This to be fa'd when any that have been prayed for, de [* particularly to those who defire now to offer up their fire to return praile. praises and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchfafed unto them.] We blefs thee for our création, preservation, and all the bleffings of this life, but above all for thine ineftimable love in the Redemption of the World by our Lord: Jefus Chrift; for the means of Grace, and for the hope of Glory. And we beseech thee, give us that due fenfe of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we may fhew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to thy fervice, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteoufnefs all our days, through Jefus Chrift our Lord; to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, World without end. Amen.⠀ I A Thanksgiving for fair Weather. Lord God, who haft justly humbled us by thy late plague of immoderate Rain and Waters, and in thy Mercy haft relieved and comforted our Souls by this feafonable and bleffed change of Weather; we praise and glorify thy holy Name for this thy Mercy, and will always declare thy loving kindness from Generation to Generation, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen. Paraphrafe on the general Thanksgiving. O moit mighty God, and moft merciful Father, we, who are not worthy of the leaft of thy Mercies, defire to offer up to thee our unfeigned Thanks for the various inftances of thy goodnefs towards us, and all our fellow Creatures. We praife thee for forming us rational Beings, protecting us from the many dangers to which our frail Natures are expofed, and bestowing uponus fuch innumerable comforts and conveniencies for the prefent life; but above all for the invaluable delive'rance of our Souls from Sin and Death through Jefus Chrift, for the powerful means of improvement in Holincfs, and the glorious Hope of eternal Happinefs which thou haft fet before us as an encouragement to our obedience. And we beseech thee to imprefs fuch innumerable comforts and conveniencies with refpect to the prefent Life, fuch as Health, Friends, Food, and Raiment, &c. But when to these we add the unfpeakable Love, which he has fhewn to Mankind in our Redemption from Sin and Death by Jefus Chrift -the powerful Means of Grace he has afforded us to bel p our Infirmities, viz. his Word, his Ordinances, and upon our Hearts fuch a deep fenfe of all thy Mercies as may render us truly thankful, not only with our lips, but by dedicating our lives to thy felvice in all Holiness, through Jefus Chrift, to whom with thee, and the Holy Spirit be afcribed all glory and praife for ever and ever. Paraphrafe on the Thanksgiving for fair Weather. O God the Lord of all things, who has juftly chaftifed us for our Offences by the late afflicting forms of Rain; and has mercifully relieved our dutrefs by reftoring to us fair Weather in due feafon; We offer unto thee our fincereft Thanks for this thy mercy towards us, and will always gratefully acknowledge thy goodnefs, through every period of our lives, through Jefus Christ our Lord. his Holy Spirit-and the Hope of eternal Glory, which he has fet before us to encourage our Obedienceferely the least return we can make for thefe invaluable Bleffings must be not only by offering up to him the facrifice of Praife with our Lips, but by dedicating our lives to his fervice in all Holiness and Righteoufnefs. The COLLECTS, EPISTLES, and GOSPELS, Note, that the Collect appointed for every Sunday, or for any Holy-day that hath a Vigil or Eve, shall be said at the Evening Service next before. A + The first Sunday in Advent. The Collect. Lmighty God, give us grace that we may caft away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life (in which thy Son Jefus Chrift came to vifit us in great humility;) that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majefty, to judge both the quick and dead, we may rife to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen. This Collect is to be repeated every Day with the other Collects in Advent, until Christmas-Eve. The Epiftle. Rom. 13. 8. I. WE no man any thing, but to love one another for he that loveth another, hath fulfilled the law, For this, Thou fhalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not Paraphrafe on the Collect for the first Sunday in Advent. Moft mighty God, as thy Son Jefus Christ was pleafed to come down upon Earth, in great Humility, to Redeem us from all Iniquity; fo enable us now to forfake all the Vices of Heathen ignorance, and to acquire all thofe Virtues which may be a defence a They are fuppofed to be fo called, because they are generally collected out of the Epiftles and Gofpels that follow them, or because the Minifter, in thefe, col La into one Prayer the Petitions of the People. †The Word Advent fignifies the coming or approach; and relates to that remarkable coming of our Saviour by his Birth, which we shortly after celebrate. gainft Temptation, and an ornament to our Profeffion: that at our Lord's fecond glorious appearance to judge the World, we may be raised to eternal Happinefs, through him, who reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit both now and for ever. “St And the Offices which are appointed in this Season of Advent, are not only defigned to prepare us for a duè celebration of that event; but alfo for his fecond coming to judge the World, that we may then be found acceptable in his fight. To this end we are taught to cast away the Works of Darkness, and pur upon us the Armour of Light. fteal, Thou shalt not bear falfe witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of fleep: for now is our falvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore caft off the works of darknefs, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honeftly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonnefs, not in ftrife and envying. But § put ye on the Lord Jefus Chrift, and make not provifion for the flesh, to fulfil the lufts thereof. W The Gofpel. S. Matth. 21. 