Home. 
 
 ' 1. 'Hie fixil hdlh siiid in his heart, kc.'] "The fool," 
 that is, the wicked man : for such are commonly and 
 justly called "fools" every wlierc in Scripture; and 
 that purposely to meet their false, yet common, conceit 
 
 yea, I will praise the Name of the 
 Lord most Highest. 
 
 PSALM xiv." Dixit insipiens. 
 
 THE fool hath said' in his 
 heart" : Tliere is no God. 
 
 "2 They are corrupt and become 
 abominable in their doings : there 
 is none that doeth good, no not one. 
 
 .3 The Lord looked down from 
 heaven^ upon the children of men : 
 to see if there were any that would 
 understand, and seek after God. 
 
 4 But they are all gone out of the 
 way>', '.hey are altogether become 
 
 of themselves, as if they were the only wise men, and all 
 others were fools. Poole. 
 
 It does not appear upon what occasion David com- 
 posed this Psalm. The revolt of Israel in Absalom's 
 rebellion is by most writers ])itched upon as the sidiject 
 of it. But, be this as it may, the expressions are 
 general, and evidently designed to extend beyond a 
 jiriv-ate interpretation. And accordingly, the ajiostle, 
 Rom. iii. 10, &c. produces some passages from it, to 
 evince the ajiostasy of both Jews and Gentiles from 
 their King and their God, and to prove them to be all 
 under sin. In this light, therefore, we ai-e to consider 
 it, as characterizing the jirinciples and i)ractices of 
 those who ojijiose the Gospel of Christ in all ages. 
 " The fool hath said in his heart. There is no God." 
 Infidelity is the beginning of sin, folly the founda- 
 tion of infidelity, and the heart, the seat of both. 
 " Their foolish heart," says St. Paul of the heathen, 
 Rom. i. 21, "was darkened." The sad consequence 
 of defection in principle, is corruption in practice. 
 " They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, 
 there is none that doeth good." On these words the 
 reader may see a full comment, Rom. i. 28 — 32. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " — m kis heart,'] In his secret thoughts, or within 
 himself, being afraid and ashamed to utter it with his 
 mouth. Not that it was his fixed and constant opinion 
 and judgment, but this he saith by construction, because 
 he heartily M-isheth there were no God, and lives as 
 if there were none. So this text may be explained 
 by comparing it with Ps. xxxvi. 1 ; and Tit. i. 10. 
 Poole. 
 
 " 3. The Lord looked doiin from heaven &c.l Like a 
 watchman on the top of some lofty tower, God is repre- 
 sented as surveying, from his heavenly throne, the sons 
 of Adam, and their proceedings upon the earth; lie 
 scrutinizes them, and as it were searches diligently, to 
 find among them a man of true wisdom, one whose 
 heart was turned toward the Lord his (Jod, one who 
 was inquiring the way to salvation and glory, that he 
 might walk therein. Hut as the result of thi.i extensive 
 and accurate survey, God informs his prophet, and 
 commissions him to inform the world, tliat all had 
 declined from the paths of wisdom and righteo\isncss ; 
 tliat the mass of human nature was become i)utrid, re- 
 quiring to lie cleansed, aiul the vessels made up of it to 
 be formed anew. Such is the Scripture aecoiuit of 
 man not having received grace, or having fallen from 
 it; of man withixit Christ, or in arras against Him. 
 See Rom. iii. II, 12. Bp. Home. 
 
 y 4. Bat they are idl gone on', of the way, &c.] This, 
 as it was observably true of Israel, that people of God,
 
 Day 0. 
 
 abominable : tliere is none tliat doetli 
 good, no not one. 
 
 5 Their throat is an open sepul- 
 chre, with their ton^'ues ha\e they 
 rleceived : the ])oison of asj)s is under 
 their lips. 
 
 6 Their moutli is full of cursing 
 and bitterness : their feet are swift to 
 shed blood. 
 
 7 Destruction and indiappiness is 
 in their ways, and the way of peace 
 have they not known : there is no 
 fear of God before their eyes. 
 
 8 Have they no knowledge % that 
 they are all such workers of mis- 
 chief : eating up my people as it 
 were bread, and call not upon the 
 Lord? 
 
 9 There were tliey brought in 
 
 so eminently owned and favoured l)y Him in David's 
 time, and in their behaviour towards Him ; so had it a 
 farther proplietick trutli in it, in respeet to the univer- 
 sality of them at tlie time of Christ's ajipearinj; in the 
 worhi, and in their actions towards Him, and his 
 apostles after Him, to the Jews of which age St. Paul 
 applies it, Rom. iii. 10. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ' 8. Htwe they no hiowledye, &c.] What a strange 
 madness is this in wicked men, that they will not con- 
 sider what vengeance they ])ull upon themselves, while 
 they do thus cruelly devour my people, as they eat 
 bread, so greedily, so familiarly ; without fear or 
 remorse. Bp. Ilnll. " My people ;" that is, the poor 
 and godly Israelites, of whom he principally speaks : 
 whom he calleth " my people ;" either God's people, as 
 they were in many respects : or rather l)a\-id's people, 
 for David speaks both these words, and all the rest, in 
 his own person. Poole. The "workers of inirjuity" 
 work for the wages of death ; they fight against God 
 and their own souls ; they barter eternity for time, and 
 part with happiness for misery, both in possession and 
 reversion. Well therefore may it be asked, " Have 
 they no knowledge ?" For common sense, after all, is 
 what they want. They who, with an ajipetite keen as 
 that to their food, \ney upon the poor, and devour the 
 peojjle of God, will themselves be preyed upon and de- 
 voured by that roaring lion, whose agents for the pre- 
 sent they are ; and such as now " call not on " the name 
 of "the Lord" Jesus for pardon and salvation, shall 
 hereafter call in vain upon the rocks and mountains, 
 to shelter them from his power and vengeance. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 * 9. There were they brought in great fear, even where 
 &c.] David is supposed to be speaking ])rimarily of 
 Israel's defection from him to -Absalom, and here to be 
 assigning the moti\'e of that defection in many, namely, 
 fear of the rebel's growing power, and distrust of his 
 ability to protect them ; which fear, he observes, was 
 groundless, because his cause was the cause of God, who 
 would not fail to appear in its support and vindication. 
 The subjects of Christ in times of jjcrsecution, are often 
 tempted to renounce their allegiance, upon the same 
 principle of fear ; although of them it may more em- 
 phatically be said, that they " fear n'bere no fear is, since 
 God is in the gener.ation of the righteous ;" and they, 
 who are engaged on the side of Messiah, will, in the 
 end, most assiu'edly be triumphant. Bj). Home. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 4fi5 
 
 great fear, even where" no fear was : 
 for CJod is in the generation of the 
 righteous. 
 
 10 As for you'', ye have made a 
 mock at the counsel of the poor : 
 because he putteth his trust in the 
 Lord. 
 
 11 Who shall give .salvation"^ unto 
 Israel out of Sion ? When the Lord 
 turneth the ca|)tivity of iiis ])eople : 
 then shall Jacob rejoice, and Israel 
 shall be tjlad. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM .XV.'' Domine, quis hahitabit ? 
 ORD, who shall dwell'= in thy 
 
 tabernacle : or who shall rest 
 
 upon thy holy hill ? 
 
 Ascension- 
 d:.y, SL-tuiid 
 Pbalm Mom. 
 Serv. 
 
 '' 10. As fur you, iS:c.] This is jilainly addressed to 
 the adversaries, and charges them with reiiroaching and 
 scoffing at that confidence in the Lord expressed by the 
 afflicted righteous, in the preceding verse. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 11. II ho shall give sulralion &c.] These words 
 directly and immediately concern the deliverance of the 
 people of Israel out of that sinful and dejilorable estate, 
 in which they now were : wliich having described in 
 the body of the Psalm, he concludes after his manner 
 with a prayer to God, to hear and help them "out of 
 Sion," where the ark then was, whence (iod used to 
 hear and answer his ])eo]ile's prayers. But ultimately 
 and principally they design a farther, even the sjnritual 
 redemption and salvation of all God's Israel by the 
 Messiah. Poole. The consideration of the apostasy 
 and corruption of mankind, described in this Psalm, 
 makes the prophet express a longing desire for the 
 sah-ation of Israel, which was to go forth out of Zion, 
 and to bring back the peojile of God from that most 
 dreadful of all captivities, the captivity under sin and 
 death ; a salvation, at which Jacob would indeed re- 
 joice, and Israel be glad. And how doth the whole 
 church, at this time, languish for the consummation of 
 her felicity, looking for that glorious day of final re- 
 demption, when every bene\-ing heart shall exult, and 
 all the sons of God shout aloud for joy ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ Psalm xv.] This Psalm is a description of a pious 
 man, such as shall be admitted into God's presence, to 
 serve Him here in the place assigned for his worship, 
 and to be rewarded with heaven hereafter. And it 
 seems to have been composed by David in reflection on 
 the time of his restitution or coming back to the ark 
 and the tabernacle, from which he had been driven out 
 for some space, as at other times, so on occasion of Ab- 
 salom's rebellion. See 2 Sam. xv. 17. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 It is one of the Psalms appointed to be used on As- 
 cension-day. The prophet, 1, inquires concerning the 
 person, who should ascend into the hill, and dwell in 
 the temple of Jehovah ; 2 — 7, he receives, in answer to 
 his question, a character of such person. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. Lord, who shall dwell &c.] The prophet alludes 
 to the hill of Sion in the earthly Jerusalem, to the taber- 
 nacle of God which was thereon, and the character of 
 the priest, who should officiate in that tabernacle. But 
 all these were figures of a celestial Jerusalem, a spiritual 
 Sion, a true Tabernacle, and an eternal Priest. To the 
 great originals therefore we must transfer our ideas, and
 
 466 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 2 Even lie, that leadetli an uiicor- 
 riipt life*^ : and doetli the thing which 
 is right, and speaketh the truth from 
 his heart. 
 
 3 He that hath used no deceit 
 in lus tongue, nor done evil to his 
 neighbour : and hath not slandered 
 his neighbour. 
 
 4 He that setteth not by himself, 
 but is lowly in his own eyes : and 
 maketh much of them that fear the 
 Lord. 
 
 5 He that sweareth inito his 
 neighbour, and disappointeth him 
 not ; though it were to his own hin- 
 drance. 
 
 6 He that hath not given his 
 
 consider the inquiiy as made after Hun, who should fix 
 his resting-place on the heavenly mount, and exercise 
 his unchangeable priesthood in the temple not made 
 with hands. And since the disciples of this new and 
 great High Priest become righteous in Him, and are by 
 the Spirit conformed to his image, the character, which 
 essentially and inherently belongs only to Him, will 
 derivatively belong to them also, «ho must follow his 
 steps below, if they would reign with Him above. Bj). 
 Home. 
 
 ' 2. El-en he, that leadeth an uncorrupt life : &c.] As 
 if he had said, I hear thee answer, methinks, as if a 
 voice came from thy holy oracle, saying. Not all that 
 are descended from Abraham, not every one that offers 
 me sacrifices, and obser\-es my appointed rites ; but he 
 who completely endeavours to please me in all the parts 
 of a holy life, exercising justice and mercy to his neigh- 
 bour, as well as jiiety to me ; and taking care to wTong 
 not his neighbour in words any more than in deeds. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 K C. He that hath not given his money vpon mury, &c.] 
 A\'ho in his ])rivate affairs makes no gain of the money 
 he lends to his poor brethren, Exod. xxii. 25 ; Deut. 
 xxiii. 19, 20: and so behaving himself in any jiubUck 
 office, that no gift can corrujit him to condemn the 
 innocent or absolve the guilty. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 '■ 7. Whoso lioeth these things : SiC.I These few things, 
 though they be not an enumeration of all the duties of 
 a man, are yet so com[)rehensive and significative, con- 
 tain so many branches, especially of our duty to our 
 neighbour, and that, uniformly i)erformed, is so sure 
 a sign of faith, and love, and fvar of God, and all other 
 duties of ])iety, that such a man's title may be con- 
 cluded very good both to the jirivilegcs and dignity of 
 God's servants here, and to the eternal reward of such 
 hereafter. ])r. Hnmmond. The full intent of what is both 
 injdincd and furbidilcn in this I'salm may be best oi)encd 
 and disjdayed by cxemi)lifying each ])articular, as re- 
 ceiving its utmost completion, in the character and 
 conduct of our blessed Lord. And whoever shall sur- 
 vey and coi)y these virtues and graces, as they present 
 themselves in his life, will, it is humbly apprehended, 
 take the best and shortest way to the heaveidy Zion, 
 and make that use of the xvth I'salm, which the Church 
 may be 8U|)posed to liave had in view, when she ajj- 
 pointed it as one of the proper I'sulms for Ascension- 
 day. Up. Home. 
 
 ' I'mai.m xvi.] 'I'his is a special, precious, memora^ 
 ble I'stthn of David's composure, full of confidence in 
 
 money upon usury 
 ward against the innocent. 
 7 Whoso doetli these 
 shall never fall. 
 
 DaijS. 
 
 nor taken re- 
 
 thingfs'' 
 
 PSALM xvi.' Conserva me, Domine. 
 
 PR E S E R V E me, O God J : for 
 in thee have I put my trust. 
 
 2 O my soul, thou hast said unto 
 the Lord : Thou art my God, my 
 goods are nothing unto thee ^. 
 
 3 All my delight is upon the 
 saints, that are in the earth : and 
 upon such as excel in virtue. 
 
 4 But they that run after another 
 god' : shall have great trouble. 
 
 5 Their drink-offering's of blood 
 
 God through Christ, whose resurrection is herein pro- 
 jihetically represented ; and of resolved adherence to 
 Him, and humble dependence on Him. Dr. Hammond. 
 Upon whatever occasion, or in whatever distress, David 
 miglit compose this Psalm, we are taught by St. Peter 
 and St. Paid, .\cts ii. 24, and xiii. 35, to consider him 
 as speaking in the person of our Lord Christ, of 
 whom alone the latter part of the Psalm is true. The 
 contents are, 1, a prayer for support; 2, 3, a declara- 
 tion of love to the saints ; 4, 5, a protestation against 
 idolaters ; — 9, acts of love, joy, and confidence in 
 Jehovah; and, 10 — 12, one of hope in an approaching 
 resurrection and glorification. Bp. Home. 
 
 J 1. Preserve me, God: &c.] These words are evi- 
 dently spoken by one in great distress, who addresses 
 himself to heaven for sujiport under his sufferings, 
 pleading his confidence in God, still unshaken by all 
 the storms that had set themselves against it. This 
 might be the case of David, and may be that of any 
 believer. But since the Psalm is a continued speech 
 without change of jierson, we may consider the whole 
 as uttered by Him who only could utter the concluding 
 verses, and who in this first verse makes this supplica- 
 tion to the Father, for the jiromised and expected deli- 
 verance. Bj). Home. 
 
 '' 2. — »«!/ goods are nothing mito thee.'] All the good 
 things which I am possessed of, and all the good actions 
 I can do, signify nothing to thee, that inexhaustible 
 fountain both of bounty and holiness. Dr. Nichotls. 
 " My goodness is of no jirofit unto thee." Even of the 
 perfect righteousness of the man Christ .lesns, of his 
 righteousness as a man, it may be said with truth, it 
 ought to be said, that it was of no profit unto (iod. 
 Nothing was added to the divine nature by the virtue 
 of the man, to whom the Word became united ; nothing 
 was added to its glory by his virtue; nothing was 
 added to its hajipiness by his eiijoymcuts in his exalted 
 state. His righteousness and his exaltation are a dis- 
 play of the divine goodness and ])owcr in that wonder- 
 ful instance ; no accpiisition of goodness and power not 
 enjoyed before. Bp. Horsley. 
 
 ' 4. But they that run after another god: &c.] Christ 
 denounceth vengeance against those who should make 
 to themselves other gods, run after other saviours, or 
 suffer any creature to rival Ilim in their afl'ecti(ms; de- 
 claring of sucli, that their offerings should not lie pre- 
 sented by Him to the Eallicr, nor should they be par- 
 takers of the l)enefits of his intercession. ICven the 
 bloody sacrifices of the law, instituted for a time liy
 
 Day 3. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 467 
 
 my inward 
 ttiouglits. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 will I not offer : neitlier make men- 
 tion of their names witliin my 
 lips. 
 
 6 The Lord liiinselC" is the por- 
 tion of mine inheritaiiee, and of my 
 cup" : thou shalt maintain my lot. 
 
 7 The lot is fallen unto me in a 
 fair g-round : yea, I have a goodly 
 heritage. 
 
 8 1 will thank the Lord" for giving 
 me warning : my reins also chasten 
 me in the night season. 
 
 God Himself, became abomination to Him when tliat 
 time was expired, and the one great sacrifice had been 
 offered >ipon the altar of the cross. Bp. Home. 
 
 "' (i. The Lord A/mseZ/'&.c.] The true David, anointed 
 to his everlasting kingdom, yet first a man of sorrows 
 and a stranger upon earth, prefers the promised in- 
 heritance of the church, that spiritual kingdom, city, 
 and temple of Jehovah, before all the kingdoms of this 
 world, and the glory of them ; He is sure that Jehovah 
 will maintain his lot, that He will both gi\-e and pre- 
 serve to Him this his patrimony ; and therefore rejoices 
 at the divine beauty and excellency of the heavenly 
 ('anaan. And hence the Christian learns wherein his 
 duty and his happiness consist ; namely, in making 
 choice of God for " the portion of his inheritance and 
 of his cuii," for his support and for his delight ; in 
 ])referring the spirit to the flesh, the cluirch to the 
 world, and eternity to time. Bp. Horrie. 
 
 " — the portion — of my cup i] Namely, the portion 
 which is put into my cup, as the ancient manner was 
 in feasts, where each had his portion of meat and of 
 wine allotted to him. See Ps. xi. 7. Poole. 
 
 ° a. I will thnnk the Lord &c.] The person speaking 
 here blesses Jehovah for communicating that divine 
 " counsel," that celestial wisdom, by which he was in- 
 cited and enabled to make the foregoing choice and 
 resolution. In the latter part of the verse is intimated 
 the mode of these gracious and spiritual communi- 
 cations, which in the dark seasons of adversity were 
 conveyed to the inmost thoughts and affections of the 
 mind, thereby to instruct, to comfort, and to strengtlien 
 the sufferer, until his passion should be accomplished, 
 and the morning of the resurrection should dawn, in 
 whicli, as we shall see, all his hope and confidence were 
 placed. Bp. Home. 
 
 p 9. / have set God always before me : &c.] The me- 
 thod, taken by Christ as man, to support Himself in 
 time of trouble, and persevere unto the end, was to 
 maintain a constant actual sense of the presence of 
 Jchoi'ab, whom when He thus saw standing at his 
 right hand, ready, at the apjiointed hour, to succour 
 and deliver Him, He then feared not the powers of 
 earth and hell combined for his destruction. Why are 
 our fears great, but because our faith is little ? Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 1 10. IVherefore my heart leos glnd, &c.] Through 
 confidence in the almighty power engaged on his side, 
 joy filled the heart of Christ, and rendered his tongue 
 an instrument of giving glory to Jehovah, in the midst 
 of his sufferings ; because when they were ended, as 
 they must soon he, his flesh was only to make its bed, 
 and rest a while, in the grave, after the labours of the 
 day, in sure and certain hope of a speedy resurrection 
 and glorification. The same consideration is to the 
 afflicted, the sick, and the dying Christian, a never- 
 faiUng source of comfort, an inexhaustible fountain of 
 
 9 I have set God always hcfore 
 meP : for he is on my right hand, 
 therefore I sliall not lull. 
 
 10 Wherefore my heart was glad'', 
 aiul my glory'' rejoiced : my flesh also 
 shall rest in liope. 
 
 1 1 For why ? thou shalt not leave 
 my sold in hell^ : neither shalt thou 
 suffer thy Holy One to see cor- 
 riij)tioii. 
 
 12 Thou shalt shew me the path 
 of life'; in thy presence is the fui- 
 
 my tnnpue. 
 Dr. Ilain- 
 
 putnd. See 
 Ps. Ivii. 
 evL-ry part of 
 me. Dr. 
 lliimmond. 
 the stale of 
 tlic dead. 
 See Vocal). 
 
 joy : sin and infidelity are the enemies, who would fill 
 it with earth. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' — my ffloryj As we ourselves, with all our mem- 
 bers and powers, were chiefly designed and framed to 
 glorify our Maker; so our tongue and speaking faculty 
 were given to us to declare our admiraticm and re- 
 verence of Him, to exhibit our due love and gratitude 
 towards Him, to profess our trust and confidence in 
 Him, to celebrate his jjraises, to avow bis benefits, to 
 address our supplications to Him, to maintain all kinds 
 of devotional intercourse with Him, to jiropagate our 
 knowledge, fear, love, and obedience to Him, in all 
 such ways to promote his honour and service. This is 
 the most projjer, worthy, and due use of our tongue, 
 for which it was created, to which it is dedicated, from 
 whence it becometh, as it is so often styled, our " glory, 
 and the best member that we have ;'" that, wherehy we 
 excel all creatures here below, and whereby we are no 
 less discriminated from them than by our reason ; that, 
 whereby we consort with the blessed angels above in 
 the distinct utterance of praise, and communication of 
 glory to our Creator. Dr. Isaac Barrow. 
 
 " 11. For why >' thou shalt not leave my soul in hell: 
 &c.] It was a part of the covenant of grace, and pro- 
 mised by the mouth of God's prophets, that, after the 
 death of Messiah, his animal frame should not con- 
 tinue, like those of other men, in the gra\-e, nor should 
 corruption be permitted to seize on the body, by which 
 all others were to be raised to incorruption and immor- 
 tality. As members of Christ, this same promise and 
 assurance is so far ours, that although our mortal part 
 must see corruption, yet it shall not be finally left 
 under the power of the enemy, but shall be raised 
 again, and reunited to its old companion the soul, 
 which exists, meanwhile, in secret and undiscerned 
 regions, there waiting for the day when its Redeemer 
 shall triumph over corruption, in his mystical, as He 
 hath already done in his natural body. Bp. Home. 
 
 Though other parts of this Psalm may suit David, 
 and all the faithful, yet it is to be observed that these 
 words were completely fulfilled only in Jesus Christ, 
 who, as St. Peter takes notice, being the Holy One of 
 God, did not remain in the grave, nor see corruption; 
 but was raised the third day and exalted to heaven, 
 where He reigneth over all things, and has prejjared 
 for all true believers joys that never shall expire. 
 Oslervald. 
 
 ' 1 2. Thou shalt shew me the path of life ; &c.] The 
 return of Christ from the grave is beautifully descrilied 
 by Jehovah " shewing," or discovering to Him a " path 
 of life," leading through the valley of the shadow of 
 death, and from that valley to the summit of the hill of 
 Zion, or to the mount of God in heaven, on which He 
 now sits enthroned. There exalted at the right hand 
 of the Father, that human body, which expired on 
 the cross, and slept in the sepulclire, lives and reigns, 
 2 H 2
 
 468 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 ness of joy : and at tliv riglit liaiiil 
 there is pleasure for evermore. 
 
 PSALM xvii." Exaudi, Domine. 
 
 HE A 11 tlie riglit, O Lord, con- 
 sider my complaint : and 
 hearken unto mv prayer, that goeth 
 deceitful. not out of feigned lijis. 
 lip. Patrick. 2 Let my sentence'' come forth 
 from thy presence : and let thine 
 eyes look upon the thing that is 
 equal. 
 
 3 Thou hast proved >' and visited 
 mine heart in the night-season ; thou 
 hast tried me, and slialt find no 
 wickedness in me : for I am utterly 
 purposed that my mouth shall not 
 otfend. 
 
 4 Because of men's works % that 
 are done against the words of thy 
 lips : I have kept me from the ways 
 of the destroyer. 
 
 5 O hold thou up my goings in 
 
 filled with (leliglit, and encircled by ginry incompre- 
 hensible and endless. Through this thy belox-ed Son 
 and our dear Saviour, " thou shalt shew " \is likewise, 
 O Lord, " the path of life ;" thou shalt justify our souls 
 I)V thv grace now, and raise our bodies by thy power 
 at the last day ; when earthly sorrow shall terminate in 
 heavenly joy,' and momentary jiain shall be rewarded 
 with e\-t'rlasting felicity. Bp. Home. 
 
 " PsAi.M xvii.] The Psalmist, confiding in the justice 
 of his cause, 1—4, prayeth for a hearing and decision 
 of it; 5 — 9, he petitioneth for the divine guidance and 
 protection; 10 — 12, he describeth the temper and be- 
 haviour of his enemies; 13—15, beseecheth (iod to 
 disappoint them, and to deliver him : he endeth with 
 an act of faith. Bp. Home. 
 
 This is a I'salrn of David, composed, as is most pro- 
 bable, under Saul's ])erseciition. Dr. Nicliolls. 
 
 ' 2. Li-t my sentence Ikt).'] Do thou from thy hea- 
 venly trilninal pronounce me innocent ; and let thy 
 unerring judgment look into the justice of my cause. 
 Dr. Mcholh. 
 
 y 3. Thnii hnsi prnred &c.] The sufferer's heart con- 
 demns him not, and he has confidence towards (iod, to 
 whom he applies as the ])roper judge, because tlic only 
 witness, of his integrity. \Vhat is here said could ab- 
 solutely and universally be true only of the holy .lesiis ; 
 however, through his grace, it may be true of some of 
 his disciples in i)arlicular instances of crimes falsely laid 
 to their charge. Let us pray that it may be true of us, 
 whenever Uod shall please to prove and try us. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 4. Because of men's works, &c.] jVs if he had said. 
 By reason of the unwarrantable actions of some men, 
 who have ventured upon rebellion, notwithstauiling thy 
 laws, " the words of thy lips," have forbidden it ; I 
 have kept myself from any destructive mctliods. and 
 from making away with Saul, when it was in my power 
 to do it. Dr. Nivholls. " The destroyer," or the violent 
 man, such as Saul and his courtiers and solilicrs hiid 
 shewn themselves towards David. Although their rage 
 and violence towards him might have temiited him to 
 
 thy paths": that my footsteps slip 
 not. 
 
 6 I have called ii]ion thee, O God, 
 for thou shalt hear me : incline thine 
 ear to me, and hearken unto my 
 words. 
 
 7 Shew thy marvellous loving- 
 kindness, thou that art the Saviour 
 of them which put their trust in 
 thee : from such as resist thy right 
 hand. 
 
 8 Keep me as the apjile of an 
 eye '' : hide me under the shadow of 
 thy wings, 
 
 9 From the ungodly that trouble 
 me : mine enemies compass me round 
 about to take away my soul. 
 
 10 They are inclosed in their own 
 faf^ : and their mouth speaketh proud 
 things. 
 
 11 They lie waiting in our way 
 on ever)' side : turning their eyes 
 down to the sfround'': 
 
 12 Like as a lion" 
 
 that is greedy 
 
 repay them in the same manner, he forbore it, and 
 spared both others, and Saul himself, n-hen his life was 
 at his mercy, 1 .Sam. xxtv. and xxvi. Poole. 
 
 "5.0 hold thou up v)y r/oings in Ihy paths .- &c.] The 
 word of God all'ords us direction, but the grace of God 
 must enable us to follow its direction, and that grace 
 must be obtained by prayer. The " paths of God " are 
 opposed to the " paths of the destroyer," the way of 
 righteousness to that of sin. Tlie image here is taken 
 from one walking in a sli]i])ery path, for such is that of 
 human life, by reason of tcmjitations ; so that the 
 behever, especially if he be young, feeble, and inex- 
 perienced, has great need of a divine supporter in every 
 step he takes. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 8. Keep me as the apple of an eye: &c.] He, wlio 
 has so fenced and guarded that precious and tender 
 part, the pupil of the eye, and who has provided for the 
 security of a young and helpless lirood under the wings 
 of their dam, is here intreated to extend the same ])ro- 
 vidential care and |>arental love to the souls of his elect, 
 equally cxjioscd to danger, equally beset with enemies. 
 Of liis readiness so to do He elsewhere assureth us, 
 under the same exf|uisite imagery, Zech. ii, 8; Matt, 
 xxiii. 37. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. I'ht-y are inclosed in their own fat : &c.] They 
 are fat and well liking ; pam|)ering themselves with all 
 the contentmenls anil ]ilcasures that their heart can de- 
 sire. Bp. Hall. The meaning ]>lainly is, that (iride is 
 the child of jilcnty, begotten by self-indulgence, whicli 
 hardens the hearts of men against the fear of (iod. and 
 the love of their neighbours ; rendering them insensible 
 to the judgments of the former, and the miseries of the 
 latter. Let every man take care, that, by iiamjjering 
 the Hcsh, he do not raise up an enemy of this stamp 
 against himself. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 11. — turning their eyes down tn the ground A 
 Turning their eyes downwards, as hounds and wild 
 beasts do, when they hunt after their game or jirey. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' 12. Like as a lion ite ] The similitude of a lion, 
 either roaring abroad in ipiest of his prey, or couehiiijj
 
 Day '6. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 469 
 
 of liis prey : and as it were a lion's 
 whcl]), lurking' in secret places. 
 
 13 Up, Lord, disappoint liiin'^, 
 and cast him down : deliver my soul 
 from the ungodly, which is a sworti 
 of thine B; 
 
 14 From the men of thy hand '', 
 
 Lord, from the men, I say, and 
 from the evil world : wdiich have 
 their portion in this life, whose 
 bellies thou fillest with thy hid trea- 
 sure. 
 
 15 They have children at their 
 desire : and leave the rest of their 
 substance for their babes. 
 
 16 But as for me', I will behold 
 thy presence in righteousness : and 
 when I awalce up after thy likeness, 
 
 1 shall be satisfied with it. 
 
 in secret, ready to spring upon it the moment it comes 
 within his reach, is often employed !)y David, to de- 
 scribe the power and maUce of his enemies. Christians 
 cannot f(jrget, that they hkewise have an adversary of 
 the same nature and cluiracter; one ever seeking 
 whom, and contriving how, he may devour. Bp. 
 Hume. 
 
 ' 13. Up, Lord, disappoint him, &c.] The Psalmist, 
 having characterized those who purstied after him to 
 take away his life, now entreats God to " arise " or 
 appear in his cause, to " disappoint '" or " ])revent " the 
 enemy in his designs, and to " east him down," to over- 
 throw and subdue him. Bp. Home. 
 
 s — which is a sword of thine /] He means, that his 
 wicked enemies can do nothing without God's per- 
 mission, and are but a sword in his hand, which He 
 can hinder from doing execution at his ]ileasure. Dr. 
 Nicholls. So tile Assyrian is called God's rod, Isa. 
 X. 5; as being ordained for correction, Hab. 1. 12. 
 Poole. 
 
 ^ 14. From the men of thy hand, &o.] That is, men 
 whom thou canst manage as thou wilt. Dr. Nicholls. 
 The enemies from whom David prays to be deli\ered, 
 are said to be such as have " their jjortion in this life," 
 such as, in our Saviour's language, " ha\'e their reward " 
 here, and are not to expect it hereafter ; " whose bellies 
 thou fillest with thy hid treasure ;" whom thou per- 
 mittest to enjoy thy temporal blessings in abundance, 
 to " receive their good things " upon earth, and to 
 "fare sumptuously every day;" as if it were to con- 
 vince us, in what estimation we ought to hold the 
 world, when we see the largest shares of it dealt out to 
 the most worthless of the sons of Adam : " They are 
 full of, or abound in, children, and leave the residue of 
 their substance to their babes ;" after living in jilenty, 
 perhaps to a good old age, they leave behind them a 
 numerous and nourishing posterity, who inherit their 
 estates, and go on, as their fathers did before them, 
 witliout piety to God, or charity to the poor. From 
 these men and their ways, we have all reason to say with 
 David, "Good Lord, deliver us !" Bp. Home. 
 
 ' }6. But as for me, &c.] Instead of setting our 
 affection on things below, the prophet instructs us, 
 after his example, to ]ilace all our hapjiiness in the 
 vision of God, and in that righteousness which leads to 
 it I since the hour is coming when we shall awake, and 
 arise, after the divine similitude; when we shall be 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xviii.' Diligam te, Domine. 
 
 I Will love thee, O Lord, my 
 strength ; the Lord is my stony 
 rock ', and my defence : my Savi- 
 our, my God, and my might, in 
 whom I will trust, my buckler, tlic 
 horn also of my salvation, and my 
 refuge. 
 
 2 I will call upon the Lord, which 
 is worthy to be praised : so shall 1 
 be safe from mine enemies. 
 
 .3 The sorrows of death com- 
 passed me™ : and the overflowings of 
 ungodliness made me afraid. 
 
 4 The pains of hell came about 
 me : the snares of death overtook 
 me. 
 
 like God, for we shall see Him as He is, and by seeing 
 Him shall be changed into the same image ; and then 
 shall every desire be satisfied with the fulness of joy, 
 with the exceeding abundance of unutterable glory. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '' P.SALM .xviii.] This Psalm, as we are informed by 
 the sacred history, 2 Sam. xxii. 1, was coin|]Osed and 
 sung by David, in the day that the Ijord had delivered 
 him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the 
 hand of Saul. It contains, ver. 1, 2, an address of 
 thanks to Jehovah ; 3 — 6, a relation of sufferings un- 
 dergone, and prayers made for assistance; 7 — 15, a 
 magnificent description of the divine interposition in 
 favour of the sufferer, and 10 — 19, of the deliverance 
 wrought for him, 20 — 24, in consideration of his righte- 
 ousness, 25 — 2S, according to the tenour of God's 
 equitable proceedings ; 29 — 36. to Jehovah is ascribed 
 the glory of the victory, which, 37-^42, is represented 
 as evei'y way comjilete, by the destruction of all ojjpo- 
 nents, and, 43 — 46, the submission of the heathen ; for 
 these events, 4" — 51, God is blessed and praised. As 
 the sublimity of the figures used in this Psalm, and the 
 consent of ancient commentators, even Jewish as well 
 as Christian, but above all, the citations made from it 
 in the New Testament, do evince, that the kingdom of 
 Messiah is here pointed at, under that of David ; an 
 a[)plication is therefore made of the whole, in the en- 
 suing comment, to the sufferings, resurrecticm, righte- 
 ousness, and conquest of Christ, to the destruction of 
 the Jews, and conversion of the Gentiles. In a word, 
 the Psalm, it is apprehended, should now be con- 
 sidered as a glorious epinikion, or triumphal hymn, to 
 be sung by the church, risen and victorious in Christ 
 her Head. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. — the Lord is my stony rod, &c.] In other 
 words, exiilanatory of the figures here made use of. 
 Through Jehovah it is, that I have stood immoveable 
 amidst a sea of temptations and afHictions ; He has 
 su]iported me under my troubles, and deli\'ered me out 
 of them ; his in-otection has secured me, his power has 
 broken and scattered mine enemies ; and by his mercy 
 and truth am I now set up on high above them all. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '" 3, 4. The sorrows of death compassed me, &c.] St. 
 Peter, in his sermon on the d.iy of Pentecost, says, 
 when speaking of Christ, " Whom God hath raised U|), 
 having loosed the pains of death, because it was not
 
 470 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 5 In my trouble I will call " upon 
 the Lord : and complain inito my 
 God. 
 
 6 So shall he hear my voice out 
 of his holy temple : and my com- 
 plaint shall come before liim, it shall 
 enter even into his ears. 
 
 7 The earth trembled and quaked ° : 
 the very foundations also of the hills 
 shook, and were removed, because he 
 was wroth. 
 
 8 There went a smoke? out in his 
 presence : and a consuming tire out 
 of his mouth, so that coals were 
 kindled at it. 
 
 9 He bowed the heavens alsoi, 
 and came down : and it was dark 
 under his feet. 
 
 10 He rode upon the cherubims, 
 
 possible that he should be holden of it," Acts ii. 24. 
 Whence we obtain, besides other things, something 
 more than an intimation, that, in the verses of our Psalm 
 now before us, David speaks of Christ, that the " pains of 
 death compassed him about," and the " floods of l?elial," 
 the powers of darkness and ungodliness, like an over- 
 whelming toiTent breaking forth from the bottomless 
 pit, "made him afraid," in the day of his agony, when 
 the apprehensions of the bitter cup cast his soul into 
 inuttcrable amazement, jmd He beheld Himself en- 
 vironed by those " snares " which had captivated and 
 detained all the children of Adam. David, surrounded 
 by Saul and bis blood-thirsty attendants, was a lively 
 emblem of the suffering Jesus, and therefore the same 
 description is applicable to both ; as the words of the 
 second Psahn, in bke manner, celebrate the inaugura- 
 tion of the son of Jesse, and that of the Son of Uod. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " 5. In my trouble I will call kc.'] David was in dis- 
 tress ; David called upon Jehovah, the (iod of Israel, 
 who dwelt between the (.'herubims in the holy ]ilace ; 
 and by Him the prayer of David was heard. Much 
 greater was the distress of Christ, who likewise, as St. 
 Paul ."peaks, " in the days of his flesh oifered up prayers 
 and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto 
 him that was able to save him from death, and was 
 heard," lleb. v. 7; his voice ascended to the eternal 
 temjjlc, his powerful cry jiierccd tlie ears of the Father 
 everlasting, and brought salvation from heaven at the 
 time appointed. 'I'he churcli also is distressed upon 
 the earth, she erieth, her cries are heard, and will he 
 answered in the day of God. B/>. //orHe. 
 
 ° 7. '/'lie enrik trembled and i/uakcd : &c.] At this 
 verse the prophet begins to describe the manifestation 
 of divine power in favour of the righteous sufferer. The 
 imagery employed is borrowed from mount Sinai, and 
 those circumstances which attended the delivery of tlie 
 law from thence. When a monarch is angry, and pre- 
 pares for war, his whole kingdom is instantly in com- 
 motion. Cniversal nature is here represented as feeling 
 the effects of its Sovereign's displeasure, and all the 
 visible elements are disorded. 'the earth shakes from 
 itsfoimdalions, and all its rocks and mountains tremble 
 before the majesty of their great Creator, when He 
 ariseth in judgment, 'i'his was really the ease at the 
 resurrection of our Lord from the dead; wlu^n, as the 
 Evangelist informs ue, " there was a great earthquake," 
 
 cast forth light- 
 
 nmj 3. 
 
 and did fly : he came flying upon the 
 wings of the wind. 
 
 1 1 He made darkness his secret 
 place : his pavilion round about him 
 with dark water, and thick clouds to 
 cover him. 
 
 1'2 At the brightness of his pre- 
 sence"^ his clouds removed : hail- 
 stones, and coals of fire. 
 
 13 The Lord also thundered out 
 of heaven, and the Highest gave 
 his thunder : hail-stones, and coals 
 of fire. 
 
 14 He sent out his arrows, and 
 scattered them : he 
 nings, and destroyed them. 
 
 15 The springs of water were 
 seen", and the foundations of the 
 round world were discovered, at thy 
 
 and the grave owned its inability any longer to detain 
 the blessed body, which had been committed, for a 
 season, to its custody. And what happened at the 
 resurrection of Jesus, should remind us of what shall 
 happen, when the earth shall tremble, and the dead 
 shall be raised, at the last day. B;). Home. 
 
 P S. There went a smoke &c.] The farther effects of 
 God's indignation are represented by those of fire, which 
 is the most terrible of the created elements, burning 
 and consuming all before it, scorching the ground, and 
 causing the mountains to smoke. L'nder this a|)pcar- 
 ance God descended on the top of Sinai: thus lie 
 visited the cities of the jilain; and thus He is to come 
 at the end of time. Whenever therefore He is described 
 as shewing forth his ])ower and vengeance for the salva- 
 tion of his chosen, and the discomfiture of his ene- 
 mies, a " devouring fire " is the emblem made choice of, 
 to convey pro])er ideas of such his manifestations. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ■i 9. He bowed the heathens also, &c.] Storms and tem- 
 liests in the element of air are instruments of the divine 
 displeasure, and therefore selected as figures of it. 
 When God descends from above, the clouds of heaven 
 compose an awful and gloomy tabernacle, in the midst 
 of which He is supposed to reside: the reins of whirl- 
 winds arc in liis baud, and He directs their imjietuous 
 course through the world ; the whole artillery of the 
 aerial regions is at his conunand, to be by Him employed 
 against his enemies, in the day of battle and war. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 12. At the brightness of his presence &c.] The dis- 
 charge of the celestiiil artillery upon the adverse jiowers 
 is here magnificently described. Terrible it was to 
 them, as when lightnings and thunders, hail-stones 
 and balls of fire, making their w;iy through the dark 
 clouds which contain them, strike terror and dism.iy 
 into the hearts of men. Such is the " voice," and such 
 are the "arrows," of the Lord .Mmighty, wherewith 
 He " discomfiteth" all who oppose the execution of his 
 counsels, and obstruct the salvation of his chosen. 
 B/). Home. 
 
 ' 1 5. The sprinijs of water were seen, &c.] As the for- 
 mer ]iart of the Psalmist's description was taken from 
 the a|ipearance on mount Sinai, .so this latter part 
 seems evidently to allude to whiit passed at the Red 
 Sea. when by the breath of (iod the waters were divided, 
 the depths were discovered, and Israel was conducted
 
 Daij 3. 
 
 cliidiiig', O Lord : at the blasting of 
 the breath of thy dispUMsure. 
 
 16 He shall send down' from on 
 high to fetch me : and shall take me 
 out of many waters. 
 
 17 He shall deliver me from my 
 strongest encmv, and from them 
 which hate me : for they are too 
 mighty for me. 
 
 were tun 18 They prevented me in the day 
 
 sui'^Vuclb"'^' of my trouble : but the Lord was my 
 upholder. 
 
 19 He brought me forth also into 
 a place of liberty : he brought me 
 forth, even because he had a favour 
 unto me. 
 
 20 The Lord shall reward me 
 after my righteous dealing" : ac- 
 cording to the cleanness of my hands 
 shall he recompense me. 
 
 21 Because I have kept the ways 
 of the Lord : and have not forsaken 
 my God, as the wicked doth. 
 
 22 For I have an eye unto all his 
 laws : and will not cast out his com- 
 mandments from me. 
 
 in safety through them. By that event was prefigured 
 the salvation of the church universal, through the 
 death and resurrection of Christ, who descended into 
 the lower parts of the earth, and from thence reascended 
 to light and life. The xivth chapter of Exodus, which 
 relates the passage of Israel through the Red Sea, is 
 therefore appointed as one of the proper lessons on 
 Easter-day. And thus we obtain the ideas intended 
 to be conveyed in this sublime but difBciilt verse, 
 together with their ajiplication to the grand deliverance 
 of the true David, in the day of God's power. Indeed 
 it is not easy to accommodate to any part of the history 
 of the son of Jesse those awful, majestick, and stu]ien- 
 dous images, which are made use of throughout this 
 whole description of the divine manifestation, from 
 verse 7. But, however this be, most certainly every 
 part of so solemn a scene of terrors forbids us to doubt 
 but that a " greater than David is here ;" since crea- 
 tion scarce affords colours brighter and stronger than 
 those here employed, wherewith to paint the appear- 
 ance of Jehovah at the day of final redemption. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '16. He shall send down &c.] For this purpose did 
 God in so wonderful a manner display his power and 
 glory, that He might deliver the sufferer out of his 
 troubles. This deliverance is first expressed metajjho- 
 rically, by " drawing him out of the great waters," and 
 then idainly, "he delivered me from my strong enemy," 
 &c. The "great waters," in ver. 10, are the same 
 with " the floods of the ungodly," in ver. 4. By these 
 was Messiah, like David, oppressed and o\'erwhelmed 
 for a time; but, like David, He arose at length supe- 
 rior to them all. The " strong enemy" was obliged to 
 give way to a " stronger than he, who o\-ercame him, 
 and took from him his armour in which he trusted, 
 and divided the spoil," Luke xi. 22. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 20. The Lord shall mcard me after my righteous 
 deativg : &c.] Commentators have been much ])erj)lexed 
 to account for these unlimited claims to righteousness 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 471 
 
 23 I was also uncorrnpt before 
 him : and eschewed mine own wick- 
 edness. 
 
 24 Therefore shall the Lord re- 
 ward me after my righteous dealing : 
 and according unto the cleanness of 
 my hands in his eye-sight. 
 
 23 With the holy thou shall be 
 holy" : and with a perfect man thou 
 shalt be perfect. 
 
 26 With the clean thou shalt be 
 clean : and with the froward thou 
 shalt learn frowardness. 
 
 27 For thou shalt save the people 
 that are in adversity : and shalt bring 
 down the high looks of the ]iroud. 
 
 28 Thou also shalt light my can- 
 dle ^ : the Lord my God shall make 
 my darkness to be light. 
 
 29 For in thee 1 shall discomfit^ 
 an host of men : and with the hel]i 
 of my God I shall leap over the 
 wall. 
 
 30 The way of God is an un- 
 defiled way^ : the word of the Lord 
 also is tried in the fire ; he is the de- 
 
 Jtppt ni\fi('lf 
 from mine 
 iiiiqiiiiy. 
 /(,*. Tr.iris. 
 avoidt'd, in 
 myself, 
 every known 
 fiin. Dr. Ni- 
 cholls. 
 
 With llie 
 liietcirul tliou 
 
 wilt .sliCW 
 
 tliyself mcT- 
 ciful. Ilih. 
 Traits. 
 
 perfect. Lib, 
 Traits. 
 
 made by David, and that, long after the matter of 
 Uriah, and towards the close of life. Certain indeed it 
 is, that the expressions considered as David's must be 
 confined either to his stedfast adherence to the true 
 worship in opposition to idolatry, or to his innocency 
 with regard to some particular crimes falsely alleged 
 against him by his adversaries. But if the Psalm be 
 prophetical, and sung by the victorious monarch in the 
 person of King Messiah ; then do the verses now be- 
 fore us no less exactly than beautifully delineate that 
 all-perfect righteousness «Tought by the Redeemer, in 
 consequence of which He obtained deliverance for 
 Himself and his people. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 25. IVith the holy thou shalt be holy .- &c.] The rea- 
 son is here assigned why God " recompensed Messiah 
 according to the cleanness of his hands," namely, be- 
 cause He is just in rendering to every one according 
 to his works. He who " is merciful" to his bretlu-cn 
 shall obtain the divine mercy ; he who is " upright" 
 in his dealings with others, will have justice done him 
 by the great Judge against his iniquitous oppressors ; 
 he who is " pure" from deceit and hypocrisy in the 
 service of his God, shall experience in himself a faithful 
 and exact performance of the promises which God hath 
 made to such : but the man that is " froward," per- 
 verse, and rebellious, must expect to grapple with an 
 arm which \viU either humble or destroy. See Lev. 
 xxvi. 3, 4, &c. 23, 24, &c. 1 Kings viii. 32. Prov. 
 iii. 34. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 28. Thou also shalt light my candle : &c.] The change 
 of condition from tribidation and affliction to glory and 
 honour is here set forth by that of a lamp, from a state 
 of extinction to one of illumination ; darkness being a 
 well-known emblem of sorrow and death, as light is 
 the established symbol of life and joy. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 29. For in thee 1 shall disconifit &c.] 'J'hrough the 
 power of his divinity, the Captain of our salvation van- 
 quished the host of darkness, and escaped from the 
 sepidchre, notwithstanding all their precautions to
 
 47-2 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Dat/3. 
 
 fender of all them that put their trust 
 in him. 
 
 .31 For who is God, but tlie Lord: 
 or who hath any strength, except our 
 God ? 
 
 3-2 It is God that girdeth me'' 
 with strength of war : and maketh 
 my way perfect. 
 
 33 He maketh my feet like harts' 
 feet : and setteth me up on high. 
 
 34 He teacheth mine hands to 
 fight : and mine arms shall break 
 even a bow of steel. 
 
 33 Thou hast given me the de- 
 fence of thy salvation : thy right 
 hand also shall hold me up, and thy 
 loving correction shall make me 
 great. 
 
 36 Thou shalt make room enough 
 under me for to go : that my foot- 
 steps shall not slide. 
 
 37 I will follow upon mine ene- 
 mies*^, and overtake them : neither 
 will I turn again till I have destroyed 
 them. 
 
 confine Him there. Vain is every effort, by whomso- 
 ever it is made, against the counsels of Omnipotence. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 30. The way of God is an undefiled way : Sec.'] Tlie 
 " way" of God is the course of his proceedings witli 
 men, and its " perfection" consists in the equity of 
 those proceedings ; the promises made in the " word 
 of Jehovah" to his servants are " tried" in times of 
 affliction and persecution, as gohl in the fire, and found 
 pure from any dross of deceit, or falhbility : He is ever 
 a " shield" to protect " those wlio trust in him," during 
 their stay here, until He becomes their " exceeding great 
 reward" hereafter. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' .3-2. It is God thai girdeth me &c.] In this and the 
 following verses are enumerated the gifts of God to the 
 siiiritua! warrior, wherel)y he is armed and ])repared for 
 the battle, after the example of his victorious leader. 
 Thus St. raul, Eph. vi. 14—17. Bp Home. 
 
 ' 3". 1 will follow upon mine enemies, &c.] If we sup- 
 pose David in his con<iuests to have prefigured victorious 
 Messiah, then have we, in these and the subsequent 
 verses, a sublime description of that vengeance which 
 Jesus, after his resurrection and ascension, intlieted on 
 his liardcned and impenitent enemies. His wrath " jnir- 
 Bued" and "overtook" them, in the day of visitation ; 
 nor did it return, till.liUe a devouring fire, it bad "con- 
 sumed" the prey. The Jews were cast down, "not 
 able to rise," or lift up themselves as a ])eople. being 
 crushed under the feet of tlie once-despised and insulted 
 Nazarene. Bp. Home. 
 
 ''41. They shatl cry, but there shall he none &c.] Ne- 
 ver was there a more just and lively jiortrail, of the 
 lamentable and desperate state of the Jews, when their 
 calamities came nj)on tliom. " 'I'liey cried, but — none 
 to savel" They had rejei^tcd Him who alone could 
 save, and who was now about to destroy them. I'hey 
 cried to Jehovah, and thought themselves still his 
 favourite nation; but Jebovab and Jesus were one; 
 so that, after putting the latter from them, they could 
 not retain the former on their side. "He answered 
 
 38 I will smite them, that they 
 shall not be able to stand : but fall 
 uruler my feet. 
 
 39 Thou hast girded me with 
 strength unto the battle : thou shalt 
 throw down mine enemies under 
 me. 
 
 40 Thou hast made mine enemies 
 also to turn their backs upon me : 
 and I shall destroy them that hate 
 me. 
 
 41 They shall cry, but there shall 
 be none'' to help them : yea, even 
 inito the Lord shall they cry, but he 
 shall not hear them. 
 
 42 I will beat them as small' as 
 the dust before the wind : 1 will cast 
 them out as the clay in the streets. 
 
 4.3 Thou shalt deliver me' from 
 the strivings of the people : and thou 
 shalt make me the head of the 
 heathen. 
 
 44 A people whom I have not 
 known : shall serve me. 
 
 45 As soon as they hear of me". 
 
 them not !" It was too late to knock, when the door 
 was shut ; too late to cry for mercy, when it was the 
 time of justice. Let us knock, while yet the door may 
 be opened ; and not begin to pray, when prayer shall 
 be no longer heard. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 42. I will beat them as small Szcl Tlie nature of 
 that judgment which was executed upon the Jews, can- 
 not be more accurately delineated, than by the two 
 images here made use of. They were broken in jiieces 
 and dispersed over the face of the earth, by the breath of 
 God's displeasure, like " dust before the wind ; and as 
 dirt in the streets, they were cast out," to be trodden 
 under foot by all nations. O that every nation would 
 so consider, as to avoid their crime and their punish- 
 ment ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 43. Thou shalt deliver me &c.] If David was deli- 
 vered from the strivings of the ])eo|)le ; if the adjacent 
 heathen nations were added to his kingdom, and a 
 " pcojile, whom he had not known, served him ;" how 
 much more was this the case of the Scm of David, when 
 He was " delivered," by his resurrection, from the ])ower 
 of all his enemies; when He was made "head of the 
 heathen," of whom, after their conversion, liis cluireh 
 was, and to this day is, composed ; and when, instead 
 of the rejected Jews, a iieojile, to whom before He had 
 not been known, became bis servants ! Bp. Home. 
 
 « -it). As soon as Ihiy hiar of me, &c.] " .\s soon as 
 they hear of me, they shall obev me ;" Iiereby is inti- 
 mated the readiness with \vlii<li the (ieiililes should 
 flow into the cluircb, ujion the ]ircaehing of tlic (iosiiel 
 to tliem, \vh( n the Jews, after having so long and so 
 often heard it, had nailed Christ to the cross, and driven 
 the a])ostles out from among them. "The strangers 
 shall submit themselves unto me ;" the nations who 
 were " aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and 
 strangers to the covenants of promise," citlier corcbally 
 submitted to the sceptre of Christ, or at least dissembled 
 their hostility, and yielded a feigned snbmission (for so 
 the original word smnetimcs signifies); "the strangers 
 shall i'adc away ;" that is, such of them as set them-
 
 the stranpers 
 shall siibiiiit 
 tlK-insi-lvi's 
 unto rue. 
 Bih. Ttans. 
 close plat'cs. 
 Bib. Trails. 
 
 Or, confess. 
 Bib TriDis, 
 Marg. 
 
 Day A. 
 
 tliey sliall obey mo : l)nt tlio strange 
 children sliall disscmhlo with mc. 
 
 46 The straiiL(e children shall foil : 
 and be afraid out of" tlu'ir prisons. 
 
 47 'I'he Lord liveth, and blessed 
 be my strong heljier : and praised be 
 the God of my salvation. 
 
 48 Even the God that sceth that 
 I be avenged : and subdueth tlie 
 people imto mc. 
 
 49 It is he that delivereth me from 
 my cruel enemies, and setteth me up 
 above mine adversaries : thou slialt 
 rid me from the wicked man. 
 
 30 For this cause'' will I give 
 thanks inito thee, C) Lord, among 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 selves against me, sliall find their strength blasted and 
 withered as a leaf in autumn, and shall fall at the sound 
 of my name and my \-iftories ; " they shall be afraid 
 out of their close places;" or rather "they shall come 
 trembling; from their strong holds," as places not able 
 to jirotect them, and therefore they will sue for peace. 
 Such seems to be the import of these two verses, 
 which, therefore, denote the conquest of Messiah to 
 have been every way complete. And accordingly, in 
 the remaining part of the Psalm, the church, through 
 Christ her head, blesseth Jehovah for the same. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ 50. For this cause &c.] Remarkable is the manner 
 in which St. Paul cites this verse, Rom. x^■. 9- 'i'he 
 context runs thus : — " Now I say, that Jesus Christ 
 was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, 
 to confirm the promises made unto the fathers; and 
 that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy, as it 
 is written. For this cause will I confess to thee among 
 the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name." This verse is 
 by the apostle produced as a jiroof, that the Gentiles 
 were one day to glorify God, for the mercy vouchsafed 
 them by Jesus Christ. But, according to the letter of 
 the passage. King David only says, that he will give 
 " thanks unto God among the heathen," on account 
 of his own deliverance, and exaltation to the throne of 
 Israel : for u])on that occasion we know that he com- 
 posed and sung the Psalm. This citation brought by 
 St. Paul cannot therefore be to the purpose for which 
 it is brought, unless the Psalm have a double sense ; 
 unless God be glorified in it for the victory and inthron- 
 ization of Christ, as well as for those of Uavid ; and this 
 cannot be, unless the same words, which literally cele- 
 brate the one, do likewise ]iro])hetically celebrate the 
 other ; unless David be a figure of Christ, and speak in 
 his person, and in that of his body, the church. While 
 this Psalm is used as a Christian liymn, in the Gentile 
 Christian chm-ch, David still continues, as he foresaw 
 he should do, " to give thanks unto Jehovah, to glorify 
 God among the Gentiles," for the mercies of redemp- 
 tion, and to " sing praises imto his name." Bp. Home. 
 
 '51. Great prosperity t/ireth he wnto his King : &c.] 
 To King David, in saving him from Saul, and his 
 other temporal enemies, and seating him on the earthly 
 throne of Israel; to King Messiah, in rescuing Him 
 from death and the grave, and exalting Him to an hea- 
 venly throne, as Head of the church : " and sheweth 
 mercy to his Anointed ;" to Him who was anointed out- 
 wardly, and in a figure, with oil ; and to Him who was 
 anointed inwardly, and in truth, with the Holy Ghost 
 and with power : " to David, and to his seed for ever- 
 
 473 
 
 and sing praises unto 
 
 the Gentiles 
 thy name. 
 
 .51 CJreat prosperity givcth he unto 
 his King' : and sheweth loviiig- 
 kiiidni'ss unto David his Anointed, 
 and unto his seed for evermore. 
 
 glory 
 firmament 
 
 MORNING PR AYE II. 
 
 P.SALM xix.'' Cceli enarrant. 
 
 THE heavens declare' the 
 of God"' : and the 
 sheweth his handy-work. 
 
 2 One day telleth another" : and 
 one night certificth another. 
 
 3 There is neither speech" nor 
 
 more ;" to the literal David, and to his royal progeny, 
 of whom, according to the flesh, Christ came ; and to 
 Christ Himself, the spiritual David, the beloved of 
 God, with all those who, through faith, become his 
 children, the sons of God, and heirs of eternal life. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ Psalm xix.] In the former part of this beautiful 
 Psalm, ver. 1 — 6, the heavens are re])resented as the 
 instructors of mankind ; the subject, the universality, 
 and the manner of their instructions are ])ointed out; 
 the glory, beauty, and ]5owerful effects of the solar light 
 are described. The latter jiart of the Psalm, 7 — 15, 
 contains an encomium on the word of God, in which 
 its ])roperties are enumerated ; and a ]jrayer of the 
 Psalmist for pardoning and restraining grace, and for 
 the acce])tance of these and all other his devotions and 
 meditations. From a citation which .St. Paul hath made 
 of the 4th verse, it appears, that, in the exposition, we 
 are to raise our thoughts from things natural to things 
 spiritual; we are to contemplate the ]niI)lication of the 
 Gospel, the manifestation of the Light of Life, the Sun 
 of Righteousness, and the efficacy of evangelical doc- 
 trine. In this view the ancients have considered the 
 Psalm, and the Church hath therefore appointed it to 
 be read on Christmas-day. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. The heavens dec/are &c.] As every created thing 
 is a proof of the divine power and goodness, so is his 
 glory especially jiroclaimed by the beauty and magnifi- 
 cence of the heavenly bodies, and of that vast exjjanse 
 wherein they move. Trarell. 
 
 "' — tlie glory of God : &c.] His glorious being or ex- 
 istence; "his eternal jiower and Godhead," as it is par- 
 ticularly expressed, Rom. i. 20 ; his infinite wisdom and 
 goodness. All which are so visible in them, that it is 
 ridiculous to deny or doubt of them, as it is ridiculous 
 to think of far meaner works of art, as an house or a 
 book, that tliey were made without an artist or without 
 an hand. Poole. 
 
 " 2. One diiy telleth another : &c.] There is one glory 
 of the sun, which shines forth by day ; and there are 
 other glories of the moon and of the stars, which be- 
 come visible by night. And because day and night 
 interchangeably divide the world between them, they 
 are therefore represented as transmitting in succession, 
 each to other, the task enjoined them. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 3. There is neither speech &c.] .\ccording to our 
 translators, the sense of this passage appears to be, that 
 there is no nation or language, whitlier the instruction 
 diffused by the heavens doth not reach. But as the 
 same thought is so fully expressed in the next verse, 
 "Their sound is gone out," &c., it seems most advis-
 
 474 
 
 THE PSALMS, 
 
 'leard 
 
 strong man. 
 Isib. Traps. 
 
 language : but tlieir voices are 
 among them. 
 
 4 Their sound is gone outf into 
 all lands : and their words into the 
 ends of tlie world. 
 
 5 In them hath he set a taber- 
 nacle for the suni : which cometh 
 forth as a bridegroom out of his 
 chamber, and rejoiceth as a giant to 
 run his course. 
 
 6 It goeth forth ^ from the utter- 
 most part of the heaven, and run- 
 
 able to adhere to the original, which runs literally thus : 
 " No speech, no words, their voice is not heard ;" that 
 is, although the heavens are thus appointed to teach, 
 yet it is not Ijy articulate sounds that they do it ; they 
 are not endowed, like man, with the facultj- of speech ; 
 but they address themselves to the mind of the intelli- 
 gent beholder in another way, and that, when under- 
 stood, a no less forcil)le %vay, the way of picture or 
 representation. So manifold is the wisdom of God : so 
 various are the ways by which He communicates it to 
 men. Bp. Home. 
 
 Indeed these glorious bodies have not the gift of 
 articulate speech, as we men have ; but they afford as 
 excellent lessons to instruct men in the wisdom and 
 goodness of the great Creator, as if they had an hun- 
 dred tongues. Dr. Nickolls. 
 
 ■■ 4. Their sound is gone out &c.] St. Paul, Rom. x. 
 IS, has ap])lied the natural images of this verse to the 
 manifestation of the Light of Life, by the sermons of 
 those who were sent forth for that ])urpose. He is 
 s])eaking of those Jews who had not obeyed the Gospel. 
 " But I say," argues he, " have they not heard ? Yes, 
 verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their 
 words unto the ends of the world." As if he had said. 
 They must have Iteard, since the apostles were com- 
 manded not to turn unto the Gentiles, till they had 
 published their glad tidings throughout Judea; but 
 the knowledge of Him is now become universal, and 
 all flesh has seen the glory of the Lord : the Light 
 Divine, like that in the heavens, has visited the whole 
 world, as the prophet David foretold, in the 19th Psalm. 
 The a[)ostle cannot be su])i)osed to have made use of 
 this Scrii)ture in a sense of accommodation only, be- 
 cause he cites it among other texts wliich he produces 
 merely as jiropheeies. And if such be its meaning, if 
 the heavens tlius declare the glory of God, and this is 
 the great lesson they are incessantly teaching : what 
 other language do they speak than that their Lord is 
 the representative of ours, the bright ruler in the natu- 
 ral world of the more glorious one in the spiritual, their 
 sun of the " Sun of Kighteousncss ?" Bji. Home. 
 
 1 :'). In them linl/t he set a tahernncle for the sun .- &c.] 
 In the centre of the heavens there is a tent pitched by 
 the Creator for the residence of that most glorious of 
 inanimate substances, the solar light ; from thence it 
 issues with the beauty of a bridegroom, and the 
 vigour of a champion, to run its course, and perform 
 its operations. A tabernacle in like manner was jire- 
 pared for llim, wlio saith of Himself, " I am the light of 
 the world," ,lohn viii. 12. .'\nd as tlie liglit of the 
 sun goes out in the morning with inconceivable activity, 
 new and youlhfiil itself, and communiiating life ami 
 gaiety to all things around it like a bridegniom, in the 
 marriage garment, from bis cliamlxT to his nuptials: 
 80, at his incarnation, did the Light Divine, the pro- 
 
 DayA. 
 
 netli about unto the end of it again : 
 and there is nothing hid from the 
 heat thereof. 
 
 7 '1 he law of the Lord is an un- 
 defiled law, converting the soul : the 
 testimony of the Lord is sure, and 
 giveth wisdom unto the simple. 
 
 8 The statutes of the Lord are 
 right, and rejoice the heart : the 
 commandment of the Lord is pure, 
 and giveth light unto the eyes. 
 
 9 The fear of the Lord is clean. 
 
 pcrftct. Sib. 
 Trans, con- 
 :^1aIlt, and in 
 every part 
 agreeable to 
 it^ef. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 infallible. 
 Dr. I^'icliolts. 
 
 clear as the 
 sun. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 free from all 
 superstitious 
 mixture. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 inised Bridegroom, visit his church, being clad Himself, 
 and clothing her, with that robe of righteousness which 
 is styled, in holy Scripture, the marriage garment ; and 
 the joy, which his i)resence administered, was like the 
 benefits of it, universal. And as the material light is 
 always ready to run its heavenly race, daily issuing 
 forth with renewed vigour, like an invincible champion 
 still fresh to labour; so likewise did He rejoice to run 
 his glorious race; lie excelled in strength, and his 
 works were great and marvellous ; He triumphed ox'cr 
 the powers of darkness ; He shed abroad on all sides 
 his bright beams upon his church ; He became her 
 deliverer, her i)roteetor, and supjiort ; and shewed Him- 
 self able, in every respect, to accomplish for her the 
 mighty task He has undertaken. B/>. Home. 
 
 What is here said of the sun, Justin Martyr afilrms 
 to be a Scripture spoken of Christ. Thus we know tlie 
 title of " Sun of Righteousness," in the prophecy of 
 Malacbi iv. 2, is mystically understood to denote Christ, 
 who is that " true light, which coming into the world 
 lighteneth every man." And so that of the " bride- 
 groom," to which the sun is here resembled, is a signal 
 title of Christ, in respect of his spouse the church : and 
 so also that of the " strong man" or " giant," eminently 
 denoting Christ, among whose titles is that of " mighty 
 God," Isa. ix. 6. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 '6. It ffoeth forth kc] The light, diffused on every 
 side from its fountain, extenileth to the extremities of 
 heaven, filling the whole circle of creation, penetrating 
 even to the inmost substances of grosser bodies, and 
 acting in and through all other matter, as the general 
 cause of life and motion, 'i'hus unl)ounded anil effica- 
 cious was the influence of the Sun of Righteousness, 
 when He sent out his word enliglitening and enlivening 
 all things by the glory of his grace. His celestial riiys, 
 like those of the sun, took their circuit round the 
 earth; they went forth out of Judea into all parts (if 
 the habitable world, and there was no corner of it so 
 remote as to be without the reach of their penetrating 
 and healing ])ower. " Tlie Lord gave the word, great 
 was the comjiany of those that |iubli.sbed it," Ps. 
 Ixviii. II. It was the express declaration of our Saviour 
 Himself, "This (iospel of the kingdom sliall be ))reached 
 in all the world, for a witness uiilo all nations, and 
 then shall the end come," Matt. xxiv. 14. Anil St. 
 Paul ailinns, that the (iosjiel was "come unto all the 
 world, and bad been preached to every creature tinder 
 heaven," Col. i. (i, and 2:i. The jirophet, therefore, 
 having thus foretold the mission of the apostles, and 
 the success of their niinistiy, proceeds, in the next 
 ])lacc, to describe their " doctrine ;" so that what fol- 
 lows is a due encoiiiitiin upon the Gospel, written with 
 nil the siniplieity jieculiar to the sacred language, and 
 in a strain lar surpassing the utmost efforts of human 
 eloijiienee. Bj>. Hume.
 
 DayA. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 sins of ipiio- 
 raiife ami 
 frailty. Dr. 
 tl am 1,10 'Hi 
 kiiinvii i\v\\- 
 bcrate sins. 
 Dr. /{am- 
 
 Ulirijlit. 
 Btb. Trans. 
 
 and endurotli for ever : tlie jiulge- 
 mciits of the Lord are true, and 
 righteous altogether. 
 
 10 More to be desired are they 
 than gohl% yea, than mueh finegohl: 
 sweeter also than honey, and the 
 honey-coml). 
 
 1 1 Moreover, by them is thy ser- 
 vant taught' : and in keeping of them 
 there is great reward. 
 
 12 Who can tell" how oft he 
 ofFendeth : O cleanse thou me from 
 my secret faults. 
 
 1;) Keep thy servant also" from 
 presumptuous sins, lest they get the 
 dominion over me : so shall 1 be un- 
 defiled, and innocent from the great 
 offence. 
 
 14 Let the words of my mouth'', 
 and the meditations of my heart : be 
 alway acceptable in tliy sight, 
 
 " 10. More to be desired are they than gold, &c.] What 
 wonder is it, that this converting, instructing^, exhila- 
 rating, enlightening, eternal, true, and righteous word, 
 should be declared preferable to the riches of eastern 
 kings, and sweeter to the soul of the pious believer, 
 than the sweetest thing we know of is to the bodily 
 taste ? How ready we are to acknowledge all this ! 
 Yet the next hour, perhaps, we i)art with the true 
 riches to obtain the earthly mammon, and barter away 
 the joys of the Spirit for the gratifications of sense I 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 'II. Moreover, by them is thy servant taught : &c.] The 
 Psalmist here bears his own testimony to the character 
 above given of the dirine word ; as if he had said. The 
 several parts of this perfect law, hereafter to be pub- 
 lished to the whole race of mankind, have been all 
 along my great instructors, and the only source of all 
 the knowledge to which thy servant hath attained ; 
 and I am fully assured, that the blessed fruit of them, 
 when they are duly observed, and have their projier 
 effect, is exceeding glorious, even eternal life. Bj). 
 Home. 
 
 " 12. Who can tell &c.] llie i)erfection and spiritua- 
 lity of God's law render it almost impossible for a 
 fallen son of Adam even to know all the innumerable 
 instances of his transgressing it. Add to which, that 
 false principles and inveterate prejudices make us re- 
 gard many things as innocent, and some things as 
 laudable, which in the eye of Heaven are far otherwise. 
 Self-examination is a duty which few practise as they 
 ought to do : and he who practises it best, will always 
 have reason to conclude his particular confessions with 
 this general petition, " Cleanse thou me from secret 
 faults !" Bp. Home. 
 
 ^13. Keep thy servant also &c.] In the preceding 
 verse, David had implored God's pardoning grace, to 
 cleanse him from the secret sins of ignorance and infir- 
 mity : in this he begs his restraining grace, to keep him 
 back from presum])tuous sins, or sins committed know- 
 ingly, deliberately, and with a high hand, against the con- 
 victions and the remonstrances of conscience : he prays 
 that such sins might not "have dominion over him," 
 or that he might not, by contracting evil habits, become 
 the slave of an imperious lust, which might at length 
 lead him on to "the great transgi-ession," to rebeUion, 
 
 15 O Lord : my strength, and my 
 redeemer. 
 
 PSALM x.\." Exaudiat te Dominus. 
 
 ^ord hear thee'' in the day 
 
 th 
 
 Kind's Ar- 
 ru'ssion. lirst 
 P.v;ilin Rlorn. 
 Serv. 
 
 rn II E I 
 
 I of trouble : the Name of 
 God of Jacob defend thee ; 
 
 2 Send thee help from the .sanc- 
 tuary '' : and strengthen thee out of 
 Sion ; 
 
 3 Remember all thy offerings : 
 and accept thy burnt sacrifice; 
 
 4 Grant thee thy heart's desire : 
 and fulfil all thy mind. 
 
 5 We will rejoice in thy salvation "■, 
 and triumph in the Name of the Lord 
 our God : the Lord perform all thy 
 petitions. 
 
 6 Now know I'', that the Lord 
 helpeth his Anointed, and will hear 
 him from his holy heaven : even 
 
 and final apostasy from God; for he who would be 
 
 innocent from the " great transgression," must beware 
 of indulging himself in any. Bp. Home. 
 
 >■ 14. Let the words of my mouth, &c.] Tlie prophet, 
 having before solicited the justification of his person 
 through grace, concludes witli a jietition for the accept- 
 ance of all his ofi'erings, and more especially of these his 
 meditations at the haiuis of that blessed One, whom he 
 addresses as the author of all good, and the deliverer 
 from all evil; as the "strength" and the "Redeemer" 
 of his people. Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm xx.] This is a form of prayer to be offered 
 by the congregation for their ])rince, in all times of 
 danger, that God will protect and assist him. It was 
 indited by David himself, to be used as occasion re- 
 quired. Dr. Hammond. It is also a prayer of the 
 church for the ])rospcrity of King Messiah going forth 
 to the battle as her champion and dehverer. Eji. 
 Home. 
 
 " 1. The Lord hear thee &c.] This may be considered 
 as the address of a peojile to their king, when he goeth 
 forth to battle against their enemies. But it is to be 
 regarded in a more general and useful view, as the 
 address of the church to her King, in " the day of his 
 trouble." Bp. Home. 
 
 ■" 2. Send thee help from the sanctuary : &c.] Either 
 from heaven, as it is expressed ver. 6 ; or from the 
 tabernacle in Sion, as it is expressed in the next words, 
 where the ark then was : to«'ards which the Israelites 
 directed their prayers, and from which God heard and 
 answered them. Poole. 
 
 " 5. JVe will rejoice in thy salvation, &c.] As if it 
 were said. Our minds forebode, that we shall return, 
 rejoicing in the preservation, ^-liich thou shalt have pro- 
 cured for us, and triumphing in the name of our great 
 Jehovah. Dr. Nichols. The joy of the church is in 
 the salvation of Christ : and the joy of even,- individual 
 is in the application of that salvation to himself and all 
 around him. Bp. Home. 
 
 "■ 0. Now know I, &c.] Tlicse are the continual words 
 of the people, speaking as one person, because they 
 were united and imanitnous in this prayer. Poole. Or 
 they are the words of David, re]ilying to the foregoing 
 address of the jjcople. Dr. Nicholts. 
 
 'I1ie assurance of the ancient church was built on
 
 476 
 
 Raving. Bib. 
 Trans. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 witli the wholesome strength 
 right hand. 
 
 7 Some put their trust "^ in cha- 
 riots, and some in horses : but we 
 will remember the Name of the Lord 
 our God. 
 
 8 Tliey are brought down', and 
 fallen : but we are risen, and stand 
 upright. 
 
 9 Save, Lord, and hear us, O 
 Kinsj of heaven : when we call upon 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 of his 
 
 th: 
 
 upo 
 
 Ascension- 
 day, tliird 
 Psalm Morn. 
 Serv., and 
 Kind's Ac- 
 cession, se- 
 cond Psalm 
 Norn. Serv. 
 
 PSALM .\xi.5 Domiiie, in virtute tuu. 
 
 THE King shall rejoice'' in thy 
 strength, O Lord 
 glad shall he be of thy salvation. 
 
 exceeding 
 
 the prophecies going before concerning the sah'ation of 
 Messiah. Our assurance is strengtliened by tlie actual 
 performance of so great a part of the counsel of God. 
 "We know that the Lord has " saved his Anointed :" 
 that his Anointed sa\-eth all, who believe and obey 
 Him, from their sins : and therefore we doubt not, but 
 that by " the strength of bis right hand," or by the 
 e.vcellency of his power. He will finally save them from 
 death, and rescue them from the grave. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. Somf put their trust &c.] This shindd be the 
 resolution of every Christian king and people in the day 
 of battle. .Vnd, in the spiritual war, in which we are 
 all engaged, the first and necessary step to victory is, 
 to renounce all confidence in the wisdom and strength 
 of nature and the world ; and to remember, that we 
 can do nothing, but in the name, by the merits, through 
 the power, and for the sake, of Jesus Christ, om- Lord 
 and our God. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 8. They are brought down, &c.] Tliis was eminently 
 the case when the pride and power of .Jewish infidelity 
 and pagan idolatry fell before the victorious sermons 
 and lives of the humble believers in .lesus : this is the 
 case in every conflict with our spiritual enemies, when 
 we engage them in the name, tlie spirit, and the power 
 of ("brist; and this will be tlie case at the last day, 
 when the world, with the jirince of it, .shall be " brought 
 down, and fall; but we, risen" from the dead, through 
 the resurrection of our Lord, .shall "stand upright" 
 in the courts of heaven, and sing the praises of Him 
 who getteth us all our victories. Bp. llnnie. 
 
 ' Psalm .\.\i.] Tbeodoret truly observes, that in this 
 Psalm, as well as the former, David speaks in the jjer- 
 son of the peojile ; whom he instructs bow to give (iod 
 thanks for granting him those victories, which they 
 prayed for in the Psalm foregoing. And it is generally 
 looked U|)on as describing, under that fignre, the exal- 
 tation, glory, and majesty of Cluist, which he obtained 
 by his bloody deatb and passion. Many of tlie Hebrews 
 themselves apply it to the .Messiah. So that it may be 
 called a Psalm of triumph, after the victories, wliich 
 David got over liis enemies; which were a tvpe of 
 Christ's victory over death, and of the triumph that 
 ensued. And truly there are some things in it, which 
 are more literally i'ullilled in (Jlirist, than in David, as 
 verses 4 — G. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ')'hi.s is one of the proper Psalms, which the Church 
 hath aj)pointed to be used on Ascension-day, and 
 wherein, I — C, she celebrates the victory of her Re- 
 deemer, and the glory consequent thereupon ; she pro- 
 
 Day 4. 
 
 2 Thou hast given him his heart's 
 desire : and hast not denied him the 
 request of his lips. 
 
 S For thou shalt prevent him' 
 with the blessings of goodness : and 
 shalt set a crown of pure gold upon 
 his head. 
 
 4 He asked life of theeJ, and thou 
 gavest him a long life : even for ever 
 and ever. 
 
 5 His honour is great in thy sal- 
 vation '^ : glory aiul great worship 
 shalt thou lay upon him. 
 
 6 For thou shalt give him ever- 
 lasting felicity' : and make him glad 
 with the joy of thy countenance. 
 
 7 And why? because the King"" 
 
 See Vocal). 
 
 majesty. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 See Vocab. 
 heist made 
 him most 
 blessed for 
 ever. Bih. 
 Trans, set 
 him to be 
 blessings. 
 Mfirff. 
 
 1 
 
 phesies, 7, the stability of his kingdom, and, 8 — 12, the 
 destruction of the enemies thereof ; concluding with a 
 prayer for his final triumph and exaltation ; the cele- 
 bration of which, with everlasting hallelujahs, will be 
 her employment in heaven. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 1. The Kin;/ skull rejoice &c.^ What is here said 
 of David being delivered out of his dangers, and of the 
 cause which he had to rejoice and triumjih exceedingly, 
 hath a more eminent comjiletion in the resurrection of 
 the Messiah. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ' 3. For thou shalt prevent him &c.] The Son of 
 God could not be more ready to ask for the blessings 
 of the divine goodness, than the Father was to give 
 them : and his disposition is the same towards all his 
 adojited sons. Christ, as king and jiriest, weareth a 
 crown of glory, represented by the purest and most 
 resplendent of metals, gold. Bp. Home. 
 
 i 4. He asked life of thee, &c.] Tlie life, asked by 
 Christ, was not a continuance in this valley of tears, 
 but that new and eternal life consequent u))on a resur- 
 rection from the dead. For thus his jietilion was 
 gr.anted in "length of days for ever and ever." " He 
 died no more; death had no more dominion over him." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 5. His honour is great in thy salvation .- &c.] What 
 tongue can express the " glory, honour, and majesty," 
 with which the King of righteousness and peace was 
 invested, upon his ascension; when lie took posses- 
 siim of the throne prepared for Him, and received the 
 homage of heaven and earth ! 'I'be sacred imagery in 
 St. .lohn's Revelation sets them before our eyes in such 
 a manner that no one can read tlie description, whose 
 heart will not burn within him through iinjiatient de- 
 sire to behold them. See Rev. chap. iv. vii. xix. xxi, 
 .\xii. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' G. For thou shall r/ive him everlaslinr/ felicity : &c,] 
 Thou hast not only licstowed extraordinary benefits 
 upon himself, but nuule bim a blessing to future gene- 
 rations. Bp. Patrick. Christ, liy Ills death and passion, 
 having removed the curse, became the fountain of all 
 blessings to his people, in time and eternity; being 
 Himself the blessing promised to .\braham, and the 
 object of the patriarchal benedictions. The joy com- 
 municated to the humanity of our Lord, from the divine 
 nature, shall be sbed abroad on all his saints, when 
 admitted to view the "countenance of (uul," in the 
 face of .lesus Cluist. Then they shall enter into "the 
 joy of their Lord." B/i. Home. 
 
 "' 7. And why f because the King &c.] The throne
 
 ho ninved. 
 Uth. Trans. 
 
 conlrived. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 Day 4. 
 
 piittetli his trust in the Lord : and 
 in tlie mercy of the most Highest lie 
 sliall not miscarry. 
 
 8 All thine enemies shall feel thy 
 liand" : thy right hand shall find out 
 them that hate thee. 
 
 9 Thou slialt make them like a 
 fiery oven in time of thy wrath : the 
 Lord shall destroy them in his dis- 
 pleasure, and the tire shall consume 
 them. 
 
 10 Their fruit slialt thou root 
 out" of the earth : and their seed 
 from among the children of men. 
 
 1 1 For they intended mischief'' 
 against thee : and imagined such a 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 of Christ, as a man, was erected and established, hy his 
 trust and confidence in the Father, during Ids humilia- 
 tion and [lassion. Faith in God, therefore, is the way 
 that leadeth to honour and stability. " Look at the gene- 
 rations of old, and see : did ever any trust in the Lord, 
 and was confounded ?" Ecclus. ii. 10. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 8. All thine enemies shall feel thy hand: &c.] The 
 same right hand of Jehovah is glorious in power to 
 save his ])eople, and to destroy his enemies ; to convert 
 the (Jentiles, and to crush the Jews ; to exalt the faith- 
 ful to heaven, and cast down the unbelieving to hell : 
 neither is there any treason against the King of heaven, 
 which shall not be dragged fortli into the light, made 
 manifest, judged, and condemned. Let thy hand, () 
 Lord, be upon our sins to destroy them; but ui)on us, 
 to save us. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 10. Their fruit shall thou root out &c.] A day is 
 coming, when all the "fruits" of sin, brought forth by 
 sinners, in their words, their writings, and their actions, 
 shall be " destroyed ;" yea, the tree itself, which had 
 produced them, shall be rooted up, and cast into the 
 fire. The "seed" and posterity of the wicked, if they 
 continue in the way of their forefathers, will be iiunished 
 like them. Let parents consider, that u])on their prin- 
 ciples and practices may depend the salvation or de- 
 struction of nudtitudes after them. The case of the 
 Jews, daily before their eyes, should make them tremble. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 p 11. For they intended mischief &c.] Vengeance 
 came upon the Jews to the uttermost, because of their 
 intended malice against Christ. They, like Josejjh's 
 brethren, " thought evil against him ;" but " they were 
 not able to perform it ;" " for God meant it unto good, 
 to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people 
 alive," Gen. 1. 20. So let all the designs of ungodly 
 men against thy church, O Lord, through thy power of 
 bringing good out of evil, turn to her advantage : and 
 let all men be convinced, that no weapon formed against 
 Thee can prosper. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 13. Be thou exalted. Lord, &c.] The church con- 
 cludes with a joyful acclamation to her Redeemer, 
 wishing for his " exaltation in his own strength," as 
 (Jod, who was to be abased in much weakness, as man. 
 We still continue to wish and pray for his exaltation 
 over sin, in the hearts of his people by grace, and finally 
 over death, in their bodies, by his glorious power at the 
 resurrection. The triumph over sin we sing in psalms, 
 and hymns, and spiritual songs, upon earth ; that over 
 death, we shall jiraise with everlasting hallelujahs, in 
 heaven. Bp. Hume. 
 
 ' Psalm x.\ii.] 'ITiis Psalm, which the Church hath 
 
 477 
 
 dde to ])er- 
 
 devicc as they are not 
 form. 
 
 1"2 Therefore slialt thou put them 
 to flight : and the strings of thy i)ow 
 slialt thou make ready against the 
 face of them. 
 
 l;3 Be thou exalted, Lord'i, in 
 thine own strength : so will we sing, 
 and praise thy jiower. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xxii.' Deus, Deiis mens. 
 Y God, my God% look upon 
 me ; why hast thou forsaken 
 and art so far from my health. 
 
 Oood Friday, 
 fiTNt l^alnJ 
 Morn. Serv- 
 
 frum helping 
 me. BiO. 
 
 appointed to be used on Good Friday, as our Lord 
 uttered the first verse of it when hanging on the cross, 
 consisteth of two ]iarts. The former, 1 — 2 1 , treateth of 
 the (lassion ; the latter, 22—32, celebrateth the resur- 
 rection of Jesus, with its effects. 1,2, He complaineth 
 of being forsaken ; 3 — 5, aeknowledgeth the holiness of 
 the Father, and ])leadeth the former deliverances of the 
 church ; li — 8, describeth his humihation, with the 
 taunts and reproaches of the Jews; 9 — 11, exjiresseth 
 liis faith, and prayeth for help ; 12—18, iiarticularizeth 
 his sufferings; 19 — 21, repcateth his sujiplications; 
 22 — 2.T, declareth his resolution to praise the Father for 
 his deliverance, and exhorteth his church to do the 
 same; 26 — 32, prophesieth the conversion of the 
 (ientile world to the faith and worsliip of the ti-ue God. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 The (|uestion, proposed Acts viii. 34, is very proper 
 here, " Of whom speaketh the prophet this " Psalm ? 
 " Of liimself ? or of some other man ?" It is confessed 
 that David was a type of Christ ; and that many Psalms, 
 or passages of the' Psalms, though proi)erly and literally 
 imderstood of David, yet had a further and mystical 
 reference to Christ, in whom they were accomjilished. 
 But there are some other Psalms or ]iassages in the 
 Psalms, as also some chajiters or jiassages in other 
 prophets, especially in Isaiah, who lived not very long 
 after David, which either by those sacred penmen, or at 
 least by the Holy Ghost inspiring them, which is one 
 and the same thing, were directly, primarily, and im- 
 mediately intended for, and are jirojierly and literally to 
 be understood of, the Messiah : tliough withal there 
 may be some respect and allusion to the state of the 
 penman himself, who being a type of Christ, it is not 
 strange if there be many resemlilances between them. 
 And this seems to be the state of this Psalm, which is 
 understood of the Messiah by the Hebrew doctors 
 themseh-es, and by Christ Himself, and by his apostles, 
 as we shall see. And there are many ])assages in it, 
 which were most literally accomplished in Him, and 
 cannot in a tolerable sense be understood of any other. 
 And therefore I doubt not, that David, though he had 
 an eye to his own condition in divers passages here 
 used, yet was carried forth by the Sjjirit of prophecy 
 beyond himself and unto Christ, to whom alone it truly 
 and fully agrees. Poole. 
 
 ' 1 . My God, my God, &c.] Christ, the beloved Son 
 of the Father, when hanging on the cross, complained 
 in these words, that He was deprived, for a time, of the 
 divine presence and comforting influence, while He 
 suffered for our sins. If the Master thus underwent 
 the trial of a spii-itual desertion, why doth the disciple
 
 478 
 
 THE PSALMS, 
 my com- 
 
 Bili. Tram. 
 
 deliverrd. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 and from the words of 
 plaint ? 
 
 2 O mv God, I cry ' in the day- 
 time, but thou hearcst not : and in 
 
 inotbiient. the night season also I take no rest. 
 
 3 And thou continuest holy" : O 
 thou worship of Israel. 
 
 4 Our fathers hoped in thee" : 
 they trusted in thee, and thou didst 
 deliver them. 
 
 5 They called upon thee, and were 
 holpen : they put their trust in thee, 
 and were not confounded. 
 
 6 But as for me'', I am a worm, 
 and no man : a very scorn of men, 
 and the out-cast of the people. 
 
 7 All they that see me^ laugh me 
 to scorn : they shoot out their lips, 
 and shake their heads, saying, 
 
 8 He trusted in God, that he 
 
 think it strange, unless the light of heaven shine con- 
 tinually upon his tabernacle ? Let us comfort ourselves, 
 in such circumstances, with the thought, that we are 
 thereby conformed to the image of our dying Lord. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. O my God, I cry &c.] Even our Lord Himself, 
 as man, prayed, " that if it were possible, the cup might 
 pass from him ;" but God had ordained otherwise, for 
 his own gloi-y, and for man's salvation. " Day and 
 night," in prosjierity and adversity, living and dying, 
 let us not be " silent," but cry for deliverance ; always 
 remembering to add, as Christ did, " Nevertheless, not 
 my will, but thine be done." Nor let any man be 
 impatient for the return of his prayers, since every 
 l)etition preferred even by the .Son of (jod Himself was 
 not granted. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 3. And thou continuest holy : &c.] Whatever be- 
 falleth the members of the church, the Head thereof 
 here tc.icheth them to confess the justice and holiness 
 (if (iod in all his proceedings ; and to acknowledge, 
 that whether He exaltcth or humbleth his ])ci)])le. He is 
 to be praised and glorified by them. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. Our flit her. <: hoped in thee : itc] Trust in God is 
 the way to " deliverance," and the former instances of 
 the divine favour are so many arguments why we should 
 hope for the same ; Init it may not always be vouch- 
 safed, when we expect it. 'I'he patriarchs and Israelites 
 of old were often saved from their enemies ; the holy 
 Jesus is left to languish and exjiire under the malice of 
 his. (iod knows what is proper for Him to do, and 
 for \is to suffer ; we know neither. 'I'liis consideration 
 is an anchor for the ulllicted soul, sure aiul stedfast. 
 Up. Home. 
 
 i" G. But as for me, &c.] This and the two following 
 verses, though they have a first sense historically verified 
 in David, at the time of his Hying froui his enemies, yet 
 are they, in a inueh higher, and also mure literal sense, 
 fulfilled in Cliiist iijion the cross. Dr. Hammond. He, 
 whospareth all other men. spared not his own .Son; He 
 spared not Him. tliat lie might spare them. Tlie Re- 
 deemer of the world scrupletli not to compare Himself, 
 in his state of hiimiliiitidii, to the lowest reptile which 
 bis own hand bad formed, u " worm." humble, silent, 
 innocent, overlooked, oi>prt3Sed, and trodden under 
 foot. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7, S. Alt Ihiy that see me &c.] 'I'his was literally 
 
 Z)ay 4. 
 deliver 
 
 would deliver him : let him 
 him, if he will have him. 
 
 9 But thou art he=» that took me 
 out of my mother's womb : thou 
 wast my hope, when I hanged yet 
 upon my mother's breasts. 
 
 10 I have been left mi to thee ever 
 since I was born : thou art my God 
 even from my mother's womb. 
 
 11 O go not from me, for trouble 
 is hard at hand : and there is none to 
 help me. 
 
 12 ]\Iany o.xen are come about 
 me** : fat bulls of Basan close me in 
 on every side. 
 
 13 They gape upon me with their 
 mouths : as it were a ramping and a 
 roaring lion. 
 
 14 1 am poured out like water"^, 
 and all my bones are out of joint : 
 
 ravening, 
 Jiib. Trans. 
 
 fulfilled, when Messiah hung upon the cross, and the 
 priests and elders used the very words that had been 
 put into their mouths, by the spirit of prophecy, so 
 long before. Matt, xxvii. 41. 43, "The chief priests 
 mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He 
 trusted in God ; let him deliver him now, if he will 
 have him." Bp. Home. 
 
 • 9, 10. But thou art he &c.] This was eminently the 
 case of Christ, who was the Son of God in a sense in 
 which no other man ever was. But in Him we are all 
 children of God by adoption; we are all in the hands 
 of a gracious Providence from the womb ; and into 
 those hands must we commend ourselves, when about 
 to depart hence. To whom else, then, should we have 
 recourse, for support and consolation, in the day of 
 calamity and sorrow ? Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 12. Many oxen are come about me: &c.] From the 
 eleventh verse to the nineteenth the sufferings of- the 
 holy Jesus are described, in terms partly figurative, and 
 jiartly literal. .V lamb, in the midst of wild " bulls and 
 lions," is a very lively representation of his meekness 
 and innocence, and of the noise and fury of his imjilac- 
 ahle enemies. " IJashan " was a fertile country. Numb, 
 xxxii. 4 ; and the cattle there fed were fat and " strong," 
 Deut. .xxxii. 14. Like them, the Jews, in that good 
 land, "waxed fat and kicked," grew proud and re- 
 belled ; " forsook God that made them, and lightly 
 esteemed the rock of their salvation," ver. \5. Let 
 both communities and individuals, when blessed with 
 peace, jilenty, and ])rosperity in the world, take some- 
 tiiiies into consideration this llagrant instance of their 
 being abused ; with the final consequence of such 
 abuse. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 14, 15. I am poured out like water, &c.] I am grown 
 as weak as water; my joints have not strength to sup- 
 port my body ; and all my vitals consume away, as 
 wax meltcth before the fire. All my natural moisture 
 is decayed, and I am become as dry as a broken ])iece 
 of earthenware; my tongue, through my ccmtinual 
 feverish drought, sticks to the roof of my month ; and 
 thou, () Lord, alt just bringing ine down to the grave. 
 Dr. NichiitlK. For our sakes Cbri.st yielded Himself, 
 like " water," without resistance, to the viokncc of bis 
 enemies; suH'ering his "bones," in which consisteth 
 the strength of the frame, to be distended and dislocated 
 upon the cross ; while, by reason of the lire from above,
 
 Day A. 
 
 my heart also in the midst of my 
 body is even like melting wax. 
 
 15 My strenjj^th is dried up like a 
 potsherd, and my tonirue eleaveth to 
 my iriiins : and thou shalt bring me 
 into the dust of death. 
 
 16 For many dogs are come about 
 me"* : and the counsel of the wicked 
 
 (ave inclosed layetli siege against me. 
 
 '■j-mis.' ' 17 They pierced my hands and 
 
 my feet; 1 may tell all my bones' : 
 they stand staring and looking upon 
 me. 
 
 18 They part my garments 'among 
 them : and cast lots upon my ves- 
 ture. 
 
 19 But be not thou far from me^, 
 O Lord : thou art my succour, haste 
 thee to help me. 
 
 20 Deliver my soul from the 
 
 to the burninp; heat of which this paschal Lamb was 
 exposed, his heart dissolved and melted away. The in- 
 tenscness of his passion, drying up all the fluids, brought 
 on a thirst, tormenting beyond expression; and, at last, 
 laid Ilim low in the grave. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 10. Fur many dogs are come about me: &c.] Our 
 Lord, who compared Himself above, ver. 12, to a lamb 
 in the midst of bulls and Hons, here setteth Himself 
 forth again under the image of a hart, or hind, roused 
 early in the morning of his mortal life, hunted and 
 eliascd all the day, and in the evening pulled down to 
 the groimd, by these who "compassed" and "in- 
 closed " Him, thirsting and clamouring for his blood, 
 crying, "Away with him, away with liim ! crucify him, 
 crucify him !" And the next step was, the " piercing 
 of his hands and his feet," by nailing them to the cross. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 •This was most eminently fulfilled in Christ at his 
 crucifixion : but there is nothing like it in the history 
 of David, of whom it can be said only figuratively. 
 Dr. Hammond, Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' 17. — I may tell all my bones : &c.] The skin and 
 flesh were distended, by the posture of the body on the 
 cross, that the bones, as through a thin veil, became 
 visible, and might be counted ; and the holy Jesus, for- 
 saken and stripped, naked and bleeding, was a spectacle 
 to heaven and earth. Look unto Him, and be ye saved, 
 ye ends of the world ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 18. They part my garments &c.] See John xix. 
 23, 2-4. This also was literally fulfilled in Christ, but 
 not in David, in whose story we find nothing like it. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 s 10. But be not thou far from me, &c.] Tlie circum- 
 stances of the passion being thus related, Christ resumes 
 the prayer with which this Psalm begins, and which is 
 repeated, ver. 10, 11. The adversary had emptied his 
 quiver, and spent all the venom of his malice ; Messiah 
 the. rfore prayeth for a manifestation of the power and 
 favour of heaven on his side, in a joyful and glorious 
 resurrection. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 20. Deliver my soul from the sword: &c.] Tlie wrath 
 of God was the "sword," which took vengeance on all 
 men in their representative ; it was the " flaming sword," 
 which kept men out of Paradise ; the sword, to which 
 it was said, at the time of tlie passion — " Awake, O 
 Bword, against my shepherd, and against the man that 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 479 
 
 Bp. Jlall. 
 
 sword'' : my darling from the power my dw life. 
 of the dog. 
 
 21 Save me from the lion's 
 mouth : thou hast heard me also 
 from among the horns of the uni- 
 corns. 
 
 22 I will declare thy Name' unto 
 my brethren : in the midst of the 
 congregation will I praise thee. 
 
 2.'3 O praise the Lord, ye that 
 fear him : magnify him, all ye of the 
 seed of Jacob, and fear him, all ye 
 seed of Israel ; 
 
 24 For he hath not despised'', 
 nor abhorred, the low estate of the 
 jioor : he hath not hid his face from 
 him, but when he called unto li m he 
 heard him. 
 
 25 My praise is of thee' in the 
 great congregation : my vows will 
 
 is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts : smite the shep- 
 herd, and the sheep shall be scattered," Zech. xiii. 7 ; 
 Matt. xxvi. 31. The ravening fury of the "dog," the 
 "lion," and the "unicorn," a fierce and untameable 
 creature of the stag kind, (rather the rhinoceros,) is 
 made use of to describe the rage of the devil and his 
 instriunents, whether spiritual or corporeal. From all 
 these Christ supplicates the Father for deUverance. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 22. / will declare thy Name &c.] The former part 
 of the Psalm we have seen to be prophetical of the pas- 
 sion. The strain now changes to an ejiinikion, or hymn 
 of triumph, in the mouth of the Redeemer, celebrating 
 his victory, and its happy consequences. This verse is 
 cited by the apostle, Heb. ii. 11, " Both he that sanc- 
 tifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one ; for 
 which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 
 saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren," &c. 
 And accordingly, when the deliverance, so long wished, 
 and so earnestly prayed for, was accomplished by the 
 resurrection of Jesus from the dead. He " declared the 
 name of God," by his apostles, to all his "brethren;" 
 and caused the church to resound with incessant praises 
 and hallelujahs ; all which are here represented as pro- 
 ceeding from the body, by and through Him who is the 
 head of that body. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 24. For he hath not despised, &c.] Tlie great sub- 
 jects of praise and thanksgiving, in the church, are the 
 sufferings of the lowly and afflicted Jesus, and the ac- 
 ceptance of those sufferings by the Father, as a propiti- 
 ation for the sins of the world ; which acceptance was 
 testified by raising Him from the dead ; inasmuch as the 
 discharge of the surety ])ro\'ed the jiayment of the debt. 
 The poor and afflicted brethren of Christ may take com- 
 fort from this verse ; for if they suffer in his spirit, they 
 will be raised in his glory. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 25. My praise is of thee &c.] The vow of Christ 
 was, to build and consecrate to Jeho\-ah a sjiiritual tem- 
 ple, in which the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise 
 should be continually offered. This vow He ]>erformed, 
 after his resurrection, by the hands of his apostles, and 
 still continueth to perform, by those of his ministers, 
 carrying on the work of edification in " the great con- 
 gregation" of the Gentile Christian chiu-ch. The 
 vows of Christ cannot fail of being performed. Bp. 
 Home.
 
 480 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 I perform in the sight of them that 
 fear him. 
 
 26 Tlie poor shall eat™, and be 
 satisfied : thev that seek after the 
 Lord shall jiraise him ; your heart 
 shall live for ever. 
 
 27 All the ends of the world" 
 shall remember themselves, and be 
 turned unto the Lord : and all the 
 kindreds of the nations shall worship 
 before him. 
 
 •28 For the kingdom is the Lord's" : 
 and he is the Governour among the 
 people. 
 
 29 All sucli as be fat upon earth P: 
 have eaten, and worshipped. 
 
 30 All they that go down into the 
 
 ° 26. The poor shall eat, &c.] A spiritual banquet is 
 prepared in the church for the meek and lowly of heart ; 
 the bread of life and the wine of salvation are set forth 
 in the word and sacraments ; and they, that hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness, shall be " satisfied" therewitli : 
 they, " who seek" the Lord Jesus in his ordinances, 
 ever find reason to " praise him ;" while, nourished by 
 these noble and heavenly viands, they live the life, and 
 work the works of grace, proceeding still forward to 
 glory ; when their " heart shall live for ever," in heaven. 
 Bji. Home. 
 
 °2~. All the ends of the u-orld S^c.^ The great truths 
 of man's creation and fall, with the promise of a Re- 
 deemer to come, were " forgotten" by the nations, after 
 their apostasy from the true God, and the one true 
 religion ; but were, as we may say, recalled to their 
 " remembrance," by the sermons of the apostles, and 
 the writings of Moses and the prophets, translated, and 
 spread among them. By these they were converted to 
 the faith, and now compose the holy church universal 
 throughout the world ; being the glorious proofs and 
 fruits of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Bj). 
 Home. 
 
 " 23. For the kingdom is the Lord's: &c.] Tlierc is 
 good reason wliy the nations should worship Christ, and 
 tlirow away their idols ; since in his hands, not in theirs, 
 is the government of the world. Upon his ascension 
 He was crowned King of kings, and Lord of lords ; He 
 ruleth in the church jiy his Spirit ; and blessed are the 
 hearts that are his willing subjects in the day of his 
 power. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 29. All siicli a.i be fat upon earth: &c.] It was said 
 above, ver. 20, "the meek," the poor and lowly, " shall 
 cat and be satisfied." It is here foretold, that the " fat 
 ones of the earth," the great, the oi)uUnt, the lloiu'ish- 
 ing, the nobles and princes of the world, should lie called 
 in to partake of the feast, and to " worship" God. Rich, 
 as well a-s poor, are invited ; and the hour is coming, 
 when all the race of Adam, as many as sleep in the 
 " dust" of the earth, imable to raise themselves from 
 thence, quickened and called forth by the voice of the 
 Son of man, must " bow" the knee to King Messiah. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 131. Ml/ seed shall serve him : &e.] 'Flic ajjostlc in- 
 formcth us, Rom. ix. 8, that "the children of the jiro- 
 mise are coimted for the seed ;" that is, the converts to 
 be made, among the nations, by the jireaeliing of the 
 (iospel, according to the promise to .Vbniluuu; these 
 were to constiliUe the churih and family of Christ, the 
 " generation" of the faitlil'ul ; these were to take the 
 
 dust shall kneel before him 
 
 Dat/A. 
 
 and no 
 
 man 
 31 
 
 hath quickened his own soul. 
 JNlv seed shall serve him'' 
 
 none can 
 keepalhe liis 
 o\^ n soul. 
 
 they shall be counted mito the Lord ^*'*- /'""*■ 
 
 ^ • . bee > ocab. 
 
 for a ifoneration. 
 
 32 They shall come', and the 
 heavens shall declare his righteous- 
 ness : unto a people that shall be 
 born, whom the Lord hath made. 
 
 PS.\LM x.\iii.' Dominus regit me. 
 
 THE Lord is my Shepherd': 
 therefore can I lack nothing. 
 
 2 He shall feed me in a green 
 pasture" : and lead me forth beside 
 the waters of comfort. 
 
 3 He shall convert my soul' : and ^ml^^T^avi. 
 
 place, and enjoy the privileges, of the Jews, cut off 
 because of their unbelief. Lord, enable us to serve 
 Thee all oiu' lives, with a service acce])table to Thee in 
 Christ Jesus ; that at the resurrection of the just, we 
 may be numbered in the generation of thy children. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 32. They shall come, &c.] The promised and ex- 
 pected race shall sjjring forth at the time appointetl, 
 and proclaim the "righteousness," which is of God by 
 faith, to ages and generations yet unI)orn : who, hearing 
 of that great work, which the Lord shall haxe WTOUght, 
 for the salvation of men, will thereby be led to glorify 
 Him in the cluurch for the same to the end of time. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm xxiii.] lliis Psalm was composed by David, 
 and is a most pathetic expression of God's abundant 
 care and [jrovidence toward all those that faithfully 
 depend on Him : and hath its most eminent completion 
 in Christ, the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, 
 of whom it is a prophecy. Dr. Hammond. In it " the 
 sheep of God's jiasture" address themselves to their 
 great and good Shepherd, declaring, 1, their acquies- 
 cence and confidence in Him; 2, his diligence in feed- 
 ing them \iith the food of eternal life ; 3, his watchful 
 care in bringing them back from the ways of error, and 
 conducting them in the path of truth ; 4, his power in 
 sa\'ing them i'rom death ; 5, his loving-kindness in 
 vouchsafing his sjiiritual comforts, during their jiilgrim- 
 age in an enemy's country ; and, G, they express their 
 hope and trust, that a continuation of that loving-kind- 
 ness will enable them to jiass through the vanities and 
 vexations of time, to the blissful glories of eternity. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. The Lord is my Shepherd: &c.] In these words 
 the believer is taught to express his absolute acquies- 
 cence and complacency, in the guardian care of the 
 great Pastor of the tuiiverse, the Redeemer and Pre- 
 server of men. AVith joy he reflects, that he hath a 
 ".Shepherd;" and that that Sheiihcrd is Jehovah, one 
 possessed of all the qualities rc<iuisite to constitute the 
 pastoral character in the highest perfection. For where 
 shall we ever find such luiexamplcd diligence, such in- 
 expressible tenderness, such ex(|nisite skill, such all- 
 sul)duing might, and such unwearied patience ? Why 
 shoulil they fear, who have such a friend? How can 
 they " want," wlio ha\e such a " Shepherd r " Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 2. He shall feed me in a green pasture; &e.] Tlie 
 loveliest image all'orded by the natural world, is here 
 reijresented to the imagination ; that of a llock, feeding
 
 Day 5. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 leadeth me. 
 Bib Trans. 
 
 bring me forth in tlie paths of righte- 
 ousness, for his Name's sake. 
 
 4 Yea, though 1 walk ^ throiigli 
 the valley of the shadow of death, 
 I fear no evil : for thou ait with 
 thy rod and thy staff comfort 
 
 1 wi 
 
 me ; 
 
 me. 
 
 5 
 
 fore 
 me : 
 
 Thou shalt prepare a table ^ he- 
 me against them that trouble 
 thou hast anointed my head with 
 
 oil, and my cup shall be full. 
 
 6 But thy loving-kindness and 
 mercy " shall follow me all the days 
 
 in verdant meadows, and reposing, in quietness, by the 
 rivers of water, running gently through them. It is 
 selected, to convey an idea of the jirovision made for the 
 souls, as well as bodies of men, by his goodness, who 
 " openeth his hand, and filleth all things living with 
 ])lenteousnes3. By me," saith the Redeemer, " if any 
 man enter in, Hc' shall be saved, and shall go in and 
 out and find pasture," John x. 9- And what saith the 
 Spirit of peace and comfort ? " Let him that is athirst 
 come ; and wliosoever will, let him take the water of 
 life freely," Rev. x.xii. 17. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. He shall convert my soul : &c.] To " restore," 
 or bring back, those that had "gone astray," that is, 
 in other words, to " call sinners to repentance," was 
 the employment of Him who, in the jiarable of the 
 "lost sheep," representeth Himself as executing that 
 part of the pastoral otfiee. By the same kind hand, 
 when " restored," they are thenceforth led in " the path 
 of righteousness ;" in the way of holy obedience. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 4. Yea, though I walk &c.] The sheep here express 
 their confidence in the power of their She])herd, as 
 sufftcient to defend them against the last and most 
 formidable enemy, death himself. In all our dangers 
 and distresses, but chiefly in our last and greatest need, 
 let "thy rod," the sceptre of thy kingdom, O Lord, 
 protect us, and thy pastoral "staff" guide and sui)])ort 
 our steps; till, through the dreaded valley, we pass to 
 the heavenly mountain, on which .St. John saw " the 
 Lamb standing, with a great multitude, redeemed from 
 the earth." Rev. xiv. 1 . 4. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. Ihou sholt prepare a table &c.] Another set of 
 images, borrowed from a feast, is introduced to give us 
 ideas of those cordials and comforts prejiared to cheer 
 and invigorate the fainting soul, while, surrounded by 
 " enemies," it is accomplishing its pilgrimage through 
 life ; during which time, its sorrows and afflictions are 
 alleviated and sweetened by the joys and consolations 
 of the Holy One ; by the feast of a good conscience ; 
 by the bread of life, the "oil" of gladness, and the 
 "cup" of salvation, still full, and "running over." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. But thy loi)in(j-kiii<iness and mercy &c.] Ex- 
 perience of " goodness and mercy," already so often 
 vouchsafed, begets an assurance of their being continued 
 to the end ; for nothing can separate us from the love 
 of Christ, if we do not separate ourselves from it. 
 Thus will the Lord, our Saviour, provide for us on 
 earth, and conduct us to hea\-en ; where we shall dwell 
 to "length of days," even the days of eternity, "one 
 fold under one Shepherd :" a fold into which no 
 enemy enters, and from which no friend departs ; where 
 we shall rest from all our labours, and see a period to 
 all our sorrows ; where the voice of praise and thanks- 
 
 of my life : and I will dvvel 
 house of the Lord for ever. 
 
 481 
 the 
 
 T" 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xxiv."" Dnmini est terra. 
 IE earth is the Lord's % and 
 that therein is : the c()m])ass 
 of the world, and they that dwell 
 therein. 
 
 2 For he hatii founded it upon 
 the seas'' : and prepared it npon the 
 floods. 
 
 3 Who shall ascend into the hill'' 
 
 A8ccnsinn- 
 day, first 
 Psalm Even 
 Serv. 
 
 estahlishetl. 
 Btb. Trans. 
 
 giving is heard continually ; where all the faithful, 
 from Adam to his last-born son, shall meet together, 
 to behold the face of Jesus, and to be blessed with the 
 vision of the Almighty; where "we shall hunger no 
 more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun 
 light on us, nor any heat. But the Laml), which is in 
 the midst of the throne, shall feed us, and lead us to 
 living fountains of waters." Rev. vii. IG, 17. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ Psalm xxiv.] Tliis is a Psalm of David, composed 
 by him, as is thought, when the ark was brought from 
 the house of Obed-edom, 2 Sam. vi, and settled in the 
 house which he had prepared for it in mount Sion. 
 And, as that was a ty|)e of Christ's ascension into hea- 
 ven, so is this Psalm a prophecy of that exaltation 
 likewise. It seems to be a song in parts ; and the 
 latter part especially is a beautiful instance of the an- 
 cient manner of singing or chanting the Psalms alter- 
 nately. Dr. J^icholis, Travell. 
 
 The plan of this Psalm, according to the letter of it, 
 is beautifully delineated by Bishoj) Lowth, in his xxviith 
 lecture. The ark of God is supposed to be moving, in 
 a grand and solemn procession of the whole Israelitish 
 nation, towards the place of its future residence, on 
 mount Sion : see 1 Chron. xv. On ascending the 
 mountain, the Psalm is sung, declaring, I, 2, the sove- 
 reignty of Jehovah over all the earth ; describing, 3 — 6, 
 what the character ought to he of that people whom He 
 had more peculiarly selected, to ser\'e Him in the house 
 where his glory was to dwell, and of which, 7 — 10, it 
 was now about to take possession. All this is by us 
 to be applied to the Christian church, and the ascen- 
 sion of our Lord into heaven ; for which reason, the 
 Psalm is one of those appointed to be used on Ascen- 
 sion-day. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1 . The earth is the Lord's, &c.] The God of Israel 
 was Lord of the whole earth, by right of creation. The 
 same divine Person who created the world, hath since, 
 in Christ, redeemed it ; and it is his again, by that 
 right also. But the church Christian is his, in a more 
 peculiar manner, as the church of Israel formerly was. 
 We are doubly bound to adore and to obey Him. " It 
 is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves," Ps. 
 0. 2 : and " we are not our own, being bought with a 
 price," 1 Cor. vi. 20. The inference is, " Let us 
 glorify God in our bodies, and in our spirits, which 
 ai'e," every way, " God's." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. For he hath founded it vpon the seas: &c.] He 
 hath caused the waters to lie lower than the surface of 
 the earth, for the convenience of man's habitation : so 
 hath He therefore lifted the earth over the sea, as if, to 
 our sense, it were founded thereu[)on. Bp. Hall. 
 
 ' 3. IVho shall ascend into the hill &c.] The con- 
 nexion betiveen the present and the foregoing verses 
 
 2 I
 
 482 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 5. 
 
 stand. Blh, 
 Tram. 
 
 placed his 
 
 trust in false 
 
 gods. 
 
 Bp. Horsteif. 
 
 sworn dec-eil- 
 
 fullv. Bib. 
 
 Tram. 
 
 mercy. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 O God of 
 Jacob. Si'i. 
 Tram. Murfj. 
 
 of the Lord : or who shall rise up in 
 his hoh' place? 
 
 4 Even he that hath clean hands, 
 and a pure heart : and that hath not 
 lift up his mind unto vanity, nor 
 sworn to deceive his neighbour. 
 
 3 He shall receive the blessing- 
 from the Lord : and righteousness 
 from the God of his salvation. 
 
 6 This is the generation f of them 
 that seek him : even of them that 
 seek thy face, O Jacob. 
 
 7 Lift up your heads s, O ye gates, 
 and be ye lift up, ye everlasting 
 doors : and the King of glory shall 
 come in. 
 
 8 Who is the King of glory : it is 
 the Lord strong and mighty, even 
 the Lord mighty in battle. 
 
 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates, 
 and be ye lift up, ye everlasting 
 doors : and the King of glory shall 
 come in. 
 
 seems to be this. If the Abnighty Creator and Lord of 
 all the earth has chosen us to be his peculiar people, to 
 serve and worship Him in his temple, ujjon the holy 
 hill of Sion, whither the sacred symbol of his presence 
 is now ascendino-, what manner of persons oiin;ht we to 
 be ? The reasoning is exactly the same, as Bishop Lowth 
 observes, with that of Moses, in Deut. x. 14 — 16, 
 " Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the 
 Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein 
 is. Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love 
 them, and he chose their seed after them, even you 
 above all people, as it is this day. Circumcise there- 
 fore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff- 
 necked." The argument applies, with additional force, 
 to ourselves, as Christians. We com)iose a far more 
 numerous and magnificent procession than that of the 
 Israelites, when the churcli luiiversal, with lier spiritual 
 ser\'ice3, attends our Lord, as it were, upon his ascen- 
 sion, in heart and mind ascending with Him into the 
 holy places not made with liands. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' C. 'i'/iis is the generation &c.] .Such ought the peo- 
 ple to be who seek the presence of Ciod, and approach 
 to worship Him in the sanctuary; who celebrate the 
 ascension of their Redeemer, and hope, one day, to 
 follow Him into those hajijiy mansions, which He has 
 gone liefore to |)reparc for them. lip. Hnriie. 
 
 ' 7. Lift up your heuds, &c.] We must now form 
 to ourselves an idea of tlic Lord of K'"r.V, after liis re- 
 surrection from tlie dead, making his entry into the 
 eternal temple in lieavcn, as of old, by the syinl)ol of 
 his presence. He took possession of tliat iigurative and 
 temporary structure which once stood upon the liill of 
 Sion. We arc to conceive Him gradually rising, from 
 mount Olivet, into the air, taking the clouds for his 
 chariot, and ascending up on bigli ; while .some of the 
 angels, hke the Levites in procession, attendant on the 
 triiunpliant Messiah in the day of his i)ower, demand 
 tliat those everlasting gates and doors, hitherto shut 
 and barred against the race of .\datn, should lie thrown 
 open for his admission into the realms of liliss. " Ijift 
 up your heads, O ye gates ; and be ye lift up, ye cver- 
 lastmg doors ; and the King of glory shall come in." 
 
 10 Who is the King of glory : 
 even the Lord of hosts, he is the 
 King of glory. 
 
 PSALM xxv.' Ad te, Domine, levavi. 
 
 UNTO thee, O Lord, will I lift 
 up my soul ; my God, I have 
 put my trust in thee : O let me not 
 be confounded, neither let mine ene- 
 mies triumph over me. 
 
 2 For all they that hope in thee 
 shall not be ashamed : but such as 
 transgress without a cause shall be wiifuiand 
 
 , , r ■ rebellious 
 
 put to contusion. transgress- 
 
 ,3 Shew me thy ways, O Lord : '"*• ^'■'•'^"'■ 
 and teach me thy paths. 
 
 4 Lead me forth in thy truth, and 
 learn me : for thou art the God of teach me. 
 my salvation ; in thee hath been my 
 hope all the day long. 
 
 3 Call to remembrance', O Lord, 
 thy tender mercies : and thy loving- 
 
 On hearing this voice of jubilee and exultation from 
 the earth, the abode of misery and sorrow, the rest of 
 the angels, astonished at the thought of a man claiming 
 a right of entrance into their happy regions, ask from 
 within, like the Levites in the temple, " Who is this 
 King of glory ?" To which question the attendant 
 angels answer, in a strain of joy and triumph — and let 
 the church of the redeemed answer with them — " The 
 Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle :" 
 the Lord Jesus, victorious over sin, death, and hell. 
 Therefore we say, and with holy transport we repeat it, 
 " Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and be ye lift up, ye 
 everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come 
 in." And if any ask, " Who is the King of glory ?" to 
 heaven and earth we proclaim aloud, " The Lord of 
 Hosts;" all-conquering Messiah, Head over every crea- 
 ture, the Leader of the armies of Jehovah, " He is the 
 King of glory." Kven so, (ilory be to thee, O Lord 
 most high ! Amen. Hallelujah. IS/). Home. 
 
 ^ PsAi.M XXV.] This Psalm, composed by David 
 in some time of distress, is a divine mixture of prayer 
 for pardon of sin, and deliverance from e\il ; and also 
 of meditation on God's gracious dealings with his ser- 
 vants. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 It is much the same, whether we siqipose the Church, 
 or any single member thereof, to lie S]icaking through- 
 out this Psalm, and praying, 1, 2, for help and protec- 
 tion against spiritual enemies; 3, 4, for knowledge and 
 direction in the way of godliness ; pleading for this 
 inirpose, 5, (i, God's mercies of old ; 7. the perfections 
 of his nature ; S, 9, emnuerating the qualifications 
 requisite for scholars in the divine school; 10, tipon 
 the strength of these arguments enforcing the petition 
 for mercy; II — l.'i, describing the l)lessedness of the 
 man who fcareth the Lord; 14 — JO, ])referring divers 
 |)etitions; and, 21, closing the whole with one for the 
 final redemption of the Israel of (jod. lip. Hnrne. 
 
 ' 5. Cidl to rememlirance, &c.] The soul, when hard 
 beset with sins and sorrows, is ajit to think that (iod 
 hath forsaken and forgotten her. In this case she can- 
 not more clfcctually prevail upon Him or comfort her- 
 self, than by recollecting, and, as it were, reminding
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 lave been ever of 
 
 direct them 
 to discern 
 what is best. 
 B/>. Patrick. 
 teach. Hill. 
 Traits. 
 
 vith them. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 Day 6. 
 
 kindnesses, wliic 
 old. 
 
 6 O remember not tlie sins'' and 
 offences of my youth : but accordintf 
 to thy mercy think thou upon me, O 
 Lord, for thy goothicss. 
 
 7 Gracious and rigliteous is tlie 
 Lord : therefore will he teacii sinners 
 in the way. 
 
 8 Them that are meek shall he 
 guide in judgement : and such as are 
 gentle, them shall he learn his way. 
 
 9 All the paths of the Lord are 
 mercy and truth : unto such as keep 
 his covenant, and his testimonies. 
 
 10 For thy Name's sake, O Lord : 
 be merciful unto my sin, for it is 
 great. 
 
 11 What man is he, that feareth 
 the Lord' : him shall he teach in the 
 way that he shall choose. 
 
 12 His soul shall dwell at ease" : 
 and his seed shall inherit the land. 
 
 13 The secret of the Lord" is 
 among them that fear him : and he 
 will shew them his covenant. 
 
 483 
 
 Him of former mercies ; since, however the dispositions 
 and affections of men may alter, God is always the 
 same. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 6. remember no! the ims&c] When God remem- 
 bers his mercy. He forgets our sins ; and when He 
 forgets our sins. He remembers his mercy ; for what 
 else is his mercy but the forgiveness, the lilotting out, 
 the non-ira]iutation of sin ? Who, that has lived long 
 in the world, can survey the time past of his life, with- 
 out breaking forth into this petition, adding, to "the 
 sins of his youth," the many transgressions of his riper 
 years ? Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 11. What man is he, that feareth the Lord: &c.] The 
 blessings consequent upon "the fear of the Lord" are 
 such as will fully justify the earnestness and fervour of 
 the foregoing petitions for pardon and grace. " 'I'he 
 fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." He 
 who hath it will "choose" the right way, and will be 
 " taught" to go therein. Bp. Home. 
 
 '" 12. His soul shall dwell at ease : &c.] It is a ])ri- 
 vilege of " the man who feareth the Lord," that, not 
 only in this present life, all things work together for his 
 " good," but his soul, after having persevered in right- 
 eousness, shall take up its abode in the mansions of 
 felicity. His " seed" likewise shall be blessed in the 
 same manner, with such a portion of the temporal 
 promise made to Abraham as God seeth best for them, 
 and certainly with an abundant share in the spiritual 
 inheritance, the new earth, wherein dwell righteousness, 
 joy. and glory. " Blessed are the meek," the seed of 
 Christ, " for they shall inherit the earth," Matt. v. 5. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 13. The secret of the Lord &c.] The meaning is, 
 that it is part of the gracious decree and covenant of 
 God, made in Clu'ist mth all those, that truly fear and 
 serve him, and endeavour sincerely to do what He com- 
 mands, never to conceal from them the knowledge of 
 his will, so far as their practice is concerned in it. Dr. 
 Hammond, 
 
 14 Mine eyes are ever looking 
 unto the Lord" : for he shall ])luck 
 my feet out of the net. 
 
 1.5 Turn thee unto me, and liavc 
 mercy upon me : for 1 am desolate, 
 and in miser)'. 
 
 IG The sorrows of my heart are 
 enlartred : O brinsc thou me out of 
 my troubles. 
 
 17 Look upon my adversity and 
 misery : and forgive me all my sin. 
 
 18 Consider mine enemies, how 
 
 many they are : and they bear a hate me with 
 
 , I , • i _ cruel hatred. 
 
 tyrannous hate against me. mii. Trans. 
 
 19 O keep my soul, and deliver 
 me : let me not be confounded, for I 
 have put my trust in thee. 
 
 20 Let perfectness and righteous 
 dealing P wait upon me : for my hope be my guard 
 
 , , . . , 1 and my pro- 
 
 hath Deen in thee. tectmn. xra- 
 
 21 Deliver Israels O God : out *""'• 
 of all his troubles. 
 
 PSALM xxvi.' Judica me, Domine. 
 thou my Judge, O Lord% for 
 have walked innocently : my 
 
 m 
 
 The greatest happiness of man in this world is, to 
 know the fi.ied and determinate counsels of God con- 
 cerning the human race, and to understand the cove- 
 nant of redemption. This likewise is the reward of 
 " the fear of the Lord," which humbles the soul, and 
 prejiares it for divine illumination, causing it to place 
 all its comfort in meditation on the wonders of heavenly 
 love. " All things which I have heard of my Father, 
 I have made known unto you," saitli our Lord to his 
 disciples, John xv. 15. Bp. Home, 
 
 ° 14. Mine eyes are ever looking unto the Lord: &c.] 
 Encoiu-aged to hojie for the blessings above mentioned, 
 the lowly suppliant still continues to fix the eyes of his 
 understanding on their proper object, God his Saviour, 
 beholding his glory, attending to his will, and expecting 
 his mercy. An unfortunate dove, whose feet are taken 
 in the snare of the fowler, is a fine emblem of the sotd, 
 entangled in the cares or jjleasures of the world ; from 
 which she desires, through the power of grace, to fly 
 away, and to be at rest, with her glorified Redeemer. 
 Bp, Home. 
 
 p 20. Let perfectness and righteous dealimj &c.] How 
 many wishes do our hearts send forth after riches, 
 honours, and pleasures ! how few after "integrity and 
 uprightness!" yet these can "ju-eserve" us, and those 
 cannot. Absolute integrity and uprightness are the 
 prerogatives of the King of righteousness : and it is 
 his grace which makes us such as his mercy will accept. 
 On Him therefore let us "wait." Bp. Home. 
 
 ■I 21. Deliver Israel, &c.] In the common salvation 
 all have an interest : and for that reason, all should 
 pray for it. The earthly Da\'id petitioned for Israel ; 
 the heavenly David ever continueth to intercede for the 
 church ; and every Christian ought to become a sup- 
 pliant for his brethren, stiU looking and longing for 
 that glorious day, when, by a joyful resurrection unto 
 life eternal, God shall indeed " redeem Israel out of all 
 his troubles." Bp. Home. 
 
 • Ps.iLM xxvi.] The party speaking in this Psalm, 
 2 I 2
 
 484 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 my most in- 
 ward 
 thoughts. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 vwnd. 
 
 trust hath been also in the Lord, 
 therefore shall I not fall. 
 
 2 Examine me, O Lord', and 
 prove me : try out my reins and my 
 heart. 
 
 3 For thy loving-kindness is ever 
 before mine eyes : and I will walk in 
 thy truth. 
 
 4 I have not dwelt" with vain 
 persons : neither will I have fellow- 
 ship vi\t\\ the deceitful. 
 
 5 I have hated the congregation 
 of the wicked : and will not sit among 
 the ungodly. 
 
 6 1 will wash my hands in inno- 
 cency", O Lord : and so will I go to 
 thine altar; 
 
 7 That I may shew the voice of 
 thanksgiving : and tell of all thy 
 wondrous works. 
 
 8 Lord, I have loved the habi- 
 
 whether we suppose it to be the ty])ical, or the true 
 David, the church, or any member thereof, lying under 
 the false accusations of calumny, 1—3, appealeth to 
 God in behalf of injured innocence; 4, 5, disclaimeth 
 all connexion with wicked men ; 6 — S, declareth a 
 fixed resolution to adhere to the worshij) of God in the 
 church; 9, 10, ])rayeth to be delivered from the \\n- 
 godly; 11, again protesteth integrity, and, 12, deter- 
 mineth to praise the Lord. Bp. Home 
 
 This Psalm was composed by David as an appeal to 
 God. to vindicate his integrity, and deUver him from 
 his enemies. Dr. Hammrmd. 
 
 ' 1. Be Ihou my judge, Lord, &c.] We have here 
 an appeal to (Jod, in behalf of injured and calumniated 
 innocence. This was the case of David, with regard to 
 the accusations of .Saul ; of Christ, with regard to those 
 of the Jews ; and it is often the case of the church, and 
 of good men in the world ; for wliose use this Psalm 
 seems [jeculiarly calculated. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. Examine me, Lord, &c.] A trial of this sort 
 might be desired by David, and may be desired by 
 men like him, conscious of their integrity, as to the 
 jiarticular <'rimes charged upon them by the malice of 
 their enemies. Ghrist alone could ask such a trial at 
 large, as being eijually free from every kind and degree 
 of sin; and certain of receiving additional lustre from 
 the increasing boat of the furnace, lij). Home. 
 
 "4.7 have not dwelt &c ] David, driven by Said into 
 a land of aliens, yet preserved himself from the conta- 
 gion of idolatry. And happy the Christian who can 
 say, that, during the time of his lianishmeiit and ]iil- 
 grimage, he bath escaped the pollutions that are in the 
 world, namely, vanity and hypocrisy, evil practices and 
 wicked ])rinciple3. Christ alone, like Ilia emblem 
 tlic light, passed through all things undefded. Bj). 
 Home. 
 
 ' 6. I will wash my hands in innocency, &c.] Instead 
 of consorting with the heathen, David comforts him- 
 self with the future prospect of restoration to .Icrusa- 
 lem : of attending the service of (iod in the taber- 
 nacle; of performing the legal ablutions, in token of 
 innocency thereby .signified ; and of singing, before llie 
 lioly altar, jisalms of jiraisc for bis deliverance. Bp. 
 Jlorne. 
 
 To wash the hands was common among the Jews, 
 
 Da>/ 5. 
 place 
 
 tation'' of thy house : and the 
 where thine honour dwelleth. 
 
 9 O shut not up my soul with the 
 sinners : nor my life with the blood- 
 thirst)-. 
 
 10 In whose hands is wickedness : 
 and their right hand is full of gifts. 
 
 1 1 But as for me, I will walk 
 innocently : O deliver me, and be 
 merciful inito me. 
 
 12 My foot standeth right : 1 will 
 praise the Lord^ in the 
 tions. 
 
 Take not 
 away. Jtib. 
 Truns. Marg. 
 
 bribes. Bib. 
 T,nm. 
 
 in the direct 
 way of ri;:hle- 
 ousness and 
 it'le;irity. Dr. 
 HicholU, 
 
 EVENING PBAYER. 
 
 PSALM xxvii.' Dominus illuminatio 
 rTH H E Lord is my lio;ht^ and 
 
 fear 
 life; 
 
 salvation ; whom then 
 
 my 
 shall I 
 
 the Lord is the strength of my 
 of wdiom then shall I be afraid ? 
 
 Deut. x.xi. 6, in any solemn business of protesting inno- 
 cency, as a token of it : so did Pilate, Matt, xxvii. 24. 
 But it pai-ticidarly belonged as a ceremony preparatory 
 to praying : for unless we come pure to that work, there 
 is no hope to be heard. It was therefore a common 
 usage among the Jews, always to wash before prayers. 
 Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ^ 8. Lord, I hare lored the habitation &c.] With 
 what ardent affection the banished prophet sighs for 
 the beauty of holiness in the church ! the most amiable 
 object on earth, because the nearest resemblance of 
 heaven, where is the true " habitation of (iod's house, 
 and the place of the tabernacle of his glory ;" since of 
 the heavenly Jerusalem St. John tells us, that the 
 " Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple," 
 Rev. x.xi. 22. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 12. — 1 will praise the Lord &c.] David, upon his 
 return to his country, " blessed the Lord in the con- 
 gregation" of Israel, by singing jisalms of praise and 
 thanksgi\-ing ; and by the constant use of those very 
 psalms, the Lord is daily " blessed" in all Christian 
 " congregations" throughout the world ; yea, and He 
 shall be so blessed to the enil of time. Bp. Home. 
 
 " Ps.\L.M xxvii.] 'Iliis Psalm containeth, 1 — 3, a de- 
 claration of trust and conlidencc in Jehovah, amidst 
 the dangers and tumults of war; 4, a longing desire of 
 restoration to the city and house of (iod ; 5, (i, a tri- 
 um])hant assurance of final victory and exultation ; 7 — 
 14, earnest prayer for supjiort and protection; 15, a 
 jirofession of faith, and its mighty power and com- 
 fort in affliction ; l(j, an exhortation to jiatience. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 This Psalm was composed by David in time of his 
 distress: wherein, placing all his trust and confidence 
 in God, Ii(' esjiecially expresscth his desire of returning 
 to the iiai'tici]mtion of God's luiblick service. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 '' I. 'Vhe Lord is my light, &;c.] God is our " light," 
 as lie slieweth us the state we are in, and the enemies 
 we have to encounter; He is our "strength," as Ho 
 enableth us. by his grace, to cope with, and overcome 
 them; and He is our "salvation," as the author and 
 finisher of our deliverance from sin, death, and Satan. 
 .All this Ho was to the blessed Person whom David 
 represented; and all this He will be to his faithful ser-
 
 like ravenous 
 beasts to de- 
 vour me. Dr. 
 NicltoUs. 
 
 should en- 
 camp against 
 me. Bib. 
 Trails. 
 
 Day b. 
 
 2 When tlie wicked, even mine 
 enemies, and my foes, e;imc 11)1011 me 
 to eat up my flesh : they stumbled 
 and feli^ 
 
 8 Tiiouf^li an host of men were 
 laid a!i;-ainst me, yet shall not my 
 heart oe afraid : and though there 
 rose up war against me, yet will I 
 put my trust in him. 
 
 4 One thing have I desired i' of the 
 Lord, which I will require : even that 
 I may dwell in the house of the Lord 
 all the days of my life, to behold the 
 fair beauty of the Lord, and to visit 
 his temple. 
 
 5 For in the time of trouble^ he 
 shall hide me in his tabernacle : yea, 
 in the secret place of his dwelling 
 shall he hide me, and set me up upon 
 a rock of stone. 
 
 6 And now shall he lift up mine 
 head : above mine enemies round 
 about me. 
 
 7 Therefore will I offer in his 
 dwelling an oblation with great glad- 
 ness : I will sing, and speak praises 
 unto the Lord. 
 
 8 Hearken unto my voice, O 
 Lord*^, when I cry unto thee : have 
 mercy upon me, and hear me. 
 
 9 My heart hath talked of thee % 
 
 vants. " If God" therefore " be for us, who can be 
 against us?" Rom. viii. 31. Bp. Home. 
 
 '2. — they stumbled and/ell.^ The past time is often 
 used, in the prophetical language, to intimate the cer- 
 tainty of the future. Faith sees the foe already van- 
 quished, and the prey snatched from the jaws of the 
 aevouring lion. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. One thing have I desired &c.] The victories of 
 David ended in his restoration to Jerusalem, and the 
 service of (Jod ; the victories of Christ terminated in 
 his triumphant return to a better Jerusalem ; and this 
 ought to be the " one thing desired" by the Christian, 
 that, after his conquest over the body of sin, he may 
 pass the unnumbered days of eternity in the courts of 
 heaven, contemjilating the beauty and glory of his 
 Redeemer. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. For in the time of trouble Sec.'] He alludes to 
 the ancient custom of offenders, who used to flee to 
 the tabernacle or altai', where they esteemed themselves 
 safe, 1 Kings ii. 28. Poole. 
 
 ' 8. Hearken unto my voice, hard, &c.] From the 
 assurances of faith it is always good to descend to the 
 humiliation of prayer to God, who alone can grant 
 unto us that one thing wliich we desire, and long after, 
 while in the land of our captivity, and house of oiu- 
 pilgrimage. Bp. Home. 
 
 « 9. My heart liath talked of thee, &c.] When my 
 heart in meditation was talking to thee, thou didst 
 command me to " seek thy face" in devout prayer ; 
 and, in obedience to thy commands, I " do seek it" in 
 that manner. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 '•12. IVhen my father &c ] A time will come, when 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 485 
 
 Seek ye my face : Thy face, O Lord, 
 will I seek. 
 
 10 O hide not thou thy face from 
 me : nor cast thy servant away in 
 dis])leasure. 
 
 1 1 Thou hast been my succour : 
 leave me not, neither forsake me, O 
 God of my .salvation. 
 
 12 When my father'" and my mo- 
 ther forsake me : the Lord taketli me 
 up. 
 
 l.*! Teach me thy way, O Lord : 
 and lead me in the right way, because 
 of mine enemies. 
 
 14 Deliver me not over' into the 
 will of mine adversaries : for there 
 are false witnesses risen up against 
 me, and such as speak wrong. 
 
 15 I should utterly have fainted'': 
 but that I believed verily to see the 
 goodness of the Lord in the land of 
 the living. 
 
 16 O tarry thou the Lord's lei- 
 sure' : be strong, and he shall com- he of good 
 fort thine heart ; and put thou thy jvL^f' ^'''' 
 trust in the Lord. 
 
 PSALM xxviii." Ad te, Domine. 
 
 UNTO thee will I cry, O Lord, 
 my strength : think no scorn 
 of me ; lest, if thou make as though 
 
 the dearest earthly friends and relations can no longer 
 be of any assistance to us. The case of the church and 
 of the soul is oftentimes compared to that of a poor, 
 helpless, exjiosed orphan. Where worldly comforts 
 end, heavenly ones begin. See Isa. xlix. 15; Matt, 
 xxiii. 37. B/). Home. 
 
 ' 14. Deliverme not over Sic] David had his enemies, 
 and false accusers ; Christ also had his : and every 
 child of God hath need to petition for deliverance from 
 the great enemy of his salvation, the grand accuser of 
 the brethren, who is ever breathing out malice and 
 cruelty against the body and members of Christ. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '' 15. / should utterly have fainted ; &c.] Faith in 
 the comfortable promises of God is the only sovereign 
 cordial for a "fainting" spirit. Earth is the land of 
 the dying ; we must extend our prospect into heaven, 
 which is the land of the " living," where the faithfid 
 shall " see," and experience evermore " the goodness of 
 the Lord." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 16. tarry thou the Lord's leisure : Sic] The person 
 speaking concludes with an apostrophe to his own soul, 
 resulting from the confidence in God, expressed ver. 
 1 ; from the desire and the hope of heaven, 4 — 13 ; and 
 from the manifold pledges of the divine love already 
 recei\-ed in this life, 15 : the jiroper inference from all 
 which considerations is this ; that we shoulil patiently 
 " wait on the Lord," till the few and evil days of our 
 ])ilgrimage pass away, and we arrive at the mansions 
 prepared for us, in the house of our heavenly Father ; 
 till our warfare be accomplished, and terminate in the 
 peace of God ; till the storms and tempests of wintry
 
 486 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 5. 
 
 a dead and 
 xindone man. 
 Dr, NichoUs, 
 
 towards thy 
 holy oracle. 
 Bib. Triim. 
 towards the 
 oracle of thy 
 sanctuary. 
 Marg. 
 
 tlioii liearest not, I become like them 
 that go down into the pit. 
 
 2 Hear the voice of my humble 
 petitions when I cry unto thee : 
 when I hold up my hands towards 
 the mercy-seat of tliy holy temple", 
 
 3 O pluck me not away, neither 
 destroy me with the ungodly and. 
 wicked doers : which speak friendly 
 to their neighbours, but imagine 
 mischief in their hearts. 
 
 4 Reward them according to their 
 deeds" : and according to the wick- 
 edness of their own inventions. 
 
 5 Recompense them after the 
 
 work of their hands : pay them that 
 they have deserved. 
 
 6 For they regard not in their 
 mind the works of the Lord, nor the 
 operation of his hands : therefore 
 shall lie i)rcak tlicm down, and not 
 build them up. 
 
 7 Praised be the 
 liath heard the voice 
 petitions. 
 
 8 The Lord is my strength, and 
 my shield ; my heart hath trusted in 
 him, and I am helped : therefore my 
 heart danceth for joy, and in my song 
 will I praise him. 
 
 Lord : for he 
 of my humble 
 
 time shall give place to the unclouded calm, and the 
 ever-blooming pleasures, of eternal spring. Bp. Hnrne. 
 
 " Psalm .xxviii.] 'lliis Psalm seems to have been 
 made on the same occasion as the former ; and is 
 inLifcd, as many others of his Psalms are, of hopes and 
 fears, of prayers and praises. Poole. 
 
 •' '2. — Ihe mercy-seut of ihy holy temple.'] The "mercy- 
 reat" and the " oracle," strictly taken, are the same. 
 It was from the mercy-seat that (iod gave his answers, 
 K.\od. ,xxv. 21, 22 ; Xinnb. vii. Sf). Hut sometimes the 
 " oracle" signifies the whole jilace, where the ark with 
 the mercy-seat stood, 1 Kings vi. 1<). This jjlace is here 
 called "the temj)le" by oiu- Translators, as Ps. v. 7, &c. 
 Anon. 
 
 ° 4. Reward them according to their deeih : &c.] In 
 these verses, as indeed in most of the imprecatory pas- 
 Btiges, the imperative and tlie future arc used ]iromis- 
 cuously ; "Give them — render them — he sliall destroy 
 them." If, therefore, the verbs, in all such ])assagcs, 
 were luiiformly rendered in tlie future, every ohjectitm 
 against the Scripture imprecations would vanish at 
 once, and they woidd appear clearly to be what they 
 are, namely, lirojihecies of the divine judgments, which 
 have been since executed against the .lews, and which 
 will be executed against all the enemies of .lehovah 
 and his (;hri.st, whom neither the " works" of creation, 
 nor those of rcdem])tion, can lead to repentance. Bp. 
 Ilorne. 
 
 '' 9. The Lord is my .<itre?tf/lh : S:c.] lie who saved 
 nod exalted the Ilea<l, will also save and exalt Ihe 
 members; or, as St. Paul evpresscth it, "if the Sjiirit 
 of him that raised up Jesns from the d<ad dwell in you, 
 be that raised up Chriat from the dead, shall also 
 
 9 The Lord is my strength p : 
 and he is the wholesome defence of saving 
 his anointed. 
 
 10 O save thy jieoplei, and give 
 thy blessing inito thine inheritance : 
 feed them, and set them up for ever. 
 
 strength. 
 Bih. Trans, 
 See Vocab. 
 
 BPvI 
 mil 
 
 PSALM xxix.' Afferte Domino. 
 N G unto the Lord, O ye 
 ghty, bring young rams unto 
 the Lord : ascribe unto the Lord 
 worship and strength. 
 
 2 Give the Lord the honour due 
 unto his Name : worship the Lord 
 with holy worship. 
 
 3 It is the Lord', that command- 
 eth the waters : it is the glorious 
 God, that maketh the thunder. 
 
 4 It is the Lord, that ruleth the 
 sea ; the voice of the Lord is mighty 
 in operation : the voice of the Lord 
 is a glorious voice. 
 
 5 The voice of the Lord break- 
 etli the cedar-trees' : yea, the Lord 
 breaketh the cedars of Libanus. 
 
 6 He maketh them also to skip" 
 like a calf : Libanus also, and Sirion, 
 like a young iniicorn. 
 
 7 The voice of the Lord dividcth 
 the flames of fire^; the voice of the 
 
 quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit, that dwelleth 
 in you," Rom. viii. 11. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■• 10. save thy people, kc] Save us, () Lord Jesu, 
 from our sins ; bless us, O thou .Son of Abraham, with 
 the blessing of righteousness ; feed us, O thou good 
 .Shejiherd of the sheep ; and lift us up for ever from the 
 dust, () thou, who art the resurrection, and the life ! 
 Bp. Home, 
 
 ' PsAi.M xxix.] This Psalm seems to have been 
 composed by David after some extraordinary storm of 
 thunder, lightning, and rain, whereby it is probable 
 (jod had discomfited his enemies, and enabled him to 
 gain an easy victory over them. AVhercnpon he ex- 
 liorts them in this Psalm to submit to that glorious 
 Majesty, from whom the thunder came ; and who can 
 so easily strike a sudden terror into the hearts of his 
 stoutest and most resolved opposcrs. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' H. // is the Lord, &c ] All nature is subject to 
 Him : at his commaiul the clouds discharge their trea- 
 sures, and the thunder is his glorious voice. Travell. 
 
 ' 5. The voice of the Lard brcakelh the cedar-trees : 
 &c.] The force of lightning is known to rend in 
 jiicccs the tallest and strongest trees in a moment. Bp. 
 Horne. 
 
 " 0. He maketh them also to skip S:c.] Tlnmder not 
 only demolislietb tlie cedars, hut sliaketh the mountains 
 on which they grow. Ji/i. Home. Lebanon was famous 
 for its strong and lofty cedars; see 2 Cliron. ii. 8; 
 {'ant. iii. !) ; v. US. .Sirion also was an high mountain 
 beyond .lordan, joining to Lebanon; of which, see 
 Deut. iii. i) ; iv. is. Poole, 
 
 ' 7. The voice of the Lord iliriileth the flames of fire; S:c.] 
 By the jjowerof God the " llauies of tire" are " divided 
 
 I
 
 Day 6. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 487 
 
 ttie forests. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 Lord sliakoth tlie vvildeniess : yea, 
 the Lord sliaketli the wilderness of 
 Cades. 
 
 8 The voice of the Lord makcth 
 the iiindsy to hriny^ fortli youiiij;', and 
 discovereth the tliick biislies : in Ids 
 temple dotii every man speak of his 
 honour. 
 
 9 The Lord sitteth above the 
 water-flood" : and the Lord reniain- 
 eth a King for ever. 
 
 10 The Lord shall give strength 
 unto his people" : the Lord shall give 
 bis people the blessing of peace. 
 
 Ravest me re- 
 lease. Br. 
 Hammond. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM XXX.'' Exaltabo te, Domine. 
 
 I Will magnify thee, O Lord^ for 
 thou hast set me up : and not 
 made my foes to triumph over me. 
 
 2 O Lord my God, I cried unto 
 thee : and thou hast healed me. 
 
 and sent abroad from the clouds upon the earth, in the 
 terrible form of liglitninjT, that sharp and ghttering 
 sword of the Ahnighty, which no substance can with- 
 stand. "The wilderness of Kadesh" was part of that 
 wilderness, through which the Israelites passed in their 
 way to Canaan. See Numb. xiii. 26. Thunder shaketh 
 those wide extended deserts, as well as Lebanon and 
 Sirion, mountains of Judea. Bp. Home. 
 
 !■ 8. The voice nf the Lord maketh the hinds &c.] It 
 is observed of this beast, that they bring forth with 
 much difficulty in general : but with ease when af- 
 frighted by the noise of thunder. Dr. Hammond. The 
 meaning of the verse is. The cattle suddenly bring 
 forth their young in their terror at the violence of the 
 storm, which strips the trees of their lea\'es, and opens 
 the recesses of the forest : while God's temple remains 
 unshaken by the tempest, and his ])ious worshippers 
 securely sing his praises in it. Travell. 
 
 ^9. The Lord sitteth above the ivater-Jlood : Sicl The 
 Lord is the great King, who governs even the clouds, 
 and orders the thunder-storms to do what execution 
 He pleases. When all other monarchs fail, the Lord 
 still remains the same throughout all generations. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 ' 10. The Lord shall give strength unto his people : &o.] 
 From Jehovah, whose power and majesty have been 
 with so much sublimity displayed in this whole Psalm, 
 we are to expect, through faith and prayer, " strength" 
 to overcome our enemies, whether ghostly or bodily ; 
 and also the blessing of " peace," which must be the 
 fruit of victory. Thou.O Christ, art the "Mighty God;" 
 and therefore, thou art the " Prince of peace," Isa. ix. (5. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ Psalm xxx.] In this Psalm, or devout hymn, com- 
 posed [irobably by David, on his re\'isiting the sanc- 
 tuary, after a .joyful recovery from some dangerous 
 sickness, he, I — 3, returneth thanks for that event; 
 and, 4, calleth the church to do so likewise, 5, drawing 
 a com])arison between temjjorary sufferings and eternal 
 rewards. 0, 7, He descril)eth his former jirosperity 
 succeeded by affliction, with 8 — 11, the sup|)lication 
 poured fortli to the Almighty, in the day of his distress; 
 
 3 Thou, Lord, hast brought my 
 souH out of hell : thou hast kept my 
 life from them that go down to the 
 pit. 
 
 4 Sing ])raises unto the Lord, O 
 ye saints of his : and give thanks 
 unto him for a rememl)rance of his 
 holiness. 
 
 5 For Ins wrath endureth^ but 
 the twinkling of an eye, and in his 
 pleasure is life : lieaviness may en- 
 dure for a night, but joy cometh in 
 the morning. 
 
 G And in my prosperity I said*^, I 
 shall never be removed : thou. Lord, 
 of thy goodness hast made my hill so 
 strong s. 
 
 7 Thou didst turn thy face from 
 me : and I was troubled. 
 
 8 Then cried 1 unto thee, O 
 Lord'' : and gat me to my Lord 
 right humbly. 
 
 9 What profit 
 
 tlie crave. 
 Jiiff. Trans. 
 .See Vocab. 
 from among 
 the (leBCcnd- 
 crs into; or, 
 frrjiii going 
 <!fiwn. Dr. 
 IlaiiiinnnU. 
 
 but a nio- 
 nieiit. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 f.TVOur. 
 Trans. 
 
 tl 
 
 lere in my 
 
 unto the 
 Lord I made 
 siipiilication. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 and then returneth again, 12, to celebrate his deliver- 
 ance, and, 13, to glorify God for the same. The 
 Psalm is finely adapted to the case of the true David, 
 and of Christians, his disciples and followers. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 1. I will magnify thee. O Lord, &c.] These words, 
 if originally comjiosed and uttered by king David, on 
 occasion of some temporal mercy, appl.V, in a far more 
 emphatical and beautiful manner, to the case of Mes- 
 siah, suffering and rismg again, as well as to that of 
 his church and people, following Him, both in his 
 sufferings and resurrection ; when we shall all lift up 
 our voices, and sing together, " I will magnify thee, U 
 Lord, for thou hast lifted me up ! and hast not made 
 my foes to rejoice over me !" B/). Home. 
 
 '' 3. Thou, Lord, hast brought my soul &c.] The 
 resurrection of David was a figurative one; that of 
 Christ was a real one, as that of his saints will be; 
 so that the Psalm is more strictly applicable to the 
 true, than it e\-er could have been to the tvi)ical, 
 David. 'ITie latter clause may be rendered, "Thou 
 hast quickened me from among them that go down to 
 the pit." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. For his wrath endureth &c.] Tliis is a most 
 beautiful and affecting image of the sufferings and exalt- 
 ation of Christ ; of the sorrows and joys of a jienitent ; 
 of the miseries of time, and the glories of eternity ; of 
 the night of death, and the morning of the resurrection. 
 Bp. Home, 
 
 ' 6. A7id in my prosperity I said, &c.] David, after 
 his success against GoHath, and Christ, upon his tri- 
 umphant entry into Jerusalem, were hailed by the ac- 
 clamations and hosannas of the people, as the Christian 
 may sometimes meet with in the ajiplauses of the world, 
 and be led to think himself established in prosperitv. 
 But other trouliles awaited David ; and the blessed 
 Jesus was nailed to the cross. Let not the disciple 
 expect to be above his master ; nor, in the season of 
 light and joy, neglect to prepare for the approaching 
 days of sorrow and darkness. Bp. Home. 
 
 t' — hast made my hill so strong.'] Thou hast so 
 firmly settled me in my kingdom, which he calls his
 
 THE PSALMS, 
 
 down to the 
 
 make good 
 Ihy promised 
 nieri'ic's. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 488 
 
 blood : when I go 
 pit? 
 
 10 Shall the dust give thanks unto 
 thee : or shall it declare thy trutli ? 
 
 11 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy 
 upon me : Lord, be thou my helper. 
 
 1"2 Thou hast turned my heavi- 
 ness' into joy : thou hast put off my 
 sackcloth, and girded me with glad- 
 ness. 
 
 13 Therefore shall every good 
 man '' sing of thy praise without 
 ceasing : O my God, I will give 
 thanks unto thee for ever. 
 
 PSALM xxxi.' In ie, Domine, speravi. 
 
 IN thee, O Lord, have I put my 
 trust" : let me never be put to 
 confusion, deliver me in thy right- 
 eousness. 
 
 2 Bow down thine ear to me : 
 make haste to deliver me. 
 
 3 And be thou my strong rock, 
 and house of defence : that thou 
 mayest save me. 
 
 4 For thou art my strong rock, 
 
 mountain ; partly because kingdoms are usually called 
 mountains in prophetical language, as Ps. xlvi. 3 ; Isa. 
 ii. 2 ; Jcr. li. 25 ; Dan. ii. 34, 35 ; 44, 45 : and partly 
 with respect to mount Sion, where David built his 
 royal palace. Poole. 
 
 ■■ 8. Then cried 1 unto thee, Lord : &c.] These are 
 some of" the strong cryings and supplications," which 
 the true David poiired forth, whUe under the cloud of 
 his passion ; and which are to be poured forth by us, 
 when conformed to his image, in suffering affliction. 
 Tlie argument here used is a very powerful one, namely, 
 the necessity of a resurrection from the grave, that man 
 may be saved, and God glorified. The dead cannot 
 praise, or serve God. 'Iliey must live again for this 
 purpose ; and for this purjiose it is, that we should 
 desire to live, whether it be in the present world, or that 
 which is to come. li/i. Home. 
 
 ' 12. Thou hast turned my heaviness &c.] This might 
 be true of David, delivered from his calamity ; it was 
 true of Christ, arising from the tomb, to die no more; 
 it is true of the i)enitent, exchanging his sackcloth for 
 the garments of salvation ; and it will be verified in 
 lis all, at tlic last day, when we shall put off the dis- 
 lionours of the grave, to shine in glory everlasting. Bp. 
 liorne. 
 
 ^ 13. Therefore shall every good man hc.^ The end 
 of (.'lirist's resurrection, of the salvation of the souls of 
 the faithful, ami tlic resurrection of their liodies, is one 
 and the same, namely, the glory of (jod, wlio is tlie 
 autlior of every kind of deliverance; whose jiraise 
 slioulii, therefore, be resounded hy the grateful tongues 
 of the redeemed, from generation t(> generation ; as 
 the tongue then becometh the " glory" of man, when 
 it is employed in setting forth the glory of God. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' Psalm xxxi.] In this Psalm, vcr. Gtli of which was 
 pronounced by our Ijurd, when expiring on the cross, 
 wc hear the true David, like liis representative of old, 
 I — 7, su])plicating for deliverance ; H, U, rejoicing in the 
 
 DayG. 
 
 and my castle : be thou also my 
 guide, and lead me for thy Name's 
 sake. 
 
 5 Draw me out of the net", that 
 they have laid privily for me : for 
 thou art my strength. 
 
 6 Lito thy hands" I commend my 
 spirit : for thou hast redeemed me, 
 O Lord, thou God of truth. 
 
 7 1 have hated them that hold of 
 superstitious vanities : and my trust 
 hath been in the Lord. 
 
 8 I will be gladP, and rejoice in 
 thy mercy : for thou hast considered 
 my trouble, and hast known my soul 
 in adversities. 
 
 9 Thou hast not shut me up into 
 the hand of the enemy : but hast set 
 my feet in a large room. 
 
 10 Have mercy upon me, O Lord, 
 for I am in trouble : and mine eye is 
 consumed for very heaviness ; yea, 
 my soul and my body. 
 
 1 1 For my life is waxed old with 
 heaviness : and my years with mourn- 
 
 that refrard 
 lying vani- 
 ties. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 owned me 
 and relieved 
 me. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 in a state nf 
 lilicrty. Dr. 
 Ilammoi.d. 
 
 is spent with 
 grief. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 di\'ine favour and assistance; 10 — 15, describing his 
 afflicted and forlorn state; 10— 20, retiu'ning again to 
 his prayers ; 21 — 25, celebrating the mercies of (iod to 
 the children of Adam; and, 20, 27, exhorting his saints 
 to courage and perseverance, under their troubles in the 
 world. Bp. Home. 
 
 "1. In thee, Lord, have I put my trust : &c.] God 
 is faithful and just, to save those, who, in time of trou- 
 ble renouncing all dependence on themseh'es and the 
 creature, "])ut their trust" only in his mercy. His 
 honour is engaged by his promise, not to let such be 
 " ashamed " of their confidence. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 5. Draw me out of the net, &c.] As David prayed 
 for an escape from the secret conspiracies that were en- 
 tered into against him, so did Christ pray for deliverance 
 from the snares of death; and so doth the Christian 
 pray to be extricated from the toils both of sin and 
 death. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 0. Into thy hands &e.] David, in his distresses, 
 might, by these words, express his resignation of him- 
 self and his affairs into the hands of God; but it is cer- 
 tain, that Christ actually diil exjiire upon the cross, with 
 the former part of this verse in his mouth, buke xxiii. 
 40. Nor is there any iini)ropriety in the apjilication of 
 the latter part to lliin; since, as man, the surety and 
 re])resentative of our natvire, He was " redeemed" from 
 the ]»nver of the enemy, by " the God of truth" accom- 
 plishing his promises. Bp. Home. 
 
 Our Saviour used these words, "Into thy hands 
 I commend my spirit," in a more jirojjer and hteral 
 sense than they can be applied to David. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 ' H, 0. I u-ill he glad, &:c.] 'I'he considerations thtit 
 make the soul "cheerfid" in the hour of aHliction, arc, 
 that (iod is merciful ; that, as lie is not ignorant, so 
 neitlier is lie unminilful of our troubles; that lie is a 
 friend, who " knows us in om- adversity, no less than 
 in ])rosperity ; that lie hath not subjecteil us to tho 
 necessity of being overcome by our siiiritual enemies ;
 
 Day 6. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 4rt9 
 
 a reproach 
 Bib. Trans. 
 a jest and 
 by-wnrd. See 
 Vocab, 
 
 irreparable, 
 and useless, 
 and therefore 
 (lefipised. 
 Poale. 
 
 slander. Uib. 
 Trans. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 The time of 
 my life is at 
 thy disposal. 
 Dr. NichcUs. 
 
 12 My strengtli failoth me'', be- 
 cause of mine iniquity : and my bones 
 are consumed. 
 
 13 I became a reproof'^ among all 
 mine enemies, but csi>ccially among 
 my neighbours : and they of mine 
 acquaintance were afraid of me ; and 
 they that did see me without con- 
 veyed themselves from me. 
 
 14 I am clean forgotten', as a 
 dead man out of mind : I am become 
 like a broken vessel. 
 
 15 For I have heard the blas- 
 phemy' of the multitude : and fear 
 is on every side, while they conspire 
 together against me, and take tlieir 
 counsel to take away my life. 
 
 16 But my hope" hath been in 
 thee, O Lord : I have said, Thou art 
 my God. 
 
 17 My time is in thy hand; de- 
 liver me from the hand of mine ene- 
 mies : and from them that persecute 
 me. 
 
 18 Shew tliy servant the light of 
 thy countenance : and save me for 
 thy mercy's sake. 
 
 19 Let me not be confounded, O 
 Lord, for 1 have called upon thee : 
 let the ungodly be put to confu- 
 sion '', and be put to silence in the 
 grave. 
 
 20 Let the lying lips be put to 
 silence : which cruelly, disdainfully, 
 and despitefuUy, speak against the 
 righteous. 
 
 but hath, " with the temptation, made a way for us to 
 escape." Bp. Home. 
 
 112. My strength faileth me, &c.] Do we not, in 
 these words, hear the voice of the " man of sorrows," 
 suffering not indeed for his own " iniquity," but for 
 ours, of which He frequently, in the Psalms, speaks as 
 if it were his own ? If sin was jiunished in the inno- 
 cent Lamb of God, let us not expect that it should be 
 unpunished in us, unless we repent ; and let our 
 punishment never fail to remind us of our guilt. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 13. / became a reproof kc.'] These particulars were 
 never more applicable to David, than they were to the 
 Son of David, when his acquaintance, at beholding Him 
 reviled by his enemies, were terrified from attending 
 Him, and when " all the discii)les forsook him, and 
 fled." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 14. / am clean forgotten, &c.] This was literally 
 the case of Christ, when laid in the sepulchre, and 
 esteemed no longer the object of hope by his friends, 
 or of fear by his enemies. That He should be so " for- 
 gotten" while dead is less wonderful, than that this 
 should have happened since his glorious resiu:rection 
 and ascension into heaven. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 15. For I have heard the blasphemy &c.] Tlie slan- 
 der of Shimei, and the counsel of Abithophel against 
 king David, direct us to the slanders of the Jews, and 
 
 21 O how plentiful is thy good- 
 ness, which thou hast laid up for 
 them that fear thee : and that thou 
 hast prejiared for them tiuit |)ut tiieir 
 trust in thee, even before the sons of 
 men ! 
 
 22 Thou shalt hide them ])rivi]y>' 
 by thine own presence from the pro- 
 voking of all men : thou shalt keep 
 them secretly in thy tabernacle from 
 the strife of tongues. 
 
 23 Thanks be to the Lord^: for 
 he hath shewed me marvelloas great 
 kindness in a strong city. 
 
 24 And when I made haste, I 
 said : I am cast out of the sight of 
 thine eyes. 
 
 25 Nevertheless thou heardest the 
 voice of my prayer : when I cried 
 unto thee. 
 
 26 O love the Lord% all ye his 
 saints : for the Lord preserveth them 
 that are faithful, and plenteously re- 
 wardeth the proud doer. 
 
 27 Be strong, and he shall esta- 
 blish your heart : all ye that put 
 your trust in the Lord. 
 
 For I said in 
 my haste. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 Id my fear or 
 trembling. 
 Poole. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM \xxii.'' Beati, quorum. 
 L E S S E D is he ° whose un- 
 righteousness is forgiven : and 
 whose sin is covered. 
 
 2 Blessed is the man unto whom 
 
 B 
 
 Be of good 
 cnurape. 
 Bth. Trans. 
 strengthen. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 Ash-Wednes- 
 day, second 
 Psalm Morn. 
 Serv. 
 
 the counsels of Judas and the Sanhedrim against the 
 belo\'ed Son of God, who, in his church, will be perse- 
 cuted in like manner by the ungodly to the world's end. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 "10. But my hope &c.] In all our afflictions, after 
 the example of the typical and of the true David, we 
 are to have recourse to the prayer of faith ; we are to 
 consider that Jehovah is our God and Saviour; that 
 the times and the seasons of prosperity and adversity, 
 of life and death, are in his hand ; and therefore on 
 Him we are to wait, till the day of mercy shall dawn, 
 and the shadows fly away. Bp. Hume. 
 
 '19. — let the ungodly be put to confusion, &c.] Ahi- 
 thophel, for his treason against Da\-id, and Judas, for 
 his treachery against Christ, felt the force of this pro- 
 phetical imjjrecation, or prediction, which will also, one 
 day, take its full effect, in the confusion of all impeni- 
 tent calumniators and traitors. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 22. Thou shalt hide them privily &c.] The sense is. 
 Thy gracious providence secretly preserves them from 
 their furious persecutors : thou dost keep them as safe, 
 as if they were in thy dwelling-place, from the false ac- 
 cusations of the wicked. Travell. 
 
 ' 23. Thanks be to the Lord: &e.] Tlie man Christ, 
 and the church with Him. like David of old, here re- 
 joice in the protection and saving power of God, in the 
 same manner as in Isa. xxvi. 1, "We have a strong
 
 490 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Buy (i. 
 
 was turned 
 into. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 the Lord imputeth no sin : and in 
 whose spirit there is no guile. 
 
 3 For while I held my tongue ^ : 
 my bones consumed away through 
 my daily complaining. 
 
 4 For thy hand is lieavy upon me^ 
 day and night : and my moisture is 
 like the drought in summer''. 
 
 5 I will acknowledge my sin s unto 
 thee : and mine unrighteousness have 
 1 not hid. 
 
 6 I said, I will confess my sins 
 unto the Lord : and so thou forgavest 
 the wickedness of my sin. 
 
 city ; salvation will God appoint for walls and bul- 
 warks." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 26. O love the Lord, &c.] Tlie exhortation is raised 
 from the consideration of the deliverance of Christ, 
 with the destruction of his enemies ; which ought to 
 strengtlien and comfort the hearts of believers, under 
 all their afflictions here below; that so, after having 
 suffered courageously with their Master, they may 
 trium])hantly enter into his joy and glory. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' Psalm xxxii.] In this Psalm, which is the second 
 of those styled penitential, David, as a model of true 
 repentance, 1, 2, extolleth the blessedness of those 
 whose sins are forgiven them ; 3, 4, describctli the tor- 
 ment endured by him, before he confessed his sin; 
 and, 5, 6, the goodness of God in pardoning it when 
 confessed ; 7, he foretelleth that others, after his ex- 
 ample, should obtain the like mercy; 8, declareth his 
 hope and confidence in his God ; who, 9, is introduced, 
 promising wisdom and grace to the penitent ; 10, II, 
 sinners are warned against obstinacy; and, 12, the 
 righteous exhorted to rejoice in God their Saviour. 
 Bp. Home, 
 
 This is a jienitential Psalm, and therefore appointed 
 for Ash- Wednesday. Travell. 
 
 ' I, 2. Blessed is he &c.] As if he had said. All the 
 felicity, that can be attained to, in this life or in another, 
 depends wholly not on the merit of any man's perform- 
 ances, but only on God's free and favourable acceptance, 
 his gracious pardon to om- many frailties and fouler sins, 
 ])urchased for us by the merit of the sufferings of the 
 Messiah, given to the world in (iod's free promise to 
 Adam, immediately after tlie fall. Happy therefbrc. () 
 thrice happy is be, who is tlius accepted liy (iod ; whose 
 state is such as tliat (iod ajjproveth him in Christ ; who, 
 though he have sinned, yet upon his sincerity of 
 humiliation, confessing and forsaking all known sin, 
 and his impartial obedience to the whole will of (iod, 
 the condition, without which (jod's reconciliation can- 
 not be regained, is by (iod received again into favour 
 and justified. Sec Rom. iv. 7, 8. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ■* 3. For while I held my tnytijiie : &c.] That is, with 
 respect to confession. lU-fore I made confession I was 
 in constant agony of mind ; now, by confessing my 
 sins, 1 have ol)taincd case. hp. Hnr.ilnj. In opposition 
 tt) the lilessedness above-mentioned, the penitent now 
 proceeds to declare his own wretched state, occasioned 
 by his " keci)ing silence," or not confessing his sin, 
 which therefore rankled and festered inwardly, occasion- 
 ing torment inexprcssil)le. The disorders of the mind, 
 as well as those of the body, sliould be communicated 
 to [jcrsons skilful in assuaging and removing them. 
 Many might tliereliy Ije saved from the horrible crime 
 of self-murder, wliich is generally comTuilteil in agonies 
 of solitary remorse and despair, Bp. Home, 
 
 7 For this shall every one that is 
 godly •■ make his prayer unto thee, in 
 a time when thou mayest be found : 
 but in the great water-floods they 
 shall not come nigh him. 
 
 8 Thou art a place to hide me in, 
 thou shalt preserve me from trouble : 
 thou shalt compass me about with 
 songs of deliverance. 
 
 9 I will inform thee ', and teach 
 thee in the way wherein tiiou shalt 
 go : and I will guide thee with mine 
 eye. 
 
 10 Be ye not like to horse -l and 
 
 bless me with 
 victory and 
 pratulatory 
 sonjis at my 
 return. Dr. 
 Htimmond. 
 
 instruct tlice. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 ^ 4. For thy hand is heavy upon me &c.] Outward 
 calamities, and inward pangs of conscience, are the 
 strokes of God's band, designed to humble the sinner, 
 and lead him to confession ; and in the infliction of 
 these, such severity is sometimes necessary, that the 
 patient is brought to death's door, before a turn can be 
 given to the disease ; but the pain of a blow upon an 
 ulcerated part, however extjuisite, is well compensated 
 for, if, by promoting a discharge, it effect a cm-e. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' — my moisture is like the drought in summer.^ My 
 vital moisture was in a manner dried uj), like a pastm'e 
 biu'nt up by the summer sun. Dr. Kichotls. 
 
 8 5, (i. / xcill acknoicledge my sin &c.] What is this, 
 but the Gospel itself? " If we confess our sins, he is 
 faithfttl and just to forgive us our sins," 1 John i. 9. 
 And thus it hap])ened, in one case, to David, who had 
 no sooner confessed his sin to the prophet Xathan, but 
 an answer of peace %vas instantly vouchsafed : " The 
 Lord hath put away thy sin," 2 Sam. xii. 13. Were 
 angels to descend from heaven, to comfort the dejected 
 spirit of a sinner, they could say nothing more efi'ectual 
 for the purpose, than what is said in this verse of our 
 Psalm. But practice will be the best comment upon 
 it. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 7. For this shall every one that is godly &c.] En- 
 couraged, by this example and declaration of David, to 
 hojie for mere}-, on confession of sin, it is here foretold, 
 that humble penitents shall be led to make their prayer 
 unto (iod in the acceptable time, and in the day of sal- 
 vation, while He " may be found:" that so they may 
 be forgiven, and preserved from great and overwhelm- 
 ing calamities ; frinn the fears of death, and the terrors 
 of judgment. Bj>. Hume. 
 
 Or the sense may be, that every man, who has a just 
 sense of God smd religion, ought to fly to (iod by 
 repentance, whilst his guilt is fresh, and (jod's grace is 
 free and ojjcn to relieve him ; but he must take care 
 not to stay till he be deluged by a flood of initpiity, 
 which will keep him at a great distance from (iod, and 
 make his acceptance very tlifiicult, or perbajis impossible. 
 Dr. Niehnlls. 
 
 ' 9. / u-ill inform thee, &c.] The Redeemer is here 
 introduced, returning an answer to the penitent's 
 declarations of his luimility and faith ; promising " in- 
 struction " in that wisdom wbicli every man wants who 
 continues in sin, together with the direeti(m of the 
 Spirit in the way of righteousness, and the superintend- 
 ence of his watchfid care. Man cannot prevent evils, 
 because he cannot foresee tliern. '" Next therefore to 
 the jirotecting ]iower of (iod's wing is the securing 
 prospect of his eye," siiith Dr. South. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' il). lie ye not like to horse Ike.] The person speak- 
 ing in the former verse, or the itrophel liimself, exhorts
 
 he shall be 
 8'irrounded 
 with a multi- 
 tiKle of God's 
 b'essiiips. 
 Dr. Nicliolli. 
 
 upright in 
 liearl. Bill. 
 Traits. 
 
 the upright. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 Day 6. 
 
 mule, wliicli liave no understanrrm^ : 
 whose moiitlis must be held with 
 bit and bridle, lest they fall upon 
 thee. 
 
 1 1 Great plagues remain for the 
 ungodly'' : but whoso putteth his 
 trust in the Lord, mcrey embraceth 
 him on every side. 
 
 12 Be glad, O ye righteous', and 
 rejoice in the Lord : and be joyful, 
 all ye that are true of heart. 
 
 PSALM xxxiii." ExuUate, jzisti. 
 
 REJOICE in the Lord", O ye 
 righteous : for it becometh well 
 the j list to be thankful. 
 
 2 Praise the Lord with harp" : 
 sing praises unto him with the lute, 
 and instrument of ten strings. 
 
 3 Sing unto the Lord a new song : 
 sing praises lustily mito him with a 
 good courage. 
 
 4 For the word of the Lord is 
 true P : and all his works are faith- 
 ful. 
 
 sinners to repent, at the invitation and encouragement 
 afforded tliem ; and not to continue, like brutes, fierce, 
 obstinate, and senseless, until, like them, they must be 
 tamed and managed by force, and the severity of disci- 
 pline. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 11. Great plagues remain for the vnrjcdly : &c.] 
 Those, who are not to be reformed by gentler methods, 
 must learn righteousness under the rod of affliction, in 
 the school of the cross : and happy are they, if their 
 " sorrows " may so turn to their advantage. But 
 happier are those who, led by the goodness of God to 
 repentance and faith, enjoy the light and protection of 
 " mercy." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 12. Be glad, O ye righteous, &c.] In the beginning 
 of the Psalm, the penitent, smitten vnth a sense of his 
 wretchedness on account of his sins, extoUeth the bless- 
 edness of the righteous ! he now again doth the same, 
 through a joyful sense of his pardon, and restoration to 
 that happy state. Let us " rejoice," O Lord Jesu ; but 
 let us rejoice " in thee," and in thy salvation ; so shall 
 we rejoice indeed ! Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm xxxiii.] In this Psalm the prophet, 1 — 3, 
 exhorteth the faithful to a spiritual and holy joy in their 
 God, whom they are to praise, 4, 5, for his truth, righte- 
 ousness, and mercy ; 6 — 9, for his power displayed in 
 the works of creation; 10 — 18, for the wisdom of his 
 providence, and the care He hath of his people. 19, 2f), 
 'J'he righteous, in answer to the exhortation, declare 
 their joy and confidence in God their Saviour; and, 21, 
 prefer a petition for his manifestation. Bp. Home. 
 
 It is not recorded by whom this Psalm was composed, 
 nor upon what occasion. But there is little question it 
 was a pious meditation of David ; and probably upon 
 occasion of some special benefit received from God. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' 1. Rejoice in the Lord, &c.] God, and not the 
 world, is the fountain of "joy;" which sinners talk of, 
 but the righteous only possess. " Rejoice in tlie Lord 
 alway, and again I say, Rejoice," Philip, iv. 4. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 491 
 
 t-un. moon, 
 and stars, 
 placed. lil(o 
 an army, in 
 
 CXd'llcllt 
 
 order. Bp. 
 fuliic/t. 
 
 purpo.t;e or 
 decree. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 .5 lie loveth righteousness arul 
 judgement : the earth is full of the 
 goodness of the Lord. 
 
 6 By the word of the Lord'i were 
 the heavens made : and ail the hosts 
 of them by the i)reath of his mouth. 
 
 7 He gathered the waters' of the 
 sea together, as it were upon an 
 heap : and layeth up the deep, as in 
 a treasure-house'. 
 
 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord : 
 stand in awe of him, all ye that dwell 
 in the world. 
 
 9 For he spake, and it was done : 
 lie commanded, and it stood fast. 
 
 10 The Lord bringeth the coun- 
 sel' of the heathen to nought : and 
 maketh the devices of the people to 
 be of none effect, and castetli out the 
 coimsels of princes. 
 
 1 1 The counsel of the Lord shall 
 endure for ever : and the thoughts of 
 his heart from generation to genera- 
 tion. 
 
 12 Blessed are the people", whose 
 
 ° 2. Praise the Lord with harp .- &c.] He mentions 
 these instruments, because they were used in the jjub- 
 lick worship and praises of God, in the tabernacle. 
 Poole. Musick, both vocal and instrumental, is of 
 eminent use in setting forth the praises of God. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 4. For the word of the Lord is true : &c.] God is to 
 be praised for his word and his works ; for his rectitude 
 in the one, and his truth in the other ; for his faithful- 
 ness in accomplishing by the latter, what his goodness 
 had promised in the former. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■< 6. By the uord of the Lord &c.] It is true, that the 
 world was created by the " word," or fiat of God, which 
 may be here described, after the manner of men, as 
 formed by " the breath of his mouth." It is also true, 
 that by the instrumentality of the eternal ^Yord, and 
 the eternal Spirit, the old heavens and earth were made : 
 as also the new heavens and earth which shall succeed 
 them. Glory is due from man to God, the Father, the 
 Word, and the Holy Spirit. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. He gathereth the waters &c.] The next instance 
 of divine power and goodness, for which we are here 
 excited to be thankful, is that of laying up the waters, 
 which originally covered the face of the earth, in the 
 great depth beneath. Bp. Horiie. 
 
 t)r in hollow places ; where, though they swell much 
 higher than the shore, yet they do not overrun it, but 
 ai-e gathered into a round gibbous form, and so remain 
 constant within their channel. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ' — and layeth vp the deep, as in a treasure-house.'] 
 Either in clouds or in the bowels of the earth ; whence 
 He can draw them forth, when He sees fit. Poole. 
 
 ' 10. The Lord bringeth the counsel &c.] The wisdom 
 of God's providence is not less worthy of adoration 
 than the power of his might. Bj' this wisdom the 
 " counsels " of states and empires are either directed to 
 the accom]ilishment of the great counsel of heaven ; or, 
 if they attempt to thwart it, are blasted and " brought 
 to nothing." History will force all, who read it 
 with this view, to acknowledge thus much. And
 
 492 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 6. 
 
 looketh. Bih 
 Trans. 
 beholdeth. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 !s a vain 
 thing for 
 safety. Bib. 
 Tram. 
 
 that hope. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 waifeth. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 God is the Lord Jehovah : and 
 blessed are die folk, that he hath 
 chosen to him to be his inheritance. 
 
 13 The Lord looked down from 
 heaven'', and beheld all the children 
 of men : from the habitation of his 
 dwelling- he considereth all them that 
 dwell on the earth. 
 
 14 He fashioneth all the hearts of 
 them : and understandeth all their 
 works. 
 
 15 Tliere is no king that can be 
 saved y by the multitude of an host : 
 neither is an)' mighty man delivered 
 by much strength. 
 
 16 A horse is counted but a vain 
 thing to save a man : neither shall 
 he deliver any man by his great 
 strength. 
 
 17 Behold, the eye of the Lord^ 
 is upon them that fear him : and 
 upon them that put their trust in his 
 mercy ; 
 
 18 To deliver tlieir soul from 
 death : and to feed them in the time 
 of dearth. 
 
 1 9 Our soul hath patiently tarried ^ 
 for the Lord : for he is our help, and 
 our shield. 
 
 with this view, indeed, it should always be read. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 12. Blessed are the people, &c.] The foregoing 
 considerations of the righteousness, truth, mercy, power, 
 and wisdom, of .Tehovah, naturally suggest a retiection 
 on the " blessedness" of the church, in whose cause all 
 those attrihutes are, by the covenant of grace, engaged 
 and exercised. But who now esteems this blessedness 
 as it deserves ? Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 13, 14. The Lord looked down from heaven, &c.] 
 All the men that are in the earth, the inhabitants of the 
 whole world, arc within the comjiass of his most jiar- 
 ticular providence : tho\igh He reside in heaven in a 
 peculiar manner, yet He from thence exactly surveys 
 and beholds all and every their actions, and even most 
 secret thoughts. .\s He is severally and equally the 
 Creator of them all, and Former of tlicir souls as well 
 8S of their boilies, .so lie is certainly able to discern 
 particularly all the operations of their very hearts ; and 
 is no iille spectator, but weigheth and judgeth all, and 
 acconiingly rewards every man. Dr. lliitmnond. 
 
 ' 1.5. 'ihvrc is no king that can he saved S;c.] All the 
 power in the world is less tlian nothing, if brought into 
 the fi<d(l against that of (iod ; so that the fate of every 
 battle will dej)end upon the side which He shall please 
 to take, who is cfjually able to confound the many and 
 the mighty, and to give victory to tlic weak ami tlie 
 few. The same is true of tliat spiritual warfare in 
 which we are all engaged. B/). Uoriie. 
 
 ' I", liehold, the eije nf the Jjorii &e.] 'I'he ever- 
 waking eye of I'rovidcncc, which looketh on all, looketli 
 with favour and loving-kindness on sucli as "fear" 
 (iod without despondency, and " ho|)e" in Him without 
 presum|)tion ; their l)o(lie3 are often wonderfully pre- 
 served in times of danger and want; but, what is of 
 
 20 For our heart shall rejoice in 
 liim : because we have hoped in his 
 holy Name. 
 
 21 Let thy merciful kindness ^ O 
 Lord, be upon us : like as we do put 
 our trust in thee. 
 
 PSALM x.xxiv.' Benedicam Domino. 
 
 I Will alway give thanks unto the 
 Lord : his praise shall ever be in 
 my mouth. 
 
 2 jNIy soul shall make her boast 
 in the Lord : the humble shall hear 
 thereof, and be glad. 
 
 3 O praise the Lord with me : 
 and let us magnify his Name to- 
 gether. 
 
 4 I sought the Lord, and he heard 
 me : yea, he delivered me out of all 
 my fear. 
 
 5 They had an eye unto him'', and 
 were lightened : and their faces were 
 not ashamed. 
 
 6 Lo, the poor crieth, and the 
 Lord heareth him : yea, and saveth 
 him out of all his troubles. 
 
 7 The angel of the Lord'^ tarrieth 
 round about them tliat fear him : and 
 delivereth them. 
 
 trusted. 
 Trans. 
 
 Bib. 
 
 looked unto 
 him. Ilib. 
 Trans. 
 
 encimpeth. 
 Bib. Traits. 
 
 far greater consequence, their souls are saved from 
 spiritual and everlasting death, and nourished, in the 
 wilderness, with the bread of hea\'en. Bp. Home. 
 
 '19. Our soul hath patiently tarried he.'] In answer 
 to the foregoing exhortation, the " righteous " are here 
 introduced, declaring their fixed resolution to persevere 
 in faith and patience, " waiting" for the coming of their 
 Lord and Sa\-iour, in wliom they " rejoice with joy un- 
 speakable and full of glory," by reason of that hum- 
 ble and holy confidence which they have in Him. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '■21. Let thy merciful kindness, &c.] The hope of 
 the church was always in Messiah. Of old she prayed 
 for the " mercy" of his (irst advent ; now she expeeteth 
 his second. Grant us, () Lord, hope, of which we may 
 never be disappointed. Bp. //onie. 
 
 ' I'sAi.M x\xiv.] 'I'his is a I'salm of thanksgiving, 
 in which David nuignifics the goodness of (iod for some 
 signal delix-erancc. Travell. The prophet, escaped out 
 of the hands of liis enemies, uttereth a song of praise, 
 in words which the Christian now cmj]loyelh to celebrate 
 the far greater deliverance of his Saviour, and him- 
 self by Him. from the power of more formidalilc adver- 
 saries. 1 — 7, He calleth his bretlu'cn to rejoice with 
 him, and to magnify (iod for the favour and pro- 
 tection v(nichsafed to his servant, in a time of danger; 
 H — 10, he exhorted others to taste and ex])erience the 
 goodness of .lehovah to sueli as fear Him ; and for that 
 purpose, 11 — -14, instnicteth tliem in the nature and 
 efi'eets of divine fear; after which, l.'i — 22, lie sweetly 
 deseanteth on the certainty of redemption from all the 
 tribulations endured by the faithful in this mortal life. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. They had an eye unto him, &c.] As if he had 
 said. Such good men, who trust in God, and look up
 
 Bay 6. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 403 
 
 desirelli life. 
 Bill. Trans. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 Depart from 
 evil. Bib. 
 Traus. See 
 Vocab. 
 pursue it. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 8 O taste, and see ', liow gracious 
 the Lord is : blessed is the man that 
 trusteth in him. 
 
 9 O fear the Lord^, ye that are 
 his saints : tor they that fear him 
 lack notliino-. 
 
 10 The lions do lack, and suffer 
 hunger : but they who seek the Lord 
 shall want no manner of thing that is 
 good. 
 
 1 1 Come, ye children \ and hearken 
 unto me : I will teach you the fear of 
 the Lord. 
 
 12 What man is he that liisteth to 
 live : and woidd fain see good days ? 
 
 13 Keep thy tongue from evil : 
 and thy lips, that they speak no 
 guile. 
 
 14 Eschew evil, and do good : 
 seek peace, and ensue it. 
 
 15 The eyes of the Lord ' are over 
 the righteous : and his ears are open 
 unto their prayers. 
 
 to Him for deliverance, enjoy their wished-for success, 
 (iod by his goodness enliglitening them, and making 
 them of a cheerful countenance, and not suffering them 
 to be ashamed through the disappointment of their 
 hopes. Dr. Nickolls. 
 
 ' 7. The angel of the Lord &c.] Tlie divine protec- 
 tion and salvation, vouchsafed to the faithful, is here 
 signified, whether we suiijjosc that by the " angel of 
 Jehovah," is meant the presence of Christ in the church 
 militant, as of old in the camp of Israel ; or the minis- 
 tration of created spirits to the heirs of salvation, as in 
 the case of Elisha, 2 Kings vi. 17. Let the considera- 
 tion of these invisible guardians, who are also specta- 
 tors of our actions, at once restrain us from evd, and 
 incite us to good. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 8. taste, and see, &c.] David saw and tasted the 
 goodness of Jehovah, when delivered from his adversa- 
 ries : the Son of David when raised from the dead. 
 Both invite us, by " trusting" in God, to behold and 
 c.x])erience, in our own i)ersons, the mercies and conso- 
 lations of heaven. Bp. Home. 
 
 !>' 9. Ofear the Lord, &c.] He who seeketh the Lord 
 shall find Him ; and he who hath found Him can want 
 notliing. Faith, hope, charity, temperance, puritj', 
 [latience, and contentment, are the true riches ; and the 
 lack of them, the poverty to be most dreaded ; since to 
 a Christian, ])ersecution, loss, sickness, nay, death itself, 
 is gain. In the mean time, God is never wanting to 
 jirovide for his servants what He seeth needful and 
 best in matters temporal ; while tyrants and oppressors, 
 who are, in the world, what " lions" are in a forest, are 
 often, by the just judgment of heaven, reduced to want 
 that which they have ravished from others. Bp. Home. 
 
 ''II. Come, ye children, &c.] They who by contem- 
 plating the advantages described above, which attend 
 the fear of the Lord, are become desirous of obtaining 
 that fear, must hearken to their heavenly Father, who 
 by his prophet " speaketh unto them as unto chil- 
 dren," offering to teach them the good and right way. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 15. The eyes of the Lord &c.] The righteous may 
 be afflicted, hke David, and like a greater than David ; 
 
 16 The countenance of tlie Lord 
 is against them that do evil : to root 
 out the remembrance of them from 
 the earth. 
 
 17 The righteous cry, and the 
 Lord heareth them : and delivercth 
 them out of ail their troubles. 
 
 18 I'he Lord is nigh unto them 
 that are of a contrite heart : and 
 will save such as be of an humble 
 spirit. 
 
 19 Great are the troubles^ of the 
 righteous : but the Lord delivcreth 
 him out of all. 
 
 20 He keepeth all his bones' : so 
 that not one of them is broken. 
 
 21 But misfortune shall slay the evii. Bib. 
 ungodly™ : and they that hate the ^™'"- 
 righteous shall be desolate. 
 
 22 The Lord delivercth" the .souls 
 of his servants : and all they that 
 put their trust in him shall not be 
 destitute. 
 
 and their oppressors may, for a time, be triumphant ; 
 but, in the end, the former will be delivered and 
 e.talted ; the latter will either cease to be remembered, 
 or they will be remembered %vith infamy. Bp. Home. 
 
 '■ 19. Great are the troubles &c.] Afflictions all must 
 suffer; but those of the righteous end in victory and 
 glory. What soldier would not cheerfully undergo the 
 hardshijjs of a campaign upon this condition ? " In the 
 world," saitli the Captain of our salvation, " ye shall 
 have tribulation ; but be of good cheer, I have over- 
 come the world," John .\vi. 33. Bp. Home. 
 
 '20. He keepeth all his bones : &c.] He taketh charge 
 of all that belongs to his children ; so as no violence 
 shall be prejudicial to them : not only their bones, but 
 the very hairs of their head are numbered : in vain 
 shah their enemies hope to fasten any evil upon them, 
 which the wise providence of God hath not fore- 
 appointed for their good. Bp. Hall. This had a more 
 eminent and hteral completion in our blessed Saviour, 
 whose legs were not broken, when were those of both 
 the thieves that were crucified with Him. John xlx. 36. 
 Dr. Hammond. Though tliese words are here s])oken 
 of righteous men in general, of whom they are true in 
 a metaphorical sense : yet they had a further meaning 
 in them, being designed by the .S])irit of God, which 
 had dictated to David not only the matter, but the 
 very words and exjiressions, to signify a great mystery, 
 that none of Christ's bones should be broken : to 
 which purpose they are alleged by St. John. Poole. 
 
 "21. But misfortune shall slay the ungodly : &c.] Or, 
 as in the Bible translation, " evd shall slay, &c." The 
 evil of punishment springs from the evil of sin ; and no 
 sin works such " desolation," as a malicious " hatred" 
 and persecution of the true sons and servants of God. 
 Whoso doubts the truth of this, let him only siu-vey 
 and consider attentively the desolation of the once 
 highly-fa\-oiu-ed nation, for their enmity against the 
 King of righteousness, and his faithful subjects. Bp, 
 Home. 
 
 ° 22. The Lord delicerelh &c.] The frequent pros- 
 perity of the wicked, and the troubles of the righteous 
 in this world, strike powerfully uj)on the sense, and are.
 
 494 THE PSALMS 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xxxv.° Judica, Domine. 
 
 PLEAD thou my cause p, O 
 Lord, with them that strive with 
 me : and fiji^ht thou against them that 
 
 Dayl. 
 
 Thev shall. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 devise my 
 hurt. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 figlit against me. 
 
 2 Lay hand upon the shield'' and 
 buciiler : and stand up to help me. 
 
 3 Bring forth the spear, and stop 
 the way against them that persecute 
 me : say unto my soul, I am thy sal- 
 vation. 
 
 4 Let them be confounded'', and 
 put to shame, that seek after mj' 
 soul : let them be tilrned back, and 
 brought to confusion, that imagine 
 mischief for me. 
 
 5 Let them be as the dust before 
 the wind : and the angel of the Lord 
 scattering them. 
 
 6 Let their way be dark and slip- 
 pery : and let the angel of the Lord 
 persecute them. 
 
 7 For they have privily laid their 
 
 for tb.at reason, too apt to efface from our minds the 
 notices given us by faith, of that future inversion of 
 circumstances which is to take place after death. To 
 renew, therefore, the imjiression of such an interesting 
 truth, the redemption of the afflicted righteous is so 
 often insisted on in the course of this Psalm. Enable 
 us, O Lord, to " walk by faith, and not by sight," until 
 we come to thy heavenly kingdom ; wliere, with all 
 thy saints made perfect through sufferings, we shall 
 " bless and magnify thee at all times," and thy " praise 
 will continually be in our mouth," for evermore. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 ° Psalm xxxv.] This Psalm is a complaint of David 
 against his enemies, joined with an apjieal to God, and 
 a prayer for his deliverance. Dr. Ihimmond. The \no- 
 plu't in this Psalm, as in the 22nd, which it resembles, 
 ])(Ts()nating Messiah, in his state of humiliation and 
 suU'ering, 1 — 3, beseecheth Jehovah to interpose in his 
 behalf; 4 — .S, predicteth the confusion of his enemies, 
 and, i), 10, his own triumph; 11 — 16, descriheth the 
 malice of his persecutors against him, and his love 
 towards them ; 1" — 2"), repeateth bis sujiplications for 
 deliverance, and enlargeth upon tlie cruel insults he met 
 with : 20, he again ibrutcUelli the destruction of the 
 adversary, and, 27, 2S, the exultation of the faithful. 
 lip. Hnrne. 
 
 ' I. Plead thou my cause, &c.] David, in his afflic- 
 tions; (Jhrist,in bis jiassion ; the Church, under perse- 
 cution ; and the Christian, in the hour of temptation, 
 eupplicate the ,\lmiglity to a])j)ear in their licluilf, and 
 to vindicate tlieir cause. li/i. llnme. 
 
 1 2. Lay hand upon the shield &r.] .lehovah is here 
 descrilied as a " man of war." going fortli to tlie battle 
 against the enemies of Messiali, and bis church : the 
 linitection, all'orded by bis mercy, is figured by tlie 
 shield of llie warrior, covering liis body from the darts 
 of tlie enemy; and the vengeance of bis uplifted arm is 
 represented by tlie oU'eiisive weapons used among men, 
 such as the spear and the sword. " If (iod be for us, 
 wlio can be against usV If He epeakcth salvation, 
 
 My whole 
 body, as well 
 as my soul, 
 ver. 9. Potjie* 
 
 the spoiling. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 net' to destroy me without a cause : 
 yea, even without a cause have they 
 made a pit for my soul. 
 
 8 Let a sudden destruction come 
 upon him unawares, and his net, 
 that he hath laid privily, catch him- 
 self : that he may fall into his own 
 mischief. 
 
 9 And, my soul, be joyful in the 
 Lord : it shall rejoice in his salva- 
 tion. 
 
 10 All my bones shall say, Lord, 
 who is like unto thee, who deliverest 
 the poor from him that is too strong 
 for him : yea, the poor, and him that 
 is in misery, from him that spoileth 
 him ? 
 
 1 1 False witnesses did rise up ' : 
 they laid to my charge things that I 
 knew not. 
 
 1*2 They rewarded me evil for 
 good : to the great discomfort of my 
 soul. 
 
 13 Nevertheless, when they were 
 sick", I put on sackcloth, and hum- 
 
 who shall threaten destruction.' See Deut. xxxii. 41. 
 Wisdom v. 30. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. Lei them be confounded, &c.] Or, " they shall be 
 confoimded, &c." Tlie consequence of the Omni- 
 potent appearing in arms against his adversaries is 
 here foretold. And the iirediction has long since been 
 verified in the " confusion " of Saul, and of the Jews, 
 as it will be finally fulfilled in that of Satan, and all 
 his adherents, at the last day ; for the manifestation of 
 which day the church now waiteth in faith and pati- 
 ence. Bj). Home. 
 
 ■ 7. For they have pririly laid their net &c.] Tlie 
 causeless ]iersecution raised against David by Saul, and 
 against our Lord by the Jews, reverted, through the 
 righteous judgment of God, on the heads of tlie perse- 
 cutors. The innocent birds escaped ; and they who 
 set the toils, were themselves taken therein. Saul lost 
 the kingdom which he thought to have secured, and 
 his life also ; and the Jews who crucified Christ, lest 
 " the Romans should take away their jilace and nation," 
 had their place and nation taken away by those Ro- 
 mans, for that very reason. In these histories, all im- 
 penitent ]icrsecvilors of the faith, the churcli. and the 
 servants of (iod, may read their doom. Bp. Home. 
 
 '11. Ful.ie witnesses did ri.'^e ii/i : &c.] This was never 
 more literally true of David, tlian it was of the holy 
 Jesus, when, standing before I'ontius Pilate, He re- 
 ceived no oilier return from the Jews, for all the gra- 
 cious words which lie had sjioken, and all the mer- 
 ciful works which He bad done among thcin, than 
 that of being slandereil, and put to death. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 13. Nevertheless, when Ihei/ icere sick, l^c.^ If David 
 prayed, fasting in sackelotli, for Saul, and bis associates, 
 the" Son of David, to lieal the souls of men, ])ut on the 
 veil of mortal tlesh. and appeared in the form and 
 haliit of a penitent, lasting forty days and forty nights, 
 making continual intercession for transgressors, and 
 grieving to think that any men, by their olistinacy, 
 should deprive themselves of the benefits thereof. Bp. 
 Home.
 
 shall secure 
 fi betiefit for 
 m^sell. Dr. 
 Niclwlls. 
 
 Day 7. 
 
 bled my soul 
 prayer shall 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 or sniiters. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 they did tear 
 me. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 pretended 
 false friends. 
 Bp. Hatl. 
 
 my dear and 
 preeious life. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 mock or in- 
 sult over me. 
 Prov. vi. 13; 
 X. 10. Paolc. 
 
 with fa.stiiig : and my 
 turn into mine own 
 bosom. 
 
 14 I behaved myself as tliouoh it 
 had been my friend, or my brotiier : 
 1 went lieavily, as one that mourneth 
 for his mother. 
 
 15 IJut in mine adversity they 
 rejoiced", and gathered themselves 
 tog-ether : yea, the very abjects came 
 together against me unawares, 
 making mouths at me, and ceased 
 not. 
 
 16 With the flatterers were busy 
 mockers >■ : who gnashed upon me 
 with their teeth. 
 
 17 Lord, how long wilt thou look 
 upon this : O deliver my soul from 
 the calamities which they bring on 
 me, and my darling from the lions. 
 
 18 So will I give thee thanks^ in 
 the great congregation : I will praise 
 thee among much people. 
 
 19 O let not them" that are mine 
 enemies triumph over me ungodly : 
 neither let them wink with their eyes 
 that hate me without a cause. 
 
 20 And why? their communing'' 
 is not for peace : but they imagine 
 deceitful words against them that are 
 quiet in the land. 
 
 21 They gaped upon me with their 
 
 ' 15. hut in mine adversity they rejoiced, &c.] When 
 the blessed Jesus was suffering for the sins of men, lie 
 was insulted by those men for whose sins He suffered. 
 He gave, not only his reputation to the re\ilers, but 
 also his back to the " sniiters," though not conscious 
 of the crimes for which they pretended to punish Him. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 1 6. With the flatterers were busy mockers, &c.] 
 However this might be true in the case of David, it 
 certainly had a literal accomiilishment in the scoffs and 
 taunts of the chief priests, and others, when Christ was 
 hanging on the cross, " Ah, thou that destroyest the 
 temple," &c. " He trusted in God," &c. " Let hira 
 come down from the cross," &c. &c. &c. Nay, one of 
 the thieves, crucified with Him, " cast the same in his 
 teeth." Whosoever considers these things, will not be 
 surprised at the e.xpostulation in the following verse. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 18. So will I give thee thanks &c.] This verse is 
 exactly parallel to Psalm .\xii. 25 ; wherein, after an 
 enumeration of his sufferings, our Lord predicteth the 
 praise and glory that should accrue to God in the 
 church, after his resurrection, from the preaching of 
 the apostles ; which passage see, and compare ; as also, 
 Isa. XXV. 3 ; and Rev. vii. 9. Bp. Home. 
 
 * 19. let not them &c.] This verse in particular, 
 in its application to the Messiah, is referred to in John 
 XV. 25. Travell. 
 
 '' 20. And v:hy ? their communing &c.] David would 
 have lived "quietly" under the government of Saul; 
 our Lord did not aim at temporal sovereignty over the 
 Jews ; nor did the primitive Christians desire to inter- 
 
 keep not si- 
 Kiue. Bi/i. 
 Trans, 
 
 with shame. 
 Bill. Trans. 
 magnify. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 my righteous 
 cause. Bib. 
 Trans, my 
 rijilitenus- 
 uess. Marg. 
 
 495 
 
 mouths, aiul said : Fie on thee, fie 
 on thee, we saw it with our eyes. 
 
 22 This thou hast seen, () Lord'^: 
 hold not thy tongue then, go not fur 
 from me, O Lord. 
 
 23 Awake, and stand up to judge 
 my quarrel : avenge thou my cause, 
 my God, and my Lord. 
 
 24 Judge me, () Lord my God, 
 according to thy righteousness : and 
 let them not triumph over me. 
 
 25 Let them not say in their hearts, 
 There, there, so would we have it : 
 neither let them say, We have de- 
 voured him. 
 
 26 Let them be put to confusion'* 
 and shame together, that rejoice at 
 my trouble : let them be clothed 
 with rebuke and dishonour, that 
 boast themselves against me. 
 
 27 Let them be glad^ and rejoice, 
 that favour my righteous dealing : 
 yea, let them say alway. Blessed be 
 the Lord, who hath pleasure in the 
 prosperity of his servant. 
 
 28 And as for my tongue, it shall 
 be talking of thy righteousness : and 
 of thy praise all the day long. 
 
 PSALM xxxvi.' Dixit injustus. 
 
 MY heart sheweth me s tlie wick- 
 edness of the ungodly : that 
 
 meddle with the politicks of the world : yet all were be- 
 trayed, mocked, and persecuted, as rebels and usui-pers, 
 and the jiests of society. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 22. This thou hast seen, O Lord: &c.] God secth 
 and knoweth all things ; yet He permitteth those, who 
 love Him best, to be often and long afflicted and op- 
 [jressed, seeming as one at a "distance," or "silent," 
 or " asleep," that is, regardless of what ]iasses. At 
 such times we are not to remit, but to double our dili- 
 gence in jirayer, reiterating our cries, " Lord, save us ! 
 we perish!" Then will He "awake and arise, and 
 rebuke the winds and the seas, and there shall be a 
 calm." Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 26. Let them be put to confusion &c.] The accom- 
 plishment of this prediction, by the resurrection of 
 Jesus, and the destruction of Jerusalem, is well kno^vn. 
 There are two events to come parallel to those two 
 which are past, namely, the resurrection of the faithful, 
 and the destruction of the world ; when all, who, like 
 the Jews, have "rejoiced in the hurt" of Messiah, and 
 have "magnified themselves agiunst him," will, like 
 the Jews, be covered with everlasting "confusion." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 27. Let them be glad &c.] As the preceding verse 
 foretold the sorrow of the enemies, so these two describe 
 the joy of the friends to Messiah upon his victory and 
 exaltation, which have been, and shall continue to be, 
 celebrated by the Church in these di\-ine hymns, in- 
 dited by the Holy Spirit for that ])urpose, until the 
 songs of time shall end in the hallelujahs of eternity. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Ps.\LM xxxn.] This Psalm was composed by
 
 496 THE PSALMS. 
 
 there is no fear of God before his 
 eyes 
 
 Day 7. 
 
 Thou pre- 
 servesl. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 loving kind- 
 ness. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 2 For lie flattereth himself in his 
 own sight : until his abominable sin 
 be found out. 
 
 3 The words of his mouth are un- 
 ri();hteous, and i\x\\ of deceit : he hath 
 left off to behave himself wisely, and 
 to do 2;ood. 
 
 4 He imagineth mischief upon his 
 bed, and hath set himself in no good 
 way : neither doth he abhor any 
 thing that is evil. 
 
 5 Thy merej', O Lord*", reacheth 
 unto the heavens, and thy faithful- 
 ness inito the clouds. 
 
 6 Thy righteousness standeth like 
 the strong mountains : thy judge- 
 ments are like the great deep. 
 
 7 Thou, Lord, shalt save' both 
 man and beast ; How excellent is thy 
 merc_v, O God : and the children of 
 men shall put their trust under the 
 shadow of thy wings. 
 
 David, in reflection on himself, and his own sincerity 
 and dependence upon God, during the time of his dis- 
 tress. Dr. Hammond. In the fo\ir first verses of tliis 
 Psalm, the prophet describeth the principles, the actions, 
 the conversation, and the imaginations of his wicked 
 persecutors ; and from thence raising his thoughts to 
 heaven, 5 — 9, celebrateth the mercy and loving-kind- 
 ness of Jeho\'ah ; for a continuation of which to him- 
 self and the church, he fervently praycth, 10, 11 ; and 
 12, foreseeth the downfal of the ungodly. Bp. Home. 
 
 s 1. jSIy heart shewelh me &c.] The great truth, which 
 the prophet here declareth himself to be convinced of, 
 is, that all wickedness proceedcth from the absence of 
 "the fear of God," in tlae person who committeth it ; 
 that fear being a principle, which, while it is jiredorai- 
 nant in the man, will restrain him from transgression. 
 Our laws supjjose as much, when, in the form of in- 
 dicting a criminal, they attribute the commission of the 
 offence to his " not having the fear of God before his 
 eyes." Bp. Home. 
 
 *■ 5. Thy mercy, Lord, &c,] From the wickedness 
 of the world, in which we li\-c, we must lift up our eyes 
 for help and comfort, to the mercy and truth of God, 
 boundless, jiure, and beneficial, as the heavens over our 
 heads ; to ids righteousness, fixed and permanent as 
 the everlasting hills ; and to his judgments, stupendous 
 and unfath(;mable as the waters of the great dee]). 
 'I'ruth will engage mercy to accomplish the promised 
 salvation of the elect ; and righteousness will employ 
 judgment in executing upon the reprobate the ven- 
 geance that is due. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. Thou, Lord, .ihall save &c.] The good provi- 
 dence of (joil e.xtendeth over all creatures, nourishing 
 and iireserving them, as well as man, for whose use 
 they were made. We can never enough value and 
 extol the "loving-kindness" of Him, whose over- 
 shadowing "wings" protect and cherish us on earth, 
 in order to l)ear us from thence to heaven. See Matt, 
 xxiii. .'ir ; Dent, xxxii. II. B/i. Home. 
 
 ^ 8. They shall hesutisfied iSic] In heaven alone the 
 thirat of an immortal soul after nappincsa can be satis- 
 
 8 They shall be satisfied '' with the 
 plenteousness of thy house : and 
 thou shalt give them drink of thy 
 pleasures, as out of the river. 
 
 9 For with thee is the well of 
 life : and in thy light shall we see 
 
 light. 
 
 10 O continue forth thy loving- 
 kindness' unto them that know thee, 
 and thy righteousness unto them that 
 are true of heart. 
 
 11 O let not the foot of pride 
 come against me : and let not the 
 hand of the ungodly cast me down. 
 
 12 There are they fallen ™, all that 
 work wickedness : they are cast down, 
 and shall not be able to stand. 
 
 of the river of 
 tl»v pleasures. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 fountain. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 the upright 
 in heart. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 rise. Bib. 
 Trans, 
 
 F 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM sxxvii." XoH amulari. 
 R E T not thyself" because of 
 ungodly : neither be thou 
 
 envious against the evil doers. 
 
 fied. The river of God's pleasure flows from a " foun- 
 tain " which fetcheth not supplies from without, but 
 whose spring is within itself, and therefore can never 
 be exhausted. The " water of life " proceeds from 
 " the throne of God and the Lamb," Rev. xxii. ] . 
 " This is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, 
 and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent," John xvii. 3. 
 God, like the sun, cannot be seen, but by the hght 
 which lie Himself emits. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. continue forth thy loving-kindness &c.] Tlie 
 prophet, groaning under the oppression of the wicked, 
 who are described in the first part of the I'salm, jirayeth 
 for a continuation of the mercies of (iod, which he has 
 celebrated in the second ])art. Give us, O God, the 
 knowledge of thee, and make us upright in heart, that 
 thy loving-kindness and thy righteousness may be our 
 portion for e\er. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 12. There are they fallen, &c.] Faith calleth things 
 that be not, as tlunigh they were ; it carries us forwai-d 
 to the end of time ; it shews us the Lord, sitting on 
 his throne of judgment : the righteous caught up to 
 meet Him in the air, the world in llamcs under his feet, 
 and the empire of sin fallen to rise no more. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " PsAi.M xxxvii.] From the beginning to the end 
 of this I'stilm, the Holy Spirit, by the i>rophet, iid- 
 ministereth advice and cimsolation to the church and 
 people of the Lord, oppressed and alllicted in the world 
 by pros]ierous and triuniiihant wickedness. Faith and 
 ])atience arc, thert^fore, recommended, ujion the double 
 consideration of that sm'c rewaril which awaitctli the 
 righteous, and that certain punishment wliich shall be 
 inllicted on the wicked. These two c\'ents are set 
 before us in a variety of expressions, and under nuuiy 
 lively and afl'ecting images. As the I'salm is rather u 
 collection of divine aphorisms on tlie same subject, 
 than a continued and connected discourse, it admitteth 
 of nothing farther in the way of argument. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 It is not easy to determine when this Psalm of David 
 was composed. The design of it ia to persuade men
 
 Dayl. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 497 
 
 2 For tliey sliall soon be cut down 
 like tlie grass : and be withered even 
 as tlie g-reen herb. 
 
 3 Put thou thy trust in tlie Lord, 
 so siiait thou and be doing good : dwell in the 
 Bib. Tram, land P, and verily thou shalt be fed. 
 
 4 Delight thou in the Lordi : 
 and he shall give thee thy heart's 
 desire. 
 
 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord"', 
 and put thy trust in him : and he 
 shall bring it to ])ass. 
 
 6 He sliall make thy righteousness 
 as clear as the light : and thy just 
 dealing as the noon-day. 
 
 7 Hold thee still in the Lord% 
 wait patient- and abide patiently upon him : but 
 mi'.'Tral's. grieve not thyself at him, whose way 
 
 doth ])rosper, against the man that 
 doeth after evil cotmsels. 
 
 8 Leave off from wrath, and let 
 go displeasure : fret not thyself, else 
 shalt thou be moved to do evil. 
 
 to a submission to God's dispensations of what kind 
 soever ; and not to think hard of his providence for 
 letting good men Ue under pressures or hardshij)s, whilst 
 bad ones enjoy prosperity. Dr. Nichoils. 
 
 ° 1. Fret nut thyself &c.] The Holy Spirit here 
 presci'ibetli a remedy to a very common, and no less 
 dangerous disorder of the mind, namely, a distrust of 
 God's providence, occasioned by frequently beholding 
 the prosperity of the wicked, in this present world. He 
 who alloweth himself time to consider, how soon the 
 fairest spring must give ])lace to a burning summer, a 
 blighting autumn, and a killing winter, will no longer 
 envy, but jiity, the fading verdure of the grass, and 
 the still more transient glories of the flowers of the 
 field. Up. Home. 
 
 PS. — dwell in the land, &c.] This is the correct 
 rendering of the Hebrew, as if it were a command to 
 abide in Canaan when troubles come, and not to flee 
 away for succour. But it is rather a ])romise by com- 
 paring this with ver. 27. 30 ; such promises being often 
 expressed by imperative \'erbs put for future. Poole. 
 
 1 4. Deliffht thou in the Lord; &c.] He who de- 
 lighteth in the creature, hath not always " the desires 
 of his heart " granted, nor is it fit that he should have 
 them ; but he who delighteth in God will desire what 
 he delighteth in, and obtain what he desireth. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord, &c.] Malice and 
 calumny may, for a time, overshadow the splendour of 
 an holy character ; but the sun will come forth, and 
 the clouds will fly away. This was most eminently 
 true of the blessed Jesus, at his resurrection, and will 
 be verified in his saints, at the last day. The history 
 of Susannah affordeth a remarkable instance of it in 
 this life. " Her heart trusted in the Lord, and he 
 brought forth her righteousness as the light ; insomuch 
 that all the assembly cried out with a loud voice, and 
 praised God, who saveth them that trust in him," ver. 
 35. 60. Bj/. Home. 
 
 ' 7, 8. Hold thee still in the Lord, &c.] Do not mur- 
 mur nor rejiine at his dealings, but silently and quietly 
 submit to his will, and adore his judgments, and, as it 
 follows, " wait patiently for him," namely, for his help. 
 
 9 Wicked doers shall be rooted 
 out : and they that patiently aliide 
 the Lord, those shall iidu'rit the 
 land. 
 
 10 Yet a little while', and the un- 
 godly shall be clean gone : thou shalt 
 look after his place, and he shall be 
 away. 
 
 11 But the meek-spirited" shall 
 possess the earth : and shall be re- 
 freshed in the multitude of ])eace. 
 
 12 The ungodly seeketh counsel^ 
 against the just : and gnasheth upon 
 him with his teeth. 
 
 13 The Lord shall laugh him to 
 scorn : for he hath seen that his day 
 is coming. 
 
 14 The ungodly have drawn out 
 the sword, and have bent their bow : 
 to cast down the poor and needy, and 
 to slay such as are of a right conver- 
 sation. 
 
 15 Their sword shall go through 
 
 lliose that 
 wait upon the 
 I,<.ril. til/,. 
 Tiuiu. 
 
 plotteth. 
 mo. Trans. 
 
 Tliis advice and command is pressed again and again, to 
 teach us how hard it is to learn and practise this lesson. 
 Poole. 
 
 ' 10. Yet a little while, &c.] The whole duration of 
 the world itself is but " a little while " in the sight of 
 Him, whose hope is full of immortality. But the 
 calamities and deaths of jirinces ; the tragical fate of 
 em])ires, swept with the besom of destruction ; the 
 overthrow of cities, whose dimensions, towers, and 
 palaces, once astonished the earth, but whose " place " 
 is now no where to be found by the most curious and 
 diligent inquirer; and the desolations of the chosen 
 city, Jerusalem; all these are even now sufficient to 
 draw forth the tear of commiseration, and to extinguish 
 the kindling sj)ark of envy in every considerate mind. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " 11. But the meek-spirited &c.] "The meek "are 
 they who bear their own advtrsities, and the prosperity 
 of their enemies, without envy, anger, or complaint. 
 For these there is a possession in the kingdom and 
 city of "the Prince of peace," which "the Lord, the 
 righteous Judge, shall give them at that day." "Blessed 
 are the meek," saith the Lord and Judge Himself, "for 
 they shall inherit the earth," Matt. v. 5. " In the 
 mean time, they, and they only, possess the present 
 earth, as they go towards the kingdom of hea\'en, by 
 being humble, and cheerful, and content, «itli what 
 their good God has allotted them. They ha\e no 
 turbulent, repining, vexatious thoughts that they deserve 
 better ; nor are vexetl when they see others jiossessed 
 of more honour, or more riches, than their «ise God 
 has allotted for their share. But they possess what 
 they have with a meek and contented quietness; such 
 a quietness as makes their very dreams pleasing, both 
 to God and themselves." Walton's Complete Angler, 
 p. 295. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 12. The ungodti) seeJcefh counsel &c.] The original 
 enmity between the wicked one and the just one will 
 always subsist between the wicked and the just. The 
 rage of the former against the latter is compared to 
 that of mad dogs, or wild beasts ; but a day is coming 
 when all that rage must be turned and employed 
 against themselves. God, who knoweth this, contemneth 
 
 2 K
 
 498 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Dayl. 
 
 their power 
 an.i prospe- 
 rity. Br. 
 HiinimoTid. 
 watches con- 
 stantly over 
 them. Tra- 
 
 in the evil 
 time. Btb. 
 Trans. 
 
 their own heart : and their bow shall 
 be broken. 
 
 16 A small thing that the righte- 
 OU.S hath y : is better than great riches 
 of the ungodly. 
 
 17 For the arms of the ungodly 
 shall be broken : and the Lord up- 
 holdeth the righteous. 
 
 18 The Lord knoweth the days 
 of the godly : and their inheritance 
 shall endure for ever. 
 
 19 They shall not be confounded ^ 
 in the perilous time : and in the 
 days of dearth they shall have 
 enough. 
 
 20 As for the ungodly, they shall 
 perish ' ; and the enemies of the Lord 
 shall consume as the fat of lambs : 
 yea, even as the smoke, shall they 
 consume away. 
 
 21 The ungodly borroweth, and 
 payeth not again •> : but the righteous 
 is merciful and liberal. 
 
 22 Such as are blessed"^ of God 
 shall possess the land : and they that 
 
 are cursed of him shall be rooted 
 out. 
 
 23 The Lord ordereth a good 
 man's going'' : and maketh his way 
 acceptable to himself. 
 
 24 Thougli he fall, he shall not 
 be cast away : for the Lord uphold- 
 eth him with his hand. 
 
 25 I have been young % and now 
 am old : and yet saw I never the 
 righteous forsaken, nor his seed beg- 
 ging their bread. 
 
 26 The righteous is ever mer- 
 ciful, and lendeth : and his seed is 
 blessed. 
 
 27 Flee from evil, and do the 
 thing that is good : and dwell for thou shait 
 
 ilwell. as ver. 
 
 evermore. 3. pooie. 
 
 28 For the Lord loveth the thing 
 that is right : he forsaketh not his 
 that be godly, but they are preserved 
 for ever. 
 
 29 The unrighteous shall be pu- 
 nished : as for the seed of the un- 
 godly, it shall be rooted out. 
 
 their vain efforts ; and Christians who know it, and 
 are under the protection of God, should do the same. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 1 \?>. A small ihivg that the righteous hath : &c.] Be- 
 cause he hath it with many great and glorious advan- 
 tages ; with God's favour and blessings ; with great 
 serenity and satisfaction of his own mind, which is in- 
 finitely more desirable and comfortable than all earthly 
 possessions ; with the consolations of God's Spirit ; 
 and the assurance of everlasting felicity : whilst the 
 riches of wicked men are loaded with many incum- 
 brances, with the wrath and curse of God, the torment 
 of their own consciences and passions, and the dreadful 
 expectation of an after reckoning and of endless mise- 
 ries. Poole. 
 
 ' 19. They shall not be confounded &c.'] The favour 
 of God is, to them that obtain it, a better and an en- 
 during substance, which, like the widow's barrel and 
 cruse, wasted not in the evil days of famine, nor will 
 fail in that evil day of eternal want, when the foolish 
 virgins shall be calling in vain for oil, and the rich 
 glutton as vainly imploring a drop of water to cool his 
 tongue. Bp. Unrne. 
 
 • 20. As fur the ungodly, they shall perish ; &c.] 'flic 
 destruction of tlie wicked is here again set before us, 
 but under a difl'erent image, namely, that of a sacrifice. 
 Senseless, as cattle, they are fatted for the altar, they 
 wanton in their )irospcrity, and nourish their hearts 
 against the day of slaughter. In the mean time, the 
 Ahnighty is whetting tliat sword, wliicli nothing can 
 withstand ; and those fires are kindling, which shall 
 never be extinguished. See Isa. xxxiv. — 10. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ''21. Theungodly horroweth, and jtnyeihnot again : iS:c.] 
 Kither through covetousness and injustice; or rather, 
 because of that great ])einiry into which (iod shall 
 bring liiin, whilst the righteous is not only provided 
 buflicicntly for himself, but hath abundance and to 
 !-]iHre for otliers. For he is here comparing the wicked 
 and the rigliteous, not so much in their virtues or 
 
 moral qualities, as in their outward conditions. 
 Poole. 
 
 ' 22. Such as are blessed &c.] They, who are like 
 their merciful and gracious Lord, and who, by their 
 devotion and charity, bless Him, are blessed of Him; 
 they who are like their cruel and iniquitous master, 
 and who, by their ungodliness, injustice, and hard- 
 heartedness, dishonour their Maker and Redeemer, 
 are cursed of Hira. To the former, therefore, it will be 
 said, at the last day, " Come, ye blessed, inherit the 
 kingdom ;" to the latter, " Go, ye cursed, into the fire." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ''23. The Lord ordereth a good man's going : &c.] As 
 long as men's actions ai'e conformable to the wiU of 
 God, and the directions which He gives for the guiding 
 of them ; as the actions of the just and charitable are in 
 an high degree ; so long are they most acceptable and 
 well-pleasing to Him, and so sure to be accepted by 
 lliin. Dr. Hammond, This was emphatically true of 
 the man Christ, whose ste])s Jehovah established, and 
 in whose way He delighted; who, "though he fell" 
 by death, yet was raised again by his mighty hand and 
 outstretched arm. It is true likewise of C'hristians, 
 whom it sboidd support and comfort, in all dangers 
 and temptations. See, for a jiarallcl, Ps. xci. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 25. / /mpe been young, &c.] Tlie Psalmist says 
 that he never could see or liear of any example of a just 
 anil ])ious anil virtuous man, that wsis eminently chari- 
 tal)le and mercifid minded, who ever brought himself 
 or his posterity to want by those means. Dr. Hammond. 
 So far is charity from inqiovcrishing, that what is given 
 away, like vapours emiltid by the eartli, returns in 
 showers of blessings into the bosom of the per.son who 
 gave it ; and liis ofl's]iriiig is not the worse, liut infinitely 
 the better for it. "The liberal soul shall be made fat, 
 and he that watereth shall be wtitered also himself','' 
 Prov. xi. 2.'). The bread which endiuTth, as well as that 
 wliicli )ierisheth, is his; and the blessings of time arc 
 crowned w ilh those of eternity. Bp. Home,
 
 Bay 8. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 499 
 
 Bpeaketh wis 
 (lorn. Bib. 
 Trans, 
 of the word 
 and ways of 
 God. Poole. 
 
 watcheth. 
 Vib. Trans. 
 
 no tracks of 
 him remain- 
 ed Dr. Ni- 
 clioUs. 
 
 30 The riglitcous shall inherit the 
 land : and dwell tlierein for ever. 
 
 81 The mouth of the rijjhleoiis is 
 exercised in wisdom : and Ids tongue 
 will he talking of judirement. 
 
 32 The law of his God is in Ids 
 heart : and his goings shall not slide. 
 
 33 The ungodly seeth the right- 
 eons : and seeketh occasion to slay 
 him. 
 
 34 The Lord will not leave him 
 in his hand : nor condemn him when 
 he is judged. 
 
 35 Hope thou in the Lord'', and 
 keep his wav; and he shall promote 
 thee, that thou shalt possess the land : 
 when the ungodly shall perish, thou 
 shalt see it. 
 
 36 I myself have seens the ini- 
 godly in great power : and flourishing 
 like a green bay-tree. 
 
 37 1 went by, and lo, he was gone : 
 I sought him, but his place could no 
 where be found. 
 
 38 Keep innocency, and take heed 
 unto the thing that is right : for that 
 shall bring a man jieace at the last. 
 
 39 As for the transgressors, they 
 
 ' 35. Hope thou in the Lord, &c.] The apostle, writ- 
 ing to the Hebrew converts under affliction and perse- 
 cution, thus expresseth the sentiment contained in this 
 verse, " Cast not away your confidence, which hath 
 great recom])ense of reward. For ye have need of pa- 
 tience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might 
 receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that 
 shall come will come, and will not tarry," Heb. x. 35. 
 Bp. Home, 
 
 s 36. / myself have seen &c.] The great Babylonian 
 monarch had his own exaltation, and subsequent degra- 
 dation, portrayed to him, in a \"ision, under this very 
 image, which conveyeth to the mind a most striking 
 and affecting idea of the rise and fall of men and em- 
 pires, which have now no existence but in history. See 
 Dan. iv. 10, 11, &c. 20, 21, &c. Bp. Home. 
 
 '■ 40. But the salvation of the righteous &c.] Of thee, 
 O Lord Jesu, is our salvation : be thou our strength in 
 this mortal life, which is a time of trouble ; help us 
 against our spiritual enemies, and deliver us from them ; 
 deliver us from the wicked one, and from all evil ; and 
 save us from the guilt and punishment thereof, be- 
 cause we put our trust in thee, and in thee alone. Bp. 
 H'irne. 
 
 ' Psalm xxxviii.] In this Psalm, which is the third 
 of those styled penitential, the sinner, ver. l,prayeth to 
 be chastened only, and not destroyed ; 2 — 10, describeth 
 the state of his soul under -.-arious images, chiefly bor- 
 rowed from bodily diseases and pains; 11, 12, com- 
 plaineth of his friends forsaking, and his enemies per- 
 secuting him; but, 13 — 15, continueth patient and 
 resigned, committing his cause to God, whom, 16 — 22, 
 he beseecheth to help him, on his confession and re- 
 j)entance. There are some ])assages in the latter i)art 
 of the Psalm, literally predictive of our Lord's [jassion, 
 and so understood by the best ancient expositors. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 shall perisli together : and the end of 
 the ungodly is, they shall be rooted 
 out at the last. 
 
 40 But the salvation of the right- 
 eous'' Cometh of the Lord : who is 
 also their strength in the time of 
 trouble. 
 
 41 And the Lord shall stand by 
 them, and save them : he shall de- 
 liver them from the ungodly, and 
 shall save them, because they put 
 their trust in him. 
 
 help them. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM xxxviii.' Domine, ne in furore. 
 
 PU T me not to rebuke'', O Lord, 
 in thine anger : neither chasten 
 me in thy heavy displeasure. 
 
 2 For thine arrows' stick fast in 
 me : and thy hand presseth me sore. 
 
 3 There is no health in my flesh'", 
 because of thy displeasure : neither 
 is there any rest in my bones, by 
 reason of my sin. 
 
 4 For my wickednesses are gone 
 over" my head : and are like a sore 
 burden, too heavy for me to bear. 
 
 Ash-Wednes- 
 day, third 
 .Psalm Morn. 
 Serv. 
 
 This, being another of those Psalms, which are called 
 penitential, is therefore applicable to Ash-Wednesday. 
 It was composed by David under some great affliction 
 and anguish of mind. It is not certain whether he 
 here describes the state of his mind under various 
 images, chieHy borrowed from bodily diseases and 
 pains ; or whether he was actually afflicted with sick- 
 ness : very probably he was suffering from both. 
 Travell. 
 
 '' 1. Put me not to rebuke, &c.] The petition here 
 preferred, as in the sixth Psalm, is, that Jehovah would 
 not condemn as a judge, but chasten as a father, for 
 the amendment and preservation of the offender. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 2. For thine arrows &c.] The "arrows" and the 
 " hand" of God, are his jutlgments on sin ; those in- 
 ternal pangs and terrors which pierce the soul, and 
 those external afflictions and calamities which sink and 
 weigh down the spirits. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 3. There is no health in my flesh, &c.] The expres- 
 sions in this verse are applicable to the disorders and 
 diseases which sin hath introduced both into the soul 
 and into the body, as the terms, "health," and "sick- 
 ness," are in Scripture no less frequently employed to 
 describe the state of the former, than that of the latter. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " 4. For my wickednesses are gone over &c.] Or, 
 "the punishment of my wickednesses," as this word is 
 frequently used : which best agrees both with the fore- 
 going and following verses, and with the metaphor here 
 used, which in other places of Scripture is generally 
 ap])lied to afflictions, and not to sins. Poole. Sins and 
 sorrows are here, as in many other places, represented 
 under the image of mighty waters rolling incessantly 
 over the head of the jicrson sunk into them, and by 
 their accumulated weight depressing him, so that he 
 can no more rise above them. Bp. Home. 
 2 K 2
 
 500 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 no sound- 
 ness. Bib. 
 Tram. 
 
 contrived. 
 See \'ucab. 
 
 5 My wounds stink", and are cor- 
 rupt : throui;h my foolishness. 
 
 6 I am brought into so s^reat trou- 
 ble and misery : that I 
 all the day long. 
 
 7 For my loins are filled'' with a 
 sore disease : and there is no whole 
 part in my body. 
 
 8 I am feeble, and sore smitten : 
 I have roared for the very disquiet- 
 ness of my heart. 
 
 9 Lord, thou knowesti all my 
 desire : and my groaning is not hid 
 from thee. 
 
 10 My heart panteth, my strength 
 hath failed me : and the sight of mine 
 e)es is gone from me. 
 
 1 1 My lovers and my neighbours "■ 
 did stand looking upon my trouble : 
 and my kinsmen stood afar oft". 
 
 12 They also that sought' after 
 my life laid snares for me : and they 
 that went about to do me evil talked 
 of wickedness, and imagined deceit 
 all the day long. 
 
 ° 5. My n'ouvds stink, &c.] Sin is the wound of the 
 soul, which must he wa.sheil with the tears of repent- 
 ance, cleansed hy the hlood of Christ, and healed by 
 the Sjjirit of the Holy One. It requires great care and 
 attention, until the cure be completed. Otherwise, 
 mortification and death ensue, as in the case of out- 
 ward wounds, if nefjlected, or ill-managed. See Isa. i. 
 C ; Luke X. 34. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. yor my loins are Jilled &c.] ITie "disease," or 
 " inflammation," complained of in these metaphorical 
 terms, seems to be the distemperature of our fallen 
 nature, whereby it cotneih to ])ass, that "the flesh 
 lusteth against the spirit :" it is that " other law in our 
 members, warring against the law in our minils, bring- 
 ing us into captivity to the law of sin," and forcing every 
 son of Adam to cry out, " O wretched man that I 
 am, who shall deliver me from this body of death ?" 
 Jlajipy is it for us, that we are enabled to go on with 
 the ajxistle, and to "thank (iod," that we are delivered 
 " thrcnigli Jesus Christ our J-ord," on whom were laid 
 the iniijuities of us all. B/i. Home. 
 
 1 9. Lnrcl, thou knowest &c.] The "desires" and 
 "groans" of the penitent are known to (iod, and 
 marked down in his book ; and there is no small com- 
 fort in thinking and acknowledging that they are so ; 
 but much more comfort is there in the remembrance of 
 those inconceivable " desires," and those unutteraljlc 
 "groanings," which the holy .lesus |>oured forth for vis 
 in the days of his flesh, and which prevail for the ac- 
 ce|)tance of our own. ii/<. Home. 
 
 ' 11. My iovers fiml ini/ npiijhhours &c.] A l)ody 
 afilicted with u noi.-iome (list cuipcr, and a soul troubled 
 on account of sin. find Init few friends, who have charity 
 enough to .stay with, and to minister to tliein. Let us 
 not l)c surprised, or oH'ended, at this, when we see th(- 
 righteous Jesus, at his passion, destitute and forsaken 
 by all ; as it is written, "Then all the disciples forsook 
 hun and fled," Matt. .xxvi. f)() ; " and all his ac(|uaint- 
 unce, and the women that followed liiiii from (jahlee, 
 
 Dcnj 8. 
 
 13 As for me, I was like a deaf 
 man, and heard not : and as one 
 that is dumb, who doth not open his 
 mouth. 
 
 14 I became even as a man that 
 heareth not : and in whose mouth are 
 no reproofs. 
 
 15 For in thee, O Lord', have I 
 put my trust : thou shalt answer for 
 me, O Lord my God. 
 
 16 I have required that they, even 
 mine enemies, should not triumph 
 over me : for when my foot slipped, 
 they rejoiced greatly against me. 
 
 17 And L truly, am set in the riiere is n 
 
 , , , • , . . end of my 
 
 plague : and my heaviness is ever m sufferings. 
 
 18 For I will confess my wicked- 
 ness" : and be sorry for my sin. 
 
 19 But mine enemies live^, and 
 are mighty : and they that hate me 
 wrongfidly are many in number. 
 
 20 They also that reward evil for 
 good are against me : because 1 follow 
 the thing that good is. 
 
 T,areH. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 stood afar off, beholding these things," Luke xxiii. 49. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 12 — 14. They also that sonrjht c&c] These verses 
 describe and recommend to our imitation the behaviour 
 of David, and of a greater than David, when under 
 persecution ; the former from Absalom, Ahithophel, 
 Shimei, &c. ; the latter from the chief priests and elders, 
 Judas, and the Jews. Bp. Home. 
 
 Of David's patient submission and silence, under the 
 rejjroaches and calumnies of his enemies, we have an 
 instance in 2 .Sam. .\vi. 10 — 12. AVherein also he was 
 an eminent ty])e of Christ, who, " when he was reviled, 
 reviled not again," 1 Pet. ii. 23. Poole. 
 
 ' 1.5. For in thee, O Lord, &c.] This verse assigns 
 the reason why the ill usage which wc receive at the 
 hands of men, should be borne with ])atience and resig- 
 nation ; namely, because, as it is not without the \)er- 
 inission, so neither will it be without the notice, of the 
 Almighty, who will one day take the matter into his 
 own liands. Clirist. saith St. IVtcr, "who did no sin, 
 neither was guile found in his mouth, yet when he was 
 reviled, re\iled not again ; when he suli'crcd, he threat- 
 ened not ; but c(mnnitted himself to him that judgeth 
 righteously," I I'et. ii. 23. Bp. Home. 
 
 "18. For I will confess my wickedness: &c.] Tlie 
 surest way to have our weakness strengthened, and our 
 sin forgii'cn, is to acknowledge and confess both ; and 
 this we need not be ashamed to do. when we consider, 
 that He who is the I-ord strong and mighty, took our 
 infirmities ; and the King of righteousness bare our 
 sins, in his own boily, on the tree. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' I 9. But mine enimirs tire, &c.] These words, joined 
 witli the ]irci'eding, are applicable to the distress of 
 David, and the prosperity of his adversaries; to the 
 sullVrings of Christ, and the trium]ih of the Jews ; to 
 the aHlictions of the Church, and the gaiety of the 
 world ; to the weakness of faith, and the strength of 
 nature, 'i'he result of all is this, that salvation Cometh 
 of God only, and is to be implored in the following
 
 Burial of tli< 
 dead. 
 
 Day 8. 
 
 21 Forsake me not, O Lord my 
 God : be not thou fur from me. 
 
 22 Haste thee to help me : O Lord 
 God of my salvation. 
 
 PSALM xxxixJ Dixi, cusiodiam. 
 
 I Said, I will take liecd^ to my 
 ways : that I oflend not in my 
 tongue. 
 
 2 I will keep my mouth as it were 
 with a bridle : while the ungodly is 
 in my sight. 
 
 3 I held my tongue, and spake 
 nothing : I kept silence, yea, even 
 from good words ; but it was pain 
 and grief to me. 
 
 4 My heart was hot within me% 
 and while I was thus musing tlie fire 
 kindled : and at the last I spake witli 
 my tongue ; 
 
 words, which conclude tlie Psalm : " Forsake me not, 
 O Lord ; U iny God, be not far from me. Make haste 
 to help me, O Lord God of my salvation." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 1' Psalm xxxix.] The prophet, in a state of distress 
 and persecution, determineth, 1 — 4, to be watchful and 
 silent, as our blessed Lord also was. before his enemies. 
 5, He prayeth for a due sense of the shortness of 
 human life ; and after meditating, 6, 7, on that subject, 
 fixeth all his faith and hope in God, 8, whom he en- 
 treateth, but with submission to his will, 9 — II, for the 
 remission of sin, and alleviation of misery. 12, From 
 a view of the human body wearing away by sickness, 
 he breaUeth out, 13—1.5, into a most fervent and affec- 
 tionate prayer, which ought to lie continually in the 
 moutli of the Christian upon eartli. 'I'liis I'salm is, 
 with the utmost propriety, ai)|)(iinted by the Church to 
 be used at the burial of the dead, as a funeral is indeed 
 the best comment upon it. Bp. Home. 
 
 This Psalm was composed, when David was under a 
 severe fit of sickness, as some tliink ; or a great degree 
 of trouble, as others. Dr. Nicliolls. 
 
 ' 1. I said, I will take heed &c.~\ The Psalm begins 
 abruptly with the result of a meditation on the narrow, 
 slip|)ery, and dangerous paths of life ; and more espe- 
 cially on the extreme difficulty of restraining the 
 tongue, amidst the continual tem])tations and provo- 
 cations of the adversary. In these circumstances, 
 "watchfulness" and "silence" are resolved on, as 
 the only means of security. Let us behold the Lamb 
 of God, as our great pattern and examjjle herein. Bj>. 
 Home. 
 
 * 4. My heart was hot within me, &c.] Tlie fire of 
 divine charity, thus pre\'ented from diifusing itself, for 
 the illumination and warmth of those around it, and, 
 like other fire, rendered more intense by its confine- 
 ment, presently ascended, in the (lame of devotion, 
 towards heaven ; while it continued to be fed, and 
 preserved in brightucss and vigour, Ijy meditation on 
 the goodness of God, and the ingratitude of man ; the 
 transient miseries of time, and the durable glories of 
 eternity. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 5. Lord, let me know mine end, &c.j Wearied with 
 the contradiction of sinners, and sickening at the pro- 
 sjject of so much wretchedness in the valley of weejjing, 
 the soul looks forward to her departure from hence, 
 
 THE rSALMS. 
 
 .501 
 
 as .in liand- 
 hreiiilili. 
 Bill. Tram. 
 
 the reproach 
 of tlie foolish. 
 Bib. Trana. 
 
 5 Lord, let me know mine end'', 
 and tlie number of my days : that I 
 may be certified how long 1 have to 
 live. 
 
 6 Behold, thou hast made my days" 
 as it were a span long : and mine 
 age is even as nothing in res|)ect 
 of thee ; and verily every man living 
 is altogether vanity. 
 
 7 For man walketh in a vain 
 shadow^, and disquieteth himself in 
 vain : he heapcth up riches, and can- 
 not tell who shall gather them. 
 
 8 And now. Lord, what is my 
 hope" : truly my hope is even in 
 thee. 
 
 9 Deliver me from all mine of- 
 fences' : and make me not a rebuke 
 unto the foolish. 
 
 10 I became dumbs, and opened 
 
 praying for such a sense of the shortness of human 
 life, as may enable her to bear the sorrows of this 
 world, and excite her to prejiare for the joys of a better. 
 " O faithless and perverse generation," saith even the 
 meek and patient Jesus Himself, "how long shall I be 
 with you, bow long shall I suffer you?" Matt. xvii. 
 17. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. Behold, thou hast made my days &c.] The age of 
 man, or that of the world, is but a " span " in dimen- 
 sion, a moment in duration ; nay, it 
 it is " nothing," if compared with 
 extent, and the unnumbered days, 
 hour, from that of our birth, brings us so much nearer 
 to our death : nor can we continue, for a second of time, 
 in one stay. " Behold," then, O Lord, the "vanity " 
 of man ; and be so merciful unto him, as to o])en his 
 eyes, that he may behold it himself! Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 7. For man walketh in a vain shadow, &c.] This 
 world is, to the other, as a " shadow " to the substance ; 
 nay, temporal life, health, riches, honours, and plea- 
 sures, can hardly be called shadows of those which are 
 eternal, in point of resemblance ; though, for their 
 illusive and fleeting nature, they are shadoH's indeed. 
 The mortal state of man is compounded of light and 
 darkness; seeming to be something, when really it is 
 nothing ; always altering, and ending on a sudden ; 
 nearest to disajipearing, when at full length ; sure to 
 continue no longer than while the sun is above the 
 horizon ; but lialile to vanish at the interposition of a 
 cloud ; and when it is gone, leaving no track behind 
 it. The fate of riches heaped up by misers, with un- 
 utterable care and anxiety, may convince us, how 
 " vainly " men are " disquieted ! " Bj). Home. 
 
 ' 8. And now, Lord, what is my hope: &c.] The soul, 
 that hath a true sense of the vanity of the creature, will 
 at once fix her thoughts and affections on the Creator. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 9. Deliver me from all mine offences : &c.] Affliction 
 hath then had its )n-oper effect, when the sufferer is 
 thereby convinced of sin, and therefore prayeth for a 
 removal of the latter, as the only way to be delivered 
 from the former. The " rejiroaches " of the foolish 
 make no inconsideralile article in the account of a 
 Christian's sufferings ; and our Lord frequently com- 
 plaineth of them, in the Psalms, as one of the bitter 
 ingredients in his own cup. Bp. Home. 
 
 is less than both ; 
 the immeasurable 
 of eternity ; every
 
 502 THE PSALMS. 
 
 mouth : for it was thy 
 
 Remove thy 
 stroke. Sib. 
 Trans. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 correct. 
 £il>. Trans. 
 
 not my 
 doing. 
 
 11 Take thy plague away from 
 me*" : I am even consumed by means 
 of thy heavy hand. 
 
 1-2 When thou with rebukes' dost 
 chasten man for sin, thou makest 
 his beauty to consume away, like 
 as it were a moth fretting a gar- 
 ment : every man therefore is but 
 vanity. 
 
 13 Hear my prayer, O Lord"^, and 
 with thine ears consider my calling : 
 hold not thy peace at m)' tears. 
 
 14 For I am a stranger with thee : 
 and a sojourner, as all my fathers 
 were. 
 
 15 spare me a little', that I may 
 
 f 10. I became dumb, &c.'\ Mliatever materials com- 
 pose the rod of affliction, and from whatsoever quarter 
 the stroke cometh, let us rememher, that the rod is 
 gras])ed, and the stroke is intlicted, by the hand of our 
 hcaxenly Father. To revenge ourselves on the instru- 
 ment is foUy ; to murmur against the agent, is some- 
 thing worse. Bp. Home. 
 
 *• 11. Take thy plague auay from me : &c.] Tlie 
 Christian, who knows from whence his troubles pro- 
 ceed, knows where to apply for relief; and having first 
 "petitioned" for remission of sin, ver. 8, he then 
 liumbly supplicates for a mitigation of his sorrow. 
 " Father," saith the beloved .Son of God, " if thou be 
 willing, remove this cup from me," Luke xxii. 42. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 12. fVhen thou with rebukes &c.] Hie body of a 
 man is as a " garment " to the soul : in this garment sin 
 hath lodged a " moth," which, by degrees, fretteth and 
 weareth away, first, the beauty, then the strength, and 
 finally, the contexture of its parts. Whoever has 
 watched the progress of a consumption, or any other 
 lingering distemper, nay, the slow and silent devasta- 
 tions of time alone, in the human frame, will need no 
 farther illustration of this just anil affecting similitude ; 
 bat will discern at once the ])ro])ricty of the rcUcction, 
 whicli follows upon it : " Siu-cly every man is vanity !" 
 Bp. Horni'. 
 
 '' 13. Hear my prayer, Lord, &c.] Meditation 
 should terminate in devotion ; and meditation on human 
 vanity and misery, if indulged as it deserves to be, 
 certainly will do so ; it will bring vis to oiu" " prayers," 
 our "cries," and our "tears;" and teach us to address 
 the throne of grace, as jioor jiilgriins in a strange 
 land, who have here no abiding city, but are soon to 
 strike our tents, and be gone for e\-er. Such was 
 David, though king of Israel ; and such was the Son 
 of David, in the body of his flesh, though Lord of all 
 things: both were "strangers and sojourners, as all 
 their fathers," Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were before 
 them, and as all their cliildicn have been and shall be 
 after them, upon the earth. B/). Unrne. 
 
 ' !.'■>. O spare me n little, l<cc.^ Most fervently and 
 affectionately, therefore, ought tlie Christian pilgrim to 
 pray, that Cod woidd spare his life, and respite the 
 awful sentenciN until all that hatli been decayed, 
 through the frailty of nature, be renewed by the |)ower 
 of grace; that his jierfect reconciliation with the Al- 
 mighty may be accomplished, and his plenary pardon 
 aealcd in licavcn, before he takelh his last farewell of 
 
 recover my strengtn 
 hence, and be no more seen 
 
 Day 8. 
 before I go 
 
 inclined unto 
 calling. 
 He brought me also out" 
 horrible pit, out of the 
 
 Good Friday, 
 secoTid Psaliu 
 Morn. Serv. 
 
 and 
 
 cry. Bib. 
 
 of the ^■""'• 
 
 PSALM xl." Expectans expectavi. 
 
 I Waited patiently" for the Lord 
 and he inclined unto me. 
 heard my 
 
 o 
 
 " — _-„-j, — „. 
 
 nt, out of the mire and 
 
 clay : and set my feet upon the rock, 
 
 and ordered my goings. 
 
 •3 And he hath put a new song in 
 
 my mouth : even a thanksgiving unto 
 
 our God. 
 
 4 Many shall see it, and fear : and 
 shall put their trust in the Lord. 
 
 5 Blessed is the manP that hath 
 set his hope in the Lord : and turned 
 
 the world, and ceaseth to have an existence in these 
 regions of vanity and sorrow. Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm xl.] It is plain, from ver. 8 — 10, of this 
 Psalm, compared with Heb. x. 5, that the prophet is 
 sjieaking in the character of Christ, who, 1 — 7, cele- 
 brateth the deliverance wrought for his mystical body, 
 the church, by his resurrection from the grave, effect- 
 ing that of his members from the guilt and dominion 
 of sin; for the abolition of which He deelareth, S — 10, 
 the inefficacy of the legal sacrifices, and mentioneth 
 his own inclination to do the will of his Father, and, 
 1 1. — 13, to preach righteousness to the world. 14 — IC, 
 He rcpresentcth Himself as praying, while under his 
 sufferings, for his own and his people's salvation; He 
 foretelleth, 17, 18, the confusion and desolation of his 
 enemies, and, 10, the joy and thankfulness of his dis- 
 ciples and servants ; for the speedy accomplishment 
 of which, 20, 21, He prcferreth a petition. Bp. Home. 
 
 The Sth, 9th, and 10th verses of this Psalm, being 
 quoted in the 10th chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the 
 Hebrews, prove that they are a direct prophecy of Jesus 
 Christ, who only could fulfil the will of God completely, 
 and who came into the world for that very end, as «'ell 
 as to declare his righteousness to the great congregation 
 of the whole world. This application of the Psalm 
 makes it highly suitable to (ioiid Frid.iy. Travel!. 
 
 " I. J waited patiently &c.] In this verse we hear 
 the voice of tlie meek Lamb of tiod.who, though never 
 sorrow was like unto his sorrow, " waited ji.-itiently," 
 till the time apjiointed by the Father came, when that 
 sorrow should be turned into joy. Let not Ills disciples 
 expect to " inherit the jiromises," otherwise than 
 "through faith and ])atience." I''our thousand years, 
 the church, uniler the jiatriarchs, the law, and the pro- 
 phets, waited for the first advent of Messiah ; and, 
 seventeen hundred years, the church, under the Gospel, 
 hath waited for the second. Jehovah, who inclined 
 Himself to the jirayers of the former, will also hear the 
 cries of the latter. Bj). Home. 
 
 " 2. He brought me (il.so out &c.] 'Ilic sufferings, 
 from wliich our Redeemer «-a3 delivered, are here ne- 
 scribeil under the image of a dark subterraneous cavern, 
 from which there was no emerging, and where roaring 
 cataracts of water broke in upon Him, overwhelming 
 Him on every side ; till, as it is expressed in the ISth 
 Psalm, "(ion sent from above, and took him, and drew 
 him out of many waters." lip. Home. 
 
 1' .'■>. Ble.ised is the man he ] He who is sensible how 
 much God hath done, and how little the workl can do
 
 tliey cannot 
 be reckoned 
 up in order 
 unto thee. 
 Bi/: Trans. 
 would. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 I delight. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 preached 
 righteous- 
 ness. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 Day 8. 
 
 not unto the proud, aiul unto such as 
 go about witli lies. 
 
 6 O Lord my God, orreat are the 
 wondrous works i which thou hast 
 done, like as be also thy thoughts 
 which are to us-ward : and yet there 
 is no man that ordereth them unto 
 thee. 
 
 7 If I should declare them, and 
 speak of them : they should be more 
 than I am able to express. 
 
 8 Sacrifice, and meat-offering'^, 
 thou wouldest not : but mine ears 
 hast thou opened. 
 
 9 Burnt-offerings, and sacrifice for 
 sin, hast thou not required : then said 
 I, Lo, I come, 
 
 10 In the volume of the book it is 
 written of me, that I should fulfil 
 thy will, O my God : I am content 
 to do it; yea, thy law is within my 
 heart. 
 
 Ill have declared thy righteous- 
 ness in the great congregation^ : lo. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 503 
 
 for liim, will earnestly and heartily pronounce the 
 blessedness of the man, who relies upon the real jjower 
 and goodness of the former, instead of suffering himself 
 to be decei\'ed by the empty parade, and fallacious pro- 
 mises, of the latter. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 G. O Lord my God, great are the wondrous loorks 
 &c.] The counsels and works of the ever-blessed 
 Trinity, planned and executed for the benefit of man, 
 in his creation and preservation, his redem])tion and 
 sanctification, in order to his resurrection and glorifi- 
 cation, through Christ, already risen and glorified, are 
 subjects which can never be exhausted, by the intel- 
 lectual powers of men or angels ; but will, to both, 
 afford matter of incessant meditation, and endless 
 praise. Yet, how little do we meditate on them ; how 
 seldom, and how coldly, do we praise God for them ! 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 8. Sacrifice, and meat-offering, &c.] lliese words, 
 as the apostle informeth us, Heb. x. 5, are spoken by 
 Christ, in his own person. In them He proclaims the 
 inefiicacy of the legal sacrifices to take away sin, and 
 the divine disapprobation of such sacrifices, when relied 
 on for that purpose. He sets forth his own readiness 
 to do, and to suffer, the will of the Father, im])lied in 
 the Psalm by the words, " mine ears hast thou opened ;" 
 but more plainly expressed in the apostle's citation, by 
 the ])araphrase, " a body hast thou prepared me." He 
 refers to the ])redictions concerning Messiah, in the 
 Scriptures of the Old Testament, which is here styled, 
 "the volume, or roll, of the book." He declares the 
 pleasure He had in doing the Father's will, or in ac- 
 complishing the law ; which had taken possession of all 
 his powers and faculties ; having been admitted by the 
 understanding, retained in the memory, and rendered 
 operative in the will. " I delight to do thy will, O my 
 God ; yea, thy law is within my heart." Bp. Home. 
 
 That this whole passage is an eminent pro])hecy of 
 Christ, appears by the apostle, Heb. x. 5 ; who makes 
 Christ, not David, to be the speaker here : " \\'herefore 
 when he," that is, Christ, " cometh into the world, he 
 saith, Sacrifice, &c. :" so that we may account of it, as 
 
 I will not refrain my lips, O Lord, 
 and that thou knowcst. 
 
 I'i I have not hid thy righteou.s- 
 ness within my heart : my talk hath 
 been of thy truth, and of thy salva- 
 tion. 
 
 13 I have not kept back thy loving 
 mercy and truth : from the great 
 congregation. 
 
 14 Withdraw not thou thy mercy 
 from me, O Lord : let thy loving- 
 kindness and thy truth alway pre- 
 serve me. 
 
 15 For innumerable troubles' are 
 come about me ; my sins have taken 
 such hold upon me that I am not 
 able to look up : yea, they are more 
 in number than the hairs of my head, 
 and my heart hath failed me. 
 
 16 O Lord, let it be thy jileasure 
 to deliver me : make liaste, O Lord, 
 to help me. 
 
 17 Let them be ashamed", and 
 confounded together, that seek after 
 
 I have de- 
 clared tliy 
 fHittifulness, 
 Ilib. Tram. 
 
 the gi'eat signal wonder of mercy, done by God to men, 
 which in the recounting of " God's wonderful works 
 and thoughts to us-ward" He seasonably brings in by 
 the si)iiit of ])rophecy, namely, the birth of the Messiah, 
 and the sacrifice of Himself; wherein so many, even in- 
 numerable and inexpressible mercies were comprised 
 and folded up. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ' 11 — 13. / have declared thy righteousness in the 
 great congregation : &c.] " The great congregation :" 
 that is, the congregation of the universal church, col- 
 lected from the general mass of the whole human race, 
 in opposition to the particular congregation of the 
 Jewish ])eople. Bp. Horsley. As the jireceding verses 
 described the priestly office of oiu' Lord, in the execu- 
 tion of which He offered Himself, and his all-perfect 
 obedience, for us: so, in the passage now before us. He 
 declares Himself to have acted uj) to the prophetical 
 part of his character, by " preaching" the doctrines of 
 truth, righteousness, and salvation, to the peo])le, with- 
 out concealing aught through negligence, fear, or favour. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 15. For innumerable troubles &e.] If these words, 
 as well as the foregoing, are supposed to be spoken by 
 our Lord, (and indeed thei-e doth not ajipear to be any 
 change of person.) they must be uttered by Him, con- 
 sidering Himself (for so the primitive writers suppose 
 Him in the Psalms, frequently to consider Himself) as 
 still suffering in his body mystical, the church ; and la- 
 menting, as head, both the transgressions and the afflic- 
 tions of the members, accomphshing their warfare in 
 the world. Thus much at least we know, that, after his 
 ascension, when the members were persecuted on earth, 
 the head complained from heaven, as sensible of the 
 pain, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 Since " God laid upon him the iniquities of us aU," 
 therefore the Messiah, when He is persecuted in the 
 Psalms, calls those iniquities his own, of which He bore 
 the punishment. Bp. Horsley. 
 
 " 17. Let them be asha/ned, &c.] Tlie shame, confu- 
 sion, and desolation to be brought on the Jews by the
 
 304 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 8. 
 
 my soul to destroy it : let them be 
 shame. Bib. driven baci\\vard, and put to rebuke, 
 
 Trails. il i • I •! 
 
 that wish mc evil. 
 
 18 Let them be desolate, and re- 
 warded with shame, that say unto 
 me, Fie upon thee, fie upon thee. 
 
 19 Let all those that seek thee be 
 joyful and glad in thee : and let such 
 as love thy salvation say alway, The 
 Lord be praised. 
 
 •20 As for me, I am poor'' and 
 needy : but the Lord careth for me. 
 
 21 Thou art my helper and re- 
 deemer : make no long tarrying, O 
 my God. 
 
 deliverer. 
 Bii. Trans. 
 
 B 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xli.^ Beatus qui intelligit. 
 L E S S E D is he that consider- 
 eth ^ the poor and needy : the 
 
 resurrection, exaltation, and power of Him whose lilood 
 they thirsted after, and whom they mocked and insulted 
 when in his last agonies on the cross, are here foretold ; 
 and the prophecy hath been punctually fulfilled. But 
 a more horrible confusion and desolation awaitcth them, 
 and all other impenitent sinners, at the future revelation 
 of the righteous judgment of (iod ; when vengeance 
 must destroy tliose, whom mercy cannot reclaim. And, 
 to this ultimate issue of things, the church directeth her 
 views. Bp. Home. 
 
 • 20. As for me, I am poor &c.] We may apply to 
 this verse the remark of l$p. Horne on the 15th; and 
 consider our Lord " as still suifering in his body mys- 
 tical, the church." t_'ndcr the sense of these sufferings 
 He comforts Himself with the reflection, that Jehovah 
 is not unmindful of llim, and prays that He would not 
 delay to complete the deli\erance and triumjih of the 
 church. Bp. Horsley. 'I'he church, like her Redeemer, 
 is often poor and afflicted in this world, lint .K-bovah 
 thiiiketh u])on her, and is solicitous for her su|)])ort ; 
 she is weak and defenceless, but .tcbovah is her help 
 and her deliverer. With such a Father and sudi a 
 I'riend, poverty beconieth rich, and weakness itself is 
 strong. In the mean time, let us remember, that He 
 who once came in great humility, shall come again in 
 glorious majesty. " Make no tarrying, O oiu- Uod ; 
 hut come, Lord Jesus, come tpiickly," Rev. xxii. 20. 
 Bp. Ilorne. 
 
 ' Psalm xli.] This Psalm, which was comjiosed by 
 David, sets forth the present reward of merciful-minded 
 men in this life; and from thence ascendeth to the 
 assured mercies of (iod to his faithful servants that 
 stanil in need of tliem. Dr. Iliiinmnnd. 
 
 The application made of the yth verse of this Psalm, 
 John xiii. Is, shewelh, that the propliet is speaking in 
 the person of Messiah. 1 — 3, He declareth the blessed- 
 ness of the man that consideretli the poor ; -1, he iirayeth 
 for mercy and favour; 5 — 1), dc'scriheththe beliaviour of 
 liis adversaries, and of one person in particular ; 10, pe- 
 titioneth for deliverance; I], 12, rejoiceth in hope; 
 and, 13, breaketb out into thanksgiving. Bp. Ihirne. 
 
 ' 1. Blessed is lie that consiilireth itc.] As Clhrist 
 considered us, in our statir of ])ov<rty, so ought we most 
 attentively to consider Him, in his; to consider what 
 He suU'ercd in his own person ; to discern Him sufl'er- 
 
 will preserve 
 him. Bit). 
 Tram. 
 
 thou wilt not 
 deliver hint. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 will strength- 
 en. Bib. 
 Tram. 
 thou wilt 
 make. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 he t.ilks de- 
 ceitfully. 
 Bp. Ilurstey. 
 
 Lord shall deliver him in the time of 
 trouble. 
 
 2 The Lord preserve him, and 
 keep him alive, that he may be 
 blessed upon earth : and deliver not 
 thou him into the will of his ene- 
 mies. 
 
 3 The Lord comfort him% when 
 he lieth sick upon his bed : make 
 thou all his bed in his sickness. 
 
 4 I said. Lord, be merciful'' unto 
 me : heal my soul, for 1 have sinned 
 against thee. 
 
 3 Mine enemies speak evil'^ of 
 me : When shall he die, ami his 
 name perish ? 
 
 6 And if he come to see me*", he 
 speaketh vanity : and ids iieart con- 
 ceiveth falsehood within himself, and 
 when he cometh forth he telleth it. 
 
 7 All mine enemies whisper'^ to- 
 
 ing in his poor afflicted members ; and to extend to 
 them the mercy which He extended to us. He, who 
 was "blessed" of Jehovah, and "delivered in the evil 
 day," by a glorious resurrection, wdl " bless" and " de- 
 li\er" in like manner, such as, for his sake, love and 
 relieve their brethren. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. The Lord comfort him, &c.] An e.xemption from 
 sorrow and sickness is not ])romised to the children of 
 God; but strength and comfort are given unto them, 
 from above, to support and carry them through their 
 trials ; and they «ho, in the days of their health, have 
 by their alms given rest to the bodies, or, by their 
 counsels, restored peace to the consciences, of others, 
 shall liave the bed of pain made easy imder them, by 
 the hand of their hea\-enly Father. Bp. Horne. 
 
 *" 4. / said. Lord, be nierciful &:c.] Every son of 
 Adam may, and ought, in these words, to acknowledge 
 his sin, and to entreat for mercy and grace, to heal the 
 disorders of his nature. If we suppo.se Messiah ever to 
 have uttered this verse in his devotions, as we know 
 He a])plied the !)th verse to his own case, it is obvious 
 that He must be understood to confess the sins, not of 
 his own righteous person, but of the nature He had 
 assumed, in order to cleanse and purify it by his suffer- 
 ings. See above, Ps. xl. 15. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. Mine enemies .yienk evil &c.] Here we may un- 
 doubtedly consider the jioor and lowly Jesus, in the 
 day of his humiliation, when He was daily and hourly 
 caUunniated by hi.s adversaries ; when, restless and 
 impatient at heliolding Him still alive, they said, 
 " What do we ? for this man doeth many miracles. If 
 we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him. 
 Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? Pehold, the 
 world is gone after him." .Iiilm xi. -17; xii. 10; and 
 when, grown more furious and clamorous, they cried, 
 " Away with him, away with him, crucify him, crucify 
 him." How many, with the same bitterness of spirit, 
 " S])eak evil" continually of his doctruies, his church, 
 his ordinances, and his ministers; in effect, saying, 
 " When shall he die, and his name perish?" Bp. 
 Horne, 
 
 '' G. And if he come to see me, &c.] Many of the Jews, 
 who visited oiu' Lord, came to Him with insidious de- 
 signs. Bp. Horsleij. Thus the enemies of Christ "sent 
 out spies, who should feign themselves just men, that
 
 Day 8. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 505 
 
 contrive. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 hath lift up 
 his heel 
 HRainst me. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 li-is endea- 
 voured to 
 supplant me. 
 Dr. I^ickulls. 
 
 thou uphold- 
 est me in my 
 integrity. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 gether against mo : even against me 
 do they imagine this cviL 
 
 8 Let the sentence of guiltiness 
 proceed against him : and now that 
 he lieth, let him rise up no more. 
 
 9 Yea, even mine own familiar 
 friend'', whom 1 trusted : who did 
 also eat of my bread, hath laid great 
 wait for me. 
 
 10 But be thou merciful unto me, 
 O Lords : raise thou me up again, 
 and I shall reward them. 
 
 1 1 By this I know thou favourest 
 me '' : that mine enemy doth not 
 triumph against me. 
 
 1*2 And when I am in my health, 
 tliou upholdest me : and shalt set me 
 before thy face for ever. 
 
 they might take hold of his words, that so they might 
 deliver him unto the power and authority of the go^■er- 
 nor," Luke x.y. 20. Thug Judas sat down at the last 
 supper, all the while meditating the destruction of his 
 Master; till at length rising from table, and going 
 abroad, he put his design in execution. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. All mine enemies whisper &c.] The whisperers of 
 the Pharisees, the counsels of the Sanhedrim, and their 
 taunts and scoffs at the blessed Jesus, when on tlie 
 cross " numbered with the transgressors," nor ever 
 e.vpected to " arise" again from the dead, are here most 
 significantly and plainly pointed out. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 9. Yea, even mine own fumiliar friend, &c.] " I 
 speak not of you aU," saith our Lord to his discijjles ; 
 " I know whom I have chosen : but that the Scripture 
 may be fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me, hath 
 bft. up his heel against me," John .xiii. IS. Bp. Home. 
 
 The Psalmist here appears to speak of one ])erson in 
 particular, who professed the greatest kindness for him ; 
 a servant in whom he reposed trust, and who lived by 
 his service; Ahithophel probalily, one of David's coun- 
 sellors, 2 Sam. xvi. 23 ; but who most insidiously and 
 perfidiously set himself against him. And herein was 
 David a type of Christ, betrayed by his own discijile, 
 who was in a special manner intrusted by him. John .\iii. 
 18. Dr. Hammond. Our Saviour Himself has taught 
 us to apply this verse to the traitor Judas. Travell. 
 
 B 10. But be thou merciful unto me, Lord.- &c.] 
 The holy Jesus here maketh bis prayer unto the Father, 
 for the accomplishment of the ])romised resurrection, 
 and foretelleth the righteous judgment that would be 
 executed on his enemies, after their rejection of the 
 gracious offers made them, by the apostles in his name, 
 notwithstanding all that they had said and done against 
 Him. Then the kingdom of God was taken from 
 them, ajid their house was left unto them desolate. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '' IL By this 1 know thou faoouresl me: &c.] The 
 Christian, like his Master, must exjieet sorrow and tri- 
 bulation, but he is not thereby deprived of the "favour" 
 of heaven ; his spiritual enemies, whatever trouble they 
 may give him, yet do not " triumph" over him ; he is 
 preserved in his " integrity," and his reward will be the 
 " vision" of God. For the exaltation, therefore, of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and of all believers, in, by, and 
 through Him, " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from 
 everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm xlii.] David, by Absalom's rebellion, driven 
 
 1.3 Ble.ssed be the Lord God of 
 Israel : world without end. Amen. 
 
 the 
 my 
 
 pantclh after. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 pantetli. Bib. 
 Ti ana. 
 
 PSALM xlii.' Quetnadmodum. 
 
 LI K E as the hart'' desireth 
 water-brooks : so longeth 
 soul after thee, O God. 
 
 2 My soul is athirst for God, yea, 
 even for the living God : when shall 
 I come to ajipear before the presence 
 of God ? 
 
 3 My tears have been my meat' 
 day and night : while they daily 
 .say unto me. Where is now thy 
 God ? 
 
 4 Now when I think thereupon™, 
 I pour out my heart by myself : for 
 I went with the multitude, and 
 
 from Jerusalem to the country beyond Jordan, is there 
 supposed to have indited this Psalm ; which as it is 
 applicable to the case of our Lord, in his state of 
 sojourning and suffering on earth, for our sins ; as also, 
 that of the church under jiersecution, or that of any 
 member thereof, when deprived of the opporttmities of 
 publick worshi]) ; so doth it, in the most beautiful and 
 pathetick strains, describe the vicissitudes of joy and 
 sorrow, of bojie and despondency, which succeed each 
 other in the mind of the Christian pilgriin, while, exiled 
 from the Jerusalem above, he sulfereth affliction and 
 tribulation in this valley of tears. The last is the appli- 
 cation chiefly made in the comment, as it is the most 
 general and useful one ; the others naturally offer them- 
 selves, being coincident with, or subordinate to, it. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ 1. Like as the hart &c.] The thirst, which the 
 " hart" experienced, when chased in sultry weather, 
 over the dusty plains, is here set before us, as a repre- 
 sentation of that ardent desire after the waters of eter- 
 nal comfort, which the temptations, the cares, and the 
 troubles of the world, produce in the believing soul. 
 Happy they who feel this desire, and Hy to the well of 
 life, that it may be satisfied. " Blessed are they that 
 thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled," 
 Matt. V. 6. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. l\Iy tears have been my meat &c.] So long as the 
 soul finds herself absent from him whom she loveth, 
 sorrow is still her portion, as well in the day of worldly 
 ])rosperity, as in the night of adversity. And this sor- 
 row is greatly aggravated by the taunts of the enemy ; 
 who, because the promise is delayed, and she suffereth 
 afiliction in the mean season, ridiculeth and insulteth 
 her faith and hope, as vain and groundless; intimating, 
 that God hath forsaken her, and tempting her to re- 
 nounce her principles. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 4, 5. A'oKi when 1 think thereupon, &c.] As the royal 
 prophet, when driven from Jerusalem by Absalom, was 
 melted into tears at the comparison of his destitute and 
 forlorn situation with his former glory and happiness, 
 when, ujjon some joyous festival, with all his subjects 
 about him, he had attended the service of the taber- 
 nacle, in the city of God ; so the Clu-istian pilgrim can- 
 not I)Ut bewail his exile from the heavenly Jerusalem, 
 out of which sin hath driven him, and doomed him to 
 wander, for a while, in the vale of misery. Led, by 
 rejjentance and faith, to look back to the place from 
 whence he is fallen, he sighs after the unspeakable joys 
 of the celestial Zion; longing to keep a festival, and
 
 506 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 I shall yet 
 praise him, 
 or give him 
 thanks. Biti. 
 Trans, anil 
 ilurg. 
 
 from. B:b. 
 Traiu. 
 
 brought them forth into the house of 
 God; 
 
 5 In the voice of jjraise and 
 tlianksgivings : among sucli as keep 
 hol\'-day. 
 
 6 Why art thou so full of heavi- 
 ness", O my soul : and why art thou 
 so disquieted within me? 
 
 7 Put thy trust in God : for I will 
 yet give him thanks" for the help of 
 his countenance. 
 
 8 JNIy God, my soul is vexed p 
 within me : therefore will I remember 
 thee concerning the land of Jordan, 
 and the little hill of Hermon''. 
 
 9 One deep calleth another % be- 
 cause of the noise of the water-pipes : 
 all thy waves and storms are gone 
 over me. 
 
 10 The Lord hath granted- his 
 loving-kindness in the day-time : 
 and in the night-season did I sing of 
 him, and made my prayer unto tlie 
 God of my life. 
 
 celebrate a jubilee in heaven; to join in the songs of 
 angels, and bear a part in the musick of hallelujahs. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ° G, ". Why art thou so full of heaviness, &c.] Tlie 
 holy mourner now expostulates with his soul for suffer- 
 ing herself to sink into a kind of desijondency, on 
 account of her afflictions, and the insolent triumph of 
 the adversary ; and, as a sovereign cordial for melan- 
 choly, prescribes "faith" in God, which will shew the 
 morning of salvation dawning, after the night of 
 calamity shall have run its course, a night which can- 
 not be long, and may be very short. When the sun 
 arises, we cannot be without light ; when God turns 
 his countenance towards us, we cannot be without 
 " salvation." Bp. Home. 
 
 "7. — 1 will yet give him thnnks] Rather, "I shall 
 yet give him thanks :" that is, notwithstanding my 
 present afflicted state, I shall yet again have cause to 
 give Him thanks for my complete deliverance, and for 
 being still my God. Bp. Ilorsley. 
 
 p 8. My God, my soul is vexed &c.] Tlie soul, 
 althougli exhorted, in the last verse, to " jiut her trust 
 in God," yet, considering her own infirmity, still con- 
 tinneth to be dejected ; the jiropliet, thcn'fore, coni'csseth 
 as much : and maketh his complaint to (iod, from whom 
 alone he expecteth comfort : and whom he did not for- 
 get, while, far from the sanctuary, he wandered up and 
 down in the countn,' beyond Jordan, whither he had 
 tied from the face of .Absalom. This world is, to us, 
 that " country beyond Jordan ;" Lord, make us to 
 " remember" thee, under all the affliction and tribu- 
 lations we meet with therein, until, restored to thy 
 Jerusalem, we shall praise thee in heaven, for the 
 mercies experienced U|)on earth. Bp. Home. 
 
 'I — the lilltc hill (f Hermon.^ Which, notwithstand- 
 ing its height, seems a ])oor despical)le hill, in com- 
 iiarison of Zion, where I use to worship God, and enjoy 
 his s|)ecial presence. Anon. 
 
 ' !). One deep calleth (mother, &c,] The projihet de- 
 scribeth the troubles wliich successively came upon 
 him, by the vengeance of heaven, from above, " raising 
 up evil against him, out of his own house " and king- 
 
 rock. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 Day 8. 
 
 Ill will say unto the God of my unto God my 
 strength', Why hast thou forgotten """'' 
 me : why go I thus heavily, "while 
 the enemy oppresseth me ? 
 
 12 JNIy bones are smitten asunder 
 as with a sword : while mine ene- 
 mies that trouble me cast me in the 
 teeth ; 
 
 13 Namely, while they say daily 
 unto me : Where is now thy God ? 
 
 14 Why art thou so vexed, O my 
 soul : and why art thou so disquieted 
 within me ? 
 
 15 O put thy trust in God 
 I will yet thank him, which is 
 help of my countenance, and 
 God. 
 
 for 
 
 the shall. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 my 
 
 P.S.\LM xUii." Judica me, Dens. 
 
 E sentence with me, O God'^, Judge me. 
 and defend my cause against ^'''' ^™"'' 
 the ungodly jieople : O deliver me 
 from the deceitful and wicked man. 
 ■2 For thou art the God of my 
 
 \J ant 
 
 dom, from beneath, according to the prediction of 
 Nathan, 2 Sara. xii. 11. The ideas seem to be bor- 
 rowed from the general deluge, or from a storm at sea, 
 when, at the " sound " of descending " water-spouts," 
 or torrents of rain, the depths are stirred up, and put 
 into horrible commotion ; the clouds above calling, as 
 it were, to the waters below, and one wave encouraging 
 and exciting another to join their forces, and over- 
 whelm the despairing sufferer. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^\'ater-spouts are observed to be frequent upon the 
 Syrian and Jewish coasts ; and were therefore likely to 
 be alluded to by a Jewish poet. Travell. 
 
 ' 10. The Lord hath granted kc."] The gloomy pros- 
 pect begins again to brighten, by a ray of hojie shoot- 
 ing through it : and the iirojihct returneth to his rest 
 and confidence in the mercy of God, determining, not 
 only to give Hiin thaidis in the day of prosperity, but, 
 as Paul and Silas after«'ards did, to sing his jiraises at 
 midnight, in adversity and atilietion. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 11.7 will say unto the God of my strength, &c.] He 
 vcnturetli notwithstanding, meekly and humbly, u])on 
 the strengtli of the promises, to expostulate with Him, 
 wlio was the " rock " of his salvation, as to his seeming 
 destitution, while continually 0])prcssed and insulted by 
 the cutting reproaches of the adversary. See above, 
 ver. .3. These might be thought to render it in some 
 sort necessary for (iod to arise, and vindicate his own 
 honour, by the jirotection and deliverance of his ser- 
 vant. 'I'he Psalmist concludes with that exhortation to 
 his soul, to trust in God, and to wait for his salvation, 
 which makes the mournful chorus of this beautifid 
 Psalm: "Why art thou east down, () my soul? and 
 why art thou uistpiieted within me ? Hope thou in (iod : 
 for I shall yet jiraise him, who is the health of my 
 countenance, and my God." See above, ver. 0. Bji. 
 Home. 
 
 " PsAi.M xliii.] Tliis Psalm seemeth to be a con- 
 tinuation of the former, written by David in the same 
 circumstances, on the same subject, and closing with 
 the same chorus. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 1. Gire sentence icitli me, O God, &c.] David, in 
 the same situation as before, nppealcth to God, against
 
 Dai/ 9. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 cast down. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 strength, wliy liast tlioii put mc from 
 thee : and wliy g-o I so heavily, while 
 the enemy opjiressetli me ? 
 
 3 O sciiil out thy liulit and thy 
 truth, that they may lead me : and 
 bring me unto thy holy hill, and to 
 thy dwelling. 
 
 4 And that I may go unto the 
 altar ^ of God, even unto the God of 
 my joy and gladness : and upon the 
 harp will I give thanks unto thee, O 
 God, my God. 
 
 5 Wliy art thou so licavy, O my 
 soul : and why art thou so disquieted 
 within me? 
 
 6 O put thy trust in God : for 
 I will yet give him thanks, which is 
 the help of my countenance, and my 
 God. 
 
 w 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xliv.' Deus, auribus. 
 E liave heard with our ears, 
 O God% our fathers have told 
 
 a people who had driven their sovereign from his capital, 
 to wander like a fugitive and vagabond in the remotest 
 parts of his dominions ; against the hypocrisy of Absa- 
 lom, and the ^illany of Ahithophel. The Son of David 
 may be supjiosed to make tlie same appeal against the 
 same nation, for their far more cruel, treacherous, and 
 iniquitous usage of Him, their King and their God. 
 And the words suit the circumstance of an oppressed 
 church, or an injured prince, of all wlio suifer for truth 
 and righteousness' sake, or wlio groan under the tyranny 
 of their spiritual enemies, the world, the flesh, and the 
 devil. Bp. Home. 
 
 y 4. Anil that I may rjo unto the altnr &c.] Tlie royal 
 prophet, u])on his restoration to his throne, was to sacri- 
 fice on the altar of his God, with the voice of thanks- 
 giving, and to celebrate his mighty Deliverer, in a new 
 song, upon the melodious harp. The Christian, in hke 
 manner, foresees a day coming, when sorrow and sigh- 
 ing shall be no more; when he and his brethren are to 
 be "made kings and priests;" when they are to reign 
 with their Redeemer for ever ; and upon their golden 
 harps, timed to an unison with those of angels, to sing 
 his everlasting praises in the courts of the heavenly 
 temple. Tlierefore, " Why art thou cast down, O my 
 soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope 
 thou in God : for I shall yet praise him, who is the 
 health of my countenance, and my God." See above, 
 Ps. xlii. 6. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm xliv.] There is no certainty either concern- 
 ing the author, or the jjarticular occasion of this Psalm. 
 It was evidently composed OTth respect to the calamitous 
 condition of the church and peojile of Israel, whom it 
 supposeth to be in a state of captivity and persecution. 
 But whether it was made by David, who foresaw and 
 foretold by the Spirit of God their future captivity, and 
 formed this for their use in that estate ; or by some 
 other holy man of God, when tliey «'ere actually in this 
 condition ; is not determined, nor necessary to know for 
 the understanding of it. Poole. 
 
 In this Psalm we hear the voice of the church, under 
 
 507 
 
 hast done in their 
 
 us : what thou 
 time of old ; 
 
 2 How thou hast driven out the 
 heathen ^ with thy hand, and planted 
 
 them in : how thou hast destroyed namely, thy 
 
 , . , , •' penp'e Ista'-l. 
 
 the nations, and cast tiiein out. Bp. Patuck. 
 
 3 For they gat not the land'^ in 
 possession through their own sword : 
 neither was it their own arm that 
 helped them ; 
 
 4 But thy right hand, and thine 
 arm, and the light of thy counte- 
 nance : because thou hadst a favour 
 unto them. 
 
 5 Thou art my King, O God : 
 send help unto Jacob. 
 
 6 Through thee will we overthrow 
 our enemies : and in thy Name will 
 we tread them under, that rise up 
 against us. 
 
 7 For I will not trust in mybovV: 
 it is not my sword that shall help me ; 
 
 8 But it is thou that savcst us from 
 our enemies : and puttest them to 
 confusion that hate us. 
 
 persecution; 1 — 4, recounting the mercies of God 
 vouchsafed to his servants of old time ; 5 — fl, declaring 
 her confidence, that she shall experience the same in 
 her ])resent distress, and shall at length overcome 
 through the power of her Redeemer ; for that, notwith- 
 standing her seeming desertion and manifold sufferings, 
 10 — 17, there is still a faithful remnant, 18 — 22, of those 
 who have not bowed the knee to Baal, and who cease 
 not, 23 — 26, to cry unto God for mercy and dehver- 
 ance. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 1. We have heard with our ears, O God, &c.] The 
 works wrought of old, by the arm of Jehovah, for the 
 salvation of his peojile, are recorded by the Spirit in 
 the Scriptures of truth, that " through patience and 
 comfort of those Scriptures," as the apostle expresses 
 it, the church and jieople of God, whensoever opjjressed 
 and attiicted in any age or country, " may have hope," 
 that the same God will exert the same ]iower in their 
 behalf. And great is the light, great is the consolation, 
 which the sacred history, when thus applied, will always 
 afford to the troubled mind. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 2. How thou hast driven out the heathen &c.] If 
 the dispossession of the Canaanites, and the establish- 
 ment of the house of Jacob in their land, furnished the 
 distressed church of Israel with sufficient ground for 
 confidence; how much force hath the argument since 
 received, by the accomplishment of what was then 
 typified ; by the victories of the true Joshua, or Jesus, 
 by the fall of Paganism, and the plantation of the 
 Christian faith in its stead ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. For they gat not the land &c.] As it sufficiently 
 appears, that the settlement of Israel in the promised 
 land was the work of God, from the miraculous fall of 
 Jericho; from the [irolongation of the day, at the word 
 of Joshua ; from the slaughter of the enemy by hail- 
 stones from heaven, &c. &c. ; so was it the iirst thing 
 which an Israelite was in duty bound to acknowledge, 
 if he hoped for more mercies at the hand of God. The 
 Christian, in like manner, begins and ends all his 
 prayers with an humble and thankful acknowledgment
 
 508 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 a reproach. 
 Btb. Trans. 
 
 9 We make our boast of God all 
 day long- : and will praise thy Name 
 for ever. 
 
 10 But now thou art far off% and 
 puttest us to confusion : and goest 
 not forth with our armies. 
 
 1 1 Thou niakest us to turn our 
 backs upon our enemies : so that they 
 which hate us spoil our goods. 
 
 \-2 Thou lettest us be eaten up 
 like sheep : and hast scattered us 
 among the heathen. 
 
 13 Thou sellest thy people for 
 nought'^:and takest no money for 
 them. 
 
 14 Thou makest us to be rebuked 
 of our neighbours : to be laughed to 
 scorn, and had in derision of them 
 that are round about us. 
 
 15 Thou makest us to be a by- 
 word among the heathen : and that 
 the people shake their heads at us. 
 
 16 JNIy confusion is daily before 
 me» : and the shame of my face hath 
 covered me ; 
 
 of the free mercy of God in Jesus Christ; confessing 
 that he "gat not" liis title to salvation, nor should en- 
 ter into the possession of it, by " his own " jjower or 
 merit, but by " the right hand and the arm of his Re- 
 deemer, and the light of his countenance, because he had 
 a favour unto him." Bp. Home. 
 
 '' ". For 1 will not trust in my bow : &c.l In spiritual, 
 as well as temporal warfare, the ap])ointed means are to 
 be used, but not " trusted in ;" man is to fight, but God 
 giveth the victory; and to Him must be ascribed the 
 praise, and the power, and the glory; that, as it is 
 written, " He who glorieth, may glory in the Lord." 
 And thus the (Christian church daily singeth, after the 
 example of her blessed and holy representative, " My 
 soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoiceth in 
 
 Gil 
 
 my 
 
 B/). Home. 
 
 10. Hut now thou art far off, &c.] The church, Iiav- 
 ing declared her confidence, founded on the former 
 mercies of God vouchsafed unto her, proceedeth now to 
 describe her pitiable state under ])ersecution, when the 
 protection of the Almighty seemed, for a season, to be 
 withdrawn, so that she was no longer able to stand 
 before her enemies. Hi'. Home. 
 
 ' 13. Thou sellest thy people for novijht : &c.] The 
 plain meaning of this sentence is, that as things, use- 
 less and burdensome, are not sold for any valuable 
 price, but allowed to be taken away by any that will 
 have them ; so are they dealt with by (iod at this time, 
 not regarded by llim.andso permitted tolie conijuered 
 aiul carried away captive by every one that will assault 
 them. Dr. Hinnniimd. 
 
 * 1(3. My confusion is daily before me :"] A church, 
 as a collective body, may speak in the singular or 
 jilural number, " L" or "we," indiiferently. Bp. 
 Horsley. 
 
 i" 1«. And thour/h nil Itii.s be come upon us, &c.] It is 
 certain that God is provoked by the sins of a church, to 
 let loose the fury of the oppressor U|)on her. 'i'liis is 
 acknowledged by Diinicl in liis prayer, chap, ix ; liy the 
 thiee children in the furnace, Song, ver. 5, G; by the 
 
 Our con- 
 stancy to 
 thee exposes 
 us to con- 
 tinual 
 slaughters. 
 Bp. PaLrick. 
 
 Daij9. 
 
 17 For the voice of the slanderer 
 and blasphemer : for the enemy and 
 avenger. 
 
 18 And though all this be come 
 upon us*", yet do we not forget thee : 
 nor behave ourselves frowardly in thy 
 covenant. 
 
 19 Our heart is not turned back: 
 neither our steps gone out of thy 
 way ; 
 
 20 No, not when thou hast smitten 
 us into the place of dragons : and 
 covered us with the shadow of death. 
 
 21 If we have forgotten the Name 
 of our God', and holden up our hands 
 to any strange god : shall not God 
 search it out ? for he knoweth the 
 very secrets of the heart. 
 
 22 For thy sake also are we killed'' 
 all the day long : and are counted as 
 sheep appointed to be slain. 
 
 23 Up, Lord, why sleepest thou': 
 awake, and be not absent from us for 
 ever. 
 
 24 Wherefore hidest thou thy 
 
 Maccabean martyrs, suffering under Antiochus, 2 Mac. 
 vii. 18; and by Cyprian, and others, in the primitive 
 times. It is not less certain, that no mere man can 
 say, he is free from transgression. The verses, now 
 under consideration, are not, therefore, spoken by the 
 whole church, but by the faithful remnant ; nor do they 
 imply an e.vemption from all sin, but a stedfast perse- 
 verance in the jirofession of God's true religion, from 
 which it is the aim of ])ersecution to seduce, or to force 
 them. The malice of the tormentors is here compared 
 to the venom of " serjients :" and the state of a suft'ering 
 church, to the gloom of" death" itself. Happy the soul, 
 that, in the extremity of afiliction, can, with humble 
 confidence, thus make her appeal to (jod, as having 
 held fast her integrity against idl the efforts made to 
 wrest it front her, and not having sull'ered the blasts of 
 adverse fortune, by wearing out ]iatienee, to part her 
 from the atichor of faith. Bp. Hume. 
 
 '21. If we hareforijotlen the Name of our Goil, &:c.] 
 'i'he consideration, tlisit " (!od is greater than our heart, 
 and knoweth all things," I John iii. 20, o\ight to be 
 strongly impressed upon our minds at all times; but 
 more particularly, when we are tempted by the world 
 (as, one way or other, we all fre(|uently are) to deny our 
 Master, either by word or deed ; and when we have occa- 
 sion to call heaven to witness our uprightness, under 
 such temjitation. Bj). Home. 
 
 ^ 22. For thy sake al.\o are we killed &.C.'] The suffer- 
 ings of the martyrs were a sulRcient jiroof tlinl they had 
 not yielded to the temjitatious of the enemy. St, I'luil, 
 Rom. viii. 30, eiti'Sthis verse as |iredictivc of the perse- 
 cutions then beginning to be raised against the (hris- 
 lians. All may apjily it to themselves, who are in cir- 
 cumstances of the same nature ; and ])ersecntion is 
 generally consistent with itself, contriving, by some 
 means or other, to be riil of those who stand in its way. 
 It is a storm, before which all must either bend, or be 
 liroken. Bp. Home. 
 
 '23. (//), Ijord, uhij sleepest thou: &c.] There is a 
 time, when the triumjihsof the adversary, and theatllic-
 
 Daij 9. 
 
 face : and forgettest our misery and 
 trouble ? 
 
 25 For our soul is brouj^lit low'", 
 even unto tlie dust : our belly cleuveth 
 unto the i>round. 
 
 "26 Arise, and help us : and deliver 
 us for thy mercy's sake. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Christmas- 
 day, seriiiid 
 I's.ihn Morn. 
 Sltv. 
 
 touching the 
 Kiiiji. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 PSALM xlv." Eructavit cor meum. 
 
 heart is inditino^" of a good 
 matter : I speak of the tilings 
 
 M^' 
 
 wliich 1 have made unto the King. 
 
 tions of the church, tempt men to think, that the eye of 
 Providence is closed, or turned away, and that the Al- 
 mighty hath ceased to remember their sad estate. But 
 the truth is, that God only giveth his people an o])por- 
 tunity of feeling their own insufficiency ; and waiteth 
 till, by fervent and importunate prayer, they solicit his 
 help. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■" 25. tor our soul is brought low, &c.] They who 
 are not brought into this state of humiliation by out- 
 ward sufferings, should bring themselves into it by 
 inward mortification and self-denial, by contrition and 
 abasement, if they would put up such prayers, as the 
 Majesty of heaven will deign to accept, and answer; if 
 they would re])eat with our Church, in the spirit of the 
 Litany, the concluding verse of this Psaim, " Arise for 
 our help, and redeem us, for thy mercies' sake." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " Psalm xlv.] The subject matter of this Psalm is, 
 by the consent of both Jewish and Christian, ancient 
 and modern, interpreters, agreed to be the Messiah and 
 his marriage with the churcli of God : of which it treats, 
 either remotely, imder the type of Solomon and his 
 marriage with Pharaoh's daughter, of which it is to be 
 jirimarily and literally understood, and then mediately 
 and ultimately of Christ ; or rather immediately and 
 directly, although the words be so ordered, that they 
 carry a manifest allusion either to that or some other 
 royal marriage. Poole. The truth is, many of the 
 expressions in it are so magnificent, that they can be, 
 but in a very poor and low sense, applied to Solomon 
 and his bride ; and some of them scarce at all. And it 
 is so apparent, that no Christian can deny it, that the 
 mind of the prophet, while he was nTiting some part of 
 this Psalm, was carried quite beyond King Solomon, to 
 the great King, the Lord Christ; or at least he was guided 
 to use words so high, that they proved too big for 
 Solomon : and we must say, as our Saviour doth in 
 another case, " Behold, a greater than Solomon is here." 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 In this Psalm, which is one of those appointed to be 
 used on Christmas-day, the prophet, after, 1, 2, pro- 
 posing his subject, i)roceeds to celebrate King Messiah, 
 3, for his spiritual beauty and eloquence ; 4 — 6, his 
 I)Ower and victories; 7, his throne and sceptre; 8, his 
 righteousness and inauguration ; 9, his royal robes, 
 and glorious palace. 10, The chiu-ch is introduced as 
 his spouse ; her appearance and dress are described ; 
 1 1 — 13, it is foretold, that the nations shall bring their 
 offerings to her; 14 — 16, her attire, her presentation to 
 Christ, with her attendant train, and the universal joy 
 and gladness occasioned by the solemnization of the 
 nuptials, are set forth. 17, The prophet predicteth the 
 fruits of this divine union ; and, 18, the use that should 
 he made of his sacred eiiithalamium by the faithful, 
 from generation to generation. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 1. i1/y heart is iuditing &o.] " The Spirit of the 
 
 pel 
 
 509 
 
 of a 
 
 2 My tongue is the 
 ready writer p. 
 
 .'3 'riiou art fairer i than the chil- 
 dren of men : full of grace are thy 
 lips, because God hath blessed thee 
 for ever. 
 
 4 Gird thee with thy sword' upon 
 thy thigh, O thou most Mighty : 
 according to thy worship and re- 
 nown. 
 
 5 Good luck have thou' with 
 thine honour : ride on, because of 
 
 grace is 
 ])()UrL'il into 
 tliy lips, 
 Di'TelVire. 
 liib. Trans. 
 
 And in tliy 
 majesty ride 
 prospeiously. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 Lord," saith David elsewhere, 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, "spake 
 by me, and his word was in my tongue." In like man- 
 ner, we are to conceive the ])ropliet here to he full of 
 the divine Spirit, which ins[)ired him with " tlie good 
 word," or the glad tidings of salvation. The sacred 
 fire, inclosed in his heart, expanded itself within, till 
 at length it brake forth with impetuosity, to enlighten 
 and to revive mankind with this glorious prediction 
 "touching the King," Messiah; and this was uttered 
 by his tongue, under the guidance of the Spirit, as, in 
 writing, the pen is directed by the hand that holds it. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. My tongue is the pen : of a ready writer?^ That is, 
 " well-instructed :" the word " ready," here used, rightly 
 understood, renders the original ]iroperly : but then it 
 must be understood, not for nimlileness of hand in 
 writing, but readiness of mind in the subject treated. 
 Bp. Horsley. 
 
 1 3. Tliou art fairer &c.] After a short introduction, 
 the i)ro|)het stays not to enter regularly iqjon the sub- 
 ject, in the formal way of narration ; but, as if he saw 
 the divine Person, whom he was about to celebrate, 
 standing before Him, he breaks out in ecstatick admi- 
 ration of the second Adam, so different from all the 
 descendants of the first; compounded of a soul far 
 above all created S])irits, and a body piu-e and i)erfect, 
 and now brighter than the meridian siui ; being in- 
 vested «'ith the unutterable effulgence of the Divine 
 Nature. Xext to the spiritual beauty of Messiah, the 
 prophet is astonished (as those who heard Him speak, 
 in the days of his flesh, afterwards were) at "the 
 gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth," 
 Luke iv. 22 ; through the "grace poured into his lips." 
 Such honey and milk were under his tongue, so delight- 
 ful and salutary was his doctrine, that even his enemies 
 found themselves obliged to confess, " never man spake 
 like this man," John vii. 46. His word instructed 
 the ignorant, resoh'ed the doubtful, comforted the 
 mourners, reclaimed the wicked, silenced his adversa- 
 ries, healed diseases, controlled the elements, and 
 raised the dead. Therefore hath the Father loved, and 
 exalted, and blessed Him for evermore. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. Gird thee with thy sword &c.] The prophet, 
 having described the beauty and the eloquence of the 
 King, proceedeth now to set forth his jxnver, and to 
 arm Him, as a warrior for the battle. The "sword" of 
 Messiah is his word, which, in the language of St. Paul, 
 is said to be " quick, and ]iowerful, and sharper than 
 any two-edged sword ;" and is represented by St. John, 
 as " a sharp two-edged sword," coming out of the mouth 
 of Christ, Heb. iv. 12 ; Rev. i. 16. With this wea]ion He 
 prevailed, and thereby made his "glory and majesty" 
 to be known throughout the world. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. Good luck liave thou &c.] Messiah is in these 
 words magnificently described, as making his progress 
 among the nations, seated in his triumphal chariot.
 
 510 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 9. 
 
 throne. 
 Trans. 
 
 the word of truth, of meekness, and 
 righteousness ; and thy right hand 
 shall teach thee terrible things'. 
 
 6 Thv arrows are very sharp'', and 
 the people shall be subdued unto 
 thee : even in the midst among the 
 King's enemies. 
 
 7 Thy seat, O God ", endureth for 
 ever : the sceptre of thy kingdom is 
 a right sceptre. 
 
 8 Thou hast loved righteousness '', 
 and hated iniquity : wherefore God, 
 even thy God, hath anointed thee 
 with the oil of gladness above thy 
 fellows. 
 
 9 All thy garments smell of 
 
 adorned with all the regal virtues, achieving the most 
 astonishing victories, and, by the irresistible might of 
 his power, subduing idolatry and iniquity, to the faith 
 and temper of the Gospel. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' — thy right hand shall teach thee terrible thivffs.'] 
 That is, thou shalt do great and glorious exjiloits, 
 ^^•llich shall be grievous and terrible to thine enemies, 
 as the next verse explains it ; and that, not by great 
 forces and the assistance of others, but by thine own 
 single power. Corajiare Isa. Ixiii. 3. This doth by no 
 means agree with Solomon, who was not engaged in 
 any martial exploits against his enemies ; hut it doth 
 excellently agree with the Messiah, and ^vith Him only. 
 Poole. 
 
 • 6. Thy arrows are very sharp, &c.] The prophet 
 goes on to represent Messiah as a warrior, completely 
 armed, and skilful in the use of every weapon. Thus 
 a prince is [lourtrayed. Rev. vi. 2 ; "I saw, and behold 
 a white horse : and he that sat on him had a bow ; and 
 a crown was given unto him ; and he went forth con- 
 quering, and to conquer." The conquests of Messiah 
 are either those of his word over sin, or those of his 
 arm over the persecuting powers. Bp. Home. 
 
 » 7. Thy seat. God, &c.] As if it were said, The 
 thrones of earthly princes are, like themselves, brittle 
 and variable, and their government many times drawn 
 aside to protect evil and repress good : but thy throne, 
 ( ) Saviour, is everlasting ; even when heaven shall pass, 
 it shall continue; and thy government can be no other 
 than holy and righteous. Bp. Hall. The buttle being 
 fought, and the victory gained, we are called to the 
 consideration of the " throne" and "sceptre" of King 
 Messiah, whom the prophet addresseth as (iod. His 
 throne is distinguished iroin the thrones of this world, 
 by its endless duration ; liis sce])tre, from the scejitres 
 of earthly potentates, by the unerring rectitude of its 
 administration. Bp. Home. 
 
 It is very evident, that this verse is applicable to no 
 throne and to no .sceirtre, but the throne and sceptre of 
 Messiah ; nor can any other king be addressed hy the 
 title of (jod. Therefore the whole I'salm belongs to 
 Him. Rp. Hor.sley. See IKl). i. 8. 
 
 ' S. 'Jlinii hnst Invcd riijhteousness, &c.] Therefore 
 (lod, even thy (Jod, hatli anointed thee from everlasting, 
 as the King, I'riest, and I'ropbet of thy church, with 
 that heavenly oil, where!)y He hath gladded the hearts 
 of all thy faithful people : and hatli endowed thine 
 assumed humanity with all divine graces, above all 
 mere mankind. Bp. Hall. 'I'he sermons, the example, 
 and, uhove all, the death of Clirist, for the ex|)iation of 
 sin, demonstrated his love of righteousness, and hatred 
 
 myrrh y, aloes, and cassia : out of the 
 ivory palaces, whereby they have 
 made thee glad. 
 
 10 Kings' daughters^ were among 
 thy honourable women : upon thy 
 right hand did stand the queen in a 
 vesture of gold, wrought about with 
 divers colours. 
 
 11 Hearken, O daughter^ and 
 consider, incline thine ear : forget 
 also thine own people, and thy 
 father's house. 
 
 12 So shall the King have pleasure 
 in thy beauty : for he is thy Lord 
 God, and worship thou him. 
 
 13 And the daughter of Tyre* 
 
 in gold of 
 Ophir. Bib. 
 Traits. 
 
 of wickedness ; and, " because he humbled himself, 
 and became obedient even to the death of the cross, 
 therefore God highly exalted him," Phil. ii. S, 9; and 
 He was "anointed" to the kingdom "with the Holy 
 Ghost and with power" immeasurable; to the intent 
 that He might bestow, in due proportion, the gifts of 
 heaven on those whom He is not ashamed to call 
 "friends" and "brethren." And these gifts He did 
 bestow on them, by the emission of the Spirit, soon 
 after his ascension and inauguration. See the apjilica- 
 tion of these last two verses to Christ, Heb. i. 8, 9. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 >■ 9. All thy garments sinell of myrrh, &c.] From the 
 throne, the sceptre, and the inauguration, the jirojihet 
 passes on to the robes and palaces of the King of glory, 
 declaring that as the jierfumed garments of an earthly 
 ])rince scatter through all the royal apartments a grate- 
 ful fragrance, so from the glorious \'estments of our 
 High Priest and King is ditJ'used the sweet savour of 
 his heavenly graces, filling those happy regions of joy 
 and gladness, where He keeps his residence above, and, 
 by the communication of the Spirit, refreshing the 
 faithful on earth with their odom-s. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. Kings' daughters &e.] Such being the divine 
 beauty, and heavenly glory, of the blessed Person, whose 
 nuptials the projihet is now ])roceeding to describe, it is 
 no wonder tluit, upon hearing of liis fame, innmneralile 
 converts, forsaking the vanities even of courts and 
 kingdoms, should follow Him, amliitious to have the 
 honour of composing his train; which in reality was 
 the case, njion the pulilication of the Gospel. And, lo, 
 at "the right hand" of the King, followed by this mag- 
 nificent jirocession, appears the church, the s])ouse of 
 the Lamb, arrayed in the garments of righteousness and 
 salvation, fitly coni]>ared for their inestimable value, 
 and radiant brightness, to the "gold of Ophh." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ■ 11. Hearken, daughter, &c.] Tliis seemcth to l)e 
 the voice of God, addressing the church to the follow- 
 ing eifect : () thou whom I lia\-e begotten luito a lively 
 hope, by the resurrection of .lesns irom the dead, and 
 whom 1 have called out, of the world, to become "the 
 l^amb's wife," hearken diligently to my voice, consider 
 attentively what I siiy, ami he obedit'ut to my direction : 
 thou art now entering into a new state; let old things 
 pass away ; regard no more thy conticxions with earth ; 
 but let the love, and, if possible, the very memory, of 
 thy former condition be ohliterated from (hy mmd ; 
 let all things belonging to tlie flesh die in thee: then 
 shalt thou he truly acceptable and dear in his sight, 
 who, having purchased and betrothed Ihee to Himself,
 
 Day 9. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 ill 
 
 even the rich 
 anuui[< the 
 jieiiijle shall 
 illlrt'at thy 
 f.tvmir. Jii!}. 
 Trans. 
 
 shall be there witli a gift : like as the 
 rich also among the jseople shall 
 make their siip|ilicati()ii before thee. 
 
 14 The King's (laughter "^ is all 
 glorious witliiii : her clothing is of 
 wrought gold. 
 
 15 She shall be brought unto the 
 King'* in raiment of neeille-vvork : 
 the virgins that be her fellows shall 
 bear her company, and shall be 
 brought unto thee. 
 
 16 With joy and gladness^ shall 
 they be brought : and shall enter 
 into the King's palace. 
 
 17 Instead of thy fathers' thou 
 shalt have children : whom thou 
 mayest make princes in all lands. 
 
 justly claims thy whole heart, thy undivided love, and 
 thy unlimited service and adoration. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 13. And the daughter of Tyre &c.] The accession 
 of the Gentiles, with their offerings and donations, to 
 the church, is here jjredicted under the name of " TjTe," 
 a city in the neighhourhood of Palestine, formerly the 
 glory of the nations, and mart of the world. See Isa. 
 Iv. and Rev. xxi. B/;. Home. 
 
 "= 14. The King's daughter &c.] The church, in dif- 
 ferent respects, is sometimes called the spouse, some- 
 times the sister, and often, as here, the " daughter," 
 of tlie heavenly King; the connexion formed between 
 them, uniting in itself every relation, and every affec- 
 tion. Her beauty, so greatly desired and delighted in 
 by Messiah, is spiritual ; it is the beauty of holiness ; 
 and her clothing is " the righteousness of saints :" 
 1 Pet. iii. 3 ; Rev. xix. 8. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 15. She shall be brought unto the King &c.] The 
 different graces of the faithful, all wrought in them by 
 the same Spirit, compose that divine "embroidery" 
 which adorns the wedding-garment of the church, who 
 is therein presented to the King, attended by her bride- 
 maids, after the nuptial manner. These are either the 
 single churches, or holy souls, that accede to and ac- 
 company the spouse ; unless we suppose, as some do, 
 that the bride is the Israelitish church, and then the 
 attendants will represent the Gentiles. Bp. Home. 
 
 '16. IVith joy nnd gladness Sic.^ The solemnization 
 of this marriage between Christ and the church pro- 
 duceth a jubilee upon earth, and causeth the streets of 
 the hea\'enly Jerusalem to resound with hallelujahs. 
 For this the angels tune their golden harps, while pro- 
 phets, ajjostles, martyrs, and saints, fill up the univer- 
 sal chorus of " Blessing, and honour, and glory, and 
 power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
 unto the Lamb, for ever and ever." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 17. Instead of thy fathers S;c.] In this verse the 
 prophet foretelleth the fruit that should spring from the 
 glorious nuptials which he hath been celebrating. He 
 assureth the sjiouse, that instead of her earthly kindred, 
 whether Jewish or Pagan, which she was to leave for 
 Christ, should arise an illustrious and royal ])rogeny of 
 believers, out of whom were to be chosen Christian 
 kings to govern the world, and Cliristian bishops to 
 preside in the church. The exjiression, " whom thou 
 mayest make princes," may answer to that in the 
 Revelation, i. G, " And hath made us kings and priests 
 unto God and his Father." Bp. Home. 
 
 K 18. / will remember thy Name &c.] O my God and 
 
 18 I will remember thy NamcR 
 from one generation to another : 
 therefore shall the people give thanks 
 unto thee, world without end. 
 
 PSALM xlvi.'' Deus noster refugium. 
 
 GO D is our hope and strength : 
 a very present help in trouble. 
 '2 Therefore will we not fear', 
 though the earth be moved : and 
 though the hills be carried into the 
 midst of the sea. 
 
 3 Though the waters thereof rage 
 and swell : and though the moun- 
 tains shake at the tempest of the 
 same. 
 
 4 The rivers of the flood thereof' 
 
 streams whereof shall make glad the city of God 
 
 I will make 
 tliy name to 
 be remem- 
 liered. Bill. 
 'J'riitiK. 
 [)rai>e thee 
 lor ever and 
 ever. Ihb. 
 Ti arts. 
 Sec Vocab. 
 
 There is a, 
 river, the 
 , Bib. Trans. 
 
 Saviour, I, who by thy gracious inspiration have made 
 this bridal song unto thee, will celebrate and praise thy 
 blessed name to all generations, and will stir up thy 
 people to bless and praise thee for ever and ever. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 By inditing this divine marriage-song, appointed to 
 be sung in the congregation of the faithful, from age to 
 age, the Psalmist hath been, as he foresaw he should be, 
 the blessed means of celebrating his Redeemer's name, 
 and inciting the nations of the world to do likewise; 
 nor will he cease to be so, while the forty-fifth Psalm 
 continues to be sung in the church upon earth ; that is, 
 while there rcmaineth a church upon earth to sing in. 
 And we, who now do sing it, are witnesses of these 
 things. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■■ Psalm xlvi.] The church, in time of trouble, de- 
 clares, 1, her trust and confidence to be in God, and 
 doubts not, 2, 3, of being preserved safe, Ijy means of 
 this anchor, in the most stormy seasons ; even then, 4, 
 5, enjoying the comforts of the Spirit, and the presence 
 of Christ in the midst of her. She descriljes, (i, and, 7, 
 exults in, the power and might of her victorious Lord; 
 8, 9, calling the world to view and consider his wonder- 
 fid works. 10, He Himself is introduced, as speaking 
 the nations into peace and obedience. She concludes 
 with a repetition of ver. 7, in the way of chorus. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 It is not known to what time this Psalm belongs, nor 
 who was the author of it. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' 2. TIterefore icill ive not fear, &c.] The church de- 
 clares herfuU and firm confidence in God, as her refuge 
 and strength, amidst all the tumults and confusions of 
 the world, the raging of nations, and the fall of empires. 
 Nay, at that last great and terrible day, when sea and 
 land are to be confounded, and every mountain and 
 hill removed for ever ; when there is to be " distress of 
 nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roar- 
 ing ;" even then the righteous shall have no cause to 
 "fear," but rather to "hft up their heads" with joy 
 and triumjih, because then it is, that their " redemption 
 draweth nigh." Let us set that day before us, and try 
 ourselves by that test. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■> 4, 5. The rivers of the flood thereof See.'] As if it 
 were said. Let the sea of this world roar and be ever 
 so unquiet, tlie holy city Jerusalem, the type of God's 
 church, hath a little river, even Gihon or Kidron, 
 whose calm and gentle streams shall abundantly refresh 
 it ; and the mystical Jerusalem hath both the waters of 
 life, the word of the everlasting God, to comfort and
 
 512 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 cutteth. 
 Dib. Trans. 
 
 shall make glad tlie city of God : the 
 holy place of the tabernacle of the 
 most Highest. 
 
 5 God is in the midst of her, 
 therefore shall she not be removed : 
 God shall help her, and that right 
 early. 
 
 6 The heathen make much ado, 
 and the kingdoms are moved : but 
 God hath shewed his voice, and the 
 earth shall melt away. 
 
 7 The Lord of hosts is with us : 
 the God of Jacob is our refuge. 
 
 8 O come hither, and behold' the 
 works of the Lord : what destruction 
 he hath I)rought upon the earth. 
 
 9 He niaketh wars to cease in all 
 the world : he breaketh the bow, and 
 knapjieth the sjjcar in sunder, and 
 burneth the chariots in the fire. 
 
 10 Be still then, and know™ that 
 
 satisfy it here ; and those living waters of life eternal in 
 the ])aradise of God, to make it everlastingly hai)i)y. 
 Bp. Hall. 
 
 Such is the ground on which the church erects her 
 confidence. Instead of those waters which overwhelm 
 the world, she has witliin herself the fountain of con- 
 solation, sending forth rivers of spiritual joy and jilea- 
 siu'e ; and in the jilace of secular instahility, she is 
 possessed of a city and a hill which stand fast for ever, 
 being the residence of the Kternal, who at the dawn of 
 the last morning, will finally appear as the protector 
 and avenger of Israel. Bp. liornc 
 
 ' S. come hither, and behold &c.] The church 
 here proposes to us the noblest sulijects for rontem- 
 jjlation ; namely, the glorious victories of our Lord, 
 jjartly gained akeady, and jiartly to be gained hereafter, 
 in order to the final estahlishment of universal jieace, 
 righteousness, and bhss, in his heavenly kingdom. 
 'I'hen the mighty shaU he fallen, and the wca])ons of 
 war perished, for ever. Hasten, () Lord, that blessed 
 day : but first prepare us for it. B/>. Home. 
 
 "' 10. Be s/ill then, and know Ike.'] In this verse 
 there is a change of person, and Jehovah Himself is 
 introduced, as oouunanding the world to cease its 
 opposition, to own )iis |iower, and to acknowledge his 
 sovereignty over all the kingdoms of the nations. Let 
 our rehellious passions hear this divine edict, tremhle, 
 and obey. Bp Home. 
 
 " 11. The Lord of hosts is U'ilh ns : &c.] To "the 
 Lord of hosts " all creatures in lieaven and earth are 
 Buhject : in " the God of .lacoh " the church acknow- 
 ledges the Saviour of his cliosen. if this person he 
 Immanvei,, (jod WITH us, of whom can we be afraid i 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm xlvii.] In this I'salni. appointed by the 
 church to he used on Ascension-day, the propliet, 1, 
 calls the nations to celehrate so glorious a festival; and 
 that, on account, 2, of ( hrist's ]i()wer, and the mighti- 
 ness of his kingdom ; 3, of his victories aiul trium|)hs, 
 tlirough the (iosjiel ; -I, of the inlieritancc jireparcd for 
 his chosen, in the heavenly Canaan, hy his own ascen- 
 sion thither; which, .O, is described under images 
 borrowed from the ascent of the ark into the holy city 
 and tcmjile; an occa-iion on which the I'salm was 
 [irohably comi)03cd. 0, 7, He again and again exhorts 
 
 Dai/ 9. 
 
 I will be exalted among 
 and I will be exalted in 
 
 I am God : 
 the heathen 
 the earth. 
 
 1 1 The Lord of hosts is with us 
 the God of Jacob is our refusje. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xlvii." Omnes gentes,plaudite. 
 
 OClap your hands p together, all 
 ye people : O sing unto God 
 with the voice of melody. 
 
 2 For the Lord is high'', and to 
 be feared : he is the great King upon 
 all the earth. 
 
 3 He shall subdue'' the people 
 under us : and the nations under our 
 feet. 
 
 4 He shall choose out an heri- 
 tage* for us : even the worship of 
 Jacob, whom he loved. 
 
 Ascension- 
 d.iy, second 
 Psalm Morn. 
 Serv. 
 
 of triumph. 
 Bill. Trans. 
 
 the excel- 
 lency of Ja- 
 cob. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 all people to sing the praises of their God and King, 
 and to sing with the understanding, as well as with 
 the \-oice. 8, 9, The Psalm concludes with predicting 
 the establishment of Christ's kingdom, and the con- 
 version of the Gentile kings and nations to the faith. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 There is no doubt hut that this Psalm was com))Osed 
 on some occasion of the ark being removed to its proper 
 resting place, either by David, '2 Sam.vi. 5, and 14, 15; 
 or by Solomon, 2 Chron. v. 2. 12, 13. And the ark 
 being a figure of Christ, as its dwelling ])lace was of 
 the heavens, the removal of it may be looked u])oii as a 
 figure of Christ's ascension to the high ami holy place, 
 where He is now at God's right hand in the heavens. 
 And with relation to this alone the ancient fathers ex- 
 pound the Psalm. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 p 1 . O clop your hands &c.] The prophet invites all 
 nations to celebrate the festival of Messiali's exaltation, 
 because all nations had a share in the benefits and 
 blessings of that glorious day. God is to he wor- 
 shi])ped with liodily, as well as s|)iritnal worship : every 
 " haiul " should be lifted u]) to Him who formed it, and 
 every "mouth" should praise Him who giveth breath 
 for that purjiose. Bp. Home. 
 
 'I 2. For the Lord is hiyh, &c.] The church celebrates 
 the ascension of Christ, because then He was "highly 
 exalted;" then He became "terrible " to his enemies, 
 all power in heaven and in earth being committed to 
 Him; and then He began to dis])lay the excellent 
 majesty of his universal kingdom, to which He was 
 then inaugurated, being crowned " King of kings, and 
 Lord of lords." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. He shall subdue &c.] The conscfuwnce of our 
 Lord's ascension was the g<iing forth of the all-sididning 
 word, imder the influence and direction of which, the 
 conviiu'cd and converted nations rcnonnceil their idols 
 ami their lusts, and bowed their willing necks to the 
 yoke of .lesus. This is that great concpiest, foreshewed 
 by the victories of Joshua, David, aiui all the faithful 
 heroes of old time, and foretold in language borrowed 
 from their histories. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. He shall choose out an heritage &c.] 'I'he land of 
 Canaan, emphiilically styled, "that good laml, and the 
 glory of all lands," was tlie " excellent inheritance" 
 chosen for the sous of Jacob, and consigned to them.
 
 Day 9. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 )]:J 
 
 with a sliout. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 5 God is gone up'*vith a merry 
 noise : and the Lord with the sound 
 of the trump. 
 
 6 O sing praises", sing praises 
 unto our God : O sing praises, sing 
 praises unto our King. 
 
 7 For God is the King of all tlie 
 earth : sing ye praises with under- 
 standing. 
 
 8 God reigneth over the lieatlien'' : 
 God sitteth upon his holy seat. 
 
 9 Tlie princes of the people ^ are 
 
 upon the expulsion of the idolatrous nations. But 
 from that inheritance Israel also hath long since been 
 expelled ; and Christians by these words are taught to 
 look to "an inheritance eternal, and incorruptible, and 
 that fadeth not away;" to those happy and enduring 
 mansions which the Son of God is gone to prepare 
 for them that love Him, and are beloved of Him. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '5. God is goire vp kc.'] Literally, if applied to the 
 ark, as Bishop Patrick paraphrases the verse, " God is 
 gone up by the special token of his presence, into that 
 holy place, with shouts of joy and praise; the Lord is 
 gone u]) in a triumphant pomp, with the sound of the 
 trumpet, and all other instruments of musick." .See 
 2 Sara. vi. 5. 15; 2 Chron. v. 2. 12, &c. Ps. cxxxii. 
 8, 9. But spiritually, as applied now by the Christian 
 chiu-ch, to the ascension of Christ into heaven, pre- 
 figured by that of the ark into the temjile; God in- 
 carnate is gone up into that holy place, not made with 
 hands ; the everlasting doors of heaven are opened, 
 for the King of glory to enter, and re-possess his 
 ancient throne ; there He is received by the united 
 acclamations of the celestial armies, by that " shout," 
 that voice of the archangel, and that " trum]) of God," 
 which are to sound again, in the day when He shall 
 " so come, in like manner, as he went into heaven." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 "6.0 sing praises, &c.] It was customaiy to go out 
 to meet kings and conquerors with songs and dances. 
 So Miriam met Moses ; the Jewish women, Saul and 
 David. Bp. Horsley. Who can contemplate the glori- 
 ous triumph of human nature over its enemies, in the 
 person of our King, risen and ascended, without find- 
 ing himself constrained to break forth into joy, and to 
 sing, with a thankful heart, and an elevated voice, the 
 ])raises due unto his holy name ! These dn'ine hymns 
 were designed for that purpose. Let us therefore sing 
 them, and let us sing them " with understanding ;" 
 considering by whom they were indited, and of whom 
 they treat ; reflecting, that the eternal Spirit is their 
 author, and their subject the blessed Jesus. Bp. Home. 
 
 "8. God reigneth over the heathen : &.c.^ We are never 
 suffered to forget, that the end of Messiah's exaltation 
 to the right hand of the majesty in the heavens was the 
 conversion and salvation of the world ; so continually 
 do the prophets and apostles delight to dwell uiion 
 that most interesting topick, the conversion of the 
 " nations" to the Gosjiel of Christ. Why do we vainly 
 fancy, that we belong to Him, unless his Spirit "reign" 
 in our hearts by faith ? Bp. Home. 
 
 y 9. The princes of the people &c.] That is, the chiefs 
 of the heathen nations shall be joined with the Jews, 
 so as to partake of the privileges and blessings, granted 
 by God to Abraham. Dr. Nicholls. This verse plainly 
 describeth the kings of the (jentiles as acceding to the 
 chm-ch ; as becoming, with their subjects, through faith. 
 
 joined unto the people of the God of 
 Ahraham : for God, which is very 
 high exalted, doth defend the earth, 
 as it were with a shield. 
 
 PSALM xlviii.' Magnus Dominus. 
 
 GREAT is the Lord% 
 highly to be jiraised 
 city of our God, even u])on 
 hill. 
 
 2 The liill of Sion is a fair place '', 
 and the joy of the whole earth : upon 
 
 and 
 : in the 
 liis lioly 
 
 Wliit-Sun 
 day. lirst 
 I'salm Morn. 
 Serv. 
 
