them, in mutual ejaculations of the utmost warmth: not that moving expressions will any otherwise incline him to grant mercy, than as they fit us to receive it, by imprinting on us a just sense of our dependence; which, if used with sincerity, they naturally do.

Then we close this part of the Litany with a more continued form of address to our merciful" Father;" composed originally above 1100 years ago; corrupted indeed afterwards, by intreating God to "turn from us" all" evils" for the sake of the intercession of his saints; but reformed in our Liturgy, not only by leaving out that addition, but by inserting for completer security a new clause; "Grant, that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy." And thus it is, that we borrow from the Church of Rome. By this prayer, so amended, we humbly confess our infirmities and unworthiness: yet beg, that, notwithstanding both, we may, if God sees it proper, escape the afflictions, which we fear; but if not, that, being still assured of his goodness to us, we may with Job" though he

slay us, trust in him," Job xiii. 15; and that, for proof of this, we may as faithfully do our duty under the heaviest pressures, as the highest exaltation; "and evermore serve him in holiness, and pureness of living, to his honour and glory;" saying with Job again, "shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord." Job ii. 10; i. 21. Abp. Secker.

Thus have we gone through the consideration of this excellent and peculiar office of our Church; and upon the whole we may affirm, that as in the Liturgy in general we may be said to "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness," so in the Litany we worship him in the perfection of beauty. Dr. Bisse.

May God give us grace to use these and all our devotions in so right a manner, that, from praying to him amidst the troubles and sorrows of this world, we may be taken, in his good time, to praise him for ever amidst the joys of the next, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Abp. Secker.

Prayers and Thanksgivings upon several occasions.] Though the various miseries of mankind are exactly enumerated in the Litany, yet they are but barely mentioned there, and at some times some particular evils lie heavy upon us, and some great mercies are so necessary for us, that it is requisite we should have solemn forms upon such occasions to annex to this office, that so it may fully suit all our necessities. Solomon supposes there will be special prayers made in the temple in times of war, drought, pestilence, and famine, 1 Kings. viii. 33, 35, 37; and Lactantius observes, that the very Gentiles addressed themselves to the gods, in times of war, plague, and drought. Tertullian also notes that the Christians did make extraordinary prayers on such occasions. And both the Greek and Latin Church have their several offices for such times, out of which these prayers are taken, which are not designed for a complete office; because when any judgment continues long, and grows general, our governors draw up a peculiar office, and

Gen. viii.21.

stroy it so again; We humbly be- 1Pet. iii. 20. seech thee, that although we for our iniquities have worthily deserved a plague of rain and waters, yet upon our true repentance thou wilt send us such weather, as that we may receive the fruits of the earth in due season; and learn both by thy punishment to amend our lives, and for Jer. v. 25. thy clemency to give thee praise and glory; through Jesus Christ Lord. Amen.

Ezekiel xxxviii. 22. Exod. ix.

our 31-34

In the time of Dearth and Famine.

Job ix. 4. Ps. cvii. 31.

enjoin it to be observed with solemn fasting: only these prayers are continually to be said with the Litany upon such occasions, that so, according to that law of Charles the Great," In time of famine, plague, and war, the mercy of God may be immediately implored, without staying for the king's edict." Dean Comber.

Only the two first prayers, namely, for rain, and for fair weather, were in the first book of Edw. VI. and there placed at the end of the Communion service. But in the second book of Edw. VI. these two with the three following, namely, in time of dearth, war, and plague, were all five inserted in the place, where they now stand. But their respective thanksgivings were added by order of King James the First.

Note also, that the five foregoing prayers are deprecations; whereas the three following, namely, for emberweeks, for the parliament, for all conditions of men, are intercessions; these were added at the last review, 1661. Dr. Bisse.

24, 25. vii.

Jer. viii. 14.

O

Or this.

God, merciful Father, who, in the time of Elisha the prophet, didst suddenly in Samaria turn great scarcity and dearth into plenty and cheapness; Have mercy upon us, that we, who are now for our sins punished with like adversity, may likewise find a seasonable

2 Kings vi. relief: Increase the fruits of the 6, 7, 16. earth by thy heavenly benediction; Ps. xlvi. 1. and grant that we, receiving thy Ps. cxxxii. bountiful liberality, may use the same to thy glory, the relief of

Rom. xv. 4.

15.

Drought, deluge, or excessive rain, famine, rebellion, war, tumult, plague, and pestilence, are among the most dreadful visitations of the Almighty. These judgments he sometimes sends upon the earth, that the inhabitants of the world may learn righteousness. But so much have we of these realms been indebted to the mercy of his Providence, that, within the remembrance of more than the present generation, some of these forms have not been found necessary. The forms themselves, however, are so plain and perspicuous, that no particular elucidation of them can be required. It may, therefore, be enough to observe, that similar prayers occur in ancient Liturgies, from which some of these appear to be chiefly taken; and that each is well suited to the emergency to which it is appropriated by our Church. Shepherd.

These occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings are only to be made use of, when we are generally distressed upon emergencies; not, as some persons may desire,

xx. 6.

Ps. cxix.

Jer. xviii. 7,

10.

things, whose power no creature is able to resist, to whom it belongeth 2 Chron. justly to punish sinners, and to be Lam.iii. 39. merciful, to them that truly repent; 137. Save and deliver us, we humbly 8. beseech thee, from the hands of our enemies; abate their pride, 1 Sam. xii. asswage their malice, and confound their devices; that we, being armed Zech. x. 11. with thy defence, may be preserved lxxvi. 10. evermore from all perils, to glorify 31. Psal. thee, who art the only giver of all victory; through the merits of thy Ps.lxii. 1,2. only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1. 15. Amen.

In the time of any common Plague or Sickness.

Almighty God, who in thy wrath didst send a plague up

Ps. xviii. 27.

2 Sam. xv. xxxiii. 10.

cxxi. 7, 8.

1 Chron. xxix. 11.

49.

on thine own people in the wilderness, for their obstinate rebellion against Moses and Aaron; and also, Numb. xvi. in the time of king David, didst slay with the plague of Pestilence threescore and ten thousand, and yet remembering thy mercy didst save the rest; Have pity upon us 2Sam. xxiv. miserable sinners, who now are visited with great sickness and mor

14-16.

when they think them requisite, but when there is a grievous necessity. Collis.

In the time of War and Tumults.] In this prayer we address ourselves to the Almighty Governor of all things, whose justice in punishing us sinners with this evil we acknowledge, and whose mercy to deliver us from it, on our true repentance, we hope for, and cannot hope for it else; complaining of the pride and malice of our enemies; of which they must be guilty, if the war on our side be lawful, otherwise there would be peace; and in the genuine spirit of Christianity, intreating, that the one may be "abated," the other "asswaged;" which is praying for them, as well as ourselves. And till they suffer their dispositions to be mended, we beg that their "devices" and enterprises may be "confounded," which word, as dreadful as it sounds too often in passionate common speech, means here no more than disappointed; and this is the worst we wish, even to those "who hate us, and despitefully use us." Matt. v. 44. Abp. Secker.

M

"In the Ember Weeks, &c.] "Ember" is a word of uncertain derivation. Some suppose it signifies ashes, and some abstinence. Abstinence or fasting, it is commonly known, was anciently accompanied with the act of sitting upon ashes, or of sprinkling ashes upon the head. In the Western Church, the ember weeks were styled, "the fasts of the four seasons." This title, as well as the usage mentioned above, appears to favour the derivation already given. But others derive ember from a Saxon word, signifying course, or circumvolution, for the ember weeks return at fixed and certain periods, and are fasts in course.

The ember days are the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, after the first Sunday in Lent, the feast of Pentecost, September 14, and December 13. The weeks in which these days fall are called ember weeks; and the Sundays immediately following are, according to ancient institution, appointed by the 31st canon of our Church for the ordination of the Clergy.

These two prayers, though the latter of them is found in the Scottish Liturgy, were added to our Book of Common Prayer only at the last review. The intention of the forms is sufliciently obvious: and as the ordination of ministers is a subject of primary importance, it is to be regretted that one or other of the forms is not more generally read on the Wednesday and Friday in the ember week, in such of our parish churches as have service on these days. Whether they were intended to be read

every day in the ember weeks, or only on every ember day in the week, is a question that has not universally been answered in the same way. The words of the rubrick appear to countenance the former practice. Shepherd.

The former of these two prayers is thought to be most properly used in the early part of the week, as it is for the ordainers and the ordained; to guide the minds of the bishops and their assisting pastors, that they may, with wisdom and fidelity, make choice of persons, well qualified by their learning and piety, to be admitted into the offices of the ministry. The other is proper to be used toward the latter end of the week, to beseech God to afford the grace of his Holy Spirit to all those, who have been made choice of, and who are to be admitted to the office of a priest, or the administration of a deacon. Collis.

In this appointment our Church follows the constant custom of the catholick Church, and that seems derived from the original precedent of the apostles themselves, see Acts xiii. 2, 3. A custom of the highest importance to be continued for ever in the Church; to the end, that all those, who are appointed to feed the flock of Christ, may be true and lawful shepherds, having "entered in by the door," I mean, the apostolical way of ordination, by prayer, and laying on of the hands of the bishop, and not hirelings, who climb up some other gay. Dr. Bisse.

