Devotions IN The Ancient Way OF OFFICES: WITH PSALMS, HYMNS, and PRAYERS; for every day in the Week, and every Holiday in the Year. THO. a KEMPIS. Mind not who speaks, but what is said. PARISH, MDCLXVIII. DIRECTIONS. THis Book consists chiefly of Eleven Offices: One for each day in the Week: One for our Saviour's Feasts: One for the H. Ghost: One for Saints: and One for the Dead. Each Office has four Parts; Matins and laud's, for the Morning. Vefpers and Complin, for the Evening. The manner of reciting these Offices. When one says his Prayers alone, the circumstances are free to be governed by his own devotion. But if two say together, 'tis convenient they agree on some Rules: for which purpose these following are proposed; yet so as to be altered by their own discretion as they please. The Place, I suppose, will be their private Oratory, or other convenient Retirement. Matins. FIrst, Both stand a while, to make the Presence of God, and implore his assistance; either without set form of words; or with the Prayer, Prevent we beseech Thee, etc. secretly. Then Both make the sign of the Cross, and say, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the H. Ghost. Amen. Then Both joining their hands before their breasts, and lowly bowing their heads, say, Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity, now and for ever. Amen. Then Both kneel and say, Our Father. Hall Mary. I believe. Thus far secretly. Then Both rise, and standing, A. says with an audible voice, O Lord open thou our lips. (Saying these words, he makes the sign of the Cross with his thumb moved near his mouth.) B. And our mouths shall declare thy praise. A. O God incline unto our aid. (Saying this, he makes the sign of the Cross, moving his hand from forehead to breast, then from left shoulder to the right.) B. O Lord make haste to help us. A. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the H. Ghost. B. As it was in the beginning, both now and ever, world without end. Amen. Then Both say, Alleluja; except in Advent and Lent, in which times Alleluja is always omitted. Then, Both standing, A. says the Invitatory. B. repeats it. A. says the first Verse of the Psalm. B. again repeats the Invitatory. A. says the second Verse. B. the Invitatory; and so to the end of that Psalm. A. says, Glory be. B. As it was. A. says the Invitatory. B. repeats it. Then, Of the Hymn, each recites his Stanza. Than One says the Antiphon: The Other begins the Psalm, which they recite alternately, Both sitting. And so all the rest of the Psalms and Antiphons'. At the end of every Psalm, Both rise; or at least bow their heads while the first Verse of Glory be, etc. is said. The three Psalms being ended, Both standiug, say secretly, Our Father— Then A. reads the first Lesson: after which, B. begins the Responsory as far as to the first Star. There A. takes it and goes on to the next full point. Then B. to the second Star; and that Star A. again repeats to the next full point, as before. Thus are all Responsories said. B. reads the second Lesson. A. Begins the Responsory to the first Star. B. goes on to the full point. Then A. to the second Star, and that B. repeats. A. reads the third Lesson, B. begins the Responsory. A. goes on, etc. as above. At the end of the third Responsory, Te Deum is said, on all Sundays and Holidays, except the Sundays of Advent and Lent, and then 'tis omitted, and immediately after the third Responsory, laud's begin; and so, always, on the Weekdays. laud's. BEfore laud's, pause a while, to reflect on what you have read, and to renew attention. Then, Both standing, A. begins, O God incline, etc. (saying these words, he makes the sign of the Cross from forehead to breast, etc.) B. O Lord make haste, as at Matins. The Antiphons' and Psalms are all recited alternately, Both sitting. Then, both standing up, One reads the Capitulum or short Lesson; the Other begins the Hymn; of which, each says his Stanza, to the end. Then B. says the Antiphon. A. the Versicle. B. the Response. A. O Lord hear our prayers: B. And let our supplications come to Thee. A. Let us pray. Then Both kneeling, A. says the Prayer of the Day. B. Amen. On all Sundays and Holidays, immediately after the Hymn, the Canticle Benedictus is said, with its Antiphon before and after. In all Commemorations B. says the Antiphon. A. the Versicle. B. the Responsory. A. the Prayer. After all the Prayers both of the Day, and of the Commemorations. A. says, A. O Lord hear our Prayers: B. And let our supplications come to Thee. A. Bless we our Lord: B. Thanks be to God. A. May the souls of the Faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. B. Amen. Paufe and mediate according to your devotion. Then A. says, The Blessing of God almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, descend upon us, and dwell in our hearts for ever. B. Amen. Pause a while, then rise, and so ends the Morning-Office. Vespers. BOth stand a while, to make the presence of God, and implore his grace. Then say, In the Name, etc. Blessed be, etc. as at Matins. Then kneeling say, Our Father. Hail Mary: thus far secretly. Then both rise and stand. A. says audibly, O God incline, etc. as at laud's. The Antiphons', Psalms, Capitulum, Hymn, and all the rest of Vespers are said in the same method as at laud's. If they go on immediately to Complin, then, having made a short pause to reflect on what is said, and renew attention, they omit, The Blessing of, etc. and rising from their knees, A. begins, Complin. A. Our help is, etc. B. Who made, etc. All the Versicles, Responses, Antiphons', Psalms, Hymn, are said alternately. A. says the Capitulum. B. the Antiphon. A. the Versicle. B. the Response. Then, both kneel during the rest of the Office. A. says, Let us pray, and the Prayer. B. Amen. A. Vouchsafe. B. Amen. A. all the Versicles following: B. all the Responses. A. the Prayer, Visit we. B. Amen. A. O Lord hear. B. And let our. A. Bless we our Lord. B. Thanks be to God. A. May the souls, etc. B. Amen. Pause a while: then A. says, Our Lord give us his peace. B. And life everlasting, Amen. Then A. begins two verses of One of the great Antiphons' of our blessed Lady. B. says the next Two; and so alternately to the end of the Antiphon. A. says the Versicle. B. the Response. A. Let us pray, and the Prayer. B. Amen. Pause a while: Then A. says, The blessing of God, etc. B. Amen. Pause a while, rise. So ends the Office of the whole day. The Office of our Saviour, Is said on all the feasts of our Saviour, and on all Sundays of Advent and Lent; as is noted in the Proper of Festivals: where you will find sometimes a particular Invitatory, which is to be recited with its Psalm; and always three particular Antiphons', One for each Psalm of Matins, laud's, Vespers and Complin; and then the Antiphons' set down in the Office are omitted; they being provided only for those who think the particular ones too troublesome, and such as choose to say our Saviour's Office sometimes on a day that is not of Obligation. The same may be observed in the Antiphons' for Benedictus and Magnificat; and in the Prayer, whenever any particular ones are provided. All the rest, Psalms, Lessons, Hymns, etc. say, as in the Office of our Saviour. The Office of the H. Ghost Is said on Whitsunday, and dring the Octave: and on every first Wednesday of the Month, unless it be a Holiday, and then 'tis remitted to the next convenient day. The Office of Saints Is intended only for Feasts of Obligation, but may be applied to Others, according to particular devotion. In saying this Office, the same method is to be observed as in that of our Saviour. The Office of the Dead Is said every first Monday of the Month, unless it be a Holiday, and then 'tis transferred to the next convenient day: as also at other times, according to occasion or particular devotion. When ever this Office is said, that of the day is omitted; only the ordinary Complin must be used, this having none of its own. Alleluja. From Easter morning till the Octave of Corpus Christi be past, to every Antiphon and Invitatory is added one Alleluja, except at Matins and Vespers on Fridays. In Advent and Lent, Alleluja is never said. Of Concurrence of Offices. If a Holiday fall on a Sunday, the Office is said for the Holiday, except Easter-day, Whitsunday, Trinity-Sunday, and all the Sundays in Advent and Lent. Only the Annunciation is preferred before the Sundays in Lent; unless it fall on Palm-Sunday, and then 'tis omitted that year with a Commemoration. If any Holiday happen on Thursday, Friday or Saturday in holy Week, 'tis omitted that year without a Commemoration. If any Holiday happen on Monday or Tuesday in Easter or Whitsun-week, 'tis omitted that year with a Commemoration. On other days within those Octaves, the Office of the Holiday is said, and so in all other Octaves, with a Commemoration of the Octave. These Feasts only have Octaves, Christmas-day, Twelft-day, Easter, Ascension, Whitsunday, Corpus Christi, Assumption of our B. Lady, All-Saints. A Commemoration. Is made by reciting all that's set down in the Proper of Festivals for the Feast commemorated; and is to be made immediately after the Prayer of the Day whose Office is actually said. In all Pauses, 'tis advisable rather to think and meditate, then use any set form of words: but let every one practice what he finds most condusive to his devotion. Though these Directions concerning Festivals, etc. would by a little acquaintance become familiar to any attentive Considerer; yet whoever finds it troublesome to observe them, let him recite the Offices as they lie; and for the Feasts, etc. read at laud's and Vespers, all the proper Antiphons' and Prayer, immediately together, without distributing them to their particular Psalms. Holidays of Obligation. All Sundays, New-years-day, Twelf-day, the Purification, Annunciation, Assumption and Nativity of our B. Lady; all the twelve Apostles, S. Joseph, the Invention of the H. Cross, S. John Baptist, S. Ann, the Mother of our B. Lady, S. Laurence, S. Michael, All-Saints, Christmas-day, S. Stephen, Holy Innocents', S. Sylvester. Movable Holidays. Easter-day, with two days next following, Ascension-day, Whitsunday with two days following, Corpus Christi-day. Fasting-days. All Lent, except Sundays, the Ember-days, the Eves of Christimas and Whitsunday, the Eves of the Nativity, Purification, Annunciation (unless it fall in Easter-week) and Assumption of our B. Lady, the Eves of All-Saints, of all the twelve Apostles (except S. John Evangelist, and SS. Philip and Jacob) of the Nativity of S. John Baptist; and of S. Laurence, all Fridays, except in Christmas, and between Easter and Ascension. As long as the Bridegroom is with us, Mat. 9 15. Days of Astinence. All Sundays in Lent, all Saturdays in the year, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, before Ascension, and S. Marks day, if it fall not in Easter-week. These Lessons are out of Holy Scripture, but sometimes the particular places not cited, because sometimes the Lesson is not taken out of one place, but composed of many. THE OFFICE FOR SUNDAY. MATINS. Introduction. PRevent, we beseech thee, O Lord, our actions with thy holy inspirations, and carry them on by thy gracious assistance; that every prayer and work of ours may begin always from thee, and by thee be happily ended, through Christ our Lord, Amen. IN the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghost, Amen. BLessed be the holy and undivided Trinity, now and for ever, Amen. OUr 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 them that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen. HAil Mary, full of grace, our Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women; and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, JESUS. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death; Amen. I Believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth: and in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the holy Ghost; born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was Crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead: I believe in the holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints; the forgiveness of Sins; the Resurrection of the Body; and Life Everlasting, Amen. V. O Lord open thou our Lips: R. And our mouths shall declare thy praise. V. O God incline unto our aid: R. O Lord make haste to help us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, both now and ever, world without end Amen. Alleluja. Thus far is the Introduction, and it is said in the beginning of every Matins, except Those of the Dead. In Advent and Lent: Alleluja is omitted both here and every where. Invitatory: Come, let's adore our glorified Jesus. Come, let's adore our glorified Jesus. Psal. I. BEhold the Angels assembled in their Quires; & the blessed Saints ready with their Hymns: behold the Church prepares her solemn Offices; and Summons all her Children to bring in their praises. Come, let's adore our glorified Jesus. The King of heaven himself invites us, and graciously calls us into his own presence: He bids us suspend our mean employments in the world; to receive the honour of treating with Him. Come, let's adore our glorified Jesus. To him we owe all the days of our life; at least, let us pay this one to his service: a service so sweet, and easy in itself; and so infinitely rich in its eternal rewards. Come, let's adore our glorified Jesus. Let us cheerfully ascend to the house of our Lord, the place he has chosen, for our sakes, to dwell in: let us reverently bow to his holy Altars; where himself in person comes to meet our prayers. Come, let's adore our glorified Jesus. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, both now, and ever, world without end, Amen. Come, let's adore our glorified Jesus. Come, let's adore our glorified Jesus. Hymn. I. BEhold we come, dear Lord, to Thee; And bow before thy Throne: We come to offer, on our knee, Our vows to Thee alone. What e'er we have, what e'er we are, Thy bounty freely gave: Thou dost us here in mercy spare; And wilt hereafter save. But O, can all our store afford No better gifts for Thee? Thus we confess thy riches, Lord; And thus our poverty. 'Tis not our tongue or knee can pay The mighty debt we owe: Far more we should, than we can say, Far lower than we bow. Come then, my soul, bring all thy powers, And grieve thou hast no more: Bring every day thy choicest hours, And thy great God adore. But above all, prepare thy hart, On this his own blessed Day: In its sweet task to bear thy part, And sing, and love, and pray. Glory to Thee, Eternal Lord! Thrice blessed Three in One: Thy Name at all times be adored; Till time itself be done. Antiphon. This is the day which our Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice therein: Alleluja. Psal. II. WElcome, blessed day, wherein the Sun of Righteousness arose, * and chased away the clouds of fear. Welcome, thou birthday of our hopes; a day of joy and public refreshment. A day of holiness and solemn devotion; a day of rest and universal Jubilee. Welcome to us, and our dark world; and may thy radiant Name shine bright for ever. May all the earth be enlightened with thy beams; and every frozen hart dissolve and sing. This is the day which our Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice therein. This is the day he has sanctified to himself; and called by his own most holy Name. That in it we may meet to adore his Greatness; and admire the wonders of his infinite Power. That we may remember his innumerable Mercies; and deeply imprint them in the centre of our hearts. That we may visit his holy Temple; a●●d humbly present our homage at his Altars. Those sacred Altars, where the Lamb of God is daily offered; and the memory of our Saviour's love renewed. Worthy art thou, O Lord, of all our time; worthy the praises of all thy creatures. Every moment of our life is bound to bless thee; since every moment subsists by thy Goodness. Shall others labour so much for vanity; and shall we not rest for the service of our God? Shall we employ the whole week on our selus; and not offer in gratitude one day to Thee? To Thee, who bestowst on us all we have; and wilt give us hereafter more than we hope. O gr●●●ous Lord, whose mercy accepts * such slender payment as our poverty affords. Whose bounty grants so liberally to us; and retains so small a part for thyself. O make us faithfully observe our duty; and render so exactly the tribute we owe thee. That passing still thy days to thy honour; we may end our own in thy favour. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, both now, and ever; world without end, Amen. Antiph. This is the day which our Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice therein: Alleluja. Antiph. Thou hast created all things, O Lord, for the use of man; and man for the enjoyment of thyself. Psal. III. AS when the harvest Sun provides a cloud, and seems to rest his wearied beams. He seeks not to save the journey of his light, but only spares the Reaper's head. Much less seekest thou, O Lord, who mad'st the Sun, * and inspir'st all creatures to represent thy bounty. Much less seekest thou, by the reserve of a day, to procure thine own repose. Thou who createdst all things by a word of thy mouth, and sustainest them in thy hand, without feeling any weight. Who governest the whole World without perplexing thy thoughts; and always remain'st the same unchangeable fullness. 'Tis not to increase thine own Eternity, that thus thou tak'st a portion of our time. Thy goodness friendly bears the name; but intends for us all the profit of the day. That the wearied hands may be relieved with rest, and enabled to lift themselves up to thee. That the ignorant minds may be taught thy truth; and learn the way to everlasting happiness. That the guilty consciences may accuse their crimes; and be absolved on earth, to be pardoned in heaven. That the love-prepared souls may approach thy Table; and feast their hopes with that delicious Banquet. That all may speak to thee by Prayer; and hear thy voice by the mouth of their Pastors. O blessed Lord, what excellent arts * has thy wisdom invented to bring us to thyself! Thou tak'st our eyes by the beauty of thy house; and the decent splendours of thy solemn Offices. Thou quicken'st our affections by the livelyness of Pictures; and meltest our hearts with the sweetness of thy Music. Thou strengthen'st our Faith by thy public Assemblies; and improv'st our Charity both to Thee and one another. While we all meet together for the same blessed end; and by mutual reflections increase our fervours. Happy, thrice happy they, O Merciful God whom thy Providence has favoured with all these blessings. Who freely may enter thy holy Sanctuary; and sing aloud their praises to thy Name. Who every day may wait on thy Altars; and there securely adore thy Person. Where thou art pleased to deny these Mercies; refuse not O Lord, to extend thy grace. That at least we may build a little Chapel in our hearts; and consecreate our selus entirely to thee. Be thou but present, gracious God and fill our Souls with thy chaste love. No farther motives shall we need to draw us; nor other Temple to address our Prayers. Since every place, where Thou art not, is unholy, and where thou art is Joy and Peace. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Thou hast created all things, O Lord, for the use of Man; and Man for the enjoyment of thyself. Antiph. Has the Almighty Goodness made all things us for; and shall we do nothing for him? nothing for our selus? Psal. IV COme let us lay aside the cares of this world; and take into our minds the Joys of Heaven. Let us empty our heads of all other thoughts; and prepare that upper room to entertain our God. Retiring from the many distractions of this life; and closely recollecting all the forces of our soul. So to pursue in earnest that One necessary work; the securing for ourselves the Kingdom of Heaven. Why should we thus neglect that sacred Science; and be busy in every thing but our own Salvation? Why should we still forsake the real substance; to embrace an empty fancy? Miserable are they, O Lord, who study all things else; and never seek to taste thy sweetness. Miserable, though their skill can number the Stars; and trace out the ways of the Planets. To know thee, O Lord, is to be truly wise; and to contemplate thee, the highest learning. But, O thou glorious God of Truth; in whom the treasures of knowledge are all laid up! Unless thou draw the Curtain from before our eyes; and drive away the clouds that intercept our sight. Never shall we see those heavenly mysteries; nor discern the beauty of thy Providence. Send forth thy light, O thou morning Star! and lead us to thy holy Hill. Send forth thy truth, O increated Wisdom! and bring us to thy blessed Tabernacle. Show us Thyself, and thy eternal Father; and it suffices to satisfy our utmost desires. Show us thyself alone, O glorious JESUS! and in thee we shall behold all we can wish. Only so much we beg to conceive of thy Majesty; as may move our hearts to seek thee. Only so much of thy un-approachable Deity; as may guide our Souls to find thee. If we may not know thee clearly now; let us know so far, that we long to know farther. If we cannot love thee perfectly in this life; let us love so much that we desire to love more. So let us know and love thee here; O Thou Sovereign bliss of our Souls! That we hereafter may know thee better; ●●nd love thee more for ever. Glory be: Antiph. Has the Almighty Goodness made all things for us; and shall we do nothing for him? nothing for ourselves? Our Father, etc. First Lesson. 1 Cor. 15. and Coll. 3. CHrist is risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept; for by a Man came death, and by a Man the Resurrection of the dead: And as in Adam all die, even so in CHRIST shall all be made alive: If then you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God: Mind the things that are above, not those which are on the Earth; for you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God: when Christ, who is your life, shall appear; then shall you also appear with him in glory: mortify therefore your Members that are on the Earth, Fornication, Uncleaness, Lust, Evil Concupiscence, and Avarice, which is the service of Idols: for which things the wrath of God comes on the children of incredulity. And now lay you also away Anger and Indignation, Malice, Blasphemy, and Filthy Talk out of your Mouth: Lie not one to another: Divest your selus of the old man, and put on the new; who is renewed into the knowledge of God, according to his Image who created him; where there is not Gentile and Jew; Circumcision and Uncircumcision; Bond and Free; but all, and in all Christ. Responsory: O Glorious Jesus! in whom we live, and without whom we die; mortify in us all sensual desires, and quicken our hearts with thy holy love; that we no longer esteem the vanities of this world; but place our affections entirely on Thee; * Who didst for our sins, and rose again for our Justification. O Thou our only hope and portion in the Land of the Living! may our thoughts and discourses still be of Thee; our works and sufferings all for Thee, * Who didst for our Sins, and rose again for our Justification. Second Lesson. Coll. 3. PUt you on therefore, as the Elect of God, holy and beloved, the Bowels of Mercy, Benignity, Humility, Modesty, Patience, supporting one another, and pardoning one another; if any have a quarrel against any one, as our Lord has pardoned us, so also do you. But above all these things have Charity, which is the band of perfection: and let the peace of Christ triumph in your hearts, in which you are called in one body, and be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing your selus with Psalms and Hymns, and Spiritual Canticles; singing with grace in your hearts to God. What ever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Women be subject to your Husbands, as you ought in our Lord: Men love your Wives, and be not bitter towards them: Children obey your Parents in all things; for that is wellpleasing to our Lord: Fathers, provoke not your Children to indignation; that they become not discouraged: Servants, obey in all things your Masters according to the Flesh; not with eye-service, as pleasing men; but in simplicity of hart, as fearing God. What ever you do, do it from the hart, as to our Lord; and not to men: knowing you shall receive of our Lord the reward of the inheritance. Serve our Lord Jesus; for he that does injury, shall receive what he has done unjustly; and there is no acceptance of persons with God. Resp. Open thou our Eyes, O Lord, that we may see the beauty of thy Commands; how wise and sweet in themselves, how necessary and beneficial to us: * While they improve our felicity here, and entitle us to That of hereafter. Guide thou our lives, O gracious Lord, in the ways of thy Precepts; that by observing faithfully these excellent Rules, we may all be every where happy: * While Third Lesson. Heb. 12. & 13 Chapt. LAying aside every weight, and sin that compasses us about; let us run with patience to the Combat that's set before us: looking on Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith; who despising the shame, for the joy that was proposed him, sustained the Cross, and sits on the right hand of the Throne of God: Think diligently on him, who endured such contradiction of siners against himself; that you be not wearied, and faint in your minds: for you have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation, which speaks to you as Children, saying, My Son neglect not the Discipline of our Lord, nor be weary while thou art rebuked of him: for whom our Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every Child he receivs. Now no Discipline for the present seems to be joyful, but grievous; but afterward it will render to them who are exercised by it, the most peaceable fruit of Justice: Follow Peace with all men, and Holiness, without which none shall see God; and look diligently lest any one be wanting to the grace of God: Let Brotherly love abide in you; and forget not hospitality; for by it some have entertained Angels unawars. Remember them that are in bonds, as if you were bound with them; and them that labour, as being your selus also in the body: Let your conversation be without covetousness; contented with what you have; for he has said; I will not leave thee, nor forsake thee: so that we may confidently say, our Lord is my help, I will not fear what man can do to me. And the God of Peace, who brought again from the Dead the great Pastor of the Sheep, in the blood of the eternal Testament, our Lord Jesus Christ, make you perfect in all goodness; that you may do his Will; working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Resp. Thither, O my Soul, let us still be going, where once to arrive, is always to be at rest; there let us dwell already in hope; where once to enjoy, is always to be happy: * Since whate'er we desire, we are sure to have; and whate'er we have can never be taken from us. Let us believe, and obey, and suffer; let us read, and meditate, and pray; Heaven's a reward worth all our pains * Since what e'er we desire, we are sure to have; and whate'er we have can never be taken from us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: * Since whate'er we desire, we are sure to have; and whate'er we have can never be taken from us! Te Deum. WE praise thee our God; we acknowledge thee our Lord: All the Earth adores thee; thou Father Eternal: To Thee the blessed Angels; to Thee the Heavens, and all their Powers: To Thee the Cherubims and Seraphims perpetually sing: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth: The heavens and the earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory: The glorious Choir of Apostles praise Thee: The renowned society of Prophets bless Thee: The noble Army of Martyrs glorify Thee: The holy Church throughout the world confesses Thee. Father of immense Majesty: Thy adorable, true and only Son: Also the holy Spirit the Comforter: Thou art the King of glory, O Christ! Thou art the eternal Son of the Father: Thou being to undertake the delivery of Man, didst not disdain the Virgins Womb. Thou, having overcome the sting of death, opend'st to Believers the Kingdom of heaven. Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of thy Father: We believe thou shalt come to be our Judg. Help therefore, we beseech Thee, thy servants whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood: Make them be numbered with thy Saints in glory everlasting: Lord save thy People, and bless thy Inheritance. And govern them, and raise them up even to eternity: Every day we glorify Thee, and praise thy Name for ever and ever: Vouchsafe, O Lord! to keep us this day without sin: Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us: Let thy mercy, O Lord, be on us, as our hope is in Thee: In Thee, O Lord have I placed my hope; let me not be confounded for ever. Pause a while; to reflect on what you have said, and to renew your attention; then begin laud's. Sunday laud's. O God incline unto our aid: O Lord make haste to help us: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, both now and ever; world without end, Amen. Alleluia. Antiph. O how adorable are thy counsels, O Lord! how strangely endearing the ways of thy love! Alleluia. Psal. V. SIng to our Lord a Psalm of Joy; sing praises to the God of our Salvation: Sing with a loud and cheerful voice; sing with a glad and thankful hart: Say to the weak of Spirit, be strong; and to the sorrowful be of good comfort. Tell all the world this soul-reviving truth; and may their hearts within them leap to hear it: Tell them, the Lord of life is risen again; and has clothed himself with immortal glory: He made the Angel's messengers of his victory; and vouchsafed even himself to bring us the joyful news: How many ways did thy mercy invent; O Thou wise contriver of all our happiness! To convince thy followers into this blessed belief; and settle in their hearts a firm ground of hope. Thou appeard'st in the Garden to the holy women that sought Thee; and open'dst their eyes to know and adore Thee: Thou overtook'st in the way the Two that discoursed of thee; and mad'st their hearts burn within them to hear thee: Thou showd'st thyself on the steadfast shore, to thy weary Disciples labouring at Sea; Labouring, alas, all night in vain; without the blessing of their beloved JESUS: Thou showd'st thyself, and told'st them who thou wert; in the kind known token of a beneficial miracle: Thorough the doors, though shut, thou swiftly passed'st; to carry peace to thy comfortless friends: To encourage their fears with thy powerful presence; and secure their faith by thy charitable arguments: How didst thou condescend to eat before them; and invite them to touch thy impassable body! How didst thou sweetly constrain that incredulous servant, to thrust his hand into thy wounded side! Actions we know unfit for thy glorified state; but absolutely necessary for our slow belief: How often, O my gracious Lord, in those blessed forty days, * did thy charity cast to meet with thy Disciples! That thou mightst teach them still some excellent truth; and imprint still deeper thy love in their hearts. Discoursing perpetually of the Kingdom of heaven; and establishing means to bring us thither. At last, when all thy glorious task was done; and thy parting hour from this earth approached: Thou tenderly gather'dst thy Children about thee; and in their full sight went'st up into heaven. Leaving thy dearest blessing on their heads; and promising them a Comforter to supply thine absence. O how adorable are thy counsels, O Lord! how strangely endearing the ways of thy love! Say now, my Soul, is not this evidence clear enough, * to answer all our darkest doubts? Is not this hope abundantly sufficient, to sweeten all our bitter'st sorrows? What though we mourn and be afflicted here; and sigh under the miseries of this world for a time? We're sure our tears shall one day rejoice; and that joy none shall take from us: What though our bodies be crumbled into dust; and that dust blown about o'er the face of the Earth? Yet we undoubtedly know our Redeemer lives; and shall appear in brightness at the last great Day: He shall appear in the midst of innumerable Angels; and with these very eyes we shall see Him: We shall see him in whom we have so long believed; we shall find him whom we have so often sought: We shall possess him whom our souls have loved; and be united to him for ever, who is the only end of our Being: Glory be, etc. Psal. VI RAise thy head, O my soul! and look up; and behold the glory of thy crucified Saviour: He that was dead and laid in the grave, * low enough to prove himself Man, Is risen again and ascended into heaven, * high enough to prove himself God: He is risen, and made the light his Garment; and commanded the Clouds to be the chariot of his triumph: The gates of heaven obeyed their Lord; and the everlasting doors opened to the King of glory: Enter bright King attended with thy beauteous Angels; and the glad train of thy new delivered Captives: Enter, and repossess thy ancient Throne; and reign eternally at the right hand of thy Father: May every knee bow low to thy exalted Name; and every tongue confess thy glory: May all created nature adore thy Power; and the Church of thy Redeemed exult in thy goodness: Whom have we in heaven, O Lord, but Thee, who expressly went'st thither to make way for thy followers? What have we on earth but our hope, by following Thee, * to arrive at last where Thou art gone before us? O glorious JESUS, our strength, our Joy; and the immortal life of all our Souls! Be Thou the principal subject of our studies; and daily entertainment of our most serious thoughts: Draw us, O dearest Lord, from the World, and our selus; that we be not entangled with any earthly desires: Draw us after Thee, and the odours of thy sweetness; that we may run with delight the ways of thy Commands: Draw us up to Thee on thy Throne of blyss; that we may see thy face, and rejoice with Thee for ever in thy Kingdom. Glory be, etc. Psal. VII. WHy should our hearts still dwell upon earth; since the treasure of our hearts is returned to heaven? Since our glorified Jesus is ascended above; to prepare us a place in his own Kingdom? A place of rest, and secure peace; where we shall see and praise and adore Him for ever: A place of joy and everlasting fruition; where we shall love and possess and delight in Him for ever: O happy we, and our poor souls; if once admitted to that blissful Vision! If once those heavenly portals unfold their gates; and let us in to the joys of our Lord: How will our spirits be ravished within themselves; to reflect on the fullness of their own beatitude! How shall we all rejoice in one another's felicity; but infinitely more in the infinitely greater felicity of God O heaven! towards thee we lift up our languishing heads; and with stretcht-out hands reach at thy glories: When, O Thou Finisher of all our hopes! when shall we once behold that incomparable light? That light which illuminates the eyes of Angels, and renews the youth of Saints: That light, which is thy very self, O Lord our God whom we shall there see face to face: Whom we shall there know as we are known; we shall know thee in thine own clear light: O light! shine thou perpetually in our eyes; that thy brightness may darken the false lustre of this world: O Light! shed thou thy flames in our hearts: that thy heat may consume all other desires. That we may burn continually with the chaste love of thee: till thine own bright day appear. Till we be called from this vale of darkness, into the glorious presence of the living God: To see Him that made the heavens and the earth; and disposes all creatures in so beauteous order: To see him that first gave us our being; then governed us in our way, * and brought us at length to so blessed an end. Meanwhile, O gracious Lord, the Crown of all thy Saints; and only expectation of thy faithful servants! Make us entertain our life with the comfort of this hope; and our hope with the assurance of thy promises: Make us still every day more perfectly understand * our own great duty, & thy infinite love: Make us continually meditate the advancement of Thy glory; and invite all the World to sing thy praises: Praise our Lord, O you holy Angels! Praise him, O you happy Saints! Praise him, O you Faithful departed in his grace! Praise him O you Living who subsist by his mercy! Praise him in the vast immensity of his power; Praise him in the admirable wisdom of his Providence: Praise him in the blessed effects of his goodness: Praise him in the infiniteness of all his Attributes: Praise thy Eternal Self, O glorious God and, to all the felicities Thou essentially possessest, may every creature say, Amen. Glory be: Antiph. O how adorable are thy Counsels, O Lord! how strangely endearing the ways of thy love! Alleluia. Capit. 1 Pet. 1. Blessed be God, and the Father of our Lord JESUS Christ, who according to his great mercy, has regenerated us to a lively hope; by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and pure, and which cannot fade, conserved for you in the heavens. Hymn. II. Wake my Soul, rise from this Bed Of dull and slugish earth: Quickly rise, lift up thy head, And see thy Lords new birth. Once He come, O blessed He! Born of a Virgin-Womb. Now He comes (both times for thee) Sprung from a Virgin tomb. Lo he rises fresh and bright, Encircled round with Stars; Which from Him take all their light. And from his glorious Scars. Still as He his progress makes Up to his heaven again, Each blessed Saint his music takes, And follows in his train. Thus together They ascend, Till at heaven gates they come; Where the Angels all attend, To bid them welcome home. Soon they know again their King, Soon they his Call obey: All the Quires come forth to sing, And crown with mirth the Day. Come, my soul, let us rejoice, Let us our Concert bring: Up to heaven le's lift our voice, And with the Angels sing, Glory, honour, power and praise To the mysterious Three; As at first beginning was, May now, and ever be. Antiph. Why seek you the Living among the the Dead? He is risen, He is not here: He is gloriously ascended, and the heavens have received Him. Alleluia, Alleluia. Benedictus. BLessed be our Lord, the God of Israel; for he has visited and redeemed his People: And raised up a Kingdom of Salvation to us, in the house of David his Servant. As he spoke by the mouth of his holy Prophets, who have been since the world began: Salvation from our Enemies; and from the hands of all that hate us: To show mercy to our Fathers; and to remember his holy Testament. The Oath which he swore to Abraham our Father, that he would give us Himself: That, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear: In holiness and Justice before him * all the days of our life. And Thou, Child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of our Lord, to prepare his ways: To give Knowledge of salvation to his people; for remission of their sins: Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on High has visited us: To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death; to direct our feet into the way of Peace. Glory be: etc. Antiph. Why seek you the Living among the dead? He is risen, He is not here: He is gloriously ascended, and the Heavens have received Him. Alleluja, Alleluja. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to thee. Let us Pray. O God, who hast glorified our Victorious Saviour with a visibly triumphant Resurrection from the dead, and Ascension into Heaven, where he sits at thy right hand, the World's supreme Governor, and final Judge! Grant, we humbly beseech thee, his Triumphs and Glories may ever shine in our eyes; to make us more clearly and courageously look thorough his sufferings, and assure by his Example our hopes on his promises, that, if by thy grace, we endeavour to live and die like Him, purely for the advance of thy love in our selus and others, Thou wilt raise again our bodies too, and conforming them to his glorious body, call us up above the clouds, and give us possession of thy everlasting Kingdom; Through the same our Lord JESUS CHRIST thy Son, who with thee, and the Holy Ghost, lives and reigns One God, world without end, Amen. COMMEMORATIONS For the B. Virgin. Antiph. And the King sat on his Throne; and a Throne was placed for the King's Mother; and She sat on his right hand: And the King said to her, ask on, my Mother, for I will not deny thee. V. Ask thou all Blessings for us, O Blessed among Women! R. Of thy wombs Blessed Fruit, our Lord JESUS. O God, who hast endowed the ever Blessed Virgin MARY with all the graces on earth, and all the glories in heaven, worthy the Mother of thy son the World's great Redeemer! Grant, we beseech thee, that as we praise and magnify thy Name, for so highly exalting the lowliness of thy Handmaid, we may be encouraged, by the confidence of her intercession, to hope still more in thy mercy, both for pardon of our sins, and conduct of our lives, and joyful reception into thy everlasting Kingdom; through the same our Lord JESUS CHRIST thy Son, who with thee, and the Holy Ghost, lives and reigns One God, world without end, Amen. For the Saints. Antiph. They seem, in the eyes of the foolish, dead to themselves, and all the world; but they rest with God in immortal peace, and exercise towards us a far greater charity. V. Hear thou, O Lord, their Prayers for us in Heaven; R. Who on Earth have taught us to pray. O Eternal Father, whose holy Spirit by thy blessed Apostles, has planted in the world the saving Doctrine of thy Son; and watered it with so much sweat & blood of Them and their Followers, that it has o'erspread the earth, and born much fruit to heaven! Most thankfully we praise Thee for the gracious Lives and Deaths of all thy Saints here, and the glorious Crowns with which they are rewarded in thy Kingdom: where, we humbly beseech Thee, accept their intercession for us siners; applying so home to our hearts their Memories and Merits, that we too, by thy grace, may in some measure live and die like Them, and be crowned at length with the same blissful rewards; through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns, One God, world without end, Amen. For the Church. Antiph. Let us, in all things grow in Him, who is our head, Christ: from whom the whole body being compact and knit together by every joint of subministration, increases to the edifying itself in charity. V. We all are Members of the same Body. R. Let us serve and love and pray for one another. O God, who gatherest thy Flock, out of all Nations, into the saving Fold of one Catholic Church; where thy Providence has ordained Bishops and Pastors immediately to feed thy Sheep and Lambs; and one Supreme Governor to secure Unity among the rest. Bless we beseech thee thy Servant N. who at present sits in the known Chair of St. Peter, with all the graces necessary to that highest Office on earth. Bless all Bishops and their Clergy with courage and skill, and fatherly care, to edify and guard their several Charges. Bless all the Faithful with a filial love and due obedience to their Superiors: that the clearness of truth, and beauty of holiness daily increasing in thy Church, through every one's devout pursuance of their duties; all Heresies and Schisms may at length vanish among Christians; and all Pagans and Jews be happily won into her sacred bosom, the sole Ark of Salvation; through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns one God, world without end, Amen. For the King. Antiph. Be subject to all in Authority; to the King, as most excellent; and to the Rulers, as sent by Him, for punishment of the Bad, and reward of the Good: Be subject, for so is the Will of God; that by doing well you may stop the mouths of the ignorant and malicious. V. Be subject, not only for fear; R. But for Conscience sake. O God, by whom alone King's reign, and all kinds and degrees of lawful Magistracy are substituted, to provide for the public Peace, among such infinite varieties of humours and interests; and, by restraining private injuries, to remove the impediments of true Charity; that so the whole State and each Member may be built up together to their greatest fitness for thy heavenly Kingdom: Preserve we humbly beseech thee, and govern by thy grace our Sovereign Lord King Charles; endow his royal Person with Wisdom and Courage, and all qualities befitting his weighty Office. Bless him with fidedelity and diligence in his Ministers; and with reverence and obedience in all his Subject: that the sword of Justice in his Hand may establish us in peace and plenty; to our freer improvement under the Discipline of true virtue, and the higher exalting his own Crown in the Kingdom of Eternity, through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end, Amen. O Lord hear our Prayers: And let our Supplications come to Thee. Bless we our Lord. Thanks be to God. May the Souls of the Faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace, Amen. Pause and meditate a while, according to your devotion. Then say, The Blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and holy Ghost descend upon us, and dwell in our hearts for ever, Amen. Pause a while, then rise: And so ends the Morning Office. These four Conmemorations are said every day at the end of laud's. Sunday Vespers. IN the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghost, Amen. Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity, now and for ever, Amen. Our Father. Hail Mary. O God incline unto our aid. O Lord make haste to help us. Glory be to As it was Alleluja. Antiph. Glorious things are said of Thee, thou 〈◊〉 City of the King of Heaven. Alleluja. Psal. VIII. LEt them, O Lord, seek other delights; who expect no felicity from thee. Let them fill up their time with other employments; who think thy rewards not worth their labour. As for thy servants, our chief content shall be, to meditate the glories prepared for us above. All the few years we live shall spend themselves; to purchase that one eternal Day. That Day whose brightness knows no night; nor ever fears the least eclipse. Whose cheerful brow no cloud o'recasts; nor storm molests the passage of its rays. But still shines on serene and clear; and fills with splendours that spacious Palace. It needs not the fading lustre of our Sun; nor the borrowed silver of the Moon. The Sun that rises there is the Lamb; and the Light that shines, the Glory of God. O how beauteous truths are sung of thee, thou City of the King of Heaven! Thy walls are raised with precious stones; and every gate is of one rich pearl. Thy mansions are built with choicest jewels; and the pavement of thy streets is transparent gold, Down in the midst runs a crystal river; perpetually flowing from the throne of God. There all along those pleasant banks, deliciously grows the tree of life. Healing all wounds with its balmy leaves; and making imortal all that taste but its fruit. Thus is the holy City built; thus is the new Jerusalem adorned. O fortunate and glorious City! how free and happy are thy glad Inhabitants! Every head wears a royal Crown; and every hand a palm of Victory. Every eye overflows with joy; and every tongue with Psalms of praise. Behold, O my soul, the inheritance we seek; and where can we find more riches to invite us? Behold the felicities to which we are called; and where can we meet such pleasures to entertain us? Away than all vain and worldly desires; be banished for ever from molesting my peace. Descend thou blessed Heaven into my hart; or rather take up my hart to thee. Thy joys are too great to enter into me; O make me fit to enter into them. Make me still think on my Country above; and there establish my eternal home. Where I shall dwell perpetually in the view of my God; and be filled for ever with the sweetness of his presence. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Glorious things are said of thee, thou City of the King of Heaven! Alleluja. Antiph. If these imperfect shadows so sweetly please; how will the real substance transport our hearts! Alleluja. Psal. IX. Blessed be thy gracious Wisdom, O Lord! that so mercifully stoops to our low conceits. Under these veils thou hidest those glorious mysteries; too high and spiritual for our flesh and blood. Thou hidest, or rather so reveal'st thy sublime rewards; to take us with things we most admire. Sceptres and Crowns thou knowst are apt * to win the hearts of us thy children. Children alas, too truly in useful knowledge: O that we were so in love and duty! What is a drop of water to the boundless Ocean; or a grain of dust to this vast Globe? Such, O my God, and infinitely less * are the richest Kingdoms here below. Should we compare their most pompous state * to the meanest degree in the Court of Heaven. When thou hast fed us a while with milk; thou invit'st our appetite to stronger meat. Thou tell'st us of a sweet delicious life, in the blessed society of Saints and Angels. With whom we shall dwell in perpetual friendship; and be loved and esteemed by them all for ever. Thou tell'st us of a pure soul-ravishing joy; to behold the amiable face of JESUS. Whose gracious smiles shine round about; and fill the heavens with holy gladness. Thou tell'st us still of incomparably higher delights; hearken, O my soul, and humbly adore thy God. Whose bounty has provided thee large rewards; Since they are no less than his very Self. Himself he will clearly unveil before us; and openly show us that great Secret. O happy Secret, if once at last attained; if once we but see the face of our God. What is it, glorious Lord, to see thy face; but to know Thee as thou art in thine own blessed Being? To know the immensity of thy self-subsisting Essence; and the infinite excellence of all thy Attributes. To know the Power of the Eternal Father; and the Wisdom of the Increated Son. To know the Goodness of the Holy Ghost; and the incomprehensible Glories of the undivided Trinity. This O my Soul, is the top of happiness; this the supreme perfection of our nature. This, this alone is the aim of our Being; the hope and end of all our labours. When we are come to this, we shall presently rest; and our satisfied desires reach no farther. We shall be filled with overflowing bliss; and our utmost capacities hold no more. But in one Act of joy be eternally fixed; and that one act spring fresh for ever. Glory be, etc. Antiph. If these imperfect shadows so sweetly please; how will the real substance transport our hearts! Alleluja. Antiph. Never can we say too much of this glorious subject; never can we think enough of the felicities of Heaven. Alleluja. Psal. X. ARise, my soul, to thee these joys belong; arise, and advance thyself on high. Leave here below all earthly thoughts; and fly away with the wings of thy Spirit. Fly to that glorious Land of Promise; and gladly salute those heavenly regions. Hail happy Paradise of pure delights; thou beauteous Garden of never fading flowers. Hail blessed Society of beatifyed Spirits; who perpetually contemplate the eternal Deity: Hail, and for ever may your glories grow; till they rise so high, they can grow no more. Hail, and among your cheerful Hymns remember us; who dwell below in this vale of tears. We hope one day to come up to You; and be placed to sing in your holy Quires. We hope to know that all-producing Cause; we hope to know all it has produced. O what a fire of love will it kindle in our hearts; when we shall see those shining mysteries! When our great God, like a burning Mirroir, shall strike his brightness on the eyes of our soul. O what excessive joy will that love produce; a love so violently desiring, and so fully satisfied? When our capacities shall be stretched to the utmost; and the rich abounding Object fill and overflow them. O what profound repose will that joy beget; a joy so infinitely high, and so eternally secure! When in an amorous languishment we shall sweetly dissolve, into that blissful union with our first Beginning. When without losing what we are; we shall become even what He is. We shall take part in all his joys; and share in the glories of all his Heaven. O what divine and ravishing words are these! how gently they enter and delight my ear! How they diffuse themselves over all my brain; and strongly penetrate to my very soul! Me thinks they turn to substance as they go; and I feel them stir and work through all my powers. Me thinks they lie as a Cordial at my hart; and send forth spirits to quicken and refresh me. There, O my soul, we shall rest from all our labours; which are but the way to all that happiness. There we shall rest from sin and sorrow; and no longer be troubled with our selus or others. There we shall rest for ever in the protection of our God; in the arms and bosom of our dearest Lord. O Heaven! the eternal source of all these joys; and infinitely more, and infinitely greater. As the Hart pants after the water-brooks; so let my soul thirst after thee. After Thee let me daily sigh and mourn; and with a fixed and longing eye look up, and say, When, O my God; shall I sit at that fountain head; and drink my fill of those living streams! When shall I be in●●briated with that torrent of pleas●●res; which springs for ever from thy glorious Throne! O that the days of my banishment were fully finished! How is the time of my pilgrimage prolonged! Why am I still detained in this valley of tears? still wand'ring up and down in this wilderness of dangers? Come Thou, sweet JESUS, my only Hope; and sure Deliverer out of all my sorrows. Come Thou and here begin to dwell in my hart; and fit me for the life I shall lead hereafter. Come, O my dearest Lord, and prepare my soul for Thee; and then, when thou pleasest, take it to Thyself. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Never can we say too much of this glorious subject; never can we think enough of the felicities of heaven. Alleluja. Capit. Rom. 12. Let love be without dissimulation. Hate that which is evil; Cleave to that which is good: Love brotherly charity one towards another; with honour preventing one another: In business not slothful. In spirit fervent. Serving our Lord. Rejoicing in hope. Patient in tribulation. Instant in prayer. Communicating to the necessities of the Saints. Practising hospitality. Bless them that persecute you. Bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that rejoice. Weep with them that weep; being mutually of the same mind: not affecting high things, but condescending to mean things. Be not wise in your own conceits. Render to none evil for evil. Be solicitous to do well, not only before God, but in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as is in you, live peaceably with every one. Revenge not your selus, most dearly Beloved, but give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith our Lord. But, if thy enemy hunger give him meat; if he thirst, give him drink; for, doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil; but overcome evil with good. Hymn III. WHy do we seek felicity, Where 'tis not to be found; And not, dear Lord, look up to Thee, Where all delights abound? Why do we seek for treasure here, On this false barren sand: Where nought but empty shells appear, And marks of Shipwreck stand? O world, how little do thy joys Concern a soul that knows Itself not made for such low toys, As thy poor hand bestows! How cross art thou to that design For which we had our birth! Us, who were made in heaven to shine, Thou bow'st down to thy earth. Nay, to thy hell; for thither sink All that to thee submit: Thou strewest some flowers on the brink, To drown us in the pit. World, take away thy tinsel wares, That dazzle here our eyes: Let us go up above the Stars, Where all our treasure lies. The way we know; our dearest Lord Himself is gone before: And has engaged his faithful word To open us the door. But, O my God reach down thy hand, And take us up to Thee: That we about thy Throne may stand; And all thy glories see. All glory to the sacred Three, One everliving Lord: As at the first, still may He be Beloved, obeyed, adored. Antiph. O glorious God thy infinite perfections cause us to admire Thee; and thy bounteous promises engage us to hope in Thee; Thy incomparable beauty ravishes our hearts; and the joys thou hast prepared for us transcend all our wishes. Alleluja. Magnificat. My soul magnifys our Lord; And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour: Because he has regarded the low degree of his handmaid. For behold from henceforth, all generations shall call me Blessed: For he that is mighty has done great things to me; and holy is his Name. And his mercy is on them that fear him; from generation to generation. He has showed strength in his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has deposed the powerful from their seat; and exalted them of low degree. He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich sent empty away. He has received Israel his child, being mindful of his mercy; As he spoke to our Fathers; to Abraham and his seed for ever. Glory be, etc. Antiph. O glorious God thy infinite perfections cause us to admire Thee, and thy bounteous promises engage us to hope in thee: thy incomparable beauty ravishes our hearts; and the joys thou hast prepared for us transcend all our wishes. Alleluja. O Lord hear our Prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee: Let us pray: O God; who graciously wooest us to our eternal Inheritance, by describing its inexpressible glories all possibly-taking ways to our low conceits, that they may fitly insinuate themselves, and become by degrees absolute Master of our hearts: Bring them; we beseech Thee, still seasonably into our memories; and so strongly settle them in our affections, that our souls being wholly ravished with these great hopes, all the temptations and vanities of this world may fly unconcerningly by us; and never be able to distract our entire and steady and daily strengthening desires of entering once for ever into possession of thy Kingdom: through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without End: Amen. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee: Bless we our Lord. Thanks be to God. May the souls of the Faithful Departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace; Amen. Pause a while to reflect on what you have said, and to renew your attention: Then begin Complin. Sunday Complin. V. OUr help is in the Name of our Lord, R. Who made heaven and earth: V. Convert us, O God, our Saviour! R. And turn away thy anger from us: V. O God incline unto our aid: R. O Lord make haste to help us: V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the holy Ghost: R. As it was in the beginning; both now and ever, world without end, Amen, Alleluia. Antiph All is unquiet here, till we come to Thee; and repose at last in the Kingdom of Peace. Psal. XI. Who will give me the wings of a Dove; that I may fly away and be at rest? That I may fly away from the troubles of this life; and be at rest, Dear Lord, with Thee: Here we alas! are forced to sigh, and bear with grief the burden of our miseries: Often we encounter chances that endanger us; and divert our progress in the way to Bliss. Often we are assaulted with temptations that overcome us; and set us back in the accounts of eternity: How many times, O my Soul, have we plainly concluded * that this earth affords no real joy! How many times have we fully agreed; that heaven alone is the place of happiness! Yet do these false allurements again deceive us; and steal away our hearts to dote upon folly: Yet do inconstant we forget our resolus; and wretchedly neglect our true felicity: O thou victorious Conqueror of sin and death; do thou assist us in this dangerous warfare: O thou benign Refresher of distressed Spirits; do thou relieve us in this tedious pilgrimage: Make us still thirst, and sign after Thee; the living-fountain of lifegiving streams: Make us despise all other delights; and set our affections entirely on thy joys: Since nothing, Lord, can satisfy our souls but Thee; O let our souls seek nothing but Thee. Glory be, etc. Psal. XII. GIve me, O Lord, the innocence of Doves; and fill my soul with thy mild spirit: Then shall I need none of their wings; since heaven itself will dwell in my hart 'Tis on the proud thou look'st afar off; but inclinest thine ear to the thumble and meek: Who delight in the peace of a contented mind; and limit their thoughts to their own little sphere: Never intermeddling with the actions of others; unless where reason and charity engage 'em. But their belov'd employment is to sit in silence; and think on the happiness they expect hereafter. To meditate the joys of Saints and Angels; and the blissful Vision of the face of JESUS. O how secure and sweetly do they sleep; who go to bed with a quiet conscience: Who after a day of faithful industry; * in a course of just and pious living: Lay down their wearied heads in peace; and safely rest in the bosom of Providence: If they awake, their conscience comforts them in the dark; and bids them not fear the shadow of death: No, nor even death itself; but confidently look up, * and long for the dawn of that eternal day: This too, my soul, should be our care * to note, and censure, and correct our self: To strive for mastery over the passions that molest us; and dismiss from our thoughts what no way concerns us: Are not our own occasions business enough, to fill as much time as this life deserves? Does not the other at least deserve * every minute of leisure we can spare from this? Let then the world pursue their liberties; and say and do as they think fit: What's that to thee, my soul! who shalt not answer for others; unless thou some way make their faults thine own. Thy pity may grieve, and thy charity endeavour; but if they will not hear, follow thou thy God. Follow the way that leads to truth; follow the truth that leads to life. Follow the steps of thy Beloved JESUS; who alone is the way, the truth, and the life. Follow his holiness in what he did; follow his patience in what he suffered. Follow him that calls thee with a thousand promises; follow him that crowns thee with infinite rewards. Follow thy faithful Lord, O my soul, to the end; and thou'rt sure in the end to possess him for ever. Glory be, etc. Psal. XIII. Meekness indeed, is the heaven of this life; but the heaven of heavens, O Lord, is above with Thee. Meekness may qualify our miseries here; and make our time pass gentlier away. But to be fully happy, we must stay till hereafter; till thy mercy bring us to our last great end. That glorious end, for which our souls are made; and all things else to serve them in their way. 'Tis not to sport our time in pleasures *, that thou, O Lord hast placed us here. 'Tis not to gain a fair estate; that thy kindness still prolongs our days. But to do good to our selus or others; and glorify thee in improving thy creatures. To increase every day our longing desires * of beholding Thee in thine own bright self. O glorious Lord, whose infinite sweetness * provokes and satisfys all our appetites! May my entire affections delight in thee; above all the vain enjoyments of this world. Above all praise and empty honour; above all beauty and fading pleasure. Above all health and deceitful riches; above all power and subtlest knowledge. Above even all thy own bounty can give; and what ever is not thy very self. O may my wearied soul repose in Thee; the home and centre of eternal rest. May I forget myself to think on thee; and fill my memory with the wonders of thy love. That infinite love, which when my thoughts consider; not as they ought, alas, but as I am able. The weight of my sufferings sits light upon me; and all my fears are turned into joys. O my adored JESUS! let me love thee always; * because from eternity thou hast loved me. O let me love Thee only, gracious God because thou alone deserv'st all my hart. Always and only let me love thee, O Lord! since always my hope is only in Thee. Antiph. All is unquiet here till we come to Thee; and repose at last in the Kingdom of Peace. Hymn IU. DEar Jesus, when, when will it be, That I no more shall break with Thee! When will this war of passions cease; And let my soul enjoy thy peace! Here I repent, and sin again; Now I revive, and now am slain: Slain with the same unhappy dart; Which, O, too often wounds my hart. When, dearest Lord, when shall I be A garden sealed to all but Thee! No more exposed, no more undone; But live▪ and grow to Thee alone. 'Tis not alas, on this low earth That such pure flowers can find a birth: Only they spring above the skies; Where none can live, till here he dies. Then let me die, that I may go And dwell where those bright lilies grow: Where those blessed plants of glory rise; And make a safer Paradise. No dangerous fruit, no tempting Eve, No crafty Serpent, to deceive: But we like Gods indeed shall be; O let me die, that life to see. Thus says my song; but does my hart Join with the words, and sing its part? Am I so thorow-wise to choose The Other world, and this refuse? Why should I not? what do I find That fully here contents my mind? What is this meat, and drink, and sleep, That such poor things from heaven should keep? What is this honour, or great place Or bag of money, or fair face? What's all the world that thus we should Still long to dwell with flesh and blood? Fear not my soul, stand to the word, Which thou hast sung to thy dear Lord: Let but thy love be firm and true; And with more heat thy wish renew. O may this dying life make haste, To die into true life at last: No hope have I to live before; But then to live, and die no more. Great Everliving God to Thee, In Essence One, in Persons Three; May all thy works their tribute bring, And every age thy glory sing. Capit. 1 Jo. 2. Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world: if any one love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For, all that is in the world is concupiscence of the flesh, concupiscence of the eyes, and pride of life; which is not of the Father, but of the world: and the world passes away, and the concupiscence thereof; but he that does the will of God abides for ever. Antiph. Learn of me, says our Lord, for I am meek and humble of hart, and you shall find rest to your souls. V. Meekness indeed is the heaven of this life. R. But the heaven of heavens is above with Thee. O Lord hear our prayers. And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, whose gracious Providence has particularly ordained the Spirit of Meekness to waft us safely through the turbulent Sea of this world to our Haven of Blyss! Vouchsafe, we beseech thee, so to dispose thy servants for this precious virtue, by making every days clearer experience of our own weakness and vanity, strike our lofty sails, and lay flat on the ground all proud conceits of our selus, that we suffer not our minds to be discomposed with any passion, nor our tongues to break forth into any violent expression; but always preserve our selus in such a regular and even temper, stir the world how it will about us, as becomes those, all whose Powers are possessed with the joys of heaven, and apt to feel in every thing only the sweet impulses of hope and charity: through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns, One God world without end, Amen. V. Vouchsafe us we beseech thee, O Lord, a quiet night, and a happy end, R. Amen. V. Lord have mercy on us. R. Christ have mercy on us. V. Lord have mercy on us. Our Father, etc. V. And lead us not into temptation; R. But deliver us from evil, Amen. V. Into thy hands, O Lord, we commend our spirits. R. Into thy hands, O Lord, we commend our spirits. R. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, thou God of truth! R. Into thy hands, O Lord, we commend our spirits. V. Preserve us, O Lord, as the apple of thine eye. R. Under the shadow of thy wings protect us. V. Save us, O Lord, waking, defend us sleeping: R. That we may watch with Christ, and rest in peace. V. Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin. R. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us. V. Lord let thy mercy be on us; R. As our hope is in Thee. V. O Lord hear our prayers. R. And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. VIsit we beseech thee, O Lord, this habitation, and drive far away all snares of the enemy; let thy holy Angels dwell therein, to preserve us in peace; and thy blessing be upon us for ever; through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end, Amen. V. O Lord hear our Prayers: R. And let our supplications come to Thee. V. Bless we our Lord. R. Thanks be to God. V. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R. Amen. Pause a little, then say one of the following Antiphons' and Prayers, according to the time. From Advent Sunday Morning, to Candlemas Eve. V. Our Lord give us his peace. R. And life everlasting, Amen. Blessed Mother of our Lord! whose prayers display The gates of heaven; whose light directs our way Here in these dangerous Seas; obtain supplies For those who often fall, yet strive to rise: Thou, at whom Nature stood amazed to see The world's Creator humbly born of Thee: Thou, whom the Angel did that homage pay, All-spotless Virgin, for us sinners pray. V. Blessed, O Lord, is the womb that bore Thee. R. And the breasts that gave Thee suck. Let us pray. O God, who by the blessed Fruit of the Virgin Mary hast bestowed on mankind the rewards of eternal salvation: grant we beseech Thee, that we may always enjoy the benefit of her intercession, by whom thou wert pleased we should receive the Author of our life, JESUS Christ thy Son our Lord, Amen. May the divine Assistance remain with us for ever, Amen. Pause a little: then say, The Blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and holy Ghost descend upon us, and dwell in our hearts for ever, Amen. Pause a little: then rise. So ends the whole Office of the day. From Candlemas to Maundy Thursday. V. Our Lord give us his peace. R. And life everlasting, Amen. HAil Queen of Angels holy Quires; Hail whom the Court of heaven admires; Thou art the Root whence our joys spring; The Gate that light to us didst bring; heavens brightest Saints thy grace outshines; Thy Glory, all the Seraphins: Live, happy Favourite of Thy Son, And plead our cause at his dread Throne. V. Vouchsafe, O holy Virgin, to accept our praises. R. And favour us with thy prayers for strength against our enemies. Let us pray. SUstain we beseech Thee, O merciful God, the weakness of thy servants; that we, who celebrate the memory of the blessed Mother of our Lord, may, by the 〈◊〉 of her intercession, obtain thy grace to rise from our iniquities; through the same JESUS Christ our Lord, Amen. May the divine Assistance remain with us for ever, Amen. Pause. Then, The Blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and holy Ghost descend upon us, and dwell in our hearts for ever, Amen. From Easter to Trinity Sunday. V. Our Lord give us his peace. R. And life Everlasting, Amen. Rejoice chaste Queen of Angels, and apply All those blessed Quires to sing this Victory: He that was born of Thee, and died for us, Has conquered death; is risen glorious: Sing then, and in thy hymns this mercy crave, That thy great Son our souls in Judgement save. V. Rejoice and triumph, O Blessed Virgin Mary. Alleluja. R. For our Lord is risen indeed. Alleluja. Let us pray. O God, who, by the resurrection of thy Son our Lord JESUS Christ, hast vouch●●af't to make glad the hearts of the world: grant we beseech Thee, that by the prayers of his immaculate Virgin-Mother, we may attain the joys of eternal life; through the same JESUS Christ our Lord, Amen. May the divine Assistance remain with us for ever, Amen. Pause. Then, The Blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and holy Ghost descend upon us, and dwell in our hearts for ever, Amen. From Trinity Sunday to Advent Sunday. V. Our Lord give us his peace. R. And life everlasting, Amen. HAil Queen of Saints; Hail mercies Mother Our life, our hope, our comfort, Hail: To thee, deploring one another, We poor Eves banished offspring wail. To thee we cry; and our sad moans Sigh out into thy tender ears: To thee our hearts weep bitter groans In this doleful vale of tears. Hear, glorious Advocate, O hear, And towards wretched us incline The gracious aspect of those dear Compassionating eyes of thine. Soft source of pity, miled, and sweet, O Marry, ever Virgin-pure; Behold us prostrate at thy feet And by thy powerful prayers procure, That an unwearyed close pursuit, Of life, may bring us so to die, We may on JESUS, thy blessed Fruit, Feast our glad eyes eternally. V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God R. That we may be made worthy the promises of Christ. Let us Pray, ALmighty and everliving God, who by the Co-operation of the Holy Ghost, vouchsafedst to prepare the Body and Soul of the glorious Virgin-Mother Mary, that she might become the worthy habitation of thy Son! Grant, that, as with joy we celebrate her memory, we may by her pious intercession, be delivered from all temporal evils, and from eternal death; through the same JESUS Christ our Lord, Amen. May the divine assistance remain with us for ever, Amen. Pause, than The Blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost descend upon us, and dwell in our hearts for ever, Amen. MONDAY MATINS. Introduction, as page 1. Invitatory. Come let's adore our God that made us. Come let's adore our God that made us. Psal. XIIII. LEt us with reverence appear before Him; and humble our selus in the presence of his glory: Let us all bring forth our Psalms of Praise; and sing with joy to our great Creator. Come let's adore our God that made us. He made us, not we our selus; and freely bestowed on us all the rest of his creatures: to engage our hearts to love his goodness, and admire the riches of his infinite bounty. Come, let's adore our God that made us. Our bodies he framed of the dust of the earth; and gave us a soul after his own likeness; a soul which all created nature cannot fill, nor any thing below his own Immensity, Come; let's adore our God that made us. For himself he made us, and for his glorious Kingdom: that we might dwell with him in perfect blyss, and sing his praises for ever Come, let's adore our God that made us. Glory be, etc. As it was: Come, let's adore our God that made us. Come, let's adore our God that made us. Hymn V. WAke now, my Soul, and humbly hear What thy mild Lord commands: Each word of his will charm thine ear, Each word will guide thy hands. Hark how his sweet and tender care Complys with our weak minds: What e'er our state and temper are, Still some fit work he finds. They that are merry let them sing, And let the sad hearts pray: Let those still ply their cheerfnl wing; And these their sober way. So mounts the early chirping Lark Still upward to the Skies So sits the Turtle in the dark, Among her groans and cries. And yet the Lark, and yet the Dove, Both sing, though several parts: And so should we, how e'er we move With light or heavy hearts. Or rather Both should both assay; And their cross-notes unite: Both grief and joy should sing and pray; Since both such hopes invite. Hopes that all present sorrow heal; All present joy transcend; Hopes to possess, and taste, and feel Delights that never end. All glory to the sacred Three, All honour, power and praise: As at the first, may ever be Beyond the end of days. Amen. Antiph. All things lie open to the eyes of God; all things are naked to Him with whom we speak. Psal. XV. HAppy are they, O glorious Lord, * who every where adore thy Presence: Happy, who live on earth as in the sight of the King of heaven; and every moment say in their hart, Our God is here: Here in the Centre of our souls, to witness all our thoughts; and judge exactly our most secret intents: Though his Throne of state be established above; and the splendours of his glory shine only on the Blessed: Yet his unlimited Ey looks down to this lower world; and beholds all the ways of the children of Adam: If we go out, he marks our steps; and, when we retire, our Closet excludes not him: While we are alone, He minds our contrivings; and the ends we aim at in all our studies: When we converse with others, He observs our deportment; and the good or ill we do them, or our selus: In our devotions he notes our carriage; and regards with what attention we recite our prayers. All the day long He considers how we spend our time; and our darkest night conceals not our works from Him: If we deceive our Neighbour, He spies the fraud; and hears the least whisper of a slandering tongue: If we in secret oppress the Poor; or by private alms relieve their wants: If in our hearts we murmur at the Rich; or live contented with our little portion: What e'er we do, He perfectly sees us; where e'er we are, he is sure to be with us: Why, O thou Sovereign Lord of heaven! why dost thou stoop thus low thy glorious Ey? What canst thou find that here deservs thy sight; among the trifles of our empty world? What canst thou find, alas, that should not fear thy sight; among the follies of our vicious lives? 'Tis not thyself, O Lord, thou seek'st to satisfy; but all thy design is for our advantage. Thou graciously standest by, to see as work; that thine awful eye may quicken our diligence. Thou art still at hand to relieve our wants; that so friendly a nearnes may increase; our confidence. Thou appear'st still ready to punish our sins; that the shake of thy rod may prevent our miseries. Sure, O my God, thy favours must needs be sweet; since even thy threatenings have so much mercy. Sure we must needs be worse than blind; if to the face of heaven we dare be wicked. Henceforth, O gracious Lord! as children freely play * in the indulgent presence of their tender father. So make us still, with humble boldness * rejoice before Thee our merciful Creator. And as new pardoned subjects justly fear * the angry brow of their offended Prince. So let our oft-forgiven souls, continually tremble *, to provoke the wrath of thy dread Majesty. O temper thus our love with reverence; and thus allay our fear with hope. Glory be, etc. Antiph. All things lie open to the eyes of our God: all things are naked to Him with whom we speak. Antiph. Happy we, who have our God so near us; happy, if our pious lives keep us near Him. Psal. XVI. MY God since Thou art never absent from us; let us be always present with Thee. Let us go up to thy Throne above; and there contemplate and admire thy glory. Let us attend on thy holy Altars; and there adore and praise thy mercy. Every where let us seek to meet Thee; every where let us delight to find Thee. All our wants let us spread before Thee; all our petitions let us offer to Thee. Thou willingly inclinest thy gracious ear * to the prayers that come from a fervent hart. Thou lov'st to hear us so treat of Heaven; as if we made it our business indeed to go thither. All other things we must ask with submission to Thee; since we know not absolutely what's good for our selus. But thy eternal joys we may beg without restraint; and urge and press for thy assistance to gain them. Heaven we may wish without the check of resignation; Heaven we may pray for without fear of improtunity. O wise and gracious Lord! what e'er thou dost * thy love intends it all for the good of thy servants: If thou defer'st some times to grant our requests; 'tis only in charity to make us repeat them: That we may feel more sensibly our own poverty; and be stronglier convinced of our dependence on Thee: That we may practise our hope, while we long expect; and increase our gratitude, when we receive at last: That we may learn this sure and happy skill, * of working in our souls the Virtues we desire; By often renewing those very desires; till themselves become even the graces we seek: But O improvident we! how unwilling to pray * are most of us always, and all of us sometimes! How do our little Offices seem long and tedious; and half an hour quite tyre our patience! How are we slow to begin, and swift to make an end; how heavy while they are saying, and glad when they are said! Yet sure no easier work, than to ask what we want; nor cheaper purchase than to have for ask: Sure, no sweeter pleasure than to Converse with God; nor greater profit then to gain his favour. Still we have new transgressions to confess; and shall never, alas, want infirmities to lament. Often, O dreadful Lord! when we speak to Thee, * we do not so much as hear our selus. Often we pursue impertinent objects; and our careless thoughts contradict our words. But, O Thou blessed End of all our labours, and only Centre of all our wishes! Do thou reclaim our wand'ring fancies; and guide and fix them to attend thy service. Night and day let us call on Thee; and never cease knocking at the doors of thy Palace. Let no delay discourage our hope; nor even refusal destroy our confidence. But let this firm foundation still sustain us; and on This let our peace be established for ever. What's truly necessary thy Goodness will not deny; the rest our obedience submits to thy Pleasure. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Happy we, who have our God so near us: happy, if our pious lives keep us near Him. Antiph. You have not, because you ask not; you ask and receive not, because you ask amiss. Psal. XVII. DEliver us, O Lord, from ask of Thee * what we cannot receive without danger to our selus. Deliver us from receiving what we cannot use *, without offending others, and ruining our own souls. Deliver us from presuming so on thy bounty *, that we omit to perform our own duty. Still to our devotion let us join our best endeavours *, and make our earth comply with thy heaven. If we desire of Thee to relieve our necessities *, let us faithfully begin to labour with our hands. And not expect a blessing from the clouds *, on the idle follies of an undisciplined life. If we beg grace for victory o'er our passions; let us constantly strive to resist their assaults. Let us wisely foresee our particular dangers; and use the proper weapon against every sin. To obtain the gift of chastity, we must mortify our senses; and immediately fly the least shadow of tentation. In vain we approach thy holy Altars; if our lives prepare not the way for our Offerings. Thou shut'st thy ears to our loudest prayers; if we open not ours to the voice of the poor. Thou deniest to pardon our trespasses against Thee; unless we already have forgiven our Enemy's. O the extreme benignity of our glorious God who treats with his creatures on equal terms. Who deals no otherwise with us miserable wretches; then we our selus commerce with one another. He promises to give us the same measure we give our neighbours; and performs incomparably more than he promises. Pressed down, and shaken together, and running over *, into the bosoms of them that love him. Such, O my God, is the bounty of thy Goodness; and no less the patience of thy generous hand. Thou holdest thy blessings hover o'er our heads; still watching the time when we are fit to receive them. Then thou immediately send'st them down upon us; to enter our hearts, and dwell with us for ever. Even that very temper which thus disposes us *, entirely depends on the favour of thy providence. Every Condition thou requirest on our part * being nothing else but thine own free gift. Thy mercy alone is the fountain of all our blessings; and, in what channel soever they flow to us, they spring from Thee. Thou art the God of nature and reason; Thou art the God of grace and religion. Give, gracious God, what thou art pleased to command; and then command what thou pleasest. Glory be, etc. Antiph. You have not, because you ask not; you ask and receive not, because you ask amiss. Our Father, etc. First Lesson. GOd from the beginning made man, and left him in the hand of his own counsel. He added his commandments and precepts; if thou wilt keep them, they will preserve thee. Fire and water he has set before thee; stretch forth thy hand to which thou wilt. Before man is life and death, good and evil; that which he chooses shall be given him: for the Wisdom of God is great, and he is mighty in power; his eyes are towards them that fear him, and he knows every work of man. He has commanded none to do wickedly; nor given any a licence to sin: but the penitent he restores to the way of justice; and those who were failing in perseverance he confirms, and appoints them the lot of truth. Turn to our Lord, and forsake thy sins; pray before his face, and lessen thy offences. Be not rash with thy mouth, nor let thy hart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou art on earth; therefore let thy words be few. Before prayer prepare thy soul; and be not as one that tempts God. Go not after thy concupiscences, but turn away from thine own will; if thou giv'st to thy soul her desires, it will make thee a derision to thy enemies. A wise man will fear in every thing; and in the occasion of sin will take heed of being negligent. He that loves danger shall perish therein; and he that despises small things shall fall by little and little. Better is he that has less knowledge, and fears; then he that abounds in understanding, and transgresses the Law of the Highest. R. My soul, what canst thou wish for more? behold thy gracious Lord offers thee to choose what thou wlt, and promises to give thee what thou choosest. * O infinite Goodness! 'tis Thyself alone I choose; Thou art my only happiness for ever. I see my portion hereafter depends on my choice here; but my choice, O Lord, depends on thee: guide me with thy holy grace, that I withdraw my affections from all vain and perishable creatures, and fix them entirely on the enjoyment of Thee, my Lord, and my God, and my eternal felicity. * O infinite Goodness! 'tis thyself— Second Lesson. THe beginning of wisdom is the true desire of discipline; and the care of discipline is love; and love is the keeping of her laws; and the keeping of her laws is the accomplishment of incorruption, and incorruption makes us next to God: therefore the desire of wisdom leads us to an everlasting Kingdom. If then you be delighted with Thrones and Sceptres, seek wisdom that you may reign for ever. Into a malicious soul wisdom will not enter, nor dwell in a body subject to sins: for the holy Spirit will fly from him that dissembles, and withdraw himself from thoughts that are without understanding; and be chased away when iniquity comes in. The Spirit of wisdom is gentle, and will not deliver the Curser from his own lips: for God is witness of his reins, and searcher of his hart, and hearer of his tongue; therefore he that speaks unjust things cannot be hidden, nor shall the chastizing vengeance forbear him. If thou shalt call for wisdom, and incline thy hart to prudence; if thou shalt seek her as money, and dig her up as treasure: then shalt thou understand the fear of our Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For, our Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth is prudence and knowledge. R. Send down, O thou God of our Fathers and Lord of mercy! send down thy Wisdom thy holy heaven, and from the seat of thy greatness to be in us, and labour with us, and teach us what is acceptable to thee: * That we may know our end, and wisely choose our way; and order all our actions to our true felicity. Our thoughts are fearful, and our prudences incertain; we scarce conjecture the things that are on earth, and find with pains the things that are in sight: Give us O Lord the wisdom that assists at thy Throne, and reject us not from among thy Children: * That we may— Third Lesson. THe Spirit of those that fear God shall live, and at his sight shall be Blessed: for their hope is in him that saves them, and the eyes of God are on them that love him. He that fears our Lord shall tremble at nothing, because He is his hope: he raises up the Soul, and illuminates the eyes, and gives life and health and blessing: Our Lord is only theirs who expect him in the way of truth and justice: the Highest allows not the gifts of the wicked, nor regards the oblations of the unjust; nor pardons their offences for the multitude of their sacrifices. By mercy and faith sins are purged; and by the fear of our Lord every one declines from evil: Despise not a man that turns himself from sin, nor upbraid him therewith; remember we are all in state to be blamed. Forgive thy neighbour that hurts thee; and when thou prayest thy sins shall be forgiven thee: One man reserus anger against another, and does he seek pardon of God? he has not mercy on a man like himself, and does he entreat for his own sins? Remember the last things, and cease to be at enmity: remember the fear of God, and be not angry with thy neighbour. Hast thou sinned? do so no more; but withal; pray that thy former sins may be forgiven thee. Fly from sin as from the face of a serpent: if thou approach, it will bite thee; the teeth thereof are as the teeth of lions, killing the souls of men. He that is washed from the dead, and touches him again; what does his washing profit him? so a man that fasts for his sins, and does the same again; what avails it to have humbled himself? who will hear his prayer? R. Deliver us O Lord from relapsing into the sins we have repent, the sins we so often have promised to amend: Deliver us from all malice and enmity with our neighbours; and from oppressing the poor, who have none to defend them. * Then may we confidently expect thy protection; if we serve Thee, and love one another. Thou art our strength O Lord, whom shall we fear? Thou art our Salvation, of what shall we be afraid? nothing can hurt us, but our own vicious desires; nothing can endanger us, but disobedience to our God: * Then may we— Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Then may we confidently expect thy protection; if we serve Thee, and love one another. Pause a while to reflect, and renew attention; then begin Monday laud's. O God incline unto our aid: O Lord make haste to help us: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, both now and ever; world without end, Amen. Alleluia. Antiph. Bless our Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, praise his holy Name. Psal. XVIII. COme, let us sing the praises of our God; and joyfully recite his divine Perfections: His being is from himself alone; and he depends not on any but his own eternal Essence: His Knowledge fathoms the extent of all things; and his power commands them as he pleases. His goodness is supremely infinite; and all his glorious Attributes transcendently adorable: Come, let us sing the praises of our God; and joyfully recite his divine perfections: He is the Source of all felicity; eternally full of his own unchangeable Blyss: Before time began, He was; and when the Sun must lose its light, his day will remain the same for ever: The heaven of heavens is the Palace of his Glory; and all-created nature the subject of his Dominion: In his presence the brightest Seraphims cover their faces; and all the blessed Spirits bow down their heads to his footstool: Come, let us sing aloud the prerogatives of our God; and stretch our utmost thoughts to exalt his Greatness: But O most glorious and dreadful Deity; how dare we wretches undertake thy praise! How dare our sin-polluted lips pronounce thy Name: or where shall we seek expressions fit for Thee? All we can say is nothing to thy unspeakable Excellencies; all we can think, but a faint shadow of thy unconceivable Beauties: Even the voice of Angels is too low to reach thy Worth; and their highest strains fall infinitely short of Thee. Only in this shall thy servants rejoice; and all the Powers of our souls be glad: That Thyself alone art thine own full praise; Be to thyself thine own glory: Live our great God eternally encompassed * with the beams of thine own inaccessible light: Live our adored Creator, and reign for ever * on the Throne of thine own immortal Kingdom. Glory be, etc. Psal. XIX. Too glorious art thou, O Lord, in Thyself; and thy direct ray shines too bright for our eyes: Yet may we venture to praise Thee in thy works; and contemplate Thee, at least, reflected from thy creatures: In them we may safely behold our mighty Maker; and freely admire the Magnificence of our God: Heaven and earth are full of his greatness; heaven and earth were created by his power: From him all the hosts of Angels received their Being; from him they have the honour to assist in his presence: He kindled warmth and brightness in the Sun; and beauteously garnished the Firmament with stars. He spread the Air, and stored it with flocks of birds; He gathered the waters, and replenished them with shoals of fishes: He established the Earth on a firm foundation; and richly adorned it with innumerable varieties: Every Element is filled with his blessings; and all the world with his liberal Miracles: He spoke the word, and they were made; he commands and they are still preserved: He governs their motions in perfect order; and distributes to each its proper Office. Contriving the Whole into one vast Machine; a spacious Theatre of his own unlimited Greatness. O glorious Architect of universal nature; who disposest all things in number, weight, and measure! How does thy wisdom engage us to admire Thee! How does thy Goodness oblige us to love Thee! Not for themselves alone, O gracious God; did thy hand produce those happy Spirits: But to receive in charge thy little flock; and safe conduct them to the folds of Blyss: Not for themselves at all, O bounteous Lord; were the Rest of this huge Creation framed: But to sustain our lives in the way; and carry us on to our eternal home. O may our souls first praise Thee for themselves; and employ their whole powers to improve in thy service. May we praise Thee, O Lord, for all thy gifts; but infinitely above all, still value the Giver. May every blessing be a motive of gratitude; and every creature a step of approach towards Thee. So shall we faithfully observe their end; and happily arrive at ours. Using them only to entertain us here; till our souls be prepared for the life of heaven. Till they become full ripe for Thee; and then fly away to thy holy presence. Glory be, etc. Psal. XX. HOw admirable is thy Name, O Lord, over all the earth! how wise and gracious the counsels of thy Providence! After Thou hadst thus prepared the world; as a house ready furnished for man to inhabit. Thy mighty hand framed our bodies of the dust; and built them in a shape of use and beauty. Thou breath'dst into us the spirit of Life; and fittedst us with faculties proportioned to our end. Thou gav'st us a soul to govern our bodies; and reason to command in our soul. Thou reveal'dst to us a Law for the improvement of our reason; and enablest us by thy grace to observe that Law. Thou mad'st us Lords over all thy creatures; but little inferior to thy glorious Angels. Thou compelest whole Nature to serve us without reward; and invitest us to love Thee for our own happiness. Thou design'dst us an age of pure delights *, in that sweet and fruitful Garden. Where having led a long and pleasant life; thou promisedst to transplant us to thine own Paradise. All this thou didst, O glorious God; the full Possessor of universal bliss! Not for any need thou hadst of us; or the least advantage thou couldst derive from our being. All this thou didst, O infinite Goodness; the liberal bestower of what e'er we possess! Not for any merit, alas, of ours; or the least motive we could offer to induce Thee. But for thine own excessive charity; and the mere inclination of thine own rich nature. That empty we might receive of thy fullness; and be partakers of thy overflowing bounty. So sheds the generous Sun his beams; and freely scatters them on every side. Guilding all the world with his beauteous light; and kindly cherishing it with his fruitful heat. And so dost Thou, and infinitely more; O thou God of infinite more perfections! So we confess thou dost to us: but we, what return have we made to Thee? Have we considered well the end of our being? and faithfully complied with thy purpose to save us? Ah wretched we! we neglect thy holy rules; and govern our actions by chance and humour. We quite forget our God that made us; and fill our heads with thoughts that undo us. Pardon, O gracious Lord, our past ingratitude; and mercifully direct our time to come. Teach every passage of our yet remaining life; to express an acknowledgement fit for thy mercies. O make our senses subject to our reason; and our reason entirely obedient to thee: O make the whole Creation conspire to thy honour; and all that depend on thee join together in thy praise. This is the only praise thou expectest from us; and the whole honour, thou requirest of thy Creatures: That by observing the orders thou appointest here; in this lower region of change and motion. We may all grow up to be happy hereafter; in that state of permanency and eternal rest. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Bless our Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, praise his holy Name. Capit. 4. Apoc. WOrthy art Thou, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour and power: because Thou hast created all things, and for thy will they are, and were created. Hymn VI. HArk, my soul, how every thing Strives to serve our bounteous King: Each a double tribute pays; Sings it part, and then obeys. Nature's chief and sweetest Choir Him with cheerful notes admire: Chanting every day their laud's; While the grove their song applauds. Though their voices lower be, Streams have too their melody: Night and day they warbling run; Never pause, but still sing on. All the flowers that gild the spring, Hither their still-musick bring: If Heaven bless them, thankful they Smell more sweet, and look more gay. Only we can scarce afford This short Office to our Lord: We, on whom his bounty flows; All things gives, and nothing owes. Wake for shame my sluggish hart; Wake, and gladly sing thy part: Learn of birds, and springs, and flowers, How to use thy nobler powers. Call whole nature to thy aid; Since 'twas He whole nature made: Join in one eternal song, Who to one God all belong. Live for ever, glorious Lord! Live by all thy works adored: One in Three, and Three in One, Thrice we bow to Thee alone. Amen. Antiph. The boundless Ocean of Being could not contain his streams; but overflowed upon pure nothing, and behold a beauteous world appeared: Heaven and earth and all therein, from the highest Angel to the least grain of dust; all together the most perfect participation of his Essence. V. He spoke the word, and they were made. R. He but commanded, and they were created. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O Almighty Lord, the only wise and good Creator of the Universe; who mad'st all corporeal nature for the use of Man; and Man for his own felicity! enlarge our souls we beseech Thee, humbly to admire and adore thy infinite fullness of Being in Thyself; and thy immense liberality of it to us; and mercifully carry on the whole Creation to its end: Vouchsafing so to order all thy creatures about us, by thy grace, that they may attain their perfection in duly serving us, and we Ours in eternally enjoying Thee: through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end, Amen. Commemorations, etc. as pag. 29. Monday Vespers. IN the Name of the Father, etc. as pag. 33. Antiph. To know Thee, O Lord, is the highest learning; and to be known of Thee, the greatest happiness. Psal. XXI. LEt us now consider, O Lord our God let us thankfully remember what Thou art to us. Thou art the great Beginning of our nature; and glorious end of all our actions. Thou art the overflowing Source from whence we spring; and the immense Ocean into which we tend. Thou art the free Bestower of all we possess; and faithful Promiser of all we hope. Thou art the strong Sustainer of our lives: and ready Deliverer from all our enemies. Thou art the merciful Scourger of our sins; and bounteous Rewarder of our obedience. Thou art the safe Conductor of our pilgrimage; and the eternal Rest of our wearied souls. Such words, alas, our narrownes is constrained to use, * when we endeavour to speak thy bounties. Wider a little can our thoughts extend; yet infinitely less than the least of thy mercies. Tell us thyself; one word of thine expresses more *, than all the eloquence of men and Angels, Tell us Thyself, O Thou mild instructor of the ignorant! what thou art to us. Say to our souls, Thou art our salvation; but say it so that we may hear Thee. Gladly will we run after the sound of that voice; and hope by following it to find out Thee. When we have found Thee once, O Thou joy of our hearts! never let us lose thy sight again. Never let us turn our eyes from Thee; but steadily fix them on thy glorious face. Suffer us not to go, till thou hast given us thy blessing; and then may thy blessing bind us faster to Thee. Glory be, etc. Antiph. To know Thee, O Lord, is the highest learning; and to be known of Thee, the greatest happiness. Antiph. To know our selus is the truest wisdom, and to see our own poverty, the safest riches. Psal. XXII. LEt us now consider, O Lord our God let us humbly remember, what we are to Thee. We who, alas, are nothing in our selus; what can we be to thy Immensity? Thou who art all things in thine own rich self; what canst thou receive from our poverty? This only we are to Thee, O great Creator! the unthankful object of all thy bounties. This only we are to Thee, O dear Redeemer! the unworthy cause of all thy sufferings. Guilty we committed the crime; and thou with thine innocency undertookst the punishment. We went astray from the path of life; and thy mercy came down from heaven to seek us. To seek us in the wilderness where we had lost our selus; and bring us home to the discipline of thy love. Lord, what are we, that thou shouldst thus regard * such poor and vile and inconsiderable wretches! What can our good will avail thy Blyss; that with so many charms thou wooest us to love Thee! What can our malice prejudice thy content; that thou threatnest so violently if we love thee not! Is there, O my God, not felicity enough * in the sweetness alone of loving Thee? Is there perhaps not misery enough * in living deprived of thy blissful love? Yes, Yes, dear Lord, and that thou knewest; and that's the only cause * which moved thy goodness to court our affections. Thou knewest we else would cast away our selus; * by doting on the follies of this deceitful world. Thou knewest the danger of our wilful nature; and therefore strivest by greatest fears, and greatest hopes. And all the wisest arts of love, and bounty, * to draw us to thyself and endow us with thy kingdom. Unhappy we! whose frowardness required so strange proceeding, * to force upon us our own salvation. Happy we! whose wants have met so kind a hand; that needed but our emptiness to engage him to fill us. Happy yet more, that our Lord, who thus favours us now *, will at last even give us Himself. Glory be, etc. Antiph. To know our selus is the truest wisdom, and to see our own Poverty, the safest riches. Antiph. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity; but the love of God, and hope to enjoy Him. Psal. XXIII. LOrd, without Thee, what's all the world to us, * but a flying dream of busy vanities? It promises indeed a Paradise of blyss; but all it performs is an empty cloud. Thine are the joys that shine fixed as the stars; and make the only solid heaven. Lord, without Thee, what are we to our selus, but the wretched causes of our own ruin? We, till thou gav'st us Being, were purely nothing; more removed from happiness, than the miserablest of thy creatures. Now thou hast made us, we wholly depend on Thee, and perish immediately if thou forsake us. Thou, without us, art the same all-glorious Essence; brim-ful of thy own eternal felicity. Without us, thy royal Throne stands firm for ever; and all the Powers of heaven obey thy pleasure, Pity, O gracious Lord, our imperfect nature; whose every circumstance is so contrary to Thine. Thou dwellest above in the Mansions of glory; and we below in houses of clay. Thou art immortal, and thy day outlives all time; we every moment go downwards to our grave. Thou art immense, and thy presence fills the heavens; but the Greatest of us, alas, how little are we! Two yards of air contain us while we live; and a few spans of earth suffice us at our death. When, O my God, shall these distances meet together? when will these extremities embrace each other? We know they once were miraculously joined * in the sacred Person of thy eternal Son. When the King of heaven stooped down to earth; and grafted into his own Person the nature of man. We hope they once again shall be happily united *, in the blissful vision of thy glorious Self. When the children of the earth shall be exalted to heaven, and made partakers of thy divine nature. But are there no means for us here below? O Thou infinitely high and glorious God Is there no way to approach towards Thee; and diminish, at least, this uncomfortable distance? None but the way of holy love; which none can attain but by thy free gift: Nor must we sinners dare to ask thy love; being infinitely unworthy to be called thy servants. Rather let us humbly beg the grace to love Thee; who art so many ways worthy of more than our hearts: And yet, O dearest Lord, unless thou first love us; and sweetly draw us by thy gentle hand: Never shall we be so happy as to love Thee; nor ever happy unless we love Thee: O bounteous God to all thy favours add this one, * of making us esteem Thee above them all: Be thou to us our God, and all things; and make us nothing in our own eyes: Be thou our whole everlasting delight; and let nothing else be any thing to us: Glory be, etc. Antiph. Vanity of Vanitys, all is Vanity; but the love of God, and hope to enjoy him. Capit. Ephes. 6. CHildren obey your Parents, in our Lord, for this is just: and you Fathers, provoke not your Children to anger; but bring them up in discipline, and the fear of our Lord. Servants be obedient to your Masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling in the simplicity of your hearts, as to Christ: not serving to the eye as it were pleasing men; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the hart; knowing whatever good any one shall do, that shall he receive of our Lord, whether he be bond or free: And you Masters, do the same things to them, forbearing threatenings; knowing that both their Lord and yours is in heaven, and with Him is no acceptance of persons. Hymn. VII. LOrd, who shall dwell above with Thee, There on thy holy Hill? Who shall those glorious Prospects see That heaven with gladness fill? Those happy souls who prise that life Above the bravest here: Whose greatest hope, whose eagrest strife, Is once to settle there. They use this world, but value That; That they supremely love: They travel through this present state; But place their home above. Lord! who are they that thus choose Thee, But those Thou first didst choose? To whom Thou gav'st thy grace most free, Thy grace not to refuse. We of our selus can nothing do, But all on Thee depend: Thine is the work, and wages too; Thine, both the way and end. O make us still our work attend, And we'll not doubt our pay: We will not fear a blessed end, If thou but guide our way. Glory to Thee, O bounteous Lord! Who giv'st to all things breath: Glory to Thee, Eternal Word! Who sav'st us by thy death. Glory, O Blessed Spirit, to Thee Who fill'st our hearts with love: Glory to all the Mystic Three, Who reign one God above. Amen. Antiph. He that framed the hart of man, designed it for himself: and bequeathed it unquietness, till possessed of its Maker. V. Vanity of Vanitys, all is Vanity: R. But to love our God, and attend his service. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray: O God, who alone art all in all things to us, and to whom we are nothing but wretched objects of thy bounty; which the more flows upon us, the more we truly feel our own pure emptiness and want of it! Increase, we humbly beseech thee, this happy sense in thy servants, by our daily experience of this world's unsatisfyingness: and grant that, finding it ordained by Thee, to breed and widen, not fill our capacity; we may make this only use of all thy creatures here, to raise and heighten our desires of thy infinite Self in Eternity: through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end: Amen V. O Lord hear our prayers: R. And let our Supplications come to Thee: V. Bless we our Lord R. Thanks be to God. V. May the Souls of the Faithful Departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace: Amen: Pause a while, to reflect, and renew— Then begin Complin▪ Monday Complin. V. OUr help is in As Page 46. Antiph. All thy ways, O Lord, are mercy and wisdom; and all thy Counsels tend to our happiness. Psal. XXIV. MY God, in every thing I see thy hand; in every passage thy gracious Providence: Thou wisely governest the house thou hast built; and preventest with thy mercy's all our wants: Thou callest us up in the early morning; and giv'st us light by the beams of thy Sun: To labour every one in their proper Office; and fill the little place appointed them in the world: Thou providest a rest for our weary Evening; and favourest our sleep with a shady darkness: To refresh our bodies in the peace of night; and save the waist of our decaying spirits: Again thou awak'st our drowsy eyes; and bid'st us return to our daily task: Thus has thy wisdom mixed our life; and beauteously interwoven it of rest and work: Whose mutual changes sweeten each other; and both prepare us for our greatest duty: Of finishing here the work of our Salvation; to rest hereafter in thy holy peace. Glory be, etc. Psal. XXV. LOrd, how thy bounty gives us all things else, * with a large and open hand! Our Fields at once are covered with corn; and our trees bow under the weight of their fruit: At once thou fill'st our Magazines with plenty; and send'st us who'e showers of other blessings: Only our time thou distil'st by drops; and never giv'st us two moments at once: But tak'st away one when thou lendest another; to teach us the price of so rich a Jewel: That we may learn to value every hour; and not childishly spend them on empty trifles: Much less maliciously murder whole days; in pursuing a course of sin and shame. Lord, as Thou thus hast taught our ignorance; so let thy grace enable our weakness: Wisely to manage the time thou giv'st us; and still press on to new degrees of improvement: That with our few, but wel-spent years; we may purchase to our selves a blessed eternity. Glory be, etc. Psal. XXVI. IT was thy mercy too, O gracious Lord, to dispense by parcels our portion of time: That the succeeding day may learn to grow wise; and correct its faults by experience of the past: Else, were our Being all at once; as it shall be in the next Eternal life. Our sins would have here no power to be repent; and then, alas, how desperate were we! We, who are born in the way to misery; and, unless we change, can never be happy. We, who so often wilfully go astray; and, unless we return, must perish for ever. O Thou, in whose indulgent hands * are both our time and our Eternity! Whose Providence gives every minute of our life; and governs the fatal period of our death. O make us every Evening still provide *, to pass with comfort that important hour. Make us still balance our accounts for heaven; and strive to increase our treasures with Thee. That, if we rise no more to our acquaintance here; we may joyfully waken among thy blessed Angels. There to unite our Hymns with Theirs; and join all together in one full Quire. Glory be, etc. Antiph. All thy ways, O Lord, are mercy and wisdom; and all thy Counsels tend to our happiness. Hymn VIII. NOw, my Soul, the day is gone, Which in the morn was thine: Now its glass no more shall run, Its Sun no longer shine. True, alas! the day is gone; O were it only so: Is't not lost as well as done? Cast up thy counts and know. Are we so much nearer heaven, As to the grave we bow? Has our sorrow made all even, And cleared the debts we owe? From what vice have we refrained, To break the course of sin? What new virtue have we gained, To make us rich within? Time is well bestowed on those Who well their time bestow: Whose main concern still forward goes; Whose hopes still riper grow. Who, when e'er the clocks proclaim Another hour is past, Have an art to set their aim And thoughts upon their Last. That their last and happiest hour, Which brings them to their home: Where they sing, and bless the Power That made them thither come. O my God, of life and death The everliving King! Since Thou giv'st to all their breath, May all thy glory sing. Glory, honour, power and praise To the mysterious Three: As at first beginning was, May now, and ever be Capit. 