THOUGHTS 
 
 ON 
 
 THE SERVICES 
 
 DESIGNED AS 
 
 Hn flntrotmction to tbc 7Utur0t> 
 
 AND 
 
 Bn Bio to its Devout 
 
 BY THE LATE 
 
 RT. REV. A. CLEVELAND COXE, D.D. 
 
 Bishop of Western New York 
 
 REVISED AND ENLARGED BY 
 
 RT. REV. CORTLANDT WHITEHEAD, S.T.D. 
 
 Bishop of Pittsburgh 
 
 " Look upon the city of our solemnities ; thine eyes 
 shall see a quiet habitation." ISAIAH xxxiii. 20 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
 
 1900
 
 Copyright, 1900, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 
 
 PRINTED B/ J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA, U.S. A.
 
 Dedication of first JEOition 
 
 TO THE 
 
 REV. WM. PAYNE, M.A. 
 
 Rector of St. George's, Schenectady 
 
 THESE THOUGHTS ARE DEDICATED 
 AS A TRIBUTE OF REGARD FOR HIS 
 WORTH, RESPECT FOR HIS ATTAIN- 
 MENTS, AND GRATITUDE FOR HIS 
 EXAMPLE AS A MINISTER OF CHRIST 
 
 A. C. C.
 
 IT would be strange, indeed, if fifty years had brought 
 no changes in the customs and usages of the Church 
 tending to make the former editions of this little book 
 somewhat out of date. And when those fifty years have 
 been the most active and progressive in all our history, 
 characterized by wide-spread interest in liturgical and 
 ritual matters, and by a marvellous development of the 
 churchly spirit, in architecture, music, and life, we might 
 well expect that many changes would be necessary in 
 order to harmonize the past and present. The Prayer- 
 Book has been revised and new features introduced into 
 our worship. The Lectionary has been considerably 
 altered, rendering most inappropriate some of our au- 
 thor's references. A large and varied Hymnology has 
 succeeded to the metrical Psalms and selected Hymns 
 of former days. 
 
 But no rude hand has destroyed or marred the sublime 
 beauty of our Common Prayer, and so deeply had our 
 Poet-Bishop entered into the spirit of the Church's wor- 
 ship that in revising this book few changes have been 
 found needful other than those caused by the circum- 
 stances mentioned above. 
 
 If this revised edition shall enable the lamented author 
 to help another generation of Church people to enter 
 deeply into the worship of the sanctuary, praising and 
 praying with the spirit, and with the understanding also, 
 and learning to love more and more " the habitation of 
 5
 
 Preface to the Revised Edition 
 
 God's House and the place where His Honor dvvelleth," 
 then shall my labor of love in memory of the great 
 Bishop of Western New York reach a reward far beyond 
 its meed. 
 
 To connect my name with his in any wise would in- 
 deed be presumptuous were it not for the reverent love 
 which has prompted me to try to make these " Thoughts 
 on the Services' ' as precious to others as they have been 
 to myself for many years. 
 
 C. W. 
 
 PITTSBURGH, 1899. 
 
 NOTE. There have been added chapters on the ser- 
 vices other than the Sunday and Daily Offices, concern- 
 ing which Bishop Coxe had not written. Several of the 
 Bishop's Christian Ballads have been inserted.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 
 
 THE object of this work is to beget habits of close at- 
 tention to the Psalms and Lessons, and to their bearing 
 on the subject of each particular service. The young, 
 more especially, need to learn that the Church's arrange- 
 ment of the Lessons and other portions of Scripture is a 
 commentary of itself, and that the Word, thus fitly 
 spoken, is, indeed, "like apples of gold in pictures of 
 silver." 
 
 The Clergy, by giving emphasis to the characteristic 
 portions of the Lessons and Gospels, often preach 
 Christ most powerfully even when there is no Sermon. 
 But nothing can make up for the lack, in the people's 
 hearts, of a genuine relish for each "portion of meat in 
 its season." 
 
 The variety with uniformity, which our Church per- 
 mits, is sometimes illustrated in this book by sugges- 
 tions as to the public celebration of worship. It is 
 important, the writer supposes, that every Churchman, 
 however strongly he may prefer the precise way they do 
 things in his own parish church, should know of the 
 other ways, and should feel the most liberal spirit of 
 satisfaction with those who do somewhat differently, pro- 
 vided always it be only in the use of that large liberty 
 with which the Church has so wisely chartered her chil- 
 dren ; and provided nothing more than that, whether on 
 the one side or the other, be sought after, imitated, or 
 desired. 
 
 7
 
 Preface 
 
 The writer has avoided a dry and technical manner of 
 arranging his comments, believing that a more uniform 
 method of treating the Services would become weari- 
 some. What is lost in apparent method, is thus regained 
 in the comparative freshness of each successive page. 
 
 In missionary districts, and where families live re- 
 mote from the privileges of the Church, he trusts the 
 work will meet the wants of heads of families, who act 
 as priests in their own households. For use in Church, 
 before Service begins ; for the closet of invalids, desirous 
 of being present, in spirit, with their fellow-worshippers ; 
 for the instruction of children, and as an introduction of 
 the Church's system to strangers, the writer commits it 
 to his beloved brethren of the Household of Faith. 
 
 A. C. C. 
 
 BALTIMORE, 1860.
 
 Hn Cburcb 
 
 LET vain or busy thoughts have there no part, 
 Bring not thy plough, thy plots, thy pleasures thither; 
 Christ purged His Temple; so must thou thy heart. 
 All worldly thoughts are but thieves met together 
 To cozen thee. Look to thy actions well; 
 For churches either are our heaven or our hell. 
 
 GEORGE HERBERT.
 
 2>atl Sacrifice 
 
 OF the Liturgy our Blessed Lord is Himself the great 
 Author. The words of the Lord's Prayer, and those 
 which He used in the Institution of the Eucharist, with 
 other scriptural forms of worship and confession, are its 
 essential parts. The residue is borrowed from Apostolic 
 and Primitive ordinances, or is closely conformed to what 
 we learn of them from Holy Scripture and the most 
 ancient Christian writers. 
 
 The word Liturgy is taken from the original Greek of 
 the New Testament, where it may be found in several 
 forms; as, for example, in Acts xiii. 2; Rom. xv. 16; 
 Heb. viii. 2. But, in strict usage, the Liturgy means 
 only the service for the celebration of the Holy Com- 
 munion, which was the ordinary' worship of Christians 
 on the first day of the week. The Daily Sacrifice of 
 prayer and praise originated in the Hebrew rites, which 
 the Apostles continued to practice so far as they were 
 consistent with the Gospel, as is evident from their con- 
 stant observance of the "hours of prayer." For the 
 perpetuation, in substance, of such Apostolic Institutions 
 we have the express precept of St. Paul: "Stand fast, 
 and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, 
 whether by word, or our epistle" (2 Thess. ii. 15). And 
 again, " By him let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God 
 continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to 
 his name" (Heb. xiii. 15). 
 
 Let us reflect, then, that ' ' the disciples came together 
 to break bread," whenever they assembled on the first 
 10
 
 The Daily Sacrifice 
 
 day of the week. As in the synagogues, they read the 
 Law and the Prophets on such occasions, mingled with 
 Psalms and Prayers. But in process of time the New 
 Testament Scriptures were given to the Church, and 
 then a portion of the Epistles and a portion of the Gos- 
 pels were read, as more specially Christian. Thus a 
 division of worship grew up. The Law and the Prophets, 
 with the Psalms, were arranged for a sacrifice of Daily 
 Prayer; while the Liturgy or Eucharistic Sacrifice was 
 provided with its series of Epistles and Gospels. The 
 identical Epistles and Gospels which are now used, as 
 well as the Collects accompanying them, are, for the 
 most part, traceable to the age of primitive antiquity. 
 
 But the Prayer-Book, as we have it in our hands, is, in 
 fact, a volume consisting of several books. Thus, the 
 Prayer-Book, properly speaking, ends with the Psalter. 
 For mere convenience of reference and use, the Articles 
 of Religion, the Ordinal and other Episcopal Offices are 
 added.* So, then, in order to understand the Prayer- 
 Book thoroughly, we must view it as complete, without 
 the Episcopal Offices, and as consisting of three parts: 
 the Liturgy, the Daily Prayer, and the Ritual. 
 
 The Liturgy is the Communion Service, with its Col- 
 lects, Epistles, and Gospels. The key-note of all the 
 appointments, for every day, is found in this part of 
 worship. In this Service, also, the Decalogue or Moral 
 Law is read on every Lord's Day as part of the Peniten- 
 tial System of the Church, because it is written, " Let 
 a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that 
 Bread"; and again, " He that turneth away his ear from 
 hearing the Law, even his prayer shall be abomination." 
 
 *See title page of the Prayer-Book, as also the Table of Contents. 
 II
 
 The Daily Sacrifice 
 
 The Daily Prayer, as \ve have seen, grew naturally 
 out of the Synagogue worship, and its "hours of 
 prayer," which the Apostles continued to observe, in 
 the faith of the Gospel. The Psalter, with the Law and 
 the Prophets, and New Testament Lessons, are accord- 
 ingly the basis of Christian worship ; and on Sundays 
 and Holy days these parts of worship are conformed 
 to the higher solemnities of "the breaking of Bread," 
 which, as with the primitive Faithful, is still the great 
 Service of the Feast. 
 
 The Calendar, with its solemn distribution of times 
 and seasons, is a rule of devotions common to the Lit- 
 urgy and Daily Prayer. Its object is to subordinate the 
 whole of human life, and all time, to the service of GOD : 
 so that no day which shines upon the world shall ever 
 pass without its proper service of prayer and praise to 
 GOD. 
 
 With the Ritual we are not here concerned; but some 
 subordinate parts of worship require a word of expla- 
 nation. 
 
 The Introits are the Psalms which are sung before 
 the Communion Service begins, and are so called be- 
 cause they are sung as the priest enters, or goes within 
 (intro-ire), the rails of the Chancel or Sanctuary ; for the 
 Common Prayer is properly said, among the People, in 
 the nave of the Church, or at its junction with the Choir 
 or Chancel. Such was the primitive way; and, even in 
 the City of Rome, there is at this day an ancient Church, 
 that of St. Clement, in which the ambons, or reading- 
 desks, are preserved as a curiosity. The modern Ro- 
 mans have no use for them in their worship. They are 
 in the middle of the Church, as in the Synagogues of the 
 Jews ; but in another ancient Church, which retains these 
 desks, they are at the sides of the Chancel, as in Eng- 
 12
 
 The Daily Sacrifice 
 
 lish Churches, attesting the primitive character of our 
 worship in the vulgar tongue, and as Common Prayer. 
 To enter the Chancel, for the Eucharistic Sacrifice, was 
 to begin another Service; and hence the Introit was sung 
 as its prelude.* 
 
 Anthems are sung at Evening Prayer after the third 
 Collect, according to the Rubric; and before and after 
 Sermon, at the discretion of the Minister. The Hymnal 
 may be regarded as a collection of Metrical Anthems. 
 
 Let us also observe that the Morning Prayer, the 
 Litany, the Holy Communion, and the Evening Prayer, 
 are so many distinct Services, and may be used entirely 
 apart, f although the law of convenience has often caused 
 congregations to celebrate three of them together; and 
 sometimes country districts use the fourth immediately 
 afterwards. A stranger to the Order of our worship 
 should be informed of these simple facts, and then 
 invited to open the Prayer-Book, where he will observe 
 that its first pages are devoted to the most careful pro- 
 vision for the reading of Holy Scripture, in public and in 
 private. The profuse employment of Scripture, as a 
 feature of this great system, is to be specially remarked. 
 The Psalms are to be read twelve times a year; the Old 
 Testament once, and the New Testament twice; while, 
 over and above, there is such an arrangement of special 
 Psalms and Lessons as forces on every mind, without a 
 word of comment, the harmony of all the parts of 
 Scripture, and the true law of its interpretation. The 
 Prayer-Book, then, is but an humble handmaid of the 
 Scriptures, which nobody can use, as is designed, with- 
 out becoming thoroughly versed in the Word of GOD. 
 
 * See Table of Introits, Appendix A, p. 345. 
 t See Prayer-Book, p. vii. 
 
 13
 
 The Daily Sacrifice 
 
 First of all, we have directions for using the Psalms of 
 David. These are the inspired foundation of social 
 worship; and with the Lord's Prayer, and the Lessons, 
 are a complete formulary of devotion, in the very words 
 of the Holy Ghost, and of JESUS CHRIST. It is clear, 
 therefore, that we have the Prayer-Book in the Bible; 
 and nothing is added which is not, virtually, from the 
 same source. 
 
 The Psalter is an old translation of the Psalms;* much 
 older than that in the English Bible, and is better adapted 
 for devotional uses. Those who are acquainted with 
 other languages than their own, know how common is 
 the difficulty of fully expressing a single word in one 
 tongue by any single word in another. The value of 
 these two versions, in bringing out the full sense of the 
 Psalms, is, therefore, very great, and we ought to be 
 familiar with each. 
 
 The Psalms were inspired to be chanted, in public 
 worship. This is evident in the Bible version of Psalms, 
 which retains the musical directions. Rhymed hymns 
 and psalms, it must be remembered, were unknown to 
 the Apostles, and chanting was the only singing they 
 taught the Church. 
 
 For technical use and convenience, each Psalm is dis- 
 tinguished by its old Latin name; with which appropriate 
 chants, or tunes, are still traditionally associated. 
 
 Although the Psalter is conveniently set at the end of 
 the book, it must be regarded as, in fact, the first thing 
 contained in it ; seeing that the directions for its use are 
 the actual beginning. 
 
 And here we are to note that twenty Selections of 
 
 * That of Tyndale and Corndale (1535) and Rogers (1537), which 
 was revised by Cranmer (1539), and published in a large volume, and 
 placed in the churches with the royal sanction. PROCTER. 
 
 14
 
 The Daily Sacrifice 
 
 Psalms are given to be used at discretion, instead of the 
 Psalms for the Day ; and special Psalms are appointed 
 for sixteen days of special observance ; divers Messianic 
 Psalms (those which relate directly to Christ) being 
 distributed among the appropriate festivals. By this 
 little table, then, one can always pick out the Psalms for 
 special subjects of meditation. 
 
 Next we have the table of Lessons, arranged by the 
 Calendar. First come the special Lessons, for Sundays 
 and Holy days ; and then the tables for daily Lessons, for 
 every day in the year. Turning to January first, we ob- 
 serve a blank in the table, which indicates that we must 
 look to the special table, and find the Lessons for the 
 Circumcision. On the second of January, in the morn- 
 ing, begins the first chapter of Genesis, and the first 
 chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel ; and in the evening, 
 after the second of Genesis, we begin the Acts of the 
 Apostles. And so we go through the year ; no day that 
 ever comes being without its special provision from the 
 oracles of GOD. In the history of the Church, and of 
 individuals, the coincidences of these oracles with spe- 
 cial occasions have often been noted. Thus, when the 
 seven bishops were sent to prison, for resisting the 
 Popish projects of James the Second, they read the 
 Evening Prayer together, and were much consoled to 
 find the Second Lesson to be II. Corinthians, chapter 
 sixth, which, from the second verse to the tenth, seemed 
 a message to them from GOD Himself ; while from the 
 sixteenth verse to the end it seemed to be a divine testi- 
 mony to the fidelity of the Church of England, in her 
 happy Reformation. Let it never be forgotten that this 
 Reformation did not construct a new Church, but merely 
 restored the ancient Church of the realm to its primi- 
 tive freedom and purity. 
 
 15
 
 The Daily Sacrifice 
 
 The Christian Year of the Church is not properly es- 
 timated as a means of grace, even by ourselves. For 
 supposing it had never been invented or thought of be- 
 fore, and supposing it had just entered into the mind of 
 some modern sectary to establish a system, like that of 
 the Church, for insuring a full display of Christ, and a 
 thorough exploring of the Scriptures, every year. How 
 brilliant the thought ! How Scriptural the conception ! 
 How Evangelical, how richly spiritual, how blessed, the 
 practical plan ! Such would be the universal expression 
 of popular piety : and the author of this great method 
 would be regarded as the man of the times ; the grand 
 original of a new and progressive form of Christianity ; 
 a Luther or a Wesley. And justly so ; for it may be 
 safely said that no one of those leaders of the popular 
 mind who has left a sect to perpetuate his name and 
 teaching, has embodied in it anything which is one-thou- 
 sandth part so substantial, and positive, as this truly 
 Christian system of Scriptural Exposition. Of the sects, 
 one perhaps exists on some merely negative basis, be- 
 cause it denies something which another sect maintains : 
 while another takes up some single idea, and on this 
 meagre foundation rears its claim to be a Christian 
 Church. But look at this majestic system of claiii>ig 
 all fime for JESUS CHRIST, and filling every day in every 
 year with His Name, and His Worship ! See how vast 
 and rich the scheme, as a token of, and a provision for, 
 the Second Advent ! And, then, see what may be said 
 of its divine origin ! In the following pages we bring 
 proof that GOD is the real author of this scheme, and 
 that it is revealed, in its substance, as part of His Wis- 
 dom, for perpetuating His Truth. Were it, therefore, the 
 peculiarity of a sect, and as such were it maintained and 
 propagated, I do not hesitate to affirm that no existing 
 16
 
 The Daily Sacrifice 
 
 Christian sect has half so broad a ground to stand upon, 
 or urges so clear and conclusive an apology for its exist- 
 ence, as that sect could demonstrate, and claim as its 
 own. And yet, because all this is but part of our ines- 
 timable inheritance as Churchmen, we hardly think of it 
 as, even on popular grounds, a conclusive reason for 
 being what we are, and as furnishing an irresistible argu- 
 ment against those who oppose themselves. Of course, 
 we are Churchmen on higher grounds, and for indepen- 
 dent reasons : yet it is a fact that the mind of our coun- 
 trymen is too much perverted and prejudiced to appre- 
 ciate these higher principles. We can hardly refer to 
 them without wounding their feelings, and exciting their 
 antagonism. But might we not safely and charitably 
 direct their attention to our Liturgic System, first of all, 
 as something which they ought to examine ; and then 
 leave them to their own conclusions, when once they shall 
 have discovered that this inestimable possession is only 
 to be found in its completeness among those who have 
 preserved all the other Apostolic institutions of the Gos- 
 pel in their purity and integrity ? The orderly reading 
 of the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue is an essential 
 part of this primitive system, as also is responsive prayer, 
 and GOD has made it the distinction of the Anglican 
 Church, in divers parts of the world, to be almost the 
 only witness for that system of His worship, in the great 
 Congregation, which the Holy Scriptures show to have 
 originated with the Divine Wisdom ; and which is plainly 
 the plan and principle of public service such as the New 
 Testament everywhere implies and presupposes. 
 
 The disciples of John the Baptist, although they were 
 pious Israelites, were awakened by the deeper insight 
 which he gave them of spiritual things, to new views of 
 the dignity and importance of Prayer. He, therefore, 
 
 2 17
 
 The Daily Sacrifice 
 
 taught them new forms. Our Blessed Saviour did the 
 same when His own disciples came to Him, with a like 
 view of their incompetency, saying, " Lord, teach us to 
 pray." They had worthy apprehensions of the character 
 of GOD, and humble ideas of themselves, and they felt 
 profoundly that they " knew not what they should pray 
 for as they ought." It is certain that similar convictions 
 are not characteristic of many in our times. 
 
 But ' ' the Spirit helpeth our infirmities." The worship 
 of GOD in the order and method of a Service of Prayers 
 and Thanksgivings, prepared beforehand, by competent 
 authority, has its origin in no human foresight. In the 
 inspired Psalms, which are a collection of Prayers for 
 Liturgical use, we have found the warrant for such a 
 system. In the arrangements of the worship of the 
 Temple and Synagogue, as divinely constituted, or ap- 
 proved by GOD when instituted by His servants, we 
 have the assurance that such worship is acceptable to the 
 Most High. In the fact that our Blessed Saviour, and 
 His Apostles, scrupulously observed this worship, we 
 have its further warrant. In the fact that John Baptist 
 gave his disciples a form of prayer ; and that our Lord 
 Himself set forth a form, to be used by all Christians, 
 we are assured that, like instrumental and vocal music, 
 such forms were no part of the ceremonial Law which 
 the Gospel abolished. Further, in the Apostolic use of 
 Psalms and Hymns, and the responsive nature of the 
 Apostolic worship, with its characteristic lifting up of the 
 voices of all "with one accord," we have the sufficient 
 evidence of the Evangelical character of such worship. 
 Finally, in the Apocalypse we have a glimpse of the 
 worship of Heaven ; and we find it a responsive and 
 ceremonial, and Liturgical worship, like that of the 
 Church on earth, but infinitely more sublime. The 
 18
 
 The Daily Sacrifice 
 
 historical fact that the Church has always used a Liturgy, 
 and that no period can be mentioned when such was not 
 the worship of Apostolic Christendom, may be added to 
 sustain the use of our own Liturgy, under the Apostle's 
 rule, for such is its literal rendering, " Let all things 
 be done decorously and according to set usage. ' ' * 
 
 Whenever, in the course of the following pages, the 
 Catholic worship, or Catholic usages, are mentioned, 
 the reader will understand, therefore, that this primitive 
 Christian system is referred to. The corrupt system of 
 the Church of Rome originated in the Middle Ages. That 
 of our own Communion is Catholic, because it existed 
 before the Papacy arose to divide that Holy Catholic 
 Church, of which we make mention in the Creed. Let 
 us ever remember that a true Church of Christ exists 
 in its historical identity, wherever a Christian flock lives 
 in communion with a Christian Bishop, who derives his 
 authority from the Apostles, and professes all the articles 
 of the Christian Faith, as contained in the primitive 
 Creeds. The aggregate of such Churches is the Holy 
 Catholic Church, and its unity consists in the unity of their 
 origin and of their faith. But some of these Churches have 
 added to the faith or corrupted it like Sardis and Thyatira 
 of old. It is the blessed privilege of the Anglican Chris- 
 tian to belong to a portion of the Catholic Church which 
 holds neither more nor less than the Christian faith, as 
 professed in the purest ages and by the purest Churches. 
 In proof of this, she fearlessly appeals to the earliest 
 Christian records, and (what is more important still) 
 she fearlessly opens the Holy Scriptures to all her chil- 
 dren, and submits all she does and teaches to that test, 
 "commending herself to every man's conscience in the 
 
 * See Appendix B, p. 348.
 
 The Daily Sacrifice 
 
 sight of GOD." In point of fact, her Services are, sub- 
 stantially, the most ancient now in use in Christendom. 
 She is practically the Church of the Nicene Age, restored. 
 Such as the Church was then, in essence, in the days of 
 martyrs, such is our own Church now. So then, while 
 she has yet much to do, in strengthening the things that 
 remain, we may venture to believe that she is, in these 
 latter days, what Philadelphia was among the Seven 
 Churches of Asia, in the days of St. John. As such, 
 GOD is wonderfully enlarging her in all the earth, and 
 by restoring in her the primitive pattern, just as it was in 
 danger of being wholly lost, He seems to have signally 
 fulfilled in her the promise concerning the Apostolic 
 Church, which is builded on the Rock CHRIST JESUS, 
 that " the gates of hell shall never prevail against it."
 
 ZTbe Calendar 
 
 MY Prayer-Book is a casket bright, 
 
 With gold and incense stored, 
 Which, every day, and every night, 
 
 1 open to the Lord; 
 Yet when I first unclasp its lids, 
 
 I find a bunch of myrrh 
 Embalming all our mortal life; 
 
 The Church's Calendar. 
 
 But who would see an almanac 
 
 When opes his Book of Prayer? 
 Of all the leaves between its lids, 
 
 These, only, are not fair. 
 So said I, in my thoughtless years, 
 
 But now, with awe, I scan 
 The Calendar, like Sybil-leaves 
 
 That tell the life of Man. 
 
 God set the sun and moon for signs: 
 
 The Church His signs doth know, 
 And here, while sleeps the sluggish world, 
 
 She marks them as they go. 
 Here for His coming looks she forth 
 
 As, for her spouse, the bride; 
 Here, at her lattice, faithfully 
 
 She waits the morning-tide. 
 21
 
 The Calendar 
 
 All time is hers, and, at its end, 
 
 Her Lord shall come with more: 
 As one for whom all time was made, 
 
 Thus guardeth she her store; 
 And, doting o'er her letters old, 
 
 As pores the wife bereft, 
 Thus daily reads the Bride of Christ 
 
 Each message He hath left. 
 
 As prisoners notch their tally-stick, 
 
 And wait the far-off day 
 So marks she days, and months, and years, 
 
 To ponder and to pray; 
 And year by year beginning new 
 
 Her faithful task sublime 
 How lovingly she meteth out 
 
 Each portion in its time. 
 
 This little index of thy life, 
 
 Thou, all thy life, shalt find 
 So teaching thee to tell thy days, 
 
 That wisdom thou may'st mind. 
 Oh, live thou by the Calendar, 
 
 And, when each morn you kneel, 
 Note how the numbered days go by, 
 
 Like spokes in time's swift wheel. 
 
 With this thy closet seek; and learn 
 
 What strengthening word, to-day, 
 From out the Holy Book of God 
 
 Our Mother would display: 
 And know thy prayers go tip on high, 
 
 With thousands that, unknown, 
 Are lighted at the self-same fire, 
 
 And mingle at God's throne.
 
 The Calendar 
 
 For so though severed far on earth 
 
 Together we are fed; 
 And onward, though we see it not, 
 
 Together we are sped. 
 Oh, live ye by the Calendar, 
 
 And with the good ye dwell: 
 The Spirit that comes down on them 
 
 Shall lighten you as well. 
 
 A. C. C.
 
 flDonttions 
 
 PREPARE for divine service in your closet, not at your 
 toilet. It is a sign of ill-breeding, as well as of frivolity, to 
 dress elaborately for Church. 
 
 It is well to be early at Church, if that time before service 
 be devoutly employed in the use of the Prayer-Book, or Bible, 
 or pious meditation. 
 
 Do not be afraid of making your devotions too long, when 
 you first kneel on entering. 
 
 And remember that if you come late you should not dis- 
 turb the worship of others, by going to your usual seat, 
 until there is some change in the Service, especially if the 
 congregation is kneeling. 
 
 Instead of staring about, or listlessly lolling in your seat, 
 after the usual devotions on coming in, you should read over 
 the Psalter, or some other portion of Scripture, as suited to 
 direct your thoughts in the House of Prayer, and as the best 
 stimulant to the enjoyment of the public Service. 
 
 It is the house of GOD : why should you throw away one 
 minute within its sacred walls, and at the very gate of 
 Heaven ? It is the Court of the great King, who expects us 
 to wait on Him, in His temple. Why should you forget that 
 you are in His immediate presence, and have come to do 
 Him homage? 
 
 If you have time, use the Collects in the Institution Office 
 for the Minister and the congregation, your brethren and 
 fellow- worshippers. [Prayer-Book, pages 552 to 554.] 
 
 Find the Psalms for the day ; look them over ; and also 
 the Epistle and Gospel, and suit your ejaculations to the 
 subject, the season, or the festival. 
 
 Look over your baptismal vows ; your confirmation 
 promises ; and use proper ejaculations, beseeching GOD for 
 grace to keep them. 
 
 24
 
 Monitions 
 
 If you have God-children, now is the time to pray for them, 
 or for your own children, or for both together. 
 
 If you have particular sins to repent of, confess them : and 
 use the Ash-Wednesday Confessions, or the 5ist Psalm, as 
 preparatory to the General Confession and the Absolution in 
 the Service. 
 
 If you have received peculiar mercies, thank GOD for them : 
 and use the 63d Psalm, or some other Psalm of Thanksgiving. 
 
 If peculiar afflictions, use the seven Penitential Psalms 
 [those for Ash-Wednesday] or any Prayers appropriate. 
 
 Or make use of the Collects successively ; as reminding 
 you of past and future Services, and as being very compre- 
 hensive. 
 
 Or, if you choose, commune utith your oiun heart and be 
 still ; and, like the publican, smite your breast, saying, GOD 
 be merciful to me, a sinner ! 
 
 On great Festivals meditate on the events you com- 
 memorate, and ask GOD to show you the wondrous things 
 of His Law concerning them. 
 
 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem ; and be sure, if GOD 
 should not give her immediate prosperity, they at least shall 
 prosper who love her. 
 
 Join fervently, and audibly, in the responses. You serve 
 GOD by assisting and encouraging others in this way. But 
 be careful not to pitch your voice so as to create a discord 
 and make yourself conspicuous. 
 
 In singing, observe the same rule. GOD has a right to the 
 use of your tongue, which He made to sing His praise, as 
 angels do. Remember, it is "the best member that you 
 have," and yet it is often abused to offend GOD. Use it in 
 asking forgiveness, and in magnifying His mercy. 
 
 Good manners are bred of the Gospel. Be considerate in 
 the House of GOD, especially to poor persons. Give them 
 room, for Christ's sake. Charity is better than burnt- 
 ofterings. And remember, JESUS CHRIST was poor. He 
 became so for our sakes, though He was infinitely rich ! 
 25
 
 Monitions 
 
 Even though you be a prince, then, you will act becom- 
 ingly if you show yourself willing to kneel down at the side 
 of a beggar. Human distinctions are for courts and drawing- 
 rooms : in the house of GOD, all are worms of the dust 
 together, as in the grave, or at the bar of final Judgment. 
 
 Should you enter the Church after the Service is begun, 
 remain near the door till some change in the solemnities, 
 but do not fail to join in the worship, nor to take a devout 
 attitude while you are waiting at the door. 
 
 And, finally, why should you ever pass by an open Church, 
 without entering it, and doing as did the publican? On 
 weekdays in strange cities, anywhere where GOD'S holy 
 house invites you in, why not offer a Prayer, and go on 
 your way rejoicing? Many Churches there are, especially 
 in our large cities, at whose doors you will find the invitation 
 "ENTER, REST, AND PRAY." 
 
 On entering an empty Church at any time, say, devoutly, 
 " How dreadful is this place ! This is none other but the 
 House of GOD, and this is the gate of Heaven." 
 
 Before leaving, say the 54th Psalm, and add, reverently, 
 " For my brethren and companions' sakes I will wish thee 
 prosperity : Peace be within thy walls." 
 
 Before divine service, say, as you kneel, in your accus- 
 tomed place : 
 
 " In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the 
 Holy Ghost. Amen. Holy Spirit of GOD be with me in the 
 solemn sacrifice of prayer and praise, and keep me from 
 vain thoughts and roving eyes, and from the Evil One. Be 
 with thy Minister in prayer and preaching, and give all the 
 congregation ears to hear, and hearts to understand, through 
 JESUS CHRIST our Lord. Amen. 
 
 " \Ve wait for Thy loving kindness, O GOD, in the midst of 
 Thy congregation. Oh, hear the voice of our humble petitions 
 when we call upon Thee. Take from us all vain and wander- 
 ing thoughts, and open our lips to bless and glorify Thy 
 Holy Name. Through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. Amen." 
 26
 
 Bfter Service 
 
 FORGIVE for Christ's sake, O merciful Father, the im- 
 perfections of this Service, and grant that our lives may- 
 show forth Thy praise, through JESUS CHRIST, our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Before Mol^ Communion 
 
 READ PSALM XLIII 
 
 TAKE from us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, our iniqui- 
 ties, that we may be made worthy to approach Thy Holy 
 Mysteries, witli pure minds and undefiled hearts, and 
 offer a sacrifice acceptable to Thee; through JESUS 
 CHRIST our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Hfter Mol Communion 
 
 O MERCIFUL Father, we render Thee thanks and praise 
 that Thou hast vouchsafed to feed us, Thy unworthy ser- 
 vants, with the precious Body and Blood of Thy dear Son. 
 And we pray that by Thy Grace we may walk worthy of 
 our holy calling, and learn to adorn the doctrine of GOD 
 our Saviour in all things, who livest and reignest one 
 GOD, world without end. Amen. 
 27
 
 After Holy Communion 
 r tbis : 
 
 O GOD, who in this Blessed Sacrament hast left us a 
 memorial of Thy Passion, grant us so to venerate the 
 Sacred Mysteries of Thy Body and Blood here on earth, 
 that we may receive in ourselves the fruit of Thy Re- 
 demption, who livest and reignest one GOD, world with- 
 out end. Amen. 
 
 28
 
 COMMON PRAYER 
 
 COMMON PRAYER is so called in distinction from private 
 or special prayer. It comprehends those needs and 
 expresses those religious feelings which are common to 
 all GOD'S children who come together to worship. So we 
 make our common supplications, confess our common 
 sins, and offer our common sacrifice of praise and thanks- 
 giving, of alms and devotion. 
 
 And since this common worship is intended to conse- 
 crate all parts of the day, we have in the Prayer-Book 
 services for various hours; this in harmony with the 
 resolve of the psalmist: "At morning, and at evening, 
 and at noonday will I pray; and that instantly, and Thou 
 shalt hear my voice." 
 
 morning prater 
 
 THIS Service, which is called " Maltins" in the Eng- 
 lish Prayer-Book, is chiefly formed from those offices of 
 the Sarum Breviary known as Matins, Lauds, and Prime 
 condensed into one. First, we have a Penitential Office, 
 then the Doxologies; then the Lessons and Creeds; and 
 then the Collects and Prayers. 
 
 i. The Sentences, and what follows them down to the 
 Lord's Prayer, are a Penitential Preface to the rest of this 
 Service. In the first English Prayer-Book it is not found; 
 29
 
 The Daily Morning Prayer 
 
 but it was afterwards added, as part of the Penitential 
 System, established by the Reformers, in place of the 
 effete mediaeval system, which they could no longer re- 
 tain with fidelity to Christ and His ordinances. 
 
 2. With the Lord's Prayer, u hich is the language of 
 loving children, begins that strain of elevated devotion, 
 which is carried on in the Psalms, intermingled with 
 Hallelujahs and Glorias, until the Lessons introduce 
 a new portion of the Service. As the Doxology is a 
 marked characteristic of this division of Public Worship, 
 and as the spirit of praise and adoration runs through it, 
 it may well take its name accordingly. 
 
 3. The Symbols, or Creeds, give significance to the 
 next stage in the Service, because the confession of a 
 true faith is the great end for which the Lessons are 
 read in our hearing. In the Lessons the Spirit speaks, 
 and in the Creed the Bride lifts up her responsive voice. 
 The place of the hymn Te Deitm, which is a symbolical 
 hymn, accords entirely with this plan; nor is there any- 
 thing really exceptional in the place of the Bencdicite, 
 and of the Hymn and Psalm which follow the Second 
 Lesson. 
 
 4. After witnessing a good Confession, all kneel down 
 for united and continuous Prayer, chiefly in the form of 
 Collects, an ancient name for a very ancient sort of 
 petition, in which the Minister collects the words and 
 desires of many hearts, or, more probably, what may be 
 conceived of as the spirit and sum of foregoing devotions 
 and Lessons. 
 
 Keeping in mind these distinct parts or divisions of the 
 Service, observe that many of the opening sentences are 
 of a penitential character, and there are others specially 
 suited to Advent, and Lent, and other Holy days and 
 seasons. 
 
 30
 
 The Daily Morning Prayer 
 
 Next, the congregation is exhorted to the General 
 Confession. We come before GOD as sinners ; and 
 hence our first duty is to take our place in the dust, at 
 His footstool. 
 
 The Confession is now made by all, with one accord. 
 There should be no hurrying in this solemn part of the 
 worship ; for it presupposes a collected state of mind, 
 and that the worshipper knows and feels the burden 
 which he thus casts on the Lord. 
 
 Then the Minister (if he be a Bishop or a Priest) rises 
 from his knees and pronounces the Absolution, in the 
 name of Christ. Received in faith, it is a great com- 
 fort and assurance to the soul of the believer ; for 
 whereas by his Confession he has pronounced himself in 
 the position of one who has broken the Baptismal Cove- 
 nant, so Christ, on his part, assures him hereby of com- 
 plete restoration to Baptismal privileges, if he be truly 
 penitent. The Covenant of Remission is made in Bap- 
 tism, and this is renewed by Absolution. For, as Bap- 
 tism can never be repeated, a fresh token and pledge 
 of that " Everlasting Covenant," which nothing but un- 
 repented sin can annul, is a sweet consolation to a 
 burdened conscience. The words of our Lord, "who- 
 soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them," have 
 primary reference to the administration of the Sacra- 
 ments ; but the Scriptural warrant for such a benediction 
 as is here pronounced, is included in the power to admit 
 to the Sacraments and to refuse them. As the power of 
 excommunication must of necessity exist, (Titus iii. 10,) 
 so, a like power of admission to all the means of Grace 
 in connection with the Church cannot be denied. It is, 
 in all respects, similar to the language of the Apostle, 
 "Grace be unto you, and peace, from GOD our Father, 
 and from the Lord JESUS CHRIST." Let the penitent 
 3*
 
 The Daily Morning Prayer 
 
 say Amen, meaning thereby to say, "Even so, Lord: 
 be it unto me according to Thy word." For such re- 
 sponses we have the testimony of Scripture, (I. Cor. xiv. 
 16,) in a passage which seems to refer to an Absolution 
 as "blessing with the Spirit." So, then, we have newly 
 received "the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, 
 Father" ; and now we are ready for the children's bread. 
 This is the place for saying, Our father, therefore, and 
 we do so, as set free from sin and admitted to "the 
 glorious liberty of the Sons of GOD." Let us reflect 
 that the petition, Deliver us from evil, means deliver- 
 ance from the Evil One. When we utter the Doxology, 
 Thine is the Kingdom, we begin to praise GOD. But, 
 before rising to carry on this delightful part of worship, 
 we utter the Psalmist's Prayer, O Lord, open Thou our lips. 
 Then, all standing up, we repeat the Gloria Patri, which 
 is followed by the Hallelujah ; for this Hebrew form is 
 merely translated and paraphrased in the versicle, Praise 
 ye the Lord, and its response, The Lord' s name be praised. 
 The portion of Psalms for the day is now introduced by 
 the Invitatory, (O come let us sing, etc.,) which by its 
 very words suggests that it was inspired of GOD to be 
 so used. After this we turn to the Psalter. And although 
 we only read the Psalms in ordinary worship, we must 
 remember that they were designed by inspiration to be 
 chanted, and that we only partially comply with their 
 design when we read them. The popular views on this 
 matter are clearly wrong ; and a visit to any Jewish 
 synagogue will give one a more just idea of what the 
 Apostles established, and what they meant by " speaking 
 to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." 
 A much better idea in every way of the Apostolic wor- 
 ship would be derived from our own Service, were our 
 people trained to take up the Psalter " with one accord," 
 32
 
 The Daily Morning Prayer 
 
 and to lift up their voices in chanting it, antiphonally. 
 Suffice it, the provision is made, though we may not be 
 able to enjoy it ; and a heart rightfully tuned will not fail 
 to make a melody acceptable to GOD, even in reading 
 these inspired strains of praise and prayer. 
 
 With these Psalms are intermingled repeated Doxol- 
 ogies to the Holy Trinity. In this way the Hebrew 
 Psalter is harmonized with Christian worship, and the 
 GOD of Jews and Gentiles is acknowledged as the one 
 great I AM, the mysterious Trinity. Special Psalms are 
 appointed for special days, and Selections of Psalms for 
 exceptional cases. [See Prayer- Book , pages vii, viii, 328. ] 
 
 The Lessons are read next, the one from the Old Tes- 
 tament, and the other from the New. And thus Christ 
 is preached, even if there be no Sermon, just as Moses 
 was preached in the synagogue. For it is written, 
 " Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach 
 him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day." 
 (Acts xv. 21.) We should remember the testimony 
 which Christ Himself gave to such preaching : " If they 
 hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be 
 persuaded though one rose .from the dead." By this we 
 learn the great importance of this part of the Service, 
 and how competent is Holy Scripture, thus read, to make 
 us wise unto salvation, even when no word of comment 
 is added. The Holy Spirit accompanies this reading, 
 and blesses it to all who have ears to hear : so, if it does 
 not profit, it is only because it "is not mixed with faith 
 in them that hear it." 
 
 The Te Deum, which follows, is a very ancient 
 hymn ; one of the sublimest compositions of uninspired 
 devotion. It came into general use in the time of St. 
 Ambrose, by whom it was introduced to the Church in 
 Milan at the baptism of St. Augustine. It has been 
 3 33
 
 The Daily Morning Prayer 
 
 well observed that, "as the Nicene Creed is indirectly a 
 hymn, so this hymn is indirectly a creed." Its place in 
 this part of the Service, therefore, is very appropriate. 
 The Benedicite, which is sometimes in Advent and Lent, 
 and on Thanksgiving Day, used in place of the Te Deum, 
 is a Hebrew paraphrase of the I48th Psalm, and is called 
 in the Apocrypha "The Song of The Three Children," 
 that is to say, of Ananias, Misael, and Azarias, in the 
 fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar. After the Second 
 Lesson we have the Bettedichis or hymn of Zacharias, 
 in which he hailed the coming of the Redeemer, at the 
 circumcision of his son, John Baptist. Sometimes, but 
 rarely, (as on Trinity Sunday and Thanksgiving Day,) 
 the alternative Psalm Jubilate is used. But Bcnedictus 
 is always liturgically the proper "respond" to the New 
 Testament Lesson. 
 
 "Faith cometh by hearing"; and, therefore, having 
 heard the Word, we endeavor to show that it has been 
 received into good and honest hearts, by professing our 
 faith in it. The Apostles' Creed is now recited, as that 
 "form of sound words" which we are commanded to 
 hold fast. And it is well called the Apostles' Creed ; 
 for, as has been shown by a learned author, there is 
 nothing in it -which may not be found in the single book 
 of the "Acts of the Apostles." In the Nicene Creed, 
 which is always used on great festivals, we say the same 
 in paraphrase ; and both creeds may be regarded as 
 paraphrases of the Baptismal formula. In the germ, 
 then, the creeds were given by Christ himself. He 
 who truly believes "in the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," believes these creeds, 
 which simply affirm what Holy Scripture testifies con- 
 cerning each person in the Godhead. Thus, "the 
 descent into Hell" (or Hades) is asserted of Christ by 
 34
 
 The Daily Morning Prayer 
 
 St. Peter. (Acts ii. 29-36.) The "Communion of 
 Saints" is that common fellowship of Christians which 
 is like the common blood of one family, and which con- 
 sists in a common partaking of the Spirit, who dwells in 
 all believers that are baptized into the one body of 
 Christ. (I. Cor. xii. 13.) So "the Holy Catholic and 
 Apostolic Church" is described in Scripture, and de- 
 clared to be the work of the Holy Ghost. (Eph. ii. 
 19.) Nobody can doubt that St. Paul, in the Ephesians, 
 speaks of that same fabric, built on Christ, the Rock, 
 against which Christ himself declared the gates of hell 
 should never prevail. So, when we compare "the re- 
 mission of sins," in the one creed, with the " one bap- 
 tism for the remission of sins," in the other, we see 
 how the primitive Church understood the expression of 
 Christ to the Apostles: "Whosoever sins ye remit, 
 they are remitted." They had no idea of absolution or 
 remission apart from a Sacrament, ordained by Christ 
 himself, of which St. Peter says, " Repent, and be bap- 
 tized, every one of you, in the name of JESUS CHRIST, 
 for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of 
 the Holy Ghost." How entirely Scriptural is every 
 word of these ancient Symbols of the Church of Christ ! 
 As we have all one faith, in one only living and true 
 GOD, we are now ready to complete our Prayers by full 
 and united supplication, before the throne of Grace. 
 Instead of the kiss of charity which used to be inter- 
 changed by the brethren at this point in the primitive 
 worship, for in those days, as in the Jewish synagogues 
 to this day, men and women were not permitted to sit 
 together in public worship, we have now a fraternal 
 benediction between the Minister and the people.* He 
 
 *Ruth 2: 4. 
 
 35
 
 The Daily Morning Prayer 
 
 says, The Lord be with you, and they rejoin, And with 
 thy spirit. So all kneel down together, and the Prayer 
 proceeds, in fervent charity, and faith, and hope. 
 
 First, we have, in the form of brief versicles and re- 
 sponses, petitions for mercy, salvation, purity, and sanc- 
 tification. These ejaculations are from the Ssth and 5ist 
 Psalms; and their selection from such a source pays 
 tribute to the example of our dear Redeemer, who, even 
 in the agonies of Crucifixion, expressed Himself, not in 
 extemporaneous petitions, but in the language of the 
 Psalter. In the agony of the Garden, also, it should be 
 remembered that He repeated His prayers, " saying the 
 same words " thrice; a fact which fully justifies the occa- 
 sional recurrence of similar forms in the Service. 
 
 Then follows the Collect for the day, borrowed from 
 the proper Liturgy, or Communion Service. To this Col- 
 lect peculiar attention should be given, as supplying a 
 sort of key-note to the other Prayers. On the greater 
 festivals and fasts, the Collect for the day often lends it- 
 self in a striking manner, to those which follow it, 
 bringing into prominence now one and now another 
 expression, and freshening it with special significance.! 
 
 The Collect for Peace is a very ancient one ; and as it 
 comes from the Sacramentary of Gregory the Great (who 
 was Bishop of Rome, before the extreme Papal claims 
 were set up), we trace its place in our Liturgy to the 
 Mission of St. Augustine, whom he sent to convert our 
 Anglo-Saxon forefathers. 
 
 The Collect for Grace is from an ancient Greek source, 
 and reminds us of the Greek origin of the primitive 
 
 fThus also (as Archdeacon Freeman shows in his " Principles of 
 Divine Service") are our petitions through the week linked onto 
 the pleading of the Sunday Eucharist, by the use of the Collect from 
 the Communion Service. 
 
 36
 
 The Daily Morning Prayer 
 
 British Church, which existed in England from Apostolic 
 times, and which afterwards became one with that of the 
 Anglo-Saxons, converted by St. Augustine. 
 
 The Prayer for the Civil Authority reminds us of the 
 command of St. Paul to Timothy, that such intercessions 
 should be offered. (I. Tim. ii. i, 2.) And as the 
 Apostle says that "first of all supplication should be 
 made for all men," and then names " kings, and all that 
 are in authority," it must be noted that the first place in 
 the intercessory Prayers is thus assigned to such persons. 
 After this, the Minister begins the Litany, if it is to be 
 said at that time. Otherwise, he continues the Prayers. 
 
 Another Apostolic injunction is obeyed in the Collect 
 for the clergy and people, which comes next. How 
 often the Apostle exhorts the faithful to pray for himself 
 and his fellow-laborers ! This Prayer, also, is taken 
 from the ancient Prayer-Book of St. Gregory, and from 
 that of his predecessor, Gelasius. It has been used in 
 the Church of England for more than twelve hundred 
 years; and how great and manifold are the blessings 
 which it has brought down, through the intercession of 
 Christ, upon that Church, in the faithful men who have 
 been numbered among its Apostles, and martyrs, and 
 pastors, and evangelists ! 
 
 The Prayer for All Conditions of Men is of compara- 
 tively modern origin; for it was added only two centuries 
 ago. But it is a faithful embodiment of the subjects 
 which St. Paul suggests to Timothy as those for which 
 we ought to pray. The petition for the Holy Church 
 Universal, or, as it runs in the original, for "the good 
 estate of the Catholic Church," is a token of unity with 
 all Apostolic Churches, in whatever they retain that is 
 truly Apostolic, and of charity for them, in wishing the 
 reformation of what they may have that is not such. At 
 37
 
 The Daily Morning Prayer 
 
 the same time, in very becoming language, we pray for 
 a blessed reunion among "all who profess and call 
 themselves Christians," and for their restoration to a 
 confession of the entire faith once delivered to the saints. 
 This, then, is a prayer of fervent charity, breathing the 
 love of souls, and therefore the spirit of the Redeemer, 
 in every line. 
 
 Here are inserted any Occasional Prayers which are 
 requested, or ordered to be used. [See Prayer-Book, 
 pages 37-43.] And after the General Thanksgiving are 
 to be inserted any Special Thanksgivings. [See Prayer- 
 Book, pages 44-47.] 
 
 In the Occasional Prayers, it is proper to note the 
 singular dignity and completeness of the Prayer for 
 Congress.* Its constant use, amid all the turmoil of 
 politics, ever since this nation began to exist, has done 
 much to give a national character to our Church, and to 
 make it a bond of union. Nor can any human thought 
 presume to limit the results which such calm and majestic 
 intercessions have secured from GOD in behalf of our 
 whole country, in the overruling of men's passions, and 
 the consequent stability of our Constitution. The Prayers 
 for the Ember Weeks and Rogation Weeks are also note- 
 worthy, as conceived in a spirit of primitive piety and 
 faith ; and the Synodical Prayer is equally appropriate, 
 if not equally beautiful. It is always touching to hear 
 a fervent response to the Prayer for the sick, for the 
 afflicted, and for others in need of charitable interces- 
 sions. It is so unselfish and so eminently Christ-like to 
 bear one another's burdens. The Occasional Thanks- 
 givings offer opportunities for the exercise of similar 
 charity, in praising GOD for His mercies to others. We 
 
 * Supposed to have been composed by Bishop Laud, 1625.
 
 The Daily Morning Prayer 
 
 may not know those for whom we pray and praise GOD : 
 enough, they are our brethren in Christ, objects of a 
 common Love Divine, and redeemed by the same precious 
 blood of Christ ; and for ourselves we should often return 
 special thanks when we have received some great mercy. 
 
 The General Thanksgiving was added to the Service 
 in 1660, and, like the Prayer that precedes it, gives proof 
 that much Liturgic skill survived in the Church even at 
 that modern period in her history. It is a happy thing 
 that we cannot refer their authorship, confidently, to 
 individuals ; although the Bishops who had chief part in 
 them are said to be known.* The glory of the Prayer- 
 Book is GOD'S only : the merits of men need not con- 
 cern us in our approaches to GOD. We only know that 
 these Prayers are the Church's clothing, and that it is 
 of " wrought gold." 
 
 The Churches of Caesarea and Constantinople, in very 
 ancient times, made use of the short and simple Prayer 
 which follows, and which is called a Prayer of St. Chry- 
 sostom, because it is from the Liturgy which bears his 
 name. Its beauty is of that primitive sort which consists 
 in Scriptural purity and point. It is said of the purest 
 incense that it consumes in fragrance, and leaves no spot 
 upon the censer : all goes up to GOD. Such are Prayers 
 in which there is nothing human, and which, like Christ 
 Himself, come from the Father, and return to Him. 
 
 The Holy Ghost is the Author of the next Prayer, 
 which is rather a comprehensive Benediction, in the 
 name of the Holy Trinity. And so the Office of Matins 
 ends, as it begins, in the language of Holy Scripture ; 
 that is to say, "not in the words which man's wisdom 
 teach eth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth." 
 
 * Bishops Sanderson, Gunning, and Reynolds. 
 39
 
 The Daily Evening Prayer 
 
 tlbe Bails Evening ]pra\?er 
 
 THIS Service differs from the Morning Prayer only in 
 a few particulars. There are specially appropriate sen- 
 tences at the beginning. The Canticles after the Lessons 
 are the beautiful song of the Virgin, called from its first 
 word in Latin "Magnificat" and the plaintive song of 
 Simeon " Nunc Dimittis." Both these, as also Bene- 
 dictus at Morning Prayer, are from the Gospel of St. 
 Luke, and the three are called the Evangelical Hymns 
 or Canticles, memorials of the Incarnation. There are 
 also alternative Psalms which follow the Lessons, and 
 two of the Collects are peculiar to this Service, as also 
 a Prayer for the President added at the last American 
 revision. As in the morning we have a Collect for such 
 Peace as comes from outward circumstances, so in the 
 evening we pray for inward Peace. And this Collect is 
 from the same ancient source with the other, both being 
 founded on a Scriptural precept. (I. Tim. ii, 2.) So, as in 
 the morning we ask for Grace to be with us through the 
 perils of the day, we now implore Light and Mercy 
 amidst the perils of the night. The source of both 
 these Prayers is an ancient Greek formulary. This 
 Service is known as " Evensong" in the English Prayer- 
 Book. When a Third Service is required, our Bishops 
 are wont to allow the use of an order set forth long ago 
 in one of our oldest dioceses, in which, after a single 
 Lesson, and the chanting of a Canticle or Psalm, (some- 
 times of the Magnificat or Nunc Di miff is,} the Creed is 
 said, and followed by the Collect for the day, the Collect 
 against Perils, and then the Prayer for the whole state 
 of Christ's Church Militant, as it stands in the Euchar- 
 istic Service. One or more of the Collects printed at 
 40
 
 The Litany 
 
 the end of that Service is added with the Apostolic 
 Benediction. Of these Supplementary Collects, use is 
 sometimes made, according to the Rubric, in Morning 
 and Evening Prayer. But, since the Rubrics inserted at 
 the time of the last American revision in 1892, there is 
 no need of a shortened Third Service. For, by begin- 
 ning with a sentence and the Lord's Prayer, and ending 
 with the Collect "Lighten our darkness," we have the 
 original Evensong of the First Prayer-Book of Edward 
 VI. It is not permissible to omit one Lesson unless full 
 Evensong with both Lessons has been previously said or 
 is to be said the same day. 
 
 THE word Litany is Greek, and means an earnest 
 supplication. As we use it, it means a Penitential Ser- 
 vice, which is appointed for certain days. It is used on 
 Sundays, for the benefit of the large numbers who can 
 on that day alone attend public worship. But it is 
 specially appropriate to the stationary days, (Wednes- 
 days and Fridays,) which are so called because, from 
 the earliest periods, they have been made days of peni- 
 tential assembling or standing before the Lord, in mem- 
 ory of the Death of Christ, which was plotted on 
 Wednesday, when Judas betrayed Him, and accom- 
 plished on Friday, when "they crucified Him." It is a 
 Service which may be said, by itself, at any time after 
 Morning Prayer ; although it is more commonly said 
 with it, and as part of it, in place of the Prayers that 
 follow the Prayer for the President of the United States, 
 or at Evening Prayer in the place of the Prayers that
 
 The Litany 
 
 follow the Collect for Aid against Perils. On the greater 
 festivals, it is sometimes omitted ; but it can never he 
 inappropriate for sinners, who should keep their feasts 
 with " bitter herbs," and "rejoice with trembling." 
 
 Moreover, the Litany contains almost the whole Gos- 
 pel, in the form of a sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving. 
 In it are distinctly recognized the whole Creed, and the 
 whole Moral Law, and the Lord's Prayer is part of it. 
 It is a compendium of theology, recognizing the Being 
 of GOD ; His Trinity, His Nature and Attributes ; the 
 offices of the divers Persons in the Godhead ; the origin 
 of man, his temptation, fall, and depravity, and all that 
 has been done for his redemption and justification, with 
 all that remains to be done in final judgment and glorifi- 
 cation. It is of all forms of prayer the mostly richly 
 evangelical. 
 
 Besides, the Litany is a proper preparation for the 
 Holy Communion, at all times ; and on that account it 
 is not out of place even in the Easter Service. In fact, 
 when the Morning Prayer used to be offered at an early 
 hour, it was reserved till just before the High Service, 
 or Communion, and, while it was said, a bell was tolled, 
 to let all know that the Eucharist was about to be cele- 
 brated. An old canon is worthy of note in this connec- 
 tion, which enjoined that every householder dwelling 
 within half a mile of the Church should send "one at the 
 least of his household fit to join with the Minister in 
 prayers," whenever the Litany was said. There is real 
 faith in the spirit which thus called for a representation 
 of those who might not be able to attend ; and, if more 
 of it were to be found in our times, every family would 
 strive to be thus represented, on every occasion of pub- 
 lic worship. 
 
 Of Litanies, the most ancient is the fifty-first Psalm ; 
 42
 
 The Litany 
 
 but, as this fs of a private nature, we may refer to the 
 book of Joel (11 17) for an inspired warrant for public 
 Litanies, closely resembling ours. Very frequently the 
 Litany is said at a faldstool, ' ' between the porch and 
 the altar," in the manner commanded by the prophet, 
 or, rather, by Got) Himself. The responses of the 
 people are called suffrages, that is, words of assent, in 
 which they make ine voice of the Minister their own. 
 Perhaps the most ancient form of Common Prayer on 
 record is the Litany in its original shape of bidding- 
 prayer, in which the Minister said, Lei us pray for all in 
 authority, etc., pausing for the suffrages of the people 
 after each commemoration. 
 
 The Litany has several marked divisions, which it is 
 well to note. 
 
 1. We begin with the Invocations, calling on each 
 Person in the Blessed Trinity to have mercy on us ; and 
 finally invoking the Trinity, as one GOD. We have thus 
 an opportunity for dwelling on the several Offices of the 
 distinct Persons, and on the unity of the Divine Majesty, 
 while we review our condition as sinners, and crave 
 mercy with respect to all our sins against the Mysterious 
 Godhead. 
 
 2. After this, we begin the Deprecations, remember- 
 ing that GOD visits the sins of the fathers on their im- 
 penitent children. With deep self-abasement, therefore, 
 we implore him to spare His redeemed people, in the 
 language of the prophet Joel, to which allusion has 
 already been made, and which is repeated in the suf- 
 frage. 
 
 After this, the Deprecations must be regarded as a sort 
 
 of paraphrase of the petition, Deliver us from evil. We 
 
 begin with the greatest evils, sin and Satan, GOD'S 
 
 wrath, and eternal damnation, and then go on to enu- 
 
 43
 
 The Litany 
 
 merate the evils of soul and body which are the lesser 
 products of sin. 
 
 3. Then follow the Obsecrations, introduced on pur- 
 pose to celebrate the Redemption of JESUS CHRIST, in 
 its various parts, as the only ground of our hope. How 
 sublimely these fervent commemorations of the scenes of 
 Bethlehem, the Temple, the Jordan, the mountain, the 
 wilderness, the garden, Calvary, the sepulchre, and the 
 summit of Olivet, are made to succeed each other as 
 parts of the great work of salvation which JESUS wrought 
 for us! What a supplication to the Author of our faith, 
 by all that He has done, to be the Finisher of the same, 
 in the saving of our souls! 
 
 4. Next come the Intercessions, in which, according to 
 St. Paul's precept, (I.Tim, ii. i,) we invoke the Redeemer 
 for a world of sinners, as being sinners ourselves and 
 sharing in the common wants of mankind. The spirit 
 of love to our fellow-men is essential to our acceptance 
 with GOD; and it should be our study to live up to the 
 spirit of these intercessions, by becoming as far as pos- 
 sible the instruments of GOD'S goodness in the answer- 
 ing of them. Observe the wonderful variety of human 
 wants which the Church forgets not, while praying for 
 herself and for all who are in authority, in her holy pale. 
 How many ships on the sea, how many travellers on the 
 land, how many beggars and outcasts, how many cap- 
 tives and sufferers by the cruelty of wicked men, how 
 many widows and fatherless children and sorrowing 
 mothers, how many great states and empires, how many 
 heathen lands where no Sun of Righteousness is shining, 
 are blest by these unceasing prayers of the Bride of Christ, 
 who thinks for them that think not for themselves! 
 Truly " the world stands by the prayers of the faithful." 
 
 The "kindly fruits of the earth," we may note, are 
 44
 
 The Litany 
 
 what in modern phrase would be called the natural or 
 genial fruits.* But how much more expressive is the old 
 English word ! 
 
 5. The Supplications, or fervent outcries of the soul 
 to Christ, begin with the Scriptural form, " O Lamb of 
 GOD, who takest away the sins of the world." Then 
 follows the Kyrie Elcison, as the Greeks call it : that is, 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. But this, and the following 
 Rogations, the Minister is permitted to omit; for, as they 
 are of a very elevated tone of feeling, they may not be 
 altogether suitable to all occasions; and so they are very 
 frequently omitted on Sundays, and reserved for days of 
 fasting and of more particular penitential exercises of 
 devotion. 
 
 6. The Lord's Prayer, which has its place in all the 
 services of the Church, here marks the beginning of the 
 Rogations, which are a portion of the Supplications, but 
 which are not so ancient as the Litany itself, dating only 
 from the fifth century, as we shall learn when we come 
 to the Rogation Days. It must be observed that when 
 these are interrupted by the old Exhortation, Let us pray, 
 it is because there is to be a transition to the less fervent 
 form of a Collect, or ordinary Prayer, as distinct from 
 Supplication. Observe the ascending in the response, 
 from the form, " help us for Thy name's sake" to the 
 more zealous "help us for Thine honor," which follows 
 a commemoration of GOD'S works of olden time, and 
 which thus makes way for a Gloria Patri, introduced 
 with sublime abruptness, while the Church is on her 
 knees, as if in fulfilment of the Psalmist's resolution to 
 " praise the Lord at all times" and to have his praises 
 ever in her mouth. After this, the Supplications again 
 
 * Trench. Quoted in Webster's Dictionary. 
 45
 
 The Penitential Office 
 
 proceed, and Christ is invoked as our Defender, Coun- 
 sellor, Saviour and Intercessor, while by the title "Son 
 of David," he is also, as it were, reminded of the days 
 of His humiliation, and of the mercies He wrought in 
 answer to those who showed their faith by giving Him 
 this acknowledgment of His true character as the King 
 of Israel. 
 
 The Litany concludes with a very ancient prayer, ad- 
 dressed to GOD the Father ; but it is to be noted that the 
 words, put our whole trust and confidence in Thy mercy, 
 were introduced by the Reformers, as defining the 
 proper security for a Christian's hope. This they did, 
 because they had thrown out a corrupt Litany of the 
 Middle Ages, which used to follow in this place, full of 
 Supplications to the saints, as if they were needed after 
 Christ, or could be a ground of Christian confidence ! 
 Thus the rust and cobwebs of the Papal times were put 
 away ; and the Litany, restored to its primitive beauty 
 and purity, is seen once more to be like that golden 
 censer which an angel held in his hand, in the Apoca- 
 lypse, filled with much incense, "the prayers of all 
 saints." 
 
 ZTbe penitential ffice 
 
 THIS is one of the most conspicuous memorials of the 
 latest revision of the Prayer-Book, a Service introduced 
 in its entireness by vote of the General Conventions of 
 1889 and 1892. 
 
 It takes the place of that which is called in the Eng- 
 lish Prayer-Book "A Commination, or Denouncing of 
 GOD'S anger and Judgments against Sinners, with cer- 
 46
 
 The Penitential Office 
 
 tain Prayers, to be used on the First Day of Lent and at 
 other times as the Ordinary shall appoint." 
 
 In this English Service are rehearsed the Curses of 
 Jehovah as recorded in the twenty-seventh chapter of 
 Deuteronomy and other places of Scripture, and the 
 people answered to every denunciation, Amen ; " to the 
 intent that being admonished of the great indignation of 
 GOD against sinners, they might the rather be moved 
 to earnest and true repentance, and might work more 
 warily in these dangerous days ; fleeing from such vices," 
 etc. 
 
 Then followed a long homily and exhortation to repent- 
 ance and amendment. All this portion of the Com- 
 mination Service is omitted from the Penitential Office 
 in the American book but the remainder is retained, 
 consisting of the fifty-first Psalm, several Versicles with 
 the Lord's Prayer and the special Ash Wednesday 
 Prayers, and the Aaronic Benediction, "The Lord bless 
 us and keep us," etc. 
 
 Attention should be drawn to the beautiful Collect in- 
 troduced here just before the Blessing, taken from the 
 Occasional Prayers in the English Prayer- Book , " O GOD, 
 whose nature and property is ever to have mercy and 
 to forgive," etc. 
 
 In exquisite rhythm and language it stands pre-emi- 
 nent, and like many others is as old as the Sacramentary 
 of Gregory the Great. (A.D. 600.) 
 
 Although intended specially for use after the Litany on 
 the morning of Ash Wednesday the Penitential Office is 
 frequently, sometimes daily, used during Lent in connec- 
 tion with Morning or Evening Prayer, or by itself with a 
 Lecture or Instruction. 
 
 47
 
 THOUGHTS ON THE 
 
 SERVICES 
 
 
 H&vent Sunfcag 
 
 THE Sun of Righteousness is the great centre around 
 which the Church revolves, and her ritual year begins 
 with a renewal of His glorious light and warmth. Thus 
 it happens that in the Kingdom of Heaven we live in ad- 
 vance of the world ; we are a whole month on our way 
 before the civil year begins. In this manner our Holy 
 Mother teaches us to be ever on the alert, " looking for 
 and hastening unto the coming of the day of GOD." 
 
 This feast of the Advent, which opens the Advent 
 Season, is one which strongly mingles the most joyous 
 with the most appalling thoughts ; for while it strikes the 
 key-note of our Christmas rejoicings, it dwells on the 
 first Advent, with especial reference to its bearings on 
 that which is yet future, and for which we are called to 
 prepare. Our " song is of mercy and of judgment." 
 
 How salutary to the soul this annual awakening, and 
 setting forward towards immortality! The Advent Season 
 should always be made one of discipline, and of solemn 
 meditation and reading on the Four Last Things, Death, 
 Judgment, Heaven, and Hell ; for all time is but the pre- 
 lude to Judgment and Eternity. 
 
 In the Christian Year, Advent Sunday answers to that 
 4 49
 
 Advent Sunday 
 
 day in the Mosaic year, when the "Trumpet was blown 
 in Zion," preparatory to the Feast of Tabernacles. As 
 Christmas is the Christian Feast of Tabernacles, the 
 analogy is complete. A proper anthem for the day is 
 made of the striking words of the Prophet Isaiah, " Oh 
 that Thou wouldst rend the heavens, that Thou wouldst 
 come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy 
 presence !" In some such thrilling passage of Scripture 
 is often condensed the entire spirit of a feast-day ; and 
 here we have that longing after GOD, which is the instinct 
 of the Church, His Spouse, and which says, come quickly, 
 when the world would delay. 
 
 The Minister begins the Sen-ice with the cry of the 
 Baptist, " Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
 hand"; and the proper Psalms are the Eighth and 
 Fiftieth : " O Lord our Governor : how excellent is Thy 
 name in all the earth" ; "the Lord, even the Most Mighty 
 GOD hath spoken : out of Zion hath GOD appeared : our 
 GOD shall come : and the heavens shall declare His 
 righteousness, for GOD is Judge Himself." 
 
 The First Lesson begins the Prophet Isaiah, who is 
 always read in Advent for the Old Testament Lesson, 
 because Isaiah is the Evangelist of the older Scriptures, 
 and abounds with predictions of both Advents of the 
 LORD JESUS. On this account Isaiah is omitted in the 
 regular order of the Prophets, and is reserved till this 
 time, both in the daily and special tables of Lessons. 
 This Lesson will be found full of the judgment of the 
 Lord, respecting justice, mercy, and truth, showing 
 what He will require of us at the last day, but it also 
 suits the occasion, as setting forth the requirements of 
 GOD with respect to the Ecclesiastical Year, now opening, 
 "its new moons, and Sabbaths, and appointed feasts." 
 GOD appointed these observances, under the Law, yet
 
 Advent Sunday 
 
 because of the iniquity, oppression, and blood-guiltiness 
 of His people, He was forced to say, "My soul hateth 
 them ; they are a trouble unto Me ; I am weary to bear 
 them." There can be no doubt that the Christian festi- 
 vals, however precious to GOD when kept in spirit and 
 in truth, are equally hateful to Him, if defiled by practical 
 irreligion or unbelief, by cruelty to the poor and needy, 
 or by neglect of any of our fellow-creatures in their 
 temporal and spiritual wants. 
 
 The Second Lesson is that pictorial opening of the 
 Gospel by St. Luke, in which the announcement of the 
 First Advent is made to Zacharias, and the promise 
 is given by the Archangel that there should be born the 
 Great Forerunner, John the Baptizer, who shall pre- 
 pare the way of the Lord. It is designed to prepare us 
 for Christmas, and at the same time to remind us, by the 
 fulfilment of the promises respecting that first coming, 
 that the Judgment is no less certain in its time. When 
 the appointed day arrives, the Archangel will again 
 appear, and with his voice, and the sound of a trumpet, 
 proclaim the general resurrection, and the gathering of 
 all nations in the Valley of Decision. No one can at- 
 tentively listen to the words of this Lesson without 
 emotion, as the great events to which the inspired Evan- 
 gelist introduces us are rehearsed with all the effect of 
 brilliant portraiture. 
 
 In the Litany, let the mind dwell on the suffrages, 
 which relate to the Incarnation, and on those which sup- 
 plicate deliverance in the hour of Death, and in the day 
 of Judgment. 
 
 The Collect for the Day is a sublime petition, illus- 
 trating the original idea of such a prayer, which is that it 
 collects, or gathers together, the prominent parts of the 
 Service for the day, and reduces them to a practical 
 5*
 
 Advent Sunday 
 
 offering of mingled prayer and praise to GOD. Thus 
 the Epistle, which bids us to "cast off the works of 
 darkness," and the Gospel, which exhibits the "great 
 humility" of the first Advent, are united in the petition 
 that we may be prepared for the glorious majesty in 
 which He shall come to judge the quick and the dead, 
 and for the award of immortality which is the inheritance 
 of the just. Reflect especially on the language of the 
 Epistle, that "it is high time to awake out of sleep," 
 that " the night is far spent and the day is at hand" ; and 
 connect it, mentally, with the beautiful imagery of the 
 prophet, "Watchman, what of the night? The morn- 
 ing cometh, and also the night." The resurrection draws 
 nigh, though we must first sleep in the night of death. 
 First awake, and fill the vessel with oil, and replenish 
 the lamps, and then we may lie down in our graves, and 
 have no fear that our lamps will have gone out, when 
 the cry is made, and the Bridegroom comes. 
 
 The Gospel is designed to contrast the meek and 
 lowly appearance of the Great King, in the days of His 
 flesh, with the royal splendors which shall surround His 
 coming in the clouds of heaven. Though this Gospel, 
 as it were, anticipates Palm Sunday, yet it is the narra- 
 tive of the event in which the first Advent was consum- 
 mated. Let it always be remembered that, until this 
 event, the kingdom of heaven was only "at hand." It 
 was strictly the Advent : the fulfilling of what was 
 written, "Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold thy king 
 cometh unto thee." 
 
 In the Holy Communion, dwell on the thought that 
 many shall say in that day, "We have eaten and drunk 
 in Thy presence," to whom the Judge shall answer, "I 
 know you not whence ye are : depart from ME, all ye 
 workers of iniquity." 
 
 5 2
 
 Second Sunday in Advent 
 
 At Evening Prayer the First Lesson contains many 
 marked allusions to the day of the Lord "when he 
 ariseth to shake terribly the earth"; and the Second 
 Lesson begins the reading of the marvellous Revelation 
 of St. John wherein the mysteries of the Last Days and 
 of Heaven and Hell are solemnly made known to us. It 
 is customary in some churches to provide a Judgment 
 anthem ; but perhaps nothing is more impressive to the 
 ordinary worshipper than the solemn singing of a part of 
 the familiar hymn : 
 
 "Great God what do I see and hear? 
 The end of things created." 
 
 So solemn a day ought to be concluded, in the family, 
 in an appropriate way, and afterwards in the closet. For 
 private reading, nothing could be more appropriate than 
 the impressive words of our Lord, beginning thus:* 
 " When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all 
 the holy Angels with Him; then shall He sit upon the 
 throne of His glory." In fact, the earnest Christian 
 would do well to begin with the preceding chapter of St. 
 Matthew, and to read devoutly the whole of the Saviour's 
 Advent Sermon. So one may spend a good day and lie 
 down at night, at peace with GOD, and ready for the 
 judgment trumpet, let it sound when it may. 
 
