That it may please thee to bless and keep all thy people; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give to all nations, unity, peace, and concord; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give us an heart to love and fear thee, and diligently to live after thy commandments; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give to all thy people increase of grace, to hear meekly thy word, and to receive it with pure affection, and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. or, as it is more fully expressed in the prayer for the Church militant, to maintain God's true religion and virtue." And how much the promotion of these great ends depends upon the faithfulness of our rulers and magistrates, is too obvious to require a comment. The ministers of the sanctuary next become the subject of our prayers. We beg of God, that they may be so enlightened in the knowledge of divine things, that the whole body of the Church may be edified by the spirituality of their instructions, and the holiness of their lives. This is agreeable to the injunctions of the Apostles; "Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified!" and it is also in conformity with the practice of the Christian Church, in every age. As a watchman, who is set for the defence of the gospel, and a steward of the manifold grace of God, the station of the Christian minister is awfully responsible. It is responsible as it respects himself, as it respects the people of his charge, and as it respects the great cause which he is commissioned to advance. Nothing, but the assistance of divine grace, can enable him to fulfil its duties with faithfulness and usefulness: and this is to be sought and obtained, only by his own prayers, and the intercessions of the people in his behalf. All, therefore, who have any regard for the success of the Gospel, or any concern for their own spiritual welfare, should unite fervently in the petition to the Almighty, "That he would illuminate all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, with true knowledge and understanding of his word; and that Doth by their preaching and living, they may set it forth, and show it accordingly." After having prayed for our civil rulers and spiritaal guides, we offer up a petition for all the people, recommending them to the divine blessing and protection. And we moreover pray God to "give to all nations, unity, peace, and concord;" that, in the language of the prophet, "they may beat their That it may please thee to bring into the way of truth, all such as have erred, and are deceived ; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to strengthen such asdo stand, and to comfort and help the weak. hearted, and to raise up those who fall, and finally to beat down Satan under our feet; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to succour, help; and comfort all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to preserve all who travel by land or by water, all women swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; that nation may not lift up sword against nation, nor learn war any more.”—And while we thus pray for universal peace and concord, how diligent and. careful should we be in promoting it ourselves! in suppressing and preventing, as far as we are able, all strife and animosity, and whatever may tend to destroy private harmony or disturb the public peace. The four succeeding petitions are for spiritual blessings. They are very pertinently expressed, and afford us ample matter for meditation. The first in order, leads our thoughts to the source of all our evils, the corruption of the heart; and directs us to apply to the fountain of all holiness, to cleanse and sanctify it; "to give us an heart to love and fear God, and diligently to live after his commandments." This is equivalent to the expression of the Psalmist, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." The love and the fear of God are every where set forth in scripture, as the true principles of Christian obedience; and they are so far from being inconsistent with each other, that they are really inseparable; the one deterring us from sin, and the other, exciting us to virtue and righteousness. But we must not rest here. For however well disposed our hearts may be for the present, we shall soon relapse into our former sins, without the constant assistance of the Holy Spirit. We therefore proceed to ask of our Heavenly Father, and that not for ourselves only, but for "all his people, increase of grace, to hear meekly his word, and to receive it with pure affection;" esteeming it infinite ly superior to all that is taught in the fallible systems of human moralists, and cherishing a hearty desire of being enlightened by its revelations, and improved by its instructions: and that, making it the constant and only rule of our actions, we may be enabled "to bring forth the fruits of the spirit." Here, as in other parts of our Liturgy we canno in the perils of child-birth, all sick persons. and young children, and to show thy pity upon all prisoners and captives; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to defend, and provide for, the fatherless children, and widows, and all who are desolate and oppressed ; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to have mercy upon all men ; help admiring the correctness with which the rule of our duty is delineated. Equally avoiding the errors of deism, and the delusions of fanaticism, it teaches us nothing about the "moral fitness of things," nor does it refer us to imaginary impulses and extraordinary inspirations. It directs us to the Word of God, as the only rule of faith and practice; and while it inculcates the necessity and the efficacy of divine grace, it still refers us to this written word, admonishing us to hear it meekly, and to receive it affectionately, that we may be fruitful in every good work. Our next petition