 " the people of the God of .Abraham," and a part of the 
 sacred iieculium ; as submitting to God in Christ that 
 power with which they were invested, as " shields of 
 the earth," or protectors of their several kingdoms; 
 and as bowing their sceptres to the cross of Jesus. 
 The sense of the verse, ex])ressed in New Testament 
 language, would be, " the kingdoms of this world are 
 become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and 
 he shall reign for ever and ever." So let every nation 
 be converted unto thee, O Lord ! and every king be- 
 come thy son and servant; until all the world shall 
 worship thee, sing of thee, and praise thy name ! Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' Psalm xlviii.] This is a hymn in honour of Jeru- 
 salem, as particularly chosen for the place of God's 
 worshij), and so defended by his more immediate care 
 from all hostilities of in\-ading enemies : a cheerful form 
 of singing lauds to God, particularly for that mercy of 
 permitting men to meet in his solemn service, and so, 
 in the mystical sense, an acknowledgment of his glo- 
 rious mercies afforded to the church of Christians 
 under the Gospel. It seems to have been composed 
 after some signal defeat of an invading army. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 This Psalm is one of those which by our Church are 
 appointed to be used on Whit-Sunday, because under 
 images taken from the earthly city Jerusalem, newly 
 rescued from her enemies by Him who resided in the 
 material temple on mount Zion, are celebrated, 1, 2, 
 the glory, the beauty, and the strength of the church 
 Christian, that city and tem])le of Messiah ; who, 3 — 0, 
 is described as breaking in pieces, and bringing to no- 
 thing, the opposition formed against her by the heathen 
 kings and emperors; on which account, 7 — 10, she 
 expresseth her gi-atitude and joy; 11 — 13, exhorting 
 her ])eoi)le to contemplate, and transmit to posterity, 
 an account of those wonderful works of God, the esta- 
 blishment and preservation of his church in the world ; 
 for which she wishes all generations, after her example, 
 to adore and praise his holy name, for ever and ever. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' I. Great is the Lord, &c.] Tlie prophet preparing 
 to celebrate the beauty and magnificence of the cliurch, 
 begins with setting forth the praises of her great Foun- 
 der; whose wisdom, mercy, and power, as they are 
 conspicuous in all his works, so, more especially, in 
 this, the chief and crown of all : for which, his name 
 can never be sufficiently extolled by the inhabitants of 
 the new Jerusalem ; and by them it ought to be ex- 
 tolled for ever and ever. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 2. The hill of Sion is a fair place, &c.] How fair 
 and beautiful is the holy and heavenly Sion, or the 
 Christian church ! how truly is she " the joy of the 
 whole earth," by the glad tidings which her ministers 
 continually publish ! how properly is this Jerusalem 
 styled " the city of the great King ! " Bp. Home. 
 
 ■2 L
 
 514 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 9. 
 
 were assem- 
 bled, they 
 passed by 
 together. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 they were 
 troubled, atid 
 hasted away. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 "We have 
 tlioUKht of. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 the nortli-side lietli the city of the 
 great King ; God is well known in 
 her palaces as a sure refuge. 
 
 3 For !o, the kings of the earth'' : 
 are gathered, and gone by together. 
 
 4 They marvelled'' to see such 
 things : they were astonished, and 
 suddenly cast down. 
 
 5 Fear came there upon them, 
 and sorrow : as upon a woman in lier 
 travail. 
 
 6 Thou shalt break the ships' of 
 the sea : through the east-wind. 
 
 7 Like as we have heard f, so have 
 we seen in the city of the Lord of 
 hosts, in the city of our God : God 
 upholdeth the same for ever. 
 
 8 We wait for thy loving-kind- 
 ness s, O God : in the midst of thy 
 temple. 
 
 9 O God, according to thy Name ^, 
 
 ' 3. For lo, the kinr/s of the earth : &c.] Never were 
 the power and malice of earthly princes more violently 
 hent to hinder the building of Jerusalem, or to pull 
 down what was already built, than they were to [irevent 
 the edification of the church, and to root up its foun- 
 dations. But the event, with regard to the latter, was 
 the same which had often happened in the case of the 
 former, Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 4, They marvelled &c.] Tlie potentates of tiie world 
 saw the miracles of the apostles, the coiu'age and con- 
 stancy of the martjTs, and the daily increase of tlie 
 church, notwithstanding all their jiersecutions ; they 
 beheld with astonishment the rapid progress of the 
 faith through the Roman empire ; they called U]]on 
 their gods, but their gods could not help themselves ; 
 idolatry expired at the foot of the victorious cross, and 
 the power which supported it became Cliristian. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 6. Thou shalt breafc the ships &c,] As a navy by 
 sea is dispersed by a furious east wind, so didst thou, 
 O Lord, scatter and discomfit those mighty enemies, 
 that came uj) against Jerusalem. Bp. Hall. In the fore- 
 going verse the consternation amongst the enemies of 
 the cliurch was comjiared to the horrors of a travailing 
 woman : here it is likened to the ap[)rehensious of 
 despairing mariners. \or indeed can any thing in 
 nature more fitly re])resent the overthrow of licathcnism 
 by the spirit of the Gosi)el, than the wreck of a fleet of 
 ships in a storm at sea, Hoth are effected by the mighty 
 power of (jod. Illustrations of this kind are some- 
 times introduced by the sacred writers with the mark 
 of comjiarison ; and frequently, as here, without it, 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7- Like as we have heard, &c.] 'Hie church heard, 
 by the |>roi)hets, of the future birth, life, death, resur- 
 rection, and ascension of Messiah : of tlic efl'usion of 
 the Spirit, and her own enlargement, estaldishment, and 
 preservation, in the (ientile world, 'i'be.se predictions, 
 which slie bad so often " heard," she hath " seen" ac- 
 complished even imto this day ; and therefore doulits 
 not of (jod's continuing liis favour and ju-otection to 
 the end of time. Bp. IJorjie. 
 
 ' 8. IVe wait for thy lomn(j-kindne<is, &c.] Contem- 
 plation of all tlie wondrous works, which the Lord our 
 Uod liath wrought fur us, jiroduces faith in his promises, 
 
 so is thy praii»e unto the world's end : 
 thy right hand is full of righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 10 Let the mount Sion rejoice', 
 and the daughter of Judah be glad : 
 because of thy judgements. 
 
 11 Walk about Sion'', and go 
 round about her : and tell the towers 
 thereof. 
 
 12 Mark well her bulwarks, set consider her 
 up her houses : that ye may tell them S>an"' ^'''' 
 that come after. 
 
 13 For this God is our God' for 
 ever and ever : he shall be our guide 
 unto death. 
 
 PSALM xlix." Audite htec, omnes. 
 
 OHear ye this, all ye people" : 
 ponder it with your ears, all ye 
 that dwell in the world ; 
 
 and resignation to his will ; and he, that, with these 
 dispositions, waits for God's mercies, in God's house, 
 shall not wait in vain. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 9. O God, according to thy Name, &c.] For this 
 and such like glorious actions thou art ]iraised and 
 acknowledged, and evidently proved to be sucli an one, 
 as thou hast afiu'med thyself to be in thy word, " God 
 Almighty" or " All-sufficient," " the Lord of Hosts," 
 " the King of thy church and people," " a strong tower 
 to all that trust in thee," and all other things which 
 thou art called in Scriptiu-e. " Thy name" is not an 
 empty title ; but is filled up with honourable and 
 praiseworthy works answerable to it. Poole. 
 
 ' 10. Let the mount Sion rejoice, &c.] Tlie church 
 and all her children are exhorted to rejoice, with joy 
 unsjjeakable and fidl of glory, on account of the mani- 
 festation of di^■ine (jower, on her behalf, against her 
 enemies, 'llius at tlie fall of the mystic Babylon, it is 
 said, " Rejoice over her, thou bea\en, and ye holy apos- 
 tles and pro[)hcts, for God hath avenged you on her," 
 Rev. xviii. 20. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■' 11. Walk about A'ioii, &c.] Look well, O ye be- 
 holders, u])on the many and goodly towers of Jerusa- 
 lem, ujion her strong foundations, upon her fair jialaees : 
 and, as (hereby you shall be excited to jiraise God for 
 the deliveranct! of so noble and beautiful a ]nle, so take 
 occasion tlicreby to think of the sjilendour and glory 
 of that heavenly Jerusalem which is above. Bp. Hall. 
 C'bri.stians are here enjoined to contemplate, again and 
 again, continually, the fabrick of the spiritual Jerusalem, 
 wonderfully raised, and as wonderfully ])rescrved ; to 
 consider attentively tlie jiarts designed for use, for 
 strength, for ornament ; that they may be able to 
 instruct posterity in the nature and history of this holy 
 building, and in their duty of forwarding and defending 
 the same, from geueratiou to generation. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' in. For this (l(jd is our God &c.] Let the world 
 worship whom or wliat it will, we worship none other 
 but Ilim, who by bis Spirit founded, and liy his ])ower 
 preseri-etb, the church ; who liy that Spirit " guidetli" 
 us through life, and by that power will enable us to 
 overcome " death ;" that so we may rejoice and triumph 
 for evermore, as citizens of the city of God, and subjects 
 of the King of glory, liji. Home. 
 
 '" I'sALM xlix.] The author of this Pealm ia not
 
 Day 9. 
 
 Q 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 rich and poor : 
 
 Jl5 
 
 tliemedita- 
 ttuii of my 
 heart shall be 
 of under- 
 standing. 
 Bib, Trans, 
 
 evil. Bit. 
 Trans. 
 of those that 
 lie ill wait Inr 
 me, or endea- 
 vour to sup- 
 plant me. 
 Bp. Lowth. 
 Bp. Hume, 
 
 High and low- 
 one with another. 
 
 3 My mouth shall speak of wi.s- 
 dom : and my heart shall muse of 
 understandin<j. 
 
 4 I will incline mine ear" to the 
 parable : and shew my dark speech 
 upon the harp. 
 
 5 Wherefore should I fear? in the 
 days of wickedness : and when the 
 wickedness of my heels compasseth 
 me round about ? 
 
 6 There be some that put their 
 trust ill their goods : and boast them- 
 selves in the multitude of their riches. 
 
 7 But no man may deliver his bro- 
 ther'' : nor make agreement unto God 
 for him ; 
 
 8 For it cost more to redeem their 
 
 known, nor the particular occasion of it. It seems to 
 have been penned, like the 39tli and 73rd, on the con- 
 templation of the afflictions of some ])iou3 but poor 
 people, and of the prosperity and glory of ungodly men. 
 The design is to justify God's providence in this dark 
 dispensation ; and to shew, that, all things being con- 
 sidered, good men have no cause for immoderate dejec- 
 tion of spirit, nor ^ncked men for glorying in their 
 present prosperity. Bp, Patrick, Poole. 
 
 The prophet, after a solemn introduction, 1 — 4, in 
 which the whole world is called upon, to hear a lesson 
 of divine wisdom, 5, proposes the subject in a question, 
 implying the great folly of yielding to the temiitation of 
 fear, in tlie time of affliction and persecution, when the 
 rich and the powerful are in arms against the innocent 
 and righteous sufferer; inasmuch as, G — 9, no man, by 
 his riches or power, can redeem his brother, or himself, 
 in the evil day; but, 10, wise and foolish die, and leave 
 their estates to others ; and, 11 — 14, notwithstanding all 
 their care and pains, are soon forgotten, while they are 
 detained, by deatli, in the grave till they rise to judg- 
 ment and condemnation. On the other hand, the pro- 
 phet, in the person of Messiah, 15, declares his faith in 
 a joyful resiu-rection to life and glory, through the power 
 of Jehovah; and, IG — 20, e.xhorts believers, neither to 
 fear nor en^^- the man of the world, considering what 
 his latter end is to be. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 1. hear ye this, all ye people : &c.] This Psalm 
 opens with great dignity, and the prophet speaks " as 
 one having authority." He demands an audience, like 
 that which is to be assembled at the last day ; having 
 something to deliver, which is universally imjjortant 
 and interesting; something which concerns every age, 
 and condition, and nation, under heaven. And we may 
 observe, that although the sound of this Psalm, when 
 first uttered, coidd be heard only within the confines of 
 Judea, yet the knowledge of it hath since actually been 
 diffused in the Christian church, throughout the world, 
 from the rising to the setting sun. But how few, alas ! 
 have duly attended to the salutary lesson, which it so 
 divinely teacheth ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 4. I will incline vihie ear Scc.^ In the promulgation 
 of wisdom and understanding to the world, the jirophet, 
 as the faithful scribe of the S])irit, was to si)eak only 
 what he should hear, by " inclining his ear" to his 
 divine teacher ; he was to speak in the way of " ]iarable," 
 or proverb, or problem, that is, in such a way, as should 
 require study and diligence, to unfold and e.vplain : in 
 
 he must let that alone 
 : and 
 
 souls' : so that 
 for ever ; 
 
 9 Yea, though he live long 
 see not the grave. 
 
 10 For he seeth that wise men' 
 also die, and perish together : as well 
 as the ignorant and foolish, and leave 
 their riches for other. 
 
 1 1 And yet they think that their 
 houses shall continue for ever : and 
 that their dwelling-places shall endure 
 from one generation to another; and 
 call the lands after their own names. 
 
 12 Nevertheless, man will not being in 
 abide in honour" : seeing he may aWde'thnot. 
 be compared unto the beasts that ■°'*- '''''"'"■ 
 perish ^ ; this is the way of them. 
 
 13 This is their foolishness y : and 
 their posterity praise their saying. 
 
 such a way, as the world is not inclined to understand, 
 or listen to : as our Lord delivered his doctrines when 
 on earth. And, that melody might serve as a vehicle 
 for instruction, this important lesson was to be set to 
 musick, and ])layed upon the harp. Bp. Home. 
 
 P !). Wherefore should I fear &c.] 1 intend not to 
 neglect the counsel I give to others ; and therefore 
 shall ask myself the question I mean to answer. What 
 cause is there that I should be troubled with fears and 
 cares and an.xiety of mind in calamitous times, when 
 the iniquity of those, who endeavour to supplant me, 
 hath surrounded me on all sides } Bp. Patrick. 
 
 1 7- But no man may deliver his brother:^ Is'amely, 
 from death, as appears from ver. 10, &c. ; neither from 
 the fii'st death, nor from the second, which he points at 
 verses 14. 19. Poole. 
 
 ' 8. For it cost more to redeem their souls .] It is a 
 business too difficult and costly for him to redeem the 
 life of a man ; or to respite for a time the departure of 
 him, whose soul is leaving his body. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' 9. Yea, though he live long .■ &c.] For though God 
 Almighty permit him to live ever so long, yet he must 
 die at last. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' 10. For he seeth that wise men &c.] The inabihty 
 of man to save his brother or himself from death is 
 evinced by daily experience, which sheweth us, that the 
 penalty due to sin is continually levied upon all : wisdom 
 and folly go down into the dust together ; " and then, 
 whose shall thosethings be, which have been provided i" 
 Luke xii. 20. Their possessions come into the hands 
 of others, perhaps of those for whom they never intended 
 them, and who have neither inclination nor ability to 
 do the dead man any service. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 12. Nevertheless, man will not abide in honour: &c.] 
 ITie continuance of man in the world is as that of a 
 traveller at an inn, who tarrieth but for a night ; so that 
 if honour and wealth do not soon leave him, he must 
 soon leave them, and, Uke the brutes around him, re- 
 tiu-n to his earth, never more to be seen, and little more 
 to be thought of. Families decay, andare extinguished, 
 as well as individuals ; and the world itself is to perish 
 after the same example. Bp. Home. 
 
 " — seeing he may be compared unto the beasts that 
 perish ;] That is, which are utterly lost and extinct. 
 So he is in reference to all his wealth and honour, of 
 which the Psalmist here s|)eaks. Poole. 
 
 ' 13. This is their foolishness : &c.] Tlie practice of 
 labouring to acquire wealth and greatness, which can 
 2 L 2
 
 516 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 in the ^rave. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 See Vocab. 
 shall feed. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 the power 
 of the srave. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 See Vocab. 
 
 14 They lie in the hell like sheep ^, 
 death gnaweth upon them, and the 
 righteous shall have dominion over 
 them in the morning : their beauty 
 shall consume in the sepulchre out of 
 their (Uvelling^ 
 
 15 But God hath delivered'' my 
 soul from the place of hell : for he 
 shall receive me. 
 
 16 Be not thou afraid % though 
 one be made rich : or if the glory of 
 his house be increased ; 
 
 17 For he shall carry nothing 
 away with liim when he dieth : neither 
 shall his pomp follow him. 
 
 18 For while he lived'', he counted 
 
 be of no service after death, and of endeavouring to 
 
 perpetuate the possession of the most uncertain things 
 in nature, is ilouljtless a folly ; but it is a folly, which, like 
 many others, is at once blamed, and imitated. B/).Honie. 
 ' 14. 'I'het/ lie in the hell tike sheep, &e.] The high 
 and mighty ones of the earth, who cause people to fear, 
 and nations to tremlile around them, must one day 
 crowd the grave ; in multitude and impotence, though 
 not in innocence, resembling sheep, driven and confined 
 by the butcher, in his house of slaughter. There death, 
 that ravening wolf, shall feed sweetly on them, and de- 
 vour his long-expected prey, in silence and darkness, 
 until the glorious morning of the resurrection dawn ; 
 when the once oppressed and afflicted righteous, 
 risen from the dead, and sitting, with their Lord, in 
 judgment, shall have the dominion over their cruel 
 and insulting enemies; whose faded beauty, withered 
 strength, and departed glory, shall dis|)lay to men and 
 angels the vanity of that confidence which is not placed 
 in God. Bp. Home. 
 
 • — in the sepulctire out of their dicellinrj.~\ Lodged 
 in a dark gra\-e, and not in those delightfid mansions 
 which they erected for themselves. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 '■ 15. Bui God hath delivered &c.] The righteous, as 
 well as the wicked, descend into the grave : to the bo- 
 dies of the former it is a resting place, as the prison was 
 to St. Peter, till the angel of the Loril shall awaken 
 them, and call them forth ; while to the latter it is a 
 condemned hold, from which, at the appointed day, 
 they are to be dragged to execution. The ])ro])het here 
 expresseth a full and firm faith in the resurrection ; and 
 may be conceiveil as speaking in the [lerson of Him, 
 who was first redeemed from the grave, and accepted 
 by the Father; who did not "despond in the days of 
 evil, and when the wickedness of his supplant crs com- 
 passed liiin about:" as foreseeing their speedy destruc- 
 tion, and his own ap])roaching resurrection and exalt- 
 ation. And, therefore, lie thus exhorts each disciple 
 of his in the subsetpient verses of our Psalm. Bp. Home. 
 ' \6. Be not thou ofriiid, &c.] This is the conclu- 
 sion of the Psalm, natiu-ally follon-ing from the pre- 
 mises; and addressed, by way of exhortation and 
 comfort, to the meek and bumble disciples of the Lamb ; 
 directing them to fear God, who is able to destroy both 
 soul and body in hell, and not to be afraid of the short- 
 lived power conferred in this world, by wealth, over the 
 body oidy. For this jjurpose, nodiing is recpiisite, but 
 to strip the worldling of the pomp and p.irade. the con- 
 nexions and relations of life, and to consider him, as he 
 is to a|)i)ear on the day of his burial, when nothing 
 shall attend him, but his shroud, to the grave, and his 
 
 Day 10. 
 
 Iiimself an happy man : and so long 
 as thou doest well unto thyself, men 
 will speak good of thee. 
 
 19 He shall follow' the genera- 
 tion of his fathers : and shall never 
 see light. 
 
 20 JNlan being in honour ^ hatli no 
 understanding : but is compared unto 
 the beasts that perish. 
 
 that is in 
 honour and 
 tlnder^tand- 
 eth not, is 
 like. B,b. 
 Trans, 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PS.\LM l.s Deus deorum. 
 
 TH E Lord, even the most mighty 
 God'', hath spoken : and called 
 
 works, to the judgment-seat. View him in this light, 
 which is the proper light to view him in, and he will 
 cease to be the object of fear or envy. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 18. For while he tired, &c.] Such must be the 
 worldling's end, as described above ; however, in the day 
 of health and ]irosperity, he may bless himself, and say, 
 "Soul, thou hast goods laid up for many years; take thine 
 ease, eat, drink, and be merry." Nor will such a speech, 
 whenever it is S[)oken, want its admirers : it will have 
 the a]ii)lause of numbers, whose opinion it is, that "there 
 is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat, 
 and drink, and enjoy himself, all the days of his life, 
 which God giveth hira under the sun." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 19. He shall follow &c.] They, who follow their 
 fathers in sin, must follow them likewise into the tor- 
 ments of that sad place, where darkness has fixed his 
 everlasting abode, for the reception of those that ever 
 loved and embraced it ; and ivhere the light of life and 
 salvation no longer visits those, who always hated, and 
 rejected it. Bp. Home. 
 
 .\lthough the Atheist shall rise, yet he shall never 
 see that light, which emphatically deserves the name : 
 that light, of which created light is but a faint image ; 
 the light of God's glory. He shall have no share in 
 tlie beatifick vision. Bp. Horsley. 
 
 ' 21). Ulan lieimj in honour &c.] That is. The man, 
 who lives in outward honour, and yet wants true wis- 
 dom and understanding, to know (iod and himself, 
 lives as a beast, anil diis as a beast, brutishly. Bp. 
 Hall. The sum of the whole matter is, that it can jiro- 
 fit a man nothing to gain the whole world ; to become 
 possessed of all its wealth, and all its power; if, after 
 all, he lose his own soul, and be cast away, for want of 
 that holy and heavenly wisdom which distinguishes 
 him from the brutes, and sets hira above them, in his 
 life, and at his death. Jip. Home. 
 
 K Ps,\[.M 1.] Tliis Psalm is a solemn magnifying of 
 God's ])0\ver and majesty, and a description of the 
 calling of the (icntiles, and of the true evangelical way 
 of worshipping (iod. It was composed i)robably by 
 David, and appointed to be simg by Asajili, a Levite, 
 appointed by David to atteml tlie ark, and to jiraise the 
 Lord God of Israel. 1 Chron. xvi. I, .'>. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 The Psalm presents us with a magnilicent descrip- 
 tion, I, '2, of the pronmlgation of the (iospcl, followed, 
 3, 4, by a jirediction of the terril)lc manner of God's 
 coming to judge his aiiostatc people, Israel ; 5, G, of 
 the assembly to be iiresent, and his appeal to men and 
 imgels ; 7 — l.', the rejection of the legal, and, 14, 1.5, 
 the establishment of the Christian worship ami services ; 
 IG — 20, the impenitent Jews arc arraigned, and, 21,
 
 Dai/ 10. 
 
 the world, from tlie rising up of the 
 sun, unto the ^omx, down tliereof. 
 
 2 OutofSiou' liath Ciod ajipcared: 
 in perfect iieauty. 
 
 3 Our God shall come'', and shall 
 not keep silence : there shall tfo 
 liefore him a consuminjr fire, and a 
 mighty tempest shall be stirred up 
 round about him. 
 
 4 He shall call the heaven from 
 above' : and the earth, that he may 
 judge his people. 
 
 5 Gather my saints™ together unto 
 me : those that have made a covenant 
 with me with sacrifice. 
 
 6 And the heaven shall declare 
 
 rHE PSALMS. 
 
 517 
 for God is Judue 
 
 threatened ; and, 22, exhorted to consider, to repent ; 
 and, 23, to embrace the evangeUcal, or spiritual religion. 
 It is to be observed, that in this Psalm, as in our Lord's 
 discourse on the same subject, the jiarticular judgment 
 of Jerusalem is a figure and s])ecimen of the last gene- 
 ral judgment. Hypocritical and wicked Christians are 
 therefore to apply to themselves what is primarily ad- 
 dressed to their elder brethren, the unbelieving and 
 rebellious sons of faithful and obedient Abraham. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' ] . The hard, even the most mighty God, &c.] " God, 
 who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in 
 time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath, in 
 these last days, spoken unto us by his Son," Heb. i. 1 . 
 The everlasting Gospel hath made its glorious progress 
 from the eastern to the western world; and the nations 
 have been thereby called to repentance. Bp. Home. 
 
 This svunmoning of the earth from east to west can 
 be nothing but the general promulgation of the Gospel. 
 Bp. Horsley. 
 
 ' 2. Out of Sion &c.] The law, which was given by 
 Moses, proceeded from Sinai, the moimt of fear and 
 horror ; but the word of grace and truth, which came 
 by .lesus Christ, issued forth from Sion, the chosen 
 mountain of beauty and excellency, in Jerusalem. 
 There that glory first arose and shone, which, like the 
 light of heaven, soon diffused itself abroad over the 
 face of the whole earth. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 3. Our God shall cnme, &c.] The " coming of 
 God" ordinarily signifies in Scri[iture any judicial pro- 
 ceeding of his, God's punishments and vengeance on 
 his enemies. But this Psalm seems peculiarly to 
 look forward to the times of the Messiah, and so to 
 denote some coming of his. Now there are three 
 comings of Christ expressed in the Scripture. The 
 first in humility, by his being born in our flesh ; the 
 last in glory, for the universal judgment : and a middle 
 coming, which was to be spiritual, a mighty work 
 wrought in the world by the power of that Siiirit which 
 raised Jesus from the dead, beginning in a terrible 
 vengeance u])on his crucifiers, the notable destruction 
 of the Jewish temple and of Jerusalem, and so of the 
 Mosaical worship and the Judaical polity, and proceed- 
 ing to the propagation of the Christian faith to all the 
 world. To this coming the ]n'esent Psalm seems most 
 signally to belong. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 The prophet, having described the first advent of 
 Christ, and the promulgation of the Gospel, now fore- 
 telleth his coming to take vengeance on the hyjiocritical 
 Jews, as also his advent to judge the \i'orld, prefigured 
 thereby. Upon both those occasions, his coming was 
 to be with aounds and sights of terror, with all the 
 
 his righteousness 
 himself. 
 
 7 Hear, O my people", and I will 
 speak : I myself will testify against 
 thee, O Israel; for 1 am God, even 
 thy God. 
 
 8 I will not reprove thee" because 
 of thy sacrifices, or for thy burnt- 
 offerings : because they were not 
 alway before me. 
 
 9 I will take no bullock p out of 
 thine house : nor he-goat out of thy 
 folds. 
 
 10 For all the beasts of the forest 
 are mine : and so are the cattle upon 
 a thousand hills. 
 
 marks and tokens of \vi-ath and fiery indignation, like 
 those displayed on Sinai. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. He shall call the henven/rorn above : &c.] Heaven 
 and earth, men and angels, were to be witnesses of the 
 righteous judgments of God, executed upon his apos- 
 tate ])eople ; as all the celestial armies, and all the 
 generations of the sons of Adam, are to Ije present, at 
 the general judgment of the last day. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 5. Gather my saints &c.] These are the words of 
 God, summoning mankind to attend the trial, " calling 
 to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he 
 may judge his ])eople." I'bus it is said of the Son of 
 man, Matt. xxiv. 31, "He shall send his angels with 
 a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather to- 
 gether his elect from the four winds, from one end of 
 heaven to the other." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 7. Hear, O my people, &c.] This is the voice of 
 the omniscient Judge, impleading his ancient people, 
 «'ho are commanded to attend to the ^^■ords of Him, 
 their God and covenanted Saviour, thus constrained to 
 clear his justice before the world, and to shew that 
 they had destroyed themselves. Nominal and wicked 
 Christians will be addressed in the same manner at the 
 last day. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° S. I will not reprove thee &c.] This judicial pro- 
 cess was not commenced against Israel for their having 
 neglected to offer the sacrifices of the law : their obla- 
 tions were on the altar, morning and evening, con- 
 tinually, insomuch that God, by the prophet Isaiah, 
 declares himself " weary of them," as not having been 
 accomjianied with faith and holiness in the offerer. 
 Many pharisaical Christians will be condemned for the 
 same reason, notwithstanding their strict scrupidous 
 attendance upon the ordinances of the new law, if it 
 shall apjiear that they left religion in the clnu-ch behind 
 them, instead of carrying it with them into their lives 
 and conversations. Bp. Home. 
 
 p 9. / will take no bullock &c.] The Jenish folly of 
 doating on the legal offerings, as things in themselves 
 acceptable to God, and conferring justification on man, 
 is reproved in these verses, from the consideration, that 
 the various animals, slain in sacrifice, were long before, 
 even from the creation of the world, the sole right and 
 property of Jehovah ; which, therefore. He needed not 
 to have required at the hands of liis people ; nor would 
 He have done so, but for some fartlier end and intent, 
 signified and represented by such oblations. What 
 that end and intent was. Christians know ; and Jews 
 formerly did know. Learn we hence, not to dream of 
 any merit in our works and services ; since God hath a 
 double claim, founded on creation and redemption, to 
 all we have, and all we are. Bp. Home.
 
 518 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 10. 
 
 Ill know all the fowls upon the 
 mountains : and the wild beasts of the 
 field are in my sight. 
 
 1'2 If I be hungry, I will not tell 
 thee : for the whole world is mine, 
 and all that is therein. 
 
 13 Thinkest thou that I will eat 
 bulls' flesh '1 : and drink the blood of 
 goats ? 
 
 14 Offer unto God thanksgiving'': 
 and pay thy vows unto the most 
 Highest. 
 
 15 And call upon me in the time 
 of trouble : so will I hear thee, and 
 thou shalt praise me. 
 
 1(5 But unto the ungodly said 
 God* : Why dost thou preach my 
 laws, and takest my covenant in thy 
 mouth ; 
 
 17 Whereas thou hatest to be 
 reformed : and hast cast my words 
 behind thee ? 
 
 18 When thou sawest a thief, thou 
 consentedst unto him : and hast been 
 partaker with the adulterers. 
 
 1 13. Thinkest thou that 1 will eat bulls' flesh: &c.] 
 Another argument of the Jews' blindness is, the gross 
 absurdity of imagining, that a spiritual and holy being 
 could possibly be satisfied and pleased with the taste 
 and smell of biu'nt-ofFerings, (which God often declareth 
 himself to have been,) any otherwise, than as they were 
 symbolical of some other sacrifice, spiritual and holy, 
 and, therefore, really projiitiatory and acceptable in his 
 sight. That man judaizeth, who thinketh to please 
 God by an external, without an internal service ; or by 
 any service, without Clvrist. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' H. Offer unto God thanksyiving : &c.] The carnal 
 and bloody sacrifices of the law being abolished by the 
 coming of Messiah, the spiritual and unbloody oblations 
 of the Gospel succeed in their stead. These are, the 
 eucharistick sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for the 
 mercies of redemption ; that hearty repentance, that 
 faith unfeigned, and that obedience evangelical, \no- 
 mised and vowed in bajitism ; that jjcrfect trust in God, 
 and resignation to his will, which our Lord expressed 
 in his prayer, during his sufferings, and which we ought 
 to express in our jjrayers, when called to suffer with 
 Him, if we desire to glorify God for our deliverance 
 through Him, in the day of visitation. These are the 
 serx'ices enjoined to such Jews as would become (Jhris- 
 tians, and to such ("hristians as would be Christians in 
 deed and in truth. lip. Home. 
 
 ' IG. liul unto the unfjodly suid God : &c.] From hence, 
 to the end of the I'sahn, we have an exjjostulation of 
 (iod with the imlielieving Jew, who boasted his relation 
 to Abraham, without a spark of .Miraham's faith in his 
 heart ; and gloried in a law, which condemned him as 
 a breaker of its prece])ts in every instance. St. Paul's 
 expostulation with the same person, Rom. ii. 17, &c., 
 is so exact a parallel to this before us, tliat one will be 
 the best comment ujion the otlier. lip. Home. ' 
 
 '21. These titinys hiist thou done, &c.] Tlie forbear- 
 ance of God only tem|ited the Jews still to think Him 
 on their side, till at length He made the Roman armies 
 his instruments of conviction ; who, by crucifying mul- 
 
 19 Thou hast let thy mouth speak 
 wickedness : and with thy tongue 
 thou hast set forth deceit. 
 
 20 Thou satest, and spakest against 
 thy brother : yea, and hast slandered 
 thine own mother's son. 
 
 "21 These things hast thou done', 
 and I held my tongue, and thou 
 thoughtest wickedly, that I am even 
 such a one as thyself : but I will re- 
 prove thee, and set before thee the 
 things that thou hast done. 
 
 'l-I O consider this", ye that forget 
 God : lest I pluck you away, and 
 there be none to deliver you. 
 
 '2.3 Whoso offereth me thanks'' and 
 praise, he honoureth me : and to him 
 that ordereth his conversation right 
 will I shew the salvation of God. 
 
 PSALM li.*" Miserere met, Deus. 
 AVE mercy upon me, O God, 
 after thy great goodness ^ : ac- 
 cording to the multitude of thy mer- 
 cies do away mine offences. 
 
 H 
 
 Comminatloa 
 Service. 
 
 titudes of their countrymen in sight of the besieged, 
 did in a wonderful manner " reprove them, and set 
 before them the things which they had done." 'I'he 
 day of judgment will do this to all sinners, if temporal 
 chastisements effect it not, before that day shall come. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " 22. consider this, &c.] The stupendous desola- 
 tion of Jerusalem for rejecting so kind an admonition 
 of her Saviour, and suffering Him to weep over her in 
 vain, should, in a most jiowcrful manner, enforce that 
 admonition on the inhabitants of Christendom to pre- 
 vent its falling, after the same example of unbelief. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 23. IVhoso offereth me Ihanks &c.] This verse re- 
 sumes and rejieats the conclusion intended, by the whole 
 Psalm, concerning the Jewish and the Christian worship; 
 and St. Paul, in the place above cited, affords us a com- 
 plete comment .ujion it : " He is not a Jew, wliich is 
 one outwardly ; nor is that circumcision, which is out- 
 ward in the flesh : but he is a Jew, which is one in- 
 wardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the 
 sjiirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, 
 but of God." Bp. Home. 
 
 1 PsAi.M li.] In this Psalm, composed upon a sad 
 occasion, but too well known, we have a perfect model 
 of penitential devotion. The royal supjdicant, robed in 
 sackcloth, and crowned with ashes, entreats for mercy, 
 1, 2, from a consideration of liis own misery, and of the 
 divine goodness : 3, from that of bis confession, 4, of 
 (jod's sole right to judge him ; t>, laments the corrup- 
 tion of his nature; but, 6, without iileading it as an 
 excuse; 7, prays for Gos])el remission, in legal terms; 
 8, for spiritual joy and comfort; !), 10, for jiardoning 
 and cleansing grace; 11, 12, for strength and perse- 
 verance, that he may, 13, instruct and convert others; 
 14, l."), deprecates the vengeance due to l)lood ; IG, 17, 
 besceclics (>od to accept an evangelical sacrifice ; and, 18, 
 19, concludes with a prayer for the church. Bp. Home. 
 
 This is a prinripul one of those Psalms which are 
 called penitential, and was comjioscd by David after
 
 Day 10. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 519 
 
 wlien thou 
 jiidgc'St. B'lh. 
 Trans. 
 
 2 Wash me throughly from my 
 wickedness : and cleanse me from 
 my sin. 
 
 3 For I acknowledge ^ my faults : 
 and my sin is ever before me. 
 
 4 Against thee only have I sin- 
 ned'', and done this evil in thy sight : 
 that thou niightest be justified in thy 
 saying, and clear when thou art 
 
 in the hidden 
 
 parts. Hib. 
 
 Trans. 
 
 in tlie seeret 
 
 corners of my 
 
 heart. Bp, 
 
 Hall. 
 
 ^ udged "^. 
 
 5 Behold, I was shapon in wicked- 
 ness'' : and in sin hath my mother 
 conceived me. 
 
 6 But lo, thou requirest truth •= in 
 the inward parts : and shalt make me 
 to understand wisdom secretly. 
 
 7 Thou shalt purge me with hys- 
 
 his notorious guilt in the affair of Bathsheba and Uriah. 
 It is inserted in the solemn service appropriated to the 
 first day of Lent. Travell. 
 
 ^ 1 . Have mercy upon me, O God, afler thy great good- 
 ness : &c.] The penitent's fii'st ground for hope of 
 pardon is his own misery, and the divine mercy which 
 rejoiceth to relieve that misery. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 3. For 1 acknowledge &c.] The penitent's second 
 I)lea for mercy is, that he doth not deny, excuse, or i)al- 
 liate his fault, but confesses it openly and honestly, with 
 all its aggravations. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 4. Against thee only have I sinned, &c.] A third 
 reason why the penitent sues for mercy at the hand of 
 God is, because God alone certainly knows, and is 
 always able to punish, the sins of men. David sinned 
 " against" many ; as against Uriah, whom he slew ; 
 against Bathsheba, whom he coiTupted ; and against 
 all the people, to whom he became the cause of much 
 offence and scandal. But the sin was committed in 
 secret ; and if it had not lieen so, he, as king, had no 
 superior, or judge, in this matter, but God only ; who, 
 being able to convict the offender, as he did, by the 
 prophet Nathan, would assuredly be justified in the 
 sentence he should pronounce. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' — and clear token thou art judged.'] " When thou 
 judgest," according to the Bible translation ; that is, 
 when thou dost plead or contend with me, or execute 
 thy sentence or judgment u])on me. Or, " when 
 thou art judged," according to this translation, and as 
 it is rendered Rom. iii. 4 : that is, when any man shall 
 presume to censure thee, as not keeping thy covenant 
 and mercy promised to David. Poole. 
 
 '' 5. Behold, I was shapen in wickedness : &c.] The 
 divine mercy is here implored by the penitent, fourthly, 
 because that alone can dry u]) the fountain of original 
 corrujjtion, from which the streams of actual transgres- 
 sion derive themselves ; and which is here only lamented 
 as their cause, not alleged as their excuse ; seeing, that 
 the greater our danger is of falling, the greater should 
 be our care to stand. David was the offspring of the 
 marriage-bed, which is declared to be " honourable and 
 undefiled." No more, therefore, can be intended here, 
 than that a creature begotten by a sinner, and formed 
 in the womb of a sinner, cannot be without that taint 
 which is hereditary to every son and daughter of Adam 
 and Eve. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. But lo, thou requirest truth &c.] The force of 
 "lo," or "behold," here is. It is too plain; I feel it 
 but too sensibly ; the pimishment I stlffer is evidence 
 sufficient, that thou art not contented with a superfi- 
 
 sop', and I shall be clean : thou shalt 
 wash me, and I shall be whiter than 
 snow. 
 
 8 Thou shalt make me hear of joy b 
 and gladness : that the bones which 
 thou hast broken may rejoice. 
 
 !) Turn thy face from my sins '' : 
 and put out all my misdeeds. 
 
 10 Make me a clean heart', O 
 God : and renew a right spirit within 
 me. 
 
 11 Cast me not away from thy 
 presence'' : and take not thy Holy 
 Spirit from me. 
 
 12 O give me the comfort of thy 
 help again : and stablish me with thy 
 free Spirit'. 
 
 cial appearance of goodness : thou lovest truth and 
 sincerity in the bottom of the heart. This God was 
 now teaching him by the correction He made him suffer. 
 Tlie punishment inflicted tended to give him a right 
 understanding of things, and to work it deep into him. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '7. Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, &:c.~\ He there- 
 fore petitioneth, in this verse, for the purification which 
 Cometh from God only, through the one great propi- 
 tiatory sacrifice, by the Holy Spirit; and which was 
 foreshewn, under the law, by the ceremony of sjjrink- 
 ling the unclean person with a bunch of " hyssop," 
 di[)])ed in the " water of separation." This rite is 
 described Numb. xix. and explained Ileb. ix. 13, 14. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 s 8. Thou shalt make me hear of joy &c.] Ne.xt to 
 the blessing of forgiveness, is to be desired that joy and 
 comfort in the conscience which forgiveness only can 
 insjjire ; the effect of this, in repairing the \-igour of the 
 spirit, decayed through sorrow and anguish, is com- 
 pared to setting broken bones, and restoring them 
 again to perfect strength. .■Vt the resurrection of the 
 body, this petition will be granted in a literal sense, 
 when the " bones," that are mouldered into dust, shall 
 "rejoice and fiotu^ish as an herb," Isa. Ixvi. 14. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '' 9. Turn thy face from my sins : &c.] The soul, still 
 restless and uneasy, reiterates her request, that God 
 would not only cease to behold her iniquity for the pre- 
 sent, as a man who turneth away his face from a writ- 
 ing, but that he would not behold it more, as a man 
 who blotteth out what is WTitten, so that it can never 
 be read again. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. Make me a clean heart, &c.] The purification 
 and renovation of the heart and spirit of a man is a 
 work to which that power only is equal, which, in the 
 beginning, created all things, and, in the end, will 
 create all things new. " A right spirit is renewed 
 within us," when the affections tiu'n from the world to 
 God, and charity takes the place of concupiscence. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ''11. Cast me not away from thy presence : &c.] The 
 soul that is truly penitent, dreads nothing but the 
 thought of being rejected from the " presence," and 
 deserted by the " Spirit" of God. This is the most 
 deiJorable and irremediable effect of sin : but it is one, 
 that in general perhaps is the least considered and 
 regarded of all others. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1 2. — and stablish me with thy free Spirit.'] Namely, 
 the Spu-it of God, which might enable him to act as
 
 520 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 10, 
 
 thou God of 
 mv salvation. 
 B\b. Trans. 
 
 Open thou 
 my lips. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 shew forth. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 sacrifices. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 broken. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 thou wilt not, 
 £16. Trans. 
 
 favourable and 
 build thou the 
 
 gracious 
 walls of 
 
 pleased r 
 
 J 3 Then shall I teach™ tliy ways 
 unto the wicked : and dinners shall be 
 converted unto tliee. 
 
 14 Deliver me from blood-guilti- 
 ness, O God, thou that art the God 
 of my health : and my tongue shall 
 sing of thy righteousness. 
 
 15 Thou shalt open my lips", O 
 Lord : and my mouth shall shew thy 
 praise. 
 
 16 For thou desirest no sacrifice", 
 else would I give it thee : but thou 
 deliffhtest not in burnt-ofterings. 
 
 17 The sacrifice of God is a trou- 
 bled spirit : a broken and contrite 
 heart, O God, shalt thou not de- 
 spise. 
 
 18 O be 
 unto Slon 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 19 Then shalt thou be 
 with the sacrifice of righteousness, 
 with the burnt-oflferings and obla- 
 tions : then shall they offer young 
 bullocks upon thine altar. 
 
 became a prophet and a king, free from base desires and 
 ensla%nng lusts. Bp. Home. 
 
 "13. Then shall I teach Sec.'] He, that would employ 
 his abilities, his influence, and his authority, in the 
 reformation of others, must take care to reform himself, 
 before he enters upon the work. " When thou art 
 converted," said Christ to St. Peter, " strengthen thy 
 brethren," Luke xxii. 32. The history of David has 
 "taught" us many useful lessons; such as, the frailty 
 of man, the danger of temptation, the torment of sin, 
 the nature and efficacy of repentance, the mercy and 
 the judgments of God, &c. &c. ; by which many " sin- 
 ners" have in all ages since been " converted," and 
 many more will be converted, so long as the Scriptures 
 shall be read, and the 51st Psalm recited in the church. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 " 15. 7'Aoi< shalt open my lips, Lord: &c.] Tlie 
 mouth, which sin hath closed, can only l)e opened by 
 jjardon ; our Church, with great propriety, daily makcth 
 her prayer in the words of this verse, before she entcrcth 
 ujjon that part of her service, which consistcth of ])raise 
 and thanksgiving. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 16. For thou desirest no sacrifice, &c.] Da^^d in 
 this Psahn is so evangehcal, and has ins thoughts so 
 fixed upon Gospel remission, that he considers the Levi- 
 tical sacrifices as already aljolishcd, for their insufficiency 
 to take away sin ; aflirming them to be (as indeed they 
 were) notliing in the sight of (jod, if compared with tlic 
 sacrifice of tlie body of sin, ofl'cred by contrition and 
 mortification througli faith in Him, who, in tlic fulness 
 of time, was to die unto sin once, that wc, together with 
 Him, might for ever live unto (Jod. Bp. Home. 
 
 •■ 1!). 'I'hen shalt thou he plenseil &c.] 'i'liis had its 
 literal accomiilishmcnt, when .Icrusalem was finished ; 
 when the tein|)le was erected on mount Sion ; and when 
 the Lord graciously vouchsafed to accept the sacrifices, 
 there offered on his holy altars, by king Solomon, at the 
 head of his faithful and devout |)eople. It is spiritually 
 true in the Christian church, where tlie substance of all 
 the Mosaick types and shadows is oifcred and [iresented 
 
 unrighteous- 
 
 PSALM lii.i Quid rjhriaris ? 
 
 WHY boastest thou thyself % 
 thou tyrant : that thou canst o mighty 
 do mischief; ^Tan.^"- 
 
 2 Whereas the goodness of God : 
 endureth yet daily ? 
 
 3 Thy tono-ue imagineth wicked- deviseth. 
 
 ^ , . Y ,. i~ ,.| Bib. Trans. 
 
 ness : and with lies thou cuttest like see vocab. 
 a sharp razor. 
 
 4 Thou hast loved 
 ness more than goodness : and to 
 talk of lies more than righteousness. 
 
 5 Thou hast loved to speak all 
 words that may do hurt : O thou 
 false tongue. 
 
 6 Therefore shall God destroy 
 tliee^ for ever : he shall take thee, 
 and pluck thee out of thy dwelling, 
 and root thee out of the land of the 
 living. 
 
 7 The righteous also shall see this, 
 and fear' : and shall laugh him to 
 scorn ; 
 
 8 Lo, this is the man that took 
 not God for his strength : but trusted 
 
 to the Father, by the Prince of Peace, at the head of the 
 Israel of God. And it will be eternally verified in the 
 kingdom of heaven, where the sacrifices of righteousness 
 and love, praise and thanksgiving, will never cease to 
 be ofl'ered to Him, that sitteth on the throne, by the 
 church triumjihant in glory. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 Ps.vLM lii.] In the person of Doeg the Edomite, 
 who was the persecutor of Uavid, and the murderer of 
 the priests, are described, I — 5, the enemies of the 
 truth and the church in all ages ; whose utter destruc- 
 tion from the presence of the Lord is foretold, 6, with 
 the exultation of the righteous over them, 7, 8 ; these 
 last rejoice, 9, in the flourishing state under grace, 10, 
 in ho|)e of future gloiy, through faith and patience. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 The occasion of this Psalm is to be found in 1 Sam. 
 xxii, wlierc wc read, that Doeg, in order to ingratiate 
 himself with Saul, discovered to him those who were 
 confederate with David, particularly Ahimelech ; and 
 afterwards, at the desire of Saul, murdered the priests 
 of the Loril. Travell. 
 
 ' 1. Why boastest thou thyself, SccI " The Psalmist 
 thought it strange," says the jiious and ingenious 
 Norris, "that any man should value himself for being 
 able to do mischief, when (iod esteemed it his glory to 
 do good." In vain did Doeg the Kdomite boast him- 
 self, in the mischief he had done, by massacreing the 
 innocent jiriests and their families ; since " the good- 
 ness of God." which is " unchangeable," had decreed 
 the preservation of David. As vainly did Herod, the 
 Idumean, or lOdomite, glory in the slaughter of the 
 Hethleheinitish infants, since heaven had determined, 
 that the child .lesus should not lie one of the number. 
 A persecution may produce martyrs ; but the gates of 
 hell are never to prevail against the church. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' G. Therefore shall Gnd destroy thee &c.] If a parti- 
 cular comment be wanted on these words, it may he 
 found in the history of Daviil's enemies, and the eruci- 
 fiers of the Son of David: but the iiassagewill he fully
 
 Da7j 10. 
 
 unto the multitude of his riches, and 
 strengthened himself in his wicked- 
 ness. 
 
 9 As for me", I am like a green 
 olive-tree in the house of God : my 
 trust is in the tender mercy of God 
 for ever and ever. 
 
 10 I will always give thanks unto 
 thee for tliat thou hast done : and I 
 will hope in thy Name, for thy saints 
 like it well. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 521 
 
 The fool. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM liii.' Dixit insipiens. 
 
 TH E foolish body hath said in his 
 heart : There is no God. 
 
 2 Corrupt are they, and become 
 abominable in their wickedness : there 
 is none that doeth good. 
 
 3 God looked down from heaven 
 upon the children of men : to see if 
 there were any that would under- 
 stand, and seek after God. 
 
 4 But they are all gone out of 
 the way, they are altogether become 
 abominable : there is also none that 
 doeth good, no, not one. 
 
 5 Are not they without under- 
 standing that work wickedness : eat- 
 ing up my people as if they would 
 
 and finally explained by the destruction of the world of 
 the ungodly at the last day. Bp. Home. 
 
 '7. The righteous also shall see this, and fear :'\ They 
 shall make use of it to impress a due reverence of God 
 and all goodness on themselves and others ; and a dread 
 of offending. Or. Hammond. 
 
 " 9. As for me, &e.] The representative of Messiah 
 ponrtrays himself, as the reverse of Doeg and the 
 wicked, in terms applicable likewise to his great origi- 
 nal. He was in the house of God, they were in the 
 world ; he was as a fruitful olive-tree, they were as 
 barren unjirofitable wood ; he was to be daily more and 
 more strengthened, estabUshed, settled, and increased ; 
 they were to be cast down, broken, swept away, and 
 e.\tirj)ated ; and all this, because he had trusted in the 
 mercy of God, they in the abundance of their riches. 
 We Gentiles were branches of the " mid olive," but are 
 now grafted in the good one : Lord, make us to flourish 
 and bear fruit, in thy immortal " courts," world without 
 end ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ■" Psalm liii.] This Psalm is in a manner the same 
 with Psalm .xiv ; for the explanation of the whole, there- 
 fore, the reader is referred to the comment on that 
 Psalm. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm liv.] David, as it has been supposed, when 
 betrayed by the Ziphites, and surrounded by Saul, 1, 2, 
 coramitteth his cause, and preferreth his prayer, to God ; 
 3, complaineth of his cruel treatment ; 4, 5, expresseth 
 his assurance of the divine favour, and the destruction 
 of his enemies : 6, 7, being delivered from his danger, 
 he blesseth and praiseth God. See the history, 1 Sam. 
 
 eat bread? they have not called uiion 
 God. 
 
 6 They were afraid where no fear 
 was : for God hath broken the bones 
 of him that besieged thee; thou hast 
 ])ut them to confusion, because God 
 hath despised them. 
 
 7 Oh, that the salvation were given 
 unto Israel out of Sion : Oh, that the 
 Lord would deliver his people out of 
 captivity ! 
 
 8 Then should Jacob rejoice : and 
 Israel should be right glad. 
 
 s 
 
 Good Friday, 
 third Psalm 
 thy Morn. Serv. 
 
 me 
 
 PSALM Uv.'' Deus, in nomine. 
 AVE me, O God, for 
 Name's sake : and avenge 
 in thy strength. 
 
 2 Hear my prayer, O God : and 
 hearken unto the words of my mouth. 
 
 3 For strangers are risen up^ 
 against me : and tyrants, which have 
 not God before their eyes, seek after my life. Dr 
 my soul. 
 
 4 Behold, God is my helper^: 
 the Lord is with them that uphold 
 my soul. 
 
 5 He shall reward evil unto mine 
 enemies : destroy thou them in thy 
 truth. 
 
 6 An offering of a free heart will 
 I give thee'', and praise thy Name, 
 
 Hammond. 
 
 xxiii. The application to Christ, and to Christians, is 
 plain and easy ; for which reason, our Church hath ap- 
 pointed this Psalm to be read on Good Friday. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 3. For siranr/ers are risen up &c.] T\\e Ziphites, 
 though David's countrymen, acted the part of" stran- 
 gers," or "aliens," in seeking to deliver him up to his 
 unjust and cruel enemy. Such a jiart did the whole 
 Jewish nation act towards their anointed Prince and 
 Saviour, when they actually delivered Him over to the 
 Roman power. And the churcli frequently meeteth 
 with such treatment at the hands of her children, as she 
 had reason to expect only from " strangers to the cove- 
 nant of ])romise." Something like this always happens, 
 when men, instead of setting God, set the world before 
 their eyes. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 4. Behold, God is my helper : &c.] In all dangers and 
 difhculties, whether temporal or spiritual, the faithful 
 sons and servants of God fix their eyes upon their hea- 
 venly Father, and gracious Master : they have recourse 
 to the divine promises, the performance of which they 
 know to be certain, and therefore can foresee and foretel 
 the destruction of their enemies. Thus David, and a 
 greater than David, supported themselves in their 
 troubles ; and the chiu-ch, with her children, must do 
 likewise. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 6. Jn offering of a free heart will I give thee, &c.] 
 Saul, under the direction of the Ziphites, having en- 
 comjjassed Da\-id on every side, was suddenly called off 
 to defend his country from an invasion of the Philis- 
 tines ; by which means David escaped, and " beheld
 
 522 THE PSALMS 
 
 because it is so comfort 
 
 O Lord 
 able. 
 
 7 For he hath delivered me out 
 of all my trouble : and mine eye 
 hath seen his desire upon mine ene- 
 mies. 
 
 PSALM Iv.' 
 EAR my 
 
 Exaudi, Deus. 
 prayer, O God*^ 
 
 Attend. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 i I and hide not thyself from my 
 petition. 
 
 2 Take heed unto me, and hear 
 me : how I mourn in my prayer, and 
 am vexed. 
 
 3 Ihe enemy crieth so, and the 
 they cast ini- ungodly cometli ou SO fast : for they 
 nle.'^'A™ sre minded to do me some mischief; 
 
 Tram. 
 
 so maliciously are 
 me. 
 
 4 My heart is disqiueted 
 
 they set against 
 within 
 
 his enemies " retreating, 1 Sam. xxiii. 27. For this 
 event he offers the sacrifice of a heart freed from fear, 
 and praises the name of his great Deliverer. Clu'istians 
 slioujd follow his example ; they should consider, how 
 great things God hath done for them, and should 
 never suffer the voice of praise and thanksgiving to 
 cease in the chm"ch of the redeemed. Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm Iv.] David, as it is supposed, when driven 
 out of Jerusalem by the rebellion of Absalom, and in 
 danger of being suddenly cut off, 1 — 8, niaketh his 
 prayer to God, and describeth the sorrowful state of his 
 soul; 9 — 11, entreatcth that the iniquitous counsels of 
 the rebels may be divided and confounded; 12 — 15, 
 upbraidetli Ahithophel, the Judas of those times, with 
 his foul treason; 16 — 20, foretcUeth the tragical end of 
 faction, and his own re-establishment through faith in 
 God, notwithstanding, 21 — 25, the base treachery of his 
 favourite son and favourite servant. Bp. Home. 
 
 That .\bsalom's rebellion gave occasion to this Psalm 
 may seem not improbable, when we recoUect the par- 
 ticulars of that story, as it is related in 2 Sam. xv. The 
 consternation and distress, expressed in verses 4 — 8, 
 describe the king's state of mind, when he fled from 
 Jerusalem, and marched weeping up the moimt of 
 Olives. The iniquity cast upon the Psalmist answers 
 to the complaints, artfully raised against the king by 
 his son, of a negligent administration of justice, and to 
 the reproach of cruelty cast upon him by Shimei, 2 
 Sam. XV. 2. 4 ; and xvi. 7, 8. The com])anion, the 
 guide, and the familiar friend we find in AhillKiiihel, 
 the confidential counsellor, first of David, and after- 
 wards of .\bsalom. 'J'he " mouth softer than butter" 
 and the "words smoother than oil" describe the in- 
 sidious character of Absalom, as it is delineated by the 
 historian, 2 Sam. xv. 5. 9. Still the believers, accus- 
 tomed to the dimble edge of the projjhetick style, in 
 reading this Psalm, notwithstanding its agreement 
 with the occurrences of David's life, will be led to 
 think of David's great descendant, who endured a 
 bitterer agony, and was tlie victim of a baser treachery, 
 in the same spot where David is suijjioseil to have 
 uttered these complaints. Bp. Uomley. 
 
 '' 1 . Hear my priiyrr, O (iod : &c.] In the jierson of 
 David, driven from his throne, and put in fear of his 
 life, by Absalom anil .Miilhopliel, we here behold o\ir 
 blessed llcdeemcr, on the day of his sufferings, praying 
 
 Dar/ 10. 
 is fallen 
 
 me : and the fear of death 
 upon me. 
 
 5 Fearfulness and trembling are 
 come upon me : and an horrible 
 dread hath overwhelmed me. 
 
 G And I said, O that 1 had wings 
 like a dove : for then would I flee 
 away, and be at rest. 
 
 7 Lo, then would I get me away 
 far off : and remain in the wilder- 
 ness. 
 
 8 I would make haste to escape ^ : 
 because of the stormy wind and from. sit. 
 
 ■' Tram. 
 
 tempest. 
 
 9 Destroy their tongues s, O Lord, counsels. 
 and divide them : for I have spied ^'•- '''"*"'"• 
 unrighteousness and strife in the 
 
 city. 
 
 10 Day and night they go about "^ 
 within the walls thereof : mischief 
 
 earnestly, and repeating his supplications, as in the 
 garden of Gethsemane, at the prospect of that sea of 
 sorrows which was then about to overwhelm his 
 agonizing soul. In all our afflictions. He was afHicted : 
 in all his afflictions, let us be so. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. My heart is disquieted &c.] These words describe 
 the state of David's mind, when he went over the brook 
 Cedron, and up mount Olivet, " weeping as he went," 
 and expecting speedily to be cut off, 2 Sam. xv. 2.3. 30 : 
 they describe the agony of the Son of David, when He 
 likewise went over the same brook Cedron, John xviii. 
 1, at the time of his passion, when his soul was " sore 
 amazed and very hea\'y, and exceeding sorrowful, even 
 unto death," Mark xiv. 33, 34 ; and every man will too 
 surely find them a|iplicable to himself, if not often 
 before, yet certainly in, the day when the king of terrors 
 shall draw up all his forces in array against him. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' S. I icould make haste to escape: Sec.'] Tlie senti- 
 ment is, that he should with more ease provide a shelter 
 against the storms in the wilderness, than against the 
 malice of man in the city. Bp. llorsley. 
 
 B 9. Destroy their tonyiies. &c.] In these words, king 
 David beseeclieth God to divide, confound, and bring 
 to nothing the counsels of the iniquitous and rampant 
 faction ; for so, in the history, we find him saying, " () 
 Lord, I pray tliee turn the counsel of Ahithophel into 
 foolishness," 2 Sam. xv. 31. The royal i>rayer was 
 heard, the counsel of Ahithoiihel was overthrown by 
 Ilushai, and the disappointed traitor became his own 
 executioner. The treason of Judas, against the Son of 
 David, brought him likewise to the same end. Every 
 one, who finds himself tempted to betray the cause of 
 his prince, or his Saviour, should set these two ex- 
 anii)les before his eyes. Bp. Hnrne. 
 
 '' II). Day and tiiyht they go almut kc] The violence 
 and strife, mentioned at the conclusion of the preceding 
 verse, are here described as going their rounds, like an 
 armeil watch upon the walls, to guard rebellion, which 
 had taken up its residence in the heart of the city from 
 the attacks of loyalty, right, and justice, driven with the 
 king beyond Jordan. Thus from the same city was 
 righteousness afterwards expelled, in the |)erson of the 
 King of righteousness, and nothing left, but " mischief 
 and sorrow, wickedness, deceit, and guile," encompassed 
 with a guard of " violence and strife." Bj>. Hornc.
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 ia the midst of 
 
 alive. See 
 
 Vocab. 
 
 or the grave. 
 
 Jiib. Trans. 
 
 Mart/. 
 
 earnestly. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 importu- 
 nately. Br. 
 Hammond. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 Day 11. 
 
 also and sorrow are 
 it. 
 
 11 Wickedness is therein : deceit 
 and fruile go not out of their streets. 
 
 I'J For it is not an open enemy', 
 tliat hath done ine this dishonour : 
 for then I couhl liave borne it. 
 
 l;3 Neither was it mine adversary, 
 that did magnify liimself against me: 
 for then peradventure I wouhl have 
 hid myself from him. 
 
 14 But it was even thou, my com- 
 panion : my guide, and mine own 
 familiar friend. 
 
 15 We took sweet counsel toge- 
 ther : and walked in the house of 
 God as friends. 
 
 16 Let death come hastily upon 
 them'', and let them go down quick 
 into hell : for wickedness is in their 
 dwellings, and among them. 
 
 17 As for me, I will call upon 
 God' : and the Lord shall save me. 
 
 18 In the evening, and morning, 
 and at noon-day will I pray, and 
 that instantly : and he shall hear my 
 voice. 
 
 19 It is he that hath delivered™ 
 my soul in peace from the battle that 
 was against me : for there were many 
 with me. 
 
 523 
 
 ' 12. For it is not an open enemy, &c.] The many 
 aggravating circumstances of Ahithophel's treason 
 against David, and that of Judas against Christ, are 
 here strongly marked. The treachery of pretended 
 friends is generally to the church, as it was to her Lord, 
 the beginning of sorrows. Ingratitude, malice, and 
 falsehood, are ingredients that must always meet in the 
 composition of a traitor. B/j. Home. 
 
 ^ 16. Let death come hastily upon them, &c.] In these 
 words is predicted the tragical fate of Ahithophel, and 
 those who followed Absalom ; of Judas and the Jews ; 
 and of all, who shall resemble them in wickedness. 
 The sudden desti-uction of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, 
 who, for stirring up a rebellion against Moses and 
 Aaron, "went down alive into the pit," seems here 
 alluded to as the grand representation of the manner in 
 which the bottomless pit shall one day shut her mouth 
 for ever upon all the impenitent enemies of the true 
 King of Israel, and great High- Priest of our profession. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 17. As for me, I will call upon God: &c.] Prayer 
 is the believer's universal medicine for all the disorders 
 of the soul within, and his invincible shield against 
 every enemy that can attack him from without. " Morn- 
 ing, evening, and noon," were three of the hours of 
 prayer in the Jewish church. We find holy Daniel ob- 
 serWng them in Babylon, notwithstanding the royal 
 decree, which made it death for him so to do. The 
 event fully justified him, and shewed the power of true 
 devotion, whose high prerogative it still is, to save the 
 righteous from the mouth of the lion. See Dan. vi. 10. 
 22 ; 2 Tim. iv. 17 ; 1 Pet. v. 8. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 19. It is he that hath delivered &;c.] David was de- 
 
 20 Yea, even God, that enduretli 
 for ever, shall hear me, and bring 
 them down : for they will not turn, 
 nor fear (Jod. 
 
 '21 He laid his hands upon such" 
 as be at peace with him : and he 
 brake his covenant. 
 
 2'i I'he words of his mouth were 
 softer than Ijutter, having war in his 
 heart : his words were smoother than 
 oil, and yet be they very swords. 
 
 23 O cast thy burden upon the 
 Lord", and he shall nourish thee : 
 and shall not suffer the righteous to 
 fall for ever. 
 
 24 And as for themP : thou, O 
 God, shalt bring them into the pit of 
 destruction. 
 
 25 The blood-thirsty and deceitful 
 men shall not live out half their 
 days : nevertheless, my trust shall be 
 in thee, O Lord. 
 
 h-ith put 
 forth Ills 
 h.inds 
 a;.'ainf*t. 
 Bill. Tram. 
 
 su.stain. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM Ivi.i Miserere mei, Deus. 
 
 BE merciful unto me, O God^, 
 for man goeth about to devour 
 me : he is daily fighting, and troubling 
 me. 
 
 2 Mine enemies are daily in hand 
 
 are continu- 
 ally seeking 
 me. Travett. 
 
 livered in peace, when, after having repressed the rebel- 
 lion, he was brought back in triumjih to his capital ; the 
 Son of David was delivered in peace, when, victorious 
 over the enemies of man's salvation. He arose from the 
 dead, and retm-ned to the Jerusalem above ; the be- 
 lieving soul is delivered in peace, when her sins are 
 forgiven, and her corru])tions mortified ; and the bodies 
 of the saints shall be delivered in peace, at the resurrec- 
 tion of the just. The ground of all these deliverances 
 is one and the same : " they that are vAfh us are more 
 than they that are against us," 2 Kings \i. 16. Greater 
 is " he that is in us, than he that is in the world," 1 John 
 iv. 4. Bp. Home. 
 
 "11. He laid his hands upon such &c.] The prophet 
 goes on to describe the perfidy of traitors, like Ahitho- 
 phel and Judas. Every wilful and malicious sinner 
 "pvits forth his hand against" the person who is "at 
 peace with him," nay, who " made his peace" mth the 
 Father ; and, by so doing, " breaketh the covenant" 
 into which by baptism he was admitted. O blessed 
 Jesus, how often do we betray thee to thine enemies, 
 our own lusts, and consider it not ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 23. cast thy burden upon the Lord, &c.] The 
 conclusion of the whole matter is, that amidst all dan- 
 gers and adversities, whensoever they oppress us, we 
 are to put our full trust and confidence only in his 
 mercy, who delivered David, and the Son of Da\-id, 
 out of all their troubles. He, who once bore the bur- 
 den of oiu: sorrows, requested of us, that we would now 
 and ever permit Him to bear the burden of our cares; 
 that, as He knoweth what is best for us. He may pro- 
 vide it accordingly. Bp. Home. 
 
 p 24. And as/or them : &c.] O terrible voice of most
 
 524 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 wrest. 
 
 hide them- 
 selves. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 wanderings. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 to swallow me up : for tliey be many 
 tliat fiirht ao-ainst me, O thou most 
 Highest. 
 
 3 Nevertlieless, though I am 
 sometime afraid : yet put I mj- trust 
 in thee. 
 
 4 I will praise God, because of his 
 word : I ha\e put my trust in God, 
 and will not fear what flesh can do 
 unto me. 
 
 5 They daily mistake my words ' : 
 all that they imagine is to do me 
 evil. 
 
 6 They hold all together, and 
 keep themselves close : and mark 
 my steps, when they lay wait for my 
 soul. 
 
 7 Shall they escape for their wick- 
 edness : thou, O God, in thy dis- 
 pleasure shalt cast them down. 
 
 8 Thou tellest my flittings'; put 
 my tears into thy bottle : arc not 
 these things noted in thy book ? 
 
 just judgement, pronounced against rebels and murder- 
 ers ! Of the sure and certain execution of his righteous 
 sentence who can doubt, that considers the fate of Ko- 
 rah, Dathan, and Abiram; of Absalom, Ahithophel, 
 and Judas ; and, above all, of the city which contained 
 within its walls those rebels and murderers of the Son 
 of God ? Let us trust for ever in Ilim alone who can 
 thus deliver, and thus destroy. £/). Home. 
 
 1 PsAi.M Ivi.] David, in danger with the Philistines, 
 among whom he was driven, as well as from Saul and 
 his associates, is sujiposed to, 1 , 2, make supplication to 
 God, in whom, 3, 4, he placeth all his hojie and confi- 
 dence, 5 — 7, of being saved from the wiles and strata- 
 gems of the adversary ; 8, 9, he comforteth himself 
 with the consideration that God taketh account of his 
 sufferings, and will appear on his behalf; 10, 11, he 
 repeateth the declaration of his faith in the divine ])ro- 
 mises; and, 12, 13, condudeth with paying his tribute 
 of ])raise and thanksgiving. What David was in I'hi- 
 listia. the disciples of the Son of David are in the world. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 ' \. Be merciful unto me, God, &c.] The same 
 words are ajiplicable to the situation and cirouinstances 
 of David, pursued by his enemies ; of {'lu'ist, perse- 
 cuted by tlie Jews; of the church, alHicted in the 
 world ; and of tlie soul, encompassed by enemies, 
 against whom she is forced to wage perpetual war. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 •5. They dailij mistake my words : kc.'] These words 
 could not be more literally descriptive of the behaviour 
 of David's persecutors, than they certainly are of that 
 conduct which the Scrilies and I'liarisecs observed to- 
 wards our blessed Lord ; wlien, like serpents by tlie way- 
 side, they "marked his ste|is," till a proper opportunity 
 oli'ered, to dart from their hirking-place, and " bruise 
 his heel." We think it hard, when men \ise us in this 
 manner; but surely we either forget that the Son of 
 (jod was so used before us, or that we are his disciples. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 8. Thou tellest my jlil lings ; &c.] As if he liad said, 
 'i'liou knowcst all my distresses, and how often I liave 
 been forced to wan»ler, like a vagabond, from place to 
 
 Dmj 11. 
 
 9 Whensoever I call ujron thee", 
 then shall mine enemies be put to 
 flight : this I know; for God is on 
 my side. 
 
 10 In God's word will I rejoice'' : 
 in the Lord's word will I comfort 
 me. 
 
 1 1 Yea, in God have I put my 
 trust : I will not be afraid what man 
 can do unto me. 
 
 ] 2 Unto thee, O God, will I pay 
 my vows : unto thee will I give 
 thanks. 
 
 13 For thou hast delivered my 
 soul from death, and mv feet from nfe. Dr. 
 falling : that I may walk"before God """"'"""'■ 
 in the light of the living. 
 
 B 
 
 PSALM Ivii.'' Miserere mei, Deus. Easter-day, 
 E merciful unto me% O God, Morn. serV 
 
 be merciful inito me, for my 
 soul trusteth in thee : and under the 
 shadow of thy wings shall be my 
 
 place : O Lord, preserve a kind remembrance of my 
 tears, and let them not be lost as things which thou 
 regardest not. But I need not doubt thy kindness, 
 since thou keejiest a register of every tear, and of all 
 my troubles. It has been remarked, that it was the 
 custom in some countries, particularly in the East, to 
 use tear-bottles at ftmerals. Trarell. Known unto 
 God are all the afflictions of his servants, while banished, 
 like David, from their abiding city and country, they 
 "wander" here below, in the land of their pilgrimage. 
 The " tears" of penitents are had in remembrance, and, 
 as so many precious gems, will one day adorn their 
 crowns. How dear, then, in the sight of God, wei-e 
 the " wanderings" and the " tears" of the holy Jesus, 
 submitting to jierform penance for those sins which 
 He never committed ! Bp. Home. 
 
 " 9. fVhensoerer I call vpoti thee, &c.] What can we 
 possibly desire more, than this assurance, that, how 
 many, or how formidaltle, soever our enemies may be, 
 yet there is one always ready to ap])ear in our defence, 
 whose ]iower no ercatiu'c is able to resist ? " 'I'his I 
 know," saith David; and bad we the faith of David, 
 we should know it too. Up. Ilcrne. 
 
 " 10. In God's word will I rejoice: &c.] At the con- 
 clusion of this Psalm, and of many others, the jirophet 
 speaketh of his deliverance as actually accomplished ; 
 he acknowledgeth himself under the obligation of the 
 vows made to God in tlie night of affliction, which he is 
 resolved to pay on the morning of triumpli and jubilee. 
 O come that glorious morning, when the redeemed 
 shall sing eternal ]iraiscsto the Lord (iod of their salva- 
 tion, for having " delivered their souls from death, and 
 their feet from falling, that they may walk before him, 
 in the light of the living !" Bp. Hume. 
 
 >■ I's.M.M Ivii.l This Psalm is said to have been com- 
 ])oscd by David, on occasion of his escape from Saul, 
 in the cave at ICngedi. Sec 1 Sam. .xxiv. 3. And the 
 ('liurch, by her appointment of it as one of the proper 
 Psalms for Easter-day, hath instructed us to transfer 
 the ideas to the resurrection of (,'lirist from the grave. 
 The Psalm containcth, 1 — 1, an act of faith in the jiro- 
 mises ; 5, a description of grievous sufferings ; (i, a
 
 Day 11. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 52.5 
 
 these caiii- refuge, uiitll tliis tyranny be over- 
 
 mities. Bib. . 
 
 Tram. p.lSt. 
 
 2 I will call unto tlio most lii!;li 
 God" : even unto the God tliat sliall 
 
 Ijerform the cause which 1 luue in 
 land. 
 t3 He shall send from heaven : and 
 ri-proach. gavc me fiom the reproof of him that 
 
 Btb. Trails, , , * 
 
 See Vocab. wouKi eat me up. 
 
 4 God shall send forth his mercy 
 and truth : my soul is among- lions''. 
 
 5 And I lie even among the 
 children of men, that are set on fire : 
 whose teeth are spears and arrows, 
 and their tongue a sharp sword. 
 
 Be thou ex- 6 Set Up tliysclf, O God, abovc 
 Tranj. ' ' the heavens'^ : and thy glory above 
 all the earth. 
 
 7 They have laid a not for my 
 feet*, and pressed down my soul : 
 they have digged a pit before me, 
 and are fallen into the midst of it 
 themselves. 
 
 prayer for the exaltation of God's glory, which is re- 
 peated again at the concUision ; 7, a prediction of 
 judgment on the adversary; 8 — 11, a strain of the 
 highest exultation and juhilee. Bp. Home. 
 
 The composition of this Psalm is remarkably elegant. 
 It begins in a plaintive strain, imploring aid, and ex- 
 pressing deep distress and extreme danger : when sud- 
 denly, in the Sth verse, in the sure pros])ect of the 
 divine assistance, the strain is changed to notes of 
 praise and triumph, as over an enemy already fallen. 
 Bp. HoTsley. 
 
 ^ 1. Be merciful unto me. &c.] David, encompassed 
 by his enemies at Engedi, putteth up this prayer to 
 God ; the same prayer we may suppose to have been 
 used by our blessed Lord, when drawing near to the 
 grave, and gate of death : and the Church ever con- 
 tinuetli the use of it, until she be delivered from the 
 bondage of corruption. In the mean time, slie teacheth 
 her children to put themselves, living and dying, under 
 the protection of Him wlio is always ready to "gather 
 them, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." 
 There they may rest in peace and security. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 2. I will call unto the most hiffh God .- &c.] David 
 cried unto (iod, and was delivered out of the hand of 
 Saul ; the Son of David cried unto God, and was de- 
 livered from the power of the grave : the saints on 
 earth cry unto God, and shall be delivered out of their 
 troubles ; the souls under the altar in heaven cry 
 unto God, Rev. vi. 10; and shall obtain a reunion with 
 their bodies. Thus God " performeth all things for 
 us," as well as for David. Bp. Home. 
 
 ''4. — ?ny soul is mnonij lions, &c.] The fiercest of 
 beasts, the most devouring of elements, and the sharp- 
 est of military weapons, are selected to represent the 
 power and fury of David's enemies. How much 
 stronger and more furious, were the enemies of Christ, 
 who, in the day of his passion, resembled Daniel in the 
 lions' den, the three children in the fiery furnace, and 
 who stood alone, exposed to the assaults of men and 
 evil spirits ! Bp, Home, 
 
 ' 6. Set up thyself, God, above the heavens : &c.] 
 
 8 My heart is fixed", O God, my 
 heart is fixed : I will sing, and give 
 ]iraise. 
 
 9 Awake up, my glory f; awake, 
 lute and harp : I myself will awake 
 right early. 
 
 10 1 will give thanks 8 unto thee, 
 O Lord, among the peoj)le : and I 
 will sing mito thee among the na- 
 tions. 
 
 1 1 I''or the greatness of thy mercy 
 reacheth unto the heavens : and thy 
 truth unto the clouds. 
 
 1-2 Set up thyself, O God, above 
 the heavens : and thy glory above all 
 the earth. 
 
 PSALM Iviii.'' Si vers utique. 
 
 AR E your minds set upon right- 
 eousness', O ye congregation : 
 and do ye judge the thing that is 
 right, O ye sons of men ? 
 
 '2 Yea, ye imagine mischief in your 
 
 or prepared. 
 Ji:h. Trans. 
 Mury. 
 
 mv tongue. 
 Kc'e I's. xvi. 
 10, liote. 
 
 Be (hnii ex- 
 alted. B.b. 
 Trans. 
 
 do ye judge 
 uprightly. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 contrive. Ste 
 Vocab. 
 
 God is exalted and glorified among men by the display 
 of mercy and judgment, in the salvation of his children 
 from the hands of their enemies. But chiefly was He 
 exalted, when, having raised up his Son Jesus, He set 
 Him at his own right hand, far above all principalities 
 and powers, and ex'ery thing that is named in heaven 
 and in earth. This was the great exaltation, ]irefigured, 
 foretold, and incessantly prayed for, in the ancient 
 church. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■' 7 ■ They have laid a net for my feet, Sec.'] David 
 compares himself, 1 Sam. xxvi. 20, to a bird upon the 
 mountains, M'hieh the fowler endeavoureth to hunt into 
 the nets and snares setup and prepared for its destruc- 
 tion. So was the most innocent dove, the holy Jesus, 
 persecuted by the Jews until they liad driven Him into 
 the snares of death, and laid Him low in the grave. 
 But the enemies of both received, in the end, the due 
 reward of their deeds, and " fell into the pit they had 
 digged." Bp, Home. 
 
 ' 8. My heart is fixid, &c.] At the prospect of aji- 
 proaching deliverance, the projjhet, in the person of 
 Christ, declareth his heart to be fixed and estalilished, 
 stedfast and unmoveable in the midst of trouble, even 
 then preparing to celebrate its future enlargement with 
 songs of praise. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 9. Awale up, my glory ; &c.] For this purpose, he 
 calls upon his tongue, with all his instruments of musick, 
 all the organs of the body and affections of the sold, to 
 unite their powers in sweetest harmony and concert, 
 and to awaken the sluggish morning with the voice of 
 melody, sounding forth the glories of redemption. Thus 
 should the morning be ever celebrated, on which Christ 
 " arose from the dead, and became the first fruits of 
 them that slept." Bp. Home. 
 
 s 10. / will give thanks &c.] The resurrection of 
 Jesus from the grave, foreshadowed in the deliverance 
 of David from the hand of Saul, was a transaction 
 which caused the heavens, and all the powers therein, 
 to extol the mercy and the truth of God. The nations 
 of the earth, whose are the benefits and the blessings 
 of that transaction, are, therefore, bound evermore to 
 make it the subject of their praises and thanksgivings ;
 
 526 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 11. 
 
 The wicked 
 are estrang- 
 ed. Bih. 
 Tram. 
 
 vben lie 
 bendeth his 
 how to shoot 
 his arrow, let 
 thera be as 
 cut in pieces. 
 Sib. Trans. 
 abortive 
 birth. Dr. 
 
 heart upon the earth : and your hands 
 deal with wickedness. 
 
 3 The ungodly are froward'', even 
 from their mother's womb : as soon 
 as they are born, they go astray, and 
 speak lies. 
 
 4 They are as venomous' as the 
 poison of a serpent : even like the 
 deaf adder that stoppeth her ears ; 
 
 5 Which refuseth to hear the voice 
 of the charmer : charm he never so 
 wisely. 
 
 6 Break their teeth, O God™, in 
 their mouths; smite the jaw-bones of 
 the lions, O Lord : let them fall away 
 like water" that runneth apace; and 
 when they shoot their arrows, let 
 them be rooted out. 
 
 7 Let them consume away like a 
 snail", and be like the untimely fruit 
 
 Kichults. 
 
 which is done by tlie members of our Church every 
 Easter-day, in the words of this very Psalm. Bj). 
 Home. 
 
 ^ Psalm Iviii.] Tliis Psalm of David is a contem- 
 plation of the injustice and incorrigible wickedness of 
 men, especially of his enemies, that e.\as])erated Saul 
 against him ; together with God's unexpected speedy 
 vengeance on them. Dr. Hammond. In the persons of 
 Saul and his iniquitous counsellors, the enemies of 
 Christ and the clmrch, 1, 2, are reproved, and, 3 — 5, 
 their malice is described, by comparing it to the poison 
 of serpents, which are proof against every art made use 
 of to tame them : — S, the destruction of the wicked 
 is foretold and illustrated by six similitudes ; 9, the 
 triumph of the righteous is likewise predicted ; as also, 
 10, the effect it will produce, in manifesting to all the 
 world the providence and glory of God. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. Are your minds set upon riyhteousness, &cc.'\ The 
 proceedings of Doeg, and other associates of Saul, 
 against David ; those of Judas and the Sanhedrim 
 against our Lord ; and those of wicked princes, and 
 court sycophants, in different ages, against the faitli 
 and the church ; as they sjiring from the same princi- 
 ples, so they flow pretty much in the same channel. 
 Such men may here see their cliaractcrs drawn, and 
 their end foretold. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ .■?. The unyodhj are froward, &c.] The tares, sown 
 by the enemy in human nature, ajijicar early ; and shew 
 us how far we are estranged from original tnitli and 
 righteousness. Bp. Home. The meaning is, as soon as 
 they are by age and understanding aiul use of their 
 faculties qualified for sinning, which is not many months 
 after their birth, they do uctually fall into sin, and ac- 
 cordingly grow up in it without reformation. Dr. 
 llaininond. 
 
 ' 4. Tliey arc us vmomnus &c.] Tlic wicked are here 
 com])ared to serpents, for that malignity in tlieir tem- 
 pers, whicli is the venom and jioison of ihc intellectual 
 world. Aim] whereas there are some kinds even of 
 serpents, which, by musioal sounds, may, for a time, as 
 it is said, be disarmed of their rage, and rendered so 
 tame as to be handled without danger; yet the evil 
 disi)03itions of some men, like tbo.se of one jjarticular 
 species of the serpentine race, are often invincible. 'I'he 
 enmity of a Saul was i)roof against the heavenly strains 
 of the son of Jesse ; and lie, wlio spake as " never 
 
 of a woman : and let them not see 
 the sun. 
 
 8 Or ever your pots be made hotP Before your 
 
 ... •' , * . , . . pots can feel 
 
 witli thorns : so let nidignation vex the thorns. 
 him, even as a thing that is raw. ■"''■ ^'■'""• 
 
 9 The righteous shall rejoice i 
 when he seeth the vengeance : he 
 shall wash his footsteps in the blood 
 of the ungodly. 
 
 10 So that a man shall say. Verily 
 there is a reward for the righteous : 
 doubtless there is a God that judgeth 
 the earth. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM Ux.' Eripe me de inimicis. 
 
 DELIVER me from mine 
 enemies % O God : defend me 
 from them that rise up against me. 
 
 man spake," was stung to death by " a generation of 
 vipers." Bp. Home. 
 
 °> 6. Break their teeth, O God, &c.] Tlie destruction 
 of the wicked is rejiresented under six similitudes. 
 The first is that of breaking the teeth of lions, being 
 the most terrible weapons of the most terrible animals. 
 But what is human power, at its highest exaltation, if 
 compared to that of God ? Bp. Home. 
 
 ' — let them fall away like water &c.] The second 
 similitude, used to illustrate the destruction of the 
 wicked, is that of torrents and inundations, which 
 descend with great noise from the mountains, and cover 
 the face of a country ; but their cause soon ceasing to 
 act, they run off and appear no more ; herein affording 
 a fine emblem of the weakness and instal)ility of earthly 
 power. The impotence of human efforts against divine 
 counsels is compared, thirdly, to a man drawing a bow, 
 when the arrow on the string is broken in two ; and 
 therefore, instead of flying to the mark, falls useless at 
 his feet. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 7. Let Ihem consume away like a snail, &c.] A snail, 
 which, coming forth of liis shell, marks his jia'h with 
 slime, continually losing some jiart of his substance in 
 his progress ; and an abortion, which consumes away in 
 the like manner : these are the foiu'th and fifth images, 
 selected to represent the transient natiu'e of worldly 
 greatness, still wasting, till it comes to nothing ; and 
 the miserable fate of those, who |)frish, with their half- 
 formed devices, nor ever behold the Sun of Righteous- 
 ness. Bp. Home. 
 
 <" 8. Or ever your pols be made hot &c.] Without 
 any delay, as a pot is set boiling by the strong heat of a 
 fu-e of thorns, let the divine vengeance fret and torment 
 them, as an inflammation rankles a wound. Dr. Nicholls. 
 IJy the |n'overl)ial expression in the first clause of this 
 verse, the I'sahnist describes the sudden enqition of the 
 divine wrath : sudden and violent, as the ascension of 
 the dry bramble imder tlic liousewifV's jjot. The bright- 
 ness of tlie fliune wliich tliis material fm-nisbes, the 
 lieight to which it mounts in an instant, tlie fury with 
 wliich it seems to rage on all sides of the vessel, give 
 force and even sublimity to the image, though taken 
 from one of the commonest occurrences of the lowest 
 life. Bp. Horsliy. 
 
 '' 9. The righteous shall rejoice &c.] The \-ictoric3 
 of that just One, gained in his own person and in thoso
 
 Day 11. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 527 
 
 2 O deliver me from the wicked 
 doers : and save me from the blood- 
 thirsty men. 
 
 3 For lo, they lie waiting for my 
 soul : the mighty men are gathered 
 against me, without any offence or 
 fault of me, O Lord. 
 
 4 They run and prepare them- 
 selves without my fault : arise thou 
 therefore to help me, and behold. 
 
 5 Stand up, O Lord God of 
 hosts', thou God of Israel, to visit 
 all the heathen : and be not merciful 
 
 toanywicked unto them that offend of malicious 
 
 ors'."'^"r wickedness. 
 
 JeTvicab ® They go to and fro" in the 
 evening : they grin like a dog", and 
 run about through the city. 
 
 7 Behold, they speak with their 
 mouth >■, and swords are in their lips : 
 
 for who (say for who doth hear ? 
 
 they) doth 
 
 hear? Bih. Trans. 
 
 of his faithful ser\'ants, over the enemies of man's sal- 
 vation, are productive of a joy, which sprinf^eth not 
 from love of revenge, hut is inspu-ed by a view of the 
 divine mercy, justice, and truth, displayed in the redemp- 
 tion of the elect, the punishment of the ungodly, and 
 the accomplishment of the promises. Whoever duly 
 wcigheth and considereth these things, will diligently 
 seek after the reward of righteousness, and humbly 
 adore the providence, which ordereth all things ariglit, 
 in heaven and earth. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm lix.] This Psalm is said to have been com- 
 p sed on occasion of David's escape, when Saul sent, 
 and they watched the house to kill him. See 1 Sam. 
 xix. 11 — 18. David, in these, as in many other circum- 
 stances of his life, may be considered as the representa- 
 tive of Messiah, 1, 2, prajnng to be delivered from the 
 power of his blood-thirsty enemies, whose indefatiga- 
 ble malice he, 3 — 7, describes ; but 8 — 10, predicts 
 his own enlargement through the tender mercy and 
 mighty power of God; as also, 11 — 15, the singular 
 vengeance to be poured out upon his enemies, for their 
 punishment, and the admonition of others. The Psalm 
 concludes with a strain of exultation and thanksgiving. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. Deliver me from mine enemies, &c.] In these 
 words we hear the voice of David, when a prisoner in 
 his own house ; the voice of Christ, when surrounded 
 by his merciless enemies ; the voice of the church, when 
 under bondage in the world ; and the voice of the 
 Christian, when under temptation, afBiction, and perse- 
 cution. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. Stand up, Lord God of hosts, &c.] The pro- 
 phet, in this verse, seemeth to respect that great day 
 of final retribution, which is to succeed the day of 
 grace, the accepted time of repentance and jiardon. 
 For then it is that Jehovah shall awake, to judge the 
 nations ; to reward every man according to his deeds ; 
 and to banish for ever, from his presence, the impenitent 
 workers of iniquity. The malicious adversaries of 
 David, and those of the Son of David, may not then 
 find the mercy, so often by them rejected, in the days 
 of their flesh. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 6. They go to and fro &o.] Tlie emissaries of Saul, 
 coming alter David in the "evening," besetting his 
 
 8 But thou, O Lord% .slialt have 
 them in derision : and thou shalt 
 laugh all the heathen to scorn. 
 
 y My strength will I ascribe luito 
 thee : for thou art the God of my 
 refuge. 
 
 10 God sheweth me his goodness 
 plenteously : and God shall let me 
 see my desire upon mine enemies. 
 
 1 1 Slay them not% lest my people 
 forget it : but scatter them abroad 
 among the people, and put them 
 down, O Lord, our defence. 
 
 12 For the sin of their mouth'', 
 and for the words of their lips, they 
 shall be taken in their pride : and 
 why? their preaching is of cursing 
 and lies. 
 
 13 Consume them in thy wratl: 
 consume them that they may perish : fhatThey"'' 
 and know that it is God that ruleth "\y ""' ''*• 
 
 Btb. Trans. 
 
 their whole 
 conversation. 
 1 ■•■, Dr. mcholls. 
 
 house, and blocking up the avenues, are compared to a 
 set of hungry blood-hounds in quest of their jjrey. 
 But the pictm'c is drawn likemse for that herd of even- 
 ing wolves who thirsted after the blood of the Lamb of 
 God, on whom their mouths were opened, crying, 
 " Crucify him ! crucify him !" Bp. Home. 
 
 ' — like a dog, &c.] The allusion to dogs is illus- 
 trated by the circumstance, that those animals, though 
 not usually admitted into the houses, abound veiy much 
 in the streets, of Eastern cities. Travell. 
 
 1 7. Behold, they speak with their mouth, &c.] Out of 
 the abundance of malice in the heart, the mouth will 
 speak, like the cutting of a sword ; and the wicked 
 take counsel against the just, as if there were no one 
 above who heard and regarded. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 8. But thou, Lord, &c.] These very expressions 
 are used in the 4th verse of the 2nd Psalm, to denote 
 the futility of all the counsels entered into, by Jew 
 and Gentile, against Messiah and his church. The 
 Psalm before us seems evidently to relate to the same 
 counsels, against the same blessed Person, whatever 
 part of king David's history might be the occasion of 
 its being composed. Bp. Home. 
 
 '11. Slay them not, &c.] The prophet, in the person 
 of Messiah, predicted the singular fate of the Jews ; 
 who, for their sins, were not extirpated, lest the Gentile 
 Christians should " forget" their punishment, but were 
 " scattered" among all nations, and degraded from the 
 glorious privileges of that high rank in which they once 
 stood. Thus doth that people remain, at this day, a 
 monument of God's vengeance against apostasy ; a 
 beacon, set up and kindled by the hand of Heaven, as a 
 warning to all Christian churches, that they split not 
 on the same fatal rock. Bp. Home. 
 
 Jerome rightly conceives, that this passage alludes to 
 the punishment of the Jewish nation, dispersed but not 
 extinguished. Bp. Horsley. 
 
 ^ 12. For the sin of their mouth, &c.] That dreadful 
 word, " His blood be on us and on our children." Bp. 
 Horsley. The causes of the Jews' dispersion are here 
 assigned, namely, " the sin of their mouth" in the 
 " words of their lips," or their " hard speeches," spoken 
 against the Son of God ; their slanders, lying accusa- 
 tions, and outrageous blasphemies, together with that
 
 528 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 in Jacob, and unto the ends of tlie 
 world. 
 
 14 And in tlie evening they will 
 return'' : grin like a dog, and will go 
 about the city. 
 
 15 They will run here and there 
 for meat : and grudge if they be not 
 satisfied. 
 
 16 As for me, I will sing^ of thy 
 power, and will praise thy mercy 
 betimes in the morning : for thou 
 hast been my defence and refuge in 
 the day of my trouble. 
 
 17 Unto thee, O my strength, 
 will I sing : for thou, O God, art my 
 refuge, and mj' merciful God. 
 
 o 
 
 PSALM Ix.' Deus, repulisti nos. 
 
 God, thou hast cast us out^, 
 and scattered us abroad : thou 
 
 horrid imprecation in which they involved their descen- 
 dants; who have groaned under the weiglit of it for 
 these 1"00 years, and yet still continue to justify the 
 deeds of their fathers, retaining that "pride" in their 
 name, and long since forfeited privileges, which pro- 
 voked the Romans to destroy their city and country. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '13. Consume them in thy wrath, &c.] Tliis predic- 
 tion was accomplished in the total subversion of Jeru- 
 salem by Titus, ■^^■hen the Jews having no longer any 
 city, temple, or civil polity, ceased to " be," as a nation. 
 And they ha\"e seen enough to have convinced them, 
 that God is the God " not of the Jews only, but of the 
 Gentiles also." The Gospel hath been preached, ido- 
 latry hath been overthrown, the nations have been con- 
 verted to the faith of Abraham, and that of David, 
 whose Psalms are used throughout the world ; and 
 God, who "ruled in Jacob, and was known in Jewry," 
 now is known and ruletli " unto the ends of the earth ;" 
 for they have " seen the salvation," and submitted to 
 the scejitre, of King Messiah. Bp. Hone. 
 
 ■' 14. And in the evening they will return : &c.] The 
 punishment inflicted on the wicked often carries the 
 mark of their crime. It is just that they, who have 
 thirsted after the blood of the righteous, should want 
 a drop of water to cool their tongues ; and the lumger 
 of a dog is deservedly their plague, of whom a resem- 
 blance of that unclean animal's dis[)osition bath been 
 the sin. Such is the [jresent condition of the Jews, 
 e.tcluded from the church, and suffering all the calami- 
 ties of a spiritual famine ; and such will be the con- 
 dition of all tliosc who are to wail and lament in vain, 
 without the holy city, for evermore. Kev. .\.\ii. 15. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. As for me, I will sing &c.] While the wicked 
 murmur and rc|)ine at the dispensations of Heaven, the 
 righteous are em|)loyed in giving tlianks and praises 
 for the same ; and the " morning" which is to consign 
 the former to the habitations of despair, where no 
 sounds arc heard but those of hideous wailings and 
 horrid blasphemies, shall transport the latter to the 
 mansions of felicity, resounding with incessant hallelu- 
 jah.s. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' PsAi.M Ix] ITiis Psalm is thought to have been 
 composed by David, wlien, after his coining to the 
 throne, the tribes of Israel bad submitted to hi.s sceptre, 
 
 Dai/ 1 1. 
 O turn 
 
 hast also been displeased ; 
 thee unto us again. 
 
 2 Thou hast moved the land, and 
 divided it : heal the sores thereof, 
 for it shaketh. 
 
 3 Thou hast shewed thy people 
 heavy things'" : thou hast given us a 
 drink of deadly wine. 
 
 4 Tliou hast ffiven a token' for a banner. 
 
 , .. ^1 ° .1 t ^1 Bib. Trans. 
 
 such as tear thee : tliat they may that u may 
 triumph because of the truth. Bitxrllf 
 
 5 Therefore were thy beloved de- 
 livered : help me with thy right hand, 
 and hear me. 
 
 6 God hath spoken in his holi- 
 ness ''j I will rejoice, and divide 
 Sichem : and mete out the valley of 
 Succoth. 
 
 7 Gilead is mine', and Manasses 
 is mine : Ephraim also is the strength 
 
 and he was engaged in the reduction of the adjacent 
 countries. See the history, 2 Sam. v. and viii. 1 — 3, 
 He describes what Israel had lately suffered from foreign 
 enemies, and domestick feuds ; 4 — 6, he declareth him- 
 self appointed to conduct his people to victory and 
 triumjjh, according to a divine prediction; 7, he re- 
 joiceth in the accession of the other tribes to that of 
 Judah, and, 8 — 12, sees Edom, Moab, and PhiHstia, 
 already subdued by the mighty power of God. All this 
 is now to be spiritually applied, in the Christian church, 
 to the establishment and enlargement of Messiah's 
 kingdom, prefigured by that of David. Bp. Home. 
 
 8 1.0 God, thou ha.it cast us out, &c.] When the 
 church, by her sins, hath rejected God, she is rejected 
 by Him ; she is delivered into the hands of her ene- 
 mies, and suffers persecution : when, by rejientancc 
 and supphcation, she retiu-neth to Him, He is ready 
 to meet and receive her. The history of Israel is one 
 continued exemplification of these most interesting 
 truths. It should be the care and endeavour of every 
 church, and every individual, to profit thereby. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '' 3. Thou hast shewed thy people heavy things: &c.] 
 The Israelites had not only suffered " hard things " 
 from their professed enemies the Philistines, by the 
 overthrow of Saul and his army, but their civil dissen- 
 sions at home shewed that they had drunk deep of the 
 bitter cup of infatuation. See 1 Sam. xxxi. and 2 
 Sam. ii. and iii. From these two sources (low the 
 calamities of churches and of kingdoms in all ages, 
 whensoever it jileaseth (iod to visit tlieir transgressions 
 upon them by tlie instrumentality of men. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. Thou hast given a token &c.] I'or the temporal 
 salvation of Israel, (Jod raised uji David, according to 
 his [iromise ; to whose standard, as a centre of unity, 
 the worshijipers of the true (iod might resort. For the 
 spiritual and eternal salvation of the church, God 
 raised up his Son Jesus, according to his ]iroinise, and 
 " displayed tlie banner of the cross," under which be- 
 lievers are enlisted, and led on to triumph, " because 
 of the truth." Uemarkablc to this jnirpose are the 
 words of Isaiah : " In lliat day there shall be a root of 
 Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the i)eo])le ; 
 to it shall the (jentiles seek : and his rest," after the 
 battle is over, and the victory gaineil, " sliall be glori- 
 ous," Isa. xi. 10. Bp. Hume.
 
 Or, triumph 
 tliou over 
 me : by an 
 irony. Bib. 
 Trans. Marg. 
 
 Wilt not 
 tliou, O God, 
 whicli hadst 
 cast us ofl'f 
 snd tliou, O 
 God, which 
 didst not go 
 out with our 
 armies 1 Bib. 
 Trails. 
 
 Day 11. 
 
 of my head; Juclali is 
 giver ; 
 
 8 Moab is iny wash-pot™; 
 Edoin will I cast out my shoo : 
 listia, be thou if lad of me. 
 
 9 Who will lead me into 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 my law- 
 
 over 
 Phi- 
 
 the 
 
 strong- city" : who will bring me into 
 Edom ? 
 
 10 Hast not thou" cast us out, O 
 God : wilt not thou, O God, go out 
 with our hosts ? 
 
 11 O be thou our help i' in trou- 
 ble : for vain is the help of man. 
 
 12 Tlirough God will we do great 
 
 '' 0. God hath spoken in his holiness, &c.] Or, by his 
 holy one. As a ground of hoi)e and confidence, David 
 here declares, that God, by the mouth of an holy 
 prophet, had spoken and promised him the successes 
 for which he prayed in the foregoing verse. And that 
 this was known among the people, appears from a 
 speech of Abner to the elders of Israel, 2 Sam. iii. 18, 
 " The Lord hath spoken of David, saying. By the hand 
 of my servant David I will save my people Israel out 
 of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of 
 all their enemies." Ha\ing, therefore, mentioned this 
 ])rediction, much of which was already accomplished, 
 he e.xults as a conqueror, resolving to divide into 
 districts, and portion out under proper officers, the 
 country about Samaria, now become his own. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 ' 7. Gilead is mine, &c.] " Gilead, Manasseh, Eph- 
 raim," and the other tribes of Israel, upon the death of 
 Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, whom Abner had set over 
 them, joined the royal tribe of Judah, and came in, 
 \vith one accord, to the house of Dand. See 2 Sam. 
 ii. 8, and v. 1, " Ephraim," as a tribe abounding in 
 valiant men, is styled by its prince, " the strength of 
 his head," or the support of his life and kingdom ; and 
 " Judah," as the seat of empire, replenished with men 
 of wisdom and understanding, qualified to assist the 
 throne by their salutary counsels, is dignified with the 
 title of " lawgiver." Thus are the tribes of the sjiiritual 
 " Israel " subject to Messiah, and serve Him in various 
 capacities, as the Spirit furnishes different men with 
 different ])owers : some being endued with zeal and 
 fortitude, to labour and suffer ; others with knowledge 
 and discretion, to instruct and govern. Bp. Home. 
 
 " S. Moab is my u-ash-pot : &c.] After having men- 
 tioned the submission of the Israelitish tribes to his 
 sceptre, David predicts the extension of his king- 
 dom over the neighbouring nations, those inveterate 
 enemies of the people of God ; such as the Moabites, 
 the Edomites, and, above all, the Philistines. The 
 absolute reduction of these nations under his dominion 
 is expressed metaphorically, by the phrases of "making 
 them his wash-pot, and extending his shoe, that is, 
 setting his foot," upon them. The Son of David also 
 must " reign, tiU he hath j)iit all enemies imder his 
 feet," 1 Cor. xv. 25. And the Christian, in these 
 words, now declareth his hope of being enabled to do 
 the same ; to conquer through his Lord, and to triumph 
 with Him. Bp. Hnrne. 
 
 ° 9. fVho will lead me into the strong city : &c.] 
 Bozrah, the capital of Iduraea, or " Edom," was a for- 
 tified town, situated on a rock, deeined iinpregnal)le. 
 See Obad. ver. 3. Considering therefore the strength of 
 the adversary, David, by this question, acknowledgeth 
 his own impotency, and the need he had of superior 
 
 acts : for it is he 
 down our enemies. 
 
 that shall 
 
 529 
 
 tread 
 
 PSALM Ixi.1 Exaudi, Deus. 
 EAR my crying, O God: 
 give ear unto my prayer. 
 2 From the ends of the earth will 
 call upon thee : when my lieart is 
 
 H 
 
 I 
 
 in neaviness. 
 
 3 O set me up upon the rock that 
 is liigher than 1 : for thou hast been 
 my hope ', and a strong tower for me 
 against the enemy. 
 
 4 I will dwell in thy tabernacle' 
 
 aid, in order to achieve this important conquest. How 
 great need, then, have we of an Almighty Saviour, who 
 may enable us to overcome our last and strongest 
 enemy, death ! And it is very remarkable, that Christ's 
 \'ictory over this very enemy is set forth, by the pro- 
 phet Isaiah, under the striking image of a king of 
 Israel, returning in triumph from the reduction of 
 Idumea. " Who is this, that cometh from Edom, 
 with dyed garments from Bozrah?" &c. Isa. l.'iiii. 1. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 10. Hast not thou &c.] The question in the last 
 verse, " Who will bring me into Edom ?" is here an- 
 swered by another question, " Wilt not thou, O God ?" 
 &c. ; that is, to whom can we have recourse, for as- 
 sistance, but to thee, O God ? Deserted by thee, we 
 fall ; but do thou go forth with us, and we shall again 
 rise superior to every enemy. So saith the Christian 
 soldier : " Lord, to wdiom shall we go ? Thou hast the 
 words of eternal life ;" " Thou hast overcome the sharj)- 
 ness of death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all 
 believers." Bp. Home. 
 
 p M. O be thou our help &c.] David, like a wise and 
 pious prince, acknowledgeth the weakness of the Heshly 
 arm, and strengtheneth himself in the Lord his God. 
 Much more ought we to confess the impotence of 
 nature, and to implore the succours of grace ; that so 
 we may happily accomplish our spiritual warfare, tread 
 Satan under otu' feet, and triumjjh finally over the last 
 enemy, death himself. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 Psalm Ixi.] In the person of David, for a while 
 driven into exile, and then restored to his kingdom, we 
 here behold the church, or any member thereof, 1 — 3, 
 preferring a jictition for deliverance from the troubles 
 and temptations of this mortal state; 4, 5, expressing 
 faith and hope in God ; 6, 7, praying for the prosperity 
 and perpetuity of Messiah's kingdom ; and, 8, resolving 
 to praise God evermore for the same. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. — for thou hast been my hope, &c.] Meditation 
 on God our Saviour, as set forth in the Scriptures, will 
 ever prove, to the believer, " a strong tower " or fortress, 
 in which he will be safe from the darts of the enemy, 
 and will be furnished with impregnable arguments, 
 wherewith to o])pose and blunt the force of every 
 temptation which Satan can launch against his soul. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. / will dwell in thy tabernacle &c.] They, who 
 sojourn in the " tabernacle " of the church militant on 
 earth, and continue faithful members of the same, shall 
 take up their eternal residence in that permanent " tem- 
 ple," the church triumphant in heaven. Below, they 
 are protected by the all-shadowing "wing" of God's 
 fatherly providence ; above, they will be rewarded with 
 the all-illuminating vision of his glorious presence. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 2 M
 
 530 
 
 TOWS. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 hast given 
 me the herit- 
 age of those. 
 Sib. Tram. 
 
 for ever : and my trust sliall be under 
 the covering- of thy wings. 
 
 5 For thou, O Lord, hast heard 
 my desires' : and hast given an 
 heritage unto those that fear thy 
 Name. 
 
 6 Thou shalt grant the King a 
 long life" : that his years may endure 
 througliout all generations. 
 
 7 He shall dwell before God for 
 ever : O prepare thy loving mercy 
 
 they may pre- 
 
 THE PSALMS. Darj 12. 
 
 2 He verily is my strength and 
 my salvation : he is my defence, so 
 
 that 
 
 and faithfulness 
 serve him. 
 
 8 So will I alway sing praise ^ unto 
 thy Name : that I may daily perform 
 my vows. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM brii.? Nonne Deo ? 
 
 MY soul truly waiteth still upon 
 God^ : for of him cometh my 
 salvation. 
 
 ' 5. For thou, Lord, hast heard my desires :'\ Or 
 " vows." The " vows " of David, made during his 
 banishment, were heard, and he was restored to the 
 possession of his kingdom, in that land which God had 
 given to his people, for an " heritage." The vows of 
 Messiah, made in the days of his pilgrimage, were 
 heard, and He hath re-assumed his ancient throne in 
 the heavenly Jenisalem. The prayers of the faithful, 
 made in the land where they are in exile, are heard, and 
 their spirits shall return to God, who will " give them 
 the heritage of those that fear his name." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 6 Thou shalt grant the King a long life : &c.] Thou 
 shalt bless me with a long and prosperous life, and there- 
 in make me a type of the Messiah, whose kingdom, 
 when it commences, shall have no end. Dr. Hammond. 
 The King is evidently the Messiah. Bp. Horsley. 
 These words must be applied to Him, of whom it was 
 said by the angel, " The Lord God shall give unto him 
 tlic throne of his father David ; and he shall reign o\-er 
 the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there 
 shall be no end," Luke i. 32. 'llie ancient church 
 jirayed for "his" exaltation and glory, under those of 
 his rp|)rcsentativc ; nay, the (Jhaldee parajihrast ex- 
 pounds this passage of Messiah only : " Thou shalt 
 add days to the days of King Messias ; his years shall 
 be as the gencraticm of this world, and of the world 
 to come." Nor can a better paraphrase bo easily de- 
 vised. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 8. So will I always sing praise &c.] For the pre- 
 «er\'ation and i)ros])eritv, the exaltation, the power, and 
 the everlasting glory of Christ's kingdom, with all the 
 benefits and blessings thereof, we are bound to sing 
 praise unto (iod's holy name for ever, and daily to per- 
 form tlie vows made in baptism, that we would l(clicvc 
 in Him, and serve Him, all the days of our life ; until 
 the blessed day shall dawn, which no night is to follow, 
 when faith shall end in vision, and duty be resolved 
 into praise. Up. Home. 
 
 ' I'sAL.M I.vii.] There arc no petitions nor (lianks- 
 givings in this I'salm ; l)ut expressions of David's faith 
 and confidence in (iod, and exhortations to all other 
 jjcrsons to place all their confidence in God only. Bp. 
 
 that I shall not greatly fall. 
 
 3 How long will ye imagine mis- 
 chiefs against every man : ye shall 
 be slain all the sort of you; yea, as 
 a tottering wall shall ye be, and like 
 a broken hedge''. 
 
 4 Their device is only"^ how to 
 put him out whom God will exalt : 
 their delight is in lies ; they give 
 good words with their mouth, but 
 curse with their heart. 
 
 5 Nevertheless, my sold, wait thou 
 still upon God : for my hope is in 
 him. 
 
 6 He truly is my strength and my 
 salvation : he is my defence, so that 
 I shall not fall. 
 
 7 In God is my health, and my 
 glory : the rock of my might, and in 
 God is my trust. 
 
 8 O put your trust in him '' alway. 
 
 I shall not 
 be greatly 
 moved. Jiib. 
 Trans. 
 
 all of you. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 as a bowing 
 wall shall ye 
 be, acid as a 
 tottering 
 fence. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 I shall not bo 
 moved. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 salvation. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 safety. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 Patrick. This Psalm containeth, 1, 2, a resolution to 
 trust in God alone ; 3, 4, a denunciation of judgment 
 against the persecutors of the just One ; 5 — 7, a re- 
 peated act of faith, and resolution to trust in God, nith, 
 8, an exhortation to all nations to do the same; and 
 that, 9, 10, because there is no confidence to be placed 
 in man, or in the world; but only, 11, in the divine 
 power, and, 12, mercy. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. My soul truly waiteth still upon God : Sicl David, 
 in the midst of trouble, and perhaps tempted to have 
 recourse to sinful expedients for his preservation, deter- 
 mined still to repose all his confidence on the promised 
 mercy of Him who is the "salvation," the " rock," and 
 the " high i)lace," or fortress of men. Christ would not 
 be delivered from his sufferings, by any other means 
 than those which the Father had ordained. The church, 
 in like manner, sliould jiatiently wait for the salvation 
 of God, and not attempt, through distrust of the divine 
 mercy, to save herself by unwai-rantable methods, of 
 her own dc\ising. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. Hotv long will ye imagine mischirf &c.] From a 
 declaration of liis trust in God, the pro|)het jmsseth 
 to an expostulation witli his enemies, for continually 
 plotting against him; and foretcllcth, that their de- 
 struction will happen suddenly and irremediably, like 
 the downfal of a wall that is out of tlie ]icrpend'icular, 
 or a stone fence, the jiarts of which are not ceincntetl 
 together. See Isa. xxx. 13. How striking is this ex- 
 postulation, and this prediction, if considered as ad- 
 dressed Ijy Messiah to his implacable enemies! Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 I" — like a broken hedge.'] A shaken fence ; that is, you 
 are yourschcs ujion the \-erge of ruin, while ye are 
 busied in these wicked ])lots. 'J'liis was remarkably 
 the case with tlie Jewish iicojile at the time when oiir 
 Lord was the object of their malice. Bp. Horsley. 
 
 ' 4. Thrir device it only ^c] The adversaries of David 
 " consulteii" how to deprive him of those honours to 
 which (ioil designed to exalt liiiii ; llio Scrihes and I'ha- 
 risees took counsel against Jesus, witli the same intent; 
 and to rob the Christian of the glory and inunortality 
 jirepared for him, is the end of every temptation which
 
 Day 12 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 5.'31 
 
 to he laid in 
 the balance, 
 they are alto- 
 gether light- 
 er, S:c. Bib. 
 Tram. 
 
 thou render- 
 est to. Bib. 
 Trana. 
 
 ye people : pour out your hearts be- 
 fore liim, for God is our hope. 
 
 9 As for the chikh-eu of men, tlicy 
 are but vanity : the children of men 
 are deceitful upon the weights, they 
 are altogether lighter than vanity 
 itself. 
 
 10 O trust not in wrong and rob- 
 bery, give not yourselves unto va- 
 nity : if riches increase, set not your 
 heart upon them. 
 
 . 11 God spake once % and twice I 
 have also heard the same : that power 
 belongeth unto God ; 
 
 12 And that thou, Lord, art mer- 
 ciful : for thou rewardest every man 
 accordine' to his work. 
 
 o 
 
 PSALM Ixiii.' Deus, Deus meus. 
 God, thou art my God : early 
 will I seek thee. 
 2 My soul thirsteth for thee, my 
 
 the enemy throws in his way, whether it be of the 
 terrifying, or, which oftener succeeds, the flattering, 
 alluring, and deceiving kind. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 8. put your trust in him &c.] The comforts, 
 which David had found, he e.xhorteth others to seek, in 
 faith and prayer ; in such a faith as fbieth itself on God, 
 when the whole world is against it ; and such prayer, as 
 poureth forth all the desires of the soul into the bosom 
 of the Almighty. How often in repeating the Psalms, 
 do we declare, that " God is our refuge ;" yet how very 
 seldom do we recur to Him, as such, in the hour of 
 temptation ! Bp. Home. 
 
 '11. God spake once, &c.] In opposition to the vain 
 hoasts of worldly men, trusting in their riches, &c., is 
 citetl the declaration of God, when, from mount Sinai, 
 He proclaimed Himself to be Jehovah, the fountain of 
 all " power," in heaven above, and on earth beneath, 
 jealous of the glory of this attribute, ready to avenge 
 Himself on the wicked, and able to abase the pride of 
 man. At the same time also. He proclaimed Himself 
 " the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, 
 and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy 
 for tho.isands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, 
 and sin," Exod. xxxiv. 6. To all mankind, therefore, 
 the prophet here recommendeth meditation on these 
 two most interesting subjects, the " power" of God to 
 punish sin, and his " mercy" to pardon it. Fear of the 
 former will beget desire of the latter, and both toge- 
 ther will set a man upon doing works worthy of their 
 parent faith; works, which God, of his infinite "mercy," 
 for the sake of Christ, has graciously promised to accept, 
 and to "reward." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm l.fiii.] David, in the wilderness of Judah, 
 expresseth, 1 — 3, his longing desire after the presence 
 of God, and the divine pleasures of the sanctuary ; 4 — 7, 
 he blesseth and praiseth God both day and night, in 
 the midst of affliction, and, 8, 9, declareth his faith to 
 be immoveable; 10, 11, he predicteth the fate of the 
 wicked, with, 12, the exaltation, triumph, and glory of 
 Messiah, to be exhibited in his own. The whole Psalm 
 is appbcable to the circumstances of Christ in the flesh, 
 and to those of his people in the world. Bp. Home. 
 
 6 3. Tims have I looked for thee in holiness : &cc.'\ With 
 the like eagerness have I expected to wait upon thee 
 
 flesh also longeth after thee : in a 
 barren and dry land where no water 
 is. 
 
 3 Thus liave I looked for thee in t„ see ttiy 
 holiness s : that I might behold thy i"'"""'"' , 
 
 o J K'ory, bO as I 
 
 ijower and iJ:lorv. '"•>'« »'='=" 
 
 ' ,, ^i 1 • 1 • 1 1, • 'hce in the 
 
 4 ror thy loving-kindness" is sanctuary. 
 
 ny lips 
 
 better than the life itself 
 shall praise thee. 
 
 5 As long as I live will I magnify 
 thee on this manner : and lift up my 
 hands in thy Name. 
 
 6 My soul shall be satisfied', even 
 as it were with marrow and fatness : 
 when my mouth praiseth thee with 
 joyful lips. 
 
 7 Have I not remembered thee in 
 mv bed : and thought upon thee when 
 
 I "was waking. |,"j''-:«>" 
 
 8 Because thou liast been my .»'*• Tram. 
 helper'' : therefore under the shadow 
 
 of thy wings will I rejoice. 
 
 again near thy "holiness" or sanctuary; and that I 
 may behold thy ark, where thy inajestick power and 
 glory does most eminently reside. Dr. Nichulls. After 
 the example of the persecuted David in the wilderness 
 of Judah, and that of the afflicted Jesus upon earth, 
 the true Christian dedicates to God " the sweet hour of 
 prime;" he opens the eyes of his understanding, toge- 
 ther with those of his body, and awakes, each morning, 
 to righteousness. He arises with an inextinguishable 
 thirst after those comforts which the world cannot give ; 
 and has immediate recourse, by prayer, to the fountain 
 of the water of life ; ever longing to behold the di\'ine 
 jiower and glory, in the sanctuary abo\'e, of which he 
 has been favoured with some glimpse in the services of 
 the church below. Bp. Home. 
 
 ''4. For thy lolling -kindness &c.] "Life" is the 
 greatest of earthly blessings, all others being included 
 in it ; " all that a man hath," saith Satan, " will he give 
 for his life," Job ii. 4. Not so the Psalmist. He knew 
 a pearl of far greater price, namely, the " loving-kind- 
 ness" of Jehovah, on which is sus])ended not only the 
 life which now is, but that which is to come. TTie 
 sense of this loving kindness tuned the harp of the son 
 of Jesse, and now tunes those of the spirits before the 
 throne. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' G. My soul shall be satisfied, &c.] Solitude and still- 
 ness render the " night watches" a fit season for medi- 
 tation on the so often experienced mercies of God; 
 which, when thus called to remembrance, become a 
 delicious rejmst to the spirit, filling it with all joy and 
 peace and consolation ; giving songs in the night, and 
 making darkness itself cheerful. How cheerful, then, 
 will be that last morning, when the righteous, awaking 
 up after the divine likeness, shall be " satisfied" with 
 all the fulness of God, and " praise him with joyful 
 lips," in those eternal courts, where there is no night, 
 and from whence sorrow and sighing fly far away ! Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ 8. Because thou hast been my helper : &c.] Recol- 
 lection of past mercies inclines the soul to put herself 
 under the "wing" of an all-shadowing Providence. 
 Should her Redeemer, for a time, seem to be deserting 
 her, faith constraineth her to " follow hard after him," 
 as a child doth after the father ; and not to let go the 
 2 M 2
 
 532 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 12. 
 
 be brought 
 down into 
 the grave 
 Bp. Halt. 
 They shall 
 fall. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 they shall he. 
 Bib. Trails. 
 
 shall glory. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 Papists' Con- 
 spiracy. 
 First Psalm 
 Murn. Serv. 
 
 9 My soul Imngetli upon thee : 
 thy ri^ht hand hath uphoklen me. 
 
 10 These also that seek the hurt 
 of my soul ' : they shall go under the 
 earth. 
 
 11 Let them fall upon the edge of 
 the sword : that they may be a por- 
 tion for foxes. 
 
 1*2 But the King shall rejoice" in 
 God ; all they also that swear by him 
 shall be commended : for the mouth 
 of them that speak lies shall be 
 stopped. 
 
 H 
 
 PSALM Ixiv." Exaudi, Deus. 
 E A II my voice, O God, in my 
 prayer : preserve my life from 
 fear of the enemy. 
 
 2 Hide me from the gathering to- 
 gether" of the fro ward : and from the 
 insurrection of wicked doers ; 
 
 3 Who have whet their tongue 
 like a sword : and shoot out tlieir 
 arrows, even bitter words; 
 
 4 That they may privily shoot at 
 him that is jierfect : suddenly do they 
 hit him, and fear not. 
 
 3 They encourage themselves in 
 
 "hand" which hath so often "upholden" her from 
 falling. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10, These also that seek the hurt of my sotd : &e.] 
 The enemies of Jehovah, and his Anointed, if they come 
 not to a violent death, an early grave, or to have their 
 carcasses devoured by the beasts of the field (as hath 
 sometimes been the case), yet, in an after-state, their 
 condition will certainly be dej)lorable. Their habitation 
 must he in the " pit ;" their punishment, the flaming 
 "sword" of almighty vengeance; and their compa- 
 nions, those crafty and malicious ones, who, having 
 contributed to seduce, will help to torment them. Bj). 
 Home. 
 
 '" 12. But the Kin;i shall rejoice &c.] If David fimnd 
 cause to rejoice in (iod, who gave him the victory over 
 all his enemies ; if the sidyects of David might well 
 glory in their king ; if the slanderers of David were [lut 
 to silence, at beholding him exalted to the throne of 
 Israel; how much greater is the joy of Messiah in the 
 (iodhead, giving the manhood victory over his enemies, 
 sin, death, and hell ; how much rather may his subjects 
 and worship]iers glory in their triuniphant King ; and 
 how much more sliall the lihis])lu'mersof such a Saviour 
 be everlastingly confounded, when they sliall behold 
 Ilim invested with all (lie [jower and majesty of the 
 Father, and seated on the throne of judgment ! Surely, 
 then, " the mouth of them that speak lies shall be 
 stopped." Bp. Home. 
 
 " I'sAi.M Ixiv.] This, which is a I'salin of David, is 
 a prayer for delivcranre, with a just coin|ilaint of his 
 enemies, and a jiredietion of (iod's signal destructions 
 upon them. Dr. Htimmnml. Tlie Psalmist, in the per- 
 son of Messiah, 1, 2, prayith to be delivered from his 
 enemies, from tlieir counsels and insurrections ; ;i, l, he 
 describeth their calumnies and slanders, their scoll's and 
 blasphemies, and, 5, 0, their indefatigable malice ; pre- 
 
 mischief : and commune among 
 themselves how they may lay snares, 
 and say, that no man shall see them. 
 
 6 They imagine wickedness, and 
 practise it : that they keep secret 
 among themselves, every man in the 
 deep of his heart. 
 
 7 But God shall suddenly shoot 
 at themP with a swift arrow : that 
 they sliall be wounded. 
 
 8 Yea, their own tongues shall 
 make them fall : insomuch that 
 whoso seeth them shall laugh them 
 to scorn. 
 
 9 And all men that see it shall 
 say<i. This hath God done : for they 
 shall perceive that it is his work. 
 
 10 The righteous shall rejoice^ in 
 the Lord, anil put his trust in him : 
 and all they that are true of heart 
 shall be glad. 
 
 So they sbal. 
 make their 
 own tongues 
 to tall upon 
 themselves. 
 Bib Trims. 
 shall llee 
 away. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 shall fear and 
 shall declare 
 the work of 
 God. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 wisely consi- 
 der of his 
 doing. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM Ixv.' Te decet hymnus. 
 
 THOU, O God, art praised in 
 Sion' : and unto thee shall the 
 vow be performed in Jerusalem. 
 
 dieting, 7 — 0, their astonishing fall, with, 10, the exalt- 
 ation of the church, in God her Saviour. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 2. Hide me from the gntherin/j together &c.] 'llie 
 "coimsels and insurrections" of the Israehtes against 
 David ; of the same iieojile, afterwards, against the Son 
 of David ; of worldly and wicked men against the 
 church ; and of the powers of darkness against us all; 
 are here, respectively, understood to be deprecated. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 7. But God shall suddenly shoot at them &c.] While 
 the enemies of the "just One" were shooting in secret 
 at Him, lie that dwelleth in the heavens was levelling 
 an arrow at them, and one which would not fail to take 
 |)lace. It accordingly did so; and the direful imjireca- 
 tions of " their own tongues fell," in unexamjiled ven- 
 geance, on the heads of them, and their children, who 
 continued to justify the deeds of their fathers. All 
 would " lice away" from the |iunishmcnt of .lerusalem ; 
 let all then depart from the sins which occasioned it. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 '' 0. A7id all men that see it shall say, &c.] It is re- 
 markable that the desolation of the once holj' and be- 
 loveil city liUcd " all men with fear" and astonishment, 
 forcing tliem to acknowledge and " declare" it to be the 
 " work of (iod." Kvcn Titus, the Roman emjieror, con- 
 fesseil that he hail fought, and eoutiuered, by the favour, 
 and under tlie direction, of heaven. () that men woidd 
 " wisely consider" of this, and other wonderful works 
 of the Almighty ! Bji. Home. 
 
 ' 10. The righteous .ihall rejoice &c.] As sorrow, 
 sooner or later, will be thejioi'tiou of Messiah's enemies, 
 so joy is the high privilege of his friends and disciples. 
 "The righteous" man alone can be truly glad, because 
 he alone can be glad "in the Lord" Jesus, the object 
 of all his confidence. There was light in (ioshen.when 
 darkness covered the l')gyptiaiis : the t'hi'istian church
 
 Day 12. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 .50:) 
 
 2 Thou that hcarest the prayer" : 
 unto tliee shall all flesh come. 
 
 3 My misdeeds prevail against 
 me : O be thou merciful unto our 
 sins. 
 
 4 Blessed is the man, whom thou 
 choosest, and receivest unto thee : 
 he shall dwell in thy court, and shall 
 be satisfied with the pleasures of thy 
 house, even of thy holy temple. 
 
 .5 Thou shalt shew us wonderful 
 things^ in thy righteousness, O God 
 of our salvation : thou that art the 
 hope of all the ends of the earth, 
 and of them that remain in the broad 
 sea. 
 
 6 Who in his strength setteth fasf 
 the mountains : and is girded about 
 with power. 
 
 drank the cup of salvation, when that of vengeance was 
 mingled for Jerusalem : and, when the empire of Satan 
 shall fall, heaven will resound with Hallelujahs. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ■ Psalm L\v.] The design of this Psalm of David 
 seems to be to declare the great and glorious work of 
 Divine Providence, both towards his church, and the 
 land of his people, and towards the rest of mankind. 
 Poole. In this Psalm God is praised for his providential 
 government of the material world. It seems to have 
 been a thanksgiving for the getting in of the fruits of 
 the earth, and might be comi)osed for the feast of taber- 
 nacles. But considering the manifest allusion to re- 
 demption, and the conversion of the Gentiles, in the 
 former part of the Psalm, I cannot but think that the 
 blessings of the Gospel are adumbrated under the 
 image of genial showers, and luxuriant crops. Bp. 
 Horsley. 
 
 In this very lovely song of Sion, the prophet treats, 
 1, of the praise due to Jeliovah, for, 2, his mercy in 
 hearing the prayers of his servants, and, 3, in redeeming 
 them from their sins ; 4, he declareth the blessedness of 
 the elect in Christ their head ; 5, predicteth the wonder- 
 ful things which God would do for the salvation of men, 
 by that jiower, which, G, 7, established the mountains, 
 and confined the sea within its boimds ; 8, foretelleth 
 the conversion of the nations; and, 9 — 14, describeth 
 the blessed effects of the Spirit poured out upon the 
 church, under the figure of rain, descending upon a dry 
 ground. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. Thou, God, art praised in Sion : &c.] The 
 obligations of " praise and thanksgiving" were formerly 
 offered, and all "vows" were paid in the temple on 
 mount " Sion." At Jerusalem was performed the pro- 
 mise of man's redemption by the sacrifice of the Son of 
 God ; since which e\ent, and the call of the Gentiles, 
 the Christian church has been the holy city and temple. 
 In our communion we are to offer up oiu- devotions, 
 and to perform the vow made in baptism ; until we 
 come to the heavenly Sion, to pay our vows, with the 
 church triumphant, in everlasting hymns of praise. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 2. Thou thai hearest the prayer : Sec.'] Tlie prophet 
 here foretels, that, on account of God's mercy, in hear- 
 ing the prayers of his peojile, "all flesh," that is, all 
 mankind, out of every nation, should " come" at his 
 
 7 Who stilleth the raging of the 
 sea : and the noise of his waves, and 
 the madness of the pcojjle. 
 
 8 They also that dwell '- in the 
 uttermost parts of the earth shall 
 be afraid at thy tokens : thou that 
 makest the outgoings of the morning 
 and evening to praise thee. 
 
 9 Thou visitest the earth % and 
 blessest it : thou makest it very 
 plenteous. 
 
 10 The river of God is full of 
 water : thou prejiarest their corn, for 
 so thou provides! for the earth. 
 
 1 1 Thou waterest her furrows, 
 thou sendest rain into the little 
 valleys thereof : thou makest it soft 
 with the drops of rain, and blessest 
 the increase of it. 
 
 gracious call, and make their supjilications before Him 
 in his chiu-ch. And to whom shoidd " all flesh come" 
 but to Him that "heareth prayer ?" Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. Thou shalt shew us wonderful things &c.] The 
 ancient church foretelleth, that God would "answer" 
 her prayers for the coming of Messiah, "by wonderful 
 things in righteousness ;" which was brought to pass, 
 by the death and resurrection of Christ, the overthrow 
 of idolatry, and the conversion of the nations. Then 
 " the God of salvation" became " the confidence of all 
 the ends of the earth," and the inhabitants of the most 
 distant "island" believed in Jesus. Hy "wonderful 
 things in righteousness," will the prayers of the church, 
 which now is, be answered at the second manifestation 
 of the Son of God in the glory of his Father. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 6, 7. Who in his strenyth setteth fast &c.] The 
 power, which originally fixed the foundations of the 
 " mountains," and which, from time to time, controls 
 the " waves" of the sea, is engaged in the support and 
 preservation of the church ; and will never suffer the 
 "waves" of this troublesome world to overwhelm the 
 "mountain of his holiness." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 8. They also that dwell &c.] The "tokens," or 
 signs, mentioned in this verse, are the exertions of 
 divine jiower and mercy, called above, "wonderful 
 things in righteousness ;" which at the publication of 
 the Gospel, produced a saving " fear" of God among 
 the nations, " dwelling in the uttermost parts of the 
 earth." " The isles," saith Isaiah on the same occasion, 
 " saw it, and feared ; the ends of the earth were afraid ; 
 they drew near and came," Isa. xli. 5. And then it 
 was, that the " outgoings of the morning and evening," 
 all the inhabitants of the earth, as many as experienced 
 the sweet vicissitudes of day and night, of morning and 
 evening, were " made to rejoice" in God their Saviour; 
 whose name was praised, from the rising to the setting 
 sun. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 9. Thou visitest the earth, &c.] Under the beauti- 
 ful image of a once barren and dry land, rendered fruit- 
 ful by kindly showers of rain, turning dearth into 
 plenteousness, are represented here (as in Isa. xxxv, 
 and numl)erless other jilaces) the gracious " visitation" 
 of the church by the Spirit; the " riches" of grace and 
 mercy, poured upon the hearts of men, from the ex- 
 haustless " river of God;" and the bountiful provision
 
 534 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 pastures. 
 Sib. Trans. 
 
 12 Thou crownest tlie year with 
 thy goodness : and thy clouds drop 
 fatness. 
 
 13 They shall drop upon the 
 dwellinirs of the wilderness : and 
 the little hills shall rejoice '' on every 
 side. 
 
 14 The folds shall be full of 
 sheep " : the valleys also shall stand so 
 thick with corn, that they shall laugh 
 and sing. 
 
 Thanksgiv- 
 ing at Sea. 
 
 o 
 
 submit them 
 selves imlo 
 thee. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 PSALM Ixvi.-' Jubilate Deo. 
 Be joyful in God, all ye lands* : 
 sing praises unto the honour 
 
 of his Name, make his praise to be 
 
 glorious. 
 
 2 Say unto God, O how wonderful ' 
 art tliou in thy works : through the 
 greatness of thy ]iower shall thine 
 enemies be found liars unto thee. 
 
 3 For all the world shall worship 
 
 Dai/ 12. 
 
 thee 8 : sing of thee, and praise thy 
 Name. 
 
 4 O come hither, and behold the 
 works of God'' : how wonderful lie is 
 in his doing towards the children of 
 men. 
 
 5 He turned the sea into dry 
 land : so that they went through the 
 water on foot ; there did we rejoice 
 thereof'. 
 
 6 He ruletli with his power for 
 ever ; his eyes behold the jieople : 
 and such as will not believe shall 
 not be able to exalt themselves. 
 
 7 O praise our God, ye people : 
 and make the voice of his praise to 
 be heard ; 
 
 8 Who holdeth our soul in life : 
 and suftereth not our feet to slip. 
 
 9 For thou, O God, hast proved 
 us"^ : thou also hast tried us, like as 
 
 tile nations. 
 Tlib. Tram. 
 tile rebel- 
 lions. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 silv 
 
 tried. 
 
 made thereby, for the relief of that spiritual famine 
 which had been sore in all lands. See Isa. iv. 10; 
 Rev. xxii. 1 ; Amos viii. 1 1 . Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 13. — the tittle Ai'/Zs stiall rejoice &c.] Such passions 
 and actions as these are often figuratively ascrilied to 
 lifeless creatures, both in sacred and jirofane ])oetical 
 writings : which are said to " rejoice" or " mourn" and 
 the like, when their condition is such as calls for rejoic- 
 ing or mourning, and would cause them to do so, if 
 they were capable of such actions. Poole. 
 
 '14. The folds shall be full of sheep : Ike.'] ITie happy 
 effects of God's visiting the earth with rain, arc valleys 
 covered with corn, verdant meads, and thrix'ing flocks. 
 All these ideas, in the prophetical Scriptures, are fre- 
 quently transferred to the times of refreshment and con- 
 solation, of peace and fruitfulness, in the church ; which 
 breaks forth into joy, in the one case, as the world is 
 always ready to do in the other. Manifold and marvel- 
 lous, O Lord, are thy works, whether of nature or of 
 grace; siu'ely in wisdom and loving-kindness hast thou 
 made them all ; the earth, in every sense, is ftill of tliy 
 riches ! /}/). Home. 
 
 ^ Psalm Ixvi. J In this Psalm the prophet, 1, exciteth 
 all the world to sing the jiraises of God ; 2, 3, the ])ower 
 and universality of his kingdom ; 4^1 l.fhe deliverance 
 of the church from various alHietions and temptations ; 
 for which, 12, 13, we are to offer the sacrifices which 
 had l)een vowed ; 14 — 1", to declare the mercies and 
 loving-kindnesses of the Lord towards tis ; and, 18, to 
 bless his holy name continually. Bp. Home. 'J'he author 
 and time of the composing of this Psalm are uncertain. 
 Poole. 
 
 ' 1. be joyful in Gnil, nil ye lands : &c.] The holy 
 church, throughout all tlie world, is here called upon to 
 lift up her voice, like the jubilee trumpet of old, in 
 thanksgiving ; and to celebrate that ntunc, which is 
 above every name. lip. Home. 
 
 ' 2. Sni/ unto (lad, () how teoiidcrful &c.] Tlic sub- 
 jects proposed arc Ibc various and awful manifestations 
 of divine "power;" of that jiower which made, and 
 whicli continues to supiiort, the world ; which ovcr- 
 fhrosvs, and raises up, einjiires ; which sidivertcd the 
 kingdom of Satan, estabhilied that of Christ, and 
 
 caused its enemies either to relinquish, or dissemble, 
 their hostility. Bp. Home. 
 
 b' 3. For all the world shall worship thee : &c.] Wliat 
 David spake in the future, the Church now speaketh in 
 the present, tense : " All the earth doth worship thee, 
 the Father everlasting — Day by day we magnify thee; 
 and we worshiji thy name ever world without end." A 
 day is coming when this shall l)e the case, in an unli- 
 mited sense of the words ; when Jews and Gentiles, 
 quick and dead, hca\-en and earth, shall compose one 
 perfect and truly harmonious choir. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 4, 5. come hither, and behold the works of God: 
 &c.] The ijrciphet, after inviting men to cimtem])late 
 " tlie works of God," sets before them, for that purpose, 
 two great miracles wrought for Israel; namely, the 
 divi.sion of the Red Sea, and that of the river Jordan ; 
 by the former they escajied Egypt, by the latter they 
 entered Canaan. Under these two figur.ative transac- 
 tions, the Christian cliurch beholds, and, in the words 
 which describe them, she celebrates, two corrcsjionding 
 works of mercy wrought for her ; namely, the deliver- 
 ance of her children from the dominion of sin, by the 
 waters of bajitism ; and their admission into the king- 
 dom of heaven, tlirough the grave and gate of death. 
 If the Israelites rejoiced in God their Saviour, for the 
 former blessings, much more, surelj-, ought we so to 
 do, for the latter. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. — there did we rejoice thereof.'] " We :" that is, 
 our nation or our ancestors, in whose loins we then 
 were, and the benefits of which ancient deliverance we 
 at this day enjoy. Seethe like ex)iressioiis Ps. Uxxi. 5, 
 Bib. Trans. ; Ilos. xii. 4. Tlie whole ]ieo])le of Israel 
 arc often considereil sis one body, continued through all 
 succeeding generations, united in the same covenant 
 and worshi]), jiossessed of the same promises, privileges, 
 and blessings, and actuated by one and the same Spirit. 
 Poole. 
 
 ^ <). For thou, God, hast proved us .- &c.] Not- 
 withstanding the mercy of (ioil, and the salvation 
 wrought for us, we are here taught to expect affliction 
 and tribulation ; which indeed are oftentimes necessary; 
 for, having in our conipiisitioii a mixture of the earth 
 from whence we came, with a base alloy of concupiscence,
 
 Day 12. 
 
 10 Thou brouglitest us into the 
 snare' : and laidest trouble upon our 
 loins. 
 
 11 Thou sufferedst men to ride 
 over our heads : we went throuf>h 
 fire and water, and thou hroiiglitcst 
 
 a state of li- US out iuto a wealthy place. 
 
 berty, ease, ,, I -ii ■ . li • i vi 
 
 and prospe- 12 1 Will gO UltO tluUC hOUSO With 
 
 Patrick'.'' burnt offerings '" : and will pay thee 
 my vows, which I promised with my 
 lips, and spake with my mouth, when 
 I was in trouble. 
 
 13 I will offer unto thee fat burnt- 
 sacrifices, with the incense of rams : 
 I will offer bullocks and goats. 
 
 14 O come hither, and hearken, 
 all ye that fear God : and I will tell 
 you what he hath done for my soul. 
 
 15 I called unto him with my 
 mouth : and gave him praises with 
 my tongue. 
 
 we stand as much in need of adversity, as metals, in 
 like circumstances, do of the fire, to refine and purify 
 our tempers. Try us, O God ; but enable us to stand 
 the trial ! Bj). Home. 
 
 ' 10, II. Thou broughtest us into the snare: &c.] 
 Various calamities are here mentioned, which God suf- 
 fers to fall upon his people. As, first, their being 
 " brought into the net," or ensnared and taken captive 
 by their enemies, whom they had not power to resist or 
 escape. Secondly, " affliction upon the loins," or hard 
 servitude under hea\'y burdens. Thirdly, " men riding 
 over their heads," or the manifold oppressions of perse- 
 cuting tyrants, tram])ling them under their feet, like 
 war-horses in the day of battle. Fourthly, passing 
 " through fire and water," or troubles of different and 
 contraiy kinds, though alike deadly and destructive. 
 But He who brought Israel from among the brick-kilns 
 of Egypt, and through the waters of the Red Sea, and 
 the river Jordan, into the promised rest, will bring us 
 safely through every fiery trial, and through the waves 
 of a troublesome world, to the land of everlasting peace 
 and comfort. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 12, 13. I will go into thine house with burnt offer- 
 ings : &c.] Under the Gospel, the obligation of " going 
 to the house of God " and there " paying vows," still 
 continues ; but the " offerings" are changed. The legal 
 sacrifices have been abohshed by the oblation of the 
 body of Christ, once for all. This oblation is comme- 
 morated in the eucharist ; at the celebration of which, 
 we now offer up oiu- prayers and praises, ourselves, our 
 souls and bodies, a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice, 
 acceptable to God, in the name and through the merits 
 of the Redeemer. These offerings, if vowed in the 
 season of sickness and sorrow, shoiUd be paid in the 
 days of health and gladness. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 17. But God hath heard me : &c.] David was heard, 
 when God dehvered him from his enemies, and set him 
 on the throne of Israel : Christ was heard, when God 
 raised Him from the dead, and exalted Him to the right 
 hand of the Majesty in the heavens : and every man is 
 heard, when God raises him from sin to righteousness, 
 as an earnest of his future resurrection from dust to 
 glory. Let every such man praise the Lord, and say, 
 with David, in the last verse of our Psahn, " Praised be 
 
 THE rSALMS. 
 
 635 
 
 16 If I incline unto wickedness 
 with mine heart : the Lord will not 
 hear me. 
 
 17 But God hath heard me" : and 
 considered the voice of my prayer. aiteiuicd lo. 
 
 18 I'raised be God who hath not 
 cast out my prayer : nor turned his 
 mercy from me. 
 
 PSALM Lxvii." Deus misereatur. Kvening 
 
 GO D be merciful unto usi", and second ka- 
 bless us : and shew us the light Fo"rm "r Ma- 
 of his countenance, and be merciful "'""'")'■ 
 unto us; 
 
 2 That thy way may be known 
 upon earth "i : thy saving health 
 among all nations. 
 
 3 Let the people praise thee, O Uie peoples. 
 God : yea, let all the people praise ""■"""''«■ 
 thee. 
 
 4 O let the nations rejoice "^ and 
 
 God, who hath not cast out my prayer, nor turned his 
 mercy from me." Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm Ixvii.] In this evangelical hymn, the Israel- 
 itish church is introduced as jjartly [iraying for, and 
 partly foretelling, the advent of Christ, and the conver- 
 sion of the nations, with tlie joy and gladness that 
 should be consequent thereujjon. The Christian church 
 now uses, and will continue to use, the Psalm with pro- 
 priety, until the fulness of the Gentiles shall be come in, 
 the conversion of the Jews effected, and Christ shall 
 appear the second time, finally to accomplish the salva- 
 tion of his chosen. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. God be merciful unto us, &c.] The Israelitish 
 church, by the mouth of the prophet, expresseth her 
 ardent desire after Messiah's advent, and appearance in 
 the flesh ; she prayeth, that God vvoidd be " merciful 
 unto her," as He had promised ; that, by so doing. He 
 would " bless " her with the blessings of pardon and 
 peace, of grace and glory ; and, in one word, that He 
 would " cause his face to shine upon her," or " shew 
 her the light of his countenance," by the rising of the 
 Sun of Righteousness, making her to behold the glory 
 of God in the face of Jesus Christ, reviving her with 
 the glad tidings of the Gospel, and enlightening her 
 with the light of salvation. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 2. That thy way may be known upon earth: &c.] 
 Nor was she studious, as her degenerate children have 
 since been, to confine the favour of heaven within her 
 own pale. If she had a good wish for herself, she had 
 one likewise for others ; and therefore prayed that the 
 "way" to life eternal might be " known," not in JenTy 
 alone, but over all the " earth ;" and that the virtues of 
 that salutary medicine, which was able to restore health 
 and vigour to the diseased and languishing spirits of men, 
 might be published " among all nations." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. let the nations rejoice &c.] A very sufficient 
 cause, surely, is here assigned, why the " nations " 
 shoidd " be glad, and sing for joy," upon the erection 
 of Messiah's kingdom in the midst of them ; namely, 
 because He would "judge the people righteously;" 
 breaking the yoke of the opin-cssor, and the iron rod of 
 the prince of this world ; becoming Himself an advocate 
 in the cause of his church ; introducing her into the 
 glorious liberty of the children of God, whose service is
 
 536 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 the people. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 be glad : for tliou shalt judge the 
 folk righteously, and govern the na- 
 tions upon earth. 
 
 3 Let the people praise thee, 
 O God : let all the people praise 
 thee. 
 
 6 Then shall the earth bring forth 
 her increase ° : and God, even our 
 own God, shall give us his blessing. 
 
 7 God shall bless us' : and all the 
 ends of the world shall fear him. 
 
 Whit-Sun- 
 day, second 
 Psalm Morn. 
 Serv. 
 
 3I0IiXJNG PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM Ixviii." Exurgat Devs. 
 
 LET God arise ^, and let his ene- 
 mies be scattered : let them also 
 that hate him flee before him. 
 
 2 Like as the smoke vanlsheth, 
 
 perfect freedom; and, with a sceptre, around which 
 justice and mercy are wreathed together, "governing 
 the nations upon earth." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. Then shall the earth brini/ forth her increase : &c.] 
 Then, when tliat long-e.\pected time sliall arrive, " the 
 earth shall yield her increase ;" the nations of the world 
 shall be converted to the faith, and become fruitful in 
 every good word and work, through the benediction of 
 heaven upon them. Bp. Hortie. 
 
 ' 7. God shall bless us : &c.] The evangehcal " bless- 
 ings," predicted in this Psalm, have been long since 
 poured out upon " the ends of the earth," by the 
 bountiful hand of God in Christ. Let us beseech Him 
 to add yet this to all his other mercies, that, in retm'n 
 for such unmerited favours, the redeemed may have 
 grace evermore to pay Him the tribute of fear and 
 obedience, of duty and love. Bp. Home. 
 
 " Ps.\LM l.wiii.] This Psalm, beginning in the same 
 manner as Moses's song at the setting forward of the 
 ark, Numb. x. 3.5, was composed by David in com- 
 memoration of the great deliverances afforded to the 
 Israelites, and judgments inflicted on their enemies, 
 especially in that of their coming out of Lgj'pt ; and 
 mystically contains and predicts the resurrection of 
 Christ, and the exaltation of the Christian church con- 
 sequent thereto. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 'lliis beautiful, sublime, and comprehensive, hut very 
 dilTicult, Psalm, is one of those which the Church has 
 appointed to be used on Whit-Smiday. It seems evi- 
 dently to have been comjioscd on that festive and joyful 
 occasion, the removal of the ark to Mount Sion. See 
 2 Sam. vi. ; 1 Chron. .w. Under this figure, David, 
 foreseeing the exaltation of Messiah, speaks of Him. 
 whom he describes, 1,2, as arising, and vanijuishing his 
 enemies; 3 — 6, a.s causing the faithful to rejoice, and 
 sliewing mercy to the atillcted ; " — !■'', as bringing his 
 church out of bondage, sujiporting her in the world by 
 the Word and Ihe .Spirit, purging away her corruptions, 
 and subduing her adversaries ; the grounchvork being 
 laid in the history of the Kgyptian deliverance, the 
 manna and the law given in the wilderness, and the 
 overtlirow of the ("anaaniti.sli nations. Hi — 20, David 
 returns to the scene l)efore him, celebrates the ascension 
 of Christ with power and great glory, to the heavenly 
 Sion, and the gifts He should from thence jiour down 
 upon men; 21 — 23, foretels the vengeance He woulil 
 take on his opjjosers ; 24 — 28, sets forth the order of 
 the church in his services; 29 — 31, predicts the con- 
 
 Dai/ 13. 
 
 so shalt thou drive them away : and 
 like as wax melteth at the fire, so let 
 the ungodly perish at the presence 
 of God. 
 
 3 But let the righteous be glad 
 and rejoice before God : let them 
 also be merry and joyful. 
 
 4 O sing unto God y, and sing 
 praises unto his Name : magnify him 
 that rideth upon the heavens, as it 
 were upon an> horse ; praise him in 
 his name JAH, and rejoice before 
 him. 
 
 3 He is a Father of the fatherless =, 
 and defendeth the cause of the 
 widows : even God in his holy habi- 
 tation. 
 
 6. He is the God that maketh God sctteth 
 men^ to be of one mind in an house, in'^famme?; 
 
 version of the nations ; all of whom, 32 — 35, he ex- 
 horts to unite in chanting forth the praises of their God 
 and Saviour. Bp. Home. 
 
 Dr. Chandler, in his " Critical History of the Life of 
 David," has given an admirable exposition of the 
 literal, or historical, sense of this Psalm, and a very 
 ingenious division of it into five parts, founded on 
 the supposition of its being performed at the removal 
 of the ark. The author has been greatly assisted, in 
 the ensuing comment, by the Doctor's exposition, and 
 the reader will find the division of the Psalm inserted. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 • 1 . Let God arise, &c.] These words were used by 
 Moses, whenever the ark set forward before the armies 
 of Israel, in their progress towards Canaan, Numb. x. 
 35. David, in like manner, uses them in this trium])hal 
 hymn, on the removal of the ark to the city of Zion, 
 1 Clu'on. xiii. and xv. Dr. Chandler supposes this part 
 of the Psalm, from ver. 1 to ver. 6, inclusive, to have 
 been sung wlien the ark was taken up on the shoulders 
 of the Levites. The Church now celebrates, in the 
 same terms, the substance of the foregoing shadows ; 
 she sings the praises of her Redeemer, rising from the 
 dead, and i)receding the Israel of (iod, to the true land 
 of promise ; when his " enemies," the jjowers of dark- 
 ness, sin, and death, "were scattered, and they that 
 hated him tied before him." Bp. Home. 
 
 >" 4. sing unto God, &c.] 'I'he pro]ihet exhorts the 
 people of God to magnify, with psalms, and hymns, 
 and s|iiritual songs, the eternal and incommunicable 
 " name " of Him " who was, and is, and is to come ;" 
 who, deriving being from none, gi\-es it to all ; and 
 who, as Redeemer of his i)eople, is exalted above the 
 " heavens." and all the ])oivers therein ; above the gods 
 of the nations ; acknowledged and glorified by saints 
 and angels ; feared and trembled at by ungodly men, 
 and evil spirits, lip. Home. 
 
 ' 5. //(■ is a Father of the fatherless, &c.] After a de- 
 scription of (iod's " majesty," the Psalmist proceeds to 
 make mention of his " mercy " towards the atllicted 
 Israelites, who had sulTered so much in Egypt, and in 
 the wilderness. The cause of the " fatherless and 
 widow" He takes into his own hands. Hut never did 
 He do this in so full and extensive a manner, as when, 
 by becoming man, He betrothed the church to IlimselC 
 in righteousness, and became a father to her fatherless 
 children. Bp. Home. 
 
 * 6. He is the Ood that maketh men &c.] See the
 
 he bringeth 
 out tliose 
 whitli are 
 bound in 
 chains, but 
 tlie rthelliiMia 
 dwell in a liiy 
 land. Btb. 
 Trans. 
 
 even Sinai 
 itself was, 
 Btb. Trans. 
 
 Day 13. 
 
 and bringeth the prisoners out of 
 captivity : but lettt'th the runagates 
 continue in scarceness. 
 
 7 O God, when thou wcntest 
 forth '' before the people : when thou 
 wentest throuj^h the wilderness, 
 
 8 The earth shook, and the hea- 
 vens dropped at the presence of 
 God : even as Sinai also was moved 
 at the presence of God, who is the 
 God of Israel. 
 
 9 Thou, O God, sentest a gra- 
 cious rain "^ upon thine inheritance : 
 
 margin. The " solitary," or destitute, in this verse, are 
 the same persons with the " fatherless and widow," in 
 the foregoinor : those, as Dr. Chandler observes, whose 
 fathers and families had been destroyed in Egypt, or 
 had fallen in the wilderness ; wlio, therefore, were left 
 alone, destitute of help. These God afterwards " made 
 to sit down in families," blessed them with a numerous 
 progeny, and the peaceable enjoyment of domcstick 
 felicity. Thus hath since been manifested the same 
 tender care of heaven, in calling home the wi'etched 
 outcasts among the nations, and admitting them into 
 the holy and happy family of the children of God. 
 Another instance of God's mercy, mentioned in this 
 verse, is that He " bringeth out those which are bound 
 with chains," delivering his people from a spiritual, as 
 He once did Israel from a temporal bondage. " But 
 the rebellious," the ungodly and impenitent, " dwell in 
 a dry land," in a spiritual desert, where no waters of 
 life, of comfort, and salvation, flow. Such is the state 
 of the rebellious Jews at this day. like that of their 
 murmuring predecessors in the wilderness. This al- 
 lusion, says Bishop Lowth, to the deliverance from the 
 Egyptian bondage, and the destruction of the mur- 
 murers in the desert, brings in, with great ease, the 
 full subject of the Exodus, in the next verse. Up. 
 Home. 
 
 '' 7, S. God, when thou wentest forth &o.] Tliis 
 part of the Psalm, from ver. 7 to ver. 14, is the second, 
 in Dr. Chandler's division. It is supposed to have 
 been sung when the procession began, and to have 
 lasted till Mount Sion was in view. The prophet goes 
 back to commemorate the wonders wTought for Israel, 
 when Jehovah, by his presence in the cloudy pillar, 
 conducted them through the wilderness ; when, descend- 
 ing to deliver the law, He bowed the heavens and shook 
 the earth, and caused Sinai to quake from its founda- 
 tions. The Christian church, singing this Psalm on 
 the day of Pentecost, commemorates, under these terms 
 and figures, her redemption from the spiritual Egypt, 
 by the resurrection of Jesus, with mighty signs and 
 wonders, and the succeeding delivery of the new law 
 from Mount Sion, after the descent of the Holy 
 Spirit; by which the old Jewish dispensation was 
 shaken and removed, to make way for one that should 
 last for ever. See Heb. xii. 18 — 28. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 9. TUou, God, sentest a gracious rain &c.] As 
 the heavens, at the command of God, rained down 
 manna, &c. to strengthen and refresh the well-nigh 
 famished people in the wilderness ; so, by the descent 
 of the Spirit from above, bringing with Him the word 
 of life, the church, in her infant and languid state, was 
 mightily confh-med and invigorated. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 10. Thy congregation shall dwell therein : &c.] In 
 the former verse, the Psalmist tells us, that God hath 
 confirmed, refreshed, and revived, his inheritance, by 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 5;J7 
 
 it when it was 
 
 and refresliedst 
 weary. 
 
 10 Thy congregation shall dwell 
 therein '' : for thou, O (iod, hast 
 of thy goodness prepared for the 
 poor. 
 
 11 The Lord gave the word" : 
 great was the company of the 
 preachers. 
 
 12 Kings with their armies did 
 flee ', and were discomfited : and 
 
 li.ith dwelt. 
 Jlili. Trail,. 
 
 those that 
 puljlished it. 
 Ili/>. rnitia. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 they of the 
 spoil. 
 
 Iioushold divided the 
 
 she that tnr- 
 ried at home. 
 Bib. Trims. 
 
 the plentiful, and as it were voluntary, showers of bread 
 and flesh that He rained down upon them. In these 
 words. Dr. Chandler apprehends, he speaks of the 
 manner, as well as abundance of the food thus given 
 them. Thus the history informs us, that the manna, 
 covered by the dew, " lay round about the host ;" and 
 that the quails were " let fall by the camp, about a 
 day's journey on one side, and a day's journey on the 
 other, round about the camp," Exod. xvi. 13; Numb, 
 xi. 31. This was literally "dwelling in the midst of 
 the food God had provided them." By the ministra- 
 tion of the word and sacraments, in the Christian 
 church, the true manna, the bread which cometh down, 
 with the dew of God's blessing, from heaven, is con- 
 tinually furnished, for the nourishment of those who 
 " hunger and thirst after righteousness." It " falls 
 round about the camp," and, " as to this thy food, O 
 God," we, thy favom-ed people, have the happiness to 
 " dwell in the midst of it ;" thus " thou hast prepared, 
 of thy goodness, for the poor in spirit." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 11. The Lord gave the word : &c.] He, who sup- 
 plied his peo))le with food in the ^-ilderness, enabled 
 them likewise to \'anquish the numerous enemies that 
 opposed them in their passage through it, the Amalekites, 
 the Amorites, the Midianites, the Moabites, &c. With 
 respect to all these enemies, " the Lord gave the word." 
 The Israelites engaged them, by his order, see Numb. 
 xxi. 34 ; XXV. 17 ; and under his conduct and blessing, 
 obtained the victory over them. When the enemies of 
 man's salvation were vanquished by the resurrection of 
 Christ, and the heathen nations were to own his power, 
 again " the Lord gave the word." It was published, at 
 first, by apostles, confessors, and martyrs, and hath 
 been since published continually, by all the churches, 
 who celebrate in their services the victories of their Re- 
 deemer ; as in old time, [irophets and prophetesses, 
 Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Deborah, and others, with the 
 armies of Israel, sang triumjihal songs, on occasion of 
 temporal, but figurative conquests. Bp. Hnrne. 
 
 ' 12. Kings with their armies did flee, &c.] When 
 God, by the hand of Moses and his successor Joshua, 
 led his people, through the wilderness, into the land of 
 promise, the kings of Canaan, with their mighty hosts, 
 were discomfited ; and the women of Israel, who " tar- 
 ried at home, divided the spoil" of their vanquished 
 enemies. After the conquest of the Midianites, as Dr. 
 Chandler observes, God ordered the prey to be divided 
 between them who went out on that expedition, and 
 the rest of the congregation who continued in their 
 tents. Numb. xxxi. 27. 'llius, in the spiritual war, 
 apostles, confessors, and martyrs, went out to the 
 battle, fought and conquered ; while the benefits of the 
 victory extended to thousands and millions, who, with- 
 out being exposed to their conflicts and torments, have 
 enjoyed the fruit of theii- labours. Bp. Home.
 
 538 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 13. 
 
 13 Tliough ye have lien among 
 the potsS yet shall ye be as the 
 wings of a dove : that is covered 
 with silver wings, and her feathers 
 like gold. 
 
 14 When the Almighty scattered 
 kings '' for their sake : then were they 
 as white as snow in Salmon. 
 
 15 As the hill of Basan, so is 
 God's hill' : even an high hill, as 
 the hill of Basan. 
 
 leap re. Bib. 16 Why hop ye soS ye high hills ? 
 Do^eeTait that IS God's hill, in the which it 
 jourseives. pleasctli him to dwell : yea, the Lord 
 
 Dr. Ham- "^ -n i • i • -^ f 
 
 moni. Will abide in it tor ever. 
 
 17 The chariots of God' are 
 twenty thousand, even thousands of 
 angels : and the Lord is among them, 
 as in the holy place of Sinai. 
 
 18 Thou art irone up on high'", Tiwuhastas- 
 
 ^, 1 .. 1 1 '^»- V ' »• ^ I cen.led. B,b. 
 
 thou hast led captivity captive, and Tram. 
 
 received gifts for men : yea, even for 
 
 thine enemies, that the Lord God fortherebei- 
 
 . 11,. 1 lious also. 
 
 iniglit dwell among them. Btb. Tram. 
 
 19 Praised be the Lord daily " : 
 even the God who helpeth us, and 
 poureth his benefits upon us. 
 
 '20 He is our God, even the God 
 of whom Cometh salvation : God is unto God the 
 the Lord, by whom we escape death. th°/ issues"^ 
 
 from death. 
 Bib. Trans, the goings forth to death, or of death. Heb. Bp. Home 
 
 ? 13. Though ye have lien among the pots, &c.] By 
 " lying among the pots," or in " dust and ashes," is 
 evidently denoted a state of atHiction and wTetchedness, 
 like that of Israel in Eg)-pt, which was e.xchanged for 
 one of the utmost dignity and splendour in Canaan ; 
 one as different from the former, as a cauldron dis- 
 coloured by smoke and soot, is from the bright and 
 beautiful plumage of an eastern dove, glistering inter- 
 changeably, as with silver and gold. Thus the church 
 of Christ emerged from a state of persecution and tri- 
 bulation, into one of splendour and magnificence. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ U. IVhen the Almighty scattered kings &c.] As if 
 it were said. And howsoever God's church seemed to be 
 overcast with darkness of discomfort, while tyrants 
 oppressed her, yet now the Almighty hath subdued and 
 I)ut to flight the enemies thereof, it was white and glo- 
 rious, like to the hill of Salmon, of itself dark and 
 shady, when it is covered mth snow. Bp. Hall. 
 
 ' 15. As the hill of Basan, so is God's hill : Ike.'] Sion, 
 which is God's hill where He jileaseth to dwell, may 
 well compare with the fruitful hill of Basan : in height 
 if it may not equal it, in dignity and privilege it is 
 much above it. Bp. Hall. 
 
 When the ark came in view of mount Sion, the place 
 of its fixed residence for the future, and probably when 
 they began to ascend it. Dr. Chandler apprehends, this 
 and the two following verses were sung. 73/). Home. 
 
 '' 1(3. H'liy hop ye so, &c.] The Psalmi-st in comme- 
 morating God's former mercies and loving-kindnesses, 
 having bee/i led to mention the towering hills of Sal- 
 mon and Bashan, by a masterly transition suddenly re- 
 sumes his original subject, with a beautiful ajiostrophe 
 to those mountains, letting them know, that, however 
 proudly they might lift up their heads above mount 
 Sion, yet this was the mount which Jehovah had de- 
 termined to honour with his sjiecial presence ; thither 
 He was now ascending, with the ark of his strength; 
 and there, between the chcrubims, in the iiluce jiiTpared 
 for Him, He would "dwell for ever;" till llic whole 
 dispensation would be at an end ; till the glory of the 
 Lord should be revealed in human nature ; till (jod 
 sliould lie manifest in the flesh ; and the true taber- 
 nacle and temple should succeed the typical. After 
 that, the ])rivilegC3 of Sion were transferred to the 
 Christian church ; she l)ecame, anil, while the world 
 lasts, will continue to be, the " hill in which (Jod de- 
 lighteth to dwell :" she will therefore be justly entitled 
 to the pre-eminence over all that may seem to be great 
 and glorious in the world. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 17. 7'hc chariots of God &c.] The Psalmist, in 
 
 the preceding verse, had declared Sion to be the habita- 
 tion of Jehovah. In this verse is described the majesty 
 and magnificence of his appearance there, as a mighty 
 conqueror of the enemies of his people, riding upon the 
 cherubim, as in a trium])hal chariot, with all the hosts 
 of heaven, as it were, in his retinue, 'llius God de- 
 scended on Sinai, with the fire, the cloud, and the 
 glory ; thus He manifested Himself, when taking pos- 
 session of "the holy place" prepai-ed for Him in Sion; 
 2 Cliron. V. 13 ; and in some such manner we may 
 suppose King Messiah to have entered heaven at his 
 ascension, when He went up in the clouds, with power 
 and great glory, and all the attendant spirits joined his 
 train, rejoicing to minister to their Lord, and increase 
 the pomp and splendoiur of that glorious day. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 "18. Thou art gone np on high, &C.'] \Mien the ark 
 had ascended mount Sion, and was deposited in the 
 ])lace assigned for it, the singers are supposed, by Dr. 
 Chandler, to have proceeded with this part of the Psalm, 
 in which they celebrate the ascension of their God and 
 King, by the symbol of his iiresence, to the heights of 
 .Sion, after having subdued their enemies, and enriched 
 his people with the spoil of the vanquished, and the 
 gifts of the tributary nations ; of which much was pro- 
 bal)ly employed in the service of the tabernacle, and 
 afterwards in building the temjile, first designed by 
 Daviil, "that the Lord God might dwell," and have a 
 fixed ])ermanent habitation, among his people. But 
 this whole transaction, like many others of old, being 
 a figurative one, the apostle, Kph. iv. 8, has applied the 
 words before us to our blessed Sa\'iour, (the true ark on 
 which the glory rested,) who personally ascended uj) to 
 the highest hea\-ens, " led captivity cajitive," by tri- 
 umphing over his concpiercd enemies, and having re- 
 ceived gifts from his heavenly Father, as the fruits of 
 his \-ictory, gave them unto men, as was most con- 
 ducive to the establishment of his church, " that the 
 Lord God might dwell among them." "Thou hast 
 ascended on high ;" thou. () Christ, who didst descend, 
 from the right hand of ihe Majesty in the heavens, to 
 the lower parts of the earth, art again ascended, from 
 the lower jiarts of the earth, to the right hand of the 
 Majesty in the heavens : " thou hast led cajitivity cap- 
 tive ;" thou hast conquered the conqueror, bound tlie 
 strong one, redeemed human nature from the grave, 
 and triumphantly ean-ied it, with thee, to the throne of 
 (iod ; " thou hast received gifts for men. yea, for the 
 rebellious also;" and, being thus ascended into thy 
 glory, thou hast received of the Father the ])roniise of 
 the Spirit, with all his gifts and graces, to bestow upon
 
 Day 1.3. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 .5.39 
 
 or crown. 
 Dr. Itiim- 
 mond. 
 
 21 God shall wound tlic head " of 
 his enemies : and the iiairy scalp of 
 such a one as goeth on still in ins 
 wickedness. 
 
 2-2 The Lord liath said?, I will 
 bring my people again, as I did from 
 Basan : mine own will I hring again, 
 as I did sometime from the deep of 
 the sea. 
 
 23 That thy foot may be dipped 
 in the blood of thine enemies : and 
 that the tongue of thy dogs may be 
 red through the same. 
 
 24 It is well seen, O God i, how 
 
 the sons of men ; even upon such as heretofore have 
 not only broken thy laws, but appeared in arms against 
 thee ; yet of such as these, converted by the power of 
 thy Gospel, mit thou form and establish a church ; 
 " that the Lord God may dwell among them ;" that so, 
 of thy faithfid ])eople, gathered from all parts of the 
 world, may be built up a living temple, " an habitation 
 of God through the Spirit." Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 19. Praised be the Lord daily : &c.] The preceding 
 survey of God's dispensations constraineth the church 
 to break out into an act of praise, and to bless the Pre- 
 server of men, the Author of eternal " salvation ;" in 
 whose hands are the " goings forth of death ;" in other 
 words, who has " the keys of death and the grave," Rev. 
 i. 18 ; who is possessed of ])ower to confine, and to re- 
 lease; to kill, and to make alive. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 21. God shall nound the head &c.] The meaning 
 is, God shall strike deep, or exhaust the blood of the 
 head of his enemies, even the hairy crown of him that 
 goes on in his guilty practices ; where the emphasis 
 consists in the description of God's enemies, who were 
 such as persevered in their criminal actions. This verse 
 begins a prediction of that vengeance, which the person, 
 who was "ascended on high," would infallibly execute 
 upon his impenitent enemies, and which was shadowed 
 forth in the destruction of the enemies of Israel, by 
 David, after that the ark of God was placed upon the 
 hill of Sion. See 2 Sam. viii. The expressions, "the 
 head," and "the hairy crown," denote the ])rincii)al 
 pai-t, the strength, the pride, and the glory of the ad\'er- 
 sary, which was to be crushed, according to the original 
 sentence; "He shall bruise thy head," Gen. iii. 15. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 22, 23. The Lord hath said, &o.] Abner, in his 
 conference with the elders of Israel, to bring them over 
 to David's interest, tells them, "The Lord hath spoken 
 of David, saying. By the hand of my servant, David, 
 
 1 will save my people Israel, out of the hand of the 
 PhUistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies," 
 
 2 Sam. iii. 18. Thus Jehovah had promised to repeat 
 in Israel, by David, his glorious acts ; to work as signal 
 victories and deliverances for his people, as He had for- 
 merly done in the field of Bashan, and at the Red Sea ; 
 when they saw their enemies dead at their feet. By the 
 glorious resurrection, and triumphant ascension of King 
 Messiah, by the conquests of the Gospel, and the unpa- 
 ralleled overthrow of its opposers, were these figures 
 realized, and these shadows changed into substances. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ''24. /( is trell seen, O God, &c.] When the ark was 
 safely deposited, the sacrifices were offered, the solemnity 
 well-nigh concluded, and the whole assembly about to 
 return back. Dr. Chandler supposes the singers to have 
 
 pl.iyf^rs on in- 
 Klniiiients. 
 Jiib. Tram. 
 
 Bless ye God. 
 Bib. Traut. 
 
 thou goest : how thou, my God and 
 King, goest in the sanctuary. 
 
 2.5 The singers go liefore "■, tlie 
 minstrels follow after : in the midst 
 are the damsels playing with the 
 timbrels. 
 
 26 Give thanks, O Israel ", unto 
 God the Lord, in the congregations : 
 from the ground of the heart. 
 
 27 There is little Benjamin their 
 ruler', and the princes of Judah 
 their comisel : the princes of Zabu- 
 lon, and the princes of Nej)hthali. 
 
 28 Thy God hath sent forth 
 
 struck up, and joined in the remaining part of this 
 noble anthem. These words contain a sort of triumph, 
 because this great work of translating the ark was now 
 so happily accomplished. The people of Israel had a 
 pledge and earnest of those mighty things which God 
 would do for them, by the joyful and victorious manner, 
 in which, with the ark of his presence, He had taken 
 possession of the jjlace prepared for Him on Mount 
 Sion, and gone " into the sanctuary." A like pledge and 
 earnest of her future enlargement and exaltation, was 
 the ascension of her Lord and Head to the Christian 
 church. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 25. The singers r/o before, &e.] The joy and glad- 
 ness expressed by David, and the house of Israel, when, 
 in solemn jirocession, with the sound of vocal and in- 
 strumental musick, they " brought up the ark of Jeho- 
 vah, and set it in its jilace," 2 Sam. vi. 5. 15. 17, may 
 be considered as a ])relude to that voice of universal 
 exultation, with which the Christian church, in her holy 
 services, doth now celebrate the resiu-rection and ascen- 
 sion of her Redeemer. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 20. Give thanks, Israel, &c.] Or, "Bless ye God 
 in the congregations ;" in this form of words the Israel- 
 ites are supposed, when accompanying tlie ark, to have 
 reciprocally exhorted and encouraged each other to 
 exert their utmost powers in the sacred employment of 
 blessing and thanking God. Bp. Home. 
 
 '27. There is little Benjamin their ruler, Sic.'] In this 
 enumeration of the tribes of Israel, that were present at 
 the removal of the ark, four only are mentioned ; Ben- 
 jamin and Judah, who dwelt nearest to the city of David, 
 Zebulun and Naphtali, who were the farthest distant 
 from it ; to shew, as Dr. Chandler observes, the unani- 
 mity of the whole nation, and of all the tribes far and 
 near, in attending this solemnity, to testify their willing 
 acknowledgment of David for their king, and the city 
 of David for their capital, where all the great solemnities 
 of religion should be ]ierformed, and their annual fes- 
 tivals continually celebrated. Benjamin, though the 
 youngest tribe, is named first, and called the " ruler;" 
 because from that tribe sprang Saul, the first king of 
 Israel. Tlie attendance of this tribe shewed, that all 
 en\'y and opposition to David from Saul's party was at 
 an end. Upon David's accession to the crown, Judah 
 became the royal tribe, and su])ported the throne by 
 its counsels. Zebulun and Naphtali were tribes of 
 eminent learning and knowledge. See Gen. xlix. 2i ; 
 Judges v. 14. Thus, after the publication of the Gospel, 
 the nations flocked into the church, both those that were 
 near, and those that were afar off; power, wisdom, and 
 learning, submitted themselves to the kingdom, and 
 conspired to set forth the glory, of Messiah. Bp. 
 Home.
 
 540 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 13. 
 
 Because of 
 thy temple at 
 Jerusalem, 
 shall kings. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 as also their 
 servile and 
 ignorant fol- 
 lowers. Bp. 
 Halt. 
 
 yield homage 
 and tribute. 
 Bp. Halt. 
 
 Ethiopia. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 strength " for thee : stablish the 
 thing, O God, that thou hast 
 wrought in us, 
 
 29 For thy temple's sake at Jeru- 
 salem ' : so shall kings bring presents 
 unto thee. 
 
 30 When the company of the 
 sjjear-men f, and multitude of the 
 mighty are scattered abroad among 
 the beasts of the people, so that they 
 humbly bring pieces of silver : and 
 when he hath scattered the people 
 that delight in war ; 
 
 31 Then shall tlie princes come 
 out of Egypt : the jNIorian's land 
 shall soon stretch out her hands unto 
 God. 
 
 32 Sing unto God% O ye king- 
 doms of the earth : O sing praises 
 unto the Lord; 
 
 " 28. Thy God hath sent forth strength &c.] The 
 former part of this verse contains a comfortable assur- 
 ance given to the church, that God had made provision, 
 and issued out orders, for her estabhshment and security. 
 In the latter clause is a prayer, that He would accom- 
 plish all his counsels concerning her; and, as He had 
 begun a good work, so that He would vouchsafe to 
 perfect it unto the day of the Lord. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 29. For thy temple's sake at Jerusalem : &c.] David 
 foretels, that on the estabhshment of the then church, 
 and worship in Jerusalem, the kings of the Gentiles 
 should come, and make their oblations at the temple of 
 God ; which happened in his days, and those of his son 
 Solomon, as an earnest and figiue of that plenary acces- 
 sion of the kings of the earth to the church of Christ, 
 which was to take place in the latter days, under the 
 Gospel. See 2 Sam. viii. 9 — U ; 1 Kings v. 1 ; x. 1. 
 24 ; 2 Clu'on. ix. 23 ; Isa. ix. 3. 6 ; Matt. ii. U ; Rev. 
 x.xi. 24. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 30, 31. When the company of the spear-men, &c.] 
 The hostile jiowcrs being overthrown, and the church of 
 Israel fully established, the nations around her, even 
 those which liad been most given to idolatry, sued for 
 her friendship, and came to Jerusalem with their gifts 
 and oblations ; as, in like manner, after the defeat of 
 Maxcntius and Maximin, the Roman empire, with all 
 its tributary iiroxinccs, was added to the church of 
 Christ. Bp. Home. 
 
 » 32. Siiir/ unto God, Sec.'] " Rapt into future times," 
 the prophet exhorteth, not Judea only, but all " the 
 kingdoms of the earth," to unite in chanting forth the 
 praises of their God and Saviour. In the folness of 
 time, this exhortation was heard and obeyed. For 
 Kuseljius thus describes the state of the church in the 
 days of Constantinc : " There was one and the same 
 ]iower of the Holy Spirit, which ])asscd through all the 
 members; one soul in all; the same alacrity of faith; 
 (me common consent in chanting forth the praises of 
 God," Euscl). Kt'cles. Hist, book x. chap. 2. Anil it 
 deserves notice, tliat the jirimitive Christians, when, 
 delivered from the rage of ])ersccuting tyrants, they 
 freely celebrated tlicir holy festivals, could find no 
 words 90 well calcidatcd to ex|)res9 the joy and gladness 
 of their hearts, as tlie songs of Moses, and David, and 
 the prophets, which seem to have been divinely petuicd 
 
 33 Who sitteth in the heavens ^ 
 over all from the beginning : lo, he 
 doth send out his voice, yea, and 
 that a might)' voice. 
 
 34 Ascribe ye the power to God ^ 
 over Israel : his worship, and strength 
 is in the clouds. 
 
 35 O God, wonderful art thou " in 
 thy holy places : even the God of Tram. 
 Israel ; he will give strength and 
 power unto his people ; blessed be 
 God. 
 
 his excel- 
 lency. Bib. 
 Trans. See 
 Yocab. 
 terrible. Bib, 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM Ixix.'' Salvum mefac. 
 
 E me, O God^ : for the 
 aters are come in, even unto 
 my soul. 
 
 2 I stick fost in the deep mire. 
 
 SAVE 
 waters 
 
 Good Friday, 
 first Psalm 
 Even. Serv. 
 
 on purpose for their use, upon that glorious occasion. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 33. (I'Ao sitteth in the heavens &c.] Tlie praises of 
 the chiu'ch are sung to Him, who, after his sufferings 
 here below, re-ascended to take possession of his ancient 
 throne, high above all heavens ; who from thence 
 spcaketh to the world by his glorious Gospel, mighty 
 and powerftd, as thunder, in its effects upon the hearts 
 of men. The power of Christ's voice, when He was on 
 earth, appeared by the effects which followed, when He 
 said, " Young man, arise ;" " Lazarus, come forth :" 
 " Peace, be still :" and it will yet farther appear, when 
 " all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the 
 Son of man, and come forth." Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 34. Ascribe ye the power to God &c.] God requires 
 his people to ascribe unto Him the kingdom, and the 
 power, and the glory; to acknowledge Him as the 
 Author of life, health, and salvation, of all they are, 
 and all they have, in nature and in grace ; to glorify 
 Him as the Oeator ami (iovcrnor of the world, the 
 Redeemer and Sanctifier of his chm-ch. B/t. Home. 
 
 ' 35. God, uondcrful art thou &c.] The Psalmist, 
 here exem])lifying the precept laid down in the fore- 
 going verse, ascribes to (iod the glory of his appearance 
 in the sanctuary, as the (iod and King of Israel, 
 terrifying and dismaying his enemies, comforting antl 
 invigorating his people. Such is the presence of a 
 glorified Saviour, by his Spirit, in the Christian 
 church. For this, and all other his mercies, she is 
 bound continually to say, and, by her holy services, 
 continually doth she say, " Ulessed be God." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 •^ PsAi.M Ixix.] This Psalm was composed l)y David, 
 in some season of extreme danger, liut some of the 
 ex|)ressions, it is manifest, are such, as were not literally 
 fulfilled in him, but in Christ ; of whom David was a 
 figure, both in his svitTerings, and in his advancement 
 after them to a kingdom. Bj). Patrick. 
 
 Tlie applicatiim of many passages in this Psalm to 
 our Lord, made by Himself and his apostles, as well as 
 the api)ointment of tlie whole, by the church, to be 
 used on Good Friday, direct us to consider it as uttered 
 by the Son of (iod, in the day of his passion. 1 — 5, 
 He descrilietli his sufferings, undergone for the sins of 
 men ; (i, 7, prayelh that his disciples may not be offended
 
 Day 13. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 wtiere there where 110 groiincl is : I am come into 
 inrS''" f^eep waters, so that the floods run 
 Trans. over me. 
 
 3 I am weary of cryinj^f; my 
 throat is dry : my sij^ht faileth me 
 for waitin<^ so loiiir ii])on my God. 
 
 4 They that hate me e vvitiiout a 
 cause care more tiian the liairs of my 
 head : they tliat are mine enemies, 
 and wouhl destroy me guiltless, are 
 mighty. 
 
 5 1 paid them tlie tilings that I 
 never took : God, thou knowest my 
 simpleness '', and my faults are not 
 hid from thee. 
 
 6 Let not them that trust in thee ', 
 O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed 
 for my cause : let not those that seek 
 
 at the pain and shame of the cross ; 8 — 12, relateththe 
 usage He met with at the hands of the Jews ; i:i — 20, 
 maketh his prayer to the Father; 21, 22, complaineth 
 of his desolate estate, of the reproach cast upon Him, 
 and of the gall and vinegar administered to Him ; 
 23 — 29, foretelleth the judgments of heaven, about to 
 fall upon the Jewish nation ; 30, returneth to the con- 
 sideration of his own sorrows, and |)rayeth for deliver- 
 ance; 31, 32, praiseth the Father for the accomplish- 
 ment of that deliverance ; 33, 34, exhorteth all men to 
 come and partake of it, and, 35, the whole creation 
 to join in a chorus of thanksgiving for it ; 36, 37, 
 predicteth the salvation, edification, and perpetuity, of 
 the church. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1 . Save me, God : &c.] The Gospels inform us 
 concerning the constancy and patience of Christ under 
 his sufferings : the sufferings themselves (those in par- 
 ticular of his soul) are largely described in the Psalms ; 
 many of which, and this among the rest, seem to have 
 been indited beforehand by the Spirit, for his use in the 
 day of trouble. Bj). Home. 
 
 ' 3. I am weary of crying ; &c.] This verse describes 
 the effects of those supplications which the Son of God 
 offered up, " with strong crying and tears, in the days 
 of his flesh," Heb. v. 7 : of that thirst, which, through 
 loss of blood on the cross, " dried his throat ;" and of 
 that long and patient endurance, when his "' eyes failed," 
 and were closed in darkness, while his faith " waited " 
 for the deliverance promised by the Father. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 K 4. They that hate me &c.] The Jews, the Romans, 
 and the sijirits of darkness, made up that multitude of 
 enemies, which, like an herd of evening wolves, sur- 
 rounded the Lamb of God, thirsting after his blood, nor 
 resting till they had drawn forth the very last drop of it 
 fi'om his heart. And thus the only innocent person in 
 the world suffered for all its guilt, making satisfaction 
 for wrongs which He never did, and "restoring that 
 which he took not away." Bp. Home. 
 
 ■■ 5. — God, thou knowest my simpleness, &c.] These 
 words, in the mouth of David, or any other sinful son 
 of Adam, are plain enough. They may, nevertheless, 
 be spoken, as the rest of the Psalm is, in the person 
 of Christ, concerning the iniquities committed by us, 
 but " laid on him " which He therefore mentions, as if 
 they had been bis own ; the head complaining of dis- 
 eases incident only to the members. See Isa. liii. 6. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 thee I)e confounded through 
 
 541 
 •, O 
 
 reproach. 
 liili. TriiTii, 
 Sku Vocab. 
 
 reproaelieB. 
 /(./). Trrins. 
 .See Vocali. 
 reproached. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 reproach. 
 liili. Trans, 
 
 Lord God of Israel. 
 
 7 And why? for thy sake have I 
 suffered reproof: shame hath covered 
 my face. 
 
 8 1 am become a stranger ^ unto 
 my brethren : even an alien unto my 
 mother's children. 
 
 9 For the zeal of thine house hath 
 even eaten me : and the rebukes of 
 them that rebuked thee are fallen 
 upon me. 
 
 10 I wept, and chastened myself 
 with fasting : and that was turned to 
 my reproof. 
 
 Ill put on sackcloth also : and 
 they jested upon me. 
 
 12 They that sit in the gate speak 
 
 ' 6. Let not them that trust in thee, &c.] The Son of 
 God jirefers a jietition to the Father, that his discii)les 
 may not be scandalized on account of his passion, or be 
 tem]ited to relinquish their trust in God, at behold- 
 ing his only and beloved Son forsaken on the cross ; 
 since it was not for any demerit of bis own, but for the 
 sake of God's glory, as well as man's salvation, that 
 He "bore reproach, and shame covered his face." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '' S, 9- I am become a stranger &c.] The Jews were 
 Christ's "lirethren," according to the Hcsh. To them 
 He was a " stranger and an alien." " He came to his 
 own, and his own received him not." " We know," 
 said they, " that God spake unto Moses ; but as for 
 this fellow, we know not from whence he is." And 
 again, " Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil," John 
 i. 11 ; i.\. 29 ; viii. 48. The ground of all this enmity 
 was the " zeal " of Christ for the reformation and 
 purification of the church, ^\■hich He manifested in his 
 reproofs and exhortations, as also by the emblematical 
 act of driving the buyers and sellers out of the temple. 
 Upon this latter occasion, the Evangelist tells us, " his 
 discijiles remembered that it was written," that is, it 
 was predicted of Messiah in this Psalm, " The zeal of 
 thine house hath eaten me up," John ii. 17. There- 
 fore, as he adds immediately, " the reproaches of them 
 that reproached thee fell on me." In calumniating 
 and blaspheming the works of the Son of God, the 
 Jews reproached both the Father who gave Him those 
 works to do, and the Spirit by which He did them : all 
 which reproaches fell on the man Christ, as the visible 
 instrument employed in the doing of them. This last 
 passage is thus quoted and applied by St. Paul, " Even 
 Christ pleased not himself: but, as it is written. The 
 reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me," 
 Rom. XV. 3. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10 — 12. I wept, and chastened myself &c.] To ex- 
 piate the sins of his creatm-es, the King of glory became 
 a man of sorrows ; He put on mortal flesh as a peniten- 
 tial garment ; He fasted, and prayed, and mourned, and 
 wept, and humbled Himself to the dust, as if He had 
 been the offender, and we the righteous persons that 
 needed no repentance. And what return was made 
 Him? "It was to his reproach, and he became a 
 proverb to them," for whom He suffered. "They that 
 sat in the gate," or, on the "judgment-seat," which used 
 to be in the gates of cities, even the senators and judges 
 of the land, the chief priests and elders, " spake against
 
 542 
 
 THE rSALMS. 
 
 Day 13. 
 
 against me : and the drunkards make 
 songs upon me. 
 
 13 But, Lord, I make my prayer ™ 
 unto thee : in an acceptable time. 
 
 14 Hear me, O God, in the multi- 
 tude of thy mercy : even in the truth 
 of thy salvation. 
 
 15 Take me out of the mire °, that 
 I sink not : O let me be delivered 
 from them that hate me, and out of 
 the deep waters. 
 
 16 Let not the water-flood drown 
 me, neither let the deep swallow me 
 up : and let not the pit shut her 
 mouth upon me. 
 
 17 Hear me, O Lord, for thy 
 loving-kindness is comfortable : turn 
 thee unto me according to the multi- 
 tude of thy mercies. 
 
 18 And hide not thy face from 
 . thy servant, for I am in trouble : O 
 
 haste thee, and hear me. 
 
 19 Draw nigh unto my soul, and 
 save it : O deliver me, because of 
 mine enemies. 
 
 him," nith cool and deliberate malice ; while He was 
 "the song of the drunken," and profligate, who more 
 grossly insulted and derided Him, Bp. Home. 
 
 " 13, 14. Bat, Lord, 1 make my prayer &c.] The 
 Son of God Himself, in the midst of sorrows and suffer- 
 ings, has recourse to prayer. The " acceptahle time," 
 in which Christ prayed, was the time when He offered 
 the great propitiatory sacrifice. Through the merit of 
 that sacrifice it is, that we have an " acceptable time, 
 and a day of salvation," allowed us. Behold, now is 
 that time, behold, now is that day ! Let us not delay 
 one moment to use and improve it aright. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 15, IG. Ttike me out of the mire, &c.] Messiah 
 petitions for deliverance from calamities, under the 
 same images which were employed at the beginning of 
 the I'salm, to describe those calamities. The jiurport 
 of the petition is, that the sins of the world, and the 
 sufferings due to them, may not finally overwhelm Him, 
 nor the grave " shut her mouth upon him " for ever; 
 but that the morning of his resurrection may at length 
 succeed the night of his passion. Bp. Home. 
 
 " '21. Thy rebuke hnlh broken my heart, &:c.] The re- 
 proaches which thou hast been jdcased to expose me to, 
 have woimded me to the \-ery heart. Dr. Kicholls. The 
 argument urged by Ciirist, in these most affecting 
 words, is, that in the extremity of bis jiassion He was 
 left alonen-ithout a comforter, a friend, or an attendant; 
 while all that were ronnd about Him studied to infuse 
 evcrj' bitter and acrimonious ingredient into liis cu]i of 
 sorrows. This was literally as well as metaphorically 
 true, when " they gave him to drink vinegar mingled 
 with gall." See Matt, .x.vvii. 34 ; John .\i.v. 29. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 f 23. Let their table be made a snare &c.] That this 
 and the following verses are to be imderstood in the 
 future sense l)y way of prediction, and not as an impre- 
 cation, is afllrmed by St. Augustine ; and indeed the 
 original is most fitly rendered in the future " shall l)e." 
 And so doth the Jewish Arab interpreter observe, that 
 8uch seeming imprecations, as here and elsewhere occur 
 
 20 Thou hast known my reproof, 
 my .shame, and my dishonour : mine 
 adversaries are all in thy sight. 
 
 21 Thy rebuke hath broken my 
 heart"; I am full of heaviness : I 
 looked for some to have pity on me, 
 but there was no man, neither found 
 I any to comfort me. 
 
 22 They ga\e me gall to eat : and 
 when 1 was thirsty they gave me 
 vinegar to drink. 
 
 23 Let their table be made a 
 snare P to take themselves withal : 
 and let the things that should have 
 been for their wealth be unto them 
 an occasion of falling. 
 
 24 Let their eyes be blinded i, 
 that they see not : and ever bow 
 thou down their backs. 
 
 23 Pour out thine indignation "■ 
 upon them : and let thy wrathful 
 displeasure take hold of them. 
 
 26 Let their habitation be void' : 
 and no man to dwell in their tents. 
 
 27 For they persecute him' whom 
 
 Their table 
 sliall be for. 
 Dr. Uam- 
 mond. 
 
 their peacD- 
 ofterings. 
 Bp. Home. 
 a trap. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 make their 
 loins con- 
 tinually to 
 sh.ike. Bib, 
 Ttaiis. 
 
 desolate. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 in this book of Psalms, are not so much by way of im- 
 precation, as by way of prophecy or prediction of what 
 in God's just judgment would certainly befal. Dr. 
 Hammond. At this verse beginneth a prediction of 
 those dreadftd judgments which heaven has since in- 
 flicted upon the crucifiers of the Lord of glory. By 
 their " table becoming a snare, and their peace-offerings 
 a trap," is pointed out the consequence of the Jews 
 adhering to the legal services, in opposition to Him 
 who is " the end of the law, for righteousness." After 
 his sufferings and exaltation, to continue under the 
 law became not only unprofitable, Ijut destructive, in- 
 asmuch as it implied a denial of Messiah's advent, and 
 a renunciation of every evangelical benefit and blessing. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '< 21. Jji-t their eye,i be blinded, &c.] They who loved 
 darkness rather than light, by the righteous judgment of 
 (iod were jiermitted to w;ilk on in darkness, while the 
 blind led the blind. And such still continues to be the 
 state of the Jews, notwithstaiuling the intolerable weight 
 of woe which made " their loins to shake," and bowed 
 down their backs to the earth. "The veil rcmaineth 
 yet upon their hciirts," in the reading of the Old Testa- 
 ment ; nor can they see therein " the things which be- 
 long unto their peace." These last two verses are cited, 
 as sjioken of Israel, by St. Paul, Rom. xi. 9, 10. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 2!>. Pour out thine indiijnatinn &c.] Ne\'er was 
 " indignation so poured out ." never did " wrath so take 
 hold" on any nation as on that, which once was, be- 
 yond every other, beloved and favoured. " The wrath," 
 says St. I'tiul, 1 Thess. ii. Hi, "is come upon them to 
 the uttermost," to the very last dregs of the cup of fury. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 20. I/et their habitation be void: &c.] Our Lord 
 seems to have had this [)assagc in his view, when He 
 said to the Jews, " Behold, yoiu- bouse is left imto you 
 desolate," Matt, xxiii. 38. Jerusalem was by the Ro- 
 man armies destroyed from the foimdations. It hath 
 been since indeed rebuilt, and iidiabited by Gentiles,
 
 29 Let tliem be wiped out" of tlic 
 and not be 
 
 Day 13. 
 
 thou hast smitten : and they talk how 
 they may vex them wliom thou hast 
 wounded. 
 Add iniquity 28 Let them fall from one wicked- 
 
 to their ini- , i.1 „ i *. * *. 
 
 quity. Bib. ness to anotlier" : and not come nito 
 teTiiten tl'y righteousness. 
 
 witli the 
 
 Dib. Trans, book 01 the livnig 
 
 ^Trms.' '°''' vvritton among' the righteous. 
 
 30 As for me ^, when I am poor 
 and in heaviness : thy help, O God, 
 shall lift me up. 
 
 31 I will praise the Name of God 
 with a song : and magnify it with 
 thanksgiving. 
 
 32 This also shall please the 
 Lord'^ : better than a bullock that 
 hath horns and hoofs. 
 
 33 The humble shall consider 
 
 by Christians, and by Saracens, but no more by the 
 Jewish people. It is remarkable, that this verse is 
 applied. Acts i. 20, to Judas, considered as the head 
 and representative of that apostate nation, which re- 
 jected and delivered up its Prince and Saviour to be 
 crucified. " He was guide to them that took Jesus," 
 Acts i. IG. The punishment, therefore, as well as the 
 sin of Israel, is portrayed in his person, and the same 
 prophecy is applicable to him and to his countrymen. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 27. For they persecute him &o.] The cause of the 
 foregoing calamities, inflicted on the Jews, is here 
 assigned ; namely, that, instead of mourning and sym- 
 pathizing with Messiah, in tlie day when Jehovah laid 
 on Him the iniquities of us all, and afflicted Him for 
 our sakes, they, by reproaches and blaspheinies, aggra- 
 vated his sufferings to the uttermost ; and afterwards 
 continued to use his disciples in the same manner. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 28. Let them fall from one tcickediiess to another : Sec.'] 
 As they added affliction to the afflictions of Christ, so 
 God permitted them to go on. Winded and deserted, in 
 their ^vickedness, " adding sin to sin," filling uj) the 
 measure of their fathers, still obstinately refusing to 
 come into the church, and partake of the " righteous- 
 ness" which is l)y faith. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 29- Let them be wiped out &c.] By " the book of 
 the living," in which the names of the " righteous are 
 written," is to be understood the register of the true 
 servants and worshippers of God, of those who are 
 "justified," or made "righteous," through faith. In 
 this register, the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacol), 
 the ancient fathers of the Israelitish race, with their 
 tnie children, stand recorded ; but the degenerate and 
 apostate Jews have been long since "blotted out;" 
 they are no longer the peculium of heaven ; nor have 
 they any part or portion in the inheritance of the sons 
 of God. Thus Ezekiel : "lliey shall not be in the 
 assembly of my people, nor shall they be written in the 
 writing of the house of Israel:" xiii. 9- And our Lord, 
 in his conversations with the Jews, took every oppor- 
 tunity to tell them that they, for their unbelief, should 
 be " cast out," and that the Gentiles, obeying the call of 
 the Gospel, should come from all quarters of the world, 
 and " sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in 
 the kingdom of God." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 30. As for me, &c.] Here, as in the 22nd, and 
 
 niE PSALMS. 
 
 .543 
 
 this% and be glad : seek ye after 
 God, and your soid shall live. 
 
 .34 For the Lord hcareth the poor : 
 and despiseth not his prisoners. 
 
 35 Let heaven and earth praise 
 him : the sea, and all that movcth 
 therein. 
 
 .36 For God will save Sion'', ami 
 build the cities of Judah : that men 
 may dwell there, and have it in pos- 
 session. 
 
 37 The posterity also of his ser- 
 vants "^ shall inherit it : and they that 
 love his Name shall dwell therein. 
 
 H 
 
 PSALM Ixx.'' Deus in ailjulorium. 
 A S T E thee, O God, to deli- 
 ver me : make haste to help 
 
 me, O Lord. 
 
 many other Psalms, the scene changes from son'ow to 
 joy; from a state of suffering to one of trium])h ; from 
 the passion to the resurrection. Jesus, risen from the 
 dead, declares his resolution of praising and magnify- 
 ing the Fatlier, for the salvation of the world, hajipily 
 accomplished by his labours and sufferings, which were 
 now for ever at an end. The church does the same 
 incessantly, on earth and in heaven. Bp. Home. 
 
 '32. This also shall please the Lord : &c.] A bullock 
 was in its prime for sacrifice, tinder the law, when it 
 began to put forth its " horns and hoofs." The infinite 
 distance, therefore, in point of \'alue, Ijetween the best 
 legal sacrifices, and those of obedience, love, and praise, 
 as offered by Christ, and through Him, by his church, 
 under the Gosjiel, is pointed out in this verse. See Ps. 
 xl. 6, &c. ; 1. 23. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 33. The humble shall consider this, &c.] It is fore- 
 told, that the " humble," or the "jioor in spirit," that 
 is, the meek and lowly followers of the holy Jesus, 
 should find everlasting joy and comfort in the glad 
 tidings of salvation ; all mankind are exhorted to 
 " seek after God," as manifested in the Gospel of his 
 Son ; and the reward promised is " life spiritual and 
 eternal." Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 3G. For God will save Sion, &c.] Tlie sah-ation and 
 edification of the church followed the passion and resur- 
 rection of Christ. " God will save Sion," that is, the 
 chiu'ch, which at first consisted of the apostles, who 
 were Jews, and others of that nation by them converted 
 to the faith. " And build the cities of Judah," or cause 
 churches to arise in all the world, which shall from 
 thenceforth take the names, and inherit the privileges, 
 of " Israel and Judah ; that men," even such as God 
 shall call from among the nations, " may dwell there," 
 as citizens of the new Jerusalem, "and," instead of 
 the rejected Jews, " have it in their possession." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 37. The posterity also of his servants &c.] Tlie con- 
 tinuation of the church in the posterity of the faithful 
 is here i)redicted. Accordingly, the descendants of the 
 proselyted Gentiles have been in possession of the Gos- 
 pel ])rivileges, for above 1 700 years. And thus it will 
 be, while they abide in the faith, and " love the name," 
 of Jesus. Should the Gentiles apostatize as the Jews 
 did, and the Jews be converted as the Gentiles were, 
 then the Gospel would go from the Gentiles to the 
 Jews, as before it went from the Jews to the Gentdes;
 
 544 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 2 Let them be asliamed and con- 
 founded that seek after my soul : let 
 them be turned backward and put to 
 confusion that wish me evil. 
 
 3 Let them for their reward be 
 soon brought to shame : that cry 
 over me, There, there. 
 
 4 But let all those that seek thee 
 be joyful and glad in thee : and let 
 all such as delight in thy salvation 
 say ahvay. The Lord be praised. 
 
 3 As for me, I am poor and in 
 misery : haste thee unto me, O God. 
 6 Thou art my helper, and my 
 
 redeemer 
 tarrying. 
 
 O Lord, make no lonu;- 
 
 Visitaticm of 
 the Sick. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM Ixxi.' In te, Domine, speravi. 
 
 IN thee, O Lord, have I put my 
 trust ^, let me never be put to 
 confusion : but rid me, and deliver 
 me in thy righteousness s ; incline 
 thine ear unto me, and save me. 
 2 Be thou my strong hold, where- 
 
 then would there " come out of Sion the Dehverer, to 
 turn away ungodliness from Jacob," Rom. xi. 26. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 ^ Psalm Ixx.] The words of this Psalm occur, with- 
 out any material variations, in Ps. xl. verse 10, to the 
 end. The reader is therefore referred tliither for the 
 exjiosition ; as before, in the case of the 53rd and 14th 
 Psalms. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm Ixxi.] The Psalmist, sorely distressed in 
 his old age (see ver. 8, and IG,) hy the rebellion of Ab- 
 salom, which was his great affliction at that period of 
 life, ver. I, prayeth for the divine assistance; pleading 
 God's righteousness, 2, and promise ; 3, the inicpiity of 
 his persecutors ; 4, .'), the mercies vouch.safed him from 
 his birth ; 6, 7, his being deserted and given up hy 
 man ; 8, his old age ; 9, the taunts and insults of his 
 adversaries; 10, he re])eatcth his request ; lI,i)rophc- 
 sieth the dinvnfal of his enemies ; declareth, 1 2, his 
 hope, 13, his gratitude, 14, his faith; I.'i, 10, wisheth 
 to he preser\-ed, that he might shew forth tlie power 
 and glory of (jod, whose righteousness and marvellous 
 acts, 17, lie extolleth, and thence, 18, 19, promiseth 
 himself a final redemption from all his troubles, and a 
 restoration to honour and comfort ; when, 20 — 22, he 
 sliall sing and speak the praises of the Lord. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' I. In thee, Lord, have I put my trust, &c.] The 
 promises of salvation are made to those, who, renounc- 
 mg all confidence in the world and themselves, "trust" 
 in (jod alone for it. l'"or tliis reason the Psalmist so 
 often begins his i)rayer with a declaration of his " faith," 
 which is to the soul in atlliction, what an anchor is to a 
 ship in distress. /{/). Home. 
 
 ' — hut rill me, and deliver me in thy riffhteousnes.i ;] 
 A second argument here used is the " righteousness" of 
 God, who cannot but be faitliful and just to his own 
 gracious word. IJy that word, lie hail engaged to cs- 
 tul)lish the tcmjjoral throne of Uavid, and the eternal 
 
 a wonder. 
 Sib. Tians. 
 
 Day U. 
 
 unto I may ahvay resort : thou hast 
 ]ironiised to help me ; for thou art 
 my house of defence, and mv castle. 
 
 3 Deliver me, O my God'', out of 
 the hand of the ungodly : out of the 
 hand of the unrighteous and cruel 
 man. 
 
 4 For thou, O Lord God, art ' the "' ""y •>»?«• 
 
 ., . , , .' ^ , ' Bib. Tram. 
 
 tlunar tliat 1 lonar tor : thou art mv mvtrust. 
 
 1 , '^ ,• " ,.1 ■' Bib. Tram. 
 
 iiope, even from my youth. 
 
 5 Through thee have 1 been holden 
 up ever since I was born : thou art 
 he that took me out of my mother's 
 womb ; my praise shall always be of 
 thee. 
 
 6 I am become as it were a mon- 
 ster "= unto many : but my sure trust 
 is in thee. 
 
 7 O let my mouth be filled \\-ith 
 thy praise : that I may sing of thy 
 glory and honour all the day long. 
 
 8 Cast me not away in the time 
 of age' : forsake me not when my 
 strength faileth me. 
 
 9 For mine enemies speak against 
 me™, and they that lay wait for my 
 
 throne of the Son of David. And, by the same word, 
 He has engaged to bring those who believe in Him, 
 through sufferings to glory. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 3. Deliver me, my God, &c.] The divine assist- 
 ance is implored by the Psalmist, thirdly, on tlie foot of 
 the goodness of his cause, and the initjuity of his ene- 
 mies. Such were Absalom, Ahitho|)hel, &c. to David ; 
 Judas and the Jews to Christ ; and such are the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil, to the Christian. Against 
 them he is to pray and fight continually. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. For thou, O Lord God, art &c.] Former mercies 
 are urged, as a fourth motive, for the divine goodness 
 to continue those mercies. 'I'he watchful care of hea- 
 ven over us, at an age when we are able to take no care 
 of ourseh'es, deserves consideration. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 0. 1 am become as it were a monster Sec] David, 
 banished from his kingdom, was regarded as a "won- 
 der," or a]irodigy of wretchedness ; Christ, in his state 
 of humiliation upon earth, was a "sign," everywhere 
 "si)oken against," as Simeon foretold He would be, 
 Luke ii. 34. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' S. Cast me not away in the time of aye: &c.] David, 
 mindful of the noble actions which, through (iod's as- 
 sistance, he had achieved in his youth, beseeches Him 
 not to desert his servant wlicn persecuted by a rebel- 
 lious son in bis old age. 'I'he weaknesses and tempta- 
 tions, peculiar to tluittime of life, render this a jietition 
 necessary for us all to make, before we are overtaken 
 by it. Bp. Home, 
 
 "' 9. For mine enemies speak ayainst me, &c.] They 
 who saw Daviil ascenihng mount Olivet in tears, when 
 Absalom had driven him from Jerusalem, and they who 
 beheld Jesus led forth out of the same Jerusalem, to be 
 crucified on mount Calvary, were templed to regard 
 both the one and the other, as finally deserted by God, 
 They who view tlie church, or any member thereof, 
 under aHlietion and persecution, are too frequently 
 temjited to think the same, and to act accordingly;
 
 Day 14. 
 
 soul take their counsel 
 saying' : God liatli forsaken 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 545 
 
 together, 
 liiin; ]ier- 
 secute liim, and take him, for tliore 
 is none to deliver liiin. 
 
 10 Go not far from me, O God : 
 my God, haste thee to help me. 
 
 1 1 Let them be confounded and 
 perish that are against my soul : let 
 them be covered with shame and 
 dishonour that seek to do me evil. 
 
 12 As for me, 1 will patiently 
 abide alway : and will praise thee 
 more and more. 
 
 13 My mouth shall daily speak of 
 thy righteousness and salvation : for 
 I know no end thereof. 
 
 14 I will go forth in the strength 
 of the Lord God : and will make 
 mention of thy righteousness only. 
 
 15 Thou, O God, hast taught 
 me" from my youth up until now : 
 therefore will I tell of thy wondrous 
 works. 
 
 16 Forsake me not, O God, in 
 mine old age, when I am graj'- 
 lieaded : until I have shewed thy 
 strength unto this generation, and 
 thy power to all them that are yet for 
 to come. 
 
 17 Thy righteousness, O God, is 
 very high : and great things are they 
 
 though they are so plainly taught the contrary, by the 
 restoration of the king of Israel, and the resurrection of 
 the Son of God. Up. Home. 
 
 ° 15. Tkou, O God, hast taught me &c.] It was the 
 God of Israel, who "taught" David, as a warrior, to 
 conquer, and, as a Psalmist, to " declare the wondrous 
 works" of his great Benefactor. He requests to be 
 preserved in his old age, until, by completing his vic- 
 tories, and his Psalms composed to celebrate them, he 
 had " shewed the strength and power of God," not 
 only to the men of the " generation" in which he lived, 
 b\it also to " every one that should come," or arise 
 in after-times, and chant those divine hymns in the 
 assemblies of the faithful, throughout all ages. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 18. what great troubles — hast thou shewed me! 
 &c.] In David, delivered out of his troubles, and 
 restored to his throne, we behold our Lord, after his 
 "great and sore trouble, literally quickened, or revived, 
 brought up again from the depths of the earth, in- 
 creased in greatness, and comforted on every side." 
 In Him we were virtually, by his grace we are actually, 
 raised from sin and sorrow, to righteousness and com- 
 fort ; and through his power we shall be raised, from 
 dust and corruption, to glory and immortahty. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 p 20. Therefore will I praise thee Sec] The truth of 
 God, in accomplishing his promises, by the redemption 
 of our souls, and the confusion of our spiritual enemies, 
 is a subject which demands a never-ceasing tribute of 
 gratitude and love, of praise and thanksgiving. To 
 celebrate it aright, with the melody of instruments. 
 
 that thou hast done; O (iod, who is 
 like unto thee ? 
 
 18 () what great troubles and ad- 
 versities hast thou shewed me"! and 
 yet didst thou turn aiul refresh me : 
 yea, and broughtest me from the 
 deep of the earth again. 
 
 19 Thou liast liroughtme to great 
 honour : and comforted me on every 
 side. 
 
 20 Therefore will I praise theeP 
 and thy faitiifulness, O God, playing 
 upon an instrument of musick : unto 
 thee will 1 sing upon the harp, O 
 thou Holy One of Israel. 
 
 21 My lips will be fain vvlien I 
 sing unto thee : and so will my soul 
 whom thou hast delivered. 
 
 22 My tongue also shall talk of 
 thy righteousness all the day long : 
 for they are confounded and brought 
 unto shame that seek to do me evil. 
 
 quiiken mo 
 a(.Miii. 
 liiti. Trans. 
 
 shall gready 
 rejcice. Bib. 
 Tians. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 PSALM Lvxii.i Deus, judicium. 
 
 G'o^ 
 
 V E the King thy judgements, 
 God ■■ : and thy righteous- 
 ness unto the King's son. 
 
 2 Then shall he judge thy people 
 according unto right : and defend the 
 poor. 
 
 3 The mountains also shall bring 
 
 voices, and affections, all in perfect concord, is the duty 
 and delight of the church militant ; which, when thus 
 employed, affords the best resemblance of the church 
 triumphant. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 Psalm Ix.xii.] David, praying for Solomon, fore- 
 telleth his peaceful and glorious reign, and under that 
 figure in most lively and beautiful colours pourtrayeth 
 the kingdom of Messiah; 1 — 4, its righteous adminis- 
 tration; 5, its duration; 6, 7, its blessings; 8, its ex- 
 tent; 9 — 1 1, the accession of the (ientiles to it ; 12 — 14, 
 the redemption to be wrought, and, 15, the prayers and 
 praises to be offered up in it; 16, its miraculous in- 
 crease and fruitfulness ; 17, its perpetuity and uni- 
 versality ; 1 8, 1 9, a doxology sung to God for it. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 This Psalm was composed in contemplation of Solo- 
 mon's succeeding David in the throne, and the happy 
 days of his reign ; and under that type looks forward 
 to the days of the Messiah, as the Jews themselves ap- 
 ply it. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ' 1. Give the kinij thy judgements, O God: fee] In 
 this prophetical prayer, the aged monarch of Israel, 
 about to resign the kingdom into the hands of his son 
 Solomon, makes unto God the request of a wise father for 
 him. He asks such a portion of wisdom and integrity 
 from above, as might enable the young prince to govern 
 aright the people of God, and to exhibit to the world a 
 fair resemblance of that King of Israel, who was, in the 
 fulness of time, to sit upon " the throne of his father 
 David," Luke i. 32; "to reign in righteousness," Isa. 
 xxxii. 1 ; and " to have all judgment committed unto 
 him," John v. 22. Bp. Home. 
 
 2 N
 
 546 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 meet, but 
 oppressed 
 aud helpless. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 upon the 
 mown grass. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 peace' : and tlie little hills righteous- 
 ness unto the people. 
 
 4 He shall keep the simple folk 
 by their right' : defend the children 
 of the poor, and punish the wrong 
 doer. 
 
 5 They shall fear thee ", as long as 
 the sun and moon endureth : from 
 one generation to another. 
 
 6 He shall come down like the 
 rain^ into a fleece of wool : even as 
 the drops that water the earth. 
 
 7 In his time shall the righteous 
 flourish'' : yea, and abundance of 
 peace, so long as the moon endureth. 
 
 8 His dominion .shall be also*^ from 
 
 ' 3. The mountains also shall bring peace: &c.] In 
 other words, peace, manifested by its consequence, 
 plenteousness. shall be upon all the mountains and 
 little hills of Judea, by means of that righteous judg- 
 ment which Solomon will execute in the land. And 
 thus in the days of Messiah, " Beautiful upon the 
 mountains were the feet of them that brought the glad 
 tidings of ])eace ;" which the fruits of the Spirit, in the 
 churches, plainly shewed to have been derived from 
 above, through the righteousness of the Redeemer, pro- 
 ducing "peace on earth." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. He shall keep the simple folk by their right : &c.] 
 It is the part of justice, in well-ordered governments, 
 to see that the " poor and needy have right ;" to break 
 the teetli of " oppression," and pluck indigence from its 
 devouring jaws. This Christ performed, when, having 
 undertaken the cause of his people against the adver- 
 sary. He "saved" them by his resurrection, and 
 "broke in pieces" the power of the great oppressor. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. They shall fear thee, &c.] Tlie kingdom of 
 Solomon continued, in his own person, only for forty 
 years ; but in his seed, that is, Christ, it is established 
 throughout all generations. He reigneth "over the 
 house of ,Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall 
 be no end," Luke i. 33. His dominion over the world 
 by his providence, and in the church by the influences 
 of his grace, is to be coeval with that of the celestial 
 luminaries in nature. And when the " moon shall be 
 confounded, and the sun ashamed," when the heavens 
 shall be dissolved, and the eartli burnt up, " the Lord 
 of hosts shall reign on mount Zion," in the .Icrusalem 
 above, in glory everlasting. Sec Isa. xxiv. 23. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 6. He shall come down like the rain &c.] Refresh- 
 ing and salutan,', as the drops of licaven to the shorn 
 and parched grass, is the mild administration of a wise 
 and i)ious prince to his subjects. .\iu\ what image can 
 convey a better idea of those most beneficial and blessed 
 effects, which followed the descent of the Son of God 
 upon the earth, and that of the Spirit, at the day of 
 Pentecost i The prophets abound witli descriptions of 
 those great events, couched in terms borrowed from 
 the i)!iilosoi(hy of rain and dew. See Isa. .\liv. 3 ; Iv. 10 ; 
 Ilos. xiv. 5; Heb. vi. 7. In the last words of David, 
 tlie reign of Messiah is described under tliis figure : 
 " He shall be as the tender grass, sjiringing out of the 
 earth by clear shining after rain," 2 Sam. x.\iii. 4. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '7. In his time shall the righteous flourish : i^c] fiy 
 means of rain ami dew, the grass s])ringeth out of the 
 
 Daij 14. 
 
 the one sea to the other : and from 
 the flood unto the world's end. 
 
 9 They that dwell ir the wilder- 
 ness" shall kneel before him : his 
 enemies shall lick the dust. 
 
 10 The kings of Tharsis'^and of 
 the isles shall give presents : the 
 kings of Arabia and Saba shall bring 
 gifts. 
 
 1 1 All kings shall fall down before 
 all nations shall do him ser- 
 
 frora the ri- 
 ver unto the 
 ends of the 
 earth. Bib. 
 Trans. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 Sheba and 
 Seba. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 him'= 
 
 vice. 
 
 12 
 
 For he shall deliver the 
 
 poor" 
 
 when he crieth : the needy also, and 
 him that hath no helper. 
 
 13 He shall be favourable to the 
 
 ground. In the kingdom of Solomon, through the in- 
 thiences of his wisdom, good men were encouraged, 
 righteousness flourished, and the land enjoyed tranquil- 
 lity. In the days of Messiah, the fruit of the SjiLrit was 
 righteousness, and the fruit of righteousness was "abun- 
 dance of peace." He was the true " Melchisedeck," or 
 " King of righteousness," and therefore the true Solo- 
 mon, the " King of Salem, the Prince of peace." And 
 his peace is to endure, when the moon shall have ceased 
 to vary her a]ipearances, and when a period shall be put 
 to all sublunary vicissitudes. Bp. Home. 
 
 '■ 8. His dominion shall be also &c.] As applicable to 
 the kingdom of Solomon, this verse describes the ex- 
 tent and limits of the promised " land ;" if it be inter- 
 preted of the wide-extended empire of Christ, that em- 
 pire knows no bounds, but those of the " earth" itself. 
 .Vnd it is observable that when the prophet Zechariah 
 foretels the advent of " the King of Sion," in great 
 humility, "meek, and riding on an ass." he describes 
 the e.vtent of his kingdom in these words, " His domi- 
 nion shall be even from sea to sea, and from the river 
 even to the ends of the eai-th," Zech. ix. 9, 10. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " f). They that dwell in the wilderness &c.] Distant 
 nations submitted themselves to the sceptre and pros- 
 trated themselves before the throne of .Solomon, fore- 
 shewing the conversion of the heathen world (in the 
 figurati\-e language of projihecy, frc<iuently styled, 
 "the wilderness") to the Gospel, and the lowly ador- 
 ation to be made by penitent sinners, at the footstool 
 of the King of glory. They, who take not the advan- 
 tage of the day of grace. Mill feel the rod of his power 
 in the day of vengeance, when his " enemies" shall be 
 subjected to llim ; when death himself shall lie de- 
 stroyed ; and " dust shall be the scrjient's meat," Isa. 
 Ixv. 2.') ; Gen. iii. 14. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' ID. The kings of Tharsis &c.] 'Iliis verse sug- 
 gestcth to our meditation several curious and interesting 
 liarticulars, all tending to one and the same end. As 
 ). 'I'he munificent presents and immense treasures, 
 brought to Solomon from 'I'arshisb, and the isles of the 
 Gentiles, 1 Kings x. 22, &c. 2. 'I'lie coming of the 
 queen of Sheba from the south, with her gifts and ac- 
 knowledgments, to .Jerusalem. 3. The oHcrings made 
 by the eastern magi, as the first-fniits of the Gentiles, 
 to the Saviour of the world. .'Vnd, lastly, the accession 
 of the nations to the faith, (even these " isles of the 
 (ientiles,") bringing their glory and honmir into tbo 
 city of God. See Isa. xhx. Ix; Rev. xxi. 24. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 11. All kings shall fall down btfore him: &c.] It
 
 Dmj 11. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 547 
 
 Sheba. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 simple and needy : and sliall preserve 
 the souls of the poor. 
 
 14 lie shall deliver their souls 
 from falsehood and \vron>r : and dear 
 shall their blood be in his sij^ht. 
 
 15 He shall live", and unto him 
 shall be s^iven of the j^old of Arabia : 
 prayer shall be made ever unto him, 
 and daily shall he be praised. 
 
 16 Tliere shall be an heap of 
 corn'' in the earth, high upon the 
 hills : his fruit shall shake like Li- 
 banus, and shall be green in the city 
 like grass upon the earth. 
 
 17 His Name shall endure for 
 ever^j his Name shall remain under 
 the sun among the posterities : 
 
 is said, 2 Chron. ix. 23. 26. 28, that "all the kings of 
 the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his 
 wisdom ; that he reigned over all the kings, from the 
 river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the 
 border of Egypt; and that they brought unto him 
 horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands." The domi- 
 nion of Christ is universal ; and it will appear to bo so 
 at the last day ; when, before men and angels, He shall 
 prove his claim to the title, " King of kings. Lord of 
 lords." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 12 — 14. For he shall deliver the poor &c.] These 
 three verses, considered as describing the just and mer- 
 ciful administration of Solomon, need no exposition. 
 As prophetical of Messiah's reign, they may be thus 
 connected \rith the context, and paraphrased : The 
 kings and the nations of the earth shall accede to the 
 church of Christ, induced so to do by the fame of his 
 mercy, no less than by that of his majesty. They shall 
 hear of the great deliverance wrought by Him for the 
 poor inspirit, who make their prayer unto Him, confess- 
 ing their sins, and acknowledging the inability of any 
 creature, in heaven or earth, to recover them from their 
 lost estate. These He shall spare, and pardon, and 
 save from sin, and from death, and from hell. He 
 shall, for this purpose, break the snares, and destroy 
 the power, of their great op]iressor, the devil ; and so 
 dear shall their blood be in his sight, that He shall shed 
 his own for it ; after which, arising to a new and im- 
 mortal life. He shall accomplish the eternal redemption 
 of his servants. Bp. Home. 
 
 '15. He shall live, &ic.~\ As Solomon's reign was long 
 and prosperous, that of Messiah is everlasting and glo- 
 rious : as the rich brought presents to the one ; so the 
 nations offered up themselves, their ])ossessions, their 
 souls and their bodies, to the other: as the former was 
 continually " |)rayed for," and blessed by his subjects, 
 who owed peace and jilenteousness to his government ; 
 so, with regard to the latter, prayer is made ever in the 
 church, for the increase and consummation of his king- 
 dom; and "daily is he praised" by his people, for all 
 the riches of grace, for all the comforts of the Spirit, 
 and for all the ho])es of glory, which they possess, and 
 enjoy, through Him. Bp. Home. 
 
 '16. There shall be an heap of corn &c.] As if it 
 were said. The blessings of this spiritual kingdom shall 
 be multiplied, like the produce of a very fruitful year, 
 when the barren mountains yield a ]ilentiful crop, and 
 the standing corn shakes with the mnd upon the hills, 
 as the trees do iqion Libanus and other mountains ; 
 and the cities shall yield forth fruit from this word 
 
 vvhieh sliall be blessed through him ; 
 and all the heathen shall jiraise him. 
 
 18 Blessed i)e the Lord (iod'', 
 even the God of Israel : which only 
 doeth wondrous things. 
 
 19 And blessed be the Name of 
 his Majesty for ever : and all the 
 earth shall be filled with his Majesty. 
 Amen, Amen. 
 
 EVENING PBAYER. 
 PS.\LM Ixxiii.' Qaam bonus Israel ! 
 
 TRULY God is loving'' unto 
 Israel : even unto such as are of 
 a clean heart. 
 
 2 Nevertheless, my feet were 
 
 sown among them, as kindly as the grass grows in a 
 fertile pasture. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 It is here foretold, that, in the days of Solomon, won- 
 derful shall be the fruitfulness of Judea. Such, under 
 the reign of King Messiah, was the amazing increase of 
 the "word," when sown in hearts barren before; such 
 the astonishing multiplication of citizens in the Chris- 
 tian church : as it is written. Acts vi. 7 : " And the 
 word of God increased ; and the number of the disci- 
 ples multiijlied in Jerusalem greatly." So let it be, 
 blessed Lord, wheresoever thy Gos|)el is preached, 
 throughout the world. Bp. Home. 
 
 s 17. His Name sliall endure for ever ; &c.] Tlie per- 
 son and kingdom of Solomon have been used all along 
 as a channel, through which to convey a most illustrious 
 prophecy concerning those of Christ. But here the 
 type seems to be wholly absorbed in the great antitype. 
 His " name," his saving name, " shall indeed endure 
 for ever, propagated" with the faitli, through all the 
 generations of men, while the "sun," another of his 
 representatives, shall continue to maintain his station 
 in the heavens, and to diffuse his light upon the earth. 
 In Him. as it was promised to Abraham, shall all the 
 true children of Abraham be " blessed" with the bless- 
 ings of eternity ; " all nations shall call him blessed," 
 as they are taught to do in the remaining verses of this 
 e.xalted composition. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ IS. Blessed be the Lord God, Sic.1 Blessed, there- 
 fore, be thou, O Lord Jesu ! for thou art the Lord God, 
 even the God of Israel, who hast wrought such miracles 
 of mercy, for the salvation of the church : and blessed, 
 by the tongues of men and angels, be thy holy and 
 glorious name ; and let the whole earth be filled with 
 the amazingly transcendent and inconceivable majesty 
 of thy most excellent glory, for evermore ! So be it, 
 so be it. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm Ixxiii.] Most of the Psalms from this to the 
 107th are attributed to Asaph; supposed I)y some to 
 be the famous singer in David's time, 1 Chron. xvi. 5 ; 
 2 Chron. v. 12: by Bp. Patrick to be Asaph the seer, 
 who lived in the days of Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxix. 30 ; 
 and whose Psalms were ordered to be sung together 
 with those of David by that prince. But the house of 
 Asaph being a noted family of the tribe of Levi, there 
 were probably several composers of Psalms of that 
 name, whose compositions are brought together in this 
 collection. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The person speaking in this Psalm relates, 1—3, the 
 process of a temptation, occasioned by his beholding 
 the prosperity of wicked men upon earth, which he 
 2 N 2
 
 548 
 
 treadings 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 had 
 
 desire. 
 Vocab. 
 
 almost gone' : 
 well-nigh slipt. 
 
 3 And why? I was grieved at tlie 
 wicked : 1 do also see the ungodly in 
 such prosperity. 
 
 4 For they are in no peril of 
 death : but are lusty and strong. 
 
 5 They come in no misfortune 
 like other folk : neither are they 
 plagued like other men. 
 
 6 And this is the cause that they 
 are so holden with pride : and over- 
 whelmed witii cruelty. 
 
 7 Their eyes swell with fatness : 
 and they do even what they lust. 
 
 8 Thev corrupt other, and speak 
 of wicked blasphemy : their talking 
 is against the most High. 
 
 9 For they stretch forth their 
 mouth™ unto the heaven : and their 
 tongue goeth through the world. 
 
 10 Therefore fall the peo])le unto 
 them" : and thereout suck they no 
 small advantage. 
 
 describes, 4 — 1 1, with, 12, 13, the suggestions of nature 
 on the occasion ; but, in opposition to these, grace 
 urges, 14, the examples of saints, 15, the difficulty of 
 judging concerning God's dispensations, and, above all, 
 16 — 19, the final issue of things at the last day, and 
 the end of that prosperity, which had excited his envy. 
 Perfectly satisfied with these considerations, 20. 21, he 
 owns his uneasiness to have sprung from his ignorance ; 
 and, 22 — 27, closes the Psalm with the most affec- 
 tionate expressions of his full trust and confidence in 
 the divine mercy and goodness. No temptation is more 
 common, or more formidable, than that above men- 
 tioned. A more powerful and effectual antidote to it 
 cannot be devised, than this most instructive and beau- 
 tiful Psalm affords. B/i. Home. 
 
 ■■ 1 . Truly Gud is lovinij &c.] lliis declaration seems 
 to be the result of a long struggle in the mind of the 
 Psalmist, between natiu-e and grace, in which the latter 
 proves victorious, and, notwithstanding all appearances 
 to the contrary, determines, against the suggestions of 
 the former, that (iod is the same good and merciful 
 God to his church and people, if they do but ]irescrve 
 inviolable their fidelity to Ilini, whether, in this world, 
 they enjoy pros|)erity, or endure affliction. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. Neverlheles.1, my feel were atmosl (/one: &c.] 
 Temptations impede the progress of the Christian in 
 the way of righteousness, and incline him to fall ; as it 
 ha])pens to one who walks in a .sli])pery palli. The 
 temptation, here complained of, is that excited by seeing 
 wealth and himour in the hands of iididelity and vil- 
 lanv, while the faithful servants of (iod are covered 
 with infamy, and oppressed by poverty. A prospect of 
 this sort is apt to make us (hstnist the love of heaven 
 towards us, and its jjrovidence over us. For our 
 benefit, therefore, in the course of this Psalm, the 
 disease is jtarticularized, and the remedy ])rescribed. 
 /}/). Home. 
 
 °' t). For they slretch forth their mouth &c.] 'I'hey 
 spare neither (iod nor man in their im])ious (hscourse ; 
 they open tln^ir moulh against heaven, and every thing 
 tlsc that is sacred ; nor do they spare to take the 
 
 Da?/ 14. 
 
 1 1 Tush, say they, how should 
 God perceive it : is there knowledge 
 in the most High? 
 
 12 Lo, these are the ungodly", 
 these prosper in the world, and these 
 have riches in possession : and I said, 
 Then have I cleansed p my heart in 
 vain, and washed mine hands in 
 innocency. 
 
 13 All the day long have I been 
 punished : and chastened every 
 morning. 
 
 14 Yea, and I had almost said' 
 even as they : but lo, then 1 should 
 have condemned the generation of 
 thy children. 
 
 15 Then thought I to understand 
 this, but it was too hard for me. 
 
 16 Until I went into the sanctuary 
 of God' : then understood I the end 
 of these men ; 
 
 17 Namely, how thou dost set 
 them* in slippery places : and castest 
 them down, and destroyest them. 
 
 liberty of abusing the holiest man upon earth. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 ° 10. Therefore fall the people unto them : &c.] Tliis 
 raises their credit in the opinion of ignorant people, 
 which they are sure to turn to their own advantage. 
 Trapetl. 
 
 "12. Lo, these are the ungodly, &c.] Tlie tempta- 
 tion is now stated in its full force. "These" worth- 
 less, ungodly, blasphemous wretches, whose characters 
 I have been delineating, " these " are the men who 
 prosper in the world, who succeed in every thing they 
 undertake, and roll in riches ! A\'hat are we to think 
 of God, his providence, and his promises ? Bp. Home. 
 
 p — and 1 said. Then hare I cleansed &c.] Nature 
 will be apt upon this occasion to suggest, that all my 
 faith, my charity, and my de\()tion, all my watching, 
 and fastings, in short, all the labour and jmins 1 have 
 taken in the way of goodness, have been altogether 
 vain and fruitless : since, while the rebellious enemies 
 of God enjoy the world and themselves at ])leasurc. I, 
 who continue his servant, am in periietual tribulation 
 and affliction. Bp. Home. 
 
 'I 14. Yea, and I had almost said &ic.'} The Psalmist 
 having thus jiarticularized the disease, proceeds now 
 like a skilful physician of the soul, to prescribe a medi 
 cine for it, which is com])oundcd of many salutary in 
 grcdicnts. And, first, to the suggestions of nature 
 grace opposes the examples of the cluldren of God, 
 who never fell from their hope in another world, 1)6' 
 cause of their sufferings in this. I'or a man, therefore, 
 to distrust tlie divine goodness on that account, is to 
 belie their hope, renounce their faith, and strike his 
 name out of their list. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Ifl. Until 1 went into the sanctuary of Cod: &c.] 
 Another argument, with which we may rejiress the 
 spirit of murmuring and ihstrust, so apt to be excited 
 by the ])rospcrity of the wicked, is one communicated 
 to us by the word of (iod, ^vbi<■h alone can accpiaint us 
 with what is to be the " end," tlie final )iortiou of sin- 
 ners at the last day. /(/*. Home. 
 
 ' 1". Namely, how thou dost set them &c.] Worldly
 
 thou slialt 
 despise their 
 image. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 tliia 8liado%v 
 of prosperity. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 Day 14. 
 
 18 Oh, how suddenly do tlicy con- 
 sume : perish, ;uid come to a t'eaiful 
 end! 
 
 19 Yea, even like as a dream' 
 when one awaUeth : so shall thou 
 make their imaije to vanish out of 
 the city. 
 
 20 Thus my heart was grieved" : 
 and it went even through my reins. 
 
 21 So foolish was I, and ignorant: 
 even as it were a beast before thee. 
 
 22 Nevertheless, I am alway by 
 thee ^ : for thou hast holden me by 
 my right hand. 
 
 2.3 'I'hou shalt guide me with thy 
 counsel'' : and after that receive me 
 with glory. 
 
 24 Whom have I in heaven but 
 
 prosperity is as the narrow and slippery summit of a 
 mountain, on which, to answer the designs of his provi- 
 dence, God permits the wicked, during his pleasure, to 
 take their station ; till at length the fatal hour arrives, 
 when, by a stroke unseen, they fall from thence, and 
 are lost in the fathomless ocean of sorrow, torment, 
 and desjiair. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 19. Yea, eve/i like as a dream &c.] The life of the 
 ungodly is a sleep ; their happiness a dream, illusive 
 and transitory ; at hest a shadow ; afterwards nothing. 
 At the day of death, the soid is roused out of this sleep, 
 and the dream vanishes. ^Vhen God shall thus awaken 
 them. He will " despi.se their image," He will hring to 
 nought, and render utterly contemptible, even in their 
 own sight, as well as that of Himself, of his holy angels, 
 and the spirits of the righteous, those imaginary and 
 fantastick pleasures, for which they have lost the sub- 
 stantial joys and glories of his heavenly kingdom. Now, 
 therefore, while it will not be in vain, " Awake thou 
 that steepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall 
 give thee light," Eph. v. 14. See Job xx. 4, &c. 
 Isa. xxix. 8. Bp. Home. 
 
 "20. Thus my heart was grieved : &,c!] Tlie Psalmist, 
 fully satisfied with the conduct of Providence, reflects 
 upon the folly of his former uneasiness, and hiunbly 
 owns, that his doubts were occasioned solely by his 
 ignorance of God's ways; while he formed his judg- 
 ment of them without having duly taken into consider- 
 ation the final issue of things. The last day, when it 
 comes, win bring with it a solution of all difficulties. 
 He who bears impressed upon his mind such an idea of 
 that day, as the Scrijitures can give him, may solve 
 them now. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 22. Nevertheless, I am alway by thee: &c.] The 
 remainder of the Psalm contains the most dutiful and 
 affectionate expressions of a mind perfectly at ease, and 
 reposing itself, with comfortable assurance, on the lov- 
 ing-kindness of the Lord, of which it had experienced 
 a fresh instance in its support under the late tempta- 
 tion, and complete victoiy over it. " I am continually 
 with thee," as a child under the tender care of a parent ; 
 and, as a parent, during my danger of falling in a slip- 
 pery path, " thou hast holden me," thy child, " by my 
 right hand." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2.3. Thou shall guide me with thy cou7isel : &c.] He, 
 who but a little while ago seemed to question the pro- 
 vidence of God over the affairs of men, now exults in 
 happy confidence of the divine mercy and favour to- 
 wards himself, nothing doubting but that grace would 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 549 
 
 thee : and there is none uj)on earth 
 that I desire in comparison of thee. 
 
 2.5 My flesh and my heart faileth^ : 
 but God is the strength of my heart, 
 and my portion for ever. 
 
 2fi For lo, they that forsake thee 
 shall ])erish : thou hast destroyed all 
 them that commit fornication against 
 thee. 
 
 27 But it is good for me" to hold p^\l]^,f!''- 
 me fast by God, to put my trust in 
 the Lord God : aiul to speak of all 
 thy works in the gates of the daugh- 
 ter of Sion. 
 
 wlio forsake 
 tliy service, 
 and worship 
 
 o 
 
 PSALM Ix.xiv.'' Ut (juid, Deus ? 
 God, wherefore art thou absent 
 from us so long : why is thy 
 
 ever continue to guide him upon earth till glory should 
 crown him in heaven. Such are the blessed effects of 
 "going into the sanctuary," and consulting the "lively 
 oracles" in all our doubts, difficulties, and temptations. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 •25. My flesh and my heart faileth : &c.] None of 
 these things, in the abundance of which the wicked 
 place their hapjiiness, can deliver us in the day of 
 death. " Flesh" must revert to dust, and the " heart" 
 must cease its beating. He alone, therefore, is the 
 proper object of our faith and lo\'e. who can support, 
 and carry us through the dreadful hour, and then raise 
 us again, to be our " portion for ever." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 27. But it is good for me &c.] As if the Psalmist 
 had said, in other words. Hear, therefore, the conclusion 
 of the whole matter. Let others, dazzled by the blaze 
 of worldly prosjierity, forsake God, to obtain a share of 
 it; or murmur against Him, because they cannot obtain 
 it. I am ])ersuaded, it now is, and finally will be, 
 " good," delightful, jirofitable, and honourable," for me 
 to draw near," and join myself "to him;" which, in 
 this life, I can do no otherwise, than Ijy believing and 
 ho])ing in his holy name : " I will ])ut my trust in the 
 Lord God," and excite others to do the same by " de- 
 claring his works," and dispensations ; that all may 
 perceive what an amazing difference will one day be 
 made, between him who lusteth after the creature, and 
 him who loveth the Creator. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ Psalm Ixxiv.] This is another Psalm, composed 
 during the time of the cajitivity by another Asaph, dif- 
 ferent from the author of the foregoing. It contains a 
 very mournful relation of the destruction of the temple, 
 most probably by Nebuchadnezzar's soldiers, and of 
 the miserable calamities and reproaches which the Jews 
 sustained in their captivity. Dr. Nichotls. 
 
 Upon whatever occasion this Psalm might have been 
 originally composed, it is plainly intended for the use of 
 the church in time of persecution. 1. She bemoans 
 herself as deserted by God ; the return of whose favour 
 she entreats, 2, 3, on account of his having redeemed 
 her, 4 — 10, of the ravages maile, and, 1 1, the reproaches 
 thrown out, by the enemy; 12 — 1(5, she reminds Him 
 of the wonders formerly wrought in her behalf, and, 
 17, 18, of his power and goodness, manifested in the 
 common course of nature ; 20, of the relation in which 
 she stands to Him; 21, of his covenant; 22, 23, of the 
 honour of his name, and, 24, the increasing fury of 
 her adversaries, just ready to swallow her up. Bp. 
 Home.
 
 550 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Come speed- 
 ily for our 
 rescue. 
 Piiiile. See 
 Gen. XXIX, I, 
 and Marg. 
 Trans. 
 
 in token of 
 tlieir victory. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 thy sanctu- 
 ary. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 wratli SO Lot against the sheep of thy 
 pasture ? 
 
 2 O think upon thy congregation •= : 
 whom thou liast purchased, and re- 
 deemed of old. 
 
 3 Tiiink upon the tribe of thine 
 inheritance : and mount Sion, where- 
 in tliou liast dwelt. 
 
 4 Lift up thy feet*, that thou 
 mayest utterly destroy every enemy : 
 which hath done evil in thy sanc- 
 tuary. 
 
 5 Thine adversaries roar^ in the 
 midst of thy congregations : and set 
 uj) their banners for tokens. 
 
 6 He that hewed timber afore ^ 
 out of the thick trees : was known to 
 bring it to an excellent work. 
 
 7 But now they break down all 
 the carved work thereof : with a.xes 
 and hammers. 
 
 8 They have set fire upon thy 
 holy places s : and have defiled the 
 
 ' 2. O think upon thy congregation : &c.] Tlie Israel- 
 itish church pleads for mercy, upon these considera- 
 tions, that God had formerly vouchsafed to redeem 
 her from the Egyptian bondafje, and to fix his resi- 
 dence on mount Sion, all which would ]jrove to have 
 been done in vain, should He leave her, at last, in the 
 hands of her enemies. The redemption by Jesus Christ, 
 and his habitation in the church Christian by his Spirit, 
 are the corresponding arguments to be urged, on simi- 
 lar occasions, by her, and by the believing soul. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '' 4. Lift up thy feet, &c.] God is represented as 
 having withdrawn Himself, and departed afar off; He 
 is therefore entreated to return without delay, to Naew 
 the long-lasting desolations of the once highly favoured 
 city, and the ravages made by aliens in the sanctuary ; 
 which coulil not but excite in Him compassion for his 
 peojile, and indignation against their enemies. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' b. Thine adversaries roar &c.] No sound can be 
 more shocking than tlie cimfused clamours of an hea- 
 then army sacking the temple; no sight so afllicting, 
 as that of " the aljomination of desolation standing in 
 the holy ])lace." Bj). Home. 
 
 ' C, 7. He that hewed timber afore S:c.] As if it were 
 said. It is well known from the sacred records of our 
 nation, to what admirable beauty the skilful hand of the 
 artificers brouglit the rough cedar-trees, which were cut 
 down by the hatchets of Hiram's woodmen in the thick 
 Tyrian forests, 1 Kings v. 10. Hut now they tear down 
 all the curious carvings, that cost so much time and ex- 
 quisite labour, with axes and hammers and such other 
 rude instrinnents of iron. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 'J'lic words suggest anotlier reason why God should 
 arise and have mercy upon .Sion, lest his name should 
 Ije blasphemed among the nations, when they saw and 
 heard of the sacrilegious and horrible destruction 
 wrought by the enemy ; whom neither tlie majesty of 
 the temple, nor the reverence of its divine inhabitant, 
 could restrain from defacing the beauty of holiness. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' H. Tliey have .let fire upon thy holy places : I'vic] The 
 gates of the second temple were set on lire by Anlio- 
 
 Day 14. 
 
 dwelling-place of thy Name, even 
 unto the ground. 
 
 9 Yea, they said in their hearts'". 
 Let us make havock of them alto- 
 gether : thus have they burnt up all 
 the houses of God in the laud. 
 
 10 Wc see not oiu' tokens', there sims. Bib. 
 is not one prophet more : no, not 
 
 one is there among us, that under- 
 standeth any more. 
 
 11 O God, how long shall the 
 adversary'' do this dishonour : how 
 long shall the enemy blaspheme thy 
 Name, for ever ? 
 
 12 Why withdrawest thou thy 
 hand : why pluck est thou not thy 
 right hand out of thy bosom to con- 
 sume the enemy ? 
 
 13 For God is my King of old : 
 the help that is done upon earth he 
 doeth it himself. 
 
 14 Thou didst divide the sea' 
 through thy power : thou brakest 
 
 chus ; see 1 Mace. iv. 3S ; but the whole fabriek of the 
 fii'st was burnt by Nebuchadnezzar. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■■ 9. Yea, they said in their hearts, &c ] Such is the 
 rage of infidels, when it pleases God, for the sins of his 
 people, to let them loose upon the church as beasts of 
 prey. From scenes like these, we learn the temper and 
 disposition of that raging ad\'crsary of mankind and his 
 associates : who, if permitted, would root Christianity 
 out of every heart. " Watch, therefore, and pray," 
 saith the Captain of our salvation to all his soldiers. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. fVe see not our tokens. Sec.'] Darkness is horrible 
 in itself, and adds liorror to every thing else. The 
 church therefore complains, that, in the midst of all her 
 other troubles, she was deserted by the light of heaven. 
 No "signs" or miracles were exhibited for her comfort; 
 there was no " pro])het " to inform her concerning the 
 mil of (iod, or to jiromise her an " end " of her afflic- 
 tions, as Daniel did when she was a captive in 15abylon. 
 Bp. Home, 
 
 '' 11. God, how long shall the adversary &c.] To 
 an enumeration of calamities succeeds a prayer for 
 deliverance, grounded on the necessity of tiod's vindi- 
 cating the honour of his name from the insolent and 
 blasphemous rejiroaches and scoffs of the enemy; see 
 Kick. XX. 9. He is therefore entreated to make bare 
 bis arm in the sight of the nations, and to let his right 
 hand become glorimis in the vindication of his name, 
 and the defence of his inheritance. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 14. T/(OK didst divide the sea &c.] The first |)art of 
 this verso alludes to that marvellous act of Omnipo- 
 tence, which divided the Red Sea, for Israel to pass 
 over ; the second ])art, to the retm-n of its waves upon 
 the heads of the Egyptians, who, like so many sea- 
 monsters, opening their mouths to devour the jieople of 
 God, were overwhelmed, and ])crisbeil in the mighty 
 waters. 'I'he Cbrislian church is taught to contemplate, 
 under this figure, the salvation of her children, and the 
 destruction of their spiritual enemies, by the waters of 
 baptism : see 1 Cor. x. 2, and the Oilice of Haptism in 
 the Church of England. I'arallel to this passage in 
 our I'salm, is that most sublime one, Isa. h, 9 — 11. 
 Bp. Home.
 
 THE PSALMS, 
 the dragons in the 
 
 to the people 
 iiihabiling 
 the wihler- 
 ness. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 rivers. 
 Trans. 
 
 the natural 
 boundaries 
 of tlie earth, 
 and its seve- 
 ral climates. 
 Trai'dl. 
 
 Day 15. 
 
 the lieads of tlie dragons in 
 waters. 
 
 15 Thou smotest the heads of 
 Leviathan'" in pieces : and gave.st 
 him to be meat for the people in the 
 wihlerness. 
 
 1 6 Thou broughtest out fountains " 
 and waters out of the liard rocks : 
 thou driedst np mighty waters. 
 
 17 The day is thine", and the 
 night is thine : thou hast prepared 
 the light and the sun. 
 
 18 Thou hast set all the borders 
 of the earth : thou hast made summer 
 and winter. 
 
 19 Remember this, O LordP, how 
 the enemy hath rebuked : and how 
 the foolish people hath blasphemed 
 thy Name. 
 
 20 O deliver not the soul of thy 
 turtle-dove unto the multitude of the 
 enemies : and forget not the congre- 
 gation of the poor for ever. 
 
 "IS. Thou smotest the heads of Leviathan &c.] " Le- 
 viathan " stands for Pharaoh, or the Egyjitian power, 
 represented by the Egyptian animal, the crocodile of 
 Nile, the Egyptian river. The " heads of Leviathan " 
 are the princes of Egypt, the leaders of the Egyjrtian 
 armies. And " the people, or inhabitants, of the wilder- 
 ness," to whom they were given for a prey, are not 
 men, but a species of wild beasts, haunting the deserts : 
 see Isa. xiii. '21; and x.xxiv. 14. The sense therefore 
 is, that the bodies of Pharaoh and his cajrtains were 
 thrown on shore by the sea, and so became food for the 
 wild beasts of the neighbouring deserts. The final 
 destruction of the adversaries of Messiah's kingdom is 
 described at large under a like image, Rev. -xix. 1 ", &e. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 "10. Thou broughtest out fountains &c.] Two other 
 remarkable exertions of the divine power in favour of 
 the Israelites are here referred to. Water was brought 
 out of the rock, to satisfy their thirst in the time of 
 drought ; and the river Jordan was dried up, to open 
 the passage for them into Canaan. In the former of 
 these transactions, faith beholds the water of life 
 springing from the Rock of salvation ; in the latter are 
 discerned the mystick death and resurrection of Chris- 
 tians, as a jirelude to the corporeal ; when, rising from 
 the depths of the grave, they shall enter into the king- 
 dom of heaven. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 17. The day is thine, &c.J From the miraculous 
 interpositions of God, in behalf of his peojile, the chiu-ch 
 passes to those ordinary and standing evidences of liis 
 goodness towards us, the sweet vicissitudes of light and 
 darkness, and the grateful succession of times and sea- 
 sons, by which man is taught, in the most sorrowful 
 night, to look for a joyfid morning ; and, during the 
 severest winter, to expect a reviving sjn-ing. Thus is 
 the revolving year our constant instructor and monitor ; 
 incessantly inculcating the duties of faith and hope, as 
 well as those of adoration, gratitude, and praise. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 f 19. Remember this, O Lord, &o.] After endeavour- 
 ing to support her own faith, and excite the zeal of 
 God for ills inheritance, by a rehearsal of former 
 
 551 
 
 : for 
 and 
 
 21 Look upon the covenant'' 
 all the earth is full of darkness, 
 cruel habitations. 
 
 22 O let not the simple go away 
 ashamed : but let the poor and needy 
 give praise unto thy Name. 
 
 23 Arise, O God', maintain tliinc 
 own cause : remember how the foolish 
 man blasphomcth thee daily. 
 
 24 Forget not the voice of thine 
 enemies : the presumption of them 
 that hate thee increaseth ever more 
 and more. 
 
 the oppress- 
 ed. B,l,. 
 Trans. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM Ixxv.' Conflebimur tibi. 
 NTO thee, O God, do we give 
 thanks : yea, unto thee do we 
 give thanks. 
 
 2 Thy Name also is so nigh : and 
 that do thy wondrous works declare. 
 
 3 When I receive the congrega- 
 
 u 
 
 tliou art 
 always near 
 and ready to 
 assist us. Dr. 
 Nicliolls. 
 
 mercies, the chiu-ch again urges the argument of " re- 
 proach," touched on before at ver. 11, and then 
 reminds her Saviour of that endearing ajipellation of 
 his " turtle-dove," by which He had not disdained to 
 address her in times past. Tliis turtle-dove, simple, 
 defenceless, solitary, meek, timid, and mournful, was 
 in danger of being speedily devoured by her inveterate 
 and implacable enemies ; who, like birds of prey, beset 
 her on all sides, thu'Sting unpatiently for her blood. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 1 21. hook upon the covenant, &c.] Tlie main anchor 
 of the holy ark, in storms and tempests, is faith in the 
 covenant of grace, made from the beginning in Mes- 
 siah ; communicated to Noah, Abraham, David, &c., 
 as his illustrious representatives, and in them to the 
 house of Israel ; accomplished (as Zacharias bearcth 
 witness by his song, Luke i. "2, &c.) at the birth of 
 Christ, and then extended to the Gentiles. To this 
 covenant, and the promises made therein, the church 
 here appeals, at a time when the enemy raxaged the 
 promised land at pleasure, and every thing seemed to 
 forebode the utter extirpation of the law, and jieople of 
 God. Hither, therefore, the soul is to fly for reftige, 
 when nothing else seems capable of affording any. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 23. Arise, God, &c.] Tlae church growing more 
 importunate in her petitions, as the danger increases, 
 beseeches God to appear in her cause, as being in effect 
 his own, on account of his promises, his attributes of 
 righteousness and truth, and the reproaches cast on 
 Him, through his people. While speaking, she seems 
 to hear the tumultuous clamours of the approaching 
 enemy, growing e\'ery minute louder as they advance : 
 and we leave the "turtle-dove," without the dinne 
 assistance, ready to sink under the talons of the rapa- 
 cious eagle. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm Ixxv.] This Psalm was composed, either 
 by David, or by Asaph in David's name and person. 
 It seems to relate to the time when David had entered 
 upon, but not got fuU possession of, the kingdom. 
 Poole. 
 
 The prophet, 1, 2, gives thanks, with the church, to
 
 552 
 
 judge according 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 unto 
 
 tion' : 1 shall j 
 right. 
 
 4 The earth is weak", and all the 
 inhabiters thereof : I bear up the 
 pillars of it. 
 
 5 I said unto the fools, Deal not 
 so madly : and to the ungodly, Set 
 not up your horn ". 
 
 6 Set not up your horn on high : 
 and speak not with a stiff neck. 
 
 7 For promotion cometh^ neither 
 from the east, nor from the west : 
 nor yet from the south. 
 
 8 And why? God is the Judge: 
 he putteth down one, and setteth up 
 another. 
 
 Bay 15. 
 
 9 For in the hand of the Lord ^ 
 there is a cup, and the wine is red : 
 it is full mixed, and he poureth out 
 of the same. 
 
 10 As for the dregs thereof : all 
 the ungodly of the earth shall drink 
 them, and suck them out. 
 
 11 But I will talk of the God of 
 Jacob : and praise him for ever. 
 
 12 All the horns of the ungodly^ 
 also will I break : and the horns of 
 the righteous shall be exalted. 
 
 PSALM Ixxvi.'' 
 N Jewry is 
 
 Notits in Judwa. 
 God known "^ : 
 Name is great in Israel. 
 
 Ins Judah. 
 Trans. 
 
 God for the manifestation of his name, and the wonders 
 of salvation wrought thereby. 3. He declares his reso- 
 lution of executing judgment and justice in his king- 
 dom, which, 4, had been in disorder and confusion ; 
 5, 6, he rebukes the mcked ; 7 — 10, reminds them of 
 the power, providence, counsels, and judgments of i 
 God; II, 12, he concludes with repeating his resolution 
 to praise God, to break the power of wickedness, and : 
 to establish righteousness. Bp. Hnrne. \ 
 
 ' 3. H'hen 1 recewe the congregation : &c.] The first 
 verse was spoken by many persons; "Unto thee, O 
 God, do we give thanks :" here the speaker is one, and 
 that one is plainly a ruler, who promises, that when he 
 shall have " received the congregation," or, as some 
 render it, " when he shall have gotten an appointed, 
 or fit time, or season," that is, when he shall be esta- 
 blished in power and authority, at a fit time and place, 
 he will " judge u])rightly," and introduce a thorough 
 reformation into a kingdom, which, as we shall find by 
 the following verse, stood greatly in need of it. From 
 these circumstances it should seem most probable, that 
 David is sjieaking of his advancement to the throne of 
 Israel, and the intended rectitude of his administration, 
 when he should be settled thereon. What Da\-id did 
 in Israel, was done in the cluirch universal by Him, 
 who sat upon the throne of David, when He " received," 
 for his inheritance, the great " congregation " of the 
 Gentiles, and the earth was full of the " righteousness " 
 of .Jehovah. Bj). Home. 
 
 " 4. The earth is weak, &c.] (^ivil distractions, and 
 the continual irru])tions of foreign enemies, had thrown 
 the Israelitish affairs into confusion, and " dissolved " 
 the frame of government ; until, by the re-estabhsh- 
 ment of royal authority, countenance and support were 
 again given to all the subordinate magistrates; who 
 are, in their res|)ective stations, the " pillars " of a com- 
 inunitv. Such was the universal corru|)tion and disso- 
 lution of manners both among .lews and Gentiles, wlicn 
 Messias, entering upon bis regal oflice, reformed the 
 world, raised the glorious fabrick of the chur<'h, and 
 made his ajiostles and their successors the " pillars " of 
 his spiritual kingdom. Let men support religion, and 
 God will support them. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' .'). — Set not up your horn."] 'I'lie principal strength 
 and defence of some beasts consisting in their horns, 
 the word " horn" in Scripture language is used as an 
 emblem of stretigth and power. To "lift up tlie horn" 
 signifies to behave in a haughty boasting manner: to 
 " l)reak," or " cut off the horn," is to lessen the i)ower 
 of any one: and to " exalt the horns" is to raise and 
 extend it. It seems to have been a custom among 
 
 some nations, in times of peculiar triumph and re- 
 joicing, for the great men to march in procession 
 with a kind of "horn" bound upon their foreheads; 
 and to prevent it from slipping off, they were obliged 
 to hold their "necks" in a "stiff" erect position. 
 Travell. 
 1 7 ■ For promotion Cometh &c.] For indeed it is God 
 j only that can exalt or suppress, and no power on earth 
 1 can be properly said to do it : this is the privilege and 
 ' prerogative of the one supreme super-eminent Ruler of 
 the world. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 I ' 9. For in the hand of the Lord &c.] As the choicest 
 of heavenly blessings are frequently in Scripture repre- 
 sented by the salutary effects of wine, a cup of which 
 the master of the family is supposed to hold in his hand, 
 ready to distribute due portions of it to those around 
 him ; so from the noxious and intoxicating qualities of 
 that liquor, when drunk strong, and in too large a 
 quantity, is borrowed a most tremendous image of the 
 wrath and indignation of Almighty God. t'alamity 
 and sorrow, fear and trembling, infatuatiim and despair, 
 ! the evils of the present life, and of that which is to 
 come, are the bitter ingredients which compose this 
 most horrible cup of mixture. It is entirely in the 
 hand and disjiosal of God, who, through every age, has 
 been pouring out, and administering of its contents, 
 more or less, in jirujiortion to the sins of men. But 
 much of the strength and jjower of the liquor still 
 remains behind, until the day of final vengeance. It 
 will be then exhausted, even to the dregs, by unre- 
 penting rebels ; when " burning coals, fire, and brim- 
 stone," and eternal "tempest," shall be "the portion 
 of their cu|)," I'sahn xi. 7. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 12. All the horns of the nnyodly &c.] The prophet 
 determines, as every good governor should do, to exert 
 the authority with uliich he «'as intrusted ; to break 
 the power of trium])hant wickedness, and to exalt tliat 
 righteousness wliicli exalleth a nation ; hereby render- 
 ing himself a fit image of Him, wlio hath since done 
 away transgression, and brought in everlasting righte- 
 ousness, who will one day tuin the wicked into hell, 
 and exalt his failhful servants to reign with Him in 
 heaven. Already He reigns in them upon eai'tb ; 
 causing " all carnal affections to die in them, and all 
 things belonging to the Spirit to live and grow in 
 them." Bp. Home. 
 
 "■ Psalm Ixxvi.] litis Psalm was probably ^vritten 
 by that Asaph, who bears the nauu' of the seer, 2 Chron. 
 xxix. 30 ; and seems to be a song for a publick rejoicing 
 after the great destruction of .Snmachcrib's army. Dr. 
 Nichutls It is obvious at first sight to any one who
 
 Day 15. 
 
 The stout- 
 lieaitfd are 
 spoiled. Bih. 
 Tram. 
 none of the 
 men of mitrlit 
 have found 
 tlieir hands. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 are cast into 
 a deep sleep. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 2 At Salem is liis tabernacle 
 his dvvelliiiuj in Sioii. 
 
 3 There brake he the arrows'' of 
 the bow : the .shield, the sword, and 
 the battle. 
 
 4 Thou art of more honour" and 
 might : than the hills of the robbers. 
 
 5 The proud are robbed ", they 
 have slept their sleep : and all the 
 men whose hands were mighty have 
 found nothing. 
 
 6 At thy rebuke, O God of Ja- 
 cob : both the chariot and horse are 
 fallen. 
 
 7 Thou, even thou, art to be 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 and 
 
 .5.5.3 
 
 in th 
 
 reads this Psalm, that it was composed as a thanks- 
 giving hymn, on account of some great deliverance, 
 wrought for his people, by the immediate hand of God. 
 The miraculous destruction of the Assyrian army by 
 the angel, in the days of king Hezekiah, is generally 
 ]iitched upon, as the subject of it, and affifmed to be 
 so by the ancient Greek inscription prefixed to it in the 
 Septuagint version. The jjrophet, 1, 2, declares the 
 glory which God hath gotten Him in Israel; 3 — 6, 
 describes the circumstances of the deliverance, with, 7, 
 a reflection thereupon; 8 — 10, he mentions the effects 
 it had produced among the nations, and, 11, 12, those 
 which it ought to produce in Israelitish hearts. The 
 ideas are to be transferred to the salvation of the church 
 universal, by the destruction of sin and Satan, and the 
 overthrow of the persecuting powers. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. In Jmry is God known; &c.] On occasion of 
 some great deliverance, the prophet speaks in transport 
 concerning that presence and protection of God, which 
 the highly favoured Judah once enjoyed. She enjoyed 
 them while she continued faithful, and really was what 
 she professed to be. But, on account of her infidelity, 
 and rejection of her Messiah, an alteration of circum- 
 stances has taken place. The Gentile Christian church 
 hath succeeded to the privileges of the Israelitish. In 
 her now "God is known" by the Gospel; and "his 
 name is great" in her, by reason of all the mighty won- 
 ders which He hath wrought for her : she is the true 
 " Salem," or city of peace ; she is the true " Sion," the 
 spiritual, holy, and lieloved hill; and in her is the "ta- 
 bernacle" and "dwelling place" of God her Saviour, 
 by the Spirit. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■* 3. There brake he the arrows &c.] ^^Hien God ap- 
 peared in the defence of his ancient people, the weapons 
 of their enemies were at once blunted and broken, and 
 all the formidable apparatus of war became, in a mo- 
 ment, utterly useless. Such was the event, when the 
 holy Jesus entered the lists against oiu- spiritual adver- 
 saries, " for" us ; and such ever will be the event, when 
 He engages them "in" us. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. Thou art of more honour &c.] This may be a 
 beautiful apostrophe to mount Sion, (mentioned ver. 2,) 
 as appearing infinitely more glorious and excellent, 
 through the favour and ])rotection of her God, than the 
 arm of flesh and the instruments of war could render 
 ■ the kingdoms of the earth, which set themselves against 
 her. Bp. Home. 
 
 Or, the sense may be, O God, thou shewest thyself 
 more mighty, than all the forces of those Assyrians, 
 which dwell upon the moiuitains : yea, than the strongest 
 powers upon earth, though seconded with the advan- 
 tage of the steep and rocky mountains. Bp. Hall. 
 
 feared : and who may stiind 
 sight when thou art angry ? 
 
 8 Thou didst cause thy Judge- 
 ment*-' to be heard from heaven : 
 the earth trembled, and was still, 
 
 9 When God arose to judge- 
 ment : and to help all the meek upon 
 earth. 
 
 10 The fierceness of man shall 
 turn to thy praise'' : and the fierce- 
 ness of them shalt thou refrain. 
 
 11 Promise unto the Lord' your 
 God, and keep it, all ye that are 
 round about him : bring presents 
 unto him that ought to be feared. 
 
 ' 5. The proud are robbed, &c.] It must be acknow- 
 le<lged, that these two verses seem in a very particular 
 manner to point at the miraculous destruction of Senna- 
 cherib's army, when the " stout-hearted," who doubted 
 not of taking and spoiling the holy city, were them- 
 selves suddenly " S])oiled " of strength and life ; they 
 " slept their sleep, and found not their hands ;" they 
 awaked not again to the use of their powers and facul- 
 ties ; a rebuking blast was sent from the God of Jacob, 
 under which the flower of Assyria withered in the space 
 of a night, and in the morning was no more; "the 
 horse and his rider were cast into a dead sleep ;" they 
 slept the sleep of death. How, in a moment, " were 
 the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war peri.shed !" 
 How astonishing the downfal of the tyrant ! How 
 complete the triumph of the daughter of Sion ! Such 
 will be the destruction of the world ; such the salvation 
 of the people of God. Bp. Home. 
 
 8 8. Thou didst cause thy judgment &c.] A destruc- 
 tion, so far exceeding human ])ower, was evidently the 
 sentence of God's judgiTient, audibly pronoimced from 
 the eternal throne ; and it was heard by all the earth 
 with an awful silence, as when He speaks to attentive 
 nature in thunder. Svich was the effect, which this 
 interposition in behalf of his peo])le produced among 
 the survi\'ing Assyrians, and the neighbouring nations. 
 Let us carry our thoughts on to the sensations, which 
 will be felt in the hearts of men at that hour, when the 
 last trump shall sound in the heavens, and the earth 
 shall shake from her foundations ; when God shall 
 arise to execute judgment on the adversaries of his 
 church ; and to save, with an everlasting salvation, all 
 the meek and afflicted of the earth. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. The fierceness of man shall turn to thy praise : 
 &c.] The fierceness of man, and of Satan himself, 
 against the church, turns, in the end, to the praise and 
 glory of God, who rejiresses it when at its height ; and 
 at all times appoints those bounds which it cannot pass, 
 any more than the raging waves of the ocean can over- 
 flow their ajijiointed barrier of sand. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 11. Promise unto the Lord &c.] If such should 
 have been the gratitude and devotion of Israelites, for 
 a temporary deliverance from the finy of an earthly 
 tjrrant ; how much higher ought that of Christians to 
 rise, for eternal redemption from the great oppressor ! 
 How ought they to " vow and pay their vows unto the 
 Lord their God ; to bring presents," to offer all they 
 have, and all they are, to Him mIio is so greatly " to be 
 feared," so highly to be loved ; to Him who " restrains" 
 the fury of evil angels, as well as " the spirit of princes ;" 
 and is "terrible" to the powers of darkness, no less 
 than to " the kings of the earth ! " Bp. Home.
 
 554 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day Vi 
 
 I cried 
 Trans. 
 
 gave ear. 
 Bib. Tram 
 
 12 He shall refrain the spirit of 
 princes : and is wonderful among the 
 kings of the earth. 
 
 PS.\LM lxx\'ii.'' Voce mea ad Dominum. 
 
 I Will cry unto God with my 
 voice : even unto God will I cry 
 with my voice, and he shall hearken 
 imto me. 
 
 2 In the time of my trouble I 
 my pain and sought the Lord : my sore ran, and 
 
 sorrow con- i t * il ' 1 .. 
 
 tinned with ccascd not in tlie night season ; my 
 
 6,™.""ijy,'."'" SO"! refused comfort'. 
 
 H""- 3 When I am in heaviness I will 
 
 think upon God : when my heart is 
 
 vexed, I will complain. 
 
 4 Thou holdest mine eyes wak- 
 ing™ : I am so feeble, that I cannot 
 speak. 
 
 5 I have considered the days of 
 old" : and the years that are past. 
 
 6 I call to remembrance my song : 
 and in the niu-ht I commune with 
 
 '' Psalm Ixxvii.] This Psalm was probably composed 
 by one of the house of Asaph, who Uved durincf the 
 ca])tivity, the miseries and length of which he bemoans. 
 Dr. NichoUs. 
 
 As the foregoing Psalm was evidently composed, 
 when the church had obtained deliverance from her 
 enemies, this seems no less plainly to have been wi'itten 
 at a time when she was in capti\-ity under them. It 
 contains, 1 — 4, a complaint of sufferings; and, 5 — 20, 
 a descri])tion at large of the struggle between distrust 
 and faith ; which latter prevails, by having recourse to 
 the consideration of ancient mercies ; particularly that 
 of redemi)tion from Kgypt. The Psalm is admirably 
 calculated for the use and consolation of any church, 
 or soul, when in affliction and distress. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. — my soul refused comfort.'\ The Psalmist means 
 not to charge himself with the guilt of an impious de- 
 spair or impatience; but he describes the assiduity of 
 his religious exercises. His soul was ne\'er in such sort 
 comforted, that he lost sight of his situation, and for a 
 moment intermitted his devotions. Bp. Uorsley. 
 
 " 4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking .-] I'hrough 
 grief and an.xiety it is, that the eyes are made to keep 
 all the watches of the night, and wait in vain for sleep 
 to relieve them from duty, until the dawning of the 
 morning. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 5, 6. / hare considered the dnysqf old: &c.] Recol- 
 lection of former mercies is the jjroper antidote against 
 a tcm])tation to despair, in the day of calamity. And 
 as in the divine disjiensations, which are always uniform 
 and like themselves, whatever has happened happens 
 again when the circumstances are similar; the expe- 
 rience of " ancient times" is to be called in to our aid, 
 and duly consulted. Nay, we may ])erhai)3 " remem- 
 ber" the time when we ourselves were led to comjiose 
 and utter a "song" of joy and triumjih, on occasion of 
 signal mercies voucbsaCcd us. I'pon these topicks we 
 should, " in the night of atlliction, comnuinc. witli our 
 own hearts, and make diligent search," lis Daniel did 
 in 15abylon, into tlic cause, the nature, and the probable 
 continuance of our troubles ; witli tlic |iniper methods 
 of shortening, and bringing them to an end, Ijy sufl'ering 
 
 mine own heart, and search out my my spirit 
 
 spirits. {jent searcll. 
 
 7 Will the Lord absent himself ^''- r"^""*- 
 for ever" : and will he be no more 
 intreated ? 
 
 8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever : 
 and is his promise come utterly to an 
 end for evermore ? 
 
 9 Hath God forgotten to be gra- 
 cious : and will he shut up his loving- 
 kindness in displeasure? 
 
 10 And I said, It is mine own 
 infirmity P : but I will remember the 
 years of the right hand of the most 
 Highest. 
 
 Ill will remember the works of 
 the Lordi : and call to mind thy 
 wonders of old time. 
 
 12 I will think also of all thy 
 works : and my talking shall be of 
 thy doings. 
 
 1:3 Thy way, O God, is holy : who 
 is so great a God as our God? 
 
 them to have their intended and full effect, in a sincere 
 repentance, and thorough reformation. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 1 — 9. fCtW the Lord absent himself for ever: &c.] 
 nie Psalmist now relates the process of his medita- 
 tions, and of that controversy which arose in his heart 
 between faith and distrust. While he viewed the dis- 
 tressful scene around him, he found himself strongly 
 tempted to question God's love of the church ; to think 
 that He had finally rejected his people ; that the jiro- 
 mised mercy of redemption would never be accom- 
 plished; and that indignation had constrained the 
 bowels of our heavenly Father, which no longer yearned 
 towards his afflicted children. Bp. Home. 
 
 I" 10. And I said. It is mine own infirmity : &o.] To 
 the insinuations of distrust, faith now begins to reply. 
 The sufl'ercr checks himself in his former train of 
 thought, and humbly acknowledges it to have sprung 
 from a mind dispirited, and rendered timid, by mis- 
 fortunes ; " I said. This is my infirmity ;" but he im- 
 mediately strengthens himself by reflecting, that all 
 "changes" in the conditions of men are effected, for 
 reasons of infinite wisdom and goodness, by "the right 
 hand of the Most High;" which is not shortened, but 
 can still, as formerly, when he sees fit, deliver aiul 
 e.xalt, as well as punish and depress, his people. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 1 \l. I will remember the works of the Lord: Sec] 
 'Hnis restored to a right frame of mind, the Psalmist, 
 instead of brooding any longer over the calamities of 
 his own time, resolves to turn his thoughts towards 
 the divine dispensations of old ; to meditate on tiod's 
 former works and wonrlers ; bis works of justice and 
 mercy, of power and wisdom, of nature and grace ; and, 
 by gratefully celebrating them, to invigorate his faith 
 in tlic salvation to come, of which there were so many 
 earnests and jiledges. And it is this consideration, 
 which makes the eiuharistick Psalms ever pleasing, 
 and ever comfortable to the mind ; they are ap])eals to 
 those attributes which have been so often disjilayed in 
 the cause of the church ; they are acts of faith, looking 
 backward to the jiast, anil forward (o the future; they 
 are praises, and they are prayers. Bp. Home.
 
 Day 15. 
 
 14 Thou art tlic God tliat doetli 
 wonders' : and liast declared thy 
 power among tlie pe()i>k\ 
 
 15 Thou hast mightily delivered 
 thy jieople : even the sons of Jacob 
 and Joseph. 
 
 16 The waters saw thee, O God% 
 the waters saw thee, and were afraid : 
 the depths also were troubled. 
 
 17 The clouds poured out water', 
 the air thundered : and thine arrows 
 went abroad. 
 
 18 The voice of thy thunder was 
 heard round about : the lightnings 
 shone upon the ground ; the earth 
 was moved, and shook withal. 
 
 '14. Thou art the God that docth wonders : &c.] Is- 
 rael, in times of trouble and distress, was wont to look 
 back to the " wonders" wrought in Egypt, and the 
 redemption of all her tribes from that house of bondage. 
 We Christians are taught, while we use the same words, 
 to regard parallel, but more important, transactions ; 
 we reflect on the " wonders" %vrought for the bodies 
 and souls of men, by the " strength and the arm" of 
 Jehovah, revealed and manifested to the world in 
 Christ ; and we celebrate the redemjition, not of " the 
 sons of Jacob and Joseph" only, but of all nations, 
 from the bondage of corruption ; a redemption, com- 
 jjared with which, the deliverance from Egypt, though 
 glorious in itself, hath yet no glory at all, by reason of 
 the glory that so far excelleth. Our confidence in God, 
 diu'ing the seasons of affliction, should therefore rise in 
 proijortion. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1 6. The waters saw thee, God, &c.] The waters 
 of the Red Sea are here beautifully represented as 
 endued with sensibility, as seeing, feeling, and being 
 confounded, even to the lowest depths, at the presence 
 and power of their great Creator, when lie commanded 
 them to o])en a way, and to form a wall on each side of 
 it until his peojile were passed over : until his people 
 were passed over whom He had redeemed. In this 
 amazing transaction, let us behold, as in a glass, the 
 salvation of believers by baptism, through the death 
 and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who made the depths 
 of the grave, as He had done those of the sea, a way 
 for his ransomed to pass over; and the church, like 
 another Israel, saw her enemies, in effect, dead at her 
 feet. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 17, 18. The clouds poured out water, &c.] See the 
 history in Exod. xiv. 24. The verses now before us 
 seem to explain more particularly the manner in which 
 the Lord " looked upon, and troubled, and fought 
 against the Egyptians," upon that occasion ; namely, 
 by thunders and lightnings, storms and tempests, rain, 
 hail, and earthquake, the usual tokens and instruments 
 of Almighty displeasiu'e. From scenes like these, we 
 learn to form an idea of that power which discomfited 
 the infernal host ; raised Christ from the dead ; van- 
 quished the oi)i)osition and persecution ; subdued the 
 world to the obedience of faith ; supports and protects 
 the church ; will overthrow antichrist ; raise the dead ; 
 cast the wicked, with death and Satan, into the lake of 
 fire ; and exalt the righteous to sing, with angels in 
 heaven, " the song of Moses and of the Lamb." See 
 Rev. XV. 3. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 19. Thy way is in the sea, &c.] The dispensations 
 and ways of God, like the passage through the Red 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 19 Thy way is in the sea", and 
 thy paths in the great waters : and 
 thy f()otste|)s are not known. 
 
 •20 Thou leddest thy j)eople like 
 sheep " : by the hand of Moses and 
 Aaron. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM Ixxviii.i' Attendite, popule. 
 
 HE A II my law, O my jieople^: 
 incline your ears unto the 
 words of my mouth. 
 
 2 I will open my mouth in a 
 parable" : I will declare hard sen- 
 tences of old ; 
 
 Sea, are all full of mercy to his people ; but they are 
 also, like that, often unusual, marvellous, inscrutable; 
 and we can no more trace his footsteps, than we could 
 have done those of Israel, after the waters had returned 
 to their jjlace again. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 20. Thou leddest thy people like sheep : &c.] The 
 loving-kindness of God towards Israel did not stop at 
 the Red Sea, but He conducted bis chosen flock, by the 
 guidance of faithful pastors, through all the jierils of 
 the wilderness, to the land of promise. We likewise, 
 through thy mercy, O blessed Lord Jesus, have passed 
 the Red Sea at our baptism ; and are now journeying 
 in the wilderness. Give us those meek ancl lowly and 
 tractable dispositions, which become the sheep of thy 
 pasture ; set over us skilful and ^■igiIant shepherds ; 
 and be thou ever both mth them and with us ; until, 
 having surmounted all difficulties and dangers, led by 
 grace, and suiiported liy thy providence, we all come, 
 in perfect safety, to the land of e\erlasting rest ; there 
 to live with thee, one fold under one shepherd, world 
 without end. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 Psalm Ixxviii.] This Psalm containeth a declara- 
 tion of God's dealings with his people, and of their be- 
 haviour to Him, in Egypt, in the wilderness, and after 
 their settlement in Canaan, to the days of David. It is 
 written for the use and admonition of Christians ; who 
 may here view, as in a glass, the mercies they have re- 
 ceived, and the returns which, alas ! they have but too 
 often made for them. Bp. Home. 
 
 As the author closes his pious observations, taken 
 out of the sacred history, with the reign of David ; it is 
 highly probable that the Asaph, who composed it, was 
 the famous inspired singer, who belonged to the taber- 
 nacle in David's time. Dr. ?\icholls. 
 
 ' 1. Hear my law, my people: &c.] In this verse 
 the Psalmist opens his commission, and speaks, as one 
 having authority from above to instruct the world. He 
 demands a large and attenti\'e audience, whde, by a 
 series of examples, he sets forth the goodness of God, 
 and the ingratitude of man, for the admonition of suc- 
 ceeding ages, to the end of time. St. Paul, speaking of 
 the very transactions related in our Psalm, saith of 
 them, " Now all these things happened unto them for 
 ensamples, and they are wTitten for our admonition, 
 upon whom the ends of the world are come," 1 Cor. x. 
 11. We Christians, therefore, must consider ourselves 
 as the " people" who are to " give ear to the law," or 
 " doctrine," inculcated by the following epitome of the 
 Israehtish history; we must "inchne our ears to the 
 words of" the proi)het's "mouth." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 2. I will open my mouth in a parable: &c.] It is
 
 556 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 established a 
 testimony in 
 Jacob. Bib. 
 Tram. 
 
 3 Which we have heard and 
 known : and such as our fathers have 
 told us; 
 
 4 That we should not hide them 
 from the children of the generations 
 to come : hut to shew the honour of 
 the Lord, his mighty and wonderful 
 works that he hath done. 
 
 5 He made a covenant with Ja- 
 
 cob' 
 
 Israel a law : which 
 forefathers to 
 
 armed. 
 Trans. 
 
 Bib. 
 
 he commanded our 
 teach their children ; 
 
 6 That their posterity might know 
 it : and the children which were yet 
 unborn ; 
 
 7 To the intent tliat when they 
 came up : they might shew their 
 children the same ; 
 
 8 That they might put their trust 
 in God : and not to forget the works 
 of God, but to keep his command- 
 ments; 
 
 9 And not to be as their fore- 
 fathers, a faithless and stubborn ge- 
 neration : a generation that set not 
 their heart aright, and whose spirit 
 cleaveth not stedfastly xmto God ; 
 
 10 Like as the children of 
 Ephraim '^ : who being harnessed, and 
 
 observable, that our Lord is, by St. Matthew, said to 
 have spoken to the multitude altogether in parables, 
 " that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the 
 prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in jiarables," 
 &c., citing the second verse of the Psalm now before 
 us, Matt. .\iii. 3.5. If it doth not follow from this cita- 
 tion, that the jirophet actually speaks the Psalm in the 
 person of Chri.st, yet thus much at least is evident from 
 it, that the history of old Israel somewhat reseml)les 
 the letter of the Gospel parables, and contains, sha- 
 dowed out under it, the history of a correspondent 
 state of things in the new Israel, or church Christian. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ .') — 7. He made a covenant with Jacob, &c.] 'ITie 
 account of God's dealings with his people, to be cele- 
 brated in our I'saltn, begins with the " law," or " testi- 
 mony, appointed and established in Israel," by the hand 
 of Moses. Under these names are coinprcheiided, not 
 only the ])rere|)ts and ceremonies, Imt the several trans- 
 actions to which they referred, and in ronnnemoration 
 of which they were instituted ; as also that fiUiire salva- 
 tion, to which they, as well as tlie transactions, had an 
 aspect. Thus tlie pas.iover, for instance, looked back- 
 ward to the redemption by Moses, and forward to that 
 by .Messiah. The law tluis considered, as involving tlie 
 (iospel within it, was, to understanding and pious 
 Israelites, the fountain of wisdom and source of delight. 
 'J'liey were to meditate therein day and night, and teach 
 their children to do likewise; luitil, with its types 
 realized, and its prophecies accom]ilishcd, in tlie Re- 
 deemer, it should go lurth out of Sion in perfei't beauty, 
 and run and be gloriliiil among the nations. 'I'lie 
 " law" and the " testimony" are now become ours j 
 and it is our duty to transmit them down to latest 
 
 Dot/ 13. 
 themselves 
 
 the principal 
 city of Kg} pt. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 carrying bows, turned 
 back ill the day of battle. 
 
 11 They kept not the covenant 
 of God : and would not walk in his 
 law ; 
 
 12 But forgat what he had done : 
 and the wonderful %vorks that he had 
 shewed for them. 
 
 1.3 Marvellous things did lie in 
 the sight of our forefathers, in the 
 land of Egypt : even in the field of 
 Zoan. 
 
 14 He divided the sea'', and let 
 them s;o throuo-h : he made the 
 waters to stand on an heap. 
 
 15 In the day-time also he led 
 them wdtli a cloud : and all the night 
 through with a light of fire. 
 
 16 He clave the hard rocks in 
 the wilderness : and gave them drink 
 thereof, as it had been out of the 
 great depth. 
 
 17 He brought waters out of the 
 stony rock : so that it gushed out 
 like the rivers. 
 
 18 Yet for all this they sinned 
 more* against him : and provoked the 
 most Highest in the wilderness. 
 
 19 They tempted God in their 
 
 posterity, until Jesus shall retiun to judgment. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 10. Like as the children of Ephraim: &c.] As the 
 conte.vt treats concerning the behaviour of Israel in 
 general, upon their coming out of Egyjit ; and as tl:e 
 cowardice of the tribe of Ephraim in particular, at that 
 time, is no where mentioned ; it is therefore most pro- 
 bable that one tribe is here jnit for all the rest ; and 
 that, under the figure of men, when jireparcd for battle, 
 turning their backs at sight of an enemy, is pointed out 
 that disjiosition of the Israelites, after all their promises, 
 resolutions, and vows of serving and obeying (Jod, to 
 fall away, and relapse into sm, upon the first tempta- 
 tion. How often is this the case with the Christian 
 soldier! Let not him, who hath but just put on bis 
 spiritual armour, boast, like him who is iiutting it off, 
 when the fight is over, and the victory obtained. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ''14. lie divided the sen. &c.] From the miracles 
 wrought in Kgyjit, the Psalmist jiroceeds to what hap- 
 pened at the Kxodus. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 18. Yet for all this they sinned more &c.] Tliese 
 frequent rebellions of Israel, with the jiresence of God 
 in the midst of them, and bis miracles before their eyes, 
 would seem incredible, had they been related any where 
 but in the oracles of tnitli ; and did not the heart of 
 every self-knowing ('bristian at once acknowledge the 
 picture which is here drawn of hiiuiaii nature, its incre- 
 dulity and pervcrseness. I'or halb not (iod ilelivci-ed us 
 from the house of bondiigc, and supported us in the 
 wilderness? is not .lesus present in the church, and 
 are not his miracles of love and niercy continually be- 
 fore our eyes, in the Word and in the Sacrament ? Yet, 
 who does not still "provoke" and "tempt the Most
 
 Tlioiigh he 
 had. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 And had. 
 Sth. Trans. 
 had given. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 the bread of 
 the niighty. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 Marg. 
 
 Dcuj 15. THE PSALMS 
 
 hearts : and required meat for their 
 lust. 
 
 20 They spake against God also, 
 saying : Shall God prepare a table 
 in the wilderness ? 
 
 21 He smote the stony rock in- 
 deed, that the water gushed out, 
 and the streams flowed withal : but 
 can he give bread also, or provide 
 flesh for his people? 
 
 22 When the Lord heard this, he 
 was wroth f : so the fi)je was kindled 
 in Jacob, and there came up heavy 
 displeasure against Israel ; 
 
 2-3 Because they believed not in 
 God : and put not their trust in his 
 help. 
 
 24 So he commanded the clouds 
 above : and opened the doors of 
 heaven. 
 
 25 He rained down manna also 
 upon them for to eat : and gave 
 them food from heaven. 
 
 557 
 
 26 So man did eat angels' food : 
 for he sent them meat enough. 
 
 27 He caused the east-winds to 
 
 High ?" who does not ask provision for his " lust," when 
 his necessities are satisfied ? and who, after all the proofs 
 he has had of God's power and goodness, is not apt, 
 upon every appearance of danger, to be diffident and 
 distrustful of his providence ? Before we condemn 
 others, let us try ourselves, and judge righteous judg- 
 ment. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 22. When the Lord heard this, he was wroth : &c.] 
 The discontents mentioned above, in verse 18, &e., 
 were posterior not only to the miracle at the rock, but 
 also to the gift of " manna," which, after some little 
 time, the people " loathed," and demanded " flesh," re- 
 penting that they had forsaken Egypt, where they fared 
 more to their satisfaction : see Numb. xi. The cause of 
 the discontents was infidelity, and the effect of them a 
 display of God's indignation : " The Lord was wi'oth — 
 because they believed not," &c. Now, as St. Paul 
 styles the water " sjiiritual," or sacramental " drink," 
 proceeding from " a spiritual rock, which rock was 
 Christ ;" so he terms the manna, " spiritual," or sacra- 
 mental " meat ;" " they did all eat of that same spiritual 
 meat," 1 Cor. x. 3. And our Lord, in John vi, dis- 
 courses at large upon the subject, to convince the Jews, 
 that God, who gave to their fathers manna in the wil- 
 derness, had in Him given them "the true bread" of 
 eternal life, which the manna was intended to represent. 
 '■ I am the living bread which came down from heaven : 
 if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever ; and 
 the bread, that I will give, is my flesh, which I will give 
 for the life of the world." Christ crucified is the sup- 
 port of spiritual and eternal life ; faith is the mouth by 
 which this support is received ; manna was an outward 
 and visible sign of it to the Israelites in the wilderness ; 
 the eucharistick bread is such to Christians in the world. 
 When that holy ordinance is celebrated, " the doors of 
 heaven are opened," spiritual food is given from above, 
 "and man eats the bread of the mighty ones ;" whether 
 by " mighty ones" we understand those who eat the 
 bread, and are invigorated thereby, or the blessed per- 
 
 hlow under heaven : and through 
 his power he brought in the south- 
 west wind. 
 
 28 He rained flesh upon them as 
 thick as dust : and feathered fowls 
 like as the sand of the sea. 
 
 29 He let it full among their 
 tents : even round about their habi- 
 tation. 
 
 .'30 So they did eat, and were well 
 filled; for he gave them their own 
 desire : they were not disappointed 
 of their lust. 
 
 31 But while the meat was yet in 
 their mouths, the heavy wrath of 
 God came upon them, and slew the 
 wealthiest of them : yea, and smote fattest, en,. 
 down the chosen men that were in ^'''""' 
 Israel. 
 
 32 But for all this they sinned 
 yet more*" : and believed not his 
 wondrous works. 
 
 33 Therefore their days did he 
 consume in vanity : and their years 
 in trouble. 
 
 34 When he slew them, they 
 
 sons who give the bread to man. Such is our manna, 
 oiu- sustenance in the wilderness, our viaticum, while 
 on the road to Canaan. But how is it " loathed," and 
 despised, in comparison with " the flesh-pots of Egypt," 
 by men who " believe not in God, and trust not in his 
 salvation ! " Will not (he same cause produce the 
 same effect ? Will not " Jehovah hear this, and be 
 wroth ?" Will not " a fire be kindled against Jacob, 
 and anger also come up against Israel?" "For this 
 cause," saith an apostle to the irreverent Corinthian 
 receivers, " many are weak and sickly among you, and 
 many sleep," 1 Cor. xi. 30. Bp. Rome. 
 
 K 27. He caused the east-wind &c.] The people, dis- 
 contented with manna, asked, in a tumultuous and re- 
 bellious way, for flesh, at the same time distrusting the 
 power of God to give it them in the wilderness. Flesh, 
 however, was procured. A wind, proper for the occa- 
 sion, went forth from Jehovah, and brought a cloud of 
 quails, which furnished the whole camp with a most 
 delicious kind of flesh food, for the space of an entire 
 month. But from the event we learn, that inordinate 
 desires, though sometimes complied with, and satisfied 
 by heaven, do not therefore go unpunished ; on the 
 contrary, they are often punished by being complied 
 with. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 32. But for all this they sinned yet more, &c.] Mer- 
 cies are followed by provocations ; provocations are 
 punished with judgments ; to judgments succeed re- 
 peated provocations, which call down fresh judgments. 
 Immediately after the history of the quails, we read of 
 a sedition stirred up by Aaron and Miriam, and of new 
 murmurs at the report, brought by the sjiics, concerning 
 the promised land ; in consequence of «'hich last, the 
 nation had been destroyed, but for the intercession of 
 Moses; and the whole generation of those who came 
 out of Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb, actually fell in 
 the wilderness, wasted and consumed by various ]ilagues 
 and calamities, during a forty years' peregrination ; see 
 Numb, xii — xiv. St. Jude makes mention of such a
 
 558 
 
 sought him' : and turned them early, 
 and enquired after God. 
 
 35 And they remembered that 
 God was their strengtli : and that 
 the higli God was their redeemer. 
 
 36 Nevertheless, they did but flat- 
 ter him with their mouth : and dis- 
 sembled with him in their tongue. 
 
 37 For their heart was not whole 
 with him : neither continued they 
 stedfast in his covenant. 
 
 38 But he was so merciful'', that 
 he forgave their misdeeds : and de- 
 stroyed them not. 
 
 39 Yea, many a time turned he 
 his wrath away : and would not suf- 
 fer his whole displeasure to arise. 
 
 40 For he considered that they 
 were but flesh : and that they were 
 even a wind that passeth away, and 
 Cometh not again. 
 
 41 Many a time did they provoke 
 him in the wilderness : and grieved 
 him in the desert. 
 
 42 They turned back, and tempted 
 God : and moved the Holy One in 
 Israel. 
 
 generation in the early days of the Christian church, 
 speakers of " hard speeches against Christ, murmurers, 
 comiilainers, walking after their own lusts ;" and he 
 therefore puts converts " in remembrance, how that the 
 Lord, having saved the people out of the land of EgyjJt, 
 afterward destroyed them that believed not," Jude, 
 verse 5, and 15. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 34. IV'ken he slew them, they sought him : &c.] Se- 
 veral instances of this behaviour occur in the history of 
 Korah's rebeUion and punishment, of the fiery serpents, 
 and of Israel and Moab : see Numb. xvi. xx, xxi. xxv. 
 The Israelites, in this jiarticular, resembled their great 
 persecutor Pharaoh ; their repentance, which came with 
 the divine judgments, went also away with them, and 
 appeared no more. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 38. But he was so merciful, &c.] Had God "stirred 
 up all his wTath," the Israelites must have been exter- 
 minated in tlie wilderness. But then the promises 
 made to Abraham, of mercy and " compassion " to them, 
 and by them to all mankind, had failed. 'I'lu'rei'ore 
 they "were forgiven." and not "destroyed :" judgment 
 was executed, from time to time, upon the jjcrsons of 
 offenders; but still a remnant was left; the nation 
 subsisted, until the seed came to whom the jiromise 
 was made. Nay, allhoiigli. in consecjuence of their 
 last and greatest crime, their polity was subverted with 
 their city and temple, the race is yet marvellously pre- 
 served ; and we trust, preserved for mercy to be shewn 
 tliem in the last days. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 44. How lie had wrouylit his miracles in Eiji/pt : &c.] 
 The I'sahn goes back to the subject of Israclitish in- 
 gratitude, mentioned at the beginning, verse II, 12, in 
 order to introduce an account cf tbi' miracles wrought 
 in Kgvpt ])reviou3 to the Kxodus. 'I'liese miracles were 
 intended to evince the superiority of .lehovab over the 
 elements anrl powers of nature, which at that time were 
 objects of worsliip amongst llie Egyptians, but plainly 
 B])pcarcd to act ut the command ui' Moavs, in subordi- 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 15. 
 
 And had. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 locust. Bit/. 
 Tram. 
 
 sycamore 
 trees. Bib. 
 Trans, wild 
 fig trees. Bp, 
 Patrick. 
 
 43 They thought not of his hand : 
 and of the day when he delivered 
 them from the hand of the enemy; 
 
 44 How he had wrought his 
 miracles in Egy])t' : and his wonders 
 in the field of Zoan. 
 
 45 He turned their waters into 
 blood : so that they might not drink 
 of the rivers. 
 
 46 He sent lice among them, and 
 devoured them up : and frogs to 
 destroy them. 
 
 47 He gave their fruit unto the 
 caterpillar : and their labour unto the 
 grassho]iper. 
 
 48 He destroyed their vines with 
 hail-stones : and their mulberry-trees 
 with the frost. 
 
 49 He smote their cattle also with 
 hail-stones : and their flocks with hot 
 thunder-bolts. 
 
 50 He cast upon them the furious- 
 ness of his wrath™, anger, displea- 
 sure, and trouble : and sent evil 
 angels among them. 
 
 51 He made a way to his indig- 
 nation", and siiared not their soul 
 
 nation to their great Creator, the God of the Hebrews. 
 In the heavens, on the earth, and in the waters, supre- 
 macy and inde])endency were demonstrated to belong 
 to Hira only ; fire and air. thunder and lightning, wind, 
 rain, and hail, obeyed his word : rivers became blood, 
 and their inhabitants ])erished ; insects and animals 
 left their wonted liabitations, to destroy -v-egetables, or 
 torment man : so that wherever the gods of Egypt were 
 sup|)osed to reside, and to exert their influences in 
 favour of their votaries, in all jilaces, and in all circum- 
 stances, victory declared for Jeho\-ah. Hence modern 
 as well as ancient idolaters may learn not to put their 
 trust in the world, but in Him wlio made, and who can 
 anil will destroy, it ; whose jiower can render the most 
 insignificant of his creatures instruments of his ven- 
 geance, and, in a moment, arm all the elements against 
 sinners; and whose mercy will emjiloy that power in 
 the final salvation of the church ; when, as the author 
 of the book of Wisdom ex]n'csseth it, " He shall 
 make the creature his weiipon for the revenge of his 
 enemies, and the world sliall fight for him against the 
 unwise," Wisd. v. 1". 20. The curious and striking 
 refiections whicli that author makes on the plagues of 
 Egypt, in chap. xi. xvii — xi.x, are well worthy an atten- 
 tive perusal. Bp. Home. 
 
 '" 50. He casts upon them the fvriousness of his wrath, 
 &c.] Some of the Egy|)ti»n jikigucs liaving been spe- 
 cified in the foregoing verses, others of them are here 
 thrown together, and tlie whole scene is afiirmed to 
 liave been a full dis|)lay of wrath and vengeance, exe- 
 cuted upon the o])pressors of tlie cluirch by " evil angels, 
 agents, or messengers:" whether by tliis expression we 
 understand (lie material instruments of divine displea- 
 sure ; or angels em|iloye(l as inini.sters of vengeance; 
 or the actual appearance and ministration of evil spirits, 
 suiFered to torment the wicked in this world, as they 
 certainly will do in the next. li/i. Horue. 
 
 " 51. He made a way to his indignation, &c.] The
 
 Day 15. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 The father of 
 the Egyp- 
 tians. Gen. 
 X. 6; Exod. 
 xii. 30. Bp. 
 Patrick, 
 
 Yet. Dit. 
 Trans. 
 
 from deatli : but gave their life over 
 to the pestilence ; 
 
 52 And smote all the fir.st-horn 
 in Ejrypt : the most jtrincipal and 
 mightiest in the dwellings of Ham. 
 
 53 But as for his own people", 
 he led them forth like sheep : and 
 carried them in the wilderness like a 
 flock. 
 
 54 He brought them out safely, 
 that they should not fear : and over- 
 whelmed their enemies with the 
 sea. 
 
 55 And brought them within the 
 borders of his sanctuary : even to his 
 mountain which he purchased with 
 his right hand. 
 
 56 He cast out the heathen also 
 before them : caused their land to be 
 divided among them for an heritage, 
 and made the tribes of Israel to dwell 
 in their tents. 
 
 57 So they tempted p, and dis- 
 pleased the most high God : and kept 
 not his testimonies ; 
 
 last plague was the death of the first-born both of man 
 and beast, Exod. .\ii. 29; when Gotl, having removed 
 every obstacle that mercy had thrown in the path of 
 justice, " made a way to his indignation," which then 
 rushed forth like a fiery stream. An unUmited com- 
 mission was given to the destroyer, who at midnight 
 passed through the land, and gave the fatal stroke in 
 every house. Pharaoh and all his servants rose up in 
 the night ; there was a great cry throughout all the 
 land of Egy])t ; and imiversal consternation reigned, 
 inferior only to that which is to e.xtenj its empire over 
 the world, when "the trumpet shall sound, and the 
 dead shall be raised." May we be saved, like Israel, 
 in that hour, through the blood of the true paschal 
 Lamb, slain to take away the sins of the world ! 
 " When I see the blood," says Jehovah to his people, 
 " I will pass over you." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 53. But as for his own people, &c.] Having re- 
 lated the punishments inflicted on Egypt, the Psalmist 
 returns to those mercies experienced by the Israelites, 
 when God overthrew their enemies, tool', them under 
 his protection, fed and conducted them in the wilder- 
 ness, brought them to the promised land, expelled the 
 heathen, settled his people, and at length fixed his 
 residence on mount Sion, which is represented as the 
 conquest and acquisition of his own arm ; since the 
 victories of Joshua, &c. were all owing to the di\-ine 
 presence and assistance. Tlie Clmstian church, after 
 her redemption by " the blood of the Lamb," passed 
 three hundred years in a state of minority, as it were, 
 and under persecution, which, unth allusion to what 
 befel Israel of old, is called in the Revelation, her flight 
 and abode in the wilderness : Rev. xii. 6. At length 
 the true "Joshua," or Jesus, "brought" her " into the 
 possession of the Gentiles;" see Acts vii. 45; and she 
 enjoyed a temporary rest and prosperity. But no 
 terrestrial Canaan, no secular advantages, should make 
 us forget, as the Jews did, and as Christians are apt to 
 do, that the church is in the wilderness, while she is 
 in the world ; and that " there remaineth yet " another 
 
 deceitful. 
 JJib. Trant. 
 
 559 
 
 58 But turned their backs, and fell 
 away like their forefathers : starting 
 aside like a broken bow. 
 
 59 I''or they grieved him with 
 their hill-altars : and ]>rovoked hiiii 
 to displeasure with their images. 
 
 60 When God heard thisi, he was 
 wroth : and took sore displeasure at 
 Israel. 
 
 61 So that he forsook the taber- 
 nacle in Silo : even the tent that he 
 had pitched among men. 
 
 62 He delivered their power into 
 captivity : and their beauty into the 
 enemy's hand. 
 
 63 He gave his people over also 
 unto the sword ■■ : and was wroth with 
 his inheritance. 
 
 64 The fire consumed their young 
 men : and their maidens were not 
 given to marriage. 
 
 65 Their priests were slain with 
 the sword : and there were no widows 
 to make lamentation. 
 
 66 So the Lord awaked' as one 
 
 and far more glorious " rest for the peojile of God," 
 after which they ought ever to be aspiring. See Heb. 
 iv. 9. Bp. HoT?te. 
 
 p 57. So they tempted, &c.] The Israelites when 
 settled in the promised land, soon shewed themselves 
 to be the genuine descendants of those men who 
 tempted God in the desert. AVe can hardly read two 
 chapters in tlie book of Judges, but we meet with the 
 words, " And tlie children of Israel again did evil in the 
 sight of the Lord." For this their frequent revolting 
 they are compared to " a deceitful bow," which, when 
 put to the trial, is sure to disapjioint the archer, either 
 dropping the arrow at his feet, or carrying it wide of 
 the mark. Their zeal and love were either wholly 
 relaxed and enervated by sensuality and indolence, or 
 else turned aside, and misplaced on false objects of 
 worship. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 6o. When God heard this, he was wroth : &c. ] Re- 
 bellion against God, will, sooner or later, draw dorni 
 his vengeance, and cause the most beloved nation to 
 be " abhorred" by Him : He will forsake the place of 
 his residence, " the tent placed among men," where He 
 dwelleth by his Spu-it; and the church, by which his 
 "strength" and his "glory" are manifested to the 
 world, shall go "into captivity, and the enemy's hand." 
 All this we are taught by that which came to pass in 
 Israel, when, for the sins of priests and people, the ark 
 of God, which then abode in Shiloh, was suffered to 
 fall into the hands of the Philistines : 1 Sam. iv. The 
 present state of Jerusalem, and of all the once-flourish- 
 ing Eastern and African churches, speaks aloud the 
 same awful and concerning truth. " He that hath ears 
 to hear, let him hear." Bp. Home. 
 
 '03. He gave his people over also unto the sword : &c.] 
 These verses refer to the slaughter of Israel by the Phi- 
 Ustines, which was an effect of di\ine wrath, compared 
 here, as elsewhere, to " a consuming fire ;" they refer 
 likewise to the death of old Eli, of Hophni and Phine- 
 has, and the widow of Phinehas, who expired in child- 
 bed, on hearing the mournful news : 1 Sam. iv. Hia-
 
 560 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Dcuj 16. 
 
 the earth 
 ■whirh he 
 established 
 for ever. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 out of sleep : and like a giant re- 
 freshed with wine. 
 
 67 He smote his enemies in the 
 hinder parts : and put them to a 
 perpetual shame. 
 
 68 He refused the tabernacle of 
 Joseph' : and chose not the tribe of 
 Ephraim ; 
 
 69 But chose the tribe of Judah : 
 even the hill of Sion which he loved. 
 
 70 And there he built his temple 
 on high : and laid the foundation of 
 it like the ground which he hath 
 made continually. 
 
 71 He chose David also his ser- 
 vant " : and took him away from the 
 sheep-folds. 
 
 72 As he was following the ewes 
 great with young ones he took him : 
 that he might feed Jacob his people, 
 and Israel his inheritance. 
 
 73 So he fed them with a faithful 
 and true heart : and ruled them pru- 
 dently with all his power. 
 
 tory abounds with the tragical stories of wars and cap- 
 tinties : Scripture informs us they are the judgments 
 of God against sin. But calamities affect us not, till 
 they become our own : it is well if they reform us, even 
 when they do become so. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 0(3. So the Lordav;aked &c.] While, by God's per- 
 mission, the Philistines were chastising his people for 
 their sins. He held his peace, and seemed unconcerned, 
 as one asleep. But when due chastisement had brought 
 the delinquents to them.selves, the cries of [jcnitent 
 Israel awakened, as it were, and called forth the zeal 
 of the Lord of hosts, to vindicate his honour, and deli- 
 \-er his servants : and then the vigour of his operations 
 was such, as might be compared to the alacrity and 
 courage of a mighty cham|)ion, when, refreshed and 
 inspirited by wine, he attacks his adversaries, and bears 
 down all before him. Under all our sufferings let us 
 rest contented with this assurance, that God acts the 
 part of a father ; and will therefore remove the rod, 
 when it has answered the end proposed. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' CS. He refused the tabernacle of Joseph : &c.] The 
 ark, after its return, went no more to Shiloh, which 
 was in the tril)e of Kpbraim, the son of Joseph, but 
 was brought first to Kiriatbaim, 1 Sam. vi. 21, a city 
 of the tribe of Judah, and from thence, after a short 
 stav at the house of Obed-Edom, to mount Sion, 
 1 Chron. xiv, and .\v, which was the chosen and highly 
 favoured mount ; where was afterward erected, by So- 
 lomon, a magnificent and jjcrmanent hal)itation for the 
 God of Jacob, during the continuance of the old dis- 
 pensation : a resemblance of that eternal temjjle, in 
 which all the fulness of the Godhead hath since dwelt 
 bodily. 'Hie divine presence removed at this time to 
 the tribe of Judah, because out of that tribe, after the 
 rejection of Saul, came the great representative, as well 
 as progenitor, of King Messiah. Bp. Home. 
 
 ""1. He chose l){wid al.so hi.i servntil : &c.] 'llie call 
 of David from a shecpfold to a throne tcacheth us, that 
 he, who luith shewed himself faithful in a few and small 
 concerns, is worthy of promotion to more and more im- 
 portant cares ; that the qualifications, requisite for the 
 
 Kins 
 Charles's 
 Marl, first 
 F^alni Even. 
 Serv. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PS.\LM l.\xix.' Deus, venerunt. 
 
 OGod, the heathen are come 
 into thine inheritance : thy 
 holy temple have they defiled, and 
 made Jerusalem an heap of stones. 
 
 2 The dead bodies of thy servants 
 have they given to be meat unto the 
 fowls of the air : and the flesh of thy 
 saints unto the beasts of the land. 
 
 3 Their blood have they shed like 
 water on every side of Jerusalem : 
 and there was no man to bury them. 
 
 4 We are become an open shame 
 to our enemies : a very scorn and 
 derision unto them that are round 
 about us. 
 
 5 Lord, how long wilt thou be 
 angry : shall thy jealousy burn like 
 fire for ever? 
 
 6 Pour out thine indignation >' 
 upon the heathen that have not 
 known thee : and upon the king- 
 
 due discharge of high offices, ai-e best learned, at first, 
 in an inferior station, especially if it be one that will 
 inure to labour and vigilance ; and that kings are to 
 consider themselves as " shepherds;"' which considera- 
 tion would perhaps teach them their duty better than 
 all the precepts in the world. From the last verse, 
 relative to David's manner of conducting himself after 
 his advancement, we learn that integrity and discretion, 
 when they meet in the same person, form a complete 
 ruler, and one fit to represent that blessed person who 
 entered, like his father David, through sufferings into 
 his glory ; who governeth his churdi in wisdom and 
 righteousness ; and of whom it is said, by the evange- 
 lical pro]ihet, "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, 
 he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them 
 in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with 
 young," Isa. xl. II. Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm Ixxix.] The argument of this Psalm is nearly 
 the same with that of the 7-tth. The church, perse- 
 cuted and afflicted, sets forth, 1 — 3, the sacrilegious de- 
 vastation, and cruel slaughter, made by the enemy, with, 
 4, the reproach occasioned thereby ; 5 — ~, she jjrayeth 
 for redress and deliverance ; 8, 0, confesseth, and en- 
 treateth forgiveness of the sins which had brought these 
 calamities upon her; and then, 10 — 13, asketh a remo- 
 val of her rcjiroach and misery; promising, 14, endless 
 gratitude and praise for the same. \\'e meet with 
 piissages of this Psalm, Jer. x. '25; 1 Mace. vii. 17: 
 but when it was composed is not known. Bp. Home. 
 
 It was jirobably composed by the same .Xsajib, who 
 WTote the 74th Psalm, which is ujjon the same subject: 
 namely, the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchad- 
 nezzar. Dr. T\'ichnlls. 
 
 1 0. PoKr out ihxne indignation &c.] This, though 
 uttered in the form of a wish, or prayer, is to be con- 
 sidered, like many other passages of the same nature, 
 as a |)rediction of what would afterwards come to pass. 
 Pagan and)ition and cruelty were often employed to 
 chastise ofl'endiug Israel ; but were, themselves, not- 
 withstanding, justly punished, in Ihrir turn, by other 
 powers raised up for that end. 'i'hat relation, in which
 
 Day 16. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 56r 
 
 doms that have not called upon thy 
 Name. 
 
 7 For they have devoured Jacob : 
 and laid waste his dwellini;-place. 
 
 8 O remember not our old sins, but 
 have mercy upon us, and that soon : 
 for we are come to jrreat misery. 
 
 9 Help us, O God of our salva- 
 tion, for the glory of thy Name : O 
 deliver iis, and be merciful unto our 
 sins, for thy Name's sake. 
 
 10 Wherefore do the heathen say^: 
 Where is now their God? 
 
 11 O let the vengeance of thy ser- 
 vants' blood that is shed : be openly 
 shewed upon the iieathen in our sight. 
 
 12 O let the sorrowful sighing of 
 the prisoners come before thee : 
 according to the greatness of thy 
 power, preserve thou those that are 
 appointed to die. 
 
 the church stands to God, causes Him, upon her 
 repentance, to appear in her behalf, and to execute 
 vengeance on her ojipressors, who "know him not, nor 
 call upon his name." " We are thine," saith Isaiah ; 
 " thou never barest rule over them, they were not called 
 by thy name," l.viii. 19. The church, for her sins, may 
 deserve to suffer; but her enemies are not therefore 
 without guilt, nor will they escape without punishment. 
 Up. Home. 
 
 ' 10. Wherefore do the heathen say : &c.] It is for 
 " the glory of God's name," to deliver his church ; be- 
 cause, while she is in trouble, that name is blas])hemed 
 by the enemy, as if he wanted either power, or will, to 
 ])revent or remove the calamities of his servants. Prayer 
 is therefore here made by the faithful, that (jod, not to 
 gratify any vindictive spirit of theirs, but to vindicate 
 his own attributes, would break the teeth of the op- 
 ])ressor, and work a publick and glorious salvation for 
 his chosen : at beholding which, the very adversaries 
 themseh'es might possibly be converted. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 13. And fur the blasphemy &c.] That is. As they 
 have i-eproached thee with weakness, so manifest to 
 others their weakness, who are but sinful dust and 
 ashes ; as they have endeavoured to make thee con- 
 temptible, so let the world have just cause to despise 
 them, who have thus presumptuously offended ; accord- 
 ing as it is written, " Them that honour me I will 
 honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly 
 esteemed," 1 Sam. ii. 30. And, however different the 
 appearance of things may now be, this will certainly 
 be found true, in every instance, at the last day. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ — into their bosom.1 This is an allusion to the 
 long mantles worn by the Jews, in which the common 
 people used often to carry corn and other things. See 
 Luke vi. 38. Tramll. 
 
 ' 14. So we, that are thy people, &c.] Such is the 
 resolution of a church under jiersecution ; and such 
 ought to be the practice of every church, when delivered 
 out of it, and restored to the favour and protection of 
 her God. The same is the duty of every soul, xi-ith 
 regard to afflictions and mercies of a private kind. But 
 how glorious will be the day, when, trium])hant over 
 sin and sorrow, over every thing that exalteth and 
 ojiposeth itself, the cluu'ch universal shall behold the 
 
 1.3 And for the blasphemy" where- 
 with our neighbours have blaspiicnicd 
 thee : reward thou them, O Lord, 
 seven-fold into their bosom''. 
 
 14 So we, that are thy jieople^ 
 and shee]) of thy pasture, shall give 
 thee thanks for ever : and will alway 
 be shewing forth thy praise from 
 generation to generation. 
 
 PSALM l.xx.x.'' Qui regis Israel. 
 
 HE A II, O thou Shepherd of Is- 
 rael % thou that leadest Joseph 
 like a sheep : shew thyself also, thou 
 that sittest upon the cherubims. 
 
 2 Before Ephraim', Benjamin, and 
 Manasses : stir up thy strength, and 
 come, and help us. 
 
 .'3 Turn us again, O Gods : shew 
 the light of thy countenance, and we 
 shall be whole. 
 
 adversary disarmed for ever; while she herself, placed 
 in pastures of joy, and led to the waters of eternal com- 
 fort, shall, from age to age, incessantly sing the praises 
 of her great Shepherd and Bishop, lier King and her 
 God ! Bp. Home. 
 
 '' Psalm Ixxx.] The church, still in captivity, 1 — 3, 
 crieth imto God for help and redemption ; 4 — 7, com- 
 plaineth of her grievous alllictions ; 8 — 13, describeth 
 her former exaltation, and present dej)ression, under the 
 beautiful figure of a vine : 14 — IG, returneth again to 
 her supplications, and, 1" — 10, prayeth for the advent 
 of Messiah to quicken and comfort her, vowing all 
 loyal oljedience, adoration, and praise to Him, as the 
 Author of her salvation. Bp. Home. 
 
 The person, who comiiosed this Psalm, was one of the 
 family of Asajjb, who was carried into ca])tivity, and 
 indited this hymn on the same subject as the former. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 " 1 . Heai; thou Shepherd of Israel, &c.] O thou 
 great Ruler and Protector of thy people Israel : thou, 
 that both guidcst and defendestthe posterity of Joseph, 
 as a good shepherd doth his flock; thou, that art gra- 
 ciously wont to manifest thy presence in thy mercy- 
 seat, which is between the wings of the cherubim ; look 
 down gracio\isly ujion us, and shew thy power in our 
 deliverance. Bp. Hall. 
 
 ' 2. Before Ejihraim, &c.] God is intreated to go 
 forth, in his strength and his sah-ation, before the tribes 
 of Israel, as formerly in the wilderness. Ephraim, 
 Benjamin, and Manasseh, arc particularly mentioned ; 
 perhajis, because, according to the established order, 
 those three tribes immediately followed the ark and 
 cherubim, the symbols of the divine presence. See 
 Numb. ii. 18. 20. 22. Bp. Home. 
 
 « 3. Turn us again, O God .- &c.] This verse is a 
 kind of chorus, occurring three times in the course of 
 our Psalm. It implies, that the church is in captivity, 
 from which she prayeth to be " restored " to her former 
 freedom and jjrospcrity ; that she expecteth such 
 restoration, not from any might or merit of her own, 
 but from the grace and mercy of her Saviour ; as well 
 knowing, that her night can be turned into day, and 
 her winter give ])lace to spring, only by the Sun of 
 Righteousness rising, and causing his face to shine upon 
 her desolations. Bj>. Home. 
 
 2
 
 562 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 4 O Lord God of hosts : how long 
 \vilt thou be angry with thy people 
 that prayeth? 
 
 5 Thou feedest them with the bread 
 of tears "^ : and givest them plenteous- 
 ness of tears to drink. 
 
 6 Thou hast made us a very strife 
 unto our neighbours : and our ene- 
 mies laugh us to scorn. 
 
 7 Turn us again, thou God of 
 hosts : shew the light of thy coun- 
 tenance, and we shall be whole. 
 
 8 Thou hast brought a vine out 
 of Egypt' : thou hast cast out the 
 heathen, and planted it. 
 
 9 Thou madest room for it : and 
 when it had taken root it filled the 
 land. 
 
 10 The hills are covered with the 
 
 ■■ 5. Thou feedest them with the bread of tears : &c.] 
 There cannot be a more striking picture of Sion in cap- 
 tivity. Her bread is dip]ied in tears, and her cup is 
 filled to the brim with them : no time is free from 
 grief and lamentation. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 8. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt : &c.] God 
 is reminded of the favour once shewn by Him to the 
 church of Israel, and of tliat prosiierity which she once 
 enjoyed. She is compared to a "vine," removed, from 
 the unkindly soil of EgTl)t, to the happier regions of 
 Canaan, and there planted by Jehovah, in the place of 
 nations extirpated for their unfruitfulness. The vine is 
 a plant weak and lowly, and needing support ; when 
 su])ported, wild and lu.vm-iant, imless restrained by the 
 pruning-knife ; capable of producing the most valuable 
 fruit ; but, if barren, the most unprofitable among trees, 
 and fit only for the flames. In all these respects it is 
 a lively emblem of the church, and used as such by 
 Isaiah v. 7 ; by Ezekiel xv, xvii, xix ; and by our 
 Lord Himself, Matt. xxi. 33. 'Vhe Christian church, 
 after her redemjition, by the death and resurrection of 
 Jesus, was planted in the heathen world, as Israel bad 
 been in Canaan ; and the description suits one as well 
 as the other. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 11. She stretched out her branches &c.] lliis relates 
 to the extent of Palestine, which was occujiied l)y the 
 tribes of Israel, even from the Mediterranean " sea," 
 westward, to the "river" Ku])hrates, eastward. This 
 was |)romised, Deut. xi 24 : " From the river Kupbrates 
 to the uttcrmofit sea shall your coast be;" and fulfilled 
 in the days of Solomon. See I Kings iv. 21 ; I's. Ixxii. 
 8. To the (Christian churdi the wliole earth was the 
 land of ])romise, and tlie (jospel was i)reachcd to all 
 nations: "I will give thee," saith Jehovah to Clirist, 
 "the heathen for tliine inheritance, and the uttermost 
 parts of the earth for thy possession," I's. ii. 8. By). 
 Home. 
 
 ' 12. IVhij hast thou then brolen down her hedge.- &c.] 
 The Psalmist, having described the exaltation of Israel, 
 under the figure of a vine, jiroceeds, under tlie same 
 figure, to lament her depression. She is now rejjre- 
 sented as deprived of the protection of (iod, the coun- 
 sel.s of the wise, mid tlie arm.s of the valiant ; of all her 
 bulwarks and f'orti(i<ati()iis, and wliatever else could 
 contribute to her defence and security; so that, like a 
 vineyard without u fence, she lay oj)en on every side to 
 
 Da?/ 16. 
 
 shadow of it : and the boughs thereof 
 were like the goodly cedar-trees. 
 
 1 1 She stretched out her branches ^ 
 unto the sea : and her boughs unto 
 the river. 
 
 1"2 Why hast thou then broken 
 down her hedge ' : that all they that 
 go by pluck oft' her grapes ? 
 
 13 The wild boar out of the 
 wood" doth root it up : and the 
 wild beasts of the field devour it. 
 
 14 Turn thee again, thou God 
 of hosts", look down from heaven : 
 behold, and visit this vine ; 
 
 15 And the place of the vineyard 
 that thy right hand hath planted : 
 and the branch that thou madest so 
 strong for thyself. 
 
 16 It is burnt with fire", and cut 
 
 the incursions and ravages of her neighbouring adver- 
 saries ; who soon stripped her of all that was valuable, 
 and trod her under foot. 
 
 " 13. The wild boar out of the wood &c.'\ Fierce and 
 unrelenting, her heathen persecutor issued, at different 
 times, for his abode, like a "wild boar" out of the 
 forest, resolved not only to spoil and plunder, but to 
 eradicate and extirpate her for ever. Nor let the church 
 Christian imagine, that these things relate only to her 
 elder sister. Greater mercies, and more excellent gifts, 
 should excite in her greater thankfulness and call forth 
 more excellent virtues ; otherwise they will serve only 
 to enhance her account, and midtiply her sorrows. If 
 she sin, and fall after the same example of unbelief, she 
 must not think to be distinguished in her punishment, 
 unless by the severity of it. She may expect to see 
 the favour of heaven withdrawn, and the secular arm, 
 instead of supporting, employed to crush her ; her dis- 
 cipline may be annihilated, her unity broken, her doc- 
 trines perverted, her worship deformed, her ])ractice 
 corru])ted, her possessions aUenated, and her revenues 
 ■seized ; till at length the word be given from above, 
 and some antichristian power be unchained, to execute 
 upon her the full vengeance due to her crimes. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 14. Turn thee again, thou God of hosts, &c.] The 
 church, thus distressed and desolated, offereth a prayer 
 for the return of the divine favour, and for a gracious 
 visitation from on high; she bescceheth God to look 
 doH-n, with an eye of jiity. from heaven, on the vine- 
 yard, whicli his own hands had " planted," and on that 
 royal branch, the family of David, in particular, wliich 
 He bad raised and established for Himself, to accom- 
 jilish his eternal purpose of saving mankind by Messiali, 
 who was, one day, to spring from the root of Jesse. 
 To the advent of this .Son of man, Israel was ever ac- 
 customed to look forward, in time of affliction : on his 
 second and glorious advent the Christian church must 
 fix ber eye, in the day of her calamities. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 16. It is burnt with fire, itr.] 'i'be sad estate of the 
 vineyard is yet again set forth, to excite the comjiassion 
 of heaven. As to the latter clause of this verse, " they 
 shall iierish at the rebuke of thy countenance," it may 
 be sup|)osed to predict the fate of flic adversaries, when 
 (iod should deliver his peojile out of theii- hands. Bp. 
 Home.
 
 Day iG. 
 
 down : .and tliey sliall pcrisli 
 rebuke of tliy countenance. 
 