1. HEN they drew nigh unto Jerufalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then fent Jefus two difciples, faying unto them, Go into the village over againft you, and straightway ye fhall find an afs tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man fay ought unto you, ye fhall fay, The Lord hath need of them; and ftraightway he will fend them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was fpoken by the prophet, faying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and fitting upon an afs, and a colt the fole of an afs. And the difciples went, and did as Jefus commanded them, I Love is the fulfilling of the Law. This it may be faid to be, both with respect to the first and fecond Table: because, as no one truly loveth God, who loveth not his Brother alfo; fo no Man loveth his Neighbour as he ought, who doth not love him for God's fake, And where our Love to Mankind is founded upon a religious principle, it will almoft neceffarily make us to have a refpect unto all God's Commandments. Put ye on the Lord Jefus Chrift, i. e. let that Purity, Holinefs, and Temperance which were fo remarkable in Chrift Jefus be the conftant Garb and ornament of your Souls that ye may therein be as visibly dis. tinguished to be his Difciples, as Men are by the Garments they wear. By this action our Saviour intended to fhew that he was indeed the King, whom the Jews were to expect, but that his Kingdom was not of this World. Therefore let not thofe who profefs themselves his Followers fix their defires upon the enjoyment of temporal Glory and Dominion; but fet their affection on Things above, where Chrift fitteth at the right Hand of God; that at the Day of Judgment they may wel come his coming with Bleea is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord. and brought the afs, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they fet him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way, others cut down branches from the trees, and ftrawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, faying, Hofanna to the Son of David: Bleffed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord, Hofanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerufalem, all the city was moved, faying, Who is this? And the multitude faid, This is Jefus the Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. * And Jefus went into the temple of God; and caft out all them that fold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the feats of them that fold doves; and faid unto them, It is written, My houfe fhall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves. B Leffed Lord, who haft caufed all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in fuch wife hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digeft them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold faft the bleffed hope of everlasting life, which thou haft given us in our Saviour Jefus Chrift. Amen. Paraphrafe on the Collect for the second Sunday in Alvent. Gracions God, who didft caufe the Books of the Old and New Teftament to be written for our inftruction; give us Grace fo attentively to hear, fo faithfully to read, fo diligently to apply, and fo firmly to keep and treafure up in our Hearts what is contained in Hofanna. The Word Hofanna fignifies Save we befuch. Applied to Jefus on this occafion, it was of the fame import with our acclamation God fave the King • And Jefus went into the Temple, &c. The Jews, as they reckoned the outer Court of the Temple, where the Profelytes worshipped, no place of Sanctity; were fed to permit People to fell and buy Oxen, Sheep, and Pigeons in it for Sacrifices: because thote who came from diftant parts of the Kingdom could not fo con.cniently bring fuch Things with them. There them, that by the patience and comfortable Hope which they infpire us with, we may be proof against all the Temptations we have to encounter with through Jefus Chrift. by not only many indecent but fraudulent practices were carried on, to the Prophanation of God's Houfe. By this Collect is plainly pointed out to us that a further means of preparation for our Lord's coming is a diligent ftudy of the Holy Scriptures, fuch as will make a deep impreffion upon our Hearts; and that the best proof of this is when they produce in us patience, afford us comfort, and make us earnestly embrace the Hope of everlasting Life which they prefent in Jefus Chrift. W rods The Epistle. Rom. 15. 4.0 Hatfoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning; that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and confolation grant you to be like-minded one towards another, according to Christ Jefus: that ye may with one mind, and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Chrift alfo received us, to the glory of God. Now I fay, that Jefus Chrift was a minister of the circumcifion, for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy, as it is written, For this cause I will confefs to thee among the Gentiles, and fing unto thy Name. And again he faith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, and laud him, all ye people. And again, Efaias faith, There fhall be a root of Jeffe, and he that shall rife to reign over the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles truft. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghoft. A The Gospel. S. Luke 21. 25. ND there fhall be figns in the fun, and in the moon, and in the ftars; and upon the earth diftrefs of nations, with perplexity; the fea and the waves roaring; mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth for the powers of heaven shall be fhaken. And then fhall they see the Son of man coming in the * Whatfoever Things were written, &. This paffage evidently fhews that the Bible is a Book not defigned for the amusement of the Idler, Food for the Difputer, or to fill us with that Knowledge which puffeth up, but that we may be thereby throughly furnished by its in ftruction, unto all good Works-that we may be filled with Meeknefs and Chriftian Moderation, with humble refignation to the will of God under all our Afflicions, and the comfortable Hopes of a blessed Immortality through Jesus Christ. |