God, whose nature and property is ever to have mercy and to forgive, receive our humble Ps. c. 5. petitions; and though we be tied Mark ii. 7. and bound with the chain of our sins, yet let the pitifulness of thy Rom. vii. great mercy loose us; for the ho

Dan. ix. 9.

Ps. vi. 9.

23, 24, 25.

Jam. v. 11. nour of Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

¶ A Prayer for the High Court of Parliament, to be read during their Session.

A Prayer that may be said after any of the former.] This short devout Collect is joined to the ancient Litanies of the Western Church, and, since sin is the cause of all the foregoing judgments, this may be added to any of the former, as a prayer for pardon of sin; for which reason also it is used by some devout men, (when they use the Church-prayers in private) instead of the Absolution. Dean Comber.

This prayer is not repeated so frequently as its excellence seems to require. It is drawn up in the metaphorical, but expressive, language of Scripture; has been long employed in the conclusion of Litanies, and other forms of prayer, by the churches of the West, and retains strong marks of primitive devotion. This Collect I have seen in some of Henry's Primers: but it is in neither of Edward's books, having been restored to the Common Prayer only in the reign of Elizabeth. Shepherd.

It is generally placed wrong in our Common Prayer Books, namely, after the prayer for all conditions of men; having been so placed by the ignorance or carelessness of the printers at the review just after the Restoration, and been continued there notwithstanding the interference of the commissioners at that time. In the sealed books, which by the Act of Uniformity are ordered to be kept in all cathedral or collegiate churches, in the courts of Westminster, and in the tower of London, it stands before the prayer for the Parliament. Collis.

A Prayer for the High Court of Parliament,] Not only did the primitive Christians pray for the senate of heathen Rome, but the Gentiles used to sacrifice in the beginning of their publick councils, which used also to be held in some sacred place: and surely we Christians ought not to shew less devotion, especially when we have so good a composition, to offer up our desire in, as this prayer is. Dean Comber.

This other occasional prayer "for the High Court of Parliament" is of the like publick importance to the state, as the former, namely, for the Ember weeks, is to the church; and so both jointly to our constitution; in which the church and state are so united and linked together by the fundamental laws of this realm, that they cannot be divided without being destroyed; a maxim fully proved by the consultations of that memorable Parlia

OST gracious God, we humbly beseech thee, as for this Kingdom in general, so especially Ps. cxxii. 6. for the High Court of Parliament, Prov. xi. 14. under our most religious and gracious King' at this time assembled: That thou wouldest be pleased to direct and prosper all their consul- Is. Ixi. 8. tations to the advancement of thy 20. Prov. glory, the good of thy Church, the safety, honour, and welfare of our Sovereign, and his Dominions; that 1 Cor. x. 31. all things may be so ordered and 7, 8, 9. settled by their endeavours, upon 6-10. the best and surest foundations, 2.

Nehem. ii.

xxi. 30.

Ps. cxxii.

2 Chron. X.

Prov. xxix.

ment, which overturned both, and which gave occasion to have this very prayer added here to our publick intercessions after the Restoration. Dr. Bisse.

k

-to be read during their Session.] If the Houses adjourn themselves for a fortnight or a longer time, it is still the same session: but, if they are prorogued for a shorter time, it is not reckoned a part of it, they not being then impowered to do business, as upon adjournments they are. This prayer was composed at the last review, and, it is said, by Dr. Brabourn. Collis. See the conclusion of the next note.

-under our most religious and gracious King] This is a very fit prayer for a blessing on the consultations of parliament. But it may be asked, how the compilers of it could venture to call in it every one of our kings, in all time to come," most religious." Now certainly they did not intend to prophesy, that, in the common meaning of the word, they always would be so; nor yet to require, that we should call them so in a sense, that was not true. And therefore they must either mean by "religious," what it sometimes means in the language, from which it is derived, the object of most awful regard, sacred, a title frequently ascribed to kings: or indeed rather, "most religious" must be understood in the same manner, as the next word to it, "gracious," constantly is, without the least difficulty or scruple, both in the Liturgy and out of it; and as the titles "most Christian," and, most Catholick," are; to denote the good qualities, which princes profess and should have; and therefore their subjects are willing and ought to hope they have; and, by reminding them, endeavour that they may have. Accordingly this very epithet" most religious" was constantly ascribed to all successive emperors in St. Chrysostom's and St. Basil's Liturgies, the common ones of the Greek Church, as it is to all successive kings in ours. The intention being thus cleared, the lawfulness of joining in the expression is evident. In the prudence of choosing it originally we are less concerned. Yet in defence of that we may plead, that this prayer was com posed and originally used in the reign of a prince, acknowledged to be unfeignedly religious, King Charles the First. Abp. Secker.

The first and last parts of this prayer are taken from one with the same title, among the additions and alter