 17 Let thy liand he upon the man 
 of thy rii;ht hand f : and upon the 
 son of man, wlioin tliou madest so 
 strong for thine own self. 
 
 18 And so will not we go back 
 from thee") : O let us live, and we 
 shall call upon thy Name. 
 
 19 Turn us again, O Lord God of 
 hosts : shew the light of thy coun- 
 tenance, and wc shall be whole. 
 
 PSALM Ixxxi/ Exultate Deo. 
 
 SIN G we merrily unto God'* our 
 strength : make a cheerful noise 
 unto the God of Jacob. 
 
 "They shall perish:" they, the spoilers of the vine- 
 yard, described under the image of the wild boar and 
 beasts in the 13th verse. Bp. Horsley. 
 
 p 1/. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand : 
 &c.] These phrases, " the man of thy right hand," 
 and " the son of man," if at all applicable, in a lower 
 and subordinate sense, to a temporal king of Israel, 
 considered as a representative of Messiah, are most 
 certainly in their foil and prophetical accejitation in- 
 tended to denote King Messiah Himself. Assured of 
 his coming, the church prayeth that the " hand," the 
 protection, and the ])ower of Jehovah might be " upon" 
 Him, over Him, and with Him, in his great under- 
 taking finally to deliver her out of all her troubles, and 
 to "lead her captivity captive." Bp. Home. 
 
 As if it were said. Do thou prosper and bless the 
 great work of thy dear and powerful Messiah ; even 
 tliat Son of man, that Son of God, that God and man, 
 whom thou liast set apart for this blessed work of 
 mediation, and furnished with [lower and graces fit for 
 so glorious an employment. Bp. Halt. 
 
 1 IS. And so will not we go hack from thee : Sec.'] The 
 end of our redemption is, that we should serve Him 
 who hath redeemed us, and "go back" no more to our 
 old sins. That soul, which hath been "quickened," 
 and made alive by Christ, should live to his honour 
 and glory ; that moi\th, which hath been opened by 
 Him, can do no less than shew forth his praise, and 
 " call upon his" saving " name." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm Ixxxi.] This Psalm, whensoever, or by 
 whomsoever, composed, was, probably, intended to be 
 sung at the feast of trumpets, as also at any other feast- 
 time. It contains, 1 — 3, an exhortation duly to observe 
 the festivals of the church, 4, ,'j, as God had ap[)ointed, 
 who is introduced exjiostulating with his people, on 
 account, C — 11, of his mercies, and, 12, 13, their ingra- 
 titude, and, 14 — 17, under the form of a most affec- 
 tionate wish, renewing his promises, on condition of 
 their obedience. Bp. Home. 
 
 It is attributed, not improbably, to Asaph of David's 
 time. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' 1. Sing we merrily unto God &c.] If Israelites 
 were thus exhorted to keep their feast-days with joy 
 and gladness of heart; to exalt their voices, and join 
 together all their sweetest instruments of musick, in 
 honour of Him who had rescued them from the Egyp- 
 tian bondage, and gi\'en them a law from Sinai ; in j 
 what exulting strains ought we to celebrate the festi- 
 vals of the Christian church ? WMi what triumjjh of 
 soul, and harmony of affections, are we bound to " sing ' 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 at the 
 
 psalm, 
 merry 
 
 563 
 
 bring hither 
 lari) with the 
 
 up 
 
 t . 
 
 the trum])et in the 
 
 2 Take tlie 
 the tabret : the 
 lute. 
 
 ;} Blow 
 new moon ' : even in the time ap- 
 pointed, and upon our solemn feast- 
 day. 
 
 4 For this was made a statute for 
 Israel" : and a law of the God of 
 Jacob. 
 
 5 This he ordained in Joseph for 
 a testimony : when he came out of 
 the land of Egypt, and had heard a 
 strange language. 
 
 6 I eased his shoulder from the 
 burden" : and his hands were deli- 
 vered from making the pots. 
 
 The posterity 
 oljose|»li, 
 vised for the 
 people of Is- 
 rael. See 
 
 Ps. IXXX. 1. 
 
 J'o(,le. 
 
 aloud to God our strength," who hath redeeined us 
 from death, and published the Gospel from Sion ? 
 since, as the apostle saith, " holy days, new moons, and 
 sabbath days," of old, "were" only "a shadow of 
 things to come ; but the body is of Christ." Col. ii. 
 16, 17. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon : &c.] In 
 the Jewish church, notice was gi\-en of feasts, jubilees, 
 &c. by sound of trum])et. All the new moons, or 
 beginnings of months, were observed in this manner ; 
 see Numb. x. 1 ; but on the September new moon, or 
 first day of the seventh month, was kej)! a great festi- 
 val, called "the feast of trumpets;" Lev. xxiii. 24; 
 Numb. xxix. 1 ; which, [irobably, is here intended. 
 This September new moon had a particular regard paid 
 to it, because, according to the old calculation, before 
 Israel came out of Egypt, it was the first new moon in 
 the year, which began upon this day, the first of the 
 (afterwards) seventh month. The tenth of the same 
 luonth was the great day of atonement ; and on the 
 fifteenth was celebrated the feast of tabernacles. See 
 Lev. xxiii. 27, and 34. Our Psalm, therefore, seems 
 to have been designed for the purpose of awakening 
 and stirring up the devotions of the jieople U]«)n the 
 soleiTin entrance of a month, in which they were to 
 commemorate so many past blessings, prefigurative of 
 much greater blessings to come. We have now oiu' 
 feast-days, our Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, &c. 
 On these, and all other solemn occasions, let the evan- 
 gelical trumi)et give a sound of victory, of liberty, of 
 joy and rejoicing ; of victory over death, of liberty from 
 sin, of joy and rejoicing in Christ Jesus our Saviour. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " 4. For this was made a statute for Israel .- &c.] TTie 
 meaning is, that the observation of feasts, with blowing 
 of trumpets, was a statute, law, or testimony, ordained 
 in Joseph, or Israel, by God Himself, after He had de- 
 stroyed the Egyptians, and brought his jjcople into the 
 wilderness, where the law «'as given. The new law, 
 with its sacraments and ordinances, was promulged 
 after the spiritual redein))tion by Christ, as the old law, 
 with its rites and ceremonies, was published, after the 
 temporal deliverance by Moses. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 6. I eased his shoulder from the burden: &c.] From 
 this verse to the end, it is plain, that CJod is the speaker. 
 He reminds Israel of their redem]>tion, by his mercy 
 and power, from the burdens and the drudgery imjiosed 
 on them in Egypt. Moses describeth their then state 
 of servitude, by saying, " The Egyptians made their 
 hves bitter with hard bondacre, in mortar, and in brick, 
 2 O 2
 
 564 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 namely, at 
 the giving of 
 the law in 
 Sinai. See 
 £xo(l. xix. 
 16; XX. IS. 
 Deut. V. 23— 
 28. Heb. xii. 
 19. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 Meribah. 
 ISib. Trans. 
 See Exod. 
 xvil. 
 
 7 Thou calletlst upon me in 
 troubles, anc' I delivered tliee : and 
 heard thee what time as the storm 
 fell upon thee. 
 
 8 1 proved thee also : at the waters 
 of strife. 
 
 9 Hear, O my people, and I will 
 assure thee, O Israel : if thou wilt 
 hearken unto me. 
 
 10 There shall no strange god be 
 in thee : neither shall thou worship 
 any other god. 
 
 Ill am the Lord thy God, who 
 brought thee out of the land of 
 Egvpt : open thy mouth wide, and I 
 shall fill it. 
 
 1-2 But my people would not liear 
 my voice : and Israel would not obey 
 me. 
 
 13 So I gave them up unto their 
 own liearts' lusts : and let them fol- 
 low their own imaginations. 
 
 14 O that my people would have 
 hearkened >' unto me : for if Israel 
 had walked in my ways, 
 
 15 I should soon have put down 
 
 and in all manner of service in the field ;" Exod. i. 14 ; 
 that is, ])robably, in making vessels of clay, as this 
 verse seems to imply. Let us remember, that we have 
 been eased of far heavier burdens, delivered from se- 
 verer task-masters, and freed from a Ijascr drudgery ; 
 the intolerable load of sin, the cruel tyranny of Satan, 
 the \ile service and bitter bondage of concupiscence. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 •'■ 14. that my people would have hearkened &c.] 
 Such are the tender mercies of our God, that lie is not 
 only careful to provide for us the means of salvation, 
 but represents Himself as mourning with a paternal 
 affection over his children, when their frowardness and 
 obstinacy disappoint the efforts of his love. One can- 
 not help observing the similitude between the complaint 
 here uttered, and one which hath been since breathed 
 forth, over the same people: " (J .lerus ilem, Jerusalem, 
 how often would I ha\e gathered thy children together, 
 even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, 
 and ye would not ! " Bp. Home. 
 
 '17. He should have fed litem also Sec.'] That is, the 
 Israelites, if obedient, would still have enjoyed the 
 sweets of that good land, in wliich the Lor<l their (iod 
 had ])laccd them, where the fruits of the earth were 
 produced in the highest ])erfeetion, and honey streamed 
 from the ^-ery rocks, so that no i)art of the country was 
 without its increase. Upon tlie same conditions of 
 faitli and obedience, do Christians hold those spiritual 
 and eternal good things, of which the jileasant fields 
 and fertile hills of (.'anaan were sacramental. Christ 
 is the "bread" of life, lie is the "rock" of salvation, 
 and his promises arc as " honey" to pious minds. Hut 
 they who reject Ilim, as their Lord and Master, must 
 also lose Him as their Saviour au'l their reward. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " I'sAi.M Ix.txii.] This Psalm was probably written in 
 llezekiiih's reign by Asaph, on the corruption of some 
 wicked magistrates. King .Icbosluipliat had made a 
 reformation of several abuses which had crept into the 
 
 Dat/ 16. 
 
 their enemies : and turned my hand 
 against their adversaries. 
 
 16 The haters of the Lord should 
 have been found liars : but their 
 time should have endured for ever. 
 
 1 7 He should have fed them also '^ 
 with the finest wheat-flour : and 
 with honey out of the stony rock 
 should I have satisfied thee. 
 
 bhould Iiave 
 .submitted 
 themselves 
 unto him. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 the strength 
 c,f the Israel- 
 lies should 
 have been 
 niost durable. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 EVENING, PRAYER. 
 
 PS.\LM Ix.x.xii." Deus stetit. 
 
 standeth in the consfreffa- 
 ' princes 
 
 he is a Judge 
 
 Bhew parti- 
 ality to. Bp. 
 Palrick. 
 
 GOD Stan 
 tion ^ of ] 
 among gods '^. 
 
 '2 How long will ye give wrong 
 judgement* : and accept the persons 
 of the ungodly ? 
 
 3 Defend the poor and fatherless : 
 see that such as are in need and 
 necessity have right. 
 
 4 Deliver the out-cast and poor : 
 save them from the hand of the un- 
 godly. 
 
 5 They will not be learned" nor 
 
 judicatories in his reign, 2 Chron. xix. 7 ; but before 
 Hezekiah's time matters were grown into disorder again, 
 as Isaiah complains, i. 12. On this account Asaph the 
 seer wrote this I'salm. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The Psalmist addresseth himself to judges and ma- 
 gistrates ; 1, he remindeth them of the presence of that 
 God whom they represent, and to whom they are ac- 
 countable ; 2 — 4, he exhorteth them to the due discharge 
 of their oiitce; 5, reproveth the ignorance and corrup- 
 tion among them ; (i, 7, threateneth their fall and 
 punishment ; S, jjrayeth for the manifestation of Mes- 
 siah, and the estabhshment of his righteous kingdom. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 1. God slandvlh in the congregation &c.] Earthly 
 judicatories are the appointment of (iod. All magis- 
 trates act in his name, and by virtue of his coiiuiiission. 
 lie is invisibly present in their assemblies, and sui)er- 
 intcnds their proceedings. He receives ajipeals from 
 their WTongful decisions; He will one day re-hear all 
 causes at his own tribunal, and reverse every iniijuitoiis 
 sentence, before the great congregation of men and 
 angels, t'njust judges must either disbelieve or forget 
 all this. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' — among jfoi/s ] This word is applied to all judges 
 and magistrates, administering justice to the jieople in 
 the name and by commission fniin (iod, whose " minis- 
 ters" they are, llom. xiii, 4, " apjiointed by God," ver. 1. 
 Dr. Hammond. 
 
 ''2. Uoir long will ye give urong judgement : &c.] A 
 charge is here given, l)y the Spirit of (ioil, to all magis- 
 trates, much like that which king .lelioshaphat gave to 
 juilges, 2 Chron. xix. G, 7. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' .I. 'Vhnj will not he learned itc.] We here find tlio 
 propliet di ploring. in magistrates, a method of proceed- 
 ing contrary to that above descriljed. lie laments their 
 voluntary ignorance in the ways of righteousness, and 
 tlieir choosing to "walk in darkness." In judges this 
 is occasioned by " (iresents and gilts," whicli, as saith 
 the son of Sirach, " blind the eyes of the wise," Ecclus.
 
 Day 16. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 565 
 
 move, or are 
 shaken. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 as any ordi- 
 nary man, or 
 any Pagan 
 magistrate. 
 Dr. Niclwlls. 
 Shalt judge 
 the wliole 
 world, Pa- 
 gans as well 
 as Jews. Dr. 
 NichoUa. 
 
 under.stand, but walk on still in 
 darkiies-s : all the foundations of tlio 
 earth arc out of course. 
 
 6 I have said, Ye are gods ' : and 
 ye are all the children of the most 
 Highest. 
 
 7 But ye shall die like men : and 
 fall like one of the princes. 
 
 8 Arise, O God ^, and judge thou 
 the earth : for thou shalt take all 
 heathen to thine inheritance. 
 
 PSALM Lx.xxiii.'' Deus, quis similis ? 
 
 HOLD not thy tongue, O God ', 
 keep not still silence : refrain 
 not thyself, O God. 
 
 2 For lo, thine enemies make a 
 
 XX. 29. And if once the "pillars" and "foundations" 
 are moved from their integrity, and " shaken" to and 
 fro by every blast of fear and favour, what shall become 
 of the pohtical fabrick erected upon them ? Verily it 
 must fall ; and great and terrible will be the fall thereof. 
 A community, whether ecclesiastical or civil, consisteth 
 of great numbers ; but its well-being dependeth on a 
 few in whose hands the administration is placed. When 
 the salt hath lost its savour, the mass must pvitrify ; 
 when the light becometh darkness, how great must t)e 
 that darkness ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. / have said. Ye are gorls: &c.] It is true, then, 
 that magistrates are exalted above other men ; that 
 they are dignified with a commission from aljove ; ap- 
 pointed to be the vicegerents of heaven u])on earth ; 
 and therefore called by the name of Him in whose name 
 they act. But it is likewise as true, that, notwithstand- 
 ing all this honour conferred u])on them, for the good 
 of others, and of themselves, if they use it aright, they 
 still continue to be the mortal sons of mortal " Adam ;" 
 like him, they must fall and perish ; God can, at any 
 time, cast them down from their high estate, as He did 
 the heathen " jjrinces" who misl)ehaved themselves, 
 and opposed his counsels : death certainly will strip 
 them of all their authority, and lay them low in the 
 grave ; from thence the last trumpet shall call them 
 forth, to stand, with the rest of their brethren, before 
 the judgment-seat of Christ, there to take their trial, 
 and receive their everlasting sentence. Bp. Home. 
 
 8 8. Arise, O God, &c.] A view of that disorder and 
 confusion in which frequently the Jewish nation, as 
 well as the rest of the world, was involved, caused the 
 prophets most earnestly to wish and pray for the coming 
 of that time when " God" should "arise," in the per- 
 son of Messiah, to visit and "judge the earth ;" to deli- 
 ver it from the powers of darkness, and the tyranny of 
 sin ; to " inherit all nations," as purchased and redeemed 
 by Him ; to establish his church among them ; and to 
 rule with a sceptre of righteousness in the hearts of his 
 jieople. " Arise" yet once again, O Lord Jesu, from 
 thy throne, where thou sittest at the right hand of the 
 Father; "judge the earth," again corrupted and over- 
 whelmed with iniquity ; do away sin, and put an end 
 for ever to the power of Satan ; " inherit all nations," 
 redeemed from death, and ransomed from the grave ; 
 and reign to eternity. King of righteousness, peace, and 
 glory. Bp. Home. 
 
 *' Ps.^LM l.vxxiii.] This Psalm, the last of those com- 
 posed by Asaph, is a comjjlaint to God against the o])- 
 pressors of his people the Jews, and, under that type. 
 
 murmuring : and they that hate thee 
 have lift up their head. 
 
 .'} They have iiuagiued craftily 
 against thy people : and taken coun- 
 sel against thy secret ones. 
 
 4 They have .said. Come, and let 
 us root them out, that they be no 
 more a people : and that the name 
 of Israel may be no more in remem- 
 brance. 
 
 5 For they have east their heads 
 together'' with one consent : and are 
 confederate against thee ; 
 
 6 The tabernacles of the Edom- 
 ites ', and the Ismaelites : the Moab- 
 ites, and Hagarens ; 
 
 7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Ama- 
 
 tnmnlt. Bib. 
 Ti ana. 
 
 contrived, 
 plotted. Sie 
 Voeati. 
 taken erafly 
 counsel. Bib. 
 Trmts. 
 thove. whom 
 thou dost 
 keep, as it 
 were, secretly 
 covered un- 
 der thy 
 wings. 
 
 Dr. NicholU. 
 eojisulted t'l- 
 getlu-r. liib. 
 T, (uis. 
 
 warlike ra- 
 tions, who 
 dwell in 
 tents. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 the opposers of the church of Christ ; and a prediction 
 of God's severe inmishments that should fall upon 
 them. It was most probably com])osed in Jehoshaphat's 
 time. See 2 Chron. xx. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 In this Psalm the church, 1 — 8, com])laineth to God 
 of the insolence, snbtilty, rage, and malice, of her ene- 
 mies, united in close confederacy against her; 9—12, 
 she ])rayeth for a manifestation of tliat power which 
 formerly discomfited Jabin, Sisera, and tlie Midianites, 
 that so the hostile nations, 13 — 15, made sensible of 
 the superiority of Israel's God, 16 — is, might either 
 themselves he induced to acknowledge Him, or else, by 
 their destruction, become a warning anil admonition to 
 others. As, while the world endureth there will be a 
 church, anil while there is a church she will have her 
 enemies, who are to increase upon her as the end ap- 
 proacheth, this Psalm can never be out of date. And 
 to the S])iritual adversaries of his soul, every private 
 Christian may a]iply it at all times. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. Hold not thy tongue, God, &c.] The church 
 entreateth God again and again to hear and hel|) her in 
 the day of trouble. Her enemies and haters are here 
 said to be the enemies and haters of God, because 
 Christ and the church, like man and wife, are one ; 
 they have one common interest ; they have the same 
 friends, and the same foes. To Him therefore she 
 applieth, terrified by the tumidtuous noise of confede- 
 rated nations roaring against her like the roaring of the 
 sea, and " hfting up their heads," as so many monsters 
 of the deep, to devour her at once. Bp. Home. 
 
 ''5. For they have cast their heads together 8cc.^ When 
 Christ was about to be crucified, it is observed by St. 
 Luke, that " the same day Pilate and Herod were made 
 friends together ; for before they were at enmity be- 
 tween themselves," Luke xxiii. 12. .And however the 
 enemies of the church may quarrel with one another, 
 when they have nothing else to ilo, yet if a favourable 
 opportunity offer itself for making an attack upon her, 
 they lay aside their differences, and imite as one man : 
 by no means refusing the friendly aid even of infidels 
 and atheists, who are always ready to join in carrying 
 on the war against the common adversary. Bp. Home. 
 
 '6 — 8. The tabernacles of the Edomites, &c.] These 
 are the names of the confederates. The Edomites were 
 descended from I'jsau, that old original enemy of Jacob ; 
 the Ishmaelites from Ishmael, the son of the bond- 
 woman, and sworn foe to Isaac, heir of the promises ; 
 the Moabites sprang from Moab, one of the incestuous 
 chililren of Lot ; the Hagarenes were other descendants 
 of Hagar ; who the Gebalites were is uncertain ; the
 
 566 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 lek : the Pliilistines, with them that 
 dwell at Tyre, 
 
 8 Assiir also is joined witli them : 
 and have lioipen the children of 
 Lot. 
 
 9 But do thou to them as unto 
 the Midianites '" : unto Siseia, and 
 unto Jabin at tlie brook of Kison ; 
 
 10 Who perished at Endor : and 
 became as the dung of the earth. 
 
 11 Make them and their princes 
 like Oreb and Zeb : yea, make all 
 their princes like as Zeba and Sal- 
 mana ; 
 
 12 Who say, Let us take to our- 
 selves : the houses of God in posses- 
 sion. 
 
 13 O my God, make them like 
 unto a wheel " : and as the stubble 
 before the wind ; 
 
 14 Like as the fire that burnetii 
 up the wood : and as the flame that 
 consumeth the mountains. 
 
 Ammonites came from Ammon, the son of Lot, and 
 incestuous brother of Moab ; the Amalcltites were the 
 progeny of Amalek, the grandson of Esau, (icn. xxxvi. 
 16; the Phihstines and Tyrians are well known; and, 
 to complete all, Assur, or the power of Assyria, was 
 called in by the children of Lot, the Moabites and 
 Ammonites, to assist in the great work of exterminat- 
 ing Israel from the face of the earth. These were the 
 ten nations banded together, by a solemn league and 
 covenant, against the peojile of (jod. And as Israel 
 was the grand figure of the Christian church, which is 
 now " the Israel of God," so her enemies are often 
 represented by the above recited nations, and in pro- 
 phetical language are called by their names. Every 
 age has its Edomitcs, and its Ishmaelites, &c. &:c. 
 The actors are changed, and the scenes are shifted ; 
 but the stage and the drama continue the same. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 9 — 12. Bui do thou to thnn (is mito the Mudianiles : 
 &c.] The church, having recounted the enemies which 
 compassed lier al)out on every side, looks up for suc- 
 cour to that Almighty power, which had of old so 
 graciously iuterjiosed on her behalf, and rescued her 
 from her persecutors in the days of Deborah, Barak, 
 and Gideon : see Judges iv. viii. Fully sensible that 
 those deliverances were wrought by the immediate hand 
 of Jehovah, she offers the prayer of faith for a like 
 manifestation of his glory, and a like victory over those 
 who intended, in the same manner, to seize and devour 
 bis inheritance. Of how great use and comfort are the 
 Old Testament histories to us, in all our atllictions ! 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 "13. my God, make them like unto a wheel: &c.l 
 Do thou whirl them away, and all their projects and 
 attempts, and scatter them as stubble before the wind. 
 Bp. Hall. 'I'he word, rendered " wheel," occurs also in 
 Isa. xvii. 1.1, and is translated in the margin " thistle- 
 down ;" it is generally understood to signify any light 
 matter, wliidi the wind whirls round and blows away. 
 Trrivell. The fate of those is here predicted, who in- 
 vade the inheritance of Jehovah, and say, " Let us take 
 to ourselves the houses of God in ])osse3sion." The 
 
 for. Bib. 
 Tram. 
 
 Dmj 16. 
 
 15 Persecute them even so with 
 thy tempest : and make them afraid 
 with thy storm. 
 
 16 j\Iake their faces ashamed", 
 O Lord : that they may seek thy 
 Name. 
 
 17 Let them be confounded and 
 vexed ever more and more : let them 
 be put to shame, and perish. 
 
 18 And they shall know that thou, 
 whose Name is Jehovah : art only 
 the most Highest over all the earth. 
 
 PSALM Ixxxiv.P Q.uam dilecta ! 
 
 OHow amiable are thy dwell- tahem.wies. 
 ings 1 : thou Lord of hosts ! ^"- '^"""■ 
 
 2 My soul hath a desire and long- 
 ing to enter into the courts of the 
 
 Lord : mv heart and mv flesh rejoice criethmit 
 m the livnig God. 
 
 3 Yea, the sparrow hath found 
 her an house ', and the swallow a 
 nest where she may lay her young : 
 
 inconstancy and mutability of their fortunes is resem- 
 bled to " thistle-down," or some such light revolving 
 body, and to " stubble" or chafF, wdiirled about and 
 dissipated by the " wind ;" the suddenness, horror, 
 and imiversality of their destruction, are set forth by 
 the similitude of a " fire" consuming the dry trees in a 
 " forest," or some combustible matter on the "moun- 
 tains." .Such is the storm and tempest of God's in- 
 dignation, which pursues and terrifies the sacrilegious 
 and ungodly. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 16 — 18. Make their faces ashamed, &c.] The pimish- 
 ments, inflicted by heaven upon wicked men, are pri- 
 marily intended to humble and convert them. If they 
 continue incorrigible under every dispensationof merciful 
 severity, they are at last cut off. and finally destroyed : 
 that others, admoni.sbed by their example, may repent, 
 and return aiul give glory to tiod. Salutary are the 
 afHiotions which bring men, and happy the men who 
 are brought by them, to an acknowledgment of '• Jeho- 
 vah our Righteousness," our exalted and glorified Re- 
 deemer, "the Most High over all the earth;" whom 
 all must acknowledge, and before whom all must ap- 
 pear to be judged, in the great and terrible day. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 1' I'sAi.M Ixxxiv.] Tliis Psalm, for the subject-matter 
 of it, bears a resemblance to the forty-second, t'nder 
 the figure of an Israelite, deprived of all access to Jeru- 
 salem and the sanctuary, (whether it were David when 
 driven away by Absalom, or any other ])erson in like 
 circumstances at a different tiine.i we are presented 
 with, 1, 2, the earnest longing of a devout soul after 
 tlic house and presence of God ; 3 — 7, a beautiful and 
 passionate eulogy on the blessedness of his ministers 
 and servants; 8 — 11, a fervent prayer for a ])artieipa- 
 tion of that l)lessedness ; and 12, 13, an act of faith 
 in his power and goodness, which render him both 
 able and willing to grant requests of this nature. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 1 I. O how aminhle are thy du'rllings :"] Or "taberna- 
 cles." Thus ardently doth a bani.sbcd Israelite exi)ress 
 his love for Sinn, his adiuiration of the beauty of holi- 
 ness. Nay, IJalaam himself, when from tlie to]) of I'eor
 
 Day 16. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 567 
 
 the ways 
 which lead 
 to thy house. 
 Poole. 
 
 the valley of 
 Baca. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 Tliey Rn. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 our shield. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 even thy altars, O Lord of hosts, iny 
 King and my God. 
 
 4 Blessed are they that dwell in 
 thy house : they will be alway prais- 
 in<r thee. 
 
 5 Blessed is the man whose 
 strength is in thee ^ : in whose heart 
 are thy ways. 
 
 6 Who going through the vale of 
 misery ' use it for a well : and the 
 pools are filled with water. 
 
 7 They will go from strength to 
 strength : and unto the God of gods 
 appeareth every one of them in 
 Sion. 
 
 8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my 
 prayer" : hearken, O God of Jacob. 
 
 9 Behold, O God our defender : 
 and look upon the face of thine 
 Anointed. 
 
 he saw the children of Israel abiding in their tents, 
 witli the glory in the midst of them, could not help 
 e.tclaiining, " How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, 
 and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! " Numb. xxiv. 5. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 3. Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, &c.] 
 The Psalmist is generally supposed, in this verse, to 
 lament his unhappiness, in being deprived of all access 
 to the tabernacle, or temple, a privilege enjoyed even by 
 the birds, who were allowed to build their nests in the 
 neighbourhood of the sanctuary. It is evidently the 
 design of this jiassage to intimate to us, that in the 
 house, and at the altar of God, a faithful soul findeth 
 freedom from care and sorrow, quiet of mind, and 
 gladness of S|)irit; like a bird, that has secured a little 
 mansion for the reception and education of her young. 
 And there is no heart, endued with sensibility, which 
 doth not bear its testimony to the exquisite beauty and 
 propriety of this affecting image. Bp. Home. 
 
 • 5. Blessedis the man whose strength is in thee : &c.] 
 Not only are they pronounced blessed who " dwell" in 
 the temple, but all they also who are " travelling" thi- 
 therward, (as the whole Jewish nation was wont to do 
 three times in a year,) and who are therefore meditating 
 on their "journey," and on the "way" which leadetli 
 to the holy city, trusting in God to " strengthen," and 
 prosper, and conduct them to the house of his habita- 
 tion, the place where his glory dwelleth. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6, 7. IVho tjoing through the vale of misery &o.] Or 
 " of Baca." After numberless imcertain conjectures 
 offered by commentators upon the construction of these 
 two verses, it seemeth impossible for us to attain to any 
 other than a general idea of their true import; which is 
 this, that the Israelites, or some of them, jiassed, in 
 their way to Jerusalem, through a valley that had the 
 name of " Baca," a noun derived from a verb which 
 signifies to "weep;" that in this valley they were 
 refreshed by plenty of water ; that with renewed \-igour 
 they proceeded from stage to stage, until they presented 
 themselves before God in Sion. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 8. Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: &c.] 
 After extoUing the happiness of those who dwelt in the 
 temple, and of those who had access to it, the Psalmist 
 breaks forth into a most ardent ])rayer to his God, for 
 his share in that happiness. He addresseth Him as 
 
 10 For one day in thy courts'': 
 is better than a thousand. 
 
 11 I had rather be ii door-keeper 
 in the house of my God : than to 
 dwell in the tents of ungodliness. 
 
 12 For the Lord God is a light >' 
 and defence : the Lord will give 
 grace and worship, and no good 
 thing shall he withhold from them 
 that live a godly life. 
 
 13 O Lord God of hosts : blessed 
 is the man ^ that jtuttcth his trust in 
 thee. 
 
 in any other 
 c(mUitioii. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 a sun and 
 shield. Bib, 
 Train. 
 
 plory. 
 Trans. 
 Vocab, 
 
 nib. 
 See 
 
 PSALM Lxxxv.» 
 " ORD, thou 
 
 Benedixisti, Domine, 
 
 art become gra- 
 thy ■ 
 
 cious " unto thy land : thou 
 
 hast turned away the captivity of 
 Jacob. 
 
 '2 Thou hast forgiven the offence 
 
 brought back. 
 
 Christmas- 
 day, third 
 Psalm Mom. 
 Serv. and 
 KinR 
 Charles's 
 Mart, third 
 Psalm Even. 
 Serv. 
 
 favourable. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 " the Lord of hosts," almighty in power ; as " the God 
 of Jacob," infinite in mercy and goodness to his peo- 
 ple ; as their " shield," the object of all their trust for 
 defence and protection; and beseecheth Him to " look 
 upon the face of his anointed," that is, of David, if he 
 were king of Israel when this Psalm was written ; or 
 rather of Messiah, in whom God is always well jileased ; 
 for whose sake He hath mercy upon us, through whose 
 name and merits our prayers are accepted, and the 
 kingdom of heaven is ojiened to all believers. B/). 
 Home. 
 
 So the meaning may be. Lord, I deserve not one good 
 look from thee, because by my great xi'ickedness I have 
 procured thy just displeasure and this banishment. But 
 look upon thy Christ, whose coming and meritorious 
 passion, though future to us, is jiresent to thee ; and 
 for his sake look upon me. Poole. 
 
 ^ 10. For one day in thy courts: &c.] One day spent 
 in meditation and devotion, affordeth a pleasure, far, 
 far superior to that which an age of worldly prosjierity 
 could give. Hapjiier is the least and lowest of the 
 servants of Jesus, than the greatest and most exalted 
 potentate who knoweth Him not. And he is no pro- 
 per judge of blessedness, who hesitates a moment to 
 prefer the condition of a penitent in the porch, to that 
 of a sinner on the throne. If this be the case upon 
 earth, how much more in heaven ? O come that one 
 glorious day, whose sun shall never go down, nor any 
 cloud obscure the lustre of his beams ; that day, when 
 the temple of God shall be opened in heaven, and we 
 shall be admitted to serve Him for ever therein ! Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 •■12. For the Lord God is a light &c.] Jesus Christ 
 is our " Lord," and our " God ;" He is a " sun" to en- 
 lighten and direct us in the way, and a "shield" to 
 protect us against the enemies of our salvation ; He 
 wiD give us " grace," to carry us on " from strength to 
 strength," and " glory" to crown us when we " appear 
 before him in Zion ;" He will " withhold " nothing that 
 is " good " and profitable for us in the course of our 
 journey, and will Himself be our reward when we come 
 to the end of it. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1 3. O Lord God of hosts : blessed is the man &c.] 
 While therefore we are strangers and sojourners here 
 below, far from that heavenly country where we would
 
 568 
 
 THE PSALMS, 
 
 iniquity. 
 Bit). Trans. 
 
 of our salva- 
 tion. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 Wilt tliou 
 not revive us 
 again. Bib. Trims. 
 
 of thy people : and covered all their 
 sins. 
 
 3 Thou hast taken away all thy 
 displeasure : and turned thyself from 
 thy wrathful iiulignation. 
 
 4 Turn us then, O God our Sa- 
 viour "^ : and let thine anger cease 
 from us. 
 
 5 Wilt thou be displeased at us 
 for ever : and wilt thou stretch out 
 thy wrath from one generation to 
 another ? 
 
 6 Wilt thou not turn again, and 
 
 be, in whom should we trust to bring us to the lioly 
 city, new Jerusalem, of which the Lord God and the 
 Lamb are the temple, but in thee, O Saviour and Re- 
 deemer, who art the head of every creature, the Cajitain 
 of the armies of heaven and earth, the Lord of hosts, 
 and the King of glory ? " Blessed," thrice " blessed, is 
 the man that trusteth in thee." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm K.'c.w.] It is probable that the subject of 
 this Psalm is the return of the Jews from the Babylonish 
 captivity : in celebrating which the Psalmist is carried 
 by a i)ro)ihetick imjndse to foretel a much greater deU- 
 verance hy the coming of Christ. Travell. 
 
 This Psalm, appointed by the Church to be used on 
 Christmas-day, 1 — 3, celebrateth the redemption of tlie 
 Israel of God from their spiritual captivity under sin and 
 death; 4 — 7, teacheth us to jiray for the full accom- 
 plishment of that redemption in ourselves ; 8 — 11, de- 
 scribeth the incarnation of Christ, with the joyfid meet- 
 ing of mercy and truth, righteousness and peace, at his 
 birth, and, 12, 13, the blessed effects of his advent. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 1 . Lord, thou art become r/racious &c.] These three 
 verses speak of the deliverance from captivity, as already 
 brought about ; whereas, in the subsequent part of the 
 Psalm, it is prayed for and jiredicted, as a thing future. 
 To account for this, some suppose that the Psalmist first 
 returns tlianks for a temjioral redemption, and then 
 prophesies of the s]iiritual salvation by Messiah. Others 
 are of opinion, that the same eternal redemjition is 
 spoken of tlu-oughout, hut rei)resented, in the begin- 
 ning of the Psalm, as already accomplished in the 
 divine decree, though the eventual completion was yet 
 to come. Bnt, indeed, to us Christians, who now use 
 the Psalm, the dill'erence is not material ; since a part 
 of our rcdcm]ition is jiast, an<l a part of it is yet to 
 come, for the hastening of wliich latter we daily [)ray. 
 God hath already been exceedingly gracious anrl " fa- 
 vourable" to the whole " earth," in " bringing liack," 
 by the resurrection of Jesus, the spiritual "captivity 
 oi" his jieople ; lie hath lliinself, in ('In-ist, "borne," 
 and so taken away, " the inii|Mity of bis jieople ;" He 
 hath "covered all their sins," that they should no more 
 appear in judgment against them : projiitiated by the 
 Son of his love. He hath removed his " wratli," and 
 "turned himself from tlie fierceness of his anger." So 
 exactly and literally do these words describe the means 
 and method of (jospel salvation, that a Christian can 
 hardly iiilix any otiier ideas to tlicm. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1 — 7. 7'Hrn us then, O God our Sariniir : itc.] The 
 ancient clnu'cb is here introdoeed .is petitiiming for the 
 continuation anil completion of those blessings which 
 had been mentioned in the foregoing verses, namely, 
 that God woulrl •' turn'" his ])eople from their captivity, 
 Bnd " cause his unger towards them to cease ;" that lie 
 
 Dmj 10. 
 
 quicken us : that thy people may 
 rejoice in thee ? 
 
 7 Shew us thy mercy, O Lord : 
 and grant us thy salvation. 
 
 8 I will hearken what the Lord 
 God will say '^ concerning me : for 
 he shall speak peace unto his people, 
 
 and to his saints, that they turn not <"'■" ""t 
 
 •^ again to 
 
 agani. f„iiy. Bib. 
 
 9 For Ids salvation is nigh them ^ ^''''"'■ 
 that fear him : that glory may dwell 
 
 in our land. 
 
 10 Mercy and truth are met to- 
 
 would " receive" them from sin and sorrow, and give 
 them occasion to "rejoice in him," their mighty deli- 
 verer ; that He would "shew them" openly that " mercy" 
 of which they had so often heard, and " grant them that 
 salvation," or that " Saviour," that Jesus, who had 
 been so long promised to mankind. And although it 
 be true that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, and hath 
 virtually prociu-ed all these blessings for the church, 
 yet do " we" still continue to ])ray, in the same words, 
 for the actual application of them all to ourselves, by 
 the conversion of our hearts, the justification of our 
 persons, the sanctification of our souls, and the glorifi- 
 cation of our bodies. For this last blessing of redemp- 
 tion, " the whole creation waiteth, groaning, and tra- 
 vailing in pain together, until now," Rom. viii. '22. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '^ 8. I will hearken ichat the Lord God will say &c.] 
 The pro])het having prayed, in the name of the church, 
 that Jehovah would " shew them his mercy, and grant 
 them his salvation," declares himself resolved, concern- 
 ing this " salvation, to inquire and search diligently, 
 what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which 
 was in him did signify, when it testified beforehand the 
 coming of Christ, and the glory that should follow :" 
 see 1 Pet. i. 10 : he would attend to " what God the 
 Lord should say," and report it to the world. Now, 
 what was the message which the prophets had commis- 
 sion to deli\'cr from God, but that He would " speak 
 jieace," or reconciliation through a Saviour, " to his 
 people, and to his saints ?" The Gospel is accordingly 
 styled by St. Peter, "the word which (iod sent unto 
 the children of Israel, preacliing peace by Jesus ('hrist," 
 Acts X. 3G. And what was the end of this reconciliation 
 between God and men, but that men should become 
 and continue the servants of (ioil ; that, being washed 
 from their sins by the hlooil of Christ, and renewed in 
 their minds by the grace of Christ, they should walk in 
 the ])aths of wisdom and holiness, anil "turn not again 
 to the folly" they had renounced ? Bp. Home. 
 
 '■ 9. tor hi.i satralinn is niijh them &c.] God, who 
 "calletli tilings that be not as tliongh they were," 
 teacheth his proplu'ts to do likewise. The Psalmist 
 therefore sjienks with assurance of the " Saviour" as if 
 he then saw Him before his eyes, healing, by the word of 
 his power, the l)odies and the souls of men upon earth, 
 and manifesting forth his " glory," in human nature, 
 to all siK'h as, with a holy " fear," and filial reverence, 
 believed on Him. St. John himself hardly u.seth plainer 
 language wlien he saith, " the Word was made tlesh, 
 and dwelt, or taliernacled aniimg us; anil we beheld 
 his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the I''a- 
 tlier, full of grace and trutli," Jolin i. 14. The body 
 of (^irist was the true " tabernacle," or temple; his 
 divinity was the glory which resided there, and filled
 
 THE PSALMS 
 and peace 
 
 Bprinp. SiL 
 'J'raits. 
 
 give lliat 
 which is 
 pood. Bi>j. 
 Trans. 
 
 shall Bet his 
 steps. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 Bay 17 
 
 gather ' : rii^litooiisnoss 
 have kissed oacli other. 
 
 1 1 U'riith sliall flourisli out of the 
 earth : and ri<! liteousness hath looked 
 down from lieavcn. 
 
 12 Yea, the Lord shall shew 
 loving-kindness K : and our land shall 
 give her inerease. 
 
 13 Righteousness shall go before 
 him'' : and he shall direct his going 
 in the way. 
 
 .509 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM Ixxxvi.' Inclina, Domine. 
 
 BO W down thine ear, O Lord, 
 and hear me : for I am poor, 
 and in misery. 
 
 that holy place. The church is his mystical " body ;" by 
 his Sjiirit He now and ever " dwelleth in our land ; and 
 his salvation is always nigh them that fear him ;" as 
 saith the holy Virgin in her song, " His mercy is on them 
 that fear him, throughout all generations." Bp. Home. 
 
 '10, U. Mercy and truth are met torjether : &c.] 
 These fom- divine attributes ]iarted at the fall of Adam, 
 and met again at the birth of Christ. Mercy was ever 
 inclined to save man, and peace could not be his enemy; 
 but triUh exacted the performance of God's threat, 
 " The soul that sinneth, it shall die ;" and righteousness 
 could not but give to every one his due. Jehovah 
 must be true in all his ways, and righteous in all his 
 works. Now there is no religion upon eai'th, except 
 the Christian, which can satisfy the demands of all 
 these claimants, and restore an imion between them ; 
 which can shew how God's word can be true, and his 
 work just, and the sinner, notwithstanding, find mercy, 
 and obtain peace. Mahomet's prayer, were it the 
 prayer of a righteous man and a prophet, could not 
 satisfy divine justice ; the blood of bulls and goats was 
 always insufficient for that purpose, being a figure only 
 for the time then present, which ceased of course when 
 the reality appeared. " Sacrifice and burnt-offering 
 thou wouldest not; then said I, Lo. I come." A God 
 incarnate reconciled all things in heaven and earth. 
 When Christ appeared in our nature, the promise was 
 fulfilled, and " truth sprang out of the earth." And 
 now righteousness, " looking down from heaven," be- 
 held in Him every thing that she required ; an undefiled 
 birth, a holy life, an innocent death ; a spirit and a 
 mouth without guile, a soul and a body without sin. 
 She saw, and was satisfied, and returned to earth. 
 Thus all the four parties met again in perfect harmony ; 
 truth ran to mercy, and embraced her ; righteousness 
 to peace, and kissed her. And this could hapiJcn only 
 at the birth of Jesus, in whom "the tender mercy of 
 our God visited us, and who is the truth ; who is made 
 unto us righteousness, and who is our peace." See 
 Luke i. 78; John xiv. 6; 1 Cor. i. 30; Ejih. ii. 14. 
 Those that are thus joined, as attributes, in Christ, 
 ought not, as virtues, to be separated in a Christian, 
 who may learn how to resemble his blessed Lord and 
 Master, by observing that short, but complete, rule of 
 life, comprehended in the few following words : Shew 
 mercy, and s])eak truth ; do righteousness, and follow 
 peace. Bp. Home. 
 
 B 12. Yea, the Lord shall shew loving-kindness : &c.] 
 
 2 Preserve tliou my soul, for I am 
 lioly'' : my (lod, save thy servant 
 that putteth his trust in thee. 
 
 3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord : 
 for I will call daily ujtoii thee. 
 
 4 Comfort the soul of thy servant: 
 for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up 
 my soul. 
 
 5 For thou. Lord, art good' and 
 gracious : and of great mercy unto 
 all them tiiat call upon thee. 
 
 G Give car. Lord, unto my prayer : 
 and ponder the voice of mv humble attend, nw. 
 
 , . ' •' Trans. 
 
 desires. 
 
 7 In the time of my trouble I 
 will call upon thee : for thou hearest 
 me. 
 
 8 Amonff the gods there is none" those that 
 
 c ^ are falsely 
 
 called gods. Jlp. llall. 
 
 Unless God vouchsafe a gracious rain from above, the 
 earth cannot " yield her increase." The effects of the 
 incarnation of Christ, the descent of the Spirit, and the 
 ])ubUcation of the Gospel among men, are frequently 
 set forth in Scripture under images borrowed from that 
 fruitfulness caused in the earth by the rain of heaven. 
 See Isaiah xlv. 8; xUv. 3; Iv. 10. Give us evermore, 
 O Lord, " that which is good, that our land may yield 
 her increase;" give us that good gift, the gift of thy 
 Spirit, that we be " neither barren nor unfruitful in the 
 knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ," 2 Pet. i. 8. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '' 13. Higliteousness shall go before Mm : &c.] Upon 
 the appearance of the Redeemer, " righteousness " is 
 represented as " going before him," like liis harbinger 
 the Baptist, to prepare and make ready his way. In 
 that way, the way of righteousness, " he set his steps," 
 and walked therein, without the least deviation, until 
 He had finished his appointed course. Draw us, blessed 
 Jesu, and we will run after thee, in the jmth of life ; 
 let thy mercy pardon us, thy truth enlighten us, thy 
 righteousness direct us, to follow thee, O Lamb of 
 God, wliithersoe\'er thou goest, through poverty, afflic- 
 tion, persecution, and death itself; that our portion 
 may be for ever in thy kingdom of peace and love. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Ps.^LM Ixxxvi.] Tills Psalm is intitled, "A prayer 
 of David," and supposed to have been written in some 
 of his great distresses. Like others of the same kind, 
 it is calculated for the use of the church during her 
 sufferings here below, by which she is conformed to the 
 image of the true David, that man of sorrows. It con- 
 tains, 1, an earnest sup])lication, grounded on the 
 poverty, 2, the holiness, faith, 3, importunity, and, 4, 
 the devotion of the su])pliant ; and on, 5 — ", the good- 
 ness, and, 8, power of God, 9, 10, to be one day 
 acknowledged by all nations, at their conversion. After 
 this follows, II, a petition for wisdom, strength, and 
 singleness of heart ; 12, 13, a thanksgiving for redemp- 
 tion; 14, a com])laint of persecution from the wicked ; 
 15, an act of faith; 16, 1", a prayer for help and 
 salvation. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 2. Preserve thou my soul, for I am holy : &c.] Tlie 
 word here translated " holy," is the same which is used 
 in the l6th Psalm : " Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy 
 One to see corruption." And indeed, if we understand 
 " holiness " in its strict sense, no one but " he whom 
 the Father sanctified, and sent into the world," to
 
 570 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 17. 
 
 neither are 
 tliere any 
 works like 
 unto thy 
 works. Bib. 
 Tran$. 
 
 like unto tliee, O Lord : there is not 
 one that can do as thou doest. 
 
 9 All nations whom thou hast 
 made" shall come and worship thee, 
 O Lord : and shall glorify thy 
 Name. 
 
 10 For thou art great", and doest 
 wondrous things : thou art God 
 alone. 
 
 11 Teach me thy way, O LordP, 
 and I will walk in thy truth : O knit 
 my heart unto thee, that I may fear 
 thy Name. 
 
 '12 I will thank thee, O Lord my 
 God', with all my heart : and will 
 praise thy Name for evermore. 
 
 redeem lost man, could say to Him, " Preser\'e my 
 soul, for I am holy." But the word properly signifies, 
 " good, merciful, pious, devoted to the service of God," 
 &c. The Christian, therefore, only pleads, in this ex- 
 pression, his relation to Christ, as being a member of 
 Christ's body, the church, and a partaker of the gifts, 
 which, by mtue of that membership, he has received 
 through the Spirit of holiness. So that this first part 
 of the verse, " Preserve my soul, for I am bolj'," when 
 repeated by us, is equivalent to another jjassage in the 
 Psalms, " I am thine, O save me," o.xix. 94. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 5. For thou. Lord, art good &c.] We are en- 
 couraged to " hft up oiu' souls to God " in prayer, 
 because his " goodness," and the " plenteousness of his 
 mercy "in Christ Jesus, incline Him to give his holy 
 Spirit of peace and comfort to " all that call upon him." 
 His favour is no longer confined to .ludea; there is 
 now no distinction of age, condition, or country : but 
 the sinner, whoever or wherever be be, if he call upon 
 the saving name of Jesus, is heard, pardoned, and ac- 
 cepted, upon the terms of the evangelical covenant. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '" 8. Among the gods there is none &c.] Another 
 reason why a])plication should be made to Jchoiah, is 
 his infinite superiority over all those, that, by infatuated 
 men, were ever calleii " gods." Prom the ancient 
 idolatry, wliich taught adoration to the sim, moon, and 
 stars, to the light and the air, we have Ijeen delivered 
 by the Gospel ; nor do wc any longer |)rofess to wor- 
 ship Jupiter, antl the other heathen gods and goddesses. 
 l$ut do not many still trust in idols, and have they not, 
 in effect, other objects of worship, from whose liands 
 they expect tlieir reward ? Are not the hearts of the 
 covetous, the ambitious, the voluptuous, so many 
 temples of Mammon or Pbitus, of Jupiter or ^lars, of 
 I$acchus, Comus, and X'cnus } But wliat are these 
 deities ; what is their power ; and what are their gifts ? 
 Wliat is the wlmle worhl, and all that is therein, when 
 compared with its Maker and Redeemer ; what is it 
 when applied to, for the ease and comfort of a wotmded 
 spirit .' " Among the gods there is none bke unto thee, 
 O Lord ; neither are there any works like unto tliy 
 works!" Bp. Home. 
 
 " 9. All nalinns whom thou hast made Sec.'] The 
 Psalmist i)redicteth that this superiority of Jehovah 
 should one day lie acknowU'dged throughout all the 
 earth, when " neither in Jerusalem only, nor in the 
 motmt of tlie Samaritans," but in every place, " should 
 men worsbij) the I'atlier," Jolin iv. '21 ; when lie who 
 " mailc all nations " by liis .Son, should by that Son 
 
 13 For great is thy mercy toward 
 me : and thou hast delivered my soul 
 
 from the nethermost hell. lowest. Bib. 
 
 14 O God, the proud are risen vocab'. 
 against me : and the coiigTeo:ations 
 
 of naughty men have sought after violent, bh. 
 my soul, and have not set thee before ^'^'""' 
 their eyes. 
 
 13 But thou, O Lord God, art 
 full of compassion and mercy : long- 
 suft'ering, plenteous in goodness and 
 truth. 
 
 16 turn thee then unto me', 
 and have mercy ujioii me : give thy 
 strength unto thy servant, and help 
 the son of thine handmaid. 
 
 redeem all nations, bringing them from the world to 
 the church, there to " worship before " the true God, 
 and " in songs of praise to glorify his holy name." If, 
 in these our times, we behold the nations again falling 
 away from God, departing from the purity of their 
 faith, and lea\'ing their first love, let us comfort our- 
 selves with looking forward to that scene of things 
 described by St. John, in which we hope to bear a part 
 hereafter : " I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which 
 no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and 
 people, and tongues stood before the throne, and before 
 the Lamb, clotlied with white robes, and palms in their 
 bands ; and cried with a loud voice, saying. Salvation 
 unto our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
 the Lamb," Rev. vii. 9, 10 Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 1 0. For thou art great, &c.] " Great " is Jehovah 
 in his power, in his wisdom, in his mercy ; " wonderful " 
 in the creation of the world, wonderful in the preserva- 
 tion and the government of it, wonderftd in its redemj)- 
 tion ; wonderftd in the incarnation, life, death, resur- 
 rection, and ascension of Jesus, in the descent of the 
 Sjiirit, the projiagation of the Gosjiel, the sufferings of 
 saints, and the conversion of sinners ; most wonderful 
 will He l)e when He shall raise the dead, judge the 
 world, condemn the wicked, and glorify the right- 
 eous. And then shall every tongue confess, "Thou 
 art God alone !" Bp. Home. 
 
 p 11. Teach me thy way, O Lord. &c.] It is the con- 
 tinual subject of tlie Mediator's intercession above, and 
 of our jirayers below, that we may be " taught the way 
 of Jehovah," the way to life eternal, jirepared for us, 
 through faith and love which is in Clirist Jesus; that, 
 being so taught, wc may likewise be enabled " to walk 
 in the truth," without error in doctrine, or deviation 
 from duty; lielieving all things which God liath re- 
 vealed, and doing wliatsocver He hath commanded us ; 
 that the affections of the " heart " may 1)C withdrawn 
 from other olijects, and, lieing no longer divided be- 
 tween (iod and the world, liccome "united" in the 
 filial " fear of his name," as the grand jirinciple of 
 action. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 1'2. I xvill thank thee, Jjord my God, &c.] Gra- 
 titude for mercies already received will obtain a con- 
 tinuance and increase of those mercies, 'i'he church is 
 never in so alllicted a state, but slic hath still reason to 
 intermingle ballehijalis witli her hosannas, and, in the 
 midst of her most fervent prayers, to " praise tlie Lord 
 her (ji)d witli all her heart, and to glorify his name for 
 evermore ;" since, wliatever she umy siid'cr upon earth, 
 (and even those sufferings will turn lo her advtuitage,) 
 " great," most undoubtedly, " hath liis mercy been to-
 
 Daij 17. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 571 
 
 someeensible 
 proof of tliy 
 merciful 
 respuct for 
 me. lii>. 
 Hall. 
 
 17 Shew some token upon me for 
 good", that tliey who liate me may 
 see it, and be ashamed : because 
 thou, Lord, hast liolpen me, and 
 comforted me. 
 
 PSALM Ixxxvii.' Fundamenta ejus. 
 
 His foiiniia- 
 tion is in the 
 holy moun- 
 tains. Bib. Trims. 
 
 HE 11 foundations are upon tlie 
 holy hill.s" : the Lord h)veth 
 
 ward her in delivering" her, liy the resurrection of 
 Jesus, from the bondage of sin, the dominion of death, 
 and the bottomless pit of " hell." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 16. turn thee then unto me, &c.] On the consi- 
 deration of the above-mentioned attributes, a petition 
 is in this verse ])ut up to God, that He would " turn" 
 his face towards us ; that He would of his " mercy" par- 
 don us, by his grace " strengthen" us, and by his power 
 " save" us from all our adversaries. Every Christian is the 
 " servant" of God, and " the son of his handmaid," the 
 Church ; which may say, in the same spirit of humility 
 and obedience with the blessed ^'irgin, " Behold the 
 handmaid of the Lord." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 17. Shew some token upon me for good, hc.'\ Many 
 outward signs and " tokens " of the divine favour were 
 in old time vouchsafed to patriarchs, projihets, and 
 kings of Israel. The law itself was a collection of ex- 
 ternal and sacramental figures of grace and mercy. All 
 these centred and had their accomplishment in that 
 grand and everlasting sign and token of God's love to 
 man, the incarnation of Christ, which all faithful peo- 
 ple from the beginning ;vished and prayed for. t)n 
 this sign the Christian looks with joy, as the great 
 proof that God has " holpen him and comforted him ;" 
 while his faith in it doth not fail, he hath the witness 
 in himself, and his actions declare as much to all around 
 him; "that they which hate him may be ashamed" 
 and converted, before that day come, when shame shall 
 be fruitless, and conversion impossible. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm Ixxxvii.] The prophet, 1, 2, celebrates the 
 stability and felicity of Sion, 3 — 5, foretels the accession 
 of the Gentiles to her, and, 6, their enrolment among 
 her enemies ; 7, extols her as the fountain of grace and 
 salvation. The Psalm was probably penned on a sur- 
 vey of the city of David, just after the buildings of it 
 were finished. Bp. Home. 
 
 " I. Her foundations are upon the holy hills : Scc-I The 
 Psalmist, after having meditated on the strength, the 
 beauty, and the glory of Jerusalem, being smitten with 
 the love of the holy city, and imagining the thoughts 
 of his hearers, or readers, to have been employed on 
 the same subject, breaks forth at once in this abrupt 
 manner, " Her foundations are &c.," or " It is his," 
 that is, God's " foimdation on the holy mountains." 
 By "the holy mountains" are meant those hills of 
 Judea, which Jehovah had chosen, and separated to 
 Himself from all others, whereon to construct the 
 highly-favoured city and temple. As the dwellings of 
 Jacob, in the promised land, were beloved by Him 
 more than the dwellings of other nations, so He " loved 
 the gates of Sion, more than all the dwellings of Jacob." 
 Jerusalem was exalted and fortified by its situation ; 
 but much more so by the protection of the Almighty. 
 What Jerusalem was, the Christian church is ; " built " 
 by God " on the foundation of the apostles and pro- 
 phets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner- 
 stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, 
 groweth unto an holy temide in the Lord," Eph. ii. 
 
 the gates of Sion more than all the 
 dwidliiigs of Jacob. 
 
 2 Very e.xcellent things are spoken 
 of thee" : thou city of Cjod. 
 
 3 1 will think upon Ualiaby and 
 Babylon : with tliem tliat know me. 
 
 4 Behold ye the Philistines also : 
 and they of lyre, with the Morians; 
 lo there was he born^. 
 
 .5 And of Sion it shall be reported ^ 
 
 Ethioi>i;i; this man was born tliere. 
 
 I will malte 
 mention of. 
 Jlib Trans. 
 In tlie num- 
 ber of my 
 worshippers. 
 Hji. Jlorjle. 
 Jkholcl Plii- 
 lislia and 
 'J'yre, wiih 
 llib. Trans. 
 
 20. It is "Lis foundation in the holy mountains;" 
 she is beloved of God above the kingdoms and empires 
 of the earth, which rise and fall only to fulfil the divine 
 counsels concerning her. When those counsels shall 
 be fulfilled, in the salvation of all believers, the world, 
 which subsists only for their sake, will be at an end. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " 2. Very excellent things are spoken of thee : fee."] 
 As the prophet began, in a rapture, to speak of the 
 holy city, so now, in fresh transport, he changes the 
 |)erson, and suddenly addresses himself to it. The old 
 Jerusalem was " the city of God, and glorious things 
 were therefore said of it" by the Spirit. Pleasant for 
 situation, and magnificent in its buildings, it was the 
 delight of nations, the joy of the whole earth ; there 
 was the royal residence of the kings of Judah ; there 
 was the temjile, and the ark, and the glory, and the 
 King of heaven dwelling in the midst of her; her 
 streets were honoiu'ctl with the footsteps of the Re- 
 deemer of men ; there lie preached, and wrought his 
 miracles, lived, died, and rose again ; thither He sent 
 down the Spirit, and there He first laid the foundations 
 of his Church. To know what "glorious things" are 
 said of the new Jerusalem, the reader must peruse Isa. 
 Ix, and Rev. xxi, xxii. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 2, i. I will think upon Iluhab &c.] The accession 
 of the nations to the Church is generally supposed to 
 be here predicted. God declares by his proi)het, " I 
 will make mention of," &c. Bp. Home. As if it were 
 said, I rejoice to see that the chm'ch of God shall not 
 always be confined to these narrow boimds of Judea; 
 but that it shall extend itself to all nations : insomuch 
 as I make account of the most unlikely nations of 
 Egypt and Babylon to be admitted into the bosom 
 thereof; and even amongst the most sjiiteful Philistines, 
 and the T}Tians, and Ethiopians, there shall be sons 
 born to God. Bp. Hall. 
 
 '4. — there was he born.'] Or, as in the Bible trans- 
 lation, "This man was born there." The clause is 
 connected with the first words, thus : " I will make 
 mention of Rahab, &c.," saying, "This man," that is, 
 these men or people now mentioned, (the singidar 
 number put collectively for the jiliu-al, and the Scripture 
 often s])eaks of a nation as of one man, as Ps. xxv. 22 ; 
 cxxx. s,) "was born there," or "in her," as it is ex- 
 pressed ver. 5 ; namely, in Sion ; born by adoption 
 and regeneration. See John i. 12; iii. 3. 7; Gal. iii. 
 26; iv. 2G; 1 Pet. i. 23. The Gentiles shall be in- 
 grafted into the Jewish church, and into all the privi- 
 leges. Poole. 
 
 ' 5. And of Sion it shall be reported &c.] And Sion, 
 the true sjiiritual Sion, shall he so enlarged, that it 
 shall be said of every professed Christian, that " he was 
 born in her;" and God shall so establish her, that "the 
 gates of hell shall not prevail against her," Matt. xvi. 
 IS. Bp. Hall. Alluding to the multitudes of converts, 
 under the Gospel ; the sons of that Jerusalem, " which 
 is the mother of us all," Gal. iv. 26. Bp. Home.
 
 572 
 
 thi& and 
 that man 
 was born in 
 her. £tb. 
 Trans. 
 shall count. 
 £ib. Trans. 
 
 As well the 
 singers as the 
 players oil in- 
 struments 
 shall be 
 there. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 Good Fritlav, 
 second Psalm 
 Even. Serv. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 d the 
 
 that he was born in her : an 
 most High shall stablish her. 
 
 6 The Lord shall rehearse it*" 
 when he writeth up the people : that 
 he was born there. 
 
 7 The singers also and trumpeters '^ 
 shall he rehearse : Ail my fresh 
 springs shall be in thee. 
 
 PSALM Ixxxviii." Domine Deus. 
 
 OLord God of my salvation i^, I 
 have cried day and night be- 
 fore thee : O let my prayer enter 
 into thy presence, incline thine ear 
 unto my calling. 
 
 '' 6. The Lord shall rehearse it &c.] In the book of 
 life, that register of heaven, kept by Cod Himself, our 
 names are entered, not as born of flesh and blood by 
 the will of man, but as born of water and the Spirit by 
 the will of God ; of eacli person it is written, " that lie 
 was born there," in the church and city of God. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 7. The singers also and trumpeters See.'] The words 
 "shall he rehearse" are not in the original. The 
 meaning is, there shall be great rejoicing and praising 
 God, both with vocal and instrumental musick, for this 
 glorious and stupendous work of the conversion of the 
 Gentdes. The Psalmist describes evangelical worship 
 by legal jjhrases and customs, as the prophets frequently 
 do. Poole. And the burden of the song, thus joyfully 
 sung in praise of Sion, was to be this, " All my fresh 
 sjjrings shall be in thee." Bp. Home. All the living 
 waters of true comfort, all graces, and all salvation, are 
 to be found in thee only, namely, the church of God. 
 Bp. Hall. And if such be indeed the incomjiarable 
 e.xcellence of the Church, and such the benefits of her 
 communion, as they have been set forth in the fore- 
 going verses, what anthem better deserves to be jicr- 
 formed by all her choirs ? In thee, O Sion, is the 
 fountain of salvation, and from thee are derived all 
 those springs of grace, which flow, by the divine ap- 
 pointment, while the world lasts, for the purification 
 and refreshment of mankind upon earth. Bp. Home. 
 
 •* Psalm l.\.\xviii.] This Psalm, as Mr. Mudgc ob- 
 serves, may well be said to be composed, according to 
 its title in the Hebrew, to create dejection, to raise a 
 l)9nsive gloom or melancholy in the mind ; the whole 
 subject of it being quite througliout heavy, and full of 
 the most dismal com])laints. The nature and degree 
 of the sufferings related in it ; the strcngtli of the ex- 
 pressions used to describe them ; the consent of ancient 
 expositors ; the ajiiiointment of the P.salm by the 
 Church to be read on (iood Friday; all these circmn- 
 stances concur in directing an u|)|ili('ation of the wliole 
 to our blessed Lord. His luu'xiiuipled sorrows, hot li 
 in body and soul; liis desertion in tlic day of trouble; 
 his liitter passion, and approaching death ; with his 
 frequent and fervent ])rayers for the iiccom])lishment of 
 the promises, for the salvation of the church through 
 Him, and for the manifestation of (iod's glory ; tlu'.se 
 are the particulars treated of in this instructive and 
 most affecting composition. Bp. Home. 
 
 It was originally udilressed unto (iod in time of some 
 heavy allhction, most probably in the time of the eaj)- 
 tivity. Dr. Iliimmn/ul. 
 
 ' 1. Lord (!od of my siitrnlion, \:c.] AVe hear in 
 these words the voice of our suU'ering Kcdeemcr. As 
 
 Dai/ 17. 
 
 2 For my soid is full of trouble ' : 
 and mv life draweth niah unto hell. "'« er^v^- 
 
 ., T 1 ,■ I „ ■B'S- Trans. 
 
 fi 1 am counted as one ot them^ seevocab. 
 that go down into the pit : and I 
 have been even as a man that hath 
 no strength. 
 
 4 Free among the dead'\ like unto 
 them that are wounded, and lie in 
 the grave : who are out of remem- 
 brance, and are cut away from thy 
 hand. 
 
 5 Thou hast laid me in the lowest 
 pit' : in a place of darkness, and in 
 the deep. 
 
 6 Thine indignation lieth hard 
 
 whom thou 
 rememberest 
 no more. 
 llib. Trans. 
 
 man, He addresseth Himself to his Father, "the Lord 
 God of his salvation," from whom He expected, accord- 
 ing to the promises, a joyful and triumphant resurrec- 
 tion : He ])leadeth the fervency and importunity of his 
 prayers, offered up continually, " day and night," during 
 the time of his humihation and sufferings; and He 
 entreateth to be heard in these his supplications for 
 his body mystical, as well as his body natural; for 
 Himself, and for us all. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. For my soul is full of trouble : &c.] Is not this 
 exactly parallel to what He said in the garden, " My 
 soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ?" " Full," 
 indeed, " of troubles " was thy " soul," O blessed 
 Jesus, in that dreadful hour, «hen, under the imited 
 weight of our sins and sorrows, thou wert sinking into 
 " the grave," in order to raise us out of it. Let us 
 judge of thy love by thy sufferings, and of both by the 
 impossibility of our fully comprehending either. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ 3. / am counted as one of them &c.] Next to the 
 troubles of Christ's soul, are mentioned the disgrace and 
 ignominy to which He submitted. He \\ho was the 
 fountain of immortality. He from whom no one could 
 take his life, who could in a moment have commanded 
 twelve legions of angels to his aid, or have caused 
 heaven aiul earth, at a word speaking, to lly away be- 
 fore Him, He was "counted with them that go down 
 into the pit ;" He died, to all appearance, like the rest 
 of mankind; nay. He was forcil)ly put to death, as a 
 malefactor; and seemed, in the hands of his execu- 
 tioners, "as a man that had no strength," no power or 
 might, to help and to save Himself. "His strength 
 went from him ; he became weak, and like another man." 
 The ]ieoplc shook their heads at Him, saying, " He 
 saved others ; liimself lie cannot save." Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 4. Free among the dead. &(•.] That is, set at liberty, 
 or dismissed from the world, and separated from all 
 communication with its affairs, as dead liodics are, 
 " like" other " corpses tliat lie in the grave, whom thou 
 rememl)eiTst no more," that is, as living objects of pro- 
 vidence upon earth : in this sense, " they are cut off 
 from (iod's hand," which held and supjiorted tliem in 
 life. And in no other sense can these ex]U'essions be 
 understood ; since to iniiigine that tlic I'.sahiiist, who 
 so often s])eaks in plain teiins of the resuriection, should 
 here, wlien personating Messiah, deny that doctrine, 
 would be a conceit ccpially alisurd, and inqiious. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 ' 5. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit ; &c.] The 
 sufferings of .lesus are reiiresented by his being jilunged 
 into a <lark and liorrihle abyss, with the indignation of 
 God, due to our sins, resting upon Hun, and all the
 
 Day 17. 
 
 I am shut 
 u|i. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 iiiid where all tilings 
 
 upon me : and thou hast vexed me 
 with all thy storms. 
 
 7 Thou hast put away mine ac- 
 quaintance'' far from me : and made 
 me to be abhorred of them. 
 
 8 I am so fast in prison : that I 
 cannot get forth. 
 
 9 My sight faileth ' for very trou- 
 ble : Lord, I have called daily upon 
 thee, I have stretched forth my 
 hands unto thee. 
 
 10 Dost thou shew wonders among 
 the dead" : or shall the dead rise up 
 again, and praise thee ? 
 
 1 1 Shall thy loving-kindness be 
 shewed in the grave : or thy faithful- 
 ness in destruction ? 
 
 12 Shall thy wondrous works be 
 known in the dark : and thy righte- 
 ousness in the 
 are forgotten ? 
 
 1.3 Unto thee have I cried, O 
 Lord" : and early shall my prayer 
 come before thee. 
 
 14 Lord, why abhorrcst thou my 
 
 waves of affliction rolling over Him. The same image 
 is used in Ps. Ixix, and many other places, hp. Home. 
 
 '^ 7. Tkou hast put away mine acquaintance &c.] At 
 the apprehension of Christ, " all his discijiles forsook 
 him and fled," Matt. xxvi. 50. Peter denied and ab- 
 jured his Master, as if his acquaintance had been a 
 disgrace and " an abomination :" at the crucifixion, it 
 is observed by St. Luke, that " all his acquaintance 
 stood afar off, beholding these things," xxiii. 49 ; be- 
 holding the innocent victim environed by his enemies, 
 and at length " shut up" in the seinilehre. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 9. My sight faileth &c.] This verse contains a reite- 
 ration of the complaint and prayer made at the begin- 
 ning of the Psalm. These are some of the "strong 
 cryings with tears," which, during the course of his 
 intercessions for ns upon earth, the Son of God poured 
 forth "in the days of his flesh," Heb. v. 7. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 "' 10 — 12. Dost thou show wonders among the dead: 
 &c.] It hath been sometimes thought, that these verses 
 imply a denial, or at least a doubt, of the resnrrection 
 from the dead ; whereas they contain, in reality, the 
 most powerful jilea that Christ Himself, in his jn-ayers 
 to the Father, could m-ge for it ; namely, that other- 
 %vise man would be dejirived of his salvation, and God 
 of the glory thence accruing. " Wilt thou shew won- 
 ders to the dead," while they continue in that state ; or 
 if thou shouldest, will they be sensible of those won- 
 ders, and make thee due returns of thankfulness ? 
 " Shall the dead rise up" in the congregation, " and 
 praise thee ?" Must they not live again to do that ? 
 " Shall thy loving-kindness" to the sons of Adam, in 
 me their Redeemer, " be declared ?" shall the Gospel be 
 preached, " in tlie grave ?" " or thy faithfulness," in 
 accomjilishing the jiromises concerning this loving- 
 kindness, shall it be manifested " in that destruction" 
 wrought by death upon the bodies of men i " Shall thy 
 wonders," the wonders of light and life and sahation, 
 " be known in the dark" tomb i " and thy righteous- 
 ness," which characterizes all thy dispensations, shall 
 it be remembered and proclaimed " in the land" of 
 
 THE PSALMS. .573 
 
 and hidest thou thy face from 
 
 soul ; 
 me ? 
 
 15 I am in misery", and like unto 
 him that is at the point to die : even 
 from my youtji u]) thy terrors have 
 I sidferod with a troubled nuud. 
 
 16 Thy wrathful disj)leasure goetli 
 over me : and the fear of thee hath 
 uiulone me. 
 
 17 They came rouiul about me 
 daily like water : and compassed me 
 together on every side. 
 
 18 My lovers and friends hast thou 
 put away from mer : and hid mine 
 acquaintance out of my sight. 
 
 EVENING PR A YE B. 
 
 PSALM Ixxxix.i Misericordias Domini. ChriKimas- 
 song shall be ahvay of the p'saimEvea. 
 oving-kindness of the Lord' : f," mercies. 
 with my mouth will I ever be shew- Bit. Trans. 
 ing thy truth from one generation to 
 another. 
 
 '2 For I have said, Mercy shall be 
 
 MT„ 
 
 silence and " forgetfulness ?" A Christian, upon the 
 bed of sickness, may undoubtedly plead with God, in 
 this manner, for a longer continuance of life, to glorify 
 Him here upon earth. But every respite of that kind 
 can be only temporary. All men, sooner or later, must 
 die; and then they can never more experience the 
 mercies, or sing the praises of God, unless they rise 
 again. So that if the argument hold in one case, it 
 certainly holdeth still stronger in the other. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 13, 14. Unto thee have I cried, Lord: &c.] Since 
 therefore the wonders, the loving-kindness, the faith- 
 fulness, and the righteousness of God, cannot be mani- 
 fested by man's redemption, if Messiah be left under 
 the dominion of death, he redoubles his ])rayers for 
 the promised deliverance ; and speaks of his redemption 
 in the hour of sorrow, as in Ps. xxii. 1, " My God, my 
 God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" &c. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 15 — 17. / am in misery, &c.] AVe are not to ima^ 
 gine that the holy Jesus suff'ered for us only at Gethse- 
 mane, and on mount Cah-ary. His whole life was one 
 continued passion ; a scene of labour and sorrow, of 
 contradiction and persecution ; " he was afflicted," as 
 never man was, •' from his youth up," from the hour 
 of his birth, when, thrust out from the society of men, 
 he made his bed in the stable at Bethlehem: He was 
 "ready to die," a victim destined and prepared for that 
 death, which, by anticipation. He tasted of through life ; 
 He saw the flaming sword of God's "fierce wTath" 
 waiting to "cut him off" from the land of the living; 
 the " terrors" of the Almighty set themselves in array 
 against Him, threatening, like the mountainous waves 
 of a tempestuous sea, to o\-erwhelm his amazed soul. 
 Let not the church be offended or despond, but rather 
 let her rejoice in her sufferings, by which, through 
 every period of her existence, from youth to age, she 
 " filleth up that which is behind of the afflictions of 
 Christ," who suffers and will be glorified in his jicople, 
 as He hath already suffered and been glorified for them. 
 See Col. i. 24. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 18. My lovers and friends hast thou put away from 
 me : &c.] It is mentioned again, as a most affecting
 
 574 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Daij 17, 
 
 is as surely 
 established 
 as the very 
 heavens 
 themselves. 
 Bp. Sail. 
 
 set up for ever : thy truth slialt thou 
 stablish in the heavens. 
 
 3 I have made a covenant with my 
 chosen^ : I have sworn unto David 
 my servant ; 
 
 4 Thy seed will I stablish for 
 ever : and set up thy throne from 
 one generation to another. 
 
 circumstance of Christ's passion, that He was entii-ely 
 forsaken, and left all alone, in that dreadful day. The 
 bitter cup was presented, filled to the brim, and He 
 drank it oiF to the dregs. No man could share in 
 those sufferings by which all other men were to be 
 redeemed. His " lovers and friends," his disciples and 
 acipiaintance, "were put far from him;" they all "for- 
 sook him, and fled," to hide themselves from the fury of 
 the Jews, " in darkness," in dark, that is, secret places. 
 Tlius it is WTitten in the Psalms, and thus in the Gos- 
 pels it is recorded to have happened. Oftentimes, O 
 blessed Jesu, do we forsake thee : but do not thou 
 forsake us, or take thy Holy Spirit from us. Bp. Home. 
 
 I PsAL.M Ixxxi.v.] Learned men are divided in their 
 opinion concerning the author, as well as the immediate 
 occasion, of this Psalm. The greater part of it is an 
 enumeration of God's goodness to his people, and of 
 his promises and threatenings towards them. In the 
 latter part there is a reference to some great calamity, 
 which had befallen them, so that the government was 
 subverted, and the royal family in danger of being ex- 
 tirjiated. The glorious things here spoken of David 
 and of his posterity, are prophetical of the Messiah ; and 
 can with strict proiiriety be applied only to Him. Truvell. 
 Many of the Jewish expositors refer this Psalm to the 
 Messiah. Bp. Horsley. 
 
 This Psalm is appointed by the Church to be read on 
 Christmas-day. It celebrates, ver. 1 — 4, the mercies of 
 God in Christ, promised to David ; 5 — 14, the almighty 
 power of Jehovah, manifested in his works and dispen- 
 sations; 15, his justice, mercy, and truth; 10 — 19, the 
 happiness and security of his people ; 20 — 36, his cove- 
 nant made with David, as the representative of Messiah, 
 who should come of his seed ; 3" — 44, the church 
 lamenteth her distressful state, at the time when this 
 Psalm was jicnned ; 45 — 50, she |)rayeth for the accom- 
 plishment of the promise ; and, in the mean time, 50, 
 blesseth Jehovah. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' I . My sonfl shall he alway of the loving-kindness of 
 the Lord: &c.] "The loving-kindness" or "mercies of 
 the Lord" have ever employed the voices of believers to 
 celebrate them. These mercies were ])n>uiises to the 
 human race, in their great representative and surety, 
 before the world began ; 2 Tim. i. ; Tit. i. 2 : they 
 were prefigured Ijy ancient dispensations ; and, in part, 
 fulfilled, at the incarnation of Clnist. The " faithful- 
 ness" of God, in so fuKiUing them, is now "made 
 known," by the holy services of the Christian church, 
 "to all generations." Bp. Ilorne. 
 
 ' 3. / have made a covenant with my chosen : &c.] The 
 two former verses set forth a jirofession of faith in 
 God's mercy : these two assign the ground of such 
 faith; namely, tlie covenant which (!od is here intro- 
 duced as declaring that He had marie witli David, and 
 whicli He did make witli him by tlie ])rophi't Xatlian ; 
 2 Sam. vii. 12, Ifcr,. Tlie covenant relates to David's 
 "seed," and to the "establishment of his throne" in 
 that seed ; literally, in Solomon for a time ; spii-itually, 
 in ('hrist for ever; " Whtm thy days shall be fuHilled, 
 and thou sliult sleep with thy fathers, I will set uj) thy 
 
 5 O Lord, the very heavens' shall 
 praise thy wondrous works : and thy 
 truth in the coiigresration of 
 saints. 
 
 6 For who is he among" 
 clouds" : that shall be coinj>ared unto intiiehea 
 the Lord? 
 
 and the 
 
 d' saints thy ' 
 '^ faithfulness 
 in tlie con- 
 gregation, 
 the ^P- Home. 
 
 7 And what is he 
 
 the 
 
 veil. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, 
 and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an 
 house for my name, and 1 wxW establish the throne of 
 his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he 
 shall be my son." These last words are cited by the 
 apostle, Heb. i. 5, as spoken of Christ, to evince his 
 superiority over the angels. Yet, that the whole pas- 
 sage does, in the letter, relate to Solomon, can admit of 
 no doubt, he being the " seed " and immediate suc- 
 cessor of David, and the person appointed to " buUd 
 an house for God's name." Here then we have an 
 incontestable proof, that the covenant with David had 
 Messiah for its object ; that Solomon was a figure of 
 Him ; and that the Scripture hath sometimes a double 
 sense. It is moreo\-er to be observed, that the cove- 
 nants made with Abraham, David, &c., all had their 
 original and foundation in the covenant made with 
 Messiah, who was the true Father of the faithful, the 
 beloved and chosen of God ; the great Prophet, Priest, 
 and King; the only person qualitied to be a sponsor, 
 and to engage in a covenant with the Father for man- 
 kind. His sufferings were the price of our redemption : 
 and because He suffered in the flesh, as " the Son of 
 David," therefore is He " established for ever, and his 
 throne built up to all generations." Remarkable are 
 the words of the angel to Mary ; " The Lord God shall 
 give unto him the throne of his father David ; and he 
 shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his 
 kingdom there shall be no end," Luke i. 32. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 5. Lord, the very heavens &c.] Did not " the 
 heavens ]iraise the wonders of Jehovah," when a choir 
 of angels descended from above, to sing an anthem, at 
 the l)irth of Christ? And how must the celestial com-ts 
 have resounded with the hallehijahs of those blessed 
 spirits, when thi'y again received their King, returning 
 in triumph from the coni|uest of his enemies ? Nor do 
 "the saints" omit to celehrate God's " faithfulness in 
 the congregation" upon caitli, while "with angels and 
 archangels, and all the com]iany of heaven, they laud 
 and magnify liis glorious name, evermore jiraising Ilim, 
 and saying, Holy, lioly.holy, l^ordGod of hosts, heaven 
 and earth are lull of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O 
 Lord most high." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 6 — f). For u'ho is he atnonfi the clouds : &c.] These 
 verses proclaim that right and title which Jehovah bath 
 to the i)raisesof all his creatures in "heaven and earth." 
 No one of them, however excellent and glorious, how- 
 ever deified and adored by fond and foolish man, can 
 enter the lists, and contest the superiority with its 
 Maker. High over all is the throne of God : before 
 Ilim "angels" veil their faces, "saints" prostrate thein- 
 sehes with lowest reverenre, and created nature 
 trembles at his word: his "power "is iilmighty, and 
 derived from none; and with "truth" He is on all 
 aides invested as with a garment : the former enables 
 Him, the latter (if we may so exjiress it) binds Ilim, to 
 perforin tliose gracious promises, which mercy promjited 
 lliui to make, concerning our eternal redemption. Bp. 
 Home.
 
 Day 17. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 575 
 
 the highest 
 
 assembly. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 gjods : that Siiall be like unto the 
 Lord ? 
 
 8 God is very jj^reatly to be feared 
 in the council of the saints : and to 
 be had in reverence of all them that 
 are round about him. 
 
 9 O Lord God of hosts, who is 
 like unto thee : thy truth, most 
 mighty Lord, is on every side. 
 
 JO Thou rulest the raging of the 
 sea" : thou stillest the waves thereof 
 when they arise. 
 
 11 Thou hast subdued Egypt >', 
 and destroyed it : thou hast scattered 
 thine enemies abroad with thy mighty 
 arm. 
 
 12 The heavens are thine % the 
 earth also is thine : thou hast laid 
 the foinidation of the round world, 
 and all that therein is. 
 
 13 Thou hast made the north and 
 the south : Tabor and Hermon shall 
 rejoice in thy Name. 
 
 14 Thou hast a mighty arm'': 
 strong is thy hand, and high is thy 
 right hand. 
 
 ' 10. Thou rulest the raying of the sea: &c.] The 
 extent of the ocean, the multitude of its waves, and 
 their fury when excited by a storm, render it, in that 
 state, the most tremendous object in nature ; nor doth 
 any thinjr, which man beholds, give Him so just an 
 idea of human impotence, and of that divine power 
 which can excite and calm so boisterous an element at 
 ])leasure. God Himself therefore frequently appeals to 
 this instance of his omnipotence, see Job xxxviii. 1 1 ; 
 Jer. V. 22 : an attribute of which our Lord shewed Him- 
 self to have been possessed, when, being with his dis- 
 ciples in the ship. He arose and rebuked a tempestuous 
 wind and a raging sea, and there was instantly a calm. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 y 11. Thotthast subdued Egypt, Sic.l The destruction 
 of Pharaoh and the Egyptians is here mentioned as 
 another instance of God's mighty po«'er. And it is 
 probable, that the foregoing verse was intended to 
 allude more particularly to that miraculous exertion of 
 God's sovereignty over the waters, the division of the 
 Red Sea, which hajiiiened at the same time ; as these 
 two events are generally spoken of together. See Isa. 
 ]i. 9, 10. The same power, which effected all this, hath 
 since, in Christ Jesus, overcome the world, destroyed 
 the works of the devil, and ransomed mankind from 
 the depths of the grave. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 12, 13. The heavens are thine, &c.~\ The "heavens," 
 and all the glorious bodies there ranged in beautiful 
 order ; the " earth," with its rich furniture, and the 
 unnumbered tribes of its inhabitants, through its whole 
 extent, from " north to south," and from east to %vest ; 
 all these are so many evidences of that wisdom and 
 power which at the beginning contrived and formed 
 them ; all, in their respective ways, declare the glory, 
 and speak the praises, of their great Creator ; but 
 chiefly, the holy land, and the fruitful hills which 
 adorned it. "Tabor" in one part, and " Hermon " in 
 another, formerly seemed, as it were, to " rejoice " and 
 sing, for the abundant favour's showered down upon 
 
 Justice and 
 judgment 
 are tlic habi- 
 tation (ft iliy 
 thnine. Jtib. 
 Trans. 
 
 and in thy righteousness 
 
 raise us to an 
 high degree 
 of dicnity. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mojiil. 
 
 thy prop]iefs, 
 Samuel and 
 Nathan. Bp. 
 Hall. 
 
 15 Righteousness and equity'' are 
 the habitation of thy seat : mercy and 
 truth shall go before thy face. 
 
 Ifi Blessed is the people, O Lord, 
 that can rejoice in thee : they shall 
 walk in the light of thy counte- 
 nance. 
 
 17 Their delight shall be daily in 
 thy Name 
 shall they make their boast. 
 
 18 For thou art the glory of their 
 strength : and in thy loving-kindness 
 thou shalt lift up our horns. 
 
 19 For the Lord is our defence : 
 tlie Holy One of Israel is our King. 
 
 20 Thou spakest sometime in 
 vi-sions"^ unto thy saints, and saidst : 
 I have laid help upon one that is 
 mighty ; I have exalted one chosen 
 out of the people. 
 
 21 I have found David my ser- 
 vant^ : with my holy oil have I 
 anointed him. 
 
 22 My hand shall hold him fast • 
 and my arm shall strengthen him. 
 
 23 The enemy shall not be able " 
 
 them by the God of Israel, who hath since caused all 
 nations no less to exult and triumph in his saving 
 name. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 14. Thou hast a mighty arm : &c.] The Psalmist, 
 having produced and meditated on some eminent in- 
 stances of divine power, draws this general conclusion 
 from the premises. Towards the Christian church 
 "the arm of Jehovali " hath been revealed in a still 
 more extraordinary manner. She reflecteth on the 
 wonders wi-ought by Jesus ; a conquest over more 
 formidable enemies than Pharaoh and his Egyptians ; 
 a redemption from more cruel bondage ; salvation from 
 sin and death ; a new creation, new hea\-ens, and new 
 earth, a new Jerusalem, and a s])iritual Sion. With 
 additional conviction may she therefore exclaim, "Thou 
 hast a mighty arm ; strong is thy hand, and high is thy 
 right hand !" Bp. Home. 
 
 ■■ 15. Righteousness and equity &c.] Although the 
 power of God be infinite, yet it is never exerted, but 
 under the direction of his other attributes. When He 
 goeth, as a judge, to his tribunal, " mercy and truth go 
 before his face ;" they are represented as preceding 
 Him, to give notice of his advent and to prejiare his 
 way. " All the ways," or dispensations, " of the Lord," 
 as it is elsewhere observed, " are mercy and truth," Ps. 
 XXV. 10; they are the substance of all his revelations, 
 which either promise salvation, or relate the perform- 
 ance of such promises. By these is man warned and 
 pre|)ared for " judgment ;" which is to be the last and 
 finishing scene. And when the great Judge of aU the 
 earth shall from his throne jjronounee the uTeversible 
 sentence, not a creature then present shall be able to 
 accuse that sentence of injustice. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 20. Thou spakest sometime in visions &c.] Tlie 
 covenant made with David was mentioned in general 
 terms above, at verses 3, 4. But a more particular ac- 
 count is now given of God's dispensations relative to 
 the son of Jesse, and his posterity. Bp. Home. 
 
 Tliis, and what follows, had a most eminent com-
 
 576 
 
 THE PSALMS, 
 
 the most 
 malicious. 
 Bp. Palricl!. 
 
 higher than the kings of the 
 
 to do him violence : the son of wick- 
 edness shall not hurt him. 
 
 24 1 will smite down his foes be- 
 fore his face : and plague them that 
 hate him. 
 
 25 My truth also and my mercy 
 shall be with him : and in my Name 
 shall his horn be exalted. 
 
 26 I will set his dominion ^ also in 
 the sea : and his right hand in the 
 floods. 
 
 27 He shall call me e, Thou art 
 my Father : my God, and my strong 
 salvation. 
 
 28 And I will make him my first- 
 born 
 earth 
 
 29 INIy mercy will I keep for him ■> 
 for evermore : and my covenant shall 
 stand fast with him. 
 
 30 His seed also will I make to 
 
 pletion in the spiritual kingdom of the Messiah, the 
 eternal Son of God, who should be born of the seed 
 and lineage of David. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 "■ 21, 22. / have found David my servant : &c.] David 
 was the ser\-ant of God ; he was, by the l'ro])het 
 Samuel, anointed with oil; he was strengthened and 
 established in his kingdom, by the hand and arm of 
 Jeho\-ah. But never let Christians fail, in this emi- 
 nently figurative character, to contemplate that true 
 David, (for so He is called, Ezek. xx.xiv. 23 ; x.vxvii. 
 25,) the beloved Son of God ; "the servant and elect 
 of Jeho\-ah, in tt-hom his soul delighted, and on whom 
 he put his S[)irit," Isa. xlii. 1 : whom He " anointed 
 with his holy oil, with the oil of gladness, with the 
 Holy Ghost and with power," Ps. xlv. 7 ; Acts x. 38 ; 
 whom He strengthened, and established in his spiritual 
 kingdom, with his hand and arm, and the might of his 
 omnipotence. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 23 — 25. The eiietny shall not be able &c.] These 
 promises were fulfilled to David, when God ilelivered 
 him out of the hand of Saul, and of all his other adver- 
 saries. See 2 Sam. xxii. 1. And in what a full, perfect, 
 and divine sense, were they verified to Christ ! 'I'hat 
 subtle enemy, " which deceivcth the whole world," was 
 not able to deceive Him ; neither the sons nor the father 
 of wickedness could overthrow and siibdne Him ; all 
 opposition fell before Him, and they who hated Him 
 suffered unparalleled desolation ; the jiromiscd faithful- 
 ness and mercy of Jehovah were e\'er with Him, and 
 his kingdom was exalted with glory and honour. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 2(5. / toill set his dominion &c.] 'Hie dominions of 
 David and his son Solomon extended from the Medi- 
 terranean "sea" to the "rivers" Euphrates, &c. ; the 
 cmjiire of Christ is luiiversal over Jews and Gentiles, 
 throughout all the earth. See Ps. Ixxii. 8, &c. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 2", 2S. He shall call me, &c.] All this, if in some 
 respects true of David, is much more cm|)hatically so 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ. ".Son of (iod" is one of 
 his distinguished titles ; of "the I'allier" He continually 
 spoke, and to the Father He addressed his prayers and 
 cries, in the days of his flesh ; as man He was raiscil 
 and exalted by the power and glory of the Divinity ; He 
 
 my judge- 
 
 Daij 17. 
 
 endure for ever : and his throne as 
 the days of heaven. 
 
 31 But if his children forsake my 
 law' : and walk not in 
 ments ; 
 
 32 If they break my statutes, and 
 keep not my commandments : I will 
 visit their oft'ences with the rod, and 
 their sin with scourges. 
 
 33 Nevertheless, my loving-kind- 
 ness will I not utterly take from him : 
 nor suffer my truth to fail. 
 
 34 My covenant will 1 not break, 
 nor alter the thing that is gone out 
 of my lips : I have sworn once by 
 my holiness'^, that I will not fail 
 David. 
 
 35 His seed shall endure for ever : 
 
 and his seat is like as the sun before throne, bu. 
 
 1 rails. 
 
 me. 
 
 36 He shall stand fast for ever- 
 
 was " the first-born of every creature, the first-begotten 
 from the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth," 
 Col. i. 15; Rev. i. 5. Bp. Home. 
 
 "" 29, 30. My mercy will I keep for him &c.] God 
 kept his mercy and covenant with David, by jjreserving 
 the line of his jjosterity, until his great antitype, Mes- 
 siah, the subject of all the in-omises, came, by whom the 
 kingdom was established for ever, being changed into 
 a spiritual one, which is to be transferred from earth to 
 hea\-en, and rendered coeval with those eternal mansions 
 of the blessed. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 31 — 34. But if his children forsake my law: &c.] 
 The posterity of David were to enjoy God's favom-, or 
 be deprived of it, as they proved obedient ordisol)edient 
 to his "law;" as they executed or perverted its civil 
 "judgments;" as they observed or neglected its cere- 
 monial " statutes," or religious institutions ; as they 
 kept or broke its " commandments," or moral precepts. 
 \\ hen they became rebellious, idolatrous, and ])rotiigate, 
 the rod was lifted up, and due chastisement inflicted, 
 sometimes by the iunnediatehaud of heaven, sometimes 
 by the instrumentality of their heathen adversaries ; 
 famine and jiestilence, war and captivity, were at differ- 
 ent times emi)loyed to reclaim backsliding Israel. Uut 
 still, the " covenant" of God in Christ stood sure ; the 
 Jewish nation was jn'cserved, through all changes and 
 revolutions, " until the Seed came to whom the promise 
 was made;" nor was Jerusalem destroyed, before the 
 new and spiritual kingdom of Messiah was set uj) in the 
 earth, (.'hristian coumnuiities, and the individuals that 
 compose them, are in like manner corrccteil and ])U- 
 nished for their oU'ences. " Nevertheless, God's loving- 
 kinilncss will he not utterly take from us, nor suffer his 
 faithfulness to fail. His covenant will he not break, 
 nor alter the thing that is gone out of hi? lips." So, 
 " I am with you always," says the Redeemer, " even to 
 the end of the world ; and the gates of hell shall not 
 prevail against my churdi," Matt, xxviii. 20; xvi. IS. 
 Xor shall tlic world be destroyed, tnitil Christ come 
 agniti, and his glorious kingdom be ready to appear. 
 lip. Home. 
 
 ^ 31. — I have sworn once by my holiness, &c.] The 
 promise, covenant, and oath of (Jod, which lie declarcth 
 shall ne\er fail, are here repeated. They relate to
 
 made voH. 
 Bill. Turns. 
 
 Daij 17. 
 
 more as tlie moon : and as tlie faith- 
 ful witness in heaven. 
 
 37 But thou liast abhorred' and 
 forsaken tliino Anointed : and art 
 dispk'ased at him. 
 
 38 riiou iiast broken the cove- 
 nant of thy servant : and cast las' 
 crown to the jrround. 
 
 39 Thou hast overthrown all his 
 hedges "' : and broken down his 
 strong holds. 
 
 40 All they that go by spoil him : 
 and he is become a reproach to his 
 neighbours. 
 
 41 Thou hast set up the right 
 hand of his enemies : and made all 
 his ad\'ersaries to rejoice. 
 
 42 I'hou hast taken away the 
 edge of his sword : and 
 not victory in the battle. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 577 
 
 givest him 
 
 Christ, that "Seed," or "Son of David," who "en- 
 dureth for ever." His throne is as resplendent as the 
 " sun," and shall continue, after that luminary is extin- 
 guished : his church is permanent as the " moon," 
 though, like her, subject to vicissitudes, and liable, for 
 a time, to be obscured by eclipses, during her (jrescnt 
 state upon earth. And while the rainbow shall be seen 
 in the clouds, man has " a faithful witness in heaven" 
 of the immutable truth of (iod's word, and the infal- 
 lible accomplishment of what He promises. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 37, 33. But t/iou hast abhorred &c.] In the former 
 part of our Psalm, we have seen what the divine [jro- 
 mises were, which had been made to the house of 
 David. By the latter part, upon which we are entering, 
 it appears, that the Psalm was written at a time, when 
 the church of Israel was in such a manner oppressed 
 and reduced by her enemies, that her members began 
 almost to desjjair of those promises receiving their ac- 
 complishment. God seemed to have "cast oif" and 
 "abhorred" his "anointed" and "servant," that is, 
 David, or rather the prince of his family, who was upon 
 the throne when this captivity and desolation hapjiened; 
 the "covenant" seemed to be overturned and "made 
 void," when the " crown" of Israel was defiled in the 
 dust. Bp. Home. 
 
 "■ 39 — 44. Thou ha.it overthroion all his hedges : &c.] 
 The manifold calamities of Sion are in these verses enu- 
 merated : the demolition of fences and fortifications ; 
 the cruel ravages consequent thereupon ; the shame of 
 defeats ; the reproaches and insults of victorious ad\-er- 
 saries; the dishonours of violent and untimely death. 
 In days like these here described, when the church and 
 the king are permitted to fall into the hands of those 
 who hate them, and to drink thus deeply of the cup of 
 affliction, distrust and despondency are a|)t to seize 
 upon the minds of men. Nay, when the faithful few 
 beheld the true "Son of David," and "Anointed" of 
 Jehovah, in the day of his sufferings ; when they saw 
 Him, without help or defence, " spoiled and reproached 
 by his neighbours ;" when they viewed " the right hand 
 of his adversaries set up," and all his " enemies rejoic- 
 ing" over Him ; his " glory made to cease," and his 
 " crown ])rofaned in the dust ; the days of his youth 
 shortened," and Himself delivered over to a " shame- 
 ful" as well as painful death; they then began to 
 
 43 Thou hast put out his glory : 
 and cast his throne down to the 
 ground. 
 
 44 The days of his youth hast 
 thou shortened : and covered him 
 with dishonour. 
 
 45 Lord, how long wilt thou hide 
 thyself", for ever : and shall thy 
 v.rath burn like fire ? 
 
 4G O remcndjer how short my 
 time is : wherefore hast thou made 
 all men for nought ? 
 
 47 What man is he that livcth, 
 and shall not see death : and shall 
 he deliver his soul from the hand of 
 hell? 
 
 48 Lord, where are thy old lov- 
 ing-kindnesses : which thou swarest 
 unto David in thy truth ? 
 
 49 Remember, Lord, the rebuke" 
 
 llie grave. 
 Bit). Trans. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 reproach. 
 Bilj. Tram. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 think "the covenant made void," and the promises 
 at an end. "We trusted," said they, "that it had 
 been he who should have redeemed Israel ! " Luke 
 xxiv. 21. And although Christ be long since risen 
 from the dead, and ascended into heaven, yet tlie preva- 
 lence of iniquity, and the 0])])ression of the church, have 
 been, and in the last days «'ill be, such, as to put the 
 faith and hope of his servants to a sore trial, while they 
 wait for his second, as the ancient Jews did for his first 
 advent. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 45 — 48. Lord, how lony wilt thon hide thyself, &c.] 
 This is the humble and dutifxd ex[)Ostulation of the 
 church with God in all her distresses ujion the earth. 
 By asking, " How long, Lord ? wilt thou be angr)' for 
 ever ? " she tacitly plcadeth his promise not to be so : 
 she urgeth the shoi'tness of man's life here below, the 
 universality of the fatal sentence, the impossibility of 
 avoiding death, and, if nothing farther was to happen, 
 the frustration of the divine counsels concerning man. 
 From thence she entreateth God to remember the 
 " loving-kindnesses" once promised by Him with an 
 oath to David, as related in the former part of the 
 Psalm. These "loving-kindnesses" are called, in 
 Isaiah, Iv. 3, " the sure mercies of David ;" which 
 " sure mercies of Da^■id " are affii'med by St. Paul, 
 Acts xiii. 34, to have been then confirmed on Israel, 
 when, in the person of Jesus, God raised our nature 
 from the grave. To a resurrection, therefore, believers 
 have ever aspired ; thither have they directed their 
 wishes, and on that event have they fixed their hopes, 
 as the end of temporal sorrows, and the beginning of 
 eternal joys. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 49. Remember, Lord, the rebuke &c.] The last ar- 
 gument urged by the church, in her expostulation with 
 God for a speedy redemption, is, the continual reproach 
 to which she was subject, on account of the promise 
 being delayed. The " mighty people," or heathen 
 nations, who held her in captivity, and were witnesses 
 of her wTetched and forlorn estate, ridiculed her pre- 
 tensions to perpetuity of em])ire in the house of David ; 
 they blasphemed the God, who was said to have made 
 such promises; and "reproached the footsteps," or 
 mocked at the tardy advent of his Messiah, who was 
 to establish in Israel his everlasting throne. All these 
 cruel taunts and insults she was obliged " to bear in 
 
 '•.; P
 
 578 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 18. 
 
 all the 
 mighty peo- 
 ple. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 Burial of the 
 Dead. 
 
 and saye t 
 Iteturn. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 that thy servants have : and how I 
 do bear in n-.y bosom the rebukes of 
 many people ; 
 
 50 Wherewith thine enemies have 
 blasphemed tliee, and slandered the 
 footsteps of thine Anointed : Praised 
 be the Lord for evermore p. Amen, 
 and Amen. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xc.'' Domine, refugium. 
 
 LORD, thou hast been our re- 
 fuge ■■ : from one generation to 
 another. 
 
 2 Before the mountains were 
 lirought forth, or ever the earth and 
 the world were made : thou art God 
 from everlasting, and world without 
 end. 
 
 3 Thou turnest man to destruc- 
 tion' : again thou say est, Come 
 again, ye children of men. 
 
 her bosom," and there to suppress them in silence, 
 haj'ing nothing to answer in the day of her calamity 
 and seeming destitution. St. Peter gives us a hke 
 account of the state of the Christian church in the 
 latter tlays ; he exhorts us to be " mindful of the words 
 which were sjioken before by the holy ])ropbets, and of 
 the commandments of the apostles of tlie Lord and 
 Sa\-iour, because there shall come in the last days 
 scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, 
 Where is the promise of his coming ?" 2 Pet. iii. 2 — 4. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 p 50, — Praised be the Lord for evermore. Sec.'] But 
 whatever be at any time our distress, either as a com- 
 munity or as individuals, still are we to belie\'e, still to 
 liope, still to bless and praise Jehovah, whose word is 
 true, whose works are faithful, whose cliastisements 
 are mercies, and all whose ])romises are, in Christ Jesus, 
 yea, and amen, for evermore. Bp. Home. 
 
 •> Psalm xc] This Psalm is called, in its title, "A 
 prayer of Moses, the man of (ioil." liy him it is ima- 
 gined to have been comjiosed, when God shortened the 
 days of the murmuring Israelites in the wililerness. 
 See Numb. xiv. It is, however, a Psalm of general use, 
 and is made, by the Church, a part of her funeral ser- 
 vice. It containeth, 1, 2, an address to the eternal 
 and unchangeable (iod, the Saviour and Preserver of 
 bis people ; 3 — Id, a most affecting description of man's 
 mortal and transitory state on earth since the fall ; 11, 
 a complaint, that few meditate in such a manner upon 
 death, as to jjrejjare themselves for it; 12, a prayer for 
 grace so to do ; 1.3—1", and for the mercies of redemp- 
 tion. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1, 2. Lord, Ihou ha.<!t been our refuge: &c.] The 
 Psalmist, about to describe man's Meeting and transi- 
 tory state, first directeth us to contemplate the un- 
 cliangeable nature ami attributes of (iod, who bath 
 alwavs been a " <hveHiMg-])lacc," or place of defence 
 and "refuge, affording protection and comfort to his 
 jieople in the world, as lie jiromised to be before the 
 world began, and will, in a more glorious manner, con- 
 tinue to be after its dissolution. See, for a parallel, 
 Ps. cii. 2.5, Hic, with St. Paul's ai)])lication, lleb. i. 10. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 4 For a thousand years' in thy 
 sight are but as yesterday : seeing 
 that is past as a watch in the night. 
 
 5 As soon as thou scatterest them, 
 they are even as a sleep : and fade 
 away suddenly like the grass. 
 
 6 In the morning it is green, and 
 growetii up : but in the evening it is 
 cut down, dried up, and withered. 
 
 7 For we consume away in thy 
 displeasure" : and are afraid at thy 
 wrathful indignation. 
 
 8 Thou hast set our misdeeds be- 
 fore thee : and our secret sins in the 
 light of thy countenance. 
 
 9 For when thou art angry all our 
 davs are gone : we bring our years 
 to an end, as it were a tale that is 
 told. 
 
 10 The days of our age are three- 
 score years and ten ^ ; and though 
 men be so strong, that they come to 
 fourscore years : yet is their strength 
 
 ' 3. Thou turnest man to destruction : &c.] Death was 
 the ]ienalty inflicted on man for sin. The latter part 
 of the verse alludes to the fatal sentence, Gen. iii. 19, 
 " Dust thou art, and unto dust sbalt thou return." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 As if it were said, to some as thduspeakest the word, 
 their breath is extinguished, and thou takest back to 
 thyself those souls, «hich thou didst before unite with 
 human bodies. See Eccles. xii. 7. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' 4. For a thousand years &c.] The connexion be- 
 tween the verse preceding, and the verse now before 
 us, seems to be this, God sentenced man to death. 
 It is true the execution of the sentence was at first de- 
 ferred, and the term of human life suffered to extend 
 to near a thousand years. But what was even that, 
 what is any period of time, or time itself, if compared 
 with the duration of the Eternal } All time is equal, 
 when it is jiast; a tlunisatul years, when gone, are for- 
 gotten as yesterday ; and the longest life of man, to a 
 ]ierson who looks back upon it, may ajijiear only as 
 three hours, or one (piartcr of the night. Bp. Hume. 
 
 It seems to have liecn a very ancient custom to divide 
 the night into four jiortious, of three hours each, called 
 watches. See Luke xii. 38. Tracett. 
 
 " 7. For we consume away in thy displeasure : &c.] 
 'Pile generations of men arc troubled and consumed by 
 divers diseases, and sundry kinds of death, through the 
 displeasure of God ; his (lis])leasure is occasioned by 
 their sins, all of which lie sceth and punisheth. If 
 Moses HTote this Psalm, the provocations and chastise- 
 ments of Israel are licre alluded to. But the case of 
 the Israelites in the wilderness is the case of Christians 
 in the world ; and the same thing is true both in tliem 
 and in us. B/i. Home. 
 
 • 10. The days of our age are threescore years and 
 ten ; &c.] This again might be primarily sjwken by 
 Moses, concerning Israel. 'I'be generation of those 
 who came out of P-gypt, from twenty years old and 
 upwards, fell within the space of forty years, in the 
 wilderness ; Numb. xiv. 2!) ; and they wlio lived longest 
 experienced only laliour and sorrow, imtil they were 
 cut oil', like grass, and, liy the breatli of God's displea- 
 sure, blown nway from tlie face of the earth. Like tho
 
 Day 18. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 579 
 
 So tcacli us. 
 Bi'i. Trans. 
 
 speedily or 
 seasonaljly. 
 
 aceording 
 to tlie days. 
 Bill. Trails. 
 afflictt-d 
 Bib. Tiaiis. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 then but labour and sorrow ; so soon 
 passetli it away, and we are gone. 
 
 11 But wlio regardetli the power 
 of thy wratli^ : for even thereafter 
 as a man feareth, so is thy displea- 
 sure. 
 
 12 O teach us to number our 
 days^ : that we may apply our hearts 
 unto wisdom. 
 
 13 Turn thee again, O Lord, at 
 the last : and be gracious unto thy 
 servants. 
 
 14 O satisfy us with thy mercy, 
 and that soon : so shall we rejoice 
 and be glad all the days of our life. 
 
 15 Comfort us again now after 
 the time that thou hast plagued us : 
 and for the years wherein we have 
 suffered adversity. 
 
 1 6 Shew thy servants thy work ^ : 
 and their children thy glory. 
 
 17 And the glorious Majesty of 
 the Lord our God be upon us : pros- 
 per thou the work of oiu- hands upon 
 us, O prosper thou our liandy-work. 
 
 Israelites, we have been brought out of Egypt, and 
 sojourn in the wilderness ; like them, we murmur, and 
 offend God our Saviour ; like them, we fall and perish. 
 To the age of seventy years few of us can hope to 
 attain ; labour and sorrow are our portion in the world ; 
 we are mowed down, as this year's grass of the field ; we 
 fly away, and are no more seen in the land of the 
 living. Bp. Home. 
 
 ? 1 1 . But who re'jardeth the power of thy wrath : &c.] 
 Yet notwithstanding thy awakening judgments, who is 
 the man that makes a right use of them, and is in- 
 structed thereby to take warning against sin ? And yet 
 it is very certain, that God's vengeance will be severer 
 against those who are incorrigible, and who do not learn 
 to reverence and obey Ilim under his chastisements. 
 Dr. Nlcholls. 
 
 ' \'2. teach us to number our clays: &c.] He, who 
 " numbereth his days," or taketh a right account of 
 the sliortness of this present life, compared with the 
 unnumbered ages of that eternity which is future, will 
 soon become a proficient in the school of true wisdom. 
 He will learn to give the preference where it is due; 
 to do good, and suffer evil, upon earth, expecting the 
 reward of both in heaven. Make us wise, blessed Lord, 
 but wise unto salvation. Bji. Home. 
 
 " IG, 17. Shew thy servants thy work: &c.] The re- 
 demption of man is that " work" of God, whereby his 
 " glory" is manifested to all generations, and which all 
 generations do therefore long to behold accomplished. 
 For this jiurpose the faithful beseech God to let his 
 " beauty," his splendour, the light of his countenance, 
 his grace and favour, be upon them ; to " establish the 
 work of their hands," to bless, prosper, and perfect them 
 in their Christian course and warfare; until, through 
 Him, they shall be enabled to subdue sin, and triumph 
 over death. Bp. Home. 
 
 *■ Ps.^LM xci] The prophet, 1 — 10. declareth the 
 security of the righteous man under the care and i)ro- 
 tection of heaven, in times of danger, when, II, 12, 
 a guard of angels is set about him. 13, His final vic- 
 
 PSALM xci.'' Qui hnhitat. 
 
 O dwclleth under the 
 ice"^ of the most High : 
 
 WHOS 
 delen( 
 shall abide under the shadow of the 
 Almighty. 
 
 '2 I will say unto the Lord, Thou 
 art my hope, and my strong hold : 
 my God, in him will I trust. 
 
 For he shall deliver thee from 
 the snare of the hunter : and from 
 the noisome pestilence. 
 
 4 He shall defend thee under his 
 wings'', and thou shalt be safe 
 under his feathers : his faithfulness 
 and truth shall be thy shield and 
 buckler. 
 
 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for any 
 terror by night : nor for the arrow 
 that flieth by day; 
 
 6 For the pestilence that walketh 
 in darkness : nor for the sickness 
 that destroycth in the noon-day. 
 
 7 A thousand shall fall beside 
 thee'^, and ten thousand at thy right 
 
 tory over the enemies of his salvation is foretold ; and, 
 14 — 16, God Himself is introduced, promising hira 
 deliverance, exaltation, glory, and immortality. The 
 Psalm is addresseil, primai'ily, to Messiah. That it 
 relateth to Him, Jews and Christians are agreed ; and 
 the devil. Matt. iv. 6, cited two verses from it, as uni- 
 versally known and allowed to have been spoken of 
 Him. Bp. Hume. 
 
 The ])enman of this Psalm is uncertain. Poole. It 
 should be understood as applicable to all other pious 
 men, as well as the writer, according to the general 
 a])horism, ver. 1 : and in a most eminent manner to 
 the Messiah. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 " 1. IVhoso dwelh'th under the defence &c.] He, that 
 puts himself under the jirotection of the .Almighty, shall 
 be sure to be safely preserved under the shadow of his 
 wings. Bp. Hull. 'I'he description is eminently ajipli- 
 cable to the man Christ Jesus. He is represented as 
 dwelling, like the ark in the holy of holies, under the 
 immediate "shadow" and protection of the Almighty, 
 who was his "refuge and fortress" against the open 
 attacks of his enemies ; his jircserver from the " snares" 
 of the devil, and from the universal contagion of sin, 
 that spiritual "pestilence." In all dangers, whether 
 spiritual or corporeal, the members of Christ's mystical 
 body may retlect %vith comfort, that they are under the 
 same Almighty Protector. Bp. Hume. 
 
 ■* 4. He shall defend thee under his wings: &c.] The 
 security afforded by a superintending Proi-idence to 
 those who trust therein, is here, with the utmost beauty 
 and elegance, comjjared to that shelter, which the yoimg 
 of birds are always sure to find under the " wings " of 
 their dam, when fear causeth them to fly thither for 
 refuge ; see Dent, x.vxii. 1 1 ; Matt, xxiii. 3/. The 
 "truth" of God's word, wherein He promiseth to be 
 our defence, is, to a believer, his " shield and buckler," 
 in the d.-iy of !)attle and war. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. A thousand shall fall beside thee, &:c.] This and 
 such like promises are not to be imderstood absolutely 
 and universallv, as if no trulv good man could be cut 
 •2 P 2
 
 580 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 but it shall not come 
 
 nigh 
 
 hand 
 thee. 
 
 8 Yea, with thine eyes slialt thou 
 behold ' : and see the reward of the 
 ungodly. 
 
 9 For thou, Lord, art my hope : 
 thou hast set thine house of defence 
 very high. 
 
 10 There shall no evil happen 
 unto thee : neither shall any plague 
 come nigh thy dwelling. 
 
 1 1 For he shall give his angels 
 charge over thee^ : to keep thee in 
 all thy waj's. 
 
 12 They shall bear thee in their 
 hands : that thou hurt not thy foot 
 
 tread. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 trample. 
 Bib. Trail 
 
 against a stone. 
 
 13 Thou shalt go upon 
 adder 
 
 th. 
 
 lie lion" 
 and adder : the young lion and the 
 dragon shalt thou tread under thy 
 feet. 
 
 14 Because he hath set 
 upon me', therefore will I 
 
 lis love 
 deliver 
 
 off by the plaijue or other common calamities ; but 
 with due limitations and conditions ; either on man's 
 ])art, as, if there be a defect in his faith or obedience : 
 or on God's part, wlien God sees that death is more for 
 his good tlian hfe ; as it apjiarently is, when righteous 
 men are taken away from the evil to come, Isa. Ivii. 1 . 
 In which case, though God doth not give the thing 
 ])romised, yet lie giveth a far greater mercy instead of 
 it, and so fulfils his promise in the best sense and to 
 the greatest advantage. Poole. 
 
 ' 8. Yea, tcilh thine eyes shalt thou behold: &c.] The 
 meaning is, that the righteous jjcrson all along s|)oken 
 of, himself secure from the judgments of God, shoidd 
 in safety behold the destruction wrought by them upon 
 impenitent and incorrigible sinners. This will be the 
 case with the church, as well as her glorious Head, at 
 the last day. Bp. Home. 
 
 s 11, 12. For he shall rjire his angels charge over thee: 
 &c.] This passage was cited by the devil, who tempted 
 our Lord to cast Himself from the pinnacle of tlie tein- 
 ])le, u])on presumpti(m of tlie promise here made, that 
 angels should guard and support Him in all dangers. 
 liut Christ, in his answer, at once detecteth and ex- 
 [>oseth the sophistry of the grand deceiver, by shewing, 
 that the ])romise belonged only to those who fell un- 
 avoiilalily into danger, in the co\irse of duty ; such 
 might hope for the licl|) and ])rotecti()n of heaven ; but 
 that he who should wantonly and absurdly throw him- 
 self into peril, merely to try whether I'rovidcnce would 
 bring him out of it, must expect to ]ierish for his pains. 
 "Jesus saith unto him. It is written again. Thou shalt 
 not tempt the Lord thy God," Matt. iv. 7. lij). 
 Home. 
 
 '' !.■$. Thou shrill r/n upon the lion hc.~\ The fury and 
 venom of our sjiiritual enemies are often in Scripture 
 iwrtrayed by tlie natural qualities of " lions and ser- 
 pents." Messiah's complete victory over those enemies 
 secmcth here to be jiredicted. Through grace He 
 maketh us more than coiujuerors in our conflicts with 
 the same adversaries. " The fiod of jieace," saith St. 
 Paul, " shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly," 
 Kom. \\\. '20. Give us, U Lord, courage to resist the 
 
 Dmj 18. 
 because he 
 
 him : I will set him up, 
 hath known my Name. 
 
 15 He shall call upon me, and I 
 will hear him : yea, I am with him 
 in trouble ; I will deliver him, and 
 bring him to honour. 
 
 16 With long life will I satisfy 
 him : and shew him my salvation. 
 
 acknow- 
 ledged nie to 
 be Uie only 
 s^afe refuge. 
 Bp. I'alnck. 
 
 I 
 
 PS.\LM xcii.'' Bonum est conjiteri. 
 T is a good thing-' to g-ive thanks 
 
 unto the Lord : and 
 praises unto thy Name, 
 
 to sing 
 
 O most 
 
 Highest; 
 
 "2 To tell of thy loving-kindness 
 early in the morning : and of thy 
 truth in the night-season ; 
 
 3 Upon an instrument of ten 
 strings, and ii|)on the lute : upon 
 a loud instrument, and upon the 
 harp. 
 
 4 For thou, Lord, hast made me 
 glad through thy works : and I will 
 
 "lion's" rage, and wisdom to elude the wiles of the 
 " serpent." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 14. Because he hath set his love upon me, &c.] In 
 the former part of our Psalm, the projihet had spoken 
 in his own person; here God Himself is plainly intro- 
 duced as the speaker. And, () how sweet, how delight- 
 ful and comfortable, are his words, addressed eminently 
 to his beloved Son Messiah; and in Him to all of us, 
 his adopted children, and the heirs of eternal life ; to 
 all who love God, and have "known his name!" To 
 such are promised an answer to their prayers ; the 
 presence of their heavefily Father with them; in 
 the day of trouble, jirotection and deliverance ; sal- 
 vation, and honour, and glory, and immortality. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '' PsAi.M xcii.] The title of this Psalm is, "A Psalm, 
 or Song, for the Sabbath-day." It teacheth, 1 — 5, the 
 duty, time, and manner, of giving thanks for the works 
 and dispens.itions of (iod. 'I'houghtless men are ad- 
 monished, (), to reflect upon the final issue of all these 
 works and dispensations ; namely, 7, S, the utter per- 
 dition of the ungodly, and, 9. i:', the exaltation of the 
 cluirch in Christ Jesus, U, to the praise and glory of 
 God most high. Bp. //or«e. 
 
 'i'lie Psalm was intended, not so much to cominemo- 
 rnte the creation, and sabbath following that ; as to 
 foretel that rest from persecutions, which (>od had jiro- 
 mised to give his church under the Messiah. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 ^ \. It is a good thiitff SccI "Thaidcsgiving" is the 
 duty, and ought to be the deliglit, of a Christian. It 
 is his dulv. as being the least return he can make to 
 his great Benefactor : it ought to be his delight, for it 
 is that of angels, and will be that of every grateful heart, 
 whether in heaven or on earth. The " mercy" of (Jod 
 in ])romising salvation, and his "faithfulness" in ac- 
 complishing it, are inexhaustilile subjects for "morning 
 and evening" ]iraiscs ; every instrument should lie 
 strung, and every voice tuned, to celebrate them, until 
 day and night come to an end. Hut more especially 
 shoidd this bo done on the "sabbath-day;" wliich, 
 when 30 employed, affords a lively resemblance of that 
 
 i
 
 Day 18. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 J81 
 
 A Itruttsli 
 ni.in kncweth 
 not. Bib. 
 Trans, 
 
 dealre. Bib. 
 Tram. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 rejoice in c;iviiio- praise for tiie ojiera- 
 tions of tliy liaiids. 
 
 5 O Lord, how glorious are tliy 
 worlis'" : thy thoui;lits are very dee]). 
 
 6 All unwise man (h)th not well 
 consider tiiis : and a fool doth not 
 understand it. 
 
 7 When the ungodly are green as 
 the grass, and when all the workers 
 of wickedness do flourish : then shall 
 they be destroyed for ever; hut thou, 
 Lord, art the most Highest for ever- 
 more. 
 
 8 For lo, thine enemies, O Lord", 
 lo, thine enemies shall perisli : and 
 all the workers of wickedness shall 
 be destroyed. 
 
 9 But mine horn shall be exalted 
 like the horn of an unicorn : for 1 
 am anointed with fresh oil. 
 
 10 Mine eye also shall see his lust 
 of mine enemies : and mine ear shall 
 hear his desire of the wicked that 
 arise up against me. 
 
 11 The riarhteous shall flourish 
 
 eternal sabbath, to I)e hereafter kept by the redeemed, 
 in the kinfjdom of God. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■"5.0 Lord, how glorious are thy works .- &c.] Glo- 
 rious are the works, profound the counsels, marvellous 
 the dispensations of God, in nature, in providence, in 
 grace. But all are lost to the man void of spiritual dis- 
 cernment; who, like his fellow "brutes," is bowed 
 down to earth, and knoweth no pleasures but those of 
 sense. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 8. For to, thine enemies, O Lord, &c.] The 
 " workers of iniquity " are the enemies of " Jehovah," 
 and will be " scattered " by the breath of his displeasure, 
 as grass, after it is cut down, dried up, and withered, is 
 driven away by the whirlwinds of heaven. " But my 
 horn," saith the Psalmist, {it is likely in the person of 
 Messiah,) " my horn," that is, the strength and power 
 of my kingdom, " shalt thou exalt like the horn of the 
 unicorn," like the power of the strongest creatures, to 
 which that of states and empires is often compared; 
 " I shall be," or, " I am anointed with fresh oil ;" I am 
 appointed and consecrated king by the holy unction. 
 Christians have " an xmction from the Holy One," by 
 which they are enabled to subdue their spiritual ene- 
 mies ; they reign over their passions and affections ; 
 they are exalted in the Redeemer : they are " made 
 unto their God kings and priests," 1 John ii. 20 ; 
 Rev. V. 10. Bp. Home. 
 
 "11. The rir/kteous shall flourish like a palm-tree .- &c.] 
 The momentary prosjierity of the wicked was compared 
 above to the transient verdure of " grass." The durable 
 felicity of the righteous is here likened to the lasting 
 strength and beauty of " palms" and "cedars." Bp. 
 Hume. 
 
 ''12. Such as are planted in the house of the Lord: 
 &c.] Believers are styled by Isaiah, " Trees of right- 
 eousness, the planting of Jehovah," chap.lxi.3. They 
 are planted hy the living waters of comfort in the house 
 of God ; where, under the means of grace, they " flou- 
 rish" in hope of glory. Bp. Home. 
 
 '13. They also shall bring forth more fruit &c.] 
 
 like a jialm-tree" : and shall spread 
 abroad like a cedar in Libaniis. 
 
 12 Such as are planted in the 
 house of the LordP : shall flourish in 
 the courts of the house of our ( jod. 
 
 13 They also shall bring forth 
 more fruit i in their age : and shall 
 be fat and well-liking. 
 
 14 That they may shew how true'' 
 the Lord my strength is : and that 
 there is no unrio-hteousness in him. 
 
 floiirihliintf. 
 Ilih. Tram. 
 ii|)ri(!ht. liib. 
 Trans. 
 
 E FENING PR A YEB. 
 PSALM xciii.* Dominus regnavit. 
 
 Til E Lord is King ', and hath i,e is clothed 
 ]nit on glorious apparel : the ^il'.'jS'.''- 
 Lord hath put on his apjiarel, and 
 girded himself with strength. 
 
 2 He hath made the round world 
 so sure : that it cannot be moved. 
 
 3 Ever since the world began hath 
 thy seat been prepared : thou art 
 from everlastina:. 
 
 4 'Itie floods are risen", O Lord, 
 
 Happy the man, whose goodness is always progressive, 
 and whose virtues increase with his years ; who loseth 
 not, in multiplicity of worldly cares or pleasures, the 
 holy fcrx'ours of his first love, but goeth on burning 
 and shining more and more, to tlie end of his days. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 14. That they may shew how true &c.] Tlie fruit 
 brought forth in the church redounds to the glory of 
 God, l.'y whom the trees, in this his new jjaradise, were 
 planted ; it shews to all the world, that lie is just and 
 "upright" in his dealings; that He is true to his pro- 
 mises; immoveable, as a "rock," in his counsels; 
 determined to |)unish the wicked, and to reward the 
 good ; so that, when his proceedings shall come to be 
 unfolded at the last day, it will appear to men and an- 
 gels, that " there is no unrighteousness in him." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' Psalm xciii.] The Jews acknowledge, that the 
 kingdom of Messiah is prophesied of in this Psalm, 
 and in all those which follow, to the hundredth. 1 — 3, 
 The church celebrates the majesty, power, and gloiy, of 
 the eternal King ; 4, describes the danger she is often 
 in from persecutions, &c. ; but, 5, strengtheneth her- 
 self in God her lSa\iour, whose house, 6, ought to be, 
 like Himself, full of truth and holiness. Bp. Home, 
 
 ' 1. The Lord is King, &c.] From the beginning, 
 God, as Creator, was sovereign Lord of the universe. 
 He was also formerly, in a more especial manner. King 
 of Israel. But since that time, a new and spiritual 
 kingdom hath been erected by Jesus Christ, as Re- 
 deemer, whom the church now celebrates, and whose 
 praises she sings continually. Risen from the dead, 
 and ascended into heaven, the Lord Jesus reigncth, and 
 shall reign, " till he hath put all enemies under his 
 feet," 1 Cor. xv. 25. By the glorification of his human 
 nature. He is " clothed with majesty : .VU power is 
 given unto him in heaven and in earth," Matt, xxviii. 
 is ; so that He is " girded with strength ;" and through 
 that strength, Hehath " established" the new "world," 
 that is to say, his cluu'ch, that it " cannot be moved,"
 
 582 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Dmj 18. 
 
 King 
 Charles 
 Mart, second 
 r.satin Even. 
 Serv. 
 
 the floods have lift up their voice : 
 the floods lift up their waves. 
 
 3 The waves of the sea are 
 mii^htv, and rage horriijly : hut yet 
 the Lord, who dwelleth on high, is 
 mightier. 
 
 6 Thy testimonies, O Lord, are 
 very sure'': holiness becoineth thine 
 house for ever. 
 
 PSALM xciv.'' Deus ultionum. 
 
 OLord God, to whom venge- 
 ance belongeth^ : thou God, 
 to whom vengeance belongeth, shew 
 thyself. 
 
 •2 Arise, thou Judge of the world : 
 and reward the proud after their de- 
 serving. 
 
 ;3 Lord, how long shall the un- 
 godly^ : how long shall the ungodly 
 triumph? 
 
 4 How long shall all wicked doers 
 
 speak so disdainfully 
 proud boasting? 
 
 and make such 
 
 or subverted, by all the powers of earth and hell. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 4. The floods are risen, &c ] By " the floods" are 
 meant the enemies of God's kingdom, who are often 
 compared to Hoods for their numliers, force, rage, &c. 
 See Isa. viii. 7, 8 ; xvii. 12, 13; .ler. xlvi. 7, 8. Poole. 
 In jiarticular are meant the devil and wicked men, who 
 stood out against, rejected, and crucified the Messiah, 
 whose spiritual kingdom is emljlematically rejirescnted 
 tliroiighout the Psalm, as the Jews have resolved. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 " t). Thy testimonies, Lord, are very sure: &c.] 
 God's " testimonies" are the promises made in Scripture 
 to the church, that lie will be with her, during the 
 afflictions which befal her here below, and will, in time, 
 deliver her out of all her troubles. These "testimonies 
 are very sure;" these promises do not, they cannot, fail. 
 '• Holiness," therefore, which eonsisteth in obedience 
 and i)atience, " l)ecometh," is the proper ornament, 
 grace, and beauty of " his house," and of Christians, 
 those living stones that compose it. Sacred and 
 inviolable is the word of our King; sacred and in- 
 violable should be the loyalty of his subjects. Bji. 
 Home. 
 
 ' Psalm xciv.] The Psalmi.st, complaining of cor- 
 rupt and troublous times, in tlic person of the church, 
 1 — 4, prayeth for the downfal of ])rosper()us wicked- 
 ness; .'), (i, lie describeth the crnclty, and, 7 — II, re- 
 proveth the atheistical folly of tliose who ])ersecute 
 (jod's people; 12, 13, he extiiUelli the lilessedness of 
 the persecuted, if they are endued with faith and pa- 
 tience, inasmuch as, 14, \5, tlie divine promise and 
 their future reward are certain; he, therefore, Hi— 10, 
 throweth himself wlioUy ujxin (iod, whose mercies 
 never fail, who, 20, 21, cannot be on tlie side of ini- 
 quity, but, 22, 23, will preserve his saints, and destroy 
 their enemies. B/i. Home. 
 
 ' I. U Lord (Ind, lo vhnm venr/ennce belonrieth .- &c.] 
 Tlic church, however unjustly op|)ressed and aHlicted, 
 rememberetli tluit " vengeance belongeth" not to her, 
 liad she the ])0wer to intlict it, but "to (iod" only, 
 who hath said, "Vengeance is mine, 1 will repay," 
 
 ye briiHsh. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 instructs the 
 nntidnii, all 
 the people in 
 the worM. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 shall not he 
 know. Jitli. 
 Tiaiis. 
 are vanity. 
 liib. Tram. 
 
 5 They smite down thy people", 
 O Lord : and trouble thine heri- 
 tage. 
 
 6 They murder the widow, and 
 the stranger : and put the fatherless 
 to death. 
 
 7 And yet they say, Tush'', the 
 Lord shall not see : neither shall the 
 God of Jacob regard it. 
 
 8 Take heed, ye unwi.se among 
 the people : O ye fools, when will ye 
 understand? 
 
 9 He that plaiiteth the ear, shall 
 he not hear : or he that made the 
 eye, shall he not see? 
 
 10 Or he that nurtureth the Lea- 
 then : it is he that teacheth man 
 knowledge, shall not he punish? 
 
 1 1 The Lord kiioweth the thoughts 
 of man"* : that they are but vain. 
 
 1'2 Blessed is the niaii^ whom 
 thou chasteiiest, O Lord : and teach- 
 est him in thy law. 
 
 13 That thou mayest give him 
 
 Rom. xii. 19. To Him, therefore, she maketh her 
 supplication, that He would manifest his glory in her 
 salvation ; that He would ascend the tribunal, " as 
 judge of the earth," try her cause, and avenge her of 
 her insolent and cruel persecutors. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 3, 4. Lord, how lonrj shall the umjndly : &c.] The 
 "triumphs" of wickedness, the " hard speeches," taunts, 
 and scoffs of infidelity, against Christ, and all who be- 
 long to Him, are a continual grief of heart to the faith- 
 ful in the world, who desire nothing so much as to sec 
 the empire of sin at an end, and the kingdom of riglit- 
 eousness established. But for this great event they 
 must wait with i)atience, until the time ajipuinted by 
 the Father, when the iniquities of the world, and the 
 sufferings of the church, shall be full. See Rev. vi. 9, 
 &c. Bj). Home. 
 
 ^ 5. They smite down thy people, &c.] Some instances 
 of cruelty, exercised by the enemies against the " people 
 and heritage" of God, are here s|)ecified. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7 — 10. And yet they say. Tush, &c.] The Psalmist 
 informeth us, that men are encouraged in their injustice 
 and villauy, by a persuasicm, that (iod doth not behold 
 or regard what they do to his i)eo|)le. The absurdity 
 of such a conceit is shewn from these considerations ; 
 that it is God who bcstoweth on man the ])owers of 
 seeing and licaring, and therefore that He Himself 
 must needs be |)ossessed of tliose ]>owers in the liighest 
 perfection ; that it is (Jod who hath instructed the 
 worhl, by his revelations, in religious knowledge, and 
 consequently, without all doubt, He cauuot be ignorant 
 of the use and abuse which men make of that his un- 
 sjieakable gift. B/i. Homo. 
 
 '' 1 1 . The Lord knotreth the thoughts of man .- &c.] 
 So far is (iod from being a stranger to tlie actions, 
 that He is privy to the first "thoughts" of men, from 
 whence those actions How : He is ac(|ii!unted with all 
 their counsels against his church, and knoweth them to 
 be as vain as the imagination that He is ignorant of 
 them. The wicked can nn more escape the hand, than 
 they can elude tlie eye, of Ilea\'CU. B/i. Home. 
 
 ' 12. Blessed is the man Ike] Since, therefore, the 
 schemes of the adversary are vain, and the counsel of
 
 Day 19. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 583 
 
 rest from the patieiicG ill timo of adversity : until 
 r™i«.'°''' tlie pit be digged up for the un- 
 godly. 
 
 14 For tlie Lord will not fail liis 
 people '^: neither will he forsake his 
 inheritance; 
 
 15 Until righteousness turn again 
 inito judgement : all such as are true 
 in heart shall follow it. 
 
 forme. Bii. \Q Who will rise up with me 
 
 Trans. , . • i i i • 1 1 i 
 
 aganist the wiekeiis : or who will take 
 my part against the evil-doers? 
 
 17 If the Lord had not helped 
 
 my soul had me: it had not failed but my soul 
 
 in'siiencr'^ had been put to silence. 
 
 £.b. Tram. 18 But whcH I Said, My foot hath 
 slipt : thy mere}', O Lord, held me 
 up. 
 
 19 In the multitude of the sor- 
 rows that I had in my heart : thy 
 comforts have refreshed my soul. 
 
 Jehovah shall infallibly stand, happy is the man who, 
 havinfj learned, from the Scriptures of truth, the lessons 
 of faith and patience, enjoys tranquillity of mind in 
 time of troul)le, while destruction is [jreparinjj; for the 
 impenitent. Then, when " the days of adversity" are 
 over, shall pain and sorrow take a final leave of the 
 righteous, to go and dwell with the wicked, to eternal 
 ages. The former shall enter into the rest and joy of 
 their Lord ; the latter, into the fire prepared originally 
 for the devil and his angels. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 14, 15. For the Lord will not fail his people: &c.] 
 The sense of these two verses is. Though God at 
 present exercise his peo])le with very sore calamities, 
 yet they may be confident He will not utterly forsake 
 them. But hereafter justice shall return, and take her 
 jilace on the judgment-seat : and what at present seems 
 irregular in providence, shall be made U[) by other future 
 dispensations. This will afford such clear evidence of 
 the righteousness of God's proceedings, that no good 
 man shall ever doubt of them afterwards, but shall 
 appeal to his tribunal, as the justest court of judicatiure. 
 IJr. Nicholls. 
 
 B 1 6. Who will rise vp %vilh me against the vicJced : &c.] 
 But in the mean season, while "evil-doers " are permitted 
 to prosper, and " the workers of iniquity " carry on 
 their designs, the prophet asks in the person of the 
 church, Who is there that will or can protect, defend, 
 and deliver ? The answer is, God only can do it : 
 " Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had 
 almost dwelt in silence," or, I had almost been in the 
 state of death. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 20. Wilt thou have any thing to do &c.] One con- 
 sideration which affordeth comfort to the faithful under 
 persecution and affliction, is this, that God can never 
 he on the side of oppression and injustice, though, to 
 answer wise and salutary purposes. He may, for a time, 
 suffer them to have the dominion, and to establish ini- 
 quity by law. A distinction there certainly must be 
 between right and wTong ; and the former must as 
 certainly triumph at the last day. Bp. Home. 
 
 '21. They gather them together &c.] Righteous- 
 ness and innocence are most atrocious crimes, in the 
 eyes of wickedness and guilt. For these crimes Cain 
 slew his brother Abel, the Jews crucified Christ, the 
 Pagans tortured and miu'dered his disciples, and bad 
 
 20 Wilt thou have any thing to 
 do'' witii the .stool of wickedness : 
 which imagineth mischief as a law .'' 
 
 t21 They gather them together' 
 against the soul of the righteous : 
 and condemn the innocent blood. 
 
 22 But the Lord is my refuge'' : 
 and my God is the strength of my 
 confidence. 
 
 23 lie .shall recompense them 
 their wickedness, and destroy them 
 in their own malice : yea, the Lord 
 our God shall destroy them. 
 
 throne. Bib. 
 Trittii. 
 (U'vjsfth, 
 fijiitrivcth. 
 See Vocah. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xcv.' Venite, exultemus. 
 
 OCome, let us sing unto the 
 Lord"' : let us heartily rejoice 
 in the strength of our salvation. 
 2 Let us come before his presence " 
 
 Morninp 
 Prayer, tje- 
 fcire tlie 
 Psalms. 
 
 men in all ages have persecuted the good. " Marvel 
 not, my lirethren, if the world hate you," 1 John iii. 13. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 22, 23. But the Lord is my refuge: &c.] Jehovah 
 is our " defence ;" we fear not the fiery darts of the 
 enemy ; He is " the rock of our refuge ;" we bid 
 defiance to the rage and malice of earth and hell. 
 Armed vnth the shield of faith, and the sword of the 
 Spirit, we rise superior to every effort of diabolical 
 malice and secular power ; waiting, in patience and 
 hope, for the coming of that day, when He who hateth 
 unrighteousness, and with whom th^ throne of iniquity 
 can have no fellowship, shall visit the wickedness of the 
 wicked upon them ; when the world of the imgodly shall 
 share the fate of apostate Jerusalem, and the righteous 
 shall be glorified with their Lord and Saviour. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' Psalm xcv.] This Psalm is an invitation to all to 
 bless and praise the name of God, and to live obediently 
 before Him. It is affirmed to have been written by 
 David, Heb. iv. 7 ; and may probably liave been fitted 
 by him, among others here put together, for the solem- 
 nity of bringing the ark to the place of God's rest, 
 ver. 11. It is by the Jews confessed to refer to the 
 times of the Messiah, as we see it applied Heb. iii. and 
 iv. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 This Psalm hath been long used in the Christian 
 church, as a proper introduction to her holy services. 
 It containeth, 1, 2, an exhortation to praise Jehovah, 3, 
 for his greatness, 4, 5, and for his works of creation ; 6, 
 men are invited to worship Him as their Maker, and, 
 7, as their Preserver ; S — 1 1, they are warned against 
 tempting and provoking Him, by the example of the 
 Israelites in the wilderness. The author of the Epistle 
 to the Hebrews hath taught us to consider the Psalm as 
 an address to believers under the (iospel. Bp. Home. 
 
 °' 1. come, let us sing unto the Lord: &c.] In this 
 first verse. Christians now exhort and stir up each 
 other, as the Jews did of old, to employ their voices in 
 honour of Jehovah, to celebrate " the rock of their sal- 
 vation." Jesus, by redeeming us from our enemies, 
 hath opened our lips, and our mouths ought, therefore, 
 to shew forth his praise. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 2. Lei us come before his presence &c.] The " pre- 
 sence " of Jehovah dwelt formerly between the cheru-
 
 584 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 the deep 
 places. Bib. 
 Trans, se- 
 cret parts. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond, 
 
 with tliaiik.sgiviiig : and sliew our- 
 selves ;;lad in liim with psalms. 
 
 3 For the Lord is a great God" : 
 and a great King above all gods. 
 
 4 In his hand are all the corners 
 of the earth : and the strength of tlie 
 hills is his also. 
 
 5 The sea is his, and he made 
 it : and his hands prepared the dry 
 land. 
 
 6 O come, let us worship and fall 
 downP : and kneel before the Lord 
 our Maker. 
 
 7 For he is the Lord our God'' : 
 and we are tlie people of his pasture, 
 and the sheep of his hand. 
 
 8 To-day if ye will hear his voice ■■, 
 liarden not your hearts : as in the 
 
 bim, in a tabernacle, or temple, made vnih hands, 
 whither the Israelites were to resort, until God became 
 manifest in the flesh. After that time, the divine 
 presence left the synanjogue, and reino\'eil into the 
 Christian cliurch ; by her we are now invited to " come 
 before that presence with thanUs{ri\'ing," and, while we 
 " make a juyfnl noise," by chanting these divine 
 " Psalms," to imitate, in some measure, the hecvcnly 
 choirs, who " rest not," from their blessed employment 
 of praising God, " day or niglit," Rev. iv. S. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ° 3. For the Lord is a great God: &c.] It is not 
 without reason, that we are exhorted to give thanks 
 and praise unto our God and King; for He is "worthy 
 to receive glory and blessing," Rev. v. 12. He is a 
 God above all that are called by that name ; above 
 those deities, which were once worshipped by the 
 ancient heathen ; above the world, wliich still con- 
 tinues to be an object of adoration, among infatuated 
 mortals. His throne is over all, and power and 
 dominion are his. Bj>. Home. 
 
 I" G. O coine, let us worship and fall down : &c.] As 
 in the beginning of the Psalm we were called upon to 
 " l)raise " Jehovah, so here we are invited to Inunlile 
 ourselves before Ilim in " jirayer." From Him wc had 
 our being; Him, therefore, wc are to snpj)lieate for 
 every other blessing, both in this life, and that which is 
 to come. And since He made our bodies, as well as 
 our souls, it is meet and right that they should bear 
 their ])art in his service, and that internal worship 
 should be aecom])anied and signified by that which is 
 external. Up. Home. 
 
 1 7. For he is the Lord our God: &c.] .\n additional 
 reason why we sliould both praise Jehovah, and jirayto 
 Him, is the jjcruliar reUuiim into wliicli He ludh been 
 pleased to jnit IliinseU' Ijy the covenant of grace ; '• he 
 is our God ;" and wc are tlie olijects of his tender care 
 and unspeakable love : we are his " peo]iIe," and liis 
 " slieep ;" his chosen ilock which He hath jnu-chased 
 with liis Idood, whieli He feeds with his word, and 
 refreshes with his Spirit, in fair and pleasant pastures. 
 Bji. Home. 
 
 ' S. 'I'u-day if ye will hear his voice, &c.] What 
 follows to tlie end of the Psalm is spoken in the person 
 of (>od Himself, who may be consiilcred as addressing 
 us, in tlicse latter days, liy tlic (iospel of his Son; for 
 so the apostle teaches us to apply the wliole passage, 
 Heb. iii, iv. 'I'hc Israebtes, wlien tliey came out of 
 ligypt, had a day of probation, and a promised rest to 
 
 Do^ 19. 
 
 of 
 
 provocation, and as in the day 
 teinjitation in the wihierness; 
 
 9 When your fathers teni|ited me : 
 pro\'ed me, and saw my works. 
 
 10 Forty years long was 1 grieved ^ 
 with this generation, and said : It 
 is a people that do err in their 
 hearts, for they have not known my 
 ways; 
 
 11 L^^nto whom I sware in my 
 wrath' : that they should not enter 
 into my rest. 
 
 demanded 
 new iironfs of 
 my presence 
 among them. 
 Kxod. xvii 7. 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 rightly un- 
 derstood, and 
 duly consi- 
 dered. Ki- 
 choUs, PooU. 
 
 o 
 
 PSALM xcvi." Cantate Domino. 
 Sing unto the Lord a new 
 song'' : sing unto the Lord, all 
 the whole earth. 
 
 2 Sing unto the Lord, and praise 
 
 succeed it ; but, by unbelief and disobedience, they to 
 whom it was ])romised, tliat is, the generation of those 
 who came out of Egy|)t, fell short of it, and died in the 
 wilderness. The Gosjiel, in like manner, offers, both to 
 Jew and Gentile, another day of probation in this world, 
 and another promised rest to succeed it, which remain- 
 eth for the people of God, in heaven. .\11 whom it 
 concerns are, therefore, exhorted to beware lest they 
 forfeit the second rest, as murmuring and rebellious 
 Israel came short of the first. The ver.ses now before 
 us allude to what jiassed at the jilace called " Massah," 
 and " Mcribah," from the people there " tempting " 
 and striving with their God, notwithstanding all the 
 mighty works which He had wrought for them before 
 their eyes. Exod. xvii. 7. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. Forty years long was I grieved &c.] O the 
 desperate presumption of man, that he shoidd offend 
 his Maker "forty years!" O the patience and long- 
 suffering of his Maker, that He sliould allow him forty 
 years to offend in ! Sin begins in the " heart." by its 
 desires "' wandering " and going astray after forliidden 
 objects : whence follows inattention to the " ways " of 
 (iod ; to his dispensations, and our own duty. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 'II. Unto whom I sware in my wrath: &c ] Kxdu- 
 sion from Canaan was the ininishment of Israelitish 
 contumacy ; exclusion from heaven is to be the jiunish- 
 ment of disobedience among ('hristians. To take ven- 
 geance on those who reject the (iospel terms, is no less 
 a ])art of the covenant and oath of God, than it is to 
 save and glorify those who accept them. Yet men con- 
 tinue deliberately to commit those sins, which the 
 Almighty standeth thus engiiged to ]niiiish with de- 
 struction ! "Take heed." therefore, " brelliren, lest 
 there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in depart- 
 ing from the living (iod. Hut exhort one another 
 daily, while it is called to-day ; lest any of you be 
 hardened tliroiigh the deceit folness of sin. For we are 
 made jiartakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of 
 our confidence stedfast unto the end ; while it is said, 
 To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts 
 as in the provocation. For some, when they bad licard, 
 did ]irovoke ; howbeit not all that came out of Kgy|it 
 by Moses. Hut with whom was He grieved forty years ? 
 Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases 
 fell in the wilderness ? And to whom sware He, that 
 they should not enter into his rest, but to them that 
 believed not ? So we see that they could not enter in 
 because of uubehef. Let us therefore fear, lest, a pro-
 
 Day 19. THE PSALMS, 
 
 his Name : tio tolling of liis salvation 
 from clay to day. 
 
 3 Declare his honour unto the 
 heathen)' : and his wonders unto all 
 people. 
 
 4 For tlie Lord is great, and can- 
 not worthily be praised : he is more 
 
 fciRned to he feared than all gods. 
 
 'iTammoiid!' 5 As for all the gods of the liea- 
 then, they are but idols : but it is 
 the Lord that made the heavens. 
 
 6 Glory and worship are before 
 him'' : power and honour are in his 
 sanctuary. 
 
 all ye n.itions 7 Ascribe unto the Lord^ O ye 
 
 of theTralj. kitidreds of the people : ascribe unto 
 
 mum'"'" '''"^ Lord worship and power. 
 
 8 Ascribe unto the Lord the ho- 
 nour due unto his Name : bring pre- 
 sents, and come into his courts. 
 
 mise lieinff made us of entering into his rest, any of 
 you should seem to come short of it. For unto us «'as 
 the Gospel preached, as well as unto them ; but the 
 word preached did not profit them, not being mixed 
 with faith in them that heard it," Ilelj. iii. 12, &c. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm xcvi.] By common consent of Jews and 
 Christians, we apply this Psalm to the times of Messiah. 
 1 — 3, Men are exhorted to sing his praises ; to declare 
 liis salvation ; 4, 5, to acknowledge his sujn-emacy over 
 the gods of the nations, with, 6, the glory and beauty 
 of his sanctuary; 7 — 9, to give Him the honour, the 
 worship, and the obedience due unto Him, and, 10, to 
 publish the glad tidings of his kingdom being esta- 
 Idished : 11 — 13, the whole creation is called upon to 
 rejoice at this great event. We find, by 1 Chron. xvi, 
 that David delivered out this Psalm, to be sung on 
 occasion of temporal blessings prefigurative of future 
 spiritual ones. Bj). Home. 
 
 '1.0 sing unto the Lord a new song : &c.] Jehovah, 
 our Redeemer, is the person whose ])raises are to be 
 sung. They are to be sung in a " new" song ; a song 
 calculated to celebrate new mercies, prefigured by old 
 ones wrought for Israel in former times ; a song fit for 
 the voices of renewed and regenerate men to sing in 
 the new Jerusalem, in those new heavens and that new 
 earth, which constitute the new creation, or kingdom 
 of Jesus Christ. And as the mercies of God are uni- 
 versal, extending themselves not only to the Jews, but 
 to all the nations of the earth, all the nations of the 
 earth are therefore exhorted to bear a part in this new 
 song : " Sing unto the Lord a new song ; sing unto 
 the Lord, all the earth." jB^. Home. 
 
 The exhortation to " sing a new song" alludes to 
 the intended institution of a new worship. Bp. Horsley. 
 
 1 3. Declare his honour unto the heathen .- &c.] The 
 " glory" and " honour" of Messiah in his incarnation, 
 his life, his death, resurrection, ascension, and kingdom, 
 the " wonders" or miracles by Him wrought upon the 
 bodies and souls of men ; these were the things " de- 
 clared among the heathen," even " among all people," 
 by the apostles and their successors ; these things are 
 still declared, by the Scriptures read, and sermons 
 preached, in the church, which was gathered originally 
 from among the Gentiles. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. Glory and worship are before him. ; &c.] The 
 
 9 O worshi]) the Lord in the 
 beauty of holiness : let the whole 
 earth stand in awe of him. 
 
 10 Tell it out amonof tiie heathen 
 
 that the Lord is Kintf' 
 
 and that 
 
 it is he who liath made the round 
 world so fast that it cannot be moved : 
 and how that he shall judge tiie peo- 
 ple righteously. 
 
 11 Let the heavens rejoice'', and 
 let the earth be glad : let the sea 
 make a noise, and all that therein is. 
 
 12 Let the field be joyful, and 
 all that is in it : then sliall all the 
 trees of the wood rejoice before the 
 Lord. 
 
 13 For he Cometh '', for he cometh 
 to judge the earth : and with righte- 
 ousness to judge the world, and the 
 people with his truth. 
 
 sanctuary, or holy place, appointed for the assembly tc 
 whom God will powerfully present Himself, is the most 
 glorious majestick place in the world : there our prayers 
 ai'e heard, our wants supplied, and sulTieiency of strength 
 supplied to those who need it and ask for it. And this 
 is an image of what shall be at the coming of Christ, 
 that spiritual kingdom of his among us, by the efficacy 
 of his grace in the church. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 " 7 — 9. Ascribe unto the Lord, &c.] In these three 
 verses, the tribes of the spiritual Israel are enjoined to 
 ascribe to their Redeemer all "glory and strength," as 
 essentially inherent in Him, and by Him communicated 
 to his people; to give Him the entire "glory of his 
 name," and of that " salvation" imported by it ; to 
 bring the " sacrifices" of the new law, and to assemble 
 in the " courts" of his house ; to worship Him in that 
 beauty of " holiness" which is constituted by the regu- 
 lar and solemn services of the church ; to " fear" and 
 obey Him, as the subjects of a king invested with 
 plenitude of power in heaven and earth. Bp. Home. 
 
 '• 10. Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord is 
 King : &c.] That the Lord here is the Messiah, is the 
 resolution generally of the ancients, both Jews and 
 Christians. Dr. Hammond. In other words. Make 
 ])roclamation, therefore, O ye apostles and preachers of 
 the Gospel, that a new and eternal kingdom is erected ; 
 the usurped em]nre of Satan is overthrown, and the 
 Lord Jesus, having redeemed mankind, reigncth in the 
 hearts of his people by faith ; a community is formed, 
 not upon the plan of secular policy, but upon the di- 
 vine principle of heavenly love ; it is estabhshed on 
 immoveable foundations, nor shall the gates of hell 
 prevail against it : righteotisness shall dwell in it, since 
 He who is the King of righteousness, presides, directs, 
 and determines all things by his word, and his Spirit. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ■=11. Let the heavens rejoice, kc.'] Transported with 
 a view of these grand events, and beholding in spirit the 
 advent of King Messiah, the Psalmist exults in most 
 jubilant and triumphant strains, calling the whole crea- 
 tion to break forth into joy, and to celebrate the glories 
 of redemption. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 13. For he cometh, &c.] The coming of Christ is 
 twofold : first. He came to sanctify the creature, and He 
 will come again to glorify it. Either of his kingdoms, 
 that of grace, or that of glory, may he signified by his
 
 586 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 19. 
 
 throne. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 enlightened. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 PSALM xcvii." Dominus regnavit. 
 
 THE Lord is King', the earth 
 may be glad thereof : yea, the 
 multitude of the isles may be glad 
 tliereof. 
 
 2 Clouds and darkness are round 
 about himff : righteousness and 
 judgement are the habitation of his 
 seat. 
 
 3 There shall go a fire before 
 him'' : and burn up his enemies on 
 every side. 
 
 4 His lightnings gave shine unto 
 the world : the earth saw it, and was 
 afraid. 
 
 5 The hills melted like wax at 
 the presence of the Lord : at the 
 
 "judging the world in righteousness and truth." If 
 creation be represented as rejoicing at the establishment 
 of the former, how much greater will the joy be at the 
 approach of the latter ! seeing that, notwithstanding 
 Christ be long since come in the flesh, though He be 
 ascended into heaven, and have sent the Spirit from 
 thence, yet " the whole creation," as the apostle speaks, 
 Rom. viii. 22, " groaneth and travaileth in pain toge- 
 ther until now, expecting to be delivered, from the 
 bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the 
 sons of God. And not only they, but ourselves also, 
 which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we our- 
 selves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, 
 to nit, the redemption of the body ;" when at the reno- 
 vation of all things, man, new made, shall return to 
 the days of his youth, to begin an immortal spring, and 
 be for ever young. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm xcvii.] This Psalm is thought to have been 
 composed by David, on occasion of bis peaceable re- 
 establishment in his kingdom, after the rebellion and 
 destruction of Absalom. But it as literally contains a 
 prediction of the Messiah's inauguration to bis regal 
 office, and the signal e.xercise thereof in the destruction 
 of his crucifiers, and all other enemies of his kingdom. 
 Dr. Hammond. That it belongs to Christ, ajipcars by 
 those words, which the ajiostle to the Hebrews alleges 
 out of the rth verse, and applies to his royal power 
 and authority over angels: which the Hebrew doctors 
 themselves take to be there intended. Bp. Piilrick. 
 
 In this Psalm, 1, the reign of ('brist is again cele- 
 brated, and the nations are again called to rejoice on 
 that account: 2 — 7, He is described as taking ven- 
 geance on his enemies, overthrowing idolatry in the 
 heathen world, commanding adoration from all crea- 
 tures, and, H, !), inspiring gladness into the church, l)y 
 subduing her enemies : II) — 12, the duties of holiness, 
 thankfulness, and religious joy, are inculcated. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' I. The Ijonl is King, &c.] Triumphant over death 
 and bell, the Lord .lesus is gone up on high, and 
 "reigneth." What greater cause can the whole earth 
 have to " rejoice ;" yea, even the most distant isles of 
 the Gentiles, to " be glad," and to sing for joy; since 
 they are all become iiis subjects, and share the unspeak- 
 able blessings of so gracious a reign ? We liritons, as 
 inhabiting one of those beatben isles, and enjoying so 
 fair a p<irtion of evangelical blessings, have reason to 
 repeat this verse, with a particular pleasure and energy. 
 Bji. Hnnie. 
 
 1 2. Cloutls and darkness arc round about him : &c.] 
 
 presence of the Lord of the whole 
 earth. 
 
 6 The heavens have declared his 
 righteousness : and all the people 
 have seen his glory. 
 
 7 Confounded be all they' that 
 worship carved images, and that de- 
 light in vain gods : worship him, all 
 
 ye gods. rt'hl^'^' 
 
 8 Sion heard of it, and rejoiced'' : Hammond. 
 and the daughters of Judah were 
 
 glad, because of thy judgements, O 
 Lord. 
 
 9 For thou. Lord, art higher than 
 all that are in the earth : thou art 
 exalted far above all gods. 
 
 10 O ye that love the Lord', see 
 
 When the mercy and grace of our heavenly King are 
 to be described. He is likened to the sun shining in a 
 clear firmament, and gladdening universal nature with 
 his beneficent rays. But when we are to conceive an 
 idea of Him as going forth, in "justice and judgment," 
 to discomfit and punish his adversaries, the imagery is 
 then borrowed from a troubled sky ; He is pictured as 
 siu'rounded by "clouds and darkness;" from whence 
 issue lightnings and thunders, storms and tempests, 
 alfrigbting and confounding the wicked and impenitent. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '■ 3. There shall go afire be/ore him .- &c.] The judg- 
 ments of God, and their effects ujion the «'orld, are 
 here set forth, under the usual similitude of lightning 
 and fire from heaven, causing the earth to tremble and 
 the mountains to melt and dissoh-e away. The exalta- 
 tion of Christ to the throne of his kingdom, was fol- 
 lowed by a dreadful disjjlay of that \'engeance which 
 broke in jiieccs the .Jewish nation, and brought their 
 civil and religious polity to an utter dissolution. In 
 the history of their destruction, the world of the un- 
 godly may view a striking picture of the great and 
 terrible day, when the Lord ,Iesus shall render a recom- 
 jjcnse to all his enemies. He is then to descend in 
 ilaming fire; lightnings shall be bis harbingers; the 
 earth shall tremble ; and the hills shall, literally, " melt 
 like wax at the jiresence of .lehovah." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. CoiifoKiided be all they &e.] When Jesus was 
 exalted, his (iosjiel published, and his power and glory 
 made known in the heathen world, men grew " ashamed " 
 of their " images, and boasted themselves in their idols" 
 no more. The last clause of our verse, " Worsbij) him, 
 all ye gods," declares the sujiremacy of Christ over all 
 that are called gods, in heaven and in earth, who are 
 enjoined to jiay adoration unto Him, instead of claiming 
 it for themselves. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 8. SioH heard of it, and rejoiced: &c.] Tlie inhabit- 
 ants of the new " Sion," or the peojilc of (lod, " heard" 
 the tidings, that idols and idolatry were fallen, and the 
 Lord Jesus reigned tnumiihant ; they hear<l, and " were 
 glad ; the daughters of Judab," or Christian churches, 
 "rejoiced" in the Holy Ghost, with joy unspeakable, 
 "because of these judgments" of their God u])on his 
 enemies, whereby he evinced Himself superior to the 
 powers of the earth, and the gods of the nations. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 10. ye that love the Lord, &c.] Having sung the 
 glory of the Redeemer, tin- I'salmist delineates the duty 
 of the redeemed. They are characterized by their 
 " love of God ;" they arc enjoined to " hate evil ;" this
 
 Day 19. 
 
 tliat ye liate tlie tliiiifi^ wliicli is evil : 
 tlie Lord preservetii tlie souls of liis 
 saints; ho shall deliver them from 
 the liaiid of the imirodly. 
 
 11 There is sjjrung uj) a light for 
 the righteous : and joyful gladness 
 for such as are true-hearted. 
 
 12 Rejoice in the Lord, ye righte- 
 ous" : and give thanks for a remem- 
 brance of liis holiness. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 587 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 Evening PSALM xcviil." Cantate Domino. 
 
 Prayer, after --^ „. ^ ^1 T 1 
 
 first Lesson. / \ •3"'^ unto tlic Lord a new 
 V^ song" : for lie hath done mar- 
 vellous things. 
 
 2 With his own right hand, and 
 with his holy arm : hath he gotten 
 himself the victory. 
 
 hath made Q 'file Lord declared his salvation p : 
 
 known. Bto, , . . , i i i t 
 
 Trans. his riglitcousness hatli lie openly 
 
 shewed in the sight of the heathen. 
 
 hatred is, indeed, a consequence, and a sure proof, of 
 that love, when it is genuine and sincere. Ilehgion 
 must be rooted in the heart, and sjiring from thence. 
 A Christian must not only serve God outwardly, but 
 must inwardly "love" Him; he must not content him- 
 self with abstaining from overt acts of sin, but must 
 truly " hate" it. Tliey who do so, are " the saints" 
 of God, whose souls fie " preserveth" from evil, and 
 will finally " deliver" from the evil one, and his asso- 
 ciates, by a happy death, and a glorious resurrection. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '" 12. Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous : &.C.'] Tribu- 
 lation itself should not prevent our " rejoicing in Jeho- 
 vah our righteousness," who justifieth us from our 
 sins ; no adversity ought to make us negligent in cele- 
 brating, with thanksgiving, the " commemorations of 
 his holiness," which the Church hath appointed to be 
 observed ; to the end that we may always remember, 
 with gratitude, how great thing.? lie hath done for us 
 already, and reflect, with comfort, on those much greater 
 things which He hath promised to do for us hereafter. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm .\cviii.] This Psalm was probably composed 
 by David, or by some holy man in imitation of what 
 liavid saith in Psalm xcvi; upon occasion of some re- 
 markable deliverance, which God had newly granted to 
 Israel, as an earnest of future blessings, especially of 
 the coming of that great blessing, the Lord Christ, to 
 give complete salvation to his people. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 In this evangelical hymn, the prophet, 1 — 4, e.vtols 
 the miracles, the victory, the salvation, the righteous- 
 ness, the mercy, and truth, of the Redeemer ; on account 
 of which, 5 — 10, he calls upon man, and the whole 
 creation, to rejoice and praise Jehovah. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 1. O sing unto the Lord a new song: &c.] New 
 mercies and wonders demand new songs. And what 
 mercies, what wonders, can be compared with those 
 wrought by the holy Jesus ? Bp. Home. 
 
 f 'i. The Lord deelured his salralion : &cc.'\ The " sal- 
 vation " of Jehovah was " declared " or '" made known," 
 by the preaching of Christ Himself in Judea, for the 
 space of three years ; his " righteousness" whereby 
 
 sound of cor- 
 net. Bib. 
 Trant. 
 
 rivers. 
 Vocab. 
 
 See 
 
 coinetli. 
 Ttaris. 
 
 4 lie hath remembered his mercy i 
 and truth toward the house of Israel : 
 and all the ends of the world have 
 seen the salvation of our (iod. 
 
 5 Siicw yourselves joyful'' unto 
 the Lord, all ye lands : sing, rejoice, 
 and give tiianks. 
 
 6 Praise the Lord upon the iiarp : 
 sing to tiie liarp with a psalm of 
 thanksgiving. 
 
 7 With trumpets also, and shawms : 
 O shew yourselves joyful before the 
 Lord the King. 
 
 8 Let the sea make a noise % and 
 all that tlierein is : the round world, 
 and they tliat dwell therein. 
 
 9 Let the floods clap their hands, 
 and let the hills be joyful together 
 before the Lord : for he is come to 
 judge the earth. 
 
 10 With righteousness shall he 
 judge' the workl : and the people 
 with equity. 
 
 sinners are justified, was "openly shewed," by the 
 sermons of his apostles, " in the sight of the heathen." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ■t 4. He hath remembered his mercy &c.] In sending 
 the Messiah, God shewed Himself mindful of the pro- 
 mises, which " mercy" prom[)ted Him to make, and 
 "truth" required Him to perform. These promises 
 were made to " the house of Israel ;" to the lost sheep 
 of that house, Christ declared Himself sent; and the 
 apostles offered salvation first to the Jews : but to 
 them it was never intended that evangelical blessings 
 should be confined. The prophets spake in plain terms 
 of the call of the Gentiles, who were to be adopted into 
 the holy family, and made the children of Abraham. 
 The Gospel was accordingly preached to the nations, 
 the apostles made their progress through the world, 
 and "all the ends of the earth saw the salvation of 
 God." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. Shew yoursehes joyful &c.] The Psalmist, be- 
 holding in spirit the accom))lishment of the promises, 
 the advent of Christ, and the glory of his kingdom, 
 thinks it criminal in any creature to be silent ; he bids 
 the whole earth break forth into joy, and exult in God 
 our Saviour, with every token of gratitude and thank- 
 fulness ; with voices, and instruments of all kinds, in 
 perfect harmony, with tempers and affections according, 
 in like manner men are enjoined to sound aloud the 
 praises of their great Redeemer. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 8. Let the sea make a noise, &c.] The inanimate 
 parts of creation are called U[)on to bear their jiarts in 
 the new song, and to fill up the universal chorus of 
 praise and thanksgiving, in honour of Him that sitteth 
 upon the throne. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. Jl'ith righteousness shall he judge &c.] Tlie 
 subject of this general joy is, as before, in Psalm xcvi. 
 13, the advent of Messiah to reform the world, to exe- 
 cute judgment upon the wicked, and to establish a 
 kingdom of righteousness upon the earth. We expect 
 his second advent to restore all things, to judge the 
 world, to condemn his enemies, and to begin his "'glo- 
 rious" reign. Then shall heaven and earth rejoice, and 
 the joy of the redeemed shall be full. Bp. Home.
 
 588 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Dmj 19. 
 
 PSALM xcix.° Domimis regnavit. 
 
 THE Lord is King", be the peo- 
 ple never so impatient : lie 
 sittetli between the cherubims, be the 
 earth never so iniqiiiet. 
 
 2 The Lord is great in Sion : and 
 hig-h ai)ove all people. 
 
 3 They shall give thanks unto thy 
 Name : which is great, wonderful, 
 and holy. 
 
 4 The King's power loveth judge- 
 ment y; thou hast prepared equity : 
 thou hast executed judgement and 
 righteousness in Jacob. 
 
 5 O magnify the Lord our God : 
 and fall down before his footstool, for 
 he is holy. 
 
 6 Moses and Aaron among his 
 priests^, and Samuel among such as 
 
 ° Psalm xcix.] This Psalm, anciently attributed to 
 David, seems first to refer to his quiet establishment in 
 that throne to which God had chosen him, but jiro- 
 ]jhetically also, as the former, to the kingdom of Mes- 
 siah. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 Under images borrowed from the old dispensation, 
 the prophet celebrates, 1, the reign of Messiah, and 
 the submission of his enemies ; 2 — 4, his exaltation, 
 holiness, power, and justice : which, 5, men are ex- 
 horted to acknowledge and adore. — 9, The examples 
 of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, are introduced, to en- 
 courage us in worshipping and serving our Uod and 
 Saviour. Bp. Home. 
 
 • i. The Lord is King, &c.] Jehovah reigneth in 
 the Christian chiu-eh, as He did of old in the Jewish 
 temple; when He appeared between the cherubims in 
 the holy of holies, in the form and likeness of a man, 
 encompassed with "glory:" Ezek. i. 20; Xumb. vii. 
 89; He subdued the enemies of Israel, when they 
 raged most furiously against his people ; He will also 
 bring into subjection the adversaries of the Gospel, and 
 finally render us victorious over the powers of darkness. 
 B]). Home. 
 
 y 4. The King's power loveth judgement ; &c.] Al- 
 though the " power" or " strength" of our King be 
 infinite, yet it is never exerted, but in " righteousness" 
 and just "judgment," which are his delight ; they com- 
 [Kise the firm basis of liis throne, anil direct bis whole 
 administration. Im])enitent rebels must feel the weight 
 of liis arm, and none can accuse the justice of their 
 l)unishment : but in all other cases, He is "mighty 
 only to save," Isa. l.viii. 1. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. Moses and Aaron among his priests, &c.] To 
 encourage the faithful in tlie worsliip of (iod, the ex- 
 am]ilc3 of Moses, .\aron, and Samuel, are adduced, men 
 of like infirmities with ourselves, whose jirayers were 
 heard, botli for tliemselves and others, and answers 
 were returned to them from the mystick "cloud," that 
 symbol of the divine presence, which, for a while, was 
 itinerant with tlie cam]) in the wilderness, and then be- 
 came fixed in the tabernacle at Shiloli, till its lust re- 
 moval to mount .Sion. These men were heard through 
 llic intercession of tlie great Mediator, whom they 
 represented. Through that .same intercession, our 
 prayers also are heani, if we " keep his testimonies, 
 anfl the ordinances that he hath given us." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ordinances. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 Mnming 
 Prayer, after 
 second Les- 
 son. 
 
 call upon his Name : these called 
 upon the Lord, and he heard them. 
 
 7 He spake unto them out of the 
 cloudjr pillar : for they kept his testi- 
 monies, and the law that he gave 
 them. 
 
 8 Thou heardest them, O Lord 
 our God ^ : thou forgavest them, O 
 God, and punishedst their own in- 
 ventions. 
 
 9 O magnify the Lord our God'', 
 and worship him upon his holy hill : 
 for the Lord our God is holy. 
 
 PSALM 0.= Jubilate Deo. 
 
 OBe joyful in the Lord'', all ye 
 lands : serve the Lord with 
 gladness, and come before his pre- 
 sence with a song. 
 
 ■ 8. Thou heardest them, Lord our God: &c.] Tlie 
 meaning is, that when the people had provoked God, 
 and God's wTath was already gone out against them for 
 their crying sins, these men's prayers were so effectual 
 with Him as to avert the plagues, and obtain remission 
 for them. Dr. Ha?nmond. 
 
 I This was the case when Moses interceded for the 
 idolaters, Exod. xxxii. 32 ; Aaron for the schismatics. 
 Numb. xvi. 47 ; and Samuel for the whole nation, 
 1 .Sam. vii. 9. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 9. O magnify the Lord our God, &c.] The Psalmist 
 repeats his exhortation, enforced by the preceding ex- 
 amples of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, and again invites 
 all people to worship a "holy" God in a " holy" place, 
 
 j and to adore the consummate rectitude of all his pro- 
 ceedings, singing, with the spirits above, " Great and 
 
 ' marvellous are thy works. Lord God Almighty; just 
 and true are thy ways, thou King of saints," Uev. xv. 3. 
 
 ' Bp. Home. 
 
 I 1^ PsAi.M c] The Psalmist invites all the world to 
 join with the Israelites in the service of Him, who was 
 
 j kind and gracious to them beyond expression. Ac- 
 cordingly, we Christians now jirojierly use this Psalm 
 in acknowledgment of God's wonderful love to iis in 
 Christ; by wliom we offer up continually sjiiritual sa- 
 crifices, for redeeming us by the sacrifice which He 
 made of Himself; for making the world anew, and 
 creating us again unto good works, according to his 
 faithful ])roniises, which we may depend ujion for ever. 
 
 j Bp. Patrick, Bp. Home. 
 
 ''1.0 be joyful in the Lord, &c.] 'I'lie prophet ad- 
 
 j dresseth himseif to " all lands," or to " all the earth ;" 
 to (icntiles as well as Jews. He cxhortitli them to 
 
 ' " maUe a joyful noise." a noise like that of the trumpets 
 at tlie time of jubilee, a sound of universal triumiih and 
 exultation, in honour of "Jehovah." now become their 
 Lord and Saviour. The service of this our Master is 
 jicrfect freedom ; it is a ser\ice of love, a freedom from 
 Pharaoh and the task-masters, from Sutau and our own 
 imperious lusts ; it is a redemption from the most cruel 
 bondage, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 Let us therefore do as we arc commanded ; let us 
 "serve the Lord with gladness;" and when we come 
 "before his ])reseuce" in the tein])le, let it be "with 
 singing" to tlie praise and glnry of our Redeemer. 
 Thus He is served in heaven, and thus He delighteth 
 to be served on earth. Bp. Home.
 
 Day 19. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 hm 
 
 We-s. Bib. 
 Ti-ftns. 
 finoil. Bib. 
 Trans, 
 
 KiiiR's Ac- 
 c ss'oii, third 
 Psalm Mum. 
 Serv. 
 
 2 Be ye sure that the Lord lie is 
 God» : it is lie that hath made us, 
 and not wo ourselves ; we are his 
 people, and the sheep of his pas- 
 ture. 
 
 3 O go your way into his gates '^ 
 with thanksgiving, and into his courts 
 witii praise : he thankful unto him, 
 and speak good of his Name. 
 
 4 For the Lord is gracious s, his 
 mercy is everlasting : and his truth 
 cndureth from generation to genera- 
 tion. 
 
 PSALM ci.*" Misericordiam et judicium. 
 
 MY song shall be of mercy and 
 judgement' : unto thee, O 
 Lord, will I sing. 
 
 2 O let me have understanding'' : 
 in the way of godliness. 
 
 3 When wilt thou come unto me : 
 I will walk in my house with a per- 
 fect heart. 
 
 " 2. Be ye sure that the Lord he is God : &c.] The 
 motives here urged for servincr and praising Jehovah, 
 are the same with those above, in Psalm xcv. 6, 7, 
 namely, that He is our " God," engaged by covenant 
 on our behalf; that his hands created us, and have 
 since new created us ; that we stand in the peculiar 
 relation of his " peo]ile," whom He hath chosen to 
 Himself, and over whom He presideth as King; that 
 we are "the sheep of his pasture," for whom the good 
 She|)herd laid down his life, and whom He nourisheth, 
 hy the word and sacraments, unto eternal life. These 
 are jjoints which every Christian ought to " know" and 
 believe, unto his soul's health. And whoever doth 
 know them ariglit, will ever be ready with heart and 
 voice to obey the injunction which foUoweth in the next 
 verse. Bp. Home. 
 
 '3. go your way into his gates &c.] The Christian 
 church is a temjjle, whose " gates" stand continually 
 open, for the admission of the nations from all the four 
 quarters of the world, Rev. xxi. 13. 25. Into the 
 " courts" of this temple, which are now truly " courts 
 of the Gentiles," all men are invited to come, and offer 
 their evangelical sacrifices of " confession and praise ;" 
 to e.\press their gratitude to their Saviour, and " bless" 
 his gracious and hallowed "name." Bp. Home. 
 
 B 4. For the Lord is gracious, &c.] " Jehovah is good" 
 and "gracious:" He is the source of all beauty and 
 ])erfection in the creature ; how altogether lovely must 
 He needs be in Himself! " His mercy is everlasting," 
 extending through time into eternity ; and " his truth," 
 or fidelity in accomplishing his promises, "endureth to 
 all generations," e\'idenced to the whole race of man- 
 kind, from Adam to his last-born son. The Psalms 
 which celebrate these attriljutes, will never, therefore, 
 be out of date, but each successive generation will 
 chant them with fresh pro|)riety, and fresh delight, 
 until hy saints and angels they are sung new in the 
 kingdom of God. Bp. Home. 
 
 *■ Psalm ci.] This Psalm contains a pious resolution 
 of David to govern first himself, and then his court and 
 his kingdom, with so much care, that the good might 
 e.xpect all favour from him, but no wicked man of any 
 
 rro'ikfcl or 
 (■uiniirif.'. 
 Ur. Jlarn- 
 muitd. 
 
 4 I will take no wicked thing in 
 hand ; 1 hate the sins of unfaithful- 
 ness : there shall no such cleave unto 
 me. 
 
 !) A frovvard heart shall depart 
 from me ' : 1 will not know a wicked 
 person. 
 
 6 Whoso |)rivily slandereth his 
 neighbour : him will I destroy. 
 
 7 Whoso hath also a proud look 
 and high stomach : I will not suffer 
 him. 
 
 8 Mine eyes look upon such as 
 are faithful in the land : that they 
 may dwell with me. 
 
 J) Whoso leadeth a godly life : he 
 shall be my servant. 
 
 10 There shall no deceitful per- 
 son dwell in my house : he that 
 telleth lies shall not tarry in my 
 sight. 
 
 11 I shall soon destroy all the un- 
 godly™ that are in the land : that I 
 
 sort have the least countenance or encouragement. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 ' I . Dly song shall be of mercy and judgement : &c.] 
 David, having determined to sing unto Jehovah, 
 chooseth for his theme " mercy and judgment :" either 
 that mercy which God hath shewn to him, and that 
 judgment which hath been inflicted on his enemies ; or 
 else, that upright administration of mercy and judg- 
 ment, with which he himself intended to bless his 
 people. Bp. Home. 
 
 '^ 2. ttt me have understanding : &c.] In return 
 for the favours of heaven, we hear the Israelitish mo- 
 narch declaring his resolution, to set his court and 
 kingdom an example of true wisdom, and unshaken 
 integrity ; at the same time, sighing for that visitation 
 of divine grace, which alone could enable him to put 
 his resolution in practice. " O when wilt thou come 
 unto me ? " And this must ever be the wish of a 
 Christian, who knoweth that though in himself he be 
 nothing, yet he can do all things through Christ, who 
 strengthcneth him by his Spirit in the inner man. 
 Messiah was the only King of Israel, whose life held 
 forth to his subjects a pattern of wisdom and right- 
 eousness, and whose death procured them grace, in 
 their different measures and degrees, to follow it. Bji. 
 Home. 
 
 ' J. A froward heart shall depart from me : &c.] As is 
 the king, so will be the court; as is the master of the 
 house, such will be those of his household. David, 
 having resolved to " walk within his house ttith a per- 
 fect," a sincere and upright, " heart," determines at 
 the same time to expel from thence all whose hearts 
 were jierverted and depraved : as he would " set no 
 wicked thing before his eyes," so neither would he 
 form any connexions \vith " wicked persons ;" they 
 should not be of his acquaintance, much less should 
 they be his favourites. Bp. Home. 
 
 " ^ [. I shall soon destroy all the ungodly Sic.^ Every 
 earthly prince should consider himself as raised to a 
 throne, and invested with power, " for the punishment 
 of wickedness and vice, and the maintenance of God's 
 true religion and vbtue." " Early," therefore, in the
 
 590 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 may root out all wicked doers from 
 tlie city of tlie Lord. 
 
 Ash-Wed- 
 nesday, first 
 Psalm Even, 
 Setv, 
 
 H 
 
 thee. 
 
 MOBXIXG PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM cii." Domine, exaudi. 
 EAR my prayer, O Lord : 
 and let my crying come unto 
 
 I am wholly 
 emaciated. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 2 Hide not tliy face from me in 
 the time of my trouble : incline thine 
 ear unto me when I call; O hear 
 me, and that right soon. 
 
 3 For my days are consumed away 
 like smoke" : and my bones are 
 burnt up as it were a fire-brand. 
 
 4 My heart is smitten down p, and 
 withered like grass : so that I forget 
 to eat my bread. 
 
 5 For the voice of my groaning : 
 my bones will scarce cleave to my 
 flesh. 
 
 6 I am become like a pelican in 
 
 " morning " of his reign, he should set about the work 
 of reformation, that so the blessings of heaven may 
 descend upon himself and his people, according to the 
 infallible promises of the Most High. And let each 
 individual, in like manner, and for the same reason, be 
 zealous and diligent to reform his own heart and ways, 
 ever mindful of that future most awful morning, «-hen 
 the King of righteousness shall " cut off," with the 
 sword of eternal judgment, "all wicked doers from 
 that city of Jehovah," the new and heavenly Jerusalem. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm cii,] This Psalm is entitled, " A prayer of 
 the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and pouretli out 
 his complaint before the Lord," It seems to have been 
 written during the captivity, by one of the prophets, 
 who, hke Daniel in jiarallel circumstances, 1, '2. niaketh 
 supplication before his God, 3 — 1 1, setteth forth, in the 
 most affecting strains, his WTetcbed and sorrowful 
 estate, or rather, perhaps, that of Jerusalem, which he 
 personates ; 12, he comforteth himself by rellecting on 
 the eternity and immutability of Jehovah; 1.3 — 22, he 
 |)redictetb and describtth the restoration of Sion, with 
 her enlargement by the accession of the Gentiles, when 
 Messiah shall have visited and redeemed her; 23, 24, 
 he returneth again to his lamentations ; but, 2,') — 28, 
 again rcposetli his eonfidence on 11 im who created all 
 things, and who would not fail to nuikc good his word 
 and promise, if not to tlie generation then present, yet 
 to their posterity. This is the fifth of those styleil 
 "penitential I'sahns ;" and .'^t. Paid, lleb. i. 10, hath 
 asserted, that it is addressed to the eternal Son of God, 
 and .Saviour of the world, lip. Home. 
 
 I'enitential sorrow being a principal subject of this 
 I'sahn, it is suitable to the service of Ash- Wednesday, 
 rravell. 
 
 ° 3. For my days are consumvd awny like smoke .- &e.] 
 The tll'eets of extrciue grief on the luunan framt^ are 
 compared to tliosc which fire producefh u|)on fuel. It 
 exhausts the radical moisture, and, by so doing, soon 
 consumes the substance. A man's time and his 
 strength evaixiratc in melancholy, and his " bones," 
 those pillars and siijiports of his body, become like 
 
 Dot/ 20. 
 and like an owl that 
 
 the wilderness'' 
 is in the desert. 
 
 7 I have watched, and am even as 
 it were a sparrow : that sitteth alone 
 upon the house-top. 
 
 8 Mine enemies revile me all the 
 day long : and they that are mad 
 upon me are sworn together against 
 me. 
 
 9 For I have eaten ashes ■■ as it wherefore. 
 were bread : and mingled my drink ,„o„d.""'' 
 with wee])ing ; 
 
 10 And that because of thine in- 
 dignation and wrath : for thou hast 
 taken me up, and cast me down. 
 
 11 My days are gone like a 
 shadow : and I am withered like 
 grass. 
 
 12 But thou, O Lord, shalt en- 
 dure for ever : and thy remembrance 
 throughout all generations. 
 
 13 Thou shalt arise, and have 
 mercy upon Sion ' : for it is time that 
 
 wood, on which the fire hath done its work, and left it 
 without sap, and without cohesion. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 4. My heart is smitten down, &c.^ The metaphor is 
 continued, and the " heart " itself, out of which How tlie 
 streams of life, is represented as suffering that from 
 grief, which the " grass " of the flelil suffers from the 
 burning heat of the sun : it is " smitten, and withered." 
 And when grief hath thus dejected the spirits, the man 
 has no appetite for that food which is to recruit and 
 elevate them. Ahab, smitten with one kind of grief, 
 David with another, and Daniel with a third, all 
 " forgot," or " refused, to eat their bread," 1 Kings xxi. 
 4; 2 Sam, xii, 16 j Dan. x. 3, Such natural com- 
 panions are " mourning and fasting," Bji. Home. 
 
 1 0. 7 ayn becotne tike a pelican in the wilderness : &c.] 
 The sorrowful man is naturally desirous of retiring from 
 the world, to vent his complaints in solitude, and to 
 pass the nights in watchfulness and prayer. In such a 
 situation the true jienitcnt placeth himself, worthily to 
 bewail his sins, and deprecate the judgments of his 
 God, .\nd in such a situation did captivity place the 
 daughter <if .Sion, that she might do likewise. The use, 
 which 1 )anicl made of it for this piu'iiose, may be seen 
 in his ninth chapter, Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 9. Vor I hare eaten ashes &c,] Hy "eating a.shes," 
 and " drinking tears," we may understand the .same as 
 if it had bc'cn said, " I have eaten the breail of humilia- 
 tion, and driiidc the water of alfliction;" ashes being 
 the emblem of one, and tears the conse(|uence of the 
 other; while the lU'tions of " eating and drinking" in- 
 timate to tis the fulness and satiety which the sufferer 
 had experienced of both, from the " wralh and indignti- 
 tion of (iod," Prosperity and adversity are from Him ; 
 "he liftclh 11]), and he easteth down;" He lifted up 
 Jerusalem above all the earth ; and He cast her down, 
 to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 13, 7'A()H shalt arise, and hare mercy upon Sion: 
 SiC.'] From this passage, and what follows, it ajipears 
 that the sii))pliant, in this I'salm, bewails not only his 
 own miseries, but those of the church. Israel was in 
 captivity, and Sion a desolation. A " time " notwith- 
 standing, a "set time." there was at liaml, when God
 
 Day 20. 
 
 thou have mercy upon her, yea, tlie 
 time is come. 
 
 14 And wliy? thy servants think 
 upon her stones : and it pitieth them 
 to see her in tiie dust. 
 
 15 Tiie heathen shall fear thy 
 Name, O Lord' : and all the kings 
 of the earth tiiy Majesty; 
 
 16 When the Lord shall build up 
 Sion : and when his glory shall ap- 
 pear; 
 
 17 When he turneth him unto the 
 prayer of the poor destitute : and 
 despiseth not their desire. 
 
 \S This shall be written for those 
 tliat come after" : and the people 
 which shall be born shall praise the 
 Lord. 
 
 19 For he hath looked down'' 
 from his sanctuary : out of the hea- 
 ven did the Lord behold the earth ; 
 
 20 That he miofht hear tiie mourn- 
 
 • • • 
 
 ings of such as are in captivity : and 
 deliver the children appointed unto 
 death ; 
 
 21 That they may declare the 
 
 had promised to "arise, and to have mercy upon her." 
 The bowels of her children yearned over her ruins ; 
 they longed to see her rebuilt, and were ready, when- 
 ever the word of command should lie given, to set heart 
 and hand to the blessed work. Such ought to be our 
 afltection towards our Sion, however afflicted and 
 destitute she may, at any time, appear to be ; such 
 should be our faith in the promises of God concerning 
 the future glorification of his church, at the time ap- 
 pointed. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 13. The heathen shall fear thy Name, Lord : &c.] 
 The object to which the prophets of old had chiefly 
 respect, was not only the deliverance of Israel from 
 Babylon, and the rebuilding of the material temple, but 
 the salvation of sinners, and the erection of the Christian 
 church, in the days of Messiah's kingdom. " When 
 the Lord " Jesus thus " built u]) Sion, he appeared in 
 his glory : the heathen feared his name, and all the 
 kings of the earth " adored his majesty, because He 
 had " regarded the prayer of the destitute " sons of 
 Adam, in their worse than Babylonish captivity, and 
 had arisen Himself to be tlieir Saviour and mighty 
 DeUverer. We, in these latter days, look and pray for 
 the second appearance of the same Redeemer, with 
 power and great glory, to raise the dead, and to build 
 up from the dust a Jerusalem which shall experience no 
 more vicissitudes, but continue for ever in unchange- 
 able beauty and brightness. Bp. Home. 
 
 "18. This shall be written for those that come after: 
 &c.] nie history of " this " redemption and restora- 
 tion by Messiah, thus foretold, hath been "\vritten" in 
 the Gospel for the benefit of " after generations," to 
 the end that "the people who are created" anew in 
 Christ Jesus may from age to age praise Jehovah, in 
 psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs ; as it is done 
 at this day in the Church, and ever will continue to be 
 done, till the choirs of heaven and earth shaU be united 
 before the throne of the Lamb. Bp. Home. 
 
 • 19 — 22. For he hath looked down &c.] Redemption 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 591 
 
 and his 
 
 Name of the Lord in Sion 
 worship at Jerusalem; 
 
 22 When the people are gathered 
 togetlu-r : and the kingdoms also, to 
 serve the Lord. 
 
 23 He brought down my strength wakened. 
 in my journey >" : and shortened my ^''- ^'■'""• 
 days. 
 
 24 But I said, O my God, take 
 me not away in the midst of mine 
 age : as for thy years, they endure 
 throughout all generations. 
 
 25 Thou, Lord, in the beginning^ 
 hast laid the foundation of the earth : 
 and the heavens are the work of thy 
 hands. 
 
 26 They shall perish, but thou 
 shalt endure : they all shall wax old 
 as doth a garment ; 
 
 27 And as a vesture shalt thou 
 change them, and they shall be 
 changed : but thou art the same, 
 and thy years shall not fail. 
 
 28 The children of thy servants 
 shall continue'' : and their seed shall 
 stand fast in thy sight. 
 
 is the subject of praise in the Christian church ; and the 
 process of that great work is here described by images 
 borrowed from the temporal deliverance and restoration 
 of Israel. Bp. Home. 
 
 f 23. He brought down my strength in my journey : 
 &c.] The prophet, in the person of captive Sion, 
 having, from verse 13 to verse 22, expressed his faith 
 and hope in the promised redemption, now returns to 
 his mournful complaints, as at verse 1 1 . Israel doubteth 
 not of God's veracity, but feareth lest his heavy hand 
 should crush the generation then in being, before they 
 should behold the expiration of their troubles. They 
 were in "the way," but their "strength" was so 
 "weakened," and their "days shortened," that they 
 almost despaired of holding out to their journey's end. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 25. Thou, Lord, in the beginning &c.] Amidst the 
 changes and chances of this mortal life, one topick of 
 consolation will ever remain, namely, the eternity and 
 immutability of God our Saviour, of Him who was, 
 and is, and is to come. Kingdoms and empires may 
 rise and fall ; nay, the heavens and the earth, as they 
 were originally jiroduced and formed by the Word of 
 God, the Son or second Person in the Trinity, to whom 
 the Psalmist here addresseth himself, see Heb. i. 10; 
 so will they, at the day appointed, be folded up and 
 laid aside, as an old and worn-out garment; or, if the 
 sul)stance remain, the jiresent form and fashion of them 
 will perish, and they will be utterly changed and altered 
 from the state in which they now are. But Jehovah 
 is ever the same; his years have no end, nor can his 
 promise fail, any more than Himself. " Heaven and 
 earth," saith He, " shaU pass away ; but my words 
 shall not pass away," Matt. xxiv. 35. Bp. Home. 
 
 The application of these verses to Jesus Christ in 
 the Epistle to the Hebrews, is at once a proof of his 
 divinity, and of the divine inspiration of the Psalms. 
 Travell. 
 
 ■ 2S. The children of thy servants shall continue : &c.]
 
 592 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 20. 
 
 PSALM cm.' Benedic, anima mea. 
 
 PRAISE the Lord, _ O my 
 soul'^ : and all that is within 
 me praise his holy Name. 
 
 2 Praise the Lord, O my soul : 
 and forget not all his benefits; 
 
 3 Who forgiveth all thy sin'^ : 
 and healeth all thine infirmities ; 
 
 4 Who saveth thy life from de- 
 struction ^ : and crowneth thee with 
 mercy and loving-kindness ; 
 
 5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with 
 good things ' : making thee young 
 and lusty as an eagle. 
 
 6 The Lord executeth rigfhteous- 
 
 Whatever be the fate of the present generation, whe- 
 ther they may hve to see the acconipUshment of all 
 that has been foretold, or not, yet the word of God 
 standeth sure ; there shall be always a church, and a 
 holy seed, to whom the promises shall be made good. 
 They have already been fulfilled with regard to the 
 advent of Messiah, and the vocation of the Gentiles. 
 The events which are behind will be brought forward 
 and come to pass in their seasons, until the counsel of 
 God shall be finished, and every prediction receive its 
 full accomphshment in the glorification of the redeemed. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ PsAL.M ciii.] This Psalm is supjiosed to have been 
 written by David on a reco\'ery from sickness ; and is 
 also a prophetick description of the state of Christians 
 under the Gospel. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 In this evangelical and most comfortable hymn, 
 David, after, 1, 2, exciting himself to the work, 3 — 5, 
 jjraiseth Jehovah for the mercies of redemption ; C, 7, 
 celebrateth his goodness to Moses and Israel; 8 — 13, 
 setteth forth the di\-ine ])hiIantliropy, under various 
 beautiful expressions and images; 14 — 16, describeth, 
 in a manner wonderfully affecting, man's frail and 
 perishable state ; Ijut, 1 7, 18, leadeth him, for consola- 
 tion, to the everlasting mercy of (jod in Christ, the 
 stability of whose throne and kingdom, 19, he declareth, 
 and, 20 — 22, ealleth upon heaven and earth to join 
 with him in blessing and praising his holy name. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 M, 2. PraUe the Lord, my soul: &c.] Ilianks- 
 ginng cannot he sincere and hearty, unless a man bear 
 impressed ujron his mind, at the time, a quick sense of 
 " benefits" received ; and " benefits" we are most of us 
 a])t to " forget ;" those, especially, which are conferred 
 upon us by (jod. Therefore David re])cateth his self- 
 awakcniug call, and sinnuioneth all his powers of recol- 
 lection, that none of the divine favoiu'S might continue 
 unnoticed and unacknowledged. \ catalogue of such 
 ])articular mercies, temporal and spiritual, as each indi- 
 vidual hath experienced through life, might be of ser- 
 vice to refresh the memory, upon this imjiortant head. 
 Bj). llorne. 
 
 •■ 3. Who foTijirdh all Ihy sin : &c.] At the head of 
 God's mercies must for ever stand "remission of sin," 
 or that full and free pardon purchased for us liy .lesus 
 Christ, whereby, if we truly repent ami l)elievc in II im, 
 our transgressions, though ever so many, and ever so 
 great, are done away, and become as if they had never 
 been ; from a state of guilt we jiiias into one of justifica- 
 tion, from a state of enmity into one of reconciliation, 
 from a state of servitude into one of liberty and sonshi]). 
 
 ness^and judgement : for all them 
 that are oppressed with wrong. 
 
 7 He shewed his ways unto Mo- 
 ses : his works unto the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 8 The Lord is fidl of compassion 
 and mercy : longf-sufferinar, and of 
 
 nor rewarded us according 
 
 great goodness. 
 
 9 He will not ahvay be chiding : 
 neither keepeth he his anger for 
 ever. 
 
 10 He hath not dealt with us after 
 our sins 
 to our wickednesses 
 
 1 1 For look how high the heaven 
 is*" in comparison of the earth : so 
 
 Next to the pardon of sin, considered as a crime, we 
 are to commemorate the cure of it, considered as a 
 disease, or indeed as a complication of diseases — " Who 
 healeth all thine infirmities." The body experienceth 
 the melancholy consequences of Adam's offence, and is 
 subject to many " infu-mities ;" but the soul is subject 
 to as many. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. IVho savelh thy life from destruction : &c.] Man 
 hath two •■ lives ;" he is, therefore, subject to a double 
 " destruction :" and, consequently, capable of a twofold 
 "redemption." He who is recovered from sickness, 
 and thereby redeemed from that destruction which 
 natural death bringeth upon the body, will undoidjt- 
 edly sing this strain in transports of gratitude ; and he 
 ought so to do. But what will be the sensations of 
 him, who celebrates, in the same words, the spiritual 
 redemption of his soul from death, and destruction 
 everlasting ? Bp. Home. 
 
 '5. JVho satisfieth thy mouth with ffood things: &c.] 
 It is God who giveth us the " good things" of this 
 world, and who giveth us likewise an ajipetite and a 
 taste to enjoy them. It is God who restoreth a hody, 
 emaciated by sickness, to bloom, vigour, and agility. 
 .\nd He doeth greater things than these. He " satis- 
 fieth" all the desires of the soul with a banquet of 
 spiritual dainties, and bestoweth on her a relish for the 
 same. 15y the renovating power of his Spirit, He re- 
 storeth her from decrejiitude, to the health and strength 
 of a young " eagle." so that she can ascend up on high, 
 and contemplate the splendour of the S>un of righteous- 
 ness. Bp. Home. 
 
 s 0. The Lord executeth 7i//hteousness &c.] From a 
 consideration of his own ])artieular case, the Psalmist 
 maketh a general reflection on that attribute of God, 
 which inclineth Him to deliver his iicople, and to 
 jnmisli their oiijiressors, of what kiiul soever they be. 
 .\nd here that grand display of the " ways" and 
 "works" of .Jehovah, the redemption of "Israel" by 
 the baud of " Moses," immediately occurs, and is cele- 
 brated. Thus each private mercy, wliether of a tem- 
 poral or sjiiritual nature, should remind us of that 
 public and universal blessing of redemption hy .lesus 
 Christ, from which every other hlessing Howeth, as s, 
 stream from its foiuitain, and for which (iod ought, 
 therefore, upon all occasions, to lie praised and glori- 
 fied. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■■ 11 — 13. For look how high the heaven is &c.] We 
 are here presented wilh tlu-ee of I lie most beautiful, 
 apposite, and comforting similitudes in the world. 
 \Vlien we lift nj) our eyes, and hiliold around us tho 
 lofty and stiqiendous vault of liea\en, encircling, pro-
 
 Bay 20, 
 
 great is liis mercy also toward tlicin 
 that fear liim. 
 
 12 Look how wide also the east is 
 from the west : so far hath he set our 
 sins from us. 
 
 13 Yea, like as a father ])itieth his 
 own children : even so is the Lord 
 merciful unto them that fear him. 
 
 14 For lie knoweth whereof we 
 are made : he remembereth that we 
 are but dust. 
 
 15 The days of man are but as 
 grass : for lie flourisheth as a flower 
 of the field. 
 
 16 For as soon as the wind goeth 
 over it, it is gone : and the place 
 thereof shall know it no more. 
 
 17 But the m.erciful goodness of 
 the Lord' endureth for ever and 
 ever upon them that fear him : and 
 his righteousness upon children's 
 children ; 
 
 tecting, enlightening, refreshing, and cherisliing the 
 earth, and all things that are therein, we are bidden to 
 contemplate in this glass the immeasurable height, the 
 boundless extent, and the salutary influences of that 
 mercy, which, as it were, embraceth the creation, and 
 is over all the works of God. Often as we view the 
 sun, arising in the east, and darkness flying away from 
 before his face towards the ojjposite quarter of tlie 
 heavens, we may see an image of that goodness of 
 Jehovah, whereby we are placed in the regions of illu- 
 mination, ajid our sins are removed and put far a\i'ay 
 out of his sight. And that our hearts may, at all times, 
 lia\-e confidence towards God, He is represented as 
 bearing towards us the fond and tender aifection of 
 "a father," ever ready to defend, to nourish, and to pro- 
 vide for us, to hear with us, to forgive us, and to receive 
 us in the parental arms of everlasting love. B/i. Home. 
 
 ' 17- But the merciful guodness of the Lord &c.] Let 
 not man presume, who withereth like the green herb ; 
 but then, let not man despair, whose nature, «'ith all 
 its infirmities, the Son of God hath taken upon Him. 
 I'he flower which faded in Ailam, blooms anew in 
 Christ, never to fade again. " The mercy of Jehovah," 
 in his Messiah, " is everlasting ;" and of that everlasting 
 mercy poor frail man is the object. A passage in the 
 first E|)istle of St. Peter doth most admirably illustrate 
 this part of our Psalm : see 1 Pet. i. 23, &c. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 1 p. The Lord hath prepared his seat in heaven .- &c.] 
 The glorious Person who worketh all these wonders of 
 mercy for his people, the Word of God, and Savioiir of 
 the world, is triumphantly seated upon his "throne in 
 heaven," and is possessed of all power to accomplish 
 his will, even until all things shall be subdued unfo 
 Ilim. The glories of his throne, the brightness of his 
 excellent majesty, and the might of his irresistible 
 power, are described at large by St. John, Rev. iv, v. 
 x\x. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 20 — 22. O praise the Iiord, ye angels &c.] Joy is 
 observed to be of a diffusive and commvmicative nature. 
 The heart of the Psalmist is full, and ovcrfloweth with 
 it. Unable worthily to praise Jeliovah for his mercies 
 vouchsafed to the church, he inviteth hea\'en and earth 
 to join with him, and to celebrate, in full chorus, the 
 redemption of man. St. John saw the throne of Mes- 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 593 
 
 18 Even upon such as keep his 
 covenant : and thiidv uj)on his com- 
 mandments to do them. 
 
 li) The I^ord hath juepared his 
 seat in heaven'' : and his kingdom 
 ruli'th over all. 
 
 20 O praise the Lord, ye angels ' 
 of his, ye that e.xcel in strength : ye 
 that fulfil his commandment, aiul 
 hearken unto the voice of his words. 
 
 21 O praise the Lord, all ye his 
 hosts : ye servants of his that do his 
 jdeasure. 
 
 22 O speak good of the Lord, all 
 ye works of his, in all places of Ids 
 dominion : praise thou the Lord, O 
 my soul. 
 
 ttironc. Bib. 
 
 TrdTIS. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM civ.™ Benedic, anima mea. 
 
 PIlAISEtheLord, Omy soul": 
 O Lord my God, thou art be- 
 
 WhitSun- 
 day, fuf-t 
 Tsalni Even. 
 Sen-. 
 
 siah prepared ; he beheld the universal band assembled ; 
 and he heard when "all tlie angels round about the 
 throne, ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou- 
 sands of thousands, with every creature in heaven, 
 earth, and sea," lifted up their voices, and sang to- 
 gether, blessing, and lionour, and glory, and power, be 
 unto him that sittcth upon the tln'one, and unto the 
 Lamb, for ever and ever." Bp. Home. 
 
 ■" PsAi.M civ.] This is an eucharistick hymn, full 
 of majesty and sweetness, addressed to Jehovah, as 
 Creator of the world. It setteth forth his glory, wis- 
 dom, goodness, and power, displayed, 1 — 9, in the 
 formation of the heavens and earth; 10 — 18, in the 
 various provision made for beasts, and birds, and for 
 man, the Lord of all; 19 — 24, in the revolutions of the 
 celestial bodies, and the consequent interchanges of 
 day and night, of labour and rest ; 23, 26, in the sea. 
 and every thing that mo\'cth in or upon the waters. 
 27 — 30, The dependence of the whole creation upon 
 God for its being and well-being, is beautifully repre- 
 sented, with, 31, 32, the glory which the Creator re- 
 ceiveth from his works, the jileasure which He taketh 
 in them, and the power which He hath over them. 33, 
 The Psalmist declareth his resolution ever to praise Je- 
 hovah, and, 34, predicteth the destruction of those who 
 refuse or neglect so to do. .'\s there is a similitude be- 
 tween the natural and the S])iritual creation, this may, 
 ]ierha]is, be the reason why the Church hath appointed 
 this Psalm to be used on Whit-Sund.ay. By). Home. 
 
 This Psalm has no title in the Hebrew; but the 
 Greek, and some other ancient versions, ascribe it to 
 David. Whoever be the author of it, it is one of the 
 most exalted pieces of poetry extant in antiquity. Dr. 
 Nicholls. For regularity of composition, richness of 
 imagery, sublimity of sentiment, and elegance and 
 perspicuity of diction, it is perhaps the principal poem 
 in the whole collection of these inspired songs. As 
 there is no allusion in it to the Mosaick ritual, nor any 
 mention of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, 
 it should seem that it was of an earlier age than the 
 Exodus. Bji. Horsliy. 
 
 " 1,2. Praise the Lord, my soul: &c.] The Scrip- 
 tures inform us, that the same Person, who redeemed 
 the world, did also create it. In the 102nd Psalm, as 
 
 2 Q
 
 594 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 tent. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 pavilion or 
 canopy. Sp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 should not be 
 removed for 
 ever. £.4. 
 Trans. 
 
 come exceeding glorious ; thou art 
 clothed with majesty and honour. 
 
 2 Thou deckest thyself with light as 
 it were with a garment : and spread- 
 est out the heavens like a curtain. 
 
 3 Who layeth the beams of his 
 chamljers in the waters" : and maketh 
 the clouds his chariot, and walketh 
 upon the \\ings of the wind. 
 
 4 He maketh his angels spirits? : 
 and his ministers a flaming fire. 
 
 5 He laid the foundations of the 
 earth '> : tiiat it never should move at 
 any time. 
 
 6 Thou coveredst it with the deep' 
 
 we are assured by St. Paul, " to the Son it is said, 
 Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation 
 of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy 
 hands." To Him, therefore, as Creator, is the 104th 
 Psalm likewise addressed. He is described as invested 
 with " the glory which he had with the Father before 
 the world was;" a glimpse of which He vouchsafed to 
 the three disciples, who were present at his transfigura- 
 tion, when '• his face did shine as the sun, and his rai- 
 ment was white as the light." The first instance of 
 his creating power is afforded us by the "heavens," 
 which form a magnificent " canopy, or jiavilion," com- 
 prehending within it the earth, and all the inhabitants 
 thereof. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the 
 waters .- &c.] 'ITie generality of expositors interpret 
 this passage of those " dark waters, compacted into 
 thick clouds of the skies," which the .\lraighty is else- 
 where said to make the " secret place or chamber" of 
 his residence, and a kind of " footstool" to his throne. 
 Ps. .xviii. 9.11. And thus, indeed, the former part of 
 our verse is plainly and immediately connected with 
 what follows ; " who maketh the clouds his chariot, 
 anil walketh ujion the wings of the wind." How as- 
 tonishingly magnificent and tremendous is the idea, 
 which these words convey to us, of the great King 
 riding upon the heavens, encompassed with clouds and 
 darkness, attended by the bghtnings, those ready exe- 
 cutioners of bis vengeance, and causing the world to 
 resomul and tremlile at the thunder of his power, and 
 the noise of his chariot-wheels ! I5y these ensigns of 
 royalty, these emblems of omnipotence, and instru- 
 ments of his displeasure, doth Jehovah manifest his 
 ])resencc, when He visiteth rebellious man, to make him 
 own and adore his neglected and insulted Lord. See 
 and compare Ps. xviii. 10, and the context. D/j. Home. 
 
 P 4. He maketh his ancjels spirits: &c.] l"rom the 
 manner in which these words arc introduced, and the 
 place where they stand, one should conceive the mean- 
 ing of them to he, that (iod empliiyetb tlic elements of 
 air and fire, the winds, and the liglitnings, as his mes- 
 sengers, and ministers, to execute liis commands upon 
 the earth. Hut the apostle, Heb. i. 7, informeth us, 
 that they have a further reference to immaterial angels; 
 either because those angels often appeared in the like- 
 ness, or because they were endued with the properties, 
 of " wind and tlame." Intellectu.al lieings of tlie highest 
 order in the realms above are as ready to fulfil the word 
 of .leliovah, as are the elements of this lower world. 
 lip. Home. 
 
 ■' .5. He laid the foundiitinns of the earth .■ &c.] 'llie 
 formation of this globe on which we tread, is a won- 
 derful instance of divine ivisdom and power, whetlier we 
 
 Day 20. 
 
 the waters 
 
 like as with a garment 
 stand in the hills. 
 
 7 At thy rebuke they flee : at 
 the voice of thy thunder they are 
 afraid. 
 
 8 They go up as high as the hills, 
 and down to the valleys beneath : 
 even unto the place which thou hast 
 appointed for them. 
 
 9 Thou hast set them their bounds 
 which they shall not pass : neither 
 turn again to cover the earth. 
 
 10 He sendeth the springs into the 
 rivers* : wliich run among the hills. 
 
 11 All beasts of tlie field drink 
 
 stood above 
 the moun- 
 tains. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 lied. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 hasted away. 
 Btb. Trans. 
 
 valleys. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 consider the manner in which the parts of it are put 
 and kept together, or its suspension in the circum- 
 ambient fluid. The words, " that it should not be re- 
 moved for ever," do by no means imply, that the earth 
 is stationary, or that it is eternal ; but only thus much, 
 that it is so constructed, as to answer the end, and to 
 last the time, for which it was created and intended. 
 It shall continue the same in itself, and with relation 
 to other bodies, neither altering its shape, nor changing 
 its course, tUl the day appointed for its dissolution. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 0. Then coveredst it with the deep &c.] Most inter- 
 preters suppose this to be a description of the situation 
 of things, and of what was effected by the ])ower of 
 God, on the third day of the creation, when He said, 
 " Let the waters be gathered together into one place, 
 and let the dry land appear; and it was so." Indeed, 
 the process at the creation was so exactly similar to 
 that at the deluge, with regard to the circumstances 
 here mentioned, that it matters not to which we apply 
 the beautiful and truly poetical passage before us. In 
 both cases the earth was covered with the waters, as 
 with a garment, in every part ; in both cases, they fled 
 at the .-Umighty word, like the scattered remains of a 
 routed army ; from the heights of m(>\uitains, whither 
 they had ascended, they sunk down into the valleys ; 
 from the valleys they retired to the bed of the ocean, 
 and a jjart of them descended from thence into the 
 great deep tb.it lieth beneath. Hounds were set 
 them, beyond which they should never jiass, to over- 
 whelm us any more for ever. And the experience of 
 4001) years hath tauglit us, that where the Creator liath 
 laid his commands, plain sand is a sufficient barrier. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10, U. He sendeth the springs into the rivers: &c.] 
 The waters of the sea are not only prevented from de- 
 stroying the earth, but, by a woiulerfid machinery, are 
 rendered the means of preserving every living thing 
 which moveth thereon. Partly ascending from the 
 great deej) through the strata of the earth, partly ex- 
 haled in vapour from the. surface of the ocean into the 
 air, and from thence falling in rain, especially on the 
 to])s and by the sides of mountains, they break forth 
 in fresh springs, having left their salts hebind them ; 
 they trickle through the valleys, I)etween the hills, 
 receiving new supplies as they go; they become large 
 rivers, and after watering, by tlieir innuuiiralile turn- 
 ings and windings, immense tracts of country, they 
 return to tlic place from whence they came. Thus 
 every animal hatli an {i|iportuiiily of (picncliing that 
 thirst, whicli must otherwise soon put u period to its 
 existence. The "wild asses" are particularly mentioned, 
 because they live in remote and sandy deserts : yet even
 
 Day 20. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 595 
 
 his cham- 
 bers. Bib. 
 Tram. 
 
 thereof : and the wikl asses quench 
 their tliirst. 
 
 \'2 IJoside tliom sliall the fowls of 
 the air' liave tlieir habitation : and 
 sing among the branches. 
 
 13 He vvateretli the liills from 
 above" : the earth is filled with the 
 fruit of thy works. 
 
 14 He bringeth forth grass for the 
 cattle : and green herb for the service 
 of men ; 
 
 15 That he may bring food out of 
 the earth, and wine that maketh glad 
 the heart of man : and oil to make 
 him a cheerful countenance, and 
 bread to strengthen man's heart. 
 
 16 The trees of the Lord also are 
 full of sap " : even the cedars of Li- 
 banus which he hath planted ; 
 
 17 Wherein the birds make their 
 
 such creatures, in such places, are l)y the God of na- 
 ture taught the way to the waters ; insomuch that the 
 parched traveller, when in search of a fountain, findeth 
 them to he the best guides in the world, and needeth 
 only to observe and follow the herds of them descend- 
 ing to the streams. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 12. Beside them shall the folds of the air &c.] That 
 is, "beside springs of water," in the "valleys," the 
 birds delight to have their habitations, and to sing 
 amidst the verdant branches which conceal them from 
 our sight. "The musick of birds," as one hath well 
 observed, " was the first song of thanksgi\'ing which 
 was offered on earth before man was formed. And 
 their sounds are different, but all harmonious, and all 
 together compose a choir which we cannot imitate." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " 13 — 15. He wutereth the hills from above:'] Or 
 " from his chambers." See the margin. The fertility 
 of.the earth is owing to God, who for that purpose 
 "watereth" it "from his chambers," whether the word 
 hath a reference to the clouds above, or tlie depths 
 below; for both are concerned in the operation. Hence 
 all the glory and beauty of the vegetable world ; hence 
 the grass, which nourisheth the cattle, that they may 
 nourish the human race ; hence the green herl), for food 
 and for medicine ; hence fields covered with corn, for 
 the support of life ; hence vines and olive-trees laden 
 with fruits, whose juices exhilarate the heart, and 
 brighten the countenance. Bp. Home. 
 
 • Ifi. The trees of the Lord also are full of sap : &c.] 
 The whole earth is a garden, ])lanted liy the hand, and 
 watered by the care, of Jehovah. But in a more especial 
 manner is his glory set forth by the lofty and magnifi- 
 cent cedars, which, growing wild on the mountains and 
 in the forest, owe nothing to tlie skill and industry of 
 man. The moisture of the earth, rarefied by the heat 
 of the sun, enters their roots, ascends in their tubes, 
 and by due degrees expands and increases them, till 
 they arrive at their gro\vth. Bj). Home. 
 
 ' 17. Wherein the birds make Iheir nests : &c.] Most 
 admirable is that wisdom anil understanding, which the 
 Creator hath imparted to the l)irds of the air, whereby 
 they distinguish times and seasons, choose the jiroperest 
 places, construct their nests with an art and exactness 
 unattainable by man, and secure and provide for their 
 young. Bp. Home. 
 
 nests y : and the fir-trees are a dwell- 
 ing for the stork. 
 
 IS 'J'ho high hills are a refuge for 
 the wild goats '■ : and so are the stony 
 rocks for the conies. 
 
 1!) He appointed the moon^ for 
 certain seasons : and the sun knoweth 
 his going down. 
 
 20 Tiiou makest darkness "^ that it 
 may be night : wherein all tiie beasts 
 of the forest do move. 
 
 21 The lions roaring after their 
 prey : do seek their meat from God. 
 
 22 The sun ariseth"^, and they get 
 them away together : and lay them 
 down in their dens. 
 
 23 Man goetii forth to his work, 
 and to his labour : until the evening. 
 
 24 O Lord, how manifold are thy 
 works'^ : in wisdom hast thou made 
 
 ' 18. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats.- 
 &c.] The same force of what we call ' instinct ' pre- 
 vails in terrestrial animals, and directs them to places 
 of refuge, where they may be safe from their enemies. 
 Thus the nild goats climb with ease to the tops and 
 crags of mountiiins, where they dejiosit their young. 
 Aiul thus animals of another kind, which are more 
 defenceless than the goats, and not able to climb like 
 them, have yet a way of intrenching themselves, in a 
 situation jjcrfectly im[)regnable, among the rocks ; we 
 find them, on that account, numbered by Solomon 
 among the " four " kinds of animals, which, though 
 " little upon the earth, are exceeding wise." See Prov. 
 XXX. 26. Bp. Home. 
 
 It is not certain what creature was intended by the 
 word rendered "conies "in our translation. The obser- 
 vations of a late ingenious traveller make it jirobable, 
 that it means the Saphan or Ashkoko, which is a timid 
 feeble animal, abounding in the neighbourhood of 
 Ilorel) and Sinai, as well as on mount Libanus, and 
 sheltering itself in the clefts of the rocks. Travell. 
 
 ' 19. He appointed the moon &c.] From a survey of 
 the works of God upon earth, the Psalmist proceedeth 
 to extol that divine wisdom, which is manifested in the 
 motions and revolutions of the heavenly bodies, and in 
 the grateful vicissitude of day and night, occasioned 
 thereby. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 20. Thou makest darkness Sec.'] Night and darkness 
 invite the wild Ijeasts of the forest and desert from their 
 dens and recesses, to "seek" the "prey" allotted them 
 by the providence of that God who feedeth the young 
 lions, as well as the young ravens, when hunger enforceth 
 them, as it were, to call u])on Him. Bji. Home. 
 
 ' 22. The sun ariieth, Sec] At the retiun of day, the 
 sons of ravage retire, and sculk away to their several 
 hiding-places, that man, the lord of the creation, may 
 arise, and jierform, unmolested, the task wliich his 
 Maker hath appointed him. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■' 2 4. Lord, how manifold are thy works : &c.] 
 Transported with a survey of the wonders which 
 present themselves in heaven above, and on earth 
 below, the Psalmist breaks forth into an exclamation 
 (and what heart hath not already anticipated him ?) on 
 the variety and magnificence, the harmony and ])ropor- 
 tion, of the works of God, in this outward, and visible, 
 and perishable world. What then ai'e the miracles of 
 2 Q 2
 
 596 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 full of thy 
 
 Dinj "20. 
 
 living crea- 
 tures. Dr, 
 Hammond. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 the whale. 
 Dr. Ilutit- 
 ntojid. 
 
 them all ; the earth is 
 riches. 
 
 25 So is tlie great and wide sea 
 also' : wherein are things creeping 
 innumerable, both small and great 
 beasts. 
 
 26 There go the shi])s, and there 
 is that Leviathan : whom thou hast 
 made to take his pastime therein. 
 
 27 These wait all upon thee': 
 that thou mayest give them meat in 
 due season. 
 
 28 When thou givest it them they 
 gather it : and when thou openest 
 thy hand they are filled with good. 
 
 29 When thou liidest thy face they 
 are troubled s : when thou takest away 
 their breath they die, and are turned 
 again to their dust. 
 
 grace and glory ? What are those invisible and eternal 
 things, which God hath prepared for them that love 
 Ilim, in another and a better workl, and of which tlie 
 things \'isible and temporary are no more tlian sliadows ? 
 Admitted to that place, where we shall at once be in- 
 dulged with a view of all the divine dispensations, and 
 of that beatitude in which they terminate, shall we not, 
 with angels and archangels, cry out, " U Lord, how 
 manifold are thy works ! In wisdom hast thou made 
 them all ; heaven and earth are full of thy riches and 
 of thy glory !" Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 25. Su is Ike great and wide sea also : &c.] There 
 is not in all nature a more august and striking object 
 than the ocean. Its inhal)itants are as numerous as tliose 
 upon the land, nor is the wisdom and the jiower of the 
 Creator less disjilayed, perha|)s, in their formation and 
 preservation, from the smallest fish tliat swims, to the 
 enormous tyrant of the deep, tlie leviatlian himself. By 
 means of navigation. Providence hath o])ened a com- 
 munication between the most distant parts of the 
 glol)e ; the largest solid bodies are wafted, with in- 
 erediljle swiftness, upon one ihiid, by the impulse of 
 another, and seas join the countries which they appear 
 to divide, li/i. Ilnme. 
 
 The word leviathan in Scripture is a general name 
 for any great monster which iidiabitetli the waters. In 
 Job it is api)lieal)le to the crocodile, chap. .\li : but here 
 ])robably nnist be understood of the wliale. Truiell. 
 
 ' 27, '2S. These uuit all upon thee: &:e.] In various 
 ways hath (iod provided food for the sup]iort of all 
 living creatures, and directed them to seek, and to lind 
 it. How pleasing a speculation is it, to consider the 
 whole family of air, eartli. and sea, as " waiting ujion " 
 the Father and Lord of all tilings, expecting when He 
 should "open his hand." and distribute to each mem- 
 ber his " portion of m<'ai in due season !" The case is 
 the same with regard to beings intellectual and spiritual, 
 of which is composed the eluirch and family of Christ, 
 in heaven ami earth; these wait all upon Him, by 
 whom .Jehovah liatli opened the hand of mercy, and 
 abundantly supplied all our needs, through the riches 
 of his grace. B/i. Ilnriie. 
 
 ' 2(1. Il'lien thou hiilist lluj face they are troubled: 
 &c.] When (iod, in the season of winter, seemeth to 
 hide his face, and to have withdrawn his beiielicent in- 
 lluenccs, we hear the cries of the creation in distress ; if 
 Me recal the breath of life from any creature, to vvhicli 
 He liad coimmmieated it, that creature presently ceaselh 
 
 .30 When thou lettcst thy breath 
 go forth they shall be made : and 
 thou shalt renew the face of the earth. 
 
 31 The glorious INLijesty of the 
 Lord shall endure for ever'' : the 
 Lord shall rejoice in his works. 
 
 32 Tlie earth shall tremble at the 
 look of him : if he do but touch the 
 hills, they shall smoke. 
 
 33 I will sing unto the Lord as 
 long as I live : 1 will praise my God 
 while 1 have my being. 
 
 34 And so shall my words please 
 him : my joy shall be in the Lord. 
 
 35 As for simieis, they shall be 
 consumed' out of the earth, and the 
 ungodly shall come to an end : praise 
 thou the Lord, O my soul, praise the 
 Lord. 
 
 Thou sendest 
 1' nh thy 
 >piril, tiiey 
 are cre.-tted. 
 Bib. 'Irons. 
 reiiewest. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 to be what it was ; sense and motion are at an end ; the 
 
 form and figure of it jierish ; and it is resolved into its 
 original dust. But again He exerteth his quickening 
 ])ower, and, lo, fresh generations of animals are pro- 
 duced; fresh crops of vegetables shoot forth to nourish 
 tliem ; and tliere is a renovation of nni\'ersal nature. 
 The presence of God, in like manner, is the life, his 
 absence is the death, of the soul. If He withdraw his 
 grace, we jicrish everlastingly ; but when He " sendetli 
 forth his Spirit," as He did on the day of Pentecost, 
 " old things |)as3 away, and all tilings become new ;" 
 the winter is over, and spring succeeds in its place. 
 Nay, the hour is coming, when, tlirough the same 
 Spirit, He shall also (piicken our mortal bodies, and 
 thus, in a more evident and wonderful manner, "renew 
 the face of the earth." Bp. Home. 
 
 '■31. The ylorious Majesty of the Lord shall endvre 
 for ever : &c.] Such being the works of (iod, so 
 manifold and so marvellous, the [irophet foretelleth, 
 that his " glory," displayed and declared by the same, 
 should "endure for ever;" that creatures would nci'er 
 be wanting to give Him the jiraise and honour due unto 
 Him ; insomuch that, graciously accepting this their 
 tribute, and jjleascd to find a proper return made Ilim, 
 Jehovah should, as at the first creation, acquiesce and 
 rejoice in all his works and dispensations. In the 
 mean time, let the unruly and di.sobedient reflect upon 
 the greatness of liis power, and the terrors of Ins ven- 
 geance, who with a look can shake the earth, and with 
 a touch can fire the mountains, as when He once de- 
 scended on Sinai. Bp. Uoriie. 
 
 ' 3'). Jsfrr sinners, Ihei/ shall be consumed Scc.^ 'llie 
 "sinners" and the " imgodly" are they of whom it is 
 elsewhere said, that they " consider not the works of 
 Jehovah, nor regard the o|ierations of his hands," to 
 give Him ])raise and glory lor them. These shall one 
 day exjierience the |)ower of that (iod, wliose wisdom 
 and goodness they would never acknowledge. They 
 shall be " cousuuied," and " perish from the presence 
 of the Lord, and from the glory of his jiower, when ho 
 ariseth to shake terribly the earth." The Psalmist, 
 therefore, endetli as he began ; " Bless thou the 
 Lord, () my soul ;" adding, by way of exhortation to 
 us, and to all the world, " Praise ye the Lord." Let 
 us. then, with the " four and twenty elders, fall down 
 before hiin that sitteth uiioii the throne, and worship 
 Ilim that livetli for ever and ever, saying. Thou art 
 worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and
 
 Day 11. THE PSALMS. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 o 
 
 ni:iUe known 
 liis deeds 
 amung tlie 
 people. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 PSALM cv.'' Confitemini Donimo, 
 
 Give thanks unto tlio Lord', 
 :viui call ii])oii liis Name : tell 
 tlie people what things he hath clone. 
 
 2 O let your songs be of him, and 
 praise him : and let your talking be 
 of all his wondrous works. 
 
 3 Rejoice in his lioly Name : let 
 tlie heart of them rejoice that seek 
 the Lord. 
 
 4 Seek the Lord and his strength : 
 seek his face evermore. 
 
 3 Remember the marvellous works'" 
 that he hath done : his wonders and 
 the judgements of his mouth, 
 
 power ; for thou hast created all tlun|Ts, and for thy 
 jileasiire they are and were created," llev. iv. 10, 11. 
 Bp. Ilorne. 
 
 ' Psalm cv.] This Psalm, the first part of it at least, 
 to verse 15, we know, from 1 Chron. xvi, to have been 
 composed by David, and given out on occasion of his 
 placing the ark of God in Sion. It containeth, 1 — 8, an 
 exhortation to praise Jehovah for his works of mercy 
 and power, \vrought in favom- of Israel. 9 — 43, These 
 are traced from their source, namely, the covenant made 
 with Abi-aham, through the patriarchal history, to the 
 deliverance of the nation from the Egyptians, and its 
 settlement in Canaan ; the end of all which, 44, is 
 declared to have been, that God might have a people 
 to serve Him. The same is true of our redemption by 
 Jesus Christ, which was the grand subject of the pro- 
 mise made to Abraham, and of which the temporal 
 mercies, vouchsafed to the patriarchs, and their pos- 
 terity, were so many pledges and figures. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '1.0 give thanks unto the Lord, &c.] God, who 
 formerly resided in mount Sion, vouchsafing his pre- 
 sence in a tabernacle made with hands, hath since 
 blessed the church with his ap])earance in the flesh ; 
 and we Christians are bound to " make known his 
 deeds," and the mercies which He hath wTought for us, 
 " among the people;" that so all the world may know 
 Him, and love Him, and partake of his salvation. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 5. Hememher the marvellous works &c.] As an en- 
 couragement to "seek Jehovah evermore," "the seed 
 of Abraham and the children of Jacob" are exhorted to 
 bear in mind the mar\'eUous works " which he had 
 done" for them from the beginning, to protect and 
 deliver tliem, as also "the judgments of his mouth," 
 whether by this phrase we understand the righteous 
 laws given to his people, or the denimciations and exe- 
 cutions of vengeance against their enemies. But, alas ! 
 "the seed of Abraham" kept not the faith of their 
 great progenitor; "the children of Jacob" have for- 
 feited the blessing which their father obtained. We 
 Gentiles have l)een, for a long season, the adopted 
 " seed of Abraham," and have inherited the benedic- 
 tion of "Jacob." Let us not forget the "marvellous 
 works" of God in Christ, and the "judgments of his 
 mouth." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 7. He is the Lord our God: &c.] If Jehovah were 
 the " God" of Israel, on account of what in co\enant 
 He promised and performed for them. He is now the 
 God of us all, on account of what He promised and 
 
 
 
 yc 
 
 servant 
 
 : ye 
 
 chosen. 
 
 
 7 He 
 
 is t 
 
 seed of Abraham 
 children of .Jacol) 
 
 597 
 
 liis 
 Iii.s 
 
 h 
 
 covenant. 
 nib. T,an. 
 
 the Lord onr (jod 
 judgements are in all the world. 
 
 8 He hath been alvvay mindful of 
 his covenant" and promise : that lie 
 made to a thousand generations ; 
 
 9 Lven the covenant that ho made 
 with Abraliam : and the oath that lie 
 sware unto Isaac ; 
 
 10 And appointed the same unto 
 Jacob for a law : and to Israel for an 
 everlasting testament ; 
 
 1 1 Saying, Unto thee will I give 
 the land of Canaan : the lot of your 
 inheritance; 
 
 hath performed in Christ Jesus for them and for us. 
 If, when He settled Israel in Canaan, " his judgments" 
 were manifested to " all the earth," were they not 
 manifested also when the Christian church was esta- 
 blished, and the idolatrous jjowers of the world were 
 overthrown by the Gosjjel .' Bp. Home. 
 
 " S — 11. He hath been alway mindfnl of his covenant 
 &c.] Upon bringing the ark to mount Sion, David 
 teacheth Israel to bless and praise God for liis having 
 "remembered his covenant," made with an "oath" to 
 their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He 
 would, in due time, settle bis people in the land of 
 Canaan. Xow, it is very observable, that in the hymn 
 uttered by Zacharias, the father of St. John the Bap- 
 tist, on the subject of our redemption by Christ, thanks 
 are given to the Lord God of Israel, because He had 
 "remembered his holy covenant, and performed the 
 oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham." And 
 what was that ? Why, " that we being delivered out 
 of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without 
 fear, in holiness and righteousness." But when, or 
 where, did God ])romise any such thing to Abraham, 
 except when He told him " that his seed should be 
 in bondage four hundred years," but that "the nation," 
 which detained them in bondage, should afterwards 
 be "judged," and that they shoidd be "brought out," 
 and come to " Canaan," (jen. x\-. 13, where' they were 
 to "serve" Him? The case seems to be this: Zacha- 
 rias, under the immediate influence and direction of the 
 Holy Spirit, transfers the language of the old dispen- 
 sation to the affairs of the new one ; he celebrates the 
 redemption of the world, by Christ, from sin and death, 
 in words which literally describe the redemption of 
 Israel from Egypt by Moses ; to teach us, that we 
 should regard one as a sacramental jiledge and figure of 
 the other ; that there is another bondage, in which the 
 people of God are held ; another Moses, who is to 
 deliver them ; another land of ])romise and of rest, 
 where they are to be settled. (See the note from .Arch- 
 bishop Seeker, page 2(5, note e.) This the Hebrews 
 might have known, as St. Paul tells them, Heb. iv, 
 from a ])assage in the 95th Psalm, where, long after 
 they had been in possession of Canaan, David speaks 
 of another "day" of probation, and another "rest." 
 The Jews have since had a melancholy proof of the 
 same thing, by being dispossessed of that earthly inhe- 
 ritance, which they falsely deemed to have been per- 
 petual and vainly regarded as the end of all the pro- 
 mises made to a "thousand generations," that is, (a 
 definite number being nut for an indefinite,) to thcii.
 
 598 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Dmj 21. 
 
 a famine. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 brake the 
 whole stafTof 
 bread. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 with fetters. 
 Bil,. Trims. 
 lie was laiil 
 in irons. Bib. 
 Trims. By 
 tlie decree of 
 Providence 
 
 12 When they were yet but a few 
 of them : and tliey strangers in the 
 land; 
 
 13 What time as they went from 
 one nation to another : from one 
 kingdom to another people ; 
 
 14 He suffered no man to do them 
 wrong P : but reproved even kings 
 for their sakes ; 
 
 15 Touch not mine Anointed : 
 and do my prophets no harm. 
 
 16 Moreover, he called for a dearth 
 upon the landi : and destroyed all 
 the provision of bread. 
 
 17 But he had sent a man before 
 them'' : even Joseph, who was sohl 
 to l)e a bond-servant ; 
 
 18 Whose feet they hurt in the 
 stocks : the iron entered into his soul; 
 
 19 Until the time came that his 
 cause was known : the word of the 
 
 he had a trial Lord tried him. 
 
 of severe 
 afflictions. Travell. 
 
 and to us, and to " as many as the Lord our God shall 
 call," while the world shall last. Bp. Home. 
 
 P 14, 15. He suffered no man to do them wrong : &c.] 
 The patriarchs, during their peregrinations, were often 
 in imminent danger ; as .\hrahani on accoimt of Sarah, 
 Gen. .vx ; Isaac, in a similar case, Gen. .xxvi ; Jacob 
 from Laban, Gen. xxxi ; and from liis brother Esau, 
 Gen. xxxiii. Yet destitute as they were of earthly helj), 
 the mightiest kings could not hurt them. Their "ways 
 pleased the Lord, and he made even their enemies to 
 be at peace with them," Prov. xvi. 7. They were the 
 typical " pro])hets and Messiahs, or Christs," of Jeho- 
 vah ; and kings were forbidden to lift up a hand against 
 them. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 IG. Moreorer, he called for n dearth upon the land: 
 &c.] When Jacob had escaped other perils, we find 
 him and his family likely to jierish with hunger. Gen. 
 xlii. " Famine" is here finely represented as a servant, 
 ready to come and go, at the " call" and command of 
 God ; for calamities, whether puhlick or private, are the 
 messengers of divine justice. " liread" is the "sttilf" 
 which supports life; when that stalf is " Ijroken," the 
 body fails and sinks to the earth. The word of God 
 is the staff of sjiiritual life, tlie food and support of the 
 soul ; and the sorest of heaven's judgments is that 
 mentioned by the projihet Amos, chap. viii. 11, " i!e- 
 hold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will 
 send a famine in the land ; not a famine of bread, nor 
 a thirst of water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." 
 Such a famine was sore in all lands, when ('hrist maile 
 his ai)])earance in the llesh ; whose advent, with the 
 blessed effects of it, is wonderfully shadowed forth in 
 the i)ro]ilietical history of the patriarch Joseph. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 1 7. But he had sent a man before them : &c.] Josei)h 
 and Jesus were both envied, hated, and sold by their 
 brethren; both suffered by a fidse accusation; tlie 
 former was laid in irons, the latter crucified, and con- 
 fined in the prison of the grave, fast bound with the 
 bands of death. The wickedness of man. in working its 
 own will, did imwittingly accomplish the counsels of 
 (Jod. Sec Gen. 1. 20; Acts ii. 23, and iii. 17, 1«. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 20 The king sent, and delivered 
 him^ : the j)rince of the people let 
 him go free. 
 
 loosed him. 
 litb. Trans. 
 
 made him lord 
 and ruler of all 
 
 also of 
 lis sub- 
 
 21 Pie 
 his house 
 stance ; 
 
 22 That he might inform his 
 princes after his will : and teach his 
 senators wisdom. 
 
 23 Israel also came into Egypt' : 
 and Jacob was a stranger in the land 
 of Ham. 
 
 24 And he increased his people 
 exceedingly : and made them stronger 
 than their enemies; 
 
 25 Whose heart turned so, that 
 they hated his peojde : and dealt 
 untruly with his servants. 
 
 26 Then sent he Moses "^ his ser- 
 vant : and Aaron whom he had 
 chosen. 
 
 27 And these shewed his tokens 
 
 To bind liis 
 princes at his 
 l)leasure. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 EfTJTJt. called 
 " Hdiu" 
 from the 
 son of Noah. 
 
 siihtilly. 
 B,b. Trans. 
 
 signs. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 ' 20. The king sent and delivered him : &c.] The cir- 
 cumstances of Joseph's advancement, here alluded to, 
 are related. Gen. xli, &c. Those of our Lord's resurrec- 
 tion and glorification afford a marvellous parallel. At 
 the determined hour, "The king" of heaven "sent" 
 his angel, " and loosed him " from the bands of death ; 
 " the Ruler of the world let him go free " from the 
 ])enalty which He had undertaken to jiay, and had now 
 fully paid. " He made him Lord of his house, the 
 church, and Ruler of all his substance" in heaven and 
 in earth, that He might, by his holy discipline, " bind 
 princes at his pleasure," and by his Gospel " teach " 
 true " wisdom " to the " senators " and politicians of 
 the world ; He was clothed with the robes of majesty. 
 He was adorned with all the ensigns of royally, and to 
 Him it was ordained that "every knee should bow." 
 The storehouses of grace and sah-ation were opened ; 
 the nations came to be suii])hed by Him with the bread 
 of life ; and we look for that hajijiy day when the Jews 
 shall do the same, ixnd " Joseph shall be made known 
 to his brethren." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2;!. hruel also came into Eyypt : &c.] The Psalmist 
 now exlubiteth to our view a fresh scene of tribulation 
 and affliction, which occasioned repeated mercies, and a 
 new deliverance. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 20. Then sent he Moses &c.] When the tyranny 
 and oppression of I'h.araoh were at the highest, and 
 Israel cried unto Jehovah because of the bondage. He 
 remembered his promise to .\braham, and sent Moses, 
 with .'Variin, to effect that mighty deliverance, wliidi 
 was to be the grand pledge and figure of our salvation 
 by Jesus Christ. Of Hiui Moses prophesied, when ho 
 said, "A prophet shall the Lord your (iod raise up 
 unto you of your brethren like unto me," Deut. xviii. 
 1.5, cited anil ajiplieil Acts iii. 22. He came to rescue 
 mankind froui a S]iiritual bondage, and to deliver all 
 will) were " oppressed by the devil," Acts x. 38 : He 
 came at a time when Ihal oppression was most grievous 
 among Ji'ws and (ienlilcs: his biitli was signalized by 
 an order from unolber I'haiaoh, to slay the infants; 
 and Lgypt affonicd liiin a refuge from tlic tyrant's 
 fury : He wrought innumerable " signs and wonders ;" 
 but they were all signs of mercy, anil wonders of love.
 
 Day 21. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 wonders in the 
 
 locusts. 
 Trans. 
 
 amon^ them : and 
 land of Ham. 
 
 28 He sent darkness", and it was 
 dark : and they were not obedient 
 unto his word. 
 
 29 He turned tlieir waters into 
 blood : and slew their fish. 
 
 30 Their land brought forth frogs : 
 yea, even in their kings' chambers. 
 
 31 He spake the word, and there 
 came all manner of flies : and lice in 
 all their quarters. 
 
 32 He gave them hail-stones for 
 rain : and flames of fire in their 
 land. 
 
 33 He smote their vines also and 
 fig-trees : and destroyed the trees 
 that were in their coasts. 
 
 34 He spake the word and the 
 Bih. grasshoppers came, and caterj)illars 
 
 innumerable : and did eat up all the 
 grass in their land, and devoured the 
 fruit of their ground. 
 
 35 He smote all the first-born in 
 their land : even the chief of all their 
 strength. 
 
 36 He brought them forth also>' 
 with silver and gold : there was not 
 one feeble person among their tribes. 
 
 37 Egypt was glad at their de- 
 
 Those of terror and vengeance were reserved for a 
 future advent, foreshewed in the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 28 — 35. He sent darkness, &c.] AATio can behold 
 this array of divine judgments thus jiassing in dreadful 
 array bei^ore Him, without trembling very e.\ceedingly 
 at that power, which is able to send them, singly, or in 
 conjunction, upon a sinful land ? Who can reflect upon 
 their number and variety, without adoring that good- 
 ness, patience, and long-suffering, which tried so many 
 different methods, and waited so long, to lead the 
 offenders to repentance ? For more particulars, see the 
 comment on Ps. Ixxviii. 43 — 51. Bp. Home. 
 
 >* 3(3. He brouyht them forth also &c.] That is, the 
 people of Israel ; who not only came forth from Egypt, 
 but came forth laden with the spoils of their enemies, 
 wliich they were commanded to take, by Him who is 
 the absolute Lord of all jiroperty, and who, as a 
 righteous Judge, did thus award to his jieople the 
 wages due to their incredible labours, the Egyptians 
 being now willing and ready to furnish them with any 
 thing required, in order to dismiss them. " The 
 Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they 
 might send them out of the land in haste ; for they 
 said, We be all dead men," Exod. xii. 33. And what 
 was very extraordinary, among such a number of men, 
 women, children, and cattle, nothing was weak and 
 " feeble," nothing unable to perform the journey. The 
 order was, that " not a hoof should be left behind," 
 Exod. .\. 26 ; and He who commanded gave strength 
 to obey. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 38 — 40. He spread out a cloud &c.] " Brethren, I 
 would not that ye should be ignorant how that all our 
 fathers were under the cloud; and were all baptized 
 
 .599 
 
 were afraid of 
 
 parting : for they 
 them. 
 
 38 He spread out a cloud' to be 
 a covering : and fire to give light in 
 the night-season. 
 
 .'59 At their desire he brought 
 quails : and he filletl them with the 
 bread of heaven. 
 
 40 He o])ened the rock of stone, 
 and the waters flowed out : so that 
 rivers ran in the dry places. 
 
 41 For why? he remembered his 
 holy promise" ; 
 servant. 
 
 42 And he 
 pie with joy 
 gladness ; 
 
 43 And gave them the lands of 
 the heathen'' : and they took the la- 
 bours of the people in possession; 
 
 44 That they might keep his sta- 
 tutes : and observe his laws. 
 
 ' : and Abraham his 
 
 brought forth his peo- 
 and his chosen with 
 
 EVENING PEAYEIi. 
 
 PSALM cvi.' Cotifitemini Domino. 
 
 OGive thanks unto the Lord'', 
 for he is gracious : and his 
 mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 2 Who can express the noble acts 
 
 unto Moses in the cloud ; and did aU eat the same 
 spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual 
 drink ; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that 
 followed them; and that Rock was Christ," 1 Cor. x. 
 1 — 4. In our passage through this wilderness of life, 
 over barren sands, and amidst fiery serpents, be thou, 
 blessed Lord, our guide and our guard ; protected by 
 thy providence, supported by thy word, and refreshed 
 by thy Spirit, lead us even where, and in what manner, 
 it shall seem good to thee ; only do not thou forsake 
 us, and we ask no more. Bp. Home. 
 
 '41. For why ? he remembered his holy promise : &c.] 
 The same God hath since " remembered again his jiro- 
 mise to Abraham;" He hath visited his people, and 
 redeemed them from the bondage of sin, under the 
 tyranny of Satan ; which redemjition they daily cele- 
 brate in the church, with "joy and gladness," waiting 
 for their final deliverance from death and the grave, 
 when they are to sing in heaven " the song of Moses 
 and of the Lamb," Rev. xv. 3. Bp. Home. 
 
 *■ 43. Jjid gave them the lands of the heathen : &c.] It 
 was not, therefore, intended that tlie Israelites should 
 regard Canaan as their paradise, and look no farther ; 
 but that, being rescued from their enemies, and settled 
 in peace and plenty, they should impro\'e the o])por- 
 tunity, thereby afforded them, of serving the Lord their 
 God, and of securing to themselves, through the obedi- 
 ence of faith, an inheritance in " a better countrj', that 
 is to say, an heavenly." And let all the children of 
 faithful Abraham, whose lot hath fallen in a " land 
 flowing with milk and honey," upon earth, reflect, that 
 God hath given them riches, and the leisure which riches 
 procure, not for the purpose of indulging and corrupt- 
 ing themselves and others, but that they may glorify
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 or sliew forth all liis 
 
 with. Btb. 
 Traits. 
 
 600 
 
 of the Lord 
 praise ? 
 
 3 Blessed are they that alway 
 keep judgement : and do righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 4 Remember me, O Lord ", accord- 
 ing to the favour that thou bearest 
 unto thy people : O visit me with thy 
 salvation ; 
 
 5 That I may see the felicity of 
 thy chosen : and rejoice in the glad- 
 ness of thy people, and give thanks 
 with thine inheritance. 
 
 6 We have sinned with our fa- 
 thers'^ : we have done amiss, and 
 dealt wickedly. 
 
 7 Our fathers regarded not thy 
 wonders in Egypt s, neither kept 
 they thy great goodness in remem- 
 brance : but were disobedient at the 
 sea, even at the Red sea. 
 
 Him, benefit their neighbours, and save their own 
 souls ; " that they may observe his statutes, and keep 
 his laws." Israel was delivered by Moses, and the 
 ehiu-ch redeemed by Christ, that God might " jjurify to 
 himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works," Tit. 
 ii. 14. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cvi.] Tlie Psalmist here again commemo- 
 rates the divine benefits, upbraiding withal the ingra- 
 titude of those who received them. 1, 2, He e.vhortcth 
 men to the praise of Jehovah ; 3 — 5, proclaimeth the 
 blessedness, and longeth for the felicity of the saints ; 
 C, confessetli the sins of Israel, and giveth a detail of 
 their rebellions; 7 — 12, at the Red Sea; 13 — 15, when 
 they lusted for flesh in the wilderness; IG — 18, in the 
 matter of Korah ; 19 — 23, in that of the golden calf; 
 24 — 27, at the report of the spies; 28 — 31, in the affair 
 of Baal-peor; 32, 33, at the waters of Meribah ; 34 — 
 38, in not destroying idolatry, but being seduced by it ; 
 39 — 44, God's freijuent judgments, and as frequent 
 mercies, are related ; 45, a prayer is made, that Jeho\'ah 
 would g.ither Israel from among the heathen, which 
 shews the Psalm to ha\'e been written during sonic 
 captivity or (hsjiersion. 'Ilie last verse contains an act 
 of blessing and i)raise. Bp. Home. 
 
 The Psalm was unquestionably composed in the time 
 of the Israelites' cajitivity and dispersion : but whether 
 it was that of Habylon, or some other of a later date, is 
 neither easy nor necessary to determine. Pnole. 
 
 '' 1. give lhank.s unio the Lord, &c.] In the jierson 
 of a penitent nation, the pro])het invites mankind to 
 "give thanks unto .lehovah," for that "goodness" which 
 l)revcnteth us with blessings, and for that " mercy " 
 which forgiveth our tran.sgressions ; that mercy, which 
 was shewn to our forefatlu-rs upon their rejicntance, 
 and will " ever" be shewn, upon tlu' same conilition, to 
 us and our jxisterity ; lliat mercy, which will bring sin 
 and misery to an end, itself continuing eternal and un- 
 changeable. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4, 5. Hemc-mher me, O Lord, &c.] The Psalmist 
 ofrercth a prayer for himself, or rather for the church 
 of Israel, that she, with himself, might partake of the 
 blessedness, mentioned in the prece<ling verse : namely, 
 the blessedness of those who love and obey Uoil. The 
 words might have a reference to a temporal restoration 
 
 that he might 
 
 Da>/ 2L 
 
 8 Nevertheless, he helped them 
 for his Name's sake h ' ' 
 make his power to be known 
 
 9 He rebuked the Red sea also, 
 and it was dried up : so he led them 
 through the deep, as through a wil- 
 derness. 
 
 10 And he saved them from the 
 adversary's hand : and delivered them 
 from the hand of the enemy. 
 
 11 As for those that troubled 
 them, the waters overwhelmed them : 
 there was not one of them left. 
 
 12 Then believed they his words : 
 and sang praise unto him. 
 
 13 But within a while they forgat 
 
 his works' : and would not abide his waited not 
 
 , for. Bib. 
 
 counsel. rmm. 
 
 14 But lust came upon them in he^sh'e'wed 
 the wilderness : and they tempted ",^^,',^^7,);° 
 God in the desert. K-iieve them. 
 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 lusted exceedingly. Bib. Trans. See Vocib. 
 
 and felicity ; but they certainly e.xtend much farther, 
 and form the most spiritual and heavenly jietition that 
 the devoutest Christian can prefer to the throne of 
 grace. Bp. Home. 
 
 '6. We have sinned with our fathers : &c.] Those, 
 who have joined with the iiro])het in his aifeetionate 
 aspiration after the divine favour, may here learn the 
 surest way to attain it ; namely, by confessing their 
 own sins, and those of their ancestors. " We have 
 sinned with our fathers," that is, after their example of 
 unbelief and disobedience, of which an account imme- 
 diately followeth. Bp. Home. 
 
 s 7. Our fathers regarded not thy wonders in Egypt, 
 &c.] The Israelites did not jirofit, as they should have 
 done, by the miracles wrought for them in Egypt ; they 
 increaseJ not in the wisdom and knowledge of God 
 their Saviour ; but, when they saw themselves pursued 
 by Pharaoh, Iheir faith failed, they murnuired against 
 Moses, and ivished themselves again in the bondage 
 from which they were just delivered : Exoii. .\iv. 10, 
 &c. Thus, when the |>enitent findeth himself beset 
 with difficulties and dangers ; when he seeth before 
 him that death imto sin, through which he must pass 
 to a life of righteousness, while Ihc devil and the world 
 follow hard after him, to destroy or bring him back to 
 a more cruel bondage, how apt is he to forget all that 
 ('hrist hath done for him ! Fear puts out tlie light of 
 faith, and hides the prospect of the promised land ; 
 imagination recalls the former gratifications of sense; 
 he is temjited to regret the desertion of Egypt, and to 
 wish for a return to it again. Bji. Home. 
 
 ^ S — 12. Neverthele.K, he helped them for his Name's 
 sake: &:e.] As the people of God were conducted in 
 ])erfect security through the Red Sea. when the waters, 
 re-assuming their ancient habitation, overwhelmed the 
 infidel host: so through idl the diflicullies and dangers 
 of the Christian course, faith will ever liiul a way opened, 
 by the jiower of .Icsus, from sin to righteousness, and 
 from death to life: the enemies of our salvation, how 
 formidable soever, shall disapiicar, and be no more; 
 and we shall sing, like Israel, a song of triumph to the 
 Lord our God. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 13 — 15. But within a while they forgat his works: 
 &c.] The history of this miu-muring and impatience of
 
 but sent. 
 £ib. Trans. 
 
 envied. liHi. 
 Trans. 
 
 tlieir God 
 who wa.s in- 
 deed their 
 glory. Poole. 
 
 he would 
 destroy them. 
 Bill. Traill. 
 Iire.ich. liih. 
 Trans. A 
 metaphor 
 from a be- 
 Kieped city. 
 Puolf. 
 despised. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 Dmj1\. 
 
 15 And he gave tlicm tlieir de- 
 sire : and sent leanness withal into 
 their soul. 
 
 16 They anjrered Moses also'' in 
 the tents : and Aaron the saint of the 
 Lord. 
 
 17 So the earth opened, and swal- 
 lowed up Dathan : and covered the 
 congregation of Abiram. 
 
 18 And the fire was kindled in 
 their company : the flame burnt up 
 the ungodly. 
 
 19 They made a calf in Horeb' : 
 and worshipped the molten image. 
 
 20 Thus they turned their glory : 
 into the similitude of a calf that eat- 
 eth hay. 
 
 21 And they forgat God their Sa- 
 viour : who had done so great things 
 in Egypt; 
 
 22 Wondrous works in the land of 
 Ham : and fearful things by the Red 
 sea. 
 
 23 So he said, he would have de- 
 stroyed them", had not Moses his 
 chosen stood before him in the gap : 
 to turn away his wrathful indignation, 
 lest he should destroy them. 
 
 24 Yea, they thought scorn of that 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 601 
 
 the Israelites is in Exod. xv. 24, and Numb. xi. 4. 33. 
 Let us learn tlience to wait (jod's time and counsel, for 
 the supply of necessaries, much more of conveniences ; 
 remembering that He hath given us his Son, and there- 
 fore will not deny us such inferior corporeal blessings, 
 as He foreseeth will really prove blessings to us. Let 
 us be duly thankfid for that " bread which cometh 
 down from heaven," cautious how we request the good 
 things of this world, and strictly temperate in the use 
 of them when given. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 10 — 18. They angered Moses nlso &o.] Moses and 
 Aaron were the divinely appointed governors of Israel, 
 in church and state. V.n\y and ambition led Korah, 
 Dathan, and Abiram, to accuse the former of tyranny, 
 and the latter of priestcraft. Jehovah was appealed to, 
 a day appointed, and a decision made. One body of 
 the malcontents went down alive into the pit, another 
 was consumed by fire from hea\-en : Numb. xvi. Let 
 schismaticks and rebels beware of that " pit," which is 
 bottomless, and of that "fire," which shall never be 
 quenched. Bp. Home. 
 
 '19 — '22. They made a calf in Horeb : &c.] How the 
 people apostatized to the old favourite sin of idolatry, 
 alluded to in these verses, we iind recorded in Exod. 
 xxxii. It is to be hoped, we shall never live to see a 
 time, when the miracles of our redem])tion shall be for- 
 gotten; when the return of Jesus Christ from heaven 
 shall be despaired of ; and when the people shall solicit 
 their teachers to fabricate a new philosophical deity, for 
 them to worship, instead of the God of their ancestors, 
 to whom glory hath been ascribed, from generation to 
 generation. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■" 23. So he said, he would have destroyed them, &c.] 
 In the language of Moses, interceding for his country- 
 men with the offended Majesty of heaven, how are we 
 
 believed not. 
 Bill. Tram. 
 
 Tliat is, he 
 sware. See 
 Nimih. xiv. 
 21—23. 28. 
 J)r. Jtam- 
 mottd. 
 
 The false 
 iddl cod of 
 the MoabitC'S. 
 Dr. Jlam- 
 inoitd. 
 
 executed 
 
 jUdgllTlCTlt. 
 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 pleasant land" : and gave no credence 
 unto his word; 
 
 25 Hut murmured in their tents : 
 and hearkened not unto the voice of 
 the Lord. 
 
 26 Then lift he up his hand 
 against them : to overthrow them in 
 the wilderness; 
 
 27 To cast out their seed among 
 the nations : and to scatter them in 
 the lands. 
 
 28 They joined themselves unto 
 Baal-peor : and ate the ofleriiigs of 
 the dead". 
 
 29 Thus they provoked him to an- 
 ger with their own inventions : and 
 the ])lague was great among them. 
 
 30 Then stood up Phinees and 
 prayed : and so the plague ceased. 
 
 31 And that was counted unto him 
 for righteousness : among all poste- 
 rities for evermore. 
 
 32 They angered him also at the 
 waters of strife p : so that he punished 
 Moses for their sakes; 
 
 33 Because they provoked his 
 spirit : so that he spake unadvisedly 
 with his lips. 
 
 34 Neither destroyed they the 
 
 astonished at an instance of such invincible fortitude, 
 fervent ]iiety, unadulterated patriotism, triumphant faith, 
 and unbounded charity ! Once, and l)ut once, was this 
 in.stance exceeded, by Him, in whose name the inter- 
 cession of Moses was made and accepted ; who, really 
 taking upon Himself the sins of his people, suffered the 
 vengeance due to them : and who is now at the right 
 hand of God interceding for us all. See Exod. .xxxii. 
 10 — 14, and 32. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 24 — 27. Yea, they thought scorn of that pleasant 
 land : &c.] The history, here alluded to, of the infide- 
 lity of the Israelites, of their disobedience, and of their 
 destiT.ction thereupon in the wilderness, without setting 
 foot in the promised land, is contained in Numb, xiii, 
 and xiv. Discomfiture and dispersion were also threat- 
 ened to their posterity, that is, if they should go on in 
 the same spirit of rebellion, and fill up the measure of 
 their fathers' iniquities : which they have since done, 
 and are accordingly " overthrown among the nations, 
 and scattered among the lands" to this day. But do 
 not thou suffer us, Lord, to despise that "pleasant 
 land," which thou designest to be the inheritance of 
 thy saints ; whatever obstructions may be thron-n in 
 our way, suffer us not, through sloth and cowardice, to 
 " disbelieve thy word," to doubt the accomplishment of 
 thy promises, or to " murmur" against thy dispensa- 
 tions. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 28 — 31. They joined themselves unto Baal-peor : and 
 ate the offerings of the dead, &c.] That is, sacrifices 
 which were offered either to dead idols, or to men 
 deified after death. The part of sacred history, to 
 which these verses allude, is contained in Numb, xxv, 
 and xxxi. 16. And in general we learn from it, how 
 acceptable to God is, not the forwardness of uncom- 
 missioned zealots, but a well-timed and duly autho-
 
 602 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 21. 
 
 were a snare 
 to them. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 heathen ' : as the Lord commanded 
 them; 
 
 33 But were mingled among the 
 heathen : and learned their works. 
 
 3G Insomuch that they worshipped 
 
 their idols S which turned to their 
 
 own decay : yea, they offered their 
 
 sons and their daughters unto devils ; 
 
 37 And shed innocent blood, even 
 
 the blood of their sons and of their 
 
 daughters : whom they offered unto 
 
 the idols of Canaan ; and the land 
 
 was defiled with blood. 
 
 defiled. b;«. 38 Thus were they stained^ with 
 
 rarri"eda>ray their own works : and went a whoring 
 
 into spiritual ^^j^ij their own inventions. 
 
 fornication. , ^ . ^ r ^ 
 
 Bp.iiaii. 39 Iheretore was the wrath or the 
 
 Lord kindled against his people : in- 
 somuch that he abhorred his own 
 inheritance. 
 
 40 And he gave them over into 
 the hand of the heathen : and they 
 that hated them were lords over 
 them. 
 
 rized zeal for his service ; as also, how dangerous it is 
 to converse too freely with those of the other se.x, 
 especially when they have been educated in a false reli- 
 gion, or in no religion at all. Bp. Home. 
 
 •" 32, 33. They angered him also at the waters of strife: 
 &c.] This instance of disobedience was, in point of 
 time, prior to that mentioned in the preceding verses. 
 It is related. Numb. xx. 2 — 13. Where it appears that 
 Moses, though he was the meekest man upon earth, 
 was so e.xasjjcrated and embittered by continual mur- 
 murings and rebellions, that he shewed not that afS- 
 ance in God, that disposition to glorify Him before his 
 people, which became him in the execution of his office. 
 "The wrath of man" found admission, and that 
 " worketh not the righteousness of God." Thou, 
 blessed Jesus, art the only perfect pattern of patience 
 and love ; O grant to all, but above all, to tlie pastors 
 of thy flock, a " spirit" not easy to be " provoked," 
 and lips not liasty to " speak unadvisedly." Bp. Home. 
 
 1 34, 35. Keitlier destroyed they the heathen : &c.] 
 When the iniquity of the Canaanitcs was full, it pleased 
 God to extirpate the race, and Israel was commissioned 
 to execute upon them the vengeance determined. But 
 the conijuerors suffereil themselves fretpiently to be 
 seduced into all the abominations of the conquered, 
 and spared their idolatrous altars, till themselves came to 
 bow down before them. Judges ii. 2, 3. The Canaan- 
 ites, against whom we Christians militate, are our lusts, 
 which if they are spared and treated with, will prove 
 " a snare" to us, and in time become our masters. 
 Mercy sliewn to them is cruelty to ourselves, and will 
 always be found so in tlie end. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 30, 37. Insomuch that they vor.<! hipped their idols, 
 &c.] It is plain, that the " devils," mentioned in the 
 former of these two verses, arc " the idols of Canaan," 
 mentioned in the latter. And idolatry being a work of 
 the devil, it is true, that what is olfered to an idol, is 
 offered to the devil. We stand astonished, doubtless, 
 at this horrid, barbarous, aiul imnatunil impiety, of 
 offering children liy (ire to a Moloch : but how little is it 
 Considered, that children brought up in the ways of 
 
 41 Their enemies oppressed them : 
 and had them in subjection. 
 
 42 Many a time did he deliver 
 them : but they rebelled against 
 him with their own inventions, and 
 were brought down in their wicked- 
 ness. 
 
 43 Nevertheless, when he saw 
 their adversity : he heard their com- 
 plaint. 
 
 44 He thought upon his covenant, 
 and pitied them, according unto the 
 multitude of his mercies : yea, he 
 made all those that led them away 
 captive to pity them. 
 
 45 Deliver us, O Lord our God', 
 and gather us from among the hea- 
 then : that we may give thanks unto 
 thy holy Name, and make our boast 
 of thy praise. 
 
 46 Blessed be the Lord God of 
 Israel" from everlasting, and world 
 without end : and let all the people 
 say, Amen. 
 
 ignorance, error, vanity, folly, and nee, are more effec- 
 tually sacrificed to the great adversary of mankind 1 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3S — 44. This were they stained &c.] This is an 
 ejiitome of the history of the Israelites, from the time 
 when they took possession of Canaan, downwards. 
 Transgressions brought on chastisements ; chastise- 
 ments produced repentance ; and repentance obtained 
 mercy. For their last and grand rebellion against the 
 Son of God and theu' King Messiah, whom they mur- 
 dered, the sore burden of heaven's disjilcasure hath 
 now rested upon the nation these seventeen hundred 
 years ; but their eyes are not yet opened ; their hearts 
 have not, hitherto, relented. How hath the "wrath of 
 Jehovah been kindled against his people, insomuch 
 that he hath abhorred his own inheritance!" How 
 hath He " given them into the hand of the heathen, 
 and caused them that hated them to rule over tlicni ! " 
 How ha\'e " their enemies ojJiJressed them ;" how have 
 they been " brought into subjection under their hand ! 
 Nevertheless, O Lord, regard their affliction, when 
 thou hearcst their cry;" grant them repentance first, 
 and then jiarilon ; " remember for them thy covenant ;" 
 let them change their mind, and do thou " change thy 
 purjiosc, according to the multitude of thy mercies ; 
 make them also to be pitied of all those that lia\'e 
 carried them captives ;" cause them, upon their conver- 
 sion, to find favour in the eyes of the nations ; and 
 do thou, who hast so long been " a light to lighten the 
 Gentiles," become once more " the glory of thy people 
 Israel." B/i. Home. 
 
 ' 4.5. Deliver us, Lord our God, &c.] It appears 
 from this verse that the I'salm was written at a time 
 when Israel was in captivity " among the heathen." 
 Such will be the petition of the Jews hereafter to Him 
 whom they crucified ; and such is now the petition of the 
 Christian (duirch, that the elect may be finally gathered 
 together, and united in one congregation, " to give 
 thanks unto the name, and triumph for ever in the 
 praises, of Jesus." I!/). Home. 
 
 " lb. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel &c.] At all
 
 Dmj 
 
 00 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 (ion 
 
 TbariksRiv- 
 ing at Sea. 
 
 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM cvii." Conjitemini Domino. 
 Give thanks unto the Lord, for 
 lie is gracious 5' : and his mercy 
 endiireth for ever. 
 Let the re- o Let tlicm i^ive thanks wliom the 
 
 the Lord say Lord luith roilocHicd : and delivered 
 ^Trans'!'' from the hand of the enemy; 
 
 3 And gathered them out of the 
 lands, from the east, and from the 
 west : from the north, and from the 
 south. 
 
 4 They went astray in the wilder- 
 ness ^ out of the way : and found no 
 city to dwell in ; 
 
 5 Hungry and thirsty : their soul 
 fainted in them. 
 
 times, in all places, and by all persons, on earth and in 
 heaven, in prosperity and adx'ersity, peace or persecu- 
 tion, " the Lord God of Israel," the Saviour and Re- 
 deemer of his church, is to be " blessed ;" nor can any 
 situation exempt a believer from saying, "Amen, Halle- 
 lujah," that is, from blessing God himself, and exciting 
 others to do the same. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cvii. ] The retlcemed of the Lord are ex- 
 horted in this Psalm, 1 — 3, to praise Ilim for his good- 
 ness in redeeming, and gathering them from the four 
 quarters of the world. 'I'heir danger and their deliver- 
 ance are represented under the four striking images, 
 4 — 9, of travellers lost in a wilderness, but directed 
 and conducted home; 10 — IC, of prisoners rescued 
 from captivity; 17 — 22, of sick and dying men restored 
 to healtli ; 23 — 32, of mariners preserved in a storm at 
 sea, and brought safe into port. 33 — 41, Some other 
 instances of God's providence in the government of 
 the world, and of the church, are adduced and insisted 
 on, for, 42, the consolation of the righteous, and, 43, 
 the instruction of all. Bp. Home. 
 
 >■ 1. (jioe thanks unto the hard, for he is gracious : &c.] 
 Eternal mercy is the theme here proposed ; and they, 
 who ha»'e tasted its sweets, are invited to join in setting 
 forth its praises. The members of the Christian church 
 are now, in the most proper and emphatical sense of 
 the words, " the redeemed of Jehovah, whom he hath 
 redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered 
 them," by the Gospel, out of all lands, and from all 
 the four quarters of the world, to form a church, and 
 to supply the place of the apostate Jews ; whose fore- 
 fathers experienced, in type and shadow, the good 
 things prepared for them and for us, in truth and sul)- 
 stance. " Many," saith our Lord to the Jews, " shall 
 come from the east, and from the west, and from the 
 north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the 
 kingdom of God ; and ye yourselves shall be thrust 
 out :" Matt. viii. 1 1 ; Luke xiii. 29. We, converted 
 (jentiles, are the happy people ; and we are taught in 
 this Psalm to celebrate that mercy which made us so. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4 — 7. They went astray in the wilderness &c.] The 
 spiritual blessings of redemption are represented by the 
 Psalmist under four exquisitely beautiful and expressive 
 images ; which images are themselves four sjjecial acts 
 of God's providential care and love, shewn towards the 
 bodies of men in the world ; corresjionding with as 
 many works of grace, wrought on the souls of believers. 
 
 C So they cried unto the Lord in 
 their trouble : and he delivered them 
 from their distress. 
 
 7 He led them forth by the right 
 way : that they might go to the city 
 where they ilwelt. 
 
 8 O that men would therefore 
 praise the Lord " for his goodness : 
 and declare the woiulers that he 
 docth for the children of men ! 
 
 9 For he satisfieth the empty 
 soul : and lilletli the hungry soul 
 with goodness. 
 
 10 Such as sit in darkness'', aiul 
 in the 
 bound in misery and iron ; 
 
 11 Because they rebelled against 
 the words of the Lord : and lightly 
 
 shadow of death : beinir fast 
 
 in the church. Tlie first of these pictures exhibiteth to 
 our view a set of travellers lost in a pathless desert, 
 and well-nigh famished through want of necessary [iro- 
 visions. 'I'hey make their distresses known by prayer 
 to Jehovah, and, lo. He appears as their guard, and 
 their guide ; He supphes all their necessities upon the 
 journey, and conducts them in safety to their place of 
 aljode. Thus He dealt with Israel of old, in their 
 ])assage, through the waste and howling wilderness, 
 from Egypt to Canaan. And tluis He is ready to deal 
 with us all. Fervent and importunate prayer to the 
 God of our salvation, will procure, from aljove, know- 
 ledge to dispel our ignorance, and grace to help our 
 infirmities ; the former will disco\'er to us our road, 
 the latter will enable us to walk in it, and both together 
 will carry us, in due time, to "the city of our eternal 
 habitation." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' S, 9. that men xi-ould therefore praise the Lord Sccl 
 The former of these two verses is a chorus, repeated 
 after the celebration of each of the four mercies here 
 related. Literally it is, " Let them acknowledge to 
 Jehovah his mercy, and his wonders for the children of 
 Adam." And what can better deserve our acknow- 
 ledgment, than the provision made for the bodies and 
 souls of Christian tra\'ellers, in their way to that 
 heavenly country and city, " where they shall hunger 
 no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun 
 light on them, nor any heat ; for the Lamb which is in 
 the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead 
 them unto living fountains of waters : and God shall 
 wi])e away all tears from their eyes ?" Rev. vn. 10. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10 — 16. Such as sit in darkness, &c.] In this 
 second jjiece of divine scenery, we behold a people 
 groaning under all the miseries of captivity, deprived 
 of liglit and liberty, chained down in horrid dimgeons, 
 and there expecting the day of execution. These 
 calamities they are represented as ha\-ing brought upon 
 themselves l)y their rebellion against God, who takes 
 this method of hiunbling them. It succeeds, and 
 brings them upon their knees to Him who alone is 
 able to deliver them. Moved by their cries, He exerts 
 his power on their behalf, and frees them from the 
 house of bondage. To a state of corporal ser\-itude 
 the Israelites, for their transgressions, were frequently 
 reduced, and many times experienced, upon their 
 repentance, the goodness of Jehovah in rescuing them 
 from it. But the grand and universal captivity is that
 
 604 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Dmj 22. 
 
 Therefore he 
 hrought 
 down. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 regarded the counsel of the most 
 Highest ; 
 
 12 He also brought down their 
 heart through heaviness : they fell 
 down, and there was none to help 
 them. 
 
 1.3 So when they cried unto the 
 Lord in their trouble : he delivered 
 them out of their distress. 
 
 14 For he brought them out of 
 darkness, and out of the shadow of 
 death : and brake their bonds in 
 sunder. 
 
 1.5 O that men would therefore 
 praise the Lord for his goodness : 
 and declare the wonders that he 
 doeth for the children of men ! 
 
 16 For he hath broken the gates 
 of brass : and smitten the bars of 
 iron in sunder. 
 
 17 Foolish men are plagued for 
 their offence"^ : and because of their 
 wickedness. 
 
 18 Their soul abhorred all man- 
 ner of meat : and they were even 
 hard at death's door. 
 
 of sin and death : the gi-and and universal deliverance, 
 for which all the redeemed of the Lord ouyht to praise 
 his mercy, is that by Jesus Christ. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 17 — 22. Foolish meti are plagued for their offence: 
 &c.] The recovery of men from sickness aft'ords a 
 third image of the benefits conferred on our nature, by 
 the Redeemer. Sickness, as we are here informed, is 
 the punishment of human folly and iniquity, ^\'hcn it 
 is e.xtreme, it deprives man of all relish and ajipetite for 
 his food ; nay, it makes him loath and detest the very 
 sight and smell of that wliich should nourish and su])- 
 port him ; in «-hich case he must waste away, and soon 
 " draw near to the gates of death." But from those 
 dreadful gates the jjower of (iod can snatch us when 
 we are just about to enter them. To an inlirui and 
 emaciated body He can restore health, strength, and 
 Ijeauty; fOr diseases are his ministers and messengers; 
 they visit us at his command, and at his connnand 
 they retire, and we recover again. The Israelites in 
 the wilderness, " because of tbcir transgressions, and 
 because of their ini(juities, were often afilictcd " with a 
 jilaguc. lint wlicn they rcjiented, and atonement was 
 made, the plague ceased. 'I'hey were stung by fiery 
 serpents; but when they " cried unto Jehovah, he sent 
 his word and healed them." Now the mind, by reason 
 of sin, is not less subject to infirmities than thi^ body. 
 liut tlie case is not desperate, while there is breath 
 enough left to call in, by prayer, the great I'hysirian of 
 spirits. 'J'hc most inveterate malady gives |ilace to his 
 ellicaeious medicines; appetite revives, health returns, 
 and the believer is reinstated in the vigour and beauty 
 of holiness. lip. Home. 
 
 ^ 23 — 32. They Ihiit yn down into the .«cn in .ihips : 
 &c.] 'llie fourth similitude chosen to jiortray the 
 dangers of our jiresent state, and the goodness of (iod 
 displayed in our salvation, is taken from that signal 
 instance of the divine power and ])rovidence, the jire- 
 Bcrvation of mariners in a storm at sea. The descrip- 
 
 19 So when they cried unto the 
 Lord in their trouble : he delivered 
 them out of their distress. 
 
 20 He sent his word, and healed 
 them : and they were saved from 
 their destruction. 
 
 21 O that men would therefore 
 praise the Lord for his goodness : 
 and declare the wonders that he 
 doeth for the children of men ! 
 
 22 That they would offer unto 
 him the sacrifice of thanksgiving : 
 and tell out his works with gladness ! 
 
 2.3 They that go down to the sea 
 in ships'" : and occupy their business 
 in great waters ; 
 
 24 These men see the works of 
 the Lord : and his wonders in the 
 deep. 
 
 25 For at his word the stormy 
 wind ariseth : which lifteth up the 
 waves thereof. 
 
 26 They are carried up to the 
 heaven, and down again to the deep : 
 their soul melteth away because of 
 the trouble. 
 
 tion which the Psalmist hatli given us of such an event 
 admitteth of no comment. Exjierience alone can illus- 
 trate its beauty, evince its truth, and point out the 
 propriety of the circumstances which are selected to 
 furnish us with a full and comjilete idea of the whole. 
 Few of us, indeed, are ever likely to be in that terrible 
 situation. But then we cannot help reflecting, that 
 there is a ship, in which we are all embarked ; there is 
 a troubled sea, on which we all sail ; there are storms, 
 by which we are all frequently overtaken; and there is 
 a haven, which we all desire to behold and to enter. 
 For the church is a shij) ; the world is a sea ; tempta- 
 tions, ]icrsecutions, and attlictions, are the waves of it; 
 the prince of the power of the air is the stormy wind 
 which raises them ; and he;iven is the only port of 
 rest and security. In both cases, prayer is the jiroper 
 effect, and the only remedy left. \\ ith the earnestness 
 of att'righted mariners, who will then be devout, though 
 they never were so before, we sliindd " cry imto the 
 Lord Jesus in our trouble ;" we should, as it were, 
 "awake" Ilim, like the disciples, with repetitions of 
 " Lord, save us, we perish !" Then will lie arise, and 
 rebuke the authors of our tribulation, saying unto 
 them, "Peace, be still;" and they shall hear and obey 
 his voice. " He will make the storm a calm, so that 
 the waves thereof shall be still;" and at lengtli lie 
 will "bring us" in |ieacc, joy, and glailness, "to our 
 desired haven," there to " exalt him m the congrega- 
 tion " of his chosen, and " praise him in the " great 
 "assembly" of saints and angels. This is the con- 
 summation so devoutly wished and recpiested by the 
 (Church for all licrchildren. at the time of their baptism, 
 that they, "being delivered from tiod's wrath, may he 
 received into the ark of Christ's church; and, being 
 stcdfast in faith, joyful tliroirgh b(qic, ami rooted in 
 charily, may so pass the waves of this troublesome 
 world, that finally they may come to the land of ever- 
 lasting life." lij). /ionie.
 
 Day '22. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 G05 
 
 The people 
 are oiipnseti 
 10 the elders ; 
 and botli to- 
 gether form 
 tlie whole 
 as^emtily. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 rivers. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 27 They reel to and fro, and stag- 
 ger like a drunken man : and are at 
 their wit's end. 
 
 28 So wlien they cry unto the 
 Lord in their trouble : he delivereth 
 them out of their distress. 
 
 29 For he maketh the storm to 
 cease : so that the waves thereof are 
 still. 
 
 30 Then are they glad, because 
 they are at rest : and so he bringeth 
 them unto the haven where they 
 would be. 
 
 ;31 O that men would therefore 
 praise the Lord for his goodness : 
 and declare the wonders that he 
 doeth for the children of men ! 
 
 32 That they would exalt him 
 also in the congregation of the peo- 
 ple : and praise liim in the seat of 
 the elders ! 
 
 33 Who turncth the floods into 
 a wilderness '^ : and drieth up the 
 water-springs. 
 
 34 A fruitful land maketh he 
 barren : for the wickedness of them 
 that dwell therein. 
 
 " 33 — 38. Wlto turneth the floods into a wilderness: 
 &c.] In this latter part of the Psalm, the prophet 
 farther exemplifieth the power, the justice, and the 
 goodness of God : his power, in being able to change 
 the very nature of things ; his justice and his goodness, 
 in so doing, either to punish tlie rebellious, or to reward 
 the obedient. A well-watered and fertile country shall, 
 for the sins of its inhabitants, be con\'erted into a dry 
 and barren one. The plain of Jordan, which, before 
 the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, was " well 
 watered every where, like tlie garden of Jehovah," 
 Gen. xhi. 10, bath, since that overthrow, been a land 
 of salt and sulphur, and perpetual sterility. Nay, even 
 the once fruitful Palestine itself, that flowed with milk 
 and honey, is at this day a region of such utter desola- 
 tion, that the very possibility of its ever having sufficed 
 to maintain the people, who formerly possessed it, is 
 now called in question. On the other hand, when the 
 ways of a people please Him, He can rid them of these 
 dreadful guests : the rain shall descend from above, 
 the springs shall arise from beneath, the earth shall 
 yield her increase, the cattle shall feed in large jiastures, 
 the seasons shall be kindly, the air salutary, and the 
 smiling face of nature shall attest the loving-kindness 
 of the Lord. Thus, in the dispensations of grace, hath 
 He dealt with Jews and Gentiles. The synagogue of 
 the former, once rich in faith, watered with the bene- 
 dictions of heaven, fruitful in prophets and saints, 
 adorned with the services of religion, and the presence 
 of Jehovah, hath been, since the murder of the Son of 
 God, ciu'sed with infidelity, parched like the withered 
 tops of the mountains of Gilboa, barren and desolate 
 as the land of their ancient residence. When the 
 "fruitful field" thus became a "forest," the "wilder- 
 ness," at the same time, " became a fruitful fielil." 
 A church was planted in the Gentile world, and the 
 " Spirit was poured out upon it from on high." In that 
 " wilderness did waters break out, and streams in that 
 
 35 Again, he maketh the wilder- 
 ness a standing water : and water- 
 springs of a dry ground. 
 
 36 And there he setteth the hun- 
 gry : that they may build them a 
 city to dwell in ; 
 
 .37 That they may sow their land, 
 and plant vineyards : to yield them 
 fruits of increase. 
 
 38 He blesseth them, so that they 
 multiply exceedingly : and sufferctli 
 not their cattle to decrease. 
 
 39 And again, when they are mi- 
 nished ' and brought low : through 
 oppression, through any plague, or 
 trouble ; 
 
 40 Though he suffer them to be 
 evil intreated through tyrants : and 
 let them wander out of the way in 
 the wilderness ; 
 
 41 Yet helpeth he the poor out 
 of misery : and maketh him house- 
 holds like a flock of sheep. 
 
 42 The righteous will consider 
 this, and rejoice s : and the mouth 
 of all wickedness shall be stopped. 
 
 43 Whoso is wise will ponder 
 
 desert." There was faith sown, and holiness was the 
 universal product. " The wilderness and the solitary 
 lilace was glad, and the desert rejoiced, and blossomed 
 as the rose. It blossoined abundantly, and rejoiced 
 even with joy and singing ; the glory (if Lebanon was 
 given unto it, the excellency of Garmel and Sharon ;" 
 the privileges and honours of the synagogue were con- 
 ferred upon the church ; and the nations now " saw 
 the glory of Jehovah, and the excellency of God," Isa. 
 xxxii. 15; xxxv. 1, 2. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 39 — 41. And aijdin, when Ihey are minished &c.] 
 But let not those who have received the largest share 
 of heaven's favours therefore boast and presume. The 
 continuance of thofe favours dependeth upon the con- 
 tinuance of their fidelity and obedience. Mighty 
 empires, with their " princes," have, for their wicked- 
 ness, been "brought low" by the arm of Jehovah, 
 and laid in the dust, while nations " poor " and feeble, 
 and never thought of, have " been taken from thence, 
 and exalted over them." Yet, even in the worst of 
 times, there is a promise, that " the poor " in spirit, 
 the faithful and humble disci))les of the holy Jesus, 
 shall be preserved from the e\-il, and " set on high 
 from affliction;" yea, that they shall be multiplied 
 " Uke a flock," under the care of the good Shepherd, to 
 preserve his name, and to continue a church upon the 
 earth, until He sliall return again. Bp. Home. 
 
 K 42. The righteous will consider this, and rejoice : 
 &c.] Two consctpiences will follow from this alternate 
 dis|)lay of the mercy and the judgment of God. The 
 righteous, finding themselves still the objects of the 
 former, will have cause to rejoice and give thanks; 
 and the wicked, when Wsited with the latter, will be 
 forced, by their silence at least, to own that their 
 punishment is just. This will certainly be the case at 
 the last day, when the dispensations of God, and the 
 l)erfect rule of equity observed in them, shall be mani- 
 fested to all the world. Bp. Home.
 
 606 
 
 these things '' : 
 stand the lov 
 Lord. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 2-2. 
 
 and tliey shall under- 
 intr-kindness of the 
 
 Ascension- 
 day, third 
 Psalm Even. 
 Serv. 
 
 o 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM cviii.' Paraium cor meum 
 God, my heart is ready, 
 
 heart is ready : 
 praise with the 
 
 ray 
 
 I will sing and 
 
 best member 
 
 give 
 
 that I have 
 
 2 Awake, thou lute, and harp : I 
 myself will awake right early. 
 
 3 I will give thanks unto thee, O 
 Lord, among the people : I will sing 
 praises unto thee among the nations. 
 
 4 For thy mercy is greater than 
 the heavens : and thj' truth reaclieth 
 unto the clouds. 
 
 5 Set up thyself, O God, above 
 the heaven : and thy glory above all 
 the earth. 
 
 6 That thy beloved may be deli- 
 vered : let thy right hand save them, 
 and hear thou me. 
 
 7 God hath spoken in his holi- 
 ness : I will rejoice therefore, and 
 divide Sichem, and mete out the 
 valley of Suceoth. 
 
 ■■ 43. Whoso is wise will ponder these things : &c.] 
 A truly " wise " person will treasure up in bis heart the 
 contents of this most instructi\-e and delightful Psalm. 
 By so doing, he will fully " understand " and compre- 
 hend the weakness and wretchedness of man, and the 
 power and " loving-kindness " of God, who, not for 
 our merit, but for bis mercy's sake, dispclleth our 
 ignorance, breakcth off our sins, healeth our infirmities, 
 preserveth us in temptations, |)laceth us in bis church, 
 enricbeth us with bis grace, slielterctb us from ])crsecu- 
 tion, blesseth us in time, and will crown us in eternity, 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' PsAi.M cviii.] This Psalm is composed of parts 
 taken, without any material alteration, from two others. 
 The first five verses occur in Psalm Ivii. S — 12; the 
 last eight arc found in Psalm Ix. 5 — i2. The reader is 
 therefore referred to the exposition already given of 
 those Psalms. lip. Unrite, 
 
 The strain of gratitude and triumph, which runs 
 through tlie Psalm, makes it suitable to the scr^'ice of 
 the churcli on Ascension-day. Travdl. 
 
 ^ Ps.vL.M cix.] This Psalm was composed by David J 
 and is a direful ])rediction of God's judgments that 
 sliould fall upon his enemies. But by Acts i. 20, 
 wliere the se\-enth verse of the Psalm is said to have 
 been fulfilled in .Ttidas, it appears to liave bad a more 
 eminent completion in those, that opposed and con- 
 sulted against and crucified Christ, the Pliarisces and 
 tlie rulers of the Jews, who, with .Tudas that betrayed 
 Ilim into their hands, and was their counsellor and 
 guide at the appreliension of Ilim, .\cts i. 10, met with 
 sad and direfid ends. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 St. Peter, Acts i. 2(1, hath taught us to apply the 
 predictions intbis Psabn to tbelictrayers and nuuderers 
 of Messiah, who is, conse(|uently, the jierson lierc 
 speaking, and, 1 — 4, complaining of the injuries which 
 
 8 Gilead is mine, and Manasses 
 is mine : Ephraim also is the strength 
 of my head. 
 
 9 Judah is my law-giver, ISIoab is 
 my wash-pot : over Edom will I cast 
 out my shoe ; upon Philistia will I 
 triumph. 
 
 10 Who will lead me into the 
 strong city : and who will bring me 
 into Edom ? 
 
 11 Hast not thou forsaken us, O 
 God : and wilt not thou, O God, go 
 forth with our hosts ? 
 
 12 O help us against the enemy : 
 for vain is the help of man. 
 
 13 Through God we shall do ffreat 
 acts : and it is he that shall 
 down our enemies. 
 
 tread 
 
 H 
 
 PSALM ci.x,'' Deus landum. 
 
 OLD not thy tongue', O God To whom aii 
 
 c • 1* .1 1 mv praise is 
 
 oi my praise : tor the moutli luie Dr. 
 of the ungodly, yea, the mouth of the "'■"•""""'■ 
 deceitful is opened u])on me. 
 
 2 And they have spoken against 
 me with false tongues : they com- 
 passed me about also witli words of 
 liatred, and 
 out a cause. 
 
 fought against me with- 
 
 He suffered from them; after which, 5 — 19, He forc- 
 warneth them of all the judgments and sore calamities 
 that should come upon them and their posterity ; 
 20 — 24, He returneth to the subject of his passion ; 
 25 — 28, repeateth his supplications for Himself and his 
 church ; and, 29, 30, concludeth with an act of jiraise. 
 In this light was the Psalm considered and interpreted 
 in the ancient church, by Chrysostom, Jerome, Augus- 
 tine, Theodoret, and others. Bp. Ilnrne. 
 
 The first four verses of this Psabn clearly describe 
 the treatment which our Lord met with from the Jews. 
 The curses, that follow, as dearly describe the judg- 
 ments which have fallen upcm tliat miserable peojile. 
 So that the whole is a prediction of his sufl'crings, and 
 of their lumisbment, delivered in the form of complaint 
 and imprecation. Nor is there any thing in it, rightly 
 understood, more offensive, than in the jjropbetick 
 curses of the jialriarcbs. Bj>. llorsley. 
 
 ' 1 — 1. Hold not till/ loiir/iie,lkv.~\ The holy Jesus, in 
 these wonls, niaketh sujijilication to the rather for re- 
 dress and deliverance, lie complaineth of the manner 
 in which He was treated, when " he came unto bis own, 
 and bis own received biiunot," Jolm i. 11. Sometimes 
 "the mouth of the wicked was opened uimn him," roar- 
 ing against Him, like the roaring of lions, while they 
 cried out, " He is a Samaritan, and hath a devil, and is 
 mad ; away with him, away with him, crucify him, cru- 
 cify him." Sometimes, " deceitful and lying tongues" 
 were employed, either to entangle and entrap Him 
 in his talk, or to bear false witness against bim. And 
 all this was done, not only " without a cause," but men 
 were bis bitter and implacaliU' "adversaries," in return 
 for that " love" which brought Him from heaven, to 
 save tliem with an everlasting salvation. Let the 
 atllicted and traduced disci^ile rejoice, in that he is 
 conformed to the image of his Master. -\ud from the
 
 they are my 
 advers.iries. 
 Bib. 7'riuis. 
 
 And they 
 have. Btb. 
 Trans. 
 
 the wicked 
 one. Jip. 
 Home, the 
 evil one. Bp. 
 Jfor^lnj. 
 Probably 
 used for Sa- 
 tan, who is 
 mentioned in 
 tlie next 
 clause. Ponle. 
 
 Day 22. 
 
 3 For tlie love that I had unto 
 tliem, lo, tlioy take now my con- 
 trary part : but 1 give myself luito 
 prayer. 
 
 4 Thus have they rewarded me 
 evil for good : and hatred for my 
 good will. 
 
 5 Set thou'" an ungodly man" to 
 be ruler over him : and let Satan 
 stand at his right hand. 
 
 6 When sentence is given upon 
 him, let him be condemned : and let 
 his prayer be turned into sin. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 exam|)le of that Master let him learn what course to 
 take, when in such cu'cuinstances : " But I give my- 
 self unto prayer." Bp. Home. 
 
 '" 5. Set thou &c.] Or " Thou wilt set." As most of 
 the following verbs are in the future tense, and the rest 
 have evidently a predictive and future import, the same 
 liberty might here be taken, as in I's. Ixix, of rendering 
 them throughout uniformly in that tense ; by which 
 means the curses pronounced in this Psalm will at once 
 appear to be of the same import with those in the 
 xwiiith chajiter of Deuteronomy. The reader is en- 
 treated, when he shall have perused the Psalm, to turn 
 to that chapter and judge for himself. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 5. Set thou an migoilly man &c.] A transition is 
 here made to the adversaries of Messiah : primarily, to 
 Judas, " who was guide to them that took Jesus," 
 Acts i. IG; secondarily, to the synagogue, of whom 
 Judas may be considered as an epitome and represen- 
 tative. It is foretold, that, by betraying and murder- 
 ing the best of masters, they should subject themselves 
 to the tyranny of the worst; that they should become 
 slaves to the "wicked one," who should justly be "set 
 over them," when they had delivered themselves into 
 his hands : that " Satan," who had stood by them to 
 tempt them, should " stand at their right hand" to 
 accuse them at the tribunal of God ; that when tried, 
 they would he convicted and " condemned," and even 
 their " i)rayer" wouhl be abomination in the sight of 
 the Lord, as being offered without true contrition and 
 repentance, without faith, hope, or charity. Such is 
 the wretched state of the Jews, estranged from God, 
 and in bondage to the devil ; such the prayers, which, 
 from hardened and malignant hearts, they continually 
 utter, for the excision of all Christians, and for the 
 extirpation of that blessed Name, on which Christians 
 call. These prayers, instead of lightening the burden 
 of theu- sins, certainly add to its weight. Bp. Home. 
 
 The Je\vish worship is now become sin, as it contains 
 a standing denial of our Lord. Bp. Horslvy. 
 
 ° 7. het his days be few : &c.] This is the verse which 
 St. Peter hath cited and apiilied in his discourse to the 
 disciples, at the election of Matthias into the place of 
 Judas. " Men and brethren, this Scripture must needs 
 have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost, by the mouth 
 of David, spake before concerning Judas, «'ho was guide 
 to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with 
 us, and had obtained ])art of this ministry. Now this 
 man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, and 
 falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and 
 all his bowels gushed out : for it is written in the book 
 of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no 
 man dwell therein : and his bisho])rick let another 
 take." The former of these two citations is made from 
 Psalm box. 26 ; the latter is a part of the verse now 
 
 607 
 and let 
 
 7 Let his days be few" 
 another take his office. 
 
 8 Let his children be fatherless p : 
 and his wife a widow. 
 
 9 Let his children be vagabonds, 
 and beg their bread : let them seek 
 it also out of desolate places. 
 
 10 Let the extortioner consume all catch. Bib. 
 that he hath'' : and let the stranger ™"' 
 .spoil his labour. 
 
 11 Let there be no man to pity 
 him : nor to have compassion upon 
 his fatherless children. 
 
 before us. If Judas, therefore, be the person whose 
 destruction the sufferer foretelleth, the person speaking 
 in this pro])hetical Psalm must of necessity be our 
 Lord Himself, who suffered by the treachery of Judas. 
 In Psalm Ixix. 20, the prediction is in the plural num- 
 ber, " Their habitation shaU be void," yet St. Peter 
 applies it, in the singular number, to Judas. The 
 passage in our Psalm is singular, yet applicable not to 
 Judas only, but to the whole nations of the Jews ; 
 whose " days," after they had crucilied the Lord of 
 glory, " were few ;" who were dispossessed of the place 
 and "office" which they held as the church of God, 
 and to which, with all its honours and privileges, the 
 Gentile Christian chm'ch succeeded in their stead, when 
 the Aaronioal priesthood was abolished, and that of the 
 true Melchizedek established for ever. Bp. Home. 
 
 f 8, 9. Let his children be fatherless : &c.] If, by the 
 wi'etched death of Judas, his wife became a widow, and 
 his children orphans, vagabonds, and beggars, then- fate 
 was but a prelude to that of thousands and ten thou- 
 sands of the same nation, whose husbands and fathers 
 caine afterwards to a miserable end, at the destruction 
 of Jerusalem. Their children, and children's children, 
 have since been " continually vagabonds" upon the 
 earth, in the state of Cain, when he had nmrdex"ed his 
 righteous brother, not cut off, but marvellously jire- 
 served for jjunishment and woe. Having nothing of 
 their own, they roam through all parts of the world, 
 civilized or barbarous, the scorn and contempt of man- 
 kind. And even if they are able to amass wealth, their 
 unparalleled avarice still keeps them poor and beggarly 
 in the midst of it. Thus Dr. Hammond, in his Anno- 
 tation on these verses ; " By this is described, in a very 
 lively manner, the condition of the Jewish posterity, 
 ever since their ancestors fell under that signal ven- 
 geance, for the crucifying of Christ. First, their deso- 
 lations and vastations in their own countiy, and being 
 ejected thence ; secondly, their continual wanderings 
 from place to place, scattered over the face of the 
 earth ; and, thirdly, their remarkable covetousness, 
 keeping them always poor and beggarly, be they ever 
 so rich, and continually labouring and moiling for gain, 
 as the poorest are wont to do ; and this is continually 
 the constant curse attending this people wheresoever 
 they are scattered." Bp. Home. 
 
 ■i 10, 11. Let the extortioner consume all that he hath: 
 &c.] Since the destruction of Jerusalem, how often 
 hath this race been seized, pillaged, stripped, and impo- 
 verished, by prince and people, in all the nations of the 
 known world ; none appearing, as in other cases, to 
 " favour and extend mercy" to them ! '" 'I'hey have had 
 no nation, none to avenge their grievous wrong, which 
 the Lord God of their forefathers had ordained they 
 should suffer, at all times, and in all placesj whereso-
 
 608 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Darj 22. 
 
 he remem- 
 bered not to 
 shew. B.b. 
 Trans. 
 
 12 Let his posterity be de- 
 stroyed' : and in the next genera- 
 tion let his name be clean put out. 
 
 l."3 Let the wickedne.ss of his 
 fathers be had in remembrance in 
 the sight of the Lord : and let not the 
 sin of his mother be done away. 
 
 14 Let them alway be before the 
 Lord : that he may root out the me- 
 morial of them from off the earth : 
 
 15 And that, because his mind 
 was not to do good'* : but persecuted 
 the poor helpless man, that he 
 might slay him that was vexed at the 
 heart. 
 
 16 His delight was in cursing', 
 and it shall happen unto him : he 
 loved not blessing, therefore shall it 
 be far from him. 
 
 ever they have come, without redress. Nay, their gene- 
 ral carriage hath been so oihous and preposterous, that, 
 alljeit the Christian magistrates had conspired together 
 for their good, they would themselves have certainly 
 provoked their own misery." Thus, that excellent 
 divine, the learned and pious Dr. Jackson, whose re- 
 flections upon the history of the Jews, at anil since their 
 dispersion, it were to be «-ished that every Christian 
 could peruse. For, as he himself observes, " Christian 
 parents, whether bodily or S])iritual, should be as care- 
 ful to instruct their children what the Lord hath done 
 to these Jews, as the Israelites should have been to 
 tell their sons what God hath done to Pharaoh." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' V2 — 14. Let his posterity be destroyed: &o.] llie 
 traitorous and rebellious " posterity" of traitorous and 
 rebellious parents sufl'ered an " e.\eision" by the Roman 
 sword ; and " in the generation following, their name," 
 as a church and cixil jiolity, was " blotted out" of the 
 list of states and kingdoms upon earth. " The iniijuity 
 of their fatliers," which they liad filled U]), " was re- 
 membered with Jehovah, and the sin of their mother," 
 that is, j)erhaps of the synagogue of Jerusalem, now in 
 bondage with her children, was not blotted out; "that 
 upon them might come all tlie rigliteous blood shed, 
 from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of 
 Zacharias, whom they slew between the temi)le and the 
 altar," Matt, xxiii. '.i5. The blood of the prophets 
 cried for vengeance against tliose who crucified the 
 Lord of the prophets. God hid not his face any longer 
 from all these horrible tran.sgressions, but " they were 
 before him continually," and occasioned Ilim to " cut 
 off tlie memory" of his jieople, once precious and frag- 
 rant, "from the earth;" so that while ajiostles and 
 martyrs are annually commemorated with honour, and 
 their good deed.s, Ijlossoming out of tlie dust, [jcrfume 
 the church, and delight the souls of the faithful, the 
 names of "Judas," and "Jew," arc never mentioned 
 but with contempt and aljhorrencc. Bj>. Home. 
 
 • 15. Anit Hint, because his mind was not to do good: 
 &c.] The crime which brouglit upon its ]icr])etrators 
 all the above-mentioned judgments and calamities, is 
 here pointed out too jilainly to be mistaken. 'I'hcy 
 "remembered not to shew mercy " to Ilim, wlio shewed 
 it to all the world ; they " persecuted " Ilim who for 
 our sakes became " poor," and wlio eimdcsccndcd to 
 ask of Ilia crcatui'cs water to drink ; they betrayed and 
 
 17 He clothed himself with curs- 
 ing, like as with a raiment : and it 
 shall come into his bowels like water, 
 and like oil into his bones. 
 
 18 Let it be unto him as the cloke 
 that he hath upon him : and as the 
 girdle that he is always girded 
 withal. 
 
 19 Let it thus happen from the 
 Lord unto mine enemies : and to 
 those that speak evil against my 
 soul. 
 
 20 But deal thou with me, O Lord 
 God", according unto thy Name : 
 for sweet is thy mercy. 
 
 21 O deliver me, for I am helpless 
 and poor : and my heart is wounded 
 within me. 
 
 22 I go hence like the shadow that 
 
 murdered the lowly and afflicted Jesus, whose " heart " 
 was "broken" with sorrow for their sins, and with a 
 sense of the punishment due to them. How long will 
 it be, ere the brethren of this most innocent and most 
 injured Joseph, " say one to another. We are verily 
 guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the an- 
 guisli of his soul, when he besought us, and we would 
 not hear : therefore is this distress come upon us ! " 
 Gen. xlii. 21. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1(5 — 19. His delicjht was in cursing, &c.] They, 
 who reject Christ, reject the fountain of " blessing," 
 and choose a " curse " for their portion ; and this por- 
 tion, when they ha\e finally made their choice, will 
 certainly be given to them in full measiu'e. The curse, 
 that lighted on the Jewish nation, is resembled, for its 
 universality and adhesion, to a " garment " «-hich 
 covereth the whole man, and is "girded" close about 
 his loins ; for its difl'usive and penetrating natm-e, to 
 " water," which, from the stomach, passcth into the 
 " bowels," and is dispersed tlu-ough all the vessels of 
 the frame ; and to " oil," which imperceptibly in- 
 sinuates itself into the verj' " bones." When that 
 unliappy multitude, assembled before Pontius Pilate, 
 pronounced the words, " His blood be on us, and on 
 our children," Matt, xxvii. 25 ; then did they put on 
 the envenomed garment, which has stuck to and tor- 
 mented the nation ever since ; then did they eagerly 
 swallow down that deadly di'aught, the effects whereof 
 have been the infatuation and misery of seventeen 
 hundred years ! Bp. Hume. 
 
 " 20—24. But deal thou with me, O Lord God, &c.] 
 In this last part of the Psalm, Messiah petitionelh for 
 deliverance, urging to the Kather his ]iower as " Lord," 
 tlie honour of his " name," and tiie greatness of his 
 " mercy." He then ])leadeth bis own humiliation and 
 allliction, his "poverty" and "hcart"-felt agony of 
 grief. Drawing towards the evening of his mortal life, 
 lie comparelli Himself to a "shadow, declining," and 
 about to vanish from the earth, where He hath no rest, 
 being persecuted from ]ilace to place, as a " locust " is 
 driven hither and thillier by the stormy wind and 
 tempest ; while enfeebled and emiiciatcd by fre(|Uent 
 "fastings," and long want iif food during liis passion, 
 He was ready (o sink uniler his burden; and what 
 aggravated all Ills sull'erings was, that He met with no 
 pity and compassion from those around Him; his 
 enemies " reproached " and " reviled him, shakin{r
 
 Dmj 23. 
 
 departeth : and am driven away as 
 the grasshopper. 
 
 23 My knees are weak tlirouirh 
 fasting : my flesli is dried ii]) for want 
 of fatness. 
 
 24 1 became also a reproach unto 
 them : they tiiat looked upon me 
 shaked their heads. 
 
 25 Help me, O Lord my God" : 
 O save me accordini^ to thy mercy; 
 
 26 And tliey shall know, how 
 that this is tliy hand : and that thou, 
 Lord, hast done it. 
 
 27 Though they curse, yet bless 
 thouy : and let them be confounded 
 that rise up against me ; but let thy 
 servant rejoice. 
 
 28 Let mine adversaries be clothed 
 ■with shame : and let them cover 
 
 their heads, and saying, Ah ! thou that destroyest the 
 temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself," 
 &c. Mark xv. 29. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 25, 20. Help me, Lord my God: kc] The re- 
 surrection of Christ was to be the great demonstration 
 of Jeho\'ah's power ; and it was published as such by 
 the apostles to all the nations of the world, who there- 
 upon believed, and were converted. The Jews alone 
 hardened their hearts against that proof, and continued 
 impenitent. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 27, 28. Though they curse, yet bless thou: &c.] 
 The apostate sons of Israel, though they have been so 
 long " confounded " and blasted by the breath of 
 heaven's displeasure, yet continue "cursing " and blas- 
 jiheming, as it is here foretold that they should do. 
 Hut God hath " blessed " his Son Jesus, and, through 
 Him, all nations, who have been adopted into his 
 family, and made his children by ba])tisra ; yea, and 
 they shall be blessed, and enter, by thousands and 
 miUions, into the "joy " of their Lord, in that day 
 when his crucifiers shall have no " covering " but their 
 own " shame " and " confusion." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 29, 30. As for me, I will give great Ihaiiks &o.] The 
 former of these two verses is parallel to that which .St. 
 Paul citeth from Ps. xxii. 22; "He that sanctifieth, 
 and they who are sanctified, are all of one : for which 
 cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saj-ing, 
 I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst 
 of the church will I sing praise unto thee," Heb. ii. 
 1 1, 12. Great is the joy of the redeemed upon earth ; 
 greater will it be after the resurrection of the dead, in 
 the courts of heaven. Jesus, unjustly put to death, 
 and now risen again, is a perpetual advocate and inter- 
 cessor for his people, ever ready to appear on their 
 behalf against the iniquitous sentence of a corrupt 
 world, and the malice of the grand accuser. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 • PsAi.M ex.] In this Psalm David prophesieth 
 concerning, 1, the exaltation of Christ; 2, the sceptre 
 of his kingdom ; 3, the character of his subjects ; 4, 
 his everlasting priesthood ; 5, 6, his tremendous vic- 
 tories and judgments ; ", the means of his obtaining 
 both kingdom and priesthood, by his sufferings and 
 resurrection. Parts of this projihecy are cited and 
 a])plied in the New Testament, by our Lord Himself, 
 Matt. xxii. 43 ; by St. Peter, .\cts ii. 34 ; by St. Paul, 
 1 Cor. XV. 25 ; Heb. v. 6. The Church, Ukewise, hath 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 009 
 
 tliemsclves witli their own confusion, 
 as with a cloke. 
 
 2i) As for me, I will give great 
 thanks'- unto the Lord with my 
 nxtutli : and praise him among tlio 
 multitude; 
 
 30 For he shall stand at the riglit 
 hand of the poor : to save his soul 
 from unrighteous judges. 
 
 Christmas- 
 day, second 
 Psalm Kven. 
 Sltv. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM ex.* Dixit Dominus. 
 
 TH E Lord said unto my Lord '' : 
 Sit thou on my right hand, 
 until I make thine enemies thy foot- 
 stool. 
 
 2 The Lord shall send the rod 
 of thy power out of Sion' : be thou 
 
 appointed it as one of the proper Psalms to be read on 
 Christmas-day. It appertaineth literally and solely to 
 King Messiah. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■" 1. The Lord said unto my Lord: &c.] We are 
 here informed of Jehovah's eternal and unchangeable 
 decree concerning the kingdom of Messiah, its ex- 
 tension, power, and duration. That Messiah should, 
 after his sufferings, be thus exalted, was determined in 
 the divine counsel and covenant, before the world 
 began. Whether we suppose the Psalmist to be speak- 
 ing of that determination, or of its actual accomplish- 
 ment at the time of Christ's ascension into heaven, it 
 maketh no great difference. The substance of the 
 decree is the same. It was addressed by the Father to 
 the Son, by Jehovah to Messiah, whom David in 
 spirit styleth "my Lord;" one that should come after 
 him, as his offspring according to the flesh ; but one, 
 in dignity of jierson, and greatness of power, far supe- 
 rior to him, and to every earthly jiotcntate ; King of 
 kings, and Lord of lords ; God and man united in one 
 jierson. To this person it was said by the Father, 
 " Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine ene- 
 mies thy footstool;" in other words. Seeing, O my Son 
 Messiah, thou hast glorified me on the earth, and 
 finished the work which I gave thee to do, the great 
 work of man's redemption ; take now the throne pre- 
 pared for thee from the foundation of the world : be- 
 hold all power is given unto thee ; enter ujion thy 
 mediatorial kingdom, and reign till every opjioser shall 
 have submitted himself to thee, and sin and death 
 shall have felt thy all-conquering arm. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. The Lord shall send the rod of thy pou-er out of 
 Sion : &c.] In the foregoing verse, David related the 
 words spoken by the Father to the Son. In this, he 
 himself, as a proijhet, directeth his speech to King 
 Messiah, jiredicting the glorious consequences of his 
 enthronization, and the manner in which "his ene- 
 mies" are to be "made his footstool." The "rod," or 
 sceptre of Christ's " strength," is his word, accom- 
 panied by his S])irit. The law was given to Israel 
 from Sinai, but the Gospel went forth from " Sion ;" 
 it was " preached to all nations, beginning at Jeru- 
 salem," Luke xxiv. 4"; there began the spiritual 
 kingdom of Jesus ; there were the first converts 
 made ; and from thence the faith was propagated by 
 the apostles, to the ends of the earth. This David 
 seeing beforehand cries out, " Rule thou in the midst 
 
 2 R
 
 610 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Bay 23. 
 
 in the beau- 
 ties of holi- 
 ness. Btb. 
 Tram. 
 
 ruler, even in the midst among thine 
 enemies. 
 
 3 In the day of thy power'' shall 
 the people offer thee free-will offer- 
 ings with an holy worship : the dew 
 of thy birth is of the womb of the 
 morning. 
 
 4 The Lord sware% and will not 
 repent : Thou art a Priest for ever 
 after the order of Melchisedech. 
 
 of thine enemies ! " Go on, victorious Prince ; plant 
 the standard of thy cross among the thickest ranks of 
 the adversarj' ; and, in opposition to both Jew and 
 Gentile tumultuously raging against thee, erect and 
 estabUsh thy church throughout the world ! This was 
 accordingly done «ith marvellous speed and success ; 
 and the church, thus erected and established among 
 the nations, hath been as marvellously preserved, " in 
 the midst of her enemies," unto this day ; yea, and the 
 world shall sooner be destroyed, than she shall cease to 
 be preserved. Up. Home. 
 
 ^ 3. In the day of thy power &c.] Tlie blessed effects 
 of the Gospel, upon its publication, are here foretold. 
 "The people" of Christ are those given Ilim by his 
 Father, and gathered to Him by the preachers of his 
 word. " The day of his power " is the season of their 
 conversion, when tlie corruptions of nature can no 
 longer hold out against the prevailing influences of 
 grace ; when the heart, will, and affections, turn from 
 the world to God ; and they make, as the first disciples 
 did, a free and voluntary offer of themselves, and all 
 they have, to their Redeemer. Then it is that they 
 appear " in the beauties of holiness," adorned with 
 humility, faith, hope, love, and all the graces of the 
 Sjjirit. With regard to the last clause of this verse. 
 Bishop Lowth, in his admired Lectures, has observed, 
 and proved, that it may be fairly constructed to this 
 effect : — More than the dew from the womb of the 
 morning is the dew of thy progeny; that is. Thy 
 children, begotten to thee through the Gospel, shall 
 exceed in number, as well as brightness and beauty, 
 the spangles of early dew, which the morning dis- 
 closeth to the delighted eye of the beholder. The 
 whole verse, therefore, containeth a lively character of 
 the subjects of Christ's spiritual kingdom, who are 
 described by their relation to Him as " his jjcojile ;" by 
 their "willingness " to obey and serve Him; by their 
 honourable attire, the rich and sjilendid robes of " lio- 
 liness ;" and by their multitudes, resembling the drops 
 of '• dew'" u|iori the grass. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' i. The Lord sware, &c.] From Christ's regal 
 office, and the administration thereof by tlie scejrtre 
 of his word and S])irit, the proi)het passeth to his 
 sacerdotal office, which wa.s also conferred on Ilim by 
 the decree of the Father, and tliat decree, as we are 
 told, ratified by an oath; "Jehovah hath sworn, and 
 will not repent," or change his purpose. The oath 
 of (iod was the great seal of heaven, designed to in- 
 timate the importance of the deed to which it was set, 
 and " to shew to the heirs of promise the immutability 
 of his counsel," Ileb. vi. 1". Whether this oath 
 ])assed at the actual consecration of Messiah to the 
 priesthood upon his a-seension, or at his designation 
 thereto by covenant before the world, suHici<'nt it is 
 for our assurance and comfort that it did puss. We 
 have a priest in heaven, who standetli contimially 
 pleading the merits of his sacrifice once offered ujion 
 the crosa : " who ever livttli to make intercession for 
 
 5 The Lord upon thy right liand'': 
 sliall wound even kings in the day of strike 
 
 his wrath. _ '^ri-t,s. 
 
 6 He shall judge among the hea- 
 then ; lie shall fill the places with 
 the dead bodies : and smite in sunder 
 the heads over divers countries. 
 
 7 He shall drink of the brook ^ in 
 the way : therefore shall he lift up 
 his head. 
 
 us ;" and who is ready, at all times, to bless us, " by 
 turning away every man from his iniquities," Acts iii. 
 26 ; by aiding us against our enemies, and supporting 
 us under our necessities. Oblation, intercession, and 
 benediction, are the three branches of the sacerdotal 
 office, which our great High Priest now e.xerciseth 
 for us, and in the e.\ercise of which the Father hath 
 condescended in the most a«'ful manner to promise, 
 that He «ill hear and accept Him on our behalf. His 
 priesthood is not, like that of Aaron, figurative, suc- 
 cessive, and transient, but real and effectual, fixed and 
 incommunicable, eternal and unchangeable, according 
 to that pattern of it exhibited to .\braham, before the 
 law, in the person of Melchizedek, Gen. .\iv. 18 — 20, 
 and discoursed upon at large by the apostle, Heb. vii. 
 throughout. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3, 6. The Lord upon thy right hand: &c.] This is 
 a description of the vengeance which King Messiah 
 shovdd take on his impenitent ad\Trsaries. By " the 
 Lord," or, "my Lord, upon my right hand," the same 
 jjerson must undoubtedly be understood, who is men- 
 tioned in the first verse under the same title, " as 
 sitting at the right hand of Jehovah." And the 
 Psalmist, who has hitherto addressed Himself to Mes- 
 siah, or the Son, must be supposed now to make a 
 sudden apostrophe to Jehovah, or the Father ; as if He 
 had said, " This my Lord Messiah, who sitteth at thy 
 right hand, O Jehovah, shall smite through kings in 
 the day of his wrath ;" the kings of the earth will 
 endeavour to destroy his religion, and put an end to 
 his kingdom ; the Neros, the Domitians, the Diocle- 
 sians, the Maxentiuses, the Julians, &c. &c., shall stand 
 up, and set themselves in array against Him ; but " the 
 Lamb shall overcome them;" He shall "judge "and 
 punish the "heathen " ])rinccs, with their people, when 
 in arms against his church; He shall raise up those 
 who shall successfully fight his battles, and strew the 
 ground with their " carcases." As Messiah hath done 
 to the antichristian powers of old, so shall He do to all 
 others, before or at his second advent. There is a day 
 of forbearance, during which He will have his church 
 to be, like Himself, op|iressed and afflicted, humble 
 and resigned : but there is also a future day of wrath 
 and recomi)ense, when the sins and provocations of her 
 jiersccutors shall be ripe for judgment ; when their 
 trinmpbs and her sufferings shall be at an end ; when 
 they shall fall for ever, and she sliall ascend to heaven. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' ". He shall drink of the brook, &c.] Tlic means, 
 by which Christ should obtain his universal kingdom, 
 and everlasting ])riesthood, seem here to be assigned. 
 In his "way " to glory, He was to drink deep of the 
 waters of affliction ; tlie swollen " torrent " occurred 
 in the way, and ])re9eiitcd itself between Him and the 
 throne of (iod. To this " torrent in the way " the 
 Saviour descended; He bowed Himself down, and 
 " drank " of it for us all : " and therefore did he lift up 
 his head;" that is, He arose victorious, and, from tho
 
 Easter-dny, 
 third Psalm 
 Morn. Serv. 
 
 all tilings 
 that they 
 stand in need 
 of. Dr, Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 Day 2:j. • 
 
 PSALM cxi."- Confitehor tihi. 
 
 I Will give thanks unto the Lord' 
 with my whole heart : secretly 
 amoiiiJ' the faithful, and in the con- 
 gregation. 
 
 2 The works of the Lord are 
 great'' : sougiit out of all them that 
 have pleasure therein. 
 
 3 His work is worthy to be praised, 
 and had in honour : and liis righte- 
 ousness endureth for ever. 
 
 4 The merciful and gracious Lord' 
 hath so done his marvellous works : 
 that they ought to be had in remem- 
 brance. 
 
 5 He hath given meat™ unto them 
 that fear him : he shall ever be mind- 
 ful of his covenant. 
 
 6 He hath shewed his people the 
 power of his works : that he may 
 give them the heritage of the hea- 
 then. 
 
 7 The works of his hands are 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 611 
 
 valley in which the torrent ran, ascended to the 
 summit of that holy and heavenly mount, where He 
 reigneth, till "his enemies be made his footstool." 
 St. Paul hath expressed the same sentiment in literal 
 terms : " He liumbleil himself, and became obedient 
 unto death, even the death of the cross : wherefore 
 God also hath highly exalted him," Phil. ii. 8. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxi.] This is one of the proper Psalms ap- 
 pointed by the church to be read on Easter-day. It 
 containeth, l,a resolution to praise Jehovah in the con- 
 gregation, 2, 3, for his great and glorious works, and, 
 4, for the appointed memorials of them : 5, C, his 
 mercies to the church are celebrated, and, 7, 8, the 
 equity and the stability of his counsels declared : 9, 
 the blessings of redem])tion, and the new covenant, 
 are mentioned, as they were prefigured of old in God's 
 dispensations toward Israel. 10, Religion is pro- 
 claimed to be true wisdom. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' I. / will give thanks unto the Lord &c.] Jehovah is 
 to be " praised," not only with the voice and the under- 
 standing, but with the " heart," with the "whole " heart, 
 and all its affections, tuned, like the chords of the son of 
 Jesse's harp, to a song of gratitude and lo\-e. Solitary 
 devotion hath, doubtless, its beauties and excellencies ; 
 but how glorious is it to hear the voices of a whole 
 Christian " congregation " break forth into hallelujahs I 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 2, 3. The works of the Lord are great : &c.] The 
 subjects of man's praise are the " works " of God. 
 Every one of these works, whether in the natural or the 
 spiritual system, is "great." But the "work" of all 
 others, in which the " honour and glorious majesty " of 
 Jehovah appeared, and which the Christian church 
 celebrates with this Psalm, is the salvation and exalta- 
 tion of our nature, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
 from the dead ; an event which contained in it the ac- 
 complishment of the ancient promises, and thereby 
 demonstrated to all the world the everlasting truth, 
 fidelity, and "righteousness" of Him who made thera. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. TTtc merciful and gracious Lord &c.] Jewish 
 
 verity and judgement : all his com- 
 iiiandinents are true. 
 
 8 They stand fast for ever and 
 ever : and are done in truth and 
 equity. 
 
 9 He sent redemption unto his 
 people" : he hath commanded his 
 covenant for ever; lioly and reverend 
 is his Name. 
 
 10 The fear of the Lord is the 
 beginning of wisdom" : a good un- 
 derstanding have all thoy that <lo 
 thereafter : the praise of it endureth 
 for ever. 
 
 PSALM cxii.P Beatus vir. 
 
 BLESSED is the man that 
 feareth the Lordi : he hath 
 great delight in his commandments. 
 
 2 His seed shall be mighty ' upon 
 eartli : the generation of the faithfid 
 shall be blessed. 
 
 3 Riches and plenteousness shall 
 
 feasts were " memorials " of the " wonders " wrought 
 for Israel of old ; Christian festivals are " memorials " 
 of the " wonders " wrought in Christ for all mankind, 
 to whom, no less than to Israel, God hath now shewed 
 Himself " gracious and full of compassion." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 5. He halh gicen meat &c.] Agreeably to the 
 "covenant" which God made with .\braham, as con- 
 cerning his children according to the flesh. He "fed " 
 and supported them in tlie wilderness. He overthrew 
 their enemies by the might of his " power," and He put 
 them in ])ossession of Canaan, which before was " the 
 heritage of the heathen." .Agreeably to the covenant 
 which God made with the same Abraham, as concern- 
 ing all believers, those " children of the promise which 
 are counted for the seed," He feedeth them in the 
 world with the true manna, the bread which cometh 
 down from heaven ; He hath again " shewed the power 
 of his works" in the overthrow of idolatry; and again 
 by the conversion of the nations, given to his church 
 " the heritage of the heathen." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 9 He sent redemption unto his people: &c.] He 
 who " sent redemjrtion " to Israel by the hand of 
 Moses, hath now "sent redemption" by the power 
 of Jesus to all the world: He who, at mount Sinai, 
 established his " covenant " with his ])eople, and gave 
 them a law, hath now established his " co\enant " with 
 the Gentiles, and published to them his Gospel from 
 Sion. " Holy is his name," and therefore " terrible " 
 to those, who, under all the means of grace, continue 
 unholy. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom : 
 &c.] The " fear of God " is the first stej) to salvation, 
 as it exciteth a sinner to depart from evil, and to do 
 good ; to implore pardon and to sue for grace ; to 
 apply to a Saviour for the one, and to a Sanctifier for 
 the other. Religion is the perfection of wisdom, prac- 
 tice the best instructor, and thanksgiving the sweetest 
 recreation. B/>. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxii.] This Psalm seems to be intended 
 for a short commentary upon the former : shewing 
 how well and wisely they consult their own good and 
 2 R 2
 
 612 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 be in liis liouse' : and his righteous- 
 ness endureth for ever. 
 