 Mi 
 
 Seconfc Sunfca^ in Efcvent 
 
 THIS day is designed to set before us the great truth, 
 that the Holy Scriptures are given us to prepare us for 
 Judgment, as well as to testify of Christ. "The testi- 
 
 *St. Matt. xxv. 31. 
 
 S3
 
 Second Sunday in Advent 
 
 mony of JESUS is the spirit of prophecy," and the Word 
 that He spake, "the same shall judge us at the last 
 day." 
 
 The Lesson from the prophet Isaiah is a strong re- 
 monstrance against the iniquities which shall be punished 
 in the Great Day of Account: while that from the Gospel 
 is the record of the visit of the Archangel Gabriel to the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary to announce the Incarnation. The 
 Benedictus in its entirety should follow this Lesson on 
 every day in Advent, commemorating, as it does, the 
 coming of the Messiah. 
 
 In the Collect we entreat Almighty GOD for grace to 
 use aright the Holy Scriptures, which are " able to make 
 us wise unto salvation." Thus, we acknowledge the 
 Bible to be the counterpart on earth of the Book of 
 Account which is kept in heaven ; and the spirit of our 
 prayer is, that it may be to us an assurance that our 
 names are written in that Book of Life, which shall be 
 opened at the Last Day. 
 
 The Epistle is the portion of Scripture which supplies, 
 in part, the language of the Collect, and which is further 
 appropriate, because it sets forth Christ, as the "Root 
 of Jesse" and the hope of the Gentiles. The Gospel 
 makes itself felt, as an overwhelmingly sublime predic- 
 tion of the Last Day, and of the fearful signs which 
 shall precede it. It was the custom of the Ancient 
 Prophets to give an immediate sign, or fulfilment of 
 their words, in token that the ultimate fulfilment would 
 be as certain. Our Lord, therefore, gave the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem, and of the Jewish Church and State, 
 as the immediate token, or fulfilment, of what he pre- 
 dicted concerning the destruction of all things temporal. 
 Improbable as it then appeared that such a sign would 
 prove a reality before that generation of men passed 
 54
 
 Second Sunday in Advent 
 
 from the stage of human life, we all know that it actually 
 came to pass, and that the Jewish people have ever since 
 been wanderers over the face of all the earth. Thus, 
 then, the whole prophecy was fulfilled in its earnest, or 
 pledge, and we cannot doubt that it will be so in its 
 entire length and breadth. Heaven and earth shall pass 
 away, but Christ's word shall not pass away. This con- 
 cluding text of the Gospel for the day continues the 
 great idea of the Collect, that the Word of GOD is the 
 sure monitor and guide of the faithful. 
 
 Among the hymns which the Church supplies, none is 
 more appropriate than : 
 
 " O Word of GOD Incarnate, 
 O Wisdom from on high," 
 
 a hymn which embodies the Church's teaching concern- 
 ing the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 In the Evening Lessons, the worshipper will not fail 
 to note the prophetic words concerning the times in 
 which we are now living, as premonitory of the 
 Judgment : " the earth mourneth and fadeth away ; the 
 world languisheth and fadeth away ; the haughty people 
 of the earth do languish." The concluding verse of the 
 chapter is scarcely less striking: "the moon shall be 
 confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of 
 hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and 
 before His Ancients, gloriously." The Ancients here 
 spoken of are probably the five-and-twenty Elders of 
 the New Jerusalem and other Saints of the " General 
 Assembly and Church of the firstborn," which are 
 written in heaven. The Second Lesson continues the 
 solemn warnings addressed to the Seven Churches of 
 Asia by the Risen and Ascended Lord, who shall come 
 to be our Judge. 
 
 55
 
 Third Sunday in Advent 
 
 Sunfcag in Bftvent. 
 
 ' ' BEHOLD, I send my messenger before thy face who 
 shall prepare my way before thee." This prophecy has 
 a double fulfilment. In one sense it has already come 
 to pass. John the Baptist was the Elijah who heralded 
 the first coming of Christ. But the Apostolic Ministry 
 is the John Baptist of the latter day, heralding the Second 
 Advent, and the coming of the Judge. 
 
 Accordingly the Church to-day dwells on the Chris- 
 tian ministry and its great Mission, in connection with 
 a retrospect of that of the Baptist, as its precursor. 
 There is a marvellous blending of interests, and of sub- 
 jects, therefore, in the Services of this day. As a mere 
 preparative for Christmas, the ministry of John Baptist 
 might well come into view ; but again, as a preparative 
 for Judgment, it is not less coincident, for its burden was 
 and is, "flee from the wrath to come." With this 
 message that of the Gospel Ministry is strictly harmoni- 
 ous, and the subject of eternal rewards and punishments 
 is thus presented with that of Death and Judgment. 
 
 The Collect will be found to sum up what is thus as- 
 serted, with reference to the spirit of the day. The 
 Epistle, short as it is, is admirably selected, as a con- 
 densed statement of the commission of Christ's Minis- 
 ters and of the relations sustained by them, and by 
 those that hear them, to the bar of GOD. They are not 
 merely Ministers of the Word, but "Stewards of the 
 Mysteries," that is, ministers of the Sacraments, and 
 other means of grace, for the administration of which 
 they bear " the keys of the kingdom." They bind and 
 loose, and open and shut ; and when they do so accord- 
 56
 
 Third Sunday in Advent 
 
 ing to the laws of the kingdom, then what they do on 
 earth is ratified in heaven. 
 
 The Gospel is the testimony which our Lord gave 
 to John Baptist, as his faithful steward and fore- 
 runner ; and cites the prophetic promise of such a mes- 
 senger, which serves to identify both John and his 
 Master. At the same time, it bears on the Epistle, as 
 showing that it was " a light thing" for St. John, as it was 
 for St. Paul, "to be judged of man's judgment," and that 
 He that judgeth both is the Lord. Thus, some said of 
 John that he was "a reed shaken with the wind" ; others 
 that he was a time-server ; and others that he had a devil ; 
 but here -we see his Master setting the seal to his work, 
 as that of "a prophet, and more than a prophet." 
 
 It is in beautiful harmony with a Sunday-Service, so 
 forcibly setting forth the nature of the Ministry of the 
 Gospel, that the Ember-fasts occur in this week, and 
 that the following Sunday is the Advent time for Ordi- 
 nations. The Ember Collect used at Morning and Even- 
 ing Prayer falls in with happy effect, harmonizing with 
 all the Services of the day. 
 
 In the First Lesson, at Morning Prayer, is a prophecy 
 of all the blessings of the Incarnation, Sacrifice, and 
 Resurrection of Christ. The nature of the Advent 
 Season is brought out in the experience of the faith- 
 ful, " Lo, this is our GOD, we have waited for Him." 
 The patient waiting for Christ will be thus rewarded, 
 at the day of His appearing. Observe, too, the prophecy 
 of a crucified Saviour, in the words, "He shall spread 
 forth His hands in the midst of them, as he that swim- 
 meth spreadeth forth his hands to swim." The Second 
 Lesson recounts the birth of the great Forerunner of 
 the First Advent of our Lord. In this Lesson occurs 
 the Benedictus, or song of Zacharias, which should not 
 57
 
 Ember- Week in Advent 
 
 on that account be omitted as the Canticle after the Les- 
 son. It comes in with fine effect as a chorus after being 
 read by the Minister. 
 
 So, in the Evening Prayer, the promises alike of pun- 
 ishment and reward, in the Lesson from prophecy, ex- 
 plain the propriety of its selection ; but we must not 
 overlook the promise of Christ, under the title of "the 
 precious Corner-Stone," which also occurs. The Sec- 
 ond Lesson carries us on in the solemn Revelation of St. 
 John the Divine, warning us of the wrath to come and 
 promising to the faithful the blessings which belong "to 
 him that overcometh." Over and over again we hear the 
 refrain: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the 
 Spirit saith unto the churches." 
 
 EmbeMPOleefc in B&vent 
 
 How free are many to speak ill of their pastors and 
 teachers, who have never uttered in their behalf a single 
 prayer ! How many profess a singular desire for the 
 purity of the Priesthood, who never fasted a day, to ask 
 of GOD this blessing ! Yet the Church hallows for this 
 end Four Seasons, which she bids her children spend 
 in abstinence and prayer ; and, perhaps, if they were 
 better kept, both the people and their pastors would 
 better adorn the doctrine of GOD their Saviour. These 
 seasons are called, technically, the Quatnor Tempora, 
 or i\\efour times, that is to say, of Ordination ; for the 
 Sundays immediately succeeding these days of prayer 
 are appointed by the ancient and modern Canons, as 
 the stated times for ordaining. Vulgarly, the Quatuor 
 Tempora were called Quatember, and finally Ember 
 ' 53
 
 Fourth Sunday in Advent 
 
 weeks ; the usage being very ancient, and the name 
 having undergone the changes incidental to the lapse of 
 ages. But, whatever be the name, no one can dispute 
 its propriety, or the Scripture warrant for the institution 
 itself. See Acts xiii. 2 ; xiv. 23. As a blessing is pro- 
 nounced on all who strengthen the hands of their pastors, 
 it is not to be forgotten that a curse is as plainly uttered 
 against those who grieve and afflict them. Indeed, it 
 has often been observed that evil hunts the man who 
 offends against a servant of GOD. See St. Matt, xviii. 
 7 ; x. 40, 41. The Master regards it as done against 
 Himself, and punishes it as sacrilege. 
 
 ffourtb Suntmp in Hfcvent 
 
 THE Sen-ices to-day are singularly illustrative of the 
 mingled character of Advent. They contain allusions 
 to Judgment, Death, Hell, and Heaven, and interchange 
 the call to joy and gladness with warnings of fiery in- 
 dignation. In distributing the subjects of the Four Last 
 Things, it is appropriate to this day to dwell on that of 
 Heaven, as the natural antecedent of the Nativity, which 
 brings heaven down to earth; and the great result to 
 which the coming of Christ was designed to bring man- 
 kind. 
 
 In the first Morning Lesson, among those passages 
 which specially relate to the Season, should be noted 
 such as this: "Therefore will the Lord wait that He 
 may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be ex- 
 alted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a 
 GOD of Judgment; blessed are all they that wait for Him." 
 
 In the Second Lesson, which continues the history of 
 59
 
 Fourth Sunday in Advent 
 
 the holy Baptist, besides the obvious wisdom of the full 
 recital of the missionary work of the great pioneer of 
 the Gospel, we should observe the warning to "flee from 
 the wrath to come." 
 
 In the Evening Lessons we have, with other passages 
 of solemn interest, the promise of the Incarnation. GOD 
 shall become man, and, as the Son of Man, shall wear 
 rightfully the titles of the GOD of Israel ; yea, " A man 
 shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert 
 from the tempest ; as rivers of water in a dry place, as 
 the shadow of a great Rock in a weary land." 
 
 The Second Lesson is the closing chapter of the Book 
 of Revelation, showing to men the Heavenly City ready 
 for all those who, profiting by the First Advent, joyfully 
 await the Second. 
 
 As an anthem, part of the 7ad Psalm is appropriate: 
 "Give the king thy judgments, O GOD, and thy right- 
 eousness unto the king's son. . . . He shall come down 
 like the rain into a fleece of wool, even as the drops 
 that water the earth." 
 
 The Collect was anciently addressed to Christ Him- 
 self, but is now addressed to the Father, in recognition 
 of the truths that Christ is "of GOD made unto us 
 redemption," that GOD the Father comes unto us in 
 His Son; and that in Christ "dwelleth all the fulness 
 of the Godhead, bodily." We, therefore, pray the 
 Father to reconcile the world unto Himself, by the 
 coming of His Son, which we are now about to 
 celebrate. 
 
 The Epistle closes up the Season of Advent discipline, 
 with a call to spiritual festivity. "Rejoice! . . - the 
 Lord is at hand." The Gospel is the testimony of John 
 to the Saviour, "Who, coming after Him, is preferred 
 before Him." Christ Himself testified of John, that he 
 60
 
 Christmas Eve 
 
 was "the greatest born of woman," that is, by natural 
 generation. Yet John says of Christ, "Whose shoes' 
 latchet I am not worthy to unloose." Infer from this 
 the Godhead of Christ; and "consider how great this 
 man was," this great Melchisedec, to whom Abraham 
 gave tithes, and John Baptist paid such tribute; saying, 
 elsewhere, " He was before me," though here he says, 
 " He cometh after me." In His Godhead, though not in 
 His humanity, Christ was before all worlds, and says 
 of Himself, " Before Abraham was, I AM." 
 
 Gbristmas 
 
 WE come to the great Eve or Vigil of the Nativity ; and 
 the Church has appointed for its observance two most 
 appropriate Lessons. The first is the gorgeous prophecy 
 of Isaiah, descriptive of Messiah's peaceful kingdom : 
 "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of 
 the Lord is risen upon thee." This Lesson is the 
 rather striking, because it comes of itself into its place, 
 this evening, according to the regular Advent reading of 
 the prophet, and is not otherwise selected, than as it 
 thus fits into its time, as if by providential coincidence. 
 Yet the decoration of our churches, on this evening, 
 would seem to have been especially designed to illustrate 
 this Lesson, in its rapturous words, " The glory of Leb- 
 anon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, 
 and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanc- 
 tuary ; and I will make the place of my feet glorious." 
 Of the Second Lesson it is also true, that it happens, 
 rather than that.it is selected ; yet how strikingly ap- 
 61
 
 Christmas Eve 
 
 propriate is the passage, an echo and amplification of the 
 angel's song : " Alleluia ; Salvation and glory and honor 
 and power unto the Lord our GOD. . . . Let us be glad 
 and rejoice and give honor to Him. ... I saw heaven 
 opened and behold, a white horse, and He that sat upon 
 him was called Faithful and True . . . and His Name 
 is called The Word of God, . . . and He hath on His 
 vesture and on His thigh a Name written, KING OF 
 KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." Other verses are 
 scarcely less appropriate. 
 
 The thirteenth Selection of Psalms may appropriately 
 be used on this Eve, because it contains the Ssth Psalm, 
 and others proper to the time. Thus, the 97th Psalm 
 contains the expression, "Worship Him, all ye gods" ; 
 which St. Paul renders, "Let all the angels of GOD 
 worship Him," and which he refers to GOD the 
 Father, who gives this command, "when He bringeth 
 in the First-Begotten into the world." It would have 
 been difficult to make a selection more entirely suit- 
 able ; and although the 85th Psalm is repeated on 
 Christmas morning, it is impossible that a foretaste of 
 it can diminish the joy with which every devout wor- 
 shipper will join in the song, " Mercy and truth are met 
 together ; righteousness and peace have kissed each 
 other." 
 
 It is customary, on this Eve, to sing anthems ; and a 
 great variety of them are in use. The most appropriate 
 seems to be that from Handel's Messiah, " There were 
 shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over 
 their flocks by night"; followed by the chorus, "Glory 
 to GOD in the highest, and on earth peace, good will 
 towards men." 
 
 Few congregations are willing to leave the Church 
 without the Carol, 
 
 62
 
 Christmas Eve 
 
 " Hark ! the herald angels sing, 
 Glory to the new-born King ; 
 Peace on earth, and mercy mild, 
 GOD and sinners reconciled." 
 
 The writer can also testify, from frequent experience 
 of such kindness on the part of musical parishioners, 
 that in some places the "Waits" still go round, late in 
 the evening, and never cease till the Rector has been 
 saluted with this and other carols beneath his windows. 
 
 With respect to the festival itself, some are disposed 
 to regard the date of the Nativity as chosen arbitrarily, 
 and to be respected as the ecclesiastical, but not the 
 natural, anniversary. Every Christian is free to hold this 
 opinion ; but there are many reasons for regarding it as 
 the true date. In fact, it is as well established as many 
 other historical dates that are accepted without hesita- 
 tion ; but we need not insist on what is not clearly 
 proved, especially in a matter so entirely unimportant. 
 
 It ought to suffice us that it is an observance which 
 seems to have been anticipated by the Law ; in which 
 the Feast of Tabernacles answers to Christmas, as the 
 Paschal does to Easter, and Pentecost to Whitsuntide. 
 They celebrated the typical presence of Christ in the 
 Tabernacle in the Wilderness, as we do the great fact 
 that "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us," 
 or, as it is in the Greek, " tabertiacled among us." Be- 
 sides, this feast has been kept from the very beginning 
 of the Christian Era, as we learn from St. Chrysostom : 
 and its date was commonly supposed to be verified by 
 the date of the taxing made under Caesar Augustus, and 
 by the records thereof kept at Rome. We know that 
 St. John lived into the second century ; and as he was 
 the adopted son of the Blessed Virgin, (made so by 
 Christ Himself on the Cross,) we cannot suppose him 
 63
 
 Christmas Carol 
 
 to have been ignorant of the true birthday of his Divine 
 "Elder Brother," nor yet that he could have failed to 
 make it known to the churches in which he ministered. 
 Be that as it may, the festival has been so long hallowed, 
 and is so full of the Spirit of the Gospel, that no right- 
 minded person can fail to enjoy it. For the temporary 
 deliverance by Queen Esther, the Jewish Church ordained 
 the Feast of Purim, (Esther ix. 19, 26, 27,) as for a similar 
 reason they instituted the Feast of the Dedication, which 
 our Saviour himself kept. (John x. 22.) Surely, then, 
 our great Deliverance may be celebrated. Long may 
 this day be the peculiar joy of children, and the season 
 of the gathering of families; " of sending portions to 
 those for whom nothing is prepared"; of gifts to the 
 poor, and of universal good will : even as it is written : 
 "Go your way; eat the fat and drink the sweet, . . . 
 and send portions, and make great mirth ; go forth unto 
 the mount, and fetch olive-branches, and pine branches, 
 and myrtle-branches, and palm-branches, and branches 
 of thick trees ; ... for this day is holy unto our Lord ; 
 ... for the joy of the Lord is your strength." 
 
 Cbristmas Carol 
 
 CAROL, carol, Christians, 
 
 Carol joyfully ; 
 Carol for the coming 
 
 Of Christ's Nativity ; 
 And pray a gladsome Christmas 
 
 For all good Christian men ; 
 Carol, carol, Christians, 
 
 For Christmas, come again. 
 
 Carol, Carol. 
 64
 
 Christmas Carol 
 
 Go ye to the forest, 
 
 Where the myrtles grow, 
 Where the pine and laurel 
 
 Bend beneath the snow ; 
 Gather them for JESUS : 
 
 Wreathe them for His shrine ; 
 Make His temple glorious 
 
 With the box and pine. 
 
 Carol, carol. 
 
 Wreathe your Christmas garland, 
 
 Where to Christ we pray : 
 It shall smell like Carmel 
 
 On our festal day : 
 Libanus and Sharon 
 
 Shall not greener be 
 Than our holy chancel 
 
 On Christ's Nativity. 
 
 Carol, carol. 
 
 Carol, carol, Christians : 
 
 Like the Magi now, 
 Ye must lade your caskets 
 
 With a grateful vow : 
 Ye must have a sweet incense 
 
 Myrrh, and finest gold, 
 At our Christmas Altar 
 
 Humbly to unfold. 
 
 Carol, carol. 
 
 Blow, blow up the trumpet, 
 
 For our solemn feast, 
 Gird thine armor, Christian, 
 
 Wear thy surplice, priest. 
 65
 
 Christmas-Day 
 
 Go ye to the altar, 
 
 Pray, with fervor, pray, 
 For JESUS' second coming, 
 
 And the Latter Day. 
 
 Carol, carol. 
 
 Give us grace, O Saviour, 
 
 To put off in might, 
 Deeds and dreams of darkness, 
 
 For the robes of light. 
 And to live as lowly, 
 
 As Thyself with men ; 
 So to rise in glory, 
 
 When Thou com'st again. 
 
 Carol, carol. 
 
 A. C. C. 
 
 
 
 How beautifully breaks the morning sun on the snowy 
 landscape, enlivening the cold air and dispelling the 
 darkness ! So shines forth the Sun of Righteousness 
 upon the winter of man's ruined estate, and gives light 
 to his eyes, and gladness to his heart. Well may Chris- 
 tians salute each other with congratulations, and, by acts 
 of kindness and tenderness to the poor, proclaim the 
 Universal Brotherhood of mankind in JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 The proper Psalms for the morning illustrate the spirit 
 
 of the Feast, in strains of rapture and adoration, endited 
 
 by the Spirit, and descriptive of the Only Begotten Son 
 
 of the Father. His Gospel "goes forth into all lands," 
 
 66
 
 Christmas-Day 
 
 and "there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." To 
 Him, in the 45th Psalm, the Father addresses the 
 salutation, "Thou art fairer than the children of men. 
 . . . Gird Thee with Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O 
 Thou most mighty. . . . Good luck have Thou with 
 Thine honor. . . . Thy Seat, O GOD, endureth for- 
 ever." In this connection, too, the Church is introduced, 
 as the Bride of Christ, coming before Him in her glo- 
 rious attire, and worshipping Him as her LORD GOD. 
 St. Cyprian regards this Psalm not less as a special 
 prophecy of the Incarnation, but refers it primarily to 
 the eternal generation of the Son, reading the first verse 
 of it, "My heart has generated a blessed Word," and 
 considering it the language of the Father to the Son, 
 rather than that of the Psalmist to the Messiah. 
 
 The First Lesson is very short ; but it is one of the 
 sublimest passages in the prophets. "The people that 
 walked in darkness have seen a great light." \Yhat 
 follows (say the critics) should be read as an interroga- 
 tion, as if it were, " Hast thou multiplied the nation, 
 and not increased the joy?"* To which the prophet 
 responds, in view of the union of all nations in exulting 
 over a Redeemer's birth, "They joy before Thee accord- 
 ing to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they 
 divide the spoil." He then makes a bold lyrical transi- 
 tion to another view of the First Advent, as a "battle 
 of the warrior" with the powers of darkness ; and its 
 terrible results to the Jewish nation are presignified by 
 the warning, "this shall be with burning and fuel of 
 fire." The conflagration of the Temple under Titus 
 was the terrible consequence of Jewish unbelief in their 
 promised Messiah ; and while exulting in the prophecy 
 
 *Or simply omit the word "not," which should not be so trans- 
 lated. 
 
 67
 
 Christmas-Day 
 
 of Gentile converts, the inspired lyrist makes this apos- 
 trophe to the sad reverse of Gentile joy exhibited among 
 his own people. Then follows that magnificent burst of 
 adoration and of faith, " For unto us a Child is born ; 
 linto us a Son is given ; and the government shall be 
 upon His shoulder ; and His name shall be called 
 Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty GOD, the Everlast- 
 ing Father, the Prince of Peace." 
 
 It is impossible that anything should be added to this 
 to heighten its effect, except after the Te Deum, the 
 Lesson from the Gospel which narrates the fulfilment of 
 the prophecy, in strains scarcely less elevated, How 
 simple, yet how sublime, the narrative of the Virgin's 
 arrival at Bethlehem ; of the pastoral scenes in the 
 neighboring fields ; of the great light that shone upon 
 them, and of the message of the Angel ! Who can look 
 upon a Christian congregation, gathered together, here 
 in disfant America, on Christmas-day, without feeling 
 the fidelity of the promise, " I bring you good tidings of 
 great joy, which shall be to all people" ? 
 
 But the Service mounts yet higher ; for the Collect, 
 Epistle and Gospel, take up the worship at this point, and 
 carry it on to the elevated stage of devotion, where the 
 Holy Eucharist becomes our only sufficient expression 
 of gratitude and praise. The noth Psalm makes a 
 majestic Introit: " the dew of Thy birth is of the womb of 
 the morning." From beginning to end it is full of 
 " Messiah the Prince," and of the blessings of His cove- 
 nant; and hence it is one of the appointed Psalms for 
 Evening Prayer. The Collect not only celebrates our 
 Saviour's birth "of a pure Virgin," but, recognizing 
 the exceeding great " love bestowed on us," that we also 
 should be "called the sons of GOD," it supplicates that 
 daily renewal of Grace, by which our sonship may be 
 68
 
 Christmas-Day 
 
 preserved, and we may be made, eternally, " heirs of 
 GOD, and joint-heirs with Christ." 
 
 The Epistle is not only appropriate for its majestic 
 proclamation of the Advent fo the Son of GOD, fulfil- 
 ling the Law and the Prophets, but also for the sequel to 
 this proclamation, which defines His glory and divinity. 
 Christ is not an angel, but, by inheritance, far better: 
 He js "the Son of the Father, ): and where was this 
 title ever given to any angel ? Or when did GOD say of 
 any created being, "let all the angels of GOD worship 
 Him " ? Of the angels, GOD saith certain things, defining 
 their character and office; but the Son, He addresses as 
 GOD, the co-partner of His own throne and sceptre. 
 Yes, continues the Apostle, to the same JESUS is ad- 
 dressed the language which defines Him as alike the 
 Creator and the Judge of the World: "Thou, Lord, in 
 the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and 
 the heavens are the works of Thine hands." Again, 
 " As a vesture, Thou shall fold them up, and they shall 
 be changed ; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall 
 not fail." Such, then, is the little Babe whom we have 
 seen "wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a 
 manger." His name is Lord and GOD; the stars of 
 Heaven are the work of His fingers; and He shall dispose 
 of them at last. Now follows the Gospel, and the jubilant 
 shout, "Glory be to Thee, O Lord," may well precede 
 it. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word 
 was with GOD, and the WORD WAS GOD." Thus the 
 Evangelist declares His generation before the world 
 was, His creative power, and His Godhead. How 
 is it that the Eternal GOD is born of a woman? The 
 great mystery of the Incarnation is finally asserted 
 in these divine words : " The Word was made flesh, and 
 dwelt among us ; and we beheld His Glory ; the Glory 
 69
 
 Christmas-Day 
 
 as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of Grace and 
 Truth." Here follows the Nicene Creed, and there is no 
 moment in the worship of the entire year, where its lofty 
 strains of confession and worship come in with equal 
 effect. The Gospel which immediately precedes it, seems 
 to prolong itself in this Creed, as in a sublime hymn, in 
 which the Church responsively salutes Christ, as being 
 what the Gospel proclaims Him, and lays her tribute at 
 His feet. 
 
 It is important to observe the Preface, (which intro- 
 duces the Trisagion, ) as of like significance with the 
 Creed, and as blending all Angels with the Church 
 Catholic, in the ascription of this festal homage to the 
 Blessed Trinity, in view of the great humility of GOD the 
 Son. How much there is in the Christmas Communion, 
 viewed as setting forth the great end for which "the 
 Word was made flesh"! It was that His flesh might 
 be broken and His blood shed for us. "A body was 
 prepared," in order that He might " bear our sins in His 
 own body on the tree." So, then, we commemorate His 
 death, with His birth, in the sacrifice of thanksgiving. 
 From this holy feast, who can turn away without sharing 
 the emotions of the shepherds of Bethlehem, who "re- 
 turned praising and blessing GOD for all the things that 
 they had seen and heard" ? 
 
 The Alternative Collect, Epistle and Gospel were 
 added at the last revision, because in so many Churches 
 there are several celebrations of the Holy Communion 
 on Christmas-day, the first one usually at midnight. 
 
 At the Evening Prayer, which closes this blessed day, 
 the Psalms are again admirably selected. In the 8gth, 
 the Covenant of GOD with David, and with the greater 
 Son of David, is the burden of the Psalmist's "song of 
 mercy and judgment." Of the noth, what has been 
 70
 
 The First Sunday after Christmas 
 
 said in speaking of it as the Introit, may suffice ; only let 
 it be noted that in the last verse, Christ is exhibited in 
 His power and His resurrection, as a mighty victor who 
 lifts up his head indeed at the end of the fight, but not 
 without stooping, in the heat of the battle, to "drink of 
 the brook in the way' ' ; or, in other words, to feel the 
 suffering, and to share the nourishment, of the poorest 
 of human beings. In the I32d Psalm, " Ephrata," it 
 must be remembered, is Bethlehem; and "Anointed" 
 is the Messiah, or Christ. Viewing Him as the Son of 
 David, born in Bethlehem, the City of David, it will be 
 seen that the whole Psalm is appropriate to the day, and 
 speaks of the blessings promised to the Church, in the 
 oath which was confirmed to the Royal Prophet, " Of the 
 fruit of thy body, shall I set upon thy seat." 
 
 The feast of Christmas reigns over the whole time, 
 till Twelfth-Night, or the Epiphany. Let the Day itself, 
 then, be sacred to the house of GOD, and to the joys of 
 Home; and let such restrained festivity as is innocent in 
 itself be reserved for other days of this holy tide. 
 
 Hbe jffrst Suntms after Gbrfstmas 
 
 THIS Sunday, falling within the Octave of Christmas, 
 repeats its Collect, and is a sort of lower Christmas. Its 
 Epistle shows us how we are made sons of GOD by 
 adoption and grace, through the Incarnation of GOD'S 
 Only Begotten, and what an heirship we have with Him ; 
 while the Gospel repeats the story of this great mystery, 
 and shows that it was intimated to the Hebrews in the 
 name Immanuel. It may be worthy of remark that
 
 The First Sunday after Christmas 
 
 there is nothing in this Gospel to persuade us that the 
 Mother of our Lord ever ceased to be the Virgin, (as the 
 wife of Joseph, ) if due comparison of the text be made 
 with other Scriptures. As the last Sunday of the civil 
 year, this day has a special solemnity, and is furnished 
 with Lessons not unsuitable to the use very often made 
 of it by zealous pastors, in reviewing a year of mercies. 
 In the morning occurs the thrilling passage from Isaiah : 
 "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for 
 them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the 
 rose." This for Christmas ; but for the close of the 
 year, the Lesson ends with a holy anticipation of that 
 eternal country, where "the redeemed shall walk" in 
 the joy of the Lord ; free forever from the calamities 
 and trials and temptations incident to Time : when 
 "songs and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, 
 and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." So, in the 
 Second Lesson, the Nunc Diinittis of the aged Simeon 
 blends sweetly with this prospect of immortality : " Now, 
 Lord, lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for 
 mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." And it is a sug- 
 gestive thought, that as it was revealed to him that "he 
 should not see death before he had seen the Lord's 
 Christ," so we are permitted to pray that the years of 
 our mortal life may not end before we, by faith, have 
 not only seen Him, but acquainted ourselves with Him, 
 as our Strength and our Redeemer. The Evangelist's 
 narrative of our Saviour's infancy and youth is so full 
 of beauty and of instruction, that it would be too great 
 a task to attempt any further remarks on such a Lesson. 
 In the Evening Lessons it is difficult to say whether 
 the Christmas or the Old Year thoughts are uppermost. 
 Those special to the feast will suggest themselves, such 
 as, "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd"; but it 
 72
 
 The Circumcision 
 
 may be well to note those appropriate to the last of the 
 fifty-two Sundays which every soul has added to his 
 account with GOD. "All flesh is grass, and all the 
 goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." How 
 impressively comes this warning, as the servant of GOD 
 solemnly reads this burial-service of a year, which has 
 seen the end of so many who were flourishing like 
 flowers when it began ! Then, the whole course of the 
 stars, and the circuit of the earth through her twelve 
 signs, seem to pass in review, as he reads, "lift up your 
 eyes on high, and behold who hath created these, that 
 bringeth out their host by numbers, not one faileth." 
 Nor let advancing years appall or shake the persever- 
 ing believer; for "they that wait upon the Lord shall 
 renew their strength ; they shall run and not be weary ; 
 and they shall walk and not faint.'* The Second Lesson 
 gives wonderful instruction concerning the true Deity 
 and glorious Incarnation of the Son of GOD, and asks 
 as a solemn question for the closing year : " How shall 
 we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" 
 
 Ube Circumcision 
 
 THE Law was given by Moses, but Grace and Truth 
 came by JESUS CHRIST. The year begins with the day 
 on which the Holy Child, made of a woman, submits to 
 the legal rite which makes him a debtor to the Law, and 
 designates him as "made under the Law, to redeem 
 them that were under the Law, that we might receive 
 the adoption of sons." To-day His saving work began 
 in blood, and, being circumcised, He undertook to fulfil 
 73
 
 The Circumcision 
 
 the Law ; which He alone perfectly fulfilled, and so 
 showed the Law to be " holy and just and good." This 
 day He received also His saving Name of JESUS, the 
 Name at which every knee shall bow ; and, therefore, in 
 the Name of JESUS, our Saviour and Redeemer, we 
 begin the new year ; praying Him for that circumcision 
 of the spirit which will enable us to live and die unto the 
 Lord according to His will. 
 
 In the proper Psalms for the day the thoughtful Chris- 
 tian will discern a tone of holy fear, very appropriate to 
 the beginning of a year ; and such expressions of trust in 
 GOD, and of prayer for His protection, as well become 
 the heart and lips of a pilgrim on earth, setting forth 
 anew towards the city that hath foundations. 
 
 Also in various verses there is reference to the Messiah 
 and His appointed work : " Lo, I come, to do Thy will, 
 O GOD." 
 
 The Morning Lessons explain each other, and teach us 
 how to read and compare the Scriptures of the Old and 
 New Testaments. The First Evening Lesson sets forth 
 the spiritual nature of the Law as requiring the circum- 
 cision of the heart, and not its mere ritual symbol. The 
 Second Lesson teaches us that Holy Baptism is the true 
 circumcision, and also unfolds its superiority, as a sacra- 
 ment, to the ordinance that was its shadow. 
 
 In the Communion Service, the Epistle explains how 
 all the faithful become the sons of Abraham, though they 
 have not the outward circumcision of the flesh ; and the 
 Holy Gospel continues the Christmas story till the Oc- 
 tave of the Nativity, when the son of Mary received the 
 name of JESUS, according "to the prophecies which went 
 before on Him." 
 
 If we would walk with GOD this year, let us commence 
 it with the holy resolutions which this feast is meant to 
 74
 
 Second Sunday After Christmas 
 
 inspire, a mortification of our worldly lusts, and a pious 
 spirit of " running with patience the race that is set before 
 us, looking unto JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our 
 Faith." 
 
 
 
 Seconfc Sun&ai? after Gbristmas 
 
 WHEN there is a Second Sunday after Christmas, it 
 falls so soon after the Circumcision that it is considered 
 a part of that feast, and its Altar Sen-ice is repeated. 
 But Special Lessons are appointed, nevertheless, and 
 thus an opportunity is given for bringing out the double 
 idea of the Circumcision. Christ's obedience to the 
 Law for man, and His "coming by blood," as well 
 as af terward by ' ' water, ' ' is the first thought. The 
 second thought is that the saving Name of JESUS, "as 
 the Name which is above every name, and to which every 
 knee shall bow." This Name, specially prefigured in 
 that of Joshua, and prenamed by the angel Gabriel to 
 the Blessed Virgin, is the Name assumed by the Eternal 
 Word of GOD, on taking our nature: it means a Saviour; 
 and it designates the way of salvation, through the veil 
 of His flesh. 
 
 Now, "the king's name is a tower of strength," and 
 the First Lesson may be regarded as setting forth the 
 might and power which GOD'S people possess in the 
 name of Him who is their "strength and their Re- 
 deemer." The Incarnate GOD ; this is the thing signified 
 by the name of a man given to the Son of GOD ; and 
 this is that truth in which the Gospel finds free course, 
 and glorifies itself among men. We therefore bow at 
 the Name of JESUS because, though it is the name of a 
 man, we would confess its dignity, when it is made the 
 75
 
 The Epiphany 
 
 Name of the Divine Person who condescended to bear it. 
 In the Second Lesson the new circumcision is brought 
 into view, in the baptism of JESUS. He comes by water 
 as well as by blood. 
 
 In the Evening, we have the prophecy which is applied 
 to our Lord expressly by the Evangelist, St. Matthew, 
 and the whole of which is a picture of JESUS as a Saviour. 
 St. Paul quotes the closing words of it, as applied to 
 Christ : " He will magnify the Law, and make it honor- 
 able." In the Second Lesson, we read St. Paul's strong 
 expression of that which has been and which was ever 
 to be the pith and marrow of his preaching, " JESUS 
 CHRIST and Him crucified," "speaking the wisdom of 
 GOD in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which GOD 
 ordained before the world . . . revealed unto us by His 
 Spirit" and through the glorious Incarnation of the Son 
 of GOD. 
 
 Ube Epfpbanp 
 
 THIS Festival, called also Twelfth-Day, is one of 
 peculiar interest to those who realize the great power of 
 GOD, by which we Gentiles have received the Gospel. 
 On this day came the first-fruits of the Gentiles, to pay 
 homage to the new-born King of Nations ; thus ren- 
 dering an early representative acknowledgment of His 
 lawful right in behalf of all the Gentile world. As for 
 us, who dwell in these "uttermost parts of the earth," 
 which were peculiarly given to the Only Begotten Son 
 for His inheritance, there seems a great propriety that we 
 should keep the feast with a willing and a holy worship ; 
 presenting ourselves before GOD, on its recurrence, as 
 76
 
 The Epiphany 
 
 living witnesses, that those " who sat in darkness have 
 seen a great light." 
 
 The day is frequently called "The Feast of Lights." 
 In the Daily Morning and Evening Prayer, we observe 
 a very delicate and beautiful judgment in the appoint- 
 ment of Special Psalms and Lessons. As the word 
 Epiphany implies a glorious Shining, or Manifestation, 
 there can be no need of pointing out the propriety of the 
 First Morning Lesson, which begins with a blaze of 
 glory ; the whole of which is so cheering a prediction of 
 the ingathering of the nations ; and in which the visit of 
 the wise men is particularly prophesied, in the passage, 
 "they shall bring gold and incense." The Second Les- 
 son contains that solemn warning by which the great 
 Doctor of the Gentiles calls on his converts to be 
 humble, and not to copy the Jew, in despising others, as 
 being now a chosen people ; informing them that if GOD 
 had dealt so severely with His former people as to cut 
 them off for their barrenness, it was evident that the 
 Gentiles, who were but grafted into the good old olive- 
 tree, would not be more tenderly treated if they also 
 should prove cumberers of the ground. The two Les- 
 sons taken together will have a most happy effect upon 
 the heart of the truly devout believer. The one calls 
 him to give GOD glory, for the unspeakable blessings of 
 the Gospel ; and the other to fear before Him, lest the 
 richness of the gift should, by neglect, bring in the end a 
 greater condemnation. The latter suggests some serious 
 ideas with respect to the future prospects of the Jews, 
 and of the fulfilling of "the times of the Gentiles"; as 
 well as, in the concluding verses, an humbling view of 
 our ability to foresee how or in what degree the mercies 
 of Christ, through the Gospel, are to abound to all 
 mankind. 
 
 77
 
 The Epiphany 
 
 When we reflect, however, that the Apostle is address- 
 ing the Church of Rome in her virgin purity, it does 
 certainly seem as if he were intimating her awful apos- 
 tasy and rejection, when he says so solemnly, " Because 
 of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by 
 faith: be not high-minded, but fear ; for if GOD spared 
 not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare 
 not thee. Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity 
 of GOD, toward thee goodness if thou continue in His 
 goodness, othet~ivise thou also shalt be cut off." Here, 
 certainly, is no intimation even of indefectibility in the 
 See of Rome ; and we are, possibly, beholding the days 
 in which this awful excision is near. Let us also fear 
 and not triumph in so great a downfall ! 
 
 The Evening Psalms and Lessons, in like manner, will 
 impress the thoughtful with a pleasing sense of pro- 
 priety. They are all in the same vein of prophetic 
 rapture, which characterizes all the promises of the 
 Gospel-Day, which were made to the Ancient Church by 
 the burning lips of Isaiah and the Psalmists. The Second 
 Lesson is the history of one of the Epiphanies ; for the 
 ancient name of this feast is in the plural, and includes 
 the commemoration (besides that of the visit of the 
 Magi) of the first miracle, and of the baptism of our 
 Lord, in which he was first manifested to Israel. In- 
 deed, this baptism is a primary Epiphany, in view, es- 
 pecially, of that anointing of the Holy Ghost which 
 manifested Him as the Messiah, that is, the anointed 
 Prophet, Priest, and King, who had been promised from 
 the beginning of the world. 
 
 In the Altar Service, the Epistle is appropriately taken 
 
 from St. Paul, to show the might and grace of GOD, in 
 
 making that Apostle a "chosen vessel of His name to the 
 
 Gentiles "; and the Gospel is the pictured narrative of the 
 
 78
 
 The First Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 wise men's visit, as given by St. Matthew. The proper 
 Psalms appointed for this feast include, of course, the y2d, 
 enabling us to repeat the prophecy, " the kings of Arabia 
 and Saba shall bring gifts"; and to rehearse many prom- 
 ises of GOD'S goodness to the Gentiles even to the end of 
 the earth. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to say that, in ancient tradition, 
 those wise men were kings. (Psalm Ixxii. 10, u.) Bishop 
 Taylor calls them "the Levantine Princes," and adopts 
 the beautiful comment of St. Hilary, that their gifts were 
 symbolical, the gold, of tribute to a king, the incense, 
 of adoration to GOD, the myrrh, of recognition as a 
 mortal, and a man of sorrows. With Twelfth-Night the 
 Christmas holidays conclude. 
 
 At the altar of the Chapel Royal of St. James', the 
 reigning Sovereign of England still pays a Twelfth-Day 
 oblation at the Offertory, in gold, frankincense, and 
 myrrh. Let us pray, for the sake of that august and 
 venerable Church of our fathers , which worldly politicians 
 would fain oppress and despoil, that GOD would make 
 such homage more than a thing of form, and that all 
 kings and potentates may become in very deed nursing 
 fathers and mothers to the Church, and defenders of the 
 Faith. 
 
 fffrst SuitoaB after tbe Epipbanp 
 
 THE Sundays after the Epiphany bear us gently along 
 in the growing light of the Sun of Righteousness, now 
 manifested to the world. 
 
 In the Morning Prayer, this day, we note the First 
 Lesson as selected with primary reference to its awful 
 79
 
 The First Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 rebuke of Idolatry, from which the heathen were called 
 by the Star of Bethlehem, to the worship and service 
 of the living GOD. Besides this, the beautiful anthem, 
 "Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it," suffi- 
 ciently marks it as proper to this holy season of spiritual 
 refreshing. The Second Lesson takes up the story of the 
 wise men's visit, and subjoins the narrative of its imme- 
 diate consequences, the flight into Egypt, and the mar- 
 tyrdom of the Innocents. 
 
 In the Evening Prayer, the First Lesson contains that 
 appropriate call to the nations: "A just GOD and a 
 Saviour, there is none beside Me: look unto Me, and be 
 ye saved, all the ends of the earth." But the immediate 
 reason for its selection is the prediction which the Fathers 
 discovered in it, as compared with the loth verse of the 
 72d Psalm : "The Sabeans, men of stature, shall come 
 over unto thee, and they shall be thine ; . . . they shall 
 fall down unto thee, saying, Surely GOD is in thee ; . . . 
 verily thou art a GOD that hidest thyself, O GOD of Israel ', 
 the Saviour." In the gifts which the wise men brought, 
 if not in the words which they uttered at the time, they 
 fulfilled this prophecy, confessing JESUS as, to their faith, 
 "Goo manifest in the flesh," though hidden from the 
 world. The Second Lesson contains St. Paul's outpour- 
 ing of his heart for the enlightenment and salvation of 
 his own nation and through them of the whole Gentile 
 world, a notable chapter full of the missionary thought, 
 which is the keynote to the understanding of the services 
 at Epiphany tide. 
 
 The old Introit, appointed by the Anglican Reformers, 
 was the Usquequo, Doniine, or i3th Psalm, appropriate 
 to be sung as the Priest goes to the Altar to begin the 
 Communion Service. To see its application we must 
 suppose it the song of the wise men, recounting their 
 80
 
 The First Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 long and patient expectation of the Epiphany, and their 
 exceeding great joy at the appearance of the star. 
 
 The Collect is from the old Sacramentary of Gregory 
 the Great, but is found in even older Liturgies, and has 
 no doubt been used on this Sunday for at least sixteen 
 hundred years, by the churches of the saints. When 
 St. Paul beheld the Epiphany of Christ on his way to 
 Damascus, he at once recognized it as a call to a work 
 and warfare for the glory of His Name, and he cried, 
 "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" In like 
 manner the Church recognizes the manifestation of JESUS, 
 as laying us under the deepest obligation to devote our- 
 selves to His service; and so puts into our mouths a 
 prayer for wisdom "to perceive and know what things 
 we ought to do; and for grace and power faithfully to 
 fulfil the same." Let this Service, therefore, be regarded 
 as one peculiarly calling on us to show our gratitude for 
 the blessings of the Gospel, by a healthful missionary 
 zeal. If we value the grace of GOD, we must extend it 
 to those heathen who are as yet unclaimed to be the 
 Lord's inheritance. And let us particularly remember 
 in our prayers at this Holy Season all true missionaries 
 of the cross, wherever throughout the world they are 
 bearing the sign of the world's redemption ! 
 
 The Epistle is from the great Doctor of the Gentiles 
 himself, teaching us, in answer to our prayers, the things 
 which ice ought to do. The Holy Gospel displays the 
 Holy Child in one of the earliest Epiphanies of that 
 gracious power by which He "spake as never man 
 spake." It tells us also that He " increased in wisdom 
 and stature, and in favor with GOD and man"; or, in 
 other words, that as the natural sun grows brighter 
 and brighter in our sight from the dawning to the noon- 
 day, though in itself the same all the while, so the Sun 
 6 81
 
 Second Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 of Righteousness was manifested more and more, in the 
 flesh, till " we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only 
 Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." 
 
 Seconb SunCrnp after tbe jEpipbans 
 
 THE attentive worshipper will now be quite prepared 
 to detect for himself the special texts of the Epiphany 
 Season, as they occur in the Lessons. To indicate only 
 one or two; we have in the First Lesson the reference to 
 a "Light of the people," and the promise, "the Isles 
 shall wait upon Me, and on Mine arm shall they trust." 
 In the Second Lesson, the Holy Baptist repeats the story 
 of the Redeemer's Baptismal Epiphany, and again mani- 
 fests Him to Israel as "the Lamb of GOD, that taketh 
 away the sins of the world." At Evening Prayer we 
 have the passage, " How beautiful upon the mountains 
 are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that 
 publisheth peace !" The whole chapter is a sort of 
 Missionary Anthem, and every heart must feel its appro- 
 priateness. The early Christians regarded prophetic 
 references to the "Arm of the Lord," or the "Right 
 Hand of the Lord," as designating the Son of GOD, 
 while the "Finger of GOD" was often regarded as the 
 Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son. 
 A beautiful Epiphany text is seen, therefore, in the pas- 
 sage, " The Lord hath made bare His Holy Arm in the 
 eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth 
 shall see the salvation of our GOD." The Second 
 Lesson exhibits the glorious instruments of evangelizing 
 the heathen, which the Lord raised up in Paul, Apollos, 
 and Cephas; yet forbids us to give the glory to these 
 82
 
 Third Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 mere vessels of His election, and calls the whole Church 
 to preserve the one hope of their calling, in the unity of 
 the Spirit. The Epistle speaks ol Faith and Hope, but 
 enlarges on Charity as the essential spirit of the Gospel, 
 and gives the precept, "let Love be without dissimula- 
 tion." The Gospel is the manifestation of Christ by 
 His first Miracle, one of the three principal Epiphanies. 
 It connects with the Second Morning Lesson, being a 
 continuation of it. The Collect will be seen to be ap- 
 propriate, as the prayer of Gentiles calling themselves 
 the people of GOD, and asking for that peace which His 
 ministers publish, and the Covenant of which they also 
 establish as the Ministry of Reconciliation. 
 
 Ml 
 
 Ubirfc Sunbag after tbe Epipbang 
 
 THE prominent thing in the Sen-ice to-day is the 
 Holy Gospel containing the narrative of our Lord's 
 mercy to a Gentile, the Roman centurion. His com- 
 mendation of Gentile faith, in the words, "I have not 
 found so great faith, no, not in Israel," must also be 
 noted. To this he subjoins a promise of the ingathering 
 of Gentiles from East and West, and North and South, 
 with the awful threat to reject Israel, "but the children 
 of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness." 
 The Epistle is a specimen of that heavenly morality 
 which the Gospel preached to the Romans and other 
 Gentiles, who worshipped Brute Force, and War, and 
 Fraud, and Revenge, and Hatred, teaching them to 
 throw down these idols, and to enthrone Love, Joy, and 
 Peace in their stead. The Collect teaches us to look to 
 "the right hand of the Lord" for that defence which 
 83
 
 Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 the heathen expect from their own hands, their bows 
 and spears, and from their false gods. 
 
 The First Lessons, at both services, are prophecies of 
 the conversion of the Gentiles, so full that it is almost 
 impossible to select special passages. In the Morning, 
 the text which may most strike us will be, perhaps, that 
 command to ancient Israel to make room for the ad- 
 mission of other nations: "Enlarge the place of thy 
 tent, spare not ; lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy 
 stakes." But then we must not overlook the repeated 
 reference to the Lord, as the Redeemer, showing the 
 Divinity and Atonement of Christ ; and the highly poeti- 
 cal conclusion of the "Lesson is to be understood as a 
 prophetic version of the promise that the Gates of Hell 
 shall never prevail against the Church of Christ. 
 
 The Second Lessdns are also full of appropriate texts. 
 In the Morning the prophecy of Christ, as a Great 
 Light to the people that sat in darkness, is quoted, and 
 applied to its first fulfilment in Syria, "beyond Jordan 
 in Galilee of the Gentiles." In the Evening Prayer St. 
 Paul narrates the sufferings of the early Missionaries of 
 Christ, and their support and comforts in their work. 
 He also shows that where Christ is preached it is the 
 fault of those who hear it, if the Gospel is not manifested 
 to them : 'tis only hid because they worship Mammon. 
 
 jfourtb Sun&aE after tbe Epfpbang. 
 
 THE Morning Lesson, from Isaiah, declares the pur- 
 
 pose of the Lord in bringing in the sons of the stranger 
 
 to share the blessing of the Covenant. The Gospel 
 
 Lesson exhibits Christ beginning His ministry by read- 
 
 84
 
 Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 ing in the synagogue a lesson from Isaiah, and expound- 
 ing it by a sermon in which He announces Himself as 
 the "Holy One" thus spoken of in prophecy, and as 
 being come, in person, to preach the Gospel to the poor. 
 Observe this new Epiphany. The "anointing of the 
 Spirit," of which the prophet speaks, was that descent 
 of the Holy Ghost upon Christ at His baptism, to which 
 He refers so often as His mission. Therefore, preach- 
 ing His first sermon, He says, "This day is this Scripture 
 fulfilled in your ears." 
 
 In the Evening Lesson from the prophet, there is the 
 sad picture of. the iniquities and waywardness of the 
 people which have separated them from their GOD, 
 but at the close, the glorious promise: "the Redeemer 
 shall come to Zion, and to them that turn from trans- 
 gression." The great and critical periods of the Church, 
 when iniquity has so abounded as to threaten her extinc- 
 tion, have ever been the occasion for signal deliverances ; 
 and thus the promise has been fulfilled: "When the 
 enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord 
 shall lift up a standard against him." In the Second 
 Lesson we have St. Paul's statement of the blessedness 
 of dying in the Lord, and he proceeds to show how the 
 Gospel of Christ, and that only, is capable of producing 
 such blessedness, in view of the great realities of Death 
 and Judgment. 
 
 The Collect recognizes our many spiritual dangers, and 
 appeals to GOD for the aid of His Spirit, to support and 
 guide the soul. The Epistle shows that the kingdom of 
 Christ is not of this world, and that it obliges its sub- 
 jects to be obedient to the laws of earthly rulers. The 
 Gospel, which the Collect seems to fit more especially, 
 displays the power of Christ to defend us in perils of 
 the great deep, and in all the assaults of the devil. It 
 85
 
 Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 suits the Epiphany, more especially, as displaying His 
 power and majesty in controlling the winds and the 
 waves. All the powers of Nature obey Him, and even 
 unclean spirits attest His divinity and supremacy, and 
 bear fearful witness to the wrath to come. Thus He is 
 identified as the Promised Seed, who should "destroy 
 the works of the devil." But a striking display of the 
 hardness and uncleanness of the human heart is afforded 
 in the conclusion of the Gospel ; for this merciful and 
 Holy JESUS, in spite of all His marvellous acts of benev- 
 olence, is entreated to depart from their coasts by cer- 
 tain people, who find His presence an impediment, to 
 their unlawful gains. Thus, as we learned on the third 
 Sunday, the Gospel is sometimes hid, when it would be 
 manifested but for the disposition of money-lovers to 
 worship the god of this world rather than Him who alone 
 can give us the true riches. 
 
 MP 
 
 ffiftb suufcaE after tbe 
 
 WHEN we observe how full of Epiphany texts are the 
 prophets of the Old Testament, we need not wonder 
 that the Church calls us to dwell on them for a suc- 
 cession of Sundays. We must reflect that we are now 
 commemorating the Incarnation of the Son of GOD, and 
 the great ends for which GOD consented to this marvel- 
 lous abasement. It is impossible that we should become 
 too thoroughly acquainted with what Scripture has re- 
 vealed on this great point. 
 
 When our blessed Lord began His ministry' at Naza- 
 reth, where He was brought up, He did so, as we were 
 reminded last Sunday, by going into the synagogue on 
 86
 
 Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 the Sabbath-day, and taking the book of the prophet 
 Isaiah from the Minister, and reading therefrom a pro- 
 phecy of the Mission which he had just received of His 
 baptism, adding, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in 
 your ears." It was, probably, by a providential coin- 
 cidence, the lesson of the day in the Jewish calendar, 
 and it is still the custom in Jewish synagogues for the 
 Rabbi to call on some of the people to assist in reading 
 the Lessons, a privilege which they often purchase. The 
 First Morning Lesson, to-day, is this very passage of 
 Isaiah, which the Holy JESUS Himself thus read as a 
 Lesson, and then preached upon. Reflect on this as the 
 Minister of Christ goes on to do as his Master did, and 
 your heart will burn within you. The voice of Christ 
 that day has never ceased. It was ' ' the Father that had 
 sent Him," and so afterward He sent others, and by His 
 ministers He prolongs that reading and preaching which 
 He Himself instituted at Nazareth. The Second Lesson 
 recounts the Master's strong testimony to the worth and 
 ministry of John His Forerunner, and tells how He Him- 
 self carried forward His Ministry in fulfilment of Isaiah's 
 prophecy. 
 
 The Evening Lessons are, first, a promise of the en- 
 largement of Zion, by receiving in the Gentiles, and 
 second, St. Paul's argument that the Gentiles are not 
 bound to observe the letter of the Ceremonial Law, but 
 only the Moral Precepts of Moses. Observe the text, 
 " Thou shalt be called by a new name which the mouth 
 of the Lord shall name." After the addition of Gen- 
 tiles to Israel, the people of GOD are indeed no more 
 called Israelites, but Christians : this promise was there- 
 fore fulfilled, in part, when the Lord named His house- 
 hold His Church, (St. Matt. xvi. iS,) and when the dis- 
 ciples were first called Christians at Antioch. This 
 87
 
 Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 great idea of a Church, denationalized and made to 
 embrace all mankind, finds its further fulfilment in the 
 Creed, where the new name is adopted, with an apostolic 
 prefix, "the Holy Catholic Church." In the Collect for 
 the day we have the same idea, in the petition, "Keep 
 Thy Church and Household continually in Thy true re- 
 ligion." 
 
 The Epistle reverts to the subject of Charity, and con- 
 tinues the exposition of that Morality, by which the 
 Gospel has sanctified even the " philosophical virtues," 
 which were all that ' ' the world by wisdom' ' ever knew. 
 In the Gospel we observe the conflict of the truth with 
 the powers of darkness. Christ was "manifested that 
 He might destroy the works of the devil" ; but the devil 
 resists, and the victory is not to be complete till the end 
 of the world. Meantime, the existence of any wheat in 
 such a field as this world, is a manifestation of the King- 
 dom of Heaven, even though the tares are growing with 
 them. 
 
 Siitb Sunfcas after tbe lEpipbam? 
 
 THAT grand Epiphany which is yet future is brought 
 into view, to-day, to close this solemn Season. It is the 
 Epiphany of the Son of GOD, in the clouds of Heaven, 
 when men shall no longer be able to blind, their eyes to 
 the glory of His power and Godhead. Coincident with 
 this will be the "manifestation of the sons of GOD," 
 whom He, as their Elder Brother, condescends to call 
 His brethren. They will be part of His glory ; the 
 trophies of His victory ; the evidences of his ability to 
 "destroy the works of the devil," and to crown all by 
 destroying Satan himself, casting him, forever, into the 
 88
 
 Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany 
 
 place prepared for him and his angels. The tares he 
 planted, and all who refuse to be the sons of GOD must 
 perish with Satan. This, therefore, is all summed up 
 in the Collect for this day. The connection of the Gospel 
 with the Collect is evident enough, as it is a full and 
 thrilling prediction of His second coming by Christ 
 Himself. This Service, when crowded out of its place 
 by the approach of Lent, is sometimes taken up, by a 
 provision of the Rubric, just before the season of Advent, 
 at the close of the Christian year ; and this Gospel 
 makes it as strikingly appropriate to that season as it is 
 to this. The Epistle connects with the words of the 
 Collect, in its opening ejaculation, "Behold, what man- 
 ner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we 
 should be called the sons of God" ; and also in its con- 
 cluding words, "For this purpose the Son of GOD was 
 manifested, that He might destroy the works of the 
 devil." 
 
 In the Morning Lesson from Isaiah, we have the 
 passage, ' ' I am sought of them that asked not for Me, 
 I am found of them that sought Me not." Now, St. 
 Paul ( Romans x. 20) tells us that Isaiah was "very bold" 
 in thus warning the Hebrews that the Gentiles were to 
 be their brethren, in the true Israel of GOD. His Greek 
 translation and, again, our English rendering of his quo- 
 tation, are a little nearer the idea of the Epiphany than 
 the original, as here given : "I was made manifest 
 to them that asked not after Me." Such is our New 
 Testament version. The Second Lesson continues the 
 story of our Lord's active ministry, the sending out of 
 the Twelve, and the beheading of John the Baptist. 
 
 At Evening Prayer observe, among the manifold 
 promises of the spirit of prophecy, that extraordinary 
 one of a Christian Priesthood : " I will also take of them 
 89
 
 The Paschal System 
 
 (the Gentiles) for Priests and for Levites, saith the 
 Lord." Now, even a Jew was inadmissible to the 
 Priesthood unless he belonged to the tribe of Levi and 
 was of the sons of Aaron. Here, then, was a prediction 
 of a new succession of Apostolic Priests and Levites ; 
 and we see the fulfilment in every Diocese, which is a 
 complete Church, having its High Priest, Priests, and 
 Levites, now called Bishop, Priests, and Deacons. The 
 Second Lesson is a rebuke of the Jewish Christians for 
 not seeing this great principle, that " GOD is able to 
 raise up children unto Abraham" from those not natu- 
 rally of his seed, and that the test of a true Israelite, 
 since Christ came, is the faith of Abraham, and not 
 his blood. Besides, Christ is the true Seed of Abra- 
 ham, to Whom all the promises are made ; and all who 
 are grafted into Him by faith and by baptism (the true 
 circumcision) are thus made true Israelites. So, then, 
 "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond 
 nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all 
 one in CHRIST JESUS ; and if ye be Christ's, then are ye 
 Abraham's seed, and heirs, according to the promise." 
 On this sublime exposition the teaching of the Epiphany 
 Season may rest. It explains our right to use the Old 
 Testament Scriptures, and shows that we are built on 
 the foundation of Prophets, as well as of Apostles, JESUS 
 CHRIST Himself being the chief corner-stone. 
 
 Ubc pascbal System 
 
 SINCE Advent Sunday, the current of our devotion 
 
 has flowed on, like that of a river. Now it is met by a 
 
 tide, as it were, from the great deep, which obeys the 
 
 ordinances of the moon, and often sets further back and 
 
 90
 
 The Paschal System 
 
 overwhelms the Season of the Epiphany at its very be- 
 ginning. In a word, we have reached one of the limits 
 within which the Movable Feasts advance and recede 
 through long cycles of years, mysteriously varying the 
 Christian anniversaries, and suggesting a measure of 
 time more in accordance with our eternal destinies than 
 that of years and months and days. It is edifying to ob- 
 serve that this law of sympathy with the cycles of the 
 moon was given to His Church by the Creator Himself, 
 who placed the sun and moon in Heaven, not alone for 
 their physical properties, but for moral uses. He made 
 them "for signs and for seasons"; and He developed 
 this great purpose, when He gave the Paschal Season to 
 the Hebrews, as the mere shadow of that which the 
 Christian Church perpetuates till the sun and moon 
 shall cease to shine. So, then, as the great tides of 
 ocean sweep around our planet, this great Evangelical 
 System, of more than three thousand years' duration, 
 continues its sublime and regular operation on the wor- 
 ship of the Catholic Church, from age to age, in such 
 wise that every rolling year is full of Him who is " the 
 very Paschal Lamb, that taketh away the sins of the 
 world." 
 
 That the Paschal Season was not given to the Jews, as 
 a temporary and carnal ordinance, but rather as the 
 germ of a perpetual and spiritual one, seems apparent, 
 not only from the plan of GOD in creation, but from the 
 express records of Holy Scripture, and from the analo- 
 gies of other Christian Institutions. Thus, Circumcision, 
 as existing long before Moses, is perpetuated in the 
 Sacrament of Baptism ; and a similar law is recognized 
 in the principle of the Christian Sabbath, which we call 
 the Lord's Day. 
 
 In fact, it is reversing the true principle of the divine
 
 The Paschal System 
 
 ordinances, to speak of these things as originally Jewish 
 Institutions, which, in process of time, were changed 
 into Christian ones. Rather, we should say, the Chris- 
 tian ordinances, in their richness and solid substance, 
 "of the body of Christ," were foreshadowed by these 
 mere types. The Christian sabbath was presignified by 
 the original institution of a sabbath at the foundation of 
 the world. Christian Baptism was foreshadowed in cir- 
 cumcision ; the Lord's Supper, in Melchisedec's bread 
 and wine, and in the Jewish meat-offering ; and so the 
 Christian Paschal, commemorative of Christ's Atone- 
 ment, was foreordained in the altar of Abel, in Abra- 
 ham's sacrifice on Mount Moriah, and, above all, in the 
 Jewish Passover, which "showed forth the Lord's death 
 until He came." 
 
 It is singular that, in modern times, there are many 
 Christians who recognize this principle so far as the first 
 day of the week is concerned, and yet reject its fuller 
 application to the feasts of Easter and Pentecost, al- 
 though the Holy Scriptures furnish the same reasons for 
 observing the latter as are urged for the former, and 
 although the primitive practice which is always cited for 
 the one institution, is equally positive touching the other. 
 But how can we separate the argument for the observ- 
 ance of Sunday, from that which establishes the annual 
 observance of the Paschal? What is Sunday, more or 
 less, than 
 
 " An Easter-Day in every week?" 
 
 The New Testament will be found as clearly and ex- 
 pressly testifying to the annual "day of the Lord" as a 
 Christian feast, as it does to the weekly Lord's Day. 
 Thus, St. Paul says to the Corinthians, "Christ our 
 Passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the 
 92
 
 The Paschal System 
 
 feast" ; and a little examination of the text and context 
 will suffice to show that both he and those to whom he 
 wrote were just then celebrating the yearly Easter. 
 
 In fact, our Lord's own command and ordinance 
 concerning Pentecost was a re-enactment of that festival 
 and of the Paschal feast, on which it depended. The 
 Jewish Church had passed away, but, instead of abolish- 
 ing its Festival system, Christ bade His disciples tarry 
 at Jerusalem certain days after His Ascension; and 
 " when the day of Pentecost was fully come," and while 
 they were devoutly observing it, then, and not till then, 
 did He send the Holy Ghost which He had promised. 
 Now, it must be noted that they were all gathered to- 
 gether, not merely because it was the first day of the 
 week, but because it was the " Feast of Weeks," or 
 Pentecost. The true reason for the pre-establishment 
 of this Feast of Weeks was then shown to be some- 
 thing greater than the giving of the Law; and if the 
 coincidence of the first day of the week with Easter and 
 Pentecost marked it as the hallowed and sanctified day 
 of the Christian Week, then, plainly, those feasts were 
 equally sanctified as the great days of the Christian 
 Year. St. Paul afterwards blames those Christians who 
 kept these days in the Jewish manner, (Gal. iv. 9, 10;) 
 but it is evident that he did not blame them for keeping 
 them in the Christian manner, for he kept them himself, 
 zealously, as appears from many Scriptures. ( See Acts 
 xviii. 21 ; xx. 6, 16; and I. Cor. xvi. 8.) Besides, in his 
 Epistle to the Colossians, (Col. ii. 16,) he shows that the 
 rule of the Christian sabbath is the rule of the Christian 
 holy days. Jews cannot condemn us because we keep the 
 first day, instead of the seventh ; nor because we keep 
 the Paschal by a new law, which more clearly shows 
 "the body of Christ" than did the shadows of the old 
 93
 
 The Paschal System 
 
 law. All this will appear the more clearly from the prin- 
 ciple on which we hallow the first day of the week, and 
 apply to it St. John's beautiful phrase, "the Day of the 
 Lord." This phrase, originally, meant the Day of the 
 Resurrection, and so it was understood by the Fathers, 
 because it is borrowed from the Paschal Psalm, (Ps. 
 cxviii.,) which St. Peter quotes, (Acts iv. n,) and applies 
 to that great event. ' ' This is the Day which the Lord 
 hath made," says the Psalmist; and the Apostle shows 
 that this refers to the day when the Lord arose from the 
 dead, "making all things new." It would be hard to 
 show that this great fact, in connectfon with others, 
 sanctifies the first day of the week, without perpetuating 
 the annual " Day of the Lord," which we now call Eas- 
 ter. It is also worthy of note that in Isaiah's prophecies 
 of the Christian Church and Priesthood, (Isa. Ixvi. 23,) 
 the new moons and the sabbaths of the old law are 
 clearly identified as existing under the New Dispensa- 
 tion, though certainly not in their Mosaic form. 
 
 The mind of the primitive Church must also be re- 
 garded as reflecting in this, as in other respects, the 
 mind of her Master. In the transition from the Jewish 
 to the Christian Institutions there were variations in the 
 customs of different churches, as to the Christian sab- 
 bath and the Christian Paschal. But all these were re- 
 duced to order, and settled finally, in the first General 
 Council at Nice, in the year of our Lord 325. In order 
 that Easter and Pentecost might always coincide with 
 the first day of the week, those laws were adopted which 
 are illustrated in our Prayer-Books after the Calendar. 
 (See Prayer-Book, pp. xxiv.-xxviii.) Thus, the Council 
 decided that Easter should be celebrated on the Sunday 
 after the first full moon which should occur after the soth 
 of March. Hence, it follows that no full moon occurring 
 94
 
 The Paschal System 
 
 before the 2ist of March can be taken into account, and 
 that Easter can never take place before the 22d of that 
 month, which is, therefore, known as the prima sedes 
 Paschce, or earliest Easter limit. The earliest and 
 latest limits of all the movable days as they depend on 
 Easter may be seen, at a glance, in the Prayer-Book 
 Tables. In the Nineteenth Century there was but one 
 Easter falling on the earliest limit, namely, that of 1818; 
 and only one on the latest possible date (April 25th), 
 namely, 1886. The concurrences which may make an 
 Easter fall in the month of March are much rarer than 
 those which make it fall in April ; for, out of the one 
 hundred Easters of the last century, only twenty-three 
 occurred in March. The latest date possible is the 25th 
 of April ; for, should there be a full moon on the 2oth of 
 March, then the Paschal full moon will occur twenty-nine 
 days later, that is, on the iSth of Ap4|fand should that 
 day be a Sunday, the celebration of Easter could only 
 take place on the Sunday following, namely, the 25th. 
 
 \Yhen the Feast of the Resurrection falls within four 
 days of the lowest Easter limit, we have the full number 
 of Epiphany Sundays, an interesting and rare occur- 
 rence. 
 
 Much solemn reflection on the past and the future 
 does this great system give us from year to year, in con- 
 nection with the wondrous history of our Redemption. 
 Well does the Christian poet say of it, 
 
 " Yes, if the intensities of hope and fear 
 Attract the still, and passionate exercise 
 Of lofty thoughts, the way before us lies 
 
 Distinct with signs ; through which, in fixt career 
 As though a zodiac, moves the ritual year 
 Of Holy Church. Stupendous mysteries ! 
 Which whoso travels in her bosom, eyes. 
 
 As he approaches them, with solemn cheer!" 
 
 95
 
 The Paschal System 
 
 We cannot but wonder, then, how any of the redeemed 
 can rob themselves of that precious annual review of the 
 successive events of our Redemption through the blood 
 of the Lamb, which this great commemoration affords, 
 and which, year after year, deepens our faith and 
 strengthens our hold upon the grand fact of the Atone- 
 ment. The Gospel is a Gospel of facts ; and its historical 
 form seems to require this Evangelical arrangement of 
 time, to impress it upon the mind and heart. "The 
 rolling year is full of Him" Who is our Hope and Joy. 
 Hence, some .Christian sects which have lost the Paschal 
 system of fast and festival have apparently, in the course 
 of time, lost the doctrine of the Atonement itself ; and so 
 GOD justifies His own institutions as " wiser than man," 
 even when they seem to wordly-wise men to be but 
 "foolishness.". Let us cherish, with all Divine and 
 Apostolic ordinances, this most ancient of all existing 
 observances, this great Evangelical system which was 
 pre-eminently the Gospel under the Law, and by means 
 of which, seen in its imperfect form, Christ crucified was 
 set before the eyes of the ancient faithful, for fifteen cen- 
 turies before His first Advent. 
 
 The Paschal System includes Lent, and its prepara- 
 tory days, starting with Septuagesima Sunday, which is 
 counted backward, from the Octave of Easter. This is 
 a purely ecclesiastical arrangement, but is designed to 
 lead us to the great Remedy, by the way of self-knowl- 
 edge and self-abasement, revealing to ourselves, first 
 of all, our disease, and our need of an Atoning Sacri- 
 fice. The Paschal Season, in the strictest sense, begins 
 on Thursday in Holy Week, and ends on Low Sunday, 
 eight days after the Feast of the Resurrection, and from 
 Septuagesima Sunday just threescore and ten days. 
 
 96
 
 Septuagesima 
 
 Septuaoesima 
 
 THE Church now enters the penumbra of her Lenten 
 Eclipse, and all her Services are shadowed with the 
 sombre hue of her approaching season of humiliation. 
 The ancient name of this Sunday implies that it is Seventy 
 days to (the last day of) the Feast of the Resurrection ; 
 next Sunday it will be, in round numbers, Sixty days ; 
 then Fifty days ; and then, when Lent is fairly begun, the 
 first Sunday is called Quadragesima, as being only six 
 weeks, or about forty days, to the Grand Feast. Thus, 
 we have turned our back upon dear old Christmas, and 
 the group of holidays that hand-in-hand seemed fairly to 
 dance around it ; and, setting our faces towards the more 
 sober, but still more glorious, light of Easter, we begin 
 to number the days of preparation, which if duly observed 
 will fit us to keep the Paschal as the Apostle commands, 
 "not with the old leaven, . . . but with the unleavened 
 bread of sincerity and truth." 
 
 Nor is the way in which the Church counts these days 
 to be regarded as teaching nothing. It is the way of the 
 world to reckon advancing time by addition ; but the 
 Church now gives us Seventy days, and gently hints to 
 us how life is going, as she bids us daily to subtract one, 
 that so we may " number our days and apply our hearts 
 unto wisdom." In these Seventy days, we thus see a 
 striking emblem of our threescore and ten years, a model 
 of the Christian life, which passes through tears and 
 trials to the Resurrection. While we persevere through 
 Lent, growing more and more desirous of the sunrise of 
 Easter, and rejoicing to find the appointed days diminish 
 as that day draws near, we learn also to pass the few and 
 evil days of our sojourning in this world, feeling every 
 7 97
 
 Septuagesima 
 
 day that we have one day less to live, keeping the Great 
 Day always in view, and singing with the Psalmist, " when 
 I awake up after Thy likeness, I shall be satisfied with it." 
 