4. Ephes. BE angry and sin not; let not the Sun go down upon your wrath; and contristate not the holy Spirit of God, in which you are sealed to the day of Redemption. Let all bitterness, and anger, and indignation, and clamour, and blasphemy, with all malice, be taken away from you: be gentle one to another, and merciful; pardoning one another, as God also in Christ has pardoned you. Antiph. Happily ends that day, whose evils end with it, cancelled by just contrition; happily begins that night which is introduced, with aspirations to our eternal rest. V. The day is thine, and the night is thine. R. Lord, may thy grace, through both, breed us up also Thine. Let us pray. O God, whose gracious Providence vouchsafes us a frequent Monitor of our own and the world's last end; by burying every day in the silent grave of night! Sweeten, we humbly beseech Thee, and render familiar to our expectation Those terrible periods of time, by our constant due use of this, to even our accounts with Thee, and fit our selus for sleep with a devout Composure of our souls to their eternal rest: and grant that our so often easy yielding to suspend all operations of the whole man, for some hours, at the summons of flesh and blood's drowsy humours, may teach our souls to reflect themselves into a more reasonable willingness, when ever thou call'st, to leave our bodies in the bed of dust, and pass into the state of their own perfect and everwaking activity and blyss, heightened by sure hopes of a compleatly-glorifying Resurrection; through our Lord— Vouchsafe us we beseech, etc. As page 54. to the end. TUESDAY MATINS. Introduction, as page 1. Invitatory. Come let's adore our God that preserus us. Come let's adore our God that preserus us. Psal. XXVII. FRom thee, O Lord, we derive our Being; and from the same Goodness our Continuance to be: if thou withdraw'st thy hand but a moment, we instantly return to our first nothing. Come let's adore our God that preserus us. From all our enemies his Providence defends us; and covers our head in the day of danger: he sends in his grace to relieve our weakness; and disappoints the tentations that threaten to undo us. Come let's adore our God that preserus us. Here his Almighty Power sustains our life, and mercifully allows us space to repent: that, by well employing the time he lends us, we may wisely provide for our own Eternity. Come let's adore our God that preserus us. He still repeats his Blessings to us; and shall we neglect our duty to him? he freely bestows on us all our day; and shall we not spend half an hour in his service? Come let's adore our God that preserus us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, both now and ever; world without end, Amen. Come let's adore our God that preserus us. Come let's adore our God that preserus us. Hymn IX. COme let's adore the gracious hand, That brought us to this light: That gave his Angels strict Command To be our Guard this night. When we laid down our weary head, And sleep sealed up our eye: They stood and watched about our bed; To let no harm come nigh. Now we are up, they still go on, And guide us through the day: They never leave their Charge alone; What e'er besets our way. And, O my soul, how many snares Lie spread before our feet! In all our joys, in all our cares, Some danger still we meet. Sometimes the sin does us o'ertake, And on our weakness win: Sometimes our selves our ruin make; And we o'ertake the sin. O save us, Lord, from all those darts, That seek our souls to slay: Save us, from us, and our false hearts; Lest we ourselves betray. Save us, O Lord; to Thee we cry, From whom all blessings spring: We on thy grace alone rely; Alone thy glory sing. Glory to Thee, Eternal Lord; Thrice blessed Three in One! Thy name at all times be adored; Till time itself be done. Amen. Antiph. If we receive all we have of God why do we boast as if we had it our selus? Psal. XXVIII. NOt unto us, O Lord, not unto us; but to thine own blessed Name give all the glory. When we have applied our utmost cares; and used all the diligence that lies in our power. What can we do, but look up to Thee; and second our endeavours with prayers for thy blessing? When we have implored thy gracious mercy; and offered thee our dearest Sacrifice to obtain it. What can we do, but submit our hopes; and expect the event from thy free goodness? We know, and thou thyself hast taught us; unless thou defend'st the city, the Guard watches in vain. We know, & our own experience tells us; unless thou reach forth thy hand, we are presently in danger of sinking. Every moment of our day subsists by Thee; and every step we take moves by thy strength. Even the line we now repeat, must beg its breath of Thee; and stop if thou deniest it. If Thou deniest, who can compel thy Will; or call in question thy Decrees? Are we not all thy creatures, O gracious God and, as helpless children, hanging at the breast of thy Providence? Are we not all as clay in thy hands; to frame us into vessels of what use thou pleasest? Behold we confess, O Lord, in thee we live; in thee we move and have our being. All our sufficiency proceeds from Thee; and all our success depends on thy favour. Others may tell us the way we should go; but Thou alone canst enable us to walk. Others may tell us the way; but even they must first be taught by Thee. They must be moved by Thee to act that charity; and so all at last is resolved into Thee. Should we presume, O Lord, to divide thy grace; and proudly challenge any share to our selus: Thy mighty truth stands up against us; and our own infirmities plainly confute us. Shouldst thou severely examine our hearts; and ask who works all their actions in them: Sure we must needs bow down our heads; and from our low dust humbly say; Nothing are we, O Lord, but what thou hast made us; nothing have we, but what thou hast given us: Only our sins are entirely our own; which O, may thy grace extinguish for ever. O may all self-presumption dy in us; and our whole confidence live only in Thee. May even our frailties make us more strong; and our being nothing teach us to be humble. So shall thy power, O God, be magnified in our weakness; and thy mercy triumph in relief of our misery. Glory be, etc. Antiph. If we receive all we have of God; why do we boast as if we had it of our selus? Antiph. God is my Saviour, whom shall I fear? God is my Protector, of what shall I be afraid? Psal. XXIX. THus we depend, and happy we in this dependence; did we but know our own true interest. We and our whole Concerns are deposited with God; and where can we find a better hand to ensure them? Is he not wise enough to choose safely for us, who disposes all nature in such admirable order? Has he not power to go through with his purpose, who commands the wills of men and Angels? Wants he perhaps an inclination to favour us; who desires our felicity more than our own hearts? He feeds the fowls of the air; and clothes the lilies of the field. Without his providence not a sparrow falls to the ground; and shall we mistrust his care for his children? Under his government we have lived all this while; and can we now suspect he'll forsake us? He has shown his bounty in extraordinary graces; and will he deny us his lesser blessings? He has freely bestowed on us his dearest Son; how shall He not with Him give us all things else? All that are truly useful to carry us on our way; and bring us at length to his eternal rest. If our necessities be the effects of our folly; we must not presume he'll maintain us in our sins. Rather we should strive to moderate our appetites; and correct the vices that have bred these myseries. But, if our wants be innocent and pressing; he'll sooner do a miracle then break his word. His word, which he so often has solemnly engaged; so often proved by a thousand experiments. Ask but the former ages, and they will tell you *, the wonders he wrought in favour of his servants. He multiplied the oil in the poor widows Cruse; and fed his Prophet by the service of a Raven. He dried the Sea into a path for his People; and melted the rocks to refresh their thirst. He made his Angel's stewards of their provision, and nourished them in the wilderness with the bread of heaven. Still, O my God, thy eternal charity retains * the same affections for them that rely on Thee. Still thy allseeing Wisdom governs the world; with the same immense unalterable goodness. Nay surely now the streams of thy mercy run more strong; and have wrought to themselves a larger channel. Since thou brought'st down the waters from above the heavens; and openedst in thine own body a spring of life. A spring of joy and blyss to revive our hearts; and overflow them with a torrent of everlasting pleasures. Glory be, etc. Antiph. God is my Saviour, whom shall I fear? God is my Protector, of what shall I be afraid? Antiph. Seek first the Kingdom of God; and all things else shall be added to you. Psal. XXX. LEt us then sit down in peace, O my soul! and rest secure in the bosom of providence. Let us not disturb the order of those mercies *, which our God has designed us in his eternal counsels. Every accident may be turned into virtue; and every virtue is a step to our glorious end. If our affairs succeed, let us praise our great Benefactor; and think what he'll give us hereafter, who so favours us here. If they miscarry, let us yield to the will of heaven; and learn by our crosses in this world to betake us to the other. What ever happens, let this be our constant rule; to provide for the future life, and be contented with the present. Shall we not patiently accept a little evil *, from Him that has given us so much good? Shall the being without some one thing we need not *, more sensibly affect us, than the having all we need? Ingrateful we! the common benefits we all enjoy *, deserve the thanksgiving of a whole life. The air we breath in, and the Sun that shines on us; the water and the earth that so faithfully serve us. The exercise of our senses, and the use of our wits; if not in excellence, at least to some degree. All these, O Lord, thou generally giv'st to the Good, and to the Bad; and for the least of these, none can praise thee enough. What shall we say to those high supernatural blessings; a Son of God to redeem us, and a Heaven to reward us? What shall we say? can we yet complain * because some few perhaps are more prosperous than we? Should we not rather look down on the many below us; and be thankful to see our selus more favoured than they? Should we not reckon o'er the miseries of mankind; and bless our God that has so far preserved us? Had we some desperate canker breeding on our face; or noisome leprosy spreading o'er our skin. (These we must all confess are incident to our nature; and more than these due to our sins;) What would we give to be as now we are? how gladly change for a moderate affliction? 'Tis but interpreting our worst condition well; to find motives enough for our gratitude to God. 'Tis but interpreting our best condition frowardly; and find defects enough to think our selus miserable. Did we adore, as we ought, the Wisdom of our God; we should easily trust Him to rule his own world. Could we understand the secret character of his Decrees; we should read in each syllable a perfect harmony. Teach us, O Thou blessed Enlightner of our minds! teach us to expound thy actions in a fair sense. Suffer us not to follow our private spirit; lest we create to our selves a voluntary misery. Still let us construe the afflictions thou send'st us *, as meant to correct, and not to destroy us. To prevent some sin, or practise some virtue; and when we need our crosses no longer, thou'lt take them away. Meanwhile, O gracious Lord, make us wait thy time; and not impatiently prescribe limits to thee. Make us rejoice that our lots are in thy hands; but O, let thy mercy choose favourably for us. Dispose as thou pleasest our condition here; only our portion hereafter, let it be with thy Blessed. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Seek first the Kingdom of God; and all things else shall be added to you. Our Father, etc. First Lesson. HAve confidence in our Lord with all thy hart, and rely not on thine own prudence: in all thy ways think on Him, and he will direct thy steps. Be not wise in thine own conceit: fear God, and depart from evil. The greater thou art, so much the more humble thyself; and thou shalt find grace before God: for, the power of God only is great, and he is honoured of the humble. Seek not the things that are too high for thee; nor search into those that are above thy strength: but the things which God has commanded thee, think always on them, and in many of his works be not curious; since 'tis not necessary for thee to see with thine eyes those things that are hidden. Place thy treasure in the precepts of the Highest, and it shall profit thee more than gold. Lay up thy alms in the hart of the poor, and it shall obtain for thee against all evil: above the shield of the mighty, and above the spear, it shall fight against the enemy. In all thy gifts show a cheerful countenance, and dedicate thy tyths with gladness: give to the Highest, according to what He has given thee; and with a good ey do according to the ability of thy hands; for our Lord is thy rewarder, and he will repay thee seven times as much. When the ways of a man please our Lord, he will convert even his enemies to peace. The hart of a man disposes his way; but it pertains to our Lord to direct his steps. He that is patient is better than the strong; and he that rules over his mind, than the Conqueror of Cities. There is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against our Lord: the horse is prepared for the day of battle; but our Lord gives salvation. R. Well may we give thee, O Lord, some part of what we have, since we received of thee even all we have: well may we give with gladness to Thee; since thy bounty rewards us with so great advantage. O make us still mistrust our selus, and with an humble confidence rely on Thee. Without thy blessing our labours are in vain; and against thy decrees no policy can succeed: but if we humbly submit to thee, thou wilt direct us; if we keep thy commandments, thou wilt defend us. O make us— Second Lesson. WHen thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and fear; and prepare thy soul for tentation. What ever is brought upon thee receive, and in thy sorrow bear up, and when thou art humbled have patience: for gold and silver are tried in the fire; and acceptable men in the furnace of affliction. Believe God, and he will recover thee: order thy way aright, and hope in Him: keep his fear, and grow old therein. You who fear our Lord, expect his mercy; decline not from him, lest you fall: believe him, and your reward shall not miscarry. You who fear our Lord, hope in him; and mercy shall come to you for your refreshment: love him, and your hearts shall be illuminated. Behold the generations of men; and know that none has hoped in our Lord, and been confounded. Who ever continued in his commandments and was forsaken; or called upon him, and he despised him? God is compassionate and merciful, and will pardon sins in the day of tribulation; and protect all those that seek him in truth. woe to the double hart and wicked lips, and the hands that work evil, and the sinner that goes on the earth two ways. woe to them that are of dissolute hart; who believe not God, and therefore shall not be protected by him. woe to them that have lost patience, and forsaken the right path, and declined into perverse ways: what will they do, when our Lord shall begin to look into them? R. Teach us, O gracious Lord, to begin our works with fear; and go on with obedience, and finish them with love; and after all, sit humbly down in hope, and with a cheerful confidence look up to thee, * whose promises are faithful, and rewards infinite. All this we may do for men, and yet they fail us; we may fear and obey, and they forget our service; we may love and hope, and they neglect our affections: only Thou, O Lord our God, whom we no way can benefit, dost every way oblige us *, whose promises— Third Lesson. BEcause sentence is not speedily pronounced against the wicked, the children of men commit evil without fear: but though a sinner offend a hundred times, and be forborn by patience, I know it shall be well with them that fear God. There are just men to whom evil things happen, as though they had done the works of the impious; and there are impious who live secure, as if they had the deeds of the just: and this also I judge most vain. The just and the wise and their works are in the hands of God; yet no man knows whether he be worthy of love or hatred: but all things are reserved incertain for the time to come; because all things happen alike to the good and to the bad. As is the virtuous; so is the sinner; and as the perjured, so he that swears the truth: by this the hearts of men are filled with malice and contempt while they live; and after are led away into hell. I turned me to another thing and saw under the Sun; that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the learned, nor favour to men of skill: but time and chance in all things. R. And sure 'tis fittest so: for what can an infinite Power, and Wisdom, and Goodness do, but that which is best? Lord I submit and adore thy Providence, which scatters these temporal things with a seeming negligence; as trifles of so little importance, that they signify neither love nor hatred: * Nothing but heaven is indeed considerable; nothing but Eternity deservs our esteem. Fix thou our steps, O Lord, that we stagger not at the uneven motions of the world; but steadily go on to our glorious home: not censuring our journey by the weather we meet; nor turning out of the way for any accident that befalls us. * Nothing but— Glory be— * Nothing but: Pause. as page 17. Tuesday laud's. O God incline, etc. as page 18. Antiph. Praise our Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psal. XXXI. BE thou eternally adored, O God of our salvation; and may thy praises be sung by thy servants for ever. When our first parents had disobeyed thy precepts; to the ruin of themselves, and their whole posterity. Thy mercy immediately provided a remedy; and graciously promised a powerful Redeemer. A Redeemer that should conquer sin and death; and crush in pieces the serpent's head. A Redeemer that should fully repair the breaches of mankind; and render our condition better than before. Enlightening our eyes with a clearer view * of those excellent truths that belong to our peace; And supporting our nature with a stronger grace, * to bear us safely on through all encounters. Till we arrive at the land of rest; and be received for ever into that glorious Kingdom. O Blessed JESUS, our strength, our guide; who knowst and pitiest our weak capacities: Who in thy tender care hast contrived such means, * that nothing can undo us but our own perverseness. How easy hast thou made the way to heaven! how light is the burden thou layest on thy followers! 'Tis but to love Thee, our greatest Benefactor; and we perfectly fulfil every branch of thy Law. 'Tis but desiring to see Thee, our supreme Beatitude; and we are sure to possess an eternity of joy. Blessed, O my God, be the wisdom of thy Providence; that alone knows the way to draw good out of evil. That not only restores us to our first degree; but makes even our fall rebound us to a greater height. Lord, as thy goodness turns all things to the advantage of thy Elect; O may the Elect praise thy goodness in all things. Glory be, etc. Psal. XXXII. ADmirable wert thou, O Lord, in thy merciful promise, but infinitely more, in thy wonderful performance. Thou deputedst not an Angel to supply thy place; nor entrustedst so tender a work to the manage of a Seraphin: But Thyself bow'dst the heavens and cam'st down; and with thy own blessed hands wroughtst our redemption. Thyself took'st upon thee our frail nature; and vouchsaf'dst to be born of an humble Virgin. Thou condescendedst to the weaknesses of a child; a child whose parents were poor and unesteemed in the world. Thou declinedst not the mean entertainment of a stable: O, how unfit for the birth of the King of Heaven! Thou contentedst thyself with the cradle of a manger; and the uneasy lodging on a bed of straw. Thou refusedst the soft accommodations of the rich; to undergo the inconveniencies of a poor stranger. Only the faithful joseph stood waiting on Thee; and provided, as he was able, for his helpless family: Only thy pious Mother dearly embraced Thee; and wrapped thy tender limbs in little clouts. Wonder O heavens, and be amazed O earth; and every creature humbly bow your heads: Bow and adore this incomprehensible mystery; The WORD was made flesh, & dwelled among us. But most of all, we who are most concerned; the banished children of unfortunate Adam. Let us bow down our faces to the dust; and prostrate adore so unspeakable a mercy. Behold thus low my Saviour stooped for me; * to check the pride of my corrupted nature. Behold thus low He stooped to take me from the ground; and raise me to the felicities of his own Kingdom. Lift up thy voice with joy, O my soul; and sing Hosanna to the new born JESUS. Call all the blessed Angels to celebrate his birth; and repeat afresh that heavenly Anthem, Glory be to God on high, * in earth peace, towards men of good will. Lift up thy voice aloud, O my soul! and to the Quires of heaven join the music of the Church. Glory be, etc. Psal. XXXIII. Rejoice all you faithful Nations of the earth, * when you hear the sweet Name of our dear Redeemer. Rejoice, and with your bended knees and hearts, * adore the blessed JESUS. He is the Son of the everliving God; equally participating the glories of his Father. He is that great Messias whom the Prophets foretold, * and all the ancient Saints so long expected. At length, in the fullness of time, he came; to visit in person our miserable world: He came with his hands full of miracles; and every miracle full of mercy: He made the crooked become strait; and the lame to walk and leap for joy. He opened the ears of the deaf to hear; and gave sight to them that were born blind: He loosened the tongues of the dumb to speak: O may he govern ours to sing his praise! He cleansed the leprous by the word of his mouth; and healed their diseases who but touched his garment. To the poor he revealed the treasures of his Gospel; and taught the simple the mysteries of his Kingdom. He cast out Devils by the command of his Will; and forced them to confess and adore his Person. He raised the dead from the grave to life; the dead that were four days buried and corrupted: Nay even Himself, being slain for us on the Cross, * and his tomb made fast and secured with a guard, He raised again by his own victorious power; and carried up our nature into the highest heavens. All these stupendious signs, O glorious JESUS! were done by the hand of Thy Almighty mercy: To witness thy truth with the seal of heaven; and endear thy precepts with obliging miracles. That thus engaged we might believe in Thee; and obeying thy Law, be eternally saved. O Let not all this love, dear Lord, be lost; be so many Tokens so kindly expressed. One miracle more we humbly beg; but one as strange and hard as any of the rest. Soften our stony hearts into a tender sense, * of thy great goodness and their own true duty. Raise our dead spirits from this heavy earth; to dwell with Thee in the land of the Living; That as we here admire thy bounteous Power; and daily sing the wonders of thy Grace: We may hereafter adore thy Blessed Self; and sing eternally the wonders of thy Glory. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Praise our Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Capit. Judas v. 24, 25. TO Him who is able to preserve you without sin, and set you immaculate before the sight of his glory, in exultation at the coming of our Lord JESUS Christ; to the only God our Saviour, by JESUS Christ our Lord, be glory and magnificence, Empire and Power; before all ages, and now, and to all ages for ever, Amen. Hymn X. LEt others take their course, And sing what Name they please: Let wealth or beauty be their Theme; Such empty sounds as these. For me, I'll ne'er admire A lump of burnished clay: Howe'er it shines, it is but dust; And shall to dust decay. Sweet JESUS is the Name My song shall still adore: Sweet JESUS is the charming word, That does my life restore. When I am dead in grief; Or, which is worse, in sin: I call on JESUS, and he hears; And I to live begin. Wherefore to thee bright Name, Behold, thus low I bow; And thus again: yet is all this Far less than what I ow. Down then, down both my knees, Still lower to the ground; While with mine eyes and voice lift up, Aloud these lines I sound. Live glorious King of heaven, By all the heaven adored: Live gracious Saviour of the world, Our chief, and only Lord. Live, and for ever may Thy throne established be; For ever may all hearts and tongues Sing hymns of praise to Thee. Amen. Antiph. I saw the bright Sun show his flaming eyes, and behold a thousand rays filled the air, and beauteously guilded the earth: his glorious face but masked itself in a cloud, and immediately they vanished away, and their place was to be found no more: & I said, such, O my God, just such is the stability of every creature. V. Even the line we now repeat must beg its breath of Thee; R. And stop if Thou deniest it. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God the eternal Source and Necessity of Being, on whose free overflowing, that of thy whole Creation every moment depends! strike we beseech Thee our hearts with a continual dread and reverence of thy absolute Dominion, which, should it but never so little suspend thy Bounty, resolus us all instantly into nothing: nothing: and grant, that as we know thou preserust still on this world, to grow daily riper for the Other, to which thou hast ordained it; we may by thy grace so husband our time here, as in the next life to possess thy Eternity, through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who, etc. Commemorations, etc. as page 29. Tuesday Vespers. IN the Name, etc. As page 13. Antiph. Who is like thee, O Lord, among the Gods! who is like thee, terrible in judgements! Psal. XXXIV. SPeak no more proudly vain dust; nor provoke any longer the living God. Seal up thy lips in humble silence; and tremblingly remember his dreadful judgements. Remember how the earth opened itself; and swallowed up alive so many thousands. Remember how the clouds reigned fire and brimstone; and buried whole Cities in their own ashes. Remember how the general deluge o'respred the world, and swept away almost all mankind. Remember, and ask the cause of all this ruin; and tell it aloud to the bold offender: Tell him, 'twas sin, and such as his *, that drew upon them so swift destruction. Sin threw the Angels down from heaven; and chained them up in eternal darkness: Sin banished Adam out of Paradise; and turned that delicious garden into a field of weeds. O God, how terrible is thy mighty arm; when Thou stretchest it forth to be avenged of thine enemies! O sin, how fatal is thy desperate malice; that pulls on our heads all the thunder of heaven! O my soul, how dull and senseless are we; to sleep secure, as if all were safe! Can we repeat these amazing Truths; and not tremble, at the wrath of the divine justice? Can we consider the deplorable end of sinners; and still go on in the ways of sin? Even while we sing thy praises, O glorious Lord! our very duty should fear before Thee. What should corrupted nature, then, do, when it sees its self ready to offend Thee? What should a guilty Conscience do; when it sees itself ruined by offending thee? Strike thou our hearts, O Thou infinite Majesty! with an awful reverence of thy great Name. Correct our many levities into a pious sadness; and break our proud spirits to bow to Thee: Still may our consciences cry aloud within us; dare you commit this evil, and sin against your God? Dare you commit this evil, and undo your selus? and plunge your own souls in everlasting torments? Forbid so rash a madness, gracious Lord! and make thy judgements on others mercies to us. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Who is like thee, O Lord, among the Gods! who is like thee, terrible in judgements! Antiph. Who is like thee, O Lord, among the Gods! who is like thee, amiable in mercies! Psal. XXXV. WIpe away the tears from thine eyes, O my soul! and clear thy hart from all clouds of despair. He that's thus infinite in power to punish *, is full as infinite in goodness to save. How often have we broken his divine Commands; yet still his earth sustains and servs us! How often have we abused our fullness of bread, yet still his clouds shower plenty upon us! Himself with his own Almighty Word consigned the waters; and sharply reproached their officiousness to destroy. Hitherto shall you come, and no farther; and here will I stay your proud waves: Only the ambitious Angels find no forgiveness; because their obstinacy refuses to seek it: Else, could those rebel-spirits disclaim their crimes; and turn again to obey their Maker. His clemency would soon revoke their sentence; and restore them to shine in their first bright seats. But O! the excess of mercy vouchsafed to Adam; and to us dust and ashes his posterity! For whom the sovereign King of heaven * humbled Himself to descend upon earth. Leading a poor laborious life; and suffering a painful ignominious death: Only to teach us how to live, and how to die; and what in both to aim at. Thy mercies, Lord, are above all thy works; and this above all thy mercies. Antiph. Who is like thee, O Lord, among the Gods! who is like thee, amiable in mercies! Antiph. Dreadful art thou, O Lord, in the terror of thy Judgements; but infinitely more amiable in the sweetness of thy mercies. Psal. XXXVI. STill let us sing the mercies of our God; and hold and shake a little longer this sweet key. When we, alas! lay buried in the abyss of nothing; his own free goodness first called us into Being. He fashioned our limbs in our mother's womb; and filled our Nurse's breast with milk. He enlarged our little steps when we began to go; and carefully preserved our helpless infancy: Commanding even his Angels to bear us in their hands; lest we dash our feet against a stone. How many dangers have we happily escaped; and not one of them but was governed by his providence! How many blessings do we daily receive; and not one of them but proceeds from his bounty! He provided Tutors to instruct our youth; and plant in our tender minds the seeds of virtue. He appointed Pastors to feed our souls; and safely guide them in the ways of Blyss: He founded his Church on an immovable Rock; and to render our faith firm and secure: He sealed his love with Sacraments of grace; to breed and nourish in us the life of charity. All this thou hast done, O merciful Lord! the wise Disposer of heaven and earth. All this thou hast done, and still goest on *, by infinite ways to gain us to thy love. Thou command'st us to ask, and promisest to grant; thou invitest us to seek, and assur'st us to find. Thou vouchsaf'st even thyself to stand at the door and knock; and if we open, thou interest and fill'st our hearts with joy. If we forget thee, thou renew'st afresh our memory; if we fly from thee, thou still findest some means to recall us. If we defer our amendment, thou patiently stayest for us; and when we return, thou open'st thy arms to embrace us. Surely, O my God from all eternity * Thou hast cast thy gracious eye upon us. Surely thy merciful hand has signed our lot; and marked us out for thy everlasting favours. We know thy ways are in the deep abyss; and none can sound the bottom of thy counsels. Yet may we safely look on the flowing streams; and gather this comfort from their gentle course. When we were not, thou freely lov'dst us; Thou wilt nor forsake us, now we strive to love thee: When we had lost our way, thou soughtest after us; thou wilt not refuse us, now we seek after thee. Lord, all we have is derived from thee; and all we expect can come from none but thyself. Accomplish thine own blessed purpose in us; and finish these happy beginnings towards us. For our hopes are great, thou hast chosen us to thy glory: since already thou so far art engaged by thy grace Glory be, etc. Antiph. Dreadful art Thou, O Lord, in the terrors of thy judgements; but infinitely more amiable in the sweetness of thy mercies. Capit. Rom. 13. LEt every soul be subject to the higher Powers; for there is no Power but of God, and they that be are ordained of God: who ever therefore resists the Power resists the ordinance of God; and they who resist purchase to themselves damnation. For Princes are not a terror to good, but evil works: wilt thou then not be afraid of the Power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of it; for he is the minister of God, to thee for good: but if thou dost evil, fear, for he bears not the sword in vain; for he is the minister of God, a revenger to wrath on him that does evil. Wherefore be subject to what is so necessary; not only for wrath, but also for conscience. And for this cause do you also pay tribute; for they are the ministers of God, serving to this very purpose. Render therefore to all their deuce; tribute, to whom tribute; custom, to whom custom; fear, to whom fear; honour, to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another; for he who loves has fulfilled the Law. Hymn XI. Feign would my thoughts fly up to Thee, Thy peace sweet Lord to find: But when I offer, still the world Lays clogs upon my mind. Sometimes I climb a little way, And thence look down below: How nothing, there, do all things seem, That here make such a show! Then round about I turn my eyes, To feast my hungry sight: I meet with heaven in every thing; In every thing delight. I see thy Wisdom ruling all; And it with joy admire: I see myself among such hopes, As set my hart on fire. When I have thus triumphed a while, And think to build my nest: Some cross conceits come fluttering by, And interrupt my rest. Then to the earth again I fall; And from my low dust cry; 'Twas not in my wing, Lord, but thine, That I got up so high. And now, my God, whether I rise, Or still lie down in dust: Both I submit to thy blessed will; In both on Thee I trust. Guide thou my way, who art thyself My everlasting End: That every step, or swift, or slow, Still to thyself may tend. To Father, Son and holy Ghost, One Consubstantial Three; All highest praise, all humblest thanks, Now, and for ever be. Antiph. What hart can resist the great King of Kings? terrible, and amiable, and mightily showing Both, in glorious miracles of vengeance and love. V. His right hand holds a golden Sceptre: R. And his left a flaming sword. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, who by hopes and fears, the main swayers of our nature here, hast graciously provided to counterpoise our weight downwards, and sustain our faint progress up to Thee in thy Kingdom! Grant, we humbly beseech Thee, that the many notorious Examples of thy dreadful judgements on obstinate and incorrigible sinners may strongly over-aw our vices and impenitence; and thy many more eminent instances of indulgence and mercy to the penitent and truly desirous of virtue may encourage our weakness into effectual endeavours after it, by the abundant and surely efficatious means thou hast vouchsafed in thy Church; through our Lord— O Lord hear, etc. As page 45. Tuesday Complin. OUr help is in, etc. as page 46. Antiph. Thou art, O Lord, all goodness and patience; and we, alas, all sin and disobedience. Psal. XXXVII. GOod God, how extremely ingrateful are we! how strangely insensible of our manifest duty! Every creature hears thy voice, but we; every thing lives by rule but we. The Sun observs its constant rising; and sets exactly at his appointed time. The Sun stands still, if thou commandest; and even goes back, to obey thy will. And yet the Sun pretends no reward; nor looks to be placed in a higher heaven. We who expect those glorious promises; and aim no lower than the heaven of heavens. Shall we forget the law of our God; that only instructs us to perfect our selus? We who are bought by the blood of JESUS; and freely redeemed by his sacred Cross. Shall we neglect so gracious a Saviour; whose only design is to draw us to his love? Shall we neglect so generous a love; whose only effect is to make us happy? O may thy holy will dear, Lord, be all our rule; and thy gracious hand our only guide: O may thy infinite goodness engage us to love Thee; and thy blessed love prepare us to enjoy Thee. Glory be, etc. Psal. XXXVIII. WHat did I say, O Lord my God we guide not our lives by thy straight rules? It was too mild and gentle a reproof *, for us who quite contradict thy Laws. What thou forbidst, we eagerly pursue; and what thou command'st, our forwardness still resists. We boldly converse with temptation and sin; which thy charity advises us to fly like death. We timorously fear a loss or frown; where Thou bidst us proceed with undaunted courage. We govern our actions by our own wild fancies; and expect thy Providence should comply with our humours: We would have Thee relieve us when we list; and rain and shine as we think fit. Pardon, O gracious Lord, this rude perverseness; and fashion our spirits to submit to Thee. Make us exactly observe what Thou prescrib'st; how bitter so ever it tastes to our sense▪ We are sure thy wisdom knows our infirmities; we are sure thy Goodness delights in our relief. Glory be, etc. Psal. XXXIX 'tWas not alone to make the day; that Thou O Lord, didst make the Sun: But to teach us these pious Lessons; and write them plain as it's own beams; So should our light shine forth to others; and so our charity warm their coldness: So when they say we are under a cloud; we should, like the Sun, be really above it; And though we appear sometimes Eclipsed; or even extinguished in a night of sorrow: Still we should shine to ourselves and Thee; and still go on the ways of light: Still, like the regular Sun, unchangedly expect * the appointed periods of bright and dark. Only in this we gladly disagree; and blessed be our God who made the difference: Not like the Sun, that every night goes down; and must at last be quite put out: When we have finished here our course; and seem to set to this dark earth: We hope to rise and set no more; but shine perpetually in a brighter heaven. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Thou art, O Lord, all goodness and patience; and we, alas, all sin and disobedience. Hymn XII. BLessed, O Lord, be thy wise grace; That governs all our day: And to the night assigns its place, To rest us in our way. If works the labouring hand impair, Or thoughts the studious mind: Both are considered by thy care, Both fit refreshment find. Fit to relieve their present state; Fit to prepare the next: While we are taught to meditate This plain and useful Text. As every Night lays down our head; And morning opes our eyes: So shall the dust be once our bed; And so we hope to rise: To rise, and see that beauteous light Spring from those eyes of Thine: Not to be checked by any night; But clear for ever shine. All glory to the sacred Three One everliving Lord: As at the first, still may He be Beloved, obeyed, adored. Amen. Capit. 1 Pet. 4. THe end of all is at hand; bewise therefore, and watch in prayers: but above all have mutual charity continually among yourselves; for charity covers a multitude of sins; use hospitality one towards another, without murmuring: every one as he has received grace, ministering the same one towards another; as good dispensers of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, as the words of God; if any man minister, as of the Power which God gives: that in all things God may be honoured by JESUS Christ; to whom is Glory and Empire, for ever and ever, Amen. Antiph: The Sun runs its Course, or stands still, or goes back, as thou command'st; the raging Sea grows calm, nay divides its waves at thy word; only Thine own Israel resist the voice of their God; V. A rod of direction is the Sceptre of thy Kingdom: R. Swaying man to observe the discipline of life. O Gracious Lord, whose laws are but necessary Rules of Soulsaving love; and whose Commands are but emphatical Advises of what our nature requires to grow happy! Quicken, we beseech Thee, the slackness of our obedience to them, by often reflecting on this thy generous Goodness; and grant the ready observance paid by all other creatures to thy least will, for serving us, may so reproach our perverse resisting the guidance of thy sweet spirit, towards our own only good; which thou kindly callest thy Service; that we may feel ourselves confounded with shame at our notorious follies, and be henceforth apt to learn, by all the world about us, our duty to Thee, through our Lord:— Vouchsafe us, as Page 54 to the end. Office for Wednesday Matins. Introduction, as page 1. Invitatory. Come let's adore our God that governs us. Come let's adore our God that governs us. Psal. XL. HE is our great sovereign and Lord; the absolute King of heaven and earth: he sees at once the whole frame of all things; and thoroughly comprehends their various natures. Come let's adore our God that governs us. To every creature he appoints a fit Office; and guides all their motions in perfect order: till he has wrought his glorious design, to finish the world in a beauteous close. Come let's adore our God that governs us. All these he governs with infinite wisdom; and all for the good of them that love him: his counsels are deep, and beyond our reach; but all his ways are just and merciful. Come let's adore our God that governs us. He governs his enemies with a rod of iron, and punishes their wilfulness with eternal miseries: but his servants he blesses with the privilege of children, and provides for their duty a rich inheritance. Come, le's adore our God that governs us: Glory be, etc. As it was, etc. Come, le's adore our God that governs us. Come, let's adore out God that governs us. Hymn XIII. OPen thine eyes, my soul, and see Once more the light returns to thee: Look round about, and choose the way Thou meanest to travel o'er to day. Think on the dangers thou mayst meet, And always watch thy sliding feet: Think where thou once hast fallen before, And mark the place, and fall no more. Think on the helps thy God bestows; And cast to steer thy life by those: Think on the sweets thy soul did feel, When thou didst well, and do so still. Think on the pains that shall torment Those stubborn sins that ne'er repent: Think on the joys which wait above, To crown the head of holy love. Think what at last will be thy part, If thou go'st on where now thou art: See life and death set thee to choose; One thou must take, and one refuse. O my dear Lord, guide thou my course, And draw me on with thy sweet force: Still make me walk, still make me tend, By Thee my way, to Thee my end. All glory to the sacred Three, One undivided Deity: As it has been in ages gone, May now, and ever, still be done. Antiph. The day will come, it will infallibly come, when God will destroy all that work iniquity. Psal. XLI. WHy do you laugh, unhappy wretches, * who tyre yourselves in the ways of sin? Ways that indeed seem smooth at first; but lead to danger, and end in ruin. Why do you boast your pleasant life, * who lie asleep in the arms of death? Awake, and chase the dream away, * that deludes your sick heads with empty fancies Awake, and fill your eyes with tears; * and sadly look on your real miseries: Whither, alas, will your souls be hurried; when in cold despare you sigh away your last faint breath? They shall fly amazed from the sight of heaven; and hide their guilty selves in eternal darkness: There they shall dwell with intolerable pains; weeping and wailing, and lamenting for ever: Their understanding shall sit as in a deep dungeon; and think on nothing but its own calamities. Their Will shall be heightened to a madness of desire; and perpetually racked with the despir of obtaining. Their Memory shall serve but to renew their sorrows; and their whole souls be drowned in a sea of bitterness. They shall wish the Mountains to fall upon them; and cry to the Hills to cover them: But nothing shall fall on them but the wrath of God; nor cover them but their own confusion: There, every vice shall have its proper torment; prodigiously bred out of its own corruption: The lascivious shall burn in unquenchable fire; perpetually flaming from their own passions: The Glutton and the Drunkard shall vainly sigh * for a drop of water to cool their tongues: The furious colerick shall rage like mad dogs; and the spiteful envious knaw their own bowels: The riches of the covetous shall be as thorns in their sides; and the proud be thrown down to the bottom of contempt: The slothful shall miserably deplore their lost time; and languish with grief for their stupid negligence: But O, what horrid pangs shall seize them all; and wound and pierce the very centre of their souls! When they shall see themselves eternally deprived * of the bright and blissful Vision of God. When they shall see themselves eternally banished * from the sweet and gracious presence of JESUS: That God who made them to enjoy his glory; that JESUS who 〈◊〉 redeemed them to be heirs of his felicity. Then they shall curse the day of their birth; and the unfortunate companions that inveagled them to sin: They shall curse this vain deceitful world; and cry out with a desperate enraged fury: Are these the effects of those found desires; whose enjoyment we made our chief felicity? Alas! what avail us, now, our wanton liberties; and the fugitive pleasures we so eagerly pursued? What comfort receive we from those empty honours, * and faithless riches we so highly esteemed? They all are vanished away, like a shadow; and as a cloud of smoke that's scattered with the wind But the remorse and punishment endure for ever; and torture our spirits with perpetual anguish. Thus shall they cry, and none regard to hear them; thus shall they mourn, and none be found to pity them. O sad expectance of a dissolute life! O dreadful consequence of an impenitent death! Eternally to long for what they never can enjoy; eternally to suffer what they never can avoid. Blessed be thy gracious Providence, O God; that with such tender care forewarns us of our dangers. O save us too, dear Lord, from all those dangers; save us for thy mercies sake. Save us, and make us fearful to do * what, when we have done, will make us miserable to suffer. Quicken our apprehensions of the ruinous effects of Sin; and with thy terrible threatenings check our unbridled passions That, if thy glorious promises move not our hearts; the fear, at least, of hell may fright us into heaven. Glory be, etc. Antiph. The day will come, it will infallibly come; when God will destroy all that work iniquity. Antiph. The day will come, it will infallibly come; when God will Crown all that love his glory. Psal. XLII. Why do you mourn, you children of the light; to whom belong the promises of Blyss? Who feed on the pleasant fruits of piety; and the continual feast of a good conscience: Who taste already the sweetness of hope; and hereafter shall be satisfied with the fullness of fruition. What can molest your happy state; whom the God of Glory has chosen for himself? Whom he has adopted into his own Family; and designed for heirs of the Kingdom of heaven. That Blessed Kingdom where all delights abound; and sorrow and tears are banished away. Where none are sick, or grow old, or die; but flourish in health and youth, and immortal life: Where none are perplexed with cares or fears; but dwell secure and free for ever: Where we no more shall be subject to chance: no more exposed to the danger of tentation: Where we no more shall be crossed by others: no more disquieted by our own passions: But a serene tranquillity perpetually within us: and innumerable joys all round about us; Joy in the excellencies of our glorifyd bodies; joy in the perfections of our enlarged souls: Joy in the sweet society of Saints; joy in the glorious company of Angels: Joy in the ravishing sight of our beloved JESUS; joy in the blissful union with the adored Deity: All shall be joy, and love, and peace; and all endure for eternal ages: Let then the impenitent sinner be frighted with fear; and the obdurate hart break asunder with grief. But for the hopeful Innocent, let them always be glad; and the servants of JESUS rejoice and sing: Sweet is the yoke of thy love, O Lord; and light the burden of thy commands: But O, how far more rich are thy faithful promises! how infinitely greater thy glorious rewards! When every virtue shall wear its proper crown; and shine with a Diadem fit for its own head: The humble there shall be highly exalted; and the poor in spirit preferred to be Kings: The meek shall possess that holy land; and the mourners be comforted with eternal refreshments: The clean of hart shall see the God of purity; and the lovers of peace have the privilege of his Children: They who hunger and thirst after heaven shall be filled; and the merciful entertained with the embraces of mercy: They who suffer persecution shall abundantly be rewarded; and the enlightners of others shine bright as the stars: They who relinquish any thing for God shall receive a hundred fold; and all the Just be in glory for ever: Then shall they bless the true friend that reproved them; and the charitable hand that assisted to their happiness: They shall bless the provident mercies of their God; and sing aloud the victories of his grace: Is this the effect of those little pains we took? are these the repairs for those petty losses we suffered? Happy we who denied our selus toys; and now are advanced to these high felicities: Millions of years shall pass away; and our glory shall seem but then to begin: Millions of Millions shall pass away; and our glory shall be no nearer its end: Thus shall they all rejoice, and none disturb them; thus shall they sing, and all the heavens join with them. O sweet expectance of a pious life! O happy consequence of a holy death! Eternally to be free from whatever can afflict; eternally to enjoy whatever can ●●elight. Blessed be thy gracious Providence, O God; that with so large a bounty woos us to our happiness: Woos us in a way we are so apt to be taken; the love of our selus, and our own great interest. As thou hast prepared such felicities for us; O may thy grace prepare us for them: O may this best of works take up all our time; at least take up the best of our time: At least every morning let us renew our hope; and close the evening with the same sweet thoughts. Let us not faint, and we surely shall see a prosperous issue out of all our sorrows: Still let us labour, still let us suffer; our troubles are short, and our joys eternal.— Glory be, etc. Antiph. The day will come, it will infallibly come; when God will crown all that love his glory. Antiph. What will it profit us, to gain the whole world, and lose our own Souls? or what shall we give in exchange for our souls? Psal. XLIII. COme now, my soul, and choose; for life and death are set before thee: Choose while thy gracious Lord allows thee day; lest the night of darkness overtake thy neglect: Choose, but remember thy eternity is concerned; and examine well ere thou mak'st thy resolve; Call all the pleasures of the world before thee; and ask if any of them be worth such pains: Ask if to satisfy some irregular passion * can recompense the forfeiture of such felicities: Ask if the vain forbidden things thou lov'st * deserve thy affection better than thy Maker: Are they more worthy in themselves, or beneficial to Thee; that thou canst prefer them before thy Redeemer? Dost thou expect to be quiet by enjoying them? or everlastingly happy by their procurement? Will they protect thee at the hour of thy death? or plead thy cause at the day of Judgement? O 〈◊〉, they but deceive me with a smiling look; which I too often have proved by dear experience: 'Tis heaven alone that yields a true content; 'tis heaven alone that fills us with delight. Take then away your flatteries, false world; and leave me free for better thoughts. Turn thou thy face to me, dear JESUS; and keep mine eyes still turned towards Thee: That I may look continually on thy glorious beauties; and be ravished for ever with the charms of thy sweetness. 