is, "that it may, please God to bring into the way of truth, all such as have erred and are deceived;" an intercession of the same import with that contained in the last Collect for Good Friday, where we pray for the conversion of "all Jews, Turks. Infidels, and Heretics." For these then, and for all who are unhappily misled by the spirit of error, and delusion, let us offer up our fervent prayers to the common Lord and Father of all men, that it may please him to have mercy upon them, to pity their ignorance and hardness of heart, to bring them into the light of his truth, and to guide them in the way of holiness and salvation. The Scriptures sometimes represent our present condition as a state of warfare. They describe us as contending under Christ, the great Captain of our salvation, against our three grand enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is in allusion to this state of warfare, that the succeeding petition is framed. We implore the aid and protection of God, in behalf of the several members of his Church militant; beseeching him "to strengthen such as do stand," such as remain firm in the principles of their faith, and constant in the practice of their duty: "to comfort and help the weak-hearted," who are weary and fearful, despairing of victory, and almost ready to yield to their spiritual enemies: "to raise up those who fall;" those who are overthrown, but not vanquished; who have yielded to many temptations, but are nor hardened in iniquity: and finally "to beat down Satan under our leet," that whatever difficulties it may be our lot to encounter, or whatever temporary advantages the We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give and preserve to our use the kindly fruits of the earth, so that in due time we may enjoy them; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give us true readversary may gain over us, the strength of God may be made perfect in our weakness, and that all our spiritual enemies being overcome, we may come off more than conquerors, through him that hath loved us. The scriptures every where teach us, that "in God alone is our salvation; that he is the rock of our strength; and that our refuge is in God." The most firmly established Christian has no security, except he is protected by the shield of the Lord, and supported by his arm: the weary and faint-hearted, have no real consolation, and no effectual assistance, but what is communicated to them from the God of all comfort: the backslider can have no hope of being recovered from his apostacy, but through the aid of the quickening influences of the Holy Spirit; nor have those who are harrassed and led captive by the evil one, any prospect of finally triumphing over their spiritual enemies, but by the assistance of him who hath bruised Satan under his feet. Frail and dependant as we are, let us then seek for aid where all sufficiency resides; then may we say, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid ?" In the preceding Intercessions, we have made. supplications for the supply of our spiritual wants We now turn our prayers to those which relate more immediately to the body; beseeching God, who alone is our refuge and strength, and is a very present help in trouble, " to succour, help and comfort, all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation." In a more particular manner, we pray for the preservation of all "travellers," "all women in the perils of child-birth," "all sick persons, and young children :" We pray for the "prisoner,” and the "captive;" for the " orphan," and the "widow ;" and in general, for "all that are desolate and oppressed."- While, then, we recommend these to the care and mercy of God, let us ever be mindful to accompany our prayers with our good deeds: Let us remember that to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to assist and relieve the distressed, is a principal part of true religion, and a peculiar and indispensable duty of a disciple of Christ. pentance, to forgive us all our sins, negli. gences, and ignorances, and to endue us with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, to amend our lives according to thy holy word; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. The next petition is one of the shortest, but the most comprehensive of all ; " that it may please God to have mercy upon all men." This prayer, which is the dictate of reason and humanity, is in perfect accordance with the scriptures. These teach us that the God and Father of all men, is good to all; that his tender mercies are over all his works; and that his blessed Son has tasted death for every man. Our prayers, therefore, should not be limited by any imaginary decree of absolute reprobation, but our charity should be co-extensive with the mercy and goodness of God. In the same spirit of true Christian benevolence, and in conformity with the practice as well as the precepts of our divine Redeemer, we proceed to pray even for our "enemies, persecutors, and slanderers ;” that it may please God "to forgive them, and to turn their hearts." And this petition we offer, not so much for our own sakes, and our own relief, as on their account; that, their hearts being changed, they may be restored into a state of salvation; which no man can be in who lives in hatred and enmity, or who persecutes or slanders his neighbour: for "he that loveth not his brother, abideth in death." The intercession which follows, seems to be taken from a petition in the Lord's Prayer: for when we beseech our heavenly Father "to give and preserve to our use the kindly fruits of the earth, so that in due time we may enjoy them," it is in effect to say, "Give us this day our daily bread.” This pious supplication acknowledges God as the giver and preserver of all good things; which were first created by his word, before there were any second causes to produce them, and which are still preserved and continued to us