 The ancient Introit for Septuagesima Sunday is Psalm 
 the 23d: "The Lord, is my Shepherd." It is an ap- 
 propriate choice ; for, as Dr. Hammond has remarked, 
 there is a pathetic strain in this Psalm, which well com- 
 ports with what the day brings into view. The Lenten 
 Season is especially the time when the Church would 
 have her children learn how to live. Life itself should 
 be a Lent, a term of holy discipline, with a Great 
 Easter in constant view. And, as even in Lent come 
 Sundays which are to be kept as feasts, so in Life, days 
 of festivity must be in such proportion as to remind us 
 that restraint, and watchfulness, and penitence are the 
 business, and mirth only the refreshment, of our pil- 
 grimage. The Introit, therefore, sings the joys of the 
 Christian life, as consisting in following the Good Shep- 
 herd whithersoever He goeth ; and looking with con- 
 fidence to death, as brightened by the promise of the 
 supporting rod and staff of Him who, as Easter will 
 remind us, has Himself gone through the Dark Valley, 
 and who will not desert the sheep of His pasture when 
 He brings them also to its shades. There is something 
 sweet, too, in the use of this Psalm, which tells of green 
 meads and waters of comfort, at the very time when the 
 world regards the Church as about to be fed with the 
 bread of affliction, and the drink of tears. And while 
 the way of the Church is set forth in this Psalm as the 
 true way of following the Saviour, its concluding verse 
 gives utterance to a holy purpose of ensuring GOD'S 
 favor, by dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. 
 
 The Collect, which is the ancient one for this day 
 throughout Western Christendom, is penitential and 
 98
 
 Septuagesima 
 
 deprecatory in its character, and seems to have reference 
 to the many prayers which the people of GOD through- 
 out the world are now about to offer up, for individual 
 blessings, and for the "good estate of the Catholic 
 Church." 
 
 The Epistle is from the great preacher of Faith, St. 
 Paul, and shows what kind of faith he recommends , 
 declaring that even he, whose faith removed so many 
 mountains, nevertheless found works of discipline abso- 
 lutely necessary, lest he should be a castaway. Thus, 
 though he has taught us that bodily exercise, by itself, 
 profiteth as little as, faith without love, he shows us, on 
 the other hand, that the body must be kept under and 
 brought into subjection, in the ways which he elsewhere 
 recommends, \>y fastings often and watching unto prayer. 
 To the same purpose is the Holy Gospel, which repeats 
 the significant warning, "Many be called, but few 
 chosen." 
 
 The choice of Lessons exhibits the same penitential 
 influences. The plaintive Jeremiah becomes our prophet, 
 denouncing to the wild and grafted branch the same 
 warnings against unfruitfulness, which ages ago he 
 uttered to that good olive-tree, of whose root and fat- 
 ness we Gentiles now partake, but only so long as we 
 are not high-minded, but fear. Let us specially note the 
 prophet's close and searching rebuke of sins against the 
 peace and purity of society, and how he upbraids "such 
 a nation as this," alike in the Morning and Evening Les- 
 sons. There is an invitation to the proper observance of 
 Lent, in the words, " Let us now fear the Lord our GOD 
 that giveth rain, the former and the latter, in his season ; 
 He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest." 
 The Lesson from the Gospel is from the Sermon on the 
 Mount, that better Sinai, where Love gave forth a new 
 99
 
 Sexagesima 
 
 edition of the Law, amplified and spiritually explained, 
 and wrote it, " not on tables of stone, but in the fleshly 
 tables of the heart." By this law the true penitent must 
 try himself, and he will find reason for keeping Lent. 
 As to the Second Lesson in the Evening Prayer, it may 
 suffice to say that the Church, thinking proper, at this 
 Season, to read through the whole Epistle to the Ephe- 
 sians, begins to do so on this day. The devout Christian 
 will not fail to note that its great argument appears 
 to be our union with Christ by connection with the 
 Church, and the necessity of preserving that union by 
 bringing forth good fruit, to the glory of the True Vine, 
 of which GOD the Father is the husbandman, and all 
 the faithful are the branches. No one can understand 
 the Epistle to the Ephesfons and think lightly of the 
 visible Church. And as the expression predestinated 
 occurs in this Lesson, it may be well to note that pre- 
 destination is defined by the Apostle to be the foreor- 
 daining of individuals to the membership of this visible 
 Church, not to unconditional salvation. Thus, GOD has 
 chosen us to "the adoption of children," which, in 
 Holy Baptism, he established with us. The question is, 
 shall we "make this calling and election sure"? Our 
 probation consists in the working out of our salvation, 
 under this system of privilege and accountability. 
 
 Seiaoesima 
 
 LENT draws near : and we are we getting ready to 
 use it aright ? Now is the time for good resolves, as to 
 what acts of self-denial we shall endeavor to practise 
 by the help of the Lord. 
 
 100
 
 Sexagesima 
 
 For Sexagesima, the Psalm Domini est terra (24th) is 
 the old Introit ; in which there seems but little reference 
 to the day or season : save as it describes "the genera- 
 tion of them that seek thy face, O Jacob." Jacob, in 
 this place, signifies the same as Israel, the Church, 
 called of GOD, and thus separated from the world. It 
 may be considered as setting before us the pattern to 
 which we must conform ourselves by the discipline of 
 Lent. 
 
 The Collect, which comes from the ancient Sacramen- 
 taries, exhibits the Scriptural and primitive doctrine 
 concerning works of discipline and mortification ; de- 
 claring that "we put not our trust in anything that we 
 do." Thus, though we should be able, at this season, to 
 say, " I fast twice in the week," like the Pharisee, (who 
 was right so far, ) we rather smite our breasts and say, 
 "Goo be merciful to me the sinner," like the publican, 
 who, while he did this, left not the other undone. The 
 Epistle shows how St. Paul kept his body under and 
 brought it into subjection. His stripes and imprison- 
 ments, his perils by land and sea, his "deaths oft," 
 were not enough ; he added thereunto vigils often and 
 fastings often. Are we in no danger of being cast- 
 aways, who though in. feasts often scarcely fast on Ash- 
 Wednesday, and cannot "watch one hour"? Or are 
 these mortifications in such an example as St. Paul, and 
 is this record thereof by the Holy Ghost, designed to 
 teach us nothing? 
 
 By the Gospel we are taught to take heed how we 
 hear. Our Lord Himself gives the parable ; and adds 
 the interpretation thereof, showing "that those only who 
 seek to understand His sayings are in the way of being 
 fully enlightened. His Church exhorts men to ask them- 
 selves how they are accustomed to hear the Gospel ; and 
 101
 
 Sexagesima 
 
 if their hearts are rocky, or stony, or thorny, or like the 
 baked and beaten way, to " break up the fallow ground, 
 for it is time to seek the Lord." Alas, how many, see- 
 ing, see not, and hearing do not understand the teachings 
 of the Word, nor the method by which the Church dis- 
 tributes every portion thereof in due season ! 
 
 Of the Sentences that begin the Daily Prayer the most 
 appropriate to the Season are those which invite to peni- 
 tence, rather than those which are strictly penitential, 
 and hence better adapted to Lent than to its preparatory 
 season. The Sentence, "When the wicked man" and 
 that from St. John, "If we say that we have no sin," 
 will be found in keeping with the Services of the day. 
 
 The First Morning Lesson, by the example of the 
 ancient Rechabites, calls us to deny ourselves, for the 
 sake of our Heavenly Father, as faithfully as they did, 
 by the will of their earthly parent. It is an interesting 
 narrative, and a most forcible expostulation with the 
 people of GOD, who are often unwilling even for the 
 few weeks of Lent, to practise as much self-control as 
 the Rechabites did, (and do to this day,) with respect to 
 the precepts of their fathers. The Lesson refers to 
 other duties, however, than "bodily exercise," and re- 
 proaches us with our general unfaithfulness to our 
 Father in Heaven. 
 
 The Second Lesson continues the Sermon on the 
 Mount, and we are taught by our Blessed Lord Him- 
 self how we are to give alms and pray and fast, in order 
 to obtain acceptance with GOD our Father. 
 
 At Evening Prayer, the First Lesson is the story of 
 Jehoiakim's burning the roll. To get rid of the fearful 
 warnings of GOD, many, like Jehoiakim, pretend a con- 
 tempt for His Word, and endeavor in every way to hide 
 their real fears, by an outward indifference to its threats 
 102
 
 Sexagesima 
 
 and promises. Jehoiakim cut the Word of GOD into 
 shreds with his penknife, and threw it into the fire. The 
 Spirit of GOD immediately dictated a new roll, contain- 
 ing all that was written in the former, "and there were 
 added besides unto them many like words. ' ' Those who 
 stop their ears to the message of GOD'S rebuke only 
 ensure to themselves the greater judgment. The Second 
 Lesson is full of encouragement to newness of life, for 
 those who understand the true nature of their union with 
 Christ, by communion with His Church. In time past 
 we were Gentiles, without Christ, strangers from the 
 Covenant, having no hope, and without GOD in the 
 world. But now in CHRIST JESUS we who sometimes 
 were far off "are made nigh by the blood of Christ." 
 Thus of Jews and Gentiles is made one Holy Catholic 
 Church, reared on the foundation of the Apostles and 
 Prophets, JESUS CHRIST Himself being the Chief Corner- 
 stone ; and this is the Communion of Saints : all mem- 
 bers of this spiritual building having access by one Spirit 
 unto the Father. What an exhibition is this of our 
 glorious privileges as members of that ancient Commu- 
 nion in which we are declared to be fellow-citizens with 
 the Saints, and of the household of GOD ! This, then, 
 being our calling, let us be holy even as He that called 
 us is holy, "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit 
 in the bond of peace." Let us pray, moreover, for the 
 restoration of that outward and visible sign of Catholic 
 Unit)*, which has been so much impaired by the Papal 
 usurpations. Unity still exists, though union is de- 
 stroyed. Every apostolic Church exhibits apostolic 
 features which sectarians have forfeited ; and the time is 
 coming when the Church's visible unity shall be restored, 
 and then the world will be converted to the Cross of 
 Christ. 
 
 103
 
 Quinquagesima 
 
 THE days of bodily exercise are at hand : therefore in 
 the Service for the day we are reminded of the absolute 
 nothingness both of faith and works, without that love 
 which is the fulfilling of the Law. ' ' I will wash my 
 hands in innocency, O Lord, and so will I go to Thine 
 altar"; such is the sweet language of the Introit for this 
 Sunday, which is the Psalm, Be Thou my judge, O Lord ; 
 the 26th Psalm of David. It is partly penitential, partly 
 jubilant. And as in Lent we purpose to be more frequent 
 than ever in our attendance on the sanctuary, it gives 
 expression to this pious resolve, in the words, " Lord, I 
 have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place 
 where Thine honor dwelleth." The Collect is modern 
 as to its form, but in substance it is the word of GOD 
 Himself, being composed out of Scripture, so late as the 
 year 1549. Its invocation of the Holy Ghost in anticipa- 
 tion of Lent, to quicken the love of the Saints to one 
 another, and to their dear Lord, reminds us of the voice 
 of the Bride in the Canticles, ' ' Awake, O North wind; 
 and come, thou South, blow upon my garden, that the 
 spices thereof may flow out." All will agree that it is 
 very beautiful, and surely the Catholic spirit survived in 
 those who could mould a Collect so well worthy of stand- 
 ing side by side with the ancient ones ! The Epistle is the 
 rich mine from which the Collect was brought out. If the 
 Collect requires any proof, you have it in the Epistle ; if 
 the Epistle needs any comment, you have it in the Collect. 
 The Holy Gospel is a foreshadowing of the crucifixion ; 
 and is designed to affect us as it did the Apostles them- 
 selves, when "JESUS took unto Him the twelve, and 
 said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all 
 104
 
 Quinquagesima 
 
 things that are written by the prophets concerning the 
 Son of Man shall be accomplished." Moreover, it warns 1 
 us that "JESUS of Nazareth passeth by," and seems to 
 take up the strains of the First Lesson " Is it nothing to 
 you, all ye that pass by ?" The Season of Grace is com- 
 ing and going. Now is the time to cry, with the blind 
 man, " JESUS, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me." 
 The First Lesson in the Morning Service will powerfully 
 dispose to humiliation and fasting all those who reflect 
 on the awful changes which have reduced the Catholic 
 Church to her present forlorn and divided state. " How 
 is she become a widow she that was great among the 
 nations, and princess among the provinces ! . . . She 
 weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks. 
 . . . All her friends have dealt treacherously with her ; 
 they are become her enemies. The ways of Zion do 
 mourn, because none come to her solemn feast ; all her 
 gates are desolate, her priests sigh. . . . Her adversaries 
 are the chief, her enemies prosper ; for the Lord hath 
 afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions." 
 This is language that well becomes us in the present state 
 of the Church, and it should prepare us for the day of 
 sackcloth and ashes. Let us reflect that as the Seven 
 Churches in the Apocalypse were still Churches, and 
 enjoyed Christ's presence, although some of them were 
 grossly corrupt, so now every branch of the Vine, whether 
 Greek, or Coptic, or Roman, or German, or Gallican, is 
 to be prayed for, and hoped for, till Christ Himself has 
 cut it off and cast it away. We have a duty to purify 
 ourselves, and others if we can ; but we are not per- 
 mitted to judge others, or to attempt to hasten the judg- 
 ment which GOD forbears to execute. The Second 
 Lesson is full of warnings from our Lord, that we fail 
 not to remember the purpose of the discipline of Lent, 
 105
 
 Ash- Wednesday 
 
 that we judge not lest we be judged, that we continue 
 instant in prayer, that we enter in at the straight gate, 
 that we bring forth good fruit, that we renounce all 
 hypocrisy, that we be careful to build our character on 
 the rock and not on shifting sand. 
 
 The Evening Lesson, from the Lamentations, suggests 
 a pause for reflection at every verse. Yet we have seen 
 its touching appeals read in the Church, to a congrega- 
 tion evincing by their manner not the least appreciation 
 of its meaning, not the least conception of its delicate 
 fitness to the approach of Ash-Wednesday. " Remem- 
 bering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood 
 and the gall!" And again, "It is of the Lord's mer- 
 cies that we are not consumed ; because His compas- 
 sions fail not : they are new every morning. Great is 
 thy faithfulness !" Who can read who can hear such 
 Scriptures, without emotion, contrition, and that " char- 
 ity without which whosoever liveth is counted dead 
 before GOD" ? The Second Lesson continues the 
 Epistle to the Ephesians, and concludes with one of the 
 sublimest doxologies in the writings of St. Paul. The 
 whole Lesson is a climax of fervid eloquence and 
 majestic doctrine. 
 
 THE Season of Lent begins on a Wednesday, in order 
 that, omitting Sundays, just forty days may be accom- 
 plished before Easter, in humble imitation of the Re- 
 deemer's fasting in the wilderness. 
 
 The Mosaic Law provided for a great fast of expia- 
 tion ; and the Christian Church, adapting the idea to 
 106
 
 Ash- Wednesday 
 
 the atonement of Christ, as celebrated at the Christian 
 Passover, and instituting Lent as a proper preface of the 
 Paschal solemnities, seems to have acted on the warrant 
 of our Saviour Himself: "The days will come when 
 the Bridegroom shall be taken away ; and then shall 
 they fast in (hose days." 
 
 The duty of fasting is ordained of Christ Himself : 
 there must be a time for every duty ; and therefore the 
 Church appoints a time in all respects fitting and appro- 
 priate. Not to "hear the Church," in a matter so 
 Scriptural, and so true to her Divine Mission, is to run 
 the risk of being made "as a heathen man, and a pub- 
 lican." 
 
 "Welcome, dear feast of Lent," says holy George 
 Herbert, intimating that to fast in the flesh is to feast in 
 the Spirit ; and, oh, how true it is, when the promised 
 " feast of fat things" is now before us, in the sacrifice of 
 Redemption ! To this grand central fact all things are 
 now subordinated : first we are made to look at our own 
 uncleanness, and then our eyes are turned to the Foun- 
 tain in JESUS' side. 
 
 "Rend your heart, and not your garments," is the 
 fitting beginning of the Morning Prayer to-day. The 
 Seven Penitential Psalms are all used in the Sen-ices, 
 the Miserere (Psalm sist) occurring in the Penitential 
 Office to be used after the Litany. Thus the Morning 
 Prayer is provided with the first four and the Evening 
 Prayer with the last three of the Penitentials. 
 
 In reciting the Penitential Psalms, let every soul reflect 
 that he is a sharer in human misery and sin, and that 
 at his very "best estate he is altogether vanity." So, 
 then, though he may be, in the world's sight, far enough 
 from the condition therein described, he is, in GOD'S 
 sight, poor indeed, and "there is no whole part in his 
 107
 
 Ash- Wednesday 
 
 body." In a few years the most healthy and prosperous 
 of us must lie down in the dust, and become a prey to 
 corruption and worms; and the fire and the worm that 
 are eternal may yet be our awful doom. With such 
 certainties in view, and with such possibilities to be 
 encountered and resisted by prayer and self-denial, every 
 man may find these Psalms suited to himself; and happy 
 is he who, by genuine self-abasement and contrition, 
 makes them the outcry of his soul and body unto a 
 gracious Redeemer. 
 
 The First Lesson is a solemn warning from Prophecy 
 that the great thing required of a penitent is the putting 
 away of iniquity, and the exercise of that love to our 
 fellow-men which is the surest sign of love to GOD. The 
 prophet denounces mere formal fasting, and shows that 
 "the fast which GOD has chosen" consists in showing 
 mercy to the poor, and doing to others as we would that 
 they should do to us. The Second Lesson is that beau- 
 tiful chapter from St. Luke which tells how the lost 
 sheep, the lost coin and the lost son were sought and 
 found and joyfully restored to their rightful place. Even 
 so is there joy in the presence of the Angels of GOD over 
 every sinner that repenteth. 
 
 To-day, the entire Litany is used ; and after that, the 
 Ash-Wednesday supplications, called the "Penitential 
 Office." These solemn sighs are joined in by the whole 
 congregation with one voice, when first the priest has 
 begun them "between the porch and the altar," as ap- 
 pointed of old in Israel. The flood-gates of the soul are 
 opened in these words, which are taken from Scripture, 
 and which the Spirit has supplied to help our infirmities, 
 as "with groanings that cannot be uttered." Every 
 individual offers them for himself, as knowing the plague 
 of his own heart ; and yet, in her corporate character, the 
 108
 
 Ash- Wednesday 
 
 Bride of Christ may be regarded as thus imitating her 
 Lord in His fasting, and in His contest with Temptation. 
 She uses what " is written," even as He did, and in His 
 strength she prevails. It is a sublime thought, that in 
 many lands and in divers tongues, but with language 
 very nearly identical, the Church Catholic, in her sad and 
 divided estate, still presents herself before GOD on this 
 day, bearing this stupendous testimony to human misery 
 and sinfulness, and to the fulness of mercy and of right- 
 eousness which is provided for her in CHRIST JESUS by 
 His Atonement and Mediatorship ! 
 
 In the First Evening Lesson, we have an ancient 
 example of fasting in sackcloth and ashes, and of the 
 benefits secured thereby. The name of the fast is justi- 
 fied by this Lesson ; for, although we neither gird sack- 
 cloth on our loins, nor sprinkle ashes on our heads, as 
 was done among Eastern nations of old, we do both in 
 spirit ; calling to mind the approach of a day when 
 "ashes to ashes" shall be the sentence of the Church 
 over our mortal part, and when it must submit to the 
 sentence of GOD Himself, " Dust thou art, and unto 
 dust shalt thou return." In the Second Lesson, we 
 have a most fervent exhortation from the writer of the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews, urging us to the devout use of 
 all discipline, and reminding us, in closing, of Esau, who 
 because of his light regard for holy things, "when he 
 would have inherited a blessing was rejected." 
 
 For the Epistle in the Communion Service, we have 
 the words of the prophet Joel, " Sanctify a fast." It is a 
 pleasing thought that when those ancient priests "blew 
 the trumpet in Zion," they were, in fact, opening the 
 high solemnities which we still perpetuate. "Let the 
 bridegroom go forth out of his chamber, and the bride 
 out of her closet ; let the priests, the ministers of the 
 109
 
 Ash- Wednesday 
 
 Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let 
 them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine 
 heritage to reproach." Let Christian parents note also 
 the words, "gather the children," which supply a hint 
 to pastors and families that even children must not be 
 overlooked on a day like this. The Gospel presents us 
 with our Saviour's rule of fasting ; to which it is only 
 requisite to subjoin His other rule, " I will have mercy 
 and not sacrifice." No degree of " bodily exercise" is 
 required of any one which is really inconsistent with 
 health and the performance of other duties. The Church 
 prescribes Fasting on Ash-Wednesday and Good Friday, 
 and such a degree of abstinence on other fasting days as 
 is suited to extraordinary devotions ; but she makes no 
 distinction of meats, in the manner of the Jews and 
 ancient heretics, and leaves details to every man's con- 
 science, in the fear of GOD. Real self-denial is the 
 essence of fasting, provided it be in the spirit of peni- 
 tence and faith, and not as a work of human merit. 
 Fasting is not merely a monitor, making us feel that we 
 are pilgrims, and "prisoners of hope," in a miserable 
 world, but also it is an exercise of the soul against peril 
 of the tempter. Many men are slaves to lust and drunk- 
 enness ; they exhibit a soul in bondage to the body, and 
 they say they cannot help it. They have never resisted 
 lawful appetite, and hence unlawful passion has been too 
 strong for them. If, then, we would prepare for the 
 assaults of the devil, let us sanctify a fast, and endeavor 
 to form a habit of living " not by bread alone, but by 
 every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the 
 Lord." 
 
 In ancient times the Church, on this day, put offenders 
 to open rebuke ; and while discipline is less active, let 
 each lay GOD'S comminations sincerely to heart, and 
 no
 
 Ash- Wednesday 
 
 judge himself thereby. And as commonly, on this day, 
 the penitent and humble-minded alone are found at 
 Church, a more profitable opportunity for the publica- 
 tion of Ecclesiastical censures seems afforded by this 
 day than by the days in which there are more present 
 than would be likely to receive the same in the spirit en- 
 joined by the Apostle. (Galatians vi. i.) 
 
 The Pentateuch supplies our Old Testament calen- 
 dar Lessons, during Lent, in the Daily Prayer. This is 
 appropriate to the Forty Days, as the history of forty 
 years in the wilderness, during which time the children 
 of Israel fed on manna, and gave us an example of all 
 the experiences, dangers, combats, encouragements, and 
 spiritual refreshments by which we are tried and strength- 
 ened in this vale of misery, till we pass the Jordan of 
 Death and enter the Land of Promise. There have also 
 been provided special Lenten Lessons (Prayer-Book, p. 
 xi.), which by many are found most edifying, and yet it 
 is a question whether the record of the Forty Years' 
 wanderings is not, after all, more suited to the Season. 
 
 Among private duties of Lent, the propriety of ab- 
 staining from ordinary amusements must be obvious. It 
 is justly considered out of character, too, to celebrate a 
 marriage in Lent ; and if ever this rule is departed from, 
 it is plainly a duty to dispense with the ordinary festivi- 
 ties and merrymakings. The writer has known the 
 most unhappy results to follow an unbecoming marriage 
 of this sort ; the distraction of young minds, at the time 
 and afterwards, impairing all the sanctities of Lent. 
 Thus, the unreflecting parties who chose such a season 
 for their wedding, may have been the cause of inflicting 
 endless evil upon souls. 
 
 Among other private duties of Lent may be mentioned 
 Intercessions in Church, and in the Closet, for all pas- 
 iii
 
 The First Sunday in Lent 
 
 tors and their flocks during this season of Grace ; for 
 Missionaries, and the heathen ; for those who live in 
 sin ; and for Christians who have departed from the 
 unity of the Apostolic Family. Let us never forget that 
 GOD is dishonored by the melancholy divisions which 
 disgrace the Christianity of our country, and ' ' by reason 
 of which the way of truth is evil spoken of." Lent is a 
 fitting time to exercise ourselves in seeking the scattered 
 sheep, winning them back to the fold, and saying to 
 them, as we invite them to keep this blessed Season 
 with us, " Come thou with us, and we will do thee good." 
 Let us recognize, however, the obligation of honoring, 
 in such Christians, the gifts and graces which GOD may 
 have already imparted to them by His Spirit, and let 
 us endeavor to " speak the truth in love," as the means 
 which GOD has ordained for " teaching them the way of 
 the Lord more perfectly." 
 
 Ube Jfirst Sunfcap in %ent 
 
 OUR blessed Lord fasted forty days without intermis- 
 sion ; but while we endeavor to follow His holy example, 
 every seventh day is a blessed feast, recurring like wells 
 in the desert of Baca, and like pools filled with water, 
 lest we should faint by the way. Sunday is always a 
 feast commemorative of the Resurrection, and the Sun- 
 days in Lent are not days of Lent, though they partake 
 of the solemn and disciplinary character of the Season. 
 Let us go, then, from Sunday to Sunday, as from strength 
 to strength, halting on the first day of the week, like 
 travellers at a green spot in the wilderness, and then 
 setting forward anew, with refreshed and stimulated as- 
 
 112
 
 The First Sunday in Lent 
 
 pirations after that heavenly Canaan towards which we 
 are faring. 
 
 The old Introit for the day is the Psalm Beati quorum, 
 (32d,) which is one of the Seven Penitentials. In the 
 Collect we implore the Lord for grace to keep the fast, 
 with due bodily exercise for the proper spiritual ends. To 
 this let all say Amen, with purpose of heart to make the 
 effort it implies. Nor let any persons suppose themselves 
 morally free to disregard the precept, as a thing indiffer- 
 ent. It is the call of GOD ; and he that refuses to hear the 
 trumpet which is blown in Sion, and to sanctify the fast, 
 should fear lest he be visited with judgment for his neg- 
 lect. Perhaps ' ' many are weak and sickly among us, ' ' and 
 fast in spite of their wills, because they do not voluntarily 
 fast for their souls' good. They do not bring themselves 
 down, in fear, and so GOD brings them down, in judg- 
 ment and in mercy. When the ancient people of GOD 
 refused to let their lands lie fallow on the seventh year, 
 He carried them into captivity, till the time was fully 
 made up, that the land might enjoy its Sabbaths. Per- 
 haps in the same way now, by sickness and disease, He 
 makes the neglecters of their duty in Lent humble them- 
 selves, unwillingly, and so keep the Church's fast. We 
 speak not of those without her pale: we "warn the 
 unruly" who boast themselves her sons. 
 
 In the Epistle, while its adaptation to Ember- Week is 
 apparent in its enumeration of the gifts and graces of the 
 Apostles and primitive ministers, we are also reminded 
 of their labors and sufferings for our sake. The example 
 of Apostles approving themselves by labors, by vigils, 
 and by fastings, is thus presented with that of their 
 Divine Lord and Saviour, which follows in the Holy 
 Gospel. This latter exhibits the Man of Sorrows, in 
 that "fasting and temptation" by which we supplicate
 
 The First Sunday in Lent 
 
 His mercy in the Litany. It shows the temptation of the 
 Prophet in the Desert ; of the Priest on the Temple ; and 
 of the King upon the Mountain. It tells us how He was 
 tempted in all points like as we are ; assailed by the lust 
 of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, 
 the flesh, the world, and the devil, yet without sin. 
 It teaches us how He can be touched with the feeling 
 of our infirmities, and reminds us of the sword of the 
 Spirit, wherewith He has shown us how to resist the 
 devil and to make him flee from us. He overcame the 
 devil, not in the power of his Godhead, but with the 
 weapon which is given to man. He foiled the tempter 
 with the word of GOD. His sword and shield alike were 
 simply, It is written. 
 
 Christian, in the holy-tide of Lent the Spirit leadeth 
 thee away from the world, into a wilderness, where thou 
 art bidden for a while to exercise thyself in that valiant 
 fight, which thou vowedst at the font. Look, then, unto 
 JESUS, and in His might and in His manner, wrestle 
 mightily and prevail. Learn, while thou fastest, that 
 "man shall not live by bread alone" ; that the promise 
 of GOD to save thee must not encourage thee to presume ; 
 and that the pursuit of worldly objects in this life is the 
 worship of the Devil! Search the Holy Scriptures as the 
 Church interprets them, that thou mayest have an answer 
 to the Tempter ; and be warned of the perversions of 
 Scripture, by which Satan and his ministers beguile and 
 deceive them that are ' ' unlearned and unstable. ' ' Learn 
 also that, as Satan tempts in three ways, through sug- 
 gestion, delectation, and consent, so if thou resist sug- 
 gestion thou hast not sinned, but triumphed, as thy 
 Saviour did. So shalt thou be more than conqueror 
 through Him that loveth us ; and "as angels came and 
 ministered to Him," so after thy fight, alike of Lent and 
 "4
 
 The First Sunday in Lent 
 
 life, thou shall find thyself refreshed by the service of 
 those who are all ' ' ministering spirits, sent forth to minis- 
 ter to the heirs of salvation." 
 
 If there be those in the Church who deem their 
 baptism and their Catholic privileges sufficient to save 
 them, without that holiness which alone can qualify them 
 to "see the Lord," let them learn from the First Lesson 
 in the Morning Prayer, this day, how fearful is their de- 
 lusion. The Jews, who had among them "the temple 
 of the Lord," supposed this a sufficient safeguard. If 
 any one threatened them with a righteous retribution, 
 they were ready with the answer, that GOD could never 
 allow His own Holy Place to be defiled or His Holy 
 Mountain to be made a desolation. They pointed to the 
 great stones and the towering pinnacles of the House of 
 GOD, and said, "the temple of the Lord are these." 
 And this was true: and "if ye thoroughly amend your 
 ways, and your doings," said the Lord, "then will I 
 cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave 
 to your fathers, for ever and ever." But, on the other 
 hand, said the Lord, "suppose not that this will save you 
 if ye go on in sin and pretend that ye cannot help it. 
 My Holy Ark and My Tabernacle were once in Shiloh, 
 as they are now on Mount Zion; yet for the sins of Eli 
 and his sons, and for the wickedness of the people, the 
 Philistines were allowed to destroy forever that Taber- 
 nacle, and to take captive the Ark itself. Remember 
 this and be sure that, though the temple of the Lord be 
 among you, it shall not save you, except ye repent." 
 Such was the warning ; but they regarded not. And 
 judgment came, and the temple was destroyed, and 
 ' ' from the streets of Jerusalem ceased the voice of glad- 
 ness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the 
 bride, and the land was desolate."
 
 The First Sunday in Lent 
 
 The Church now bids her children consider these 
 solemn admonitions; and to remember that "baptism 
 doth now save us," but not unless we preserve unto 
 the end, when the Bridegroom cometh, that "answer 
 of a good conscience" which is the marriage garment 
 required. Doubtless the temple of GOD is among us, 
 and we are true inhabitants of the city of GOD. But so 
 much the more does GOD require of us to be indeed the 
 salt of the earth, and the light of the world. If we lose 
 our savor of holiness and bury our candle under a bushel, 
 the Lord will come quickly, and take away our candle- 
 stick out of its place; and the wicked and slothful 
 servant will be the more severely punished for wearing 
 the livery of a Master whom he has disobeyed and whose 
 cause he has disgraced. 
 
 As the Lenten Ember-Week begins this day, the 
 Church, in her Second Morning Lesson, presents us 
 with the history of the call and commission of the twelve 
 Apostles, and with the Sermon of our blessed Lord on 
 that occasion, showing the duties, the responsibilities, 
 and the dignity of those who are made His messengers 
 to men. It concludes with the solemn assurance, " He 
 that receiveth you receiveth Me ; and he that receiveth 
 Me receiveth Him that sent Me." Note also the solemn 
 warnings of Christ to those who despise or injure the 
 servants of GOD, in the discharge of their duties ! By 
 some it is thought no great matter to neglect the pay- 
 ment of a pastor's salary, to offer him the meanest sup- 
 port, to grieve his heart, and hinder him in his labor. 
 But Christ reckons all these wrongs as done directly to 
 Him. At this solemn Lenten Season the clergy often 
 exhaust themselves in laboring for souls. Many have 
 been Christ's martyrs, in America, who have thus " given 
 their life for the sheep." Miserable, then, are they who 
 116
 
 The First Sunday in Lent 
 
 afflict and grieve the soul of a zealous pastor ; and 
 blessed are they who sustain and comfort him, and bear 
 with his infirmities, for the sake of his Master, and be- 
 cause they honor Him in His servant. 
 
 Observe, too, the precept, " Pray ye therefore the 
 Lord of the Harvest, that He will send forth laborers 
 into His harvest." As Ember-Week is an institution of 
 the Church, designed to secure the observance of this 
 command, the Lesson is well chosen, as setting forth the 
 origin of that ministry which our own apostles have 
 received from the original Twelve. 
 
 Again, in the Evening Lesson from Jeremiah, we 
 have a fierce rebuke and call to penitence. "Shall 
 not I visit for these things ? saith the Lord ; shall not 
 my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" As 
 Churchmen and patriots we should hear these things 
 with lowliness and fear. " Let not the wise man glory 
 in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his 
 might ; let not the rich man glory in his riches." The 
 Lesson tells us in what alone we should presume to 
 glory. 
 
 The Second Lesson is also appropriate to Ember- Week, 
 as showing us the "one Lord, one faith, one baptism," 
 which identify the Catholic Church, and the Apostles, 
 pastors, and teachers whom Christ has set therein, for 
 the work of the ministry- and for the edifying of His 
 Body. It concludes with an exhortation to holiness, 
 and the enumeration of many particulars in which we 
 are tempted to offend ; and reminds us that though we 
 have been sealed in baptism, unto the day of redemp- 
 tion, by the Holy Spirit of God, there is a possibility and 
 danger of grieving Him forever away. 
 
 117
 
 Ember- Week in Lent 
 
 in Xent 
 
 BEFORE our Lord ordained the twelve, He passed 
 the night in prayer ; and the Holy Apostles, before they 
 sent forth Barnabas and Saul, fasted and prayed. This 
 week the Church commands us to do the same ; and 
 has provided two most comprehensive prayers " for those 
 who are to be admitted into Holy Orders," which it 
 is our duty, in the closet, at the family altar, and in the 
 house of GOD, fervently to employ in their behalf. 
 
 Let these prayers be uttered in faith and earnest zeal 
 for the glory of GOD, and the salvation of men ; and on 
 the Ember-Days (Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday) let 
 all who love the Church keep the fast together. Through- 
 out the world it is observed by many, but in every 
 Church by, alas, too few ! He who faithfully keeps the 
 Ember Seasons will have done more for the Church in 
 his lifetime than a thousand satirists of the Clergy, or 
 an army of censorious declaimers, setting forth their 
 own ideas of what the ministry should be. Indeed, he 
 has no right to find fault with his spiritual pastors, who 
 has never helped them with the offices which the Church, 
 knowing their peculiar dangers, has provided and en- 
 joined for their assistance and support. How often 
 does the Apostle Paul crave the like benefit from those 
 to whom he ministered ! And surely the "earthen ves- 
 sels" which bear the treasure of the Gospel now are as 
 much in need of the prayers of the faithful as he was. 
 
 Let the Ember fasts be generalized also, and let 
 prayers be offered for all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons 
 in Christendom, and chiefly for those to whom we are 
 nearest allied. "Pray ye also the Lord of the harvest 
 to send forth laborers into His harvest." Pray for pious 
 118
 
 Ember-Prayers 
 
 and lowly Deacons, purchasing to themselves a good 
 degree by St. Stephen's fervor and St. Philip's perse- 
 verance. Pray for sacred Priests, rightly dividing the 
 Word of GOD ; bearing with clean hands the vessels of 
 the Lord ; faithfully dispensing His holy Sacraments ; 
 continuing instant in prayer ; and rejoicing to suffer 
 shame for JESUS' Name. And pray for holy Bishops, 
 bringing to their work maturity of years ; soundness of 
 doctrine ; boldness in the faith ; a good report of all 
 men, and of the truth itself ; dignity and humility com- 
 bined ; purity and zeal and wisdom united ; and all 
 those excellent qualities which will enable others, with- 
 out mocking GOD, to present them for Consecration, as 
 " godly and well-learned men." 
 
 LET out thy soul, and pray ! 
 
 Not for thy home alone ; 
 Away in prayer, away. 
 
 Make all the world thine own. 
 Let out thy soul in prayer ; 
 
 Oh, let thy Spirit grow ! 
 God gives thee sun and air, 
 
 Let the full blossoms blow. 
 
 Plead for the victims all 
 
 Of heresy and sect ; 
 And bow thy knees like Paul, 
 
 For all the Lord's Elect. 
 Pray for the Church I mean, 
 
 For Shem and Japhet pray : 
 And Churches, long unseen, 
 
 In isles, and far away. 
 119
 
 The Second Sunday in Lent 
 
 Oh, pray that all who err 
 
 May thus be gathered in, 
 The Moslem worshipper 
 
 And all the sects of sin. 
 For all who love in heart 
 
 But have not found the way, 
 Pray and thy tears will start. 
 
 'Twas so the Lord did pray. 
 
 Now even for heartless Rome 
 
 Appealing to the Lord, 
 Be every Church our home, 
 
 And love the battle-word. 
 The saints' communion one, 
 
 One Lord, one Faith, one birth, 
 Oh, pray to God the Son, 
 
 For all His Church on Earth. 
 
 A. C. C. 
 
 
 ftbe Secont> Sunfcap in OLent 
 
 THIS was no common Sunday in old times. In the 
 days of St. Augustine, those who expected to be bap- 
 tized at Easter were obliged to give in their names by 
 this day, and were called no longer Catechumens, but 
 Competents, or Co-Seekers of Regeneration. The rest 
 of Lent they passed as "valiant tamers of the body." 
 Very suitable to such is the Introit for this day, which is 
 the famous Psalm (130) De profundis, containing the 
 passage, "I look for the Lord ; my soul doth wait for 
 Him ; in His word is my trust." The Collect, which is 
 from ihe Liturgy of St. Ambrose, is no doubt the same 
 to which Augustine, with his son, and his friend Alypius, 
 120
 
 The Second Sunday in Lent 
 
 responded Amen, when they knelt in the Church at 
 Milan, on this day, to be catechized, as seekers of what 
 he calls "the sacrament of that fountain." In that in- 
 terval of holy preparation, in which these seekers had 
 reason to fear that their experiences might be those of 
 their Divine Master, when He fasted in the wilderness, 
 it was natural to pray " to be defended from all adversi- 
 ties which may happen to the body, and from all evil 
 thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul." 
 
 In the Epistle, those evil thoughts which most assault 
 and hurt the soul are pointed out, in the Apostle's 
 exhortation to purity, and to the sanctification of the 
 body, in honor of Him who hath called us to holiness. 
 The lusfs of the flesh are, therefore, the peculiar subject 
 of rebuke this day, and the Bride of Christ bids us 
 cleanse ourselves from all filthiness, that she may present 
 us to her Lord without spot or blemish. In the Holy 
 Gospel we are encouraged to ' ' continue instant in 
 prayer," and assured by the example of the poor woman 
 of Canaan, that though for a time He may hide His face, 
 and "make as though He heard us not," He will not 
 cast off forever those who cry after Him, and who seek 
 earnestly to be healed of their plague of sin. 
 
 In the Morning Lesson from Ezekiel, we note much 
 that is appropriate to the day. We must understand 
 the prophet as showing us the reason of the unsatisfac- 
 tory character of many of our attempts to serve GOD, 
 and the cause of our unanswered prayers and uncom- 
 forted confessions. The Lord declares that He will 
 not be inquired of by those who appear before Him, 
 while they keep the idols of their heart as the real ob- 
 jects of their love and worship. Let us search and look, 
 therefore, whether we keep such idols ; "for the Lord 
 our GOD is a jealous GOD." In the evening we begin 
 121
 
 The Second Sunday in Lent 
 
 the reading of the Book of Daniel, the prophet of the 
 captivity, himself in many of his experiences a type of 
 Christ, and one by whom some of the clearest prophecies 
 were uttered concerning the corning of the Messiah. 
 This evening is recounted the deliverance of the " Three 
 Hebrew Children" (as they are called) from the burning 
 fiery furnace. Their Song of Deliverance is the Bene- 
 dicite which it is customary to use instead of the Te 
 Deum at Morning Prayer during Lent. The Lesson we 
 are to learn by the reading of this chapter is that in all 
 our afflictions He is afflicted who is our Elder Brother, 
 and the Angel of His Presence will save and bless His 
 People in time of testing and of discipline now, as in the 
 days of old. 
 
 It may at first strike us that the series of Lessons from 
 Daniel which the Church reads at this season is not so 
 appropriate as some other selection might be, but it 
 must be remembered that Daniel, "the man greatly 
 beloved," is in many points like unto St. John, "the 
 beloved disciple," and the Prophecies which he was 
 permitted to give were peculiarly ' ' the testimony of 
 JESUS." 
 
 The Second Morning Lesson will be seen to be appro- 
 priate to the Lenten Ordaining Sunday ; as well as, in 
 several particulars, to the Season in general. The Even- 
 ing Lesson, from the Epistle to the Ephesians, is in 
 excellent harmony with the Epistle for the day, reproving 
 "evil communications " as well as shameful deeds. In 
 contrast with the sinful habits which the Apostle reproves, 
 he places, in this same chapter, the "great Mystery" of 
 Marriage, as so pure and blessed in the sight of GOD, as 
 to be a mystic symbol of Christ and the Church. Nor 
 must we overlook the little quotation with which the 
 Lesson favors us, from an ancient hymn of the Primitive 
 122
 
 The Third Sunday in Lent 
 
 Church ; for -such it seems to have been, being in perfect 
 metre in the original, and rhythmical even in our ren- 
 dering, 
 
 " Awake, thou that sleepest : 
 And arise from the Dead, 
 And Christ shall give thee light." 
 
 We may reasonably cherish a thought, derived from 
 the appropriateness of this language to the august event, 
 that this is a fragment of one of those Odes which flamed 
 from the burning tongues of the Apostles at Pentecost, 
 as "the Spirit gave them utterance." 
 
 ZTbe Ubirfc Sunfcap in Xent 
 
 IN the Lesson from the Old Testament, Ezekiel is 
 again our prophet ; and he earnestly reasons with us, 
 showing the justice of GOD'S requirements and dealings, 
 and fully explaining in what sense GOD does not "visit 
 the sins of the fathers upon the children." At the same 
 time he presents us in the language of GOD Himself, with 
 one of the most tender and encouraging calls to repent- 
 ance which the Old Testament contains ; and concludes 
 with that solemn assurance of mingled mercy and justice, 
 " I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth." It 
 is mercy, because it exhibits the sorrow with which GOD 
 will pronounce the sentence, Depart ; it is judgment, 
 because it implies that in spite of that sorrow, some shall 
 not escape the second death. 
 
 The Lesson from the Gospel sets before us our Saviour 
 in the Glory of His Transfiguration. In this sublime 
 Manifestation of the Son of GOD, the three disciples who 
 123
 
 The Third Sunday in Lent 
 
 were to behold Him in His " agony and bloody sweat," 
 were permitted to gaze upon the unveiled brightness, and 
 express image of the Father, in the same man CHRIST 
 JESUS ; and to see Moses and Elias the Law and the 
 Prophets summoned from the Place of the Departed to 
 "talk with Him." As we are about to renew the scenes 
 of Calvary and to behold the Son of Mary in His hu- 
 miliation, we are, in like manner, by the rehearsal of 
 this Lesson, prepared to understand the true character 
 of Him who must suffer such things. It is worthy of 
 remark that Moses and Elijah had both fasted forty 
 days, as prophets, in type of Christ's Lent; and also, that 
 while the one was mysteriously buried by GOD Himself, 
 and the other was translated, both now reappear ; proving 
 that they live unto GOD, and are yet servants of Christ. 
 The story of the demoniac boy, and of Christ's mercy 
 to him in delivering him from his spiritual enemies, will be 
 seen to be illustrative of the Collect and the Gospel; and 
 the honor which the Lord puts on "prayer and fasting" 
 harmonizes the sublime narrative of the Transfiguration 
 with the season of Lent. 
 
 The First Lesson at Evening Prayer is the story of 
 GOD'S judgment of sin in the warning and overthrow of 
 Belshazzar. 
 
 In the Second Evening Lesson St. Paul teaches us the 
 great Christian lesson, so hard to learn, of tolerance and 
 patience and kind judgment of others. "Whoartthou 
 that judgest another man's servant ?" " Why dost thou 
 judge thy brother?" "Let us follow after the things 
 which make for peace, and things whereby one may 
 edify another." It is well to notice that the last verse 
 of this chapter, so open to misunderstanding as it reads 
 in our English Bible, really means, " He that doubteth 
 is condemned if he eat, because he eateth not with con- 
 124
 
 The Third Sunday in Lent 
 
 fidence, for whatsoever is not with confidence is sin"; 
 that is, unless we are confident we are doing right, we 
 do wrong in performing any action concerning which 
 there may be doubt. 
 
 The idea common to the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, 
 appears to be that of our spiritual dangers from Satan, 
 and our spiritual sufficiency in Christ. By the "Right 
 hand of GOD'S Majesty" the Fathers were wont to under- 
 stand a name of our Saviour ; and thus, in the Collect, 
 GOD is invoked to save us from our enemies, the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil, by "the Man of His Right 
 hand," CHRIST JESUS. So, also in the Epistle, while the 
 sins of the flesh are specially instanced, we are warned 
 to have no fellowship with those unfruitful works of 
 darkness which, as the children of the Day, we have 
 renounced. The promise is, that Christ shall give light 
 to those who turn from dead works to serve the Living 
 GOD. The Holy Gospel, in like manner, connects with 
 the Second Morning Lesson, and exhibits the Right 
 Hand of GOD'S Majesty casting out devils, by the finger 
 of GOD ; in which expression, perhaps, we ought to 
 recognize a name of the Holy Ghost, proceeding from 
 the Father and the Son. So, in the Veni Creator, the 
 Church chants, to the glory of the Spirit, 
 
 " In faithful hearts Thou writ'st Thy law, 
 The finger of GOD'S hand" 
 
 Here note that the power of Christ to destroy the 
 works of the Devil is the subject of each of the Gospels 
 for the first three Sundays in Lent. To-day Christ as- 
 serts Himself stronger than our great enemy, and able 
 to rescue us ; but He also warns us that a child of GOD 
 must ever watch against Satan's efforts to regain pos- 
 125
 
 The Fourth Sunday in Lent 
 
 session of a soul which has renounced his service. In 
 Confirmation, we are "sealed with that Holy Spirit of 
 promise," Who gives us His seven-fold gifts: but here 
 we are told that Satan has an evil spirit for every good 
 one, and will try to usurp the place we have given to 
 "the seven Spirits of GOD." 
 
 The Gospel, moreover, warns us of the necessity of 
 decision in our Christian profession ; and of the dangers 
 which follow the first experience of the Christian life, 
 unless the renewed assaults of Satan are prepared for. 
 It concludes with a beatification of all those who "hear 
 the word of GOD and keep it"; and, to guard us against 
 superstition, the Son of Mary assures us that such is a 
 higher blessing than that which is peculiar to the Blessed 
 Virgin, His Mother. 
 
 The Introit connects with the Epistle, as a supplication 
 for the Light of Christ. As the Priest goes up to the 
 Altar, to begin so comfortable a service, let the whole 
 sacramental host remember it is their part as a "royal 
 priesthood" to accompany him with these aspirations 
 from the forty-third Psalm : "Oh send out Thy light 
 and Thy truth, that they may lead me and bring me unto 
 Thy holy hill, and to Thy dwelling ; and that I may go 
 unto the Altar of God, even unto the GOD of my joy and 
 gladness." 
 
 MP 
 
 TTbe jfourtb Sunbag in Xent 
 
 WE have reached Mid-Lent ; and now we turn to the 
 second part of its great design, and consider "Christ 
 our Passover," as we have heretofore learned by the 
 temptation and fasting of Christ, that Satan is our task- 
 master, and the world our Egypt. To-day we are also 
 126
 
 The Fourth Sunday in Lent 
 
 presented with Christ as our Prophet, next Sunday with 
 Christ our Priest, and then on Palm-Sunday with Christ 
 our King. Further, this Sunday is sometimes called the 
 Sunday of Refection ; because, having thus far consid- 
 ered the havoc of sin, we come now to consider its 
 repair ; and because the sufficiency of Christ to refresh 
 and satisfy our hunger and thirst after righteousness, is 
 exhibited in the Gospel for this day. It has little of the 
 austere character of the other Sundays in Lent ; and its 
 design is the encouragement of catechumens and peni- 
 tents. To this end, the Epistle is chosen to exhibit the 
 glorious freedom of the Sons of GOD ; and it further ex- 
 pounds the great centre of Christian unity, as existing in 
 that heavenly Jerusalem, of which the Jerusalem that 
 rejected its anointed Prophet and Priest and King has 
 ceased to be a type. The Gospel relates the miracle at 
 Capernaum, which sets forth the Lord our Righteous- 
 ness as able to feed alike the souls and bodies of all who 
 follow Him. As this portion of Scripture is twice used 
 as a Gospel, that is to say, here, and on the 25th Sunday 
 after Trinity ; and as the similar miracle of the seven 
 loaves is made the Gospel for the 7th Sunday after 
 Trinity-, it is but just to suppose that the Church wishes 
 this divine operation to be seen in all its bearings. This 
 miracle, then, may be well taken in at least two senses. 
 At a future time we may consider it as a proof of the 
 mercy and creative power of our divine Lord, and so 
 a proof of His Godhead. In the present instance we 
 should not merely regard it as a display of omnipotence, 
 but rather with reference to its typical signification. It 
 is to be noted that "the Passover, a feast of the Jews, 
 was nigh"; and, doubtless, it was designed to illustrate 
 the Institution of the Christian Passover, and of the holy 
 Eucharist. "Therefore," to quote St. Augustine, "as 
 127
 
 The Fourth Sunday in Lent 
 
 we have heard how great this miracle is, let us likewise 
 discover how profound ! Let us not alone be charmed 
 with its surface ; let us also sound its depths ! For what 
 we so much admire without, contains something within." 
 
 The Fathers have seen much that is mystical in all 
 parts of the parable. "Twelve baskets," says one, 
 "remained over and above, that each Apostle, bearing 
 a basket on his shoulder, might recognize the ineffable 
 wonder of the miracle." In the division of the com- 
 pany into different portions, each served by an Apostle, 
 they see a lively image of the Catholic Church, which is 
 one blessed company, in which all partake of that One 
 Bread, which the Apostles received from Christ, and 
 have delivered to us, 
 
 And as both Epistle and Gospel exhibit the comfort- 
 able promises of the Lord, the Collect implores Him to 
 vouchsafe to us relief, in spite of our unworthiness. 
 While all who are lifting up their eyes, and hungering for 
 the Easter Feast, to which we now draw near, will find 
 this Prayer a consoling one, it will be seen also how 
 appropriate it is to those especially who are preparing 
 for baptism at Easter ; or to lapsers and others look- 
 ing for restoration to the privileges of full Commun- 
 ion, which used to be a public solemnity, on Maundy- 
 Thursday. 
 
 The 46th Psalm, (Deus noster refugium,} which is the 
 Introit, is a blessed expression of confidence and trust, 
 which fully harmonizes with the refreshing Services of 
 the day. 
 
 The Lesson from the prophet Micah, is "profitable" 
 alike "for reproof and instruction in righteousness"; as 
 it reproaches those who have ungratefully forgotten their 
 obligations to the Lord, and teaches the acceptable ser- 
 vice which he requires of those who seek Him. "To 
 128
 
 The Fourth Sunday in Lent 
 
 walk humbly with GOD," let it be noted, implies humble 
 obedience to all the Institutions of the Gospel. He who 
 refuses to become as a little child at the feet of JESUS, 
 walks proudly before his GOD. The text is no excuse, 
 therefore, for those who say that Christ requires not 
 obedience to His Sacraments and Ordinances. 
 
 The Lesson from Daniel, telling of his protection from 
 the lions, depicts the sure trust of the Christian, and his 
 consequent independence of outward prosperity or woe. 
 "My GOD hath sent His angel and hath shut the lions' 
 mouths that they have not hurt me." 
 
 The history of Daniel's life in Babylon is one of strange 
 vicissitude. He was a captive, and a eunuch, an exile 
 from the Land of Promise, and his beloved Jerusalem 
 was in ruins. In the i3Jth Psalm we have the portrait 
 of his heart, as he sat down and wept by the waters 
 of Babylon. But those who make the sorrows of the 
 Church their own, and who so identify themselves with 
 truth in the world that its wounds are theirs, may bear 
 the lot of temporal prosperity. And Daniel, with all 
 his great trials of faith, was the most prosperous of all 
 the prophets. He became the premier of an empire ; 
 he directed all the affairs of a great State ; and yet he 
 walked with GOD. He was in the world, but not of it. 
 Three times a day (and no doubt four times in the night) 
 he retired from worldly thoughts, and kneeled in his 
 chamber and gave thanks, even when a den of lions 
 yawned for him ; and observe how much is implied in 
 the words "his windows being open towards Jeru- 
 salem.'' 1 That much at least he could enjoy of Church 
 privileges ; so much he could have of the temple ; for it 
 had been consecrated with a special Collect for such a 
 case, (I. Kings viii. 48;) and so "he thought upon her 
 stones, and it pitied him to see her in the dust." In all 
 129
 
 Passion Sunday 
 
 this we learn the duty of a Christian in the present state 
 of the Catholic Church. Let his prayer go up to GOD, 
 looking towards "Jerusalem which is above, which is 
 the Mother of us all." 
 
 The Second Mo'rning Lesson contains one of those 
 marvellous discourses which St. John alone has pre- 
 served to us, wherein JESUS opened to his Disciples and 
 before the unbelieving Jews as well, the meaning and 
 purpose of His coming, and exhorts them all to turn to 
 Him that they might have everlasting life. 
 
 An Anthem for this Sunday might -be made of the 
 words, (Numb. xiii. 23,) "They came unto the brook 
 of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one 
 cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon 
 a staff, . . . saying, The land floweth with milk and 
 honey, and this is the fruit of it." 
 
 passion Sunfcap 
 
 WHILE the Israelite, in the desert, was dying of the 
 plague, it was natural that he should forget everything 
 but his horrible condition and disease ; but when Moses 
 lifted up the serpent, and bade him look, and be saved, 
 self was comparatively forgotten. He looked in faith, 
 and was healed. So, while the penitent in the former 
 weeks of Lent has probed and examined his heart, and 
 bewailed his sin and uncleanness, he has been chiefly 
 concerned with his own wretchedness and unworthiness 
 of relief ; but when, to-day, the Church begins to set be- 
 fore him Christ crucified as his cure, it is time to look 
 unto Him and be saved to cast our burden upon the 
 130
 
 Passion Sunday 
 
 Lord, to behold and see if there be any sorrow like 
 unto His sorrow, which is done unto Him ! 
 
 To-day is called Passion Sunday, because the Services 
 begin to relate the story of our Lord's sufferings and 
 death. The Atonement is pre-eminently the theme of 
 this day. Christ is exhibited as our Great High Priest ; 
 and from now to Easter, the Lamb of GOD, dumb before 
 His shearers, is the engrossing object of wonder, of 
 worship, and of love. 
 
 The Services of this day will strike the attentive wor- 
 shipper as singularly harmonious throughout. They 
 are full of the name that is honey in the mouth and 
 music in the ear, mel in ore, melos in aure. In the first 
 Morning Lesson, we observe two texts as peculiarly 
 suited to the season. The first is, "there shall be a 
 fountain opened for sin and uncleanness" by which we 
 are reminded of the water and the blood, which flowed 
 from the cleft side of the Redeemer. The other is, 
 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the 
 man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts !" This 
 text our Saviour applied to Himself expressly (St. Matt, 
 xxvi. 31,) and thus, " thought it not robbery to be equal 
 with GOD, the Man that is GOD'S Fellow ! How, except 
 by the Church's doctrine of the consubstantiality of the 
 Son with the Father, and of the Mystery of the Incarna- 
 tion, is such language to be interpreted ? 
 
 The Second Lesson is our Lord's sad prediction of 
 the destruction of Jerusalem and of the sorrows which 
 should come upon His disciples, a discourse which was 
 delivered in the Temple very shortly before His be- 
 trayal and Crucifixion and which breathes the tenderness 
 of our Great High Priest. 
 
 The Epistle begins " Christ being come," and declares 
 His power to give us peace with GOD, as a High Priest
 
 Passion Sunday 
 
 of good things. The Levitical Sacrifices, as a great 
 system, illustrative of the one Sacrifice of the Lamb of 
 GOD, which alone explains them, are then expounded, 
 in connection with the priesthood of Christ. And then, 
 the Holy Gospel is a touching exhibition of the blind- 
 ness of the Jews, to this glory which had been the joy 
 of Abraham, and the desire of all nations. It exhibits 
 the Lord of Glory " enduring that contradiction of sin- 
 ners," which is elsewhere spoken of. They said, " He 
 hath a devil !" They impudently looked into His face, 
 scanned His features, and pronounced Him not yet 
 fifty years old : proof that He looked older than He 
 really was. In reply He assumes the great name of 
 the self-existing One I AIM. Then they took up stones 
 to stone Him, but JESUS went out of the Temple ! So 
 the glory departed, and "Ichabod" was its name, and 
 desolation its award. 
 
 The Introit is Psalm fifty-fourth ; but it is an ancient 
 custom to omit the Introit and the Gloria Patri, on this 
 day ; and not to sing the latter again till Easter Sunday. 
 
 Of the Collect it is only necessary to say, that with 
 the Epistle and Gospel, it remains as it stands in the 
 ancient Sacramentaries, for this Sunday. In the Even- 
 ing we have the wonderful prophetical vision of Daniel 
 concerning the Ancient of Days. 
 
 The Prophet's description of the Son of GOD, whom 
 he beheld in vision, is remarkably like that of St. John, 
 who beheld the same unchangeable Lord in the Isle of 
 Patmos. Thus Christ is set before us as the Alpha and 
 Omega, the First and the Last ; the Lord alike of the 
 Prophets and Apostles, the great I AM, ' ' Who was, and 
 Who is, and Who is to come." The description of His 
 vesture shows Him as the great High Priest of the 
 Church. He is "clothed in linen," "His garment as 
 132
 
 Palm Sunday 
 
 white as snow," surpliced in His light raiment, as our 
 glorious Melchisedec, about to offer Himself as the 
 Lamb without blemish, for the sins of the whole world. 
 
 The Second Lesson follows with words of comfort and 
 strength and instruction. The sacrifice of all for Christ, 
 justification through His merits alone, the fellowship 
 of His sufferings, and the power of His resurrection, 
 these are its themes. It glories in "the Cross of 
 Christ," and concludes with a fervent exhortation, and 
 a promise of the Resurrection.* 
 
 Oh, how amiable would be the tabernacles of the 
 Lord, if only all kept holy-day in the spirit, and with 
 the understanding of the inimitable Service of the 
 Church, this day ! From now till Easter the devout 
 Churchman enjoys a soul-ful of spiritual meat. He 
 goes in and out, and finds pasture, with the good Shep- 
 herd ; and beholds, in all the glory of His wonderful 
 humiliation, the patient Lamb of GOD. 
 
 palm Sunftag 
 
 " REJOICE greatly, O daughter of Zion ! behold thy 
 king cometh unto thee ; he is just and having salva- 
 tion ; lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the 
 foal of an ass." With these words at the beginning of 
 the First Morning Lesson does the Church annually 
 celebrate the day, on which this ancient prophecy was 
 
 * To-day, and also on Palm Sunday, notwithstanding the length of 
 the Service, should be read the warning for the Easter communion 
 all of it for the people seldom hear it. Indeed, at this time in the 
 year it would be helpful if every congregation might hear the Ex- 
 hortation on page 242 of the Prayer-Book.
 
 Palm Sunday 
 
 fulfilled. It was on the first day of the week in which 
 He suffered, that our Lord entered the Holy City in 
 this way. The multitude, by a divine influence, obeying 
 the prophet, greeted His approach with hosannas, and 
 strewed their garments and waved palm-branches before 
 Him. This beautiful and striking event, in the life of 
 our Saviour, viewed in connection with the scenes that 
 immediately followed, the hosanna of Sunday, con- 
 trasted with the away with him of Friday, has taken 
 deep and mysterious hold upon the hearts and the im- 
 aginations of men, and its associations still brighten 
 with melancholy light the sombre solemnities of the 
 week before us. Many there are who bear a green 
 sprig or piece of palm in their hands to Church, as a 
 silent, though expressive memorial of Him who dis- 
 dained not to accept the same tribute from His Apostles ; 
 and we learn from an English writer that owing to their 
 former general use, in this way, "the catkins of the 
 sallow or large-leaved willow, which are now in full 
 bloom, are still called palms, by the country-people of 
 England." Whatever outward customs are observed, 
 we can think as we go to Church, in the bland spring 
 sunshine, how, as at this time, and on such a day, our 
 blessed Lord came into Jerusalem, to die for our sins. 
 We can identify ourselves with the scene, as it was once 
 in reality passing. Here is our gracious Master who has 
 gone about doing good so long, approaching on His 
 meek beast, the City that "slayeth the prophets and 
 toneth them that are sent unto her." The multitudes 
 are going up to the Passover ; and rejoicing to get a 
 glimpse of the marvellous Nazarene, and trusting that 
 He is about to exert His miraculous power for the 
 worldly restoration of His country, they have plucked 
 down boughs from the trees, and are laying even their 
 134
 
 Palm Sunday 
 
 raiment beneath His feet. He, the while, rides on in 
 silence, for great is the travail of His soul, and His time 
 is come. It is the day when the shepherds are driving the 
 lambs into Jerusalem to be sacrificed at the Passover ; 
 the highways are full of the victims ; but lo ! here is our 
 very Paschal Lamb led by His own love to the slaughter, 
 and, like the sheep before the shearer, opening not his 
 mouth. 
 
 \Yith such meditations, let us employ our time till the 
 Service begins. Then let us endeavor to do more than 
 those who merely cast their vesture in the way, in obedi- 
 ence to the sentence, " Rend your hearts, and not your 
 garments, and turn unto the Lord." 
 
 As we listen to the fearful details of the- Passion, as 
 they are given by St. Matthew, in the Second Lesson, and 
 in the Holy Gospel, let us resolve that, forsaking, as far as 
 possible, all worldly thoughts, we will devote this hal- 
 lowed week to devout meditations on the Cross, and to 
 ardent adoration of the Crucified. 
 
 The Introit is Psalm 6ist. But Psalm 118 is even more 
 appropriate, especially from the 25th verse ; for these are 
 the words of the Hosanna which was shouted before 
 Christ Himself on this day. By ancient custom there 
 are no Introits appointed for the remaining days of the 
 week, until Good Friday. The Collect, although it is 
 the ancient Latin one for the day, has been delicately 
 improved in the process of translation. 
 
 The Gospel, as we have said, is the narrative of the 
 Passion, according to the Evangelist ; and the Epistle is 
 comprehensive of the whole spirit of the week. Sublime 
 as that glorious passage is at any time, it never affects us 
 as it does in connection with the overpowering solemni- 
 ties of Palm Sunday, and as associated with the scenes 
 about to be renewed during the week. It compresses
 
 Palm Sunday 
 
 the whole Gospel into such a condensation of language ; 
 it so vividly pictures the Incarnation, the Passion, and 
 Ascension together ; it so feelingly gives utterance to 
 our natural emotions, that we spontaneously bow soul 
 and body when we hear the words of the Apostle : " He 
 humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even 
 the death of the Cross: Wherefore GOD also hath highly 
 exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above 
 every name : that at the Name of JESUS every knee 
 should bow, . . . and every tongue should confess that 
 JESUS CHRIST is Lord, to the glory of GOD the Father." 
 
 Let it be observed that in both the Epistle and Gospel the 
 Royalties of Christ are strikingly displayed. Christ, 
 as the King of Israel, is the burden of the day. JESUS 
 was to be rejected after a full declaration of His true 
 character ; He was the King of the Jews, and as such he 
 displayed Himself, in His official Advent to Jerusalem 
 and the Temple, on Palm Sunday. But His kingdom 
 was not of this world. 
 
 The First Lesson, at Evening Prayer, contains Daniel's 
 mysterious prediction of this solemn week, as that in 
 which Messiah should be cut off, but not for Himself. 
 In the Second Lesson we have from St. John's Gospel 
 the record of the great event of the Day, the triumphal 
 entry into the Holy city. 
 
 The subsequent events of this day were, in brief, as fol- 
 lows : Our Lord, after reaching the Temple, healed many 
 of the sick, blind, and lame, and graciously accepted the 
 hosannas of the children. St. Philip announced to our 
 Lord that certain Greek proselytes, who could not enter 
 the interior of the Temple, were anxious to see Him, 
 and He therefore went to them, in the Court of the Gen- 
 tiles. Here He predicted the Conversion of the Gentiles, 
 as the glorious harvest of His own death and resurrec- 
 136
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 tion ; and as he uttered a prayer to the Father, He was 
 answered by a miraculous voice, which the people mis- 
 took for thunder. Our Lord further fulfilled the pro- 
 phecy, in clearing the Temple of the profane traffickers, 
 by whom it was polluted, and in so doing He seems to 
 have been miraculously sustained, and also to have had 
 the consciences and sympathies of the people in His 
 favor.* In this He gave a foretaste of the Last Day, 
 and showed us that His mercy does not annihilate His 
 judgment. He also showed how easily He might have 
 overcome His enemies, and even seized the government, 
 had such been His motive. St. John asserts that many 
 of the chief priests did, in fact, believe on Him, but 
 they were afraid to confess him openly. At evening, 
 the Holy Saviour returned to Bethany, with the Twelve, 
 and was probably the guest of the beloved Lazarus, and 
 his pious sisters. On the previous evening, Mary had 
 anointed Him " for His burial :" as it were applying to 
 Him the language of the Bride, in the Canticles, "Be- 
 cause of the savor of Thy good ointments Thy name is 
 an ointment poured forth therefore do the Virgins love 
 Thee." 
 
 Ube t)ols TKleefc 
 
 WE are drawing nearer and nearer to the Cross ; and 
 do not our hearts burn within us by the way ? To those 
 who really know the love of Christ which passeth knowl- 
 edge, what a season is this ! The Master calls us not 
 servants, but friends: we are not living in the twen- 
 
 * Mai. iii. I. 
 
 137
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 tieth century, nor in the uttermost parts of the earth. We 
 are carried back to the Holy Land, and to the Passover 
 which JESUS desired to eat with His disciples. We are 
 not hearing we are living the history of our Redemp- 
 tion. Happy are they who duly celebrate these Myste- 
 ries, acquainting themselves more and more with Him 
 whose countenance was marred more than the sons of 
 men, but who is, to us, the Chief among ten thousand, 
 and the One altogether lovely ! 
 
 How sublimely the Epistle for this morning opens ! 
 How augustly it ushers in the glorious Sufferer coming 
 to redeem His people ! Whether it be read in the quiet 
 country Church, or in the spacious choir of the Cathedral, 
 it is everywhere the same ; yet every year more significant, 
 and more precious to the soul : ' ' Who is this that cometh 
 from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah ? this that 
 is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of 
 His strength ; I that speak in righteousness, mighty to 
 save ! " 
 
 The whole of this prophecy, read in immediate con- 
 nection with Good Friday and Palm Sunday, strikes us 
 as a happy illustration of the sagacity with which our 
 Holy Mother ministers to us the rich bounties of the Word 
 of GOD. The Gospel makes its mark as an experience. 
 We gain living associations with different Scriptures, and 
 learn their interpretation, as a child learns language, not 
 in harsh tasks from a mere master, but in delightful and 
 winning intercourse with a mother, who day by day 
 adapts her discourse to our growing powers, and im- 
 presses truth on our minds, as it were, by example, rather 
 than by direct indoctrination. Hence this chapter gets its 
 meaning, in our minds, from its place in the Liturgy. We 
 care not for what mere critics or barren literalists may 
 fancy to be the sense. To us it is full of the Saviour ; and
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 whenever we see it in our Bible, we remember how it is 
 wont to sound in our ears, in the week of the Redeemer's 
 Passion. Delightful art, by which the pure milk and the 
 rich meat of the Word are thus duly dispensed, in their 
 season, to the children of Christ's Bride ! Some have 
 objected that this prophecy speaks of a day of vengeance, 
 whereas it was a day of suffering. But let us reflect that 
 it is a highly lyrical poem, wherein the Passion is viewed 
 as that contest with the powers of darkness, in which 
 Satan's head was finally bruised. It was also a day of 
 terrible vengeance to the Jews ; and the scourging of 
 those who profaned the temple must be regarded as a 
 foretaste of the dreadful retribution which afterwards 
 visited Jerusalem, and made that temple a heap of stones. 
 The Church has taken care that each of the Evangelists 
 should be heard this week, in his narrative of the Passion. 
 So, yesterday, the Holy Gospel was taken from St. Mat- 
 thew; and to-day St. Mark is begun. Though we do not 
 include in our plan any commentary on the Scripture it- 
 self, yet we will note what is peculiar in the Gospel, as con- 
 tributing to Liturgical completeness. The Gospel of 
 St. Mark is traditionally ascribed to the patronage of St. 
 Peter ; and there is little doubt that it was composed by 
 his direction and care, under inspiration of the Holy 
 Ghost. As St. Peter's fall and repentance, therefore, are 
 an important part of the tremendous drama before us, 
 his account of that transaction, with which the Holy 
 Gospel concludes to-day, must be heard with peculiar 
 interest. It is his confession. Let it be remarked, then, 
 that while the other Evangelists seem more slightly to 
 detail his guilt, and more fully to record his penitence, 
 he, on the other hand, gives his shame in all its base- 
 ness ; and when he comes to speak of his repentance, 
 gives himself the least credit that is possible. Other 
 139
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 Gospels say, " he went out and wept bitterly." St. Peter 
 only says, "And when he thought thereon he wept." 
 How eloquent the simplicity how touching the silence 
 of one who in two words relates the hours of anguish, 
 the bitterness of which language could not describe ! 
 St. Peter seems to leave it with GOD : to say I will not 
 tell how I repented ; Lord, Thou knowest my groaning ; 
 put my tears into Thy bottle : are they not noted in Thy 
 book? 
 
 In the Lessons from the Old Testament during Holy 
 Week, we are for the most part lovingly instructed con- 
 cerning various types of Christ and his Redeeming 
 Work. This morning we read of the acceptable sacrifice 
 of Abel, and of the hatred and treachery of Cain, akin to 
 that spirit which betrayed and crucified the LORD JESUS. 
 
 In the Second Morning Lessons for three days, our 
 gracious High Priest, touched with the feeling of our in- 
 firmities, condescends to talk with us, and to strengthen 
 us, as He did His disciples in the upper room "in the 
 night in which He was betrayed." How choicely the 
 Church tells o'er her treasures, and counts and weighs 
 the parting words of comfort, which fell from her divine 
 Lord, ere He left her, nineteen hundred years ago ! 
 
