part of our faith, and as neceffary to be believed as the Sect. XV. former: but that being expreffed in fuch plain terms as none, I fuppofe, fcruple, I need not enlarge any farther. days men §. 3. The reafons why this Creed is appointed to be Why faid faid upon those days fpecified in the rubric, are, because on those fome of them are more proper for this Confeffion of Faith, tioned in which, being of all others the moft exprefs concerning the rubric. the Trinity, is for that reafon appointed on Christmas-day, Epiphany, Eafter-day, Afcenfion-day, Whit-Sunday, and Trinity-Sunday; which were all the days that were appointed for it by the firft book of King Edward: but in his fecond book it was also enjoined on Saint Matthias, and fome other Saints-days, that fo it might be repeated once in every month. SECT. XVI. Of the Verficles before the Lord's Prayer. THE congregation having now their confciences ab-The good method of folved from fin, their affections warmed with thankf-order and giving, their understandings enlightened by the word, and their faith strengthened by a public profeffion; enter folemnly in the next place upon the remaining part of divine worship, viz. Supplication and Prayer, that is, to afk thofe things which are requifite and necessary, as well for the body as the foul. with you. §. 2. But because they are not able to do this without Pr. The God's help; therefore the minister firft bleffes them with Lord be The Lord be with you; which, it must be observed too, is a very proper falutation in this place, viz. after a public and folemn profeffion of their faith. For St. John forbids us to fay to any heretic, God Speed 70; and the primitive chriftians were never allowed to falute any that were excommunicated 7. But when the minister hath heard the whole congregation rehearse the Creed, and feen, by their ftanding up at it, a teftimony of their affent to it; he can now falute them as brethren and members of the church. But because he is their representative and mouth to God, they return his falutation, immediately replying, And with Anlw. And thy Spirit: both which fentences are taken out of holy with thy Scripture 22, and together with that falutation, Peace be with you, (which was generally used by the Bishop, instead of The Lord be with you 73,) have been of very early use in 70 2 John 10, II. 71 Capital. Carol. Mag. 1. 5. c. 42. 74 Ruth ii. 4. 2 Theffal. iii. 16. 2 Tim. iv. 22. Gal. vi. 18. L 4 the fpirit. Chap. III. the church 74, especially in the Eastern part of it, to which, as an ancient council fays 75, they were delivered down by the Apostles themselves: and it is obfervable that they always denoted (as here) a tranfition from one part of the divine fervice to another. Pr. Let us pray. Pr. Lord upon us. §. 3. In the heathen facrifices there was always one to cry, Hoc agite, or to bid them mind what they were about. And in all the old chriftian Liturgies the deacon was wont to call often upon the people, ἐκτενῶς δεηθῶμεν, Let us pray earnestly; and then again, extevésepov, more earnestly. And the fame vehemence and earnest devotion does our church call for in thefe words, Let us pray; warning us thereby to lay afide all wandering thoughts, and to attend to the great work we are about: for though the minifter only speaks most of the words, yet our affections must go along with every petition, and fign them all at last with an hearty Amen. §. 4. But being unclean like the lepers recorded by have mercy Saint Luke 76, before we come to addrefs ourselves to God, we begin to cry, Lord have mercy on us; left, if we fhould unworthily call him Our Father, he upbraid us as he did the Jews, If I be a Father, where is mine honour?? And it is to be observed, that the church hath fuch an awful reverence for the Lord's Prayer, that she feldom fuffers it to be used without fome preceding preparation. In the beginning of the Morning and Evening Service, we are prepared by the Confeffion of our Sins, and the Abfolution of the Prieft; and very commonly in other places by this fhort Litany: whereby we are taught first to bewail our unworthinefs, and pray for mercy; and then with an humble boldnefs to look up to heaven, and call God Our Father, and beg farther bleffings of him. As to the original of this form, it is taken out of the Pfalms 78, where it is fometimes repeated twice together; to which the chriftian church hath added a third, viz. Chrift have mercy upon us, that fo it might be a fhort Litany or Supplication to every perfon in the bleffed Trinity: we have offended each perfon, and are to pray to each, and therefore we beg help from them all. It is of great antiquity both in the Eastern and Western churches; and an old council orders it to be used three 74 Chryf. in Coloff. 1 Hom. 3. tom. 4. p. 107. lin. 3, &c. Ifid. Peleuf. 1. 1. Ep. 122. p. 44. A. 75 Concil. Bracar. 2. cap. 3. tom.v. col. 740. B. 76 Luke xvii. 12, 13. 78 Pfalm vi. 2. li. 1. cxxiii. 3. Sect. times a day in the public fervice 79. And we are informed fhort Litany 80 not to re peat Lord after the N. B. The Clerk and People are here to take notice not The Clerk and People to repeat the last of these verficles, viz. Lord have mercy upon us, after the minifter. In the end of the Litany indeed they ought to do it, because there they are directed have mercy to fay all the three verficles diftinctly after him; each of upon us them being repeated in the Common Prayer-Book, viz. Minifter. first in a Roman Letter for the priest, and then in an Italic, which denotes the people's refponfe. But in the daily Morning and Evening Service, in the office for Solemnization of Matrimony, in thofe for the Vifitation of the Sick, for the Burial of the Dead, for the Churching of Women, and in the Commination, where thefe verficles are fingle, and only the fecond printed in an Italic character, there they are to be repeated alternately, and not by way of repetition: fo that none but the fecond verficle, viz. Chrift have mercy upon us, comes to the people's turn, the first and last belonging to the minifter. SECT. XVII. Of the Lord's Prayer. THE Minifter, Clerk, and People, being prepared in the The Lord's who in §. 