'Tis Thee, chaste Spouse of souls, 'tis thee alone I choose; and dedicate myself entirely to thy service: Thou art my sole and absolute Lord; be thou my part and inheritance for ever: But O my dearest Lord, do thou choose me; and guide my uninstructed soul to choose Thee: O make me choose to love thee, till I come to see thee; then I'm sure I cannot choose but love thee. Here we, alas, move slowly in the dark; led on by the Argument of things not seen: But did we clearly see what we say we believe; we soon should change the course of our life: Did we but see the Damned in their flames; or hear them cry in the midst of their torments: How should we fear to follow them in their sins; which we know have plunged them into all those miseries! How should we strive against the next tentation; and cast about to avoid the danger! Did we but see the glories of the Saints; or hear the sweet hymns they continually sing: How should we study to imitate their lives; which we know have raised them to all their happiness! How should we seek all occasions of improvement; and make it our business to work out our salvation! Nay did our faith but firmly believe * the truths we every day recite in our Creed. What would we do, to attain those joys! what would we not do, to escape those sorrows! Would half an hour be too long to pray? or once a week too often to fast? Would the pardon of an injury be too hard a law? or the making restitution too dear a price? Durst we return to our sins again? or spend our time in idleness and folly? Yet is all this as sure as if we saw it; and would move as much, if we seriously considered it. If we considered what I'm sure we believe; we should never live as I'm sure we do. Which of us doubts but ere long we shall all be dust? yet which of us lives as if we thought to die? Pity O gracious Lord, the frailties of thy servants; and suffer not our blindness to lead us into ruin. Supply our want of sight by a lively faith; and strengthen our faith by thy powerful grace. Make us remember, 'tis no children's sport *, to gain or lose the Kingdom of heaven. Make us choose wisely, and pursue our choice; and use as well the means, as like the end. O set thou right the bias of our hearts; that in all our motions we may draw off from the world. That we may still incline towards Thee; and rest, at last, in thy holy presence. Thou art our Lord, and we will serve thee in fear; Thou art our God, and we will love thee in hope. Glory be, etc. Antiph. What will it profit us to gain the whole world and lose our own souls? or what shall we give in exchange for our souls? Our Father, etc. First Lesson. THe fear of our Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If sinners entice thee, consent not to them; if they say come with us, walk not with them: for their feet run to evil and make haste to shed blood; nay, themselves lie in wait even against their own blood, and practise deceits against their own souls. They have hated discipline, and not received the fear of our Lord: therefore shall they eat the fruits of their way, and be filled with their own counsels. The blessing of our Lord is on the head of the just; but iniquity covers the mouth of the impious. The memory of the just is with praises; but the name of the wicked shall rot. He that walks sincerely walks confidently; but he that goes crooked ways shall be made manifest. He that digs a pit shall fall into it; and he that lays a snare for another shall perish in it. He that gives wicked counsel, it shall be turned upon himself, and he not know whence it comes. He that will be revenged shall find vengeance of our Lord; and he will surely keep his sins in remembrance. The hope of the just is joy; but the expectation of the impious shall perish. That which the wicked fears shall come upon him; and to the just, their desire shall be given them. R. O sweet and admirable Providence! Thou hast commanded, and so it is; that the inordinate affection of every one shall be his punishment: * For, as we sow, so shall we reap; and as the tree falls, so shall it lie. Thy grace O Lord, is the seed of glory, and sin the root of misery: he that sows in the flesh shall reap corruption; and he that sows in the spirit, life everlasting. * For, as— Second Lesson. FOllow not in thy strength the concupiscence of thy hart; nor say, how mighty am I! who can control me in what I have done? for God is a sure revenger. Say not, I have sinned, and what harm has happened unto me; for the Highest is a patient punisher. Be not without fear of thy sin though forgiven; nor add one sin to another: Say not, the mercy of our Lord is great; he will have pity on my many offences: for mercy and wrath come speedily from Him; and his indignation keeps an eye upon sinners. Defer not to be converted to our Lord; nor put it off from day to day: for his wrath shall come suddenly, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy thee. Though hand join in hand, the ungodly shall not be unpunished; but the seed of the just shall be saved. The congregation of the wicked is as tow wrapped together; and their end a flame of fire. Every corruptible work shall fail at last, and the Doer thereof shall go with it; but every excellent deed shall be justified, and he that does it be honoured therein. R. My soul, how many thousands have been surprised in the midst of their sins, and hurried away to everlasting sorrows! and we, alas, how many times have we been guilty, and yet our God has spared us! * O my indulgent Saviour, no other reason can I give why I'm not miserable, but that Thou art merciful. Blessed be thy patience that endures so long; and blessed be thy grace that delivers at last. * O my— Third Lesson. LEnd to thy neighbour when he is in necessity; and pay thou thy neighbour again in his time: keep thy word, and deal faithfully with him; and thou shalt always find that which is necessary for thee. Do good to the just, and thou shalt have great reward; if not from him, assuredly from our Lord. Lose thy money for thy brother and thy friend; and hide it not under a stone to be lost. Be not ashamed to say the truth; for there is a shame that brings sin; and a shame that brings glory and grace. Accept no person against thy soul; not let the respect of any cause thee to fall. Reverence not thy neighbour in his offence; nor refrain from speaking when there is occasion to do good. By no means contradict the truth; nor be ashamed to confess thy sins. Be not hasty in thy words, and remiss and unprofitable in thy deeds. Let not thy hand be stretched out to receive, and closed to give. Be not as a lion in thy house, nor oppress those that are under thee. Fear our Lord and the King; and with detractors meddle not: for their perdition shall suddenly come upon them. He that swears much shall be filled with iniquity; and mischief shall not depart from his house: if he deceive his brother, his sin shall be upon him; if he dissemble, he doubles his offence; and if he swear in vain, he shall not be acquitted. Turn away thy face from a woman trimly dressed; and gaze not at another's beauty: for by the beauty of a woman many have perished; and it inflames concupiscence as a fire. Be not at the feast of great drinkers; nor at the riotous banquets of those who bring their dishes together to eat: for the drunkard and the glutton shall be consumed; and the drowsy clothed with rags. I passed by the field of a slothful man, and by the vineyard of a fool; and, behold, it was run over with nettles, and thorns covered its face, and the stone wall was destroyed: which when I saw, I laid it in my hart, and by the example learned discipline. By what things a man sins, by the same he shall be tormented. R. Blessed, O my God, be thy Providence for ever, which so plentifully furnishes us with rules of virtue, and so safely guides all those sold to happiness, who choose to live under thy sweet government; * As thou hast shown us the way, Lord give us strength to walk in it, and bring us in the end to thy eternal rest. Make us seriously reflect on every line we read, and love the truth when it most reproves us: Make us labour to correct every error of our lives, and always humbly implore thy gracious assistance. * As thou hast— Glory be, etc. * As thou hast— Pause, As page 17. Wednesday laud's. O God incline, etc. as page 18. Antiph. All my life long will I praise my God; and lift up my hands to his holy Throne. Psal. XLIV. LEt them neglect thy praises, O Lord; who never consider thy mercies: Let them be silent to thee, O gracious God; whose mouths are full of themselves. But as for us who subsist by thy gifts, * and thankfully acknowledge the riches of thy goodness. Our hearts shall continually meditate on Thee; and our lips delight to sing thy glory: Blessed for ever be thy name, O JESUS; and blessed be the sweetness of thy Wisdom: Whose infinite Charity has vouchsafed our earth * such excellent Rules to guide it to heaven: Thou taughtst us that happy skill of finding our lives; by a generous losing them to follow Thee: Thou taught'st us to love our true selves best; by wisely hating our mistaken selves: Thou taught'st us to trample this world under our feet; and use it as a step to climb up to the next: From Thee we learn those glorious Mysteries, * that exalt our faith so high above reason: From thee we derive those Heroic Counsels, * that raise our souls so far above nature: From thee alone, and from thy school of grace, * all we know we learn, and all we do we receive: How long, alas, might we have wandered here, * in the midst of darkness and error: Had not thy love and pity, O merciful Lord; brought down thy very self to become our light! Never should we else have learned to deny our selus; and take up our Cross and follow Thee: Never should we have known that great secret of peace; to forgive our enemies, and do good to those who despitefully use us. On the unsatisfying things of this low earth, * should we blindly have set our whole affections. Hadst thou not told us of the Kingdom of Heaven; and bid us lay up our treasures there: Hadst thou not terrified us to fear thy wrath; by declaring the miseries that attend our sins: Hadst thou not invited us to obey thy Commands; by proposing the felicities of a pious life: What hast thou promised, gracious Lord * to the meek and poor in spirit! What hast thou promised to the Weepers here; to those that hunger and thirst after holiness! How many joys has thy bounty prepared: for the lovers of mercy, and the makers of peace! How many blessings for the pure of hart; and those who with patience bear their Crosses! O thou allseeing Wisdom of the eternal Father * and Sovereign King of Men and Angels: Who left'st thy glorious Throne to come down on our earth; and familiarly teach us the Oracles of heaven: Write thou these sacred words in the tables of our hearts; and suffer not, at any time, our passions to break them: Make us still study Thee our heavenly Master; and continually admire the beauty of thy Law: A Law that so clearly shows us our end, and so plenteously furnishes means to attain it: A Law that so safely cures our infirmities; and so fitly supplies all our defects: A Law so exactly conform to true reason; and so highly perfective of humane nature: A blessed Law, that makes, even here, our life more sweet; and leads us hereafter to everlasting felicity. Glory be, etc. Psal. XLV. NEver will we cease to exalt thy Goodness O JESUS; since thou never ceasest to oblige us with new Blessings: Thy generous charity could not thus be satisfied; to have only spoken to us the words of life 'Twas not enough for thy excessive love that thy heavenly Sermons told us our duty: But thou must urge and provoke our obedience; by the sweet enforcement of thine own example: Thou forbad'st thy followers to affect superfluities; and thine own provision was a few barley loaus: Thou command'st the rich to give alms with cheerfulness; and bestowest on the poorest wretch even thy precious self: Thou bid'st us not fear them that kill the body; and yeildest up thine own to the death on the Cross: Thou injoyn'st us to love our fiercest Enemy's; and thy dying breath prayed for thy Crucifiers: Thy perfect Soul needed not, as our weak natures, * the outward forms and discipline of Religion: Yet thou vouchsafed'st to observe the common Feasts; and assist at the public Offices of the Temple: To watch, and pray, and fast, with so fervent a zeal; that thy practice outdid thine own precepts: This life, and even death itself our merciful Lord undertook; to mark out for us the way to heaven. To beat it plain by his own sacred steps; and render our passage thither easy and secure: Shall we not then, O my Soul, rejoicingly follow that path; * which we see our Saviour trod before us? Which we see though spread all o'er with thorns; yet carried Him directly to the glory's of Paradise? Shall we not confidently rely on so gracous a Leader; who promises, if we faint, to look back and relieve us? O dearest Lord, bow down thy merciful eyes, and pity the frailties of our imperfect nature: Reach forth thy hand and strengthen us with thy grace; that nothing divert our advance towards Thee: But in this dangerous labyrinth of the world, * and the whole course of our pilgrimage here: Thy heavenly Dictates may be our map, * and thy holy life our guide: Glory, be, etc. Psal. XLVI. MAy every Age sing praises to our God; and all generations adore his providence: From the beginning his mercy has still laid means, * to raise us to those blessed objects above our nature: At first he created Adam with all necessary knowledge; and then ordained the Patriarches to inform their families: Afterwards He charged the Angels to bring us his Commands; and often inspired the Prophets to declare his Will: When he had done all this, and found it not enough; to guide untoward man to his true end: What did He then to save the perishing world? O strange excess of the divine goodness! He sent even his own beloved Son to dwell among us; and teach us the art of working our Salvation: That sacred art of training up our souls for heaven; and fitting them for the blissful Union with Himself: But O, Thou King of glorious sweetness; whose flowing tongue dropped milk and honey! We were, alas, not happy to behold thy Person, nor our ears worthy to hear thy voice: Yet ere we were born thou hadst us in thy thoughts; and providedst a method to supply that defect: Selecting a number of choice Disciples; and thoroughly instructing them in thy heavenly doctrine: That they might keep alive the memory of Thee; and witness to all Nations thy stupendious works: Thou verifyd'st their Mission with the power of Miracles; and enflamd'st their hearts with the fire of thy Spirit: O'er all the world they proclaimed thy Law; and undauntedly preached the crucified God: Deep in the breasts of the Faithful did they write thy Gospel; and seal it before their eyes with their own blood. Their Successors deposited the same precious treasure; in the common Magazine of the Universal Church: Enjoining their Children to guard it with their lives; & convey it unchanged to future ages: Thus is the Catholic Faith descended on us; and thus shall continue to the end of the world: 'Tis but to ask our Fathers, and they will tell us; our Ancestors, and they will instruct us. Blessed by thy wisdom, O Lord, which has laid such marks to seek thy Church; * and opened our eyes to find it: Blessed be thy power that has wrought such miracles▪ to confirm thy faith; and inclinded our hearts to believe it. How many Souls are unhappily seduced; and lose themselves in the wilderness of Heresy! While we by thy Providence are directly led, * the strait and only way to blyss: How many Nations lie miserably involved, * in the darkness of barbarism and unbelief! While we enjoy a clear noon day; and safely walk in the light of truth: O infinite Goodness! who freely choosest * to pour forth thy blessings on unworthy us: As 'tis from Thee alone we receive these favours; to Thee alone let us return our praises. Glory be, etc. Antiph. All my life long will I praise my God; and lift up my hands to his holy Throne. Capit. 1 Peter 5. THe God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ JESUS, will himself, after you have suffered a little, perfect, confirm, and establish you: To him be glory and empire, for ever and ever, Amen. Hymn. XIV. MY God, had I my breath from Thee, This power to speak, and sing? And shall my voice, and shall my song, Praise any but their King? My God, had I my soul from Thee, This power to judge and choose? And shall my brain, and shall my will, Their best to Thee refuse? Alas, not this alone or That Hast thou bestowed on me: But all I have, and all I hope, I have, and hope from Thee. And more I have, and more I hope, Then I can speak or think: Thy blessings first refresh, then fill, Then overflow the brink. But though my voice and fancy be Too low to reach thy praise: Yet both shall strain thy glorious Name High as they can to raise. Glory to Thee, immortal God, One great Coequal Three: As at the first beginning was, May now, and ever be. Antiph. Happy we, securely happy, could our busy folly let us see it, whose lots are deposited in the hands of wisdom itself; which strongly reaches from end to end, and disposes all things sweetly. V. Are not two Sparrows sold for a farthing? R. Yet not one of them falls to the ground without our Father. O Lord hear our Prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O Sovereign Lord, whose wise eye continually looks through universal nature; and whose omnipotent hand steers every part of it most fitly to the end of thy goodness! Suppress we humbly beseech Thee, all distractive solicitude in thy servants, by this clear Reflection, Who Governs the World: and grant that duly confident of thy Providence, for all things out of our just reach, we may diligently apply all our own endeavours in improving our selus and others, according to the rules of thy perfect charity; through our Lord. Commemorations as Page 29. Wednesday Vespers. OUr Father, etc. As page 33. Antiph. A good Conscience is a continual feast, and a peaceful mind the Antipast of heaven. Psal. XLVII. LOrd, how secure and quiet they live *, whom thy grace preserus in innocence! The day goes smoothly over their heads *, and silent as the shadow of a dyal. The spirits of their fancy run calm and even; and ebb and flow in obedience to reason. All their delight is to think on heaven; and reckon o'er the joys they shall one day possess. Till some unruly passion press to come in *, and by its fawning outside gain admittance. It promises at first all joy, all happiness; but soon discovers its pernicious intent. Soon it grows bold to undermine their repose; and open a door to all their enemies: So, at a little breach of the City wall wall, a whole Army pours in their numerous body: Enslaving all that submit to their violence *, and destroying all that make head to resist it: And such, alas, is their confusion *, when once they have yielded to the first assault. Immediately a throng of tumultuous spirits crowd into their heads; and utterly consume the little remnant of their peace. O the distraction of a life led by humour; and the miserable thraldom of being subject to our passions! How often do they engage us to contend with others; and embitter all our days with strife and envy! How often do they quarrel even among themselves; and raise a war in our own bosoms! If they by chance agree in one desire; they many times vex us with their being disappointed: If they perhaps sometimes succeed; they seldom produce the expected content: If they delight our corrupted taste; and we greedily swallow their unwholesome sweetness: Then 'tis, alas, they most of all undo us; by feeding the humour of our fatal disease: Vain, at the best, and short are the enjoyments of this world; and after a little flattery betray us into ruin. Save us, O Blessed JESUS, or else we perish; awake, and with thy speedy mercy rescue thy servants. Send down thy powerful grace to sustain our part; and thoroughly reduce these unquiet disorders: That we again may return to our former rest; and constantly enjoy an universal peace: Peace with the bad, by bearing their injuries; and with the good, by conforming to their virtues: Peace with our selus, by subduing sense to reason; and with Thee, by improving reason with religion. Glory be, etc. Antiphon. A good Conscience is a continual feast, and a peaceful mind the Antipast of heaven. Antiph. Thou art, O Lord, the only anchor of our hope; save us, O JESUS, or else we perish. Psal. XLVIII. THus are they miserably tossed up and down *, who float on the waves of their own passions: Their wearied souls soon faint within them; when they see the Lord has withdrawn his presence: They seek him, but cannot find him; they call, but he gives them no answer. O, still seek on, still call on your God; for his mercy will surely awake at last: Though He sometimes may slumber for a while, to try your duty, or punish your disobedience: Though He may suffer a while the fury of the tempest, * to show you your hopeless state, if left to your selus: Yet be assured He'll hear your prayers at last; He'll not permit you to perish for ever. And now, when all their fears were grown to the height; and no means appeared to sustain their patience: When the proud waves beat violently against them; and covered their little vessel with despair and ruin: Behold, his blessed voice commands a calm; and immediately the sea and winds obey him: Immediately his Sun arises in their hearts; and with its gentle beams revives their hopes: Then is their darkness turned into light; and the clouds dispersed into a bright day: Then they recollect their scattered thoughts; and range them again in their ancient order: Often they look back on the dangers they have escaped; and as often bless the mercy that delivered them: Often they look forwards on the course they are going; and as often sing with joy for their happy change. Welcome again the easy yoke of Christ; and the light burden of loving our Saviour: Welcome the holy Offices of sweet devotion; and that soul-enflaming silent prayer. Now we discern this beauteous truth; and O may we print it deeply in our minds: That the pleasures of virtue are pure and constant; and infinite blessings attend to reward it: But the pursuit of vice is troublesome and intricate; and finishes its course in an abyss of misery. Pity O Lord, thou Raiser of them that fall; and sole Sustainer of them that stand! Pity thy children's weakness who look up to Thee; and dearly know we are nothing in our selus. Let us not lose this unhappy experience; but teach us wisdom from our own miscarriage: Teach us to observe where our error was; and fortify our selus against that defect: To suppress our tentations in their first approach; when their power is weak, and our choice in full strength: To remember how formerly their flatteries have abused us; and, when they sergeant again, be no more deceived: Never to look on the face of pleasures *, as they come dressed up and smiling towards us: But always reflect, how sadly they go off; and leave nothing behind but their venomous sting, So shall we gain the best of victories; while we master our own corrupt inclinations: So shall we be honoured with the noblest of Triumphs; while our conquered passions draw us up into heaven. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Thou art, O Lord, the only anchor of our hope; save us O JESUS, or else we perish. Antiph. All our lots are in the hands of God; and all our safety in the assistance of his grace. Psal. XLIX. LOrd, as thy alwise Providence seems to sleep sometimes, * and permit the storm to grow high and loud; Yet never failest to relieve thy servants, * who faithfully call on thee in their day of trouble: So let thy favourable hand still bear us up, when thou seest us charged with any strong assault: Leave us not then to our own infirmities; lest the enemy of our souls prevail against us: Forsake not our misery when we are fallen; lest we lie for ever grovelling on the earth: Suffer not our frailties to become a custom; lest we die impenitent, and perish without recovery: Deliver us, O Lord, from the occasions of sin; and the improtunities of such as delight in folly: Deliver us from the snare of enticing company; and the dangerous infection of ill example: Infection that spreads in every place its poisonous air; * and, where e'er it enters, corrupts and kills. Once more, my soul, let us repeat this prayer; and humbly implore again so necessary a blessing. Deliver us, O Lord, from the occasions of sin; and the importunities of such as delight in folly: Deliver us from the snare of enticing company; and the dangerous infection of ill example: Set a strict watch continually over our eyes; and diligently keep the door of our lips: Govern all our senses that they seduce not our minds; and order every motion of our hart and fancy: Perfect, O dear Redeemer, the work thou hast begun; and make even our passions servants of thy grace: Change our rude anger to a severity against our selus *, and a prudent zeal for others: Convert our fear into a timorousness to offend *, and an awful reverence of thy sacred Name: Let all our affections be turned into charity; that our hearts may desire nothing but Thee: Whom we may safely love with our whole strength; whose heaven we may covet, and fear no excess. O Thou, whose blissful vision is the joy of Angels, * and sovereign happiness of all thy Saints! O that our souls could love thee without limits; as thou art in thyself most infinitely amiable! That we could fix all our thoughts on Thee; and never take them off from the memory of thy Sweetness! At least, O thou fountain of eternal bounty *, that flows so freely with perpetual blessings! Let every day we receive of thee * still set apart some portion of its self; Seriously to meditate thy infinite mercies; and heartily rejoice in thy glorious rewards: Mercys that give us all we have; and rewards that reserve for us all we can wish. Glory be, etc. Antiph. All our lots are in the hands of God, and all our safety in the assistance of his grace. Capit. 5. Gal. THe works of the flesh are manifest; which are fornication, uncleanes, wantonness, luxury, serving of Idols, witchcraft, enmities, contentions, emulations, angers, brawls, seditions, sects, envies, murders, drunkennesses, riots, and such like: and they who do such things shall not obtain the Kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity: against such there is no Law. Hymn XV. LEt them go court what joys they please; And gain what e'er they court: For me, I find but little ease, In all their gayest sport. Be thou alone but with my hart; My God, my only Blyss: I shall not murmur at my part; Nor envy their success. They talk of pleasure, talk of gain; None must their humour cross: But well I know their pleasure's pain; Their greatest profit, loss. Let them talk on; and have not we Our gains, our pleasures too? Pleasures that spring more sweet and free; Gains that more fully flow. Nay, well endured, our very pains To us a pleasure are: And all our losses turn to gains; If hopes may have their share. And sure they may; such hopes as cheer The heaven espoused breast: Hopes, that so strangely charm us here, What will they be possessed! All Glory to the sacred Three; All honour power and praise: As 'twas at first, still may it be, Beyond the end of days. Antiph. When O my soul, did we ever follow our passions; but they instantly wrought our disturbance, and threatened at last our ruin? when did we ever turn our thoughts to piety; but it presently brought us peace, and refreshed our minds with new hopes of felicity? V. The winds are often rough, and our own weight presses us downwards. R. Reach forth, O Lord, thy saving hand, and speedily deliver us. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to thee. Let us pray. O God, whose infinite mercy has vouchsafed us the mighty Rescue of thy only Son, from the desperate rebellion of our passions, which utterly confound the government and peace of our souls! Grant, we humbly beseech Thee, that our experience of the miserable effects of yielding to their allurements, may make us wearier in observing, and severer in repressing their first motions; and thy grace so strongly fortify us against all their furious and repeated assaults, that Reason may more and more recover its due force, and calmly join with Faith to secure and exalt in our hearts the blissful throne of thy Charity; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who, etc. O Lord hear, etc. as page 45. Wednesday Complin. OUr help is in, etc. as page 46. Antiph. Repent now, my soul, for the evils thou hast done; and bless thy God, for the goods thou hast received. Psal. L. Well, we are so much nearer our grave; and all the world is older by a day. The portion of the wicked is so much less; and their time of punishment so much approached. The sufferings of the Patient are so much diminished; and their hopes of delivery so much increased: They, who have spent this day in sin and folly, * see all their thoughts now vanish like a dream: They see all's passed but a fear of revenge; and the best that can follow is a bitter repentance: But such as have wisely bestowed their time, and made another new step towards heaven; They see their joys come to meet them in the way; and still grow bigger as they come: Till by a holy death they join in one; and dwell together for eternal ages. O Thou blessed Author of all our hopes; * and perfect Satisfier of all our wishes! Do Thou instruct us in this great wise truth; and let every Evening renew it on our minds. That the things of this world are of little import; since its joys and griefs last but for a time: But the future state most infinitely concerns us; where life and death endure for ever. Glory be, etc. Psal. LI. WE are nearer indeed the end of our life; but what are we nearer the end for which we live? What have we done, my soul, to day, * that's truly advancive to our last great home? Have we increased our esteem of heaven; and settled its love more strongly in our hearts? Have we avoided any known temptation; or faithfully resisted when we could not avoid? Have we interrupted our customary faults; and checked the vices we are most inclined to? Have we embraced the opportunities of good, * which the mercy of Providence has offered to our hands? Have we industriously contrived occasions, * to improve, as we are able, our selus and others? Alas, dread Lord, what do we see; when seriously we look into our guilty selus! When we reflect on our former years; nay even the follies but of this one day: So many hours misspent in nothing; so many abused in worse than nothing: Pardon, O meek Redeemer, what our passions have done; and favourably supply what our weakness has omited: Make us hereafter more carefully watch, * that our time unprofitably slide not away: Make us select every day some fit retreat; to study the knowledge of our selus and Thee: Our selus, to correct our many infirmities; and Thee, to adore thy infinite perfections: Glory be, etc. Psal. LII. Little thou knowst, O Lord, is the good we do; and every grain of it derived from Thee: Great we confess, are the evils we commit; and all to be charged entirely on our selus. Tell me my soul, when first thou hast well examined * the innumerable circumstances that concern thy state: Tell me, and let not pride deny the truth; nor any thing divert thy free confession: Could we have saved our selus from that dangerous tentation unless our God had powerfully sustained us? Could we have carried on that pious purpose, unless his hand had blest our endeavours? No, to thyself, O Lord, give all the praise; if thy creatures have performed the least good work: Give to thyself all the glory, O Lord! if they have not committed the worst of sins: Thy hand, alone directs us to do well; and the same blessed hand restrains us from ill. 'Tis not in us to esteem those unseen joys; and despise the flatteries of this deceitful world: 'Tis not the work of corrupted nature to mortify our senses; and patiently bear the crosses we meet. Of our selus we are inclined to none of these; but the grace of God enables us to all. Grace gives us strength to overcome our passions; and the world and the flesh shall be subject to us: Grace gives us faith to fortify our reason; and heaven itself shall be conquered by us. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Repent now, my soul, for the evils thou hast done; and bless thy God, for the goods thou hast received. Hymn XVI. ANd do we then believe There is a world to come; Where all this world shall summoned be To take their final doom? Is there a heaven indeed, To crown the innocent? Is there a hell, and horrid pains, The wicked to torment? Are these eternal too, And never to have end? Shall never those delights decay, Those sorrows never mend? Good God is all this true? And sure most true it is: And yet we live, as if there were Nothing so false as this. O quicken Lord, our faith Of these great joys and fears: And make the last days trumpet be Still ringing in our ears. Still may this glorious hope Shine bright before our eyes: We shall at last go up to meet Our JESUS in the skies. Come, JESUS, Come, and take Our banished souls to Thee: Come quickly Lord, * that in thy light Our Eyes thy light may see. Glory to Thee great God, One Coeternal Three: As at the first beginning was May now and ever be. Capit. Philip. 4. FOr the rest, Brethren, whatever things are true, whatever honest, whatever just, whatever amiable, whatever of good fame; if there be any virtue, if any praise of discipline, think upon these things, which you have both learned, and received and heard, and seen in me. These things do, and the God of Peace shall be with you. Antiph. Every night approaches us nearer our last; which reserus for us eternal wages, justly, yet with a vast and generous bounty, proportioned to the works of our days: V. The Wise will always keep their lamps ready trimmed; R. That the Bridegrooms call may never surprise them: O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to thee. Let us Pray, O God whose merciful providence breaks and eases the laborious course of our Pilgrimage through this world, with constant conveniencies, and seasons of repose! Vouchsafe us, we humbly beseech Thee, to make our due advantage of this thy mercy; Composing our souls more satisfyedly to rest, by a faithful recollection every Evening, how we have kept our way; and whether we are advanced: and grant that reflecting with hearty contrition on every step we have made a wry, and with thankful acknowledgements on those thou hast led aright, we may henceforth be rendered more wary of our deviating inclinations, and more attentively obsequious to the steady guidance of thy grace; through our Lord. Vouchsafe, as pag. 54. Thursday MATINS. Introduction, as page 1. Invitatory. Come let's adore our God that feeds us. Come le'ts adore our God that feeds us. Psal. LIII. HE freely opens his bounteous hand; and fills with his blessing every living creature: he gives even Kings their daily bread; and all the world's maintained by his Provision. Come let's adore our God that feeds us. He feeds our understanding with the knowledge of truth; and strengthens our wills with his holy grace: he refreshes our memories with a thousand benefits; and feasts our whole souls with everlasting hopes. Come le's adore our God that feeds us. With Himself and with his sacred Flesh he feeds us, and nourishes up to immortal life: beginning even here that blessed union, which shall fully be perfected in his own Kingdom. Come let's adore our God that feeds us. Come all we servants of so gracious a Lord; whom he daily entertains with innumerable mercies: come all you children of so loving a Father; for whom he has provided an eternal feast. Come let's adore our God that feeds us. Glory be, etc. As it was, etc. Come let's adore our God that feeds us. Come let's adore our God that feeds us. Hymn XVII. RIse royal Zion! rise and sing Thy souls kind Shepherd, thy heart's King: Stretch all thy powers; call if you can, Harps of heaven to hands of man: This sovereign subject sits above The best ambition of thy love. Lo here the bread of life, this day's Triumphant Text, provokes thy praise: The living and lifegiving Bread, To the great Twelve distributed: When Life Himself at point to die Of love, was his own Legacy. But, lest That die too, We are bid, Ever to do what He once did; And by a mindful mystic breath, That we may live, revive his death; With a miraculous Bread and Wine Transumed, and taught to turn divine. The heav'n-instructed House of Faith Here a mysterious Dictate hath; That they but lend their form and face, Themselves with reverence leave their place, Nature, and Name, to be made good By a nobler Bread, more needful Blood. Where nature's law no leave will give; Bold Faith takes hart, and dares believe: In different species, Names not Things, Himself to me my Saviour brings: As meat in That, as drink in this; But still in Both, one Christ he is. Yet the receiving mouth here makes Nor wound nor breach in what he takes: Let one alone, or thousands be Here the Dividers; single he Bears home no less, All they no more; Nor leave they Both less than before. Lo the life-food of Angels, then, Bowed to the lowly mouths of men. Lo the full final Sacrifice; On which all Figures fixed their eyes; The ransomed Isaac, and his Ram, The Manna, and the Paschal Lamb. Jesus, to Thee we sinners sue; O Thou our Food, and Shepherd too! Still by Thyself vouchsafe to keep, As with thyself thou feedest thy Sheep. Blessed be that Love which thus makes Thee Mix with our low mortality. O may It raise and set us up Convicters of thine own full Cup; Coheirs of Saints: that so all may Drink the same wine, and the same way: Nor change the pasture, but the place; To feed on Thee, in thine own Face. Amen. Antiph. Upon this rock will I build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Psal. LIV. HE, who made the Sun to enlighten our steps, * in the pilgrimage of this short life. Has he ordained no guide to conduct our souls, * in the difficult way to their eternal home? He who feeds the ravens that call upon him; has he not provided bread for his children? He has; and still his mercy furnishes means, * to perform whatever his justice commands. Long since he espoudsed to himself an unspotted Church; and promised It his presence to the end of the world: Establishing his truth on a firm pillar; a solid foundation to sustain our faith: That we waver no longer as little children; nor be carried about with every wind of doctrine: Nor consume all our days in studying to believe; without ever proceeding to life and action. This Spouse, O Thou glorious King of heaven, * and admirable Lover of poor ruin'd man! This humble Spouse Thou cam'st down to woe, * and dearly purchase with thine own blood. Thou hast endowed her with eminent prerogatives, * above the rest of the daughters of the earth: Preserving her in the midst of Jews and Pagans; and the subtler Enemy's, Politicians and Heretics. Preserving her bright and conspicuous as the Sun; that every open eye may see her light. Preserving her still in perfect unity; while all that divide from her are divided among themselves. Thou hast adorned her with the beauty of order; and the precious jewels of heroic virtues. Thou hast strengthened her hands with the power of miracles; and crowned her head with a diadem of Saints. Thou hast given her the keys of all thy treasures; and opened to her the mysteries of heaven itself. Mysteries that free our souls from the dominion of sense; and place them above the reach of reason. These thy whole Church unanimously attests; as derived from Thee their original source; And, running along through every age, * have always maintained their constant channel. O may they still bear on their course; and still spread wider their wholesome streams. May all the world be watered with this dew of heaven; and bring forth fruit to everlasting life. But O unhappy you, who seek new paths; and blindly follow your misleading guides! You who forsake the known Churchway to truth; and charge the whole Christian world with malice and error. Tell me, can any reason considerately think, * that so many witnesses should conspire in a falsehood? Such as must necessarily damn themselves; and desperately endanger all their posterity. Such as by every eye may easily be discerned; and the credit of the forgers confounded with shame: Stay till a thousand Mothers freely agree, agree to poison themselves and their beloved children: Stay till a Nation solemnly vote, * that a wave of the Sea is firmer than a rock. When you have seen this done; and the deluge of Antichrist himself invade the world. Yet shall that holy Ark still float above; and save the Just from the fury of the waves. O the excessive goodness of our merciful God; who has made his Testimonies even too credible: Too credible to be doubted by any thing but ignorance; too credible to be denied by any thing but passion. We are almost now constrained to believe; Lord grant us grace but to hope and love. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Upon this rock will I build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Antiph. How admirably, O Lord, has thy Wisdom contrived our salvation: infusing even by our senses grace into our souls! Psal. LV. SAfe in this hand has our provident Lord * deposited the richest treasures of his Kingdom: Commanding his Priests to conserve them with reverence, * and dispense them to others with a prudent charity: Soon as we're born into this world of danger; his vigilant Baptism stands ready to save us: Ready to wipe out the guilt of our birth; and write our new names in the book of life: What all eternity could never have worn off, off a little sprinkling of water washes away. When we are come to riper years; and a fit capacity of professing our Faith: His holy Bishops mysteriously anoint our foreheads; to cherish and Confirm our growing belief: That we never be ashamed of the Cross of Christ; but to the face of death freely confess him. If in our spiritual combat we receive a wound; he has appointed persons expressly to cure us: Only he requires we should open our sores before them; and heartily repent our wilful rashness: He requires we should satisfy the world and our own souls; in repairing the damage they sustain by our trespass. Healed by the bitter waters of Penance; we are immediately invited to all the sweetness of Paradise: To taste the delicious bread of Angels; to eat even the Flesh itself of the Son of God: So to become entirely one with him; while we feed on his Body, and are governed by his Spirit. That the world may continue in a blessed succession; he solemnly sanctified the rites of Marriage: Exalting that state to the honour of a Sacrament; that we might more regard the holiness of its duties: To prevent the failing of Governors in the Church; the Church, for which this world continues: Themselves are empowered to kindle fresh lights; who still may shine on when the old ones are spent. Yet is there one important period of our life; the sickness that summons us to the bar of death. Nor has our gracious Lord forgotten this; but carefully provided a holy Unction: To allay our fears in that sad hour; and strengthen our hopes of everlasting felicity: That we may finish our course in peace; and go up with joy to receive our crown. Thus by thy wise indulgent care; O Thou sweet Conductor of our Souls! Every station of our pilgrimage has a fit entertainment; and every defect a proper remedy Glory be, etc. Antiph. How admirably, O Lord, has thy Wisdom contrived our Salvation; infusing even by our senses grace into our souls! Antiph. We confess we are bound to do many things against our will; why not believe some few above our understanding? Psal. LVI. THese are the seven bright golden Candlesticks, * set up to enlighten and adorn the Church: But behold, in the midst, One like the son of man; but is indeed the Son of God: Behold One disguised in the shape of bread; but is indeed the Son both of God and man. He whom the Seraphims prostrate adore; and fly with all their wings to perform his commands: He who came down to die for us sinners; and ascended again above the highest heavens: Himself is there, and graciously stays our coming; to receive our prayers, and send us home with his blessing: He's there, though not discerned by sense; nor the mysteries of his presence comprehended by reason: Yet may a lively faith pass through the veil; and confidently enter into the holy of holys: A faith that works by love may enter; and fill itself with celestial Manna. But the uncharitable faith shall be cast into darkness; among them that believe and tremble. Behold O Lord, we believe and hope; perfect by thy vigorous grace our faint endeavours: Quicken our half dead faith into a ready assent; where ever thou art pleased to engage thy word: Why should we doubt the Power of God can do something, that the weakness of man cannot understand? Which of us knows how the common bread we eat * is naturally turned into our own substance? And shall we dispute the supernatural conversion * of this blessed bread into the substance of our Saviour? Shall we submit our reason to the secrets of nature; and make it judge of the mysteries of grace? Shall we rely on the reports of men, where we do not see: and distrust the word of God, because we do not see? No, let us now believe, that hereafter we may see; when our eyes shall be opened in the Kingdom of light: Where our dark faith shall cease into vision: and our hope expire into full enjoyment: Where all our affections shall be contracted into love; and love extended to eternity. Glory be, etc. Antiph. We confess we are bound to do many things against our will; why not believe some few above our understanding? Our Father, etc. First Lesson. CHrist loved his Church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the Laver of water, in the word of life; that he might present to himself a glorious Church: not having spot or wrinkle: And he gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some Pastors, and Doctors: for the consummation of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying the body of Christ; till we all meet into the unity and knowledge of the Son of God, into a perfect man, into the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ: That henceforth we be not children, wavering, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the wickedness of men, and their craftiness to circumvent into error; but following the truth in charity, let us in all things grow in him, who is our head, Christ. And I beseech you, Brethren, by the name of our Lord JESUS Christ, that you all say one thing, and that there be no schisms among you; but that you be perfect in one sense, and in one knowledge. Mark them that make dissensions and scandals, contrary to the Doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them: for such serve not Christ our Lord, but their own belly; and by sweet speeches and benedictions seduce the hearts of the simple. Believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits whether they be of God; for many false Prophets are gone out into the world: Therefore, Brethren, stand fast, hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word of mouth, or our Epistle. Obey your Prelates, and be subject to them; for they watch, as being to render account for your souls. R. My God, if ravenous Wolus seek by force to devour me, and with threats and penalty's fright me from thy Faith; this shall be my shield against all their fiery darts, * I believe my Creed, and, in it, One holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. If subtle foxes seek by fraud to deceive me, and with wit and fallacy's seduce me from thy truth; this shall be my answer to all their Objections, * I believe— Second Lesson. ANd JESUS coming near, spoke to his Disciples, saying, All power is given me in heaven and in earth; Go therefore and teach all Nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and behold I am with you always to the end of the World. The Apostles hearing that Samaria had received the word of God, sent to them Peter and John; who when they were come prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Ghost, for he was not yet come upon any of them; but they were only baptised in the name of our Lord JESUS; then they imposed their hands on them, and they received the holy Ghost. And JESUS said to his Disciples, As my Father sent me, I also send you: And He breathed on Them, and said, Receive you the holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven, and whose you shall retain, they are retained. The Chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the Communication of the Blood of Christ? and the Bread which we break, is it not the participation of the Body of our Lord? When they had ordained to them Priests in every Church, and had prayed with fastings; they commended them to our Lord in whom they believed. For this cause shall a man leave his Father and Mother, and cleave to his Wife; and they shall be two in one flesh: this is a great Sacrament; but I speak in Christ and in the Church. Is any one sick among you? let him bring in the Priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with Oil in the name of our Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and our Lord shall raise him up; and, if he be in sins, they shall be remitted him. Now to him that is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that works in us; to Him be glory in the Church, and in Christ JESUS, to all generations, world without end. Amen. R. Blessed, O Lord, be thy holy Name, who hast provided the Scriptures for comfort of the Faithful; and blessed be thy gracious Wisdom, who hast left in thy Church a Rule to interpret Them: Lest the unlearned and instable should pervert them to their own destruction. Renew, O merciful Lord, a right spirit in the world: a spirit of humility and obedience: that, in reading those sacred Books, none may prefer their private fancies before the testimony of the Church; but readily submit to Them, whom he that hears; hears Thee, and he that despises despises Thee: * Lest— Third Lesson, 1 Cor. 11. FOr I received of our Lord that which also I have delivered to you; that our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, brake, and said, Take and eat, This is my Body which shall be delivered for you: this do in Commemoration of me. In like manner also the Chalice, after he had supped, saying, This Chalice is the new Testament in my Blood; this do, as often as you shall drink it, in Commemoration of me: For as often as you eat this Bread, and drink the Chalice, you shall show our Lord's death, till he come. Therefore, who ever shall eat this Bread or drink the Chalice of our Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of our Lord: but let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that Bread, and drink of the Chalice; for he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning our Lord's Body. R. I am the Bread that came down from heaven, not as your fathers ate Manna and died: he that eats of this Bread shall live for ever; and the Bread which I give is my Flesh, for the life of the world. * These, O my dearest Saviour, are thy very words; O give us always of this Bread! As the living Father sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eats me shall live by me, and I will raise him up at the last day: for my Flesh is meat indeed, and my Blood is drink indeed. * These— Glory be, etc. * These— Pause, etc. as page 17. Thursday laud's. O God incline, etc. as page 18. Antiph. How great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord; which thou hast hidden for those that love Thee! Psal. LVII. WHere, O thou boundless Ocean of Charity! where will thy overflowing streams stay their course? We, and our ingratitude strive to oppose thee; but nothing can resist thy almighty Goodness. When the impiety of man was at the height; and their treacherous heads ploting to betray thee: Then did thy wisdom mercifully consult, * to overcome our malice with thy bounty: Immediately thou contriv'dst an admirable way, * to invite all the world to a feast of miracles: A feast where thy sacred Body should be our food, * and thy precious Blood our drink: A feast where thy whole all-glorious Self * is freely given to the meanest guest. A feast of peace and love and incomparable sweetness; to which thine own blessed mouth thus kindly calls us, Come to me, you that labour for holiness, * and are oppressed under the weight of your sins: Come to me, you that hunger after heaven, * and thirst to drink at the fountain of blyss: Come to me, and I will refresh you, * with the wine of gladness, and the bread of life: Come you that are weak, that you may grow strong; and you that are strong, lest you become weak: Come you that have leisure, and here entertain your time; come you that are busy, and here learn to sanctify your employment: Come all, and gather freely of this celestial Manna; and fill your souls with the food of Angels. Glory be, etc. Psal. LVIII. THus does our gracious Lord invite, and shall we go? shall sinners dare to sit down at his table? Thus He invites, and shall we not go? shall wretches presume to refuse his Call? Rise then, my soul, and take thy swiftest wings; and fly to the presence of this great Mystery: Soon as thou comest, bow low thy head; and humbly adore our hidden God: Our God, who is come thus far to meet us; and brings along with him a whole heaven to entertain us. Arise, and leave the world behind thee; and run with gladness to salute thy Lord: Enter the Palace of that admirable Tabernacle; the house of his own most glorious Residence: There we shall see the Eternal Word, * that descended from heaven to become man for us: We shall see him still more wonderfully abridged; * into a lesser space and lower shape: There we shall see the Lord of glory, * vested with the familiar forms of bread and wine: There we shall see the Prince of Peace, * sacrifice himself to reconcile us with his Father: There we shall see, O stupendious mercy! the Son of God stoop even to the mouths of men. Can we, O dear Redeemer! believe these Wonders; and not be ravished with admiration of thy love? Can we acknowledge thy supreme Veracity; and not believe (were they possible) still greater wonders? What though our eyes say there's nothing but bread? our faith assures us there's nothing but our Saviour: Shall not the almighty Power, that made our senses, * exceed the operation of his own creatures? Shall we refuse to believe our God; because his mercies transcend our capacities? No, no, 'tis thy very self we see, O Blessed JESUS! 'tis thine own light by which we see Thee: None but an infinite Wisdom could ever have invented * so strange and high and prodigious a mystery: None but a more than infinite Goodness would ever have imparted * so dear and tender and rich a blessing. Glory be, etc. Psal. LIX. LOrd, who are we, unworthy sinners; that thus thou regardest our wretched dust? What is all the world compared to Thee; that thus thou seem'st to disregard thyself? 'Tis for our sakes, and to draw us to thy love; that thou personally vouchsafest to dwell among us: 'Tis for our sakes, and to spare the infirmity of our nature; that thy brightness appears not in its proper lustre. Blessed, O JESUS, are the eyes that see thee in this kind disguise; and the mouth that reverently receives Thee: Blessed yet more is the hart that desires thy coming; and longs to see thee in thy beauteous self. O Thou eternal Lord of grace and glory; * our joy and portion in the land of the Living! What hast thou there prepared for thy servants; who bestowest such pledges of thy bounty here! What dost Thou there reserve in thine own Kingdom; who giv'st us Thyself in this place of banishment! How will thy open vision transport our souls; when our dark faith yields such delight! Nothing on earth so sweet, as to kneel whole hours before thee; and one by one consider thy innumerable mercies: What must it be in heaven to shine continually before Thee; and all in one contemplate thy u●●speakable glories! O my adored Redeemer, when will that happy day appear; that mine eyes may behold thee without a veil? When will these clouds and shadows pass away; that thy beams may shine on me in their full brightness? Object not against me, dearest Lord; that none can see thy face and live: Those fears thy love has changed, and all my hope * is now to live by seeing thee: Say not, O thou mild and gracious Majesty! if I approach thy presence I must die: Rather instruct me so to die; that I may live for ever in thy presence. Glory be, etc. Antiph. How great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which Thou hast hidden for those that love Thee! Capit. 7. Apoc. A Men, Benediction and Glory and Wisdom, and Thanksgiving, Honour, and Power, and Strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen. Hymn XVIII. With all the powers my poor soul hath, Of humble love and loyal faith; Thus low, my God, I bow to Thee, Whom too much love bowed lower for me. Down busy sense, Discourses die; And all adore Faith's Mystery: Faith is my skill, Faith can believe As fast as Love new laws can give. Faith is my eye, Faith strength affords, To keep pace with those powerful words: And words more sure, more sweet than they, Love could not think, Truth could not say. O dear Memorial of that death, Which still survives and gives us breath! Live ever bread of Life, and be My food, my joy, my all to me. Come glorious Lord, my hopes increase; And fill my portion in thy peace: Come hidden life, and that long day For which I languish, come away. When this dry soul those eyes shall see, And drink the unseald source of Thee: When glory's Sun faith's shade shall chase And for thy veil, give me thy face. Antiph. He feeds the young Ravens that call on Him; and says, He esteems us much better than them: behold a full proof; He feeds them and all things else, but to feed us: behold yet a fuller; O Riddle of Bounty! even out of the Feeder himself comes food for us. V. The bread of life which came down from heaven. R. Feed us with the bread of science and understanding. O Lord hear our prayers, And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O Bounteous Lord, the continual supplier of thy creatures with all convenient sustenance; to advance our growth and strength, fit to take heaven by violence, and rise at length eternal Injoyers of thyself! Fix, we beseech Thee, our eyes and adoration on that open Hand which thus graciously gives us our daily bread: and grant that the miraculous Feast of thy Son's Body and Blood, may duly sanctify our tastes to all other thy bounties; that they may relish, as they are, only thy great love to us, and feed, as they ought, purely thy dear love in us: through the same our Lord— Commemorations, as Page 29. Thursday Vespers. OUr Father, etc. as Page 33. Antiph. Whether, O my God, should we wander, if left to our selus? where should we fix our hearts, if not directed by thee? Psal. LX. UNhappy man! at first created just; as every work comes fair from the hands of God. At first endowed with dominion o'er the Earth; and, which was more, with dominion o'er thyself: At first, not only made sole Lord of Paradise; but heir apparent of the Heaven of heavens. All this thou lost by one rash act; * disobeying the Law of thy wise Creator. All this, alas, we lost by thy transgression; which brought in sin, and death, and universal misery: Our bodies were depraved by thy distemper; and our souls made fit for such depraved bodies: Our senses quickly rebelled against reason; and both together conspired against grace. Dullness and ignorance o'respred the world; error and vice possessed mankind. The Law they observed was their own unruly appetites; and the Deity they worshipped, the work of their own hands. Even the selected people of the true God; the favourite Nation of the Almighty Providence: They who were brought out of Egypt with so many wonders; and seated in a Country flowing with Milk and Honey: They, who had seen the sea divide before them; and stand on each side, as a wall to defend them: They who had tasted the quails and manna from heav●●n: and drunk of the streams that came gushing from the Rock: Even they forgot their great Deliverer; and set up for their God a Golden Calf: They could not worship what they did not see; they must have Gods to go before them. Thus lay the miserable world all covered with darkness; and the thickest mists of gross Idolatry: Thus had poor man quite lost his way; and all he could do was to wander up and down a while: Till, when his few vain years were spent, * he suddenly descended to everlasting sorrows: This moved thy pity, gracious Lord! who often art found by those that seek thee not: Who never withdraw'st thy hand in time of need; but constantly supply'st us in all our distresses: This moved thy pity to undertake our relief; and come down thyself, and dwell among us: That as our nature used to worship what it saw; we now should see what we might safely worship: But thou again, dear Lord, must leave our world; and, though it be good for us, 'tis hard to part from Thee: Thou must again ascend into thy Father's bosom, to prepare a place for thy faithful Followers. Yet, even then, O thou wise and infinite Goodness! thou didst not wholly forsake our earth: Only thy usual clothes and shape were changed; but thy former Self still dwells among us: Still thou art really here to move us by thy presence, * and entertain our devotions without fear of excess: We know 'tis impossible to adore our God too much; O that 'twere possible to adore him enough. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Whether, O my God should we wander; if left to our selus? where should we fix our hearts, if not directed by Thee? Antiph. Blessed be thy Providence, O God, that so tenderly nurses up the world; still growing on to new degrees of perfection: Psal. LXI. LOrd, what a happy change has thy coming wrought! what glorious effects has thy Doctrine produced! Narrow was once the gate, and straight the path to bliss; and few there were that found it: Once in a populous City not ten that were just; and on the whole earth but eight that were saved: Now we see thousands, with a strong and generous love, * run swiftly after Thee in the ways of thy Counsels: Now, we see millions, with a fair degree of hope, * walk constantly towards Thee in the ways of thy Commands: Now we see Kings and mighty Nations submit to Thee; and hope all the world will ere long adore Thee. Whence, O my God, could this strange improvement come; but that JESUS ascending left himself on our Altars? Whence could this blessing spring, but from his holy life; and the infinite merits of his painful death? Both which are here miraculously united; and the fruits of both abridged into this one Mystery. This is the Mystery that gives life and spirit to the Church; and works all the wonders that adorn the world: This builds our great and sumptuous Temples; to bestow on our God the best house we have: This with our richest treasures beautifys our altars; to entertain our Lord in the best way we can: This breeds the reverence we pay to Priests; and excellently disposes us to believe and obey them: This keeps alive our dear Redeemers death; and applies to our souls all the virtue of his Passion: This fills our hearts with heroic courage, * to do and suffer for the Name of JESUS. This is, in fine, the food of faith, and hope, and love: and these 3 fit us for eternal happiness. O blessed memorial of my Saviour's love; and faithful Seal of all his promises! If I forget to sing of thee, * let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth: If I forget to meditate on Thee, * let my head forfeit its power to think: All the short time I remain in thy presence, * I will wholly employ to adore thy Majesty: Thee will I bless for all thy mercies; to Thee will I open all my necessities; Beging thy pardon for my past offences, * and thy gracious assistance for the time to come: Imploring thy peace for the souls departed; and thy blessing for all the world. O spotless Lamb, once slain for us on the Cross; and daily sacrificed on the holy Altar! Be thou our powerful Advocate with thy heavenly Father; and solicit by thy Merits his mercy for us: Offer thy sacred Self before his Throne, and turn away the wrath we deserve for our sins; So slaves are rescued from their chains, * and prisoners from the doom of death: While they appease their offended King, * with the pleasing remembrance of his beloved Son: And so hope we, and infinitely more; from the infinitely greater Mediation of JESUS. If Thou, O Lord, shalt thus restore our liberty; and cloth thy servants in the robes of innocence: Then shall we all delight to be still in thy presence; and follow thee, wherever thou goest: In thy Processions, we'll wait on thy triumph; in thy visiting the sick, we'll attend thy charity: When thou art lifted up, we'll bow before Thee; when solemnly exposed, we'll publicly adore thee: Where e'er Thou art we'll never forsake Thee; where e'er we are our hearts shall be with Thee. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Blessed be thy Providence, O God, that so tenderly nurses up the world; still growing on to new degrees of perfection. Antiph. This is the greatest charity that God himself can bestow: since God can bestow nothing greater than himself. Psal. LXII. ANd does our glorious God not only visit; but dwelled perpetually with us men upon earth? He whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain; does he make his residence in our little Tabernacles? Where are you holy Angels, that you fly not swiftly down; and in your whitest robes attend your Lord? Where are you careless men, that you run not quickly hither; and with your lowliest homage bow to your King? Who though he shines out clear to the Blessed alone; and the beams of his glory strike bright upon their faces: Yet have his mercies to us far more of miracle; far more of care and tender Providence: While he not only is pleased to be among us; but condescends to become even one with us: While he not only is our God to go before us; but our very food to enter into us. O souls redeemed by the Blood of JESUS; and nourished with the flesh of his sacred Body! Why melt you not away into tears of joy; for being so regarded by the King of heaven? Why not, at least, dissolve into tears of sorrow; for so little regarding him? Who will not tremble with an amorous reverence * that stands in the sight of so great a Majesty! Who can forbear to be transported with joy; that thinks, I'm going to receive my God Who can contain the overflowings of his hart; while his breast can say, here I have my God My great and glorious God, who, merely out of love, * thus gives me Himself in pledge of my salvation: O infinite sweetness, how good is it for us to be here; and behold our Lord transfigured before us! Here let us make a thousand Tabernacles; one, O my JESUS, for Thee, and one for each of us: That in our little tents we may dwell about thee; and sing and bow and rejoice before thee: What should the captive wish but liberty? and the weary Pilgrim, but to be at rest? What should the sick desire, but health? and what can I, but to be with my God? But stay, am I dressed like a friend of the Bridegroom, * that I safely may come to this Marriage Supper? Have I considered how chaste those eyes should be, * which go to behold the God of purity? Have I considered how clean that mouth should be, * which presumes to eat the Bread of heaven? But most, how all-celestial that soul should be, * which aspires to an union with the Body of our Lord? Look, look my hart, look well into thyself; and strictly search every Corner of thy breast. Alas, how poor and dull and empty are we! how infinitely unworthy so divine a Sacrament! Yet are we called by Him that can command; by Him that sees and pities our misery. He bids us come, he surely will receive us; and with his bounteous fullness supply our defects. Go then my soul, go to that sacred Table; and take thy part of that delicious Banquet: Go all inflamed with love, and joy, and hope; and quench thy holy thirst at that Spring of Blyss. When thou hast tasted the sweetness of thy God; and feelest his heavenly streams flow gently on thee: Open thy happy breast, and suck those waters in; and let them freely run over all thy powers: Let them soak deep to the root of thy hart; and turn thy barren heath into a fruitful land: Fruitful in holy thoughts, and pious words; fruitful in good and just and charitable deeds. Fruitful to thyself, in thine own improvement; fruitful to others in thy good example. No more ingratitude to so gracious a God; no more neglect of so glorious a Majesty: Away false pleasures, sin and vanity; for the God of holiness hath touched my hart: He has himself gone in, and taken full possession; and sealed it up for his own service. Glory be, etc. Antiph. This is the greatest charity that God himself can bestow; since God can bestow nothing greater than himself. Capit. 1 Cor. 13. IF I speak with the tongues of men and Angels, and have not charity; I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling Cymbal: and if I should have Prophecy and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I should remove mountains, and have not charity; I am nothing. Charity is patient, is benign; Charity envies not, deals not perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeks not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinks not evil, rejoices not upon iniquity, but rejoices with the truth; suffers all things, beleeus all things hopes all things, bears all things. Charity never fails: but whether Prophecies, they shall be made void; or tongues, they shall cease; or knowledge, it shall be destroyed: for we know in part, and Prophecy in part; but when that which is perfect shall come, that which is in part shall be made void. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. Now we see darkly through a glass, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know, even as I am known: and now there remain faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is Charity. Hymn XIX. DO I resolve an easy life, Stored with plenty, free from strife? When, dear Lord, thy days and nights Passed in poverty and fights. Do I design a gentle death, Singing out my aged breath? When, my Saviour! tortures tore Thy dear soul out, drowned in gore? O dread daily Sacrifice! Acting in a sweet disguise JESUS Passions o'er again; Such undue conceits restrain. Keep still lively in my mind; How I ought to be resigned: How this Pattern ought destroy All my sensual grief or joy. Are sufferings Ills? no; goodness chose His and our way to blyss through those: Are pleasures Goods? no; wisdom scorned Their dalliance, and us forewarned This, this make my Ditty be, At least, whenever Thee I see; Thee its ground so oft repeating, To prevent my souls forgetting. JESUS! thus armed no terrors shall Make my virtuous courage fall: No flatteries here my blessed hope; drown; Since thy Cross led to thy Crown. Live for ever glorious Lord, Live by heaven and earth adored May both their praises give They who see, we who believe. Amen Antiph. Thou art ascended our glorious Redeemer, to prepare a place for us; yet continuest still here our gracious Emmanuel to prepare us for it. V. 'Tis thy delight, O Lord, to be with the children of men; R. O make it ours to be with the God of heaven. O Lord hear our prayers, And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us Pray: O God, who, seeing the dulness of our spirits need so often fresh impulses of sense, hast wonderfully contrived our alone saving Object, thy sacrificed Son, continually to solicit our hearts by his own dear Presence, still really among us! Reclaim, we humbly beseech Thee, all our wand'ring affections; with this miracle of goodness, and compose them into such a diligent and devout attendance on our graciously veiled JESUS, that we may daily feed our adoration and love of Him, and daily grow in our desires of seeing eternally his glorious Face; who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end: Amen. O Lord hear, as Pag. 45. Thursday Complin. OUr help, etc. as Pag. 46. Antiph: What couldst thou say dear Lord, more sweet than this? Thy delight is to be with the Children of men. Psal. LXIII. Who will give me this happy favour; that I may find my God alone? That I may find him in the silence of retirement; where the noise of this world can no way interrupt us: But that my God may speak to me, and I to him; as dearest friends converse together: That I may unfold before him all my wants; and freely ask the charity of his counsel. What shall I do, O my gracious Lord, to be happy here? What shall I do to be happy hereafter? Nature already has thus far taught me; that in all I undertake, I seek my own good: Only I have cause to fear, I may mistake that good; and set up an Idol instead of thee: Unless my God vouchsafe to instruct me; and show my soul its true felicity: Hark, how the eternal wisdom gives thee advice; and let every word sink deep into thy soul: Seek with thy first endeavours the Kingdom of heaven; and all things else shall be added to thy wish: Love with thy whole affections the enjoyment of thy God; and all things else shall conspire to thy happiness. All these, my lips confess, are excellent truths; but when O my God, shall my life confess them? When shall I perfectly overcome my passions; and guide them so, that they may draw me to thy light? While they are mine, alas, I cannot govern them; behold dear Lord, I offer them all to Thee: Check thou their lawless motions by thy grace; lest they violently carry me away from my duty: Wean thou my hart from the follies of this world; and quicken its appetite to thy solid joys: That I may hunger and thirst perpetually after Thee; and those glorious promises thou hast made to thy servants: That my whole soul may seek Thee alone; since Thou alone art all my heaven. Glory be, etc. Psal. LXIV. WHen O my soul, shall thy God find thee alone; free from those busy thoughts that fill thy head? O with what ready charity would he then instruct thee; and let thee in to his blessed Secrets: Himself would become thy familiar Guest; and dwell with thee in perpetual joy. Lord, Thou must enter first, and chase those fancies away; and consecreate my soul a temple to thyself: Take thou entire possession, and hold it fast for ever; and suffer not the enemies of my peace to return: Sat thou as Sovereign King, and absolutely command; for thy government is mild, and rewards are infinite. What hast thou promised, gracious Lord, * to him that receives thee with an humble love! All that's contained in those sweet and mystic words, * he dwells in me, and I in him. O blessed words, if once my soul can say, He dwells in me, and I in him! He is my refuge in all temptations; He is my comfort in all distresses: He is my security against all enemies; He dwells in me, and I in him. What can an infinite bounty give greater than itself? and what can an empty creature receive greater than his God? O glorious God, my life; my joy; and the only centre of all my hopes! Were my unsteady soul once united to Thee; or once had relished the sweetness of thy presence: How would all other company seem dull and tedious: and the whole world be bitter to my taste! How would my thoughts cleave fast to thee; and gladly seal this everlasting Covenant! If Thou, O Lord, wilt dwell with me, my hart shall continually attend on Thee: Night and day will I sing thy praises; and all my life long adore thy mercies. Glory be, etc. Psal. LXV. THou art my only hope, O blessed JESUS! and thy favour alone is all things to me: In thee I find the providence of a father, * and the tender kindness of an indulgent mother: In thee I enjoy the protection of a King * and the rare fidelity of a constant friend. In thee I possess what ever I want; and thy fullness exceeds even my utmost desires: Thou art, O JESUS, my God and all things; what can I think or wish for more? Already enough is said for them that love; and know the value of those precious words: O sweet and charming words, my God and all things! sweet in excess to those that taste them: Not to the corrupted palates of the world; who relish nothing but the food of sense. Words that revive the fainting mind; and fill its darkest thoughts with light and joy: O may these blessed words dwell on my tongue; and live for ever in my faithful memory! Where e'er I am in this inconstant world; and what ever business entertains my hand: Still let my inward eye look up towards Thee; and fix my sight on thy glorious face: Still may I wish and long for that happy day, * which opens to my soul so blest a view: Where I shall see, and no longer darkly believe, * that thou, O Lord, art my God and all things. Glory be, etc. Antiph. What couldst thou say, dear Lord, more sweet than this! Thy delight is to be with the children of men. Hymn XX. COme my thoughts, who fond fly At every toy that passes by; Spending so your strength in vain, While what you court, you ne'er can gain. Come, my soul, who sure must be Quite tired with all this life can see; Losing oft thy hope and time: Come take advice of this plain rhyme. Seek no more abroad thy rest; But seek at home, in thine own breast: Let thy mind from guilt be clear; Then look for all thy comfort there. With thyself, and with thy God, Delight to make thy chief abode: There repose secure and free; And no mischance can trouble thee. Should death's self thy walls assail, Still thou art safe and canst not fail: Still thy soul's thine own, and she To a new house removed shall be. New and lasting there above, All built and furnished with pure love: There shall this mud wall of thine, Repaired, the brightest stars outshine. There thy Lord, who feeds thee now With his own flesh, will more bestow; He came down, to be like thee; Thou shalt go up, and like Him be. King of glory! King of peace! May these our praises never cease: Still may we adore thy Throne, Still bow and sing to Thee alone. Capit. 1. Pet. 5. HUmble your selus under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the day of visitation: casting upon Him all your solicitude, for He has care of you. Be sober and watch, for your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion compasses about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, strong in faith. Antiph. Be vacant, and see how sweet our Lord is; get above the eclipse of earth, and be ravished with the light of his countenance. V. I said to all creatures, Peace, be gone. R. Let me enjoy my God in solitude and silence. O Lord hear our prayers. And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, whose delights are to be with the children of men, when thy grace can prevail with us to quit all other Converse, and retire to Thee alone! Grant, we humbly beseech Thee, that thy Providence's withdrawing every night all the world from our senses, may efficaciously prompt us to clear our heads and hearts of all its distractions; and thy holy Spirit, finding our minds happily vacant, may fill them with acts of love and reverence and adoration of Thee, as our only God and all things; through our Lord— Vouchsafe, etc. as page 54. Friday MATINS. Introduction, as page 1. Invitatory. Come let's adore our God that redeemed us. Come let's adore our God that redeemed us. Psal. LXVI. When we had sold our selus to sin, and were all become the slaves of Satan; our blessed JESUS descended from heaven, and brought a vast price to buy out our freedom. Come let's adore our God that redeemed us. The price was no less than his own dearest blood, which he plenteously shed on the holy Cross; depositing so his inestimable life, to rescue us sinners from eternal death. Come let's adore our God that redeemed us. Let us consecrate this day to his sacred memory, and tenderly compassionate his unparallelled sufferings; repenting from our hearts our many sins, and thankfully admiring his infinite mercies. Come let's adore our God that redeemed us. Let us wean our minds from unbecoming delights, and mortify our senses with a prudent restraint; that, carried on the wings of fasting and alms, our prayers may mount up more swiftly to heaven. Come let's adore our God that redeemed us. Glory be to the Father, etc. As it was, etc. Come let's adore our God that redeemed us. Come let's adore our God that redeemed us. Hymn XXI. COme let's adore the King of love, And King of sufferings too: For love it was that brought him down, And set him here in wo. Love drew him from his Paradise, Where flowers that fade not grow: And planted Him in our poor dust, Among us weeds below. Here for a time this heavenly Plant Fairly grew up and thrived: Diffused its sweetness all about, And all in sweetness lived. But envious frosts, and furious storms So long so fiercely chide: This tender Flower at last bowed down Its bruised head, and died. O narrow thoughts, and narrower speech, Here your defects confess: The life of Christ, the death of God, How faintly you express! Help, O thou blessed Virgin-root, Whence this fair Flower did spring; Help us to raise both hart and voice, And with more spirit sing: To Father, Son and holy Ghost, One undivided Three, All highest praise, all humblest thanks Now and for ever be. Antiph. Take up thy cross, and follow thy Lord; for his yoke is sweet, and his burden light. Psal. LXVII. MY God, who can complain of doing too much; if they consider the labours of JESUS? Those painful labours he so freely undertaken; and mildly stooped to his humble task: When he might have flown on the wings of Cherubims; he chose to walk with us worms in the dust: When he might have called for Manna from heaven; in the sweat of his brows he would eat his bread: When he might have made the Angels his footstool; he rather became the servant of his Parents: Living with Them in their little cottage; and readily obeying even their least command: There, in that humble privacy, He increased in wisdom; and grew in grace both with God and man: Still by his pious candour gaining the love * of those happy few that saw his life: That saw thy holy life, O glorious JESUS! and heard with joy and wonder thy incomparable sayings: That felt a gentle motion stir their heart's * to love and imitate so blest a pattern. O that the same sweet spirit of grace * might draw our minds, dear Lord, to thee! O that we could, in every passage of our life, * still actually reflect on the example of Thine! Thy retirements were filled with holy speculations; and in the midst of business thy mind was free for heaven: Thy converse with others misspent no time; but bestowed every moment in excellent charity: To instruct the ignorant, and reduce the deceived; to comfort the afflicted, and heal the diseased. To convince the froward, and absolve the penitent; and persuade all the world to be truly happy: It was thy meat and drink to do thy Father's will; O make it ours to perform Thine: Make us in every action still think on Thee; what thou wouldst counsel us to do: What Thou thyself wouldst do, O Blessed JESUS! if thou again wert here among us: And when we thus have learned our duty; Lord, make us do, what thou hast made us know Glory be, etc. Antiph. Take up thy Cross, and follow thy Lord; for his yoke is sweet, and his bruthen light. Antiph. He humbled himself for us, and became obedient to death; even the death of the Cross. Psal. LXVIII. MY God, who can repine at suffering too much; if they remember the afflictions of JESUS? Those many afflictions he so patiently endured, and bore with silence all their weight: Even from his humble cradle in the grot of Bethelem, to his bitter Cross on the mount of Calvary: How little do we read of glad and prosperous! how much of pains and grief and perpetual affronts! Sometimes abandoned by his nearest friends; and left alone among all his discomforts: Sometimes pursued by his fiercest enemies; and made the common mark of all their spite: Sometimes they plot to ensnare Him in his words; and enviously slander his miraculous deeds: Sometimes tumultuously they gather about him; to gaze at and abuse this Man of sorrows: Sometimes they furiously seize on his Person; and hale and drag him along the streets: At last, they all conspire to take away his life; and condemn him to a sharp and cruel death. Have you not seen a harmless Lamb * stand silent in the midst of ravenous wolves? So stood the Prince of Peace and Innocence; besieged with a ring of savage Jews: When they blasphemed Him, he replied not again; and when they injuriously struck him, he only observed their rashness: When they provoked him with their utmost malice, he pleaded their excuse; and when they killed him, he earnestly prayed for their pardon: O strange ingratitude of humane nature; thus barbarously to crucify the world's Redeemer! O admirable love of the world's Redeemer; thus patiently to die for humane nature! Say now, my soul, for whom thy dearest Lord * endured all this and infinitely more: Canst thou complain of thy little troubles; when the King of glory was thus afflicted? Canst thou complain of a meanly furnished house; when the Son of God had not where to lay his head? We wear the conisance of a crucified Lord; and shall we shrink back at every cross we meet? We believe in a God that was crowned with thorns; and shall we abide to tread on nothing but roses? Before our eyes, O JESUS, we see thee humble and meek; and shall thy servants be proud and insolent? We see thee travail up and down poor and unregarded; and shall thy followers strive to be rich and esteemed? Thy charitable labours were maliciously slandered; and shall not our faults have the patience to be reproved? Thou disdain'dst not to be called in scorn the Carpenter's son; and cannot our lownes bear a little disparagement? O how unlike are we to that blessed Original, * who descended from heaven to become our pattern! How do we go astray from that sacred path, * which the holy JESUS traced with his own steps! Pity, O dear Redeemer, the infirmities of thy children; and strengthen with thy grace our fainting hearts: Arm us, O glorious Conqueror of sin and death! against all the fears and terrors of this world: Arm all our powers with those celestial virtues, of Faith, and Hope, and invincible Love: That we may still go on, and resolutely meet * whatever stands in our way to heaven: Since we must suffer as Christians; and deserve it as sinners; * Lord, let us bear it as becomes thy servants. Glory be, etc. Antiph. He humbled himself for us, and became obedient to death; even the death of the Cross. Antiph. Unworthy are we, O Lord, of the least of thy favours; and ingrateful for all. Psal. LXIX. MY God, when I consider what thou hast suffered for us; and what we have done against our ●●elvs: I am amazed at the wonders of thy goodness; and confounded at the vileness of our misery: Our sins were the cause of thy cruel death; yet still we permit them to live in us. We entertain the worst of thine enemies; and treacherously lodge them in our own bosoms: Preferring a petty interest before thy heaven; a transitory pleasure before eternal felicity: Many we confess, are the follies of our life; and our consciences tremble at their own great guilt: Many are the times thou hast graciously pardoned us; and still we relapse and abuse thy clemency: The memory of our transgressions is bitter to us; and the thought of our ingratitude extremely afflicts us: But is there, O my JESUS, any stain so foul, * which thy precious Blood cannot wash away? Is there any heap of sins so vast, * to exceed the number of infinite mercies? O no; Thou canst forgive more than we can offend; but Thou wilt not forgive, unless we fear to offend: Unless we seek to Thee for peace and reconcilement; and humble our selus in thy holy presence. Wherefore, behold O Lord, we fall down at thy crucified Feet; and there ask pardon for our perverse affections: Reverently we kiss thy pierced Hands; and implore forgiveness of our wicked actions: Humbly we salute thy bleeding Side; and supplicate thy grace to purify our intentions: All we can offer thy offended Majesty, * to pacify the justice of thy wrath, Is only an humble ey bathed in tears; and a penitent hart broken with contrition: Only a firm Resolve to change our lives: and even all this we must beg of Thee. O Thou our gracious and indulgent Lord! who freely pardon'st all that truly repent: Who giv'st repentance to all that ask; and invit'st all to ask, by promising to give! Make us look seriously into our own breasts; and heartily lament our many failings: Make us search diligently for our bosom-sins; and strive to cast them out with prayer and fasting: Open thou, O Lord, our lips to accuse our crimes; that we blush not to confess what we feared not to do. Correct our past sins with the works of penance; that the stains they leave may be quite ta'en away: Preserve us hereafter with thy powerful grace; that no temptation surprise or overcome us. Extend thy mercy, O Lord, over all our works; since Thyself has declared 'tis above all thine own. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Unworthy are we, O Lord, of the least of thy favours; and ingrateful for all. Our Father, etc. First Lesson. ATtend to me, O my People! hear me, O my Nation! for a Law shall proceed from Me, and my judgement shall rest to be a light of the world. I gave my back to the scourgers, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I turned not away my face from them that rebuked me, and spit upon me. I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the Gentiles there was not a man with me. I looked about, and there was no helper; I sought, and there was none to aid. All that saw the laughed me to scorn; they shot out their lips, and shook their heads: he hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him; because he delights in him, let him save him. I was as one that is deaf and heard not; and as a dumb man that opens not his mouth. They who sought evil against me, spoke vanities; and meditated deceits all the day long. They opened their mouths upon me, as a lion ravening and roaring: many dogs encompassed me; the council of the malignant besieged me. They pierced my hands and my feet; they numbreed all my bones; they divided my garments, and for my vesture they cast lots. They gave me gall to eat, and, in my thirst, vinegar to drink. I am poured out as water, and all my bones are disjointed; my hart is made like wax melting in the midst of my bowels: my strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaved to my mouth. Thou hast brought me down to the dust of death. R. All this, O Blessed JESUS! thou taught'st thy holy Prophets, to prepare the world for thy coming; all this and infinitely more Thou verify'dst in thine own Person, with pains, and sorrows, and reproaches, able to make even patience itself break forth into this sad complaint, * O all you that pass by the way, behold and see, if there be grief like to my grief! I was betrayed, and bound, and led away captive; I was reviled, and buffeted, and scornfully spit on; I was stripped and scourged, and condemned to a cruel death; I was crowned with thorns, and pierced with nails, and crucified among thiefs: * O all— Second Lesson. NOw therefore saith our Lord, Turn to me with all your hart, in fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your hearts and not your garments, and be converted to the Lord your God; for he is benign and merciful, patient and of much compassion, and ready to pardon your offences: who knows if he will return and forgive and leave behind him a blessing? Seek our Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is nigh: Behold the hand of the Lord is not shortened that he cannot save; nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have divided between you and your God; and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Let the impious forsake his way, and the wicked man his thoughts; and return to our Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he is bountiful in pardoning. Wash you, be clean, take away the evil of your thoughts from mine eyes: cease to do perversely, learn to do good, seek judgement, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow. Come now, and argue with me, saith our Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; and though they be red as vermilion, they shall be white as wool. R. Who will give water to my head▪ and a fountain of tears to my eyes; that day and night I may continually weep and mourn and lament, for my own sins, and for my Saviour's sufferings! * O my adored Redeemer! make us heartily sorry to have offended Thee; make us speedily mend, lest we ruin our selus. Thou hast given us these holy rules to guide our lives, and enforced them on us by thine own example; fasting, and praying, and weeping, and humbling thyself to death, even the death of the Cross: * O my— Third Lesson. BEhold in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exact of all your debtors; you fast to debates and contentions, and strike with the first impiously. Is this such a fast as I have chosen; a man to afflict his soul for a day? is this it? to wind his head about like a circle, and spread sackcloth, and ashes? Is not this rather the fast, I have chosen? dissolve the bands of impiety, unlose the heavy burdens; break in pieces every yoke, and let the oppressed go free: deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor and harbourless into thy house; when thou seest the naked, cover him, and despise not thine own flesh: Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health speedily arise, and thy justice go before thy face, and the glory of our Lord compass thee round about: Then shalt thou call, and our Lord will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, behold I am here: I am he who blot out thy iniquities for my own sake, and thy sins I will remember no more: I am the Lord thy God, who teach thee profitable things, and govern thee in the way where thou walkest: I am the Lord thy God, who take thee by the hand, and say to thee, fear not, I will help thee: fear not, for I am with thee; shrink not aside, for I am thy God. R. My God, never let me so rely on any outward performances, that I neglect the improvement of my mind; lest my fasting become an unprofitable trouble▪ and my prayer a vain lip labour. * The soul and the body make a man; and the spirit and discipline make a Christian. Never let me so pretend to inward perfection, that I slight the outward observances of Religion; lest my thoughts grow proud and fantastic, and all my arguments be but a cover for licentiousness. * The Soul— Glory be, etc. * The Soul— Pause, as Pag. 17. Friday laud's. O God incline, as Pag. 18. Antiph. Come let us glory in the Cross of our Lord JESUS Christ; in whom is our life and health, and resurrection. Psal. LXX. Shall we rejoice, my soul, to day? Shall we not mourn at the Funeral of our dear Redeemer? Such, O my Lord, was the excess of thy goodness; to derive joys for us, from thine own sorrows: Thou forbadst thy followers to weep for Thee; and reserved'st to thyself alone the shame and grief: Thou invitest all the world to glory in thy Cross; and command'st us to delight in the memory of thy passion: Sing then, all you dear-bought Nations of the Earth! sing hymns of glory to the holy JESUS: Sing every one who pretends to felicity; sing immortal praises to the God of our Salvation: To Him, who for us endured so much scorn; and patiently received so many injuries: To Him, who for us sweat drops of blood; and drank off the dregs of his Father's wrath: To the eternal Lord of heaven and earth; who for us was slain by the hands of the wicked: Who for us was led away as a Sheep to the slaughter; and as a meek Lamb opened not his mouth: Whither, O my God, did thy compassion carry thee! how did thy charity too far prevail with Thee! Was it not enough to become man for us; but thou must expose thyself to all our miseries? Was it not enough to labour all thy life; but thou must suffer for us even the pains of death? No, gracious Lord, thy mercy still observed * some wants in our nature as yet unsupplyd: Thou saw'st our too much fondness of life * needed thy parting with it, to reconcile us to death: Thou saw'st our fear of sufferings could no way be abated; but by freely undergoing them in thine own person: O blessed JESUS! whose grace alone * begins and perfects all our hopes: How are we bound to praise thy love! how infinitely obliged to adore thy goodness! At any rate thou wouldst still go on, to heal our weak and wounded nature: Even at the price of thine own dear blood; thou wouldst finish for us the purchase of heaven. Glory be etc. Psal. LXXI. AWake, my soul, and speedily prepare * thy richest sacrifice of humble praise: Awake, and summon all thy thoughts * to make haste and adore our great Redeemer: For now 'tis time we should reverently go; and offer our hearts at the foot of his Cross: Thither let us fly from the troubles of the world; there let us dwell among the mercies of heaven: Under the shade of that happy tree let us kneel; and often look up to our dearest Lord: Let us remember every passage of his love; and be sure that none escape our thanks: Let us compassionate every stroke of his death; and one by one salute his sacred wounds: Blessed be the hands that wrought so many miracles; and were bored with cruel nails: Blessed be the feet that so often travailed for us; and at last were unmercifully fastened to the Cross: Blessed be the head which was crowned with thorns; the head that so industriously studied our happiness: Blessed be the hart which was pierced with a spear; the hart that so passionately loved our peace: Blessed be the entire person of our crucified Lord; and may all our powers join in his praise: In thy eternal praise, O gracious JESUS! and the ravishing thoughts of thy incomparable sweetness. O what excess of kindness was this! what strange extremity of love and pity! The Lord is sold, that the slave may be free; the Innocent condemned, that the guilty may be saved: The Physician is sick, that the Patient may be cured; and God himself dies that man may live: Tell me, my Soul, when first thou hast well considered, * and looked about among all we know: Tell me, who ever wished us so much good? who ever loved us with so much tenderness? What have our nearest friends done for us? or even our Parents in comparison of this Charity? No less than the Son of God came down to redeem us; no less than his own dear life was the price he paid for us: What can the favour of the whole world promise us, compared to this miraculous bounty? No less than the joys of Angels are become our hope; no less than the Kingdom of heaven is made our inheritance. Glory be, etc. Psal. LXXII. TO thee, O God, we owe our whole selus; for making us after thine own image. To thee, O Lord, we owe more than our selus; for redeeming us with the death of thine only Son. Nor were our ruins so soon repaired; as at first our Being was easily produced: Thy Power to create us said but one word; and immediately we became a living soul: But thy Wisdom to redeem us both spoke much, * and wrought more, and suffered most of all: To redeem us He humbled himself to this low world; and all the infirmities of our miserable nature: He patiently endured hunger and thirst; and the malicious affronts of enraged enemies: How many times did he hazard his life, to sustain with courage the truths of heaven! How many tears did he tenderly weep, in compassion of his blind ingrateful Country! How many drops of blood did he shed, * in that doleful garden, and on the bitter Cross! The Cross, where after three long hours * of grief and shame and intolerable pains; He meekly bowed his fainting head; and in an agony of prayer yielded up the Ghost: So sets the glorious Sun in a sad cloud; and leaves our earth in darkness and disorder. But goes to shine immediately in the other world; and soon returns again, and brings us light: And so dost Thou, dear Lord, and more; thy very darkness is our light: 'Tis by thy death we are made to live; and by thy wounds our soars are healed. O my adored Redeemer, who took'st upon thee all our miseries; to impart to us thine own felicities! Can we remember thy labours for us: and not be convinced of our duty to Thee? Can our cold hearts recount thy sufferings; and not be inflamed with the love that suffered? Can we believe our salvation cost thee so dear; and live as if to be saved were not worth our pains? Ingrateful we, how do we ●●light the kindness of our God how carelessly comply with his gracious design! For all his gifts, he requires no other return; then to hope still more, and desire still greater blessings: For all his favours he seeks no other praise; then our following his steps to arrive at his glory. O glorious JESUS! behold to thee we bow; and kumbly kiss the dust, in honour of thy death: Behold thus low we bow▪ to implore thy blessing; and the sure assistance of thy special grace: That we may wean our affections from all vain desires; and clear our thoughts from all impertinent fancies: Then shall our lives be entirely dedicated to Thee; and all the faculties of our souls to thy holy service: Our minds shall continually study thy knowledge; and our wills grow every day stronger in thy love: Our memories shall faithfully lay up thy mercies; and both tongue and hart shall sing for ever. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Come let us glory in the Cross of our Lord JESUS Christ, in whom is our life, and health, and resurrection. Capit. 2 Cor. 1. BLessed be the God and Father of our Lord JESUS Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our tribulations; that we also may be able to comfort them who are in any distress, by the consolation wherewith we also are comforted of God. For, as the passions of Christ abound in us, so likewise by Christ our comfort abounds. Hymn XXII. TUne now your selus, my hart strings high; Let us aloft our voices raise: That our loud song may reach the Sky; And there present to Thee our praise. To thee, blessed JESUS, who cam'st down, From those bright spheres of joy above; To purchase us a dear bought Crown, And woe our Souls to ' espouse thy love. Long had the World in darkness sat; Till Thou and thy all-glorious light Began to dawn from heaven's fair gate, And with thy beams dispel their night: We too, alas! still there had stood, As common slaves in the same shade; But mercy came, and with his blood, Our general ransom freely paid. Not all the spite of all the Jews, Nor death itself could him remove: Still He his blessed design pursues; And gives his life, to take our love. And now, my Lord, my God, my all! What shall I most in Thee admire? That power which made the world and shall The world again dissolve with fire? O no, thy strange humility; Thy wounds, thy pains, thy cross, thy death: These shall alone my wonder be, My health, my joy, my staff, my breath. To Thee, great God to Thee alone, Three Persons in one Deity; As former ages still have done, All glory now, and ever be. Antiph. We are bought with a price, even the most precious sweat and blood of JESUS; henceforth to call Him Master, whose service is perfect freedom, and gives us effectual power to become the sons of God. V. The chains fell off our hands and feet; R. When Thine, dear Redeemer, were nailed to the Cross. V. O Lord hear our prayers: R. And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O Eternal Father, who sentest down thy only Son to redeem the world enslaved to sin and Satan, by assuming our frail nature, and powerfully teaching us, both by word and example, its sole way to that blyss, for which we are created! Grant, we humbly beseech Thee, that the continual memory of his bitter passion and death on the Cross may beget in us an utter disvalue of the Goods or Ills we meet with here, compared to the advancing our selus or others, in the esteem of what we hope hereafter, through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end. Amen. Here, on every Friday that is fasted, say kneeling V. Lord have mercy on us. R. Christ have mercy on us. V. Lord have mercy on us. Our Father, etc. V. And lead us not into temptation: R. But deliver us from evil, Amen. V. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us. R. For our souls confide in thee. V. And under the shadow of thy wings will we hope; R. Till our iniquities pass away. V. Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we are weak: R. Heal us, O Lord, for we have sinned against thee. V. Our iniquities are gone over our head, R. And like a sad burden sit heavy on us. V. Will not our God require an account of these things? R. Will he not examine every passage of our lives? V. He sees the secrets of our hearts; R. And our darkest sins are not hid from Him. V. Lord, make us judge our selus, lest we be condemned by thee, R. And chastise our selus, lest we be punished by thee: V. Make us mortify our senses with discreet austerities; R. Particularly contrary to the passions which molest us: V. That we may reduce our bodies into subjection to our minds; R. And our minds into subjection to Thee: V. That as our too much liberty brought us to folly; R. Our just severity may bring us to pardon: V. Pardon, O Lord, the iniquity of our sins; R. And graciously remove away all thy punishments: V. Enter not into judgement with thy servants, O Lord; R. For in thy sihgt shall no one living be justified: V. Our ruin, we confess, is wholly from our selus; R. And all our hope is in thy salvation: V. If we repent, and say, Now we'll begin; R. 'Tis time now to rise from sleep: V. Behold temptation stands at the door; R. And our weak resistance lets it in: V. Our corrupt nature conspires with our enemies; R. And our evil customs prevail against us: V. Pity us, O Lord, Thou who knowst whereof we are made; R. Wean us from this world, Thou who mad'st us for a better: V. Deliver us from the occasions that so often endanger us; R. Deliver us from the occasions that so often overcome us: V. Deliver us from all sudden and disastrous mischances: R. Deliver us from the miseries of everlasting torments: V. Why art thou sad, O my soul? R. And why art thou disquieted within me? V. Still trust in God, for still we will praise his Name; R. He is our Saviour and our God: V. O praise our Lord, for he is good; R. And his mercy endures for ever: V. Let all who fear our Lord, now say, R. That his mercy endures for ever: V. He was mindful of us in our low estate; R. For his mercy endures for ever: V. And redeemed us from our enemies; R. For his mercy endures for ever: V. He will guide us here in the ways of peace; R. For his mercy endures for ever: V. He will bring us hereafter to the joys of eternity; R. For his mercy endures for ever. V. O Lord hear our prayers; R. And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, who didst severely punish our first parents for eating the forbidden fruit, and hast so often recommended to us the necessary duties of abstinence and fasting, grant we beseech thee that by observing diligently thy holy Discipline proposed to us in the laws and practice of thy Church, we may correct our levities and revenge our excesses, and subdue our irregular appetites, and frustrate the temptations of the enemy, and secure our perseverance, and daily proceed to new degrees of virtue and devotion; till in the end of our lives, we receive the end of our labours, the salvation of our souls in thy heavenly kingdom, through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end. Amen. These Versicles, Responses and Prayers are said, kneeling, on all Fasting days, immediately after the Prayer at laud's. Then, Commemoration, etc. as page 29. Friday Vespers. OUr Father, etc. as page 33. Antiph. O senseless we, that so little consider what our Saviour suffered for us; or what we do against Him! Psal. LXXIII. LOrd, how the world requites thy love! how ingrateful are we to thy blessed memory! We negligently forget thy sacred Passion; or rather far worse, our sins renew thy sufferings: While we deprive others of their right; what do we else but divest thee of thy clothes? While we delight in strife and Schisms; what do we else but rend thy seamless coat? If we despise the least of thy servants; are we not as so many Herod's that scorned Thee? If we for fear proceed against our conscience; how are we better than Pilate that condemned Thee? By forsaking thy will to follow our own; do we not choose a murderer before thee? By retaining a sharp and bitter malice; do we not give thee vinegar and gall to drink? By showing no mercy to the poor and afflicted; do we not pass by thy Cross as strangers unconcerned? Thus we again crucify the Lord of Glory; and put him afresh to an open shame: Is this, O wretched we! the duty we pay * to the sacred memory of our dear Redeemer? Are these the thanks our gratitude returns * to that strange excess of our Saviour's love? When we sat in darkness he took us by the hand; and kindly led us into his own light: We sought not him, but he came from far to find us; we looked not towards him, but his mercy called after us: He called aloud in words of tenderness; why will you perish, O you children of men? Why will you run after empty trifles; as if there were no joys above with me? Return, O you dear-bought souls; and I will receive you; * repent, and though you had really crucified me, I will forgive you: Behold, O Blessed JESUS, to Thee we come; and on thy holy Cross fasten all our confidence: Never will we unclasp our faithful hold; till thy grace has sealed the pardon of our sins: Never will we part from that standard of hope; till our troubled consciences be dismissed in peace: There will we stand, and sigh and weep; and every one humbly say to thy mercy: JESUS, my God, I suffer violence; * answer Thou for me. Glory be, etc. Antiph. O senseless we, that so little consider what our Saviour suffered for us; or what we do against Him! Antiph. He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. Psal. LXXIV. BE silent, O my soul, and thy Lord will answer for thee; be content, and he is thy security: Be innocent, and he will defend thee; be humble, and he will exalt thee: He will forgive thee all thou repentest; he will bestow on thee more than thou askest: Never let us fear the favour of our God; if we can but esteem and desire it: He that so freely gave us himself; will he not with himself give us all things else? Is not his painful life and bitter death * sufficient pledge of his love to us? Is not his infinite love to us * sufficient motive of our duty to Him? A duty to which we are so many ways obliged; and wherein our Eternity is so highly concerned: Surely they have little faith, and far less hope; who doubt the mercies of so gracious a God: Mercys confirmed by a thousand miracles; and dearly sealed with his own blood: That innocent blood which was shed for us; to appease the wrath of his offended Father: That blood, whose every precious drop * was worthy to save so many worlds: O blest and all-redeeming blood! which flowed so freely from the source of life: Bath our polluted souls in thy clear streams; and purge away all our foul impurities: Cleanse us, O merciful Lord, from our secret faults; and from those darling sins that most abuse us: Wash off the stains which our malice has caused in others; and those which our weakness has received of them: Let not them perish by our occasion; nor us be undone by theirs: But let our charity assist one another: and thy clemency pardon us all: Pardon, O gracious JESUS, what we have been; and with thy holy discipline correct what we are: Order by thy Providence what we shall be; and in the end crown thine own gifts. Glory be, etc. Antiph. He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only; but for the sins of the whole world. Antiph. Now is the time of acceptance; now is the day of salvation: let us demean our selus as the servants of God, in fasting and watching, in patience and charity. Psal. LXXV. Shouldst thou, O Lord, have dealt with us in rigour; we had long since been sentenced to eternal death: Long since our guilty souls had been snatched away; and hurried down to everlasting torments: But thy gracious mercy has reprieved our lives; and given us space to work out our pardons: Now is the time of acceptance with Thee; now is the day of salvation for us: Now let us mourn our former offences; and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance: If we, O JESUS, have hitherto persecuted thee; and with our sins nailed thee on the tree of death: Now let our whole endeavours attend thy service; and loyally conspire to un-crucify their Lord: Let us ascend the Mount of Calvary; and often, as we go, kiss thy holy steps: We kiss thy steps, when we love thy ways; and humble our selus, and follow Thee: Let us there on our knees approach thy Cross; and reverently cover thy naked Body: We cover thee, when our charity clothes thy servants; and hides the infirmities of thy little Ones: Let us there with tenderest care unfasten the nails; and gently draw them out of thy hands and feet: We draw them out, when we freely obey thy will; and loosen our affections from cleaving to the world: Lord, when we thus have rescued Thee; and placed thee again on thy Throne of glory: Instead of Thyself, nail thou us to the Cross; who really deserve what Thou really indured'st: Crucify our flesh with the fear of Thee; and give us our portion of sorrow here: Crucify the world to us, and us to the world; that, dead to it, we may live in Thee: At least, live thou in us, O holy JESUS! and fit our souls for so glorious a guest: Enter into our hearts, and fill them with thyself; that no room be left for any thing but Thee: One only hope we have, thy care of us; one only fear, our neglect of our selus. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Now is the time of acceptance, now is the day of salvation: let us demean our selus as the servants of God; in fasting and watching; in patience and charity. Capit. Philip. 2. IF there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of Charity, if any fellowship of spirit, if any bowels of Commiseration, fulfil my joy: that you be of one meaning, having the same charity, of one mind, of one sentiment: Let nothing be done by contention, nor by vain glory; but in humility, every one counting others better than themselves, every one considering not the things that are their own, but those that are of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ JESUS; who, being in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal to God: but he abased himself, taking the form of a servant, made into the similitude of men, and in shape found as man. He humbled himself, being made obedient to death, even the death of the Cross; for which God has exalted him, and given him a name above all names: that at the name of JESUS every knee bow of things in heaven, of things on earth, and of things under the earth; and every tongue confess, that our Lord JESUS Christ is in the glory of God the Father. Hymn XXIII. ANd now, my soul, canst thou forget That thy whole life is one long debt Of love to Him, who on this tree Paid back the flesh He took for thee? Lo, how the streams of precious blood Flow from five wounds into one flood: With these he washes all thy stains, And buys thy ease with his own pains: Tall tree of life! we clearly now That doubt of former Ages know; It was thy wood should make the Throne Fit for a more than Solomon. Large Throne of love! royally spread With Purple of too rich a red: Strange costly price! thus to make good Thine own esteem, with thy King's blood. Hail fairest Plant of Paradise; To thee our hopes lift up their eyes: O may aloft thy branches shoot, And fill the Nations with thy fruit. O may all reap from thy Increase, The Just, more strength; the sinner, peace: While our half-withered hearts and we Engraft our selus, and grow on Thee. Live, O, for ever live, and reign Blessed Lamb whom thine own love has slain; And may thy lost sheep live to be True lovers of thy Cross and Thee. All glory to the sacred Three, One undivided Deity; As it has been in ages gone, May now, and ever, still be done. Antiph. Our Lord died for us, that we might live in Him, and putting off the old man with all his concupiscences, be renewed henceforth in the spirit of our minds, V. Behold dear Saviour thou art exalted from the earth. R. Fulfil thy word, and draw all things to thyself. O Lord hear our prayers, And let our Supplications come to Thee: Let us pray. O God, who, at the price of thy only Sons last drop on the Cross, hast purchased our hearts from this life and all the goods of it, to the sole pursuit and hopes of Thyself in eternity! Possess, we beseech Thee, and absolutely dispose of what Thou hast so dearly paid for: mortifying us to this world, and confirming our courage to fight manfully under the Banner of our crucified JESUS; that we stand the shock of all temptations, and nothing in life or death be able to separate us from thy love in Him, our glorious Redeemer, who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world with out end, Amen. Here, on all Fridays that are fasted, say kneeling, V. Lord have mercy on us: R. Christ have mercy on us: V. Lord have mercy on us: Our Father, etc. V. And lead us not into temptation! R. But deliver us from evil, Amen. V. Who will give water to our eyes; R. And a fountain of tears to our head? V. That we may weep, day and night, R. The loss of our time past, and the danger of our time to come. V. That we may weep for our many sins; R. And humbly confess our grievous offences. V. We have sinned with our fathers, we have sinned; R. We have done unjustly, we have committed iniquity. V. We have broken the Laws of our Maker; R. We have provoked the wrath of our Judg. V. We have despised the goodness of our God; R. What shall we do, O thou Preserver of men! V. What shall we do, but appeal from the bar of thy justice, R. To thy mild and gracious Seat of Mercy. V. Spare us, O Lord, for thy mercy sake; R. Spare the works of thine own hands: V. Spare us whom thou hast made for the enjoyment of thyself; R. Spare us whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood: V. Pardon, O Lord, our sins of weakness and surprise: R. Pardon, our sins of wilfulness and malice: V. Pardon our relapsing into the sins we have repent; R. Pardon our lying in sins without repentance: V. Make us to grieve for our sins that we hate them; R. And hate them so, that we quite forsake them: V. Check our unruly passions with thy holy fear; R. And guide our lives in the ways of discipline: V. That we may turn to thee with our whole hart; R. In fasting weeping and mourning: V. That we may humble our souls in prayer; R. And redeem our sins with alms: V. That we may root out our vices with contrary virtues; R. And bring forth fruits agreeable to penance: V. Hear us, O merciful Lord, when we pray for our selus; R. Hear us, when we pray for others: V. Remember the Congregation thou hast possessed from the beginning; R. Defend and govern and increase it for ever. V. Give to thy Priests the spirit of knowledge; R. The spirit of holiness and zeal and wisdom: V. Give to thy People the spirit of docility; R. The spirit of obedience, devotion, and charity: V. Reveal thyself, O Lord, to those who never knew thee; R. And bring home those who have gone astray from thee: V. Preserve we beseech thee our King and Council; R. And bless all the people of this Nation: V. Bless us with health and peace and plenty; R. And make us use them with sobriety, gratitude and charity: V. Reward, O Lord, our kindred, friends and benefactors; R. And forgive our enemies, and all that hate us: V. Comfort those that mourn, and are oppressed with their afflictions; R. Or labour under the burden of a troubled mind: V. Relieve the poor who have none to help them; R. And defend the cause of the fatherless and widow: V. Strengthen those who languish on the beds of their sickness; R. And those who struggle in the agony of death: V. Have mercy on the Faithful departed in thy grace; R. Have mercy on all the world, and bring us to thy glory. V. O Lord hear our prayers: R. And let our supplications come to thee. Let us pray. O God who by thy holy Doctrine hast taught us to fast, and watch, and pray, and by thy blessed Example powerfully engaged us to follow thy steps: vouchsafe us, we beseech thee, thy grace, so to mortify our bodies, by withdrawing the fuel from our unruly passions, and reducing our immoderate sleep to the measures of necessary refreshment, that our minds may the better be disposed for prayer and meditation, devoutly to celebrate here the Fasts and Festivals of thy Church, and eternally to rejoice with Thee hereafter in the Kingdom of thy glory, where with the Father and the holy Ghost thou livest and reignest One God world without end. Amen. O Lord hear, etc. as page 45. These Versicles, Responses and Prayers, are said kneeling, at the end of Vespers, on all Fasting days throughout the year. Friday Complin. OUr help is in, etc. as page 46 Antiph. In peace will we sleep and take our rest; for thou, O Lord, hast particularly established us in hope. Psal. LXXVI. COme let us now call off our thoughts; from ranging abroad where they but lose themselves: Let us diligently examine the accounts of our time; and sum up the profit we have made to day; What have we gained by all we have seen or heard? since nothing so barren, ●●ut may yield some fruit: Had we the art to cultivate it right; and fitly apply it to our own advantage: If we have spied some good example; which our gracious God presents to excite us: Did we immediately entertain the motion; and resolve in our hart effectively to follow it? If we have fallen among vicious company; which O, too often engages into folly: Did the danger increase our care; and the sin of others breed virtue in us? We have heard perhaps some melancholy news; of sudden sicknesses, or unexpected deaths: But do we fear to be surprised our selus; and provide betimes for that day of trial? We meet with accidents enough to disparage this world; but do we really feel it lose credit in our hearts? Does our esteem of the other grow strong and high; and every one faithfully tell his own soul? 