 In the Evening Lesson from the Book of Numbers we 
 read of that smitten Rock, from which water came forth 
 to refresh the people. And we remember the inspired 
 comment of St. Paul: "They drank of that spiritual 
 Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ." 
 Most appropriate for this service is that hymn of Hora- 
 tius Bonar (673) which contains the words : 
 
 " I heard the voice of JESUS say, 
 
 Behold, I freely give 
 The living water ; thirsty one, 
 Stoop down and drink, and live." 
 140
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 In old time it was customary to rehearse, on every day 
 of the Holy Week, the events of that day ; the more 
 forcibly to impress the minds of the people with the 
 history of their redemption. In this way, the great mys- 
 teries of our faith were solemnly renewed and commem- 
 orated annually. But a perversion of the original sim- 
 plicity was introduced, and the Clergy, in an ignorant 
 age, invented scenic representations of the events ; one 
 of which (the feet-washing) has been retained until very 
 lately, even in some reformed communions. Thus grew 
 up those dramas called Mysteries, or Scripture plays, 
 which in time became painfully profane. But our object 
 in mentioning this is to suggest the happy effect of the 
 Mysteries of Holy Week, if only preserved in their 
 original form. The pastor with his flock, the mother 
 with her children, can still rehearse day by day, this 
 week what JESUS did on each day, for their souls. Thus 
 will the Gospel story sink deeper in the heart, and Holy 
 Week and Easter be, each year, more perfectly realized, 
 and more earnestly desired. 
 
 Thus, "the Mysteries" celebrated to-day would be 
 the morning-walk from Bethany ; the cursing of the 
 barren fig-tree, as a symbol of the Jewish nation ; the 
 second cleansing of the Temple ; and the return at night- 
 fall to the Mount of Olives. 
 
 THE events of this day, as given in the Harmonies of 
 the Gospels, are very striking. As our Lord, with His 
 disciples, passed the fig-tree, on their way to the city, 
 they were appalled to see that it had withered away so 
 soon. It was not only a type of the Jewish nation, but 
 also of the traitor Judas. 
 
 141
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 In the Temple, our Blessed Saviour spake many of 
 His parables, on this day, and among others that of the 
 vineyard and the wicked husbandmen. The hearers 
 saw its bearings, and were, apparently, much affected 
 by it, for the time. As He left the Temple, He was led, 
 by the pride which the disciples showed in its magnifi- 
 cence, to foretell its speedy ruin ; and, seated on the 
 Mount of Olives, He further enlarged on this as a type 
 of the end of all things. As the sun was setting, He 
 foretold His hour as fast approaching. Thus, our Lord 
 to-day abandoned the Temple forever to its fate ; and 
 the Jewish people were solemnly given over to their own 
 devices, in punishment for their rejection of the Messiah. 
 
 The Epistle is well suited to the day in which JESUS 
 "endured such contradiction of sinners"; and the Gos- 
 pel concludes the narrative of St. Mark. The Lesson 
 from Numbers tells of the brazen serpent whose true 
 significance was declared by our Lord Himself when 
 He said : "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilder- 
 ness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that 
 whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have 
 eternal life." The Lesson from St. John contains more 
 of our Saviour's parting words to his disciples. In the 
 Evening Lesson from Leviticus, we have Jehovah's ru- 
 brics for the service on the great day of Atonement, when 
 the High Priest offered the sin offering, sent away the 
 scapegoat, and brought the blood of the sacrifice into the 
 Most Holy Place. 
 
 Thus are we led to compare scripture with scripture. 
 Thus do we learn to discern the Gospel in the Older Dis- 
 pensation, and to interpret the Mosaic books by the light 
 of the tender memories of Holy Week. 
 
 142
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 OF "the Mysteries" celebrated this day, the conspic- 
 uous and absorbing one is the sale of " Him that was 
 valued," for thirty pieces of silver. 
 
 The Epistle, therefore, explains why it was necessary 
 to the new Covenant that JESUS should die ; and, as to- 
 morrow will tell us how JESUS instituted the "New Tes- 
 tament in His Blood," so to-day rehearses how Moses, 
 with the blood of calves and goats, ordained the first 
 Testament with the words, "this is the blood of the 
 Testament, which GOD hath enjoined unto you." This 
 word "Testament" would be more intelligible to the 
 average hearer if it were translated "Covenant" as in 
 the Revised Version. 
 
 The Holy Gospel commences St. Luke's pictorial nar- 
 rative of the sublime events of the Passion. Observe, 
 in this Gospel, the fact that our Lord was blindfolded, 
 when they smote Him. It has been well remarked, that, 
 but for this minute fact, thus mentioned, we should have 
 been unable to see the point of St. Matthew's story ; for 
 that Evangelist merely states that "they smote Him with 
 the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, Thou 
 Christ, who is he that smote Thee?" Thus it is, however, 
 that the more closely we inspect the Gospels, the more 
 we shall be convinced of their artless and simple truth- 
 fulness. Doubtless, other things not easily explained, 
 as we now read, would be very clear if we understood 
 all the customs and peculiarities of the times and places 
 mentioned. Thus, there is an apparent difficulty about 
 the cock-crowings, which entirely disappears on the close 
 comparison of the most learned critics. The scarlet 
 robe of one Evangelist is the same as the purple robe 
 of the other ; for the color intended is a glaring combi- 
 M3
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 nation of these dyes, well described by St. Luke as a 
 gorgeous robe. 
 
 In the Lesson from the Prophet Zechariah, we notice, 
 on this day of the Betrayal, the typical incident : " They 
 weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver." The Les- 
 son from St. John narrates the discourse of our Lord at 
 the table when the Traitor was present, and "after the 
 sop" went out to perfect his treacherous purposes. 
 
 At Evening Prayer we read from the patriarchal records 
 how Joseph's brethren, "moved with envy," sold him to 
 the Ishmaelites to be a servant, for twenty pieces of silver. 
 " But GOD was with Him, and delivered Him out of all 
 his afflictions," (Acts vii. 9, 10, ) a type thus of Him who 
 bowed His head and humbled Himself to take upon 
 Him the form of a servant that he might indeed be ex- 
 alted. 
 
 The Second Lesson at Evening Prayer carries out the 
 consistent teaching of the day by telling us in the beau- 
 tiful language of St. Peter how precious above all price 
 or estimate is that blood of JESUS who was basely be- 
 trayed for a few coins ; but hath obtained for us "an in- 
 neritance, incorruptible and undented and that fadeth 
 not away." 
 
 THIS day is so called as being Dies Mandafi, the Day 
 of the Mandate ; that is to say, of the command, "Do 
 this in remembrance of Me."* 
 
 This day the Church's gates are opened wide, that the 
 truly penitent may come back to the Saviour, and begin 
 anew to sup with JESUS, according to His precepts. The 
 warning to the Easter Communion is appropriately read 
 
 * Or, as some say, the day of the " new commandment," to love 
 one another. 
 
 144
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 in its entirety after the Holy Gospel, and nothing could 
 be more appropriate than that very solemn one which is 
 provided in case the pastor has a negligent flock. (Prayer- 
 Book, p. 242.) Alas ! in these days, what pastor sees 
 even the greater part of his adult flock zealous and 
 faithful in attendance on the Holy Eucharist? To-day, 
 all lukewarm believers are admonished. If there be 
 those, therefore, who have allowed the world or their 
 own carnal will to withdraw them from the Altar, let 
 them return this day, in dust and ashes, and neglect their 
 Redeemer no longer. Or, if there be those who labor 
 under the Church's discipline, to-day is the day of res- 
 toration ; let them ask of those who bear the keys of 
 the Kingdom, and, if truly penitent, they may again be 
 admitted to the fold. 
 
 We commemorate this day the Institution of the Blessed 
 Sacrament of the Eucharist, and there are usually cele- 
 brations in all our churches. The Morning Prayer should 
 begin with the prophetic sentence from Malachi ; and 
 with reference to the penitential character of the day, 
 there might be appropriately added that from the Psalter, 
 ' ' The sacrifices of GOD are a broken spirit. " The Fourth 
 Selection of Psalms will perhaps be found more appro- 
 priate than the Psalms for the day, as it contains Psalms 
 which all relate, more or less, to the Table of the Lord, 
 the Christian Altar. " Oh, taste and see how gracious 
 the Lord is," is, in fact, an ancient selection for use at 
 the Lord's Supper. 
 
 The First Lesson is most appropriate to the day, 
 being the narrative of the "bread from heaven" the 
 manna which Jehovah provided for His people in the 
 wilderness ; concerning which the Second Morning Les- 
 son furnishes an inspired commentary, in that wonderful 
 discourse contained in the Sixth Chapter of St. John's 
 10 145
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 Gospel. A mine of priceless wealth is ready for any 
 disciple who will prayerfully study with a reference Bible 
 these two lessons and parallel passages. All of this and 
 much more which follows is peculiarly appropriate to this 
 day of the Sacrament, wherein we seek the fulfilment of 
 the Saviour's pledge, " Whoso eateth My flesh and drink- 
 eth My blood hath eternal life ; and I will raise him up at 
 the last day." 
 
 The Evening Lesson, from Genesis, brings to our view 
 that mysterious personage Melchisedec, a distinguished 
 type of our Great High Priest, who on this night so long 
 ago brought forth bread and wine for the refreshment 
 of GOD'S children. 
 
 Then follows, in the Second Lesson, the inspired com- 
 ment upon the history of Melchisedec, which the Holy 
 Spirit has preserved for us in the Epistle to the He- 
 brews. 
 
 As we behold the Paschal Moon this evening, making 
 bright with her pale beams the scenes of the Saviour's 
 sufferings, let us think of Gethsemane, and of our Lord's 
 mysterious agony, on which the same Paschal Moon 
 presumed to shine ; and let us profitably meditate, with 
 shame and contrition, on the profane retinue that came 
 with lanterns and with staves, and laid hands on Him 
 whom His own familiar friend saluted with a traitorous 
 kiss. 
 
 It may be interesting to mention that, with reference 
 to the precept, "ye ought also to wash one another's 
 feet," which probably was uttered at the Last Supper, 
 the Kings of England were long accustomed to perform 
 this ceremony, washing the feet of a number of beggars, 
 in public, at Whitehall Chapel, after Morning Prayer, 
 this day. King James II. was the last who did this in 
 person ; but at least as late as 1731 the Archbishop of 
 146
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 York officiated instead of the Sovereign. When the 
 ceremony ceased we cannot say precisely ; but a relic of 
 it is still preserved in the annual procession at the Chapel 
 Royal, and the distribution of loaves and fishes to a num- 
 ber of poor persons corresponding numerically with 
 the years of the Sovereign's age. Bags of silver are 
 likewise distributed in the same way. Some say that be- 
 cause these gifts were carried in maunds, or baskets, 
 hence this day received its name, "Maundy-Thursday." 
 All this is very well ; but let us not forget the spiritual 
 import of what JESUS did, teaching us by his example, 
 condescension, humility, and brotherly love. 
 
 GOOD ffrioag 
 
 Oh come and mourn with me awhile, 
 
 And tarry here the cross beside ; 
 Oh come, together let us mourn ; 
 
 JESUS, our Lord, is crucified. 
 
 THIS is the great and awful day that commemorates 
 the Redeemer's sufferings. Let us keep it in solemn 
 fasting and humiliation, for our sins, alas ! were thorns 
 to His glorious and immaculate Head, and nails to His 
 holy and venerable Hands. 
 
 The Service begins, of course, with the most deeply 
 penitential of the Sentences, and the Vcnite and other 
 Canticles are read without music. Indeed, there should 
 be no chanting or gloria during this day's Sen-ices, no 
 organ-playing except for the solemn Hymns of the Pas- 
 sion. Of the Proper Psalms, the 22nd is the most minute 
 description of the Passion that is given in Holy Writ ; 
 and the 4oth contains that oblation of Himself which was 
 147
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 made by the Blessed Word, ere yet He was Incarnate of 
 the Virgin. "Lo, I come; in the volume of the book 
 it is written of Me that I should fulfil Thy will, O My 
 GOD. I am content to do it. Yea, Thy law is within 
 My heart." The First Lesson is the narrative of the 
 typical offering of Isaac ; who, bearing the wood on his 
 shoulder, as JESUS bore His cross, asks, " Where is the 
 Lamb?" and receives an answer from the Father of the 
 faithful, " GOD will provide Himself a lamb, my son." 
 When it is remembered that it was on the same Mount 
 Moriah that JESUS, in fulness of time, was seen bearing 
 His cross towards Calvary like Isaac, the amazing beauty 
 of the Lesson will be felt. Of this event, the prophecy 
 is explicit : " In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen." 
 "The Lord will provide." It must be observed, more- 
 over, that the whole transaction was designed to teach 
 Abraham, and the faithful through him, that the love 
 which he bore to his son, "his only son," was only a 
 faint type of that of the Father to His Well-beloved. 
 St. Paul tells us that the unbinding of Isaac was a 
 signal type of the Resurrection, and that Abraham acted 
 as he did, sustained by strong faith that God was 
 able to raise him from the dead. Thus we see that the 
 patriarchs knew and believed more of the Gospel than is 
 usually supposed. The Second Lesson begins St. John's 
 narrative of the Passion, and closes with the astounding 
 declaration that he whom the Jews chose to release in- 
 stead of Christ, was, like all that ever came before Him, 
 "a thief and a robber !" 
 
 For the Introit may be used a passage from the 22nd 
 Psalm, "My GOD, my GOD, look upon me." The 
 Collects are three ; the first, commemorative of JESUS ; 
 the second, a supplication for the faithful ; and the third, 
 (after the example of Christ,) a prayer for His murderers : 
 148
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 those infidels who crucify Him afresh, as well as the 
 pagans who know Him not ; those Turks and Heretics 
 who deny His power and Godhead ; and those unhappy 
 Jews who wander the Earth, as living witnesses of the 
 hour when their fathers cried, " His blood be on us and 
 on our children." These Collects are very ancient ; and 
 the same, or similar ones, are referred to by St. Augus- 
 tine ; though the introduction of the word "Turks" must 
 be comparatively modern. 
 
 The Epistle is a majestic passage from the Epistle to 
 the Hebrews, explanatory of those blessed effects of the 
 Redeemer's Incarnation and Passion, which, in spite of 
 its fearful commemorations, has gained for this day the 
 name of Good Friday. The Holy Gospel is the exceed- 
 ingly full and tender narrative of that eye-witness who 
 alone of the Apostles clung to the cross, and succored 
 the Mother of our Lord, when the sword pierced through 
 her heart. Of course we shall spare all comment on 
 such a Gospel ; which, after the other three have been 
 read during the week, seems to be filled up with the ac- 
 cumulated pathos of the whole, and, like a cup of trem- 
 bling, to overflow. After the words, // is finished, 
 and again after the words, He bowed His head and gave 
 up the Ghost a Clergyman who reads with feeling gen- 
 erally makes an impressive pause. It concludes with a 
 remarkable exposition of two prophecies, showing how 
 minute are the details of the Hebrew Scriptures in their 
 allusions to Christ. The Paschal Lamb was to be care- 
 fully slain, and no bone was to be broken ; and Zech- 
 ariah had said, "They shall look on me whom they 
 have pierced. ' ' Now we learn that both of these matters, 
 the ordinance and the saying, were prospective, and 
 sought their fulfilment in the one moment, when after the 
 death of JESUS, the executioner forbore to break His 
 149
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 legs, but a soldier thrust his spear into the side of the 
 Blessed Body. 
 
 It may at first appear strange that there is no Proper 
 Preface at the Trisagion, for so solemn a day. But the 
 reason is that, except for the sick, the Holy Eucharist is 
 traditionally not offered on this Fast. As the day itself 
 is a mournful commemoration, and as the Eucharistic 
 Feast little comports with the deep abasement of our 
 humiliation on such a day, there appears every reason 
 of congruity for this omission.* 
 
 At Evening Service \ve shall find relief in the feeling 
 that, with our Master " the worst is o'er" ; and like the 
 holy Marys "sitting over against the sepulchre," our 
 meditations will tenderly linger around the tomb of 
 JESUS. In the whole course of the year there is no Les- 
 son which comes into its place more effectively than 
 this Evening's Lesson from Isaiah, so full of pathos and 
 beauty in itself, and so minutely descriptive of the events 
 of the Passion. No one on hearing it, can doubt that 
 Isaiah "spake beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and 
 of the glory that should follow." St. Peter furnishes 
 the Second Lesson, full of instruction as to the many 
 duties which follow upon our Lord's complete work 
 for us. 
 
 The closing words we may well take to heart : " Christ 
 also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should 
 follow His steps ... by whose stripes ye were healed." 
 
 Oh, let us keep this fast with the true spirit of the 
 publican, and of the repentant thief ; and He who was 
 crucified "shall see of the travail of His soul and be sat- 
 isfied." 
 
 * However, concerning this there is much difference of opinion. 
 There is certainly nothing intrinsically wrong in consecrating on 
 Good Friday. 
 
 150
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 Hbrccs=Mours' Service 
 
 THE Commemoration of the Agony of our Most Holy 
 Redeemer upon the cross, from noon until three 
 o'clock, when "He bowed His head and gave up the 
 ghost," is a devout and profitable Service. It consists 
 of hymns, scripture readings, and prayers, with addresses 
 on the Seven Words from the cross or other subjects 
 connected with the crucifixion. This Service should by 
 no means supersede or take the place of the regularly 
 appointed Services for Morning and Evening. It is a 
 Service unauthorized, but nevertheless recognized as 
 profitable and appropriate, as may be seen by reference 
 to the Hymnal. (Hymn 530.) 
 
 In so far as such a Service contains Prayers which are 
 not already to be found in the Book of Common Prayer, 
 it should be submitted to the Bishop of the Diocese for 
 his approval. Otherwise its use is not lawful. 
 
 Rightly used and solemnly engaged in, and concluded 
 by a commemoration of the Faithful Departed, the 
 Three-Hours' Service is most helpful for the due observ- 
 ance of the Day. 
 
 WHERE anthems are sung, the proper anthem for this 
 day is, "My flesh shall rest in hope : for why? Thou 
 wilt not leave my soul in Hell, neither shalt thou suffer 
 thine Holy One to see corruption." 
 
 The First Lesson at Morning Prayer is " the writing 
 of Hezekiah, King of Judah," when he had been near to 
 death and was " recovered of his sickness." The Sec-
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 ond Lesson relates how JESUS was "with the rich in His 
 death." At Evening Prayer, the First Lesson refers to 
 the precept of the Passover, which in its Christian ob- 
 servance begins on the Eve of Easter-day. The Second 
 is designed especially for the comfort and instruction of 
 the catechumens about to be baptized at the close of the 
 Lesson, for this is the special day for baptisms. "Let 
 us come boldly," is a warrant for their assurance in ap- 
 proaching the font. 
 
 From the customs of the early Church, which pro- 
 tracted the Service of this day through the night till 
 Easter morning, it still traditionally retains the name of 
 Easter-Even. It is, of all vigils, the most absorbing and 
 delightful. As for the "Man of Sorrows," with Him 
 the pain is over ; the battle is fought, His victory is won, 
 His soul has gone to Paradise. We commemorate His 
 mysterious Descent into Hell,* with the happy spirit 
 of the repentant thief. Meantime, His dead body re- 
 poses in Joseph's tomb ; the seal is on the stone ; the 
 guards are pacing around it ; the Paschal moon is gleam- 
 ing on their helmets and spears. The Church, with fra- 
 grant spices of remembrance, keeps vigil, like Magdalene 
 and Mar}'. At the Introit, therefore, she, as it were, 
 forgets that she is commemorating, and rather antici- 
 pates the Resurrection of her Lord. How expressively 
 she describes the condition of His body, in the sealed 
 sepulchre, as she sings the Doniine, Dais ! (Psalm 88.) 
 
 "Free among the dead, like unto them that are 
 wounded and lie in the grave, who are out of remem- 
 brance and are cut away from Thy hand ! 
 
 ' ' Dost Thou show wonders among the dead ? or shall 
 the dead rise up again, and praise Thee ? 
 
 * See Acts ii. 22 to 32 ; St. Luke xxiii. 43 ; I Pet. iii. 18, 19. 
 152
 
 The Holy Week 
 
 " Shall Thy wondrous works be known in the dark ; 
 and Thy righteousness in the land where all things are 
 forgotten ?' ' 
 
 As we have heard this sung on Easter-Eve, we have 
 almost been able to identify ourselves with those who, 
 nineteen hundred years ago, with such despairing words, 
 rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment, 
 and looked for the morning that they might hasten to 
 the tomb. 
 
 As we are " buried with Christ in baptism," so Easter- 
 Eve has from time immemorial been the great baptiz- 
 ing day; on which, especially, those catechumens who 
 have been prepared during Lent are brought to the laver 
 of Regeneration. To this custom the beautiful Collect 
 for the day has especial reference ; and a modern Ger- 
 man scholar has suggested that the apostle refers to this 
 primitive ordinance when he speaks of those who were 
 "baptized for the dead"; that is, for a dead Christ. 
 Baptized at the Passover into the death of JESUS, what is 
 their hope, if there be no reality in His Resurrection ? 
 
 The Epistle is singularly appropriate; containing the 
 doctrines of the Descent into Hell ; of Regeneration in 
 baptism; and of the Resurrection of JESUS CHRIST for 
 our justification. 
 
 The Holy Gospel embalms the name of him who 
 embalmed the world's Redeemer and laid Him in his 
 own new tomb. It recounts the interment of JESUS; the 
 vigil of the two Marys, who sat "over against the sep- 
 ulchre"; the testimony of the chief priests to Christ's 
 prediction that He would rise again; and the sealing of 
 the stone, and the setting of the watch. So, then, they 
 have made it "as sure as they can"; go your way from 
 such a service, and come early on the morrow. Let us 
 see what Pilate's guard, and their seal upon the stone, 
 '53
 
 Easter-Day 
 
 shall avail against the promise of Him who is the Resur- 
 rection and the Life. The holy women have prepared 
 their spices, and are unconsciously giving a new meaning 
 to the language of the Canticles: "I charge you, O ye 
 daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake 
 my love, till He please. ... I will get me to the moun- 
 tain of myrrh, and the hill of frankincense, until the day 
 break, and the shadows flee away." 
 
 Ml 
 
 CHRIST is risen ! Such is the shout which encircles the 
 earth, as this morning's sun wakes up the world ! To-day 
 ten thousand temples are crowded ; ten thousand altars 
 spread ; ten thousand voices sing, " Christ our Passover 
 is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast !" The 
 font and altar are decorated with flowers, emblems of 
 the Resurrection, and of our faith in the promises. These 
 flowers, after the solemnities of the day, are sent to 
 the sick, and others, who have not been permitted by 
 Providence, to visit the temple. Surely, if ever it is 
 right to use such demonstrations of joy as the disciples 
 did of old, when they plucked down branches of the 
 trees, and threw their robes in the way, it is on this fes- 
 tival, which Prophecy itself has proclaimed to us, in the 
 words, " This is the day which the Lord hath made : we 
 will rejoice and be glad in it." 
 
 Early, while it is yet dark, in some places, the singers 
 go about the streets with the song, 
 
 " Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, 
 Christ hath burst the gates of Hell !" 
 
 or, as among the Moravians, with instruments of music. 
 154
 
 Easter-Day 
 
 By permission of the venerable Presiding Bishop of 
 our Church, the writer, when a Presbyter of his Diocese, 
 was long accustomed to assemble his flock, for worship, 
 at sunrise, on Easter-day, and to use a special service, 
 which received the Bishop's approbation. First was said 
 the Lord's Prayer and the Collect for the day; and then, 
 after the versicles, (O Lord, open Thou our Lips, etc.,) 
 and the Easter Anthem, were said, or sung, Psalms, ( 16, 
 81, 84, no,) with Glorias. 
 
 The Lesson was Revelation, the fifth chapter, followed 
 by the Jubilate and the Nicene Creed. A brief pastoral 
 salutation was followed by the carol, 
 
 "Christ the Lord is risen to-day." 
 
 And the Service closed with Collects, (those for the First 
 and Second Sundays after Easter, for Easter-Even, for 
 the Feasts of St. Thomas, and SS. Philip and James,) 
 and the concluding Prayer in the " Burial of the Dead." 
 This order is suggested for family prayer, on Easter-day, 
 or for use in such parishes as cannot have a Priest's 
 presence even for the sunrise Eucharist, which is THE 
 Service for Easter morning. For the early Communion 
 of Easter-day an alternative Collect, Epistle, and Gospel 
 are provided (p. 127). The Easter Anthem to be used 
 instead of the Venite at Morning Prayer is to be found 
 just before the Collect for the day, on page 125 of the 
 Prayer- Book. The words "Christ, our Passover, etc.," 
 and the exhortation, " Let us keep the feast," show that 
 the Christian Passover is an Apostolic Institution. St. 
 Paul wrote his first Epistle to the Corinthians, at Easter, 
 and hence the pertinency of his appeal (I. Cor. v. 7) to 
 them as "unleavened"' that is, keeping the days of un- 
 leavened bread. The Jewish Christians seem to have used 
 *55
 
 Easter-Day 
 
 unleavened bread at the Lord's Supper, but the Apostle 
 bids them to be spiritually unleavened. Year after year, 
 as this glorious strain begins, we find ourselves wishing 
 it may not be over too soon, and then, as it dies away, 
 regretting that a year must pass ere we hear it again. 
 Let us reflect that possibly we shall hear it and sing 
 it to the glory of the risen Redeemer, never again on 
 earth ! 
 
 Then follow the Proper Psalms, which are prophecies 
 of the Resurrection, collected from the Psalter, and which, 
 though written ages before Christ came, are still the best 
 poetical descriptions of His history. 
 
 The First Lesson narrates the Institution of the Pas- 
 chal Feast, which took place more than three thousand 
 years ago, and was enjoined to be kept forever ; as it 
 has been, in Jewish shadow or in Christian substance, 
 ever since, and as to time's end it ever shall be, as sure 
 as the moon, which GOD set for signs and for seasons, 
 comes annually to her Paschal maturity. How sug- 
 gestive the thought, as we thus read the original warrant 
 for this festival, that in our generation we have risen up 
 to observe it also, and to pass it to our posterity, saying, 
 when our children ask, " What mean ye by this sen-ice ?" 
 " It is the Lord's Passover." 
 
 How expressive, in the Te Deum which follows, is the 
 strain, "When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of 
 death, Thou didst open the kingdom of Heaven to all 
 believers." 
 
 In the Second Lesson, we read St. Matthew's record 
 of some of the events which followed the Resurrection 
 on the first Easter-day and later. 
 
 Then, if \he Jubilate be sung, how appropriate its bur- 
 then, "Be joyful, all ye lands!" Or if the Bcnedictus 
 follows (which is always the proper liturgical Canticle 
 156
 
 Easter-Day 
 
 after the Gospel Lesson), how new and fresh a meaning 
 is given by the day to the passage, "He hath visited 
 and redeemed His people, and hath raised up a mighty 
 salvation for us, in the house of His servant David." 
 "To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers and 
 to remember His holy Covenant . . . that we being de- 
 livered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him 
 without fear." Beginning the Sen-ice with the Easter 
 Sentences and the Lord's Prayer, the Morning Prayer 
 will doubtless be closed with the Prayer for the Presi- 
 dent and the Litany this day omitted. 
 
 The desire of every communicant to present himself 
 at the Altar, on this festival, in obedience to the recog- 
 nized duty of partaking always at Easter of the Blessed 
 Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood, sometimes ren- 
 ders the solemnities too protracted to be to the end en- 
 joyed. But where the services succeed each other as 
 the rubrics provide, there is the happiest combination 
 of continued service, and desirable bodily refreshment. 
 The Great Service of the day is the Easter Eucharist. As 
 the Priest enters the chancel, the old Introit is devoutly 
 chanted, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither 
 shalt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption." 
 (Ps. 16.) Then, after the Decalogue, comes the beautiful 
 Collect, commemorative of Him who "hath overcome 
 death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life." 
 To this succeeds the Epistle, " If ye, then, be risen with 
 Christ, seek those things which are above"; and then 
 follows the Holy Gospel, in which the beloved Apostle 
 describes to us the scene at the sepulchre on the early 
 morning of the first Easter- day. The alternative Col- 
 lect is taken from an ancient source, the alternative 
 Epistle repeats a part of the Easter Anthem, and the 
 Gospel which follows is St. Mark's narration of the visit 
 157
 
 Easter-Day 
 
 of the holy women to the sepulchre ' ' that they might 
 anoint Him." 
 
 Then we say or sing the Nicene Creed; and then the 
 Minister ascends the pulpit, to preach, like St. Paul at 
 Athens, " JESUS and the Resurrection." Oh, sublimest 
 hour in the Christian's year ! when the Paschal Altar is 
 spread, and all things are ready, and the ambassador of 
 Christ bids us come to the Supper of the Lamb ! 
 
 And now the sermon is over, and perchance the 
 thoughtless and gazing multitude have withdrawn, and 
 the doors are shut, and Christ is within, as of old. At the 
 Holy Table stands the commissioned agent of His own 
 eternal Priesthood, once again to "do this in commemo- 
 ration of Him"! How wonderfully this sublime Memo- 
 rial fulfils its purpose ! how augustly, as it proceeds, 
 Christ is set forth "before our eyes, crucified among 
 us "! At the Preface, how touching is the recognition of 
 Christ as the very Paschal Lamb! and in the Trisagion, 
 how are we joined in adoration with the heavenly choir 
 itself! 
 
 The words of Institution recount the solemn scenes of 
 the week, and remind us of the upper chamber in which 
 the last Passover and the first Eucharist were cele- 
 brated. For the Easter Communion the traditional hymn 
 is the old Ambrosian: "At the Lamb's High Feast \ve 
 sing." (Hymn 118.) There is, indeed there can be, no 
 better hymn for the Christian Passover. 
 
 And then we receive the Heavenly Food Itself, and so 
 go in peace to our homes, with many a holy resolve and 
 secret prayer " to go in the strength of that meat " all our 
 lives, and to the Mount of GOD. Oh, what a happy day! 
 Like those who kept the first Easter with Christ, our 
 hearts have burned within us all the time; and He hath 
 made Himself known to us in the BREAKING OF BREAD. 
 158
 
 Monday in Easter- Week 
 
 The Evening Psalms and Lessons are most appropriate 
 for the Day, the first Lesson being the tumultuous song 
 of triumph which rang out over the waters of the Red 
 Sea when Jehovah had gotten Himself the victory. This 
 is "the song of Moses and the Lamb," in its typical form 
 as the song of Moses over the triumph of the Paschal 
 Lamb in Egypt. A more glorious song of Moses and the 
 Lamb is to be sung by all the faithful, in the mount of 
 GOD, when the last enemy is slain, and when death and 
 hell are thrown into the lake of fire. We ought to note 
 that Miriam, who leads the chorus of the female saints, 
 bears the name of Mary, the Mother of our Lord, and 
 the sweet singer of the Magnificat. 
 
 The Second Lesson must be specially noted as an 
 Apostolic Sermon on the text, "Thou wilt not leave my 
 soul in hell." It is an exposition of the Morning Introit. 
 As we thus conclude the Festival, let us praise GOD that 
 now, in all the world, the same Church of Christ con- 
 fesses Him with boldness, which on the first Easter was 
 contained in one room at Jerusalem, and that secretly, for 
 fear of the Jews. 
 
 fiflontmp in j aster *1ICleefe 
 
 EASTERTIDE continues through the Octave of Easter- 
 day, that is, for eight days inclusive ; though for two days 
 only are special services appointed. Thus all the Scrip- 
 tures specially referring to the Resurrection may be read, 
 and the opportunity of Communion may be still afforded ; 
 for it is required by universal consent, as well as by the 
 ancient canons, that every one should endeavor to re- 
 ceive the Holy Communion at the Easter season. 
 159
 
 Monday in Easter-Week 
 
 The tree which sweetened the waters of Marah and 
 the abundant supply of water at Elim, are the subjects of 
 the First Lesson, reminding us of Him who by His 
 Resurrection has brought life-giving refreshment to a 
 world of thirsty souls. (St. John iv. 10-15. See also 
 St. John vii. 37.) In the beautiful words, "I am the 
 Lord that healeth thee," we see the promise of a 
 Saviour to heal the world, embittered and poisoned by 
 sin. We have also a hint of the immediate work under- 
 taken by GOD, in conducting the children of Israel forty 
 years through the wilderness. It was to heal them ; to 
 purify them of their carnal lusts, and to make them a 
 holy seed. Here was a type of the Gospel : the twelve 
 wells and the seventy palm-trees of Elim being, also, 
 emblems of the Twelve Apostles and the Seventy Dis- 
 ciples, whose gifts of healing were made the tokens of 
 Christ's first Advent to " the lost sheep of the house of 
 Israel." The Second Lesson is St. Luke's account of 
 the Resurrection. 
 
 At Evening Prayer, the First Lesson contains the most 
 ancient prophecy of the Resurrection, and must be re- 
 garded as an exhibition of man's wretchedness and 
 Christ's sufficiency. " I know that my Redeemer liveth" 
 here is the balm of Gilead for every mortal wound, 
 and for all the diseases of our souls. The Second Les- 
 son is St. Mark's account of the Resurrection in part 
 repeated from the alternative Gospel for Easter-day. 
 
 The Epistle is the narrative of the first preaching of 
 the Resurrection to the Gentiles, in the case of Cornelius ; 
 and the Gospel is the story of the walk to Emmaus, 
 and of the first Easter Eucharist, which was celebrated 
 by our Lord Himself, after an Easter Sermon which He 
 Himself preached. 
 
 160
 
 The Great Forty Days 
 
 Ube Great 3Fort 
 
 No Churchman should fail to note and to profit by the 
 blessed Eastertide extending to the Feast of the Ascen- 
 sion. 
 
 Let us imagine ourselves in company with the dis- 
 ciples during those Forty Days when JESUS "showed 
 Himself alive after His passion, by many infallible 
 proofs." What a flood of light had been thrown upon 
 His Person, His Mission, His words, actions, prophe- 
 cies, and promises, by the glorious Rising again from the 
 dead ! How at one bound the disciples had advanced 
 from primary scholars to pupils of a much higher grade, 
 appreciative, receptive, alert, eager to hear more and 
 understand more. 
 
 And here He was with them over and over again during 
 almost six weeks, " teaching them the things pertaining 
 to His kingdom," "opening their understandings that 
 they might understand the scriptures," explaining the 
 "whither," the "why," the "little while," and many 
 things else which before His crucifixion had sorely puz- 
 zled them. 
 
 It was a marvellous time, of which our popular Chris- 
 tianity takes no heed. But we, as Churchmen, believe 
 that everything that follows the third verse of the first 
 chapter of the Book of the Acts originated and emerged 
 from the Great Forty Days, and has the sanction of 
 the Master's command, and the seal of the Master's 
 Personal authorization. Hence, when at His Ascension 
 He said, "Make learners or disciples of all nations, 
 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
 commanded you," He included, of course, the instruc- 
 tions of the Great Forty Days ; and when He had as- 
 161
 
 Tuesday in Easter- Week 
 
 cended up on High, He sent the Holy Spirit according to 
 His promise to " bring to your remembrance whatsoever 
 I have said unto you." Therefore, from the Great Forty 
 Days originated, among many other things, all the doc- 
 trines of the Apostolic Church, and also the Lord's Day, 
 Infant Baptism, Confirmation, the Weekly Eucharist, the 
 Threefold Ministry, the Christian Festivals, and what- 
 soever else appears of doctrine or practice on the pages 
 of the New Testament, corroborated by the history of 
 the early church as given by secular writers. We may 
 well thank our Blessed Lord for His condescension in 
 tarrying so long after His victorious Resurrection, that 
 He might establish and well order His Church before 
 leaving it in human hands. Thus, He loved His Church 
 and gave Himself for it even unto the end. 
 
 in Baster^Meeft 
 
 EASTER, like Christmas, is a time of household re- 
 joicing ; and when the solemnities of Sunday are passed, 
 a moderate festivity should be encouraged. The chil- 
 dren, too, with their gilded Easter-eggs the egg being an 
 Oriental symbol of life in a sepulchre, which breaks forth 
 of itself, and flies to heaven should be made to under- 
 stand why it is meet to make merry, and Who it is that 
 " was dead and is alive again." 
 
 During the whole of the Easter Season, the concluding 
 
 prayers of the Burial Service are frequently used by 
 
 the Clergy, after sermons, and elsewhere, with pleasing 
 
 propriety. It is also customary, in some churches, to 
 
 162
 
 Tuesday in Easter- Week 
 
 use as an Easter benediction, after the Evening Sermon, 
 St. Paul's language : "The GOD of peace, who brought 
 again from the dead, etc." Thus, the service may be 
 enriched, though there are no special Collects for these 
 supplementary days. 
 
 The Holy Eucharist, with its Proper Preface, celebrated 
 each day during the Octave, most properly emphasizes 
 the importance of the Feast, and shows us how distinctly 
 the Christian Passover is the substance of which the 
 ancient Passover was the shadow. " Seven days shall ye 
 eat unleavened bread. ... In the first day there shall 
 be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there 
 shall be an holy convocation. . . . And this day shall 
 be unto you for a memorial ... ye shall keep it a feast 
 by an ordinance, forever." (Ex. xii. 14-17.) 
 
 The Lesson from Isaiah this morning, has many pas- 
 sages worthy of remark ; but it is appointed chiefly be- 
 cause of the concluding verses, and the prophecy, "Thy 
 dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out 
 the dead." In the Evening Lesson, we have the story 
 from II. Kings of the revival of the dead man whose body 
 touched the bones of Elisha the prophet, a prefigure- 
 ment of the Resurrection. The Second Lesson in the 
 morning is St. John's narrative of one of the most strik- 
 ing appearances of our Lord after His Resurrection ; 
 and in the evening we have, in the same place, a con- 
 tinuation of the same chapter, which closes the Fourth 
 Gospel. 
 
 The Epistle is St. Paul's sermon, at Antioch, preached 
 in the synagogue, after the Lessons for the day had 
 been read ; in which he proved from the prophets that 
 Christ was the true David, and that He must needs rise 
 again from the dead. The Gospel continues the Gospel 
 of yesterday, and concludes with the words of our tri- 
 163
 
 First Sunday after Easter 
 
 umphant Lord Himself, pointing the lesson for us all : 
 " Ye are witnesses of these things." How much that 
 implies as to our life and conversation ! 
 
 fffrst Sunfcap after Easter 
 
 THIS is sometimes called Low Sunday, or the Sunday 
 of Albs. The former name, pertaining to it as the Octave 
 of Easter, signifies that, although not the High Feast, it 
 Is the first of the Lower Rasters which we keep every 
 week ; and the latter is an old name, derived from the 
 throng of catechumens who, in ancient times, appeared 
 at Church, in the albs, or white garments given to them 
 at their baptism. This ceremony of Albs is done away ; 
 but not so the spirit of the same. The Church would 
 have us now revert, all together, to that rising with 
 Christ out of the burial of Baptism, in which our Chris- 
 tian life began ; and it will be observed that the edifying 
 of the young Christian in practical holiness is a promi- 
 nent thought in the spirit of the Services, from this time 
 until Pentecost, when the riper fruits of the Spirit are 
 brought into view. 
 
 " Pureness of living" is, therefore prominent in the 
 language of the Collect ; while the Epistle contains the 
 doctrine which is embodied in the familiar hymn, 
 
 " Let the water and the blood 
 From Thy side, a healing flood, 
 Be of sin the double cure : 
 Save from wrath and make me pure." 
 
 One of the texts occurring in the Epistle may be re- 
 
 garded as an Epitome of Revelation : " And this is the 
 
 record, that GOD hath given to us eternal life, and 
 
 this life is in His Son." The flaming sword is removed, 
 
 164
 
 First Sunday after Easter 
 
 and the fall remedied ; we may now put forth our hands 
 to the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever. The Son 
 of GOD hath destroyed the works of the devil ; and 
 henceforth "He that hath the Son hath life; and he 
 that hath not the Son hath not life." Mere Deism or 
 Socinianism will not save a man. Salvation turns on 
 the acceptance of the Son of GOD, and on being so 
 grafted into Him as to partake of His life. 
 
 With this great truth connects the Gospel for the day, 
 ' ' As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. ' ' 
 Here is the great mission of the ministry of reconcilia- 
 tion. Christ rose for our justification to "sprinkle 
 many nations"; and therefore His first words are those 
 which are to perpetuate His work to the end of time. 
 There are always to be in the world authorized Ambas- 
 sadors of Christ, administering "the water and the 
 blood" to the souls of men for the remission of sins. 
 The great bestowal of the keys follows, in the words, 
 " Receive ye the Holy Ghost : whosoever sins ye remit, 
 they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, 
 they are retained." In this formula is given the author- 
 ity to bind and loose, to baptize and to administer the 
 Lord's Supper, and (by admitting to or excluding from 
 the Sacraments) to remit and retain sins. But there is 
 no arbitrary power conferred in these words : the Chris- 
 tian priesthood bind nothing and loose nothing, except 
 as they act according to the laws of Christ. The truly 
 penitent and believing, with little children, receive bene- 
 fit from these powers ; and only the unworthy and unbe- 
 lieving need dread the sentence of excommunication, or 
 other censures. An ancient Father observed that when a 
 Bishop or Presbyter censures, or excommunicates, other- 
 wise than as Christ has ordained, he only harms himself. 
 
 This great text refers then to the " one Baptism for the 
 165
 
 First Sunday after Easter 
 
 remission of Sins," which is professed in the Creed. It 
 is to be interpreted by the "Acts of the Apostles"; by 
 what they actually did under this commission. As to 
 other forms of Absolution, and Confession for baptized 
 persons, they are of Ecclesiastical origin, and have greatly 
 differed in different ages of the Church, being adjuncts 
 of the one great Sacrament and preparatives to the other, 
 but not in themselves " sacraments of the Gospel." (See 
 Article xxv. Prayer- Book, p. 562.) Our Church ex- 
 acts, in several cases, a general confession, and provides 
 for private confession in case of troubled consciences. 
 A penitential system is requisite to full Communion, in 
 the nature of things, and must, of necessity, exist in 
 some form or other ; but the gross abuses, which in 
 times past have arisen about enforced confession, make 
 it all-important that we should the more carefully keep 
 the simple truth as here recorded. "The LORD JESUS 
 CHRIST hath given power on earth to His Church," 
 which is His Body and wherein He dwells, to adminis- 
 ter in His Name, the forgiveness of sins. And this the 
 Church does authoritatively by Preaching, by Baptism, 
 by Confirmation, by Holy Communion, by formal Ab- 
 solution. The Church thus remits sins, remembering 
 always that she is but a Voice and a Hand. The Lord 
 Himself is the only Absolver, Baptizer, Administrant of 
 any sacrament or ordinance whatsoever. 
 
 The Apostolic Commission was bestowed after the 
 Resurrection. Christ had not given any general Com- 
 mission to His Apostles, when He died on the Cross, 
 though He had promised that He would give them the 
 keys. Consequently, the existence of a body of men 
 bearing this Commission is a perpetual witness of the 
 Resurrection. The "Apostolical Succession" as it is 
 called is a perpetual token that Christ rose from the 
 1 66
 
 First Sunday after Easter 
 
 dead, and that he sent forth witnesses to proclaim His 
 Resurrection, with whom He promised to remain till the 
 end of the world. Any ministry, then, which is not of 
 Apostolical Succession, is not a competent witness that 
 Christ rose again for our justification, according to the 
 Scriptures ; but of this truth, the Apostolic Church is 
 "the Pillar and Ground." (I. Tim. iii. 15.) 
 
 In the Lessons from Isaiah, to-day, we are to look for 
 allusions to our Lord's power over Death and Hades 
 the dark river, and the land of the enemy. Hence, we 
 have, in the morning, several such passages : e.g., 
 "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with 
 thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow 
 thee : when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt 
 not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." 
 With reference to what has been already said of the 
 Gospel for the day, and of the Apostolic Succession, 
 observe also the text, "Therefore, ye are My witnesses, 
 saith the Lord, that I am GOD"; and again, "This 
 people have I formed for Myself ; they shall show forth 
 My praise." In the Evening, observe, "I am the first, 
 I also am the last," and reflect on the similar passage in 
 the Revelation, and on Christ, as the speaker in both 
 places. Then listen to the residue of the Lesson : 
 "thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, . . . Oh, that thou 
 hadst hearkened to my commandments ! ..." "Then 
 had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as 
 the waves of the sea." 
 
 The Lesson from the Acts, not only completes the 
 melancholy history of Judas ; but shows how GOD took 
 care that the Apostolic line should be continued, to wit- 
 ness the Resurrection. The text " His bishopric let 
 another take" is proof that the successors of the Apos- 
 tles are rightly termed Bishops, although that term is a 
 167
 
 First Sunday after Easter 
 
 generic one, like the term pastor, and hence, in the 
 Epistles to Timothy and Titus, it is, in a limited sense, 
 used for the inferior office of the Presbyter. The Pres- 
 byter was one of the Bishops, or Pastors, of a particular 
 flock, or congregation ; but the Apostle was the Bishop 
 of a district like Crete, or of a whole city like Ephesus, 
 and hence he is called, in the Revelation, the "Angel" 
 of such a Church Angel and Apostle meaning the same 
 thing a messenger. We usually give the name Angel 
 to heavenly messengers, however, and the name Bishop, 
 with equal propriety, to chief pastors. 
 
 The Second Evening Lesson is the beginning of the 
 sublimest of all those glorious bursts of inspired poetry 
 with which St. Paul's Epistles abound. It is the fullest 
 exposition we have of the doctrine of the Resurrection : 
 it declares that at the Resurrection the righteous shall as 
 truly have bodies of their own as any given seed is sure of 
 a blossom of its own. On the other hand, it shall not be 
 the body that dies and is buried, any more than the same 
 glorious flower is the perishing seed that was sown. 
 The identity consists in the connection between the 
 product and the germ : "to every seed a body of its 
 own," and yet, "thou sowest not that body that shall 
 be." The text, " what shall they do which are baptized 
 for the dead?" seems to have reference to the martyrs, 
 whose baptism of blood, for a dead Christ, and for the 
 faith of dead Patriarchs and Apostles, would be without 
 a shadow of hope. On the other hand, for a living 
 Christ, and for the patriarchs and prophets as "living 
 unto Him," in the power of His Resurrection, the mar- 
 tyrs might well consent to be "baptized with the bap- 
 tism that He was baptized with," and St. Paul and 
 others might, as willingly, "stand in jeopardy, every 
 hour." As for the Apostle's "fighting with beasts at 
 1 68
 
 Second Sunday after Easter 
 
 Ephesus," although he may have contended in the 
 arena, in some unrecorded persecution, it is more likely 
 that he here speaks of his persecutors as "beasts"; for 
 so St. Ignatius, the Martyr Bishop of Antioch, in his 
 Epistle to the Romans, speaks of the "ten leopards," 
 or soldiers, that guarded him, and who abused him with 
 rude indignities, as he journeyed towards Rome, to be 
 devoured by lions in the Flavian Amphitheatre. 
 
 Although the whole of this chapter is not read on this 
 Sunday Evening, yet so familiar is it as the sad yet 
 triumphant Lesson in the Burial Service, that it is well to 
 mention these points which need a word of explanation. 
 The Lesson appointed covers the first twenty-two verses, 
 in which St. Paul enumerates the various appearances of 
 the risen Lord to so many witnesses as to make the Res- 
 urrection absolutely indubitable. (See Acts i. 3.) 
 
 Seconfc Sunfca after Easter 
 
 THE Paschal Lamb is now exhibited as the Shepherd; 
 for this is the day which the French call so prettily the 
 Sunday of the Bon Pasteur, referring to the beautiful 
 words of the Gospel: " I am the Good Shepherd." 
 The Gallican Church, until lately, retained many other 
 ancient resemblances to the Anglican; for the genuine 
 Gallicans did not wholly submit to the Roman yoke, 
 even at the Council of Trent. Unhappily for them, 
 however, they gave enough power to the Pope to en- 
 able him to mar their ancient heritage ; and to substi- 
 tute for it, after their first Revolution, a purely papal 
 one, which has almost entirely abolished the good things 
 169
 
 Second Sunday after Easter 
 
 that were left, for which the nobler spirits among them 
 once contended so boldly. 
 
 In reciting the Collect, we must not fail to recognize 
 the reflected form of the verb, in the words endeavor 
 ourselves, which is here the same as in the Confirmation- 
 Office, and in the Ordinal, at the close of the Bishop's 
 address to the candidates for the Priesthood. 
 
 The Epistle speaks of Christ as "the Bishop and 
 Shepherd <A our souls"; and the Gospel expounds the 
 idea contained in that beautiful name which Jacob first 
 gave the Messiah, when he said, "From thence is the 
 Shepherd, the stone of Israel." In the Collect, the Good 
 Shepherd, "who laid down His life for His sheep," is 
 exhibited as our atoning Sacrifice, and our blessed Ex- 
 ample ; and we pray for grace to accept His atonement, 
 and to follow His steps. The Introit, to-day, can be 
 none other so appropriately as the 23d Psalm, although 
 the ancient one appointed is " Deus in adjutoriuin." 
 (Psalm Ixx. ) 
 
 In the First Lesson at Morning Prayer, we have the 
 passage, "O death, I will be thy plagues"; and in the 
 Second, we have the sermon of St. Peter in Solomon's 
 porch, asserting the Resurrection of Christ, and upbraid- 
 ing His murderers. The fact that our Lord had walked 
 and preached in this porch of Solomon, seems to have 
 made it dear to the Apostles. It was an open gallery, 
 looking towards the Mount of Olives, and commanding 
 a view of many sacred places. 
 
 At Evening Prayer, observe the text, ' ' In Thee the 
 fatherless findeth mercy"; and, also, the fine passage 
 that follows, " I will be as the dew unto Israel." In the 
 Lesson, from St. Paul, we see the character of a good 
 pastor, under Christ the Chief Shepherd " rejoicing in 
 His sufferings" for the flock of Christ, and "warning 
 170
 
 Third Sunday after Easter 
 
 every man and teaching every man, in all wisdom." 
 This same Lesson abounds with references to the re- 
 demption which we have through Christ's blood, " even 
 the forgiveness of sins." A choice Anthem for this day 
 might be made from the Canticles, (i. 7, 8,) "Tell me, 
 O Thou whom my soul loveth, where Thou feedest, 
 where Thou makest Thy flock to rest," etc. 
 
 Ubiro Sun&ag after Easter 
 
 THE Spirit of the Sen-ice is denoted by the Collect, 
 which (primarily with respect to the catechumens bap- 
 tized at Easter, but not less intentionally with respect to 
 others) beseeches GOD, that all who are sworn under 
 Christ's banner, may wear such a livery of fidelity, that 
 those who are in error may see their good works and 
 learn to follow them as they follow Christ. 
 
 Christian consistency in the profession of Christ Cru- 
 cified is the theme of the day ; and its mighty power 
 over sinners, to persuade them to repentance, this is 
 suggested. The Epistle, therefore, shows us what sort 
 of morality this consistency requires : and the Gospel 
 shows us Whom we follow, and whither He is leading us, 
 by His example. He says, " I go to the Father"; and 
 adds, " I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice." 
 
 The First Lesson reminds us of the Judgment day, 
 when our consistency, or inconsistency, as Christians, 
 will forever decide our fate, and when we shall stand for 
 an impartial award, among the " multitudes in the valley 
 of Decision." The Second Lesson contains St. Peter's 
 noble utterance before the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, de- 
 claring by what means the impotent man had been 
 171
 
 Fourth Sunday after Easter 
 
 healed : " Be it known unto you all, that by the name of 
 JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom 
 GOD raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man 
 stand before you whole." What grand proclamation of 
 the power of the Risen Lord ! 
 
 In the Evening Lessons, while we note the promise 
 " the Word of the Lord shall go forth from Jerusalem," 
 as fulfilled in the rise of the Christian Church, we must 
 not forget that this Word is a Moral Law, as well as a 
 Gospel and that it is described in the text, "He will 
 teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths." 
 The Second Lesson, which repeats in part the Easter 
 Epistle, is a summary of these ways and paths, which 
 Christians are called to keep ; and concerning which we 
 pray, in the Eucharist, that we may continue in them, 
 and ''do all such good works, as He hath prepared for 
 us to walk in." 
 
 44 
 
 ffourtb Sutftag after Easter 
 
 THE Gospel of the day dwells on the Lord's predicted 
 Ascension, and on His promise of the Comforter. The 
 Epistle reminds us of the glory that shall be revealed in 
 us, by hinting the nature of this gift of the Comforter, 
 who came down from the "Father of Lights," for the 
 purpose of preparing us to go up to Him, and to be 
 "partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light." The 
 Collect suggests to us the desire of Christ's promises, 
 and the love of His precepts, as the means of keeping 
 the heart fixed, " where true joys are to be found," even 
 amid the changes of this world. 
 
 The difficult passage in the Gospel may be compre- 
 hended by the reflection, that the Comforter is also the 
 172
 
 Fourth Sunday after Easter 
 
 Advocate of Christ, and comes to finish the work which 
 Christ began, by striving with men's hearts in behalf of 
 their Saviour. He convinces them of the great com- 
 prehensive sin of unbelief, as when " they were pricked 
 to the heart," in view of their having crucified the Lord 
 of Glory, He convinces them of the righteousness of 
 Christ by His exaltation to the right hand of the Father, 
 and so of the righteousness which sinners may derive 
 from Him who thus liveth for our justification. Finally, 
 He convinces men of judgment to come, because "the 
 Prince of this World" is judged already, that is to say, 
 by Christ's triumph over him on the Cross, where he 
 bruised Satan's head, and "spoiled principalities and 
 powers." This promise being fulfilled, the remaining 
 judgment of the world is as certain as what has already 
 been executed on " the Prince of this World." Compare 
 the words of Christ, (St. John xii. 31,) " Now is the judg- 
 ment of this world ; now shall the prince of this world 
 be cast out." 
 
 The Lesson from Micah, reverting to the Nativity at 
 Bethlehem, shows the exaltation of the Messiah in the 
 text, " Now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth ; 
 and this man shall be the Peace." The Second Lesson 
 contains another grand proclamation by St. Peter of the 
 glorious gospel of the Resurrection. We are also given 
 an awful warning by the story of Ananias and Sapphira, 
 whereby we should learn how futile it is to attempt to 
 deceive ourselves or others in dealings with the Church 
 of GOD and the Ministers of Christ. In the Evening 
 Lessons we note the texts, (i,) " Behold, upon the 
 mountains, the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, 
 that publisheth peace!" " O Judah ! keep thy solemn 
 feasts ; perform thy -con's !" and (2) " Timotheus came 
 from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your
 
 Rogation-Sunday 
 
 faith and charity. ' ' Here is the Gospel-trumpet , sounded 
 by prophets, and echoed back in the obedience of Chris- 
 tian converts. 
 
 WHEN a friend departs to visit a glorious City, and the 
 Court of a great king, we have messages to send by 
 him. When we have a friend at Court to present our 
 petitions to the great king himself, we feel emboldened 
 to make known our requests. These two ideas are made 
 prominent to-day. Jesus is our Intercessor and Advo- 
 cate, with the Father ; hence, Prayer and its nature, as 
 presented through Christ's merits and intercession, are 
 the subjects of this day's Services, in view of the "going 
 up on high" of our Great High Priest. 
 
 The Collect recognizes the Father as the "Giver of 
 all good things" and suggests that, as in keeping His 
 commandments "there is great reward" our lives 
 should, in the first place, correspond with our prayers. 
 This also is the idea of the Epistle, which enjoins a prac- 
 tical instead of a ceremonial religion ; for the religion 
 here spoken of means the profession of religion, which 
 is better made in a spotless and benevolent life, than in 
 noisy words, or in hearing without obeying the Gospel. 
 Let no man suppose, however, that he " keeps himself 
 unspotted from the world," if he does not live in full 
 communion with the Church, which is the only Ark of 
 refuge from its pollutions. The Gospel, while it con- 
 tains the intimation of the Ascension, dwells on the 
 nature of prayer as "asking in Christ's Name." Since 
 our Lord's Ascension, no one has ever prayed aright, 
 
 * See Prayer-Book, pp. xxiv. 41. 
 174
 
 Rogation-Sunday 
 
 who did not expressly, or by implication, say, "through 
 JESUS CHRIST our Lord." He alone is worthy to ask 
 and to "receive gifts for men"; we only venture to 
 ask for His merits' sake, and to receive through the 
 channel of His love. The fitness of this Gospel, to the 
 week of the Rogation-fasts, must be apparent. 
 
 In the lesson from Zechariah, note, among other texts, 
 the allusion to the fasts of Israel, as "cheerful feasts"; 
 and also the promise, "the seed shall be prosperous ; 
 the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give 
 her increase." One of the primary purposes of the Ro- 
 gation-fasts was to supplicate before harvest a blessing 
 on the fruits of the earth. In the Second Lesson we are 
 reminded, by the example of St. Stephen, of the glory 
 which Christ sheds from the right hand of GOD upon 
 His- saints who suffer for Him, and who by fervent 
 prayer hold intimate converse with Him. 
 
 The Rogation thought is again present in the First 
 Lesson at Evening Prayer : " Ask ye of the Lord, rain." 
 One object of the Rogation-days was to deprecate war ; 
 and hence we note, "they shall fight, because the 
 Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be con- 
 founded." Here the adversary is represented as over- 
 come and forced to be peaceful, by the power of GOD. 
 The spiritual enemy must not be forgotten, however ; 
 nor those terrible "riders on horses," (in the Apoca- 
 lypse,) War, Pestilence, and Famine, against whom the 
 "Faithful and True" went forth, "conquering and to 
 conquer." This is the teaching of the Second Lesson, 
 where JESUS is portrayed as having overcome death, and 
 enabled all believers to conquer the same enemy in His 
 strength. This Lesson also brings the Easter Lessons 
 to a conclusion, and introduces the Ascension-week, 
 by those touching words wherewith we are bidden to 
 175
 
 Rogation-Days 
 
 "comfort one another," looking for the general Resur- 
 rection, and the Ascension of all believers. 
 
 On this day, and three Rogation-days following, it is 
 proper to use, after the Collect for the day, that beau- 
 tiful one appended to the Communion Office "Al- 
 mighty GOD, the Fountain of all wisdom, Who knowest 
 our necessities before we ask, and our ignorance in ask- 
 ing." This Collect sums up the teaching of the Gospel 
 for the day, in the words with which it concludes: " those 
 things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for 
 our blindness we cannot ask, vouchsafe to give us for 
 the worthiness of Thy Son." 
 
 Of course, in every congregation, and also at the family 
 altar and in private devotion, will be fervently offered 
 also the Rogation Prayars, found on page 41 of the 
 Prayer-Book. 
 
 
 
 THESE days of fasting are meant to prepare us for the 
 Communion on Ascension-day, to which great Festival 
 they are as a minor Lent. Christ goes up to be our 
 Intercessor: hence the great subject of Prayer, as con- 
 nected with Sacrifice and the Mediatorial work of Christ, 
 comes prominently into view. We learn to conceive of 
 Prayer as a plan of intercourse and correspondence with 
 the ascended Lord, "Whom, having not seen, we love." 
 
 The origin of these days is comparatively modern, as 
 they do not date from Apostolic times, but were instituted 
 in the fifth century. Mamertus, Bishop of Vienne, in 
 Gaul, is said to have appointed them, in deprecation of 
 the ravages of the Northern barbarians, which then 
 seemed to threaten the existence of the Church in many 
 176
 
 Rogation-Days 
 
 places ; while earthquakes and pestilences apparently 
 connected them with the wrath of GOD. On this occasion 
 the Litany received an addition in those Rogations, 
 which, among us, are commonly known as "the Lesser 
 Litany," because they are usually omitted on Sundays, 
 and other festive days, when the Litany occurs, and are 
 reserved for days of fasting and the like. These Roga- 
 tions were not merely offered in Church, but in the open 
 air, the people going in processions, and saying them 
 responsively with their pastor. One can imagine the 
 impressiveness, in such circumstances, of the suffrage, 
 ' ' O GOD, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers 
 have declared unto us, the noble works which Thou didst 
 in their days, and in the old time before them." Then 
 came the response, "O Lord, arise," etc. 
 
 At the Reformation, in the Church of England, the 
 Rogation processions were retained, and in some places 
 they have been kept up to the present day. The Curate 
 with his parishioners goes through the parish, pausing at 
 certain metes and bounds, to offer thanksgivings, and to 
 implore a blessing on the fields and farms. He also 
 recites the Mosaic formula : ' ' Cursed be he that removeth 
 his neighbor's landmark," (Deut. xxvii. 17,) and the io4th 
 Psalm, Benedic aninia mea, is said, or sung, respon- 
 sively. Of these observances good George Herbert was 
 a great favorer, in his day, because, as he says in his 
 " Country Parson," (a charming old Church-book, which 
 nobody should be ignorant of,) "there are contained 
 therein four manifest advantages. First, a blessing of 
 GOD for the fruits of the field ; Secondly, justice in the 
 preservation of bounds ; Thirdly, charity in loving, walk- 
 ing, and neighborly accompanying one another, with 
 reconciling of differences at that time, if there be any ; 
 Fourthly, mercy in relieving the poor by a liberal distri- 
 177
 
 Rogation-Days 
 
 bution and largess, which at that time is, or ought to be, 
 used. Whereupon the Parson exacts of all to be present 
 at the perambulation. There is much preaching in this 
 friendliness." In America this pretty rural ceremony is 
 hardly possible, owing to the variety of sects which injure 
 our Christianity and destroy good neighborhood ; but we 
 can keep the Rogation-days in Church ; observing that 
 our American Church has added a Thanksgiving Feast to 
 the Calender, as " a blessing of GOD for the fruits of the 
 field," which corresponds with these fasts very perfectly. 
 The Rogation-days are as "Grace before Meat," and 
 when the harvests have been reaped, Thanksgiving Day 
 is as "Thanks after Meat." It will be seen that the idea 
 of such a Thanksgiving is of Church origin, and, as we 
 now keep it, engrafts the spirit of the Rogation-days upon 
 the old English " Harvest Home." 
 
 Among the Homilies will be found a curious one for 
 these days, divided into three parts ; but it is not suit- 
 able for modern use without much emendation. The 
 Rogation Collect already noted, at the close of the Com- 
 munion Service, with the use of the Litany and the 
 Rogation Prayers and Proper Lessons, will sufficiently 
 mark the observance ; more especially if appropriate 
 Selections of Psalms be used, instead of those for the 
 days of the month. Thus, the Third Selection includes 
 the Benedic anima mea, already mentioned as special to 
 the Season. The First Selection contains the gist Psalm, 
 with its promises of deliverance from disease and death ; 
 and the Fifteenth and Eighteenth celebrate the goodness 
 of GOD, in bestowing the fruits of the earth, and countless 
 other blessings. Deprecations of War, Pestilence, and 
 Famine are thus provided, and the Selections, so seldom 
 preferable in place of the regular Psalms, are turned to a 
 good account, for sufficient cause. In the use of these 
 178
 
 Ascension-Day 
 
 Psalms, however, let us never forget that temporal bless- 
 ings are hardly to be desired, except in connection with 
 those spiritual ones which Christ went up on high to re- 
 ceive as the chief gifts of GOD to men. Shall we pray 
 for the fields that have been sown by the husbandmen, 
 and forget those which are white to the harvest, and 
 which call for spiritual laborers? Shall we "ask of 
 the Lord, rain," to fertilize the soil, and forget to ask for 
 the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon the fallow of 
 men's hearts ? Nay, rather let these be our chief objects 
 of petition when we reflect that we have a Friend at 
 Court, an Advocate with the Father, who " ever liveth to 
 make intercession." Let us love to dwell on this Media- 
 torial work of Christ, and be earnest in using this privi- 
 lege of access to the Father, by prayer offered through 
 His merits who has given it as a parting bequest to the 
 Church, from which His bodily presence is taken away. 
 The Special Lessons appointed for these days, on page 
 xi. of the Prayer-Book, need no special comment. Their 
 fitness to deepen the impression which the season is 
 intended to produce will be sufficiently evident to every 
 devout and attentive reader. They tell of the power of 
 prayer, and of GOD'S promise of blessing, temporal and 
 spiritual, for all His people. 
 
 THIS day concludes the glorious circuit through which 
 the Sun of Righteousness has run His course. He who 
 was with GOD from the beginning, was with Him, in 
 His Divine Nature, even while He walked on earth, or 
 descended into Hades ; but now He, in His Human 
 179
 
 Ascension-Day 
 
 Nature is exalted to the right hand of the Father ; and 
 we see our own nature, in Him, advanced to the glory 
 which is the common destiny of the redeemed : for He 
 is " not ashamed to call us brethren," and we are already 
 "made to sit with Him in heavenly places." This in- 
 spiring truth is summed up in the Proper Preface, in 
 which the Church, like the lark, seems to take the wings 
 of the morning, and to sing at the very gate of Heaven 
 her exulting hope, "that where He is, thither we may 
 also ascend, and reign with Him, in glory." 
 
 We are taught, then, according to the Creed, that the 
 corporal presence of Christ is in Heaven, and, hence, 
 that it is His spiritual presence which is with us in our 
 meeting together in His name, which is with His minis- 
 ters in the discharge of their functions, and which is 
 more especially vouchsafed to His people in the Holy 
 Communion. 
 
 Thus we see how vain is that shocking error of Rome, 
 that the corporal flesh and blood, " nerves and bones," 
 of Christ are daily immolated afresh, and consumed by 
 the teeth and digestive functions of even unbelieving 
 and hypocritical recipients ! Christ's blessed Body was 
 unbroken, and stood before the disciples, when He said 
 of the Bread, "This is My Body," and of the Cup, 
 "This is My Blood." They did not eat and drink what 
 stood before them and spake unto them, and was not 
 yet crucified ; but their faith fed on a spiritual substance 
 which He gave them, with the outward sign, and which 
 was His Flesh and His Blood, not in the letter, "which 
 profiteth nothing," but in "spirit" and "life." 
 
 At the Holy Communion, to-day, we are to reflect, 
 
 then, that Christ's glorious presence is, corporally, in 
 
 Heaven; that "a bone of Him shall not be broken"; 
 
 and that it is only by faith that we can feed upon Him, 
 
 180
 
 Ascension-Day 
 
 and "discern the Lord's Body," in the Sacrament. We 
 ask no further questions : we do not say, " How can He 
 give us His flesh to eat?" but we believe just what He 
 says, that the consecrated and broken Bread is bread, 
 and yet His Body ; and that the Wine is wine, and yet 
 His Blood. To deny that the outward sign is natural 
 bread and wine, is just as really to destroy the Sacra- 
 ment, as to deny that the inward and spiritual grace is 
 "the Body and Blood of Christ." St. Paul clearly en- 
 forces this, (I. Cor. x. 16, 17,) when he says, "The cup 
 of blessing, which we bless, is it not the Communion of 
 the Blood of Christ?" He surely does not mean that 
 the metal of the cup is changed into the blood : yet if 
 anybody is so carnal as to insist on a literal change, he 
 says it of the cup, and not the wine. So he says, " The 
 bread which we break, is it not the Communion of the 
 Body of Christ?" Here is the Church's doctrine, in a 
 word ; it is bread, and yet it is the feody ; materially the 
 one, and spiritually the other. 
 
 Two Thursdays, therefore, aid us in gaining the full 
 idea of the Eucharist, Maundy-Thursday, and " Holy 
 Thursday," or Ascension-Day. On the first, the bread 
 and wine were taken and received as Christ's Body and 
 Blood, while the unchanged Christ stood before them. 
 On the second, the Body of our Lord became invisible 
 to human eyes ; but it is required of faith to behold that 
 Body at the right hand of the Father, and at the same 
 time to " discern the Lord's Body" in the Lord's Supper. 
 And this is just what our Lord prepared us for, (St. John 
 vi. 62,) when He said, " Doth this offend you? what and 
 if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was 
 before?" It will be hard to believe the two facts, He in- 
 timates, unless you will understand, that I am not speak- 
 ing, as the silly and carnal Jews imagine, of My corporal 
 181
 
 Ascension-Day 
 
 substance, which I am to take up to Heaven, after the 
 Resurrection ; but of My spiritual substance, which I 
 will give to the faithful, so that they shall "eat of this 
 Bread and live forever." He says all this, when He adds, 
 "It is the Spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth 
 nothing; the words that I speak unto you these very 
 words they are spirit, and they are life." 
 
 It must be remembered, too, that Christ says of Himself, 
 " I am the living Bread which came down from Heaven "; 
 and again, "I am the Bread of Life." If we are to 
 understand His words carnally, therefore, we may as 
 well affirm that His body was "transubstantiated" into 
 bread, as that bread is so turned into His body. This 
 dogma of the Trent Council not only contradicts Scrip- 
 ture and the primitive Church, but bases itself on the 
 natural philosophy of Aristotle, and thus incorporates 
 an exploded system .of material things, with the faith 
 of Christ ! To believe it, it is not enough to believe in 
 Christ and His Apostles ; but we must also believe in 
 the Pagan philosopher, Aristotle. If his theory of matter 
 is false, (as is now conceded,) then this Dogma of Tran- 
 substantiation is false ; for it rests on his theory. It is 
 sad to recur to false doctrines instead of simply present- 
 ing the truth ; but since this net has been spread for souls, 
 it is necessary to "beware lest any man spoil us through 
 philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, 
 after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." 
 
 The Epistle, to-day, is a portion from the Acts, giving 
 the detailed account of the Ascension, and containing 
 the great truth (of which we have fully spoken already 
 on page 161) that the forty days which closed at the As- 
 cension, were days in which Christ gave to His Apostles 
 their full instructions as to the founding and perpetuating 
 of His kingdom in the earth. The Book of the Acts is a 
 182
 
 Ascension-Day 
 
 record of these instructions as carried out by the Apos- 
 tles, after the Holy Ghost had come to bring all things 
 to mind which Christ had told them. Thus, as Moses re- 
 ceived " the pattern in the mount," during the forty days 
 in which the tabernacle was set up, the Church, of which 
 that tabernacle was but a figure, was delivered to the Apos- 
 tles, as a better realization of "things in the heavens." 
 The Gospel is St. Mark's account of His " receiving up" 
 " after He had spoken to them "; and St. Luke's nar- 
 rative is the Second Morning Lesson. In the Second 
 Evening Lesson, St. Paul expounds the Apostolic Com- 
 mission as an Ascension-gift, carrying out the idea of a 
 triumphal pageant, where the conqueror, in his chariot, 
 scattered gifts among the people, and led his captives in 
 his train. The First Evening Lesson is Daniel's prophecy 
 of that Eternal Kingdom upon whose Throne sits the 
 ascended King, the Ancient of Days. The First Morning 
 Lesson is a very important one, and reminds us of the 
 fact that there were two typical ascensions before that 
 of Christ. In the patriarchal times, "Enoch was trans- 
 lated"; in the Mosaic dispensation, Elijah " went up by 
 a whirlwind into Heaven." Thus, before and after the 
 flood, men were darkly taught of their destination to 
 something above this world ; but in Christ they were 
 shown the way, as well as the meritorious cause, of 
 human exaltation, and were fully assured that the heavens 
 were opened to all believers. Observe, that Elijah was 
 carried up by heavenly agencies ; but Christ sublimely 
 rose by His own power. The psalmist exclaims : "Sing 
 unto GOD, sing praises to His name. Extol Him that 
 rideth upon the heavens by His name JAH, and rejoice 
 before Him." (Ps. Ixviii. 4.) 
 