 4 Unto the jjodly tliere ariseth up 
 light in the darkness : he is merciful, 
 loving, and righteous. 
 
 5 A good man is merciful, and 
 lendeth : and will guide his words 
 with discretion. 
 
 6 For he shall never be moved' : 
 and the righteous shall be had in 
 everlasting remembrance. 
 
 7 He will not be afraid of any evil 
 tidings : for his heart standeth fast, 
 and believetli in the Lord. 
 
 8 His heart is established, and 
 will not shrink : until he see his de- 
 sire upon his enemies. 
 
 9 He hath dispersed abroad, and 
 given to the poor : and his righteous- 
 
 liappiness, who observe God's conmianclments, espe- 
 cially those concerning doing good to others. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 'Vhe Psalmist enumcrateth the blessings attending 
 the man who feareth Jehovah ; 1, the ]>leasure which 
 he taketh in doing his will ; 2, the prosperity of his 
 seed ; 3, the i)lenteousness in his house ; 4, his comfort 
 in trouble; 5, his internal joys; 0, the honour with 
 which he is remembered ; 7, S, his holy confidence in 
 God; 9, his good deeds, and the reward of them ; 10, 
 the envy, wretchedness, and perdition of the wicked. 
 The blessings of the Gospel are spiritual and eternal ; 
 and they are conferred upon the members of the 
 Christian church through Christ their head, who is the 
 pattern of all righteousness, and the giver of all grace. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 "I 1 . Blessed is the man that feareth the liord : &c.] 
 The man, who duly " feareth (iod," is delivered from 
 every other fear ; the man who " delighteth in God's 
 commandments," is freed from every inordinate desire 
 of earthly things ; and such a man must needs be 
 " Idesscd." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' '2. His seed shall he mighty &c.] A father's piety 
 derives the benediction of heaven upon his children. 
 'I'he posterity of faithful Abraham were often spared 
 and favoured on account of their |)rogenitor. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 3. niches and plenleousness shall be in his house .- 
 &c.] It sometimes pleaseth (iod to bestow on his 
 ser\'ants, as He did on Israel of old, the good things of 
 this world. And a rich man is therefore hajipier than 
 a poor man, because " it is more blessed to give tlian 
 to receive," Aits xx. '.Mi. Hut the true "wealth" of 
 Christians is of another kind ; their " riches " are such 
 as neither moth can corrn|)t, nor thief steal, (iracc 
 and glory are in the " house " of Christ, and everlast- 
 ing "righteousness" is the portion of his children. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' C. For he shall nerer he moved : &c.] Nothing can 
 dejjrive the person here described of his felicity. When 
 his work is done, his body will go to its repose in the 
 dust, but the " memorial " of his name and of his good 
 dceils will be still fresli as the morning brec/e, aiul fra- 
 grant as the flower of the spring. " He fciirefh no evil 
 report," no blast of slander and malice can touch liitn ; 
 no ti<lings of calamity and destruction can shake his 
 confidence in God. And, whatever may be his lot 
 
 Da,/ 2.3. 
 
 ness remaineth for ever ; his horn 
 shall be exalted with honour. 
 
 10 The ungodly shall see it, and 
 it shall grieve him " : he shall gnash 
 with his teeth, and consume away ; 
 the desire of the ungodly shall 
 perish. 
 
 PSALM cxiii.' Laudate, pueri. 
 
 a vai 
 
 Eapter-day, 
 t 1 -* T^ 1 T 1 t:T>t Psalm 
 
 A 1 S) L the Lord, ye ser- Even. serv. 
 rants y : O praise the Name of 
 the Lord. 
 
 2 Blessed be the Name of the 
 Lord : from this time forth for ever- 
 more. 
 
 3 The Lord's Name is praised^ : 
 from the rising up of the sun unto 
 the going down of the same. 
 
 4 The Lord is hiffh above all 
 
 upon earth, and e\-en there the charitable man will 
 frequently be had in " honour," at the last day, cer- 
 tainly, when the thrones of the mighty shall be east 
 down, and the sceptres of tyrants broken in pieces, 
 then shall he lift up his head, and be exalted to par- 
 take of the " glory " of his Redeemer, the author of his 
 faith, and the pattern of his charity, who gave Himself 
 for us, and is now seated at the right hand of the 
 Majesty in the heavens. Bp. Home. 
 
 "10. TAe ungodly shall see it, and it shall gritve him : 
 &c.] The sight of Christ in glory with his saints will, 
 in an inexpressible manner, torment the crueifiers of 
 the one, and the persecutors of the others ; as it will 
 shew them the hopes and wishes of their adversaries 
 all granted to the full, and all their own "desires" 
 and designs for ever at an end ; it will excite an envy 
 which nuist prey >ipon itself, produce a grief whieli can 
 admit of no comfort, give birth to a worm which can 
 never die, and blow uj) those fires which nothing can 
 quench. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' PsAi.M cxiii.] This Psalm is a thankful commemo- 
 ration of the glory and c<mdescension of (iod, and the 
 great and signal works of his jirovidence to the most 
 alihctcd abject creatures, ne\er more discernible than 
 in the work of redenqition. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 The servants of tiod are, 1, exhorted to praise his 
 name, 2, at all times, and, 3, in all places, on account, 
 4, 5, of his power and glory, (5, 7, of his mercy in 
 redeeming man, and, 8, making the (ientile church 
 to be a joyful mother of children. This Psalm is ap- 
 pointed to be read on Kaster-day. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. Praise the Lord, ye servants: &c.] Christians 
 are the "servants" of .lesus Christ; and a most 
 delightful jiarl of their service it is. to "praise" his 
 holy and saving " name " in the church, which now 
 useth this I'sabn auumg others, and with it " blesseth 
 the name" of her Lord and Saviour, from age to age. 
 'I'he Psalmist wished and prayed that this might be 
 done, and he foresaw that it would l)e done, while 
 the world should last, ujjon earth, and afterwards " for 
 evermore " in hea\eu. Bp. Home. 
 
 » 3. The Lord's Name is praised: Scc.l At the 
 dilTusion of the (iospel through the world, the name of 
 Christ was ])nii.scd "from the east to the west," in 
 churches every where ]ilanled by the apostles and their 
 successors : and the grand subjects of joy and triumph 
 among believers were, the superiority of their Master
 
 Day 23. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 (ii;j 
 
 the poor. 
 
 Bib. Tram. 
 needy out of 
 the dung- 
 iiill. bib. 
 Tram. 
 
 friveth her a 
 family. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 Easter-day, 
 second Psaira 
 Even. Serv. 
 
 lieatlieii : and liis glory above the 
 heaveii.s. 
 
 5 Wlio is like unto the Lord oin' 
 God, that hatii ids dwelliiiii; so idirli : 
 and yet iiuniljletli himself to belioki 
 the tilings that are in heaven and 
 earth ? 
 
 6 He taketli up the simple ' ont 
 of the dnst : and lifteth the poor ont 
 of the mire ; 
 
 7 That he may set him with the 
 princes : even with the princes of his 
 people. 
 
 8 He maketh the barren woman 
 to keep house'' : and to be a joyful 
 mother of children. 
 
 w 
 
 E VE XING Pit A YEN. 
 
 PSALM c.\iv.' In exitu Israel. 
 11 E N Lsrael came out of 
 Egypt'' : and the house of 
 
 over the " heathen natiiins " and their idols ; the e.\- 
 altation of " his glory above the heavens," and all the 
 jiowers therein ; the might of his arm, and the majesty 
 of his kingdom. B/). Home. 
 
 " 6. He takelh up the shiijile &c.] Snch is his mercy 
 to the poor sons of Adam in their fallen estate, that 
 from the lowest and most abject condition, from the 
 pollutions of sin, and from the dishonours of the grave, 
 He raiseth them to righteousness and holiness, to 
 glory and immortality; Me setteth them on high, with 
 the inhabitants of the heavenly Jerusalem, " with the 
 princes of his people," the leaders of the armies above, 
 with angels and archangels before his throne. Bj}. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ 8. He maketh the barren woman to keep house: &c.] 
 In the sacred history of the Old Testament, we meet 
 with frequent instances of barren women who were 
 miraculously made to bear children. Isaac, Joseph, 
 Samson, and Samuel, were thus born of Sarah, Rachel, 
 the wife of Manoah, and Hannah. To these may be 
 added from the history of the New Testament, the 
 instance of Elisabeth, the wife of Zacharias, and 
 mother of St. John the Baptist. These examples may 
 be considered as preludes to that marvellous e.xertion 
 of divine power, whereby the Gentile church, after so 
 many years of barrenness, became, in her old age, 
 •' a fruitful parent of children, and the mother of us 
 all." Wherefore it is written, " Sing, O barren, thou 
 that didst not bear ; break forth into singing, and cry 
 aloud, thou that didst not travail with child ; for more 
 are the children of the desolate, than the children of 
 the married wife, saith the Lord," Isa. liv. 1 ; Gal. iv. 
 27. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' PsM.M c.\iv.] This is another of the Psalms ap- 
 pointed by our Church to be read on Easter-day. It 
 celebrates the E.vodus of Israel from Egypt, and the 
 miracles wrought for that jieojile, prefiguring the re- 
 demption of our nature from sin and death, and the 
 wonders of mercy and love wrought for us by Jesus 
 Christ. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 1,2. IVhen Israel came out of Egypt : &c.] When 
 Jehovah delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt, 
 He chose them for his ])eculiar people ; his presence 
 resided in their camp, as in a " sanctuary," or temple ; 
 and He ruled them, as an earthly king exerciseth 
 
 Jacob from anioiio: tli 
 jilr. 
 
 le strange poo- apcoideof 
 
 ftlrange lan- 
 , T I 1 1 • , """"'•■■ ■"'''• 
 
 •2 Jiulali was las saiictiiarv : and p"'"- 
 
 ,,..,.. J I hat is, 
 
 Israel Ins (lomiiiion. a-^w. iiib. 
 
 a The sea saw that, aiul fled= : '"""• 
 Jordan was driven back. 
 
 4 The mountains skipped like 
 rams'' : and the little hills like young 
 sheep. 
 
 5 What aileth thee, O thou seaf^, mc,\. buj. 
 that thou fleddest : and tlion Jordan, 
 
 that thou wast driven back ? 
 
 6 Ye mountains, that ye skijijied 
 like rams : and ye little hills, liki; 
 young sheep ? 
 
 7 Tremble, thou earth, at the pre- 
 sence of the Lord : at the presence 
 of the God of .Jacob. 
 
 8 Who turned the liard rock into 
 
 a standing water'' : and the flint-stone lakeof water, 
 into a si.ringing well. ^:„f"»- 
 
 fountain of waters. Bib. Trans. See Vocab. 
 
 sovereignty in his "dominions." This world, and the 
 prince of this world, are to us, what Egypt and 
 Pharaoh were to Israel. The redemption of our nature 
 by the resurrection of Christ, answereth to their re- 
 demption by the hand of Moses. When we are 
 baptized into the death and resurrection of our Lord, 
 we renounce the world, its pomps and vanities ; and 
 should, therefore, quit its corrupt " language," man- 
 ners, and customs, with as much alacrity and expedi- 
 tion, as " the family of Jacob " left those of Egypt. 
 We are the " sanctuary," the temj)le in which Christ 
 dwelleth by his S])irit; we are the subjects of his 
 spiritual "kingdom," we are his peculiar people; in 
 one word, we are his " church," and succeed, as such, 
 to all the titles and privileges formerly conferred on 
 Israel. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. The sea saw that, andfied: &c.] Although forty 
 years intervened between the two events here men- 
 tioned, yet, as the miracles were of a similar nature, 
 they are sjioken of together. In the jiassage of Israel 
 through the Red Sea, we may contemplate our passage 
 from a death of sin to a life of righteousness through 
 the waters of liaptism ; as our translation from death 
 temporal to life eternal is figured by their entrance into 
 the promised land through the river Jordan. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 4. The mountains skipped like rams : &c.] The tre- 
 mours of mount Sinai and the neighbouring hills, when 
 the law was given, afforded some specimen of that 
 power which was afterwards exerted in the o\erthrow 
 of idolatry, and the casting down of every high thing 
 that exalted itself against the Gospel at its iiublication. 
 See Heb. xii. 25. Bp. Hume. 
 
 5 5—7. IVhat aileth thee, thou sea, &c.] If the 
 divine j)resence hath such an effect upon inanimate 
 matter, how ought it to operate on rational and account- 
 able beings ? Let us be afraid, with an holy fear, at 
 the presence of God, in the world by his providence, 
 and by his Spirit in our consciences ; so tliat we may 
 have hop.' and courage in the day when He shall arise 
 to shake terribly the earth ; when " every island shall 
 fly away, and the mountains shall be no more found," 
 Rev. xvi. 20. Bp. Home. 
 
 '" 8. n'ho turned the hard rock into a standing rcater : 
 &c.] He, who brought water out of the sacramental
 
 614 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Bay 23. 
 
 PSALM crs'.' tJon nobis, Domine, 
 
 NO T unto us, O Lord, not unto 
 us, but unto thy Name give 
 tlie praise : for thy loving mercy, and 
 for thy truth's sake. 
 
 2 Wherefore shall the heathen 
 say : Where is now their God? 
 
 3 As for our God, he is in heaven "^ : 
 he hath done whatsoever pleased 
 him. 
 
 4 Their idols are silver and gold' : 
 even the work of men's hands. 
 
 5 They have mouths, and speak 
 not : eyes have they, and see not. 
 
 6 They have ears, and hear not ; 
 noses have they, and smell not. 
 
 7 They have hands, and liandle 
 not ; feet have they, and walk not : 
 neither speak they through their 
 throat. 
 
 8 They that make them are like 
 unto them" : and so are all such as 
 put their trust in them. 
 
 rock in the wilderness, hath since caused rivers of living 
 water to flow through the world, from the Rock of our 
 salvation ; nay, He hath dissolved the stony hearts of 
 sinners, and made to spring up in them fountains of 
 this water of life. For these great instances of his 
 power and his love, we are taught to bless his holy 
 name, when we sing this Psalm, as an evangelical 
 hymn, on the day of our Lord's resiurrection. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxv.] This Psalm was probably made in 
 some time of great distress : but by whom, or on what 
 particular occasion, is very uncertain. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 The Church, 1, 2, prayeth that God would glorify 
 Himself in her salvation; 3, she declareth her faith in 
 Him; 4 — 8, exposeth the vanity and folly of idolatry; 
 9 — 11, exhortcth her children to rely upon Jehovah; 
 12 — 15, foretelleth how He will bless, jirospcr, and in- 
 crease his jicojjle, IG — 18, never suffering the voice of 
 praise and thanksgiving to cease upon the earth. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 ^ 3. As for our God, he is in heaven: &c.] Should 
 the insulting adversary ask the above (jucstion, " Where 
 is now their (jod r" the faithful arc ready with their 
 re|)!y, " Our God is in the heavens ;" He is, where He 
 ever was, upon his glorious throne, high over all the 
 kingdoms of the world, and the jiiiwers of created na- 
 ture ; from thence lie observeth and ordereth all things 
 here below ; what we suffer is by his appointment; and, 
 at his good time and jiltasure. He both can and will 
 relieve us : " He doeth whatsoever He jilcaseth." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 4 — 7. Their idols are silver and gold: &c.] A beau- 
 tiful contrast is formed between the God of Israel and 
 the heathen idols. He made every thing, tliey are 
 themselves matle by men; He is in heaven, they are 
 U])on earth; He cloeth whatsoever He jileaseth, they 
 can do nothing; He scelh the distresses, hearcth and 
 answereth the prayers, acciptilh the ofl'erings, cumelh 
 to the a.ssistancc, and eflictitli the salvation of his ser- 
 vants ; Ihcy arc blind, deaf, anil chnnb, senseless, mo- 
 tionless, and im|)otcnt. Kijually slow to hear, equally 
 impotent to save in time of greatest need, will every 
 
 9 But thou, house of Israel", trust 
 thou in the Lord : he is their succour 
 and defence. 
 
 10 Ye house of Aaron, put your 
 trust in the Lord : he is their helper 
 and defender. 
 
 11 Ye that fear the Lord, put 
 j'our trust in the Lord : he is their 
 helper and defender. 
 
 12 The Lord hath been mindful 
 of us", and he shall bless us : even 
 he shall bless the house of Israel, he 
 shall bless the house of Aaron. 
 
 13 He shall bless them that fear 
 tiie Lord : both small and great. 
 
 14 The Lord shall increase you 
 and more : you and your chil- 
 
 more 
 dren. 
 
 15 
 Lord 
 
 16 
 
 Ye are the blessed of tlie 
 : who made lieaven and earth. 
 All the whole heavens are the 
 
 Lord's P : the earth hath he given to 
 
 the chiUlren of men. 
 
 worldly idol prove, on which men have set their affec- 
 tions, and to which they have, in effect, said, " Thou 
 art my God." Bj). Home. 
 
 "' 8. They that make them are like unto them : &c.] 
 Idolaters, like the objects of their worship, are rather 
 lifeless images than real men. What our Lord said of 
 the Jews, is aiijilicable to them, and indeed to all who 
 reject the knowledge of the true God, and the doctrines 
 of salvation : " Having eyes they see not, having ears 
 they hear not." They see not the things which belong 
 unto their peace; they hear not the word of instruction 
 and exhortation ; they speak not of religion and the 
 kingdom of heaven ; they work not the works of piety 
 and charity ; they walk not in the jjath of the divine 
 commandments ; they are spiritually blind, deaf, dumb, 
 lame, and imjiotent ; and when their idols are destroyed, 
 they will |)erish in like manner. Bp. Home, 
 
 " 9—11. But thou, huusc of Israel, &e.] Let the 
 men of the world make to themselves gods, and vainly 
 trust in the work of their own bands or heads ; but let 
 the church repose all her confidence in Jehovah, her 
 .Saviour and Rcdeeu)er, who alone can be her defender 
 and ])rotector; more esiiecially, let her ministers, the 
 sons of the true Aaron, do this, who are the ])eculiar 
 portion of their God, emi)U>ycd continually in his ser- 
 vice, and designed to liuild up others in faith and hope; 
 and let all. wlu) liave been instriicti'd, by their ministry, 
 in the fear of the Lord, trust always in Him, nor suffer 
 any apprehension of danger or distress to separate them 
 from Him. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 12 — 15. 'I'he Lord hath hern mindful of us, &c.] 
 The heart of the Psalmist is full of " blessing," and on 
 his tongue is the word of kindness and comfort. The 
 "blessings," formerly confined to Israel, have since 
 been extended to the whole race of mankind. Jehovah, 
 ever "mindful" of his creatures, hath visited the world 
 by his Son and by bis .Spirit ; He bath foimed a church 
 from among the Gentiles, ap|Hiiiited a priesthood and 
 ministry in it. and (ii\cn his lienedictiiiu to both; He 
 batli "blessed" wilb the blessings of grace, "them 
 that fear him," of all nations, and of every degree ; He 
 hath "increased" and multiplied his people exceed-
 
 Day 24. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 015 
 
 17 The (lead praise not thee, O 
 Lord : neither all they that go down 
 into silence. 
 
 18 But we will praise the Lord : 
 from this time forth for evermore. 
 Praise tiie Lord. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 ciiurciiing PSALM cxvi.' DUexi, quoniam. 
 
 I Am well pleased : that the Lord 
 hath heard the voice of my 
 prayer ; 
 
 2 That he hath inclined his ear 
 unto me : therefore will I call upon 
 him as long as I live. 
 sorrows. Bu. Q 'Yl\e suares of death compassed 
 
 Trans. . . , , f. ^ 
 
 me"^ round about : ano the panis or 
 See vocab. hell gat hold upon me. 
 I found. 4 I shall find trouble and heavi- 
 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 ingly ; and the faithfvil memliers of the Christian church 
 are now "the blessed of Jehovah, who made heaven 
 and earth," and who is, consequently, possessed of all 
 power in both. Bp. Home. 
 
 P 10 — 18. All the whole henven a nre the Lord's : &c.] 
 He who Himself dwelleth in the highest heavens, where 
 He is praised and glorified by angels, hath " given the 
 earth" for an habitation, at jjresent, " to the sons of 
 men," whose duty it is to ])raise and glorify Him here 
 below, as the angels do above. Now as " the dead 
 cannot praise Him," as they who sleep in the silent 
 grave cannot celebrate Him, we may be certain, that 
 He will not suffer his people to be destroyed and extir- 
 pated, but will always preserve a church to " bless him" 
 in all ages, till the end of the world ; when the dead 
 shall be raised, and the choirs of heaven and earth 
 shall be united, to praise and glorify Him together be- 
 fore his throne for evermore. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 I'sALivi cxvi.] It is not certain by whom, or upon 
 what occasion, this Psalm was composed. It plainly 
 appears, however, to be a song of thanksgiving for de- 
 liverance from trouble, either temporal, or spiritual, or 
 both. To render it of general use, let it be considered 
 as an evangelical hymn, in the mouth of a penitent, 
 expressing his gratitude for salvation from sin and 
 death. 1, 2, He declareth his gratitude to God, who 
 hath vouchsafed to hear his prayer; 3 — 9, describeth 
 his distress, his deliverance out of it, and subsequent 
 peace and comfort; 10, he acknowledgeth himself to 
 have been tempted to despond, but was supported by 
 faith, in the day of trouble ; 11 — IC, he determineth to 
 receive the cup of salvation, to praise and to serve 
 Jehovah, who thus delivereth the souls of his people. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 This Psalm is highly ajiplicable to the case of those, 
 who ha^■e been blessed with deliverance from sickness 
 and disti-ess ; and therefore the Church has appointed 
 it to be used in the solemn thanksgiving of women 
 after childbirth. Travell. 
 
 ' 3. The snnres of death compa.ised me &c.] These 
 " sorrows" or " snares of death" once " compassed" the 
 human race: these "pains of hell" were ready to seize 
 on every son of Adam. The awakened and terrified 
 conscience of a sinner hath felt the oppression of the 
 former, and experienced some foretaste of the latter. 
 
 ness, and I will call ujion the Name 
 of the Lord : O Lord, 1 beseech thee, 
 deliver my soul. 
 
 .5 Gracious is the Lord, and right- 
 eous : yea, our God is merciful. 
 
 (! 'J'lie Lord preservetli the sim- 
 ple : I was in miserj', and he helped 
 me. 
 
 7 Tinn again then unto thy rest, 
 O my soul* : for the Lord hath re- 
 warded thee. 
 
 8 And why? thou hast delivered 
 iny soul from death : mine eyes from 
 tears, and my feet from falling. 
 
 9 I will walk before the Lord : in 
 the land of the living. 
 
 10 1 believed, and therefore will I 
 speak'; but I was sore troubled : I 
 said in my haste. All men are liars. 
 
 1 1 What reward shall I give unto 
 
 tlien called I. 
 Bill. Tram. 
 
 dcilt bounti- 
 fully with 
 tllee. Bill. 
 Trans. 
 
 have I 
 
 spoken. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 What shall I 
 render. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 In this situation he is described by St. Paul as crying 
 out, " () wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me 
 from the body of this death ? " Let him take the course 
 which the Psalmist took ; let him " call ujjon the name 
 of the Lord," even the Lord Jesus, who ])ut Himself 
 in tlie sinner's place, and suffered for him unspeakable 
 " sorrows and pains ;" let him do this, and he shall be 
 saved ; and shall sing the praises of his almighty .Saviour, 
 in the words of this beautiful Psalm. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. Turn again then unto thy rest, O my soul : &c.] 
 That peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost, 
 which the penitent experienceth, as the effect and fruit 
 of pardon, afford him some idea of the rest and felicity 
 of lieaven ; and, accordingly, he speaks as one translated 
 to those happy mansions, where there is no more death, 
 neither sorrow, nor crying, because there is no more sin. 
 Remission of sins ought to be followed by newness of 
 life, and the resolution of him whose " soul" hath been 
 " delivered from death, his eyes from tears, and his feet 
 from falling," should always be this, " I will walk before 
 the Lord," as one under his inspection, " in the land of 
 the living," or amongst the redeemed in the chiu'ch ; 
 until the time come for me to depart hence, and to be 
 numbered with the saints in glory everlasting. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 10. 1 believed, and therefore will I speak ; &c.] In 
 afflictions and distresses, those of the spirit and con- 
 science more especially, the soul is tempted to despond, 
 and can only be supported by faith exerting itself in 
 prayer: " I believed, and therefore have I spoken," or 
 " therefore sjjake J," that is, as above, verse 4, " I 
 called iqion the name of the Lord ; {) Lord, I beseech 
 thee, deliver my soul." And this I did, though so 
 "greatly afflicted," that I had " said in my Iiaste," in 
 my hurry and trepidation occasioned by fear and 
 amazement, " All men are liars;" there is no credit to 
 be given to their promises of deliverance ; I am lost 
 and undone for ever. Yet my faith failed not entirely, 
 and, lo, my prayer hath been heard and answered. St. 
 Paul, relating the troubles which came upon him, and 
 the manner in which he sustained them, thus citeth a 
 part of the Kith verse : " We, having the same spirit of 
 faith, according as it is wTitten, I believed, and therefore 
 have I spoken : we also believe, and therefore sjieak ; 
 knowing that He, which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall
 
 616 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 24. 
 
 the Lord": for all the benefits that 
 he hath done unto nie ? 
 
 12 1 will receive the cup of salva- 
 tion : and call upon the Name of the 
 Lord. 
 
 13 I will pay my vows now in the 
 presence of all his people : right dear 
 in the sight of the Lord is the death 
 of his saints^. 
 
 14 Behold, O Lord, how that I am 
 thy servant : I am thy servant^ and 
 the son of thine handmaid; thou hast 
 broken my bonds in sunder. 
 
 15 I will offer to thee the sacrifice 
 of thanksgiving : and will call upon 
 the Name of the Lord. 
 
 16 I will pay my vows unto the 
 Lord, in the sight of all his people : 
 
 raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with 
 you," 2 Cor. iv. 13, U. Bp. Home. 
 
 "11. IVkrit reward shall 1 give unto the Lord: &c.] 
 The grateful penitent now asketh, what return he shall 
 make to his kind Benefactor, for the most valuable of 
 all blessings conferred u])on him. And he presently 
 resolveth to make the only return in his jiower, namely, 
 to acknowledge and declare before men the goodness of 
 Jehovah, ascribing all the glory where it is all due. 
 This he detcrmineth to do, by " taking the cup of sal- 
 vation," which, as Dr. Hammond observes, among the 
 Jews was twofold : one offered in a more solemn man- 
 ner in the temple, Numb, .x.wiii. 7 ; the other more 
 private in families, called the cup of thanksgiving, or 
 commemoration of any deliverance, begun by the mas- 
 ter of the family, and attended, on festival days, with a 
 suitable hymn ; such as was that sung by our Lord and 
 his disciples on the night when He advanced that cup 
 into the sacr.iment of his blood, which hath ever since 
 been to Christians "the cup of salvation," and which 
 all penitents should now receive in the church, «ith 
 invocation, thanksgiving, and payment of the "vows" 
 made in time of trouble. Bp. Home. 
 
 '13. — right dear in the sight of the Lord is the death 
 of his saitils.] That is, it is rated at so high a price by 
 God, as that He will not easily grant it to any one who 
 most desires it of Him. We may add, tliat much less 
 will God be easily prevailed on to give uj) his people to 
 death eternal. Rather will He work wonders of mercy 
 and loving-kinihiess to save them. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 14 — 10. licholil, O Lord, how that I <im thy servant : 
 &c.] Kvery penitent is the "servant" of (iod, "the 
 son of his handmaid," the church, "loosed from his 
 bonds," and redeemed from a state of slavery under 
 sin, the world, and the devil, that he may serve a better 
 Ma.ster, whose "yoke is easy, and his burden light." 
 This blessed Master is from thenceforth the object of 
 his love, duty, and adoration : to Him he " olfereth tlie 
 sacrifice of thanksgiving," to Him he " paycth his vows," 
 among his fellow-servants in the ehun-li on earth ; long- 
 ing for that day to come, when, loo.sed also from tlie 
 bonds of deatli and the grave, he shall be admitted to 
 sing hallelujahs with saints and angels, in the "courts" 
 of the eternal temple, even "in llie midst of thee, () 
 Jerusalem," the lioly, heavenly, and glorious city of 
 God most high ! Bp. Home. 
 
 * Ps\r.M cxvii.] 'I'his I'salm, like the lOOth, seems 
 to be altogether jirophetical of the joy that all the 
 world should conceive, at the coming of the Messiah, 
 
 in the courts of the Lord's house, 
 even in the midst of thee, O Jerusa- 
 lem. Praise the Lord. 
 
 o 
 
 Laudate Dominum. 
 Lord, all ye hea- 
 
 PSALM cxvii.' 
 Praise the 
 
 then '' : praise him, all ye na- 
 tions. 
 
 2 For his merciful kindness is ever 
 more and more towards us : and the 
 truth of the Lord endureth for ever. 
 Praise the Lord. 
 
 PSALM c.xviii.'= Conjitemini Domino. 
 Give thanks unto the Lord'', 
 for he is gracious : because his 
 mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 2 Let Israel now confess, that he serv. 
 
 
 
 Easter-day, 
 third Psalm 
 Even. Serv. 
 and KinK 
 Charles's 
 Rest, fourth 
 Psalm Morn. 
 
 to give salvation, first to the Jews, and then to all 
 other nations, according to his faithful promise. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 '■ 1. praise the Lord, all ye heathen .- &c.] It is re- 
 markable, that of so short a Psalm one verse is quoted 
 in the Xew Testament by St. Paul; the second verse is 
 explained, though not quoted. Two questions naturally 
 arise, upon reading the Psalm ; first. Who are the " na- 
 tions and people," exhorted to jiraise Jehovah ? se- 
 condly. What is that " merciful kindness," and that 
 " truth," for which they are exhorted to praise Him ? 
 The apostle hath given a satisfactory and decisive answer 
 to both these questions, Rom. xv. 8, 9, &c. " Now, I 
 say, that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision 
 for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto 
 the fathers, and that the (ientilcs might glorify God for 
 his mercy ; as it is written. Praise the Lord, all ye (ien- 
 tilcs, and laud him, all ye i)eo])le." From the apostle's 
 reasoning, the verse of our Psalm, which he hath citctl, 
 ajijiears to l)e a ])roof, that " the tientiles," or the hea- 
 then world, shoidd one day "glorify God;" they are, 
 therefore, the " peojile," whom the Psalmist, in the 
 s|)irit of jirojjhecy, exhorted to " praise Jehovah." It 
 appears also, why the Gentiles were to glorify God ; 
 namely, for his " mercy" and " truth," shewn in confum- 
 ing or accomplishing the " promises" concerning their 
 vocation and conversion, "made unto the fathers;" to 
 Abraham, and his seeil forever; to all believers, whether 
 of the circumcision or the imcirrumiision. Sudi, then, 
 is the " merciful kindness" of Jehovah, which is said, 
 in the Psalm, to be " great," mighty, and powerful, 
 " toward us ;" such his " truth," which is affirmetl to 
 " endin-e for ever ;" as the [n'omises were made good to 
 the (ientiles, when the Jews, because of unbelief, had 
 been cast off. Let the hallelujahs of the redeenu'd be 
 suitidile to that "mercy," and co-eternal with that 
 " truth." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' I'sAt.M cxviii.] This Psalm was most probably 
 composed liy David, wlien he was newly settled in the 
 kingdom, anil had brought up the iirk of (iod to his 
 royal city. l!ut, though this was (he occasion, David, 
 or at least the Spirit of (iod, which indited this Psalm, 
 had a higher ilesign in it, especially in the latter part, 
 which was to carry the reaih'r's thoughts beyontl the 
 type to the antitype, the Messiah and his kingdom, who 
 was chiclly intendcil by it. This is apparent, both from 
 the testimonies produced of it to tliat jiurjiose in the 
 New Testament, and from the consent of the Hebrew 
 doctors both ancient and modern. I'oole.
 
 Day 24. 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 tliat liis mercy en 
 
 (il7 
 
 answered me, 
 and set iiip in 
 a large place. 
 Bib. Tniui, 
 amply 
 granted my 
 petitions. 
 Dr. Niclwlts. 
 
 is gracious : and 
 dureth for ever. 
 
 3 Let the house of Aaron now 
 confess : that his mercy endurctii for 
 ever. 
 
 4 Yea, let them now that fear the 
 Lord confess : that his mercy endur- 
 etli for ever. 
 
 5 I caUed upon the Lord in 
 trouble* : and the Lord heard me at 
 large. 
 
 6 The Lord is on my side : I will 
 not fear what man doetli unto me. 
 
 7 The Lord taketh my part with 
 them that help me : therefore shall 
 I see my desire upon mine enemies. 
 
 8 It is better to trust in the 
 Lord': than to put any confidence 
 in man. 
 
 In this Psalm, a king of Israel appears leading his 
 people in solemn procession to the temple, there to offer 
 up the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, for the mar- 
 vellous deliverance from his enemies, and a glorious 
 victory gained over them. After inviting the whole 
 nation, 1 — 4, to join with him upon this joyful occasion, 
 he describeth at large, 5 — IS, his danger, and his deli- 
 verance from it, which latter is wholly attributed to the 
 power and goodness of .Jehovah. After this there en- 
 sues a kind of sacred dialogue. Being come to the 
 temple, the victorious monarch speaks the 10th verse; 
 they that open the gate the '20th ; he again, as he en- 
 ters, the 21st ; they with him seem to speak the next 
 four verses, to the 25th ; the priests of the temjile the 
 20th, the first part to the king, the other to the [leople ; 
 the people the 27th ; he the 28th; the 29th is the cho- 
 rus verse, concluding as it hegan. The repeated appli- 
 cation made of the 22nd verse in the New Testament, 
 and the ajipointment of the Psalm, by the Church, to 
 be used on Easter-day, lead us to consider the whole 
 as a triumphant hymn, sung hy King Messiah, at the 
 head of the Israel of God, on occasion of his resurrec- 
 tion and exaltation. B/>. Home. 
 
 ■* 1 — 4. give thanks unto the Lord, &c.] The sub- 
 jects of "thanksgiving" here proposed are Jehovah's 
 "goodness" and his " mercy." He is the sole fountain 
 of ahsolute and essential "goodness," the source of all 
 excellency and |)erfection ; and his " mercy" is the 
 channel l)y which He communicateth this goodness, in 
 an overHowing stream, to his peojjle who are, therefore, 
 exhorted to praise Him. The Christian church is now 
 " the Israel of God ;" her ministers constitute the true 
 "house of Aaron," being the spiritual progeny of our 
 great High Priest ; and the Gentiles, not the Jews, are 
 they who know and " fear Jehovah." Let these all 
 celebrate, for these all have experienced, the benefits 
 and blessings of " eternal mercy," by the resurrection 
 of Jesus from the dead. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' .5. / called upon the Lord in trouble : &c.] The true 
 value of every deliverance is to he estimated hy the 
 nature of the " distress" which required it. The rescue 
 of David from his enemies, or that of Israel from capti- 
 vity, might deservedly be e.xtoUed with the songs of 
 Sion. How much more, then, is the eluircli universal 
 bound to lift up her \'oice in honour of Jehovah, who 
 hath redeemed her from her spiritual adversaries, and 
 freed her from the bondage of corruption, through 
 Him who " died for her sins, and rose again for her 
 
 9 It is better to trust in the 
 Lord : than to put any confidence in 
 princes. 
 
 10 All nations compassed me round 
 about^ : but in the Name of the 
 Lord will I destroy them. 
 
 1 1 They kept me in on every 
 side, they kept me in, I say, on every 
 side : but in the Name of the Lord 
 will I destroy them. 
 
 I '2 They came about me like bee.s, 
 and are extinct even as the fire 
 among- the thorns : for in the Name 
 of the Lord will I destroy them. 
 
 1.3 Thou hast thrust sore at me'', 
 that I might fall : but the Lord was 
 my help, 
 
 14 The Lord is my strength, and 
 my song : and is become my salvation. 
 
 quenched as 
 the tire of 
 thorns. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 Thou, O 
 mine enemy. 
 Poule. 
 
 justification ;" who, in the days of his flesh, being, on 
 her account, in " distress" and affliction, " called ujjon 
 Jehovah, and was answered," by an "enlargement" 
 from the narrow prison of the grave, to a boundless 
 and glorious kingdom ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 8. It is belter to trust in the Lord : &c.] Armies of 
 " men," however numerous, and to appearance power- 
 ful, may be routed and dispersed at once. " Princes" 
 may not be able to help us ; if able, they may fail us, 
 as not being willing to do it ; if both able and willing, 
 they may die, ere they can execute their purjiose. But 
 that ho])e, which is ])laeed in God, can never, by these, 
 or any other means, be disai)])ointed. Bp. Home. 
 
 s 10. All nations compassed me round about : &c.] As 
 David and Israel were encomi)assed by hostile nations, 
 over whom, through (iod's assistance, they often tri- 
 umphed ; so the Son of David, in the day of his pas- 
 sion, was surrounded I)y the furious multitude of Jews 
 and Gentiles seeking his life; and, after the same ex- 
 ample, his mystical body, the churcli, hath frequently 
 been, on all sides, vexed and persecuted in (he world. 
 But through the ])Owcr of Jehovah, Christ overcame, 
 and is set down on the right hand of the Majesty on 
 high. The church, likewise, hath often risen superior 
 to the efi'orts of her innumerable and malicious enemies, 
 whose fury hath blazed forth against her witli the sud- 
 den fierceness of " fire," when it is applied to a heap of 
 dry "thorns;" and hath been as soon at an end ; she 
 hath triumphed, yea, and she will finally triumph, " in 
 the name of the Lord her God." Bj;. Home. 
 
 '' 13. Thou hast thrust sore at me, &c.] The chiu'ch 
 may consider herself as victorious over her great adver- 
 sary, the author of all evil, who had made his grand 
 efi'ort to effect her destruction, by putting to death her 
 champion and king, Messiah. But Jehovah appeared 
 at the time appointed, to bring Him, and, virtually, all 
 that should believe in Him. from the dead. " Thou 
 hast thrust sore at me, that 1 might fall ; but Jehovah 
 helped me." Risen, therefore, with Christ, from the 
 grave, we proceed to praise Jehovah, in the words which 
 Moses and Israel first used, when they had ascended 
 from the depths of the sea, and beheld their enemies 
 destroyed for ever ; " Jehovah is my strength, and my 
 song, and is become my salvation," Exod. xv. 2. And 
 never doth that sacred day come round, on which the 
 resurrection of Jesus is celebrated, but " the voice of 
 rejoicing is in the tabernacles of the righteous." Bji. 
 Home.
 
 618 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 24. 
 
 safety or de- 
 liverance. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 15 The voice of joy and health is 
 in the dwellings of the righteous : 
 the right hand of the Lord bringetli 
 mighty things to pass. 
 
 16 The right hand of the Lord 
 hath the pre-eminence : the right 
 hand of the Lord bringetli mighty 
 things to pass. 
 
 17 I shall not die', but live : and 
 declare the works of the Lord. 
 
 18 The Lord hath chastened and 
 corrected me : but he liath not given 
 me over unto death. 
 
 19 Open me the gates of righte- 
 ousness'' : that I may go into them, 
 and give thanks unto the Lord. 
 
 ' 17. J shall not die, &c.] As Christ is risen, "we 
 shall not die but live ;" we shall not die eternally, but 
 we shall live in this world, the life of grace; in the 
 world to come, the life of glory ; that we may, in both, 
 " declare the works" and chant the i)raises of God our 
 Saviour. We are " chastened" for our sins, but "not 
 given over to death" and destruction everlasting ; nay, 
 our being "chastened" is now a proof that we are not 
 80 "given over:" for "what son is he whom the father 
 chasteneth not ?" Heb. xii. 7. Bp. Home. 
 
 k 19 — 21. Open me the rjuies of riyhteousness : &c.] 
 The faithful, like David and his people of old, demand 
 admission into the courts of the Lord's house, there to 
 praise Him for his great and manifold mercies. But we 
 may e.xtend our ideas much farther, and consider the 
 whole company of the redeemed, as beholding the angels 
 ready to unbar the gates of heaven, and throw open the 
 doors of the eternal sanctuary, for the true disciples of 
 the risen and glorified Jesus to enter in. " Open ye," 
 may believers exclaim in triumph to those celestial sjjirits, 
 who delight to minister to the heirs of salvation, " open 
 ve the gates of righteousness," those gates, through 
 which nothing unclean can pass, "that the righteous 
 nation which keepeth the truth may enter in," Isa. 
 xxvi. 2, and sing, with your harmonious choirs, the 
 praises of Ilim who sitteth upon the throne; for He 
 liath overcome the sharpness of death. He hath opened 
 the kingdom of heaven to all behcvers. " This is the 
 gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter," 
 to take possession of the inheritance prepared for them, 
 "to thank" Ilim who hath "heard them, and is be- 
 come their salvation." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 22, 23. 'I'he same stone trhich the buililers refused: 
 &c.] Whether this jjassage had first a reference to the 
 ease of David, who, as a figure of Messiah, was brought 
 from a state of rejection and jjcrsecution to the throne 
 of Israel ; it is neither possible nor needful to ascer- 
 tain. That the verses belong, in a full and [iroper 
 sense, to Messiah, is confessed by the Uabbis, and 
 acknowledged by all. No text in the Old 'I'estanicnt 
 is quoted by the writers of the New so often as this, 
 which we meet with in six different places ; namely, 
 Matt. xxi. 42; Mark xii. 10; Luke xx. 17; Acts iv. 
 11 ; Kph. ii. 20; 1 I'et. ii. 4. The sum and substance 
 of tlic New Testament apiilications and expositions is, 
 that Jesus Christ is the stone here mentioned ; that He 
 was rejected and set at nought by the cliicf priests and 
 Pharisees, the then builders of the church ; but that, 
 being chosen of (Jnd, and |irecii)ii9 to Hun, this most 
 valuable stone, thus despised and rejected of men, thus 
 thrown among tlie rubbish, and buried in it, was, at 
 length, from such a state, exalted to be the chief corner- 
 
 20 Tliis is the gate of the Lord : 
 the righteous shall enter into it. 
 
 21 I will thank thee, for thou hast 
 heard me : and art become my salva- 
 tion. 
 
 22 The same stone wliich 
 builders refused' : is become 
 head-stone in the corner. 
 
 23 This is the Lord's doing 
 it is marvellous in our eyes. 
 
 24 This is the day which the Lord 
 hath made" : we will rejoice and be 
 glad in it. 
 
 25 Help me now, O Lord" 
 Lord, send us now prosperity. 
 
 26 Blessed be he that cometh in 
 
 the 
 the 
 
 and 
 
 O Save now. 
 S,b. Tram. 
 
 stone in the building, the main support of the edifice, 
 and a centre of union for Jew and Gentile, the two 
 parts of which it consisted ; that this was the work of 
 God and the admiration of man. And what can be more 
 truly marvellous, than that a person, put to death as 
 a malefactor, and laid in the grave, should from thence 
 arise immortal, and become the head of an immortal 
 society; should ascend into heaven, be invested with 
 power, and crowned with glory ; and should prepare a 
 way for the sons of Adam to follow Him into those man- 
 sions of eternal bliss ? Bp. Home. 
 
 " 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made : &c.] 
 Of the day on which Christ arose from the dead, it 
 may, with more propriety than of any other day, be 
 affirmed, " This is the day which Jeho\ah hath made." 
 Then it was that the " rejected stone" became the 
 " head of the corner." A morning then dawned which 
 is to be followed by no evening; a brighter sun arose 
 upon the world which is to set no more ; a day began, 
 which will never end ; and night and darkness departed, 
 to return not again. For thus saith the Lord to his 
 church by the prophet Isaiah, " Thy sun shall no more 
 go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for 
 the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days 
 of thy mourning shall be ended," Isa. Ix. 20. Kaster- 
 day is in a peculiar manner consecrated to Him, who, 
 by his resurrection, triumphed over death and hell, 
 (jn that day, through faith, «'e triumph with Him; we 
 rejoice and are glad in his salvation. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 25. Help me noic, O Lord; &c.] Or, as in the Bible 
 translation, " Save now." As a prelude to the trium- 
 I)hant manner in which Jesus Christ, after his resurrec- 
 tion, should ascend to the heavenly Jerusalem, He 
 entered the earthly city, liefore his passion, amidst the 
 acclamations of the multitude, who hailed Him as King 
 of Sion, and with palm-branches, the emblems of vic- 
 torj', in their hands, sung before Him these words, 
 partly taken from our Psalm, " Hosanna to the .Son of 
 David : blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
 Lord: Hosanna in the highest." The word, "Hosanna," 
 is in tlie original, "Save now!" The form of words 
 used by the people was both a petition and a congratu- 
 lation ; as if they had said. Let us beseech Jehovah, in 
 the language of the llbth Psalm, to grant salvation to 
 the Son of David, and to send us now jirospcrity under 
 Ilim: lilesscd is He who thus cometh, not in his own 
 niune and ])o\ver, but in the name and jiower of Jeho- 
 vah, according to the prophecies concerning Him, to 
 deliver us from all oiir enemies: ratify, O Jehovah, in 
 the highest, or in heaven, these petitions which wo 
 make for the salvation and pidsprrily of our King, that 
 thy blessings upon Him and us may be established on
 
 Wf li.ivo 
 blessed you. 
 Uil: Trans. 
 
 Day 24. 
 
 the Name of tlic Lord : we liave 
 vvislied you good luck, ye that are of 
 the house of the Lord. 
 
 27 God is the Lord who liatli 
 shewed us litrht" : hiiul the sacrifice 
 with cords, yea, even uulo the iiorns 
 of tlie altar. 
 
 28 Thou art my Godf, and 1 will 
 thank thee : thou art my God, and 
 I will praise tliee. 
 
 29 O give thaidcs unto the Lord, 
 for he is gracious : and Ids mercy 
 cndurcth for ever. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 019 
 
 Bincere. B'tb^ 
 Trans. Marg. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM cxix.' Beati immaculati. 
 L E S S E D are those ^ that are 
 undefiled in the way : and walk 
 in the law of the Lord. 
 
 B 
 
 earth. Since the resurrection of our Lord, the faithful 
 
 have expressed, in these two verses, the same wishes 
 and prayers for the increase of his kingdom, and the 
 prosperity of his house and family, of his ministers and 
 his people : " ^^'e hless you that are of the house of 
 Jehovah." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 27. God is the J^ord who hath shewed us light : &c.] 
 As Jehovah hath manifested his power and glory, by 
 raising Christ from the dead ; as lie hath, by so doing, 
 " shewed us the light" of life and immortality ; let us 
 observe the festi\-al, which is designed to ])erpetuate the 
 memory of so great and joyful an event. " Christ, our 
 passover," saith an apostle, " is sacrificed for us ; there- 
 fore let us keep the feast," 1 Cor. v. 7. Let us keep it, 
 only changing legal for evangelical sacraments and 
 ceremonies ; let us go to the altar, not to see a figure 
 of the Lamb of God, as He was to be slain ; but to 
 behold a representation of Him as He hath been slain ; 
 to behold, in figure, his body broken, and his blood 
 poured out ; to eat the bread of life, and drink the cup 
 of salvation. B/i. Home. 
 
 p 28, 29. Thou art my God, &n.] The prophet de- 
 clareth his resolution to "praise" and to "e.\alt," to 
 magnify and to glorify, his " (iod ;" he then concludes, 
 as he began, with exhorting all the world to do the 
 same. Preserve to us, blessed Lord, the use of these 
 divine hymns in thy church, until, at the resurrection 
 of the just, we shall celebrate an Easter in heaven, and 
 sing them new in the kingdom of Cod. Bp. Home. 
 
 1 Psalm cxix.] This Psalm is divided, (most probably 
 for the advantage of memory,) according to the number 
 of letters which compose the Hebrew alphabet, into 
 twenty-two jjortions of eight verses each ; and not only 
 every portion, but every \ersc of that portion, begins 
 with the letter appropriated to it. David must, undoubt- 
 edly, have been the author. He describeth, in a series 
 of devotional meditations, the instruction and the com- 
 fort, which, through all vicissitudes of mind and for- 
 tune, he had ever found in the word of God. The 
 many strong expressions of love towards the law, and 
 the repeated resolutions and vows to observe it, will 
 often force us to turn our thoughts to the true llavid, 
 whose " meat and drink it was, to do the will of him that 
 sent him." ISetween the verses of each jiortion a con- 
 nexion is frequently to be traced, but it doth not often 
 seem to extend from one portion to another. Bp. Home. 
 
 2 Blessed arc they that keep' his 
 testimonies : and seek him with their 
 whole heart. 
 
 .'5 l''or they who do no wickedness : 
 walk in his ways. 
 
 4 Thou hast charged : that we 
 shall diligently keep thy connnand- 
 luents. 
 
 5 O that my ways were made 
 so direct : that I might keep thy 
 statutes ! 
 
 6 So shall I not he confounded" : 
 while I have respect unto all thy 
 commandments. 
 
 7 I will thank thee with an ini- 
 feigned heart ^ : when I shall have 
 learned the judgements of thy righte- 
 ousness. 
 
 8 I will keep thy ceremonies'' : O 
 forsake me not utterly. 
 
 for which I see no reason but thy will. 
 
 directed 
 
 to keep. Bib, 
 
 'J'lans. 
 
 ashamed. 
 liib. Trtint, 
 
 slafutes. Bib. 
 Tniiit. 
 even those, 
 Bp. Patrick. 
 
 It is observable that the word of God is here diversly 
 called by the names of " law, statutes, ])recepts or com- 
 mandments, judgments, ordinances, righteousness, tes- 
 timonies, way, and word." By wliich variety the 
 Psalmist designed to express the nature, and the great 
 perfection and manifold parts and uses of God's word. 
 Which is called bis " word," as |)roceeding from his 
 mouth, and revealed by Him to us : his "way," as pre- 
 scribed by Him for us to walk in : his " law," as bind- 
 ing us to obedience : his " statutes," as declaring his 
 authority and jrower of giving us laws : his " preceiits," 
 as declaring and directing our duty : his " ordinances," 
 as ordained and appointed by Him: his "righteous- 
 ness," as exactly agreeable to God's righteous nature 
 and will; his "judgments," as proceeding from the great 
 Judge of the world, and being his judicial sentence to 
 which all men must submit : and bis " testimonies," 
 as it contains the witnesses of God's mind and will, 
 and of man's duty. And there are very few of the 17(J 
 verses contained in this Psalm, in which one or other 
 of these titles is not foimd. Poole. 
 
 ' i — 8.] This first ])ortion is a declaration of the 
 happiness of those, who observe God's laws; the habi- 
 tual practice of which is the grand preservative from 
 e\il, and the greatest incitement to joy and gratitude. 
 Travell. 
 
 ' 1. Blessed are those &c ] By sin, misery entered 
 into the world ; holiness alone, therefore, can lead us to 
 ha])piness. " The law of Jehovah" is the path of life, 
 and by "walking in the way" we shall attain to the 
 end. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. Blessed are they that keep &c.] Tlie divine reve- 
 lations and institutions, whether of the old or the new 
 law, are called God's "testimonies;" they are the wit- 
 nesses of his will, and the pledges of his lo^'e. They 
 are committed to the church, as a precious deposit, or 
 trust, to be by her children " kept," and observed. In 
 and by these God is to be sought ; " they that seek 
 him with their whole heart," with ardent and undivided 
 affection, fail not to find Him, as an instructor and a 
 comforter; and they who find Him. find all things, 
 and are " blessed" indeed. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 6. So shall I not be cotifounded : &.C.] All the com- 
 mandments have the same author, and the same sanc- 
 tion. He who tbinketh to atone for the breach of one, 
 by the observation of another; he who reserveth to
 
 620 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 2-4. 
 
 ■w 
 
 even 
 word. 
 10 
 
 In quo corriget ? 
 
 H E R E W IT H A L shall a 
 
 youno; man ^ cleanse his way : 
 
 by ruling himself after thy 
 
 With my whole heart have I 
 wander from, souirht thee : O let me not ffo wrona: 
 
 Bib. Trans. '^ £• .i \ ^ ^ ° 
 
 out ot tliy eommanaments. 
 
 1 1 Thy words liave I hid within 
 my heart '' : that I should not sin 
 against thee. 
 "l-2 Blessed art thou, O Lord: O 
 teach me thy statutes. 
 
 13 With my lips have I been tell- 
 ing"^ : of all the judgements of thy 
 mouth. 
 
 as the most 
 precious 
 treasure. 
 Dp. Patrick. 
 
 declared. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 himself a licence of indulging any favoiu-ite, darling 
 lust, while in general he ])reserveth the appearance of 
 an exemplary conduct ; is a hypocrite : and, unless he 
 repent, will be brought to " shame," if not before men 
 here, yet before men and angels hereafter. Bp. Home. 
 
 • 7. / will thank thee with an unfeir/ned heart : &c.] 
 The Scriptures are styled " God's righteous judgments," 
 as containing an account of his decrees and determina- 
 tions concerning us, with a history of cases and jjrece- 
 dents, entered upon record for our admonition. By 
 these we are to form our opinions, and to regulate our 
 conduct. And when we shall have so " learned" these, 
 as to walk according to them, we shall jjraise tiod with 
 an "upright heart;" our tongue will utter wliat oiu 
 hearts feel. Bp. Home. 
 
 y 8. / will keep thij ceremonies, &c.] The result of 
 our meditations on God's word, and on the advantages 
 of studying, in order to observe its directions, should 
 always be a resolution so to do, and a prayer for grace 
 to execute that resolution. Lord, we " will keej) thy 
 statutes ;" be thou, therefore, ever with us, and " for- 
 sake us not ;" or, if at any time, to try our faith, and to 
 exercise our patience, thou shouldest depart from us 
 and leave us to ourseh'es for a time, short be thy ab- 
 sence, and speedy thy return : " O forsake us not 
 utterly !" Bj). Home. 
 
 ' — 16.] The second portion teacheth us, that the 
 law of God is the surest guide to youth : and whi>n this 
 law is once rooted deeply in the heart, it will inlluence 
 the whole character. Tlie tongue will be em]iloyed in 
 proclaiming its excellence, and it will be productive of 
 more true ijlcasvn-c than can be alForded by the greatest 
 possessions of this world. Travcll. 
 
 * 9. H hereiiilhal shall ii y'.un(j man &c.] Youth 
 enters upon the journey of life, headstrong and inexpe- 
 rienced, with a bias of original corruption, and all the 
 passions awake. In such circumstances how shall a 
 young man direct his steps, so as to " escape the pollu- 
 tion that is in the world through hist .'" 2 I'et. i. 4. 
 He must for this i)nrpose, take with him the directions 
 to be found in the Scriptures of truth. " I have written 
 unto you, young men," says the beloved disciple, "be- 
 cause ye are strong, and the word of (Jod abideth in 
 you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ 11. Thy words have I hid within mij heart : &c.] The 
 young man who would cleanse his way, and take heed 
 according to God's word, must "lay up that word in 
 liis heart ;" for from the heart are the " issues of life," 
 the thoughts, tlie wonls, and the actions : wlien (jod 
 rulelh in the licart liy his word and Spirit, these bc- 
 
 14 I have had as great delight in 
 the way of thy testimonies : as in all 
 manner of riches. 
 
 13 I will talk of thy command- 
 ments : and have respect unto thy 
 ways. 
 
 16 j\Iy delight shall be in thy 
 statutes'' : and I will not forget thy 
 word. 
 
 Retribue servo tuo. 
 '^/'\ Do well unto thy servant' : 
 \J that I may live, and keep thy 
 word. 
 
 18 Open thou mine eyes^ : that 
 I may see the wondrous things of thy 
 law. 
 
 come his subjects ; then " the kingdom of heaven is 
 within us," and all is obedience, peace, and love. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ■^ 1 3. IVilh my lips I have been telling : &c.] The best 
 sign that God hath " taught us his statutes," and the 
 greatest inducement to Him to teach us still more and 
 more, is a readiness to make others partakers of those 
 blessings, which we ourselves have received from Him. 
 Jehovah fashions the " lips " of man, and He expects 
 that they should be employed in his service. " Out of 
 the abundance of the heart, the mouth S])eaketh," and 
 the stream will always shew the nature of the fountain. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ''1(5. My delight shall be in thy statutes: &c.] By 
 frequent meditation and continual practice, the divine 
 "statutes " will become our "delight:" and from the 
 pleasures, as well as from the cares of the world, we 
 shall gladly Hy to them for recreation and comfort. Of 
 holy exercises there is great variety, and spiritual joys 
 are without number. Lord, make us to " delight our- 
 selves in thy statutes," and when we delight in what 
 we learn, we shall easily retain it in memory ; " wo 
 shall not forget thy word." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 17 — 24.] The Psalmist, convinced of the powcrfid 
 influence of God's law, earnestly prays for grace to 
 enable him to jiersevere, through every circumstance of 
 life, in the constant practice of it. \VeU knowing the 
 guilt and punishment of those who transgress it, he 
 deprecates their fate, and determines that no authority, 
 how great soever, shall deter him from adhering to it. 
 Tracelt. 
 
 ' 17. do well unto thy servant .- Sec.'] In the fore- 
 going parts of tlu' I'salm, we have heard the believer 
 declaring the excellency of (iod's word, and expressing 
 botli his desire and bis rcsi>hition to observe its direc- 
 tions. He now beseecheth (iod to remove all impedi- 
 ments, and to accom])lish this work in him. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " l.S. Open thnu mine eyes: &c.] .So far are we natu- 
 rally from being able to " keep" the word, that we are 
 not able to understand it. The law of (iod is full of 
 divine and spiritual truths, concealed under literal 
 histories, visible signs, anil external ceremonies. To 
 discern these " wondrous," because the hidden, mys- 
 terious " things," our "eyes," the eyes of our under- 
 standing, nnist be " unveiled ;" that " veil " must be 
 taken oil, which St. Paul adirmeth to be upon the hearts 
 of the .lews, "in reading the Old Tistament," and 
 which will continue there, until they lurt\ to the Lord 
 Jesus ('hrist. 'I'lien the veil will be taken away, and 
 they will behold Him, and the redemption by Him, as
 
 Bay 24. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 veliPiiicntly 
 desireth 
 thum. Dr. 
 Hammmtd. 
 
 reprnacli and 
 contempt. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 19 I am a stranger upon earth'' : 
 O hide not thy commandments from 
 me. 
 
 20 My soul brcakpth out for tlie 
 very fervent desire : that it hatli al- 
 way unto thy judirements. 
 
 21 Thou hast relinked the jirond : 
 and cursed are they that do err from 
 thy conimanchiients. 
 
 22 O turn from me shame and 
 rebulie' : for I have kept thy testi- 
 monies. 
 
 23 Princes also did sit and speak 
 figainst me "^ : but thy servant is occu- 
 pied in thy statutes. 
 
 24 For thy testimonies are my de- 
 light : and my counsellors. 
 
 prefigured in their law, and foretold by their prophets. 
 Pride, prejudice, and interest, will compose a veil, 
 through which a Christian shall see as little of the New 
 Testament, as a Jew doth of the Old. Lord, convince 
 us of our blindness, and restore us to our sight. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 '■ 10. I cm n stranger vpon earth : &c.] The above 
 request for divine illumination is enforced by this argu- 
 ment, that the jietitioner is a " stranger," and a so- 
 journer upon " the earth ;" he is travelling through 
 a foreign country, to his native city, where are his 
 kindred, his treasure, and his heart : as a sojourner, he 
 hath renounced the world, which is thei'efore become 
 his enemy ; as a stranger, he is fear.''ul of losing his 
 way : on these accounts he recpiesteth, that God would 
 compensate the less of earthly comforts, by affording 
 the light of heaven; that He would not "hide his 
 commandments," but shew and teach him those steps, 
 by which he may ascend towartls hea\'en, rejoicing in 
 hope of future glory. Bp. Hrjrne. 
 
 ' 22. O turn from me shame and rebuke : &c.] 
 " Shame and rebuke," " reproach and contempt," are 
 liljerally bestowed by the world ujion men, who, being 
 not of it, reprove its deeds by their exemplary conduct. 
 'I'liese, to beginners more es])ecially, are sore lets and 
 hindrances in the way of duty; and, after the example 
 of David, we may beseech God to "remove" them from 
 us, when we suffer them in his cause, and know our- 
 selves to be innocent of the criines laid to our charge. 
 In the mean time, to comfort ourselves under them, 
 let us remember, that He, who alone, in the strict 
 and unlimited sense of the words, could say, " I have 
 kept thy testimonies," sustained the utmost degree of 
 " reproach and contempt " for our sakes, and was 
 patient and resigned under it all, until God " re- 
 moved " it from Him by a glorious resurrection. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ■' 23. Princes also did sit and speak against me : &c.] 
 " Princes " and rulers have often " sate " in council 
 upon the " servants " of God, and " spoken," in judg- 
 ment, false things "against them," as they did against 
 their blessed Master in the days of liis flesh. L)a\-id 
 hath taught us how to act in such circumstances. We 
 are not to renounce the Creed, or the Commandments, 
 should it so happen that "the rulers and the Pharisees" 
 neither believe the former, nor observe the latter ; but 
 rather, we should "meditate," more than ever, in the 
 Scriptures ; that we may draw from thence comfort in 
 the troubles, and direction in the diificidties, which 
 
 621 
 
 Adhasit pavimento. 
 soul cleaveth to the dust"' : 
 
 MY 
 O quicken thou me, accordinjr 
 to thy word. 
 
 2() I haveaeknowledufed mv ways", declared. 
 
 I ., , I . r\ / 1 ll'l'. Tram 
 
 and tliou lieardest me : U teach me 
 thy statutes. 
 
 27 Make me to understand the 
 way of thy commandments : and 
 so shall I talk of thy wondrous 
 works. 
 
 28 My soul melteth away for very 
 heaviness : comfort thou me accord- 
 ino; unto thy word. 
 
 29 Take from me the way of 
 lyin<^" : aiul cause thou me to make 
 much of thy law. 
 
 persecution bringeth upon us ; always bearing in mind, 
 when princes command any thing contrary to the word 
 of God, that our service is due to a higher Master; 
 "thy servant did meditate in thy statutes." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 25 — 32.] The sense of this fourth portion is, that 
 the commandments of God afl'ord the greatest comfort 
 to the soul of the afflicted ; and the gracious answers, 
 which He vouchsafes to the prayers of the distressed, 
 should encourage them to a strict observance of his 
 laws, and esjiecially to a\'oid all falsehood and deceit. 
 Travetl. 
 
 '" 25. My soul cleaveth to the dust : &c.] The Psalmist, 
 in a state of affliction and humiliation, still seeketh 
 relief, by prayer, from the Scriptures. His circum- 
 stances vary, but his affection to the word of God con- 
 tinueth the same. Every one, whose affections are set 
 on things below, hath reason to exclaim with David, 
 " My soul cleaveth to the dust." From this kind of 
 death we are " quickened," or made alive, by the 
 Gospel, through that same Spirit which raised Christ 
 from the dead, and which shall raise us also at the 
 last day. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 26. / have acknowledged my ways, &c.] We should 
 freely and ingenuously " declare " to God in jirayer 
 our sins, our temptations, our sorrows, and our under- 
 takings ; it argues love, confidence, and sincerity, so 
 to do ; it is a means of acquainting us with our own 
 state, of which generally we are ignorant ; and it will 
 not fail to procure us those aids from above, of which 
 we stand in need. God will " hear " us ; He will 
 pardon our offences, strengthen us in our trials, dispel 
 our grief, and prosper the work of our hands ui)on us. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 29, 30. Take from me the xcay of lying : kc.~\ It is 
 jjlain that "the way of truth," in the latter of these two 
 verses, is opposed to " the way of lying," or of false- 
 hood, in the former. 'Ilie one comprehends every thing 
 in doctrine and practice that is right, and therefore 
 " true :" the other denotes every thing which is wrong, 
 and therefore " false." Of these two ways man h:ith 
 his choice. God points out to him the former by his 
 word, and offers to conduct him in it by his S|)irit. 
 Satan shews him the latter, and endea\-ours to seduce 
 him into it by his temjitations. 'I'he Psalmist deelareth 
 himself to have " chosen " God"s way, and to have 
 " laid " the Scriptures " before him," as the chart by 
 which he was to direct his course. He therefore prays 
 that the other way may be far "removed" from him; 
 and that God would vouchsafe him such a thorough
 
 622 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 30 I have cliosen the way of truth : 
 and thy judgements have I laid be- 
 fore me. 
 
 31 1 have stuck unto thy testi- 
 putmenotto moniesP : O Lord, confound me not. 
 r™J.' '' 32 I will run the way"! of thy 
 Shalt enlarge commandments : when thou hast set 
 £lb!'Trans. mx heart at liberty. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Legem pone. 
 'fT\ EACH me, O Lord, the way 
 I of thy statutes : and I shall keep 
 it unto the end. 
 
 34 Give me understandings and I 
 shall keep thy law : yea, I shall keep 
 it with my whole heart. 
 
 35 Make me to go ' in the path of 
 
 acquaintance with the " way " of truth, as might prevent 
 him from ever wandering into the path of error. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 P 31. / have stuck unto thy testimonies : &c.] Having 
 once chosen our road, it remains that we persevere in 
 it ; since better had it been for us, never to have known 
 the way of truth, than to forsake it, when known; and 
 we have the same reasons to go on, which induced us 
 to begin. The Psalmist doth not only say, " I have 
 followed," but " I have stuck unto thy testimonies ;" I 
 have adhered so closely and firmly to them, that 
 temptation has in vain essayed to allure, and persecu- 
 tion as vainly attempted to force me from them. .\nd 
 therefore he beseecheth God so to continue his grace 
 and favour, that he may never, by falling from his 
 stedfastness, disgrace his Slaster, his cause, his brethren, 
 himself, nor be ])ut to shame at the last day. " O Lord, 
 put me not to shame !" Bp. Home. 
 
 1 32. I will run the way &c.] 'J'he true Christian is 
 always proceeding in the way of godliness, though not 
 always with equal pace. In grief, whether for temjioral 
 or S])iritual losses, the heart is contracted, and the sjiirits 
 arc all summoned home to comfort and supjiort it, so 
 that the faculties are left feeble and sluggish ; and then 
 the progress can be but slow. 'I'bis was the Psalmist's 
 case. Hut even then he promises, that, when (iod, by 
 sending him joy and gladness, should " enlarge his 
 heart," dilate liis spirits, and put life and strengtli into 
 his actions, he wouhl (luickeu his jiace in i)n)portion, 
 and, with renewed vigour and alacrity, " run the way " 
 of the divine "commandments," luitil it should have 
 brouglit him to rest and felicity in the bosom of Uod. 
 B/>. Home. 
 
 ' 33— 40 ] 'I'his portion is an earnest sujiplication to 
 God for instruction in his law, the practice of which will 
 secure the heart from the mischievous inliucnce of 
 covetousncss and vanity, as well as from the evil effects 
 of groundless fears ; and will promote that salutary fear 
 of (iod, which seta a man above the reproacli of the 
 wicked, 'iruvell. 
 
 ' 34. Give me understniiilinr/, &c.] Much " under- 
 standing" is needful in order to the "observation" of 
 the law, that we may know what is commanded, and 
 what is forbidden, and how far; that we may avoid the 
 snares laiil for us in the way of duty ; that we may re- 
 spect things according to their due raidc and worth; 
 
 thy commandments : for 
 my desire. 
 
 36 Incline my heart 
 testimonies" : and not to 
 ness. 
 
 37 O turn away mine eyes. 
 
 Day 25. 
 
 therein is 
 
 do I deliptit. 
 Bib. Train. 
 
 unto thy 
 covetous- 
 
 lest 
 they behold vanity : and quicken 
 thou me in thy way. 
 
 38 O stablish thy word in thy ser- 
 vant : that I may fear thee. 
 
 39 Take away the rebuke that I Turn away 
 am afraid of^ : for thy judgements whichTfear. 
 are good. ■^''- ^'■'""■ 
 
 40 Behold, my delight ^ is in thy 
 commandments : O quicken me in 
 thy righteousness. 
 
 Et veniat super me. 
 
 ^T ET thy loving mercy* come 
 li also unto me, O Lord : even 
 
 that we may do good works in their proper time, place, 
 and manner ; abo\'e all, that the affections may be di- 
 rected by the judgment, and not the judgment by the 
 affections. The law cannot be observed, unless it be 
 understood ; and it is understood in vain, unless it be 
 observed. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 35. J\Ittke me to go &c.] He, who teacheth us the 
 way to heaven, must also " conduct " us in it, and the 
 same grace must give light and strength. The Scrip- 
 ture is our rule, the Spirit is our guide ; and, from be- 
 ginning to end, it is God who inclines, jjrepares, and 
 enables us "to go in the" clean and pleasant "path of 
 his commandments." Happy the soid that can say to 
 God, " therein do I delight :" which is, at the same time, 
 a reason for her to ask, and for Him to grant, a conti- 
 nuance and ])erseverance therein. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 30. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies : &c.] The 
 wit of man may conceive, and his tongue may utter, 
 great things of God and holiness, while his heart is 
 averse from both ; therefore David saith, not only 
 "give mc understanding," but "incline my heart." 
 And as God only can change the disposition of the 
 heart, to (iod he jirefcrretli his petition. It is to he 
 observed, that by the words, " Incline not my heart to 
 covetousncss," is meant, " suffer not my heart to be 
 inclined," or, " give it not over, to covetousness." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 • 39. Take away the rehuke that I am afraid of: 
 &c.] The " rebuke" or " reproach." which we lul^•e all 
 most reason to dread, and to ])raythat (iod would keep 
 far from us here and hereafter, is that of having for- 
 saken and apostatized from those statutes and "judg- 
 ments" rcveale<l in the .Scriptures, which we own to be 
 so " good." so ])leasant, and so jirohtable. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 40. Bi'hdld, my Helii/ht S:c.] The Psalmist appealeth 
 to God, the searcher of hearts, for the truth of the pro- 
 testation he was about to make, that the desire of his 
 sold was toward the divine Word ; not only toward the 
 j)romises, to believe and embrace them, but also toward 
 the" prcce])ts," to obs('r\t' and to do tliem. He there- 
 fore prayeth, with conlidcnce, that (iod would finish 
 the work He had begun, and enable liiin to carry his 
 wishes into execution, by continually " quickening" 
 and enlivening liim more and more through grace, to 
 finish his course in " righteousness," and to obtain that 
 crown which is to be the reward of it. Bp. Home.
 
 Dm) 25. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 fi'2:l 
 
 thy salvation, according' unto tiiy 
 word. 
 
 42 So sliall I make answer unto 
 him that re- my hlasiiiiemcTs : fof my trust is in 
 
 proaclieth ^i i 
 
 me. D,b. tliy word. 
 
 I'eevocab. 43 O take iiot tlic word of tliy 
 truth '' utterly out of my mouth : for 
 my hojie is in thy judgements. 
 
 44 So shall 1 alway keep thy law : 
 yea, for ever and ever. 
 
 45 And I will walk at liberty" : 
 for I seek thy commandments. 
 
 46 I will speak of thy testimonies 
 also'', even before kings : and will 
 not be ashamed. 
 
 47 And my delight shall be" in 
 thy commandments : which 1 have 
 loved. 
 
 « 41 — 48.] From this portion we learn, that the 
 goodness and mercy of God will fortify the heart against 
 the tongue of the slanderers ; and the practice of his 
 righteous law will he the truest source of delight, and 
 will emholden a man to speak the truth with confi- 
 dence and courage, and to persevere in the path of 
 duty. Travell. 
 
 "41. Let thy InviiKj mercy &c.] Persecution and 
 affliction, of which they never fail, in some way or 
 other, to have their share who hve godly in Christ 
 Jesus, should teach us, like David, to Hy for refuge to 
 that " mercy," from whence proceedeth all " salvation," 
 temporal and eternal ; and to pray, without ceasing, for 
 the accomplishment of that " word," which promiseth 
 to the people of God deliverance out of all their trou- 
 bles. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 43. take not the word of thy truth &c.] While 
 affliction presseth hard upon us. «hile our deliverance 
 is deferred, and the enemy is suffered to reproach and 
 blaspheme, our prayer must be that God would give us 
 courage, and utterance, still to confess Him before men, 
 and boldly to speak his " word of truth," for the edifi- 
 cation of some, and the confutation of others ; as know- 
 ing, that our faith is not vain, nor shall we be disap- 
 pointed of our " hope," since both are built upon the 
 "judgments," or revealed decrees, of Him who can 
 neither err nor deceive. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 45. And I ii'ill walk at liberty : &c.] No external 
 pressure can take away that spiritual " liberty," which 
 the faithful Christian e.xperienceth when he hath made 
 an open confession of the truth, and is determined at all 
 events to do his duty. Then he is no longer straitened 
 by fear, but set at large by love. " The truth maketh 
 him free, and he walketh in the liberty of the children 
 of God ;" a liberty which they only obtain " who seek 
 his precepts," and, by the performance of them, are 
 rescued from the bondage both of tyrannical desires 
 and slavish fears. Bp. Home. 
 
 •^ 46. / will speak of thy testimonies also, &c.] A pro- 
 phet may be called " before kings," either in the course 
 of his office, to instruct them, or else in a judiciary way, 
 to give an account of his faith. In either case, if he 
 "walketh at hberty," he will "speak of God's testimo- 
 nies," with due reverence to the person and authority 
 of his prince, but as one who is neither afraid nor 
 "ashamed" to declare the whole counsel of heaven to 
 any being ujion earth. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 47. And my deliyht shall he Sic] He who would 
 
 '/~\ Think upon tl 
 \^ concerning th) 
 
 48 My hands also will 1 lift up 
 unto thy commandments, which I 
 have loved : and my study sliall be 
 in thy statutes. 
 
 Memor esto servi tui. 
 
 thy servant, as 
 y word : where- 
 m thou hast caused me to put my 
 trust. 
 
 50 The same is my comfort in my 
 trouble : for thy word hath quickened 
 me. 
 
 51 The proud have had me e.\- 
 ceedingly in derision'' : yet have I 
 not shrinked from thy law. 
 
 52 For I remembered thine ever- 
 lasting judgements', O Lord : and 
 received comfort. 
 
 namely, to 
 the practifo 
 of Iliem. I 
 will set vi- 
 gorously 
 about them. 
 Br. Ham- 
 mond. 
 Remember 
 the word 
 unto thv ser- 
 vant. Bill. 
 Trans. 
 
 aflliction. 
 liili. Tram. 
 enlivened. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 deelined. 
 Bill. Trans. 
 
 judgements 
 of old. JUb. 
 Trans. 
 
 preach boldly to others, must himself "delight" in the 
 practice of what he preacheth. If there be in us a new 
 nature, it will "love the commandments of God," as 
 being congenial to it : on that, which we love, we shall 
 continually be " meditating ;" and our meditation will 
 end in action ; we shall " lift up the hands which hang 
 down," Heb. xii. 12 ; that they may "work the works 
 of God, while it is day; because the night cometh, 
 when no man can work," John ix. 4. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 49 — 56.] It is the sum of this portion, that the 
 promises of God, made known in his word, and the re- 
 membrance of his former mercies, are the surest ground 
 of consolation under every kind of distress. The pro- 
 gress of wickedness will fill the mind of the ujiright 
 with horror : but, on the other hand, true religion will 
 never fail to produce a degree of joy and happiness 
 under every circumstance. Travell. 
 
 e 49. O think upon thy servant, &c.] God promiseth 
 salvation before He giveth it, to excite our desire of it, 
 to exercise our faith, to prove our sincerity, to perfect 
 our ])atience. For these purposes. He seemeth to have 
 sometimes forgotten his word, and to have deserted 
 those whom He had engaged to succour and relieve ; in 
 which case, He would have us, as it were, to remind 
 Him of his promise, and solicit his performance of it. 
 The Psalmist here instructeth us to jirefer our petition 
 upon those grounds : first, that God cannot prove false 
 to his own word ; " Remember the word unto thy ser- 
 vant :" secondly, that He wiU never disa])point an 
 expectation which Himself hath raised ; " upon which 
 thou hast caused me to hope." Bp. Home. 
 
 '■ 5 1 . The proud have had me exceedingly in derision .- 
 &c.] A true servant of God believeth the ])romises, 
 and jiractiseth the i)rece])ts, of his blessed Master. The 
 haughty infidel wiU scoff at him for one part of his con- 
 duct ; the insolent worldling will ridicule him for the 
 other. But neither wiU induce him to disbelieve, or to 
 disobey. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 52. For I remembered thine everlasting judgements, 
 &c.] The great remedy against that temjitation, which 
 ariseth from the reproaclies of oiu' scornful and insulting 
 adversaries, is here jjrescribed, namely, a " remembrance 
 of God's judgments of old," whether we understand 
 the "judgments" of his mouth, or those of his hand; 
 his righteous decrees for the punishment of bad, and 
 reward of good men, or the many and wonderful in- 
 stances of his executing those decrees, from the begin- 
 ning of the world, recorded in the sacred historv. These
 
 (>-24 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Bay 2.5. 
 
 Horror hath 
 taken hoUl 
 n;ion me. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 I intreated 
 thy favour 
 with. Bib. 
 
 53 I am horribly afraid'^ : for the 
 ungodly that forsake thy law. 
 
 54 Thy statutes have been my 
 songs': in the house of my pilgrim- 
 age. 
 
 55 I have thought upon thy 
 Name ", O Lord, in the night-season : 
 and have kept thy law. 
 
 56 This 1 had" : because I kept 
 thy commandments. 
 
 Porlio mea, Doynhie. 
 
 "FT} H O U art my portion, O Lordi': 
 i I have promised to keep thy 
 
 law. 
 
 58 I made my humble petition in 
 
 Trans. 
 
 are sources of real and endless "comfort" upon such 
 occasions ; because nothing can hap])en to us, which 
 hath not happened to God's people " of old ;" no case, 
 of which there is not a precedent in Scripture, where 
 we may read the process of similar trials, their issue, and 
 the final sentence of the Judge, which is still the same, 
 and whose rvde of procedure and determination is in- 
 variable. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 53. I am horribly afraid: &c.] The consequence 
 of a due meilitation on God's judgments will be a com- 
 passion for the "wicked," on whom those judgments, 
 in the end, fall ; so that instead of feeling for ourselves, 
 on account of the injuries they do us, we shall feel for 
 them, who are therel)y drawing down \'engeance and 
 destruction on thcu- own heads. " Daughters of .leru- 
 salem," said the blessed Jesus, when led to be crucified, 
 " weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for 
 your children," Luke xxiii. 28. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 54. Thy statutes have been my songs: &c.] The 
 soul, which descended from above, and longs to return 
 thither again, is a stranger and sojourner upon earth. 
 The body is " the house of her pilgrimage," in which 
 she is confined during her state of exile. And how- 
 harsh soe\-er the usage may be which she receiveth 
 from the world, she ever findeth joy aiul comfort, as 
 once did the fugitive and wandering son of Jesse, in 
 making (lod's "statutes" the subjects of her psalms, 
 and hymns, and spiritual " songs," until death shall 
 restore her to liberty. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 55. I have thoui/ht upon thy Name, &c.] Hy the 
 "name" of (iod, his nature, so much at least of it as 
 we are concerned to know, and are capable of receiving, 
 is revealed to us. Such a love had the I'salmist for it 
 on tliat account, that, as in the day God's statutes 
 were his songs, in tlie night (Sod's name was the sub- 
 ject of his meditiition. With his tongue he ])raised 
 Ilim in tlie day, with his heart lie desii-eil lliin in tlie 
 night-watches. The good ell'cct of hoiu's thus secretly 
 passed in holy exercises, will ajipcar o])enly in our lives 
 anil conversations : " I have remembered thy name, () 
 I^ord, in the night, and," as the fruit of it, " luivc kept 
 tliy law." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 5(5. This I hail, &e.] As one sin is often the con- 
 sequence and the ])iinishinent of another, so one act of 
 ol)edicnce is the issue and the reward of another ; and 
 to him, who batli well used the grace already received, 
 sliall more be given. "This I hail," tliis ability to per- 
 form my duty, and to delight in the |)erfonn;ince of it 
 day anil night, was vimilisafed unto me, " because I 
 kept tlty coininandmenls," because I was not heretofore 
 
 not. 
 'ratis. 
 
 un- companies. 
 
 b, T 1 Bih. Trans. 
 
 Ut i have Mar^. 
 
 thy presence with my whole heart : 
 O be merciful unto me, according to 
 thy word. 
 
 59 1 called mine own ways to re- 
 membrance : and turned my feet unto 
 thy testimonies. 
 
 60 1 made haste, and prolonged ddayeii 
 
 .. ^1 »• i. 1 i.1 J Bib. Tr 
 
 not the time : to keep thy command 
 mcnts. 
 
 61 The congregations of the 
 godly have robbed mei 
 not' forgotten thy law. 
 
 6'2 At midnight I will rise^ to 
 give thanks unto thee : because of 
 thy righteous judgements. 
 
 6-3 I am a companion ^ of all them 
 
 disobedient, but employed the strength mth wliich 
 thou, O Lord, hast endued me, not in doing mine own 
 w'l\!, but thine. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 57 — G4.] The Psalmist here teaches us, that happy 
 are they, who choose the law of God for their rule of 
 conduct ; who, if they happen to slip, delay not to re- 
 turn into the path of uprightness. 'I'lie violence of the 
 oppressor will not deter them from the ])unctual per- 
 formance of their duty ; nor jirevent them from asso- 
 ciating with tliose, who are engaged in the same happy 
 course with themselves. Travell. 
 
 p 57. TAoM art my portion, Lord: &c.] Happy 
 the man, who can sincerely say, "Thou art my jiortion, 
 O Lord ;" I have considered, and made my choice ; 
 from henceforth, I renoimce all things for the love of 
 thee ; thou art sufficient for me ; thee only I desire to 
 enjoy, and. therefore, thee only I desire to please ; " I 
 ha\'e said that I would keep thy words." Bp. Home. 
 
 1 61. The congregations of the ungodly have robbed 
 me : &c.] To be robbed, or plundered of his ])i)s- 
 sessions in this world, was by no means a case peculiar 
 to David. The primitive Christians were continually 
 so treated ; and our Lord gives all his disciples warn- 
 ing to staiul prepared for such events, ready in disposi- 
 tion, in licart and mind, to quit all, as they who fh-st 
 followed Him literally did. The ajiostle tells us of 
 some, who not only bore patiently, but e\'en " took joy- 
 fully, the sjioiling of their goods ;" the reason, wliich 
 he assigns for so extraordinary a behaviour, deserves 
 to be noted and remembered; "knowing that they 
 had in heaven a better and an endiu-ing substance," 
 Hel). X. 3 t. They who part witli eartli to gain heaven, 
 and exchange the world for its Maker, certainly lose 
 nothing by the bargain. Nay, there will come an hour, 
 when, for the foretaste of glory whidi a good conscience 
 allordcth to its happy possessor, the dearest lover of 
 mammon would joyluUy give up all the gold of Peru, 
 and all the diamonds of Inilostan. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' ()-2. At midnight I wilt rise S;c.] So far were tem- 
 poral losses from causing the Psalmist to forsake (iod, 
 that he sought Him the more earnestly and fervently 
 on that account; rising "at midnight to give thanks" 
 for all his " righteous judgments" and dis))ensation3 
 towards his servants. 'Phus Paul and Silas, not only 
 impoverished but imiirisoned, for the testimony of 
 Jesus, yet, in that situation, with their feet fast in the 
 stocks, sang " ))raises at iniihiighl." .\nd although 
 there be no obligation upon men to " rise at midnight," 
 in order to "give thaidis;" yet, if they who awake at 
 that, or any other time, would accustom their hearts,
 
 THE PSALMS 
 and keep thy com- 
 
 Day 25. 
 
 that fear thee 
 maiulmeiits. 
 
 ()4 Tlie earth, O Lord, is full of 
 thy mercy : O teach me thy statutes. 
 
 (525 
 
 o 
 
 Teach me 
 p);od judpe- 
 iiieiits. Bib. 
 Trans, 
 
 .-iniicted. hih. 
 Tram. 
 nstray. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 forged. Bib. 
 Trims. 
 
 Bonitatem fecisti. 
 Lord, thou hast dealt gra- 
 ciously" with thy servant : ac- 
 cording unto tiiy word. 
 
 66 O learn me true understand- 
 ing" and knowledge : for 1 have 
 believed thy commandments. 
 
 67 Before I was troubled, I went 
 wrong)' : but now have I kept thy 
 word. 
 
 68 Thou art good and gracious^ : 
 O teach me thy statutes. 
 
 69 The proud have imagined a 
 
 at least, to so divine an exercise, they would find it 
 always productive of the most comfortable effects. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 03. I am a companion &c.] As no sufferings should 
 make us neglect our intercourse with God, so neither 
 should they tempt us to forsake the communion of 
 saints, or fellowship of them who "fear God, and work 
 righteousness." These are knit together in love, as 
 members of the same mystical body, insomuch that 
 " if one member suffer, or be honoured, all the mem- 
 bers should sufFer or be honoured with it ;" these we 
 should own at all times, in prosperity and in adversity ; 
 with these should our acquaintance and conversation 
 be, for the mutual improvement and consolation of 
 them and of ourselves. Of such was David a " com- 
 panion," and such the Redeemer Himself " is not 
 ashamed to call brethren," Heb. ii. II. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 05 — 72.] The Psalmist in this portion, with grati- 
 tude to God for his former gracious dealings towards 
 him, prays for farther instruction in his duty ; acknow- 
 ledging that the school of affliction had taught him 
 his errors, and confirmed him in the right course. 
 Having this confidence, he looks with contempt on the 
 base calumnies of his enemies, who are puffed up with 
 their own pride and importance ; and is promjjted to 
 set a higher value upon religion, than upon all the trea- 
 sures in the world. Travell. 
 
 " 05. Lord, thou hast dealt gracionsly &c.] As the 
 sense of our wants should prepare the mind for ])rayer, 
 so gratitude for blessings received should tune the heart 
 to praise. Let a man carefully recount the di\ine mer- 
 cies shewn to him from his birth, considering withal 
 how unworthy he hatli been of the least of those mer- 
 cies, as also how far jireferable his state is to that of 
 many others ; and he will find reason " in all things to 
 give thanks," to acknowledge, with David, the good- 
 ness and truth of Jehovah, and to say, " Thou hast 
 dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according to thy 
 word." Bp. Home, 
 
 * GO. learn me true understanding &c.] From 
 thanksgiving, the Psalmist retiu-neth again to prayer, 
 as, while we continue in this world, we must all do. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 1 07- Before I was troubled, I went wrong : &c.] We 
 collect from this verse, that jjrosperity is too often the 
 parent of sin ; that adversity is, first, its |)unishment ; 
 then, its remedy ; and that every considerate man, wlio 
 hath been afflicted, will thankfuDy acknowledge as 
 much. Bp. Home. 
 
 lie" against me : but I will kee|) thy 
 commandments with my whole heart. 
 
 70 Their heart is as fat as brawn '' : 
 but my delight hath been in thy 
 law. 
 
 71 It is good for me that I have 
 been in trouble'^ : that I may 
 thy statutes. 
 
 7'2 The law of thy mouth is dearer 
 unto me"* : than thousands of gold 
 and silver. 
 
 (;rpa8e. 
 Trans. 
 
 earn afflicted. 
 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 Manus iuafecerunt me, 
 ■^rr^ H Y hands liave made me f and 
 I fashioned me : O give me un- 
 
 • 68. Tkou art good and gracious: &c.] In other 
 words, as Bishop Patrick hath well connected and 
 parajjhrased it, " Thou art in thine own nature kind 
 and good ; and nothing else can jirocced from thee, 
 who designest our good, even when thou afflictest us ; 
 take what methods thou jjleasest with me, only teach 
 me effectually to do as thou wouldest have me." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 09. 'J'he proud have imagined a lie &c.] Every dis- 
 ciple of Christ, who, like his Master, goeth contrarj- to 
 the ways of the world, and condemneth them, must 
 exjiect to be, like that Master, slandered and calum- 
 niated by the world. To such slanders and calumnies, 
 a good life is the best answer. \Vhen a friend once 
 told Plato, what scandalous stories his enemies had 
 propagated concerning him, " I will live so," replied 
 that great philosopher, " that nobody shall believe 
 them." Bp. Home. 
 
 '■ 70. Their heart is as fat as brawn : &c.] " The 
 fatness of the heart," implieth, in this jdace, two 
 things in those of «'hom it is affirmed ; luxury, and its 
 consequence, insensibility to those s])iritual and divine 
 truths, which are not only the study, Ijut the " delight," 
 of temperate and holy persons. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 71. It is good for me that I have been in trouble: 
 &c.] God's statutes are best learned in the school of 
 affliction, because by affliction the great impediments 
 to our learning them are removed ; pride is subdued, 
 and concupiscence is extinguished. " He that hath 
 suffered in the flesh," saith an apostle, " hath ceased 
 from sin," 1 Pet. iv. 1 ; and in an immunity from sin 
 consisteth one of the greatest felicities of heaven. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ■' 72. The law of thy mouth is dearer unto me: &c.] 
 Affliction taketh from us the inclination to offend, and 
 it giveth us, in return, a kno\;'ledge of that law which 
 " is better," and which, when we are thoroughly ac- 
 quainted %vith it, we shall esteem to be better " than 
 thousands of gold and silver:" better in its nature, for 
 it is from heaven, they are from the earth ; better in its 
 use, for it bringeth salvation to our souls, whereas they 
 can only procure sustenance for the body ; better in 
 point of duration, for the benefits of one are certain 
 and eternal, the advantages of the others temporal and 
 uncertain. Blessed are they who seek in the Scrip- 
 tures the true riches ; who traffick for the S])iritual 
 gains of celestial wisdom ; for surely " the merchandise 
 of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the 
 gain thereof than fine gold," Prov. iii. 14. Bp. Home. 
 
 2 S
 
 626 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day '25. 
 
 afflicted ine. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 derstanding, that I may learn thy 
 commandmeiits. 
 
 74 They that fear thees will be 
 glad when they see me : because I 
 have put my trust in thy word. 
 
 75 I know, O Lord, that thy 
 judgements are right : and that thou 
 of very faithfulness hast caused me 
 to be troubled. 
 
 76 O let thy merciful kindness be 
 my comfort '' : according to thy word 
 unto thy servant. 
 
 77 O let thy loving mercies come 
 unto me, that 1 may live : for thy law 
 is my delight. 
 
 78 Let the proud be confounded, 
 for they go wickedly about to destroy 
 me : but I will be occupied in thy 
 commandments. 
 
 « 73 — 80.] We are here taught, that He, who made 
 man, must ever be his best instructor : and, though his 
 judgments may sometimes be severe, yet, as they are 
 founded on truth and equity, they must command the 
 approbation of tliose, who make his law their study. 
 When the wicked aim at the destruction of the righte- 
 ous, the surest refuge of these is, liy earnest prayer to 
 implore the divine protection : «'hich will defeat the 
 malice of their enemies, and inspire all those with con- 
 fidence vAw lo\'e and fear the Lord. Trarell. 
 
 ' 73. Thy hands have made me &c.] The formation 
 of man was the last and noblest work of (Jod, and it is 
 a standing miracle of divine wisdom and jiower. The 
 consideration, that God made us, is here urged as an 
 argument why He should not forsake and reject us, 
 since every artist hath a value for his own work, pro- 
 portioned to its excellence. It is, at the same time, an 
 acknowledgment of the ser\'ice we owe Him, founded 
 on the relation which a creature beareth to his Creator. 
 And the petition imi)lieth in it a confession of our pre- 
 sent inability to know his will without his revelation, 
 and to do it without his grace. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 74. They thai fear thee &c.] They who "fear 
 God "are naturally "glad when they see" and con- 
 verse with one like themselves ; but more especially 
 BO, when it is one whose faith and patience have car- 
 ried liim through troidjles, and rendered him victorious 
 over tem|)tation ; one who h.ath " hoped in (iod's 
 word," and hath not been disappointed. Every such 
 instance afl'ordeth fresh encouragement to all those, 
 who, in the course of their warfare, arc to luidcrgo like 
 troubles, and to encounter like temptations. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 7(). let Ihy merciful kindne.ts be my comfort : Ike.'] 
 In the former verse the criminal, finding tliat the hand 
 of (iod was upon hiin, had owned the justice and the 
 faithfulness of his .Judge in the |)Unishment inlhcted. 
 •ludgment having tluis had her jierfeet work, the 
 offender, now humbled and penitent, maketh appli- 
 cation to the throne of grace, and suelh for that mercy, 
 which (iod, by his " word," hath promised to his ser- 
 vants, who are chastened, not for their destruction, but 
 for tlieir salvation, iiji. Uorne. 
 
 ' 70. Lei such as fear thee, Ikcl] David bescecheth 
 (iod, if any good men had been alienated from Ilim. 
 either througli fear, prejndice, or offence, that they 
 might return to Ilim, join, and acknowledge Him. 
 l}p. llorne. 
 
 79 Let such as fear thee', and 
 have known thy testimonies : be 
 turned unto me. 
 
 80 O let my heart be sound ^ in 
 thy statutes : that I be not ashamed. 
 
 'm:: 
 
 Defecit anima mea. 
 soul hath longed for thy 
 salvation" : and I have a good 
 hope because of thy word. 
 
 82 Mine eyes long sore for thy 
 word : saying, O when wilt thou com- 
 fort me? 
 
 83 For I am become like a bottle 
 in the smoke" : yet do I not forget 
 thy statutes. 
 
 84 How many are the days of thy 
 servant" : when wilt thou be avenged 
 of them that persecute me? 
 
 turn to my 
 side, and 
 become ray 
 friends. Bp. 
 Pfjlrick. 
 sincere. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 fainteth. 
 B:b. Tram. 
 
 but 1 liope in 
 tliy word. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 fail. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 execute 
 judgment 
 on. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 '' 80. let my heart be sound &c.] This is a prayer 
 necessary for all men to use at all times, but more 
 particularly in seasons of persecution and temptation. 
 By " soundness of heart " is meant solidity and sted- 
 fastness in grace and virtue, as opposed to the mere 
 form of godliness, or fair shew of the hj^iocrite, which 
 conceal the rottenness and corruption lurking within ; 
 and also to the sudden and vanishing goodness of the 
 temporary con\-ert, which quickly disappears like the 
 morning dew, and withers like the seed so«m on a 
 rock. When internal holiness accompanies and ac- 
 tuates that which is external, when the word is 
 thoroughly rooted, and faith hath acquired the sove- 
 reignty over our desires, then our " hearts " are " sound 
 in (jod's statutes," and there is hope, that, in the day 
 of trial, we shall not give our brethren cause to be 
 ashamed of us, nor be ourselves " ashamed " before 
 God. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 81 — 88.] In this portion we see thiit the pious 
 soul looks to God for comfort in every distress : and 
 though worn away with sorrow and long expectation, 
 yet knowing that the mercies of God are sure and 
 certain, he commits his cause to his divine providence ; 
 he is neither dismayed by the persecutions of the 
 wicked, nor deterred from the jjerformance of his duty 
 in obeying the divine laws, Trarell. 
 
 "' 81. My soul hath longed for thy salvation: &c.] 
 Thus have the true servants of (Jod, in ever}' age, ex- 
 pressed their ardent desire of his salvation. Thus did 
 the iiatriarcbs, the proi)hets, the kings, and the faithfid 
 peojile, formerly wish to behold the advent of their 
 .Saviour in the flesh; until Simeon, taking Him in his 
 arms, spoke what they would all have spoken had they 
 been present, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant 
 depart in peace, according to thy word ; for mine eyes 
 ha\'e seen thy salvation." Bp. llorne. 
 
 " 83. For I am become like a bottle in the smoke: &c.] 
 " Hottles" among the Jews were made of skins. One 
 of tliese, if exposed to heat and " smoke," would bc- 
 cotne shrivelled and useless. Such a change will 
 labour and sorrow cause in the hiunan frame ; and the 
 Psalmist here complaineth, tluit his beauty and his 
 strength were gone; the natural moisture was dried 
 up ; in consequence of which the skin shrivelled, and 
 both colour and vigour departed from him. Disease 
 and old age will produce the same sad effects in us all ; 
 but the body's weakness is the soid's strength ; as the
 
 Day 25. 
 
 85 Tlic |)rou(l have digged pits 
 not according for me : wliicli are not after thy hivv. 
 
 to thy law; -,„ a n i i 
 
 OD All tliy coinmaiidinents are 
 trueP : they jiersecute me fal.scly; O 
 be thou my help. 
 
 87 They hail almost made an end 
 of me"! upon earth : but I forsook not 
 thy commanthnents. 
 
 88 O quicUen me after thy loving- 
 kindness : and so shall I keep the 
 testiraoiues of thy mouth. 
 
 THE PSALMS, 
 to tl 
 
 thy 
 that is, qiiile 
 contrary to it, 
 Dr. Hum- 
 tttitnil. 
 wrongfully. 
 Jlib. Trans. 
 
 In teternum, Domine. 
 
 : endureth ' 
 
 for 
 
 ■■/^ Lord, thy word : 
 \^ ever in heaven. 
 
 90 Thy truth also remaineth from 
 one generation to another : thou hast 
 laid the foundation of the earth, and 
 it abideth. 
 
 91 They continue this day accord- 
 
 outward man decayeth, the inward man is renewed : 
 " I do not forget thy statutes." Bp. Home. 
 
 ° S4. How many are the days nf thy servant: &c.] 
 The well-beloved John heard a question, of the same 
 import with this, asked by the spirits of the martyrs, 
 that had left their bodies, and were waiting in the 
 separate state for the day of retriltution. The answer, 
 which was made to them, may likewise satisfy our im- 
 patience, when sutfering atHiction and persecution : 
 " I saw under the altar the souls of them that were 
 slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which 
 they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying. How 
 long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and 
 avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? 
 And white robes were given unto every one of them, 
 and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet 
 for a little season, until their fellow-servants also, and 
 their brethren that should be killed as they were, 
 should be fulfilled," Rev. vi. 9, &c. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 86. All thy commandments are true: &c.] Man is 
 perfidious and deceitful, God is " faithful " and true ; 
 He hath promised to " help " those who suffer " wrong- 
 fully," and He will, in the end, shew Himself to be 
 the avenger of all such. Bp. Home. 
 
 *• 87. 'Vhey had almost made an end of me &c.] How- 
 ever low the church, or any member thereof, may, by 
 persecution and tribulation, be brought upon earth, yet 
 nothing can separate them from the love of God, while 
 they " forsake not his precepts," nor disbelieve his 
 promises. The soul, we know, must forsake the body; 
 but God will forsake neither. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 89 — Q6.] How strictly are we bound to obey the 
 laws, and to trust in the promises of that gracious God, 
 whose truth is eternal, who hath established every 
 thing in heaven and earth by fi.vcd and immutable 
 laws, and made all things subservient to his power ! 
 Well may we depend upon Him and implicitly follow 
 his will, who is our almighty Protector, and whose 
 word will endiu'e when all things else shall fail. 
 Traoell. 
 
 ' 89. Lord, thy word: endureth &c.] The eternity 
 of Jehovah, and the immutability of his counsels, are 
 considerations which afford comfort and encouragement 
 to his people, when their enemies are in arms against 
 them. Even in this world the unwearied " heavens " 
 continue to perform invariably their operations upon 
 
 G27 
 
 for all thintrs 
 
 an end of all 
 perfection. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 ng to tliiiie ordinance 
 serve tlioe. 
 
 9'2 If my delight had not been in 
 thy law : 1 should iiave poiisheil in 
 my trouble. 
 
 9.'5 I will never forget thy com- 
 mandments : for vvitli them thou hast 
 quickened me. 
 
 94 1 am thine', O save me : for I 
 have sought thy commandments. 
 
 95 The ungodly laid wait for me 
 to destroy me : but I will consider 
 thy testimonies. 
 
 96 I see that all things come to ihave 
 an end" : but thy commandment is jierft'ciion 
 exceeding broad. 
 
 Quomodo dilexi ! 
 "T OIID, what love have I unto 
 _Lj thy law y : all the day long is 
 my study in it. 
 
 themselves and the hodies placed in them ; while the 
 globe of the " earth," retaining its original form and co- 
 herence of parts, still, as at the beginning, supports and 
 maintains the successive " generations " of men, which 
 live and move upon it, to whom the faithful promises 
 of God are fulfilled from age to age. 'I'hus doth the 
 unchangeable order of nature itself point out to us the 
 truth of her great Author, and at the same time reprove 
 the eccentrick motions of rebellious man. The heavens 
 and the earth " continue this day according to thine 
 ordinance," O Lord, " for all things are thy servants ;" 
 all invariably serve thee, cxcejit man, who alone was 
 endowed with reason, that he might obey anil glo- 
 rify thee in this life, and that which is to come ! Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 9i. I am thine, &c.] Tlie double relation which we 
 have the honour to bear to God by creation and by re- 
 demption, as the work of his hands, and the purchase 
 of his blood, is a most endearing and prevailing argu- 
 ment with Him, to " save" us from our enemies. But 
 then let it be remembered, that no man can say to God 
 with a good conscience, " I am thine," unless he can 
 also go on and say, " I have sought thy jirecepts," I 
 desire to serve and obey thee alone ; since, after all, 
 " his servants we are to whom we obey;" and if sin be 
 our master, how can we say to a master, whose interest 
 is directly opposite, " I am thine }" Bp. Home. 
 
 " 90. / see that all thiuijscome to an end: &c.] Or, 
 " I have seen an end of all jierfection." Of "all per- 
 fection" in this workl, whether of beauty, wit, learning, 
 pleasure, honour, or riches, experience will .soon shew 
 us the " end." But where is the end or boundary of 
 the word of God ? Who can ascend to the height of 
 its excellency; who can fathom the depth of its myste- 
 ries; who can find out the comprehension of its [)re- 
 cepts, or conceive the extent of its promises ; who can 
 take the dimensions of that lo\-e of God to man which 
 it describeth, or that love of man to God which it 
 teacheth I The knowledge of one thing leadeth us 
 forward to that of another, and still, as we tra\-el on, 
 the ]irospect opens before us into eternity, like the 
 ])leasant and fruitful mountains of Canaan, rising on 
 the other side of Jordan, when viewed by Moses from 
 the top of Pisgah. O happy reign of celestial wisdom, 
 permanent felicity, true riches, and unfading glory; 
 while we contemplate thee, how doth the world lessen, 
 2 S 2
 
 628 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 26. 
 
 they, namely, 
 God's com- 
 inat dments. 
 See below. 
 
 I understand 
 more than 
 the ancients. 
 B,b. Trans. 
 
 d'-parted. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 98 Thou tliroiigli tliy command- 
 ments^ hast made me wiser than 
 mine enemies : for they are ever with 
 me. 
 
 99 I have more understanding 
 than my teachers : for thy testimonies 
 are my study. 
 
 100 I am wiser than the aged : 
 because I keep thy commanthuents. 
 
 101 I liave refrained my feet from 
 every evil way : that I may keep thy 
 word. 
 
 102 I have not shrunk from tliy 
 judgements : for thou teachest me. 
 
 and shrink to nothing in our eyes ! Thy blessings faith 
 now beholdetli, but it is charity which shall hereafter 
 possess and enjoy them. By). Home. 
 
 ' 9" — 104.] \Ve learn from this ])ortion, how excellent 
 and amiable is that divine law, the practice of which 
 makes a man superior to his enemies, and gives a de- 
 gree of uisdom, greater than can be obtained from the 
 experience of old age, or from the instructions of those, 
 whose occupation it is to communicate knowledge to 
 others. ^Vhoever woulii observe this law, must abso- 
 lutely abstain from evil ; which will be the best proof 
 of his understanding, and will secure to him a happiness 
 supeiior to all the delights of sense. Travell. 
 
 >■ 97. Lord, uhiit love have I unto thy law : &c.] 
 Words cannot express the love which a ])iou3 mind 
 entertaineth for the Scriptures. They are the e])istle 
 of God to mankind, offering reconciliation, peace, and 
 union with himself in glory ; containing reasons why 
 we should love Him and each other, with directions 
 how to shew forth that love, which, as the apostle saith, 
 is " the fulfilling of the law," Rom. xiii. 10. On some 
 portions of these Scriptures should our " meditation" 
 be continually, and " each day" should add something 
 to our knowledge, to our faith, to our virtue. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 'JS. Thou through thy commandments &c.] The 
 " commandments" of God were " ever with" David ; 
 the " testimonies" of God were his " meditation ;" and 
 the " precepts" of (iod it was his care to " observe;" 
 therefore his wisdom exceeded the policy of his " ene- 
 mies," the learning of his "teachers," and tlie ex]ie- 
 rience of the " ancients." Thus, by the wisdom of the 
 Scri|)turcs, did the holy Jesus, in the days of his flesh, 
 confound his adversaries, astonish the teachers of (he 
 law, and instruct llie aged. And it is the higli [ircro- 
 gative of the Scriptures, at all times, to render youth 
 and sim])licity superior to the inveterate mahce and 
 subtilty of the grand deceiver and his associates, lip. 
 Home. 
 
 • 103. how sweet are thy words unto my throat : &c.] 
 llie soul hath its " taste," as well as the body, and that 
 taste is then in good order, when the " words" of Scrip- 
 ture are " sweet" to the sotil, as " lioney" is to the 
 mouth. If they arc not always so, it is because our 
 taste is vitiated by the world and the flesh ; and we 
 shall ever find our reUsh for the word of (iod to be 
 greatest, when that for the world and the flesh is least, 
 ill time of aflliction, sickness, anil death; for these are 
 contiary, one to the other. In heaven tlie latter will 
 lie no more, and therefore the former will be all in all. 
 Jip. Uiirne. 
 
 '' 1 01. Through thy commandments I get understand- 
 ing : &;c.] He who dclighteth to study the Scriptures, 
 
 103 O how sweet are thy words 
 unto my throat^ : yea, sweeter 
 
 honey unto my moutli. 
 
 104 Through thy commandments 
 I get understanding'' : therefore I 
 hate all evil ways. 
 
 than taste. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Lucerna pedibus meis. 
 '^rX^HY word is a lantern unto my lamp. 
 
 I feef* : and a light unto my 
 jiaths. 
 
 106 I have sworn% and am sted- 
 
 will "understand," from them, the true nature of 
 righteousness and of sin; he who doth understand the 
 nature of each, will love the former ; and, in propor- 
 tion, " hate" the latter : and with that, which we 
 thoroughly hate, we will not bear to have any con- 
 nexion ; with suspicion and jealousy we shall eye it 
 approaching ; with courage and constancy we shall 
 arm and tight against it ; we shall make no peace, nor 
 so much as a truce with it ; but, as faithful soldiers and 
 servants of Jesus Christ, we shall aim at that utter 
 extermination of it, which we have vowed, and which, 
 through the Spirit of grace and power, will be accom- 
 phshed, but not. perhaps, totally, till our life and war- 
 fare shall end together. Bp. Home. 
 I ° lOo — 112.] From this portion it appears that we 
 cannot err from the right path, if we jiositively deter- 
 mine to follow the clear light of God's word : this will 
 illuminate our understandings, when we offer our sup- 
 plications to (lod to assist us in distress. Though we 
 should be at the point of death, or exposed to the crafty 
 malice of the wicked, we must adhere with steady per- 
 severance to the law of God, which is tlie noblest inhe- 
 ritance that we can possess. Trnvell. 
 
 ''105. Thy word is a lantern unto viy feet : &c.] Man 
 is a traveller, his life is a journey, heaven is his end, his 
 road lies through a wilderness, and he is in the dark. 
 Thus circumstanced, how earnestly and devoutly ought 
 he to pray, " O send out thy light and thy truth ; let 
 them leail me, let them bring me to thy holy hill, and 
 to thy taliernaclcs ! " Ps. xliii. .). For surely, "the 
 commandment is a lam]), and the law is light ; and 
 reproofs of instruction arc the way of life," I'rov. vi. 
 23. The word of God discovereth to us our errors ; it 
 sheweth us where we lost om- way, and how we may 
 recover it again. If we take this " lanij)" in our haiul, 
 it will not only point out our course in general, but 
 also direct us in every stej), and guide our " feet" aright 
 in the " path" of holiness and peace. 'J'bus through 
 the devious and lonely wilds of .\rabia, was Israel once 
 conducted to the land of jiromise, by the illuminating 
 ])illar, or rather by Hiui whose presence dwelt in the 
 midst of it. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' loii. / have sworn, &c.] Such being the direction 
 afforded by the word of (iod to a benighted jiilgrim, 
 David had obliged himself, in the most solemn manner, 
 to follow that direction. Kvery Gliristian doth, at his 
 baptism, in like manner, " promise and vow to keep 
 (iod's commandments, and to walk in the same all the 
 days of his life." The nature and extent of these en- 
 gagements must be interpreteil according to the cove- 
 nant of grace, under which they are made. The com- 
 mand to us sinners is, that we .should repent, and 
 believe in Ilim, who will jiardon our failing,s, and
 
 Day 2G. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 629 
 
 erred. Bib. 
 Ttans. 
 
 fastly purposed : to keep tliy riglite- 
 ous judgi'inents. 
 
 107 I am troubled above measure '^: 
 ()uicken me, O Lord, according to 
 thy word. 
 
 108 Let tlie free-will offerings^ of 
 my mouth please thee, O Lord : and 
 teach me thy judgements. 
 
 109 My sold isalway in my hand'' : 
 yet do I not forget thy law. 
 
 110 The ungodly have led a snare 
 for me : hut yet I swerved not from 
 thy commandments. 
 
 111 Thy testimonies have I claim- 
 ed ' as mine lieritag-e for ever : and 
 
 strengthen our infirmities, that we may walk as lie- 
 cometh his disciples, who, tliough they ought not to 
 commit sin, may yet, by divine grace, be restored and 
 saved from it. " These things write I unto you, that 
 ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an ad\'ocate 
 with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ; and he is 
 the propitiation for our sins," 1 John ii. 1. B/i. Home. 
 
 ' 107. I om troubled above measure: &C.") The faith- 
 ful servants of God may be " afflicted :" they may be 
 " very much" and grievously afflicted : but let them 
 consider, that by afflictions, their corruptions are ])urged 
 away, their faith is tried, their patience jierfected, their 
 brethren are edified, and their Master is glorified. 
 Let them still firmly rely on the divine promise of grace 
 and salvation : still humbly pray for its accomplishment 
 in themselves : " Quicken me, O Lord, according to 
 thy word." Bp. Home. 
 
 « 108. Let t lie free-will offerings &c.] The "offer- 
 ings" of the believer are prayer, praise, and holy reso- 
 lutions and vows, like that of the Psalmist above, " to 
 keep God's righteous judgments," in which he therefore 
 petitioneth to be every day more and more " taught" 
 and instructed by the Spirit of truth. Christians are 
 called by St. Peter, " a royal and holy priesthood, 
 appointed to offer u[) spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to 
 God, by Jesus Christ," 1 Pet. ii. 5. 9. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 109. My soul is alway in my hand : &c.] To have 
 one's " soul," or life, " in one's hand," is a phrase often 
 used in Scripture, and implieth going in continual dan- 
 ger of one's hfe ; see Judges xii. 3 ; I Sam. xix. 5 ; and 
 xxviii. 21 ; Job xiii. ]4. Great and incessant as David's 
 perils were, he did not "forget" God's promises, nor 
 his precepts, but trusted in tlie former, and performed 
 the latter. St. Paul knew, that " in every city bonds 
 and afflictions awaited him : but none of these things," 
 saith he, "move me, neither count I my life dear unto 
 myself, so that I might finish my course with joy," 
 Acts XX. 23, 24. Bp.llome. 
 
 '111. Thy testimonies hiire I claimed &c.] ITie " tes- 
 timonies" of God's will, his word and his sacraments, 
 are the bonds and the deeds by which we hold our hea- 
 venly " inheritance, as heirs of God, and joint heirs with 
 Christ." Of these deeds, and this inheritance, no 
 power can deprive us ; and when " they are the rejoicing 
 of our hearts," we shall not, by preferring an earthly 
 inheritance, deprive ourselves of them. Bp. Home. 
 
 ''112. / have applied &c ] Or " inclined." The " in- 
 clination of the heart " to good is the work of God : but 
 man is, nevertheless, in this, as in other instances, said 
 to perform it, when he listens to the call, and obeys the 
 motions, n: his grace. We are not to judge of oiu'selves 
 
 why? they arc the very joy of my 
 heart. 
 
 11"2 I have applied'' my heart to 
 fulfil thy statutes alway : even unto 
 the end. 
 
 I 
 
 Iniquos odio habui. 
 Plate them that imagine evil 
 things : but thy law do I love. 
 114 Thou art my defence"' and 
 shield : and my trust is in thy word. 
 Ili5 Away from me, ye wicked" : 
 I will keep the commandments of my 
 God. 
 
 116 O stablish me° according to 
 
 inclined. 
 Ilili. Trans. 
 
 I hate vnin 
 tlinnphts 
 Bih. I'raiii. 
 
 hidinR |)I;Ke. 
 Bib. Ttitns. 
 
 uptiold. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 by what we sometimes say and do, but by the general 
 disposition and tendency of the heart and its affections. 
 When, after repeated trials, we find that the love of God 
 casts the scale against the love of the world ; when it is 
 our glory, our delight, our treasure, our meat and drink, 
 to do his will, and, against all opposition, to jiersevere 
 in doing it, " even unto the end ;" then are we the true 
 disciples of that Master, whose heart was evermore 
 inclined to good ; who alone performed a i)erfect and 
 spotless obedience, and jjersisted in working the work 
 of Him that sent Him, until, with his last breath. 
 He declared upon the cross, " It is finished." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 113 — 120.] Tlie sum of this portion is, that if we 
 are sincerely attached to God's law, which will prove 
 our sm'est protection from every kind of evil, we can- 
 not but despise and avoid the company of the ungodly. 
 But we must be firm in our obedience, and steady m 
 our ap])Iication to God for help. His rejection of the 
 wicked should make us delight in his law, and dread 
 nothing so much as his displeasure. Travell. 
 
 "' 114. Tliou art my defence Sic.~\ From vain thoughts, 
 and vain persons, the Psalmist tcacheth us to fly, by 
 [irayer, to God, as our refuge and protector. This 
 course a believer «'ill as naturally take, in the hour of 
 temptation and danger, as the offspring of the hen, on 
 perceiving a bird of prey hovering over their heads, re- 
 tire to their " hiding-place," under the wings of their 
 dam; or as the warrior opposeth his "shield" to the 
 darts which are aimed at him. Bp. Home. 
 
 "115. Away from me, ye wicked: &c.] Safe under 
 the protection of the Almighty, David bids the wicked 
 " depart from him ;" he neither fears their mahce, nor 
 will follow their counsels, being resolutely determined to 
 adhere to his duty, and to " keej) the commandments of 
 his God." He, who hath formed David's resolution, 
 must, like him, disclaim and renounce the society of 
 " evil-doers :" for e\-ery man will insensibly contract the 
 good or bad qualities of the company which be keeps; 
 and should, therefore, be careful to keep such as «'il! 
 make him wiser and better, and fit him for the goodly 
 fellowship of saints and angels. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 1 IG. stablish me &c.] A resolution to fly from 
 evil, and to do good, is properly followed by an earnest 
 and repeated jirayer, to be " upheld " in the perform- 
 ance of it by divine grace, "according to God's word " 
 and promise. How necessary is this prayer to be made 
 by creatures whose temjiers and dis])ositions are ever 
 varying ; who have so many and so formidable adver- 
 saries to contend with ; and on whom their temporal 
 condition hath so much influence ! Bp. Home,
 
 630 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 26. 
 
 contrive, 
 Vlot. See 
 Vocab. 
 
 I have done 
 judiremeiit 
 and justice. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 thy word, that I may live : and let 
 me not be disappointed of my hope. 
 
 117 Hold thou me up, and I shall 
 be safe : yea, my delight shall be ever 
 in thy statutes. 
 
 118 Thou hast trodilen down all 
 them that depart from thy statutes : 
 for thev imagine but deceit. 
 
 119 Thou puttest away all the 
 ungodly r of the earth like dross: 
 therefore I love thy testimonies. 
 
 1"20 My flesh trembleth for fear 
 of thee"! : and I am afraid of thy 
 judgements. 
 
 Feci judicium. 
 ■■T Deal with the thing that is law- 
 I ful and right* : O give me not 
 over unto mine oppressors. 
 
 \-2-2 Make thou thy servant to de- 
 
 p 119. Thou puflest away all the ungodly SccI "\Jn 
 godly" men and hypocrites are mingled among the sons 
 and servants of God, as " dross" is blended with the 
 pure metal, and appeareth to be part of it. But the 
 fiery trial of divine judgment soon discovereth the dif- 
 ference. The false ])retences of the hypocrite are de- 
 tected, and the glory of the wicked vanisheth away. 
 In times of visitation, Christ sitteth among his peo|)le, 
 "as a refiner and purifier of silver," purging away all 
 dross, that out of what remains may be made " vessels 
 of honour, meet for the Master's use," to serve and to 
 adorn the sanctuary. See Mai. iii. 3 ; Isa. i. 25 ; 2 Tim. 
 ii. 21. Bp. Home. 
 
 '1 !20. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee : &c.] At 
 the presence of Jehovah, when Me ajipcareth in judg- 
 ment, the earth trembleth and is still. His best ser- 
 vants are not exemjited from an awful dread upon stich 
 occasions ; scenes of this kind, shewn in vision to the 
 prophets, caused their Hesh to qui\-er, and all their 
 i)ones to shake. Encompassed with a frail body, and 
 a sinful world, we stand in neeil of every ])ossible tie ; 
 and the affections both of fear and love must be em- 
 pioved, to restrain us from transgression ; we must, at 
 the same time, "love God's testimonies, and fear his 
 judgments." Bj>. Home. 
 
 • 121 — 12><.] The following portion teaches us, that 
 a firm adherence to the ways of truth and righteousness 
 is the best security against oppression, 'i'lie ap])arent 
 delay of the divine interference in our favour will some- 
 times weary out our expectations ; but it should quicken 
 our prayers to (iod for the increase of his mercy, aiul for 
 the enlargement of our understanding in the way of our 
 duty, 'i'he enormous transgressions of wicked men de- 
 mar'id the execution of the divine judgments ; but they, 
 who are sincerely devoted to God's law, will value it 
 above all earthly treasures, nor will they be tempted by 
 any seeming advantage to do any thing base and dis- 
 honest. Trupelt. 
 
 '121. / deal with the thiruj that is taiifut and right : 
 &c.] He who i.s engaged in a righteous cause, and hath 
 acted nprighlly in the sup])ort of it, may, so far, with- 
 out incurring the censure of boasting, or trusting to his 
 own righteousness, make David's plea, " I have done 
 judgment and justice;" as if he bad said. 'I'bou, () my 
 (iod, knowcst that I am innocent of tlie crimes whereof 
 iny implacable enemies accuse me, and that I have done 
 
 fail for thy 
 iialvaliiiii. 
 Bill. Tr.ivs. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 work. Bib. 
 Travs. 
 made vt>id. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 light in that which is good : that the 
 proud do me no wrong. 
 
 1'23 Mine eyes are wasted away' 
 with looking for thy liealth : and for 
 the word of thv rigliteousness. 
 
 r24 C) deal with thy servant ac- 
 cording unto thy loving mercy : and 
 teach me thy statutes. 
 
 1-25 1 am thy servant, O grant me 
 understanding : that I may know thy 
 testimonies. 
 
 126 It is time for thee, Lord"^, to 
 lay to thine hand : for they have 
 destroyed thy law. 
 
 127 For I love thy command- 
 ments^ : above gold and precious 
 stone. 
 
 128 Therefore hold I straight all 
 thy commandments y : and all false 
 ways 1 utterly abhor. 
 
 no wrong to those who seek to take away my life ; de- 
 liver not thine injured servant, therefore, into their 
 hands ; " leave me not to mine oppressors." The Son 
 of David might use the words in their full and absolute 
 sense, and plead for a glorious resurrection, on the foot 
 of bis having performed a perfect obedience to the law. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 123. Mine eyes are wasted away &c.] Sahation, 
 whether temporal or spiritual, may be delayed ; the 
 " eyes" of the sufferer may " fail" with looking upward, 
 and his earnest expectation may be ready to break 
 forth, in the words of Sisera's mother, " Why is his 
 chariot so long in coming ? ^^'hy tarry the wheels of 
 his chariot ?" But what saith (Jod, by his iirojihets 
 and apostles ? " Though it tarry, wait for it, because 
 it will surel}' come," Hab. ii. 3. " Yet a little while, 
 and he that shall come, will come," Heb. x. 37. The 
 " word," which hath promised it, is the word of truth, 
 faithfulness, and "righteousness;" the attributes of 
 God are engaged for its accomplishment, and He can- 
 not deny nim.self. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 120. It w lime for thee. Lord, &c.] The "law" of 
 God is " made void " or " destroyed" by those who deny 
 its authority, or its obligation ; by those who render it 
 of none effect through their traditions, or their lives. 
 When a deluge of wickedness and impiety entering at 
 these gates hath (werwhelmed a land, " it is time for 
 the Ijord to work ;" the great Lawgiver will then exert 
 his power, and vindicate his authority speedily. There 
 is a certain measiu'e of ini<|uity, which when communi- 
 ties, or individuals respectively, have filled up, the de- 
 stroying angel comes forth, and executes his commission. 
 How ought a man to fear, lest the next sin he comuiits 
 should till up his measure, and seal his eternal doom ! 
 B]>. Home. 
 
 ' 127. For I love thy co?nmand>neiits : &c.] As the 
 wickedness of those increaseth who "make void the 
 divine law," the zeal and " love" of believers should in- 
 crease in |)roportion, to stem the torrent; and this may 
 be done, to a surprising degree, by a few persons, who, 
 after the example of the first Christians, can forsake all 
 to follow their Master; who have the sense and the 
 courage to prefer truth, wisdom, holiness, and heaven, 
 to fidiehood, folly, sin, and the world ; who can re- 
 solutely reject the glittering temjitation, and say, 
 without hypocrisy, to their God, " 1 love thy com-
 
 Day 26. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Mirabilia. 
 
 ^TVy 11 Y testimonies are wonderful ^ : 
 I therefore doth my soul keej) 
 them. 
 The entrance jgQ When thv word SToeth forth'' : 
 
 of thy words . . i i- i i i ^^ 
 
 Riveih. liib. It ffiveth liijilt and understanum<r 
 
 Trans. . .1 • 1 " 
 
 unto tlie snnple. 
 
 131 I opened my mouth % and 
 panted. Dib. drevv in mv breath : for mv deliy-ht 
 
 Tniva. . , ■' , J h 
 
 I lonped for. was in tliy commandments. 
 
 Bm.Tra,>s. ,g._j q ^^^^ ^1,^,^ „j^^,, ^^^ ^^1^^, 
 
 be merciful unto me : as thou usest 
 
 to do unto those that love thy Name. 
 
 13.3 Order my steps in thy word : 
 
 mandinents above gold ; yea, above fine gold." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ 128. Therefore hold I straight all thy commandments : 
 &c ] For the same reason that the children of God, in 
 the worst of times "love his commandments," they 
 love them " all," not observing such only as they can 
 observe without giving offence, but, regardless of the 
 censures of the world, doing their duty in every parti- 
 cular ; not " hating " some " evil ways," and at the 
 same time walking in others, but extending and mani- 
 festing their aversion to all alike. Of such ])ersons it 
 is e\'ident, that they make a conscience of their doings, 
 and their conduct ajipears to be uniform ; the adver- 
 sary will have no evil thing to say of them ; they will 
 do real service to the cause which they maintain ; and, 
 after having honoured their Master before men, they 
 will by Him be honoured before men and angels. 
 Bj>. Home. 
 
 ' 129 — 136.] IIow astonishing, as we learn from 
 this portion, is the wisdom of God's law, which affords 
 knowledge and instruction to the most unlearued ! 
 The heart of the righteous man will jiant after the 
 attainment of this knowledge ; and he wQl beseech God 
 so to direct his ways, that he may neither be enslaved 
 by sin, nor be oppressed by the wicked ; but may 
 keep steady in the jjath of God's commandments, the 
 neglect of which is the cause of great lamentation to 
 the righteous. Travell. 
 
 * 12f). Thy testimonies are wonderful: &c.] The 
 Scriptures are " wonderful," with respect to the matter 
 which they contain, the manner in which they are 
 Avi'itten, and the effects which they produce. Tliey 
 contain the sublimest spiritual truths, veiled under 
 external ceremonies and sacraments, figurative descrip- 
 tions, typical histories, parables, similitudes, &c. When 
 properly opened and enforced, they terrify and humble, 
 they convert and transform, they console and strengthen. 
 Who but must delight to study and to " observe " 
 these " testimonies " of the will and the wisdom, the 
 love and the |)Ower, of God most high ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ■• 130. When thy uordgoeth forth :kc.'] Tlie Scrip- 
 tures are the appointed means of " enlightening " the 
 mind with true and saving knowledge. They shew us 
 what we were, what we are, and what we shall be; 
 they shew us what God hath done for us, and what He 
 expecteth us to do for Him ; they shew us the adver- 
 saries we have to encounter, and how to encounter 
 them with success ; they shew us the mercy and the 
 justice of the Lord, the joys of heaven, and the pains 
 of hell, 'i'hus will they '• give to the simi)le," in a few 
 days, an " understanding " of those matters, which 
 philosophy, for whole centimes, sought in vain. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 631 
 
 have 
 
 and so shall no wickedness 
 dominion over me. 
 
 134 O deliver me from the wrong- 
 ful dealings of men : and so shall I 
 kee]) thy commandments. 
 
 1.3.J Show the light of thy counte- 
 nance u])on thy servant : and teach 
 me thy statutes. 
 
 136 Mine eyes gush out with 
 water '' : because men keep not tliy 
 law. 
 
 Justus es, Domine. 
 '"P I G H T E O U S art thou, O 
 Ji\i Lord' : and true is thy jiulge- 
 ment. 
 
 ■^ 131. / opened my mouth, &c.] An eastern tra- 
 veller, fatigued through toil, and jiarched by heat, doth 
 not, with more vehement desire, gasp for the cooling 
 breeze, than the servant of God, in time of temptation 
 and trouble, " panteth " after that spirit of refreshment 
 and consolation, which breathes in the Scrijjtures of 
 truth. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 136. 3Iine eyes gush out with water : &c.~\ David, 
 who, through this whole Psalm, so often and so ar- 
 dently beseecheth God to " teach him his statutes," 
 declareth in this verse, his continual grief of heart, 
 occasioned by seeing others break those statutes. Thus 
 Lot, among the Sodomites, was " vexed from day to 
 day," not so much at their usage of himself, as at 
 " seeing and hearing their unlawful deeds," 2 Pet. 
 ii. 8. Thus Jeremiah telleth the ungodly of his time, 
 " If ye will not hear, my soul shall weep in secret 
 places for your pride ; and mine eyes shall weep sore, 
 and run down with tears," Jer. xiii. 1 7. Thus the holy 
 Jesus " looked round about on the Pharisees, being 
 grieved for tlie hardness of their hearts," Mark iii. 5 ; 
 and " wejjt over " a city which had alw'ays persecuted, 
 and was then about to crucify Him, because it " knew 
 not the things which belonged to its ])eace," Luke 
 xix. 41. Accept, O Lord, the tears which our blessed 
 Redeemer shed, in the days of his flesh, for us, who 
 should, but, alas ! too often cannot, weep for our bre- 
 thren, or for ourselves ; and gi\-e us, at least, the grace 
 of holy mourning, which in thy sight is of great price. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 137 — 141.] According to the instruction here 
 gi\'en to us, the perfect righteousness and purity of 
 God's laws demand our obedience, and the sad neglect 
 of them, to which we are witness, must provoke otir 
 indignation and wear our spirits. However mean and 
 conteiTiptible our situation may be, we must continue 
 firm in the practice of those eternal laws of truth and 
 righteousness, which will be our surest comfort in the 
 hour of distress. Travell. 
 
 ' 137. Righteous art thou, OLorrf:&c.] This por- 
 tion of our Psalm is employed in celebrating the righte- 
 ousness of God, manifested to us by his word, and by 
 his dispensations, which that word both recordeth and 
 explaineth. It is said of the emperor Mauritius, that, 
 upon seeing all his children slain before his face, at 
 the command of that bloody tyrant and usurper, 
 Phocas, himself expecting the next stroke, with a 
 philosophy truly divine, he exclaimed aloud, in these 
 words of David, " Righteous art thou, O Lord, and 
 upright ai'e thy judgments." By faith he was assured 
 of this great truth, and nobly confessed it, notwith- 
 standing all appearances to the contrary. The last day 
 will demonstrate the same thing to the whole world.
 
 632 
 
 exceeding 
 
 very piue. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 despised. 
 Bii. Traits. 
 
 ansuish. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 138 The testimonies that 
 hast commanded : are 
 righteous and true. 
 
 139 My zeal hath even consumed 
 mes : because mine enemies have 
 forgotten thy words. 
 
 140 Tliy word is tried to the 
 uttermost'' : and thy servant loveth 
 it. 
 
 141 I am small, and of no repu- 
 tation : yet do I not forget thy 
 commandments. 
 
 142 Thy righteousness is an ever- 
 lasting rigiiteousness ' : and thy law 
 is the trutli. 
 
 143 Trouble and heaviness'' have 
 taken hold upon me : yet is my de- 
 light in thy commandments. 
 
 144 The righteousness of thy tes- 
 timonies is everlasting : O grant me 
 understanding, and I shall live. 
 
 THE PSALMS, 
 thou 
 
 EVENING PRAYEB. 
 
 Clamavi in tola corde meo. 
 Call with my whole heart 
 
 hear 
 
 me, O Lord, I will keep thy 
 
 statutes. 
 
 and open the mouths of men and angels to declare, 
 concerning all the divine proceedings, what the good 
 Mauritius acknowledged, at the time, with regard to 
 the murder of his children. Bp. Home. 
 
 f 139. My zeal hath even consumed me: &c.] " Zeal" 
 is a high degree of love ; and when the object of that 
 love is ill-treated, it venteth itself in a mixture of grief 
 and indignation, which are sufficient to wear and 
 "consume" the heart. This will be the case, where 
 men rightly conceive of that dishonour, which is con- 
 tinually done to (iod by creatures whom He hath made 
 and redeemed. But never could the verse be uttered, 
 with such fulness of truth and propriety, by any one, 
 as by the Son of God, who bad such a sense of his 
 Father's glory anil of man's sin, as no ])erson else ever 
 had. And, accordingly, when his zeal had exerted 
 itself in jiurging the temple, St. John tells us, " his 
 disciples remembered that it was written. The zeal of 
 thine house bath eaten me \\p." The place where it is 
 so written is I'salm Ixix. 9 ; and the jiassage is exactly 
 parallel to tbis before us. Bp. Home. 
 
 *■ 1 40. Tliy word is tried to the utlermn.il : &c.] 
 " Tried, refined, purified, like gold in the furnace :" 
 absolutely perfect, without the dross of vanity and 
 fallibility, which runs through human writings. 'I'lie 
 more we try the jiromises, the surer we shall find 
 them. This i)ure word hath likewise in it a [lOwer 
 of purifying vis. It containeth jirecepts and examjiles 
 of purity, helps and encouragements to purity, and the 
 Spirit of purity goeth with it, and worketh by it. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 142. Thy riffhtenusness is an everltisting righteous- 
 ness, &c.] .Men may decree wickedness by a law, or 
 they may change tlieir decrees, and, with them, what 
 was right to-day may be wrong to-morrow. liut the 
 law of (ioil is "righteousness," and it is "trutli," to- 
 day, anrl forever. His ju.stice, goodness, and fidelity, 
 are unchangeable; lie will never forsake us, unless wc 
 
 Day 26. 
 
 146 Yea, even unto thee do I call : 
 help me, and I shall keep thy testi- 
 monies. 
 
 147 Early in the morning'" do I i prevented 
 
 , .1 r • il T • the dawnin" 
 
 cry unto thee : for in thy word is my of the morn- 
 tnist '"8- ^'''■ 
 
 14rt Mine eves prevent the nig-ht- are before- 
 
 , 1 , T • 1 1 -1 hand with 
 
 watches : that 1 might be occupied them, see 
 in thy words. '^■°"''- 
 
 149 Hear my voice, O Lord, ac- 
 cording unto thy loving-kindness : 
 quicken me, according as thou art 
 wont. 
 
 150 They draw nigh that of malice 
 persecute me : and are far from thy 
 law. 
 
 151 Be thou nigh at hand, O Lord : 
 for all thy commandments are true. 
 
 152 As concerning thy testimo- 
 nies", I have known long since : 
 that thou hast grounded them for 
 ever. 
 
 Vide humilitatem. 
 
 Consider mine adversity, and 
 
 del' ' ' ' 
 
 thy law. 
 
 n 
 
 \^ deliver me : for I do not forget 
 
 forsake Him, but will remember us in our lowest 
 estate, if, in that estate, we " do not forget his pre- 
 cepts." Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 143. Trouble and heaviness &c.l We need not 
 take pains, as many do, " to find trouble and anguish," 
 for they will one day " find us." In that day, the 
 revelations of God must be to us instead of all worldly 
 " delights " and pleasures, which will then have for- 
 saken us ; and how forlorn and desolate will be oiu: 
 state, if we should ha\e no other delights, no other 
 pleasures, to succeed them, and to accomjiany us into 
 eternity ! Let our study be now in the .Scriptures, if 
 we expect our comfort from them in time to come. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' H.") — 152.] It is the purport of this portion of 
 tlie I'salm to teach us, that our earnest desire to keep 
 (iod's laws should make us constantly vigilant in our 
 duty : Ibis will be tlic best means of obtaining help 
 from Him, who is ever true to bis promises, and who 
 will protect his faithful servants from the malicious 
 attacks of their enemies. Travell. 
 
 "' 147. Early in the morning &c.] It is a certain 
 sign that our hearts are set upon a work, when the 
 thoughts of it cause sleep to depart from us, and we 
 awake readily, constantly, and early, to the perform- 
 ance of it. David delighted in the holy exercises of 
 ])rayer and meditation ; therefore he " jirevented the 
 dawning of the morning," and was licforehand with the 
 light itself; therefore his " eyes jirevented the watches," 
 that is, the last of tliose watclies, into which the night 
 was by the .Jews divided ; he needed not the watchman's 
 call, but was stirring before it could be given. Cliinato 
 and constitution will, dotibtlcss, make a diUVrcnce, and 
 claim considerable allowance: but by Christians, who 
 enjoy their health, in temperate weather, the sun should 
 not be suffered to shine in vain, nor the golden hours 
 of the morning to glide awny uniiniiroved j since of 
 Davitl's Lord, as well as of David, it is said, "In the
 
 Plead. Bib. 
 Ttans. 
 
 Salvation. 
 Ilili. Tr,i„3. 
 Kee Vocab. 
 
 decline. 
 Bill. Trans. 
 
 Day 26. 
 
 154 Avenge thou my caused, and 
 deliver me : quicken me, according 
 to thy word. 
 
 155 Ilealtli i.s far from the un- 
 godly 1 : for they regard not thy 
 statutes. 
 
 156 Great is thy mercy, O Lord : 
 quicken me, as thou art wont. 
 
 157 Many there are that trouble 
 me'', and persecute me : yet do I not 
 swerve from thy testimonies. 
 
 158 Itgrievetli me when I see the 
 transgressors : because they keep not 
 thy law. 
 
 159 Consider, O Lord, how I 
 love thy commandments'* : O quicken 
 me, according to thy loving-kind- 
 ness. 
 
 morning, rising up a great while before clay, He went 
 out and departed into a solitary place, and there 
 prayed." Mark i. 35. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 152. As cnncerning Iky testimonies, &c.] This por- 
 tion of our Psalm endeth with the triumph of faith 
 over all dangers and temptations. " Concerning thy 
 testimonies," the revelations of thy will, thy counsels 
 for the salvation of thy servants, " 1 have known of 
 old," hy faith, and by my own e.xperience, as well as 
 that of others, " that thou hast founded them for ever; 
 they are unalterable and everlasting as the attributes of 
 their great Author, and can never fail those who rely 
 uijon them, in time, or in eternity. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 153 — 160.] From this portion we learn, that our 
 perseverance in the time of our duty is the strongest 
 encouragement to expect the divine blessing and pro- 
 tection ; God will not afford his favour and support to 
 those who transgress his laws ; we cannot but lament 
 their errors, and must strive earnestly to a\'cid them, if 
 we truly reverence God and his unchangeable com- 
 mandments. Travell. 
 
 p 154. Avenge thou my cause, &c.] God is the 
 Patron of his peojjle, to " plead " their " cause ;" their 
 Redeemer, to "deliver" them out of troubles; the 
 Author and Fountain of their life, to " quicken " and 
 support them. We may, therefore, have recourse to 
 Him at aU times, as an Advocate, a Sa\-iour, and a 
 Comforter, for the defence of our cause, the deliverance 
 of our persons, and the support of our hearts. And 
 all this, "according to his word," in which He hath 
 engaged thus to patronize, to rescue, and to strengthen, 
 those who trust in Him, and apply to Him. Bp. 
 Hom,e. 
 
 ' 155. Health is far from the ungodly: &c.] The 
 "health " or " salvation " which is nigh to the faithful, 
 because they diligently and earnestly seek to know 
 and to do the will of God revealed to them in his 
 word, is " far from the wicked," because " they seek 
 not his statutes," nor concern themselves to know what 
 they are, much less to observe and practise them. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 157, 158. Many there are that trouble me, &c.] Per- 
 secution tempteth men to apostasy, and is the great 
 trial of our fidelity to God and to his word. He who, 
 in such circumstances, forgetteth his own sufferings, to 
 commiserate the sin and folly of his persecutors, is a 
 true follower, as David was a forerunner, of Jesus 
 Christ. Bp. Home. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 (i.'53 
 
 160 'i'liy word is true from ever- 
 lasting : all the judgements of thy 
 righteousness endure for evermore. 
 
 Principes persecuti iunt. 
 
 PRINCES have persecuted 
 me" without a cause : hut my 
 heart standeth in awe of thy word. 
 
 16'2 I am as glad of thy word : as 
 one tiiat findeth great spoils. 
 
 163 As for lies, I hate and al)hor 
 them : but thy law do I love. 
 
 164 Seven times a day do I praise 
 thee'' : because of thy righteous 
 j udgements. 
 
 165 Great is the peaces that they 
 have who love thy law : and they are 
 not offended at it. 
 
 stumbling- 
 
 nothing shall 
 otTend them. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 or, tliey shall 
 have no 
 ■hlock. Morg. 
 
 ' 159. Consider, Lord, how I love thy command- 
 ments : &c.] It is observable liow the Psalmist de- 
 lighteth to dwell on these two sweet notes ; the 
 " loving-kindness " of God in promising salvation, and 
 his " truth " in the constant jierformance of that 
 promise to his church, while she "loves" and adheres 
 to his "prece])ts." Thus it hath been "from the 
 beginning," and thus it wiU be, until the whole 
 counsel of hea\'en shall at length be fulfilled, by the 
 resurrection and salvation of the just. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 161 — 168.] The sense of this portion is, that an 
 inviolable attachment to truth and righteousness, and 
 an abhorrence of deceit and wickedness, will give us 
 coiu-age under the severest persecutions ; and will be 
 a purer source of joy than any acquisition we can 
 obtain. We cannot too often express our gratitude and 
 praise for the blessings of God's providence ; and if we 
 value our own peace of mind and e.xpect favour from 
 Him, who seeth all that we do, we must seek it in the 
 way of his commandments. Travell. 
 
 " l6l. Princes have persecuted me &c.] David was 
 " persecuted," by Saul and his associates, " without a 
 cause." The life of Saul was spared by him, because 
 " he stood in awe of God's word," and preferred the 
 comfortable reflection of having obeyed its injunctions 
 to all the " spoil," and to those many advantages, that 
 would have accrued to him, by the overthrow and 
 death of his iiuplacalile adversary, who acknowledged, 
 ujion the occasion, " Thou art more righteous than 
 I," 1 Sam. xxiv. 17. The sufferings of the body are 
 soon over; the joys of conscience have no end. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 • l6i. Seven times a day do I praise thee : &c.] They 
 who, like David, during the time of persecution and 
 affliction, put their trust in God and «'ait his decision 
 of their cause, will always find reason, as David did, to 
 "praise him seven times a day," or continually, for his 
 just decrees and " righteous judgments " concerning 
 them. Bp. Home. 
 
 >■ 165. Great is the peace &c.] Amidst the storms 
 and tempests of the world there is a perfect calm in the 
 breasts of those, who not only do the will of God, but 
 " love " to do it. They are at peace with God, by the 
 blood of reconciliation ; at peace with themselves, by 
 the answer of a good conscience, and the subjection of 
 those desires which war against the soul ; at peace with 
 all men, by the spirit of charity ; and the whole crea- 
 tion is so at peace with them, that aU things work
 
 634 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 salvation. 
 £16. Tram. 
 
 160 Lord, I have looked for thy 
 saving health : and done after th)' 
 comnianchiients. 
 
 167 iSly .soul hath kept thy testi- 
 monies^ : and loved them exceed- 
 ingly. 
 
 168 I have kept thy command- 
 ments and testimonies : for all my 
 ways are before thee. 
 
 Appropinquet deprecatio. 
 
 he- 
 me 
 
 thv 
 
 ''T ET my complaint come'' 
 i J fore thee, O Lord : give 
 understanding, according to 
 word. 
 
 170 Let my supplication come be- 
 fore thee : deliver me, according to 
 thy word. 
 
 171 My lips shall speak of thy 
 praise : when thou hast taught me 
 thy statutes. 
 
 17"2 Yea, my tongue shall sing of 
 
 together for their good. No external troubles can 
 rob tliem of this "great peace," no "offences" or 
 stumbling-blocks, which are thrown in their way by 
 ]>ersecution or temptation, by the malice of enemies, or 
 the a])ostasy of friends, by any thing which they see, 
 hear of, or feel, can detain or di\'ert them from their 
 coiu'se. Heavenly love surmounts every obstacle, and 
 runs vnih delight the way of God's commandments. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1G7. My soul hnth kept fhy testimonies : &c.] The 
 " love of God's testimonies," and the consideration, that 
 all " our ways are before him," and suliject to his im- 
 mediate inspection, are two ])Owerfnl motives to obe- 
 dience. The plea of having " kept the divine precei)ts," 
 S;c., in the mouth of David, or any other believer, in- 
 tendetli sincerity, not perfection ; and is alleged as an 
 evidence of grace, not as a claim of merit. Christ alone 
 kept the old law, and He enableth us to observe the 
 new. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' IC9 — 1"(J.] The Psalm concludes with an earnest 
 address to God for his gracious assistance, and with 
 strong expressions of joy and gratitude for all the in- 
 stances of his mercy. The Psalmist pleads his observ- 
 ance of God's law as the surest claim to his loving- 
 kindness, and beseeches the Almighty to e.\ert in his 
 behalf that tender care and solicitude, which a she])herd 
 employs in restoring a worried and wandering sheep to 
 the fold. Travcll. 
 
 '■ IC9. Lit my complaint come &c.] The Psalmist 
 still conlinueth instant in prayer for "understanding," 
 to direct liim in the midst of dangers and temptations, 
 and for " deliverance " out of them all, when (iod shall 
 see lit to accomiilish the ijromises made in his " word." 
 These are blessings, for which a man cannot be too frc- 
 (picnt, or too earnest, in his petitions to the throne of 
 heaven. Bp. Ilorne. 
 
 ' 175. O let my soul live, &c.] Tlie "life" which 
 God granteth and i)reserveth to us, whetlicr it be the 
 natural life of the body, or the spiritual life of the soul, 
 (for lioth are from Him,) slioulil be cm]iloyed in 
 "praising" Him. This return for liis mercies we are 
 always ready to promise, when we are in danger, but 
 
 DaT/ 27. 
 
 thy word : for all thy commandments 
 are righteous. 
 
 173 Let thine hand help me : for 
 I have chosen thy commandments. 
 
 174 I have longed for thv saving salvation, 
 health, O Lord : and in thy law is 
 
 my delight. 
 
 175 O let my soul live"^, and it 
 shall praise thee : and thy judge- 
 ments shall help me. 
 
 176 I have gone astray like a 
 sheep "^ that is lost : O seek thy ser- 
 vant, for I do not forget thy com- 
 mandments. 
 
 w 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PS.\LM cxx." Ad Domimim. 
 H E N I was in troul)le ' I 
 called upon 
 
 the Lord : and 
 
 he heard me. 
 
 2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from 
 
 often forgetful to perform, when dehvered out of it. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 '' 17G. I have gone astray like a sheep &c.] It is 
 doubtful, whether David here speaks of his misery, or 
 his sin ; of his " wandering," as an exile in foreign 
 lands, or of his " going astray" from the " command- 
 ments" of his God, though he had not altogether " for- 
 gotten," but was desirous of returning again to the 
 observance of them, and therefore beseeches the great 
 Sliepherd to "seek" and bring back his "lost sheep." 
 In the ajijilication of the passage to ourselves, it matters 
 not which interpretation we adopt, since we are Ijotlx 
 sinners and exiles ; exiles, because sinners ; " we liave 
 erred and strayed from God's ways, like lost sheep," 
 and are, for that reason, excluded from oiu' heavenly 
 city and cotmtry, to wander for a time in the wilderness. 
 I{estr)re us, O Lord Jcsu, by thy grace to righteousness, 
 and liy thy power to glory ! Bp. Home. 
 
 " Ps.vi.M cxx.] This, and the fourteen Psalms which 
 follow it, are entitled, " Psalms of degrees, or of ascen- 
 sions." For what reason they were so called, is alto- 
 gether uncertain. Certain, however, it is, that they are 
 most instructive and pleasing compositions, wonderfidly 
 calculateil to elevate the soul to God ; and that the 
 f'hristian, as he proceeds from one degree of virtue to 
 another, in his way towards eternal felicity, cannot em- 
 ]iloy himself better than in meditation on them. In 
 the first of these Psalms, the author, most iirobably 
 David, coniplainetli of tlic falsehood, the treachery, and 
 the violence of men, amongst whom he grieveth that 
 his ])ilgriinage is prolonged, lip. Home. 
 
 ' I. I\'hen I was in trnnhle, lkc.~\ The i)rophet re- 
 lateth the success of liis prayer made to .lehovah in 
 time of trotdile. He "cried," and was "heard." The 
 particular sjieeies of trouble, luidcr which he then la- 
 boured, was that caused liy the malice and treachery of 
 his adversaries, who either with "lying lips" bore false 
 witness against him, or " with a deccitfid tongue" tried 
 to ensnare him. and to draw something from him, on 
 which they might groimd an accusation. Thus the 
 •lews dealt with Christ; ami men of their cast and 
 complexion have, in all ages, dealt thus with his true
 
 Daij 27. 
 
 sharp arrows 
 of the 
 
 mighty, with 
 cnals of jil- 
 ni|)er. Bib, 
 Trans, 
 
 lying lips : and from a 
 tongue. 
 
 3 Wliat reward shall be given or 
 done unto thee'-', thou false tongue : 
 even mighty and sharp arrows, vvitii 
 hot burning coals. 
 
 4 Wo is me'', that I am constrained 
 to dwell with Mesech : and to have 
 my habitation among the tents of 
 Ivedar. 
 
 5 My soul hath long dwelt' among 
 them : that are enemies unto peace. 
 
 6 I labour for peace, but when I 
 speak imto them thereof : they make 
 them ready to battle. 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 deceitful 
 
 6.35 
 
 help. 
 
 PSALM cxxi.'' Levavi oculos. 
 Will lift up mine eyes unto the 
 
 my 
 
 hills ' : from whence cometh 
 
 followers. From sucli " lips " and such " tongues " 
 God only can " deliver" the persons and the reputations 
 of the most innocent. B/>. Home. 
 
 K 3. fVhat reward shall be yiren or done unto thee, 
 &c.] The [jurport of the question plainly is this : 
 What profit or advantage do you expect to reap from 
 this practice of lying and slandering ? what will at last 
 be its end and its reward ? Then followeth the answer : 
 " Mighty and sharp arrows," or "' JSharii arrows of the 
 mighty one," who is the avenger of truth and innocence ; 
 with a fire that burns fiercely, and burns long, like that 
 which was made of "juni|)er," or some wood used in 
 those days, remarkable for increasing and retaining 
 heat; punishments justly inflicted on a tongue, the 
 words of which have been keen and killing as arrows, 
 and which, by its lies and calumnies, hath contributed 
 to set the world on fire. We read in the Gospel, of 
 one who exclaimed, " Send Lazarus, that he may dip 
 the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue ; for 
 I am tormented in this flame." Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 4. IVo is me, &c.] The Psalmist lamenteth his 
 long continuance among those deceitful and malicious 
 men, whom he compareth to the wild, barbarous, and 
 idolatrous Arabs, the descendants of " Kedar," the son 
 of Ishmael, Gen. xxv. 13. When our Lord was upon 
 earth, the Jews were become the spiritual Ishmaelites, 
 sons of the bond woman, persecutors of the sons of the 
 free woman, and the children of jjromise. " O faithless 
 and perverse generation," saith He, how long shall I 
 be with you ? how long shall I suffer you?" Matt. xvii. 
 17. "And as then he that was born after the flesh 
 persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so 
 it is now," Gal. iv. 29- Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. My soul hath long dwelt &c.] If this was the 
 case of David, much more might the .Son of David 
 make the same complaint, that He " dwelt with them 
 that hated peace;" that although He was "a man of 
 peace," meek, lowdy, and gracious in his deportment 
 to all around Him ; although He came to make peace, 
 and to reconcile all things in heaven and earth ; al- 
 though his conversation and his preaching were of 
 peace, and love, and the kingdom of God ; yet 
 no sooner did He open his mouth to " sjieak" upon 
 these divine sul)jt'cts, but his enemies were u]) in arms, 
 ready to apprehend, to accuse, to condemn, antl to 
 crucify Him. Marvel not, O disciple of Jesus ! if the 
 
 2 My help cometh even from the 
 Lord : who hath made heaven and 
 cartli. 
 
 •i He will not suffer thy foot to be 
 moved'" : and he that keepeth thee 
 will iHit sleep. 
 
 4 ]5ehold, lie that keepeth Israel : 
 shall neither slumber nor sleep. 
 
 .5 The Lord himself is thy keejier": 
 
 is thy defence ujion thy shade. 
 
 Will not let 
 Ilii'C tic suh- 
 vertfd. Bp. 
 Palrick. 
 
 lOrd 
 
 7'rant. 
 
 Bib. 
 
 the T 
 
 right haiul ; 
 
 () So that the sun shall lutt burn smite, mi. 
 thee by day : neither tlie moon by '""'' 
 night. 
 
 7 The Lord shall preserve thee 
 from all evil" : yea, it is even he tliat 
 shall keep thy soul. 
 
 8 The Lord shall preserve thy doing any 
 
 L 1 ii ' ' c thing of what 
 
 gonig out, and thy coming ni : irom si.n soever; 
 this time forth for evermore. goMtoutlo 
 
 work, or coraest home to rest. Br. Hammond. 
 
 world hate and oppose thee ; but pray only, that when 
 thou shalt be used as He was, thou mayest be enabled 
 to bear that usage as He did. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ Ps.\LM cxxi.] In this Psalm, the prophet, 1, 2, 
 introduceth a person, most probably an Israelite, on his 
 way to Jerusalem, expressing his trust and confidence 
 in Jehovah, the Maker of heaven and earth, of whose 
 favour and protection, at all times, and in all dangers, 
 the ])rophet, 3 — S, assureth him. These promises, like 
 those in the ninety-first Psalm, were, in their full and 
 spiritual sense, made good to Messiah, and are now 
 daily accomiilishing in the members of his mystical 
 body, the Christian church. Bp. Lowth supposes the 
 two first verses to be spoken by David, when going out 
 to war, and the answer of encouragement to be made 
 by the high priest from the holy place. In this case, 
 the idea of warfare is added to that of pilgrimage, and 
 the Psalm rendered still more ajiplicable to us, as well 
 as to the true David our King. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1, 2. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills: &c.] 
 The true Israelite, amidst the dangers of his earthly 
 pilgrimage and warfare, looketh continually towards 
 the heavenly city, whither he is travelling. Faith 
 sheweth him afar ofl:' the everlasting " lulls from whence 
 cometh the help," which must bring him in safety to 
 them. He " lifteth up his eyes" in [irayer to the Al- 
 mighty, whose temple and habitation are thereon. He 
 putteth not his trust in any creature, but imploreth aid 
 immediately of " him who made hea\en and earth," 
 and who, consequently, hath power over all things in 
 both. Bp. Home. 
 
 ■" 3, 4. He uill not suffer thy foot to be moved: &c.] 
 In the first two verses, we heard the believer declaring 
 his resolution to trust in God. The prophet now com- 
 mendeth that resolution, and encourageth him to per- 
 severe in it. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 5. The Lord himself is thy keeper: &c.] The mean- 
 ing is, that the good man, during his journey through 
 life, shall be under God's protection at all seasons ; as 
 Israel in the wilderness was defended from the burning 
 heat of the sim, by the moist and refreshing shadow of 
 the cloud ; and secured against the inclement influences 
 of the nocturnal heavens, by the kindly warmth and 
 splendour diUuscd from the pillar of fire. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 7, S. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: &c.] 
 To dissipate our fears, and remove every ground of
 
 636 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 compact to- 
 gether. Eib, 
 Trans. 
 
 PSALM cxxii.'" Ltctatus sum. 
 
 I Was g'ad when they said unto 
 mei : We will go into the house 
 of the Lord. 
 
 2 Our feet shall stand in thy gates : 
 O Jerusalem. 
 
 3 Jerusalem is built as a city"^ : 
 that is at unity in itself. 
 
 4 For thither the tribes go up% 
 even the tribes of the Lord : to testify 
 unto Israel, to give thanks unto the 
 Name of the Lord. 
 
 5 For there is the seat of judge- 
 ment' : even the seat of the house of 
 David. 
 
 6 O pray for the peace of Jerusa- 
 
 diffidence, Jehovah promiseth, by his holy prophet, to 
 " preser\'e us from all evil," which might befal us in 
 the way, either by turning it aside, or turning it finally 
 to our advantage, so that we shall not perish, but see 
 our labours happily begun and ended in Him ; He 
 "shall jireserve our going out, and our coming in," 
 until, through all the vicissitudes of this mortal state. 
 He shall have brought us into his " holy temple," 
 there to become " pillars," and to " go no more out." 
 Rev. iii. 12. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxxii.] The author of this Psalm, as we 
 are informed by its title, was David. The subject of it 
 is, that joy which the peo])le were wont to express, upon 
 their going up in companies to keep a feast at Jeru- 
 salem, when the di\ine services were regulated, and 
 that city was appointed to be the place of publick wor- 
 ship. Even,' thing, which can be said upon this topick, 
 must naturally hold good in its application to the 
 Christian church, and the celebration of her feasts. 
 Bp. Heme. 
 
 ■i 1, 2. / was glad when they said nnlo me: &c.] 
 Great was the joy of an Israelite, when his brethren 
 called upon him to accompany them on some festive 
 occasion, to the tabernacle, or temple at Jerusalem ; 
 great is the joy of a Christian, when he is invited, in 
 like manner, to celebrate tlie feasts of the church, to 
 commemorate the nativity, or the resurrection, and to 
 eat and drink at the table of his Lord. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. Jerusalem is built as a city : &c.] As if it were 
 said, Jerusalem is a lovely place : the very buildings, 
 being so uniform, are \-cry beautiful ; and an eiublem 
 of that union of minds, botli in charity and united in- 
 tercessions, wliich is the most amiable and graceful 
 thing in the church of (iod. Allusion is here made to 
 what sacred story tells us of the city, the buildings of 
 which, having lien scattered and dispersed, were joined 
 together and compacted by David, and so made one 
 city. 1 Chron. xi. ", «. Dr. Hummond. 
 
 ' 4. For thither the tribes goup, &c.] All the "tribes" 
 of Israel, three times in the year, were seen "going uj)" 
 to Jerusalem in compliance with the " testimonies," 
 tlu: injunctions and institutions of their law, to acknow- 
 ledge the mercies, and to give thanks unto the name 
 of " Jehovah," wlio had done such great things for 
 tliein. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' .I. For there is the seat of judgement : &c.] The Is- 
 raelites resorted to Jcrnsulem, because it was the metro- 
 polis of the country, and there wa.s the residence of 
 their monarcbs, after the kingdom was established in 
 " the liouse of David," Hut, alas ! that metropolis is 
 desolate, and " *Jjc thrones of judgment," which were 
 
 prosperitv. 
 Bilj. Trans. 
 
 I will now 
 say. Peace be 
 within thee. 
 
 Day 27. 
 
 lem" : they shall prosper that love 
 thee. 
 
 7 Peace be within thy walls " : and 
 plenteousness within thy palaces. 
 
 8 For my brethren and com- 
 panions' sakes^ : I will wish thee 
 prosperity. 
 
 9 Yea, because of the house of the -S''- ^'''""' 
 Lord our God : I will seek to do 
 
 thee good, 
 
 PSALM cxxiii." Ad te levavi oculos tneos. 
 
 UNTO thee lift I up mine eyes : 
 O thou that dwellest in the 
 heavens. 
 
 2 Behold, even as the eyes of ser- 
 
 therein, have been long since cast down to the ground. 
 A Jerusalem, however, remains, which shall never be 
 moved ; in that Jerusalem is the throne of eternal judg- 
 ment erected, and the Son of David sitteth upon it. 
 See Luke i. 32 ; Matt. xix. 28. Bp. Home. 
 
 "6. pray for the peace of Jerusalem: &c.] In this 
 latter part of our Psalm, the members of the Israelitish 
 church are exhorted to pray for its peace and welfare. 
 What that church was, the Christian church militant 
 upon earth now is, and demandeth, in like manner, the 
 prayers of all Christian people for its peace and welfare 
 in a troublesome and contentious world. Its increase 
 here below is in reality the increase of Jerusalem above, 
 of which it is a part, and ought to be a resemblance. 
 Heaven has therefore decreed, that they who contribute 
 their labours, as well as their ])rayers, to promote so 
 good and so glorious an end, shall enjoy its protection, 
 and its blessing shall be upon the work of then- hands ; 
 "they shall prosper that love thee." Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 7. Peace be within thy walls: &c.] Come, O thou 
 divine Sjiirit of peace and love, who didst reside in the 
 soul of the holy Jesus, descend into his mystical body, 
 and fill us, who compose it, with all bis heavenly tem- 
 ])ers ; [Hit an end to heresies, heal all schisms, cause 
 Ijitter contentions to cease, abolish e\'ery enmity, and 
 make us to be of one mind in thy holy city ; that so, 
 " peace being within her walls," her citizens may give 
 themselves to every profitable employment, and " plen- 
 teousness " of grace, wisilom, and truth, as well as of 
 earthly blessings, may be in all her " palaces." Thus 
 will she become a lively jiortrait of that ])lace which is 
 prepared for them that love one another, where, with 
 one heart and one voice, they shnll ascribe " salvation 
 and glory to God and to the Lamb." lip. Home. 
 
 >■ «. For my brethren and companions' sokes : &e.] In 
 these concluding verses, the Psalmist deelareth the two 
 motives, which induced liim to utter his best wishes, 
 and to use his best endeavours, for the prosperity of 
 Jerusalem ; namely, love of his brethren, whose hap- 
 piness was involved in that of their city ; and love of 
 (jod, who had there fixed the residence of his glory. 
 'J'hcse motives are ever in force, and ought surely to 
 operate with marvellous energ)' u|)on our hearts, to stir 
 us up to imitate the pattern now before us, in fervent 
 zeal and unwearied labour, for the .salvation of men, 
 and the glory of their gre:it Kedeeiner; both which will 
 then be eom|)lete, when (he church militant shall be- 
 come triumphant, and tlie heavenly paradise shall be 
 filled with plants taken from its terrestrial iimsery. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxxiii.] This Psalm containeth, 1, 2, an act
 
 Bay 27. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 fi07 
 
 Papists' 
 Conspirnry, 
 second Psalm 
 Morn. Scrv. 
 
 and 
 Kind 
 Cliarles's 
 Rest, first 
 Psalm Morn, 
 Serv. 
 
 vants" look unto the hand of their 
 masters, and as tlie eyes of a maiden 
 unto the hand of her mistress : even 
 so our eyes wait upon the Lord 
 our God, until he have mercy upon 
 us. 
 
 3 Have merey upon us, O Lord '', 
 have mercy ujjoii us : for we are 
 utterly despised. 
 
 4 Our soul is filled with the scorn- 
 ful reproof of the wealthy : and with 
 tlie despitefulness of the proud. 
 
 PSALM cxxiv." A'ist quia Dominus. 
 
 IF the Lord himself'' had not been 
 on our side, now may Israel say : 
 if the Lord himself had not been on 
 our side, when men rose up against 
 us; 
 9 
 
 They had swallowed us 
 
 up 
 
 of confidence in God, with, 3, 4, a prayer for deliverance 
 from that reproach and contempt which infideUty and 
 sensuality are wont to pour upon the afflicted people of 
 God. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. Behold, even as the eyes of servants &c.] The 
 servants of God, like other servants, if they are injured 
 and suffer \'iolence, expect redress and protection 
 from the master whose they are, and whom they serve. 
 Under the law of Moses, a master was to demand satis- 
 faction, and to have it made him, for any hurt done to 
 his servant. And shall not the hest of masters avenge 
 wrongs done to those who serve him ; and done per- 
 ha])s, because they serve him ? Without doubt, he 
 will avenge them sjieedily, and reward the sufferers 
 gloriously. Bji. Home. 
 
 ^ 3, 4. Have mercy vpon us, Lord, &c.] Unbe- 
 lieving, ungodly, and worldly men, who are "at ease," 
 and lioast themselves in the multitude of their riches, 
 will always be ready to cast u])on the afflicted servants 
 of Clirist some portion of that reproach and contempt, 
 which were so plentifully poured upon their blessed 
 Master, in the day of his passion, and indeed through 
 his whole life. With these they may justly complain 
 that "their souls are exceedingly filled," insomuch that 
 they are compelled to exclaim with redoubled earnest- 
 ness, " Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon 
 us." And let them know for their comfort that the 
 Lord will " have mercy upon them" in that day, when 
 sensuality shall be succeeded by torment, and pride 
 shall end in shame and confusion ; when patient poverty 
 shall inherit everlasting riches, and oppressed humility 
 shall be exalted to a throne above the stars. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxxiv.] In this Psalm, which, as we are 
 informed by the title, hath David for its author, the 
 church describeth the danger in which she had been, 
 and giveth to God alone the gloiy of her deliverance 
 out of it. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 1. If the Lord himself &c.] The people of Israel, 
 rescued from impending ruin, break forth into a joyful 
 acknowledgment of that almighty aid, to which they 
 were indebted for their deliverance. " Men" rose up 
 against them, but "Jehovah" was on their side; men 
 intended to devour, but God interposed to save. May 
 not "the Israel of God" say, in like manner, " If the 
 Lord had not been on our side," when our spiritual 
 
 quick : when they were so wrathfully 
 displeased at us. 
 
 3 Yea, the waters had drowned 
 us* : and the stream had gone over 
 our .sold. 
 
 4 The deep waters of the proud : 
 had gone even over our soul. 
 
 5 ]3ut praised he the LortH : 
 hath not given us over for a 
 unto tlicir teeth. 
 
 6 Our soul is escaped even as a 
 bird out of the snare of the fowler : 
 the snare is broken, and we are de- 
 livered. 
 
 7 Our help standeth in the Name 
 of the LordK : who hath made hea- 
 ven and earth. 
 
 alive. See 
 Votab. 
 
 WllO 
 
 prey 
 
 PSALM cxxv.'' Qui confdunt. 
 HEY that put their trust in the 
 Lord' shall be even as the mount 
 
 Papists' 
 Convpiracy, 
 third Psalm 
 Morn. Serv. 
 
 enemies, sin, death, and hell, were in arms against us, 
 surely now " they had swallowed us up rjuick," and we 
 had perished everlastingly ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. Yea, the waters had drowned us: &c.] The re- 
 deemed are astonished, upon looking back, at the 
 greatness of the danger to which they had been ex- 
 posed. They can compare the fury and insolence of 
 their adversaries to nothing but overwhelming floods 
 and desolating torrents; and they consider themselves 
 as snatched by a miracle from instant destruction. Bp. 
 Home, 
 
 ' 5. But praised be the Lord: &c.] The marvellous 
 deliverance of Israel is illustrated by two other images. 
 It is compared to the escape of a lamb from the jaws of 
 a wolf, or a lion ; and to that of a bird, by the breaking 
 of the snare, in which it had been entangled, before the 
 fowler came to seize and to kill it. Save us, O (jod, 
 from the rage and the subtilty of our spiritual adversary ; 
 save us from his teeth, when he would devour ; from 
 his snares, when he would deceive : suffer us not, either 
 by persecution or temptation, to fall from thee ; let the 
 lion gnash his teeth, and the fowler look for his cap- 
 tive, in vain ; that so we too may sing this song of 
 Sion in thy heavenly kingdom. Bp. Home. 
 
 s 7. Our help standeth in the Na7}ie of the Lord : &c.] 
 Tlie great lesson which this Psalm, from the beginning 
 to the end, inculcates, is, that for every deliverance, 
 whether of a temporal or spiritual nature, we should, in 
 imitation of the saints above, ascribe " Salvation to 
 God and to the Lamb." Bp. Home. 
 
 '' Psalm cxxv.] In this Psalm, the church is com- 
 forted with the promises, 1, 2, of God's jirotection, and, 
 3, of his removing, in due time, from his inheritance 
 the rod of the oppressor; when, 4, the faithful n'ill be 
 rewarded, and, 5, apostates pimished with other workeis 
 of iniquity. Aben Ezra, as cited by Dr. Hammond, ap- 
 plieth the Psalm to the days of Messiah. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1, 2. They that put their trust in the Lord &c.] 
 The stability of the church, and the protection afforded 
 her by Jehovah, were of old represented by the moun- 
 tain on which the divine presence resided, and by the 
 hills which encompassed Jerusalem, so as to render that 
 city in a manner impregnable. While her inhabitants 
 continued to " trust in the Lord," this was the case. 
 But when they became faithless and disobedient, she 
 became weak, and hke another city. Let not our "trust
 
 688 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 27. 
 
 shall not 
 rest on. 
 Bib, Trans. 
 
 Sion : wliicli mav not be removed, 
 but standeth fast for ever. 
 
 2 The hills stand about Jerusa- 
 lem : even so stiindeth the Lord 
 round about his people, from this 
 time forth for evermore. 
 
 3 For the rod of the ungodly '' 
 Cometh not into the lot of the right- 
 eous : lest the righteous put their 
 hand unto wickedness. 
 
 4 Do well, O Lord' : unto those 
 that are good and true of heart. 
 
 5 As for such as turn back unto 
 their own wickedness : tlie Lord shall 
 lead them forth with the evil-doers; 
 but peace shall be upon Isrsel. 
 
 King 
 Charles's 
 Rest, second 
 Psalm Morn. 
 Serv. 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM cxxvi." In convertendo. 
 
 WH L X the Lord turned again 
 the captivity of Sion : the 
 were we like unto them that dream. 
 
 in God" be a presumptuous, ungroundetl assiu-ance ; 
 but let it be a confidence springing from faith unfeigned, 
 out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and fervent 
 charity. Then shall our situation, whether as a church, 
 or as individuals, resemble that of the holy mount in 
 the beloved city, and our God will be unto us a fortress, 
 and a wall round about. But let us never forget, that 
 the promises to us, like those to Israel, are conditional ; 
 " Because of unbelief they were broken off; and we 
 stand by faith." Bp. Home. 
 
 ■* 3. For the rod of the ungodly &c.] God may, anil 
 often doth, permit " the rod" or power " of the «'icked 
 to fall upon the lot of the righteous," in this world. 
 But it is only for the purposes of chastisement, or pro- 
 bation. The rod is not suffered to " rest," or abide 
 there too long, lest " the righteous," harassed and worn 
 down by op[)ressi(m, and seeing no end of their calami- 
 ties, shoulil be tempted to " put their hands to iniquity," 
 and practise that wickedness which they find to prosper 
 so well here below. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. Do well, Lord: Hcc.} 'Hie "good and true of 
 heart" are they who stand steady in every change of 
 circumstances : who complain not of God's dispensa- 
 tions ; but, believing every thing to be best which 
 He ordains, adhere to Him with a will entirely con- 
 formed to his, in adversity no less than in prosperity. 
 To these Jehovah will finally "do good;" and they 
 shall receive the reward of their faith and jiatience : 
 while such as, in time of trial, have fallen away, and 
 returned no more, sliall be " led forth" to punishment 
 " with the workers of inicpiity," to whose company their 
 a])ostasv hath joined them. And then " ]ieace shall be 
 ujion tiie Israel of God," witli joy and gladness for 
 evermore, lip. Home. 
 
 ■» PsAi.M cx.wi.] In this Psalm, the children of Sion, 
 1 — 4, describe the joy consequent upon their restoration 
 from captivity ; .5, they pray God to bring hack the rest 
 of their countrymen, and to complete bis work ; 0, 7, 
 they foresee anil predict the success of their laliours in 
 rebuilding their ruined city witli its temple, and culti- 
 vating again their desolated country. The return of 
 Israel from Babylon holds forth a ligure of the same 
 import with the exodus of that people from Egypt. 
 Aud this Psalm, like the prophecies of Isaiaii, reprc- 
 
 Chutching of 
 Women. 
 
 2 Then was our mouth filled with 
 laughter" : and our tongue with joy. 
 
 3 Then said they among the hea- 
 then : the Lord hath done great 
 things for them. 
 
 4 Yea, the Lord hath done great 
 things for us already : whereof we 
 rejoice. 
 
 5 Turn our captivity?, O Lord : 
 as the rivers in the south. 
 
 6 They that sow in tears'! : shall 
 reap in joy. 
 
 7 He that now goeth on his way 
 weeping, and beareth forth good 
 seed : shall doubtless come again 
 with joy, and bring his sheaves with 
 him. 
 
 PSALM cxxvii.' Nisi Dominus. 
 
 EXCEPT the Lord build the 
 house' : their labour is but lost 
 that build it. 
 
 senteth the blessed effects of a spiritual redemption, in 
 words primai'ily alluding to that temjioral release. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 1. When the Lord turned again &c.] Tliat Cyrus 
 should issue a decree for the Jews to return to their own 
 country, and to rebuild their city and temjile ; that he 
 should dismiss such a number of captives, not only 
 without money and without price, but should send them 
 home laden \\ith presents, Ezra i. 1 — 4; this was the 
 work of Jehovah, who only could thus "turn the cap- 
 ti\'ity of Sion." A restoration so complete, so strange 
 and unlooked for, brought about at once, without any 
 endeavours used on the side of Israel, seemed in all 
 these respects as a " dream ;" and the parties concerned, 
 when they saw and heard such things, could scarcely 
 believe themselves to be awake. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 2. Then iras our mouth filled uilh laughter : &c.] 
 The people of tiod soon find, that tliey are not mocked 
 with illusions, hut that all about them is reality and 
 truth. Then .sorrow and sighing, fear and distrust, 
 tly away together. Joy fills their hearts, and overtlows 
 by their tongues, in songs of praise. The nations hear, 
 and arc astonished, and own the hand of Jehovah in the 
 restoration of his people : " Jehovah hath done great 
 things for thein." The chosen people echo back the 
 gladsome sound, and reply, with transports of grati- 
 tude, "Jehovah hath done great things for us, whereof 
 we are glad." Every word of this agreeth not more 
 exactly to the return from Babylon, than it doth to 
 that eternal redemiitiou tlu-rel)y pretiguriil. which is the 
 grand subject of thanksgiving in the Christian cluuch. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. Turn our captivity, &c.] The joy occasioned by 
 Cyrus's proclamation having been described in the 
 former part of the I'salrn, we may now suppose some of 
 the Jews ready to set out on their return home; at 
 which time, and during tluir journey, they prefer this 
 petition to God, that He would be pleased to bring 
 back the rest of their countrymen, who, like " Hoods" 
 roljing down upon the thirsty regions of the "south," 
 might iieopli- the land, and liy their labours put an end 
 to the desolalioMS ol'.lMdah Up. Iloriie. 
 
 '' 0, ". They that sine in tear.-! : S;e.] The fatigue of 
 travelling from Babylon to Judea; the melancholy
 
 Day 27. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 0.'59 
 
 2 Except the Lord keep the city : 
 tlie watclimaii waketh but in vain. 
 
 3 It is but lost labour' that ye haste 
 to rise up early, and so late take 
 rest, and eat the bread of careful- 
 
 whereas or ness : for SO he givetli his beloved 
 
 since. Dr. i 
 
 llammontU Sleep. 
 
 4 Lo, children and the fruit of the 
 womb " : are an heritage and gift that 
 Cometh of the Lord. 
 
 5 Like as the arrows" in the hand 
 of the giant : even so are the young 
 children. 
 
 prospect of a long-depopulated country, and mined 
 city ; the toil necessary to be undergone before the for- 
 mer could be again brought into order, and the latter 
 rebuilt ; all these considerations could not but allay the 
 joy of the released captives, and even draw many tears 
 from their eyes. They are therefore comforted with a 
 gracious promise, that God would give a blessing to the 
 labours of their hands, and crown them with success, 
 so that they should once more see Jerusalem in ])ros- 
 perity, and behold in Sion the beauty of holiness. 
 This promise is conveyed under images borrowed from 
 the instructive scenes of agriculture. Here, O disciple 
 of Jesus, behold an emblem of thy ])resent labour, 
 and thy future reward. Thou " sowest," perha|)s, " in 
 tears;" thou doest thy duty amidst persecution and 
 affliction, sickness, pain, and sorrow; thou labourest 
 in the church, aud no account is made of thy labours ; 
 no profit seems likely to arise from them. Nay, thou 
 must thyself drop into the dust of death, and all the 
 storms of that winter must pass over thee, imtil thy 
 form shall be perished, and thou shalt see corruption. 
 Yet, the day is coming, when thou shalt " reap in joy ;" 
 and plentiful shall be thy harvest. For thus thy blessed 
 Master " went forth weeping, a man of sorrows, and 
 acquainted with grief, bearing precious seed," and sow- 
 ing it around Him, tUl at length his own body was 
 buried, like a gi'ain of wheat, in the furrow of the grave. 
 But He arose, and is now in heaven; from whence He 
 " shall doubtless come again with rejoicing," with the 
 voice of the archangel and the trump of God, " bring- 
 ing his sheaves with him." Then shall every man re- 
 ceive the fruit of his works, and have praise of God. 
 i?/j. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxxvii.] If this Psalm were written by So- 
 lomon, or by David for Solomon, as the title importeth, 
 it was probably used again at the time of rebuilding the 
 city and temple, after the retiu-n from Babylon. But 
 indeed it is a Psalm which can never be out of season, 
 the design of its author being to teach us the necessity 
 of dependence upon God and his blessing, in every 
 work to which we set our hands. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1, 2. Except the Lord build the house: &c.] In 
 every undertaking, the blessing of God must accom- 
 pany the labours of man, to render them effectual. No 
 work can [)rosper without Him, nor can any design 
 miscarry under his favour and protection, which are 
 equally necessary to be obtained by the builder in 
 time of peace, and by the soldier in time of war. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 3. It is but lost labour &c.] The Psalmist doth 
 not, certainly, intend to say, that labour and diligence 
 are vain, but that they are so, except the Lord be with 
 the lal)ourer : the business is not to be done by all the 
 industry and jmins, all the carking and caring in the 
 world, without Him ; whereas, if his aid be called in, if 
 
 Ilajipy is the nian^ that hatii hi.s 
 quiver full of them : they shall not 
 be ashamed when they sj)eak with 
 their enemies in the gate. 
 
 PSALM cx-fviii.' Beati omnes. 
 
 BLESSED arc ail they that 
 fear the Lord'' : and walk in his 
 ways. 
 
 2 For thou shalt eat the labours of 
 thine hands '' : O well is thee, and 
 haji|)y shalt thou be. 
 
 '■} Thy wife shalt be as the fruit- 
 
 Form of 
 
 Matriiiiuny. 
 
 part of our time be spent in prayer, not the whole of it 
 
 in [jrayerless toiling and moiling, our work will become 
 easier, and go on better; a solicitude and anxiety for 
 its success and completion will no longer prey upon our 
 minds by day, and break our rest at night; we shall 
 cheerfully fulfil our daily tasks, and then, with confi- 
 dence and resignation, lay our heads upon our pillows, 
 and God will "give to his beloved" a sweet and undis- 
 turbed " slee])," wliich shall fit them to return every 
 morning, with renewed vigoiu- and alacrity, to their 
 stated employments. This seemeth to be the import 
 of the verse. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 4. Lo, children and the fruit of the womb: &c.] Tlie 
 labours of mankind, first in building houses and cities, 
 and then in guarding and securing their possessions, 
 are undergone, not with a view to themselves alone, but 
 to their families, which they would establish and perpe- 
 tuate. The Psalmist, therefore, in the preceding verses, 
 having taught men to exjject a ha]ipy settlement only 
 from the favour of Jehovah, now directs them to look 
 u]) to Him for the farther blessing of a numerous and 
 virtuous progeny. Bp. Home. 
 
 * 5. Like as the arrows &c.] Children, when well 
 educated, are like so many " arrows in the hand of a 
 strong man ;" ready winged with duty and love, to fly 
 to the mark ; polished and keen, to grace and maintain 
 the cause of their parents, to defend them from hostile 
 invasions, and instantly to repel every assailant. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' G. Happy is the man &c.] In a house full of du- 
 tiful children consisteth the happiness of their parents, 
 who then can never want friends ; friends, that will at 
 no time be " ashamed," but will at all times rejoice to 
 appear for them, to meet their " enemies " and accusers 
 " in the gate," or place of judgment ; there to answer 
 any charge against them, to vindicate them in their 
 liersons, their good name, or their property. It is a 
 glorious sight to behold chddren thus standing forth 
 in the defence of theu- parents. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' PsAt.M cxxviii.] This Psalm containeth a promise 
 made to him who, 1, feared Jehovah, and walked in his 
 ways, that he should be blessed, 2, in liis person, and, 
 3, 4, in his family, and that he should see the good of 
 Jerusalem. The Psalm was, probably, sung at the 
 marriages of the Israelites, as it is now a part of the 
 matrimonial service among us. Bp. Home. 
 
 • 1. Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: &c.] 
 Happiness belongeth not to the rich, the powerful, 
 and the prosperous, as such ; but in every state and 
 condition, blessed is the man that " feareth Jehovah," 
 that so feareth Him as to obey Him, and to "walk in 
 his ways," notwithstanding all the obstructions he may 
 meet with from the world, the flesh, and the devil. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 2. For thou shalt eat the labours of thine hands:
 
 640 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Bay TI. 
 
 upon the walls of thine 
 
 ful vine*^ 
 house. 
 
 4 Thy children like the olive- 
 branches : round about thy table. 
 
 5 Lo, thus shall the man be 
 blessed'' : that feareth the Lord. 
 
 6 The Lord from out of Sion shall 
 so bless thee'' : that thou shalt see 
 Jerusalem in prosperity all thy life 
 long. ^ 
 
 7 Yea, that thou shalt see thy 
 children's children : and peace upon 
 IsraeL 
 
 King PSALM cxxix.' Stejae expuqnaverunt. 
 
 Charles's • i i 
 
 Rest, third 1% /TAN Y a tnne have they fought 
 serv" ' XyjL against mes from my youth 
 C."r?ins. "P : may Israel now say. 
 
 &o.] The person is here beautifully changed, and to 
 the man wlio feareth Jeliovali is addressed an enumera- 
 tion of those blessings which shall attend him. He is 
 to " eat the labour of his hands," that is, the fruit, or 
 returns of his laljours. Hereby it is implied, that he is 
 not to be idle, but to " labour," that he may eat ; that 
 he is not to be niggardly, but to " eat," when he has 
 laboured ; that he is neither to be unjust, by living 
 upon the labours, nor enslaved, by depending upon the 
 bounty, of others, but to eat of " his own " labours ; 
 and that he, whose labours jirocure him a sustenance, 
 hath enough to be " blessed " and happy. " Happy 
 shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee :" every 
 thing shall happen, which God seeth to be best for 
 thee in this life, and (as saith the Chaldee Parajihrast 
 on the place) " it shall be good to thee in the world to 
 come." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine : &c.] Mar- 
 riage was ordained by God to complete the felicity of 
 man in a state of innocence ; and the benediction of 
 heaven will ever descend upon it, when undertaken in 
 the " fear of the Lord." The vine, a lowly plant, raised 
 with tender care, becoming, by its luxuriancy, its 
 beauty, its fragrance, and its clusters, the ornament 
 and glory of the house to which it is joined, and by 
 which it is supported, forms the finest imaginable 
 emblem of a fair, \'irtuous, and faithful wife. The 
 olive-trees, ])lantcd by the inhabitants of the eastern 
 countries around their tables, or bancjueting places in 
 their gardens, to cheer the eye by their verdure, anil to 
 refresh the body by their cooling shade, do no less 
 aptly and significantly set forth the i>leasure which 
 ])arents feel, at the sight of a numerous and nourishing 
 offspring. Bp. Hume. 
 
 '' 5. Lo, thus skull the man be blessed: &c.] Are 
 temporal blessings, then, the reward of piety? They 
 are not its only, nor chief reward, but are often 
 "added" even under tlie new dispensation, to those 
 who "fb'st seek the kingdom of God, and his righteous- 
 ness." When they are wilhholden, or withdrawn, it is 
 for the security or increase of those more valuable 
 blessings which are spiritiuil. 'I'here are times, when 
 father, mother, lirelhren, sisters, wife, children, and 
 lan<l.s, must be given up for Glirist's and the Gospel's 
 sake. Hut am|)le amends are promised to be made to 
 all who thus part with carl lily relations anil possessions. 
 'J'liey find in the church othir fathers, motbrrs, brethren, 
 eistcrs, children, &c., and at the resurrection they will 
 
 2 Yea, many a time have tliey 
 vexed me from my youth up : but 
 they liave not prevailed against me. 
 
 3 The plowers plowed upon my 
 back'' : and made long furrows. 
 
 4 But the righteous Lord : hath 
 hewn the snares of the ungodly in 
 pieces. 
 
 3 Let them be confounded and 
 turned backward : as many as have haie zion. 
 evil will at Sion. 
 
 6 Let them be even as the grass 
 growing upon the house-tops' : which 
 withereth afore it be plucked up ; 
 
 7 Whereof the mower filleth not 
 liis hand : neither he that bindeth up 
 the sheaves his bosom. 
 
 8 So that they who go by say not 
 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 " inherit all things," Rev. xxi. 7 ; and brighter coronets 
 of glory shall sparkle from their heads. The Scrip- 
 tures shew us the servants of God in eveiy state and 
 condition ; we view them rich and poor, honoured and 
 despised, sick and in health, married and single, child- 
 less and othermse, in prosperity and in adversity ; to 
 teach us, that all things work together for good to 
 them who love God ; so that the believer hath comfort 
 always. If temporal blessings be granted him, he 
 accepteth them as shadows of those which are eternal ; 
 if they are denied, he remembereth that they are only 
 shadows, and are therefore denied, that he may fix his 
 thoughts and affections more firmly on the substance. 
 Bj>. Home. 
 
 ' 0. The Lord from out of Sion shall so bless thee : 
 &c.] Every true Israelite rejoiceth in the prosperity of 
 Sion ; a blessing upon the church diffuseth itself to all 
 the members thereof; and the good of Jerusalem, with 
 peace upon Israel, is all the good we can desire to see 
 upon earth. Hereafter we shall see greater things than 
 these. Jehovah from the heavenly Sion will bless us 
 with the \-ision of his immortal glory ; we shall see the 
 good of the new Jerusalem, the wealth, beauty, and 
 majesty of that holy city ; we shall see the generations 
 of the faithful wallting in the light of it; with that 
 everlasting peace and rest, which remain for the Israel 
 of (iod. Bj). Home. 
 
 ' I'sALM cxxix.] In the former part of this Psalm, 
 1 — 4, the church declareth herself to have been often 
 assailed and persecuted liy her enemies, but as often 
 rescued and |ircsiTveil by .lehovah ; in the latter part of 
 it, 5 — s, she predicteth the miserable end of all those 
 who hate Zioii. Bji. Home. 
 
 It seems to have been composed by Ezra, or some 
 one of that time, at the return from the captivity. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 8 1. Many a time have they fmijhl ngainst me &c.] 
 .\ffliction is nothing new to the people of God. Many 
 a time have the righteous been under jiersecution, from 
 the hour when Cain rose up against his brother Abel, 
 to this day. Like the bush which Moses beheld in the 
 desert, the cluu'ch hath " burned witli fire," but is not 
 yet " consumed :" and for the same reason, because 
 God is in the midst of her. Ho, wlio took our nature 
 upon Him, was also " afflicted IViiiu liis youth," but his 
 enemies " prevailed not finally agamst him." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ 3, 4. The plowers plowed upon my back; &c.] The
 
 Dmj 27. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 G41 
 
 so much as, Tlie Lord pros|)oi' you : 
 we wish you gooil hich in the Name 
 of the Lord. 
 
 Ash-Wea- 
 Iicatlay, se- 
 cond Psalm 
 Even. Serv. 
 
 lie attentive 
 to. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 o 
 
 PSALM cxxx.** De prnfundis. 
 U T of tiiedoop' liavo I called 
 unto thee, O Lord : Lord, hear 
 my voice. 
 
 2 O let thine ears consider well : 
 the voice of my complaint. 
 
 3 If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme" 
 to mark what is done amiss : O Lord, 
 who may abide it ? 
 
 former of these two verses expresseth a state of great 
 nffliction, the latter, a dehverance from that state. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 6. Let them be even as the r/ross growing upon the 
 house-tops : &c.] The transient pros])erity of mortal 
 man is often in sacred writ compared to grass, the 
 histoiy of which is contained in these few words, " It 
 Cometh up, and is cut down." But here the com- 
 parison is carried still farther. Not the common grass 
 in the field, but " grass growing on the house-toiis," is 
 selected to convey the idea of bad men; grass, which, 
 having no depth of earth, into wliich it may strike it.s 
 roots, doth not wait the hand of the gatherer, but 
 " withereth " even "before it is plucked up." And 
 then, so thin, so wretched, and so unprofitable, is the 
 crop, that none are employed to collect and carry it in ; 
 none to whom passengers might address those acclama- 
 tions and salutations, customary at such times, as 
 "The Lord be with you, bless you," &c. Ruth ii. 4. 
 Thus, while the felicity of Sion's children is rooted and 
 grounded in Christ, that of her enemies hath no 
 foundation at all. While the church subsisteth from 
 generation to generation, the kingdoms and empires, 
 that have persecuted her, fade and wither away of 
 themselves. And at the general harvest of the world, 
 when the righteous shall be carried by angels, with 
 joyful acclamations, into the mansions jirepared for 
 them above, the wicked, unregarded by the heavenly 
 reapers, and unblessed by all, shall become fuel for a 
 fire that goeth not out ; resembling, in this their sad 
 end likewise, that worthless grass, " which to-day is, 
 and to-morrow is cast into the oven." Bp. Home. 
 
 '' Psalm cxxx.] This is the sixth of those which 
 are styled " ])enitential Psalms." It is calculated for 
 the use of the church, or any member thereof; and 
 cnntaineth, 1, 2, a complaint of great distress; 3, a con- 
 fession of man's sinfulness ; 4 — 8, an act of faith in the 
 divine mercy, and the promised redemption. Bp. Home. 
 
 Some attribute this Psalm to David : it was more 
 probably composed in the captivity by some pious 
 persons there. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' 1. Out of the deep &c.] From the depths of sin, 
 and the misery occasioned by sin, the penitent, like 
 another Jonas, entombed in the whale's belly, and sur- 
 rounded by all the waxes of the ocean, crieth unto 
 God for help and salvation. Fervent prayer will find 
 its way through every obstruction, to the ears of Him 
 who sitteth upon his holy hill. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 3. If thou. Lord, wilt be extreme &c.] A reason is 
 here urged, why God should spare and pardon the sup- 
 pliant, namely, because, was He accurately to note the 
 offences of the best men, and to produce them in judg- 
 ment against the offenders, no man could stand in that 
 judgment, but the whole race of Adam must continue to 
 
 forpivencii*, 
 Itih, Triina. 
 nTvcd and 
 ic'vx-renced. 
 TraveU. 
 
 4 For there is mercy witli tliee" : 
 therefore shalt thou be feared. 
 
 .') I look for the Lord ; my soul 
 doth wait for him : in his word is my 
 trust. 
 
 (! My soul lleetli unto the Liu-d : 
 before the morning watch °, I say, 
 before the morninf^ watch. 
 
 7 O Israel, trust in the Lord '', for 
 with the Lord there is mercy : and 
 with him is plenteous redemption. 
 
 8 And he shall redeem Israel : 
 from all liis sins. 
 
 eternity, under the dominion of sin and death ; which a 
 gracious and merciful God will not permit to be the 
 ease. It is accordingly declared, in the next verse, that 
 measures had been taken to prevent so deplorable a 
 catastrophe. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 4. For there is mercy with thee: &c.] The fear of 
 God in this place signifies obedience to his laws. Dr. 
 Hammond. True repentance is founded upon the sense 
 of our own wretchedness, and faith in the divine 
 mercy. Without the former, we should never seek 
 for pardon and grace ; without the latter, we should 
 despair of finding them. The Psalmist, therefore, 
 having in the three preceding verses expressed the one, 
 now maketh profession of the other. " 'I'bcre is for- 
 giveness with thee ;" tboti wilt not "mark iniquities," 
 or leave us to the rigoiu's of strict justice, but thou hast 
 devised means that we perish not for ever : thou hast 
 provided an atonement, and in \'irtue of that atone- 
 ment, the sinner may obtain jjardon ; he need not, 
 therefore, reject thy service, and cast himself away in 
 des[iair, but is encouraged to serve thee acceptably 
 through faith, with godly fear : " there is forgiveness 
 with thee, that thou mayest be feared." Or the mean- 
 ing may be. Thou forgivest man, that so, being restored 
 to thy favotir, and endued with thy grace, he may 
 thenceforth fear, or serve thee, as it becomes one who 
 hath obtained mercy to do. Bp. Home, 
 
 ° G. j1/y soul fieelh unto the Lord: before the morning 
 watch, &c.] In other words, the guards every morning, 
 that hasten to their watches, are not earlier than I am 
 in my daily addresses to God. Who these watches or 
 guards of the morning are, the Chaldee hath best ex- 
 pressed : They that observe the morning watches, that 
 they may offer their morning oblation, that is, the 
 priests, which in their turns officiated; or rather, some 
 officers of theirs, whtdi were peculiarly a]ipointed from 
 a tower to exjiect the first appearance of break of day. 
 Dr. Hammund. 
 
 p 7, S. Israel, trust in the Lord, &c.] The church 
 of Israel was exhorted to " hope" in Jehovah, because 
 with Him there was "mercy, and jjlenteous redemp- 
 tion." And of what nature was that reilemption ? A 
 redemption from sin : " He shall redeem Israel from all 
 his sins ;" consequently from all trouble and miserj', 
 which are but the effects of sin, and will cease when 
 their cause shall be finally taken away. Now what is 
 this, but the Gospel itself? or where is the difference 
 between this of the Psalmist, " He shall redeem Israel 
 from all his sins," and that of the Evangelist, "Thou 
 shalt call his name Jesus ; for be shall save his people 
 from their sins?" Matt. i. 21. The Israel of God, or 
 church universal, " hoping" in the same " mercy" and 
 the same " plenteous redemption," expecteth the full 
 accompUshment of this gracious promise, at the second 
 
 2 T
 
 642 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Dmj 28. 
 
 PSALM cxxa.i Domine, non est. 
 
 LO R D, I am not liigli-minded : 
 I have no proud looks. 
 
 2 1 do not exercise myself in 
 great matters : which are too high 
 for me. 
 
 .'5 But I refrain my soul', and 
 keep it low, like as a child that is 
 weaned from his mother : yea, my 
 soul is even as a weaned child. 
 
 4 O Israel, trust in the Lord^ : 
 from this time forth for evermore. 
 
 Christmas- 
 ilay, third 
 Psalm Even. 
 Serv. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM cxxxii.' Memento, Dorr.ine. 
 
 O 11 D, remember David " : and 
 i all his trouble ; 
 
 advent of her Saviour, when the penalty of sin shall be 
 taken off, and death be swallowed up in victory. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxxxi.] Tliis Psalm containeth, 1 — 3, a 
 description of true humility, and resignation to the will 
 of God, with, 4, an exhortation to the practice thereof. 
 It is most proljably a Psalm of David, and is eminently 
 applicable to Messiah, in his state of himiiliation on 
 earth. Happy would it be for the world, if all bis dis- 
 ciples could imbibe the spirit of this short but lovely 
 Psalm, and copy after the example which it setteth 
 before them. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. But I refrain my soul, &c.] A child newly 
 weaned mourneth because of the favourite aliment 
 which is withdrawn from him; but, depending absolutely 
 on the mother for every thing, learneth to acquiesce in 
 her treatment of him, and quietly to accejit what it shall 
 please her to give. Such was the humble resignation 
 of the Lamb of God to the will of his heavenly Father, 
 under the severest dispensations, when even the divine 
 presence, and that sujiport which it afforded, seemed to 
 have been withdrawn : " Father, into thy bands I com- 
 mend my spirit !" Who, then, can expect to enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven, " except he he converted, 
 and become as a little child ?" Matt, xviii. 3. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. l.trnel, trust in the Lord: &o.] After the ex- 
 ample, tlierefore, of the King of Israel, who thus de- 
 meaned himself in his afflictions, lowly, contented, and 
 resigned, casting all his care upon the Father who 
 cared for him, and patiently waiting his time for 
 deliverance and ,',alvation ; after this their examjile and 
 pattern, let liis faithful jjcople hope and trust, not in 
 themselves, their wisdom, or their jiower, but in 
 Jehovah alone, who will not fail to exalt them, as lie 
 hath already exalted their Redeemer, if they do but 
 follow his steps. Bp. Home. 
 
 " PsAi.M cxxxii.] 'I'liis is one of the Proper Psalms, 
 which the Church hath appointed to be used on Christ- 
 mas-day. It containetli, I — f), a petition that Jehovah 
 would be mindful of the zeal shewn l)y his servant 
 David, in preparing a place for his habitation ; C, the 
 exultation of the faitliful upon hearing the glad tidings, 
 that (jod would dwell among them ; and, 7, their 
 resolution to worship at the place which lie had chosen 
 for that ])urpose ; 8 — 10, an address to Jehovah, used 
 by Solomon at the dedication of the temple, whence 
 Bomc have tho\iglit him to have been the autlior of the 
 Psalm; 11 — ly, tlie substance of God's promises 
 
 2 How he sware unto the Lord : 
 and vowed a vow imto the Almighty 
 God of Jacob ; 
 
 3 I will not come within the ta- 
 bernacle of mine house : nor climb 
 up into my bed ; 
 
 4 I will not suffer mine eyes to 
 sleep, nor mine eye-lids to slumber : 
 neither the temples of my head to 
 take any rest ; 
 
 5 Until 1 find out a place for the 
 temple of the Lord : an liabitation 
 for the mighty God of Jacob. 
 
 6 Lo, we heard of the same at of it. Bib. 
 Ephrata^ : and found it in the wood, na'mdy, of 
 
 7 We uill go into his tabernacle : !''f .p'",^^ °I , 
 
 1 1 r 1 • liabitation for 
 
 and fall low on our knees before his 'he Lord, 
 
 c . . I last men- 
 
 lOOtStOOl. tioned. 
 
 Poole. 
 
 made to David and to bis seed. The whole Psalm is 
 perfectly well adapted to the festival of the incarnation. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " 1 — 5. hord, remember David: &c.] In all circum- 
 stances and situations, David was solicitous for the 
 tabernacle and service of God. Of the oath and vow 
 here mentioned, we have, indeed, no account in the 
 sacred history ; but we read, 2 Sam. vii. 2, of the un- 
 easiness which he expressed to Nathan the prophet, at 
 the thought of his dwelling in a palace of cedar, while 
 the ark of God dwelt only within the curtains of a tent. 
 Nay, we find, by I Chron. xvi. 43, that that he did not 
 bless, and consequently did not inhabit, his own house, 
 until he had brought the ark to Sion, where the temple 
 was afterwards erected. He could take neither pleasure 
 nor rest, until a jilace was prepared for the residence of 
 Jeliovah in the midst of his people; and from thence- 
 forth he ga\e himself, with unwearied diligence, to lay 
 in a plentiful store of the most costly materials, silver, 
 gold, and precious stones, which were employed by his 
 son and successor Solomon, in constructing the magnifi- 
 cent and mystick ediCce. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. Lo, ice heard of the same at Kphrata : &c.] In 
 other words, as liisbo]i Patrick hath ])arapbrasea this 
 verse, "And now, behold, the Lord himself, to our 
 great joy, hath told us the very place where he will fix 
 bis habitation, 1 Chron. xxi. IS — 2C; in the territory 
 of Uethleliem Ephrata, Gen. xxxv. 13 — 19 ; in the fields 
 of that firest, where the angel stood and directed 
 David to build an altar to the Lord," 1 Chron. xxi. IS ; 
 xxii. 1. Bethlehem F^phratab was the city of David ; 
 it was likewise the city wherein the Son of David was 
 born, as the prophet .Nlicah bath foretold : " And thou 
 Bethlehem, in the land of Judah: art not the least 
 aiuong the cities of Judah : for out of thee sltall come a 
 Governor, that shall rule my people Israel," Micah v. 
 2, cited liy the chief priests and scribes to Herod, Matt. 
 ii. 0. Christians, as well as Jews, may therefore say, 
 and upon the festival of Christ's nativity, using this 
 Psalm, tlicy do say, " Lo, we heard of it at ICjihratah ;" 
 for there the angel first proclaimed the news of the in- 
 carnation to the shepherds : " Itehold, I bring you good 
 tidings of great joy, which shall be to all iieople ; for 
 unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Sa- 
 viour,' which is (.'hrist the Lord," Luke ii. 10. There 
 was " found " the true tabernacle and temple, " not 
 made with bands, the jilace for Jehovah, the habitation 
 for the mighty God of Jacob." Bp. Home.
 
 Day 28. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 643 
 
 all thy pious 
 worshippers. 
 Up. Palrick. 
 tliy chosen 
 jKMtple. Dr, 
 Nicli-jlls. 
 
 ■the fnce. 
 Hill. Tram. 
 
 throne. 
 Truiis. 
 
 teach. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 throne. Bib. 
 Ti aiis. 
 
 8 Arise, O Lord, into tliy rostintr- 
 placey : tiiou, iuul the arlc of tliy 
 strcno^tii. 
 
 9 Let thy priests bo clotlied with 
 righteousness : and let thy saints sing 
 with joyfuiness. 
 
 10 For thy servant David's sake'^ : 
 turn not away the presence of tliine 
 Anointed. 
 
 1 1 Tlie Lonl hatli made a faitliful 
 oatli unto David" : and lie shall not 
 shrink from it ; 
 
 12 Of the fruit of thy body : shall 
 I set upon thy seat. 
 
 13 If thy children will keep my 
 covenant'', and my testimonies that 
 I shall learn them : their children 
 also shall sit upon thy seat for ever- 
 more. 
 
 14 For the Lord liath chosen Sion 
 to be an liabitation for himself: lie 
 liath longed for her. 
 
 y 8. Arise, O Lord, into thy resting-place: &c.] 
 When the ark marched before the chiklren of Israel, to 
 find out a resting-place, it is recorded. Numb. x. 35, .36, 
 that Moses said, " Rise up, Jehovah, and let thine 
 enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee 
 before thee ;" and when it rested, be said, " Return, or 
 bring back, the many thousands of Israel." The verse 
 before us was used, with the two succeeding verses, by 
 Solomon, as the conclusion of his praj'er at the dedica- 
 tion of the tenijile, 2 Cbron. vi. 41. The purport of 
 the petition therefore was, th.it the presence of Jehovah 
 might rest upon Sion, and dwell in the house prepared 
 for it, as the same presence hath since dwelt in Christ, 
 and is to be with the Christian church to the end of the 
 world. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 10. For thy servant David's salce : &c.] Solomon 
 beseecheth God, for the sake of his favourite servant 
 David, and the jiromiscs made to him and his seed, 
 that He would not deny the request of Da\-id's son, 
 now " anointed " to be king over Israel, and, by so 
 doing, confound, put him to shame, or " turn away his 
 face," according to the Hebrew in 1 Kings ii. 16. A 
 Christian asketh nothing but in the name, and for the 
 sake of the Son of David, Jesus Christ our Lord, in 
 whom all the promises are Yea and Amen, and in 
 whom wliomsoever believeth shall never be confounded, 
 or denied that which it is really good and profitable for 
 him to receive. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 11. The Lord hnlh made a faithful oath unto David: 
 &c.] That this is a jirtiphecy of Messiah, we have the 
 authority of St. Peter to say, Acts ii. 30, " David, being 
 a prophet, and knowing that God bad sworn with an 
 oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to 
 the flesh, he would raise up Christ, to sit on his throne," 
 &c. This promise to David occurs, 2 Sam. vii. 12, and 
 hath a twofold sense, relating to Solomon in type and 
 shadow, to Christ in truth and substance. See more 
 on Ps. Ixxxi.'c. 3, 4. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 13. If thy children will keep my covenant, &c.] Tlie 
 promises of God to Christ are absolute : but to his 
 " children," as well as those of David, they are condi- 
 tional ; so that our interest in them depcndeth on our 
 faith, our obedience, our perseverance. " Behold," 
 saith, St. Paul, " the goodness and severity of God : on 
 
 I.') This shall be my rest for ever : 
 here will I dwell, for I have a de- 
 liirjit therein. 
 
 1(! 1 will bless her victuals with 
 increase : and will satisfy her poor 
 with bread. 
 
 17 I will deck lier 
 health : and her saints 
 and siiiir. 
 
 18 Tiiere sliall 'I make the horn 
 
 of David to flourish"^ : I have ordain- i"") nn:. 
 ed a lantern for mine Anointed. lan'p. /w. 
 
 1!) As for his enemies'', 1 shall '^"""■ 
 clothe them with shame : but upon 
 himself shall his crown flourish. 
 
 priests with 
 shall rejoice 
 
 PSALM c.vx,\iii.' Ecce, quambonum! 
 
 BE H O L D, how trood and 
 fuH a thiiii^- it is : 
 dwell together in unity ! 
 
 2 It is like the precious ointment 
 
 joy- pleasant. 
 
 U*. Bi/j. TraJis. 
 iren, to 
 
 them which fell, severity ; but towards thee, goodness, 
 if thou continue in that goodness ; otherwise, thou also 
 shalt be cut off," Rom. xi. 22. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 18. There shall I mahe the horn of Dnvid to flourish : 
 &c.] Or, "to bud." A horn, as before observed, is 
 an emblem of strength and power : possibly its being 
 made to " bud" or sprout may allude to the successive 
 renewal of the horns of some animals, such as deer. 
 Travetl. Bishop Patrick hath well paraphrased this 
 verse; "There, namely, in Jerusalem, will I make the 
 regal power and majesty of Da\'id to put forth itself 
 afresh in his royal successors ; no sooner shall one be 
 extinguished, but another shall shine in such splendour, 
 as shall give a lustre to the name of that anointed 
 servant of mine, till the great Prince, the Messiah, 
 apijear :" then will the born of salvation be raised up 
 in the house of David, to subdue the einjjires of the 
 world, and to vanquish all op])osition; then shall the 
 branch of Jehovah bud into beauty and glory upon the 
 earth ; then shall the lamp of Israel become a sun of 
 righteousness, burning and shining with lustre inex- 
 tinguisliable, to all eternity. 'I'luit tliis verse doth 
 mystically refer to Christ, the Jews confess, as Dr. 
 Hammond hath observed. So saith R. Saadiah, "ITie 
 Lamp is the King, which illuminates the nations;" 
 and Kimchi, "The Horn of David, is the Messias." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '' IP. As for his enemies, &c.] It is here predicted, 
 that God would blast and bring to nothing every design 
 formed to destroy the house of David, until King Mes- 
 siah should arise out of it to sit upon the throne of his 
 Father. In Him all the jiromises centre, and the king- 
 dom is established for ever : " His enemies," who will 
 not have Him to reign over them, shall, at the last day, 
 be " clothed uith shame," and everlasting confusion : 
 "but upon himself shall his crown flourish," filling 
 heaven and earth with the brightness of his glory. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxxxiii.] This short but pleasing Psalm was 
 composed either to recommend unity among the tribes 
 of Israel, or to celebrate it when it had taken place. 
 Bishop Patrick justly observes, that it was as fitly used 
 by the first Christians, to express their joy for the 
 blessed union of Jews and Gentiles; and may now 
 2 T 2
 
 644 
 
 THE PSxVLMS. 
 
 and as the 
 tievr tliat de- 
 s ended oa 
 the moun- 
 tains of Zion. 
 Bib. T:am. 
 either, where 
 brethren live 
 in peace and 
 unity: or 
 rather in 
 Sion. last 
 mentioned. 
 Poole. 
 
 tipon the liead^, that ran down unto 
 the beard : even unto Aaron's beard, 
 and went down to the skirts of his 
 clothinu;. 
 
 3 Like as the dew of Hermon : 
 which fell upon the hill of Sion. 
 
 4 For there the Lord promised his 
 blessin? : and life for evermore. 
 
 PSALM cxxxiv."" Ecce nunc. 
 
 BEHOLD now, praise the 
 Lord : all ye servants of the 
 Lord; 
 
 2 Ye that by nig-ht stand in the 
 house of the Lord : even in the 
 courts of the house of our God. 
 
 3 Lift up your hands in the sanc- 
 tuary : and praise the Lord. 
 
 serve the uses of all Christian societies, whose liappi- 
 iiess hes in holy peace and concord." It containeth, 
 ], a rapturous exclamation on the comforts ami advan- 
 tages of union, which, 2 — 4, are illustrated hy the 
 two exquisite similitudes of the holy anointing oil and 
 of dew. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1. Behold, how yood and joyful he.'] Or " pleasant." 
 Many things are good, which are not pleasant ; and 
 many pleasant, which are not good. But unity among 
 brethren, whether civil or religious, is productive both 
 of profit and pleasure. Of profit, because therein con- 
 sisteth the welfare and security of every society ; of 
 pleasure, because mutual lo\'e is the source of delight, 
 iind the happiness of one becomes, in that ease, the 
 happiness of ail. It is unity alone, which gives beauty, 
 as well as strength, to the state ; which renders the 
 church, at the same time, " ftiir as the moon, and terri- 
 ble as an army with banners," Cant. \\. 10. Bp. Home. 
 
 '^ 2. It is like the precious ointment vpon the head. &c.] 
 Ajjtly may it be coin))ared to that costly anil odoriferous 
 ointment, which, at the consecration of the high jiriest, 
 was poured ujion him in snch profusion, that it spread 
 over his face, and reached the ci>llar of his garment, 
 ditt'iising its fragrant odours all around. Or it may be 
 coinparetl to the refreshing dews, which descend upon 
 the mountainous tract of llermon, or ujion the hill of 
 Sion, tliat sacreil spot, to which (iod has been pleased 
 to promise his blessing and |)rotection. IVavell. 
 
 The spirit of heavenly love was that oil of gladness 
 which .Ichovah jiourcd without measure on Him who is 
 the high-i)ricst tinil head of his church. Insinuating 
 anil healing, comforting and exbihirating, it is diffused 
 from Him over his body mystical, iwen down to the 
 least and lowest members ; " Of his fulness have we all 
 received." Nor thd the dew of heaven, in time of 
 drought, ever prove more refreshing and l)eneficial to 
 the mountains of .ludah, than are the inllncnces of 
 grace, when descending in soft silence from above 
 upon the church ; in the union and communion of 
 which, (iod hath "commanded the blessing, even life 
 for evermore." O come the day, when division shall 
 cease, and enmity be done away ; when the tribes of the 
 Sfiiritiial Israel shall be united in a bond of eternid 
 charity, under the true David, in the .lernsidem which 
 is above ; an<l saints and angels shall sing this lovely 
 J'-talm together 1 Bp. Unrne. 
 
 '' PsAi.M cxxxiv.] It is uncertain by whotn this I'sahn 
 was composed. Hut it seems to liave been sung by 
 some of the Levitts, at the shutting up of the gates of 
 
 4 The 
 and earth 
 Sion. 
 
 Dai/ 28. 
 
 Lord that made heaven' 
 : firive thee blessinsj out of 
 
 PSALM cxxxv."' Laudate Nomen. 
 
 Praise the Lord', laud ye tlie 
 Name of the Lord : praise it, 
 O ye servants of the Lord ; 
 
 2 Ye that stand in the house of 
 the Lord : in the courts of the house 
 of our God. 
 
 3 O praise the Lord, for the Lord 
 is gracious : O sing praises inito his 
 Name, for it is lovely. 
 
 4 For why ? the Lord hath chosen 
 Jacob" unto himself: and Israel for 
 his own possession. 
 
 5 For I know that the Lord is 
 
 the temple, to excite the rest, whose turn it was to 
 watch that night, 1 Chron. ix. 33, to be diligent in 
 their ofiice of singing psalms, and making devout 
 [jrayers for the |)eo])le. Bp. Patrick. The three first 
 verses were sung by the jjriests without, who are going 
 away for the night, upon the steps of the great gate : 
 the last verse l>y the priests remaining within. Bp, 
 Horsley. 
 
 With this Psalm, Christians in tlie church, like the 
 Levites of old in the temple, 1 — 3, call upon each 
 other to bless God, and, 4, upon God to bless them all. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 4. The Lord hath made heaven &c.] The preceding 
 verses seem directeil to the jiriests in the temple : this 
 is therefore returned as from them. And thus it is, that 
 jn-ayer and jiraise, which by grace are caused to ascend 
 from our hearts to Goil, will certainly return in the 
 benedictions of heaven upon our souls and bodies, our 
 jiersons and our families, our church and our country. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ Psalm cxxxv.] Tliis Psalm seems to be one adapted 
 for common use in the temple, and to be a general 
 form of thanksgiving for God's great mercies to the 
 nation of the .lews. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 In this Psalm, 1, 2, the servants of Jehovah are ex- 
 horted to praise Him, 3, on account of his goodness ; of 
 the i>leasure to be founii in the etnployment; 4, of his 
 ])eculiar mercies shewn to Israel ; 5, of his infinite supe- 
 riority over the gods of the nations, manifested, 6, 7, 
 in the works of creation, 8 — 14, in his dealings with 
 the church and with her adversaries. 1.5 — is. The folly 
 of idolatry, and of those who jiraetise it, is described ; 
 and, 19 — 21, Israel is again stirred up to praise Jehovah. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '1.0 praise the Lord, &c.] All the servants of God, 
 they, more especially, who minister in the temple, are 
 repeatedly, as in the foregoing Psalm, excited to praise 
 their blessed Master. Two reasons are assigned why 
 thev shoulil do this. First, the goodness of that Master ; 
 and secondly, the pleasantness of the employment. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '" 4, .5. For why ? the Lord hath chosen Jacob &e.] 
 A thiril reiisim why the ehililreti of Israel should jiraise 
 the name of Jehovah, was the circumstance of their 
 having been selected from among the ntitions to be his 
 rhurt^h, to receive the law and the promises, to have his 
 jtresence resiiling in the midst of them, and to be the 
 guardians of the true faith and worship. And a fourth 
 reason woa the superiority of Jehovah their God over the
 
 Day 28. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 645 
 
 from the 
 ocean wliich 
 encompasses 
 the habitable 
 world. Dr. 
 yicliolts. 
 
 wonderfnl 
 demonstra- 
 tions of liis 
 power. Bp. 
 Patrick. 
 
 great : and that our I^ord is above all 
 gods. 
 
 6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased, 
 that did lie in heaven, and in earth : 
 and in the sea, and in all deep 
 places. 
 
 7 He brinweth fortli the clouds" 
 from the ends of the world : and 
 sendeth forth lightnings with the 
 rain, bringing the winds out of his 
 treasures. 
 
 8 He smote the first-born of 
 Egypt" : both of man and beast. 
 
 9 He hath sent tokens and won- 
 ders into the midst of tiiee, O thou 
 land of Egypt : upon Pharaoh, and 
 all his servants. 
 
 10 He smote divers nationsP : and 
 slew mighty kings ; 
 
 1 1 Sehon king of the Amorites, 
 and Og the king of Basan : and all 
 the kingdoms of Canaan ; 
 
 12 And gave their land to be an 
 heritage : even an heritage unto 
 Israel his people. 
 
 13 Thy Name, O Lord, endureth 
 
 gods of the heathen, and consequently over those who 
 worship])ed them ; from whence folltrwed this comfort- 
 ahle inference, that He was alileto protect and to defend 
 his people against every enemy that had evil will at 
 Sion. iShall not we Christians, then, praise the same 
 gracious Lord, who hath chosen >is out of the world, 
 who hath given unto us his Gospel, who dwelleth in us 
 by his Spirit, and who, by that .S]nrit, maketh us more 
 than conquerors over oiur spiritual adversaries ? Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 7. He bringeth forth the clouds &c.] They, who in 
 old times paid their devotions to the elements, imagined 
 those elements to be capable of giving or withholding 
 rain at pleasure. 'I'herefore we find the jjrophet Jere- 
 miah reclaiming that power to Jehovah, as the God who 
 made and governed the world : " Are there any among 
 the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain ? or can 
 the heavens give showers ? Art thou not he, O Jeho- 
 vah our God ? Therefore we will wait upon thee : for 
 thou hast made all these things," Jer. xiv. 22. Among 
 the Greeks and Romans we meet with a Jupiter pos- 
 sessed of the thunder and the lightning, and an /Eolus 
 ruling o\'er the winds. The Psalmist teacheth us to 
 restore the celestial artillery to its rightful owner. Jeho- 
 vah, the God of Israel, and the Creator of the universe, 
 contrived the wonderful machinery of light and air, by 
 which vajiours are raised from the earth, com])acted 
 into clouds, and distilled in rain. At his commands 
 the winds are suddenly in motion, and as suddenly at 
 rest again ; we hear the soiuid, but cannot tell whence 
 they come, or %vhither they go : as if they were taken 
 from secret storehouses of the Almighty, and then laid 
 up till their service was reqtiired again. The same idea 
 God Himself is pleased to give us in the book of Job, 
 x.wvhi. 22. Bj). Home. 
 
 " 8, 9. He smrte the first-born of Egypt : &c.] Egypt 
 was the theatre of the grand contest between the God of 
 Israel and the gods of the heathen. The superiority of 
 the former over the latter was shewn in every possible 
 
 thy memorial, O ihcmomi- 
 
 nients of thy 
 fame. Dr. 
 
 Xidialll. 
 
 Idols, mi. 
 Tram. 
 
 for ever : so doth 
 
 Lord, from one generation to an 
 
 other. 
 
 14 For the Lord will avenge his 
 people : and be gracious unto his 
 servants. 
 
 15 As for the images of the hea- 
 then i, they are but silver and gold : 
 the work of men's hands. 
 
 16 They have months, and speak 
 not : eyes have they, but they see 
 not. 
 
 17 They have ears, and yet they 
 hear not : neither is there any breath 
 in their mouths. 
 
 18 They that make them are like 
 unto them : and so are all they that 
 put their trust in them. 
 
 19 Praise the Lord, ye house of 
 Israel'' : praise the Lord, ye house of 
 Aaron. 
 
 20 Praise the Lord, ye house of 
 Levi : ye that fear the Lord, praise 
 the Lord. 
 
 21 Praised be the Lord out of 
 Sion : who dwelleth at Jerusalem. 
 
 way by the miracles of Moses, which demonstrated all 
 the powers of nature to be under the dominion of Jeho- 
 vah, and to act at his command ; so that, instead of 
 being able to jjrotect, they were made to torment and 
 destroy their deluded votaries. See more on Psalm 
 Ixxviii. 44, &c. 'ITie objects of a man's sin frequently 
 become, in the end, the instruments of his punishment. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 p 10 — 12. He smote divers nations: &c.] The vic- 
 tories gained by Israel over Sihon and Og, in their pas- 
 sage to Canaan, and afterwards over the idolatrous 
 kings of that country, are more jiroofs of the same 
 point. For Israel therefore conquered, because Jeho- 
 vah fought for them, and i)Ut them in possession of 
 that good land, when the iniquity of its old inhabitants 
 was full, and cried to heaven for vengeance. The ene- 
 mies we have to encounter in our way to the promised 
 inheritance, will also, if vigorously o|)posed, fall before 
 us. "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and 
 the violent take it by force." lint it is God who fight- 
 eth for us, and with us, who giveth us the victory, and 
 jiiitteth us in possession, through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 1 15 — 18. As for the images of the heathen, &c.] In 
 these verses is set forth the difference between the God 
 of Israel, and the idols of tlie nations, as also between 
 the worshipjiers of each ; all tending to confirm the 
 truth of what was asserted, \-er. 5, " I know that the 
 Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods." 
 As the same words occur. Psalm c.w. 4, &c. the reader 
 is referred thither for the explication of them. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 19 — 21. Praise the Lord, ye house of Israel: &c.] 
 He, who proved Himself superior to the objects of 
 ancient idolatry, is no less superior to every object on 
 which deluded inan can place his affections. The Lord 
 gave, and the Lord will take them away. Let "the 
 house of Israel," therefore, and " the sons of .\aron," 
 the chiu-ch and the ministers thereof, let all who " fear
 
 646 THE PSALMS 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 good. Bib. 
 Tram. 
 
 infinitely 
 above all the 
 heathen 
 deities. Dr. 
 H'lmmond. 
 and above the 
 greatest po- 
 tentates on 
 earth. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 made it 
 stand out 
 above the 
 waters, and 
 let tlie dry 
 ground ai»- 
 pear. Dr. 
 Nichoils. 
 
 PSALM cxxxvi.' Confilemiiti. 
 
 OGive tliaiiks unto the Lord ', for 
 he is gracious : and his mercy 
 endureth for ever. 
 
 2 O give thanks unto the God of 
 all gods : for his mercy endureth for 
 ever. 
 
 3 O thank the Lord of all lords : 
 for his mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 4 Who only doetli great wonders" : 
 for his mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 5 Who by his excellent wisdom 
 made the heavens : for his mercy en- 
 dureth for ever. 
 
 6 Who laid out the earth ahove 
 the waters : for his mercy endureth 
 for ever. 
 
 7 Who hath made great lights : 
 for his mercy endureth for ever; 
 
 8 The sun to rule the day : for his 
 mercy endureth for ever ; 
 
 9 The moon and the stars to 
 govern the night : for his mercy en- 
 dureth for ever. 
 
 10 Who smote Egypt" with their 
 first-born : for his mercy endureth for 
 ever; 
 
 11 And brought out Israel from 
 among them : for his mercy endureth 
 for ever; 
 
 the Lord," bless and praise his holy name in the temple 
 here below, until they shall be admitted to do it for 
 evermore, in that which is above. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' PsAi.M cxxxvi.] This is a delightful hymn of praise 
 and thanksgiving to Jehovah, I — 3, God of gods and 
 Lord of lords, for the wonders, 4 — 9, of creation, 10 — 27, 
 of providence and grace; which were jirobably cele- 
 brated in due order l)y one-half of the choir, while the 
 other half, or jierhaps the whole in fidl chorus, took up 
 the burden of each verse, " For his mercy endureth for 
 ever!" a form of acknowledgment, as Bishop Patrick 
 observes, i)rcseribed by David, 1 (,'hron. xvi. 41, to lie 
 used continually in the divine service; a form highly 
 ])ro|)er for creatures, and sinful creatures, to use, whose 
 great em])l()yment it is now, and will be for ever, to 
 magnify the mercy and loving-kindness of their God. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1 — .3. give thantcs unto the Lord, &c.] We are 
 called upon to |)raise .Jehovah, first, for his own essen- 
 tial attributes ; then, for the exertion of those attributes 
 in his works. 'Ilie attriljutes here mentioned are those 
 of "goodness" and "power;" the one renders Ilim 
 willing, the other able, to save; and what can we de- 
 sire more, but that He shnuld continue to be so? Of 
 this likewise we are .assured, by contemplating the un- 
 changeableness of his nature. His disposition alterctb 
 not, and bis kingdom none can take from Him: "his 
 mercy endiiretb for ever." Bp. Hnrne. 
 
 " 4^0. JI'Ao onhj iloelh (jreiit uimders : &C.] -Ml the 
 works of God are " wonderful," and speak Him "alone" 
 to have been their autb(jr. The established course of 
 the world is, in reality, no less admirable, than are 
 
 Dai/ 23. 
 
 hand, and 
 mercy 
 
 his 
 
 12 With a mighty 
 stretched out arm : for 
 endureth for ever. 
 
 13 Who divided the Red sea in 
 two parts : for his mercy endureth 
 for ever ; 
 
 14 And made Israel to go through 
 the midst of it : for his mercy en- 
 dureth for ever. 
 
 15 But as for Pharaoh and his liost, 
 he overthrew them in the Red sea : 
 for his mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 16 Who led his people through tlie 
 wilderness : for his mercy endureth 
 for ever. 
 
 17 Who smote great kings : for 
 his mercy endureth for ever ; 
 
 18 Yea, and slew mighty kings : 
 for his mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 19 Sehon king of the Amorites : 
 for his mercy endureth for ever; 
 
 20 And Og the king of Basan : 
 for liis mercy endureth for ever; 
 
 21 And gave away their land for 
 an heritage : for his mercy endureth 
 for ever ; 
 
 22 Even for an heritage unto Israel 
 his servant : for his mercy endureth 
 for ever. 
 
 23 Who remembered us when we 
 were in trouble : for his mercy en- 
 dureth for ever ; 
 
 those extraordinary interpositions of Omnipotence, 
 whereby it hath been sometimes interrnjited and sus- 
 pended; though the latter, on account of their novelty, 
 are apt to effect us more than the former doth, which is 
 ever before our eyes, and therefore less regarded by us. 
 How many of those, for whom the wonders of creation, 
 providence, and redem|ition have been wrought, think 
 none of them worthy their attention ; angels admire 
 and adore, where man will not deign to cast an eye, or 
 employ a thought. Bj). Home. 
 
 • 10 — '24. li'ko smote Egypt &c.] From the works 
 of creation, the Psalmist proceeds to those of providence 
 and grace. He celclirates that mercy which rescued 
 Israel from oppression, brought them out of the house of 
 bondage, divided the sea to make a way for them, sup- 
 I>orted and conducted them through a waste howling 
 wilderness, crushed the might and power of those who 
 opjxised them, and at length settled them in the inherit- 
 ance promised to their fathers. I'-ternal mercy bath in 
 Christ Jesus realized all these figures, and accom|)lished 
 the great redemption, thus foreshadowed of old. The 
 Israel of (iod hath been resctu'tl from the opi)ression of 
 Satan, and brought out of the house of sjiiritual bondage. 
 In the waters of bajilism the old man of sin is buried, 
 and we arise triumphant, to sing the praises of (ioil our 
 Saviour, who from thenceforth sujiports and conducts 
 tis in our [lassage througli the world, strengthening us 
 in the day of battle against every enemy that opposeth 
 us, until we enter the heaveidy Canaan, jn'omised to the 
 fathers of our faith, and dwell forever in the possession 
 of peace. When we consiiler how (ioil has thus "re- 
 membered us in our low estate," and thus "redeemed
 
 Day 28. 
 
 24 And liath delivered us from 
 our enemies : for his mercy enduretli 
 for ever. 
 
 25 Who giveth food to all flesli >" : 
 for his mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 2G () give thanks unto the God of 
 heaven : for his mercy endureth for 
 ever. 
 
 27 give thanks unto the Lord 
 of lords : for his mercy endureth for 
 ever. 
 
 PSALM cxxxvii.' Super flumina. 
 
 BY the waters of Babylon =' we 
 sat down and wept : when we 
 remembered thee, O Sion. 
 
 2 As for our harps, we hanged 
 them up'' : upon the trees that are 
 therein. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 647 
 
 us from our enemies," can we be weary of repeating, 
 " For his mercy endureth for ever ?" Bp. Home. 
 
 y 25—27. Who giveth food to all flesh : &c.] The 
 same bounty, which, in the natural worltl, provideth 
 proper nutriment for every creature, hath also ])rovided 
 for the spirits of all flesh the bread of eternal life. In 
 either sense, Jehovah "openeth his hand, and fiUeth 
 all things living with plenteousness." Be, therefore, 
 his praise as universal and lasting as his mercy ! Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxxxvii.] Tlie Israelites captive in Babylon, 
 1, 2, describe their woful estate ; and, 3, 4, the insults 
 of their masters. 5, 6. They declare their inviolable 
 affection for Jerusalem ; 7, pray that God would re- 
 member the behaviour of Edom ; and, 8, 9, predict tlie 
 destruction of Babylon. Bp. Home. 
 
 It seems to have been composed soon after the return 
 from the captivity, or when they sa%v the taking and 
 wasting of Babylon approach. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 " 1. 5y the waters of Babylon &c.] What an inex- 
 pressible ]iathos is there in these few words ! How do 
 they at once transport us to Babylon, and place before 
 our eyes the mournful situation of the Israelitish cap- 
 tives ! Driven from their native country, stripjjcd of 
 every comfort and convenience, in a strange land, 
 among idolaters, wearied and broken-hearted, they sit 
 in silence by those hostile waters. Then the pleasant 
 banks of Jordan present themselves to their imagina- 
 tions; the towers of Salem rise to view; and the sad 
 remembrance of much-loved Sion causes tears to run 
 down their cheeks : " By the waters of Babylon we sat 
 down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Sion ! " Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ^ 2. As for our harps, we hanged them up : &c.] The 
 additional circumstance, which the divine painter hath 
 here thrown into his piece, is, to the last degree, just 
 and striking. It was not enough to represent the He- 
 brew captives weeping, on the banks of the Euphrates, 
 at the remembrance of Sion, but, upon looking up, we 
 behold their harps unstrung, and pendent on the wil- 
 lows that grew there. Bp. Home. 
 
 = 3, 4. For they that led us aioay captive &c.] The 
 Babylonians are introduced as insulting over the Israel- 
 ites, and scoffing at their faith and worship, not with- 
 out a tacit reflection on their God, who could not pro- 
 tect his favoured people against their enemies. " Now 
 sing us one of your songs of Sion ; now let us hcai' you 
 
 3 For they that led us away cap- 
 tive"^ required of us then a song, and 
 melody, in our heaviness : Sing us 
 one of the songs of Sion. 
 
 4 How shall we sing the Lord's 
 song : in a strange land ? 
 
 3 If I forget tliee, O Jerusalem'' : 
 let my right hand forget her cun- 
 ning. 
 
 6 If I do not remember thee, let 
 my tongue cleave to the roof of my 
 mouth : yea, if I prefer not Jcru.salem 
 in my mirth. 
 
 7 Remember the children of Edom, 
 O Lord% in the day of Jerusalem : 
 how they said, Down with it, down 
 with it, even to the ground. 
 
 8 O daughter of Babylon", wasted 
 with misery : yea, happy shall he be 
 
 stroyer. Ur. Hammond, that deliglitest in destruction. 
 
 its 8ki]l in 
 touching? tho 
 harp. lip. 
 Patrick. 
 let me never 
 be able to 
 sing again. 
 Dr. NichaUt. 
 above my 
 cliief joy. 
 liiti. Tram. 
 
 that is, of its 
 desolation. 
 Jip. Patrick. 
 
 who art to be 
 destroyed. 
 Jliti. Trans. 
 or, the de- 
 Bp. Jlorsletj. 
 
 sound the praises of that God, of whom ye boasted, that 
 He dwelt among you in the temjile which we have laid 
 waste, and bm-nt with fire." lluis the faithful have 
 been, and thus they will be, insulted by infidels in the 
 day of their calamity. And " how," indeed, " can they 
 sing the Lord's song in a strange land ? " How can 
 they tune their voices to festive and eucharistick strains, 
 when God, by punishing them for their sins, calleth to 
 mourning and weci)ing .' But then, Israel in Babylon 
 foresaw a day of redemption : and so doth the church 
 in the world ; a day when she shall triumph, and her 
 enemies shall lick the dust. No circumstances, there- 
 fore, should make us forget her, and the promises con- 
 cerning her. Bp. Home. 
 
 ''5,6. If I forget thee, Jerusalem : &c.] The whole 
 nation may be supposed in these words to declare, as 
 one man, that neither the afflictions nor the alliu'cments 
 of Babylon should efface from their minds the remem- 
 brance of Jerusalem, or prevent their looking forward 
 to her future glorious restoration. If any temptation 
 should induce them to employ their tongues and their 
 hands in the service of Babel, rather than in that of 
 Sion, they wish to lose the use of the former and the 
 skill of the latter. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. Remember the children of Edom, Lord, &c.] 
 llie people of God beseech Him to take their cause in 
 hand, and to avenge them on their adversaries, parti- 
 cularly on the Edomites, who, though their brethren 
 according to the flesh, being descended from Esau, the 
 brother of Jacob, yet in the day of Jerusalem's afflic- 
 tion, when the Chaldeans came against it, were aiding 
 and encoiuaging those jiagans to destroy it utterly. 
 Edom is charged with this unnatural beha\iour, and 
 threatened for it, by God Himself, in the [jrophecy of 
 Obadiah, ver. 10, &c. It may be observed, that the 
 Jews afterwards acted the same part towards the Chris- 
 tian church, which the Edomites had acted towards 
 them, encouraging and stirring up the Gentiles to per- 
 secute and destroy it from off the face of the earth. 
 And God " remembered" them for the Christians' sakes, 
 as they prayed Him to " remember Edom" for their 
 sakes. Learn we hence, what a crime it is for Chris- 
 tians to assist the common enemy, or call in the com- 
 mon enemy to assist them, against their brethren. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 8, 9. O daughter of Babylon, &c.] Tlie subject of 
 these two verses is the same w-ith that of many chapters
 
 648 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 that rewardetli thee, as thou hast 
 served us. 
 
 9 Blessed shall lie be that taketh 
 thy children : and throweth them 
 against the stones. 
 
 PSALM cxxxviii.B Confilebor tibi. 
 
 I Will give thanks unto thee'', O 
 Lord, with my whole heart : even 
 before the gods will I sing praise 
 unto thee. 
 
 2 I will worship toward thy holy 
 temple, and praise thy Name, be- 
 cause of thy loving-kindness and 
 truth : for thou hast magnified thy 
 Name, and thy Word, above all 
 things. 
 
 3 Wlien I called upon thee, thou 
 heardest me' : and enduedst my soul 
 with much strength. 
 
 4 All the kings of the earth shall 
 praise tliee, O Lord : for they have 
 
 hMf^r''"" I'eard tlie words of thy mouth. 
 Hammond. 5 Yca, thev shall sintr in the ways 
 
 the Gosi>eI ' •' ^ •' 
 
 preached. Dr. Hammond. 
 
 when thev 
 hear. Bib. 
 Trans, or. 
 
 in Isaiah and Jeremiah, namely, the vengeance of heaven 
 executed upon Bal)ylon by Cyrus, raised up to be king 
 of the Medes and Persians, united under him for that 
 purpose, T!ie meaning of the words, " liapjiy shall he 
 be," is, He shall go on and prosper, for the Lord of 
 hosts shall go with him, and fight his battles against 
 the enemy and opjjressor of his jjeople, empowering him 
 to recompense upon the Chaldeans the works of their 
 hands, and to reward them as they served Israel. The 
 slaughter of the very infants, mentioned in the last 
 verse, is expressly predicted by Isaiah, chap, xiii, 16, 
 " Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before 
 their eyes ; their houses shall be spoiled, and their 
 wi\-es ravished." The destruction was to be uni\-ersal, 
 sp;u-ing neither sex nor age. 'i'errible, but just, are thy 
 judgments, O Lord ! Rp. Home. 
 
 s I'sALM cxxxviii.] This Psalm containeth, 1 — 3, a 
 resolution to praise (iod for a deliverance vouchsiifed ; 
 4, 5, a jiropbecy that the kings of the earth should glorify 
 Jehovali for his mercy, shewn, C, in exalting the humble, 
 and abasing the proud ; 7, 8, an act of faitli and confi- 
 dence in God. Bj>. Home. 
 
 Having been first ci)mi)Osed by David, it is said by 
 the Seventy to have been made use of by Haggai and 
 Zechariiili at the rebuilding of the temple. Dr. Hum- 
 montl. 
 
 '■1,2. / wilt give thanks unto thee, &c.] In these 
 verses we evidently hear the voice of one whom (iod 
 had delivered from a state of great affliction and dan- 
 ger, and who therefore dctertiiines to make tlie due 
 acknowledgments in piddick ; to give thanks " before 
 the gods," that is, before " kings " and " rulers " in 
 the great congregation ; to " worship in the tom])le," 
 and there to set forth the " loving-kindness " and 
 "truth" of .(ehovali, in htiving accomplished tlie 
 promised salvation, and thereby " magnified " his holy 
 " name " and bis faithful " word" over every thing that 
 ojiposeth itself against it. The Christian church can- 
 not find stronger and more emphatical terms, in which 
 to ex|)re9S her sense of tlie greatest of all mercies, 
 the redemption of the world, by tlie resurrection of 
 
 of the Lord 
 of the Lord. 
 6 For th( 
 
 Dai/ 29. 
 that great is the glory 
 
 ugh the Lord be high *■', 
 yet hath he resjiect unto the lowly : 
 as for the proud, he beholdeth them 
 afar off. 
 
 7 Though I walk in the midst of 
 trouble', yet shalt thou refresh me : 
 thou shalt stretch forth thy hand 
 upon the furiousness of mine ene- 
 mies, and thy right hand shall save 
 me. 
 
 8 The Lord shall make good his 
 loving-kindness"" toward me : yea, 
 thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for 
 ever ; despise not then the works of 
 thine own hands. 
 
 Inoketh upon 
 tliem with 
 sforn and 
 cnntempt. 
 Poole. 
 
 against the 
 wraTh. 7ii6, 
 Trans, 
 
 forsake not. 
 Jlib. Tians. 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM cxxxix." Domine, probasti. 
 Lord, thou hast searched me 
 out", and known me : thou 
 knowest my down-sitting, and mine 
 
 o 
 
 Jesus from the dead, and his exaltation " above every 
 name that is named in heaven and earth." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 3 — 5. When I called upon thee, thou heardest me : 
 &c.] From this part of the Psalm it appears to be a 
 projihetical one. The deliverance which it celebrates is 
 of such a nature that, when the glad tidings of it 
 should be published to the world, we are told, it should 
 induce the nations, with their princes, to adore Jehovah, 
 to walk in his ways, and to chant forth liis praises. 
 The call of the Gentiles to the Gospel is here foretold 
 in words which cannot be mistaken ; and the redemp- 
 tion of the church in Christ her head, is spoken of as 
 the subject of thanksgiving among the kings of the 
 earth. " In the day when 1 cried thou answeredst me, 
 and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul." For 
 this reason, " All the kings of the earth shall praise 
 thee, O Lord," &c. Bj>. Home. 
 
 This is a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles. 
 Poole. 
 
 '' 6. For thonijh the Lord be high, &c.] Humility is 
 the way to salvation and glory. It is said of our 
 blessed Lord, that "because he humbled himself, 
 therefore God highly exalted him :" and the great 
 potentates of the world must tread in his steps, if they 
 would be exalted with Him. As to the jiroud, God 
 " knoweth " and He detesteth them; He beholdeth 
 and kccpelh them at a " distance." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 7. 'I'hovyh I ivalk in the mii/st of trniihle, itc] Who 
 doth not " walk in the midst of troulile," while bis 
 pilgrimage is iirolonged upon the earth ? Who hatli 
 not " enemies " encompassing him on every side ? () 
 how comfortable, then, the reflection that He is with 
 us, who can "revive " the dead; that we are under the 
 protection of an " arm " which is almighty ! Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 "' 8. The Lord shall make good his loving-kit}diie.is 
 &c.] In troublous times, and the days of affliction, 
 we must look back on that which (Joil Iiath already 
 done for us, and from tliciicc draw an argunicnt, that 
 He will " perfect " that which remains, and not leave
 
 before my 
 deeds dis- 
 cover tliem. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 art acquaint- 
 ed with. Bib, 
 Trans, 
 
 beset. Bib. 
 Trana, 
 
 Day 29. 
 
 up-rlsinj^ ; thou iinderstandest 
 thouirlits loiij^' before. 
 
 2 Thou art al)out my patli, and 
 about my bod : and spiest out all my 
 ways. 
 
 3 For lo, there is not a word in my 
 tongue : but thou, O Lord, knowest 
 it altog-ether. 
 
 4 Thou hast fashioned me behind 
 and before : and laid thine hand 
 upon me. 
 
 5 Such knowledge is too wonder- 
 ful and excellent ifor me : I cannot 
 attain unto it. 
 
 6 Whither shall I go then from 
 thy Spiritr : or whither shall I go 
 then from thy presence ? 
 
 7 If I climb up into heaven, thou 
 
 his work unfinished : we must renaember, that his 
 mercies fail not after a time, but "endure for ever" 
 the same ; and when we call to mind that we are " the 
 work of his own hands," how can we think He will 
 "forsake us" unless we utterly and finally forsake 
 Him ? Bp. Home. 
 
 " Psalm cxxxix.] It seems evident, from the latter 
 part of this noble and instructive I'salm, that the 
 author penned it at a time when he was persecuted and 
 calumniated, as an appeal to the all-seeing Judge 
 between him and his adversaries. He takes the oppor- 
 tunity of expatiating, in the sublimest manner, 1 — 11, 
 on the omnipresence and omniscience of Him, who, 
 12 — 10, formeth man in the womb by his power, and, 
 17, IS, preserveth him through life by his providence. 
 He then, 19, 20, expresseth his confidence tliat God, 
 as knowing all things, would deliver him from his 
 enemies; 21, 22, he declareth his zeal and fidelity in 
 the service of his divine Master, by whom, 23, 24, he 
 petitioneth to be proved, purified, and perfected in the 
 way of holiness. Bp. Home. 
 
 The Psalm was composed by David, but it appears 
 not on what particular occasion. Dr. Hammond. The 
 composition, for the [lurity and justness of religious 
 sentiment, and for the force and beauty of the 
 images, is certainly in the very fii'st and best style. 
 Bp. Horsley. 
 
 " 1 — 5. Lord, thou hast searched me out. Sic.'] The 
 Psalmist employeth a beautiful variety of expressions 
 to denote his faith in the omnipresence and omniscience 
 of Jehovah, to whom, in the latter part of the Psalm, 
 he appealeth, as the proper judge between him and his 
 implacable enemies. He describeth his God as having 
 that complete knowledge of him and his affairs, which, 
 among men, the most accurate " search " and the 
 strictest scrutiny could not obtain ; as being thoroughly 
 " acquainted with all his ways " or proceedings, nay, 
 with his very "thoughts," while yet existing only in 
 embryo, in his own mind ; as watching and observing 
 him at all seasons during the actions of the day, and 
 his repose at night ; and, in short, as having so "beset" 
 him on all sides, and " laid his hand upon him," that 
 he could not move without his knowledge and consent. 
 When we reflect that " all things are thus naked and 
 open to him with whom we have to do ;" that although 
 He dwelleth in the highest heavens. He surveyeth 
 not only the outward acts, l)ut the very hearts and 
 imaginations, of men upon earth ; must we not each 
 
 THE PSALMS, 
 
 my 
 
 649 
 
 art there : if I go down to hell, thou 
 art there also. 
 
 8 If 1 take the wings of the morn- 
 ing : and remain in the uttermost 
 parts of the sea ; 
 
 9 Even there also shall thy hand 
 lead me : and thy right hand shall 
 hold me. 
 
 10 If I say, Peradventure the 
 darkness shall cover me : then shall 
 my night be turned to day. 
 
 1 1 Yea, the darkness is no dark- 
 ness with thee, but the night is as 
 clear as the day : the darkness and 
 light to thee are both alike. 
 
 12 For my reins are thine i : thou 
 hast covered me in my mother's 
 womb. 
 
 tlip Rtatc of 
 thf (It-ad. 
 Dr. Ilam- 
 mtnid thf 
 loWKst (Icplh 
 f.f till- e.-iilh. 
 Hi:. I'utnck. 
 
 thou hast 
 possessed iny 
 reiuH. Bib. 
 Tram. 
 
 of US cry out, " Such knowledge is too wonderful for 
 me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it;" I cannot 
 admire it enough, for I cannot conceive of it aright ! 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 p G — 1 1 . Whither shall I go then from thy Spirit : &c.] 
 We can never sin with security but in a ])lace where 
 the eye of God cannot behold us. And where is that 
 place ? Had we a mind to escape his inspection, 
 " whither should we go ?" Heaven is the seat of his 
 glory, creation the scene of his providence, and the 
 grave itself will be the theatre of his power ; so that 
 our efforts will Ije equally vain, whether we ascend, or 
 descend, or fly abroad upon the wings of the morn- 
 ing light, which ditfusetli itself witli such velocity 
 over the globe from east to west. The arm of the 
 Almighty will still at pleasure prevent, and be ready to 
 arrest, the fugitives in their progress. Darkness may, 
 indeed, conceal us and our deeds from the sight of 
 men ; but the divine presence, like that of the sun, 
 turns night into day, and makes all things manifest 
 before God. The same consideration, which should 
 restrain us from sin, should also encourage us to work 
 righteousness, and comfort us luider all our sorrows ; 
 namely, the thought, that we are never out of the 
 sight and protection of our Maker. Tlie piety and the 
 charity which are practised in cottages ; the labour and 
 the pain which are ])atiently endured in the field, and 
 on tlie bed of sickness ; the misery and torment in- 
 flicted by ]ierse.cution in the mines, the galleys, and the 
 dungeons; all are under the inspection of Jihovah, 
 and are noted down by Him against the day of 
 recompense. He sees, and He will reward, all we 
 do, and all we suffer, as beeometh Chi'istians. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ■i 12, 13. For my reins are thine: &c.] That God 
 seeth in darkness, and that from Him nothing is 
 hidden, his knowledge of, and power o\'er, our most 
 inward parts, do plainly shew. He " formed," and He 
 therefore " possesseth," as his own property, our 
 " reins," and is consequently pri\-y to all those affec- 
 tions and desires which tJow from thence. It was He 
 who " covered " us in the womb, or, as it is elsewhere 
 expressed, Job x. 11, who "clothed us with skin and 
 flesh, and fenced us with bones and sinews;" a work 
 so astonishing, that before the Psalmist proceeds in his 
 description of it, he cannot help breaking forth in 
 rapture at the thought ; " I will praise thee, for I am 
 fearfully and wonderfully made !" Bp. Home.
 
 650 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 29. 
 
 My sub- 
 Stance was 
 not. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 ■when I was 
 made in se- 
 cret, and 
 curiously 
 wrought in 
 the lowest 
 parts of the 
 earth. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 embroidered. 
 Dr. Havi- 
 viond. 
 rude un- 
 formed mass. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 in continu- 
 ance. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 How pre- 
 cious also are 
 thy thoughts. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 designs or in- 
 tentions. See 
 Vocab. 
 Surely thou 
 wilt slay. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 13 I will give thanks unto thee, 
 for I am fearfully and wonderfully 
 made : marvellous are thy works, 
 and that mv soul knowetli riufht 
 ^vell. 
 
 14 My bones are not Lid from 
 thee ' : though I be made secretly, 
 and fashioned beneath in the earth. 
 
 15 Thine eyes did see my sub- 
 stance, yet being imperfect : and 
 in thy book were ail my members 
 written ; 
 
 16 Which day by day were fa- 
 shioned : when as yet there was none 
 of them. 
 
 17 How dear are thy counsels 
 unto me% O God : O how great is 
 the sum of them ! 
 
 18 If I tell them, they are more in 
 number than the sand : when I wake 
 up I am present with thee. 
 
 19 Wilt thou not slay the wicked', 
 O God : depart from me, ye blood- 
 thirsty men. 
 
 ■■ 14 — 16. My bones are not hid from thee: &c.] By 
 the " lower parts of the earth " is undoubtedly to be 
 understood the "womb," where the fetus is gradually 
 formed and matured fur the birth, like plants and flowers 
 under ground. The process is compared to that in a 
 piece of work wTought with a needle, or fashioned in a 
 loom ; which, with all its bcautifid variety of colour, and 
 pro[)ortion of figiu-e, ariseth by degrees to perfection 
 imder the hand of the artist, framed according to a pat- 
 tern lying before him, from a rude mass of silk, or other 
 materials. 'I'hus, by the wisdom and power of (iod, 
 and after a ])lan delineated in his book, is a sha])eless 
 mass wrought up into the most curious texture of 
 nerves, veins, arteries, bones, muscles, membranes, and 
 skin, most skilfully interwoven and connected with each 
 other, until it becmneth a body, harmoniously diversi- 
 fied witli all the limbs and lineaments of a man, not 
 one of which at first appeared, any more than the figures 
 were to be seen in the ball of silk. Hut then, (which is 
 tlie chief thing here insisted on by the I'salmist,) whereas 
 the human artilicer must have the clearest light whereby 
 to accomplish his task, the divine Work-master seeth in 
 secret, and elfectetli all his wonders within the dark and 
 narrow confines of the womb. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1", IS, Ihiw dear are thy counsels unto me, &c.] 
 From the wonders of God's forming hand, the Psalmist 
 ])roceeds to those of his all-directing jjrovidence, which 
 afford additional proofs of the divine omniscience and 
 onuiiprescnee. 'I'he " thoughts" and counsels of Jeho- 
 vah concerning David, his ajipointmcnt to the throne, 
 his troubles and his preservation in the midst of them, 
 were " jirecions" and delightful subjects of meditation 
 and praise, never to be exhausted of the rich matter 
 they contained. AVith these in his mind he lay down at 
 nignt to rest, and " when lie awoke" in the morning, 
 his thoughts naturally recurred to the pleasing tlieme; 
 he l>egan where he liad left off, and found himself, in 
 heart and soul, " still present with (iod," still ruminat- 
 ing on Him and his works. 'I'he mercies of heaven in 
 the redcmj)tion of the churcli, by the sufferings and 
 exaltation of tlie true Uavid, according to the divine 
 
 20 For they speak unrighteously 
 against thee : and thine enemies take 
 thy Name in vain. 
 
 '21 Do not I hate them, O Lord, 
 that hate thee : and am not I grieved 
 with those that rise up against thee? 
 
 22 Yea, I hate them right sore : 
 even as though they were mine ene- 
 mies. 
 
 23 Try me, O God", and seek the 
 ground of my heart : prove me, and 
 examine my thoughts. 
 
 2-1 Look well if there be any way 
 of wickedness in me : and lead me in 
 the way everlasting. 
 
 D 
 
 rS.\LM cxl.' Ertpe me, Domine. 
 E L I V E II me, O Lord, from 
 the evil man ^ : and preserve 
 me from the wicked man. violent, mb. 
 
 2 Who imagine mischief in their cont'me. see 
 hearts : and stir up strife all the day ^"'^''''• 
 long. 
 
 3 They have sharpened their 
 
 decree concerning Him — how precious are they to 
 behevers ! How great is the sum, how far exceeding 
 all human arithmetick to number them ! Let them be 
 to us the constant subjects of contemplation, admira- 
 tion, and thanksgiving, day and night ; and let death, 
 that last sleep, find us engaged in an employment, which, 
 wlien we awake and arise from the grave, we shall re- 
 sume, and prosecute to eternity in the presence of God. 
 Bj). Home. 
 
 ' 19. IVilt thou not slay the wicked, &c.] As if he 
 had said. Since then thou art every where present, 
 and knowest even the thoughts of men, surely, t) God, 
 thou wilt take vengeance uijon the imgodly. Travell. 
 L)a\id now draws the intended conclusion from the 
 premises, so largely expatiated upon in the former part 
 of the I'salm. lifi. Home. 
 
 " 23. Try me, U Clod, &c.] In the first verse of the 
 I'salm, Daviil declared, that Jehovah had " searched 
 him out, and known him ;" lie concludes with a jietition, 
 that his ]iroccedings, and even his tlioughts, might be 
 still scrutinized liy his Maker, in order to tlieir perfect 
 ])uriflcation from any evil which might be in them, or 
 adhere to them. Sliould the hottest furnace of adver- 
 sity be found necessary to purge the dross from the 
 silver, he refuseth not to be dissolved in it, and new- 
 formed, so that he might only become a vessel of 
 honour, fitted for the Master's use here below, and 
 vouchsafed a place afterwards in his temple above. 
 " See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in 
 the way everlasting ! " Bp. Home. 
 
 ' I'sALM cxl.] 'j'his I'salm containelh, 1 — 8, aprayer 
 for deliverance from persecutors and calumniators, their 
 violence and tlielr wiles; [) — I I, a proplu'cy of their final 
 destruction, and, 12, Ki, the salvation of the alllieted 
 righteous. It was composed by David in his trouliles, 
 and is applicalde to Christ and to the Ghurch, respec- 
 tively in tlieirs. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 1 . Deliver me, Lord, from the evil man .• &c.] 
 " Kvil and violent men" exist in all ages to harass anil 
 opjjress the servants of (iod ; their tlioughts are em- 
 ployed in " imagining mischief" against such, and their
 
 Day 29. 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 ; adder's 
 
 651 
 
 salvation. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 See Vocab. 
 
 plot or de- 
 Bign. See 
 Vocab. 
 exalt them- 
 selves. Bib. 
 
 tongues like a serpent 
 poLson is under their lips. 
 
 4 Keep me, O Lord, from tlie 
 hands of the ungodly : preserve nie 
 from the vvieked men, vvlio are pur- 
 posed to overthrow my goings. 
 
 5 The proud have laid a snare 
 for me", and spread a net abroad 
 with cords : yea, and set traps in my 
 way. 
 
 6 I said unto the Lord, Thou art 
 my God'' : hear the voice of my 
 prayers, O Lord. 
 
 7 O Lord God, thou strength of 
 my liealth : thou hast covered my 
 head in the day of battle. 
 
 8 Let not the ungodly have his 
 desire, O Lord : let not his mischiev- 
 ous imagination prosper, lest they be 
 too proud. 
 
 9 Let the mischief of their own 
 
 Trans. 
 
 hands are ready at all times for the "war." Had we no 
 enemies without, there are those within, who are ever 
 fighting and trouliling us. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent : 
 &c.] Slander and calumny must always precede and 
 accomjiany persecution, because malice itself cannot 
 e.\cite people against a good man, as such ; to do this, 
 he must first be represented as a bad man. What can 
 be said of those who are busied in this manner, but that 
 they are a "generation of vi])ers," the brood of the old 
 " serpent," that grand accuser and calumniator of the 
 brethren, having under their tongues a bag of " poison," 
 conveying instant death to the reputation on which they 
 fasten ? Tlius David was hunted as a rebel, Christ was 
 crucified as a blasphemer, and the primitive Christians 
 were tortured as guilty of incest and murder. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5. The proud have laid a snare for me, &c.] David 
 here describetli the subtilty and industry employed by 
 his enemies to effect his destruction, by lying in wait 
 for him, as a sliilful fowler doth for his game, so that 
 they thought it impossible he should escape their hands. 
 Such was the conduct of the Jews, with regard to the 
 Son of David. And, O how refined the policy, how 
 unwearied the application, of oiu' spiritual adversaries ! 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 '■ 6 — 8. I said vnto the Lord, Thou art my God: &c.] 
 Jehovah, the God of David, is also our God, and He is 
 always ready to hear oiu' supplications. He is our 
 strength, and hatli often covered our head with the 
 helmet of salvation, in the day of battle and open war 
 with our spiritual enemies. Nor will He, for the glory 
 of his name, grant their desires, or ])ermit their more 
 secret " devices" and machinations to work the destruc- 
 tion of his people ; lest they exalt themselves as having 
 frustrated his counsels for the redemption of his servants. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 " 9 — 11. Let the mischief of their own lips &c.] 
 The prophet, in these three verses, predictetli tliose just 
 judgments which heaven will inflict on the slanderers 
 and persecutors of the righteous. Their lips, which 
 uttered mischief against others, shall be the means of 
 covering themselves with confusion, when out of their 
 own mouths they shall be judged. 'I'hose tongues, 
 which have contributed to set the world on fire, shall 
 be tormented with the hot burning coals of eternal 
 
 lips" fall upon the head of them : 
 that compass mo a!)out. 
 
 10 Let hot burning coals fail upon 
 them : let tiiem be cast into tlic' lire, 
 and into the pit, that they never rise 
 u]) again. 
 
 1 1 A man full of words shall not 
 prosper upon the earth : evil shall 
 hunt the wicked person to overthrow 
 him. 
 
 L2 Sure I am that the Lord will 
 avenge the poor'' : and maintain the 
 cause of the hei|)less. 
 
 13 The righteous also shall give 
 thanks unto thy Name : and the just 
 shall continue in thy sight. 
 
 PSALM cxli.' Domine, clamavi. 
 
 LO R D, I call upon thee •■, haste 
 thee unto me : and consider my 
 voice when I cry imto thee. 
 
 An evil 
 speaker. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 dwell in thy 
 presence. 
 Bit/, Trans. 
 
 pive ear unto. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 vengeance : and they, who, with so much eagerness 
 and diligence, have prepared pits for the destruction of 
 tlieir brethren, shall be cast into a deep and bottomless 
 pit, out of which they will not rise up again any more for 
 ever. Evil speakers and false accusers shall gain no 
 lasting establishment, but punishment shall hunt sin 
 through all its douljles, and seize it at last as its legal 
 prey. Let these great truths be firmly rooted in our 
 liearts, and they will keep us steady in the worst of 
 times. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 12, 13. Sure I am that the Lord will avenge the poor : 
 Sec.'] That unjust and oppressive men shall, in the end, 
 suffer proportionably to their deserts, we are assured 
 from this consideration, namely, that the Almighty is 
 the patron of the injured and oijpressed. He will plead 
 the cause of the meek and lowly, who are used by the 
 world as their blessed Master was used before them. 
 A day will come, when, delivered out of all their trou- 
 bles, they shall "give thanks unto thy name," O Lord, 
 and " dwell in thy j)resence" for evermore. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxli.] David seems to have composed this 
 Psalm just before his flight to Achish king of Gath; 
 when he had a second time spared Saul's life, but could 
 trust him no longer: see 1 Sam. xxvi, and xxvii. 1, 2. 
 He prayeth earnestly for help, and entreateth to be 
 heard, as when able to attend the service of the taber- 
 nacle; 3 — S, he beseeches God that He would assist 
 him in his distress, and enable him to bear with jjatience 
 the jiersecutions of his enemies, and the reproof's of his 
 friends; 9, 10, he professeth his faith in Jehovah, and 
 redoubleth his prayer to Him; 11, he predicteth the 
 destruction of his enemies, and his own dehverauce. 
 Bp. Home, Travell. 
 
 ' 1, 2. Lord, I call upon thee, &c.] The earnest and 
 repeated supplication for help, in the first of these two 
 verses, sufficiently declares the Psalmist to have been, 
 at the time, in a situation of the utmost distress. And 
 the second verse as plainly sheweth that he was then 
 at a distance from the tabernacle, where all the solemn 
 prayers of the Israelites, together with their daily sacri- 
 fices, were offered u]). And, tlierefore, with his face 
 probably directed thither, like Daniel in Babylon, pray- 
 ing towards Jerusalem, he begs that God would accept 
 of all which it was in his )iower to perform, namely, the 
 devotion of liis heart, and the elevation of liis hands in
 
 652 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Day 29. 
 
 See Prov. iv. 
 17. 
 
 namely, the 
 calumnies 
 and mis- 
 chievous at- 
 tempts of liis 
 enemies. 
 I)r Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 2 Let my prayer be set forth in 
 thy siglit as the incense : ami let the 
 liftiuif up. of my hands be an evening 
 sacritioe. 
 
 3 Set a watch, O Lord k, before 
 my mouth : and keep the door of my 
 lips. 
 
 4 O let not mine heart be inclined 
 to any evil thing : let me not be 
 occupied in ungodly works with the 
 men that work wickedness, lest I eat 
 of such things as please them. 
 
 5 Let the righteous rather smite 
 me friendly '' : and reprove me. 
 
 6 But let not their precious balms 
 break my head : yea, I will pray yet 
 against their wickedness. 
 
 7 Let their judges be overthrown' 
 in stony places : that they may hear 
 my words, for they are sweet. 
 
 8 Our bones lie scattered before 
 the pit "^ : like as when one breaketh 
 and heweth wood upon the earth. 
 
 prayer ; that the one might ascend to heaven, fragrant 
 and well pleasing, as the cloud of "incense" mounting 
 from the holy altar; and the other, in conjunction with 
 it, prevail instead of the " evening oblation," for the 
 deliverance of himself and his companions. Bp. Home. 
 
 e :!, 4. Set a watch, O Lord, &c.] As if he had said. 
 Grant me, O Lord, thy guidance both for my words 
 and actions : for my words, that, whatever the dealings 
 of my enemies towards me are, I may not be provoked 
 to any speech of rashness or impatience or disloyalty 
 towards Saul ; and for my actions, that I may not be 
 temjjted to any unlawful jjractice, that I may not, for 
 any aiJjiearance of advantage to myself thereljy, gi\'e 
 ear to any e\il coimsel. My resolutions are firm to the 
 contrary: and, how inviting soever the temptations are, 
 I hope I shall never taste of the sweets of them. Dr. 
 Hammond. 
 
 *' 5, G. Let the righteous rather smite me friendly: 
 &c.] Instead of following the cxamjile of my wicked 
 enemies, let me rather enjoy the conversation of good 
 men and true friends, «ho will rebuke me for any 
 miscarriages and failures they may observe in me. For 
 these fraternal corrections shall not break my head, 
 but shall be like a precious unguent poured upon it, 
 which will ratlier heal a wound that was there before : 
 and, as for the wicked designs of my adversaries, all 
 the opjiosition, which I shall make against them, shall 
 be my prayers. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' ". Let their judrjfs he overthrown &c.] These men, 
 when tliey shall see tlie judgments of (iod executed upon 
 their rulers and commanders, who set them to work, 
 shall then find favour, in the day of aHliction, in my 
 words, and shall acknowledge the fidelity and good 
 purpose thereof, li/i. Hull. 'I'lic sense seems to be, 
 that certain great men whose eour.se of life the I'salmist 
 reproves, when they find themselves involveil in the 
 evil conseipiences of their own folly, will then listen to 
 his advice, and be sensible of the jirojiriety of it. ]ij). 
 Hnrsley. 
 
 '' H. Our bones lie scattered before the pit : &e.J This 
 probably alludes to the bloody massacre of Alumelech 
 and tlie priests that were in Nob, who to the nuiidier of 
 cigbty-Uve persons, all of a sacred character, and all in- 
 
 9 But mine eyes look unto thee, 
 O Lord God : in thee is my trust, 
 O cast not out my soul. 
 
 10 Keep me from the snare that 
 they have laid for me : and from the 
 traps of the wicked doers. 
 
 1 1 Let the ungodly fall into their 
 own nets' together : and let me ever 
 escape them. 
 
 ovenvlielmed 
 witiiin mc. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 EJ^EXING PBAYER. 
 
 PSALM cxlii." Voce mea ad Dominum. 
 
 I Cried unto the Lord" with my 
 voice : yea, even unto the Lord 
 did I make my supplication. 
 
 2 I poured out my complaints 
 before him : and shewed him of my 
 troidile. 
 
 3 When ni)' spirit was in heavi- 
 ness" thou knewest my path : in the 
 way wherein I walked have they pri- 
 vily laid a snare for me. 
 
 nocent, were inhumanly slaughtered together by Doeg 
 the Edomite. Such havock as this might well be com- 
 ])ared to the cutting and cleaving of wood, like the 
 fragments of which the bones of the sufferers lay scat- 
 tered here and there upon the ground, as many of the 
 bodies might be devoured, before j)its were prepared, 
 near the field of slaughter, for their interment. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 'II. Let the ungodly fall into their own nets &c.] 
 From the sequel of the liistory we find that the hope 
 and assurance here ex])ressed by the Psalmist were not 
 vain. He escaped all the snares that «'ere laid for him 
 on every side; he lived to see the death of Saul, who 
 fell in a battle with the Philistines, and those Philistines 
 subdued by himself and his sul>jects. .So will the de- 
 vices of all our enemies be in the end turned against 
 themselves ; they shall fall and perish, but we shall 
 trimnph, with our Kedeemer, to eternity. Bp. Home. 
 
 '" Psalm cxlii.] The title of this Psalm informs us, 
 that it was a ])rayer of David, when be was in the cave, 
 that is, most ]irobably, the cave of .\dullam, whither he 
 fled when in danger both from Said and from the Phi- 
 listines, 1 Sam. xxii. 1. It containeth, 1, 2, a supplica- 
 tion ; 3 — 0, an act of confidence in (>od at that season 
 of danger and destitution ; ", 8, a tender complaint of 
 bis sufferings ; and, 9, a petition for deliverance. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " I. I cried unto the Lord &e.] The state of David 
 in the cave of .Adnllam. was a state of utter destitution. 
 Persecuted by liis own countrymen, dismissed liy .Aehish, 
 and not yet jomed by his own relations, or any other 
 attendants, he took refuge in the cave, and was there 
 alone. Put in that disconsolate, anil seemingly despe- 
 rate situation, he desponded not. He had a Iriend in 
 heaven, into whose bosom he " pimred forth his com- 
 jilaint," and told Him the sad story of his troidile and 
 distress. When danger besettcth tis around, and fear 
 is on every side, let us follow the example of David, 
 and that of a greater than David, who, when Jews and 
 Gentiles consjiired against Him, and He was left all 
 alone, in the garden, and on the cross, gave Himself 
 unto prayer. ]!/>. Home. 
 
 " 3. H'hcn mij .spirit was in heaviness &c.] The mean-
 
 Day 29. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 G53 
 
 defend or pa- 
 trotiize me. 
 l)r, II am- 
 
 my life. Dr. 
 Jlammmid. 
 
 the nnly in- 
 Jieritance 
 left nic in 
 tliis world. 
 Dr. Jfam- 
 viond. 
 
 Attend unto 
 my cry. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 4 I lookcil also upon my T'vj^\\i 
 liaiidP : ami .saw there was no man 
 that woukl know me. 
 
 5 I liacl no place to flee unto : and 
 no man cared tor my soul. 
 
 6 I cried unto tliee, O Lord, and 
 said : Thou art my hope, and my 
 portion in the hiiid of the living. 
 
 7 Consider my complaiut'i : for I 
 am ljrouii;ht very low. 
 
 8 O deliver me from my perse- 
 cutors : for they are too strong for 
 me. 
 
 9 Bring my soul out of prison, that 
 1 may give thanks unto thy Name : 
 which thing if thou wilt grant me, 
 then sha 
 my company, 
 
 the righteous resort unto 
 
 Ash -Wed- 
 nesday, third 
 Psalra Even. 
 Serv. 
 
 H 
 
 PSALM cxliii.' Domine, exaudi. 
 EAR my prayer, O Lord, and 
 consider my desire : hearken 
 
 ing is, Though my thoughts are so broken and con- 
 fused, that I am not able to coimsel and direct myself 
 in these straits, yet thou knowest the path wherein I 
 walk, thou art with me, and wilt ])reserve me from those 
 who watch all my steps, and lie in ambush for me. 
 Such should be at all times the confidence of belie\-ers 
 in the wisdom, the ])Ower, and the goodness of God, 
 even when human ])rudence has done its utmost, and 
 is at its wit's end. Bp. Home. 
 
 p i. I looked also upon my rit/ht hand: &c.] The advo- 
 cate used to stand at the right hand of his client : and 
 to this phrase seems to refer. Dr. Hinnmond. 
 
 '7. Consider my complaint : Sec.'] This prayer of David 
 was heard and answered ; he was delivered from his 
 persecutors, enlarged from his distress, e.valted to the 
 throne, and joined I)y all the tribes of Israel. The true 
 David was delivered from his stronger jjersecutors, 
 brought from the sepulchre, exalted to his heavenly 
 throne, owned and submitted to by the converted na- 
 tions, who became the Israel anil peo])le of God. Nor 
 let us fear, though we be brought very low, and our 
 persecutors, the world, the flesh, and the devil, be at 
 any time too strong for us. God will deliver us from 
 the bondage of sin, and redeem us from the prison of 
 the grave, to join the great assembly before the throne, 
 and there to praise his name for ever. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cxliii.] This is the seventh and the last of 
 the penitential Psalms ; and as we are not informed of 
 any particular teini)oral calamities, which gave occasion 
 to its being composed, we shall explain it according to 
 the general use now made of it in the church for which, 
 indeed, it seems to have been originally and entirely de- 
 signed. After the example of David, the penitent, 1, 
 maketh his jjrayer to God for pardon ; 2, acknow- 
 ledgeth the iin])ossibility of any man being saved but 
 by grace ; 3, 4, de|)loreth the lamentable effects of sin ; 
 5, comforteth himself with a retrospect of God's mercies 
 of old ; and, 6 — 12, prayeth, in a variety of expressions, 
 for remission of sin, sanctiiication, and redemjjtion. 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. And enter not into judgement &c.] In the first 
 verse the suppliant ajipealed to the promises of God, 
 and his fidelity in performing them. Here he urgeth 
 the fallen, sinful, wTetched state of human nature, 
 
 unto mc for tliy truth and rigliteous- 
 ness' sake. 
 
 '2 And enter not into judgement" 
 with thy servant : for in thy sight 
 shall no man living he justified. 
 
 y For the enemy hath ])erseeuted 
 my soul'; he hath smitten my life 
 down to the ground : he hath laid 
 me in the darkness, as the men that 
 have been long dead. 
 
 4 Therefore is my spirit ve.xed 
 my heart within me 
 
 and 
 
 overwhelm- 
 ed. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 the days of 
 old. Bib. 
 Trnns. 
 meditate. 
 /(.*. Trims. 
 muse on tlio 
 wjrk. Bth. 
 Trans. 
 
 thirsteth 
 after. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 within me 
 is desolate. 
 
 5 Yet do I remember tlie time 
 past"; I muse upon all thy works : 
 yea, I e.xcrcise myself in the works 
 of thy hands. 
 
 6 1 stretch forth my hands unto 
 thee" : my .soul gaspeth unto thee 
 as a thirsty land. 
 
 7 Hear me, O Lord, and that 
 soon y, for my spirit waxeth faint : 
 
 which hath rendered it absolutely impossible that any 
 son of Adam can be saved, should God "enter into 
 judgment with him," and exact the punishment due 
 to his offences according to the law, instead of pardon- 
 ing them by an act of grace. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3, 4. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul ; &c.] 
 We have an " enemy " who " persecutes " us with un- 
 relenting malice ; he " smites our life down to the 
 ground," as often as we yield to temptation, and fall 
 from our state of holiness, to grovel in base anil earthly 
 desires ; he " makes us to dwell in darkness," when he 
 has thus withdrawn us from the light of heaven, which 
 before illuminated us, while we walked in it ; the 
 spiritual life, for a time, is extinguished, and we be- 
 come, for all the pur])oses of faith and charity, " like 
 those that have been long dead. Therefore," at the 
 consideration of this our sad estate, when God has 
 enabled us to see and know it, our " S|)irit is over- 
 whelmed within us," with remorse, anxiety, and 
 desjiondency : and " our heart within us," deprived 
 of the comforts of conscience, the joys of the Spirit, 
 and the presence of the Heloved, " is desolate," forlorn, 
 miserable. To rescue the sinner from this disconsolate 
 and lost condition, our blessed Saviour was forsaken 
 on the cross ; " his spirit was overwhelmed within him, 
 and his heart within him was desolate ; the enemy " 
 was suffered to " smite his " precious " life down to 
 the ground," and He " dwelt for three days, in dark- 
 ness, as the men that have been long dead." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 " 5. Yet do I remember the time past ; &c.] When 
 sin has thus laid us low, and, as it were, slain and 
 entombed us, we begin to revive and to arise from the 
 dead, through hope of forgiveness and restoration to 
 the divine favour, by " remembering the days of old, 
 and meditating on all the works " of love and mercy, 
 which Jehovah then HTOught towards those who were 
 sinners like ourselves. While we '" muse" on such in- 
 stances of his goodness, the reflection is obvious, Is He 
 not still the same gracious God ? \\ill He not do as 
 much for us upon our repentance, as He hath formerly 
 done for others, upon theirs ? " Let us arise, and go 
 to oiu' Father!" Bp. Home. 
 
 '- 6. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: &c.] Prayer
 
 654 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Dmj 30. 
 
 timely and 
 speedily. Dr. 
 Hammond, 
 
 Thou Shalt. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 cut off". 
 Trans. 
 
 Bib. 
 
 liide not thy face from me, lest I be 
 like unto them that go down into the 
 pit. 
 
 8 O let me hear thy loving-kind- 
 ness betimes in the morning, for in 
 thee is my trust : shew thou me the 
 way that I should walk in, for I lift 
 up my soul unto thee. 
 
 9 Deliver me, O Lord, from mine 
 enemies : for I flee unto thee to hide 
 me. 
 
 10 Teach me to do the thing that 
 pleaseth thee, for thou art my God : 
 let thy loving Spirit lead me forth 
 into the land of righteousness. 
 
 11 Quicken me, O Lord% for thy 
 Name's sake : and for thy righteous- 
 ness' sake bring my soul out of 
 trouble. 
 
 \'2 And of thy goodness slay 
 mine enemies : and destroy all them 
 
 13 the voice of faith. Tlie sinner, who views his situa- 
 tion, and believes, on ha\-ing considered God's works 
 of old, that he shall be delivered out of it, will soon 
 " stretch forth his hands," in suppUcation to heaven. 
 His soul will gasp and pant after that grace and mercy, 
 which descend from above, like the rain in its season, 
 to bestow refreshment, beauty, and fertihty, on a pai'ched 
 and " thirsty land." Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 7. HeuT me, Lord, and that soon, &e.] These 
 words would come with jiropriety from the mouth of 
 one in danger of temjioral death. 'Iliey are no less 
 proper in the mouth of hira who is in danger of death 
 eternal. Rather they receive an additional force and 
 energy when used in this latter sense. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 11, 12. Quicken me, O Lord, &c.] The verbs in 
 these two last verses, as Dr. Hammond hath noted, 
 sliouhl be rendered in the future ; " Thou shalt 
 fjuicken," &c. ; and then the Psalm will end. as usual, 
 with an act of faith and assurance, that all those mer- 
 ries which have been asked shall be obtained ; that 
 (ii)d, for the sake of his " name," and his " righteous- 
 ness," of his glory, and his faithfulness in the perform- 
 ance of his ])romises, will not fail to be favourable and 
 gracious to his sen'ants, " (|uickening " them, even 
 when dead in trespasses and sins, and bringing them, 
 by degrees, " out of all their troul)les ;" going forth 
 with thera to the battle against their spiritual "ene- 
 mies," and enabling them to vanquish the authors of 
 their "affliction" and miserj', to mortify the (lesh, and 
 to overcome the world ; that so they may triumph with 
 their Redeemer, in the day when He shall likewise 
 (juieken their mortal bodies, and put all enemies under 
 their feet. B/). Home. 
 
 " I'sAi.M exliv.] It appears from verse 2, and verse 
 10, of this Psalm, that it was comjiosed after David's 
 accession to the throne. And it is evident, from verse 
 5, &c. that he had more enemies still to conquer, such 
 a.s the Phibstincs, &c. He, therefore, 1, 2, blesseth 
 Jehovah ; and, ."?, 4, cxpresseth his astonishment at 
 the divine goodness shewn to such a creature as man ; 
 a — 8, he beseecheth God to perfect his work, and sub- 
 due the remaining ailversaries by the might of his 
 power. 9, 10, He breaks forth again into a strain of 
 thanksgiving, and, 1 1 — 15, again retiu'na to his prayers 
 
 that vex my soul ; for I am thy ser- 
 vant. 
 
 B 
 
 MOIiXIXG PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM cxliv.* Benedictus Domhius. 
 LESS ED be the Lord my 
 strength'' : who teacheth my 
 hands to war, and my fingers to 
 fight; 
 
 2 My hope and my fortress, my 
 castle and deliverer, my defender in 
 whom I trust : who subdueth my 
 people that is under me. 
 
 3 Lord, what is man '', that thou 
 hast such respect unto him : or the 
 son of man, that thou so regardest 
 him ? 
 
 4 Man is like a thing of nought : 
 his time passeth away like a shadow. 
 
 5 Bow thy heavens, O Lord \ and 
 
 for the complete redemption and the prosperity of 
 Israel. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ 1 . Blessed be the Lord my strength : &c.] What 
 David here acknowledgeth, with regard to his victories, 
 and that skill or might by which they were obtained, 
 should be likewise acknowledged by all earthly kings 
 and generals, in the day of battle and conquest. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 3, 4. Lord, what is man, &c.] After a thanksgiving 
 for the works which Jehovah had nTought, followeth a 
 reflection on the creature " man," for whom they were 
 wrought. Such a reflection introduced in the same 
 manner, and almost in the same words, we meet with 
 in Ps. viii. 4 ; which passage, being cited by the a])ostle, 
 Heb. ii. 6, and ap]ilied to Christ, affords an argument, 
 as Dr. Hammond hatli justly observed, for a like ap- 
 plication of the verses now before us, in their more 
 eminent, prophetick, mystical sense. For, certainly, if 
 David, u])on the rememlirance of what (Jod had done 
 for him, could break fortli into this reflection, much 
 more may we do so, for whom the Redeemer hath been 
 manifested in the form of a servant, and in that form 
 hath humbled Himself to the death of the cross, to 
 gain us the victory over i)rincii)alitics anil powers, to 
 ])ut all things under our feet, and to make us par- 
 takers of his everlasting kingdom. B/). Home. 
 
 '' 5. Bow thy heavens, Lord, &c.1 David, having 
 celebrated his victories over some of "liis enemies, and 
 extolled the mercy and goodness of God, to whom he 
 ascribeth the achievement of them, now proceedeth to 
 request a farther manifestation of the onmipotcnt arm 
 in bis favour against other hostile forces, which still 
 threatened his country, upon his accession to the 
 throne; such as the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, 
 &c. ; see 2 Sam. v, and viii. These are called, meta- 
 ])horically, " great waters," threatening to overwhelm 
 and destroy everything; and, in plainer terms, "strange 
 children," or aliens from the covenant of Jehovah, and 
 the commonwealth of Israel j children who " speak 
 lies, and work wickedness;" or, as Dr. Hammond in- 
 ter|)reteth the Nth verse, "whose mouth sjieaketh, or 
 maketh profession of, vanity, tliat is, idolatry ; and 
 their right hand," that on which they depend for su|)- 
 port, the ol)ject of their confidence, " is a right hand of
 
 Day 30. 
 
 clown 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 655 
 
 hib, 'Trails. 
 
 come clown : touch tlie mountains, 
 and they sliall smoke. 
 
 6 Cast forth thy li<^litninf>;', and 
 tiui is, our tear them : shoot out thine arrows, 
 
 eiR'niies. Dr. j ,t 
 
 iiummond. and coiisume them. 
 
 7 Send down tliine liand from 
 above : deliver me, and take me out 
 of the great waters, from the hand 
 of strange children ; 
 
 speaketii. 8 Whose mouth talkoth of vanity : 
 
 Bill. Trtnis. i \ • • i i i • * i i i 
 
 and their right hand is a right hand 
 falsehood. of wickcclness. 
 
 9 I will sing a new song unto 
 thee, O God : and sing praises unto 
 thee upon a ten-stringed lute. 
 
 10 Thou hast given victory unto 
 kings : and hast delivered David thy 
 servant from the peril of the sword. 
 
 11 Save me, and deliver me'' 
 from the hand of strange children : 
 whose mouth talketli of vanity, and 
 their right hand is a right hand of 
 iniquity. 
 
 falsehood," and one that will fail all who rely upon it 
 for help. Jehovah, the God of Israel, is therefore 
 entreated once more to appear in the cause of his 
 anointed ; to go forth, as of old, to the hattle against 
 the enemies of his people, with all the tokens of dis- 
 pleasure and vengeance, dismaying and putting to flight 
 these " armies of aliens." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 11 — 15. Save me, and delioer me &c.'\ After thanks- 
 giving in the two preceding verses for mercies already 
 vouchsafed to the son of Jesse, prayer is here again 
 made for the continuance of God's favour, and a com- 
 plete victory over every enemy ; the happy consetjuences 
 of which, in the establishment of Israel, and the ])ros- 
 jierity of Jerusalem, are particularly described. Victory 
 is productive of peace, and peace is the mother of all 
 eartlily blessings to communities, and the families that 
 comjiose them ; whose happiness consists in a nu- 
 merous and hopeful progeny of sons and daughters ; 
 the former healthy and well nurtured, growing u]i, 
 like young plants in a kindly soil, until they attain 
 their full strength and stature ; the latter fair and 
 virtuous, like so many tall, well-proportioned, highly 
 jiolished, and richly ornamented columns, gracing the 
 house to which they belong. When to these we have 
 added plenty of corn, and all other provisions, in the 
 granaries and storehouses ; flocks and herds, ever 
 thri\'ing and increasing ; freedom from hostile inva- 
 sions and domestick complaints, so that there be " no 
 breaking in, nor going out," no irruption of aliens 
 into the commonwealth, nor emigration of inhabitants 
 to foreign countries, by captivity, or otherwise ; we 
 shall find ourselves possessed of most of the ingre- 
 dients, which enter into the composition of temporal 
 fehcity. Such felicity God promised to his people 
 Israel, and bestowed on them, while they kept his 
 statutes, and observed his lan's. The good things of 
 this world may fall to the lot of the righteous, who are 
 distinguished from the wicked by the use which they 
 make of them, when given ; and by their meek resigna- 
 tion of them, when taken away. Whatever be the will 
 of God concerning our having or wanting these out- 
 ward comforts, we know that we have, as the faithful 
 
 12 That onr sons may grow up 
 as the young plants : and tliat our 
 daughters may be as the polished 
 corners of the temple. 
 
 1."} That our garners may be full 
 and plenteous with all manner of 
 store : that our sheep may liriiig 
 forth thousands and ten thousands 
 in our streets. folds or pa«. 
 
 14 That our oxen may be strong JUmmmd. 
 to labour, that there be no decay : 
 
 no leading into captivity, and no 
 com])lainiiig in our streets. 
 
 15 Happy are the people that arc 
 in sucli a case : yea, blessed are the 
 people who have the Lord for their 
 God. 
 
 PSALM cxiv.' Exaltaho ie, Deus, WhitSua- 
 
 IWill magnify thee, O God, my PBaimTven. 
 Kings : and 1 will praise thy ^"''• 
 Name for ever and ever. 
 
 2 Every day will I give thanks 
 
 servants of God in every age had before us, greater 
 and more precious promises, a better and an enduring 
 substance, pleasures that fade not, and riches that fly 
 not away, reserved for us in a heavenly country, and a 
 city which hath foundations. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm exlv.] Hitherto, in this divine hook, we 
 have been jiresented with chequered scenes of danger 
 and deliverance, distress and mercy. The voice of 
 complaint hath sometimes been succeeded by that of 
 thanksgiving ; and praise, at other times, hath termi- 
 nated in prayer. But now, as if the days of mourning 
 in Siou were ended, we hear no more of Messiah, as a 
 man of sorrows ; or of the Church, as despised and 
 afflicted, after the same example in the world. Hence- 
 forth we seem not to be upon earth, but in heaven, 
 mingling with celestial spirits around the throne, and 
 singing, as in the following Psalm, 1, 2, the praises of 
 our God and King ; extolling, 3, his greatness, 4, his 
 might, 5, his glory, 6, 7, his justice, y, 0, his mercv ; 
 10 — 13, the majesty of his kingdom, and, 1-1 — 21, all 
 his adorable perfections and wondrous works. Pishop 
 Patrick mentions a saying of the ancient Hebrews, 
 that " He could not fail to be a child of the world to 
 come, who woidd say this Psalm three times every day." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 The general subject of the Psalm makes it suitable to 
 the service of Whit-Sunday, when we celebrate that great 
 blessing, the descent of the Spirit. Travcll. 
 
 s 1, 2. 1 will magnify thee, God, my King: &c.] 
 The same divine person, who was, in a peculiar manner, 
 the "God" and "King" of Israel, now standeth in 
 those relations to the Gentile Christian church, and by 
 her is "extolled" in the words of this Psalm, originally 
 composed and used for this purpose among the Israel- 
 ites. Christ is our " God," who hath saved ns according 
 to his covenant and promise ; He is om- " King," who 
 hath set up the universal and everlasting kingdom, 
 foretold by Daniel and the other prophets ; who hath 
 "all power in heaven and earth;" and who "must 
 reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet, and 
 swallowed up death in \'ictory." In the mean time it 
 is the daily employment of us, his redeemed subjects
 
 656 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 majesty, 
 hiinour. 
 Vocab. 
 
 unto tliee : and praise tliy Name for 
 ever and ever. 
 
 3 Great is the Lord'', and mar- 
 vellous, worthy to be praised : there 
 is no end of his greatness. 
 
 4 One generation shall praise thy 
 works unto another : and declare thy 
 power. 
 
 5 As for me, I will be talking of 
 thy worship' : thy glory, thy praise, 
 
 ^^^ and wondrous works; 
 
 6 So that men shall speak of the 
 tcrriwe. Bib. might of thy marvellous acts : and 1 
 
 '^'""' will also tell of thy greatness. 
 
 7 The memorial of thine abun- 
 dant kindness shall be shewed : and 
 men shall sing of thy righteousness. 
 
 8 The Lord is gracious, and mer- 
 ciful : long-suffering, and of great 
 goodness. 
 
 9 The Lord is loving unto every 
 man : and his mercy is over all his 
 works. 
 
 10 All thy works praise thee, O 
 Lord'' : and thy saints give thanks 
 unto thee. 
 
 and servants, to chant forth the praises of his saving 
 and glorious " name," with which the church, on earth, 
 and in heaven, will resound, "forever and ever." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 3. Great is the Lord, &o.] The " greatness" of 
 Jehovah, whether we consider it as relating to his 
 essence, or his works, is never to be fully comjirehended 
 by his saints, whose delight it is to contemplate " the 
 breadth, and length, and depth, and height," Eph. iii. 
 18, the extent and duration of his lieing and his king- 
 dom, the profundity of his counsels, and the sublimity 
 of his jjower and glory. These are the inexhaustible 
 subjects of divine meditation, transmitted from age to 
 age. And as the greatness of God our Saviour hath no 
 bounds, so his praises should have no end, nor should 
 the voice of thanksgiving ever cease in the church. As 
 "one generation" drops it, "another" should take it 
 up, and i>rolong the delightful strain, till the sun and 
 the moon shall witlidraw tlicir light, and the stars fall 
 extinguished from their orlis. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 5 — "• As for me, I will he lulkinij of thy worship : 
 &c.] Those works of God, which demand to be cele- 
 brated by the tongues of men, are here divided into 
 three kinds. First, su<'h as declare his glory, and ex- 
 cite our admiration wlicnever we bebolil them. Of this 
 sort are the shining frame of the heavens, and all the 
 bodies which move therein ; tlie earth, with its furniture 
 without, and its contents within ; the magnidcent and 
 stupendous ocean, which Hows around it ; the different 
 tribes of atiimals inhabiting both the one and the other ; 
 and, above all. the construction of man, the lord of this 
 lower world. Under the second class of (iod's works 
 are ranged all those which the I'salmist styleth his " ter- 
 ril)le acts," or the exertions of his jxiwcr against his 
 enemies ; such as, the destruction of the old world by 
 water; of .Sodom and (jomorrah by (ire; of l'liara<iii 
 and bis host in the Ked sea ; of the ('anaanitish nations 
 by the sword; and the victory gained over sin and 
 
 Dai/ 30. 
 
 thy 
 
 satisfiest the 
 desire of 
 every living 
 thing. Bib, 
 Trans, 
 all his dis- 
 pensations 
 and dealings. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 in truth. 
 Bib. Trans. 
 
 11 They shew the glory of 
 kingdom : and talk of thy power; 
 
 VI That thy power, thy glory, and 
 mightiness of thy king-dom : miirht 
 be known unto men. 
 
 13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting 
 kingdom : and thy dominion endureth 
 throughout all ages. 
 
 14 The Lord upholdeth all such 
 as fall' : and lifteth up all those that 
 are down. 
 
 15 The eyes of all wait upon thee, 
 O Lord*" : and thou givest them 
 their meat in due season. 
 
 16 Thou openest thine hand : and 
 fillest all things living with plenteous- 
 ness. 
 
 17 The Lord is righteous in all 
 his ways : and holy in all his works. 
 
 18 The Lord is nigh unto all 
 them that call ujion him : yea, all 
 such as call upon him faithfully. 
 
 19 He will fulfil the desire of them 
 that fear him : he also will hear their 
 cry, and will help them. 
 
 20 The Lord preserveth all them 
 
 death by the resurrection of Christ. In the third rank 
 stand those works which have proceeded from the 
 "goodness" of God, and his "righteousness" in the 
 performance of his promises. And among these we 
 may reckon all the different species of provision, which 
 ha\-e been made by Providence for the bodies of men 
 in the world, and by grace for their souls in the church. 
 On any of these subjects meditation cannot be long 
 employed, without breaking forth into wonder, grati- 
 tude, and praise. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 10 — 13. All thy irorks praise thee, O Lord; &c.] 
 As " all the works" of God, in their several ways, make 
 a due return for the mercy vouchsafed imto them, and 
 set fortli his glory ; so more especially ought this to be 
 done by man, who is the principal party concerned in 
 the fall and rcdemjiticm. The " saints" are the sub- 
 jects of Messiali's kingdom ; and of that kingdom it is 
 their duty to publish to the world the blessings and the 
 glories, to the end that, when tliese are made known, the 
 nations may be thereby induced to sidtinit their hearts to 
 so gracious a sceptre, and the dominion of Christ may 
 become as universal in its extent, as it is everlasting in 
 its duration. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 14. The Lord upholdeth all such as fall: &c.] After 
 having ]iroclaimed tlic glory and eternity of the king- 
 dom, the pr(i])het draws a character of the King, who, 
 in the execution of bis regal and jiastoral ofiice, is ever 
 mindful of the necessities of his subjects. Bp. Home. 
 
 '" IC>. The eyes of all wait vpnn thee, O Lord: &c.] 
 What a just and beautiful jiicture is here presented to 
 view! \Ve see the whole animal world as.sembled be- 
 fore us, with their eyes fixed on the great King and 
 Father of all things, like those of a flock on their sliep- 
 herd, when be enters the field, in time of dearth, with 
 provender for them. From the same divine person, as 
 the Saviour of men, as the King, Father, and I'astor of 
 the cluirdi, do believers, with earnest expectation, wait 
 for the food of eternal life. And neither one nor the
 
 win destroy. 
 Bib. Tram. 
 
 Day 30. 
 
 tJiat love him" : but scattereth abroad 
 all the iiiifi;otlly. 
 
 21 My mouth shall speak the 
 praise of the Lord" : and let all flesh 
 give thanks unto his holy Name for 
 ever and ever. 
 
 PSALM cxlvi.' Lauda, anima mea. 
 
 PRAISE the Lord, O my soul ; 
 while I live will 1 praise the 
 Lord : yea, as long as I have any 
 being, 1 will sing praises unto my 
 God. 
 
 other look and wait in vain. To both He giveth their 
 meat in due season : " He openeth his hand, and satis- 
 fieth the desire of every living thing." Bp. Home. 
 
 " 20. The Lord preserveth all them that lore him : &c.] 
 To protect his subjects and destroy their enemies, is the 
 finishing part of the regal character, as here drawn 
 from its great original in " the King of saints." By his 
 grace He now preserveth us from innumerable dangers 
 and temptations, and gradually destroyeth sin in us, 
 and by his power He will hereafter execute, in the full- 
 est and most extensive sense, this part of his office, 
 " when the wicked shall be consumed with the spirit of 
 his mouth, and destroyed with the brightness of his 
 coming." Then the bodies of the righteous, preserved 
 to a joyful resurrection, shall be reunited to their souls, 
 and both together, perfected and glorified, shall reign 
 and shine with Him for ever. Thus the Lord Jesus 
 Christ " preserveth all that love him," and maketh 
 good his promise, "There shall not an hair of your 
 head perish," Luke xxi. IS. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° 21. My month shall speak the praise of the Lord : 
 &c.] The Psalmist having now given the reasons why 
 he had resolved to "extol his God and King, and to 
 bless his name for ever and ever," concludes with 
 repeating his resolution, and exhorts all the world to 
 follow his example, in time and eternity. Bp. Home. 
 
 p Psalm cxlvi.] In this Psalm the church is taught, 
 1, to prolong the praises of Jehovah, as her God and 
 King ; 2 — 5, to beware of trusting in the powers of the 
 world, and to rely on the world's Creator and Redeemer, 
 whose miracles of love and mercy, wrought for the 
 children of men, 6 — 9, are enumerated, and the eter- 
 nity of whose kingdom, 10, is proclaimed. Bp. Home. 
 
 The Psalm was probably composed by David. The 
 seventh verse was most exactly and literally fulfilled in 
 our Lord Christ, when He came to give sah'ation to us. 
 Bp. Patrick. The Psalm from this xerse to the end 
 hath a most visible, remarkable aspect imto the Mes- 
 siah, the eternal Son of God, in his incarnation ; as 
 is acknowledged by the Jews themselves. Dr. Ham- 
 mond. 
 
 1 2 — 5. O put not your trust in princes, &c.] From 
 Him, who is " the Prince of the kings of the earth," 
 Sion looks for debverance, and by flim her true sons 
 expect to be exalted. He " keepeth truth for ever," 
 He is able and willing to perform his promises, and ne- 
 ver disappoints those who rely on Him. The faithful 
 servant of his Master is by that Master infallibly ap- 
 proved and rewarded. Earthly jirinces, if they have 
 the will, often want the power, even ti5 protect their 
 friends. And should they want neither will nor jiower 
 to advance them, yet still all depends upon the breath in 
 their nostrils, which, perhaps, at the very critical mo- 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 (5.')7 
 
 2 O put not your trust in princes'', 
 nor in any cliihl of man : for there is 
 no help in them. 
 
 :i I'or when the breath of man 
 goeth forth he shall turn again to liis 
 earth : and then all his thoughts 
 perish. 
 
 4 Ble.ssed is he that hatli the God 
 of Jacob for his help : and whose 
 hoj)e is in the Lord his God ; 
 
 5 Who made heaven and earth, 
 the sea, and all that therein is : who 
 keepeth his jiromise for ever ; 
 
 6 Who helpeth them to righf fjfi-nteth 
 
 ^ jUflpenttlit 
 
 ^ for the oppressed. Bib. Tram. 
 
 ment, " goeth forth : they return to their earth ; their 
 thoughts," and all the thoughts of those who had hoped 
 to rise by their means, fall into the same grave, and are 
 buried with them for ever. " Cease ye from man, 
 whose breath is in his nostrils ; for wherein is he to be 
 accounted of? Hut trust ye in the Lord for ever; for 
 in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength," Isa. ii. 22; 
 xxvi. 4. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6—9. Who helpelh them to right &c.] That the 
 Lord, of whom all these things are spoken, is the Mes- 
 siah, or Jehovah incarnate, appears, as Dr. Hammond 
 hath justly observed, from what is said of Him in verse 
 7, "The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind;" the 
 miracle of restoring sight to men born blind being one 
 reserved for the Son of God to work, at his coming in 
 the flesh. " Since the world began," saith the man to 
 whom sight had been thus restored, "was it not heard, 
 that any man opened the eyes of one that was born 
 blind," John ix. 32. This therefore was the first of 
 those tokens given by Jesus to the disciples of John, 
 whereby it might be known, that He was the expected 
 Christ : " Go and tell John the things wliich ye have 
 heard and seen ; the blind receive their sight," &c. 
 But how did this evince Him to be the Alessiah? 
 Plainly, because it had been foretold by the prophets, 
 (as in Isaiah xxxv. 5; xxix. IS; xlii. IS; so in this 
 passage of our Psalm, which is exactly similar to those 
 texts.) that Messiah, when He came, should give sight 
 to the blind. Now, if one part of the Psalmist's de- 
 scription belong to Christ, the other members of it 
 must do so likewise, it being evident that the whole is 
 S])oken of the same person. He, therefore, is " the God 
 of Jacob, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all 
 that therein is ;" and, upon his appearing among men in 
 the body of oiu- fk>sh. He shewed Himself possessed of 
 power to relieve all the wants, corporal and spiritual, of 
 poor lost mankind. When He rescued men from the 
 bondage of Satan, He " executed judgment for the 
 opi)ressed :" when He fed thousands by a miracle, or 
 when He preached the word to such as desired to hear 
 and receive it. He " gave food to the hungry ;" when, 
 by pardon and grace. He released those who were bound 
 with the chains of their sins, He " loosed the prisoners :" 
 when He poured light into the sightless eye-ball, or 
 illuminated with saving knowledge the understanding 
 of the ignorant. He " opened the eyes of the blind ;" 
 when He made the crooked woman straight, or rectified 
 the obliquity of a depra\ed «ill. He " raised those that 
 were bowed down :" while He protecteth, and guideth 
 to the city of their eternal habitation, the sons of .\dam, 
 who are exiles, pilgrims, and sojourners upon earth. He 
 "preserveth the strangers:" when He became a hus- 
 band to the church, and a parent to her destitute chil- 
 
 2U
 
 658 
 
 THE PSALMS, 
 who feedeth the 
 
 Dai/ 30. 
 
 that suffer wrong 
 hungry. 
 
 7 The Lord looseth men out of 
 prison : the Lord giveth sight to the 
 blind. 
 
 8 Tiie Lord helpeth them tliat 
 are fallen : the Lord careth for the 
 righteous. 
 
 9 The Lord careth for the stran- 
 gers ; he defendeth the fatherless 
 and widow : as for the way of the 
 ungodly, he turneth it upside down. 
 
 10 The Lord thy God, O Sion, 
 shall be King for evermore : and 
 throughout all generations. 
 
 o 
 
 EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM cxlvii.' Laudate Dominum. 
 
 Praise the Lord, for it is a 
 good thing to sing praises unto 
 our God : yea, a joyful and pleasant 
 thing it is to be thankful. 
 
 2 The Lord doth build up Je- 
 
 dren, He "relieved the fatherless and widow:" and 
 when He shall come in his glorious majesty, to reward 
 his sen-ants, and to confound their enemies, it will be 
 seen how "he loveth the righteous, and turneth the way 
 of the wicked upside down." Happy the people of 
 such a God ! happy the subjects of such a King ! Re- 
 joice, and sing, and shout aloud ; for lo, " the Lord 
 shall reign for ever, even tliy God, O Sion, unto all 
 generations. Praise ye the Lord ! " Up. Home. 
 
 ' PsAi.M cxlvii.] It hath been conjestured from ver. 
 2, that this Psahn was written to celebrate the return of 
 Israel from Babylon, when Jerusalem and the temple 
 wererebu'dt. 1 — 3, The people of God are exhorted to 
 praise Him for the mercies vouchsafed to them ; 4 — 0, 
 for his wisdom, power, and goodness ; 7 — 9, for his 
 l)rovidential care, and, 10, 11, the wonderful salvation 
 wrought by his arm ; 12 — 14, for the security, increase, 
 and prosperity of tlie chnrcli ; 15 — 18, for tlie happy 
 change of her condition, like that produced in natvu'e, 
 when spring succeeds to winter; 19, 20, and for the 
 glorious privilege of the divine word, revealed and com- 
 mitted to her. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 2. The Lord didli huitd tip Jerusalem : &c.] If this 
 Psalm were written on occasion of tlie return from 
 ISabylon, and the rebuilding of the eartldy city, the 
 ideas are to be transferred, as in otlicr Psalms of the 
 same kind, to a more important restcn'ation from a much 
 worse captivity, and to the building up of the church 
 under the (iospel, wlien Christ "gathered togetlier in 
 one the children of (jiid tliat were scattered aliroad," 
 John xi. 52 ; that is, in tlie words of our I'sahn, lie 
 " gatliered together the outcasts of Israel!"' So shall 
 He again nt the resurrection "gatlier together liis elect 
 from the four winds," Matt. xxiv. .')1, and " buibl up a 
 Jeru.salem, in which they shall serve and praise Him for 
 ever. lip. Home. 
 
 ° 3. He heiilelh those that lire hriikcn in heart : &e.] 
 The " broken hearts and wounded spirits" of tlie Israel- 
 ites were " healeil and maiK' whole," when lliey returned 
 to their own land, when they beheld Jerusalem rising 
 
 rusalem' : and gather togetlier the 
 out-easts of Israel. 
 
 3 He liealeth those that are Ijrolien 
 
 in heart": and giveth medicine to tiniieth up 
 
 1 1 ^1 . • 1 their wounds. 
 
 heal their sickness. sib. Tram. 
 
 4 He telleth the number of the 
 stars " : and calleth them all by their 
 names. 
 
 3 Great is our Lord, and great is 
 his power : yea, and his wisdom is 
 infinite. 
 
 6 The Lord setteth up the meeky : 
 and bringeth the ungodly down to 
 the ground. 
 
 7 O sing imto the Lord with 
 thanksgiving^ : sing praises upon the 
 harp unto our God; 
 
 8 Who covereth the heaven with 
 clouds, and prepareth rain for the 
 earth : and maketh the grass to grow 
 upon the mountains, and herb for the 
 use of men ; 
 
 9 Who giveth fodder unto the 
 cattle : and feedeth the young ravens 
 that call upon him. 
 
 again in beauteous majesty, and sang the songs of Sion 
 in the courts of the temple. Thus Christ came "to 
 preach deliverance to the captives, and to bind up the 
 broken-liearted," Isa Ixi. 1; Luke iv. 18; to speak 
 parcbm and peace to the wounded and contrite spirit, 
 and to ]iut a new song of thanksgiving in the mouth of 
 the penitent, wliich he miglit sing, when restored to the 
 holy city, and the house of his heavenly Fatlier. Tlie 
 hour is coming, when God shall heal the breaches which 
 death has made in the bodies of his people, and trans- 
 late them likewise from Babylon to Jerusalem. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 4. He telleth the numbers of the stars ; &;c.] And He 
 who does this cannot be ignorant of the situation and 
 circumstances of his elect. He knoweth each indivi- 
 dual, and numberetli all the atoms wliich go to the 
 composition of his frame. He can call his saints from 
 the depths of eartli and sea, " by their names," as when 
 once " he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth." 
 Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 6. The Lord setleth up the meek: &c.] To exalt and 
 reward the humble, penitent, bcbeving, and obedient ; 
 to depress and jiimisli the jiroud, impenitent, unbeliev- 
 ing, and disobedient ; these are the measures and ends 
 of all tlie divine disiiensations. And as a man ranks 
 himself in one or other of tliesc two divisions, be may 
 exjieet from heaven storm or sunsliine, mercy or judg- 
 ment. Bj). Home. 
 
 ' 7 — 9- O sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving : &c.] 
 The faithful praise (!od for his goodness to the animal 
 world, both on account of tliat goodness in itself, anil 
 also because tliey behold tlierein an emblem and assur- 
 ance of his mercy to tliemselves. Tlie watchful care of 
 Providence over all creatures speaks the same language 
 to us, which Jeliovah made use of to Joshua, and 
 whicli the apostle lialli applied to Christians: " I will 
 never leave tliee, nor forsake thee," Jo.vbua i. 5; Heb. 
 xiii. 5. Our Lord pressed this argument on bis disci- 
 jiles ; Luke xii. 24, " Consider the ravens ;" Matt. vi. 
 20, "Behold the fowls of the air; for tliey sow not.
 
 n,nj 30. 
 
 10 lie liiitli no pleasure in tlie 
 stronirtli of an horse ^ : neither de- 
 lighU'tli he in any man's lef^s. 
 
 11 But the l-ord's delight is in 
 them that fear him : and put their 
 trust in his mere}'. 
 
 12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem : 
 praise thy God, O Sion. 
 
 1.'} For he liatli made fast the bars 
 of thy gates : and hath blessed thy 
 children within thee. 
 
 14 He maketh peace in thy bor- 
 ders : and fiUeth thee with the flour 
 of wheat. 
 
 1.5 He sendeth forth his com- 
 mandment upon earth'' : and his 
 word runneth very swiftly. 
 
 16 He givetli snow like wool : and 
 scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. 
 
 17 He casteth forth his ice like 
 morsels : who is able to abide his 
 frost ? 
 
 neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your 
 heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better 
 than they ? " Bp. Home. 
 
 '10. He hath no pleasure in the strength of an horse : 
 &c.] If, therefore, the inference deduced above be a 
 just ,one, namely, that God, who takes care of tlie 
 wild beasts, and the birds of the air, will support and 
 defend his church ; then, however weak she may be, 
 and however strong her adversaries may be, yet she 
 may rest secure, as having him on her side, to whom 
 it is equal to save by many, or by few ; who giveth not 
 the victory to the pomp and jiride of carnal strength, 
 to thousands or ten thousands, but to "those who fear 
 him, and hope in his mercy." The history of Israel is 
 one continual exem])lification of this truth ; and in our 
 spiritual warfare, " this is the victory which ovcrcoraeth 
 the world, even our faith," 1 John v. 4. Bp. Home. 
 
 '' 15. He sendeth forth his commandment vpoti earth: 
 &c.] The wonders of nature represent to us tlie mira- 
 cles of grace ; and the change of seasons produceth not 
 greater alterations in the world, than those which take 
 ]>lace in the church, when her God hideth from her, or 
 restoreth to her, the light of his countenance, which, 
 like its emblem, the bright ruler in the heavens, at its 
 departure leaves winter behind it ; and brings the spring 
 with it at its return. Bp. Home. 
 
 '19- He sheweth his word tinto Jacob: &c.] That 
 " word," the effects of which upon the spiritual system 
 are similar to those experienced by nature in the vernal 
 season, that " word was shewed unto Jacob," and be- 
 came the property of " Israel," while Israel continued 
 to be the church of God. It hath since been made 
 over, with all its tyjjes realized and its prophecies ac- 
 complished in Jesus, to tlie church Christian ; it is that 
 peculiar blessing, which distinguishes her from the rest 
 of the world, and for which her children are bound, at 
 all times, to " praise the Lord." Bp. Home. 
 
 '' Psalm exlviii.] All the creatures in the invisible 
 and visible world are called upon by the Psalmist to 
 unite in a grand chorus of praise and thanksgiving. 
 The various parts are to be performed by, I, 2, the 
 angelick hosts ; 3 — 6, the material heavens, and the 
 luminaries placed in them j 7, the ocean ^vith its inha- 
 
 THE PSALMS 
 
 tl 
 
 6.59 
 
 18 He sendeth out his word, and 
 melteth them : he blowoth with his 
 wind, and the waters flow. 
 
 19 He sheweth his word unlo 
 Jacob" : his statutes and ordinances 
 unto I.srael. 
 
 '20 He hath not dealt so with any 
 nation : neither have the heathen 
 knowledge of his laws. 
 
 o 
 
 PSALM exlviii.'' Laudate Dominum. 
 Praise the Lord of heaven' : 
 ])raise him in the height, 
 'raise him, all ye angels of his : 
 praise him, all his host. 
 
 3 Praise him, sun and moon^: 
 praise him, all ye stars and light. 
 
 4 Praise him, all ye heavens : and 
 ye waters that are above the hea- 
 vens. 
 
 5 Let them praise the Name of the 
 Lord : for he spake the word, and 
 
 the heights.. 
 Ilih. Triim. 
 those liigh 
 and heavenly 
 places. 
 Poole. 
 
 bitants; 8, the meteors of the air; 9, 10, the earth, as 
 divided into hills and valleys, with the vegetables that 
 grow out of it, and the animals that move upon or 
 about it; 11, 12, the human race, of every degree, of 
 each sex, and of every age ; 1 3, more especially the 
 Israel, or church of God. Bp. Home. 
 
 It doth not appear who was the author of this hymn, 
 nor u]inn what occasion it was composed. But the last 
 verse shews it to have been «Titten, when the nation 
 was in a very ilourishing condition ; probably therefore 
 by Da\id, when God had given him rest from all his 
 enemies. Bp. Patrick. 
 
 ' 1, 2. praise the Lord of heaven : &c.] When St. 
 .Tohn saw in vision the King of glory seated on his 
 throne, he tells us that be heard all the angels which 
 stood around the throne, with the elders, and every 
 creature in heaven, earth, and sea, lifting up their voices, 
 and singing together a hymn of thanksgiving in honour 
 of Him. .Such a choir we find here summoned by the 
 inspired Psalmist, and exhorted to join and assist him 
 in praising the same divine Person, whom the elders, 
 in the Revelation, declare " worthy to receive glory, 
 and honour, and power," because He " created all 
 things, and for bis pleasure they are and were created," 
 Rev. V. 13; iv. 11. From the heavens and those un- 
 utterable heights, where hosts of immortal spirits, 
 admitted to a sight of their King, enjoy unfading 
 pleasures, the song is to begin. And when the strain 
 is thus set by the celestial part of the choir, it is to 
 be taken up, and echoed back, by the creatures of this 
 lower world, animate and inanimate, which have all 
 their several parts assigned them, in the great work of 
 glorifying their Creator. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3 — G. Praise him, sun and moon : &c.] Tlie material 
 heavens, through all their various regions, with the 
 luminaries placed in them, and the waters sustained by 
 them, though they have neither speech nor language, 
 and want the tongue of men, yet, by their splendour 
 and magnificence, their motions and their influences, 
 all regulated and exerted according to the ordinance of 
 their Maker, do, in a very intelligible and striking 
 manner, declare the glory of God : they call upon us to 
 translate their actions into our language, and copy their 
 2 U 2
 
 660 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 Dmj 30. 
 
 namely, the 
 rules and 
 )a\vs of their 
 nature. Dr. 
 Xichijlh. 
 this inferior 
 glohe of the 
 tarth and 
 ^■ea. Bp. 
 Halt. 
 or whales. 
 Dr. Ham- 
 mond, 
 
 creeping 
 things. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 they were made ; he commanded, and 
 tliey were created. 
 
 6 He hath made them fast for 
 ever and ever : he hath given them 
 a law which shall not be broken. 
 
 7 Praise the Lord upon earths : 
 ye dragons, and all deeps ; 
 
 8 Fire and hail\ snow and va- 
 pours : wind and storm, fulfilling- his 
 word ; 
 
 9 Mountains and all hills' : fruit- 
 ful trees and all cedars ; 
 
 10 Beasts and all cattle : worms 
 and feathered fowls ; 
 
 11 Kings of the earth'' and all 
 people : princes and all judges of 
 the world ; 
 
 12 Young men and maidens, old 
 men and children, praise the Name 
 of the Lord : for his Name only is 
 excellent, and his praise above hea- 
 ven and earth. 
 
 1-3 He shall exalt the horn of his 
 
 obedience in our lives ; that so we may, both by word 
 and deed, glorify, with them, the Creator and Redeemer 
 of the uni\erse. Bp. Home. 
 
 « ". Praise the Lord upon earth : &c.] From heaven 
 above, the Psalmist descendeth to the deep beneath, 
 which, while it proclaims the power, observes the laws 
 and decrees, of llirn, who made it, and poured it abroad. 
 And the same may be said of its enormous inhabitants, 
 which are under the command of Jehovali, and of none 
 but Him. Bp. Home. 
 
 ^ S. Fire and hail, &c.] These are so many messen- 
 gers, always ready to go forth, at the command of the 
 Most High, for the jjurposes of mercy, or judgment. 
 They praise and glorify God after their manner, while 
 they " fiiUil his word" upon the earth. Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 9. Moiniluiiis and all hills: &c.] AMio shall ever 
 imderstand ajid comprehend all the wisdom of God 
 displayed in the vegetable world, froin the cedar to the 
 hyssop ; in the animal, from the elephant to the |)ismire, 
 from the eagle to the sparrow ? 'I'he more we study 
 them, the more we shall find Him glorified in them ; and 
 the more, on that account, will He be glorified by us, 
 Up. Home. 
 
 " 11, 12. Kings of the earth &c.] After the whole 
 creation hath lieen called upon to praise Jehovah ; man, 
 for whom the whole was made ; man, the last and most 
 I)erfect work of (iod ; man, that hath been since re- 
 deemed by the blood of the Son of God incarnate, is 
 exhorted to join and fill up the universal chorus of 
 heaven and cartli. as being connected with both worlds, 
 that which now is, and that which is to come. Persons 
 of every degree, of each se.\, and of every age; "kings," 
 whose power God bath made an image of his own, and 
 who are the suns of their respective systems ; "judges," 
 and magistrates of all kinds, who derive their jjower, 
 as tlic moon and planets do their light, from its 
 original source; "young men and maidens," in the 
 ilower of health, strength, and beauty; "oltl men," 
 who have accomplished their warfare, and are going 
 out of life ; " children." who are jtist come into it, and 
 sec every thing new liefore them : all these liavc their 
 several reasons for " praising the Lord, whose name is 
 
 people'; all his saints shall praise 
 him : even the children of Israel, 
 even the people that serveth him. 
 
 PSALM cxlix." 
 
 Cantate Domino. 
 
 Lord a new 
 
 OSing unto the 
 song" : let the 
 of saints praise him. 
 