'Tis not in this poor world thou must expect content; nor hope to enjoy a perfect rest: Order thy whole affairs with utmost skill; and, which is seldom seen; let all succeed: Still thou shalt find something to trouble thee; and even thy pleasures will be tedious to thee: Where e'er thou goest, still crosses will follow thee; since, where e'er thou goest, thou carriest thyself: Who then, my God, is truly happy? or rather who comes nearest happiness? He that with patience resolus to suffer * what e'er his endeavours are not able to avoid: Happy yet more is he that delights to suffer; and glories to be like his crucified Saviour: When thou art come to this my soul; that thy crosses seem sweet for the love of JESUS: Think then thyself sublimely happy; for sure thou hast found a heaven upon earth: At least, the best heaven this earth can afford; and take it as a pledge of a better to come. Glory be, etc. Psal. LXXVII. MY soul, when thou art thus retired alone; and fitly disposed for quiet thoughts: Never let the greatness of another molest thy peace; nor his prosperous condition make thee repine: Say not in thy hart, had I that fair estate; or were entrusted with so high a place: I should know how to contrive things better; and never commit such gross mistakes. Tell me, how dost thou manage thine own employments: and fit the little room thou hold'st in the world? If thou hast leisure, art thou not idle; and spendest thy precious time in unprofitable follies? If thou art busy, art thou not so too much; and leav'st no time to provide for thy soul? Do thy riches make thee wise; and generously assist the innocent poor? Does thy poverty make thee humble; and faithfully labour for thy little family? Dost thou in every state give thanks to heaven; and contentedly subscribe it's severest decrees? Canst thou rejoicingly say to God; * O my adored Creator! I am glad my lot is in thy hands? Thou art all wisdom, and seest my wants; Thou art all Goodness, and delightest to relieve me: Under thy Providence I know I am safe; what ever befalls me, thou guid'st to my advantage: If thou wilt have me obscure and low; thy blessed will, not mine, be done: If thou wilt load my back with crosses; and embitter my days with grief or sickness: Still may thy blessed will, O Lord, be done; still govern thy creatures in thine own best way: Place where thou pleasest thy other favours; but secure to my soul a portion in thy love: Take what thou wilt of the things thou hast lent me; but leave in my hart the possession of thyself: Let others be preferred, and me neglected; let their affairs succeed, and mine miscarry: Only, one thing I humbly beg; and may my gracious God Vouchsafe to grant it: Cast me not away from thy presence for ever; nor wipe my name out of the book of life: But my eternal hopes; let them remain; and still grow quicker as they approach their end. Glory be, etc. Psal. LXXVIII. MY thoughts, run o'er the passages you have met to day; or rather forget such impertinent things: What have we seen but distracting vanities? and what brought home but unprofitable fancies. How often have we felt our minds disturbed! how often endangered by unhappy accidents! Sometimes we frowardly throw our selves down; and, like sullen children, will not stand: Sometimes the tempest throws us down; and, like weak children, we cannot stand: Yet are we venturing still among the snares; enticed by the appearance of some present delight: We weary our selus with running after flies; which are hard to catch, and trifles when they are caught: This we pursue, and follow that; but nothing we mee●● can fill our hearts; Till we have found out Thee, O gracious Lord! our only full all-satisfying Good: Till we have found out Thee, not by a dark belief; but clearly, as thou art in thine own bright Self: Remember, O my soul, this truth of the world we live in; which our own experience too evidently proves: The eye is not filled with seeing its varieties; nor the ear with hearing all its harmony: Remember this truth of the world we hope; made sure to our faith by the word of JESUS: The eye has not seen such beauteous glories; nor has the ear heard such ravishing charms: Nor can the hart itself conceive such incredible joys; as our God has provided for them that love him: As our Blessed JESUS has purchased for his servants, and even for Thee, my soul, to crown thy patience: Wherefore in peace lay down thy head; and rest secure in the protection of thy God: Whose mercy so graciously has singled. Thee out; and so strongly established on himself thy hope. Glory be, etc. Antiph. In peace will we sleep and take our rest, for thou, O Lord, hast particularly established us in hope. Hymn XXIV. 'tIs not for us, and our proud hearts, O mighty Lord! to choose our parts; But act well what Thou giv'st: 'Tis not in our weak power to make One step o'th' way we undertake; Unless Thou us releev'st. What Thou hast given, Thou canst take, And when Thou wilt, new gifts canst make; All flows from Thee alone: When Thou didst give it, it was Thine; When thou retookst it, 'twas not mine: Thy will in all be done. It might perhaps too pleasant prove, Too much attractive of my love; So make me less love Thee: Some things there are; thy Scriptures say, And reason proves that heaven and they Do seldom well agree. Lord! let me then sit calmly down, And rest contented with my own; That is, what Thou allow'st: Keep thou my mind serene and free, Often to think on heaven and Thee; And what thou there bestowest. There let me have my portion Lord! There all my losses be restored; No matter what falls here: Is't not enough that we shall sing, And love for ever our blessed King; Whose goodness brought us there? Great God, as Thou art One, may we With one another all agree; And in thy praise conspire; May Men and Angels join and sing Eternal Hymns to Thee their King; And make up all one Quire. Capit. 6 Galat. GOd forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord JESUS Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world: For in Christ JESUS neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision; but a new Creature: and whoever shall follow this rule, peace on them, and mercy, and on the Israel of God. Antiph. Consider; O my soul, and see that nothing can happen unprofitable to those who know how to use it; and reality seek, by tempering right their minds, to build them up in true Virtue. V. Day to day utters words of instruction: R. And night to night affords Science. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our Supplications come to thee. Let us pray. O God whose provident mercy makes every day a new branch of the tree of Knowledge to us, whence the Evening may gather fresh variety of wholesome fruit, for the nourishment of souls, whose digestion by grace has sanctifyd by feeding on the tree of life, the Cross of JESUS! Grant, we humbly beseech Thee, that no experience of good or evil which this day has afforded, may be lost on us; but what e'er of moment has happened to our selus or others, may by seasonable and minute rumination, be fitted, to render us more skilful in discerning the true value and use of this state, in all its postures; and stronger, to sacrifice up, with our Saviour, our whole Concerns and Being here, to thy Will, and the sole advance of thy glory, which at length will surely crown thy Servants with immortal Blyss, through our Lord— Vouchsafe as Pag 54 to the end. Saturday MATINS. Introduction, as page 1. Invitatory. Come let's adore our Victorious Redeemer. Come let's adore our Victorious Redeemer. Psal. LXXIX. COme all you Powers of my delivered soul, and pay your homage to the Prince of our salvation: cast your unworthy selus at his sacred feet; and renew your vows of following his steps. Come let's adore our Victorious Redeemer. He triumphed over death in his own body; and enables us to conquer it in ours; imparting to us his heavenly skill; and provoking our courage with infinite rewards. Come let's adore our Victorious Redeemer. He changed the corrupted government of the world; and established a new and holy Law: that as we were vassals to sin before, we might now become the free subjects of grace. Come let's adore our victorious Redeemer. Let us live and die in his blessed obedience; and no temptation ever separate us from him: who, if we resist, will make us overcome; and, when we have overcome, will crown us with peace. Come let's adore our victorious Redeemer. Glory be, etc. As it was, etc. Come let's adore our victorious Redeemer. Come let's adore our victorious Redeemer. Hymn XXV. LOrd, we again lift up our eyes, And leave our slugish beds: But why we wake, or why we rise, Comes seldom in our heads. Is it to sweat and toil for wealth, Or sport our time away; That thou preservest us still in health, And giv'st us this new day? No, no, unskilful soul, not so; Be not deceived with toys: Thy Lords commands more wisely go, And aim at higher joys. They bid us wake to seek new grace, And some fresh virtue gain: They call us up to mend our pace, Till we the prize attain. That glorious prize for which all run, Who wisely spend their breath: Who when this weary life is done, Are sure of rest in death. Not such a rest as here we prove, Disturbed with cares and fears: But endless joy, and peace, and love, Unmixed with grief and tears. Glory to Thee, O bounteous Lord! Who giv'st to all things breath: Glory to Thee, Eternal Word! Who sav'st us by thy death. Glory, O blessed Spirit, to Thee, Who fill'st our souls with love: Glory to all the mystic Three, Who reign one God above. Antiph. This is, alas, the land of the Dying; but we hope to see the glory of God, in the land of the Living. Psal. LXXX. PRostrate before thy Tomb, O Lord; behold we freely confess our misery: And, in the lowliest posture of afflicted Pilgrims, humbly implore thy mercy: Peacefully in the grave thy body reposed; and thy soul went triumphing to redeem thy Captives: But we, alas thy helpless orphans; how are we left in the midst of our enemies! To how many dangers is our life exposed! with how many tentations are we round besieged! Tentations in meat, tentations in drink; tentations in conversing, tentations in solitude: Tentations in business, tentations in leisure; tentations in riches, tentations in poverty: All our ways are strewed with snares; and even our own senses conspire against us: Whether, O my God, shall our poor souls go; encompassed with a body so frail, and a world so corrupt? Whether, but to Thee, the Justifier of sinners; and to thy grace, the Sustainer of the weak: Thy grace instructs us what we ought to do; and breeds in us the will to endeavour what we know: Thy grace enables us to perform our resolus; and, when all's done, thy grace must give the success: Govern us with this thy grace, O Eternal Wisdom! and direct our steps in the safe way: Order every chance, to prevent our falling; and still lead us on towards our happy end: Give us the ey and wing of an eagle; to see our danger, and fly swiftly away: If we must needs engage our Enemy; and no means left to escape the encounter: Strengthen us, O Lord, to persevere with courage; that we never be wanting in our fidelity to Thee: Convince us, Blessed JESUS, into this firm judgement; and may our memories faithfully retain it: What ever our senses say to deceive us; or the world to obscure so beauteous a truth: That Thyself alone art our chiefest good; and the sight of thy glory our supreme felicity. Glory be, etc. Antiph. This is, alas, the land of the Dying; but we hope to see the glory of God, in the land of the Living. Antiph. Well done, thou good and faithful servant: I gave thee two talents, and thou hast gained two more; enter into thy Master's joy: Psal. LXXXI. HAppy are they, O Lord, who have so much employment; that there remains no room for idle thoughts: Happy are they who have so little business; that they want not space to attend their souls: Happy yet more are they, who in the midst of their work, * can think sometimes of the wages above: Whom nothing diverts from that chief concern * of seeking to make their election sure: But, while their backs are bowed down with labour, they freely can raise up their minds to heaven. And, while they are tied to their beds with sickness, can yet move on towards their eternal rest: Often they rejoice with themselves alone; and silently say in their contented hearts: Here we, alas, are narrowly confined; and our time entertained with trivial affairs: But hereafter we expect an unbounded enlargement; and the same glorious office with the blessed Angels: Here we are subject to a thousand miseries; and the most prosperous life is vain and short: But hereafter we expect an infinity of joy; and the solid pleasures of heaven for ever. We, too, O gracious Lord, who now adore Thee; and in thy presence sing these holy words: We humbly pray thee guide us in the middle path; that we never decline to any vicious extreme: Deliver us from the stormy sea of business; and the dead water of a slothful life: Lest we be cast away by forgetting thee; or become corrupted by neglecting our selus: Make us, sometimes at least, recollect our thoughts; how much soever our condition distract us: Make us look up with confidence in our God; how low soever our afflictions depress us: Make us look up to the eternal mountains; and feed our souls on this sweet hope: The day will come, when, out of this dark world, * we shall joyfully ascend to that beauteous light: The day will come and cannot be far off; when we shall rest for ever in the bosom of blyss. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Well done thou good and faithful servant, I gave thee two talents, and thou hast gained two more; enter into thy Master's joy: Antiph. Well done thou good and faithful servant: I gave thee five talents, and thou hast gained five more; enter into thy Master's joy. Psal. LXXXII. HAppiest of all, O Lord, are they, * whose very business is thy service: Who not only bestow an interrupted glance; but steadyly fix their eyes on Thee: Who not only visit thy house sometimes; but night and day dwell in thy presence: If the Sun rise, it finds them at their prayers; and, when it sets, leaves them at the same sweet task; Every place is a Church to them; and every day a holy Sabaoth. Every object an occasion of Piety; and every accident an exercise of virtue: Do they behold the beauteous stars; they presently adore their great Creator: Do they look down on the fruitful earth; they instantly begin to praise his bounty: Let War or Peace do what they will; and the inconstant world reel up and down: They pass through all as unconcerned; and smoothly go on their regular course: Looking still up to that glorious life above; and entertaining this present in hope and solitude: If they depart sometimes from their proper centre; and forsake a while their belov'd retirement: 'Tis to approach, and give light to others; and inflame some cold or ●●ukewarm hart: While they are thus abroad, their minds are at home with Thee; and nothing can divide them from thy dear presence: Yet do they wisely make haste to return; and enjoy Thee alone in their little Cell: There Thou receiv'st them as familiar friends; and freely admit'st them to thy secret sweetness: Thou giv'st them a taste from thine own full board; and overflow'st their hearts with the wine of gladness: Often they feel a little beam from heaven * strike gently, and fill their breasts with light: Often that gentle light is kindled into a flame; and chastely burns with pure desires. Desires that still mount up. and aim at Thee; * the supernatural centre of all their hopes: O happy state of reverend Discipline! free from the cares and tumults of this world: Free from the dangerous allurements of sin; and perpetually solicited with engagements to virtue: Where they seldom fall, and quickly rise; and make swift advances in the way to heaven: Where they live in purity, and die with confidence; and go to sing among the Quires of Angels. Blessed Providence! who governest all things in perfect wisdom; and assign'st to every one his proper place: If Thou hast pleased to dispose our lives, * in circumstances less favourable than these: O let thy powerful hand supply our wants * and lead us on in our low path: That, at least, afar off we may follow them, * who strive to tread so near thy steps: So shall we too, though slowly, arrive, * at the rich inheritance of that holy Land: So shall we gladly enter those blissful gates; and dwell for ever in the City of peace. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Well done thou good and faithful servant: I gave thee five talents, and thou hast gained five more; enter into thy Master's joy. Our Father:— First Lesson. HAve thy thoughts in the precepts of God; and let thy chief business be his Commandments. Deliver him that suffers injury, out of the hands of the proud; and be not faint-hearted when thou sittest in judgement. Be merciful to Orphans as a father, and as a husband to their mother: and thou shalt be as the obedient Son of the Highest; and he will have mercy on thee more than a mother: He that calumniates the poor, upbraids his Maker; but he honours Him that pities the necessitous. The wicked shall be cast out in his malice; but the just has hope in his death. Our Lord will not accept any person against the poor; and will hear the prayer of him that is injured. He will not despise the prayer of the Fatherless; nor the widow when she powers out her words of complaint. Do not the Widow's tears run down her cheeks; and is not her cry against him that causes them●● but from the cheek they go up to heaven; and our Lord who hears them will not be pleased. Turn not away thine eyes in anger from the poor; nor give him occasion to curse thee behind thy back: for the prayer of him that curses thee in the bitterness of his soul shall be heard; He that made him shall hear him. Remember not every wrong of thy neighbour; nor do any thing by injurious practices. If thine enemy be hungey, give him bread to eat; and if he thirst, give him water to drink: for thou shalt heap ●●ot coals on his head; and our Lord will reward thee. Contemn not the just man that is poor; nor magnify the sinful that is rich. The Great, and the Judge; and the mighty are in honour; but there's none greater than he that fears God. R. Lord, with what admirable wisdom dost thou govern the world! Thou mak'st the poor, and appoint'st them their task of innocent work; Thou mak'st the rich, and giv'st them leisure for their better improvement; and both poor and rich, to need and help one another. * O give us hearts to comply with this thy blessed design; that every one may strive for the good of all. One God created us; one Saviour redeemed us, one holy spirit sanctified us, that we all may live in love and unity & mutual assistance: * O give us— Second Lesson. BE not eager to grow rich, but use moderation in thy endeavours. Wealth hastily gotten shall be diminished; but that which is gathered with the hand by little and little shall be multiplied. Lift not thine eyes to the riches which thou canst not have; for they make themselves wings as of an Eagle, and fly into the Ayr. Let not thy hart envy siners▪ but be always in the fear of our Lord: then shalt thou hope in the later end, and thy expectation shall not be disappointed. A deceitful balance is an abomination to God; and an equal weight is his delight. There's nothing more wicked then to love money; for he that does so will set even his soul to sale. Riches will not profit in the day of wrath; but justice shall deliver from death. The j●●stice of the righteous shall deliver them; and the unjust shall be caught in their deceitful practices: the justice of the simple shall guide his way; and the wicked shall fall in his own impiety. Better is a dry morsel with joy, than a house full of victims with brawling. Better is a poor man walking in his simplicity, than the rich in crooked ways. Sweet is the labourer's sleep, whether he eat much or little; but the satiety of the rich suffers him not to sleep. Some who have nothing, are as if they were rich, and others who abound in wealth are as if they were poor. Some give of their own, and become richer; others take what's not their own, and are always in want. The sincerity of the just shall direct them; and the deceitfulness of the perverse shall destroy them. R. Give me, O thou sweet Disposer of all things! give me neither beggary nor riches; but only things necessary for my sustenance: * Lest perhaps being full, I be allured to deny thee; and say, who is the Lord? or, compelled by want, steal, and forswear the name of my God: or rather, dearest Lord, give me what thou pleasest; since Thyself hast taught me now a more perfect Lesson, to submit entirely my will to Thine: only I still may beg, that in all my ways thy Providence govern me, and in all my temptations thy grace preserve me; * Lest— Third Lesson. 'TIs better to go to the house of mourning, then to the house of banqueting: for in that the end of all men is signified, and he that is alive thinks what hereafter he shall be. All flesh shall wax old as grass: and as leavs growing on a green tree, some bud forth, and others fall off; so is the generation of flesh and blood; one is buried and another is born. If a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; he must remember the darksome time, and those many days, which when they come, the things that are past shall be reproved of vanity. Rejoice therefore, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy mind be cheerful; walk in the ways of thine hart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know, for all these God will bring thee to Judgement. Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth; before the time of aff●●ction come, and the years approach of which thou shalt say, They please me not. Before the dust return to its earith, from whence it came; and the spirit to God who gave it. Of making many books there is no end; and much study is weariness to the flesh: Let us hear the Conclusion of all: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. R. In all thy works remember thy last end, when thou must bid a long farewell to all this world: remember that dreadful day of the universal Judgement, when thou must give account for every idle word; * And thou shalt not sin for ever. Remember the joys prepared for the innocent, and the miseries that attend the wicked: Remember how nearly it concerns thy soul, to have a good or bad eternity; * And Thou— Glory be, etc. * And thou— Pause a while to ref●●ect, and renew: Then— Saturday laud's. O God incline, etc. as page 18. Antiph. When thou hadst overcome the sting of death; thou open'dst the kingdom of heaven to all Believers. Psal. LXXXIII. IF we rejoiced for our selus, in the sufferings of our Lord; let us now rejoice for Him, that his sufferings are ended: Now that the fowler's net is broken; and the meek and innocent Dove escaped: Now that the cup of bitterness is passed away; and never possible to return again. Never again, O dearest JESUS, shall those blessed eyes weep; nor thy holy soul be sorrowful to death: Never shall thy precious life be subject any more * to the bloody malice of ambitious hypocrites: Never shall thy innocence any more be exposed * to the barbarous fury of an ingrateful multitude: But thou shalt live and reign for ever; and all created nature perpetually adore Thee: O happy end of well endured afflictions! O blessed fruits that spring from the Cross of JESUS! Look up my soul, and see thy crucified Lord * sit gloriously enthroned at the right hand of his Father. Behold the ragged purple now turned into a robe of light; and the scornful reed into a royal Sceptre: The wreath of thorns is grown into a sparkling diadem; and all his scars polished into brightness. His tears are all now changed into joy; and the laughter of his persecuters into sad despair: Herod long since perished in miserable contempt; and Pilate still trembles with everlasting fears: The impenitent Jews are scattered o'er the world; to attest his truth and their own obdurate blindness: But Himself is crowned with eternal Triumphs; and the souls he has redeemed shall sing his victories for ever: Live glorious King of men and Angels; live happy Conqueror of sin and death: Our praises shall always attend thy Cross; and our patience endeavour to bear our own: Through fiercest dangers our faith shall follow Thee; and nothing wrest from us our hope at last to see Thee: We'll fear no more the sting of death; nor be frighted at the darkness of the grave: Since thou hast changed our grave into a bed of rest; and made death itself but a passage into life: We'll love no more the pleasures of vanity; nor set our hearts on unsatisfying riches: Since Thou hast opened Paradise again; and purchased for us the kingdom of heaven. Glory be, etc. Psal. LXXXIV. BLessed be thy Name, O holy JESUS! and blessed be the mercy of thy Providence: Who hast cast our lot in these times of grace: and designed our birth in the days of light: When we may clearly see our ready way; and directly go on to our glorious end: Till Thou appearedst, O Thou only light of the world! our miserable earth lay covered with darkness: Till thou wentest away, O thou sovereign Lord of life! thy Saints sat expecting in the shades of death: The kingdom of heaven was close shut up; and none permitted to behold thy glory: Soon as thine own afflictions were ended; thou communicatedst thy joys to all the world: All that esteemed so blest a sight, and stood prepared to entertain thy coming: As for the rest, whose eyes are shut; or turned away by their own malice: Thy presence, alas, yields no more joy; then light to those who will not see: But the hearts that love Thee Thou fill'st with gladness; and overflow'st them with an ocean of heavenly delights: Come happy souls, to whom belongs * so fair a title to all these mercies: Come, let us now raise up our thoughts; and continually medi●●ate our future beatitude: Let us comfort our labours with the hope of rest; and our sufferings with the expectance of a quick reward: Now that the hand of our gracious Lord * has unlocked the gates of everlasting blyss: Now that they stand wide open to admit * such as press on with their utmost strength: Such as have wisely made choice of heaven * for the only end and business of their life: Rejecting all these false allurements; to attend the pursuit of true felicity. O Blessed JESUS, our hope, our strength; and the full rewarder of all thy servants! As thou hast freely prepared for us ready wages; so, Lord, let thy grace enable us to work: Make us direct our whole life to Thee; and undervalue all things compared with thy love: Seal thou our eyes to the illusions of this world; and open them upwards to thy solid glories: That when our earthly tabernacle shall be dissolved; and this house of clay fall down into the dust: We may ascend to Thee, and dwell above; in that Building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Glory be, etc. Psal. LXXXV. PRaise our Lord, O you children of men! praise Him as the Author of all your hopes: Praise our Lord, O you Blessed of heaven! praise Him as the Finisher of all your joys: Sing, O you reverend Patriarches, and holy Prophets! sing Hymns of glory to the great Messias: Sing and rejoice all you Ancient Saints; who so long reposed in the bosom of Abraham: Bring forth your best and purest incense; and humbly offer it at the Throne of the Lamb: The Lamb that was slain from the beginning of the world; by the sprinkling of whose blood you all were saved: O still sing on the praises of the King of peace; and bless for ever his victorious mercy: 'Twas he dissolved the power of darkness; and broke asunder the bars of death: 'Twas He came down to visit your prisons; and lead you away out of the shades of sorrow: How did your glad eyes sparkle with joy; to see at last your Desired Redeemer! How were your spirits transported with delight; to behold the splendours of his glorious presence! His presence that can quickly turn * the saddest night into a cheerful day: That can change a dungeon into a house of mirth; and make every place a Paradise: O glorious Presence! when shall our souls be filled * with strong and constant desires of enjoying Thee? When, dearest JESUS! shall our desires be filled * with the everlasting fruition of thy Blessed self? Henceforth for Thee and for thy sacred love; O Thou great and only Comfort of our souls? May all afflictions be welcome to us; as wholesome physic to correct our follies: May the pleasures of the world be rejected by us; as dangerous fruits that fill us with diseases: May we, by thy example, neither fear to die; nor refuse the labours of this life: But while we live obey thy grace; that, when we die, we may enjoy thy glory. Glory be, etc. Antiph. When thou hadst overcome the sting of death, Thou opend'st the Kingdom of heaven to all believers. Capit. 2. Pet. 3. TAke heed lest, being led aside by the error of the unwise, you fall away from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord JESUS Christ: to Him be glory, both now, and to the day of Eternity. Amen. Hymn XXVI. MY God, to Thee our selves we owe, And to Thy bounty, all we have: Behold to Thee our praises bow, And humbly thy acceptance crave. If we are happy in a friend, That very friend 'tis Thou bestowest: His power, his will, to help our end, Is just so much as thou allow'st. If we enjoy a free estate, Our only Title is from Thee: Thou mad'st our lot to bear that rate, Which else an empty blank would be. If we have health, that wel-tuned ground, Which gives the Music to the rest: It is by Thee our air is sound, Our food secured, our physic blest. If we have hope one day to view The glories of thy blissful face: Each drop of that refreshing dew Must fall from heaven and thy free grace: Thus then to Thee our praises bow, And humbly thy acceptance crave: Since 'tis to Thee our selves we owe, And to thy bounty all we have. Glory: to Thee, great God, alone; Three persons in one Deity: As it has been in ages gone; May now, and still for ever be. Antiph: 'Tis consummated; Thou hast, O JESUS, overcome in thy Body all the Powers of darkness: their hour is past; but thy souls eternal blyss remains; and, Behold, That of thy triumphant Resurrection approaches: V. Be not afraid of those who kill the body: R. And after that have no more they can do. O Lord hear our Prayers: And let our Supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, who hast submitted thy only Son, our Saviour JESUS, to expire on the Cross, and descend into the grave, that he might destroy the life of sin, and bury the terrors of death! grant, we beseech Thee, they may never revive, or rise again to tempt or fright us, from the ways of virtue; nor shake this sure and fundamental truth, which thy grace has laid in our hearts, That the greatest mischiefs our salvation can cost us here are but momentary, and work above measure exceedingly in us an eternal weight of glory, through the same our Lord— Commemorations as Page 29. to the end. Saturday Vespers. OUr Father, etc. as Page 33. Antiph. They who use this world, let them be as if they ●●s'd it not: for the figure of this world passes away. Psal. LXXXVI. WHy do we still pursue this world; and so eagerly seek its fond enjoyments? A world of vanity and false deceits; a world of misery and sad disasters: Whose crosses are solid and comforts empty; whose sorrows are permanent and delights pass quickly away: A world where the innocent are condemned with shame; and the guilty freed with applause. Where often the wicked are advanced to honour; and the virtuous oppressed with disgrace: Where friends fall off and kindred forget; and every one minds his private interest. Yet are we taken with this crooked world; and blindly court its painted face: We make some ugly passion mistress of our hart; and neglect the pure and amiable love of JESUS: Whose goodness to us gives us all we have; whose perfections in himself are more than we can conceive. Thou art, O glorious JESUS, the beauty of Angels; and the everlasting joy of all thy Saints: Thou art the heay'n of heaven itself; and in thy sight alone is the fullness of Blyss. All this thou art, and infinitely more; and yet, alas, how few esteem thee! The world, we dearly know, too often has deceived us; and our rashness cares not to be undone again: Thou never, O JESUS, hast failed our hope; and our dulness fears to rely on Thee: The world distracts and embroils our spirits; and wretched we delight in our misery: Thou always, O JESUS, fil'st our hearts with peace; and senseless we are weary of thy happiness: The world calls, and we faint in following it; thou callest, and we are still relieved by Thee: Yet is our nature so ingratefully perverse; we run after that which tires, and abandon that which refreshes: Sometimes our lips speak gloriously of Thee; O Thou living fountain of eternal Blyss! Some happy times we relish thy sweetness; and decry aloud the poison of the world: But we are soon enticed by its guilded cup; and easily forsake the waters of life: O Blessed JESUS, who took'st upon thee all our frailties; to bestow on us thine own perfections: Teach us to prise the joys of heaven; and part with all things else to purchase Thee: Make all the pleasures of this life, seem b●●tter to our tastes; as they are indeed pernicious to our healths: Let not their flatteries any more delude us; nor superfluous cares perplex our minds: But may our chief delight be to think on Thee; and all our study to grow in thy love. Glory be, etc. Antiph. They who use this world, let them be as if they used it not: for the figure of this world passes away. Antiph. We by a fond self-love blame every thing but our selus; while nothing can hurt us, but our own misplaced affections. Psal. LXXXVII. ALl this is true, and yet the world is loved; and our nature inclines to affect its vanities: 'Tis loved, and so it justly deservs; did we understand its real value: Our life indeed seems mean and trivial; and all things about us troublesome and dangerous: Yet, O my God, is their consequence excellent in this; that they are our only way of coming to Thee: This world, and this alone's the womb that breeds us; and brings us forth to see thy light: This is alone the proper Machine, wherein thy hand has set our lives: To learn the art of managing it right; and wind up ourselves to thy glorious heaven. O that we had that happy skill; how soon would every thing help forward to advance us! Whether we eat or drink, or what ever else * an innocent hand can undertake: If we regard our faithful end; and order all to the improvement of our minds: They instantly change their secular name; and deservedly are preferred to become religious: Riches themselves and imperious honour * have not so perverse and fixed a malice: But a prudent use converts them to piety; and makes them fit instruments of highest Blyss: Our very delights, O the Goodness of our God may so be tempered with a wise alloy: That his mercy accounts them as parts of our duty; and fails not to give them their full reward. While they are entertained for the health of our bodies, or the just refreshement of our wearied spirits: And both our bodies and spirits constantly applied * to gain new degrees of the love of heaven. Thus, gracious Lord, every moment of our lives * may still be climbing up towards Thee: Thus may we still proceed in thy service; even then when we most of all serve our selus: And then indeed it is we best serve our selus; when we are busiest in what we call thy service: Thou sweetly vouchsaf'st to style th●●t thy glory; which in very truth is nothing but our interest: Thou kindly complainest we dishonour thy Name; when we only mischief our own souls: O Blesses JESUS, King of clemency; and great Rewarder of every little grace! Thou who by all we can do pretendest no gain; but bestowest on us all thyself hast done: Thou who cam'st down from heaven to show us a pattern; and mad'st us free to work for our own profit: Instruct our gratitude to consecrate all to Thee; since all by thy bounty will redound to ourselves. Glory be, etc. Antiph. We by a fond self love blame every thing but our selus; while nothing can hurt us but our own misplaced affections. Antiph. It is decreed for all men once to die; and after death, Judgement. Psal. LXXXVIII. THis life indeed is the way we must walk; but this alone cannot bring us to our end: Ere we arrive at our appointed home; we must be led through the gates of death: Where we shall absolutely be stripped of all we have; and carry nothing with us but what we are: Where we not only must quit the whole world; but leave behind us even part of our selus: Hast thou, my soul, seen some Neighbour die? and dost thou remember those circumstances of sorrow? We are sure, the case ere long, will be our own; and are not sure but it may be very soon: Have we our selus been dangerously sick? and do we remember the thoughts we had then? How we resolved to correct our passions; and strive against the vices that particularly endanger us: 'Twill come to this again, and no reprieve be found, * stay one single minute the hand of death: But he immediately will seize upon us; and bear us away to the region of spirits: There to be ranged in our proper place; as the course of our life has qualified us here. Nor is this all, to expire and die; and dwell for a time in a state of separation: We must expect another Day; a day of public accounts and restiution of all things: When the Archangel shall sound his trumpet; and proclaim aloud this universal summons: Arise you dead, and come to Judgement; arise and appear before the Throne of God: Then shall the little heaps of dust immediately awake; and every soul put on her proper body: Immediately all the children of Adam shall be gathered together; from heaven and hell and every corner of the earth. There they must stand, and all attend their doom; but O with how sad and fatal a difference! The Just shall look up with a cheerful confidence; and in their new white robes triumph and sing, Alleluia, let us rejoice, for the marriage of the Lamb is come; and his Bride has prepared herself: Let us rejoice, for the Kingdom of the world is made our Lords and his Christ's; and He shall reign for ever and ever: Let us rejoice, for now our Redeemer is nigh; behold he comes quickly, and his reward is with him: Come, come, Lord JESUS, thou long Desire of our hearts; come quickly, thou full Delight of our Souls: Come, and declare to all the world thy glory; come, and reward before all the world thy servants: Lo, where aloft he comes in power and Majesty; attended with a train of innumerable Angels: Behold where he sits enthroned on the wings of Cherubins; and takes at once a view of all mankind: Soon he commands his Angels to sever his Sheep; and gather them together on his right hand: First then to them he turns his glorious face; and shines upon them with these ravishing words: Come you Blessed of my Father, possess the Kingdom * prepared for you from the beginning of the world: O the joys their souls shall feel; when those heavenly words sound in their ears! Joys that the wit of man cannot conceive; joys, that the tongues of Angels cannot express. Let it suffice, themselves shall taste their own felicity; and feed on its sweetness for ever. But O, with what dejected eyes and trembling hearts, * shall the wicked stand expecting their Judg: What shall they do when, wherever they look, * their ey can meet with nothing but despair? Above, the offended Judge ready to condemn them; below, the bottomless pit gaping to devour them: Within, the worm of conscience knawing their bowels; and round about all the world in flames: What shall they do, when that terrible voice * shall strike them suddenly down to the bottom of hell? Go you accursed into everlasting fire, * prepared for the Devil and his Angels: The day of man is past, when siners did what they pleased; and God seemed to hold his peace: 'Tis now the day of God; when his wrath shall speak in thunder; and siners suffer what their wickedness deservs. Then shall they sink immediately into the pit of sorrow; and dwell in darkness and torments for ever: While the Just shall go up in joy and triumph; and reign with our Lord in his Kingdom for ever. Thus shall the whole Creation be finally disposed; and mercy and justice divide the world. O my soul! who now art here below; and readest these dreadful truths as things afar off: Know, thou shalt then be present, and see them with thine eyes; and be thyself concerned for all eternity: Know, as thou livest, thou art like to die; and as thou diest thou art sure to be judged: Think what a sad condition it will be, * to find thyself on the wrong hand: Think what thou then wouldst give to have repent in time; think what thou wouldst give for a little time to repent. Watch therefore now and continually pray; for we know not the hour when the Son of man will come. O Son of God and man, who cam'st in mercy to save us; bring the same mercy with thee, when thou comest to judge us! Mean while, assist us with thy heavenly grace; to stand perpetually with our accounts prepared: That we may die in the peace of God and his holy Church; and go to live with Him and his blessed Saints. Glory be, etc. Antiph. It is decreed for all men once to die; and, after death, judgement. Capit. Tytus 2. SPeak thou the things which become sound doctrine; that the aged men be sober, chaste, wise, sound in faith, in charity, in patience: likewise the aged women, that they be in holy attire, not speaking ill of others; not given to much wine, teaching good things, that they may learn the young women wisdom; to love their husbands, to love their children, to be prudent, chaste, sober, to have a care of the house, to be gentle; subject to their husbands; that the word of God be not blasphemed: Young men also exhort to be sober: Servants to be obedient to their Masters; pleasing them in every thing, not contradicting, not defrauding, but showing good fidelity in all things; that in all things they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour. Hymn XXVII. LOrd, what a pleasant life were this, If all did well their parts: If all did one another love Sincerely with their hearts! No Suits of law, no noise of war our quiet minds would fright: No fear to lose, no care to keep What justly is our right. No envious thought, no slandering tongue Would e'er disturb our peace: We should help them, and they help us, And all unkindness cease. But the Alwise chose other laws, And thought it better so: He made the world, and sure he knows What's best with it to do. 'Tis for our good, that all this ill Is suffered here below: 'tis to correct those dangerous sweets, That else would poison grow. So storms are raised to clear the air. And chase the clouds away: So weeds grow up to cure our wounds, And all our pains allay. How often, Lord, do we mistake, When we our plots design! Rule Thou hereafter thine own world, Only Thyself be mine. Or rather, Lord, let me be thine; Else I am not mine own: Give me Thyself, or take Thou me, Undone if left alone. To Thee great God of heaven and earth! Each knee for ever bow: May all thy Blessed sing above, And we adore below. Antiph. Thou giv'st us tastes of Good here; to beget and feed in us an appetite: Thou giv'st us but tastes here, to draw our affections up to thyself; whose fruition alone can fully satisfy us. V. Vain and preposterous it is to expect our Port at Sea: R. Or to look for a heaven on earth, but in hope. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee: Let us pray. O Merciful God, whose Providence disparages with shortnesses and crosses all the enjoyments of this world, to allay their temptatiousnes, and slacken their hold on our hearts! grant us grace, we beseech Thee, wisely to discern and praise Thee, for this their most beneficial nature: and since we cannot attain Thee, the heaven of heavens, but by our sole Fixure on Thyself, nor be raised to That, without a sense of dissatisfyingnes in what ever else we do or can possess; make us check and overcome the repine of flesh and blood, with juster adorations of Thy infinite mercy, for qualifying so fitly this womb of our souls, that, by its own uneasines, it more easily disposes them for a happy birth into thy blessed eternity, through our Lord— O Lord hear, etc. as page 45. Saturday Complin. OUr help is in, etc. as page 46. Antiph. Too often are we troubled about many things; when the truly necessary is but One. Psal. LXXXIX. REtire, O my soul, into thine own bosom; and search what thou aim'st at in all thy thoughts: Where dost thou place thy chief felicity? and whither tend thy strongest desires? Go to the Great and Prudent of the world; and learn of them to choose thy interests: Do they not there increase their estates; where they mean to spend most of their life? Do they project their Mansion seat, * in a country through which they pass as travellers? No more, my soul, should we build our best hopes, * on the sandy foundation of this perishable earth: Where, sure we are, we cannot stay long; and are not sure we may stay very little. O Thou eternal Being, who changest not; yet art the cause and end of all our changes! Who still remain'st the same rich fullness in thyself, * the same bright glory to all thy Blessed! Teach us, O Lord, to use this transitory life; as Pilgrims returning to their beloved home: That we may take what our journey requires; and not think of settling in a foreign country: But wisely forecast our treasures so; to be happy there where we must always be. Glory be, etc. Psal. XC. NOw thou hast found thy happy end; and found it the only Good that lasts for ever: Study, O my soul, to know still more; and still more value those immortal joys: Strive for so glorious a prize with thy whole force; and the utmost strainings of all thy faculties: Purchase at any rate that blessed inheritance; and wiseley neglect even all things else: All that divert thee from thy holy course; or but retard the speed of thy advance: For though the least in the kingdom of heaven be happy enough; where every Vessel is filled to the brim; yet to enlarge our capacity to the least higher degree * deservs the busiest diligence of our whole life. Shall the industious Bee endure no rest; but fly and sing and labour all the day? Shall the unwearied Ant be running up and down; to fetch and carry a few grains of corn? And we, for whom all nature so faithfully works; and tires itself in a perpetual motion: For whom the tender providence of God, * commands even his Angels to watch and pray: For whom the adored JESUS came down from heaven; and spent a whole life in continual labours: Shall we sleep on in a drowsy sloth; and not stir a finger to help our selus? Awake my soul, and chide thy sluggish thoughts; and let their stupid folly plainly know: We have a store to provide, as well as Ants; and infinitely richer than their poor hoard: We have a work to do as well as Bees; and infinitely sweeter than all their honey: What can so noby enrich an immortal▪ soul, * as still to be gathering a stock for eternity? What can so highly delight one that every day improves; as daily to see the increase of his hope? O blessed hope! be thou my chief delight; and the only treasure I covet to lay up: Be thou the quick'ning life of all my actions; and sweet allay of all my sufferings: So shall I ne'er refuse any meanest labour; while I look to receive such glorious wages: So shall I ne'er repine at any temporal loss; whil●● I hope to gain such eternal rewards. Glory be, etc. Psal. XCI. BUt O, 'tis not so much our sloth undoes us; as the imprudent choice in applying our diligence: Many, alas, take pains enough; many perplex themselves too much: See how the busy toylers of the world * are chained perpetually like slaves to their work: How early they rise, and go late to sleep; and eat the bread of care and sorrow: See how the hardy soldiers follow their Prince, * through a thousand difficulties to meet with dangers: See how the venturous Mariners expose their lives, * over stormy Seas into barbarous Nations. And why all this, poor ill-advised wretches! but to fetch, perhaps, a little fish or spice? To gain a few pence or some petty honour; which others often share in more than your selus? O bounteous Lord, how easy are thy commands! how cheap hast thou made the purchase of heaven! Half these pains would make us Saints; half these sufferings canonize us for Martyrs: Were they devoutly undertaken for Thee; and the higher enjoyment of thy glorious promises: Thou bidst us not freeze under the Polar star; nor burn in the heats of the torrid Zone: But proposest a sweet and gentle rule; and such as our nature itself would choose; Did not our passions strangely misled us; and the world about us distract our reason: Thou bidst us but wisely love our selus; and attend above all things our own true happiness: Thou bidst us value even this world as much as it deservs; since 'tis the School that breed us up to the Other: Only we are forbidden to be wilful fools; and prefer a short vanity before eternal felicity. O the mild government of the King of heaven! this we can do, what ever else we are doing: This we can do, even while we sit still; and only move our thoughts towards Thee: Nay, than we best perform this best of works; when all our powers are quiet in Thee. Yet let not this thy facile sweetness, dearest Lord! be abused by us to a wanton neglect: But make us love Thee so much more; as Thou more discover'st the excess of thy love. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Too often are we troubled about many things; when the truly necessary is but One. Hymn XXVIII. MY soul; what's all this world to thee; This world of sin and woe: Where only sense can taste its sweets, And those unwholesome too? Truth is thy food, truth thy delight; Which cannot here be free: Thy mind was born to know and love What this life ne'er can see. Malicious world, how dost thou lay and cover thy false baits! Here, those of pleasure, there, of gain; Each for our ruin waits. Unhappy we, it is our fault; 'Tis we our life abuse: The world presents a furnished shop And we the tools misuse. So have I seen a little child, If Nurse but turn her eye; Instead of heft, take hold o'th' blade, And cut itself and cry. This little child, alas, am I; Self-willed, self-wounded too: But, Lord, turn not thy face away; Lest I myself undo. O make me still so use this world, That I the other gain: O make me so the other love, That this its end attain. It's end, to breed up souls for heaven; Then be itself new dressed: No more corruption, no more change; But one perpetual rest. To Father, Son and holy Ghost, The undivided Three, One equal glory, one same praise, Now and for ever be. Capit. Thessal. 