 In the falling of Elijah's mantle was presignified the 
 gift, by Christ, to His Apostles, of His own prophetic 
 183
 
 Ascension-Day 
 
 commission, as well as of other spiritual powers.* Elisha 
 is a type of the Apostolic ministry, " healing the waters" 
 and taking away dearth and barrenness from the world. 
 It only remains to say, that Proper Psalms are pro- 
 vided for this high festival, which are so appropriate, that 
 the day itself furnishes the comment. The Old Introit 
 is Psalm 4yth ; and the metrical hymns are numerous, 
 which express the Church's joy in her Master's triumph 
 and her abiding peace and confidence, now that He has 
 " opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers." At 
 the Communion, Hymn 368 is particularly appropriate, 
 containing the words, 
 
 Alleluia ! Bread of Heaven, 
 
 Thou on earth our Food, our Stay : 
 Alleluia ! here the sinful 
 
 Flee to Thee from day to day: 
 Intercessor, Friend of sinners, 
 
 Earth's Redeemer, plead for me, 
 Where the songs of all the sinless 
 
 Sweep across the crystal sea. 
 
 If we have dwelt at great length on the services of this 
 Feast, it is not only because it is too little honored, but 
 because there is nothing which can enter the mind of 
 man, so entirely beyond all that man imagines by his 
 own powers, and so ennobling to his nature, as the truth 
 which this day celebrates. Poor sinners that we are, 
 poor dying worms, can it be that we are heirs of immor- 
 tal glory, and that the way into the Heaven of Heavens 
 stands wide open, so that, in body and soul, we may 
 follow the Son of GOD, and be welcomed by Him, as 
 brethren, and partakers of His throne? 
 
 * Ephes. iv. 8-u. 
 184
 
 Expectation Sunday 
 
 Expectation 
 
 PERHAPS the darkest Sunday that was ever hallowed 
 by the Church was that which followed Our Lord's 
 Ascension. The little band of the faithful were only 
 an hundred and twenty, the eleven Apostles, with the 
 Blessed Virgin and other holy women included ; and 
 one narrow room in Jerusalem perhaps that in which 
 the Last Supper had been celebrated contained the 
 whole Catholic Church. Christ had said, "I will not 
 leave you orphans'' and had promised to send the 
 Comforter. But on this Sunday, the Lord had gone up 
 to glory, and the Comforter was not yet come. So, then, 
 for the time they were orphans : but they looked for the 
 timely fulfilment of the promise, and continued in prayer 
 and supplication. They were expecting the Comforter, 
 and hence this day is known in the Church as " Expec- 
 tation Sunday," or the Sunday after the Ascension. 
 
 The Introit is Psalm 93d, and the Veni Creator, in one 
 of its versions, may well be sung to-day, as also on Whit- 
 sunday. 
 
 The Collect throws us back in spirit, and bids us 
 sympathize with that primitive band of disciples, to 
 whom JESUS had said, " Fear not, little flock, for it is 
 your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 
 We pray that we may not be "left comfortless," and 
 we beseech Almighty GOD by the power of the Spirit, 
 to "exalt us to the same place whither our Saviour 
 Christ is gone before." There is a touching harmony 
 of sentiment in the Epistle and Gospel. ' ' Be sober, and 
 watch unto prayer," and, " Have fervent charity among 
 yourselves," may well be supposed to have been the 
 primitive watchwords at this solemn and critical mo- 
 185
 
 Expectation Sunday 
 
 ment ; and as, of old, every one felt that something 
 depended on himself, individually, so now we are ex- 
 horted, according to the gifts we have received, to " min- 
 ister one to another." The Gospel rehearses the over- 
 whelming words of Christ to the Apostolic company, pre- 
 dicting their labors, sufferings, and deaths: at the same 
 time, while it shows what great need they had of comfort, 
 it renews the promise of comfort, in the words, " When 
 the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from 
 the Father even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth 
 from the Father He shall testify of Me." 
 
 The First Lesson, in the Morning Service, is from the 
 prophet Joel, with that prediction of the outpouring of the 
 Spirit of Consolation, to which St. Peter expressly refers 
 in his sermon on Pentecost day. The Second Lesson 
 is our Saviour's Intercessory Prayer; and is most happily 
 introduced to remind us of what our glorious Mediator 
 and Advocate is doing for His faithful, there where He 
 " ever liveth to make intercession for us." How much 
 that should inspire our hopes and gratitude is implied in 
 that expression of our Saviour, in which he anticipates 
 the conversion of unborn millions ! " Neither pray I for 
 these alone; but for them, also, which shall believe on 
 Me, through their word." If we have thus believed the 
 Apostolic Scriptures, and are admitted to the Apostolic 
 Communion and fellowship, what text is there in all the 
 Scriptures, that should delight or console us more ? At 
 this time, when it is read in Church, so appropriately, 
 carrying us back to the Holy Week, and forward to 
 Pentecost, this Lesson has a most impressive effect, and 
 conies to the devout mind with cheering solemnity. 
 
 In the Evening Lessons, observe the promises uttered 
 by Zephaniah, and the precept, "Wait ye upon me, 
 saith the Lord." In the Second Lesson we have the 
 1 86
 
 Whitsunday 
 
 inspired description from the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
 of the blessed efficacy of His Intercession who is our 
 Great High Priest, passed unto the Heavens, called of 
 God an High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. 
 Embraced in the prevailing Intercession of His prayers, 
 we may well put our whole trust and confidence in His 
 mercy ; while we pray all the more earnestly, because 
 our feeble petitions are made effective only as they are 
 presented " Through JESUS CHRIST our Lord." 
 
 THE Comforter is come' ! Think, first, of the joy and 
 rapture with which the little Church, pent up in Jerusalem 
 like lambs among wolves, took up this exulting strain, 
 when, after ten days of waiting, the Eternal Spirit sud- 
 denly manifested His presence, and assured them that 
 Christ, enthroned at the right hand of the Father, still 
 loved His little flock, and had obtained the promised 
 gift for their comfort and support. The coming of the 
 Holy Ghost, in new manner and with augmented power, 
 was the seal from the Most High, which certified all the 
 whole Gospel to be from God. It proved the risen 
 JESUS to be also the glorified JESUS, (St. John vii. 39,) 
 and so inspired the Church with a moral power and 
 courage which nothing else could have given. This is 
 seen in the intrepid bearing of the once timid Peter ; 
 and in the boldness of the whole Church, so lately 
 assembling in secret "for fear of the Jews." But it is 
 not moral power merely, for the outpouring of the Spirit 
 had filled them with supernatural gifts and with divine 
 energy. And all this is summed up in the Preface to 
 187
 
 Whitsunday 
 
 the Trisagion, in this day's Eucharist, which so touch- 
 ingly unites our own estate as Christians, with the 
 original coming of the Spirit, in the concluding words, 
 ' ' whereby we have been brought out of darkness and 
 error, into the clear light and true knowledge of Thee, 
 and of Thy Son JESUS CHRIST." Let emphasis be laid 
 to-day both with adults and children upon the fact that 
 this is the Birthday of the Church. 
 
 The Epistle is the historical narrative of St. Luke, 
 and the Gospel is a rehearsal of Christ's promises. The 
 former winds up with sublime effect: "We do hear 
 them speak in our tongues, the wonderful works of 
 GOD." The first-fruits of the Spirit were Hymns and 
 Creeds. Perhaps (as has been already suggested of a 
 text occurring in the Service of the Second Sunday in 
 Lent) those poetic fragments which Bishop Jebb finds 
 so common in the New Testament were now first uttered 
 or recalled. They rehearsed with rapture, not their own 
 experiences and feelings, but the historic facts of the 
 Gospel. In the Gospel, the promise of Christ is- to be 
 specially noted, "He shall teach you all things and 
 bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have 
 said unto you." These words establish the inspiration 
 of the New Testament Scriptures, and supersede all 
 stupid inquiries as to when, or how, the Apostles and 
 Evangelists "collected materials for their writings." 
 Observe, also, the words concerning the Comforter, 
 which show that He came, not only for the moment, 
 but to abide with the Church forever, ' ' even the Spirit 
 of Truth, whom the world cannot receive. ' ' Worldly men 
 are seldom orthodox ; they are carnal even in their re- 
 ligious views, and read Scripture with low ideas of its 
 authority, and of its origin. Observe also that, of all 
 our festivals, Pentecost is the least relished by the world.
 
 Whitsunday 
 
 They cannot enter into it ; it requires a spiritual mind to 
 receive refreshment and delight from its celebration. 
 
 In the old Introit (Psalm xxxiii. ) observe the passage, 
 "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, 
 and all the hosts of them by the Breath of His mouth." 
 The Word is Christ, and the Breath is the Holy Ghost. 
 The Proper Psalms are full of exalted praise. The 
 whole of Psalm 68th, Exsurgat Deus, is a sublime pro- 
 phecy of the Ascension and the coming of the Com- 
 forter. The Proper Psalms in the Evening Prayer, 
 display the work of the Spirit in the Creation and the 
 Resurrection. 
 
 The First Lesson at Morning Prayer rehearses the 
 Decalogue, the Law given on Sinai, in commemoration 
 of which this Feast was instituted by Jehovah, the Feast 
 of the fiftieth day, or " Pentecost." It was also called 
 the "feast of weeks" by the Hebrews, because a week 
 of weeks (seven times seven days) intervened between 
 the Passover and this festival. It was reckoned from the 
 day when the barley-sheaf was cut for the wave-offering 
 of the Passover, which signified Christ, the " first-fruits" 
 of the Resurrection or harvest of the world. The seven 
 weeks seem to have been appointed with reference to 
 the Sevenfold Spirit, of which the Seven golden candle- 
 sticks were a symbol under the Law. There has always 
 been much discussion as to the meaning of the English 
 name for this day. In the English Prayer-Book it is 
 "Whit-Sunday," said by some to be properly "Wit- 
 Sunday"; Wit being the Old English for Wisdom, and 
 the Comforter being the "Spirit of Wisdom." Others 
 explain the term by reference to the white raiment 
 which used to be worn on this day. The white-ness of 
 the Holy Dove, shedding the fiery tongues like feathers 
 of gold, might as well be thought of in connection with 
 189
 
 Whitsunday 
 
 the words, " ye shall be as the wings of a dove that is 
 covered with silver wings and her feathers like gold." 
 But, in point of fact, the word is \Yhitsun-Day, a cor- 
 ruption of Pfingsten-Day, which was the old Saxon name, 
 derived to us from the early English Church.* 
 
 It must be noted that the argument for the Christian 
 rest and worship day cannot be separated from the argu- 
 ment for Easter and Pentecost. If the Lord hallowed 
 the First day of the week, so also He hallowed those 
 Feasts, by making them the occasion of the Resurrection 
 and of the coming of the Comforter. It is the true view 
 that the Passover and Pentecost were appointed under the 
 Law to be perpetuated under the Gospel, when their 
 nobler purpose is revealed. Observe how GOD Himself 
 keeps and honors His own appointments. The Passover 
 is made the day of deliverance from Egypt, because it 
 is to be the time of JESUS' deliverance, and of our deliv- 
 erance by Him ; and Pentecost is made the day of 
 giving the Law, because it is to be the day of giving the 
 Spirit. Ten days, therefore, are numbered after the As- 
 cension ; and it is not till the day of Pentecost is fully 
 come, that GOD sends the Holy Ghost. Scripture shows 
 elsewhere that Pentecost was scrupulously observed by 
 the early disciples (Acts xviii. 21, xx. 16, I. Cor. xvi. 8,) 
 and by St. Paul, who so earnestly opposes the keeping of 
 mere Jewish feasts, (Gal. iv. 9, 10, ir,) and whose observ- 
 ance of this day was evidently in accordance with the 
 usage of the whole Church. The whole system of the 
 "Christian Year" is thus demonstrated by a comparison 
 
 * This seems to be the interpretation determined by the American 
 Prayer-Book at the last revision; wherein the name is written with- 
 out hyphen, "Whitsunday." Notice also as corroborating this 
 explanation, " Whitsun - week," " Whitsun- Monday," " Whitsun- 
 Tuesday." 
 
 190
 
 Whitsunday 
 
 of the Institution of this Feast with divine providences and 
 Christian usages, as exhibited in the New Testament. 
 
 The Second Lesson brings to view the contrast be- 
 tween the ancient Church and the Christian Church : 
 "Ye ,are not come to the mount that . . . burned with 
 fire . . . but ye are come to Mount Zion, and unto the 
 city of the Living God. . . . See that ye refuse not 
 Him that speaketh." 
 
 The Evening Lesson, from Isaiah, not only enumer- 
 ates the Seven gifts of the Spirit, but prophetically names 
 the countries into which the Pentecostal converts carried 
 the Gospel, "The Parthians, and Medes, and Ela- 
 mites," of whom we hear in the Epistle. The Second 
 Lesson proves the ordinary gifts of the Spirit to have 
 been bestowed in Confirmation, by "the laying on of 
 hands," after the beginning of the Spirit's work in Bap- 
 tism. The translation of this passage is unfortunately 
 misleading. " Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye 
 became believers?" is the proper rendering of St. Paul's 
 question, and the expression, ' ' we have not so much as 
 heard whether there be any Holy Ghost," should be, 
 "we did not hear whether He was yet given." They 
 were disciples of St. John Baptist, and they thus referred 
 to the Baptist's promise, " He shall baptize you with the 
 Holy Ghost and with fire." Of the fulfilment of this 
 promise on the day of Pentecost they had not heard. 
 John's baptism was not Christian baptism, but a mere 
 preparation for it : the Apostle, therefore, proceeded to 
 admit these converts into the Church, and then to con- 
 firm them. Surely, it must have been by direct com- 
 mand of the Lord given to this Apostle when he was 
 "caught up into the third heaven," that he proceeded 
 to do in Ephesus just what St. Peter and St. John did in 
 Samaria. They were acting under the instructions re- 
 191
 
 Whitsunday 
 
 ceived from our Lord in Person during "the Great Forty 
 Days." St. Paul was not with them then but his action 
 is identical with theirs. " By laying on of the Apostles' 
 Hands the Holy Ghost was given." 
 
 As the whole Book of the Acts is a record of the 
 work of the Spirit, and has been called "the Gospel 
 of the Holy Ghost," we continue to read it on many 
 of the Sundays following. Indeed, the residue of the 
 year must be conceived of as a continuous commem- 
 oration of the Spirit, just as the earlier half of the year 
 is dedicated to the Eternal Word. The feast of the 
 Holy Trinity serves as the clasp or bond by which the 
 whole is made a unit. Thus "the Lord, the Giver of 
 Life," receives due honor, while His divine personality 
 and blessed offices are prominently kept in view. May 
 we all worship Him "in spirit and in truth." 
 
 It is customary, as it is appropriate, to remember with 
 generous contributions, at Whitsuntide, the great cause 
 of Missions. The Church in the power of the Holy 
 Ghost is to bear her witness to the truth. The scope of 
 the witness is "unto the uttermost parts of the world." 
 In the language of the Whitsunday Proper Preface, the 
 Church has received the gift of "boldness, with fervent 
 zeal constantly to preach the Gospel unto all nations," 
 and that, because by the coming of the Holy Ghost, "we 
 have been brought out of darkness and error into the 
 clear light and true knowledge of GOD and of His Son, 
 JESUS CHRIST." Hence, missionary hymns and mission- 
 ary collections and missionary prayers are especially in 
 line with the best teaching of the day. 
 
 O Spirit of the living GOD 
 
 In all Thy plenitude of grace, 
 Where'er the foot of man hath trod 
 
 Descend on our apostate race. 
 192
 
 Whitsunday 
 
 \Yhitsunday has another special character for us as 
 members of the Anglican Communion, because it is 
 the anniversary- of the first use of the Prayer-Book in 
 English in 1549. It is well for us to recognize that : " It 
 is our privilege to possess a priceless treasure, a sober 
 and Scripture-loving guide and helper, in the book of 
 Common Prayer ; a system of religious worship and in- 
 struction which is the result of a long and patient pro- 
 gress of ages, the offspring of past and present, united in 
 a holy bond of temperance, calmness, and moderation. 
 
 "If we are loyal members of the Church, we must 
 needs accept in its length and breadth the true exposition 
 of the Church's mind ; and, thus accepting it, we ought 
 surely to commend it to the young. A book that is to 
 go with us week by week, nay, day by day, through all 
 our life on earth ; a book whose spirit tends at once to 
 soothe and elevate the mind ; a book whose words and 
 phrases form a large portion of the public prayer offered 
 in this our land ; nay, more, a book which daily moulds 
 the fashion of countless private prayers and thanksgivings, 
 ought surely to be read and studied, to be learnt and 
 taught. The study of it will be fcund to benefit those 
 who teach as well as those who learn ; so that the value 
 of this treasure-house of devotion may be tried more and 
 more deeply, more and more widely, year by year. If it 
 is tried fairly, honestly, and wisely, it will not be found 
 wanting." (Macpherson's Lessons on the Prayer-Book. ) 
 
 Procter tells us that in the latter years of the reign of 
 King Henry VIII. , as the Bible was made more accessible, 
 the desire for some reformation of the public services 
 was widely felt. 
 
 In 1542 a proposal was laid before Convocation by 
 Cranmer to amend the service books, a project fostered 
 by King Henry in 1543. First the Litany was revised
 
 Whitsunday 
 
 and set forth for public use in 1544, in its present form 
 and very nearly in its present words. 
 
 On the accession of Edward VI., 1547, was issued the 
 first Book of Homilies, soon followed by a translation of 
 the Gospels and the Acts, and the direction that the 
 Epistle and Gospel at High Mass should be in English. 
 In March, 1548, the Order of the Communion was first 
 published, still in Latin, but with an addition of an 
 English form of Communion appended to the Latin 
 Mass. 
 
 Further deliberations were held by the Divines as- 
 sembled at Windsor, so that before the end of the year 
 1548 there was presented to the King with the sanction 
 of Convocation "The Book of Common Prayer," which 
 we now know as "The First Prayer-Book of Edward VI." 
 The book was readily accepted by Parliament, and the 
 Act of Uniformity ordered the administration of the 
 sacraments and all other common and open prayer only 
 in such order and form as was there set forth, from and 
 after the Feast of Pentecost, June 9, 1549. 
 
 It is this notable event which we are to have in mind 
 on Whitsunday, and to the intelligent Churchman it is 
 an event whose importance and value cannot be over- 
 stated. Its results, historical, doctrinal, ethical, cere- 
 monial, evangelical and ecclesiastical, have been simply 
 marvellous. 
 
 As the Church of the Prayer-Book we appear before 
 the religious world. Is it too much to say that we stand 
 or fall, make progress or decline, fulfil our mission or 
 egregiously fail, as we are true or not to the lofty standard 
 in doctrine, worship and life which our Book of Common 
 Prayer holds forth ? 
 
 O Lord, we beseech Thee, let Thy continual pity cleanse 
 and defend Thy Church : and, because it cannot continue 
 194
 
 Whitsun-Monday 
 
 in safety without Thy succor, preserve it evermore by Thy 
 help and goodness; through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 WHITSUN-WEEK which falls in the season of flowers, 
 and therefore, even if it be actually in June, in the poetic 
 May of old England may well be made a week of 
 privilege to children in schools and families. But it 
 should be a week of "joy in the Holy Ghost," and 
 therefore its spiritual exercises are multiplied and special. 
 Monday and Tuesday are feasts, but Wednesday, Friday, 
 and Saturday are Ember-fasts ; and so there is but one 
 day in the seven which is left to the ordinary circuit of the 
 Church's worship. One might almost say that the Seven 
 gifts of the Spirit have each their day of special propriety ; 
 and that thus the great Feast of the Trinity is ushered in 
 when the fulness of wisdom, and understanding, and 
 counsel, and might, and knowledge, and godliness, and 
 holy fear, has fitted the Church to confess her faith in 
 GOD, in asserting the mystery of His Tri-unity. 
 
 This is a fitting week for instructing the young in Con- 
 firmation, which is the anointing of the Spirit and the 
 giving of his Seven-fold grace. Where it is convenient, 
 also, it is a proper week for the reunion of Confirmation 
 classes, under pastoral advice and regulation, to recall 
 past vows and to inquire as to their results. 
 
 The Epistle to-day commemorates the first outpouring 
 of the Spirit upon a Gentile, the Centurion Cornelius. 
 This was, in degree, a minor Pentecost : but its con- 
 sequences have been immense ; for it was the grafting 
 of the wild stock of the Gentiles into the good olive-
 
 Whitsun-Tuesday 
 
 tree of Israel. The Gospel shows that this was the 
 carrying out of the divine plan, which was not to save 
 the Jews only, but the world. Faith in the Son of GOD, 
 henceforth, makes the true son of faithful Abraham ; and, 
 if a man is lost, it is not because of uncircumcision, but 
 because " he hath not believed in the name of the Only- 
 Begotten Son of GOD." 
 
 The First Morning Lesson relates the confusion of 
 tongues at Babel, which the gift of tongues, on the day 
 of Pentecost, was meant to remedy. In the Second 
 Lesson, the order and method to which the highest 
 spiritual gifts were subjected in the public worship of the 
 Apostolic Church, is expounded by St. Paul. 
 
 In the Evening we read of the Seventy elders who 
 received the Spirit of Prophecy under the Law. 
 
 The Second Lesson is St. Paul's exposition of the gift. 
 Observe how this gift restored the unity and fellowship 
 which were lost at Babel, and thus out of many nations 
 and tongues made one Catholic Church. 
 
 THE Epistle is the narrative of the first recorded Con- 
 firmation, when the converts whom Philip the deacon 
 had baptized were visited and blessed by the Apostles 
 with the laying on of hands. Thus, they received the 
 Holy Ghost in the fulness of His gifts, having only been 
 so far partakers of the Spirit, before, as babes in Christ, 
 " not spiritual, but carnal," that is, only initiated into 
 spiritual life. 
 
 The Gospel, while it connects with Pentecost, is de- 
 signed to remind us that the Holy Ghost was sent by the 
 Good Shepherd to the "sheep of His pasture," that 
 196
 
 Ember-Days in Whitsuntide 
 
 they might evermore feed in green pastures and be led 
 by waters of comfort. It is also a Preface to the Ember- 
 fasts and to the Ordaining Sunday, about to follow. 
 
 The First Lesson contains Ezekiel's prophecies con- 
 cerning the days of refreshing and blessing. We find 
 their fulfilment in the Gospel dispensation. The Second 
 Lesson continues from the end of the Epistle for Whit- 
 sunday the narrative of the outpouring of the Spirit at 
 Pentecost. 
 
 At the Evening Prayer, the First Lesson shows the 
 power of the Spirit to qualify whom He will as prophets 
 of the Lord, and sometimes to make evil men vessels of 
 mercy to others ; as it is written, " Is Saul also among 
 the prophets?" 
 
 The Second Lesson contrasts the fruits of the Spirit 
 with the works of the flesh. Through the rest of the 
 Christian year, these fruits of the Spirit will be the sub- 
 jects of the Collects, Gospels, and Epistles. 
 
 in TKHbitsuntffce 
 
 ALTHOUGH Trinity Sunday is an Ordaining Sunday, it 
 is so not as the Feast of the Trinity, but as the Octave of 
 Pentecost ; for the Holy Ghost came to insure a per- 
 petual succession of Apostles and Pastors and Teachers 
 in the Christian Church, and so to make good the 
 promise of Christ to be with His Apostles to the end of 
 the world. It is the Spirit only that can ordain, albeit 
 by means of human hands ; as, when Moses ordained 
 Joshua, (Deut. xxxiv. 9.) he "was full of the Spirit of 
 Wisdom." The Apostles themselves were not com- 
 pletely empowered till they had received the Holy 
 197
 
 Ember-Davs in Whitsuntide 
 
 J 
 
 Ghost, on the day of Pentecost, to fill up the initial gift 
 (St. John xx. 22, compared with Acts i. 8) which Christ 
 Himself had imparted at Easter. Then "the Lord gave 
 the word : great was the company of them that pub- 
 lished it." 
 
 The fitness of the Pentecostal Season, then, as one of 
 preparation for the commissioning of fresh messengers 
 of the Gospel, must be obvious. Let these days be kept 
 in earnest prayer for all Bishops, pastors, and mission- 
 aries, and that those to be ordained may indeed be men 
 "full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom." Let us pray 
 that, by their ministry, the Holy Spirit may be communi- 
 cated, in power and comfort, to nations that still sit in 
 darkness and the shadow of death. It must be a great 
 support to a lonely missionary to feel that he is remem- 
 bered at a set time ; and the Ember-day is eminently 
 Catholic in its spirit, now that we have so many mission- 
 aries in so many parts of the world. 
 
 "Oh, hold it holy ! It will be a bond 
 Of love and brotherhood when all beside 
 Hath been dissolved ; and, though wide ocean rolls 
 Between our altars and the Mother Isle, 
 This shall be our communion. We shall send, 
 Link'd in one sacred feeling, at one hour, 
 In the same language, the same prayer to Heaven, 
 And each remembering each, in piety, 
 Pray for the other's welfare." 
 
 Let us pray also for the sanctification of the educated 
 youth in the colleges of our own land ; and let us pray 
 for children, and for babes unborn, that they may be 
 called in due time to continue the blest succession of 
 laborers in the Lord's harvest. So shall there be 
 " tongues of fire" once more, in answer to ardent prayer, 
 and other tribes shall sing, with exultation, "We do 
 1 08
 
 Trinity Sunday 
 
 hear them speak, in our tongues, the wonderful works 
 of GOD." 
 
 The Proper Lessons for the Ember-Days, and the 
 Ember-Prayers, will serve to make both public worship 
 and private reading and devotion very profitable during 
 this Ember- Week. 
 
 Urintts 
 
 THE Church's Services have culminated : to-day they 
 mount up to the throne of the GODHEAD ; for, knowing 
 the SON and the HOLY GHOST, we know the FATHER also, 
 and that these Three are not three Gods, but one GOD. 
 
 The Church to-day celebrates the glory and majesty 
 of GOD in His essence and in His works. In the word 
 Trinity, she simply sums up what is revealed concerning 
 Him, that in Substance He is One, but, in Persons, 
 Three. In this there is nothing contradictory ; for it is 
 not asserted that He is three in the same sense in which 
 He is one. But yet it is something mysterious ; for we 
 know not how this unity of substance consists with the 
 Trinity of Persons. Nor do we know anything of GOD 
 which He has not told us ; nor is there anything told us 
 of GOD which is not mysterious. The Father could not 
 make us acquainted with the Son and the Spirit without 
 giving us knowledge of mysterious facts in the divine 
 nature. Now, the Gospel consists in revelations of the 
 Son and of the Spirit in their divinity and offices ; and 
 thus the Trinity is the fundamental verity of the Gospel. 
 It is taught us not as an enigma nor as an arbitrary com- 
 munication to faith, but, practically, as the basis of all 
 that we must know and do as Christians. 
 
 The Collect enables us to worship the Unity which 
 199
 
 Trinity Sunday 
 
 exists in the power of the Divine Majesty, even while 
 we acknowledge the glory of the Eternal Trinity. The 
 Epistle exhibits this " Unity of the Divine Majesty," as 
 beheld by St. John in his visions. One sat on the throne 
 whom the four Living Creatures worship in the Trine 
 ascription of Holiness as we do in the words, 
 
 " Holy Father, holy Son, 
 Holy Spirit, Three in One." 
 
 In the Gospel, observe the text, " I say unto Thee, Ex- 
 cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot 
 enter into the Kingdom of GOD." Here Christ is the 
 speaker, the Spirit is spoken of as the Regenerator, and 
 the Father is referred to, "whose is the Kingdom"; 
 while all is spoken with reference to baptism ' ' in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost." If GOD is One, these Three Persons must be 
 one in substance ; or into what are we baptized ? This 
 same Gospel also rebukes the spirit which with reference 
 to revealed truth asks, How can these things be f for, as 
 if providing for this full revelation of Himself, Christ 
 says to the Pharisee, "HI have told you earthly things, 
 and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of 
 heavenly things?" Observe, too, He who thus spake 
 declared Himself to have " come down from heaven," 
 and yet asserted Himself to be in heaven while He was 
 thus speaking. "The Son of Man, who is in heaven," 
 is the name He gives Himself, while talking to Nico- 
 demus ! Surely, then, this is "the man that is My fellow, 
 saith the Lord of Hosts" that is, the man that is equal 
 with GOD. 
 
 This Epistle, and this Gospel, are the more striking, 
 because they are the ancient ones for the Octave of Pen- 
 tecost, and were not specially selected with reference to 
 200
 
 Trinity Sunday 
 
 the Trinity. But Scripture is full of the Trinity, even 
 where it is not seen, at first ; as a ray of white light is 
 found to consist of three primary colors. Even so 
 " GOD is light." 
 
 There are Proper Psalms for Trinity Sunday, praising 
 GOD for His Glory, His Power, His Holiness, and His 
 Love. 
 
 The Church now begins to read the Old Testament, 
 anew, and recurs to the first chapter of Genesis. But, lo ! 
 a hint of the Trinity meets us in the very first chapter 
 of the Bible: "In the beginning GOD created:" even 
 here we have in the Hebrew a noun plural and verb 
 singular, plurality and unify in the name of GOD, in the 
 very first verse of the Bible. So "the Spirit" moves on 
 the face of the waters ! Again, " GOD said, Let us make 
 man in our image, after our likeness"; and so, "Goo 
 created Man in His own image" plurality and unity, 
 once more. 
 
 After this Lesson, detailing the works of Creation, is 
 sometimes read or sung instead of Te Deum, the Bene- 
 dicite "O all ye works of the Lord" concluding with 
 the Gloria Patri, which adapts it to the day. The Sec- 
 ond Lesson is the narrative of our Lord's Baptism, which 
 was a manifestation of the Trinity. The Father spake, 
 the Son was manifested as His Well-beloved, and the 
 Holy Ghost descended upon Him, in visible shape. 
 
 In the Communion Service the Nicene Creed is used, 
 as on all High Festivals. Thereby we recite the testi- 
 mony of the Church, as to the " Faith once delivered to 
 the Saints : " and when we say the words " being of one 
 substance with the Father," we must remember that this 
 is part of the grand verity which we confess this day. 
 
 In the Proper Preface we profess the substance of the 
 Athanasian Confession, in the words addressed to the 
 201
 
 Sunday, First after Trinity 
 
 Father "who are one with Thee in Thy Eternal God- 
 head"; or in the fuller words, omitting the address to 
 the Father "Who art one GOD, one Lord, not only one 
 Person, but Three Persons in one substance : for that 
 which we believe of the glory of the Father, the same we 
 believe of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, without any 
 difference or inequality." 
 
 The Trinity Hymns are very fine, not least among 
 them that one produced by the piety and orthodoxy of 
 our own Anglo-American Church, 
 
 "O Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, 
 Bright in Thy deeds and in Thy Name !" 
 
 The First Evening Lesson continues the story of the 
 Creation ; and the Second is St. John's emphatic asser- 
 tion of the Trinity, which he also expounds, and inter- 
 weaves with all truth, in the same chapter. Although 
 the text about the "Three Witnesses in heaven" is said 
 by many to be spurious, nevertheless it is not a single 
 text but the whole of Scripture, which teaches the Triune 
 GOD. We have hints of it in the very first chapter of the 
 Bible, and we find it in numerous other places of Psalm- 
 ist, Prophet, Evangelist, and Apostle. How truly we 
 say, then, " As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever 
 shall be, world without end ! Amen." 
 
 Suntm\? t ffirst after 
 
 So far we have seen that the " Son of GOD was mani- 
 fested"; now we are to learn, in action, how He "de- 
 stroyed the works of the devil." The first half of the 
 year is devoted to Doctrine primarily, and to Duty as 
 seen in direct relation to Doctrine. So, the second half 
 202
 
 Sunday, First after Trinity 
 
 is devoted to Duty primarily, and to Doctrine only as 
 reduced to practical Piety. Thus is the Christian year 
 divided between the Creed and the Decalogue. 
 
 In the Seasons that succeed Advent, until Trinity Sun- 
 day, \ve perceive a sort of spiritual impulse, by which 
 we are borne along our holy way with scarcely a sense 
 of effort. It is because our affections become warmed, 
 and our feelings healthfully excited, by the peculiar joys 
 of those successive feasts and fasts. But now we have 
 reached a season in which no such impulse is supplied ; 
 in which our spiritual joys must be purely those of faith 
 and duty ; and in which physical, as well as spiritual, 
 efforts must be made if we would keep our souls alive 
 and growing. 
 
 Here, then, we have a chance to try the comparative 
 amount of feeling and oi principle, regarded as constitu- 
 ents of our religious character. And we may be sure 
 that if our sense of duty is less active than it should be ; 
 if we do not now accomplish from principle what hereto- 
 fore we may have cheerfully done from feeling ; then it 
 is evident that our religion is greatly defective, and is 
 less a thing of the deep heart, than of the superficial 
 sense or emotions. 
 
 The very first thing, then, in addressing ourselves to a 
 life of practical piety, is to feel our natural weakness, 
 and our need of grace ; in view of the fact that the 
 habitual keeping of the Commandments of GOD, and 
 not the ardor of our pious sentiments, is the criterion of 
 real piety. This all-important principle is, in the Col- 
 lect for this day, turned into a prayer. Like the rod of 
 Aaron, the rod and staff of our Creed must now blossom 
 and bear fruit in piety ; so we pray for the life-giving 
 Spirit, that we, who are by nature dead in sin, may be- 
 come plants of grace, in the garden of GOD. 
 203
 
 Sunday, First after Trinity 
 
 The principle that love to GOD and man is the whole 
 of duty is enlarged upon in the Epistle. In the Gospel, 
 we have a powerful motive to holy living, in one of the 
 sublimest of all the intimations of inspiration, with 
 respect to the state of the Dead between death and 
 judgment. It is called a parable, but improperly. 
 Christ gives it as a history, and it is deficient in the 
 essential part of a parable that is, an allegorical ele- 
 ment, or similitude. But, even allowing it to be a para- 
 ble, it is not less instructive as to the invisible world, in 
 which the souls of the departed await the great Day of 
 Account. Christ could not have given us a parable to 
 mislead us on a point so momentous. It seems, then, 
 that there is a common Hades, or receptacle of departed 
 spirits, where the nobler part of man's nature is alive, 
 before God, while the body moulders in the earth, or 
 perishes in the sea. There the righteous repose, and 
 the wicked are tormented ; and there is a gulf between 
 them, so that there is no change of place possible for 
 either. Further than this, this parable does not teach 
 us. It is evident that in the intermediate place, it is 
 only the soul that suffers or rejoices, the righteous in 
 "Paradise," or in "Abraham's bosom"; the wicked in 
 torment. The intermediate place is called Sheol, and 
 Hades, in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures ; but the 
 final place of the lost, where " their worm dieth not, and 
 their fire is not quenched," is called Tophet, or Gehenna. 
 
 The great difference between a religion of feeling, and 
 one of principle, which we have already noted, is power- 
 fully exhibited in the reply of Abraham to the poor 
 Sadducee, who imagined that his brethren would awake 
 from their delusions, if they should actually see a body 
 raised from the dead. They might be greatly excited by 
 such a phenomenon, but the Holy Scriptures even of 
 204
 
 Sunday, First after Trinity 
 
 the Old Testament contain a much more valuable con- 
 firmation of true religion than such an event would be. 
 However, in due time Christ did call one named Lazarus 
 from the dead ; and then it was seen that, so far from con- 
 vincing wicked men, it only stimulated them to crucify 
 the Lord of Glory ! They who searched the Scriptures, 
 though they never saw Lazarus, were, on the other hand, 
 made wise unto salvation. 
 
 The Lessons of this solemn Sunday are in keeping 
 with this Gospel. The origin of sin in the world, the 
 sentence of death, and the promise of a Saviour, are all 
 contained in the First Morning Lesson, and the First 
 Evening Lesson narrates the judgment of the Flood, a 
 figure and type of the judgment yet to come ; while the 
 Second Lesson at Morning Prayer records the beginning 
 of the spread of the Gospel after Saul's persecution of 
 the disciples. At Evening Prayer we have the same 
 man's song of victory near the close of his career as an 
 Apostle of the faith which once he despised. This is a 
 noble burst of inspired poetry, in which the Apostle ex- 
 horts believers to a life of holiness in word and deed ; 
 in profession and in principle. The Gospel for the day 
 revives in its awful argument, and seems to set Lazarus 
 and Dives again before us, as we read the passage, ' ' \Ye 
 brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can 
 carry nothing out : . . . but they that will be rich fall 
 into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and 
 hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and per- 
 dition." 
 
 In view of the grand unity of the day's Sen-ices, and 
 of its teachings concerning Hades, an appropriate In- 
 troit will be found in the 4gth Psalm, "They lie in 
 hell like sheep : death gnaweth upon them." This whole 
 Psalm seems made to fit the Gospel for the day. But 
 205
 
 Sunday, Second after Trinity 
 
 the Old Introit is the first part of the ngth Psalm, a 
 Psalm divided into two-and-twenty equal parts, in the 
 original, each one marked by a Hebrew letter, with 
 which letter every verse in the corresponding part begins. 
 These parts are accordingly distributed through the two- 
 and-twenty Sundays succeeding Trinity Sunday as appro- 
 priate Introits ; and very wisely, for they all relate to the 
 keeping of the Commandments, which we have seen to 
 be the spirit of the Season. It is the remark of Arch- 
 bishop Leighton that this Psalm hath in it a threefold 
 universality of obedience, the whole man subjected to 
 the whole law for the whole of his life. Feet, mouth, 
 heart, are all expressly devoted to keep all the command- 
 ments unto the end. Other portions of the Psalms 
 which may serve as Introits on particular Sundays, or 
 which may be used in the same service, or at least on 
 the same day, with the regular Introits, shall be noted 
 occasionally. 
 
 , Seconfc after Urinttp 
 
 THERE is a complete philosophy of life in the idea of 
 the Collect to-day. "The steadfast fear and love of 
 GOD," are all we need be anxious about. Let us insure 
 this, and GOD will do the rest for us. We shall be under 
 the protection of His good providence, and all things 
 shall work together in our behalf. 
 
 The Epistle teaches us the love of GOD, and how it 
 ought to operate in making us love our fellow-men. The 
 Gospel persuades us to be in earnest in accepting the 
 call of GOD to the Great Supper which divine love has 
 prepared. The excuses of men, .vho plead their ordinary 
 business, their extraordinary enterprises, and even their 
 social relations, as if these could justify them in neglect 
 206
 
 Sunday, Second after Trinity 
 
 of duty, are detailed and rebuked. So it was in the days 
 of Noah ; and hence the First Lesson has a bearing on 
 the Gospel. It sets forth the Covenant relations of the 
 believer with his GOD, and teaches us to regard the 
 natural phenomenon of the rainbow, in connection with 
 the rainbow round the throne of GOD. Observe the 
 sanctity of human blood, as proclaimed to Noah, and 
 reflect, if the blood of any man is so precious, because 
 he is created in the image of GOD, how much more the 
 Blood of Him who is "the brightness of His glory, and 
 the express image of His Person !" The Second Lesson 
 gives us the account of the wonderful conversion of Saul 
 of Tarsus on his way to Damascus. 
 
 In connection with the rainbow, it may be interesting 
 to note that we are indebted for the true philosophy of 
 the phenomenon to De Dominis, a Dalmatian bishop 
 of the seventeenth century, who left the Roman Com- 
 munion, and joined the Church of England. He is said 
 to have died in the Inquisition. 
 
 In the First Evening Lesson we have the Covenant 
 with Abraham, and the record of that faith which was 
 counted unto him for righteousness. In the vision of 
 the smoking furnace and the burning lamp, amid "the 
 horror of great darkness," there seems to be a sublime 
 intimation that, in the furnace of affliction, GOD would 
 visit His children in Egypt ; and that, in the darkness of 
 their captivity, there should be " light in their dwellings" ; 
 the light of His presence, and of His Covenant. Let 
 this example of GOD'S fidelity' to His Covenant illustrate 
 the nature of a "steadfast fear and love" of GOD, in 
 dependence upon His promises ; and with this connect 
 the text, in the Second Lesson, "If we deny Him, He 
 also will deny us : if we believe not, yet He abideth 
 faithful : He cannot deny Himself." 
 207
 
 Sunday, Third after Trinity 
 
 Sunftag, ZCbirfc atter 
 
 IN the Collect we entreat GOD, as the author of our 
 good desires, to hear the prayers we offer, and to com- 
 fort and defend us accordingly. The idea is that as the 
 very desire to pray is given us of GOD, it is an earnest, 
 or pledge, of His readiness to help. It is a very great 
 encouragement when we find ourselves disposed to seek 
 GOD in prayer ; the Holy Spirit has suggested the de- 
 sire, and that is, of itself, a proof that GOD is ready to 
 hear, and to answer. When He is about to give good 
 gifts to His children, He is wont to move them to ask 
 for such gifts, for this is the condition on which good 
 things may be safely bestowed. 
 
 The Epistle shows the disposition of mind and heart 
 with which prayers should be made. If we ask in pride, 
 and in a spirit of dictation to GOD, we shall ask in vain. 
 Our greatest dangers are those which come from our 
 spiritual enemy, and these should always be before us 
 in asking to be delivered from evil. 
 
 In the Gospel, we learn that Christ was once reproached 
 for receiving sinners, and allowing them to eat with Him. 
 He shows, to our unspeakable comfort, that sinners 
 are the objects of His redeeming love ; and that if we 
 are sinners, we have a claim on His mercy, because He 
 is the Saviour of sinners. Let those who talk about 
 becoming communicants " when they are good enough" 
 reflect that Christ still receiveth sinners at His Table. 
 Let them come as sinners, like the publican, and not 
 like the pharisee, in penitence, and shame, and self- 
 abasement ; and there will be joy among the angels of 
 GOD, " who need no repentance." 
 
 To-day we begin to read the history of Joseph, one of 
 208
 
 Sunday, Third after Trinity 
 
 the most eloquent of all the Scripture narratives, and 
 one of the most instructive. It abounds in striking 
 analogies with the History of Christ Himself ; as in the 
 sale of Joseph at the instance of Judah, (or Judas,) albeit 
 in the case of the patriarch the guilt was comparatively 
 slight, and was even mingled with mercy. The "coat 
 of many colors"* was a token of primogeniture, and 
 of priesthood in the patriarchal family. Hence the chil- 
 dren of Leah felt that an act of injustice had been done 
 to them and to their mother, in the preference given to 
 the eldest son of the beloved Rachel. Thus they justi- 
 fied themselves, no doubt, as the Jews did in destroying 
 Christ, through pretended zeal for Moses and the Le- 
 vitical priesthood. Christ's raiment "dipped in blood" 
 was forefigured, therefore, by that of Joseph. So, in the 
 Evening Lesson from Genesis, the exaltation of Joseph, 
 after imprisonment and virtual death, is a type of Christ's 
 Resurrection and Ascension. 
 
 At the same time, these Lessons are a very important 
 exposition, touching the mysterious dealings of Provi- 
 dence. Jacob had sinned in youth, in deceiving his 
 father Isaac ; now, in turn, his own sons deceive him. 
 They also defeat their own plans, by their wickedness ; 
 and GOD overrules all for good, when He has punished 
 them for their sins, and prepared them to receive His 
 blessings. Observe Jacob's rash expression, " All things 
 are against me." How often we misinterpret Providence, 
 and charge GOD foolishly, for the very dealings which 
 are working out our permanent happiness and insuring 
 the answer to our prayers ! 
 
 In the Second Morning Lesson, we are taught not to 
 call any man common or unclean, and we are shown the 
 
 Literally " a long garment with sleeves. " 
 M 20 9
 
 Sunday, Fourth after Trinity 
 
 power of the Blood of Christ, to cleanse from all sin. 
 It should be noted that, although the Holy Spirit was 
 first poured out on the Gentiles miraculously, the Sacra- 
 ment of Baptism was not omitted. St. Peter's argument 
 is that as it was now satisfactorily proved that Gentiles 
 might be partakers of the Spirit, no man could forbid 
 the outward sign. The inward grace is ordinarily as- 
 sociated with this sign, but in this instance it could only 
 express ritually what was already done. Nevertheless, 
 it must not be dispensed with. In the Second Evening 
 Lesson we have a picture of the times in which we are 
 now living ; " perilous times, in the last days." We are 
 warned against " itching ears" the desire of novelty in 
 religion, and against the teachers who pander to the 
 itching ear. Observe that "sound doctrine" is a thing 
 not endured by those who ' ' heap to themselves teach- 
 ers"; that is, who ordain their own pastors, and refuse 
 the Apostolic Church and ministry. We have here the 
 clear intimation of a definite Creed, and a regular and 
 authorized .ministry. Note, too, the Apostle's noble 
 eulogy of Holy Scripture, and the portrait of a truly 
 Evangelical Bishop. How sublimely he sums up the 
 record of his own ministry, and anticipates his reward ! 
 What volumes of instruction as to the Apostolic work 
 we find in the single sentence, " I have kept the Faith!" 
 
 ffourtb after {Trinity 
 
 THINGS temporal in their justly insignificant proportion 
 to the things eternal are brought before us to-day, not 
 only in the Collect, but in the entire Service. Observe, 
 in the pathetic conclusion of Joseph's story, how truly
 
 Sunday, Fourth after Trinity 
 
 GOD is the protector of all that trust in Him, and how 
 safe it is, by Joseph's example, to subordinate all worldly 
 circumstances, whether of adversity or of fortune, to the 
 simple rule of duty. Singularly suitable as an Introit, 
 this day, is part of the losth Psalm, which teaches trust 
 in GOD, and "patient continuance in well-doing," by the 
 example of Joseph, " whose feet they hurt in the stocks : 
 the iron entered into his soul : until the time came that 
 his cause was known, the word of the Lord tried him." 
 
 In the Epistle we are taught that all created things, or 
 the whole creation for such is the meaning of "the 
 creature" are now, like Joseph, in bondage, waiting for 
 the day when the sons of GOD shall be glorified. Even 
 things temporal, after the earth and all that is in it shall 
 have been burned up, are to be reproduced in higher 
 forms, fitted to our glorified nature, in " the new heavens 
 and the new earth," which are promised to the faithful. 
 As we wait for the resurrection of the body, so we wait 
 for the glorious mansions which are to be fitted for the 
 immortal forms in which we shall be clothed to all 
 eternity. Now, in the Gospel, we find certain rules for 
 passing through things temporal, which are not the rules 
 of our natural characters ; but if by grace we mortify the 
 works of the flesh, in keeping these precepts, we shall 
 pass safely through time, and be infinitely recompensed 
 in eternity. How did our Saviour live on earth ? What 
 was His portion here? "The disciple is not above his 
 Master," and we must take poverty and contempt, if 
 need be, as our Master took them. In proportion as we 
 become " perfect through sufferings," we become more 
 and more like our Master : and we shall be like Him in 
 glory, if we are like Him in humility and submission. 
 
 In the Second Morning Lesson observe that the dis- 
 ciples were called Christians first in Antioch, and the first 
 
 211
 
 Sunday, Fifth after Trinity 
 
 record we have of these Christians is an act of fraternal 
 charity such as made the heathen say, "See how these 
 Christians love one another." In the Second Evening 
 Lesson is set forth the spiritual life in its relations to 
 divers classes of men, "teaching us that, denying un- 
 godliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, 
 righteously, and godly in this present world looking for 
 that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great 
 GOD and our Saviour JESUS CHRIST." 
 
 , jfiftb after 
 
 GODLY quietness is the subject of the Collect, and the 
 way to insure it is pointed out in the Epistle. The 
 Gospel sheds light upon those other words of the Col- 
 lect, in which the peaceable ordering of the world, for 
 the good of the Church, is ascribed to the power of GOD. 
 Christ in the ship of Peter, with His Apostles, gives us 
 a lively image of that Holy Apostolic Church, which is 
 the Ark of souls. So the long and patient toil of the 
 Apostles, without any reward, is an image of the patient 
 perseverance required of those who "fish for men." 
 The ultimate success which rewarded them, at the com- 
 mand of JESUS, teaches us the faithfulness of Christ, in 
 blessing the labors of His servants ; and St. Peter's 
 adoration of Christ, with his ejaculation, "I am a sinful 
 man, O Lord," shows us how a successful pastor ought 
 to feel humbled in the moment of his greatest reward, 
 ascribing all to GOD, and wondering that GOD should 
 employ a poor sinner to call sinners to repentance. The 
 expression " Depart from me" is a strong ejaculation of 
 humility ; as much as to say, I am afraid to find myself 
 212
 
 Sunday, Fifth after Trinity 
 
 in the presence of the Holy GOD. But the Apostle may 
 have had in his thoughts the language of the prophet 
 Habakkuk, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold 
 evil, and canst not look on iniquity. . . . They sacrifice 
 unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag." His 
 conduct, therefore, is a lesson to all " fishers of men." 
 
 " To our own nets ne'er bow we down ; 
 
 Lest, on the eternal shore, 
 The angels, while our draught they own, 
 Reject us evermore." 
 
 The Lessons from Genesis conclude the history of the 
 patriarch Jacob. In the morning, we have the grand 
 prophetic ode, in which he gives an outline of the his- 
 tory of the twelve tribes of Israel. Observe, however, 
 that "the testimony of JESUS is the spirit of prophecy." 
 Closely as some parts of this prophecy apply to the 
 patriarchs, the scope of all is the bringing in the Messiah, 
 "that I may tell you that which shall befall you in 
 the last days." 
 
 Thus, what is said of Levi, with Simeon, is a prophecy 
 of the day when the council of the chief priests and 
 rulers rejected Christ, and when the Jewish priesthood 
 was itself rejected of GOD. "In their anger they slew 
 a man," the man CHRIST JESUS. In the words re- 
 specting Judah, we may discern the foreshadowing of 
 that Great High Priest that "sprang out of Judah," 
 called, in the Apocalypse, "the lion of the tribe of 
 Judah," and here foretold under the name of Shiloh 
 the Prince of Peace. Like a painter, who groups around 
 a portrait whatever illustrates the character or achieve- 
 ments of the subject, the prophet makes his background 
 reveal " an ass's colt tied" the sign of Shiloh's coming, 
 in that day when " the sceptre departed from Judah," and 
 213
 
 Sunday, Fifth after Trinity 
 
 when the " gathering of the people" unto Christ fulfilled 
 for a moment this rapturous prediction. "The blood of 
 grapes" is a not less significant image of the " true Vine" 
 who stained His raiment in His own blood. How sub- 
 limely this reappears in the last Book of the Scriptures, 
 in the portrait of the "Faithful and True" who "was 
 clothed with a vesture dipped in blood." We must not 
 fail to note these sublime apostrophes : "I have waited 
 for Thy salvation, O Lord," and, "From thence is the 
 Shepherd, the Stone of Israel." The whole of Joseph's 
 blessing applies to the humanity of Him who was the 
 carpenter's son the son of another Joseph and particu- 
 larly to His Passion, and His Ascension. The words 
 concerning Benjamin have been beautifully applied to 
 St. Paul, who was of that tribe ; who in his youth 
 " ravined as a wolf" against the Church, and " devoured 
 the prey," in the stoning of St. Stephen, but who after- 
 wards was made the great instrument of fulfilling Isaiah's 
 prophecy, " I will divide Him a portion with the great, 
 and He shall divide the spoil with the strong." Christ's 
 empire was wrested from Caesar's. In the Evening 
 Lesson, Joseph's prophecy, " GOD will surely visit you," 
 has been considered prophetic of the Advent of Christ, 
 as well as of that of Moses. 
 
 In the Second Lesson, we read of the many perils and 
 persecutions endured by St. Paul as he started out to 
 preach the Gospel. In the evening, observe closely the 
 Apostle's exposition of the Atonement, and note espe- 
 cially the words, " Of how much sorer punishment, sup- 
 pose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden 
 under foot the Son of GOD !" 
 
 214
 
 Sunday, Sixth after Trinity 
 
 , Stitb after 
 
 THE transcendent blessedness prepared for the right- 
 eous is recognized in the Collect as the reward of love to 
 GOD. None but they who love GOD above all things 
 can have the promises which exceed all things in desira- 
 bleness. Old Richard Rolle, of Hampole, one of the 
 Evangelical lights of the Church of England, who lived 
 five hundred years ago, expressed the joys of heaven, as 
 follows : 
 
 " There is life without any death ; 
 
 And there 
 And there 
 And there 
 And there 
 And there 
 And there 
 Than ever 
 And there 
 And there 
 And there 
 And there 
 
 s youth without any eld ; 
 
 s peace without any strife, 
 
 s all manner liking of life; 
 
 s bright summer ever to see, 
 
 s never winter in that countrie. 
 
 s more worship and more honour, 
 
 lad king or emperour ; 
 
 s great melodic of angels' song, 
 
 s praising them among ; 
 
 s all manner friendship that may be : 
 
 s ever perfect love, and charitie ! 
 
 All these a man may joys of Heaven call ; 
 And yet the most sovereign joy of all, 
 fs the sight of GOD'S bright face, 
 In whom resteth all manner of grace." 
 
 But the Collect is finer poetry than even this precious 
 morsel of olden piety and genius, and is designed to 
 suggest to us what it is to be the "Children of the 
 Resurrection." 
 
 Observe, then, in the Epistle, what is said of the ' ' like- 
 ness of His resurrection," in which we shall see GOD, if 
 we see Him at all, for "without holiness no man shall 
 see the Lord"; that is, in His unveiled Glory and 
 Majesty, which is the joy of the Saints. The Gospel
 
 Sunday, Sixth after Trinity 
 
 gives us the warning that not all who think themselves 
 fit for this heavenly joy shall enter into it ; and it con- 
 cludes with an awful assurance that there is a place for 
 the ungodly, as well as a place for the righteous. It also 
 shows that there is a righteousness which needs to be 
 repented of ; that is to say, self-righteousness, as a sub- 
 stitute for the righteousness of Christ. Love to our fel- 
 low-men is then insisted on, as a part of the marriage- 
 raiment which will be required of us at the banquet of 
 the Lamb, and which is therefore a requisite for admis- 
 sion to the Lord's Supper, its foretaste here on earth. 
 The Christian Altar, and its offertory, are expressly 
 mentioned ; for whatever these words might have been 
 temporarily applied to when they were uttered, there can 
 be no question as to their force, when they were written, 
 by the Spirit, after Jewish altars had ceased to be holy, 
 and when the words of Christ were recorded for the 
 obedience of Christians, in all time. 
 
 In the First Morning Lesson occurs that great text 
 which implies the Resurrection, as our Saviour showed, 
 when He blamed the Sadducees for not understanding 
 it. How much of Holy Scripture we also fail to see in 
 its true bearings ! Had not Christ Himself expounded 
 it so, should we have seen that GOD'S words, " I am the 
 GOD of Abraham, the GOD of Isaac, and the GOD of 
 Jacob" imply their present living in the spirit, and their 
 hold on certain promises, which can only be fulfilled in 
 their resurrection ? Observe also the name of Jehovah's 
 self-existence I AM, which Christ claimed to Himself, 
 when He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." Ob- 
 serve, too, that GOD'S foreknowledge was no more than 
 foreknowledge : He laid no necessity on Pharaoh, but 
 He provided for what, to men, would have been his 
 probable conduct. To GOD, nothing can be a mere prob- 
 216
 
 Sunday, Seventh after Trinity 
 
 ability ; for it is His attribute to know how the free-will 
 of His creatures is going to exert itself. Pharaoh, as we 
 see in the Evening Lesson, was a cruel and godless man, 
 and the residue of his history is just like what we note in 
 other historical characters. GOD gave him up to his 
 own lusts, and they became his ruin. 
 
 In the Second Morning Lesson is the record of the 
 first Christian Council, held at Jerusalem, and presided 
 over by St. James as Bishop of Jerusalem, not by St. 
 Peter. The latter addressed the Council, but St. James 
 gave sentence and pronounced the decree of ' ' the Apos- 
 tles, elders and brethren." It is to this Council that 
 reference is made in our ' ' Prayer to be used at the Meet- 
 ings of Convention," found on page 37 of the Prayer- 
 Book. In the Lesson from the Hebrews, note the unity 
 of the Faith from the beginning of the world unto the end 
 of time. Christ is the one object ; for Abel signified this, 
 in his lamb of sacrifice ; and Abraham even foresaw the 
 Resurrection of Christ ; while Moses, as we see by the 
 Old Testament Lessons, "esteemed the reproach of 
 Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." 
 Observe, also, the practical character of justifying faith. 
 All these believers did something that showed faith, not 
 merely felt something, by which they imagined themselves 
 justified. 
 
 Sunftag, Seventb after Urtnitg 
 
 THIS is the Sunday of Nutrition, as the old Latin of the 
 ancient Collect makes apparent. In the English we have 
 the same idea in the words ' ' Nourish us with all good- 
 ness," which connects with the Gospel for the day St. 
 Mark's account of one of the miracles of loaves and fishes. 
 217
 
 Sunday, Seventh after Trinity 
 
 Observe the sublime climax of the Collect ; and let its 
 inspiring call upon GOD, as " the Lord of all power and 
 might," excite thee, as with the sound of a trumpet. 
 
 In the Epistle, the great text is the concluding one, 
 "The gift of GOD is eternal life." Satan pays wages, 
 and his wages is death ; GOD rewards His servants so 
 richly that it is all a free gift ; no man can merit it ; but 
 Christ has merited it, and we receive it through Him. 
 The Gospel shows the rich provision which is made for 
 all the world, in Christ, as the Bread of Life. There is 
 ' ' bread enough and to spare ' ' ; none need go away 
 empty. Observe, too, the Apostolic Communion, beauti- 
 fully symbolized in the companies, each fed by an Apos- 
 tle, and all deriving from JESUS the ever living and 
 growing food. In the loaves, we see our spiritual food, 
 but in the fishes our spiritual drink, for they are emblems 
 of the living water which flows from Christ, being " born 
 of water," and finding their whole life in that element. 
 The early Christians used the sign of the fish as a Chris- 
 tian emblem, for this reason ; and because the Greek 
 word Ichthys (a fish) is formed of the Greek initials of 
 the words JESUS CHRIST, Son of GOD, Saviour. Observe 
 the compassion of Christ for needy and perishing men ; 
 and forget not what is written, "We love Him, because 
 He first loved us." 
 
 In the Morning Lesson, from Exodus, it is written that 
 "the Lord hardened Pharoah's heart." The same sun 
 that melts wax turns clay into a stone. It is written, in 
 the preceding chapter, that Pharoah hardened his own 
 heart ; and so we learn the whole dreadful secret. No 
 man's heart is ever hardened, till he has himself prepared 
 it, by resisting mercy, to turn GOD'S chastisements into 
 a pretext for fresh revolt. Then GOD takes His Holy 
 Spirit from the sinner, and gives him up to himself. 
 218
 
 Sunday, Eighth after Trinity 
 
 When we pray, in the Litany, to be delivered "from hard- 
 ness of heart," we recognize our own danger of being 
 given up to it unless we continue to pray. 
 
 In the Second Lesson, we read St. Paul's wonderful ser- 
 mon at Athens, wherein he tells them of the true GOD 
 to them " unknown," and many are converted to Christ. 
 
 In the First Evening Lesson we remark that, amid the 
 gross darkness of the world, the children of GOD still 
 have "light in their dwellings." They have Holy 
 Scripture, and the Covenants of Christ ; and their 
 homes, like the swallow's nest, are hung about the altar 
 and the temple. The true faith of Christ is expounded 
 in the Second Lesson, in its essential doctrine and 
 morality ; and it is to be noted that there is hardly a 
 truth necessary to salvation which is not contained in 
 this single Lesson. Let the Creed be made a key to its 
 meaning, and it will be found a casket, full of the richest 
 treasures of knowledge and godliness. 
 
 Sunt>a, Eiabtb after 
 
 THERE is a marked coincidence between the Epistle 
 and Gospel. "The sons of GOD," says the former, are 
 they that are "led by the Spirit of GOD," or, in other 
 words, they that bring forth "the fruits of the Spirit." 
 So the Gospel says, "by their fruits ye shall know them." 
 Instead of sowing to the flesh, therefore, or listening to 
 "false prophets, that come to us in sheep's clothing," 
 teaching worldly wisdom, as if "gain were godliness," 
 we commit ourselves entirely to the care and providence 
 of GOD, and, in the Collect, leave it to Him to decide 
 what is good for us, and what is hurtful. In the spirit 
 219
 
 Sunday, Eighth after Trinity 
 
 of this beautiful prayer it may be we are asking GOD to 
 give us poverty, and sorrow, and sickness, and death ; 
 for GOD may know that the reverse would work our 
 eternal loss. But this is the spirit of every true prayer, 
 " Thy will be done." The worldly-minded, on the other 
 hand, proudly dictate to GOD, in their hearts, if not in 
 words. They " will be rich," and they " fall into temp- 
 tation and a snare" ; GOD gives them their heart's desire, 
 and sends leanness into their souls. 
 
 " But, O Thou bounteous Giver of all good, 
 Give what Thou canst, without Thee we are poor, 
 And with Thee rich, take what Thou wilt away." 
 
 In the First Lesson we hear of that glorious deliver- 
 ance of GOD'S people " in the cloud and in the sea," and 
 note that the same cloud which gave light by night to 
 Israel was darkness to the Egyptians. So it is with all 
 the providences of GOD : they are baleful to His enemies, 
 and blessed to His friends, come in what shape they may. 
 In the Second Lesson we read that, though St. Paul was 
 to be the preacher, the disciples " came together to break 
 bread." This shows us how important as part of the 
 Gospel is eating often of that Bread. We note also that 
 St. Paul had kept his Easter at Phillippi, that this was 
 the Second Sunday after Easter, and that he was making 
 exertion to keep his Pentecost at Jerusalem. His sermon 
 to the Presbyters of Ephesus is a fitting prelude to his 
 two Epistles to Timothy (then Bishop) and shows how 
 clearly distinguished were the offices of Presbyters and 
 Bishops from the beginning, although the title of "over- 
 seers" was common to both orders, as the term pastors 
 is at the present day. The fervor and unction of the 
 Apostle's language in this charge make it one of the 
 most eloquent of all his exhortations. Nor should we fail 
 220
 
 Sunday, Eighth after Trinity 
 
 to reflect on the fact that for three whole years, night 
 and day, and with tears, as St. Paul declares, he had 
 warned the primitive Christians against the approaching 
 heresies and schisms which false brethren were to excite. 
 To these warnings we owe, under GOD, much of that 
 spirit which wrestles with heresy, as with heathenism 
 through all the primitive ages, and which preserved the 
 faith entire as we have it in the Nicene Creed. In the 
 First Evening Lesson there are related the experiences 
 and wonderful deliverances of the children of Israel at 
 Massah and Meribah and Rephidim, and note how GOD 
 in all his revelation makes use of means, (as in these 
 instances, the rod of Moses), employed in connection 
 with fervent prayer to accomplish His purposes of grace. 
 The Second Lesson records the words of St. Paul con- 
 cerning "JESUS CHRIST, the same yesterday, and to-day, 
 and forever," and his exposition of the Jewish sacrifices, 
 as setting forth the Cross, and the Blood of the everlasting 
 Covenant. Observe, the Cross is called "the reproach 
 of Christ," and we are bidden to bear it; not, indeed, 
 materially, but in lives crucified to the world. The 
 reality of the Christian altar is also asserted, and its 
 superiority to the altar of Mosaic sacrifices is implied. 
 The Lord's Table is the Christian altar, and they only 
 have a right to eat of it who "glory in the Cross," as 
 St. Paul did ; being willing to suffer shame for the Cru- 
 cified, and to offer their souls and bodies a living sacri- 
 fice to the Paschal Lamb who was sacrificed for us. 
 
 221
 
 Sunday, Ninth after Trinity 
 
 Sun&a, fllintb after 
 
 WHETHER the thoughtful wisdom of men, or rather 
 the providential guidance of the Lord, is to be credited 
 with the careful arrangement and succession of Scrip- 
 tures in this day's Services, it may be difficult to say. 
 Wisdom and skill are, nevertheless, conspicuous through- 
 out, as the devout worshipper cannot fail to see. 
 
 In the First Lesson, at Morning Prayer, we have the 
 history of Korah's rebellion. Now, observe, Korah was 
 a Levite, or deacon, and Dathan and Abiram were con- 
 spicuous laymen. They thought they might take the 
 priesthood upon themselves, and that Aaron was a proud 
 prelate, who had " lifted himself above the congregation 
 of the Lord." Thus they became Congregationalists, 
 or Independents. Their pretext was (precisely that of 
 the Puritans in England in the seventeenth century) that 
 " all the congregation were holy, every one of them, and 
 the Lord was among them." They insisted that no 
 priesthood was necessary. It was true, then, as it is 
 now, that, in a certain sense, the Laity were part of the 
 priesthood : GOD had said, (Exod. xix. 6, ) " Ye shall be 
 unto me a kingdom of priests," just as in the New Tes- 
 tament it is said of all Christians, "Ye are a royal 
 priesthood." But observe how Moses answered this pre- 
 text. To Korah and the Levites he showed the dig- 
 nity of their diaconate, and the presumption of their 
 intruding further into the priest's office. To the laymen 
 Dathan and Abiram, he addressed another expostula- 
 tion. To all he said, in defence of the High-Priest- 
 hood bestowed on Aaron exclusively, "The Lord hath 
 sent me to do all these works ; for I have not done them 
 of my own mind." It was GOD'S own ordinance that 
 
 222
 
 Sunday, Ninth after Trinity 
 
 there should be a separate priesthood, and this the Lord 
 Himself showed, once and forever, by His judgment on 
 Korah and his company. So, in the New Testament, it 
 is written, " No man taketh this honor to himself but he 
 that is called of GOD, as was Aaron." The sin of 
 "heaping to themselves teachers" is censured by St. 
 Paul; and the "gainsaying of Korah" is rebuked by 
 St. Jude, as a sin which may be repeated under the Gos- 
 pel. Hence, the Apostolic Priesthood is shown to stand 
 in a position similar to that of the Aaronic Priesthood 
 under the Law. 
 
 In the Second Lesson St. Paul pleads before Felix, 
 and as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and 
 judgment to come, Felix trembled. 
 
 Now comes the Collect, imploring grace that we may 
 "think and do, always, such things as are right"; and 
 "be enabled to live according to GOD'S will." The 
 Epistle, as it were, taking up the history of Korah's 
 murmuring, teaches us that " these things happened unto 
 them for examples ; and they are written for our admo- 
 nition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." 
 GOD will not again open the earth to avenge the precepts 
 of the Moral Law, nor yet to enforce again His despised 
 ordinances ; but the warning is written, expressly, 
 that we may be admonished. Observe, too, it was 
 Christ, not Moses, against whom sin was committed 
 even under the Law : the Apostle says "that Rock was 
 Christ," and that "they tempted Christ." Is it not a 
 suggestive thought, that many Christians who have 
 rejected the Apostolic ministry and started a purely con- 
 gregational one, have, in the course of time, rejected 
 Christ ? We must not fail to recognize the eminent piety 
 of many who, in modern times, have been involved by 
 birth, education, or misconception of duty, in the evil 
 223
 
 Sunday, Ninth after Trinity 
 
 consequences of schisms, which they did not make, and 
 which they would not have made. GOD has greatly 
 blessed the individuals, but He has not blessed their 
 systems. These have oftentimes died out, in endless 
 divisions, or in blank Socinianism. Take the instances 
 of Geneva and Holland, and New England. ' ' Where- 
 fore," says the Epistle, "let him that thinketh he 
 standeth take heed lest he fall." GOD has provided 
 ample means of grace, and in every kind of temptation 
 there is a way of escape. 
 
 The Gospel is that parable of the unjust steward, 
 which is " hard to be understood." The worldly wis- 
 dom of this bad man suggested to him the importance 
 of providing for the day of want, which he saw coming : 
 being a bad man, he used bad means ; but he prepared 
 himself a home, among those whom he had obliged. 
 Now, why should the children of GOD suffer a bad man 
 to rebuke them, at least in this point, his wise and care- 
 ful provision for the future ? As a day is coming when 
 we shall be turned out of our stewardship, why should 
 we not be good and faithful stewards, on the like prin- 
 ciple of forethought ? By using our own means, as the 
 bad steward used his master's, we may make ourselves 
 friends in many a poor Lazarus, who in the day of our 
 death will welcome us to Abraham's bosom. 
 
 Let us note that "the lord" who commended the un- 
 just steward, is not the Lord JESUS CHRIST, but the 
 steward's own lord, or master, who confessed that the 
 steward was, at least, a shrewd fellow, and had made a 
 prudent arrangement for himself, however unprincipled 
 the means. We are to understand that it was a regular 
 bargain, on the basis of the suggestion which is only once 
 recorded. He said to each of these debtors, "I will 
 give you a receipt, for so much, provided, if it should 
 224
 
 Sunday, Ninth after Trinity 
 
 come to my master's ears, and he should turn me away, 
 you will give me a home, till I can find some other 
 means of subsistence." In this matter of forethought, 
 worldly men, says our Saviour, are, in their way of doing 
 things, and on their limited scale of providing for them- 
 selves, far wiser than those whose aims are professedly 
 towards an everlasting futurity, but who often fail in 
 turning their present opportunities to the best advantage, 
 in preparing for it. Bad men often rebuke good Chris- 
 tians, by their superior zeal, and forethought, in the con- 
 cerns for which they profess to live. If in higher con- 
 cerns, and by better courses, and on a nobler scale, Chris- 
 tians would be as thoughtful, they would secure a glorious 
 inheritance in the day of their departure from this life. 
 
 In the First Evening Lesson, we begin the history of 
 Balaam, a bad man, and a false prophet ; who sinned 
 against his own conscience, for the sake of reward. He 
 is coupled with Korah, by St. Jude. Observe, when a 
 man will not take a plain intimation of duty from GOD, 
 but tries to bend GOD'S will to his own, GOD often gives 
 him his way, and yet is displeased with him, and sends 
 him warnings and chastisements. The miracle of " the 
 ass speaking with man's voice," is often carped at ; but 
 it is important to note that it is reaffirmed in the New 
 Testament, (II. Peter ii. 16, ) and also that it explains 
 the principle on which Balaam's own mouth was after- 
 wards opened in prophecy. GOD, who used even a 
 dumb animal to rebuke a false prophet, used Balaam and 
 Caiaphas (who had made themselves "as natural brute 
 beasts") to utter His own words, and to rebuke the in- 
 credulity and madness of men. Hence, the "gift of 
 tongues" is no proof of divine favor, and a man may 
 be a preacher, without being saved at last. So, too, we 
 read in the Second Lesson, from the severely practical 
 15 22 5
 
 Sunday, Tenth after Trinity 
 
 St. James, " Let every man be swift to hear, slow to 
 speak, slow to wrath"; and again, "Be ye doers of the 
 word, and not hearers only." Obedience is the law of 
 holiness ; and " rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft," (or 
 sorcery,) which was one of the sins of Balaam. 
 
 Sunfcap, Uentb after 
 
 IT was the plan of Providence, by the deliverance of 
 Israel, and the humiliation of the great empire of Egypt, 
 to call the surrounding nations to a knowledge of the 
 true God. 
 
