Trifagium with the cæleftial Powers may offer it without offence unto thee. And doubtless both the Antients, and we learned out of Holy Scripture to beg deliverance from our Tribulations, by this Argument, and for this end, that we may more freely and fervently fet forth the Divine praife: Thus when the Heathen came into God's Inheritance, defiled his Sanctuary, and murdered. his Saints, Pfalm lxxix. David prays, O deliver us for thy names fake,&c.v.9. and at laft concludes,v. 14. So . we that are thy people, and the sheep of thy Pasture, fhall give thee thanks for ever, and will always be fhewing forth thy praife from Generation to Generation, and with regard to his own particular, Pfal. cxix. penult. O let my Soul live, and it shall praise thee, &c. The Servants of God defire their life to no other end, nor ask Peace with no other aims,than that they may be undisturbed in the Service of God; thus we are taught to defire deliverance from all Evils, efpecially Perfecution, not fo much for our own quiet, as for Gods glory, we do not ask it merely for our outward fafety, and that we may enjoy our Lands and Eftates more freely(this may be a Worlding's End) but we ask it, that we may more freely enjoy our Religion, and have liberty to give publick thanks in the Church to our Deliverer; we ask it not fo much for fear of Suffering, as out of a defire of ferving God, and enjoying the Gofpel without interruption: 'Tis true we can praise God in private, even in times of Perfecution, but that is not near fo comfortable,nor fo detired as to do it openly with our Brethren in the Houfe of God; and fo long as we have the doors of the Sanctuary open to us, we here profefs, that we will go into them,and praise the Lord, yca we hartily defire they may never be fhut against us, nor poffeffed by an Enemy; for of all the Evils, which Perfecution brings along with it, none is more truly grievous to a good man, than the Ceffation of Prayers and Praifes, which are the Chriftians daily Sacrifice: So long as we can, or may, or dare, we refolve to glorifie God in publick, for we have fo great a comfort therein, that above all mercies in the world, we defire the freedom quietly to ferve God, and we wish we may never have fo fad a time, as that this our choiceft bleffing fhould be taken from us. We have long enjoyed this incomparable Mercy in this Nation, and are therefore very much obliged to give thanks to the God, that hath given us this quiet; but fome are fo ftupid as to neglect the publick worship, because it is so easy and so common,fo free, and fo frequent, fo that they defpifeGod and his Service, for that very reafon for which they thould love them: Others are fo obftinate and perverfe, that they need punishments to bring them to the Service of God,and call it Perfecution, when they are juftly cenfured for their neglect and contempt thereof: Now fuch as thefe do contradict this Petition by their Lives,and may perhaps provoke the Almighty to take away the Liberty, which they fo undervalue and abufe: Only we hope there are in our Ifrael many thousands, who do continually praife God for the publick Worship, and beg the continuance of the fame, who value it highly, frequent it constantly,and by their prayers do difpel all thofe difinal clouds, that at any time seem to threaten us,and for these mens fake, and for Jefus fake, we hope, that all our Enemies purposes shall be prevented,and their hopes frustrate,and that we fhall yet ling publick praifes in the Sanctuary to him, that only makes us to dwell in fafety .Amen. See the Paraphrafe in the end of the whole Litany. Pr Γ 1. $5. Of the alternate Supplications. "W E muft obferve that the foregoingPrayer is not ended with Amen, as all others ufe to be, becaufe thePrayer is not concluded by these Supplications. but continued ftill,only in another form,fo that the People instead of anfwering, Amen, do begin these Refponfes immediately, and both the Prieft and they joyn in preffing the fame thing before defired, though in other words,and in a different Phrafe: The Sentences themfelves are collected out of David's Pfalms, and out of fome antient Offices, and though we ought not to meafure their Method by the rules of Art, nor expect any other Order,than a Soul full of forrow and defire hath them into, yet to fhew they are not thrown together by chance without co-herence or dependance, We have annexed this Table. put In the Alternate Supplications we pray for two things 2. The Analyfs of the Alternate Supplications. O Lord arife, help An A&t ofus aud deliver us, Defire 2 An A&t of ration 3. Another 4 An Act of I Defence from ate by Compaffion in I Pardon and fitive of fin ly begged Prayers Par don 2 Au- 3 Par don a gain for the Names fake. D God we have heard with ourEars and our fathers have declared unto us the noble wozks, that thou didit in their days, and in the old time before them. Lod arife, help us and deliver us, for thine honont. Clogy be to the father?, and to the Son, &c. As it was in the beginning,is now,&c. s from our Enemies defend us D Chriα Graciously look upon our afflictions Pitifully behold the fozows of our hearts Mercifully forgive the Sins of the P. Favourably Mercy hear our Dr. Son of David with have mercy upon ns Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear us D Chrift Graciously hear us, G Chill, graciously hear us, D Lo20 C. Dozd,let thy mercy b: thewed upon us Like as we do put (cur trufi in thre A A Practical Difcourfe upon thefe Supplications. 3. Lord arife, help us,and deliver us foz thy names fake. Pfal. xliv.26. or Pfal.lxxix.9.] It is a great affurance, that the People did carefully attend the Prieft, while he was praying against the Enemies of the Church in the former Petitions, if they do readily and devoutly add this fhort Sentence in the close of them; for this is a further preffing that great Requeft in David's words.The Pfalm out of which this may feem to have been taken,viz. Pfal.lxxix.was defigned for a time, when the Enemies of the Church prevailed, and then it was appointed they should pray, Help us O God of our Salvation for the glory of thy name, v.9. Which Form we imitate,only we introduce it with that eminent piece of Jewish Liturgy: 0 Lord arife, Numb.x.35. Pfal.lxviii.. For while evil Men prevail against the righteous, and the Church lies under oppreflion or perfecution, there seems, as it were, a suspension of Providence, and God is faid to fit ftill,but when he begins to affift and deliver his People,' and deftroy their Enemies, then the Scripture expreffes it by his arifing, Thou shalt arife and have mercy upon Sion.Pfal.cii. 13. When God arofe to Judgment, and to help all the meek, &c. Pfal. lxxvi. 9. I will up, faith the Lord, and will help, &c. Pfal.xii.6. But this fignificant Metaphor is no where fo fully fet out as in that Pfalm, xliv. Where we have this Prayer intire, according to the Old Latin and Greek Vertions (1), and whence it is more likely our Liturgy hath ta P 3 (1) Exurge Domine, adjuva nos, re dime nos propter no men tuum.Vulg. ken |