by his all-powerful and bounteous hand. He visiteth the earth and watereth it, and bringeth forth food out of it: He repareth the corn to cover the valleys, he clotheth the pastures with flocks, and crowneth the year with his goodness; filling our hearts with food and gladness. But let us remember that he can, with equal ease, turn the rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs into a dry ground; that he can change a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein, and that except the Lord bless the earth, their labour is but vain that cultivate it. The next Intercession, is the most important in O Lamb of God, who takest away the sing of the world; Have mercy upon us. ¶ The Minister may, at his discretion, the Litany. In it we beseech God "to give us true repentance, to forgive us all our sins, negli gences, and ignorances, and to endue us with the grace of his Holy Spirit, to amend our lives accordding to his holy word."-True repentance is a primary condition of the forgiveness of our sins, and in the scripture sense of this duty, it is no light or transient work. It imports a sincere change of mind; a turning from sin, with an abhorrence of its evil nature, and dreadful tendency. It is attended with deep humility and sorrow of heart, and it ter minates in the reformation both of the heart and life. In that part of the intercession which reiates to our forgiveness, we notice a threefold distinction: "sins, negligences, and ignorances." By the first may be understood our more gross and deliberate transgressions, which should fill us with the deepest sorrow and remorse. By the second, those less er sins into which we daily fall, through inadver tency, carelessness or surprise; and which should be sincerely repented of, that we may be daily renewed in the spirit and temper of our minds. And by the third, those ignorances which are only so far criminal as they are voluntary, or attributable to a neglect of the proper means of obtaining knowledge. For all our various and multiplied offences, we must daily ask forgiveness; beseeching God that he would "endue us with the grace of his Holy Spirit, that we may amend our lives according to his Holy Word." Without the help of this grace we can do nothing. Our mind is naturally blinded by sin, our judgment is corrupt, and our will perverse. It is the Holy Spirit only that can enlighten our minds, and renew and sanctify our hearts; and without his renovating influences we shall remain dead in trespasses and sins. But, thanks be to God! we have a sure word of promise that this assistance of the Spirit shall be given to all who ask it. With what sincerity and fervency ought we then to pray for the graces of the Holy Spirit, to guide us into all truth necessary to our salvation, and to enable us to regulate our lives according to the dictates of God's holy word. After we have gone through the preceding deprecations and intercessions, the Church endeavours to raise our desires of audience and acceptance to the highest possible fervency. For this purpose she has furnished us with a few earnest and affectionate petitions, to be uttered, with a omit all that follows, to the Prayer, "We humbly beseech thee, O Father," &c. (6.) [O Christ, hear us. (7.) O Christ, hear us. Lord, have mercy upon us.. ¶ Then shall the Minister, and the People with him, say the Lord's Prayer. QUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil. Amen. Min. O Lord, deal not with us according to our sins. Ans. Neither reward us according to our iniquities. ¶ Let us pray. (6.) Here the Rubrick in our American Service permits us to pause, and to pass over a part of the Litany which is commonly called the Supplications, till we come to the last prayer. But the discretionary part is so excellent and so fervent, that it will seldom be omitted, unless there is some imperious necessity for abridging the service. And in those Congregations where it is thought expedient generally to omit it, propriety would seem to dictate the use of it, on all the more solemn seasons of the Church. T. C. B. (7.) THE SUPPLICATIONS. The part of the Litany which is termed The Supplications, was compiled from more ancient services about six hundred years after Christ, when the barbarian nations began to overrun the Christian countries; but if we consider the troubles of the Church militant in every age, and the enemies desire of such as are sorrowful; mercifully assist our prayers which we make before thee in all our troubles and adversities, whensoever they oppress us; and graciously hear us, that those evils which the craft and subtilty of the devil or man worketh against us, may, by thy good providence be brought to naught; that we, thy servants, being hurt by no persecutions, may evermore give thanks unto thee in thy holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord. O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us, for thy name's sake. O GOD, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us, the noble works that thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them. O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us, for thine honour. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; Ans. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. From our enemies de end us, O Christ. Graciously look upon our afflictions. With pity behold the sorrows of our hearts. Mercifully forgive the sins of thy people. with whom the good man is constantly environed, we shall perceive that this part of the service is proper and pertinent at all times. The supplications commence, like the beginning of the Litany, with an invocation to the glorious Trinity for "mercy." mercy." For the repetition and reiteration of the petition is supposed to be addressed, first to the Father, secondly to the Son, and thirdly to the Holy Ghost. If we reflect how constantly we stand in need of mercy, we shall be convinced that we cannot ask it too often. It is a request which the greatest sinner may make successfully, if he makes it with true penitence; and it is one which the greatest saint has daily need to make, under a sense of his continual infirmities. The main object of the supplications is to enforce the foregoing deprecations and intercessions, with the greatest possible importunity: only adding a few petitions in reference to our preservation. But such was the pious humility of the ancient Christians, and so high was their veneration for the Lord's Prayer, that they thought no office of their own complete without it; and that it could not, therefore, be omitted in the Litany. It is introduced in this place, to supply whatever defects there may be in the preceding parts; and to intro O Son of David, have mercy upon us. Both now and ever, vouchsafe to hear us, O Christ. Graciously hear us, O Christ; grahear_us, ciously hear us, O Lord Christ. Min. O Lord, let thy mercy be showed upon us. Ans. As we do put our trust in thee. duce and sanctify all that follows; which is only a larger paraphrase of the two last petitions of this divine form. After the Lord's Prayer, two short petitions are added. They are taken from the words of the Psalmist, and are to be repeated alternately by the Minister and people. “O Lord, deal not with us according to our sins. "Neither reward us according to our iniquities." Before proceeding to the subsequent Collect, which is commonly called " a prayer against persecution," the Minister is instructed to say, "Let us pray." This admonition is sometimes used to denote the change from one kind of prayer to another; and the repetition of it here, towards the close of the service, is happily calculated to remind any who may be growing languid or inattentive, in what an important work they are engaged. Though the prayer against persecution, was first introduced during a calamitous state of the Church, it will be too seasonable in every age, till one of truer piety shall come than any that has yet been known, or is likely soon to take place. In our present state, we are at all times liable to many "troubles and adversities," and exposed to many evils from the "craft and subtilty of the devil," as well as the machinations of wicked men; and from all these we should pray to our merciful Father to save and deliver us. Ia the introduction to our requests, we are taught to profess our reliance on the divine mercy, which is ever ready to extend itself to the truly contrite heart. Our first petition is, that God would "mercifully assist our prayers," by his Holy Spirit, which is designed to help our infirmities, and to make intercession for us. We then pray, that he would graciously prevent the evils which threaten us, and remove those we labour under; that "being hurt by no persecutions," we may evermore celebrate his goodness, and give thanks to our Almighty Deliverer, "in his holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord."-Here, instead of the usual Amen," "the people offer up a short for help and deliverance, borrowed from the prayer Psalms; "O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us, for thy name's sake " To this response, the Minister replies with a sentence taken from the fortyfourth Psalm; pleading with God, and suggesting "the noble works" done by him for his to us, ¶ Let us pray.] WE humbly beseech thee, O Father, mer cifully to look upon our infirmities; and, for the glory of thy name, turn from us all those evils that we most justly have deserved; and grant that, in all our troubles, we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy; and evermore serve thee in holiness Church; which. if we have not seen with our eyes, "have heard with our ears" from the holy scriptures; our fathers having declared them to us," partly as performed “in their days," and partly "in the old time before them." we And since the arm of the Almighty is not shortened that it cannot save; nor his ear become heavy, that it cannot hear, the Congregation again responů in the same words as before, only changing one of them for another still more significant; beseeching help and deliverance, for the "honour" of God:— not for any merit of our own, but for his own glorious perfections, and the instruction of his creatures that we and all men may learn to love, to praise and serve him. And to this we are indispensably bound, even while the most painful view of our sorrows and wants is present to our minds; and, therefore, in the midst of these supplications, we are taught to ascribe that glory to the sacred Trinity, which ever has been, and now is, and ever will be, its due, whether infinite wisdom anois to us prosperity or adversity. The doxology is followed by a few other aiternate supplications, which we finally sum up in the words of the Psalmist; "O Lord, let thy mercy be shewed upon us;" "as we do put our trust in thee." After these short petitions and responses, we are furnished with an admirable prayer for grace to sanctify our troubles. In this we address ourselves to our heavenly Father, and beseech him to "look C turn from mercifully upon our infirmities," and to us all those evils that we most justly have deserv ed." But if it does not seem good to infinite wisdom to preserve us from trouble, the next thing that we should desire is, that we may have faith and strength to bear it. We are therefore taught to pray, "that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in God's mercy." There is indeed nothing more consoling in the day of affliction than a firm trust in the divine mercy; but if our faith be not well grounded, there is no state more dangerous Ve there fore add to our former petitions this as request, that we may evermore serve God in holiness and pureness of living, to his honour and glory, through our only Mediator and advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord.' They only have just cause to trust in the |