 The overruling of Balaam's efforts to curse Israel, 
 and the sublime prophecies which GOD put into his 
 mouth, making "the wrath of man to praise Him," are 
 very instructive to a devout worshipper, and not less 
 consoling to the faithful. There is something so magnifi- 
 cent in the scenery of the history, and, in the language 
 of the inspired historian, there is such a pictorial effect, 
 that few of the Lessons of the year are more capable of 
 being read to the congregation, with command over the 
 feelings of old and young together. The group on the 
 mountains, the smoking altars, and the wild prophetic 
 rapture of Balaam, with the mute astonishment of Balak 
 and the Moabite princes, are strikingly contrasted with 
 the scene below, the white tents of Israel, the banners 
 of their army, and the holy place of the Tabernacle, 
 over which hangs the mysterious cloud, a shade by day, 
 and a light by night. Especially in the Evening Lesson, 
 where Balaam is forced to abandon himself to the spirit 
 of prophecy, let us note his impressive utterances, ' 'How 
 goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O 
 226
 
 Sunday, Tenth after Trinity 
 
 Israel !" "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a 
 Sceptre shall rise out of Israel." In these words the 
 Moabites, and other Oriental nations, perceived a pro- 
 phecy of universal dominion, to be granted to the off- 
 spring of Jacob. They kept the oracle among themselves 
 till the star appeared at the Epiphany of Christ, and then 
 the Wise Men sought out the promised Seed. With this 
 prophecy, also must be taken the obscure words, " He 
 shall pour the water out of his buckets^ and His seed 
 shall be in many waters." St. Cyprian reminded the 
 Jews that this was an admitted testimony to the divinity 
 of the Messiah; for when the Jews speak of "water 
 poured from the bucket" they mean a son begotten in 
 the image of his father, the same water being in the 
 bucket at the well, and in the vessel which it fills. 
 
 In the Second Morning Lesson we hear St. Paul's 
 eloquent pleading before Agrippa, and while we cannot 
 enumerate the inexhaustible subjects of his discourse, 
 we must note the story of his own extraordinary call to 
 the Apostleship. Such a call can only be made by miracle, 
 He relates the particulars of His call by Christ person- 
 ally, and repeats the very words of His ordination " Unto 
 whom now I send thee" : in the Greek make thee an 
 Apostle. To this special and miraculous commission St. 
 Paul refers when he declares himself ' ' an Apostle, not 
 of men, neither by men, but by JESUS CHRIST, and GOD 
 the Father who raised Him from the dead." He would 
 have been a false Apostle had his commission been " of 
 men," but he might have received a valid commission 
 "by man" as Timothy did: but it was his privilege to 
 receive it directly, as the eleven Apostles did, from the 
 risen Redeemer, and this he often asserts ; for His ene- 
 mies pretended to doubt it, and seem to have put him to 
 the proofs of his extraordinary- call, which he is always 
 227
 
 Sunday, Tenth after Trinity 
 
 ready to produce. (See Phil. i. 16, 17; Gal. i. 20; I. 
 Cor. ix. i, 2 ; II. Cor. xii. 12. ) All this shows the necessity 
 of a regular Apostolic ordination, or of miraculous cre- 
 dentials on the part of those who undertake to minister 
 to men, as "Ambassadors of Christ." In the Second 
 Evening Lesson St. James shows that a practical faith 
 is the only faith which justifies, and his reproof of pride 
 in public worship as a sin against GOD, inconsistent with 
 justification, should be specially noted. The system of 
 selling seats in churches has many wrongs connected 
 with it, and should be reformed as soon as possible ; 
 while it lasts, let us beware of the evils which it tends to 
 foster. 
 
 In the Epistle, we have an account of the various 
 manifestations of the Spirit, by which GOD was pleased 
 to assure the Church, in the martyr-ages, of His pres- 
 ence and power. In the Gospel, Christ weeps over 
 lost sinners, who knew not the time of their visitation, 
 and foretells the overthrow of the Jewish Church and 
 people. He also gives us the perpetual decree, "My 
 house is the house of prayer." These who have "itch- 
 ing ears," and would make it exclusively a place of 
 preaching, should reflect on this ; and all should take to 
 heart the amazing privilege which the decree confirms to 
 us. Let us go to church, to " make known our requests 
 unto GOD." The Collect teaches us the law of accept- 
 able prayer. When we ask GOD to give us the things 
 He has expressly promised in Holy Scripture, we may 
 be sure we please Him, and that we shall never ask for 
 such things in vain. He may wait long enough to de- 
 velop fervor and patience in us ; but in the end, He will 
 satisfy our desires, or give us contentment, and even joy, 
 in bearing a trial of faith for His sake "whom, having 
 not seen, we love." 
 
 228
 
 Sunday, Eleventh after Trinity 
 
 , Eleventb after ZTrinttp 
 
 THE First Lessons to-day contain a sermon of Moses 
 on the Law, and also a prophecy of the judgments which 
 should fall on the Hebrews in case they should disobey 
 it. When we see, in the subsequent books of the Old 
 Testament, how these awful warnings were fulfilled to 
 the letter in the history of the chosen people, we should 
 learn a lesson with respect to the threats and promises 
 of the New Covenant, under which we are now living. 
 The Second Lesson this morning gives us a specimen of 
 these forewarnings, and is otherwise full of instruction. 
 Observe the place which little children occupy in the 
 affections of Christ, and \vhat is said of their guardian 
 angels. It is further noteworthy that our Lord, who 
 elsewhere recommends the searching of the Scriptures, 
 here ordains that we should "hear the Church." It is 
 our duty to do both ; and they who neglect to practise and 
 enforce either duty are, so far, unevangelical. The text 
 concerning binding and loosing is worthy of special 
 notice, moreover, as showing that the discipline of the 
 Church is to be dreaded, when it is exercised according 
 to the commandments of GOD. The shocking abuse of 
 this power by Popes and Councils, in the Middle Ages, 
 has taught men to despise even the legitimate authority 
 of the Church ; but until such texts as these are erased 
 from the Gospel, it must stand forever true, that he who 
 for sin and scandalous offence is cut off from her com- 
 munion becomes as a heathen man and a publican to 
 Christians, and unless he repents and is restored, must 
 die under the wrath of GOD. The importance of Chris- 
 tian unity is further enforced by the rule, " Wherever 
 two or three are gathered together, in My name, there 
 229
 
 Sunday, Eleventh after Trinity 
 
 am I in the midst of them"; and the promise, to grant 
 what we ask with one accord, is only limited by the 
 scriptural laws of prayer, which forbid us to ask any- 
 thing capriciously, and which reserve to GOD, in His 
 superior wisdom, the right to modify His answers to 
 prayer, so as to secure the real prosperity of the peti- 
 tioner. 
 
 St. James expounds the ethics of the Gospel in the 
 Second Lesson in such a manner as powerfully to bring 
 out the length and breadth of GOD'S holy Law, as a spir- 
 itual law, requiring the careful cleansing of the heart, 
 and a jealous restraint of our thoughts, words, and deeds. 
 Thus, how suggestive is what he says of the tongue ! 
 How forcibly the conscience corroborates his fearful 
 delineations ! And yet, but for this inspired oracle, who 
 would have suspected the perils that beset our use of 
 words ? 
 
 In harmony with these Lessons, we have the Collect, 
 beseeching GOD for grace to " run the way of His com- 
 mandments." The Epistle shows the connection of faith 
 with morals ; a steadfast belief in the Resurrection of the 
 LORD JESUS CHRIST being enforced by the Apostle, as 
 requisite to salvation ; while in the Gospel, self-righteous- 
 ness, or the boasted merit of the Pharisee, is shown to 
 be the reverse of what is acceptable with GOD. \Yhat 
 the Pharisee said of his alms and mortifications, was 
 probably no more than the publican might have said, were 
 it not that he had come to the temple to confess his sins, 
 and not to proclaim his deservings. Besides, the publi- 
 can did all these things, not to bring GOD into his debt, 
 but from a real desire to be cleansed from sin, so that he 
 was rather sensible of the sin which was yet unpurified, 
 than of the means he had so imperfectly employed to free 
 himself from it. Observe, too, the Pharisee confessed 
 230
 
 Sunday, Twelfth after Trinity 
 
 not his own sins, but the sins of his neighbor ; while the 
 publican, thinking only of his own unworthiness, refrained 
 from comparing himself with anything but GOD'S per- 
 fect Law. Beholding in that, as in a burnished mirror, 
 his own deformity, he threw himself upon mercy, and 
 deprecated the awards of justice. The original Greek 
 implies an appeal for mercy through a propitiation, and 
 teaches us how to escape from the thunders of the Law 
 through the sacrifice of Calvary. Finally, "the publican 
 went down to his house justified "; and so may we return 
 from Church on every occasion of worship, if only we 
 have there poured out our hearts, as the publican did, 
 saying, " GOD be merciful to me a sinner." The means 
 of grace are richer, in every way, in the Christian Church, 
 than ever they were in the Hebrew Temple ; and it is 
 good to make this petition the language of our hearts on 
 entering and leaving the house of GOD. May it be the 
 spirit of our last ejaculations when we come to die ! 
 
 , Uwelftb after 
 
 THE Collect is a favorite one, and is extremely felici- 
 tous in expression, while its material thought is no less 
 happily conceived. Our conscience is burdened so that 
 we can scarcely look up, and we have no merits whatever 
 to assure us in approaching GOD ; but we deal with One 
 who is more ready to hear than we are to pray, and who 
 is wont to give not only more than we deserve, but even 
 more than we desire. And the reason is, that we have a 
 Mediator and Advocate whose merits are infinite, and in 
 whom the Father is well pleased : so that, for Christ's 
 sake, we may venture to expect, not only dews of grace, 
 231
 
 Sunday, Twelfth after Trinity 
 
 but a drenching shower of mercy upon the thirsty fallow 
 of our souls, and a broad sunshine of love upon our 
 bodies and temporal estates. We have only to be con- 
 stant in prayer, and GOD will not withhold the abundance 
 of his goodness, whether we live or die. 
 
 This trust in Christ's sufficiency, and this deep sense 
 of personal insufficiency, are further set before us in the 
 Epistle, where St. Paul applies the principle to the case 
 of the Christian ministry. They, of all men, have the 
 greatest reason to feel it, and to act upon it. Observe 
 how the Apostle interprets the shining of Moses' face. 
 The Hebrew Church was the Body of Moses, as the 
 Christian is the Body of Christ : it was the spirit of the 
 one to detect and judge our sins, and it is the spirit of the 
 other to remit and to justify. How glorious, therefore, 
 the Gospel as compared with the Law, and the Church 
 Catholic as compared with the House of Israel ! 
 
 In the Gospel we see a beautiful illustration of the 
 Collect : Christ is more ready to give than His petitioner 
 to pray ; for while the latter is deaf and dumb, and can- 
 not speak a word, an imploring look secures the abund- 
 ance of His mercy. JESUS bore the infirmity of the suf- 
 ferer ; for, "looking up to heaven, He sighed." Oh, 
 how much that sigh reveals of the compassions of JESUS ! 
 Mysterious world ! when He who thus sighs over our 
 woes yet permits them to exist ; but that single sigh of 
 JESUS convinces me that he doeth all things well, even 
 when He forbears, for a time, and for His own wise rea- 
 sons, to make "the deaf to hear, and the dumb to 
 speak." One reason why our Saviour forbade the peo- 
 ple to tell of these things, was that He "sought not His 
 own glory," and was purposely giving us an example in 
 this respect. He had provided abundantly for His mani- 
 festation to Israel at the appointed times, and His plan 
 232
 
 Sunday, Twelfth after Trinity 
 
 was to work certain public miracles on fitting occasions. 
 At all other times He withdrew from public homage, and 
 avoided popularity, so that when He stood before Pilate, 
 nobody could lay anything to His charge, to justify their 
 accusation that He had sought to make Himself a king. 
 
 In the old Testament Lessons this morning, let us note 
 the holiness of that Law which Moses commended to 
 Israel by so many considerations, and concerning which 
 he gave them such minute and careful directions. Christ 
 delivered us from the curse of the Law, but He re-enacted 
 all its moral requirements, first in His own blessed exam- 
 ple, and then in express words. In the Second Morning 
 Lesson, we are taught that our service of GOD is to be 
 judged not by how much we do but with what spirit we 
 do it, which should be not grudgingly, or with envy in 
 our hearts, but unselfishly and diligently. In the Second 
 Evening Lesson, St. James explains one reason why 
 many prayers remain unanswered, in spite of Christ's 
 readiness to hear. And further, this eminently practical 
 Apostle expounds the Law, as developed into a system 
 of Christian ethics. He enforces not merely a series of 
 pious acts, but the formation of holy habits, which is the 
 essence of true piety. An eminent American layman has 
 very happily enlarged upon this idea in the following 
 words : 
 
 " People talk of acting without thought, and think they 
 have made an excuse. They have only disclosed the 
 sin out of which the sin they are excusing grew. Men 
 should never act without the thought of the Presence of 
 GOD. The so acting betrays the fact that our religion is 
 not continuous, that it does not pervade our whole soul 
 and regulate all our actions. What is wanting is a deep 
 and abiding reverence for ALMIGHTY GOD. It is that, 
 and that alone, which can regulate all our actions as they 
 233
 
 Sunday, Thirteenth after Trinity 
 
 ought to be regulated. Such reverence involves a habit. 
 Habits, after all, are the things by which human life is 
 governed. Hence, the habit of self-indulgence is the 
 worst of evils, and the habit of self-control the greatest 
 of goods." 
 
 , Ubirteentb after 
 
 IN the Old Testament Lessons, we have a retrospect 
 of the Mosaic history, which we have been following for 
 several Sundays, and a sublime exhibition of the grand 
 principle to which the Almighty was introducing the 
 Israelites by all their experiences in the wilderness. 
 They were a nation of degraded and illiterate slaves when 
 GOD, by His mighty power, delivered them from the yoke 
 of the proudest empire then existing. They were carnal 
 and sensual, and all that discipline was necessary' to open 
 their faculties to the perception of the great truth, that 
 ' ' man doth not live by bread only, but by every word 
 that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord." \Ye 
 infer, that in the discipline of His people, now in this 
 wilderness of the world, GOD is preparing us for the 
 Heavenly Canaan, in a like manner. 
 
 In the Evening Lesson the great Leader Moses chants 
 his dying and triumphal song, celebrating all the wonder- 
 ful things which God had wrought notwithstanding the 
 perverseness of the people. 
 
 In the Second Morning Lesson, our Lord avenges the 
 holiness of the Law, against the wretched casuistry of 
 Pharisees, and other false teachers, and establishes the 
 morals of his Gospel on the firm basis of sincerity and 
 truth. St. James, in the Second Lesson at Evening 
 Prayer, seems to apply and enforce this sermon of his 
 234
 
 Sunday, Thirteenth after Trinity 
 
 Master, beginning with an awful warning addressed to 
 those who "oppress the hireling in his wages," or who^ 
 in any way do unto others as they would not that men 
 should do to them in a reverse of circumstances. He 
 moreover enforces the Saviour's teaching about swearing 
 ' ' by heaven, or any other oath. ' ' Note also the resource 
 of Christians when they are sick. It is commended by 
 St. James that they should not merely send for a physi- 
 cian, as the worldly do, but also for the Presbyters of the 
 Church ; and the " Visitation of the Sick" is here shown 
 to be an ordinance of the Gospel, for turning the trials 
 of sickness to good account for the soul. In the primi- 
 tive day, while the "gifts of healing" were still vouch- 
 safed to the Church, there was a ceremony of anointing 
 which seems to have been annexed to the exercise of this 
 gift by Christ Himself. (See St. Mark vi. 13.) When 
 this miraculous power ceased, then also the Church ceased 
 to use its outward sign ; for to do otherwise would be 
 a perversion of its purpose, and an imposition.* But 
 it is still true that ' ' the prayer of faith shall save the 
 sick," and that "if he have committed sins they shall be 
 forgiven," in answer to such prayer. If the Lord for- 
 bears to save the sick from death, in answer to such 
 prayer, it is for reasons which the dying Christian would 
 himself approve, and in that case the greater bless- 
 ing of forgiveness is indeed a greater salvation. Note 
 also the duty of being reconciled to those whom we 
 have justly offended. It seems to spring out of our 
 Saviour's ordinance. (St. Matt. v. 23, 24.) We are to 
 confess our faults one to another, and to use intercessory 
 prayer one for another, as part of that brotherly love 
 which is the fulfilling of the Law. This teaching follows, 
 
 * See Appendix C, p. 356. 
 235
 
 Sunday, Thirteenth after Trinity 
 
 very appropriately, the intercessory prayer of Moses, in 
 the First Lesson. Finally, how great is the reward which 
 is promised to that Christian who succeeds in converting 
 a single sinner from the error of his way ! 
 
 The Epistle demonstrates the unity of the Abrahamic 
 Covenant with the Christian Covenant. "The Law," 
 argues the Apostle, "was given, by way of parenthesis, 
 for a certain end, and it could in no wise affect the great 
 drift and meaning of that which was instituted long before 
 Moses, and which was meant to supersede him." This 
 was not agreeable to the Jews, but it is the truth which 
 makes the whole plan and Providence of GOD, as regards 
 the Jews, intelligible and self-consistent. " GOD is one" 
 party in the great system of the Jewish Covenant, and it 
 is impossible, whatever the other party may have chosen to 
 understand, that He could have made any contract with 
 them, contrary to the previous and existing contract, 
 which He had made with Abraham, and with all nations 
 in Abraham. The Gospel shows us how to make all 
 men our neighbors. The Lawyer did not like to own 
 that a Samaritan could be nearer to a Jew than a priest 
 and a Levite of his own people ; but he was forced to 
 own as much, by circumlocution. In like mannner Christ 
 commands us to make all men our brethren. And ob- 
 serve that, when Christ was preaching to a Samaritan 
 (St. John iv. 22), although He asserted the just claim 
 of the Hebrews to be the true Church, He now tells the 
 Hebrews not only that a good Samaritan is better than a 
 bad Hebrew, but that even a true Priest and Levite, of 
 His own ordination, may be rebuked by the piety and 
 zeal of a Samaritan layman ! Infer that a good dissenter 
 is better than a lukewarm Churchman. A man may be a 
 true priest, or a true deacon, by ordination, and yet fail 
 of the reward which, because of his neglect and indiffer- 
 236
 
 Sunday, Fourteenth after Trinity 
 
 ence, others shall have the opportunity to ensure. With 
 less of privilege and knowledge, they do more for Christ; 
 and if they are not guilty of intentional disrespect to 
 divine institutions, no doubt they shall receive the Mas- 
 ter's approval in the end. Now, the Collect, which 
 speaks of "true and laudable service," connects with 
 this Gospel, and beseeches GOD that we, who are His 
 people, and who stand in the place of the ancient 
 Hebrews as to Orthodoxy and Divine authority, may 
 not fail to be like the Samaritan also, in his example of 
 Christ-like benevolence and love. Bishop Heber has a 
 sermon on this parable, treating it partly as an allegory, 
 which it may be well to read. 
 
 Suttoag, fourteenth after 
 
 IN the Morning, the First Lesson is that gorgeous lyric 
 in which Moses, like the dying Jacob, blesses the tribes, 
 and speaks of things to come. As it frequently coincides 
 with the Autumnal Ember-Week, or falls near it, we should 
 note particularly the blessing of Levi as prophetical of 
 the Gospel ministry, which is called to teach the new Law 
 and put incense before the Lord. The duty of Christian 
 pastors to leave father, and mother, and wife, and chil- 
 dren, to preach the Gospel, is one of the signs by which 
 we know that the blessing of Levi is transferred, with 
 the self-denial of Levi, to the Apostolic Ministry-. The 
 parable of the talents, which occurs in the Second Lesson, 
 bears also upon the commission of the Christian priest, 
 very forcibly, but is equally applicable to every servant 
 of GOD in his vocation and ministry. The point of our 
 237
 
 Sunday, Fourteenth after Trinity 
 
 Lord's answer to the wicked servant must not be over- 
 looked. The servant had accused Him of seeking to 
 reap where he had planted no seed. The Lord answers, 
 " If so, you cannot blame me when I only ask the fruit 
 of what I did plant ; you admit that I gave you the talent, 
 and hence I have a right to expect it back again, with its 
 natural increase." The sublimity of the whole Lesson, 
 and its vast importance as a foretaste of judgment, can- 
 not be too strongly described. How remarkable it is, 
 with respect to merit, that the wicked are represented as 
 insisting on their innocence ! while the righteous cannot 
 remember what they ever did to deserve the vast re- 
 wards which the Saviour brings with Him. At Evening 
 Prayer the history of Moses concludes. The Law cannot 
 take the people of GOD into the land of Promise. Joshua 
 (the type and namesake of JESUS) represents the Gospel, 
 and is raised up to do what Moses could not. If this 
 happens to be Ember-week note the Ordination of 
 Joshua : he " was full of the Spirit of Wisdom, for Moses 
 had laid his hands upon him." In the Second Lesson 
 we begin to read St. Peter's First Catholic Epistle every 
 word of which seems steeped in the tears he shed when 
 he "wept bitterly." Observe, how he speaks of Christ 
 as it were breaking a costly box upon His head, in 
 every word ! It must be remarked, also, that we have 
 here a key to the right understanding of the Old Testa- 
 ment. The prophets spake by the Holy Ghost, and were 
 obliged to study their own Scriptures, afterwards, to 
 know their full meaning ! But this spirit of prophecy is 
 called the Spirit of Christ which was in them ; and the 
 grand purport of their writings was to " testify before- 
 hand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should 
 follow." So, St. John affirms, " the testimony of JESUS 
 is the spirit of prophecy." In a word, the true Chris- 
 238
 
 Sunday, Fifteenth after Trinity 
 
 tian sees Christ everywhere, in the Old Testament, as 
 well as in the New. 
 
 To obtain GOD'S promises we must love His precepts ; 
 and faith and hope are essential to this love of duty or 
 practical obedience. Such is the spirit of the Collect. 
 But the Epistle shows us that GOD'S commandments are 
 at war with our natural appetites and passions, so that 
 nothing but grace can make us believe and hope in such 
 wise as to obey. Last Sunday we had an instance of 
 true charity, in a good Samaritan ; to-day, we have 
 another of this despised class, setting an example of 
 true faith, and rebuking the conduct of nine members of 
 the true Church, who had not even common gratitude! 
 Yet Christ maintains the authority of the Church in bid- 
 ding them "go and show themselves unto the priests," 
 as Moses had commanded. This they should have done, 
 but they should not have left the other undone. Note 
 that as "they went they were cleansed." In obeying, 
 they found healing. It need scarcely be said that leprosy 
 is a type of sin. If the sinner, instead of waiting till he 
 feels better, would begin at once to obey GOD, and to 
 observe His ordinances, the conversion and grace which 
 he needs would be wrought in him simultaneously. 
 
 jfifteentb after 
 
 IT has been before noted, that the Autumnal Ember 
 Sunday may fall elsewhere, owing to the movements of 
 the Paschal Feast. But this Sunday appears to be de- 
 signed, in part, as its representative, and as it is very 
 often the Sunday before or after the Ember-fasts, it may 
 be properly regarded in that light. 
 239
 
 Sunday, Fifteenth after Trinity 
 
 Hence, the Collect is a prayer for the Church ; it 
 recognizes man's frailty, and GOD'S sufficiency. The 
 Epistle contains the text, ' ' GOD forbid that I should 
 glory save in the cross' ' : and the Gospel teaches us not 
 only the care of GOD for his servants, but also that " no 
 man can serve two masters." While every part of the 
 Service is full of apt teaching and comfort for all the 
 faithful, in common, it is also to be observed that it 
 contains special words for the pastors of the flock. 
 
 The First Morning Lesson brings us to the closing 
 scene of Joshua's ministry, as we have lately observed 
 that of his predecessor Moses. It is primarily a charge 
 to "the presbyters of Israel," but also is full of in- 
 struction to the people. In the Second Lesson, the 
 greater Joshua instructs His ministers how to sow the 
 seed of His word, and the people how to receive it. In 
 it, also, the Church is exhibited under the similitude of 
 the Apostolic ship, in which His presence, alone, insures 
 peace and successful navigation. 
 
 At Evening Prayer, the dying charge of Joshua is con- 
 tinued, and, like Moses, he reviews the great points in 
 the history of Israel, to illustrate the fidelity of GOD with 
 respect to His threats and promises. The text, " Choose 
 you, this day, whom ye will serve," connects with the 
 Gospel for the day, "No man can serve two masters." 
 It is to be specially noted that the discipline through 
 which GOD made Israel to pass in the wilderness, pro- 
 duced its effect. That servile and sensual race of half- 
 Egyptians fell in the wilderness ; but their children, who 
 had been nurtured under Moses and Joshua, served the 
 Lord, and hence founded the new nation with every ad- 
 vantage to be derived from a holy and happy beginning. 
 In the Second Lesson, the Christian Church, like Israel 
 of old, is called "a royal priesthood"; and it is to be 
 240
 
 Ember- Week after Trinity 
 
 remarked that St. Peter understands Christ to be the Rock 
 of the Church, and all Christians, like himself, "lively 
 stones," upon that foundation. Christ also is the great 
 Bishop and Shepherd of souls, whose Supreme Pontifi- 
 cate is the only Universal Bishopric of which St. Peter 
 seems to have known. When any one who imagines 
 himself the peculiar successor of St. Peter exhibits the 
 same love for Christ, and for men, which this Apostle 
 did, and a like hatred of making himself a " lord over 
 GOD'S heritage," and a like fidelity in teaching nothing 
 more nor less than the Scriptures teach, it will be time 
 enough to examine his other claims to such a character. 
 But, in any event, no such person could ask us to give 
 him more than belonged to St. Peter himself. Now, St. 
 Peter submitted to be blamed where he was in the 
 wrong, (Gal. ii. n,) and refused extravagant homage, 
 (Acts x. 26, ) and sat, in the Church at Jerusalem, at the 
 feet of St. James, and subscribed to the common decree 
 which was enacted by "the Apostles, Presbyters, and 
 brethren. ' ' Nearly all the wof ul divisions of Christendom 
 have grown out of the violation of these principles by 
 those who assert a fabulous claim to St. Peter's dignity 
 and apostleship. 
 
 Embei>!Cleefe after Urinitp 
 
 THE Ember- week of Autumn comes in like " the latter 
 rain" upon the fields, after harvest-home. Again it gives 
 token of a harvest, though it seems to say, in the words 
 of St. James, " Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the 
 precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, 
 until he receive the early and latter rain." It falls in the 
 16 241
 
 Ember- Week after Trinity 
 
 month of September, marked in our American Calender 
 by the anniversaries of the deaths of ten of our Bishops, 
 and so moves, like a planet, in the midst of a constel- 
 lation made up of brilliant names, (those of Hobart, and 
 Chase, and Wainwright, Lay and Randall,)* while that 
 of St. Matthew the Apostle who left all and followed 
 Christ is the great star of the shining group, and the sign 
 of this holy season. It is sweet to think of the holy dead, 
 as we pray for the pastors of Christ's flock, who have 
 entered into their labors, and who must soon follow 
 them to their rest. "The fathers, where are they ? and 
 the prophets, do they live forever?" But the Church 
 still lives ; the coal on her altars shall never be quenched ; 
 and constant prayer is the sign and token of her per- 
 petuity. Let us, therefore, never cease to pray 
 
 " that servants may abound 
 Of those pure altars worthy ; ministers 
 Detach'd from pleasure ; to the love of gain 
 Superior ; insusceptible of pride, 
 And by ambition's longings undisturb'd ; 
 Men whose delight is where their duty leads 
 Or fixes them ; whose least distinguished day 
 Shines with some portion of that heavenly lustre 
 Which makes the Sabbath lovely." 
 
 After the heat of the Summer, this week is a good 
 time for stirring up one's heart for the work of the Lord 
 during the Autumn. The leaves begin to be sere ; the 
 days grow shorter ; the stormy equinox is hard at hand ; 
 but the fields are ever green in which the Good Shepherd 
 leads the soul ; and prayer and fasting are as the still 
 waters in which heaven is reflected, and where the soul 
 may bathe and be refreshed with the peace of GOD. 
 
 * The others at this writing (1899) are Provoost, Bass, Eastburn, 
 Lee of Iowa, and Rulison. 
 
 242
 
 Ember- Week after Trinity 
 
 Now, in schools and colleges, the youth of the land 
 are coming together, after long vacation, to go on with 
 studies which they are very little prepared, in general, 
 to turn to account for the glory of GOD. Now let us 
 pray for much rain on their young souls : that every col- 
 lege may be as Gideon's fleece, drenched with the dews 
 of GOD'S grace ; and that the choicest youth of the land 
 may be called of GOD, as was Samuel, and led to an- 
 swer, as he did, " Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." 
 
 So may the ignoble spirit of covetousness and low 
 ambition, which blights the young minds of America, 
 and makes so many of them prematurely old in vice, 
 give way to the glorious spirit of the Gospel ; the spirit 
 of winning souls which is the spirit of true wisdom ; 
 the spirit of missionary enterprise ; the spirit of Chris- 
 tian heroes and martyrs. Oh, for such sons of the 
 Church as were Martyn and Heber, of late years, and 
 such as were St. Paul and St. Athanasius of old ! And 
 let us not forget to pray for "holy women" also, such as 
 bestowed much labor on St. Paul, and were his helpers 
 in the Gospel. Let us pray for the patient Deaconesses 
 and Sisters who labor for Christ among the poor, and 
 the diseased, and the young, and the vicious ; and not 
 less for mothers in Israel, like Hannah, and like Eunice, 
 to rear their children "in the nurture and admonition 
 of the Lord"; or, like Monica, to give the Lord no rest, 
 in prayers and struggles, till their wayward sons are 
 brought back from the paths of sin, by the grace of 
 GOD, to shine as lights in the world, and after that "as 
 the stars, for ever and ever." 
 
 As at the other Ember seasons, the Proper Lessons 
 and the Ember-Prayers will serve to make the season 
 profitable for all. 
 
 243
 
 Sunday, Sixteenth after Trinity 
 
 Sunfcap, Siiteentb after 
 
 TO-DAY, the Old Testament lessons contain the story 
 of the discomfiture of Jabin and Sisera, chiefly by the 
 hands of the maiden Jael and the prophetess Deborah. 
 It seems to have been the will of GOD, as the time of 
 redemption drew on, that women should be made the 
 instruments of greater and greater blessings to His 
 people. These noble women were soon succeeded by 
 Hannah and Ruth ; and a bright succession followed, 
 until Anna and Elizabeth appear on the scene, and then 
 the Blessed Virgin, in whom God fulfils the great pro- 
 phecy concerning the Seed of the Woman. The re- 
 proach of womanhood was taken away in her, as it had 
 come with Eve ; and from that time, woman has been 
 elevated to a new dignity, and an enlarged sphere of 
 action and of privilege under the Gospel. 
 
 But we must not apply to ancient examples of female 
 piety the high views of woman's sphere and duties, which 
 have been the product of the Gospel only. It can never 
 be the duty of a Christian maiden to smite even an enemy, 
 or an oppressor, in his slumber. Woman is now called 
 on to minister in a far different way, even at the bedside 
 of the wicked and of the foes of our Holy Faith. Let 
 us, for a moment, look at the case of Jael. 
 
 It may be doubted whether a Hebrew maid would 
 have been equally justified in doing as did Jael. Inspired 
 wisdom has not pronounced in the case of Judith. But 
 Jael was not a Hebrew, but only an ally of the Hebrews ; 
 a daughter of the roving Rechabites ; far less imbued with 
 the knowledge of GOD than the most ignorant Israelites ; 
 far less instructed in His Holy Law. In these circum- 
 stances, GOD accepted her faith in the performance of a 
 244
 
 Sunday, Sixteenth after Trinity 
 
 duty, and forgave her ignorance in the way she took to 
 do it. It was her duty, as an ally of Israel, to aid the 
 Hebrews in an undertaking which GOD had commanded. 
 This she knew : and it is instructive as to the state of the 
 heathen generally, that, in her case, as in the case of 
 Rahab, GOD accepted what proceeded from real faith, 
 and pardoned what was the result of birth and education. 
 Thus, when Deborah eulogizes her as "blessed above 
 women," she pauses, and qualifies her words by a signifi- 
 cant addition, "Yea, blessed shall she be above women 
 in the tent," that is, Arabian women. She is blessed 
 above all of her nomadic tribe, for that is wholly noble 
 and heroic in such an one, which, in a daughter of Jacob, 
 might not have deserved unmixed praise. Had the 
 savage, Pocahontas, delivered our colonial forefathers 
 from cruel sufferings by a similar stratagem, we must 
 admit that she would have deserved a similar homage ; 
 yet we should pause before awarding as much to one of 
 the many English ladies of those days, who came to live 
 in Virginia, had she wrought deliverance in this way. 
 
 The sublimity of Deborah's ode must inflame the mean- 
 est imagination, especially when it is read in Divine 
 Sen-ice with mingled simplicity and feeling. The proper 
 manner of an Anglican priest, in reading the Lessons, is 
 one equally removed from artificial effect and from lan- 
 guid or monotonous formality. 
 
 The Second Morning Lesson contains warnings against 
 a life unprepared for Judgment. The imagery derives 
 impressiveness from the consideration that all has been 
 fulfilled, on a limited scale, in the Judgment of the Jewish 
 people under Titus : and that this fact is a pledge of what 
 yet remains to be accomplished, on a grander scale, 
 "when the Son of Man shall come in His glory." In 
 the Second Evening Lesson we have a chapter of St. 
 245
 
 Sunday, Seventeenth after Trinity 
 
 Peter's ethical teaching, with his exposition of Baptism, 
 and of the Descent into hell. 
 
 The Collect is a touching act of Intercession for the 
 Church Militant, which is coupled in the Epistle with St. 
 Paul's more full and fervent genuflection in the same 
 behalf. Observe that this solemn devotion of St. Paul 
 seems to have been his habitual prayer; and that "the 
 whole family in heaven and earth," that is, of angels 
 and saints, is recognized by him as one Church. Ob- 
 serve, also, how much is implied in his desire that all 
 Christians, " may be able to comprehend . . . the fulness 
 of GOD." Alas ! how little of the riches of what we 
 believe endows the souls of most of us ! How content- 
 edly we impoverish ourselves, by neither "hearing the 
 Church" nor "searching the Scriptures"! 
 
 The Gospel is a favorite narrative from St. Luke, 
 that of " the only son of his mother," who was a widow 
 of Nain. It connects with the Epistle, as enabling us 
 to know, in some degree, "the love of Christ, which 
 passeth knowledge." 
 
 Sunt>a, Seventeentb after Urinity 
 
 THE hypocrisy and pride of the Pharisees are rebuked 
 in this day's Gospel as a warning to us ; and the gen- 
 eral law is repeated, which we heard on the Eleventh 
 Sunday, in connection with the prayer of the publican, 
 " that whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased." So 
 in the Epistle, lowliness and meekness are insisted 
 upon ; and it is more than intimated that the Church's 
 unity depends on this law of humility and forbearance 
 in all its members. A divided Christendom bears wit- 
 ness, in our degenerate day, to the havoc which the con- 
 246
 
 Sunday, Seventeenth after Trinity 
 
 trary spirit has made among those who ought to be one. 
 In the short and pithy Collect, our need of preventing 
 grace (that is, grace which anticipates and presanctifies 
 our thoughts, words, and deeds) is confessed before 
 GOD ; and we pray for more grace to secure the former 
 grace, lest our humility should be changed into pride by 
 our earliest growth in godliness. This is a prayer, there- 
 fore, for the earlier and the latter rain ; and it is well 
 suited to the natural suggestions of the Autumnal Sea- 
 son, when, in our latitudes, the latter rain is often so 
 greatly necessary. 
 
 In the First Morning Lesson we find Samuel's exhor- 
 tation to Israel, marking a great stage in the history 
 of the ancient people. The devout Christian will re- 
 member Jacob's valediction on the Fifth Sunday, that 
 of Moses on the Fourteenth, and that of Joshua on the 
 Fifteenth. To-day the Series is continued in that of 
 Samuel ; and so we go on, from Sunday to Sunday, to 
 review the teachings, at various epochs of similar im- 
 portance, of the great and holy men whom GOD raised 
 up successively to do His work among His chosen. In 
 the Second Lesson we have a reference to the cruelty of 
 Pilate towards certain Galileans, which is supposed, with 
 reason, to have occasioned that enmity between Pilate 
 and Herod, (the tetrarch of Galilee, ) which was only 
 made up when they united in crucifying the Lord of 
 Glory. 
 
 In the First Evening Lesson we have the story of the 
 beginning of King David's career, his contest with the 
 giant. Observe, that the inquiry at the close of the chap- 
 ter is not concerning David himself, for Saul knew 
 him well ; but his surprising heroism made the king 
 anxious to know something of his father and his family 
 as we always take an interest in the antecedents of one 
 247
 
 Sunday, Eighteenth after Trinity 
 
 who has distinguished himself. The whole of this story 
 has instructive spiritual bearings ; and, like all true his- 
 tory, it may be studied as a parable. Thus, in the Second 
 Lesson, the words "arm yourselves with the same 
 mind," may serve to illustrate David's unwillingness to 
 confide in Saul's armor. St. Peter's further exhortation 
 to godly living and patient suffering, furnish a sublime out- 
 line of the Christian character, amid the trials and com- 
 bats of the world. The affection with which the Church 
 commemorates the primitive martyrs, is also justified by 
 the Apostle, when he says, "If ye be reproached for the 
 name of Christ, happy are ye, for the spirit of glory and 
 of God resteth upon you." This is the bright nimbus, 
 or halo, which the Church discerns encircling the heads 
 of those great heroes whose faith encountered, in her 
 behalf, the giant heathenism of Caesar's empire, and de- 
 feated it in the name of JESUS. 
 
 Suntmp, EiQbteentb after TTrinttp 
 
 THE spirit of this Sunday's service in the main is to 
 exhibit the peril of temptation and the mercy and judg- 
 ments of God towards sinners. We therefore pray in 
 the Collect, for purity of heart and mind, and for grace 
 to withstand the great enemies whom we renounced in 
 baptism. In the Epistle, we are directed to Him who 
 alone can confirm this grace in us and give us this blame- 
 less purity against the day of account. In the Gospel, 
 we see our Lord subjected to the temptations of men, 
 and re-enacting the whole Law, in its spiritual breadth, 
 as the standard of Evangelical morality. It is well to 
 omit, after the Decalogue, on this Sunday, the words, 
 248
 
 Sunday, Nineteenth after Trinity 
 
 " Hear also what our LORD JESUS CHRIST saith," etc., 
 for the obvious reason that we have the same here, in its 
 original place. In the same Gospel, He intimates that 
 He is the Lord, as well as the Son of David : thus as- 
 serting His right to enact a Law, and to judge all men 
 by it, without respect of persons. 
 
 With such a Service for the Altar, the Church has 
 thought good to connect the history of David's conse- 
 cration to GOD'S service, and his determination to build 
 him an House, a purpose which God overruled in favor 
 of David's seed. 
 
 The Second Lesson displays GOD'S mercy to sinners, 
 and the principle on which a repenting transgressor gives 
 joy in heaven to the angels. If any one was disposed to 
 say of Christ, "this man receiveth sinners," he is most 
 touchingly rebuked by the Second Lesson, and more 
 especially by the story of the prodigal. 
 
 In the Evening Prayer, the First Lesson relates the 
 heinous sin of David before referred to, and his sub- 
 sequent repentance and grief. In the Second Lesson, 
 we have a text which seems the motto for all the ser- 
 vices of this day " Be sober ; be vigilant ; because your 
 adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, 
 seeking whom he may devour." 
 
 ;? t fllineteentb after 
 
 THE First Lessons, this Morning and Evening, mark 
 another step in the progress of the chosen people. Solo- 
 mon makes his wise choice and the Lord blesses him. 
 The Temple of GOD, in Jerusalem, built by Solomon 
 "the Peaceful," is consecrated as a house of prayer for 
 249
 
 Sunday, Nineteenth after Trinity 
 
 all people, and a great advance is made towards the 
 illumination of the Gentile world. In the prayer of con- 
 secration, note the provision made for the case of Israel's 
 captivity in Babylon ; a provision which seems to have 
 comforted Daniel. Much of the imagery of the Psalms 
 and of the prophets is taken from the hill of the Lord, 
 which was now crowned with this stupendous work ; a 
 " figure of the true," and an emblem also of the Church 
 of GOD, whose "foundations are upon the holy hills" of 
 GOD'S covenant and promises. 
 
 In the Second Morning Lesson we read the story of Zac- 
 chaeus, and our Lord's wonderful parable of the pounds. 
 In the Second Evening Lesson, note especially the nature 
 of the Christian calling and election how clearly it is an 
 election to the means of grace, which the believer is to 
 "make sure" by obedience. St. Peter says, "If ye do 
 these things, ye shall never fall," by which we see that 
 the elect may fall, although strong terms are used else- 
 where in Scripture, implying that there are some who 
 have, unknown to themselves, made sure their election 
 before death. 
 
 What is said elsewhere of the latter half of the Chris- 
 tian year is beautifully illustrated in the Altar Service of 
 this day. We have seen that the Creed, and the In- 
 carnate Word, are the prominent matter in the services 
 of the first moiety, that is, till Trinity Sunday ; after that, 
 the Decalogue and the Holy Spirit have predominant 
 place. In the Collect, therefore, this day, we pray for 
 the Holy Spirit, as the director of our consciences, in all 
 duty, acknowledging our natural inability to please GOD. 
 The Epistle enlarges on the holiness of Christian morals, 
 and warns us against grieving the Holy Ghost, who, as 
 the finger of GOD, alone is able to " write these laws in 
 our hearts." In the Gospel, we learn that this, our 
 250
 
 Sunday, Twentieth after Trinity 
 
 natural inability, is a spiritual disease, like the palsy, by 
 which we are rendered powerless to perform what we 
 know to be right. This disease Christ can cure, forgiving 
 our sins, and giving us the grace of the Holy Spirit, so 
 that we can please Him both in will and deed. 
 
 This Gospel illustrates the doctrine of "baptism for 
 the remission of sins." The sick of the palsy found 
 sponsors to do for him what he could not do for himself ; 
 "and JESUS, seeing their faith, said unto him, Thy sins 
 be forgiven thee." When the sick man heard this, he 
 had only to appropriate it, by his own faith, and the effect 
 was complete. So it is in the case of baptized children. 
 We need not suppose that the sick man's sins were 
 forgiven him without his own faith ; but the faith of 
 others had influence with Christ, in moving Him to this 
 free proffer of His salvation. We ought to bring our 
 friends to JESUS, in every way ; in prayer, and effort, and 
 by becoming sponsors to children and catechumens. 
 The power of Christ to forgive sins, as the Son of Man, 
 was thus demonstrated to be a part of His Eternal Priest- 
 hood. How He still exercises this power may be seen 
 by recurring to the Gospel of Low Sunday. 
 
 Uwentietb after 
 
 THE rich Lessons from the Old Testament, to-day, 
 contain the narrative of noble works, which the Lord 
 wrought, in the old time, by His sen-ant Elijah. From 
 the time of the appearance of the Tishbite, until the 
 close of the ministry of John the Baptist, a period of 
 well-nigh a thousand years, we must regard all things as 
 signs and harbingers of the first Advent the Coming of 
 251
 
 Sunday, Twentieth after Trinity 
 
 the great Sun of Righteousness. Elijah's voice in the 
 wilderness was as the first cock-crowing, in the deep of 
 night ; while John Baptist's was as the last, at break of 
 day. A lively interest is stimulated by the very opening 
 of this history, which introduces Elijah with a wild ab- 
 ruptness. The occurrences at Cherith and at Zarephath 
 are most stirring. The scene on Mount Carmel is one 
 of the sublimest of the Scripture histories, and should 
 be read with feeling, and heard with earnest meditation, 
 as the history of a great reformation in the ancient 
 Israel. How wonderfully, from age to age, GOD pre- 
 pares His chosen witnesses, and brings them, at the 
 fitting time, to their appointed place! 
 
 In the Second Morning Lesson, after the impressive 
 discourse of our Lord with Nicodemus, John Baptist is 
 introduced as "the friend of the Bridegroom," bearing 
 witness to the Messiah, while the Messiah himself is seen 
 as the great central figure on whom the two Elijahs are 
 thus made to wait. The Second Evening Lesson follows 
 appropriately the history of the priests of Baal, for it 
 begins with the words, ' ' but there were false prophets, 
 also, among the people." In the Christian Church, GOD 
 does not propose to visit false teachers with temporal 
 pains and penalties; but He shows His people how to 
 escape their snares, and also reveals His abhorrence of 
 their practices. The "privy introduction of damnable 
 heresies," here spoken of, has been remarkably exem- 
 plified in the history of modern Socinianism. Whole 
 congregations in New England, and in Europe, which 
 once professed the "knowledge of the Lord and Saviour 
 JESUS CHRIST," have been privily seduced from their 
 faith, by popular preachers, who, being subject to no 
 Apostolic discipline, and having no Liturgical safeguards, 
 have first declined from "the way of righteousness" 
 252
 
 Sunday, Twentieth after Trinity 
 
 themselves, and then, little by little, have succeeded in 
 drawing their flocks, to "deny the Lord that bought 
 them." Blessed be GOD for the marked contrast which 
 the Church has always presented in this respect! Its 
 teachers have sometimes fallen, but they have seldom 
 been able to "draw away disciples after them"; for its 
 divine organization is such as to provide against this 
 very danger, and to protect the flock from wolves in 
 sheep's clothing. 
 
 The Collect for the day is a prayer of faith, embodying 
 the concurrence of man's free will, with the love of GOD 
 for His elect, and asking for temporal and spiritual 
 blessings as a means of serving Him the better in one's 
 vocation and ministry. The duty of circumspection in 
 the Christian life and warfare, is part of the teaching of 
 the Epistle ; and a reason for it is shown us in the Gospel : 
 "Many are called, but few chosen." 
 
 It is one thing, then, to be called, or evangelized ; an- 
 other, to be elected, or baptized ; still another, to be 
 finally chosen, as a perpetual guest at the heavenly 
 banquet. Many were called who refused to come at all ; 
 of those who finally came, one, at least, showed the 
 king such great disrespect, that he refused to put on the 
 wedding-raiment, which was usually provided at the 
 gate of an Eastern palace, with water and ointments, to 
 fit the company for the presence of the Sovereign. So, 
 those who come to the supper of our Lord, refusing to 
 put on the righteousness of Christ, will, at the last, be 
 driven out from the eternal feast, upon which they have 
 thrust themselves unworthily. True, they were invited, 
 even benevolently compelled to come in : but there was 
 no reason why they should thus neglect the only qualifi- 
 cation exacted of them, for the everlasting enjoyment of 
 their privilege, seeing that also was freely proffered. 
 253
 
 Sunday, Twenty-First after Trinity 
 
 Their contempt for the worthiness of Christ, and the 
 robe of His righteousness, or justifying grace, was the 
 final proof of their character, as hardened against the 
 fear and love of GOD. 
 
 t Uwent*3ftrst after Urinitg 
 
 PARDON and peace, and cleansing from sin, and a 
 quiet mind all these are the burthen of the Collect. 
 The Epistle shows where disquiet and unrest, and the 
 bonds and filthiness of sin, come from even from the 
 devil. The Gospel teaches us importunity in prayers, 
 and the power of the Saviour to work His mercies, 
 in immediate answer to prayer, as well when afar off as 
 when near at hand. 
 
 Observe in the Epistle how the shield of faith covers 
 the whole body ; it is "above all," that is, worn over 
 the entire armor and the entire man. See, too, how 
 eloquent is St. Paul's expression " an ambassador in 
 bonds !" An ambassador is a sacred person, among the 
 most savage nations, but an ambassador from the Court 
 of Heaven is in chains, under Caesar's government. In 
 the Gospel, the nobleman's faith is the more praise- 
 worthy, because not many " signs and wonders" had 
 yet been wrought by Christ ; this was only His second 
 miracle. 
 
 The First Lesson in the morning is the continuation 
 of the history of Elijah, with the call of Elisha to be 
 his successor. In the Evening, we have the story of 
 Naaman's cleansing from his leprosy. Leprosy was a 
 type of sin. It was incurable except by GOD Him- 
 self, and, in the instance of Naaman, baptism was fore- 
 shadowed ; but baptism itself is but a symbol of the 
 254
 
 Sunday, Twenty-Second after Trinity 
 
 blood of JESUS, which alone cleanseth from all sin. 
 The world's remedies for sin are Abana and Pharpar : 
 but the little Jordan of Christ's merits, is the test of that 
 humility and repentance which are prerequisites of heal- 
 ing. In the Second Lesson, the same fountain is ex- 
 hibited by Christ Himself, as quenching the sinner's 
 thirst " Come unto me and drink." 
 
 The Lesson from St. Peter is filled with threats which 
 should terrify the wicked, and with promises which 
 insure to the believer abundance of peace, amid the 
 afflictions of the world, and in anticipating its final 
 doom. 
 
 , Trwent*Secon& after 
 
 IN the First Morning Lesson we have the story of the 
 destruction of Sennacherib, a sublime narrative and full 
 of instruction. The Church is ' ' the Virgin, the daughter 
 of Jerusalem," who shakes her head at the threats of 
 the world, and defies the gates of hell. Her Maker is 
 her husband. Let her preserve her purity and fear no 
 evil. 
 
 The First Evening Lesson shows the sad final scene of 
 the recreant kingdom of Judah, when the predicted cap- 
 tivity occurred under Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zede- 
 kiah, "to fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of 
 Jeremiah ... to fulfil threescore and ten years. (Jere- 
 miah xxv. 8-1 1 ; Daniel ix. 2.) 
 
 The " contradiction of sinners against Himself" which 
 
 was borne by our blessed Lord, is set forth in the Second 
 
 Morning Lesson, after that marvellous record of His 
 
 mercy to a guilty woman, which teaches that none need 
 
 255
 
 Sunday, Twenty- Third after Trinity 
 
 despair. Christ "came not into the world to condemn 
 the world :" He could pity one whom her fellow-sinners 
 despised, though they were just as bad. Mercy and for- 
 giveness were the spirit of His First Advent even to 
 the chief of sinners. But His Second Advent will be of 
 a different kind ; and His rebuke of the accusers shows 
 that He is the Searcher of hearts. So the delays of 
 divine justice only teach us to expect that it will burn 
 like fire, when it is revealed. In the Evening, St. John 
 teaches us, therefore, to confess our sins betimes, and 
 that "the blood of JESUS CHRIST cleanseth from all sin." 
 
 The Gospel connects with the story of the woman. 
 Her accusers could never expect forgiveness for them- 
 selves, while grasping her by the throat and not only 
 thirsting for her blood, but for that of JESUS also. Christ 
 teaches us to hope for forgiveness "until seventy times 
 seven," for all our offences, but only on condition of our 
 forgiving those who trespass against us. 
 
 In the Epistle we have St. Paul's prayer for his dear 
 Philippians, and an example of love and devotion to their 
 good, which the Collect teaches us to employ for the 
 Church in general, as one Household of Faith. 
 
 Uwent^Ubirfc after Urfntts 
 
 THE Epistle, which is again from that of St. Paul to the 
 Philippians, is marked by the special tenderness with 
 which the Apostle uniformily saluted the Church, which 
 was the first-born of his mission in Europe, the fruit of 
 his scourgings, of his imprisonment in the stocks, of his 
 midnight songs and prayers, and of the jailer's question, 
 " What must I do to be saved ?" How he magnifies the 
 256
 
 Sunday, Twenty-Third after Trinity 
 
 Cross ! As the Philippians made much of their Roman 
 citizenship, (even St. Paul had asserted his own in their 
 city, which was a colony, ) so he now teaches them of a 
 better citizenship, saying, " our conversation (citizenship) 
 is in heaven," the original word being that which im- 
 plies the freedom of an empire. Now, take the idea of 
 the Gospel, and as we "render unto Caesar the things 
 which are Caesar's," so, by virtue of our relations to His 
 kingdom, let us be sure to render "to GOD the things 
 which are GOD'S." The Roman coin bore Caesar's image, 
 but our souls and bodies bear the image and superscrip- 
 tion of our Maker and our Redeemer. While we draw 
 this meaning from our Saviour's words, let us not fail to 
 admire His wisdom, in thus rebuking those who sought 
 to entangle Him in His talk, and to involve Him in a 
 breach of His subjection to the temporal power. In the 
 Collect, the Church presents her corporate prayer for the 
 prayers of all the faithful in general, that GOD may be 
 their refuge and strength, and that, asking in faith, they 
 may be answered in love. 
 
 To-day we begin to read the Proverbs the Young 
 Man's Own Book, able to make him wise unto salvation. 
 By taking heed unto his way, according unto this word, 
 he may also cleanse his way. Every precept and " dark 
 saying" of this book is a priceless jewel to him who will 
 attain to the understanding of it. The book is the Deca- 
 logue in its application to all the circumstances of life ; 
 and it is a guide to temporal prosperity, as well as to life 
 eternal. 
 
 The history of the man that was born blind, is an inter- 
 esting exhibition of the divine love, bringing good out 
 of evil ; and in the fact that the sufferer was sent to 
 Siloam, instead of being healed by a word, we have an 
 illustration of the same law by which Naaman was sent 
 '? 257
 
 Sunday, Twenty-Fourth after Trinity 
 
 to wash in Jordan. "The foolishness of GOD is wiser 
 than men." He has been pleased to ordain means of 
 grace : the use of them is a proof of humility, faith, and 
 obedience. Hence, the Lord honors his own appoint- 
 ments, and requires the use of the means, where they 
 may be had. The blind man had to grope his way to 
 Siloam, but he returned more easily. So the trembling 
 sinner should go forward to the Sacraments, and use them 
 to lay hold on Christ. Enough that he is "sent" and 
 that Siloam is sent forth for him. In that pool, which 
 issued from the Temple, we have a type of the Holy 
 Ghost, sent forth into the hearts of all who seek Him in 
 the means of grace. In the Second Evening Lesson we 
 have the messages of the Spirit to each class in the 
 several stages of Christian life, childhood, youth, and 
 age. To childhood their baptismal purity is suggested 
 " your sins are forgiven you." To youth, the duty of 
 contest "because ye are strong." To age, the benefits 
 of Christian experience "ye have known Him that is 
 from the beginning," that is, the "Ancient of Days." 
 
 trwent=3fourtb after Urinitp 
 
 IN the Lessons from the Proverbs, let us note, to-day, 
 that Wisdom is gradually unveiled to us, not as an ab- 
 straction, but as a Person, the Word of GOD. In the 
 Morning, this fact is very nearly brought out, for by 
 Wisdom, as by the Word, GOD is said to have created 
 all things ; but in the Evening Lesson all is disclosed. 
 He who is speaking is Christ, the Wisdom of GOD ; for 
 He says, "He that sinneth against ME wrongeth his own 
 258
 
 Sunday, Twenty-Fourth after Trinity 
 
 soul." In the Second Morning Lesson we hear the 
 same Wisdom saying, " My sheep hear My voice and I 
 give unto them Eternal Life." In the Second Evening 
 Lesson, the Evangelist who supplied the Morning Les- 
 son enforces it, pleading the cause of the Good Shep- 
 herd who " was manifested to take away our sins." 
 
 In the Epistle, " Wisdom" is again made prominent in 
 the prayer of St. Paul for the Colossians ; but it may 
 be observed that he here enumerates it, as one of the 
 seven spiritual gifts, each one of which, in paraphrase, 
 he appears to specify. The Gospel is the raising of 
 Jairus' daughter, and, in parenthesis, the healing of the 
 woman with the issue. Both are symbols of loosing 
 from those bonds of sin and frailty, which are spoken 
 of in the Collect ; but each miracle demands a word of 
 special comment. 
 
 The raising of this damsel affords an example of one 
 of the four stages of death, over which our Lord dis- 
 played his power, (i.) The daughter of Jairus had just 
 expired ; her soul had not yet entered Hades ; she slept 
 in death, but was not yet fast bound in it. It is question- 
 able whether it was more than a trance ; a trance which 
 would not have been broken, deepening to complete 
 dissolution, but still a trance, rather than the extinc- 
 tion of vitality. JESUS called it sleep; and though " they 
 laughed him to scorn," we may see in this a proof of 
 His purity and guilelessness. He did not magnify the 
 miracle, but pronounced the hopelessness of the case 
 less absolute than it seemed to be. (2.) The son of the 
 widow of Nain was truly dead and cold, and borne out 
 to burial. (3.) Lazarus' body was putrid in the grave. 
 (4.) The Saints that slept (St. Matt, xxvii. 52) were in the 
 very dust of death. Yet over all these JESUS had the 
 same power of release. 
 
 259
 
 Sunday, next before Advent 
 
 The woman with the issue had faith, but it was weak 
 and trembling. She overcame her fears, by faith, and 
 laid hold on JESUS, and there went virtue out of Him 
 and healed her. So, by faith, we may approach Christ, 
 in the Lord's Supper. It is well to have fears, if only 
 faith is stronger, and seizes the means of cure. The 
 Sacraments are as the hem of JESUS' garment ; they 
 present something by which He may be reached and 
 appropriated. Whosoever will may come, and be loosed 
 from the bonds of sins, and absolved from offences. 
 
 Sunoas, next before H&vent 
 
 WE have come to the end of the great circle, and 
 the Christian Year is complete. There may indeed be 
 twenty-seven Sundays after Trinity, and these are par- 
 tially provided for, by special Lessons ; but, if there 
 be so many, it is because several Epiphany Sundays 
 were dropped to meet an early Lent, and we fall back 
 upon the Collects and Altar-Services of such Sundays, 
 as the supplement of these. 
 
 The Lessons for the surplus Sundays need not be com- 
 mented upon, but may suffice to try the reader's own 
 powers, whether he has learned to seize in each at least 
 one striking and prominent text, in harmony with the 
 other sen-ices. But here it may properly be asked, at 
 the close of our review of a whole year, where is the 
 soul which has followed its inexhaustible variety, that 
 can listen to the objection, sometimes thrown out against 
 the Church Service, that it is only going over the same 
 things on all occasions. 
 
 But now we come to the Sunday next before Advent 
 260
 
 Sunday, next before Advent 
 
 always to be used on the last Sunday in the Christian 
 Year. It is called by old-fashioned people "Stir-up 
 Sunday," (from the first words of the Collect,) for so 
 they avoid the difficulty of naming it numerically. 
 
 The Lessons for the day are taken from Malachi and 
 Ecclesiastes and are easily seen to be appropriate to 
 the close of the year. So, also, the tender words of 
 our Lord in the Second Morning Lesson from St. John. 
 While the Evening Lesson, from the Apostle Jude, seems 
 singularly fitted for the close of the year, warning us 
 against the Antichrist who is coming in the latter days, 
 and urging fidelity to the faith. 
 
 The Collect is a note of animation and awakening. 
 One year is gone through ; we are the more ready for 
 another, and we pray for a stirring-up to new efforts for 
 fresh blessings. An appropriate Anthem may be made 
 of the words, ' ' They that wait upon the Lord shall 
 renew their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as 
 eagles ; they shall run and not be wear}', and they shall 
 walk and not faint." The Gospel, for the third time in 
 the year, gives us an account of our Lord's miraculous 
 power to feed the souls and bodies of those who hunger 
 and thirst after Righteousness. Appropriately enough 
 to the last Sunday, it thus seems to observe the precept 
 which it contains, to gather up the fragments and to let 
 nothing be lost. As the Epistle promises JESUS, as The 
 Lord our Righteousness, and "the Righteous Branch," 
 so the Gospel shows how He imparts His righteousness 
 to all who come unto Him by faith. They must feed on 
 Him, that is, on His death and Sacrifice, and draw life 
 from His Atonement. The Epistle is a prophecy of the 
 coming Prophet and King ; the Gospel exhibits Him as 
 the Priest, and claims for Him the predictions of the 
 Epistle, as "that Prophet that should come into the 
 261
 
 Sunday, next before Advent 
 
 world." In the Epistle He is foreshown as the Son of 
 David ; in the Gospel, we see that as He was born in 
 Bethlehem, "the house of Bread," so He is the Bread 
 of Life to the world. 
 
 This Service is thus redolent (like an early Spring or 
 Summer) of the coming Advent Season and Christmas- 
 tide. The Services of the entire year are like the Grand 
 Oratorio of the "Messiah." The mere stranger, who 
 comes for a single Service, is like him who listens to a 
 recitative, or trio, and goes his way, knowing nothing of 
 the magnificent whole of the Music, its choruses, and its 
 sublime Hallelujah, at the close. Happy are they who, 
 year after year, enjoy this foretaste of the Music of 
 Heaven. "The Messiah" is its Alpha and its Omega : 
 it begins with " Hosanna to the Son of David," and ends 
 with "the Lord our Righteousness." It sets forth 
 
 " Him first, Him last, Him midst and without end :" 
 
 and they who have lived in the enjoyment of its sweet 
 harmonies for any considerable portion of their days, 
 are able to testify that in the Church is fulfilled the 
 promise, "All Thy children shall be taught of the Lord, 
 and great shall be the peace of Thy children." LAUS 
 DEO. AMEN. 
 
 262
 
 The Minor Festivals 
 
 flQinor festivals 
 
 WE call those Festivals minor ones which are in- 
 stituted with subordinate reference to the commemora- 
 tion of holy men and women, and angels of GOD,* 
 although their great end and object is, like those of the 
 great Feasts, the elucidation of the Gospel and the glory 
 of the Holy Trinity. 
 
 The Minor Feasts are designed to give us an intimate 
 acquaintance with the characters of Scripture ; with the 
 chosen friends and servants of the LORD JESUS ; and so 
 to make the Life of Christ Himself more clear and real 
 to us. They are also designed to aid us in forming our 
 own characters after the pattern of Christ. (Heb. vi. 
 12 ; Phil. Hi. 17.) 
 
 When we consider how much of the Holy Scriptures 
 is made up of narratives and biographies of the Saints, 
 we cannot doubt that the wisdom of GOD has suggested 
 the plan by which we review the histories of the Apos- 
 tles of the Lamb ; those great Saints whose names are 
 written on the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem, and 
 whose faith and godliness we are repeatedly bidden to 
 follow. (I. Cor. iv. 16, xi. i ; I. Thess. i. 6 ; Heb. vi. 
 12.) In a word, for these commemorations, as they ex- 
 ist in the evangelical purity of our reformed ritual, we 
 find authority enough in the precepts of Christ and of 
 the Apostles themselves. Thus, our Lord says of the 
 woman who broke the precious box upon His head 
 "Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the 
 whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath 
 done, be told for a memorial of her." Also, it is said 
 
 * With the exception of the Annunciation, Purification, and 
 Transfiguration. 
 
 263
 
 The Minor Festivals 
 
 in the Apocalypse, " Him that overcometh will I make a 
 pillar in the Temple of my GOD, . . . and I will write 
 upon him the name of my GOD, and the name of the 
 City of my GOD, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh 
 down out of heaven from my GOD : and I will write 
 upon him my new name." Who can doubt when 
 "such honor have all His saints" that we derive 
 benefit from the memorial of such examples of ' ' suffer- 
 ing affliction, and of patience"? In the catalogue of 
 ancient worthies, given us by St. Paul, in his Epistles, 
 (Heb. xi. 1-40; Rom. xvi. 1-16,) we have an inspired 
 Calendar of saints, whose glittering examples and pre- 
 cious names are made a lesson to all believers. Truly, 
 "they shine as the firmament." 
 
 The movable feasts may often fall in concurrence with 
 some one of the fixed festivals. Thus, Advent Sunday 
 may fall on St. Andrew's Day, and Easter on the Festival 
 of the Annunciation. It is a good rule that a Sunday is 
 always the superior day, because it is of Divine institu- 
 tion, and also because it is, at the least, a minor Easter ; 
 but the Service for the inferior day may take precedence, 
 nevertheless, (the Services being all alike Scriptural 
 and equally of Ecclesiastical selection,) whenever the 
 Service for the inferior day harmonizes ivith the Season, 
 and is the superior service in point of dignity and pro- 
 priety. But, among Ecclesiastical days, some are plainly 
 superior to others ; as, for example, Good Friday, though 
 a fast, is superior to the Annunciation, though it be a 
 feast. In all Concurrences, the inferior day should be so 
 far observed that its Collect may be used with the Collect, 
 Epistle, and Gospel of the other ; a usage for which 
 the Collect for the Annunciation would seem to have 
 been prepared, as it is beautifully harmonized with Good 
 Friday and Easter. Students of Liturgies have given 
 264
 
 The Minor Festivals 
 
 divers rules for these Concurrences ; but, as much must 
 be left to the discretion and taste of individual clergy-- 
 men, it may be proper to say that the following arrange- 
 ment is based on the simple principle above mentioned : 
 
 1. St. Andrew's day may also be Advent Sunday, and 
 then its Sen-ice must give way. 
 
 2. St. Thomas' day may be the Fourth Sunday in Ad- 
 vent, and its Service gives way. 
 
 3. St. Stephen's day, St. John's day, the Holy Inno- 
 cents', or the Circumcision, may also be the First Sunday 
 after Christmas, but the Service of the latter gives way, 
 because it is not any more suitable to the Sunday, and 
 adds less of Scriptural richness and variety to the Season. 
 
 4. The Epiphany may be the Second Sunday after 
 Christmas, but the latter is inferior, and yields to the 
 greater Feast. 
 
 5. The Conversion of St. Paul, for like reasons, lends 
 its Sen-ice to the Third Sunday after Epiphany ; though 
 not to Septuagesima and Sexagesima Sundays. 
 
 6. The Purification lends its Service to the Fourth Sun- 
 day after Epiphany ; but not to Septuagesima, Sexa- 
 gesima, or Quinquagesima Sundays, which belong to the 
 Paschal Season, and cannot be deprived of their Services 
 without injury to the unity and harmony of the System. 
 
 7. St. Matthias 1 day gives way to the Services of Sexa- 
 gesima and Quinquagesima Sundays, Ash -Wednesday, 
 and the First, Second, and Third Sundays in Lent, which 
 belong to the Paschal Season. 
 
 8. The Annunciation gives way to the Sen-ices for the 
 last four Sundays in Lent, all the days of the Holy Week, 
 and Easter-day, but may properly lend its Services to 
 Monday or Tuesday in Easter-week, with which it is 
 harmonized. 
 
 9. St. Mark's day gives way to the Sen-ice for Easter 
 
 265
 
 The Minor Festivals 
 
 and its Octave, but not necessarily for those of the fol- 
 lowing four Sundays. 
 
 10. S/. Philip' 1 s and St. James 1 day gives way to the 
 Service for the Octave of Easter and for Ascension-day, 
 but may lend its Service to the four Sundays which follow 
 the Octave of Easter. 
 
 11. St. Barnabas' day yields to Whitsunday and Trinity 
 Sunday, but lends its Service to the Monday or Tuesday 
 in Whitsun-week, and also to the first three Sundays after 
 Trinity. 
 
 12. St. John Baptist' s day lends its Service to the First, 
 Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays after Trinity. 
 
 13. St. Peter 1 s day lends to the First, Second, Third, 
 Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Sundays after Trinity. 
 
 14. St. James 1 day lends to the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, 
 Eighth, and Ninth Sundays after Trinity. 
 
 15. The Transfiguration is superior to any Sunday on 
 which it may fall, being a special Feast of our Lord. 
 
 16. St. Bartholomew' s day lends to the Tenth, Eleventh, 
 Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Sundays after 
 Trinity. 
 
 17. St. Matthew's day lends to the Fourteenth, Fif- 
 teenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Sundays 
 after Trinity. 
 
 18. St. Michael' s day lends to the Sixteenth, Seven- 
 teenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Sundays 
 after Trinity. 
 
 19. St. Luke' s day lends to the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, 
 Twentieth, Twenty-first, and Twenty-second Sundays 
 after Trinity. 
 
 20. All- Saints' day lends to the Twentieth, Twenty- 
 first, Twenty-second, Twenty-third, and Twenty-fourth 
 Sundays after Trinity. 
 
 21. Thanksgiving day lends, or borrows, ad libitum. 
 
 266
 
 St. Andrew's Day 
 
 N.B. In such cases, Lessons from Canonical Script- 
 ure may take precedence of those from the Apocrypha, 
 where the former do not clash with other parts of the 
 Service, and in every instance the Collect for the inferior 
 day is to be said after the Collect for the superior day, 
 as a memorial. 
 
 
 
 St. Hnfcrew's E>as 
 
 As Advent Sunday is the Sunday which falls nearest 
 to the Feast of St. Andrew, this day governs the season 
 of Advent and also leads the choir of minor feasts. For 
 this, there is reason of congruity. The readiness of the 
 true Israelites for the First Advent, furnishes an example 
 to us who expect the Second ; and Andrew was the first 
 called to be an Apostle, and the first to announce the 
 Messiah, as such, to his brother, St. Peter, as we read 
 in the Gospel of St. John. These holy brothers were 
 among those who "feared the name of the Lord," 
 according to the injunction of the prophet, in those days 
 of waiting which supervened upon the closing of that 
 line of great prophets, which began with Samuel and 
 ended with Malachi. Hence, in them was fulfilled the 
 promise of Malachi, " Unto you that fear my name, 
 shall the Sun of Righteousness arise, with healing in His 
 wings." 
 
 The Collect for the day, accordingly, embodies this 
 idea of readiness, and of unworldliness in obedience. 
 We pray for grace to imitate the Apostle, in prompt 
 obedience to the admonitions of the Gospel and to the 
 commandments of GOD'S Law. The Epistle sets forth 
 the glory of the Gospel ministry, of which St. Andrew 
 was an original dispenser, on the borders of the Black 
 267
 
 St. Thomas' Day 
 
 Sea, near Sinope, and about the now famous region of the 
 Crimea and Sebastopol. The Gospel is a brief history 
 of his call into the apostolic ministry, after his original 
 introduction to the Saviour, as a disciple of John the 
 Baptist. St. Andrew is said to have completed his work 
 as an Apostle, at Patrae in Achaia, where he was dread- 
 fully scourged by the heathen magistrate, and then fixed 
 to a cross of the figure of the letter X, which, in the 
 Greek language, is the initial of the name of Christ. 
 
 The proper Lessons for the morning contain the invi- 
 tation of Moses to Hobab, ." Come thou with us, and we 
 will do thee good," very similar to the words of St. 
 Andrew to Peter, "We have found the.Messias, which 
 is, being interpreted, the Christ ; and he brought him 
 to JESUS." 
 
 The First Evening Lesson brings to us the prophet 
 Isaiah's invitation, " Ho, every one that thirsteth come 
 ye to the waters," and the Second Lesson tells of a later 
 occasion in St. Andrew's life when he again brought men 
 to JESUS, certain Greeks who came desiring to see Him. 
 "Philip cometh and telleth Andrew, and Andrew and 
 Philip tell JESUS. " 
 
 No wonder that the Brotherhood of St. Andrew have 
 chosen this Apostle as their patron and their human 
 exemplar ; for the main purpose of their organization is 
 to bring men to the Church and hence to the Master ; 
 and their emblem is, as is well known, the St. Andrew's 
 Cross. (X.) 
 
 MP 
 
 St. Ubomas' 2>as 
 
 THIS Festival might seem appropriate to Eastertide 
 rather than to Advent ; but it must be recollected that 
 there is an important connection between the Nativity 
 268
 
 St. Stephen's Day 
 
 of Christ and His Resurrection, which is brought into 
 view by the position of this Feast. For this truth, see 
 Romans i. 3-4. 
 
 The Collect and Gospel explain each the other ; and 
 the Epistle connects with the Gospel in affirming JESUS 
 CHRIST the Corner-stone : for He became such when He 
 rose from the dead. 
 
 St. Thomas doubted because the eyes of his soul, so 
 to speak, were holden ; his spiritual perception was 
 dull. To believe, is to see clearly in the atmosphere of 
 truth ; to doubt, is to be limited in vision. Hence, we 
 read in the Proper Lessons for this day two instances in 
 the Old Testament when a halting faith was rebuked ; 
 and our Lord's words of assurance beginning, " Let not 
 your heart be troubled ; ye believe in GOD ; believe also 
 in Me." The Morning. Second Lesson contains St. Mark's 
 record of our Lord's Commission to His Apostles, and 
 His promise of success to them in their work. 
 