 2 Let Israel rejoice in him that 
 made him : and let the children of 
 Sion be joyful in their King. 
 
 3 Let them praise his Name in the 
 dance : let them sing praises unto 
 him with tabret and harp. 
 
 4 For the Lord hath pleasure in 
 his people : and helpeth the meek- 
 hearted. 
 
 5 Let the saints be joyful with 
 glory : let them rejoice in their beds. 
 
 6 Let the jiraises of God be in 
 their mouth" : and a two-edged sword 
 in their hands ; 
 
 with tri- 
 umph. Bi\ 
 Paltick. 
 in the seen 
 rity and 
 peace Iie- 
 stowcd on 
 tliein. B/j. 
 Patrick. 
 
 excellent, and his glory above heaven and earth." Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 13. He shall exalt the horn of his people ; &c.] As 
 men, above all other creatures, so, above other men, 
 the " Israel " of God, the " jieople " that are admitted 
 to draw " near unto him," in his house, by faith and 
 charity, liy prayer and participation of the sacraments, 
 are bound to praise Hiin, who now " exalteth " them 
 from sin to righteousness, and will hereafter e.xalt them 
 from dust to glory. Bp. Home. 
 
 '" Ps.\LM exlix.] This Psalm was a solemn form of 
 thanksgiving for God's people for a signal victory 
 afforded them by Him ; and it mystically contains the 
 eminent honour of God to his church, and the eon- 
 quest of the (Christian faith o\er the heathen potentates. 
 Dr. Hammond. 
 
 The children of Sion are excited, 1 — 3, to rejoice, 
 and sing the ])raises of their King, on account, 4, of 
 the salvation which He has already wrought for them, 
 and which will hereafter be completed in them, when, 
 .'), they shall enter his rest, and, (i — 0, trium])h with 
 Him over the persecuting jimvers of the world, and all 
 the op])osers of Christ, on whom will then be executed 
 the judgment written. Bp. Home. 
 
 " 1 — :i. sing unto the Lord a new song: &c.] 
 Christians are now the jieople, to whom belong the 
 names and characters of " saints, Israel, and children 
 of Sion." They "sing" this holy "song," as the 
 Psalmist bath enjoincil them to do. They sing it 
 "new" in its evangelical sense, as new men, celebrating 
 new victories, new and greater mercies, a S])iritiial 
 salvation, an eternal redemption. 'i'bcy " rejoice," 
 with hearts, voices, instnunents, and every other token 
 of joy, " in him who hath made," or created thetn 
 again, in righteousness and true holiness ; they are 
 "joyful in their King," who hath Himself overcome, 
 and is now leading them on to final conquest and 
 triumiih, to honour and iimiiortality. Bp. Home. 
 
 ° — 9. Let the praises of God be in Ihiir mouth : &c.] 
 Let that sword of the Spirit, even that two-edged 
 sword, which di\'idetb the hearts and reins, the word 
 of truth, be in the motiths an<I bands of his holy ones :
 
 Day 30. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 
 
 To execute 
 upon tliL-in 
 the jud«e- 
 lllent writ- 
 ten. Bib. 
 Trans. 
 
 sanctuary. 
 Si4. Tram. 
 
 for hi3 
 niitjlity acts. 
 B:b. Trans. 
 
 7 To be avenged of the lieatliezi : 
 and to rebuke the j)eo|)lc ; 
 
 8 To bind tlu'ir kiiiifs in cliains : 
 and tlieir ii()i)les with links of iron. 
 
 9 Tliat they may be avenged of 
 them, as it is written : Such honour 
 have all his saints. 
 
 PSALM cl.p Laudate Dominum. 
 
 O Praise God in his liolinessi : 
 praise him in the firmament of 
 Ids power. 
 
 2 Praise him in liis noble acts"^ : 
 
 which powerful word of his, in the mouths of his faith- 
 ful messengers, shall be able to confound and restrain 
 the most furious tyrants of the earth, and liring the 
 great potentates of the world in huinl)le subjection to 
 the Gospel of peace ; and, upon their perverseness and 
 obstinate continuance in their sins, to denounce against 
 them those judgments, which are written in the book 
 of God. Uehold, then, what honour God hath put 
 upon his saints, to be so powerful agents both in 
 mercy and judgments. Bp. Hall. 
 
 Thus hath the faith of Christ been assisted by God, 
 and prospered and jiropagated wonderfully, till it sub- 
 dued the greatest princes and empires of the world to 
 the sceptre of Christ. Dr. Hammond. But the scene, 
 of which we have here a pro])hetical exhibition, will 
 more completely take i)lace after the resiurection, when 
 the saints shall be called to sit on thrones, as assessors, 
 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3, at the condemnation of their once in- 
 sulting persecutors, who will be cut asuntler, with the 
 " two-edged sword," and bound with indissoluble 
 chains. Thus will be executed upon them the eternal 
 "judgment written " and announced against the ene- 
 mies of Messiah, in the Scriptures of truth. " This 
 honour will all his saints then have." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' Psalm cl.] The Psalmist exhorteth men to praise 
 Jehovah, I, for his holiness, and the firmament of his 
 power, 2, for the wonders of his might, and for his ex- 
 cellent greatness, 3 — 5, with all kinds of musick. 0, 
 He concludeth his divine book of praises, by calling 
 upon every thing that hath breath, to employ that 
 breath in declaring the glory of Him who gave it. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' I. O praise God in his holiness: &c.] If our trans- 
 lation be retained, the meaning is, that God should be 
 praised in the "sanctuary," or temple, below, and 
 likewise in " heaven " above : the former being planned 
 and constructed as a resemblance of the latter. But 
 the context rather, perhajis, requires us to suppose 
 the Psalmist giving the reasons why God should be 
 praised; namely, on account of "his holiness," and of 
 his "power;" which power is more especially disjjlayed 
 in the formation of the " firmament," or " expansion," 
 of the material heavens, and their incessant operations, 
 by means of the light and the air of which they are 
 composed, upon the earth and all things therein. Bp. 
 Home. 
 
 ' 2. Praise him in his nohle acts : &c.] " Noble and 
 mighty " were the " acts " which God wrought for 
 Israel, and " great" was the Holy One in the midst of 
 his ancient people ; but far mightier acts did He per- 
 form in Christ Jesus, for the redemption of the world ; 
 and more " excellent greatness " hath He manifested 
 in the conversion of the nations, the overthrow of 
 paganism, and the erection and preservation of the 
 
 661 
 
 excel- 
 
 raise him in the sound of tlic 
 praise him u|)on the lute 
 
 praise him according to liis 
 lent greatness 
 
 :i P 
 trumpet 
 and harj). 
 
 4 Praise him in the cymbals and 
 dances : praise him upon the strings 
 and pipe. 
 
 5 Praise him upon the well-tuned 
 cymbals : praise him upon the loud 
 cymbals. 
 
 6 Let every thing that hath 
 breath ' : praise the Lord. 
 
 with. Hill. 
 Trans, 
 
 witli. 
 
 llilt. Trans. 
 
 Christian church. O that her gratitude bore some 
 proportion to his goodness ! Bp. Home. 
 
 ' 3 — 5. Praise him in the sound of the trumpet : &c.] 
 It is impossiljle for us to distinguish and describe the 
 several sorts of musical instruments here mentioned, as 
 the Hebrews themselves acknowledge their ignorance 
 in this particular. Thus inuch is clear, that the people 
 of God are enjoined to use all the various kinds of 
 them, in the ])erformance of their divine services. And 
 why should they not be so used under the Gospel ? 
 We read of sacred musick before the Law, in the in- 
 stance of " Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron," 
 who, to celebrate the deliverance from Pharaoh and the 
 Egy[)tian3, "took a timbrel in her hand, and the women 
 went out after her, with timbrels and dances," Exod. 
 XV. 20. The custom, therefore, was not introduced by 
 the Law, nor abolished with it. Well-regulated musick, 
 if ever it had the power of calming the passions, if ever 
 it enlivened and exalted the affections of men in the 
 worship of God, (purposes for which it was formerly 
 employed,) doubtless hath still the same power, and 
 can still afford the same aids to devotion. When the 
 beloved disciple was, in sjjirit, admitted into the celestial 
 choir, he not only heard them " singing " hymns of 
 praise, but he heard likewise "the voice of harpers 
 harping upon their harps," Rev. xiv. 2. And why that, 
 which saints are represented as doing in heaven, should 
 not be done, according to their skill and ability, by 
 saints upon earth ; or why instrumental musick should 
 be abolished as a legal ceremony, and vocal musick, 
 which was as much so, should be retained, no good 
 reason can be assigned. Sacred musick, under proper 
 regulations, removes the hindrances of our devotion, 
 cures the distraction of our thoughts, and banishes 
 weariness from our minds. It adds solemnity to the 
 publick service, raises all the devout passions in the 
 soul, and causes our duty to become our delight. " Of 
 the pleasures of heaven," says the eloquent and elegant 
 Bishop Atterbiu-y, " nothing further is revealed to us, 
 than that they consist in the practice of holy musick, 
 and holy love ; the joint enjoyment of which, we are 
 told, is to be the happy lot of all pious souls to endless 
 ages." Bp. Home. 
 
 ' G. Let every thing that hath breath : &c.] The breath 
 of natiu-al life, which God hath breathed into our 
 nostrils, and the breath of that new and eternal life, 
 which He hath given us through Christ Jesus our 
 Lord, should be returned in hallelujahs. And then 
 the church, composed of many and ditferent members, 
 all actuated, like the pipes of a well-tuned organ, by 
 the same spirit, and conspiring together in perfect 
 harmony, would become one great instrument sound- 
 ing forth the praises of God most high. Bp. Home.
 
 FORMS OF PRAYER 
 
 TO BE USED AT SEA% 
 
 % The Morning and Evening Service to be used daily at Sea shall be the same 
 which is appointed in the Book of Common Prayer. 
 
 Ps. Ixxxix. 
 
 9. 
 
 Job xxvi, 10. 
 
 Pa. Ixv. 7; 
 xviii. 48. 
 
 I Tim. ii. 2. 
 
 Deut. xxxiii. 
 13; xxviii. 8. 
 Ps. cxxviii. 
 2. Isa. ill. 10. 
 
 Ps. XXX. 4; 
 xcvii 12. 
 P». lixxvi. 
 e. 12. 
 
 H These fvo follotving Prayers are to be also 
 tised in her Majesty's Nary etery day. 
 
 O Eternal Lord God, who alone 
 spreadest out the heavens, and 
 riilest the raging of tlie sea ; who 
 liast comjiassed the waters with 
 bounds until day and night come to 
 an end; I'e pleased to receivd into 
 thy Almighty and most gracious pro- 
 tection the persons of us thy servants, 
 and the Fleet in which we serve. 
 •Preserve us from the dangers of the 
 sea, and from the violence of the 
 enemy ; that we may be a safeguard 
 unto our most gracious Sovereign 
 Lady Queen J'lCTORIA, and her 
 Dominions, and a security for such 
 as pass on the seas upon their lawful 
 occasions ; that the inhabitants of 
 our Island may in peace and quiet- 
 ness serve thee our God ; and that 
 we may return in safety to enjoy 
 tlie blessings of the land, with the 
 fruits of our labours, and with a 
 thankful remembrance of thy mercies 
 to praise and glorify thy holy Name; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 PR EVENT us, O Lord, in all 
 our doings, with thy most gra- 
 cious favour, and further us with thy 
 continual help ; that in all our works 
 begun, continued, and ended in thee. 
 
 ■• Forms of Prayer to he used at Sea."] These were 
 
 first added nt the lust review, l)ut ncit (losiKncd for a 
 com])lclc oflicp, nor oorn])ris('<l in any regular inilliod ; 
 but arc, all of (licin, cxrcpt tlie two lirst which arc "to 
 be used daily in her Majesty's Navy," occasional fonns, 
 
 we may glorify thy holy Name, and 
 finally by thy mercy obtain ever- 
 lasting life; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 f Prarjers to be used in Storms at Sea. 
 
 OjNIost powerful and glorious 
 Lord God, at whose command 
 the winds blow, and lift up the waves 
 of the sea, and who stillest the rage 
 thereof ; We thy creatures, but 
 miserable sinners, do in this our 
 great distress cry unto thee for help : 
 Save, Lord, or else we perish. We 
 confess, when we have been safe, 
 and seen all things quiet about us, 
 we liave forgot thee our God, and 
 refused to hearken to the still voice 
 of thy word, and to obey thy coni- 
 maiidmeiits : Hut now we sec, how 
 terrible thou art in all thy works of 
 wonder ; the great God to be feared 
 above all : And therefore we adore 
 thy Divine Majesty, acknowledging 
 thy power, and imploring thy good- 
 ness. Help, Lord, and sa>e us for 
 thy mercy's sake in Jesus Christ thy 
 Son, our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Ps. cxlvii. 
 15. 18; xciii. 
 3; Ixxxix. 9. 
 
 Ps. cxli. I ; 
 Ixi. 2 ; xviil. 
 6; cix. 2G; 
 XX 0. 
 Mali. xiv. 
 SO; viii. 25. 
 Dfut. vi. 
 10—12; viii. 
 10, II. 14. 
 Ps. 1. 22; 
 xliv. 17. 
 Jer. xiii. 10. 
 ZtTll vii. II. 
 1 Kings xix. 
 12. 
 
 I"s Ixvi. 3; 
 cxlv. .5, C : 
 xcv. 3 ; xcvi. 
 4; Ixxvi. II. 
 Ps. cxlv. 5 — 
 7. 10, 11. 
 
 Ps. clx. 20; 
 cxv. 1. 
 
 Or this. 
 
 OMost glorious and gracious Eiod.iv.ii. 
 Lord God, who dwellest in 1.5. 
 heaven, but beholdest all things is^'h^xi.' 
 below; Look down, we beseech ■*'*"• ^• 
 
 to be used as the circumstances of their affairs require ; 
 and are so well adajitcd to tlu'ir scx'cral occasions, that 
 any one who observes them will sec their suitableness 
 without any illustration. Wheatfy,
 
 FORMS OF PRAYER TO BE USED AT SEA. 
 
 663 
 
 Ps. cxxx. I. 
 Joiiali ii. 2, .1. 
 Vn. cxvi. 3, 4. 
 
 Matt, viii 25. 
 
 Isa. xxxvhi. 
 
 19. 
 
 Vs. cxlvii, 
 
 15. 18. 
 
 Matt. viii. 25, 
 
 2fi. 
 
 Ps. Ixxxvi. 
 !>. 12. 
 
 Pa. XXX. 10. 
 
 Ps. ix. 4. 
 
 Ps. X. 10. 
 C. P. T. 
 1 Sam. xxiv. 
 12. 15. 
 
 Ps. Ixxx. 2. 
 
 1 Sam. xvil. 
 
 47. 
 
 Kccles. ix. 
 
 11. 
 
 1 Sam. xiv. 
 
 6. 
 
 Gen. iv. 10. 
 
 Ps. Ixi. 3 ; 
 xxi. 1:! ; 
 xxxi. 2. 
 Isa. xlix. 20. 
 Ps. xl. 17; 
 cxliv. 2. 
 
 Ps. xli. 4 I 
 cxv. 1. 
 
 Prov. xvi. 4. 
 
 Nch. ix. 0. 
 
 Acts xvii. 24. 
 
 2 Chron. xx. 
 
 6. 
 
 Ps. Ixxix. 9. 
 
 Ps. cxLx. 175. 
 
 Ps. XXXV. 1 
 
 xliii. I. 
 
 tliee, and hear us, calling' out of tlie 
 depth of misery, and out of the jaws 
 of this death, which is ready now to 
 swallow us up : Save, Lord, or else 
 we perish. The living, the living, 
 shall praise thee. O send thy word 
 of command to rebuke the raging 
 winds, and the roaring sea ; that we, 
 being delivered from this distress, 
 may live to serve thee, and to glorify 
 thy Name all the days of our life. 
 Hear, Lord, and save u,s, for the 
 infinite merits of our blessed Saviour, 
 thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Amen. 
 
 _t The Prayer to be said before a Fight at Sea 
 against any Enemy. 
 
 OMost powerful and glorious 
 Lord God, the Lord of hosts, 
 that rulest and commandest all 
 things ; Thou sittest in the throne 
 judging right, and therefore we make 
 our address to thy Divine Majesty 
 in this our necessity, that thou 
 wouldest take the cause into thine 
 own hand, and judge between us and 
 our enemies. Stir up thy strength, 
 O Lord, and come and help us ; for 
 thou givest not alway the battle to 
 the .strong, but canst save by many 
 or by few. O let not our sins now 
 cry against us for vengeance ; but 
 liear us thy poor servants begging 
 mercy, and imploring thy help, and 
 that thou wouldest be a defence unto 
 us against the face of the enemy. 
 Make it appear that thou art our 
 Saviour and mighty Deliverer, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 t Short Prayers for single persons, that can- 
 not meet to join in Prayer with others, by 
 reason of the Fight or Storm. 
 
 General Prayers. 
 
 LORD, be merciful to us 
 ner.s, and save us for 
 mercy's sake. 
 
 Thou art the great God that hast 
 made and rulest all things : O de- 
 liver us for thy Name's sake. 
 
 Thou art the great God, to be 
 feared above all : O save us, that we 
 may praise thee. 
 
 Special Prayers with respect to the 
 Enemy. 
 I H O U, O Lord, art j ust and 
 I powerful : O defend our cause 
 against the face of the enemy. 
 
 sin- 
 thy 
 
 m] 
 
 O God, thou art a strong tower ps. xviii. 2, 
 of defence to all that flee unto thee: ^'- '"'•«•'• 
 O save us from the violence of the 
 enemy. 
 
 O Lord of hosts, fight for us, that 
 we may glorify thee. 
 
 O suffer us not to sink under the 
 weight of our sins, or the violence of 
 the enemy. 
 
 O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver 
 us for thy Name's sake. 
 
 Short Prayers in re.tpect of a Storm. 
 
 THOU, O Lord, that stillest the 
 raging of the sea, hear, hear us, 
 and save us, that we perish not. 
 
 O blessed Saviour, that didst save 
 thy disciples ready to perish in a J'""- '"'• 
 storm, hear us, and save us, we be- i^iark iv. 37. 
 seech thee. Lukevui.23. 
 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Christ, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 O Lord, hear us. 
 
 O Christ, hear us. 
 
 God the Father, God the Son, 
 God the Holy Ghost, have mercy 
 u])on us, save us now and evermore. 
 Amen. 
 
 OU R Father, which art in hea- 
 ven. Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth. As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses, As 
 we forgive them that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into temp- 
 tation ; But deliver us from evil : 
 For thine is the kingdom. The power, 
 and the glory. For ever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 IT When there shall he imminent danger, as 
 many as can be spared from necessary 
 service in the Ship shall he called together, 
 and make an humble Confession of their sin 
 to God: In which every one ought seriously 
 to reflect upon those particular sins of 
 which his conscience shall accuse him; 
 saying as followelh. 
 
 The Confession. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker 
 of all things. Judge of all men ; We 
 acknowledge and bewail our manifold 
 sins and wickedness. Which we, from 
 time to time, most grievously have 
 committed, By thought, word, and 
 deed, against thy Divine Majesty, 
 Provoking most justly thy wrath and
 
 664 
 
 FORMS OF PRAYER TO BE USED AT SEA. 
 
 indignation against us. We do ear- 
 nestly repent, And are heartily sorry 
 for these our misdoings; The remem- 
 brance of them is grievous unto us ; 
 The liurden of them is intolerable. 
 Have mercy upon us, Have mercy 
 upon us, most merciful Father ; For 
 thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's salve, 
 Forgive us all that is past ; And 
 grant that we may ever hereafter 
 Serve and please thee In newness of 
 life. To the honour and glory of thy 
 Name ; Through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 1 Then shall the Priest, if there be any in the 
 Ship, pronounce this Absolution. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, our hea- 
 venly Father, who of his great 
 mercy hath promised forgiveness of 
 sins to all them that with hearty re- 
 pentance and true faith turn unto 
 him ; Have mercy upon you ; pardon 
 and deliver you from all your sins ; 
 confirm and strengthen you in all 
 goodness, and bring j'ou to everlast- 
 ing life ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen, 
 
 Thanksgiving after a Storm. 
 
 Jubilate Deo. Psalm Ixvi. 
 
 OBe joyful in God, all ye lands : 
 sing praises unto the honour of 
 his Name, make his praise to be 
 glorious. 
 
 Say unto God, O how wonderful 
 art thou in thy works : through the 
 greatness of thy power shall thine 
 enemies be found liars unto thee. 
 
 For all the world shall worship 
 thee : sing of thee, and praise thy 
 Name. 
 
 O come hither, and behold the 
 works of God : how wonderful he is 
 in his doing toward the children of 
 men. 
 
 He turned the sea into dry land : 
 80 that they went through the water 
 on foot; there did we rejoice thereof. 
 
 He ruleth with his jiower for ever; 
 liis eyes behold the jieojjlc : and such 
 as will not believe shall not be able 
 to e.xalt themselves. 
 
 O praise our God, yc people : and 
 make the voice of his jjraise to be 
 lieard ; 
 
 Who holdeth our soul in life : and 
 suffercth not our feet to slip. 
 
 For thou, O God, hast proved us : 
 thou also hast tried us, like as silver 
 is tried. 
 
 Thou broughtest us into the snare : 
 and laidest trouble upon our loins. 
 
 Thou sufferedst men to ride over 
 our heads : we went through fire and 
 water, and thou broughtest us out 
 into a wealthy place. 
 
 I will go into thine house with 
 burnt-offerings : and will pay tliee 
 my vows, which I promised with my 
 lips, and spake with my mouth, when 
 I was in trouble. 
 
 I will ofi'er unto thee fat burnt- 
 sacrifices, with the incense of rams : 
 I will offer bullocks and goats. 
 
 come hither, and hearken, all 
 ye that fear God : and I will tell you 
 what he hath done for my soul. 
 
 1 called unto him with my mouth : 
 and gave him praises with my 
 tongue. 
 
 If I incline inito wickedness with 
 mine heart : the Lord will not hear 
 me. 
 
 But God hatli lieard me : and 
 considered the voice of my prayer. 
 
 Praised be God who hath not cast 
 out my prayer : nor turned his mercy 
 from me. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 Coiifitemini Domino. Psalm cvii. 
 
 OGive thanks unto the Lord, for 
 he is gracious : and his mercy 
 endureth for ever. 
 
 Let them give thanks whom the 
 Lord hath redeemed : and delivered 
 from the hand of the enemy; 
 
 And gathered them out of the 
 lands, from the east, and from the 
 west : from the north, and from the 
 south. 
 
 They went astray in the wilder- 
 ness out of the way : and found no 
 city to dwell in ; 
 
 Hungry and thirsty : their soul 
 fainted in them. 
 
 So they cried unto the Lord in 
 their trouble : and he delivered them 
 from their distress. 
 
 He led them forth by the right 
 way : that they might go to the city 
 where they dwelt.
 
 FORMS OF PRAYER TO BE USED AT SEA. 
 
 f)G5 
 
 O that men would therefore jiraise 
 the Lord for liis noodiiess : and de- 
 clare the wonders that he doeth for 
 the children of men ! 
 
 For he satisfieth the empty soul : 
 and fiUeth the hungry soul with 
 goodness. 
 
 Such as sit in darkness, and in tlie 
 shadow of death : being fast bound 
 in misery and iron ; 
 
 Because they rebelled against the 
 words of the Lord : and lightly 
 regarded the counsel of the Most 
 Highest ; 
 
 He also brought down their heart 
 through heaviness : they fell down, 
 and there was none to help them. 
 
 So when they cried unto the Lord 
 in their trouble : he delivered them 
 out of their distress. 
 
 For he brought them out of 
 darkness, and out of the shadow of 
 death : and brake their bonds in 
 sunder. 
 
 O that men would therefore praise 
 the Lord for his goodness : and de- 
 clare the wonders that lie doeth for 
 the children of men ! 
 
 For he hath broken the gates of 
 brass : and smitten the bars of iron 
 in sunder. 
 
 Foolish men are plagued for their 
 offence : and because of their wicked- 
 ness. 
 
 Their soul abhorred all manner of 
 meat : and they were even hard at 
 death's door. 
 
 So when they cried unto the 
 Lord in their trouble : he delivered 
 them out of their distress. 
 
 He sent his word, and healed 
 them : and they were saved from 
 their destruction. 
 
 O that men would therefore praise 
 the Lord for his goodness : and de- 
 clare the wonders that he doeth for 
 the children of men ! 
 
 That they would offer unto him 
 the sacrifice of thanksgiving : and 
 tell out his works with gladness ! 
 
 They that go down to the sea 
 in ships : and occupy their business 
 in great waters ; 
 
 These men see the works of the 
 Lord : and his wonders in the deep. 
 
 For at his word the stormy wind 
 ariseth : which lifteth up the waves 
 thereof. 
 
 They are carried up to the hea- 
 
 ven, and down again to the deep : 
 their soul inclteth away because of 
 the trouble. 
 
 'i'liey reel to and fro, and stagger 
 like a drunken man : and are at 
 their wit's end. 
 
 So when they cry unto the Lord 
 in their troul>le : he delivereth them 
 out of their distress. 
 
 P'or he maketh the storm to 
 cease : so that the waves thereof are 
 still. 
 
 Then are they glad, because they 
 are at rest : and so he bringeth them 
 unto the haven where they would 
 be. 
 
 O that men would tlierefore praise 
 the Lord for his goodness : and de- 
 clare the wonders that he doeth for 
 tiie children of men ! 
 
 That they would exalt him also 
 in the congregation of the people : 
 and praise him in the seat of the 
 elders ! 
 
 Who turneth the floods into a wil- 
 derness : and drieth up the water- 
 springs. 
 
 A fruitful land maketh he barren : 
 for the wickedness of them that dwell 
 therein. 
 
 Again, he maketh the wilderness 
 a standing water : and water-springs 
 of a dry ground. 
 
 And there he setteth the hungry : 
 that they may build them a city to 
 dwell in ; 
 
 That they may sow their land, 
 and plant vineyards : to yield them 
 fruits of increase. 
 
 He blesseth them, so that they 
 multiply exceedingly : and suffereth 
 not their cattle to decrease. 
 
 And again, when they are mi- 
 nished, and brought low : through 
 oppression, through any plague, or 
 trouble ; 
 
 Though he suffer them to be evil 
 intreated through tyrants : and let 
 them wander out of die way in the 
 wilderness ; 
 
 Yet helpeth he the poor out of 
 misery : and maketh him households 
 like a flock of sheep. 
 
 The righteous will consider this, 
 and rejoice : and the moutli of all 
 wickedness shall be stopped. 
 
 Whoso is wise will ponder these 
 things : and they shall understand the 
 loving-kindness of the Lord.
 
 666 
 
 FORMS OF PRAYER TO BE USED AT SEA. 
 
 Ps xxili. 6. 
 
 Ps. Ixvi. 9 ; 
 XXXV. 17. 
 
 Ps. cvii. 22; 
 cxvi. 17. 
 
 Ps. cvii. fi. 
 U. IS). 28. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 As it was in the beginninu^, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 Collects of Tlianksgiving. 
 
 OMost blessed and glorious Lord 
 God, who art of infinite good- 
 ness and mercy ; We thy poor 
 creatures, whom thou hast made 
 and preserved, holding our souls in 
 life, and now rescuing us out of the 
 jaws of death, humbly present our- 
 selves again before thy Divine Ma- 
 jesty, to offer a sacrifice of praise 
 and thanksgiving, for that thou 
 lieardest us when we called in our 
 trouble, and didst not cast out our 
 prayer, which we made before thee 
 in our great distress : Even when we 
 gave all for lost, our ship, our goods, 
 our lives, then didst thou mercifull)' 
 look upon us, and wonderfully com- 
 mand a deliverance; for which we, 
 now being in safety, do give all 
 prai.se and glory to ll.y holy Name; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 o 
 
 Ps. cxlv. 9. 
 
 Ps. cxlv. 6 
 cvii. 24. 
 
 Or this, 
 INIost mighty and gracious good 
 _ God, thy mercy is over all thy 
 work.s, init in special manner hath 
 been extended toward us, whom 
 thou hast so powerfully and wonder- 
 fully defended. Thou hast .shewed 
 us terrible things, and wonders in 
 the deep, that we might see how 
 j)0werful and gracious a God thou 
 Ps. cvii. 31. art ; how able and rea<ly to iielp 
 Ps. xxxi. 13. them that trust in thee. Thou hast 
 shewed us how both winds and seas 
 p«. cvii. 25; obey thy command; that we may 
 cxivii. 18; learn, even from them, hereafter to 
 obey thy voice, and to do thy will. 
 We therefore bless and glorify thy 
 Name, for this thy mercy in saving 
 us, when we were ready to perish. 
 And, we beseech thee, make us as 
 truly sensii)le now of thy mercy, as 
 we were then of the danger : and 
 give us hearts always ready to ex- 
 press our thankfulness, not only by 
 words, but also by our lives, in i)eing 
 more obedient to thy holy command- 
 ments. Coiitimie, we beseech liu'c, 
 this thy goodness to us ; that we, 
 whom thou hast saved, may serve 
 
 cxlv 
 
 thee in holiness and righteousness 
 all the days of our life ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. 
 Arncn. 
 
 An Hymn nf Praise and Thanksgiving 
 after a dangerous Tempest. 
 
 OCome, let us give thanks unto 
 the Lord, for he is gracious : 
 and his mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 Great is the Lord, and greatly to 
 be praised ; let the redeemed of the 
 Lord say so : whom he hath de- 
 livered from the merciless rage of 
 the sea. 
 
 The Lord is gracious and full of 
 compassion 
 great mercy. 
 
 Ps. cvii. 1. 
 
 slow to anger, and of joei u. is. 
 
 He hath not dealt with us ac- 
 cording to our sins : neither re- 
 warded us according to our ini- 
 quities. 
 
 But as the heaven is high above 
 the earth : so great hath been his 
 mercy towards us. 
 
 We found troulile and heaviness : 
 we were even at death's door. 
 
 The waters of the sea had well- 
 nigh covered us : the proud waters 
 had well-nigh gone over our soul. 
 
 The sea roared : and the stormy 
 wind lifted up the waves thereof. 
 
 We were carried up as it were to 
 heaven, and then down again into 
 the deep : our soul melted within us, 
 because of trouble ; 
 
 Then cried we unto thee, O Lord : 
 and thou didst deliver us out of our 
 distress. 
 
 Blessed be thy Name, who didst 
 not despise the ]irayer of thy ser- 
 vants : but didst hear our cry, and 
 hast saved us. 
 
 Thou didst send forth thy com- 
 mandment : and the windy storm 
 ceased, and was turned into a calm. 
 
 O let us therefore praise the Lord 
 for his goodness : and declare the 
 wonders that he hath done, and still 
 doeth for the children of men. 
 
 Praised be the Lord daily : even 
 the Lord that helpeth us, and poureth 
 his benefits upon us. 
 
 He is our God, even the God of 
 whom Cometh .salvation : (iod is the 
 Lord by whom we have escaped 
 death. 
 
 'I'hoii, Lord, liast made us glad 
 
 Ps. 
 
 ciii. 11. 
 
 Ps. 
 
 cxvi. 3. 
 
 Ps 
 
 evil. 18. 
 
 Ps 
 
 cxxiv. 4. 
 
 Ps 
 
 cvii. 25. 
 
 Ps 
 
 cvii, 26. 
 
 Ps 
 
 cvii. 28. 
 
 Ps 
 
 cii. 17. 
 
 Ps 
 
 xxxiv. e 
 
 Ps 
 
 cxlvii. 
 
 l^. 
 
 
 Ps 
 
 evil. 29. 
 
 I's. evil. 8.
 
 FORMS OF PRAYER TO BE USED AT SEA. 
 
 (K)7 
 
 la. 
 
 Ps. xcii. 1. through the operation of tliy Iiaiuls : 
 and we will triumjjli in thy praise. 
 
 Blessed be the Lord God : even 
 the Lord God, wjio only doeth won- 
 drous things ; 
 
 And blessed be tlie Name of his 
 Ps. ixxii. 18, Majesty for ever : and let every one 
 of us say, Amen, Amen. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 2 Cor. xiii. 
 
 H E grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and the love of God, and 
 the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be 
 with us all evermore. Amen. 
 
 T 
 
 Jfler Victor)/ or Deliverance from an 
 Eneiny. 
 
 A Psalm or Hymn of PraisJ and 
 Tlianksgiving after Victory. 
 
 Ps. cxxiv. 1, "T F the Lord had not been on our 
 2. 4, 5. J^ s\([e, now may we say : if the 
 
 Lord himself had not been on our 
 side, when men rose up against us ; 
 
 They had swallowed us up quick : 
 when they were so wrathfully dis- 
 pleased at us. 
 
 Yea, the waters had drowned us, 
 and the stream had gone over our 
 soul : the deep waters of the proud 
 had gone over our soul. 
 
 But praised be the Lord : who 
 hath not given us over as a prey 
 unto them. 
 
 The Lord hath wrought : a mighty 
 salvation for us. 
 
 We gat not this by our own sword, 
 neither was it our own arm that 
 saved us : but thy right hand, and 
 thine arm, and the light of thy coun- 
 Ps. xiiv. 3. tenance, because thou hadst a favour 
 unto us. 
 
 The Lord hath appeared for us : 
 the Lord hath covered our heads, 
 Ps. cxi. 7. and made us to stand in the day of 
 battle. 
 
 The Lord hath appeared for us : 
 the Lord hath overthrown our ene- 
 Ps. ii. 9; mies, and dashed in pieces those that 
 '"• '■ rose up against us. 
 
 Therefore not unto us, O Lord, 
 Ps. cxv. 1. not unto us : but unto thy Name be 
 given the glory. 
 
 1 Sam. xl. 
 Luke i. 60. 
 
 Tlie Lord hath done great things 
 for us : the Lord hath done great ps. cxxvi. a. 
 things for us, for which we rejoice. 
 
 Our help standeth in the Name 
 of the Lord : who hath made heaven fs. cxxi. 2. 
 and earth. 
 
 Blessed be the Name of the Lord : 
 from this time forth for evermore. I's- '■xiii. i. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 1[ After this Hymn may le sung the 
 Te Deum. 
 
 f Then this Collect. 
 
 O Almighty God, the Sovereign 
 Commander of all the world, 
 in whose hand is power and might 
 which none is able to withstand ; 2 chron. xx. 
 We bless and magnify thy great ^' 
 and glorious Name for this happy ps. ixix. 30 ; 
 Victory, the whole glory whereof ""• '■ 
 we do ascribe to thee, who art the Ps. ixn. 1, 2; 
 only giver of Victory. And, we IchVon. 
 beseech thee, give us tfrace to im- J^i" "■ , 
 
 'to o 2 Kings V. 1. 
 
 ]irove this great mercy to thy glory, itarg. Tram. 
 the advancement of thy Gospel, the 
 honour of our Sovereign, and, as 
 much as in us lieth, to the good of Oai. vi. 10. 
 all mankind. And, we beseech thee, 
 give us such a sense of this great 
 mercy, as may engage us to a true 
 thankfulness, such as may appear 
 in our lives by an humble, holy, and 
 obedient walking before thee all our 
 days, through Jesus Christ our Lord; 
 to whom with thee and the Holy 
 Spirit, as for all thy mercies, so in 
 ])articular for this Victory and De- ps. xviii.so; 
 iiverance, be all glory and honour, '^^^"' '"• 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
 2 Cor. xiii. 
 
 TH E grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and the love of God, and 
 the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be 
 with us all evermore. Amen. 
 
 At the Burial of their D'od at Sea. 
 
 f The office in the Common Prayer Book may 
 be used; only instead of these words [We 
 therefore commit his body to the ground, 
 earth to earth, &c.] say, 
 
 WE therefore commit his body 
 to the deep, to be turned
 
 668 
 
 FORMS OF PRAYER TO BE USED AT SEA. 
 
 Dan. X. 8. 
 Joiiah ii C. 
 1 Cor XV. 4?. 
 Rev. XX. 13. 
 
 into corruption, looking for the re- 
 surrection of the body, (when the 
 Sea shall give up her dead,) and the 
 life of the world to come, through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ; who at his 
 
 coming shall change our vile body, 
 that it may be like his glorious body, 
 according to the mighty working, 
 whereby he is able to subdue all 
 things to himself.
 
 THE 
 
 FORM AND MANNER 
 
 ov 
 
 MAKING, ORDAINING, AND CONSECRATING 
 
 BISHOPS, PRIESTS, AND DEACONS 
 
 ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF THE 
 
 UNITED CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND.
 
 THE PREFACE. 
 
 IT is evident unto all men diligently reading the holy Scripture and 
 ancient Authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been these 
 Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church^; Bishops'", Priests, and Deacons ^ 
 
 * — there have been these Orders of Ministers in 
 Christ's Church ;] Being al)out to jirescribe the several 
 forms for ordaining deacons, priests, and bishojis, we 
 studiously avoid the odious charge of innovation, and 
 therefore appeal to Scripture and antiquity as our evi- 
 dence, that these three orders have been in the church 
 from the apostles' time : whereby we make a distinc- 
 tion, between these three truly sacred orders, which 
 were instituted by Christ and his apostles, and are 
 alone retained by our reformers, as necessary for all 
 ages ; and those inferior orders of subdeacons, aco- 
 lyths, exorcists, readers, &c., invented by men in later 
 times, and therefore laid aside in this reformed church. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 It became the received doctrine of the church of 
 Rome at the time of the Reformation, that there were 
 seven distinct orders of the ministry, all of them laying 
 claim to apostolical institution. Hut still this doctrine 
 of the seven orders was only a theological opinion, and 
 not settled as a point of faith, until the Council of 
 Trent, fifteen years after the composing of this rubrick : 
 when, this being established for matter of faith, the 
 opposers of it were anathematized. But the five sorts 
 of ecclesiastical officers, enumerated by the Council, 
 namely, subdeacons, acolyths, e.torcists, readers, and 
 ostiaries, are not distinct orders of the clergy ; and, as 
 they are not of very great antiquity, so, when they 
 came to be used in the church, they were esteemed 
 only as officers belonging to the church, erected for 
 convenience sake, as our clerks, se.\tons, and pew- 
 keepers are ; and not as initiatory orders, and those of 
 divine institution, which every clergyman, who would 
 be advanced to any of the higher orders, must first 
 pass through. Dr. Nichulls. 
 
 Of these five orders in the church of Rome, 1, the 
 subdeacon is he, who delivereth the vessels to the 
 deacon, and assisteth him in the administration of the 
 sacrament of the Lord's Supper. 2. The acolyth is 
 he, who bears the lighted candle, whilst the Gospel is 
 in reading, or whilst the priest consecrateth the host. 
 3. The exorcist is he, who abjureth evil spirits in the 
 name of Almighty God, to go out of persons troubled 
 therewith. 4. The reader is he, who readeth in the 
 church of God, being also ordained to this, that he 
 may preach the word of God to the people. 5. The 
 ostiary is he, who keepeth the doors of the church, 
 and toUeth the bell. These, though some of them 
 ancient, were human institutions, and such as come 
 not under the limitation, which immediately precedes, 
 " from the apostles' times :" for which reason, and 
 because they were evidently instituted for convenience 
 only, and were not immediately concerned in the 
 sacred oflices of the church, they were laid aside by 
 our first Reformers. Dr. Burn. 
 
 As to these three orders our preface modestly dates 
 their use from the ai)ostles' time, for it might have 
 been carried much higher : since it is also evident that 
 in the Jewish economy, the first church settled by a 
 written divine law, about three thousand years ago, 
 three orders were appointed, tlie high priest, the 
 priests, and Levitcs, answering to our bishops, pres- 
 byters, and deacons, and being the very pattern to 
 the apostles in the institutions of those three Christian 
 orders, as divers of the fathers have observed. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ^ Bishops,'] Our Church here doth assert, that the 
 order of bishops was " from the apostles' time :" refer- 
 ring us to those texts of Scripture, occurring in the 
 history of the Acts, and the ajjostolical Ejjistles, which 
 are usually urged for the proof of the episcopal order. 
 And of a great many which might be alleged these are 
 some. In the short history, which we have of the 
 ajiostles, we find them exercising all the pecidiar ofiices 
 of the episcojjal order. They ordain church ministers : 
 " And when they had prayed they laid their hands on 
 them," Acts vi. 6. They confirm baptized persons : 
 " Who, when they were come down, prayed for them 
 that they might receive the Holy Ghost," viii. 15. 
 They excommunicate notorious offenders, as the in- 
 cestuous person, 1 Cor. v. 5. The like episcopal powers 
 we find in Scripture committed to others, whom from 
 the tenour of Scripture, and the testimony of antiquity, 
 we judge to have been advanced to that order. Not 
 only a power of ordination, but a particular charge in 
 conferring it, is given to Timothy ; namely, that he 
 "lay hands suddenly on no man," 1 Tim. v. 2-2. That 
 he caution the presbyters under him " that they teach 
 no other doctrine," i. 3. Rules are given him how 
 he should animadvert on an offending presbyter; 
 " Against an eUler receive not an accusation, but before 
 two or three witnesses," v. 19 : and to what conduct he 
 should oblige the deacons, iii. S. The same episcopal 
 powers are committed to I'itus, to " ordain elders in every 
 city," Tit. i. 5 : and to excommunicate hereticks after 
 the first or second admonition, iii. 10. Now these ai-e 
 very good proofs to all reasonable men, that diligently 
 read the holy Scriptures, that the order of bishops was 
 inclusively " from," that is, in " the apostles' time." 
 
 But to all diligent and impartial readers of ancient 
 writers the case is yet more out of doubt. The earliest 
 ecclesiastical wi-iter extant is Clemens Romanus, who 
 wrote his first epistle to the Corinthians within forty 
 years after om- Savioiu^'s ascension. And he speaks, 
 not only of presbyters and deacons, but of bishops 
 likewise, as an order in use in his time : clearly distin- 
 guishing also between the two orders of bishops and 
 presbyters. In the ejiistles of Ignatius, who was 
 Bishop of Antioeh seventy years after Clu-ist, in which
 
 672 
 
 THE PREFACE. 
 
 AVhicli Offices were evermore had in such reverend Estimation '', that no 
 man mighc presume to execute any of them% except he were first called, 
 
 he continued forty years, being martyred in the year of 
 
 our Lord lOS, just seven years after St. John's death, 
 all the three orders are clearly and exactly distinguished. 
 Of lower authorities the instances are innumerable. 
 Clement of Alexandria wrote in the latter end of the 
 second century ; and he mentions the three orders as 
 the established use of the chiu'ch in his time. Origen, 
 who hved at the same time, uses corresponding lan- 
 guage. Tertullian likewise mentions these three orders, 
 as established ranks of the hierarchy. And so infinite 
 other avithors make these three orders perfectly distinct. 
 Dr. \icholls. 
 
 Of the distinction among the governoiu's of the 
 church there was never in ancient times made any 
 question ; nor did it seem disputable in the chiu'ch, 
 except to one malecontent, Arrius, who did indeed get 
 a name in story, but never made much noise, or obtained 
 any vogue in the world, ^'ery few followers he found 
 in his heterodoxy. Xo great body even of hereticks 
 could find cause to dissent from the church in this 
 point. But all Arians, Macedonians, Novatians, Do- 
 natists, &c., maintained the distinction of orders among 
 themselves, and acknowledged the duty of the inferior 
 clergy to their bishojis. And no wonder : seeing it 
 standeth upon so very tbrn and clear grounds ; upon 
 the reason of the case, upon the testimony of holy 
 Scripture, upon general tradition, and unquestionable 
 monuments of antiquity, upon the common judgment 
 and jiractice of the greatest saints, persons most re- 
 nowned for wisilom and jiiety in the church. 
 
 Reason doth plainly require such subordinations. 
 This all experience attesteth : this even the chief im- 
 pugners of e])iscopal presidency do by their practice 
 confess : who for prevention of disorders have been 
 fain of their own heads to devise ecclesiastical subordi- 
 nation of classes, provinces, and nations ; and to a])- 
 jioint moderators, or tem])orary bishops, in their assem- 
 blies. So that reason hath forced the dissenters from 
 the Church to imitate it. 
 
 The holy Scrii)ture doth also plainly enough counte- 
 nance this distinction. For therein we have represented 
 one " Angel" presiding over principal churches, which 
 contained several presbyters, Rev. ii. 1, &c. : therein we 
 find episcopal ordination and jurisdiction exercised : we 
 have one bisho]) constituting presbyters in divers cities 
 of his diocese. Tit. i. 5 ; 1 Tim. v'. 1. 17. 19, 20. 2'2, 
 &c. ; ordering all tilings therein concerning ecclesiasti- 
 cal discipline; judging presbyters; rebuking "with all 
 authority," or imperiousness, as it were, 'i'it. ii. 15; and 
 reconciling offenders, secluding hereticks and scanda- 
 lous persons. 
 
 In the Jewish church there were an high priest, chief 
 priest, a sanhedrim, or senate, or synod. 
 
 'I'he government of congregations among God's 
 ancient people, which it is jjrobalile was the iiattern 
 that the apostles, no affecters of needless innovation, 
 did follow in estahlishing ecclesiastical discipline among 
 Cliristians doth hereto agree : for in their synagogues, 
 answering to our Cliristian cluu-clies, they had, as their 
 clihrs and doctors, so over them an d(ix"'"''"y"'y'>':> 
 the head of the eldership, and president of the syna- 
 gogue. 
 
 'J'he primitive general use of Christians most effec- 
 tuftllv doth t)ack the Srri))tiire, and inter|)ret it in favour 
 of this distinction, scarce less than demonstrating it 
 constituted liy the apostles. I'Or how otherwise is it 
 imaginable, tliat all the cluirrhes foiuided by (lie apos- 
 tles in several most distant and disjointed [ilaces, ut 
 
 Jerusalem, at Antioch, at Alexandria, at Ephesus, at 
 Corinth, at Rome, should presently conspire in acknow- 
 ledgment and use of it ? How could it without appa- 
 rent confederacy be formed, how coidd it creep in with- 
 out notable clatter, how could it be admitted without 
 considerable opposition, if it were not in the foundation 
 of those churches laid by the apostles? How is it 
 likely, that in those times of grievous persecution, falling 
 chietiy upon the bishops, when to be eminent among 
 Christians yielded slender reward, and exposed to ex- 
 treme hazard, when to seek pre-eminence was in effect 
 to coiu't danger and trouble, torture and ruin, an ambi- 
 tion of irregularly advancing themselves above their 
 brethren should so generally prevail among the ablest 
 and best Christians ? How could those famous martyrs 
 for the Christian truth be, some of them so unconscion- 
 able as to affect, others so irresolute as to yield to, such 
 injurious encroachments.' And how could all the holy 
 fathers, jiersons of so renowned, so approved wisdom 
 and integrity, be so blind as not to discern such a cor- 
 ruption, or so bad as to abet it ? How indeed could 
 all God's church be so weak, as to consent in judgment, 
 so base as to comjily in practice with it ? In fine, how 
 can we conceive, that all the best monuments of anti- 
 quity down from the beginning, the Acts, the Epistles, 
 the Histories, the Commentaries, the writings of all 
 sorts, coming from the blessed martjTS and most holy 
 confessors of our faith, should conspire to abuse us ; 
 the which do speak nothing but bishops ; long cata- 
 logues and rows of bishops succeeding in this and that 
 city; bishops contesting for the faith against Pagan 
 idolaters, and heretical corrupters of Christian doctrine; 
 bishops here teaching, and planting our religion by their 
 labours, there suffering, and watering it with their 
 blood ? Dr. Isaac Barrow. 
 
 It was so well known that a bishop was of a stiperior 
 order to a presbyter, that it was deemed sacrilege by tlie 
 fourth general Council to thrust a bishop down from 
 the first to the second degree. So that however perse- 
 cution and dire necessity may perhajis excuse some late 
 churches, for being foi-ced to mix the two first orders, 
 and to have only |>riests and deacons ; yet we, who 
 have a prescription of above lOOO ( 1 Too) years for us 
 even from the apostles' time, have the right of our side, 
 and must never depart therefrom. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — Bishop.i. Priests, and Deacons.J The word 
 " bishop" is from the Saxon " bisco]!," and that from 
 the (jreek (;ri™iirroi;, an overseer or superintendent; so 
 called from tliat watchfulness, care, charge, and faith- 
 fulness, which by his jilace and dignity he hath and 
 oweth to the church. I'lie word " priest" is nearly the 
 same in all Christian languages : the Saxon is *' preost,'' 
 the German " prister," the lielgick " priester," the 
 Swedish " prest," the (Jallick " prcstre," the Italian 
 " prete," the Sjianish " preote ;" all evidently enough 
 taken from the Greek Trinnfliripog. In the like man- 
 ner the word " deacon" with little variation runneth 
 tlirough all the same languages, deduced from the 
 Greek c'cfi/ruroc. Dr. Burn. 
 
 '' Which OJices were erermore had in such reverend 
 Estimation,'] A reverend regard to the several offices of 
 those, who minister about holy things, has liccn thought 
 fit to be enjoined by all nations and religions. And, 
 wlien Christianity lias commanded the same to the 
 ministers of tliat institution, it has not so much laid 
 down a new iirecejjt, as enforced a natural law, which 
 all mankind before were agreed to be reasonable. For 
 hardly any nation has been so barbarous, or any reli-
 
 THE PREFACE. 
 
 673 
 
 tried, examined, and known to liave such qualities as are requisite for tiie 
 same ; and also by ))ul)lick Prayer, witli Imj)osition of Hands, were 
 approved and admitted thereunto by lawful Authority'. And therefore, 
 
 gion so foolish, but, if they have thought tit to esta- 
 blish a religion, they have always kept up the credit of 
 tlie ministers of it, l)y respectful honours allowed them, 
 and iienalties denounced against those wlio affront or 
 injure them, or who boldly intrude upon the exercise 
 of their office without a lawful and regular admission 
 into it. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The honour and dignity of the priesthood is only 
 mentioned here as a reason, why so solemn an admis- 
 sion to it and so extraordinary qualifications in the 
 candidates are required. Yet it deserves our particular 
 consideration, because we live in an age wherein not 
 only religion, with all holy times, places, and things, 
 but with them the persons also that are consecrated to 
 God's service, and have been honoured in all nations 
 and ages of the world, are despised by separatists and 
 enthusiasts, as well as by the atheistical and jirofane. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — that no man might presume to execute any of them, 
 &e.] Since the dignity is so great, and the office so 
 honourable, it is fit the entrance should be well guarded, 
 lest they should be profaned by arbitrary or promiscu- 
 ous intrusions : St. Paul hath told us, " that no man 
 taketh this honour to himself, excejit he be called of 
 God as was Aaron," Heb. v. 4. He, being the great 
 Master of his house, the church, must appoint his own 
 ofiicers. It was the sin of Jeroboam, and the ruin of 
 liis house, to admit every one that would, to be one of 
 his priests, 1 Kings xiii. 33, 34. And the false pro- 
 phets are called in the Hebrew, Ezck. xiii. 2, the self- 
 made prophets : a name very well agreeing to the 
 teachers of our modern sectaries, who without any 
 proof of a divine call, or any previous trial and exami- 
 nation, presume to execute some of these offices, to the 
 danger of their own and their hearers' souls. But in 
 our, and all regular churches, there is, and ought to be, 
 a solemn scrutiny into the qualifications of the candi- 
 dates before admission. 
 
 iSuch an inquiry was made before the admitting of a 
 Jewish priest, Lev. xxi. 17 ; yea, the heathens were very 
 nice in receiving men into their ridiculous orders. And 
 numerous instances might be brought to shew, that all 
 mankind agreed to use great caution in the choosing 
 and initiation of the ministers about holy things : but 
 our previous care relies on a better foundation than 
 this, for we have command of God in Scripture and the 
 laws and practice of the primitive church for it. Deari 
 Comber. 
 
 Christianity was no sooner settled, but great care was 
 taken to admit none to the priesthood, or any other 
 office of the ministry, but only such as were sufficiently 
 qualified, and that by the way and method which our 
 religion prescribed. There was a commission given by 
 our Saviour to his twelve apostles for their [ireaching, 
 even before his crucifixion. "These twelve Jesus sent 
 forth, and commanded them saying, Preach &c. ; freely 
 ye have received, freely give," Matt. x. 5. 7, 8. And so 
 after his resurrection, " As my Father hath sent me, 
 even so send I you," John xx. 21. " Go ye and teach 
 all nations," Matt, xxviii. 18. Paul and Barnabas are 
 said to be " sent forth by the Holy Ghost," Acts xiii. 4. 
 St. Paul styles himself " called an apostle," and " or- 
 dained a preacher," 1 Tim. ii. 7. And looking upon it 
 as an absurdity to preach without a mission, asks the 
 question, " How shall they preach except they be sent?" 
 Rom. X. 15. Paul and Barnabas "ordained ciders in 
 every church," Acts xiv. 23. And Titus is ordered to 
 
 " ordain elders in every city," Tit. i. 5. The Apostolical 
 Canons, which, though not what their name imports, 
 yet are certainly ancient, injoin that " a presbyter be 
 ordained by one bishop." By the Council of Laodicea 
 one lately bajjtized was not allowed to be ordained a 
 priest. The Council of Nice disallows the confessions 
 of those, who are admitted to the order of presbyter 
 without due examination. And it is thus enjoined 
 by the Council of Sardis, " Every degree of holy orders 
 requires a considerable length of time, wherein the 
 faith of the ordained person, his morals, his steadiness, 
 and his moderation, may be known. For it is by no 
 means convenient, neither is it agreeable to the search 
 after the person's knowledge and conversation, that 
 any one, hand over head and lightly, be ordained either 
 a bishop, a priest, or a deacon." Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' — and also — admitted thereunto by lawful Authority.^ 
 It would make intolerable confusion in all professions, 
 if every man, who judged himself qualified for an emi- 
 nent station, might thrust himself into it, instead of 
 being solemidy admitted by lawful authority. It is 
 therefore required, first, that the clergy be solemnly 
 admitted by prayer and imjjosition of hands : which is 
 not only appointed in conformity to the di\ine direc- 
 tions under the law, concerning the admission of .\aron 
 and his sons to officiate ; but is agreeable also to the 
 Christian rites of ordination, as always used on these 
 occasions. For our Lord directed his disciples to jjray 
 immediately before He created them a|)ostles. Matt, 
 ix. 33 ; X. 1 : and both deacons and others were or- 
 dained by fasting, prayer, and imjiosition of hands, 
 Acts vi. 6 ; xiii. 2, 3 ; 1 Tim. iv. 14 : which holy custom 
 was kept up in all ages of the church. Secondly, it is 
 required, that men be admitted into holy orders by 
 lawful authority, which we affirm to be only that of 
 bishops. And I shall not content myself to prove this 
 by the statute law of this land, " that no man can be 
 a lawful i)riest or deacon, unless he be ordained by a 
 bishop," Slat. 13 Eli:, and Act of Uniformity 14 Car. II. : 
 but farther shew, that this law is grounded wpnn holy 
 Scrijitnre, and the canons and practice of the universal 
 church. First, our Lord, as supreme Ruler of his 
 church, called and ordained his apostles. Matt. x. 1, 2; 
 xxviii. 19, 20; John xx. 21 — 23; and they ordained 
 deacons, presbyters, and bishops. Acts vi. 6 ; xiv. 23 ; 
 2 Tim. i. 6 : but they gave the power of admitting all 
 others only to the bishops, to whom also they only gave 
 rules to choose candidates by, 1 Tim. iii. I, Sec; Tit. 
 i. 6 ; ii. 2. Secondly, nothing can be clparer than the 
 sole right of the bishops to ordain, if we consult the 
 canrvijs or usage of the church in kU former ages. 
 
 But iome object, this wAi -deprive divers foreign 
 churches, where they hare no bishops, of a lawful 
 ministry, because their ministers have no ordination 
 btit by presbyters. To which I shall only say, that the 
 first presbyter, who jiresumed to ordain, had no such 
 power given to him, and so could not rightly convey 
 that which he never received; there is no precedent, in 
 mere presbyters ordaining alone, and such ordinations 
 would have been declared null in the primitive ages ; 
 yea, for 1500 years together no such were allowed. 
 Their surest plea is that some of these churches were 
 forced by dire necessity to this irregularity by the ob- 
 stinate refusal of the Popish bishops to ordain any that 
 were for reformation, so that they must either have 
 such a clergy as they could have, or have none to offi- 
 ciate in tlie Protestant way; to which I reply, that 
 
 2 X
 
 674 
 
 THE PREFACE. 
 
 to the intents tliat these Orders may be continued, and reverently used 
 and esteemed, in the United Church of Eiif/Iand and Ireland; no man 
 shall be accounted or taken to be a lawful Bishop, Priest, or Deacon in 
 the United Church of England and Ireland, or suffered to execute any of 
 the said Functions, except he be called, tried, examined, and admitted 
 thereunto, accordino; to the Form hereafter following, or hath had formerly 
 Episcopal Consecration, of Ordination. 
 
 And none shall be admitted a Deacon, except 'i he be Twenty-three 
 years of age, unless he have a Faculty". And every man which is to be 
 admitted a Priest shall be full Four-and-twenty years old. And every 
 man which is to be ordained or consecrated Bishop shall be full Thirty 
 years of age. 
 
 And the Bishop, knowing either by himself, or by sufficient testimony'', 
 
 where this necessity was real, and wliile it was so, as 
 perhaps it might be in some |)laces at fu-st, it will go 
 far to excuse them. .\nd as for those, who highly 
 value the episcopal order, wish for bishops, but are by 
 persecution and violence kept from that happiness ; we 
 pity them, and pray for them, and hope God will ex- 
 cuse this d(-fect, till they can remedy it ; but we are 
 thankfid to that Providence which allows us to keep up 
 the primitive orders in a due subordination, and to have 
 a right and true canonical ministry, in this well-consti- 
 tuted church, the exact transcript of the primitive, and 
 the glory of the whole Reformation. Deun Comber. 
 
 « — And therefore, to the intent ike.'] In this passage oiu' 
 Church censures not the new way, nor condemns those 
 that are foreign, hut secures the old way, and takes 
 care to oblige her own members, declaring that none 
 shall be accounted a lawful bishop, priest, or deacon in 
 this Church of England, nor exercise any of these func- 
 tions here, unless according to the primitive discijjline 
 he be first called, tried, and examined, and then ordained 
 according to this form ; exce|)t he hath elsewhere had 
 episcopal, that is, laufid ordination : which last clause 
 seems designed to allow of Romish converted priests, 
 who were ordained by bishops before, whom we receive 
 witliout re-ordination, if they renounce their errors ; 
 because that church preserves the order of bishops, and 
 the sulistance of the jjrimitive forms in her ordinations, 
 though corru])ted with many modern superstitious rites, 
 as we shall shew more particulavly afterwards. And in 
 this also we follow the primitive sense ; for re-ordina- 
 tions arc forbiil, when the orders had been once rightly 
 conferred : and how those of Rome, who allow the 
 (ireek ordinations, can justify rejecting our orders, 
 where they can make no objection to our form, nor 
 ])rove us heretical in any article of faitli, I cannot con- 
 ceive. It is pride and uncliaritaldeness, not arguments 
 or examples of antiquity, tliat guides them in this most 
 unjust ])roceeiling. .\s to these forms of ordination 
 jirescribed to be alone used here, they are exactly con- 
 formable to tlie directions given in holy Scripture, and 
 more agreealile to llie practice of the i)i-iinitive church 
 than any ollices of tliis kind in the world, being neither 
 so naked as the way of (ieneva, nor so luxuriant in 
 ceremony as that of the Roman church ; for we have 
 added to the general rules of Scripture all and only 
 the ])rimitive rites, agreeing with the reformed in that 
 wbicli we liave taken from Scripture, and with tlie 
 Roman forms in all that a(U'ord with geiuiine aiUicpiity. 
 And upon the wh(jle it is so instnictmg, so ])ious, and 
 ao very proper to the occasion, tliat 1 do recommend 
 it, first, to all that are to enter into holy oivlers, to read 
 that form over which belongs to the order he is about 
 to receive, that he may jircpare himself for it, by under- 
 Btandiog his duty and considering his vows before he 
 
 make them. Secondly, because we must perform our 
 \-ows, and practise oiu- duty all oiu' lives long ; it is 
 con\'enient, if not necessary, for every clergyman once 
 a 3'ear at least seriously to read the same office over to 
 keep him mindful of his engagements. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' And none shall be admitted a Deacon, except &c.] 
 .\11 the orders of the ministry have duties of so concern- 
 ing an import charged u])on them, that they are not to 
 be intrusted but to persons of a supposed steadiness 
 and resolution, whicli are hardly attainable in general 
 before the ages here specified. By ancient canons 
 something more than these ages was required for the 
 
 : several offices of the ministry. Dr. Nicholls. Because 
 the Scri[)tm'e hath not determined the exact time, when 
 men shall enter into these several orders, every church 
 hath fixed the ages by the rules of prudence as they 
 saw most fit : but all churches have agreed not to ad- 
 mit men very young into these weighty offices. If any 
 should object, that we admit men something younger 
 than was done of old, I think two sufficient reasons 
 may be assigned for that i)ractice : first, that the me- 
 thods of learning are now more compendious than in 
 
 j former ages ; secondly, our clergy are not now obliged to 
 vow celibacy, an(t that is a reason'gi\'en in some later 
 Councils, why they bound them to stay to so confirmed 
 an age, that they might upon trial of their inclinations 
 better know, whether they were able to keep such a 
 vow or not. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — unless he have a Faculty.] So that a faculty or 
 dispensation is allowed for persons of extraordinary 
 abilities to be admitted deacons sooner. AVliich faculty, 
 as it seemeth, must be obtained from the -Vrchbishop of 
 Canterbury. But for the admission of a priest under 
 the age of four-and-twenty years there is no dispensa- 
 
 j tion. Dr. Burn. 
 
 j In case of great and early merit, or an extraordinary 
 occasion, the hinitation with respect to deacons may be 
 dispensed with. No doubt there are some persons of 
 
 ' early parts, and extraordinary learning and wisdom, 
 though they be very young ; and in such cases they 
 are to be regarded rather according to their discretion 
 and knowledge than their ages. Such was the fa- 
 mously learned Bishop Usher, ordained before he was 
 
 . twenty-one ; and the pious and eloipient Bishop .lereiny 
 
 1 Taylor, wlio entered into orders younger llian he ; 
 wherefore it is fit there should be a power of dispensing, 
 being necessary in some cases and eommendalde in 
 others. Dean Comber. 
 
 '' And the liishop, knouing either by himself, or by suffi- 
 cient testimony, Ike] The apostle having laid it down 
 as a standing canon in the chiircli, that "a bishoj) must 
 lie blameless, and have a good report of tlieiu tliat are 
 without," 1 Tim. iii. 2. 7 ; thence tlie clmrch of (iod 
 has in all ages taken especial care to require a sufficient
 
 THE PREFACE, 
 
 675 
 
 any Person to ho a man of virtuous conversation', and witliout crime; and, 
 after examination and trial, tindini^ liim learned in tlie Latin J'ont^'ue'", and 
 suftieiently instructed in holy Scripture, may at tlie times appointed in tiie 
 Canon ", or else, on urgent occasion, upon some other Sunday or Holy-day, 
 
 satisfaction, that all persons who are to be admitted into 
 that or any other interior order of the clergy, have such 
 a jrooA report for a pious and virtuous conversation. 
 This TertuUian mentions as a very singular honour of 
 the Christian priesthood. In pursuance of which jirac- 
 tice of the ancient church, our Church of England has 
 forbidden the bishop to admit any person into sacred 
 orders, " except he shall then exhibit letters testimonial 
 of his good life and conversation under the seal of some 
 College in Cambridge or Oxford, where before he re- 
 mained, or of three or four grave ministers, together 
 with the subscription and testimony of other credible 
 persons, who have known his life and behaviour by 
 the space of three years next before," Can. 33. The 
 same is further ])rovided for by our statute law : 
 '• None shall be made minister, unless he first bring 
 to the bishop of that diocese, from men known to 
 the bishop to be of sound religion, a testimonial both 
 of his honest life, and of his jirofessing the doctrine 
 expressed in the said Articles," 13 Eliz. chap. xii. 
 Dr. Nwhiills. 
 
 Such as sign these testimonials have it put into their 
 power to discover evil men, and commend only those 
 that are worthy : wherefore, since so great a trust is 
 rejiosed in them, they ought never to sign any testimo- 
 nial which they know to l)e false ; yea, which they do 
 not know to be true : lest they become guilty of bearing 
 false witness, and mislead the bishop, who cannot see 
 all things with his own eyes, nor hear all with his own 
 ears, and so must rely on others to direct his choice. 
 And let him be ever so desirous to keep out wicked pas- 
 tors, an hypocrite commended by eminent hands may 
 deceive him ; and then the dishonour of God and mis- 
 chief to souls, which are the sad consequence of such 
 misinformation, are to he charged only upon those, who 
 for fear, favour, or negligence, signed the false certifi- 
 cate : who deserve a severe ])unishment in this world, 
 if our law did allow it; however they shall certainly 
 answer for it in the next world. And I heard a most 
 reverend and worthy prelate (.'\bp. Dolben) charge his 
 clergy, " not to impose upon him by signing testimonials, 
 which they did not know to be true, as they would 
 answer it to him at the dreadful day of judgment." 
 Which being duly considered will, I hope, prevent that 
 evil custom of giving men's hands, out of ciistom or 
 compliment to mere strangers, or to oblige a friend that 
 we know doth not deserve it. Dean Comber. 
 
 A sham testimonial of life and manners doth not only 
 deceive the bishop in a |)oint of the nicest concernment, 
 both with regard to his office and his reputation ; but 
 does an injury to the church itself, and affects the inter- 
 ests and credit of the ministry at large. And therefore 
 to attest worthy characters of unworthy jiersons, in order 
 to bring tliem into a situation where they may ex|)Ose 
 themselves and their functions, do publick mischief, 
 and give open scandal, is destitute of any justifiable 
 jjretence ; and I wish I could add it were equally des- 
 titute of any precedent. 
 
 I must acknowledge that human respects, and soli- 
 citations of acquaintance, and other mere social regards, 
 are great temptations with people of kind dispositions, 
 to too easy a compliance in granting this favour; and 
 such ])ersons may be sometimes drawn into the signing 
 of testimonials, when tlieir judgment doth not concur 
 with their good nature. I am loth to blame any 
 
 friendly or neighbourly qualities, yet sometimes they 
 do deserve blame, as in this case in particular; where 
 they are the occasions of a mischief, wliich much better 
 qualities cannot repali', or make sufficient amends for. 
 Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 ' — a man of virtuous conversation^ The first inquiry 
 is into their lives, for that is over and over repeated by 
 St. Paul, that they " must be blameless," 1 Tim. iii. 2 ; 
 Tit. i. (), 7 : and, if they be ever so learned or ingeni- 
 ous, and be not virtuous, their example will do more 
 harm than their preaching can do good : they discour- 
 age the pious, and harden sinners; dishonour our Lord 
 Jesus, disgrace his church, and not only destroy their 
 own but others' souls also. So that if men be vicious 
 and criminal, no other qualifications ought to recom- 
 mend them : they must by all means be kept from holy 
 orders. Dean Comber. 
 
 " — and, after examination and trial, finding him 
 learned in the Latin Tongue, &c.] The next care of the 
 bishop is to examine and try the understandings of 
 such as come to offer themselves to be ordained, of 
 which he and his chaplains are competent judges. So 
 that if he ordain any illiterate person, that fault must 
 lie upon the ordainer only ; since virtue may, but learn- 
 ing cannot, be counterfeited before a learned and dili- 
 gent examiner. It is St. Paul's injunction, and so 
 indispensable, that he " be apt," or, as the word im- 
 ports, able "to teach," 1 Tim. iii. 2 ; nor can any man 
 be fit to teach others, who hath not himself been well 
 instructed, first, in secular learning, and secondly, in 
 holy Scripture. The apostles, wanting time and oppor- 
 tunity to get learning in an ordinary way, were miracu- 
 lously inspired both with the knowledge of all tongues, 
 and all divine truths, to shew that Christ Himself judged 
 these were necessary qualifications for his ministers. 
 But, as the manna ceased, when God's people came to 
 a land, where corn would grow by industry, so Heaven 
 hath now withilrawn this immediate inspiration, and 
 left us to acquire knowledge by study and other projier 
 means. Dean Cumber. 
 
 Under the Jewish dispensation the priests were 
 obliged to be learned in the law, which then obtained. 
 Upon which account the proiihet Malachi says, that 
 " the ])riests should preserve knowledge, because the 
 people were to inquire the law at their mouth," Mai. 
 ii. 7. And St. Paul lays it down as an indispensable 
 qualification of a Christian clergyman, that he be " ajit 
 to teach," 1 Tim. iii. 2. And because the most consi- 
 derable books of Christian literature are written in the 
 Latin tongue, our Church has wisely injoincd that every 
 candidate for holy orders should be skilled in that 
 tongue. The ancient Greek and Latin churches, hav- 
 ing the most considerable works of the first (Christian 
 authors written in their tongue, especially the Greek 
 church, did not require the study of any language 
 but their own from a clergyman. And, though they 
 forbade the reading of the heathen authors out of wan- 
 tonness, yet they commended the study of them, in 
 order to the better understanding of Scripture, the 
 explaining and inforcing of Christian doctrines, and the 
 confuting of hereticks. But without a tolerable com- 
 petency in learning they were not to be admitted into 
 holy orders. Above all", the study of the holy Scrip- 
 tures was injoined them as theb principal task. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 2X2
 
 676 
 
 THE PREFACE. 
 
 in the face of the Church, admit him a Deacon, in such manner and form 
 as hereaftei followeth. 
 
 " — at the times appointed in the Canon,"] Namely, 
 the 31st Canon: that is, on the Sundays after the 
 foiu- ember weeks, which were the ancient seasons 
 for this office. But, however, it ought to be on some 
 
 Sunday or Holy-day, as was used even from the primi- 
 tive times ; and as the time, so the place also, should 
 be known and pubhck ; namely, "in the face of the 
 church." Dean Comber.
 
 THE FORM AND MANNER 
 
 OF 
 
 MAKING OF DEACONS 
 
 % JV/ien the day appointed hij the Bishop is come, after Morning Prayer is 
 en led, there shall be a Sermon p or Exhortation, declaring the Duty and 
 Office of such as come to he admitted Deacons, hoiv necessary that Order is 
 in the Church of Christ, and also, how the people ought to esteem them in 
 their Office. 
 
 T F^rst the Archdeacon'^, or his Deputy, shall 
 present unto the Bishop (sitting in his 
 
 " The Form and Manner of Making of Deacons.^ 
 The Greek word, whence comes our English word 
 " deacon," is sometimes of larger signification in Scrip- 
 ture than barely to denote that particular ecclesiastical 
 order, for which it is now generally used. See Rom. 
 XV. 8 ; iii. 5 ; Acts xx. 24 ; Rom. xi. 13 ; 2 Tim. iv. 5. 
 But this name is more especially used in Scripture to 
 denote the order of deacons, the first institution of 
 which is related in the sixth chapter of the Acts. For, 
 some discontents arising about the distribution of the 
 charitable collections, the apostles found that they had 
 not leisure to determine these differences, and to collect 
 and dispose of the alms to the poor according to their 
 several exigences ; therefore they erected a new eccle- 
 siastical order to be assistants to them, particularly in 
 managing the affair of the charities. This charge was 
 exercised by them, after their province was enlarged, 
 and they had several other duties laid upon them : 
 such as assisting the bishop and the priest in the 
 communion ; instructing the catechumens, and ground- 
 ing them in the principles of religion ; reading the 
 Gospel in the communion service; reading the litanies: 
 making proclamation, before the communion service 
 began, for all catechumens, excommunicates, unbe- 
 lievers, &c. to depart. Several other matters the 
 deacons were wont to look after : besides baptizing 
 by the lea\'e of the bishop, and in the absence of a 
 presbyter. Dr. NichoUs. In the earliest monuments 
 of antiquity we find that deacons constantly attended 
 on the bisho]) in all his sacred ministrations, and 
 assisted him. But their special duty was to distribute 
 the bread and cup to the ])eople after the bishop had 
 consecrated it : they also bore a part in the liturgy 
 with the priest or bishop : and, when churches were 
 built in the country, deacons alone sometimes per- 
 formed the whole office there, and not only read 
 the prayers, but the Gospel, and by licence preached 
 or made an homily upon it. Bp. Beoeridge, Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 chair' near 'to the holy Table') such as 
 desire to be ordained Deacons, (each of 
 
 ' — after Morning Prayer is ended, there shall be a 
 Sermon^ The place of our sermons ordinarily is after 
 the Nicene Creed : but on these days, lest the office 
 should be broken, the preaching is fixed after the end 
 of oiu- Morning Prayer, strictly so called ; the Litany 
 being removed into the Communion Service, as very 
 proper to this occasion, otherwise the Litany would be 
 to be said twice in one morning, and so too much 
 lengthen the offices. And since the ordination is to 
 be performed at the altar, and always joined with a 
 communion, this rubrick orders, that all the rest shall 
 be finished in the body of the church, before the bishop 
 and candidates go up to the holy table. 
 
 Secondly, as to the subject of the sermon, it is re- 
 quired that it relate to this occasion. For nothing is 
 more comely, nor more profitable, " than a word spoken 
 in due season," Prov. xxv. 11. It is very fit to instruct 
 at this time, first, the candidates in the several parts of 
 their duty, and the nature of their office ; that they 
 may weigh and consider well the great charge they are 
 about to undertake, and be encouraged cheerfully to 
 promise, and sincerely to resolve, that they will perform 
 it by God's help. It is also equally projier now to 
 teach the congregation, what reverent esteem they 
 ought to have of such as are set to watch for their 
 souls, to offer up their prayers to God, and to make 
 known to them Goil's word and will. And thus all 
 may be edified by such a pertinent discourse. And 
 truly the usefulness of such a sermon at this time 
 is sufficient to justify our own and other reformed 
 churches in requiring it, if we had no precedents for it 
 in antiquity. Dean Comber. 
 
 " — the Archdeacon,'] In great churches where the 
 bishop had many deacons the eldest had the title of 
 archdeacon, and was a sort of governour over all the 
 rest : afterwards they were chosen first by the deacons, 
 and then by the bishops, not for age alone, but for 
 other good qualities. Among their various duties one 
 was, to examine and approve of candidates for holy
 
 678 
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 ITim.iii. 10, 
 
 them being decently habited',) saijing these 
 
 words, 
 "D E V E R E N D Father in God ", 
 X\) I present unto you these per- 
 sons^ present to be admitted Dea- 
 cons. 
 
 The Bishop. 
 
 TA K E heed tliat the persons, 
 whom ye present unto us*', be 
 apt and meet, for their learning and 
 
 orders : indeed the bishops einployed them in so many 
 affairs, that they were called " the'eyes of the bishop ;" 
 but still they were only of the order of deacons. In 
 time, though they kept the old title of archdeacons, 
 they were often "presliyters : and their powers were 
 then much enlarged, for they were emjjloyed by the 
 bishops to visit their dioceses for them. In the Roman 
 Ordinal they are called " the bishops' vicars." Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 r — unto the Bishop [sitting in his chair &c.] This 
 nsaje, for the bishop to sit in a chair or seat ju-epared 
 for this pmpose, and placed near the altar at tlie time 
 of ordination, is verj' ancient in the church. This seat 
 was not the great seat of the bishop, where he sate 
 during the lessons and sermons, and which was called 
 his " throne," whence he was said to be " inthroned," 
 because of his being solemnly placed therein at his in- 
 auguration or admission into his bishoin-ick. For that 
 was a large seat built in the church on a high basis or 
 eminence, and not removable as this lesser seat was. 
 Tills seat the Roman Ordinals call "faldistoriuin :" 
 which seems to l>e derived from the German " falden," 
 to fold : it being a chair or stool made so that it might 
 be folded together, for the better convcniency of re- 
 moving it from ])lace to place. Dr. Kicholls. 
 
 ■ — near to the holy Table)'] Ordinations in all 
 churches being accompanied with the Communion, 
 have constantly been celebrated near the altar. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 « — {each of them being decently habited,)] Almighty 
 God Himself iircscribsd the garments for the high 
 ])riest, the jiriest, and Le\-ites under the Law ; and they 
 were such as might |)rocure honour and glory even to 
 the lowest order, Exod. xxviii. 2. 40. And in all 
 nations in the world their jiriests wore garments differ- 
 ing from other men. Our own canons iujoin that 
 ministers shall at all times wear grave, distinct, and 
 decent habits. Can. 74 : wherein our law agrees with 
 the orders of other ancient churches, which forbid the 
 clergy to imitate the laymen's fashion, in any sort of 
 clothes, and to use any but a very grave haliit, even 
 when they do riot otiiciate. 
 
 'I'lie foreign reformed churches, as well as the an- 
 cients, agree with us in this matter. So that if the 
 clergy oppose these orders, and affect to he gay and 
 modish, or cast off the garments which mark their 
 order, they act contrary to the rea.'son of mankind and 
 the custom ami laws of all nations, as well as of our 
 Church, which injoins tliem always to go decently in 
 jieculiar habits. Dean Comber. 
 
 The canons of the Churcli, as well as the nihrick, 
 and indeed the homilies, give a decided opinion on 
 the subject of dress. Dress is not indifferent. 'I'liough 
 not an essential (pialify of character, it is certainly a 
 sign of decorum. Modesty of apparel bespeaks 
 modesty of demeanour, and a well-ordered mind. St. 
 I'aul docs not withhold his admonitions on such out- 
 ^vard decorations, even in common life : how much 
 
 o^odly conversation, to exercise their 
 Ministry duly, to the honour of God, 
 and the edifying of his Church. 
 
 t The Archdeacon shall answer, 
 
 I Have entjuired of them, and also 
 examined them, and think them 
 so to be. 
 
 t Then the Bishop shall say unto the people': 
 
 more in those who are expected to he grave in office, as 
 well as in character ? Probably in this jilace is more 
 particularly intended the habit of the order, or the 
 academical dress of the student. 
 
 Variety of habit will accommodate itself to times and 
 seasons : but decency and propriety of apparel «ill be 
 well nnderstoo<l in every age. AH that we have to 
 attend to is, that the raiment be suited to the chai-acter. 
 Brewster. 
 
 " Reverend Father in God,] The " sons " of the pro- 
 phets called them by the honourable and endearing 
 name of "fathers," 2 Kings ii. 12; and kings gave 
 them the same title in those days also, 2 Kings .viii. 
 14. The apostles called clergymen their sons, 1 Tim. 
 i. 1 ; 2 Tim. i. 2 ; Tit. i. 4 : and claimed to be " fathers" 
 to them and to all the faithful, 1 Cor. iv. 15 ; by which 
 name Christian bishops, who succeeded them in their 
 office, were generally called. Hut, to distinguish them 
 from natural parents, they saluted them " Fathers in 
 God," or "in Christ:" and they are so particularly 
 in this solemn act to those whom they ordain, wherein 
 they ])ut them into a new and nearer relation to God 
 and Christ Jesus ; and ado])t them into, not only 
 the service, but the family of their heavenly Father. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 ^ — / present unto you these persons, &c.] These 
 words were something altered at our Reformation : for 
 in the old Roman forms the archdeacon said, " Our 
 holy mother the Catholick church requires you would 
 ordain," &c. Hut in regard that the archdeacon hath 
 no commission to ajipear for tlie whole Catholick 
 church, our Reformers did judge it better for him to 
 speak in his own name : and, since the duty of ex- 
 amining lay on him, he was thought fittest to jiass for 
 them; and this he must do explicitly, l)y saying, lie 
 tliinks them to be duly fiualitieil ; ami not witli that 
 unseasonable salvo, which the R(nnan Ordinal ])uts 
 into his mouth, " as far as human frailty suffers me to 
 know :" wliich the forms of Kilward the Sixth caused 
 to be left out, lest any neglect might shelter itself 
 under such an excuse. Hut however, lest any un- 
 worthy person should impose u]ion the archdeacon or 
 his deputies, divers of our best and greatest bishops 
 have used, after all, to examine the candidates them- 
 selves ; and thougli they did not lay aside the use of 
 their delegate, nor of this form, yet they resolved to 
 be certain of their own knowledge, that the arch- 
 deacon did both answer truly and judge aright. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 '' Take heed that the persons, whom ye present unto us, 
 &c.] 'I'his admonition of tlie liisliop a])])lies with 
 great force to the archdeaccm or his deputy, with 
 respect to the due discharge of his important office: 
 " Take heed." 'I'liere is no dissembling with God on 
 so solemn an occasion. Tlie bisliop demands an ex- 
 jilicit answer: and, blessed be God ! we have reason to 
 he satisfied, that, since the days of the Reformation of 
 religion, this duty has been discharged in the t,'hurc!i
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 679 
 
 T) R E T H R E N, if tliore be any 
 
 Acts vi. 2. 
 
 10. 'Ti't.'i'.' 7^. X) '^f yo'i \^'1'0 kiiowotli any Im 
 pediment, or notable Crime, in any 
 of these persons jircscnted to he 
 ordered Deacons, for tlie whieli lie 
 ouojit not to be admitted to that 
 Office, let him come forth in the 
 Name of God, and shew what the 
 Crime or Impediment is. 
 
 England with a conscientious regard to " the honour 
 of (iod, and edifying of his church." Tliough it may 
 happen, as all human institutions, even the most 
 sacred, are Uable to the intrusion of the designing, that 
 some instances will occur of those who enter not by 
 the door into the shecjifold, hut climb up some other 
 way ; yet the ministers of our Church have never been 
 insidiously introduced within her pale, to answer any 
 l)ur])0se inconsistent with her avowed jjrincijiles ; but, 
 as far as the general imperfection of human nature 
 admits, they ha\'e shewn themselves well qualified for 
 the exercise of their ministry, both as to their " learning 
 and godly conversation." Brewster. 
 
 ' Then the Bishop shall say unto the people : &c.] Tliis 
 inquiry of the people concerning the worthiness of the 
 jjerson to be ordained, or whether they know any ill 
 concerning him, is agreeable to the earliest ])ractice of 
 antiquity, and the word of God itself. For the Apostle 
 injoins, that none exercise the office of a deacon, who is 
 not found " blameless," 1 'I'im. iii. 10. And in the fii-st 
 institution of the deacon's order, the brethren were to 
 vouch for the good character of the persons, who were 
 to undertake that ofiice : " Brethren, look out among 
 you seven men of honest report," Acts vi. 3. And 
 afterwards it continued a practice in the church, that 
 when any deacon, or especially any one of the superior 
 orders of priest or bishop, were nominated and notified 
 to the people, they in testimony of his abilities and 
 good behaviour were used to cry out, " He is worthy." 
 From this usage the Greek and Latin churches have 
 inserted into their litiu-gies forms for the jjeople to de- 
 clare the worthiness of Ihe person to be ordained. Dr. 
 Nicholts. 
 
 The people are not called upon to take any part in 
 the ordination of ministers. That sacred duty, from 
 the days of the ajiostles, and liy the original constitution 
 of the church of Christ, in a succession of ages, has been 
 intrusted to other hands. Popular elections of minis- 
 ters were never the practice of the primitive times, nor 
 have they ever been admitted into the constitution of 
 any church established on the primitive model. But 
 the people are not considered as silent observers of the 
 ajjpropriation of ])ersons to the ministry. A due de- 
 ference is paid to their testimony in setting apart proper 
 persons for so holy an office. So strict indeed is the 
 scrutiny, that in the parish church of the place, where 
 the candidate resides, notice of his intention is required 
 to be publickly gi\-en during the time of divine service : 
 and every man, who knows any specifick offence, ^ath 
 which he may be charged, or any moral impediment, 
 which would disgrace his office, or render his instruc- 
 tions void, is required to declare them. This notiflcatian, 
 as we see here, is again made on the day and at the time 
 of ordination ; so that if one opportunity of preventing 
 an unworthy person from having any lot or portion in 
 this ministry should have been omitted, another occurs 
 at the awful moment of completing the appropriation. 
 Brewster. 
 
 If any of the people know any impediment or notable 
 crime in any of the pei'sons to be ordained, for which he 
 
 2 Chron. vi. 
 
 41. 
 
 Ps. cxxxii. 8. 
 
 Eph. vi, 18, 
 
 13. 1 Thess. 
 
 V. 25. 
 
 T And if any great Crime or Impediment be 
 objected", the Bishop shall surcease from 
 ordering that person until such time as the 
 parly accused shall he found clear of that 
 Crime. 
 
 1 Then the Bishop (commending such as shall 
 be found meet to be Ordered to the Prayers 
 of the Congregation^) shall, with the 
 Clergy and people present , sing or say ihe 
 Litany', with the Prayers asfollowelh. 
 
 ought not to be received into the ministry, it is their 
 fault if he be ordained, for they may hinder it if they 
 will : nay, they are bound to do it, by discovering what 
 objections they have against it. Whence it may be 
 observed by the way, tliat whatsoever disorderly or un- 
 worthy persons are admitted to holy orders, the people 
 must not blame the bishop, Init themselves, or those 
 that know them, for it. For it cannot be supposed that 
 he should have the personal knowledge of every one that 
 conies to him for orders : all that lie can do, is to in- 
 quire of them, and consider what credit is to be given 
 to the letters testimonial which they bring to him, 
 wherein it may be possible for him to be imposed upon. 
 But they, who do not only personally know them, but 
 know them to be of so wicked and loose a conversation, 
 that they ought not to be received into the ministry, 
 and yet do not acquaint the bishop with it, either be- 
 fore, or when he requires them to do it in the face of the 
 congregation, ought to bear all the blame now, and 
 must answer for it another day. Bp, Beveridge. 
 
 ° And if any great Crime or Impediment be objected, 
 &c.] If it should so happen, that the bishop, for some 
 alleged cause, should surcease from ordering any ])ar- 
 ticular person, let it be observed that he still acts under 
 the impression of Christian forbearance. Though under 
 such a circumstance it would be indiscreet and imjjro- 
 per to proceed to the ordination of a jierson charged 
 with offence, it is charitably supposed that he may be 
 innocent of the accusation : and therefore the ceremony 
 is suspended, " until such time as the party accused shall 
 be found clear of that crime." Brewster. 
 
 ^ Then the Bishop (commending — to the Prayers of the 
 Congregation) &c.] If there be no objection, the office 
 proceeds. And first the bishop commends those, who 
 are found fit, to the prayers of the people : and, if any 
 priests are ordained, that being the more weighty office, 
 a space is allowed for the congregation's private devo- 
 tions : for some of them may be friends or relations to 
 the candidates, or be such as are to be under their 
 charge ; and then they will desire time to put uji parti- 
 cular requests for them, for which tliis vacant time gives 
 them an o|jportunity. But even they, who have no 
 such special ties, are obliged, as Christians and mem- 
 bers of that Church wherein these men are to officiate, 
 to pray heartily, that its clergy may be rightly chosen 
 and replenished with grace, since that is a common 
 blessing to all good Christians in every part of the na- 
 tion. The ancient Western offices, referring to the 
 people's crying " Worthy, worthy," do immediately 
 order them all to join in their prayers to God, as they 
 have done in their testimony of these men ; saying. 
 Let your common prayer follow your common consent. 
 And, as now the whole congregation hath at least by 
 their silence consented to their admission ; so they are 
 concerned for the general good earnestly to pray for 
 them. Demi Comber. 
 
 ' — the Litany.l Tliis having been treated of before, 
 it is here only requisite to note, that it is a most com- 
 prehensive deprecation of all evil, and intercession for 
 the whole chui-ch and all degrees of men therein ; and
 
 680 
 
 o 
 
 sins. 
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 The Litany and Sriffrages. 
 
 God the Father, of heaven : 
 have mercy upon us miserable 
 
 O God the Father, of heaven : have 
 mercy tipon us miserable sinriers. 
 
 O God the Son, Redeemer of the 
 world : have mercy upon us miserable 
 sinners. 
 
 O God the Son, Redeemer of the 
 world : have mercy upon us miserable 
 siimers. 
 
 O God the Holy Ghost, pro- 
 ceeding from the Father and the 
 Son : have mercy upon us miserable 
 sinners. 
 
 O God the Holy Ghost, proceeding 
 from the Father and the Son : have 
 mercy upon us miserable sinners. 
 
 O holy, blessed, and glorious 
 Trinity, three Persons and one God : 
 have mercy upon us miserable sin- 
 ners. 
 
 O holy, blessed, and glorious Tri- 
 nity, three Persons and one God : have 
 mercy upon us miserable sinners. 
 
 Remember not. Lord, our offences, 
 nor the offences of our forefathers ; 
 neither take thou vengeance of our 
 sins : spare us, good Lord, spare thy 
 people, whom thou hast redeemed 
 with thy most precious blood, and be 
 not angry with us for ever. 
 Spare us, good Lord. 
 
 so must be very proper on this occasion, which is a pub- 
 lick and iniiversal concern to all sorts of i)eople who 
 wish well to religion : upon which ground all other 
 churches use it at ordinations, and, as we do, add a 
 peculiar petition for the persons now to be ordained. 
 'Hie Greek church, according to their custom, hax-e two 
 or three short Litanies in this office, and say therein, 
 " For the servant of God, N., now to l)e promoted a 
 deacon, a priest, or a bishoj), and his salvation, I^et us 
 intreat the Lord." But this is too short. The Latin 
 Ordinals have this in tlie end of their Litany : "That 
 thou wouldest vouchsafe to bless these elected," Ans. 
 " We beseech thee," &c. ; and then in two other i)eti- 
 tions, "To bless and sanctify," &c. ; "To bless, sanc- 
 tify, and consecrate these elected." Which, as a vain 
 repetition, was rejected l)y our Keformers in the l)ook 
 of Edward the Si.xth; but, instead tliereof, this excel- 
 lent request is jiut in, "That it may [)leasethee to bless 
 these thy servants, now to be admitted to the order of 
 deacons, or priests ; and to jiour thy grace upon them, 
 that they may duly execute their odicc, to the edifying 
 of thy church, anil the glory of thy holy name." Which 
 are as full, and as much to the i)urpose, as can be cx- 
 ])resse(l in so few words. 
 
 For, first, In general we beg (iod's blessing on them : 
 and then as to their office we intimate, 1, What is the 
 means; and, 2, the manner of executing it well. 'I'o 
 " execute the i)rie8t'3 office" is a Scripture jjlirase, and 
 
 From all evil and mischief; from 
 sin, from the crafts and assaults of 
 the devil ; from thy wrath, and from 
 everlasting damnation, 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 From all blindness of heart ; from 
 pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy ; 
 from envy, hatred, and malice, and 
 all uncharitableness. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 From fornication, and all other 
 deadly sin ; and from all the deceits 
 of the world, the flesh, and the devil, 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 From lightning and tempest; from 
 plague, pestilence, and famine ; from 
 battle and murder, and from sudden 
 death. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 From all sedition, privy conspi- 
 racy, and rebellion ; from all false 
 doctrine, heresy, and schism ; from 
 hardness of heart, and contempt of 
 thy Word and Commandment, 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 By the mystery of thy holy Incar- 
 nation ; by thy holy Nativity and 
 Circumcision ; by thy Baptism, Fast- 
 ing, and Temptation, 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 By thine Agony and bloody Sweat; 
 by thy Cross and Passion ; by thy 
 precious Death and Burial ; by thy 
 glorious Resurrection and Ascension ; 
 
 comprehends their M-hole duty, and the " making full 
 proof of their ministry," Luke i. 8 ; 2 Tim. iv. .'i : or 
 using the office of a deacon or priest well, in St. Paul's 
 way of speaking, 1 Tim. iii. 13. Now this cannot be 
 done, unless they have abundance of grace, a double 
 IJortion of the Spirit, 2 Kings ii. 9. Other men are 
 only to take care of their own salvation ; and ordinary 
 measures may serve them for the duties of common 
 life. But these are to " save themselves and those that 
 hear them," 1 'I'im. iv. IG. Besides, the manner and 
 end of their ]ierforming all their duty is, first, to edifi- 
 cation : a common metaphor in holy writ, where the 
 church is comjiared to " the house of (iod," E))h. ii. IP ; 
 1 Tim. iii. !.'>; ministers to builders, 1 Cor. iii. 10; 
 every convert they make, and every sinner they reform, 
 by tneir i)rayers, sermons, and jirivate admonitions, are 
 living stones added to this building, Kjih. ii. 21, 22; 
 and their improvement in wisdcmi and virtue is their 
 "edification," Ei)h. iv. 12. So that a minister csjie- 
 cially is to mind that great rule, to " do all things to 
 edification," 1 (Jor. xiv. 2G. lie must not seek his 
 own interest, but the benefit of bis iieojile. Nor, se- 
 condly, aim at his own praise, but at the honour and 
 glory of (iod, 1 Cor. x. ;il. It is not enough that 
 they commend his parts or learning, but that tbry 
 can justly bless God for their growth in all goodness. 
 .And this is the sum of this proper petition. Dean 
 Comber.
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 G81 
 
 and by tlie coming of tlie Holy 
 Ghost, 
 
 Good Lnrd, dcliwr us. 
 
 In all time of our tribulation ; in 
 all time of our wealth ; in the hour 
 of death, and in the day of judge- 
 ment, 
 
 Good l!ord, deliver us. 
 
 We sinners do beseech thee to 
 hear us, O Lord God ; and that it 
 may please thee to rule and govern 
 thy holy Church universal in the 
 right way; 
 IVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to keep 
 and strengthen in the true wor- 
 shipping of thee, in righteousness 
 and holiness of life, thy Servant 
 VICTORIA, our most gracious 
 Queen and Governour; 
 We beseech thee to hear its, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to rule 
 her heart in thy faith, fear, and love, 
 and that she may evermore have af- 
 fiance in thee, and ever seek thy 
 honour and glory ; 
 We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to be her 
 defender and keeper, giving her the 
 victory over all her enemies; 
 We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to bless 
 and preserve the Prince Albert, Albert 
 Prince of Wales, and all the Royal 
 Family ; 
 We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to illu- 
 minate all Bishops, Priests, and 
 Deacons, with true knowledge and 
 understanding of thy Word ; and 
 that both by their preaching and 
 living they may set it forth, and 
 shew it accordingly; 
 We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to bless 
 these thy servants, now to be ad- 
 mitted to the Order of Deacons, 
 [or Priests,'] and to pour thy grace 
 fS?*'-.".- ,, upon them; that thev may duly 
 
 ITim. in. 13. t .' J J . J 
 
 2Tim.i». 5. execute their Urnce, to the editying 
 21"! 22? iv. 12. of thy Church, and the glory of thy 
 iiv°26"'"" lioly Name; 
 1 Cor. 1.31. lYg beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to endue 
 the Lords of the Council, and all 
 the Nobility, with grace, wisdom, 
 and understanding; 
 We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to bless 
 
 and keep the Magistrates, giving 
 them grace to execute justice, and 
 to maintain truth ; 
 It'e beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to bless 
 and keep all thy peo])le ; 
 IVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to give 
 to all nations unity, peace, and con- 
 cord ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to give us 
 an heart to love and dread thee, and 
 diligently to live after thy command- 
 ments ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear zis, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to give to 
 all thy people increase of grace to 
 hear meekly thy Word, and to receive 
 it with pure affection, and to bring 
 forth the fruits of the Spirit; 
 IVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to bring 
 into the way of truth all such as have 
 erred, and are deceived; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to 
 strengthen such as do stand ; and to 
 comfort and help the weak-hearted; 
 and to raise up them that fall ; and 
 finally to beat down Satan under our 
 feet ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may j)lease thee to suc- 
 cour, help, and comfort, all that are in 
 danger, necessity, and tribulation ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to pre- 
 serve all that tra^'el by land or by 
 water, all women labouring of child, 
 all sick persons, and young children ; 
 and to shew thy pity upon all pri- 
 soners and ca])tives ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to defend, 
 and provide for, the fatherless chil- 
 dren, and widows, and all that are 
 desolate and oppressed ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to have 
 mercy upon all men ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. 
 
 That it may please thee to forgive 
 our enemies, persecutors, and slan- 
 derers, and to turn their hearts ; 
 JVe beseech thee to hear us, good Lnrd. 
 
 That it may please thee to give 
 and preserve to our use the kindly
 
 682 
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 fruits of the earth, so as in due time 
 we may enjoy them ; 
 fVe beseech thee to hear tts, good Lord. 
 That it may please thee to give 
 us true repentance ; to forgive lis 
 all our sins, negligences, and igno- 
 rances; and to endue us with the 
 grace of thy Holy Spirit to amend 
 our lives according to thy holy 
 Word; 
 
 We beseech thee to hear ns, good Lord. 
 Son of God : we beseech thee to 
 bear us. 
 
 Son of God: ivc beseech thee to hear 71s. 
 O Lamb of God : that takest away 
 the sins of the world ; 
 
 Grant us thy peace. 
 O Lamb of God : that takest away 
 the sins of the world ; 
 
 Have mercg iipon us. 
 O Christ, hear us. 
 O Christ, hear us. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Lord, have nierci/ upon us. 
 Christ, have mercy upon us. 
 Christ, have mercy upon us. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 t Then shall the Priest, and the people with 
 him, say Vie Lord's Prayer. 
 
 OU R Father, which art in hea- 
 ven, Hallowed be thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth. As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses. As 
 we forgive thom that trespass against 
 us. And lead us not into temp- 
 tation ; But deliver us from evil. 
 Amen. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, deal not with us 
 after our sins. 
 
 Answer. Neither reward us after 
 our iniquities. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 OGod, merciful Father, that 
 despisest not the sighing of a 
 contrite heart, nor the desire of such 
 as be sorrowful ; Mercifully assist 
 our prayers that we make before 
 thee in all our troubles and adver- 
 sities, whensoever they oppress us; 
 and graciously iiear us, that those 
 evils, which the craft and sulitilty of 
 the devil or man worketh against us, 
 be brought to nought; and by the 
 providence of thy goodncs>) they may 
 
 be dispersed ; that we thy servants, 
 being hurt by no persecutions, may 
 evermore give thanks unto thee in 
 thy holy Church ; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. 
 
 O Lord, arise, help Jis, and deliver 
 us for tin/ Name's sake. 
 
 OGod, we have heard with our 
 ears, and our fathers have de- 
 clared unto us, the noble works that 
 thou didst in their days, and in the 
 old time before them. 
 
 O Lord, arise, help its, and delivei 
 us for thine honour. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 Answer. As it was in the begin- 
 ning, is now, and ever shall be : world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 From our enemies defend us, O 
 Christ. 
 
 Graciously look jipon our afflictions. 
 
 Pitifully behohl the sorrows of our 
 hearts. 
 
 Mercifully forgive the sins of thy 
 people. 
 
 Favourably with mercy hear our 
 prayers. 
 
 O Sun of David, have mercy upon 
 us. 
 
 Both now and ever vouchsafe to 
 hear us, O Christ. 
 
 Graciously hear us, O Christ ; gra- 
 ciously hear us, O Lord Christ. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, let thy mercy be 
 shewed upon us; 
 
 Answer. As we do put our trust 
 in thee. 
 
 w 
 
 Let us ])ray. 
 E humbly beseech thcc, O 
 Father, mercifully to look 
 upon our infirmities; and for the 
 glory of thy Name turn from us 
 all those evils that we most right- 
 eously have deserved ; and grant, 
 that in all our troubles we may ])ut 
 our whole trust and eoniidcnee in 
 thy mercy, and evermore serve thee 
 in holiness and inireness of living, to 
 thy honour and glory; through our 
 only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 l Then shall he sung or said the Service for 
 the C<)mmuui<m'', uilli the Collect, Epistle, 
 and Gospel, us J'olloweih. 
 
 The Collect'. 
 L^riGH'l'Y God, who by Eph. iv. 8. 
 
 A 
 
 tijy l)i\ ine Providence hast ap- "' '"'
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 683 
 
 pointed^ divers Orders of Ministers 
 
 ill tliy Clmrcli, iiiid didst inspire 
 
 tliine Apostles to eiioose into the 
 
 Acts vi. 5,0. Order of Deacons the first Martyr 
 
 Saint Steplien, with others ; Mer- 
 
 2Cor. ii. 1G| cifully beiiokl these thy servants^ 
 
 now called to the like Office and 
 
 ActBvi. 3. Administration; replenish tlicin so*" 
 
 2 TiTn."iii. 17. with the truth of thy Doctrine, and 
 
 ii''io''Mait 'I'lorn them with innocency of life, 
 
 xsv. 21. that both hv word and yood ex- 
 
 I Cor. iv. 2. J a 
 
 ^ Then shall be surig or said the service for the Com- 
 munioti,^ The Communion scr\'ice succeeds the Litaii}', 
 not only in this, but all other churches : and that with 
 great propriety. For since the candidates are to draw 
 near to Uod, and therefore must be more than ordina- 
 rily sanctified. Lev. x. 3 ; the confession of sin after 
 each commandment, with the collect for purity of heart 
 which precedes it, are extremely proper at tliis time for 
 those, who ouj^jht now to purify themselves by fervent 
 devotion and hearty re])entance, before they enter on 
 so solemn an admission to this sacred employment. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 ' The Collect.l Prayer hath always been used at or- 
 dination; and Scripture, as well as reason, shews that 
 they must never be ])ut asunder. \\'hen our Lord 
 was about to appoint bis twelve apostles, He directs 
 his disciples in the very verse before, which we have ill 
 divided, and put it into another chapter, to " pray to 
 the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into his 
 harvest," Matt. ix. 3S ; x. 1 ; so that He, who knew 
 all men's hearts, would not ordain without prayer. So 
 when the eleven were to elect a colleague, " they jirayed 
 first," Acts i. 24. And though the Holy Ghost had 
 named Barnabas and Saul, yet the church of Antioch 
 fasted and prayed before their designation, Acts .xiii. 
 2, 3. And reason teaches lis, that ai)])lication ought 
 to be made to God in this case, as well because these 
 persons are to be ajipointed his immediate servants, as 
 because He only can fit them for this great work. 
 Wherefore all regular churches have set forms on this 
 occasion. Derm Comber. 
 
 ' Almiffhty God, who by thy Divine Providence hast 
 appointed, &c.] It is a just encouragement of our 
 prayers, when we know that we desire God's blessing 
 u]ion his own institution, and not our invention. 
 ^Vherefore our business being to beg his favour upon 
 us in this ordination in general, and these deacons in 
 particular, the preface properly sets out, first, That the 
 variety of orders among ministers in liis church, and 
 secondly, that this order of deacons, had their original 
 by divine appointment. The same was observed in the 
 old offices. And herein also we imitate the Eastern 
 and Western offices both, that we make esjiecial men- 
 tion of "the first martyr St. Stephen," the captain 
 and leader of the seven deacons, as well as of the noble 
 army of martyrs, the lasting glory of this order, and 
 the most accomplished pattern that can be jiroposed to 
 all that enter ujion this office for their imitation : whose 
 gifts were so great, that he was able to convince or 
 confound all gainsayers ; yet his humility was so signal, 
 that he submitted to the meanest otSce of taking care 
 of the poor and needy; being equally to be admired 
 for the holiness of his life, and his ]>atience under a 
 cruel death, for his mighty charity to bis bloody foes, 
 and his vigorous faith in his glorified Redeemer. Now 
 all this was the effect of God's grace, which is sufiicient 
 also to make them, that are now to succeed hiin in the 
 
 ample, they m;iy faithfully serve 
 thee in this Office, to the j^lory of 
 thy Name, and the edification of thy 
 Church; throiii;;li the merits of our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, who liveth and 
 reigneth with thee and the Holy 
 Ghost, now and for ever. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle'. 1 Tim. iii. 8. 
 
 LI K E W I S E must the Deacons 
 be grave, not doubletongued. 
 
 same order, to be like him at least in some measure 
 in these heavenly qualities : wherefore they ought to 
 look at the lovely copy here set them, and resolve 
 heartily they will imitate him as far as they can, ])ray- 
 ing heartily they may do so in the next words. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 B — Mercifully behold these thy servants &c.] It is natu- 
 ral for men to look kindly on the works of their own 
 hands : but God's are always very good, wherefore He 
 alwaj's delights in them ; where his providence ajipoints 
 an office, bis favour follows it of course. That which 
 He directed his apostles to do in ordaining deacons, 
 his peojile are now about : and, as He was gracious to 
 those first elected, we hope He will be so to those who 
 are called to an administration like theirs ; namely, to 
 officiate under the governours of the church in sacred 
 mysteries and in dispensing charity ; so that we pray, 
 according to ancient forms, that God would " merci- 
 fully look ujion these bis servants." Dean Comber. 
 
 '' — replenish them so &c.] Having prayed in general 
 for God's mercy and favour, we further beg, that when 
 his mercy hath preceded, his grace may follow; and 
 that, in those great effects of it, so necessary for the 
 tribe of Levi, illumination in true doctrine, and inno- 
 cency or perfection in manners : the former to re])lenish 
 their understandings with the knowledge of all truth, 
 the latter to adorn their conversation with all sorts of 
 virtue : these two are Moses's prayer for the sacred 
 tribe, and the meaning of L'rim and Thummim, Deut. 
 xx.viii. 8, and will make our " man of God perfect, and 
 throughly furnished to every good work," 2 Tim. iii. 
 17. And indeed both are absolutely necessary for a 
 clergyman. He must, as the first deacons were, be 
 " replenished %vith wisdom." Acts vi. 3 ; see also Luke 
 ii. 40. The fountain, which is to water many, had 
 need to be very full, yea, to o\-erflow, and then he may 
 serve God by his words. And he must also be adorned 
 with innocency of life, that he may serve God by his 
 good example : and thus both by word and deed they 
 may glorify his name, and edify the church. Hence 
 the ancient oflSces mention both these : nor may the 
 two be separated; for, if a minister be innocent, but 
 ignorant, his innocence only profits himself, but he is 
 not qualified to instruct others ; and, if he be learned, 
 but vicious, his evil example hinders the effect of his 
 exhortations, and makes his knowledge become unpro- 
 fitable. Wherefore St. Hilary notes a good clergyman 
 must have both : and we pray for both together, that 
 bis head may be full stored n-ith the knowledge of all 
 orthodox principles, and his life adorned with all sorts 
 of virtuous ]iractices. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' The Epistle.] Since the office of a deacon is by di- 
 vine a)ipointment, the directions for it must be found 
 in tiod's word. Upon this occasion therefore it hath 
 been an ancient, and is a rational custom, to select 
 some of the most proper places of holy wTit, suitable to 
 this and the other orders, and to read them in the ordi-
 
 684 
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 not triven to mucli wine, not greedy 
 of filthv lucre, holding tlie mystery of 
 the faith in a pure conscience. And 
 let these also first be proved ; then 
 let them use the Office of a Deacon, 
 being found blameless. Even so 
 must their wives be grave, not slan- 
 derers, sober, faithful in all things. 
 Let the Deacons be the Imsbands of 
 one wife, ruling their children and 
 their own houses well. For they 
 that have used the Office of a Deacon 
 well purchase to themselves a good 
 degree, and great boldness in the 
 faith which is in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Or else this^, out of the Sixth of the Acts of 
 the Apostles. 
 
 Acts vi. 2. 
 
 THEN the twelve called the 
 multitude of the disciples unto 
 them, and said. It is not reason 
 that we should leave the Word of 
 God, and serve tables. Wherefore, 
 brethren, look ye out among you 
 seven men of honest report, full of 
 the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom 
 we may appoint over this business. 
 
 nation. As to the particular places chosen for the 
 Epistles, none is fitter than this, which contains St. 
 Paul's directions to Timothy about the qualifications 
 of a deacon. Wherefore almost all churches order this 
 to be the Ejnstle at their ordination, because it fully 
 sets forth wliat manner of persons they ought to he, 
 who are admitted into this order. So that the candi- 
 dates should hear this with great attention and reve- 
 rence, trj-ing themselves secretly all the while by this 
 divine touchstone : that, if they have these qualities, 
 they may ]>roceed with joy ; if they want any of them, 
 they may labour to sujiply the defect. Deun Comber. 
 
 '' Or else this, &c.] 'I'his other portion of Scri[)turp, 
 which is the sacred history of the divine institution of 
 this order, is ajipointed sometimes to be read, to put 
 the candidates in mind of the excellent orif^inal and 
 prime design of their olllce : which, though it be so 
 very proper, is not prescribed in many churches besides 
 ours. Dean Comher. 
 
 ' The Onth of the Queen's Sovereignty.'] The papal in- 
 croachments ujion the King's sovereignty in causes and 
 over persons ecclesiastical, yea, even in matters civil, 
 under that loose pretence of "in ordine ad s])iritualia," 
 had obtained a great strength and long contiiuiance in 
 this realm, notwithstanding the security the crown had 
 by the oaths of fealty and allegiance : so that there was 
 a necessity to imrivet those usurpations, by substitut- 
 ing by authority of [larliament a recognition by oath of 
 the King's supremacy, as well in causes ecclesiastical 
 as civil : wlureupDn the onth of supremacy was framed ; 
 which oath as finally estuldished by tlie 1 W. chap. S, 
 is as above. Dr. Hum. 
 
 Whatever were the immediate motives of King 
 Henry VIII. in rejecting the power of the I'ope in the 
 Hiqmmacy of tlie church, no doubt can remain in the 
 rational and retlecting breast, that he was right in 
 
 But we will give ourselves continu- 
 ally to prayer, and to the ministry 
 of the Word. And the saying 
 pleased the whole multitude. And 
 they chose Stephen, a man full of 
 faith, and of the Holy Ghost, and 
 Pliilip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, 
 and Timon, and Parmenas, and 
 Nicholas a proselyte of Antioch ; 
 whom they set before the Apostles ; 
 and, when they had prayed, they 
 laid their hands on them. And the 
 Word of God increased, and the 
 number of the disciples multiplied 
 in Jerusalem greatly, and a great 
 company of the Priests were obedient 
 to the faith. 
 
 H And before the Gospel, the Bishop, sitting 
 in his chair, shall cause the Oath of the 
 Queeti's Sovereignty, and against the power 
 and authority of all foreign Potentates, to 
 be ministered unto every one of them that 
 are to be Ordered. 
 
 The Oath of the QueeiCs Sovereignty^. 
 
 I A. B. do swear, that I do from 
 my iieart abhor, detest, and ab- 
 jure, as impious and heretical, tliat 
 
 point of iirinciple, as well as of law. Notwithstanding 
 his arbitrary notions and des]iotick rule, in a conciliat- 
 ing moment he declared to the convocation at York, 
 " the sense of the sujireme head of the Church, though 
 offensive," he adds, " in the sound to ignorant ears, 
 but claiming nothing more thereby than what Christian 
 princes in the primitive times assvmied to themselves 
 in their own dominions." Brewster. 
 
 The usurped jurisdiction of the Pope being abolished, 
 and there being no longer any danger to the liberties of 
 the Church or State from that quarter: and divers of 
 the ])rinccs of this realm having entertained more ex- 
 alted notions of the sujircmacy, both ecclesiastical and 
 ci\'il, than were deemed consistent with tlie regal esta- 
 blishment and constitution : it was tliought fit at the 
 Revolnticm to declare and express, how far the regal 
 power, in matters spiritual as well as temporal, doth 
 extend. For this iiurpose the following became part of 
 the coronation oath. " .Irchbisliop. or llishnp .- \\'ill 
 you to tlie utmost of your jiower maintain the laws of 
 (jod, the true profession of the Gospel, and protestant 
 reformed religion established liy law.' .\iid will you 
 preserve to the bi.slio])S and clergy of this realm, and 
 to the churches committed to their charge, all such 
 rights and ])rivileges, as by law do, or shall, ap]iertain 
 unto them or any of tliem ? The King or Queen shall 
 answer, \]\ tliis 1 |iromise to do." 1 W. chap. G. And 
 by the Act of I'nion, .'i Anne, chap. 8, it was enacted, 
 that " the Sovereign at his coronation shall take and 
 subscrilie an oath, to maintain and preserve inviolably 
 the settlement of the Cliurch of ICngland, and the doc- 
 trine, wor.sliip, discipline, and government thereof, as 
 by law established." 
 
 'I'lie king having given this assurance of his govern- 
 ment both in Church and Slate, it is reasonable that 
 the security of an oath should be rccjuired of those, who
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 685 
 
 damnable Doctrine and Position™, 
 lliat I'rinces excommunicated or 
 deprived i)y the Pojie, or any Au- 
 thority of tlie See of Rome, may 
 be deposed or murdered by their 
 Subjects, or any otiier wiiatsoever. 
 And I do declare, tliat no foreign 
 Prince, Person, Prelate, State, or 
 Potentate, liath, or ougiit to have, 
 any Jurisdiction, Power, Superiority, 
 
 hold any office, civil or ecclesiastical, under his jurisdic- 
 tion. Dr. Burn, Brewster. 
 
 The first thing which candidates, both for deacons' 
 and priests' orders, after they are presented, are re- 
 quired to do, as distinct from the rest of the congrega- 
 tion, is to take the oaths of allegiance and sujiremacy. 
 For, as they are to be ministers of the Church esta- 
 blished by law in this nation, it is evidently reasonable 
 that the civil government, established by law, should be 
 assured of the fidelity and affection of the persons, to 
 whom it gives and secures privileges and iirofits ; and 
 who are entrusted witli the care, amongst other matters, 
 of making men good subjects. Now these oaths bind 
 every person, who takes them, to " honour the king," 
 1 Pet. ii. 17; and, by consequence, all that are put in 
 authority under him, both in word and in deed ; and to 
 " lead," in subjection to them, " quiet and peaceable 
 lives," 1 Tim. ii. 2. That these things may with a 
 good conscience be promised and ])erformed, there is 
 no just cause of doubt. But, if any one thinks tliere 
 is, he ought to apply for satisfaction : and, till he 
 receives it, he ought to abstain from taking the oaths : 
 for " whatever is not of faith is sin," Rom. xiv. 23 ; 
 and in this case it would be no less than perjury. 
 Nothing is a plea sufficient for committing any sin, 
 much less one so heinous : not even all the force that 
 can be used. But here is no shadow of force. The 
 persons are come voluntarily to offer themselves, well 
 knowing that the oaths must he tendered to them : that 
 is, they have made it their choice to take them. Abp. 
 Seeker. 
 
 Though the original form of the oath of supremacy 
 in our nation be no older than the dawning of our 
 Reformation under King Henry VIII. ; yet the thing is 
 as old as Scripture history; for the right of kings, 
 which this oath declares, is set forth in God's word, 
 where David and Solomon, Hezekiah and Jehoshajibat, 
 1 Chron. .xxviii. 21 ; I Kings ii. 27; 2 Chron. viii. 14, 
 15; XX. 21, as supreme in the ecclesiastical as well as 
 in civil affah-s, made laws in matters of religion, and 
 the priests as well as the peo))le, were subject to them. 
 And the New Testament declares, that tlie clergy are 
 subjected to kings and princes as well as laymen. St. 
 Chrysostom notes, that St. Paul says, " Every soul, 
 though he be a priest or an apostle, must be subject 
 to the higher powers," Rom. xiii. 1. And St. Bernard 
 tells a great bishop, " If e\'ery soul must be subject, 
 then yours : he, that attempts to except you out of that 
 universal command, endeavours to deceive you." Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 It is necessary however to remark, that, although the 
 king of this country is justly and lawfully considered as 
 the supreme head of the Church of England, it is not 
 with any reference to his possessing in his own person, 
 or conferring upon others, the office of the jiriesthood. 
 Queens may enjoy this prerogati\-e, when jjossessing in 
 their own right the supreme power : but on them the 
 priesthood never could be conferred. But the regula- 
 
 Prc-eminence, or Authority, Ecclesi- 
 astical or Spiritual, within this Realm. 
 So lielp me God. 
 
 1 Then shall the Bishop examine every one 
 of them" that are to he Ordered, in the 
 presence of the people, after this manner 
 following. 
 
 O you trust that you are in- 
 wardly moved by the Holy 
 Ghost" to take upon you this Oiiice phlifii! 
 
 D 
 
 tion of church government, which must reside some- 
 where on earth, for Christ is truly the spiritual head of 
 his own church, cannot be reposed in better hands than 
 in his to whom is intrusted the sujireme power of regu- 
 lation in the state. The Chiu-ch of England considers 
 herself as an integral part of the constitution of Eng- 
 land; as such, their interests are interwoven: and as, 
 in the coiuse of national events, they have fallen and 
 risen together, may the unity and concord, which sub- 
 sists between them, contribute to the prosjierity of both, 
 and be indissoluble ! Brewster. 
 
 "' — that damnable Doctrine and Position, &c.] This 
 position in the former part of the oath has been denied 
 by some modern Roman Catholitk universities, and 
 probably several of that communicm may be of the 
 same opinion : but if the acknowledged doctrine of 
 that church be unalterable, as we are assured that it is, 
 by the highest authority which they possess, the clause 
 must continue to be considered as a security of the 
 rights of the Church of England and this protestant 
 country ; and fully sufficient to vindicate and confirm 
 the second part of the oath for the exclusion of every 
 foreign power in the jurisdiction of this realm. While 
 " the sentence declaratory of Pope Pius the Fifth 
 against Queen Elizabeth and the hereticks adhering 
 to her " remains unrepealed or disavowed, this oath of 
 supremacy will be considered as indispensably neces- 
 sary. Brewster. 
 
 " Then shall the Bishop examine every one of them 
 &c.] That all possilde care may be taken to make or 
 find those, who enter into holy orders, worthy; our 
 Church hath here rightly placed these questions : not 
 deferring and confining them to the consecration of a 
 Bishop, as the Roman Ordinal doth, because the 
 greatest security to religion is the careful guarding of 
 the fu-st entrance into its ministrations. And therefore 
 we put these interrogatories to deacons and priests; 
 for he that is faithful in a less, will be so in a greater 
 trust, Luke xvi. 10. It is a caUing that men can never 
 forsake, and so it ought not to be rashly undertaken, 
 Liike ix. 62. So that, though these questions be now 
 first proposed to the candidates, yet it is absolutely 
 necessary they should have read tliem over seriously 
 before in pri\-ate, and duly n-eighed them all, before 
 they [)resume to answer them in the presence of God, 
 and of his holy angels, as well as of the Bishop his 
 representative. If they answer falsely or rashly before 
 so great an assembly, and just before they are to re- 
 ceive the holy sacrament, it is an inexcusaljle as well as 
 a presumptuous sin. Dean Comber. 
 
 ° Do you trust that you are imeardly moved by the 
 Holy Ghost &c.] It is not said, " Do you feel ;" have 
 you an immediate perception of such an impulse from 
 the Holy Ghost, as you can distinguish from all other 
 inward movements by its manner of impressing you .' 
 but, " Do you trust." are you on good grounds per- 
 suaded ? So that the thing to be consiilered is what 
 are the proper grounds of such persuasion. Abp.
 
 686 
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 and Ministration, to serve God for 
 the piomotinir of his glory, and the 
 edifying of his people? 
 Answer. I trust so. 
 
 Seeker. There are two sorts of motions or calls to the 
 ministiy. First, the outward ; whereby those, who 
 have a right of recommending a person to the exe- 
 cution of any ecclesiastical office, do fix a])on him as 
 one in their judgment qualified for it ; and tlie bishop, 
 approving their judgment, does admit him into such 
 office in due manner, as the laws of God and the rites 
 of the Church do require. But the inward call is 
 sometliing preceding this, and is required l)y our 
 Church as a qualification for the latter. Now it has 
 been some matter of doubt, what is meant here by 
 being " inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost," But I 
 think no one can judge, that the compilers of this 
 office did ever entertain such enthusiastical notions, as 
 to imagine that no persons were to be admitted into 
 any degree of the ecclesiastical orders, without ha\'ing 
 a sjiecial revelation from the Holy Spirit, that God had 
 particularly commissioned them to take upon them that 
 oflice, as .St. Paul says of himself, that he was " an 
 apostle called of God," Rom. i. 1 ; 1 Cor. i. 1. For 
 such calls as these were miraculous and extraordinary, 
 and remained not much longer than the apostolical 
 times. It remains therefore, that this motion or call 
 must be something in a more ordinary and common 
 way. 
 
 Now we know that the Scripture teaches, that the 
 common and ordinary graces, and all good dis])ositions 
 and resolutions, are attributed to tlie Holy Spirit of 
 God. " Every good and perfect gift Cometh from 
 above," James i. 17. " It is God that worketh in you, 
 both to will and to do, of his good pleasure," Phil. ii. 
 1.3. The apostle calls the ordinarj' graces of love, joy, 
 peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, 
 temperance, " the fruits of the Spirit," Gal. v. 24. 
 Thus the behef of the Gospel is called " the s])irit of 
 faith," 2 Cor. iv. 1.3. And it is said expressly, that 
 " no one saith that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy 
 Ghost," 1 Cor. xii. 3. Now I conceive, all that is here 
 meant by "inward motion of the Holy Ghost," is his 
 ordinary motion, by «'hicli Christians are stirred u]i to 
 every good resolution which they make, or good action 
 which they do. And whereas a resolution to take upon 
 one the office of the ministry, witliout any bad design 
 mixing with it, is a good resolution ; so he, that takes 
 it up, may be pro]icrly said to be nicjvcd by the Holy 
 (ihost to do it. For it must be uudnul)tedly owned, 
 that such a resolution is a good and jiious one, since 
 the apostle says plainly, laying it down as an undoubted 
 truth, "Tliis is a true saying, If a man desircth tlie 
 office of a bishop, he desircth a good work." 1 Tim. 
 iii. I. And, to be sure, in those times it seldom hap- 
 pened, that this or any other ecclesiastical office was 
 desired, but only from a ])ure view of doing good. For 
 these were exposed the foremost to the rage of the per- 
 secutors, and men nuist l)e actuateil by a nol)le zeal for 
 the (Jospel, to lay themselves under the necessity of 
 l)eing exj)osed to the most grievous sulfcrings, or lay- 
 ing down their lives for tlie sake of it. .And in these 
 times likewi.se, men may, and frc(iuently, I donlit not, 
 do. take upon them tlie ecclesiastical enqiloys upon very 
 good aims. Therefore llic meaning of this question is, 
 whctlier, afler an imjiartial examination (jf tliiir hearts, 
 they find, that they do not take this sacred employ upon 
 them, barely Cor a maintenance in the world, or that 
 thereby they may acijuire tho.sc superior dignities and 
 profits, which iu these i>eaceable ages of Christianity 
 
 D 
 
 The BUliop. 
 
 O you think that you are tridy 
 called P, according to the will 
 
 some of the clergy do partake of; but only, that they 
 think they may be serviceable in God's vineyard, and 
 are willing to contribute the best of their labours 
 therein, " for the promoting of God's glory and the edi- 
 fying of his peo])le." I do not think the question in- 
 tends, that all, who are to be ordained, should jirofess, 
 that they would be desirous of this office, tliough there 
 were no temjioral advantages attending it, and though 
 it exposed men, not only to starving, but to apparent 
 |)ersecution and death ; for then most, even the best 
 persons, as times go now, might justly scruple the 
 answering to such a question ; but I take it to mean no 
 more, than that, since they are to take U])on them some 
 employ or other for their own subsistence and the bene- 
 fit of the community, they choose to take upon them 
 the office of the ministry, wherein they think they can 
 act more for God's glory, and the benefit of their Chris- 
 tian brethren, than by exercising any temporal calling : 
 and that they verily believe, that it \\-as not without the 
 assistance of God's good Sjiirit, that they formed this 
 judgment and resolution. Dr. "Sicliolls. 
 
 This is a great question indeed, and that which no 
 man can give a true and positive answer to, without 
 ha\-ing searched narrowly into his own heart, and seri- 
 ously considered the bent and inclinations of his soul. 
 But it is a question very necessary to be propounded : 
 for the Holy Ghost now sujiplies the place and room of 
 our blessed Saviour in his church militant here on earth. 
 And therefore, as it was by Him that the several 
 offices themselves were at first constituted ; so it is by 
 Him that men are called to the execution of them ; 
 and it is by Him alone that all ecclesiastical ministra- 
 tions performed by such officers, are made effectual to 
 the purposes for wliich they are ajipointed ; and there- 
 fore the Church is bound to take care, that none be 
 admitted into her ministry, but such as she believes 
 and hopes to be called to it by the Holy Ghost. But 
 she can have no ground to believe this, but only from 
 the jiersons themselves, none but themselves being ac- 
 quainted with the motions of God's Sjiirit upon their 
 own hearts. And therefore tlie Hislio]) reipiires them 
 to deal plainly and faithfully with biiii and the Church ; 
 and to tell him, whether they really trust that they are 
 moved by the Holy (ihost, to take this office uiion 
 them ? 'I'o which every one is bound to answer, " 1 
 trust so :" not that be knows it, or is certain of it, f(n' 
 it is possible that his heart may deceive him in it; hut 
 that he trusts or hopes it is so. 
 
 But what ground can any one have to trust, that he 
 is moved by the Holy (Jliost to take the ministry upon 
 him ? To that I answer in short, that if a man finds 
 that upon due examination the bishop of the diocese, 
 where he is to serve, is satisfied of his abilities and cpia- 
 lifications for the ministry; and that liis great end and 
 design in undertaking it is to serve (iod, for the [iromot- 
 ingof his glory and the edifying of his jicople ; he hath 
 good grounds to trust, that he is moved to it by the 
 Holy (ihost, it being only by Hiin that any man can be 
 duly (pialificd for it, and moved to take it upon him, 
 out of so good and pious a design as that is. But, if 
 either of these things be wanting; as, if a man be not 
 fitted for the office, he may ccMielude he is not called to 
 it liy the Holy (ihost. for lie ncilher calls nor useth any 
 but fit instruments in what He doth; or, if a man lie 
 moved to it out of a design, not to do good, but to get 
 applause or preferment in the world, he may thenco
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 687 
 
 of our Lord Jesus Clirist, and tlie 
 due order of this Realm, to tlie 
 Ministry of the Church ? 
 Answer. I tliink so. 
 
 infer that he is not moved to it by the Spirit of God, but 
 by the si)irit of ])ri(le and covetousness, and tlien can 
 have no ground to expect, that the Holy Ghost should 
 ever bless and assist him in the execution of his office. 
 According to these rules therefore, they, who are to be 
 ordained, may discern whether they can truly give the 
 answer required to this great question that will be jiro- 
 poundcd to them. As for their qualifications for it, the 
 bishop hath already a])pro\'ed of them : hut, as to their 
 main end and design in undertaking the ministry, that 
 must be left to God and their own consciences, who 
 alone know it, and so can best .judge whether they can 
 truly say, that they " trust they are moved to it by the 
 Holy Ghost." Bp. Bereridge. 
 
 The following is Calvin's definition of the inward 
 call, in his book of Institutes, which being published 
 about ten years before the Ordinal of Kdu-ard the Sixth, 
 might jjrobably be a guide to oiu Reformers in fram- 
 ing this question : " that it is the good testimony of 
 our own heart, that we have taken this office, neither 
 for ambition, covetousness, nor any evil design, but out 
 of a true fear of God, and a desire to edify the church." 
 Now this we may know by duly considering, whether it 
 were the external honours and revenues, that are an- 
 nexed to this profession, or any other worldly end, that 
 first or chietiy did incline us to the ministry. If so, we 
 were moved by carnal objects, and led on by oiu' own 
 corrupt will and affections. But if our principal mo- 
 tives were spiritual, that is, a zeal for God's glory, and 
 a desire to jn-omote the salvation of souls, then we were 
 " moved by the Sjjirit, and inwardly called by God." 
 I grant we cannot but know, there are honours and re- 
 wards, piously and justly annexed to this holy function : 
 and, as men, we cannot but hope for a competency of 
 them ; yea, this may be a subordinate motiv'e. But I 
 may say of the priesthood, as Christ of the kingdom of 
 heaven, it must be sought in the first place for itself, 
 and the other only as additional consequences thereof. 
 Matt. vi. 33. We must love the duties of this calling; 
 reading, study, praying, preaching, &c., more than the 
 rewards. Yea, if persecution should ever strip the 
 Church of these jjrovisions, as it hath often done, we 
 must not cast off our holy ministrations, 1 Cor. ix. 16. 
 
 This inward call thus explained is the first and one 
 of the principal qualifications for him, that is to be 
 employed about heavenly things. .Vnd therefore it is 
 inserted, not only into ours, but other reformed offices 
 for ordination ; where it is inquired, " if they believe 
 that God by the Church calls them to this ministry, and 
 if tliey did not seek for worldly riches or glory," as in 
 the Liturgy of the Belgick church. Our candidates 
 know this question will be asked : wherefore let them 
 examine their hearts strictly, and answer it in the sin- 
 cerity of their souls ; not doubting but that good 
 Spirit, who excited them to this work, will assist and 
 bless all their ])erformances. Dean Comber, 
 
 p Do you think that you ore truly called &c.] That 
 is, Are you conscious, neither of any defect in body or 
 mind, nor of any other impediment, which may, for the 
 present, if not for ever, be, according to the laws of 
 God or man, a just obstacle in your way. Abp. Seeker. 
 This question relates to the outward call, or regular 
 way of admission to holy orders : and seems to be put 
 to the persons to be ordained, that they may make an 
 open profession of their owning the \-ahdity of the 
 orders then conferred upon them. For by answering 
 
 T/ie Bishop. 
 
 DO you iiiifeigiu'dly Iielicve'' all 2 Tim. ni 
 tho Canonical Scriptures of the 
 Old and New Testament .■' 
 
 to this question they hereby own, that the office and 
 manner whereby they are admitted into orders, are 
 agreeable to the will of our Saviour, that the several 
 ceremonies, used in the Roman church in their Ordinal, 
 and in ours omitted, are not essential to the conferring 
 of holy orders ; and that the ])erson, who confers these 
 orders, tliat is, the bishop, has a just commission so to 
 do from our blessed Lord. And lastly, they declare, 
 that they do think, not only that what the legislative 
 power of this nation has establislu-d, namely, the re- 
 nouncingof the Papal supremacy, &c., isjust and reason- 
 able; but that they do not know in themselves any 
 uncanonical or unstatutable impedimeiit, which may 
 hinder them from being admitted into the same. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 Nothing is so easy to counterfeit, as a message from 
 the gods, saith the slave in Plautus : and exjierience 
 tells us, nothing is more readily believed among the 
 vulgar than such a jiretence managed by a bold under- 
 taker : so that the inward call hath been in all ages pre- 
 tended to by all the impostors in religion. Among the 
 Jews there were false projihets, who gave out that "God 
 called them;" but He declared "they ran before they 
 were sent, and projiliesied out of their own heart," or, as 
 the original imports, " made themselves propliets," Jer. 
 xxiii. 21 ; Ezek. xiii. 3. In Christian times this set up 
 Montanus, and many other enthusiastical hereticks. 
 And though Mahomet had no power of miracles, no 
 gift of prophecy, no learning nor good life to i)rove his 
 mission, yet he boldly said, " God was his witness that 
 he sent him." In the ignorant and superstitious ages 
 the Roman Church gave very great encouragement to 
 men and women that were illiterate, to preach upon 
 pretended commissions from Christ, or visions and 
 dreams which they boasted of. .\nd it is the weak 
 credulity of most of our sectaries, which exposes them 
 to admit bold pretenders to the Sjiirit to be their 
 teachers, without any preceding trial. 
 
 To prevent this common but dangerous cheat, the 
 jjrimitive church punished those, who presumed to ex- 
 ercise any ecclesiastical office, while they were laymen, 
 with excommunication. And there were, from the first 
 settling of cluirches, every where publick forms drawn 
 up for examining such as desired to be ordained, and 
 then solemnly to admit them : which, no doubt, was 
 agreeable "to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 inspired his apostles to give rules to their successors 
 the bishojis, for trying all that were to be promoted to 
 holy orders." Whence we may infer, that our Saviour 
 and his apostles did not think that any man's word 
 was to be taken as to his "inward call," till his claim 
 had been inquired into and appro\ed by the gover- 
 nours of his church, and till they also gave him an 
 external call. Therefore to fix an order in every church 
 for the solemn trial and admission of ministers, is "ac- 
 cording to the will of Christ," in general. And since 
 " the order duly settled in this realm " is so agreeable 
 to primitive jiractice and to God's word, we may safely 
 say, that such as are admitted according to this " due 
 order," are admitted according to "the will of Jesus 
 Christ." Denn Comber. 
 
 ■i Do you unfelgnedly believe &c.] This question is 
 put to the candidates, because unless they do unfelgn- 
 edly believe the holy Scriptures, they are not fit to he 
 ministers of the word aiul sacraments contained and 
 prescribed in them. Bp. Bereridge. For an ordinary
 
 2 Kings sxii. 
 
 S. 
 
 Neh. viii. 3. 
 
 Acts xiii. 14, 
 
 15. 27. 
 
 Luke iv. 16. 
 
 Col. iv. 16. 
 
 GS8 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 Answer. I do believe them. Answer. I will. 
 
 The Bishop. The Bishop. 
 
 L you diligently read the T T appertaineth to the Office of a 
 
 same' unto the people assein- JL Deacon', in the Church where 
 
 bled in the Church where you shall he shall be appointed to serve, to 
 
 be appointed to serve'? assist the Priest in Divine Service", 
 
 WIL] 
 sam 
 
 Christian, the Creed, which is taken out of the Scripture, 
 is a sufficient confession of faith. But a minister ought 
 to declare himself more comprehensively, and pubhckly 
 own, " that all Scripture is given by inspiration of 
 God," 2 Tim. iii. 1(5. And whereas the Roman and 
 Lutheran churches only ask them if they believe the 
 Creed, we and some other of tlie reformed churches 
 more justly inquire, if they believe all that God hath 
 revealed in the divinely inspired books. Now in order 
 to answer this question with judgment and sincerity, 
 the candidate must know, which are and which are not 
 canonical books. There are some books of Scripture, 
 of which no doubt ever was : and the ancient church 
 made a rule or canon, that these, and no other, should 
 be received for divinely inspired books ; and thence 
 they have the name of " Canonical." Now these are 
 declared by our Church, exactly as they were of old. 
 As to other books, we do with the ancients call them 
 " Apocn.'phal," because their being writ by inspiration 
 doth not apjiear. Wherefore, though we read them 
 sometimes for instruction in morality, we do not prove 
 our faith by them, nor take them into the Canon : yea, 
 we censure it as a bold innovation in the late Council 
 of Trent, contrary to aU antiquity, to declare those 
 apocrj'ijbal books to be of equal authority with the 
 canonical books, which were always received in the 
 church. These therefore, and only these, our candidate 
 is required to believe, because the writers were inspired 
 by the Holy Ghost, and all therein contained was re- 
 vealed by the God of truth. Hence ministers are to 
 take arguments, to confirm their fate and convince 
 gainsayers : hence they gather rules to direct their own 
 and their peojile's manners : for this is a complete 
 repository for both faith and good life. These are to 
 be believed and received in the first place ; and then 
 there is no need to prove any thing to be true or good, 
 but only to shew it is asserted or commanded in holy 
 Scripture. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' H'ill you diliijetillt/ read the same &c.] " Diligently," 
 that is, arti(Milately, solemnly, piously, so that your 
 hearers may be edified. Brewster, The former ques- 
 tions are concerning things necessary to be known ; 
 and SI) the answers to them are only assertory. These 
 contain divers things necessary to be done ; the 
 answers to which are promissory, and bind the soul of 
 the party answering, to |)erform that which he so 
 solemnly engages. Kirst, "diligently to read the Scrip- 
 ture to the j>eop!e " in ])ublick, for this was always a 
 principal jiart of divine service. 'J'he .lews of old con- 
 stantly had the Law and the Prophets read in their 
 Bynagogues, 2 Kings .\xii. «; Neh. viii, 3; Acts xiii. 
 14, 15.27: and our Saviour Himself did this office, 
 Luke iv. If). When the primitive ('hristians met, 
 especially on Sundays, we are assured by the most 
 ancient fatliers, that the reading of the divine writings 
 of the Old ami .New 'JVstanunt was never omitted; 
 and a considcralilc part of the time si)ent in their as- 
 sembhes was employed in this cxircise. It ap])cars also 
 that they collected tables of proper lessons for the whole 
 year out of the most practical i)arts of Scripture, which 
 were set down in l/cctionaries, some of which are still 
 extant, being attributed to St. .(erome, and to other 
 ancient authors, from whence our Ej)istlc3 and Gosi)els 
 
 are derived. But in later ages the church of Rome 
 had brought in so many false, fabulous, and foolish 
 legends for their numerous saints' days, that the read- 
 ing of the holy Scripture was almost totally excluded : 
 wherefore our wise Reformers rejected all such legendary 
 stuff, and restored the primitive usage ; that is, they 
 commanded, " that nothing shoiUd be read in the 
 church but the canonical Scripture, except some few 
 practical parts of the .•\pocrypha." See the Preface to 
 our Common Prayer, Concerning the serrice of the 
 Church. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — in the Church where you shall be appointed to 
 serve .s*] This is explained by the 33rd Canon, which 
 injoins that every minister should have a church, 
 and that that church should be the great scene of his 
 duties. This injunction was intended to exclude 
 teachers ordained to no charge ; or those, who, under 
 the pretence of preaching the Gosjiel. preached them- 
 selves. The appointment of stationary ministers is a 
 valuable part of our Church establishment. Breusler. 
 Not only our own canons, but those of the ancient 
 chiuch, expressly forbid the ordaining of any clergy- 
 man, without a title to some cathedral or parochial 
 chiu-ch, wherein he is to celebrate di^■ine offices. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' It appertaineth to the Office of a Deacon, &c.] lliis 
 comprehensive question doth briefly, but fully, set out 
 all tlie other duties peculiar to " the office of a deacon :" 
 first, with intent to instruct the candidate in all parts 
 of that weighty office he undertakes ; and then to re- 
 quire bis solemn i)romise that he will jierform them 
 by God's helj). It is not fit be should take a ])lace in 
 God's house, till he know what are the duties thereof; 
 nor can he wisely or honestly engage to do all these 
 particulars, till he know them ; wherefore the bishop 
 lays them plainly before him, that he may not after- 
 wards pretend to excuse himself by ignorance. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 This question, reciting the duties of deacons, may 
 seem to have some difliculty in it ; as it assigns to them 
 occupations, which the Acts of the Ajiostlcs do not in 
 the history of their appointment ; and as they are but 
 little emjiloycd now in the single business there allotted 
 to them. Acts vi. But that ]iassage of .Scri])turc jilainly 
 was intended to set forth, only the immediate and 
 urgent reason of ordaining them, not the whole of 
 what was then, or soon after, given tbein in charge. 
 For we find in the same book, that Pliilip the deacon 
 both preached and bajjtized. Acts viii. 5 — 13. 26 — 40. 
 And the qualifications, required in deacons by St. Paul, 
 1 Tim. iii. 8 — 13, intimate very clearly, that more 
 things must, even then, have been incumbent upon 
 them, than administering to the relief of the poor. 
 Accordingly from the i)ririiitive ages downwards, they 
 are descnl)ed, as performing occasionally most of the 
 same oflices, which they do now, and l)eiiig. what their 
 name denotes, a.ssistant and suliscrvient to priests in 
 all jiroper employments. And llie less they are engaged 
 in their chief original one, the more opportunity, and 
 the more need they have, to shew diligence in the other 
 good works, belonging or suited peculiarly to their 
 station. Abp. .Seckir. 
 " — to assist the Priest in Divine Service,'] A deacon.
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 689 
 
 and specially when lie iniiiistcreth 
 the Holy C'onimuiiioii % and to helj) 
 him in the distiilnition thereof, and 
 to read holy Sciiptuies and Homi- 
 lies" in the Church; and to instruct 
 the youth in the Catechisms'; in the 
 absence of the Priest to baptize 
 Infants S and to preach if he be 
 
 as his very name imports, is to "minister " to a liishop 
 or a priest in the celebration of divine offices, and to 
 serve those of tlie higher orders ; wliich of old was 
 generally practised; especially in the Greek church, 
 where the deacon repeats the short Litany, and some 
 brief Collects, and pronounces some sentences, such as, 
 "Let us attend," " Let us hear the holy Gospel," and 
 the hke. And in our cathedrals they often read the 
 Litany, the Epistle, and the Confession at the altar ; 
 and the priests jjerform all the rest of the service. 
 Before the modern invention of lay parish-clerks, there 
 was generally a priest and a deacon in every church, 
 the latter of which repeated the Confession, Lord's 
 Prayer, and the Creed, after the [iriest, and made all 
 the responses as our clerks now do : but of late deacons 
 are usually fixed as curates under some eminent jiriest, 
 in whose absence the whole divine service is left to 
 them ; and they read all the prayers except the Abso- 
 lution, which it is the privilege of a priest alone to 
 repeat. Dean Comber. 
 
 " — and specially when he minislereth the Holy Commu- 
 nion, &c.] The deacon's office as to the Holy Commu- 
 nion remains the same that it was in the primitive 
 church when they were ne\'er allowed to consecrate the 
 sacred elements : for none but a bishop, or a priest at 
 least, was permitted to do that ; and the penalty upon 
 a deacon, if he presumed to consecrate, was to be de- 
 posed. His office is, when the sacrament is consecrated, 
 to assist the bishop or priest in distributing the same to 
 the congregation ; which was their part in this mystery 
 as anciently as Justin Martyr's time : but especially 
 they use to distribute the cup, of which then the |)eople, 
 not the priest alone, used to drink ; and it ai)pears that 
 the custom in the Roman church also was, till of late 
 time, for all the people to receive the cup ; or else this 
 could not have been the deacon's office there, who need 
 not assist the bishop or priest in gi\'ing the cup, if he 
 alone had drunk of it. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — to read holy Scriptures and Homilies'] It is the 
 office of the deacon to " read the holy Scripture to the 
 people," as was shewed before : but it is farther remarked 
 here, that " he is also to read homilies in the church ;" 
 which is no new injunction ; for an ancient council 
 orders, that, " when the priest is infirm and cannot 
 preach, the deacon shall read the homihes of the 
 fathers." Dean Comber. See page 29-t, note I. 
 
 1 — and to instruct the youth in the Catechism ;] For 
 deacons to catechize the youth, is a duty injoined not 
 only by our Church here, and in the fifty-ninth Canon, 
 but was so likewise by the ancient church. Indeed in 
 some churches the catechist was a distinct officer, not 
 determined to any one particular order. But where 
 there was no particular officer assigned to this duty, 
 neither was it taken up by the bishop or presbyter, it 
 fell to the deacons on course. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' — ill the absence of the Priest to baptize In/ants.'] A 
 fifth duty of the deacons is to baptize infants, which we 
 may gather from St. Philip the deacon's baptizing the 
 Samaritans, whom the apostles were sent to confii-m 
 afterwards. Acts viii. 12 — 15. &c. We see in Scripture 
 baptism was reckoned one of the lowest kinds of minis- 
 
 admitted thereto by the Rishop^ 
 And furthermore, it is his Office'', 
 where provision is so made, to search 
 for the sick, poor, and impotent 
 |ieo])le of the parish, to intimate 
 their estates, names, and places 
 where they dwell, unto the Curate"', 
 that by his exhortation they may 
 
 tries ; so that our Saviour did not bajitize, but bis dis- 
 ciples, John iv. 2. St. I'eter commanded others, pro- 
 bably some of the deacons, to bajitize Cornehus and his 
 household. Acts x. 48 ; and St. Paul saith, " he had 
 baptized but few," 1 Cor. i. 15—1". The Roman pon- 
 tifical reckons it among the ordinary works of a deacon, 
 to wait at the altar and baptize. But, out of respect to 
 the higher order of priesthood, our Church seems to 
 allow this to be done by a deacon, only " in the absence 
 of a iiriest;" because baptism, being a sacrament, 
 should be administered by the principal minister that 
 is present : though there is no doubt but a deacon's 
 baptizing is as valid as that of a priest. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — and to preach if he be admitted thereto by the 
 Bishop.] It does not appear by any marks in antiquity, 
 that the deacons had e\-er any right to preach in the 
 church by virtue of their order. And our Church, fol- 
 lo\ving the primitive practice, has not allowed the dea- 
 cons to preach by virtue of their orders, but only by 
 the permission of the bishop ; who, if he shall find them 
 upon examination to be of competent abilities, may afford 
 them a licence to exercise their talents in this way. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 Forasmuch as a deacon is hereby permitted to bap- 
 tize, to catechize, to preach, to assist in the administra- 
 tion of the Lord's Supper ; so also by parity of reason 
 he hath used to solemnize matrimony, and to bury the 
 dead. And in general it seemeth, that he may perform 
 all the other offices in the liturgy, which a priest can 
 do, except only consecrating the sacrament of the Lord.'s 
 Supper, and except also the pronouncing of the Abso- 
 lution. Moreover untU a person is admitted to the 
 order of priesthood, he is not capable of any benefice or 
 ecclesiastical jiromotion. Dr. Burn. 
 
 ^ — And furthermore, it is his Office, &c.] The part 
 of the deacon's office out of the church is that, which 
 was the original cause of the institution of the order, 
 namely, to take care of the poor. From early writers 
 of the church it appears to have been the practice, for 
 deacons to look out fit objects of charity, in order to 
 their being relieved by the oblations of the faithful, 
 under the direction of the bishop. This was agreeable 
 to what our Church here injoins. Dean Comber, Dr. 
 Nicholls. This was the most ancient duty of a deacon, 
 and the immediate cause of the institution of the order. 
 This rule was made in England, while the poor sub- 
 sisted chiefly by voluntary charities, and before the 
 settlement of rates, or other fixed and certain provi- 
 sions : pursuant to which jjrovision, our laws have de- 
 volved that care upon the churchwardens and overseers 
 of the poor ; which last office was created on purpose 
 for that end. Dr. Burn. 
 
 " — unto the Curate.] That is, to the rector or vicar, 
 who hath the " cure" of souls. And here it is obvious 
 to remark the ambiguity of the word " curate," as is the 
 case also with the word "minister." Sometimes it ex- 
 presseth the person, whether priest or deacon, who 
 officiateth under the rector or vicar, employed by him 
 as his assistant, or to supply the jilace in his absence : 
 sometimes it denoteth the person ofliciating in general, 
 whether he be rector, \'icar, or assistant curate, or who- 
 
 2 Y
 
 690 
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 be relieved with tlie alms of tlie 
 Parishioners, or others. Will you 
 do this gladh' and willingly ? 
 
 Answer. I will so do, by the help 
 of God. 
 
 The Bishop. 
 
 WILL you apply all your dili- 
 gence" to frame and fashion 
 your own lives, and the lives of your 
 1 Tim. in. families % according to the Doctrine 
 
 soever performeth the sernce for that time : sometimes 
 it denoteth e.vclusively, as in this place, the rector, vicar, 
 or person beneficed, who hath " curam aniraarum." 
 Dr. Burn. 
 
 ' Will you npply all your diligence &c.] After the 
 duties s])ecially relating to their office and the publick, 
 the bishop proceeds to demand of them security con- 
 cerning their personal duties and private conversation, 
 requiring a promise from each of tbem, that they will 
 order their own li\-es, and, as much as in them lies, the 
 lives of their families, according to the rules of the 
 Gospel ; and that so exactly, that he and they may be, 
 not only innocent, but exemplary to other Christians. 
 Dean Comber. The question extends, to avoiding in 
 their own behaviour, and restraining in that of their 
 families, follies, levities, mean and disreputable actions, 
 as well as crimes and vices. The ajiostle injoins " dea- 
 cons and their wives to be grave," 1 Tim. iii. 8. 11 ; 
 much more then ought priests. He injoins every Chris- 
 tian to " abstain from all ajjpearance of evil," 1 Thess. 
 v. 22. And our blessed Lord injoins all his disciples to 
 be "wise" as well as "harmless," Matt. x. Itj. Let 
 the clergy govern themseh-cs and theirs by these rules : 
 and consider frequently, whether they obser\'e them 
 well. For without it they will neither gain esteem, nor 
 do good. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 The clergy are obliged, not only to perform the duties 
 of Christianity, and to avoid all broad transgressions of 
 the laws of our blessed Saviour, but tliey also stand 
 engaged to discharge them in a very remarkable and 
 eminent manner, hving up to the height of the Chris- 
 tian i)rece|)ts as far as the frailty of human nature will 
 allow ; that the laity may take imttern from their ex- 
 ample, anil that they may instruct them by their lives 
 as well as by their ])reaching. For actions have a 
 greater influence ujicm men than words ; shewing that 
 the thing recommended may be done, and that the ex- 
 hortations are made, not out of form, but in \-ery good 
 earnest, when the preacher follows bis own advice, and 
 persuades others to do nothing but what he does him- 
 self. This is what is commanded by the lioly .Scripture. 
 For St. I'aid commands Titus, to shew himself " a pat- 
 tern of good works ; in doctrine shewing imcormiitness, 
 gravity, sincerity, sound speech which cannot be con- 
 demned ; that he that is of the contrary i)art may be 
 ashamed, having no evil thing to say of him," Tit. ii. 
 7, S. He likewise exhorts 'i'imotby, to "take heed 
 unto himself and to the doctrine ; for in so doing he 
 should save himself, and those that hear him," 1 Tim. 
 iv. If). St. Peter orders, that tlie jiastors or elders be 
 " an example to the flock," 1 IVt. v. 3. The |}rimilive 
 writers of the church are full of excellent rules upon 
 this bead. Dr. XicliolU. 
 
 ' — and the life.i rf your families.'] This is the in- 
 junction of tlie apostle, " Let the deacons lie busliands 
 of one wife, ruling their cliildren uiid their own liousis 
 well," 1 'I'im. iii. 12. And the same command was in- 
 forccd by tlie ancient laws of the Cliurch, wliich were 
 
 of Christ; and to make both j-onr- 
 selves and them, as much as in you 
 lieth, wholesome examples of the 
 flock of Christ. 
 
 Answer. I will so do, the 
 being my helper. 
 
 The Bishop. 
 
 WILL you reverently 
 your Ordinary ^, and 
 
 Lord 
 
 I Pet. V. 3. 
 Tit. ii. 7. 
 
 obey 
 other 
 
 chief Ministers of the Church, and 
 
 much stricter concerning clergymen's wives, children, 
 and ser\'ants than those of tlie laity. The houses of 
 ministers sboidd be the schools of virtue, little emblems 
 of a church, and patterns for all their parishioners, of 
 peace and good order, sobriety and devotion. Dr. 
 Nicholls, Dean Comber. 
 
 It is natural to observe, that .St. Paul by these rules, 
 and oiu' Church by this part of her question, supposes 
 clergymen of all orders may have wives and children, 
 and ought to be at liberty to marry, or live single, as 
 they judge to be most expedient. Yea, we affirm that 
 the practice of the Roman church inforcing the married 
 to renounce their wives, and single persons to vow celi- 
 bacy, before their ordination, is contrary to Scripture 
 and primitive usage. It is unreasonable in itself; a 
 snare to the parties who make, and a scandal to that 
 church which requires, this \ow. It is evident from 
 Scripture, that St. Peter had a wife. Matt. viii. 14; and 
 that St. Paul asserts his right to marry, if he had pleased, 
 1 Cor. ix. 5. One of the ancients, Ignatius, affirms that 
 he had a wife, as well as St. Peter and others of the 
 apostles : and another, St. Ambrose, affirms, that all 
 the apostles had wives, except St. John and St. Paul. 
 Philip, the deacon and evangelist, bad a wife and chil- 
 dren. Acts xxi. 8, 9- So had Aquila, an apostolical 
 preacher. Acts xviii. 26. And the rules given by St. 
 Paul to Timothy are a demonstration, that he allowed 
 bishops and deacons to be married men ; nor is there 
 ' any thing in all Scri])ture that forbids them this hberty. 
 Derm Comber. 
 
 ' Hill you reverently obey your Ordinary, &c.] See 
 page 1 , note h. No regular society can subsist with- 
 out a due subordination of the inferiors to their supe- 
 riors. So it is in houses and cities, kingdoms and 
 armies. So in the Cluirch, now it is settled, the 
 bishops are subjected to their metrojiolitan, and take 
 an oath of canonical obedience to him, and to rever- 
 ence him. The like oath deans and archdeacons take 
 to file bishops : and the inferior jiriests and deacons 
 are re(]uired to ]iromise at their ordination obedience, 
 not only to their bi.shop, but to " other chief ministers" 
 who are set over tbem, and have the care of them; 
 that is, deans in cathedrals, and archdeacons as to the 
 rural clergy ; which is necessary to ]ireserve peace and 
 pre\'ent disorder. The superior must give orders, and 
 inferiors obey them ; otherwise all things would soon 
 run into confusion: and we may gather that (iod is 
 the original of this subjection " in all churches of the 
 saints, because he is not the author of confusion, but 
 of peace," 1 Cor. xiv. 33. 
 
 It may be noted also, that the candidates promise 
 " gladly to obey :" that is, readily and willingly with- 
 out murmuring, or too nice disjiutiiig, unless the thing 
 injoincd lie notoriously evil ; for to be very scrupulous 
 ]iroeeeds from tile pride of inferiors, and leinls to over- 
 throw the siqu'rior's autliority. And the law decrees 
 in favour of the inferior, if be were commanded, and 
 obeyed, in a doubtful ease; because in things only
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 091 
 
 2 Tim. iv. 2. 
 Tit. ii. 15. 
 
 them to whom the eluirire and <ifovern- 
 meiit over yoii is committed, tollowiiiir 
 vvitli a ghid mind and will their godly 
 admonitions ? 
 
 Ansicer. I will endeavour myself b, 
 the Lord being my helper. 
 
 doubtful it is safer to obey than dispute. Yet this 
 does not give superiors any unlimited |)ower to com- 
 mand any thing that is evil : for they only promise to 
 obey their " godly admonitions." So that such as 
 govern in the church must take heed, that they do not 
 injoin any thing, but that which is either good in itself, 
 or ap]iarently tends to promote piety and virtue, and 
 is not evil : for the oath of canonical obedience also 
 hath this limitation, that they shall be obeyed " in 
 all," yet only in "lawful and honest things." Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 The duty of obedience, which is owing from the 
 clergy to their liishops, has been strictly required by 
 the church in all ages. This is pressed so frequently 
 in St. Ignalius's epistles, th.at this holy and ancient 
 author seems to have had this object principally in 
 view, when he wrote them. The same doctrine is 
 taught by other of the primitive writers, as particularly 
 St. Cyjirian, who makes disobedience to tlie bishop to 
 be a falling away from the catholick church. 'I'he 
 same father attributes the rise of all heresies and 
 schisms to a disobedience to the bishop. It were in- 
 finite to insist on all the exhortations, which are found 
 in the writings of the later fathers to this purpose. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The inferior clergy would be bound to the obedience 
 here required, though they were not to promise it : for 
 both reason and Scripture demand it. Still more 
 firmly are they bound, when they have promised it, 
 though it were of small importance. But it is of very 
 great, not only to the dignity and ease of their supe- 
 riors, but to tlieir own interest, and the benefit of the 
 whole church. Our .Saviour both commands, and 
 prayed for, unity amongst his followers in the most 
 expressive terms, John xiii. 34, 35; xvii. 11, 12. 21 — 
 23. Without union there cannot be a sufficient degree 
 either of strength or beauty : and without subordina- 
 tion there cannot long be union. Therefore " obey," 
 as the apostle directs, " them that have the rule over 
 you," Hcb. xiii. 17. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ^ Answer. I tvill endeavour myself, &c.] Tlie first 
 questions proposed to the candidates were concerning 
 only their present opinion and faith. Those, which 
 have followed, concern their futiue beha\'iour, and 
 diligence, and faithfulness in discharging the office 
 committed to them : and therefore their answers are 
 all so many solemn promises made to God and his 
 church, to act accordingly ; oljliging themselves in the 
 presence of (Jod, tliat they will diligently read the holy 
 Scriptures, and gladly execute the whole office of a 
 deacon, there declared to them ; that they \\\\\ apply 
 all their diligence to frame and fashion their own lives 
 and the hves of their families according to the doctrine 
 of Christ; and that they will reverently obey their 
 ordinary. For, being asked by the bishop, whether 
 they will do these things or no ? every one answers, 
 " I will ;" or, " I will do so, by the help of God ;" or, 
 " I will endeavour myself, the Lord being my helper." 
 Which promises, being so solemnly made before God 
 and his church, are certainly as binding as if they were 
 made upon oath, and ought to be as religiously ob- 
 served. Insomuch that as all Christians, as such, 
 should always remember and keep the vows and pro- 
 mises they made, when they were baptized; so all 
 
 t Tlien Ihe Bishop layiny his Hands'' severnthj AcIs vi r,. 
 vpon the Head of every one (if them, hum- 
 bly kneeling before him', shall say, 
 
 TA K E thou Authority to exe- 
 cute the office of a Deacon '' in 
 the Church of God committed unto 
 
 ministers, as such, should always remember and keep 
 tliose vows and promises which they made, when they 
 were ordained. For which purposes it is very conve- 
 nient, if not necessary, for us often to read over the 
 office of ordination, or at least that jiart of it which 
 contains the answers and promises which we made to 
 God and his church, when we were received into the 
 ministry of the Gospel. Bp. Bcveridge. 
 
 '' Then the Bishop laying his Hands &c.] This cere- 
 mony has been always esteemed so essential a part of 
 ordination, that any other way of conferring orders 
 without it has been judged invalid. This imposition 
 of hands imdoubtedly took its rise from the practice of 
 the Jewish church, in initiating persons for ])crforming 
 any sacred office, or conferring any employ of dignity 
 or power. Thus Joshua was inaugurated to his liigh 
 office. Numb, xxvii. 23. Hence the Jews derived their 
 custom of ordaining their rabbies by imposition of 
 bands. The same ceremony we find used by the apos- 
 tles, as often as they admitted any new members into 
 the ministry of the church. For when they ordained 
 the first deacons, it is recorded, that, after praying, 
 " they laid hands on them," Acts \\. 6. At the ordi- 
 nation of Barnabas and Paul it is said, that they 
 " fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them," 
 Acts xiii. 3. When St. Paul bids Timothy have regard 
 to the graces conferred in his ordination, he observes 
 that these were conferred by imposition of hands ; 
 " Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given 
 thee by jirophecy, with the laying on of the hands of 
 the presbytery," 1 Tim. iv. 14. And in his other epistle 
 he exhorts him to "stir up the gift of God which was 
 in him by the putting on of his hands," 2 Tim. i. 6. 
 The iirimitive Christians, following exactly after this 
 co])y, never admitted any into orders l)ut with this 
 ceremony : so that the ancient councils seldom use any 
 other word for ordination than " imposition of hands ;" 
 and the ancient writers of the church signify, that the 
 clerical character, and the gifts of the Spirit, were con - 
 ferred by this action. 
 
 It must be observed here, that the imposition of the 
 bishop's hand alone is required in the ordination of a 
 deacon, in conformity to the usage of the ancient 
 church. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 This was always a distinction between the three supe- 
 rior and five forementioned inferior orders, (see page 
 (J71, note a,) that the first were given by imposition of 
 hands, and the second were not. Dr. Burn. 
 
 ' — htimbly kneeling before him,'] When a commission 
 of so high a nature is granted from heaven, the person, 
 to whom it is granted, cannot recei\e it in too humble 
 a posture ; and therefore our Church, agreeably to 
 ancient practice, has injoined the ordained person to 
 receive the imposition of the bishop's hands in the 
 posture of kneeling. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 Though the bishop jironounces the words, yet Christ 
 gives the grace, and confers the gifts ; which therefore 
 the candidate must receive with the profoundest humi- 
 lity : and no posture so fit as that of prayer. For he 
 must all the time huml)ly beg of Jesus, to confu-m the 
 words of his servant the bishop ; and that he would 
 give him all those good qualities, which are requisite 
 for a just and conscientious dischai'ge of this office. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 2 Y2
 
 692 
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 thee; In the Name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost. Amen. 
 
 IT Then shall the Bishop deliver to every one 
 of than the New Testament, sat/inff\ 
 
 TAKE thou Authority to read 
 the Gospel in the Church of 
 God, and to preach the same, if thou 
 be thereto licensed by the Bishop 
 himself. 
 
 H Then one of them, appointed by the 
 Bishop'", shall read the Gospel. 
 
 St. Luke xii. 35. 
 
 LE T your loins be girded about, 
 and your lights burning; and 
 
 ^ Take thou Authority to execute the office of a Deacon 
 &c.] There are generally certain forms usuil in the 
 admissions to all offices civil anil military, ami so it 
 ought to he in these that are ecclesiastical. But be- 
 cause there are no forms prescribed in Scripture, every 
 church hath taken the liberty to compose its own for- 
 mularies. .Vs to our form, it is owing to our Reforma- 
 tion ; and is, as it ought to be, a clear explication of the 
 ceremony of laying on of hands; which signifies, as 
 was noted, collation of power and delegating authority : 
 and therefore the bishop says, " Take thou authority 
 &c." Hereby the bishop, in whom the supreme jjower 
 is lodged, grants authority to the candidate to execute 
 the office of a deacon ; %vhich is his commission and 
 rightful call, giving him a right to perform all the 
 duties anne.xed to that order. Yet, according to the 
 e.xample of the Eastern church, the bishop declares he 
 doth not this purely of himself, but by a ])ower granted 
 him by God : and therefore he adds " In the Xame of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;" 
 to intimate that the holy and ever-blessed Trinity doth 
 confer this order on him. For to do a thing in the name 
 of God is to do it as his rei)resentative, and by his autho- 
 rity : and so the person is promoted to be a deacon, 
 ministrrially by the bishop, but originally and jjrinci- 
 pally by tiod Himself, from whom he receives this 
 lionour, humbly kneeling on his knees; and he should 
 remember that to Him he must one day give an ac- 
 count, how he hath i>erformed his duty, which cannot 
 but strike his mind with reverence and holy fear, while 
 these solcnm words are re]ieated. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Then shall the Bishop deliver to every one of t hern the 
 New Testament, saying, &c.] This is the second signifi- 
 cant rite used in our ordination ; concerning which it 
 may be observed, that the deacons in the Christian 
 church arc made after the pattern of those ministers 
 among the Jews, whose office was to keep the liook of 
 the law, and, upon occasion, to read it puhlickly in 
 their synagogues; in whose stead our Saviour Himself 
 di<l once minister, Luke iv. 20. So that the place was 
 lionourable, though inferior to that of the nder of the 
 synagogue. In like manner the deacon's pr<iper office 
 was to read the lioly Scripture in the ('liristian asseui- 
 l)lics, as divers of the ancients have j)articularly noted. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 'lids usiige of delivering the New Testament was for- 
 merly appropriated to the ordination of a reader. Hut, 
 whereas our Church has set aside that order, as being 
 only of ec(lesia.stical institution, and laid this duty of 
 reading tlie lessons upon tliu deacon, as it was e.xer- 
 
 ye yourselves like mito men that 
 wait for their Lord, when he will 
 return from the wedding; that, when 
 he Cometh and knocketh, they 
 may open inito him immediately. 
 Blessed are those servants, whom 
 the Lord when he cometh shall 
 find watching. Verily 1 say unto 
 you, that he shall gird himself, and 
 make them to sit down to meat, and 
 will come forth and serve them. 
 And if he shall come in the second 
 watch, or come in the third watch, 
 and find them so, blessed are those 
 servants. 
 
 H Then shall the Bishop proceed in the Com- 
 munion", and all that are Ordered shall 
 
 cised by him in the more primitive times, she has 
 thought fit to retain the custom of delivering the New 
 Testament into his hands, which was used in the ordi- 
 nation of a reader. Dr. Kicholls. 
 
 *" Then one of them, appointed by the Bishop, &c.] In 
 our usual ser\-ice the E])istle and Gospel stand toge- 
 ther ; but in this office they are separated, and the or- 
 dination itself intervenes, as it did of old. The reason 
 of setting the Gospel immediately after the ordination 
 was, that the new ordained jierson might immediately 
 exercise his authority, and give proof of his fitness for 
 this part of his office, in solemnly reading the Gospel. 
 The portions chosen for this occasion have been divers. 
 This, which was appointed by our Reformers under 
 King Edward the Sixth, is extremely appropriate ; for 
 the veiy name of a deacon signifies a servant : and here 
 they have the directions of their great Master Christ 
 Jesus, how they are to prepare themselves for his seconil 
 coming, by doing their duty well in that station which 
 He hath given them in his household ; and his pro- 
 mise of a reward, if they be found in well-doing. Deati 
 Comber. 
 
 " Then shall the Bishop proceed in the Comtnunion, 
 Sec] It hath been the ])ractice of all cluirches to cele- 
 brate this sacrament when holy orders are given : the 
 old canons obliging the bishop who ordains to conse- 
 crate, and the ordained all to receive. And it is upon 
 several accoimts very proper on that occasion. First, as 
 it gives them an o])portunity to examine themselves, 
 and to repent of their sins : for this will purify their 
 souls before they enter upon a sacre<l office. Secondly, 
 the worthy receiving of this holy sacrament will stir up 
 in them a fervent lo\'e to their dear Re<leemcr, and an 
 hearty charity for those whom He hath bought with his 
 most precious blood : which two great [)rinciples will 
 inspire them with a great zeal for the glory of Christ, 
 and the good of his people's souls. Thirdly, this sa- 
 crament was instituted, to convey to such, as are duly 
 prejiared for it, large measiu'es of his grace ; and they 
 need a more than ordinary share of it, to fit them for 
 so spiritual an oflice. Fourthly, the Lord's Supi)er is a 
 federal feast, wherein, as our Lord ratifies his covenant 
 of mercy and grace to us, so do we seal our vows and 
 l)romiscs of duty and obedience to Him : and those 
 newly ordained have those engagements yet warm 
 upon their lips, which they have just now made to 
 Jesus by his cmhassadour; all whicli soleuui promises 
 of services, to he done in the office they have under- 
 taken in Christ's family, they ratify and confirm by 
 receiving this sacrament. Dean Comber,
 
 THE ORDERING OF DEACONS. 
 
 693 
 
 Ps. ciii. 5 ; 
 cxlv. IG. 
 Luke i. 53. 
 James i. 17. 
 
 1 Tim. iii. 6. 
 1 Pet. V. 5. 
 James iv. 6. 
 
 2 Cor. i. 12. 
 
 1 Tim. iii. 9 
 
 1 Jolin iii. 20, 
 
 21. 
 
 Heb. X. 22. 
 
 1 Tim. iii. 15. 
 
 Lulce xvi. 10. 
 
 Matt. XXV. 
 29. 
 
 tarry, and receive the Holy Communion the 
 
 same day with the Bishop. 
 
 t The Communion ended, n/ter the lust Col- 
 lect, and immediately be/ore the Bene- 
 diction, shall be said these Collects fol- 
 lowiuff °. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, giver of 
 all good things, who of thy 
 great goodness hast vouchsafed to 
 accept and take these thy Servants 
 unto the Office of Deacons in thy 
 Cliurcli ; Maive them, we beseech 
 thee, O Lord, to be modest, humble, 
 and constant in their Ministration, 
 to have a ready will to observe all 
 spiritual Discipline; that they having 
 always the testimony of a good 
 conscience, and continuing ever 
 stable and strong in tiiy Son Christ, 
 may so well behave themselves in 
 this inferior Office, that they may 
 be found worthy to be called unto 
 the higher Ministries in thy Church; 
 
 through the same thy Son our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom be 
 glory and honour world without end. 
 Avien. 
 
 P RE VENT us, O Lord, in all 
 our doings with thy most gra- 
 cious favour, and further us with thy 
 continual help; that in all our works 
 begun, continued, and ended in thee, 
 we may glorify thy holy Name, and 
 finally by thy mercy obtain ever- 
 lasting life ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen, 
 
 TH E peace of God, which pa.sseth 
 all understanding, keep your 
 hearts and minds in the knowledge 
 and love of God, and of his Son 
 Jesus Christ our Lord : And the 
 Blessing of God Almighty, the Fa- 
 ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
 be amongst you, and remain with 
 you always. Amen. 
 
 IT And here it must be declared unto the Deacon, that he must continue in that Office of a 
 Deacon the space of a whole year'' {except for reasonable causes it shall otherwise seem 
 good unto the Bishop) to the intent he may be perfect, and well expert in the things 
 appertaining to the Ecclesiastical Administration. In executing whereof, if he be found 
 
 faithful and diligent, he may be admitted by his Diocesan to the Order of Priesthood, at 
 the limes appointed in the Canon j or else, on urgent occasion, upon some other Sunday, 
 or Holy-day, in the face of the Church, in such manner and form as hereafter 
 
 foUowelh. 
 
 ° — shall be said these Collects following.'] In all the 
 ancient Western offices there is a prayer in the post- 
 communion, which is called " The Benediction :" and, 
 in the Eastern form, " the bishop is to bless evei-y one 
 of them after he hath ordained them." To which this 
 Collect of ours, and the like in other reformed chiu-ches, 
 do e.xactly agree : for they are all in precatory style. 
 Since God alone can properly and originally bless ; and 
 therefore bishops, ministers, and parents bless, by pray- 
 ing to God for those whom they would have to be 
 blessed. Meanwhile the newly ordained should con- 
 sider these petitions, so as to e.\cite bim to endeavour 
 vigorously to be such as they pray he may be : humble 
 and modest in his carriage and tem[)er ; constant and 
 diligent in his ministrations; regular and strictly ca- 
 nonical in his life : for here are all sorts of motives laid 
 before hira to encourage his resolutions and endeavours 
 herein. The spiritual motives are, the peace of his own 
 conscience ; the confirming of his hope and faith in 
 Christ ; and the securing of his perseverance as well as 
 his eternal reward : the temporal motives are, his being 
 an ornament to the church ; an honour to his order, 
 while he remains of it ; and his deserving justly to be 
 promoted in time to the highest office in Christ's 
 church : and St. Paul hath taught us, if we desire the 
 office of a bishop, only as a greater opportunity to do 
 
 more good, it is very lawful. To rise by these means 
 is commendable : and it is an innocent, yea, a laudable 
 ambition, to act well in this inferior station, that we may 
 be called to a higher. Dean Comber. 
 
 p — must continue in that Office of a Deacon the space 
 of a whole year] The reason of this is so evident, that 
 all churches have founded such a like order upon it : 
 for the custom hath ever been, to keep the deacons for 
 some time in that office, that they may be perfect and 
 expert in ecclesiastical administrations, before they go 
 higher. Hence the canons, here and elsewhere, strictly 
 forbid the ordaining of any one both priest and deacon 
 in one day. In several ages of the Church the time 
 between these orders hath been various. Uf old it was 
 much longer. Later councils agree with us, and fi.x the 
 time to one year. But so that both they and we lea\-e 
 it to the bishop's prudence, who upon reasonable causes, 
 that is, the extraordinary merit of the ])erson, the evi- 
 dent profit of the Church, or some urgent necessity, 
 may ordain some men sooner. Though ordinarily it is 
 much better to make them stay the year of probation 
 in this first order : besides this keeps up that apostolical 
 and primitive distinction of the three orders, which by 
 no means ought to be broken or confounded. Dcun 
 Comber,
 
 THE FORM AND MANNER 
 
 OF 
 
 ORDERING OF PRIESTS'. 
 
 % When the day appointed by the Bishop is come", after Morniny Prayer is 
 ended, there shall he a Sermon or Exliortation, declaring the Duty and Office 
 of such as come to be admitted Priests ; how necessary that Order is in the 
 Church of Christ, and also how the people outjht to esteem them in their Office. 
 
 t First, the Archdeacon, or, in his absence, 
 one appointed in Ids stead, shall jiresnit 
 unto the Bishop (sitlinff in his chair near 
 to the holy Table) all Ihem that shall re- 
 ceive the Order of Priesthood that day 
 {each of them being decently habited) and 
 say, 
 
 REVEREND Father in God, 
 I present unto you these per- 
 sons present, to be admitted to the 
 Order of Priesthood. 
 
 The Bishop. 
 
 TAKE heed that the persons, 
 whom ye present nnto us, lie 
 apt and meet, for their learning 
 
 1 The Form and Manner of Ordering of Priests.'] Our 
 English word "])riest" comes immeciiafely from the 
 French word " prcstre" or " pretre ;" which is but a 
 contraction of " presbyter," or TrfiKJiivrtpo^, and in its 
 ]>ropcr signification does denote no more than an elder. 
 Hut there seems to be an abuse of the word crept into 
 our language, and that of considerable standing : 
 namely, to use the word only for a sacrifieer. For, 
 according to our common way of si)caking, whenever 
 the word "priest" is named, people have presently a 
 notion of sacrifice, which was never intended by the 
 first imposition of the word. The compilers of the 
 Scotch Liturgy, taking nolicc of the common interjjre- 
 tation which was put upon tliis word, and the inconve- 
 niences whicli attended it, chose to use the original 
 word " prcsliytcr," instead of " priest," throughout that 
 whole (Common I'rayer Book. 'I'lie title, which is given 
 in Scrijrture to this order, is Ilfjfo/jiirtpo!,-, Acts xiv. '2.) ; 
 XV. 2 ; 1 Tim. v. 1 ; and AuiitoFot KiiayyiMov, I'",ph. iii. 
 7 ; Qtov, 2 ('or. vi. 4 ; Xpurrou, Col. i. 7 ; but they are 
 never called ((fnic, which is the jiropcr word to signify 
 sacriiicators, or such priests who ofllrcd sacridce. 'I'hc 
 
 and godly conversation, to exercise 
 their Ministry duly, to the honour 
 of God, and the edifying of his 
 Church. 
 
 t The Archdeacon shall answer, 
 
 I Have enquired of them, and also 
 examined them, and think them 
 so to be. 
 
 T Then the Bishop shall say unto the people: 
 
 GOOD people, these are they 
 whom we purpose, God will- 
 ing, to receive this day unto the 
 holy Office of Priesthood : For after 
 
 "holy priesthood," 1 Pet. ii. 5, and the "royal priest- 
 liood," 1 Pet. ii. 9, are spoken of the laity as well as 
 clergy. Nor docs it ajipear that the name of Ifjific was 
 ever given, as a proper title, to the Christian clergy, by 
 any of the most ancient Christian writers. They are 
 called " presbyters" by Clement and Ignatius. 
 
 This order has always had the honour to be styled 
 "brethren to the bishops." This way of expression 
 was begun by St. Peter, whom the bishojis in all times 
 have co])ied after ; " The elders «-hich are among you I 
 exhort, who am also an elder," 1 Pet. v. 1 . They were 
 also counsellors to the bishops upon the most important 
 allairs, in which they were engaged. The bishops con- 
 sulted them about the iiuuhlicalions of jiersons who 
 were to be ordained. 'I'heir advice was likewise taken 
 in animadverting upon the faults of the clergy, in sus- 
 pending or dc|iosing them. And they generally gave 
 their votes in councils. Dr. Nichotls. 
 
 ' IVhett the day a/ipninled by the Bishop is come, 
 &c.] Where matters, common to this and the former 
 ollice, occur, the reader is referred to the notes on that 
 ollicc.
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 09.5 
 
 due examination we find not to the 
 contrary, l)iit that they be lawfully 
 called to their Function and Mi- 
 nistry, and that they be persons 
 meet for the same. But yet if there 
 be any of you, who knoweth any 
 Ini])e(liment, or notable Crime, in 
 any of them, for the which he ought 
 not to be received into this holy 
 Ministry, let him come forth in the 
 Name of God, and shew what the 
 Crime or Impediment is. 
 
 t And if any great Crime or Impediment he 
 objected, the Bishop shall surcease from 
 Ordering that person, until such time as the 
 party accused shall be found clear of that 
 Crime. 
 
 IT Then the Bishop (commending such as shall 
 be found meet to be Ordered to the Prayers 
 of the Congregation) shall, with the Clergy 
 and people present, sing or say the Litany, 
 with the Prayers, as is before appointed in 
 the Form of Ordering Deacons; save only, 
 that, in the proper Suffrage there added, the 
 word [Deacons] shall be omitted, and the 
 word [Priests] inserted instead of it. 
 
 IF Then shall be sung or said the Service for 
 the Communion, with the Collect, Epistle, 
 and Gospel, as followeth. 
 
 The Colled. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, giver of all 
 good things, who by thy Holy 
 Spirit hast appointed divers Orders 
 of Ministers in the Church ; Mer- 
 cifully behold these thy servants 
 now called to the Office of Priest- 
 hood; and replenish them so with 
 
 ' The Epistle.'] The proper portions of Scripture ap- 
 pointed for the Epistle and Gospel at the ordination of 
 a priest have been various in divers churches. That, 
 which our Reformers chose from Eph. iv. 7—13, is very 
 proper for the occasion ; because the apostle here treats 
 of the diversity of gifts and offices in the church, and 
 particularly of their Author, variety, and use. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' After this shall be rend for the Gospel &c.] There 
 are two Gosjiels chosen for this occasion. As to the 
 first, in the Ordinal of Edward the Sixth the Gospel was 
 Matt, .\xviii. 18, &c. ; but that being properly the mis- 
 sion of the twelve as apostles, it was thought more pro- 
 per to remove it to the office for bishops, and to read 
 the apparatus to their first solemn mission as preachers, 
 related chap. x. 1, &c. ; to which this Gospel is the 
 preface, and should not be separated from it, as it was 
 by the division of chapters in our Bibles. For variety 
 there is another portion of St. John's Gospel ; being 
 our Saviour's own description of the duty of a good 
 Shepherd, and the faults of a bad one. It was anciently 
 appointed to be read at the consecration of a bishop. 
 But it is also equally proper for the ordination of a 
 presbyter, and therefore oitf Reformers placed it here. 
 Dean Comber, 
 
 the truth of thy doctrine, and adorn 
 them with innocency of life, that, 
 l)oth by word and good example 
 they may faithfully serve thee in this 
 Office, to the glory of thy Name, 
 and the edification of thy Church ; 
 through the merits of our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ, who livetii and reigneth 
 with thee and the Holy Ghost, world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 The Epistle'. Ephes. iv. 7. 
 
 UNTO every one of us is given 
 grace, according to the mea- 
 sure of the gift of Christ. Where- 
 fore he saith, When he ascended up 
 on high, he led captivity captive, 
 and gave gifts unto men. (Now 
 that he ascended, what is it but that 
 he also descended first into the lower 
 parts of the earth? He that de- 
 scended, is the same also that ascend- 
 ed up far above all heavens, that he 
 might fill all things.) And he gave 
 some Apostles, and some Prophets, 
 and some Evangelists, and some Pas- 
 tors and Teachers; for the perfecting 
 of the Saints, for the work of the 
 Ministry, for the edifying of the Body 
 of Christ; till we all come in the 
 unity of the faith, and of the know- 
 ledge of the Son of God, unto a 
 perfect man, unto the measure of the 
 stature of the fulness of Christ, 
 
 H After this shall be read for the Gospel' 
 part of the ninth Chapter of Saint Matthew, 
 as followeth. 
 
 To prevent any misconception or misapplication of 
 the word " hireling " in this Gospel, it is necessary to 
 remark, that it does not mean one who performs the 
 office or duty of a minister for hire or reward : for the 
 apostle, or rather our blessed Lord Himself, says, "The 
 labourer is worthy of his hire," or " reward," 1 Tim. v. 
 1 8 ; Luke x. 7. In an established country, and indeed 
 in any country, where the teacher must be supported 
 by the taught, whether the emolument be of a public 
 or a private nature, the man, who is duly appointed 
 and performs his duty to his flock, is a true jiastor and 
 no hireling. " Even so hath the Lord ordained that 
 they which preach the Gospel should li\-e of the 
 Gospel," 1 Cor. ix. 14. But he is an hireling, in the 
 debased sense of the expression, who endeavours to 
 make a gain of godliness, a mercenary, who teaches for 
 doctrines the commandments of men ; one who will flee 
 when the wolf cometh, who will not stand in the gap, 
 who neither possesses faith to fulfil the duties of his 
 office, nor a desire to protect his sheep. Teachers 
 of false doctrines, self-appointed and self-approved 
 preachers, fanatical declaimers, those who intrude 
 themselves into the chair of instruction under hypo- 
 critical or false pretences ; all these unquestionably are 
 hirehngs. See 2 Pet. ii. 1, 2. Another order of hire-
 
 696 
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 St. Matth. ix. 36. 
 
 WHEN Jesus saw the multi- 
 tudes, he was moved with 
 compassion on them, because they 
 fainted, and were scattered abroad 
 as sheep having- no shepherd. Then 
 saith he unto his disciples. The 
 harvest truly is plenteous, but the 
 labourers are few. Pray ye tliere- 
 fore the Lord of the harvest, that 
 he will send forth labourers into his 
 harvest. 
 
 f Or else this that followeth, ojU of the tenth 
 Chapter of Saint John. 
 
 St. John X. 1. 
 
 VERILY, verily I say unto 
 you, He that entereth not by 
 the door into the sheep-fold, but 
 climbeth up some other way, the 
 same is a thief and a robber. But 
 he that entereth in by the door is the 
 Shepherd of the sheep. To him 
 the porter openeth, and the sheep 
 hear his voice ; and he calleth his 
 own sheep by name, and leadeth 
 them out. And when he putteth 
 forth his own sheep he goetli before 
 them, and the sheep follow him; 
 for they know his voice. And a 
 stranger will tiiey not follow, but 
 will flee from him, for they know 
 not the voice of strangers. This 
 parable spake Jesus unto them, but 
 they understood not what things 
 they were which lie spake unto 
 them. Then said Jesus unto them 
 again, Verily, verily I say unto you, 
 I am the door of the sheep. All 
 that ever came before me are thieves 
 and robbers ; but tlie sheep did not 
 
 lin(?3 are those, who are ignorant of their profession, 
 whether in learning or in faith, and are totally un- 
 (juulihed to pfiform its duties ; " dcsirinj^ to he teachers 
 of the law, uiHlcrstaiidinj; neither what they say, nor 
 whereof they affirm," 1 Tim. i. " ; " intruding them- 
 selves into those things which they have not seen, 
 vainly puffed up hy their (ieshly mind," (.^ol. ii. 18. 
 Nor shall we less tall those hirelings, whose moral 
 conduct is as defective as their religious hehef. 
 lireirster. 
 
 " And that (time, he shall say untn them as herenfler 
 foHtnoeth.^. 'I'lie next ohservahle ililfcrence hetwcen the 
 former office and the present is the peculiar admonition 
 which the hisho]) gives to all that enter into priests' 
 orders : that, hel'ore they take this weighty charge upon 
 them, they may he made duly sen.sihle, hoth of the 
 dignity and tlie duties of their office, which are so 
 necessary to he con.sidered just now, that other 
 churches have such a discourse, though in some it he 
 less properly deferred till after the ordination. Cmnlier. 
 
 This excellent exhortation contains, first, an admoui- 
 
 hear them. I am the door ; by me 
 if any man enter in, he shall be 
 saved, and shall go in and out, and 
 find pasture. The thief cometh not 
 but for to steal, and to kill, and to 
 destroy : I am come that they might 
 have life, and that they might have 
 it more abundantly. I am the good 
 Shepherd : the good Shepherd giveth 
 his life for the sheep. But he that 
 is an hireling, and not the Shep- 
 herd, wliose own the sheep are not, 
 seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth 
 the sheep, and fleeth ; and the wolf 
 catcheth them, and scattereth the 
 sheep. The hireling fleeth, because 
 he is an hireling, and careth not 
 for the sheep. I am the good 
 Shepherd, and know my sheep, and 
 am known of mine. As the Father 
 knoweth me, even so know I the 
 Father ; and I lay down my life 
 for the sheep. And other sheep 1 
 have, which are not of this fold : 
 them also I must bring, and tlioy 
 shall hear my voice ; and there shall 
 be one fold, and one Shepherd. 
 
 t Then the Bishop, sitting in his chair, shall 
 minister unto every one of them the Oath 
 concerning the Queen's Siipretnacy, as it is 
 before set forth in the Form for the Order- 
 ing of Deacons, 
 
 IT And that done, he shall say unto them as 
 hereafter followeth ", 
 
 YO U have heard. Brethren, as 
 well in your private examina- 
 tion, as in the exhortation which was 
 now made to you, and in the holy 
 Lessons taken out of the Gospel, 
 and the writings of the Apostles, of 
 what dignity, and of how great im- 
 
 tion to the persons to be ordained, that they consider 
 the great weight and importance of their em])loy, which 
 is to make provision for C'hrist's family, and to seek for 
 his lost sheep; and also the danger of neglecting their 
 duty, since all miscarriages, which shall happen througli 
 their negligence, shall he severely requiied at their 
 hands. Secondly, that they use the utmost of their 
 diligence in the discharge of their function ; that they 
 may discharge tlieir consciences hy performing the dutv 
 retpiired of them ; that they nuiy make a thankful 
 return to their gracious Master, who has advanced 
 them to so honourahle an olliec ; and that they niiiy 
 avoid giving occasion to other persons of transgressing 
 their duty after their example. Ami, lastly, it suggests 
 to them the means they should make ii.se of, to enalile 
 them to discharge their duty aright ; which are to ])niy 
 for the assistance of (iod's Holy S])irit, diligently to 
 study the holy Scriptures, to lead a life of exemplary 
 piety, and to avoid, as much as may be, ail secular 
 business and study. Dr. Nicholls.
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESl'S. 
 
 fi97 
 
 I»a. xliv. 26. 
 Hag. i 13. 
 Mai. ii. 7. 
 Mark i. 2. 
 Phil. ii. 25. 
 2 Cor. viii. 
 23 i V. 20. 
 Ezek. iii. 17; 
 xxxiii. 2, 3. 
 Heb. xiii. 17 
 1 Cor. iv. I. 
 Tit. i. 7. 
 Luke xii. 42 
 Ezek. xxxiv 
 2. 
 
 I Pet. i. 
 19. 
 
 Eph. V. 25, 
 26, Sic. 
 
 Ezek. iii. 18, 
 l'v.'C. ; xxxiii. 
 
 Acts XX. 31. 
 2 Tim. iv. 1, 
 2. 
 
 Eph. iv. 12, 
 13. 
 
 1 Cor. iv. 1, 
 2. 
 
 1 Thess. V. 
 22. 
 
 Rom. xiv. 21. 
 
 portance tliis Office is, wlicreunto ye 
 are callofl. And now atfuin we e.x- 
 liort you, ill the Name of our Lord 
 Jesus Clirist, that you iiave in re- 
 membrance, into how iiiirh a Dignity, 
 and to how weighty an Office and 
 Charge ye are called : that is to say, 
 to be Messengers, Watchmen, and 
 Stewards of the Lord ; to teach, and 
 to premonish, to feed and provide 
 for the Lord's family ; to seek for 
 Christ's sheep that are dispersed 
 abroad, and for his children who are 
 in the midst of this naughty world, 
 that they may be saved through 
 Christ for ever. 
 
 Have always tiierefore printed in 
 your remembrance, how great a trea- 
 sure is committed to your charge. 
 For they are the sheep of Christ, 
 wliicli lie bought with his death, and 
 for whom he shed his blood. The 
 Church and Congregation whom you 
 must serve, is his Spouse, and his 
 Body. And if it shall happen the 
 same Church, or any Member there- 
 of, to take any hurt or hindrance by 
 reason of your negligence, ye know 
 the greatness of the fault, and also 
 the horrible punishment that will 
 ensue. Wherefore consider with 
 yourselves the end of your Ministry 
 towards tiie children of God, towards 
 the Spouse and Body of Christ ; and 
 see that you never cease your labour, 
 your care and diligence, until you 
 have done all that lieth in you, ac- 
 cording to your bounden duty, to 
 bring all such as are or shall be com- 
 mitted to your charge, unto that 
 agreement in the faith and knowledge 
 of God, and to that ripeness and per- 
 fectness of age in Christ, that there 
 be no place left among you, either 
 for error in religion, or for vicious- 
 ness in life. 
 
 Forasmuch then as your Office is 
 both of so great excellency, and of 
 so great difficulty, ye see with how 
 great care and study ye ought to 
 apply yourselves, as well that ye may 
 shew yourselves dutiful and thankful 
 unto that Lord, who hath placed 
 you in so high a Dignity ; as also to 
 beware, that neither you yourselves 
 offend, nor be occasion that others 
 
 1 Cor. viii. 13. 
 
 • And now — ye shall answer plainly to these things, 
 &c.] All the things stated in the foregoing exhorta- 
 
 ofFend. Howbeit, ye cannot have a 2 Cor. iii. 5. 
 mind and will thereto of yourselves; 
 for that will and ability is given of 
 Ciod alone : therefore ye ought, and 
 have need, to jiray earnestly for his 1 cor. xiv. 
 holy Spirit. And seeing that you n„ni. viii. 
 cannot by any other means compa.ss ^''' "■ 
 the doing of so weighty a work, jier- 
 taining to the salvation of man, but 
 with doctrine and exhortation taken 
 out of the holy Scriptures, and with 
 a life agreeable to the same ; con- 
 sider how studious ye ought to be in iTim. iv. 13, 
 reading and learning the Scriptures, 2 Tim. i. 6. 
 and in framing the manners both of 
 yourselves, and of them that spe- 
 cially pertain unto you, according to 
 the rule of the same Scriptures : and 
 for this self-same cause, how ye 
 ought to forsake and set aside (as 
 much as you may) all worldly cares 2Tim. ii.4. 
 and studies. 
 
 We have good hope that you 
 have well weighed and pondered 
 these things with yourselves long 
 before this time ; and that you have 
 clearly determined, by God's grace, 
 to give yourselves wholly to this iTim. iv. 15. 
 Office, whereunto it hath pleased 
 God to call you; so that, as much as 
 lieth in you, you will apply your- 
 selves wholly to this one thing, 
 and draw all your cares and studies 
 this way ; and that you will con- 
 tinually pray to God the Father, by 
 the INIediation of our only Saviour 
 Jesus Christ, for the heavenly as- 
 sistance of the Holy Ghost ; that, by 
 daily reading and weighing of the 
 Scriptures, ye may wax riper and 2 Tim. iii. ig, 
 stronger in your Ministry ; and that 
 ye may so endeavour yourselves, 
 from time to time, to sanctify the 
 lives of you and yours, and to fashion 
 them after the Rule and Doctrine of 
 Christ, that ye may be wholesome 
 and godly examples and patterns for 
 the people to follow. 
 
 And now, that this present Con- 1 Tim.vi. 12. 
 gregation of Christ here assembled 
 may al,so understand your minds and 
 wills in these things, and that this 
 your promise may the more move 
 you to do your duties, ye shall 
 answer plainly to these things", 
 which we, in the Name of God, and 
 
 tion are the priest's duty : and, as the bishop's charity 
 moves him to hope concerning every one of them that
 
 698 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS 
 
 of liis Church, shall demand of 5'ouy 
 
 touching the same. 
 
 DO you think in your heart, 
 that you be truly called ^ ac- 
 cording to the will of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and the order of this 
 United Church of England and /re- 
 
 he n-ill do all this ; so his office binds him to require 
 them, as St. Paul did Timothy at his ordination, " to 
 make this good profession before many witnesses," 
 1 Tim. vi. 12. That is, he now proceeds to oblige 
 them, by a solemn jjroraise, to engage that they will 
 most faithfully perform every particular branch of 
 these duties. And, since the bishop stands in God's 
 stead, and every one of the congregation is witness to 
 what is said, this declaration is as sacred as an oath : 
 such a promise binds as strongly as any vow : if they 
 do not now intend what they engage, they lie not to 
 men, but to God : and if they be negligent to keep 
 their words afterwai-ds, it is equal to jjcrjury. Both 
 God, and as many as are spectators at this ordination, 
 may " condemn them out of their own mouths :" their 
 words will be witnesses against them, if they do not 
 make them good, in this world to their shame, and 
 in the next to their condemnation. Therefore it is 
 highly necessarj" for e\'ery candidate to consider these 
 things very well, before he promise them ; and to en- 
 deavoiu' to perform them all the days of his life. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 At the same time it may be remarked, that every care 
 is taken not to draw the candidate for holy orders into 
 an unwary promise. His awful obligations are stated 
 by frequent api)eals to the preparation of his own 
 heart. His intellect is at maturity, and his actions free. 
 The charter of his profession is declared, and every 
 publick and private consideration set before him. No 
 vow of poverty is exacted from him ; he is neitlier to be 
 clothed in sackcloth, nor to dig his own grave. He 
 continues a member of society under its best preten- 
 sions. His feelings are those of a man, but of a man 
 improved by grace : of a man, not dead to the world 
 in the extreme sense of the expression, but dead to the 
 vicious practices of the world ; of a man, " crucified 
 indeed with Christ " as to the law, " nevertheless he 
 may still say, I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in 
 me ; and the life, which I now live in the flesh, 1 hve 
 by the faith of the Son of (iod, who loved me and gave 
 himself for me," Gal. ii. '20. Such are the obligations 
 of a Christian minister's promise : «bich, as he was 
 in tlie early [lart of the service ])resented to the con- 
 gregation, he now confirms in the presence of that 
 church, whose spiritual interests his best judgment in- 
 duces him to su|)port. linusler. 
 
 ' — lohich we, m the Nmne nf God, and of his Church, 
 shall demand nf you i&c] A\'e may here observe, tliat 
 tlie first question put to those, who are to be ordained 
 priests, concerning their being moved by the Holy 
 Ghost to take that office upon tliem, is now omitted. 
 For, these having l>ecu orchiincd deacons l>efore, it is 
 8ui>|)0sed tliat tliey were tlien moved liy the Spirit of 
 Christ to take tlie ministry of bis (iospel upon tliein, 
 and there is no need of any tiirllier call from Mini. 
 For being once culled by Him, though it was but to 
 the lowest office of his own institution, tlie (Jliurch 
 takes it for granted that it is his [ileasure they should 
 be ]iromoted to any higlier office, if there be sufficient 
 reason and occasion for it. lip. BeKeridije. 
 
 land, to the Order and Ministry of 
 Priesthood ? 
 
 Answer. I think it. 
 
 The Bishop. 
 
 ARE you persuaded that the 
 holy Scriptures^ contain suffi- 
 ciently all Doctrine required of ne- 
 
 2 Tim. iii. 15. 
 
 John XX. 30, 
 
 James i. 2 1 . 
 
 ' Do you think in your heart, that you be truly called, 
 &c.] This is the same question, a little varied in ex- 
 pression, which is put to deacons at their admission 
 into the ministry, and is intended to prevent that in- 
 sincerity and prevarication, which might induce per- 
 sons, not well affected to the Established Church of 
 this nation, to press themselves into her semce. Unity 
 of heai't is more necessary than unity of profession, in 
 promoting the real interests of society : but unless 
 both meet in erecting Christ's church on earth, she wall 
 remain exposed to those continual dangers, which ai'ise 
 from discordant principles. Brewster. 
 
 " Arc you persuaded that the holy Scriptures &c.] 
 Tliis question materially differs from that put in the 
 former office. For a deacon's principal duty being 
 only to read the Scriptures, it was enough for him to 
 declare before God and the congregation, "that he 
 believed all the canonical books were divinely inspired." 
 But a priest must fm-ther, first, declare his faith, " that 
 the holy Scripture contains aU doctrines that are neces- 
 sary to be believed, and is sufficient, through faith, for 
 our eternal salvation. Secondly, he must publish his 
 resolution to take all his doctrines from thence, and 
 promise never to teach any thing, as of necessity to 
 salvation, that cannot be proved thereby. For his office 
 is to preach all saving truths, and teach his people all 
 those duties, that are requisite for bringing them to 
 eternal life. 
 
 Nor is there any need for the candidate to hesitate 
 at, or doubt of, the declaration or the promise. For, 
 first, the thing declared is certainly true : the infallible 
 word of God doth assure him, that " holy Scrijiture is 
 able," without the help of tradition or new revelations, 
 " to make us uise unto salvation through faith which 
 is in Christ Jesus," 2 Tim. iii. !.'> ; that there is enough 
 in it to make us capable of eternal life, through be- 
 lieving, John XX. 30, 31; and that being "received 
 with meekness," and a due submission to its doctrines 
 and prccejits, " it is aide to save our souls," J.imes i. 
 21 ; finally, that it is so iicrfect a rule, that "nothing 
 can be added to it, or taken from it," Dcut. iv. 2 ; 
 Rev. xxii. 1 S. ^Vherel'ore unless we can be so impious 
 as to imagine, that the tiod of truth designed to 
 decei\-e us, we must give credit to his character of holy 
 Scripture, and believe that it contains all necessary 
 truths. 
 
 And this was the constant opinion of the catholick 
 church in all ages. Yea, tliis of old was the doctrine 
 of the Roman church ; but it was before they had 
 brought in so many new doctrines and practices, 
 grounded on tradition only, that they were forced to 
 decree at 'I'rent, "tliat traditions were to be received 
 with the same |iious affection and veneration, that they 
 received the Scriptures." But in the ]iriniitive ages 
 nothing but the word of (iod was allowed to decide 
 controversies of faith ; and therefore the holy Bible 
 alone was placed on a throne in Christian councils, as 
 the only .judge in all such cases. 
 
 \\'lier(fore it is very necessary that every priest 
 should declare his belief of the perfection of Scripture.
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 099 
 
 cessity for eternal salvation through 
 faith in Jesus Christ ? and are you 
 determined, out of the said Scrip- 
 tures to instruct the peojile com- 
 mitted to your charge, and to teach 
 Deut. iv. 2. nothiny:, as reciuired of necessity to 
 
 Ucv. xxii.18. . 11.- 1 ,. .1 1 1 • 1 
 
 eternal salvation, but that wliicli 
 you sliall be persuaded may be con- 
 
 And, secondly, that he should jiromise to teach no 
 doctrines but what may be proved by it. For this is 
 the greatest security of his being orthodox, which the 
 Church can have : since no man can be an heretick, 
 who takes his faith from the jilain words of Scrijiture, 
 and ])roves it by necessary consequences drawn from 
 thence. And it is of such importance to the Church, 
 that those she admits for guides to others be not in the 
 ^vrong way themselves, that all the reformed churches 
 ask the same question of their candidates. More ])ar- 
 ticularly this excludes all papists and enthusiasts from 
 holy orders; because the former pretend traditions, and 
 the latter new revelations, for the proof of their false 
 doctrines, both agreeing to deny the perfection of holy 
 Scripture : which false principles would make our 
 faith changeable and uncertain, whereas nothing fixes 
 our fundamentals in religion, like binding all priests to 
 a written and imalterable rule. Dean Comber. 
 
 Our Church does injoin the person to be ordained to 
 promise this, in opposition to the doctrine of tradition, 
 which is injoined by the church of Rome. But she 
 does this with an admirable temperament, and with very 
 just hmitations. For she does not require of them that 
 they shall teach nothing, but what may be jjroved by 
 Scripture ; but that for every thing which they press, 
 as necessary to salvation, they have good proof of Scrip- 
 ture to support it. The doctrine of the church of Rome 
 is contrary to this. The Council of Trent "receives 
 traditions, both as to faith and manners, either deUvered 
 by Christ Himself with his own mouth, or dictated by 
 the Holy Ghost, and preser\'ed in the catholick church 
 by a continual succession, with equal piety of affection 
 as the holy Scriptures themselves." But as our Church 
 does not condemn ecclesiastical tradition, or any other 
 human or rational proof; so she will not have them 
 made use of by her clergy for the sole maintaining of 
 articles of faith, as the papists do : and denies, what 
 that council affirms, "that the truth of the Gospel is 
 contained partly in books that are wTitten, and partly 
 in unwritten traditions." Dr. Tdcholls. 
 
 ^ I am so persuaded, and have so determined &c.] Tliis 
 answer shews, how necessary it is, that they who come 
 to be ordained should consider these things beforehand : 
 for otherwise how can they say, they have so determined 
 aheady .' Bp. Beveridge. 
 
 ' Wilt you then give your faithful diligence &c.'\ Di- 
 hgence is one of tlie princii)al parts of the pastoral office, 
 which is injoined and earnestly pressed in the New 
 Testament. St. Paul gives it as a prime character of 
 St. Luke, because his " praise was in the Gospel in all 
 churches," 2 Cor. viii. IS ; and because he had "often- 
 times proved him diligent in many things," ver. 22. He 
 exhorts Timothy to " endure hardness, as a good soldier 
 of Jesus Christ," 2 Tim. ii. 3 ; to " preach the word ; 
 to be instant in season and out of season ; to reprove, 
 rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine," 
 2 Tim. iv. 2. This diligence, which is recommended to 
 the ministers of the Gospel by the Scripture in general, 
 is branched out in this interrogatory into its several 
 parts. And they are made to promise to be diligent, 
 first, in administering the " doctrine" of our Saviour, 
 
 eluded and proved by tlie Scri]) 
 
 ture ; 
 
 Ansivcr. I am so persuaded, and 
 liave so determined'' by God's grace. 
 
 The Bislwp. 
 
 WILL you then give yon 
 faithful diligence' always s( 
 
 r 
 so 
 
 which consists in preaching and catechizing : secondly, 
 in administering the " sacraments," which in the gene- 
 ral sense of the word does take in, not only the two 
 sacraments, properly so called, namely, of Baptism, and 
 the Lord's Supper, but all the sacramental rites injoined 
 by the Church, such as marrying, burying, visitation of 
 the sick, &c. : thirdly, in administering the " disciphne" 
 of the Church, which at the compiling of this office the 
 presbyters of the Church were designed to have a greater 
 share of, than they are now vested with ; but which, 
 according to their present powers, they may in some 
 part do ; in declaring those excommunicates, whom pro- 
 per authority has laid under that censure ; in repelling 
 from the communion notorious offenders ; and in pre- 
 senting those to the ecclesiastical courts, whom the 
 parish officers, upon scandalous crimes committed by 
 them, shall refuse or neglect to present. But all this 
 must be done with a just limitation, and under the 
 direction of the laws of the land and the canons of the 
 Church, and not at the arbitrary pleasure of the minis- 
 ter. He must not jireach any doctrine, but what is 
 warranted by the Articles of our Church : nor adminis- 
 ter either sacraments, or sacramentals, or any other 
 publick or open prayer, but according to the offices pre- 
 scribed in the Book of Common Prayer, " and none 
 other or otherwise," as the Act of Uniformity speaks : 
 nor e.xercise any part of the Church discipline, H'hich 
 by the laws or canons is not intrusted to presbyters. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The Scriptm-e teaches the manner of our ministration 
 as to the main ; and our offices and canons for discipline 
 are drawn up by those directions : the rest is supjjlied 
 out of ])rimitive antiquity, as to ceremonies and things 
 not essential : and both are finally confirmed by our 
 laws. Thus we have accurately prescribed forms for all 
 our ministrations ; from which if any pri\'ate minister 
 might vary, and follow his own fancy, it would breed 
 infinite confusion and endless scandals : wherefore .after 
 the example of our jjious ancestors we oblige all tlie 
 clergy to minister the word and sacraments, yea, and 
 disciphne also, in one imiform manner ; which our 
 priests may safely promise to do, because this Churcii 
 hath taken such exact care to come as near as possible 
 to holy Scripture in all these particulars. So that for 
 any minister to come short of, or go beyond, this perfect 
 constitution argues intolerable pride and folly, and dis- 
 covers such a ])resumi)tion as admits of no excuse ; 
 especially after he hath so solemnly promised before 
 God, and many witnesses, that he will administer all 
 these things according to the rules of this Church. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 The rubrick, to which we here hind ourselves l)y ex- 
 press consent and promise, is upon a different footing 
 from all other ecclesiastical laws. For without consi- 
 dering it as statute, and, as such, only u])on the level 
 with several other subsequent acts of parliament relat- 
 ing to our occasional ministrations, we are under this 
 peculiar circumstance of obligation to observe it, that 
 we have, by our subscriptions at both ordinations, by 
 one of our vows at the altar for the order of priesthood, 
 by our subscriptions and declarations of conformity
 
 700 
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 to minister the Doctrine and Sacra- 
 ments, and the Discipline of Christ, 
 as the Lord hath commanded, and 
 
 as this Clnirch and Realm liatli re- 
 ceived the same, according to the 
 Commandments of God ; so that you 
 
 before our ordinary, and repetition of thera in the 
 church before our congregations, and hkewise by our 
 declarations of assent and consent, as pi'escribed in the 
 Act of Uniformity ; I say, we have in all these several 
 wavs tied ourselves down to a regular, constant, con- 
 scientious ])erformance of all and every thing prescribed 
 in and by the Book of Common Prayer, according to 
 the usage of the Church of England. And seeing it 
 hath been the wisdom of our Church to lay us under 
 these engagements, in order to preserve exact uniformity 
 in the publick worship, and all the litiu-gick offices : nay, 
 since it hath been judged proper to carry us through a 
 train of these stipulations, before we can get possession 
 of any benefice ; and to make us renew them again and 
 again, as often as we change our preferment, or obtain 
 any new promotion : and seeing that we have entered, 
 as we have professed, ex animo into this covenant with 
 the Church, and have deliberately renewed it, as often 
 as there hath been occasion : how frivolous is it for any 
 of us to say, that the connivance, or the presumed con- 
 sent of our ordinary, or the private conveniency of our- 
 selves or families, or the obliging of any of our parish- 
 ioners, or the apparent inexpediency of adhering to the 
 letter in some few cases, will dissolve this our obligation 
 to conformity ? Surely we must know, that these and 
 the like allegations are (piite out of the case : that, how- 
 ever our Church governours may dispense with our 
 breaches of the rubrick, however our people may acqui- 
 esce in them, or ajiprove of them, yet the question is, 
 how far we are at liberty to dispense with ourselves on 
 account of the forementioned engagements, to which 
 God and the Church are made \vitnesses in as solemn a 
 manner, as they are to our personal stipulations at con- 
 firmation or matrimony : or whether we have not in this 
 case precluded ourselves from all benefit of such ex- 
 emption or dispensation, as might perhaps be reason- 
 al)ly alleged in several other merely statutable or canon- 
 ical matters. 
 
 This indeed we must always take along with us, that 
 our obligations to observe the rubrick, how indisi)ensable 
 soever, are subject to this proviso ; namely, tliat the 
 rule prescribed be a thing practicable : wliicb jicrhaps 
 cannot be said of all ruliricks in all churches, or in all 
 places of the kingdom : nay, that it be a thing which 
 falls witliin the minister's ])ower, so that lie be not de- 
 prived of bis lilierty in acting, or restrained in it, by the 
 previous acts of other people, whercliy that, which would 
 be practicalile in itself, is rendered not jiracticable by 
 him. I will not positively say, th.it no other jiroviso is 
 to be allowed of or admitted : because this cannot be 
 determined absolutely, or otherwise than by a particular 
 consideration of each rule or injunction imder several 
 different circiunstances. Hut we may allirni in general, 
 that we are under higher obligations to observe the ru- 
 brick, than any other ecclesiastical law whatsoever: that, 
 excepting a very few cases, or imder some necessary 
 limitations and reservations, we are bounil to adhere to 
 it literally, jiunctually, and perpetually : and that who- 
 soever among tlie clergv either adds to it, or diminishes 
 from it, or useth any other rule instead of it, as he is in 
 the eye of the law so far a nimconformist, so it behoves 
 him to consider with himself whether in point of con- 
 science he be not a breaker of bis word and trust, and an 
 chiller of his engagements to the Church. Archdeacon. 
 Sharp. 
 
 As to the Canons, to which we are not bound by any 
 
 formal promise, but only by virtue of their own authority, 
 I believe no one will say, that we are bound to pay obe- 
 dience to them all, according to the letter of them. For 
 the alteration of customs, change of habits, and other 
 circumstances of time and jilace, and the manner of the 
 country, have made some of them impracticable ; I mean, 
 prudentially so, if not literally. Others of them are use- 
 less and invalid on course, through defect of proper offi- 
 cers, and proper inquiries, to render them of force and 
 effectual. And there are hardly any of them, but what 
 have been upon extraordinary occasions disjiensed with 
 by our governours. And yet on the other hand that 
 they are of very considerable authority ajipears from 
 hence, that they are the standing ecclesiastical laws of 
 the realm, the constant rules of the ordinaries' inquiries 
 at their visitations, the grounds of presentments of 
 delinquents and irregularities upon oath, and the foun- 
 dation upon which ecclesiastical censm'es and judgments 
 commonly stand. 
 
 To the question then, what measures of obedience we 
 of the clerg}' owe to those canons which respect our own 
 behaviour or function, I answer, that in my own opinion 
 there are three sorts of dispensations which will justify 
 us in not strictly following the letter of the canons, pro- 
 vided we always have an eye and regard to the general 
 design of them. 
 
 The fii-st sort are formal and express dispensations 
 from sufficient authority, which are good in law and 
 conscience too. 
 
 The second are particular tacit dispensations ; that is, 
 when the ordinary or otlier projier guardian or conser- 
 vator of the ecclesiastical laws is known to be consenting 
 in any sjiecial case, though he doth not signify such 
 consent either by instrument or 0]ien declaration. And 
 these I hold to be good in conscience, whatever they be 
 in law. 
 
 The third are general tacit disjiensations, wlien the 
 ordinaries or other spiritual judges, whose business it is 
 to inforee discipline and rnle, do appear, by a general 
 and avowed neglect of putting the canons in force, to 
 agree and consent to their non-observance. That is to 
 say, |)ri\ate clergymen do not seem to be bound to what 
 their superiors in the Church do not seem to expect or 
 reipiirc of them ; or which at least they do forbear by 
 mutual agreement to inforee. 
 
 These tlu-ee kinds of dispensations seem to be good 
 and justifiable, provided, as I said before, that there be 
 a particular expediency in not adhering strictly to the 
 letter of the canons, and the general and main design of 
 the rules injoined in them be as well or better answered 
 anotlier way. 
 
 'llie rules of direction which follow upon these obser- 
 vations are these two ; wliieli indeed not only respect 
 the canons, but several other statute laws yet in force. 
 First, to adhere closely and stri(^tly to the letter of them 
 in all eases, where we cannot jilead any of the three 
 kinds of dispensations above mentioned. .Secondly, in 
 all cases, where we can jilead a dis|)ensation from the 
 letter, to answer the true intention of them some otlier 
 way ; and not to dejiart further from tliein than we 
 have satisfactory reasons as well as leave to justify and 
 warrant us in doing. And by these two rules it will 
 lie no dillicult thing to take the just measures of our olie- 
 dience to every ]iarticular Canon or Statute, that relates 
 to our function, habit, or conversation. Archdcncun 
 Sharp.
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 701 
 
 Acts XX. 31. 
 2 Tim. iv. 5. 
 Tit, i. 9. 
 
 may teach the people committed to 
 your Cure and Charge with all 
 diligence to keep and observe the 
 same ? 
 
 Anstoer. I will so do, by the help 
 of the Lord. 
 
 The Bishop. 
 
 WILL you be ready, with all 
 faithful diligence"', to banish 
 and drive away all erroneous and 
 strange doctrines contrary to God's 
 Word ; and to use both publick and 
 private monitions and exhortations, 
 as well to the sick as to the'whole, 
 within your Cures, as need shall re- 
 quire, and occasion shall be given ? 
 
 '' Will you be ready, with all faithful diligence, &c.] 
 This interrogatory was placed here in lieu of that in the 
 Roman Pontifical, " Do you curse, or pronounce an 
 anathema against, every heresy which advances itself 
 against the holy Catholick church ? Ans. I do." This 
 was upon wise consideration thought fit to he changed ; 
 and the ordained person ohhged only to promise " with 
 all faithful diligence to drive away," that is, hy good 
 argument and jiersuasion to confute, " erroneous doc- 
 trines." Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 There is another part of the clergy's duty contained 
 in this question, as necessary as the former : and that 
 is, to drive away vice as well as error, by publick and 
 private monitions and e.xhortations, both to the sound 
 and sick within their cures, whenever need requires. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 As the i)arochial minister is here addressed, though 
 an active zeal is required of him, it must be "a zeal 
 according to knowledge," a well-ordered zeal, a zeal 
 ^vithin the limits of his duty. Tliis is evident from the 
 continuation of the question, " Will you be ready to 
 use both publick and private monitions and exhorta- 
 tions, as well to the sick as to the wliole, within your 
 cures, as need shall require, and occasion shall be 
 given ?" Offence is to be avoided in seeking this good 
 end of persuasion. We are to have respect to times 
 and circumstances : not to excite irritation, or pro\'oke 
 resentment. " A word spoken in due season, how 
 good is it!" Prov. xv. 23. This does not imply that 
 we are to become time-servers in conduct, according to 
 the odious interpretation of the term : but in condescen- 
 sion to the various tempers and dispositions of those, 
 whom we wish to convince of the danger of their error, 
 to take such opportunities of instruction as may be 
 most favoiu'able for that purpose. Our advice is di- 
 rected to be "private" to individuals, and applied to 
 those within the sphere of our duty, " within our cures :" 
 but it is also required to be of that general nature, as 
 to comprehend all that belong to our inspection. "Tlie 
 sick and the whole" include all descriptions of persons. 
 They are separated in language, to shew more distinctly 
 the branches of our duty. To the bed-side of the sick 
 we are brought professionally, to promote their spiritual 
 welfare, and in the first place to give them right notions 
 of their true situation ; to set before their eyes the 
 truth of the Gospel at that interesting moment, when 
 they are waiting for its advantages. " 'Ilie Lord God," 
 saith the prophet, " hath given me the tongue of the 
 learned, that I should know how to speak a word in 
 season to liim that is weary," Isa. 1. 4. But we are to 
 
 Answer. I will, the Lord being my 
 helper. 
 
 The Bishop. 
 
 WILL you be diligent in 
 Prayers^ and in reading of 
 the holy Scriptures, and in such stu- 
 dies as help to the knowledge of the 
 same, laying aside the study of the 
 world and the flesh '^? 
 
 Answer. I will eiuleavour myself 
 so to do, the Lord being my helper. 
 
 The Bishop. 
 
 WILL you be diligent to frame 
 and fashion your own selves, 
 and your families, according to the 
 Doctrine of Christ ; and to make 
 
 seek " the whole." Our congregations consist of per- 
 sons of a variety of dispositions, as well as a variety of 
 princijjles on which they act. It is this which renders 
 our duty difficult. But, wherever it is expedient, we 
 are to make the most appropriate ajiplication. " I will 
 seek that which was lost, and bring again that which 
 was driven away ; and I will bind up that which was 
 broken, and will strengthen that which was sick." 
 Ezek. xxxiv. 16. Brewster. 
 
 ' fVill you be dilirjent in Prayers, &c.] As the priest 
 moves in a higher sphere, so he hath a greater compass 
 of duty than a deacon. First, he is to be more diligent, 
 botli in private prayer for the help of God's .Spirit and 
 a blessing on his studies, and in the daily repeating of 
 the publick and common prayer twice in the church, to 
 which our rubrick binds both ])riests and deacons, if 
 they be in health, and not hindered by any urgent 
 cause. Dean Comber. But by the preceding exhorta- 
 tion the question here appears to mean private prayer 
 and i-eading. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 Secondly, Tlie priest must have a larger share of 
 knowledge, both as to Scripture, and all that leads to 
 the understanding thereof, than a deacon : wherefore 
 he is here injoined more diligently to read the Bilde, 
 and more closely to follow his study in all those parts 
 of learning, which are the handmaids of theology, the 
 queen of all sciences. And thirdly, that he may be at 
 leisure for all this, he is to promise to " lay aside tlie 
 study of the world and the tlesh," which are impedi- 
 ments to, and really inconsistent with, a contemplative 
 life. And considering how large a field he that desires 
 to be an accomplished scholar hath to expatiate in, and 
 what noble objects he hath to pursue, if he be ever so 
 young and strong, he hath emjiloyment enough for his 
 whole life, and for all the hours he can spare from his 
 offices and the necessary business of his family. He 
 will have no time to squander away upon the world 
 and the fiesh, who has a generous ambition to improve 
 himself in all these kinds of knowledge ; yet he will 
 find a satisfaction in this laborious course of study, 
 abundantly sufficient to recompense him for all his 
 pains. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — laying aside the study of the world and the flesh.'] 
 That is, not making either gross pleasures, or more re- 
 fined amusements, even literary ones unconnected with 
 your profession, or power, or profit, or advancement, or 
 applause, your great aim in life ; but labouring chiefly 
 to qualify yourselves for doing good to the souls of 
 men, and applying carefully to that purpose whatever 
 qualifications you attain. Abp. Seeker.
 
 702 
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 both yourselves and them, as much 
 as in you lieth, wholesome examples 
 and patterns to the flock of Christ? 
 
 Ansicer. I will apply myself there- 
 to, the Lord being my helper. 
 
 The Bishop. 
 
 WILL you maintain and set 
 forwards?, as much as lieth 
 in you, quietness, peace, and love, 
 among all Christian people, and 
 especially among them that are or 
 shall be committed to your charge ? 
 
 Answer. I will so do, the Lord 
 being my helper *". 
 
 s Will you maintain and set forwards, icc^ When we 
 consider, that Christ was styled " the Prince of Peace" 
 before his incarnation, Isa. ix. G ; that He was welcomed 
 at his birth with the angels singing " Peace on earth," 
 Luke ii. 14; that his Gospel is " the Gospel of peace," 
 Eph. vi. 15; and that He gives a peculiar blessing to 
 the makers of peace. Matt. v. 9 : we cannot wonder 
 that it should be one of the duties of his ministers to 
 promote peace and charity among all Christians, and 
 especially among the people committed to their special 
 care. Our Saviour intended that all the clergy should 
 be concerned in this oflBce of peace-making. For they 
 wait at the altar, and are to oblige the injurious person 
 to leave his gift there, and to be " reconciled to his 
 brother," before the priest may accept and offer 
 it, Matt. V. 23, 24 : which no doubt gave occasion to 
 those ancient canons, that injoin the clergy " not to 
 receive the oblations of such as were at enmity ;" and 
 order them to " rebuke such as they perceived to live 
 in malice; and, if they proved obstinate, to suspend 
 them from the sacrament till they were made friends." 
 By which we may see, that our third rubrick before 
 the communion, which lays the same injunction upon 
 every [jriest, is grounded on holy Scripture, and the 
 canons, as well as the practice of the primitive church. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 By the promise, given in the answer to this question, 
 the candidates oblige themselves, never to raise or pro- 
 mote personal, family, parochial, ecclesiastical, political. 
 or any other animosities ; liut to discourage, and, if 
 possible, compose and extinguish them : than which 
 they cannot perform a more Christian part, or one 
 more conducive to their honour and their usefidncss. 
 Abp. Seeker. 
 
 '' / will so do, the Lord being my helper.'] These ques- 
 tions and answers are so framed, tliat tliey, who are to 
 be ordained priests, do thereby jiromise and oblige 
 themselves in the name and by tlie help of God, that 
 they will give faitliful (Hligenee, always to minister the 
 doctrine and sacraments, and the (liscii)line of Christ, as 
 the Lord hath commanded, and as this Church and realm 
 hath receiveil the same : that they will be ready, with 
 all diligence, to banisli and drive away all erroneous 
 and strange doctrines, contrary to (jod's word : that 
 they will be deligent in prayers, and in reading the holy 
 Scriptures, and in such studies that will help to the 
 knowledge of the same : th.at they will he diUigent to 
 frame and fashion themselves, and tlieir families, ac- 
 cording to the doctrine of t-'hrist : that tliey will main- 
 tain and set forward, as much as lieth in them, (piiet- 
 ness, peace, and love among all ChiiMlian people; atid 
 that they will reverently obey their ordniary and otlicr 
 
 W\l 
 
 The Bishop. 
 
 L L you reverently obey 
 ■our Ordinary and other 
 chief Ministers, unto whom is com- 
 mitted the charge and government 
 over you ; following with a glad 
 mind and will their godly admoni- 
 tions, and submitting yourselves to 
 their godly judgements ? 
 
 Answer. I will so do, the Lord 
 being my helper. 
 
 t Then shall the Bishop, standing up, say^, 
 
 LMIGHTY God, who hath 
 given you this will to do all 2Cor. iii. s. 
 
 A' 
 
 chief ministers, unto whom is committed the charge 
 and government over them. For being asked, whether 
 they will do these things, or no ? every one answers 
 for himself, " I will do so, by the help of God," or, 
 "the Lord being my helper." Which shews the ex- 
 traordinary care our Church takes, that all her clergy 
 may not only be orthodox, and virtuous, and good men, 
 l)ut faithful also in the discharge of their duty : in that 
 she admits none to holy orders, ^'ithout laying upon 
 them the highest obligations imaginable to be so. And 
 they, who after all this ]n'o\'e otherwise, will certainly 
 have a very dismal account to give, when our Lord 
 shall hold his general visitation at the last day. Bp. 
 Beveridge, 
 
 Besides pondering these answers well beforeliand, it 
 is earnestly to be desired that the persons ordained 
 shoidd read and think them over often afterwards ; and 
 particularly, at each return of the ember-weeks, should 
 examine themselves, as in the ju'esence of God, whether 
 they ha\'e made good the engagement, into which they 
 entered at their ordination. So far as they have, this 
 practice will afford them the greatest possible comfort : 
 so far as they may have failed, it will suggest to them 
 the most useful admonition. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' Then shall the Bishnp, standing up, say, &c.] This 
 prayer being jironounced by the hisho]), who is Christ's 
 immediate oflicer, mtist be looked on as a benediction, 
 and not liarely petitionary : though we see the ordaincr 
 gives all the glory to (jod, ascribing to Him that good 
 will which they have declared in freely imdertaking 
 these duties, without whom we are not sufficient so 
 much as to think one good thought, much less to make 
 so many holy resolutions, 2 Cor. iii. 5. Now upon this 
 ground, that the ])ious inclination and religious purpose 
 came fiom God, the bisho]) ])rocee(I.s rightly to beg of 
 the divine Author of their good will, to "grant them 
 strength and ])Ower to perform all that they have 
 promised." which is no more but " the accomplishing 
 of that work which he hath l)egun." 'lliey did own in 
 the first answer, that (iod'a Sjjirit, they believed, moved 
 them to take on them this sacred calling, and he dis- 
 posed tliem freely to engage, that they will do all the 
 duties thereof. Now though resolving to do well be 
 the beginning, yet jmtting these resolves in execution 
 is the linisliing, of every good work : and jierforinance 
 is the only ])erfeetion of a |)romise. The bishop finds 
 therefore (liat (iod hath begun, aiul he hopes that he 
 will acc(nni)!i.sh, this work : yea, he may say with St. 
 Paul to his Phili|ipians, that he " makes this request 
 with joy. being confident of this very thing, that he 
 who iiath l)egun will certainly go on to perfect this 
 Phil. i. G. Our Lord hath declared it is 
 
 good work,"
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 70.3 
 
 Phil. i. G. these tilings ; Grant also unto you 
 uT'i\v!''2'j. Strength and power to perform the 
 
 same; that he may accomjilish his 
 
 work which he hath begun in you ; 
 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 H After this, the Conyregation shall be de- 
 sired J, secretly in their Prayers to make 
 their humble supplications to God for all 
 these things: for the which Prayers there 
 shall be silence kept for a space''. 
 
 IT After which shall be sung or said by the 
 Bishop (the persons to be ordained Priests 
 all kneeling) Veni, Creator .Sjjiritus'; the 
 Bishop beginning, and the Priests, and 
 others that are present, answering by verses, 
 as followeth. 
 
 his method, to " give to him that hath already," Matt. 
 xiii. 12; xxv. 29. He that tliankfully receives, and 
 carefully improves a good thought into a holy purpose, 
 shall be enabled to do what he hath resolved. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 ' After this, the Congregation shall be desired, &c.] It 
 is so much the duty of all in the congregation, to desire 
 the Church may in general be supplied «ith good 
 pastors, and their interest to !)e under the care of such, 
 that all of them who are [iresent are obliged to pray 
 for these now to be sent into God's harvest ; and if 
 any of them be a relation or a friend to some of those 
 that are to be ordained, or be likely to live in any of 
 their cures, then they will desire an opportunity to 
 make some special requests to God for them iiarticu- 
 larly : a custom as ancient as it is pious. In the East 
 it is only used at the ordination of a bishop ; but in 
 the West it is injoined when a priest is ordained ; and 
 the old Galilean form was. The bishop said to the peo- 
 ple, " Brethren, let us all join in one prayer, that he, 
 who is chosen for the help and furtherance of yovu' 
 salvation, may by God's merciful gift obtain the bless- 
 ing of the priesthood, so that he may never be found 
 unfit for his station ; but that by the jn'ivilege of his 
 office he may receive the gifts and virtues of the Holy 
 Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." Which 
 form I here transcribe, because, if any want fit words 
 for this secret prayer, he may be assisted by this ancient 
 composure. Dean Comber. 
 
 ''■ — for the which Prayers there shall be silence kept 
 for a space."] There is something like to this in the 
 Greek church when the bishop, at the ordaining of a 
 priest, prays once fivariKwe, secretly by himself. But 
 here every one in the congregation is desired to do it, 
 that, upon so solemn an occasion as this, all sorts of 
 prayer may be used, even secret as well as publick ; 
 and that every one by himself, as well as all together, 
 may lift up their hearts to God, and humbly supplicate 
 his divine Majesty for all these things ; that is, that He 
 would give those, who are now to be ordained, grace to 
 do all these things which they have promised. 
 
 Wherefore, when the congregation hear the bishop 
 desire them to pray secretly, as they would shew their 
 dutifulness and obedience, not only to him, but to 
 Christ too, in whose name he speaks, they must fall 
 down immediately on their knees ; and, in the most 
 earnest and humble manner that they can, beseech 
 Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, grace, and 
 goodness, that He would be pleased for Christ Jesus' 
 sake, to assist those, who are now to be ordained, with 
 such influences of his Holy Spirit, whereby they may 
 
 Ps. riv. 15. 
 Matt. \i. 17. 
 
 COME, Holy Ghost, our souls 
 inspire, 
 And Uf/Itten ivitli celestial fire. 
 Tliou the anointing Spirit art, 
 IVhn dost thy seven- fold >jifts impart, isa. x\. 2. 
 Thy blessed Unction from above, ^mw^k'^L 
 Is comfort, life, and Jive of love. Uoiinii. 2; 
 
 Enable with perpetual light 
 llic dulness of our blinded sigJd. 
 Anoint and cheer our soiled face 
 With the abundance of thij (jrace. 
 Keep far our foes, give peace at 
 
 home : 
 Where thou art c/iiide, no ill can come 
 Teach us to know the Father, Son, 
 And thee, of both, to be but One. 
 
 be enabled always to perform what they have now 
 promised ; and so both save themselves and those that 
 hear them. If the congregation do this heartily and 
 sincerely, as they ought, it will doubtless be of very 
 great advantage, not only to the persons to be ordained, 
 but to themselves too. For their prayers will one time 
 or other return into their own bosom, and procure as 
 great a blessing for themselves, as they desire for them. 
 Bp. Bereridge. 
 
 ' — Veni, Creator Spirilus ;] The Holy Ghost is that 
 person of the blessed Trinity, to which the distributing 
 of the several offices in the chm'ch, and qualifying the 
 persons for them, is generally ascribed in Scripture, 
 Acts xiii. 2. 4 ; xx. 28 ; 1 Cor. xii. 1 1 . And upon that 
 ground it is fit, that a particular address be made to the 
 Spirit before the ordination, which we do by this hymn. 
 It is said to have been comjiosed by St. Ambrose, and 
 is ])laced among bis works as an hymn for Pentecost ; 
 and on that day it is annually used in the Roman 
 church, and %vas so of old. It was inserted into the 
 office for consecrating a bishop as early as the year 
 1100 : and with a later hand put into the ordination of 
 a priest about 500 (620) years ago in the Roman church, 
 and so it stands there to this day. And tlie Protestants 
 have so well approved of it, that the Lutheran churches 
 begin their office with the same hymn. And our Re- 
 formers translated it into metre in the larger way in 
 King Edward the Sixth's first Ordinal. Since which 
 time, (namely, in the review of the Common Prayer 
 under King Charles the Second, Dr. Nicholls,) it hath 
 been abbreviated, and put into fewer words but to the 
 same case, as it stands foremost here. Dean Comber. 
 
 Tliough the words of these hymns ha\-e lost some- 
 thing from time, the prayer is too serious, too important, 
 ever to be forgotten. We are not so enthusiastick, as 
 to expect an extraordinary communication of the 
 Spirit to any minister of the Gospel. Neither are we 
 so void of spiritual feeling, as to imagine that the 
 divine influence, which God Himself has jironiised and 
 an innumerable host of Christians ha\-e dis])layed by 
 their conduct, cannot touch our hearts. We do truly 
 believe, that it is the grace of (iod, operating with our 
 spirit, which enables us to fulfil our duty in so arduous 
 a situation. We may " resist and quench the Sjiirit,"' 
 Acts vii. 51 ; 1 Thess. v. 19; and we may "grow in 
 grace," 2 Pet. iii. IS. From these expressions we are 
 taught, to leave our hearts open in the one case, and 
 in the other to aim at greater perfection. In both our 
 connexion with the Spirit is made m.anifest : for, " if 
 we have not the Spirit of Christ, we are none of his," 
 Rom. viii. 9. May the Spirit of divine grace " visit
 
 704 
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 That, through the ages all along, 
 This may be our endtesx song; 
 Praise to thy eternal merit, 
 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
 
 Orthis: 
 
 COME, Holy Ghost, eternal 
 God, 
 
 Proceetling from above, 
 Soth from the Father and the Son, 
 
 The God (if peace and love : 
 Visit our minds, into our hearts 
 
 Thy heavenly grace inspire ; 
 That truth and /yodlincss ive may 
 
 Pursue with fall desire. 
 Thou art the very Comforter 
 
 In grief and all distress ; 
 The heav'nly gift of God most high, 
 
 No to7igue call it express; 
 The fountain and the living spring 
 
 Of joy celestial; 
 The fire so bright, the love so sivect. 
 
 The Unction spiritual. 
 Thou in thy gifts art manifold. 
 
 By them Christ's Church doth 
 stand : 
 In faithful hearts thou torit'st thy hue. 
 
 The finger of God's hand. 
 According to thy promise, Lord, 
 
 'I'hou givest speech with grace ; 
 That thru' thy help God's praises may 
 
 Besoimd in every place. 
 O Holy Ghost, into our minds 
 
 Send down thy heavenly light; 
 Kindle our hearts tcithf rvent zeal. 
 
 To sei've God day and night. 
 Our weakness strengthen and confirm, 
 
 (For, Lord, thou know'st us frail;) 
 TItat neither devil, xvorld, iiorjlesh, 
 
 Against us may prevail. 
 Put back our enemy far from us, 
 
 And help us to obtain 
 Peace in our hearts icith God and 
 man, 
 
 {The best, the truest gain;) 
 
 our minds," and " inspire our souls," with holy affec- 
 tions, that we may improve those " manifold gifts," 
 wliicli alone give stability to the cliurcli of ('lirisf, and 
 are derived from lliin, " the fountain and the spring of 
 all celestial joy." lirewstcr. 
 
 "' That done, the Hishnp shall pray hi this wise, &c.] 
 'lliat prayer was a principal ])art of this office was 
 shewed hefore. The forms are various in divers 
 churches : there is something like tliis of ours in anti- 
 quity, but notliing so full and so exact as this in any 
 church. It was made at the Riforination; and has 
 been continued ever since without any alteration. JJean 
 Comber. 
 
 The jjraises of God cannot li(t too loudly proclaimed 
 on this occa-sion by those, wlio properly a|ipreciate the 
 establishment of a true ministry in the Church. Its 
 
 And grant that thou being, O Lord, 
 
 Our leader and our guide. 
 We may escape the snares of sin, 
 
 And never from thee slide. 
 Such measures of thy powerful grace 
 
 Grant, Lord, to us, we pray ; 
 That thou may'st be our Comforter 
 
 At the last dreadful day. 
 Of strife and of dissension 
 
 Dissolve, O Lord, the bands, 
 And knit the knots of peace and love 
 
 Tliroughoiit all Christian lands. 
 Grant us the grace that we may know 
 
 The Father of all might. 
 That ice of his beloved Son 
 
 May gain the blissful sight ; 
 And that we may with perfect faith 
 
 Ever acknowledge thee, 
 The Spirit of Father, and of Son, 
 
 One God in Persons Three. 
 To God the Father laud and praise, 
 
 And to his blessed Son, 
 And to the Holy Spirit of grace, 
 
 Co-equal Three in One. 
 And ]iray we, that our only Lord 
 
 Would please his Spirit to send 
 On all that shall profess his Name, 
 
 From hence to the world's end. Amen. 
 
 T That done, the Bishop shall pray in this 
 wise"', and say. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, and hea- 
 venly Father, who, of thine 
 infinite love and goodness towards 
 us, hast given to us thy only and 
 most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, 
 to be our Redeemer, and the Author neb. v. 9. 
 of everlasting life : who, after he 
 had made jierfect our redemption joim xu .10. 
 by his death, aiul was ascended into 2(i'^''x!''i4!*' 
 heaven, sent abroad into the world 
 his Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Eph. iv. s, 
 Doctors, and Pastors ; by wiiose '^'^' 
 laltour and ministry he gathered fj^'j,''' '^' 
 
 origin we well know : let us .join the good bishop in 
 prayer for grace to perform its duties. Though the 
 orders of niinisters in the Christian church are desig- 
 nated by ]iarticnlar names of primitive application, the 
 functions and ol)ligations of the sacred oiliees exjjand 
 into a tliousand ramifications. It is probably for this 
 reason, that, instead of using tlic terms of jiriest and 
 deacon, the bishop refers to .St. I'aul's classification in 
 liis Kpistle to the Kphc-iians, iv. II, " apostles, prophets, 
 evangelists, doctors, and pastors." Not that tiu^se con- 
 stituted different orders in (lie ministry; but they dis- 
 played tlie se\eral departments of instruction, which 
 every one, jointly or severally, was called upon to sus- 
 tain. One, or otlier, or all of these eliaracters are still 
 necessary in tlie chnrch ; and the gift is distributed, as 
 every man has need. linwslcr.
 
 THE ORDEllING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 705 
 
 together a great flock in all tlio 
 parts of tlie world, to set forth the 
 eternal praise of thy holy Name : 
 For these so great benefits of thy 
 eternal goodness, and for that thou 
 hast vouchsafed to call these thy 
 servants here present to the same 
 Office and Ministry appointed for 
 the salvation of mankind, we render 
 unto thee most hearty thanks, we 
 ])raise and worship thee ; and we 
 humbly beseech thee, by the same 
 thy blessed Son, to grant unto all, 
 which either here or elsewhere call 
 upon thy holy Name, that we may 
 continue to shew ourselves thankful 
 unto thee for these and all other thy 
 Eph. iv. 13. benefits; and that we may daily 
 increase and go forwards in the 
 
 ° When this Prayer is done, the Bishop &c.] Upon 
 this rubrick, and the following form of words, there are 
 several things worthy to be observed. 
 
 As first, that although the whole power of ordination 
 be in the bishop alone, and the imposition of his hands 
 for that purpose is sufficient to the making of a priest ; 
 yet the Church hath thought good to order, that the 
 priests, which are present, shall lay on their hands too ; 
 in conformity, I sujipose, to the ancient custom, that 
 hath obtained in the Latin church : I say, the Latin, 
 because it was never heard of in the Greek, or any of 
 the Eastern churches, that any but bishops should lay 
 hands upon persons to be ordained. But in the Latin 
 there is an ancient canon for it, or decree of a council 
 held at Carthage in the year of our Lord 398, which 
 saith, " When a priest is ordained, the bishop blessing 
 him and laying the hand upon his head, let all the 
 priests also, that are present, hold their hands u])on his 
 head, by the hands of the bishop." And from hence, 
 I supi)ose it was, that our rubrick was taken ; in that 
 it agrees so exactly with it in every particular. And 
 the reason of it seems to be the same with that of the 
 fourth canon of the council of Nice, That three bishops 
 shall be always present at the ordination of a bishop. 
 Not but that the ordination is valid, and was always 
 reputed so, although performed only by one bishoj) : 
 but this was done to prevent clandestine ordinations, to 
 make the work more publick and solemn, and to sig- 
 nalize it by the concurrent testimony and consent of 
 several persons joining together in it. 
 
 For in the next place we must observe, that, although 
 the priests, if any be present, lay on their hands also, 
 yet it is expressly ordered that the bishop shall say the 
 words, " Receive the Holy Ghost," &c. For, if a mere 
 priest should say them, or any one but a bishop, the 
 ordination was always reckoned nvill and void. For 
 this was a judged case in the second council of Sevil, in 
 the year 619; which, understanding that a bishop, at 
 the ordination of one priest and two deacons, laid his 
 hands upon them, but being troubled with sore eyes, 
 so that he could not read, a priest blessed them, or read 
 the words of consecration ; theyjudged the whole action 
 to be void, and that the persons, who should have been 
 ordained, did receive " not the title of consecration, but 
 rather a monument of ignominy ;" and therefore were 
 not reputed among the clergy. So careful was the 
 church in those days, that every thing essential to ordi- 
 
 knowledge and faith of thee and thy 
 Son, by the Holy S|)irit. So that as 
 well by these thy Ministers, as by 
 them over whom they shall be ap- 
 pointed thy Ministers, thy holy Name 
 may be for ever glorified, and thy 
 blessed kingdom enlarged ; througli 
 the same thy Son Jesus Christ our 
 Lord, who iivetli and reigneth with 
 thee in the unity of the same Holy 
 Spirit, world without end. Armm. 
 
 f When this Prayer is done, the Bishop" with 
 the Priests present shall lay their hands 
 severally vpon the head of every one that 
 rcceivelh the Order of Priesthood; the Re- 
 ceivers humbly kneeling upon their knees, 
 and the Bishop saying, 
 
 RECEIVE the Holy Ghost" Juimxx 21 
 for the Office and Work of a ~'''- 
 
 nation should be performed by the bishop himself; and 
 so is our Church at this time, and therefore requires that 
 the bishop say tliese words. 
 
 Concerning the words themselves we may observe, 
 that although some other expressions are inserted to 
 determine and distinguish, and others added to ex- 
 plain the office which is now conferred ; yet all the same 
 words are repeated, which our Lord Himself used at the 
 ordination of his apostles : which the Catholick church 
 always judged necessary, not only in imitation of our 
 blessed Saviour, but likewise because that the persons 
 who are ordained priests in his church, are to preach 
 the same word, administer the same sacraments, and 
 exercise the same power in the censures of the church, 
 as the apostles themseh-es did. And therefore it is 
 necessary, that they should be endued with the same 
 Spirit, ordained after the same manner, and intrusted 
 with the same power of the keys, as the apostles them- 
 selves were. By which method the means of grace and 
 salvation, administered by priests thus ordained, became 
 as effectual to them that use them aright, as when they 
 were administered by the apostles themselves : the Spirit 
 which they receive by this imposition of hands, being 
 always ready to assist at their several administrations, 
 and to bless and sanctify them to those, who are duly 
 prepared and disposed for them. 
 
 It should be observed further, that the bishop pro- 
 nounceth these words, and so conferreth the order, not 
 in his own name, but " in the name of the Father, and 
 of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," whose vicegerent 
 he is in ordaining persons to minister to his divine 
 Majesty in this sacred office of priesthood. Bp. Betse- 
 ridge. 
 
 • Receive the Holy Ghost &c.] This form is taken 
 from our blessed Saviour's own words after his ascen- 
 sion, when He solemnly sent his disciples to preach 
 the Gospel : for then He said, " Receive ye the Holy 
 Ghost," &e., John xx. 21 — 23. And doubtless no 
 words can be fitter than those spoken on the same 
 occasion by our Saviour, who had been sent by his 
 Father, after the Holy Ghost descended on Him, to 
 preach the Gospel ; which He had hitherto done by 
 Himself, but, being now to leave the earth, He hereby 
 delegates this work to his apostles, and sends them with 
 the like qualifications and authority, as He was sent by 
 his Father. Dean Comber. 
 
 Objections have been raised against this form used in 
 
 2 Z
 
 706 
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 Priest in the Cluirek of God, now 
 committed unto thee by the impo- 
 sition of our hands. Whose sins 
 thou dost forgive", they are forgiven; 
 
 our Church, as being too bold an expression : namely, 
 for any mortal man to pretend to give the Holy Ghost, 
 as the word •' receive" seems to imply. But by the 
 Holy Ghost we understand, not the person of the Holy 
 Ghost, but only his gifts and graces which are conferred 
 in ordination. For the Holy Ghost is frequently used 
 in Scripture for his gifts- So that our Church means 
 no more by the expression here, than St. Paul did by 
 " the gift or grace of God," which he exhorts Timothy 
 to recruit or " stir up," if any decays had been made in 
 it, since the imposition of hands upon him, 2 Tim. i. 6. 
 This form was pitched U])on by the church, as seeming 
 a very proper one, from its being used by oiu" blessed 
 Saviour Himself, when He vested the ajjostles with the 
 priestly power of absolution, John xx. 23. Indeed, if 
 tlie bishop, who [ironounces these words, pretended to 
 an original power inherent in himself by virtue of his 
 <illice to confer the gifts of the Holy Ghost, it were mat- 
 ter of exception. But, when he claims only herein a 
 ministerial power, which God hath authorized him to 
 exercise, there is no reason to find fault. For in the 
 words immediately before this form, as it stands in St. 
 John's Gospel, it is expressly said, " As my Father sent 
 me, even so send I you :" vesting them thereby with as 
 ample powers of preaching the Gospel themselves, and 
 commissioning new preachers, as He Himself had been 
 intrusted with by God the Father. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 These words in the bishop's mouth, when spoken 
 over the persons ordained, properly express, in the first 
 place, the communication of that authority, which pro- 
 ceeds from the Holy Ghost : see Acts xiii. 2 ; xx. 28. 
 They also express, in the second place, the bishop's 
 earnest request to the Father of mercies, that the 
 ordained may at all times enjoy such projiortions, both 
 of the graces and gifts of the Spirit, as will be needful 
 for them : which request if it be not their own fault, 
 will ]jrove effectual ; because having, in the common 
 course of his jjrovidence, apjiointed the bishop, though 
 imwortliy, to act in his behalf. He will assuredly be 
 ready to own and bless the bishop's ministrations. Abjt. 
 Seeker. 
 
 ° — Whose sins thnu dost forgive, &c.] These again 
 are the words of Christ to liis apostles, immediately 
 after the former. But be did not grant to them the 
 jiowcr, either of retaining the sins of penitent persons, 
 or of forgiving the impenitent. Nor does the bishop 
 jiretend to grant, by uttering them, all the powers, 
 which the apostles had in this res])cct. 'J'hey ha<l " the 
 discernment of s])irits," 1 Cor. xii. 10: and could say 
 witli certainty, when jiersons were jienitent, and con- 
 Bcquently forgiven, and when not, Acts viii. 21. 23. 
 They were able also to inthct miraculous ])unishments 
 on offenders ; and to remove on their rejientancc the 
 jnuiishments, which had been inflicted. These words 
 will convey notliing of all this to the persons now 
 ordained. But still when the bishop uses them, they 
 give them, first, an assurance, that according to the 
 terms of that Gospel, which they are to preach, men 
 shall be i)ardoned or condemned : secondly, a right of 
 inflicting ecclesiastical censures for a shorter or longer 
 time, and of taking them off; which, in regard to ex- 
 ternal communion, is retaining or forgiving offences. 
 'I'liis power, being bestowed for the edification of the 
 church, must be restrained, not only by general rules 
 of order, but according to the particular exigencies of 
 
 and whose sins thou dost retain, 
 they are retained. And be tlioii a 
 faithful Dispenser p of tlie Word of >,cor.ix.i7. 
 God, and of his holy Sacraments; c'oi. i. 25." 
 
 circumstances. And our Church wishes, with much 
 reason, for cii'cumstances more favourable to the exer- 
 tion of it. OJice of Comminution. But how little 
 soever exerted, the power is inherent in the office of 
 priesthood. And though we are no more infallible in 
 our proceedings and sentences, than temporal judges 
 are in theirs ; yet our acts, as well as theu-s, are to be 
 respected, as done by competent authorit)'. And, if 
 they are done on good grounds also, " whatever we 
 shall bind or loose on earth, will be bound or loosed 
 in heaven," Matt, xviii. 18. Nor will other proofs of 
 repentance be suificient in the sight of God, if submis- 
 sion to the discipline of the chm'ch of Christ, when it 
 hath been offended and requires due satisfaction, be 
 obstinately refused, either from haughtiness or negli- 
 gence. Abp. Seeker. 
 
 ' — And be thou a faithful Dispenser &c.] The other 
 part of these solemn words is a strict charge to hira 
 that is ordained, to be " a faithful dispenser of God's 
 holy word and sacraments." It appears from St. Paul, 
 that they are stewards of these mysteries, that is, in the 
 French idiom, " dispensers." And hence St. Paul calls 
 his preaching and other ministerial acts " a dispensa- 
 tion committed to him," 1 Cor. ix. 1"; Eph. iii. 2; 
 Col. i. 25. Now, as to the word of God, the faithful 
 dispensing of it is to give every soul its proper portion. 
 So oiu- pastor must offer easy truths, plain similitudes 
 and examples, to inform the ignorant, to prepare higher 
 notions and stricter rules for the stronger and more 
 knowing ; he must ha\-e ready promises to comfort 
 mourning penitents, thrcatenings to warn bold sinners, 
 counsel to settle the doubtful minds, exhortation to 
 quicken negligent loiterers, and reproofs to check for- 
 ward offenders. All these are in God's word : and 
 every one of these is jiroper food at some times for the 
 souls that are under his charge. His prudence must 
 allot every one his portion according to the temper 
 and necessity of each ; and he most act faithfiJly, as 
 well as wisely ; he must be impartial, aiul fear no man 
 for his greatness, nor desjjise any for his poverty ; he 
 must not spare a friend for favoiu-, nor exjiose an enemy 
 out of evil will, because their souls are at stake, and 
 there is a ciu-se upon those who " do this work of tlie 
 Lord deceitfully," Jer. xlviii. 10. But this relates chiefly 
 to tlie jiastor's iirivate applications : besides which it is 
 his duty to preacli in publicU, and this office he must 
 be faithful in, as far as a publick ]ilace will allow. He 
 must conceal no necessary, nor puldish any unnecessary 
 truths. He must reprove in general the most prevail- 
 ing vices of his ]ieople, and exhort them especially to 
 such duties as they most neglect. The same fidelity 
 must be shewed also in dis|)ensing both sacraments, 
 by taking care that infants do not, by his neglect, die 
 unbaptized ; nor forget their vow after they have been 
 baptized : by preparing his jieople for receiving the 
 communion worthily; fVeiiuently dispensing it publicly 
 to those in health, and privately to the sicU ; encourag- 
 ing such as are fit for it to come often ; and warning 
 all notorious sinners, es])ecially those in malice, to 
 repent before they presume to come to this holy table. 
 And they, that tlius behave themselves in (Jod's house, 
 shall from their great Master hear that joyful eulogy, 
 " Well done, ye good and fiiitliful servants, enter ye 
 into the joy of your Lord," Matt. .\xv. 21. Dean 
 Comber.
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 In tiie Name of tlic rutlior, and 
 of tlie Son, and of tlie Holy Ghost. 
 Amen. 
 
 11 Tlicn the Bishop shall deliver to every one 
 of them kneeling, the Bible'i into his hand, 
 saying, 
 
 TAKE thou Autliority to preach 
 the Word of God, and to mi- 
 nister tlie iioly Sacraments in the 
 Conj^regation, where thou shalt be 
 lawfully appointed thereunto. 
 
 t When this is done, the Nicene Creed shall 
 be sang or said; and the Bishop shall after 
 that go on in the Service of the Communion, 
 which all they that receive Orders shall 
 take together, and remain in the same 
 place where Hands were laid upon them, 
 until such time as they have received the 
 Communion. 
 
 T The Communion being done, after the last 
 Collect, and immediately before the Bene- 
 diction, shall be said these Collects. 
 
 1 Then the Bishop shall deliver to every one of them 
 kneeling, the Bible &c.] The Gospel is delivered to a 
 deacon for a reason above assigned ; page 695, note / .- 
 here tlie priest hath the whole " Bilile delivered to 
 him," with words containing a solemn grant of full 
 power and " authority to preach out of it, and admi- 
 nister the sacraments according to it in the congrega- 
 tion, whereto he shall be appointed." And whereas of 
 old, both in the African and Western churches, as well 
 as in the Eastern, this rite was only used at the conse- 
 cration of a bishop, in later times it was used to a 
 priest ; who, as Isidore observes, " has also the dis- 
 pensation of the divine mysteries committed to him, 
 and is colleague to the bishop in presiding over the 
 church, in consecrating the sacrament, and preaching 
 to the people ;" but with this difference : the priest 
 acts subordinately, and is confined ordinarily to one 
 parish, but the bishop is supreme in ecclesiastical 
 matters through his whole diocese. Dean Comber. 
 
 So that now they have authority, not only to read 
 the Gospel, but to preach the whole word of God, and 
 to minister his holy sacraments, with power and efficacy ; 
 the Holy Spirit, which they have now received, being 
 always ready, at the execution of the several jiarts of 
 their office, to make them effectual to the great ends 
 and purposes for which they were appointed. But, 
 although they are by this means made priests of the 
 (Jatholick church, and so may effectually administer 
 the word and sacraments in any jxirt of the world ; yet 
 nevertheless they are not to do it any where, but in the 
 congregation where they shall be lawfully appointed, 
 that is, by the bishop of the place, who alone can law- 
 fully do it. Bp. Beveridge. 
 
 ' Most merciful Father, &c.] There is nothing re- 
 maining of a material difference between the former 
 office and this, but one jjropcr concluding collect, which 
 seems peculiar to our Chm-ch. It contains two kinds 
 of petitions : first, for the ministers, that they may 
 enjoy God's blessing in general, and in particular that 
 they may be holy in their lives, and successful in all 
 their labours : secondly, for the people, that they may 
 reverently hear the word of God, and all other acts 
 may aim at God's honour and the enlarging of his 
 
 M' 
 
 Ps. cxxxii.9. 
 Ilev. xix. 8. 
 
 1 S.-im. iii. }0. 
 Isa. Iv. 11. 
 
 Matt. xiii. 4, 
 ic. ver. 58. 
 1 Tliess. ii, 
 13. Heb. iv. 
 
 Kom. X. 13^ 
 
 15. 
 
 1 Cor. i. 21. 
 
 2.3, 24. 
 
 Matt. V. 10. 
 
 707 
 
 OST merciful I'"atlier'', we iie- 
 seech tlieo to seiui u))<in these 
 thy servants thy heavenly blessing; 
 tliat they may be clothed with right- 
 eousness, and that thy Word spoken 
 by their mouths may have such suc- 
 cess, that it may never be spoken in 
 vain. Grant also, that we may have 
 grace to hear and receive what they 
 shall deliver out of thy most holy 
 Word, or agreeable to the same, as 
 the means of our salvation ; that in 
 all our words and deeds we may seek 
 thy glory, and the increase of thy 
 kingdom; tlirough Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Aincii. 
 
 PREVENT us, O Lord, in all 
 our doings, with thy most gra- 
 cious favour, and further us with thy 
 continual iielp ; that in all our works 
 begun, continued, and ended in thee, 
 
 kingdom. It is suitable e.xtremely for the occasion. 
 Dean Comber. 
 
 Thus has been laid before the readers the method and 
 design of the offices, which our Church hath a])i)ointed 
 for the ordination of ])riests and deacons : that so they 
 may understand the excellency of them, and be the 
 better prepared, not to be idle spectators, much less 
 disturbers, of so great a work ; but devoutly and 
 heartily to join in the prayers that are made for those 
 who are ordained. Now from all that hath been said 
 u])on this subject, I shall s])eak a few, and but a few 
 words ; first, with reference to those, who come to 
 receive holy orders, and then to all those who are pre- 
 sent at it. 
 
 As for those, who come to take upon them the office, 
 either of deacon or priest, in the church of Christ ; they 
 have heard, and I hope considered beforehand, the 
 greatness of the office they undertake, and the promise 
 they must make before they are admitted into it. Let 
 me now beseech them in the name of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, whose servants they are now to be, that from 
 this day forward they look upon Him as their great 
 Master, and lay out themselves wholly in the service 
 to which He calls them. And whatsoever difficulties 
 they meet with in it, let them follow the apostle's 
 example, " faint not," nor be discouraged ; but go on 
 with cheerfulness and alacrity, as remembering they 
 serve the best Master in the world ; one, who will not 
 only stand by and assist them, but reward them at last 
 with a crown of righteousness. 
 
 As for the rest I shall only say, that from what has 
 been remarked they may easily see, what cause they 
 have to thank God, that they, who minister the means 
 of grace and salvation to them, are so regularly, so 
 solemnly, so apostolically ordained ; and how great an 
 esteem and reverence they ought to have for all who 
 are thus ordained, though not for their own sakes, yet 
 for his sake whose ministers they are, and whose work 
 they do ; even our dear and ever-blessed Saviour Jesus 
 Christ : to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost, 
 be all honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen. 
 Bp. Beveridge. 
 
 2 Z 2
 
 708 
 
 THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS. 
 
 we may glorify thy holy Name, and 
 finally by thy mercy obtain everlast- 
 ing life; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 TH E peace of God, which pass- 
 eth all understanding, keep your 
 
 hearts and minds in the knowledge 
 and love of God, an<l of his Son 
 Jesus Christ our Lord : And the 
 blessing of God Almighty, the Fa- 
 ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
 be amongst you, and remain with 
 you always. Amen. 
 
 IT And if on the same day the Order of Deacons be given to some, and the Order of Priesthood 
 to others; the Deacons shall be first presented, and then the Priests; and it shall suffice 
 that the Litany be once said for both. The Collects shall both be used; first, that for 
 Deacons, then that for Priests. The Epistle shall be, Ephes. iv. 7 — 13, as before in this 
 Office. Immediately after which, they that are to be made Deacons shall take the Oath of 
 Supremacy , be examined, and Ordained, as is above prescribed. Then one of them having 
 read the Gospel {which shall be either out of St. Matt. ix. 30 — 38, as before in this 
 Office; or else St. Luke xii. 35 — 38, as before in the Form for the Ordering of Deacons,) 
 they that are to be made Priests shall likeuuse take the Oath of Supremacy, be examined, 
 and Ordained, as is in this Office before appointed.
 
 THE 
 
 FORM OF ORDAINING OR CONSECRATING 
 
 OF AN 
 
 ARCHBISHOP OR BISHOP; 
 
 Which is always to be performed upon some Sunday or Holy-day. 
 
 IT IVhen all things are duly prepared in the 
 Church, and set in order, after Morning 
 Prayer is ended, the Archbishop (or some 
 
 ' The Form of Ordaining or Consecrating &c.] St. 
 Cyprian, to shew the great use and necessity of a bishop, 
 compares him to the shepherd of a flock, the pilot of a 
 ship, and the ruler among the people : and implies, that, 
 as a flock cannot be fed without a shepherd, a ship 
 steered without a pilot, nor a multitude kept in order 
 without a governour, so neither can a church be managed 
 or preserved without a bishop : which being the highest 
 order in the church, and those who are advanced to it 
 being constituted supreme ecclesiastical rulers, not only 
 over the peojile, but also over the inferior orders of the 
 clergy, therefore the holy Scripture gives very strict 
 rules for the choice of bishops, and their admission to 
 this dignity hath been very solemn in all ages : at first, 
 by fasting, prayer, and imposition of hands ; and after- 
 wards with more ceremony. The first general coimcil 
 requires, that three bishops at least shall perform the 
 consecration, which was grounded on those apostolical 
 canons made in the ages of persecution : and that 
 shews the practice, which we still retain, to be very 
 primitive. And so is their declaration of their faith, 
 and the strict scrutiny into their manners, with the 
 laying of the Holy Bible on their head, though no ex- 
 press constitution ai)pears to injoin these things till 
 the fourth Council of Carthage. There is no doubt 
 but there were forms of prayer, and particular suj)- 
 plications for the Holy Spirit, used even from the 
 apostles' time, and by their examples. Acts xiii. 3. 
 But those now extant, though some of them be very 
 ancient, yet are of later date. However there have 
 been such forms in all churches, in the Eastern or 
 Greek church, as also among the Syrian and Ethio- 
 pick Christians, and in all eminent churches of the 
 West. 
 
 The Roman church hath of late added abundance of 
 frivolous and superstitious ceremonies and benedictions, 
 which crept in while ignorance and error prevailed in all 
 these parts of the worhl. But om- judicious Reformers, 
 in compiling this office, as well as in the rest, have cast 
 away all the Roman superfluous and corrupt innova- 
 tions, about blessing vestments, anointing, delivering 
 the ring, pastoral staff, &c. ; and so have reduced the 
 
 other Bishop appointed) shall begin the 
 Communion Service : in which this shall 
 be 
 
 substantial part of it as nigh to the (jrimitive form as 
 our circumstances could bear; but liave enlarged it 
 with divers pertinent places of Scripture, and jiroper 
 questions, as also with accurately composed prayers : 
 so that now we may affirm our form of consecrating 
 bishops is the best and most adapted to the occasion 
 of any office extant in the world. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' An Archbishop] The name of archbishop does 
 hardly occur till about the fourth century : but the 
 thing itself, or the metropolitan jurisdiction, was more 
 ancient, and probably as old as the apostolical times. 
 For the apostles, for the better carrying on of the 
 Gospel, and making it sit more easily on the minds of 
 the Jews, among whom the most early conversions 
 were made, contrived to adapt the discipline of the 
 church, as nigh as could be, to the Jewish constitution. 
 Now, whereas among them the synagogues of the 
 greater cities had a pre-eminence over those in smaller 
 towns, and oftentimes prescribed rules of government 
 to them, and determined differences and difficulties, 
 which occasionally arose ; the method was taken up in 
 the plantation of Christian churches. That this method 
 was observed in the Jewish church, is evident from the 
 sacred history and other writers. We read in the Acts 
 of the Apostles, that tlie high priest gave Saul a letter 
 to the synagogues of Damasctis, that he might bring 
 all the Christians, which should be found there, " liound 
 to Jerusalem," Acts ix. 2. Which plainly shews, that 
 the church of Jerusalem, or the high priest who pre- 
 sided in the Sanhedrim there, had a sort of eccle- 
 siastical jurisdiction over other synagogues, though at 
 a remote distance. And Dr. Hammond thinks, that 
 a remarkable passage in Philo must be taken in that 
 sense. It is plain that the apostles preached the Gospel, 
 first in great cities, such as Rome, Antioch, Ephesus, 
 Corinth, &c. And when other smaller cities in their 
 neighbourhood recei\'ed the faith by preachers sent out 
 of those large cities, they became, as it were, daughters 
 to them, being a sort of spiritual colony drawn out from 
 them ; and had resort in all matters of importance to 
 their mother church, or the governour thereof, the 
 metropolitan bishop, as the foreign synagogues of the
 
 710 
 
 THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 
 
 1 Cor. xii 
 —10. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who by 
 thy Son Jesus Christ didst give 
 to thy holy Apostles" many excellent 
 John xxi. 16. gifts, and didst charge them to feed 
 fp^v.i!' thy flock"; Give grace, we beseech 
 ^- thee, to all Bishops, the Pastors of 
 
 thy Church >', that they may dili- 
 gently preach thy Word, and duly 
 Heb. xiii. u. administer the godly Discipline 
 thereof ; and grant to the people, 
 that they may obediently follow the 
 same ; that all may receive the crown 
 
 Jews had to Jerusalem. The raetropolitical jurisdiction 
 seems to have been established time out of mind, l)ei'ore 
 the Council of Nice, because the canons of that council 
 mention privileges which belonged to several metro- 
 poles by ancient custom. The ecclesiastical history 
 relates of Irenjeus, that he had metropolitical jurisdic- 
 tion, and did " superintend over all the bishopricks in 
 France." Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, in his letter to 
 the churches of Crete, calls Philippus the bishop of all 
 those churches. The Council of Carthage was held 
 under St. Cyprian, as archbisho]) of the province ; and 
 in the Council of TruUo he is called " archbishop of the 
 country of .\fi-ica." 
 
 The writers of the Latin church, and particularly the 
 canonists, promiscuously use the words " archl)ishop " 
 and " metropolitan :" making either name to denote a 
 bishop, who, by virtue of his see, does ])reside over or 
 govern several other bishops. But the Greeks were 
 more distinct : they allowing only the name of metro- 
 ]>ohtan to him whose see was really a metropolis ; that 
 is, a [irincipal city, where religion having been first 
 planted, it dilfused itself to other cities, the bisho])S 
 whereof had other bishojis under them. Thus, in the 
 Greek Cartophylacium, Cwsarea, Ejihesus, and Heraclea, 
 are reckoned metropoles ; but Bi.\ya, LeontO])olis, and 
 Mareonia are only ai-chbishopricks, and not metropoles. 
 Dr. NichnUs. 
 
 " Almighty God, who hy thy Son Jesus Christ didst 
 give to thy holy Apostles &c.] Nothing can be more 
 I)ro])er to begin the consecration of a bishop than the 
 commemoration of those gifts which Christ gave, and 
 that charge which lie laid upon his apostles, the first 
 bishops of his cliurch ; the same charge being in- 
 cumbent U|>oii bishojjs now, which was given to the 
 apostles ; and, as they have their duty, tliey need 
 some measure of their assistance. The aiiostolical 
 office was only temporary, while the church «'as plant- 
 ing : but the bishops by their appointment were li.vcd 
 to feed and rule it, after it was settled unto the end of 
 the world. Hence they were in all antiquity counted 
 the successors of the apostles ; and the fathers call 
 the apostles bishops ; and as commonly give bisho])3 
 the title and name of apostles ; yea, all bishops were 
 tlien styled apostolical, and their sees ai)ostoIical scats : 
 although of later times the popes and bishojjs of Komc 
 have arrogantly made a monopoly of those titles. But, 
 tliis right of succession and comuumity of names being 
 general, doubtless it is very fit, when any are to enter 
 into this vcneraldc order, to commemorate, first, what 
 gifts Ood through Jesus Christ gave to bis apostles, 
 since we may reasonably believe, so far as their odlce 
 and duly is the same, so far his goodness and liouuty 
 will move Ilim to supply them also willi gifts suitable 
 to their need. He gave to liia apostles many excellent 
 
 of everlasting glory ; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 IT And another Bishop shall read the Epistle^, 
 1 Tim. iii. 1. 
 
 TH I S is a true saying, If a man 
 desire the Office of a Bishop, 
 he desireth a good work. A Bishop 
 then must be blameless, the husband 
 of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good 
 behaviour, given to hospitality, apt 
 to teach ; not given to wine, no striker, 
 not greedy of filthy lucre, but pa- 
 
 gifts indeed, which St. Paul enumerates : namely, " the 
 word of wisdom and of knowledge, the gift of faith, the 
 power of healing and working miracles, the sjiirit of 
 prophecy, the skill of discerning spirits, and of S])eaking 
 as well as interpreting divers tongues," 1 Cor. xii. 
 8 — 10. Some of which were miraculous and peculiar 
 to that age, and therefore ai-e now ceased. But those 
 of wisdom and knowledge, and a sound (is well as a 
 strong faith, are still necessary, and therefore i)erma- 
 nent ; so that we may justly beg these gifts for our 
 bishops. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — and diilst charge them to feed thy Jlock ;] These 
 words were spoken to St. Peter, but in him the rest 
 were intended ; yea, all the successors of the apostles 
 are obliged by this charge as well as they, John xxi. 
 IG ; and therefore both St. Paid and St. Peter repeat 
 this charge. Acts xx. 28 ; 1 Pet. v. 1,2; and injoin the 
 bishops, whom they had chosen, to " feed the flock of 
 Christ :" the burden goes with the honour to every 
 bishop, that is or shall be consecrated to the world's 
 end. And therefore we commemorate this, as their 
 present duty ; and accordingly jiray, that this and e\-ery 
 other jierson, who is called to so great a charge, may 
 have grace to perform it very well. Dean Comber. 
 
 y . — all Bishops, the Pastors of thy Church,] We here 
 give the bishops the title of " Pastors of Christ's 
 Church:" and our Lord Himself first had both these 
 names, being called the " Pastor," or " Shejiherd, and 
 Bishoj) of our soids," 1 Pet. ii. 25. He is the "chief 
 Pastor," 1 Pet. v. 4 : and they imder Him are also 
 pastors of their several iK)rtions of Christ's Hock, where 
 they preside in his name, and rule by his authority, 
 and for which at last they must render Him an account. 
 For, while He was on earth. He fed his tlock Himself, 
 by his preaching, bis exam]ilc, his exhortations and 
 re])roofs, and loved his shce]i so intirely as to die for 
 them; whence the Greek church desires of (!od, to 
 " make this Bishop an imitator of his true Shepherd." 
 .\nd then only he deserves the same name with his 
 great Master, when he follows his example in his fervent 
 love of, and diligent care for, the souls committed to 
 his charge. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' — the Epistle.] Out of holy Scripture, the rule for 
 our s]iiritual guides to walk by, there arc several i)or- 
 tions taken, proper for the se\'eral orders of the clergy. 
 The first for the consecration of a liishop is out of the 
 first ICpistlc to Timothy, chaj). iii. I , Ike. : an Kpistle so 
 adajited to this occasion, that in all the old Lectionarics 
 and Ordinals of the Western church, wlicre Epistles 
 and Gospels arc only in use, this portion is always the 
 first : and, where there are seven or eight for variety. 
 Ibis is never omitted ; because it contains tliose (hvine 
 directions, which llie Holy Spirit by St. Paul gave to 
 Timothy, coucerning the (qualifications of a bishop, and
 
 THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 
 
 F 
 
 tient, not a brawler, not covetous; 
 one that rulctli well his own house, 
 liaving his children in subjection 
 with all gravity; (For if a man 
 know not how to rule his own house, 
 how sliall he take care of the Church 
 of God ?) Not a novice, lest being 
 lifted up with pride he fall into the 
 condemnation of the devil. More- 
 over, he must have a good report of 
 them which are without ; lest he fall 
 into reproach, and the snare of the 
 devil. 
 
 Or this. 
 
 For the Epistle \ Acts xx. 17. 
 
 ROM Miletus Paul sent to 
 Ephesus, and called the elders 
 of the Church. And when they 
 were come to him, he said unto 
 them. Ye know, from the first day 
 that I came into Asia, after what 
 manner I have been with you at ail 
 seasons, serving the Lord with all 
 humility of mind, and with many 
 tears and temptations which befel 
 me by the lying in wait of the Jews : 
 and how I kept back nothing that 
 was profitable unto you, but have 
 shewed you, and have taught you 
 publickly, and from house to house, 
 testifying both to the Jews, and also 
 to the Greeks, repentance toward 
 God, and faith toward our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. And now behold, I 
 go bound in the Spirit unto Jeru- 
 salem, not knowing the things that 
 shall befal me there; save that the 
 Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, 
 saying, that bonds and afflictions 
 abide me. But none of these things 
 move me, neither count I my life 
 dear unto myself, so that I might 
 finish my course with joy, and the 
 ministry which I have received of 
 
 describes all the virtues, which they of that sacred 
 order ought to be endued with, as well as the vices 
 they must be clear from. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' For the Epistle.'] The Lutheran office for ordina- 
 tion hath part of this portion read on that occasion, 
 namely, ver. 28 — 31. But I have not observed the 
 use of this whole elegant oration of St. Paul any 
 where but in our Church, which had it not in the first 
 Ordinal of King Edward the Sixth. It was added 
 since with great reason, and so exact propriety, that at 
 first hearing all men must discern nothing can be more 
 suitable at the consecration of a bishop, than this 
 pious and pathetical address of our eloquent and 
 divinely inspired apostle, when he took his last leave of 
 the bishops of Lesser Asia : wherein there is so lively 
 and lovely a character of a faithful pastor, as no pencil 
 
 711 
 
 the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel 
 of the grace of God. And now be- 
 hold, I know that ye all, among 
 whom I have gone preaching the 
 kingdom of God, shall see my face 
 no more. Wherefore 1 take you to 
 record this day, that I am ])ure from 
 the blood of all men. For 1 have 
 not shunned to declare unto you 
 all the counsel of God. I'ake heed 
 therefore unto yourselves, and to all 
 the flock over the which the Holy 
 Ghost hath made you Overseers, 
 to feed the Church of God, which 
 he hath purchased with his own 
 blood. For I know this, that after 
 my departing shall grievous wolves 
 enter in among you, not sparing the 
 flock. Also of your own selves shall 
 men arise speaking perverse things, 
 to draw away disciples after them. 
 Therefore watch, and remember, 
 that by the space of three years, I 
 ceased not to warn every one night 
 and day with tears. And now, bre- 
 thren, I commend you to God, and 
 to the woid of his grace, which is 
 able to build you up, and to give 
 you an inheritance among all them 
 which are sanctified. I have coveted 
 no man's silver, or gold, or apparel ; 
 yea, ye yourselves know, that these 
 hands have ministered unto my ne- 
 cessities, and to them that were with 
 me. I have shewed you all things, 
 how that so labouring ye ought to 
 support the weak ; and to remember 
 the words of the Lord Jesus, how he 
 said, It is more blessed to give than 
 to receive. 
 
 IF Then another Bishop shall read the Gospel''. 
 St. John xxi. 15. 
 
 JESUS saith to Simon Peter, 
 Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou 
 
 but his, and none but so guided, could draw. So that 
 the candidates for this order ought, when they hear it, 
 to suppose St. Paul himself is speaking to them ; 
 directing them by his rules and his example, both how 
 to live, to sufiTer, and to preach : and exhorting, yea, 
 charging them, by the most cogent arguments and 
 most moving intreaties, to do their duty exactly in so 
 great a trust. So that, if they lay it to heart and duly 
 consider it, this portion of Scripture cannot fail to 
 inspire them with holy resolutions, to follow such in- 
 comparable advice and so grave a precedent. Dean 
 Comber. 
 
 >> — the Gospel.'] In the Western church of old they 
 read no other Epistle and Gospel, but those for the day 
 on which the consecration haijjiened. But afterwards 
 one proper portion of the Gospel was fixed to be read :
 
 712 
 
 THE COiNSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 
 
 me more than these ? He saith unto 
 him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that 
 I love thee. He saith unto him. 
 Feed my lambs. He saith to him 
 again the second time, Simon, son of 
 Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith 
 unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest 
 that I love thee. He saith unto him, 
 Feed my sheep. He saith unto him 
 the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, 
 lovest thou me ? Peter was grieved 
 because he said unto him the third 
 time, Lovest thou me ? And he said 
 unto him, Lord, thou knowest all 
 things ; tiiou knowest that I love 
 thee. Jesus saith unto him. Feed 
 my sheep. 
 
 Or else this. St. John xx. 19. 
 
 TH E same day at evening, being 
 the first day of the week, when 
 the doors were shut where the disci- 
 ples were assembled for fear of the 
 Jews, came Jesus, and stood in the 
 midst, and saitii unto them, Peace be 
 unto you. And when he had so said, 
 be shewed unto them liis hands and 
 
 to which, a little after, a second was added for variety. 
 Those that are selected by our Church, which are pecu- 
 liar to us, are more pertinent to a bishop's consecration, 
 than any of those used abroad. The first of our Gos- 
 pels being the commission and charge, which Christ 
 gave to St. Peter, and in him, as the ancients note, to 
 all bishops. The other two are the account of that 
 general mission, which our Saviour gave to all his 
 apostles, whose successors the bishops are, as they are 
 severally related by St. John and St. Matthew : con- 
 cerning which two last it may be noted, that the former 
 respects the authority, which Christ gave them, o\-er 
 those already converted, namely, to " remit or retain 
 their sins," as they fouml men penitent or imjieniteiit : 
 the latter relates to the power He gave them to bring 
 men into the church, by first teaching, and then bap- 
 tizing them. Dean Cumber. 
 
 ' — the elected Bishoj)] \\'hen cities were at first con- 
 verted to Christianity, the bishops were elected l)y the 
 clergy and people. I5ut, as the number of t.'hristians 
 increased, this was found to be inconvenient ; for tumults 
 were raised, and somitimes murders committed, at sudi 
 popular elections. To jjrevent the like disorders, the 
 emperors, being then Christian, reserved the election of 
 bishojis to themselves : but in some measure conform- 
 able to the old way : that is to say, uiion a bisho])'s 
 death the chapter sent a ring and pastoral stuff to the 
 emperor, which he delivered to the |)erson whom he 
 apjiointed to be bishop of that place. Hut tlie pope or 
 bishop of Rome, who in process of time got to be head 
 of the church, was not pleased that the bisho]) should 
 have dependence upon princes ; and therefore l)rought 
 it about, that the canons in cathedral churches should 
 have the election of their bishops; which elections were 
 usually confirmed at Home. l!ut ]irinceshad still some 
 jjower in tliose elections. And parlicuhirly in Kngland 
 we read, that in the Sa.xon timci all eccksia.stical digni- 
 
 his side. Then were the disciples 
 glad, when they saw the Lord. Then 
 saith Jesus to them again, Peace be 
 unto you : as my Father liath sent 
 me, even so send I you. And when 
 he had said this, he breathed on 
 them, and saith unto them. Receive 
 ye the Holy Ghost. Whose soever 
 sins ye remit, they are remitted unto 
 them ; and wliose soever sins ye re- 
 tain, they are retained. 
 
 Or this. St. Matt, xxviii. 18. 
 
 JESUS came and spake unto 
 them, saying, All power is given 
 unto me in heaven and in earth. 
 Go ye therefore and teach all na- 
 tions, biiptizing them In the Name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost; teaching them 
 to observe all tilings whatsoever I 
 have commanded you : and lo, I am 
 with you alwa)', even unto the end 
 of the world. 
 
 1[ J/ter the Gospel, and the Nicene Creed, 
 and the Sermon are ended, the elected 
 Bishop' {vested with his Rochet^) shall be 
 
 ties were conferred by the king in parliament. Lord 
 Coke establisheth the right of donation in the kings of 
 this realm, upon the principle of foundation and pro- 
 perty : for that all the bishopricks in England were of 
 the king's foundation, and thereupon accrued to him 
 the right of patronage. So also the bishopricks in 
 Wales were founded by the Prince of Wales. 
 
 Hildebrand, who was po])e in the reign of King Wil- 
 liam the Conqueror, was the first who opposed this way 
 of making bishops here. This led to various contests, 
 in consefjuence of which bishopi-icks liecame elective by 
 the deans and chapters, subject to the pope's confirma- 
 tion. Hut afterwards, by the '25th of Henry the Eighth, 
 cliaj). '20, they were made elective by the deans and 
 chapters, without the pope, by the king's sole nomina- 
 tion, all papal jurisdiction whatsoever in this matter 
 being intirely taken away : and upon this statute the 
 matter still resteth. In Ireland the bishopricks arc 
 donative by letters patent. Dr. Burn. 
 
 ''• — {vested with his Rochet)] A linen habit peculiar to 
 the bishop, and worn under wliat we call the chimere. 
 The author of the acts of St. Cyprian's martyrdom says, 
 that that father went to his execution in this pontifical 
 habit ; but whether this seems probable. I shall leave 
 tlie reader to judge : however, it is certain tlie use of it 
 is ancient, it being described l)y licdc in the sevcntli 
 century. In the following ages the bishops were obliged, 
 by the canon law, to wear their rochets whenever they 
 appeared in jiublick : which practice was constantly 
 kept up in England till the Reformation : but since 
 that time the bishops have not used to wear them at 
 any ])lace out r)f the church, except in tlie ])arlianient- 
 house, and there always with tlie chimere, or upper 
 robe, to which the lawn-sleeves are generally sewed ; 
 which before and after the Reformation, till Queen 
 Elizabeth's time, was always of scarlet silk; but Hishop 
 II oojier scrupling first at the robe itself, and then at
 
 THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 
 
 Tin 
 
 Luke vi. 12, 
 Sec. 
 
 Acts xiii. 2, 
 3. 
 
 Ill 
 
 you 
 
 presented by two Bishops unto the Arch- 
 bishop of that province {or to some other 
 Bishop appointed by lawful commission) 
 the Archbishop silting in his chair near 
 the holy Table, and the Bishops that pre- 
 sent him saying, 
 
 MOST Reverend Father 
 God, we present inito 
 this godly and well-learned man 
 to be Ordained and Consecrated 
 Bishop. 
 
 1 Then shall the Archbishop demand the 
 King's Mandate' for the Consecration, and 
 cause it to be read. And the Oath touching 
 the acknowledgment of the King's Su- 
 premacy, shall be ministered to the persons 
 elected, as it is set down before in the Form 
 for the Ordering of Deacons. And then 
 shall also be ministered unto them the Oath 
 of due obedience to the Archbishop, as fol- 
 toweth. 
 
 The Oath of due Obedience to the 
 Archbishop^. 
 
 IN the Name of God. Amen. I 
 N. chosen Bishop of the Church 
 and See of N. do profess and pro- 
 mise all due reverence and obedi- 
 ence to the Archbishop and to the 
 Metropolitical Church s of N. and to 
 their Successors : So help me God, 
 through Jesus Christ. 
 
 ir This Oath shall not be made at the Conse- 
 cration of an Archbishop. 
 
 TI Then the Archbishop shall move the Con- 
 gregation present to pray, saying thus to 
 them : 
 
 R E T H R E N, it is written " in 
 the Gospel of Saint Luke, That 
 our Saviour Christ continued the 
 whole night in prayer, before he 
 did choose and send forth his twelve 
 Apostles. It is written also in the 
 Acts of the Apostles, That the 
 
 B 
 
 the colour of it, as too light and gay for the episcopal 
 jjravity, it was changed for a cliiinere of black satin. 
 n^heatly. 
 
 ' Then shall the Archbishop demand the King's Man- 
 date &c.] As in times past the pope's mandate was in 
 like manner demanded, as is required in the pontifical. 
 Dr. Burn. 
 
 ' The Oath of due Obedience to the Archbishop."] Arch- 
 bishops and metropolitans had certainly very early a 
 sort of jurisdiction over the bisbops within their pro- 
 vince, and were endowed with a rigbt of being present, 
 or consenting to the ordaining of all, that were chosen 
 bishops within their district. But when the oath of 
 swearing canonical obedience to the metropolitan came 
 in, is not so certain. 
 
 This oath was first drawn up by the compilers of the 
 English Ordinal : for in the Roman Pontifical there is 
 only an oath to the Pope and his successors. This oath 
 being laid aside, the oath to the archbishop was injoined : 
 the consecrated bishop being obliged to swear to the 
 
 Disciples who were at Antioch did 
 fast and \na.y before they laid hands 
 on Paul and Barnabas, and sent 
 them forth. Let us therefore, fol- 
 lowing the example of our Saviour 
 Christ and his Apostles, first fail 
 to prayer, before we admit, and 
 send forth tliis person presented 
 unto us, to the work whcreunto we 
 trust the Holy Ghost hath called 
 him. 
 
 H And then shall be said the Litany, as before 
 in the Form of Ordering Deacons, save 
 only, that after this place That it may 
 please thee to illuminate all Bishops, ^-c, 
 the proper suffrage there following shall be 
 omitted, and this inserted instead of it ; 
 
 THAT it may please thee to 
 bless this our Brother elected, 
 and to send thy grace upon him, 
 that he may duly execute the Office 
 whereunto he is called, to the edify- 
 ing of thy Church, and to the ho- 
 nour, praise, and glory of thy Name; 
 Answer. We beseecli thee to hear 
 us, good Lord. 
 
 IT Then shall be said this Prayer, following. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, giver of 
 all good things, who by thy 
 Holy Spirit has appointed divers 
 Orders of Ministers in thy Church; 
 Mercifully behold this thy servant 
 now called to the Work and Ministry 
 of a Bishop ; and replenish him so 
 with the truth of thy doctrine, and 
 adorn him with innocency of life, 
 that, both by word and deed, he 
 may faithfully serve thee in this 
 Office, to the glory of thy Name, 
 and the edifying and well governing 
 of thy Church ; through the merits 
 
 archbishop of the province, and his successors. Dr. 
 Nichol/s. 
 
 e — to the Archbishop and to the Metropolitical 
 Church'] That is, either when the see is fidl ; or else 
 in the vacation, when the whole archiepiscopal jurisdic- 
 tion is vested in the dean and chapter. Dr. Burn. 
 
 '' Brethren, it is written &c.] The groimd of this 
 short preface to the Litany, and other prayers for the 
 bishop elect, is laid in a sure foundation : namely, the 
 practice first of Christ, and then of his holy apostles, 
 whose custom of praying before they commissioned any 
 to be pastors, and the constant rule of the church in 
 following their example, is equal even to an express 
 command for us to pray before all sorts of ordinations. 
 So that, though we do believe the jn'esent person is 
 inwardly called to this great work by the Holy Ghost : 
 yet we must by litanies, supplications, and devout 
 prayers, earnestly beg of Almighty (jod to enable him 
 to perform it to his glory, and the salvation of his own 
 and many others' souls. Dean Comber.
 
 THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 
 
 1 Tim. V. 22. 
 
 Tit. i. 0. 
 
 714 
 
 of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who 
 liveth and reigueth with tiice and 
 the Holy Ghost, worhl without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 t Then the Archbishop, sitting in his chair, 
 shall say to him that is to be Consecrated, 
 
 BROTHER, forasmuch as the 
 holy Scripture' and the ancient 
 Canons command, that we should 
 not be hasty in laying on hands, 
 and admitting any person to Govern- 
 ment in the Church of Christ, which 
 he hath purchased with no less price 
 than the effusion of his own blood ; 
 before I admit you to this Adminis- 
 tration, I will examine you in certain 
 Articles, to the end that the Con- 
 gregation present may have a trial, 
 and bear witness, how you be minded 
 to behave yourself in the Church of 
 God. 
 
 AR E you persuaded that you be 
 truly called to this Ministration, 
 according to the will of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and the order of this 
 Realm ? 
 
 Answer. I am so persuaded. 
 
 The Archbishop. 
 
 ARE you persuaded that the 
 holy Scriptures contain suffi- 
 ciently ail Doctrine required of ne- 
 cessity for eternal salvation through 
 faith in Jesus Christ ? And are you 
 determined out of the same holy 
 Scriptures to instruct the people 
 committed to your charge; and to 
 teach or maintain nothing as required 
 of necessity to eternal salvation, but 
 that which you shall be persuaded 
 may be concluded and proved by the 
 same? 
 
 Ansicer. I am so persuaded, and 
 determined, by God's grace. 
 
 The Archbishop. 
 
 WILL you then faithfully ex- 
 ercise yourself in the same 
 holy Scriptures, and call upon God 
 by prayer for the true understand- 
 ing of the same ; so as you may be 
 able by them to teach and exhort 
 with wholesome Doctrine, and to 
 withstand and convince the gain- 
 sayers ? 
 
 Answer. I vnW so do, by the help 
 of God. 
 
 The Archbishop. 
 
 AR E you ready, with all faithful 
 diligence, to banish and drive Tit. iii. lo. 
 away all erroneous and strange 
 doctrine contrary to God's Word ; 
 and both privately and openly to 
 call upon and encourage others to 
 the same ? 
 
 Anstcer. I am ready, the Lord 
 being my helper. 
 
 The Archbishop. 
 
 WILL you deny all ungodli- 
 ness and worldly lusts, and 
 live soberly, righteously, and godly, 
 in this present world ; that you 
 may shew yourself in all things an 
 example of good works unto others, 
 that the adversary may be ashamed, 
 having nothing to say against you? 
 
 Aiisiccr. I will so do, the Lord 
 being my helper. 
 
 The Archbishop. 
 
 WILL you maintain and set 
 forward, as much as shall lie 
 in you, quietness, love, and peace 
 among all men; and such as be 
 unquiet, disobedient, and criminous. 
 
 ' Brother, forasmuch as the holy Scripture &c.] This 
 introduction is to shew, that these necessary interroga- 
 tories before the admission of a bishoj) are (grounded 
 first upon holy Scrijiture, even St. Paul's charge to 
 Timothy, concerning liis not ordauiing any without a 
 previous examination, 1 Tim. v. 22. Secondly, this 
 method of asking questions of the candidate for a 
 bishonrick is grounded on divers ancient canons, 
 especially on that of the fourth Council of Carthage; 
 where it is e.vpresslv recpiired, and where all the jiar- 
 ticulars, to be infiuired of, as to his manners, his learn- 
 ing, and esiieciallv as to his faith, are set down at large ; 
 and', unless he ccAild give an account in all the imr- 
 ticuiars, the metropolitan was not to consecrate him. 
 From this canon, which also cites the jilaee of St. Taul, 
 our Cluireh hath taken tliis preface, being like also to 
 the most ancient forms used in the Western <-hui-ch. 
 l!ut after the papal monarchy waa set uji, about the 
 
 year 900, two questions more were added, about " re- 
 ceiving and keeping the traditions of the fathers, and 
 the decrees of the apostolical see," and about " fidelity 
 to St. Peter and his vicar." And the modern Roman 
 Pontifical hath made lliis second question still larger, 
 ])utting in the ]iopc's name, anil biiuling them to " pay 
 fidelity, subjection, and olicdiencc in all things to liim 
 and his successors." Hot all this, being mere innova- 
 tion, was justly expunged by our Reformers ; and we 
 have reduced this preface to what it was in the 
 primitive ages, yea, to what it was in the church of 
 Rome, while pure and uncornipted : and in this, as 
 well as in many other things, wc have left them only in 
 those things, "wherein they had first left their own 
 orthodox and jiious predecessors, and so deiiarted 
 from themselves, and from the right way. Dean 
 Comber.
 
 THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 
 
 7i; 
 
 1 Tim. iii. 2 
 Tit. i. 8. 
 
 Tit. 1. 13; within your Diocese, correct and 
 
 11. 13. puiiisli, according to siicli autliority 
 
 as you have by God's Word, and as 
 
 to you shall be committed by tlic 
 
 Ordinance of this Realm ? 
 
 Answer. I will so do, by the help 
 of God. 
 
 The Archbishop. 
 
 WI L L you be faithful in Or- 
 daining'', sending, or laying 
 hands upon others ? 
 
 Answer. I will so be, by the help 
 of God. 
 
 The Archbishop. 
 
 WILL you shew yourself gen- 
 tle, and be merciful' for 
 Christ's sake to poor and needy 
 people, and to all strangers desti- 
 tute of help ? 
 
 Answer. I will so shew myself, 
 by God's help 
 
 T Then the Archbishop standing up shall say, 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, our hea- 
 venly Father, who hath given 
 you a good will to do all these 
 things, Grant also unto you strength 
 and power to perform the same ; 
 that, he accomplishing in you the 
 good work which he hath begun, 
 you may be found perfect and irre- 
 prehensible at the latter day ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 IT Then shall the Bishop elect put on the rest 
 of the Episcopal habit ; and kneeling down, 
 Veni, Creator Spiritus, shall be sung or 
 said over him, the Archbishop beginning, 
 and the Bishops, with others that are pre- 
 sent, answering by verses, as followeth. 
 
 COME, Holy Ghost, our souls 
 inspire, 
 And lighten icith celestial Jire. 
 
 '' Will you be faithful in Ordaining, &c.] Since the 
 bishops have the sole right of ordaining, doubtless it is 
 very necessary strictly to require a promise from tliem, 
 at their consecration, that they will faithfully ])erform 
 this great trust, of ordaining and sending out fit per- 
 sons to execute the priestly and episcopal offices. For, 
 if they promote any that are heterodox or schismatical 
 in their opinions, weak and unripe in their judgments, 
 or vicious and debauched in tlieir lives, either by negli- 
 gence in duly examining them before, or, which is 
 worse, by fear or favour be imposed upon, it is the 
 greatest sin they can jiossibly commit, and they are 
 answerable for all the ill effects of admitting such per- 
 sons into so holy an employment. Dean Comber. 
 
 ' Will ynn shew yourself gentle, and be merciful &c.] 
 Charity to the jjoor, and hospitality, are required of 
 bishops, not only hy the apostolical injunctions, 1 Tim. 
 iii. 2 ; Tit. i. 8 ; hut by the canons of the ancient 
 church. The author of the apostolical constitutions. 
 
 Thou the anointing Spirit art, 
 film dust till) srvcn-fiihl i/ifls iiiiji/irf. 
 Thy blessed Unction from aliove. 
 Is comfort, life, and Jire of love. 
 Enal)le with perpetual light 
 The didness of oar blinded sit/ht. 
 Anoint and cheer our soiled face 
 Jfit/t the abundance of thy i/race. 
 Keep far our foes, give peace at 
 
 home : 
 Where thou art guide no ill can come. 
 Teach us to know the Father, Son, 
 And thee, of both, to be hut One. 
 That, through the ages all along, 
 This mag be our endless song ; 
 Praise to thy eternal merit, 
 Fatlier, Son, and Hohj Spirit. 
 
 Or this, 
 
 COME, Holy Gho.st, eternal 
 God, §-c. 
 As before in the Form for Ordering Priests. 
 
 II That ended, the Archbishop shall say. 
 Lord, hear our prayer. 
 Answer. And let our cry come 
 unto thee. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, and most 
 merciful Father", who of thine 
 infinite goodness hast given thine 
 only and dearly beloved Son Jesus 
 Christ, to be our Redeemer, and 
 the Author of everlasting life ; who, 
 after that he had made perfect our 
 Redemption by his death, and was 
 ascended into heaven, poured down 
 his gifts abundantly upon men, 
 making some Apostles, some Pro- 
 phets, some Evangelists, some Pas- 
 tors and Doctors, to the edifying 
 and making perfect his Church ; 
 Grant, we beseech thee, to this thy 
 
 after having declared the method of ordaining a bishop, 
 has an exhortation to the bishops concerning the care 
 which they ought to have of the poor : which un- 
 doubtedly was copied from the forms of ordination 
 that were used in the most early ages. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 "' Almighty God, and most merciful Father, Sec.'] The 
 large jjreface to this prayer is the same, almost ver- 
 batim, with that which follows the Veni Creator, and 
 precedes the ordination of a priest. 'I'hat which is 
 peculiar to this form, is only two petitions for the 
 bishoj) now to be admitted : namely, that God may 
 grant him grace, first, to "|ireach the Gospel willingly," 
 and secondly, to "use his authority wisely:" and 
 thirdly, here are the motives to the consecrators and 
 consecrated, exciting them to make these requests : 
 first, the benefit of God's family committed to this 
 steward's care; and secondly, the salvation of the 
 steward's own soul. Dean Comber.
 
 716 
 
 THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 
 
 1. iii. 2. servant such grace, tliat he may 
 evermore be ready to spread abroad 
 thy Gospel, the glad tidings of re- 
 
 xiii.io. conciliation with thee; and use the 
 authority given him, not to destruc- 
 tion, but to salvation ; not to hurt, 
 
 ;"■"• but to help: so that as a wise and 
 faithful servant, giving to thy family 
 their portion in due season, he may 
 at last be received into everlasting 
 joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 who, with thee and the Holy Ghost, 
 liveth and reigneth, one God, world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 T Then the Archbishop and Bi.ihops present 
 shall lay their hands upon the head of the 
 elected Bishop kneeling be/ore them upon 
 his knees, the Archbishop sayiitg, 
 
 ECEIVE the Holy Ghost", 
 _^v for the Office and Work of a 
 Bishop in the Church of God, now 
 committed unto thee by the Impo- 
 sition of our hands; In the Name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And 
 sTim.i.G, 7. remember that thou stir up the 
 grace of God which is given thee 
 by this Imposition of our hands : for 
 God hath not given us the spirit of 
 fear, but of power, and love, and 
 soberness. 
 
 U Then the Archbishop shall deliver him the 
 Bible', saying, 
 
 R' 
 
 " Receive the Holy Ghost, &c.] The order of priest- 
 hood is so near the episcopal, that the words at the 
 admission to both are very much aUke ; only, because 
 their duty differs in some jioints, therefore the one hath 
 the Spirit connnunicated " for the office and work of a 
 presbyter," the other, " for the office and work of a 
 bishop ;" and since the power of bindiufj and loosing 
 was given to the candidate, when he was ordained 
 priest, that is not repeated now, since every bishop 
 must pass through that order llrst. Hut, instead of 
 that form, here is added that reasonable admonition of 
 St. Paul to Timothy, to " stir up the grace of God, that 
 is now given tlicm by the imposition of hands ;" to 
 which the reason of the charge is annexed, namely, 
 because " (iod hatli not given us the spirit of fear, hut 
 of power, anil love, and soberness." The consecrated 
 bishop ought firmly to believe, that he doth now re- 
 ceive the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, so far as 
 is necessary for his office : and we see here St. Paul 
 takes it for granted, tliat imjiosition of hands did 
 convey it to Timothy; for he hatli said, God gave him 
 the Spirit, and his grace, by this rite : and his suc- 
 cessors in the dignity have the same need, and the 
 .same method is used now. l!ut, lest this privilege 
 should make them jmiud and negligent, they are first 
 put in mind, that tlie gifts of the Spirit are like the 
 celestial fire in the .Jewish temple, wbi<h came from 
 heaven, yet was to be kept alive by human industry, 
 and continually putting on fresii fuel. Even these 
 
 GIVE heed unto reading, ex- 
 hortation, and doctrine. Think 
 upon the things contained in this 
 Book. Be diligent in them, that iTim. iv. is, 
 the increase coming thereby may be "'' 
 manifest unto all men. Take heed 
 unto thyself, and to doctrine, and be 
 diligent in doing them : for by so 
 doing thou shaft both save thyself 
 and them that hear thee. Be to the Acts xx. zs, 
 flock of Christ a shepherd, not a Ezeit. ixxu-. 
 wolf ; feed them, devour them not. ■•■ '°- 
 Hold up the weak, heal the sick, 
 bind up the broken, bring' again the ipet. v. 2. 
 out-casts, seek the lost. Be so mer- Lukeiv. is; 
 ciful, that you be not too remiss ; so ^'^'J'ii h. 
 minister discipline, that you forget 
 not mercy : that when the chief Shep- 
 herd shall appear you may receive ' Pet. v. t. 
 the never-fading crown of glory ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 % Then the Archbishop shall proceed in the 
 Cominunion-Service ; with whom the new 
 Consecrated Bishop {with others) shall also 
 communicate. 
 
 H And for the last Collect, immediately be- 
 fore the Benediction, shall be said these 
 Prayers. 
 
 MOST merciful Father p, we be- 
 seech thee to send down upon 
 this thy servant thy heavenly bless- 
 ing : and so endue him with thy 
 Holy Spirit, that he, preaching thy jTim. iT.2. 
 
 gifts and graces will be extinguished, if those, who 
 have received them, do not continually endeavour to 
 quicken them by daily and devout prayer, by diligent 
 and constant reading ami study, and by being ever 
 emiiloyed in all sorts of good works : (iod doth not 
 give them his Spirit to exempt them wholly from work- 
 ing, but to engage them to co-operate with Him; and 
 therefore it is St. Paul's argument for " our working 
 out our own salvation with fear and trembling," 
 because " God worketh in us both to will and to do," 
 Phil. ii. 12, 13: yea, he calls the omitting to do our 
 parts, "receiving the grace of God in vain," 2 Cor. vi. 
 1. .'Vnd our .Saviour shews that servant was con- 
 demned, who only kept his talent safe, but did not 
 improve it, Matt. xxv. 24, Sec. Dean Comber. 
 
 " Then the Archbishop shall deliver him the Bible, &c.] 
 This custom of the delivery of the Bible to the bishops 
 (and priests) took its rise from a very ancient i)raetice 
 rjf laying the (iospels upon the licads of those who were 
 ordained to these orders. Dr. Nichotls. And to remind 
 him that is consecrated how essential a part of his duty 
 the reading and expounding of it is, the ordainer gives 
 him a strict charge with it, almost in tlie very words of 
 St. Paid to Timothy, 1 Tim. iv. 13. 1.5; which being 
 indited by the Sjiirit of (iod for this very occasion, 
 must be the best for e.xplaining this primitive rite. 
 D(im Co7nber. 
 
 ' Most merciful Father, &c.] After the Communion 
 is over, all the ancient formularies conclude with a col-
 
 THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 
 
 717 
 
 Word, may not only be earnest to 
 reprove, beseecli, and rebuke witli 
 all patience and doctrine ; but also 
 
 iTim.iv. 12. may be to such as believe a whole- 
 some example, in word, in conversa- 
 tion, in love, in faith, in chastity, and 
 in purity ; that faithfully fulfilling' 
 
 2 Tim. iv. 7, his course, at the latter day he may 
 receive the crown of righteousness 
 laid up by the Lord the righte- 
 ous Judge, who liveth and reigneth 
 one God with the Father and the 
 Holy Ghost, world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 PREVENT us, O Lord, in all 
 our doings with thy most gra- 
 
 lect as we do. That of the Western church in this 
 place is very like ours in substance : only our form is 
 larger, and expressed in the very words of holy Scrip- 
 ture, and especially in the words of St. Paul, relating 
 to his beloved and lately consecrated bishop Timothy, 
 
 cioiis favour, and further us with thy 
 continual help ; that in all our works 
 begun, continued, and ended in thee, 
 we may glorify thy holy Name, and 
 finally by thy mercy obtain everlast- 
 ing life ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 THE peace of God, which pass- 
 eth all understanding, keep your 
 hearts and minds in the knowledge 
 and love of God, and of his Son Jesus 
 Christ our Lord : And the Blessing 
 of God Almiglity, the Father, the 
 Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst 
 you, and remain with you always. 
 Amen. 
 
 which cannot but be very proper on this occasion. The 
 particulars take in all the necessities and duties of one, 
 that is admitted to this order : the e.vpressions are 
 plain, and the method clear. Dean Comber.
 
 A FORM OF 
 
 PRAYER- WITH THANKSGIVING, 
 
 To be used yearly upon the Fifth Day of November^, 
 
 For tlie liappy Deliverance of King JAMES 1, and the three Estates of 
 England, from the most traiterous and bloody-intended Massacre by Gun- 
 powder: And also for the happy Arrival of his Majesty King William on 
 this Day, for the Deliverance of our Church and Nation. 
 
 f The Minister of every Parish shall give learning to his Parishioners pub- 
 lickly in the Church at Morning Prayer, the Sunday before, for the due 
 Observation of the said Day. And after Morning Prayer, or Preaching, 
 upon the said Fifth Day of November, shall read publickly, distinctly, and 
 plainly, the Act of Parliament, made in the third Year of King James the 
 First, for the Observation of it. 
 
 H The Service shall be the same with the usual Office for Holy-days in all things; 
 except ivhere it is hereafter othcnvise appointed. 
 
 f If this Day shall happen to be Sunday, oidy the Collect proper for that Sunday 
 shall be added to this Office in its place. 
 
 f Morning Prayer shall begin with 
 these Scntoices. 
 
 TH E Lord is full of compassion, 
 and mercy : lonir-sufterin<r, and 
 of great goodness. Psalm ciii. 8. 
 
 • A Form nf Prayer &c.] Tlie occasions and reasons 
 of the observation of this and the foUowiiif; days are 
 so well known to all that have any knowlcdfrc in the 
 affairs of this nation, that it would be needless to 
 repeat the several histories of them here. 
 
 And the suitableness of the jjrayers appointed on 
 these occasions is so ajjparcnt of itself, that I think 
 nothing farther needful, even in relation to the offices, 
 than to give a short account of the Hymns, and I'salins, 
 and Lessons, and of the Epistles and (iosjiels, by shew- 
 ing in what sense they are ajjplicable to their days. 
 (yheolli/. 
 
 >■ To be used yearly upon the Fifth Day of November,'] 
 Instead of the ordinary sentences before the Exhorta- 
 tion, are three verses taken out of the hundred and 
 third I'salin, declaring the long-suffering and goodness 
 of (!otl, the short continuance of his anger, and his 
 mercy in not dealing with us according to our sins ; 
 all of them attributes we cannot helj) rellecting on, 
 when we look back on the signal mercies of this (lay. 
 
 II. And the hymn that is appointed instead of the 
 
 He will not alway be chiding : 
 neither keepetii he his anger for ever. 
 Ver. 9. 
 
 He hath not dealt with us after 
 our sins : nor rewarded us according 
 to our wickedness. Jer. 10 
 
 " Venite exidtemus" is so methodically put together, 
 that it seems, as it stands in this ])lace, to be an entire 
 Psalm composed on inirjiose for the <iay. It begins 
 with an act of praise to (Jod for his gracious nature 
 and providence over us, ver. 1 , '2 ; and then jiarticularly 
 commemorates oin- enemies' attemjits, and how (irovi- 
 dentially they were entra|)]K(l in the works of their 
 own hands, ver. 3 — : upon this it breaks out into an 
 humble acknowledgment of the ])ower. and wisdom, 
 and justice of (iod, ver. 7, 8 ; and at last concludes 
 with a prayer for thcgovernour whom lie hath set over 
 us, and a jiromise of fidelity to (iod for the future. 
 The whole was added in the second year of King Wil- 
 liam and (iuecn Mary, when this oillce «'as very much 
 altered and enlarged, ujion the accotmt of the Revolu- 
 tion. At which time also the foregoing sentences were 
 inserted in the room of others that had been used till 
 then : namely. Psalm li. 9 ; Jer. x. 24 ; Luke xx. 
 18, I!). 
 
 111. The proper Psalms are Psnlm Ixiv. cxxiv, cxxv. 
 The Ixivth was a prayer which David made for deliver-
 
 GUNPOWDER TREASON. 
 
 719 
 
 t Instead of Venite exultemus shall this 
 Hymn following he used; one Verse by 
 the Priest, and another by the Clerk and 
 People. 
 
 OGive thanks unto the Lorfl, for 
 he is gracious : and iiis mercy 
 enduretii for ever. Psalm cvii. 1. 
 
 Let them (jive thanks, tuhom the 
 Lord hath redeemed : and delivered 
 from the hand of the enemy. Ver. 2. 
 
 Many a time have tliey fouglit 
 against me from my youth up : may 
 Israel now say. Psalm cxxix. 1. 
 
 Yea, many a time have they vexed 
 me from my youth up : hut they have 
 not prevailed against me. Ver. 2. 
 
 They have privily laid tlieir net 
 to destroy me without a cause : yea, 
 even without a cause have they made 
 a pit for my soul. Psalm xxxv. 7. 
 
 They have laid a net for my feet, 
 and pressed doicn my soul : they have 
 digged a pit before me, and are fallen 
 into the midst of it themselves. Psalm 
 Ivii. 7. 
 
 Great is our Lord, and great is 
 his power : yea, and his wisdom is 
 infinite. Psalm cxlvii. 5. 
 
 The Lord setteth up the meek : arid 
 bringeth the ungodly doivn to the 
 ground. Ver. 6. 
 
 Let thy hand be upon the man of 
 thy right hand : and upon the son of 
 
 ance from his enemies, when they were secretly plotting 
 and conspiring against him ; but which he foretold 
 should he signally disappointed through their own 
 imtoward contrivance and device. 
 
 2. The cxxirth Psalm is an acknowledgment of God's 
 assistance, and a thankful commemoration of the deli- 
 verances wrought by him. It was occasioned, as some 
 think, by the victory in Rephaim, 2 Sam. v. 17, &c. 
 or, as others, by David's deliverance from Absalom : 
 though all agree it was composed on the account of some 
 signal deliverance from some potent enemy. 
 
 3. The cxxrth declares the safety of those who firmly 
 adhere to God, without seeking to any irregular means 
 for attaining it. It is appointed on this day, to remind 
 us of the providential care of God, in frustrating the 
 designs of the enemies of our Church, even before they 
 were sensible of their being so much as in danger from 
 them. Till the second year of King William and 
 Queen Mary, the cxxixth Psalm was used instead of 
 this, and the xxxvth was used first of all, which is now 
 discontinued. 
 
 IV. The Proper Lessons are 2 Sam. xxii. and Acts 
 xxiii. The first is David's Psalm of praise. Psalm xviii, 
 composed upon his deliverance from the hands of his 
 enemies, especially of Saul, who sought by murdering 
 him, to cut off the succession God had entailed on his 
 family. The words are so applicable to the present 
 occasion, that they explain themselves to an attentive 
 hearer. 
 
 2. The history contained in the second Lesson agrees 
 
 man whom thou madest so strong for 
 tliine own self. Psalm Ixxx. 17. 
 
 And so will not we go back from 
 tliee : O lit us live, and we shall call 
 upon thy Name. Ver. 18. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it teas in the beginning, is noiv, 
 and ever shall be : ivorld without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 Proper Psalms. Ixiv. e.xxiv, exxv. 
 
 Proper Lessons. 
 
 Tlie First, 2 Sam. x.xii. 
 
 Te Deum. 
 
 Tlie Second, Acts xxiii. 
 
 Jubilate. 
 
 IT In the Suffrages after the Creed these shall 
 be inserted and used for the Queen. 
 
 Priest, O Lord, save the Queen ; 
 
 People. Who putteth her trust in 
 thee. 
 
 Priest, Send her help from thy 
 holy place. 
 
 People. And evermore mightily 
 defend her. 
 
 Priest. Let her enemies have no 
 advantage against her. 
 
 People. Let not the wicked ap- 
 proach to hurt her. 
 
 H Instead of the first Collect at Morning 
 Prayer shall these two be used. 
 
 ^vith the treason commemorated on this day in some 
 particulars, but faUs short of it in others. 'ITiere we find 
 a crew of desperate zealots enraged at St. Paul, for 
 persuading them to reform the corrupt traditions of 
 their forefathers, and binding themselves in a bloody 
 vow, to murder him as he went to the hall of judgment. 
 Thus far the stories agree ; Ijut in what is behind they 
 widely differ. St. Paul was only a private man, and 
 their fellow-subject, and so they aimed at a single sacri- 
 fice to their fury and rage ; whereas the conspirators 
 concerned in the story of this day aimed at their own 
 indulgent sovereign, and the whole nation in represen- 
 tative ; seeming to copy after Caligula's wish, namely, 
 that all the people of Rome might have but one neck, 
 that so he might cut them off at a stroke. .Vs the 
 whole ScriiJture therefore affords no parallel of such 
 cruel and blood-thirsty men, we must be content with 
 an instance something like it, though in a far lower 
 degree. 
 
 V. 'I'he Epistle, Rom. xiii. 1 — 8, is designed to remind 
 the people of their allegiance to their sovereign : the 
 Gospel, Luke ix. 51 — !>7, which was appointed in the 
 second year of King William, instead of the story of 
 Judas betraying his Master, Matt, xxvii. 1 — 10, which 
 for some good reasons, I suppose, was then thought 
 proper to be discontinued, is intended to correct the 
 unruly effects of mistaken zeal for our religion ; shewiiig 
 us that our faith, be it ever so true, cannot warrant us 
 to persecute or destroy those of different persuasions. 
 Wheatty,
 
 720 
 
 GUNPOWDER TREASON. 
 
 rs. cxv. I. 
 
 Ps. %\. 3. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who hast 
 in all ages shewed thy Power 
 and Mercy in the miraculous and 
 gracious deliverances of thy Church, 
 and in the protection of righteous 
 and religious Kings and States, pro- 
 fessing thy holy and eternal truth, 
 from the wicked conspiracies, and 
 malicious practices of all the ene- 
 mies thereof : We yield thee our 
 unfeigned thanks and praise, for the 
 wonderful and mighty Deliverance 
 of our gracious Sovereign King 
 James the First, the Queen, the 
 Prince, and all the Royal Branches, 
 with the Nobility, Clergy, and Com- 
 mons of Eitr/land, then assembled 
 in Parliament, by Popish treachery 
 appointed as sheep to the slaughter, 
 in a most barbarous and savage man- 
 ner, beyond the examples of former 
 ages. From this unnatural Conspi- 
 racy, not our merit, but thy mercy ; 
 not our foresight, but thy providence 
 delivered us : And therefore not 
 unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but 
 unto thy Name be ascribed all ho- 
 nour and glory, in all Churches of 
 the saints, from generation to gene 
 ration " ' " ~" ' 
 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 througli Jesus Christ our 
 
 ACCEPT also, most gracious 
 God, of our unfeigned thanks 
 for filling our hearts again with joy 
 and gladness, after the time that 
 thou hadst afflicted us, and )>utting 
 a new song into our mouths, by 
 bringing his Majesty King Willimn 
 upon this day, for the Deliverance 
 of our Church and Nation from 
 Popish Tyranny and arbitrary Power. 
 Wc adore the wisdom and justice 
 of thy Providence, wliicii so timely 
 interposed in our extreme danger, 
 and disa|)pointcd all the designs of 
 our enemies. We beseech thee, give 
 us such a lively and lasting sense of 
 what thou didst then, and hast since 
 that time done for us, that we may 
 not grow secinc and careless in our 
 obedience, by presuming upon thy 
 great and undeserved goodness ; but 
 that it may lead us to repentance, 
 and move us to be the more diligent 
 and zealous in all the duties of our 
 IJcligion, which thou hast in a niar- 
 vi'lloiis niainier |)reserved to us. Let 
 truth and justice, brotherly kindness 
 
 and charity, devotion and piety, con- 
 cord and unity, with all other virtues, 
 so flourish among us, that they may 
 be the stability of our times, and 
 make this Church a praise in the 
 earth. All which we humbly beg 
 for the sake of our blessed Lord and 
 Saviour. Amen. 
 
 H In the end of the lAtany, {which shall 
 always this Day be used) after the Collect 
 [We humbly beseech thee, O Father, i^-c] 
 shall this be said which foltowelh. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God and hea- 
 venly Father, who of thy gra- 
 cious Providence, and tender mercy 
 towards us, didst prevent the malice 
 and imaginations of our enemies, 
 by discovering and confounding 
 their horrible and wicked Enter- 
 prize, plotted and intended this day 
 to have been executed against the 
 King, and the whole State of 
 England, for the subversion of the 
 Government and Religion established 
 among us; and didst likewise upon 
 this day wonderfully conduct thy 
 Servant King JVilliam, and bring 
 him safely into England, to jH'eserve 
 us from the attempts of our enemies 
 to bereave us of our Religion and 
 Laws : We most humbly praise and 
 magnify thy most glorious Name for 
 thy unspeakable goodness towards 
 us, expressed in both these acts of 
 thy mercy. We confess it has been 
 of thy mercy alone, that we are not 
 consumed : For our sins have cried Lam. Hi. 22. 
 to heaven against us ; and our ini- 
 quities justly called for vengeance 
 upon us. But thou hast not dealt ra. dii. 10. 
 with us after our sins, nor rewarded 
 us after our iniquities ; nor given us 
 over, as we deserved, to be a prey to 
 our enemies ; but hast in mercy 
 delivered us from their malice, and 
 preserved us from deatli and de- 
 struction. Let the consideration of 
 this thy repeated goodness, O Lord, 
 work in us true re])entance, that Rom. ii. 4, 
 
 ini(iuitv may not be our ruin. And Ezck. jviii. 
 