5. THe day of our Lord shall come as a thief in the night: let us not therefore sleep as others, but watch and be sober. For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to the purchasing salvation by our Lord JESUS Christ, who died for us; that whether we wake or sleep, we may live together with Him. Antiph. We have here no permanent City; but are bound in quest of Jerusalem above, the eternal mansion of Blyss. V. Jesus came down, to give us a glimpse of it: R. And made his own life the Card to direct us to it. O Lord hear our prayers. And let our supplications come to thee. Let us pray. O God, whose eternal Providence has embarked our souls in the ship of our bodies, not to expect any port or anchorage on the Sea of this world, but steer directly through it to thy glorious Kingdom! grant we beseech Thee, that daily reflecting with what care and unwearied diligence the wretched Adventurers for all sorts of vanity pursue round about us their desperate courses; we may heartily feel our selus confounded with just reproach, who, knowing our engagement on so important a voyage, yet take so little pains to perform it. Preserve us, O Lord, from those dangerous winds that on all sides assault us, and keep the sails of our affections still duly trimmed to receive thy holy inspirations; that carried sweetly forward by the gales of thy Spirit, we may happily arrive at last in the haven of eternal salvation, through our Lord— Vouchsafe, etc. as page 54. to the end. The OFFICE of our B. SAVIOUR. Matins. Introduction, as Page 1. Christmas Invitatory. To day for us, our Lord was born, alleluia, Come let's adore Him. Newyears-day Invit. To day our Lord was Circumcised, and received the sweet name of JESUS, alleluia: Come let's adore Him. Twelfthday Invit. To day the holy Kings brought their presents to our Lord●● alleluia: Come let's adore Him. Candlemas-day Invit. To day our Ble●●ed Lord was presented in the Temple, alleluia: Come let's adore Him. Lady-day Invit. To day the Eternal WORD was made flesh: Come let's adore Him. Passion-Sunday, and Palm-Sunday Invit. To day if you will hear the voice of our Lord: harden not your hearts. Easter-day, All as in the Office for Sunday: except as in the Proper for Festivals. Invention of the Cross, Invit. To day the miraculous Cross of our Lord was found, alleluia: Come let's adore Him. Ascension. Invit. To day our glorious JESUS ascended into heaven, alleluia: Come let's adore Him. If this Office be said on any day that is not a feast of our Saviour, let the Invitatory be To day let's adore our God that redeemed us. Psal. XCII. BRing to our Lord all you his servants; bring to our Lord the sacrifice of praise: bring to our Lord all you nations of the earth; bring hymns of glory to his great Name. To day, etc. He is our God, and we his people; created by his goodness to be happy for ever: he is our Redeemer, and we his purchase; restored by his death to a better eternity. To day, etc. Let us learn of Him, and he will teach us his ways; let us follow Him, and we shall walk in the light: for the Law and its types were given by Moses; but grace and truth came by JESUS Christ To day, etc. O Come let's ascend to the house of our Lord, and celebrate this day with a holy joy: imploring his mercy for all we need, and blessing his bounty for all we have. To day, etc. Glory be, etc. As it was— To day, etc. To day, etc. Hymn XXIX. JESUS, who from thy Father's throne To this low vale of tears cam'st down, In our poor nature dressed: O may the charms of that sweet love Draw up our souls to Thee above, And fix them there to rest. JESUS, who wert with joy Conceived, With joy wert born, while no pain grieved Thy Mother's Virgin-womb: O may we breed, and bring Thee forth In our glad hearts, for all is mirth Where Thou art pleased to come. JESUS, whose high and humble birth In heaven the Angels, and on earth The faithful Shepherds sing: O may our hymns which here run low, Shoot up aloft, and fruitful grow In that eternal Spring. JESUS, how soon didst Thou begin To bleed and suffer for our sin, The Circumcizing knife! O may thy grace, by making good Our souls just caufe 'gainst flesh and blood Cut off that dangerous strife. JESUS, who took'st that heavenly Name, Thy blessed Purpose to proclaim Of saving lost mankind. O may we bow our hart and knee, Bright King of Names, to glorious Thee, and thy hid sweetness find. JESUS, who thus began'st our Blyss, Thus carriedst on our happiness; To Thee all praise be paid: O may the Great Mysterious Three For ever live, and ever be Adored, beloved, obeyed. Antiph. Blessed be the mercy of our God, who has left no way untried, that could possibly recover us. Psal. XCIII. COme now, and hear you that fear our Lord; and I will tell you what he has done for my soul: Hear, and I will tell you what he has done for yours; and the wonders of his bounty towards all the world. When we lay asleep in the shades of nothing; his mighty hand awaked us into Being: Not That of stones or plants or beasts; o'er which he has made us absolute Lords: But an accomplished body and immortal spirit; and little inferior to his glorious Angels. He printed on our souls his own similitude; and promised to our obedience his own feli●●ity. He endued us with appetites to live well and happy; and furnished us with means to satisfy those appetites: Creating a whole world to serve us here; and providing a heaven to glorify us hereafter. Thus didst thou favour us, O infinite Goodness! but we, what return did we make to Thee? Blush, O my Soul, for shame at so strange a weakness; and weep for grief at so extreme an ingratitude: We childishly preferred a trivial apple, * before the Law of our God, and the safety of our own lives: We fond embraced a little present satisfaction, * before the Pleasures of Paradise, and the eternity of heaven: Behold the unhappy source of all our miseries; which still increased it streams as they went farther on: Till they exacted, at last, a deluge of justice, * to drown their deluge of iniquity. And here, alas, had been an end of Man; a sad and fatal end of the whole world: Had not our wise Creator foreseen the danger; and in time prevented the extremity of the ru●●e: Reserving for himself a few choice plants, * to replenish the earth with more hopeful fruit. Yet they grew quickly wild, and brought forth sour grapes; and their children's teeth were set on edge. Quickly they aspired to an intolerable pride * of fortifying their wickedness against the power of heaven: Justice was now provoked to a second deluge; and to bring again a cloud o'er the earth: But mercy discovered a bow in the cloud; and our faithful God remembered his promise: Allaying their punishment with a milder sentence; and only scattering them from the place of their conspiracy: Which yet his Providence turned into a blessing, * by making it an occasion of peopling the world: Still their rebellious nature disobeyed again; and neither feared his judgements, nor valued his mercies: But with a graceless emulation propagated sin, * as far as his Goodness propagated mankind. Then he selected a private Family; and increased and governed them with a particular tenderness: Giving them a law by the hands of Angels; and engaging their obedience by a thousand favours. But they neglected too their God and heaven; and fell in love with the ways of death. When thou hadst thus, O dearest Lord! tried every remedy; and found our disease beyond all cure: When the light of nature proved too weak a guide; and the general flood too mild a correction: When the miracles of Moses could not soften their hearts; nor the law of Angels bring any to perfection: When all was reduced to this desperate state; and no imaginable hope left to recover us: Behold the eternal Wisdom finds a strange expedient; the last and highest instance of almighty love: Himself he resolus to clothe with our felsh; and come down among us, and die to redeem us. Wonder, O my soul, at the mercies of thy Lord; how infinitely transcending even our utmost wishes: Wonder at the admirable providence of his counsels; how exactly fitted to their great design: Had he been less than God, we could never have believed * the sublime Mysteries of his heavenly Doctrine: Had he been other than Man, we must needs have wanted * the powerful motive of his holy Example. Had He been only God, he could never have suffered * the least of those afflictions he so gloriously overcame: Had He been merely Man, he could never have o'ercome those infinite afflictions he so patiently suffered: O blessed JESUS, both these Thou art in thyself; be Thou both these to us: Be thou our God, and make us adore Thee; be thou our Leader, and make us follow Thee. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Blessed be the mercy of our God, who has left no means untried, that could possibly recover us. Antiph. Lord, thou not only offerest us salvation; but layest in means before hand to make us accept it. Psal. XCIV. SOon as this blessed decree was made, * of sending the Son of God to redeem mankind: Immediately his goodness was ready to come among us, had our ungracious world been ready to receive him: But we as yet were too gross and sensual; and utterly incapable of so pure a Law: We were immersed in cares and pleasures; and wholly indisposed for so perfect an obedience. While we were thus unfit for thee; O thou God of pure and perfect holiness! Thou graciously wert pleased to stay for us; and all that time prepare us for thy presence. From the beginning entertaining us with hope; and through every age confirming our faith. How early, O my God, didst thou engage to relieve us; The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpent's head? How often didst thou repeat thy promise to Abraham; In thy seed shall all the Nations of the earth be blessed? How many ways did thy mercy invent, * by unquestionable tokens to give notice of thy Coming? Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son; and his name shall be called, God with us: A branch shall shoot out of the stock of Jesse; and from the root of that branch shall spring a Flower: The Spirit of our Lord shall rest upon him; and the spirit of wisdom, and piety, and fortitude: Our Lord shall raise up a Prophet like Moses; and put his words in his mouth, and he shall teach us: And thou Bethelem who art little among the thousands of Juda, out of thee shall He come that's to be the Ruler in Israel: Whose goings forth are from the beginning; even from the days of eternity. Hark how the eternal Father introduces his Son▪ commanding first all the Angels to adore Him. Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee; Thou art my Son, and I will be thy Father: I will give Thee the Gentiles for thine inheritance; and the ends of the world for thy possession: 'Tis too little that thou raise up the Tribes of Jacob; and convert the dregs of Israel: Thou art appointed a lght for the Gentiles; and a Saviour to the utmost parts of the earth. Hark, how the ancient Prophets rejoice in the Messias; and in soft and gentle words foretell his sweetness: He shall come down as rain into a fleece of wool; and as drops of dew distilling on the earth: He shall feed his flock like a Shepherd; and gently lead those that are with young: He shall gather his lambs with his arms; and carry them in his own bosom: The bruised reed he shall not break; nor quench the smoking flax: Justice and peace shall flourish in his days; and sin and death be destroyed for ever: Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened; and the ears of the deaf be made to hear: Then shall the tongues of the dumb be loosened; and the lame man leap like a Back. Thus did thy holy Servants prophesy of Thee; thus did their children sing thy praises: Blessed be the Lord our God who alone does wonderful things; and blessed be the Name of his Majesty for ever: His dominion shall reach from sea to sea; and from the river to the end of the world: They who dwell in the wilderness shall kneel before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust: The Kings of Tharsis and the Isles shall offer him presents; the Kings of Arabia and Saba shall bring him gifts: All the Kings of the earth shall adore him; and all Nations do him service: For he shall rescue the weak from the hand of the mighty; the weak who had none to help him: He shall be favourable to the simple and the needy; and preserve the souls of the poor: He shall deliver them from usury and oppression; and their name shall be honourable in his sight: He shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Arabia; they shall adore him perpetually, and bless him all day long. O thou eternal King of heaven and earth, make good to thy servants these happy predictions: So rule us here that we obey thy grace; so favour us hereafter that we enjoy thy glory. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Lord, thou not only offerest us salvation, but layest in means before hand to make us accept it. Antiph. All's one to Thee, O mighty Love! whether joy or sorrow, so mankind be saved. Psal. XCV. 'TWas not thy joys alone, O dearest Lord! that thou inspir'dst into thy holy Prophets: But thou reveal'dst to them thy sorrows too; and commandedst them to publish them with a tender care: That they not only should speak thy words; but, the more to affect us, put on thy person. O let our eyes run down with water; and our hearts faint away with grief: While we remember the sufferings of our Lord; and hear his sad complaints: I gave my body to those that beat it; and my cheeks to those that buffeted them: I turned not away from them that reproached me; nor from them that spit on my face: My enemies whisper together, and spitefully malign me; when will he die, and his name perish? My familiar friend, who ate of my bread, * has lifted up his heel against me. But thou upheldst me, O Lord, in my integrity; and fet'st me before thy face for ever. They Compassed me about with words of malice; and fought against me without a cause: They rewarded me evil for good; and hatred for my love: I am poured forth like water; I am taken away as a shadow when it declines: My hart within me is as melted wax; and all my bones are out of joint: My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth: I'expected some to pity me, and there was none; I looked for Comforters, but I found not one. O my god, my God, how far hast thou forsaken me! thou hast brought me into the dust of death. Our fathers called to Thee, and were delivered; they trusted in Thee, and were not abandoned: But I am a worm and no man; the reproach of men, and the despised of the people: All that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, and shake their head, saying, He trusted in God that he would save him; let him deliver him, if he delight in him: Be not far from me, O Lord, my strength! for trouble is nigh, and none to help me: The Assembly of the wicked have enclosed me about; they pierce my hands and my feet: I 〈◊〉 tell all my bones; they gaze and stare upon me: They part my garments among them; and on my vesture they cast lots: They gave me gall to eat, and in my thirst vinegar to drink: All these sad things, O Lord, thy Prophets foretold, * to prepare our faith for such exorbitant truths: All these indeed they expressly foretold; but could there be found such wretches as would act them? Yes, O my God, thine own selected nation conspired against Thee; and with innumerable affronts most barbarously murdered Thee: This too, even this thy cruel death thou plainly foreshewd'st; The Inhabitants of Jerusalem shall look on me whom they crucified. But O you holy Prophets, what was the dismal cause * that shed the blood of this spotless Lamb? He had, they quickly answer, done no iniquity; nor could any fraud be found in his mouth: But he was smitten for the sins of the people; and taken away from the land of the living: He delivered up himself to death, and was numbered with the wicked; he bore the sins of many, and prayed for his transgressors: All we like sheep have gone astray; and God laid on Him the iniquity of us all: He was wounded for our offences; and bruised for our transgressions: The chastisements of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we were healed. O blessed JESUS, who took'st upon thee our infirmities, to bestow on us thy own perfections! Heal us, thou great Physician of our souls! and let us sin no more, lest a worse thing befall us: Heal us by the Mystery of thy holy Incarnation; and the meekness of thy humble Birth: Heal us by the precious blood of thy Circumcision; and the sweet and ever blessed name of JESUS: Heal us by thy gracious manifestation to the Gentiles; and the powerful influence of all thy Miracles: Heal us by the exemplary obedience of thy Presentation; and the Sovereign balsom of thy passion: Heal us by the joys of thy victorious Resurrection; and the triumph of thy glorious Ascension: Heal us by the memory of all thy Blessings; heal us by the memory of this days Mercy: Heal us thou great Physician of our souls! and let us sin no more, lest a worse thing befall us. Glory be, etc. Antiph. All's one to Thee, O mighty Love! whither joy or sorrow, so mankind be saved. Our Father, etc. First Lesson, Isa. 11. A Branch shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower rise up out of his root, and the spirit of our Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of Counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of our Lord shall replenish him. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor rebuke according to the hearing of the ears; but he shall judge the poor in justice, and rebuke for the mild of the earth in equity: he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips kill the impious. Justice shall be the Girdle of his loins, and Faith the binder of his reins. The Wolf shall dwell with the Lamb, and the Leopard lie down with the Kid; the Calf and the Lion and the Sheep shall abide together, and a little child lead them: they shall not hurt and they shall not kill in all my holy mountain; because the earth is filled with the knowledge of our Lord, as the waters cover the Sea. In that day the root of Jesse, which stands for a sign to the People; him shall the Nations beseech; and his Sepulchre shall be glorious. R. Thus holy JESUS. did the ancient Prophets foretell thy perfections, and the blessed changes thy doctrine should produce; the cruelty of the proud should be softened into meekness, and the innocence of the weak be protected by the strong; and peace and charity flourish o'er the world. * This was thy wise and gracious design to make us happy by making us holy. Thou hast planted the seeds of all these effects: O give the increase, that we may gather the fruit; defend the good, and rebuke the wicked, and fill the earth with thy knowledge; that all discord and animosity may utterly cease, and justice and equity govern our lives. * This was— Second Lesson. Heb. 1. GOd, who, in time past; diversely and many ways spoke to our Fathers in the Prophets, has last of all in these days spoken to us in his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and sustaining all things by the word of his power, having made purgation of sins, sits at the right hand of Majesty on high; being so much better than Angels as he has inherited a more excellent name above them: For to which of his Angels has he at any time said, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son: and again, when he brings in the First-begotten into the world, he says, And let all the Angels of God adore him. To the Angels indeed he says, He makes his Angel's Spirits, and his Ministers a flame of fire: but to the Son, Thy throne, O God shall be for ever and ever; the Sceptre of thy Kingdom is a Sceptre of equity; thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity, therefore has God, thy God, anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Thou in the beginning, O Lord, didst found the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands: they shall perish, but thou shalt continue, and they all shall wax old as a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; but thou art the selfsame, and thy years shall not fail. R. Live, glorious Jesus, and reign for ever, eternal King of heaven and earth; may all thy Blessed above perpetually adore thee, and all thy servants here continually praise thee: * And every tongue confess that thou, O Lord, art most high in the glory of thy Father, Alleluja. Thou wert for us obedient to death, even the death of the cross; wherefore God has exalted thee, and given thee a Name above every name, that at the Name of JESUS every knee bow, of things in heaven, of things on earth, and of things under the earth: * And every tongue— Third Lesson, Ephes. 1. BLessed be God, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual benedictions in celestial things in Christ, as he has chosen us in him before the constitution of the world, that we should be holy and immaculate in his sight in charity; who has predestinated us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he has made us gracious in his beloved Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which has exceedingly abounded in us in all wisdom and prudence; that he might make known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might restore all things in Christ which are in heaven and earth. R. Lord, what are we that thou shouldst thus regard us! thou hast chosen us in thy Son before the world began; and freely predestinated us into the adoption of thy children; thou hast made us heirs of thy kingdom, and coheirs with Christ: * O happy we, if we forfeit not these mercies; but labour by good works to make sure our election. Thou hast redeemed us by the blood of Jesus; and given us in him remission of our sins; thou hast by him revealed to us the secrets of heaven, and promised to restore us here to holiness, and replenish with our souls the vacant seats among thy glorious Angels. * O happy we— Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the holy Ghost. * O happy we, if— Te Deum. as page 16. laud's for our B. Saviour. O God incline, etc. as page 18. Antiph. Bless our Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me praise his holy Name. Psal. XCVI. PRaise our Lord all you Nations of the earth; praise him with the voice of joy and thanksgiving: Praise him with the well-tuned strings of your hart; praise him with the sweetest instrument, obedience: Let every one that pretends to felicity, * sing immortal praises to the God of our salvation: He is our full and all-sufficient Redeemer; he has perfectly finished what he graciously undertook: For all our trespasses he has made satisfaction; for all our forfeitures he has paid the ransom: We by disobedience were banished from Paradise; and he has received us into his own kingdom: We wandered up and down in the wilderness of error; and he has guided us into the ways of truth: We were by nature the children of wrath; and he has mediated our peace with his offended Father: We were become the slaves of sin; and he has bought our freedom with his own blood: We were in bondage to the dominion of Satan; and he has overcome and confined his power: We were in danger of sinking into hell; and he has saved us from that bottomless pit: The gates of heaven were shut against us; and he went up himself, and opened them to all Believers: Dissolving for ever the terrors of death; and rendering it now but a passage into life. O dearest Lord, who mad'st us first of nothing; and restor'dst us again when we had made our selves nothing: Who wouldst at any rate redeem us from misery; at any rate procure our felicity: How came we wretches to be so considered! how came we sinners to obtain such favour! That thou shouldst leave thy Throne, where Scraphins adored thee; and descend on our earth where slaves affronted thee: That thou shouldst lead a life of poverty and labour; and die a death of shame and sorrow. That thou shouldst do all this for such worms as we; without the least concern or benefit to thyself: Only to raise us up from our humble dust; and set us to shine with thy glorious Angels. O infinite Goodness, the bounteous Author of all: our hopes; and strong Deliverer from all our fears! What shall we say to this thy excessive charity? what shall we render for these thy unspeakable mercies? We search over all we have, and find nothing to return thee; but what thyself hast freely given us. We search over all thou hast given us, and find nothing thou expectest; but that we use thy gifts to make our selus happy. O may our souls perpetually bless thee; and every minute of our time be spent in thy service: Let us not live, O Lord, but to love thee; nor breath, but to speak thy praise; * nor be at all, but to be all Thine. Glory be, etc. Psal. XCVII. SIng on, my soul, the praises of the Lord; sing on with fresh attention the mercies of thy God: Whose wisdom has contrived ●●o compendious a method, * to redeem mankind by one short word: He saw the only cause of all our ruin * was our love misplaced on this present world: He saw the only remedy of all our misery * was to fix our love on the world to come. This therefore was his great intent; and in this concentred all his merits: To change the bias of our wrong-set hearts, by establishing among us new motives of charity: Such as might strongly incline our affections: and efficaciously draw us to love our true Good: Such as might gain by degrees upon all mankind; and render salvation easy and universal: For this, he came down from his Father's bosom, * to teach us the Rules of eternal life: That we might firmly believe those sacred truths, * which God himself with his own mouth had told us: For this, he conversed so long on our earth, * to encourage and provoke us by his own example: That he might confidently embrace those unquestionable virtues; * which God himself in his own Person had practised: For this, he endured those sharp and many afflictions; and became at last obedient even to death: That we might patiently suffer whatever should befall us, * when God himself was so treated by his creatures. For this, he so often preached of the joys of heaven; and set them before us in so clear a light: That seeing so rich a prize hang at the race's end, we might run and strain our utmost force to gain it: For this, he ordained the Mysteries of grace; and left us a Sacrifice made all of miracles: That he might breed and nourish in us the life of charity; and ravish our hearts with the sweetness of his presence. For this, he established a perpetual Church; and sent the holy Ghost to inspire and govern it: That it might flourish for ever in truth and sanctity; and plant the same heavenly seed over all the world. For this, he assumed those strange endearing names * of friend, and brother, and spouse to us wretches: Doing far more for us then all those names import, * then all our hearts can wish. Blessed, O glorious JESUS, be the wisdom of thy mercy, * that has found so sweet and short away to save us. Thou art, O Lord, the cause of our love; and love the cause of our happiness: By love we fulfil all thy commands; and by making us love, Thou fulfil'dst all thy Father's: By love we are reconciled from enemies to friends; by love we are translated from death to life: By love we are delivered from the fear of hell; by love we are adopted to be heirs of heaven: By love we are disposed for that blissful Vision; by love we are secured of the enjoyment of our God: Who by the sole perfection of his own free goodness, * can never deny Himself to any that love him: Else would their very loving Him be the cause of their misery; since the misery of a soul is the want of what it loves. Thus, Lord, whate'er thy holy Books record of Thee, in words comporting with our low capacities: whate'er they say of thy Restoring all things; and Repairing again the ruins of mankind: All is exactly verified by this one line, which may our thankful hearts repeat with joy: Heaven is attained by love alone; and love alone by Thee. Glory be, etc. Psal. XCVIII. Still, O my soul, let us sing a few lines more, * to Him whose mercies are no fewer than infinite: To Him whose pity took us by the hand; and kindly led us into his own light: To thee, O blessed JESUS, our Lord, our God who alone art the source of all our happiness: The world, till thou cam'st, sat wrapped in darkness; and few discerned so much as a shadow of Thee: They followed the appetites of sense and humour; and placed their felicity in being prosperous here: Little considering the life to come; and less the joys that entertain that life. This was, alas! their miserable state; and worse than this, they had no power to help it: How could they believe what they never heard; or love what they never believed? How could they desire what they never loved; or be glad to receive what they never desired? 'Twas thou, O Lord, first taught us our true end, * the blissful Vision of the eternal Deity: 'Twas thou first taught us the true means to attain that end; by a hearty love and desire to attain it. O the blessed changes which thy hand has wrought! the happy improvements which thy coming has produced! Now every woman and illiterate man * can discourse familiarly of the highest truths: The Creation of the world, and the Fall of Adam; the Incarnation of God, and Redemption of man: The Mystery of the Trinity, and Miracle of the Resurrection; the Day of Judgement and State of Eternity. All these we know, but 'twas Thou, O Lord, who taught'st us; and by thy holy Church first spread them o'er the world. Now thou hast opened our eyes, we plainly see * what unassisted nature could ne'er have reached. We see, the framing right our affections here * is both cause and measure of our happiness hereafter: If we supremely esteem the Goods of the future life, * we shall find them there and be happy: If we love heaven with our whole soul, and press on strongly with all our force: We shall enter into its glories with a strange surprising delight; and possess them for ever in a perpetual ecstasy. We see, our souls are made to know, and perfect themselves by the worthiest objects: We see, their nature is free and unconfined; and nothing can fill them but that which is infinite: All other knowledges enlarge our faculties; and breed new desire to know still more: Which if unsatisfied, we yet are miserable; since none can be happy who want their desire. Only the sight of God fills us to the brim; and infinitely overflows our utmost capacities: It fills and overflows all the powers of our souls, * with joy and wonder and unconceivable sweetness. O blessed and glorious Sight! when will the happy day appear, * and open to my soul that beauteous prospect! When, dearest Lord, shall I see Thee face to face! when shall I heartily, at least, desire to see Thee! Thou art my full and high felicity, * and only and alone sufficient for me: O make me ardently love Thee, that I may eagerly desire Thee; and eagerly desire Thee, that I may transportedly enjoy Thee! Glory be, etc. Antiph. Bless our Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me praise his holy Name. Capit. Ephes. 3. NOw, to Him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that works in us; to Him be glory in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, to all generations world without end, Amen. Hymn XXX. SWeet JESUS, why, why dost thou love Such worthless things as we? Why is thy hart still toward us, Who seldom think on Thee? Thy bounty gives us all we have, And we thy gifts abuse: Thy bounty gives us even Thyself, And we Thyself refuse. My soul, and why, why do we love Such wretched things as these? These that withdraw us from our Lord, And his pure eyes displease. Break off, and be no more a child, To run and sweat and cry; While all this stir, this huge concern: Is only for a fly. Some silly fly that's hard to catch, And nothing when 'tis caught: Such are the toys thou strivest for here, Not worth a serious thought. Break off, and raise thy manly eye, Up to those joys above; Behold all those thy Lord prepares, To woe, and crown thy love. Alas, dear Lord, I cannot love, Unless Thou draw my hart: Thou who th●●s kindly mak'st me know, O make me do my part. Still do thou love me, O my Lord! That I may still love Thee: Still make me love thee, O my God That thou may'st still love me. Thus may my God and my poor soul Still one another love; Till I depart from this low world, T'enjoy my God above. To Thee, great God, to Thee alone, One coeternal Three; All power and praise, all joy and blyss Now and for ever be. Here recite the Antiphon for Benedictus; and the Canticle Benedictus; and the Prayer, as in the Proper of our Saviour's Feasts. But if you voluntarily say this Office on any day that is not some Feast of our Saviour; then use the Antiphon and Prayer following. Antiphon for Benedictus. BLessed be thy holy Name O glorious Son of God, and blessed be thy mercy for ever: thou hast perfectly fulfilled all thy Prophets foretold, and infinitely transcended all the wonders they admired: thou hast done enough to convince us into faith, and suffered too much to inflame us with thy love; Blessed be thy holy Name, O glorious Son of God, and blessed be thy mercy for ever, alleluia. Benedictus, etc. as Page 27. O Lord hear our Prayers. And let our Supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. MOst gracious Lord, who so lovedst the world that thou gavest thyself to redeem it, and humbly took'st upon thee our low nature, that thou mightst familiarly teach us the truth of salvation, and invincibly fortify us against all persecution, and efficaciously draw us after thee into thine own Kingdom, by thy holy life, and precious death, and glorious resurrection! Grant us, we beseech thee, so to meditate these ifinite mercies, and fill our whole souls with the memory of this love, that we may live in thy obedience, and die in thy favour, and rise again to rejoice with thee for ever in thy glory; Who with the Father and the holy Ghost liveth and reigneth One God world without end. Amen. Commemorations, as Page 29. Vespers for our B. Saviour. IN the Name as Page 33. Antiph. Thy judgements, O Lord, we confess are just; but deal, we beseech thee, with thy servants in mercy. Psal. XCIX. LIft up thy voice Jerusalem, and be not afraid; say to the Cities of Juda, behold your God: Behold the Lord your God is come with a strong hand; his reward is with him, and his work before him: He is come to bring redemption to all the world; and graciously offers it first to you his People: But you refused the Holy One and the Just; and desired a murderer to be granted to you: Hark with how sweet and eligant a Compassion * thy kind Redeemer complains of thy ingratitude: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the Prophets; and stonest them who are sent to thee. How often would I have gathered thy children together: as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, * and thou wouldst not! O hadst thou known in that thy day the things which belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. Hearken once more with what terrible threatenings threatenings thy provident Lord forewarns thee of thy danger. Gird thee with sackcloth Jerusalem; and lie down in ashes; cover thee with mourning, and bitterly lament: For the days shall come when thy enemies shall besiege thee; and compass thee about with a trench: They shall not leave one stone upon another; but beat thee to the ground, and thy children in thee: Thy people shall be slain by the edge of the sword; and led as slaves into all Countries; They shall wander up and down without King or Prince; they shall mourn without sacrifice or altar: And Jerusalem shall be trodden under feet by the Gentiles; till the fullness of Nations be accomplished: But O, how long Lord holy and merciful, how long! wilt thou be angry with them for ever? Hast thou not said, he that scatters Israel will gather them again; and keep them as a Shepherd does his flock? Remember thy ancient promises, O Lord! and save the remnant of thy once loved Israel: Take away the veil from before their eyes; that they may see thy truth and embrace it: Take away the hardness from their stony hearts; that they again may be thy people, and thou again their God: Then shall they lay aside the garment of mourning, and put on the brightness which comes from Thee. They shall celebrate the Jubily of this their greatest Deliverance, and every one sing in that day of joy: Come let's ascend to the mountain of our Lord; let us learn his ways and walk in his paths: As 'twas our wickedness to go astray from our God; so now, returned, let us seek him ten times more: Too late have we known thee, O thou ancicient Truth! too late have we loved thee, O Thou desired of all Nations! We were misled by the error of our fathers; we were abused by our own blind passions: The Kingdom we expected deservs not that name; a short, and vain, and troublesome prosperity: Thy Dominion, O Lord, is holiness and peace; and of thy Kingdom there shall be no end: Such was the Kingdom thou promisedst to David; Thy Throne will I establish for ever. Such is the Kingdom thou giv'st to thy Servants; They shall live and reign with Thee for ever. O make us love, dear Lord, this eternal Kingdom; and all things else shall be added to it. O make us love this eternal Kingdom; though nothing else should be added to it: Glory be, etc. Antiph. Thy judgements, O Lord, we confess are just; but deal, we beseech Thee, with thy servants in mercy. Antiph. Thou art, O Lord, the true light of the world; they who follow Thee walk not in darkness. Psal. C. RIse holy Spouse of the Son of God; rise and put on thy robes of joy: Rise, and shine forth, for thy glory is come; and the splendour of our Lord strikes bright upon Thee: The Gentiles shall walk in the beams of thy light; and Kings in the lustre of thy brightness: Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold; they gather all together and flock to Thee: Thy Sons shall come from far; and thy Daughters be nursed at thy side: Then thou shalt see and flow in abundance; thy hart shall wonder, and be enlarged with gladness: When the multitude of the Sea shall be converted to Thee; and the strength of the Gentiles submit to thy Laws. The sons of strangers shall build thy walls; and Princes obey thy commands: The Nation shall perish that will not serve thee; and the Kingdom be utterly wasted that refuses thee: The sons of thy afflicters shall bow before thee; and they that despised thee kiss thy footsteps: For our Lord shall be thy everlasting light; and the days of thy mourning shall end in glory: To thee shall be given the Keys of heaven; and thou shalt shut and open those eternal doors: Thy foundation shall be laid on a firm rock; and the gates of hell not prevail against thee: A way shall be made so direct and plain, that the Passengers, though fools, shall not err therein: And the Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of our Lord, * as the waters cover the sea. All this we read, all this we firmly believe; for the mouth of our Lord has spoken it: Heaven and earth shall pass away; but not a tittle of his Word be disappointed for ever. Already these sacred Prophecys are in part fulfilled; abundantly sufficient to assure us of the rest: Already a Virgin has brought forth a Son; and given him the gracious Name of JESUS: The Kings of the east have been led to him by a star; and offered him gold and frankincense and mirth: His holy Parents have presented him in the Temple; and the devout Simeon was overjoyed to see him: In his tender infancy he fled into Egypt; and the Idols fell down at the presence of a child: He passed his private life in peace and meekness; and taught a contradicting people in patience and humility: He confirmed his doctrine with innumerable miracles; and defended the truth to the last drop of his blood: He rose again victoriously from the grave; and ascended in triumph to the right hand of his Father. And there, O glorious JESUS mayst thou sit and reign; till all thy enemies become thy footstool. Nor has thy judgement slept, O dreadful Lord! but with a swift and terrible vengeance crushed them into ruin: Jerusalem long since was made a heap of stones; and the children of thy Crucifyers run wand'ring o'er the world. While thou art thus severe in the predictions of thy justice; thou didst not forget those of thy mercy: Thousands of that ingrateful City have acknowledged Thee their Lord; thousands of that perverse generation have submitted to thy Sceptre: Whole Nations of the Gentiles have embraced thy faith; and remotest Islands received thy law. Blessed for ever be thy Name, O Lord! and blessed be the sweetness of thy mercy: Who reveal'st thyself to those that knew thee not; and art found of those that sought thee not: Who often followest those that fly from thee; and never refusest any that come to thee. Thou still exactly perform'st thy part; but we ingrateful wretches, how do we comply with ours? Where is the profit thou mayst justly require, to answer the care of thy providence over us? Thou hast planted us, O Lord, in thine own Vineyard; and fenced us about with thy holy discpline. Where is the fruit we should always be bea●●ing; since good works are never out of season? Of our selus, alas, we are dry and barren; and our nature, at best, brings forth nothing but leaves: O Thou, in whom while we remain we live; and from whom divided we instantly die: Curse not, we humbly beg, these fruitless branches; lest they whither away, and be cast into the fire: Pronounce not against us that dreadful sentence; Cut them down, why Cumber they the ground? But mercifully Cut them off from their wild stock? and graft them in Thyself the only true vine. water, O Lord, our weeds with the dew of heaven; and bless our low shrubs with thy powerful influence: So grapes shall grow on thorns; and figs be gathered on Thistles. Glory be etc. Antiph. Thou art, O Lord, the true light of the world; they who follow thee, walk not in darkness. Antiph. In Thee, O Lord, is all our hope; have mercy on the works of thine own hands. Psal. CI. Rejoice in our Lord all you children of Adam, rejoice in the bounty of his free grace: No longer now confined to a few choice Favourites; and the narrow compass of a private Family: He has thrown down that partition wall; and opened the way of life to all mankind: That all may believe and love him here; and all enjoy and be happy in him hereafter. But, O my God, what do we see, * when we look abroad into the wide world? We see sad effects, but cannot see the cause, * why so many Kingdoms lie miserably waste: We know, O Lord, thy ways are in the deep abyss; and humbly adore thy secret Counsels: Only we cannot think on their lamentable condition without pitying their misery, and imploring thy mercy: Some have not yet so much as heard of thee; & others, who have heard, refuse to entertain thee: Some who have once acknowledged thee, have quite fallen away; and others reject what they list, and obey by halfs: Many even of those who rightly believe, * abuse their holy faith by a wicked life: Thus the for greatest part of wretched mankind; whom thy goodness created to thine own similitude: Whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood; and designed to so great and long a happiness: Still fail, alas, of their true end; and die in their sins, and eternally perish. Look down, O Lord, and behold from heaven; behold from the Habitation of thy holiness: Where is thy Zeal, and the bowels of thy mercy? where are thy promises to thy beloved Son? Hast thou not said all Nations shall adore Him; and all the Tribes of the earth be blessed in him? Hast thou not said Thyself, O glorious JESUS; If I be exalted, I will draw all men to me? Hast thou not given thy Disciples express Commission, * to go into all the world, and Preach to every Creature? Remember O thou God of everlasting truth! remember, O thou Author and Finisher of our faith! Remember these thy dear engagements; and graciously acomplish what thou hast mercifully begun: Visit, O Lord, thine own house first; and thoroughly redress what thou findest amiss: Make our lives holy as thou hast made our faith; and perfectly unite us in the bonds of love: Kindle in the hearts of Kings & the great ones of the world, * an Heroic spirit to advance thy glory: Inflame the hearts of Prelates and the Priests of thy Church, * with a generous Zeal of Conversion of souls: Convince them all 'tis the end and duty of their place * to improve mankind in virtue and Religion. One mercy more we humbly beg; which O may thy Providence favourably supply! Prepare, O Lord, the hearts of those that err, * and make them apt to receive the truth: Then choose thy burning and thy shining lights; and send them forth over all the world: Send them, O God of infinite Charity, but send them not alone; * lest they faint by the way, or miscarry in the end; Go with them Thyself & guide them by thy grace; and crown their labours with thy powerful blessing: So shall the humble valleys be raised up; and the stubborn mountains be brought low: So shall the crooked paths be made direct, and the rough ways smooth and plain: So shall the glory of God be every where revealed; and all flesh see it together. Happy the times when this shall come to pass; happy the eyes that shall see these times. Come glorious days wherein that Sun shall shine, * which enlightens all at once both the hemisphears: Come, holy JESUS, and make those glorious days: and let no cloud overcast them for ever: Come, and in the largest sense maintain thy Title; Be effectively the Saviour of the universal world. Glory be, etc. Antiph. To Thee, O Lord, we look up for salvation; have mercy on the works of thine own hands. Capit. Tytus 2. THe grace of God our Saviour has appeared to all men; instructing us that, denying all iniquity and worldly desires, we should live soberly justly and piously in this present world: expecting the blessed hope, and the coming of the glory of our great God and Saviour JESUS Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself an acceptable people, zealous of good works. Hymn XXXI. JESUS, whose grace inspires thy Priests To keep alive, by solemn feasts, The Mem'ory of thy love: O may we here so pass thy days, That they at last our souls may raise To feast with Thee above. JESUS, behold three Kings, from far Led to thy Cradle by a star, Bring gifts to Thee their King: O guide us by thy light, that we May find thy loved face, and to thee Our selus for tribute bring. JESUS, the pure and spotless Lamb, Who to the Temple humbly came, Those legal Rights to pay: O make our proud and stubborn will Thine and thy Church's laws fulfil, whate'er fond nature say. JESUS, who on that fatal wood Pouredst forth thy life's last drop of blood Nailed to a shameful cross: O may we bless thy love, and be Ready, dear Lord, to bear for Thee All grief, all pain, all loss. JESUS, who, by thine own love slain, By thine own power took'st life again, And from the grave didst rise: O may thy death our spirits revive, And at our death a new life give, A life that never dies. JESUS, who to thy heaven again Return'dst in triumph there to reign Of men and Angels King: O may our parting souls take flight Up to that land of joy and light, And there for ever sing; All glory to the sacred Three, One undivided Deity, All honour, power and praise: O may thy blessed name shine bright, Crowned with those beams of beauteous light, It's own eternal rays. Here recite the Antiphon for Magn. with the Canticle Magnificat, and the Prayer after it; as in the Proper of our Saviour's Feasts. But if you voluntarily say this Office on any day that is not some Feast of our Saviour, then use the Antiphon and Prayer following. Antiph. Come all you Nations of the earth, whom the mercy of our Lord has so dearly redeemed; Come, and, in honour of the divine Son, sing the Canticle of the Blessed Mother, alleluia. Magnificat. as Pag. 44. O Lord hear our Prayer, And let our Supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O Holy and ever-blessed JESUS, who, being the eternal Son of God, and most high in the glory of thy Father, vouchsafed'st for us sinners, to be born of an humble Virgin, to be subject to the weaknesses of a little child, to grow up in a life of privacy and labour, to declare thyself at last the Redeemer of the world, by establishing a perfect law of grace, and confirming it with innumerable miracles, and suffering for it intolerable persecutions even to death itself! Work in us, we humbly beseech thee, the happy effects of all these mercies; that, believing in thee, we may imitate thy life; and obeying thy commands, enjoy thy promises; who, with the Father and the holy Ghost, livest and reignest, one God world without end, Amen. Commemorations, as Page. 29. O Lord hear our Prayers, as Page 29. Complin for our B. Saviour. OUr help is in as Pag. 46. Antiph. Whither, O my God, should we go but to Thee? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Psal. CII. REtire now, my soul, from thy Common thoughts, * permitted to entertain thy less serious hours. Retire, and call thy wand'ring fancies home; and speedily range them into peace and order: That thou mayst so be prepared to hear thy Lord * invite thee, among the rest, to taste his sweetness: Come to me you that labour, and are oppressed; and I will refresh you: Take up my yoke, and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of hart; and you shall find. rest to your souls: For my yoke is sweet; and my burden light. Enough, dear Lord, enough is said, * to draw all the world to thy holy Discipline: What can be offered so agreeable to our nature, * too much, alas, inclined to pleasure and profit; What can be offered so powerfully attractive; as to make our work delightful, and then reward it? As to propose an employment like the music of Churches; devout and sweet and gainful to the performers? Whither, O my God, should we go, but to thee! Thou hast the words of eternal life: Thou art our wisest Instructor to know what to do; and only Enabler to do what we know: Thou art the free Bestower of all we have; and faithful Promiser of all we hope: Thou kindly call'st us; O make us gladly hear thy voice, * and constantly follow it till we come to Thee: Suffer us no longer to go astray like lost sheep; wand'ring up and down in our own byways: Suffer us no longer to be distracted among many things * from thee, O Lord, who art but One: But gather us up from the world into our selus; then take us from our selus into Thee: There to be ravished with thy holy embraces; there to be feasted with the Antepasts of heaven: O how unspeakable are thy sweetnesses, O Lord; which thou hast hid for those who fear Thee! Which thou hast partly revealed to those who love Thee; * and keep their tastes uncorrupted with the world. But O, what are they then to those who see Thee; and in that sight see all things else! To those who rejoice perpetually before Thee; and in that joy find all joys else. O beauteous truth, which known enforces love; and loved begets felicity! Live thou for ever in my faithful memory; and be my constant guide in all my ways: Still let me think on those joys above; and undervalue all things compared to my salvation: Still let me think on my Saviour's love, that purchased for me all those joys. O my adored Redeemer, be Thou the masterwish of my hart; the scope and end of all my time: Soon as I wake, let me look up to Thee; and when I rise, first lowly bow to Thee: Often in the day let me call in my thoughts to Thee; and when I go to rest close up mine eyes in Thee: So shall my time be governed by thy grace; and my eternity corwned with thy glory. Antiph. Whither, O my God, should we go but to Thee? Thou hast the words of eternal life. I look not, O Lord, to be pardoned without repentance; but I hope thy grace to make me repent. Psal. CIII. MY God when I remember those words of Thine; Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand: When I consider they were the first thou spak'st in public; the chosen text of the Eternal Wisdom: Instantly I'm struck with the importance of the duty; and deeply affected with the power of the motive. If what this last line says be not wholly true; but repeated in course, as a form of devotion: Forgive, dear Lord, the de●●eitfulness of my hart; and make me think as well as say my prayers: Make me apply those searching words to myself; and bind them fast on my own soul: Repent, O my soul! for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand; repent, for the Kingdom of heaven depends on thy repentance. Unhappy me! I cannot live without sin; nor hope for pardon without due repentance. I cannot repent without the grace of God; nor obtain his grace, without his own free gift: O my sweet Saviour JESUS, who cam'st not to call the just; but such as I am, sinners, to repent! Since I am not strong enough to be perfectly innocent; at least, make me humble enough to be truly penitent: Make me heartily sorry for what I have done amiss; and not do again what will make me sorry: Woe to the day and hour wherein I sinned; woe to the many days and hours I have foolishly misspent: Or rather, woe to me, who abuse my days and hours, * allowed by thy goodness to work out my salvation. Deliver me O Lord, from the punishments I deserve; deliver me from the sins that deserve those punishments: Teach me that safe and easy method * of censuring myself, to be acquitted by Thee: Every night let me sit as an impartial judge; and call before me all my day: Let me severely examine every thought and word; and strictly search every deed and omission: Condemning my offences to their just penance; and making more firm and wary resolus: Imploring for the past the mercy of heaven; and for the time to come, the same unbounded mercy. If I perhaps find some little thing well done, * when weighed with the allowance indulged our frailty; Let me return all the glory to my God; and beg his grace to continue and improve it. H●● is the hand that sews the seed; h●● is the blessing that gives the increase. Thus let me once a day, at least, look home; and seriously inquire into the state of my soul: What ere my weakness or malice may have done; let me now undo with a hearty contrition: Let not the sun go down upon my wrath, nor on any other unrepented sin: Still let me write at the foot of my account, * Reconciled to my God, and in charity with all the world: Then go to bed with a quiet conscience; and fall asleep in peace and hope. Glory be etc. Antiph. I look not O Lord, to be pardoned without repentance; but I hope thy grace to make me repent. Antiph. Since where my treasure is, there will my hart be, O make me place my treasure where my hart ought to be. Psal. CIV. LOrd, ere I take my leave of this Holy day, * which thy Church has sanctified in honour of thy memory: Let me repeat some few words more * of those incomparable many thou hast left among us: Let me attentively mediate their substantial sense; and settle them as Principles of my life and action: Lay not up for your selus treasures on earth, * where rust and moth corrupt, and Thiefs break thorough and steal: But lay up for your selus treasures in heaven, * where neither rust nor moth corrupt, nor Thiefs break thorough and steal: For where your treasure is, there will your hart be also. Go now, you curious, and study what you please; for me, I'll stay, and listen to my Saviour: He'll teach me high and sure and useful truths; he'll teach me truths that will make me happy: Hark but this one word more, and you'll stay too; if any sense of your eternal good can hold you: Hark how he kindly tells us this new and glorious Secret; we shall be hereafter like the Angels in heaven: O sweet and precious word to them that relish it; and thoroughly digest its strong nourishment: To them that feed on't often as their daily bread; we shall be hereafter like the Angels in heaven: And what, O dearest Lord, are those blessed Angels, * but spirits that know and love and delight for ever: Such, O my soul, we shall be, and that sweet life we shall lead; we shall be and live like the Angels in heaven: We shall know all that's true, and love all that's good; and delight in that knowledge and love for ever: No ignorance shall darken us, nor error deceive us; we shall be like the Angels in heaven: No cares shall perplex us, nor crosses afflict us; we shall be like the Angels in heaven: Our joys shall be full and pure and everlasting; we shall be like the Angels in heaven. Cheer thee, my soul, and bless thy bounteous Lord; 'tis by him we shall be like the Angels in heaven: Cheer thee, and raise thy hopes yet gloriously higher; we shall be like Himself, for we shall see him as he is. Antiph. Since where my treasure is there will my hart be; O make me place my treasure where my hart ought to be. Hymn XXXII. LOrd, now the time returns, For weary man to rest; And lay aside those pains and cares With which our day's oppressed: Or rather change our thoughts To more concerning cares: How to redeem our misspent time, With sighs, and tears, and prayers: How to provide for heaven, That Place of rest and peace; Where our full joys shall never wain, Our pleasures never cease. Blessed be thy love, dear Lord, That taught us this sweet way; Only to love Thee for Thyself, And for that love, obey. O Thou our souls chief hope! We to thy mercy fly; Wher'ere we are, thou canst protect; whatever we need supply. Whether we sleep or wake, To thee we both resign; By night we see as well as day, If thy light on us shine. Whither we live or die, Both we submit to Thee; In death we live as well as life, If thine in death we be. Glory to Thee great God, One coeternal Three: To Father Son and holy Ghost Eternal glory be. Capit. 