 This day is the shortest day in the year, as St. John 
 Baptist's Day is the longest, in our northern hemisphere. 
 After the Baptist's day, till now, the days are gradually 
 shortened ; after St. Thomas' da}', they begin to lengthen. 
 By this coincidence, old-fashioned people used to recol- 
 lect that saying of the Baptist " He must increase, but 
 I must decrease." 
 
 St. Stepben's Bag 
 
 THE Church has ordered that, nearest to Christ, in her 
 commemorations, should stand those who are most like 
 unto Him, in "counting not their own lives dear unto 
 them" for His sake, and for the sake of souls for which 
 He died. And so we have, immediately after Christmas, 
 269
 
 St. Stephen's Day 
 
 the three representatives of corresponding classes of wit- 
 nesses for Christ St. Stephen, the martyr in will and 
 deed ; St. John, the martyr in will, but not in deed ; 
 and the Little Innocents, martyrs in deed, though not in 
 will. And it has been well observed, that thus the great 
 sun of Christmas seems to linger in its light, after its go- 
 ing down ; the red glare of the first martyrdom being 
 succeeded by the softer radiance of St. John's long 
 confessorship, and that, in turn, by the fainter glory of 
 the suffering babes of Bethlehem. 
 
 In the Lesson from Genesis we have the story of a 
 martyr for GOD many years before St. Stephen Abel, 
 who brought the acceptable offering and was slain by 
 Cain, his brother. In the Second Lesson we have the 
 account of the choice and ordination of the first Deacons, 
 St. Stephen with others, and listen to St. Stephen's speech 
 before the Council, an elaborate review of the history of 
 the Jewish Church ; showing that they never had recog- 
 nized nor received the messengers of GOD not even 
 Moses himself in the day of their visitation ; and that in 
 rejecting Christ, and fulfilling the Lord's parable of the 
 vineyard, they had been like unto their fathers. Their 
 fathers had slain the servants, but they had slain the Heir 
 whom the Father had sent, saying, "They will reverence 
 my Son." This great sermon of St. Stephen, which was 
 the immediate cause of his martyrdom, is concluded in 
 the Second Lesson for Evening Prayer ; and the First 
 Lesson gives an instance of the waywardness of the peo- 
 ple all through their history, when " GOD sent prophets 
 to bring them again to the Lord . . . but they would not 
 give ear." And when Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the 
 priest, "testified against them," "they conspired against 
 him, and stoned him with stones," a prefigurement of 
 the fate of St. Stephen, as the death of Abel was. The 
 270
 
 St. Stephen's Day 
 
 words of the Master are brought to mind : "That upon 
 you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the 
 earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood 
 of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between 
 the temple and the altar." (St. Matt, xxiii. 35.) 
 
 How deeply had St. Stephen drunk in the forgiving 
 spirit of His Lord when he exclaimed amidst the shower 
 of stones : " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge " an 
 echo of the Lord's own petition, " Father, forgive them, 
 for they know not what they do." 
 
 If we use the 83d Psalm as an Introit, it would seem 
 to be appropriate, as celebrating the deliverance of the 
 Church from her enemies, which has been accomplished 
 in all ages, by making the blood of the martyrs the seed 
 of her increase. Thus, "the Synagogues of the Liber- 
 tines, the Cyrenians and Alexandrians," may well be 
 likened to "the tabernacles of the Edomites and Ish- 
 maelites, the Moabites and Hagarenes." But the 
 solemn and prophetic imprecations of the Law against 
 the enemies of GOD, must be viewed as one side of an 
 all-wise system ; while it is the part of the Gospel to 
 illustrate rather its other side, that of mercy to the chief 
 of sinners. For such as repent there is mercy, as is 
 proved by the case of Saul of Tarsus ; while, for such as 
 live and die in their iniquity, there is a dreadful retri- 
 bution, which often begins even in this world. The 
 fearful end of persecutors is the subject of an early 
 Christian treatise by the elegant and classical Lactantius. 
 
 Concerning the Epistle, it is sufficient to say that it is 
 the history of St. Stephen's martyrdom ; short and 
 simple, but sublime. Observe, his dying was but "fall- 
 ing asleep." The early Christian sepulchres were called 
 cemeteries or sleeping-places, with such inspired warrant 
 for the idea. The Gospel is our Lord's prediction of 
 271
 
 St. John's Day 
 
 the persecution of His messengers, (part of which we 
 have already quoted, ) and is a terrible denunciation of 
 judgment against the city which killed the prophets. On 
 this generation their fathers' sins were visited, because 
 they filled up the measure of their fathers' sins ; and 
 this is the Law of GOD'S temporal judgments. Had 
 they repented, Christ Himself assures us, He "would 
 have gathered them as a hen gathereth her chickens 
 under her wings." Their blood was left on their own 
 heads when JESUS added the words, " but ye would 
 not." 
 
 St. 
 
 THIS is the day of the Daniel of the New Covenant 
 the beloved disciple the Son of Thunder the Evange- 
 list, the Divine, the Apostle ; the writer of three in- 
 spired Epistles ; the exile of Patmos ; the centenarian 
 patriarch of the Church ; who outlived all the other 
 Apostles ; who lived into the second century" of the 
 Christian Church ; who did for the Greek Churches what 
 St. Paul did for the Latin ; who saw the Apocalypse, 
 and who, to all his other claims to our veneration, adds 
 yet this, that he was the guardian and adopted Son 
 of the Blessed Virgin, was chosen to this office by the 
 Lord Himself, and named thereto by His dying words 
 upon the Cross. 
 
 Tradition avouches that in him was realized the 
 promise " If ye drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt 
 you," and that he escaped the burning cauldron of the 
 tyrant Domitian, unharmed by the fire. He was a 
 martyr of a peculiar kind. 
 
 The First Morning Lesson tells of the Apocalypse of 
 
 2-J2
 
 Innocents' Day 
 
 Jehovah's glory vouchsafed to Moses ; and the First 
 Evening Lesson recounts a like manifestation vouchsafed 
 to the prophet Isaiah. 
 
 The Second Lessons are from St. John's own writings 
 in the morning speaking of himself as "the Disciple 
 whom JESUS loved," his proudest distinction, "who 
 leaned on His breast at supper"; in the evening the 
 Apostle's Second Epistle in which he repeats the new 
 commandment of love, of which he was himself the pre- 
 eminent example. 
 
 This Apostle says that he has no greater joy than to 
 hear that his children "walk in truth." In the Collect 
 we pray accordingly that this joy may be fulfilled in us. 
 It is an eminently beautiful prayer. The Epistle is St. 
 John's Christmas offering to his Master, a tribute to 
 His Divinity, Incarnation, and Atonement. The Gospel 
 teaches us that there are many ways of glorifying GOD, 
 in life and death ; and that we must not curiously in- 
 quire as to our destinies, but simply follow providence 
 in fidelity to obvious duty. GOD will order all to our 
 good and to His own glory. 
 
 Unnocents' Dap 
 
 THIS day was called Childermas, in old times, and is 
 still the Church's Feast of Children. It is designed to 
 remind us of the relations of little children to the king- 
 dom of heaven ; that Christ has accepted them as un- 
 conscious martyrs ; and that, as experience in such as 
 the aged St. John, and strength in such as the youthful 
 St. Stephen, so a state of baptismal innocence, by remission 
 of sin, is the glory of little children. (I. John ii. 12-13.) 
 The First Morning Lesson, from Isaiah, is the grand key 
 18 273
 
 Innocents' Day 
 
 to the day's solemnity, as a direct prophecy of the Mas- 
 sacre of the Innocents by Herod ; and also as a predic- 
 tion of Infant salvation "A voice was heard in Ramah, 
 lamentation and bitter weeping," etc. "Thus saith the 
 Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes 
 from tears ; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the 
 Lord, and they shall come again from the land of the 
 enemy." 
 
 The Epistle takes up this promise, and shows the 
 lovely army of infant martyrs as little lambs on Mount 
 Sion, in the fold of Him who is at once the Lamb of 
 GOD and the Shepherd of the Sheep. Observe, with 
 reference to the Baptism of Infants, the simple charac- 
 teristic of their salvation " having His Father's name 
 written in their foreheads." In the death of Christian 
 infants, this is the consoling thought, they have not 
 known Him, but He has known them, and written His 
 name upon them. They are redeemed, and their original 
 sin is washed out, and they have committed no actual 
 transgressions: "in their mouth is found no guile, and 
 they are without fault before the throne of GOD. " Closely 
 connected with this is the Second Morning Lesson, when 
 JESUS set a little child in the midst of them, and pro- 
 nounced a woe upon those who should offend His little 
 ones. " For their angels do always behold the face of 
 My Father which is in heaven." 
 
 The gospel narrates the fulfilment of the prophecy 
 concerning Rachel : and the Collect is a pious aspira- 
 tion after that spirit of little children, without which no 
 soul can be accepted, according to the promises of Christ. 
 It is important to the understanding of the nature of 
 Redemption, that we should get the great idea, that "of 
 such is the kingdom of Heaven." The ignorant question 
 whether infants may be baptized is thus reversed ; for we 
 274
 
 Conversion of St. Paul 
 
 find that actual transgressors can only be entitled to 
 baptism " by becoming as little children." In a word, 
 Christ's Atonement would include all that are born of 
 woman, and would restore all mankind, were it not for 
 actual sin. Children, who do not sin, in act, are therefore 
 healed by free grace ; but others who have sinned against 
 light and knowledge, must of necessity repent of their 
 sins, before the same free grace can reach their souls. 
 
 Conversion of St. 
 
 OF other Saints we celebrate the Martyrdom ; but for 
 him who was in deaths oft, and who " died daily," we 
 commemorate the event in which he first learned what 
 great things he was to suffer for Christ's sake. This day 
 is another Epiphany, well worthy to stand next that Feast 
 in the Calendar, for it is the commemoration of Christ's 
 Manifestation to the Great Doctor of the Gentiles, in 
 order that by him He might be manifested to all the 
 world. The Light that appeared to the Wise Men was 
 made effectual when the same Light shone round Saul 
 of Tarsus as he journeyed to Damascus. That Light was 
 the Shekinah or incommunicable glory of GOD. JESUS 
 appeared invested therein, to prove to His persecutor 
 that He was the Messiah, and was risen from the dead. 
 Not for his sake, but for ours ! The door to the Gentiles 
 was about to be opened by the baptism of Cornelius ; a 
 chosen vessel to bear the grace of GOD was needed. It 
 pleased the Lord of Glory to furnish an Apostle, who 
 should be himself a witness of His Resurrection and 
 Godhead. All the evidence that an honest heart could 
 desire, in an unexpected moment flashed upon him. 
 275
 
 Conversion of St. Paul 
 
 This miracle was wrought to enlighten the whole world, 
 but Saul's "obedience to the heavenly vision" was that 
 of any convinced and humbled sinner. He might have 
 disobeyed but he repented. His regeneration followed 
 as in other cases of true faith, in Holy Baptism, after 
 prayer and fasting. The Gospel, therefore, was miracu- 
 lously preached to him, and through him to all the world ; 
 but to say that his conversion was miraculous (if we 
 mean thereby that he turned to GOD in any other wise 
 than by his own free will, as other sinners do, under the 
 influence of divine grace) is not true, and is contrary to 
 his own account of the great event. (Acts xxvi. 19 ; Gal. 
 i. 16.) We celebrate, this day, not so much the conver- 
 sion of St. Paul, as the illumination of the World, by 
 means of a miraculous Epiphany of Christ Himself ; and 
 while we enjoy the reflected light of this Epiphany, in 
 the Epistles written, and the Churches planted, by St. 
 Paul, we must not forget that much more was done for 
 our souls than for his, in that dispensation of Providence 
 to which we owe our knowledge of the Gospel. 
 
 But even if we regard this great event with the leaden 
 eye of the cold and faithless rationalist, what abundant 
 reason there is to remember it ! The Conversion of St. 
 Paul has left enduring consequences. In modern times 
 a worldly great man has been known to revolutionize all 
 Europe, and by means of armies and navies, and swift 
 beasts, to fly throughout the world, working the mightiest 
 of changes. But all has died with him, and vanished 
 " like a thin froth that is driven away with the storm." 
 St. Paul, on the contrary, journeying as far and wide as he, 
 (although on foot, "in perils of robbers," or in crazy 
 vessels, "in perils of the sea,") with the simple sword 
 of the Spirit, meets and conquers alike the boisterous 
 mob of Ephesus, the rustics of inner Asia, the sages of 
 276
 
 Conversion of St. Paul 
 
 Athens, the officers of Caesar's household ; if not, also, 
 the savages of Britain. It is over eighteen hundred 
 years since ; and all that he did remains. In three 
 hundred years from the time when he bowed his head 
 to Nero's sword, the work he left had survived the super- 
 stition of the Caesars ; and the odious Cross, in which he 
 gloried, had supplanted the Roman Eagles. We have 
 reason, then, to celebrate the event on which the world's 
 destinies have hinged ; especially as GOD has committed 
 it to our devout admiration in no less than three several 
 narratives. 
 
 The old Introit is the Psalm Confitebor tibi, or the 
 i38th. It appears to have been chosen with reference to 
 St. Paul's mission to the princes of the earth, who are 
 called "gods" by the Psalmist. Yet in reference to his 
 fasting and penitence, and his strengthening in the Holy 
 Ghost, there is a propriety in applying to the Conversion 
 of St. Paul the verse, " When I called upon Thee, Thou 
 heardest me, and enduedst my soul with much strength." 
 
 The Collect expresses the object of the commemo- 
 ration ; gratitude to GOD for the Conversion of St. Paul, 
 as the gracious means of bringing us to the knowledge 
 of the Truth. The Epistle repeats the history of the 
 event ; and the Holy Gospel is chosen in reference to 
 one who sacrificed houses and lands, and wife and 
 children, for Christ's sake and the Gospel's. Yet its 
 chief point seems to be in the words of Christ Himself, 
 " But many that are first shall be last, and the last shall 
 be first." Of the earliest Apostles, one betrayed the 
 Lord, and another, who in many things was first, for a 
 time fell away ; but St. Paul, though " born out of due 
 season," and last called, labored " more abundantly than 
 they all," and ''was not a whit behind the chiefest of 
 the Apostles." 
 
 277
 
 Conversion of St. Paul 
 
 V 
 
 The Daily Prayer is impressively commenced on this 
 festival, by the sentences, " From the rising of the sun," 
 and " When the wicked man turneth away from his 
 wickedness." 
 
 The First Lessons have not been appointed at random. 
 In that for the morning, we must note the application of 
 the passage, "This is He whom we had sometime in 
 derision and a proverb of reproach : . . . how is he 
 numbered among the children of GOD, and his lot is 
 among the Saints." Again, the contrast we have drawn 
 between St. Paul and a worldly conqueror is forcibly 
 suggested by the passage beginning with, " The hope of 
 the ungodly is like dust that is blown away with the 
 wind." "But the righteous," it adds, "live for ever- 
 more : their reward also is with the Lord, and the care 
 of them is with the Most High. Therefore shall they 
 receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from 
 the Lord's hand." One can scarcely read this without 
 being reminded of St. Paul's assurance that "there is 
 laid up for him a crown of righteousness, which the 
 Lord should give him at that day." Again, we are re- 
 minded of St. Paul's panoply, (Eph. vi. i,) in the pas- 
 sage, "He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, 
 and true judgment instead of a helmet. He shall take 
 holiness for an invincible shield." 
 
 The Second Lesson in the Morning Prayer is one 
 of the several accounts which the Apostle gives of 
 the great occurrence we commemorate, and should be 
 noticed for its touching allusion to St. Stephen, in an- 
 swer to whose dying prayers, perhaps, St. Paul was 
 given. Here is a lesson to faith ! What a loss to 
 the Church was the martyrdom of that young Deacon ! 
 Yet the harvest of his blood was an Apostle ! That 
 Apostle was the sower that went forth to sow in all the 
 278
 
 The Purification 
 
 world : so that we may say, indeed, that the blood of 
 the first martyr was the seed of the Church. 
 
 The First Lesson at Evening Prayer is the opening 
 chapter of Jeremiah's prophecy wherein he tells of his 
 call and commission, so similar in distinctness and 
 solemnity, to that by which St. Paul was set apart for his 
 great work. On the Second Lesson it is not necessary 
 to make comment, for in it St. Paul is ' ' permitted to 
 speak for himself." 
 
 tlbe purification 
 
 TO-DAY our Lord is presented in the temple, by the 
 Blessed Virgin His Mother ; and because she is too 
 poor to offer for the Lamb of GOD, the lamb that was 
 usual, she brings her turtle-doves, to bleed for the 
 world's Redeemor. (See Levit. xii. 2, 6, 8.) 
 
 The adoration of St. Simeon and St. Anna, and the 
 example of these holy persons, in their faith and patience 
 and continued service and worship, are to-day com- 
 mended to our imitation ; while a leading event in the 
 holy histor> r of the Child JESUS is renewed in our hearts 
 and minds. The Introit (Ps. 134) alludes to the watch- 
 ings of St. Anna, and to her "departing not from the 
 Temple"; as if the Psalm had been an invocation to her 
 and St. Simeon, and an earnest of the time when "the 
 Lord, that made heaven and earth," should bless them 
 in Zion. " Ye that by night stand in the house of the 
 Lord, . . . lift up your hands in the sanctuary and 
 praise the Lord." Compare with this the picture which 
 the painter Evangelist has given, of the aged Saint, 
 279
 
 The Purification 
 
 with the Lord in his arms, singing the swan-like Nunc 
 dimittis. 
 
 The Epistle, from Malachi, suggests the fearful con- 
 sequences that were to follow to the Levitical priest- 
 hood from their blindness to discern "the Angel of the 
 Covenant," in whom the faithful delighted. The Daily 
 Prayer should begin with the sentence, " The Lord is 
 in His Holy Temple." The First Morning Lesson is 
 that beautiful story of the child Samuel ministering be- 
 fore the Lord in the temple with Eli the priest. The 
 Second Lesson is St. Paul's exposition of the purpose 
 of the Incarnation and the manner of our Sonship to 
 GOD in Christ. The Evening Lesson from Haggai is 
 a prophecy of Him who should fill the latter house 
 with glory greater than of the former, "and in this 
 house will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts." 
 
 From the example of the Holy Virgin, all Christian 
 mothers should learn to value and comply with the 
 Churching-OfHce appointed by the Church ; bringing an 
 offering, however small, as directed by the rubric, after 
 the pattern of the poor but blessed St. Mary with her 
 turtle-doves. 
 
 As the Purification answers to the modern Churching 
 of Women, the Natalitia of our Lord are considered as 
 terminating to-day ; and therefore it has been the im- 
 memorial custom, on the eve of this day, to remove the 
 Christmas-greens from the church. The Feast was 
 formerly of much greater moment in the devout esteem 
 of Churchmen ; and many of our older divines have ex- 
 cellent sermons "preached at Candelmasse." This 
 latter name was given because of the blessing of candles 
 and carrying them in procession, which formerly occurred 
 on this day, referring to the words of Simeon, " A light 
 to lighten the Gentiles." 
 
 280
 
 St. Matthias' Day 
 
 St. firiattbias' Bap 
 
 ALTHOUGH little is said of St. Matthias in the Holy 
 Scriptures, his memory is fragrant in the Church, as that 
 of the first in succession from the "handful of corn" 
 which, when JESUS ascended, was left alone "upon the 
 top of the mountain," with the promise that "the fruit 
 thereof should shake like Lebanon." The gates of hell 
 had done their worst upon the little flock, and the twelve 
 were reduced to eleven ; but the Lord raised up Matthias, 
 as a pledge to the Church that she should never be over- 
 come. We pray in the Collect that GOD would raise up 
 faithful and true pastors, and preserve us evermore from 
 wolves in the clothing of sheep. 
 
 The Epistle affords us the inspired interpretation of 
 the logth Psalm ; to which the weak and irreverent so 
 commonly object. St. Peter declares it to have been a 
 prophecy of the treachery of Judas and of its awful ret- 
 ribution, as well as an inspired warrant for the election 
 of Matthias ; and when the Psalm is read in course, this 
 solemn truth should always be borne in mind. How in- 
 teresting, in this light, the Psalm becomes, as showing 
 us more of the private character of the apostate than 
 the Holy Gospel itself reveals ! Then, too, the passage, 
 " let another take his office," has a mysterious interest, 
 from its remaining uninterpreted till the eventful moment 
 when "the lot fell upon Matthias." Then it was made 
 plain who that other was, of whom the Spirit wrote, so 
 many ages before. 
 
 The Holy Gospel, which is the ancient one for this 
 day, seems to refer to the wonderful fulfilment of pro- 
 phecy, and the interpretation thereof, which the "wise 
 and prudent" had never understood, but which the 
 281
 
 Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
 
 Spirit had revealed to St. Peter and the Apostles, in the 
 events related in the Epistle. The scribes and lawyers, 
 who boasted themselves "teachers of babes," could not 
 have interpreted the passage from the Psalms which 
 referred to Judas ; but those poor peasants, albeit not 
 yet fully endowed with the gifts of the Holy Ghost, 
 clearly explained, in the history of their own holy col- 
 lege, the things of which David had written. 
 
 The I4oth Psalm, which is the Introit, is sufficiently 
 appropriate to suggest its own commentary. 
 
 In the Lesson from I. Samuel, GOD utters His warnings 
 against false priests like the recreant sons of Eli, and the 
 Lesson from Isaiah makes Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, a 
 prefigurement of St. Matthias, chosen to be " as a nail 
 in a sure place" instead of him who failed and fell away. 
 
 Holy Scripture says much of the traitor Judas, and 
 very little of the faithful Matthias. So, often, the Provi- 
 dence of GOD makes public much more of the delinquent 
 than of the honest Christian ; but the Church's faith an- 
 ticipates the day when the " secret ones" of Christ shall 
 have praise of GOD. 
 
 TTbe Hnnunciation of tbe Blessefc 
 
 THIS festival celebrates the Mystery of the Incarnation ; 
 for to-day our Blessed LORD GOD and SAVIOUR was 
 conceived in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. 
 
 The year of our Lord, until a century ago, was reck- 
 
 oned from the 25th of March ; because, with the miracu- 
 
 lous conception, the work of our redemption, and hence 
 
 the era of grace, began. Proper Psalms as well as Proper 
 
 282
 
 Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
 
 Lessons mark it as an important day to be observed. 
 The Sgth Psalm is full of joyous prophecies concerning 
 Him who was conceived of the lowly Virgin, and the 
 Psalms at Evening Prayer have much to say, as if from 
 the Virgin's own lips, of Him, and also of that humble 
 and contrite heart in which GOD cares to dwell. 
 
 In the two Morning Lessons we have the pendant pic- 
 tures of the entrance of sin into the world by a woman's 
 transgression, and the coming of a Saviour to redeem 
 from sin, born of a woman in the fulness of time, in ac- 
 cordance with the edict promulged in the very day of 
 Eve's fall : " The seed of the woman shall bruise the 
 serpent's head." The Second Lesson contains the Vir- 
 gin's song of praise, the Magnificat, which all devout 
 Church people love to sing at Evening Prayer, as the 
 daily memorial of the Incarnation. 
 
 The beautiful similarity to this, of Hannah's ecstatic 
 Psalm of praise at the Birth of Samuel, will appear as 
 we listen to the First Evening Lesson, which should of 
 course be followed on this day by the Magnificat, both 
 lifting up our hearts in jubilant adoration. And then the 
 Second Evening Lesson reveals to us the Great Mystery 
 of this day when " The Word was made flesh and dwelt 
 among us." Well may we praise GOD when we hear: 
 "Of His fulness have all we received"; "Grace and 
 truth came by JESUS CHRIST" ; "The Only Begotten Son 
 which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared 
 Him." The Collect, Epistle, and Gospel are sufficiently 
 appropriate to furnish their own commentary. Observe 
 (as we have elsewhere remarked) how the Collect has 
 been made appropriate to Paschal-tide, in which this 
 festival most frequently falls. 
 
 It is a mysterious coincidence, that on the 25th of 
 March began the Passion, as well as the Incarnation of 
 283
 
 St. Mark's Day 
 
 the Redeemer ; in allusion to which, St. Augustine, com- 
 menting in his quaint and simple way on the remarkable 
 text, "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk," 
 says, " The opinion of some is perhaps not absurd, who 
 say this was commanded by the prophet, in order that 
 the good Israelites should not unite with the wicked Jews, 
 by whom Christ suffered, as it were, a lamb in His 
 mother" s milk, that is, in the season of His conception." 
 The joyful tidings of a Redeemer's Incarnation come 
 to us amid our Lenten sorrows and tears. So it was in 
 her "low estate" that the Blessed Virgin was "highly 
 favored"; and we are reminded that the richest spiritual 
 blessings wait on the state of penitence and self-abase- 
 ment. 
 
 Ml 
 
 St. flilarfe's S>as 
 
 ST. MARK was the kinsman, the disciple, and the min- 
 ister of St. Peter, and his Gospel was always regarded 
 as, in a sense, St. Peter's Gospel, for there can be little 
 doubt that it was written under the Apostle's eye, and 
 shares his authority and inspiration. Thus, when St. 
 Peter says" Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be 
 able, after my decease, to have these things always in 
 remembrance," he is supposed to have reference to the 
 composition of the Gospel, under the hand of St. Mark. 
 Thus, St. Peter fulfilled the commission, "When thou 
 art converted, strengthen thy brethren." 
 
 The Collect for the day fastens on this idea ; our con- 
 firmation in the faith and establishment in it, enabling us 
 to resist the seductions of heresy and schism. In a land 
 where the artful Jesuit is insidiously at work, on one 
 hand, and the pert rationalist is no less busy, poisoning 
 284
 
 St. Mark's Day 
 
 the streams of knowledge, on the other, and where 
 millions are literally blown about and carried away 
 "with every wind of doctrine," how earnestly we should 
 pray this prayer, and thank GOD for our unity with the 
 Apostles in the pure and primitive faith which shall never 
 be destroyed ! 
 
 The Gospel shows us how essential to spiritual life is 
 that grafting into Christ, which is made in baptism, and 
 maintained through faith, by the use of all the means 
 of grace, with a penitent and lowly heart. The Epistle 
 shows us what instrumentality Christ has ordained to 
 this end ; and that communion with Christ is maintained 
 by communion with His Apostles, in the unity of the 
 Church. The Apostolic Ministry, it appears, is the gift 
 of a risen and ascended Lord. Christ has given it "for 
 the edifying of His body," the Church. Now, St. 
 Paul contrasts with Christ's, the ministers of men. 
 Such are they whom strange sects, " having itching ears, 
 heap to themselves" in these last days. (II. Tim. iv. 3.) 
 In the Second Epistle of St. Peter, and in that of St. 
 Jude, we have more to the same purpose. 
 
 The First Morning Lesson is Isaiah's glad prophecy of 
 the glories of the latter days when the truths of the 
 Evangelist shall prevail among the people ; and at Even- 
 ing Prayer we read Ezekiel's vision, wherein appear those 
 four "living ones," described also in St. John's Apoca- 
 lypse, (Rev. iv. 7,) which have been used by the Church 
 as symbols of the four Evangelists. The Lion is the 
 emblem or "attribute" in art, of St. Mark, the Man of 
 St. Matthew, the Ox of St. Luke, and the Eagle of St. 
 John. These four are frequently seen depicted in stained 
 glass, sculptured in stone and marble, impressed on the 
 arms of altar crosses, and embroidered on altar cloths. 
 The Eagle lectern thus has its meaning from the in- 
 285
 
 Feast of SS. Philip and James 
 
 spiration of St. John, which carries us up to see the 
 glories of the Divine JESUS. St. Luke tells us particu- 
 larly of His sacrificial work ; St. Matthew of His Hu- 
 manity, and St. Mark of His might as "the Lion of the 
 tribe of Judah." [See also under St. Matthew's day.] 
 
 The Second Lesson at Morning Prayer begins St. 
 Mark's Gospel, and at Evening Prayer we have the 
 account of his first missionary journey with Paul and 
 Barnabas. At the close we have the record of St. 
 Mark's instability in that he turned back from Pamphylia 
 and went not with them on their former journey. But 
 although St. Paul resented this a little later, (Acts xv. 
 36-40,) nevertheless further on, St. Mark had become so 
 strong and stable, that the Apostle rendered willing testi- 
 mony to his worth. (Col. iv. 10 ; II. Tim. iv. u ; Phil- 
 emon 24. ) Like Peter and the others, as time went by, 
 St. Mark waxed " strong in the grace that is in CHRIST 
 JESUS." 
 
 jfeast of SS. pbtlip ano Sames 
 
 OUR blessed Lord recognized the power of sympathy 
 and friendship, when He sent forth His disciples in pairs. 
 So now the Church, by her double festivals, commemor- 
 ates the unity of purpose and the bonds of love, in which 
 the holy Apostles began and completed their glorious 
 work. In like unity of spirit should the faithful still 
 glorify their Master. 
 
 St. Philip and St. James are paired, in this festival, 
 
 possibly in view of the promise made by our Saviour to 
 
 St. Philip, touching the efficacy of prayer, and of the 
 
 teachings of St. James as to the prayer of faith, which 
 
 286
 
 Feast of SS. Philip and James 
 
 expounds and limits the apparently boundless pledge of 
 the Saviour to give anything asked in His name. St. 
 James shows the need of faith and patience, in believing 
 the promises, and yet bearing trials and disappointments. 
 
 The Epistle and Gospel harmonize with the Rogation 
 Season, which falls near the time of this feast ; while the 
 exhibition of the Saviour, as "the Way, the Truth, and 
 Life," is equally harmonious with the entire spirit of 
 the season between Easter and Pentecost. The text, 
 "No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me," shows 
 that a clear recognition of the Mediation of Christ is 
 essential to prayer and to salvation. Therefore, all our 
 prayers, expressly or by implication, end with the formula 
 "through JESUS CHRIST our Lord." Observe in the 
 Epistle, the text" A double-minded man is unstable in 
 all his ways" : while the double feast is meant to show 
 that two men, of the same mind, may be steadfast and 
 successful in ' ' the way of truth and life. ' ' This is brought 
 out in the Collect, very happily. The Gospel exhibits 
 the character of St. Philip, while the Epistle is from the 
 invaluable treatise of St. James. In the First Morning 
 Lesson we have the joyful proclamation of Isaiah as to 
 the message he was to deliver ; a message brought in its 
 fulness by Him who, reading this chapter in the syna- 
 gogue at Capernaum announced, "This day is this Scrip- 
 ture fulfilled in your ears." This message all his faith- 
 ful apostles like St. Philip and St. James have carried 
 down the ages. In the Second Morning Lesson we read 
 our Lord's wonderful discourse concerning Himself as 
 the Bread of Life, a discourse suggested by the miracle 
 of the loaves in the record of which St. Philip is men- 
 tioned twice. (St. John vi. 5, 7.) 
 
 St. James the Less, as he was called from his stature, 
 (not from his character, certainly,) was one of those three 
 287
 
 Feast of SS. Philip and James 
 
 Apostles who seemed to St. Paul to be the pillars of the 
 Church, and whom he names before St. Peter and St. 
 John, in giving them this distinction. He was, in many 
 respects, " the very chief est of the Apostles." He pre- 
 sided over the Mother Church of Jerusalem, and in its 
 Apostolic Council ; and he has left us a catholic, or 
 general, Epistle, which supplies a key to the trueexposi- 
 tion of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans. He was, more- 
 over, "the Lord's brother," being the son of Joseph, by 
 a former marriage, or perhaps the son of Cleophas, and 
 of the sister of the Blessed Virgin ; for cousins-german 
 were often called brethren among the Hebrews. The 
 idea that he was the younger son of the Blessed Virgin 
 has been broached by fantastic writers, but is sufficiently 
 disproved by the fact that our Saviour, on the Cross, 
 provided for His Mother, by giving her to St. John. 
 Surely, the lofty conception of the maternity of her who 
 was " highly favored" is much lowered by supposing that 
 the Saviour of the world was not her only son ; and, as 
 Scripture, unless distorted from its critical sense, favors 
 no such idea, it is somewhat ignoble to urge it against 
 the strong current of Ecclesiastical testimony and Scrip- 
 tural probability. 
 
 St. Philip preached in Phrygia, and suffered martyr- 
 dom, being hanged to a pillar. St. James, like his 
 Master, was tempted, on a pinnacle of the temple ; for 
 there the rulers of the Jews called on him to deny his 
 Master, whom he instantly confessed as sitting on the 
 right hand of the Father. On this, they dashed him 
 down to the pavement, and a fuller, with one of his pro- 
 fessional implements, a club or pole, struck him on the 
 head, so that he died, like Zacharias the son of Barachias, 
 "between the temple and the altar." It may be that St. 
 Philip's pillar, and this instrument of St. James' martyr- 
 288
 
 St. Barnabas' Day 
 
 dom, had something to do with the old May-pole festivi- 
 ties, on this feast. One of the many good things we owe 
 to the great and good Bishop Grosseteste, who held the 
 See of Lincoln in the thirteenth century, was the sup- 
 pression of the old heathenish Floralia, which so long 
 profaned this day. The day is always observed at Ox- 
 ford, by a sunrise hymn, in the open air, upon the tower 
 of Magdalen. The singing-boys and others, in their 
 surplices, ascend the tower, and there chant a thanks- 
 giving for the food which Christ supplies to the body and 
 to the soul of man. At this solemnity, the writer had 
 once the great pleasure of being present. The Introit 
 celebrates the love of brethren, in the I33d Psalm, Ecce 
 quam bonum ; and the American Church has an appro- 
 priate hymn written by one of her prelates* : 
 
 " Thou art the way ; to Thee alone, 
 From sin and death, we flee. 
 And he who would the Father seek 
 Must seek Him, Lord, by Thee. 
 ***** 
 
 Thou art the Way, the Truth, the Life, 
 Grant us that Way to know, 
 That Truth to keep, that Life to win 
 Whose joys eternal flow." 
 
 St. Barnabas' 
 
 THIS festival falls near the time of Pentecost and it 
 has been provided accordingly with services which 
 strictly harmonize with those of that great annjversary. 
 In the Epistle for the day, we are reminded that "he 
 was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost." In the 
 
 * Bishop G. W. Doane, of New Jersey. 
 19 289
 
 St. Barnabas' Day 
 
 Gospel, we have our Lord's own commentary on the 
 Apostolic commission, which He had given to His ser- 
 vants, whom He vouchsafed to call His friends. He 
 called and ordained them that "they should go and 
 bring forth fruit, and that their fruit should remain.'" 
 The work of the Apostles is indestructible ; the Apos- 
 tolic Church is never to be overcome by the world. 
 
 St. Barnabas, who is also called Joses, was added to 
 the Apostolic company after our Lord's Ascension, and 
 was at once an Apostle, and the first-fruits of Apostolic 
 labor. He introduced St. Paul to the Church, and 
 labored a long time with that Apostle. He seems to 
 have been of a majestic bearing, for the pagans would 
 fain have worshipped him as the chief of their gods. 
 As he was a Levite, the Apostolic Succession was, in 
 his person, grafted upon the Mosaic Priesthood, so that 
 in him, and others, the line of Levi became perpetuated 
 and identified with the Christian Ministry. It is sur- 
 prising, if we closely follow his history, how much more 
 the infant Church was indebted to this remarkable man 
 than to most of the original Apostles, so far as we can 
 judge by the inspired records. The Apostles them- 
 selves named him "The Son of Consolation," and this 
 surname, no doubt, is the chief reason for the appoint- 
 ment of his feast in the season and near the great day 
 of the Comforter. Hence, also, Hospitals and Guilds 
 for nurses are frequently called by his name. (Note the 
 hymns for this day so full of instruction. Hymns, 161, 
 162.) The Collect is a beautiful comment on the endow- 
 ments of St. Barnabas, and on his fidelity in using all 
 his talents for his Master's honor. 
 
 He is said to have suffered martyrdom at Salamis, 
 where he was beaten and stoned by the Jews, while 
 preaching in their synagogue. The ancient "Epistle of 
 290
 
 St. John Baptist's Day 
 
 Barnabas," though probably not his work, is a precious 
 relic of antiquity, and should be read by all Christians, 
 as a memorial of primitive piety. In the Lesson from 
 Malachi \ve read the prophet's description of what a true 
 priest and Levite should be, indeed, such an one as 
 St. Barnabas was. In the Evening, Isaiah's well-known 
 chapter, " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your 
 GOD," reminds us of the Son of Consolation. The Sec- 
 ond Lessons contain portions of the history of St. Bar- 
 nabas, and complete the Church's Bible Lesson for this 
 day, all of it full of interest and instruction. 
 
 St. 3obn Baptist's 
 
 OF the minor feasts, this is one of the greatest. It 
 marks the exact half-year from Christmas, and reminds 
 us that our Lord's forerunner was just six months older 
 than Himself ; at the same time, it waits on Christmas, 
 as the Baptist did on Christ, giving us much instruction 
 and devotional material that bears directly on the Incar- 
 nation of the Son of GOD. 
 
 In the Southern Hemisphere it is the winter-feast, 
 which renews to our devoted missionaries the recol- 
 lections of the Northern Christmas they have left be- 
 hind them. With us, 'tis the sweet feast of midsummer, 
 of the longest twilight and shortest night, and of the 
 fragrant hay-harvest. How appropriate, then, is the 
 imagery- of the Epistle ! ' ' All flesh is grass, and all the 
 goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." 
 
 The Epistle is well chosen, as containing a detailed 
 and direct prophecy of the first advent and of the 
 Messiah, of whom the Baptist was the precursor, 
 291
 
 St. John Baptist's Day 
 
 while it no less explicitly predicts the Baptist himself as 
 " the voice of one crying in the wilderness." The Gos- 
 pel is the history of his marvellous birth, and contains 
 the hymn of his father Zacharias. In the Collect, we 
 commemorate the Nativity of the Baptist, though, in all 
 other cases, we celebrate the deaths of the Saints. For 
 this, there are two reasons : he was sanctified from his 
 mother's womb, (St. Luke i. 15,) in which he did homage 
 to the Redeemer's presence before He was born ; and 
 again, the angel prophesied that " many shall rejoice at 
 his birth." His birth was, in fact, a pledge of the better 
 birth of Messiah the Prince, and this is the great reason 
 why it is thus commemorated. But the language of the 
 Collect may be said to epitomize the whole history of 
 this greatest of prophets, and to condense, in a very 
 happy manner, the practical benefit to be derived from it 
 by us. 
 
 The First Morning Lesson is Malachi's prophecy, 
 "Behold, I will send My Messenger, and He shall pre- 
 pare the way before Me"; while the First Evening Les- 
 son contains the same prophet's not less memorable 
 prediction concerning Him, "Behold, I will send you 
 Elijah." The Second Lessons at Morning and Evening 
 Prayer relate the history of St. John, in the fulfilment of 
 these prophecies. It will be observed that he came out 
 of the wilderness, not only " in the spirit and power of 
 Elijah," but in the same wild raiment, identified, in 
 every respect, with the former prophet, at least officially. 
 So that it seemed as if the same Elijah, who never died, 
 but went up in a chariot of fire to GOD, had again re- 
 sumed his ministry on earth, as it were, at the point 
 where it was so suddenly broken off. It is very im- 
 portant, as a help to the avoiding of bald literalities, to 
 observe how the Old Testament promises were fulfilled 
 292
 
 St. John Baptist's Day 
 
 in this respect. Elijah was promised, because a definite 
 idea of the coming prophet was given by that name ; 
 whereas no idea at all would have been imparted had 
 Malachi used the name of "John" in his oracles. So 
 the Messiah is often promised in the Old Testament 
 under the name of "David," because David was His 
 type, as well as his ancestor. 
 
 St. John Baptist did not belong to the Christian dis- 
 pensation ; nor was his baptism in any sense Christian 
 baptism. It was only an introduction to the Gospel, as 
 he himself shows, and as the practice of the Apostles to re- 
 baptize his converts fully confirms. (Compare St. Mark 
 i. 8, and Acts xix. 1-5.) He lived and died under Moses, 
 and " the least in the kingdom of heaven was greater 
 than he," because it is a greater thing to be a chosen 
 member of the Bridegroom's family than to be merely 
 the Bridegroom's friend. (St. John iii. 29.) But he was 
 the greatest born of women until JESUS ; because, as the 
 last of all the prophets, he was the immediate index and 
 usher of Him of "whom Moses in the Law, and the 
 Prophets did write." He gave all prophecy its point 
 and application, when he directed it to the Saviour per- 
 sonally, saying, " Behold the Lamb of GOD"; and when 
 he identified the Messiah, and manifested Him personally 
 to Israel, at His baptism, after four thousand years of 
 promise and of foreshadowings. When we reflect how 
 great was the Baptist then, as compared with Moses and 
 all the prophets, let us reflect on the testimony he gives 
 to the Divinity of Christ, by saying of Him, " He was 
 before me" "whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to 
 unloose." 
 
 Let us consider, too, that the Last of the Prophets 
 was the preceptor of St. Andrew and St. John, who 
 were the first members of the Apostolic company, and 
 293
 
 St. Peter's Day 
 
 that he himself transferred them to JESUS, (St. John i. 
 37,) so that in him and them is fulfilled in a measure that 
 which is said of the foundation of the Catholic Church, 
 upon "Apostles and Prophets, JESUS CHRIST Himself 
 being the Chief Corner-Stone. " 
 
 The profound humility and fidelity of this great 
 prophet are among the most conspicuous of his charac- 
 teristics. He was but a " voice" to proclaim the Lord ; 
 and fulfilling that office, he was ready to decrease. Yet 
 what unmingled eulogy he receives from his Master ! 
 He was ' ' a burning and a shining light. ' ' He was ' ' more 
 than a prophet." He was "the greatest among those 
 born of women." He seems to have lived and died al- 
 most without a fault. 
 
 St. Peter's 
 
 ST. PETER was "the very chief est of the Apostles," 
 until St. Paul, who "was not a whit behind him," be- 
 came, in fact, his superior, realizing our Lord's own in- 
 timation, addressed to St. Peter, that there were " last, 
 who should be first." His Apostleship was limited to 
 the Jewish Church, while St. Paul's was almost of uni- 
 versal jurisdiction, the Apostleship of the Nations. The 
 seat of St. Peter's jurisdiction was Antioch ; but he was 
 probably a prisoner and a martyr at Rome, where he 
 seems to have suffered, with St. Paul, under Nero. He 
 was crucified, and that (at his own request) with his 
 head downward ; for he felt himself unworthy to suffer 
 in the same manner as his Master had suffered. 
 
 But St. Peter had some personal distinctions which 
 were all his own. To him Christ gave the name of 
 294
 
 St. Peter's Day 
 
 Cephas ; and to him, as the foremost Apostle, were first 
 promised the keys of the kingdom, in token that he 
 should admit the first Jews to the Church, and also the 
 first Gentiles ; thus laying the first lively stones upon the 
 Rock, CHRIST JESUS, and beginning the holy fabric of 
 the Apostolic Church. It must always be borne in mind 
 that Christ is the Rock, and St. Peter only a Stone, ac- 
 cording to Scripture ; and that He Himself shows us 
 how all believers may acquire the name of Cephas, by 
 becoming built on that Living Stone, the true Messiah. 
 (I. Peter ii. 4. ) Among the Apostles, St. Peter was un- 
 doubtedly the Symbol of the Church's Unity, even as the 
 other Apostles were of its Universality ; but the limits 
 of his dignity and precedence among the Apostles have 
 been already spoken of in connection with the Fifteenth 
 Sunday after Trinity. His primacy was personal, and 
 could not be entailed, and it had nothing in it of a supre- 
 macy or " lordship over GOD'S heritage." 
 
 In the Second Morning Lesson, we have the threefold 
 charge given to St. Peter by the risen Lord, "Feed My 
 sheep," and the First Lesson has reference to that con- 
 taining (as the heading of the chapter phrases it) "a 
 reproof of the shepherds. GOD'S judgment against 
 them His providence for His flock, the kingdom of 
 Christ." 
 
 The Lessons at Evening Prayer recount the exalted 
 commission given to Joshua the High Priest, kindred to 
 that which St. Peter received and in the story from the 
 Acts the memorable testimony given by St. Peter before 
 the Council at Jerusalem, in behalf of the LORD JESUS. 
 
 In the Collect there is a beautiful allusion to the pre- 
 eminent Apostleship of St. Peter, as he is made the 
 model of all worthy bishops and pastors who have suc- 
 ceeded him. The phraseology of this Collect is in part 
 295
 
 St. James' Day 
 
 borrowed from St. Peter's own language, in one of his 
 Epistles, while it is based on that touching incident irr 
 his history, when, as he had thrice denied the Lord, he 
 was made to profess Him thrice, and as often was rein- 
 stated in His ministry, by the words " Feed my lambs, 
 feed my sheep." In the Epistle, we have the history 
 of St. Peter's imprisonment under Herod, and of his 
 deliverance by the angel ; while the Gospel is that 
 sublime passage in which he who was formerly called 
 Simon, received the name of Peter, in reward for that 
 bold confession in which he recognized JESUS as the 
 Rock of Ages. 
 
 St. Sanies' 
 
 THE Apostle called St. James the Great was the 
 brother of St. John, and shared with him the name " a 
 Son of Thunder."* He was a son of Zebedee, and 
 drank, first of all the Apostles, of his Master's cup of 
 martyrdom, as his brother drank it latest. Putting the 
 narratives of the Epistle and the Gospel together, we see 
 this fact in a strong light, and it is a little striking, that, 
 whereas he is surnamed "the Great," the strife to be 
 greatest should be one of the most memorable events in 
 his history. Note the text, "Whosoever will be great 
 among you, let him be your minister." 
 
 In the Collect, his prompt obedience, and sacrifice of 
 worldly interests and affections, are made our example. 
 He was admitted with Peter and John to the most sacred 
 privacies of the LORD JESUS ; and the cheerfulness with 
 which he suffered death is said to have converted his 
 
 * See St. Mark iii, 17. 
 296
 
 The Transfiguration 
 
 accuser, who, breaking out into a confession of Christ, 
 was beheaded with the same sword. 
 
 The First Lessons seem to have been chosen because of 
 the staunch witness borne, like St. James' , by the prophets 
 Elijah and Jeremiah in their day. All true servants of 
 GOD in every age must "bear witness unto the truth." 
 Indeed, the very word "martyr" means "a witness." 
 
 In the Second Lessons are narrated by St. Mark and 
 St. Luke, the calling of St. James to be an Apostle, and 
 the incident wherein he and his brother John manifested 
 the spirit which gained for them from the Master the 
 name " Boanerges," " Sons of Thunder." 
 
 ft* 
 
 ZTbe transfiguration 
 
 UNFORTUNATELY for its general observance this Fes- 
 tival falls at a season when our congregations are scat- 
 tered on seaside and mountain, where, alas ! church- 
 going, even if possible, is not largely practiced ; and also 
 at a time when in the large cities many Churches are 
 " closed during the hot weather." Hence, except when 
 the Feast occurs on Sunday, most of our people fail to 
 reap the advantage which must come from a devout par- 
 ticipation in its services. 
 
 The Collect, Epistle, and Gospel need no comment, 
 except as they are the latest admitted to the sacred pre- 
 cincts of the Prayer-Book. 
 
 The Lessons also carry their appropriateness on their 
 face, contrasting the "ministration of condemnation" 
 which was indeed glorious, with the "ministration of 
 righteousness," which exceeds in glory ; and giving 
 promise of the "Son of righteousness" to arise "with 
 healing in His wings." 
 
 297
 
 The Transfiguration 
 
 It is interesting to note how two of the three Apostles 
 who were present vouched, later, for the reality of the 
 Transfiguration. 
 
 St. Peter says, "We were eye-witnesses of His maj- 
 esty, " " . . . this voice which came from heaven we 
 heard when we were with Him in the holy mount." 
 
 St. John testifies, "We beheld His glory, the glory as 
 of the Only Begotten of the Father." 
 
 The third witness, St. James, was earliest of all the 
 Apostles called to suffer martyrdom, and thus to drink 
 of the cup of suffering with the Master, as he had at the 
 Transfiguration shared His momentary triumph. 
 
 It is difficult to explain in few words the significance 
 of this event in our Blessed Lord's earthly life. It was 
 a transcendent Epiphany, a "manifesting forth His 
 glory" far surpassing any at other times accorded. It 
 was, indeed, the glory "as of the Only Begotten of the 
 Father." Being found in fashion as a man, he was 
 about to humble Himself yet further to man's lowest 
 estate, and that by the accursed death of the cross. 
 
 And here on the mount, just at this point, came the 
 Father's attestation to the Saviour's Divinity, "This is 
 my beloved Son, hear Him." And in Moses and Elias 
 we are reminded how both the Law and the Prophets 
 bore no other witness, they all "testified of Him." It 
 is written, that after the Resurrection, " beginning with 
 Moses and all the Prophets, JESUS expounded in all the 
 scriptures the things concerning Himself." 
 
 He who would understand his Bible must never lose 
 sight of this unifying thread running through all the 
 Sacred Book from Genesis to Revelation. He must 
 learn to perceive this pure Light which transfigures the 
 whole Bible as with the presence of the Son of GOD, 
 the Incarnate Word. 
 
 298
 
 St. Bartholomew's Day 
 
 We must not fail, too, to remind ourselves that as our 
 Lord's Divinity irradiated and transfigured His Hu- 
 manity, and His Presence makes the written word a 
 Revelation, so also does He make glorious the sacra- 
 ments and ordinances of the Church in which He dwells, 
 and which is the "fulness of Him that filleth all in all." 
 
 St. :JBartbolome\x>'s 
 
 ST. BARTHOLOMEW is commonly supposed to be Na- 
 thanael, the companion of Philip, and the Israelite "in-: 
 deed, in whom there is no guile." He is said to have 
 preached in Persia, and, when he came to suffer for his 
 testimony, to have been flayed alive. 
 
 The Collect is a commemoration of the sincerity and 
 purity of the Apostle's preaching and example. The 
 Epistle seems to be a supplement to the feast of St. Peter, 
 and the Gospel to that of St. James : so that the last two 
 Saints' Days lend their spirit to this. The unity and 
 equality of the Apostolic College are signified in both ; for 
 what is said of one, is said of all : " by the hands of the 
 Apostles were many signs and wonders wrought." And 
 in their company, no one was greatest : Christ had or- 
 dained "it shall not be so with you." Together they 
 labored and suffered, and together "they shall sit on 
 thrones." 
 
 It is distinctly with reference to the identity of Barthol- 
 omew and Nathanael that the Lessons are chosen, the 
 Vision of Jacob at Bethel, Nathanael' s introduction to 
 our Lord ; Moses' prediction of the Great Prophet that 
 should come, whom Nathanael recognized ; and St. 
 299
 
 St. Matthew's Day 
 
 Peter's exhortation to be like Nathanael, humble, docile, 
 and without guile. 
 
 It is melancholy that the festival of this guileless Apos- 
 tle is forever associated with the treachery and malice of 
 the Massacre in France in the year 1572. Oh, for the day 
 of a restored unity, when all Christians shall be like their 
 Master, "in whose mouth there was found no guile !" 
 
 St. fifeattbew's 
 
 ST. MATTHEW, or Levi, is to be thought of, not only 
 as a rich man, but as one of a class which the Jews 
 esteemed to be hopelessly depraved. In his conversion, 
 there is a signal instance of grace overcoming the deceit- 
 fulness of riches, and also the enslaving effect of an 
 unhappy position and reputation. The publican was 
 supposed to be what a heartless usurer is, and he was 
 even more detested, because he was an instrument of 
 foreign tyranny. He paid the Roman government a 
 certain sum, and was permitted to collect it, with excess- 
 ive increase, from a certain district of his native land. 
 Levi was actually engaged in this business, and seated 
 at the receipt of custom, when Christ called him to be an 
 Apostle. Who knows but he was the identical Publican 
 who is elsewhere constrasted with a certain Pharisee? 
 He had repented of his sins, and was performing his 
 duties equitably and mercifully. JESUS bade him leave 
 this pursuit, and the accumulation of wealth, and become 
 a follower of Him, in poverty and death. What an ex- 
 ample when, at the word, he arose and left all, and 
 followed JESUS ! Our Lord's accepting a banquet in his 
 house, and sitting down to eat with publicans and sinners, 
 300
 
 St. Matthew's Day 
 
 is a proof of the worldly comfort which St. Matthew gave 
 up to become an Apostle : and, at the same time, it fur- 
 nished a rebuke to the Pharisees, who were thus taught 
 that Christ came to call sinners to repentance. As a 
 commentary on this Gospel, we have the Epistle, in 
 which Mammon, or the god of this world, is shown to be 
 the agent of spiritual blindness, in the unbelieving. We 
 cannot serve GOD and Mammon ; and they who are 
 blinded by the glare of gold, cannot see the light of the 
 glorious Gospel. The Collect is a prayer for deliverance 
 from this awful condition of blindness, and hardness 
 of heart. 
 
 The Morning Lesson from I. Kings contains the story 
 of the calling of Elisha to succeed Elijah. The Second 
 Lessons record by the hands of St. Luke and St. Mark the 
 same incidents as those which we read from St. Matthew 
 in the Gospel for the day. The First Lesson at Evening 
 Prayer tells of the true uses of wealth by generous giving 
 to the Lord, in contrast with the devotion to Mammon, 
 "the god of this world," rebuked in the Epistle. 
 
 St. Matthew is the Evangelist to whom, under GOD, 
 its great Inspirer and Giver, we owe the first Gospel. 
 He is said to have suffered martyrdom among the Par- 
 thians. It is usual to represent him with an Angel near 
 at hand, as St. Mark is pictured with the Lion, St. Luke 
 with the Bullock, and St. John with the Eagle. These 
 emblems (as was said under St. Mark's Day) signify the 
 characteristic feature of each Gospel ; the Angel with 
 "man's face" betokening the exhibition of our Lord's 
 humanity, which angels desired to look into ; the Lion, 
 His royalty ; the Ox, His patience, and preparation for 
 sacrifice, and hence His Priesthood ; while the Eagle sig- 
 nifies His Divinity, with the assertion of which St. John 
 begins his Gospel, as an eagle flies up to the sun and 
 301
 
 Michaelmas 
 
 fixes his eye upon the brightness of its glory. The em- 
 blems are borrowed from the heavenly creatures of the 
 Apocalypse, ( Rev. iv. 7 ; also Ezek. i. 10, ) called beasts 
 in our version, but more properly living-ones. 
 
 fniicbaelmas 
 
 THE feast of St. Michael and All Angels is designed 
 to keep before our minds the relation of Angels to the 
 Church of Christ, as being concerned, as well as our- 
 selves, in the Saviour's Mission ; as being, with us, 
 members of His mystical body ; as being guardians of 
 our souls, and ministers to our bodies, in life and in 
 the hour of death. All this, and much besides, that is 
 affirmed of Angels, we should devoutly consider and 
 bring to mind on this day. Michael is called a Saint, 
 just as Gabriel is called a Man, (Daniel ix. 21,) to as- 
 sure us of the great truth that 
 
 " Angels and living Saints, and dead, 
 But one Communion make." 
 
 In the Prophet Daniel, moreover, (iv. 13, 17,) the name 
 of Saints, or holy ones, is especially given to the Angels. 
 The Epistle is the vision of St. Michael contending 
 with the Devil, as related by St. John. "They that be 
 with us, are more than they that be with them," said 
 Elisha, (II. Kings vi. 16, ) a fact which should animate 
 us always to "resist the devil," knowing that, if we do 
 so, "he will flee from us." The Gospel asserts that 
 little children have the highest Angels for their heavenly 
 sponsors : as we elsewhere learn, that every repenting 
 sinner gives joy to some of the heavenly host. The Col- 
 302
 
 Michaelmas 
 
 lect teaches us to address prayer and praise to GOD only, 
 for the services of Angels, thus strictly observing the 
 precept, and avoiding the danger, pointed out in St. 
 Paul's Epistle (ii. 13) to the Colossians. 
 
 The special Psalms are full of allusions to the angelic 
 hosts, and are not without hints that the processes of 
 Nature are wrought by their agency. 
 
 The First Lesson not only contains the story of Jacob 
 wrestling with "the Angel of the Covenant," who is the 
 Word of Gop, but begins with the fact that a host of 
 GOD'S Angels encountered him, at a certain place, pos- 
 sibly to recall to mind his youthful vision at Bethel. The 
 Second Lesson is the history of a signal service rendered 
 by an Angel to the infant Church, in Jerusalem. In the 
 First Evening Lesson we are warranted in the belief that 
 St. Michael was the Guardian Angel of the Jewish 
 Church and nation, and that fallen Angels withstood 
 him, in behalf of heathen nations. The Second Even- 
 ing Lesson brings to us St. John's glorious picture of 
 the rapture and adoration of the Angels and the Re- 
 deemed in heaven. Let us never forget, while we bless 
 GOD for the "elect Angels," those who kept their first 
 estate, that we have renounced the devil and all his 
 works, and that he goeth about seeking to destroy us. 
 It is all-important that the personality and power of 
 Satan should be kept before us, so long as we are in the 
 body, in order that we may maintain our fight against 
 him, and conquer him, after the example of Christ. And 
 it is very important in this materialistic age to emphasize 
 the existence of a spiritual world close to us, all about 
 us, filled with spiritual existences, the ministers of GOD, 
 and the friends and fellow-servants of men. 
 
 Let us be sure to avoid that thoughtless falsehood 
 which teaches children that they are to become Angels
 
 St. Luke's Day 
 
 when they die. That cannot be. The Angels are an 
 entirely different order of beings from ourselves. We can- 
 not and shall not change our nature at death. The " Re- 
 deemed by the Blood of Christ" shall be exalted even 
 above the angels. Hence, the value of this Festival to 
 send us to our Bibles, and to enable us the better to 
 heed the Church's teaching about these Heavenly mem- 
 bers of the one Family of GOD. Read, in addition to 
 the appointed Scriptures, Col. i. 16 ; Heb. i. 13, 14 ; 
 ii. 5-10, and especially verse 16, and ponder the fine 
 hymns appropriate to this Festival, 170, 171, 398, 476. 
 
 St. Olufee's 
 
 TO-DAY we celebrate the holy memory and example 
 of the sublime Evangelist who was the companion and 
 fellow-laborer of St. Paul, and who, after enriching the 
 Church with his Gospel, proceeded to set forth the Acts 
 of the Apostles, the Gospel of the Holy Ghost. He is 
 the earliest historian of the Church, whose narrative we 
 may be sure has no error, nor any coloring of human 
 prejudice or partiality. He was originally a physician ; 
 and although it is supposed that he was a freedman, and 
 therefore originally a slave, it cannot be doubted that he 
 was a man of education, and of highly refined intelli- 
 gence. All his gifts he nobly devoted to the service of 
 Christ, and finally, at an advanced age, he suffered mar- 
 tyrdom in Greece, being hanged upon an olive-tree. 
 Those who think that he was a painter have much reason 
 so to think, for he is the most pictorial of the Evangelists, 
 and by his use of words he makes cartoons of the story 
 of the Messiah. 
 
 34
 
 St. Luke's Day 
 
 In the Collect we have a curious and unique specimen 
 of ingenuity, in the adaptation of spiritual significance 
 to historical fact. Luke, the Physician, is seen in the 
 work of the Gospel, as a dispenser of remedies to the 
 souls of men ; not so much abandoning his occupation, 
 as turning his skill to the higher part of human nature. 
 We pray, therefore, that we may be healed by the medi- 
 cines of the truth he has delivered. 
 
 The Epistle furnishes evidence of the fidelity of St. 
 Luke at a critical period in the life and labors of St. Paul, 
 when he was deserted by friends and greatly persecuted 
 by enemies. The Gospel is a specimen of the Evange- 
 list's own pages, and is chosen as a hint that he was, 
 originally, one of the seventy disciples. 
 
 The First Morning Lesson is that wonderful description 
 of the Physician in the apocryphal Book Ecclesiasticus, 
 with admirable advice for both patient and doctor : " My 
 son, in thy sickness be not negligent : but pray unto the 
 Lord and He will make thee whole. . . . They shall also 
 pray unto the Lord, that He would prosper that which 
 they give for ease and remedy to prolong life." 
 
 The First Evening Lesson is an excellent example of 
 such advice obeyed, for Hezekiah, in his sickness, not 
 only made use of the remedy prescribed by the prophet, 
 but also cried unto the Lord. The Second Lessons are 
 from the writings of St. Luke, and contain his two prefaces 
 addressed to Theophilus, for whom the Evangelist in- 
 dited his Gospel and the Acts. 
 
 Guilds of Physicians, and sometimes Hospitals, are 
 named after this Beloved Physician, "whose praise is in 
 the Gospel."
 
 Feast of SS. Simon and Jude 
 
 jfeast of SS. Simon ano 3uoe 
 
 THE unity of the Church is the subject presented in the 
 Collect to-day, as founded in the Apostolic doctrine and 
 fellowship. 
 
 The Epistle from St. Jude sets forth the sin of schism, 
 and the duty of " contending earnestly for the faith once 
 delivered to the saints." In the Gospel, our Saviour 
 promises the Spirit of Truth to the Church, and identifies 
 the testimony of the Apostles with the testimony of the 
 Spirit ; while He foretells that it shall be hated and 
 opposed, and that its friends must suffer for the Truth's 
 sake. In the fraternity of two Apostles in the same feast, 
 the entire concord of the primitive faithful is symbolized ; 
 an example of unity being made the basis of our prayers 
 for the same. 
 
 Of St. Simon we know very little : he was surnamed 
 Zelotes, and also the Canaanite ; and some have imagined 
 that he was the bridegroom at the Marriage in Cana. St. 
 Jude is much more prominent as an Apostle : he is named 
 Thaddseus, and Lebbaeus, and is once distinguished from 
 the traitor by the suffix, " not Iscariot." We may, per- 
 haps, safely suppose him the brother of Simon the Ca- 
 naanite, (St. Matt. xiii. 55,) and also of St. James the 
 Less. He was "the Lord's brother," therefore, as St. 
 James was, his cousin-german, as has been explained 
 in speaking of that Apostle. His bold and spirited Epistle 
 gives us an idea of his character, as does also his ques- 
 tion, at the Last Supper, " Lord, how is it that thou wilt 
 manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" 
 
 During the persecution which raged under the tyrant 
 Domitian two young men were accused before him, as 
 of the seed royal of David, and relatives of the LORD 
 306
 
 Feast of SS. Simon and Jude 
 
 JESUS, who were specially obnoxious as likely to aspire 
 to empire on that account, and to be favored by the 
 Christians. They were accordingly closely interrogated 
 by the tyrant, when it appeared that they labored with 
 their own hands as small farmers, and looked only to 
 reign with Christ, in the life of the world to come. On 
 this, they were contemptuously dismissed, and the per- 
 secution ceased ; and these good men lived till the time 
 of Trajan, apparently as pastors, if not bishops, of the 
 Church. They were the grandchildren of St. Jude, and 
 the last of our Lord's kindred, according to the flesh, of 
 whom history makes mention. 
 
 The First Lesson in the Morning prophesies of the 
 true Foundation Stone, the precious Corner-Stone who 
 is the centre and source of all true Unity; and in the Even- 
 ing Lesson the Holy City Jerusalem is promised as a 
 like symbol and means of Unity. ' ' All the nations 
 shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to 
 Jerusalem. ... In those days the house of Judah shall 
 walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come 
 together out of the land of the north to the land that I 
 have given for an inhabitance unto your fathers." 
 
 The Second Lessons have reference to St. Jude. On 
 this day (as indeed on every day) there should be fer- 
 vent prayers for Church Unity both in private and in 
 Church. There are appropriate prayers provided in the 
 Prayer-Book, not only in the Collect for the Day, but 
 also in the Collects for the Fifth, Twelfth, Fifteenth, Six- 
 teenth, and Twenty-second Sundays after Trinity ; the 
 Prayer for Unity on page 38, and the last prayer in the 
 Institution Office, page 554. 
 
 The following short Collect may profitably be used 
 daily at noon in unison with thousands of those who 
 really mean "Thy Kingdom come," whenever they repeat 
 37
 
 The Feast of All Saints 
 
 the Lord's prayer. It is the prayer recommended by 
 the Association for Promoting the Unity of Christendom. 
 
 O LORD JESUS CHRIST, who saidst to Thy Apostles : 
 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : Re- 
 gard not my sins but the faith of Thy Church, and grant 
 her that peace and unity which are agreeable to Thy 
 will, who livest and reignest with the Father and the 
 Holy Ghost, one GOD, world without end. Amen. 
 
 And as we pray for unity, let us cultivate the spirit of 
 unity, and drive out by the grace of GOD the narrow and 
 sectarian spirit which makes impossible an answer to 
 our prayers. May all who profess and call themselves 
 Christians, ourselves included, be " led into the way of 
 truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond 
 of peace, and in righteousness of life." 
 
 ZTbe Jfeast of HU Saints 
 
 THE Greeks instituted this Festival ages before it was 
 observed in the West ; and it was kept on the Octave of 
 Pentecost, our Trinity Sunday. It was not observed 
 among the Latins till the seventh century, when the 
 Pantheon was turned into a Church, and dedicated by 
 this name. It was then made to fall on the first of No- 
 vember. 
 
 The American Indians observed that what is called 
 the "Indian Summer" falls at this season, and they 
 called it the "Summer of All Saints." It is a peculiarity 
 of our climate which is very much in keeping with the 
 tender associations of this day. 
 
 The remarks with which these Minor Festivals have 
 been prefaced in this book may serve to illustrate its 
 beautiful Collect. All Saints ! what a glorious idea ! 
 308
 
 The Feast of All Saints 
 
 The General Assembly and Church of the First-Born, 
 whose names are written in heaven, and every spirit 
 of just men made perfect, since Abel worshipped or 
 St. Stephen fell asleep ! Jewels in the crown of 
 JESUS ! Lights of the world, and the salt of the earth ! 
 Young men and maidens, matrons and little children, 
 gray-haired sires and mothers in Israel ! Oh, what 
 images are called up by the very name of this feast, 
 which is " a pleasant odor like the best myrrh, as gal- 
 banum, and onyx, and sweet storax, and as the fume of 
 frankincense in the Tabernacle." Nay, it is as the sound 
 of the Bridegroom's coming, and in a moment we may 
 see the bright procession marshalled, and crowding to 
 the skies. There go the wise virgins, lamp in hand, 
 and loins girded, their lights trimmed and burning ; 
 there are the martyrs, palm-branch in the right hand, 
 and in the left knife, and sword, and wheel, and saw, 
 and faggot, the emblems of their sufferings : Apostles, 
 with their keys, and a long line of Bishops, each with his 
 pastoral staff. Then comes the bright band of cross- 
 bearers, - the Faithful, the Redeemed. Oh, their crowns, 
 their harps, their amaranthine chaplets, their vials full of 
 odors ! Say, my soul, shalt thou be with these when 
 the cry goes forth at midnight, " Behold, the Bridegroom 
 cometh !" 
 
 All the Saints who are uncalendared are commemo- 
 rated, to-day, with those who, in every Christian country, 
 are of local memory and renown. To-day, we remember 
 departed friends who are asleep in JESUS. 'Tis a day to 
 visit graves and burial-places, and to fling wreaths of 
 remembrance upon the spot that holds beloved dust. 
 So mourn we not as without hope. Hence, we keep 
 the feast at Church ; and some pastors read the names 
 of all parishioners who have died during the year, in 
 39
 
 The Feast of All Saints 
 
 full communion with the Church ; and then, in the 
 Prayer for the Church Militant, we give thanks "for all 
 Christ's servants departed this life in His faith and fear." 
 The Gospel for the day suggests that every true Chris- 
 tian has some characteristic of piety which unites him 
 with a class, one is meek, and another is merciful. All 
 are, in some degree, what others are, but each leaves an 
 example of some special grace ; all are "entire," as re- 
 producing every feature of Christ, in element, but each 
 one is Christ-like in some particular in which he has 
 exercised himself especially. The Beatitudes supply us 
 with much food for reflection in this, also, that they fur- 
 nish such a contrast to the characteristics of the world's 
 heroes. The world "calls the proud happy"; Christ 
 blesses the "poor in spirit." The Epistle teaches us 
 that Christ knows all His faithful ones; and that, whether 
 Jews or Gentiles, all have been marked as His own, and 
 shall be gathered from every kingdom and nation, at the 
 fitting time, to live forever in His presence. Some of the 
 prayers in the Burial Service are singularly suited to the 
 close of service after sermon : and the Introit should be 
 Psalm 149. The special Psalms make frequent mention 
 of the Gospel Beatitudes after the manner of those who 
 are indeed "the Blessed." 
 
 The Lessons from the Apocrypha are full of sublimity 
 and appropriateness ; they may be regarded as noble 
 proofs of the hopes and aspirations, coincident with ours, 
 with which even the Old Testament Scriptures animated 
 the Jewish faithful, before Christ came. They are, 
 therefore, in effect, canonical Scripture, in the shape 
 of ancient hymns ; reflections from the mind of the 
 "Church of the first-born." We see in them a full 
 testimony to the peace of departed Christian souls in 
 the intermediate place, and also to the resurrection of 
 310
 
 The Feast of All Saints 
 
 the dead, and the life of the world to come. The Second 
 Morning Lesson is part of an Inspired Calendar, and a 
 glorious epitome of the older dispensation ; while the 
 Second Evening Lesson is a sublime Hallelujah chorus, 
 and a prelude to the Song of our Salvation. At the 
 close of the All Saints' Feast, while 
 
 " Fades o'er the moor the brief November day," 
 
 let us meditate on the impressive fact that this Festival 
 grows richer every year, with fresh harvestings to the 
 garner of GOD. Thousands swell the Song of Victory 
 this year, who last year were groaning with us under the 
 burden and heat of the day. Soon our time must come. 
 Oh, in that hour of death, and in the day of Judgment, 
 by Thy Cross and Passion, good Lord, deliver us ! 
 Amen. 
 
 What more beautiful setting forth of the teaching of 
 this day than that which the I76th Hymn affords : 
 
 1 For all the saints, who from their labors rest, 
 Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, 
 Thy Name, O Jesu, be forever blest. 
 
 Alleluia. 
 
 2 Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might; 
 Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight ; 
 Thou, in the darkness drear, the one true Light. 
 
 Alleluia. 
 
 3 Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold, 
 Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old, 
 And win, with them, the victor's crown of gold. 
 
 Alleluia. 
 
 4 O blest communion, fellowship divine ! 
 We feebly struggle, they in glory shine ! 
 Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. 
 
 Alleluia. 
 3"
 
 Thanksgiving Day 
 
 5 And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long, 
 Steals on the ear the distant triumph-song, 
 
 And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. 
 
 Alleluia. 
 
 6 The golden evening brightens in the west ; 
 Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest ; 
 Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest. 
 
 Alleluia. 
 
 7 But lo ! there breaks a yet more glorious day ; 
 The saints triumphant rise in bright array ; 
 The King of glory passes on His way. 
 
 Alleluia. 
 
 8 From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, 
 Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, 
 Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 
 
 Alleluia. 
 
 See also Appendix, note D. 
 