 '■'.■' , .-to. 
 
 nicrease in us more and more a uom. ii. 5. 
 
 lively faith and love, friiitfid in all 
 
 holy obedience ; that thou mayest 1 joim v. 3. 
 
 still continue thy favour witli the 
 
 light of thy Gospel, to us and our 
 
 posterity for evermore ; and that for 
 
 thy dear Son's sake, .lesus Christ 
 
 our only Mediator and Advocate. 
 
 Amen,
 
 GUNPOWDER TREASON. 
 
 721 
 
 o 
 
 t Instead of tlie Prayer [In time of War 
 and Tumults] shall be used this Prayer 
 follow'mij. 
 
 Lord, wlio didst this day dis- 
 cover the snares of death that 
 were hiid for us, and didst wonder- 
 fully deliver us from tlie same; Be 
 thou still our mighty Protector, and 
 
 Vs. ixviii. 30. scatter our enemies that delight in 
 blood : Infatuate and defeat their 
 counsels, abate their pride, assuage 
 their malice, and confound their 
 devices. Strengthen the hands of 
 our gracious Sovereign Queen VIC- 
 TORIA, and all that are put in 
 authority under her, with judgement 
 
 Rom. xiii. 4. aiul justice to cut off all such workers 
 of iniquity, as turn Religion into Re- 
 bellion, and Faith into Faction ; that 
 they may never prevail against us, or 
 triumph in the ruin of thy Church 
 among us : but that our gracious 
 Sovereign, and her Realms, being 
 preserved in thy true Religion, and 
 by thy merciful goodness protected 
 in the same, we may all duly serve 
 thee, and give thee thanks in thy 
 holy congregation ; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 H In the Communion Service, instead of the 
 Collect for the Day, shall this ivhich fol- 
 loweth be used. 
 
 ETERNAL God, and our most 
 mighty Protector, we thy un- 
 worthy servants do humbly present 
 ourselves before thy Majesty, ac- 
 knowledging thy power, wisdom, 
 and goodness, in preserving the 
 King, and the Three Estates of 
 the Realm of England assembled 
 in Parliament, from the destruction 
 this day intended against them. 
 Make us, we beseech thee, truly 
 thankful for this, and for all other 
 thy great mercies towards us ; par- 
 ticularly for making this day again 
 memorable, by a fresh instance of 
 thy loving-kindness towards us. We 
 bless tliee for giving his late Majesty 
 King JVilliain a safe arrival here, and 
 for making all opposition fall before 
 him, till he became our King and 
 Governour. We beseech thee to pro- 
 tect and defend our Sovereign Queen 
 VICTORIA, and all the Royal 
 Family, from all treasons and con- 
 spiracies ; Preserve her in thy faith, 
 fear, and love ; Prosper her Reign 
 with long happiness here on earth ; 
 
 and crown her with everlasting glory 
 hereafter; through Jesus Christ our 
 only Saviour and Redeemer. Amen 
 
 The Epistle. Rom. .xiii. \. 
 
 LET every soul be suly'oct unto 
 the higher powers ; for there is 
 no power, but of God : the powers 
 that be are ordained of God. Who- 
 soever therefore resisteth the power 
 resisteth the ordinance of God ; and 
 they that resist shall receive to 
 themselves damnation. For rulers 
 are not a terror to good works, but 
 to the evil. Wilt thou then not be 
 afraid of the power? do that which 
 is good, and thou shalt have praise 
 of the same : for he is the minister 
 of God to thee for good. But if 
 thou do that which is evil, be afraid ; 
 for he beareth not the sword in vain : 
 for he is the minister of God, a 
 revenger to execute wrath upon 
 him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye 
 must needs be subject, not only for 
 wrath, but also for conscience sake. 
 For for this cause pay ye tribute 
 also, for they are God's ministers, 
 attending continually upon this very 
 thing. Render therefore to all their 
 dues ; tribute to whom tribute is 
 due, custom to whom custom, fear 
 to whom fear, honour to whom 
 honour. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Luke ix. 51. 
 
 AND it came to pass, when the 
 time was come that he should 
 be received up, he stedfastly set his 
 face to go to Jerusalem, and sent 
 messengers before his face ; and they 
 went and entered into a village of 
 the Samaritans, to make ready for 
 him. And they did not receive him, 
 because his face was as though he 
 would go to Jerusalem. And when 
 his disciples James and John .saw 
 this, they said. Lord, wilt thou that 
 we command fire to come down from 
 heaven, and consume them, even as 
 Elias did ? But he turned and re- 
 buked them, and said. Ye know not 
 what manner of spirit ye are of : For 
 the Son of man is not come to de- 
 stroy men's lives, but to save them. 
 And they went to another village. 
 
 1 After the Creed, if there be no Sermon, 
 shall be read one of the six Homilies against 
 Rebellion. 
 
 3 A
 
 722 
 
 GUNPOWDER TREASON, 
 
 t This Sentence is to be read at the Offer- 
 tory. 
 
 WHATSOEVER ye would 
 that men should do to you, 
 do ye even so to them ; for this is the 
 Law and the Prophets. St. Mutth. 
 vii. 12. 
 
 1^ After the Prayer for the Church militant 
 this following Prayer is to be used. 
 
 O^ 
 
 God, whose Name is excellent 
 in all the earth, and thy glory 
 above the heavens ; who on this 
 day didst miracidously preserve our 
 Church and State from the secret 
 contrivance and hellish malice of 
 Popish conspirators ; and on this 
 day also didst begin to give us a 
 mighty deliverance from the open 
 
 tyranny and oppression of the same 
 cruel and blood-thirsty enemies : We 
 bless and adore thy glorious Majesty, 
 as for the former, so for this thy late 
 marvellous loving-kindness to our 
 Church and Nation, in the preserva- 
 tion of our Religion and Liberties. 
 And we humbly pray, that the de- 
 vout sense of this thy repeated mercy 
 may renew and increase in us a spirit 
 of love and thankfulness to thee its 
 only Author ; a spirit of peaceable 
 submission and obedience to our 
 gracious Sovereign Lady Queen 
 VICTORIA; and a spirit of fer- 
 vent zeal for our holy Religion 
 which thou hast so wonderfully res- 
 cued, and established, a blessing to 
 us and our posterity. And this we 
 beg for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.
 
 A FORM OF 
 
 PRAYER WITH FASTING, 
 
 To be used yearly on the Thirtieth of January, 
 
 Being the Day of the Martyrdom of the Blessed King CHARLES tiie 
 First; to implore the mercy of God, that neither the Guilt of that sacred 
 and innocent Blood, nor those other sins, by which God was provoked to 
 deliver up both us and our King into the hands of cruel and unreasonable 
 men, may at any time hereafter be visited upon us or our posterity. 
 
 % If this Day shall happen to be Sunday, this Form of Prayer shall he used and 
 the Fast kept the next F)ay fullowing. And upon the Lord's Day next before 
 the Day to be kept, at Morning Prayer, immediately after the Nicene Creed, 
 notice shall be given for the due Observation of the said Day. 
 
 11 Tlie Service of the Day shall be the same loith the usual Office for Holy-days 
 in all things ; except where it is in this Office otherwise appointed. 
 
 THE ORDER FOR MORNING PRAYERS 
 
 fl He that minisfereth, shall begin with 
 one or more of these Sentences. 
 
 O the Lord our God belong mer- 
 cies and forgivenesses, though 
 
 T 
 
 ' A Form of Prayer with Fasting, &c.] It having never 
 been the practice of the CatlioUck church, nor indeed of 
 any part of it, except the Roman, and that which has 
 too many marks of its parent, the Presljyterian church 
 in Scotland, to allow of humiliation or fasting on Sun- 
 days, which are appointed for duties of a different 
 nature ; it is ordered, that " if this day shall happen to 
 be Sunday, this form of prayer shall be used and the 
 fast kept the next day following. And upon the Lord's 
 day next before the day to be kept," (that is, on what- 
 ever day of the week it shall happen,) " at Morning 
 Prayer immediately after the Nicene Creed, notice shall 
 be given for the due observation of the said day." 
 
 I. As to "the service of this day," (like that ap- 
 pointed for the fifth of November,) " it is to be the 
 same with the usual office for holy-days in all things, 
 except where it is in this office otherwise appointed ;" 
 that is, the ordinary Morning and Evening Service, 
 and office for the Communion, are to be said as usual, 
 except where any thing in either of these services is to 
 
 we have rebelled against him : nei- 
 ther have we obeyed the voice of 
 the Lord our God, to walk in his 
 laws which he set before us. Daniel 
 ix. 9, 10. 
 
 be added to, or to be used in the room of, the ordinary 
 service for the day : as the Collects for instance, and 
 the several prayers appointed on these occasions, are to 
 be used either instead of, or besides, the prayers daily 
 in use; and the Hymns, Psalms, and Lessons, the 
 Epistle and Gospel, instead of those in ordinary course. 
 Wheatly. 
 
 ^ The Order for Morning Prayer.'] The office is intro- 
 duced with some of the usual sentences at Morning 
 Prayer. Dan. ix. 9, 10; Jer. x. 24; Psalm cxliii. 2. 
 
 IL Tlie Hymn, instead of the xcvth Psalm, was drawn 
 up in the reign of King James H. when a review was 
 taken and several alterations made in this office. And 
 whoever looks into King Charles's book, must acknow- 
 ledge the old Hymn not to he near so fine as the new 
 one, which is as solemn a composure, and as pertinent 
 to the occasion, as can be imagined or contrived. 
 
 IIL The proper Psalms appointed for the morning 
 are Psalms ix, x, xi. The viith was originally prefixed to 
 them all, but that was afterwards discontinued. The 
 3 A 2
 
 7-24 
 
 KING CHARLES THE MARTYR. 
 
 Correct us, O Lord, but with 
 judgement : not in thine anger, lest 
 thou bring: us to nothing. Jer. x. 24. 
 
 Enter not into judgement witli thy 
 servants, O Lord : for in thy sight 
 shall no man living be justified. 
 Psalm c.xliii. *2. 
 
 first of those that are now appointed was written upon 
 Gohath's death, and was designed for David's victory 
 over the Philistines : and though the chief end of this 
 day's solemnity is to hewail our sins, which were the 
 occasion of the late bloody and dismal times ; yet 
 when we recoDect how happily we were at last delivered 
 from them, and how remarkably God's justice was 
 executed on the enemies of oiu',Uavid, we cannot for- 
 bear intermingling a thanksgiving to praise the Divine 
 Majesty for so wonderful a work. 
 
 2. The xth Psalm, wanting a title, was by the Hebrews 
 anciently, and by the Vulgar Latin is still, joined to the 
 former : but though it be on a like subject, yet there is 
 a plain difference between them. The ixth Psalm speaks 
 of Pagan enemies, whose cruelty was ended some time 
 before, and is therefore fuller of praises ; nhereas this 
 Psalm speaks of domestick foes, who still acted unjustly, 
 and so abounds more with praises and complaints pro- 
 per to be used on this day. 
 
 3. The xith Psalm is a declaration of David's full 
 confidence and trust in God, in despite of all discou- 
 ragements, and is very applicable to our royal martyr 
 under his sufferings. 
 
 IV. The first Lesson for the morning is 2 Sam. i. 
 There is no parallel for this inhuman and barbarous 
 murder of a good and pious king by his own subjects 
 in all the Old Testament : and therefore the Church is 
 content to read the history of David's justice and ven- 
 geance upon the Amalekite, that accused himself of 
 killing King .Saul, though at his own request, to ease 
 him of his pain ; and of David's own decent mourning 
 for his sovereign, notwithstanding he had been always 
 his mortal enemy, had apostatized from God, and was 
 forsaken by heaven. How much more reason then 
 had our state to punish those impious rebels, who 
 murdered the best of kings, only for adhering to the 
 best of religions ; and also to set apart a day of humi- 
 liation for fasting and prayer, and to draw up a mourn- 
 fid office for the occasion, after the example of David 
 in the Lesson ! 
 
 2. As for the second Lesson, it is no other than that 
 appointed by the Church in the ordinary course, to be 
 read on the thirtieth of January; Matt, xxvii, to the 
 end. For by a signal ])rovidence the bloody rebels chose 
 that day for murdering their king, on which the history 
 of our .Saviour's sufferings was ajipointed to be read as a 
 Lesson for the day. 'J'he blessed martyr had forgot 
 that it came in the ordinary course ; and therefore when 
 liisho]) Juxon (who read the morning office immedi- 
 ately before his martyrdom I named this chapter, the 
 good prince asked him, if he had singled it out as fit 
 for the occasion ; and when he was informed it was the 
 l.,es3on for the day, could not without a sensible com- 
 jilacency and joy admire how suitably it concurred with 
 iiis circumstances : betrayed by some, denied l)y others, 
 and despised by the rest of his seeming friends, who 
 left him to the im|)lacablc malice of bis barbarous 
 enemies ; who treated him with the same contempt 
 and ingratitude, outrage and cruelty, with which the 
 .lews treated thtirKing and Saviour; while he followed 
 the steps of his great .Master in meekness and patience, 
 
 H Instead of Venite exultemus the Hymn fol- 
 lowing shall be said or sung ; one Verse by 
 the Priest, another by the Clerk and People. 
 
 RIGHTEOUS art thou, O 
 Lord : and just are thy judge- 
 ments ! Psalm c.xi.x. 1;37. 
 
 Thou art just, U Lord, in all that 
 
 piety to God, and charity to men, and at last praying 
 for his murderers. 
 
 V. I'he Epistle, 1 Pet. ii. 13 — 23, shews the duty 
 which Christians owe to magistrates ; the Gosjiel, Matt, 
 xxi. 33 — 42, severely and justly upbraids those unpa- 
 ralleled rebels, who were the villanous projectors of this 
 day's tragedy. It calls to our mind the care and dili- 
 gence of the poor good king, %vho, when he had omitted 
 nothing for the quiet and safety of his kingdoms, had 
 the misfortune to commit the administration of the 
 government into such hands, as made use of the power 
 he had intrusted with them, to deny him the rights 
 and prerogatives of his crown ; rejecting his commis- 
 sioners, slaying his servants, seizing his crown, miuder- 
 ing his person, banishing his heir, and usurping his 
 kingdom. 
 
 VI. The Psalms for the evening service are different 
 now from what they were when the office was com- 
 posed ; namely. Psalm xxxviii, Ixiv, and cxliii ; at pre- 
 sent they are the Ixxixth, xcivth, and Ixxxvth. The 
 Ixxixth Psalm contains a lively description of the 
 miseries of Jerusalem, upon the sacking of it by the 
 king of Babylon; and is very applicable to our sad 
 condition during the Rebellion : only the Jews suffered 
 by heathens, we by men whose behaviour was worse 
 than heathenish, while they called themselves Chris- 
 tians. 
 
 2. The xcivth Psalm is a prayer to God, and a confi- 
 dent assurance in Him, that He will dissipate the 
 attempts of wicked men, and uphold the righteous. 
 
 3. Tlie Ixxxvth Psalm is apjiointed with respect to 
 that happy change at the Restoration, and is for that 
 reason placed out of its usual order ; it containing an 
 acknowledgment of God's mercy in delivering the land 
 from those sad calamities, and a prayer for a continu- 
 ance of it in prosjjerity hereafter. 
 
 VII. For the first Lesson is appointed a choice of 
 two chapters for variety : one of which, Jer. .\ii, is 
 Jeremiah's complaint to God of great mischiefs done in 
 church and state by false prophets and tyrannical rulers, 
 with God's answer, giving the reason of his permitting 
 it, and threatening withal, in due time, to [)unish the 
 authors of these mischiefs, and to deliver the righteous. 
 
 2. The other is out of Daniel, Dan. ix. I — 12, being 
 an excellent i)rayer, which that lioly man used on a day 
 that he had set ajiart to solenm humiliation, fasting, 
 and repentance ; wherein he so effectually bewailed the 
 sins and sufferings of God's people, that he prevailed 
 with God to restore them to their liberty, and to the 
 exercise of their religion. Which justly reminds us 
 of the i)rayers and penitence of de\init men under 
 those usurpers, wliich at last had the same effect 
 with us. 
 
 3. The second Lesson, Ilcb. xi. 32, to chap. xii. 7, 
 sets before us the faith and |)atience of the holy martyrs, 
 whom St. Paid records, and is very i)roper as a comme- 
 moration of our royal martyr's sull'erings and faith, and 
 an cxliortation to us to imitate them, whensoever it 
 shall please God to re(piire it of us. In the old Galilean 
 Liturgy this was tlic proper Lesson for the festival of 
 any martyr. Wheatly.
 
 KING CHARLES THE MARTYR. 
 
 7Q-1 
 
 is brouffht upon us : fur thou hast 
 done riijht, hut ive have done wickedly. 
 Nell. ix. 33. 
 
 Nevertheless, our feet were almost 
 gone : our treadings had well-nigh 
 slipped. Psalm Ixxiii. 2. 
 
 For why ? we were grieved at the 
 wicked : loe did also see the ungodly 
 in such prosperity. Ver. 3. 
 
 The people stood up, and the 
 rulers took counsel together : against 
 the Lord, and against his Anointed. 
 Psalm ii. 2. 
 
 They cast their heads together ivith 
 one consent : and ivere confederate 
 against hint. Psalm Ixxxiii. 5. 
 
 He heard the blasphemy of the 
 multitude, and fear was on every 
 side : while they conspired together 
 against him, to take away his life. 
 Psalm xxxi. 13. 
 
 They spoke against him with false 
 tongues, and compassed him about 
 ivith luords of hatred : and fought 
 against him without a cause. Psalm 
 cix. 2. 
 
 Yea, his own familiar friends, 
 whom he trusted : they that eat of 
 his bread laid great wait for him. 
 Psalm xli. 9. 
 
 They rewarded him evil for good : 
 to the great discomfort of his soul. 
 Psalm XXXV. 12. 
 
 They took their counsel together, 
 saying, God hath forsaken him : 
 persecute him, and take him, for 
 there is none to deliver him. Psalm 
 Ixxi. 9. 
 
 The breath of our nostrils, the 
 Anointed of the Lord was taken in 
 their pits : of whom we said. Under 
 his shadow we shall he safe. Lam. 
 iv. 20. 
 
 The adversary and the enemy en- 
 tered into the gates of Jerusalem : 
 saying, When shall he die, and his 
 Name perish ? Ver. 12. Psalm 
 Ixi. 3. 
 
 Let the sentence of guiltiness pro- 
 ceed against him : and now that he 
 lieth, let him rise up no more. 
 Ver. 8. 
 
 False witnesses also did rise up 
 against him : they laid to his charge 
 things that he knew not. Psalm 
 
 XXXV. 11. 
 
 For the sins of the people, and the 
 iniquities of the priests : they shed 
 
 the blood of the just in the midst of 
 Jerusalem. Lam. iv. 13. 
 
 O my soul, come not thou into 
 their secret ; unto their assembly, 
 mine honour, be not thou unitecl : 
 for in their anger they slew a man ; 
 Gen. xlix. 6. 
 
 Even the man of thy right hand : 
 the Son of man, loliom thou hadst 
 made so strong for thine oivn self. 
 Psalm Ixxx. 17. 
 
 In the sight of the unwise he 
 seemed to die : and his departure 
 was taken for misery. fUsd. iii. 2. 
 
 They, fools, counted his life mad- 
 ness, and his end to be withotU ho- 
 nour : but he is in peace. Wisd. v. 
 4. & iii. 3. 
 
 For though he was punished in 
 the sight of men : yet was his hope 
 full of immortality. IVisd. iii. 4. 
 
 How is he numbered ivith the chil- 
 dren of God : and his lot is among 
 the saints ! Wisd. v. 5. 
 
 But, O Lord God, to whom ven- 
 geance belongeth, thou God, to 
 whom vengeance belongeth : be fa- 
 vourable and gracious unto Sion. 
 Psalm xciv. 1. & li. 18. 
 
 Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy 
 people whom thou hast redeemed : 
 and lay not innocent blood to our 
 charge. Deut. xxi. 8. 
 
 O shut not up our souls with sin- 
 ners : nor our lives with the blood- 
 thirsty. Psalm xxvi. 9. 
 
 Deliver us from blood-guiltiness, 
 O God, thou that art the God of 
 our salvation : and our tongues shall 
 sing of thy righteousness. Psalm 
 li. 14. 
 
 For tliou art the God that hast 
 no pleasure in wickedness : neither 
 shall any evil dwell with thee. Psalm 
 V. 4. 
 
 Thou wilt destroy them that speak 
 leasing : the Lord abhors both the 
 blood-thirsty and deceitful man. 
 Ver. 6. 
 
 O how suddenly do they consume : 
 perish, and come to a fearful end ; 
 Psalm Ixxiii. 18. 
 
 Yea, even like as a dream, when 
 one aicaketh : so didst thou make 
 their image to vanish out of the city. 
 Ver. 19. 
 
 Great and marvellous are tliy 
 works, O Lord God Almighty : just
 
 726 
 
 KING CHARLES THE MARTYR. 
 
 and true are thy ways, O King of 
 saints. liev. xv. 3. 
 
 Righteous art thou, Lord : and 
 just are thy judgements. Psalm cxix. 
 137. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost; 
 
 As it teas in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : world without 
 end. Amen. 
 
 Proper Psalms, ix, x, xi. 
 
 Proper Lessons. 
 
 The First, 2 Sara. i. 
 
 The Second, St. Matth. xxvii. 
 
 f Instead of the First Collect at Morning 
 Prayer shall these two which next folloxo 
 be used. 
 
 OMost mighty God, terrible in 
 thy judgements, and wonderful 
 in thy doings toward the children of 
 men ; who in tin' heavy displeasure 
 John xix. 11. (Jidst suffer the life of our jiiracioiis 
 
 IS. XXXVlll. " 
 
 1. Sovereign King Charles the First, to 
 
 iios. liii. 11. be (as this day) taken away by the 
 hands of cruel and bloody men : We 
 thy sinful creatures here assembled 
 before thee, do, in the behalf of all 
 the people of this land, huml)ly con- 
 fess, that they were the crying sins 
 
 Ezra It 7. of this Natioii, which brougiit down 
 this heavy judgement upon us. But, 
 
 Ps. ix. 12. O gracious God, when thou makest 
 inquisition for blood, lay not the 
 guilt of this innocent blood, (the 
 
 1 Snm. xxvi. shedding whereof nothing but the 
 
 iieb. xii. 21. blood of thy Son can expiate,) lay 
 it not to the charge of the peoj)]e 
 of this land; nor let it ever be re- 
 quired of us, or our posterity. Be 
 
 Deut. xxi. 8. merciful, O Lord, be merciful unto 
 thy people, whom thou hast re- 
 deemed ; and be not angry with 
 us for ever: But pardon us for thy 
 mercies' sake, through the merits 
 of thy Son Jesus Clirist our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Matt, xxili, 
 3,5. 
 
 B 
 
 Luke I. 40. 
 Pi. cxv. 1. 
 
 Pliil ill. 10. 
 I Pit. 11. 21. 
 
 U.'b. III. -1. 
 
 sight the death of thy Saints 
 is precious ; We magnify thy Name 
 for thine abundant grace bestowed 
 ii])oii our martyred Sovereign ; by 
 which he was enabled so chi'erfully 
 to follow the ste])s of liis blessed 
 Master and Saviour, in a constant 
 meek suffering of ;ill barbarous in- 
 dignities, and at last resisting unto 
 blood ; and even then, according 
 
 to the same pattern, praying for luke xiiii. 
 his murderers. Let his memory, ^*' 
 O Lord, be ever blessed among us ; prov. x. 7. 
 that we may follow the example of J^^n.""?.' ' 
 his courage and constancy, his meek- 
 ness and patience, and great charitv. 
 And grant, that this our land may 
 be freed from the vengeance of his 
 righteous blood, and thy mercy glo- 
 rified in the forgiveness of our sins : 
 and all for Jesus Christ his sake, 
 our only Mediator and Advocate. 
 Amen. 
 
 H In the end of the Litany (which shall ahoays 
 on this Day be zised) immedialely after the 
 Collect [\\'e humbly beseech thee, O Fa- 
 ther, ^•c.'\ the three Collects next follow- 
 ing are to be read. 
 
 OLord, we beseech thee merci- 
 fully hear our prayers, and 
 spare all those who confess their sins 
 unto thee ; that they whose con- 
 sciences by sin are accused, by thy 
 merciful pardon may be absolved ; 
 through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 OjNIost mighty God and merciful 
 Father, who hast compassion 
 upon all men, and hatest nothing 
 that thou hast made ; who wouldest 
 not the death of a sinner, but that 
 he should rather turn from Ids sin, 
 and be saved: Mercifully forgive us 
 our trespasses ; receive and comfort 
 us, who are grieved and wearied with 
 the burden of our sins. Thy pro- 
 jierty is always to have mercy; to 
 thee only it a])pertai!ieth to forgive 
 sins. Spare us therefore, good Lord, 
 spare thy peojile, whom thou liast 
 redeemed; enter not into judgement 
 with thy servants, who are vile earth 
 and miserable sinners : but so turn 
 tiiine anger from u.s, who meekly 
 acknowledge our vilenes.s, and truly 
 repent ns of our faults ; and so make 
 haste to help us in this world, that we 
 may ever live with thee in the world 
 to come ; througii .lesns Clirist our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 TURN thou us, O good Lord, 
 and so shall we be turned. 
 Be favourable, O Lord, i)e favour- 
 able to thy ]ieople. Who turn to thee 
 in weeping, fasting, and praying. 
 For tiiou art a merciful tiod. Full of 
 compassion, long-suffering, and of 
 great pity. Thou sjiarest when we
 
 KING CHARLES THE MARTYR. 
 
 '27 
 
 deserve punishment, And in tliy 
 wratli tliiiikest upon mercy. Spare 
 thy people, jrood Lord, spare them, 
 And let not thine heritage be brought 
 to confusion. Hear us, O Lord, tor 
 thy mercy is great. And after the 
 multitude of thy mercies look u])on 
 us, Through the merits and media- 
 tion of thy blessed Son Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 t In the Communion Service, after the Prayer 
 for the King [Almighty God whose king- 
 dom is everlasting, <5-c.] instead of the 
 Collect for the Day shall'these two be used. 
 
 O most mighty God, §-c. \ As in the 
 
 Blessed Lord, in wliose > Morning 
 
 sight, ij-c. j Prayers. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 St. Peter ii. 13. 
 
 SU B M I T yourselves to every 
 ordinance of man for the Lord's 
 sake ; whether it be to the King, as 
 supreme ; or unto governours, as 
 unto them that are sent by him, 
 for the punishment of evil-doers, 
 and for the praise of them that do 
 well. For so is the will of God, 
 that with well-doing ye may put 
 to silence the ignorance of foolish 
 men : as free, and not using your 
 liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, 
 but as the servants of God. Ho- 
 nour all men. Love the brother- 
 hood. Fear God. Honour the King. 
 Servants, be subject to your masters 
 with all fear, not only to the good 
 and gentle, but also to the froward. 
 For this is thankworthy, if a man 
 for conscience toward God endure 
 grief, suffering wrongfully. For what 
 glory is it, if when ye be buffeted 
 for your faults ye shall take it pa- 
 tiently? but if when ye do well, and 
 suffer for it, ye take it patiently ; 
 this is acceptable with God. For 
 even hereunto were ye called ; be- 
 cause Christ also suffered for us, 
 leaving us an exam])le, that ye 
 should follow his steps ; who did no 
 sin, neither was guile found in his 
 mouth. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Mattli. xxi. 33. 
 
 THERE was a certain house- 
 holder which planted a vine- 
 yard, and hedged it round about, 
 and digged a wine-press in it, and 
 built a tower, and let it out to 
 husbandmen, and went into a far 
 country. And when the time of 
 
 the fruit drew near, lie sent his 
 servants to the husbandmen, that 
 they might receive the fruits of it. 
 And the husbandmen took his ser- 
 vants, and beat one, and killed an- 
 other, and stoned another. Again 
 he sent other servants, more than 
 the first: and they did unto them 
 likewise. But last of all he sent 
 unto them his son, saying, they will 
 reverence my son. But when the 
 husbandmen saw the son, they said 
 among themselves, This is the heir, 
 come, let us kill him, and let us 
 seize on his inheritance. And they 
 caught him, and cast him out of the 
 vineyard, and slew him. When the 
 lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, 
 what will he do unto those husband- 
 men ? They say unto him. He will 
 miserably destroy those wicked men, 
 and will let out his vineyard unto 
 other husbandmen, which shall render 
 him the fruits in their seasons. 
 
 H After the Nicene Creed, shall he read, in- 
 stead of the Sermon for that Day, the first 
 and second parts of the Homily against Dis- 
 obedience and wilful Rebellion, set forth by 
 Authority; or the Minister who officiates 
 shall preach a Sermon of his own composing 
 vpon the same argument. 
 
 H In the Offertory shall this Sentetice be 
 read. 
 
 WHATSOEVER ye would 
 that men should do unto you, 
 even so do unto them ; for this is the 
 Law and the Prophets. St. Matth. 
 vii. 1-2. 
 
 H After the Prayer [For the whole state of 
 Christ's Church <5"c.] these two Collects 
 following shall be used. 
 
 OLord, our heavenly Father, 
 who didst not punish us as Ezraix. i.i. 
 our sins have deserved, but hast in ''"'' *'' ^' 
 the midst of judgement remembered Hab. Hi 2. 
 mercy ; We acknowledge it thine 
 especial favour, that though for our 
 many and great provocations, thou 
 didst suffer thine anointed blessed 
 King Charles the First (as on this 
 day) to fall into the hands of violent 
 and blood-thirsty men, and bar- 
 barously to be murdered by them, 
 yet thou didst not leave us for ever, 
 as sheep without a shepherd : but 
 by thy gracious providence didst mi- 
 raculously preserve the undoubted 
 Heir of his Crowns, our then gra- 
 cious Sovereign King Charles the 
 Second, from his bloody enemies.
 
 728 
 
 KING CHARLES THE MARTYR. 
 
 hiding' liim under the shadow of thy 
 Ps. ivii, 1. winus until their tyranny was over- 
 past ; and didst bring him back, in 
 thy good appointed time, to sit upon 
 tlie throne of his Father ; and to- 
 gether with the Royal Family didst 
 restore to us our ancient Govern- 
 ment in Church and State. For 
 these thy great and unspeakable 
 mercies we render to thee our most 
 humble and unfeigned thanks : be- 
 seeching thee, still to continue thy 
 gracious protection over the whole 
 Royal Family, and to grant to our 
 gracious Sovereign Queen VICTO- 
 
 RIA, a long and a happy Reign 
 
 over us: So we that are thy people Ps. ixxii. i 
 
 will give thee thanks for ever, and 
 
 will ahvay be shewing forth thy 
 
 praise from generation to generation ; 
 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord and 
 
 Saviour. Amen. 
 
 AN D grant, O Lord, we beseech 
 thee, that the course of this 
 world may be so peaceably ordered 
 by thy governance, that thy Church 
 may joyfully serve thee in all godly 
 quietness ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 THE ORDER FOR EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 O 
 
 IT The Hymn appointed to be xised at Morn- 
 ing Prayer instead of Venite exultemus 
 shall here also be used before the Proper 
 Psalms. 
 
 Righteous art thou, O Lord, §r. 
 Proper Psalms. Ixxix. xciv. Ixxxv. 
 
 Proper Lesso?is. 
 The First, Jer. xii. or Dan. ix. to 
 
 verse 22. 
 
 The Second, Hebrews xi. verse 32. 
 
 and xii. to verse 7. 
 
 t Instead of the first Collect at Evening 
 Prayer shall these two which next follow 
 be used. 
 
 Almighty Lord God, wlio by 
 thy wisdom not oidy guidest 
 and orderest all things most suit- 
 ably to thine own justice; but also 
 performest thy pleasure in such a 
 manner, that we cannot but acknow- 
 
 I's. cxiv. 17. ledge thee to be righteous in all 
 thy ways, and lioly in all thy works; 
 We tliy sinful pcoj)le do here fall 
 down lioforc thee, confessing that 
 thy judgements were right in per- 
 mitting cruel men, sons of Belial (as 
 on tills day) to imbrue their hands 
 in the blood of thine Anointed ; we 
 having drawn down the same upoji 
 
 Dun. u. 7. ourselves, by the great and long 
 provocations of our sins against thee. 
 l<\)r wiiich we do tliercfore liere 
 humlile ourselves before thee ; be- 
 seeching thee to deliver this Nation 
 
 Numb. from blood-guiltiness, (tliat of this 
 
 i'"ii'f4. <^^y especially,) and to turn from us 
 and our posterity all tliose judge- 
 
 ments, which we by our sins have 
 worthily deserved : Grant this, for 
 the all-sufficient merits of thy Son 
 our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 BLESSED God, just and 
 jiowerful, who didst permit thy 
 dear Servant, our dread Sovereign 
 King Charles the First, to be (as 
 upon this day) given up to the vio- 
 lent outrages of wicked men, to be 
 despitefully used and at the last mur- 
 dered by them : Though we cannot 
 reflect upon so foul an act, but with 
 horror and astonishment ; yet do we 
 most gratefully commemorate the 
 glories of thy grace, which then 
 shined forth in thine Anointed ; 
 whom thou wast pleased, even at the 
 hour of death, to endue with an 
 eminent measure of exemplary pati- 
 ence, meekness, and charity, before 
 the face of his cruel enemies. And 
 albeit thou didst suffer them to pro- 
 ceed to such an height of violence, 
 as to kill liini, and to take possession 
 of his Throne ; yet didst thou in 
 great mercy preserve his Son, w]u)se 
 right it was, and at length by a won- 
 derful jirovidence bring him back, 
 and set him thereon, to restore thy 
 true Religion, and to settle peace 
 amongst us : For those thy great 
 mercies we glorify thy Name, through 
 Jesus Christ our blessed Saviour. 
 Amen. 
 1 Immediately after the Collect [Lighten our 
 
 darkness, /yc.'] shall these three next /o/- 
 
 lou'ing be used.
 
 KING CHARLES THE MARTYR. 
 
 729 
 
 O Lord, we beseecli Sfc, 
 O most mighty God, Sfc. 
 Turn tliou us, Sfc. 
 
 I 
 
 Ai before at 
 Morning 
 Prayer, 
 
 t Immediately before the Prayer of St. 
 (^hrysostom shall this Collect which next 
 followeth be used, 
 
 ALMIGHTY and everlasting 
 God, whose righteousness is 
 lilie the strong mountains, and thy 
 judgements like the great deep ; and 
 who, by that barbarous murder (as 
 on this day) committed upon the 
 sacred Person of thine Anointed, hast 
 taught us that neither the greatest 
 of Kings, nor the best of men, are 
 more secure from violence than from 
 Ps. xc. 12. natural death : Teach us also hereby 
 so to number our days, that we may 
 
 apply our hearts unto wisdom. And 
 grant, that neither the splendour of i 
 any thing that is great, nor the con- 
 ceit of any thing that is good in us, r 
 may withdraw our eyes from looking 
 upon ourselves as sinful dust and c 
 ashes ; but that, according to the 
 exam])le of this thy blessed Martyr, 
 we may press forward to the prize of 
 the high calling that is before us, 
 in faith and patience, humility and 
 meekness, mortification and self-de- 
 nial, charity and constant persever- 
 ance unto the end: And all this for 
 thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ his 
 sake ; to whom with thee and the 
 Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
 rov. iii. 7. 
 
 Phil. iii. II
 
 A FORM OF 
 
 PRAYER WITH THANKSGIYING 
 
 TO ALMIGHTY GOD, 
 
 For having put an ena to the Great Rebellion, by the Restitution of the King 
 and Royal Family, and the Restoration of the Government after many 
 years interruption ; which unspeakable INIercies were wonderfully com- 
 pleted upon the Twenty-ninth of May, in the Year 16G0. And in Memory 
 thereof that Day in every Year is by Act of Parliament appointed to be 
 for ever kept holy. 
 
 51 Tlic Act of Parliament made in the Twelfth, and confirmed in the Thirteenth 
 Year of King Charles the Second, for the Observation of the Ttccnty-Jiinth 
 Dai/ of May yearly, as a Day of Publick Thanksgiving, is to be read 
 jmblichly in all Churches at Morning Prayer, immediately after the Nicene 
 Creed, on the Lord's Day next before every such Trcenty-ninth of Ma}', and 
 notice to be given for the due observation of the said Day. 
 
 ^ The Service shall be the same icilh the usual office for Holy-days ; except where 
 it is in this Office otlierwise appointed. 
 
 f If this Day shall happen to he Ascension-day °, or Whit-Sunday, the Collects 
 of this Office are to be added to the Offices of those Festivals in their proper 
 places: If it be Monday, or Tuesday in Whitsun-wcek, or Trinity Sunday, 
 
 ' If this Day shall happen to be Ascension-day, Sec.'] 
 The second rulirick has already been spoken to under 
 the foregoing form ; but, because this festival falls in 
 such a time of the year, as that it often hajipens to 
 concur with some other great holy-day, which has a 
 proper service appointed for itself; therefore here is a 
 third rubrick of directions in this case, that whenever 
 such concurrence shall happen, the preference shall be 
 given to that other holy-day, and so much of this 
 office as interferes with the service proper for that day 
 shall be omitted. Thus, for instance, it is said in the 
 rubrick, " If this day shall hai)iien to be Ascension- 
 day, or Wliit-Simday", the Collects of this office" (that 
 is, all the prayers of it, for all jirayers are called Collects 
 botli in the ruliricks of this, and all otlicr offices) "are to 
 be added to the office of those festivals in their proper 
 ])laces ; — and the rest of this office shall be omitted ;" 
 that is, the I'sahns, Lessons, Epistle, and (iospel, because 
 both those days have Proper I'sahns, Lessons, Epistles, 
 and (iospels of their own. And that only the portions 
 of .Scri])ture apjjointed for tliis day are to l)e omitted 
 U])(m this occasion, is jilain, because if this dayliajipens 
 to be Monday or Tuesday in \Vhits\ui-week, or Trinity 
 Sunday, (which have no Proper Psalms,) then "the 
 Proper Psalms here ap))ointed for this day, instead of 
 those of ordinary course, shall be also used.'' And 
 because none of tlie days mentioned in the rubrick 
 have any peculiar hymn instead of the " Vcnitc e.x- 
 
 ultemus," therefore the rubrick orders, that "what 
 festival soever shall happen to fall upon this solemn 
 day of thanksgiving, tlie following hymn appointed 
 instead of Venite e.\ultemus shall be constantly used." 
 The only question then remaining is, whether the 
 Litany ought to be used if this day happens to be 
 Ascension-day, or Monday or Tuesday in ^\'hitsun- 
 week (for upon Whit-Sunday and Trinity Sunday it is 
 used of coiu'se). And to this, 1 think, the answer is 
 plain, namely, Tliat the Litany does not interfere with 
 any part of the service appointed for any of those days ; 
 and therefore it should be read (as it is enjoined by this 
 office) for the greater solemnity of this day. Besides, 
 whatever festival hajipens to fall upon this day, " the 
 Collects of this office are to be added to the office of 
 such festival in their proper jilaccs ;" now one of the 
 Collects or prayers of this office is to be said " in the 
 end of the Litany, after the Collect, We humbly 
 beseech thee, O I'ather, Sec." Unless therefore the 
 Litany be read, and that Collect used, one of the 
 Collects of this office cannot he added "in its proper 
 jjlace." Hut one would think there shnidd be no room 
 for any doubt in this matter, when it is said so ex- 
 pressly in the rubrick, that "the Litany .shall always 
 this day be used ;" to imply, imdoubtedly, that though 
 it happen uiion a day, on which otherwise the Litany is 
 not to be used, yet it shall be added on piu'jiose on this 
 occasion. Wheally.
 
 THE RESTORATION OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 731 
 
 the Proper Psalms appnintcd for this Day, insfead of those of ordinarij Course, 
 shall be also used, and the Coller.ts added as before ; anil in all these cases the 
 rest of this Ofjiee shall be ornif/ed: Bat if il shall hajipen to be any other Siindai/, 
 this tvhole Ofp.ee shall be used, as it filloiretli, enJireli/. And leihat Festival 
 soever shall laijipen to fill upon this solemn Day of Thanhsr/iui/a/, the filloiving 
 Hymn appointed instead ofVcinin exultcmus, shall be constantly used. 
 
 f Morning. Prayer shall heejin with 
 these Sentences '. 
 
 TO the Lord our God belon<r mer- 
 cies and forgivenesses, tlioiiu;li 
 we have rebelled against him : nei- 
 ther have we obeyed the voice of 
 the Lord our God, to walk in liis 
 laws which he set before us. Daniel 
 ix. 9, 10. 
 
 It is of the Lord's mercies that we 
 were not consumed : because liis com- 
 passions fail not. Lam. iii. 22. 
 
 f Instead of Venite exultemns shall be sung 
 or said t/iis Hymn following j one Verse by 
 
 ' Morning Prayer shall begin with these Sentences.'] 
 For tlie sentences are appointed one of the ordinary 
 sentences at morning service, (being Daniel's confession 
 of his people's transgression, and of God's mercy, not- 
 withstanding, Dan. ix. 9, 10,) and an additional one 
 out of the book of Lamentations, iii. 22, ascribing 
 our preservation wholly to the mercy and compassion 
 of God. 
 
 II. The follomng hymn, which was new-drawTi up in 
 King James the Second's reign, in the room of another 
 that had been used before, is sufficiently plain and ap- 
 plicable to the day, without any comment. 
 
 III. The Proper Psalms, till King James's reign, 
 were the xxth, xxist, Ixxxvth, and cxviiith. But now 
 they are cxxi\'th, cxxvith, cxxixth, and cxviiith. The 
 fu'st of these hath been already Sjioken to in the office 
 for the " Filth of November." It may veiy projierly 
 be repeated here ; since the papists and sectaries, like 
 Samson's foxes, though they look contrary ways, do yet 
 both join iu carrying fire to destroy us ; their end is 
 the same, though the method be different. 
 
 2. The cxxvith Psalm celebrates the deliverance of 
 the Israelites out of their captivity, which was so 
 sudden and unexpected, that they who saw it thought 
 themselves in a dream, and could scarce he persuaded 
 that the thing was real ; which may exactly be ajiplied 
 to the strange and miraculous turn of affairs at the 
 happy Restoration ; which was so surprising, that 
 those who saw it were in such an ecstasy of joy and 
 wonder, that they were almost afraid that their senses 
 deceived them. 
 
 3. The cxxixth Psalm is a reflection upon the endea- 
 vours of our enemies to destroy us, and an acknow- 
 ledgment of God's continual help in delivering us ; 
 and concludes with a curse denounced upon the ene- 
 mies of the (Church. 
 
 4. The cxviiith Psalm was composed originally for 
 David's coronation after God had brought him from 
 his exile through many troubles, and settled him safely 
 
 the Priest, and another by the Clerk and 
 People, 
 
 MY song shall be alway of tiie 
 loving-kindness of the Lord : 
 with my mouth will I ever be shew- 
 ing fortii his truth from one genera- 
 tion to another. Psalm Ixxxi.x. 1. 
 
 The merciful and e/racious Lord 
 hath so done his marvellous ivorks : 
 that they ought to be had in remem- 
 brance. Psalm cxi. 4. 
 
 Who can express the noble acts of 
 the Lord : or shew forth all his praise ? 
 Psalm cvi. 2. 
 
 The works of the Lord are great : 
 
 on his throne in peace. It is set last because it pecu- 
 liarly relates to the last scene of the Restoration, the 
 crowning of King Charles II. 
 
 IV. The first Lesson, 2 Sam. xix. 9, is almost an 
 exact parallel to our own case, describing how, after 
 .Vbsalom's death, (whereby the Rebellion was ha])pily 
 ended,) the peo])le unanimously resolved to bring 
 back their lawful king David, and sent an honourable 
 message to him in his exile, to invite him home ; and 
 how also ujion this he returned, not only without any 
 op|)osition, but by the general consent and to the great 
 satisfaction of all his subjects ; his i)eo])Ie contending 
 which part of them should shew themselves most for- 
 ward and joyful upon so happy an occasion. 
 
 2. But if any new practices make it necessary to 
 reflect upon that faction and sedition which began the 
 Rebellion, Numbers x\'i. was added by King James, to 
 be used instead of the former, where the exami)le of 
 Korali, Dathan, and Abiram, sets out the greatness 
 of their sin, and the severity of their punishment, who 
 delight in op])osing their lawful governours. 
 
 3. The second Lesson, which is now the Epistle of 
 St. Jude, (but which was Romans xiii. till King 
 James's reign,) foretels the coming of false teachers 
 in the last days, and describes their hypocrisy in pre- 
 tending to sanctity, while their lives are notoriously 
 e\\\ \ remarking jiarticularly their railing at those in 
 authority, and prophesying falsely for a reward, and 
 containing at the same time a prophecy of their fall : 
 and as the character of these was exactly answered by 
 some in those sad times ; so also was their prophecy 
 soon after fulfilled to their ruin and destruction, to 
 warn others to beware of such pretenders. 
 
 VI. The Epistle, I Peter ii. 11 — IS, (e.xcept the two 
 first verses,) is the same with that for January 30, 
 commanding us to be " subject to the King as su- 
 jireme," which is farther confirmed by the Gospel. 
 Wheally.
 
 73-2 THE RESTORATION OF THE ROYAL FAMILV, 
 
 sought out of all them that have plea- 
 sure therein. Psalm cxi. 2. 
 
 The Lord settetli up the meek : 
 and bringeth the ungodly down to 
 the ground. Psalm cxlvii. 6. 
 
 The Lord executetli righteousness 
 and judgement : for all them that are 
 oppressed xcith wrong. Psalm eiii. 6. 
 
 For he will not alway be chiding : 
 neither keepeth he his anger for ever. 
 Ver. 9. 
 
 He hath not dealt ivith us after our 
 sins : nor rewarded us according to our 
 wickedness. Ver. 10. 
 
 For look how high the heaven is in 
 comparison of the earth : so great is 
 his mercy toward them that fear him. 
 Ver. 11. 
 
 Yea, like as a father pitieth his 
 men children : even so is the Lord 
 merciful unto them that fear him. 
 Ver.' 13. 
 
 Thou, O God, hast proved us : 
 thou also hast tried us, even as silver 
 is tried. Psalm Ixvi. 9. 
 
 Thoti sufferedst men to ride over 
 our heads, toe went througli fire and 
 water : but thou hast brought us out 
 into a ivealthi/ place. Ver. 11. 
 
 O how great troubles and adversi- 
 ties hast thou shewed us ! and yet 
 didst thou turn and refresh us : yea, 
 and broughtest us from the deep of 
 the earth again. Psalm Ixxi. 18. 
 
 Thou didst remember us in our lore 
 estate, and redeem us from our enemies : 
 for thy mercy endurethfor ever. Psalm 
 cxxxvi. 23, 24. 
 
 Lord, thou art become gracious 
 unto thy land : thou hast turned 
 away the captivity of Jacob. Psalm 
 Ixxxv. 1. 
 
 God hath sheroed 7ts his qoodness 
 plenteously : and God hath let 7is see 
 our desire upon our enemies. Psalm 
 lix. 10. 
 
 They are brought down and fallen : 
 but we are risen and stand upriglit. 
 Psalm XX. 8. 
 
 There are they fallen, all that work 
 wickedness : they are cast down, and 
 .thall not be able to stand. Psalm 
 XXX vi. 12. 
 
 Tlie Lord liath been miiidfid of us, 
 and he siiall bless us : even lie shall 
 bless the house of Israel, he shall 
 bless the liouse of Aaron. Psalm 
 ex v. 12. 
 
 He shall bless them that fear 
 
 the Lord : both S7nall and great. 
 Ver. 13. 
 
 O that men would therefore praise 
 the Lord for his goodne>s : and de- 
 clare the wonders that he doeth for 
 the children of men ! Psalm cvii. 
 21. 
 
 That they wotild offer unto him 
 the sacrifice of thanksgiving : and tell 
 out his icorks ivith gladness ! Ver. 
 22. 
 
 And not hide them from the chil- 
 dren of the generations to come : 
 but shew the honour of the Lord, his 
 mighty and wonderful works that he 
 hath done ! Psalm Ixxviii. 4. 
 
 That our posterity may also know 
 them, and the children that are yet 
 imborn : and not be as their fore- 
 fathers, a faithless and stubborn gene- 
 ration. Ver. 6. 9. 
 
 Give thanks, O Israel, unto God 
 the Lord in the congregations : from 
 the ground of the heart. Psalm 
 Ixviii. 26. 
 
 Praised be the Lord daily : even 
 the God tvho helpeth us, and poureth 
 his benefts upon us. Ver. 19. 
 
 O let the wickedness of the wicked 
 come to an end : but establish thou 
 the righteous. Psalm vii. 9. 
 
 Let all those that seek thee be joyful 
 and glad in thee : and let all such as 
 love thy salvation say ahcay, The 
 Lord be praised. Psalm xl. 19. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 As it was in the beginning, is noir, 
 and ever shall be : world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 Proper Psalms, cxxiv, cxxvi, c.xxix, 
 
 cxviii. 
 
 Proper Lessons. 
 
 The first, 2 Sam. xix. verse 9. 
 
 or Numb. xvi. 
 
 Te Denm. 
 
 The second. The Epistle of St. Jude. 
 
 Jubilate Deo. 
 
 H The Suffrages next after the Creed shall 
 stand thus. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, shew tliy mercy 
 upon us. 
 
 Answer. A/id grant us thy salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, save the Queen ; 
 
 Answer. JVho puttcth her trust in 
 tfiee.
 
 THE RESTORATION OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 7.3.3 
 
 Priest. Send her help from tliy 
 holy place. 
 
 Answer. And evermore mightilij 
 defend her. 
 
 Priest. Let her enemies liave no 
 advantage against her. 
 
 Answer. JLet not the wicked ap- 
 proach to hurt her. 
 
 Priest. Endue thy Ministers witli 
 righteousness. 
 
 Answer. And make thy chosen 
 people jox/ful. 
 
 Priest. Give peace in our time, 
 O Lord. 
 
 Answer. Because there is none 
 other that Jighteth for us, hut only 
 thou, O God. 
 
 Priest, Be unto us, O Lord, a 
 strong tower. 
 
 Answer. From the face of our 
 enemies. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, hear our prayer. 
 
 Answer. Aiid let our cry come unto 
 thee. 
 
 IT Instead of the first Collect at Morning 
 Prayer shall these two which follow be used. 
 
 Almighty God, who art a strong 
 tower of defence unto thy ser- 
 vants against the face of their ene- 
 
 ps. ixi. 3. mies ; We yield thee praise and 
 thanksgiving for the wonderful deli- 
 verance of these Kingdoms from 
 THE GREAT REBELLION, 
 and all the Miseries and Ojipres- 
 sions consequent thereupon, under 
 
 Vs. xviii. 48, wliicli they had so long groaned. 
 
 i9;cxxiv. 6. ^g acknowledge it thy goodness, 
 that we were not utterly delivered 
 over as a prey unto them ; beseech- 
 ing thee still to continue such thy 
 
 Ps. cix. 26, mercies towards us, that all the world 
 
 ilk xiix 26 "^^y know that thou art our Saviour 
 aiul mighty Deliverer; through Je- 
 sus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 o 
 
 /~\ Lord God of our salvation. 
 
 Ps. Ixv. 5 
 
 ixxxv'^i' V^ ^vlio hast been exceedingly 
 gracious unto this land, and by 
 thy miraculous providence didst de- 
 liver us out of our miserable con- 
 fusions; by restoring to us, and to 
 his own just and undoubted Rights, 
 our then most gracious Sovereign 
 Lord, King Charles the Second, 
 notwithstanding all the power and 
 malice of his enemies ; and, by 
 placing him on the Throne of these 
 Kingdoms, didst restore also unto 
 us the publick and free profession 
 
 of thy true Religion and Worslii]), 
 together with our former J'eace and 
 Prosperity, to the great comfort and 
 joy of our hearts : We are here now 
 before thee, with all due thankful- 
 ness, to acknowledge thine unspeak- 
 able goodness herein, as upon this 
 day shewed unto us, and to offer 
 unto thee our sacrifice of praise for 
 the same ; humbly beseeching thee 
 to accept this our unfeigned, though nom. xii. i. 
 unworthy oblation of ourselves ; vow- 
 ing all holy obedience in thought, 
 word, and work, inito thy Divine 
 Majesty; and promising all loyal 
 and dutiful Allegiance to thine 
 Anointed Servant now set over us, 
 and to her Heirs after her ; whom i Tim. ii. 
 we beseech thee to bless with all ''^' 
 increase of grace, honour, and hap- 
 })ine,ss, in this world, and to crown 
 her with immortality and glory in 
 the world to come, for Jesus Christ 
 his sake our only Lord and Saviour. 
 Amen. 
 
 \ In the end of the Litany (which shall always 
 this Day be used) after the Collect [We 
 humbly beseech thee, O Father, (^'c] shall 
 this be said which next followeth. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who hast 
 in all ages shewed forth thy 
 power and mercy in the miraculous 
 and gracious deliverances of thy 
 Church, and in the protection of 
 righteous and religious Kings and 
 States, professing thy holy and 
 eternal truth, from the malicious 
 Conspiracies and wicked Practices 
 of all their enemies ; We yield unto 
 thee our unfeigned thanks and praise, 
 as for thy many other great and 
 public mercies, so especially for that 
 signal and wonderful Deliverance, 
 by thy wise and good Providence as 
 upon this day completed, and vouch- 
 safed to our then most gracious 
 Sovereign, King Charles the Second, 
 and all the Royal Family, and in 
 them, to this whole Church and 
 State, and all orders and degrees 
 of men in both, from the unnatural 
 Rebellion, Usurpation, and Tyranny 
 of ungodly and cruel men, and from 
 the sad confusions and ruin there- 
 upon ensuing. From all these, O gra- 
 cious and merciful Lord God, not 
 our merit, but thy mercy ; not our 
 foresight, but thy Providence ; not 
 our own arm, but thy right hand,
 
 7;34 THE RESTORATION OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 
 
 and thine arm, did rescue and deli- 
 ver us. And therefore, not unto us, 
 O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy 
 Name be ascribed all Honour, and 
 Glory, and Praise, with most humble 
 and hearty thanks, in all Churches 
 of the Saints : Even so blessed be 
 the Lord our God, who alone doeth 
 wondrous things, and blessed be the 
 Name of his Majesty for ever; 
 throuojh Jesus Christ our Lord and 
 only Saviour. Amen. 
 
 IT In the Communion Service, immediately be- 
 fore the reading of the Epistle, shall these 
 two Collects be used, instead of the Collect 
 for the Queen and the Collect of the Day. 
 
 O Almighty God, Sfc. ~\ As before at 
 O Lord God of our sal- > Morning 
 
 ration, §r. ) Prayer. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 St. Peter ii. 11. 
 
 DEARLY beloved, I beseech 
 you as strangers and pilgrims, 
 abstain from fleshly lusts, which war 
 against the soul ; having your con- 
 versation honest among the Gen- 
 tiles : that, whereas they speak 
 against you as evil-doers, they may, 
 by your good works which they 
 shall behold, glorify God in the day 
 of visitation. Submit yourselves to 
 every ordinance of man for the 
 Lord's sake ; whether it be to the 
 King, as supreme ; or unto Govern- 
 ours, as unto them that are sent by 
 liim for the punishment of evil-doers, 
 and for the praise of them that do 
 well. For so is the will of God, that 
 with well-doing ye may put to silence 
 the ignorance of foolish men : as free, 
 and not using your liberty for a clokc 
 of maliciousness, but as the servants 
 of God. Honour all men. Love 
 the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour 
 the King. 
 
 The Gospel. St. Matth. xxii. 16. 
 
 AN D they sent out unto him 
 their disciples, with tiie Ile- 
 rodians, saying, Master, we know 
 that thou art true, and tcachcst tiic 
 way of God in truth, neither carest 
 thou for any man ; for thou regardost 
 not the person of men. Tell us 
 therefore, wiiat thinkest thou ? Is 
 it lawful to give tribute unto Ciesar, 
 or not ? But Jesus perceived tlicir 
 wickedness, and said. Why tempt ye 
 me, ye liyj)ocritc8 ? Shew me tlic 
 
 tribute-money. And they brought 
 unto him a penny. And he saith 
 unto them. Whose is this image and 
 superscription ? They say unto him, 
 Cffisar's. Then saith he unto them. 
 Render therefore imto Csesar the 
 things which are Caesar's ; and unto 
 God the things tliat are God's. 
 When they had heard these words, 
 they marvelled, and left Lim, and 
 went their way. 
 
 H In the Offertory shall this Sentence be read. 
 
 NO T every one that saith unto 
 me. Lord, Lord, shall enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven : but 
 he that doeth (he will of my Father 
 which is in heaven. St. Matth. vii. 
 21. 
 
 IT After the Prayer [For the whole state of 
 Christ's Chiu'ch, ^-c] this Collect fol- 
 lowing shall be used. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God and heavenly 
 Father, who, of thine infinite 
 and unspeakable goodness towards 
 us, didst in a most extraordinary 
 and wonderful manner disappoint 
 and overthrow the wicked designs 
 of those traiterous, heady, and high- 
 minded men, who, under the pre- 
 tence of Religion and thy most holy 
 Name, had contrived, and well-nigh 
 effected the utter destruction of this 
 Church and Kingdom : As we do this 
 day most heartily and devoutly adore 
 and magnify thy glorious Name for 
 this thine infinite goodness already 
 vouchsafed to us ; so do we most 
 humbly beseech thee to continue thy 
 grace and favour towards us, that no 
 such dismal calamity may ever again 
 fall upon us. Infatuate and defeat 
 all the secret counsels of deceitful 
 and wicked men against us; Abate 
 their pride, asswage tlieir malice, and 
 confound their devices. Strengthen 
 the liands of our gracious Sovereign 
 Queen I'lCTORIA, and all that 
 are put in authority under her, with 
 judgement and justice to cut off all 
 such workers of iiii(piity, as turn 
 Religion into Rebellion, and Isiith 
 into Faction ; that they may never 
 again jtrevail against us, nor triumph 
 in the ruin of the Monarchy and thy 
 Ciiurch among us. Protect and de- 
 fend our Sovereign Lady the Queen, 
 with the whole Royal Family, from 
 all Treasons and Consjiiracics. Be
 
 Pa, 
 
 Isi. 
 
 3. 
 
 !•». fix 
 i-x.\\ii. 
 
 IS. 
 
 THE RESTORATION OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 7.35 
 
 over, and will always be sliowinj^ 
 forth tliy praise from fi;(>ncrati()ii to 
 l^eiieration : tliroiiuli .losus Christ 
 our only Saviour and Rcdecnifr, to 
 whom, with theo, O Father, and tlie 
 Holy Gliost, he glory in tlie Cliurch 
 tliroughout all ages, world without 
 end. Amen. 
 
 unto her an helmet of salvation, and 
 a strong tower of defence against the 
 face of all her enemies; clothe them 
 with shame and confusion, hut u])on 
 Herself and her Posterity let the 
 Crown for ever flourish. So we 
 Ts. ixxix. 11. thy people, and the shee[) of thy 
 pasture, will give thee thanks for
 
 A FORM OF 
 
 PEAYER WITH THANKSGIYING 
 
 TO ALMIGHTY GOD; 
 
 To be used in all Churches and Chapels within this Realm, every Year, upon 
 the Twentieth Day oi June ; being the Day on which Her Majesty Began 
 her happy Reign. 
 
 1[ The Service shall be the same with the usual Office for Holy-days in all things ; 
 
 except tchere it is in this Office othcricise appointed. 
 ^ If this Day shall happen to be Sunday, this ichole Office shall be used, as it 
 
 fuUoiceth entirely. 
 
 f Morning Prayer shall begin with 
 these Senterices ^. 
 
 I Exhort that first of all, Suppli- 
 cations, Prayers, Intercessions, 
 
 8 A Form of Prayer with Thanksgiving &c.] " As the 
 godly Christian emperors in ancient times, so it appears 
 tiiat our most religious princes since the Reformation, 
 have always caused the days of their inaugurations to 
 be publickly celebrated by all their subjects with 
 jjrayers and thanksgivings to Almighty God." See 
 (;an. 2, 1640, in Bp. Sparrow's collection; and King 
 James II. 's order fcjr the service on the Cth of I'cbruary. 
 And to the end that this day might be duly celebrated, 
 we find that " particular forms of prayer have l)eeii 
 ajipointed by authority," at least ever since the reign 
 of King Charles I. " for that day on jjurpose." It is 
 true, after the death of that jirincc, " this [jious custom 
 received a long and doleful interruption, upon occa- 
 sion of his murder, which changed the day, on which 
 King Charles 11. succeeded to the crown, into a day 
 of sorrow and fasting." And indeed a great ])art of the 
 duty of that day, and the devotions projicr to it, were 
 j)erformed in the service for the twenty-nintli of .May. 
 However, upon King .lames II. 's accession, " the former 
 laudable and religious practice was iuunediately revi\X'd ; 
 a form of prayer and thanksgiving having been com- 
 posed by the Ijishojis for this purjiose," in many things 
 agreeing with this we now use. Hut in the reign of 
 King William the inauguration festival was again dis- 
 used : and it must be owned there was so much the 
 less occasion for it during his reign, as tlicre were large 
 additions made to the form of thanksgiving apjiointed 
 for the " I'ifth of .November," to commemorate his 
 arrival, wliich hajipened on that day. However, when 
 our late glorious and pious Queen Anne succeeded to 
 
 and giving of Thanks, be made for 
 all men; for Kings, and for all 
 that are in authority; that we may 
 lead a quiet and peaceable life, in 
 all godliness and honesty: For this 
 
 the throne, there was fresh occasion to revive the 
 festival. And therefore the day was again ordered to 
 be observed, and a form of ])rayer with thanksgiving 
 drawn up, part of it being taken from King James's 
 office, and part of it being comjiosed entirely new ; 
 and it is, altogether, the same (e.\cei)t the first Lesson) 
 with the present office, which comes now in order to 
 be e\])lained. IVheatly. 
 
 *' iloniitig Prayer shall begin vith these Sentences.^ 
 The rubricks are the same as in the foregoing offices ; 
 and so the sentences are the first that need to be con- 
 sidered : and of these it is sufficient to say, that the 
 first is a iirojier introduction to tlie duties we are now 
 going to perform, 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2; and that the other 
 is one of the ordinary sentences at morning service, 
 1 John i. H, 9, and inserted here, in order to prepare us 
 for tlie following confession. 
 
 II. Tlie Hymn is an al)ridgmcnt of a nmch longer 
 one that was appointed in the office drawn uj) for King 
 James II. However this, as it stands, is as proper to 
 the occasion, containing suitable petitions and praises 
 for the King. 
 
 III. The Proper Psalms are Psalm x.v, xxi. ci. The 
 xxth is a Psalm of David, wlierein the people are 
 taught to pray for his good success. 
 
 2. The xxist was originally composed iijion the same 
 account for which we now nudie rholcc of it, namely, to 
 be a form of jndjlick prayer, to be useil in the congre- 
 gation for God's blessing on the ])rince. 
 
 3. The cist Psalm is a resolution that David made 
 to be a strict observer of piety and justice both in his
 
 A FORM OF PRAYER FOR THE TWENTIETH OF JUNE. 737 
 
 is good and acceptal)lc unto God our 
 Saviour. 1 Tim. ii. 1 — 3. 
 
 If we say that we have no sin, 
 we deceive ourselves, and the trutli 
 is not in us; l)iit, if we confess our 
 sins, lie is faitliful and just to for- 
 f^ive us our sins, and to cleanse us 
 from ail unrigliteousness. 1 St. John 
 i. 8, 9. 
 
 H Instead of Venite exultemus the Hymn 
 followiny shall be said or sung : one verse 
 by the Priest, and another by the Clerk and 
 People. 
 
 OLord our Governour : liow 
 excellent is tliy Name in all 
 the world ! Psalm viii. I. 
 
 Lord, ichat is man, thai thou hast 
 such respect unto him : or the son of 
 man, that thou so regardest him ? 
 Psalm cxliv. 3. 
 
 The merciful and gracious Lord 
 hatli so done his marvellous works : 
 that they ought to be had in remem- 
 brance. Psalm cxi. 4. 
 
 O that men would therefore praise 
 the Lord for his ffoodncss : and de- 
 clare the wonders that he doeth for 
 the children of men! Psalm cvii. 21. 
 
 Behold, O God our Defender : 
 and look upon the face of thine 
 Anointed. Psalm Ixxxiv. 9. 
 
 O hold thou up his goinys in thy 
 paths : that his footsteps slip not. 
 Psalm xvii. 5. 
 
 Grant the King a long life : and 
 make hiin glad with the joy of thy 
 countenance. Ps. Ixi. 6. & xxi. 6. 
 
 Let him dwell before thee for ever: 
 O prepare thy loving mercy and 
 fiithfidness, that they may pre$e?-ve 
 him. Psalm Ixi. 7. 
 
 In his time let the righteous 
 flourish : and let peace be in all 
 our borders. Psalm Ixxii. 7. & 
 cxlvii. 14. 
 
 As for his enemies, clothe them toith 
 shame : but upon himself let his croicn 
 flourish. Psalm cxxxii. 19. 
 
 Blessed be the Lord God, even 
 
 private and publick conduct, and is appointed here to 
 remind us, that whoever desires God's blessing upon 
 his person and government, must diligently attend to 
 discountenance impiety, and to nom-ish true religion 
 and virtue. In the room of this Psalm, in King 
 James's office, were ajjpointed the Ixxxvth and the 
 cxviiith ; but they being both chosen with an eye to 
 the exile, which that prince underwent with his royal 
 brother, were, in the office for Queen Anne, more 
 properly changed. 
 
 IV. The first Lesson in Queen Anne's time was 
 
 the God of Israel : which only doeth 
 wondrous things. Psalm Ixxii. 18. 
 
 And blessed be the Name of his 
 Majesfi/ fir ever : and all the earth 
 shall be filed loith his Majesty. Amen, 
 Amen. \'er. 19. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the 
 Son : and to the Holy (jliost; 
 
 As it icas in the beginning, is now, 
 and ever shall be : tvorld without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 Proper Psalms, xx, xxi, ci. 
 
 Proper Lessons. 
 
 The first, Joshua i. to the end of the 
 
 9th verse. 
 
 Te Deum. 
 
 The second, Romans xiii. 
 
 Jubilate Deo. 
 
 % The Suffrages next after the Creed shall 
 stand thus. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, shew thy mercy 
 upon us. 
 
 Answer. And grant us thy salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, save the Queen ; 
 
 Answer. JVho putteth her trust in 
 thee. 
 
 Priest. Send her help from thy 
 holy place. 
 
 Answer. And evermore mightily 
 defend her. 
 
 Priest. Let her enemies have no 
 advantage asrainst her. 
 
 Answer. Let not the iviched ap- 
 proach to hurt her. 
 
 Priest. Endue thy Ministers with 
 righteousness. 
 
 Answer. And make thy chosen 
 people joyful. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, save thy people. 
 
 Answer. And bless thine inherit- 
 ance. 
 
 Priest. Give peace in our time, 
 O Lord. 
 
 Answer. Because there is none 
 other that fighteth for us, but only 
 thou, O God. 
 
 Prov. viii. 13, to the end : but now the first of Joshua 
 is again appointed, which was the Lesson for this 
 office when it was put out by King James. 
 
 2. The second Lesson, Romans xiii, is appointed 
 upon account of that part of it which is read for the 
 Epistle on November 5, of which what I have there 
 said may suffice. 
 
 V. The Epistle and Gospel are the same with those 
 appointed on the '29th of Alay, and have already been 
 spoken to in my discourse on that office. Wheatly. 
 
 3 B
 
 738 
 
 A FORM OF PRAYER 
 
 unto us, O Lord, a 
 
 2 Kings xlx. 
 
 15. 
 
 2 Chron. xx. 
 
 6. 
 
 Dan. iv. 25. 
 
 Ps. Ixsxix. 
 21. 
 
 rs. Ixxii. 7. 
 
 Rom. xiii. 5. 
 
 Priest. Be 
 
 strong tower ; 
 
 Answer. From the face of our 
 enemies. 
 
 Priest. O Lord, hear our prayer ; 
 Answer. And let our cry come 
 unto thee. 
 
 IT Instead of the first Collect at Morning 
 Prayer shall be used this following Collect 
 of Thanksgiving for Her Majesty's Acces- 
 sion to the Throne. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, who rulest 
 over all the kingdoms of the 
 World, and disposes! of them accord- 
 ing to thy good pleasure ; We yield 
 thee unfeigned thanks, for that thou 
 wast pleased, as on this day, to place 
 thy servant, our Sovereign Lady, 
 Queen VICTOItIA, upon the throne 
 of this Realm. Let thy wisdom be 
 her guide, and let thine arm strengthen 
 her; let justice, truth, and holiness, 
 let peace and love, and all those 
 virtues that adorn the Christian Pro- 
 fession, flourish in her days; direct 
 all her counsels and endeavours to 
 thy glory, and the welfare of her 
 people; and give us grace to obey 
 her cheerfully and willingly for con- 
 science sake ; that neither our sinful 
 passions, nor our private interests, 
 may disappoint her cares for the 
 publick good ; let her always possess 
 the hearts of her people, that they 
 may never be wanting in iionour to 
 her Person, and dutiful submission 
 to her Authority ; let her reign be 
 long and pros]ierous, and crown her 
 with immortality in the life to come ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 % In the end of the Litany (which shall always 
 be used upon this Day) after the Collect 
 [Weluimlily liescech tliee, () Father, ^c] 
 shall till' following Prayer, for the Queen 
 and Royal Family, be used. 
 
 OLord our God, who iiplioldest 
 and governest all things in 
 heaven and eartli, receive our hum- 
 ble ])rayers, with our hearty thanks- 
 givings, for our Sovereign Lady 
 VICTORIA, as on this day, set 
 over us by thy grace and providence 
 to be our Queen; and so togetiicr 
 with iier bless the Prince Albert, 
 Alhert Prince of Wales, and all tiie 
 Royal Family; that they all, ever 
 trusting in thy goodness, prolectcd 
 by thy jiowcr, and crowiu>d with tliy 
 gracious and endless favour, may 
 
 M' 
 
 continue before thee in healtli, peace, 
 joy, and honour, and may live long 
 and hajipy lives upon earth, and 
 after death obtain everlasting life and 
 glory in the kingdom of heaven, by 
 the Merits and Mediation of Christ 
 Jesus our Saviour, who with the 
 Father and the Holy Spirit, liveth 
 and reigneth ever one God, world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 T Then shall follow this Collect, for God's 
 protection of the Queen against all her 
 enejnies. 
 
 O S T gracious God, who hast 
 
 set thy servant VICTORIA 
 
 our Queen upon the Throne of her 
 Ancestors, we most humbly beseech 
 thee to protect her on the same from 
 all the dangers to which she may be 
 exposed ; Hide her from the gather- p»- ixiv- 2- 
 ing together of the froward, and from 
 the insurrection of wicked doers; 
 Do thou weaken the hands, blast the 
 designs, and defeat the enterprizes 
 of all her enemies, that no secret 
 conspiracies, nor open violences, may 
 disquiet her Reign ; but that, being 
 safely kept under the shadow of thy P"-ivii. 8. 
 wing, and supported by thy power, 
 she may triumph over all opposition; 
 that so the world may acknowledge 
 tliee to be her defender and mighty isa. xiix. 21 
 deliverer in all difficulties and ad- 
 versities ; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 1 
 
 Then the Prayer for the High Court of 
 Parliament {if sitting). 
 1i In the Communion Service, immediately be- 
 fore the reading of the Epistle, instead of 
 the Collect for the Queen, and that of the 
 Day, shall be used this Prayer for the 
 Queen, as supreme Governour of this 
 Church. 
 
 LESS ED Lord, 
 
 who hast 
 
 called Christian princes to the 
 defence of thy Faith, and hast made 
 it their duty to promote the spiritual 
 welfare, together with the temporal 
 interest of their people ; We ac- 
 knowledge with humble and thankful 
 hearts tliy great goodness to us, in 
 setting thy Servant our most gra- 
 cious Queen over this Church and 
 Nation ; Give her, we beseech thee, 
 all those heavenly graces that are 
 re(|uisite for so high a trust ; Let 
 the work of thee her (iod prosper in' 
 her hands; Let her eyes behold the 
 success of her designs for the service i»i. lui, 10. 
 of thy true Religion established
 
 FOR THE TWENTIETH OF JUNE. 
 
 7;3!) 
 
 amongst us ; and make her a blessed 
 instrument of protecting and ad- 
 vancing thy Truth, wlierever it is 
 ])ersecuted and oppressed ; Let Hy- 
 jiocrisy and Profaneness, Supersti- 
 tion and Idolatry, fly before lier 
 face ; Let not Heresies and false 
 Doctrines disturb the peace of the 
 Church, nor Schisms and causeless 
 Divisions vifeaken it ; but grant us 
 Acts iv. 32. to be of one heart and one mind in 
 2Cor.xM.. II. serving thee our God, and obeying 
 her according to thy will : And that 
 these blessings may be continued to 
 after-ages, let there never be one 
 Jer. xxxiii. wanting in her house to succeed her 
 in the government of this United 
 Kingdom, that our posterity may see 
 her children's children, and peace 
 Ps. cxxv. 5; upon Israel. So we that are thy 
 Ps!'uxix.i4. people, and sheep of thy pasture, 
 shall give thee thanks for ever, and 
 will always be shewing forth thy 
 praise from generation to generation. 
 Amen. 
 
 The Epistle. 1 St. Peter ii. IL 
 
 DEARLY beloved, I beseech 
 you as strangers and pilgrims, 
 abstain from fleshly lusts, which war 
 against the soul ; having your con- 
 versation honest among the Gentiles: 
 that, whereas they speak against 
 you as evil-doers, they may, by 
 your good works vi'hich they shall 
 behold, glorify God in the day 
 of visitation. Submit yourselves 
 to every ordinance of man for 
 the Lord's sake ; whether it be 
 to the King, as supreme; or unto 
 Governours, as unto them that are 
 sent by him for the punishment of 
 evil-doers, and for the praise of them 
 that do well. For so is the will of 
 God, that with well-doing ye may 
 put to silence the ignorance of foolish 
 men : as free, and not using your 
 liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, 
 but as the servants of God. Honour 
 all men. Love the brotherhood. 
 Fear God. Honour the King. 
 
 The Gospel St. Matth. xxii. 16. 
 
 AND they sent out unto him 
 their disciples, with the He- 
 rodians, saying. Master, we know 
 that thou art true, and teachest the 
 way of God in truth, neither carest 
 thou for any man ; for thou regardcst 
 not the person of men. Tell us 
 
 therefore, What thinkost thou ? Is 
 it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, 
 or not? But Jesus perceived their 
 wickedness, and said, Why tem])t ye 
 me, ye hypocrites ? Siievv nic tlie 
 tribute-money. And they brought 
 unto him a ])eny. And he saith 
 unto them. Whose is this image and 
 superscription ? They .say unto him, 
 Ca!.sar's. Then saith he unto them. 
 Render therefore unto Caesar the 
 things which are Cfe.sar's; and unto 
 God the things that are God's. 
 When they had heard these words, 
 they marvelled, and left him, and 
 went their way. 
 
 % After the Nicene Creed shall follow the 
 Sermon. 
 
 IT In the Offertory shall this Sentence be read: 
 
 LET your light so shine before 
 men, that they may see your 
 good works, and glorify your Father 
 which is in heaven. St. Matth. v. 
 16. 
 
 t After the Prayer [For the whole state of 
 Christ's Church c^-c] these Collects foU 
 lowmg shall be used. 
 
 A Prayer for Unity. 
 
 OGod the Father of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, 
 the Prince of Peace; Give us grace 
 seriously to lay to heart the great 
 dangers we are in by our unhappy 
 divisions. Take away all hatred and 
 prejudice, and whatsoever else may 
 hinder us from godly Union and 
 Concord : that, as there is but one 
 Body, and one Spirit, and one Hope 
 of our Calling, one Lord, one Faith, 
 one Baptism, one God and Father of 
 us all, so we may henceforth be all 
 of one heart, and of one soul, united Acts iv. 32. 
 in one holy bond of Truth and Peace, Eph.'iv.'s! 
 of Faith and Charity, and may with 
 one mind and one mouth glorify 
 thee ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. xv. e. 
 Amen. 
 
 GRANT, O Lord, we beseech 
 thee, that the course of this 
 world may be so peaceably ordered 
 by thy governance, that thy Church 
 may joyfully serve thee in all godly 
 quietness, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 GR A N T, we beseech thee, Al- 
 mighty God, that the words, 
 which we have heard this day with 
 3 B 2
 
 740 A FORM OF PRAYER FOR THE TWENTIETH OF JUNE. 
 
 our outward ears, may tlirougli tliy 
 grace be so grafted inwardly in our 
 hearts, that tliey may bring forth in 
 us the fruit of good living, to tlie 
 honour and praise of thy Name ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 ylme7i. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, the foun- 
 tain of all wisdom, who know- 
 est our necessities before we ask, 
 and our ignorance in asking ; We 
 beseech thee to iiave compassion 
 upon our infirmities ; and those 
 things which for our unworthiness 
 
 we dare not, and for our blindness 
 we cannot ask, vouchsafe to give us 
 for the worthiness of thy Son Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Ameii. 
 
 THE peace of God, which pass- 
 eth all understanding, keep your 
 hearts and minds in the knowledge 
 and love of God, and of his Son 
 Jesus Christ our Lord : And the 
 blessing of God Almighty, the Fa- 
 ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
 be amongst you, and remain with 
 )'ou always. Amen. 
 
 « VICTORIA R. 
 " /~\ U R Will and Pleasure is ', That these four Forms of Prayer and 
 " \J Service, made for the Fifth of November, the Thirtieth of January, 
 " the Twenty-ninth of May, and the Twentieth of June, be forthwith 
 " printed and published, and annexed to the Book of Common Prayer 
 " and Liturgy of the LTnited Church of England and Ireland ; to be used 
 " yearly on the said Days, in all Catiiedral and Collegiate Churches and 
 " Chapels, in all Chapels of Colleges and Halls within our Universities 
 " of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, and of our Colleges of Eton 
 " and Winchester, and in all Parish Churches and Chapels within tiiose 
 " parts of our United Kingdom of Great Britain called England and 
 " Ireland. 
 
 " Given at our Court at Kensington the twenty-first day of 
 " June, 1837, in the first Year of our Reign. 
 
 " By Her Majesty's Command, 
 
 « J. RUSSELL." 
 
 ' Our Will and Pleasure is, &c.] Although the due 
 observation of the fifth of November, the thirtieth of 
 .lanuary, and tlie twety-nintli of May is injoincd by Act 
 (if Parhament ; yet tlie particular forms, to be used on 
 those days, arc not previously directed, nor subse- 
 quently confirmed, by any Act of Parliament : but 
 tliey are specially authoriz-ed, as is also that of the 
 Queen's inauguration, by this order of her Majesty. 
 The inauguration day, or the day when the king or 
 queen, for the time being, began their respective reigns, 
 is not injoincd by Act of Parliament, as are the other 
 solemn days, for which particular services are appointed. 
 
 Some have questioned, by what authority of law this 
 solemnity, as also the other occasional thanksgivings 
 and fasts appointed by the king, are kejit. Upon 
 which Mr. Johnson observeth, in his Clergyman's Vade 
 Mecum, that it is sufficient in this case, as he thinketh, 
 that the two Houses of Parliament have and do own 
 tliis power to be lodged in the crown, as they do by 
 submitting to these royal commands in observing such 
 days, and sometimes petitioning him to order these 
 religious solemnities. Dr. Burn,
 
 APPENDIX.
 
 A FORM OF PRAYER 
 
 VISITATION OF PRISONERS", 
 
 Treated upon by the Archbishops and Bisliops, and the rest of the Clergy 
 of Ireland, and agreed upon by Her Majesty's Licence in tlieir Synod, 
 holden at Dublin, in the year 1711. 
 
 If When Morning or Evening Prayers shall be read in any Prison, instead of the 
 Venite exultemus, or the Magnificat, shall be read the \30th Psalm De 
 profundis, ujid the Minister shall insert, after the Collect fur the Day, the 
 Collect in the folloioiny Service, [O God, who sjiarest, &c.] a7id at such times 
 as the Litany is not read, lie shall add the Prayer, O God, merciful Father, 
 that despisest not, &c. 
 
 H And when notice is given to the Minister that a Prisoner is confined for some 
 great or capital Crime, he shall visit him, and tvhen he cometh into the Place 
 where the Prisoner is, he shall say, kneeling down. 
 
 REMEMBER not. Lord, our 
 iniquities, nor the iniquities of 
 our forefathers, neither take thou 
 vengeance of our sins ; Spare us, 
 good Lord, spare thy people, whom 
 thou hast redeemed with thy most 
 precious blood, and be not angry 
 with us for ever. 
 
 Ansioer, Spare us, good Lord. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Christ, have mercy upon us. 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 OU R Father, whicli art in hea- 
 ven. Hallowed be thy Name. 
 TJiy kingdom come. Thy will be 
 done in earth, As it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 And forgive us our trespasses. As we 
 forgive them that trespass against us. 
 And lead us not into temptation ; 
 But deliver us from evil. Amen. 
 
 ^ The Editor has taken the liherty of appending the 
 following Fonn of Prayer to the present edition of the 
 Liturgy, on the suggestion of a reverend correspondent, 
 who has experienced its utility in the discharge of his 
 important duties in a county gaol, of which he is chap- 
 lain, in this part of the United Kingdom. Recom- 
 mended as it is by its own merits, as well as by the 
 
 Minister. O Lord, shew thy mercy 
 upon us. 
 
 Ansiver. And grant us thy salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Minister. Turn tliy face from our 
 sins. 
 
 Ansiuer. And blot out all our ini- 
 quities. 
 
 Minister. Send us help from thy 
 holy place. 
 
 Answer. For thine indignation 
 lieth hard upon us. 
 
 Minister. O Lord, hear our prayer. 
 
 Ansioer. And let the sighing of 
 the Prisoners come before tnee. 
 
 The Collect. 
 
 GRANT, we beseech thee. Al- 
 mighty God, that we, who for 
 our evil deeds do worthily deserve 
 to be punished, by the comfort of 
 thy grace may mercifully be relieved. 
 
 distinguished sanction specified in the Introduction to 
 it above, it will probably be considered a valuable 
 manual for the purpose for which it is designed, by 
 those of the English, no less than of the Irish clergy, 
 into whose hands this edition of the Book of Common 
 Prayer may happen to fall.
 
 744 
 
 THE VISITATION OF PRISONERS. 
 
 through our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. Amen. 
 
 OGod, who sparest when we de- 
 serve punishment, and in thy 
 wrath reinemberest mercy, we lium- 
 bly beseech thee of thy goodness, to 
 comfort and succour all those who 
 are under reproach and misery in 
 the house of bondage ; correct them 
 not in thine anger, neither chasten 
 them in thy sore displeasure ; give 
 them a right understanding of them- 
 selves, and of thy threats and pro- 
 mises, tliat they may neither cast 
 away their confidence in tiiee, nor 
 place it any where but in thee ; re- 
 lieve the Distressed, protect the In- 
 nocent, and awaken the Guilty ; and 
 forasmuch as thou alone bringest 
 light out of darkness, and good out 
 of evil, grant that the pains and pu- 
 nislnnents which these thy servants 
 endure, through their bodily confine- 
 ment, may tend to the setting free 
 tiieir souls from the chains of sin, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 U Here the Minister, as he shall see con- 
 venient, may read the Prayer for All 
 Conditions of Men, the Collect for Ash- 
 Wednesday, and the Collect after the 
 Offertory, beginning. Almighty God, the 
 fountain of all wisdom, &c. or any other 
 Prayer of the Liturgy, which he shall judge 
 proper. 
 
 t Then shall the Minister exhort the Prisoner 
 or Prisoners after this Form, or other 
 like. 
 
 DEARLY beloved, know tliis, 
 that Almighty God, whose 
 never- failing providence governeth 
 all things both in heaven and earth, 
 liath so wisely and mercifully ordered 
 the course of this world, that his 
 judgements are often sent as fatherly 
 corrections to us : and if with due 
 submission and resignation to his 
 holy will we receive tiie same, they 
 \vili work together for our good. 
 
 It is your part and duty therefore 
 to humble yourself under tlie mighty 
 Jiand of God, to acknowledge the 
 rigiiteousness of Ids judgements, and 
 to endeavour, that by his grace tins 
 present Visitation may lead you to a 
 sincere and hearty re])('ntance. 
 
 'J'lie way and means tliereto is, to 
 examine your life and conversation 
 by the rule of God's commandments, 
 
 and whereinsoever you shall per- 
 ceive yourself to have offended either 
 by will, word, or deed, there to be- 
 wail your own sinfulness, and to con- 
 fess j'ourself to Almighty God, with 
 full purpose of amendment of life : 
 and if you shall perceive your of- 
 fences to be such as are not only 
 against God, but also against your 
 Neighbours, then to reconcile your- 
 self to them, being ready to make 
 restitution and satisfaction, according 
 to the uttermost of your power, for 
 all injuries and ^Tongs done by you 
 to any other ; and being likewise 
 ready to forgive others that have 
 offended you, as you would have for- 
 giveness of your offences at God's 
 hand : and to this true repentance 
 and change of mind you must add a 
 lively and stedfast faith, and depend- 
 ance upon the merits of the death 
 of Christ, with an entire resignation 
 of yourself to the will of God. Ex- 
 cept you repent, and believe, we 
 can give you no hope of salvation : 
 but if you do sincerely repent and 
 believe, God has declared, though 
 your sins be as red as scarlet, they 
 shall be made white as snow ; though 
 your wickednesses Iiave gone over 
 your head, yet shall they not be yonr 
 destruction. 
 
 We exhort you therefore in the 
 Name of God, and of his dear Son 
 Jesus Christ our Saviour, and as you 
 tender your own salvation, to take 
 good heed of these things in time, 
 while the day of salvation lastetli, 
 for the night cometh when no man 
 can work. While you have the 
 light, believe in the light, and walk 
 as children of the light, that you be 
 not east into outer darkness ; that 
 you may not knook when the door 
 shall be shut, and cry too late for 
 mercy, when it is the time of justice. 
 Now you are the object of God's 
 mercy, if by repentance and true 
 faith you turn unto him ; but if you 
 neglect these things, you will be the 
 object of his justice and vengeance. 
 Now you may claim the merits of 
 Christ; but if you die in your sins, 
 liis sufferings will tend to your 
 greater condemnation. O beloved, 
 consider in this your day, how fear- 
 ful a thing it will be to fall into the 
 hands of the living God, when you
 
 THE VISITATION OF PIIISONEIIS. 
 
 745 
 
 can neither fly to Iiis mercy to pro- 
 tect yon, nor to the merits of Christ 
 to cover you in tiiat terrible day. 
 
 IT Here the Minister shall examine him con- 
 cerniiiff his Faith, and rehearse the Articles 
 of the Creed, [Dost tliou believe in God, 
 &c.] And the Prisoner shall answer. 
 
 All this I stedfastly believe. 
 
 1 Then shall the Minister examine whether he 
 repent him truly of his sins, and be in 
 charity with all the world, and further 
 admonish him particularly concerning the 
 crimes wherewith he is charged; and ex- 
 hort him, if he has any scruples, that he 
 would declare the same, and prepare him- 
 self for the holy Communion, against the 
 time that it may be proper to administer it 
 to him. 
 
 IT Then all kneeling, the Minister shall say 
 the 51st Psalm, [Have mercy upon me, O 
 God, &c.] 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 OLord, we beseech thee, merci- 
 fully hear our prayers, and 
 spare all those who confess their 
 sins unto thee ; that they, whose 
 consciences by sin are accused, by 
 thy merciful pardon may be absolved, 
 through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 t TAen the Minister shall say, 
 
 OGod, whose mercy is everlasting, 
 and power infinite, look down 
 with pity and compassion upon the 
 suiFering of these thy servants ; and 
 whether thou visitest for trial of their 
 patience, or punishment of their 
 offences, enable them by thy grace 
 cheerfully to submit themselves to 
 thy holy will and pleasure. 
 
 Go not far from those, O Lord, 
 whom thou hast laid in a place of 
 darkness, and in the deep; and for- 
 asmuch as thou hast not cut them 
 off suddenly, but chastenest them as 
 a Father, grant that they, duly con- 
 sidering thy great mercies, may be 
 unfeignedly thankful, and turn unto 
 thee with true repentance, and sin- 
 cerity of heart, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 PRAYERS FOR PERSONS 
 UNDER SENTENCE, &c. 
 
 H mien a Criminal is under Sentence of 
 Death, the Minister shall proceed imme- 
 diately after the Collect [O God, who 
 sparest, &c.] to exhort him after this Form, 
 or other like. 
 
 DEARLY beloved, it hath 
 pleased Almighty God, in his 
 
 justice, to bring you under the sen- 
 tence and condeinuatioii of the Law ; 
 you are shortly to suffer death in 
 such a manner, that others warned 
 by your example may be the more 
 afraid to offend ; and we pray God, 
 that you may make such use of your 
 punishments in this world, that your 
 soul may be saved in the world to 
 come. 
 
 Wherefore we come to you in the 
 bowels of compassion ; and, being 
 desirous that you should avoid pre- 
 sumption on the one hand, and 
 despair on the other, shall plainly 
 lay before you the wretchedness of 
 your condition, and declare how far 
 you ought to depend on the mercies 
 of God, and the merits of our Saviour. 
 Consider then seriously with your- 
 self, in all appearance the time of 
 your dissolution draweth near, your 
 sins have laid fast hold upon you, 
 you are soon to be removed from 
 among men, by a violent death, and 
 you shall fade away suddenly like 
 the grass, which in the morning is 
 green and groweth up, but in the 
 evening is cut down, dried up and 
 withered. After you have thus 
 finished the course of a sinful and 
 miserable life, you shall appear be- 
 fore the Judge of all flesh ; who, 
 as he pronounces blessings on the 
 righteous, shall likewise say, with 
 the terrible voice of the most just 
 judgement to the wicked. Go ye 
 accursed into the fire everlasting, 
 prepared for the devil and his angels. 
 
 Your sins have brought you too 
 near this dreadful sentence ; it is 
 therefore your part and duty, my 
 brother, humbly to confess and 
 bewail your great and manifold 
 offences, and to repent you truly of 
 your sins, as you tender the eternal 
 salvation of your soul. 
 
 Be not deceived with a vain and 
 presumptuous expectation of God's 
 favour, nor say within yourself. 
 Peace, Peace, where there is no 
 peace; for there is no peace, says 
 my God, to the wicked ; God is not 
 mocked, he is of purer eyes than to 
 behold iniquity, and without holiness 
 no man shall see the Lord : On the 
 other hand, despair not of God's 
 mercy, though trouble is on every 
 side : for God shutteth not up his
 
 746 
 
 THE VISITATION OF PRISONERS. 
 
 mercies for ever in displeasure ; but 
 if we confess our sins, he is faithful 
 and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
 cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
 Do not either way abuse the good- 
 ness of God, who calleth us merci- 
 fully to amendment, and of his end- 
 less pity promiseth us forgiveness of 
 that which is past, if with a perfect 
 and true heart we return unto him. 
 
 Since therefore you are soon to 
 pass into an endless and unciiange- 
 able state, and your future happiness 
 or misery depends upon the few 
 moments which are left you ; I re- 
 quire you strictly to examine your- 
 self and your estate, both towards 
 God and towards man ; and let no 
 worldly consideration hinder you 
 from making a true and full con- 
 fession of your sins, and giving all 
 the satisfaction which is in your 
 power to every one whom you have 
 wronged or injured, that you may 
 find mercy at your lieavenly Father's 
 hand for Christ's sake, and not be 
 condemned in the dreadful day of 
 judgement. 
 
 Lastly, beloved, submit yourself 
 with Christian resignation to the 
 just judgement of God, which your 
 own crimes have l)rought upon you, 
 and be in charity with all men ; 
 being ready sincerely to forgive all 
 such as have offended you, not ex- 
 cepting those who have prosecuted 
 you even unto deatli ; and though 
 this may seem a hard saying, yet 
 know assuredly, that witliout it your 
 charity is not yet perfect. And fail 
 not earnestly to endeavour and ])ray 
 for this blessed temper and com- 
 posure of mind ; so may you cast your- 
 self with an entire dependence upon 
 tlie mercies of God, througli tlie 
 merits of your Saviour and Redeemer 
 Jesus Ciirist. 
 
 H Here the Minister shall examine him con- 
 cerniny his Faith, and rehearse the Articles 
 of the Creed, [Dost thou believe in God, 
 &c.] and the Criminal shall answer, 
 
 All tliis I stedfastly l)elieve. 
 
 IT Then shall the Minister examine, whether 
 he repent him truly of his sins, exhorting 
 him to a jiarlinilnr Confession of the sin 
 for vhich hf is cimilnnnrd ; mid n/,on Con- 
 fession lir shall instruct him whiil satis- 
 faction oui/ht to be made to those whom he 
 has vjj'ended thereby; and «/ he knoweth 
 
 any combination in wickedness, or any evil 
 practices designed ayainst others, let him 
 be admonished to the utmost of his power to 
 discover and prevent them. 
 
 t After his confession the Priest shall ab- 
 solve him (if he humbly and heartily desire 
 it) either in the Fortn which is appointed 
 in the Office of Visitation of the Sick, or 
 in that used in the Communion .Service. 
 
 f After absolution, shall be said the Collect 
 following. 
 
 OHoly Jesus, wlio of thine infi- 
 nite goodness didst accept the 
 conversion of a sinner on the cross, 
 open thine eye of mercy upon this 
 thy servant, who desiretli pardon 
 and forgiveness, though in his latest 
 hour he turnetli unto thee. Renew 
 in him whatsoever hath been decayed 
 by the fraud and malice of the devil, 
 or by his own carnal will and frail- 
 ness: consider his contrition, accept 
 his repentance, and forasmuch as he 
 putteth his full trust only in thy 
 mercy, impute not unto him his 
 former sins, but strengthen him with 
 thy blessed Spirit ; and when thou 
 art pleased to take him hence, take 
 him unto thy favour ; this we l)eg 
 through tiiy merits, O Lord, our Sa- 
 viour and our Redeemer. Amen. 
 
 1 Then the Minister shall say, 
 
 Father of mercies, and God of 
 all comfort, we fly unto thee 
 for succour in behalf of this thy ser- 
 vant, who is now under the sentence 
 of condemnation. The day of his 
 calamity is at liand, and he is ac- 
 counterl as one of tliem tiiat go down 
 into the pit. Blessed Lord, remem- 
 ber thy mercies, look upon his infir- 
 mities, iiear the voice of his com- 
 plaint, give him, we beseecli thee, 
 patience in this his time of adversity, 
 and support under the terrors which 
 encompass him ; set before ids eyes 
 the things he hatii done in the body, 
 whicli iiave justly provoked tliee to 
 anger ; and forasmuch as his conti- 
 nuance appeareth to be sliort amongst 
 us, (piickon him so inucli the more 
 l)y thy grace and Holy Spirit, tliat 
 he, being converted and reconciled 
 unto tiiec, before thy judgements 
 liave cut him off from the earth, 
 may at tlie iiour of his death depart 
 in ])eace, and be received into thine 
 everlasting kingdom, through Jesus 
 Clirist our Lord. Amen.
 
 THE VISITATION OF PRISONERS. 
 
 747 
 
 % Adding this, 
 
 O Saviour of tlie world, who by 
 thy cross and precious blood 
 hast redeemed us, save us, and 
 help us, we humbly beseech thee, O 
 Lord. 
 
 If Then the Minister standing shall say, 
 
 IN the midst of life we are in 
 death : of whom may we seek 
 for succour, but of thee, O Lord, 
 who for our sins art justly dis- 
 pleased ? 
 
 Yet, O Lord God, most holy, O 
 Lord, most mighty, O holy and 
 most merciful Saviour, deliver us 
 not into the bitter pains of eternal 
 death. 
 
 Thou knowest. Lord, the secrets 
 of our hearts ; shut not thy merci- 
 ful ears to our prayers ; but spare 
 us. Lord most holy, O God most 
 mighty, O holy and merciful Saviour, 
 thou most worthy Judge eternal, 
 suffer us not, at our last hour, for 
 any pains of death to fall from thee. 
 
 T Then the Minister shall say, 
 
 TH E Almighty God, who is a 
 most strong tower to all them 
 that put their trust in him, to whom 
 all things in heaven, in earth, and 
 under the earth, do bow and obey, 
 be now and evermore thy defence ; 
 and make thee know, and feel that 
 there is none other name under 
 heaven given to man, in whom and 
 through whom thou mayest receive 
 salvation, but only the Name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 IT And after that shall say, 
 
 UNTO God's gracious mercy 
 and protection we commit thee. 
 The Lord ijless thee and keep thee. 
 The Lord make his face to shine 
 upon thee, and be gracious unto 
 thee. The Lord lift up his counte- 
 nance upon thee, and give thee peace 
 both now and evermore. Ameii. 
 
 1 At the time of Execution, besides all or 
 such part of the foregoing Office, as the 
 Minister shall judge proper, shall be said 
 the Commendatory Prayer for a Person 
 at the point of departure, as it is in The 
 Visitation of the Sick. 
 
 TTie Collect for the Communion 
 Service. 
 God, who declarest thy Al- 
 mighty power most chiefly in 
 
 o 
 
 shewing mercy and pity, we beseech 
 thee to have mercy u])on this thy 
 servant, who for his transgressions 
 is ap])()inte<l to die. Grant that he 
 may take thy judgements jiaticntiy, 
 and repent him truly of his sins ; that 
 he recovering thy favour, the fearful 
 reward of his actions may end with 
 this life, and whensoever his soul 
 shall depart from the body, it may 
 be without spot presented unto tiiee, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Ame7i. 
 
 77te Epistle. Heb. xii. 1 1 . 
 
 NO chastening for the present 
 seemeth to be joyous, but 
 grievous ; nevertheless afterward it 
 yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righte- 
 ousness unto them which are exer- 
 cised thereby. 
 
 T/ie Gospel. St. Jolin v. 24. 
 
 VE 11 1 L Y, verily, I say unto you, 
 He that heareth my word, and 
 believeth on him that sent me, hath 
 everlasting life, and shall not come 
 into condemnation, but is passed 
 from death unto life. 
 
 A PRAYER FOR IMPRI- 
 SONED DEBTORS. 
 
 MOST gracious God, look down 
 in pity and compassion upon 
 these thine afflicted servants, that 
 are fallen under the misery of a close 
 restraint. Give them always a deep 
 sense of their sins, and of thy fa- 
 therly love and correction ; and the 
 more their confinement presseth hard 
 upon them, the more let the com- 
 forts of thy grace and mercy abound 
 towards them. Give to their credi- 
 tors tenderness and compassion, and 
 to them a meek and forgiving spirit 
 towards all those that have confined 
 them, and a full purpose to repair all 
 the injuries and losses, that others 
 have sustained by them. Raise 
 them up friends to pity and relieve 
 them ; give them the continued com- 
 fort of thy countenance here, and so 
 sanctify their afflictions, that they 
 may work for them an eternal weight 
 of glory, through the merits and me- 
 diation of Jesus Christ thy Son our 
 Lord. Amen.
 
 ARTICLES 
 
 Agreed upon by the Arclil)isliops and Bishops of both Provinces, and 
 the wliole Clergy, in the Convocation holden at London in the Year 
 1562, for the avoiding of Diversities of Opinions'', and for the esta- 
 blishing of Consent touching true Religion. Reprinted by His Ma- 
 jesty's Commandment, with liis Royal Declaration prefixed thereunto. 
 
 HIS MAJESTY'S DECLARATION". 
 
 TiEING by God's Ordinance, according to Our just Title, Defender of the Faith, and 
 Jj Supreme Governoiir of the Church, within these Our Dominions, H'e hold it most 
 agreeable to this Our Kingly Office, and Our own religious Zeal, to conserve and maintain the 
 
 ■ Articles &c.] We learn from the New Testament, 
 that those who first embraced the Gospel declared their 
 faith in Jesus, as the promised Messiah, in sim|)le and 
 general terms. Acts viii. 37 : and there is no ^ound for 
 sui)|)osing that the apostles required this declaration to 
 be made in any one particular form of words. No such 
 formulary is transmitted to us : and, had any ever 
 existed, it would probably have been cited or alluded 
 to in the New Testament, or in the early Apologies for 
 Christianity. Every bishop was authorized to prescribe 
 a formulary for the use of his own church : and there 
 are still extant in writers, who lived near to the apos- 
 tolick age, several abstracts of Christian faith, which, 
 though they agree in substance, vary in expression. 
 But, when heresies gained ground, and destroyed uni- 
 formity of belief among Christians, it became necessary 
 to have a publick standard of faith : and to this cause 
 we are to attribute the origin of creeds. The design 
 of these creeds was to establish the genuine doctrines 
 of the Gospel, in opposition to the errors which then 
 prevailed ; and to exckide from communion with the 
 orthodox Church of Christ aU who held heretical 
 0|)inions. New dissensions and controversies con- 
 tinually arose : and we have to lament, that in pro- 
 cess of time " the faith, which v/as once delivered unto 
 the saints," became corrupted in the highest degree; 
 and that those very councils which were convened ac- 
 cording to the practice of the apostolick age for the 
 purpose of declaring " the truth, as it is in Jesus," 
 gave their sanction and authority to the grossest ab- 
 surdities and most palpable errors. These corruptions, 
 supi)orted by secular power, and favoured by the dark- 
 ness and ignorance of the times, were almost univer- 
 sally received through a succession of many ages, 
 till at last the glorious light of the Reformation dis- 
 pelled the clouds, which had so long obscured the 
 Christian world. 
 
 At that interesting period the several churches, which 
 had separated themselves from the Roman communion, 
 found it ex])edient to publish confessions of their faith : 
 and, in conformity to this practice, Edward VI., the 
 first protestant king of England, caused to be published 
 by his royal authcjrity forty-two " Articles, agreed upon 
 by the bishops and other learned and good men, in the 
 Convocation held at London in the year 1552, to root 
 out the discord of opinions, and establish the agree- 
 ment of true religion." These Articles were repealed 
 by Queen Mary, soon after her accession to the throne. 
 But Queen Elizabeth in the beginning of her reign 
 gave her royal assent to " lliirty-nine Articles, agreed 
 upon by the archbishops and bishops of both pro- 
 
 vinces, and the whole clergy, in the Convocation holden 
 at London in the year 1562, for avoiding diversities of 
 0]iinion, and for the establishing of consent touching 
 true religion." These Articles were revised, and some 
 small alterations made in them, in the year 1571 ; 
 since which time they have continued to be the criterion 
 of the faith of the members of the Church of England. 
 The Articles of 1 562 were drawn up in Latin only : 
 but in 1571 they were subscribed by the members of 
 the two Houses of Convocation both in Latin and 
 English : and therefore the Latin and English copies 
 are to be considered as equally authcntick. The 
 original manuscripts, subscribed by the Houses of 
 Convocation, were burnt in the fire of London : but 
 Dr. Bennet has collated the oldest copies now e.xtant, 
 and it appears that there are no variations of any im- 
 portance. 
 
 It is generally believed that Cranmer and Ridley 
 were chiefly concerned in framing the forty-two Articles, 
 upon which our thirty-nine are founded. But Byt. 
 Burnet says, that " questions relating to them were 
 given about to many bishops and divines, who gave in 
 their several answers, which were collated and ex- 
 amined very maturely ; all sides had a free and fair 
 hearing before conclusions were made." Indeed, 
 caution and moderation are no less conspicuous in 
 them, than a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, 
 and of the early opinions and practice of Christians. 
 
 Bp. Burnet, in his History of the Reformation, has 
 preserved the forty-two Articles published by King 
 Edward the Sixth, and has pointed out in what resjiects 
 they differ from the thirty-nine Articles which are now 
 in force. 
 
 These thirty-nine Articles are arranged with great 
 judgment and perspicuity, and may be considered 
 under four general divisions : the first five contain the 
 Christian doctrines concerning the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost ; in the sixth, seventh, and eighth, 
 the rule of faith is established ; the ten next relate 
 to Christians, as individuals ; and the remaining 
 twenty-one relate to them, as they are members of a 
 religious society. But, as all confessions of faith have 
 had a reference to existing heresies, we shall here find, 
 not only the positive doctrines of the Gospel asserted ; 
 but also the principal errors and corrujitions of the 
 church of Rome, and most of the extravagances into 
 which certain protestant sects fell at the time of the 
 Reformation, rejected and condemned. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ^ — fur the avoiding of Diversities of Opinions, &c.] 
 See the concluding note on the Articles. 
 
 • His Mnjesty's Declaration.'] The Articles were
 
 750 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Church committed to Our Charge, in Unity of true Religion, and in the Bond of Peace; and not 
 to suffer unnecessary Disputations, Altercations, or Questions to be raised, which may nourish 
 Faction both in the Church and Commonwealth. We have therefore, upon mature Delibera- 
 tion, and with the advice of so many of Our Bishops as might conveniently be called together, 
 thought fit to make this Declaration following : 
 
 That the Articles of the Church of England {which have been allowed and authorized 
 heretofore, and which Our Clergy generally hai-e subscribed unto) do contain the true 
 Doctrine of the Church of England, agreeable to God's Word: which JVe do therefore 
 ratify and confirm, requiring all Our loving Subjects to continue in the uniform Profession 
 thereof and prohibiting the least difference from the said Articles; which to that end We 
 command to be new printed, and this Our Declaration to be published therewith. 
 
 That We are Supreme Govemour of the Church 0/ England : And that if any differoice 
 arise about the external Policy, concerning the Injunctions, Canons, onrf other Constitutions 
 whatsoever thereto belonging, the Clergy in their Convocation is to order and settle them, 
 haring first obtained leave under Our Broad Seal so to do: and We approving their said 
 Ordinances and Constitutions, providing that none be made contrary to the Laws and Customs 
 of the Land. 
 
 That out of Our Princely Care that the Churchmen may do the Work which is proper unto 
 them, the Bishops and Clergy, from time to time in Convocation, upon their humble Desire, 
 shall have Licence under Our Broad Seal to deliberate of, and to do all such Things, as, being 
 made plain by them, and assented to by Us, shall concern the settled continuance of the Doc- 
 trine and Discipline of the Church of England now established; from which We will not 
 endure any varying or departing in the least Degree. 
 
 That for the present, though some differences have been ill raised, yet We take comfort in 
 this, that all Clergymen within Our Realm have always most willingly subscribed to the 
 Articles established; which is an argument to Us, that they all agree in the true, usual, 
 literal meaning of the said Articles ; and that even in those curious points in which the 
 present differences lie, men of all sorts take the Articles of the Church 0/ England to be for 
 them; which is an argument again, that jione of them intend any desertion of the Articles 
 established. 
 
 That therefore in these both curious and unhappy differences, which have for so many 
 hundred years, in different times and places, exercised the Church of Christ, We will, that all 
 further curious search be laid aside, and these disputes shut up in God's promises, as they be 
 generally set forth to us in the holy Scriptures, and the general meaning of the Articles of the 
 Church of England according to them. And that no man hereafter shall either print, or 
 preach, to draw the Article aside any way, but shall submit to it in the plain and full rneaning 
 thereof: and shall not put his own sense or comment to be the meaning of the Article, but 
 shall take it in the literal and grammatical sense. 
 
 Tliat if any publick Reader in either of Our Universities, or any Head or Master of a 
 College, or any other person respectively in either of them, shall affx any new sense to any 
 Article, or shall publickly read, determine, or hold any publick Disputation, or suffer any 
 such to be held either way. in either the Universities or Colleges respectively ; or if any 
 Divine in the Universities shall preach or print any thing either way, other than is already 
 established in Convocation with Our Royal Assent; he, or they the Offenders, shall be liable 
 to Our Displeasure, and the Church's censure in Our Commission Ecclesiastical, as well as 
 any other: And We will see that there be due Execution upon them. 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Deut. Tl. 4. 
 1 Cor. vlli. 4. 
 Jer. X. 10. 
 1 Thess. 1. 9. 
 Isa. xl. 28. 
 Rom. xyl. 26. 
 
 I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinitt/^. 
 
 11 E is but one livinsr and 
 true God% everlasting, without 
 
 Til E 
 true 
 
 again ratified by King James I. in tliesc words, which 
 are commonly iircfixecl to them. Dr. Burn. It apiiears 
 however from " papers, ascertaining the reign and 
 time in which the Declaration before tlic thirty-nine 
 Articles was first published," subjoined to Dr. Win- 
 chester's Dissertation on the seventeenth Article, that 
 the Declaration was prefixed, not by King .lames, 
 but by King Charles I. King James ratified the 
 
 boflv, parts, or passions: of infinite ^.°'"' '"■,?•; 
 
 ." 1 . , t ' <,i.n. xvli. I. 
 
 power, wisflom, aim goonnoss ; tlie Miiu. xix.si;. 
 Maker, and Preserver of all things r"'""""' 
 
 both visible and invisible. 
 
 Exod. XX. n 
 
 cxlvii. 5 ; 
 '" CXXXvi. 1. 
 
 Col. i. 10, 17. Neh. Ix. 6. 
 
 And 
 
 Articles, I)ut it was by ratifying the Canons made 
 iGo.l. Edit. 
 
 ' I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity.] 'Iliis first Article 
 asserts the being and attrilnites of (Jod, which are the 
 foundaticm of all religion : and it farther declares, that 
 the (iodhcad consists of three Persons ; which, though 
 it a|i|)cars to have made a part of tlu- original revela- 
 tion to mankind, was so far forgotten or obscured,
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 731 
 
 Matt. xxv!ii. unity of this Godhead there be three 
 Persons', of one substance, power, 
 
 111. 2 Cor. 
 xiii. 14. 
 
 that it may be considered as one of the characteristick 
 doctrines of the (Jospel. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 " There is but one I'wing and true God, &c.] The 
 being of a God is manifest from the order of causes, 
 which leads us back to one which is the original cause 
 of all, which exists necessarily and of itself: from the 
 idea or notion of a God, which implies something 
 that necessarily exists, or must be of itself: from 
 the consent of all civilized nations, very few, if any, 
 having been so brutish as to deny it : from the 
 creation of the world, and the order and usefulness 
 of its several parts : from the force of conscience, 
 which reproves us when we do ill, and commends us 
 when we do well : from prophecies and miracles, 
 which could not have been, if there had not been a 
 God. 
 
 That there is " but one God," appears from 1 Cor. 
 viii. 4, where St. Paul tells us, " That there is none 
 other God but one." The same likewise appears from 
 the very nature of God, who is a Being of infinite per- 
 fection : whereas, if there were two Gods, they might 
 ])0ssibly clash and disagree, which would be an evi- 
 dence of frailty, and therefore inconsistent with infinite 
 perfection. And farther : one God there must be : 
 but, as one is sufficient, so, if there were more, neither 
 this nor that would be necessary. 
 
 The attrilnites of " living and true " are ascribed to 
 God. 1 Thess. i. 9 : " Ye turned to God from idols, 
 to serve the living and true God." 
 
 That He is "everlasting" is proved from that doxo- 
 logy of St. Paul, 1 Tim. i. 1 7 ; " Now unto the King 
 eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be 
 honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." And 
 reason tells us that He must be eternal, inasmuch as 
 He is the first cause, which could not possibly be pro- 
 duced, either from any other cause, or from nothing. 
 Now that, which is not produced by any other cause, 
 exists of itself : and that, which exists of itself, must 
 always exist. 
 
 That God is " without body," appears from John iv. 
 24 : " God is a Spirit." I add, that a spiritual sub- 
 stance excels a bodily one : and therefore, if God were 
 a bodily substance, angels and the souls of men would 
 excel Him. Besides, all matter is of itself inacti\-e, 
 and void of motion, unless it be moved by some- 
 thing else : but every thing receives motion directly 
 or indirectly from God, who is the first mover of all 
 things. 
 
 That God is " without parts," or, according to the 
 Latin Articles, " impartibilis," that is, "incapable of 
 being divided into parts," follows from his being im- 
 material and spiritual. If he were a material and 
 bodily substance, then, as He is infinite. He would fill 
 all places in such a manner, that there would be no 
 room for any other bodily substance. 
 
 That He is " without passions," or, according to the 
 Latin Articles, " impassibilis," that is, " incapable of 
 suffering," may be argued from Ps. cii. 26, 27, " They 
 shall perish, but thou shalt endure : yea, all of them 
 shall wax old as a garment : as a vesture shalt thou 
 change them, and they shall be changed. But thou 
 art the same, and thy years shall have no end." For 
 the word " passion " in strictness of speech signifies 
 suffering ; and in this place it signifies God's reception 
 of some impulse stronger than Himself, and which 
 He cannot resist; as when a man is affected with joy, 
 grief, anger, &c. But inasmuch as all things are of so 
 frail a nature in comi)arison with God, no objects can 
 have force enough to influence Him against his will. 
 
 and eternity ; the Father, the Son, luv. \. 4, :,. 
 and tlie Holy Ghost. 
 
 llie Scriptures indeed seem to attribute members to 
 God, such as eyes and hands ; as also jiassions, such as 
 love, anger, hatred, &c. ; of all of which, since He is 
 the most simple essence, and is also immutable, and 
 always infinitely happy. He is utterly incainible : and 
 therefore tho.se things are spoken Ijy way of accom- 
 modation to the weakness of men, and not as suitably 
 to the perfections of God. 
 
 God's "infinite power" is declared. Matt. xix. 20, 
 " With God all things are possible." 
 
 His "infinite wisdom" appears from Ps. cxlvii. .5, 
 " Great is oiu' Lord and of great power : his under- 
 standing is infinite :" and from the admirable order 
 and use of things : and, finally, from the various effects 
 of divine Providence. 
 
 The " infinite goodness " of God may be proved 
 from Luke xviii. 19, " None is good save one, that is, 
 God ;" by which is meant absolutely and infinitely 
 good. For in a limited sense some men have been 
 declared good : such as Joseph, the sup])osed father of 
 our blessed Saviour ; and the apostle Barnabas ; and 
 others. The goodness of God appears likewise from 
 the creation and preservation of all things ; but, above 
 all, from the redemption of the world by our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 That God is " the Maker of all things, visible and 
 invisible," is asserted Col. i. 16, "For by him were 
 all things created that are in heaven and that are in 
 earth, visiljle and invisible ; whether they be thrones, 
 or dominions, or principalities, or jiowers : all things 
 were created by him and for him." Moreover, that 
 the world is not eternal is manifest, from the arts, 
 which in these later ages of it have been invented ; 
 from the countries, which of late have been discovered, 
 and which were till then imcultivated ; and from all 
 the histories of it, the most ancient of which do not 
 reach many ages back. It was therefore made. But 
 that it was made by chance, considering the exact 
 order, harmony, and beauty of it, is absurd and im- 
 possible. It had therefore a Maker. And who could 
 that be but God ? 
 
 That God is also " the Preserver of all things," is 
 asserted Col. i. 1 7, " And he is before all things, and 
 by him all things consist." Besides, inasmuch as 
 nothing exists necessarily and of itself, but God ; it 
 follows that all things must and do depend on Him. 
 Archdeacon Welchman, Veneer. 
 
 " It is to be observed," says Dr. Clarke, " that the 
 Scripture, as it does not much insist upon proving to 
 us the being of God, but rather always supposes that 
 to be already known by the light of nature ; so also, 
 when it mentions any of the natural attributes of the 
 divine essence, it does not usually enlarge upon the 
 proof or explication of them, but generally makes 
 mention of them occasionally only, and as presupposing 
 them beforehand well knoivn by man's reason." To 
 which may be added, the tradition of the revelations to 
 Adam and the early patriarchs, and the evidence from 
 prophecies and miracles continually before the people to 
 whom the Old Testament was immediately addressed. 
 Bjj. Tomline. 
 
 ' And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons, 
 &c.] I'hough, as we have proved before, there is but 
 one God, yet there are three Persons in the Godhead, 
 as appears from Matt, xxviii. 19; 2 Cor. xiii. 14; 
 1 John V. 7. And that these three Persons are of one 
 substance, power, and eternity is evident, because such 
 attributes and divine honours are ascribed to them in 
 Scripture, as belong not, and cannot be ascribed, to
 
 TM 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 John i. 1. 
 Hcb i. 5— 12. 
 Ktv.ixii. 13, 
 
 Rom. ix. 5. 
 
 II. Of the Word or Son of God, lohich 
 teas made very Man f-. 
 
 TH E Son, which is the Word of 
 the Father, begotten from ever- 
 kisting of the Father, the very and 
 eternal God, and of one substance 
 
 any other being besides God. Archdeacon ll'elchman, 
 Veneer, 
 
 Upon the subject of the doctrine asserted in this 
 part of the Article, the reader is requested to refer 
 to page ISl, note r; page .53, notes r, s, t ; page 55, 
 note y : and page 51, note from Dean Vincent. 
 
 K II. Of the Ji'ord or Son of God, which was made 
 very Man.l The Son, or second Person in the ever- 
 blessed Trinity, is called the Word, John i. 1, " In the 
 Ijeginning was the Word, and the Word was with 
 God, and the Word was God." He was "begotten" 
 indeed, or else He would not be a Son : but '" from 
 everlasting," or else He would not be God : and when 
 we say, that He is " the very and eternal God, of one 
 substance with the Father," that is, of one and the 
 same Godhead with the Father, we mean that He is so, 
 strictly and properly speaking, and not in a metaphorical 
 or borrowed sense : but as the apostle says, " Christ, 
 who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen," Rom. ix. 
 5. Thus mucli is asserted in several places of Scrip- 
 ture : namely, Heb. i. 5, 6. 8. 10, 11; Rev. x.\ii. 13; 
 Isa. xliv. 6. 
 
 That "tha Son of God took man's nature in the 
 womb of the blessed Virgin," appears from Luke i. 31, 
 "And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and 
 bring forth a Son, and shalt call his name Jesus;" and 
 from Gal. iv. 4, " But when the fulness of time was 
 come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made 
 under the law." For since it pleased God to promise. 
 Gen. iii. 15, that "the seed of the woman should 
 bruise the serpent's head;" it was necessary that He 
 should be born of a virgin, that so He might not be 
 the seed of man, as all other men are. 
 
 As these " two natures," the divine and human, 
 were thus united, so were they not confounded : but, 
 as the .\rticle asserts, " two whole and perfect natures, 
 the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in 
 one Person;" see Rev. i. 5, 6. 1", IS ; of whom many 
 things are spoken, which are proper to one of the 
 natures only. Thus " God " is said to have shed " his 
 blood," Acts XX. 2S : and the " man " Christ Jesus is 
 proposed as an object of " worship " to the " angels," 
 Heb. i. G. 'i'his manner of e.\:|)res8ion is called a com- 
 munion of idioms. And the conjunction of the two 
 natures is termed The Hypostatick Union. Concern- 
 ing which Nestorius first, and tlicn Kutyches, griev- 
 ously erred : the former by dividing the Person, and 
 the latter by confounding the two natures. An effec- 
 tual stop was put to lioth those errors in four words 
 by the Council of Chalcedon, which tauglit that Jesus 
 (yhrist is one and the same in two natures, I'lnvyxirMg, 
 ar(U7rrwc, uCtaiphoxSt a^^wjiiaru't;, that is, "without 
 confusion," or " change " of natures, against Kutyches ; 
 and "without division "or "sejjaration" of tliem, against 
 Nestorius. Archdeacon iVelchman, Veneer. 
 
 Concerning the doctrines liere stated of tlie divinity 
 of Christ, of his incarnation, and of the union of the 
 two natures in his person, the reader is referred to jiagc 
 2yi,note4; 371,z; 01,/; 50, 57, r, a; see also jmge 
 29, note /, parag. II. 
 
 '' — elirnal dud, and of one snhstance U'ilh the Father,^ 
 If the Son ot Word is truly God, He must be from uU 
 
 with the Father'', took Man's nature' Lukei. ?.i. 
 in the womb of the blessed Virgin, ''^i- '^- ^• 
 of her substance' : so that two whole Rev. i. s. e. 
 and perfect Natures, that is to say, Acts ix. 28. 
 the Godhead and Manhood, were 
 joined together in one Person"^, 
 never to be divided, whereof is one 
 
 eternity, and must also be of the same substance with 
 the Father, otherwise He could not be God : since a 
 God, of another substance or of another duration, is a 
 contradiction. Bp. Burnet. Tliis expression answers 
 to the Greek o/ioiuVios, which was used by the ancients 
 to denote the unity of essence between the Father anil 
 the Son, being grounded upon 1 John v. 7 ; and that 
 of the Evangelist, " I and my Father are one," John 
 X. 30. Which imports a unity of essence, and not of 
 consent, as may be proved by our Saviour's own ex- 
 plication of his meaning, ver. 38 ; and by the sense the 
 Jews understood Him in, as being a pretension to the 
 divine nature, ver. 33. Dr. Nickolls. 
 
 ' — took Man'a nature &c.] There cannot be clearer 
 proof of any matter of fact, than tliat our Saviour took 
 upon Him human nature, and was truly man. The 
 prophecies, which foretel the Messiah, do declare like- 
 wise that He was to be man. It was predicted as early 
 as the fall of mankind, that "the seed of the woman 
 should bruise the serpent's head," Gen. iii. 15. And 
 
 I in another prediction of the Messiah -it is foretold, that 
 " a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son," Isa. vii. 14. 
 The angel, who notified his conception to the blessed 
 Virgin, said, " She should conceive in her womb, and 
 bring forth a Son," Luke i. 31. He was subject 
 to all the properties and accidents, to «hich human 
 nature is hable : He " grew," Luke ii. 40 ; and " in- 
 creased in wisdom and stature," ver. 52; was "hun- 
 gry," Matt. iv. 2, and " thirsty," John xix. 28 : He 
 "wept" over Jerusalem, Luke xix. 41; He "slept," 
 Mark iv. 38 j and "died," Matt, xxvii. 50. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 ' — in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her sub- 
 stance .-] 'lliis does not need any long or laboured 
 j)roof, since the texts of Scrijiture are so express that 
 nothing but wild extravagance can withstand them. 
 But among the frantiek humours that ap])eared at the 
 Reformation, some, in opposition to the superstition of 
 the church of Rome, studied to derogate, as much 
 from the blessed \"irgin on the one hand, as slie had 
 been over-exalted on the other : so they said, that 
 Christ had only gone through her. But this impiety 
 sunk so soon that it is needless to say any thing more 
 to refute it. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 In order that the Reformation however might re- 
 ceive no prejudice from these monsti'ous ojiinions, it 
 was by the compilers of the .\rticles tliought advisable 
 to make an express profession of our holding the true 
 catholick doctrine in this particular. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 '' — in one Person,'] 'I'he design of the definition that 
 was made by the Church, concerning ('hrist's having 
 "one Person," was chieHy to distinguish the nature of 
 the indwelling of the (Jodhead in Him, from all pro- 
 ]ilietical inspirations. The Mosaical degree of prophecy 
 was in many respects sujierior to that of all the subse- 
 quent prophets : yet the difference is stated between 
 (,'hrist and Moses in terms that inqiart things quite of 
 another nature ; the one being mrntione<l as a ser- 
 vant, the other as the .Son that built the house. It is 
 not said that God appeared to Christ, or that He spoke 
 to Him; but (jod was ever with Him and inllim; 
 
 j and, while " the \\'ord was made llesli," yet still " his
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 75.3 
 
 Matt, xxvii; 
 XX. 28. 
 1 Tim. ii. 6. 
 Eph. ii. 16— 
 IS. 
 
 Christ, very God, .and very Man ; 
 who truly suffered', was erueifit'd, 
 dead and buried, to reconeile his 
 
 glory was as the glory of the only-begotten Son of God," 
 John i. 14. The glory, that Isaiah saw, was called 
 " his glory :" and on the other hand God is said to 
 have " purchased his church with his own lilood." 
 The doctrine here asserted is plain in the Scriptures, 
 that, though the human nature in Christ acted still 
 according to its proper character, and had a pecuhar 
 will; yet there was such a constant presence, indwell- 
 ing, and actuation on it from the eternal Word, as did 
 constitute both human and di\-ine nature " one Per- 
 son." As these are thus so intirely imited, so they are 
 never to he separated. Christ is now exalted to the 
 highest degree of glory and honour : and the characters 
 of " blessing, honour, and glory," are re|)resented in 
 St. John's visions, as offered " to the Lamb for ever 
 and ever," Rev. v. 13. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ' — who truly suffered, &c.] That the Messiah was to 
 suffer was foretold in a variety of passages in the Old 
 Testament. " It was written of the Son of man, that 
 he must suffer many things," Mark ix. 12 : and "the 
 Spirit of God, which was in the ])rophets, testified 
 beforehand the sufferings of Christ," 1 Pet. i. 1 1. He 
 was to be " a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; 
 oppressed and afflicted ; wounded and bruised; brought 
 to the slaughter, and cut off out of the land of the 
 living," Isa. liii. The suffering of Christ was also 
 typified in the sacrifices of the law, and particularly in 
 the passover. Oiu' Saviour Himself forewarned his 
 disciples of his jiassion ; and St. Paul preached to the 
 Tliessalonians, that " the Christ must needs have 
 suffered," Acts xvii. 3. If hunger and thirst, if re- 
 vilings and contempt, if sorrows and agonies, if stripes 
 and bufifetings, if condemnation and crucifixion, be 
 sufferings; Jesus suffered: if the infirmities of our 
 nature, if the weight of our sins, if the malice of man, 
 if the machinations of Satan, if the hand of God could 
 make Him suffer; our Saviour suffered: if the annals 
 of times, if the writings of his apostles, if the death of 
 his martyrs, if the confession of the Gentiles, if the 
 scoffs of the Jews, be testimonies ; Jesus suffered : 
 "and therefore those things, which God before had 
 shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ 
 should suffer, he hath fulfilled," Acts iii. 18. Bp. 
 Tumline, Bp. Pearson. 
 
 The matter of fact concerning the death of Christ is 
 denied by no Christian : the Jews do all acknowledge 
 it ; the first enemies to Christianity did all believe this, 
 and reproached his followers with it. This was that 
 which all Christians gloried in and avowed : so that no 
 question was made of his death, except by a small 
 number called Docetx, who were not esteemed Chris- 
 tians, till Mahomet denied it in his Alcoran, who pre- 
 tends that He was withdrawn, and that a Jew was 
 crucified in his stead. But this corruption of the 
 Gospel came too late afterwards, to have any shado%v 
 of credit due to it ; nor was there any sort of proof 
 offered to support it. So this doctrine concerning tlie 
 death of Christ is to be received as an unquestionable 
 truth. There is no part of the Gospel writ with so 
 copious a particularity, as the history of his sufferings 
 and death ; as there was indeed no part of the Gospel 
 80 important as this. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ° — to reconcile his Father to us, &c.] Or, according 
 to the Scripture's usual manner of speaking, to recon- 
 cile us to his Father. Whether this be expressed after 
 the one way or the other, it comes to the same thing. 
 
 Father to us'", and to lie a sacrifice, 
 
 not only tor orit^inal guilt", but also isa liii 4 
 
 for actual sins of men. 
 
 (>. I Jolin ii. 2. 
 2 Cor. V. 21. 
 
 This is certain, that Christ by his death has procured 
 for us the divine favour. For He, lest mankind, wlio 
 upon account of their sins were obnoxious to the divine 
 justice, should utterly perish, offered Himself as an ex- 
 piatory sacrifice to God : whence He is said, to " (;ive 
 his life a ransom for many," Matt. xx. 28 ; and 1 Tim. 
 ii. C, it is said, that "he gave himself a ransom for all." 
 See also Eph. ii. IG — 18, "That he might reconcile 
 both," namely, Jews and Gentiles, " unto God in one 
 body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereljy : 
 he came, and jjreached peace to you which were afar 
 off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we 
 have an access by one Sj)irit unto the Father." The 
 prophet Isaiah speaking of Him says, " Surely he hath 
 borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows ; yet we did 
 esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 
 But he was woimded for our transgressions, he was 
 bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our 
 peace was upon him, and with his stri])es we are healed. 
 All we, like shee]), have gone astray : we have turned 
 every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on 
 him the iniquity of us all," Isa. liii. 4 — 6. St. John in 
 his first Epistle, ii. 2, tells us, that Jesus Christ " is the 
 propitiation for our sins : and not for our sins only, but 
 also for the sins of the whole world:" for "he hath 
 made him to be sin for us," saith St Paul, "who knew 
 no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of 
 God in him," 2 Cor. v. 21. From all which it i)lainly 
 follows, that our blessed Saviour «'as a sacrifice for all 
 the sins of men, both original and actual. Archdeacon 
 IVelchinun, Veneer. 
 
 In a great variety of ])assages, that lie spread in all 
 the parts of the New Testament, it is as plain as words 
 can make any thing, that the death of Christ is pro- 
 posed to us, as our sacrifice' and reconciliation, our 
 atonement and redemption. So that it is not possible 
 for any man who considers all this, to imagine that 
 Christ's death was only a confirmation of his Gospel, a 
 pattern of a holy and patient suffering of death, and a 
 necessary preparation to his resurrection, by which He 
 ga\'e us a clear proof of his resurrection, and by conse- 
 quence of eternal life, as by his doctrine He had shewed 
 us the way to it. By this all the high commendations 
 of his death amount only to this, that He by dying has 
 given a vast credit and authority to his Gosjiel, which 
 was the powerfullest mean possible to redeem us from 
 sin, and to reconcile us to God. But this is so con- 
 trary to the whole design of tl>e New Testament, and to 
 the true imjiort of that great, variety of jihrases, in 
 which this matter is set out ; that, at this rate of ex- 
 pounding Scripture, we can never know what we may 
 build upon, especially when the great importance of 
 this thing, and of our having right notions concerning 
 it, is well considered : nor is it possible for us to jjre- 
 serve any reverence for the New Testament or the 
 ^vriters of it, so far as to think them even honest men, 
 not to say inspired men, if we can imagine that in so 
 sacred and important a matter they could exceed so 
 much, as to represent that to be our sacrifice which is 
 not truly so. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ° — not only for original guilt, &c.] By "original 
 gtiilt " is meant that guilt, which was incurred by 
 the disobedience of Adam, and transmitted to all his 
 posterity : and by " actual sins of men " are meant those 
 sins which individuals actually commit, for " there is 
 no man that sinneth not," 1 Kings viii. 46. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 3 C
 
 75-4 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Acts ii. 27. 
 31. 
 
 III. Of the goiiiq doicn of Christ into 
 Hell". 
 
 AS Christ died for us, and was 
 buried, so also is it to be be- 
 lieved, that he went down into Hell. 
 
 IV. Of the BesurrectioH of Christ f. 
 liiciiiv. /^HRIST did truly rise again' 
 I'hn XX. 17. \^ from death, and took again his 
 body, with flesh, bones, and all 
 
 Acts i. 3, 
 John sx. 27. 
 Luke 
 39. 
 Joh 
 
 Luke xxiv 
 51. Aetsi. 
 10, 11. 
 
 From what has been said it is plain, that Christ's 
 death was our sacrifice : the meaning of which is, that 
 God, intending to reconcile the world to Himself, and to 
 encourage sinners to repent and turn to Him, thought 
 fit to offer the pardon of sin, together with the other 
 blessings of the Gospel, in such a way as should de- 
 monstrate both the guilt of sin, and his hatred of it ; 
 and yet with that, his love of sinners, and his com- 
 passion tott'ards them. Bj). Burnet. 
 
 It should however be remembered here, that this 
 reconciliation, which is made by the death of Christ 
 between God and man, is not absolute and without 
 conditions. He has established the covenant, and has 
 performed all that was incumbent on Him, as both the 
 jiriest and the sacrifice, to do and to sutfer : and He 
 offers this to the world, that it may be closed with by 
 them on the terms, on which it is proposed : and, if 
 they do not accept of it upon these terms, and perform 
 what is injoined them, they can have no share in it. 
 Bp. Burnet. 
 
 " HI. 0/ the going down of Christ into Hell.'] Con- 
 cerning the doctrine of this Article, the reader is re- 
 ferred to page 30, note n. 
 
 lliough there is unquestionable authority for the 
 doctrine of this Article, Christ's descent into hell or 
 hades is not mentioned in the abstracts of Christian 
 faith which the early fathers have left us : nor is it in 
 any of those numerous creeds which were composed by 
 the councils of the fourth century, except that which 
 was agreed to at Armini in the year 359. In the be- 
 ginning of the fifth century the church at Aquileia used 
 the corresponding expression in Latin. In the si.xth 
 century the Article was admitted into many creeds, 
 and it was confirmed by the fourth council of Toledo, 
 in 633. It seems probable, that the doctrine was first 
 introduced into creeds for the |)urpose of declaring 
 the actual separation of Christ's soul and body, in 
 opjiosition to those who asserted that the crucifixion 
 |)roduccd only a trance or deliquium, and tliat Chri.st 
 did not really suffer death. Bp. Tumime. 'I'liis .\rticle 
 is added, because it is a part of the Creed. Dr. 
 Nicholl.1. 
 
 ' IV. Of the Resurrection of Christ."] There are four 
 branches of this .■\rticle : the first is concerning the 
 truth of Christ's resurrection ; the second concern- 
 ing the completeness of it ; the third concerning 
 his ascension and continuance in heaven ; and the 
 fourth is concerning his returning to judge all men 
 at the last day. These things are all so expressly 
 affirmed in tlie Hible, and that in so ])articular a 
 manner, that, if the iiuthority of that l)ook be once 
 proved, little doubting will remain concerning them. 
 Bj>. Burnet. 
 
 '1 (Jhri.st did truly rise again Sec] We liave the au- 
 thority of St. IVter for allirming, that the resurrection 
 of (Christ was foretold by the royal I'salmist; see .\cts 
 ii. 29. And our Saviour Himself repeatedly foretold 
 the same. Matt. xvii. 23; x.x. 18, &c. ; speaking of it 
 
 things appertaining to the perfection net. i. 3; 
 of Man's nature; wherewith he J,','|'„';,i, 3. 
 ascended into Heaven, and there?*- ,-*i',' "'• 
 
 , ., , -111 ''■ ' Tliess. 
 
 sitteth, until he return to judge all iv. le. 
 Men at the last day, Mau.^xxv. 
 
 31. 32. 
 
 V. Of the Holy Ghost^ . 2Pet'. w. 10. 
 
 TH E Holy Ghost, proceeding John xv. 26. 
 from the Father and the Son, 1 vJul 11. 
 is of one substance, majesty, and 
 
 to the Jews as a clear demonstration which would be 
 afforded of his divine mission, John ii. 18 — 21. It is 
 reasonable to expect, that the evidence of the truth of 
 this great event, the importance of which was thus 
 solemnly announced, should be proportionably strong 
 and unequivocal : and upon inquiry we find that the 
 restm-ection of Christ is supported by the clearest and 
 most satisfactory proofs. The ascension of Christ was 
 also foretold by David, Ps. Ixviii. 18, compare Eph. iv. 
 8, 9 ; and by our Sanour Himself, John xx. 17. His 
 sitting at the right hand of God also is foretold in tlie 
 Old Testament, as well as asserted in the New. Ps. 
 ex. 1 ; Matt. xxii. 42—44 ; Heb. i. 13 ; Luke x.\ii. 69. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 When we say that " Christ did truly rise again from 
 death," we mean that He rose again with that very 
 body which was crucified and buried. The doctrine of 
 his resurrection in general appears from Matt, xxviii. 
 6 ; " He is not here, for he is risen, as he said : Come, 
 see the ])lace where the Lord lay." And the reasoning 
 of our blessed Saviour with his disciples, Luke xxiv. 
 39, " Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; 
 handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and 
 bones, as ye see me have ;" proves, that when our Lord 
 rose from the dead he " took again his body, with flesh 
 and bones." His rising with " all things belonging to 
 the perfection of human nature " appears from Acts x. 
 41, where St. Peter saith, that he and his fellow dis- 
 ciples " did eat and drink with him after he rose from 
 the dead." 
 
 As we believe that our blessed Lord rose from the 
 dead, as the .\rticle asserts, so do we believe, that He 
 ascended in like manner into lieavcn : and by this we 
 mean, that He ascended into the highest heaven, and 
 sitteth at the right hand of God to make intercession 
 for us. " So then, after the Lord had spoken unto 
 them, he was received u|) into heaven, and sat at the 
 right hand of God," saith St. Mark, xvi. 19. 
 
 Our Lord's remaining in heaven till the day of judg- 
 ment ap])ears from .\cts iii. 20, 21, ".Xnd he shall 
 send Jesus Christ, which liefore was |)reached unto you; 
 whom the heavens must receive until the times of resti- 
 tution of all things, which (iod hath spoken by the 
 mouth of all his holy projihets, since the world began." 
 And from .Vets x. 42, where St. Peter says, " And he 
 commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify, 
 that it is he, which was orduiued of God to be the Judge 
 of (|uick and dead." The time, when this is to be, is 
 what this .Vrticle and all C'hristians call " the last day :" 
 for the years and (lays, which this world is to endure, 
 are fixed by (iod, tbougli neither men nor angels can 
 tell, when they shall receive tluir period or end. When 
 this time is past, our Lord shall return from lieaven to 
 judge both the (piick and the dead, and shall render to 
 every man according to bis works. ]'eneer. 
 
 Concerning the particulars here asserted, the reader is 
 referred also to page l')l, t : 15S, c; and 171, ;. 
 
 ' V. 0/ the Holy Ghost.] In this Article there are-
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION 
 
 7.5J 
 
 Acts V. 3, 4. 
 I Cor. iii. IG, 
 17; vi. 10. 
 
 2 Tim. iil. 
 li— 17. 
 John XX. 31. 
 Luke i. 4. 
 
 glory, with tlie Father and the Son, 
 very and eternal God. 
 
 VI. Of the Sufficiency of the holy 
 Scriptures for salvation'. 
 
 HOLY Scripture containeth all 
 tilings necessary to salvation': 
 
 two propositions : first, that the Holy Ghost proceeds 
 Ijoth from the Father and the Son ; secondly, that He 
 i.s one of suhstance, majesty, and glory with the Father 
 and the Son, \'ery and eternal God. The first of these 
 ap|)ears partly from John xv. 20, " But when the 
 ( 'omforter is come, whom I will send unto you from 
 the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth 
 from the Father, he shall testify of me :" and partly 
 from 1 Pet. i. 11, "Searching; what or what manner 
 of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did 
 signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of 
 t'hri.st, and the glory which should follow." The first 
 of these texts proves the first branch of the proposi- 
 tion ; the second makes good the latter. 
 
 The second proposition is proved from Acts v. 3, 4, 
 " But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine 
 heart to lie unto the Holy Ghost ? Thou hast not lied 
 unto men, but unto God." But to pursue this argu- 
 ment a little farther, it is necessary to lay down these 
 two assertions : first, that the Holy Ghost is a Person, 
 distinct from the Father and the Son ; secondly, that 
 He is very and eternal God. And, first, inasmuch as 
 such operations are ascribed to the Holy Ghost, as can- 
 not be ascribed but to a Person distinct from the Feather 
 and the Son ; it follows that He is a Person distinct 
 from both. Thus, Rom. viii. 27, He is said to " make 
 intercession for the saints ;" and, John xiv. 26, to 
 " come, as sent by the Father, in the name of Christ." 
 And, secondly, inasmuch as those things are ascribed 
 to Him, which cannot be ascribed to any other but 
 (jod : such as to have the bodies of the faithful for 
 his tem])les, " Know ye not, that ye are the temple of 
 God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? If 
 any man defile the temple of God, him shall God 
 destroy ; for the temple of God is holy, which temple 
 ye are," X Cor. iii. 16, 17; and again, vi. 19, "What? 
 know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy 
 Ghost which is in you ?" and to have the whole 
 church dedicated to Him, as well as to the Father and 
 the Son, as our blessed Lord ordered that it should. Matt. 
 x.xviii. 19, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
 baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost;" it follows that He is 
 very and eternal God, equal U) the Father and the Son, 
 and is, together with them, to be adored and prayed 
 to. Veneer. 
 
 In farther proof of the doctrine of this Article, as 
 relating to the personality, the divinity, and the pro- 
 cession of the Holy Ghost, the reader is referred to 
 page 175, note h; 371, a; and 292, e. 
 
 " VI. Of the Sufficiency of the holy Scriptures for sal- 
 vation.'] We have seen that the five first Articles relate 
 to the foundation of all religion, the existence of a 
 God, and to the characteristick doctrines of the Chris- 
 tian religion, concerning the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghost. The next point to be settled is the rule 
 of our faith and practice ; this is a subject, upon which 
 there is a material difference between the church of 
 Rome and the Church of England ; and to that differ- 
 ence this Article is directed. 
 
 The divine insjiiration of the holy Scriptures, and con- 
 sequently their truth and obligation, ai'e allowed both 
 
 so that whatsoever is not read mjik.xv b.o. 
 therein, nor may he proved thereby", MarkvV?. 
 is not to be required of any man, 
 that it should be believed as an 
 Article of the Faith, or be thought 
 requisite or necessary to salvation. 
 In tiie name of the holy Scripture 
 
 by papists and by the members of our Church : Init the 
 papists assert, that the books of the New Testament 
 do not contain the whole rule of a Christian's faith 
 and practice ; they believe that the apostles orally 
 delivered many doctrines and precepts of the highest 
 importance to our eternal hajjpiness, which are not 
 contained in the New Testament ; and they further 
 believe, that these doctrines and precepts have been 
 faithfully transmitted to the present times, and that 
 there is an infallilile authority, vested by Christ in his 
 church, to judge of their correctness, and to distinguish 
 those which are true from those which are false. On 
 the contrary we of the Church of England affirm, 
 that the Scriptures contain a complete rule of faith 
 and practice ; and we reject every doctrine and pre- 
 cept, as essential to salvation, or to be obeyed as di- 
 vine, which is not supported by their authority. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 ' Holy Scripture containeth nil things necessary to sal- 
 vation :] For the holy Scripture containeth all things 
 which relate to faith or practice, beyond which God 
 requires nothing of us. See 2 Tim. iii. 15 — 17. Arch- 
 deacon IVelchman. 
 
 That the holy Scriptures are a complete rule of faith 
 is proved, first, by the authority of the holy Scriptures. 
 And this is so plainly laid down therein, that nothing, 
 but a strange prejudice and resolution to support a 
 cause, could contradict it. Those words of St. Paul 
 are very full to this purpose : " All Scripture is given 
 by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for 
 rejjroof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 
 that the man of God may be perfect, throughly fur- 
 nished unto all good works," 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. Moses 
 expressly forbids, " That any one should add unto the 
 word, that I command you, neither shall ye diminish 
 ought from it," Deut. iv. 2. " Whatsoever I command 
 unto you, observe and do it : thou shalt not add there- 
 unto, nor diminish from it," Deut. xii. 32. The same 
 ])rohibition is given out in the New Testament. For 
 St. John, closing his book of Revelation, and with that 
 our Christian canon, so that it may not improbably 
 seem to bear relation to the whole New Testament, 
 forbids any addition or diminution, with a curse an- 
 nexed to it, " If any man shall add unto these things, 
 God shall add unto him the jilagues that are written 
 in this book ; and if any man shall take away from the 
 words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take 
 away his jiart out of the book of life, and out of the 
 holy city, and from the things which are written in this 
 book," Rev. xxii. 18, 19. But the substance of this 
 had been before declared Ity St. Paul ; " Though we, 
 or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto 
 you than that which we have preached unto you, let 
 liim be accursed," Gal. i. 8. And as for the endeavour 
 of some to piece out God's written word by tradition, 
 our Saviour warns us against this, when He blames the 
 Pharisees for it; namely, in "teaching for doctrines 
 the commandments of men," Matt. xv. 9; and "making 
 the commandment of God of none effect by their tra- 
 ditions," ver. 3. 6. 
 
 Secondly, by reason, drawn from the nature of the 
 thing, and the whole order of the gracious dispensation 
 3 C2
 
 756 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 we do understand those canonical 
 Books* of the Old and New Testa- 
 
 of the Gospel, with which God hath been pleased to 
 bless mankind, this is no more than we might expect. 
 For our Saviour having fu-st made known the Gospel to 
 the world by his own preaching and suffering, and pro- 
 jiagated it throughout the several parts thereof by the 
 jireaching of his apostles, in order to be conveyed down 
 to successive generations ; this could not well be effected 
 without a written word. For to have delivered down 
 the Gospel truths by word of mouth, or oral tradition, 
 would have made it subject to as many errors, as the 
 prejudices, fancies, and mistakes of the several relaters 
 could have gi\-en it. Xow since God has been pleased 
 to make use of this method to convey these truths 
 which He has revealed unto us, it is but reasonable to 
 think, that all the truths, which He has judged neces- 
 sary for our salvation, and which He has required of 
 us to believe, are contained in this written word. For 
 why God should leave some of the Gospel truths to 
 be conveyed in a purer, and others in a more corrupt 
 channel, some by Scripture, and others by tradition, 
 is unaccountable : why, since He designed the Scrip- 
 ture to be in some measure the rule of faith. He should 
 not at the same time render it a complete one : why 
 this divine law of God must be eked out by human 
 traditions, which have been uncertain in the best times, 
 and pernicious in some, and which strangely vary 
 according to different countries and ages. These no- 
 tions highly reflect upon the divine wisdom and good- 
 ness; and are taken up only to defend the corrupt 
 lu-actices of the Romish church, which they are re- 
 solved to maintain at any rate, rather than to part with 
 them. 
 
 The like reasons are alleged by the ancient divines 
 of the church. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 The ancient fathers always speak of the Scriptures 
 as containing a complete rule of faith and practice ; 
 aiul ajipeal to them, and to them only, in support of 
 the doctrines which they advance. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 " — so that iL'hatsoever is not read therein, nor may be 
 proved thereby, &c.] These words likewise are added 
 in opposition to the Roman church, which allows arti- 
 cles of faith to be founded on tradition : but we on the 
 contrary assert, that all doctrines of faith and life, and 
 whatsoever is taught in the Church as a divine doc- 
 trine, ought to be founded upon the holy Scriptures. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 Since He only has a right to prescribe the conditions 
 of salvation, who has the sole i)ower of conferring it ; 
 it does not belong to man to command or teach any 
 other things as necessarj' to salvation, than what (iod 
 Himself hath commamled and taught in the Scrip- 
 tures, and what He hath declared to be sufllcient for 
 the end. Sec Matt. xv. 9; Gal. i. 8, 9. Archdeacon 
 Welchmnn. 
 
 If this be our ndc, our intirc and only rule, then 
 such doctrines, as are not in it. ought to he rejected : 
 and any cluirch that adds to the Christian religion is 
 erroneous for making such additions, and becomes 
 tyrannical if she imposes them upon all her members, 
 and recpiircs ])ositive declarations, sHl)scTiptions, and 
 oaths concerning them. In so doing she forces such 
 as cannot have couunnnion with her, hut by aflirming 
 what they helieve to be false, to withdraw from tliat 
 wliich cannot be had without departing from the truth. 
 .So all the additions of the five sacraments ; of the invo- 
 cation of angels and saints; of llie worshiiiping of 
 images, crosses, and relicks ; of the corporal presence 
 in the cucharist; of the eacrilicc offered in it for the 
 
 ment, of whose authority was never 
 any doubt in the Church y. 
 
 dead as well as for the living, together with the adora- 
 tion offered to it, with a great many more ; are cer- 
 tainly errors, unless they can be proved from Scripture : 
 and they are intolerahle errors, if, as the Scripture is 
 express in opposition to them, so they defile the worship 
 of Christians with idolatry ; and they become yet most 
 intolerable, if they are imposed upon all tliat are in that 
 communion ; and if creeds or oaths, in which they are 
 afhrmed, are required of all in their communion. Here 
 is the main groimd of justifying our forming ourselves 
 into a distinct body from the Roman church, and there- 
 fore it is well to be considered. But the further dis- 
 cussing of it will come properly in, when other parti- 
 culars come to be examined. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 " — In the name of the holy Scripture we do understand 
 those canonical Books &c.] liy a canonical book of 
 Scrii)ture is meant a book, which, being written by 
 divine inspiration, ij to be received by us as a jiart of 
 the canon, or ride, of Christian faith and practice. Dr. 
 Bennet. 
 
 The canon of the New Testament, as we now haie 
 it, is fully proved from the (|uotations out of the books 
 of the New Testament, by the writers of the first and 
 second centuries, such as Clemens, Ignatius, Justin, 
 Irenieus, and others. Next to these authorities we 
 appeal to the catalogues of the books of the New Tes- 
 tament, that are given us in the third and fourth cen- 
 turies, by Origen, a man of great industry, who had 
 examined the state of many churches ; by St. Athanasius ; 
 by the councils of Laodicea and Carthage; and after 
 these we have a constant succession of testimonies, 
 which deliver these as the canon universally received. 
 Add to these things, first, that the books of the New 
 Testament were read in all their churches, and at all 
 their assemblies, so that this was a jioint in which it 
 was not easy for men to mistake. Secondly, that this 
 was so near the fountain, that the originals themselves 
 of the apostles were no doubt so long preserved. 
 Thirdly, that both the Jews, as appears from Justin 
 Martyr, and the Gentiles, as apjiears by Celsus, knew 
 tliat these were the books, in which the faith of tlie 
 Christians was contained. Fourthly, tliat some ques- 
 tion was made touching some of them, because tliere 
 was not that clear or general knowledge concerning 
 them, that there was concerning the others : yet ujion 
 fuller iriipiirj' all acquiesced in them. Thus the canon 
 of the New Testament is fixed upon clear and sure 
 grounds. 
 
 Thence, without any further proof, wc may be con- 
 vinced of the canon of the Old Testament. Christ does 
 frequently cite Moses and the prophets; He appeals to 
 them ; and, though He charged tlie Jews at that time, 
 chiefly their teachers and rulers, with many disorders 
 and faults, yet He never once so much as insinuated, 
 tliat they had corrupted their law, or other sacred 
 books ; which, if true, had been the greatest of all those 
 abuses that they had put upon the people. Our Sa- 
 viour cited their books according to the translation 
 tliat was then in credit and conunon use amongst them. 
 \Vhen one asked Him which was the great command- 
 ment. He answered, " How readest thou.'" .\nd He 
 proved the chief things relating to Himself, his death 
 and resurrection, from the projihecies, that had gone 
 before, which ouglit to have been fulfilled in Hiui. He 
 also cites the (Jld Testament by a threefold division of 
 the " Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the I'salms," 
 Luke xxiv. 44, according to the three orders of books, 
 into which the Jews had divided it; the Psalms, which
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 757 
 
 Of tlie Names and Number of tlie 
 Canonical BOOKS. 
 
 Mjf Exodus, 
 
 Leviticus, 
 
 Numbers, 
 
 Deuteronomy, 
 
 Joshua, 
 
 Judges, 
 
 Ruth, 
 
 The First Book of Samuel, 
 
 The Second Book of Samuel, 
 
 The First Book of Kings, 
 
 The Second Book of Kings, 
 
 The First Bonk of Chronicles, 
 
 The Second Book of Chronicles, 
 
 was the first among " the holy wTitings," as they were 
 culled, being set for that whole volume. St. Paul says, 
 that "to the Jews were committed the oracles of God," 
 Kom. iii. 2 : he reckons that among the chief of their 
 ])rivileges, but he never blames them for being unfaithful 
 in their trust : and it is certain that the Jews have not 
 corrupted the chief of those passages, that are urged 
 against them to prove Jesus to have been the Christ. 
 So that the Old Testament, at least the translation of 
 the Seventy interpreters, which was in common use and 
 in high esteem among the Jews in our Saviour's time, 
 was, as to the main, faithful and uncorrupted. This 
 might be further urged from what St. Paul says con- 
 cerning those Scri])ture3, which Timothy had learned of 
 a child : these could be no other than the books of the 
 Old Testament. Thus, if the writings of the New Tes- 
 tament are acknowledged to be of divine authority, the 
 full testimony that they give to the books of the Old 
 'J'estament does sufficiently prove their authority and 
 genuineness likewise. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ' — of whose authority was never any douht in the 
 Church.'] Namely, in the catholick or universal church. 
 For some particular churches did for some time doubt 
 of a few of them : namely, the Epistle to the Hebrews ; 
 the Epistles of St. James and St. Jude ; the second and 
 third Epistles of St. John ; and the Revelation. Arch- 
 deacon IVelchman. 
 
 This part of the Article was manifestly penned in 
 opposition to the papists, particularly with respect to 
 their then late determination at the council of Trent, 
 which received into the canon those books which we 
 reject as apocryphal. Now the reason of our rejecting 
 them is, because they were not received as canonical by 
 the ancient church, whereas the ancient church did 
 unanimously receive those which we do now receive. 
 I do not say, that there never was a man, especially 
 among the hereticks, that doubted of, or even rejected, 
 some of those that we receive. Nor do I say, that every 
 book, which we receive, was from the beginning received 
 by every church. Hut I say, that the main body of 
 orthodox Christians did always receive those books 
 which we receive, when once they became acquainted 
 with them, and had opportunity of examining iiito their 
 authority. Now the far greater part of these books 
 were thus universally received in the first and second 
 centuries : and others, which were at first suspected by 
 some considerable bodies of Christians, who were not as 
 yet acquainted with them, were, after examination made, 
 received also by those very bodies of Christians, and 
 never after either rejected or even suspected by them. 
 
 When therefore the Article asserts, that there never 
 was any doubt it^ tl^e Church of the authority of those 
 
 The First Book of Esdras, 
 The Second Book of Esdras', 
 The Book of Esther, 
 The Hook if Job, 
 The Psalms, 
 The Proverbs, 
 Ecclesiustes, or Preacher, 
 Cantica, or Songs of Solomon, 
 Four Prophets the greater. 
 Twelve Prophets the less. 
 
 And tlie other Books (as Ilierome 
 saitli^) the Church dotli read for 
 example of life, and instruction of 
 manners ; but yet doth it not apply 
 them to establish any doctrine ''; such 
 are these following : 
 
 books which we receive, and ap])rove as canonical ; it 
 must be understood in a limited sense, not absolutely, 
 but respectively. There have been doubts concerning 
 some of them : but so few, so short, so small, so incon- 
 siderable, that comparatively, or with resjject to the 
 greatness of the Church's extent, they are nothing and 
 none at all. 
 
 In a word then, our Church doth in this proposition 
 deliver the reason, why she receives some, and rejects 
 others, of those books, which the papists acknowledge 
 for their canon of Scripture. She receives those, the 
 authority of whicli was, comparatively speaking, never 
 doubted of; and she rejects those, the authority of which 
 never was acknowledged by her predecessors in the faith. 
 Dr. Bennet. 
 
 • The Second Book of Esdras,] In this enumeration of 
 the books of the Old Testament, the books, of Ezra and 
 Nehemiah are called the first and second books of 
 Esdras, Esdras being the Septuagint translation of the 
 Hebrew word Ezra. Ezra and Nehemiah were formerly 
 joined in one book : and, when they were separated, 
 the book of Nehemiah, being considered as a continu- 
 ation of the book of Ezra, was called by his name. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 In our old English Bibles Nehemiah goes under the 
 name of the second book of Esdras. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ' And the other Books (as Hierome saith) &c.] St. 
 Jerome expressly saith, what is quoted from him, of the 
 church in his days. His words are these. " As there- 
 fore the church readeth indeed the books of Judith, 
 Tobit, and the Maccabees, but doth not receive them 
 among the canonical Scriptures ; so also she may read 
 these two books," sjjeaking of Ecclesiasticus and the 
 Book of Wisdom, both which are apocryphal, " for the 
 edification of the people, not to confirm the authority of 
 the Chvirch's doctrines." Pref. to the Proverbs, &c. 
 Dr. Bennet. The words in the Article are repeated by 
 St. Jerome in several of his prefaces. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ^ — but yet doth it not apply them to establish any 
 doctrine ;] The chief reason, that presses us Christians 
 to acknowledge the Old Testament, is the testimony 
 that Christ and his apostles gave to those books, as 
 they were then received by the Jewish church, to whom 
 " were committed the oracles of God." Now it is not 
 so much as pretended, that ever these books were 
 received among the Jews, or were so much as known 
 to them. None of the writers of the New Testament 
 cite or mention them : neither Philo nor Josephus 
 speaks of tliem. Josephus on the contrary says, they 
 had only twenty-two books that deserved belief; but 
 that those, which were written after the time of Arta- 
 xerxes, were not of equal credit with the rest : and that
 
 758 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 The Third Book of Esdras, 
 
 The Fourth Brok of Esdras, 
 
 The Book of Tobias, 
 
 The Book of Judith, 
 
 The rest of the Book of Esther, 
 
 The Book of Wisdom, 
 
 Jesus the Son of Sirach, 
 
 Baruch the Prophet, 
 
 The Song of the Three Children, 
 
 The Story of Susanna, 
 
 Of Bel and the Dragon, 
 
 The Prayer of Manasses, 
 
 The First Book of Maccabees, 
 The Second Book of Maccabees. 
 
 All the Books of the New Testa- 
 ment, as they are commonly received, 
 we do receive, and account them 
 Canonical. 
 
 T 
 
 VII. Of the Old Testaments 
 
 H E Old Testament is not con 
 trary to the NeW": for both 
 
 Matt. V. 1?, 
 IS. John V 
 30. 4e. Acts 
 1" xviii. 2S. 
 
 in that period they had no prophets at all. The Chris- 
 tian church was for some ages an utter stranger to those 
 books. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 There is no authority, internal or external, for ad- 
 mitting the books, commonly called apocryphal, into 
 the sacred canon : they contain no prophecy or other j 
 authentick mark of inspiration ; they were all written at 
 times subsequent to the cessation of the prophetick 
 spirit, but before the promulgation of the Gospel ; they 
 were not included in the Jewish canon, and therefore 
 received no sanction from our Saviour; they are not 
 cited or alluded to in any part of the New Testament ; 
 nor are they mentioned by any ecclesiastical «Titer of 
 the three first centuries ; and tbey are expressly re- 
 jected by .-\thanasius and Jerome in the fourth centm-y. 
 Though these two fathers, and several subsequent au- 
 thors, speak of these books with respect, yet the same 
 authority was never ascribed to them as to the Old and 
 New Testament, till the council of Trent at its fourth 
 session admitted them all, except the Prayer of Ma- 
 nasseh, and the third and fourth books of Esdras, which 
 three books are not mentioned in the acts of the coun- 
 cil, into their canon : and this still continues one of the 
 many points of difference between the church of Rome 
 and that of England. There is therefore no ground 
 for applying the books of Apocrypha " to establish any 
 doctrine :" but they are highly valuable as ancient writ- 
 ings, whicli throw considerable light upon the phrase- 
 ology of Scripture, and upon the history and manners 
 of the East ; and, as they contain many noble senti- 
 ments and useful ])recepts, our Church, in imitation of 
 the primitive church of Christ, " doth read them for 
 example of life and instruction of manners." It does 
 not however read all the books of the Apocry|)ha : it 
 reads no part of either book of Esdras, or of the Mac- 
 cabees, or of the book of Esther ; nor does it read the 
 Song of the Three Children, nor the Prayer of Manasseh. 
 Bp. Tomline. Concerning this provision of the Church, 
 see page '21, note /. 
 
 ' VII. Of the Old Testament.] This article was di- 
 rected against the opinion of certain persons, who 
 thought that theOhl 'restainent, after the promulgation 
 of the New, was no longer of any use ; and also against 
 the .Vnabaptists and other enthusiasts, who, mistaking 
 some expressions in tlie Episth's concerning justifica- 
 tion by {_'hri.st without the works of the law, maintained 
 that Christians were under no obligation to obey the 
 moral precepts of the Mosaick dispensation. Bp. Tom- 
 line. 
 
 'ITiis .\rticle is made up of the 0th and 10th of King 
 Edward's Articles laid togctlicr : only the 19th of King 
 Edward's has these words after "moral:" "Where- 
 fore they arc not to t)e heard which teach, that the holy 
 .Scriptiu-cs were given to none but to the weak ; and 
 brag continually of the .*^|iirit, by which they do pretend 
 tlial all, wliatsoever they preach, is suggested to tliem ; 
 tliough manifestly contrary to the lioly Scrij)ture»." 
 This whole Article relates to the Antinoinians, us tliesc 
 
 last words were added by reason of the extravagance of 
 some enthusiasts at that time : but, that madness hav- 
 ing ceased in Queen Elizabeth's time, it seems it was 
 thought that there was no more occasion for those 
 words. B/>. Burnet. 
 
 '' The Old Testament is not contrary to the New .•] So 
 far is the Old Testament from being contrary to the 
 New, that they confirm one another, and convey autho- 
 rity to each other. " Think not that I am come to 
 destroy the law and the prophets," saith our blessed 
 Saviour ; " I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil," 
 Matt. V. 17, IS. It is said of St. Paul, .\cts xviii. 28, 
 that " he mightily convinced the Jews, and that pub- 
 lickh', shewing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the 
 Christ." And in John v. 39, our Saviour says to the 
 Jews, " Search the Scriptures : for in them ye think ye 
 have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me." 
 And again, ver. 46, " Had ye believed Moses, ye would 
 have believed me : for he wrote of me." 
 
 As there is such an agreement between the Old and 
 New Testament, so likewise do they both aim at the 
 same end, that is, the eternal sab'ation of mankind by 
 Jesus Christ. Thus, Gen. iii. 15, God saith to the ser- 
 pent, " I will put enmity between thee and the woman, 
 and between thy seed and her seed : it shall bruise thy 
 head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." This is a promise 
 of Christ to restore man from the miserable condition 
 to wliich he had reduced himself by his disobedience, 
 which is recorded in this chapter. 
 
 That the Old Testament concerns itself about the 
 eternal salvation of mankind, may be proved beyond 
 contradiction, from Dan. xii. 2, 3 : where he speaks of 
 a time, when " many of tliem that sleep in the dust of 
 the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some 
 to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be 
 wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament : and 
 they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for 
 ever and ever." 
 
 As to the method of securing our salvation, the Old 
 Testament gives tis the law, and promises salvation to 
 such as obey it. But inasmuch as tlie infirmity or 
 weakness of luunan nature is so great, that no man can 
 I)ay an exact obedience to the law; it follows that by 
 the law no man is saved : and therefore the Old Testa- 
 ment points out Christ to us, as the only Author of our 
 salvation, througli the shadowing of ceremonies, types, 
 and prophecies; and the New Testament shews Him to 
 us |)lainly, as appears from Rom. iii. 21, "But now 
 tlie righteousness of (iod without the law is manifested, 
 being witnessed by the hiw and the ])rophet3 ;" and 
 from chaj). xvi. 26, " But now is made manifest, and 
 by the Scriptures of the pro])hets, according to the 
 commHudment of the everlasting God, ma(h' known to 
 all nations for the obedience of faith;" anil from Gal. 
 iii. '21, " Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to 
 bring us luito Christ, tliat we might be justified by 
 faith." Veneer. 
 
 There is not only the most perfect harmony and con-
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 75!) 
 
 the Old and New Testament ever- 
 Gen. ill. 15; lasting life is offered to Mankind by 
 Rom.Tii.'2ii Christ, wlio is the only Mediator" 
 
 XVi. 25, 26. 
 
 sistency, but the closest connexion and mutual depend- 
 ence, between the Old and New Testaments : they are 
 parts of the same system ; they explain and confirm 
 each other. The great plan of universal redem])tion, 
 announced and typified in the one, is perfected and 
 comjileted in the other : it was declared to Adam ; it 
 was promised to the patriarchs ; it was typified by the 
 law ; it was predicted by the prophets ; it was fulfilled 
 in t,'hrist. It was the eternal decree of God : it was 
 gradually carried on through a long succession of ages, 
 according to the dictates of his unerring wisdom ; and 
 was finally executed in his own good time. " Known 
 unto God are all his works from the beginning," Acts 
 XV. 18. " With him a thousand years are as one day," 
 2 Pet. iii. 8. " In him there is no variableness, or sha- 
 dow of turning," James i. 17. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 See also the note from Hooker, page 26, note cl. 
 
 ' — tcho is the only Mediator &c.] This ajipears 
 from 1 Tim. ii. 5, " For there is one God, and one 
 Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 
 "When we call Him a Mediator, we call Him so, not only 
 as He is our Redeemer, but also as He is our Inter- 
 cessor. " For, if any man sin, we have an advocate 
 with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," 1 John 
 ii. 1. Archdeacon iVelchman. It is to be remembered 
 however, that by a mediator here the Church means, 
 not barely an intercessor or transactor of business be- 
 tween two ])arties, in which sense Moses was a mediator 
 between God and the Israelites with respect to the 
 ceremonial law : but such a mediator, intercessor, and 
 transactor, as can plead the merit of his own blood, 
 offered up in man's stead, to reconcile an offended God 
 to sinful man. In this sense Christ is the only Medi- 
 ator between God and man, being both God and man. 
 Dr. Bemiet. 
 
 It has been already proved that Christ partook both 
 of the divine and human nature : and St. Paul expressly 
 says, "There is one Mediator &c." Christ is repre- 
 sented, both in the Old and New Testament, as the 
 only Redeemer of mankind, as the only sacrifice for the 
 sins of the whole world. His merits will extend to all, 
 who lived before and after the promulgation of the 
 Gospel. " As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all 
 be made alive," 1 Cor. xv. 22. " He is the Lamb which 
 was slain from the foundation of the world," Rev. xiii. 8. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' — Wherefore they are not to be heard, which fei'jn 
 &c.] That the old fathers looked for spiritual and 
 eternal things, suificiently appears from Heb. xi. 10. 14. 
 26. 35. Abraham " looked for a city, which hath 
 foundations, whose builder and maker is God." "They 
 who say such things declare plainly that they seek a 
 country." " Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater 
 riches than the treasures in Egypt : for he (Moses) had 
 respect unto the recompense of the reward." " Others 
 were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they 
 might obtain a better resurrection." Archdeacon 
 Welchman. 
 
 It is true, that if we take the words of the covenant, 
 which Moses made between God and the people of 
 Israel, strictly and as they stand, they import only tem- 
 poral blessings : that was a covenant with a body of men 
 and with their posterity, as they were a people engaged 
 to the obedience of that law. Now a national covenant 
 could only be established in temporal promises of pub- 
 lick and visible blessings, and of a long continuance of 
 them upon their obedience ; and in threatenings of as 
 
 between God and Man, being both oai. in. u. 
 God and Man. Wherefore they i Tim. li. s. 
 are not to be heard, which feign' 
 
 signal judgments upon the violation of them : but under 
 those general promises of what was to hajijjen to tliem 
 collectively, as they made up one nation, every single 
 person among them might, and the good men among 
 them did, gather the hopes of a future state. It is clear 
 that Moses did all along su[)pose the being of (jod, the 
 creation of the world, and the promise of the Messiah, 
 as things fully known and carried down by tradition to 
 his days ; so it seems he did also supjjose the knowledge 
 of a future state, which was then generally believeil by 
 the Gentiles as well as the Jews ; though they had only 
 dark and confused notions about it. But when God 
 was establishing a covenant with the Jewish nation, 
 a main part of which was his giving them the land of 
 Canaan for an inheritance, it was not necessary that 
 eternal rewards or punishments should be then pro- 
 posed to them : but from the tenor of the promises 
 made to their forefathers, and from the general princi- 
 ples of natural religion, not yet quite extinguished 
 among them, they might gather this, that under those 
 carnal jiromises blessings of a higher natiu'e were to be 
 understood. There are various ])assages in the Psalms, 
 such as Ps. xvi. 11; xvii. 14, 15; xlix. 14, 15, which 
 very clearly set forth David's belief, both of future ha])- 
 ])iness, and of the resiu-rection of his body. To which 
 might be added some other passages in the Psalms; 
 as Ps. Ixxxiv. 1 1 ; Ixxxvii. 6 ; xc. 17 ; xcvi. 13 ; Eccles. 
 xi. 9; xii. 14; Isa. xxv. 8; xxvi. 19; and Dan. xii. 2; 
 in all which it appears, that the holy men in that dis- 
 pensation did understand, that under those promises 
 in the books of Moses that seemed literally to belong 
 to the land of Canaan, and other temporal blessings, 
 there was a spiritual meaning hid, which it seems was 
 conveyed down by that succession of |)rophets, that 
 was among them, as the mystical sense of them. Bp. 
 Burnet. 
 
 It ajipears from various authorities, that the Jews in 
 general believed in a future state in the time of our 
 Saviour : and, if they believed that they were to exist in 
 another life, they would of course consider themselves 
 capable of happiness or misery in that existence, and 
 woidd place their hopes and confidence in the sujireme 
 Disposer of all events, whose interposition and mercy 
 they had so often experienced, and who had given 
 them such strong and repeated intimations of still 
 greater favours and blessings. And though the Jews 
 in general, at the time of our Saviour's appearance 
 ujion earth, had very erroneous notions of the kingdom, 
 which the Messiah was to establish ; yet we have no 
 reason to think that those notions always [jrevailed, or 
 that even then they looked for worldly grandeur and 
 temporal benefits only : on the contrary it appears 
 from an expression of our Saviour, that they had some 
 expectation of happiness in another world : " Search the 
 Scriptures," said He to the unbelieving Jews : "for in 
 them ye think ye have eternal life," John v. 39. " But," 
 says Bp. Burnet, "though the old fathers had a con- 
 veyance of the hope of eternal life made to them with 
 a resurrection of their bodies, and a confidence in the 
 mercy of God for pardoning the most heinous sins ; yet 
 it cannot be denied, that it was a light that shined in a 
 dark place, till the day-star did arise ; and that ' Christ 
 brought life and immortality to light' by his Gospel, 
 2 Tim. i. 10, giving us fuller and clearer discoveries 
 of it, both with relation to our souls and bodies; and 
 that by Him also God has declared his righteousness 
 for the remission of sins through the forbearance of
 
 760 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Feb. xi. 10. that the Old Fathers did look only 
 
 14.26.35. £^j, transitory promises. Although 
 
 the Law given from God by Moses s, 
 
 ler. xiii. 31, ag toucliintf- Ceremonies and Rites, 
 32. , , . o, ,,, . . ., 
 
 Gal. iii. 25; do not bind Christian men, nor tne 
 
 coi'.ii. IB. 17. Civil precepts thereof ought of ne- 
 Heb. vii. 12. cgggity to be received in any com- 
 monwealth ; yet notwithstanding, 
 no Christian man whatsoever is 
 Matt. V. 19, free from the obedience of the 
 
 &c. James ii. 
 8—11. 
 
 God, throiiifh the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 
 and through faith in his blood," Rom. iii. 24, 25. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 s — A llhough the Law given from God by Moses, &c.] In 
 the remaining part of this Article, the precepts of the 
 Old Testament are divided into those which do not 
 oblige Christians, and those which do. First, it is said, 
 that the ceremonies and rites of the law do not oblige 
 ('hristians : and that the ceremonies of the Mosaical 
 law were to be abolished, is foretold by God Himself, 
 Jer. .\x.\i. 31, 32; and that they were in fact abolished 
 by the Christian dispensation, appears from Gal. iii. 25. 
 Secondly, it is said in this Article, that there is no 
 necessity for receiving the civil precepts of the Mosaical 
 law in any commonwealth ; nor is it so much as hinted 
 at in any ])art of Scripture, that there is a necessity for 
 receiving them. On the contrary, St. Paul acknow- 
 ledges the validity of the Roman laws, and boldly 
 claims the benefit of them. Acts xxv. 10 ; he also com- 
 mands the Romans to be subject to their governours, 
 Rom. xiii; and St. Peter commands Christians in 
 general to obey the government, under which they live, 
 1 Pet. ii. 13. But, thirdly, though the ceremonial and 
 civil parts of the law do not oblige Christians, yet the 
 moral part does : for so exquisitely fitted to the nature 
 of man are the precepts of the moral law, that, if they 
 were dissolved, the misery of mankind in this world 
 would be beyond exjjression ; it hath therefore pleased 
 our blessed Saviour to ratify and confirm them afresh, 
 Matt. V. 1" — 20; and that the moral law obligeth 
 Christians, appears likewise from James ii. 8 — 11. 
 Archdeacim Welchman, Veneer. 
 
 The Mosaick dispensation was preparatory to the 
 Christian, and its principal objects were to separate the 
 Jews from other nations, and to preserve in the world 
 a knowledge of the one true God, ^'hich would other- 
 wise have been utterly lost before the coining of the 
 Messiah. It consisted of three parts: the worship of 
 (iod, the civil polity of the Jews, and prece])ts for tlie 
 direction of their moral conduct. The religious cere- 
 monies and i)olitical regulations were blended together, 
 and were calculated to keep the Jews united among 
 themselves, and to prevent all intercourse with the rest 
 of the world. The coming of the .Messiah, by com- 
 ])leting the use of these institutions, put an end to 
 their obligation. The .\po8tU'.s decreed that the cere- 
 iiumiul law was not Ijinding ujion those (ientiles, who 
 embraced the Gospel ; and that doctrine is fully ex- 
 jilained and inforced in the Kpistles to the (Jalutians 
 and Hebrews: but the apostles and other Jewish 
 Christians, although it was by no means reipiired of 
 tlie Gospel, seem to have continued in the observance 
 of several injunctions of the Mo.saick ritual, till the 
 temj)le at Jerusalem was destroyed: since that time 
 tlie Jews, although very numerous in dillirent parts of 
 the world, have no where existed as a nation ; and the 
 ]ierformancc of their religious worship, as directed by 
 the law of Moses, has been absolutely imjiossiblc. 
 
 Commandments which are called Rom. iiii. 9, 
 Moral. '"• 
 
 VIII. Of the three CreedsK 
 
 TH E three Creeds, Nicene Creed', 
 Athanasius's Creed \ and that 
 which is commonly called the Apo- 
 stles' Creed ', onght thoroughly to be 
 received ™ and believed : for they 
 
 The form of civil government, established among the 
 Jews, was adapted to their peculiar destination : but it 
 was temporary even to them, and was obviously never 
 intended for any other country or people. On the other 
 hand the moral precepts, resting u])on fLxed and im- 
 mutable principles, being founded in the essential differ- 
 ence between right and wrong, and being equally appli- 
 cable to all persons at all times, will be binding upon 
 every man as long as the world shall last. And this, 
 which appears from the whole tenor of the Xew Testa- 
 ment, is expressly asserted by Christ Himself, in his 
 sermon upon the mount : "Think not that I am come 
 to destroy the law and the prophets : I am not come 
 to destroy, but to fulfil : for verily I say unto you, till 
 heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall 
 in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled," Matt. 
 V. IS; in which declaration our Saviour evidently 
 refers to the moral law : and all the moral precepts 
 contained in the Old Testament, are not only sepa- 
 rately confirmed and enforced in the New, but many 
 of them are extended to a greater degree of strictness 
 and purity in the same sermon of our Saviour. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 >■ VHI. Of the three Creeds:] By the word " Creed" 
 is meant the substance of a Christian's belief. The 
 Latin word for it is " .Symbolum," which also signifies 
 a watch word, or signal in war. For, as there are cer- 
 tain marks of distinction used in war, by which the 
 soldiers on one side are distinguished from those of 
 the other ; so by these Creeds the orthodo.x or sound 
 Christians of the catholick or universal church are 
 distinguished from infidels and hereticks. Veneer, 
 Archdeacon H'elchman. 
 
 ' — Nicene Creed,] See page 288, 289, notes /, u. 
 
 •^ — Athnnasiiis's Creed,] See page ."iO, note n. 
 
 ' — and that uhich is commonli/ called the Apostles' 
 Creed,] See page 27, note g. 
 
 ■" — ought thnrimijhly to be received &c.] Great respect 
 is due to all these Creeds, on account of their antiquity 
 and general reception among Christians : but as they 
 do not come immediately from Christ and his ajiostles, 
 they have no other claim to our assent, than as they 
 agree with the New Testament : and upon this ground 
 our Church declares, that " thcv ought thoroughly to 
 be received and believed, for they may be proved by 
 most certain Warrants of holy .Scripture." Bp. Tomline. 
 As many therefore as subscribe to this book of Articles, 
 arid yet do not t)tlieve that these Creeds are agreeable 
 to the holy .Scriptures, are guilty of lying abominably 
 both to (iod and men. " Hiloved, when I gave all 
 diligence to write to you of the common salvation, it 
 was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you, 
 that ye should c;irnestly contend forthe faith, which was 
 once delivered unto the saints," Judo 3. Archdeacon 
 Welchman, 
 
 In proof of the contents of these Creeds, the reader 
 is referred to the notes, pages 290-^293; '50 — 59; 29 
 —32; 370 371.
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION, 
 
 7(il 
 
 may be proved by most certain war- 
 rants of holy Scrij)ture. 
 
 I X. Of Original oi- Birlh-sin ". 
 
 R I G I N A L Sin standetli not 
 in the followinj^ of Adam", (as 
 the Pelagians^ do vaiidy talk;) but 
 it is the fault and corruption of the 
 
 o 
 
 " IX. Of Original or Birth-sin.'] The rule of Chris- 
 tian faith being established in the last three Articles, 
 our Cliurch has thoiight it right in the next place to 
 jiroceed to those points, which relate to Christians as 
 individuals, and begins with " original or birth-sin." 
 Bp. Tomtine. 
 
 " Oriqinal Sin slandeth not in the following of Adam, 
 &:c.] The denomination of "original sin," to denote 
 the corruption or de]iravation of human nature, derived 
 from the lapse of our first parents, is not of very early 
 use in the Church. St. Austin is esteemed first to 
 have used it. But, however, the doctrine is as early as 
 Christianity itself; and the writers of the first centuries 
 do express very clearly the thing itself, though under 
 different names. For they call it " the old guilt," 
 " the ancient wound," " the common curse," " the old 
 sin," and the like. But after the Pelagian controversy 
 was set on foot, the divines of the church generally 
 used " originale peccatum," to signify the corruption 
 of nature and proneness to sin, which was transmitted 
 down from the first parents to their posterity ; follow- 
 ing therein St. Austin, who thought this the most 
 significant expression to denote that depravation of 
 nature, which the Pelagians denied. 
 
 Now that there is such an original warjiing of our 
 nature which renders us unajit to good, and prone to 
 sin ; and for that reason places us, in our natural state, 
 out of favour with God, is the constant doctrine of the 
 holy Scriptures. 
 
 " 'ITie imagination of man's heart is evil from his 
 youth," Gen. viii. 21. It is with relation to this gene- 
 ral corruption of nature, which accompanies us from 
 our birth, that Job asks the question, " \\ ho can bring 
 a clean thing out of an unclean ?" Job xiv. 4. To the 
 same pur])0se the Psalmist speaks, " Behold I was 
 shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive 
 me," Ps. li. 5. Our Saviour says, " That which is 
 born of the flesh is flesh," John iii. 6. The apostle 
 tells us, that both Jews and Gentiles are equally born 
 children of wrath : " were by nature the children of 
 wrath even as others," Eph. ii. .3: "Wherefore, as by 
 one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; 
 and so death passed upon all men, for that all have 
 sinned," Rom. v. 12. 
 
 These exjjress passages of holy Scripture, together 
 with ordinary experience, occasioned the ancient writers 
 of the church even before the Pelagian heresy sprang 
 up, to assert in their writings this general de])ravation 
 of human nature, and ])roneness of sin, caused by the 
 fall of our first progenitors : as is manifest from many 
 jiassages in the works of Ignatius, Justin Martyr, 
 'i'atian, Irenseus, Origen, TertuUian, Cyprian, Athana- 
 sius, Basil, Nazianzen, Chr}'sostom, and others of the 
 earliest Christian WTiters. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 Since infants, as well as adult persons, have need of 
 a Mediator, it follows that there is something in them 
 which stands in need of being remitted : and what can 
 that be but sin ? And since they are not capable of 
 " following" or imitating any person, it is evident that 
 the sin is the fault and corruption of nature. See Rom. 
 v. 14 : " Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even 
 
 nature of every man, that naturally 
 is enfi^eiulered of the oHsprinir ot 
 Adam'^; whereby man is very far 
 ffone from original riifliteousness^ Rnm. vii. is. 
 
 ^1. c ^• X- r 1.1 Gen. viii. 21. 
 
 and IS or his own nature inclinecl to 
 evil, so that the flesh lustcth always 
 contrary to the spirit; and therefore cai. v. ir. 
 in every person^ born into this world, 
 
 over them that had not sinned after the similitude of 
 Adam's transgression." Archdeacon Welchman. 
 
 p — the Pelagians] Pelagius lived in the former part 
 of the fifth century : he was a native of Wales, and his 
 real name was Morgan, which in the Welch language 
 signifies the same as Pelagius in Greek. He travelled 
 into Italy, Africa, and Palestine. He denied original 
 sin and the necessity of grace ; and asserted that men 
 might arrive at a state of impeccability in this life. 
 These errors caused so much alarm and disturbance in 
 the Christian world, that no less than thirty councils 
 are said to have been held concerning them, between 
 the years 412 and 430. His principal ojiponcnt was 
 Augustine : and occasionally .Jerome, Fulgentius, Pros- 
 per, and many others. Bp. Tom/ine. 
 
 '^ — that naturally is engendered of the offspring of 
 Adam ;] Christ is exempted from this guilt, as being 
 supernaturally engendered. Archdeacon Welchman. 
 
 ' — original righteousness,] By "original righteous- 
 ness" the divines of the church understand a primitive 
 rectitude of nature, which our first parents were formed 
 with, and which if they had not sinned, would have 
 been transmitted to all their posterity. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' — and therefore in every person &c.] These words 
 imply, that every person who is born into the world, 
 exclusive of the sins which he himself commits, or even 
 if he does not five to commit sin, is, on account of the 
 disobedience and guilt of Adam, subject to the wrath 
 and punishment of God : and we have seen the same 
 thing intimated in the second Article, where it is said, 
 that Christ sufi'ered " as a sacrifice not only for original 
 guilt, but also for actual sins of men." This is the 
 doctrine of Augustine and his followers, whose opinions 
 upon this subject are thus stated by Bp. Burnet : 
 " They believe that a covenant was made with all man- 
 kind in Adam as their first jiarent : that he was a 
 person constituted by God to represent them all; and 
 that the covenant was made with him, so that, if he 
 had obeyed, all his posterity should have been happy 
 through his obedience ; but by his disobedience they 
 were all to be esteemed to have sinned in him, his act 
 being imputed and transferred to them all." 
 
 But many persons, although they reject the Pelagian 
 system, do not accede to this o|)inion of Augustine 
 concerning original guilt; as thinking it incompatible 
 with the justice and goodness of God, to make the 
 whole race of men liable to punishment for the sin of 
 Adam, in which they had no concern : and the case, 
 which appears the most repugnant to the divine attri- 
 butes, is that of infants and idiots, who, being in- 
 capable of sinning, ought not to be subject to punish- 
 ment. These men admit, that a mortal and corrupt 
 nature is derived from Adam to all his descendants ; 
 and that this corruption is so strong, that no man ever 
 lived to the age of maturity without sin ; and conse- 
 quently that every such person is liable to di\-ine 
 punishment, for the sins which he has himself actually 
 committed, but not for Adam's sin. They therefore 
 think, that infants and idiots die, because of Adam's 
 sin; but that no farther punishment awaits them. Our 
 being thus adjudged to death, and to all the miseries
 
 762 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 F.yih. ii. 3. 
 Uom. T. IS. 
 
 it deserveth God's wrath and damna- 
 tion. And this infection of nature 
 doth remain', yea in them that are 
 regenerated ; whereby the lust of the 
 flesh", called in the Greek, <Pp6vi]na 
 aapKoQ, which some do expound the 
 wisdom, some sensuality, some the 
 
 that accompany mortality, they think may be well 
 called " God's wrath and damnation," as temporal 
 judgments are often so denominated in Scripture. In 
 this sense they understand the words of the Article : 
 and Bp. Burnet seems to think it possible, that the 
 framers of it, although their own opinion coincided 
 with that of Augustine, from a spirit of moderation 
 designedly used such expressions, as would admit of 
 another interpretation. 
 
 It must be acknowledged, that original guilt, con- 
 sidered in this point of view, is a difficult and aljstruse 
 subject : and, as the Scriptures do not inform us what 
 were the full and precise effects of .\dam's disobedience 
 upon his posterity, it is perhaps scarcely to be ex- 
 pected that there shoidd be an uniformity of opinion 
 among divines upon that point. We may obsen-e, 
 however, that the difference betH-een those who con- 
 fine original guilt to a mere liability to death and sin, 
 and those who extend it to a liability to punishment 
 also, is not very material ; since both sides admit that 
 Christ died as a propitiation for all the sins of the 
 whole world, whatever were the nature and character 
 of those sins. In either case, the effects of Christ's 
 obedience are commensurate with those of Adam's 
 disobedience : and upon either principle, if we bebeve 
 the Gospel and act conformably to its precepts, all our 
 sins, whether original in Adam, or actual in ourselves, 
 will be forgiven, and we shall be eternally happy : " As 
 by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to 
 condemnation ; even so by the righteousness of one the 
 free gift came upon all men unto justification of life," 
 Rom. v. 18. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' — And this infection of nature doth remain, &c.] Everj' 
 man l>y sad experience, as well as by the apostle's 
 assertion. Gal. v. 17, knows this to be too ])lain a 
 truth to admit of its being doubted. Archdeacon 
 Welchman. 
 
 It was a calumny, raised by the Pelagians against 
 the orthodox, that they invalidated the efficacy of Ijap- 
 tism by asserting that any sin or stain in the soul 
 remained after it. Nevertheless the orthodox main- 
 tained, that the infection of nature does remain after 
 baptism, and ])articularly, that these struggles and 
 rebelboiis of the animal nature are i)urposcly left in us 
 by (iod, fdr an exercise of our faith, and to excite our 
 vigilance and constancy in guarding against them. 
 And this doctrine is grounded upon express assertions 
 of the holy Scriptures: for St. Paul says, "'I'he flesh 
 lustetb against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the 
 flesh ; and these arc contrary the one to the other, so 
 that ye cannot do the things that ye would," (ial. v. 
 17. St. .lames excepts no person from being suliject 
 to the temptation of bis Uist : " ICvery man is tempted 
 when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed," 
 James i. 14. And the .spiritual comt)ut of the soul with 
 its lusts is thus described by St. Peter, "Dearly be- 
 loved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 
 from fleshly lu.sts which war against the soul," I Pet. 
 ii. II. Dr. Nichnlls. 
 
 The metnl)ers of the church of Rome maintain, that 
 original sin is intirely taken away by l)ai)tisui: but 
 there is no authority for tliis ojjinion in Scripture : on 
 
 affection, some the desire, of tlie 
 
 flesh, is not subject to the Law of r™- viii- '■ 
 
 God. And although there is no 
 
 condemnation for them that believe uom. vui. i. 
 
 and are baptized, yet the Apostle 
 
 doth confess, that concupiscence and 
 
 lust hath of itself the nature of sin". imm-'H'- 
 
 the contrary it mihtates against the assertion of St. 
 Paul to the Galatian converts ; the admonition of St. 
 Peter to the Christians, to wliom he writes ; and tlie 
 affirmation of St. James ; all cited above. These 
 Epistles were all written to persons, who had been 
 baptized ; and the apostles evidently consider them, as 
 still liable to the "infection of nature," contracted by 
 the fall of man. " There is no reason," says Bp. 
 Burnet, " to think, that baptism takes away all the 
 branches and effects of original sin : it is enough if we 
 are by it delivered from the wrath of God, and brought 
 into a state of favour and acce])tation ; we are freed 
 from the curse of death by our being intitled to a 
 blessed resurrection : and, if we are so far freed from 
 the corruption of our nature, as to have a foederal right 
 to such assistance, as will enable us to resist and redress 
 it, though it is not quite extinct in us so long as we 
 live in these frail and mortal bodies, here are very 
 great effects of our admission to Christianity by bap- 
 tism, though this shoidd not go so far as to root all 
 inclinations to evil out of our nature." Bp. Tointine. 
 
 " — whereby the lust of the flesh, &c.] The conse- 
 quence of the infection of nature remaining in us is, 
 that the lust of the flesh is not subject to the law of 
 God. " The carnal mind," saith St. Paul, " is enmity 
 against God ; for it is not subject to the law of God, 
 neither indeed can be," Rom. viii. 7. And though 
 what he says in the first verse of this chapter be very 
 true, that " there is no condemnation to them which 
 are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but 
 after the Spirit;" yet he confesseth in the seventh 
 verse of the foregoing chapter, that concupiscence and 
 lust hath of itself the nature of sin. His words are, 
 " What shall we say then ? Is the law sin ? God 
 forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law ; 
 for I had not known lust, except the law had said. Thou 
 shalt not covet." The same ajipears from some of 
 those other texts, made use of to make good the con- 
 tents of this Article : namely, that " concupiscence and 
 lust bath of itself the nature of sin," that is, of in- 
 firmity : for, except that it hax'e the consent of the 
 will along with it, it cannot be a wilful sin ; neither will 
 it be imputed to such as are regenerated, nor bring 
 them into condemnation. Veneer, Archdeacon fVelch- 
 man. 
 
 ' — concupiscence nnd lust hnlh of itself the nature of 
 sin.l It is observal)le here, that the compilers of our 
 .VrticU's do not say, that concuiiiscence hatli oidy then 
 the nature of sin, when it is ripened into outward act, 
 or has the will consenting to it ; but that it lias tlio 
 nature of sin of itself, antecedently to the comjiliance 
 of the will, and before it is reduced into act. And 
 inoreo\-er it is observable that they do not; say, that 
 concu])iscence is a sin. properly so called, as when men 
 voluntarily comjily willi a temptation, or do an un- 
 lawful action ; but only tliat " it bath the nature of 
 sin." Now a thing may have the nature of sin, or be 
 deemed a sin in a large and figurative sense, to which 
 no act of the will is consenting. Now the nature of 
 sin docs jiartly consist in a deflexion from tlie rectitude 
 of the divine will, which must make it for tliat reason 
 disagreeable to the divine wisdom and goodness ; and
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 7G.3 
 
 X. Of Free-Will''. 
 
 Rom. viii. 8. fT^HE condition of Man" after 
 
 I the fall of Adam is .such, that 
 
 he cannot turn and prepare him.self'', 
 
 John XV 4, by his own natural strength and 
 
 5; vi. 44. •' " 
 
 1 Cor. ii. 14 ; xii. 3. 
 
 consequently render the persons, who are the subjects 
 of this deflexion or tiepravation, out of favour with 
 God. For no one can say, that the lusts and passions 
 of our animal nature, and those tendencies to vice, 
 which we all of us feel within ourselves, are as pleasing 
 to God, as if all our appetites were perfectly calm and 
 quiet, and were continually in that e,\act obedience and 
 conformity to ovir reason, and the rules which God has 
 prescribed, as they wonld have been, if man had con- 
 tinued in his unlapsed state. 
 
 And this doctrine was maintained by St. Austin him- 
 self in the midst of his most vigorous opposition to the 
 Pelagian tenets. For he does not look upon it as a sin, 
 properly so called, unless the consent of the will go along 
 with it: but yet in a large and figurative sense he looked 
 upon concu|)iscence, as we do, to have the nature of 
 sin. Dr. Kichotls. 
 
 " X. 0/ Free-Will.'] The same moderation is ob- 
 ser\'ed in this Article, as in the former : for all disputes 
 concerning the degree of that feebleness and corrup- 
 tion, imder which we are fallen by the sin of Adam, 
 are avoided ; and only the necessity of a preventing 
 and co-operating grace is asserted. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 " The condition of Man &c.] God created man perfect 
 in his kind, and with a will which was free to choose 
 either good or evil. But he fell from that liberty, when 
 he committed sin ; he broke that power which he had 
 of election or choice ; he ceased to be free with relation 
 to good, and became the servant of sin. Thence pro- 
 ceeds such a blindness of his understanding, such a 
 perverseness of his will, and such an impetuousness of 
 his passions and a]ipetites, that, when left to himself, 
 he is not able either to discern or choose those things 
 which are truly good, but is hurried into the choice of 
 such things as are contrary thereto. 'I'hus our Saviour 
 says, " Without me ye can do nothing," John xv. 5 ; 
 and, " No man can come unto me, e.tcept the Father, 
 which hath sent me, draw him," John vi. 44. And the 
 apostle asserts, that " they that are in the flesh cannot 
 please God," Rom. viii. 8; and 1 Cor. ii. 14, "The 
 natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of 
 God, for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he 
 know them, for they are spiritually discerned :" and, 
 1 Cor. .\ii. 3, " Xo man can say that Jesus is the Lord, 
 but by the Holy Ghost." Hence we have need of the 
 assistance of the Holy Spirit, to enable us to choose 
 and perform whatever is good : which, as it is the most 
 excellent gift of God, and as it is freely given, is by 
 way of eminence called " grace." And indeed it seems 
 to 1)6 wanting to no one, who is not wanting to himself. 
 Archdeacon IVelchman. 
 
 ' — that he cannot turn and prepare himself, &c.] 
 These words are added in opposition to the opinion of 
 those, who denied God's " preventing grace," though 
 they owned his concurring or "assisting grace:" the 
 latter being denied only by the Pelagians ; the former 
 by those, who were called formerly Semijielagians. 
 Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 ' — by his own natural strength and good worlcs^ 
 Works done before the grace of Christ may have some 
 specious appearance of good ; whence they are called 
 " good," but improperly : for in reality they are not 
 good. See Ait. xiii. Archdeacon Welch-nan. 
 
 good works^, to faith and calling upon 
 
 God: wherefore we have no power 2 Cor. !ii. s. 
 
 . I 1)1 i. 1 Kom. viii. 26. 
 
 to do good works ])leasant and ac- 
 ce|)tah!e to God, witliout the (rrace Acts xvi. h. 
 or God' by Llinst" preventnig us% 
 that we may have a good will, and 
 
 * — without the graci of God Sec.'] For neither can 
 we " believe," unless " God open our hearts," Acts xvi. 
 14; neither can we "will" or "do," unless He "of 
 his good jjleasure work in us " for those ends, Phil. ii. 
 17. Archdeacon Welchman. God is said to "work in 
 us both to will and to do :" the one seems to imjjort the 
 first beginning, and the other the progress, of a Chris- 
 tian course of life. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 '' — by Christ] All the spiritnal benefits, which God 
 ever conferred upon men. He conferred " by," and for 
 the sake of, " Christ " alone. And thei'ufore as many 
 as under the first covenant pleased God, and that some 
 of them did |)lease Him a])|)ears from lleb. xi., did it 
 not by the strength of their own free will, but by the 
 assistance of God's grace, which was then also con- 
 ferred through Christ. For his merits extended to all 
 ages of the world: and therefore He is called "the 
 Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," Rev. 
 xiii. 8. Archdeacon Welcliman. 
 
 ' — preventing us,] That is, going before us. See 
 page 324, note y. 
 
 I'he most pious of those, who lived under the Mosaick 
 dispensation, often acknowledge the necessity of assist- 
 ance from God. Uavid prays to God to "ojien his 
 eyes, to guide and direct him," Ps. cxix. 18. 32. 35 ; to 
 " create in him a clean heart, and renew a right spirit 
 within him," Ps. Ii. 10. And Solomon says, that God 
 " directeth men's paths, and giveth grace to the lowly," 
 Prov. iii. (i. Even we, whose minds are enlightened by 
 the pure jirecepts of the Gospel, and influenced by the 
 motives which it suggests, must still be convinced of 
 our weakness and depravity, and of the necessity of 
 divine grace to regulate and strengthen our wills, and to 
 co-operate with our endeavours after righteousness, as 
 is clearly asserted in the New Testament. See the texts 
 above cited : which sufficiently prove, that we stand in 
 need both of a preventing and of a co-o])erating grace : 
 or, in the words of the Article, that " we have no |)ower 
 to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, with- 
 out the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we 
 may have a good will, and working with us, when we 
 have that good will." 
 
 Dr. Nicholls, after quoting many authorities to shew, 
 that the doctrine of divine grace always jirevailed in the 
 Cathohck church, adds, " I have spent ])erhap3 more 
 time in these testimonies, than was absolutely necessary : 
 but whatever 1 have done is to shew, that the doctrine 
 of divine grace is so essential a doctrine of Christianity, 
 that not only the holy Scriptures and the primitive 
 fathers assert it, but likewise that the Christians could 
 not in any age maintain their religion without it; it 
 being necessary, not only for the discharge of Christian 
 duties, but for the performance of our ordinary devo- 
 tions." And this seems to have been the opinion of 
 the compilers of our most excellent Liturgy, in many 
 parts of which both a preventing and co-operating 
 grace is unequivocally acknowledged ; particularly in 
 the second Collect for Evening service, in the fourth 
 Collect at the end of the Communion service, and in 
 the Collects for Easter-day, for the fifth Sunday after 
 Easter, and for the 3rd, 9th, l/th, 19th, and 25th Sun- 
 days after Trinity. 
 
 This assistance of divine grace is not inconsistent
 
 764 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Ps. cxliii. 2. 
 Rom. iii. 24 
 —26. 
 Eph. iL 8, 9. 
 
 workino^ with us, when we have that 
 good will. 
 
 XI. Of the Justification of Man ^ 
 
 E are accounted righteous 
 before God% only tor the 
 
 w 
 
 with the free agency of men : it does not place them 
 under an irresistible restraint, or compel them to act 
 contrary to their will. Though human nature is greatly 
 depraved, yet every good disposition is not totally extin- 
 g\iished, nor is all power of right action intirely anni- 
 hilated. Men may therefore make some spontaneous, 
 though feeble, attempt to act conformalily to their duty, 
 which will be promoted and rendered effectual by the 
 co-operation of God's grace ; or the grace of God may 
 so far "prevent" our actual endeavours, as to awaken 
 and dispose us to our duty : but yet not in such a 
 degree, that we cannot withstand its influence. In 
 cither case our own exertions are necessary to enable 
 us to " work out our own salvation," but our " suffi- 
 ciency" for that purpose is from God. The joint agency 
 of God and man in the work of human salvation is 
 ])i)inted out in the following passage ; " Let us work 
 out our own salvation with fear and trembling : for it 
 is God that worketh in us both to will and to do, of his 
 good pleasure," Phil. ii. 12, 13 : and therefore we may 
 assure ourselves that free will and grace are not incom- 
 patible, though the mode and degree of their co-opera- 
 tion be utterly inexplicable. 
 
 The doctrine of this Article has been the subject of 
 much dispute among Christians : some sects contend 
 for tlie irresistible impulses of grace; and others reject 
 the idea of any influence of the divine .Si)irit ui>on the 
 human mind. The following caution on the subject is 
 from the Necessary Doctrine of a Christian Man, a work 
 supposed to have been writion by Archbishop Cranmer : 
 " .\11 men are to be admonished, and chiefly jireachers, 
 that in this high matter they looking on both sides so 
 temper and moderate themselves, that they neither so 
 jireach the grace of God that they take away thereby 
 free will, nor on the other side so extol free will, that 
 injury be done to the grace of God." "'llius," as Dr. 
 .lortin observes, " do the doctrine of divine grace, and 
 the doctrine of free will or human liberty, unite and 
 conspire in a friendly manner to our everlasting good. 
 'I'he first is adapted to excite in us gratitude, faith, and 
 humility ; the second to awaken oiu' caution and quicken 
 our diligence." B/i. 'I'omline. 
 
 ■' XI. Of the Justijirntinn of ,1/aH.] Justification, in 
 the language of Scripture, signifies the being accounted 
 just or righteous in the sight of (Jod; or the being 
 placed in a state of salvation. " When (ioil justifies a 
 man," says Mr. Veneer, " it is by forgiving him bis 
 tresjiasses, and accepting, esteeming, ami rewarding 
 him as a righteous person, although he is not really 
 and strictly such. To justify, in the common spiritual 
 notion of it, is to absolve from guilt, to discharge from 
 ])\mishment." Bp. 'I'imtWne. 
 
 ' We lire (tccimiifcd riyhtenns hrfore Cml, &c,] Since 
 the very best works of even the best men are imperfect, 
 80 that if (iod shoulil "enter into judgment with his ser- 
 vants, no man living would be justified," I's. cxliii. 2 ; 
 it follows, that as many as are justified, are justified 
 only "for," or l)ecause of, the merits of Christ, by 
 faith; I mean, a lively faith, "which worketh liy love," 
 (ial. v. (). So St. I'anl teaches the Uomans, iii. H — 20; 
 " Being justified by his grace, through the redemption 
 that is in Christ .lesus, whom (iod hath set forth to be 
 a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare 
 
 merit of our Lord and Saviour Je.^us 
 
 Christ by Faith, and not for our own 
 
 works "^ of deservings : Wherefore, 
 
 that we are justified by Faiths only*" 
 
 is a most wholesome Doctrine, and Rom. x. lo. 
 
 very full of comfort, as more largely Bom'v.i.a. 
 
 his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, 
 through the forbearance of God : to declare, I say, at 
 this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and 
 the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." And the 
 Kphesians, ii. 8, : " By grace ye are saved through 
 faith ; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God : 
 not of works, lest any man should boast." Archdeacon 
 JVelchman. 
 
 ' — oiilj/ for the merit of our Lord &c. — atid not for 
 our own works &c.] Our Church here, in opposition to 
 the church of Rome, asserts, that we are justified only 
 for the merits of Christ, and not for our own works or 
 deservings. For they assert that men's inherent right- 
 eousness is the meritorious cause of their justification : 
 that their works are truly meritorious : or, as the coun- 
 cil of Trent expresses it, they do " ad vitam reternam 
 consequendam vere promereri," " are truly meritorious 
 in obtaining eternal life." As this doctrine of the merit 
 of good works is one of the most arrogant and scandal- 
 ous of the corrujitions of the Romish church, so is it 
 one of the most modern, having never been generally 
 recei\-ed in that church itself, before it was settled by 
 the council of Trent. But, whatever sanction be given 
 to it by that convention, it is contrary to the doctrine of 
 the holy Scrijitures, which declare, that we are so far 
 from meriting of God, that " when we have done all 
 those things which are commanded ns, we are to say we 
 are unprofitable servants," Luke xvii. 10. We are 
 therein informed, that " every good gift and every per- 
 fect gift is from above, and comet h down from the 
 Father of lights," James i. 1" ; that " God worketh in 
 us both to will and to do, of his good pleasure," Phil, 
 ii. 13. The same holy Scriptures instruct us, that all 
 our very best actions are mixed with great failures and 
 imperfections. Gal. v. IT: and that there is no propor- 
 tion between the things of this world, and the infinite 
 joys of the other, so that there cannot be any ground 
 for a parity of the duty with the recompense, Rom. viii. 
 IS; 2 Cor. iv. 17. And the current doctrine of anti- 
 (piity is consonant to these great oracles of truth. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 B _ by Fnilh] The form " faith" in the New Testa- 
 ment stands generally for the complex of Christianity, 
 in opposition to the Law, which stands as generally for 
 the complex of the whole Mosiiical dispensation. So 
 that the "faith of Christ" is ecpiivalent to this, the 
 (iospel of Christ ; because Christianity is a fo'deral reli- 
 gion, founded, on (iod's part, on the promises thxt He 
 has made to us, and on the rules that He hath set us; 
 and on (Uir part, on our believing that revelation, our 
 trusting to those promises, and our setting ourselves 
 to follow those rules. The believing of this revelation, 
 and that great article of it. of Christ's being the Son of 
 (iod, and tlie (rue Messiah, who came to reveal his 
 Father's will, and to oIl'iT Himself \qi to be the sacrifice 
 of this new ciiveuant. is ofleu re])resented as the great 
 and otdy condition of the (x)venant on our i)art : but 
 still this " faith" must receive tlie whole (iospel, the 
 J)rece))t3 as well as the ]>romises of it ; and receive 
 (!hiist as a Prophet to teach, and a King to rule, as 
 well as a Priest to save us. Ii/). liurutl. 
 
 At the same time it should be noted, that we are jus- 
 tifieil Ity faith, not because of faith : fur there is no more
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 7(i5 
 
 James ii. 17, 
 18. 
 
 is expressed in the Homily of Justifi- 
 cation '. 
 
 XIL OfGoocinorksK 
 
 LBEIT that Good Woriw, 
 which are the fruits of Faitii ', 
 
 A 
 
 " merit" in our faith, than in our works. Faith there- 
 fiire is not the cause, but the condition, of our justifi- 
 cation, wliicli is solely to be attributed to the bounty 
 of God, and the merits of Christ. Archdeacon Welch- 
 mrin. 
 
 I" — Wherefore, that we are justified hy Faith only &c.] 
 liy " faitli only " is not meant faith, as it is separated 
 from the other evangelical graces and virtues ; but faith 
 as it is opposed to the rites of the Mosaical law : for 
 that was the great question, that gave occasion to St. 
 Paul's writing so fully upon this head; since many 
 Judaizing Christians, as they acknowledged Christ to 
 be the true Messiah, so they thought that the law of 
 Moses was still to retain its force: in opposition to 
 whom St. Paul says, that " we are justified by faith, 
 without the works of the law," Rom. iii. 28 ; Gal. ii. 16. 
 It is plain that he means the Mosaical dispensation: 
 for he had divided all mankind into those " who were 
 in the law," and those "who were without the law," 
 Rom. ii. 12 : that is, into Jews and Gentiles. Nor had 
 St. Paul any occasion to treat of any other matter in 
 those Epistles, or to enter into nice abstractions, which 
 became not one that was to instruct the world in order 
 to their salvation : those metaphysical notions are not 
 easily apprehended by plain men, not accustomed to 
 such subtilties ; and are of very little value, when they 
 are more critically distinguished. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 The word faith in this Article is used in the same 
 sense, in which St. Paul uses it. The assertion in it, 
 that " we are justified by faith only," is not intended to 
 signify that we are justified by faith without moral 
 virtue ; but that faith, or obedience to the whole reli- 
 gion of Christ, including both belief and practice, is 
 the only appointed means of justification, " our own 
 works or deservings" being utterly insufficient for that 
 purpose. This is pronounced to be " a wholesome doc- 
 trine, and very full of comfort:" and so it surely is; 
 since it secures acceptance to our sincere, though imper- 
 fect, endeavours after righteousness, and places our 
 hope of everlasting happiness upon the infaUible pro- 
 mises of God, and the all-sufficient merits of Christ. 
 B/). Tomline. 
 
 ' — as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Jus- 
 tification.'] It is remarkable that there is no Homily 
 with this title. The Homily entitled " Of the Salvation 
 of all Mankind " is generally supposed to be here meant ; 
 though some learned men have thought, that the four 
 Homilies upon "human misery, salvation, faith, and 
 good works," were all referred to. The former opinion 
 seems to be the better founded, as the word in the Ar- 
 ticle is " Homily," and not " Homilies ;" and that 
 Homily relates more particularly to the subject of this 
 Article. Bp. Tvmline. 
 
 It is called here the Homily of Justification, because 
 the chief points of that doctrine are treated of therein. 
 Now it must be observed, that the moderation of our 
 Church is very remarkable ; that, whereas the world 
 was blown up into so much flame among the contending 
 l)arties, concerning the speculative points which were 
 raised about this doctrine, at the time of composing the 
 Articles and Homilies of our Church ; neither in the 
 Article itself, nor in the Homily to which the Article 
 refers, any of those nice matters are insisted on : but 
 
 and follow after Justification, cannot 
 
 ])iit away our sins'", and endure the i Joim i. ?. 
 
 severity of God's Judf^ement; y ft arc 
 
 they ])leasing- and acceptahle to God I'pii. n lo. 
 
 in Christ", and do spring out neces- iw,"jjii, 13. 
 
 sarily of a true and lively Faith"; 2"■^'• 
 
 only the plain Christian doctrine in general is set down, 
 and little more of the controversy touched upon, than 
 what the gross errors of the Roman church concerning 
 merits made absolutely necessary ; omitting those dis- 
 ])utes, which for a century and a half have |)er|)lexed 
 the churches abroad, and the minds of some among 
 ourselves, who have been pleased officiously to take 
 them up here at home, to very little edification and 
 much contention. Dr. Nicholts. 
 
 '' XII. Of Good Works.] This Article was not among 
 those of 1552: it was added in 1562, in o)i|iosition to 
 the o])inions of certain sects, called Antinomians, Soli- 
 fidians, and Gospellers, who denied the necessity of 
 good works. There might also have been a general 
 wish in the comjiilers of these Articles, to obviate any 
 mistake which might arise from the ex])ression in the 
 preceding Article, in which it is said, that " we are 
 justified by faith only." Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' Albeit that Good Works, which are the fruits of Faith, 
 &c.] By such works are meant those actions, which 
 proceed from the principle of a true faith in Christ, 
 and are performed after we are placed in a state of 
 justification by being admitted to partake of the privi- 
 leges and promises of the Gospel. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 " — cannot put away our sins, &c.] In o])position to 
 the church of Rome, which thinks, that a work cannot 
 l)e called good, if it is not entirely good ; and that 
 nothing can please God, in which there is a mixture of 
 sin ; we according to this Article believe, that human 
 nature is so weak and so degenerated, that, as far as 
 our natural powers concur in any action, there is still 
 some allay in it ; and that a " good work" is considered 
 by God according to the main, both of the action and 
 of the intention of him that does it; and that, as a 
 father pities his children, so God passes over the defects 
 of those, who serve Him sincerely, though not perfectly. 
 Bp. Burnet. 
 
 lliis imperfection of our nature is acknowledged by 
 the most pious men, whose characters are recorded in 
 holy writ. For thus holy Job professes, " How should 
 a man be just with God," Job ix. 2. " What is man 
 that he should be clean ? and he which is born of 
 woman, that he should be righteous ? behold, he ])ut- 
 teth no trust in his saints, and the hea\-ens are not 
 clean in his sight," Job xv. 14, 15. So holy David, 
 " If thou. Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, who should 
 stand ?" Ps. cxxx. .3. And again, " Enter not into 
 judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no 
 man living be justified," Ps. cxliii. 2. So likewise 
 Daniel, " O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, 
 but to us confusion of faces," Dan. ix. 7. And again, 
 " We do not jiresent our supplications before thee for 
 our righteousness, but for thy great mercies," ver. IS. 
 St. Paul affirms of himself that he had " not already 
 attained, nor was already perfect," Phil. iii. 12. St. 
 James declares, That " in many things we offend all," 
 James iii. 2. And St. John, " If we say that we have 
 no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us," 
 1 John i. 8. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 We see in fact that the best men in all ages have 
 been complaining and humbling themselves even for 
 the sins of their holy things, for their vanity and desire 
 of glory, for the distraction of their thoughts in devo-
 
 766 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Matt. vii. 16. 
 James ii. IS. 
 
 insomuch that by them a lively Faith 
 may be as e\'iflently known as a tree 
 discerned by the fruit. 
 
 tion, and for the affection which they have to earthly 
 things. It were a doctrine of great cruelty, which 
 might drive men to despair, if they thouglit that no 
 action could please God, in which they were conscious 
 to themselves of some imperfection or sin. St. Austin 
 urges this frequently, that our Saviour in teaching us 
 to pray has made this a standing petition, " Forgive us 
 our trespasses," as well as that, " Give us this day our 
 daily bread :" for we sin daily, and do always need a 
 pardon. Upon these reasons we conclude, that some- 
 what of the man enters into all that men do : we are 
 made up of infirmities, and we need the intercession of 
 Christ to make our best actions to be accepted of by 
 God ; for " if he should straitly mark iniquity, who 
 can stand before him i But mercy is with him, and 
 forgiveness," Ps. cxxx. 3, 4. So that with Hezekiah 
 we ought to pray, that "though we are not purified 
 according to the purification of the sanctuary, yet the 
 good Lord would pardon every one, that prepareth 
 his heart to seek God," 2 Cliron. x.xx. 18, 19. Bp. 
 Burnet. 
 
 ° — yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in 
 Ckrist,'\ Though good works are not meritorious, yet 
 that they are pleasing to God, and accepted through 
 Christ, appears from hence, because God hath " created 
 us in Christ Jesus unto good works," Eph. ii. 10: and 
 because Christ " gave himself for us, that he might 
 purify unto himself a peculiar peojde, zealous of good 
 works," Tit. ii. 14; who also "will render to every 
 man according to his deeds," Rom. ii. 6. Our works 
 indeed are imperfect, so that they " cannot endure the 
 severity of God's judgment," much less expiate our 
 sins, since they themselves rather want to be expiated 
 by the merits of Christ. But for bis sake God deals 
 bountifully with us, and does not judge us severely, 
 but has com])assion upon oiu' weakness, and ordains 
 infinite rewards for those who do well, though imper- 
 fectly. Archdeacon IVelchman. 
 
 That " good works are pleasing and acceptable to 
 God in Christ," is also evident from the earnest exhor- 
 tations, in almost every page of the New Testament, 
 to the practice of the moral and social duties, and from 
 the frequent and positive declarations of Scripture that 
 they are indispensably necessary to salvation. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 It was a frequent calumny raised by the Pa])ists 
 against the Protestants from the beginning of the 
 Reformation, that the whole of their religion consisted 
 in faith, and that they did reject good works as un- 
 necessary things. Nay, this rulunmy, false and scan- 
 dalous as it is. is not only objected to the Protestants 
 by the ])rivate writers of the Roman church, but even 
 by the council of 'I'rent itself; though at the same 
 time they had the several Protestant confessions, which 
 bail been dilivcred in to them, lying before them. 
 Therefore the I'rotestants in all their apologies anil 
 confessions do strenuously disavow this principle, 
 which the Papists had so luijnstly fastened upon them ; 
 and take all occasion to assert the necessity of good 
 works : as in the confessions of Augsburgh. of Wirtem- 
 berg, and especially of Saxony, which comes nighest 
 to our .Articles. For this is a doctrine, which is every 
 where incuhrated in the holy Scriptures, as the main 
 design of religion, and without which ('hristianity 
 would only be an empty speculative science. For the 
 exhortations and commands for the performance of 
 good works arc as cxi)rcs3 in Scrijjture as words can 
 
 XIII. Of Works before Judification p. 
 
 W2 
 
 O R K S done before the grace nom. m. 9. 
 Chrisf; and the Inspira- viii. ?', s.' ' 
 
 make them: see 1 Thess. vi. 7; Rom. vi. 15; Tit. ii. 
 12. 14. They elsewhere inform us, that no faith is 
 true or genuine, unless it draw after it good works as 
 a consequent of it. Gal. v. 6 ; I John v. 2 ; James 
 ii. 17. Besides God denounces the severest punish- 
 ment against those, who neglect or violate his com- 
 mandments, 1 Thess. iv. G; Rom. viii. 13; Col. iii. (5; 
 Eph. V. 5. The wTiters of the ancient church do exactly 
 agree with the holy Scriptures in this doctrine : for, 
 though they set the highest value upon God's grace 
 and a sincere faith, as to the point of justification; yet 
 they always requii'c the concomitancy or presence of 
 good works. Dr. NichoUs. 
 
 ° — and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively 
 Faith j~^ A true faith has always love joined to it; and 
 consequently is neither inactive, nor unfruitful. And 
 further, he, who truly believes the Gospel, will be | 
 " careful to maintain good works," which he who ' 
 neglects to do has only a dead faith, or even none at 
 all. See Gal. v. 6; James h. 18; Matt. vii. 16. Arch- 
 deacon IVelchman. 
 
 If a man sincerely believes the di\'ine authority of 
 Christ's religion, and is firmly convinced that his eter- 
 nal happiness depends upon his obedience to its pre- 
 cepts ; such a faith will naturally produce the practice 
 of those virtues, which are injoined by the Gospel ; " in- 
 somuch that by them a lively faith may be as endently 
 known, as a tree discerned by the fruit." The per- 
 formance of these good works is indeed the test and 
 criterion of genuine faith, just as every " tree is known 
 by its own fruit," Luke vi. 44. " Faith, if it hath not 
 works, is dead," James ii. 17. 
 
 Thus our Church considers good works as essential 
 to the character of a true Christian, and as the neces- 
 sary consequences of sincere faith in Christ ; but it 
 does not allow the po]iish doctrine already mentioned, 
 "that good works are triUy meritorious towards the 
 attainment of eternal life." The true Scripture doc- 
 trine is, that good works are indispensable, but not 
 sufficient, for the attainment of eternal life. When 
 we have done all those things which are commanded 
 us, we still say, that " we are unprofitable servants," 
 and humbly rely upon the merits and mediation of 
 Christ for our salvation. B/). Tomline. 
 
 pXIII. Of n'orks before Justification.'] This Article 
 is designed ])artly against an error of the Pelagians, 
 who contended that the good actions of the heatlicns 
 were accei)table to (lod ; and to another of the Pajiists, 
 will) in some measure have closed with them in their 
 fond distinction of good works into merits ex conyruo 
 and ex condigno. Dr. NichoUs. 
 
 1 H'orks done be/ore the grace of Christ ; &c.] That 
 works may be perfectly good, they must ilow from a 
 good principle, namely, faith : and they must tend to 
 a good end, namely, the glory of God : and they must 
 be in no respect deficient. But what mortal man, 
 cither before or after the grace of Christ, hath been 
 thus happy in doing well ? And therefore the works 
 of unbelievers, how specious soever, can deserve no- 
 thing, by reason of tluir imperfection ; and they are 
 to be looked upon as evil rather than good, on account 
 of their delects. See Rom. iii. 0, ID. 19, 20. 23; viii. 
 7, 8. ,\nd as these works cannot in their own nature 
 be pleasing to God, without something else to make 
 them .so ; so we are expressly told, Heb xi. 6, that 
 " without faith it is impossible to please him." Arch- 
 deacon Welcliman, t'enetr.
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Til. ili. 5. 
 Rom. iv.2.6 
 
 tion of his Spirit, are not pleasant to 
 Gofl, forasmucli as tliey s])riii^ not 
 of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do 
 they make men meet to receive 
 
 That the actions of such persons cannot he accept- 
 ahle or pleasant to God, is evident from the particular 
 reason liere assigned in this Article. 1. Because they 
 " spring not of faith in Jesus Christ :" that is, because 
 the doers of them are not instructed in the ])rinciples 
 of Christianity, and do not act ujion those rules which 
 God has prescribed, how He will l)e worshijiped, and 
 how He will have an acceptable service paid unto Him. 
 For whatsoever men do of their own heads, without a 
 command of God for it, however plausible it may be in 
 its own nature, the apostle calls it a *' will-worship," 
 Col. ii. 23 ; and our Saviour condemns any such prac- 
 tice, saying, " In vain do they worship God, teaching 
 for doctrines the commandments of men," Matt. xv. 9. 
 Besides, we see, how that, when men were left to 
 themselves to regulate and direct their rehgious wor- 
 ship, as they pleased, what gross and stupid idolatry 
 they fell into : which began in the most early ages of 
 the world, and overspread the whole face of the earth. 
 Now there are hardly any actions, in which men are 
 more sincere and serious, than the honours and respects 
 which they ascribe to the divine nature ; but yet the 
 heathen nations, by paying a worship which God had 
 not prescribed, or directing it to an object inferior to 
 the great Creator of all things, were so far from being 
 acceptable in the eyes of God, that they became hateful 
 in his sight. 
 
 2. The good actions of unjustified persons, or unbe- 
 lievers, are not pleasing to God, because they do not 
 jiroceed from the love of God, or from any tendency to 
 the advancement of his glory and honour ; but only 
 from some sensual or worldly principle, which has no 
 relation to piety or religion. So that though it be 
 allowed, that some of the more splendid actions of the 
 heathens were brave and noble, and betokened a 
 generous mind ; yet it may be questioned, whether 
 they were actions acceptable in the eyes of God, inas- 
 much as they may have proceeded from desire of fame, 
 a design of gaining interest and respect from men, or 
 some other principle quite foreign from goodness and 
 I)iety. The case would have been otherwise, had the 
 actions of such persons taken their rise from Christian 
 or truly religious principles ; in obedience to the com- 
 mands and in regard to the honour of their great 
 Creator, or for the love of their blessed Redeemer : for 
 such religious considerations only can render an action 
 acceptable in God's sight. 
 
 This is the constant doctrine of the holy Scripture. 
 Our Saviour commands, that men's " good works 
 should shine before men," not in order to vulgar ap- 
 ])lause, but " that they may glorify our Father which 
 is in heaven," Matt. v. 16. The apostle exhorts us, 
 to "do all to the glory of God," 1 Cor. x. 31 : and 
 that " the fruits of righteousness," that is, good works, 
 "be by Jesus Christ, unto the praise and glory of God," 
 Phil. i. 11. St. Peter injoins the same, though ^vith 
 I>articular relation to works of charity : " If any man 
 minister, let him do it as of the ability which God 
 giveth ; that God in all things may be glorified through 
 Jesus Christ," 1 Pet. iv. 11. St. Paul makes the love 
 of God to be the great spring and principle of all virtu- 
 ous actions. And we are elsewhere taught, that men's 
 hearts are to be purified only by the Christian faith, 
 .Vets XV. 9. " Unto the pure all things are pure, but 
 unto them that are defiled and unbeUeving nothing 
 is pure," Tit. i. 15. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 767 
 
 grace'', or (as tlie Scliool-authors' 
 say) deserve frrace of congruity: yea 
 rather, for that they are not done 
 as God hath willed' and commanded 
 
 A great difference is here to be made, between an 
 external action, as it is considered in itself, and the 
 same action, as it was done by such a man. An action 
 is called good, from the morality and nature of the 
 action itself; so actions of justice and cliarity are in 
 themselves good, whatsoever the doer of them may be. 
 But actions are considered by God, with relation to him 
 that does them, in another light ; his i)rinciples, ends, 
 and motives, with all the other circiunstances of the 
 action, come into this account : for unless all these be 
 good, let the action in its own abstracted nature be ever 
 so good, it cannot render the doer accejitable or meri- 
 torious in the sight of God. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ' — neither do they make men meet to receive grace, 
 &c.] For, when " the love of God our Saviour toward 
 man appeared, not by works of righteousness which 
 we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, 
 by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost," Tit. iii. 4, 5. For the clearing of this 
 point it is necessary to observe that some of the School- 
 men speak of a twofold merit, a merit of congruity, and 
 a merit of desert. The latter they ascribe to works, 
 which a man does by the assistance of grace, and to 
 which a reward is in justice due. The former they 
 ascribe to such works as man does by the mere strength 
 of free will, and which are to be rewarded only out 
 of liberality. But what foundation is there for such 
 a merit, since all of us are by nature evil ? " since in 
 us dwelleth no good thing?" Rom. vii. 18; "since 
 they that are in the flesh cannot ])lease God ?" viii. 8 ; 
 and finally, since " corrupt trees do by nature bring 
 forth evil fruit ?" Matt. vii. 17, 18. Archdeacon Welch- 
 man. 
 
 We find no such distinction, as is here spoken of, in 
 the Scriptures : they teach us in general to consider 
 man in his corrupt unregenerate state, as incapable 
 of doing any thing, which shall be intitled to reward. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 This doctrine of " merit of congruity," which the 
 chui'ch of Rome ascribes to persons in a state of 
 nature or unbelief, is contrary to the notion, which the 
 holy Scrijrtures give us of such persons, and likewise to 
 the doctrine of preventing grace. For, first, the de- 
 scription, which the Scriptiu-es afford us, of unbelievers 
 is that they are enemies to God, " When we were ene- 
 mies, we were reconciled by the death of his Son," 
 Rom. V. 10; dead in sins, "even when we were dead 
 in sins, he hath quickened us together with Christ," 
 Eph. ii. 5 ; aliens from God, " having no hope, with- 
 out God in the world," Eph. ii. 12. Nor is it reason- 
 able to think, that persons, who sustain this character, 
 can merit any thing of God. Secondly, this doctrine 
 overthrows preventing grace : for, if there be any 
 previous work to deserve grace, grace can neither make 
 the first step in conversion, neither can it be free. Dr. 
 Nicholls. 
 
 ' — the School-authors] By " the School-authors," 
 or School-men, are meant the writers of scholastic 
 divinity : the age of the Church and form of theology, 
 succeeding that of the fathers, being called " the 
 Schools," because this mode of treating religion arose 
 from the use of academical disputations. Todd's 
 Johnson. 
 
 ' — yea rather, for that they are not done as God hath 
 wilted &c.] This sentence of the .\rticle is made good 
 by what has been said already; as likewise by the
 
 768 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Kom- vii. 18; 
 viii. 8. 
 Watt. vii. I". 
 
 Lute xviii. 
 10—14. 
 
 tliem to be done, we doubt not but 
 they have the nature of sin. 
 
 XIV. Of Works of Supererogation^. 
 OLUNTARY Works be- 
 sides, over and above, God's 
 
 y 
 
 words of St. Paul, Rom. xiv. 23, "for whatever is not 
 of faith is sin." Veneer. 
 
 So great and universal a depra\ity is introduced into 
 the dispositions of men in con.sequence of the fall of 
 Adam, that they can in no instance of themselves act as 
 their Creator originally commanded : and therefore, as 
 in all their works performed without divine assistance, 
 there is a departure from the will of God, " we douht 
 not hut they have the nature of sin." 
 
 It is the" will of God, that we should act upon the 
 motives wliich Christianity proposes to our actions, and 
 no others : and every resistance to his will and com- 
 mand hath surely " the nature of sin." It is a i)rinci- 
 ple of morals and legislation uni\-ersally admitted, that 
 actions are as their motives ; and up(m this principle 
 this Article chiefly turns. Besides, it is not likely, 
 that, if our motives he wrong, our actions should con- 
 tinue right, though tliey may incidentally he so. 
 Actions are of a transitory, motives of a permanent, 
 nature. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 Although it he true, according to the doctrine of this 
 Article, that no actions of a heathen, or an unregene- 
 rated man can be so pure, as to he free from all sin, 
 and to merit at God's hand as being works naturally 
 perfect ; yet by this we do not pretend to say, tliat a 
 man in that state can do nothing, or that he has no use 
 of his faculties. He can certainly restrain himself on 
 many occasions ; he can do many good works, and 
 avoid many bad ones ; he can raise his understanding 
 to know and consider things according to the light 
 that he has ; he can put himself in good methods and 
 good circumstances ; he can ])ray and do many acts 
 of devotion, which, though they are all very imperfect, 
 yet none of them will be lost in the sight of God, wlio 
 certainly will never be wanting to those, who are doing 
 «hat in them lies, to make tlietnselves the proper 
 objects of his mercy, and fit subjects for his grace to 
 work upon. Therefore this Article is not to be made 
 use of, to discourage men's endeavours, but only to 
 increase their humihty ; to teach them not to think of 
 themselves above measure, but soberly ; to depend 
 always on the mercy of God, and ever to fly to it. 
 Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ° XIV. Of Works of Supererogation.'] Tlie works 
 here mentioned are called in the Roman chnrdi like- 
 wise by the name of " counsels " and " evangelical 
 ])erfections." They are defined by thtir writers to be 
 "good works not coininandcd liy ('hrist, but recom- 
 mended :" rules, which do not oblige all men to follow 
 them, under the jiain of sin ; but yet are useful to carry 
 them on to a sublimcr degree of perfection, than is 
 ne('essary in order to their salvation. Hut there are no 
 such counsels of perfection in the (Jospel : all the 
 rules, set to us in it, are iu the .style and form of jire- 
 cepts : and, though there may be some actions of more 
 heroical virtue, and more sublime piety, than others, to 
 which all men arc not obliged by eipial and general 
 rules; yet such men, to whose circumstances and 
 station they belcmg, are strictly obliged liy them, so 
 that they should sin if they did not put them in prac- 
 tice Dr. Nicli'ills, lip. liiirnet. 
 
 ' Vnlunlary Works f/rsidis, over nnd above, God's 
 Commundmmts, &c.] Tlie great obligations of " loving 
 
 Commandments', which they call 
 Works of Supererogation, cannot be 
 taught without arrogancy and im- 
 piety'': for by them men do declare, 
 that they do not only render unto 
 God as much as they are bound to do, 
 
 God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind ;" 
 and " loving our neighbour as ourselves ;" which are 
 reckoned by our Saviour " the two great command- 
 ments, on which hang all the law and the prophets," 
 Matt. xxii. 36 — 40, are of that extent, that it seems 
 not possible to imagine, how any thing can be accejit- 
 able to God, that does not fall within them. We are 
 farther required in the New Testament, to " cleanse 
 ourselves from all filthiness both of the flesh and spirit, 
 perfecting holiness in the fear of God," 2 Cor. vii. 1 ; 
 and to reckon ourselves " his and not our own," and 
 that " we are bought with a price ;" and that therefore 
 we ought to "glorify him both in our bodies and in 
 our spirits which are liis," 1 Cor. vi. 20. These and 
 many more like exjiressions are plainly ])recepts of 
 general obligation, for nothing can be set forth in 
 more positive words than these are : and it is not easy 
 to imagine, how any thing can go beyond them ; for, if 
 we are Christ's property, purchased by Him, tlien we 
 ought to apply ourselves to every thing, in which hia 
 honour or the honour of his religion can be concerned, 
 or which will be ])leasing to Him. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 And besides these general precei)ts, there are parti- 
 cular ones directed to jiersons in every condition and 
 relation of life, and extending to every point and cir- 
 cumstance, which can possibly promote the honour 
 of (iod, contribute to the happiness of our fellow- 
 creatures, or tend to purify our own minds ; and all 
 these things are injoined as duties of perfect and uni- 
 versal obligation ; as indispensably necessary, wherever 
 they are practicable. Since therefore God requires of 
 us the entire exertion of all our powers, and not a single 
 good action can be sjiecified which is not commanded 
 in the New Testament, it follows, that no room is left 
 for " voluntary works hesiiles, over and above, God's 
 commandments, which they call works of su[)ereroga- 
 tion ;" nor can such works " be taught without arro- 
 gancy and impiety," since they imply a degree of merit, 
 which man, in his present imperfect and corrupt state, 
 is incapable of attaining, and are directly ojiposite to 
 the |>lain and infallilile wor<l of (iod : or, as the .Vrtiele 
 expresses it, " for by them men do declare, that they 
 do not only render unto God as much as they are 
 bound to do, but that they do more for his sake, than 
 of boundeu duty is required : whereas Christ saith 
 plainly, \Vhen ye have done all those things which are 
 commanded you, say. We are unprofitable servants." 
 These words, whicli are recinded in .St. Luke's Gospel, 
 xvii. 10, are so clear and decisive, that it is unnecessary 
 to explain or inforce them. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 So far indeed is any man from being more good than 
 he ought to be, that neitlier is he able to fulfil what he 
 ought to do. .\nd therefore even the best of men, 
 laying aside all notions of supererogation, are daily to 
 |)ray, that their debts or trespasses may be forgiven 
 them, liut tliat any one should at the same time bo 
 both a debtor and a siqiererogator, is manifestly absurd. 
 Arckdeacon \ I tdchnmn. 
 
 ' — cuiinol he tmiijht wilhout arror/anci/ and impiety .-] 
 Our Church does very justly tax the chureh of Rome 
 willi arrogance and impiety for maintaining this doc- 
 trine. I'or what can be more arrogant and impious, 
 than for sinful man, whose fife, when it ia best spent,
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION, 
 
 7G9 
 
 Luke xvii. 
 7—10. 
 
 but that they do more for his sake, 
 tliaii of hoimcU'ii fluty is required : 
 whereas Christ saith phiiuly, When 
 ye have done ail tliat are commanded 
 to you, say. We are unprofitaljle ser- 
 vants. 
 
 XV. Of Christ alone without Si7i ^. 
 
 CHRIST in the truth of our 
 nature^ was made lii^e unto us 
 
 is full of failures and imperfections, to pretend not 
 only to make satisfaction to God for his own sins, but 
 to satisfy for the sins of other men likewise ? Dr. 
 NichoUs. In the New Testament we are always taught 
 to trust to the mercies of God, and to the death and 
 intercession of Christ, and to " work out our own sah'a- 
 tion with fear and trembling," Phil. ii. 1 2 ; but we are 
 never once directed to look for any help from saints, or 
 to think that we can do any thing for another man's 
 soul in this way. The Psalm has it, " No man can by 
 any means give a ransom for his brother's soul," Ps. 
 .\li.x. 7 ; the words of Christ cited in the Article are full 
 and express against it. Bp. Bnrnet. 
 
 ' XV. Of Christ alone without Sin^ This Article 
 relates to the former, and is put here as another founda- 
 tion against all works of supererogation ; which de- 
 ))ending upon the supposed jierfection of the saints, 
 this latter likewise is here ojiposed. The compilers 
 had probably in view also the old Pelagian doctrine of 
 the impeccability of holy men. Bp. Burnet, Dr. Ni- 
 choUs. It consists of two parts : in the former Christ's 
 freedom from sin is asserted ; and in the latter it is 
 declared that all men are guilty of sin. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' Christ in the truth of our nature &c.] That Christ 
 was a man, as well as, and as much as, ourselves, is 
 declared Heh. ii. 14. His being entirely free from sin 
 is apparent from chap. iv. 15; " For we have not an 
 high-priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of 
 our infirmities, but was in all jjoints tempted like as we 
 are, yet without sin." From John xiv. 30 : " Hereafter 
 I will not talk much with you ; for the Prince of this 
 world Cometh, and hath nothing in me." And from 
 1 Pet. ii. 22, where it is said, tliat "he did no sin, 
 neither was guile found in his mouth." And indeed, 
 if Christ had been guilty of any sin. He would have 
 wanted a redeemer, as well as ourselves. But where 
 could a redeemer have been found for Him ? Arch- 
 deacon Welchman. 
 
 That Christ was free from sin of every species and 
 denomination, appears from the whole course of his 
 life, as recorded in the Gospels : and it is expressly 
 asserted in the following passages in the Epistles, 
 1 Pet. ii. 22; Heb. iv. 15. (See the foregoing note.) 
 He is also called " Holy, harmless, undefiled, and 
 separate from sinners," Heb. vii. 2(3. The Socinians 
 hold that Christ was peccalde; which seems to be a 
 consequence of their considering Him as a mere man, 
 and of their denial of the doctrine of the atonement. 
 Bp. Tomline, 
 
 The perfect sinlessness of Christ is so oft affu-med in 
 the New Testament, that it can admit of no debate. 
 This was not only true in his rational powers, the 
 superior part called "the spirit" in opposition to the 
 inferior part ; but also in those aiipetites and affections 
 that arise from our bodies, and from the union of our 
 souls to them, called " the flesh." For, though in 
 these Christ, having the human niiture truly in Him, 
 had in Him the appetites of hunger, yet the devil could 
 
 in all tilings, sin only except, from 
 which he was clearly void, hoth in 
 his flesh, and in his spirit. He came 
 to be the Lamb without spot", who, 
 by sacrifice of himself once made, 
 should take away the sins of the 
 world, and sin, as Saint Jo/in saith, 
 was not in him. But all we the rest'', 
 although ba])tized, and born again in 
 Christy yet ofiend in many things; 
 
 lUh. iv. 15. 
 .Iiiliii xiv. .■■lO. 
 1 I'et. ii. n. 
 
 Jotin i. 20. 
 Htb ix. 14. 
 
 26. 
 
 not tempt Him to distrust God, or to desire a miraculous 
 supply sooner than was fitting : He overcame even that 
 necessary appetite, %vhenever there was an occasion given 
 Him to "do the will of his heavenly Father," John 
 iv. 34. He had also in Him the aversions to pain 
 and suffering, and the horror at a violent and igno- 
 minious death, which are planted in our natures ; and 
 in this it was natural to Him to wish and to liray that 
 the cup might pass from Him : but in this his purity 
 appeared the most eminently, that though He felt the 
 weight of his nature to a vast degree. He did, notwith- 
 standing that, limit and con(iuer it so entirely, that He 
 resigned Himself absolutely to his Father's will ; " Not 
 my will, but thy will be done." Bp. Burnet. 
 
 " — He came to be the Lamb without spot, &c.] The 
 Jews were commanded, when they celeljrated the pass- 
 over in commemoration of their deliverance from 
 Egyptian bondage, to choose out of their flocks a 
 lamb without spot or blemish, and to ofi'er it as a 
 sacrifice to God. Tliis was a type of Christ : who, 
 being without spot or sin, offered Himself to God as a 
 sacrifice for the sins of the whole world ; and thence He 
 is called the true Paschal Lanil). " Christ our passover 
 is sacrificed for us," 1 Cor. v. 7. " Behold the Lamb 
 of God, which taketh away tlie sins of the world," John 
 i. 29. " Now once in the end of the world hath he 
 appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself," 
 Heb. ix. 26. " Ye know that he was manifested to 
 take away our sins, and in him is no sin," 1 John iii. 5. 
 Bj). Tomline. 
 
 ^ — But all we the rest, &c.] There is no mortal 
 man, that is or ever was perfectly good. Some few 
 indeed are said in the Scripture to be " righteous," 
 such for instance as Noah, Job, and Zacharias : but 
 they were only so comparatively, and according to the 
 free and undeser\'ed favour of (iod, who accepts of sin- 
 cerity of mind instead of absolute perfection. Arch- 
 deacon Welchman. 
 
 There seems to be a particular design in the con- 
 texture and writing of the .Scriptures, to represent to 
 us some of the failings of the best men : for though 
 Zacharias and Elisabeth are said to have been " blame- 
 less," Luke i. 6, that must be meant only of the exterior 
 and visible part of their conversation, that it was free 
 from blame, and of their being accepted of God : but 
 that is not to be carried to inijiort a sinless purity before 
 God ; for we find the same Zacharias guilty of misbe- 
 lieving the message of the angel to him, to such a 
 degree, that he was punished for it with a dumbness of 
 above nine months' continuance, ver. 20. Perhaps the 
 Virgin's question to the angel had nothing blameworthy 
 in it : but our Saviour's answers to her, both when she 
 came to Him in the temple, when He was twelve years 
 old, Luke ii. 4<), and more particidarly when she moved 
 Him at the marriage in Cana to furnish them with wine, 
 John ii. 4, look like a reprimand. The contentions 
 among the apostles about the pre-eminence, and in par- 
 ticular the ambition of James and John, Matt. xs. 
 
 3D
 
 770 
 
 and if we say we have no sin, we de- 
 ceive ourselves, and the truth is not 
 in us. 
 
 ARTICI-ES OF RELIGION. 
 
 against the Holy Ghost, and unpar- Matt. xu. 31, 
 
 N 
 
 XVI. Of Sin after Baptism^. 
 
 O T every deadly sin ' willingly 
 committed after Baptism is sin 
 
 20. 24, cannot be excused. St. Peter's dissimulation 
 at Antioch in the Judaizing controversy. Gal. ii. 1 1 — 14, 
 and the sliar]) contention that happened between Paid 
 and Barnabas, Acts .\v. 39, are recorded in Scripture ; 
 and they are both characters of the sincerity of those 
 who penned them, and likewise marks of the frailties of 
 human nature, even in its greatest elevation, and with 
 its highest advantages. So that all the high characters 
 wliich are gi\-en of the best men, are to be understood, 
 either comparatively to others whom they exceeded, or 
 with relation to their outward actions, and the \-isible 
 parts of their life : or they are to be meant of their zeal 
 and sincerity, which is valued and accepted of God, and, 
 as it was to Abraham, is imputed to them for righteous- 
 ness. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ' — although bapti:ed, and born again in Christ, &c.] 
 This clause seems to be levelled against the Pelagians 
 and their followers, who asserted that persons after bap- 
 tism might live without sin. But this extravagant 
 doctrine, as it is contrary to the holy Scriptures, so the 
 ancient fathers in their several ages have declared theu 
 opinion against it. Dr. Nicholls, " Let no one," says 
 Cyprian, " flatter himself with the idea of being inno- 
 cent, since no one is innocent ; and by extolling himself 
 a person would only aggravate his punishment. He is 
 instructed and taught that he is guilty of sin every day, 
 since he is commanded to pray every day." Some 
 modern enthusiasts consider themselves as intirely free 
 from sin ; and the Moravian Anabaptists are said to 
 omit this part of the Lord's Prayer, " Forgive us our 
 trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against 
 us ;" because, being regenerated, they are no longer 
 guilty of sin. 
 
 While we condemn the presumption of those, who 
 think more highly of themselves than they ought to 
 tliink, we must be careful not to suffer the infirmity of 
 human nature to be abused into an encouragement to 
 sin, or perverted into a cause of gloomy despondence : 
 it should rather stimulate us to vigilance and exertion, 
 than drive us to negligence and despair. Though we 
 cannot arrive at sinless |iurity, it is still our duty to aim 
 at an uniform obedience to all (iod's commands : and 
 to indulge any apiin-hensions, which tend to weaken 
 the energy of our minds, is doubly .sinfid, because we 
 thus voluntarily increase tlic didicnlty of oberlience to 
 tlie will of (j(id ; and in reality doubt his assurance, 
 tliat our sincere endeavours to persevere in the paths of 
 virtue and religion will be forwarded by the assistance 
 of divine grace. /J/i. Tomline. 
 
 ■■ XVL U/ Sin after Baiitism.] This Article is levelled 
 against the doctrine of tlie Xovatians of old, who held 
 every .sin committed after baptism to be un|)ardonabIe. 
 This doctrine lieing revived by some of the Anabaptists 
 or other enthusiasts, wliieh sprang U]) at the beginning 
 of tlie Reformation, it is not iinprolialile that tlie coin- 
 jiilers of tlie Articles had an eye likewise upon their 
 heterodoxy. l'"or as the I'apists were wont maliciously 
 to impute the wild doctrines of all the several sorts of 
 cnlhusiasts to all Protestimts, so it was thought here 
 convenient to defend our (Church against the imputation 
 of any such opinion. Dr. Nicholls. 
 
 In the i)rci;cdin{{ Article notice was taken of a sect of 
 
 donable. Wherefore the grant of jf^,; iii ^h 
 repentance "^ is not to be denied to ~^"- 
 such as fall into sin after Baptism. Cai. vi. i. 
 After we have received the Holy 
 Ghosts, we may depart from grace 
 given, and fall into sin, and by the 
 
 Christians who maintain the peccability of Christ; and 
 in this we have to argue against those, who contend for 
 the impeccability of man. Bp. Toinline. 
 
 ' Not every deadly sin &c.] By " deadly sin" in this 
 Article we are not to understand such sins, as in the 
 church of Rome are called " mortal," in opposition to 
 others that are " venial :" as if some sins, though offences 
 against God, and violations of his law, could be of their 
 own nature such slight things, that they deserved only 
 temporal punishment, and were to be expiated by some 
 piece of penance or devotion, or the couirannication of 
 the merits of others. 'ITie Scripture no where teaches 
 us to think so slightly of the majesty of God or of his 
 law. There is a " curse" upon every one "that con- 
 tinueth not in all things which are written in the book 
 of the law to do them," Gal. iii. 10 ; and the same curse 
 must have been on us all, if Christ had not redeemed us 
 from it ; " the wages of sin is death." And St. James 
 asserts, that there is such a complication of all the 
 [irecepts of the law of God, both with one another, and 
 with the authority of the Lawgiver, that " he who offends 
 in one pointis guilty of all," James ii. 10, U, So since 
 God has in his Word given us such dreadful apprehen- 
 sions of his wrath, and of the guilt of sin, we dare not 
 soften these to a degree below the majesty of the eternal 
 God, and the dignity of liis most holy laws. But, after 
 all, we are far from the conceit of the Stoicks, who made 
 all sins alike. We acknowledge that some sins of igno- 
 rance and infirmity may consist with a state of grace ; 
 which is either quite destroyed, or at least much eclipsed 
 and clouded by other sins, that are more heinous in 
 their nature, and more deliberately gone about. It is 
 in this sense that the word " deadly sin" is to be under- 
 stood in the Article ; for though in the strictness of 
 justice every sin is " deadly," yet in the dispensation of 
 the Gospel those sins only are " deadly," that do 
 deeply wound the conscience, and that drive away 
 grace. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 Kvery sui is in its nature deadly, since " the wages of 
 sin is death," Rom. vi. 23 : and every sin is committed 
 against tlie Holy (ihost, as well as against the Father 
 and the Son ; but still ])ardonal)le, if it be not that sin 
 which is cin|)hatically styled "The sin against the Holy 
 Ghost;" and tliat is "blasphemy against the Holy 
 (iliost;" Matt. xii. 31,3'2; Mark iii. 28— 30, Of which 
 sin St. Jerome s.ays, that " they only are guilty, who 
 tliough in miracles they see the very work of God, yet 
 slander them, and say that tliey are done by the devd ; 
 and ascribe to the operation of that evil spirit, and not 
 to tlie divine power, all tlio.se mighty signs and wonders 
 which were wrought for the coiilirmatioM of the (iospel." 
 In relation to all other sins, we are, as Clement of Rome 
 observes, "to fix our eyes on the blood of ('hrist, which 
 was shed for our salvation, and hath olitained the grace 
 of repentance for the wliole world," Archdeacon 
 Weichman. 
 
 And, "the doors," says Clement of Alexandria, "are 
 open to every one, who in truth and with liis whole 
 heart returns to (iod : and the Father most willingly 
 receives a son, who truly repents. This is the general 
 tenor of Scripture, in wliieh all men ai'c invited to 
 repentance without any discrimination or exception.
 
 grace of God we may arise again, 
 and amend our lives. And there- 
 fore tliey are to be condemned, wliicli 
 
 1 joim i. 8. say, they can no more sin as long as 
 
 2 Cor. ii. c— they live here, or deny the place of 
 ^' forgiveness to such as tndy repent. 
 
 And we are told, even under the Mosaick dispensation, 
 that " though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be as 
 white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they 
 shall be as wool," Isa. i. 18. And the exhortations to 
 amendment and reformation, contained in the Epistles, 
 are all addressed to persons, who had been already bap- 
 tizeil, and who had been guilty of faults or sins subse- 
 quent to their baptism. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' — Wherefore the grant nf repentance &c.j It follows 
 from the foregoing case, that " the grant of repentance 
 is not to be denied to such, as fall into sin after bap- 
 tism." This doctrine is further confirmed by what St. 
 Paul says, Gal. vi. 1, " Brethren, if a man be overtaken 
 in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in 
 the sjiii-it of meekness ; considering thyself, lest thou 
 also be tempted." Veneer. According to what has 
 been said already upon former Articles, it has api)eared 
 that the sanctification of regenerated men is not so 
 perfected in this life, but that there is still a mixture of 
 defects and imperfections left in tliem : and the state 
 of the new covenant is a continuance of repentance 
 and remission of sins ; for, as oft as one sins, if he 
 repents truly of it, and forsakes his sins, there is a 
 standing offer of the pardon of all sins ; and therefore 
 Christ has taught us to pray daily, " Forgi\'e us our 
 sins." If there were but one general pardon offered 
 in baptism, this would signify little to those, who feel 
 their infirmities, and the sins that do so easily beset 
 them, so apt to return upon them. St. Peter's denial, 
 his repentance, and his being restoi'cd to his apostolical 
 dignity, seem to be recorded, partly on this account, 
 to encourage us, even after the most heinous offences, 
 to return to God ; and never to reckon our condition 
 desperate, were our sins ever so many, but as we find 
 our hearts hardened in them into an obstinate impeni- 
 tency. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ' — After v:e have received the Holy Ghost, &c.] Al- 
 though the Holy Ghost purifies our minds, and assists 
 and co-o])erates with us in the ])erformance of our duty; 
 yet he does not intirely take away the corruption and 
 infirmity of our nature, nor does He destroy our free 
 agency : and consequently, " after we have received the 
 Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall 
 into sin." But, as we may relapse from virtue unto 
 wickedness, so " we may rise again and amend our 
 lives ;" we may return to a sense of our duty, and 
 again yield obedience to the influence of God's Holy 
 Spirit : " and therefore they are to be condemned which 
 say, they can no more sin as long as they live here, or 
 deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent." 
 " As those," says Bishop Pearson, " who are received 
 into the church by the sacrament of liaptism, receive 
 the remission of their sins, of which they were guilty 
 before tliey were baptized ; so, after they are thus 
 made members of the church, they receive remission of 
 their future sins by their repentance. Christ, who hath 
 left us a pattern of ])rayer, hath thereby taught us for 
 ever to implore and beg the forgiveness of our sins : 
 that as we, through the frailty of our nature, are always 
 subject unto sin, so we should always exercise the acts 
 of repentance, and for ever seelc the favour of God. 
 This then is the comfort of the Gospel, that, as it dis- 
 covereth sin within us, so it propoundeth a remedy 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION, 
 XVII 
 
 771 
 
 Of Predestination and 
 I^lcetion , 
 
 PR E D E S T I N A T I O N to epi.. i^, 5. 
 Life is the everlasting purpose 31! 
 of God', whereby'' (before the founda- 
 tions of the world were laid) he hatli 2 Tim. id. 
 
 imto us. While we are in this life encompassed with 
 flesh ; while the allurements of the world, while the 
 stratagems of Satan, while the infirmities and corrup- 
 tions of our nature, betray us to the transgression of 
 the law of God ; we are always subject to offend : 
 whence whosoever saith that he has no sin is a liar, 
 contradicting himself, and contracting iniquity by 
 pretending innocency; and so long as we can offend, 
 so long we may a])|ily ourselves unto God by repent- 
 ance, and be renewed by his grace, and jnirdoncd by 
 his mercy." B/i. Tomline. 
 
 ■".XVII. Of Predestination and Election.'] Predesti- 
 nation is with reason considered as one of the most 
 al)struse doctrines of theology : and it has, in different 
 ages of the Christian church, been the fruitful source 
 of a great \'ariety of controversies. These disputes 
 have been chiefly upon ])oints far beyond the capacity 
 of men, and have tended but little to promote the true 
 interests of Christianity. This Article is drawn up 
 with great caution and judgment : in the former part 
 of it, which relates to the meaning of the terms " pre- 
 destination and election," the words of Scripture are 
 chiefly used ; and the latter part is obviously designed 
 to guard against the evils and mischiefs, which might 
 arise from mistaken ideas upon these intricate subjects. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 The truth of this whole Article will sufficiently ap- 
 pear from the texts of Scripture in the margin. But 
 I would desire the reader to observe, that only the 
 grace of election is asserted in it, and that the severity of 
 reprobation is left wholly untouched upon. And here 
 I would advise him to stop and to restrain his curiosity. 
 For the doctrine of predestination is a profound abyss, 
 in sounding which it is but to little purpose for young 
 men to busy themselves. Much less does it become 
 preachers, to trouble their hearers about these deep 
 mysteries ; they should rather set forth God's promises 
 in general terms, as they are proposed in the Holy 
 Scriptures, and as it is our duty to embrace them. 
 Archdeacon IVelchman. 
 
 It may not be amiss to observe here, in consequence 
 of this rVrticle being drawn up with so much caution, 
 prudence, and tenderness, that if so judicious and 
 learned a body of men, as the compilers of the Articles, 
 were so shy of mentioning a doctrine, which, if under- 
 stood in a strict and rigid sense, carries in it so shock- 
 ing a reflection ujion the goodness of God ; one can- 
 not but surmise that they suspected the truth of it, 
 and modestly insinuated that those men are at least 
 very indiscreet, who take upon them to preach to the 
 most common audiences on subjects of this kind ; and 
 that they would have been exceedingly surjirised, to 
 have seen the declining it ranked among the several 
 reasons wliich are urged in defence of separating from 
 the Established Church. Veneer. 
 
 ' Predestination to Life is the everlasting purpose of 
 God, &c.] God is represented in Scrijiture as having 
 pre-ordained the redemption of mankind through Christ 
 before the foundation of the world. This redem])tion 
 was to he in the nature of a covenant between God 
 and man : and the salvation of every individual was to 
 de])end upon his observance of the proposed conditions. 
 Men, in consequence of their free agency, would have 
 3 D 2
 
 77^ ARTICLES OF RELIGION 
 
 constantly decreed by his counsel, 
 
 Gal. ui. 10. secret to us, to deliver from curse 
 
 it in their power to accept or reject this offered salva- 
 tion : and God, by his prescience, foresaw who woidd 
 accept, and who would reject it. Those, who He 
 foresaw would perform the conditions of the Gospel 
 covenant, may be said to be predestinated to life, " for 
 whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate," Rom. 
 viii. 30. This ajipears to me the only sense, in which 
 predestination is reconcileable with the attributes of 
 God, and the free agency of man : and in this sense it is 
 "the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the 
 foundations of the world were laid) He hath constantly 
 decreed by his counsel, secret to us, to deliver from 
 curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in 
 Christ out of manliind, and to bring them by Cln-ist to 
 everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour ;" for 
 we cannot conceive that a Being of infinite justice and 
 mercy would arbitrarily select out of his rational crea- 
 tures a determinate number, on whom He would bestow 
 the blessing of eternal ha])piness : while He consigned 
 all the rest to eternal punishment, as maintained by 
 those who are called Supralapsarians ; or passed them 
 over as unworthy of his regard and attention, according 
 to the doctrine of those who are called Sublapsarians. 
 Such an idea of election ought sm-ely to be rejected. 
 We are to consider men as " elect according to the fore- 
 knowledge of God," 1 Pet. i. 2 ; that is, as He foresaw 
 that they would be obedient to his laws. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 Some would have it thought that this Article asserts 
 the doctrine of absolute jiredestination. But it will 
 ajipear unreasonable to understand it in that sense, if 
 it be considered, that in the very foregoing Article it is 
 e.vpressly declared, that " we may fall from grace 
 given ;" whereas they who are for the absolute decrees 
 must of consequence assert, that a man cannot fall 
 from grace : for, if we may fall from the means, we 
 may also fall from the end ; and if we are not abso- 
 lutely predestinated to persevere in grace, we cannot be 
 absolutely predestinated to salvation. And indeed the 
 Puritans, in the beginning of King James the First's 
 reign, were sensible, that this doctrine of the dcfectibi- 
 lity of grace was inconsistent with their ojiinion of 
 absolute predestination : and therefore desired that 
 these words, " though not finally," might be added at 
 the end of the aforesaid clause «hich states that " we 
 may fall from grace given;" but the king and the 
 bishops woidd not hearken to it. It is likewise to be 
 ol)servcd, that our Church does in her Catechism assert, 
 that " (iod the Son redeemed all mankind :" which can 
 never be reconciled to the doctrine of absolute election 
 and reproliation. Veneer. And in the communion ser- 
 vice it is said, that Christ, " liy the one oblation of 
 liimself once offered, made there a full, jierfect, and 
 Bufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the 
 sins of the whole world." Bp. Twnline. 
 
 That the doctrine of our Church is in some places 
 utterly irrec<incilcabU' with tlic absohite and irrespective 
 predestination of both the Supralapsarians and Sub- 
 la))sarians, is to me indisputably clear : insouuich that 
 could I think absolute |)redestination true, I could not 
 subscribe to the use of the liturgy. Wherefore, though 
 I do by no means censure such absolute predestina- 
 rians as think the liturgy consistent with their notions, 
 and do confurm accordmgly ; yet I must own, I do not 
 see how I ('ould get over those didicolties, were I per- 
 suaded of the truth of their notions. .\iid conseipiently 
 I must, till I receive greater light, l>elieve that our 
 ('hurch condemns those notions, by injoining and 
 usiicrting such tilings as ore irrcconcileablc to them. 
 
 and damnation those whom he liatli iivt. i. 2. 
 chosen in Christ out of mankind, and 
 
 But then, with respect to this seventeenth Article, I 
 do not determine, whether our Church does condemn 
 absolute predestination or not. If those, who maintain 
 it, think themselves able to reconcile this Article to 
 their doctrine, I am satisfied : though I must add, that 
 I will not be bound to do the same. As for condi- 
 tionate predestination, if she does not assert or favour 
 it, yet that she does not condemn it in this Article, 
 Mr. Plaifere has demonstrated in his " Appello Kvan- 
 gelium" beyond all possibility of contradiction. And 
 indeed it is to me a most astonishing thing, that the 
 patrons of absolute predestination are able to jiersuade 
 themselves, as they very frequently and confidently 
 maintain, that conditionate predestination is condemned 
 in this Article by our Church. For every body that 
 understands their notions must be forced to see, one 
 would think, that there is not one syllable in this 
 Article, but what the patrons of conditionate predesti- 
 nation would heartily apjirox-e and teach. It would be 
 endless to enumerate all the authorities, by wliich tliis 
 might he made appear. Let it therefore suffice, that 
 the only part, wherein any difficulty can be pretended, 
 is the first paragraph : and that Arminius himself, not 
 to mention others his ]irofessed followers, does mani- 
 festly assert every branch of it. And let any man 
 consider the true state of the controversy between the 
 respective patrons of absolute and conditionate predes- 
 tination ; and then I challenge him to find me any one 
 syllable in the first paragraph of the Article, that 
 fa\'.jurs absolute predestination in opposition to that 
 which is conditionate. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 ' — the everlasting purpose of God, whereby S:c.] The 
 first proposition in this Article is our Church's defini- 
 tion of what she means by " predestination to life." 
 She says, first, it is " the everlasting purpose of God." 
 Now every purpose of God is everlasting; because God 
 from all eternity knew all contingent events, and was 
 resolved concerning them, either to permit or prevent 
 them. Secondly, by this purjiose He " constantly de- 
 creed :" for inconstancy is impossible in (iod. 'I'hirdly, 
 He decreed " before the foundations of the world were 
 laid." This must needs be true, because his jnirpose 
 was everlasting. Fourthly, He thus decreed to "dehver 
 those, whom he hath chosen in Christ out of man- 
 kind, from curse and damnation." Now that some are 
 to be delivered from that curse and damnation, into 
 which original sin had plunged them, the whole tenor 
 of tl\e Scripture shews. And that God lias in Christ 
 chosen some out of mankind, is evident : liccause those, 
 that embrace Christianity, are upon this account fre- 
 quently called the elect or chosen : but then those, 
 who enibr,ice Christianity, are not all of tliem delivered 
 from curse and damnation; because some of thein do 
 not perform the conditions of the (Jospel ; and conse- 
 quently, though they enjoy the first or tein|)oral elec- 
 tion, yet they do not enjoy the second or eternal one, 
 which is unattainable without jiersevcrance in good 
 works. Now it is this second, even the eternal election, 
 which the Church speaks of in this place : because those, 
 who are here called "the chosen in Christ," are "deli- 
 vered from curse and damnation ;" whereas such as 
 enjoy the temporal, but miss of the eternal clcctirm, do 
 fall into that curse and damnation, from which the 
 others are delivcreil, I'ilihly, those that are chosen in 
 Christ, niimely, those that enjoy the siM'ond or eternal 
 election, (!od not only delivers from curse and damna- 
 tion, but He also " brings them by Christ to everlasting 
 salvation, as vessels made to honour." That He brings
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 773 
 
 Eph. i. 7. 
 Gal. iv. 4, 5. 
 Kom. viii. 29. 
 
 Eph. ii. 10. 
 
 Eph. i. 11. 
 1 Pet. i. 3—5. 
 
 to bring tliem by Christ to everlasting' 
 salvation, as vessels made to honour. 
 Wherefore, they wiiich he enchied 
 with so excellent a benefit of (jod 
 be called according to Ciod's ])ur])ose 
 by his S|)irit working in due season : 
 they through grace obey the calling : 
 they be justified freely : they be 
 made sons of God by adoption : they 
 be made like the image of his only- 
 begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk 
 religiously in good works, and at 
 length, by God's mercy, they attain 
 to everlasting felicity. 
 
 As the godly consideration of Pre- 
 destination ', and our Election in 
 Christ, is full of sweet, pleasant, and 
 unspeakable comfort to godly per- 
 sons, and such as feel in themselves 
 the working of the Spirit of Christ, 
 
 them to everlasting salvation ; and that this is done hy 
 Christ, that is, by the merits of Christ, in wliom they 
 beheve, and whose Gospel they obey ; and tliat upon 
 this account tliey are treated as vessels made to honour; 
 none can question. Si.xthly, all this is done " by God's 
 counsel secret to us." For God is the only contriver 
 and finisher of the happiness of the elect : and what 
 particular men tliose elect are, whom He has tluis 
 decreed to save, we know not : because He alone can 
 search the heart ; nor has He re\'ealed to us, wliat ])ar- 
 ticular Clu-istians will persevere : so that this counsel of 
 his, for the salvation of particular Christians, must needs 
 be secret to us. This definition therefore of " [)redesti- 
 nation to life" needs no farther proof, being manifestly 
 built upon the constant doctrine of the Scriptures, re- 
 peated in almost every page of the New Testament : 
 and indeed the doctrine of this definition is universally 
 allowed, except by such as deny God's certain prescience 
 of future contingent events. 
 
 The second proposition sets forth the manner of God's 
 bringing this great work to a conclusion. The Church 
 says, fu'st, that " they whidi l>e endued with so excellent 
 a benefit," that is, those who are predestinated to life, 
 " are called according to God's purpose hy his Spirit 
 working in due season :" that is, they not only become 
 professors of Christianity, but are inwardly moved and 
 prompted by God's grace to the performance of his will. 
 Secondly, " they through grace obey the calling :" that 
 is, they are ■ effectually wrought and prevailed upon 
 thereby. Thirdly, " they be justified freely :" that is, 
 they are esteemed rigliteous by God, who extends his 
 free mercy to them for Christ's sake. Fourthly, " they 
 be made sons of God by adoption;" it may he said, all 
 Christians are such by virtue of their profession : but 
 then those, that are thus effectually chosen, do come to 
 the possession of that inheritance, which their elder 
 brother Christ hath purchased for them with his blood ; 
 whereas others, though for a while they are honoured 
 with the name of adopted sons, are afterwards cast off 
 by their Father ujjon account of their disobedience. 
 Fifthly, " they be made like the image of his only- 
 begotten Son Jesus Christ :" that is, sixthly, " they 
 walk religiously in good works ;" for without holiness 
 no man shall see the Lord. Seventhly, at length, 
 namely, after they have finished their Christian course, 
 and persisted in sincere piety to the end of their days, 
 
 mortifying the works of tlie flesh, 
 and their earthly members, and 
 drawing up their mind to high and 
 heavenly things, as well because it 
 doth greatly establish and confirm 
 their faith of eternal Salvation to be 
 enjoyed through Christ, as because 
 it doth fervently kindle their love 
 towards God : So, for curious and 
 carnal persons, lacking the S])irit of 
 Christ, to liave continually before 
 their eyes the sentence of God's 
 Predestination, is a most dangerous 
 downfal™, whereby the Devil doth 
 thrust them either into desperation, 
 or into wretclilessness" of most un- 
 clean living, no less perilous than 
 desjieration. 
 
 Furthermore, we must receive 
 God's promises" in such wise, as they iTm,"lj.4'''6. 
 
 " by God's mercy they attain to everlasting felicity." 
 Tlie truth of all tliese particulars is readily acknowledged 
 l)y all i>arties. Dr. Beiinet. 
 
 ^As the godly cmisiileration of Predestination, &c.] 
 That is, as a due consideration of the divine decree to 
 save all, who shall believe and ol)ey the Gospel, is a 
 source of inexpressible consolation to virtuous and 
 godly persons ; encourages them to rely upon the pro- 
 mised assistance of the Holy Spirit ; fortifies them 
 against the temjitations to fleshly lusts ; teaches them 
 to set their affection on things above ; strengthens 
 their faith ; and animates their love towards God : so 
 the unwarranted idea of God's absolute and uncondi- 
 tional predestination is apt to drive the jiresumptuous 
 and wicked, who resist the influence of the Sjiirit of 
 Christ, either into a state of gloomy despondency on 
 the one hand, or into a course of unliridled licentious- 
 ness on the other. If a man thinks that he is under an 
 inevitable decree, as he will have little remorse for all 
 the evil he does, while he imputes it to that inevitable 
 force that constrains him ; so he will naturally conclude 
 that it is to no purjiose for him to struggle with impos- 
 sibilities : and men being inclined both to throw all 
 blame off from themselves, and to indulge themselves 
 in laziness and sloth, these practices are too natural to 
 mankind to be encouraged by opinions that favour 
 them. All virtue and religion, all discipline and in- 
 dustry, must arise from this, as their first principle, 
 that there is a power in us to govern our own thoughts 
 and actions, and to raise and improve our faculties. If 
 this is denied, all endeavours, all education, all pains, 
 either on ourselves or others, are vain and fruitless 
 things. Bp. Tomline, Bp. Burnet. 
 
 °' — downfal,'] The Latin word is " pripcipitium," a 
 preci|)ice, which seems better to describe the dangerous 
 situation in which such persons are placed. Bp. Tom- 
 line. 
 
 ° — wretclilessness] That is, carelessness. Bp. Tom- 
 line. 
 
 ° Furthermore, we must receive God's promises &c.] 
 " God's promises generally set forth in holy Scripture" 
 seem here to be opposed to " the counsel of God secret 
 to us," spoken of in the former part of this .Article : and 
 it is declared, that, whatever promises are made to us 
 in Scripture, we are to receive them implicitly, and not 
 pervert their obvious sense by abstruse inquiries into
 
 774 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 be generally set forth to us in holy 
 Scripture : and, in our doings, that 
 will of God is to be followed'', which 
 we have expressly declared unto us 
 Luke 1. 25— in the Word of God. 
 
 XVIII. Of obtaininp eternal Salvation 
 only by the Name of Ciirisf^. 
 
 THEY also are to be had ac- 
 cursed' that presume to say% 
 That every man shall be saved by 
 
 Afark xvi. 16, 
 John xiT. 6. 
 
 the hidden mysteries of the divine dispensations. The 
 
 promises, that " whosoever believeth in the only-begotten 
 Son of God shall not perish, but have everlasting life," 
 John iii. 16 ; and that the deatli of Christ will be ac- 
 cepted as " a propitiation for the sins of the whole 
 world," 1 John ii. 2 ; are so plain, that we cannot well 
 mistake their meaning, as far as they resi)ect ourselves ; 
 and they are also so imjiortant, that, if we value our 
 own comfort, we shall not suffer our faith in them to 
 be shaken by any difficulties which speculative men may 
 raise concerning election and predestination, as they 
 relate to mankind at large. Bp. Tomlme. 
 
 This proposition imports, that we must apply general 
 promises to ourselves ; not doul)ting, but that, if we 
 perform the conditions, we shall enjoy the mercy. The 
 reason is, because all particulars are included in univer- 
 sals : and consequently a general jiromise is made a 
 particular one to myself, if I be such a person as that 
 general promise is made to. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 >" — and, in nur doings, that will of God is to be followed, 
 &c.] The will of God can be collected from Scripture 
 only : as it there stands revealed, it is to be obeyed 
 without any exception or reserve : no rules of action 
 are to be allowed, which are not authorized by the 
 declarations of Scripture ; no conduct is to be justified 
 or excused, which is contradictory to the written word 
 of God. 
 
 This last branch of the Article seems to have been 
 directed against a set of profligate enthusiasts, who, at 
 the time of the Reformation, urged the will of God as 
 an excuse for their vices. 'Ilie im])iety and the mischief 
 of such a ])rinciplp. which is a most unjustifiable per- 
 version of tlie doctrine of ])redestinati()n, are equally 
 obvious. The will of God, as was just now observed, 
 can be known only from the Scrijitures; and his will 
 so revealed ought to be the rule of every one's conduct. 
 Bp. 'I'omline. 
 
 " The .\rticle of predestination," says Dr. Waterland, 
 " has been vainly enough urged in favour of Calvinistical 
 tenets : for, not to mention the saving clause in the 
 conclusion, or its saying nothing at all of reprobation, 
 and nothing in favour of absolute jiredcstination to 
 life ; there seems to be a plain distinction, as Plaifere 
 has well observed, in the .Airticle itself, of two kinds of 
 jjrcdestination ; one of which is rei'oinmendcd to us, the 
 other condenmed. Predestination, rightly and jiiously 
 considered, that is, considered not irrespectively, not 
 alisolutcly, but with respect to faith in Christ, faith 
 working by love, and persevering ; such predestination 
 is ' a sweet and comfortnble doctrine :' but ' the sentence 
 of God's predestination,' it is not said here ' in Christ' as 
 before, that sentence, simply or absolutely considered, 
 as curious and carnal jicrsons are apt to consider it, is 
 a most dangerous downfal, leading either to security or 
 desperation, as having no respect to foreseen faith, and 
 a good life, nor depending ujion it, but antecedent in 
 order to it. 'Jlic Article then seems to speak of two 
 
 the Law or Sect wliich he professeth ', 
 so that he be dilioent to frame his 
 life according to that Law, and the 
 light of Nature. For holy Scripture 
 doth set out unto us only the Name Act 
 of Jesus Christ, whereby men must 12. 
 be saved. 
 
 XIX. Of the Church". 
 
 THE visible Church of Christ^ is 
 a Congregation of faithfid men, Acts ii. 42 
 
 12. 
 
 1 John V. 11, 
 
 subjects : first, of predestination, soberly understood 
 with respect to faith in Christ, which is wholesome 
 doctrine ; secondly, of predestination simply considered, 
 which is a dangerous doctrine. And the latter part 
 seems to be intended against those Gospellers, whereof 
 Bishop Burnet speaks. Nor is it imaginable that any 
 true and sound doctrine of the Gospel should of itself 
 have any aptness to become a downfal even to carnal 
 ])ersons : but carnal persons are apt to corrupt a sound 
 doctrine, and suit it to their own lusts and passions, 
 thereby falsifying the truth. This doctrine, so de))raved 
 and mistaken, our Church condemns : that is, she con- 
 demns absolute, irrespective predestination, not the 
 other." Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ''XVIII. Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the 
 Name of Christ.^ This .\rticle is to be considered as 
 directed against those who maintained, that it was a 
 matter of indifference, whether men embraced the Gos- 
 pel or not ; that all religions were equally acceptable to 
 God ; and that all men would obtain salvation, 
 although they rejected the Gospel, provided they 
 observed the rules of the religion which they pro- 
 fessed, and acted in conformity to the dictates of 
 reason. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' They also are to be had accursed &c.] That is, they 
 are to be looked upon, as subject to the wrath of God, 
 and unworthy of comnnmion with the Church. It was 
 formerly the custom to condemn errors in tliis form : 
 " If any one holds such an error, anathema sit," which 
 we translate, " let him be accursed :" many instances 
 of this kind may be found, not only in the acts of 
 Councils, but also in the controversial writings of the 
 ancient fathers; and the )}ractiee seems to have been 
 derived from some exjiressions in Scrijiture, such as 
 Rom. ix. 3 ; 1 ('or. xvi. '22 ; Gal. i. 8. The persons, 
 against whom an anathema was jironotmccd, were ex- 
 chi<le(l from conununion with the church of Christ. 
 Bj). Tomline. 
 
 ' — thill presntne to say, S:c.] They certainly, if any, 
 deserve to be anathematized or accursed, who make the 
 (ios]icl of ('hrist of none effect, and look U])on it as en- 
 tirely useless. For in vain hath ('hri-st revealed it, and 
 in vain hath He connnandcd it to be jireacbed through- 
 out the world, if, after all, believers and unbelievers 
 are equally entitled to salvation. So far is this from 
 being the case, that it is said of our blessed Saviour, 
 Acts iv. 12, tluit " tli<'rc is no salvation in any other; 
 for there is none other name under heaven given 
 among men whereby we must be saveil." And in 
 Mark xvi. I(i, salvation is ])romised to those only who 
 believe, and damiiation is denounced upon those who 
 believe not. See also Jiilin xiv. 0; I John v. II, 12. 
 Mow (iod will deal with those, among whom Christ 
 hath not liecn i)reached, is not our business to deter- 
 mine. Cbarity indeed reijuires us to hope well of such 
 of them, if any such there lie, who live >ip to the rules 
 of right reason : but to jilacc them upon a level with
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 775 
 
 in the which the pure Word of God 
 is preached, and the Sacraments 
 
 the church of God is a very high degree of boldness 
 and presumption. Concerning such persons this 
 Article is silent : and it only declares those men to de- 
 serve being anathematized, who hold all religions to be 
 indifferent matters, as if God regarded them all alike : 
 whereas the religion of Christ is still the only way, 
 which God has instituted, to salvation. Archdeacon 
 l\'elchman, Ve7ieer. 
 
 ' — Tliat every man shall be saved by the haw or Sect 
 which he professelh, &c.] A great difference is to be 
 oljserved between the %vords " saved hy the law," and 
 "saved in the law;" the one is condemned, hut not 
 the other. To be " saved hy a law or sect" signifies, 
 that by the virtue of that law or sect such men who 
 follow it may be saved : whereas to be " saved in a 
 law or sect" imports only that God may extend his 
 compassions to men that are engaged in false religions. 
 The former only is condemned, by this Article, which 
 affirms nothing concerning the other. In sum : if the 
 Christian religion was deli\'ered to the world in the 
 name of God, and was attested by miracles, so that we 
 believe its truth ; we must believe every part and tittle 
 of it, and by consequence those passages, which de- 
 nounce the wrath and judgments of God against im- 
 penitent sinners, and which promise mercy and salvation 
 only upon the account of Christ and his death. We 
 must " l)elieve with our hearts, and confess it with our 
 mouths :" we must " not be ashamed of Christ or of 
 his words," lest He should be " ashamed of us, when 
 he comes in the glory of his Father, with his holy 
 angels," Rom. x. ; Mark viii. 38. This, I say, being 
 part of the Gospel, must be as true as the Gospel 
 itself is. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 As to such then, to whom the Christian religion is 
 revealed, there can no question be made ; for it is cer- 
 tain they are under an indispensable obligation to obey 
 and follow that which is graciously revealed to them. 
 Concerning those, who never heard of this religion, 
 whether, or how, they can be saved, there are passages 
 in Scripture, such as Rom. ii. 12. 14, 15; x. 14; Acts 
 X. 34, 35 ; which seem to import, that those, who 
 make the best use they can of that small measure of 
 light that is given them, shall be judged according to 
 it ; and that God will not require more of them than 
 He has given them. 'I'his agrees so well also with the 
 ideas which we have both of justice and goodness, that 
 this o])inion wants not special colours to make it look 
 well. Hut on the other hand, the pardon of sin, and 
 the favour of fiod, are so positively limited to the be- 
 lieving in Christ Jesus, and it is so expressly said, that 
 " there is no salvation in any other," and that " there 
 is none other name " or authority " under heaven given 
 among men, whereby we must be saved ;" that the 
 only distinction, which can be made in this matter, is 
 this, that it is only on the account and in the con- 
 sideration of the death of Christ that sin is pardoned 
 and men are saved. 
 
 This is the only sacrifice in the sight of God : so that 
 whosoever are received into mercy, have it through 
 Christ as the channel and conveyance of it. But it is 
 not so plainly said, that no man can be saved, unless 
 he has an ex])licit knowledge of this, together with a 
 belief in it. Few in tlie old dispensation could have 
 that : infants and idiots have it not : and yet it were a 
 bold thing to say, that they may not be saved by it. 
 So it does not a])pear to be clearly revealed, that none 
 should be saved hy the death of Christ, unless they do 
 exphcitly both know it and believe in it : since it is 
 
 be duly ministered according to 
 Christ's ordinance in all those things 
 
 certain, that God may pardon sin only upon that score, 
 witliout obliging all men to believe in it, especially 
 when it is not revealed to them. 
 
 And here another distinction is to be made, which 
 vnW clear this whole matter, and all the difliculties that 
 arise out of it. A great difference is to be made 
 between a fiederal certainty of salvation, secured by the 
 ])romise of God and of this new covenant in Christ 
 Jesus, and the extent to which the goodness and mercy 
 of God may go. None are in the Aederal state of salva- 
 tion but Christians : to them is given the covenant of 
 grace, and to them the promises of God are made and 
 offered ; so that they have a certainty of it upon their 
 performing those conditions, that are put in the jiromises. 
 All others are out of this ijroinise, to whom the tidings 
 of it were never brought : but yet a great difference is 
 to be made between them, and those who have been 
 invited to this covenant, and admitted to the outward 
 ])rofession and the common jjrivilegcs of it, and who 
 yet have in effect rejected it. These are under such 
 ])ositive denunciations of wrath and judgment, that 
 there is no room left for any charitable thoughts or 
 hopes concerning them : so that if any jiart of the 
 Gospel is true, that also must be true, that they are 
 under condemnation, for having " loved darkness more 
 than light," John iii. 19, when the light shone upon 
 them and visited them. But as for them, whom God 
 has left in darkness, they are certainly out of the cove- 
 nant, out of those promises and declarations that are 
 made in it : so that they have no foederal right to be 
 saved ; neither can we affirm that they shall he saved : 
 Init on the other hand they are not under those ])ositive 
 denunciations, because they were never made to them ; 
 therefore since God has not declared that they shall be 
 damned, no more ought we to take upon us to damn 
 them. 
 
 Instead of stretching the severity of justice by an in- 
 ference, we may ratlier venture to stretch the mercy of 
 God : since that is the attribute, which is most magni- 
 ficently S]ioken of in the Scriptures ; so that we ought 
 to think of it in the largest and most comprehensive man- 
 ner. But indeed the most proper way is, for us to stop 
 where the revelation of God stojjs ; and not to be wise 
 beyond what is written, but to leave the secrets of God 
 as mysteries, too far above us to examine, or to sound 
 their depth. We do certainly know on what terms we 
 ourselves shall be saved or damned : and we ought to 
 be contented with that, and rather study to " work out 
 our own salvation with fear and trembling," than to 
 let oiu' minds run out into uncertain speculations con- 
 cerning the measures and the conditions of God's un- 
 covenanted mercies ; we ought to take all possible care, 
 that we ourselves come not into condemnation, rather 
 than to decide positively of others, who must, or who 
 must not, be condemned. 
 
 It is therefore enough to fix this according to the 
 design or the Article, that it is not free to men to 
 choose at pleasure what religion they will ; as if that 
 were left to them, or that all religions were alike : for 
 this strikes at the foundation, and undermines the 
 truth of all revealed religion. None are within the 
 covenant of grace, but true Christians : and all are 
 excluded out of it, to whom it is offered, who do not 
 receive and believe it, and live according to it. So in 
 a word, all, that are saved, are saved through Christ : 
 but whether all these shall be called to the explicit 
 knowledge of Him, is more than we have any good 
 ground to affirm. Bp. Burnet.
 
 776 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 that of necessity are requisite to the 
 same. 
 
 " XIX. OJ the Church.'] We now enter upon the 
 fourth and last division of the Articles, namely, those 
 which relate to Christians as memhers of a religious 
 society ; and the first point to be settled upon this sub- 
 ject is the meaning of the word " Church." Bp. Tom- 
 line. 
 
 ^ JTie risible Church of Christ &C.3 This expression 
 seems to be used in contradistinction to the mystical or 
 invisible church of Christ. The mystical church con- 
 sists of those persons, who have truly believed and 
 obeved the Gospel ; and who are conceived, although 
 they have lived at different periods, to be united into 
 one" body, which is called mystical or invisible, not only 
 because they are not now all upon earth ; but because 
 the qualities and properties, which gave them a claim 
 to be members of this blessed society, were never the 
 objects of sense, and could not be judged of by men 
 from merely external circumstances. The visible 
 church in its most extensive sense may include all 
 ])ersons, who are, or have been, by outward profession, 
 Christians, whether they have or ha\'e not believed all 
 the doctrines, or obeyed all the precepts of the Gospel. 
 This may be called the visible Catholick church : and 
 our Saviour Himself alludes to the mixture of real and 
 nominal Christians in his visible church. Matt. xiii. 47. 
 24. But in this Article the '• visible church " is used 
 in a more limited sense ; and comprehends only the 
 Christians of one country or city, or of one persuasion : 
 thus it mentions the church of Jerusalem, of Alexandria, 
 of Antioch, and of Rome ; and in like manner we 
 often speak of the Church of England, of Holland, of 
 Geneva, and of the Lutheran cburch : and all those 
 different churches are jiarts of the visible Catholick 
 church. It is well known that the church of Rome 
 considers itself as the only Christian church : but on 
 the other hand we extend the name to any " congre- 
 gation of faithful men, in the which the pure word of 
 God is preached, and the sacraments be duly ad- 
 ministered, according to Christ's ordinance in all those 
 things that of necessity are requisite to the same." Bp. 
 ToiiUine. 
 
 Since it is religion that makes a church, and not the 
 church that makes religion, the church is to be tried 
 and discerned by rehgion, and not religion by the church. 
 The visible church therefore, for the invisible church, 
 «hich consists of the elect only, is not here treated of, 
 is such an one as is described .Vets ii. 42 : such an one 
 as " continues stedfastly in the -Vpostles' doctrine and 
 fellowship, and in lircaking of bread, and in prayers ;" 
 or, in other words, it is such an one, as profcsseth the 
 Christian religion, and believes in the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy (ihost, and baptizes its members in their 
 name, and celeliratcs the Lord's Supjier, as Christ hatli 
 appointed. 'J'hese things are essential to a church : 
 and, as long as these are preserved, a church docs not 
 cease to be, though in some other things it may err; 
 for every error does not subvert the foundations of a 
 church. Hut partindar churches may not only err, 
 l)ut also fall o(f entirely I'roni Clirist : for that saying of 
 his, " I'pon this rock I will build my churcli, anil the 
 gates of hell shall not prevail against it," Matt. xvi. 
 18, is to be understood only of tlie catholick or uni- 
 versal church. Archilcdcon IVtlchmnn, Veneer. 
 
 'I'he word church is used in tlie New Testament in a 
 more or less extended sense. .Sometimes it means the 
 whole Ijody or society of faithfid ("hristians througlmut 
 the world. Matt. xvi. IH; or believers in the (iospel or 
 Christians, generally. Acts ii. 42; V,\>h. v. 2:i — 2."). l$ut 
 in a more limited sense St. I'aul, in addressing the Co- 
 
 As the Church y of Jerusalem'', 
 Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred ; 
 
 rinthian Christians, calls them " the church of Christ 
 which is at Corinth," 1 Cor. i. 2 : St. John wTites " to 
 the seven churches which are in Asia," Rev. i. 4 : and 
 St. Luke says, that St. Paul " went through Syria and 
 Cilicia confirming the churches," Acts xv. 41. In 
 these passages the word " church " is ajiplied to the 
 Christians of particular cities. And even the believers 
 of a single family are by St. Paul called the church, 
 in the cases of Priscilla and Aquila, Xymphas, and 
 Philemon, Rom. xvi. 3. 5; Col. iv. 15; Philem. ver. 2. 
 Bp. Tumline. 
 
 y As the Church'&.c.'] The latter i)art of this Article 
 relates to the pretended claim of infallibihty in the 
 church of Rome : and the comjiilers of our Articles 
 have very wisely taken the first opportunity, which the 
 plan of their arrangement allowed, to deny this claim ; 
 since, if it were admitted, all the other doctrines of 
 Pojiery would be at once established ; an infallible 
 church could not maintain an untrue doctrine. Bp. 
 Tomtine. 
 
 ' As the Church of Jerusalem, &c.] Tliis Article takes 
 notice of the errors of the churches of Jerusalem, Alex- 
 andria, and .\ntioch, because they were the most famous 
 ones, and were advanced to the dignity of being patri- 
 archal churches, as well as that of Rome. Archdeacon 
 Wtlchman. 
 
 It is not questioned but that the other patriarchal 
 churches have erred : both that, where our Saviour 
 Himself first taught, and which was governed by two 
 of the apostles successively ; and those, which were 
 founded by St. Peter, in person or by [iroxy, as church 
 history represents Alexandria and Antioch to have been. 
 Bp. Burnet. 
 
 That the church of Rome hath erred, as stated in the 
 Article, is evident from the whole course of our contro- 
 versies with them. Their errors in life they dare not 
 deny ; and their errors in " faith and manner of cere- 
 monies" evidently appear from their Trent Creed, which 
 is burdened with a vast ^'ariety of such admirable false- 
 hoods as have grievously corrupted their worship. For 
 instance, the doctrine of transubstantiation has led them 
 to the grossest idolatry. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 That "the church of Rome has erred in their manner 
 of living," is sufftciently evident from history. Bishop 
 Burnet says, that " for above 800 years the ])apacy, as it 
 is represented by their own WTiters, is perhaps the worst 
 succession of men that is to be found in history :" and 
 that " the church of Rome has erred in its ceremonies, 
 and in matters of faith," will fully apjiear from the fol- 
 lowing .\rticles. 
 
 The chinch of Rome existed many centuries before 
 any mention was made of infallibility, although it had, 
 as every one knows, fre(iuent disputes with other 
 churches from a very early period. This doctrine was 
 afterwards asserted aiul received : and its long and ge- 
 neral ])revalcnce is perhajis the strongest instance, which 
 can lie produced from the annals of the world, of the 
 presumption and artifice of one set of men, and of the 
 lilindncss and credulity of another. But since infalli- 
 bility has been an establislie<l tenet of the church of 
 Rome, there has been a difference of opinion among 
 Pajiists, whether it be vested in the jHipes themselves, 
 when they pronounce their decrees ex cathedrii ; or in 
 general councils. This very doubt is an argument 
 against the thing itself; since, wherever so important 
 and distinguished a privilege as inl'ullibility resided, it 
 could not but be manifest anil uppiucnt : and we may 
 conclude, that if it had jilcased (iod to ))lace such a 
 power in any part of his church, He would have dis-
 
 so also the C'liurcli of Rome hath 
 erred, not only in their living and 
 manner of Ceremonies, but also in 
 matters of faith. 
 
 ARTICLES OK RELIGION. 777 
 
 and authority in Controversies of 
 Faith'': And yet it is not lawful "^ for i Tim. i 2 
 
 a.,, ^.1 .1. ./ „_,i..: .1 • .r... Tit. iii. ID, 
 
 XX. Of the Autlwriti) of the ChurchK 
 
 Church hath power'' to 
 ;lecree Rites or Ceremonies'", 
 
 THE 
 decrc 
 
 tinctly pointed out the ])ersons in whom it was to be 
 found. General Councils will be considered hereafter. 
 In the mean time we may observe, that many popes, in 
 their bulls and other (lublick instruments, have them- 
 selves laid claim to their own personal infallibility in 
 the most arrogant and blasphemous manner. This 
 monstrous doctrine is now so universally reprobated, as 
 beiufT repugnant to the nature of man, as unfounded 
 in Scripture, as inconsistent with God's general govern- 
 ment of the world, as unsupported by miracles or any 
 other authentick sign, and as clearly refuted by the 
 opposite and contrary decisions of different popes ; that 
 it is unnecessary to add any thing fm-ther upon the sub- 
 ject. Bp. Timiline. 
 
 * XX. 0/ the Authority nf the Church.'\ The mean- 
 ing of the word " Church " having been settled in the 
 l)receding Article, the next thing to be determined is, 
 what authority belongs to every particular church ? and 
 this inquiry naturally divides itself into two parts ; 
 namely, external forms, and matters of faith : both of 
 wliich are treated of in this Article. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ^ The Church hath power &c.] By the Church we 
 are here to understand those that are vested with eccle- 
 siastical authority. It is not meant to exclude such, as 
 have nothing to do with the government of the Church, 
 from being a part of the Church ; for if the governours 
 of the Church be included in the definition of the Church, 
 as every one grants they are, then any part of ecclesi- 
 astical authority, which of right is exercised by these 
 governours, may properly and consistently be said to be 
 exercised by the Church. And since it is their business 
 to take care, tliat " every thing be done in the Church 
 decently and in order," 1 Cor. xiv. 40 ; and to take care 
 that the true faith be preserved, as appears from Tit. iii. 
 10, " A man that is an heretick, after the first and second 
 admonition reject," and from 1 Tim. i. 3, "As I be- 
 sought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into 
 Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they 
 teach no other doctrine ;" it follows, that they must have 
 a right to decree rites and ceremonies, without which 
 nothing can be done in i)ubhck assemblies that is decent 
 and orderly ; and that they must have authority in con- 
 troversies of faith, that the jjeace of the Church be not 
 disturbed by contentious disputations, and that the 
 minds of the faithful be not corrupted by tlie sophistry 
 of hereticks. Archdeacon IVelchman, Veneer. 
 
 " — to decree Rites or Ceremonies,^ It is very visible, 
 that in the Gospels and Epistles there are but few rules 
 laid down as to ritual matters. In the Epistles there 
 are some general rules given, that must take in a great 
 many cases ; such as, " Let all things be done to edifi- 
 cation, to order, and to peace," Rom. xiv. 19; 1 Cor. 
 xiv. 40 : and in the Ejjistles to Timothy and Titus, 
 many rules are given in such general words, as, " Lay 
 hands suddenly on no man," that, in order to the guid- 
 ing of particular cases by them, many distinctions and 
 specialities were to be interjiosed, to making them prac- 
 ticable and useful. In matters that are merely ritual, 
 the state of mankind in different climates and ages is 
 apt to vary ; and the same things, that in one scene of 
 human nature may look grave, and seem fit for any 
 
 the Church to ordain any tiiiiiir that j\iait xxviii. 
 is contrary to God's Word written, ^j '■^'- '• « 
 neither may it .so expound one ])lace 
 of Scripture', that it be rejiuirnant to 
 aru)tlier. Wherefore, altlioutrh the Rom. m 4. 
 Church be a witness and a keej)crs Rom. Hi. 2. 
 
 society, may in another age look light, and dissipate 
 men's thoughts. It is also evident, that there is not a 
 system of rules given in the Xew Testament about all 
 these : and yet a due method in them is necessary, to 
 maintain the order and decency that become divine 
 things. This seems to be a part of the Gospel " liberty," 
 that it is not " a law of ordinances," Gal. ii. 4 ; iv. 9 ; 
 V. 1 : these things being left to be varied according to 
 the diversities of mankind. 
 
 The Jewish religion was delivered to one nation, and 
 the inain parts of it were to be jierformed in one place : 
 they were also to be limited in rituals, lest they might 
 have taken some lu'actices from their neighbours round 
 about them, and so by the use of their rites have ren- 
 dered idolatrous practices more familiar and acceptable 
 to them. And yet they had many rites among them in 
 our Saviotir's time, which are not mentioned in any part 
 of the Uld Testament : such was the whole constitution 
 of their synagogues, with all the service and officers 
 that belonged to them ; they had a baptism among 
 them, besides several rites added to the Paschal service. 
 Our Saviour reproved them for none of these : He hal- 
 lowed some of them to be the fcederal rites of his new 
 dispensation : He went to their synagogues : and, though 
 He reproved them for overvaluing their rites, for prefer- 
 ring them to the laws of God, and making these void by 
 their traditions, yet He does not condemn them for the 
 use of them. And, while of the greater precepts He says, 
 " These things ye ought to have done;" He adds con- 
 cering their rites and lesser matters, " and not to have 
 left the other undone," Matt, xxiii. 23. 
 
 If then such a liberty was allowed in so limited a 
 religion, it seems highly suitable to the sublimer state 
 of the Christian liberty, that there should be room left 
 for such appointments and alterations, as the different 
 state of times and places should require. In such rules 
 we ought to acquiesce. Nor can we assign any other 
 boimds to our submission in this case, than those 
 which the Gospel has limited. " We must obey God 
 ratlierthan man," Acts v. 29; and we must in the lu'st 
 place " render to God the things that are God's," and 
 then "give to Csesar the things that are Cjesar's," 
 Matt. xxn. 21. So that if either Church or State have 
 jjower to make rules and laws in such matters, they 
 must have this extent given them ; that, till they break 
 in ujjon the laws of God and the Gospel, we must be 
 bound to obey them. A mean cannot be put here ; 
 either they have no power at all ; or they have a power 
 that must go to every thing that is not forbid by any 
 law of God. This is the only measiu'e that can be gi\'en 
 in this matter. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 '' — authority in Controversies of Faith .-] It appears 
 from the preceding Article, that it is not here intended 
 to ascribe to the Church an infallible authority. The 
 words of this Article are, " controversies of faith :" and 
 this expression perhaps alludes to disputes which may 
 arise between the members of any church ; and it may 
 be designed to assert, that the governing part of the 
 Church has authority to take cognizance of such dis- 
 putes, and to deliver their judgment concerning the 
 points in controversy. Great weight and deference
 
 778 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 of holy Writ, yet, as it ought not to 
 
 decree any thing against the same'', 
 
 Acts iy. 19. so besides the same ought it not 
 
 _i. m. 3, ^^o gufgrce anything to be believed 
 
 for necessity of Salvation. 
 
 XXI. Of the Authority of General 
 Councils^. 
 
 E N E R A L Councils may not 
 be gathered together'' without 
 
 G 
 
 would be due to such decisions : and every man, that 
 finds his own thoughts differ from them, ought to exa- 
 mine the matter over again with much attention and 
 care, freeing himself all he can from prejudice and ob- 
 stinacy, with a just distrust of his own understanding, 
 and an humble respect to the judgment of his superiors. 
 This is due to the consideration of peace and imion, 
 and to that autliority which the Church has to maintain 
 it : but if, after all possible methods of inquiry, a man 
 cannot master his thoughts, or make them agree with 
 the pubUck decisions, his conscience is not under bonds ; 
 since this authority is not absolute, nor grounded u])on 
 a promise of infallibility. But this, however, we may 
 obsen-e, that, without any pretension to infallibility, 
 and without any infringement of the right of private 
 judgment, the Chm-ch has power to declare Articles of 
 faith, provided they be authorized by Scripture, as guides 
 to truth, and as conditions upon which it receives per- 
 sons into its communion. This is the principle of all 
 Creeds ; and indeed the only principle upon wliich the 
 unity of " the faith once delivered to the saints" can be 
 preserved. Every church therefore must possess a right 
 to compose new or to alter existing Articles, according 
 as the circumstance of the times shall make it necessary 
 to defend the purity of Christian doctrine against 
 prevailing heresies, and to point out to the unlearned 
 jiart of the community the snares which may be laid in 
 their paths. Bp. Burnet, Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' And yet it is not {awful &c.] The written word of 
 God is the rule of our faith and practice; and no con- 
 sideration whatever can justify a departiu-e from it. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 ' — neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, 
 &c.] All Scripture being given by inspiration of God, 
 there must be a jjcrfect consistency and agreement in all 
 its parts ; and consequently no church can have a right to 
 interpret one passage of Scripture in such a manner, as 
 to make it contradictory to another. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 B — Wherefore, ulthouyli the Church he a witness and 
 a keeper &c.] It apjiears by historical evidence, that 
 the holy Scriptures have been constantly extant in the 
 Church ; and tliat slie has in all ages received the same 
 Scriptures whicli we now enjoy : and therefore she is 
 a\vitncssand keejjerofthem. Dr.Bennet. The Church's 
 being called the witness of lioly writ is not to be resolved 
 into any judgment tliat they pass upon it, as a body of 
 men that have autliority to judge and give sentence, so 
 that the canonicuhiess or tlic nncanonicalness of any 
 book shall depend upon tlieir testimony : but is resolved 
 into this, that such successions and nuuiliers of men, 
 whether of the laity or clergy, have in a course of many 
 ages had tliese books preserved and read among them ; 
 so that it was not possible to corrupt that, upon which 
 80 many men had their eyes in all the corners and ages 
 of Christendom. 
 
 And tluis we believe the S(Ti[itures to be a bonk 
 written by inspired men, and delivered l)y them to tlie 
 church, u|)on the testimony of the churcli that at lirst 
 rtccived it; knowing tliat tliosc great matters of fact, 
 
 the commandment and will of Princes. Rom. xni i. 
 And when they be gathered toge- 
 ther', (forasmuch as they be an as- 
 sembly of men, whereof all be not 
 governed with the Spirit and Word 
 of God,) they may err, and some- 
 times have erred, even in tilings per- 
 taining unto God. Wherefore things 
 ordained by them™ as necessary to 
 salvation have neither strength nor 
 
 contained and appealed to in it, were true : and also 
 u])on the like testimony of the succeeding ages, who 
 preserved, read, copied, and translated that book, as 
 they have recei\'ed it from the fii-st. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 '■ — as it ought not to decree any thing against the sa7ne, 
 &c.] To the Christians " are committed the oracles of 
 God," as they were to tlie Jews in old time, as St. Paul 
 observes, Rom. iii. 2. Yet the church ought not to 
 " decree any thing against the same," which is farther 
 confirmed by the answer of Peter and John to the 
 Jewish rulers, Acts iv. 19, " Whether it be right in the 
 sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, 
 judge ye." Neither ought the church to "inforco 
 any thing besides to be believed for necessity of salva- 
 tion ;" which is hkewise confirmed by what St. Paul 
 saith. Gal. iii. 1 5, " Brethren, I speak after the manner 
 of men : though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it 
 be confirmed, no man disannidleth or addeth there- 
 unto." We may argue therefore, that much less may 
 men presume to take from, or add to, the word of 
 God. See .\rticle vi. Veneer. 
 
 ' XXI. 0/ the Authority of General Councils.'] In 
 the last Article the ])ower of an individual church was 
 considered : this relates to the authority of general 
 CJouncils, which are the aggregate of all particular 
 churches, that is, of [lersons lawfully appointed to 
 rejiresent them. Bp. Tomhne. 
 
 '' General Councils may not be gathered together &c.] 
 Clergymen are subject to their princes, according to 
 these words, " Let every soul be subject to the higher 
 jiowers," Rom. xiii. 1. If then they are subject to them, 
 they cannot be obliged to go out of their dominions 
 upon the summons of any other : their persons being 
 under the laws and authority of that country to which 
 they belong. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 Since it is not lawful for bishops to leave their own 
 country, and go into other dominions, without the leave 
 of their own princes, it follows, that they cannot with- 
 out the will of princes assemble at general Councils. 
 There were indeed many ])rovincial Councils, but no 
 general one, before Constantine, by whose authority 
 the first, that is, the Niccne Councd, was assembled, 
 as also the following ones were by the authority of the 
 following emperors. Archdeacon IVelehman. 
 
 The four first general Councils, namely, that of Nice, 
 in the year 32") ; of Constantinople, in ;isl ; of Epbesus, 
 in 431; and of Chalcedon, in -ISl ; were summoned 
 respectively by the Kuii)erors Constantine, Theodosius 
 the (ireat, Theodosius the Younger, and ^hlrcian, 
 whose domiuiiiiis included the whole, or nearly the 
 whole, of Cliristeudom. 'I'he em|)ir(irs continued to 
 exercise the same jiower for several centuries after- 
 wards : but at length the popes of Rome, among other 
 usurpations, assumed to themselves the right of sum- 
 moning general Councils; and the first which met liy 
 their authority was the first Lateran Council, in the 
 year 1 132. Authors are not agreed about the number 
 of general Councils: papists usually reckon eighteen; 
 but protestaut writers will not allow, that nearly so
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 779 
 
 authority, xinlcss it may be declarefl 
 tliat they be taken out of lioly Scrip- 
 ture. 
 
 XXII. OfPurijafori/''. 
 
 TH E Romisli Doctrine con- 
 cerning Purgatory", Pardons p, 
 
 many had a right to that name. The last general 
 ('oiincil was that held at Trent for the purjjose of 
 checking the (irogress of the Reformation. It first 
 met hy the command of Pope Paul the Third, in 1545 : 
 it was sus])ended during the latter jiart of the ]>ontifi- 
 cate of his successor, Julius the Third ; and the whole 
 of the ])ontificates of Marcellus the Second and Paul 
 the Fourth; that is, from 1552 to 1562; in which year 
 it met again by the authority of Pope Pius the Fourth ; 
 and it ended while he was Pope, in 15G3. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' — And tvlien Ihey he gathered together, &c.] Since 
 bishops are still but men, as well when they are in a 
 Council, as when they are out of it, and still lialile to 
 the weaknesses and imperfections of human nature, it 
 is no wonder that what is human should err, and it is 
 manifest that even they have actually erred. Archdeacon 
 Welchman. 
 
 For the proof of this, take a remarkable instance. 
 The Council of Ariminum consisted of about four hun- 
 dred bishops, from all parts of the Christian world ; a 
 number much superior to that which assembled at 
 Nice. And yet, though it was orthodox at first, it fell 
 in at last with the Arians ; and consequently " erred, 
 even in things pertaining to God." Dr. Bennet. 
 
 Indeed, neither the first general Councils themselves, 
 nor those who defended their decisions, ever pretended 
 to infallibility ; this was a claim of a mucli more recent 
 date, suited to the dark ages, in which it was asserted 
 and maintained, but now considered equally groundless 
 and absurd in the case of general Councils, as in that 
 of the popes. The observation which we made upon 
 the pretended claim of infallibihty in the Roman pon- 
 tiffs, may be extended to general Councils. If God 
 had been pleased to exempt them from a possibility of 
 error, he would have annoimced that important privi- 
 lege in his written word ; l)ut no such promise or 
 assurance is mentioned in the New Testament. If 
 infallibility belonged to the whole church collectively, 
 or to any individual part of it, it must be so prominent 
 and consi)icuous, tliat no mistake or doubt could exist 
 upon the subject : and above all, it must have pre- 
 vented those dissensions, contests, heresies, and schisms, 
 which have abounded among Christians from the days 
 of the Apostles to the present times ; and of which 
 that very church, which is the assertor and patron of 
 this doctrine, has had its full share. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 " — Wherefore things ordained by them &c.] See the 
 sixth Article, and the notes there. As to the four 
 general Councils which this church declares she re- 
 ceives, they are received only because we are persuaded 
 from the Scriptures, that their decisions are made 
 according to them : that the Son is truly God, of the 
 same substance with the Father; that the Holy Ghost 
 is also truly (iod ; that the di\'ine nature was truly 
 united to the human in Christ, and that, in one per- 
 son ; that both natures remained distinct, and that the 
 human nature was not swallowed np of the divine. 
 These truths we find in the Scriptures, and therefore 
 we believe them. We reverence those Councils for the 
 sake of their doctrine : but do not believe the doctrine 
 for the authority of the Councils. B/). Burnet. 
 
 "XXII. Of Purgatory.'] This Article is entitled " Of 
 Purgatory :"' but it relates to four other doctrines as 
 
 Worsliip]iing and Adoration, as well 
 of Images"' as of Reliques% and 
 also Invocation of Saints'*, is a fond 
 tiling' vainly invented, and grounded 
 upon no warranty of Scripture, hut 
 rather repugnant to the Word of 
 God. 
 
 well as purgatory ; all of which were maintained by the 
 church of Rome, and were rejected by our (church, and 
 indeed by all Protestants, at the time of the Reforma- 
 tion. Bp. Tumliue. 
 
 There are two small variations in this Article from 
 that published in King Edward's reign. AVhat is here 
 called " the Romish doctrine" is there called " the 
 doctrine of Schoolmen." The jilain reason of this is, 
 that these errors were not so fully espoused by the 
 body of the Roman church, when these Articles were 
 first published, so that some HTiters, who softened 
 matters, threw them upon the Schoolmen ; and there- 
 fore the Article was cautiously worded, in laying them 
 there : but before these, which we have now, were 
 published, the decree and canons concerning the mass 
 bad passed at Trent, in which most of the heads of this 
 Article are either affirmed or supposed ; though the 
 formal decree concerning them was made some months 
 after these Articles were published. This will serve 
 to justify that diversity. The second difference is 
 only the leaving out of a severe word. " Perniciously 
 repugnant to tlie word of God" was put at first : but 
 " perniciously" being considered to be only a hard 
 word, they judged very right in the second edition of 
 them, that it was enough to say "repugnant to the 
 word of (jod." Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ° The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, &c.] 
 The first of the [mrticulars here rejected is purgatory ; 
 concerning which the doctrine of tlie church of Rome 
 is, that every man is liable both to tem])oral and eternal 
 punishment for his sins; that God, u])on the account 
 of the death and intercession of Christ, does indeed 
 pardon sin as to its eternal punishment ; but the sinner 
 is still liable to temporal punishment, which he must 
 expiate by acts of penance and sorrow in this world, 
 together with such other sufferings as God shall thinlc 
 fit to lay upon him : but, if he does not expiate them in 
 this life, there is a state of suffering and misery in the 
 next world, where the soul is to bear the temporal 
 punishment of its sins, which may continue longer or 
 shorter till the day of judgment. And in order to the 
 shortening of this, the prayers and sujiererogations of 
 men here on earth, or the intercession of the saints in 
 heaven, but above all things the sacrifice of the mass, 
 are of great efficacy. This is the doctrine of the church 
 of Rome, asserted in the Councils of Florence and Trent. 
 Bp. Burnet. 
 
 The practice of praying for the dead began in the 
 third century ;■ but it was not till long afterwards, that 
 purgatory was even mentioned among Christians. It 
 was at first doidjtfuUy received ; and was not fully esta- 
 blished till the ])a|)acy of Gregory the Great, in the 
 beginning of the seventh century. The belief, that the 
 saying of masses would redeem the souls of the dead 
 from the punishment of purgatory, was the source of 
 great gain to the clergy of the Western churches : the 
 endowments indeed for that purpose became so large 
 and frequent in this country, that it was necessary to 
 restrain them by statutes of Mortmain. The doctrine 
 of ]iurgatoi"y was never admitted into the Greek church ; 
 but something of this kind seems to have been believed 
 by Pagans, Jews, and Mahometans. 
 
 Not only purgatory itself is not mentioned in Scrip-
 
 780 
 XXIII 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Of Ministering in the Con- 
 gregation^. 
 IT is not lawful for any man^ to 
 take upon him the office of pub- 
 
 ture, but there is not the shghtest authority for that 
 distinction between temporal and eternal punishment, 
 which is the foundation of this doctrine : nor are we 
 directed to offer prayers or masses for the dead. It is 
 no where said, that there is any species of guilt or 
 punishment, from which the merits of Christ will not 
 deliver us : on the contrary we are told, that " the blood 
 of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all sin," 1 John 
 i. 7 ; and that " now there is no condemnation to them 
 which are in Christ Jesus," Rom. viii. 1. Full and 
 com])lete forgiveness of sins in the world to come, 
 without any reserve or exception, is promised to re- 
 pentant sinners : and we have the most positive assur- 
 ances, that they will be eternally happy, without any 
 intimation of suffering pre])aratory to their entrance 
 into those joys which are at God's right hand for ever- 
 more. And therefore the doctrine of an intermediate 
 state of pain and torment, from which the merits of 
 our Redeemer cannot deliver us, is not only "grounded 
 upon no warranty of Scripture," but is so far positively 
 " repugnant to the word of God," as it is contrary to 
 the absolute and unreserved offers of mercy, peace, and 
 happiness, contained in the Gospel; and as it derogates 
 from the fulness and perfection of the one expiatory 
 sacrifice made by the death of Christ for the sins of all 
 mankind. It seems also absurd to suppose, that con- 
 siderable sufferings should await, in a future life, those 
 who are to be finally saved ; and that there should be 
 effectual methods of avoiding or shortening those 
 sufferings, without any mention of the evil or its 
 remedy in any ])art of the New Testament. To this 
 argument from the silence of Scripture we may add, 
 that the Gospel re])resents Lazarus as conveyed at once 
 to a state of comfort and joy ; that our Saviour pro- 
 mised the thief upon the cross, that he should on that 
 day be with him in paradise ; that St. Paul represents 
 " to depart and to be «ith Christ," Phil. i. 2:i, " to be 
 absent from the body, and present with the Lord," 
 2 Cor. V. 8, as states which were immediately to follow 
 each other; and that St. John says, " Blessed are the 
 dead, which die in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, 
 saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours," 
 Rev. xiv. 1 3 : but how do they rest from their labours, 
 if they have still the pains of purgatory to endure .' 
 
 With respect to temporal punishments it is evident, 
 that God sometimes interposes in visible judgments 
 upon the wicked, as well as in blessings upon the 
 good : but on the other hand the wicked often ap])car 
 to prosper, while the good are suffering under adver- 
 sity. .'Xnd indeed the Gospel warns all men, without 
 any discrimination, to expect crosses and alllictions in 
 this probationary life, and requires faith and patience 
 under the heaviest pressure of the most unprovoked 
 calamities. These are jiarts of the divine government 
 of this world, wliich are ordained for the wisest and 
 most salutary ])urposes, and have no concern whatever 
 with a state of punishment in another life previous to 
 a state of ha|)piness. Bp. Tomliiie. 
 
 ' — PnritMts,'] 'I'hc next |)artieular in this Article is, 
 the condemning of the Romish doctrine concerning 
 " )>ardons" or indulgences : this is founded on the dis- 
 tinction between the temjxiral and eternal punishment 
 of sin ; and the pardon is of tlu' temporal punislunent, 
 which is believed to l)c done l)y a power lodged singly 
 in the pope, derived from these words, " I'eed my sheep," 
 and " To thee will I give the keys of the kingdom of 
 
 lick preaching, or ministering the 
 Sacraments in the Congregation, he- neb. v. t. 
 fore he be lawfully called, and .sent 
 to execute the same. And those we 
 
 heaven." This may be by him derived, as they teach, 
 not only to bishops and priests, but to the inferior 
 orders, to be dispensed by them : and it excuses from 
 penance, unless he who purchases it thinks fit to use 
 his penance in a medicinal way as a preservative against 
 sin. .So the virtue of indulgences is the applying of 
 the treasure of the church upon such terms, as popes 
 shall think fit to prescribe, in order to the redeeming 
 of souls from purgatory, and from all other temporal 
 punishments ; and that for such a number of years as 
 shall be specified in the bulls, some of which have 
 gone to thousands of years : one I have seen to ten 
 hundred thousand ; and as these indulgences are 
 sometimes granted by special tickets, like tallies struck 
 on that treasure, so sometimes they are affixed to par- 
 ticular churches and altars, to particular times or days, 
 chiefly to the year of Jubilee ; they are also affixed to 
 such things as may be carried about, to Agnus Dei's, 
 to medals, to rosaries and scapularies ; they are also 
 affixed to some prayers, the devout saying of them 
 being a mean to jirocure great indulgences. The 
 granting of these is left to the pope's discretion, who 
 ought to distribute them as he thinks might tend most 
 to the honour of God and the good of the church ; and 
 he ought not to be too profuse, much less to be too 
 scanty, in dispensing them. 
 
 This has been the received doctrine and practice of 
 the church of Rome since the twelfth century ; and the 
 council of Trent in a hurry in its last session did in 
 very general words approve of the ])ractice of the 
 church in this matter ; and decreed that indulgences 
 should be continued : only they restrained some abuses, 
 particularly that of selling them ; yet e\'en those re- 
 straints were wholly referred to the ])opes themselves : 
 so that this crying abuse, the scandal of which had 
 occasioned the first beginning and jirogress of the 
 Reformation, was upon the matter established ; and 
 the correcting of the excesses in it was trusted to tlu)se, 
 who had been the authors of them, and the chief 
 gainers by them. This point of their doctrine is more 
 fully opened than might jierhaps seem necessary, if it 
 «'ere not tliat a great jiart of the confutation of some 
 doctrines is the ex])osing of them. 
 