2. By the Clerks in this rubric (which was first in- Clerks, ferted in the fecond book of King Edward) I suppose tended were meant fuch perfons as were appointed at the begin- by them. ning of the Reformation, to attend the Incumbent in his performance of the offices; and fuch as are ftill in fome cathedral and collegiate churches, which have Lay-Clerks (as they are called, being not always ordained) to look out the Leffons, name the Anthem, fet the Pfalms, and the likes of which fort I take our Parish Clerks to be, though we have now feldom more than one to a church. 79 Concil. Vafenf. 2. Can. 3. tom. iv. col. 1680. C. 80 Paul. Diacon. l. 16. c. 24. 81 See the Clergyman's Vade Mecum, page 202, 203. SECT. Chap. III. SECT. XVIII. Of the Verficles after the Lord's Prayer. The Verfi- BEFORE the minifter begins to pray alone for the peo cles. An objec tion anfwered. Why the ple, they are to join with him (according to the primitive way of praying) in fome thort Verficles and Refponfals taken chiefly out of the Pfalms, and containing the fum of all the following Collects. 82 To the first, O Lord, fhew thy mercy upon us, and grant us thy falvation $2, anfwers the Sunday Collect, which generally contains petitions for mercy and falvation. To the fecond, O Lord, fave the King,—and mercifully hear us when we call upon thee83, anfwer the prayers for the King and Royal Family. To the third, Endue thy Minifters with righteoufnefs, and make thy chofen people joyful 84; and the fourth, O Lord, fave thy people,—and bless thine inheritance 85; answers the collect for the Clergy and People. To the fifth, Give peace in our time, O Lord, because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God answer the daily collects for Peace and to the last, Ó God, make clean our hearts within us,-and take not thy holy Spirit from us, answer the daily collects for Grace. §. 2. Against two of these verficles it is objected, that the church enjoins us to pray to God to give peace in our time, for this odd reafon, viz. because there is none other that fighteth for us but only God. But to this we answer, that the church by these words does by no means imply, that the only reason of our defiring peace, is because we have none other to fight for us, fave God alone; as if we could be well enough content to be engaged in war, had we any other to fight for us, befides God: but they are a more full declaration and acknowledgment of that forlorn condition we are in, who are not able to help ourselves, and who cannot depend upon man for help; which we confefs and lay before Almighty God, to excite the greater compaffion in his divine Majefty. And thus the Pfalmift cries out to God, Be not far from me, for trouble is near ; for there is none to help 88 §. 3. The rubric which orders the priest to ftand up to minifter is fay thefe verficles, (which was firft added in 1552,) I imaat thefe ver- gine to have been founded upon the practice of the priests ficles. in the Romish church. For it is a cuftom there for the to ftand up 82 Pfalm lxxxv. 7. 83 Pfalm xx. verfe the laft, ac- 85 Pfalm xxviii. 9. priest, prieft, at all the long prayers, to kneel before the altar, Sect. and mutter them over foftly by himself: but whenever XVIII. he comes to any verficles where the people are to make their responses, he rifes up and turns himself to them, in order to be heard: which cuftom the compilers of our Liturgy might probably have in their eye, when they ordered the minifter to ftand up in this place. ed into fo many fhort SECT. XIX. Of the Collects and Prayers in general. BEFORE we come to speak of each of the following The Prayers Prayers in particular, it may not be amifs to obferve why divid one thing concerning them in general, viz. the reason why they are not carried on in one continued difcourfe, Collects. but divided into many fhort Collects, fuch as is that which our Lord himself compofed. And that might be one reason why our church fo ordered it, viz. that fo fhe might follow the example of our Lord, who beft knew what kind of Prayers were fitteft for us to use. And indeed we cannot but find, by our own experience, how difficult it is to keep our minds long intent upon any thing, much more upon fo great things as the object and fubject of our Prayers; and that, do what we can, we are ftill liable to wanderings and distractions: fo that there is a kind of neceffity to break off fometimes, that our thoughts, being refpited for a while, may with more ease be fixed again, as it is neceffary they fhould, fo long as we are actually praying to the fupreme Being of the world. But befides, in order to the performing our devotions aright to the most high God, it is neceffary that our fouls fhould be poffeffed all along with due apprehenfions of his greatnefs and glory. To which purpose our fhort prayers contribute very much. For every one of them beginning with fome of the attributes or perfections of God, and fo fuggefting to us right apprehenfions of him at firft; it is eafy to preferve them in our minds during the space of a fhort Prayer, which in a long one would be too apt to scatter and vanish away. But one of the principal reasons why our public devotions are and fhould be divided into fhort Collects, is this: our bleffed Saviour, we know, hath often told us, that whatfoever we afk the Father in his name, he will give it and fo hath directed us in all our Prayers to make Us89 |