 Dap 
 
 * 
 
 DAYS of thanksgiving, specially appointed for signal 
 deliverances, were common in England during the reigns 
 of Elizabeth and James the First ; but the origin of a 
 Thanksgiving Day, of annual appointment, to praise GOD 
 for the fruits of the earth, is attributed to the early 
 colonists of New England. They deserve all praise for it ; 
 although we need not question that the idea was borrowed 
 from the Thanksgiving Days or Harvest Homes to which 
 they had been accustomed in the bosom of their Mother 
 Church ; for even their leader was willing to testify 
 " that he had one and the same faith, hope, spirit, and 
 
 * Prayer-Book, pp. 319-322. 
 3 I2
 
 Thanksgiving Day 
 
 baptism which he had in the Church of England, and 
 none other. ' ' 
 
 What was a partial and local thing, however, our 
 Church, finding it in keeping with her own system, and a 
 sort of complement to the Rogation Fasts, did not hesi- 
 tate to take up and make national, appointing the First 
 Thursday in November as the day of annual rejoicing 
 before the Lord for the ingatherings of harvest, and 
 "for all the other blessings of His merciful providence." 
 The day is made mutable, however, in deference to the 
 Civil Authority, in case any other day is appointed ; and 
 custom has made it the last Thursday in the month, 
 rather than the first. 
 
 The sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving which has 
 been appointed for this Festival is worthy of its purpose. 
 It is a giving of thanks, from first to last ; and if it could 
 but be universally adopted and used by the Christians of 
 America on a set day every year, it would make the 
 Feast one of the noblest National observances that can 
 be imagined. For the lack of such a sen-ice, the day 
 has degenerated among its hereditary friends, in many 
 parts of the country, and is often kept as a day of politi- 
 cal harangues, of races and games, with betting, gluttony, 
 and excess. 
 
 The Sentences which precede the ordinary ones at 
 Morning Prayer are very striking, particularly the open- 
 ing Sentence, " Honor the Lord with thy substance, and 
 with the first-fruits of all thine increase," etc. The In- 
 vitafoiy, which takes the place of the Venite, is also 
 well selected ; and, on a bright autumnal morning, sung 
 with spirit in the great congregation, it is very inspiring, 
 especially in its close : " He maketh peace in thy bor- 
 ders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat." It 
 is a Song of Harvest-Home.
 
 Thanksgiving Day 
 
 The Twentieth Selection ordinarily is then said, or sung, 
 the isoth Psalm, with which it concludes, being sung 
 with fine effect as a Doxology, with the Gloria. But the 
 minister is at liberty to make his own selection of Psalms, 
 and often does it with good effect, to celebrate particular 
 or local blessings. The loyth Psalm is always appro- 
 priate ; and the Non Nobis Domine has been appointed 
 for such occasions from very ancient times, as the great 
 poet records of the days of Henry V., into whose mouth 
 he puts the language, 
 
 " Do we all holy rites ; 
 Let there be sung Non Nobis and Te Deum." 
 
 The First Lesson is very applicable to us, as the de- 
 scendants of a modern colony, in many temporal re- 
 spects like that of Israel in Canaan. The Second Les- 
 son is chosen chiefly for the words, " in everything give 
 thanks. ' ' The Special Thanksgiving is chaste in language 
 and simple in construction, and so is the beautiful Col- 
 lect for the day. The Epistle and Gospel are admirably 
 selected, with reference, evidently, to the inculcating of 
 works of mercy as the kind of thanksgiving which GOD 
 prefers to mere words of praise. In the former, note 
 that the early Christians are called " a kind of first-fruits," 
 which is language that looks to a great harvest of faith- 
 ful men at the last. In the Gospel, how sublime is the 
 epitome of GOD'S bounties to us, given in the words of 
 Christ, " He maketh the sun to rise on the evil and on 
 the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the un- 
 just." 
 
 So many, even of our own people, seem to be at a loss 
 where to find the Service for this day, that it would be 
 well for the minister to give the page at the beginning of 
 the Service and again at the Epistle ; else much of the 
 value of the Service is lost for the bewildered worshipper. 
 3'4
 
 The Communion Service 
 
 And all should remember that there can be no true 
 thanksgiving without beneficence, others must share 
 our blessings that their true blessedness may be ours. 
 Money and gifts must flow forth to the poor and needy, 
 according to the exhortation of old : "Go your ways, 
 eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions unto 
 them for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is 
 holy unto our GOD. For the joy of the Lord is your 
 strength." 
 
 TTbe Communion Service 
 
 THAT our use of the Services may be intelligent in- 
 deed, we should give heed to the arrangement and signifi- 
 cance of the various Offices, some of them occasional, 
 which occupy the space in the Prayer-Book between the 
 Gospels and the Psalter. 
 
 The least "occasional" is the Service for the Holy 
 Communion, for that is the central point of all our wor- 
 ship. Indeed, the Eucharist is the highest act of wor- 
 ship ; the celebration of the Holy Mysteries is the only 
 public service which is in so many words commanded by 
 our Lord. Hence, the Holy Communion is technically 
 and especially "Divine Service," and "The Liturgy" 
 means the Sen-ice of the Altar. 
 
 The Daily Morning and Evening Prayer all through 
 the week are linked with the Sunday Eucharist by means 
 of the Collect from the Communion Sen-ice, which must 
 be used daily. In a very real and truly Evangelical 
 sense, "the altar sanctifieth the gift." Here in the 
 Memorial of Christ's death we perform in act what at 
 the end of every prayer we acknowledge in word. All 
 is for Christ's sake, and on account of His meritorious 
 3'5
 
 The Communion Service 
 
 Cross and Sacrifice: "THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR 
 LORD." 
 
 Hence the absolute centre of the Prayer-Book, in point 
 of preeminent honor, are the words of Consecration 
 and Invocation in the Communion Service. Up to that 
 point all is preparatory, after that point all is subsidiary. 
 
 First the Priest says the Lord's Prayer as a prepara- 
 tion for himself. Then come the Collect for Purity, the 
 Decalogue, and the Collect which follows, all of the 
 nature of a self-examination and preparation of mind 
 and heart on the part of all the worshippers. The Col- 
 lect for the Day and the Epistle and Gospel are a vari- 
 able part of the Service, adapting it to the changing 
 seasons of the Christian Year. 
 
 Then, as faith cometh by hearing, after the Gospel is 
 read, all unite in the Confession of the Apostolic and 
 Primitive Creed. Here is the place for the Sermon (if 
 there be one), that the people may be built up and es- 
 tablished in the Faith. Then the Offerings of the people 
 are collected and presented to the Lord ; for no one 
 should come to Holy Communion without making an 
 offering, however small. (Ex. xxv. 2 ; Deut. xvi. 16, 
 17.) We come to consecrate to our Master all we have 
 as well as all we are and all we do* 
 
 The "Oblations" of bread and wine are then offered, 
 and the Prayer of Intercession recited. The worship- 
 pers thus fulfil their office as priests unto GOD, interced- 
 ing for all men who are of "Christ's Church Militant," 
 and commemorating also the faithful departed. Now, 
 
 * At early communions and on week-days when the attendance is 
 small, the alms-plate is, in some Churches, placed on the centre of 
 the altar rail, or at the top of the chancel steps, and the offerings 
 made when the communicants come forward. In others there is an 
 alms-box at the door. 
 
 316
 
 The Communion Service 
 
 all this is preparatory, and is called as far as to the Ob- 
 lation, the "Pro-anaphora," or, incorrectly, the "Ante- 
 Communion." 
 
 With the Exhortation "Ye who do truly," the Com- 
 munion Sen-ice Proper may be said to begin, although 
 the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, and the Oblations are 
 liturgically essential parts of it. But no worshipper 
 coming into the Church later than this point in the Ser- 
 vice should receive the Communion at that time, because 
 he will not have joined in the Confession to be "made 
 by all those who are minded to receive," and will not 
 have heard the Absolution which follows it, and bids him 
 welcome. 
 
 The " Comfortable Words" are indeed full of divine 
 reassurance, enabling the humble listener to respond 
 most gratefully to the sublime Sursum Corda, " Lift up 
 your hearts." And then after the Preface, (and the 
 Proper Preface if it be one of the Great Feasts or within 
 the octave of the first four of them,) the magnificent 
 Tersanctus or Trisagion unites us with "Angels and 
 Archangels and all the company of Heaven" in adoring 
 the Triune GOD. 
 
 In strong contrast with this rapturous burst of praise, 
 we join with prostrate hearts in the tender Prayer of 
 Humble Access ; and then the Priest, standing as the 
 representative of all the Priestly company, begins the 
 Canon, the Prayer of Consecration, whereby the Bread 
 'and Wine are blessed and offered as the " Perpetual 
 Memorial of the Saviour's precious Death and Sacrifice." 
 He consecrates and then makes The Oblation, invokes 
 the presence and sanctifying power of the Word and 
 Holy Spirit, and proceeds to pray that the Father will 
 "accept this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving" in be- 
 half of " all the whole Church." And the marvellously 
 3'7
 
 The Communion Service 
 
 beautiful and urgent Prayer closes with the offering and 
 presentation of ourselves as "a reasonable, holy, and 
 living sacrifice," acceptable to GOD through the merits 
 of Him whose One Sacrifice for sins is thus pleaded 
 once again, JESUS CHRIST our Lord. 
 
 After the Communion Hymn, the Sacrament is ad- 
 ministered and the Sen-ice closes with the Thanksgiving 
 for so great a mercy. The Gloria in Excelsis is sung 
 and the people are bidden to depart with the blessing 
 of GOD'S peace. 
 
 Why should any one turn away from such a privilege ? 
 Why should any disciple of our Lord at this point of 
 obedience ' ' turn back and walk no more with H im' ' ? 
 
 Why should any communicant, for any reason what- 
 ever, having received, hurry out of church, a discourteous 
 guest, not waiting for the Master's final blessing? 
 Surely a dinner or a social engagement may wait, rather 
 than so great and awful a Host be treated with irrev- 
 erence. 
 
 It is a profitable custom in the pauses of the Service to 
 read over the exhortations which are to be found on 
 pages 240 to 243, supplemented by psalms, and collects, or 
 hymns from the Hymnal. Nor should any communicant 
 fail on returning home, to seek the retirement of his room 
 to fall upon his knees and render again his devout thanks- 
 giving for the inestimable blessing vouchsafed in the 
 Holy Communion.
 
 The Soul-Dirge 
 
 TIbe 
 
 THE organ played sweet music 
 
 While as, on Easter-day, 
 All heartless from the altar, 
 
 The heedless went away ; 
 And down the broad aisle crowding, 
 
 They seemed a funeral train, 
 That were burying their spirits 
 
 To the music of that strain. 
 
 As I listened to the organ 
 
 And saw them crowd along, 
 I thought I heard two voices, 
 
 Speaking strangely, but not strong. 
 And one, it whispered sadly, 
 
 Will ye also go away ? 
 But the other spoke exulting, 
 
 Ha, the soul-dirge hear it play. 
 
 Hear the soul-dirge ; hear the soul-dirge ; 
 
 And see the feast divine. 
 Ha, the jewels of salvation, 
 
 And the trampling feet of swine. 
 Hear the soul-dirge ; hear the soul-dirge ; 
 
 Little think they as they go, 
 What priceless pearls they tread on, 
 
 Who spurn their Saviour so. 
 
 Hear the soul-dirge ; hear the soul-dirge ; 
 
 It was dread to hear it play, 
 While the famishing went crowding, 
 
 From the Bread of Life away.
 
 The Soul-Dirge 
 
 They were bidden, they were bidden 
 To their Father's festal board : 
 
 But they all, with gleeful faces, 
 Turn their back upon the Lord. 
 
 You had thought the Church a prison, 
 
 Had you seen how they did pour, 
 With giddy, laughing faces 
 
 From the consecrated door. 
 There was angels' food already, 
 
 But the bidden, whe-re were they? 
 O'er the highways and the hedges, 
 
 Ere the soul-dirge cease to play. 
 
 Oh, the soul-dirge, how it echoed 
 
 The emptied aisle along, 
 As the open street grew crowded 
 
 With the full outpouring throng. 
 And then again the voices ; 
 
 Ha ! the soul-dirge, hear it play. 
 And the pensive, pensive whisper, 
 
 Will ye also go away ? 
 
 Few, few were they that lingered 
 
 To sup with JESUS there : 
 And yet, for all that spurned Him, 
 
 There was plenty, and to spare. 
 And now, the food of angels 
 
 Uncovered to my sight, 
 All-glorious was the altar, 
 
 And the chalice glittered bright. 
 
 Then came the hymn Trisagion, 
 
 And rapt me up on high, 
 With angels and archangels 
 
 To laud and magnify. 
 320
 
 The Baptismal Service 
 
 I seemed to feast in Heaven ; 
 
 And downward wafted then, 
 With angels chanting round me, 
 
 Good-will and peace to men. 
 
 I may not tell the rapture 
 
 Of a banquet so divine ; 
 Ho ! every one that thirsteth, 
 
 Let him taste the bread and wine. 
 Hear the Bride and Spirit, saying, 
 
 Will ye also go away? 
 Or, go, poor soul, forever. 
 
 Oh, the soul-dirge, hear it play ! 
 
 A. C. C. 
 
 Ube Baptismal Service 
 
 BY our natural birth we are born, although uncon- 
 scious of it, into the family of Adam. By our new birth 
 we are born, it may be also unconsciously, into the family 
 of the Second Adam, the Household of God. This 
 second birth "by nature we cannot have." This is the 
 meaning of Baptism for every person who approaches the 
 Font, or is brought by loving hands, as the palsied man 
 was borne by his friends, or as children were carried by 
 their mothers, to Christ " that He might touch them." 
 
 Baptism is not something that we do, but something 
 that GOD, who is the author of life, does for us. Much 
 misunderstanding and even heresy would be avoided 
 were these simple truths remembered. " By one Spirit 
 are we all baptized into one body." The Minister who 
 pours the water is but the visible hand of the Ever-Present 
 and Divine Administrant. If we join in the Baptismal 
 
 21 3 21
 
 The Baptismal Service 
 
 Sendee with this thought in mind we shall easily under- 
 stand why the Church makes the administration of Bap- 
 tism so impressive, and uses language so strong in all 
 her assertions concerning it. The rubrics should be 
 carefully studied, as well as the various exhortations and 
 prayers ; and the meaning of the service will then abun- 
 dantly appear. Sponsors have their reason in Jewish 
 and undoubtedly early Christian tradition, in many legal 
 transactions where minors are brought into important 
 relations with others, and in accordance with various 
 passages of Scripture, two of which have already been 
 referred to. 
 
 The manner of Baptism may be by immersion or by 
 pouring. The Church does not permit what is called 
 " sprinkling," but prescribes the use of at least a sufficient 
 quantity of water to symbolize a "washing" or purify- 
 ing. The great occasions of Baptism have ever been 
 on Easter-Even in remembrance of Christ's Death and 
 Resurrection, of which Baptism is a figure, (Rom. vi. 4,) 
 and at Whitsuntide, in remembrance of the three thou- 
 sand souls, baptized by the Apostles at that time (Acts 
 ii. 41) ; also because "by one Spirit we are baptized." 
 But Baptism may be administered on any day, preferably, 
 however, as the rubric enjoins, on Sundays and Holy 
 Days, and always after the Second Lesson, and not care- 
 lessly at some other time, when only a few are present. 
 For there should always be a congregation to "testify 
 the receiving of them that be newly baptized into the 
 number of Christ's Church," and that every one present 
 "may be put in remembrance of his own profession 
 made to GOD in his Baptism." For these reasons when 
 a child is baptized privately because of sickness, he must 
 be brought afterwards to the Church, that his public and 
 solemn reception may be made. 
 322
 
 The Catechism 
 
 The question, " Hath this child been already baptized 
 or no?" has its reason in the fact that Baptism is never 
 to be repeated. So that even heretical or lay baptism, if 
 it be rightly done with water in the name of the Blessed 
 Trinity, is accounted valid. 
 
 The beautiful service is concluded by two exhortations 
 which, if all present would but ponder and heed, they 
 would be the better Christians themselves, and perceive 
 how the Church at every Baptism faithfully preaches the 
 Gospel, and urges all to remember and make real to 
 themselves the Christian covenant into which by GOD'S 
 great mercy they have been admitted. 
 
 Moreover, all parents and sponsors would at every 
 such occasion be stirred to greater diligence in fulfilling 
 their duties of prayer and guidance and religious ex- 
 ample in behalf of those whom they have in holy Bap- 
 tism "brought to JESUS that He should bless them." 
 
 TTbe Gatecbism 
 
 \ 
 
 MANY are puzzled by the first question in the Catechism, 
 "What is thy name?" not understanding its deep sig- 
 nificance. [A 7 , in the answer stands for Name, and M. is 
 supposed to represent NN. or Names. The child should 
 always reply by giving his Christian name, not by saying 
 " A^or M" as some ignorant or careless instructors per- 
 mit the child to do.] 
 
 For what is the one unchangeable thing about us ? Is 
 it not the name which was given us when we were christ- 
 ened or made Christ's own children? The name is that 
 whereby we are to be known all through life and in the 
 world to come as well. Does it not stand for that identity 
 323
 
 The Catechism 
 
 of personality which, whatever changes and chances of 
 time may bring, never alters ; so that the sage of ninety 
 years is the same person who was brought in infancy to 
 the Font? Taking hold of us, as it were, by that un- 
 changeable personality, the Church reminds us solemnly 
 of our accountability, and proceeds to teach us our 
 relationship to GOD and our duty to Him and to our 
 neighbor. 
 
 Wheatley says most helpfully : "As to the contents of 
 our Catechism, it is not a large system or body of di- 
 vinity, to puzzle the heads of young beginners, but only 
 a short and a full explication of the Baptismal Vow. The 
 primitive catechisms, indeed, consisted of no more than 
 the Renunciation, or the repetition of the Baptismal 
 Vow, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer: and these, 
 together with the Ten Commandments, at the Reforma- 
 tion, were the whole of ours. But it being afterwards 
 thought defective as to the doctrine of the Sacraments, 
 King James I. appointed the Bishops to add a short and 
 plain explanation of them, which was done accordingly 
 in that excellent form we see ; being penned by Bishop 
 Overal, then Dean of St. Paul's, and allowed by the 
 Bishops. So that now ( in the opinion of the best judges) 
 it excels all other catechisms that ever were in the world ; 
 being so short that the youngest children may learn it by 
 heart ; and yet so full that it contains all things necessary 
 to be known in order to salvation. 
 
 "In this also its excellency is very discernible, viz.: 
 that as all persons are baptized not into any particular 
 Church, but into the Catholic Church of Christ, so here 
 they are not taught the opinion of this or any other 
 particular Church or people, but what the whole body 
 of Christians all the world over agree in. 
 
 "If it may anywhere seem to be otherwise, it is the 
 324
 
 The Confirmation Service 
 
 doctrine of the sacraments ; but even this is here so 
 worded with so much caution and temper as not to con- 
 tradict any other particular Church, but so as that all 
 sorts of Christians, when they have duly considered it. 
 may subscribe to everything which is here taught or 
 delivered." 
 
 The Catechizing of the children by the Minister is 
 enjoined not only by the rubrics which follow the Cate- 
 chism, but by the canons of the Church as well, and 
 there is no more beautiful sight than the clustering of 
 the lambs about the shepherd that he may feed them. 
 Nor is there a more important or profitable duty for the 
 shepherd to fulfil. 
 
 All parents and sponsors should see to it that the 
 children learn the Catechism. It is invaluable as a con- 
 cise statement of doctrine and duty. The two answers, 
 duty to GOD and duty to one's neighbor, form a track 
 on which every life may safely run and reach the best and 
 truest and happiest end. 
 
 TTbe Confirmation Service 
 
 THE Laying on of Hands, as the outward symbol of the 
 conveyance of spiritual blessing, is a custom venerable 
 with age. By it, in patriarchal times, was conveyed to 
 the first-born son, as by a document signed and sealed, 
 the heritage or " Birthright " of Covenant blessing in the 
 line of GOD'S Election. (See Genesis xlviii. 9-21.) By 
 it Moses conveyed some of his honor to Joshua, and 
 "gave him a charge." (See Num. xxvii. 18-23.) Our 
 Lord laid His hands upon the children that were brought 
 to Him. It has ever been accounted an act paternal, 
 tender, full of benediction. So in Confirmation the Lay- 
 325
 
 The Confirmation Service 
 
 ing on of Hands is administered by the Bishop as the 
 Ecclesiastical Father of the Diocese, representing the 
 Great Bishop and Shepherd of Souls, and he imparts 
 a blessing as from the holy place on high, admitting the 
 children of GOD, who are the "First-born"* because 
 "in Christ," to their Birthright, "the earnest of their 
 inheritance"; conveying to them, (as did the patriarchs 
 to their children,) the assurance of Covenant Election 
 and Grace, "accepted in the Beloved." (Eph. i. 3-14.) 
 
 Hence, the ancient Church frequently called Confirma- 
 tion "The Seal," because the impress of the Bishop's 
 hand sealed to the recipient so great a privilege. It was 
 also frequently called "The Unction," because from an 
 early date the candidates were anointed in token of the 
 gifts of the Holy Spirit vouchsafed in Confirmation. To 
 this custom it is thought reference is made in II. Cor. i. 21, 
 22 (where the anointing, and the sealing, and the ad- 
 mitting to the Birthright are mentioned together) and 
 I. John ii. 20, 27. In later times each candidate was also 
 signed with the Cross. 
 
 But in our Confirmation Sen-ice all rites and cere- 
 monies are omitted save that which the Apostles them- 
 selves without doubt practised, the solemn imposition of 
 hands with prayer. First, by way of preparation, there is 
 a statement of the meaning and purpose of Confirma- 
 tion. This was formerly a rubric, but is now called the 
 Preface. 
 
 Then those who are to be confirmed are presented to 
 the Bishop and the record of the first Confirmation is 
 read. 
 
 Then is propounded the solemn question, the answer 
 to which reaffirms and renews the vows of Baptism ; and 
 
 * Heb. xti. 23. Gal. iii. 27 ; iv. 6, 7. Eph. i. 13, 14 ; iv. 30.
 
 The Confirmation Service 
 
 then, the Bishop rising from his seat, begins what is the 
 Confirmation Service proper. 
 
 It cannot be too often emphasized that the Church be- 
 lieves and teaches that the Divine Head of the Church 
 and not the human minister is the administrant and cele- 
 brant in every holy function ; that He baptizes and con- 
 firms and offers the Eucharist. The human officiant is 
 just exactly and only what his title implies, a minister. 
 Hence, these outward ceremonies are not empty forms, 
 because the Lord is present in them to bestow a bless- 
 ing which is real and not illusory ; all the more real be- 
 cause spiritual and not corporeal. Therefore, inasmuch 
 as "we put not our trust in anything that we do" come 
 the Versicles, "Our help is in the name of the Lord," 
 "Lord, hear our prayer," and the beautiful prayers 
 which precede and follow the act of Confirmation. The 
 Office fitly closes with a blessing, and usually the Bishop 
 addresses those who have been confirmed, giving them 
 affectionate and fatherly counsel. 
 
 The canons require the Bishops to visit the Churches 
 for Confirmation "at least once in three years," but it is 
 customary for the Bishops to make their visitations 
 throughout their Dioceses annually. It is the duty of 
 the Clergyman, faithfully and diligently, to prepare and 
 instruct his Candidates, and to present all whom he 
 shall consider properly qualified. 
 
 All unusual personal adornment of Candidates for 
 Confirmation should be discountenanced. In the case 
 of women and girls, a modest veil or cap is sometimes 
 worn. This among some of our English people is an 
 attire to which on Confirmation occasions they are ac- 
 customed. 
 
 The Candidates should bring their Prayer-Books with 
 them, to answer with full voice the question addressed 
 327
 
 The Confirmation Service 
 
 to them by the Bishop, and to respond audibly through- 
 out the Confirmation Office ; also, to kneel after the first 
 prayer, with head erect, and to remain kneeling until 
 after the Blessing. 
 
 The congregation should be instructed to stand until 
 the Lord's Prayer, as witnesses, and participants in the 
 Bishop's act. 
 
 No one should come to Confirmation who does not 
 fully intend to approach forthwith the Holy Communion. 
 To receive Confirmation without purpose of regular 
 Communion afterwards, is to invite spiritual injury and 
 not a blessing. 
 
 Every Candidate should seek from his pastor plain, 
 practical, spiritual instruction as to the conduct of life, 
 in private devotion, public worship, church work, giving 
 for the support of the Church, and personal example. 
 Sermons will not adequately do this. There is no better 
 time than in the preparation for the Bishop's coming. 
 The Parish Priest should deal earnestly and prayerfully 
 with the individual soul. (Ezek. iii. 17-20 ; Heb. xiii. 17.) 
 
 This is an opportune time also to ask for and to re- 
 ceive earnest instruction how to pray, and what to pray 
 for, both in private and at Holy Communion. It is sad, 
 indeed, to see the new communicants look aimlessly 
 about, even when at the communion rail, and in their 
 pews before and after receiving Holy Communion, with 
 no idea how to employ themselves profitably. " They 
 should be provided with Manuals of Devotion, or at 
 least learn the devotional use of f heir Bibles and Prayer- 
 Books. Some of the Clergy are verily guilty concerning 
 this matter. 
 
 The Candidates should always be instructed to come 
 to the Holy Communion with ungloved hands, to receive 
 the Consecrated Bread in the open palm, and to be most 
 328
 
 The Marriage Service 
 
 careful not to drop crumbs and portions, but to consume 
 //that is delivered to them. Likewise, there should be 
 instructions as to the reverent and seemly guiding and re- 
 ception of the Chalice. It is not to be assumed that chil- 
 dren and youth, or others, uninstructed, know how, best, 
 with due regard to the Priest, their neighbors and them- 
 selves, to engage in this most holy Service. They should 
 be helped in every way to come without distraction. 
 There is no virtue in carelessness, but always a loss by 
 irreverence and thoughtlessness. Table manners are 
 not to be ignored because it is the Lord's Table. Holy 
 Scripture in many places bids us to be careful even of 
 little things, and the Apostle enjoins, " Let all things be 
 done unto edifying," " decently and in order." 
 
 Ube fiflairiaoe Service 
 
 THIS beautiful Sen-ice is entitled " The Solemnization 
 of Matrimony." It is intended to solemnize both the 
 participants and the witnesses; to make "holy" that 
 which many enter into unadvisedly and lightly. Mar- 
 riage is sacramental in its character, because it signifies 
 "the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and His 
 Church," (Eph. v. 32,) and the Service in ever)' word 
 teaches most solemnly that true marriage is the union of 
 one man and one woman, a union which nothing but 
 death can sever. 
 
 The Service, therefore, does not recognize Divorce for 
 any cause whatever, although the Church's legislation 
 has ("because of the hardness of men's hearts") per- 
 mitted a dissolution of the Marriage tie for one cause 
 which our Lord has apparently allowed, as recorded in 
 St. Matt. xix. 9. But there is much difference of opinion 
 329
 
 The Marriage Service 
 
 as to the exact meaning of that passage. Certain it is 
 that any persons married "reverently, discreetly, ad- 
 visedly, soberly, and in the fear of GOD," will indeed 
 find matrimony "a holy estate," and, living faithfully to- 
 gether, surely performing the vow and covenant betwixt 
 them made, will ever remain in perfect love and peace 
 together, and live according to GOD'S laws. 
 
 The former half of the Office is called the Betrothal 
 or Espousal* which is, indeed, a valid, legal marriage ; 
 but the Church looks upon this as only preparatory to 
 that which She has to give, and asks "Who giveth this 
 woman to be married to this man?" 
 
 Up to this point the persons to be married properly 
 stand "in the body of the Church," at the foot of the 
 chancel steps. Now, all advancing to the altar rail, the 
 Church by her Minister gives the bride (as at the first 
 GOD gave a wife to Adam), to be taken by the hand of 
 the bridegroom as for a covenant, and each promises 
 "troth" or fidelity to the other. Nor is the word 
 "obey" omitted, because there is no humiliation in the 
 due and scriptural subordination of the wife to him who, 
 by divine appointment, is the official head of the house- 
 hold, whether he be personally worthy of it or not. 
 When man and wife truly love one another there can 
 never be trouble on that score. (Eph. v. 22-24.) And 
 there is a corresponding duty and high privilege for the 
 husband ; (Eph. v. 25-33 ; I. Pet. iii. 7.) 
 
 There are many most interesting inquiries connected 
 with the Ring in marriage. But these are not within the 
 scope of this manual. Suffice it to say that the giving 
 of jewels at betrothal and marriage dates from the 
 
 * There has always been historically a difference between Es- 
 pousals and Nuptials or Marriage. (St. Luke i. 27 ; St. Matt. i. 18.) The 
 former was performed sometimes weeks or months before the latter. 
 
 330
 
 The Marriage Service 
 
 earliest times. (See Gen. xxiv. 51-54 ; Ezek. xvi. n, 
 12.) And the Ring is the representative of the dowry 
 anciently bestowed, of precious metal, intimating "the 
 generous, sincere, and durable affection which ought to 
 be between the married parties," and round, to imply 
 that "the conjugal love should never have an end." 
 
 The fourth finger of the left hand was chosen (so said 
 the Salisbury Manual) because thence a particular vein 
 proceeds directly to the heart ! Others explain it that 
 touching the thumb at the name of the Father, and the 
 next finger at the name of the Son, the next at the 
 name of the Holy Ghost, the ring would rest on the 
 fourth finger at Amen ! 
 
 The reference to Isaac and Rebecca in the nuptial 
 prayer is a very significant one, not understood by many. 
 In a time when plural marriages were prevalent, and 
 when even Abraham took Hagar for his concubine, 
 "Isaac and Rebecca lived faithfully together," Isaac 
 sought no other connection. It is recorded in Gen. xxiv. 
 67 : " Isaac took Rebekah, and she became his wife ; and 
 he loved her." 
 
 So may it be with all who are married with the 
 Church's blessing. May they "so live together in this 
 world , that in the world to come they may have life ever- 
 lasting." 
 
 "Those whom GOD hath joined together let no man 
 put asunder." 
 
 These are the words of the Master Himself. 
 
 331
 
 The Visitation of the Sick 
 
 Ube Visitation ot tbe Sicft 
 
 IT would be profitable if persons when in health, 
 (perhaps during the pauses which occur sometimes at 
 Holy Communion) would make themselves familiar with 
 the beauties of this much neglected portion of the Prayer- 
 Book. 
 
 Doubtless more of our people would seek its use in 
 times of sickness. At any rate, when ill they would 
 know where to turn for subjects of thought and guidance 
 in prayer, and words of comfort on their sick-beds. 
 
 First comes the apostolic salutation, " peace be to this 
 house," and, " if the son of peace be there, GOD'S peace 
 shall rest upon it." The Lord's Prayer and Versicles 
 and Prayers for the sick person are followed by a beauti- 
 fully tender exhortation, ' declaring the meaning of all 
 such providential dealings, as sickness, and affliction ; 
 reminding him who is suffering under GOD'S hand that 
 there is always to be expected a spiritual blessing. 
 
 " Know you certainly, that if you truly repent you of your sins, 
 and bear your sickness patiently, trusting in God's mercy for His 
 dear Son JESUS CHRIST'S sake, and render unto Him humble thanks 
 for His fatherly visitation, submitting yourself wholly unto His will, 
 it shall turn to your profit, and help you forward in the right way 
 that leadeth unto everlasting life." 
 
 Much instruction is given in the rubrics which follow 
 this exhortation. And, were this instruction heeded, it 
 could not be that so many Christian people would die 
 intestate, or without some provision in their wills for 
 the furtherance of Christ's gospel, for the support of His 
 Church, and for the relief of the poor. "We brought 
 nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry 
 nothing out." How sad is it that multitudes leave no 
 bequests behind them wherewith to make their memory 
 332
 
 The Communion of the Sick 
 
 blessed by carrying on the work for GOD and man which 
 they themselves can no longer perform ! A selfish death 
 is as sad as a selfish life. The prayers which follow may 
 be made use of by the sick person for himself at any 
 time, and be found most comforting ; and the additional 
 prayers are frequently read by the Minister or loving 
 friends, as need may require. Especially should it be 
 noted that, whether a Clergyman be present or not, no 
 Christian should be willing to die, or be permitted to die, 
 without the Commendatory Prayer said by some one 
 present at or near the moment of departure. Church 
 people are not heathen, that they should neglect this 
 bounden duty to one who is passing away from earth. 
 " Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit," said 
 the Saviour with His dying breath. So should the sick 
 person in his own behalf ; or those who love him in his 
 behalf, if because of the pain or unconsciousness of 
 death, he cannot frame the petition for himself. 
 
 Nor should the Thanksgiving for the Beginning of a 
 Recovery be forgotten, or the public thanksgiving in 
 Church, by one for whom the prayers of the Church have 
 been besought in time of anxiety. The Prayer, " O GOD 
 whose days are without end," is not only appropriate in 
 behalf of those who are "present at the Visitation"; 
 but also for those who are afflicted with long illness, and 
 for the aged ; and it is frequently made use of on funeral 
 occasions. 
 
 Communion of tbe Sicfc 
 
 THIS scarcely needs a separate chapter, because the 
 rubrics, if carefully studied, will surely teach the student 
 all that is necessary in order to engage intelligently in it. 
 333
 
 The Burial Service 
 
 It may be well to note that our American Church, at the 
 last revision of the Prayer-Book, wisely added the third 
 and last rubrics on page 293. This was done, of course, 
 in the interest of adaptation to modern requirements. 
 
 OTe Burial Service 
 
 THIS service is, alas ! sadly familiar to us all, and its 
 prevailing note of sober and hopeful Christian assurance 
 has oftentimes brought comfort, or at least some measure 
 of strength, to our hearts. From first to last it proclaims 
 with no bated breath the power of the Risen Christ over 
 the darkness, the sadness, the bitterness, the thraldom 
 of death. Happy he who can accept this message. To 
 him in dire affliction and in spite of tears and heartache, 
 peace shall flow as a river. At the outset the mourner 
 is bidden to look away from selfish sorrow to Him who 
 alone and surely promises conquest over the last of foes. 
 Then the Burial Anthem, while it recounts man's frailty 
 and mortality, and pleads for mercy and help, points on 
 again to Him who is our Refuge in the cloudy and dark 
 day. 
 
 Then follows that triumphant oration of St. Paul, bet- 
 ter than any funeral sermon can possibly be, which de- 
 clares even amidst the countless graves of earth that 
 " Death is swallowed up in Victory."* A hymn follows, 
 and the Creed, wherein we confess our undying faith in 
 the Communion of Saints, the Resurrection of the body, 
 and the Life Everlasting ; and then the Service is enriched 
 in our American Book (as it was not until the last re- 
 
 * For some remarks upon this chapter see the First Sunday after 
 Easter, p. 164. 
 
 334
 
 The Burial Service 
 
 vision) by "such fitting prayers as are elsewhere pro- 
 vided" in the Book. 
 
 At the Grave an ancient Anthem is recited as the body 
 is lowered into the ground, and then the solemn com- 
 mittal follows in hope of a joyful resurrection " when the 
 earth and the sea shall give up their dead." 
 
 It has from of old been the Christian custom to bury 
 the dead with the feet eastward and the face upward, 
 so that at the Resurrection " they may be ready to meet 
 Christ, who is expected from the East, and that they be 
 in a posture of prayer as soon as they are raised. ' ' Any 
 old Church graveyard will bear witness to the mainte- 
 nance of this custom which our modern cemeteries have 
 ruthlessly forsaken. 
 
 " For a space the tired body 
 
 Lies with feet toward the dawn, 
 Till there breaks the last and brightest 
 Easter Morn." 
 
 "The casting earth upon the body was esteemed an 
 act of piety by the very heathens ; insomuch that to find 
 a body unburied, and to leave it uncovered was judged 
 amongst them a great crime." With us, some one stand- 
 ing by, sometimes the Minister himself (according to 
 Horace's description in his 28th Ode), "gives three casts 
 of earth upon the body or coffin while the Priest pro- 
 nounces the solemn form which explains the ceremony ; 
 viz. , " Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust."* 
 As by a trine Baptism of water we are committed to 
 the care of Mother Church, so by a trine baptism of 
 dust is our mortal part consigned to the keeping of 
 Mother Earth, both "looking for the General Resur- 
 
 * " Quamquam festinas non est mora longa ; licebit 
 Injecto ter pulvere curras." 
 
 Horace, I, Ode 28, v. 35. 
 
 335
 
 The Burial Service 
 
 rection and the Life of the world to come, through our 
 LORD JESUS CHRIST." (Rom. vi. 5 ; Phil. iii. 21.) Then 
 follows the glorious promise made concerning them that 
 die in the Lord, and the assurance of their blessedness. 
 The prayers which are appended sustain the Christian 
 hope which has characterized the service all through, and 
 the mourning heart is comforted by words of sure confi- 
 dence in Christ, and supplications that we may hear that 
 His most joyful voice of welcome at the last great day. 
 
 In two of these prayers and in the frequent petition, 
 "Thy Kingdom come," we have the nearest approach 
 to Prayers for the Departed which this Church has seen 
 fit to permit in her public services. Similar guarded 
 petitions are also to be found in the Prayer for Christ's 
 Church Militant and in the Consecration Prayer in the 
 Communion Service. 
 
 Concerning Prayers for the Departed, then, this Church 
 has made no pronouncement, yet has she nowhere con- 
 demned them. It will suffice to give the comments* of 
 Bishop Cosin and Bishop Overal upon the very careful 
 words of these prayers of the Burial Service. 
 
 "Though the souls of the faithful be in joy and 
 felicity ; yet because they are not in such a degree of 
 joy and felicity as that they can never receive more than 
 they have already ; therefore, in the latter part here of 
 this our prayer, we beseech GOD to give them a full con- 
 summation of bliss both in body and soul in His eternal 
 kingdom of glory which is yet to come. And whatso- 
 ever the effect and fruit of this prayer will be, though it 
 be uncertain ; yet hereby we show that charity which we 
 owe to all those that are fellow-servants with us to Christ : 
 and in this regard our prayers cannot be condemned, 
 
 * Cited by VVheatley in loco. 
 336
 
 The Burial Service 
 
 being neither impious nor unfit for those that profess the 
 Christian religion. For in like manner if I should make 
 a prayer to GOD for my father or mother, for my brother 
 or sister, for my son or daughter, or any other friend of 
 mine travelling on a journey, beseeching Him that He 
 would prosper them in their way and keep them from all 
 danger or sickness, till they should safely and happily 
 arrive at their journey's end, and the place where they 
 desire to be ; although at the same time, when I prayed 
 this for them, peradventure, they have arrived at the 
 place already (which I knew not) with all safety, and met 
 wifh no danger or diseases by the way, whereby all my 
 prayer is prevented ; yet the solicitude and charity in the 
 meanwhile that I had for them, cannot be justly or char- 
 itably reprehended by any others. 
 
 "Although it cannot be exactly and distinctly declared 
 what benefit the Dead receive by these prayers which 
 the Living make for them ; yet if there be nothing else, 
 there is this at least in it, that hereby is declared the 
 communion and conjunction which we have still with one 
 another, as members of the same body, whereof Christ 
 is the Head."* 
 
 "The body lies dead in the grave, but by Christ's 
 power and GOD'S goodness shall men be raised up 
 again ; and the benefit is so great that sure it is worth 
 the praying for : because then we may pray for what we 
 ourselves or our deceased brethren as yet have not ; 
 therefore doth the Church pray for the perfect consum- 
 mation of bliss both in soul and body, to be given to our 
 departed brethren. We believe the Resurrection ; yet 
 may pray for it as well as for God's Kingdom to come. 
 Besides prayer for the Dead cannot be denied but to 
 
 * Bishop Cosin. 
 337
 
 The Country Churchyard 
 
 have been universally used by all Christians in the 
 ancientest and purest times of the Church, and by the 
 Greek fathers, who never admitted any Purgatory, no 
 more than we do, and yet pray for the Dead notwith- 
 standing. What though their souls be in bliss already? 
 they may have a greater degree of bliss by our prayers : 
 and when their bodies come to be raised and joined to 
 their souls again, they shall be sure of a better state. 
 Our prayers for them, then, will not be in vain, were it 
 but for that alone."* (See Appendix D. ) 
 
 At the last revision of the Prayer-Book, additional 
 Prayers were provided for the Burial Service, and the 
 Committal of the Dead at sea was changed from its for- 
 mer position to its present place on page 302, somewhat 
 altered in its phraseology. 
 
 Ube Country Cburcb^arD 
 
 OUR mother the Church hath never a child 
 
 To honor before the rest, 
 But she singeth the same for mighty kings 
 
 And the veriest babe on her breast ; 
 And the Bishop goes down to his narrow bed 
 
 As the ploughman's child is laid ; 
 And alike she blesseth the dark-browed serf 
 
 And the chief in his robe arrayed. 
 
 She sprinkles the drops of the bright new-birth 
 The same on the low and the high, 
 
 And christens their bodies with dust to dust, 
 When earth with its earth must lie ; 
 
 * Bishop Overal. 
 338
 
 The Churching Office 
 
 Oh, the poor man's friend is the Church of Christ 
 
 From birtli to his funeral day ; 
 She makes him the Lord's, in her surpliced arms, 
 
 And singeth his burial lay. 
 
 And ever the bells in the green Churchyard 
 
 Are tolling, to tell ye this ; 
 Go pray in the Church, while pray ye can, 
 
 That so ye may sleep in bliss. 
 And wise is he in the glow of life, 
 
 Who weaveth his shroud of rest, 
 And graveth it plain on his coffin-plate, 
 
 That the dead in Christ are blest. 
 
 I never loved cities of living men, 
 
 And towns of the dead I hate ; 
 Oh, let me rest in the Churchyard, then, 
 
 And hard by the Church's gate ; 
 'Tis there I pray to my Saviour Christ, 
 
 And I will, till mine eye is dim, 
 That, sleep as I may in this fevered life, 
 
 I may rest, at last, in Him. 
 
 A. C. C. 
 
 Cburcbing ffice 
 
 A FALSE standard of modesty, and the general in- 
 difference of the times, have together served to render 
 this beautiful Service the one least commonly observed 
 among us. In the hope that a few words concerning it 
 may tend to revive it, we propose a study of its meaning. 
 
 That it has Divine sanction there can be no doubt. 
 To be "a joyful mother of children" has ever been, as 
 339
 
 The Churching Office 
 
 it is now among right-minded women, a blessing to be 
 much desired. From the birth of the first infant, great 
 has been the gratitude of every devout woman who, 
 after the pain and peril of childbirth, "remembereth no 
 more the sorrow, for joy that a man is born into the 
 world." Read the story of Eve's maternity, (Gen. iv. 
 i ;) of Sarah's, (Gen. xxi. 6,) and of Hannah's, (I. Sam. 
 i. 27, 28). Remember what the Magnificat means which 
 we so often sing at Evening Prayer, the Virgin's song of 
 praise for GOD'S mercy to her. 
 
 Read the law of Jehovah for the purification of the 
 women whom He had blessed with children. (Lev. xii. 
 6-8.) 
 
 Although the precise ceremonial law of Moses is 
 abolished, yet "the open and solemn acknowledgment 
 of GOD'S goodness in delivering the mother and in- 
 creasing the number of mankind, is a duty that will 
 oblige to the end of the world." And there is always 
 to be offered the sacrifice of praise.' Even if the whole 
 service be not used, at least every Christian woman 
 should account it a privilege (for which she should ask 
 the Minister) to have the concluding Prayer read as it 
 stands among the Special or Occasional Thanksgivings, 
 on page 44 of the Prayer-Book. 
 
 In the second rubric, the words "decently apparelled," 
 were formerly interpreted to mean, as the custom was, 
 with a white covering or veil. But that custom having 
 been long discontinued, the words may be taken to 
 signify any seemly and sober dress which a true sense 
 of modesty and propriety may indicate. "Some con- 
 venient place," has usually been interpreted to mean 
 the chancel steps, the faldstool, or the altar rail. " The 
 ordinary-" here, as in the second rubric before the Com- 
 munion Service, means the Bishop of the Diocese. 
 340
 
 Note 
 
 The Service should be used on some Sunday or Holy 
 day, before the Communion Service, or (as in some 
 Churches) after the Second Lesson at Morning or Even- 
 ing Prayer. 
 
 After a short exhortation, there is recited a portion of 
 the n6th Psalm, followed by the Lord's Prayer (which 
 in all Services has a place), some Versicles and the 
 Special Thanksgiving. 
 
 With much appropriateness does the closing rubric 
 prescribe an offering to be made by the thankful recipi- 
 ent of GOD'S mercy, and her personal consecration in 
 Holy Communion to renewed service as one who has 
 received a signal blessing. 
 
 No mother who faithfully and devoutly renders this 
 reasonable tribute of praise will return home unblessed. 
 Like the publican, she will "go down to her house 
 justified"; and with her soul attuned as never before 
 to the psalmist's words in the I2ist, i27th, and i28th 
 Psalms. 
 
 Moreover, she will be happy in the consciousness of a 
 duty done which shall help other women by example, 
 and tend to exalt the tone of society and hallow other 
 homes besides her own. 
 
 fllote 
 
 As the Forms of Prayer to be used at sea , and the Form 
 of Prayer for the Visitation of Prisoners are of such in- 
 frequent use, it is not deemed necessary to review them. 
 The rubrics will sufficiently bring out their meaning.
 
 The Church 
 
 Cburcb 
 
 I LOVE the Church, the holy Church, 
 
 The Saviour's spotless bride ; 
 And oh, I love her palaces 
 
 Through all the land so wide : 
 The cross-topped spire amid the trees, 
 
 The holy bell of prayer : 
 The music of our Mother's voice, 
 
 Our Mother's home is there. 
 
 The village tower, 'tis joy to me : 
 
 I cry The Lord is here. 
 The village bells, they fill my soul : 
 
 They more than fill my ear. 
 O'er kingdoms to the Saviour won, 
 
 Their triumph-peal is hurled : 
 Their sound is now in all the earth, 
 
 Their words throughout the world. 
 
 And here, eternal ocean cross' d, 
 
 And long, long ages past, 
 In climes beyond the setting sun, 
 
 They preach the Lord at last ; 
 And here, Redeemer, are Thy priests 
 
 Unbroken in array, 
 Far from Thine Holy Sepulchre, 
 
 And Thine Ascension-day. 
 
 Unbroken in their lineage. 
 
 Their warrants clear as when 
 Thou, Saviour, didst go up on high, 
 
 And give good gifts to men ; 
 342
 
 The Church 
 
 Here, clothed in innocence, they stand, 
 
 To shed Thy mercy wide, 
 Baptizing to the Trinal Name, 
 
 \Yith waters from Thy side. 
 
 And here, confessors of Thy cross, 
 
 Thine holy orders three, 
 The Bishop and the Elders too, 
 
 And lowly Deacons be ; 
 To rule and feed the flock of Christ, 
 
 To fight, of faith, the strife, 
 And to the host of God's elect, 
 
 To break the Bread of Life. 
 
 Here rises, with the rising morn, 
 
 Their incense unto Thee, 
 Their bold confession Catholic, 
 
 And high doxology : 
 Soul-melting litany is here 
 
 And here, each holy feast, 
 Up to the altar, duly spread, 
 
 Ascends the stoled priest. 
 
 Then with the message of our King, 
 
 The herald stands on high : 
 How beautiful the feet of them 
 
 That on the mountain cry. 
 And then, as when the doors were shut, 
 
 \Yith JESUS left alone, 
 The faithful sup with Christ, and He 
 
 In breaking bread is known. 
 
 And kneeling at the altar's rail, 
 
 With blessings all divine, 
 As from the Saviour's hand, they take 
 
 The broken bread, and wine ; 
 343
 
 The Church 
 
 In one communion with the saints, 
 
 With angels and the blest, 
 And looking for the blessed hope 
 
 Of an eternal rest. 
 
 The peace of God is on their heads ; 
 
 And so they wend away, 
 To homes all cheerful with the light 
 
 Of love's inspiring ray : 
 And through the Churchyard and the graves, 
 
 With kindly tears they fare, 
 Where every turf was decent laid 
 
 And hallowed by a prayer. 
 
 The dead in Christ, they rest in hope ; 
 
 And o'er their sleep sublime, 
 The shadow of the steeple moves, 
 
 From morn to vesper-chime : 
 On every mound, in solemn shade, 
 
 Its imaged cross doth lie, 
 As goes the sunlight to the West, 
 
 Or rides the moon on high. 
 
 I love the Church, the Holy Church, 
 
 That o'er our life presides, 
 The birth, the bridal, and the grave, 
 
 And many an hour besides. 
 Be mine, through life, to live in her, 
 
 And, when the Lord shall call, 
 To die in her, the spouse of Christ, 
 
 The Mother of us all. 
 
 A. C. C. 
 
 344
 
 Appendix A 
 
 H 
 
 A TABLE OF INTROITS 
 
 (From the First Prayer-Book of Edward VI.) 
 
 PSALM 
 
 St. Andrew's day 129 
 
 The First Sunday in Advent I 
 
 The Second Sunday in Advent 120 
 
 The Third Sunday in Advent 4 
 
 St. Thomas the Apostle 128 
 
 The Fourth Sunday in Advent 5 
 
 Christmas-day (First Communion) 98 
 
 Christmas-day (Second Communion) 8 
 
 St. Stephen's Day 52 
 
 St. John the Evangelist's Day n 
 
 The Innocents' Day 79 
 
 The First Sunday after Christmas-day 121 
 
 The Circumcision of Christ 122 
 
 The Epiphany 96 
 
 The First Sunday after the Epiphany 13 
 
 The Second Sunday after the Epiphany 14 
 
 The Third Sunday after the Epiphany 15 
 
 The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany 2 
 
 The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany 20 
 
 The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany 20 
 
 Conversion of St. Paul 138 
 
 The Sunday caHed Septuagesima 23 
 
 The Purification of St. Mary the Virgin 134 
 
 The Sunday called Sexagesima 24 
 
 345
 
 Appendix A 
 
 PSALM 
 
 The Sunday called Quinquagesima 26 
 
 Ash-Wednesday 6 
 
 The First Sunday in Lent 32 
 
 St. Matthias' Day 140 
 
 The Second Sunday in Lent 130 
 
 The Third Sunday in Lent 43 
 
 The Fourth Sunday in Lent 46 
 
 The Fifth Sunday in Lent 54 
 
 The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ... 131 
 
 The Sunday next before Easter 61 
 
 Good Friday 22 
 
 Easter-even 78 
 
 Easter-day (First Communion) 16 
 
 Easter-day (Second Communion) 3 
 
 Monday in Easter-week 62 
 
 Tuesday in Easter-week 113 
 
 The First Sunday after Easter 112 
 
 The Second Sunday after Easter 70 
 
 The Third Sunday after Easter 75 
 
 St. Mark's Day 141 
 
 The Fourth Sunday after Easter 83 
 
 St. Philip and St. James' Day 133 
 
 The Fifth Sunday after Easter 84 
 
 The Ascension-day 47 
 
 The Sunday after Ascension-day 93 
 
 Whitsunday 33 
 
 Monday in Whitsun-week 100 
 
 Tuesday in Whitsun-week 101 
 
 Trinity Sunday 67 
 
 Twenty-two Sundays after Trinity 119 
 
 St. Barnabas the Apostle 142 
 
 St. John Baptist's Day 143 
 
 St. Peter's Day 144 
 
 St. James the Apostle 148 
 
 346
 
 Appendix A 
 
 PSALM 
 
 The Transfiguration of Christ 99 
 
 St. Bartholomew the Apostle 115 
 
 St. Matthew the Apostle 117 
 
 St. Michael and All Angels 113 
 
 St. Luke the Evangelist 137 
 
 St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles 150 
 
 All Saints' Day 149 
 
 The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity 124 
 
 The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity 125 
 
 The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity 127 
 
 The Sunday next before Advent 127 
 
 347
 
 Appendix B 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF THE PRAYER-BOOK 
 
 BY EDWARD LOWE TEMPLE 
 
 [We are permitted to print a portion of an address by Edward 
 Lowe Temple, delivered at a service in Grace Church, Providence, 
 R. I., May 24, 1899, ' n commemoration of the adoption of the Prayer- 
 Book in 1549.] 
 
 LET us for a moment try to free ourselves from a little 
 of the familiarity (which, though it does not breed con- 
 tempt, may dull a critical perception), and take up a 
 simple parable. Imagine an intelligent scholar, though 
 as yet unskilled in the religious architecture of Christian, 
 as in that of heathen temples, for the first time brought face 
 to face with a great Gothic cathedral. Set in the midst 
 of its green close that speaks of constant cultivation, 
 and masked in walls of greener ivy that tell of age and 
 assiduous care, its buttressed mass, as it dominates the 
 landscape, upholds turreted towers or soaring spire or 
 traceried lantern that lift the eye to the blue vault over- 
 head. As he enters at the west front, in wonder not 
 unmixed with awe, the lofty nave with its converging 
 lines repeats and intensifies the impression, and colors 
 and chastens his thought. "Surely," he thinks, "such 
 soaring spaces as these were meant to shelter the wor- 
 shippers of a pure faith." 
 
 He has perhaps been told that the ground plan is 
 cruciform, and so he finds it ; though grouped around 
 the inner structure lie the man}' ecclesiastical accessories 
 that befit man's needs. Transepts are thickly set with 
 monuments that, in "storied aisle and animated bust," 
 commemorate the righteous dead who once trod these 
 348
 
 Appendix B 
 
 courts. As he progresses eastward, chapels, or what 
 once were such, denote the spots for more quiet wor- 
 ship apart from the great throng. The ruined walls of 
 library and refectory suggest the food for mind and body 
 which must once have served the needs of those whose 
 evident home was here. Mullioned cloisters, their oriels 
 now sightless to the sky, speak of meditation, as they 
 perchance enclose a green garth in which lie the swelling 
 and cross-surmounted mounds that tell of mortality. 
 
 Within, beneath a nobly arched and carven screen, he 
 passes to a raised central space, set like an island, at the 
 heart of the great building, where insignia on every 
 hand speak of sacred music ; while light, golden, azure, 
 ruddy, tempered by the art of man, floods the spot with 
 mellowed radiance. Yet even here he must not pause, 
 for still a higher level summons him ; till, Church upon 
 Church, an altar stands before him, crowning a lofty 
 ascent, the central shrine of all this hallowed grandeur. 
 In speaking symbolism it points to the Passion and 
 Redemption of Him whose flesh is the Life of the 
 World. By every reference its tokens surpass those of 
 the Bishop's throne which stands before it in the choir, 
 of the pulpit in yonder nave, even of the antique font he 
 left behind him at the western portal. Enclosed within 
 a low railing that denotes at once a barrier and a meet- 
 ing-place, it is crowned, beneath the effulgence of its 
 great eastern window, that " looks toward Jerusalem," by 
 the similitude of -the empty cross of the ascended Lord. 
 
 Doubtless these teachings will not at once make upon 
 him their full impression. He will have seen much to 
 puzzle him on the way thither. Aside from the object 
 and uses of various parts of the building, its structural 
 styles have seemed to need explanation. He has found 
 (what later he learns to be) Saxon forms superimposed 
 349
 
 Appendix B 
 
 on Roman masonry, and the dog-toothed mouldings of 
 some Norman arch in strange juxtaposition with the 
 lancet points of an early English window. Decorated 
 Gothic and Late Perpendicular details here and there 
 stand side by side, and he is at first tempted to call the 
 work an incongruity. 
 
 But he reflects that this must be due to the long march 
 of history ; that during great lapses of time one form 
 has grown out of another by process of evolution ; and 
 that the architecture he sees before him is not only 
 worthy to be called " frozen music," but is also the im- 
 perishable record of religious aspiration in stone. He 
 has not failed to note on window and buttress and carven 
 column the many grievous wounds of man's making, 
 and the evidence of generations of neglect in days now 
 happily gone by. With a sigh it will dawn upon him 
 that, in war as well as in peace, precious human lives 
 have themselves been built into the glorious fabric ; and 
 he will thank God that such things can no longer be, 
 since, at last, Christians are learning to good purpose 
 that it is not Mount Sinai with its fire and tempest, but 
 rather Mount Sion's company of angels and the Church 
 of the First-Born, which is the goal of the Pentecostal 
 pilgrimage. And, ere he turns away, he will, above 
 all, be led captive by the thought that up to the groined 
 vault, dimly shadowed overhead, has ascended, for more 
 generations than he cares to trace, the passionate de- 
 sire to raise a temple meet for the King invisible, and 
 to give Him honor through forms and symbols which 
 are one by one the highest expression of each gener- 
 ation's thought. " Verily," he will say, " they dreamed 
 not of an earthly home who thus could build." 
 
 If our analogy has been a faithful one, it will have in- 
 dicated that the Book of Common Prayer is not less a 
 350
 
 Appendix B 
 
 loving and enduring symbol and record of the higher life 
 of worship than are the aisles and arches of the noblest 
 cathedral. Like them, it speaks with the voice of one- 
 ness and conscious authority, amid the jarring notes 
 and divisions of our time ; and its eirenic value as a 
 standard of teaching it would be hard to overestimate. 
 Like them, it is the product of human experience, guided 
 by the Holy Spirit, striving through the ages to express 
 and store up for those that come after, the loftiest meth- 
 ods by which man may worthily appear before his Maker. 
 Like them, it is the natural heritage and meeting-ground 
 of all sorts and conditions of men ; whose multifarious 
 needs there find expression, in words so simple that he 
 who runs may read, so strong that addition or change 
 only serves to dull their significance. 
 
 If at first its contents seem involved in order and 
 somewhat to need an interpreter, yet surely not more 
 than is the case with the material cathedral to a tyro. 
 And the same criticism attaches in far greater measure 
 to the Authorized Version of the English Bible, in 
 literary and typographical arrangement without doubt 
 the worst printed book in the world. In due rela- 
 tionship of part with part the former needs far less 
 for its clarification than has been accomplished for the 
 latter by the consecrated service of American scholar- 
 ship through such help as the Modern Reader's Bible. 
 Indeed, now that "liturgical enrichment and increased 
 flexibility of use" have been accomplished in America 
 in our time, there are few blemishes that may not well be 
 left for a later generation to remove. Nothing of human 
 ordering is of purely ideal merit, not even the Prayer- 
 Book, which has its gradations of excellence. Were the 
 order for the Daily Sen-ice to be closely followed by the 
 Psalter, and did the Altar Service of Collect, Epistle, and
 
 Appendix B 
 
 Gospel immediately succeed the Office of the Holy Com- 
 munion, as adjuncts should logically accompany their 
 principals, there would remain, me judice, little to be 
 desired even in such a standard. 
 
 Consider for a moment its structural range and com- 
 prehension. The Offices of Daily Morning and Evening 
 Prayer mark the book's broad choir and nave, with their 
 lectern and prayer desk and pulpit for the mixed con- 
 gregation. Clustered about them are offices, like litur- 
 gical chapels ; first for the due and reverent adminis- 
 tration of Holy Baptism, as at the Church's portal ; then, 
 as if in the cathedral library, forms of instruction for 
 the catechizing of the young, leading on to that for 
 the sacred rite of Confirmation of the baptismal pledge. 
 Here is a lady-chapel, where matrimonial vows are 
 blessed by Mother Church ; and there an oratory', where 
 family prayer, most neglected of all Christian obli- 
 gations, was habitually wont to be offered. And next 
 beyond these lies a chantry, having the ancient lych- 
 gate as a part of it, where the earthly body is laid down 
 with solemn rite before its final progress to the grave 
 without, and where the spirit is commended to the GOD 
 who gave it. 
 
 The whole of Holy Scripture is inferentially contained 
 within the covers of this volume, whose lessons for the 
 yearly round are omitted in their entirety only for 
 convenience. Its Ordinal sets forth the necessity, dig- 
 nity, and authority of diaconate, priesthood, and epis- 
 copate ; the function of the latter in the setting forth of 
 special offices well sustaining analogy' with the supremacy 
 of each Bishop's throne in his own cathedral. At the 
 heart of the book, as with the altar in the structure of 
 the material fane, its supreme inner sanctuary of worship 
 is the Office of the Holy Eucharist, having for its core 
 352
 
 Appendix B 
 
 the very words of consecration of our Blessed Lord. . . . 
 And upon the arms of His cross, as again with the 
 cathedral, is upreared the whole fabric of the manual, as 
 set forth in due measure and proportion, through the 
 events of our Lord's earthly life in the ever-changing 
 passage of the ritual year. 
 
 Again, as to the styles of its literary architecture. Its 
 prayers, which owe nothing to modern Rome, are, very 
 many of them, as old as the pagan days of the mistress 
 of the world. The Hebrew Church, the Primitive, the 
 Greek, the Gallican, the early British, the Scotch, each 
 makes offering to its pages. Its Collects, Canticles, and 
 "Te Deum," the correspondence of Epistle and Gospel, 
 Proper Psalm, and Preface, are the fruit of a liturgical 
 science as undoubted as the mechanical skill that reared 
 material vault and buttress. Not one age, but many, 
 have been at its christening. Not one style, but many, 
 have had their evolution here. Other passages than its 
 Psalter are from a Scripture version older than that 
 of King James. As with the Hymnal, the sources laid 
 under contribution have not always owned a Churchly 
 sponsorship. 
 
 Quaint Jeremy Taylor, the rhetorical Cranmer, the fiery 
 Laud, the Lutheran " Consultation" of Archbishop Her- 
 mann of Cologne, the Swiss monk Notker of St. Gall, 
 blend their voices in loving accord with the words of 
 St. Chrysostom and St. Ambrose, the Sacramentary of 
 Gelasius and the Missal of Sarum. The consecrated 
 learning of Bishops Cosin and Lancelot Andrewes have 
 not placed us under greater obligation than has been laid 
 upon us by our own Seabury, when he secured for the 
 American Book the Scottish use in the arrangement of 
 the Communion Office. From deepest notes of peniten- 
 tiai abasement to loftiest paean of rhapsody and praise, 
 *3 353
 
 Appendix B 
 
 the whole gamut of spiritual passion is swept. In the 
 glowing words of Stedman, " It has no counterpart, and 
 can have no successor." Through all, the vigorous in- 
 fluence of the English Bible has kept it forever true to 
 the thought and spirit of the Anglo-Saxon race. And 
 hither that race brought it and first used it in worship 
 on our far western shore but thirty years after young 
 King Edward had set it forth, and more than four decades 
 before the landing at Plymouth. 
 
 Such is one method of regarding the Prayer-Book. 
 But our visitor to an English Minster would have brought 
 thence but a partial impression, had he not listened at- 
 tentively to the pealing notes of its great organ ; wit- 
 nessed the procession of clergy and choristers as they led 
 its solemn sen-ice ; above all, had he, an idle and passive 
 spectator, refrained from joining with heart and voice in 
 the sacrifice of prayer and praise to GOD in the House 
 called by His name. Many a traveller, I suppose, makes 
 what seems to him satisfactory pilgrimage to some great 
 fane, and yet gives slight heed as to whose courts they 
 are wherein he treads. With vision bounded by purely 
 archaeological or artistic limitations, he fails to recognize 
 that a true cathedral is not a mere museum of the past, 
 however noble, but is animated by a vital and far-reaching 
 present ministry in holy things ; and thus he naturally 
 falls far short of plucking out the heart of its mystery. 
 But age, association, beauty, science, these are, indeed, 
 but the handmaids of religion and service. 
 
 And so, finally, with the Prayer-Book as well. Its 
 artistic and literary preeminence are, or easily may be, 
 known and read of all men. But the rounded and robust 
 body of its theology, the simplicity and dignity of its 
 creeds, the reverent fitness and fervor of its supplica- 
 tions, the uplift of its hymns and anthems, the awful yet 
 354
 
 Appendix B 
 
 tender mystery of its Eucharistic Office, these exhaust a 
 lifetime to compass them, and the peasant may here win 
 the blessing where the sage may fail. For that is the 
 best Prayer-Book which shows most signs of constant 
 use, and the strongest evidence of influence on a life, 
 and through that life on the lives of others perhaps less 
 privileged. Let the monition come home to ourselves. 
 It is the Book of Common Prayer, and we children of the 
 Church too carelessly forfeit opportunities for its use in 
 public as well as in private, and suffer too many a 
 wandering thought to steal away the jewels from its 
 pages, as they lie open before us when on bended knee 
 in the service, or in the solitude of our closet. 
 
 When we do the Lord's will we shall fully know of 
 His doctrine. The Prayer-Book, like every other re- 
 ligious organization, is a means, and not an end. And 
 in striving to subdue our rebellious spirits to the temper 
 that befits its noble periods, we shall not be content to 
 characterize the Prayer-Book, or the Church itself, by 
 the phrase which even the unecclesiastical Hawthorne 
 applies to a cathedral, " It is the only thing in the world 
 that is large enough and rich enough." 
 
 \Ve shall rather gratefully and devoutly add, paraphras- 
 ing the words of the Patriarch Jacob, when he had his 
 glimpse of the far-off Incarnation : "This is none other 
 but the House of GOD, and this is the gate of Heaven." 
 
 355
 
 Appendix C 
 
 Hppenfcii C 
 
 ANOINTING OF THE SICK 
 
 FROM these statements of our venerated author many 
 will be compelled to dissent. The Anointing of the 
 Sick seems to have continued all through the history of 
 the Church unto the present, and in the Church of 
 England until the Second Prayer-Book of Edward VI. 
 Bishop Forbes of Brechin (Explanation of the Articles) 
 speaks of it as " the lost pleiad of the Anglican firma- 
 ment"; and continues, " one must at once confess and 
 deplore that a distinctly Scriptural practice has ceased 
 to be commanded in the Church of England. ... no 
 one can doubt that a sacramental use of anointing the 
 sick has been from the beginning." " Extreme Unction" 
 may well be denominated a "corrupt following of the 
 Apostles," but adusus non tollit iisum. " As the Visita- 
 tion of the Sick is a private office, there is nothing to 
 hinder the Apostolic and Scriptural custom of anointing 
 the sick, whenever any devout person may desire it. 
 It was never considered necessary to salvation. It was 
 rather a privilege of the devout." 
 
 There are multitudes of Bible readers in the Anglican 
 Communion who believe, indeed, that the disuse of 
 Apostolic anointing is the setting aside of an "inspired 
 rubric," and with scant reason. 
 
 Many are the prayers offered daily by earnest souls for 
 its restoration. 
 
 It may well be noted that Anointing of the Sick can- 
 not be forced upon unicilling recipients. It must be 
 asked for by the laity. "Is any sick among you? Let 
 him call for the elders of the Church." 
 356
 
 Appendix D 
 
 CONCERNING THEM THAT ARE ASLEEP ; 
 
 THE following compilation has been found comforting 
 to some in bereavement : 
 
 SORROW NOT AS OTHERS WHICH HAVE 
 NO HOPE 
 
 [Verses by the Rev. Walter C. Smith, a minister of the Scotch 
 Kirk.] 
 
 ' ' / exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, 
 prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made 
 for all men.'' 1 I. Tim. ii. i. 
 
 O'er land and sea, love follows with fond prayers, 
 Its dear ones in their troubles, griefs and cares ; 
 
 There is no spot 
 
 On which it does not drop this tender dew, 
 Except the grave, and there it bids adieu, 
 
 And prayeth not. 
 
 Why should that be the only place uncheered 
 By prayer, which to our hearts is most endeared, 
 
 And sacred grown ? 
 
 Living, we sought for blessings on their head ; 
 Why should our lips be sealed when they are dead, 
 
 And we alone ? 
 
 Idle ? Their doom is fixed ? Ah ! Who can tell ? 
 Yet, were it so, I think no harm could well 
 
 Come of my prayer : 
 
 And O, the heart, o'erburdened with its grief, 
 This comfort needs, and finds therein relief 
 
 From its despair. 
 357
 
 Appendix D 
 
 Shall GOD be wroth because we love them still, 
 And call upon His love to shield from ill 
 
 Our dearest, best, 
 
 And bring them home and recompense their pain, 
 And cleanse their sin, if any sin remain, 
 
 And give them rest ? 
 
 Nay, I will not believe it. I will pray 
 As for the living, for the dead each day. 
 
 They will not grow 
 
 Less meet for heaven when followed by a prayer 
 To speed them home, like summer scented air 
 
 From long ago. 
 
 Who shall forbid the heart's desire to flow 
 Beyond the limits of the things we know ? 
 
 In heaven above 
 
 The incense that the golden censers bear, 
 Is the sweet perfume from the saintly prayer 
 
 Of trust and love. 
 
 SOMEWHERE 
 
 How can I cease to pray for thee ? Somewhere 
 In GOD'S great universe thou art to-day. 
 
 Can He not reach thee with His tender care? 
 Can He not hear me when for thee I pray? 
 
 What matters it to Him, who holds within 
 
 The hollow of His hand, all worlds, all space, 
 
 That thou art done with earthly pain and sin ? 
 
 Somewhere within His ken thou hast a place. 
 358
 
 Appendix D 
 
 Somewhere thou livest and hast need of Him ; 
 
 Somewhere thy soul sees higher heights to climb ; 
 And somewhere still there may be valleys dim, 
 
 That thou must pass to reach the hills sublime. 
 
 Then all the more because thou canst not hear 
 Poor human words of blessing, will I pray, 
 
 O true, brave heart ! GOD bless thee ! whereso'er 
 In His great universe thou art to-day. 
 
 ALL SOULS 
 
 " God is not a God of the dead but of the living, for 
 all live unto Him." 
 
 They are living unto Thee, 
 Living there where none can die ; 
 
 Now no more they " darkly" see 
 Through a glass in mystery ; 
 
 Earthly mists through which we tread, 
 Vex no more the living dead. 
 
 Dead to all which tends to mar 
 
 Thy pure image in the soul ; 
 Dead to all that leads afar 
 
 From the one, the only goal ; 
 From the death of sin set free, 
 
 Only living, Lord, to Thee. 
 
 Gracious Lord, " All souls are Thine !" 
 Parent, brother, spouse, or friend 
 
 Shall on Abram's breast recline, 
 Till thy work in them shall end ; 
 
 Till all souls in Thee that died 
 Shall by Thee be purified. 
 359
 
 Appendix D 
 
 For the Inheritance made meet 
 
 Of thy blessed saints in Light, 
 Holy, perfected, complete, 
 
 They shall walk with Thee in white, 
 Worshipping before the Throne, 
 
 With Thy saints, the Three in One ! 
 
 
 
 COMFORT 
 
 I know this Cross is hard to bear, 
 'Tis hard, my well loved One to spare, 
 And yet to Him who gave His Son, 
 I meekly say, "Thy will be done." 
 
 Death hides, but he cannot divide ; 
 Thou art but on Christ's other side, 
 Thou art with Christ, and Christ with me, 
 And thus, united still are we. 
 
 Dear Man of Sorrow, Thou art still 
 The refuge of all human ill ; 
 And Thou wilt still be more to me, 
 For that dear One, who is with Thee ; 
 And Thou wilt fill his vacant place 
 In Thy deep tenderness and grace. 
 
 
 
 Almighty Father, with whom all souls do live, remem- 
 ber, we beseech Thee, Thy servants who have gone be- 
 fore us with the seal of faith and now rest in the sleep of 
 peace. Grant unto them, O Lord, eternal rest, and may 
 light perpetual shine upon them. Through JESUS CHRIST 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 360
 
 Appendix D 
 
 GRANT US THY PEACE 
 
 Lord of the living and the dead, 
 
 In whom our loved ones still abide ; 
 'Neath us Thine arms of comfort spread 
 
 And draw us closer to Thy side. 
 And while we lean upon Thy breast, 
 
 Enlarge our hope, increase our faith ; 
 And whisper of that perfect rest 
 
 That endless life that follows death. 
 
 Who in the cross of JESUS trust, 
 
 But fall asleep; they cannot die ; 
 And while we mourn above their dust 
 
 They dwell with Thee, dear Lord, on high ! 
 In Thine own presence grant them rest ; 
 
 And, from the radiance of Thy throne, 
 Shine on them, Lord, and make them blest ; 
 
 For Thou hast claimed them for Thine own.
 
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