 As for tlie doctrine itself, all that has been already 
 said against the distinction of temporal and eternal 
 ])imishmcnt, and against purgatory, overthrows it ; 
 since the one is the foundation on which it is built, 
 and the other is that which it ])reteiuls to secure nu'u 
 from : and therefore this falls with those. .\11 that 
 was said upon the head of the sufficiency of the Scrip- 
 tures comes also in here : for if the .Scriptures ouglit 
 to be our rule in any thing, it must be ehieHy in those 
 matters, which relate to the pardon of sin, to the quiet 
 of our consciences, and to a future state. Therefore a 
 doctrine and practice, which h.ave not so much as 
 colours from Scripture in a matter of such consequence, 
 ought to be rejected by us upim that single account. 
 Bp. Burnet. 
 
 For the support of the doctrine of indulgences there 
 is not one passage in holy Scripture : lint there are 
 several, which are inconsistent with the doctrine and 
 jjractice of the church of Rome in this iiarticnlar. Thus 
 1 John i. !), we are told, that it is " (iod who cleanseth 
 us from all imrighteousness." And .St. Peter, speaking 
 of our blessed Saviour, Acts iv. 12, hath these words, 
 " Neither is there sahation in any other ; for there is
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 781 
 
 ought to judge lawfully called'' and 
 sent, which be chosen and called to 
 
 none other name under heaven given among men, 
 wherchy we must he saveil." And Isaiah tells us, liii. 
 5, that " he was vvountled for our transgressions, and 
 bruised for our iniquities," that "the chastisement of 
 our peace was u|)on hiui, and witli his stripes we are 
 healed." And that the saints have no merit at all, 
 much less such a degree of it as this doctrine supposes, 
 so that having suflercd more than was requisite to 
 satisfy for their own sins, they have left a stock to the 
 treasure of the church for the advantage of others, is 
 already proved under the 14th Article. Veneer. 
 
 1 — IVorshipping and Adoration, — of Imncjes^ That 
 the first Christians had no images is evident from 
 hence, that thoy were reproached hy the heathen, be- 
 cause they did not use them : and we find almost every 
 ecclesiastical writer of the four first centuries arguing 
 against the Gentile practice of image-worship from the 
 plain declarations of Scripture, and from the jrare and 
 spiritual nature of Uod. In the beginning of tlie 
 fourth century the council of lUyberis decreed, that 
 ])ictures ought not to be placed in churches, " lest that 
 whi('h is worshi])ped should be printed on the walls." 
 Images seem to have been introduced into churches in 
 the fifth century : and it was ])robably first done, to 
 preserve the remembrance, and do honour to the 
 memory, of departed saints, though some have imagined 
 it originated in a wish to comply with the prejudices 
 of the heathen, and to make them better disposed to 
 embrace the Gospel. It was imi)ossible to look at 
 these interesting representations, standing in ])laces 
 consecrated to the service of God, without feeling some 
 degree of respect : that respect was gradually height- 
 ened into reverence, and at length ended in absolute 
 worship ; so that Christians, who in the first ages were 
 reproached by the heathen for not having images, were 
 in the seventh century accused by tlie Jews, and even 
 by Mahometans, of the grossest idolatry. In the fol- 
 lowing century began the famous controversy about 
 the breaking of images, which was carried on for more 
 tlian a hundred years with the greatest eagerness and 
 animosity, both in the east and in the west. Different 
 popes and different councils, notwithstanding their 
 jiretensions to infallibility, espoused different sides of 
 the question : but at length, after much uncertainty 
 and fluctuation of opposite interests, those who con- 
 tended for the lawfulness of worshipping images pre- 
 vailed, and from that time image-worship has been an 
 estabhshed doctrine of the church of Rome. It was 
 decreed by the council of Trent, the last general 
 council, that "due worship should be given to images:" 
 and several regulations were added upon the subject. 
 Among other corruptions of the church of Rome, that 
 of the use of images was rejected by our Reformers, as 
 being contrary to the practice of the primitive church, 
 and plainly " repugnant to the word of God." Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 The worshippers of images have endeavoured to 
 excuse themselves from the heinous charge of idolatry, 
 by distingaishing between an image and an idol, 
 between an absolute and a relative worship : but in 
 vain ; for God hath not only forbidden the worshipping 
 of idols, as in 1 John v. 21, "Little children, keep 
 yourselves from idols," and in a multitude of places 
 besides ; but hath absolutely forbidden us to ])ay any 
 religious worship to images. See Exod. xx. 4, 5. Arch- 
 deacon f)'elchmaji. Veneer. 
 
 ' — as of Reliques,'] The fourth doctrine condemned 
 in this iVrticle is "the worshipping and adoration of 
 
 this work by men who have j)ul)lick rii. i. s. 
 authority given unto them in the 
 
 reliques." In the early ages of the Gospel, when its 
 jn'ofessors were exposed to every s|)ecies of danger and 
 persecution, it was natural for Christians to shew every 
 mark of respect, both to the bodies and to the memory 
 of those, who had suffered death in its cause. 'I hey 
 collected their remains and buried them, not only wilii 
 decency, Init with all the solemnity and honour whicli 
 circumstances would allow. It was also the custom 
 for Christians to hold their religious meetings at the 
 places where their martyrs were buried, by which they 
 seemed, as it were, united with them ; and to display 
 their attachment to their dejiarted brethren by such 
 rites, as were dictated by the fervour of their devout 
 affection, and were consistent with the principles of 
 their religion. It does not aiqiear that tliis boundary 
 was ever transgressed in the three first centuries : but 
 in the fourth century, when the jiure and sim])le 
 worship of the Gospel began to be debase<l by super- 
 stitious practices, we find strong proofs of an excessive 
 love for every thing wnich had Ijelonged to those who 
 had distinguished themselves by their exertions or their 
 sufferings for the truth of Christianity, and especially 
 for any jiart of their garments, hair, or bones. Augus- 
 tine in Africa, and Vigilantius in Spain, complained 
 loudly of this culpable fondness for reliques, which 
 they speak of as a new corrujjtion, then first appearing 
 in the Christian world : but the warm disposition of 
 Jerome led him to stand forward in their defence with 
 more zeal than discretion. However, this learned 
 father, even while he leans to the opinion that miracles 
 were sometimes WTOUght by reliques, exjilicitly dis- 
 claims all idea of offering them worship. But, when 
 superstition has once made its way into the minds of 
 men, it gradually gains ground : and it is difficult to 
 set limits to it, particularly when there is a set of 
 persons, respected for their jjiety, who are studious to 
 encourage it. Monks carried about reliques ; and with 
 great ease, and no small advantage to themselves, per- 
 suaded that ignorant age of their value and importance. 
 Under their recommendation and patronage, they were 
 soon considered as the best preservatives against every 
 possible evil of soul and body : and when the wor- 
 shipping of images came to be established, the en- 
 shrining of reliques was a natural consequence of that 
 doctrine. This led the way to absolute worship, 
 which was now preached by the Romish clergy as a 
 Christian duty. Every one thought it necessary to 
 possess a relique of some saint or martyr, as the 
 effectual means of securing his care and protection : 
 and fraud and imposition did not fail to furnish a 
 supply proportionable to the demand. The discovery 
 of the catacombs at Rome was an inexhaustible source 
 of reliques ; and thus the popes themselves became 
 directly interested in maintaining this superstitious 
 worship. The council of Trent authorized the adora- 
 tion of reliques; and they continue in high esteem 
 among the jjapists of the |)resent day. ^Vhat has been 
 already said is amply sufficient to point out the ab- 
 surdity of worshipping reliques. It is a doctrine 
 manifestly " grounded upon no warranty of Scri])ture :" 
 it is " a fond thing," that is, foolish and trifling, in 
 the extreme, directly contrary to the practice of the 
 primitive Christians, and utterly irreconcileable with 
 common sense. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 The saints themselves, when they were upon earth, 
 rejected the adoration that was offered them, and that 
 too with a great deal of vehemence, as we see in .\cts x. 
 25,26; xiv. 13 — 15. How the reUques came to be more
 
 782 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 1 Cor. xiv. 
 11. 14—19. 
 
 Congregation, to call and send Min- 
 isters into the Lord's vineyard. 
 
 XXIV. Of speaking in the Congre- 
 gation in such a tongue as the people 
 understandetli ^. 
 
 IT is a thing- pkiiiilj'^ repngnant ^ 
 to the Word of God, and the 
 
 holy than the saints themseh-es, it is hard to imagine. 
 Veneer. 
 
 ' — and also Invocation of Saints,'] The practice of 
 invoking saints was not known in tlie three first cen- 
 turies, or in tlie middle of the fourth century : for the 
 invocation of Christ is urged by .\thanasius, Cyril, Ba- 
 sil, and other fathers of that time, as an argument for 
 his divinity, because they did not pray to angels or other 
 creatures; and Augustine, who died at the age of "6, 
 in the year 430, says, " Let not the worship of dead men 
 be any part of our religion : they ought to be so ho- 
 noured that we may imitate them, but not worshipped." 
 This passage seems to refer to the invocation of mar- 
 tyrs, which probably began at the end of the fourth 
 century. The primitive Christians commemorated the 
 deaths of the first martyrs every year on the day on 
 which they suffered ; and the invocation of saints jiro- 
 hably originated from the orations pronounced upon 
 those occasions, the earUest of which now extant are 
 those of Gregory Nazianzen, who lived towards the end 
 of the fourth century. In these orations, which were 
 written with all the latitude of declamatory eloquence, 
 there was frequently a sort of rhetorical address to the 
 dead person, who n'as considered as enjoying happiness 
 in heaven, and a kind of petition to intercede with God 
 in favour of those who were paying that honour to his 
 memory. This was at first entered U])on doubtfully, 
 and always with some such qualification as this, " If 
 there be any sense or knowledge of what we do below." 
 These qualifications were gradually omitted : the orators 
 addressed the dead directly, and solicited their assist- 
 ance without any reserve. In the fifth century they 
 jirayed to God to listen to the intercessions of his 
 saints and mart^TS : not long afterwards litanies were 
 appro])riated to them : and at length, by an easy tran- 
 sition, prayers were offered to them in the same manner 
 as to God and Christ. Thus the invocation of saints 
 became an estalilished practice of the Christian church : 
 it was continued thrqugh the dark ages : and the coun- 
 cil of Trent decreed, that '• all men are to be condemned 
 who do not own, that the saints, reigning with Christ, 
 offi-r their prayers to (iod for men ; and that it is useful 
 to invoke tlum to jirorure their assistance in asking 
 God for blessings through Christ." 
 
 A very little inquiry will convince us, that there i.s no 
 foundation whatever for this doctrine in Scripture. We 
 are commanded to offer our i)rayers to (jnd through 
 Christ alone: "There is one (iod, and one .Mediator 
 between (iod and men, the man ('brist Jesus," I Tim. 
 ii. 5. " Thriiugli him we have access to the Father," 
 Eph. ii. 18. No other person is mentinned, by whom 
 we can approach the I'ather : and the silence of Scrip- 
 ture is decisive upon this subject ; for we may rest as- 
 sured, that every necessary direction is given to us, 
 relative to the important duty of ])rayer. 'I'lie worship- 
 ping of angels is forbidden by St. I'anl : " Let no man 
 t)eguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility, and 
 worslii|)|)iiig of angels," Col. ii. IX : it must tlierefore 
 be uidinvtul to worship men, who were made inferior 
 to angc'ls. Several of the apostles and first Christians, 
 particularly St. James the Great and St. Stephen, had 
 
 custom of the Primitive Church, to 
 have publick Prayer in the Church, 
 or to minister the Sacraments, in a 
 tongue not understanded of the 
 people. 
 
 XXV. Of the Sacraments^. 
 ACRAMENTS ordained of 
 
 Christ be not only badges'^ or 
 
 s 
 
 suffered martyi-dora when the Epistles and Acts of 
 the Apostles were written ; but no mention is made 
 of offering prayers to them, or through them. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 ' — is a fond thing &c.] Between the five doctrines 
 condemned in this .\rticle there is a close connexion, and 
 their history in general carries with it their comjilete 
 refutation. All of them had specious beginnings ; and 
 the mischief, in almost every case, proceedeth from their 
 being allowed to transgress the bounds of propriety, 
 without correction or remonstrance from those, whose 
 duty it was to watch over and preserve the jiurity of 
 Christian worship. The increasing darkness of the 
 times soon caused them to degenerate still farther : but 
 they had then made such an impression upon the minds 
 of men, and so many of the clergy found it their interest 
 to support them, that all resistance from the sound and 
 orthodox part of the Church became ineffectual. The 
 desire of complying with the prejudices of the heathen 
 might also have some weight in the introduction of iirac- 
 tices, which by degrees led to some of these corruptions : 
 but the great source of all those evils seems to have been 
 that spirit of "will-worship," which was gradually ad- 
 mitted into the church, notwithstanding the solemn 
 caution which had been given against it. {)ur Reformers 
 therefore were fully justified in rejecting these doctrines, 
 which had thus arisen from indiscretion and avarice on 
 the one side, and from ignorance and siqiersfition on the 
 other ; and to pronounce them " grounded on no war- 
 ranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the word of 
 God." Bp. Tomline. 
 
 " XXIII. Of Ministering in the Congregation.'] This 
 Article consists of two parts : the former asserts the un- 
 lawfulness of exercising the ]mblick offices of religion 
 without a regular a))|iointment ; and the latter relates to 
 the authority, by which ministers are to be appointed. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' It i.i not laufnl for any man &c.] Since the minis- 
 ters of the word and sacraments are "amliassadors for 
 Christ," and " ministers of God," 2 ('or. v. '20; vi. 4 ; 
 they must necessarily receive their authority from (iod, 
 and be sent by Him; and must not assume that au- 
 thority to themselves, unless they are called to it by 
 (iod. And since (iod our Saviour from the time when 
 He called the apostles has not immediately called any 
 one to the ministry ; it follows that they must be called 
 by tho.se whose business it is to call others. Thus the 
 apostles ordained presbyters and bishops; anil the 
 bislio])S, ordained by the a])ostles, did thenceforth or- 
 dain others. See .\ct3 xx. 2a ; Ileb. v. 4. Archdeacon 
 llelchman. 
 
 But upon this point the reader is requested to refer to 
 the observations on the Ordination Service, page 073, 
 note e. 
 
 y — And those we ought to judge Invfully cnlird &c.] 
 We know that the power of " calling and sending minis- 
 ters into the Lord's vineyard" was granted to the 
 bishops only, from the age of tlie apostles to the time 
 of the Reformation ; but tliat from tliencefurwardssomc 
 churches, which in other things were rightly reformed, 
 have allowed it also to presbyters; whether justly or
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 783 
 
 tokens of Christian men's profession, 
 Acts ii. 38. but rather they be certain sure wit- 
 ]iph.V2(i.' nesses, and effectual signs of grace, 
 and God's good will towards us, by 
 the wliicli he doth work invisihly in 
 us, and doth not only quicken, but 
 
 not, we leave it to themselves to consider : we neither 
 jiulj?e nor despise them. But the case is widely different 
 with our own countrymen ; who, rebelling ajjainst an 
 e.xcellently well constituted Clmrch, have arrojrated to 
 themselves this power of ordination. These therefore 
 we rightly and deservedly account guilty of schism and 
 disorder. Archdeacon IVelchman, 
 
 Upon this point also the reader is referred to previous 
 observations, page G"3, notes/, ^; GS7,p. 
 
 ' XXIV. Of speaking in the Congregiition in such a 
 tongue as the people understrmdeth.^ In King Edward's 
 Articles they took in preaching with jjrayer ; hut the 
 present Article is restrained to prayer. The former only 
 affirms the use of a known tongue to be most fit and 
 agreeable to the word of God : the latter denies the 
 worship in an unknown tongue to be lawful, and 
 affirms it to be "repugnant to the word of God;" to 
 which it adds "and the custom of the primitive 
 church." B/). Biirnef. 
 
 " II is a thing plainly repugnant &c.] The object, for 
 which Christians assemble themselves together, being 
 to hear the word of God, to offer their united jirayers 
 and praises to their heavenly Fatlier, and to participate 
 in those holy ordinances which it hath pleased the divine 
 Author of our religion to institute ; it seems obvious to 
 common sense, that the publick service of the Church 
 should be jjerformed in a language understood by the 
 congregation. One of the general rules given by St. 
 Paul relative to publick worship is, " Let every thing be 
 done unto edifying," 1 Cor. xiv. 26 : but how can the 
 l)eo])le be edified, unless they understand the language, 
 in which their ministers read and speak ? And the same 
 apostle reproves certain persons, who had abused the 
 gift of tongues, by speaking in unknown tongues in the 
 congregation at Corinth, in a manner that plainly 
 shews, that the common people ought not to be 
 called upon to join in the publick service of God, 
 unless they comprehend what is said. See 1 Cor. 
 xiv. 11, &c. 
 
 Tliere is scarcely any duty more repeatedly and more 
 earnestly inforced in Scripture, than that of prayer : and 
 surely all the various precepts and instructions, delivered 
 to us U])on this important subject, imply that our prayers 
 are to be offered in a language which we understand. 
 We are to " worship God in spirit and in truth," but 
 how can the mind or heart of those be affected, who do 
 not comprehend the meaning of the words, which they 
 hear and utter ? Bp. Tomline. 
 
 The custom of the primitive church is no less clear in 
 this point. As the Christian religion was spread to dif- 
 ferent nations, so they all worshipped God in their own 
 tongue. The Syriaek, the Greek, and the Latin, were 
 indeed of that extent, that we have no particular history 
 of any churches, that lay beyond the compass of those 
 languages ; but there was the same reason for putting 
 the worship of God in other languages, that there was 
 for those, 'lliere are very large passages both in Origen 
 and St. Basil, which mention every tongue's " praising 
 of God ;" and, that the Gospel being spread to many 
 nations. He was in every nation praised in the language 
 of that nation. This continued so long to be the prac- 
 tice even of the Latin church, that in the ninth century, 
 when the Slavons were converted, they were allowed by 
 
 also strengthen and confirm our Faith 
 in him. 
 
 There are two Sacraments'' or- 
 dained of Christ our Lord in the 
 Gospel, that is to sav, Baptism, and Mait. xwiii. 
 
 if, z' 1 T I »fi 1 /-■,.. 
 
 tiie hupper of the Lord. 
 
 19. 1 Cor. 
 xi. 23-26. 
 
 the pope to have their publick services in their own 
 tongue. But in the other ))arts of the Western cliurch, 
 the Latin tongue continued to be so universally under- 
 stood by almost all sorts of people, till the tentli or 
 eleventh century, that there was no occasion for changing 
 it. And by that time the clergy were affecting to keep 
 the peo])le in ignorance, and in a blind dependence upon 
 themselves ; and so were willing to make them think, 
 that the whole business of reconciling the people to God 
 lay upon them, and that they were to do it for them. A 
 great i)art of the service of the mass was said so low, 
 that even they, who understood some Latin, could not 
 be the better for it, in an age in which there was no 
 printing, and so few copies were to be had of the pub- 
 lick oftices. The Serijjtures were likewise kejjt from 
 the iieople ; and the service of God was filled with many 
 rites, in all which the clergy seemed to design to make 
 the ])eo]ile believe, that these were sacred charms, of 
 which they only had the secret. So that all the edifica- 
 tion, which was to be had in the publick worship, was 
 turned to pomp and shew, for the diversion and enter- 
 tainment of the spectators. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 As the same principle has ever actuated the governing 
 part of the Romish church, they have never made any 
 alteration in this practice : the whole of their liturgy is 
 still in Latin. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 '' XXV. Of the Sacrumenls.l We have now before us 
 a series of /Vrticles, seven in number, which treat of the 
 Christian doctrine of Sacraments. The two first relate 
 to Sacraments in general, the third to Baptism, and 
 the other four to the Lord's Supper. Under this Arti- 
 cle we are to consider the meaning of the word " .Sacra- 
 ment ;" and to distinguish the real Sacraments of the 
 Gos)icl from the pretended ones of the church of Rome. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 In the Articles of 15.52 the definition of the word 
 " Sacrament " was made the last clause in this Article, 
 and nothing was said in it concerning the five popish 
 sacraments. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges 
 &c.] Sacraments indeed are so many "tokens "or 
 marks of distinction, by which Christians are dis- 
 tinguished from unbehevers ; but they are also visible 
 signs of an invisible grace, and do really convey that 
 grace, of which they are signs, to those who receive 
 them worthily ; but they do this, not by their own 
 virtue or power, but by the operation of the Holy 
 Ghost accompanying them. Tlius baptism regenerates 
 us, Acts ii. 38; Eph. v. 26; and in 1 Cor. x. 16, we 
 are told that the Lord's Supper communicates to us 
 the body and blood of Christ. Archdeacon Welchman, 
 Veneer. 
 
 In further proof and illustration of this part of the 
 Article, the reader is requested to refer to pages 3"7, 
 378, notes m, n, o, p, q, r. 
 
 '' There are two Sacrameiits &c.] As for the number 
 of the sacraments, since it belongs to Him only to in- 
 stitute them, who is able to confer the accompanying 
 grace, there cannot be more than tliose which God 
 Himself hath instituted. And those which He hath 
 instituted are but two ; namely. Baptism, and the 
 Supper of the Lord : for to those only doth the defini- 
 tion of a sacrament belong. Vtneer.
 
 784 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Those five commonly called Sa- 
 craments % that is to sav, Con- 
 firmation, Penance, Orders, Matri- 
 mony, and extreme Unction, are 
 not to be counted for Sacraments 
 of the Gospel f, being such as have 
 grown partly of the corrupt following 
 of the Apostles, partly are states of 
 life allowed in the Scriptures ; but 
 yet have not like nature of Sacra- 
 
 Concerning this particular, the reader is referred to 
 page 37(5, note k. 
 
 ' Those five commonly called Sacraments,'] That is, 
 which were commonly called so, when these Articles 
 were drawn up. The number of Sacraments was not 
 among the abuses first corrected by the Reformers. 
 
 In the [)rimiti\'e ages of Christianity there was no 
 dispute concerning the number of Sacraments, properly 
 so called ; and consequently we find very little upon 
 that subject in the early ecclesiastical writers. How- 
 ever, the Recognitions, which were written at the end 
 of the second century, allow of only two Sacraments ; 
 and Justin Martyr, TertuUian, Cyril of Jenisalem, 
 Augustine, and Chrysostom, all mention two Sacra- 
 ments ; namely. Baptism, and the Lord's Supper ; and 
 no more. Peter Lombard, a %vriter of the twelfth 
 century, is the first who reckons seven sacraments, 
 adding to the above two these five ; confirmation, 
 penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction. 
 Pope Eugenius IV, about the middle of the fifteenth 
 century, jirononnced that these fi\'e, as well as the 
 other two, ought to be considered as sacraments. In 
 the following century all seven were declared to be 
 equally sacraments by the Council of Trent : and from 
 that time they ha\'e always been considered as such by 
 the Rumish church. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 Concerning the five popish sacraments, the reader is 
 referred to page .376, note I. 
 
 ' — are riot to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel,] 
 Namely, in the strict and proper sense of the word : 
 they were not instituted as such by Christ or his 
 ajjostles ; nor were they known by that name in the 
 primitive age of the church. Confirmation and Orders 
 we allow to be holy functions derived from the apostles, 
 though they want the essential qualities of a sacrament. 
 Penance, as practised by papists, is a corruption of a 
 ])art of ancient ecclesiastical discipline, and was per- 
 verted into its present form of sacrament by the 
 management and contrivance of the clergy in the times 
 of darkness and ignorance. Matrimony has no claim 
 whatever to be considered as a Christian sacrament, 
 since it was not instituted by our .Saviour, nor was its 
 original character changed by the (iospcl. It is indeed 
 a divine institution ; and a state of sn much imiiortance 
 to the happiness of mankind, tliat it is very proper to 
 be scjlemnized by prayer and other acts of religious 
 worship. And lastly, wc intirely reject extreme unction, 
 as having no other foundation than that of a symbolical 
 rite, incidentally mentioned in Scripture, as accom|)any- 
 ing tlie niiraculiius healing of bodily diseases in the 
 apostolick age. 
 
 I shall only farther observe upon this subject, that as 
 St. Peter ronunandcd his hearers to be baptized " for 
 the remission of sins," so our Saviour, when lie insti- 
 tuted the Lord's Supper, took the cup, and gave it to 
 the apostles, saying. " Drink ye all of it; for this is my 
 blood of the New Testament, which is shed for man 
 for the repnission of sins :" thus remission of sins, 
 
 r many 
 I, wliicli 
 
 ments with Baptism, and the Lord's 
 Supper, for that they have not any 
 visible sign or ceremony ordained of 
 God. 
 
 The Sacraments were not or- 
 dained s of Christ to be gazed upon, 
 or to be carried about, but that we 
 should duly use them''. And in 
 such only as worthily receive the 
 .same ' they have a wiiolesome efi"ect 
 
 was the gi-eat object of Christ's coming into the world, 
 is pronounced to be closely connected with Baptism and 
 the Lord's Sup])er, and with no other rite or ceremony 
 whate\-er. This circumstance clearly points out the 
 importance of these two ordinances to our eternal sal- 
 vation ; and is at the same time an irrefragable proof, 
 that all other ordinances, and consequently " the five, 
 commonly called Sacraments, have not like nature of 
 Sacraments with Baptism and the Lord's Supper." 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 E The Sacraments were not ordained &c.] By the word 
 " Sacraments " in this clause the Church means the 
 sacramental elements : and she manifestly strikes at 
 that known practice of the pa])ists, who elevate the 
 host, and carry it about to be seen and adored by the 
 people. But the papists themselves never used to 
 carry about or elevate the element of Baptism that I 
 know of : and therefore I cannot tell how our Church 
 hapjiened to express herself in the plural number. 
 However the proposition is certainly true whh respect 
 to the elements of both the Sacraments. For the 
 design of the sacramental elements is to be learned 
 from Scripture, which says nothing of our gazing on 
 them, or carrying them about. I confess, if the 
 doctrine of transubstantiation were true, there would 
 be a good reason in the nature of the thing, and 
 consequently a good argument from the very institu- 
 tion, for elevating and carrying about the host, that 
 the people might not only gaze or behold it, but also 
 adore it. But since that doctrine is monstrously false, 
 there can be no pretence for such customs. Dr. 
 Bennet. 
 
 Though the remaining part of this Article speaks of 
 " Sacraments " in the jilural number, yet it more par- 
 ticularly relates to the Lord's Supper only. Bp. Tom- 
 line. 
 
 ^ — hit that we should duly use them.'] It is evidently 
 incumbent upon every Christian to use the Sacraments, 
 according to the design of their original institution. 
 The .Saer.ament of Baptism, being the admission of a 
 person into the Christian church, is not to be repeated. 
 When any one in the jirimitive times, on account of 
 persecution, or from any other cause, apostatized from 
 the Christian religion, and afterwards returned to it ; he 
 was not re-baptizcd. On the other band, the Sacra- 
 ment of the Lord's Sujijier being a declaration of a 
 person's continuance in the Christian religion, no 
 ojqiortunity of receiving it ought to be omitted. It 
 was administered much more frequently in the primi- 
 tive ages, than it is in the present times : and it is 
 deeply to be lamented, that Christians are now much 
 less constant and regular in partaking of it, than they 
 formerly were. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' And in such only as worthily receive the same &c.] 
 Wc derive no bcnclits IVoui the receiving of the Sacra- 
 ment, nor indeed li<jui the performance of any part of 
 our religious duty, unU'ss it be done with a proper dis- 
 position, and a suitable frame of mind : " Uod is a
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 785 
 
 or operation : but tlioy that receive 
 them unwortliily '' pmcliase to tliem- 
 1 Cor. xi. 29. selves damnation, as Saint Paul 
 saitli. 
 
 XXVI. Of the Unioorthiness of the 
 Ministers, which hinders not the 
 effect of the Sacrament^. 
 
 ALTHOUGH in the visible 
 Church'" the evil be ever 
 ^'' mingled with the good, and some- 
 
 times the evil liave chief authority 
 in tiie Ministration of the Word and 
 Sacraments, yet forasmuch as they 
 1 Cor. iii. 5. do not the same in their own name, 
 
 Spirit ; and they that worship liim must worship him 
 in spirit and in truth," John iv. 24. ITiis sentence 
 also of the Article is directed against the i)apists, who 
 maintain that the partaking of the Lord's Supper 
 necessarily promotes our salvation ; that the o\n\s 
 operatum, as they call it, is always attended with real 
 benefit. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 '' — but they that receive them unworthily &o.] This 
 proposition is founded, with respect to the Lord's 
 Supper, on St. Paul's words. 1 Cor. xi. 29 ; and the 
 reason of the thing pro\-es the same with respect to 
 Baptism. But though our Church quotes St. Paul's 
 words, in delivering her sentiments concerning the un- 
 worthy partakers of both Sacraments ; yet, it must not 
 he imagined that she understands this text of St. Paul 
 of both the Sacraments. She only apjjlies his ex- 
 pression " damnation " to the unworthy partakers of 
 Baptism, as well as of the Lord's Supjier. And, that 
 she may adapt St. Paul's expression to both the Sacra- 
 ments, she changes the verbs, saying, that the un- 
 worthy partakers do, not "eat and drink," hut "pur- 
 chase to themselves damnation." Dr. Bennet. 
 
 Concerning the meaning of the word " damnation," 
 as here used, the reader is referred to page 305, note x. 
 
 It is much to be feared that the expression, " we eat 
 and drink our own damnation," in our Communion- 
 service, deters many ])ei'sons from participating of the 
 Lord's Supper ; and therefore I recommend it to all 
 clergymen, occasionally to explain to their congregations 
 the meaning of the original passage from which it is 
 taken, as well as the sense of the word " damnation," 
 when our Bible was translated. Bp. Tomlme. 
 
 ' XXVL Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which 
 hinders not the effect of the SaCTament.~\ The enormous 
 and publick vices of the Roman clergy, at the time of 
 the Reformation, gave great offence ; and caused the 
 revival of the tenet of the ancient Donatists, that not 
 only heresy and schism, but personal sins also, in- 
 validated the sacred functions of Christian ministers. 
 This opinion was maintained by the Anabaptists, but it 
 was by no means general among Protestants ; it was 
 not adopted by Luther or Calvin; it was condemned 
 in the confession of Augsburg, and in that of the 
 Helvetick churches ; and it is rejected by our Chiu-ch 
 in this Article. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ■^ Although in the visible Church &c.] The ministers 
 of the Gospel do not minister their own, but Christ's 
 sacraments ; and the Church in receiving them hath 
 respect to Christ H imself, and not to them : and there- 
 fore she receives them not so much from the ministers, 
 as from Christ by their hands. The virtue then and 
 efficacy of them, since it depends upon Christ alone, 
 
 but in Christ's, and do minister by 
 his commission and authority, we 
 may use their Ministry, both in hear- »'»«. ^^xui. 
 ing the Word of God, and in receiv- 
 ing of the Sacraments. Neither is Ptiii. i. 15— 
 the effect of Christ's ordinance taken 
 away by their wickedness, nor the icor. iii.9. 
 grace of God's gifts diminished from 
 such as by faith and rightly do re- 
 ceive tiie Sacraments ministered unto 
 them ; which be effectual, because 
 of Christ's institution and ])romise, 
 althoiigii they be ministered by evil 
 men. 
 
 Nevertheless, it appertaineth to 
 
 cannot be hindered by a minister, how wicked soever 
 he be. " Who then is Paul, and who is ApoUos, but 
 ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord ga\'e 
 to evei-y man ? I have planted, Apollos watered ; hut 
 God gave the increase," 1 Cor. iii. 5, 0. Archdeacon 
 JVehhman. 
 
 Attendance upon the pidilick service of God is the 
 duty of every Christian, and the personal faults of the 
 ministers by no means justify us in absenting ourselves 
 from it. " The scribes and Pharisees," says our Sa- 
 viour, "sit in Moses's seat: all therefore whatsoever 
 they bid you observe, that observe and do ; but do not 
 ye after their works, for they say and do not," Matt, 
 xxiii. 2, 3. In the same manner Christians are bound 
 to observ'e whatever their ministers shall deliver out of 
 the Word of God, and to consider every ordinance as 
 valid, which they shall perform agreeably to the insti- 
 tution of Christ ; although in their characters, and in 
 the disagreement between their lives and doctrine, 
 they shall resemble the. scribes and Pharisees. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 Sacraments are to be considered only as the publick 
 acts of the church : and though the effect of them, as 
 to him that receives them, dejiends upon his temper, 
 his ])re].iaration and application ; yet it cannot be ima- 
 gined, that the virtue of those federal acts, to which 
 Christians are admitted, in them, the validity of them, 
 or the blessings that follow them, can depend on the 
 secret state or temjjer of him that officiates. Even in 
 the case of publick scandals, though they may make 
 the holy things to be loathed by the aversion, that will 
 naturally follow upon them ; yet after all, though that 
 aversion may go too far, we must still distinguish 
 between the things, that the ministers of the chm'ch do 
 as they are publick oflBcers, and what they do as they 
 are private Christians. Their prayers, and every thing 
 else that they do as they are private Christians, have 
 their effect only according to the state and temjier 
 that they are in when they offer them up to God : but 
 their public functions are the appointments of Christ, 
 in which they officiate; they can neither make them 
 the better nor the worse by any thing that they join to 
 them. And if miraculous virtues may be in bad men, 
 so that in the great day some of those, to whom Christ 
 shall say, " I never knew you ; dejiart from me ye that 
 work iniquity," may yet say to Him, " Lord, Lord, 
 have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name 
 have cast out devils, and in thy name have done many 
 wonderful works ?" then certainly this may be con- 
 cluded much more concerning those standing functions 
 and appointments, that are to continue in the church. 
 Bp. Burnet. If the faults of ministers wtiate the Sacra- 
 
 3 E
 
 786 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 1 Tim. V. !9 
 
 3 John 10. 
 
 the discipline of the Clmrcli", tliat 
 enquiry be made of evil Ministers, 
 and tliat they be accused by those 
 that have knowledj^e of their oifences ; 
 and finally being found guilty, by just 
 judgement be deposed. 
 
 XXVII. Of Baptisms 
 
 A P T I S M is not only a sign 
 _^_^ of profession, and mark of dif- 
 ference, whereby Christian men are 
 discerned from others that be not 
 
 B 
 
 ments, no one can tell whether he has received the 
 Lord's Supper, or whether he was baptized, or not. 
 Bp. Tomliyie. 
 
 ° Nevertheless, it appertaineth to the discipline of the 
 Church, &c.] Tlie last paragraph of this Article is so 
 clear, that it needs no explanation ; and is so evident, 
 that it needs no proof. Timothy was required to receive 
 " an accusation of an elder," when regularly tendered 
 to him ; and to " rebuke before all those that sinned ;" 
 and he was charged to withdraw himself from " those 
 teachers, who consented not to wholesome words," and 
 who "made a gain of godliness." 1 Tim. v. 1. 19, 20; 
 vi. 3 — 5. A main part of the discipline of the primi- 
 tive church lay heaviest on the clergy : and such of 
 them, as either apostatized, or fell into scandalous sins, 
 were, even upon their repentance, received indeed into 
 the peace of the church, Init they were ajipointed to 
 communicate among the laity, and were never after 
 that admitted to the body of tlie clergy, or allowed to 
 have a sbare in their privileges. Certainly there is 
 nothing more incumbent on the whole body of the 
 church, than that all possible care be taken to discover 
 the bad practices which may be among the clergy : for 
 these will ever raise strong prejudices, not only against 
 their persons, but even against their profession, and 
 against that religion which they seem to advance with 
 their mouths, while in their works and by their lives 
 they detract from it, and seem to deny its authority. 
 Bp. liuniet. 
 
 " \XV1I. Of Baptism.'] The Greek words fiairriKui 
 and t^aTTTinyur, from whence the English word " Bap- 
 tism" is taken, among the sacred writers denote any 
 washing, whether it be by dipping or sjirinkling. See 
 Mark vii. 4 ; Luke xi. 3S. 15ut wliether the sacrament 
 of Baptism be administered by dipping or by sjirink- 
 ling, it significantly ])oints out to us the grace, wliich is 
 conferred by this sacrament. For, as the filth of the 
 body is waslied away by water, so are the stains of the 
 soul by remission of sins : and, as in imnu^rsion or 
 di])ping it is intimated, that we are buried and rise 
 again with {-'lirist, so in aspersion or si)rinkling it is 
 likewise signified, that we die and are liorn again; 
 since it was the custom to wash the dead, as well as 
 those who were newly l)orn. See Acts w. 3". Arch- 
 deacon IVelchman. Sec page 345, note n. 
 
 ' Baptism is not only a siyn of profession &c. — hut it 
 is also a sii/n of Riyeneration ike.'] " lie saved us," saith 
 St. I'aul, " by the washing of regeneration, and renew- 
 ing of the Holy (ihost, 'lit. iii. 5. "'i'bey that receive 
 baptism rightly," that is, they that receive it, (from 
 persons duly authorized, lip. Tomline,) in the name of 
 the lather, of the Son, and of the lloly (ibost, toge- 
 ther with a serious jjrofession of faitli and repentance, 
 arc thereby "grafted into the church:" for "by one 
 S|)irit arc wc all bajitized into one body," 1 Cor. xii. 
 
 christened, but it is also a sign of 
 Regeneration p or new Birth, whereby, T''- '"■ s. 
 as by an instrument, they that receive 
 Baptism rightly are grafted into the 
 Ciiurcli : the promises of forgiveness i for. xn i.i. 
 
 • • Acts ii 4 1 
 
 of sin, and of our adoption to be the 
 
 sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are Heb. x. 22. 
 
 visibly signed and sealed; Faith is ^7^'' '"' ^''' 
 
 confirmed, and Grace increased by 
 
 virtue of prayer unto God. Tlie Acts ii. 42. 
 
 Baptism of young Children'' is in any 
 
 wise to be retained in the Church, as i\rark x. 14. 
 
 Matt, .vxviii. 
 I 'J. 
 
 13. To them "the promise of forgiveness of sin 13 
 visilily signed and sealed :" and therefore the author 
 of the E])istle to the Hebrews exhorts them to " draw 
 near to God with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, 
 having their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, 
 and their bodies washed with ])ure water," Heb. x. 22 : 
 and so We read in Acts xxii. Itj, "And now why tarriest 
 thou ? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy 
 sins, calling on the name of the Lord." " The promise of 
 our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost" 
 is likewise " signed and sealed to them :" for, as the 
 apostle says to the Galatians, iii. 26, 2", " Ye are all 
 the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as 
 many of you, as have been baptized into Christ, have 
 put on Christ." Also " by baptism faith is confirmed, 
 and grace increased, by virtue of prayer unto (jod ;" 
 thus we see. Acts ii. 41, 42, with 1h)w ardent a zeal the 
 new converts behaved themselves after they had been 
 baptized, " continuing stedfastly in the apostles' doc- 
 trine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in 
 prayers." Such is the case with adult persons : nor is 
 it to be imagined, even as to infants, that God is in 
 vain called upon by the church for them. Archdeacon 
 Welchman. 
 
 Baptism therefore is a federal admission into Chris- 
 tianity : it is the seal of a contract, in which all the 
 privileges and blessings of the (iospel are on (iod's 
 part conditionally promised to the persons bajitized ; 
 and they on the other hand engage by a solemn pro- 
 fession and vow to maintuui the doctrines, and observe 
 the jirecepts, of the Christian religion. 
 
 The spiritual effects of baptism lu-e clearly as.?erted in 
 the ancient ecclesiastical writers : and nothing can mark 
 more strongly the high idea they entertained of the im- 
 portance of this sacrament, than the names which they 
 applied to it. They called it a divine indulgence ; an 
 alisolution from sin; birth in water; a regeneration of 
 the sold; the laver of regeneration; the water of life; 
 the unction ; the seal of the Lord ; the illumination ; 
 the salvation; the garment of iininortidity ; the i)riest- 
 hood of the laity; and the signatiue of faith. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 (Concerning the spiritual effects of baptism the reader 
 is requested to refer to jiages 348 — 350, note u; 333, 
 r; 379. x, y : also, 307, 3()S, r, (/, e. 
 
 1 — The Baptism of youny Children &c.] Tlie last head 
 in this .'Vrticle relates to the baptism of infants, which is 
 sjioken of with tliat moderation, which ajipcars emi- 
 nently through all the Articles of our Church. On 
 this iiead it is only said, to be " most agreeal)le with 
 the institution of Christ," and that therefore it "is to 
 be in any ways retained in the church." Bp. Burnet. 
 
 That the baptizing of young children is most agree- 
 able witli tin: institution of Christ, may lie thus ]iroved. 
 If our Sa\ iinir batli declared, that none but bai)tizcd
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 787 
 
 most agreeable witli the institution of 
 Christ. 
 
 XXVIII. Of the Lord's Supper \ 
 
 Til E Supper of the Lord is not 
 only a sit;ii'' of the love that 
 Christians ought to liave among 
 themselves one to another ; but ra- 
 ther is a Sacrament of our Redemp- 
 
 persons can enter into the kin<jflom of God ; and if 
 He hath declared that young chihh'en are capaiile of 
 enterinjT; it follows that lie intended they should he 
 haptized. But our Saviour hath declared, that none 
 hut haptized persons are capahle of entering into the 
 kingdom of God, John iii 5 ; and that young children 
 are capahle of entering; Mark x. 14: therefore He 
 intended they should be ba|)tized. Also, it is most 
 agreeahle with Christ's institution ; for He commanded 
 his apostles to " go and bajitize all nations," Matt, 
 xwiii. 19; now nations consist of young children, as 
 u'ell as of adult persons. Veneer, Archdeacon Welch- 
 man. 
 
 Infant baptism is not mentioned in the canons of 
 any council, nor is it inserted as an object of faitli in 
 any creed ; and thence we infer that it was a jioint not 
 controverted at any period of the ancient church : and 
 we know that it was the practice in all established 
 national churches. Dr. \\a\\ says, that Peter Bruis. 
 a Frenchman, who lived about the year 1030, was the 
 first Antipa^dobaptist teacher who had a regular con- 
 gregation. The Anabaptists of Germany took their 
 rise in the beginning of the sixteenth century ; but it 
 does not appear that there was any congregation of 
 Anabaptists in England till the year 1(J40. J3/;. 
 Tomline. 
 
 For more particulars concerning this part of the 
 Article, the reader is referred to page 330, note q; 
 380, c. 
 
 ' XXVIII. Of the Lord's Supper.] The institution 
 of the sacrament of the Lord's Su])per is recorded by 
 the three first I'^vangelists, and by the ajiostle St. Paul 
 whose words differ very little from those of his compa- 
 nion St. Luke : and the only difference between St. 
 Matthew and St. Mark is, that the latter omits the 
 words, " for the remission of sins." There is a very 
 general agreement among them all. This sacrament, 
 being thus instituted, was adopted by all early Chris- 
 tians with very few exceptions ; and no modern sect 
 rejects it, excejit the Quakers, and some Mysticks, who 
 make the whole of religion to consist of contemplative 
 love. Bj). Tomline. 
 
 ' The Supper of the Lord is not onli/ a sign &c.] The 
 Lord's Supper is indeed a sign of that mutual love, and 
 of that intimate friendshi]), which is, or ought to be, 
 among Christians : " for we, being many, are one bread 
 and one body; for we are all jiartakers of that one 
 bread," 1 Cor. x. 17. Revelation is one of the strongest 
 obligations to friendship ; and by this text it is declared, 
 that by recei\'ing the Lord's Su|)per we are made mem- 
 bers one of another. But it chiefly points out to us 
 Christ offered as an expiatory sacrifice for us ; and as 
 such it really exhibits Him to every one, who worthily 
 ]iartakes of the sacred elements of bread and wine. 
 That it is "a sacrament of our redemption" appears 
 fi'om the words of the institution in Matt. xxvi. 28 ; 
 Luke xxii. 20. And to those who receive it worthily, 
 " The cu|) of blessing, which we bless, is it not the com- 
 munion of the blood of Christ ? The bread, which we 
 
 tion by Christ'.s death : insomuch Matt. xxvi. 
 
 that to such as rightly, worthily, and '^'^'-''■^■ 
 
 with faitli, receive the same, the 
 
 Bread which we break is a partaking 
 
 of the Body of Christ ; and likewise i Cor. x. ic. 
 
 the Cu]) of Bh^ssiug is a ])artaking of 
 
 the Blood of Christ. 
 
 Transubstantiation (or the change 
 of the substance ' of Bread and Wine) 
 
 break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ ? " 
 1 Cor. X. 10. Archdeacon Welchman. 
 
 The ex|)ressions in the Article, "partaking in the 
 body and blood of (Christ," and in St. Paul's Ejiistle, 
 "the communion of the body and blood of Christ," are 
 synonymous; and signify, that those, who worthily re- 
 ceive the Lord's Sujjper, share in the benefits which 
 were purchased for mankind by the death of Christ ; 
 such as reconciliation to God, the assistance of his holy 
 Spirit, the strengthening of faith, and final remission of 
 sins in those, who continue to believe and obey the 
 Gospel. The Lord's Sujiper therefore fully answers the 
 description of "sacraments ordained by Christ," as given 
 in the twenty-fifth Article : that they " are not only 
 badges or tokens of Christian men's jirofession, but ra- 
 ther they be certain sure witnesses and effectual signs 
 of grace and (iod's good will towards us, by the which 
 he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, 
 but also strengthen and confirm our faith inhhn." Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 Concerning the doctrine stated in this part of the 
 Article, the reader is requested to refer to page 381, 
 note h, i ; 304, u ; 315, ^; 301, 9 .■ see also 328, n. 
 
 ' Transubstanliation, or the chanye of the substance 
 &c.] The Article next condemns the poinsh doctrine of 
 transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of 
 bread and wine into tlie real substance of Christ's body 
 and blood, in the administration of the Lord's Supper. 
 The idea of Christ's bodily presence \n the eucharist was 
 first started in the beginning of the eighth century, and 
 it owed its rise to the iniliscretion of preachers and 
 writers of warm imaginations, who. instead of explaining 
 judiciously the lofty figures of Scripture language upon 
 this subject, understood and urged them in their literal 
 sense. Thus the true meaning of these expressions was 
 grossly perverted : but as this conceit seemed to exalt 
 the natiu-e of the holy Sacrament, it was eagerly recei\'ed 
 in that ignorant and superstitious age ; and was by de- 
 grees carried farther and farther, by persons still Jess 
 guarded in their apjilication of these metaphorical 
 phrases, till at length, in the twelfth century the actual 
 change of bread and wine into the body and blood of 
 Christ, by the consecration of the priest, was ]ironounced 
 to be a Gospel truth, by the pretended authority of the 
 church of Rome. The first writer who maintained this 
 doctrine was Paschase Radbert, in the ninth century, 
 before it was firmly established ; and the first jiublick 
 assertion of it was at the third Lateran council, in the 
 j'ear 1215, after it had been for some time ojienly 
 avowed by the popes, and, in obedience to their injunc- 
 tions, inculcated by the clergy. It is said to have been 
 brouglit into F^ngland about the middle of the eleventh 
 century, by Lanfranc, afterwards Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury; but the term transubstantiation was not known 
 till the thirteenth century, when it was in\-ented by Ste- 
 ])hen bishop of Autun. 'I'his has always been a fa\-ourite 
 doctrine of the church of Rome, as it impressed the 
 common jjcople with higher notions of the power of the 
 clergy, and therefore served to increase their influence. 
 3 E 2
 
 788 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 1 Cor. xi. 
 28. 
 
 in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be 
 proved by holy Writ", but is repug- 
 nant to the plain words of Scripture ", 
 overthroweth the nature of a Sacra- 
 ment, and hath given occasion to 
 many superstitions. 
 
 The body of Christ is given y, 
 
 It met however with opposition upon its original intro- 
 duction, particularly from Bertram and John Scott ; 
 and again at the first dawn of the Reformation, both 
 upon the continent and in this country. It was objected 
 to by the Waldenses ; and tliere are strong expressions 
 against it in some parts of Wickliff's works. Luther, 
 in contradiction to the other reformers, only changed 
 transubstantiation into consubstantiation, which means 
 that the substance of Christ's body and blood is pre- 
 sent in the holy .Sacrament with the substance of the 
 bread and wme ; and his perseverance in tliis opinion 
 was a principal cause of the division among the reformed 
 churches. He was ojiposed by Zuingle and Calvin, but 
 the Confession of -\ugsbiu'g. which wag drawn uj) by 
 Melanchthon, favours consubstantiation. There is how- 
 ever considerable doubt concerning the real sentiments 
 of Melanchthon, upon this sul)ject, especially in the latter 
 jiart of his life. Some of our early English reformers 
 were Lutherans, and consequently they were at first dis- 
 posed to lean towards consubstantiation; but they 
 seem soon to have discovered their error, for in the 
 Articles of 1552, it is expressly said, "A faitliful man 
 ought not either to believe or openly confess the real 
 and bodily presence, as they term it, of Christ's flesh 
 and blood in thesacrament of the Lord's Supper." This 
 part of the Article was omitted in 15(i2, proliably with 
 a view to give less offence to those who maintain the 
 corjjoral jiresence, and to comprehend as many as pos- 
 sible in the Estabhshed Church. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 Concerning this doctrine the reader is referred also to 
 page 3s 1 , note i. 
 
 " — cannot be proved by holy fVrit,'] In arguing 
 against this doctrine, we may first observe, tliat it is 
 contradicted by o\u" senses, since we see and taste that 
 the bread and wine after consecration, and when we 
 actually receive them, still continue to be liread and 
 wine, without any change or alteration whatever. And 
 again, was it possible for ('hrist, when He instituted 
 the Lord's Supper, to take his own body and his own 
 blood into his own hands, and deliver them to every 
 one of his apostles? or was it possible for the apostles 
 to understand our Saviour's command to drink his 
 blood literally, when they were forbidden, under the 
 severest penalties, to taste blood by the law of Moses, 
 of which not only tliey themselves, but Christ also had 
 been a strict observer? 'J'hey expressed not the slight- 
 est surprise or reluctance when t'iu'ist delivered to tliem 
 tile bread and wine, wliicli could not have been the case, 
 had thev conceived themselves commauiled to eat the 
 real bo(ly and drink the real blood of their Lord and 
 Master. The bread and wine must have been consi- 
 dered by them as .symbolical, and indeed the whole 
 transaction was evidently figurative iti all its parts ; it 
 wasinstituted,a3 was just now observed, when the .lews, 
 by killing the paschal lamb, commemorated their deli- 
 verance from Egyptian bondage by (he hand of Moses, 
 which was tyjiical of the deliverance of all mankind 
 from the bondage of sin by the death of Christ, the 
 Laud) slain from the foundation of the worlii ; and as 
 the occasion was typical, so likewise were the words 
 used by our .Suviour: "'I'liis is my body which is 
 broken, and this is my blood which is shed." But his 
 
 taicen, and eaten, in the Supper, only 
 after an heaveidy and spiritual man- 
 ner. And the mean whereby the Jjim ' 
 Body of Christ is received and eaten 
 in the Supper is Faith ^. 
 
 The Sacrament of tlie Lord's Sup- 
 per was not^ by Christ's ordinance 
 
 body was not yet broken, nor was his blood yet shed ; 
 and therefore the breaking of the bread, and the pour- 
 ing out of the wine, were then figurative of what was 
 about to happen, as they are now ligurative of what has 
 actu.ally hapjiened. He also said, "This cup is the new 
 testament in my blood." 1 Cor. xi. '25 ; which words 
 could not be meant in a literal sense ; the cup coidd not 
 be changed into a covenant, though it might be a repre- 
 sentation or memorial of it. Our Saviour called the 
 wine, after it was consecrated, " the fruit of the vine," 
 Matt. xxvi. 29, which implied that no change had taken 
 place in its real nature. Since then the words, "this is 
 my body, and this is my blood," upon which the papists 
 pretend to support this doctrine, were manifestly useil 
 in a figurative sense, and must have been so understood 
 by the apostles, to whom they were originally addressed, 
 we may safely pronounce that transubstantiation, or 
 the change of the substance of bread and wine, in the 
 supjjer of the Lord, cannot be proved by holy writ. 
 That the early Christians understood our Saviour's 
 words in a figurative sense, appears from the writings 
 of more than tn'cnty fathers, without a single authority 
 on the opposite side. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' — is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, &c.] 
 Thiit transubstantiation is " repugnant to the ])lain words 
 of Scripture," appears from St. Paul's saying, "we are 
 all partakers of that one bread," 1 Cor. x. 1/ ; and, "as 
 often as ye eat this bread," 1 Cor. xi. 26 : so that it is 
 bread, and not Christ's flesh, even when we eat and par- 
 take thereof. Parity of reason proves the same of the 
 wine. 2. That transubstantiation " overthroweth the 
 nature of a sacrament," is evident, because it supposes 
 what we eat and drink, to be, not the sign, but the 
 thing signified. 3. It has also " given occasion to 
 many su])erstitions." That it has given occasion to 
 abominable idolatry, is evident from the adoration of 
 the host, which is grounded on it. But, though idol- 
 atry is worse than superstition, yet it is different from 
 it. A\'herefore for the jiroof of this branch of the pro- 
 position, let it be considered, that in cases of imminent 
 danger, or great calamities, the host is exposed by the 
 (lapists to appease (iod's anger, and prevent or remove 
 liis judgments : or reference may be had to the jirovi- 
 sions made in the Komish church in the event of any 
 accident happening to the consecrated clement. Our 
 Reformers were too well acquainted with these super- 
 stitions : though, blessed be Cod, we have not instances 
 really at hand. Dr. Bennet. 
 
 > ilic body of Christ is t/iveti, &c.] Concerning the 
 statement in this clause, the reader is referred to the 
 notes specified uniler the two preceding clauses : pai'ti- 
 cularly page 3S1, i ,- aiul 315, ». 
 
 ' — is Faith.] Since Christ saith, John vi. 53, "Ex- 
 cept ye eat the (lesh of the Son of man and drink his 
 blood, ye have no life in you;" and since He also saith, 
 ver. -I", that " he that believeth on him hath everlasting 
 life :" it is manifest that faith is the mean by which the 
 body of Christ is eaten. See also John vi. 35. Arch- 
 deacon H'llchman. 
 
 " The Sacrninent of the Lord's Supper was not &c.] 
 It is evident that none of the things lierc mentioned 
 formed part of Christ's ordinance : foi', when lie insti-
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 7H0 
 
 reserved, carried about, lifted up, or I saitli'^) the Sacrament of tlie Body 
 worshipped. 
 
 XXIX. Off/ic U'ichrd ichick eat not 
 the Body of Christ in the use of the 
 Lord's Supper^. 
 
 THE Wicked, and sucli as be 
 void of a lively faith % althouirh 
 they do carnally and visibly press 
 with their teetli (as Saint Augustine 
 
 tuted the Lord's Supper, He said, "Take, eat, drink;" 
 but not, " Reserve, carry about, &c." Archdeacon 
 iVelcliniim. 
 
 This last part of the Article refers also to the papists, 
 amonff whom it is the custom to reserv'e ])art of the con- 
 secrated bread, for the purpose of giving' it to the side, 
 or other absent persons, at some future time ; they also 
 carry about the host, when consecrated, in solemn pro- 
 cession, elevate it with superstitious ceremony, and wor- 
 ship it in the same manner as they would worship Christ 
 Himself. None of these jiractices are warranted by 
 Christ's ordinance, or any authority of Scripture ; they 
 are utterly inconsistent with the simplicity and spiritual 
 nature of Christian sacraments ; they were unknown in 
 the primitive ages of the Gospel ; and have evidently 
 originated from the absurd doctrine of transubstantia- 
 tion. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 Our Church, by cutting off these abuses, has restored 
 this sacrament to its primitive simplicity, according to 
 the institution and practice of the primitive ages. Bp. 
 Burnet. 
 
 *■ XXIX. 0/ the Wicked which eat not the Body of 
 Christ in the w.«e of the Lord's Siipper.l This Article 
 is connected with the preceding, and follows from it ; 
 it was probably directed against tlie Papists, who con- 
 tend, that the mere receiving of the Lord's Supper 
 ])rocures remission of sins, e.\ opere operato, as it were 
 mechanically, whatever m.iy be the character and dis- 
 ]iosition of tlie communicant. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ■^ The IVicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, 
 &c.] This Article is an inference or deduction from 
 the former : for since a lively faith is tlie mean, where- 
 by we eat the body of Christ in the Lord's Su|)per, it 
 is impossible that the wicked, who have no true faith, 
 should lie partakers of the body of Christ ; and St. 
 John tells us, that, " if we say that we have fellow- 
 ship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do 
 not the truth ; but if we walk in the light, as he is in 
 the light, we have fellowshij) one with another, and the 
 blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all 
 sin," 1 John i. 6, 7. And further, this Article, which 
 is drawn up in the very words of St. Augustine, intirely 
 overthrows the doctrine of transubstantiation. For, if 
 the elements be changed into the very body and blood 
 of Christ, then no reason can be assigned, why wicked 
 men, and even mice, may not eat the body of Christ. 
 'I'his even the Romanists acknowledge ; and say withal, 
 that the host, by whomsoever or whatsoever de- 
 voured, is still the body of Clirist, as long as any of 
 the species of it remains. So that, according to this 
 doctrine, we must give no credit to what St. Paul saith 
 to the Corinthians, 1 Cor. x. 21, " Ye cannot drink the 
 cup of the Lord and the cup of devils : ye cannot be [ 
 partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of 
 devils :" or to what he saith, .xi. 20; where, speaking t 
 of their disorderly communions, he tells them, that 
 " this was not to eat the Lord's Supper." Archdeacon 
 Welchmau, Veneer. 
 
 and Blood of Christ, yet in no wise 
 
 are they partakers of Ciirist: but 
 
 rather, to their condemnation, do eat iJoimi. 6, 7. 
 
 and drink the sign or Sacrament of 
 
 so great a thing-. i Cor. xi. 20. 
 
 XXX. Of both hinds''. 
 
 TH E Cup of the Lord is not to 
 be denied to tiie Lay-people *^: 
 
 The sacrament being a federal act, he who dishonours 
 God, and profanes this institution, by receiving it un- 
 worthily, becomes highly guilty before (iod, and draws 
 down judgments upon himself; and, as it is confessed 
 on all Iiands, that the inwar<l and spiritual effects of 
 the Sacrament depend upon the state and disposition 
 of him tliat communicates, so we, who own no other 
 presence, but an inward and spiritual one, cannot con- 
 ceive that the wielded, who believe not in Christ, do 
 receive him. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ^ — (as Saint Awjustine sailh)'] The passage of .St. Au- 
 gustine, to which this Article refers, is in his 20th 
 treatise on St. John. 'I'he words are these: "'He 
 that eateth my ilesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth 
 in me, and I in him.' 'I'o dwell then in Christ, and to 
 have Him dwelling in us, this is to eat that food, and 
 to drink that drink. And he, who by this means doth 
 not dwell in Christ, and in wliom Christ doth not 
 dwell, without doubt neither spiritually eats his flesh, 
 nor drinks his blood, though he carnally jiress with his 
 teeth the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ : 
 but rather to his own condemnation he eats and drinks 
 the sacrament of so great a thing, because he hath 
 presumed to come impure to the sacraments of Christ, 
 which none receive worthily, but they wlio are pure : 
 of whom it is said, ' Blessed are the jiure in heart, lor 
 they shall see God,' Matt. v. 8." Archdeacon IVelch- 
 man. 
 
 ' XXX. Of both kinds.l It appears from the una- 
 nimous testimony of the fathers, and from all the 
 ancient rituals and liturgies, that the Sacrament of the 
 Lord's Sujjjicr was, in the early ages of the Church, 
 administered in both kinds, as well to the laity as to 
 the clergy. The practice of denying the cuj) to the 
 laity arose out of the doctrine of transubstantiation. 
 The belief that the sacramental bread and wine were 
 actually converted into the Ijody and blood of Christ, 
 naturally [iroduced, in a weak and superstitious age, 
 an anxious fear lest any part of them sliould be lost or 
 wasted. To prevent any thing of this kind in the 
 bread, small wafers were used, which were [)ut at once 
 into the mouths of the communicants by the officiating 
 ministers ; but no expedient could be devised to guard 
 against the occasional spilling of the wine in adminis- 
 tering it to large congregations. The bread was sopped 
 in tlie wine, and the wine was conveyed by tubes into 
 the mouth, but all in vain ; accidents still happened, 
 and therefore it was determined that the priests should 
 entirely withhold the cu]) from the laity. It is to be 
 sujiposed, that a change of this sort, in so important an 
 ordinance as that of the Lord's Supi)er, could not be 
 effected at once. The first attempt seems to have been 
 made in the twelfth century ; it was gradually sub- 
 mitted to, and was at last established by the authority 
 of the council of Constance, in the yciir 14 14; but in 
 their decree they acknowledged that " Christ did in- 
 stitute this sacrament of both kinds, and that the 
 faitliful, in the primitive chm-ch, did receive both
 
 790 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Matt. xxvi. for both the parts of the Lord's Sa- 
 xlv. 23"' cranient, by Christ's ordinance and 
 i^cor. xi. 2C commandment, ought to be minis- 
 tered to all Christian men alike. 
 
 XXXI. Of the one Oblation oj" Christ 
 Jiuishcd upon the Cross ^. 
 
 I H E Offering of Christ once 
 made ^ is that perfect redemp- 
 
 T 
 
 kinds ; yet a practice being reasonably introduced to 
 a\'oid some dangers and scandals, they ap|ioint the 
 custom to continue of consecrating in both kinds, and 
 of giving to the laity only in one kind," thus pre- 
 suming to depart from the positive commands of our 
 Lord respecting the manner of administering the sign 
 of the covenant between Himself and mankind. From 
 that time it has been the invariable practice of the 
 church of Rome to confine the cup to the priests. 
 And it was again admitted at the Council of 'I'rent, 
 " that the Lord's Supper was formerly admiuistcred in 
 both kinds to all communicants, but it was ojienly 
 contended, that the church had power to make the 
 alteration, and that they had done it for weighty and 
 just causes. These causes are not stated in the canon 
 of the council. The reformed churches, even the 
 Lutheran, which maintains the doctrine of consub- 
 stantiation, restored the cup to the laity. In a convo- 
 cation held in the first year of Edward the Sixth's 
 reign it was unanimously voted that the sacrament of 
 the Lord's Supper should be received in both kinds 
 by the laity as well as the clergy; and therefore it is 
 remarkable that there was nothing on this subject in 
 the Articles of 1552 : both this and the preceding Ar- 
 ticle were added in 1562. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' The Cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the Lay- 
 people : &c.] Concerning the doctrine of this Article, 
 the reader is requested to refer to page 3 IS, notey; 
 and 31(j, ;), parag. 2. 
 
 Whereier the institution of the Lord's Supper is 
 mentioned, there is not the least hint that the clergy 
 are to receive it in one manner, and the laity in an- 
 other. And if one jiart of this sacrament be more 
 necessary than the other, it seems to be the cup; since 
 it represents the blood of Christ, to which remission of 
 sins and our redemption are more often ascribed in 
 Scripture, than to his body. It is trilling in the 
 Romanists to say that the blood is with the body : 
 since in the Eucharist we commemorate, not the life of 
 our Lord, but his death, in which the blood was se])a- 
 rated from his body. See 1 Cor. xi. 2() ; Luke xxii. 
 19, 20: anil to n'lircsent his blooii, thus separated 
 from his body, the cup was consccrateil apart by Ilim. 
 Christ Himself also seems to have guariled designedly 
 against this piece of sacrilege of denying the cup to 
 the laity, by commanding that "all" sliotdd drink of 
 the cup. Matt. xxvi. 27. And, in Mark xiv. 23, it is 
 said, that "all drank of it;" which is no where ex- 
 pressly said of eating the bread. See also 1 Cor. xi. 
 20 — 28 ; in all which verses the Corinthiims in general 
 are ex|)rcssly required to " drink of that cuj)." Arch- 
 deacon IVelchman. ]'eneer. 
 
 Tliere is not any one of all the controversies that we 
 have willi the chiu-eli of Koine, in wliieh the decision 
 seems more easy and .shorter tluui this. .And, as there 
 is not any one in which she has acted more visilily 
 contrary to the Gospel than in this ; so tliere is not 
 any one that has raised liigber ]irejiidices against her, 
 that ha3 made mure forsake her, and has possessed 
 
 tion, propitiation, and satisfaction, 
 for all the sins of the whole world, 1 J^i". i- 2. 
 both original and actual ; and there 
 is none other satisfaction for sin, but ucb. x 20. 
 that alone. Wherefore the sacrifices 
 of Masses', in the which it was com- 
 monly said, that the Priest did offer 
 Christ for the quick and the dead, to Heb ix -s, 
 have remission of pain or guilt, were ''"' 
 
 mankind more against her, than this. This has cost 
 her tlearer than any other. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 B XXXI. Of the one Oblation of Christ finished npon 
 the Cross.'] The ])a])ists believing that the bread and 
 wine are hy consecration changed into the real body 
 and blood of Christ, consider Christ as offered up to 
 God at every celebration of the eucharist; and main- 
 tain that this sacrifice of Christ will lie the means of 
 shortening the pains of purgatory, and of reconciling 
 God to those who shall procure such masses to lie saiil, 
 whether they be living or dead. Hence the rich are 
 induced to give or bequeath money for this purijose, 
 and masses are constantly said in jjopish churches, 
 in the name, and at the request, of jiarticnlar persons, 
 whose salvation they are siqiposed to promote. These 
 are called solitary masses, as the jiriests only ])artake 
 of them ; and it frequently ha]i])ens that several of 
 these masses are going on at the same time, at dif- 
 ferent altars in the same church. These masses were 
 unknown among early Christians ; and even at the 
 council of Mentz, at the end of the reign of Charle- 
 magne, it was decreed, that no jn-iest should say mass 
 alone. Solitary masses did not come into general use 
 till the twelfth century, soon after the doctrine of tran- 
 substantiation was established ; but the belief that 
 particular persons might be benefited by otferings made 
 in their name at the Lord's table, was more ancient ; 
 and the custom of praying for the dead at the admi- 
 nistration of the Lord's Supper, was as old as the time 
 of Chrysostom. From these practices to that of offer- 
 ing private masses for the dead or living, (he transition 
 was easy, with the assistance of the newly-in^■ente(l 
 doctrine of transubstantiation ; and more especially as 
 these masses were made the source of great wealth to 
 the clergy. The Article now to be cxjilained is di- 
 rected against this doctrine and jiractice of the church 
 of Rome, and it begins by asserting that the ofl'ering, 
 &c. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ■' The Offering nf Christ once made &c.] St. Paul 
 tells us, that "we are sanctified through the offering of 
 the body of .lesus Christ once for all," Heb. x. Id. 
 And St. John, that " he is the propitiation for our sins ; 
 and not for ours oidy, 'out also for the sins of the 
 whole world," 1 .John ii. 2. Since then the ofl'ering of 
 Christ, which was once made upon the cross, is suffi- 
 cient, there is no occasion for any otlier ; and since it 
 is perfect, it ought not to be repeated. And indeed 
 St. Paul, in the 2Cth verse of the chajiter before men- 
 tioned, saith, " there remaineth no more sacrifice for 
 sin." 
 
 Further : if Christ Himself be truly offered in tlie 
 mass, it follows that He is also slain again, which is 
 absurd and shocking to stqipose ; " for then he nuist 
 often have sulFcred since the foundation of the world : 
 but now once in the end of the world hath be appeared 
 to ])ut away sin by the sacrifice of himself," Heb. 
 ix. 2(). 
 
 It is likewise a necessary conscipience of this 
 doctrine, tliat the blood of Christ is often slicd, which
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 701 
 
 1 Cm-, ix. 
 ITmi. iii. 11, 
 
 blasphemous fables, and dangerous 
 deceits ''. 
 
 XXXII. Of (he Marriage ofPriests\ 
 
 BISHOPS, Priests, and Dea- 
 cons'", are not commanded by 
 God's Law, either to vow the estate 
 of single life, or to abstain from mar- 
 riage : therefore it is lawful for them, 
 
 is likewise shocking to suppose : for we are told, ver. 
 22 of the same chapter, tliat "without shedding of 
 blood there is no remission." This certainly, if any 
 thing be so, is " a blasphemous fable." Archdeacon 
 IVehhmnn, Veneer. 
 
 In further proof of the doctrine of this Article, the 
 reader is referred to page 315, notes from Dean Comber 
 and Bp. Overall; and 319, e. 
 
 ' iVherefore the sacrifices of Masses,"] "Masses" was 
 the name for the Lord's Supper in England till the 
 middle of the reign of King Edward VI. Bp. Tomline. 
 See page 288, note q, last paragraph. 
 
 '' — ii'ere blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits.] 
 " The sacrifices of masses " may justly be called fables, 
 since they have no authority in Scrijiture ; and they are 
 blasphemous, inasmuch as they derogate from the 
 sufficiency of the death and passion of Christ, as an 
 expiation for the sins of mankind ; and they are dange- 
 rous deceits, because they encourage wickedness, by 
 holding out an easy method of pardon, and lead men 
 to place their hope of salvation upon a false foundation. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 This is the last of the Articles that relate to this 
 Sacrament. Next to the infallibility of the church, 
 this is the dearest piece of the doctrine of the church 
 of Rome ; and is that in which both priests and peojile 
 are better instructed, than in any other [)oint whatso- 
 ever ; and therefore this ought to be studied on our 
 side with a care proportioned to the importance of it ; 
 that so we may govern both ourselves and our people 
 aright in a matter of such consequence, avoiding with 
 great caution the e.\tremes on both hands, both of 
 excessive sujierstition on the one hand, and of profane 
 neglect on the other. For the natiu-e of man is so 
 moulded, that it is not easy to avoid the one, \rithout 
 falling into the other. We are now visibly under the 
 e.xtreme of neglect ; and therefore we ought to study 
 by all means possible to inspire our people with a just 
 res])ect for this holy institution, and to animate them 
 to desire earnestly to partake often of it ; and, in order 
 to that, to prepare themselves seriously to set about it 
 with the reverence and devotion, and with those holy 
 purposes and solemn vows, that ought to accompany 
 it. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ' XXXII. Of the Marriage of Priests.] The first 
 period of this Article, to the word " therefore," was all 
 that was published in King Edward's time. They 
 were content to lay down the assertion ; and left the 
 inference to be maile as a consequence, that did 
 naturally arise out of it. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 There was scarcely any point more canvassed at the 
 time of the Reformation, than the right of the clergy to 
 marry. The celibacy of the Romish clergy was with 
 reason considered to be a principal cause of their 
 irregular lives ; and the wisest of the Reformers were 
 exceedingly anxious to abolish a practice which had 
 been injurious to the interests of religion, by its 
 tendency to corrupt the morals of those who ought to 
 be examples of virtue to the rest of mankind. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 as for all other Christian men, to 
 marry at their own discretion, as they neb. xiii. 4. 
 shall judge the .same to serve better 
 to godliness. 
 
 XXXIII. Ofcxcommimicate Persons, 
 how they are to he avoided^. 
 
 THAT person" which by open 
 denunciation of the Church, is 
 
 Siricius, who according to Dufresnoy died in the year 
 399, was the first pojie that forbade the marriage of the 
 clergy ; but it is ])robable that this prohibition was but 
 little regarded, as the celibacy of the clergy seems not 
 to have been com])letely established till the jiajjacy of 
 Gregory VII., at the end of the eleventh century, and 
 even then it was loudly com|ilained of by many writers. 
 The histoi-y of the following centuries abundantly 
 jjroves the bad effects of this abuse of chiu'ch power. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 '" Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, &o.] Since it appears 
 from 1 Cor. ix. 5, that the apostles had and led about 
 their wives; and since St. Paul tells us, 1 Tim. iii. 11, 
 what qualifications the wives of presbyters and deacons 
 ought to have ; and finally, since we are told in Heb. 
 xiii. 4, that " marriage is honourable in all, and the 
 bed undefiled ;" it follows that it is la^vful for the clergy 
 to marry, as well as for other Christians, as this Article 
 directs. Veneer. 
 
 See also page C90, note e, 
 
 " XXXIII. Of excommunicate Persons, how they are 
 to be avoided.] Excommunication was practised in the 
 early times of the church for certain offences, and ex- 
 communicated persons were upon repentance again 
 restored to communion. There were two sorts of ex- 
 communication, the less and the greater ; by the former, 
 men were excluded from partaking of the eucharist, but 
 they were allowed to attend the other parts of divine 
 service ; by the latter they were entirely expelled from 
 church, and were not permitted to be present at the 
 performance of any publick office of religion ; the 
 former was temjjorary, but the latter was perpetual, 
 unless the delinquent gave full proof of his repentance. 
 These punishments, while there was a just sense of 
 religion, and separation from the publick worship was 
 considered as a great evil, were found to have a very 
 salutaiy effect; but the power of excommunieation, 
 which was at first kept within due bounds, was 
 gradually enlarged, and was at last carried to an ex- 
 orbitant height, and perverted to the worst of i)urposes 
 by the popes of Rome; they inflicted it upon the most 
 tritliug and improper occasions, and in a manner 
 authorized neither by reason nor Scripture, and en- 
 tirely unknown in the more ancient times. Among 
 the early Christians, excommunication did not deprive 
 a person of his natm-al or civil rights ; but the popes 
 pretended by their excommunications, not only to 
 take away the common rights of social life, such as the 
 obedience due from children to their parents, and pro- 
 tection from the magistrate, but also to depose princes 
 from their thrones, and absolve subjects from their 
 allegiance ; they even interdicted whole churches and 
 nations, and forbade them the use of the sacraments ; 
 they endeavoured, for the most frivolous and unjust 
 causes, to dissolve every tie which keeps mankind 
 united, and to deprive whole countries of every social 
 and religious comfort. The consequences of this ex- 
 travagant and mischievous usurpation of authority was, 
 that, in process of time, papal excommunication fell 
 into total disregard, and at the Council of Trent it was
 
 792 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 2 Thess. iii. 
 G. 14. 
 
 1 Cor. V. 11. 
 13. Matt. 
 xviii. 17. 
 
 rightly cut off from the unity of the 
 Church, and excommunicated, ou^ht 
 to be taken of the whole muhitude 
 of the faitliful, as an Heathen and 
 Publican, until he be openly recon- 
 ciled bv penance P, and received into 
 the Church by a Judge that hath 
 authority thereunto. 
 
 expressly acknowledged " Cum experientia doceat, si 
 excommunicatio temere aut levibus ex causis incutiatur, 
 magis conternni quam formidari, et perniciem potius 
 parere quam salutem." Most of the reformed churches 
 asserted the power of excommunication; it makes a 
 part of our Church discipline, but it has of late j'ears 
 been very rarely practised. B/i. Tomline. 
 
 ° That person &c.] The nature of all societies must 
 import this ; that they have a power to maintain them- 
 selves according to the design and rules of their society. 
 A combination of men. made upon any bottom what- 
 soever, must be supposed to have a right to exchide 
 out of their number such as may be a reproach to it, 
 or a mean to dissoh'e it : and it must be a main part 
 of the office and duty of the jiastors of the Churcli to 
 separate the good from the bad : to warn the unruly ; 
 and to put from among them wicked persons. Bp. 
 Burnet. 
 
 Since the Church is a society of holy persons subject 
 to Christ, what can be more equitable, than that such 
 an one as rebels against Christ, and by his notorious 
 crimes is become a scandal to the Christian name, 
 should be driven out from the communion of the 
 church, and be looked upon as heathen, since he lives 
 such a heathenish life ? It is the duty of all good 
 Christians to " withdraw themselves from eveiy brother 
 that walketh " thus " disorderly, to note that man, 
 and to have no company with him that he may be 
 ashamed," 2 Thess. iii. 0. 14. But if he repent, he is to 
 be restored again to communion «-ith the Church. Rut 
 in the mean time it is to be observed, that princes and 
 subjects, husbands and wives, parents and children, 
 masters and servants, notwithstanding any sentence of 
 excommunication, ought to perform their respective 
 duties to each other ; since these are obligations, which 
 have no dependence on the religion of the persons, 
 to whom they are to be performed. Archdeacon Welch- 
 man. 
 
 p — until he be openly reconciled by penance, &c.] 
 Penance is an ecclesiastical punishment, used in the 
 discipline of the Church, which doth affect the body of 
 the penitent : by which he is obliged to give a ])ublick 
 satisfaction to the Church for the scandal he hath 
 given by his evil example. So in the primitive times 
 they were to give testimonies of their reformation, 
 before they were re-admitted to jiartake of the myste- 
 ries of the Church. In the case of incest, or inconti- 
 nency, the sinner is usually enjoined to do a jniblick 
 penance in the cathedral or )mrish church, or i)ublick 
 market, bare legged and bare beaded, in a white sheet : 
 and to make an ojien confession of his crime in a 
 ])rescfibed form of words ; which is augmented or 
 moderated according to the quality of tlie fault, and 
 the discretion of the judge. So in smaller faults and 
 scandals, a publick satisfacti(m or |)enance, as the 
 judge sliall decree, is to be made before the minister, 
 churchwardens, or some of the parishioners, respect 
 being had to the quality of the oft'enee, and circum- 
 stances of the fact; u.s in the case of defainalion. or 
 laying violent hands on a minister, or the like. Dr. 
 Bum. 
 
 XXXIV. Of the Traditions of the 
 Chicrcki. 
 
 IT is not necessary' that Traditions 
 and Ceremonies be in all places 
 one, and utterly like ; for at all times 
 they have been divers, and may be 
 changed according to the diversities 
 of countries, times, and men's man- 
 
 As excommunication is a publick sentence jiro- 
 nounced by a lawful magistrate, so restoration of an 
 excommunicated person to communion with the Church 
 ought to be a publick act, executed by a judge who 
 hath authority thereunto, and with such forms, and 
 after such acts of jjublick penance, as the Church has 
 thought proper to prescribe. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 1 XXXIV. Of the Traditions of the Church.'] The 
 word " tradition " is not here used in the same sense 
 in which it was used in the exjilanation of the sixth 
 Article. It there signified unwritten articles of failli, 
 asserted to be derived from Christ and his apostles ; in 
 this Article it means customs or ]ii'actices, relative to 
 the external worshi]) of God, which have been delivered 
 down from former times : that is, in the sixth Article, 
 traditions meant trailitional doctrines of pretended 
 divine authority ; and in this it means traditional 
 practices acknowledged to be of human institution. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 The word means the same, as is expressed imme- 
 diately by the word " ceremonies " which is onl}' ex- 
 planatory : and which she afterwards calls " rites," 
 siqjposing them the same with ceremonies. Dr. 
 Bennet. 
 
 ' It is not necessary &c.] Rites and ceremonies are 
 in themselves indifferent, as is agreed on all hands: and 
 therefore there is no necessity for their being the same 
 in all countries and all times. For, as the apostle 
 argues, Rom. xiv. 17, the essential parts of religion are 
 of another nature; namely, "righteousness, peace, and 
 joy in the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Nevertheless when those indifferent things are esta- 
 blished by the authority of the Church, they ought to 
 be observed by all, out of reverence to that authority, 
 because it is from God, who hath commanded us to 
 " obey those who have the rule over us," Ilcb. xiii. 1 " ; 
 and to " be subject to the higher (lowers," Rom. xiii. 
 1 ; and «'b() hath left a ]iower with the go^■crnours of 
 the Cluirch to take care tluit "all things" in the pub- 
 lick worship " be done decently and in order," 1 Cor. 
 xiv. 40. .\nd therefore, whosoever wilfully and openly 
 breaks the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, 
 thus ordained, is a schismatical jierson, a disturber of 
 the peace of the Church ; anil, inasmuch as all vice is 
 of a spreading and infectious nature, as St. Paul tells 
 us, 1 Cor. XV. 33, a wouuder of the consciences of the 
 weak brethren, by inclining them to follow his bad 
 example. And although jirivate admonition be rcipii- 
 site, when men's faults are not open and notorious ; 
 yet when the case is otherwise, "they that sin are to be 
 rebuked before all, that others also may fear," 1 Tim. 
 v. 20. i'cneer. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to add, that if every indix-idual 
 were at liberty to use his own iirivate judgment, in 
 0])])Osition to the orders and decisions of the Church, 
 unifonnily of worship would he instantly destroyed, 
 and the dissolution ol' the Ciuirch itself would quickly 
 follow. " And hurteth the aulhority of the uiagistnite." 
 It is evident, from the nature of human society, that 
 every wilful violation of an established religious cere- 
 mony must weaken lawful authority, anil tend to
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 793 
 
 ners, so tliat iiotliiiij^ I)e ordained 
 against God's Word. Whosoever 
 through his private judgement, will- 
 ingly and purposely, doth openly 
 break the traditions and ceremonies 
 of the Church, which be not repug- 
 Actsxxiv. naiit to the Word of God, and be 
 "*■ ordained and approved by common 
 
 1 Tim. V. 20. authority, ought to be rebuked 
 opeidy, (that others may fear to do 
 the like,) as he that ofFendeth against 
 icor. xi. 16. the common order of the Churcli, 
 and hurteth the authority of the 
 
 introduce disorder and confusion ; but at no period of 
 the world has this truth been so conspicuous as in the 
 present times. " And woundeth the consciences of 
 weak bretliren," by violating rules which tliey think 
 ought to be observed, by leading them by the force 
 of e.vample into practices which they themselves con- 
 demn ; by raising ])rejudices and scru])les in their 
 minds ; and by making them dissatisKed with the 
 establishment under which they Uve ; " and when ye 
 sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak 
 consciences, ye sin against Christ," 1 Cor. viii. 12. Bp. 
 'fomline. 
 
 ' Eivry particular ornational Churdi&c.'] The second 
 branch of this Article is against the unalterableness of 
 laws made in matters indifferent ; and it asserts the 
 right of every national church to take care of itself. 
 That the laws of any one age of the Church cannot 
 bind another, is very evident from this, that all legis- 
 lature is still entire in the hands of those who have it. 
 The laws of God do bind all men at all times : but the 
 laws of the Church, as well as the laws of every state, 
 are only provisions made upon the present state of 
 things, from the fitness or unfitness that ap])ears to be 
 in tliem, for the great ends of religion, or for the good 
 of mankind. All these things are subject to alteration; 
 therefore the power of the Church is in every age entire, 
 and is as great as it was in any one age, since the days 
 in which she was under the conduct of men immediately 
 inspired. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 Also, the authority of ordaining, changing, and abo- 
 lishing such ceremonies is lodged in every national 
 church. For such chiu-ches have no power over each 
 other : they are equally subject to Christ, who is their 
 King and Lord ; and their authority is equal. Whence 
 it follows, that in such things, as He hath neither com- 
 manded nor forbidden, every church may use its liberty 
 as occasion shall require ; provided it does, as St. Paul 
 directs, Rom. xiv. 19; that is, if it "follow after the 
 things that make for peace, and things wherewith one 
 may edify another." Veneer. 
 
 Every empire, kingdom, or state is an entire body 
 ■within itself. The magistrate has that authority over 
 all his subjects, that he may keep them all at home, 
 and hinder them from entering into any consultations 
 or combinations, but such as shall be imder his di- 
 rection : he may require the pastors of the church 
 under him to consult together about the best methods 
 for carrying on the ends of religion : but neither he 
 nor they can be bound to stay for the concurrence of 
 other churches. In the way of managing this, every 
 body of men has somewhat peculiar to itself; and the 
 pastors of that body are the proiierest judges in that 
 matter. We know that the several chiu-ches, even 
 while under one empire, had great varieties in their 
 forms, as appears in the different practices of the 
 
 Magistrate, and woundeth the con- nom. xiii. i. 
 sciences of the weak brethren. ! cor. vh'i. \l'. 
 
 Every particular or national 
 Chiu'ch' liath authority to ordain, 
 change, ami abolish, ceremonies or 
 rites of the Ciiurch ordained only by 
 man's authority, so that all things be 
 done to edifying. Rom- "iv \9. 
 
 XXXV. OftheHomiliesK 
 
 THE second Book of Homilies", 
 the several titles whereof we 
 have joined under this Article, doth 
 
 Eastern and Western churches : and, as soon as the 
 Roman emjjire was broken, we see this variety did 
 increase. The Galilean churches had their missals 
 different from the Roman : and some churches of Italy 
 followed the Ambrosian. Even in this church there 
 was a great variety of usages, which perhajts were begun 
 under the Heptarchy, when the nation was subdivided 
 into several kingdoms. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 But though there may sometimes be sufficient ground 
 for ordaining new ceremonies, or for altering or abolish- 
 ing old ones, it is to be remembered, that changes in 
 established forms are not to be made for slight causes, 
 or without full deliberation ; and we are always to keep 
 in view the apostolical precept alluded to in the Article: 
 " Let us follow after the things which make for peace, 
 and things wherewith we may edify one another," 
 Rom. .\iv. 19. The principle, upon which the popish 
 ceremonies were rejected at the time of the Reformation, 
 was of a higher nature than that upon which we have 
 been now arguing ; they were condemned, because they 
 were inconsistent with the simplicity of Christian 
 worship, and were calculated to perjietuate that super- 
 stition to which they owed their origin. It is some- 
 times objected to the discipline of our Church, that 
 several of its ceremonies are still the same as those of 
 Rome : but to this it may be answered, that we have re- 
 tained none which are not authorized by the practice of 
 the early Christians, or suited to the important jjurpose 
 of religious worship. Such were the moderation and 
 wisdom of our Reformers, that they did not think it ne- 
 cessary to abolish rites, merely because they were used 
 by the church of Rome. Though they loudly e.vclaimed 
 against the antichristian power which it had usiu-ped, 
 and were fully aware of its numerous corruptions, yet 
 they were sensible that it retained some of the funda- 
 mental doctrines of the Gospel, and that some of its 
 practices were founded in .Scripture and reason, and 
 conformable to the constant usages of the early 
 Christians ; and by thus keeping their minds un- 
 biassed by an improper prejudice, they were enabled 
 to make a just discrimination, and to avoid those 
 absurdities and excesses into which some protestant 
 churches unfortunately fell. The ceremonies of our 
 publick offices are grave, simple, and significant, 
 calciJated to excite devotion in the mind, while " all 
 things are done decently and in order," 1 Cor. xiv. 40. 
 Bp. Tomtine. 
 
 ' XXXV. Of the Homines.'] In this Article, the 
 doctrine contained in the books of Homilies is asserted, 
 in opposition to the Romanists, who have condemned 
 them as heretical ; and the reading of them in churches 
 is apijroved of, in opposition to the Puritans, who 
 have contended that nothing ought to be publickly 
 read in churches besides the Scriptures. Archdeacon 
 Welchman.
 
 794 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 contain a godly and wholesome 
 Doctrine'', and necessary for these 
 times y, as doth the former Book of 
 Homilies, which were set forth in 
 the time of Edward the Sixth ; and 
 therefore we judge them to be read 
 
 " The second Book of Homilies, &c.] Concerning the 
 statement in this Article, the reader is referred to page 
 294, note /. 
 
 " — doth contain a godly and wholesome Doctrine,'] By 
 this approbation of the two books of Homilies it is not 
 meant that every passage of Scripture, or argument, 
 that is made use of in them, is always convincing ; or 
 that every expression is so se\'erely worded, that it may 
 not need a little correction or explanation : all that we 
 profess about them is only that they " contain a godly 
 and wholesome doctrine." This rather relates to the 
 main importance and design of them, than to every 
 jiassage in them. Though this may be said concerning 
 them, that considering the age wherein they were 
 written, the imperfection of our language, and some 
 inferior defects, they are two very extraordinary books. 
 Some of them are better writ than others, and are 
 equal to any thing that has been writ upon those 
 subjects since that time. Upon the whole matter every 
 one, who subscribes the Articles, ought to read them, 
 otherwise he subscriljes a blank, he apjjroves a book 
 imjjHcitly, and binds himself to read it, as he may be 
 required, without knowing any thing concerning it. 
 This approbation is not to be stretched so far, as to 
 carry in it a sjiecial assent to every particular in that 
 whole volume : but a man must be persuaded of the 
 main of the doctrine that is taught in them. Bp. 
 Burnet. 
 
 ITie Church requires our assent and approbation to 
 the Articles, and so in like manner to the RubricU, to 
 be ex])ressed in a different degree and manner from 
 that in which we ex])ress our assent to the Homilies 
 and the Canons : the same degree of preference being 
 given to the Articles of religion before the Homilies in 
 [joint of doctrine, and to the Kubrick before the body 
 of Canons in point of practice. 
 
 The Thirty-nine Articles for instance being the 
 capital OJle of our doctrine, as we are teachers in this 
 Church ; (they being this Church's interpretation of 
 the word of God in Scripture, so far as they go ;) and 
 designed as a bulwark against popery and fanaticism ; 
 we are bound to a very full and explicit acknowledg- 
 ment jmder our hands, that we do deliberately, and 
 advisedly, and ex animo, assent to every jjart and ])ro- 
 position contained in them. For this every body 
 knows to be tlie meaning of clerical subscriptions, both 
 before ordination, and as often as the three Articles 
 of the thirty-sixth canon are sul)scril)cd by us. 
 
 In the like manner tlie rubrick being the standard of 
 uniformity of vvorshij) in our communion ; tlic adding 
 to which tends towards opening a gaj) to popish su])cr- 
 stitions, and the increase of human inventions in the 
 service of God ; and the subtracting ii-om wliich tends 
 towards ])aving a way to a fanatical disuse and con- 
 tempt of rites and ceremonies ; therefore we are obliged 
 not only to declare our ex aninio approliation, assent, 
 and consent, to tlie matter of tlie rubrick, but are laid 
 under religious promises, that we will in every jiur- 
 ticnlar, i)res(ribed in and by it, conform ourselves to it 
 as tlie rule of our ministration. 
 
 And indeed considering that both Hie Articles and 
 the Unbrick are statute as we'll as ranon law, and have 
 e(|Mally the sanction and authority lioth of tlic tein|)c)ral 
 and spiritual legislatures; and considering the condition 
 
 in Churches by the Ministers, dili- 
 gently and distinctly, that they may 
 be understanded of the people. 
 Of the Names of the Homilies ^ 
 
 1. Of the right Use of the Church. 
 1. Against peril of idolatry. 
 
 upon which we are admitted to minister in this esta- 
 blished Church, which is our solemn reception of them 
 both as our rule ; I do not see how any man can with 
 a good conscience continue acting as a minister of our 
 Church, who can allow himself either to depart from 
 her doctrine, as expressed in her j^jticles, or from her 
 rites and ceremonies as prescribed in the service-book. 
 Wherefore it is not \\-ithout reason, that the thirty-eightli 
 canon, which is entitled " Revolters after subscription 
 censured," expressly denounces, "that if any minister 
 after having subscribed the three Articles of the thirty- 
 sixth canon shall omit to use any of the orders and cere- 
 monies prescribed in the Communion-book, he shall be 
 suspended ; and if after one month he reform not, he 
 shall be excommunicated ; and if after the space of 
 another month he submit not himself, he shall be de- 
 posed from the ministry." 
 
 But the case of Homilies and Canons is different 
 from that of the Articles and Rubrick. They are in- 
 deed equally set forth by authority. The one is as truly 
 the doctrine, and the other is as truly the law, of the 
 Chiu'ch. But still the regard that we are supposed to 
 pay to them is not equally the same. For, though we 
 subscribe to the Homilies, yet this subscription amounts 
 to no more than our acknowledgment, that "they con- 
 tain a godly and wholesome doctrine, necessary for the 
 times they were written in, and fitting to be jiublickly 
 taught unto the people ;" and not that we will main- 
 tain every particular doctrine, or argument, or asser- 
 tion, contained in them. 
 
 In like manner we say as to the Canons. We receive 
 them in general as a good body of ecclesiastical laws. 
 We acknowledge the n-holesomcness and fitness of them 
 all for discipline, and order, and edification, and proper 
 in every respect for the times in wliich they were drawn 
 u]). But we do not look u]ion every particular thereby 
 injoined, as absolutely and indispensalily requisite to 
 be practised now by us in the manner it is injoined, 
 any more than we hold our approbation of every sen- 
 tence or expression in the Book of Homilies to be 
 necessaiy. Archdeacon Sharp. 
 
 >' — necessary for these times.] By " necessary for 
 these times" is not to be meant, that this was a book 
 fit to serve a turn ; but only that this liook was ncces- 
 sarj- at that time, to instruct the nation aright, and so 
 was of great use then: but tliough tlie doctrine in it, 
 if once true, must be always true, yet it will not be 
 always of the same necessity to the jicople. As for 
 instance; there are many discourses in the epistles of 
 the apostles, tliat relate to the controversies then on 
 foot witli the Judaizers, to the engagements the Chris- 
 tians then lived in with the heathens, and to those 
 corrupters of Christianity that were in those days. 
 Those doctrines were necessary for that time : but, 
 though they are now as true as they were then, yet 
 since we have no commerce either with Jews or Gen- 
 tiles, we cannot say that it is as necessary for tlie pre- 
 sent time to dwell much on those matters, as it was 
 for that time to explain them once well. If the nation 
 should come to be quite out of the danger of falling 
 liack into ]ioperv, it would not be so necessary to insist 
 upon many of the subjects of the Homilies, as it was 
 wlicn they were first prepared. Bj>. Burnet. 
 
 ' Of the Names of the Homilies.] It is remarkable
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 795 
 
 10. 
 
 11. 
 
 12. 
 13. 
 14. 
 15. 
 
 16. 
 17. 
 18. 
 19. 
 20. 
 21. 
 
 Of repairinfj and keeping clean of 
 
 Chiirc/ifs. 
 Of giiud Works : first nfFasthtj. 
 Aijuinst Glutloiiy and DrunlieHness. 
 Aijninst Excess of Appurel. 
 Ot Prayer. 
 
 Of the Place and Time of Prayer. 
 That Common Prayers and Sacraments 
 
 ought to be administered in a known 
 
 tongue. 
 Of the reverend, estimation of God's 
 
 IVord. 
 Of Alms-doing. 
 Of the Nalivily of Christ. 
 Of the Passion of Christ. 
 Of the Resurrection of Christ. 
 Of the worthy receiinny of the Sacrament 
 
 of the Body and Blood of Christ. 
 Of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. 
 For the Rogation-days. 
 Of the state of Matrimony. 
 Of Repentance. 
 Against Idleness. 
 Against Rebellion. 
 
 that the titles of the Homilies, as enumerated in this 
 Article, are not precisely the same as the titles prefixed 
 in the book of Homilies. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 " XXXVI. Of Consecration of Bishops and Ministers'^ 
 In the Act for Uniformity of Publick Prayers passed in 
 the fourteenth year of King (.'harles the Second, it is 
 enacted, with respect to the Thirty-nine Articles, " That 
 all subscriptions hereafter to be had or made unto the 
 said Articles shall be construed and taken to ex- 
 tend, and shall be applied, for and touching the six 
 and thirtieth Article, unto the book containing the form 
 and manner of making, ordaining, and consecrating 
 of bishops, priests, and deacons, in this Act mentioned, 
 in such sort and manner as the same did hereto- 
 fore extend unto the book set forth in the time of 
 King Edward, mentioned in the said six and thirtieth 
 Article." The proposition therefore in the beginning 
 of the Article is now to be taken thus : The book of 
 
 consecration &c. lately set forth in the time of 
 
 Edward the .Sixth, and confirmed at the same time by 
 authority of parliament, and afterwards altered in the 
 fourteenth year of King Charles the Second, doth 
 contain all things necessary, &c. Dr. Rennet. The 
 alterations, here alluded to, were but few, and of no 
 great importance. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ^ The Book of Consecration &c.] If any thing be 
 ■wanting in the ordinations of the Church of England, 
 the form of which is prescribed in the book here referred 
 to, it must be either with respect to the ordainers ; but 
 these are bishops : or to the manner of ordaining ; but 
 this is the imposition of hands, with proper prayers : 
 or to the persons, who are to be ordained ; but these 
 are examined and approved as to their faith, manners, 
 and knowledge; and on these is conferred the power 
 of doing all things which belong to their offices. There 
 is therefore nothing wanted to make these ordinations 
 just and complete. The forms, which the primitive 
 Christians used in consecrating the clergy, are not now 
 extant. But according to the most ancient ones that 
 are now to be met with, nothing is omitted by our 
 Church, which was formerly required to make an ordi- 
 nation complete. Archdeacon IVelchman. 
 
 This book not only contains every thing, which is 
 necessary for the appointment of persons to the several 
 ministerial functions, without being liable in any one 
 respect to the imputation of superstition or ungodli- 
 ness ; but whoever reads it will be convinced, that it is 
 
 m] 
 
 XXXVI. Of Consecration ofBiskojis 
 
 and JMiiiistcrs^. ' 
 
 HE Book of Con.sccration'' of 
 Archbi.sliops and Bisho])s, and 
 Ordering of Priests and Deacons, 
 lately set forth in the time of Edward 
 tiie Si.xtli, and conlirmed at the .same 
 time by authority of Parliament, doth 
 contain all things necessary to such 
 Consecration and Ordering ; neither 
 hath it any thing, that of itself is 
 superstitious and ungodly. And 
 therefore whosoever are consecrated ■= 
 or ordered according to the Rites of 
 that Book, since the second year of 
 tiie forenamed King Edward unto 
 this time, or hereafter shall be conse- 
 crated or ordered according to the 
 same Rites ; we decree all such to 
 
 drawn up with the utmost caution, and with every 
 possible attention to propriety ; it guards against the 
 admission of unworthy persons into the order of dea- 
 cons and priests, by injoining previous examination 
 into their moral and literary character, and also into 
 their religious knowledge and principles ; it requires 
 at the time, both of ordination and consecration, an 
 exjjlicit declaration and solemn promise relative to the 
 great points of faith and practice ; the prayers are 
 devout and appropriate ; and all the ceremonial parts 
 of these offices are simple, and grave, and admirably 
 adapted to their respective occasions. The service for 
 the ordination of priests is indeed so solemn and im- 
 pressive, and contains such an excellent summary of 
 the duties of ministers of the Gospel, and such earnest 
 exhortations to the discharge of those duties; that 
 every clergyman, whatever may be his age or station 
 in the Chiu'cb, would do well to read it carefully and 
 attentively at least once every year. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ■= — And therefore xohosoever are consecrated &c.] 
 This latter part of the Ai-ticle has a retrospective view, 
 and the reason of adding it was this ; a new form of 
 ordination was composed by the bishops, and approved 
 by King Edward the Sixth, in the third year of his 
 reign ; and two years afterwards it was confirmed by 
 Act of Parliament, together with the Hook of Common 
 Prayer, of which the form of ordination was declared 
 to be a part. In Queen Mary's reign this Act was 
 repealed ; and the Book of Common Prayer, and the 
 Book of Ordination were by name condemned. When 
 Elizabeth came to the throne, Queen Mary's Act was 
 repealed, and King Edward's Prayer Book was again 
 authorized ; but the Book of (.)rdination was not ex- 
 pressly named, because it had been a jjart of the Com- 
 mon Prayer Book ; and therefore it was no more 
 thought necessary to specify the office of ordination, 
 than any other office of the Common Prayer Book. 
 But Bishop Bonner contended, that as the Book of 
 Ordination had been by name condemned in Queen 
 Mary's reign, and had not been since revived by name, 
 it was still condemned in law ; and consequently, that 
 all ordinations, conferred according to that form, were 
 illegal and invalid. To obviate this objection, it was 
 declared in a subsequent session of Parliament, that 
 the Office of Ordination was considered as a part of 
 the Common Prayer Book ; and it was farther declared, 
 that all ordinations, which had been performed accord-
 
 796 
 
 ARTICLES or RELIGION. 
 
 be rightly, orderly, and lawfully con- 
 secrated and ordered. 
 
 XXXVII. Of the Civil Magistrates^. 
 
 THE Queen's Majesty hath the 
 chief power <^ in this Realm of 
 England, and other her Dominions, 
 unto whom the chief Government of 
 all Estates of this Realm, whether 
 they be Ecclesiastical or Civil, in all 
 causes doth appertain, and is not, nor 
 ought to be, subject to any foreign 
 Jurisdiction. 
 
 Where we attribute to the Queen's 
 Majesty "^ the chief government, by 
 which Titles we understand the 
 
 ing to that office, were valid; and upon the same 
 princi])le a sinnilar clause was inserted in this Article. 
 Bj>. Tomline. 
 
 >■ XXXVII. Of the Civil Magistrates r\ This Article 
 was shorter, as it was published in King Edward's 
 time, and did run thus; "Tlie Kin|T of England is 
 supreme head in earth, next under Clirist, of the Church 
 of England and Ireland." Then followed the para- 
 graph against the pope's jurisdiction, worded as it is 
 now : to which these words were subjoined, " The civil 
 magistrate is ordained and allowed of God ; wherefore 
 we must obey him, not only for fear of ])unishment, 
 but also for conscience sake." In Queen Elizabeth's 
 time it was thought fitting to take away those preju- 
 dices, that the papists were generally infusing into the 
 minds of the people, against the term " head ;" which 
 seemed to be the more incongruous, because a woman 
 did then reign ; therefore that was left out, and in- 
 stead of it the words " chief power" and " chief govern- 
 ment" were made use of, which do signify the same 
 thing. 
 
 The Queen did also by her Injunctions offer an ex- 
 planation of this matter : for whereas it was given out 
 by those, who had complied with every thing that had 
 been done both in her father's and in her lirother's 
 time, but who resolved now to set themselves in oppo- 
 sition to her, that slic was assuming a much greater 
 autliority than tliey had jiretended to ; she upon that 
 ordered tlie explanation, which is referred to in the 
 Article, and whicti is in these words : " For certainly 
 her Majesty ncitlicr doth nor c\tr will challenge any 
 authority, otlicr than that was challenged and hitcly 
 used l)y the said nulilc Kings of famous memory. King 
 Henry the Eighth, and King Edward the Sixth, wliich 
 is and was of ancient time due to the imperial crown 
 of this realm that is, under God to have the sove- 
 reignty and rule over all manner of jicrsons born with- 
 in these her realms, dominions, and countries, of what 
 estate, either ecclesiastical or civil, soever they be ; so 
 as no other foreign power shall or might to liave any 
 superiority over them. And if any person, that hatli 
 conceived any other sense of the said oath, .shall accept 
 the same oath with this interpretation, sense, or mean- 
 ing, her Majesty is well pleased to accept exx-ry such in 
 that behalf, as her good anil obedient subjects ; and 
 shall ac(piit (hem of all manner of penalties, contained 
 in the said .\ct, against such as shall iiereuiptorily 
 atid obstinately refuse to take the same oath." Bp. 
 Burnet. 
 
 ' 'I'Jie Qu(eit\i Miijrsti/ hnth the chief power &c.] The 
 reader is rctjuested to refer to page 0B4, note /. 
 
 minds of some slanderous folks ^ to 
 be offended ; we give not to our 
 Princes the ministerinsf either of 2 riiron. 
 
 ^~. ,, --,, I r \ -^ xxvi. UJ — 18. 
 
 Gods Word, or or the feacraments, 
 
 the which thing the Injunctions also 
 
 lately set forth by Elizabeth our 
 
 Queen do most plainly testify ; but 
 
 that only prerogative, which we see 
 
 to have been given always to all 
 
 godly Princes in holy Scriptures by 
 
 God himself; that is, that they should 
 
 rule all states and degrees committed 
 
 to their charge by God, whether they Rom. rm. 1. 
 
 be Ecclesiastical or Tem]3oral, and J i^ngs'ii'.^' 
 
 restrain with the civil sword the stub- ^''•"- „, 
 
 , 1 •! 1 Luke XX. 25. 
 
 born and evil-doers. 
 
 In addition to what is there said, it may be remarked, 
 that the church for the three first centuries had no 
 prince, but such as either jiersecuted, or at least ne- 
 glected her ; and therefore that she was then forced to 
 take care of her own affairs without them. But as soon 
 as the emperors became t'hristian, the afi'airs of the 
 church depended upon their management. From hence- 
 forth they began to call councils, and to receive ajjpeals 
 from them, and to take cognizance of ecclesiastical 
 causes, &c. In a word, it is abundantly manifest, that 
 whatever power the Chm-ch ascribes to her kings, the 
 same was made use of by the Christian emperors. 
 Archdeacon Welchman. 
 
 It is ex-ident, that both according to Scripture, and 
 the practice of all ages and countries, the princes of 
 Christendom have an authority over their subjects in 
 matters ecclesiastical. The reason of things makes also 
 for this. For, if any rank of men are exempted from 
 their jurisdiction, they must thereby cease to he sub- 
 jects : and, if any sort of causes, sjiiritual ones in par- 
 ticular, were put out of their authority, it were an easy 
 thing to reduce almost every thing to such a relation to 
 spirituals, that, if this principle were once recei\ed, their 
 authority would be very jirecarious and feeble. Nothing 
 could give princes stronger and juster prejudices against 
 the Christian religion, than if they saw that the cfi'cct of 
 their receiving it must be the withdrawing of so great a 
 ]iart of their sidyects from their authority ; and the put- 
 ting of so many checks ujjon it, as those, that had the 
 management of this religion, should tliink fit to restrain 
 it by. In a word, all mankind must be under one obe- 
 dience and one authority, lip. Burnet. 
 
 ' Where we attribute to the Queen's Majesty &c.] The 
 reader is referred to i)age ()S4, note /.- also to the note 
 introductory to this .Vrlicle, above, note d. 
 
 As for ministering either tlie word or sacraments, it 
 belongs no more to princes, than the burning of incense 
 did to King Uzziah; who, for attem])tiiig it, was judi- 
 cially smitten with leprosy, and so excluded for ever 
 after, not only from all sacred, but even civil society. 
 A plain argument that the sacerdotal is not included 
 in the regal oillce, nor derived from thence ; but is of 
 a distinct nature and institution. 2 Chron. xxvi. 16, &:c. 
 Veneer. 
 
 « — .lome .'ilatidernns folks'] These words referred to the 
 Puritans, who denii d the right of the civil iiiiiglsti'ate to 
 interfere in any ecclesiastical matters. The Injunctions 
 here mentioned were published in the year 1559, soon 
 after (luecn l^liz.'ilictli siicreedcd to the crown ; they 
 related to (lie all'airs of the Church, mid began with 
 asserting the Queen's supreuiacy. By. Tomline.
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 797 
 
 Rom. xiii. 4. 
 Acts XXV. 11 
 
 Tlic BLshop of Rome hath no juris- 
 diction in this Realm of Englan(P\ 
 
 'I'he La\v.s of tiie Realm may 
 piini.sh Chri-stian men with death', 
 for heinous and t^rievoiis offences. 
 
 It is lawful for Christian mcn'^, at 
 the commandment of the Mag-istrate, 
 
 '' The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this 
 Realm of England.'] By what right should the hishop 
 of Rome have any jurisdiction in this reahn ? Does it 
 proceed from his being St. Peter's successor? I an- 
 swer, that all the apostles were equal in authority ; and 
 farther, that St. Paul was the apostle of the Gentiles, 
 and that he was not afraid to rejirove St. Peter himself, 
 Gal. ii. 9. 14. Or does this claim depend on his right 
 as a patriarch ? I answer, that England was not within 
 the patriarchate of Rome. Or is it derived from Con- 
 stantine's donation ? This is too ridiculous an impos- 
 ture to be seriously refuted. Or does it jjroceed from 
 his having been concerned in converting England to the 
 Christian faith ? Now according to this way of reason- 
 ing, all churches, not excepting that of Rome, are sub- 
 ject to the church of Jerusalem : but none to that of 
 Rome, unless it received the Christian faith from her. 
 But the Britons were converted to the faith, long before 
 Augustine, the jjojie's legate, came amongst tliem. 
 From all which it follows, that, when the pope concerns 
 himself with our affairs, he is one of those who are 
 reprehended in 1 Pet. iv. 15, as "a busy-body in other 
 men's matters." Archdeacon Welchmmi. 
 
 ' The Laws of the Realm may punish Christian men 
 with death, &c.] This paragraph is concerning the law- 
 fulness of capital punishments in Christian societies. It 
 has an appearance of compassion and charity, to think 
 that men ought not to be put to death for their crimes ; 
 but to be kept ali\'e, that they may repent of them. 
 Some, both ancients and moderns, have thought that 
 there was a cruelty in all capital punishments, which 
 was inconsistent with the gentleness of the Gospel : but 
 when we consider, that God, in that law, which He 
 Himself dehvered to the Jews by the band of Moses, 
 did appoint so many capital punishments, even for 
 offences against positive precepts, we cannot think that 
 these are contrary to justice or true goodness ; since 
 they were dictated by God Himself, who is eternally the 
 same, unalterable in his perfections. This shews that 
 God, who knows most perfectly our frame and disjiosi- 
 tion, knows that the love of life is planted so deep in 
 our nature, and that it has such a root there, that no- 
 thing can work so powerfully on us, to govern, and 
 restrain us, as the fear of death. And therefore, since 
 the main thing, that is to be considered in government, 
 is the good of the whole body ; and since a feeble indul- 
 gence and im|)unity may set mankind loose into great 
 disorders, from which the terror of se\'erer laws, together 
 with such examples as are made on the incorrigible, 
 will naturally restrain them ; it seems necessary for the 
 preservation of mankind and of society, to have recourse 
 sometimes to capital puni.shments. 
 
 The precedent, which tjod set in the Mosaical law, 
 seems a full justification of such punishments under the 
 Gospel. The charity, which the Gosiiel prescribes, does 
 not take away the rules of justice and equity, by which 
 we may maintain our possessions, or recover them out 
 of the hands of violent aggressors : only it obliges us to 
 do that in a soft and gentle manner, without rigour or 
 resentment. The same charity, though it obliges us, as 
 Christians, not to keep up hatred or anger in our hearts, 
 but to pardon, as to oui- own parts, the wrongs that are 
 
 to wear weapons, and 
 
 wars. 
 
 serve m 
 
 the Luke iii, 14. 
 Acta X. 1, 2. 
 
 XXXVI 1 1. OfChiistian mnCs Goods, 
 ivliick lire not common^. 
 
 rp 
 
 H E Riches and Goods of Chris- uom. xiii. r. 
 tians are not common™, as touch- 12'' 
 
 Acts V. 4. 
 Kom. xiii. 
 2 Tliess. iii. 
 
 done us ; yet does not oblige us to throw up the order 
 and ])eace of mankind, and abandon it to the injustice 
 and violence of wicked men. 
 
 Under the Gospel, as under the Law, the magistrate 
 is " the minister of God," and lias the sword put in his 
 hand, which "he beareth not in vain," for he is ap- 
 pointed to be "a revenger, to execute wrath on him 
 that doeth evil," Rom. xiii. 4. The natural significa- 
 tion of his bearing the sword is, that he has an authority 
 for punishing capitally; since it is upon those occasions 
 only that he can be said to use the sword as a revenger. 
 Xor can Christian charity oblige a man, whom the law 
 has made to be the avenger of blood, or of other crimes, 
 to refuse to comjily with that obligation, which is laid 
 u|)on him by the constitution under which he is born. 
 He can only forgive that, of which he is the master ; 
 but the other is a debt which he owes the society : and 
 his private forgiving of the wrong done to himself does 
 not reach to that other obligation, which is not in his 
 own power to give away. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 ^ It is lawful for Christian men, &c.] This is apparent 
 from Luke iii, 14 ; where we see, that when the soldiers 
 came to St. John the Baptist to know their duty, his 
 advice to them was only this, " Do violence to no man, 
 neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your 
 wages." There is not the least hint that their emjdoy- 
 ment was unlawful. And in Acts x. 2, Cornelius, a 
 centurion, that is, the commander of an hundred sol- 
 diers, is called a devout man ; nor was he, when bap- 
 tized, commanded to leave his profession. And it 
 apjjears from Tertullian, that Christians ser^'ed in the 
 wars, even under heathen emperors. Veneer. 
 
 It may here also be observed, that the injunctions in 
 the New Testament to obey the civil magistrate are 
 general, and therefore they extend to the case of serving 
 in the wars : and it is manifest that no nation could 
 maintain its independence, if it did not resist by force 
 the aggressions of its ambitious neighbours. 
 
 But though these reasons and authorities may con- 
 vince us, that in the present state of things " it is lawful 
 for Christian men, at the commandment of the magis- 
 trate, to wear weapons and serve in the wars;" yet 
 e\'ery one will acknowledge, that if the mild and bene- 
 volent rebgion of Jesus had a general and complete 
 intluence, not only private quarrels and dissensions, 
 but publick wars also, would cease throughout the 
 world. Bp, Tomline. 
 
 'XXXYHI. Of Christian men's Goods, which are not 
 common.] This Article consists of two jiarts : the for- 
 mer declares that private property is not inconsistent 
 with the profession of the Gospel ; and the latter 
 asserts the Christian duty of charity to the poor. Bp. 
 Tomline. 
 
 "" The Riches and Goods of Christians are not comjnon, 
 &c.] The whole charge that is given in the Scripture for 
 charity and almsgiving ; all the rules that are given to 
 the rich and to masters, to wliom their servants were 
 then properties and slaves ; do clearly demonstrate that 
 the Gospel was not designed to introduce a community 
 of goods. And even that fellowshi]) or community, 
 which was practised in the first beginnings of it, was 
 the effect of particular men's charity, and not of any
 
 798 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 XXXIX 
 
 ing the right, title, and possession 
 of the same, as certain Anabaptists 
 do falsely boast". Notwithstanding, 
 every man ought", of such things 
 as he possesseth, liberally to give 
 
 iTim. vi.w, alms to the poor, according to his 
 
 '*■ ability. 
 
 law that was laid on them. " Barnabas, having land, 
 sold it, and laid the price of it at the apostles' feet," 
 Acts iv. 36, 37. And when St. Peter chid Ananias for 
 liavinof vowed to give in the whole price of his land to 
 that distribution, and then withdrawing a part of it, 
 and by a lie pretending that he had brought it all in ; 
 he atfirnied that the right was still in him, till he by a 
 vow had put it out of his power. 
 
 It never can be thought a just and equitable thing, 
 that the sober and industrious should be bound to 
 share the fruits of their labour with the idle and Iu.\u- 
 rious. This would be such an encouragement to those, 
 whom all wise governments ought to discourage ; and 
 would so discourage those, who ought to be encou- 
 raged ; that all the order of the world must be dis- 
 solved, if so extravagant a conceit should be enter- 
 tained. Both the rich and the poor ha\-e rules given 
 them, and there are virtues suitable to each state of 
 life. The rich ought to be sober and thankful, modest 
 and humble, bountiful and charitable, out of the 
 abundance that God has given them, and not to set 
 their hearts upon uncertain riches, but to trust in the 
 living God, and to make the best use of them that 
 they can. The poor ought to be patient and industri- 
 ous, to submit to the providence of God, and to study 
 to make sure of a Iietter portion in another state, than 
 (iod has thought fit to give them in this world. Bp. 
 Burnet. 
 
 o — as certain Anabaptists do falsely boast.'] It is 
 evident that private property is essential to the very 
 existence of civil society : and it is not to be believed 
 that the Gospel which " has the [(romise of this life as 
 well as of that which is to come," would destroy or in 
 any respect weaken, a principle which is the foundation 
 of every social comfort : and indeed none of the early 
 sectaries ever thought of maintaining such an ojiinion. 
 But in tlie beginning of the sixteenth century the 
 Anabaptists of Germany, among other absurd and 
 dangerous tenets, contended for the necessity of a 
 community of goods among Christians. 'J'his doctrine 
 was warmly and successfully o])])oscd by the most 
 enlighteneil jiart of the Reformers upon the continent : 
 it made but very little progress in this country : and 
 our ])resent Anabajjtisfs intirely reject it. Bj). Toniliiie. 
 
 " — Nnlwillistrinilinff. evert/ man ought, Sjcl We see 
 what particular care (iod took of the jjoor m the old 
 dispensation, and what variety of ])rovision was made 
 for them : all which must certainly be carried as much 
 higher among Christians, as the laws of love and 
 charity are raised to a higher degree in the Gospel. 
 (Christ represents the essay, that He gives of the day of 
 judgment, in this article of charity, and ex|)resses it in 
 the mostemphatical words |)ossible; as if what is given 
 to the poor were to be reckoned for, as if it bad been 
 given personally to Christ Himself: and in a great 
 variety of other [lassages this matter is so oft insisted 
 on, that no man can resist it wlu) reads tliem, and 
 acknowledges the authority of the Xew Testament. 
 Bj). Burnet. 
 
 No s])ecifick rule is laid down in. Scripture concern- 
 ing the proportion, whicli a man is bound to give of his 
 property in acts of benevolence ; but the great import- 
 
 Of a Christian man's 
 Oath P. 
 
 AS we confess that vain and rash 
 Swearing 1 is forbidden Chris- Man. v. 34. 
 tian men by our Lord Jesus Christ, "''""" "' '" 
 and James his Apostle, so we judge, 
 that Christian Religion -^ doth not 11%.""'- 
 
 ance, annexed to the performance of this duty by Christ 
 and his apostles, makes it highly incumbent upon 
 every one to practise it to the utmost of his means. 
 Bp. Tomline. 
 
 p XXXIX. Of a Christian man's Oalh.'] An oath is 
 an appeal to God, either upon a testimony that is gii'en, 
 or a promise that is made, confii'ming the truth of the 
 one, and the fidelity of the other. It is an ajijieal to 
 God, who knows all things, and will judge all men : 
 so it is an act that acknowledges botli his omniscience 
 and his being the Governour of this world, who will 
 judge all at the last day according to their deeds, and 
 must be supposed to have a more immediate regard 
 to such acts, in which men make Him a party. Bp. 
 Burnet. 
 
 1 As we confess that vain and rash Swearing &c.] The 
 passages here referred to, are in our Savioiu^'s Sermon 
 on the Mount, Matt. v. 34, &c. ; and in the E])istle of 
 St. James, V. 12. The .lews in the time of our Saviour 
 were very much addicted to the use of oaths of various 
 sorts in common conversation, and the above passages 
 were directed against that practice : this appears from 
 the expression, "Let your communication be Yea, yea; 
 Nay, nay;" which words plainly allude to the ordinary 
 intercourse of social life, and are not applicable to the 
 solemnity of judicial proceedings. And this also is 
 evident from the enumeration of things not to be 
 sworn by; namely, "heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and 
 the head ;" none of which oaths were ever used before 
 magistrates : ami the general precejits, " Swear not at 
 all," and " Swear not by any other oath," must be 
 considered as prohibiting only all such oaths, as are 
 like those which are particularly specified ; that is, 
 every kind of " vain and rash swearing," hut not oaths 
 administered by proper authority, and upon jiroper 
 occasions. Bp. Tumline. 
 
 ' — so we judge, that 
 decisions in courts of 
 
 Christian Religion &c.] All 
 judicature, and proceedings 
 before magistrates, must be founded upon evidence ; 
 and therefore whatever jiromotes the veracity of wit- 
 nesses, contributes to the ])reser\'ation of justice and 
 order in the world. The strongest oliligation to troth, 
 which can o]ierate u])on the muids of men, is a solenm 
 ajjpcal to God; and upon tliat principle oaths have 
 been constantly used in the aduiinistraliou of munici|>al 
 and criminal law. These oaths are not forbidden in 
 Scripture : and therefore magistrates are at libertv to 
 refjuire them, in the execution of their office, as the 
 best means of attaining the great ends of civil govern- 
 ment. The Article says, " in a cause of faith and 
 charity ;" that is, when faith or truth is to be esta- 
 blislied, and charity or good will can be promoted, by 
 jjutting an end to strife, " for an oath for confirmation 
 is an end of all controversy," llel). vi. 10 ; which words 
 admit the lawfulness of an oalh. wlien applied to the 
 settlement of i)oints in litigation. St. I'aul in his 
 Kpistles frcfpiently calls (iod to witness the truth of 
 wlnit he asserts; Rom. i. 9; ix. 1 ; 2 Cor. i. Is ; Gal. 
 i. 20; which proves that all oaths ai'e not unlawful in 
 Christians. 
 
 Profane swearing is forbidden by the third Com- 
 mandment : but that prohibition was evidently not
 
 Lev, V. I. 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 799 
 
 prohibit, but tliat a man may swear done _ according _ to the Propliet's 
 
 when the Magistrate roquireth, in a 
 cause of faith and charity, so it be 
 
 teaching', in justice, judgement, and Jer. 
 truth. 
 
 THE RATIFICATION. 
 
 rWlHIS Bonk nf Articles before j-ehecased, is ar/ain approved, and allowed 
 ■'- to he liolderi and executed untliin the Jiealm, by the assent and consent of 
 our Sovereign Liuhj ELIZABETH, hy the grace of God, of Enyhind, 
 France, and Ireland, Queen, Defender (f the Faith, &c. Which Articles 
 were deliberately read, and confirmed aynin hy the subscription of the hands 
 of the Archbishops and Bishops of the Upper-house, and by the subscription 
 of the tvhole Cleryi/ of the Netlier-house in their Convocation, in the Year of 
 our Lord 1371. 
 
 designed to extend to every use of oaths ; for Moses 
 ex|)ressly says, " Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, 
 and serve him, and shalt swear hy his name," Dent. vi. 
 13. And, under the Jewish dispensation, judges had a 
 power to adjure in the name of God, either to draw a 
 confession from an accused person, or a faithful testi- 
 mony from a witness : " If a soul sin, and hear the 
 voice of swearing," or adjuration, " and is a witness 
 whether he hath seen or known it ; if he do not utter 
 it, then he shall hear his iniquity," Lev. v. 1. And 
 thus our Saviour Himself, in obedience to this law of 
 Moses, although He had before been silent, answered 
 the high priest when he " adjured him hy the living 
 God," Matt. xxvi. 63 ; that is, called upon Him to 
 answer upon oath. The form of administering oaths 
 among us is different from that formerly practised 
 among the Jews ; but the obligation they carry wth 
 them, and the principle upon which they rest, are 
 precisely the same. Bp. Tomline. 
 
 ' — according to ttie Prophet's teacliing, &o.] The 
 New Testament supplies authorities beyond exception, 
 to justify the use of an oath upon a great occasion, or 
 before a competent authority ; according to that pro- 
 Ijhecy quoted in the Article, which is thought to relate . 
 to the times of the Messiah : " And thou shalt swear. 
 The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righte- 
 ousness ; and the nations shall bless themselves in 
 him, and in him shall they glory," Jer. iv. 2. These 
 last words seem evidently to relate to the days of the 
 Messiah : so here an oath, religiously taken, is repre- 
 sented as a part of that worship, which all nations 
 shall offer up to God under the new dispensation. Bp. 
 Burnet. 
 
 Before these notes are concluded, it may be desirable 
 to state what is the iise of the Thirty-nine Articles, 
 and the importance of the subscriptions of the clergy to 
 them. 
 
 Some have thought that they are only Articles of 
 union and peace ; that they are a standard of doctrine, 
 not to be contradicted or disputed ; that the sons of 
 the Church are only bound to acquiesce silently to 
 them; and that the subscription binds only to a 
 general compromise upon those Articles, that so there 
 may he no disputing or wrangling about them. By 
 this means they reckon, that though a man should 
 differ in his opinion from that which appears to be the 
 clear sense of any of the Articles ; yet he may with a 
 good conscience subscribe them, if the Article appears 
 to him to be of such a nature, that though he thinks it 
 WTong, yet it seems not to be of that consequence, but 
 that it may be borne with and not contradicted. 
 
 Now as to the laity, and the whole body of the peo- 
 ple, certainly to them these are only the Articles of 
 Church communion : so that every person, who does 
 not think that there is some proposition in them, that 
 is erroneous to so high a degree, that he cannot hold 
 communion with such as hold it, may, and is obliged 
 to, continue in our communion ; for certainly there 
 may be many opinions held in matters of religion, 
 which a man may believe to be false, and yet may 
 esteem them to be of so httle importance to the chief 
 design of religion, that he may well hold communion 
 with those whom he thinks to be so mistaken. 
 
 But what the clergy are bound to by their subscrip- 
 tions is much moi-e than this. The meaning of every 
 subscription is to be taken from the design of the 
 iraposer, and from the words of the subscription itself. 
 The title of the Articles bears that they were agreed 
 upon in convocation, "for the avoiding of diversities of 
 opinions, and for the establishing of consent touching 
 true religion." Where it is evident, that " a consent 
 in opinion " is designed. If we in the next place con- 
 sider the declarations, that the Church has made in 
 the Canons, we shall find that though by the fifth 
 Canon, which relates to the whole body of people, such 
 only are declared to be excommunicated ipso facto, 
 who shall affirm any of the iVrtieles to be erronous, or 
 such as he may not with a good conscience subscribe 
 to ; yet the 36th Canon is express for the clergy, re- 
 quiring them to subscribe "wilhngly and ex animo," 
 and " acknowledge all and every Article to be agree- 
 able to the word of God :" upon which canon it is, 
 that the form of the subscription runs in these words, 
 which seem expressly to declare a man's own opinion, 
 and not a bare assent to an article of peace, or an 
 engagement to silence and submission. The statute of 
 the 13th of Queen Elizabeth, chap. 12, which gives the 
 legal authority to our requiring subscriptions, in order 
 to a man's being capalile of a benefice, requires that 
 every clergyman should read the Articles in the church, 
 with a declaration of his unfeigned assent to them. 
 These things make it appear very plain that the sub- 
 scriptions of the clergy must be considered as a decla- 
 ration of their own opinion, and not as a bare obliga- 
 tion to silence. Bp. Burnet. 
 
 It therefore behoves every one, before he offers him- 
 self a candidate for holy oiders, to peruse carefully the 
 Articles of our Church, and to comjiare them with the 
 written word of God. If, upon mature examination, 
 he believes them to be authorized by Scripture, he may 
 conscientiously subscribe them : but if, on the con- 
 trary, he thinks that he sees reason to dissent from 
 any of the doctrines asserted in them, no hope of 
 emolument or honour, no dread of inconvenience or 
 disappointment, should induce him to express his
 
 800 
 
 ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 
 
 A TABLE OF THE ARTICLES. 
 
 L \JF Faith ill the Holy Trinity. 
 
 2. Of Christ the Son of God. 
 
 3. Uf his yoiny down into Hell. 
 
 4. Of his Resurrection. 
 
 5. Of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 6. Of the Sufficiency of the Scripture. 
 
 7. Of the Old Testament. 
 
 8. Of the three Creeds. 
 
 9. Of Original or Birth-sin. 
 
 10. Of Free- mil. 
 
 1 1 . Of Justif cation. 
 
 12. Of Good Works. 
 
 1 3. Of JVorks before Justification. 
 
 14. Of fVorks of Supereroyatiun. 
 
 1 5. Of Clirist alone ivithoiit Sin. 
 
 16. Of Sin after Baptism. 
 
 17. Of Predestination and Election. 
 
 18. Of obtaining Salvation by Christ. 
 
 19. Of the Church. 
 
 20. Of the Authority of the Church. 
 
 21. Of the Authority of General 
 
 Councils. 
 
 solemn assent to propositions, which in fact he does 
 not beUeve. It is not indeed necessary, that he should 
 a])prove every word or expression, but he ought to 
 believe all the fundamental doctrines, of the Articles; 
 all those tenets, in which oiu- Church differs from 
 other churches, or from other sects of Christians. He 
 ourfht to feel that he can from his own conviction main- 
 tain the purity of our established religion ; and sin- 
 cerely and zealously enforce those points of faith and 
 practice which our Church declares to be tlie revealed 
 will of God. This appears to me the only just ground 
 of conscientious subscription to the Articles : and let it 
 
 22. Of Purgatory. 
 
 23. Of Ministering in the Congrega- 
 
 tion. 
 
 24. Of Speaking in the Congregation. 
 23. Of tlie Sacraments. 
 
 26. Of the Unworthiness of Ministers. 
 
 27. Of Baptism. 
 
 28. Of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 29. Of the JViched ichich eat not the 
 
 Body of Christ. 
 
 30. Of both kinds. 
 
 31. Of Christ' s one Oblation. 
 
 32. Of the Marriage of Priests. 
 
 33. Of Excommunicate Persons. 
 
 34. Of the Traditions of the Church. 
 3.5. Of the Homilies. 
 
 36. Of Consecrating of Ministers, 
 
 37. Of Civil Magistrates. 
 
 38. Of Christian men's Goods. 
 
 39. Of a Christian rnan's Oath. 
 The Ratification. 
 
 ever be remembered, that, in a business of this serious 
 and important nature, no species whatever of evasion, 
 subterfuge, or reserve, is to be allowed, or can be 
 practised witliout imminent danger of inciu'ring the 
 wrath of God. The .\i'ticles are to be subscrilied in 
 their plain and obvious sense, and assent is to be 
 given to them simjily and une<|uivocalIy. Thus only 
 can a person offer himself at the talde of the Lord 
 as his minister with safety ; thus only can he ex|)ect 
 to receive the divine blessing upon that course of life, 
 to which he then solemnly devotes himself. Bp. 
 Tomline.
 
 A TABLE' OF KINDRED AND AFFINITY, 
 
 WHEREIN WHOSOEVER ARE RELATED ARE F0RI5IDDEN IN SCRIPTURE AND OUR LAWS 
 
 TO MARRY TOGETHER. 
 
 A Man may not marry his 
 
 1 /^ RANDMOTIIKH, 
 
 2 vX Grandfather's Wifo, 
 
 3 Wife's Grandmother. 
 
 4 Fatlier's Sister, 
 
 5 Mother's Sister, 
 
 6 Father's Brotlier's AVife. 
 
 7 Mother's Brother's Wife, 
 
 8 Wife's Father's Sister, 
 
 9 Wife's Mother's Sister. 
 
 10 Mother, 
 
 11 Step-Mother, 
 
 12 Wife's Mother. 
 Daushter, 
 
 Wife's Daughter, 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 15 Son's Wife. 
 
 16 Sister, 
 
 17 Wife's Sister, 
 
 18 Brother's Wife. 
 
 19 Son's Daughter, 
 
 20 Daughter's Daughter, 
 
 21 Son's Son's Wife. 
 
 22 Daughter's Son's Wife, 
 
 23 Wife's Son's Daughter, 
 
 24 Wife's Daughter's Daughter. 
 
 25 Brother's Daughter, 
 
 26 Sister's Daughter, 
 
 27 Brother's Son's Wife. 
 
 28 Sister's Son's Wife, 
 
 29 Wife's Brother's Daughter, 
 
 30 Wife's Sister's Daughter. 
 
 ' A Table &c.] This table, which is according to 
 several i)revious statutes, was set forth in the year 
 15G3. The degrees specified in the said statutes are 
 particularly set forth in the eighteenth chapter of 
 
 A IVoninn may not mnrry with her 
 
 1 r^ RANDFATHER, 
 
 2 \jr Gran(hnothcr's Husband, 
 
 3 Husband's Grandfather. 
 
 4 Fatlier's Brotlier, 
 
 5 Mother's Brother, 
 
 6 Fatlier's Sister's Husband. 
 
 7 INIother's Sister's Husband, 
 
 8 Husband's Father's Brother, 
 
 9 Husband's Mother's Brother. 
 
 10 Father, 
 
 11 Step- Father, 
 
 12 Husband's Father. 
 
 13 Son, 
 
 14 Husband's Son, 
 
 15 Daughter's Husband. 
 
 16 Brother, 
 
 17 Husband's Brother, 
 
 18 Sister's Husband. 
 
 19 Son's Son, 
 
 20 Daughter's Son, 
 
 21 Son's Daughter's Husband. 
 
 22 Daughter's Daughter's Husband, 
 
 23 Husband's Son's Son. 
 
 24 Husband's Daughter's Son. 
 
 25 Brother's Son, 
 
 26 Sister's Son, 
 
 27 Brother's Daughter's Husband. 
 
 28 Sister's Daughter's Husband, 
 
 29 Husband's Brother's Son, 
 
 30 Husband's Sister's Son. 
 
 Leviticus, whereby not only degrees of kindred and 
 consanguinity, but degrees of affinity and alliance, do 
 hinder matrimony, t)r. Burn, 
 
 Here ends the Book of Common Prayer, truly so called, being composed by the publick spirit, and prescribed 
 by the publick authority of the Church, for the publick service and ^vorshij) of God ; to be offered up to Him, in 
 the name and spirit of the Church, by those who are ordained for men in things pertaining to God ; to which 
 every person of the Church may, according to St. Paul, say " Amen " with understanding, because he knows 
 beforehand to what he is to say Amen. 
 
 " Come altogether to the same prayer ; let there be one common prayer, one and the same mind and spirit." 
 (Ignatius.) SOLI DEO GLORIA. " I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also." 
 Bj). Sparrowt 
 
 3 F
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 Treated upon hy the Bisliop of Loiulon, President of the Convocation for 
 the Province of Canterburj', and the rest of the Bishops and Clergy of 
 the said Province; and agreed upon with the King's Majesty's Licence, 
 in their Synod begun at London, Anno Domini 1603, and in the Year 
 of the Keign of our Sovereign Lord JAMES, by tlio Grace of God, 
 King of Enghmd, France, and Irekmd, the First, and of Scotland tlie 
 Tliirty-seventli : and now published for the due observation of them, by 
 his Majesty's authority under the Great Seal of England. 
 
 JA M E S, hy the grace of God, King of Englanrl, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. 
 to all to whom these jjresents shall come, greeting : Wliereas our Bishops, Deans of our Cathedral Churches, 
 Archdeacons, Chapters, and Colleges, and the other Clergy of every Diocese within the Province of Canterbury, 
 being summoned and called by virtue of our Writ directed to the Most Reverend Father in God, John, late 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, and bearing date the one and thirtieth day of January, in the first year of oiu- reign 
 of England, France, and Ireland, and of .Scotland the thirty-seventh, to have ap])eared before him in our 
 Cathedral Church of SSt. Paul in London, the twentieth day of March then next ensuing, or elsewhere, as he 
 should have thought it most conveuicnt, to treat, consent, and conclude upon certain difficult and urgent 
 affairs mentioned in the said Writ; did thereupon, at the time ap]xiinted, and within the Cathedral Church of 
 St. Pavil aforesaid, assemble themselves, and appear in Convocation for that purpose, according to our said 
 Writ, before the Right Reverend Father in God, Richard Bishop of London, duly (ujion a second Writ of ours 
 dated the ninth day of March aforesaid) authorized, ajjpointed, and constituted, by reason of the said .\rchbishop 
 of Canterbury his death. President of the said Convocation, to execute those things, «'hich, by virtue of our first 
 Writ, did api)ertain to him the said Archbishoi) to have executed, if he had lived : W'e, for divers urgent and 
 weighty causes and considerations us thereunto especially moving, of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and 
 mere motion, did, by virtue of our Prerogative Royal, and Supreme Authority in Causes Ecclesiastical, give and 
 grant by our several Letters Patent under our (ireat Seal of England, the one dated the twelfth day of April 
 last past, and the other the twenty-fifth day of June then next following, full, free, and lawful liberty, licence, 
 power, and authority unto the said Bishop of London, President of the said Convocation, and to the other 
 Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons, Chapters, and Colleges, and the rest of the Clergy before mentioned, of the said 
 Province, that they, from time to time, during our first Parliament now prorogued, might confer, treat, debate, 
 consider, consult, and agree of and upon such Canons, Orders, Ordinances, and Constitutions, as they should 
 think necessary, fit, and convenient, for the honour and service of Almighty God, the good and quiet of the 
 Church, and the better government thereof, to be from time to time observed, ])erformed, fulfilled, and kept, as 
 well by the Archbishops of Canterbury, the Bisho|)s, and their Successors, and the rest of the whole Clergy of 
 the said Province of Canterbury, in their several callings, offices, functions, ministries, degrees, and adminis- 
 trations ; as also by all and every Dean of the Arches, and other Judge of the said Archbisho])'s Courts, 
 Guardians of Spiritualities, Chancellors, Deans and Chapters, Archdeacons, Commissaries, Officials, Registrars, 
 and all and every other Ecclesiastical Officers, and their inferior Ministers, whatsoever, of the same Province of 
 Canterbury, in their and every of their distinct Courts, and in the order and manner of their and every of their 
 Proceedings ; and by all other Persons within this realm, as far as lawfully, being members of the Church, it 
 may concern them, as in our said Letters Patent amongst other clauses more at large doth ajipear. Forasmuch 
 as the Bishop of London, President of the said Convocation, and others, the said Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons, 
 Chapters, and Colleges, with the rest of the Clergy, having met together, at the time and jilace before men- 
 tioned, and then and there, by virtue of our said authority granted unto them, treated of, concluded, and 
 agreed upon certain Canons, Orders, Ordinances, and Constitutions, to the end and i)urpose by us limited and 
 prescribed unto them ; and have thereu])on offered and presented the same unto us, most humbly desiring us to 
 give our royal assent unto their said Canons, Orders, Ordinances, and Constitutions, according to the form of a 
 certain Statute or Act of Parliament, made in that behalf in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of King Henry the 
 Eighth, and by our said Prerogative Royal and S\i])reme Authority in Causes Ecclesiastical, to ratify by our 
 Letters Patent under our Great Seal of England, and to confirm the same, the title and tenor of them being 
 word for word as ensueth : 
 
 3 F2
 
 804 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 Of the Churcli of Encjland. 
 
 1. The King's Supremacy over the Church of England, 
 in Causes Ecclesiastical, to be maintained. 
 
 S our tliity to the King's most excellent Majesty 
 requireth, we first decree and ordain. That the 
 Archhishop of Canterhuiy, (from time to time,) all 
 Bishops of this Province, all Deans, Archdeacons, Par- 
 sons, Vicars, and all other Ecclesiastical Persons, shall 
 faithfully keep and ohserve, and (as much as in them 
 lieth) shall cause to he ohserved and kept of others, all 
 and singular laws and statutes, made for restoring to 
 the Crown of this kingdom the ancient jurisdiction over 
 the State Ecclesiastical, and aholisliing of all foreign 
 power re])ugnant to the same. Furthermore, all Eccle- 
 siastical Persons having cure of souls, and all other 
 Preachers, and Readers of Divinity Lectures, shall, to 
 the uttermost of their wit, knowledge, and learning, 
 purely ami sincerely, without any colom' or dissimula- 
 tion, teach, manifest, open, and declare, four times 
 every year at the least, in their sermons and other col- 
 lations and lectin-es, that all usurped and foreign power 
 (forasmuch as the same hath no estahlishment nor 
 ground by the law of God) is for most just causes taken 
 away and aholished : and that therefore no manner of 
 obedience, or subjection, within his Majesty's realms 
 and dominions, is due unto any such foreign power, 
 but that the King's power, within his realms of Eng- 
 land, Scotland, and Ireland, and all other his dominions 
 and coimtries, is the highest ijower under God ; to 
 whom all men, as well inhabitants, as born within the 
 same, do by God's law owe most loyalty and obedience, 
 afore and abo\-e all other powers and potentates in the 
 earth. 
 
 2. Impugners of the King's Supremacy censured. 
 
 'W^ 1 1 () S O E V E R shall hereafter affirm. That the 
 * Y King's Majesty hath not the same authority in 
 (.'auses Ecclesiastical, that the godly Kings had amongst 
 tlie .lews and Christian Emperors of the primitive 
 Church ; or impeach any part of his regal supremacy in 
 the said causes restored to the Crown, and liy the laws 
 of this realm therein established; let him be excommu- 
 nicated ipxo facto, and not restored, but only by the 
 Archbishop, after his repentance, and pubUc revocation 
 of those his wicked errors. 
 
 3. The Church of England, a true and Apostolical 
 Church. 
 
 "1T7HOSOEVER shall hereafter affirm, Tliat the 
 *V Church of England, by law estalilished under 
 the King's M.ijesty, is not a true and .Apostolicid ('hun-h, 
 teaching and maintaining the doctrine of the .Ajjostles; 
 let him be cxcommuMicalcd ipso facto, and not restored, 
 but only by the Archliishop, after his repentance, and 
 public revocation of this his wicked error. 
 
 4. Impugners of the public Worship of God, established 
 in the Church of England, censured. 
 
 WIIOSOKVKR shall hereafter affirm. That the 
 form of (iod's worship in the Church of Kngland, 
 established liy law. and contained in the Hook of Com- 
 mon Prayer and Administration of Sacraments, is a 
 corrupt, siipi-rstitious, or unlawful worsliip of (lod, or 
 contajneth any thing in it that is repugnant to the 
 Scriptures; let liim lie excommunicateil ipso facto, and 
 not restored, but by the Hishoj) of the place, or Arcli- 
 bibbop. uftir his repentance, and public revocation of 
 «uch his wicked errors. 
 
 5. Impugners of the Articles of Religion, established in 
 the Church of England, censured. 
 
 "TYT' HOSOEVER shall hereafter affii'm, That any 
 T T of the nine and thirty Articles agreed upon by 
 the Archbishops and Bishops of both provinces, and 
 the whole Clergy, in the Convocation lu)Iden at Lou- 
 don, in the year of our Lord God one thousand five 
 hundred sixty-two, for avoiding diversities of 0|)inions, 
 and for the establishing of consent touching true Reli- 
 gion, are in any part superstitions or erroneous, or such 
 as he may not with a good conscience subscribe unto ; 
 let him be excommimicated ipso facto, and not restored, 
 but only by the Archbishop, after his repentance, and 
 public revocation of such his wicked errors. 
 
 G. Impugners of the Riles and Ceremonies, established in 
 the Church of England, censured. 
 
 X]^r HOSOEVER shall hereafter affirm, Tliat the 
 t V Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England 
 by law establislied are kicked, antichristian, or sui)ci-- 
 stitious, or such as, being commaiuled by lawful au- 
 thority', men, who are zealously and godly affected, nuiy 
 not with any good conscience ap|)rove them, use them, 
 or, as occasion requireth, subscribe unto them ; let 
 him be excommunicated ipso facto, and not restored 
 until he repent, and pubhcly revoke such his wicked 
 errors. 
 
 7. Impugners of the Government of the Church of Eng- 
 land by Archbishops, Bishops, Sfc. censured. 
 
 ^TT" HOSOEVER shall hereafter affii-m. That the 
 
 * T government of the Church of England under 
 his Majesty by Archbishops, Bisho])S, Deans, Archdea- 
 cons, and the rest that bear office in the same, is anti- 
 christian, and repugnant to the Word of God ; let him 
 be excommunicated ipso facto, and so continue until he 
 repent, and publicly revoke such his wicked errors. 
 
 S. Impugners of the Form of consecrating and ordering 
 Archbishops, Bishops, ^-c. in the Church of England, 
 censured. 
 
 WHOSOEVER shall hereafter affirm or teach, 
 That the form and manner of making and con- 
 secrating Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, containcth 
 any thing in it that is repugnant to the Word of (iod, 
 or that they who are made Bishops, Priests, or Deacons, 
 in that form, arc not lawfully made, nor ought to be 
 accounted, either by themselves or others, to be truly 
 either Bishojis, Priests, or Deacons, until they have 
 some other calling to those divine offices ; let him be 
 excommunicated ipso facto, not to be restored until ho 
 repent, and publicly revoke such his wicked errors, 
 
 9. Authors of Schism in the Church of England censured. 
 
 ^Xr HO SO EVER shall hereafter sci)arate them- 
 
 * T selves from the Conununion of Saints, as it is 
 api)roved by the Apostles' Rules, in the Church of Eng- 
 land, and combine themselves together in anew lirothcr- 
 hood, accounting the Christians, who are conforinalile 
 to the doctrine, government, rites and ceremonies of 
 the t^hurch of England, to be profane, and unmeet for 
 them to join with in Christian ]U'ofession ; let tliein 
 be excommunicated ipso facto, and not restore<l l)ut by 
 the Archbishop, after their repentance, and imblic 
 revocation of such their wicked errors. 
 
 10. Mainlainers of Schismatics in the Church of 
 England censured. 
 
 ^17" H O SO E V E R shall hereafter affirm, That such 
 T V Ministers as refuse to subscribe to the form and
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL, 
 
 805 
 
 manner of God's worship in the Church of England, 
 l)rescribed in tlie (,'oininunion l?o()l<, and their ad- 
 lierents, may truly take unto them the name of another 
 (-'Inircli not established by law, and dare presume to 
 ])iiblish it, 'I'hat this their pretended Church hath of 
 long time groaned under the burden of certain griev- 
 ances imposed upon it, and u])on the members thereof 
 before mentioned, by the Churcli of England, and the 
 Orders and Constitutions therein by law established; 
 let them he excommunicated, and not restored until 
 they rc])cnt, and publicly revoke such their wicked 
 errors. 
 
 1 1 . Maintainers of Conventicles censured. 
 
 XXr 110 SOEVER shall hereafter aflirm or main- 
 tV tain. That there are within this realm other 
 meetings, assemblies, or congregations of the King's 
 born sulijects, than such as by the laws of this land are 
 luld and allowed, which may rightly challenge to 
 themselves the name of True and Lawful Churches; 
 let him be excommunicated, and not restored, but liy 
 the Archbishop, after his repentance, and puljlic re\'o- 
 eation of such his wicked errors. 
 
 12. Maintainers of Constitutions made in Conventicles 
 censured. 
 
 "\Vr HOSOEVER shall hereafter aflRrm, Tliat it is 
 T T lawful for any sort of Ministers and Lay-persons, 
 or of either of them, to join together, and make rules, 
 orders, or constitutions, in Causes Ecclesiastical, with- 
 out the King's authority, and shall submit themselves 
 to be ruled and governed by them ; let them be ex- 
 communicated ipso facto, and not be restored until 
 tliey repent, and publicly revoke those their wicked and 
 Anabajjtistical errors. 
 
 Of Divine Service, and Administration of tlie 
 
 Sacraments. 
 
 13. Due Celebration of Sundays and Holy-days. 
 
 AL L manner of persons within the Church of Eng- 
 land shall from henceforth celebrate and keeji the 
 Lord's Uay, commonly called Sunday, and other Holy- 
 days, according to God's holy will and pleasure, and 
 the orders of the Church of England prescribed in that 
 behalf; that is, in hearing the Word of God read and 
 taught ; in private and ])ublic prayers ; in acknow- 
 ledging their offences to God, and amendment of the 
 same ; in reconciling themselves charital)ly to their 
 neighbours, whei'e disjileasure hath been ; in oftentimes 
 receiving the Communion of the body and blood of 
 Christ ; in visiting of the poor and sick ; using all 
 godly and sober conversation. 
 
 14. The prescript Form of Divine Service to be tised on 
 Sundays and Holy-days. 
 
 THE Common Prayer shall be said or sung dis- 
 tinctly and reverently upon such days as are a])- 
 pointed to be kept holy by the Book of Common 
 Prayer, and their eves, and at convenient and usual 
 times of those days, and in such place of eveiy Church 
 as the Bishop of the diocese, or Ecclesiastical Ordinary 
 of the ]ilace, shall think meet for the largeness or 
 straitness of the same, so as the people may be most 
 edified. All Ministers likewise shall observe the Or- 
 ders, Rites, and Ceremonies prescribed in the Book of 
 Common Prayer, as well in reading the holy Scriptures, 
 and saying of Prayers, as in administration of the 
 Sacraments, without either diminishing in regard of 
 preaching, or in any other respect, or adding any thing 
 in the matter or form thereof. 
 
 1 .5. The Litany to be read on Wednesdays and Fridays. 
 
 Tl^ HE Litany shall be said or sung when, and as it 
 I is set down in the Book of Common Prayer, by 
 the Parsons, \'icars. Ministers, or Curates, in all (_'athe- 
 dral, (-Collegiate, Parish Churches, and Chapels, in some 
 convenient place, according to the discntion of the 
 Bishop of the diocese, or Ecclesiastical (Ordinary of the 
 ])lace. And that we may speak more jjurticularly, upon 
 Wednesdays and Fridays weekly, though they be not 
 Holy-days, the Minister, at the accustomed hours of 
 service, shall resort to the Church or Chapel, and, 
 warning being given to the peojile by tolling of a bell, 
 shall say the Litany prescribed in the Book of (jommon 
 Prayer: whereunto we wish every householder du'elling 
 within half a mile of the Church to come, or send one 
 at the least of his household, fit to join with the 
 Minister in prayers. 
 
 16. Colleges to use the prescript Form of Divine Service, 
 
 IN the whole Divine Service, and administration of 
 the holy Communion, in all Colleges and Halls in 
 both Universities, the Order, Form, and Ceremonies 
 shall be duly observed, as they are set down and pre- 
 scribed in the Book of Common Prayer, without any 
 omission or alteration. 
 
 17. Students in Colleges to wear Surplices in time of 
 
 Divine Service. 
 
 ALL Masters and Fellows of Colleges or Halls, and 
 all the Scholars and Students in either of the 
 Universities, shall, in their Churches and Chaiiels, 
 upon all Sundays, Holy-days, and their eves, at the 
 time of Divine Service, wear Surplices, according to 
 the order of the Church of F^ngland : and such as are 
 Graduates shaU agreeably wear with their Surplices 
 such Hoods as do severally appertain unto their 
 degrees. 
 
 18. A reverence atid attention to be used within the 
 
 Church in time of Divine Service. 
 
 IN the time of Divine Service, and of every part 
 thereof, all due reverence is to be used ; for it is 
 according to the Apostle's rule. Let all things be done 
 decently, and according to order; answerably to which 
 decency and order, we judge these our directions fol- 
 lowing ; No man shall cover his head in the Church or 
 Chapel in the time of Divine Service, except he have some 
 infirmity; in which case let him wear a night-cap or coif. 
 All manner of persons then present shall reverently kneel 
 upon their knees, when the general Confession, Litany, 
 and other prayers are read ; and shall stand up at 
 the saying of the Belief, according to the rules in that 
 behalf ])rescribed in the Book of Common Prayer : and 
 likewise when in time of Divine .Service the Lord Jesus 
 shall be mentioned, due and lowly reverence shall be 
 done by all persons ])resent, as it hath been accustomed ; 
 testifying by these outward ceremonies and gestures, 
 their inward humility. Christian resolution, and due 
 acknowledgment that the Lord Jesus Christ, the true 
 eternal Son of God, is the only Saviour of the world, 
 in whom alone all the mercies, graces, and promises of 
 God to mankind, for this life, and the life to come, are 
 fully and wholly comprised. None, either man, woman, 
 or child, of what calling soever, shall be otherwise at 
 such times busied in the Church, than in quiet attend- 
 ance to hear, mark, and understand that which is read, 
 preached, or ministered ; saying in their due places 
 audibly with the Minister, the Confession, the Lord's 
 Prayer, and the Creed ; and making such other an- 
 swers to the public prayers, as are ajipointed in the 
 Book of Common Prayer : neither shall they distm-b
 
 806 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 the Sen-ice or Sermon, by walking or talking, or any 
 other way ; nor depart out of the Church diu-ing the 
 time of Service or Sermon, without some urgent or 
 reasonable cause. 
 
 19. Loiterers not to be suffered near the Church in time 
 
 of Divine Service. 
 
 TH E Church-wardens or Quest-men, and their 
 assistants, shall not suffer any idle persons to abide 
 either in the Church-yard, or Church-porch, during the 
 time of Divine Service, or Preaching ; but shall cause 
 them either'to come in, or to depai't. 
 
 20. Bread and Wine to be provided against every Com- 
 
 munion. 
 
 Tn E Church-wardens of every parish, against the 
 time of every Communion, shall at the charge of 
 the iiarish, with the advice and direction of tlie Mi- 
 nister, provide a sufficient quantity of fine white Bread, 
 and of good and wholesome Wine, for the number of 
 Communicants that shall from time to time receive 
 there : which Wine we require to be brought to the 
 Communion-table in a clean and sweet standing pot or 
 stoop of pewter, if not of purer metal. 
 
 21. The Communion to be Thrice a Year received. 
 
 TN every Parish Church and Chapel, where Sacra- 
 ments are to be administered within this realm, the 
 holy Communion shall be ministered by the Parson, 
 Vicar, or Minister, so often, and at such times, as 
 every parishioner may communicate at the least thrice 
 in the year, (whereof the feast of Easter to be one,) 
 accoi'ding as they are appointed by the Book of Com- 
 mon Prayer. Provided, That every Minister, as oft as 
 he administereth the Communion, shall first receive 
 that .Sacrament himself. Furthermore, no Bread or 
 Wine newly brought shall be used ; but first the words 
 of Institution shall be rehearsed, when the said Bread 
 and Wine be present upon the Communion-table. 
 Likewise the Minister shall deliver both the Bread and 
 the Wine to every Communicant severally. 
 
 22. IVaryiinff to be given beforehand for the Communion. 
 
 ~WJ' H E R E .\ S every Lay-person is bound to receive 
 T T the holy Communion thrice every year, and many 
 notwithstanding do not receive that Sacrament once in 
 a year; we do require every Minister to give warning 
 to his parishioners publicly in the Church at Morning 
 Prayer, the Sunday hufore every time of his adminis- 
 tering that holy Sacrament, for their better preparation 
 of themselves ; whicli said warning we enjoin tlie said 
 parishioners to accept and obey, under the penalty and 
 danger of the law. 
 
 23. Students in Colleges to receive the Communion Four 
 
 Times a Year. 
 
 IN all Colleges and Halls within both the Univer- 
 sities, the Masters and Fellows, such esjiecially as 
 have any pupils, sliall be careful that all tlu-ir said 
 pupils, and the rest that remain amongst them, be well 
 brought uj), and thoroughly instructed in jioints of 
 religion, and that they do diligently frequent ])ublic 
 Service and Sermons, and receive the holy ("ouunu- 
 nion ; which wc iinhiin to be administered in all such 
 Colli'i^es and Halls the first or second Sunday of every 
 month, reipiiring all the saiil .Masters, Fellows, anil 
 Scholars, and all the rest of the .Students, Oflicers, and 
 all other the Servants there, so to he ordered, that 
 every one of them sliall comuHmicatc four times in the 
 year at the least, kneeling reverently and decently upon 
 
 then" knees, according to the order of the Communion 
 Book prescribed in that behalf. 
 
 24. Copes to be xvorn in Cathedral Churches by those 
 that administer the Cummuiiion. 
 
 IN all Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, the holy 
 Communion shall be administered upon principal 
 feast-days, sometimes by the Bishop, if he be present, 
 and sometimes by the Dean, and at sometimes by a 
 Canon or Prebendary, the principal Minister using a 
 decent Cope, and being assisted with the Gos|)eller 
 and Epistler agreeably, according to the .\d\-ertisements 
 published Anno 7 Etiz. The said Communion to be 
 administered at such times, and with such limitations, 
 as is specified in the Book of Common Prayer. Pro- 
 vided, That no such limitation by any construction 
 shall be allowed of, but that all Deans, Wardens, Mus- 
 ters, or Heads of Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, 
 Prebendaries, Canons, \'icar3. Petty Canons, Singing 
 Men, and all others of the foundation, shall receix'e the 
 Communion four times yearly at the least. 
 
 25. Surplices and Hoods to be worn in Cathedral 
 Churches, when there is no Communion. 
 
 IN the time of Divine Service and Prayers, in all 
 Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, when there is 
 no Communion, it shall be sufficient to wear Snrjjlices ; 
 saving that all Deans, Masters, and Heads of Collegiate 
 Churches, Canons, and Prebendaries, being Graduates, 
 shall daily, at the times both of Prayer and Preaching, 
 wear with their Sm-plices such Hoods as ai-e agreeable 
 to their degrees. 
 
 26. Notorious Offenders not to be admitted to the Com- 
 munion. 
 
 NO Minister shall in any wise admit to the receiving 
 of the holy Communion, any of his cure or flock, 
 which be oi)enly known to live in sin notorious, without 
 rejientanee ; nor any who have maliciously and openly 
 contended with their neighbours, imtil they shall be 
 reconciled ; nor any Church-wardens or Side-men, who 
 having taken their oaths to present to their Ordinaries 
 all such public offences as they are particidarly charged 
 to inquire of in their several pai-ishcs, shall (notwith- 
 standing their said oatlis, and that their faithful dis- 
 charging of them is the chief means whereby public sins 
 and offences may be reformed and punished) wittingly 
 and willingly, desperately and irreligiously, incur the 
 horrible crime of perjury, either in neglecting or in 
 refusing to ])resent such of the said enormities and 
 piddic offences, as they know themselves to be com- 
 mitted in their said ])arishcs, or are notoriously offen- 
 sive to the congregation there ; although they be tn-ged 
 by some of their neighbours, or by their Minister, or 
 by their ()rdinary himself, to discharge their consciences 
 by presenting of them, and not to incur so desperately 
 the said horrible sin of perjury. 
 
 27. Schismatic.i not to be admitted to the Communion. 
 
 NO Minister, when he oelebrateth the Communion, 
 shall wittingly administer the same to any but to 
 such as kneel, under pain of suspension, nor muler the 
 like ])ain to any that refuse to be jiresent at public 
 Prayers, according to tlie Orders of the Church of 
 I'^ngland ; nor to any that are conunon and notorious 
 depravers of the Book of {'ommon Prayer and .\d- 
 ministration of the .Sacraments, and of the Orders, 
 llites, and (ceremonies therein prcscril)ed, or of any 
 thing that is contained in any of the .Articles agreed 
 upon in the Convocation, one thousand five huiuired 
 si.\ty and two, or of any tiling contained in the Book
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 807 
 
 of ordering the Priests and Bishops ; or to any that have 
 sjioken against and dejjraved his Majesty's sovereign 
 autliurity in ('auses Ecclesiastical ; except every such 
 ])erson shall first acknowlcilge to the Minister, before 
 the Church-wardens, his rejientance for the same, and 
 ])romise by word (if he cannot write) that he will do 
 so no more ; and except (if he can write) he shall first 
 do the same under his hand-writing, to be delivered 
 to the Minister, and by him sent to the Bishop of the 
 diocese, or Ordinary of the i)lace. Provided, That 
 every Minister so repelling any, as is specified either in 
 this or in the next precedent constitution, shall, upon 
 complaint, or being required by the Ordinary, signify 
 the cause tliereof unto him, and therein obey his order 
 and direction. 
 
 28. Slranr/ers not to be admitted to the Communion. 
 
 TH E Churcli-wardens or Quest-men, and their as- 
 sistants, shall mark, as well as the Minister, 
 whether all and every of the Parishioners come so often 
 every year to the holy Communion, as the Laws and 
 our Constitutions do require ; and whether any Stran- 
 gers come often and commonly from other parishes to 
 their Church ; and shall shew their Minister of them, 
 lest perhaps they be admitted to the Lord's Table 
 amongst others, which they shall forbid ; and remit 
 such home to their own Parish Churches and Minis- 
 ters, there to receive the Communion with the rest of 
 their own neighbours. 
 
 29. Fathers not to be Godfathers in Baptism, and 
 
 Children not Communicants. 
 
 NO Parent shall be urged to be present, nor be ad- 
 mitted to answer as Godfather for his own Child; 
 nor any Godfather or Godmother shall be suffered to 
 make any other answer or speech, than by the Book 
 of Common Prayer is jirescribed in that behalf : neither 
 shall any person be admitted Godfather or Godmother 
 to any Child at Christening or Confirmation, before 
 the said person so undertaking hath received the holy 
 Communion. 
 
 30. The lawful Use of the Cross in Baptism explained. 
 
 WE are sorry that his Majesty's most princely care 
 and pains taken in the Conference at Hampton- 
 Court, amongst many otlier points, touching this one of 
 the Cross in Baptism, hath taken no better effect with 
 many, but that still the use of it in Baptism is so greatly 
 stuck at and impugned. For the further declai-ation 
 therefore of the true use of this ceremony, and for the 
 removing of all such scruple, as might any ways trou- 
 ble the consciences of them who are indeed rightly 
 religious, following the royal steps of our most worthy 
 King, because he therein foUoweth the rules of the 
 Scriptures, and the practice of the primitive Church ; 
 we do commend to all the true members of the Church 
 of England these our directions and observations 
 ensuing. 
 
 First, it is to be observed, that although the Jews 
 and Ethnicks derided both the Apostles and the rest 
 of the Christians, for preaching and believing in Him 
 who was crucified upon the Cross ; yet all, both Apos- 
 tles and Christians, were so far from being discoiu'aged 
 from their profession by the ignominy of the Cross, as 
 they rather rejoiced and triumphed in it. Yea, the 
 Holy Ghost by the mouths of tlie Ajjostles did honour 
 the name of the Cross (l)eing hateful among the Jews) 
 so far. that under it he comiirehended not only Christ 
 crucified, but the force, effects, and merits of his Death 
 and Passion, with all the comforts, fruits, and promises, 
 which we receive or expect thereby. 
 
 Secondly, the honour and dignity of the name of the 
 Cross begat a reverend estimation even in the Apostles' 
 times (for ought thitt is known to the contrary) of the 
 Sign of the Cross, which the (-Christians shortly after 
 used in all their actions ; thereby making an outward 
 shew and profession, even to the astonishment of the 
 Jews, that they were not ashamed to acknowledge Him 
 for their Lord and Saviour, who died for them upon 
 the Cross. And this sign they did not oidy use them- 
 selves with a kind of glory, when they met with any 
 Jews, hut signed therewith their children when they 
 were christened, to dedicate them by that badge to his 
 service, whose benefits bestowed upon them in Baptism 
 the name of the Cross did represent. .'\nd this use of 
 the Sign of the Cross in Baptism was held in the 
 primitu'e Church, as well by the Greeks as the Latins, 
 with one consent and great applause. At what time, 
 if any had opposed themselves against it, they would 
 certainly have been censured as enemies of the name 
 of the Cross, and consequently of Christ's merits, the 
 Sign whereof they could no better endure. This con- 
 tinual and general use of the Sign of the Cross is evi- 
 dent by many testimonies of the ancient Fathers. 
 
 ITiirdly, it must be confessed, that in process of time 
 the Sign of the Cross was greatly abused in the Church 
 of Rome, especially after that corruption of Po]jcry had 
 once possessed it. But the abuse of a thing doth not 
 take away the lawful use of it. Nay, so far was it from 
 the purpose of the Cluu'ch of England to forsake and 
 reject the Churches of Italy, France, S])ain, Germany, 
 or any such like Churches, in all things which they held 
 and practised, that, as tlie .\])ology of the Church of 
 England confesseth, it doth with reverence retain those 
 ceremonies, which do neither endamage the Church of 
 God, nor offend the minds of sober men; and only 
 de])arted from them in those particular points, wherein 
 they were fallen both from themsel\-es in their ancient 
 integrity, and from the Apostolical Churches, which 
 were their first foimders. In which respect, amongst 
 some other very ancient ceremonies, the Sign of the 
 Cross in Bajjtism hath been retained in this Church, 
 both by the judgment and jjraetice of tliose reverend 
 Fathers and great Divines in the days of King Edward 
 the Sixth, of whom some constantly suffered for the 
 profession of the truth; and others being exiled in the 
 time of Queen Mary, did after their return, in the 
 beginning of the reign of our late dread Sovereign, 
 continually defend and use the same. This resolution 
 and practice of our Church hath been allowed and 
 ap])roved by tlie censure upon the Communion-book 
 in King Edward the Sixth his daj's, and by the har- 
 mony of Confessions of later years : because indeed 
 the use of this Sign in Baptism was ever accompanied 
 here with such sufficient cautions and excejitions against 
 all Popish superstition and error, as in the bke cases 
 are either fit or convenient. 
 
 First, the Church of England, since the abolishing 
 of Popery, hath ever held and taught, and so doth hold 
 and teach still, that the Sign of the Cross used in 
 Baptism is no part of the substance of that .Sacrament : 
 for wdien the Minister, dipping the infant in water, or 
 laying water u])on the face of it, (as the manner also 
 is,) hath pronounced these words, / baptize thee in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost, the infant is fuU_v and perfectly baptized. So 
 as the Sign of the Cross being afterwards used, doth 
 neither add any thing to the virtue and perfection of 
 Bajjtism, nor being omitted doth detract any thing from 
 the effect and substance of it. 
 
 Secondly, it is apparent in the Communion-book, 
 that the infant bajitized is, by virtue of Baptism, be- 
 fore it be signed with the Sign of the Cross, received 
 into the congregation of Christ's flock, as a perfect
 
 808 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 member thereof, and not by any power ascribed unto 
 tlie Si£fn of the Cross. So that for the very remem- 
 brance of the Cross, which is very precious to all them 
 that rightly belie\-e in Jesus Christ, and in the other 
 respects mentioned, the Church of England hath re- 
 tained still the Sign of it in Baptism : following therein 
 the primitive and apostohcal Churches, and accounting 
 it a lawful outward ceremony and honourable badge, 
 whereby the infant is dedicated to the service of Him 
 that died upon the Cross, as by the words used in the 
 Book of Common Prayer it may appear. 
 
 Lastly, the use of the Sign of the Cross in Baptism, 
 being thus purged from all Popish superstition and 
 error, and reduced in the Church of England to the 
 ])riinary institution of it, upon those true rules of doc- 
 trine concerning things indifferent, which are conso- 
 nant to the Word of God and the judgment of all the 
 ancient Fathers, we hold it the part of ex'ery pri\'ate 
 man, both Minister and other, reverently to retain the 
 true use of it jirescribed by pubhc authority ; consider- 
 ing that things of themselves indifferent do in some 
 sort alter their natures, when they are either com- 
 manded or forbidden by a law-ful magistrate; and may 
 not be omitted at every man's pleasure, contrary to 
 the law, when they be commanded, nor used when 
 they are prohibited. 
 
 Ministers, tlieir Ordination, Function, 
 Charge. 
 
 and 
 
 31. Four solemn Times appointed for the moling of 
 Ministers. 
 
 ORASMUCH as the ancient Fathers of the 
 
 F 
 
 Church, led by example of the Apostles, appointed 
 jirayers and fasts to be used at the solemn ordering of 
 Ministers; and to that purpose allotted certain times, 
 in which only Sacred (Jrders might be given or con- 
 ferred : we, following their holy and religious example, 
 do constitute and decree that no Deacons or Ministers 
 be made and ordained, but only upon the Sundays 
 immediately following Jejunia quatuor temporum, com- 
 monly called limber ll'eeks, appointed in ancient time 
 for prayer and fasting, (purposely for this cause at their 
 first institution,) and so continued at this day in the 
 Cliurch of England : and that this be done in the 
 Cathedral, or Parish-church where the Bishoj) resideth, 
 and in the time of Divine Service, in the presence not 
 only of the Archdeacon, but of the Dean and two 
 I'rebendaries at the least, or (if they shall hajipen by 
 any lawful cause to be let or hindered) in the presence 
 (jf four other grave persons, being Masters of Arts at 
 the least, and allowed for public Preachers. 
 
 .32. None to be moJe Deacon and Minister both in one 
 Day. 
 
 Tn K office of Deacon being a stop or degree to the 
 Ministry, according to the judgment of the an- 
 cient Fathers, and the jiractice of the |)rimitive Church ; 
 we do ordain and a|i]inint, that hereafter no Bisho]) 
 Kliall make any jierson, of what <)ualities or gifts soever, 
 a Deacon and a Minister both together u]ion one day; 
 but that the order in that behalf |irescribcd in the 
 l5i)ok of making and consecrating Bisho])s, Priests, 
 and Deacons, be strictly observed. Not that always 
 every Deacon should be ke]it from the Ministry for a 
 whole year, when tlie Bislioj) shall find good cause to 
 the contrary ; but that there being now four times 
 ajipointed in every year for the Ordination of Deacons 
 and .Ministers, there may ever be some time of trial of 
 their behaviour in the oflicc of Deacon, before tliey be 
 admitted to the order of Priesthood. 
 
 33. The Titles of such as are to he made Ministers. 
 
 IT hath been long since provided by many decrees of 
 the ancient Fathers, that none should he admitted 
 either Deacon or Priest, who had not first some certain 
 place where he might use his function. According to 
 which examj)les we do ordain, that lieneeforth no person 
 shall be admitted into Sacred Orders, excejit he shall 
 at that time exhibit to the Bishop, of whom he desireth 
 imposition of hands, a presentation of himself to some 
 Ecclesiastical Preferment then \oid in that diocese : or 
 shall bring to the said Bishop a true and undoubted 
 Certificate, that either he is provided of some Church 
 within the said diocese, where he may attend the cure 
 of souls, or of some Minister's place vacant, either in 
 the Cathedral Church of that diocese, or in some other 
 Collegiate Church therein also situate, where he may 
 execute his ministry; or that he is a Fellow, or in right 
 as a Fellow, or to be a Conduct or Cha]ilain in some 
 College in Cambridge or Oxford ; or excejit he be a 
 Master of Arts of five years' standing, that liveth of his 
 own charge in either of the Uni\-ersities ; or except by 
 the Bishop himself, that doth ordain him Minister, he 
 be shortly after to be admitted either to some Benefice 
 or Curateship then void. And if any Bishop shall ad- 
 mit any person into the ministry, that hath none of 
 these titles as is aforesaid, then he shall keep and main- 
 tain him with all things necessary, till he do prefer him 
 to some Ecclesiastical Living. And if the said Bishop 
 shall refuse so to do, he shall be suspended by the 
 Archbishop, being assisted with another Bishop, from 
 giving of Orders by the sjiace of a year. 
 
 34. The Quality of such as are to be made Ministers. 
 
 I^T O Bishop shall henceforth admit any person into 
 _L^ Sacred Orders, which is not of his own diocese, 
 excejit he be either of one of the Universities of this 
 realm, or except he shall bring Letters Dimissory (so 
 termed) from the Bishop of whose diocese he is; and 
 desiring to be a Deacon, is three and tn'cnty years old ; 
 and to be a Priest, four and twenty years complete ; and 
 hath taken some degree of school in either of the said 
 Universities ; or at the least, except be be able to yield 
 an account of his faith in Latin, according to the Arti- 
 cles of Religion approved in the Synod of the IMshops 
 and Clergy of this realm, one thousand fi\e hundred 
 sixty and two, and to confirm the same by sufficient 
 testimonies out of the holy Scrijitures ; and except 
 moreover be shall then exhibit Letters Testimonial of 
 his good life and conversation, under the seal of some 
 College of (-Cambridge or Oxford, where before he re- 
 mained, or of three or four grave Ministers, together 
 with the subscription and testimony of other credible 
 ])crsons, who have known his life and behaviour by the 
 space of three years next before. 
 
 35. The Examination of such as are to be made Ministers. 
 
 fy^ H E Bishop, before he admit any person to holy 
 I Orders, shall diligently examine him in the pre- 
 sence of those Ministers that shall assist lum at the 
 im])osition of hands : and if the said Hisliop have any 
 lawful impediment, he shall cause the said Ministers 
 carefully to examine every such person so to be ordered. 
 Provided, that they who shall assist the Bislioj) in exa- 
 mining and laying on of hands, shall be of his Cathedral 
 Church, if they may conveniently be had, or other suffi- 
 cient Preachers of the same diocese, to the number of 
 three at the least ; and if any Bishop or Suffragnn sliall 
 admit any to .Sacred Orders who is not so (jualiried and 
 examined, as before we have ordained, the .\rcbbishop 
 of his province, having notice thereof, and being assisted 
 therein by one Bishop, sliall suspend the said Bishop or
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 809 
 
 Suffragan so offendinp;, from making either Deacons or 
 Priests for the space of two years. 
 
 30. Subscription required of such as are lo he made 
 Ministers. 
 
 NO person shall hereafter be received into the Mi- 
 nistry, nor eitlier by institution or collation admit- 
 ted to any Ecclesiastical Living, nor suffered to iireach, 
 to catechize, or to be a Lecturer or Reader of Divinity 
 in either University, or in any Cathedral or Collegiate 
 Church, City, or Alarket-town, Parish-church, Chapel, 
 or in any other jjlace within this realm, except he be 
 licensed either by the Archljishop, or by the Bishop of 
 the diocese, where he is to be placed, under their hands 
 and seals, or by one of the two Universities under their 
 seal likewise ; and except he shall fh-st subscribe to 
 these three articles following, in such manner and sort 
 as we have here appointed. 
 
 L That the King's Majesty, under God, is the only 
 su])reme Governor of this realm, and of all other his 
 Highness's dominions and countries, as well in all Spi- 
 ritual or Ecclesiastical things or causes, as Temporal ; 
 and that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or 
 j)otentate hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, jiower, 
 su]ieriority, pre-eminence, or authority. Ecclesiastical or 
 Spiritual, within his Majesty's said realms, dominions, 
 and countries. 
 
 IL That the Book of Common Prayer, and of order- 
 ing of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, containeth in it 
 nothing contrary to the Word of God, and that it may 
 lawfully so be used; and that he himself will use the 
 form in the said Book prescribed, in public Prayer, and 
 administration of the Sacraments, and none other. 
 
 III. That he alloweththe Book of Articles of Religion 
 agreed upon by the Archliishops and Bishops of both 
 provinces, and the whole Clergy in the Convocation 
 hoUlen at London in the year of oiu- Lord God one 
 thousand five hundred sixty and two ; and that he ac- 
 knowledgeth all and every the Articles therein contained, 
 being in number nine and thirty, besides the Ratifica- 
 tion, to be agreeable to the Word of God. 
 
 To these three Articles n'hosoe\'er will subscribe, he 
 shall, for the avoiding of all aml)iguities, subscribe in 
 this order and form of words, setting down both his 
 Christian and Surname, viz. : /, N. N. do willinyly and 
 ex animo subscribe lo these three Articles above mentioned, 
 and to all things that are contained in them. And if any 
 Bishop shall ordain, admit, or license any, as is afore- 
 said, except he first have subscribed in manner and 
 form as here we have ajipointed, he shall be susjiended 
 from giving of orders and licences to preach, for the 
 space of twelve months. But if either of the Universi- 
 ties shall offend therein, we leave them to the danger of 
 the law, and his Majesty's censure. 
 
 37. Subscription before the Diocesan. 
 
 NONE licensed, as is aforesaid, to preach, read lec- 
 ture, or catechize, coming to reside in any diocese, 
 shall be permitted there to preach, read lecture, cate- 
 chize, or minister the Sacraments, or to execute any 
 other Ecclesiastical function, by what authority soever 
 he be thereunto admitted, unless he first consent and 
 subscribe to the three Articles before mentioned, in the 
 presence of the Bishop of the diocese, wherein he is to 
 preach, read lecture, catechize, or administer the Sacra- 
 ments, as aforesaid. 
 
 38. Revolters after Subscription censured. 
 
 IF any Minister, after he hath once subscribed to the 
 said three Articles shall omit to use the form of 
 Prayer, or any of the Orders or Ceremonies prescribed 
 
 in the Communion-book, let him be suspended ; and if 
 after a month he do not reform and submit himself, let 
 him be excommunicated ; and then if he sliall not sub- 
 mit himself within the space of another month, let him 
 be (lei)osed from the ministry. 
 
 3!). Cautions for Institution of Ministers into Benefices. 
 
 NO Bishop shall institute any to a Benefice, who 
 hath been ordained by any other Bishop, except 
 he first shew unto him his Letters of Orders, and bring 
 him a sufBcient testimony of his former pood life and 
 behavioiu', if the Bishoj) shall require it ; and lastly, 
 shall appear, upon due examination, to be worthy of his 
 ministry. 
 
 40. An Oath against Simony at Institution into Benefices. 
 
 TO avoid the detestable sin of Simony, because buy- 
 ing and selling of Spiritual and Ecclesiastical func- 
 tions, offices, promotions, dignities, and livings, is 
 execrable before God ; therefore the Archbishop, and 
 all and every Bishop or Bishops, or any other person or 
 ])ersons having authority to admit, institute, collate, 
 install, or to confirm the election of any Archbishop, 
 Bisliop, or other person or persons, to any Spiritual or 
 Ecclesiastical function, dignity, promotion, title, ofHce, 
 jurisdiction, place, or benefice with cure or without cure, 
 or to any Ecclesiastical living whatsoever, shall, be- 
 fore every such admission, institution, collation, install- 
 ation, or confirmation of election, resjiectively minister 
 to every jierson hereafter to be admitted, instituted, 
 collated, installed, or confirmed in or to any Arch- 
 bishopric, Bishopric, or other Spiritual or Ecclesiastical 
 function, dignity, promotion, title, office, jurisdiction, 
 place, or benefice with cure or without cure, or in or to 
 any Ecclesiastical living whatsoever, this oath, in man- 
 ner and form following, the same to be taken by every 
 one whom it concerneth in his own person, and not by 
 a Proctor : /, N. N. do swear, Thut I hare made no 
 Simoniacal payment, contract, or promise, directly or 
 indirectly, by myself, or by any other, lo my knowledge, 
 or with my consent, to any person or persons whatsoever, 
 for or concirning the procuring and obtaining of this 
 Ecclesiastical dignity, place, preferment, office, or living, 
 (respectively and ])artic>ilarly naming the same where- 
 unto he is to be admitted, instituted, collated, installed, 
 or confirmed), nor will at any time hereafter perform or . 
 satisfy any such kind of payment, contract, or promise 
 made by any other without my knowledge or consent : So 
 help me God, through Jesus Christ. 
 
 41. Licences for Plurality of Benefices limited, and 
 
 Residence enjoined. 
 
 NO Licence or Dispensation for the keeping of more 
 Benefices with Cure than one, shall be granted to 
 any but such only as shaU be thought very well worthy 
 for his learning, and very well able and sufficient to dis- 
 charge his duty; that is, who shall have taken the 
 degree of a Master of Arts at the least in one of the 
 Universities of this realm, and be a public and suffi- 
 cient Preacher licensed. Provided always, that he be 
 by a good and sufficient caution bound to make his 
 personal residence in each his said Benefices for some 
 reasonable time in every year ; and that the said Bene- 
 fices be not more than thirty miles distant asunder ; 
 and lastly, that he have under him in the Benefice, 
 where he doth not reside, a Preacher lawfully allowed, 
 that is able sufficiently to teach and instruct the 
 people. 
 
 42. Residence of Deans in their Churches. 
 VERY Dean, Master, or Warden, or chief Go- 
 vernor of any Cathedral or Collegiate Church, 
 
 E
 
 810 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 shall be resident in liis said Cathedral or Collegiate 
 Church fourscore and ten days conjtinclim or dii-isiin 
 in every year at the least, and then shall continue there 
 in preaching the Word of God. and keeping good hospi- 
 tality, except he shaU be otherwise let with weighty and 
 ui-gent causes, to be approved by the Bishop of the dio- 
 cese, or in any other la«-ful sort dispensed with. And 
 when he is present, he, with the rest of the Canons or 
 Prebendaries resident, shall take special care that the 
 statutes and laudable customs of their Church, (not 
 being contrary to the Word of God, or Prerogative 
 Royal,) the statutes of this realm being in force con- 
 cerning Ecclesiastical Order, and all other Constitutions 
 now set forth and confirmed by his Majesty's authority, 
 and such as shall be lawfully enjoined by the Bishop of 
 the diocese in his Visitation, according to the statutes 
 and customs of the same Church, or the Ecclesiastical 
 laws of this realm, be diUgently observed ; and that the 
 Petty Canons, \'icars Choral, and other Ministers of 
 then- Church, be urged to the study of the holy Scrip- 
 tures ; and every one of them to have the New Testa- 
 ment not only in English, but also in Latin. 
 
 43. Deans and Prebendaries to preach during their 
 
 Residence. 
 
 THE Dean, Master, Warden, or chief Governor, 
 Prebendaries, and Canons, in every Cathedral and 
 Collegiate Church, shall not only preach there in their 
 own persons so often as they are bound by law, statute, 
 ordinance, or custom, but shall likewise preach in other 
 Churches of the same diocese where they are resident, 
 and esijccially in those places whence they or their 
 Church receive any yearly rents or profits. And in case 
 they themselves be sick, or lawfully absent, they shall 
 substitute such licensed Preachers to supply their turns, 
 as by the Bishoj) of the diocese shall be thought meet 
 to preach in Catliedral Churches. And if any other- 
 wise neglect or omit to supjily his course, as is afore- 
 said, the offender sliall be punished by the Bishop, or 
 by him or tliem to whom tlie jurisdiction of that 
 Church appertaineth, according to the quahty of the 
 offence. 
 
 44. Prebendaries to be resident upon their Benefices. 
 
 NO Prebendaries nor Canons in Cathedral or Col- 
 legiate Churches having one or more Benefices 
 with Cure, (and not being Residentiaries in the same 
 Cathedral or Collegiate Churches,) shall, under colour of 
 their said I'rcbends, absent themselves from tlieir Bene- 
 fices with Cure above the space of one month in the 
 year, unless it be for some urgent cause, and certain 
 time to be allowed by the Bisho|) of the diocese. And 
 such of the said Canons and Prebendaries, as by the 
 ordinances of the Cathedral or Collegiate f,'hurches do 
 stand bound to be resident in the same, shall so among 
 themselves sort and proportion the times of the year, 
 concerning residency to be kept in tlie said Churches, 
 as that some of them always shidl be personally resident 
 there ; and that all those wlio lie, or sluiU be Residenti- 
 aries in any Cathedral or (,'ollcgiate Church, shall, after 
 the days of their residency a))pointed liy their local sta- 
 tutes or customs expired, jirescntly rejiair to their Bene- 
 fices, or some one of theni, or to some other charge 
 where the law rerpiireth their presence, there to discliarge 
 their duties according to the laws in that case provided. 
 And the ISishop of the diocese shall see the same to be 
 duly performed and put in execution. 
 
 4.'). Beneficed Preachers, being resident upon their 
 Livings, tn preach every Sunday. 
 
 IT^VERY beneficed man allowed to be a Preacher, 
 li and residing on his Benefice, having no lawful im- 
 
 pediment, shall in his own Cure, or in some oth.er 
 Church or Chapel, where he may conveniently, near 
 adjoining, (where no Preacher is,) preach one Sermon 
 every Sunday of the year ; wherein he shall soberly 
 and sincerely divide the word of truth, to the glory of 
 God, and to the best edification of the people. 
 
 46. Beneficed Men, not Preachers, to procure Monthly 
 Sermons. 
 
 EVERY beneficed man, not allowed to be a 
 Preacher, shall procure Sermons to be preached 
 in his Cure once in every month at the least, by 
 Preachers lawfully licensed, if his living, in the judg- 
 ment of the Ordinary, will be able to bear it. And 
 U])on every Sunday, when there shall not be a Sermon 
 preached in his Ciu-e, he or his Ciu-ate shall read some 
 one of the Homilies prescribed or to be prescribed by 
 authority, to the intents aforesaid. 
 
 i7. Absence of Beneficed Men to be supplied by Curates 
 that are allowed Preachers. 
 
 I ]^ VERY' beneficed man, Ucensed by the laws of 
 li this realm, upon urgent occasions of other service 
 not to reside upon his Benefice, shall cause his Cure 
 to be sujiplied by a Curate that is a sufficient and 
 licensed Preacher, if the worth of the Benefice will 
 bear it. But whosoe\-er hath two Benefices shall 
 maintain a Preacher licensed in the Benefice where he 
 doth not reside, except he preach himself at both of 
 them usually. 
 
 48. None to be Curates but allowed by the Bishop. 
 
 NO Curate or Minister shall be permitted to serve 
 in any place, without examination and admission 
 of the Bishop of the diocese, or Ordinary of the [ilace, 
 having episcopal jurisdiction, in writing under his hand 
 and seal, having respect to the greatness of the Cure, 
 and meetness of the Party. And the said ('urates 
 and Ministers, if they remove fi'om one diocese to 
 another, shall not be by any means admitted to serve 
 without testimony of the Bishoj) of the diocese, or 
 Ordinary of tlie place as aforesaid, whence they came, 
 in writing, of their honesty, ability, and conformity to 
 the Ecclesiastical Laws of the Church of England. 
 Nor shall any ser\'e more than one Cluu'ch or I'hapel 
 upon one day, excejit that Chajiel be a member of 
 the Parish Churcli, or united thereunto; and unless 
 the said Church or Cliajiel, where such a Minister 
 shall serve in two places, be not able, in the judgment 
 of tlie Bishop or Ordinary, as aforesaid, to maintain a 
 Curate. 
 
 49. Ministers, not allowed Preachers, may not expound. 
 
 ~l^r O person wliatsocx'cr not examined and apjiroved 
 x\ by the Bishop of the diocese, or not licensed, as is 
 aforesaid, for a sulhcieiit or convenient Preacher, shall 
 take u|)on him to expound in his own Cure, or else- 
 where, any Scripture or matter of Doctrine ; but shuU 
 only study to read jilainly and aptly (without glossing 
 or adding) the Homihcs already set forth, or hereafter 
 to be published by lawful authority, for the confirma- 
 tion of the true faitli, and for the good instruction and 
 edification of the people. 
 
 50. Strangers not admitted to preach without shewing 
 
 their Licence. 
 
 Nl', riMI ER the Minister, Churchwardens, nor any 
 other Ollicers of the Clnirch, shall snifer any man 
 to preach within their CIuiitIics or Chapels, but such 
 as l)y shewing their Licence to preach, shall appear
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 811 
 
 unto tliem to be suiEciently authorized thereunto, as is 
 aforesaid. 
 
 51. Strangers not admitted to preach in Cathedral 
 
 Churches without sujjicient AuthorHij. 
 
 TH E Deans, Presidents, and llesidentiaries of any 
 Cathedral or Collegiate CJhurch, shall suffer no 
 Stranger to jfreach unto the ])eo|)le in their Churches, 
 excei)t they be allowed by the Archbisliop of the 
 pro\'ince, or by the Bishop of the same diocese, or by 
 either of the Universities. And if any in his Sermon 
 shall publish any doctrine, either strange, or disagree- 
 ing from the Word of God, or from any of the Articles 
 of Religion agreed upon in the Convocation-house, 
 Anno 1502, or from the Book of Common Prayer; 
 the Dean or the Residents shall, by their letters sub- 
 scribed with some of their hands that heard him, 
 as soon as may be, give notice of the same to the 
 Bishop of the diocese, that he may determine the 
 matter, and take such order therein, as he shall think 
 convenient. 
 
 52. The Names of strange Preachers to be noted in a 
 
 Book. 
 
 THAT the Bishop may understand (if occasion so 
 require) what Sermons are made in every Cliurch 
 of his diocese, and wlio presume to preach without 
 Licence, the Church-wardens and Side-men shall see 
 that the Names of all Preachers, which come to their 
 Church from any other place, be noted in a Book, 
 which they shall have ready for that purpose ; wherein 
 every Preacher shall subscribe his Name, the Day when 
 he preached, and the Name of the Bishop of whom he 
 had Licence to preach, 
 
 53. No public Opposition between Preachers. 
 
 IF any Preacher shall in the Pulpit particularly, or 
 namely of purpose, impugn or confute any doctrine 
 delivered by any other Preacher in the same Cliurch, 
 or in any Church near adjoining, before he hath ac- 
 quainted the Bishop of the diocese therewith, and 
 received order from him what to do in that case, be- 
 cause upon such public dissenting and contradicting 
 there may grow much offence and disquietness unto 
 the ])eople; the Church-wardens, or party grieved, shall 
 forthwith signify the same to the said Bishop, and 
 not suffer the said Preacher any more to occupy tliat 
 place which he hath once abused, except he faithfully 
 promise to forbear all such matter of contention in the 
 Church, until the Bishop hath taken further order 
 therein ; who shall with all convenient speed so pro- 
 ceed therein, that public satisfaction may be made in 
 the congregation where the offence was given. Pro- 
 vided, tliat if either of the parties offending do appeal, 
 he shall not be suffered to preach pendente lite. 
 
 54. The Licences of Preachers refusing Conformity to be 
 void. 
 
 IF any man licensed heretofore to preach, by any 
 Archbishop, Bishop, or by either of the Univer- 
 sities, shall at any time from henceforth refuse to 
 conform himself to the Laws, Ordinances, and Rites 
 Ecclesiastical, established in the Church of England, 
 he shall be admonished by the Bishop of the diocese, 
 or Ordinary of the place, to submit himself to the use 
 and due exercise of the same. And if, after such 
 admonition, he do not conform himself within the 
 s]iace of one month, we determine and decree. That 
 the Licence of every such Preacher shall thereupon be 
 utterly void, and of none effect. 
 
 55. The Form of a Prayer to be used by all Preachers 
 
 before their Sermons. 
 
 BEFORE all Sermons, Lectures, and Homilies, tlie 
 Preachers and Ministers shall move the peojile to 
 join with them in Prayer in this form, or to this effec't, 
 as briefly as conveniently they may : Ve sliall prav for 
 Christ's holy Catholic Cbm'oh, that is, for the wlicile 
 congregation of Christian i>e()ple dispc'r.'jed throughimt 
 the whole world, and esiiecially for the Churelies of 
 England, Scotland, and Ireland : and herein I require 
 you ino.st especially to pray for the King's most excel- 
 lent Majesty; our Sovereign Lord Jame"*, King of 
 England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of 
 the Faith, and Supreme Governor in these his realms, 
 and all other his dominions and countries, over all 
 l)ersons, in all causes, as well Ecclesiastical as Temporal : 
 ye shall also jiray for our gracious Queen An.\e, the 
 noble Prince Hk.nrv, and the rest of the King and 
 Queen's royal issue : ye shall also pray for the Minis- 
 ters of God's holy Word and Sacraments, as well 
 Archbishops and Bishops, as other Pastors and Curates: 
 ye shall also pray for the King's most honourable 
 Council, and for all the Nobility and Magistrates of 
 this realm ; tliat all and every of tliese, in their several 
 callings, may serve truly and jiainfuUy to the glory of 
 God, and the edifying and well governing of his peo- 
 ple, remembering tlie account that they must make : 
 also ye shall pray for the whole Commons of this 
 realm, that they may live in the true faith and fear of 
 God, in humble obedience to the King, and brotherly 
 charity one to another. Finally, let us praise God 
 for all those which are departed out of this life in 
 the faith of Christ, and pray unto God, that we may 
 have grace to direct our lives after their good ex- 
 ample ; that, this life ended, we may be made par- 
 takers with them of the glorious resurrection in the 
 life everlasting; always concluding with the Lord's 
 Prayer. 
 
 56. Preachers and Lecturers to read Divine Service, and 
 administer the Sacraments twice a Year at the least. 
 
 EVERY Minister, being possessed of a Benefice 
 that hath cure and charge of souls, although he 
 chiefly attend to preaching, and hath a Curate under 
 him to execute the other duties wliich are to be per- 
 formed for him in the Church, and likewise every other 
 stipendiary Preacher that readeth any Lecture, or 
 catechizeth, or preacheth in any Church or Chapel, 
 shall twice at the least every year read himself the 
 Divine Service upon two several Sundays iniblicly, and 
 at the usual times, both in the forenoon and afternoon, 
 in the Church which he so possesseth, or where he 
 readeth, catechizeth, or preacheth, as is aforesaid ; and 
 shall likewise as often in every year administer the 
 Sacraments of Baptism, if there be any to be baptized, 
 and of the Lord's .Supper in such manner and form, 
 and with the observation of all such rites and cere- 
 monies as are prescribed by the Book of Common 
 Prayer in that behalf; which if he do not accordingly 
 perform, then shall he that is possessed of a Benefice 
 (as before) be suspended : and he that is but a Reader, 
 Preacher, or Catechizer, be removed from his place by 
 the Bishop of the diocese, until he or they shall sub- 
 mit themseh'es to jierform all the said duties, in such 
 manner and sort as before is prescribed. 
 
 57. The Sacraments not to be refused at the Hands of 
 
 unpreaching Ministers. 
 
 '^TT'HEREA.S divers persons, seduced by false 
 TT teachers, do refuse to have their children bap- 
 tized by a Minister that is no Preacher, and to receive 
 the holy Communion at his hands in the same respect.
 
 812 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 as though the virtue of those Sacraments did depend 
 upon his abiUty to preach : forasmuch as the doctrine 
 both of Baptism and of the Lord's Supper is so suffi- 
 ciently set down in the Book of Common Prayer to be 
 used at the administration of the said Sacraments, as 
 nothing can be added unto it that is material and 
 necessary ; we do require and charge every such per- 
 son, seduced as aforesaid, to reform that their wilfulness, 
 and to submit himself to the order of the Church in 
 that behalf; both the said Sacraments being equally 
 eifectual wliether they be ministered by a Minister that 
 is no Preacher, or by one that is a Preacher. And if 
 any hereafter shall offend herein, or leave their own 
 Parish Chm-cbes in that respect, and communicate, or 
 cause their children to be baptized, in other parishes 
 abroad, and will not be moved thereby to reform that 
 their error and unlawful course ; let them be presented 
 to the Ordinary of the place by the Minister, Church- 
 wardens, and Side-men, or Quest-men of the parishes 
 where they dwell, and there receive such punishment 
 by Ecclesiastical censiu'es, as such obstinacy doth 
 worthily deserve ; that is, let them (persisting in their 
 wilfulness) be suspended, and then, after a month's 
 further obstinacy, excommunicated. And likewise if 
 any Parson, \'icar, or Curate, shall, after the publish- 
 ing hereof, either receive to the Communion any such 
 ])ersons which are not of his own church and parish, or 
 shall baptize any of their children, thereby strengthen- 
 ing them in their said errors ; let him be suspended, 
 and not released thereof, until he do faithfully promise 
 that he wiU not afterwards offend therein. 
 
 53. Ministers reading Divine Service, and administering 
 the Sacraments, to wear Surplices, and Graduates 
 therewithal Hoods. 
 
 EVERY Minister saying the public Prayers, or 
 ministering the Sacrament, or other Rites of the 
 Church, shall wear a decent and comely Surplice with 
 sleeves, to be ])ro\'ided at the charge of the [larish. 
 And if any question arise touching the matter, decency, 
 or comeliness thereof, the same shall be decided by the 
 discretion of the Ordinary. Furthermore, such ^linis- 
 ters as are graduates shall wear upon their Surplices, at 
 such times, such Hoods as by the orders of the Uni- 
 versities are agreeable to their degrees, which no 
 Minister shall wear (being no (iraduate) under pain of 
 suspension. Notwithstanding it shall be lawful for 
 such Ministers as are not Graduates to wear ujion their 
 Surplices, instead of Hoods, some decent Tippet of 
 black, so it be not silk. 
 
 59. Ministers to Catechize every Sunday. 
 
 EVERY Parson, Vicar, or Curate, upon every 
 ■Sunday and Holy-day, before Evening I'rayer, 
 shall, for half an hour or more, examine and instruct 
 the youth and ignorant jiersons of his parish, in the 
 Ten Commandments, the Articles of the Belief, and in 
 the Lord's Prayer ; and shall diligently hear, instruct, 
 and teach them the (,'atechism set forth in the 15ook of 
 Common Prayer. And all fathers, mothers, masters, 
 and mistresses, shall cause their children, servants, and 
 apprentices, which have not learned the Catechism, to 
 come to the ('hurch at the time appointed, obediently 
 to hear, and to be ordered by the Slinistcr, until they 
 have learned the same. Ami if any Minister neglect 
 his duty herein, let him be shar|)ly reproved upon the 
 first complaint, aiul true notice tliereof given to the 
 15ishop or Ordinary of the iilace. If, after submitting 
 himself, he shall willingly oirc-nd therein again, let him 
 be suspended; if so the third time, tliere being little 
 hope that he will be therein reformed, tlien excommu- 
 
 nicated, and so remain imtil he will be reformed. And 
 likewise if any of the said fathers, mothers, masters, or 
 mistresses, children, servants, or apprentices, shall 
 neglect their duties, as the one sort in not causing 
 them to come, and the other in refusing to learn, as 
 aforesaid ; let them be suspended by their Ordinaries, 
 (if they be not children,) and if they so persist by the 
 space of a month, then let them be excommunicated. 
 
 60. Conjirmation to be performed once in three Years. 
 
 FORASMUCH as it hath been a solemn, ancient, 
 and laudable custom in the Church of God, con- 
 tinued from the Apostles' times, that all Bishops should 
 lay their hands upon children baptized and instructed 
 in the Catechism of Christian Religion, praying over 
 them, and blessing them, which we commonly call 
 Conjirmation; and that this holy action hath been 
 accustomed in the Church in former ages, to be per- 
 formed in the Bishop's visitation every third year; we 
 will and ajipoint. That every Bishop or his Suffragan, in 
 bis accustomed visitation, do in his own person care- 
 fully observe the said custom. And if in that year, by 
 reason of some infirmity, he be not able personally to 
 visit, then he shall not omit the execution of that duty 
 of Confirmation the next year after, as he may conve- 
 niently. 
 
 61. Ministers to prepare Children for Conjirmation, 
 
 EVERY Minister, that hath cure and charge of 
 souls, for the better accomplishing of the orders 
 prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer concerning 
 Confirmation, shall take especial care that none shall 
 be presented to the Bishop for him to lay his hands 
 upon, but such as can render an account of their faith 
 according to the Catechism in the said book contained. 
 And when the Bishop shall assign any time for the 
 performance of that part of his duty, every such Mi- 
 nister shall use his best endeavom' to prejiare and make 
 able, and likewise to procure as many as he can to be 
 then brought, and by the Bishop to be confirmed. 
 
 62. Ministers not to marry any Persons without Banns, 
 or Licence. 
 
 NO Minister, upon jiain of suspension per triennium 
 ipso facto, shall celebrate Matrimony between any 
 persons, without a faculty or licence granted by some 
 of the persons in these oiu' Constitutions expressed, 
 except the Banns of Matrimony have been first ]iub- 
 lished three several Sundays, or Holy-d.nys, in the time 
 of Divine Service, in the Parish Churches and Chapels 
 where the said parties dwell, according to the Book of 
 Common Prayer. Neither shall any Minister, upon 
 the like pain, under any ])retcnce whatsoever, join any 
 [lersons so licensed in marriage at any unseasonable 
 times, but only between the hours of eight and twelve 
 in the forenoon, nor in any jirivafe place, but either . 
 in the said Churches or Chaiiels where one of them 
 dwellcth, and likewise in time of Divine Service ; nor 
 when Baims are thrice asked, and no licence in that 
 rcsjicct necessary, before the ])arenls or governors of 
 the jiarties to be married, being under the age of 
 twenty and one years, shall either jiersonally, or by 
 sufficient testimony, signify to him their consents givea 
 to the said Marriage. 
 
 03. Ministers of exempt Churches not to marry without 
 lianns, or Licence. 
 
 VERY Minister, who shall hereafter celebrate 
 
 E 
 
 Marriage Ijetwcen any persons ccmtrary to our 
 said Constitutions, or any part of them, under colour 
 of any peculiar liberty or privilege claimed to H])pertuin
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 81;} 
 
 to certain Churches and Chapels, shall he suspended 
 per trienninm by the Ordinary of the i)lace where the 
 offence shall be committed. And if any such Minister 
 shall afterwards remove from the place where he hath 
 committed that fault, before he be suspended, as is 
 aforesaid, then shall the Bishop of the diocese, or Ordi- 
 nary of the place where he remaineth, upon certificate 
 uniler the hand and seal of the other Ordinary, from 
 whose jurisdiction he removed, execute that censure 
 upon him. 
 
 04. Minislers solemnly to bid Holy-dnys. 
 
 17 V E R Y Parson, Vicar, or Curate, shall in his seve- 
 J ral charge declare to the people, every Sunday at the 
 time ap])ointed in the Communion-book, whether there 
 he any Holy-days or Fasting-days the week following. 
 And if any do hereafter wittingly offend herein, and 
 being once admonished thereof by his Ordinary, shall 
 again omit that duty, let him be censured according to 
 law, until ho submit himself to the due performance 
 of it. 
 
 03. Ministers solemnly to denounce Recusants and Ex- 
 communicates. 
 
 ALL Ordinaries shall, in their several jurisdictions, 
 carefully see and give order, that as well those who 
 for obstinate refusing to frequent Divine Service estab- 
 lished by public authority within this realm of England, 
 as those also (especially of the better sort and condition) 
 who for notorious contumacy, or other notable crimes, 
 stand lawfully excommunicate, (unless within three 
 months immediately after the said sentence of Excom- 
 munication pronounced against them, they reform 
 themselves, and obtain the benefit of absolution), be 
 every six months ensuing, as well in the Parish Church, 
 as in the Cathedral Church of the diocese in which they 
 remain, by the Minister openly in time of Divine Ser- 
 vice, upon some Sunday, denounced and declared 
 excommunicate, that others may be thereby both ad- 
 monished to refrain their company and society, and 
 excited the rather to procure out a writ De excommuni- 
 cato capiendo, thereby to bring and reduce them into 
 due order and obedience. Likewise the Registrar of 
 every Ecclesiastical Court shall yearly between Michael- 
 mas and Christmas duly certify the Archbishop of the 
 province of all and singular the premises aforesaid. 
 
 GG. Ministers to confer with Recusants. 
 
 EVERY Minister being a Preacher, and having any 
 Popish Recusant or Recusants in his parish, and 
 thought fit by the Bishop of the diocese, shall labour 
 diligently with them from time to time, thereby to re- 
 claim them from their errors. And if he be no Preacher, 
 or not such a Preacher, then he shall procure, if he can 
 possibly, some that are Preachers so qualified, to talce 
 pains with them for that purpose. If he can procure 
 none, then he shall inform the Bishop of the diocese 
 thereof, who shall not only appoint some neighbour 
 Preacher or Preachers adjoining to take that labour 
 upon them, but himself also, as his important affairs 
 will permit him, shall use his best endeavour, by instruc- 
 tion, persuasion, and all good means he can devise, to 
 reclaim both them and all other within his diocese so 
 affected. 
 
 67. 31inisters to visit the Sick. 
 
 "VT'T HEN any person is dangerously sick in any 
 T T parish, the Minister, or Curate, having know- 
 ledge thereof, shall resort unto him or her, (if the dis- 
 ease be not known, or probably suspected, to be infec- 
 tious,) to instruct and comfort them m their- distress. 
 
 according to the order of the Communion-book, if he 
 be no Preacher; or if he be a Preacher, then as he shall 
 think most needful and convenient. And when any is 
 passing out of this life, a bell sluill be tolled, and the 
 Minister shall not then slack to do his last duly. And 
 after the party's death, if it so fall out, therc^ sliall be 
 rung no more than one short peal, and one other before 
 the biu'ial, and one other after the burial. 
 
 08. Ministers not lo refuse to christen or bury. 
 
 NO Minister shall refuse or delay to christen any 
 child according to the form of the Book of C'oiu- 
 mon Prayer, that is brought to the Church to himu]ioii 
 Sundays or Holy-days to be christened, or to bury any 
 cor])se that is brought to the Church or C'hm-ch-yard, 
 convenient warning being given him thereof before, in 
 such manner and form as is i)rescribed in the said Book 
 of Common Prayer. And if he shall refuse to christen 
 the one, or bury the other, (except the party deceased 
 were denounced excommunicated mnjori excommunica- 
 tione, for some grievous and notorious crime, and no 
 man able to testify of his repentance,) he shall be sus- 
 [lended by the Bishop of the diocese from his ministry 
 by the space of three months. 
 
 Gg. Ministers not to defer christening, if the Child be in 
 danger. 
 
 IF any Minister, being duly, without any manner of 
 collusion, informed of the weakness and danger of 
 death of any infant unbaptized in his parish, and there- 
 upon desired to go or come to the place where the said 
 infant remaineth, to baptize the same, shall either wil- 
 fully refuse so to do, or of purpose, or of gross negli- 
 gence shall so defer the time, as, \vhen he might conve- 
 niently have resorted to the place, and have baptized 
 the said infant, it dieth, through such his default, unbaj)- 
 tized ; the said Minister shall be suspended for three 
 months ; and before his restitution shall acknowledge 
 his fault, and promise before his Ordinary, that he will 
 not wittingly incur the like again. Provided, that where 
 there is a Curate, or a Substitute, this Constitution shall 
 not extend to the Parson or Vicar himself, but to the 
 Curate or Substitute present. 
 
 70. Ministers to keep a Register of Christenings, Wed- 
 dings, and Burials. 
 
 IN every Parish Church and Chapel within this realm, 
 shall be provided one parchment book at the charge 
 of the parish, wherein shall be written the day and year 
 of every Christening, Wedding, and Burial, which have 
 been in that parish since the time that the law was first 
 made in that behalf, so far as the ancient books thereof 
 can be procured, but especially since the beginning of 
 the reign of the late Queen. And for the safe keeping 
 of tlie said book, the Church-wardens, at tlie charge of 
 the ]iarish, shall ]irovide one sure coffer, with three locks 
 and keys : whereof the one to remain with the Minister, 
 and the other two with the Church-wardens, severally ; 
 so that neither the Minister without the two Church- 
 wardens, nor the Church-wardens mthout the Minister, 
 shall at any time take that book out of the said coffer. 
 -And henceforth upon every Sabbath-day, immediately 
 after Morning or Evening Prayer, the Minister and 
 Church-wardens shall take the said parchment book 
 out of the said cofi'er, and the Minister, in the presence 
 of the Church-wardens, shall write and record in the said 
 book the names of all persons christened, together with 
 the names and surnames of their parents, and also the 
 names of all persons married and buried in that jjarish 
 in the week before, and the day and year of every such 
 Christening, Marriage, and Burial ; and, that done, they
 
 814 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 shall lay up that book in the coffer, as before, and the 
 Minister and Church-wardens unto every page of that 
 book, when it shall be filled with such insci-iptions, shall 
 subsci-ibe their names. And the Church-wai-dens shall 
 once every year, within one month after the five and 
 twentieth day of March, ti-ansmit unto the Bishop of 
 the diocese, or his Chancellor, a true copy of the names 
 of all persons clu-istened, married, or buried in their 
 parish in the year before, ended the said five and twen- 
 tieth day of March, and the certain days and montlis 
 in which every such Christening, Marriage, and Burial 
 was had, to be subscribed with the hands of the said 
 Minister and Church-wai-dens, to the end the same may 
 faithfully be preserved in the Registry of the said 
 Bishop : which certificate shall be received without fee. 
 And if the Minister or Church-wardens shall be negli- 
 gent in performance of any thing herein contained, it 
 shall be lawful for the Bishop, or his Chancellor, to 
 convent them, and proceed against every of them as 
 contemners of this our Constitution. 
 
 71. Ministers not to preach, or administer the Commu- 
 
 nion, in private Houses. 
 
 NO Minister shall preach, or administer the holy 
 Commimion in any private house, except it be in 
 times of necessity, when any being either so impotent as 
 he cannot go to the Church, or very dangerously sick, 
 are desirous to be partakers of the holy Sacrament, upon 
 pain of suspension for the first offence, and excommuni- 
 cation for the second. Provided, that houses are here 
 reputed for private houses, wherein are no Chapels dedi- 
 cated and allowed by the Ecclesiastical Laws of this 
 realm. And provided also, under the pains before ex- 
 ]iressed, that no Chaplains do preach or administer the 
 Communion in any other places, but in the Chapels of 
 the said houses ; and that also they do the same very 
 seldom upon Sundays and Holy-days; so that both 
 the lords and masters of the said houses, and their 
 families, shall at other times resort to their own Parish 
 Churches, and there receive the holy Communion at 
 the least once every year. 
 
 72. Ministers not to appoint public or private Fasts or 
 
 Prophecies, or to exorcise but by authority. 
 
 NO Minister or Ministers shall, without the licence 
 and direction of the Bishop of the diocese first 
 obtained, and had under his hand and seal, appoint or 
 keep any solemn Fasts, either publicly or in any ])rivate 
 houses, other than such as by law are, or by |)id)lic 
 authority shall be appointed, nor shall be wittingly 
 present at any of them, under pain of susjiension for 
 the first fault, of cxcomnumicatiou for the second, and 
 of dci)ositiiin from tlie ministry for the third. Neither 
 shall any Minister not licensed, as is aforesaid, presume 
 to ajipoint or hold any meetings for Sermons, com- 
 monly termed by some Prophecies or Exorcises, in 
 market-towns, or other ])laces, under the said pains : 
 nor, without such licence, to attempt upon any pre- 
 tence whatsoever, either ol' possession or obsession, by 
 fasting and prayer, to cast out any Devil or Devils, 
 under pain of tlie imputation of imposture or cosenage, 
 and deposition from the ministry. 
 
 73. Ministers not to hold private Conventichs. 
 
 17^ OR.VSM U(;il as all conventicles, and secret 
 meetings of Priests and Ministers, have been ever 
 justly accovmted very hurtful to tlur state of tlie Church 
 wherein tliev live; we do now ordain and ciinstitute, 
 That no Priests, or Ministers of the Word of (iod, or 
 any other jxTSons, shall meet together in atiy ]irivate 
 house, or elsewhere, to consult upon any matter or 
 
 course to be taken by them, or upon their motion or 
 direction by any other, which may any way tend to the 
 imjjeaching or depraving of the doctrine of the Church 
 of England, or of the Book of Common Prayer, or of 
 any part of the government and disci|)line now estab- 
 lished in the Church of England, under pain of ex- 
 communication ipso facto, 
 
 74. Decency in Apparel enjoined to Ministers. 
 
 THE true, ancient, and flourishing Churches of 
 Christ, being ever desirous that their Prelacy and 
 Clergy might be had as well in outward reverence, as 
 otherwise regarded for the worthiness of their ministry, 
 did think it fit, by a prescript form of decent and 
 comely appai-el, to have them known to the people, 
 and thereby to receive the honour and estimation due 
 to the especial Messengers and Ministers of Almighty 
 God : we therefore, following their grave judgment, 
 and the ancient custom of the Church of England, and 
 hoping that in time newfangleness of apparel in some 
 factious jiersons will die of itself, do constitute and 
 appoint, Tliat the Archbisho]is and Bishops shall not 
 intermit to use the accustomed ap])ai'el of their degrees. 
 Likewise all Deans, Masters of Colleges, Archdeacons, 
 and Prebendaries, in Cathedral and Collegiate Chm-ches, 
 (being Priests or Lleacons,) Doctors in Divinity, Law, 
 and Physic, Bachelors in Divinity, Masters of Arts, 
 and Bachelors of Law, having any Ecclesiastical Living, 
 shall usually wear Gowns with standing Collars and 
 Sleeves strait at the hands, or wide Sleeves, as is used 
 in the Universities, with Hoods or Tipiiets of silk or 
 sarcenet, and square Caps. And that all other Ministers 
 admitted or to be admitted into that function shall 
 also usually wear the like apjiarel as is aforesaid, except 
 Tipjiets only. We do further in like manner ordain, 
 That all the said Ecclesiastical Persons above mentioned 
 shall usually wear in their journeys Cloaks with Sleeves, 
 commonly called Priest's Cloaks, without guards, welts, 
 long buttons, or cuts. And no Ecclesiastical Persons 
 shall wear any Coif or wrought Night-cap, but only 
 plain Night-caps of black silk, satin, or velvet. In all 
 which particulars concerning the apparel here pre- 
 scribed, our meaning is not to attribute any holiness or 
 special worthiness to the said garments, but for decency, 
 gravity, and order, as is Iiefore specified. In ])rivate 
 houses, and in their studies, the said Persons I'xcle- 
 siastical may use any comely and scholar-like apjiarel, 
 provided that it be not cut or pinkt ; and that in 
 public they go not in their Doublet and Hose, without 
 Coats or (Jassocks; and tliat tliey wear not any light- 
 coloured Stockings. Liliewise poor beneficed Men 
 and Ciu'ates (not being able to jirovide themselves 
 long (iowns) may go in short Gowns of the fashion 
 aforesaid. 
 
 75. Sober conversation required in Ministers. 
 
 ~VrO Ecclesiastical Person shall at any time, other 
 Xl than for their honest necessities, resort to any 
 taverns or alehouses, neither shall they board or 
 lodge in any such jilaces. Eurthermore, they shall 
 not give themselves to any base or servile labovir, or to 
 drinliing or riot, sjiending their time idly liy day or by 
 night, playing at dice, cards, or tallies, or any other 
 inilawful games : but at all times ccmvenieut they shall 
 hear or read somewhat of the holy Scriptures, or shall 
 occu|)y themselves with some otluT honest study or 
 exercise, always doing the things wliich sliidl appertain 
 to honesty, and en(U'avom-ing to prdlil the Cluirch of 
 (!od; liaving always in niiii(l. tliat tlicy might to excel 
 all others in |iunty of life, ami shoulil he evainples to 
 tlic people to live well and Christianly, under pain of
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL 
 
 815 
 
 Ecclesiastical censures, to be inflicted with severity, 
 according to the qualities of their offences. 
 
 7(3. Ulinislers at no lime to forsake their Calling. 
 
 NO man being admitted a Deacon or Minister shall 
 from thenceforth voluntarily relinciuish the same, 
 nor afterward use himself in the course of his life as a 
 Layman, upon pain of excommunication. And the 
 Names of all such men, so forsaking tlieir calling, the 
 Church-wardens of the jjarish where they dwell shall 
 present to the Bishop of the diocese, or to the Ordinary 
 of the place, having episcopal jm-isdiction. 
 
 N 
 
 Schoolmasters. 
 77. None to teach School without Licence. 
 O man shall teach either in public school or private 
 
 house, but such as shall be allowed by the Bishop 
 of the diocese, or Ordinary of the place, under his hand 
 and seal, being found meet as well for hi.s learning and 
 dexterity in teaching, as for sober and honest conversa- 
 tion, and also for right understanding of God's true 
 religion ; and also except he shall first subscribe to the 
 first and third Ar-ticles afore-mentioned simply, and to 
 the two first clauses of the second Article. 
 
 78. Curates desirous to teach to be licensed before others. 
 
 IN what Parish Church or Chajjcl soever there is a 
 Curate, which is a Master of Arts, or Bachelor of 
 Arts, or is otherwise well able to teach youth, and will 
 willingly so do, for the better increase of his living, 
 and training up of children in principles of true 
 religion ; we will and ordain. That a licence to teach 
 youth of the parish where he serveth be granted to 
 none by the Ordinary of that place, but only to the 
 said Curate. Provided always, that this Constitution 
 shall not extend to any Parish or Chapel in country 
 towns, where there is a public school founded aheady ; 
 in which case we think it not meet to allow any to teach 
 grammar, but only him that is allowed for the said 
 pubhc school. 
 
 79. The Duty of Schoolmasters. 
 
 ALL Schoolmasters shall teach in English or Latin, 
 as the children are able to bear, the larger or 
 shorter Catechism heretofore by jjublio authority set 
 forth. And as often as any Sermon shall be upon 
 holy and festival days mthin the parish where they 
 teach, they shall bring their scholars to the Church 
 where such Sermon shall be made, and there see them 
 quietly and soberly behave themselves ; and shall ex- 
 amine them at times convenient, after their return, 
 what they have borne away of such Sermon. Upon 
 other days, and at other times, they shall train them 
 up with such sentences of holy Scripture, as shall be 
 most expedient to induce them to all godliness ; and 
 they shall teach the Grammar set forth by King 
 Henry the Eighth, and continued in the times of King 
 Edward the Sixth, and Queen Elizabeth of noble 
 memory, and none other. And if any Schoolmaster, 
 being licensed, and having subscribed as aforesaid, 
 shall offend in any of the premises, or either speak, 
 \vrite, or teach against any thing whereunto he hath 
 formerly subscribed, (if upon admonition by the Or- 
 dinary he do not amend and reform himself,) let him 
 be suspended from teaching School any longer. 
 
 Things appertaining to Churches. 
 
 80. The great Bible, and Book of Common Prayer, to be 
 had in every Church. 
 
 THE Church-wai-dens or Quest-men of e\'ery Chiu-ch 
 and Chapel shall, at the charge of the pai'ish, pro- 
 
 vide the Book of Common Prayer, lately explained in 
 some few points, by his Majesty's authority, according 
 to the laws and his Highness's jirerogutive in that 
 behalf, and that with all convenient speed, but at the 
 furthest within two months alter the puhlishing of 
 these our (Constitutions. And if any i)arishe3 be yet 
 unfurnished of the Bible of the largest volume, or of 
 the Books of Uomilies allowed by authority, the said 
 Church-wardens shall within convenient time provide 
 the same at the like charge of the parish. 
 
 81. A Font of Stone for Baptism in every Church. 
 
 AC C O R D I N G to a former Constitution, too much 
 neglected in many places, we ap])oint, that there 
 shall be a Font of Stone in every Church and ('hajiel 
 where Baptism is to be ministered ; the same to be set 
 in the ancient usual places ; in which only Font the 
 Minister shall baptize publicly. 
 
 82. A decent Communion-table in every Church. 
 
 WHF^REAS we have no doubt, but that in all 
 Churches within the realm of England, con- 
 venient and decent 'I'ables are jirovided and placed for 
 the celebration of the holy Comnmnion, we apjjoint, 
 that the same Tables shall from tnne to time be kept 
 and repaired in sufficient and seemly manner, and 
 covered, in time of Divine Service, with a carpet of 
 silk or other decent stuff, thought meet by the Ordi- 
 nary of the ])lace, if any question be made of it, and 
 with a fair linen cloth at the time of the Ministration, 
 as Ijecometh that Table, and so stand, saving «hen the 
 said holy Communion is to be administered : at which 
 time the same shall be placed in so good sort within 
 the Church or Chancel, as thereby the Minister may be 
 more conveniently heard of the Communicants in his 
 Prayer and Ministration, and the Communicants also 
 more conveniently and in more number, may com- 
 nnmicate with the said Minister ; and that the Ten 
 Commandments be set up on the East end of every 
 Church and Chapel, where the people may best see 
 and read the same, and other chosen sentences written 
 ujjon the walls of the said Churches and Chapels, in 
 places convenient ; and liken'ise that a convenient seat 
 be made for the Minister to read service in. Al\ these 
 to be done at the charge of the parish. 
 
 83. A Pulpit to be provided in every Church. 
 
 I'^ H E Church-wardens or Quest-men, at the com- 
 mon charge of the Parishioners in every Church, 
 shall provide a comely and decent Puljjit to be set in a 
 convenient place within the same, liy the discretion of 
 the Ordinary of the place, if any question do arise, 
 and to be there seemly kept for the preaching of God's 
 Word. 
 
 84. A Chest for Alms in every Church. 
 
 TH E Church-wardens shall provide and have, with- 
 in three months after the publishing of these Con- 
 stitutions, a strong Chest, with a hole in the upper 
 part thereof, to be provided at the charge of the parish, 
 (if there be none such already provided,) having three 
 keys ; of which one shall remain in the custody of the 
 Parson, Vicar, or Curate, and the other two in the 
 custody of the Church-wardens for the time being : 
 which Chest they shall set and fasten in the most con- 
 venient place, to the intent the Parishioners may put 
 into it their alms for then- poor neighbours. And the 
 Parson, Vicar, or Curate shall diligently, from time to 
 time, and especially when men make their testaments, 
 call upon, exhort, and move their neighbours to confer 
 and give, as they may well spare, to the said Chest j
 
 816 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 declarins; unto them, that whereas heretofore they have 
 been diligent to bestow much substance otherwise than 
 God commanded, upon superstitious uses, now they 
 ought at this time to be much more ready to help the 
 poor and needy, knowing that to relie\'e the poor is a 
 sacrifice which pleaseth God; and that also whatsoever 
 is given for their comfort is given to Chiist Himself, 
 and is so accejjted of Him, that He will mercifully 
 reward the same. The which alms and devotion of 
 the people, the keepers of the keys shall yearly, 
 quarterly, or oftener, (as need requireth,) take out of 
 the Chest, and distribute the same in the presence of 
 most of the parish, or six of the chief of them, to be 
 truly and faitlifully delivered to their most poor and 
 needy neighbours. 
 
 85. Churches to be kept in sufficient Reparations. 
 
 TH E Church-wardens or Quest-men shall take care 
 and prox'ide that the Churches be well and suffi- 
 ciently repaired, and so from time to time kept and 
 maintained, that the windows be well glazed, and that 
 the floors be kept paved, plain, and even, and all things 
 there in such an orderly and decent sort, without dust, 
 or any thing that may be either noisome or unseemly, 
 as best becometh the House of God, and is prescribed 
 in an Homily to that effect. The like care thej' shall 
 take, that the Church-yards be well and suihciently 
 repaired, fenced, and maintained with walls, rails, or 
 pales, as have been in each place accustomed, at their 
 charges unto whom by law the same appertaineth : but 
 especially they shall see that in e\-ery meeting of the 
 congregation peace be well kept ; and that all jiersons 
 e.xcomraunicated, and so denounced, be kej)t out of 
 the Church. 
 
 86. Churches to be surt^eyed, and the decays certified to 
 
 the high Commissioners. 
 
 EVERY Dean, Dean and Chapter, Archdeacon, and 
 others which have authority to hold Ecclesiastical 
 A'isitations by composition, law, or prescription, shall 
 survey the Churches of his or their jurisdiction once in 
 every three years in his own person, or cause the same 
 to be done; and shall from time to time within the 
 said three years certify the high Commissioners for 
 Causes Ecclesiastical, every year, of such defects in 
 any the said Churches, as he or they do find to remain 
 unrepaired, and the names and surnames of the parties 
 faulty therein. Upon which certificate, we desire that 
 the said high Commissioners will ex officio mero send 
 for such parties, and compel them to obey the just and 
 lawful decrees of such Ecclesiastical Ordinaries making 
 such certificates. 
 
 87. A Terrier of Glebe-lands, and other Possessions 
 
 belonr/inr/ to Churches. 
 
 \\J"R ordain, that the Archbisho])S, and all Bishops 
 T T within their several dioceses, shall procure (,as 
 much as in them lieth) that a true note and terrier of 
 all the glclies, lands, meadows, gardens, orchards, 
 houses, stocks, imjilenients, tenements, and i)ortions 
 of tithes lying out of their parishes (which belong to 
 any Parsonage, or Vicarage, or rural Prebend) be taken 
 by the view of lionest men in every ])arisli, by the 
 appointment of the liisliop, (whereof the Minister to 
 be one,) and be laid up in the Bishop's Registry, there 
 to be for a perpetual memory thereof. 
 
 88. Churches not to be profaned. 
 
 ri^HE Cliurch-wardens or Quest-men, and their 
 JL Assistants, sliall sulfer no Jilay.s, feasts, banquets, 
 Buppers, church-ulcs, drinkings, temporal courts, (;r 
 
 leets, lay-juries, musters, or any other jirofane usage, 
 to be kept in the Church, Chapel, or Church-yard, 
 neither the bells to be rung superstitiously upon Holv- 
 days or Eves abrogated by the Book of Common 
 Prayer, nor at any otlier times, without good cause 
 to be allowed by the Minister of the place, and by 
 themselves. 
 
 Church-wardens or Quest-men, and Side-men 
 
 or Assistants. 
 89. The Choice of Church-icardens, and their Account. 
 
 AL L Church-wardens or Quest-men in every parish 
 shall be chosen by the joint consent of the Minister 
 and the Parishioners, if it may be ; but if they cannot 
 agree upon such a choice, thenthe Minister shall choose 
 one, and the Parishioners another : and without such 
 a joint or several choice none shall take upon them to 
 be Church-wardens ; neither shall they continue any 
 longer than one year in tliat office, except perhaps they 
 be chosen again in like manner. And all Church- 
 wardens at the end of then: year, or within a month 
 after at the most, shall before the Minister and the 
 Parishioners give up a just account of such money as 
 they have received, and also what particularly they 
 have bestowed in reparations, and otherwise, for the 
 use of the Church. And last of all, going out of their 
 office, they shall truly deliver up to the Parishioners 
 whatsoever money or other things of right belonging 
 to the Church or Parish, which remaineth in their 
 hands, that it may be delivered over by them to the 
 next Chiurch-wardens by bill indented. 
 
 90. The choice of Side-men, and their joint Office with 
 Church-wardens. 
 
 1'^ H E Chm-ch- wardens or Quest-men of every parish, 
 _ and two or three or more discreet persons in every 
 parish, to be chosen for Side-men or Assistants by the 
 Minister and Parishioners, if they can agree, (otherwise 
 to be appointed by the Ordinary of the diocese,) shall 
 ddigcntly see that all the Parishioners duly resort to 
 their Church U[)on all .Sundays and Holy-days, and 
 there continue the whole time of Divine Service ; and 
 none to walk or to stand idle or talking in the Church, 
 or in the Church-yard, or the Church-porch, during 
 that time. And all such as shall be found slack or 
 negligent in resorting to the Church (having no great 
 or urgent cause of absence) they shall earnestly call 
 upon them; and after due monition (if they amend 
 not) they shall present them to the Ordinary of the 
 place. The choice of which jiersons, uis. Church- 
 wardens or Quest-men, Side-men or Assistants, shall 
 be yearly made in Easter-week. 
 
 Parish- Clerks. 
 !)1. Parish-Clerks to be chosen by the Minister. 
 
 NO Parish-Clerk ujjon any vacation shall be chosen, 
 within the city of London, or elsewhere within the 
 province of Canterbury, but liy the Parson or Vicar ; 
 or, where there is no Parson or Vicar, by the Minister 
 of that place for the time being: which choice shall 
 be siirnificd by the said Minister, Vicar, or Parson, to 
 the Parishioners the next Sunday following, in tlie 
 time of Divine Service. And the said Clerk shall be 
 of twenty years of age at the least, and known to the 
 said Parson, Vicar, or Minister, to be of honest con- 
 versation, and sufficient for his reading, writing, and 
 also for liis competent skill in singing, if it may be. 
 And the said Clerks so chosen shall have and receive 
 their ancient wages, without fraud or diminution, cither 
 at the hands of the Church-wardens, at such times as
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 817 
 
 hath heen aocustomed, or by their own collection, 
 according to the most ancient custom of every jjarish. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Courts beloiio^inw to the Arcli- 
 bisliop's Jurisdiction. 
 
 92. None to be cited into divers Courts for Probate of 
 the same Will, 
 
 FORASMUCH as many heretofore have been hy 
 Apparitors both of inferior courts, anil of the 
 courts of the Archbishop's Prerogative, much dis- 
 tracted, and diversely called and summoned for pro- 
 bate of wills or to take administrations of the goods 
 of persons dying intestate, and are thereby vexed and 
 grieved with many causeless and unnecessary trouljles, 
 molestations, and expences ; we constitute and ap])oint, 
 'i'hat all Chancellors, Commissaries, or (JflBcials, or any 
 other exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction whatsoever, 
 sliall at the first charge with an oath all [jersons called 
 or voluntarily ajipearing before them for the jirobate 
 of any will, or the administration of any goods, whether 
 they know, or (moved by any sjiecial inducement) do 
 firmly believe, that the party deceased, whose testament 
 or goods depend now in question, had at the time of 
 his or her death any goods or good debts in any other 
 diocese or dioceses, or peculiar jurisdiction within that 
 province, than in that wherein the said party died, 
 amounting to the value of five pounds. And if the 
 said jjerson cited, or voluntarily ajipearing before him, 
 shall upon his oath affirm, that he knoweth, or (as 
 aforesaid) firmly believeth, that the said party deceased 
 had goods or good debts in any other diocese or dio- 
 ceses, or peculiar jurisdiction within the said province, 
 to the value aforesaid, and jiarticularly specify and 
 declare the same ; then shall he presently dismiss him, 
 not presuming to intermeddle with the probate of the 
 said will, or to grant administration of the goods of the 
 ])arty so dying intestate; neither shall he require or 
 exact any other charges of the said parties, more than 
 such only as are due for the citation, and other process 
 had and used against the said parties upon their fur- 
 ther contumacy ; but shall openly and plainly declare 
 and profess, that the said cause belongeth to the Pre- 
 rogative of the Archbishop of that jirovince; willing 
 and admonishing the party to ])rove the said will, or 
 require administration of the said goods in the court 
 of the said Prerogative, and to exhibit before him the 
 said Judge the probate or administration under the 
 seal of the Prerogative, within forty days next follow- 
 ing. And if any Chancellor, Commissary, Official, or 
 other exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction whatsoever, 
 or any their Registrar, shall offend herein, let him be 
 ipso facto suspended from the execution of his office, 
 not to be absolved or released, until he have restored 
 to the party all expences by him laid out contrary to 
 the tenor of the premises ; and every such probate of 
 any testament, or administration of goods so granted, 
 shall be held \'oid and frustrate to all effects of the 
 law whatsoever. 
 
 Furthermore, we charge and enjoin. That the Regis- 
 trar of every inferior Judge do, without all difficulty or 
 delay, certify and inform the Apparitor of the Preroga- 
 tive Court, repairing unto him once a month, and no 
 oftener, what executors or administrators have been by 
 his said Judge, for the incompetency of his own juris- 
 diction, dismissed, to the said Prerogative Court within 
 the month next before, under pain of a month's sus- 
 pension from the exercise of his office for every default 
 therein. Provided, that this Canon, or any thing therein 
 contained, be not prejudicial to any composition be- 
 tween the Archbishop and any Bishop or other Ordi- 
 nary, nor to any inferior Judge that shall grant any 
 
 F 
 
 probate of testament, or administration of goods, to 
 any party that shall voluntarily desire it, bcjth out of 
 the said inferior court, and also out of the I'rerogatii-e. 
 Provided likewise, tliat if any man die in ilinere, the 
 goods that he hatli about him at that present shall not 
 cause his testament or administration to be hable unto 
 the Prerogative Court. 
 
 93. The Rule of Bona notabilia liable to the Prerogatice 
 Court. 
 
 U RT [I E R M O R E, we decree and ordain. That no 
 J udge of the Archbisho|)'s Prerogative shall hence- 
 forward cite, or cause to be cited, ex officio, any jierson 
 whatsoever to any of the aforesaid intents, unless he 
 have knowledge that the party deceased was at the 
 time of his death |)ossessed of goods and chattels in 
 some other diocese or dioceses, or peculiar jurisdiction 
 within that province, than in that wherein he died, 
 amounting to the value of five ])0unds at the least; 
 decreeing and declaring, that whoso hath not goods in 
 divers dioceses to the said sum or value shall not be 
 accounted to have Bona notabilia. Always pro\-ided. 
 That this clause, here and in the former Constitution 
 mentioned, shall not prejudice those dioceses, where 
 by composition or custom Bona notabilia are rated at a 
 greater sum. And if any Judge of the Prerogative 
 Court, or any his Surrogate, or his Registrar or Appa- 
 ritor, shall cite, or cause any person to be cited into 
 his court, contrary to the tenor of the premises, he 
 shall restore to the party so cited all his costs and 
 charges, and the acts and proceedings in that behalf 
 shall be held void and frustrate, ^\'hich expences, if 
 the said Judge, or Registrar, or Apparitor, shall refuse 
 accordingly to pay, he shall be suspended from the 
 exercise of his office, until he yield to the jierformance 
 thereof. 
 
 9-4. None to be cited into the Arches or Audience, but 
 Dwellers within the Archbishop's Diocese, or Peculiars. 
 
 NO Dean of the Arches, nor Official of the Arch- 
 bishop's Consistory, nor any Judge of the Audi- 
 ence, shall henceforward in his own name, or in the 
 name of the Archbishop, either ex officio, or at the 
 instance of any party, originally cite, summon, or any 
 way compel, or prociu'e to be cited, summoned, or 
 compelled, any person which dwelleth not within the 
 particular diocese or peculiar of the said Archbishop, 
 to a])pear before him or any of them, for any cause or 
 matter whatsoever belonging to ecclesiastical cogni- 
 zance, without the licence of the Diocesan first had and 
 obtained in that behalf, other than in such particular 
 cases only as are expressly excepted and reserved in 
 and by a statute Anno 23 H. VIII. cap. 9. And if any 
 of the said Judges shall offend herein, he shall for 
 every such offence be suspended from the exercise of 
 his office for the space of three whole months. 
 
 95. The Restraint of double Quarrels. 
 
 ALBEIT by former Constitutions of the Church 
 of England, every Bishop hath had two months' 
 space to inquire and inform himself of the sufficiency 
 and qualities of every Minister, after he hath been pre- 
 sented unto him to be instituted into any benefice ; 
 yet, for the avoiding of some inconveniences, we do 
 now abridge and reduce the said two months unto 
 eight and twenty days only. In resjiect of which 
 abridgment we do ordain and appoint, that no double 
 quarrel shall hereafter be granted out of any of the 
 Archbishop's courts at the suit of any Minister whoso- 
 ever, except he shall first take his personal oath that 
 the said eight and twenty days at the least are expired, 
 
 3 G
 
 818 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 after he first tendered his presentation to the Bishop, 
 and that he refused to grant him institution thereui)on ; 
 or shall enter honds with sufficient sureties to ]jrove 
 the same to be true ; under pain of suspension of the 
 granter thereof from the execution of his office for 
 half a year toties quoties, (to be denounced by the said 
 Archbishop.) and nullity of the double quarrel afore- 
 said, so unduly procured, to all intents and purposes 
 whatsoever. Always provided, that -n-ithin the said 
 eipht and twenty days the Bishop shall not institute 
 any other to the prejudice of the said party before 
 presented, sub pana nulUiatis. 
 
 96. Inhibitions not to be granted without the subscription 
 
 of an Admcate. 
 
 THAT the jurisdictions of Bishops may be preserved 
 (as near as may be) entire and free from prejudice, 
 and that for the behoof of the subjects of this land bet- 
 ter provision be made that henceforward they be not 
 grieved with frivolous and wTongful suits and molesta- 
 tions ; it is ordained and provided. That no inhibition 
 shall be granted out of any court belonging to the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, at the instance of any party, 
 unless it be subscribed by an Advocate practising in the 
 said court : which the said Advocate shall do freely, not 
 taking any fee for the same, except the party prosecut- 
 ing the suit do voluntarily bestow some gratuity upon 
 him for his counsel and advice in the said cause. Tlie 
 like course shall be used in granting forth any inhibition, 
 at the instance of any jiarty, by the Bishop or his Chan- 
 cellor, against the Archdeacon, or any other person exer- 
 cising ecclesiastical jurisdiction : and if in the court or 
 consistory of any Bishop there be no Advocate at all, 
 then shall the subscription of a Proctor practising in the 
 same court be held sufficient. 
 
 97. Inhibitions not to be granted until the Appeal be 
 
 exhibited to the Judge. 
 
 IT is further ordered and decreed, that henceforward 
 no inhiliition be granted by occasion of any interlo- 
 cutory decree, or in any cause of correction whatsoever, 
 except under the form aforesaid : and moreover. That 
 before the going out of any such inhibition, the appeal 
 itself, or a copy thereof, (avouched by oath to be just 
 and true.) be exhibited to the Judge, or his lawful Sur- 
 rogate, whereby he may be fully informed both of the 
 rpiality of the crime, and of the cause of the grievance, 
 before the granting forth of the said inhibition. And 
 every appellant, or his lawful Proctor, shall, before the 
 obtaining of any such inhibition, shew and exhibit to 
 the .lodge, or his Surrogate, in writing, a true copy of 
 those acts wherewith he complaincth himself to be ag- 
 grieved, anil from which he ap])ealeth ; or shall take a 
 corporal oath, that he bath performed his diligence and 
 true endeavour for the obtaining of the same, and cotdd 
 not obtain it at the hands of the Registrar in the coun- 
 try, or liis deputy, tendering him his fee. And if any 
 Judge or Registrar shall either procure or permit any 
 inliibition to be sealed, so as is said, contrary to the 
 form and limitation above S])ccified, let him be sus- 
 jieiided from the execution of his office for the sjjace of 
 three months: if any I'roctor, or other person whatso- 
 ever by his ajipointment, shall offend in any of the |n'e- 
 mises, either by making or sending out any inhiliitiou, 
 contrary to the tenor of the said |)rrinises. let luin be 
 removed from the exercise of bis office for the space of a 
 whole year, without hope of release or restoring. 
 
 93. Inhibitions nnl to he granted to factious Appellants, 
 unless they first snbscril)e. 
 
 F 
 
 the same; we decree and appoint. That after any Judge 
 Ecclesiastical hath proceeded judicially against obstinate 
 and factious persons and contemners of ceremonies, for 
 not observing the rites and orders of the Church of 
 England, or for contempt of public prayer, no Judge, 
 ad quern, shall admit or allow any his or their appeals, 
 unless, he having fkst seen the original appeal, the party 
 a])pellant do first personally promise and avon-, that he 
 will faithfully keep and observe all the rites and cere- 
 monies of the Church of England, as also the prescript 
 form of Common Prayer ; and do like\nse subscribe to 
 the three .'Vrticles formerly by us specified and declared. 
 
 99. None to marry within the Degrees prohibited. 
 IVfO person shall marry within the degrees prohibited 
 X\ by the laws of God, and expressed in a Table set 
 forth by authority in the year of our Lord God 1563. 
 And all marriages so made and contracted shall be 
 adjudged incestuous and vmlanful, and consequently 
 shall be dissolved as void from the beginning, and the 
 parties so married shall by coiu'se of law be separated. 
 And the aforesaid Table shall be in every Church pub- 
 licly set up and fixed at the charge of the parish. 
 
 100. None to marry under Twenty-one Years, without 
 
 their parents' consent. 
 
 "VrO children under the age of one and twenty years 
 X^ complete shall contract themselves, or marry, with- 
 out the consent of their parents, or of their guardians 
 and governors, if their parents be deceased. 
 
 101. By whom Licences to marry without Banns shall be 
 
 granted, and to what sort of Persons. 
 
 NO faculty or licence shall be henceforth granted for 
 solemnization of matrimony betwixt any parties, 
 without thrice open jiublication of the banns, according 
 to the Book of Common Prayer, by any person exercis- 
 ing any ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or claiming any \m- 
 vileges in the right of their Churches ; but the same 
 shall be granted only by such as have episcopal autho- 
 rity, or the Commissary for faculties, Vicars-General of 
 the Archbishops and Bishops, sede plena ; or, sede va- 
 cante, the Guardian of the S[iiritualities, or Ordinaries 
 exercising of right episcopal jurisdiction in their several 
 jurisdictions respectively, and unto such persons only, 
 as be of good state and quahty, and that upon good 
 caution and security taken. 
 
 102. Security to betaken at the granting of such Licences, 
 
 and under what conditions. 
 
 TH E security mentioned shall contain these condi- 
 tions : First, That at the time of the granting every 
 such licence, there is not any im]iediment of precon- 
 tract, consanguinity, affinity, or other lawfid cause to 
 binder the said marriage. Secondly. That there is not 
 any controversy or suit dejieuding in any court before 
 any Ecclesiastical Judge, touching any contract or mar- 
 riage of either of the said jiarties with any other. 
 Thirdly. That they have obtained thereunto the express 
 consent of their parents, (if they be living,) or other- 
 wise of their g\iardians or governors. Lastly, That 
 they .shall celebrate the said matrimony ptddicly in tho 
 Pai'ish Church or Chaiiel where one of them dwellcth, 
 and in no other jilace, aiul tliat between the hotu'S of 
 eight and twelve in the forenoon. 
 
 103. Oaths to be taken for the Conditions. 
 O R the avoiding of all fraud and collusion in the 
 obtaining of such licences and dispensations, wo 
 not in reason claim any benefit or protection by ' fm-lher constitute and appoint, That before any hccnco 
 
 F'
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 819 
 
 for the celebration of matrimony witliont publication of 
 banns be had or granteil, it shall appear to the jmlfre by 
 the oaths of two sufficient mtncsses, one of tlieni to be 
 known either to the Jndge himself, or to some other 
 ])erson of good re])Utation then present, and known 
 likewise to the said Judge, that the express consent of 
 the parents, or parent, if one be dead, or guardians or 
 guardian of the parties, is thereunto had and obtained. 
 And furthermore, That one of the parties personally 
 swear, that he believeth there is no let or imjiediment 
 of precontract, kindred, or alliance, or of any other 
 lawful cause whatsoever, nor any suit commenced in 
 any Ecclesiastical Court, to bar or hinder the proceed- 
 ing of the said matrimony, according to the tenure of 
 the foresaid licence. 
 
 104. An Exception for those that are in Widowhood. 
 
 IF both the parties which are to marry being in 
 widowhood do seek a faculty for the forbearing of 
 banns, then the clauses before mentioned, requiring the 
 parents' consent, may he omitted ; but the parishes 
 where they dwell, both shall be expressed in the licence, 
 as also the parish named where the marriage shall be 
 celebrated. And if any Commissary for faculties, Vi- 
 cars-General, or other the said Ordinaries, shall offend 
 in the premises, or any part thereof, he shall, for every 
 time so offending, be susjjended from the execution of 
 his office for the space of six months ; and every such 
 licence or dispensation shall be held void to all effects 
 and purposes, as if there had never been any such 
 granted ; and the parties marrying by virtue thereof 
 shall he subject to the punishments which are appointed 
 for clandestine marriages. 
 
 105. No Sentence for Divorce to be given vpon the sole 
 
 Confession of the Parties. 
 
 FORASMUCH as matrimonial causes have been 
 always reckoned and reputed among the weightiest, 
 and therefore require the greater caution, when they 
 come to be handled and debated in judgment, espe- 
 cially in causes wherein matrimony, having been in 
 the Church duly solemnized, is required, u])on any 
 suggestion or pretext whatsoever, to be dissolved or 
 annulled : we do straitly charge and enjoin. That in all 
 proceedings to divorce, and nullities of matrimony, 
 good circumspection and advice be used, and that the 
 truth may (as far as is possible) be sifted out by the 
 dejiosition of witnesses, and other lawful proofs and 
 evictions ; and that credit be not given to the sole con- 
 fession of the parties themselves, howsoever taken upon 
 oath, either within or without the court. 
 
 106. No Sentence for Divorce to be given but in open 
 
 Court. 
 
 NO sentence shall be given either for separation a 
 tkoro et mensa, or for annulling of pretended ma- 
 trimony, but in open court, and in the seat of justice ; 
 and that witli the knowledge and consent either of the 
 Archbishop within his province, or of the Bishop within 
 his diocese, or of the Dean of the Arches, the Judge of 
 the Audience of Canterbury, or of the Vicars-General, 
 or other principal Officials, or sede vacnnte, of the 
 Guardians of the Spiritualities, or other Ordinaries to 
 whom of right it appertaineth, in their several jurisdic- 
 tions and courts, and concerning them only that are 
 then dwelling under their jiu-isdictions. 
 
 10/". Jn all Sentences for Divorce, Bond to be taken for 
 not marrying during each other's Life. 
 
 IN all sentences pronounced only for divorce and 
 separation a thoro et mensa, there shall be a caution 
 
 and restraint inserted in the act of the said sentence. 
 That the ])arties so sejiarated shall live clia.stely and 
 continently ; neither shall they, during each other's life, 
 contract matrimony with any otlu-r jKTson. And, for 
 the better observation of this last clause, the said sen- 
 tence of divorce shall not be ])ronounced, until the party 
 or parties requiring the same have given good and sufli- 
 cient caution and security into tlie court, that they will 
 not any way break or transgress the said restraint or 
 prohibition. 
 
 108. The Penalty for Judges offending in the premises. 
 
 AN D if any Judge, giving sentence of divorce or 
 separation, shall not fully keep and observe the 
 premises, he sliall be, by the Archbisho]) of the jirovince, 
 or by the Bishop of the diocese, suspended from the 
 exercise of his office for the space of a whole year ; and 
 the sentence of separation, so given contrary to the form 
 aforesaid, shall be held void to all intents and inirposes 
 of the law, as if it had not at all been given or pro- 
 noimced. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Courts belonging' to the Juris- 
 dictions of Bishops and Archdeacons, and 
 tlie Proceedings in thein. 
 
 109. Notorious Crimes and Scandals to be certified into 
 Ecclesiastical Courts by Presentment. 
 
 IF any offend their brethren, either by adultery, whore- 
 dom, incest, or drunkenness, or by swearing, 
 ribaldry, usury, and any other uncleanness, and wicked- 
 ness of life, the Church-wardens, or Quest-men, and 
 Side-men, in their next presentments to their Ordina- 
 ries, shall faithfully present all and every of the said 
 offenders, to the intent that they, and every of them, 
 may be punished by the severity of the laws, according 
 to their deserts ; and such notorious offenders shall not 
 be admitted to the holy Communion, till they be re- 
 formed. 
 
 110. Schismatics to be presented, 
 
 IF the Church-wardens, or Quest-men, or Assistants, 
 do or shall know any man within their parish, or 
 elsewhere, that is a hinderer of the Word of God to be 
 read or sincerely preached, or of the execution of these 
 our Constitutions, or a fautor of any usurped or foreign 
 power, by the laws of this realm justly rejected and taken 
 away, or a defender of Pojiish and erroneous doctrine ; 
 tliey shall detect and present the same to the Bishop of 
 the diocese, or (Jrdinary of the plijce, to be censured and 
 punished according to such Ecclesiastical laws as are 
 prescribed in that behalf. 
 
 111. Disturbers of Divine Service to be presented. 
 
 TN all visitations of Bishops and Archdeacons, the 
 Church-wardens, or Quest-men, and Side-men, 
 shall truly and jjersonally present the names of all those 
 which behave themselves rudely and disorderly in the 
 Church, or which by untimely ringing of bells, by 
 walking, talking, or other noise, shall hinder the Mi- 
 nister or Preacher. 
 
 112. Non- Communicants at Easter to be presented. 
 
 THE Minister, Church-wardens, Quest-men, and 
 Assistants of every Parish Cliurch and Chapel, 
 shall yearly, within forty d.ays after Easter, exhibit to 
 the Bishoj) or his Chancellor the names and surnames 
 of all the Parishioners, as well men as women, which 
 being of the age of sixteen years received not the Com- 
 munion at Easter before. 
 
 3 G 2
 
 820 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 1 13. Ministers may present. 
 
 BECAUSE it often cometh to pass, that the 
 Church-wardens, Side-men, Quest-men, and such 
 other jiersons of the Laity, as are to take care for the 
 suppressing of sin and wickedness in their several 
 parishes, as much as in them heth, by admonition, 
 reprehension, and denunciation to their Ordinaries, do 
 forbear to discharge their duties therein, either through 
 fear of their superiors, or through negligence, more 
 than were fit, the hcentiousness of these times consi- 
 dered, we ordain. That hereafter every Parson and 
 Vicar, or, in the lawful absence of any Parson or 
 Vicar, then their Curates and Substitutes may join in 
 every presentment with the said Church-wardens, Side- 
 men, and the rest above mentioned, at the times here- 
 after limited, if they, the said Church-wardens and the 
 rest, will present such enormities as are apparent in the 
 parish ; or if they will not, then every such Parson and 
 Vicar, or, in their absence, as aforesaid, their Curates 
 may themselves present to their Ordinaries at such 
 times, and when else they think it meet, all such crimes 
 as they have in charge, or otherwise, as by them (l)eing 
 the persons that should ha\'e the chief care for the 
 suppressing of sin and impiety in their parishes) shall 
 be thought to require due reformation. Pronded 
 always, That if any man confess his secret and hidden 
 sins to the Minister, for the unburdening of his con- 
 science, and to receive spiritual consolation and ease of 
 mind from him ; we do not any way bind the said 
 Minister by this our Constitution, but do straitly 
 charge and admonish him, that he do not at any time 
 reveal and make known to any person whatsoever any 
 crime or offence so committed to his trust and secrecy, 
 (except they be such crimes as by the laws of this realm 
 his own life may be called in to question for concealing 
 the same,) under pain of irregularity. 
 
 114. Ministers shall present Recusants. 
 
 EVERY Parson, Vicar, or Curate, shall carefully 
 inform themselves, every year hereafter, how many 
 Popish Recusants, men, women, and children, above 
 the age of thirteen years, and how many being popishly 
 given (who, though they come to the Church, yet do 
 refuse to receive the Communion) are inhabitants, or 
 make their abode, either as sojourners or common 
 guests, in any of their several parishes; and shall set 
 down their true names in writing, (if they can learn 
 them,) or otherwise such names as for the time they 
 carry, distinguishing the absolute Recusants from half 
 Recusants ; and the same, so far as they know or be- 
 lieve, so distinguished and set down under their hands, 
 shall truly present to their Ordinaries before the Peast 
 of the Nativity next ensuing, imdcr pain of suspension 
 to be inflicted ui)on them by their saiil Ordinaries ; and 
 80 every year liereafter, upon the like i)ain, before tlie 
 Feast of St. John Iiai)tist. Also we ordain. That all 
 such Ordinaries, Chancellors, Commissaries. Archdea- 
 cons, Oflicials, and all other Ecclesiastical Officers, to 
 whom the said presentments shall be exhibited, shall 
 likewise witliin one month after the receipt of the 
 same, under pain of suspension by the Bishop from the 
 execution of their offices for the space of half a year, 
 as often as they shall offend therein, deliver them, or 
 cause them to be delivered, to the liishop respectively; 
 who shall al.so exhibit them to the Archbishop within 
 six weeks, and the Archl)ishop to his Majesty within 
 other six weeks after he liath received the said "present- 
 ments. 
 
 115. Ministers and Church-wardens not to hf sued for 
 presrnfinr/. 
 
 WHEREAS for the reformation of criminous 
 persons and disorders in every ijarish, the 
 
 Church-wardens, Quest-men, Side-men, and such other 
 Church Officers are sworn, and the Minister charged 
 to present as well the crimes and disorders committed 
 by the said criminous persons, as also the common 
 fame which is spread abroad of them, whereby they are 
 often maligned, and sometimes troubled by the said de- 
 linquents, or their friends ; we do admonish and exhort 
 all Judges, both Ecclesiastical and Tem])oral, as they 
 regard and reverence the fearful judgment-seat of the 
 highest Judge, that they admit not in any of their 
 Courts any complaint, [dea, suit or suits, against any 
 such Church-wardens, Quest-men, Side-men, or other 
 Church Officers, for making any such presentments, 
 nor against any Minister for any presentment that he 
 shall make ; all the said presentments tending to the 
 restraint of shameless impiety, and considering that 
 the rules both of charity and government do presume, 
 that they did nothing therein of malice, but for the 
 discharge of their consciences. 
 
 116. Church-wardens not bound to present oftener than 
 
 twice a Year. 
 l^pO Church-wardens, Quest-men, or Side-men of 
 _L^ any parish shall be enforced to exhibit their pre- 
 sentments to any having ecclesiastical jurisdiction, 
 above once in every year, where it hath been no oftener 
 used, nor above twice in any diocese whatsoever, except 
 it be at the Bishojj's Visitation. For the which pre- 
 sentments of every Parish-church or Chapel, the 
 Registrar of any court, where they are to be exhibited, 
 shall not receive in one year above fourpenee, under 
 pain, for every offence therein, of suspension from the 
 execution of his office for the space of a month, toties 
 quoties. Provided always. That, as good occasion shall 
 require, it shall be lawful for every Minister, Church- 
 wardens, and Side-men to present offenders as oft as 
 they shall think meet ; and likewise for any godly 
 disposed person, or for any Ecclesiastical Judge, upon 
 knowledge, or notice given unto him or them of any 
 enormous crime within his jurisdiction, to move the 
 Minister, Church-wardens, or Side-men, as they tender 
 the glory of God and reformation of sin, to present the 
 same, if they shall find suflicient cause to induce them 
 thereunto, that it may be in due time punished and 
 reformed. Provided, That for these voluntary pre- 
 sentments there be no fee requii-ed or taken of them, 
 under the [jain aforesaid. 
 
 117. Church-ivardcns not to be troubled for not present- 
 
 inij oftener than twice a Year. 
 
 NO Church-wardens, Quest-men, or Side-men, shall 
 be called or cited, but only at the said time or 
 times before limited, to appear before any Ecclesiastical 
 Judge whosoever, for refusing at other times to present 
 any faults committed in their parishes, and ])unishable 
 by Ecclesiastical Laws. Neither shall they, nor any of 
 them, after their ])resentmcnts exhibited at any of those 
 times, be any further tro\diled for the same, except ui)on 
 manifest and evident proof it may appear, that they did 
 then willingly aiul wittingly omit to present some such 
 ])ublic crime or crimes as they knew to be committed, 
 or could not be ignorant that there was then a public 
 fame of them ; or uidess there be very just cause to 
 call them for the exjjlanation of their former ])resent- 
 ments. In which case of wilful omission, tlieir Ordi- 
 naries shall proceed against them in such sort, as in 
 ca\ises of wilful perjury in a Court Ecclesiastical it is 
 already by law provided. 
 
 IIS. The old Church-wardens to make their Presentments 
 before the new be sworn. 
 ■^IlE office of all Church-wardens and Side-men 
 shall be reputed ever hereafter to continue until 
 
 T
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 821 
 
 the new CluircVi-wartlens that shall succeed them be 
 sworn, wliicli shall he the first week after I'^aster, (ir 
 some week Collowiiifj, according to the direction of the 
 Oi'dinary. Which time so appointed shall always he 
 one of the two times in every year, when the Minister, 
 and Church-wardens, and fSide-men of every parish 
 shall exhibit to their several Ordinaries the present- 
 ments of such enormities as have happened in their 
 parishes since their last presentments. And this duty 
 they shall jierform, before the newly chosen Church- 
 wardens and Side-men be sworn, and shall not be 
 suffered to pass over the said presentments to those 
 that are newly come into office, and are by intend- 
 ment ignorant of such crimes ; under pain of those 
 censures which are apjiointed for the reformation of 
 such dalliers and dispensers with their own consciences 
 and oaths. 
 
 1 1 9. Convenient time to be ass'ir/ned for framing Pre- 
 
 sentments. 
 
 FO R the avoiding of such inconveniences as here- 
 tofore have happened by the hasty making of bills 
 of presentments ujjon the days of the Visitation and 
 Synods, it is ordered, That always hereafter every 
 Chancellor, Archdeacon, Commissary, and Official, and 
 every other person having ecclesiastical jurisdiction, at 
 the ordinary time when the Church-wardens are sworn ; 
 and the Archbishop and Bishops, when he or they do 
 summon their Visitation, shall deliver, or cause to be 
 delivered, to the Church-wardens, Quest-men, and Side- 
 men of every parish, or to some of them, such books 
 of articles as they, or any of them, shall require, for 
 the year following, the said Church-wardens, Quest- 
 men, and Side-men to ground their presentments upon, 
 at such times as they are to exhibit them. In wliich 
 book shall be contained the form of the oath, which 
 must be taken immediately before every such jiresent- 
 ment ; to the intent that, having beforehand time 
 sufficient, not only to peruse and consider what their 
 said oath shall he, but the articles also whereupon they 
 are to ground their iiresentments, they may frame them 
 at home both advisedly and truly, to the discharge of 
 their own consciences, after they are sworn, as becometh 
 honest and godly men. 
 
 120. None to be cited into Ecclesiastical Courts by 
 
 Process of Quorum Nomina. 
 
 NO Bishop, Chancellor, Archdeacon, Official, or 
 other EcclesiasticalJudge, shall suffer any general 
 processes of Quorum Nomina to be sent out of his 
 court ; except the names of all such as thereby are to 
 be cited shall be first expressly entered by the hand of 
 the Registrar, or his Deputy, under the said pro- 
 cesses, and the said processes and names be first sub- 
 scribed by the Judge, or his Deputy, and his seal 
 thereto affixed. 
 
 121. None to be cited into several Courts for one Crime. 
 
 IN places where the Bishop and Archdeacon do by 
 prescription or composition visit at several times in 
 one and the same year, lest for one and the selfsame 
 fault any of liis Majesty's subjects should be challenged 
 and molested in divers Ecclesiastical Courts ; we order 
 and appoint. That every Archdeacon, or his Official, 
 within one month after the Visitation ended that year, 
 and the presentments received, shall certify under his 
 hand and seal to the Bishop, or his Chancellor, the 
 names and crimes of all such as are detected and jire- 
 sented in his said Visitation, to the end the Chancellor 
 shall thenceforth forbear to convent any person for 
 any crime or cause so detected or presented to the 
 
 Archdeacon. And the Chancellor within the like 
 time alter the liisbop's N'isitation ended, and jircscnt- 
 ments received, shall uruler his liund jind seal sii/iiify 
 to the Archdeucon, or his Ollieiid. tlie namc's and 
 crimes of all such persons which shall be detected or 
 presented unto him in that Visitation, to the same 
 intent as is aforesaid. And if these officers shall not 
 certify each other, as is here prescribed, or after such 
 certificate shall intermeddle with the crimes or per- 
 sons detected and presented in each other's Visitation ; 
 then every of them so offending shall be sus|)ended 
 from all exercise of his jurisdiction by the Bishop of 
 the diocese, until he shall repay the costs and ex- 
 pences which the parties grieved have been at by that 
 vexation. 
 
 122. No Sentence of Deprivation or Deposition to be 
 pronounced against a Minister, but by the Bishop. 
 
 WHEN any Minister is complained of in any 
 Ecclesiastical Court belonging to any Bishop of 
 his province, for any crime, the Chancellor, Commis- 
 sary, Official, or any other having ecclesiastical juris- 
 diction, to whom it shall ai^pertain, shall expedite the 
 cause by processes and other jiroceedings against him : 
 and upon contumacy, for not appearing, shall first 
 suspend him ; and afterward, his contumacy con- 
 tinuing, excommunicate him. But if he appear, and 
 submit himself to the course of law, then the matter 
 being ready for sentence, and the merits of his offence 
 exacting by law either deprivation from his living, or 
 deposition from the ministry, no such sentence shall 
 be ])ronoimced by any person whosoever, but only by 
 the Bishop, with the assistance of his Chancellor, the 
 Dean, (if they may conveniently be had,) and some of 
 the Prebendaries, if the Court be kept near the Cathe- 
 dral Church, or of the Archdeacon, if he may be had 
 conveniently, and two other at the least grave Ministers 
 and Preachers, to be called by the Bishop, when the 
 com't is kept in other places. 
 
 123. No Act to be sped but in open Court. 
 
 NO Chancellor, Commissary, Archdeacon, Official, 
 or any other person using ecclesiastical jurisdic- 
 tion whosoever, shall speed any judicial act, either of 
 contentious or voluntary jurisdiction, except he have 
 the ordinary Registrar of that Court, or his lawful 
 Deputy : or if he or they will not, or cannot, be pre- 
 sent, then such persons as by law are allowed in that 
 behalf to write or speed tlie same, under pain of sus- 
 pension ipso facto. 
 
 124. No Court to have more than one Seal. 
 
 NO Chancellor, Commissary, Archdeacon, Official, 
 or any other exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction, 
 shall without the Bishop's consent have any more 
 seals than one, for the sealing of all matters incident to 
 his office ; which seal shall always be kept either by 
 himself or by his lawful Substitute exercising jurisdic- 
 tion for him, and remaining within the jurisdiction of 
 the said Judge, or in the city or (irincipal town of the 
 county. This seal shall contain the title of that juris- 
 diction, which every of the said Judges or their 
 Deputies do execute. 
 
 125. Convenient Places to be choseti for the keeping of 
 
 Courts. 
 
 ALL Chancellors, Commissaries, Archdeacons, 
 Officials, and all other exercising ecclesiastical 
 jurisdiction, shall appoint such meet places for the 
 keeping of their courts, by the assignment or approba- 
 tion of the Bishop of the diocese, as shall be convenient
 
 82'2 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 for entertainment of those that are to make their ap- 
 pearance there, and most indifferent for their travel. 
 And likewise they shall keep and end their courts in 
 such convenient time, as every man may retm'n home- 
 wards in as due season as may be. 
 
 12(3. Peculiar and inferior Courts to exhibit the orlcjinal 
 
 Copies of IVi/'ts into the Bishop's Reijistry. 
 "VTrHEREAS Deans, Archdeacons, Prebendaries, 
 \V Parsons, Vicars, and others, exercising eccle- 
 siastical jurisdiction, claim liberty to prove the last wills 
 and testaments of persons deceased within their several 
 jm-isdictions. having no known or certain Registrars, 
 nor public place to keep their records in ; by reason 
 whereof many wills, rights, and legacies, upon the 
 death or change of such persons, and their private 
 Notaries, miscarry and cannot be found, to the great 
 prejudice of his Majesty's subjects; we therefore order 
 and enjoin. That all such possessors and exercisers of 
 peculiar jurisdiction shall once in every year exhibit 
 into the public registry of the Bishop of the diocese, or 
 of the Dean and Chapter imder whose jurisdiction the 
 said ijeculiars are, every original testament of every 
 person in that time deceased, and by them proved in their 
 several peculiar jurisdictions, or a true copy of every 
 such testament, examined, subscribed, and sealed by 
 the peculiar Judge and his Notary. Otherwise, if any 
 of them fail so to do, the Bishop of the diocese or 
 Dean and Chapter, unto whom the said jurisdictions 
 do respectively belong, shall suspend the said i)arties, 
 and every of them, irom the exercise of all such pe- 
 culiar jurisdiction, untd they have performed this our 
 Constitution. 
 
 Judges Ecclesiastical, and their Surrogates. 
 
 127. The Quality and Oath of Judges. 
 T O man shall hereafter be admitted a Chancellor, 
 
 N 
 
 Commissary, or Official, to exercise any ecclesias 
 tical jurisdiction, except he be of the full age of six and 
 twenty years at the least, and one that is learned in the 
 Civil and Ecclesiastical Laws, and is at the least a Mas- 
 ter of Arts, or Bachelor of Law, and is reasonably well 
 practised in the course thereof, as likewise well affected, 
 and zealously bent to religion, touching wliose life and 
 manners no evil examjile is had ; and except, before he 
 enter into or execute any such oitice, he shall take the 
 oath of the King's supremacy in the jiresencc of the 
 Bishop, or in the open court, and shall subscribe to the 
 Articles of Religion agreed u|)on in the Convocation in 
 the year one thousand five hundred sixty and two, and 
 sliall also swear that he will, to the uttermost of his 
 understandmg, deal u])rightly and justly in his oflBce, 
 without respect or fa\'our of reward ; the said oaths 
 and sid)scription to be recorded by a Registrar then 
 present. And likewise all Chancellors, Connnissaries, 
 Officials, Registrars, and all other that do now possess 
 or execute any jilaces of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or 
 sen-ice, shall before Christmas next, in the presence of 
 the Archtiishop, or 15ishop, or in open court, imder 
 whom or wliere they exercise their offices, take the 
 same oaths, and subscribe, as before is said ; or, U])im 
 refusal so to do, shall l)e suspended from the execution 
 of their offices, until they shall take the said oaths, and 
 subscribe as aforesaid. 
 
 12s. The Quality of Surrogates. 
 
 NO Chancellor, (V)mmissary, Archdeacon, Official, 
 or any other person using ecclesiastical jurisdic- 
 tion, shall at any time substitute in tlieir absence any 
 to keep any court for tlicm, except lie be either a grave 
 
 Minister and a Graduate, or a licensed puldic Preacher, 
 and a beneficed man near the j)lace where the courts 
 are kept, or a Bachelor of Law, or a Master of Arts at 
 least, who hath some skdl in the Civil and Eccle- 
 siastical Law, and is a favourer of true Religion, and a 
 man of modest and honest conversation ; imder pain 
 of susiiension, for every time that they offend therein, 
 from the execution of their offices, for the S]iace of 
 three months, toties quolles .- and he likewise that is 
 deputed, being not qualified as is before expressed, 
 and yet shall presume to be a Substitute to any Judge, 
 and shall keep any court, as is aforesaid, shall undergo 
 the same censure in manner and form as is before 
 expressed. 
 
 Proctors. 
 
 129. Proctors not to retain Causes without the lauful 
 
 Assignment of the Parties. 
 
 ~\T ONE shall prociu'e in any cause whatsoever, un- 
 J.^ less he be thereunto constituted and appointed by 
 the party himself, either before the Judge, and by act 
 in court, or unless, in the beginning of the suit, he be 
 by a true and sufficient proxy thereunto warranted 
 and enabled. We call that proxy sufficient which is 
 strengthened and confirmed by some authentical seal, 
 the party's approbation, or at least his ratification 
 therewithal concurring. All which proxies shall he 
 forthwitli by the said Proctors exhibited into the court, 
 and be safely kept and ])reserved by the Registrar in 
 the ])ublic registry of the said court. And if any 
 Registrar or Proctor shall offend herein, he shall be 
 secluded from the exercise of his office for the space of 
 two months, without hope of release or restoring. 
 
 130. Proctors not to retain Causes without the Counsel 
 
 of an Advocate. 
 
 FOR lessening and abridging the multitude of suits 
 and contentions, as also for preventing the com- 
 plaints of suitors in Courts Ecclesiastical, who many 
 times are overthrown by the oversight and negligence, 
 or by the ignorance and insufficiency of Proctors ; and 
 likewise for the furtherance and increase of learning, 
 and the advancement of C'i\il and Canon Law, follow- 
 ing the laudable customs heretofore observed in the 
 com-ts iicrtaining to the .Vrchbishop of Canterbury ; we 
 will and ordain, that no Proctor exercising in any of 
 them shall entertain any cause whatsoever, and keep 
 and retain the same for two court-days, without the 
 counsel and adx'ice of an Advocate, under pain of a 
 year's suspension from his ju'actice; neither shall the 
 Judge liave power to release or mitigate the said 
 penalty, without express mandate and authority Trom 
 the Archbishop aforesaid. 
 
 131. Proctors not to conclude in any Case without the 
 
 knowledge nf an Advocate. 
 
 NO Judge in any of the said courts of the Arch- 
 bishop shall admit any libel, or any other matter, 
 without the advice of an .\dvooate admitted to practise 
 in the sanu' court, or without his suliscription ; neither 
 shall any Proctor conclude any cause dejiending with- 
 out the knowledge of tlic Advocate retained and feed 
 in the cause : which if any Proctor shall do, or jn'ocure 
 to be done, or shall by any colour whatsoever defraud 
 the Advocate of liis duty or fee, or shall be negligent in 
 repairing to the Advocate, and rccpiiring his advice 
 what course is to be taken in the caiise, he shall 
 be suspended from all jiractice for the space of six 
 months. « ithout hope of being thereunto restored before 
 the said term be fully comjiletc.
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 823 
 
 132. Proctors prohibited the Oath, 
 In animam doniini siii. 
 
 FORASMUCH as in the probate of testaments 
 and suits for administration of tlie goods of 
 persons dying intestate, the oatli usually taken by 
 Proctors of courts In animam constitiienlis, is found to 
 be inconvenient; we do therefore decree and ordain, 
 That every executor, or suitor for administration, shall 
 personally repair to the Judge in that behalf, or his 
 Surrogate, and in his own person (and not by Proctor) 
 take the oath accustomed in these cases. But if by 
 reason of sickness, or age, or any other just let or 
 impediment, he be not able to make his personal 
 appearance before the Judge, it shall be lawfid for 
 the Judge (there being faith first made by a credible 
 person of the truth of his said hinderance or impedi- 
 ment) to grant a commission to some grave Eccle- 
 siastical Person, abiding near the jiarty aforesaid, 
 whereby he shall give power and authority to the said 
 Ecclesiastical Person in his stead, to minister the ac- 
 customed oath above mentioned to the executor, or 
 suitor for such administration, requiring his said sub- 
 stitute, that by a faithful and trusty messenger he 
 certify the said Judge truly and faithfully what he hath 
 done therein. Lastly, we ordain and ajipoint. That no 
 Judge or Registrar shall in any wise receive for the 
 writing, drawing, or sealing of any such commission, 
 above the sum of six shillings and eight pence ; whereof 
 one moiety to be for the Judge, and the other for the 
 Registrar of the said court. 
 
 133. Proctors not to be clamorous in Court, 
 
 FORASMUCH as it is found by experience, that 
 the loud and confused cries and clamours of 
 Proctors in the courts of the Archbishop are not only 
 troublesome and offensive to the Judges and Advocates, 
 but also give occasion to the standers by, of contempt 
 and calumny toward the court itself; that more respect 
 may be had to the dignity of the Judge than heretofore, 
 and that causes may more easily and commodiously be 
 handled and despatched, we charge and enjoin, 'Phat 
 all Proctors in the said courts do especially intend, 
 that the acts be faithfully entered and set down by the 
 Registrar, according to the advice and direction of the 
 Advocate ; that the said Proctors refrain loud speech 
 and babbling, and behave themselves quietly and 
 modestly : and that, when either the Judges or Advo- 
 cates, or any of them, shall happen to speak, they 
 presently be silent, upon pain of silencing for two whole 
 terms then immediately following every such offence 
 of theirs. And if any of them shall the second time 
 offend herein, and after due monition shall not reform 
 liimself, let him be for ever removed from his practice. 
 
 Registrars. 
 134. Abuses to be reformed in Registrars. 
 
 IF any Registrar, or his Deputy or Substitute what- 
 soever, shall receive any certificate without the 
 knowledge and consent of the Judge of the court, or 
 willingly omit to cause any person cited to appear 
 upon any court-day, to be called ; or unduly put off 
 and defer the examination of witnesses to be examined 
 by a day set and assigned by the Judge ; or do not 
 obey and observe the judicial and lawful monition of 
 the said Judge ; or omit to write, or cause to be written, 
 such citations and decrees as are to be put in execution, 
 and set forth before the next court-day ; or shall not 
 cause all testaments exhibited into his office to be 
 registered within a convenient time ; or shall set down 
 or enact, as decreed by the Judge, any thing false or 
 conceited by himself, and not so ordered or decreed by 
 
 the Judge ; or, in the transmission of processes to tlie 
 Judge ad quern, shall add or insert any falsehood or 
 untruth, or omit any thing therein, cither by cunning, 
 or by gross negligence; or in causes of in.stance, or 
 promoted of office, shall receive any reward in favour 
 of either jiarty ; or be of counsel directly or indirectly 
 with either of the parties in suit ; or in the execution 
 of their office shall do aught else maliciously or fraudu- 
 lently, whereby the said Ecclesiastical Judge, or his 
 proceedings, may be slandered or defamed ; we will 
 and ordain. That the said Registrar, or his Deputy or 
 Substitute, offending in all or any of the jn'emises, 
 shall by the Pishop of the diocese be suspended from 
 the exercise of his office for the sjiace of one, two, or 
 three months, or more, according to the quality of his 
 offence ; and that the said Bishop shall assign some 
 other Public Notary to execute and discharge all things 
 pertaining to his office, during the time of his said sus- 
 pension. 
 
 135. A certain Rate of Fees due to all Ecclesiastical 
 
 Officers. 
 
 NO Bishop, Suffragan, Chancellor, Commissary, 
 Archdeacon, Official, nor any other exercising 
 ecclesiastical jurisdiction whatsoever, nor any Registrar 
 of any Ecclesiastical Courts, nor any Minister belong- 
 ing to any of the said offices or courts, shall hereafter, 
 for any cause incident to their several offices, take or 
 receive any other or greater fees, than such as were 
 certified to the most reverend Father in God, John late 
 Archbisho]) of Canterbury, in the year of our Lord 
 God one thousand five hundred ninety and seven, and 
 were by him ratified and a])pro\-ed ; under ])ain, that 
 every such Judge, Officer, or Minister offending herein, 
 shall be suspended from the exercise of their several 
 offices for the space of six months, for every such 
 offence. Always provided. That if any question shall 
 arise concerning the certainty of the said fees, or any 
 of them, then those fees shall be held for lawful, which 
 the Archbisho]) of Canterbury for the time being shall 
 under his hand apjirove, except the statutes of this realm 
 before made do in any particular case express some other 
 fees to be due. Provided furthermore, That no fee or 
 money shall be received either by the Archbishop, or 
 any Bishop, or Suffragan, either directly or indirectly, 
 for admitting of any into sacred orders ; nor that any 
 other person or persons under the said Archbisho]), 
 Bishop, or Suffragan, shall for parchment, writing, wax, 
 sealing, or any other respect thereunto appertaining, 
 take above ten shillings, under such pains as are 
 already by law j)rescribed. 
 
 136. A Table of the Rates and Fees to be set up in Courts 
 
 and Registries. 
 
 % 117"E do likewise constitute and appoint. That the 
 T T Registrars belonging to every such Ecclesiastical 
 Judge shall ])lace two tables, containing the several 
 rates and sums of all the said fees : one in the usual 
 place or consistory where the court is kept, and the 
 other in his registry ; and both of them in such sort, 
 as every man, whom it concerneth, may without diffi- 
 culty come to the view and perusal thereof, and take a 
 copy of them : the same tables to be set up before the 
 Feast of the Nativity next ensuing. And if any Re- 
 gistrar shall fail to i)lace the said tables according to the 
 tenor hereof, he shall be suspended from the execution 
 of his office, until he cause the same to be accordingly 
 done : and the said tables being once set up, if he shall 
 at any time remove, or suffer the same to be removed, 
 hidden, or any way hindered from sight, contrary to 
 the true meaning of this Constitution, he shall for
 
 824 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 every such offence be suspended from the exercise of 
 
 his office for the space of six months. 
 
 13". The whole Fees for shewing Letters of Orders, and 
 other Licences, due but once in every Bishop's time. 
 
 FOR.\SMUCH as the chief and principal cause 
 and use of Visitation is, that the Bishop, .■Vrch- 
 deacon, or other assigned to visit, may get some good 
 knowledge of the state, sufficiency, and ability of the 
 Clergy, and other persons whom they are to visit ; we 
 think it convenient, that every Parson, Vicar, Curate, 
 Schoohnaster, or other person licensed whosoever, do 
 at the Bishop's first Visitation, or at the next Visita- 
 tion after his admission, shew and exliibit unto him his 
 Letters of Orders, Institution, and Induction, and all 
 other his Dispensations, Licences, or Faculties what- 
 soever, to be by the said Bishop either allowed, or (if 
 there be just cause) disallowed and rejected : and being 
 by him approved, to be, as the custom is, signed by 
 the Registrar ; and that the whole fees accustomed to 
 be paid in the Visitations in respect of the premises, 
 be paid only once in the whole time of every Bishop, 
 and afterwards but half of the said accustomed fees in 
 every other Visitation, during the said Bishop's con- 
 tinuance. 
 
 Apparitors. 
 
 138. The number of Apparitors restrained. 
 
 FORASMUCH as we are desirous to redress such 
 abuses and grievances as are said to grow by Som- 
 ners or .\pparitors. we think it meet that the multitude 
 of Apparitors be (as much as is possible) abridged or 
 restrained : wherefore we decree and ordain. That no 
 Bishop or Archdeacon, or their Vicars, or Officials, or 
 other inferior Ordinaries, shall depute or have more 
 Apparitors to serve in their jurisdictions respectively, 
 than either they or their predecessors were accustomed 
 to have thirty years before the publishing of these our 
 present Constitutions. All which A|)paritors shall by 
 themselves faithfully execute their offices; neither shall 
 they, by any colour or pretence whatsoever, cause or 
 suffer their mandates to be executed by any Messengers 
 or Substitutes, unless it be upon some good cause to 
 be first known and approved by the Ordinary of the 
 place. Moreover, they sliall not take ui>on them the 
 office of Promoters or Informers for the court, neither 
 sliall they exact more or greater fees than are in these 
 our Constitutions formerly prescribed. And if cither 
 the number of tlie Ap|)aritors deputed shall exceed the 
 aforesaid limitation, or any of the said Apparitors shall 
 
 offend in any of the premises ; the persons deputing 
 them, if they be Bishops, shall, upon admonition of 
 their superior, discharge the persons exceeding the 
 number so limited ; if infericn- Ordinaries, they shall be 
 suspended from the execution of their office, until they 
 have dismissed the Apparitors by them so deputed ; 
 and the parties themselves so deputed shall for ever be 
 removed from the office of Apparitors ; and if, being 
 so removed, they desist not from the exercise of their 
 said offices, let them he jjimished by ecclesiastical 
 censures, as persons contumacious. Provided, That 
 if upon experience the number of the said Apparitors 
 be too great in any diocese in the judgment of the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury for the time being, they shall 
 by him be so abridged, as he shall think meet and con- 
 venient. 
 
 Authority of S) nods. 
 
 139. A National Synod the Church Representative. 
 
 WHOSOEVER shall hereafter affirm. That the 
 sacred Synod of this nation, in the name of Christ 
 and by the King's authority assembled, is not the true 
 Church of England by representation, let him be ex- 
 communicated, and not restored until he repent, and 
 publicly revoke that his wicked error. 
 
 140. Synods conclude as well the absent as the present. 
 
 WHOSOEVER shall affirm, That no manner of 
 person, either of the Clergy or Laity, not being 
 themselves particularly assembled in the said sacred 
 Synod, are to be subject to the decrees thereof in causes 
 ecclesiastical, (made and ratified by the King's Majesty's 
 supreme authority,) as not having given their voices 
 unto them, let him be excommunicated, and not re- 
 stored until he repent, and publicly revoke that his 
 wicked error. 
 
 141. Depravers of the Synod censured. 
 
 WHOSOEVER shall hereafter affirm. That the 
 sacred Synod, assembled as aforesaid, was a com- 
 pany of such persons as did conspire together against 
 godly and religious professors of the Gospel ; and that 
 therefore both they and their proceedings, in making of 
 Canons and Constitutions in causes ecclesiastical by 
 the King's authority, as aforesaid, ought to be despised 
 and contemned, the same being ratified, confirmed, 
 and enjoined by the said regal power, sujiremacy, and 
 authority ; let them be excommunicated, and not re- 
 stored until they repent, and publicly revoke that their 
 wicked error. 
 
 "ITTTE of our princely inclination and royal care for the maintenance of the present estate and government of 
 T T the Church of England, by the laws of this oiu- Realm now settled and established, having diligently, with 
 great contentment and comfort, read and considered of all these their said Canons, Orders, Ordinances, and 
 Constitutions, agreed upon, as is before ex])ressed ; and finding the same such as we are jiersuaded will l)e very 
 jjrofitahle, not only to our Clergy, but to the whole C'hurch of this our Kingdom, and to all the true Members of 
 it, if they he well observed ; have therefore for us, our Heirs, and lawful Successors, of our especial grace, certain 
 knowledge, and mere motion, given, and by these [iresonts do give our royal assent, according to the form of the 
 said Statute, or Act of I'arliament aforesaid, to all and every of the said Canons, Orders, Ordinances, and Con- 
 stitutions, and to all and every thing in them contained, as they are before ivritten. 
 
 And furthermore, we do not only by our said Prerogative Royal, and supreme Authority in Causes Ecclesias- 
 tical, ratify, ronfu'm, and establish, by these our Letters Patent, the said Canons, Orders, Ordinances, and Consti- 
 tutions, and all and every thing in them contained, as is aforesaid; but do likewise jiropound, publish, and 
 straightway enjoin and command by our said .Authority, and by these our Letters Patent, the same to be 
 diligently observed, executed, and e<inally kcjit by all our loving Subjects of this our Kingdom, both within the 
 J'rovinces of Cantcrlmry and York, in all points wherein they do or may concern every or any of them, according 
 to this our will and pleasure hereby signified and expressed ; and that likewise, for the better observation of them, 
 every .Minister, by wliat name or title soever he be called, shall in the Parish Church or Chapel where lie halli 
 charge, read all the said (Canons, Orders, Ordinances, and (Constitutions, once every year, ujion some Sundays or 
 Holy-days, in the Afternoon, before Divine Service, dividing the sumc in such sort, as that the one half may be
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 825 
 
 read one day, and the other another day : the I?ook of the said Canons to he pro\-ided at the charge of the 
 Parish, hetwixt this and the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord (iod next ensuinf; : straitly cliar(,'infr and com- 
 manding all Archhishops, liishops, and all <ithcr that exercise any Ecclesiastical .lurisdiclion within this Ri-alin, 
 every man in his place, to see, and procure (so much as in them lietli)all and every of the same Canons, Orders, 
 Ordinances, and Constitutions, to he in all ])()ints duly ohserved ; not sparing to execute the iienalties in them 
 severally mentioned, upon any that shall wittingly or wilfully hreak or neglect to ohserve the same, as they tender 
 the honour of God, the peace of the Church, tlie tran<iuillity of the Kingdom, and their duties and service to ua 
 their King and Sovereign. 
 
 In witness, &c.
 
 THE TABLE 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 c. 
 
 10. 
 
 11. 
 
 12. 
 
 Of the Church of England. 
 
 TH E King's Supremacy over the Church of 
 England, in Causes Ecclesiastical, to be main- 
 tained. 
 
 Impugners of the King's Supremacy censured. 
 
 The Church of England a true and apostohcal 
 Church. 
 
 Impugners of the public Worship of God, esta- 
 bhshed in the Church of England, censured. 
 
 Impugners of the Articles of Religion established 
 in the Church of England, censured. 
 
 Impugners of the Rites and Ceremonies, established 
 in the Church of England, censured. 
 
 Iminigners of the Government of the Cluirch of 
 England by Archbishops, Bishops, &:c. censured. 
 
 Impugners of the Form of consecrating and order- 
 ing .Archbishops, Bishops, &c. in the Church of 
 England, censured. 
 
 Authors of Schism in the Church of England cen- 
 sured. 
 
 Maintainers of Schismatics in the Chiu"ch of Eng- 
 land censured. 
 
 Maintainers of Conventicles censured. 
 
 Maintainers of Constitutions made in Conventicles 
 censured. 
 
 Of Divine Service, and Adminislration of the Sacraments. 
 
 13. Due Celebration of Sundays and Iloly-duys. 
 
 14. The ijrescript Form of Divine Service to be used 
 
 on Sundays and Holy-days. 
 1.5. Tlie Litany to be read on Wednesdays and Fridays. 
 16. Colleges to use the prescript Form of Divine Service. 
 1". Students in Colleges to wear Surplices in time of 
 
 Divine Service. 
 18. .\ reverence and attention to be used within the 
 
 Church in time of Divine Service. 
 1!). Loiterers not to be sufl'crcd near the Church in 
 
 time of Divine Service. 
 
 20. Bread and Wine to be provided against every Com- 
 
 munion. 
 
 21. nie Communion to be thrice a year received. 
 
 22. Warning to be given beforehand for the Commu- 
 
 nion. 
 
 23. Students in Colleges to receive the Communion 
 
 four times a year. 
 
 24. Copes to l)e worn in Cathedral Churches by those 
 
 tliat administcT (lie Coinmunion. 
 
 25. Surplices and Hoods to lie worn in Cathedral 
 
 Cburclies. when tliore is no (!()inm\itiimi. 
 
 26. Notorious Oll'eiidcrs not to be admitted to the 
 
 (Communion. 
 
 27. Scliismatics not to be admitted to the Communion. 
 
 28. Strangers not to be admitted to the Communion. 
 
 29. Fathers not to be Godfathers in Baptism, and 
 
 Children not Communicants. 
 
 30. The la\vful Use of the (/loss in Baptism explained. 
 
 Ministers, their Ordination, Function, and Charge. 
 
 31. Four solemn times appointed for the making of 
 
 Ministers. 
 
 32. None to be made Deacon and Minister both in one 
 
 day. , 
 
 33. The Title of such as are to be made ^Fniisters. 
 
 34. The Quality of such as are to lie made Ministers. 
 
 35. The E.xamination of such as are to be made Mi- 
 
 nisters. 
 
 36. Subscription required of such as are to be made 
 
 Ministers. 
 
 llie Articles of Subscription. 
 The Form of Subscription. 
 
 37. Subscription before the Diocesan. 
 
 38. Revolters after Subscription censured. 
 
 39. Cautions for Institution of Ministers into Benefices. 
 
 40. An Oath against Simony at Institution into Be- 
 
 nefices. 
 
 41. Licences for Plurality of Benefices limited, and 
 
 Residence enjoined. 
 
 42. Residence of Deans in their Churches. 
 
 43. Deans and Prebendaries to preach during their 
 
 Residence. 
 
 44. Prebendaries to be resident upon their Benefices. 
 
 45. Beneficed Preachers, being resident ujwn their 
 
 Lixings, to preach every Sunday. 
 
 46. Beneficed Men, not Preachers, to procure monthly 
 
 Sermons. 
 
 47. Absence of Beneficed Men to he supplied by 
 
 Curates that are allowed Prcaelicrs. 
 
 48. None to be Curates but allowed by the Bisliop. 
 
 49. Ministers not allowed Preachers may not expound. 
 
 50. Strangers not admitted to preach without shewing 
 
 their Licence. 
 
 51. Strangers not admitted to preach in Cathedral 
 
 Churches without sulTicient .\uthority. 
 
 52. The names of strange Preachers to be noted in a 
 
 Book. 
 
 53. No public Opposition between Preachers. 
 
 54. The Licences of Preachers refusing Conformity to 
 
 be void. 
 
 55. The Form of a Prayer to be used by all Preachers 
 
 before their Sermons. 
 
 56. Preachers and Lecturers to read Divine Service, 
 
 and administer the Sacraments twice a year at 
 tlie least.
 
 TABLE OF THE CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS. 
 
 827 
 
 57. Tlie Sacraments not to he refused at the hands 
 
 of unpreaching Ministers. 
 
 58. Ministers reading Divine Service, and adminis- 
 
 terinj^ the Sacraments, to wear Surplices, and 
 Graduates therewithal Hoods. 
 
 59. Ministers to catechize every Sunday. 
 
 (iO. Confirmation to be performed once in three Years. 
 Gl. Ministers to prepare Children for Confirmation. 
 0'2. Ministers not to marry any persons without Banns 
 
 or Licence. 
 03. Ministers of exempt Churches not to marry without 
 
 Banns or Licence. 
 
 64. Ministers solemnly to bid Holy-days. 
 
 65. Ministers solemnly to denounce Recusants and 
 
 Excommunicates. 
 
 66. Ministers to confer with Recusants. 
 
 67. Ministers to visit the Sick. 
 
 68. Ministers not to refuse to christen or bury. 
 
 69. Ministers not to defer christening, if the Child be 
 
 in danger. 
 
 70. Ministers to keep a Register of Christenings, Wed- 
 
 dings, and Burials. 
 
 71. Ministers not to ])reach or administer the Commu- 
 
 nion in private Houses. 
 
 72. Ministers not to appoint public or private Fasts or 
 
 Prophecies, or to exorcise, but by authority. 
 
 73. Ministers not to hold private Conventicles. 
 
 74. Decency in Apparel enjoined to Ministers. 
 
 75. Sober Conversation required in Ministers. 
 
 76. Ministers at no time to forsake their Calling. 
 
 Schoolmasters. 
 
 77. None to teach School without Licence. 
 
 78. Curates desirous to teach, to be hcensed before 
 
 others. 
 
 79. The Duty of Schoolmasters. 
 
 Things appertaining to Churches. 
 
 80. The Great Bible, and Book of Common Prayer to 
 
 be had in every Church. 
 
 81. A Font of Stone for Baptism in every Church. 
 
 82. A decent Communion-Table in every Church. 
 
 83. A Pulpit to be provided in every Church. 
 
 84. A Chest for Alms in every Church. 
 
 85. Churches to be kept in sufficient Reparations. 
 
 86. Churches to be surveyed, and the Decays certified 
 
 to the high Commissioners. 
 
 87. A Terrier of Glebe-lands, and other Possessions 
 
 belonging to Churches. 
 
 88. Churches not to be profaned. 
 
 Church-wardens or Quest-men, and Side-men or 
 Assistants. 
 
 89. The choice of Church-wardens, and their Account. 
 
 90. Tlie choice of Side-men, and their joint office with 
 
 Church- wardens. 
 
 Parish- Clerks, 
 
 91. Parish-Clerks to be chosen by the Minister. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Courts belonging to the Archbishop's 
 Jurisdiction. 
 
 92. None to be cited into divers Courts for Probate of 
 
 the same will. 
 
 93. The Rate of Bona notabilia liable to the Preroga- 
 
 tive Court. 
 
 94. None to be cited into the Arches or Audience, but 
 
 dwellers within the Archbishop's Diocese, or 
 Peculiars. 
 
 95. The Restraint of double QuaiTels. 
 
 96. Inhibitions not to be granted without the Sub- 
 scription of an Advocate. 
 
 Inhil)itions not to be granted, until the Appeal bo 
 exhibited to the Judge. 
 
 Inhibitions not to be granted to factious Appel- 
 lants, unless they first subscribe. 
 
 None to marry within the Degrees prohibited. 
 100. None to marry under Twenty-one Years, without 
 their Parents' consent. 
 
 By whom Licences to marry without Banns shall 
 be granted, and to what sort of Persons. 
 
 Security to be taken at the granting of such 
 Licences, and under what Conditions. 
 
 Oath to be taken for the Conditions. 
 
 An exception for those that are in Widowhood. 
 
 No Sentence for Divorce to be given upon the 
 sole confession of the parties. 
 
 No Sentence for Divorce to be given but in open 
 Court. 
 
 In all Sentences for Divorce, Bond to be taken 
 for not marrying during each other's hfe. 
 
 The Penalty for Judges offending in the Premises. 
 
 97. 
 
 98. 
 99. 
 
 101. 
 
 102. 
 
 103. 
 104. 
 105. 
 
 106. 
 
 107. 
 
 108. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Courts belonging to the Jurisdiction of 
 Bishops and Archdeacons, and the Proceedings in them. 
 
 109. Notorious Crimes and Scandals to be certified into 
 
 Ecclesiastical Courts by Presentment. 
 
 110. Schismatics to be presented. 
 
 111. Disturbers of Divine Service to be presented. 
 
 112. Non-Communicants at Easter to be presented. 
 
 113. Ministers may present. 
 
 114. Ministers shall present Recusants. 
 
 115. Ministers and Church-wardens not to be sued for 
 
 presenting. 
 
 1 1 6. Church-wardens not bound to present oftener than 
 
 twice a Year. 
 
 117. Church-wardens not to be troubled for not present- 
 
 ing oftener than twice a Year. 
 
 118. The old Church-wardens to make their Present- 
 
 ments before the new be sworn. 
 
 119. Convenient time to be assigned for framing Pre- 
 
 sentments. 
 
 120. None to be cited into Ecclesiastical Courts by 
 
 Process of Quorum Nomina. 
 
 121. None to be cited into several Courts for one Crime. 
 
 122. No Sentence of Deprivation or Deposition to be 
 
 pronounced against a Minister, but by the 
 Bishop. 
 
 123. No Act to be sped but in open Court. 
 
 124. No Court to have more than one Seal. 
 
 125. Convenient places to be chosen for the keeping of 
 
 open Courts. 
 
 126. Peculiar and inferior Courts to exhibit the original 
 
 Copies of Wills into the Bishop's Registry. 
 
 Judges Ecclesiastical, and their Surrogates. 
 
 127. The Quality and Oath of Judges. 
 
 128. The Quality of Surrogates. 
 
 Proctors. 
 
 129. Proctors not to retain Causes without the lawful 
 
 Assignment of the Parties. 
 
 130. Proctors not to retain Causes without the counsel 
 
 of an Advocate. 
 
 131. Proctors not to conclude in any Cause without the 
 
 knowledge of an Advocate. 
 
 132. Proctors prohibited the Oath, In animam domini 
 
 sui. 
 
 1 33. Proctors not to be clamorous in Court. 
 
 Registrars. 
 
 134. Abuses to be reformed in Registrars.
 
 828 
 
 TABLE OF THE CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS. 
 
 135. A certain Rate of Fees due to all Ecclesiastical 
 
 Officers. 
 13(3. A Table of the Rates and Fees to be set up in 
 
 Courts and Registries. 
 13". The whole Fees for shewing Letters of Orders, 
 
 and other Licences, due but once in every 
 
 Bishop's time. 
 
 i 
 
 Apparitors. 
 
 138. The Number of Apparitors restrained. 
 
 Authority of Synods. 
 
 1 39. A National Synod the Church Representative. 
 
 140. Synods conclude as well the absent as the present. 
 
 141. Depravers of the Synod censured.
 
 INDEX.
 
 INDEX 
 
 TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 CONTAINED IN 
 
 THE NOTES. 
 
 Abortion, human greatness compared to one, 52C, o. 
 
 Abraham, liis rejoicing at the sight of Christ's day, a motive 
 of joy to us, 132, A'. who the adopted seed of, 597t '«• 
 their duty, idid. covenant with, when God remembered it, 
 bUT, 0. God's promise to, when said to be remembered, 
 599, a. in what wajs God's covenant with him fulliiled, 
 611, m. 
 
 Absalom, his conduct to David described, 522, c. 
 
 Absolution, an act of ministerial authority, 10, e. its efficacy 
 generally acknowledged, ibid, power of pronouncing it not 
 limited to the apostles, ibid, how to be understood, ibid. 
 how to be received by the people, ibid, part of the priest's 
 office, ibid, what it properly is, ibid. At to be exercised 
 after confession of sins, ibid, form of, not popish, ibid. 
 when composed, ibid, different from the popish abso- 
 lutions, ibid, use of it, ibid, why said to be pronounced, 
 10, ff. why by the priest alone, ibid, not to be read by a 
 deacon, ibid, much less repeated by the people, ibid. 
 parts of which it consists, 11, A. its apostolical commence- 
 ment, 11, i. pubUshed by the minister in God's name, 12, 
 m. to be understood conditionally, ibid, how to be re- 
 ceived, ibid. 
 
 Absolution, in the Communion Service, by whom composed, 
 308, n. structure of it, ibid, authorities on which founded, 
 
 308, 0. intent and fitness of it, 300, p. why pronounced 
 by the priest or bishop, ibid, shewn by the rubrick to be 
 an act of authority, ibid, used in the primitive times, ibid. 
 its contents, ibid, comprises all that the contrite can de- 
 sire, ibid, special reasons why it should not be pronounced 
 by the people, ibid. 
 
 Absolution, in the Visitation of the Sick, foundation of it, 
 4\G, g. how intended by the Church, iZf/rf. its antiquity, 
 ibid, exiilained and vindicated, ibid, when to be adminis- 
 tered, ibid, how to be received, ibid, correction of an im- 
 proper expression which was formerly in it, 41G, h. 
 
 Absolution, three several forms of in the Church Service, 
 
 309, P' in sense and virtue the same, ibid. 
 Absolution, private, different views of our Church and of the 
 
 papists concerning it, 302, 303, 0. 
 Absolution, who are the persons to whom it will be granted, 
 
 202, e. 
 Acceptable time, why and when granted us, 542, m. 
 Accepted times, necessity of improving them, 125, k. 
 Accuser, the great, dehverance from him to be prayed for, 
 
 485, h. 
 Actions, different ways of considering them, 767» ?. 
 Actions, virtuous, what the great spring and principle of 
 
 them, 7G7, q. 
 Adam, eflects of his sin what, 761, s. effects of Christ's 
 
 obedience commensurate with them, ibid. 
 Advent, why so called, 85, e. time of its institution, ibid, its 
 
 solemnity how marked formerly, ibid, why the beginning 
 
 of the ecclesiastical year, ibid, and of the Church in her 
 
 services at this season, ibid. 
 Adversary, our spiritual, his rage and subtilty figuratively 
 
 represented, 637)/- 
 
 Adversity, how it serves the ends of religion, 264, /. a trial 
 of our continuing with Clirist, ibid, the punishment and 
 remedy of sin, 625, y. See Afflictions. 
 
 Affability and condescension recommended by our Saviour's 
 example, 214, a. 
 
 Affection, what meant by setting it on things above, 156, z. 
 when we may be said to do so, ibid. 
 
 Affections, corrupt, the most inveterate enemies to God and 
 Christ, 451, i. 
 
 Afflicted, God's promise for their consolation, 463, i. 
 
 Affliction, rod of, how to be endured, 502, ff. 
 
 Afflictions, virtues particularly necessary under them, 188, c. 
 good effects of them, ibid, uses of them, 460, e. motives to 
 comfort under them, 4GI, u. God our comfort under them, 
 481, z. considerations that make the soul cheerful in them, 
 488, p. conduct to be practised under them, 489, u. a 
 som'ce of comfort and strength under them, 490, a. proper 
 effect of them, 501, y. of the righteous, known unto God, 
 524, i. their use and necessity, 534, k. not to be regarded 
 as a mark of final desertion by God, 544, m. primary 
 intentions of them, 566, 0. what to be prayed for under 
 them, 623, b. proceed from God's goodness, 625, z. uses 
 of them, 625, c, how to satisfy impatience under them, 
 627, 0. use of them to God's faithful servants, 629, y. not 
 uncommon with the righteous, 640, ff. 
 
 Affusion, directed by the Church where dipping is not prac- 
 tised, 345, 0. why to be preferred to sprinkling, ibid, best 
 apology for the present practice of substituting it for 
 dipping, 346, o. significancy of it, 379, x. early use of it, 
 ibid, why now imiversally chosen, ibid. 
 
 After, its sense in old EngHsh, 68, d. 
 
 Agatha, account of her, xH. 
 
 Age, want of, in what case an impediment to marriage, 396, 
 b. a canon relating to it affected by a subsequent statute, 
 ibid. 
 
 Agnes, account of her, sxxLx. 
 
 Agriculture, an emblem of our present labour and futm-e 
 reward, 639, q. 
 
 Ahimelech, massacre of, compared to the cutting of wood, 
 652, k. 
 
 Ahithophel, circumstances in his history and death alluded 
 to, 522, 523, c. g. i, k. 
 
 Alban, St., account of him, li. 
 
 All conditions of men, prayer for, special provision in it for 
 those who desire it, 74, m. why drawn up, ibid, and by 
 whom, ibid, probably longer at first tlian it is now, 75, m. 
 use and purport of it, 74, m. founded on the Lord's 
 prayer, ibid. 
 
 All Saints, feast of, its antiquity, 274, i. intention of our 
 Reformers in retaining it, ibid. 
 
 Almighty and most merciful Father, propriety of the titles, 
 as introductory to prayer, 7, ?*• 
 
 Almighty, safety of those who put themselves under his pro- 
 tection, figuratively describeil, 579, c, d. 
 
 Alms, at the Communion SerWce, by whom to be collected, 
 297, ^' why to be brought to the priest, &c., ibid.
 
 832 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 Alphabet, Hebrew, psalm divided according to the number 
 of its letters, G19, 9. 
 
 Alphege, account of him, xU'ii. 
 
 Altar, antiquity of the name for the communion table, 279, 
 s. indifferency of the t^vo names, ibid, particular reference 
 of each, 280, *. hghts upon it prescribed by the Rubrick, 
 Ixxiv, p 
 
 Altar, place of refuge to offenders, 485, e. 
 
 Ambrose, St., account of him, xlvii. 
 
 Amen, why used at the end of the confession, 9, d. different 
 significations of the word, 12, 0. universal practice of the 
 Church to use it, 13, 0. not to be neglected by us, ibid. 
 why printed in ditfercnt characters, ibid, when to be pro- 
 nounced by the minister, ibid, when by the people only, 
 ibid, distinction in the use of it at the end of different 
 prayers, 281, z. why printed in different characters, ibid. 
 
 Amen, mistake concerning the use of it in the Commination 
 Service, 441, y. what it there means, ibid. 
 
 Amends, necessary to be made by those who have done an 
 injury to another, 414, a. to what extent required, 414, b. 
 
 Anabaptists, their erroneous view of the moral precepts of 
 Moses, 758, c. their doctrine of sin after baptism being 
 imjiardonable, 770, c. their rise, 787. ?• their tenet of the 
 community of goods, 798, n. 
 
 Anathema, formerly used for condemning errors, TJi, r, 
 whence derived, ibid. 
 
 Andrew, St., why his day is kept first, 230, d. account of 
 him, ibid, form of his cross, 231, d. 
 
 Angel of the Lord, what meant by it, 493, e. 
 
 Angels, their joy at the conversion of a sinner, 189, d. de- 
 scribed as ministers of God, 594, p. 
 
 Angels, evil, their fall asserted in Scripture, 268, a. an in- 
 centive to watchfulness in us, ibid, a warning against 
 pride, ibid, difference between their condition afterwards, 
 and that of fallen man, a motive t« our gratitude, ibid. 
 evil, employed in inflicting the Egyptian plagues, what 
 meant by them, 558, m. 
 
 Angels, good, good men under their protection, 269, b. re- 
 flection on them an incitement to thankfulness, ibid, an 
 example of loving kindness, ibid, a su]ijiort in temptation, 
 ibid, a motive to carefulness in our behavioiu*, ibid, respect 
 for them must be duly tempered, ibid, how far the benefit 
 we derive from them extends, ibid. 
 
 Animal world, wisdom of God displayed in it incomprehen- 
 sible, 660, i. 
 
 Animals, force of instinct in them, 595, z. 
 
 Anna, reward of her offices of devotion, an encouragement to 
 us, 240, q. 
 
 Annunciation, what meant by it, 242, u. 
 
 Anne, St., account of her, liii. 
 
 Anointed, term apphed to Christ and Christians, 581, n. 
 
 Anthem, origin and meaning of the word, 18, d. 
 
 Antinomians, Article of the Church relating to them, 758, c. 
 
 Antioch, great honour done to it by St. Luke, 252, ff. 
 
 Apocrj'pha, books of, why read in the Church, 21, /. why 
 used by our Church, xxx, 0. ancient examjde for it, ibid. 
 
 Apocryphal books, why so called, 688, q. innovation of tlie 
 council of Trent concerning them, ibid, why rejected by 
 our Church from the canon, 758, y. distinction between 
 them and the canonical books, ibid, grounds of dis- 
 tinction between them and the canonical, 758, b. use of 
 them, ibid, some parts of them not read by the Church, 
 ibid. 
 
 Apostasy, caution against it, 601, I. 
 
 Apostles, their commission extended to their successors, 10, 
 €. examples of patience and perseverance, 125, A. their 
 commission renewed after our Lord's resurrection, l(i2, i. 
 what meant by his sending them, as his FathtT sent Ilim, 
 ibid, our duty to be followers of them, 225, s. wherrin 
 we are not to imitate them, ibid, wherein we are, ibid. 
 call of them, different from ours, 232, /■ wherein their 
 case is a pattern for us, ibid, reflections (m the contention 
 for superiority among them, 264, t. their integrity in 
 preaching the Gospel, shewn, l)y the rules of lifr tln'y laid 
 down, 2'»6, x. by the niotivi'S they alleged, ibid, by thrir 
 imjmrtiality, ibid, by their lives, ibid, by their suti'erings 
 and dciitliH, ibid. 
 
 Apparel of women, what sort of intended by the rubrick 
 before the churching of women, 436, y. 
 
 Archbishop, date of the name and jurisdiction, 709, i. coun- 
 terpart in the Jewish church, ibid, sometimes used jiro- 
 miscuously with metropolitan, 710, t. his early jurisdiction 
 over Bishops, 713,^. oath of due obedience to him, when 
 drawn up, ibid, to whom pledged when the see is vacant, 
 713, y. 
 
 Archdeacon, original of the title and office, 677* 7- powers 
 afterwards enlarged, ibid, different names by which called, 
 ibid, remark on the form of words with which he presents 
 candidates for orders, 678, jr. 
 
 Arians, their attempt to change the orthodox form of worship, 
 16, or. their heresy condemned in the Athanasian Creed, 
 53, s. support part of the scriptural doctrine of the Trirdty, 
 53, X. departed from the belief of the Church, 291, a. ex- 
 plain away the meaning of Scripture, 291, b. their forced 
 interpretation of Scripture, ibid. 
 
 Arius, his doctrme concerning Christ, 289, /. consequence 
 of it, ibid. 
 
 Ark, its going up into the temple described, 513, f. how ap- 
 plied in the Christian Church, ibid, its removal to mount 
 Zion emblematical of our Saviour's resurrection, 536, x. 
 deposited on mount Zion, a symbol of our Lord's ascen- 
 sion, 538, m. rejoicings at the removal of it a prelude to 
 the joy of the Christian Church, 539, r. 
 
 Armour of God, exhortation to put it on, an encouragement 
 against danger, 221, m. 
 
 Arrows of God, what they are, 499, /. of the ungodly, danger 
 from them how to be guarded against, 462, z. 
 
 Arminius, his doctrines the same as those of the 17th 
 Article, 772, i. 
 
 Article concerning private baptism, passed by convocation in 
 1575, whether published or not, 354, 355, g. 
 
 Articles, power of every church to compose or alter them, 
 777. d. 
 
 Articles, the thirty-nine, origin and history of them, 749, a. 
 four general divisions of them, ibid, preference given to 
 them by the Chiu-ch over the Homilies, 704, x. in what 
 sense considered by some persons, 799. what they are to 
 the laity, ibid, and what the clergy are bound to by them, 
 ibid, why the clergy are bound to subscribe their assent to 
 them, 794, X. to be perused carefully by candidates for 
 orders, 7!^^. 800. what the just ground of conscientious 
 subscription to tliem, ibid. 
 
 Articles, the forty-two, tlie foundation of the thirty-nine, 
 749, a. 
 
 Asaph, who supposed to be, 547, '• psalm composed by, 
 during the captivity, 550, /. on account of some great 
 deliverance, 553, b, during the capti\'ity, 554. A: in decla- 
 ration of God's dealings with his people, 555, y. on the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, 560. r. 561, d. for feast times, 
 563, r. on the corruption of wicked magistrates, 564, a. 
 as a complaint against the oppressors of God's people, 
 565, h. 
 
 Ascension, see Christ, his ascension. 
 
 Ascension-day, reason and antiqiuty of observing it, 170, y. 
 suitableness of the service, ibid. 
 
 Asli -Wednesday, why the first day of Lent, 123, d. reason 
 of the name, ibid, how observed anciently, ibid, scasonablc- 
 ness of the proper services, ibid, why no selection of proper 
 lessons, ibid. 
 
 Asses, wild, an instance of God's providence, 594, s. 
 
 Assist, when God is said to assist \is in our jirayers, 324, s. 
 
 Assurance of the Church, on what built, 475. c. 
 
 Atiianasius, account of liim, 50, u. See Creed. 
 
 Atheist, his condition at the resurrection, 516, e. 
 
 AuGUSTiN, Abp. account of iiim, xlvii. 
 
 AuGUSTiN, St. account of him, liii. his opposition to the Pela- 
 gians, 761, 0, p. his doctrine concerning original sin, 761,.?. 
 opinion of those who do not a^ri-e with him, 762, s. passage 
 cited from him concerning the Lord's Supper, 789, d. 
 
 Authors cited, alpliabctical hst of, xiii, xiv. 
 
 B. 
 
 BAnvT.ON, vengeance of heaven, why predicted upon her, 
 
 648, /. 
 Ilaca, vale of, opinions concerning it, 567, /. 
 Banner, to wliich the worshippers of God might resort, 
 
 528, I.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES, 
 
 833 
 
 Banns, origin and meaning of tlie word, 'A*i5, z. 
 Baptism, the ordinary way of salvation, 153, s. to what its 
 efficacy is ascrihcd, il/id. when commonly administered by 
 the ancients, 157, ^' anniversary commemoration of, ob- 
 served by the ancients, 104, n. in what way the Cliurch 
 draws near to the practice, ibid, necessity of reflecting on 
 the engagement and the end of it, IJM, rn. instituted by 
 our vSaviour to convey regeneration, 'A2'.i, o. rites used by 
 the primitive Christians agreeable to this notion, ibid, a 
 rite of natural signification, and universally practised, ibid, 
 matle a sacrament by our Lord, ibid, how it represents 
 regeneration, ibid, provision of the Church to prevent its 
 being repeated, 3;i4, 335, a. rei)etition of it contrary to 
 Scripture and antiquity, ibid, a contempt of St. Paul's 
 aphorism, ibid, repetition of it, inconsistent with the 
 spiritual benetits ascribed to it, ibid, so stated in the 
 Nicene Creed, ibid, necessity and efficacy of it, briefly 
 stated from Scripture, 330, c. the only ordinary means of 
 our regeneration, ibid, how shewn to be an holy thing, 
 337. 0- c-nd and design of its being sanctified, ibid, the 
 constant and uniform doctrine of the Church that we are re- 
 generated in it, 34y, u. because it puts us into a uew estate, 
 ibid, gives us new relations, ibid, and a new natm-e, ibid. 
 what it is, 378, s. necessary parts of it, ibid, why water 
 a necessai7 part of it, 37H, /. the benefit conferred by it, 
 379, .r. state in which it places us, 379, //• how we continue 
 in that state, ibid, requisites in order to it, 3.*I0, r, a ,- 3G8, 
 b. duties to which it binds us, 3(j8, /. sin after it not un- 
 pardonable, 77 Ij/"' remission granted to it on repentance, 
 77lj ff- benefits of it to those who receive it rightly, 786, 
 p. a federal admission to Christianity, ibid, assertions of 
 the ancients concerning its spiritual effects, ibid, not to be 
 repeated, 784, h. 
 
 Baptism of infants, agreeable to God*s institution of circum- 
 cision, 330, q. and to the custom of tJie Jews tliereupon, 
 ibid, not excepted against by our Saviour, ibid, nor omitted 
 by the apostles, ibid, why not expressly mentioned by the 
 Scriptures, 331, q. clearly implied by them, ibid, most 
 probably practised from the beginning of Christianit}'', ibid. 
 proved from the ancient fathers to have been the practice 
 of the very first ages, ibid, origin of the contempt of it, 
 330, d. that it is agreeable to Christ, concluded by the 
 Church out of Scripture, 338, 339, t. the est^iblished faith 
 of the Church, ibid. 
 
 Baptism, infants why to be baptized, 330, p. why to be bap- 
 tized publickly, ibid, in case of weakness the j)rivate office 
 provided for them, ibid, to be brought to Church after- 
 wards, ibid, infants who have received it supposed both by 
 Scriptiu-e and the Church to be regenerate, 348, u. solu- 
 tion of the doubt whether infants be regenerated in it, 
 349, u. blessings of it conditional, 349, 350, it. how it 
 appears that children are saved, which sin not after bap- 
 tism, 351, b. 
 
 Baptism, wlien administered in ancient times, 332, s. pru- 
 dence of our Church's rule on the subject, ibid, why it 
 ought to be administered on a Sunday, or holy-day, ibid. 
 what meant by unless necessity otherwise require, ibid. 
 ought if possible to be perfrjrmed dm-mg the stated service, 
 ibid, and at the font, ibid, where administered in the 
 earliest times of Christianity, 331, r. provision afterwards 
 made for it, ibid, why appointed by us in the Church, ibid. 
 anciently administered in the presence of the congregation, 
 334, y. 
 
 Bajitism, office of, why placed first in order of the occasional 
 offices, 329, 0. why not placed before the office of the Com- 
 munion, 330, 0. 
 
 Baptism, pubhck office of, to be administered at the font 
 only, 334, y. absurdity of administering it elsewhere, ibid. 
 remarks on the conduct of those who procuj'e it to be used 
 at home, ibid, contrary to reason and the plain design of 
 the institution, ibid, forbidden in a private house, 354, f. 
 statement of its contents, as it concerns both the child and 
 the sureties, 334, 335, a. why commenced with an exhor- 
 tation to prayer, 33G, b. why a profession of a desire to 
 receive it requu*ed before it is administered, 341, y. ad- 
 ministration of it following the questions and answers, 
 what it contains, 343, b. statement of the several contents, 
 ibid, summary of the service after administration, 347, /. 
 
 Baptism, who authorized to administer it, 333, x. not to be 
 
 administered by unordaincd persons, 354, g. opinions of 
 the ancients about it, ibid, reasons of tlie exclusion, ibid. 
 opinion of our Church and grounds of it, ibid, when the 
 order confining the administration to a lawful minister 
 was made, ibid, history of the proceedings of the Church, 
 and of the rubrick, in this particular, 354, 355, g. pre- 
 sumjttion in an unordained person to administer it, 355. 
 g. and unjustifiable provision of the church of Rome, 
 ibid, why the pretence of the child's danger not sufficient, 
 ibid, whether valid and effectual if performed by an un- 
 ordained person, ibid, opinion of our Church, as formed 
 from her publick acts and offices, ibid, what to be done by 
 those who have been so baptized, ibid, may be admi- 
 nistered by deacons, 628, z. in the absence of a priest, 
 ibid. 
 Baptism, form of, essential part instituted by our Saviour, 
 329, 0. rites and circumstances left to the Church, ibid, 
 what meant by that form, 346, ;;. constant care of the 
 Church not to vary from our Lord's words, ibid, other 
 variations, not affecting those words, ibid, censure of the 
 Church upon such hereticks as presumed to vary, ibid. 
 words essential to it, 356, n. always used by the apostles, 
 ibid, to be administered in the name of tlie Father, the 
 Sou, and the Holy Ghost, 379, /• import of the expression, 
 ibid. 
 
 Baptism usually administered at first by dipping, 345, m. 
 signifieancy of that mode, ibid, significancy of affusion, 
 ibid, agreement of the two ceremonies, ibid, implies both 
 dipping and affusion, ibid, indifferently practised by the 
 Jews, ibid, affusion sometimes used by the primitive 
 Christians, ibid, whence it originated, 345, n. when it 
 generally succeeded to dipping, ibid, moderation of our 
 Church in this particular, ibid, either mode sufficient, 
 ibid, why it was the old fashion to dip or sprinkle thrice, 
 ibid, why altered to once, ibid, how we are certified that 
 a child will not endure dipping, 346, 0. grace of it signifi- 
 cantly pointed out, both by immersion and aspersion, 786, 0. 
 See Affusion. 
 
 Baptism, vows of, several particulars examined, 341, y. ex- 
 plained, 368, g. their necessity and antiquity, ibid, import- 
 ance of taking them upon ourselves, 388, d. 
 
 Baptism, privileges of, why the beginning of religious instruc- 
 tion, 307, a. properly reduced in the Catechism to three 
 heads, 367, b. explanation of them, 367, 368, c, d, e. 
 
 Baptism, private, provision made for it by the Church, if 
 necessary, 334, y; 353, d. her tenderness and maternal 
 love in so doing, ibid, principle on which allowed, ibid. 
 practice of the ancient Church, ibid, duty of parents con- 
 cerning it, ibid, what a cause of its necessity, 354, e. 
 what office then to be used, 354, f. the sacrament, so ad- 
 ministered, 356, k. 
 
 Baptism, private, office of, prayer for the consecration of 
 the water should not be omitted, 355, h. why the order for 
 dipping left out, 355, /. how to be used, when applied to 
 more than one child, 357, 0. contents of that part of it 
 which is used when the child is brought to church, 357, 
 p. uncertain why the direction concerning confirmation 
 was omitted ibid, what should be done in consequence, 
 ibid. 
 
 Baptism, office of, for those of riper years, for whom designed, 
 330, p. why not inserted in our earher Liturgies, 360, q. 
 what caused the want of it, ibid, for what persons useful, 
 ibid, by whom supposed to have been composed, ibid. 
 what required of them beforehand, 360, r, useful to be 
 read before confirmation, ibid, differences between it and 
 the office for infants, 360, s. 
 
 Baptism with the Holy Ghost, its signification, 337, k. 
 
 Baptism, both of water and of the Spirit, necessary, 336, e. 
 
 Baptize, meaning of the word, 379, a\ 
 
 Baptizing in the name of Christ, no exclusion of the other two 
 persons, 356, n. meaning of the expression, ibid. 
 
 Barnabas, St. account of him, 251,/'. an example of Cliris- 
 tian charity, 253, //. his day, when admitted among the 
 holy-days of the Clu.u*ch, Ixiii. b. how distinguished from 
 others, ibid. 
 
 Bartholomew, St. account of him, 262, r. whether the same 
 as Nathanael, ibid. 
 
 Basan, hill of, in what respect Sion may be preferred to it, 
 538, i. 
 
 3 li
 
 a34 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 Baxter, Mr. his assurance with respect to the Liturgy, ix. 
 strictures levelled against the prayers drawn up by him, 
 xxviii, A. 
 
 Beasts, a proof of God's providence, 395, b. 
 
 Beasts that perish, wherein man is compared to them, 515, a:. 
 what sort of men are like them, 5X6, J'. 
 
 Beauty of holiness, exemplified in the Slorning Service of 
 theChurch, 42, c. specially exemplified in the Litany, 70, d. 
 
 Bede, Venerable, account of him, xlLx. 
 
 Behef, Articles of, why in the Christian covenant they come 
 before the rules of obedience, 3/0, r. 
 
 Belief, the ground of practice, 370, r, 
 
 Behef in God, in what it consists, 373, e, consequence of it, 
 ibid. 
 
 Beheve, distinguished from " beheve in," 31, o. 
 
 Believers, why styled trees of righteousness, 581, /?. their zeal 
 and love should increase in proportion to the wickedness of 
 others, G30, a. 
 
 Benedicite, why so called, 24, b. a paraphrase of the 148th 
 Psalm, 24, cr. antiquity and character of it, ii/c/. when most 
 fit to be used in the Church, ibid, passages in it explained, 
 ibid. 
 
 Benedict, Abbot, account of him, xliii. 
 
 Benediction, see Blessing. 
 
 Benedictus, for what reason appointed to be read, 2f>, e. cha- 
 racter and purport of it, ibid, passages in it explained, ibid. 
 ])robably intended for more general use than the 100th 
 Psalm, ibid. 
 
 Benefits, necessity of remembering them, 502, c. 
 
 Bible, last translation of, when the Epistles and Gospels were 
 taken trom it, 84, c. why delivered to priests at their ordi- 
 nation, 707. ?■ why delivered to bishops at their con- 
 secration, T\6f 0. great English, what and why so called, 
 xxxii, jc. 
 
 Bidding prayers, antiquity of it, 295, m. used in King 
 Edward Sixth's time, ibid, how altered in process of time, 
 ibid. 
 
 Birds, their musick a song of thanksgiving, 595, t. admirable 
 wisdom imparted to them, 505, y. 
 
 Birth, spiritual, distinction between it and spiritual hfe, 
 15G, z. 
 
 Bishop, original meaning of the word, fi72, c. 
 
 Bishop, why, if present, to pronounce the Absolution at the 
 Communion Service, 300, ]}. why to give the blessing, if 
 present, 322, 0. every thing essential to ordination per- 
 formed by him, 705, m. in whose name he speaks, ibid. 
 
 Bishops, order of, offices exercised by them in the apostles' 
 times, G7I, b. and in the times following, ibid, duty of the 
 inferior clergy to them acknowledged by all Christians, 
 672, fl. such subordination required by reason, ibid, and 
 supported by Scripture, ibid, and by the primitive general 
 use of Christians, ibid, superiority of bishops to presbyters, 
 (573, f. their autliority to ordain ministers on what 
 grounded, ibid, candidates for orders sometimes ex- 
 amined by tltem, (i78, x. why called Fathers and Fathers- 
 in-(iod, *»78, u. why three present at the ordination of a 
 bishop, 705, m. use and necessity of, 70!>, x. solemnity of 
 their consecration in the earliest times, ibid, forms of, in 
 all churches, ibid. difl"erence between the Roman and ours, 
 ibid, the successors of the apostles, 7 10, 0. what ajiostolical 
 gifts necessary to them, and permanent, ihid. oI)lii^cd by 
 the same charge as the apostles, 7IO, .r. wliy called pastors 
 of Christ's Clmrch, 7 10, y. manner of tlieir election at 
 different times, 712, c. how regulated in this country, 
 ibid, foundation of prayers for them at consecration, 713, 
 //. (jucstions proposi'd to them on what grounded, 714, /. 
 dilference between those in tlio Uoman chun-li and in ours, 
 ibid, promise required of Ihem to be faithful in ordaining 
 others, 715, k. necessity and obligation of it, ibiil. charity 
 and hospitality required of them, 715, /. peculiar petitions 
 for them, 7^5, m. form of conferring the order wherein 
 different frr)m that used at the admission to priestliood, 
 7U*, H. admonition annexed to it, its use, ibid, the ad- 
 ministrators of Confirmation, 385, z; 38f>, a, 
 
 Bl.AHirs, nccoudt of liiiii, xh. 
 
 Blaspheme mine lumrmr, meaning of the plirase, 453, b. 
 
 Blessed contrasted with the cursed, 4!*8, c. wliat man may 
 properly be pronounced so, 502, p. who are truly so, (»I2, 
 y. not to be deprived of their felicity, 012, /. 
 
 Blessedness, dispositions prescribed for the attainment of it, 
 27(*, in. how to be judged of, 567, **'- 
 
 Blessing, final, the practice both of the Jewish and tlie Chris- 
 tian Church, 42, c. no one should go out without it, ibid. 
 people always dismissed with one ii-om the Communion, 
 322, 0. highly esteemed in the primitive times, 322, p. 
 how described in the Old Testament, ibid, application to 
 the times of the Gospel, ibid. 
 
 Blessing, St. Paul's form of, why dehvered to the Church, 
 42, c. somewhat altered in our use of it, ibid, what good 
 things we inti*eat thereby, ibid, bow they are conveyed to 
 us, ibid. 
 
 Blessing, form of, in the Communion Service, whence taken, 
 
 322, p. purport of it, ibid, why in the name of the holy 
 Trinity, ibid, in what light to be considered, ibid, how to 
 be received, ibid, language of St. Paul properly apphed in 
 it, UO, r. a distinction generally observed in it, ibid. 
 
 Blessing, in the Visitation of the Sick, an ancient form of 
 concluding the office, 417. ^' excellence of the forms pro- 
 vided by oiu" Church, ibid, explanation of them, ibid. 
 
 Blessing, ai)ostolical, when added to the Burial Service, 434, 
 c. purport of it, ibid. 
 
 Blessing, in the Commination, whence taken, 445, d. 
 
 Blessing in the Ordination Service, remarks upon it, 702, i. 
 
 Blessings, formerly confined to Israel, now extended to all 
 men, 614, 0. spiritual, a pledge of God's goodness with 
 respect to temporal, 601, i. temporal, whether the reward 
 of piety, 640, d. 
 
 Blood, what meant by God's making inquisition for blood, 
 450, y. 
 
 Blood-hounds, persecutors compared to them, 527, "- 
 
 Body and blood of Christ, in what sense the bread and wine 
 become so, 381, i. 
 
 Boniface, account of him, li. 
 
 Britius, account of him, Ixii. 
 
 Book of Common Prayer, excellence and beaut}' of it, 322, 
 
 323, p. memorable testimony thereto, ibid. See Common 
 Prayer Book, Liturg)-, &c. 
 
 Book of the li\nng, meaning of it, 543, x. 
 
 Book of life, allusion to it, 572, b. 
 
 Bondage, spiritual, deliverance from, represented by that of 
 Israel from temporal, 537, ^^ 
 
 Bones, figurative use of the term, 456, t. 
 
 "Bones that thou hast broken shall rejoice," figurative and 
 hteral meaning of the phrase, 519, y. 
 
 Born again, conduct suitable to those who are so, 165, ?/, 0. 
 of water and the Holy Ghost, what the Hteral interpretation 
 of the words, 336, c. agreeable to other texts, ibid, the 
 most catholick aud best interpretation, ibid, uniformly so 
 expounded by tlie ancients without an exception, ibid, sig- 
 nification of the clause, 336, y. how tliis is a new birth, 
 ibid. See Regeneration. 
 
 Bottle, human frame in sorrow how comjiared to one, (i2fi, n. 
 
 Bottles, as used at Eastern funerals, allusion to them, 524, /. 
 
 Bounty, of God, both in the natm-al and spuitual world, 
 
 647, y- 
 
 Bow, useless, impotence of the wicked compared to one, 526, 
 n. broken, Israelites why compared to one, 550, 7^. 
 
 Bowing at the name of Jesus, authority and reasons for the 
 practice, 30, m. foundation of the custom, 200, x. injoined 
 by the Church, ihid. peculiar propriety of it in the 
 Creeds, ibid, such customs hai'mless and unexceptionable, 
 207, -r. 
 
 Bread, breaking, the ancient practice of the Church, 316, /. 
 by whom altered, ibid, vanished from tlie Romish church, 
 ibid. 
 
 Bread and wine, at the communion, how they become the 
 body and Idooil of Christ, 315, y- 318, it. not chunijed 
 in substance, 315, y. a pledge of a spiritual grace, ibid. 
 may bo distributed but not consecrated by a deacon, 
 68!», V. 
 
 Bread and wine, if not consecrated, why assigned by tlie 
 Church to tlie curate, 327. b. if any remain after consecra- 
 tion, practice of the ancient Church concerning it, 327, »"• 
 wliy not to bo reserved, ibid, prudent provision of our 
 Churcli, ibid. 
 
 Brethren, an apostolical salutation, 3, d. 
 
 Brethren, love to them inforccd from reflections on Clirist's 
 suH'erings, 504, z. rewai'd of il, 504, a.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 835 
 
 Breviary, liow distinguished from Missal and Ritual, 81, b. 
 
 bridenien, an ancient usage, 398, e. left indifferent by the 
 Church, ibid. 
 
 Burial, ancient rites of, 425, a. See Hurying the dead. 
 
 Burial, Christian, what jjersons not capable of, 423, u. ru- 
 brick concerning tliem, founded on ancient law and usage, 
 424, u. 
 
 Burial, office of, much vitiated before the Reformation, 423, 
 t. principle on which corrected by our Reformers, ibid. 
 character of the present form, ibid, whether to be read 
 over persons unbaptizcd or sectaries, 424, 7\ questions re- 
 lating to the rubrlck which speaks of those that have laid 
 violent hands upon themselves, 424, x. for what purpose 
 intended, 42G, b. psalms and lessons never to be omitted, 
 ibid, remarks on the rubrick which directs the minister to 
 go either into the church or towards the grave, 42G, b. a 
 consolatory office, 426, c. forms of it generally our own, 
 432, u. description and vindication of tiie two prayers after 
 interment, 433, 434, u, .r, y, z, a, b. general view of its ex- 
 cellence, 434, c. application of it, ibid. 
 
 Burgess, Dr., his exposition of tiie interrogatories at bap- 
 tism, accepted by King James the First, and ajiproved by 
 tlie Abp. of Canterbury, 341, y. his sense of the cross in 
 baptism, accepted by King James, and approved by the 
 Abp. of Canterbury, 347, /'- 
 Burying the dead, its antitjuity, 422, /. used among the Jews, 
 ibid, and in the Christian Cliurch, ibid, should be per- 
 formed with decent respect, ibid, reasons for it, 423, t. 
 practice of the pinmitive Christians, ibid, ancient practice 
 of burying without the walls, 424, z. later provisions with 
 I'cspect to place, ibid, why places for that purpose chosen 
 near the church, ibid, why the deceased is preceded by the 
 minister, and followed by his friends, 425, a. improvement 
 of the impressions naturally matle by it, 430, /. the inter- 
 ment an act of piety, 430, n. character of the form of 
 words accompanying it in our service, 430, Q. particular 
 passages justified, 431,^. r. See Bui-ial. 
 
 C. 
 
 C-ESAR, what meant by the things that ai-e Csesar's, 225, 
 22C, /. our duty to render them, ibid. 
 
 Calamities, their use to sinners, 490, e. calculated to extin- 
 guish envy in considerate beholders, 497, t. which God 
 suffers to fall upon his people, specified, 535, I. figurative 
 expression for them, 542, n. See Adversity, Afflictions, 
 &c. 
 
 Calendar, whence the word derived, xxxiii, y. what ours con- 
 sists of, ibid. 
 
 Call to the ministry, two sorts of, Gl\G, o. 
 
 Call to the ministry, inward, what meant by it, 68G, o. neces- 
 sity of questions concerning it, ibid, a principal qualiti- 
 cation, ibid, in all ages pretended to by impostors, G87. p- 
 means taken by the primitive church to prevent this cheat, 
 ibid, question concerning it why not put to candidates for 
 priest's orders, 698, y. 
 
 Call to the ministry, outward, what meant by it, G8G, o. what 
 meant by the question concerning it, G87) p- reasons for 
 jjutting it, ibid. 
 
 Called, the, who they are, 220, k. how distinguished from 
 "the chosen," ibid. 
 
 Calvin, his definition of being called to the ministry, G87) o. 
 
 Canaan, the inheritance of, Christians taught thereby to 
 look to heaven, 513, s. sweets of, held on the same con- 
 ditions as the blessings of Christians, 5G4, r. how intended 
 to be regarded by the Israelites, 599, b. application to 
 Christians, ibid. 
 
 Canaanites, reflections on their extirpation, 602, q. 
 
 Candlemas-day, why so called, 238, o. 
 
 Canon thirtieth, upon the use of the sign of the cross in bap- 
 tism, recited, 352, c. proof how satisfactory it was, 353, c. 
 
 Canon, of the New Testament, proofs of it, 756, a,: of the 
 Old Testament, proofs of it, ibid. 
 
 Canon, origin and meaning of the name, xxi, r. how distin- 
 guished from prebendary, ibid. 
 
 Canons, on what authority they rest, 700, c. measures of 
 obedience due to them, ibid, rules of direction for observing 
 them, ibid, regard due to them different from that due to 
 the rubricks, 794, j;. 
 
 Canonical books of Scripture, what meant by tliem, 75G, x. 
 in what sense never doubti'd of in the Churdi, 75/, y. 
 
 ("aptivity, striking picture of, 5G2, /i. temporal, an emblem 
 of that of sin and dcatli, G03, b. 
 
 Captivity of the Israchtcs, Psalm composed during it, 590, 7i. 
 lamentation of the Israelites during it, 590, s. Psalm com- 
 ])osed (biring it, G((0, c. 
 
 Catecliisni, Cliurch, fitness of such a provision, 365, i. sig- 
 nification of the word, ibid, the practice agreeable to God's 
 injunctions, ibid, and to the practice of the Jews, aud of 
 the early Christians, ibid, drawn up according to primitive 
 forms, 3G5, f. character and description of it, ibid, how 
 first framed, 366, i. form of it, ibid, its contents, ibid, doc- 
 trine of the Sacraments, when added to it, ibid, its excel- 
 lence, ibid, why requii-ed to be learned before Confirmation, 
 366, u. 
 
 Catechists, in the primitive church, who they were, 365, i. 
 in some churches distinct officers, G89, //• 
 
 Catechizing, Scrij^tural signification of it, 365, /. provisions 
 of the Chvu-ch for it, 383, r. remarks on the times of doing 
 it, ibid, its great importance, alleged by early and more 
 modern writers, 384, r. an office of deacons, 689, ;/. 
 
 Catechumens, difference between them in the primitive times 
 and now, 3GG, n. 
 
 Catherine, account of her, lix. 
 
 Care, what sort of, forbidden, and what allowed and expected, 
 210, *. wisdom of religion in making such a distinction, 
 ibid. 
 
 Carnival, how celebrated, 122, b. 
 
 Catholick Church, meaning of the term, 31 , p. what churches 
 are |>arts of it, ibid, why prayed for in the Liturgy, 74, 
 m. See Church Universal. 
 
 Catholick faith, what it is, 31, p. what meant by it in the 
 Athanasian Creed, 51, n. necessary in order to salvation, 
 62, 0. what intended by it, 52, /;. what allowances to be 
 made, ibid. 
 
 Cavern and overwhelming waters, an image of extreme suffer- 
 ings, 502, 0. 
 
 Cecilia, account of her, lix. 
 
 Cedars, an especial proof of God's providence, 595., r. 
 
 Cemeteries, why so called, 425, z. 
 
 Censoriousness, its hostility to Christianity, \i)\, y. forcible 
 argument against it, ibid. 
 
 Centurion, whose servant was healed by our Saviour, why liis 
 history appears to have been recorded. 111, e. remarks 
 drawn from a contemplation of his character, ibid. 
 
 Ceremonies, preface of, little applicable to our present Com- 
 mon Prayer Book, xxxi. 
 
 Chad, Bp. account of him, xliii. 
 
 Chair, the Bishop's, how distinguished from his throne, C78, r. 
 
 Chalice, different kinds of, 316, n. 
 
 Chancel, why so called, Ixxiii, o. distinguished from the body 
 of the church, ibid, by what means, ibid. 
 
 Chancellor, origin and use of the office, xviii, y. two offices, 
 into which now distinguished, ibid. 
 
 Chances of life, an unobjectionable phrase, 324, t. 
 
 Chandler, Dr. his admii-able exposition of the sixty-eighth 
 Psalm, 536, u. 
 
 Chapel, word corresponding to it in other languages, Ixxiii, n. 
 its derivation uncertain, ibid. 
 
 Charity recommended together with faith, 120, z. and by the 
 noblest example, ibid. St, Paul's descrijjtion of, proposed 
 as a standard of inquiry, 121, a. mistakes concerning it, 
 ibid, its true nature, ibid, exercised in three different ways 
 in the Communion Service, 295, «. that of relieving the 
 poor inforced, from the Gospel, ibid, and from the practice 
 of the first Christians, 29G, n. suitable to this particular 
 occasion, 296, g. mode of expressing it by prayer, 298, t. 
 with all men, a requisite for the Lord's Supjier, what meant 
 by it, 383, q. its necessity, ibid, how to be shewn, ibid, 
 fire of, ascends in devotion, 501, a. meditations by which, 
 it is fed, ibid. 
 
 Charity, who the properest objects of it, 196, q. suggestions 
 for regulating it, ibid, enriches instead of impoverishing, 
 
 498, e. 
 
 King Charles I. anecdote of him and Bishop Juxon, 724, d. 
 King Charles II. review of the Liturgy in liis time, viii. 
 Chasten, God intreated to chasten as a father for amendment, 
 
 499, k. 
 
 3H2
 
 a36 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 Cheek, striking on, what it signifies, 453, y. 
 
 ChcTuhiu and Seraphin, what the names denote, 22, s. 
 
 Cherubims, what meant by God's sitting upon them, iiCl, e. 
 
 Child new weaned, apt compai-ison to, 042, r. 
 
 Chikl-birth, necessity of thanksgiving after it, 435, d. why a 
 particular form appointed for this deliverance, ibid. 
 
 Children, what they may be taught by the early example of 
 our Saviour, 108, y. why compared to arrows, G39, x. 
 how they contribute to the happiness of their parents, 
 639, y. 
 
 Children of God, in what sense we are made so bv baptism, 
 3(i8, d. 
 
 Children of grace, how we are so made, 379, ;/. how we con- 
 tinue so, ibid, what we understand by it, ibid. 
 
 Chiklren of wrath, why we are so called by nature, 370, y. 
 
 Chimcre, part of the episcopal dress, description of it, 712, d. 
 
 Chosen people, to what persons properly applied, 35, c. 
 
 Christ, divine titles ascribed to Him in Scripture, 24, z. 
 prayer to be directed to God in his name, 36, e. Himself 
 the object of divine worship, ibid, the Prayer of St. Chry- 
 sostom addressed to Him, 41, z. the object of worship 
 tliroughout the deprecations, &c. of the Litany, 62, o ; 
 68, d. different forms of addressing Him, 67, '■ divinity 
 of, attested by St. John the Baptist, 91, s. why called 
 the honourable, true, and only Son of God, 24, x. Collect 
 for St. Stephen's day, why offered up to Him, 94, z. his 
 divinity an argument for the pre-eminence of his religion, 
 92, .V. proof of his divinity and supreme authority, 110, 
 h. his divinity confessed by evil spirits, 113, h. instance of 
 prayer addressed to Him by the Church, 124, 125, g. 
 shews her belief in his divinity, ibid, his being before 
 Abraham a proof of his divinity, 132, J'. j)roof of his 
 omnipotence, 204, i. proved to be more than a prophet, 
 212, V. inferences from his being a King, 228, a. and the 
 Lord our righteousness, ibid, honour due to Him, as the 
 Lord of hfe, 228, y. noble confession of his divinity, 235, 
 k. accepted as such by Himself, ibid, in what sense it is 
 said of Him, that " to sit on his right hand and on liis left 
 are not his to give," 201, q. no argument against his 
 divinity, ibid, his divinity proved by Scriptures, which 
 ascribe to Him divine names, attributes, works, and wor- 
 ship, 292, f. of the same divine nature with the Father, 
 371, z. proved by his names, attributes, works, and 
 honour, 372, z. an object of adoration, 452, r. reason 
 why the nations should worship Him, 480, 0. prayer to 
 Him for salvation, &c. 486, q. Son of God, one of his dis- 
 tinguished titles, 576, y. adoration due to Him, 586, i. 
 proof of his divinity, 549, z. celebrated as Creator of the 
 world, 593, n. 
 
 C'Htti-sT, proof of the truth of his humanity, 108, y. his human 
 nature particularly dwelt on, 101, w. his incarnation, 5(;, z. 
 his equality and inferiority to the Father, ibid, great im- 
 portance of considering Him in liis twofold nature, 92, 93, 
 a\ ]iractical duties that result fn)m the doctrine of his in- 
 carnation, 93, y. his incarnation, ])ractical uses of the doc- 
 trine, 100, w. projjor notion of his nature conveyed in his 
 answer to the Viriiin, 108, y. union of the two natures in 
 liis person asserted, 216, d. the only way of reconciling the 
 Scriptures, ibid, his incarnation, great importance of the 
 doctrine, 243, x. proof of it, ibid, eminence of the day, 
 whereon we commemorate it, 244, j". a direct ]>ropIiecy of 
 his incarnation, 502, in ; 503, r. remarkable prophecy of 
 Him in his incarnation, 657, P' contidence to be rei>osed 
 in l!im, 657, q- description of the miracles performed by 
 Him, 657, ^• 
 
 Christ, his entry into Jerusalem, why the narrative of it 
 read in Advent, 85, y. impression most XLseftil to l)e made 
 by it, 87, A. nativity of, celebrated from very early times, 
 91, t. fitness of the Church's services, ibid, practical uses 
 of the doctrine of his manifestation to the Gentiles, 104, s ; 
 107, ^' liis flight into Kgypt, instruction to be drawn from 
 it, 99, k. circumcision of, why celebrated by the C'hurcli, 
 101, 0. its antifpiity, ibid, suitjibleness of the services to 
 the day, ibid, his condition, when found by the sheplierds, 
 u lesson of humility to us, 103, q. circumcision of, what 
 we may learn from it, ibid, nativity of, notice of it given 
 to all men in tiieir two grand divisions, 105, /. an example 
 how we may increase in favour with God and man, 108, y. 
 early stages of his life answerable to his spotless cliaractcr, 
 
 ibid, uses to be made of his example in early years, ibid. 
 his warning to his disciples concerning his approaching 
 death, seasonable and kind to them, 122, b. beneficial to 
 Christians, ibid, temptation of, different designs of it, 126, i. 
 advantage of following the example thus set us, ibid, an 
 example of humility and patience, 133, z. necessity and 
 encouragement for imitating them, ibid, divine mixture 
 of compassion and zeal in his conduct, 200, z. his conduct 
 towards the Pharisees, instruction to be derived from it, 
 214, a. his presentation in the temple, its conformity to 
 the law, 2:i8, 0. antiquity of observing it in the church, 
 239, 0. practical inferences from it, 239, ;;; 240, q. his 
 entrance into Jerusalem a prelude to his ascension, 618, n. 
 his example in affliction recommended to his followers, 
 642, r, s. 
 
 Christ, his miracles testify the divinity of his doctrine, 212, 
 V. his manner of working them ditierent from that of in- 
 ferior agents, ibid, his miracles, a subject of thanksgiving 
 to God, 219, g. liis miracles prove Him to be the Jlessiah, 
 229, b. by their number, ibid, and their quality, ibid, his 
 miracles, reasons why He sometimes forbade the divulging 
 of them, 204, i. his first miracle at Cana of Galilee, prac- 
 tical reflections on it, 109, 110, b. why appointed for a 
 Gospel in the time of Epiphany, 110, b. reflections on his 
 miracles of heaUng the leper and the centurion's servant, 
 111, e. reflections on his miracles of stilling the sea, and 
 casting out dc^'ils, 113, h. his miracle in healing the blind 
 man near Jericho, reflections on it, 122, b. encouragement 
 to faith and thankfulness, ibid, his miracle in favour of 
 the woman of Canaan, reflections on it, 127, »'• his miracles 
 in casting out devils, retlections on them, 129, p. his miracle 
 of feeding the five thousand, reflections on it, 1 30, s. a proof 
 of his omnipotency, ibid, his miracle of feeding the four 
 thousand, instruction derived from it, 196, q. his miracle of 
 healing the deaf and dumb man, reflections arising from it, 
 204, i. his miracle of healing the lepers, significant sense of 
 it, 208, p. general ap}dication of it, 208, 209, yj. his miracle 
 of raising the dead man at Nain, lessons drawn from it, 212, 
 V. liis miracle of healing the paralytick, reflections on it, 
 218, g. his miracle in hcaHug the nobleman's son, remark- 
 able particulars in it explained, 222, m. practical application 
 of it, ibid, his miracles of healing the bloody issue, and 
 raising Jairus's daughter, reflections on them, 227, 228, y, 
 his miracle at Cana of Galilee, inference from it with 
 respect to marriage, 398, k. 
 
 Christ, his sufferings, comprehensive sense in which the 
 Church regards them, 131, t. his sufferings his own volun- 
 tary act, 132, X. our duty from that consideration, ibid. 
 exact agreement between the prediction and the narrative 
 of his sufferings, 140, e. his sufferings, pious and useful 
 exercise to meditate on them, 140, f. expedience of his 
 undergoing them, ibid, his nnirderers, reflections on their 
 disa)>]ioiiitment and guilt, 141, y. liis death an illustration 
 of different divine allributes, 142. y. death of, practical 
 lessons derived from it, 15(», 0. his dcatli, voluntary, li»2, 
 p. and therefore meritorious, ibid, his last words on the 
 cross, reflections on them, ibid, an example for our imi- 
 tation, ibid, his death, in what sense we are said to be 
 baptized into it, 153, r. his death, how to be regarded as 
 a saiTifice, oblation, and satisfaction, 314, 315, e. his death 
 and sacrifice, commemorated at. the Conununion, 3n», m. 
 his supplication to the Father for deliverance, 46(!, /'. me- 
 thod taken by Him as man to support Himself in troulde, 
 467, p- source of joy and tlianksgiving, 467, q. his passion 
 typified by the sufferings of David, 470, m. his distress and 
 sujiplii-aticms, 470. u. figurative description of his sullcr- 
 ings and deliveran<'e, 471, /. his sutferings, &c. foretold 
 by tlie prophets, sometimes tyjiically, sometimes primarily 
 an^t properly, 477, ''• his sutferings a source of comfort to 
 liis disciples, 477, *"• lowness of the state to which Ho de- 
 scended, 478, y. i)roi)hecy concerning Him on the cross 
 literally fulfilled, 478, z. descri])1ion of liis suflerings, both 
 figurative luid literal, 478, b. |mrtii-uliir phrasi's descriptive 
 of his passion, 478, c .■ 479, c. prophecy eminently fulfilled 
 at his crucifixion, 479, d.f. his sufferings and their accept- 
 ance the greatewt subject of the ('hureh's praise, 47!^ /. 
 words of David literally used by Dim on the cross, 488, 0, 
 cir(nnns(anccs in his passion jioiiited at, 489, r, jt, /. emi- 
 nent prophecy of Him on the cross, 493, /. circumstances
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 807 
 
 in his passion foreshewn, 494, 495, t, u, x, y. and after liis 
 resurrection, 4!)"i, z. his passion literally foretold, 499, i. 
 comfort derived from the rcmemhrance of his sufl'crings, 
 500, q. his proclamation of the ineffioacy of the law, and 
 his readiness to do his Father's will, 50;<, r. speaks of Him- 
 self as sutlering in his mystical body, 503, / ; 504, x. ca- 
 lumnies directed against his person, continued against his 
 Church, &c., 504, e. treachery and taunts of his enemies 
 prophetically pointed out, 504, 505, (/, e,J'. also his resur- 
 rection and their desolation, 505, g. his afflictions in the 
 day of his suffering, 522, d, e. strength and furiousness of 
 Ins enemies, 525, d. his passion foreshewn, 540, 541, f/, e. 
 /, ff. our iniquities, laid on Him, how spoken of, 541, A. 
 his disciples not to be scandalized on account of his suH'er- 
 ings, 541, i. return made to Him for his humiliation, 541, 
 /. prophecy concerning his ])assion literally fulfilled, 542, o. 
 denied and forsaken by his disciples, 57;f, /c: 5'i4, p. his 
 sufferings, under what imago represented, 572, ;'. his un- 
 exampled sufferings tieated of, 572, d. importunity of liis 
 prayers under them, 572, e,f: 573, /. disgrace to which He 
 submitted, 572, ff. his whole life one continued passion, 
 573, o. his sufferings, what effect they ])roduced on be- 
 holders, 577, w^- various instances of jiersecntion of Him, 
 (iOti, I. his petition for deliverance and his sufferings, fiOH, 
 u. the stone rejected by the builders, (ilii, /. his suH'erings 
 foretold in the Old Testament, 753, /. fulfilment of the 
 l)rophecies, ibid, universal acknowledgment and particular 
 history of them, ibid, his death, in what sense our sacrifice, 
 753, n. reconcihation made by it conditional, ibid, offering 
 of, not repeated, 790, A. 
 
 Christ, his bmial, how the consideration of it should affect 
 ns, 153, *. his burial, circumstantially related by the 
 Evangelists, and why, 154, t. why inserted into our Creeds, 
 ibid. 
 
 Christ, his resuiTection, firm foundation of our belief of 
 it, 156, a. use to be made of tliis article, ibid, sufficiency 
 of the evidence of it, 158, c. how effected, 153, 5. our 
 salvation rightfully ascribed to it, ibid, effect the belief 
 of it should have on us, 153, s. duties consequent on a 
 behef of it enforced, 150, z. his death and resurrection, 
 when we may reasonably expect beneht from them, 194, m. 
 how to be contemplated, 235, A. his resui-rection, &c. pro- 
 phetically represented, 460, /. his animal frame was not to 
 see corruption, 407, *■ the promise how far ours, ibid, parts 
 of the sixteenth Psalm completely fulfilled only in his resur- 
 rection, ibid, his return from the grave, and exaltation, 
 beautifully described, 4(J7, f. application to Christians, 
 408, t. manifestation of divine power at bis resurrection, 
 470, 0. should remind us of what will happen at the last 
 day, ibid, his resurrection prophetically celebrated, 476, ff. 
 his crown of glory, how represented, 470, fi. prays to God 
 for deUverance, 479, h. his hymn of triumph at the resur- 
 rection, 479, i. his resurrection and exaltation an assurance 
 of ours, 4H6, p. thanksgiving for his suffering and rising 
 again, 487, c, d, e. his resurrection mystically predicted, 
 536, u. etiects of his resurrection on the nations, 609, x. 
 his resurrection the most glorious of God's works, 611, k. 
 triumphant hymn on occasion of liis resurrection and ex- 
 altation, 617, e. 
 
 Christ, his ascension and sitting at the right hand of God, 
 what meant by it, 17 1, -. practical uses of the doctrine, 
 171, a. his depression and exaltation, 458, », 0. how to be 
 celebrated, 458, p. an eternal life granted Him after his 
 resurrection, 470, i. invested with inexpressible glory upon 
 his ascension, 470, k. his ascension typified, and pro- 
 phesied of, 481, b. his glory at his ascension, 482, g. 
 festival of his exaltation celebrated, 512, j). why his as- 
 cension celebrated, 512, q. his ascension prefigured by the 
 ark going up into the temple, 513, t. joy of contemplating 
 it, 513, «. his triumphal ascension into heaven, 538, /. 
 and its consequences, 538, m. his ascension a pledge of the 
 exaltation of the Church, 539, q. predictions and proofs of 
 it, 754, q. 
 
 Christ, represented under the image of a conqueror return- 
 ing bloody from battle, 135, b. humility and thankfulness 
 due to Him thereupon, 130, c. his power over his enemies, 
 figuratively signified, 452, 0. his victory over the host of 
 darkness, 471, J- his vengeance upon the Jews described, 
 472, 0. his deUverance and exaltation, 472, /. and eon- 
 
 quest of the nations, 472, g. his victory and infhronization 
 typified in David, 473, //, i. different states of his enemies, 
 an<i of those who believe in Him, 470, ?. his victories 
 typified and celebrated by the Church, 470, f. his exalta- 
 tion over sin and death, the continual prayer of tho 
 (!liurch, 477, q- his victory and exaltation celebrated by 
 the Church, 495, e. his victories, an argument for confi- 
 dence to Christians, 507, ^- to be acknowlcilgcd, as tho 
 cause of our salvation, 507, c. description of his jierson, 
 and his doctrine, 509, q. of his power, 50!*, r. and of his 
 victories, 50!), 510, s, t. v. of his throne and sceptre, and 
 divinity, 510, n. of his inauguration, 510, .r. his robes and 
 palaces, 510, y. victory consequent on his ascension, 512, 
 )•. his victory over death expressed in remarkable terms, 
 529, n. his vengeance on his enemies predicted, 539, 0, 2>. 
 psalm predictive of his victory, 57!*, b. prediction of 
 destruction to his enemies, 606, k. descrij)tion of the 
 vengeance He should take on his adversaries, 61(», f. 
 means by which He should obtain his kingdom and i)riest- 
 hood, 610, g. his superiority over the heathens and their 
 idols, 612, '. his mercy to the lowly, 013, a. 
 
 Christ, the king of Sion foretold by Zechariah, 86, h. eter- 
 nity of his kingdom, in what sense to be understood, 291, 
 a. his kingdom prophesied of in the second Psalm, 451, g. 
 his subjects, their fears in persecution groundless, 465, a. 
 his kingdom pointed at under that of David, 469, k. the 
 end of Ins exaltation, 513, x. his comprehensive kingdom, 
 513, y. his everlasting kingdom foretold, 030, u. we are 
 bound to give thanks for it, 530, x. consequences of his 
 exaltation, 532, m. erection of bis kingdom an occasion of 
 joy to the nations, 535, r. the blessings of it, 530, s, t. his 
 exaltation as Redeemer of his people, 536, //. justice of his 
 government, 540, /. perpetuity of his kingdom, 5 40, u. the 
 true King of righteousness and of peace, 546, //. extent of 
 his cmjiire, 540, z. his dominion universal, 547, e. his 
 merciful administration, 547, d. praises to be offered Him 
 daily, 547, e. the blessings of his kingdom, 547,./", righte- 
 ous administration of his kingdom, 552, t, u. to be con- 
 templated as the true David, 576, (/. divine promises 
 verified to Him, 576, e. extent of his empire, 576, f. his 
 kingdom prophesied of, 581, «. a new and spiritual kingdom 
 erected by Him, 581, /. proclamation of his kingdom 
 injoined on his apostles, 585, b. an occasion of joy to the 
 whole creation, 5fi5, c. his power exerted in righteousness, 
 588, y. description of his throne and majesty, 593, k. his 
 praises celebrated, 593, /• prophecy concerning the ex- 
 tension, power, and duration of his kingdom, 009, b. 
 prophecy of, under the type of Solomon, 643, a. mystical 
 description of his kingdom, 643, c. destruction of his ene- 
 mies, 643, d. 
 
 Christ, his coming, how we may be quahficd for it, 86, g. 
 magnificent prophecy of his union with his chiu-ch, 509, 
 n. diflerent times of his coming foretold in Scripture, 517, 
 k. his advent prayed for by the Israelitish church, 535, 
 0, p. comforts of looking forward to his advent in afflic- 
 tion, 502, n. his coming why prayed for, 565, g. four 
 divine attributes met again at his birth, 509, f. wonderful 
 effects of his former and future manifestations, 533, .v. his 
 coming twofold, 585, d. his advent, subject of general joy, 
 587, t. liis appearance constantly prayed for by behevers, 
 591, t. 
 
 Christ, the favours of God granted to us in Him, 9, c. why 
 called our Advocate, 41, .r. why our Mediator, ibid, his 
 honour to be sought in our petitions, ibid, necessity of 
 casting ourselves upon Him for salvation, 97, d. our duty 
 relating to Him as Mediator of the New Testament, 131, 
 u. his sacrifice contrasted with the legal sacrifices, 143, h. 
 its efficiency, ibid, duties incumbent upon us in conse- 
 quence, 144, h. the way to know and enjoy Him, 159, d. 
 why called the Shepherd of our souls, 104, m. duties 
 arising to us, from his bearing that character, ibid, his 
 word, the efficacy of it, 201, i. instance of his great love to 
 mankind, 218, g. necessity of our praying with confidence 
 in his merits and mediation, 250, e. our only Mediator and 
 Advocate, 300, *. his promise, that if we ask we shall 
 have, properly urged by the Church, 338, s. what referred 
 to by the ancients, ibid, how He is to the Church what the 
 head is to the body, 367, c. blessedness of trusting in Him, 
 452, »'. supplications heard by God through Him, 453, h.
 
 838 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 what the characteristicks of his enemies, 454, 7H. character 
 of those who oppose his Gospel, 4G4, t. his character 
 figured under that of an Israehtish priest, 465, e. must be 
 imitated by his disciples, ibid, imitation of his virtues and 
 graces, the way to heaven, 460, h. his righteousness as 
 man not an addition to the divine happiness, 4C0, k. praises 
 of Him, their ellioacy, 4(J(J, /. the only Saviour, ibid, his 
 preference of his spiritual kingdom before all the kingdoms 
 of the world, 4G7i »'- bis all-perfect righteousness de- 
 lineated, 471, «. why compared in Scripture to the sun, 
 474, q, r. the fountain of all blessings to his people, 4/0, 
 /. his throne, as man, established by trust in the Father, 
 477» "'• bis vow to build to Jehovali a spiritual temple, 
 how fultilled, 470, /. efficacy of his word and sacraments, 
 4H0, »i. who were to constitute his church and family, 
 480, q. their employment and its consequences, 480, r. 
 prophecy of Him as the Shejiherd of our souls, 4tI0, s. 
 manner in which He acts as such, 481, .r, y, r, a. the sal- 
 vation of his followers, 499, h. described in his priestly 
 and prophetical characters, 503, s. his sufficiency for the 
 Christian soldier, 529, 0. power of his voice exemplified, 
 540, a. blessings derived from Him, 547, 9- to be blessed 
 by all nations, 547, h. God intreated to have mercy on us 
 for his sake, 507, u. the light and protection of his people, 
 biil, y. their trust, 5G8, z. why his praise to be celebrated 
 by Christians, 5K3, m. at all times the Mediator of his 
 people, 588, z. his praises the end of the Church's petition, 
 002. 003, t, u. the perpetual Advocate of his j)eople, 009, 
 z. his sacerdotal office foretold, 010, e. his conversation 
 and preaching of peace how received, 035, i. prayer why 
 oftered in his name, 042, z. relations in which He stands 
 to his church, 050,^. his greatness and praises unbomided, 
 050, h. his character as the King and Saviour of men, 
 OoO, /, m ; 657t «• the Divine favour procured for us by 
 his death, 753, m. plain representation in Scripture con- 
 cerning it, ibid, all spiritual benefits conferred by and 
 for Him, 763, a\ extent of his merits, ibid, his freedom 
 from sin, 709, *- perfectly sinless, though He had the 
 api)etites and aversions of human nature, ibid. 
 Christ, meaning of being guilty of his body and blood, 305, 
 y. his body and blood have a common efficacy, 313, c. his 
 oblation of Himself once oflered, to what errors opposed, 
 315, e. his body and blood, in what sense we partake of 
 them, 315, g. his blood, in what sense said to be shed for 
 many, 310, 0. See Body and Blood of Christ. 
 "Christ his sake," an erroneous expression, corrected, 
 
 75, «. 
 Christian, his comfort under affliction, 505, h. his absence 
 from tlie heavenly Jerusalem iilu:trated by David's from 
 Sion, 505, rn. short but complete rule of life for him, 509, 
 f. petition fit for a devout one, 000, e. by what rule his 
 engagements must be interpreted, 028, d. his confiilence 
 in danger, 035, /. commended, 035, m. 
 Christian faith, articles of, why belief in them pro])oscd at 
 baptism, 340, y. first precedent for the practice, ibid, how 
 the profession was anciently made, 342, a. 
 Christian name, why conferred upon us at baptism, 252, g, 
 
 obligations which follow upon it, ibid. 
 Christian religion, what sort of evidence it stands upon, 89, 
 
 0. why not received I>y all persons, ihid. 
 Christians, how distinguished from the professors of other 
 religions, 53, r. the jn'aces that most become tl)em, 114, k. 
 several \irtues fit to be cultivated by them, recommended, 
 188, c. manner in which the name was first taken by the 
 disciples of Christ, 252, ^. how they had been previously 
 called, 251, g. in what their dutj' and happiiu'ss consist, 
 407. VI' their source of comfort in affliction. 4(i7' ?■ what 
 manner of persons they oui^ht to bo, 481, 482. e. the one 
 thing to be desired of them, 485, d. gratitude they owe 
 for redemption, 553, /. admonished by an epitome of the 
 Israelitish history, 555, z. their obligation to make knnwn 
 God's mercies, 597. '• what is their true wealth, 012, .v. 
 names and cliaracters tliat belong to them, 000, n. how 
 callc<l on to rejoice, ibid. 
 Christians, primitive, their use of the songs of Moses, David, 
 
 and the Prophets, 540, z. 
 Christians, nominal and pharisaical, judgment on ihem, 517. 
 
 518, 7i, o, p, q. 
 Christianity, practical, how summed up by the apostle, n»id 
 
 the Church, 9, d. insufficiency of the bare name of it, 
 197, t. 
 
 Christmas, why so called, 91, u. what we then commemorate, 
 ibid. 
 
 Christ mas -day, how called by the anoients, 104, r. 
 
 Choir, psalms sung by the two parts of it, 040, s. 
 
 Church, origin and meaning of the word, Ixxiii, ?h. (hfferent 
 significations of the term, 259, n. word used in the New 
 Testament in a more or less extended sense, 770, X. 
 
 Church, why called apostolic, 293, y. 
 
 Church universal, of whom compoNcd, 480, n. See Catholick. 
 
 Church, excellent description of it, 40, /. power necessary to 
 make it, ibid, her ministers and peojile, their duty, 014, n. 
 its blessing diffused to its members, 0'40, e. why called a 
 witness and keejier of holy writ, 778, g. governors of, their 
 authority proved from Scripture, 777, ^- in ritual matters, 
 777» ^' and in delivering judgment concerning controverted 
 points, 777- 778, d. how far to be submitted to, ibid. 
 Umitation of their authority, 778, e^f. their authority to 
 be reverenced and obeyed, 792, r. consequences of opposing 
 it, ibid, laws of, may be altered, according to circumstances, 
 793, s. but not witliout good cause, or full deliberation, 
 ibid, her power in decreeing any thing Umited by Scrip- 
 ture, 778, h. 
 
 Church, consideration of our Saviour's promise that the gates 
 of hell shall not prevail against it, 259, n. her address to 
 her King in the day of his trouble, 475, a. beauty of ho- 
 liness in it, the most amiable object on earth, 484, y. the 
 blessedness of, not duly esteemed, 492, w. her hope always 
 in Messiah, 492, b. her comfort under affliction, 504, x. 
 her pitiable state under persecution described, 508, e. the 
 sjiouse of the Lamb, descrij)tion of her, 510, z. address to 
 her from God, 510, a. accession of Gentiles to her, 511, b, 
 her denominations and beauty, 511, c. her attire, and at- 
 tendants, 511, d. joy attending her union with Christ, 511, 
 e. fruits of it, 511, y I her confidence in God, 511, ?'. ground 
 of it, 511, k. praises of her Founder, 513, a. her beauty, 
 
 513, b. power of her enemies, 514, c. how defeated, 514, 
 d. figurative rei>rcscntation of their defeat, 514, e. her 
 confidence in God founded on the fulfilment of prophecies, 
 
 514, f. divine power manifested against her enemies, 
 ground of joy to her, 514, i. rejected or favoured by God 
 according to her conduct, 528, g. power engaged for her 
 presen'ation, 533, y. her joy in the works of God, figura- 
 tively expressed, 534, c. her duty and delight to celebrate 
 tlie truth of God, 545, p. enemies of, their punishment, 
 
 500, y. in captivity, her expectation of being restored, 
 
 501, y. her enemies why the enemies of God, 505, /. their 
 union against her, 505, k. how called in prophetical lan- 
 guage, 505, /. her deiiendence upon God for succour, 5(!0, 
 m. her expostulation and prayer to God, 577- w, o- fruit 
 brought forth in, redounds to God's glory, 581, r. pre- 
 served to bless God, 015, p. may rest secure in the ]iro- 
 tection of God, 059, a. Christ's promise to it how to be 
 understood, 770, .r. 
 
 Church, Israelitish, her desire for the advent of ISIessiah, 535, />. 
 her good wish not confined to herself, 535, q. her complaint 
 of desertion, 550, /'. and ))rayer for deliverance, 550, k. 
 
 Church, Gentile, her fruitfidness foretold, 013, b. 
 
 Church of Christ, in what its character lies. 259, n. not 
 totally exempt from error, ibid, what makes a true cliurch, 
 ibid. <-omfort to it in dangerous days, ibid, why bnplized 
 persons are declared to be members of it, 340, q. scriptural 
 precedents for the declaration, ibid. 
 
 Church of Christ, visible, how distinguished from the invisible, 
 770, w. used in a more limited sense, ibid, what things 
 essential to it, 770. .r. 
 
 Church of Christ, militant, how distinguished from triumpliant, 
 299. //•. an introduction of us to the Church triumi»hant, 
 529. .V. 
 
 Church of Christ, militant, prayer fiir, by what things recom- 
 mended, 298, t. contents of it, 298. 299, /, v. antiijuity of 
 its form, 299, u. how called in the (Jreek lilnrgies, ibid, ita 
 excellence, and arrangement, 299, «'. remarkable alteration 
 in the introduction to it. ibid, remark on its concluding 
 "for Jesus Christ's sake," 300, b, 
 
 Clinreh, Christian, its i>re-etninencc over all things, 538, k. 
 Hocking of the nations into her foreshewn, 539, /. assurance 
 of God's provision for her security, 540, n. her state in the
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 SS9 
 
 days of Constantine, .')40, z. her duty to bless God for his 
 mercies, 540, c. her jirivileu^cs intimated under Jewish 
 terms, 543, i. her continuation jiredicted, 543, c, has suc- 
 ceeded to the privileges of the Israelite?, 553, r. admo- 
 nished by tlic examjjle of Israel, 5fi2, m. built and Ijt^loved 
 by Gud, 571, n. her extension predicted, 571. 1/. her sta- 
 bility, 571, a. her excellence and benefits, 572, c. divine 
 power shewn towards her, 575, a. God reigns in it, as in 
 the Jewish temple, 588, j.\ all men invited into it, 58;»,/. 
 God's judgments manifested in the estabHshment of it, 
 5!>7» «• called on to celebrate God's goodness and mercy, 
 (i\i, d. in consequence of her redemption, G17) ^- her 
 triumph over her enemies, G17i S'- her praises of God for 
 it, til 7, h. blessing of those who contribute to its pros- 
 perity, 630, ti. prayer for its union and happiness, 036, x. 
 motives for promoting its prosperity, (i3f», y. building up 
 of it under the Gospel, 658, t. emphatical terms to express 
 her sense of redemption, 648, h. 
 
 Church, Greek, a custom of it at Easter, 154, v. ancient cus- 
 tom in it at the Communion, 304, s. 
 
 Church of Rome, an useful and old practice laid aside by her, 
 6, 0. her absolutions erroneous, 10, e. her practice in the 
 Lord's Prayer corrected, 14, q. her erroneous practices with 
 respect to the reading of the Scriptures, 20, k. her practice 
 of reading the Scriptm-cs and mixing them with legendary 
 stories condemned, xxix, e,f. her practice of locking up 
 the Scriptures and having common prayer in an unknown 
 tongue how corrected, xxx, r. evil consequence of Iier 
 praying in an unknown tongue, 15, u. her profane addi- 
 tions to the Christian faith, 27, 9- deficiency of her practice 
 in saj'ing the Creed, 2!>, h. not the catholick church, 31, 
 p. her presumption in calling herself so, ibid, her impiety 
 and profaneness in worshipping the blessed Virgin, 45, e. 
 her invocation of saints in the Litany, 60, c; <il, g. an an- 
 cient prayer corrupted by her, 60, d. her business during 
 the Carnival, 122, b. her adoption of the story of the 
 assumption of the blessed Virgin condemned, 243, v. her 
 prayers for the dead an unwarranted addition to the Com- 
 munion office, 300, a. her intercession through the merits 
 of the Virgin and other saints, 300, b. her deceitful practice 
 at the consecration of the elements, 313, d. her super- 
 stitious additions to the prayer of consecration, 314, e. her 
 false doctrine about the sacriticing of Christ, ibid, her 
 elevation of the elements idolatrous, 315, 316, k. a novel 
 practice, ibid, her superstitious use of the wafer at the Com- 
 munion, 316, /. her corrupt practice of administering the 
 Comramiion, 317t r. a great defect in her mass book, 319, 
 d. her practice of solitary masses, disallowed by the Church 
 of England, 326, e. not agreeable to primitive practice, 
 ibid, her innovation with respect to the use of wafers in 
 the Communion, 327. 9- her reservation of the elements 
 superstitious and jirofane, 327t '• her excommunication of 
 us for not reserving them, ibid, reformation of her super- 
 stitious practices at baptism, 343, c ; 344, h. her error in 
 supposing the impossibility of salvation without baptism, 
 354, g. her unjustifiable practice thereupon, 355, g. her 
 neglect of religious instruction, 360, /. her doctrine of the 
 seven sacraments examined, 376, /. her uncharitable judg- 
 ment of those who differ from her about them, 376, /. her 
 practices with respect to the water in baptism, 378, t. her 
 en'oneous belief of the bodily presence of Christ in the 
 Sacrament, 381, i. and her idolatrous practice founded on 
 it, ibid, and unchristian cruelty, ibid, her complaint of the 
 mischief done by Protestant Catechisms, 383, r. departs 
 from the apostolical form of Confirmation, 386, a. omits 
 the apostoUcal ceremony of administering Confirmation, 
 and introduces others of her own, 392, m. her error about 
 extreme unction, 409, /. her erroneous forms for examining 
 the faith of the sick, 413, x. her doctrine of meriting 
 heaven by almsgiving, 415, e. her injunctions witli respect 
 to auricular confession, 415,,/! and her condemnation of 
 those who differ from her about it, ibid, her corruptions 
 with respect to the absolution of the sick, 416, g. and her 
 uncharitable declaration on the subject, ibid, and her 
 arrogance, ibid, her vain and ridiculous ceremonies at 
 funerals, 430, /. unreasonable in her to commend the souls 
 of the deceased to God, 431, ^j. objections to her form of 
 burial of the dead, 432, it. Iier corrupt abuse of the ancient 
 discipline of the Church, 439, r. her positive absolution to 
 
 all in a mixed assembly, 444, b. lior inconvenient use of 
 ihe Psalms, 448. maintains seven distinct orders of mi- 
 nisters, 671, «. her ordinations allowed by tlie Church of 
 England, 674, g. her pride anrl uiicharitahlcness in reject- 
 ing our orders, ibid, lier b'jid and ohm-I di-rjaratiou con- 
 cerning the A])ocryj)ha, 688, q. her subslitulion of legends 
 for Scripture, 688, r. gave the cup to the people till of 
 late time, 689, v. her practice with respect to cehbacy 
 contrary to Scripture and primitive usages, 690, e. places 
 the Scriptures on a level with traditions, 698, a. her frivo- 
 lous and superstitious ceremonies in the consecration of 
 bishops, 709, s. her improper innovations in the consecra- 
 tion service, 714, i. her opinion of the insufficiency of 
 Scripture, 755, .y. her admission of articles of faith which 
 are not founded on Scripture erroneous and tyrannical, 
 756, u, main ground of justifying our separation from her, 
 ibid, receives into the canon the Apocryphal books, 7-^7, 
 y. her admission of the Apocrypha into the canon a main 
 point of difierence with the Church of England, 758, b. 
 her doctrine concerning original sin contrary to Scripture, 
 762, t. her arrogant doctrine of the merit of good works, 
 
 764, y. its novelty, ibid, opposed to Scripture and anti- 
 quity, ibid, her opinion concerning the goodness of works, 
 
 765, ni. her c-alumny against the jirotestants at the Re- 
 formation, 766, n. her doctrine of merit of congruity 
 unscriptural, 767. '"• her doctrine of works of supereroga- 
 tion not Scriptural, 768, u. her arrogance and impiety in 
 maintaining it, 768, .*■. her unscriptural distinction between 
 mortal and venial sins, 770, d. considers herself the only 
 Christian (^"hurch, 776, jc. her claim to infalhbility denied, 
 776, y. proofs that she has erretl both in manner of Hving 
 and in matters of faith, 776, z. her monstrous doctrine of 
 infallibility why reprobated, ibid, her fallibihty, 779, /. her 
 formal decree concerning purgatory, ike. when made, 779, 
 n. her doctrine concerning purgatory stated and refuted, 
 779, 0. what her doctrine concerning indulgences is, 780, 
 p. her doctrlrie concerning the worslii])ping of images, 
 781, q. and of relicks, 781, r. her doctrine and practice 
 concerning the invocation of saints, 782, -v. her manner of 
 performing divine service indefensible, 7^(3, a. her doctrine 
 of the seven sacraments refuted, 784, e,f. her practice of 
 elevating the host condemned, 784, g. her erroneous doc- 
 trine concerning the partaking of the Lord's Supper, 785, 
 i. offence given by the vices of her clergy at the Reform- 
 ation, 785, /. her doctrine of transubstantiation condemned, 
 787, t. her superstitious practices with respect to the sacra- 
 mental elements, 788, .r. a. her opinions concerning the 
 mechanical operation of the Communion adverted to, 789, 
 b. contrary to Scripture, 789, c. her jn-actice of denying 
 the cup to the laity, a presumptuous departure from Christ's 
 ordinance, 790, e. her doctrine and practice with respect 
 to the sacrifices of masses, 791, i, k. why called blas- 
 phemous fables and dangerous deceits, 791, k. her cere- 
 monies inconsistent with Christian simpUcity and super- 
 stitious, 793, s. 
 
 Church of England, her wisdom and piety in selecting proper 
 titles of God, 7, ?'■ her wisdom and moderation with respect 
 to the remission of sins, 10. e. a pecuhar privilege granted 
 by her to the people, 15, n. reads more of Scripture than 
 any other congregation, 21, /. her wisdom with respect to 
 articles of faith, 27. g- her opinion of ceremonies agreeable 
 to that of the ancient and of Protestant churches, xxxii. ?/. 
 a sound member of the catholick church, 31,^;. order and 
 variety of the principal parts of her daily service, 33, s. 
 her serrice not popish, 37?/! famous for her loyalty, 39,^. 
 does not recommend aggrandizement and conquest, 40, r. 
 manner in which she borrows from the church of Rome, 
 ^^^, d. why not exjiressly mentioned in our prayers, 74. m. 
 her care in providing what is necessai'y to men's salvation, 
 84, c. her services, calculated to infuse religious joy, 86, h. 
 her seasonable and wise use of a passage from St. Paul in 
 the blessing in the Communion service, 90, r. singular 
 privilege allowed to her lay-members, 201. A. excellence of 
 her publick formularies, ibid, her departiu^e from a super- 
 stitious form of the papists, 314, e. her scriptural reforma- 
 tion of a popish false doctrine, ibid, her rejection of an 
 idolatrous custom of the Roman Cathohcks, 315, 316, k. 
 her care in the composition of all her services, 336, c. her 
 care for the reUgious education of children, 340, x, her
 
 840 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 moderation in the direction she gives ahout the way of ad- 
 ministering baptism, 345, )(. her attachment to primitive 
 antiquity, united to fear of superstition, 347, )'• her law 
 and opinion concerning lay baptism, 354, g. her caution 
 and temper in the framing of the Catechism, 3(>G, t. her 
 care in understanding the true doctrine of Scripture about 
 the Sacrament, 381, i. her care for the instruction of her 
 members, 387, c. her prudence in restoring the primitive 
 ceremony of Conlirmation, 302, m. her wisdom and piety 
 in preventing unlawfid marriages, 390, /". how she diH'ers 
 from the Romish church about confession, 415, f. her 
 wisdom and moderation with respect to the absolution of 
 the sick, 416, g. how she differs therein from the Roman- 
 ists, ibid, agrees with the ancient church in making the 
 Burial service eucharistical, 428, i. rejects the ridiculous 
 ceremonies prescribed by the Roman office at funerals, 
 430, I. as also prayers for the dead, 430, m. her peculiar 
 care in instructing and assisting us in our duty, 43(i, k. 
 her orders of ministers, explained and justified, 671, n, b. 
 her happiness in baring a true canonical ministry, 674. y. 
 her ministers generally well qualified for their office, 678, 
 y. an integral part of the constitution, 685, /. her care to 
 prevent improper persons from entering into holy orders, 
 685, ». vaUdity of her orders, 687, f- her appointment of 
 stationary ministers valuable, 688, s. her admirable mode- 
 ration witli respect to Scripture and tradition, 600, a. her 
 extraordinary care for the goodness and fidehty of her 
 clergy, 702, h. in wliat things she has left the church of 
 Rome, 714, i, her moderation with respect to some pre- 
 vailing disputes, 765, ;. those who rebel against her guilty 
 of schism, 783, y. instance of her eminent moderation, 787, 
 q. has restored the Lord's supper to its primitive simpli- 
 city, 780, a. how far she retains the ceremonies of the 
 church of Rome, 703, s. 
 Church, persons should come thither in good time, 2, b. ne- 
 cessity of our being humble and fervent there, 5, i. irre- 
 verence of coming late thither, 7, P- reasons for coming 
 thither in good time, 14, p. how we should behave in it, 
 considering it as the house of God, 201, i. how as the 
 house of prayer, ibid, a prayer proper to be said on com- 
 ing into it, 325, :. 
 Church musick, ancient rules for it in England, xxx. p. 
 
 want of regulations concerning it, ibid. 
 Church and State indissolubly united by the constitution of 
 
 the realm, 73, i. proof of it, ibid. 
 Church yards, when first made, 425, z. who are intitled to 
 
 burial there, ibid. 
 Church porch, honour to be buried there in ancient times, 
 
 425, z. 
 Chm-ches, Greek and Latin, schism between tliem, the cause 
 
 of it, 292, p. 
 Churches, foreign, without bishops, remarks on their condi- 
 tion, 673, y. 
 
 Churches, national, their independent authority maintained, 
 703, *. examples of tlie exercise of it, ibid. 
 
 Churches, patriarchal, three several ones specified as such, 
 776, X. neither of them free from error, ibid. 
 
 Churches and kingdoms, from what sources their calamities 
 flow, S28, h. 
 
 Churches, bodies when first suffered to be buried in them, 
 425, z. early provisions on the subject, ibid, general law 
 as to burying there, ibid, exceptions to it. ibid. 
 
 Churching of women, grounds of it, 435, d. original of it, 
 ibid, its universiilify and anticiuity in the Church, ibid. 
 how practised in the Jiast, ibid. 
 
 Churching of women, office of it, its former title, why 
 altered, 435, (/. when to be jierformed, 435, 4:)«, e. why 
 to be performed in the church, 43(i,y; absurdity of it in a 
 private house, ibid, disobc'dicnt to tlie Church, and affront- 
 ing to God, ibid, in what part of the church to be per- 
 formed, 436, h ; 43(1, (/. parts of which it consists, 43(;, i. 
 modelled by St. Paul's rule, 437, "• 
 
 Cinrumcision, what rei)rcsented as necessary, by this rife, 
 102, ;). by whom the spiritual intent of the law concern- 
 ing it is fulfilled, ibid. 
 
 Circuinspeitiiin, necessity and excellency of it, 210, i. 
 
 Ci.K.MENT, St., account of him, lix. 
 
 Clergy, the vilifying of them a sure mark of profligacy, 162, i. 
 to be rospectfd on account of their office, 163, i. 
 
 Clergy, rules by which they may govern themselves, 690, </. 
 what they are obliged to perform and avoid, ibid, rules 
 relating to their families, 600, e. not obliged to a single hfe, 
 ibid, their right to many much canvassed at the Reforma- 
 tion, 701, /. when first forbidden, ibid, bad effects of tlie 
 prohibition, ibid. Scriptural arguments for the right, ibid. 
 what they are bound to by subscribing the Thirty-nine 
 Articles, 700. See Minister. 
 
 Clergy, their want of learning, at and soon after the Reform- 
 ation, 2*')5, /. 
 
 Clerk, parish, but once mentioned in the Common Prayer 
 Book, 34, y ; 402, x. a customary office, intent of it, 
 402, .r. not meant to supersede the congregation, ibid. 
 
 Clerks, what persons meant by the term, 34, y. who meant 
 by them, 402, x. their situation before the Reformation, 
 ibid. 
 
 Collect, second at Morning Prayer, whence taken, 37, It. ex- 
 position of it, ibid. 
 
 Collect, third at Morning Prayer, whence taken, 38, /. pur- 
 port of it, 38, i. propriety of its commencement, 38, 1. 
 
 Collect, second at Evening Prayer, whence taken, 48, i, ex- 
 position of it, ibid. 
 
 Collect, third at Evening Prayer, peculiar and proper to the 
 evening, 48, /. whence taken, 40, /. exposition of it, ibid. 
 
 Collect, for the day, only one ought to be used, bdv. d. excep- 
 tions specified, ibid. 
 
 Collect, for Easter Even, grammatical inaccuracy in it, 153, r. 
 
 Collect, for 12th Sunday after Trinity, particular expression 
 in it explained and justified, 203, g. 
 
 Collect, for St. John Baptist's day, inaccuracy in the wording 
 of it, 254, ;. 
 
 Collect, at the Communion Senice, fitness of its situation, 
 281, a. its antiquity, ibid, exposition of it, ibid, propriety 
 of its commencement, 282, b. 
 
 Collect, for safety in all worldly changes, 323, q. what we beg 
 of God in it, ibid. 
 
 Collect, for the preservation of our souls and bodies, 323, q. 
 upon what ground, 324, w. when to be fitly used, ibid. 
 
 Collect, for a blessing on God's word, 323, q. when to be 
 most fitly used, 324, x. what it prays for, ibid. 
 
 Collect, for excusing the defects of our former prayers, 
 323, q. whence taken, 325, z. when most proper to bo 
 used, ibid, expressions in it explained, 325, a, b. 
 
 Collect, for direction and success in all our undertakings, 
 323, q. what it teaches us to pray for, 325, y. when esi>e- 
 cially seasonable, ibid, its excellent exposition of two con- 
 troverted doctrines, ibid. 
 
 Collect, for the acceptance of all the rest of our supphca- 
 tions, 323, q. its contents, 325, c. when properly used, ibid. 
 
 Collect, first at Baptism, parts of wliich it consists, 337, "'• 
 exposition of them, ibid. 
 
 Collect, secoiul at Bajitism, what we request in it, 338, p. 
 its solemn invocation, ibid, expressions in it explained, 338, 
 ?i >", s. 
 
 Collect, in the Confirmation senice, whence taken, 300, /i. 
 what it prays for, ibid, princiiile on which composed, ibid. 
 a commemoration of past mercy, and petition for increase 
 of it, 300, i. 
 
 Collect, towards the end of the Confirmation service, its ex- 
 cellence and import, 3i)3, r. 
 
 Collect, after the Absolution in the Visitation of the Sick, its 
 purjiort, 416, i. and antiquity, ibid. 
 
 Collect, in the Burial service, wtiy so called, 433, y. peculiar 
 design and excellence of it, ibid, its contents, ibid. 
 
 Collect, in the Churching of Women, an improvement on fho 
 old Western form, 437, ;'■ 
 
 Collect, at the conclusion of the Ordering of Priests, its con- 
 tents and suitableness, 7fl7t ?*■ 
 
 Collect, in the Orilering of Deacons, remarks on it, 683,./", g, li. 
 
 Collect, in the Consecration service, its propriety and con- 
 tents, 716, 717,;). 
 
 Collects, why so called, 36, e. general form of them, ibid. 
 their use, ibid, their authors and antitpiity, ibid, the ob- 
 ject of them, ibid, their form and pro|iortion, ibid, the 
 nnitter of them, ibid, jtropriety of their prefaces, yj^ i. 
 and of their conclusions, ibid. 
 
 C(illects, for peace and grace, what they comprise, 38, ni. why 
 they formerly closed the service, ibid, should bo used by 
 all persons every day, 38, »i.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 841 
 
 Cnlleofs, for Evening Prayer, their resemblance to those iu the 
 Moniinn;, 4(1, /. 
 
 Collncts, the first for tlie day, usual subject of them, 'SG,f. 
 institution of tlitni, 37. J"- wlienre tlerivctl, ibit/. general 
 character of tliem, JIO, 0. their antiquity, i/j/d. liow altered 
 in our Litui'gy, iOiit. table of them, noting their origin, 
 etc., 80, 81, ^. reduced under their proper heads, 80 — 
 82, b. 
 
 Collects, for the Sundays after Trinity, general view of them, 
 184, s. 
 
 Collects, for the King, in the Communion service, agreeable 
 to St. Paul's command, 2SG, h. and to the primitive prac- 
 tice, ibid, thcii* convenient situation, ibid, exposition of 
 the former one, ibid, reasons for preferring the former of 
 the two, 287, n. vindication of it against an objection, ibid. 
 propriety of the petitions in the latter, ibid. 
 
 Collects, at the end of the Communion service, why added, 
 
 323, q. their jilainness and comjirehensivencss, ibid, on 
 what occasions they may be used, ibid, what meant by the 
 direction that they are to be said after the Offertory, 
 
 324, r. 
 
 Collects, in the office of Baptism, after the interrogatories, 
 
 their subjects stated, 343, c. their requests and mutual 
 
 connexion, 343, d. 
 Collects, in the Visitation of the Sick, account of them, 411, 
 
 p, 17, r, s. 
 Collects, in the Commination, by whom to be said, 444, b. 
 
 their fitness, ibid. ; 444, c. 
 Collects, at the end of the Ordering of Deacons, agreeable to 
 
 ancient offices, <J!>3, o. 
 Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, for a Sunday, why ajipointed to 
 
 serve ail the week after, xxxv. c. 
 Comber, Dean, his character of the Liturgy, xi. xii. 
 Comforter, conditions requisite for our receiving Him, 
 
 1C8, /. three senses of the original word, 173, d. 
 Comfort, a source of, in days of heresy and profaneness, 
 
 259, n. 
 Comforts, heavenly, supply the want of earthly ones, 485, ff. 
 Commandment, the sixth, extent of it, 194, 7i. 
 Commandments, the two great, both necessary to be observed, 
 
 216, d. motives for observing them, ibid. 
 Commandments, Ten, when first introduced into our service, 
 
 282, e. then: obhgation upon Christians, ibid, their com- 
 prehensiveness, ibid, the reading of them considered 
 with respect to the Holy Communion, ibid, and to their 
 general use, ibid, why we pray to God after each of them, 
 
 283, e. how to be received, 283, /. fitness of the prayer 
 for mercy accompanying them, ibid, serious attention due to 
 this part of the office, ibid, propriety of the order for insert- 
 ing them in our Liturgy, ibid, and of the place which 
 they occupy, ibid, paraphrase on them, 283,5'. binding on 
 all mankind, 372, b. obligation of them carried farther by 
 the Gospel, ibid, rules for fully com pi'eh ending them, ibid. 
 their comprehensiveness, ibid, reasons why the Jews were 
 required to observe them, 373, c. more forcible iu their 
 application to Christians, ibid, why divided into two tables, 
 373, d. so divided by our Saviour, ibid. 
 
 Commandments of God, obedience to, why required to be 
 promised at baptism, 340, 341, i/. all of them to be ob- 
 served, G19, u. we must persevere in the way of them, 
 C22, q. all of them observed by his children, 031, y. 
 
 Commemorations, what meant by them, xxix. i. 
 
 Commination, reason of appointing this office, 439, r. why 
 appointed to be read on other days besides Asb-WeduRS- 
 day, ibid, what those days formerly were, ibid, parts of 
 it sometimes directed to be used, 440, r. in what place to 
 be read, 440, s. preface to it, its import, 440, /. improperly 
 traduced and derided, 441, y. founded on God's command, 
 ibid, a declaration of assent to the ti-uth of God's word, 
 ibid, character of the sins enumerated in it, ibid. 
 
 Commissary, his office, xviii, h. how it differs from that of 
 Chancellor, ibid. 
 
 Common prayer, Christ's promise to be present at it, 41, b. 
 practical inference therefrom, ibid. 
 
 Common Prayer, Book of, its original, v. advances made to- 
 wards it in King Henry the Eighth's time, ibid, compiled in 
 King Edward the Sixth's, vi. alterations subsequently made 
 in th&t reign, ibid, abolished by Queen Mary, vii. revived by 
 EUzabeth, ibid, persons employed in compiling and re\aew- 
 
 ing it, vi. — ix. additions made in it, in King James's time, 
 viii. reviewed in King Charles the Second's time, ibid, au- 
 thority on which it stands, x. two excellent and just cha- 
 rac^ters of it, x. — xii. libels written against it illcf^al, xvii. d. 
 why so called, 30, o ; 41, a. how it lKt;an in King Edward's 
 first book, 2, a. unjustly found fault witli for using the 
 word " regeneration" in its ancient sense, 349, w. See Book 
 of Common Prayer. 
 
 Common Prayer, Scotch Book of, alterations made in it, viii. 
 
 Common supplications, meaning of the i)hraae, 41, a. 
 
 Communion, frequency of its administration in the primitive 
 times, 277, "• evidence of the wish of our Church on the 
 subject, ibid, different forms of administering it, ibid, fit- 
 ness of the names by which the Church describes it, 278, o. 
 anxiety of the Church for its frequent administration, ibid, 
 wliy persons are to signify their names to the minister, be- 
 fore partaking, 278, p. what persons unqualified to partake, 
 ibid, discipline of the Church at ditVerent times concerning 
 it, 278, q. difference in the rubricks requiring notice to be 
 given of it, 293, //. occasion of the difference, ibid, utility 
 of giving warning of it, 300, c. prudence and necessity of 
 the exhortations, ibid, their suitableness, ibid, previous 
 preparation anciently inculcated, 302, /. not to be received 
 by obstinate sinners, 302, ?». care of the ancient Church as 
 well as of our own in this respect, ibid, its excellency and 
 danger, 301, ff. result of considering both, ibid, duties 
 consequent thereujion, 301, 302, i. why not to be received 
 till after baptism, 301,,/". why requisite ever after, ibid, tes- 
 timony of the ancients to its good effects, 301, (/. benefits 
 of it explained, 305, zt. asserted by our Saviour and St. 
 Paul, ibid, primitive testimony to them, ibid, sin and dan- 
 ger of neglecting it, 304, r. means of remedying them, ibid. 
 danger of it considered and stated, 305, ■:v. how inciu-red, 
 ibid, how to be avoided, ibid, judgment of ourselves not to 
 be deferred till then, 306, z. why thankfulness particularly 
 required at it, 306, a. grounds and character of the thank- 
 fulness required, ibid, its efficacy in uniting sincere com- 
 municants to their Lord, 300, b. to be oelebrated with 
 thanksgiving, 310, /. not received by primitive Christians 
 on days of humiliation, ibid, meditations after receiving it 
 recommended, 318, v. and subjects of prayer suggested, 
 318, y. attention paid to it in the primitive church, 325, d. 
 why ordered by ancient canons to be received three times a 
 year, ibid, care of our Church for its frequent administra- 
 tions, 326, d : 326,/. why three at least required to receive 
 it with the priest, 326, e. the receiving of it not to be re- 
 stricted to three times a year, 327, k. why persons who 
 have not received it, not allowed to answer for children at 
 baptism. 333, t. why to be received by new married per- 
 sons, 407, fi' practice of all churches to celebrate it at 
 ordinations, 692, n. propriety of it, ibid. See Lord's 
 Supper. 
 
 Communion, character and description of the form in our 
 Church, 277, «- acknowledgment of our unworthiness to 
 partake in it, 313, c. form taken from ancient hturgies, 
 ibid, excellence of it, ibid, duty of attending to it, ibid. 
 passage in it vindicated, ibid, not said in what form of 
 words the minister is to receive it, 316, ;;. common to the 
 people with the priest, 317, q- why to be delivered by the 
 minister to each communicant, 316, 7;. and to the clergy 
 fii-st, ibid, primitive custom of delivering it into the hands 
 of the people, 317, r. restored at the Reformation, ibid. 
 propriety of receiving it kneeling, 317, s. form of words 
 in which it is administered, of what particulars it consists, 
 317, t. whence taken, ibid, variations in our different 
 Common Prayer Books, 318, t. 
 
 Communion service, always, if practicable, to be read from 
 the table, 280, y. why so ordered by the Church, ibid. 
 should always be read in the chancel, Ixxiii. /. admirable 
 contrivance and beautiful order of it. 323, p. reasons of the 
 order for reading part of it, though there be no com- 
 munion, 320, d. extremely proper at ordinations, 683, d. 
 
 Communion of the Sick, origin of the office, 420, q. reasons 
 for the use of it, ibid, provisions of the Chm-ch in it, ibid, 
 doctrine of the Church when the sick are prevented from 
 receiving it, 421, *. 
 
 Communion, ecclesiastical and lay, difference between them, 
 316, ;>. 
 
 Communion of saints, not to be forsaken, C25, 5.
 
 842 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 Communions, more than one formerly on Christmas-day, 
 91, */. and on Easter-day, 155, v. 
 
 Council of Trent, dates of its meetings, 778, k. 
 
 Councils, general, what they are, 77^» '• ^hy they cannot be 
 called together without permission of princes, 77^, k. time 
 of the four first general ones, ibirL number of general 
 councils not agreed on, ifjid. proofs of their fallibility, 
 77^. /• four first, why received by oiu- Church, 77i*i '«• 
 what they decided, ibid. 
 
 Community of goods, not required by the Gospel, 797. »«• not 
 just and equitable, 798, w. when first maintained, 798, n. 
 
 Comparisons, different ways in which introduced by the sacred 
 writers, 514, e. 
 
 Complaints, frequently intermixed in the Psalms with thanks- 
 givings, 452, /. 
 
 Conception of the blessed Virgin Mary, account of day, Ixi. 
 
 Consecration and ordination, book of, remark on the wording 
 of the jVrticle that relates to it, 795, a. 
 
 Concupiscence, remarks on its being said to have the nature 
 of sin, 7*>2, V. 
 
 *' Conies," what animal intended by them, 594, z. 
 
 Confession of sins, its necessity inforced in Scripture, 3, e. 
 a duty to God, ibid, why it should be practised, 4,/". with 
 what frame of heart, ibid, ineffectual without reformation, 
 ibid, frequency with which it should be practised, 4, //. 
 benefits of it, ibid, why all persons invited to join in it, 
 5, 1, the proper introduction to prayer, G, n. practice of it in 
 the primitive church, ibid, and among Christians in gene- 
 ral, ibid, the condition on which we pray for forgiveness, 
 8, a. not a meritorious title to it, ibid, sincerity of, how 
 to be judged of, 9, d. a proper introduction to divine 
 worship, ibid, its antiquity and utihty, 415,/*. provisions 
 of our Cliurch and of the church of Rome concerning it, 
 ibid, advantages of it, 490, d. g. its utility and fitness, 
 494, M. 
 
 Confession, general, why so called, G, n. its comprehensive- 
 ness, ibid, better than if it had been more particular, ibid. 
 parts of which it consists, ibid, why to be said by the 
 whole congregation, G, o. caution to the minister and con- 
 gregation about it, G, 7f p- revived in our Churcli at the 
 Reformation, 6, o. why repeated by every worsliipper, 
 281, z. 
 
 Confession, general, at the Commxinion serxnce, humility of 
 gesture and voice especially pro])er in it, 307^/. agreeable 
 to the practice of the ancient church, 307. V- reasonable- 
 ness of if, ibid, fitness of the attributes with which it 
 addresses God, 30H, /. remarks on several expressions in 
 it, 308, k — m. its excellence, 308, w. by whom composed, 
 ibid. 
 
 Confession of Christ, to be added to faith in Him, 231, e. 
 
 Confessions of faith, why pubhshod by the chm'ches which 
 separated from that of Rome, 7-19, a. 
 
 Confidence, wherein to be reposed, 47G, d. 
 
 Confirmation, nature of the rife, 178, m. accompanied with 
 prayer and imposition of hands, 179, m. persons concerned 
 in it, ibid, blessings conveyed by it, ibid, to bo greatly 
 esteemed ajid valued, ibid, instruction in the principles of 
 religion necessary before it, 3ftG, u. different opinions of it 
 by the Churches of England and of Rome, 37*i» /• what 
 meant by it, 3B4, /. what the competent age for it, ibid. 
 wliat retjuired in order to it, ibid, why a surety required to 
 attend it, 3H4, u. when jjcrsons should be confirmed, 384, 
 X. advantages of its being duly administered, 384, y, 
 derived from the practice of the apostles, 385, z, why 
 reserved to bishops, ibid, the custom of the primitive 
 eliurcli, 3f{G, a. and of ofiier episcopal churches, ibid, at 
 what age formerly allowed, 387, b. present restriction, ibid. 
 previous instruction requisite to it, 387, c- children not to 
 be brought to it too early, ibid, whether to lie ministered 
 to those wiio have received the Lord's sujiper without it, 
 ibid, not to be repeated, ibid, so called on two n('C0\ints, 
 389, f. a ratification of the Imptisnia! vow, 38H, d. why 
 persons are then called on to ratify it, ibid, importance of 
 their faking it on themselves, ibid, fitness and utility of 
 taking it as the office prescribes, 308, d. necessity of the 
 persona confirmed doing their own part, 389, e. exposition 
 of the answer made by them, ibid, duties to which it 
 pledges them, ibid, its solemnity, ibid, anciently called 
 *' the laying on of hand?*," 3!)1, m. on whiil the continu- 
 
 ance of the blessing pronounced in it depends, 393, /. 
 
 admonition thereupon, ibid, anciently required to precede 
 
 the eucharist, 394, u. when persons are ready for it, 
 
 394, X. 
 Confirmation, order of, its contents, 386, a. persons engaged 
 
 in it, ibid, their several parts, ibid, exhortation to the due 
 
 administration and reception of it, 387, a. preface to it 
 
 why so used, instead of being left as a rubrick, 387» c. 
 
 uses of it, ibid, duty of the confirmed persons during the 
 
 ceremony, 392, n. restored to its primitive simphcity by 
 
 our Reformers, 392, p. contents of the concluding part of 
 
 it, 392, q. 
 Congregation, prayers of, why desired at the ordering of 
 
 priests, 703, j. their duty thereupon, 703, k. 
 Congregation, the great, to what opposed, 503, *. 
 Consanguinity, or affinity, when an impediment to marriage, 
 
 79G, b. table of, on what founded, ibid. 
 Conscience, joys of it, preferable to worldly advantages, 
 
 633, w. 
 Consecration, prayer of, in the Communion service, where to 
 
 be said, 313, d. why to be said standing, ibid, special 
 
 propriety of it, 314, e. usual in all churches, ibid, suitable- 
 ness of our form, ibid, parts of wliich it consists, ibid. 
 
 antiquity and plainness of it, ibid, explanation of a 
 
 phrase in if, ibid, words of our Saviour's institution, why 
 
 introduced into it, 315, h. 
 Consecration of the elements, to what words to be ascribed, 
 
 314, e. 
 CoNSTANTiNK the Great, singular honour shevm him at his 
 
 death, 425, z. state of the church in his days, 540, z. 
 Contemplation, noblest subjects of, 512, /. 
 Consubstantiation, doctrine of, its origin, 787» t- by whom 
 
 maintained, ibid, opinions of different Reformers about it, 
 
 788, t. 
 Conversion or repentance, not the same as regeneration, 
 
 338, r. 
 Coroners, whether their warrant be decisive for reading the 
 
 Burial service over persons who died by their own hands, 
 
 424, .v. strictures on their practice in that particular, ibid. 
 
 mistaken views on which they act, ibid. 
 Capital punishments, precedents for, in the Mosaick law, 797, 
 
 i. not superseded under the Gospel, ibid» recognized by it, 
 
 ibid. 
 Corporal, meaning of the name, 318, a. its institution and 
 
 design, ibid. 
 Corruption, original, an article in the confession of sin, B, /. 
 
 in what the guilt of it consists, ibid, how set forth, 4G4, s, 
 
 truth and practical use of the doctrine, 519, c. 
 Country, God introduces changes into one for reward or 
 
 punishment, G05, e. an image of changes in the Chm*ch, 
 
 ibid. 
 Covenant between the Father and Christ, several parts of 
 
 which it consisted, how fulfilled, 451, m. 
 Covenant of God with Israel, why strictly it imported temponil 
 
 blessings only, 7-'»9, f. higher blessings understood under 
 
 it, ibid. 
 Covenant of grace, constant reliance of the Churcli ui)on it, 
 
 551, q. a motive to thanksgiving, 584, q. 
 Covenant, Christian, blessings of, why they cannot be had by 
 
 nature, 337, '• 
 Covenant, vengeance no less than salvation, a part of it, 
 
 584, /. 
 Covenants, legal and evangelical, difference between them, 
 
 129, r. 
 Covenants made by God with Abraham, David, &c., in what 
 
 fountU'd, 574, s. 
 Covetousncss, its danger exemplified, 135, a, 
 Craxmer, Archbishop, his concern in the English Reforma- 
 tion, vi. Ids eflbrts to correct the service of the Church, 
 
 xxxi. r. supposed author of the fn-st book of Homilies, 
 
 294, /. qvmted, 764, c. 
 Created tilings, consequence of a true sense of tlieir vanity, 
 
 501, e. 
 Creation, inanimate, called npon to praise God, 587, ^• 
 Creator, to consider God as such, an argument of trust and 
 
 oljcdience, G2G,y. all creation called upon to glorify llim, 
 
 G59, c. 
 Creatures, lifeless, passions and actions figuratively ascribed 
 
 to Ihem, 534, b. dependence of all upon God, h^^,f>
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 843 
 
 Creed, wliat meant hy it, TCiO, h. 
 
 Creed, Apostles', why jtUired, as it is, in the daily service, 27, 
 rj. why so ealleil, ibhl. jirobably not framed by tlic 
 apostles, ibid, in what rcspeet it deserves the name, ihitl. 
 agreeable to a more ancient form, ibid, eomjjosure of it 
 gradual, ibid, veneration with which it has been received 
 in all ages, ibid, fitness of its place in the Liturgy, ibid. 
 benefits to be received by the daily use of it, 20, tj. rules 
 to be obsei-vcd in the use of it, ihid. why repeated stand- 
 ing, 2!), i. why omitted when the Atlianasian Creed is 
 read, 2f*, k. ])araphrase on it, 21), 30, /. principle on which 
 it proceeds, 31, o. its connexion with practice, 32, r. sum 
 of its sixtli article, 171, *. general jiarts of which it con- 
 sists, 370, r. their mutual connexion, 371, s, t, «■ .''• a 
 good rule of faith for tlie examination of the sick, 413, x. 
 ancient testimonies to it, ibid, its use among foreign 
 Protestants, ibid. 
 
 Creed of St. Athanasius, why appointed to be said on the days 
 named in the rubrick, .50, m. whence fi-amed and by whom, 
 
 50, n. its anti(|uity and use in the Church, ibid, design of 
 the author of it, ibid, a standard of tlie true faith, 50, n. 
 heresies condemned by it, ibid, on what authority received, 
 
 51, n. its early and general reception, ibid, rule for ex- 
 amining the doctrine of it, ibid, its doctrines frequently 
 asserted in the Common Prayer Book, ibid, approved by 
 dissenters, ibid, the doctrine of it the doctrine of the Gospel 
 and of the universal church, ibid, expressions in it not 
 properly excepted against, ibid, several of them explained, 
 ibid, condemnation contained in it compared with our 
 Saviour's words, and interpreted, 51, 52, n. both reason- 
 able and Scri]>tural, ibid, use of retaining such clauses, 
 and the duty of retaining them, ibid, why in the damnatory 
 clauses it does not notice cases of exception, 52, p. in 
 what respect it differs from other creeds, 54, t. the several 
 repetitions in it justified, ibid, and its statements as to the 
 substance and Persons of the Godhead, 54, t. its doctrine 
 agreeable to the plain and literal sense of Scripture, ibid. 
 several sentences in it have a view to some error or heresy, 
 55, X. general inference from those sentences, ibid, to what 
 the condemnatory clauses belong, ibid, its doctrine sup- 
 ported by the several heresies in their turn, 55, hH^ x. why 
 it states at large the doctrine of the incarnation, 50, z. 
 exposition of its doctrine in that respect, ibid, more prac- 
 tical articles of it, 57, b. its utility to the unlearned, 58, c. 
 to the publick at large, ibid, and to the ministry, ibid. 
 value in which it should be held, ibid, ought not to be 
 surrendered, ibid, necessary to be retained, 50. c. 
 
 Creed, Nicene, why so called. 289, ^ why called also Con- 
 stantinopolitan, 289, n. when estabhslied in the Church, 
 ibid, why placed after the Gospel, ibid, and before the 
 Communion, ibid, the repetition of it a confession of faith 
 in the Holy Trinity, 290, v. and a solemn act of worship, 
 ibid, paraphrase on it, 290, y. why it asserts beUef " in 
 one God," 291, z. why " in one Lord, Jesus Christ," 291, 
 a. wherein fiiUer than the Apostles', ihid. why additional 
 articles were introduced into it, ibid, proofs of the doctrine 
 alleged in it concerning Christ, 291, b. ascribes the making 
 of all things to the Son, 292, c. its meaning in this respect 
 sometimes mistaken, ibid, article concerning the eternity 
 of Christ's kingdom, when and why added, 292, d. scrip- 
 tural authority for its doctrine concerning the Holy Ghost, 
 
 292, e. and explanation of it. ihid. account of the clause 
 concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost, ibid, re- 
 mark on the articles, one Cathohck and ApostoUc Church, 
 
 293, y. and one Baptism, ibid. 
 
 Creeds, their use and origin, 27, g- bow denominated in Scrip- 
 tm-e, ibid, meaning of the name, ibid, ancient, their form 
 and substance, ibid, probably derived from the apostles, 
 ibid, on what authority they rest, ibid, why drawn up and 
 published, 50, n. why terms not strictly Scrij)tural intro- 
 duced into them, ihid. damnatory clauses in, in what liglit 
 to be considered, 57, c. their utility, 58, c. in what light to 
 be regarded, 289, /. origin of, 7-t9. fl- their design, ibid. 
 resi)e(^t, on what account due to them, 7G0, m. guilt of 
 those who do not believe them, yet subscribe the Articles, 
 ibid, principles upon which framed, 778, d. 
 
 Creeds, the three used in our Church, agreement among 
 them, 289, t. why used as respectively appointed, ibid. 
 
 Crispin, account of him, Ivii. 
 
 Cross, sign of, why baptized persons signed with it, 340, r. 
 an am'ient practice, iliid. the sacrament perfect without it, 
 ibid, care of the Church to avoid any superstitious under- 
 standing of it, 347, r. the ))racfice analogous to other 
 ancient rites, ibid, true sense and intention of the Church 
 in appointing it, ibid, why assumed by the ancient Chris- 
 tians, 347, .V. and why retained by ns, ibid, an inofl'ensi/e 
 ceremony, and free fr(un all just objection, ibid. 
 
 Cu]), at the Lord'.s sujiper, how administered when more than 
 one minister are jjresent, 318, x. 
 
 Cup, why withheld by the Romanists from the laity, 317, r. 
 given by the apostles to the laity, 381, f/. practice of deny- 
 ing it to the laity, its origin, 789, e. gradually established, 
 ibid, and when, 790, e. a departure from the prinntive 
 command of Christ, ibid, establislied in the church of 
 Rome, 789, e. corrected by all the reformed churches, 
 ibid, provisions of our Church about it, ibid, special 
 reasons against it, 790, /. its visible contrariety to the 
 Gosjjcl, and injury to the church of Rome, ibid. 
 
 Cup, figurative use of, in Scripture, Wl, d. 
 
 " Cup, portion of," what meant by it, 4li7, "■ 
 
 "Cup of salvation," among the Jews twofold, (>\(i, n. applied 
 to Christians, ibid. 
 
 Curate, ambiguity of the word, C89, c. 
 
 Curates, how the word is used in the Liturgy, 40, t. why so 
 called with respect to bishops, 300, y. 
 
 Curses, the practice of pubhckly repeating them, a divine in- 
 stitution, 440, X. fitness and utiUty of so doing, ibid, why 
 the people required to answer " Amen " to them, 440, y. 
 
 Cyprian, St., account of him, Iv. 
 
 D. 
 
 Dalmavutha, parts of, answer to coasts of Magdala, 195, o. 
 
 Damnation, what the word means in St. Paul, and in the 
 Communion Service, 305, x. remarks on the use of the 
 expression in the Communion Service, 785, k. 
 
 Damnation, eternal, all impenitent sinners to expect it, 
 whether they come to the Communion or not, 305, x. 
 
 Dangers, examples to encourage us under, 052, "■ " of the 
 enemy," explanation of the phrase, 411, r. God our de- 
 fence in them, 481, y. 
 
 Daniel in Babylon, his example recommended, 554, n. 
 effects of his devotion, 523, I. 
 
 Daughter, signification of the word applied to a city or nation, 
 4.59, a. 
 
 David, his ex.altation typical of Christ's, 451, g. his forlorn 
 condition typical of Christ's, 452, s. in what sense his 
 claims to righteousness to be understood, 471, «• his 
 patience under reproaches a type of Christ, 500, s. inspired 
 by the Divine Spirit to declare the tidings of salvation, 
 509, 0. history of, lessons that it teaches, 520, jn. his 
 gratitude for deliverance from danger an examjde to Cliris- 
 tians, 522, b. his exultation on tlie fulfilment of a previous 
 prophecy concerning him, 529, k. his dominion over the 
 tribes of Israel, 529, I. his reduction of the neighbouring 
 nations, how expressed, 529, m. victories promised to him, 
 figurative of Christ's, 539, p. why he requests to be pre- 
 served in his old age, 545, n. what his call to a throne 
 teacheth us, 500, 11. what we learn from his conduct after, 
 ibid, glorious things spoken of him projdietical of Messiah, 
 574, q. God's covenant with him how fulfilled, 574, *. 
 covenant with him how most eminently completed, 575, c. 
 how God kept his covenant with him, 570, h. surety of it, 
 570, (', k. his solicitude for the tabernacle and service of 
 God, 042, u. 
 
 David, Psalm composed by him when seated on the throne 
 of Israel, 451, y. when he fled from Absalom, 452, s ; 453, 
 a. in persecution, 4.54, i. in some special humiliation, 455, 
 s. under the malicious aspersions of a slanderer, 450, y. 
 in commemoration of God's goodness, 457, »■ to celebrate 
 his victories, 458, 5. under oppression, 400,/. under Saul's 
 persecutions, 402, x. on the malice of men and truth of 
 God, 5(i2,/. in great disti-ess, 403, n. in Absalom's rebel- 
 bon, 404, V. on jiis restitution to the ark and tabernacle, 
 4(i5, d. in the person of our Lord, 400, i. under Saul's 
 persecution, 408, ri. on his deliverance from Saul, 409, k. 
 to be used on occasions of danger, 475, z. after his vic- 
 tories, wliich were typical of Christ's, 470,/. when the ark
 
 844 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 was brought to the house of Obed Edora, 481, b. in dis- 
 tress, 482, h. in vindication of his integrity, 483, r. in dis- 
 tress, when excluded from God's jiubUck service, 484, a. 
 in distress, 480, m. after some extraordinary tempest, 4f;6, 
 r. on revisiting the sanctuary after sickness, 487, b. on 
 occasion of some special benefit, 4!)1, in. in thanksginng 
 for some signal deliverance, 49-, c. under atfliction, 494, o. 
 in reflection on his sincerity during distress, 490, f. with 
 a design of persuading men to submit to God's dispensa- 
 tions, 49G, n. under great affliction, 499, i. in sickness or 
 trouble, 501, y. when driven by Absalom from Jerusalem, 
 50o, i. when driven by Absalom's rebellion from Jerusa- 
 lem, 500, w. by him or Solomon, on some occasion of 
 removing the ark, 512, o. by him on removing the ark, 
 516, g. after his guilt in the affair of Uriah, 518, y. on 
 occasion of his persecution by Doeg, the Edomite, 520, q. 
 after coming to the throne, and when reducing the adjacent 
 counti'ies, 528, f. on occasion of escaping from his house, 
 when watched by Saul, 527, r. in contemplation of Saul 
 and his evil counsellors, 520, h. on escai>ing from Saul at 
 Engedi, 525, y. in danger with the Philistines, 524, 525, q. 
 when betrayed by the Ziphites, 521, y. on occasion of 
 Absalom's rebellion, 522, c. when driven into exile, 529, 
 q. in the wilderness of Judah, 531, f. complaining of his 
 enemies, and foretelling God's judgments upon them, 532, 
 n. in commemoration of divine Providence, 533, s. in com- 
 memoration of the deliverance of the Israelites, and de- 
 struction of their enemies, 530, u. in some season of extreme 
 danger, 530, rf. in old age, under distress from the rebelhon 
 of Absalom, 544, e. in contemjdation of Solomon's reign, 
 546, q. when he had entered on his kingdom, 551, 552, s, t. 
 in great distress, 570, t. on bringing the ark to Jerusalem, 
 583, /. on occasion of temporal blessings, prefiguring spiritual 
 ones, 585, n. on his re-estabhshment in his kingdom, 580, 
 e. on some great deliverance as an earnest of future bless- 
 ings, 587t "• on his quiet establisliment on the throne, 
 588, u. on recovery from sickness, 592, b. on placing the 
 ark in Sion, 597t k. when newly settled in his kingdom, 
 016, c. in praise of the word of God, 019, q. on the going 
 up of tlie people to Jerusalem, 030, j). before his flight to 
 Achish, 051, e. in the cave of Adullam, 652, m. soon after 
 his accession to the throne, 054, a. when God had given 
 him rest from liis enemies, 059, rf. 
 
 David, Abp., account of him, xhii. 
 
 Day, beginning of, how to be understood, 38, m. 
 
 Day of final retribution, its ditlerent results to the righteous 
 and the wicked, 450, 451, f. of judgment figuratively 
 described in bright and strong colours, 471, *. 
 
 Day and night, why represented as transmitting to each other 
 the task of praising God, 474, n. 
 
 Deacon, word used in all Christian languages, 672, c. its 
 origin, ibid, what the name imports, 088, 089, u. signifi- 
 cation of flie Greek word, 077t o. 
 
 Deacons, origin of the order, 077» o. duties performed by 
 them in early times, ibid, may not read the Absolution, 
 10, g. what tlicy are to do, when they come to it, 1 1, g. not 
 to deliver the bread at the Connnunion, 318, .r. remarks 
 on the age of their admission, 07 4, //, i. candidates 
 for the order of, questions proposed to them how distri- 
 buted, 088, r. certjun offices which they are used to per- 
 form, thougli not expressly autiiorized, 089, a. not capable 
 of any benefice, ibid, security for their personal duties 
 and jjrivate conversation, 690, d, why God's favour may 
 be expected upon tliem, *J83, g, jiarticular qualifications 
 entreated for them, 683, h. duties bi-lonping t^) tliem, why 
 set out, 688, t. \w\\v\\ tlie same from tlic ))rimitivc time 
 downwards as now, ibid, exposition of them, 089, 7i — c. 
 from whom they receive their office, 092, k. advice to them 
 on their ordination, 093, o. how long they should continue 
 in that office, 693, p. 
 
 Dead, fitness of a decent disposal of their bodies, 422, i. how 
 consitliTod by the heathens, ibid, antiquity of buryitig 
 them, ibid, why sonicliincs Imrned, ibid. i)racticc of t)ie 
 Jews, ibid, and of Christians, ibid, burial of, antiquity and 
 universality of religious solemnities among CIn-istians, 432, 
 w. buried I)y the ancients with hymns of triumpli, 426, r. 
 correHpotiiling provision of our Church, ;7//r/. what meant 
 by conmiittirig their bodies to the u'niund, 431, r. charita- 
 ble to hope that they arc saved, 133, a. such a declaration 
 
 warrantable, ibid, the Church vindicated for expressing it, 
 ibid, no encouragement thereby afforded to the wicked, 
 433, a. danger and presumption of setting bounds to God's 
 mercy with respect to individuals, 433, a. in what sense 
 cut off from God's hand, 572, h. 
 
 Dead, prayers for, excluded fi-om the Liturgj', 299, w. why 
 rejected by the Church, 300, a. her substitution for them, 
 ibid, why we do not pray for them, 431, s. 
 
 Dead, offerings of, what intended, 601, o. 
 
 Deadly sin, what we mean by praying against it, 63, p. 
 
 Dean, origin and subsequent use of the word, xxi, q. how 
 used in collegiate churches, &c., ibid. 
 
 Death, why called the wages of sin, 195, p. called a sleep in 
 Scrii)ture, 404, q. state of a suffering church compared to 
 it, 508, //. under the image of a wolf, 516, z. the effect of 
 God's decree, 578, s. proper words for one in danger of, 
 654, y. 
 
 Death of friends, with what feelings it should be regarded, 
 432, u. 
 
 Death of a sinner not desired by God, 11, A. practical use of 
 the doctrine, 12, m. 
 
 Death unto sin, what to be understood by it, 379, x. practice 
 to which it refers, ibid. 
 
 Debtors to the flesh, inference from our not being so, 197, *"- 
 and from our being debtors to the Spirit, ibid. 
 
 Declaration prefixed to the Thii'ty-nine Articles, by what 
 king made, 750, b, 
 
 " Deep," how said to be '* laid up as in a treasure house," 
 491, s. 
 
 " Dehver," in what sense " no man can deliver his brother," 
 515, 9, ?'. the inability matter of daily experience, 515, a-, /. 
 
 Deliverance from sickness, Psalm applicable to it, 615, q. of 
 the redeemed, its certainty, an occasion of joy, 524, a:. 
 
 Dehverances, retm-n to be made for them, 037i 9^ the eflect 
 of divine power, 523, vi. 
 
 Dehght in God contrasted with deHght in the creature, 497, ?. 
 
 Denys, St., account of liim, Ivii. 
 
 "Depart," old sense of the word, 401, r. unreasonable ob- 
 jection to it in the former office of Matrimony, ibid. 
 
 Departed, a spiritual and proper phrase for the dead, 431, q. 
 
 "Destroyer," explanation of the phrase, "I have kept me 
 from the ways of the destroyer," 468, z. 
 
 Destruction of the wicked exemphfied, 520, s. use made of it 
 by the righteous, 521, t. 
 
 Deuteronomy, perusal of the twenth-eighth chapter recom- 
 mended, Oil?. '"• 
 
 Devil, meaning of the name in Scripture, 3011, i. what meant 
 by renouncing him, ibid, figures under which he is de- 
 scribed, 479, h. his sophistry in the temptation detected 
 and exposed, 580,^. See Enemy. 
 
 " Devil, the world, and the flesh," wliy renounced at baptism, 
 241, y. cnmpiU'i.son between our practice in this particular, 
 and that of the primitive church, ibid, and objection to 
 this stipulation answered, 342, a. 
 
 Devil, works of, what meant by tlicm generally, 309, i. speci- 
 fication of them, ibid. 
 
 Devotion, prevailing power of, how shewn, 404, ?■. the pro- 
 jjor fruit of meditation, 502, k. how to be exercised, 
 611, i. 
 
 Devotions, other, of the people, how distinguished from alms 
 for the poor, 296, p. 
 
 Difficulties, warning to prepare for them, 259, n. 
 
 Diligence in s]>iritual concerns recommended an{l inforced, 
 199, y. a principal part of the pastoral oflice, 699, c. parts 
 into whicii it is divided, ibid. 
 
 Disease, men troubled with, thro\igh God's displeasme, 
 578, n. 
 
 Dispensalion, the old, language of it transferred to the new, 
 597, <>' 
 
 Dissenters, their dc])arturc from a primitive usage of tho 
 Church, 15, u. their consent lo subscribe to tlie Athanasiiin 
 Creed, 51, ti. tlieir inconsistency in a charge laid by tliem 
 against the Church of Kngland. 317. -v- «" exception taken 
 by them to tlie Common Prayer Hook, 401. r. their device 
 to prevent the disorder arising from their want of episcopal 
 government. (i72, b. 
 
 Distrust of (iod's providence, remedy for it, 497, <>• 
 
 Divint- service may be performed by a deacon with exception, 
 089, n ; 689, a.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 845 
 
 Doctrines not to be rcjecteil, because we cannot explain 
 them, SV, a. 
 
 Dags, tlieir number in the East, 527, ^^ 
 
 DoLBEN, Abp., his charge to his clergy about testimonial, 
 C75, A. 
 
 Dove, taken in a snare, an emblem of the soul entangled by 
 the world, .');!ll, o. Eastern, its beautiful plumage, compari- 
 son of the Church to it, 53^, (/. 
 
 Doxology before the Psalms, caution to the minister concern- 
 ing it,' 17, ;. 
 
 Doxologics, mixture of them with complaints, both reasonable 
 and common, 09, d. 
 
 Dross, how the ungodly are compared to it, (i30, ]>. 
 
 DuNSTAN, Abp., account of him, xlvii. 
 
 Duties, practical, two sorts of, 372, b. how treated of in the 
 Catechism, i//iil. 37(1, >■ to God, distinction between natu- 
 ral and preceptive, ibid. 
 
 Duty towards God, statement of the particulars into which 
 tlie Catechism divides it, 373, e. to our neiglibour, comjire- 
 liensive statement of it, 374, /. why branched out in the 
 Commandments, ibid, comprehensive branches of it, 4GC A. 
 its importance, ibid. 
 
 Dwelling, " out of their dwelling," explained, 510, a. 
 
 E. 
 
 Earth, why said to be "founded on the seas," 481, d. an 
 instance of divine wisdom and power, 594, q. in what sense 
 it " cannot be moved," ibid, its fertility owing to God, 
 51)5, ;/. 
 
 East, turning towards, in repeating the Creed, reason of the 
 custom, 29, i. not necessary, but becoming, ibid, antiquity 
 of the custom, 290, .v. foundation of it, ibid. 
 
 Easter, why all jiersons required to receive the Lord's supper 
 at that time, 320,/; 327, /. how to be observed, 019, o. 
 
 Easter Even, how celebrated in the ancient church, 152, q. 
 provision of our Church for it, 15.3, q. 
 
 Easter-day, how called anciently, 154, u. antiquity of observ- 
 ing, it, ibid, dignity of the feast, ibid, origin of the word, 
 154, u. why the Church uses Anthems proper for the day, 
 154, V. iitness of the proi)er services, 155, i'. baptism 
 solemnly administered on it in the primitive church, 
 150, :. alluded to in Collect for the day, ibid, why 
 then administered, 157, a. duty of observing it, 525, g. 
 pecuharly consecrated to Christ, Gift, rn. rule for finding 
 it, on what occasion framed, Ixii., a. canons at the C!ouncil 
 of Nice concerning it, ibid, rule of our Church agreeable 
 to them, ibid, sanctioned by Act of Parliament, ibid. 
 
 Easter week, why more solemnly observed by the ancients, 
 157, ". two first days in it, why set apart by the Church, 
 157, b. 
 
 Easter Monday, description of its services, 157, b. 
 
 Easter Tuesday, description of its services, 159, e. 
 
 Easter, tirst Sunday after, names by which it was anciently 
 called, 161, ff. custom that prevailed on it, ibid, alluded to 
 in the Epistle, ibid. 
 
 Eating ashes, what it intimates, 590, r. 
 
 Ecclesiastical duties, what intended by them, 327, '"■ 
 
 Ecclesiastical writers, alphabetical index of, xiv. 
 
 Edification, not speculative, but practical, 246, a. not con- 
 fined to the private advantage of an individual, ibid, what 
 is true Christian edification, ibid, application to ministers 
 and people, ibid, necessity of it, 247, b. 
 
 Edmund, K. and M., account of him, ILx. 
 
 Edomites, their unnatural behaviour to the Israelites, 047, f- 
 reflections on it, ibid. 
 
 Edward VI. K., religious improvements in his reign, vi. his 
 first book, iAirf. his second bookvii. his first and second books, 
 regulations in them concerning the place of divine service, 
 Ixxii, I. provision in them for catechising, 383, r. rubrick 
 in them concerning private baptism, on what founded, 
 354, ff. afterwards amended, 354, 355, g. 
 
 Edward VI., his first book, how it began, 2, a. beginning of 
 it, why altered, 14, p. it injoined the " Glory be to thee, 
 O Lord," 288, r. provision in it at the consecration of the 
 elements, 316, k. form of administering the Communion 
 in it, 318, /. how altered in his second book, ibid, order 
 in it concerning the cup, 318, .r. place of the angelical 
 hymn in it, 321, /. its order concerning the Communion 
 Service, 326, d. its direction as to putting the questions 
 
 at baptism, 348, y. broke the queries at baptism into eight, 
 ibid, prayer in the Confirmation office appointed jjy it, 
 why alteretl, 392, p. an expression in its *>itice of Matri- 
 mony altered, 401, r. provision in it respecting the inter- 
 ment of the di'ad, 430, n. its provision for the Counnunion 
 at a burial, 433, ij. 
 
 Edward VI., his second book first contained tlie Absolution 
 at daily prayer, 10, e. the Commandments tirst used in it, 
 2J!2, e. excluded prayers for the dead, 29if, //'. jirotestation 
 concerning kneeUng at the Communion first added in it, 
 321!, n. 
 
 Edward VI., his forms of ordination an improvement on tlie 
 Roman ordinal, 678, x; 680, c. remark on his ordinal of 
 priests, 695, /. 
 
 Edward, K. of West Saxons, account of him, xliii. transla- 
 tion of,^account of the day, xlix. 
 
 Egypt, miracles wrought in, their intent, 558, /. what to be 
 learnt from them, ibid, consternation in, at the death of 
 the first-born, 558, 559, u. plagues of, illustrative of the 
 cUvine power and goodness, 521, y. 
 
 Egyptians, how the Lord looked upon and troubled them. 
 Sec, 555, /. their destruction spiritually ajiplied, ibid, why 
 spoiled by the Israehtes, 599, y. 
 
 "Elect," what persons called so by Scripture, 432, J^. 
 
 Elements, God's ministers, 594, p. why devolion paid to 
 them in old times, 645, 7i. God's power over them asserted, 
 ibid, and demonstrated, 645, o. how tliey glorify God, 
 060, h. 
 
 Elevation of the host condemned, 784, ff. 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen, alterations in the Liturgy in her reign, 
 vii. by whom the alterations in the Liturgy in her reign 
 were made, xvi, c. her endeavour to unite the nation in 
 one faith, 318, /. her injunctions, 796, d. y. rule in her 
 injunctions about the mode of singing common prayer, 
 
 X.X.X. p. 
 
 Ember, uncertain derivation of the word, 72, g. 
 
 Ember fast, a fit introduction for it, 179, n. 
 
 Einber weeks, what weeks so called, 72, y. prayers for them, 
 when added, ibid, on what days to be read, ibid, distinc- 
 tion between the two prayers, ibid, importance of using 
 them, 73, g. 
 
 Empires, then- rise and fall, a striking image of, 499, g. 
 
 "End of all tlungs," what to be understood by it, 172, c. 
 preparation necessary for it, ibid. 
 
 Enemies, appeal to God from their oppression, 506, 507, ■»"• 
 both without .and within to beset us, 651, y. devices of, 
 turned upon themselves, 652, /. 
 
 Enemies of God, their punishment, 532, /. 
 
 Enemies, spiritual, their multitude and quality, an incite- 
 ment to watchftilness and action, 221, m. necessity of 
 praying against them, 544, h. their venom figuratively 
 pourtrayed, 580, h. God our protection against them, 
 637, d. 
 
 Enemy, spiritual, his taunts an aggravation of sorrow to the 
 afflicted soid, 505, I. his unrelenting mahce, 653, /. how 
 we are rescued from the effects of it, ibid. 
 
 Entertainments, not condemned by ScriptOTe, 109, b. 
 
 Enurchus, account of, Iv. 
 
 Ephraim, children of, used for the Israelites, 550, c. 
 
 Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses, why specified by the 
 Psalmist, 501,/. 
 
 Ephrata, the place where the angel directed David to build 
 an altar, 642, x. and where the angel announced the incar- 
 nation to the shepherds, ibid. 
 
 Epiphany, meaning of the word, 104, r. how apphed at tirst, 
 ibid. 
 
 Epiphany, feast of, why celebrated by the Church, 104, r. 
 antiquity of it, ibid, called by two other titles in ancient 
 times, ibid, how solemnized, ibid, in Latin called by the 
 phiral noun, because we celebrate three manifestations, 
 ibid, peculiarity in the service, ibid, the design of the 
 Church in her services, before and after it, 107, "■ 
 
 Ejiisfle, why so called, 287, q. why the words, "The portion 
 of Scrijiture &c." were inserted in the rubrick, ibid, when 
 those words are to be said, ibid. 
 
 Epistle for the eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, why it de- 
 viates from the general course, 215, b; 184, a. 
 
 Epistle for the twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity, why it varies 
 from the order of the rest, 228, z.
 
 816 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 Epistle in the Ordering of Deacons, fitness of the i)ortions 
 selected for it, 683, 684, i, k. 
 
 Epistle iu the Ordering of Priests, why chosen, 69o, s. 
 
 Epistles, why so called, 83, c. 
 
 Epistles and Gospels, antiquity of the use of them, 83, c. 
 their fitness for the days thev belong to, ibid, appointed 
 with special relation to the time of reading tiiem, ibid. 
 general character of them, 84, c. excellency and useful- 
 ness of the selections, idid. lung used on the same days 
 as now, ibid, when taken from the last translation of 
 the Bible, ibid, variations made in them, ibid, the reading 
 of them agreeable to the practice of the Jews, 287* o. and 
 of the primitive Christians, ibid, antiquity of the selection, 
 ibid. 288, q. why the Epistle first and then the Gospel, 
 287, 0. 
 
 Epistles and Gospels, between Easter and Whitsuntide, prin- 
 cipal subjects of them, 166, q. 
 
 Epistles and Gospels, general view of them for the Sundays 
 after Trinity, 183, 184, s. 
 
 Epistles in the Consecration service, fitness and contents of 
 them, 710. 711, r, a. 
 
 Erring and straying, distinction between them, 7, *- 
 
 EsDRAS, books of Ezra and Nehemiah why so called, 7o7j -- 
 
 Espousals, how different from marriage, 400, m. 
 
 Etheldreda, account of her, Ivii. 
 
 Eternity, nothingness of every thing worldly in comparison 
 of it, 501, c, d. 
 
 Eucharist, why so called, 310, t. sacrifice of, what meant by 
 it, 319, d. when offered, ibid, form of otiering it, ibid, dis- 
 tinguished from the sacrifice of Christ, 319, 320, e. fitness 
 of calling it so, 320, e. 
 
 EvangeUst, early signification of the term, how limited, 270, c. 
 
 Ever, in what sense we pray that the Lord will not be angry 
 with us for ever, 63, o. 
 
 Evil, petition to be purified from it, CoO, n. 
 
 Evils, liow to be prevented, 490, i. 
 
 Evil spirits, superiority of Christ over them, 113, A. inferences 
 therefrom, ibid. 
 
 Examination, in order to the Lord's Supper, directions con- 
 cerning it, 382, I, m. its especial necessity, 383, q. 
 
 Examination of the sick, how conducted before the Reforma- 
 tion, 413, a\ necessity of it, ibid, goodness of the rule 
 appointed by our Church, ibid. 
 
 Example of tliose who have conquered, an encouragement to 
 others, 626, g. 
 
 Expectation week, why so called, 172, b. 
 
 Excommunicates, why not allowed Christian bm-ial, 423, u. 
 
 Excommunication, when practised in the Church, 791, n. two 
 sorts of, described, ibid. pei*verted by the popes to the 
 worst purposes, ibid, power of, asserted by the reformed 
 churches, ibid, a necessary and equitable authority, 792, o. 
 does not discharge from the performance of relative duties, 
 ibid, how to be remitted, 792, p. 
 
 Exiiortation in the daily service, a comment on the Sentences, 
 2, c. connects the Sentences and Confession, 3, d. a proof 
 of the i)rudence and piety of our reformers, ibid, attention 
 due to it, ibid, its apostolical and affectionate commence- 
 ment, ibid, summary of its contents, ibid, remarks on its 
 several parts, 3 — .5, e — /. general character of it, ft, /. its 
 Scriptural com^liision, ibid, its general excellence, ibid, not 
 to be rcjjcated by the ])eoplc, ibid. 
 
 Exiiortation, giving warning of the Communion, the first, 
 contents of it, 300, c. 
 
 Exhortation, giving warning of the Communion, the second, 
 use of it, 303, /;. its necessity, 303, (j. and contents, ibid. 
 rccoTTinurHl.il inn to a serious considt'T-aliun Dfit, 301, r. 
 
 Exiiortation, at the tiTiie of the Communion, purpose of it, 
 ;^)4, *. its contents, ibid, its excellence, and the great care 
 of the Church in providing it. .'WKi, b. 
 
 Exhortatiftn, at the end of the office of Matrimony, agreeable 
 tf) Scripture and antiquity, 406, i. 
 
 Exhorlation, in the Visitation of the Sick, grounds of it, 411, 
 /. character and contents of it, ibid. 412, u. 
 
 Exhortation, in the Churching of Women, short but 8uital>le, 
 436, k. 
 
 Kxhnrtation, in tiie Commination, grounds of if, 442, r. parts 
 of whicli it cDusistH, ibid. 
 
 ExorciMin, pra*:tised in early times, 343, c. prudent substi- 
 tution made for it by our Church, ibid. 
 
 Extreme unction, why accounted a sacrament by the papists, 
 376, /. not really such, but a piece of superstition iu their 
 practice, 377, ^• 
 
 Eyes, when said to be lightened, 464, p. 
 
 Ezra, Psalm composed by him at the return from captivity, 
 640,/. 
 
 Fabiax, account of him, xxxix. 
 
 Face, when God is said to turn away bis face, 519, h. 
 
 Faculty, for the admission of ministers, remarks on it, 674, i. 
 
 Faith, useless unless it influence to a holy life, 57. c. what 
 that is by which Christians overcome the world, 162, h. 
 success of it in early times, ibid, the power of it exem- 
 pUfied, and recommended to imitation, 227, y- union of 
 other Clu-istian graces with it, ibid, should prompt us to 
 seek to God for spii'itual succour, ibid, a quaUfication for 
 baptism, 380, b. a requisite for tlio Lord's supper, 382, o. 
 how to be judged of, ibid, why called a hvely faith, ibid. 
 rule of judging of our faith, ibid, how to be accompanied, 
 382, p. its cheering and animating effects, 456, u. the 
 remedy for a fainting soul, 485, k. power of it, 496, m. a 
 cordial for despondency, 506, n. a security against our 
 enemies, 524, u. finds a way opened through the diffi- 
 culties of the Clu'istian coiu-se, 600, h. the su])port of the 
 soul in affliction, 615, t. its reliance on obtaining God's 
 mercy, 654, z. what it stands generally for in the New 
 Testament, 764, g. not the cause but the condition of 
 justification, ibid, what meant by faith only, 765, h. how 
 the word is used in our Articles, ibid. 
 
 Faith and distrust, controversy between them related, 554, 
 o,p. 
 
 Faith, the, what meant by the exhortation to contend ear- 
 nestly for it, 273, g. with what weapons we are to contend, 
 ibid. 
 
 Faith, V. and M., account of her, Ivii. 
 
 Faithful, how their pai'taking of the sacrament differs from 
 that of the unworthy communicant, 381, i. theii- persua- 
 sion of the providence of God, 461, q. 
 
 Fail off from God, explanation of the prayer that we may not 
 do so, 430, m. 
 
 Fall of man, consequences of it, 763, u, how remedied, ibid. 
 
 False Chi-ists and false i)rophets, instruction to be derived 
 from our Lord's warning concerning them, 116, q. 
 
 False teachers, warning against listening to them, 119, x. 
 
 False prophets, their pretences of extraordinary sanctity, 
 197, t. best method of judging of them, 198, /. 
 
 Famine personified, 598, q. worst sort of famine, ibid. 
 
 Fasting, use of it, Lxv, e. examples of it in the Old Testa- 
 ment, ibid, and in the New, ibid, practice of the primitive 
 Christians about it, ibid, and of t!ie Church uf KiT^land, 
 ibid, instructions in the right manner of doing so, 124,/'. 
 ought to be considei'ed more seriously than it often is, ibid. 
 
 Fasts, distinction between private and publick, 124, e. the 
 ground of ditlerent injunctions, ibid. 
 
 " Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," why God so called in the 
 Absolution, 11, (. 
 
 Father to the fatherless, when God became so in the fullest 
 sense, 536, z. 
 
 Favour of God, value of it, 498, z. 
 
 Favours of heaven, depend on men's fidelity, 605,/. 
 
 Fear of God, what sort of, fit to be entei'taincd, 212, v. 
 fouiulation of it, 373, e. wickedness proceedeth from the ab- 
 sence of it, 496, g. recommended in opposition to lliut of 
 the world, 516, c. how the beginning of wisdoiTi, 611, 0. 
 happy eOect of it, 612, 7. effects and necessity of it, 630, 
 q. blessings which attend it, 640, b. 
 
 Fear of the Lord, blcssiTigs consequent on it, 483, 1, privileges 
 of it, 483, /«. reward of it, ibid. 
 
 Fear the Lord, advice to those who d(t so, 493, h. 
 
 Feasts, otherwise called holy-days, Ixiii, b. immoveahle, why 
 placed by themselves in the order of the Calenilar, 230, c. 
 
 Felicity, on what it depends, 41M), c. earthly, what composed 
 of, 655, e. on what terms promised to the Israelites, ibid. 
 more precious promises given to God's faithful servants, 
 ibid. 
 
 Fellowship with the Father and the Son, great privilege of it, 
 97. ''■ duties ii'.>ulliiig from it, ibid. 
 
 Festivals of the Church, of two sorl^, 83, c. appropriateness
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 847 
 
 of the scnirea fo boMi, ibid, their aptness for infusing all 
 necessary Christian knowledge, il/id. necessity of retaining 
 them, ibid, wliy the jirimitive Christians were so exact in 
 observing tlu^in, ibid, how to bo celebrated, 5t)3, .v, t. 
 memorials of God's wonders, Cll, /. joy of celebrating 
 them, C3G, q. 
 
 Festivals, principal, their greater solemnity how marked by 
 the Cliurch, i{5, e. the memory of them continued some 
 days after, 100, /. greater, proper forms of worship pro- 
 vided for them, 312, a. why lengthened out for several days, 
 ibid, why the number of days eight, ibid, what the festivals 
 are, ibid. 
 
 Festivals, Christian, substituted by the Church, for Jewish 
 ones, xxxiji, b. set apart in the infancy of Christianity, 
 xxxiv. b. universal observance of them, ibid. 
 
 Festivals, yearly, why set apart by the.Chui'ch, xxxiii. b. in 
 honour of the apostles, &c., xxxiv. reason of those retained 
 in our Church at the Reformation, ibid, subsequent pro- 
 visions concerning them, ibid. 
 
 Fidelity to God, necessary for producing fidelity to man, 
 471, X. 
 
 Fire, an emblem of God's indignation and vengeance, 470, p. 
 
 " First shall be last, and last shall be first," the former a 
 waming to the well-instructed, 238, n. what sort of peni- 
 tents fall under the latter, ibid. 
 
 Flesh, sinful lusts of, what meant by them, 3(j9, /. 
 
 Floods, for whom figuratively used, 582, u. fury of the 
 wicked compared to them, (J37. e- the Jews returning from 
 captivity compared to them, (j38, p. 
 
 Followers of Christ, in what sense the apostles were so, 193, 
 k. how far we may be the same, ibid. 
 
 Folly, evil consequences of, prepare men for advice, G52, i. 
 
 Fool, why he saith in his heart, There is no God, 4(j4, u. 
 
 Fools, wicked men why so called, 404, t. 
 
 Foolish, wicked men why so called, 454, /. 
 
 Fonts, why so called, 333, «. their ancient situation, ibid, only 
 fit place for administering publick baptism, 334, y. 
 
 Forefathers, their offences, bow they affect their children, 
 G2, 0. 
 
 Forgiveness of sins, assurance of, given on the terms of the 
 Gospel, 390, i. joy and comfort inspired by it, 519, g. 
 
 Forgiveness of injuries, its necessity, 413, 414, a. duty of, 
 illustrated, 224, q. strongly bound upon us, ibid. 
 
 Form of giving praise, a highly proper one, 646, s. 
 
 Forms of prayer, occasional, their suitableness, 718, a. 
 
 Foundations of a state, what they are, 462, a. fallacious 
 arguments concerning them, ibid. 
 
 Fowler, a sinner compared to one, 461, n. subtle enemies 
 compared to one, 051, a. 
 
 Frailty, human, exemplified, 139, d. a support under it, ibid. 
 
 Free-vrill, moderation of our Church in speaking of it, 763, a\ 
 
 Friday, why kept as a fast day, Ixv. i. 
 
 Friends, apt to forsake us in distress, 500, r. 
 
 FrugaUty, not inconsistent with charity, 131, s. 
 
 Fruitfulness, natural, emblematical of spiritual blessings, 547, 
 y. rehgious blessings set forth under images borrowed from 
 it, 569, ff. 
 
 Funeral rites, different in different countries, 422, t. 
 
 Funerals, singing of Psalms at them usual among the first 
 Christians, 427, '''• unconcernedness of those who attend 
 them reproved, 423, /. 
 
 Funerals, dumb, their unchristian character, 434, c. con- 
 trasted with the Burial ser\ice of the Church, ibid. 
 
 Future state, belief of the Jews concerning it, 759,y. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gates, ancient use of them, 459, z. 
 
 Gates of righteousness, in what sense believers desire that 
 they may be opened, 618, /c. 
 
 Genesis, book of, why begun on Septuagesima Sunday, 21, w. 
 
 Gentiles, intimation of their readiness to flow into the church, 
 '^72, g. prophecy of their glorifying God for the Gospel, 
 473, h. kings of, projihecy of their accession to the church, 
 513, y. description of the calling of them, 510, g. di\ine 
 care manifested in calling them home, 537, (2. their con- 
 version foretold, 546, a. offering of their first fruits, 
 and their accession to the faith, 5A6, b. their accession 
 to the church, 571, y, z. promise of salvation, when 
 
 declared to tliem, 587, V- failed upon to praise the Lord, 
 OU;, b. reason of tlie call, ibid, their cull to the Gospel 
 foretold, 648, i. 
 
 GiiiLAsius, collects arranged by him, 80, b, 
 
 Georgk, St., account of him, xlv. 
 
 Geugeskn'es, their unworthy conduct, 113, h. how to be 
 converti-d to our profit, ibid. 
 
 Gifts, spiritu;d, St. Paul's advice concerning them, not con- 
 fined to any ages of Christiac'ty, 200, a. nor to any par- 
 ticular persons, ibid, intent ol the Church in propounding 
 it, ibid. 
 
 " Gifts of grace," meaning of the phrase, 391, /. 
 
 Giles, account of him, Iv. 
 
 " Glory," peculiar sense of the phrase, that " Jesus manifested 
 forth his glory," 110, b. 
 
 Glory, future, of Christians, its superiority to their present 
 sulferings, 190, y. what knowledge we have of it, ibid, a 
 powerful argument for constancy, ibid, why called the in- 
 heritance of the saints in hght, 226, x. how we may be 
 made jiartakers of it, ibid. 
 
 " Glory," the tongue why so called, 470, r. 
 
 " Glory be to the Father," &c., a paraphrase of Scripture, 16, 
 3c. use of it in tlie Clu-istian church, ibid. ser\'es as a creed 
 and a hymn of praise, ibid, why used after every Psalm, 
 20, h. peculiarly fitted to that place, ibid, its conformity to 
 other religious offices, ibid. 
 
 " Glory be to thee, O Lord," ancient practice of the Church 
 to say so before the Gospel, 288, r. retained in our earliest 
 Liturgy, ibid, not authorized now, but unobjectionable, 
 ibid. 
 
 *' Glory be to God on liigh," &c., reason of singing this hymn 
 at the Communion, 321, i. ancient use of it, ibid, addition 
 to it, when made, ibid, where used in difterent chm-ches, 
 ibid, properly placed in our own, ibid, better to be sung, 
 if practicable, ibid, statement of its general purport, ibid, 
 and remarks on several passages in it, 321, 322, k — n. 
 
 God, his counsels not to be estimated by the designs of men, 
 159, d. his wisdom and goodness in providing for our 
 redemption, 205, /. goodness of, exempUried, 212, v. his 
 providence in all his disjiensations, 227, y* solemn invocation 
 of Him by all those attributes which express his power and 
 mercy, 338, p. appropriate description of Him by his works 
 and attributes, 403, c. counsels of, vanity of attempting to 
 frustrate them, 451, h. laws of, true grounds of opposition 
 to them, 451, i. not to be defeated, 453, c. effects of his 
 grace and love, 453, g. for what to be admired and magni- 
 fied, 457, k. his providence shewn in the destruction of the 
 wicked, 459, b. his power over wickedness asserted, 461, r, 
 s. his love and regard to the humble, 461, t. righteousness 
 of his words, 463, k, character of tliem, ibid, his fidelity 
 in keeping his words and preserving his servants, 463, /, 
 exquisite imagery under which his providence is represented, 
 468, b. liis justice in rendering to every one according to his 
 works, 471, X. his attributes undoubtedly proved from his 
 works, 473, m. equity of his way, and security of his pro- 
 mises, 472, a. his readiness to confer blessings on his chil- 
 dren, who ask for them, 470, h. his hand equally powerful 
 to save and to destroy, 477, "• knows what is proper for 
 Him and for us, 478, x. liis power and perpetual duration, 
 478, z. what we arc to expect from Him, 478, a. the wis- 
 dom of his providence, 491, t. his providential care over 
 all the inhabitants of the earth, 492, x. no victoiy to be 
 gained without Him, 492, y. his attributes the ground of 
 our comfort, 490, //. extent of his good pro^•idence, 496, i, 
 his omniscience, when more particularly necessary to be 
 impressed on our minds, 508, i. effect of contemplation on 
 his wondrous works, 514, g. the only object of worship, 
 514, /. the helper of liis faithful servants, 521, a. manifesta- 
 tions of his power celebrated, 534, y. his fideUty to his word, 
 544, g, always good and merciful to his faithful people, 
 548, k, his prerogative to exalt or suppress, 552, y. effect 
 of his appearing in defence of his people, 553, d. his praise 
 advanced by the fierceness of his enemies, 553, h. rebellion 
 against Him will surely be punished, 559. q. acts the part 
 of a father under our sufferings, 500, s. his attributes vindi- 
 cated by the punisliment of his enemies, 561, z, weakness of 
 those who despise Him, 561, a. wherein great and wonderful, 
 570, 0. liis mercies the theme of the Church's praise, 574, r. 
 his title to the praises of all his creatiu-es, 574, u. his power
 
 848 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 exerted in subserviency to Ms other attributes, 57^* ^- Ms 
 unchangeable nature a comfort in distress, 578, r. comfort- 
 able promises to his children, 580, i. his works and dispen- 
 sations lost on brutish men, 5R1, m. the only protector and 
 deUverer of the church, 583, g. om- security under his pro- 
 tection, 583, k. rectitude of all his proceedings to be adored, 
 588, b. his attributes celebrated. 589, g. his eternity and 
 immutabihty a constant source of comfort, 591, z. Ins word 
 standeth sure, 592, a. Ms goodness both to the bodies and 
 souls of men, 592, /. his mercy and goodness represented 
 under three striking similitudes, 592, h. variety and magni- 
 ficence of his works, 595, d. Ms miracles and grace, ibid, his 
 glory to be perpetually celebrated, ibid, his mercy perpe- 
 tual and unchangeable, GOO, d. Ms unwillingness to give up 
 Ms people, 010, .r. Ms faithfulness and truth, 027,^- reason 
 for trusting in Him, C27t ?■ Ms truth and loving-kindness 
 dwelt on with delight, 633, s. his righteousness celebrated, 
 631,/. beautiful description of his omnipresence and omni- 
 science, consideration of them a restraint from sin and an 
 encouragement to righteousness and patience, 649, p. his 
 omniscience and omnipresence proved by his all-directing 
 providence, 650, s. Ms care for Ms people, 651, h. confi- 
 dence to be placed in his wisdom, power, and goodness, 
 653, 0. comfort suggested by Ms works of love and mercy, 
 653, ri. his knowledge of and power over all men, 658, x. 
 the ends of all his dispensations, 658, y. 
 God, all our blessings to be ascribed to Him, 166, r. com- 
 fortable inference, from his past hberality, 215, c. implying 
 conditions on our part, 216, c. glor}- due to Him for all his 
 mercies, 219, g. what thmgs are the things of God, 225, /. 
 our duty to render them, ibid, our sins against Him how 
 to be estimated, 324, q. contrasted with the oifences of our 
 brethren against us, ibid, when we are accounted to ** love 
 him perfectly," 282, c. when to "magnify him worthily,*' 
 ibid, what persons He will accept, 454, n. happiness of those 
 who trust in Him, 457, e. victory over oui- enemies to be 
 ascribed to Him, 451, s. remembrance of Him a criterion 
 of our state, 459, c. reward of it, 460, d. the proper refuge 
 in distress, 462. y. trust in, titness and propriety of it, 462, 
 b. trust in his mercy, privilege of it, 464, r. his justice and 
 holiness to be acknowledged in all events, 478, u. owr only 
 support in affliction, 478, a. contidencc to he placed in Him 
 as our Redeemer and Preserver, 480, /. acknowledgments 
 due to Him for our creation and redemption, 481, c. necessity 
 of waiting patiently on Him, 493, /. his glory shoidd be sung 
 by the redeemed, 488, k. safety of those who trust in Him, 
 488, m. his saving power a subject of joy, 489, z. for what 
 He is to be praised, 491, h. how He often conducts Him- 
 self to those who love Him best, 495, c. prayer for a con- 
 tinuance of his loving-kindness, 496, /. duty and difficulty 
 of waiting patiently for Him, 497, *• examples of his praises 
 being sung in adversity, 506, s. our trust under afflictions, 
 506, 7^ tiie gloiy of our salvation to be ascribed to Him, 
 508, d. his command that we acknowledge his ]iower and 
 sovereignty, 512, m, his protection to be sought in Ufe and 
 death, 525, z. examples of procuring it, 525, a. our Saviour, 
 meditation on, a defence against spiritual enemies, 529, r. 
 liis salvation to bo patiently waited for, 530, z. meditation 
 on his power and mercy recommended, 531, e. to be 
 jiraiscd for his mercy in hearing us, 535, »/. the kingdom, 
 tlie power, and tlie glory to be astrrihcd Ut Ilini, 540, c;, b. 
 the iiro])er object of our failli and love, 549, z. ddigiit and 
 protit of drawing near to Him, 549, a. his sui)eri()rity to be 
 acknowh'dged throughout the eartli, 570, «. what source 
 of comfort, if men fall away from Him, ibid, imjiortance of 
 bi'ing taught his way, 570, ;;. why to be blessed in distress, 
 578, ]'. liis presence to be regarded witli an holy fear, 613, 
 (/. his praises a most delightful jiart of tlie service of his 
 ehurcii, 612, y. results of the relation which we l)ear to 
 Him, 627, t. to be sought as a refuge and protect()r, 629, 
 m. ditltrent relations in which He stands to his pe(t])le, 
 633, ;/. promise of protection to his peoide, 636, 0. his 
 superiority to every other obji-ct of man's affections, 645, r. 
 to be praised for his attributes and for the exertion of 
 tliem, 6lf;, t. wliere and wliy to be praised, 661, q. his 
 noble and mighty acts, liow displayed, 661, r. 
 God, how passages arc to be understood, in whidi human 
 parts and passions arc attributed to ilim, 189, d. in what 
 sense said to rejoice over a i)eriiti*nt i^inncr, ilnd. why 
 
 spoken of in Scripture as having human passions, 451, k. 
 language attributed to Him explained, 451, /. when said 
 not to hear, 454, k. why intreated to display his righteous 
 judgment, 456, c. Epicurean notions of, when they pre- 
 vail, 461, p. when said to forget men, 463, 0. Ms indigna- 
 tion and displeasure figuratively described, 470, 471, py 
 q, r. his supporting and protecting power figuratively de- 
 scribed, 469, /. meaning of remembrance and forgetfulnesa 
 being attributed to Him, 483, k. in what sense our light, 
 strength, and salvation, 484, h. in what sense He made the 
 world by his Word, &c., 491, q. supphcated to vindicate 
 the cause of the afflicted, 494, p. his protecting mercy and 
 vengeance figuratively described, 494, q. consequences of 
 his so appearing foretold, 494, r. why called on by the 
 Psalmist to arise, 506, t. how and when exalted, 525, c. 
 why all flesh should come unto Him, 533, ii. Iiis salvation 
 and righteousness how made know^l to the heathen, 587, p- 
 two consequences of his alternate display of mercy and 
 judgment, 605, g. his blessmg must accompany man's 
 labour, 639, s. 
 God, name of, in the plm-al number with a verb singular, 
 intimation of the Trinity, 182, r. sj)eaking in consultation, 
 intimation of the Trinity^ ibid, named in the same sentence 
 as sustaining several capacities, intimation of the Trinity, 
 ibid, what constitutes his unity, 291, z. unity of, asserted, 
 371, a- three persons in the unity, 372, a. being of, from 
 what tilings mamfest, 751, (?. his unity, iii(/. proof of other 
 attributes ascribed to Him, ibid. 
 God the Father, why to be called on for the grace of baptism, 
 
 336, h. why through om- Lord Jesus Christ, ibid. 
 Gods, who so called, 564, c. what meant by the Lord's supe- 
 riority over them, 584, 0. 
 Godhead, unity of, most expressly taught in Scripture, 182, r. 
 consistently with the Trinity of persons, ibid, persons in, 
 scriptural doctrine concerning them, 7SL ^• 
 Godhead, ideutitied with love, 185, u. 
 
 Godfathers and Godmothers, their number when limited, 
 333, t. why parents not admitted, ibid, why not jiersons 
 before they have received tlie Communion, ibid, use of them 
 whence derived, 333, i. antiquity and reasonableness of 
 the practice, ibid. ; 335, a. by whom objected against, 333, 
 t. why so called, ibid.; 335, a. original of tliem, 340, x, 
 antiquity in the Christian church, ibid, benefits of them, 
 ibid, their duty, ibid, security given by them for infants 
 no new or strange tMng, 340, x. analogous practices al- 
 leged, ibid, considerations on the form in which they 
 stipulate for infants, 340, 341, y. their duty in answering 
 to the several queries put to them, 341, -. when they may 
 be considered as having discliarged the trust rei)oscd in 
 them, 342, a. antiquity and reasonableness of the form of 
 interrogating them, ibid, not absolutely necessary, 342, a. 
 reason of the exhortation to them, 350, z. their duty to 
 consider and practise it, ibid, reflections on the office being 
 undertaken by improper persons, ibid, or from inq)roper 
 motives, ibid, evil consecjuences of such customs, ibid. 
 admonition to them from giving the Christian name, 3(J7, 
 y. why required by the (.'liurcli, 367, *■ why jireferred for 
 sureties to jiarents, ibid, wliy we are bi)und I)y tlii'ir jiro- 
 mise for us, 370, tn. remarks on tlie manner in which the 
 Church teaches children to avow their obligation, 370. «. why 
 required to attend the confirmation <if aynung person, 384, 
 n. why they must have received the holy Communion, ibid. 
 Godfatliers and Godmothers, why appointed at the baptism of 
 
 adults, 360, s. 
 Good, opportunities of doing it not to be omitted, 212, f. our 
 Ha\-iour's forwardness in doing it, ibid, brought by (Jod out 
 of evil, 477t P- 
 Good-Friday, why so called, 149, i\. doubtful meaning of its 
 Saxon name, (bid. antiquity of observing it, ibid, ajtpro- 
 lu'iateness of the service, ibid. 
 Good cheer, what our Saviour meant by calling on his disciples 
 to be of good cheer, 196, x. mistakes concerning it corrected, 
 ibid. 
 Good men, considerations to support them in their duty, 187» 
 z. their offV'nces couhl not bear to be accurately noted, 
 641, m. measures provided for preserving them, 641, w. 
 their rebukes salutary, 652, //. 
 Goodness, already vouchsafed, gives assurance of its being 
 continued, 481, a.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 849 
 
 Goodness, progressive, happiness of, 581, q. 
 
 Good works, their necessity asserted together witli justification 
 by faith alone, in one of our coIU»cts, ^(25, y. im])roi)crIy so 
 called before the grace of Christ, 'iitW, a. Arti<'le of them, 
 why added, 7^5, k. what meant by them, V^'-'Ji ^- how con- 
 sidered by God,7C5, m. proofs thattiiuugh not meritorious 
 they are pleasing to God, 7'»*'t "■ nfccssity of tliein why as- 
 serted by protestants in their cunfussHuis, /^i/V/. tbc doctrine 
 of Scripture and the ancient church, ibid, the natural pro- 
 duce of a lively faitli, 7f'*»i <>• how considered by oui" 
 Church and by Scrijiture, ibid. 
 
 Gospel, a privilege allowed by it to the people, 5, /. its excel- 
 lence proved from the divine nature of its Founder, 
 92, X. exhortation not to receive it in vain, 125, //. why 
 sometimes rejected and desjnsed, 177- i- different enter- 
 tainment of it when first published, 188, a. a lively image 
 of the reception which it met with in the world, 208, p. 
 liberty of it wherein it consists, 209, r. caution not to 
 strain it too far, ibid, duties connected with it, ibid, in- 
 estimable blessing of it, 215, c. corresponding duties 
 belonging to us, ibid, necessity and benefits of it, 217, 
 218,/. change wrought upon persons converted to it, 218. 
 J\ tlxe professors of it must live up to its jjrinciples, 220, k. 
 success of, a proof of the power, wisdom, and goodness of 
 God, 271, c- its success foretold, A^Ay r. encomium on it, 
 ibiil. not valued as it deserves, 475, *. testimony to its 
 excellence, 475, t. general promulgation of it prophetically 
 described, 517» ^- effects and extent of its pubhcation, 
 533, z. propagation of it foretold, 609, c. and its blessed 
 effects, 610, d. character of its professors, ibid, belief in it 
 necessary to salvation, 774, s. 
 
 Gospel, slanderous misrepresentation of the ministers of the 
 Church for not preaching it, 276, m. 
 
 Gospel of the day, no direction at the end of it, 288, 5. 
 
 Gospel, for Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity, why repeated 
 from a former Sunday, 228, z ; 229, b. 
 
 Gospel, for St. Bartholomew's day, remark on the fitness of 
 it, 262, r. 
 
 Gospel, in the Ordering of Deacons, why set immediately after 
 the Ordination, 692, m. ajiprojiriateness of it, ibid. 
 
 Gospels, whence taken, 83, c. why read and heard standing, 
 ibid, peculiar marks of honour shewn to them in the 
 ancient church, and continued in our own, 288, r. abrupt 
 beginning of some of them, 426, e. 
 
 Gospels, in the Ordering of Priests, their fitness, 695, /. 
 
 Gospels, in the Consecration service, their pertinence, 71 !j b. 
 
 Gospellers, Ai-ticle against them, 774, i?- 
 
 CJovernors, their authority, how to be exerted, 552, a. 
 
 Grace, divine, necessity of it, 589, k. its concmrence with free 
 will, the question concerning it excellently stated in one of 
 the collects, 325, y. why joined with peace as the subject 
 of our prayers, 38, k. 
 
 Grace, illuminating and assisting, prayer for it, 454, 0. 
 
 Grace, preventing, what intended by it, 324, y. 
 
 Grace, preventing and assisting, different opinions concerning, 
 763, z. necessity of, proved by Scripture, 763, c. an essen- 
 tial doctrine of Christianity, ibid, its importance in the 
 opinion of the compilers of oiu* Liturgy, 764, c. not incon- 
 sistent with man's free agency, ibid, caution on the subject, 
 ibid. 
 
 Grace of God, what meant by it, 370, q. necessity of it, ibid. 
 why necessary to be prayed for, 629, 0. neccssaiy both to 
 enhghten and strengthen, 622, t. 
 
 Grace, means of, not to be neglected, 336, e. 
 
 Grace, works of, praise due to God for them, 646, .v. 
 
 Grass, common comparison to it carried still farther, 641, i. 
 
 Grave, its different relation to the righteous and the wicked, 
 516, b. 
 
 Great Bible, Epistles and Gospels formerly taken from it, 
 84, c. what so called, and why, xxxii, x. 
 
 Gregory the Great, account of him, xhii. his Litany, 60, e. 
 collects contained in his Sacramentary, 80, b. when and how 
 he compiled it, 81, b. 
 
 Grief, the cause of wakefulness, 554, in. its effects on the 
 human frame, 590, 0, p. 
 
 Griffith, Bp., supposed author of the office of Baptism for 
 Persons of Riper Years, 360, q. 
 
 Grotius, his opinion of the Enghsh Liturgy, xi. 
 
 Guest, Bp., his concern in restoring the Liturgy, vii. 
 
 Gunning, Bp., a prayer said to be written by him, 7^), m. 
 
 11. 
 
 Haggai, Psalm used by him at the rebuilding of the temple, 
 648, fj. 
 
 Ilalf-christened, folly and absurdity of the expression, 356, k. 
 
 Hallelujah, meaning of the word, 16, x. use of it in the 
 Psalms, ibid, and among the ancient ('hristians, ibid, how 
 used in our Cliurch, ibid, its fitness, 17, x. 
 
 Hammond, Dr. his paraphrase on the Psalms recommended, 
 447. 
 
 Hampton Court Conference, account of, viii. the Thirtieth 
 Canon explaining the use of the sign of the cross in bap- 
 tism, the product of it, 352, e. order restricting the admi- 
 nistration of private baptism to a lawful minister made 
 after it, 354, 3'')5, g. addition made after it to the rubrick 
 certifying private baptism, 356, /. 
 
 Hand of God, how distinguished from his Spirit, 393, r. 
 
 Handmaid of the Lord, the church so described, 571, r. 
 
 Happiness not to be estimated by fortune or station, 186, .r. 
 how to be procm-ed, 450, c. in what we should place it, 
 469, i. to whom it belongeth, 639, a. 
 
 Hart, thirst experienced by it, compared to the soul's desire 
 after eternal comfort, 505, k. 
 
 Hatred of the servants of God, desolation in a high degree 
 follows it, 493, m. 
 
 Head, wounding of, what it denotes, 539, n. 
 
 Health and sickness, imUfferently applied I0 both soul and 
 body, 490, m. 
 
 Health, want of, how to be understood spiritually, 8, y. by 
 whom to be supplied, ibid. 
 
 Heart, God's word to be laid up in it, 620, b. why God en- 
 treated to incline it, 622, u. fatness of, what it implies, 
 625, b. soundness of, what meant by it, 626, k. inchnation 
 of, how produced, 629, k. its importa,nce as a rule of judg- 
 ment, ibid. 
 
 Heart, the true of, their character and reward, 038, /. 
 
 Heart, the broken in, when healed, 658, u. 
 
 Heathen, what things especially declared among them, by 
 the apostles, 585, y. 
 
 Heathens, their splendid actions deficient in a right principle, 
 766, q. 
 
 Heathenism, its overthrow by the Gospel, fitly compared to 
 the wreck of a fleet of ships, 514, e. 
 
 Heaven, a glimpse of the future joys of it, 98, /. qualifica- 
 tions for being received into it, 99, /. every good gift 
 Cometh thence, 204, i. character of it, 226, x. way of 
 attaining to it, ibid, holiness a necessary quahfication for 
 it, 434, b. would not be a heaven to a wicked man, ibid. 
 the only jilace wliich can satisfy an immortal soul, 496, k. 
 the throne of God's sovereignty, 614, k. 
 
 Heaven and eai*th, how called to be witness of God's judg- 
 ments, 517, li w- evidences of divine wisdom and power, 
 575, z. how they celebrated God's praises, 574, /. 
 
 Heavens, in what sense said to " cry to God," 23, t. contem- 
 plation of them, its effect, 458, m. an especial proof of 
 the tUvine power and goodness, 473, /. how they bear 
 their testimony, 473, 474, o. how they " declare the glory 
 of God," 659,/. 
 
 Heavenly bodies, divine wisdom manifested in them, 595, a. 
 
 " Heaviness turned into joy," in whom verified, 488, i. 
 
 Hedge, " broken hedge," what meant by the comparison of 
 the wicked to one, 530, a, b. 
 
 Heels, "iniquity of my heels," explained, 515,/?. 
 
 Hell, signification of the word, 30, n. meaning of the asser- 
 tion, that Jesus Christ descended into hell, ibid, foimda- 
 tion of the assertion, ibid. Christ's descent into, when and 
 why introduced into creeds, 754, o. 
 
 Hell, that is, the gi-ave, " they He in the hell like sheep," 
 exjilained, 516, '. 
 
 Henry VIII. King, improvements in liturgital matters in 
 his reign, v. vi. right in rejecting the power of the pope, 
 684, /. his sense of supremacy, ibid. 
 
 Hermon, hill of, why called " httle," 500, q. 
 
 Herod, warning to be drawn from his slaughter of the Inno- 
 cents, 99, 100, k. 
 
 Herod, reflections on his tyranny in slaying St. James, and 
 imprisoning St. Peter, 258, m. 
 
 3 I
 
 850 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 Hilary, account of him, xxsix. 
 Hireling, proper meaning of the word, fiflo, /. 
 History, how it should be read, 4!(1, 492, t. 
 History, sacred, benefits to be derived from it, 507, a- 
 HoUness, by God's will necessary to happiness, 12, /. in 
 what sense it may be pleaded by Christians, 5/0, k. tlie 
 proper ornament of Christians, 582, x. the way to happi- 
 ness, G19, s. 
 
 Holy, Holy, Holy, a form of praising the three persons in one 
 Godhead, 23, u, derived from Scripture, ibid, why fit for 
 us to sing on earth, ibid. 
 
 Holy -cross day, account of it, Iv. 
 
 Holy Ghost, scriptural testimony concerning Him, 175, h. 
 proofs that He is a person, ibid, a divine person, 17(>, //. 
 and that He proceeds from the Father and the Son, ibid. 
 scriptural proof that He is the Lord, 336, e. and the Giver 
 of life, ibid, two different attributes, ibid, in what sense 
 his procession from the Father and the Son to be under- 
 stood, ibid, hath a real subsistence, distinct both from the 
 Father and the Son, 372, a. scriptural proofs that He is 
 God, ibid, his procession and divinity proved, 7o5, r. in 
 ■what manner He is a guide to us, 107, s. acts by the instru- 
 mentality of the Word, ibid, in what sense He is a Com- 
 forter or Paraclete, 172, d. our duties respectively conse- 
 quent thereon, 173, d. why pai'ticularly addressed before 
 ordination, 703, /. 
 
 Holy Ghost, grace of, why to be desired, 219, i. liis influ- 
 ence in the generation of all things, and in the regeneration 
 of a Christian, compai-ed, 390, y. in what ways received, 
 390, h. his sevenfold grace, in what sense it may be dis- 
 tinctly understood, 391, k. distinction between liis exti'a- 
 ordinary and ordinary graces, 686, o. when it may be said 
 that a person is moved by Him to the office of the ministry, 
 ibid, why necessary to be enquired of, 686, o. on what 
 ground it may be trusted that He is so, ibid, what meant 
 by receiving Him, 705, m. 
 
 Holy Ghost, mission of, great importance of the event, 
 174, g. effects produced by it, ibid. 
 
 Holy Ghost, sin against, in what it consists, 129, p. 
 
 Holy Ghost, typified by water, 329, o. 
 
 Holy life, necessary to happiness, 466,/. 
 
 Holydays in the Church of England, provisions concerning 
 them, by Edward the Sixth and liis successors, Ixiii. b. 
 concurrence of two together, question what service to be 
 used, xxiiv. why to be declared by the curate at the begin- 
 ning of every week, 293, g. reason for keeping up the 
 rubrick, ibid. 
 
 Holydays, popish, why resumed into the Calendar, xxxiii. y. 
 why not intended to be kept holy, ibid, character of the 
 account of them, ibid. 
 
 Homily of justificjition, what supposed to be meant by it, 
 765, i. why so called, ibid, 
 
 Homihes, two books of, account of them, 294, /. agreeable to 
 ancient practice, ibid, their original use and design, 295, /. 
 character of them, ibid, how they may bo now used to 
 advantage, ibid, in what sense subscribed to by the clergy, 
 295, m. may be read by a deacon, 689, x. their doctrine, 
 and the publick reading of them, asserted, 793, 794, t. how 
 far the approbation of them in the Articles goes, ibid. 
 their character, ibid, ought to bo read by all persons be- 
 fore they subscribe the Articles, ibid, regard due to them 
 different from that due to the Thirty-nine Articles, 79'1, x. 
 particularly necessary when written, 704, y. their titles in 
 the Thirty-nine Artii'les not exactly the same as in the 
 book, 795, z. 
 
 Honour to the name and word of God, in what it consists, 
 374, e. 
 
 Horn, an emblem of strength and power, 552, x. why said to 
 liud, 6 13, c. 
 
 Hope, ilifferent degrees of, 433, a. a twofold hope, ibid, ap- 
 plied to a passage in tlie Hurial service, ibid. 
 
 \\^^\») in the Lord, reason for it under affliction, 499, f. 
 
 Hopes of God's mercy, by wliat rule to bo measured, 222, n. 
 
 Hosnnnah, its signification, 16, :. how used in the Church, 
 ibid, meaning of the word, 61ft, n. 
 
 Hounds, comparison of the wicked to them, 468, d. 
 
 House of God, obligatiim of going tliithor, and the offerings 
 to be ma<lc there, 535, m. 
 
 IIi'GU, Bp., account of liim, lix. 
 
 Human nature, its early propensity to sin, 526, k. fallen st<nto 
 of, an argument for divine mercy, 653, s. 
 
 Humble, their joy in the glad tidings of salvation, 543, a. 
 
 Humiliation, necessity of it, 509, m. 
 
 Humihty, the way to glory, 648, k. 
 
 Hymn, angehcal, what hymn so called, 321, i. cheruhical, 
 wliat hymn so called, 313, b. 
 
 Hymns, use of them in the primitive church, 22, q. correspond- 
 ing practice in our Clmrch, ibid, why said or sung standing, 
 ibid, few used in the Church of man's composing, 25 b. 
 after the lessons, probable intention of the Church as to 
 the use of them, 26, e. 
 
 Hyssop, sprinkling with, what it foreshowed, 519,/. 
 
 I. 
 
 Idolatry, deliverance from it by the Gospel, 570, m. many 
 not free from it, ibid, its overthrow by the Gospel, an 
 occasion of rejoicing, 586, k. 
 
 Idols, contrasted with the God of Israel, 614, I. 
 
 Ignatius, notice of his martyrdom, 94, z. 
 
 Ignorance not an excuse for embracing heresy, 56, X, 
 
 lUitcrate persons, not to be admitted to the ministr)', 675, m. 
 
 Images, worshipping of, its origin, 781, q. how defended by 
 those who practise it, ibid, unscriptural, ibid. 
 
 Immanuel, how this name belongs to our Saviour, 243, 241, 
 X. the Ruler of the universe, and Saviour of his people, 
 512, n. 
 
 Immersion, the more ancient way of baptizing, 378, x. alluded 
 to by St. Paul, ibid. 
 
 Imperative verbs often put for fiiture, 497, P- 
 
 Imposition of hands, why appointed at Ordination, 673, f. 
 an essential part of Ordination, 691, h. whence derived, 
 ibid, that of the bisho])'s only required on a deacon, ibid. 
 See Laying on of Hands. 
 
 Imprecations, in the Psalms, how to be understood, 447 ; 455, 
 q. practical use of them, ibid, objection to them removed, 
 486, 0. to be understood as predictions, 542, p ; 607, '«• 
 
 Incarnation, meaning of the word, 50, z. statement of tho 
 doctrine, ibid, and proof of it, ibid. 
 
 Incense, devotion of the heart compared to it, 651, y. 
 
 Incomprehensible, meaning of the word in the Athanasian 
 Creed, 54, u. 
 
 Independents, remark on the modern use of the name, 
 51, n. 
 
 InfallibiUty, question whether supposed to be vested in popes 
 or in general councils, 776, *. monstrousness of the doc- 
 trine in either case, ibid. 
 
 Infants, baptism of, scriptural authority for, 786, 787. ?• not 
 controverted in the ancient church, ibid, when first objected 
 to, ibid, supposed to return the answers to the questions at 
 bajrtism, 340, y. why obliged by the promise of their sureties, 
 380, c. their admission into the Christian covenant by baji- 
 tism agreeable to God's provision for the Jews, ibid, un- 
 baptized, why not admitted to Cliristian burial, 424, v. 
 See Haptism. 
 
 Infidchty, caution against it, 231, 232, e. its sinfulness, 27-1, 
 h. and danger, ibid. 
 
 Infidels, why they do not choose to have their families such, 
 4(i3, y. their defiance of all authority, 463, A. their rage 
 against the church, 550, h. their custom of insulting tlio 
 faithful, 647, c. comfort under it, ibid. 
 
 Inheritance, promised ]>y God, danger of despising it, 601, n. 
 
 Inheritors of tlic kingdom of heaven, how wo are so m:ide by 
 baptism, 368, e. 
 
 Iniquity, measure of, consequence of its beuig filled up, 
 630, u. 
 
 Injustice, absurdity of supposing that God doth not behold 
 it, 582, c. 
 
 Innotencc, how far we may ajipeal to God to judge of if, 
 456, a. how we may comfort ourselves in the conscious- 
 ness of it, 456, b. calumniated, appeal to God in behalf of 
 it, 484, .V. how far sucli appeal may be made, 484, r, how 
 far it may be pleaded before God, 630, r. 
 
 Innocent, what meant by not taking reward against them, 
 4(;6, g. 
 
 Innocents, why their festival is kejit immedintcly after Christ- 
 mas, Jf3, z. in what sense said to glorify (jod by flu-ir 
 deaths, 98, h. how tlio Epistle for Ihcir day is apiilicablo
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 851 
 
 to them in parfirular, 09, i. their case a {lemoiistration of 
 the vanity of all the attempts of God's enemies, ibid, im- 
 provement of tlic circumstances of their festival, 99, lOO, A-. 
 
 Instruction, rehgions, extension of it the jjlory of Christianity, 
 3C5, /. neglected by the papists, 3(»(J, /. revival of it, first 
 step to the Reformation, ibid, necessary before confirm- 
 ation, 3G(;, n. 
 
 Integrity, liow far we may appeal to God as a judge of it, 
 40*8, I/, proper object of our desires, 483, p. whence pro- 
 cured, ibid, happiness of those who hold it fast, 508, h. 
 
 Invention of tiie Cross, account of it, xlvii. 
 
 Invitation, hi the Communion service, fitness of its situation, 
 307, c. contents of it, ibid, similar ones in ancient 
 Litm'gies, ibid, remark on the previous rubrick, ibid, in 
 what sense the communicants are invited to di*aw near, 
 307, e. 
 
 Invitatories, why so called, xxx, n. 
 
 Invitatory, what it was, 17, b. why omitted by our Reformers, 
 lH,b. 
 
 Invitatory Psalm, what Psalm so called, 17, b. and why, ibid. 
 utility of sudi an one, 18, b. fitness of the one used for 
 the j)urpose, ibid, what it contains, ibid, why called an 
 anthem, 18, d. used in this way by the whole Christian 
 church, 19, d. 
 
 Isaac and Rebecca, why specified in the Matrimonial office, 
 4()3, c. 
 
 Isaiah, book of, why read before Christmas, 21, k. a passage 
 in him paraphrased in tlie Te Deum, 23, u. iiis description 
 of Christ under the image of a victorious dehverer, 13G, 
 b. his exact description of our Saviour's indignities, 140, e. 
 a solemn prophecy of his concerning our Saviom* explained 
 and applied, 243, :v. his prophecy concerning John the 
 Baptist, its coincidence with that of Zacharias, 254, k. 
 exposition of the two, ibid, hymn heard by him adopted 
 into the Communion service, 311, z. his enumeration of 
 the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit, 390, 391, h. k. and 
 ascription of them to our Saviour, 391, k. his prophecy of 
 the coming in of the Gentiles, 528, i. and of Christ's victory 
 over death, 529, n. his prediction of the destruction of 
 Babylon, G47, C48,/, 
 
 Isles of the Gentiles, the exaltation of Christ a matter of joy 
 to them, 58G,/. 
 
 Israel, Israelites, their disobedience and punishment a warn- 
 ing to Christians, 198, 199, x. strengthened by events that 
 have already happened, ibid, their baptism in the sea a 
 figure of Christian baptism, 337, n. captivity of, Psalm 
 composed with a view to it, 507, *- miracles wrought for 
 them have their counterpart in the Christian church, 534, 
 h. considered as one body continued through succeeding 
 generations, 534, i. wonders wrought for, commemorated 
 as figures of the redemption of the Christian church, 637, 
 b. their conquests over their enemies compared with those 
 over our spiritual enemies by the Gospel, 537, ^- corre- 
 sponding benefits of the several victories, 537,/. in the 
 wilderness, miracles wrought for them, figurative of Chris- 
 tian blessings, 551, n. rebeUions of, picture of human 
 nature, 556, e. cause and effects of them, 557,./'. why not 
 exterminated in the wilderness, 558, k. their redemi)tion, 
 less to be prized than that of Christians, 563, 564, x. 
 reflections on their passage out of Egypt, 599, y. and 
 through the wilderness, 599, z. various circumstances in 
 their history apphed to general practice, 600 — 602. deliver- 
 ance of, from Egypt, an emblem of our redemjition, G13, 
 d. passage of, through the Red Sea and Jordan apphed to 
 Christians, 613, e. return of from Babylon, what it repre- 
 sents, 638, m. joy occasioned by it, 638, n. how celebrated, 
 638, 0. how comforted under the fatigue of it, 638, q. 
 Psalm composed soon after their return from captivity, 647, 
 z. celebration of their return from Babylon, 658, s. de- 
 fended in the wilderness, the good man compared to, 635, 
 n. in Babylon, pathetick description of their situation, 
 647, a, b. 
 
 Israel, cburcU of, description of her under oppression, 577, 
 /, m. 
 
 Israel, God of, his superiority over gods of the heathen 
 shewn by the miracles of Moses, 645, o. and by the vic- 
 tories of Israel in their passage to Canaan, G45,^. difference 
 between him and idols, 645, q. 
 
 Israel, law of, comprehends the Gospel, 556, J. 
 
 J. 
 
 Jackson, Dr., his reflections on the history of flic Jews 
 recommended to every Christian's perusal, 608, q. 
 
 James 1. King, attention paid to the Liturgy in his reign, viii. 
 
 James, St., the Great, account of him, 260, o. notion of the 
 Spaniards concerning him, ibid, fulrthnent of oiu* Saviour's 
 l)rediction to him, 2GI, q. 
 
 James, St., the Less, account of him, 248, c, 
 
 James, St., explanation of his direction about anointing the 
 sick with oil, 376, I. explanation of his directions about 
 the sick, 409, /. 
 
 January thirtieth, fast why not to be kept on a Sunday, 723, 
 e. account of the office for it, 723, d. 
 
 Jeremiah, prophecy of the Messiah by him, 228, z. why 
 api)ointed for an epistle, ibid, use to be made of it, 228, a. 
 
 Jerom, St., account of, Iv. supposed author of the collects, 
 80, b. quotation from him concerning the Apocrypha, 
 758, a. 
 
 Jerusalem, a type of God's church, 511, k. hymn in honour 
 of it, 513, z. a type of the church Christian, ibid, struc- 
 ture of, an occasion for thinking of the heavenly Jerusalem, 
 514, i'. strength and beauty of it, 571, «• glorious things 
 by which distinguished, 571, ■J', beauty of, an emblem of 
 spiritual union, 636, r. why the Israelites periodically re- 
 sorted thither, C36, t. an emblem of the stabihty of the 
 church, 637, '■ 
 
 Jerusalem, destruction of, a tjrpe of the destruction of the 
 world, 88, k. a warning to sinners, 115, q. a parallel to it, 
 495, (/. a figure of the general judgment, 516, ff. an admo- 
 nition to Christians, 518, 2i. 
 
 Jerusalem, prediction accomplished in its subversion, 528, 
 c. its punishment an admoiiition against its sin, 532, p. 
 effects of its desolation on beholders, 532, q. counterpart 
 to our Saviour's complaint over it, 564, i/. 
 
 Jesus, honour due to the name, 101, «. a source of happi- 
 ness to those who properly consider it, ibid, lesson to be 
 learned from the name, 103, q. See Christ. 
 
 Jew, the unbelieving, expostulation with him, 518, s. 
 
 Jews, their obstinacy and punishment a warning to all sin- 
 ners, 95, b. their actions towards Christ prophesied of, 
 464, y. sublime description of the vengeance inflicted on 
 them, 472, c. lively portrait of their desperate state, 472, d. 
 judgment executed on them accurately delineated under two 
 striking images, 472, e. their punishment for their niaUce 
 against Christ, 477> P- their desolation foretold, 503, u. 
 how reproved and convinced by God, 518, /. their singular 
 punishment predicted, 527, «■ causes of their dispersion, 
 527, b. their punishment a mark of their crime, 528, d. 
 their imprecations fell on them and on their children, 533, 
 2J. their present state hke that of their predecessors in the 
 wilderness, 537, «• grounds of their enmity to our Saviour, 
 541, k. prediction of the judgments inflicted on them, 542, 
 ;:;. their present state, 542, q, extreme indignation poured 
 out on them, 542, r. their exclusion from Jerusalem, 543, 
 s. cause of the calamities inflicted on them, 543, /. per- 
 mitted to go on in their wickedness, 543, w. how blotted 
 out of the book of the living, 543, a:, their dissolution a 
 dreadful display of divine vengeance, 58G, h. their sin and 
 punishment for rebelhon against the Son of God, 602, s. 
 prayed for their conversion, ibid, their treatment of our 
 Lord, and their punishment, GOG, k. their wretched state 
 foretold, 607, "■ dispossessed of their office as the church 
 of God, 607, 0. the desolation of then- country, their 
 wanderings and covetousness, G07, p- their sufferings from 
 other nations, 607, ?• excision of their posterity, 608, r. 
 contempt cast upon their memory, ibid, their crime plainly 
 pointed out, 608, s. their continual infatuation and misery, 
 608, i. their hardness of heart, 609, x, y. 
 
 Jewish dispensation, pecufiarities of, how to be applied to the 
 Christians, 447- 
 
 Jewel, Bishoi>, i)robably the author of the second book of 
 Homihes, 295, /. 
 
 Job, book of, wliy esteemed of much use in the Bm'ial office, 
 526, y. old translation of the sentence from it commended, 
 ibid. 
 
 John, St., the Baptist, his conduct wherein an example for 
 
 ministers of the Gospel, 90, o. his record an example of 
 
 true humility, 91, s. a clear intimation of our Lord's 
 
 divine natiire, ibid, why the Chxirch celebrates his bii'th, 
 
 3 I 2
 
 852 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 253, i. her commemoration of him not confined to that, 
 ibid, account of liim, iliid. how he prepared the way of the 
 Lord, by his preaching, 254, k. by his baptism, 255, k, by 
 his birth, iliid. manner of hfe, ibid, and death, ibid, his 
 distinction between his own baptism and that of Christ, 
 explained, .17^, f. 
 
 JoHX, St., the Evangelist, account of him, 9C, c. why liis fes- 
 tival accompanies that of our Lord's Natirity, ibid ; 93, :. 
 reflections on our Lord's words to St. Peter concerning 
 him, 97, e. and on liis own declaration concerning the 
 truth of his Gospel, 98, <?. why the Gospel for Good Friday 
 taken from him, 149, n. fulfilment of our Saviour's pre- 
 diction to him, 2G1, g. 
 
 John, St., application of a Psalm by him to the Messiah, 
 495, a. his application of a verse in the forty-first Psalm to 
 our Saviour, 504, y. 
 
 John, St., Evang. ante Port. Lat. account of the day, xlvii. 
 
 Johnson, Mr., his paraphrase on the Psalms recommended, 
 447. 
 
 JoRD.iN, our Saviour's baptism there, what it shews, 337, o. 
 
 Joseph, resemblance between his history and that of Jesus, 
 598, r, s. 
 
 Joseph and M-\ry, instruction to be derived from their ob- 
 servance of the passover, 108, y. 
 
 Joy, in what that of the church and of individuals consists, 
 '475, 4. what the fountain of it, 491, )). at the downfal of 
 the enemies of man's salvation, source of it, 526, 627, ?• 
 the privilege of the righteous, 532, 1: for the accomplish- 
 ment of God's promises, every creature called upon to ex- 
 press it, 587, ;•. spiritual, Christians should be earnest in 
 the pursuit of it, 16fi, p. in the Lord, what sort of, pre- 
 scribed in Scripture, 452, ij. 
 
 Jubilate, why so called, 27./- character of it, ibid, when in- 
 troduced into our Common Prayer Book, ibid, why used 
 more frc(iuently tlian the Benedictus, ibid. 
 
 Jubilee trumpet, allusion to it, 533, e. 
 
 Judas, lessons to be ilrawn from his history, 135, a. an ex- 
 ample of the danger of wilful sins, ibid, of covetousness, 
 ibid, of false notions of repentance, ibid, reflections on St. 
 Peter's discourse concerning him, 250, s. meaning of the 
 allusion to him in the Exhortation giving warning of the 
 Communion, 302, n. his treachery foretold, 504, 505, d.f. 
 his sin and fate, 522, 523, ff. i, k. the sin and punishment 
 of the Jews pourtrayed in his person, 543, ». his treachery 
 and punishment foretold, 097, «, "• 
 
 JuDAH, tribe of, why the ark was removed thither, SCO, t. 
 
 JuDE, St., account of liira, '11'i.f. his other names, ibid. 
 
 Judgment, day of, duly considered by few persons, 45(i, d. 
 
 Judgments, necessity of being instructed by them, 579, y. 
 
 Judgments of God, the Scriptures why so caUed, G20, a:, re- 
 niembrance of them how a r.emedy against temptation, 023, 
 i. consequence of meditating on them, 024, k. 
 Just men, their actions well pleasing to God, 498, d. 
 Justification in St. Paul's sense, diff'ercnt from fin.il justifi- 
 cation, 129, 130, r. the right way and method of it, 205, 
 I. how we may be (pialified for it, ibid, wlicre to be 
 sought, 228, 229, «. vvhat it signifies in Scri|)turc, 704, (/. 
 Justified, cause for wliich men are so, 704, c. dill'erent doc- 
 trines of our Church and the church of Rome upon it, 
 704,/. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kadesh, wilderness of, its situation, 487, J'- 
 
 Kkuah, the son of Ishmael, comparison to his descendants, 
 020, h. 
 
 Kneeling, wliy prescribed during prayer, 7, ?■ examples for 
 the practice, ibid, a natural posture, ibid, under what 
 circumstances not required, ibid, not to be wilfully neg- 
 lected, ibid, why prescribed to the people during tlio 
 Absolution, 10, <j. a posture of religious worship willi holy 
 men in Scripture, 14, )•. and of the church in heaven, ibid. 
 at i)raycr, reasr)iiableness of the posture, 33, I. wliy a fit 
 posture for tlie Litany, 01, y. why prescribed to the ]U'oplo 
 wliilst the Commandments are rehearsed, 282, (/; 283,/; 
 287, ;). improperly neglected, 287, }>■ cs|)ocial propriety of 
 it at the general Confession in the Communion service, 
 307, f. not pni|icr in tlie previous Exhortation, ibid. 
 
 Kneeling, only three tijnes prescribed to the minister during 
 the Communion service, 308, *. 
 
 Kneehng at the Communion, propriety of it, 317, *'• no just 
 scruple against it, ibid, sense of the Church upon it, ibid. 
 antiquity and universahty of it, ibid, lustory of the pro- 
 testation concerning it, 328, n. why prescribed by our 
 Church, 440, i. 
 
 Kneeling, why enjoined on persons when ordained, 092, I. 
 
 Keys of ileath and the grave, meaning of the phrase, 53fl, n. 
 
 King, heavenly, different images under which he is repre- 
 sented, 580, g. magnificent description of him, 594, 0. 
 
 King, his piety a gi'eat national blessing, 280, k. obedience 
 to him a source of national hapjuness, 280, I. and a reli- 
 gious duty, ibid, how to be practised, 280, 7«. on what 
 principle his right to the appointment of bishops is csta- 
 bUshed, 712, c. his mandate demanded instead of the 
 pope's, 713, e. 
 
 King's supremacy, declaration of its extent, 684, /. acknow- 
 ledged in Scripture, ibid, does not include the possession 
 or conferring of the office of priesthood, ibid. Article con- 
 cerning it, account of some alterations in it by Queen 
 Elizabeth, 796, d. doctrine of the Church concerning it 
 agreeable to the practice under the first Christian emperors, 
 790, e. 
 
 King's supremacy, oath of, necessity of it, 084, /. its reason- 
 ableness, ibid, ought not to be taken by any who doubt its 
 propriety, ibid, vindicated, 685, m. 
 
 King's Primer, account of it, v. 
 
 Kings, why all mankind have agreed to pray for them, 39, p. 
 their hearts under God's governance, 287, n. exhortation 
 to them to submit to Christ, 4,52, p. on what grounded, 
 452, T. what conduct to be observed before them, 023, a. 
 their duty in the day of conquest, 054, b. 
 
 Kings of the Gentiles, their oblations at the temple of Jerusalem 
 a figure of then- accession to the church of Christ, 540, ,?•. 
 
 " Kingdom of God," what meant by " not entering into it," 
 330, e. why we pray God to " hasten " it, 432, x. 
 
 Kiss, a sign of adoration, 452, r. 
 
 Knowledge of the true God, description of those who reject it, 
 614, m. 
 
 KoRAH, his destruction an emblem of future punishment, 
 523, k. 
 
 L. 
 
 Laboiu-, when successful, 6,39, t. why undergone, 039, w. 
 
 Lamb, paschal, in what respect the type of Chi-ist, 709, a. 
 
 Lambert, Bishop, account of, Iv. 
 
 Lammas-day, account of, liii. 
 
 Lamjj, emblem of a change from affliction to honour, 471, .'/. 
 
 Language, virulent, even against profligate and wicked jier- 
 sons, not to be indulged in, 241, s. 
 
 Lantern, in what rcsjiects God's word compared to one, 
 028, d. 
 
 Last-day, particulars in the judgment of it, 517, ', "i, n. 
 judgment of, will solve all difficulties, 549, M. sensations 
 whicii will be felt at it, 553, g. 
 
 Latin, learning in, why required for candidates for orders, 
 075, m. why the language long used in the churcli, 783, «. 
 still retained by the Romanists, ibid, its long continuaneo 
 in the Englisli pul)lick worship, x.xxi. r. 
 
 Latin service, many ■ancient forms retained in it mixed willi 
 many errors, xxix, d. 
 
 Laurence, St., account of, liii. 
 
 Law of God, why better than riches, 625, <i. how distinguished 
 from human laws, (i32, i. how the wondrous tilings of it aro 
 to he discerned, 020, fj. 
 
 T,aw, obedience to it, why ])erformed by our Saviour, 102, p. 
 
 Law, ])reaclicd bv Christ, what it denotes, 452, n. 
 
 Laws of England, import of a particular plmise in them, 
 496, g. 
 
 Laws of God, why the breacli of them to be confessed with 
 shame and sorrow, 8, «. in what the breaches of them con- 
 sist, 8, X. 
 
 Laying on of hands, an ancient form of blessing, 391, m. in- 
 stances of it, ibid, thence contiinu'il l)y the apostles in 
 confirmation, ibid, why accompanied with prayer, (7/«/. im- 
 ]»ort of the accompanying prayer, ibid, higidy esteemetl in 
 the Church, ibid, what it naturally exjircsses, ibid, its 
 further intenlioii here, ;/;/(/. prayer nccoinpaiiying it when 
 said by (lie bishop, 392, 0. See linpositiim of llauds. 
 
 Learning, want of, how supplied in the a)iostle8, 675, i«.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 853 
 
 required uniler the law, ibuL and in tlie primitive church, 
 ibid. 
 
 Lebanon, what famous for, 486, n. 
 
 Lcctionaries, wliat they were, 088, r. 
 
 Lecturers, what tliey were in popish times, xxi. .?. what they 
 are now, xxii. s. 
 
 " Led hy the Spirit," why we should pray to be so, 454, o. 
 
 Legends, practice of reading them in the Roman ser\'ice, 
 xxix.f. 
 
 Lent, early obsei-vation of it, 122, c. whence it took its rise, 
 123, c. why forty days fixed for it, i/jid. whence it takes its 
 name, ibid, utility of the appointment, ibid. i)rei)aratory 
 to Easter, ibid, how the forty days are to be reckoned, 
 12;{, d. discipline formerly inflicted in it, 4.*il), r. how it de- 
 generated afterwards, ibid, how supplied by our Church, ibid. 
 
 Leonard, account of him, lix. 
 
 Leprosy, the heaUng of it a strong proof of our Saviour's 
 power, 111, e. as also his manner of healing it, ibid. 
 
 Lesson, second at Evening Prayer, instance of one from the 
 Gospels, 104, r. 
 
 Lesson, for the Burial service, its fitness, 429, k. its contents, 
 ibid. 
 
 Lessons conveniently placed in the daily service, 21, ^. why 
 to be announced by the minister, 22, r. remark on the 
 form of words in wliicli they are to be announced, ibid, in 
 what manner we should hear them, 2(J, d. why taken from 
 both Testaments, ibid. 
 
 Lessons, ju'oper, remarks on the course of them, 21, ni. table 
 of, uncertainty in the use of it, xxxiii. a. observations 
 thereupon, ibid. 
 
 " Let us pray," an ancient form of exciting to prayer, 33, n. 
 utility of it, ibid, sometimes has a more particular sense, 
 ibid, why sometimes used immediately after other prayers, 
 68, d. 
 
 Leviathan, for whom intended, 551, m. meaning of the name 
 in Scripture, 5'JG, e. 
 
 Levites, Psalm sung by them on shutting the gates of the tem- 
 ple, 044, h. 
 
 Liberties of a questionable nature, mode of satisfying doubts 
 and scruples concerning them, 218, /". 
 
 Liberty, Christian, how to be obtained, 023, c. 
 
 Life, why to be desired, 488, h. shortness of it, what sense 
 of it to be prayed for, 501, b. until what time we should 
 pray God to spare it, 502, /. its shortness, reflections on, 
 578, 570, X. a great blessing, but not the greatest, 531, fi. 
 compared to a dream, 549, t. depends on the presence of 
 God, 590, ff. breath of, to be used in the service of the 
 Giver, 601, t. 
 
 Life, in a double sense, the consequence of Christ's resurrec- 
 tion, 618, i. twofold, should be employed in praising God, 
 634, c. 
 
 Life, a good one, redounds to God's honour, 9, d. 
 
 Life, eternal, awarded to good men, why called the gift of 
 God, 195,;;. 
 
 Life, amendment of, necessary to forgiveness, 9, d. the end of 
 God's mercy in Christ Jesus, ibid, why asked in Christ's 
 name, ibid. 
 
 " Lift up thy feet," meaning of the phrase, 550, d. 
 
 Light, what it signifies in Scri])ture, 48, /. 
 
 " Light of light," what the phrase was intended to intimate, 
 291, a,b. 
 
 Lightnings and thunders, instruments of the divine vengeance, 
 471, r. 
 
 " Like unto Christ," in what sense we pray that wo may be 
 so, 115, 0. 
 
 Lion, David's fear of one how to be understood, 456, z. apph- 
 cation to Christians, ibid, sinners compared to one, 401, w. 
 David's enemies, why compared to one, 408, 469, e. appU- 
 cation to Christians, ibid. 
 
 Lions, the wicked compared to them, 520, >». 
 
 Lips of man to be employed in God's service, 020, c. lying, 
 how we may be delivered from them, 034,^1 their punish- 
 ment, 035, g. 
 
 Litany, meaning of the word, 00, e. form of ours derived 
 from the j)riniitive age, ibid, comes near to that of Gregory 
 the Great, ibid, why used on particular days of the week, 
 CO, J', <j. formerly a distinct service, 00, d. still to be so 
 considered, 01, ^. how it resembles tiiose of other churches, 
 ibid, in what posture to be repeated, ibid, the sum of it 
 
 contained in the invocations, 01, /. remark'^ on its adilross 
 to each Person of the blessed Trinity, (il , 62, A", /, iu. parts 
 into which it is divided, 02, n. the invocatioTi, both a creed 
 and a confession of sin, ibid, why the deprovitions succeed 
 tlie invocation, 02, 0. method in which they are arranged, 
 ibid, addressed to our Redeemer, ibid, connexion between 
 the parts pronounced by the minister, and those by the 
 people, 02, 0. should be carefully observed in repeating it, 
 ibid. ])articulars from which we pray to be delivered in it, 
 
 03, 64, ;j, q, r. vehemence of devotion in the dcjtreeations, 
 
 04, s. manner in which we intreat the Lord to deliver us, 
 agreeable to Scripture, ibid, why we specify several times 
 in which we pray to be delivered, 64, n. character of tlio 
 intercessions in it, 64, x. propriety with whicli they are in- 
 troduced, ibid, connected view of them, ibid, devotion that 
 prevails in the intercessions, GVi, y. advantage of its inter- 
 changeable way of worship, ibid, exact order of it, anrl the 
 excellence of its composition, ibid, expressiveness of the 
 short sentences after the intercession, 66, z. their scriptural 
 character, ibid, and antiquity, ibid, exposition of them, ibid. 
 their influence, on devotion, ibid, propriety of recurring to 
 an address to the whole Trinity, f»7, a. excellence of the 
 conclusion, ibid, supplications in it, what and whence 
 taken, iS%, b. fit preparation for the Lord's Prayer, 08, e. 
 in wdiat respect the remainder of it differs from what went 
 before, 68, d. when first inti'oduced, ibid, exposition of it, 
 ibid, peculiar excellence and beauty of the office, 70, d. 
 
 Litany, why part of it used in the Visitation of tlie Sick, 410, m. 
 
 Litany, proper to be used in the Ordination service, 679, 
 080, c. fitness of the clause then introduced into it, 080, c. 
 
 Litany of the Greek church, remarkable insertion in it, 04, t. 
 
 Litany, tlie short, what it is, 33, v. its antiquity, ibid, its 
 resemblance to the larger Litany, ibid, a fit ]n*eparation for 
 the Lord's Prayer, 34, v. what the Church intimates by pre- 
 fixing it to the Lord's Prayer, ibid, the last versiclo in it, 
 when to be, and when not to be, repeated by the people, 
 ibid, remark on the second versicle being in Italieks, 34, x.. 
 
 Litany, short, proper petition for miserable persons, 410, n. 
 
 Litany, short, propriety of it in the Burial service, 432, t. 
 
 Litanies, their use in the ancient church, 00, e. 
 
 Liturgy, English, character of, before the Reformation, v. 
 prudence of the compilers of it, 38, /. agreeable to a decla- 
 ration of our Lord, 247t b. contains a quaUfication pre- 
 scribed by our Saviour, 259, e. 
 
 Liturgy, compilers of, their care in selecting from old offices, 
 403, c. 
 
 Liturgy, Scotch, some account of it, vi. provision of it with 
 respect to the Communion Table, 280, t. a provision of it 
 with respect to the Lord's Supper commended, 298, s. its 
 order to the minister during the time of consecration of the 
 elements, 313, d. its provision of a form of words for ad- 
 ministering the Communion, 318,/. a convenient provision 
 of it, about the bread and wine at the Communion, 327t i* 
 word presbyter, why substituted in it for priest, 09-1, q. 
 
 Liturgies, ancient, contain forms of confession of sin, 6, n. 
 their constant use of the Lord's Prayer, 13, p. the model 
 of ours in the responses before the Psalms, 10, x. their use 
 of the invitatory Psalm, 17, b. used the same form of ex- 
 citing to prayer as oui*s does, 33, u. used short forms of 
 prayer, 30, e. collects taken from them, 80, 81, b. origin 
 and description of them, 277, "• 
 
 " Look down from heaven," a scriptural phrase, 411, q. 
 
 Lord's Prayer, intended chiefly for publick assemblies, 13, p. 
 whence taken, ibid, its excellence, ibid, why it ought to be 
 united to all our offices, ibid, frequent use of it in the 
 Church, not to be objected to, ibid, the use of it a duty to 
 Jesus Christ, \%p. and pleasing to God, 1A7W. its propriety 
 at the beginning or close of any office, ibid, plain and 
 general direction concerning the repetition of it, 14, p. why 
 to be said by the minister with an audible voice, 15, q. 
 how recited by the church of Rome, ibid, how by the 
 ancient church, ibid, preparation requisite for it, 34, v. 
 the object of om* worship in it, ibid, why catechumens in 
 the ancient church not allowed to be jiresent at it, ibid. 
 fretpient use of it by the ancients, 68, c. a form to repeat 
 and a pattern for imitation, 375, g. not originally difficult, 
 375, //. why not always properly apprehended, ibid, ne- 
 cessity of endeavouring to understand it, ibid. 
 
 Lord's Prayer, parts of which it consists, 14, s. paraphrase on
 
 854 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 it, ibid, practical use of it, 15, ^. a petition in it paraphrased ] 
 in the Litany, 02, o. dosology at the end of it, why some- 
 times used, and sometimes omitted, 15, f. 
 
 Lord's Prayer, propriety of its place in the daily senice, 13,^. 
 designed by our Lord, as a form of prayer, ibid, used in all 
 the primitive Liturgies, ibid, with confession. Sec. a kind of 
 distinct office, 14, p. why most proper after the Confession, 
 &c. ibid, why the people are always to repeat it, ibid. 
 
 Lord's Prayer, wliy repeated after the Apostles' Creed, 35, z. 
 the fretiuent use of it not reasonably objected to, .ibid. 
 
 Lord's Prayer, why used as the preface to the Communion 
 senice, 281, z. to be repeated by the people, ibid, reason 
 of tliis appointment, ibid. 
 
 Lord's Prayer, its fitness after the Communion, 319, b. why 
 the doxolo^ added, ibid, antiquity of the institution, ibid. 
 why to be repeated by all the communicants, 'M*J, c. 
 
 Lord's Prayer, its reasonableness and propriety after a child is 
 baptized, 350, v. why called by the ancients the prayer of 
 the regenerate, ibid. 
 
 Lord's Prayer, particularly applicable to the state of the sick, 
 410, 0. 
 
 Lord's Prayer, appropriate meaning of its petitions in the 
 Burial service, 432, t. 
 
 Lord's Sujiper, scriptural and ancient name of the sacrament, 
 278, 0. why objected toby the papists, ibid, purpose of it, 
 
 380, d. why so called, ibid, design of our Saviour in its 
 institution, 380, e. why said to be for a continual remem- 
 brance, ibid, how it strengthens and refreshes our souls, 
 
 381, k. qualifications for, properly reduced to three, 382, /. 
 how to be judged of, 382, n, o, p. assertions of Scripture 
 concerning it, how to be understood, 381, i. care of the 
 Church to understand them aright, ibid, agreement among 
 the different accounts of its institution, 787, r. its adoption 
 amongst Christians almost universal, ibid, character of it, 
 
 787, s. benefits of it, ibid, sacrament of, doctrine of the 
 Romanists concerning it especially dear to them, 7^*11 ^■■ 
 our neglect of the same, ibid, wicked partake not of Christ 
 in it, 781), c. See Communion. 
 
 Lord's Supper, why commanded to be communicated in at 
 Easter, 145, i. two mistaken notions about receiving it, 
 corrected, 140, /. what preparation requisite for it, ibid, a 
 requisite qualification of it not mentioned in tiie Caterliism, 
 384, /. no opportunity of receiving it should be omitted, 
 784, h. 
 
 Lord's Supper, instituted by oiu* Lord in both kinds, 381, ff. 
 necessary to be so received, 381, ff ; 78U, e. 
 
 Lords, spiritual, why not mentioned in the Act of Uniformity 
 in Eli2abeth's time, xvi. b. 
 
 Lots, deciding by them, instituted by God's command, 242, t. 
 resorted to by the apostles in a case of great exigence, ibid. 
 
 Love, tliat perfection in which God appears particularly to 
 delight, 185, V. imitation of it, the duty and mark of 
 Christians, ibid. 
 
 Love of God, importance of it, 216, d. how to be practised, 
 ibid, foundation of it, 374, e. 
 
 Love to our ncighlmur, persons to whom it ouglit to extend, 
 20(», m. instiuircs whereby it should be expressed, ibid. 
 meaning of tlie Gospel precept concerning it, 207, »i. 
 importance of it, 210, d. not excused by love of God, ibid. 
 a distinction of Christ's disciples, 27-4. A. the hatred of the 
 world does not discharge us from it, ibid. 
 
 Love of our nciglibour to be shewn after the example of our 
 Saviour, 252, //. by suiting the expressions of it to the cir- 
 cumstances of others, ibid, by at^ts of kindness to their 
 souls, ibid, and at the expense of our temporal inconveni- 
 ence, ibid. 
 
 Low Sunday, what Sunday so called, and why, 101, (/. 
 
 LuciAN, ac<'oiuit of him, xxxix. 
 
 Lucy, V. and M. account of her, Ixi. 
 
 LuKK, St.,account of him, 200,270, c. author of the Acts of the 
 Apostles, ibid, his Gospel, ibid. Iiis constancy cotnmonded, 
 270, 271, d. the sincerity of his friendslup, ibid, and his 
 diligence in the ministry, ibid. 
 
 Lusl-, to glory in them a symptom of a reprobate mind, 
 400, A. 
 
 LuTiiKii, his testimony to the Athanasian Creed, 51, n. 
 liis change of transubstantiation into consubstantiation, 
 
 788, /. 
 
 Lying, way of, how opposed to the way of truth, 021, 0. 
 
 M. 
 
 Machutus, account of him, lix. 
 
 Magdala, coasts of, opinions concerning the name, 195, 0. 
 
 Magistrate, in what sense said to bear the sword, 707, i. 
 
 Magistrates, their authority and responsibility, 504, b. charge 
 given to them, 504, d. the well-being of the community 
 depends on them, 505, e. their dignity and futm-e condi- 
 tion, 505, y. 
 
 Magnificat, why generally used in the Christian Church, 44, 
 d. properly placed in the service, r'iir/. reason of the name, 
 ibid. occ<ision of the hymn, ibid, exposition of it, ibid, 
 
 Malachi, a prophecy of his accomplished in our Saviour, 
 230, p. lessons suggested by a consideration of it, ibid. 
 
 Malice, difficulty of finding shelter from it figuratively de- 
 scribed, 523,/. 
 
 Mamercus, inventor, or restorer, of the Rogations, IGO, r. 
 
 Man, duty of, in what it consists, 372, b. the end of, how to 
 be attained, 450, b. Scripture account of, in his natural 
 state, 404, a\ his greatest hai)piness in this world, 483, n. 
 lus mortal state, vanity of it, 501, d. his continuance in 
 this world, shewn by comparison, 515, 11. his presumption 
 contrasted with the long-sufiering of his Maker, 584, s. 
 should neither presume nor desjtair, 503, i. provision for 
 the convenient performance of his duties, 505, c. formation 
 of, an astonishing proof of God's knowledge and power, 
 040, g. comparison illustrative of the jirocess, 050, r. and 
 of the singular abihty of the divine Workmaster, ibid. 
 especially his duty to praise God for his works, 000, k. 
 great things done for him by his Redeemer, 054, c. his 
 power in a state of nature, 708, t. 
 
 Mankind, in general, their conduct reflected in that of the 
 nine lepers, 208, p. depravity of, described, 455, p. their 
 duty to praise God, 600, Xr. several reasons belonging to 
 every degree, sex, and age, ibid. 
 
 Manxa, in the wilderness, descent of the Spirit on the 
 church compared to it, 537, c. largeness of the provision in 
 both cases, 537, d. what it was intended to represent, 55?,/. 
 
 Mantles, custom of can-ying tilings in them, 501, b. 
 
 Margaret, St., account of her, h. 
 
 Mariners in a storm, preservation of, an image of God's good- 
 ness in our salvation, 004. d. 
 
 Mark, St., whether the John, surnamed Mark, mentioned 
 in the Acts, 245, z. account of him, 240, z. jiassage from 
 his Gospel in the office of Ba])tism, im])ertinently censured 
 by some, 338, t. propriety of it shewn, ibid, for what 
 reason the Church propounds, it, ibid. 
 
 Marriage, graced by our Saviour's first miracle, 100, b. re- 
 fiections thereon, 110, b. 
 
 Marriage, banns of, alteration in the time of iiublishing them, 
 203, /; 200, z. antiquity of their being pulilishcd, 3!I0, a. 
 at what part of the service to be publishe<l, ibid, design of 
 the Cburch in pubUshing them, ibid, reasons of the altera- 
 tions in the time of publishing, 3!i0, b. form when added, 
 ibid, notice to be given in writing, &c. ibid, licence no 
 more than a substitute for them, 300, a. 
 
 Marriage, licence for, its efficacy, 300, a. 
 
 Marriage, special licence for, supersedes the general rules 
 about time and place, 307, d. as well as some other provi- 
 sions, 308, d. 
 
 MaiTiage, in what place to be solemnized, 307, C- *^i"l nf what 
 time, 307, d. why performed in the bodj' of the chnrch, 
 308, e. where performed formerly, ibid, place of solemniz- 
 ing, statute of George II. concerning it, 308, d. n<it lo 
 be solemnized without banns or licence, ibid. exce]ilions to 
 flic rule, ibid, why solemnized in the jiresence of friends 
 and neiglibours, 308, e. question what meant l)y friends, 
 ibid, how many witnesses rctpured, ibid. See Matrimony. 
 
 Marriages, Psalm svmg at, (»30. z. 
 
 Marriages, clandestine, orders of the Church to prevent them, 
 305, y. 
 
 Martin, St., account of him, lix. translation of, li. 
 
 Martyrs, early commemoration of them, xxxiv. days of tlioir 
 deaths why called their bi,-t!i-days, ibid, abuse in cele- 
 brating them how corrected at the Reformation, ibid, why 
 commemorated after Cln-istmas, 03, z. three kinds of mar- 
 tyrs, if/iif. early commemoration of them in the dnircli, 
 94, z. abuse of it. ibid, corrected at the Reformation, ibid. 
 their sufferings and resistance to their (tersecutors, 508, A. 
 
 Mary Magdalene, St., account of her, li.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 855 
 
 Mass, why tho Communion service was so called, 288, q. and 
 when, 701, i. false doctrine relating to it, 315, e. an idola- 
 trous practice, 3ir>, 3lfi, A. 
 Mass, how used in composition, 91, n. 
 
 Masses, solitary, origin of tliein, 7^0, g. disallowed by our 
 Cluirch, 32(», e. contrary to the practice of the primitive 
 cliurch, ibifl. 
 Matrimony, why always entered into with religious rites, 
 S!)5, y. provisions of om* Church for the solemn celebra- 
 tion of it, ibid, what are the impediments to it in England, 
 390, b. formerly celebrated in publick, 398, 399, h. inno- 
 cent festivity not unsuitable on the occasion, ibid, religious 
 solemnities of old usual at it, 407, ^'' utility of them, 408, 
 k. happiness of a wedlock religiously contracted, ibid. See 
 Marriage. 
 Matrimony, mistake of the papists in esteeming it a sacrament, 
 
 377, /. 
 Matrijnony, office of, made by our Reformers like that of the 
 primitive church, 395, y. its contents, ibid, purpose of 
 the preface, 398, g. its solemn charge to the contracting 
 parties, 399, ?. importance of the mutual stipulation, 401, 
 q. excellence of the form of stipulation, ibid, why the 
 consent of the parties asked, 399, k. the duties enumerated 
 in it exjjlaincd, ibid, difference in the duties of the two 
 parties, 400, k. solemn obligation laid on the parties by the 
 answer, *' I will," 400, /. remarks on the mutual stipula- 
 tion, 400, m. remarks on the giving of a ring, 401, /. and 
 of the form of words accompanying it, 402, y, z ,- 403, cr, b. 
 appropriateness of the benedictory prayer, 403, c. whence 
 the prayer was taken, ibid, remarks on the Ratification, 
 404, d. concluding benediction agreeable to ancient exam- 
 ple, ibid, why finished with hymns, &c. 404, e. remarks 
 upon them, 405, 400,/, g, h. 
 Matthew, St., account of him, 264, n. reflection on his call, 
 265, u. his Gos])el, ibid, his alacrity in obeying our 
 Saviour's call, 266, y. his motive for doing so, ibid, liis 
 constancy unto death, 2fi7, y- 
 Matthias, St., account of him, 241, r. manner of his appoint- 
 ment to be an apostle, remarked on and explained, 242, t. 
 Mattins and Evensong, how generally called, xxxiii. z. 
 Maundy Thursday, what day so called, and why, 145, k. 
 Mauritius the emperor, anecdote of iiim, 631,/. 
 May twenty-ninth, special rubrick relating to the observance 
 
 of it explained, 730, e. account of the service, 731»/. 
 Meals, duty of rendering acknowledgments to God at them, 
 
 130, s. 
 Means of grace, what so called, 247. b. 
 Means, dihgence in the use of them oiu* duty, when in our 
 
 power, 258, ni. 
 Mediator, Christ the only one, 759, e. what meant by his 
 
 being so, ibid, proofs that He is so, ibid. 
 Meditations, Da\'id's prayer for the acceptance of them, 475, y. 
 Meek, how said to possess the earth, 497, «• 
 Member of Christ, explanation of the plu-ase, 367, c. pro- 
 priety of it, ibid, much used in Scripture, ibid, duties 
 suggested by it, ibid. 
 Memory, used for a memorial, 315,/. 
 Men, the best only comparatively good, 769, i- their failings 
 
 why represented in Scripture, ibid. 
 Mercies, former, recollection of them a comfort in distress, 
 482, i. and a motive to confidence, 531, k. a ground of 
 confidence in God, 544, i. an antidote against despair, 
 554, n. gi'atitude for, will ol)tain a continuance of them, 
 570, q. particular, should remind us of the universal bless- 
 ing of redemption, 592, g. reflection on, a motive for 
 thanksgiving, 025, u. an argument for trust in God under 
 affiiotion, 648, m. 
 Mercy, misery the proper object of it, 8, z. former a ground 
 of hope for the future, 550, c. to be prayed for after 
 punishment, 626, h. 
 Mercy and judgment, the theme of David's song, what meant 
 
 by them, 589, i. 
 Mercy-seat, how used with relation to oracle, 486, n. 
 Merit, in our works and services, why the thought of it to be 
 
 renounced, b\'J, p. 
 Merit, twofold, spoken of by the Schoolmen, how distin- 
 guished, 707, f. not acknowledged in Scripture, ibid. 
 Messiah, by what pecuhar characters to be known from all 
 other prophets, 229, b. See Christ. 
 
 Metropolitan, how distinguished by the Greeks from an 
 Arclibisliop, 710, t. 
 
 Michael, St., and all Angels, why this festival is celebrated 
 by tlieChurcii, 207, z. 
 
 Midlent Sunday, what Sunday so caHcd, 129, 7. otber name 
 for it, ibid. 
 
 Mind, errors and evil dispositions of, why reckoned amongst 
 the works of tlie flesh, 208, 0. 
 
 Minister, liis duty in reading the Sentences, 2, ft. recommend- 
 ation to him after the Exhortation, 0, m. caution to him in 
 saying tho general Confession, 0, p. why to stand whilst 
 reading the Lessons, 21, n. why direct^'d to turn himself, 
 &c. 21, 0. caution to him before the Lesson begins, 21, 7;. 
 his duty in giving notice of the Lessons, 22, r. caution to 
 him after the Lessons, 23, s. caution to him in repeating 
 the Creed, 29, h. caution to him about the manner of 
 repeating the latter part of the Apostles' Creed, 31, 0. 
 caution to him after the Apostles' Creed, 33, s. why direct-ed 
 sometimes to kneel, and sometimes to stand, 35, a. bis 
 duty with respect to reading the Athanasian Creed, 58, c. 
 should explain and defend the Athanasian Creed, ibid. 
 caution to him in reading the Litany, 05, ,r ; 03, ; 07, z ; 
 advice to him about the choice of psalms for singing, 
 
 79. 
 
 Minister, his duty with respect to repelling persons from 
 the Communion considered, 279, q^ ''• hi what cases he is 
 to say the Amen at the end of a prayer, 281, z. why to 
 turn to the people, in rehearsing the Commandments, 
 282, d. advice to him with respect to reading the Com- 
 mandments, 283, /. how to stand when he reads the 
 Collect for the king in the Communion Service, 280, i. 
 reason of his change of direction, ibid, must proceed after 
 the Gospel immediately to the Nicene Creed, 288, *. his 
 duty as to placing the bread and wine on the Communion 
 table, 298, s. caution to him before the prayer for Christ's 
 Church MiHtant, 299, u. caution to him with respect to 
 the Exhortation giving warning of the Communion, 300, 
 c, e. bis duty inforced when the people are negligent to 
 come to the Communion, 303, p. advice to him about 
 reading the Exhortation in the Communion service, 304, s. 
 attitude prescribed to him in the Communion service, 308, 
 k. caution to him about the sentences after the Absolution 
 in the Communion service, 310, r. caution to him about 
 the Prayer of Consecration in the Communion ser^ice, 315, 
 h. to kneel when he receives the Communion, 317, s. ad- 
 monition to him about the times of administering the 
 Communion, 327, ^"■ 
 
 Minister, consideration of his duty as to the days of adminis- 
 tering baptism, 332, 333, s. caution to him about the 
 place of administering the office of Pubhck Ba])tism, 333, s. 
 forbidden by the rubrick to use the form of Publick Bap- 
 tism except at the font, 334, y. and by the very office 
 itself, ibid, question concerning his posture at the prayers 
 in the offices of Baptism, 337, i- caution to him after the 
 interrogatories at baptism, 343, c. manner in which the 
 Church directs him to baptize, 345, 0. bound to observe 
 the direction, 340, 0. what may be considered his certiticato 
 that a child is too weak to be dipped, ibid, questions 
 concerning his duty as it relates to private baptism, 353, d. 
 a positive part of the institution of baptism, 355, g. question 
 concerning his manner of certifying a private baptism, 
 administered by himself, 357, w. punctuality required 
 of him in putting the interrogatories relating to private 
 baptism, 356, n. advice concerning the manner of using 
 the office of Private Baptism, in certain eases, 357, 0. and 
 concerning the direction about Confirmation at the end of 
 it, 357, p. 
 
 Minister, liis duty to prepare persons for Confirmation, 
 384, y. not to bring children to be confirmed too soon, 
 387, c. 
 
 Minister, his duty to visit the sick, 409, /. discretion allowed 
 him in the visitation of the sick, 412, n. general rules to 
 guide him, 413, y. his duty with respect to the sick, 413, z. 
 caution to him concerning the absolution of the sick, 410, *7. 
 why he should persuade sick persons to receive the sacra- 
 ment of the Lord's Supper, 420, q. 
 
 Minister, wliether bound by the Coroner's warrant in cases 
 of self-murder, 424, d\ not required to attend at the house 
 of the deceased before burial, 424, y. intitled to convenient
 
 85G 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 warning, ibid, his powers with respect to places of burial, 
 425, z. 
 Minister, not to perform the office of the Churcliing of Women 
 
 in private, 4;{6, ./'. 
 ^Minister, his obligation to abide by his engagement, 698, ^. 
 his duty to adhere to the doctrine of the Thirty-nine Arti- 
 cles, and to the rites and ceremonies of the rubrick, 794, a;. 
 Minister, equivocal signitication of the word, xx. p. 
 Ministers of the Gospel, why called " stewards of God's 
 mysteries," 88, in. attention and respect due to them, 
 89, n. and to their preaching, idid. their duty in preparing 
 for Christ's coming, 90, Q. a regular appointment of them 
 by our Lord, 162, i. promise to them of God's providence, 
 ibid, how they should be esteemed, ibid, should have the 
 prayers of their people, 221, »«. regular commission requi- 
 site for them, 231, e. nature of their caUing, 271, e. dis- 
 tinction to be made between the true and the self-commis- 
 sioned, ibid, their success depends on God's blessing, 272, e. 
 Ministers, orders of, tlu*ee in the primitive and reformed 
 churches, 071, a. seven in the church of Rome, ibid. 
 description of them, ibid, origin of those in the Church of 
 England, ibid. 
 Ministers, regard due to their office, 072, d. entrance to their 
 office should be weU guarded, 073, e. pro\'isions in Scripture 
 and in the primitive church for preventing unqualified per- 
 sons from being admitted, ibid, provisions of our Church 
 concerning the same, 0/3,/. authority for admitting them, 
 ibid, recommended to read the OrcUnation services, 074 , ^. 
 testimonials required for their admission, 074, k. their qua- 
 lification with respect to conduct, 075, /. and learning, 075, 
 m. injunctions of ancient church and of our canons concern- 
 ing their dress, 078, /. their dress not matter of indifference, 
 ibid, why appointed each to a particular church, 088, 9. 
 necessity of due subordination among them, 090,/. orders 
 of distinction between the primitive and the Roman modes 
 of conferring orders on them, 091, A. their duty Umited by 
 the laws and canons, 099, c. foUy and presumption of de- 
 parting from that rule, ibid, their dutj' to drive away both 
 error and vice, 701, d. advice relating to it, ibid, why they 
 must not assume authority to themselves, 782, u. who may 
 be judged lawful ministers, 782, y. on what the efficacy of 
 their ministrations depends, 785, m. 
 Ministers, opinion that their personal sins invalidated their 
 sacred functions, whence derived, 785, /. and by whom 
 maintained, ibid, distinction to be made between their 
 actions, as private Christians, and publick officers, 785, ?«. 
 their personal faults not a justification of Christians for ab- 
 senting themselves from publick worship, ibid. 
 Ministers, evil, to be punished for misconduct, 780, 7i. how 
 visited by the discipline of the primitive church, ibid, inju- 
 rious consequences of their vices, ibid. 
 Ministry, imjrortance of its establishment in the church, 704, 
 
 m. prayer founded thereon, ibid. 
 Miracles, evidence afforded by them to the Christian religion, 
 89, 0. proper season for them, ibid, the gnmnd of Cliristian 
 faith, 110, b. those of Christ believed by men of rank and 
 character. 111, c. what peculiar ones were to distinguish the 
 Messiah, 229, b. use of them to establish new discoveries of 
 God's nnll, 203, s. an authentick and indisputable testimony 
 of a divine mission, ibid. See Christ. 
 Mischief, vanity of the wicked in boasting they can do it, 
 
 520, r. 
 MoLocii, impiety of ofTcringchildrentohim, 002, r. reflection 
 
 on it, ibid. 
 Money, in what way not to be given upon usury, 400, r/. 
 Monster, in what sense the Psalmist was so, 544, k. 
 Moranan Anabaptists said to omit i)art of the Lord's Prayer, 
 
 and why, 770, c. 
 Morning, a jjroper season for devotion, 032, m. dufy of prayer 
 
 each morning, 531, f/. 
 Morning Prayer, fornurrly done betimes, 00, d. 
 Morning watch, who intended by tlic phrase, 041, o. 
 Morning and Evening Prayer, why required to i)e said daily 
 
 by the clergy, xxxi. *. 
 Mosoick dispensation, three partes of which it consisted, 7C0, 
 
 ff. how far binding upon Cliristians, ibid. 
 Mo3K8, Psalm composed by him in the wilderness, 578, t/. 
 points of resemblance between him aiu! Christ, 598, ". liis 
 disinterested intercession, 001, m. exceeded by that of 
 
 Christ, ibid, reflections on his offence, 002, p. what shewn 
 by his miracles, 645, o. 
 
 Most Highest, peculiarity and propriety of the phrase, 458, r. 
 
 Moth fretting a garment, sin justly and affectingly compared 
 to it, 502, !. 
 
 Mother-Church, what church so called, and why, 333, a. 
 
 Mountam, David's kingdom why so called, 488, ff. 
 
 Musical instruments, lawful in Christian worship, 40, /. 
 
 Musick, its antiquity in psalmody, 19, g. its uses, ibid, its 
 utihty in praising God, 491, o. why sometimes used by the 
 Psalmist, 515, o. sacred arguments for the use of it, 661, s. 
 
 Musick, Hebrew instruments of, impossible to be distin- 
 guished, GG\,s. 
 
 Mysteries, not confined to the Christian revelation, 54, t. not 
 a sufficient ground of mibelief, ibid. 
 
 Mysteries of God, what they are, 88, m. 
 
 Mystery, how distinguished from Sacrament, 302, k. 
 
 Mystical body, meaning of it, 274, k. 
 
 N. 
 
 Name, Christian, why taken at baptism, 344, k. what it re- 
 minds us of, ibid, a similar practice among the Greeks and 
 Romans, ibid, and among the Jews, ibid, prevalent among 
 the Christians from the earhest ages, ibid, why dictated by 
 the Godfathers and Godmothers, 345, /. how distinguished 
 from our parental name, ibid, not a necessary pai-t of bap- 
 tism, 300, *•. why then given, ibid, usefvdness of the prac- 
 tice, ibid, advantage of its being given by sureties, 307, y. 
 why given by sureties, 367, '• 
 
 Name of Gotl, what meant by knowing it, 459, u. his actions 
 answerable to it, 514, A. prayer that it should not be blas- 
 phemed among the nations, 550, /. holy and terrible, 1 1 , ?i. 
 what it reveals to us, 624, >n. 
 
 Name of Jesus, account of the day, liii. 
 
 Names, new, why given in baptism, 334, a. 
 
 Nativity of V. Mary, account of the day, Iv. 
 
 Nature, human, its exaltation in Slessiah celebrated, 457, '• 
 how we should acknowledge its disorders, 504, b. in what 
 way confessed by our Saviour, ibid, its imjiotence to be 
 confessed, 529, p. imperfection of, acknowledged by the 
 most pious men, 705, >n. enters into all that men do, ibid. 
 See Human Nature. 
 
 Nature, order of, lessons which it points out to us, 627, *. 
 
 Nature, wonders of, represent the miracles of grace, 059, b. 
 
 Necessary doctrine and erudition for any Christian man, ac- 
 count of that work, v. quotation from it, 703, c. 
 
 Net, figuratively used, 488, n. comparison to a bird hunleil 
 into one, 525, d. 
 
 New moons, how observed by the Jews, 503, /. particular 
 regard to the September new moon, ibid. 
 
 New Testament, wliy deUvered to deacons at their ordination, 
 092, I. 
 
 NicoMEOE, account of him, xlix. 
 
 Nicholas, Bp., account of him, Ixi. 
 
 NicHOLLS, Dr., his paraphrase on the Psalms recommended, 
 447. 
 
 Night, how to be understood, 38, m. a fit season for religious 
 meditation, 531, i. 
 
 Noah, his deUverance in the ark a figure of Christian baptism, 
 337, n. 
 
 Nobleman of Capernaum, an example to us'in his own belief, 
 and in his conduct to liis family, 222, h. 
 
 Noctum, porti<m of Psalms why so called, xxix. /. 
 
 Notorious evil livers, what ))ersons to be so considered, 278. 
 '279, q. 
 
 November Fifth, form of prayer for, accounts of its contents, 
 713, *. 
 
 Number, singular or plural, used indifferently by the Church, 
 508, ff. 
 
 " Numbering our days," what meant by it, 579, z. utility of 
 it, ibid. 
 
 " Nuiu^ dimittis," author and occasion of it, 46, g. universal 
 use of it among Cliristians, ibid, why so called, ibid, its 
 fitness for our use, ibid, properly placed in tlic service, ibid. 
 caution about repeating it, ibid. 
 
 O. 
 
 " O God, whose nature and property tkc," excellence of tho 
 prayer so beginning, TA, h. ancient uso of it, ibid, when
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 857 
 
 niUlcil to our Tjitiirgy, i/jid. its proper place in the Liturgy, 
 ibid. 
 
 O Sapientia, account of the day, Ixi. 
 
 Oath, what it is, 7!^*^? P- duly administered, not forbidden by 
 tlie (iospcl, "iUH, q. magistrates at liberty to require it, 
 79H, r. arguments for it in the conduct of St. Paul and our 
 Hav-iour, "t*.)*.), r. apart of Christian worship, 79^1 *• 
 
 Oath, why God makes use of one, \\, k. 
 
 Obedience to God's commandments, not to be limited, VM, n. 
 one act of, the issue and reward of another, fi24, n. motives 
 to it, G34, z. plea of it in what sense alleged, ibid. 
 
 Obedience, canonical, character of it, (i\)\,f. required by the 
 church in all ages, ibid, and by reason and Scripture, 
 ibid. 
 
 Oblations, custom of making them at the Communion, apos- 
 tolical, 21(0, 0. liow distributed in primitive times, ibid. 
 how to be understood in the prayer for Clmst's church mili- 
 tant, 2nH, s. 
 
 Ocean, God's ])ower ovei* it an instance of his omnipotence, 
 575, cc. striking proof of the wisdom and power of God, 
 5!)6, €. 
 
 Ocean, and its inhabitants, how they praise God, G60, g. 
 
 Ocean, sin and consequent misery compared to it, 04 1, /. 
 
 Octuve, practice of the primitive Christians concerning it, 
 100, /. 
 
 Offerings of believers, what they are, G20, g. 
 
 Offertory, why so called, 2'JO, 0. 
 
 Offices, diff"erent,diff'erent duties corresponding to them, 100, a. 
 
 " Old Adam," wliat meant by the phrase, as contrasted with 
 the " new man," 343, e. what by the burial of the one and 
 the raising up of the other, ibid. 
 
 Old age, inference from the weakness incident to it, 544, /. 
 
 Old Testament, its agreement with the New, 75K, d. concerns 
 itself about eternal salvation, ibid, its method of securing 
 it, ibid. 
 
 Old Testament, histories of, their use, 5GG, m. 
 
 Old Testament, precepts of, those which do not obhge Chris- 
 tians and those which do, 700, g. 
 
 Ohve trees, flourishing children why compared to them, 640, c. 
 
 Open, why we pray to God to open our lips, 520, n. 
 
 Orders, holy, not properly accounted a sacrament by the pa- 
 pists, 377, /. 
 
 Ordinances, rehgious, established by God, 563, u. 
 
 Ordinary, his authority how limited, xxx. q. recourse to be 
 had to him in cases of difficulty, xxxiii. a, who intended by 
 the word, 61, A. 
 
 Ordination, when performed formerly, 215, b. what thepropcr 
 times for, 675, n. why celebrated near the altar, 678, s. 
 course to be pursued if candidates are accused of any great 
 crime, 679, a. that of our ministers complete, 705, b, cha- 
 racter of the offices, ibid. 
 
 Ordination, candidates for, duty of those who examine them, 
 678j ^'t y- why commended to the prayers of the congrega- 
 tion, 670, b. necessity of their considering in private the 
 questions which will be put to them, 685, n. solemn pro- 
 mises they make to God and his chmTh, 601, g. 
 
 Ordination, book of, account of some cu-cumstances in its 
 history, 705, c. 
 
 Ordination, forms of, various, 602, k. ours owing to our Re- 
 formation, fi/t/. remarks upon them, iiirf. their excellence, 
 674, g. recommended to the perusal of candidates and 
 clergymen, ibid. 
 
 Ordination, offices of, reading them over often recommended, 
 691, jr. their excellency, 707, '"• appUcation to the ordained, 
 ibid, and to all who are present, ibid. 
 
 Ordination, vows of, compared with those of baptism, 601, g. 
 
 Organ, may be usefully played after the psalms, 20, i. caution 
 to the performer and the congregation, ibid. 
 
 Original guilt, what meant by it, 753, in. how distinguished 
 from actual sin, ibid. 
 
 Original righteousness, what understood by it, 761, 7'. 
 
 Original sin, terra, of not very early use, 761, 0. antiquity of 
 the doctrine, ibid, how expressed by early writers, ibid, the 
 constant doctrijie of Scripture, ibid, and of the ancient 
 writers of the church, ibid, argument for it, ibid, two 
 opinions concerning it stated, 701, 762, s. difficulty of the 
 subject, 762, s. diff"erence between them why not very 
 material, ibid, proofs that it remains in all men, ibid, not 
 taken away intirely by baptism, ibid, consequence of its 
 
 remaining in us, 702, /. by what sects denied, 336, d. 
 
 evidences of it, ibid, consequence of denying it, ibid. 
 Ornaments of the church and its ministers, why required, 
 
 Ixxiii. p. consideration of the rubrick concerning them, ibid. 
 
 what comprising under them, Ixxiv. p. 
 Overcome, meaning of tiie phrases to be overcome by, and to 
 
 overcome, evil, 1 10, d. 
 Overcome, wliy God said to have " overcome death through 
 
 our Saviour,*' 155, x. 
 Overall, Bp., wrote the explanation of the Sacraments in 
 
 the Catechism, 306, t. 
 
 P. 
 
 Palestine, extent of it, 562, k. 
 
 Pall, Archbishop's, account of it, xxxil. 
 
 Pall, linen cloth so called, 318, a. antiquity and design of, 
 310, a. 
 
 Palla altaris, distinguished from corporis palla, 280, /, 
 
 Palm Sunday, what Sunday so called, 132, y. and why, ibid. 
 manner of observing it formerly, ibid. 
 
 Palm-tree, felicity of the righteous compared to it, 581, 0. 
 
 Parable, whnt meant by speaking in the way of, 515, 0. 
 
 Parable of the labourers in the vineyard, explained and ap- 
 phed, 118, t. illustrative of God's kindness, ibid, and of 
 oiu* duty, ibid, a lesson of humility and charity, ibid, cau- 
 tion against perverting it, ibid. 
 
 Parable of the sower, most worthy of serious consideration, 
 120, y. what it teaches, ibid. 
 
 Parable of the rich man and Lazarus, instruction given by it, 
 186, x. 
 
 Parable of the man that made a great supper, explained, 1 87, fl. 
 our concern in it, 188, a. 
 
 Parable of the unjust steward, intention of it, 199, y. its ap- 
 phcation, ibid. 
 
 Parable of the Pharisee and publican, instruction conveyed by 
 it, 202, e. 
 
 Parable of the good Samaritan, api)lication of it to ourselves, 
 200, m. 
 
 Parable concerning the man without a wedding garment, re- 
 flexions on it, 220, k. 
 
 Parable of the unforgi\'ing servant, apphcation of it, 224, q. 
 
 Parables, an instruction in the interpretation of them, 199, y. 
 wherein the history of Israel resembles them, 556, a. 
 
 Pardon, excellent form of prayer for, 444, c. 
 
 Pardons or indulgences, docti'ine of, on what founded, 780, jy. 
 what meant by it, ibid, not countenanced by Scripture, ibid. 
 inconsistent with it, ibid. 
 
 Parents, why not admitted to be sureties for their children at 
 baptism, 333, t. their duty in providing proper sponsors for 
 their children, 339, 340, x. admonished not to neglect the 
 baptism of their children, 353, d. why not thought so pro- 
 per for sureties of children as other persons, 367, -S". their 
 obligation to send their children to be catechized, how to 
 be understood, 384, s. not to bring children too early to 
 confirmation, 387, ''• should jiray for their children in sick- 
 ness, 418, m. the salvation of multitudes may depend on 
 them, 477t o- consequence of their piety to their children, 
 612, r. 
 
 Parliament, prayer for, precedents for it, 73, i. its importance, 
 ibid, on what occasion added to the Liturgy, 74, /. when 
 and by whom composed, 74, k, I. remark on the phrase- 
 ology of it, 74, /. 
 
 Parliament, session of, defined, 74, k. 
 
 Parson, proper signification of the word, and cause of it, 
 XX. n. 
 
 Passion Sunday, what Sunday so called, 131, t. 
 
 Passion week, proper use of its devotions, 152, p. 
 
 Past time, why used in prophetical language for future, 
 485, c. 
 
 Paten, meaning of the word, 315, /. different sorts of, used 
 at diff"erent times, ibid. 
 
 Paths, of God, to what opposed, 408, a. prayer to be held up 
 in the goings of them, explained, ibid. 
 
 Patience, why required under ill usage, 500, t. 
 
 Patriarchs, their dangers, and preservation, 598, j). 
 
 Patrick, Bp., his paraphrase on the Psalms recommended, 
 447. 
 
 Paul, St., conversion of, when admitted among the holydaya
 
 858 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 of the Church, Lxiii. b. how distinE^iished from others, ibid. 
 an example of care and exertion to Christians, 117, s. our 
 example in estimating rightly sufferings fir God's cause, 
 119, JT. in charity, ibid, in constancy and diligence, ibid, a 
 correct notion of his preaching afforded, 160, y. virtues of 
 which he is an example, 202, d. why Ids conversion cele- 
 brated by the Church, 235, /. account of him, 21iO, m. his 
 example a good rule for judging of zeal, 237' "'■ liis con- 
 version a proof of the wisdom of God, ibid, singular weight 
 of his evidence, ibid, how the intention of the Church may 
 be best comphed with in commemorating him, 238, n. his 
 probable connexion with Britain, ibid, remarks on his say- 
 ing "this is a great mystery," 377» /• what he meant by 
 saying that Clirist sent him not to baptize, ^c, 378, /• his 
 first Epistle to the Corinthians, supplies the fullest account 
 of the resuiTcction, 420, k. proof from him that David in 
 the eighteenth Psalm is a typQ of Christ, 473, h. his ap- 
 pUcation of the nineteenth Psalm to the publication of the 
 Gospel, 473, l\ 474, p. his quotation from the fortieth 
 Psalm proves it to be a direct prophecy of Clirist, 502, m. 
 r. his appUcation of a part of the sixty-eighth Psalm to our 
 Lord's ascension, 538, wi. his application of a passage in 
 the sixty-ninth Psalm to our Saviour, 541, A: his applica- 
 tion of the ninety -seventh Psalm to our Saviour, 586, e. 
 his assertion that the one hundred and second Psalm is 
 addressed to the Son of God, 500, n. 
 
 Peace, meaning of the petition to God for it, 33, d. compre- 
 hensiveness of the blessing, 37, A. especially to be prayed 
 for, ibid, the reward of those who love God, 633, y, the 
 promotion of it why made a duty of the clergy, 702, ff* how 
 to be performed, ibid. 
 
 Peace, literal, an emblem of the days of Messiah, 54G, s. 
 
 Peace and Grace, why the subject of our daily prayers, 
 37,-?. 
 
 Peace, collects for, at morning and evening prayer, how dis- 
 tinguished, 48, k. 
 
 "Peace of God," meaning of the phrase, 00, r. why said to 
 keep, ibid, why to keep our hearts and minds, ibid, a 
 blessing specially annexed to prayer, ibid. 
 
 Pelagius, account of him and his errors, 7C1, 7^. 
 
 Pelagians, their arrogant and unscrii)tural denial of original 
 sin, 336, d. revived in the Socuiians and Anabai)tists, ibid. 
 why they denied that infants are regenerated in baptism, 
 340, n. condemned and confuted, ibid, their calumny 
 against the orthodox, 762, s. deny the assisting grace of 
 God, 763, V. their extravagant doctrine that persons after 
 baptism might live without sin, 770, c. 
 
 Penance, two significations of the word, 440, u. 
 
 Penance, an useful practice in the primitive ehm*ch, 430, r. 
 abused by the Romish churcli, ibid, what the church of 
 Rome makes it to consist of, 376, /. not a Sacrament, 
 ibid. 
 
 Penance, an ecclesiastical punishment, described, 702, />. 
 
 Penitent, his grounds for hope of pardon, 510, r, a, b. d. his 
 occupation, 616, z. 
 
 Penitents, good effect of their praying to God in due time, 
 400, h. their ajjtness to forget what Christ has done for 
 them, 600, y. 
 
 Pentecost, meaning of the name, 173, c. mode of reckoning 
 it, ibid. 
 
 People, their duty during the Sentences, Exhortations, &c., 
 2, b. their previous duty in order thereto, ibid, a privilege 
 allowed to them by the Gospel. 5, /. not to repeat the Ex- 
 hortation after tlic minister, ibid, tlieir duty in repeating 
 the genera! Confession, 6, 0. admonition to tliem thereupon, 
 7, p- necessity of their coming to clmrtli betore it, ibid. 
 13,/;. not to re])eat the Absolution after the priest, 11, i^. 
 how to behave wliere tlie minister only is directed to speak, 
 ibid, tiieir duty during the prayers, 13, 0. w!iy directi.*d to 
 repeat tlie Lord's IVayer with the minister, 13, p. a privi- 
 lege enjoyed by tiiem in the Churcli of England, 15, n. 
 their duty thereupon, 16, ii. their promise to bear a jmrt 
 in tlu; Psalms, ^c, I7» //■ advantage of their liearing a part 
 ns they ought to do, ibid, why tiie dvity is neijlecteil, ibid. 
 their duty whilst the SiTiptures are re:i(iing, 20, k. devotion 
 with whidi they should join in tlie Te Ueum, 22, s. why 
 to repexit the Creed after the minister, 28, 20, //, h. why 
 to stand up while they repeat it, ibid .■ 20, 1. by what means 
 they may repeat it as tliey ought, 2t», //, caution to them 
 
 respecting the short Litany, 34, v. caution to tliem whilst 
 the minister is reading the Prayers, 36, e. Scripture 
 precedent for their joining vocally in prayer, GI, i. why 
 to repeat the four first verses of the Litany after the 
 minister, 61, i; 62, n. should join in the sen-ice of the 
 Church, 201 , b. their privilege in being allowed to do so, ibid. 
 
 People, to repeat the Lord's Prayer at the Communion ser- 
 vice, 281, z. not to repeat the Commandments after the 
 minister, 283, /. ought to kneel during the rehearsal of 
 them, 287, p. advice to them with respect to the Exhorta- 
 tions gii-ing warning of the Communion, 300, €; 303, 7;; 
 304, r. t. serious attention required of them to the Ex- 
 hortation in the Communion service, 300, h. by no means 
 to pronounce the Absolution in the Communion service, 
 300, 310, p. how to behave during it, ibid, advice to them 
 whilst others are communicating, 318, tt. y. how to receive 
 the blessing, 322, p. not to repeat it after the priest, ibid. 
 still less after the bishop, ibid, absurditj^ of so doing, ibid. 
 advice to them about receiving the Communion frequently, 
 327, Ic. 
 
 People, devotion recommended to them during the baptismal 
 office, 337, /. admonition to them concerning their conduct 
 during the interrogatories at baptism, 341. y. 
 
 People, not excused from joining in the 5er\ice, by the ap- 
 pointment of a parish clerk, 402, x. 
 
 People, to say one of the collects in the Comnunation after 
 the minister, 444, b, c. 
 
 People, why enquired of concerning the worthiness of persons 
 to be ordained, 670, z. not called upon to take part in the 
 Ordination, ibid, their fault if improper persons are or- 
 dained, ibid. 
 
 People of God, apostrophe to their enemies, 458, /. applica- 
 tion of it by tlie Christian church, 450, t. their peculiar 
 obligation to praise Him, 650, e. 
 
 Perambulation of parishes, order concerning it, I70, a*. 
 
 "Perish everlastingly," meaning of the phrase, 52, g. 
 
 Perpetua, account of her, xliii. 
 
 Persecution, virtues especially seasonable under it, 102, i. per- 
 mitted by God as a punishment of sin, 508, /i. comfort 
 whence to be drawn under it, 621, k. what it shouhl teach 
 us, 623, a. its use, and proper conduct under it, 633, r. 
 
 Persecutors, their doom exemplified, 404, s. examples of 
 dehverance from, an encouragement to us, 653, q. 
 
 Perseverance, exhortation to it, 215, c. 
 
 Persons of the Trinity, mentioned together with notes of 
 distinction, 182. 183, r. distinguished by their properties, 
 371,^. 
 
 Peter, St., reflections on his denial of Christ, 130, d. a 
 proof of our frailty, ibid, a su|iport under temjitatifms, 
 ibid, caution against misapjdying it, ibid, main drift of his 
 first Epistle, I(»5, n. admonition to comply with it, 165, 0. 
 account of him, 25fi, 2i"i7, i- meaning of his words con- 
 cerning the baptism which savetli us, 378, t. his authority 
 for saying tliat the one hundred and thirty-second Psalm 
 is a proidieey of Christ, 643, a. 
 
 Pharaoh, conduct of the Israelites resembled his, 558, i. 
 desti'uction of him aiul the Egyptians an instance of God's 
 power, 574, y. 
 
 Pharisees, instruction to be derived from their conduct to our 
 Saviour, 214, a; 218, y. 
 
 pHiLii', St., account of him, 248, c. 
 
 Pica letters, in jjrinting, why so called, xxix, m. 
 
 Pic, table in the old Roman offices, for what used, xxix. m. 
 meaning of the name, ibid, mistake concerning it, xxix. 111. 
 
 Pilgrimage, benefit of regarding the soul as in such a state, 
 624, /. 
 
 Plato, a saying of his, 625, a. 
 
 Poland, nobles of, an ancient practice of theirs in repeating 
 the Creed, 20, /. 
 
 Polvcarp, notice of his mnrfyrdom, 04, z. 
 
 Poor, comfort and encouragement suggested to them, 18(i, a:. 
 liberality to them, direction of the Church concerning it, 
 415, e. importance of the duty, ibid, necessary, tlumgli 
 not meritorious. 4U;, c. means formerly in use for their 
 subsistence. (i80. b. care takeii of Ihcm under the old dis- 
 pensation, 7O8, 0. regard shewn to them under the new, 
 ibid. 
 
 PoPK Piiia v., remark on his sentence declaratory against 
 Queen Elizabeth, 685, m.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 8r,9 
 
 Pope has no riglit to juriaJiction in this country, 797i ''• 
 
 I'opea, tlR'ir arrogant monopoly of titles, which are common 
 to all bish()]is, 710, n. their usurpation of the right of 
 calling general councils, 778, k. their extravagant usurpa- 
 tion of authority, 7'Jl, «• 
 
 Popularity, danger of affecting it, 25fi, m. 
 
 Portion, happiness of those who take the Lord for their por- 
 tion, 024, p. 
 
 Possessions, worldly, advantage of parting with them to gain 
 heaven, (J24, q. 
 
 Postil, meaning of the term, 21)3, k. 
 
 Pot made hot with thorns, force of the image intended to be 
 conveyed by it, 526, /?. 
 
 Pots, lying among, a state of affliction, 538, g. 
 
 Power, abuse of, example of it, 258, m. 
 
 Praise, why due to God, C44, /, m. 
 
 Prayer, preparation necessary for it, 1, a. necessity of con- 
 stantly continuing it, 12, n. result of it when joined to our 
 best endeavours, ibid, how distinguished from supplica- 
 tions, 33, u. encouragement to perseverance in it, 127, '«• 
 why not granted immediately, ibid, efficacy of it when 
 fervent and persevering, ibid, when and for whom to be 
 ofl'ered, 211, u. to be addressed to God, ibid, with all 
 humility both of body and mind, ibid, direction concerning 
 the matter of our prayers, ibid, to be accompanied with 
 thanksgivings, 212, u. its necessity, 221, m. for whom it 
 should be offered, ibid, manner in which God often grants 
 it, 222, n. should be offered for one another, 223, p. what 
 we should pray for, ibid, its efficacy exemphfied, 258, m. 
 not to be relinquished, if not immediately successfiil, ibid. 
 tlu'ee qualifications of an acceptable one, 325, c. blessing 
 jiromised to it, 389, g. especially in (Christian assemblies, 
 ibid, and under their teachers and rulers, ibid, an antidote 
 against despondency, 454,/. to be addressed to God with 
 perseverance, 478, t. but without impatience, ibid, humi- 
 liation of, should succeed the assurances of faith, 485,/. 
 not to be remitted in long afiSiction, 495, c. the believer's 
 medicine in distress, 523, I. example of its being heard by 
 God, 530, t. why we are encouraged to offer it, 570, I. 
 examples of its efficacy, 588, a. duty and benefits of it, 
 621, ». interchanged with thanksgiving, 625, .v. blessing 
 to be entreated in it, 034, b. the voice of faith, 654, X. 
 
 Prayer and praise, productive of blessing, 644, i. 
 
 Prayer, private, recommended, 38, m. 
 
 Prayer, pubUck, scriptural authority for its being in a known 
 tongue, 783, a. custom of the primitive church concerning 
 it, ibid. 
 
 Prayer Book, a sum of divinity, 336, c. See Book of Common 
 Prayer. 
 
 Prayer, Morning and Evening, why prescribed by the Chiu*ch, 
 Ixxii. k. particular hours left to the minister, ibid, scrip- 
 tural authority for its being longer on the sabbath, ibid. 
 what meant by the accustomed place for reading it, 
 Ixxii, /. 
 
 Prayer, Morning and Evening, intended for private families, 
 11, y. caution of the Church founded thereon, ibid. 
 
 Prayer for the Queen, Royal Family, &c., historical notices 
 of them, 39, o. well connected with the preceding collects, 
 ibid, their place till the last review, 41, y. 
 
 Prayer for the Queen, when made, 39, p. reasons and meaning 
 of its petitions, ibid, why it names the sovereign, 39, q. its 
 excellence, ibid, misrepresentation of a passage in it cor- 
 rected, ibid. 
 
 Prayer for the Royal Family, conformable to ancient prac- 
 tice, 40, s. reasonableness of it, ibid, duty corresponding 
 to it, ibid. 
 
 Prayer for the Clergy and People, agreeable to Scripture and 
 early practice, 40, t. suitableness of the preface, ibid, ex- 
 position of it, ihid. 
 
 Prayer of St. Chrysostom, used in the Eastern offices, 41, y. 
 judiciously placed in ours, ibid, exposition of it, ibid, when 
 introduced into our Litui'gy, ibid, directed immediately to 
 the Son, 41, :. 
 
 Prayer, always used at ordination, and why, C83, e. 
 
 Prayers and thanksgi\'ings, occasional, examples of them in 
 Scripture and the ancient church, 71, e. when added to the 
 Liturgy, ibid, why several of them are seldom used, 71) f- 
 when properly to be used, ibid. 
 
 Prayers must be offered in the name of Christ, 250, e. prin- 
 
 cipal and most proper intent of the exjircssion, ibid, ex- 
 emplified in the jirovisions of our Liturgy, ibid. 
 
 Preachers, their practice should agree with what they preach, 
 623, e. 
 
 Preaching, not to be valued above divine worship, 294, k. 
 how abused before the great Rebellion, ///((/. regulutiona 
 concerning it at several times since Henry VIll., 295, /. 
 allowed to deacons only by permission, 6H!t, a. 
 
 Prebendary, why so called, xxi. r. how disthiguished from a 
 canon, ibid, confusion between the words prebend and 
 prebendary, ibid. 
 
 Precontract, how far an impediment to marriage, 390, b. 
 
 Predestination, two kinds of, noticed in the seventeenth 
 Article, 774, p. description of them, ibid, one condemned 
 by the Church and not the other, ibid, difficulty of the 
 doctrine, ^^\, h. caution and judgment with which the 
 Article is drawn up, ibid, warning to young men about it, 
 ibid, reflection on the caution with wMch compilers of the 
 Articles s])eak of it, ibid. 
 
 Predestination, conditional and absolute, different effects of 
 the same doctrine, 773, /. promises of God, as generally 
 set forth in Scripture, to what opposed, 773, 774, 0. how 
 to be received and applied, ibid. 
 
 Predestination, absolute, not the doctrine of the seventeenth 
 Article, 772, i. irreconcileable with the doctrine of our 
 Church, ibid. 
 
 Predestination, conditionate, not condemned by the seven, 
 teenth Article, 772, i. 
 
 Predestination to hfe, in what sense reconcileable with the 
 attributes of God and the free agency of man, 771, '• par- 
 ticulai's of what the Church states concerning it, 772, k. 
 manifestly built on the doctrine of Scripture, 773, *• man- 
 ner of God's bringing it to a conclusion universally acknow- 
 ledged, ibid. 
 
 Preface to the Common Prayer Book, account of it, xxvii. u. 
 occasion of the ajjologetical expressions in it, xxvii. a:. 
 pamphlets and other papers alluded to in it, xxvii. ;/, :. 
 
 Preface, general, in the Communion service, pm-port of it, 
 
 311, y. an address to God, ibid. 
 
 Prefaces, proper, m the Communion service, occasion of them, 
 
 312, a. why to be repeated for several days, ibid, antiquity 
 of them, ibid, why only five retained in oiu* Church, ibid. 
 
 Presbyter, why preferable to the word priest, 094, q. ancient 
 use of it in the Church, ibid. 
 
 Presbyters have no power to ordain, 073,/. 
 
 Presbyterians, their uiu'casonable exceptions to the Liturgy, 
 ix. compliance with their request about giving notice of the 
 Communion, 293, A. their request concerning Confirmation 
 compUed with, 394, x. 
 
 Presence, real, of Christ in the Sacrament, our Church's doc- 
 trine concerning it, 328, n. different from the doctrine of 
 transubstantiation, ibid, the doctrine of Scripture and the 
 Church, 381, i. distinguished from the bodily presence, 
 ibid, origin of the latter doctrine, ibid, when established 
 in the Romish church, ibid. 
 
 Presence, bodily, of Christ, in the Lord's Supper, doctrine of 
 it. See Transubstantiation, Consubstantiation. 
 
 Presence of God, what meant by a sentence coming forth 
 from it, 468, x. dreadfulness of being rejected from it, 
 519, k. 
 
 Presence of the Lord, its dwelhng-place, 584, )?. 
 
 " Prevent," what the word signifies in old English, 324, y. use 
 of the word in the Liturgy explained and justified, ibid. 
 
 Priest, nearly the same word in all Clu-istian languages, 
 072, c. its origin, ibid. ; 694, q. mistake about the mean- 
 ing of it, ibid. 
 
 Priest, why he alone may pronounce the Absolution, 10, g. 
 proofs that this office was intended to be hmited to one in 
 priest's orders, ibid, why to pronounce the Absolution at 
 the Communion service, 309, p. 
 
 Priests, order of, how styled, 094, q. in what way formerly 
 employed, ibid, candidates for the order of, excellent ex- 
 hortation to them, G^dG^ n. necessity of their considering it 
 beforehand, 698, x. remarks on their several engagements, 
 697 — 702. why required to promise they will teach no doc- 
 trines but those of Scripture, 098, z. purport and extent of 
 the promise, ibid, necessity of their considering the questions 
 to be proposed to them at ordination, 009, b, why ordered 
 to lay their hands on persons to be ordained priests, 705, m.
 
 860 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 words used for conferring the order, why the same as those 
 used by our Lord, ibid, fitness of them, ibid, objections 
 against them answered, ibid, what they express, 70ti, n. 
 their power of retaining or forgiving sin explained, 70(», o. 
 their duty of dispensing God's word and sacraments, 70G,;;. 
 why the Bible dehvered to them, 70/' ?• their office sub- 
 ordinate, ibid, and the exercise of it limited to a particular 
 congregation, ibid. 
 
 Priests, Ordering of, questions therein recommended to 
 frequent perusal, 702, h. frequent perusal of the office 
 recommended, 795, b. 
 
 Princes, why invested with power, 589, m. earthly, their in- 
 ability to protect their friends, 657» ?. their authority in 
 ecclesiastical matters, scriptural and reasonable, 796, e. have 
 no claim to the sacerdotal office, 790, Z'. 
 
 Principle, defection in, corruption in practice, the consequence 
 of it, 4(J4, /. 
 
 Principles, a man*s practice according to them, 460, k. 
 
 Prisca, account of her, xxxix. 
 
 Probation, day of, introductory to a promised rest, 584, q. 
 
 Promises of God, condition of, 643, b. 
 
 Promises, spiritual and eternal, looked for by the patriarchs, 
 759,/ 
 
 Properbr, what portion of it to be given in acts of benevolence, 
 798, 0. 
 
 Prophecies of the Old Testament, to be understood with an 
 evangelical interpretation, 26, e. 
 
 Prophets, assurance with which they speak, 568, e. 
 
 Prosperity, its danger, 460, /. danger of abusing it exempli- 
 fied, 478, b. uncertainty of, 487,/ 
 
 Protestants of Germany, an instance of theii* depai'ture from 
 an ancient practice, 280, y. 
 
 Providence of God, thanks due for it, 130, s. its infinite ex- 
 tent, ibid. 
 
 Prov'idexce, why He permits the crimes of abandoned men, 
 241, s. reflections thence resulting, ibid, the imnishment 
 as well as the crime foreknown, ibid, example of its wisdom 
 and goodness in disappointing the designs of tlie wicked, 
 258, m. care of, towards the good, 489, t/. 
 
 Providence of God justified, 515, j«. 
 
 Providence, what seems irregular in it will be made up by 
 future dispensations, 583,/ various proofs of it, 594 — 596, 
 watchful care of, what it teaches us, 658, z. 
 
 Providence, eye of, favourable to those who fear God, 492, z. 
 why it sometimes seems to be closed or turned away, 509, /. 
 
 Psalm ii, an acknowledged prophecy of Christ, 451, ff. 
 
 viii, prophetical of the exaltation of our nature in 
 
 Messiah, 457, i- 
 
 xvi, spoken in the person of Christ, 466, i. 
 
 xviii, remarkable proof from St. Paul that it has a double 
 
 sense, 473, A. 
 
 . xix, cited by St. Paul with a view to the publication of 
 
 the Gospel, 473, k ,- 474, p. 
 
 xxii, a direct prophecy of Clunst, 477. '"• 
 
 xxxi, a passage in it used by our Saviour on the cro.^s, 
 
 488, 0. 
 
 xxxiv, passage in it eminently completed in our Saviour, 
 
 493, /. 
 
 XXXV, passage in it appHed by St. John to the Messiah, 
 
 495, a. 
 
 xxxviii, passages in it, literally predictive of Clirist's 
 
 passion, 499, i. 
 
 xxxix, its propriety in the funeral service, .'>01, y. 
 
 xl, a direct prophecy of Christ, and spoken in his cha- 
 racter, 502, m. 
 
 xli, spoken by the prophet in the jicrson of Messiali, 
 
 504, y. 
 
 xlv, ft magnificent prophecy of Christ's nnion with the 
 
 church, 509, w. present evidence to the trutli of it, 51 1, y. 
 
 xlvii, a prediction of the establishment of Christ's king- 
 dom, 512, o. 
 
 xlviii, jirophetical of the mercies vouchsafed in tlic 
 
 Gospel, 513, r. 
 
 li, why much esteemed in tlie Church, 443, a. 
 
 Ixii, a parallel to the song of Simeon, 47, A. suitable for 
 
 our use, ibid, exposition of it, ibid, properly placfd in the 
 £\cning Scnice, ibid, caution about repeating it, 48, A. 
 
 Ixviii, a represeritntion of our Lord's resurrection and 
 
 ascension, 536, u; 538, in. 
 
 Psalm \x\s, application of it to om* Lord, 540, d* 
 
 Ixxi, why the five last verses of it omitted in the Visita- 
 tion of the Sick, 417, ^'- 
 
 xci, addressed primarily to Messiah, 579, b. 
 
 xcv, see Invitatory Psalm. Particular jiluases in it ex- 
 plained, 19,/ 
 
 xcv, an address to believers under the Gospel, 583, /. 
 
 xcviii, its resemblance to the Magnificat, 45,/ exposi- 
 tion of it, 46,/ when properly used instead of the Mag- 
 nificat, ibid. 
 
 civ, its singular poetical beauty, 593, m. 
 
 ex, apphed several times in the New Testament as a 
 
 prophecy of Christ, 609, a. 
 
 cxviii, repeated application of the twenty-second verse in 
 
 the New Testament to Christ, 617, c. 
 
 cxxxix, distinguished for its sentiments and images, 
 
 649, n. 
 
 cxlv, remarkable saying of the ancient Hebrews, 655,/ 
 
 Psalms, book of, why so much used by the Church, 1*>, y. 
 practice of the Jews concerning them, ibid, and of the 
 early Christians, ibid, our dutT,'^ in the use of them, 20, y. 
 
 Psalms, alternate use of, caution concerning it, 15, 16, n. 
 proper posture to be used in uttering them, 17, - ; 19, ff. 
 why ordered to be said or sung, 17, «• practice of the 
 ancient church, ibid, why said to be pointed as they are 
 to be said or sung in churches, xxxii. .r. use of them by 
 way of answering, scriptvu-al authorities for it, 18, d, ob- 
 jections to it removed, ibid. 
 
 Psalms, the subjects of them, 446. manner in which they 
 convey instruction, ibid, fulness of the information they 
 contain, ibid, have been always in use with the church, 
 ibid, high idea of them suggested by our Saviour's use of 
 them, ibid, plainly fitted for general use, ibid, regard to 
 be had to the person speaking in them, ibid, explanation of 
 the imprecations contained in them, ibid. Jewish notions 
 in them appUcable to Christian times, ibid, assistance for 
 understanding the difficult passages in them recommended, 
 447. Common Prayer Book translation of them, vindicated, 
 ibid, and the manner in which we use them, 448. table of 
 tlicm, according to their subjects, ibid. voca.bulary of old 
 EngUsh words in our Common Prayer Book translation of 
 them, ibid, their use in Christian congregations, 484, z. 
 for what designed, and how to be sung, 511, u. use of 
 them in the Church, 619, p. proof of their inspiration, 
 5!)1, z. 
 
 Psalms, why called the Psalms of David, 450, a. many of them 
 predictive of Christ's sufferings, 541, e. fre(|uent change in 
 them from sorrow to joy, 543, y. 
 
 Psalms, eucharistick, consideration which makes them pleasing 
 and comfortable, 554, g. 
 
 Psalms, mouniful, why many of them end with expressions of 
 assurance, 456, a\ 
 
 Psalms of degrees, meaning of the title, 634, e. 
 
 Psalms customary of old at funerals, 427i /?• fitness of those 
 api>ointed for that service by the Church, ibid, why con- 
 cluded with the doxologj', 428, 1. 
 
 Psalms, in the Churching of Women, their suitableness to tho 
 office, 436, 437» m, n. when respectively most fit to be 
 used, ibid. 
 
 Psalms in metre, remarks on the Old Version, 78. best mode 
 of selecting them, 79. 
 
 Psalmody, second part of publick service, 15, 16, u. 
 
 Psalm tunes, remarks on them, 78. suggesti(jn about nn 
 orderly way of singing them, 79. 
 
 Psalter, why said to follow tho division of the Hebrews, 
 xxxii. ,r. 
 
 Publican, nature of the office, 264, 265, ?/. 
 
 Publick worship, ancient and universal, 4, 5, /. enforced Iiy 
 our Saviour, 5, /. to he higlily esteemed, ibid, and attendi-d 
 witii proper qualifications, ibid, pleasure of seeing a con- 
 gregation engaged in it, 18, b. 
 
 Pulpit, jjurposes for which it was at first designed, 440, *. 
 
 Punishment of sin, its rorlainty and use, 48M, 7. 
 
 Pure as Christ is pure, in what sense we pray to be so, 1 15, n. 
 
 Purgatory, wliat meant by the doctrine of, 779, 0. its origin 
 and progress, ibid, not grounded on, but repugnant to 
 Scripture, 780, 0. connexion b)>tw('cn it, and the ollur 
 doctrines, condemned in the twenty-third Article, 782, /. 
 sources of tlieni, ibid.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 8fil 
 
 Purification, practice of tlic-ancient Christians on this festival, 
 23!1, 0. wlien discontinued among us, ibid. 
 
 Puritans, tlicir unreasonable demands relative to the Liturgy, 
 viii. objection made by them against sureties at baijtism, 
 333, t. tlieir inelfeetual attempt to add a clause at tlie end of 
 the sixteenth Article, 772, i. their denial of the right of (he 
 civil magistrate to interfere iu any ecclesiastical matters, 
 7!Hi, ff. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quakers, their rejection of the Lord's Supper, 707, r. 
 Question and answer, the ancient form of stipulating at Ijap- 
 
 tisni, 340, y. suitableness of tliose in our office, 310, 341, y. 
 
 proper way of understanding them, 341, y. 
 Questions and answers at baptism, not to be joined in by the 
 
 congregation, 342, y. how they may turn the service to 
 
 their own use, ihid. 
 Quinr|uagcsima Sunday, seasonableness of its services, 120, 2; 
 
 121, a. 
 
 R. 
 
 Race and combat, every man's life properly compared to one, 
 
 117, »• Jiractical inferences therefrom, ihid. 
 Rain and dew, an image of the blessing of Christ's kingdom, 
 
 537, .»'• 
 
 Raise up his power, when God is said to do so, !J0, q. 
 
 Ready writer, how to be understood, 50J), p. 
 
 Reason, how misapplied in matters of rehgion, 54, t. 
 
 Rebellion and schism, on what occasion the jjrayer against 
 them added to the Litany, 04, r. 
 
 Reljels and murderers, certainty of God's judgment on tlicm, 
 524, 1). 
 
 Receipt of custom described, 2C5, n. 
 
 Rector of a parish, how distinguished from vicar or curate, 
 XX. n. 
 
 Red Sea, passage of, prefigured the salvation of the church 
 universal, 471, s. a figure of the waters of baptism, 550, I. 
 waters of, represented as endued with sensibility, 555, s. 
 an emblem of the waters of baptism, il/id. passage through, 
 the dispensations of God hke it, 555, u. 
 
 " Redeemed of the Lord," who they are, C03, y. their duty, 
 ibid. 
 
 Redeemer, praises ascribed to Him by the spiritual Israel, 
 585, a. 
 
 Redemption, Christian, parallel but superior to the deliverance 
 of the Israelites, 555, r. the end of, 5C3, g. by Christ pre- 
 dicted, 568, a. why spoken of as partly past, and partly to 
 come, 568, b. prayer for the blessings of, 508, c. of man the 
 most glorious work of God, 579, o. purjiose for which the 
 history of it is written, 591, h. described by temporal images, 
 591, X. man capable of a twofold, 592, e. spiritual, repre- 
 sented under four beautiful images, G03, :. promised to 
 Israel, the same as that under the Gospel, 641,^. great- 
 ness and number of God's mercies in it, C50, s. 
 
 Reformation of ot)iers, how to be effected, 520, m. 
 Reformers, Enghsh, tlieir design in the composition of the 
 Liturgy, ix. example of their prudence and piety, 3, d. 
 chose prayers from ancient Litui'gies, 41, y. their opinion 
 concerning the corruptions of the church of Rome, 80, b. 
 their judicious conduct in puriiying the Roman Missal, 
 277) "■ revived the ancient practice of explaining por- 
 tions of Scriptiu'e, 293, 294, i. their wisdom in laying 
 aside some superstitious practices at baptism, 343, c ; 
 344, b. an error concerning baptism, imbibed by them in 
 the Romish church, 354, g. consequence of it, ibid, their 
 restoration of the office of Confirmation to its original sim- 
 plicity, 392, J), their prudent correction of the Burial 
 office, 423, t. their correction of the Romish corruptions 
 with respect to church discipline, 439, r. their endeavour 
 to improve it, ibid, their judicious correction of the con- 
 secration service, 709, s. their judicious rejection of popish 
 innovations in the consecration service, 71-1, '■ their 
 moderation and wisdom compared with those of some 
 other churches, 793, s. 
 Reformers, foreign, approve the apostolical ceremony of Con- 
 firmation, 392, m. 
 Reformers, German, a custom on their death-bed, 413, .r. 
 
 Reformers, the best and wisest, their acknowledgment of tlio 
 Athanasian Creed, 51, n. 
 
 Regeneration, well represented by washing with water, 329, o. 
 notions of the Jews and Greeks about it, ibit/. baptism tlie 
 only ordinary means of it, 330, c. spiritual, what meant by 
 it, 338, r. takes place at baptism, and only then, ibid, bad 
 consequences of aiiplyingthe term to any otlier change, ibid. 
 a modem notion of the word, wliat, 348, u. its different 
 signification in Scripture, ibid, and in the language of the 
 fathers, ibid, various expressions nseil for it by tlie Greeks 
 and Latins, ibid, language of the Schools upon it, ibid. 
 and of the most eminent divines of tlie Reformation, ibid. 
 wlieii it came to be confounded with conversion and repent- 
 ance, 348, u. sense of the Church concerning it most jilain, 
 349, u. doctrine of it in Scripture, ibid, statement of the 
 particulars wherein it consists, ibid, the Church defended 
 from objection in her use of it, ibid, benefits of it may be 
 lost, 350, y. prayer of the Church thereupon, ibid. 
 
 Reinolds, Dr., his protestation concerning the sign of the 
 cross in baptism, as explained in the thirtieth Canon, 
 352, c. 
 
 Reins, what meant by their chastening In the night season, 
 407, 0. 
 
 Religion, joys that belong to it, 80, h. no situation of fife in- 
 consistent with a sincere profession and practice of it, 1 12, c. 
 its character and source, 580, 587, '• 
 
 Religion, Christian, every part of it to be believed, 775, t. 
 those to whom it is revealed indispensably obliged to obey 
 and follow it, ibid, question concerning those who never 
 heard of it, ibid, solution of the question, ibid, cannot be 
 safely rejected by those to whom it is revealed, ibid. 
 
 Religious exercises, example of assiduity in them, 554, /. 
 
 Religious, explanation of the epithet as a])plied to our kings, 
 74, /. used in the Greek Liturgies, ibid. 
 
 Reliques, worshipping of, how and when it arose, 781, r. its 
 absurdity, ibid, unscriptural, ibid. 
 
 Remembrance, thankful, of Christ's death, a requisite accom- 
 ))animent of faith at the Lord's Supper, 382, p. how to be 
 examined, ibid, measure of it whence to be taken, 383, p. 
 
 Rrmigius, account of, Ivii. 
 
 Remission of sins, explanatory of Absolution, 10, y. 
 
 Renounce, why the things, that we are to renounce, put first 
 in om- Catechism, 308, /i. arrangement of them, ibid, re- 
 marks upon them, 309, i, k, I. what we undertake by our 
 renunciation in baptism, 309, I. 
 
 Renovation, dift'erent from regeneration, 338, r. 
 
 Repentance, without it none of the services of religion can he 
 duly performed, 5, k. why we are exhorted to it after abso- 
 lution, 12, 11. true, proofs of it, 13, o. forgiveness promised 
 upon it, 4, g. not the meritorious cause of forgiveness, ibid. 
 mistake concerning it, 135, a. how to be estimated, ibid. 
 danger of delaying it, 149, m. why a quaUfication for bap- 
 tism, 380, a. how to be judged of, 382, n. its necessity as a 
 solid ground of comfort, 413, r. motives to it, 442, z. invi- 
 tation to, and process of, described, 453, d. not to be de- 
 ferred, 490, h. two ways whereby men are led to it, com- 
 pared, 491, k. happy effects of it, 491, I. true, upon what 
 founded, 041, n. invitations to it in Scripture addressed to 
 all ])ersoiis, 770, e. 
 
 Re)iroach of the world, how to comfort ourselves under it, 
 021, i 
 
 Reproach, what sort of most to be dreaded, 622, x. of the 
 wicked, comforts of God's servants under it, 037, *. 
 
 Responds, what they are xxlx. g. 
 
 Responses, why so called, 15, u. practised in all old Liturgies, 
 ibid, a pririlege allowed to the people in the Cliurch of 
 England, 10, u. how they should act thereupon, ibid. 
 
 Responses before the Psalms, what they consist of, 10, x. 
 tlieir origin and propriety, ibid. 
 
 Responses, after the Creed, agreeable to the primitive practice, 
 35, b. whence taken, ibid, harmony between them and the 
 following prayers, ibid, caution to the minister and people 
 concerning them, ibid. 
 
 Rest, nightly, how we should lay ourselves down to it, 454, h. 
 
 Resurrection, in what sense the Church declares a sure and 
 
 certain hope of, in the Burial senice, 431, r. fitness of tlie 
 
 declaration, ibid, a full and firm faith in it expressed, 510, b. 
 
 an evidence to God's glory, 573, )«, n. 
 
 ResmTCction of Christ, morning of, how it should be celebrated.
 
 862 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 525, y. how applicable to us, 545, o. foretold, 754, }. sup- 
 ported by the clearest proofs, ibid. 
 
 Retribution, day of, will succeed the day of grace, 527, '• 
 
 Revelatiou, consolatory sentence from, in tlie Burial service, 
 its propriety, 431, «. ancient use of it, ibid, to be consi- 
 dered in a twofold respect, ibid. 
 
 Reward of the righteous and the wicked, an argument for faith 
 and patience, 49G, n. 
 
 Rich men, warning to them, how they use their plenty, 1 8(J, x. 
 
 Rich, as well as the poor, called on to worship God, 480, p. 
 
 Richard, Bishop, account of him, slv. 
 
 Ridley, Bishop, his character, vi. 
 
 Right and wrong, necessary ilistinction between them, 583, h. 
 
 Right hand, the advocate's station with respect to his client, 
 653, p. wliy the man is placed there at the solemnization 
 of matrimony, 398,/. 
 
 Right hands, why joined in marriage, 404, d. 
 
 Righteous, contrasted with the ungodly, 450, e. future sepa- 
 ration between them, 450, f. how to be preserved from 
 despondency. 454,/. their resolution to wait for the com- 
 ing of their Lord, 492. o. contrasted with their oppressors, 
 493, i. and of their afflictions, 493, k. taken in charge by 
 God's providence, 493, 1. their redemption from affliction 
 why insisted on, 493, 494, n. why their small possessions 
 better than tlie riches of the wicked, 498, y. when said to 
 have dominion over tlieir enemies, 516, z. their gi-atitude 
 and fehcity, 528, e. promises to tliem, how to be under- 
 stood, 579, e. the destruction of sinners to be beheld by 
 them in safety, 580,/. just judgments predicted on their 
 slanderers and persecutors, G51, e. 
 
 Righteousness, enemies of, described, 480, p. evangelical, ne- 
 cessity of it, 457, d. oppression of, a frequent cause of 
 offence, 4(iO, g. how intended to improve us, ibid, wliy the 
 object of God's love, 4G2, e. its supjiort and happiness, ibid. 
 the way of Clu-ist and of Christians, 5G9, h. kingdom of, 
 its establishment must be waited for with patience, 582, a. 
 a great crime in the eyes of the wicked, 583, i. 
 
 Righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, how to be ex- 
 ceeded, 194, n. 
 
 Ring, an ancient sign of friendship and confidence, 401, /. 
 reasons of its being used in matrimony, ibid, and of the 
 particular directions concerning it, ibid, a perpetual moni- 
 tor, ibid, why to be laid on tlie book, 401, «<. imjirovement 
 in our prayer relating to it upon the old offices, 403, c. 
 
 Rites, must vary in different climates and ages, 777. c. such 
 variety allowed to tlie Jews, ibid, and still more to Chris- 
 tians, ibid. 
 
 Rochet, an episcopal habit, ancient use of it, 712, d. 
 
 Rock, in tlie wilderness, s|iiritual appHcation of it, CIS, CI 4, h. 
 
 Rod of the ungodly, wliy suffered to fall, but not rest, on 
 the rigliteous, ()38, k. 
 
 Rogation days, origin of them, 1C9, 170, .1'. tlicTliurch's in- 
 tention in appointing tliem, ibid. 
 
 Roman emjiire, manner m which added [to the churcli of 
 Christ, 540, y. 
 
 Royal authority, good effects of its estabUshment, 552, u. 
 
 Rubrick. not to be set aside by private practice or custom, 
 345, 34c, 0. jicculiar footing on which it stands, G99, c. 
 obligation of tlic clergy to observe it, 70I, e. proviso to 
 which subject, ibiil. why tlie clergy jilcdged to take it (or 
 tlicir rule of ministration, 791, x. preference given to it by 
 the Church over the (Canons, ibid. 
 
 Rubrii'ks, what, and why so called, xxviii. a. manner in which 
 distinguished in diU'crcnt editions of the Common Prayer 
 Hook, ibid, no authority to alter them, where plain and 
 express, xxx. q. observations on them when defective or 
 doubtful, xxxiii. a. 
 
 S. 
 
 Saiiaoth, original and moaning of the word, 22, 23, x. 
 ISabbath-day, i'salni for, what intended to forctel, 580, k. the 
 
 celebration of God's jiraises a iluty on it, 580, I. 
 Sabkllians, their heresy condemned in the Atlmnasian 
 
 Creed, 53, ». support part of the scrijitural doctrine of the 
 
 'I'rinity, 5t;, y. 
 S.icranii-nt, incaning of the word, 377. "'• more confined use 
 
 of it, ibid, dsplanation of its two jiarla, 377, ", 0. 
 
 Sacraments, necessity of them not superseded by the most 
 liberal effusions of the Holy Sjiirit, 177, *• what meant by 
 their being rightly and duly administered, 300, -. how it 
 apjiears that there are two, 37G, k. their sufficiency, 37G, /. 
 distinguished from other ceremonies, as being ordained by 
 Christ, 377, p. remarks on them as means of grace, ibid. 
 and as pledges to assure us thereof, 378, r. for what pur- 
 pose ordained, 783, c. their number, 783, d. dispute con- 
 cerning theii' number, 784, e. when declared by the Ro- 
 manists to be seven, ibid, how to be used, 784, h. when 
 beneficial, 785. i. not vitiated by tlie faults of ministers, 
 785, in. See Bajitism, Communion, &c. 
 
 Sacraments, seven, of the papists, improperly |so called, 37C, /. 
 examination of them, 3/0, 377, I- 
 
 Sacrifice, why the death of Christ so called, 381,/. 
 
 Sacrifice of ourselves, oft'ered to God, agreeable to St. Paul's 
 advice, 319, d. a great part of the Communion office, ibid. 
 seasonableness of it, ibid, how distinguished from sacrifices 
 under the law, 320,/. purport of the declaration concern- 
 ing it, ibid. 
 
 Sacrifice of praise, the Communion anciently so called, 319, e. 
 fitness of the term, 320, e. scriptural foundation of it, 
 ibid. 
 
 Sacrifices, what sort of, required xmder the Gospel, 453, e. 
 
 Sacrifices, Levitical, tlieu- insufficiency to take away sin, 520, o. 
 
 Sacrifices of righteousness, when offered, 520, p. 
 
 Sacrifices, of the Law and of the Gospel, distance between 
 them, 543, z. 
 
 Saints, what meant by the word, 31, }. explanation of the 
 article. Communion of Saints, ibid, practical uses of the 
 doctrine, ibid. 
 
 Saints, only the principal of the New Testament commemo- 
 rated by our Church, 94, z. uses to be made of their faults 
 recorded in Scripture, 234, k. their integrity of use to us in 
 temptation, 275, /. their deUverauces an encouragement to 
 us, ibid, their suffering and rewards an incitement to our 
 zeal and pei'severance, ibid, their felicity described, 455, r. 
 
 Saints, invocation of, its origin, 782, *. no foundation for it 
 in Scripture, ibid. 
 
 Saints of God, honour conferred on them, CCO, CCl, 0. when 
 to be completed, ibid. 
 
 Saints' days, why generally calculated for the day of their 
 death, 253, i. 
 
 Salmon, hUl of, the church wherein compared to it, 538, h. 
 
 Salutation, Christian form of, 410, m. 
 
 Salutation, propriety and antiquity of those used after the 
 Creed, 33, s. 
 
 Salvation, to be had fi-om God alone, 453, z. from sin and 
 death, intended by the deliverance of Israel, 4G5, c. the 
 common, all should jiray for it, 483, q. cometli of God only, 
 5((0,a'. by the Gospel, means and method of, exactly de- 
 scribed, 5(j8. b. character of it, 5G9, d. why God promiseth 
 before He givctli it, G23, (j. desire of God's true servants for 
 it, G2G, »«. though delayed, certain, G30, t. why nigh to the 
 faithful and tar from the ungodly, G33, q. things necessary 
 to it, to be prescribed by God only, 75G, (/. 
 
 Salvation, difference between being saved by the law anil in 
 the law, 775, t. 
 
 Salvation, state of, what meant by it, 370, 0. how we may 
 confitiue in it, ibid, why we are said to he called to it 
 through Jesus Christ, 370, p. 
 
 " Sanctify the Lord God in their hearts," why men may bo 
 said to do so, 1!(2, i. 
 
 Sanctify, what meant by God " sanctifying correction," 411, «. 
 
 " Sanctuary," meaning of the term, 475, b. blessed effects of 
 going into it, 549. y- glory of it, 585, z. an image of Christ's 
 spiritual kingdom, ibid. 
 
 Sanderson, Up., probably the author of the Preface to the 
 Common Prayer liook, xxvii. u. a prayer in the Liturgy 
 generally ascribed to him, 74, m. and the general thanks- 
 giving, 75, o. 
 
 "Saved," meaning of the word in an evangelical sense, 51, 
 52. (I. those who wish to be saved must pursue it on tho 
 terms of the (iospcl, ibid. 
 
 Saviour, Almighty, the need we have of one, .529, n. 
 
 Savov conference, account of, ix. commission under which 
 it was held, xix. /. ineffectual attemjit of the Presbyterian 
 divines at it, 10, tj. 
 
 Schism, nature and sinfulness of it, 213, z.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 863 
 
 Schisraatickg and rebels, warninK to them, 001, k. 
 
 Sriiool authors, who meant by the term, and why, 7'»8, s. 
 
 Hcribea and Pljarisees, their crafty conduct towards our Lord, 
 Mi, r. 
 
 Scriptures, how read in the Roman service, xxL\. e, wliy bc- 
 Hcved to be written by inspired men, 77^, {/• 
 
 Scriptures, parts of, why not read in tlie Cliurch, 20, 21, i. 
 remarks on the order of reading them, ibid, liow to be ren- 
 dered profitable, ibid, the reading of them a proper jiart of 
 divine worship, ibid, practice of the Jews in that particular, 
 ibid, and of the primitive Christians, ibid, oftlie church of 
 Rome, ibid, and of our Church, ibid, reading them, jtrin- 
 eipal jiart of divine service with tlie Jews, CUH, r. and with 
 the primitive Christians, ibid, usage restored by the Re- 
 formers, ibid. 
 
 Scriptures, what parts most useful to be studied, 84, c. how 
 they serve for our instruction, 87, '■ bow we may judge of 
 our improvement by them, 87, 88, _;'. delight of studying 
 them, 450, d. good effect of it, 450, e. bapinncss of being 
 instructed by them, 583, e. reUef to be sought from them 
 under affliction, ()21, m. duty of meditating on them con- 
 tinually, (i28, y. advantages of domg so, C28, z. when our 
 relish for them will be the gi'eatest, C28, a. in what respects 
 wonderful, 03 1 , a. what they shew us, 031 , 4. consequence 
 of studying them now, 032, k. 
 
 Scriptures, canonical, whence they have their name, 087, <!■ 
 question concerning them necessary to be put for deacon's 
 orders, ibid, what necessary to answer the question, ibid. 
 duty of studying them belonging to the clergy, 701, e. 
 
 Scriptures, all necessary truths contained in them, 098, a. 
 constant opinion of the Church on that head, ibid, singular 
 mark of respect paid to them in Christian councils, ibid. 
 difference between the Churches of Rome and England 
 concerning them as a complete rule of faith and practice, 
 755, s. their sufficiency for salvation proved by Scrijiture, 
 755, t. and by reason, ibid, how esteemed by the ancient 
 fathers, ibid. 
 
 Scriptures, ancient practice of explaining portions of, revived 
 by our Reformers, 294, k. utility of it, ibid. 
 
 Scriptm-es, in what sense they attribute members to God, 
 751, d. why they do not much insist upon proving God's 
 being and attributes, 752, d. 
 
 Sea, Christ's stilling the tempest in the sea, an emblem of 
 God's dealings with his servants, 113, h. and an intimation 
 of their duty, ibid. 
 
 Sea, Forms of Prayer at, when added to the Liturgy, 002, a. 
 design of them, ibid, officers at, publick worship to be 
 performed in their ships, xx. m. 
 
 Second Service, Communion service when fitly so called, 
 278, 0. 
 
 " Secret of the Lord," what meant by it, 483, n. 
 
 Sectaries, modern, description of their teachers, 073, e. 
 
 " Seek the Lord," happiness of those who do so, 493, g. 
 
 Self-examination, a duty which few practise as they ought, 
 475, n. 
 
 Self-indulgence, its tendency to harden the heart, 408, c. 
 
 Self-murder, a guard against temptation to the crime of, 
 490, d. 
 
 Self-murderers, why not allowed Christian burial, 423, n. how 
 treated by the Jews and Romans, ibid, remarkable account 
 of some Milesian virgins, ibid. Christian regulations on the 
 subject, ibid, who to be so considered, 424, x. not neces- 
 sarily out of their senses, ibid, best rule for judging of their 
 madness, ibid. 
 
 " Sellest thy people for nought," meaning of the phi-ase, 
 508,/. 
 
 Semi-Christians, reflection on them, 113, h. 
 
 Semi-Pelagians, denying God's preventing grace, 703, z. 
 
 Sennacherib, hymn of thanksgiving on the desti'uction of 
 liis army, 552, b. miraculous destruction of his army, 
 particularly pointed at, 553, /. effect of it, 553, g. 
 
 Sentences before Morning Prayer, why used, 1, a. various 
 dispositions to which they are applicable, ibid, wisdom and 
 prudence of the Church in selecting them, ibid, connected 
 view of the import of them, 2, a. use of them before the 
 service begins, ibid, when inh-oduced into the Common 
 Prayer Book, ibid, bow to be read and heard, 2,f. 
 
 Sentences, in the Communion service, purport of them, 
 290, p. distinction of them into two sorts, ibid. ,- 290, q. 
 
 whether any to be read, when there is no collection of 
 
 alms, ibid. 
 Sentences, after the Absolution in the Communion service, 
 
 why chosen by the Churcli, 310, q. deliberation with which 
 
 they should be read, 310, )•. application of them to the 
 
 previous Absolution, 310, s. 
 Sentences, in the Burial office, subject and intent of them, 
 
 420, c. ancient use and propriety of them, 42(i, 427, ''•/, g- 
 Septuagosima, and two fidlowing Sundays, reason for their 
 
 names, 1 IC, r. antiquity of observing them, ibid, design 
 of them, ibid. 
 
 Sermon, form of prayer before, why )iarticularly needful 
 formerly, 295, m. different manners of using it, ibid, fre- 
 quently shortened into a collect, ibid. 
 
 Sermon in the Ordination service, why fixed after Morning 
 Prayer, 077, p- fitness of the subject prescribed for it, 
 ibid. 
 
 Sermons, fitness of the place in the service appointed for 
 them, 293, k. antiquity of the custom, ibid, by whom 
 preached, ibid, of what sort in early times, ibid, how regu- 
 lated by Queen Ehzabeth, ibid, excellency of the Church 
 of England in this respect, 294, k. sufficiency of her pro- 
 vision, ibid. 
 
 Serpents, allusion to them, 400, m. malice of tormentors 
 compared to them, 508, h. wicked men why compared to 
 them, 520, /. different kinds of, alluded to, ibid. 
 
 Servants of God, not to be induced to disbelieve or disobey, 
 024, /;. their dejiendence for redress upon their Master, 
 037, a. their comfort under the reproaches of the ungodly, 
 037, b. wliy shewn by the Scriptures in different condi- 
 tions, 040, d. 
 
 Service of God, our greatest duty, 374, e. how to be per- 
 formed, ibid, to be performed with joy, 588, d. character 
 of it, ibid, motives to it, 589, e. 
 
 Service of the Church, preface concerning it, when comjiosed, 
 xxLx. c. no alteration to be made in it, unless expressly 
 provided for, xxiv. /. 
 
 Service, external, insufficient without internal, 518, q. what 
 sort of requii'cd by the Gospel, 5 1 8, »•. 
 
 Seven, how used in Scripture, 391, I. 
 
 Seventh day, origin and design of sanctifying it, xxxiii. b. wliy 
 Saturday appointed for the Jews, ibid, not the same day 
 for Christians, ibid. 
 
 Sexes, different, distinct places formerly allotted to them in 
 the church, 304, t. 
 
 Sheep, God's servants so called in Scripture, 7, *■ projiriety 
 and fitness of the phrase, ibid, in what sense we may be 
 compared to one, 034, d. 
 
 Shepherd, qualifications and duties of a good one, 179, n. 
 corresponding conduct required in the sheep, ibid, proper 
 to be considered both by priest and people, ibid. 
 
 Sbejiherd, God described under the image of one, 480, /. 
 
 Shepherds, God's condescension in manifesting his Son to 
 them, 103, q. instruction to be derived from it, ibid, their 
 conduct a pattern of duty to us, ibid, the birth of Clirist 
 announced to them as representing the Jews, 105, t. 
 
 Shrove-Tuesday, why so called, 122, b. abuses that prevail 
 on it, ibid. 
 
 Sick, may be prayed for, if they desire it, 74, m. their duty 
 thereupon, 75, "'• duty of visiting them, 409, 1. time of 
 performing it, ibid, and the manner, ibid, should be exhorted 
 to communicate, 420, q- why to receive last, 421, r. means 
 of comforting them, ibid, prevented from communicating, 
 
 421, s. thevc A\xty, ibid. See Visitation. 
 
 Sick, why anointed with oil in the primitive times, 409, /. 
 
 Sickness, spiritual, we are hardly affected by it, 222, n. 
 
 Sickness recovery from, an image of spiritual benefits, 004, c. 
 
 Sighed, why our Saviour sighed when he healed the deaf and 
 dumb man, 204, i. 
 
 SiLVKSTER, Bp., account of him, Ixi. 
 
 Simeon, author of the " Nunc dimittis," who supposed to be, 
 40, g. instruction derived from him, 240, q. 
 
 Simon, St., why called Zelotes, 272, f- account of him, ibid. 
 
 Sin, deliverance from the power of it, how far to be expected, 
 8, 9, b. state of, compared by St. Paul with one of holi- 
 ness, 195, p. in the present effect of it, ibid, and in its 
 end, ibid, effectual guard against it, 401, p. destruction of 
 all its fruits certain, 477, "• the wound of the soul, what 
 necessary for its cm-e, 500, o. effects of it, 500, p. its con-
 
 864 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 sequence torment, 51G, e. true nature of it how to be dis- 
 cerned, G'28, b. 
 
 Sin, remission of, the greatest of God's mercies, 592, d. 
 
 Sin, confession of, a sure way to favour, 592, y. 
 
 Sin, forgiveness of, its proper effect, (J15, s. 
 
 Sin, entire freedom from, doctrine contrary to Scripture, 770, 
 c. caution with respect to it, ibid. 
 
 Sin, against the Holy Ghost, what emphatically styled so, 
 770, e. 
 
 Sin, deadly, in what sense to be understood, 770, c. 
 
 Sins of omission and of commission, distinguished, 8, x. 
 
 Sins of omission, great danger of them, 218, /^ 
 
 Sins, negligences, and ignorances, how distinguished from 
 each other, CG, y. 
 
 Sins, wilful, example of the great danger of them, 135, a. 
 
 Sins, ancient division of them, adopted by our Church, 308, k. 
 founded in Scripture, ibid, in what sense the bui'den of 
 them may be said to be intolerable, 308, /. 
 
 Sins, freedom from future to be prayed for, as well as forgive- 
 ness for past, 308, m. 
 
 Sins, remission of, two different senses of the words, 338, q. 
 
 Sins of presumption, what they are, 475, x. danger of them, 
 ibid. 
 
 Sins against men, why sins against God, 519, h. 
 
 Sins, the forgi\nng and retaining them, in what sense conferred 
 on the priesthood, 700, o. 
 
 Sinai, Mount, majesty of God's appearance there, 538, /. its 
 tremor a specimen of the power which overthrew idolatry, 
 613,/. 
 
 Singing an early practice in the Church, 38, n. proper place 
 for it, ibid, reasons against choosing another place, 
 ibid, a common branch of publick worship, 78- how 
 j^ractised by the first Cliristians, and at the Reformation, 
 ibid, reasons and directions for joining in it, ibid, impro- 
 priety of interrupting others, "J^. proper posture in sing- 
 ing, ibid, a becoming way of expressing spiritual joy, 
 219, i. 
 
 Sinner, his state contrasted with the state of a Christian, 
 128, 0. our duty consequent thereon, ibid, repentant, how 
 it is to be understood that there is joy in heaven over him, 
 189, d. awakened, exhortation to him to call upon the 
 Lord, CI5, r. 
 
 Sinners, impenitent, certain marks of God's vengeance, 457, 
 f. connexion between their heart and their mouth, 460, m. 
 their artifices and atrocities, 461, n. caution not to be 
 allured by them, 401, o. exhortation to them to repent in 
 time, 4!)0, j. tlieir future confusion and desolation, 504, u. 
 shall experience the power of God, 596, i. 
 
 SiON, why God said to dwell there, 459, x. as the place 
 whence the Gospel issued, contrasted with Sinai, 5I7» i' the 
 Christian church become so, 533, t. hill of, its superiority 
 to other hills, 538, k. 
 
 SiRiox, its situation, 480, u. 
 
 Sitting, when allowed during divine scr\'ice, 20, g. during 
 prayer, iniproitriety of it, 33, /. at the Conmiunion, why 
 practised by tlie i)opc, 317. w* aud by the ^Vrians, ibid. 
 why not so fit as kneeling, ibid. 
 
 Slander, the best answer to it, 625, a. 
 
 Slanderers, a generation of vijicrs, 651, z. 
 
 Sleep, how to do so without fear, 453, x. 
 
 Snail, transient nature of worldly greatness compared to one, 
 526, 0. 
 
 Sobrieti,', scriptural meaning of the word, 172, c, 
 
 Socinians, their opinions concerning Christ, 769, z. 
 
 Sodom and Gumoruaii, their judgment an image of the last 
 day, 4G2, c. 
 
 Solitude, naturally a refuge for the sorrowfid, 590, q, 
 
 Solomon, his reign a figure of Christ's kingdom, 545, r. 
 David's request for him, 546, s. his prayer at the dedica- 
 tion of the temple, whence in part derived, 643, ij. purport 
 of it, ibid. 
 
 Son of God, a person distinct from the Father, 53, .v. why 
 his sevend names repeated by tlio Churrh in j;l'»'''f.vhig 
 Him, 321, /. why said to be (Uily holy, 322, w. why to be 
 only the Lord, 322, n. how descril)ed in Scripture, 7 '»2, /. 
 union of the two natures in Ilim, ibid, his unity of essence 
 with the Father, 7^2, y. his assumption of the human 
 nature, 7*''2, h. why stated to be one person, 7^2, k. See 
 
 CllllIST. 
 
 Son of man, phrase for the Messiah, 563, p. 
 
 Sons of God, practical uses of the doctrine that we arc such, 
 115, p. how we should behave as such, 197, s. great 
 honour and dignity of being so, ibid. 
 
 Song, why we are called to sing a new song, 585, x. new 
 song by what demanded, 587, o- 
 
 Songs and dances, usual to meet kings and conquerors with 
 them, 513, tt. 
 
 Sorrow, immoderate, prohibited by Christianity, 433, r. in 
 moderation, allowed, ibid, mitigation of, when and where 
 to be sought, 502, h. 
 
 Soul to have it in one's hand, what it implies, 629, k. 
 
 Souls of men, provision made for them described under a 
 very lively image, 480, 481, n. of the dead, why said that 
 God takes them to Himself, 431, p. caution against mis- 
 understanding the phrase, ibid. 
 
 Speaking with otlier tongues, a most evident proof of God's 
 interposition, 174, g. 
 
 Spirit, different significations of the word, 207, 208, o. op- 
 posed to the flesh and the law, ibid, what meant by walk- 
 ing in the Spirit, ibid, encouragement to do so, ibid. 
 
 Spu-it, Holy, beautiful image under wliich his visitation of the 
 church is represented, 533, a. See Holy Ghost. 
 
 Spirit of God's grace, meaning of the phrase, 40, u. why 
 called healtliful, ibid, necessary for all Christians, ibid. 
 with what view to be asked, 41, x. 
 
 Spirit of God, why called liis " free Spirit," 519, /. 
 
 Spirit of a man, how used in Scripture and in the Liturgy, 
 33, s. how and when renovated, 519, i. 
 
 Standing, why practised when the Sentences are reading, 2, a. 
 at the end. why prescribed to the priest during the Abso- 
 lution, 10, y. when used in the ancient church, 17, z. why 
 a proper posture for tlie Psalms, ibid. 19, y. why pre- 
 scribed to the minister during the Lessons, 21, n. why 
 directed during the Hymns, 22, q. why proper in repeating 
 the Creed, 29, i. the proper posture for singing psalms, 70. 
 why prescribed during the reading of the Gospel, 83, c. 
 why the posture of the priest at the Communion service, 
 280, X. why prescribed to the minister at the Communion 
 service, 287, P- during the reading of the Gospel, why pre- 
 scribed by the Church, 288, r. antiquity and universality 
 of the custom, ibid, profitableness of such customs, ibid. 
 the general attitude of the minister dm-ing the Commu- 
 nion service, 308, h. reason of it, ibid, why prescril)ed to 
 the priest wlien he pronounces the Al)solution at the Com- 
 munion service, 3110, p. why prescribed to the priest at the 
 consecration of the elements, 314, d. 
 
 States of hfe, virtues suitable io different ones, 708, m. 
 
 Statutes of God, dehght of meditating on them, 620, d. grief 
 of the righteous at seeing them broken, 631, d. 
 
 Stephen, St., the only martyr commemorated solely as such 
 by the Church, 94, z. account of him, ibid.; antiquity of 
 his festival, ibid, uses to be made of the narrative of his 
 martyrdom, 95, a. his virtues rather than his vision, to bo 
 our pattern, ibid, why especially mentioned in the Order- 
 ing of Deacons, 683,/. liis example recommended to them, 
 ibid. 
 
 Storms and tempests, why selected as figures of the divine 
 displea^sure, 470, q. 
 
 Strange children, who meant by them, 654, d. 
 
 Stranger xipon earth, consequence of regarding ourselves as 
 such, 621, h. 
 
 Strangers, propriety of regarding ourselves as such, 502, k. 
 
 Strangers, wliat persons so described, 521, z. 
 
 Study, what kiml of, necessary for the clergy, 701, c. and what 
 to be omitted, 701,./". 
 
 Sublapsarians, their doctrine, 772, i. 
 
 Submission to temporal jurisdiction, a Christian duty, 112, ^. 
 
 Sudden death, prayer against it justified, (»3, q. 
 
 SuHering with Christ, reasonableness of being contented with 
 it, 190,/. 
 
 Sufferings, how to be regarded and undergone, 163, /. ac- 
 knowledged to be the just itunislmient of our sins. G8, d. 
 
 Sufficiency, lessons derived from the doctrine that our sutli- 
 ciency is of God, 203 //. 
 
 Sun, representative of the Sun of Uightcousncss, 474, p. com- 
 parison between them, 474, y, r. 
 
 Sunday, why observed by Christians for pubhuk worship, 
 xxxiii. b.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 865 
 
 Sundays, " vacant," what Sundays formerly so called, 215, }. 
 
 Sundays after Trinity, if more or fewer tiian twenty-five, 
 provision of the rubrick explained, 230, c. preferable prac- 
 tice when more, ibid. 
 
 Sundays and holydays, observations on the service when they 
 coincide, xxxiii. a . xxxv. b. 
 
 *' Bung, or Said," signification of the phrase, 17, a. 
 
 Supererogation, works of, how otherwise called and defined by 
 the Romanists, 7f^t{, w. not agreeable to the Gospel, ibid. 
 inconsistent both with the general and particular precepts 
 of the Gospel, 700, v. manifest absurtlity of the doctrine, ibid. 
 
 Supralapsarians, tlieir doctrine, 77'-, i- 
 
 Sureties, Godfathers and Godmothers why so called, ."iSS, t. 
 
 Susannah, history of, an instance of the good effect of trust 
 in God, 4a7, r. 
 
 Swearing, what sort of, forbidden by the Gospel, 7!18, q : 
 71>!», r. 
 
 SwiTHUN, Bishop, account of him, li. 
 
 " Sword of God," wicked men why so called, 4G9, g. a similar 
 phrase, ibid. 
 
 Swords, malicious language compared to them, 527, y- 
 
 Symbolum, Creed why so called, 'JCiO, h. 
 
 Synodals, what meant by them, xxix. k. 
 
 Table, Communion, when so called, 270, s. how the term is 
 distinguished from altar, 2ii0, s. remarks on the covering 
 provided for it, 280, t. and on its situation, 280, n. at 
 what time the bread and wine should be placed on it, 2U8, s. 
 ancient practice in tliis respect, ibid, why the priest stands 
 at the north side of it, 280, y. 
 
 Tares of the field, parable of, lesson to be drawn from it, 
 115, I. 
 
 Taylor, Bp. Jeremy, his character of the Liturgy, x. ad- 
 mitted very early into orders, 674, i. 
 
 Te Deum, by whom composed, 22, .«. its contents, 23, s. its 
 excellence, ibid, why so called, ibid, remarks on several 
 particulars in it, ibid.; 23, 24, t — :. why the doxologynot 
 added to it, 23, s. Amen not to be said after it, ibid, ad- 
 monition about the manner of saying it, ibid, propriety of 
 its place in the service, 24, z, 
 
 " Teeth, breaking the," what it signifies, 453, y. 
 
 Temple at Jerusalem, its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, 
 550, y, g. afflicting circumstances of its desolation, 550, e. 
 contrasted with the skill used in building it, 550, y. 
 
 Temple of God, happiness of frequenting it described under 
 an atl'ecting image, 566, 567, !?, ^- Jewish practice of 
 annually visiting it, 567, y. 
 
 Temptation, general sense of the word, 241), d. restricted sense 
 of it, ibid, when said to come from God, ibid, when from 
 the devil, and our own corrupt incbnations, ibid, end which 
 our enemy intends by them, 530, c. 
 
 Testament, service of God under the New, described in Scrip- 
 ture by terms belonging to the Old, 320, e. 
 
 Testaments, New and Old, cause of the manner in which they 
 are read, 26, d. connexion and dependence between them, 
 758, d. 
 
 Testimonials before orders, practice of the ancient church and 
 of the Church of England concerning them, 674, k. duty 
 of those who sign them, 675, k. mischief and scandal of 
 giving sham ones, ibid. 
 
 Testimonies, law of God, why so called, 619, t. God to be 
 sought in and by them, ibid. 
 
 Testimonies of God, what they are, 582, a\ necessity of ad- 
 hering to them, 622, p. the bonds of our inheritance, 
 629, i. unalterable and everlasting, 633, n. 
 
 " Thanks be to God for this Gospel," anciently said after the 
 Gospel, 288, r. 
 
 Thanksgiving, instructions in the duty of it, 219, i. for de- 
 liverance, example of, 507, y. to God, form of words used 
 by the Israelites for the purpose, 539, s. duty of, after de- 
 liverance, 561, c. why the duty and delight of a Christian, 
 580, /. temporal losses no reason for withholding it, 624, r. 
 Thanksgiving, general, when inserted and why, 75, Jw, o. 
 propriety of it, 75, p. its distinct arrangement, ibid, ad- 
 vantages of it, ibid, its transition from thanks to petitions. 
 
 Thanksgiving, a part of the Communion service, 310, t. fit 
 
 place of its introduction, ibid, antiquity of it, ibid, and 
 excellence, 310, t. 
 
 Thanksgiving, its propriety after communicating, 319, b. why 
 otfered through Jesus Christ, 320, g. 
 
 Thanksgiving, second form after communicating, 320, h. of 
 what it consists, ibid. 
 
 Thanksgiving, form of, in the Communion service, explained, 
 321, k. 
 
 Thanksgiving, after the Gospel in the baptismal office, fitness 
 of it, 339, u. 
 
 Thanksgiving, after baptism, its jiropriety, 350, x. an imita- 
 tion of the Jews, ibid, practice of the ancient church, ibid. 
 more spiritual than the Jewish prayer, 350, y. 
 
 Thanksgivings, particular, occasion of their being added to 
 the Liturgy, 75, 0. when to bo used, 70, <!• observations 
 on them, ibid. 
 
 Thief, imjienitent, probable emblem of those who delay re- 
 pentance, 148, )«. penitent, reflections on his case, ibid, 
 not an example to late penitents, ibid. 
 
 Thomas, St., why called by another name, 233, g. meaning 
 of them both, iiirf. accountof him, iiirf. why his day comes 
 next to St. Andrew's, ibid, how his doubting conduced to 
 the more confirmation of the faith, 233, fi. occasion of his 
 falling into unbelief, 234, k. use of his unbelief being re- 
 corded, ibid, nobleness of liis subsequent confession, ibid. 
 
 Three Children, Song of, why so called, 25, b. See Bene- 
 dicite. 
 
 Thunder and Ughtning, their effects, 486, 487, « — y- 
 
 Time, how it may be redeemed, 219, i. short when compared 
 with the duration of the Eternal, 578, t. 
 
 Title for orders, required by the ancient church, 688, s. 
 
 Titos, the Roman Emperor, his confession respecting the 
 conquest of Jerusalem, 532, q. 
 
 Tokens of divine favour, all centred in one, 571, s. 
 
 Toleration, Act of, what sort of Uberty it affords to dis- 
 senters, X. 
 
 Tongue, when the " glory " of man, 488, k, difficulty and use 
 of restraining it under provocation, 501, z. 
 
 Torrents, destruction of the wicked compared to them, 526, w. 
 
 Traditions, two significations of the word, 792, q. 
 
 Traitors, their punishment, 489, x. examples of their disap- 
 pointment, 522, g. ingredients in their composition, 523, i. 
 their tragical fate, 523, k. their perfidy, 523, n. 
 
 Transfigm-ation of our Lord, account of the day, liii. 
 
 Transubstantiation, doctrine of, disclaimed by our Church, 
 328, n. contradicted by our senses, 78B, u. cannot be 
 proved by holy writ, ibid, but is repugnant to it, 788, x. 
 destroys the nature of a sacrament, ibid, gives occasion to 
 superstitions, ibid, unscriptural and superstitious practices 
 that have arisen from it, 788, a. its origin, 787, t- and 
 progress, ibid, when established in the church of Rome, 
 ibid, when brought into England, ibid, why a favourite 
 doctrine with the Romanists, ibid, opposed at its intro- 
 duction, ibid, how treated by the Reforjners, 788, t. 
 
 Travell, Mr., Ids Paraphrase on the Psalms recommended, 
 447. 
 
 Traveller, Eastern, comparison to one, 631, c. 
 
 Travellers, in a desert, an emblem of Christians in tlie world, 
 603, :. acknowledgments due from them, 603, a. 
 
 Treason, its sin and evil effects, 523, i. 
 
 Tribes of Israel, how designated by David, 529, /. corre- 
 spondence of the spiritual Israel, ibid, why four only are 
 mentioned in the commemoration of the removal of the 
 ark, 539, t. for what each of the four was distinguished, 
 ibid, their periodical journeys to Jerusalem, 636, s. 
 
 Tribulation, should not prevent religious joy, 587, '«• 
 
 Triiuty, acknowledged throughout God's holy church, 23, x. 
 denial of either of the three Persons, an opposition to 
 Christ, 24, x. each Person the object of divine worship, 
 36, e. the three Persons the joint object of faith and wor- 
 ship, 41, :. the blessed spirits our pattern for ack«ow- 
 ledging and worshipping it, 181, r, and for the manner 
 of contemplating it, ibid, intimations of the doctrine from 
 the Old Testament, 182, r. more manifest assertions of it 
 in the New, ibid. 
 
 Trinity, absurdity of objecting to the word, 53, r. 
 
 Trinity, doctrine of, doctrine of the Gospel, and of the uni- 
 versal church, 51, n. not a speculative, but a practical doc- 
 trine, ibid, the first and fundamental article of the Christian 
 
 3 K
 
 866 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS 
 
 faith, 53, r. importance and necessity of it, 55, 50, y. 
 proofs of it plain, short, and easy, ibid, consistent with 
 that of the Unity, 182, r. point why necessary to be 
 guarded, ibid, no need of avoiding the plain construction 
 of the texts alleged in defence of it, ibid, no affront to oxu* 
 reason, 183, r. motives to the humble and reverential 
 acknowledgment of it, ibid. 
 
 Trinity, faith in, professed at baptism, 3-16, p. 
 
 Trinity, Persons of, ]»hrase best sets forth the sense of Scrip- 
 ture, 53, s. has scriptural authority, ibid, not to be con- 
 founded, why noticed in the Athanasian Creed, ibid. 
 
 Trinity, substance of, not to be divided, why noticed in the 
 Athanasian Creed, 53, s. 
 
 Trinity, worship of, injoined and instanced in baptism, 53, r. 
 appropriated to Cliristians, ibid, authorized by Scrijiture, 
 55, X. the object of worship in the short Litany, 33, v. 
 and in the Lord's Prayer, 34, v. why each Person severally 
 invoked in the Litany, Gl, 62, k — in. why invoked jointly, 
 02, n. conformable to the ancient practice of the church, 
 ibid. 
 
 Trinity, works of, for the benefit of man, an inexhaustible 
 but neglected subject of praise, 503, q. 
 
 Trinity of Persons, the principle on which the Apostles' Creed 
 proceeds, 31, o. 
 
 Trinity, tlie mystery of, a fit subject for a special festival, 
 180, 0. obscurely made known to the Jews, ibid, more 
 plainly manifested by the Gospel, ibid. 
 
 Trinity Sunday, a proper close to the series of festivals in the 
 Church, 180, o. suitableness of the service to the day, 
 ibid. 
 
 Trinity Sunday, collect for, an obscurity in the language of it 
 explained, 180, p. 
 
 Trisagium, hymn in the Communion sernce, why so called, 
 311, z. its scriptural foundation, ibid, and antiquity, ibid. 
 peculiarly proper for the Communion, 311, z; 313, b. an 
 adoration of the holy Trinity, 311, z. 
 
 Troth, the giving of, what it means, 400, n .- 401, s. 
 
 Trouble, motives to compose our minds mider, 166,/;. com- 
 fortable reflection under it, 648, I. 
 
 Troubles, compared to the deluge of a storm, 500, r. 
 
 " Truly and inditferently," what meant by so ministering 
 justice, 291), x. 
 
 Trust, distinguished from feeling, 685, 0. 
 
 Trust in God, reward of it, 492, 493, d./. beautiful exhorta- 
 tion to it, 506, /. those who do so contrasted witli the 
 wicked, 521, w. encouragement to it, 623, o. the comforts 
 of it but seldom sought, 531, d. promises made to those 
 who do so, 544, y. comfortable state of a mind that does 
 so, 549, X. the only one which can never be disajipointed, 
 617. ^' those who do so have cause to praise Him con- 
 tinually, 633, x. character and security of it, 637, 638, /. 
 
 Truth, inward, tlie necessity of it, 519, e. 
 
 Turtle dove, the church represented under the appellation of, 
 551, p. r. 
 
 Tyrk, Gentiles why prophesied of under that name, 511, b. 
 
 U. 
 
 Unbaptized persons, why not admitted to Christian burial, 
 424, V. 
 
 Uniiclicvcrs, works of, reason why they arc not acceptable to 
 
 fJod, 766. ff. 
 Unrharitublcness, warning against it, 187, *. 
 Uncli'anness, gins of, difficult to be enlarged on, 126, I27» / 
 
 their liatefulticss and danger, 127. f- 
 UnderstamUng, needful to tho observation of God's law, 
 
 622, H. 
 Ungodly, why said of Iiim that he borroweth and payeth not 
 
 again, 498, b. 
 Ungojly men, their characters and end foretold, 526, i. their 
 
 punishment follows from God's attributes, 650, /. their de- 
 
 Btruction set forth by strong similitudes, 526, in. how they 
 
 will be atfrcted at the sight of (lliriet in glory, 612, ii. 
 Uniformity, Art-s of, to wliat Hook of Common Prayer ajijili- 
 
 cable, xvi. a. 
 Union of the two natures in our Saviour, illustrated hy tlu* 
 
 union of our souls and bodie**, 57, a. 
 Union between Christ and Cliristians, earnestly enforced l)y 
 
 our Lord and St. Paul, 247, b. necessity of it, ibid, litur- 
 gical provisions of our Churcli relating to it, ibid. 
 Unity among Clmstians, powerful arguments for it, 213, r. of 
 the church, in what it consists, 233, i. practical inference 
 from it, ibid, among brethren, recommended and celebrated, 
 G43, e. productive both of profit and pleasure, 644,/". aptly 
 compared to ointment and dew, 544, ff. of heart and pro- 
 fession, requisite for the good of the church, 698, z. 
 Unjust men, will suffer proportionably to their deserts, 651, d. 
 Use of Salisbury, York, &.C., why mentioned, sxx. p. 
 Usher, Abp., admitted early into orders, 674, i. 
 UzziAH, appUcation of his case, 796, y. 
 
 Valentine, account of him, xli. 
 
 C. Valerius Flaccus, an anecdote of him, 340, .v. 
 
 Vaults for burying, privileges relating to them, 425, z. 
 
 Vengeance, the property not of the church but of God, 582, r. 
 
 Veni Creator Spu'itus, hymn to the Holy Ghost, by whom 
 composed, 703, /. use of it in the Church, ibid. Enghsh 
 translations of it, ibid, importance of the prayer contained 
 in it, ibid. 
 
 "Venite exultemus," the ninety-fifth Psalm, why so called, 
 19, e. 
 
 Verses in the Roman service, what they are, xsLx. //. 
 
 Versicles, portions of divine worship so called, 16, «. duty of 
 the minister and people in repeating them, ibid. 
 
 Versicles, in the Communion sen'icG, probably derived from 
 the apostles, 310, /. how called by the ancients, 311, v. 
 proof of their great antiquity, ibid* comments upon them, 
 311. u, X. 
 
 Versicles, in the Confirmation service, their antiquity and pro- 
 priety, 389, (J. authorities for the use of them, 389, 390, y. 
 their purport, ibid, and fitness to the office, ibid. 
 
 Vicar, who he is, xx, o. 
 
 Vigils, why so called, Ixiv. c. probable cause of them, ibid. 
 what now meant by the term, ibid, why some festivals have 
 vigils, and some not, ibid, why no vigil on a Sunday, ibid. 
 query concering the rubrick relating tliereto, ibid, different 
 practices observed in consequence, Ixiv. d. 
 
 Vincent, account of him, xxxix. 
 
 Vine, why a hvely emblem of the church, 562, i. an emblem 
 of a virtuous and faithful wife, 640, c. 
 
 Vineyard, Israel compared to one, 562, /. fate of the spoilers 
 of 'it, 562, 0. 
 
 Violence and strife, personified, 522, h. 
 
 Virgin Mary, her exaltation from poverty to honour, 45, p. 
 respect ])roperly due to her, ibid, profaneness and imjnety 
 of worsliipping her, ibid, holydays kept in memory of her, 
 238, n. their relation to our Saviour, ibid, account of lier, 
 243, ?/. her assumption, a legendary tale, ibid, excellent 
 graces attributed to her in tlie Gospel, 244, 245, y. her 
 purity, humility, and faith, ibid, monstrous ojjinion con- 
 cerning her at the Reformation, corrected, 7'''-» i- 
 
 Virtues, moral and social, the dispositions prescribed for at- 
 taining true blessedness, 276, m. plain and easy marks to 
 judge by, ibid, all bound upon us by the same authority, 
 ibid. 
 
 Visitation of the Sick, foundation of the office, 409, I. con- 
 tents of it, ibid, different forms of, 410, /. excellence of 
 our office, ibid, use of tho peculiar prayers annexed to it, 
 418, 4l!K ?H, 7i, 0, p. 
 
 Visitation of the blessed Virgin Mary, account of the day, li. 
 
 Vocabidary of old English words in our Common Flayer 
 Hook translation of the Psalms, 448. 
 
 Voice, louil voice, what intended by it, 2, b, 
 
 " Vulgar tongue," wliy the phrase substituted in the oftico 
 of Baptism for '* English tongue," 351, a. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wafers, improperly substifutcd for bread at the Communion, 
 316. 317, /. how usi'd hy llic Koinish church, »/;/(/. 317. r. 
 at the Comniunion, the use of them not agreeable to our 
 Saviour's institution, 327* //• ■"* novel custoni, ibid. 
 
 Wages and gift, ditferenco justly put between them by St. 
 I'uul, VM\,p.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 867 
 
 Wailing patiently for tlio Lord, the duty of Christians after 
 
 llio example of Clirist, 502, 7i. 
 Wall, out of the perpendicular, the wicked compared to one, 
 
 530, a. 
 War and tumult, prayer in the time of, exposition of it, 
 
 7-2, /. 
 Warrior, spiritual, how armed for the battle, 472, b. 
 Wars, serving in them not forbidden by Christianity, 707) ^■ 
 
 would cease if the Gospel had a full and general influence, 
 
 ibid. 
 Wars and captivities, the judgments of God against sin, 
 
 559, r. 
 W^ashing the hands, when used by the Jews, 484, a:. 
 Watches, night divided into four, 57^, t. 
 Water, an essential of baptism, Z'M, z. why it is required to 
 
 be pure, ibid, how said to be sanctitied in baptism, 3.'i7i o. 
 
 prayer for the consecration of, in baptism, reason of it, 344, y. 
 
 agreeable to the practice of the primitive Christians, ibid.; 
 
 344, h. comparison of the forms, 344,/*. how changed in 
 
 bnptism, 344, /. a necessary part of baptism, 378, t. rejec- 
 tion of it by a modern sect unscriptural, ibid, not esteemed 
 
 sufficient by the church of Rome, ibid. 
 Water and the Spirit, necessity of their going together in 
 
 baptism, 336, e. 
 Water and blood, coming out of oiu* Saviour's side at his 
 
 passion, remark on the mention made of it in the office of 
 
 Baptism, 336, g, 
 '* Waters of the sea, " how said to be ''gathered together on 
 
 a heap," 491, r. 
 W^aters, power of God in disposition of them, 594, r. the 
 
 means of preserving animals, 594, s. 
 Waters, mighty, an image of sin and sorrow, 499, n. powerful 
 
 enemies comjiared to them, 654, d. 
 Waterspouts, why a probable allusion for a Jewish poet, 
 
 506, r. 
 Ways of God, contrasted with our own ways, 8, t. 
 Weakness, human, proof of God's compassion upon it, 264, t. 
 Wealth, practice of acquiring it, blamed and imitated, 515, y. 
 Wednesdays and Fridays, why kept in the primitive church 
 
 as weekly fasts, Ixv. e. 
 Week, "great** or "holy week,*' why so called, 132, y. 
 Whitsuntide, why baptism then administered by the ancients, 
 
 156, a. 
 Wliit- Sunday, why kept holy, 173, e. reason of the name, 
 
 ibid, and of its being of old appointed for baptism, ibid. 
 
 antiquity of the festival, ibid, why called Pentecost, ibid. 
 
 fitness and harmony of its services, ibid. 
 Whit-Sunday, collect for, a grammatical inaccuracy in it, 
 
 174,/. 
 
 Whitsun-week, how observed by the ancients, 176, i. descrip- 
 tion of the services for Monday and Tuesday, ibid. 
 
 Wicked men, why God lets them run on in their courses, 
 00, k. disappointment and ^m\t of their designs exem- 
 plified, 141, g. why they sometimes reject the Gospel, 177j 
 /. do not commit crimes without the knowledge of God, 
 241, s. their thoughts and doings nevertheless their own, 
 iliid. moral not physical restraints given to them, ibid. 
 figurative description of them, 457, 9- equity of their suf- 
 fering the punishment intended by them for the innocent, 
 457, h. their judgment anticipated by faith, 459, b. a 
 proof of the providence of God, ibid, their origin and des- 
 tination, 459, c. their propensity to ]>raise the crimes of 
 otliers, 4f;0, h. then- self-sufficiency the cause of their 
 ruin, 4C0, i. their madness and want of common sense, 
 465, z. their misery, ibid, their scoffing at confidence in 
 God reproved, 4f;5, b. their enmity against the just, 497, 
 X. its consetjuence, ibid, their destruction compared to a 
 sacrifice, 498, a. their destruction represented under six 
 similitudes, 52C, m. their punishment often a mark of their 
 crime, 528, d. their counsels deprecated, 532, o. their 
 prosperity, antidote to the temptation occasioned by it, 
 547, i; 548, /. impiety of their discourse, 548, m. couse- 
 qvience of it, 548, n. their prosperity, suggestions of 
 nature at seeing it, 548, o, p. how corrected, 548, q : 548, 
 540, r, s. vanity of their enjoyments, 549, /. can escape 
 neither the eye nor the hand of Heaven, 582, d. connexions 
 not to be formed with them, 589, I. their society to be re- 
 nounced, C29, n. their worthlessness and destruction figu- 
 ratively represented, 641, i. 
 
 Wickedness, a moral madness, 454, I. its power not perma- 
 nent, 463, ni. 
 
 Wickedness, used for punishment of wickedness, 490, n. 
 
 Wife, why obhged to obey and serve her husband, .'iOO, i. in 
 what sense the husband promises to worship her, 402, z. 
 what maintenance promised to her, 403, a. 
 
 Wilderness, tlie people of, what meant by them, 551, m. 
 God's kindness to Israel in it, an emblem of his mercy to 
 us, 555, .r. Israehtcs who fell there Iiave tlieir counterj)art 
 in the Christian church, 557, />■ mercies experienced by 
 the Israelites in it, emblematical of those in the Christian 
 church, 559, o. 
 
 Will, making of one, necessity of it, 414, c. why the minister 
 is to admonish sick persons on tliis sut)ject, ibid, when to 
 admonish them, ibid, grounds and antiquity of the jiractice 
 of making wills, 414, d. 
 
 Will of God, our own to be submitted to it after Christ's 
 example, 478, t. what motives it requires us to act upon, 
 767, f' character of resistance to it, ibid, how to be known, 
 774, p. what use to be made of it, ibid. 
 
 Wilson, Bp., his Introduction to the Lord's Supper recom- 
 mended, 318, n. 
 
 Wine, an emblem of blessings, 552, z. and of calamities, ibid. 
 
 Wisdom, true, instruction to be derived by one possessed of 
 it, 606, A. 
 
 Wisdom, Book of, striking reflections on the plagues of Egypt 
 in it, 558, /. 
 
 Wise men from the East, birth of Christ announced to them 
 as representing tlie Gentiles, 105, t. their conduct a pattern 
 for imitation in zeal and joyfulness, ibid. 
 
 Woman of Canaan, her exemplary faith, 127. »*• her perse- 
 verance in prayer, ibid. 
 
 Woman, why given by her father in marriage, 400, m. 0. 
 
 Women, to come to church, for the purpose of thanksgiving 
 after child-birth, 436, y. not to endeavour to have the 
 office performed at home, ibid, how to be apparelled, 436, 
 ff. to repeat the psalm after the minister, 436, /. under 
 what notion their ottering at churching is to be understood, 
 438, (/. why to receive the Communion, ibid, examples for 
 their so doing, and utibty of it, ibid. 
 
 Word, why resembled to a glass, 168, u. ways in which it is 
 misapplied, ibid. 
 
 Word of God, hearing it not sufficient, 129, p. intended for 
 our trial, 222, n. various names by wliich it is called, 610, 
 g. proper result of meditating on it, 620, y. its precepts 
 as well as promises to be regarded, 622, y. its immea- 
 surable excellency, 627, «• how said to be tried, 632, h. 
 peculiar blessing of the Christian church, 659, c. its power, 
 660, COl, 0. 
 
 Word of truth, directions for our behaviour with regard to it, 
 166, r. what meant by its being engrafted, 167, r. 
 
 Words and actions, a prayer for the proper guidance of them, 
 652, g. 
 
 Works, what necessai7 that they may be perfectly good, 
 764, q. 
 
 Works, good, distinguished from tlie works of the law, 130, 
 r. duties of eternal obligation, ibid, exhortation to practise 
 them, ibid. 
 
 Works of God, divided into three kinds, 656, i. 
 
 World, a Christian's duty to overcome it, 162, h. how it is to 
 be overcome, ibid, not the object of a Christian's ambition, 
 264, t. what meant by renouncing its pomps and vanities, 
 360, t. why called wicked, ibid, proof of the estimation 
 in wliich it ought to be held, 469, h. happiness of escajiing 
 its pollutions, 484, u. authoritative call on its attention, 
 how received, 515, ii. its unprofitableness to those who lose 
 their own souls, 516, y*. 
 
 World, established course of, God to be praised for it, 
 646, w. 
 
 Worldling, proper light to be viewed in, 516, c. contrast be- 
 tween bis present and future state, 516, d. 
 
 Worship, bodily as well as spiritual, prescribed, 512, p. what 
 sort of required, 518, -r. evangelical, described by legal 
 phrases, 572, c. internal and external required, 584, p. 
 
 Worship of God. what it is, 374, e. different parts of it, ibid. 
 miiversal predicted, 534, ff. 
 
 Worship, public, danger of neglecting it, exemplified and in- 
 forced, 234, i. 
 
 Worship, grounds on which due to a wife, 402, z. harmless-
 
 868 
 
 INDEX TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS &c. 
 
 ness of the term, ibid, objection to it owing to want of 
 due consideration of its meaning, ibid, corresponding ex- 
 pressions in common use, ibid, ancient use of the term, 
 ibid. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Year, ecclesiastical, two parts into which it is divided, 83, c. 
 corresponding adaptation of the Church services, ibid, why 
 it begins with Advent, 8.'>, e. 
 
 Year, revolving, a constant instructor and monitor, 55 1 , 
 Youth, how to be directed in the right way, G20, a. 
 
 Zacharias, remarks on the language of his hymn, 597, o. 
 
 Zeal, character and effects of it, (i32, g. what sort of, accept- 
 able to God, 601, 0. 
 
 Zechariah, fulfilment of a prophecy delivered by him, 8G, h. 
 his prophecy concerning the King of Sion, 54ti, z. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Gii.iiKiiT & KiviNOTON, I'rintcrs, at. John's Siiuuic, Londiiri.
 
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