1 Thes. 5. BUt we who are of the day, let us be sober, having on us the breastplate of faith and charity; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation; for God has not appointed us to wrath, but to the purchasing salvation thorough Jesus Christ our Lord, who died for us, that whither we wake or sleep, we might live together with Him. Antiph. By seeking our selus in this world of vanity, we lose both thee, O Lord, and our own souls: by seeking our selus in Thee and thy love, we find both Thee and our own happiness: enjoying already a sweet possession of hopes, to end e'er long in a sweeter fruition of glory. V. Thou art, O Lord, the free bestower of all we have: R. Thou art the faithful Promiser of all we expect. O Lord hear our Prayers, And let our Supplications come to thee. Let us pray. O Blessed JESUS. whose sacred Body, after thou hadst finished in it the work of our redemption, was taken down from the Cross; and after a short repose in the Sepulchre, was raised again to a glorious immortality: Grant us, we beseech thee, so frequently to renew in our minds the memory of thy grave, that we always be prepared for our own; and so seriously to reflect on the consequences of a holy death, that every day we grow less affected to this transitory life, and more in love with thy eternal joys, who with the Father and the holy Ghost liveth and reigneth one God world without end, Amen. Vouchasfe, etc. as Pag. 54. to the end. Office of the Holy Ghost, Matins. Introduction, as pag. 1. Psal. CV. Invitatory. Come, let's adore our God that sanctifys us. Come, let's adore our God that sanctifys us. COme let us humbly first implore his grace, to make us worthy to adore our Sanctifier; who from the Father and the Son eternally proceeds, and with the Father and the Son is equally glorified. Come, let's adore our God that sanctifys us. He infuses into us the breath of life, and brings us forth in our second birth: a birth that makes us heirs of heaven, and gives us a title to everlasting happiness. Come, let's adore our God that sanctifys us. Let us prepare our understandings to assent to his truths, and our wills to follow his divine inspiratons: let us fill our memories with his innumerable mereys, and our whole souls with the glory of his Attributes. Come, let's adore our God that sanctifys us. Let us confidently address to Him our petitioNs, who promises to help the infirmity of our prayers; let us not doubt the bounty of his goodness, but hope he will grant what Himself inspires to ask. Come, let's adore our God that sanctifys us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the holy Ghost As it was in the beginning, both now, and ever, * world without end, Amen. Come, let's adore our God that sanctifys us. Come, let's adore our God that sanctifys us. Hymn XXXIII. COme holy Spirit, come and breathe Thy spicy odours on the face Of our dull region here beneath, And fill our souls with thy sweet grace. Come and root out the poisonous weeds Which overrun and choke our lives: And in our hearts plant thine own seeds, Whose quick'ning power our spirit revives. First plant the humble Violet there, That dwells secure by dwelling low; Then let the Lily next appear, And make us chaste, yet fruitful too. But O! plant all the Virtues, Lord, And let the metaphors alone; Repeat once more that mighty word, Thou needest but say, Let it be done. We can, alas, nor be nor grow, Unless thy powerful mercy please: Thy hand must plant, and water too; Thy hand alone must give th'increase. Do, then, what thou alone canst do, Do what to thee so easy is; Conduct us through this world of woe, And place us safe in thine own blyss. All glory to the sacred Three, One everliving Sovereign Lord; As at the first, still may He be Beloved and praised, feared and adored. Antiph. In those days, saith our Lord, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, Alleluja, Alleluja. Psal. CVI LOrd, with how sweet and natural a conduct * does thy Providence govern the children of men! Leading them on from one degree to another; till thou hast brought them up to their highest perfection. Thou putst them to learn in the school of Virtue; and disposest their capacity's into several forms: In the first ages, when the world was young, * thou gav'st them for their guide the book of Nature. There thy divine assistance helped them to read * some few plain Lessons of their duty to Thee: They saw this admirable frame of creatures; and as far as these could argue, they could conclude; Sure there's a God, the cause of all things; sure there's a Providence the disposer of all things: He must be powerful that made so vast a world; he must be wise that contrived such excellent works: He must be goodness itself that did all this for us; and we ingrateful wretches if we'll do nothing for Him. Thus far some few could say, and very few could do; with those slender assistances they then enjoyed. After thou gav'st thy people a written Rule; which trained them up in a set form of discipline: Which grew and spread into a public Religion, and uniformly professed by a whole Nation. They had some weak conceit of the Kingdom of heaven; and some imperfect means to bring them thither: But for those high supernatural Mysteries, * that so gloriously exalt the Christian faith: They all, alas, were blind or in the dark; and dangerously exposed to the effects of their ignorance: Wanting those clear instructions to know their End; wanting those powerful motives to love their God. Yet this prepared them for the times of Grace, * to which thy mercy, O Lord, reserved far greater favours: To which thou hadst promised by thy holy Prophet's * an effusion of blessings from thine own full hands: I will put my Law in their bowels, and write it in their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my People: I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy: They shall teach no more every one his Neighbour; for all shall know me, from the greatest to the least. O merciful Lord, who hast loved us from the beginning, be graciously pleased to love us to the end. Pity the unhappy state of fallen mankind, which neither nature nor law could bring to perfection. If any riper souls came forward to the birth; there wanted spirit to bring them forth: But O, send out thy spirit, O Lord, and they shall be created; and from their nothing of sin raised to the life of holiness. Send out thy spirit and renew the face of the earth; and our weeds and our thorns shall be turned into a Paradise. Glory be, etc. Antiph. In those days saith our Lord, I will pour out my spirit upon all Flesh: alleluia, alleluia. Antiph. When He ascended on high he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men, alleluia, alleluia. Psal. CVII. LOok up languishing world, look up, and see * how punctually thy faithful Lord performs his word: When he had finished here that glorious work * which his goodness undertook for our redemption: When he had told us what we ought to do, and what to suffer for the Kingdom of heaven: When he himself had done more than he required of us; and suffered more than our boldest hopes could expect of Him: When he had wrought our salvation so far, that he saw his absence more expedient for us: He first prepares the hearts of his Disciples; and comforts their sorrows with these sweet words: Children, I will not leave you Orphans; * but will pray to my Father, and he shall give you another Comforter: Even the Spirit of truth, who shall teach you all things; and bring to your remembrance whatever I have said. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you; let not your hart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. I go to my Father, and to your Father; to my God, and to your God: I go to prepare a place for you; that where I am, there may my followers be. This said, He led them forth together, and gave them his blessing, and parting from them went away into heaven. So loving Mothers, when the weaning time is come, withdraw themselves from their beloved Children: But while they thus deprive their tender little Ones ones of their own most dear and all-supplying presence: They still depute some faithful friend to assist them; for though they leave 'em, they mean not to forsake 'em: Such and far greater was the care of our God; as his love is far greater than that of Mothers. He saw it necessary for so mysterious a faith; to be shown in a clear and supernatural light to the first Believers. That they might confidently recommend to others * what they knew so infallibly was certain to themselves. He saw it necessary for so perverse a world; to infuse into its first Converters the fullness of Charity: That with an ardent zeal they might instruct their hearers; and with a patient courage overcome their opposers. He saw it necessary for such variety of Nations; to furnish his Preachers with variety of Tongues: That they might teach every one in their native speech; and understand their doubts▪ and satisfy their objections. Wherefore, when the appointed time was come; as all the works of God go forth in their fittest season: When the Disciples were gathered together in one mind and place; and so excellently disposed for the visits of heaven: When they had long continued in ardent Prayer; and wrought 〈◊〉 their affections to the utmost point of desire. Behold a sound rushes suddenly down from above; whence every good and perfect gift descends: Behold a vehement wind fills the whole house; for the grace of God is strong and liberal: Behold on the head of each sits a tongue as of fire; the properest inablements to convert the world: While they were all illuminated with a pure light: and while they were inflamed with a fervent heat And to communicate both to every Nation: were all endued with the gift of languages. Thus was the promise of our Lord fulfilled; thus were the Messengers of everlasting peace prepared: Miraculously baptised with the holy Ghost and with fire; and perfectly qualified for their great commission. To preach to every creature this happy Gospel; he that beleeus and is baptised shall be saved. Glory be, etc. Antiph. When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men: alleluia, alleluia. Antiph. This is our Lords doing, and it is wonderful in our eyes. alleluja, alleluja. Psal. CVIII. HOw glorious is thy grace, O Lord, over all the world! how admirable the influence of thy holy spirit! They who through dulness so slowly understood * the often repeated Lessons of their divine Master: Now with the first swift glance they see through all; and no Mystery can pose them, nor error deceive them. They who through fear forsook their Lord; and fled all away from the danger of being His: Now they rejoice in suffering for his Name; and neither life nor death can forbid them to confess him: They who knew only their Mother-tongue; and that no better then as simple Fishermen: Now speak to every Nation in their several language; and with their powerful eloquence ravish their hearts. They who, even after our Saviour's resurrection, * shut fast the doors for fear of the Jews: Now in the open streets and public Synagogs', they confidently proclaim the Name of JESUS. These were new bottles filled with new wine, that made them quite forget their former selus: Wine that exalted them into a generous spirit * of despising all things for love of JESUS: Wine that, in the midst of racks and prisons, * made 'em often break forth into that sweet ecstasy: No joy like the pain of suffering for JESUS; no life like the death endured for his love. O were there now such tongues of fire, to kindle in the world those divine flames! O were there now such hearts in the world, to receive the holy sparks that fall from heaven! The Prince of the Apostles preached but one Sermon; and immediately converted three thousand souls: He preached again, and wrought but one miracle; and five thousand more were added to the Church. Thus every day they increased in number; and which was better, their number increased in Virtue: They were inebriated with the same heavenly wine; and filled with the same heroic spirit: They sold all they had, and brought the price, * and laid it down at the Apostles feet: They lived in common, and called nothing their own; and even in their will and understanding, they were all united: Every one had enough, and that's to be rich; none had too much, and that's to be free: Free from the cares that perplex the wealthy; free from the tentations that wait on superfluity. Hadst thou been there, my soul, to have seen * the flaming ardours of those first Converts: Imagine at least, and know, thy utmost fancy * is far below what they really practised: O how devoutly did they visit those holy places, where our blessed Lord had shed his blood! The garden where he prayed, and the hal●● where he was condemned; the mountain where he suffered, and the sepulchre where he was buried: At every station they fell down on their knees and faces; and adored, & meditated, and prayed: They prayed, and mingled with their prayers their tears; they wept and mingled with their tears their complaints. Ah, dearest Lord! why were not we so happy * to be converted by Thee while thou dweld'st among us? Why not entertain salvation when thou brought'st it to our homes; and preferd'st our little nation before all the world? Unhappy we, how came this misery to pass, * that many of us looked on thy miracles, and saw them not! Before our eyes thou gav'st sight to the blind; and our souls were darkened with sin and prejudice. Thou didst cleanse the leprous, and healed all manner of diseases; thou didst raise the dead, and cast out devils with thy word: Yet we, alas, how many of us blasphemed thy name; how many conspired with thy bloody crucifyers! Spare us, O Lord; have mercy on us O JESUS; for we knew thee not to be the Lord of glory. Blessed be thy holy spirit, who has opened our eyes; and made us see through the veil that eclipsed us. Now we believe Thee the Messias we expected; now we acknowledge Thee the King of Israel. Such were the fervours of those happy times; and O how happy were our times had we those fervours! But ours are become miserable by schisms and heresies; and the darkness that covers a great part of the earth: Ours are become miserable by the unfruitful lives * and scandalous examples of too many Christians: Too many, alas, yet, even the gates of hell * can ne'er prevail against the power of God: Still the same spirit governs the world; and keeps alive the same primitive fire: Still there are hearts full of the holy Ghost; full of that ravishing wine of divine love: Still there are souls who renounce all they have; and take up their cross and follow our Lord. Still there are fiery tongues kindled by the breath of heaven; who carry their sacred flames into every Nation: Still the Apostolic Church is true to its name; and sends abroad her burning and her shining lights. Still the Almighty Goodness is true to his Church; and conserus it one and holy and universal. O keep us, blessed Spirit, in this thy fold of grace; and bring the whole world into one flock: That all may be of the same mind here; and all enjoy the same happiness hereafter. Glory be, etc. Antiph. This is our Lords doing; and it is wonderful in our eyes, Alleluja, Alleluja. Our Father, etc. First Lesson, Jo. 14. AMen, amen, I say to you, he that beleeus in me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater than these shall he do, because I go to the Father; and wharever you shall ask in my name, I will do; that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you love me keep my Commandments; and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete to abide with you for ever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, nor knows Him; but you know Him, for he shall abide with you and be in you. Resp. Blessed be thy merciful Providence, O JESUS! who when thou hadst finished thy great work on earth, ascendedst into heaven to draw up our minds even thither after Thee, Alleluja. * That where our happiness is, there might our hearts be also, Alleluja, Alleluja. Blessed be thy infinite goodness, O dear Redeemer! who, when thou hadst taught us the words of eternal life, ●●entst down the holy Ghost, to make us observe them, and raise up our affections to that glorious Kingdom whether thou art gone before us, Alleluja, * That Second Lesson, Acts. 2. WHen the days of Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in once place; and suddenly there was made a sound from heaven as of a vehement wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting: and there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were of fire, and sat upon each of them; and they were replenished with the holy Ghost, and began to speak with divers tongues, according as the holy Ghost gave them to speak. And there were dweling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, of every Nation under heaven: and when this noise was made, the multitude came together, and was astonished in mind; because every one heard them speak in his own tongue the wonderful works of God. Resp. Thus were the words of the Prophets fulfilled, and the promises of our Saviour performed, and the faith of the Christian Church miraculously begun: Alleluja. * O may it still go on and increase, and multiply, till every Nation speak in their own tongues the wonderful works of God, Alleluja, Alleluja. Govern O blessed Spirit the Church thou so wonderfully hast established, govern it with thy special grace, and always preserve it in obedience to Thee, and us in obedience to it. Alleluja, * O may— Third Lesson, Acts 4. ANd the multitude of Believers had one hart and one soul: nor did any say that aught was his own of what he possessed, but all was common to them. And the Apostles with great power gave testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord; and great grace was in them all: nor was there any one needy among them; for as many as were owners of lands of houses sold them, and brought the price of what they sold, and laid it at the feet of the Apostles: and to every one was divided, as every one had need. Resp. O happy life! O heaven upon earth! this is the blessed effect of the fire of the true Spirit, which warms without scorching, and shines without smoking, and enlightens without consuing: Kindle in our hearts, O Lord, this holy fire of meekness and peace and unity; * That all the world may know whose Disciples we are, by seeing us love one another, Alleluja. But O deliver us from the contrary fire, the fire of the false spirit; that scorches without warming, and smokes without shining, and consumes without enlightening: deliver us from schism and heresy, and every least uncharitable passion: * That all the— Glory be, etc. * That all the— laud's for the Holy Ghost. O God incline, etc. as Page 18. Antiph. Kindle in our hearts, O Lord, thy holy fire; that we may offer to thee the incense of praise: Alleluja. Psal. CIX. COnsider now, my soul, the mercies of thy God; consider the wonders he has wrought for the children of men. The eternal Father created us of nothing; and set us in the way to everlasting happiness: The eternal Son came down from heaven to seek us; and restored us again when we had lost our selus: The eternal spirit sends his grace to sanctify us; and gives us strength to walk that holy way. Thus every Person of the sacred Trinity * has freely contributed his peculiar blessing: And All together as one co-infinite Goodness, * have graciously agreed to complete our felicity. But O ingrateful we! was it not enough, * to receive of our God all we have and are? Was it not enough that the Son of God should come down; and live to teach us, and die to redeem us? Was not all this enough to make us love? and love is all he aimed at, and love is all we needed. Let us confess to thee O merciful Lord: let us confess to thee our miserable condition; Such was, alas, the corruption of our nature; and so many and strong the rentations round about us: That without this thy last miraculous favour * of sending the holy Ghost to guide and quicken us: We should have still remained in our old dull pace; slow to understand, and slower to obey. We should have quite forgotten our God that made us; and neglected the service of our Lord that bought us: Had not thy fullness been readily furnished * with one blessing more to bestow on thy children: Ha'dst not thou providently reserved a better blessing, than the dew of the clouds and fatness of the earth: Better than plenty of corn and wine, * or the multitude of posterity, or dominon o'er our Brethren. These were the great rewards of the old Law: but behold far greater than these are here. Divine refreshments from the heaven of heavens, and the rare delicious fruits of the holy Ghost: Meekness and peace and joy diffused in our breasts; strength and undaunted courage kindled in our hearts: A thousand sweet embraces of the Spouse of Souls; a thousand dear pledges of his everlasting love. These are the great rewards of the law of grace; and given to prepare us for the Kingdom of glory. O blessed Spirit, who bestowest thy favours as thou pleasest; and the more thou hast given, still the more thou giv'st! Fit and dispose thy servants first to entertain thee; then graciously vouchsafe to descend into our hearts: Fill us, O holy Ghost, and our little Vessels; and as thou fil'st us enlarge our capacities: Make us, the more we receive of thee, still grow in desire of receiving more: Till we ascend to those satisfying joys above; where all our faculties shall be stretched to the utmost: Where they shall all be filled to the brim; and overflowed with a torrent of pleasure for ever. Glory be, etc. Psal. CX. Blessed for ever be thy name O holy Spirit; and blessed be the bounty of thy goodness. When the eternal Father, by creating the world, * had declared Himself and his almighty Power: When the Increated Word, by redeeming mankind, * had revealed Himself and his infinite Wisdom: When now there remained but one seal more * to be opened of the Book of divine mysteries: Behold a strange condescendance to our weak nature; the invisible Spirit visibly appears: He descends from heaven in the shape of a dove and gently lights on the Prince of peace Again he descends in the likeness of fire; and miraculously sits on the heads of the Disciples: Mingling thus together into one blessed compound * those chief ingredients of excellent virtue: Mildness to allay the heat of zeal; and zeal to quicken the indifferency of mildness: Innocence to adorn the light of knowledge; and knowledge to direct the simplicity of innocence. O blessed and admirable Teacher! who can instruct like the spirit of God He needs no years to finish his course; but with a swift and effecacious touch consummates all things: He entered the soul of a young delighter in music; and presently sanctified him into a Composer of Psalms: He took a poor shepherd from following the flock; and immediately raised him to the degree of a Prophet: He by one lesson perfected the Disciples; and polished rude fishermen into eloquent preachers. He touched the hart of a persecuting Pharisee; & instantly changed him into a glorious Apostle: All this thou hast done O infinite Goodness! and all we do is wrought in us by thee: By thee we are regenerated at first in our baptism; by thee confirmed in the imposition of hands: By thee we are healed in the Sacrament of Penance; by thee prepared for that banquet of the bread of Angels: By thee thy choicer servants are consecrated into Priests; by thee our marriages are sanctified into blessings: By thee our souls are comforted on our beds of sickness; and by thy holy unction all our life is governed. If in the Church be any wisdom or knowledge; if any real sanct●●ty or decent order: If any faith of the mysteries of religion; if any hope of everlasting salvation: If any love of God as our sovereign bliss; if any mutual charity of one towards another: If any miracles to convert unbelievers; or quicken devotion in such as faintly believe: All flows from Thee; and thy free grace; O thou boundless Ocean of eternal mercies! All flows from Thee; and may we all return * our little streams in tribute to thy bounty! May every favour thou offerest be thankfully received; and every talon thou bestowest diligently improved: So shall we faithfully perform our duty; and render to thy grace its just glory: While whate'er we have, we acknowledge from thee; and whate'er thou giv'st us is not in vain. Glory be, etc. Psal. CXI Still let us sing, O blessed Spirit, to Thee; let us humbly sing these few lines more: To Thee, the eternal Love of the Father and the Son; and glorious Finisher of that sacred Mystery: To Thee, the quickening Spirit of regenerate Souls; in whom they live and move and have their being: To Thee, the sovereign Balsam of our wounds; and only Comfort of all our sorrows: To Thee, our Refuge in this place of banishment; and faithful Guide in this wand'ring pilgrimage. To Thee the sacred Pledge of our free adoption; and ensuring Seal of our eternal Salvation: What do we say, O thou adorable Spirit of God what do we say when we utter such words as these! We say what we can in our low capacity; but alas, how short of thy unspeakable excellencies! O that we had the tongues of Saints and Angels! O that we had thine own miraculous tongues! Those which sat flaming on the heads of the Apostles; and made them speak thy wonders in every language: Still all our praises would be poor and narrow; still infinitely less than thy more than infinite perfections. But, if we cannot speak as our God deservs; shall we hold our peace, which our God forbids? Woe be to them, O Lord, who are silent of Thee; and spend the breath thou giv'st them on any but Thyself. O thou who openest the mouths of the dumb; and makest the tongues of children eloquent! Inspire thy servants, if not with expressions suitable to Thee; at least with such as are profitable to us: Such as may instruct us what we ought to do; such as may move us to do what we say. And when we have tried our best endeavours; and taken measure of our own defects: Let us beg this charity of thy Blessed above, to supply our weakness with their worthier hymns. Praise the eternal Spirit, O thou Queen of Saints! by whom the world's Redeemer was conceived in th●● womb: By whom thou wert made the Mother of the Son of God; so high a favour to thee, and so happy to us. Praise him all you Quires of rejoicing Angels, whose early grace confirmed you in glory. Praise him you reverend Patriarches, whose ways he governed; and by particular providence led you to felicity. Praise him you ancient Prophets, whose souls he inspired * to teach his chosen People the mind of heaven. Praise him you glorious Apostles, whose persons he empowr'd * to be Ambassadors of peace betwixt heaven and earth. Praise him you generous Martyrs, whose spirits he encouraged; and gave you victory o'er the terrors of death: Praise him you blessed Confessors, whose lives he sanctified; and gave you victory o'er the world and your selus. Praise him you holy Virgins, whose souls he espoused; and consecrated your chaste bodies into Temples for himself. Praise him you faithful departed, whose hope he sustains; and will at last bring you to full fruition. Praise him all you Elect, in your several happy states; bless him, and magnify him for ever. Praise him in the power and freedom of his grace; praise him in the greatness and eternity of his glory. Praise him, O my soul, for his mercies to thee: praise him for his goodness to all the world. Praise him on thy choicest instrument, that of thy hart; praise him in thy best words, those of the Church. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Kindle in our hearts, O Lord, thy holy fire; that we may offer to Thee the incense of praise: Alleluja: Capit. Rom. 8. WE are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh: for if you live according to the flesh you shall die; but if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. For, whoever are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God; and if sons, than heirs: heirs truly of God, and coheirs of Christ; if we suffer with him, to be also glorified with him. Hymn XXXIV. COme mild and holy Dove, Descend into our breast; Do thou in us, make us in thee, For ever dwell and rest. Come and spread o'er our heads Thy soft all-cherishing wing; That in its shade we safe may sit, And to thee praises sing. To thee who giv'st us life, Our better life of grace: Who giv'st us breath and strength and speed To run and win our race. If by the way we faint, Thou reachest forth thy hand: If our own weakness make us fall, Thou mak'st our weakness stand. When we are sliding back, Thou dost our danger stop: When we again, alas, are fallen; Again thou tak'st us up: Else there we still must lie, And still sink lower down: Our hope to rise is all from Thee; Our ruins all our own. O my ingrateful foul! What shall our dulness do, For Him that does all this for us, Only our love to woe? We'll love Thee then, dear Lord! But Thou must give that love: We'll humbly beg it of thy grace; But Thou our prayers must move. O hear thine own self speak; For thou in us dost pray: Thou canst as quickly grant as ask; Thy grace knows no delay. Glory to Thee, O Lord, One coeternal Three: To Father, Son, and holy Ghost One equal glory be. Antiph. Come holy Spirit, the free Dispenser of all graces, visit the hearts of thy faithful servants, and replenish them with thy sacred inspirations: illuminate our understandings, and inflame our affections, and sanctify all the faculties of our souls; that we may know, and love, and constantly do the things that belong to our peace, our everlasting peace: Alleluja, Alleluja. Recite the Canticle Benedictus, as page 27. Then, repeat this Antiphon, etc. O Lord hear our prayers. And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, who miraculously sentest down the holy Ghost to supply the absence of thy Son, and comfort his heartless Followers, and instruct them in all things necessary to their great work, the conversion of the world! Grant, we humbly beseech thee, that our devout commemorating those fiery tongues which sat on each of their heads, and produced such glorious effects, may increase the fervour of our hearts to continue and attest, by all fruits of grace, the same spirits still abiding with us; through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee in the unity of the same blessed Spirit, lives and reigns one God world without end. Amen. Commemorations, etc. as page 29. Vespers for the holy Ghost. IN the name, etc. as Pag. 33. Antiph. We are not our own, but the temples of the holy Ghost; let us dedicate our selus entirely to his service. Psal. CXII. COme let us now again prepare our hearts; and humbly offer this our evening sacrifice: Let us clear our heads of all other thoughts; that fill us, at best, with nothing but emptiness: Let us remember our God is a pure Spirit; and delights to dwell in a clean tabernacle: He will not enter a soul that's subject to ●●in▪ nor stay where he finds his grace neglected: If he vouchsafe us the blessing of a visit; and O how heavenly sweet and ravishing is his presence! Let us open wide our bosoms to receive him; and summon all our powers to come and entertain him. Come, my understanding, and bring all thou knowst; all that enlightens thee in the way to felicity: Come, my Will, and call in all thy loves; and contract them into one, and settle it here for ever: Come, my Memory, with all thy swarm of notions; and forget them all but what concerns thy eternity: Come, my whole Soul, with these thy faculties about thee; and prostrate adore the eternal Spirit: Behold, he now is with us, and sits in our hearts, as on his throne; * to receive our petitions, and give us his blessings: He never will forsake us, if we chase him not away; but guide and comfort us with his holy inspirations: Come then, and with devoutest reverence attend; and hear what the Lord our God will say. He leads us thus into retirement and silence; and there familiarly speaks to our heart: Tell me, O you designed for everlasting happiness; tell me now freely, for none shall interrupt us: What do you chiefly delight to think on? and what do you aim at in all those thoughts? Consider well the question I propose; and when you have examined your selus, give me your answer. O thou our merciful though offended God behold thus low we bow our guilty heads: Blushing for shame to see our folly; and so much the more because we see our duty: Happy were we, could we still be thinking on Thee; and raise all those thoughts into desires to be with thee: Happy were we could we always feel those fervours, * of which sometimes thou inspirest a little spark: O were that spark kindled into a fire, and that fire blown up into a continual flame! But we, alas, are hot and cold by fits; and, which is worse, our cold fit is the longer. Some few half hours we spend in prayer; and many whole days in idleness and vanity: Sometimes we bestow a little on the poor; and often throw away a great deal on our passions: Sometimes we deny and mortify our selus; but far more often obey our sensual appetites: Sometimes we are drawn by thy grace to do one good work; and seduced by our nature to a thousand iniquities. Thus we confess to thee, O Lord our God who perfectly seest every corner of our hearts: Thus we confess to thee, not that thou may'st know us; but that we may know our selus, and thou may'st cure us. Cure us, O thou great Physician of our souls! cure us of all our sinful distempers: Cure us of this aguish intermitting piety; and fix it into an even and constant holiness: O make us use religion as our regular diet; and not only as a single medicine in a pressing necessity: Make us enter into a course of hearty repentance; and practise virtue as our daily exercise: So shall our souls be endued with a perfect health; and disposed for a long, even everlasting life. Glory be, etc. Antiph. We are not our own, but the temples of the holy Ghost: let us dedicate our selus entirely to his service. Antiph. Quicken us by thy grace, O holy Spirit! that we may thoroughly mortify the works of the flesh. Psal. CXIII. NOw we have begun, permit us, mighty Lord! to speak once more, who are but dust and ashes. Let us go on and confess to Thee; and open before thee all our miseries. Such an occasion often endangers us; such a tentation too often overcomes us: Our own infirmities are too strong for us; and our ill customs prevail against us: Every day we resolve to amend; and every day we break our resolutions: Have mercy on us, O God of infinite compassion! have mercy on us, O thou Comforter of afflicted minds! Have mercy on us and pardon what is past; have mercy on us, and prevent what is to come. When e'er thou seest us unhappily engaged; and blindly running on in the ways of death: O send thy holy grace to check our desperate speed; and make us stay, and look before us: Show us the horrid downfall into that bottomless pit; where impenitent sinners are swallowed up for ever: Strike our regardless souls with fear and trembling, * at the dreadful sight of so sad a ruin: Then turn our eyes, and kindly set before them * the beauteous prospect of a pious life: Make us look long and steadily upon it; make us look through, and see beyond it: Make us delight in the hope it enjoys; but incomparably more in the joy it hopes. A joy which none but thyself can give; none but thyself can make capable to receive. Give us, O gracious Lord, thou free Beginer, * and perfect Finisher of all virtuous actions! Give us a right spirit to guide our intentions; that we may aim directly at our true end: Give us a holy spirit to sanctify our affections; that what we rightly design, we may piously pursue: Give us an heroic spirit to confirm our hearts; that what we piously endeavour, we may courageously achieve. Suffer not the flesh to deceive us any more; but fortify our spirit against all its assaults: If the flesh grow bold, and insolently demand, * how can you live without those liberties. Let the spirit answer, their followers are slaves; and the service of God is the only true freedom: If the flesh allege, what joy in suffering ills; or doing contrary to our own inclinations? Let the spirit reply, that the cross of Christ is sweet, and nothing so glorious as the conquest of our selus: If the flesh insist, what do you see or hear, * or exercise any sense in, but the things of this world? Let the spirit immediately enter this protest; and may every experienced soul subscribe the truth! I see its vanity, and feel its vexation; and meet in every thing its falseness and danger. Away then flesh and blood, away deceitful world; you cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven. You were created only to serve us in the way; and set us down at our journey's end: Away with all your fond deluding dreams; be banished for ever from our awakened souls. Come thou to us blest spirit of faith! and govern our lives with thy holy maxims: Subdue our sense to the dictates of reason; and perfect our reason with the mysteries of Religion: Teach us to love and fear what we see not now; as at too great a distance for our short sight: But what we are sure will hereafter be * our blyss or misery for ever. Glory be etc. Antiph. Quicken us by thy grace, O holy Spirit; that we may thoroughly mortify the works of the flesh. Antiph. Deliver us, O gracious God, from every evil spirit; and vouchsafe to give us thine own good spirit. Psal. CXIV. LEt not our Lord be angry and will we speak yet once; for we have much to ask, and he has infinite to give. We have much to ask for our selus and all the world; who depend entirely on his free goodness. Many O Lord, are the graces we want; and none can give them but thy bounty: Many are the sins and miseries we are exposed to; and none can deliver us but thy Providence: Deliver us, O Lord, from what thou knowst is against us; deliver us from what we know our selus will undo us. Deliver us from the spirit of profaneness and infidelity; from the spirit of error and schism and heresy: Deliver us from the spirit of pride and avarice; from the spirit of anger and sloth and envy: Deliver us from the spirit of drunkenness and gluttony; from the spirit of lust and wantoness and impurity: Deliver us, O gracious God, from every evil spirit; and vouchsafe to give us thine own good spirit: Vouchsafe to give us the spirit of fortitude; the spirit of temperance and justice and prudence: The spirit of wisdom and understanding and counsel; the▪ spirit of knowledge and piety and fear of Thee: The spirit of peace and patience and benignity; the spirit of humility, sobriety, and chastity: O Thou who never deniest▪ thy favours; unless we first deny our obedience: Thou who art often near us, when we are far From thee; often ready to grant, when we are unmindful to ask: Refuse not, O Lord, to hear us, now we call on Thee; and make us still hear Thee when thou callest to us. Fill our understandings with the knowledge of such truths, as may fix them on Thee the eternal Verity: Inure our wills to embrace such objects, as may unite them to Thee the sovereign Goodness: Show us the narrow way that leads to life; the way which few can find, and fewer follow: Guide us still on in the middle path of virtue; that we never decline to any vicious extreme: Let not our faith grow wild with superfluous branches; nor bestript into a naked and fruitless trunk: Let not our hope swell up to a rash presumption; nor shrink away into a faint despair: Let not our charity be cooled into a careless indifferency; nor heated into a furious zeal: But above all suffer us not, O thou blessed and holy Spirit! to be guilty of those unpardonable sins against Thyself: Suffer us not obstinately to persist in any known wickedness; nor maliciously impugn any known truth: Suffer us not to die in our sins without repentance; but O have mercy on us in that serious hour: Have mercy on us and govern us in our life; have mercy on us, and save us at our death. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Deliver us, O gracious God, from every evil spirit; and vouchsafe to give us thine own good spirit. Capit. Gal. 5. NOw, the works of the flesh are manifest; fornication, uncleaness, impudicity, luxury, serving of Idols; witchcrafts, enmityes, contentions, emulations, angers, brawls, dissensions, sects, envies, murders, drunkeness banquet, and such like: which I foretell you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the Kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity: against such there is no law. And they who are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscen●●es. If we live in the spirit, in the spirit let us walk. Let us not be covetous of vain glory, envying one another, provoking one another. Hymn XXXV. COme holy Spirit, send down those beams, Which gently flow, in silent streams, From thy bright throne above: Come Thou Enricher of the poor, And bounteous source of all our store; Come, fill us with thy love. Come thou our souls delicious guest; The wearied p●●lgrims sweetest Rest; The sufferer's best Relief: Come thou our passions cool Alloy: Whose comfort wips all tears away, And turns to joy all grief. Come bright Sun, shoot home thy darts; Pierce to the centre of our hearts, And make our faith love Thee: Without thy grace, without thy light, Our strength is weakness, our day night; We can nor move nor see. Lord wash our sinful stains away; Water from heaven our barren clay; Our many bruises heal: To thy sweet yoke our stiff necks bow; Warm with thy fire our hearts of snow; Our wand'ring feet repeal. O grant thy Faithful, dearest Lord, Whose only hope is thy sure word, The seven gifts of thy Spirit: Grant us in life t'obey thy grace; Grant us at death to see thy face; And endless joys inherit. All glory to the sacred Three One everliving Deity, All power and blyss and praise: As at the first when time begun, May the same homage still be done, Till time itself decays. Antiph. Blessed be thy name, O holy spirit of God, who dividest thy gifts to every one as thou pleasest, and workest all in all: in Thee our sorrows have a comforter to allay them, and our sins an Advocate to plead for them; in Thee our ignorances' have a guide to direct them, & our frailties a Confirmer to strengthen them, and all our wants a God to relieve them, alleluja, alleluja. Magnificat, etc. as pag. 44. Repeat the Antiphon. Then— O Lord hear our prayers. And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, who by thy holy Spirit didst at first establish and sanctify thy Church, and by the same Spirit dost still preserve and govern it! hear we beseech Thee, the prayers of thy servants, and mercifully grant us the perpetual assistance of thy grace, that we never be deceived by any false spirit, nor overcome by the vicious suggestions of flesh and blood; but in all our doubts be directed into the way of truth, and in all our actions guided by thy holy Spirit, who with Thee and thy eternal Son lives and reigns One God world without end, Amen. O Lord hear, etc. as page 45. Then say the Complin of the day, for this Office has none of its own. Office of the SAINTS. MATINS. On some particular Sundays, noted in the Proper of Festivals; and on all Holidays of Obligation, before and after every Psalm at Matins, laud's, Vespers and Complin, say one of the Three Antiphons' set down in the Proper of Festivals, that is, each Antiphon eight times in the whole Office of the Day. Say also the Antiphon (where any proper one is prepared) before and after Benedictus and Magnificat: else say the common one, as in the Office. Then, the Prayer, as in the Proper of Festivals. The rest of these particular Offices is to be ricited out of the common Offices, as is noted in the Directions, and Proper of Festivals. Introduction, as pag. 1. Invitatory. Come let's adore the King of Saints. Come let's adore the King of Saints. Psal. CXV. GReat is the Majesty of the King we serve, and rich the splendours of his Court: o'er all the world he sends his commands, and none dare resist or dispute his power. Come let's adore the King of Saints. Great is the clemency of our gracious Sovereign, to pardon the offences of repenting sinners: great is the bounty of our glorious Lord, to crown with rewards his faithful servants. Come let's adore the King of Saints. Thousands of Saints attend in his presence, and millions of Angels wait on his Throne: all beauteously ranged in perfect order, all joyfully singing the praises of their Creator. Come let's adore the King of Saints. Thou art our King too, blessed JESUS; and we, alas! thy unprofitable subjects: we cannot praise Thee like those thine own bright Quires; yet humbly offer our little tribute. Come let's adore the King of Saints. Let us bow low our heads to Him, before whom the Seraphins cover their faces: let us bow low our hearts to Him, at whose fee●● the Saints lay down their crowns. Come let's adore the King of Saints. Glory be, etc. As it was, etc. Come let's adore the King of Saints. Come let's adore the King of Saints. Hymn XXXVI. AWake my soul, chase from thine eyes This drowsy sloth, and quickly rise; Up, and to work apace: No less than Kingdoms are prepared, And endless blyss, for their reward, Who finish well their race. 'Tis not so poor a thing to be Servants to heaven, dear Lord, and Thee, As this fond world believes: Not even here, where oft the Wise Are most exposed to injuries, And friendless virtue grieves. Sometimes thy hand lets gently fall A little drop, that sweetens all The bitter of our Cup; O what hereafter shall we be, When we shall have whole draughts of Thee, Brim-ful and drink them up! Say happy souls, whose thirst now meets The fresh and living stream of sweets, Which spring from that blessed throne: Did you not find this true even here, Do you not find it truer there, Now heaven is all your own? O yes, the sweets we taste exceed All we can say, or you can read; They fill, and never cloy: On earth our cup was sweet, but mixed; Here all is pure, refined, and fixed; All Quintessence of joy. Hearest thou my soul what glorious things The Church of heaven in triumph sings Of their blessed life above? Cheer thy faint hopes, and bid them live; All these thy God to thee will give; If thou embrace his love. Great God, of rich rewards, who thus Hast crowned thy Saints, and wilt crown us! As Both to Thee belong O may we both together sing Eternal praise to thee our King, In one eternal song. Antiph. Happy are thy Saints, O Lord! who wisely chose their End; and constantly pursued the means to attain it. Psal. CXVI. Tell me you eager lovers of the world, what 'tis you aim at in all your pretences? You weary your bodies with restless labour; and afflict your minds with perpetual care: Day and night you are still perplexed; still busily plotting to compass your ends: Tell me what are those ends you so long have sought; and I will tell you what you soon will find. While they are many they but distract your thoughts; and often engage them to quarrel among themselves: One end, and one alone's the way to peace; and on that One must all the rest depend. 'Tis true, and by that rule we guide our lives * whate'er we undertake is only to be happy. 'Tis to be happy that we strive to be great; and every our selus by defrauding others: 'Tis to be happy that we run after pleasures; and covet in every thing our own proud will: But we, alas! mistake our happiness; and foolishly seek where 'tis not to be found As silly children think to catch the Sun; when they see it setting at so near a distance: They travail on and tyre themselves in vain; for the thing they seek is in another world: Just so we judge, and just so are deceived; when we think to meet with heaven upon earth. This world, alas! has now no Paradise; but all its fruits are weeds and thorns. All dangerously mixed with occasions of sin; all sprinkled over with the bitterness of sorrow. What did we ever passionately love, but still in the end it made us repent? Nay the best end was heartily to repent, and learn by our falling to tread more sure. 'Tis not then here we must seek our happiness; and yet 'tis happiness we all must seek. Pity us, O Lord, who live below in the dark; still wishing for rest, but finding none: Scatter those mists of passion that blind our eyes; and shine upon us with thy beauteous light: Convince us thoroughly there's a better world than this; a happier people than those we know: That we may now begin our journey thither; and fit our selus for that blessed company. Glory be, &c Antiph. Happy are thy Saints, O Lord, who wisely chose their end; and constantly pursued the means to attain it. Antiph. O how glorious is the kingdom of heaven, where our Lord reigns in the midst of his Saints! Psal. CXVII. IF thus our nature tend to happiness; there's sure some happiness to content our nature. Sure the Alwise Creator has provided means, to satisfy the appetites which himself has made. Doubt not, my soul, the bounty of thy Lord; but turn all thy fear on thine own unworthiness: Look up, and see a rich delicious Land; that flows with sweeter streams than milk and honey: Look up, and see a glorious City, incomparably braver than the Courts of Kings: Behold the blessed Angels shining on their thrones; and all the holy Saints triumphing with their hymns. Behold the glory wherewith their Lord has crowned them, in the solemn day of their Espousals with Himself. Look up, and see a more exalted seat; and on it one far brighter than the rest, the Queen of all those Saints and Angels; the Virgin-Mother of the Son of God: Look up yet higher, O my soul, and see * the sacred Humanity of thy dear Redeemer: That blessed JESUS, who died for us on the Cross; and now invites us to partake his crown. See, and rejoice in those eternal honours, which heaven and earth pay to their King: Look up once more, and infinitely farther; and humbly admire the unspeakable Mystery: See and adore the Sovereign Deity, essentially full of its own blessed Light: Full and overflowing into all his creatures; which shine as little beams derived from Him. When thou hast seen all this, my soul; and stayed and dwelled a while among those wonders: Turn down thine eye towards the earth again; and see the petty things that entertain our minds: What is a name of honour, and a momentary pleasure; compared to the blyss of an eternal Paradise? What is a bag of money, or a fair Estate; if counterballanced with the treasures of heaven? How narrow, there, do our greatest kingdoms seem! how small a circle the whole globe of the earth! Cities and towns show like little hills; and the busy world but as a swarm of ants: Running up and down, and jostling one another; and all this stir for a few grains of corn. O heaven! let me again lift up my eyes to thee; and take a fuller view of that glorious Prospect. There let me stand and fix my steady sight; till I have looked myself into this firm judgement: All the most prosperous fortune can here possess; or even the largest fancy possibly imagine; All is an idle dream to those real joys; an absolute nothing to that solid felicity. Glory be, etc. Antiph. O how glorious is the kingdom of heaven; where our Lord reigns in the midst of his Saints! Antiph. In thee, O Lord, is all our hope; in life and death, in time and eternity. Psal. CXVIII. 'tIs true, there is, I see, a glorious state * prepared above for the spirits of the Perfect: But how shall we, poor dust and ashes; and laden too with the burden of our sins; How shall we hope to ascend those higher Regions; or claim a portion in that holy land? Fear not, my soul; send up thy sighs and prayers; * and ask with confidence those celestial spirits. They want not knowledge to resolve our doubts; they want not charity to relieve our needs: Themselves sometimes have come down to assist us; what will they do, when we go up to wait on them? Ask the bright Angels, what made them happy; and strait they'll answer with a spriteful voice; We readily obeyed our great Creator; and he fixed us here to shine for ever. Ask the blessed Saints, what brought them to felicity; and immediately they'll tell you in the same glad tune; We faithfully loved our dear Redeemer; and that love placed us here: Ask Both together, what bred those excellent virtues; and Both together will proclaim aloud; Blessed for ever be the grace of our God, which alone has wrought all our works in us: Blessed for ever be the Bounty of our Lord; which gave us freely first, then crowned his own gifts. Hark how the holy Saints, as more allied to us, * bear on alone and sweetly close the song: Fear not, say they, you who dwell below; and sigh under the weight of flesh and blood: Fear not to ascend at last to this place of joy; and take your happy seats among our Quires: We too lived once in that valley of tears; and were set to strive with the same unruly passions: He that made us o'recom can as easily strengthen you; He that has crowned our victories will as surely glorify yours. Fear not, the way is smother than you are made believe; and the time shorter than perhaps you wish: 'Tis but to love your own true interest, which seems no hard command; * and that but while you live, which you seldom think too long: This once well done, you have no more to do; but to come and sing and rejoice with us. O you blessed Saints, who now are gladly arrived * at the quiet harbour of eternal rest! Behold us here below embarked on the same Ship; and bound with all our interest for the same Port. Behold us struggling yet in this Sea of storms: and guide us safely thorough all our dangers. Come holy Angels with your swiftest speed, and disappoint the enemies that threaten to sink us. Bend down thy gracious eyes, O Queen of clemency; and fill them from our woes with soft compassion: Then sweetly turn them to thy Son's mild throne; whose love stands always ready to meet thy wishes: There represent to Him our needs, our fears; and favourably obtain for us a happy passage. And Thou, O sovereign Lord of universal nature, on whom the whole celestial court continually waits! Command thy vigilant Angels to watch about us; and carry us strongly on to the Place of our desires: Save us, O Thou whom the Sea and winds obey! save us, O merciful Lord, or else we perish: Save us who call on Thee in all our distresses: save us for whom thy glorious Heaven pours forth their prayers: Save us for whom thy immortal self wert pleased to die; and graciously receive us into thine own blessed Arms: Thou art thyself, O Lord, the Heaven of repose; bring us to thyself, and our souls shall be safe. Glory be▪ etc. Antiph. In thee, O Lord is all our hope; in life and death, in time and eternity. Our Father, etc. First Lesson. THe souls of the Just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them: they seemed to the eyes of the unwise to die, and their departure was counted affliction; but they are in peace. Though before men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality. Vexed in a few things, they shall be well treated in many; for God has tried them and found them worthy Himself: as gold in the furnace he has proved them, and as a burnt-offering received them; and in time there shall be respect of them. The Just shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble; they shall judge Nations, and have dominion over Peoples, and their Lord shall reign for ever. They that trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful in love shall remain with him: for, rest and peace is to his Elect. Resp. Rejoice all you holy Saints, rejoice, and sing for ever the mercies of our Lord: his blessed hand has wiped away all tears from your eyes; and now you no more shall weep, no more complain: * For, the evening of sorrow is past and the day of eternal joy is come; Alleluja. Now you no longer shall sigh, to be delivered out of this dark and tedious prison; but dwell for ever in that glorious light, the light which springs from the face of God. * For,— Second Lesson. THe Just, if prevented with death, shall be in a place of refreshment: for venerable age consists not in length of time, nor is accounted by number of years; but wisdom is the grey hair to a man, and an unspotted life old age. He pleased God, and was beloved of Him, and living among sinners was translated; he was taken away lest malice should change his understanding, or deceit beguile his soul: for the bewitching of vanity obscures good things, and the wand'ring of concupiscence perverts the simple mind. Being made perfect in a short space, he fulfilled much time; for his soul pleased God, therefore he hastened to bring him out of the midst of iniquities. This the people saw, but did not understand; not laying up such things in their hearts: That the grace of God and mercy is with his Saints, and that He has respect to his Chosen. Resp. O happy they whom our Lord shall honour on the day of his triumph; and, rising from his Seat of Judgement, go gloriously before them, and with these sweet and gracious words invite them to follow him; Come you blessed of my Father, possess the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. * The reward of your labours I will give you, I myself will be your reward: Alleluja. You have firmly believed, you have firmly believed, you have readily obeyed, you have constantly suffered; Come enter now into your Master's joy. * The reward— Third Lesson. THen shall the Just stand with great confidence, before the face of those who have afflicted him and made no account of his labours. When they shall see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and amazed at the suddenness of his unexpected salvation: and repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit, they shall say within themselves, These are they whom heretofore we have had in derision, and as a byword of reproach. Senseless we esteemed their lives a madness, and their end dishonourable: behold, how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the Saints. We therefore have erred from the way of truth, and the light of justice has not shined to us: we have wearied our selus in the paths of iniquity and perdition, we have walked hard ways; but the way of our Lord we have not known. What has our pride profited us; or what benefit has Vaunting of our riches brought us? They all are passed away as a shadow, and as a Post that runs by in haste; or as bird that flies in the sky, and no sign of her passage to be found, but only a sound of her wings beating the light air: so we, assoon as we were born, began to draw to our end; not able to show any token of virtue, but were consumed in our own wickedness. Such things said they in hell who had sinned; for the hope of the impious is as dust, blown away with the wind, and as a thin froth scattered by the storm. But, the Just shall live for ever, and their reward is with our Lord, and the care of them is with the Highest: therefore shall they receive a glorious Kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the hand of our Lord; for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his holy arm defend them. Resp. Deliver us, O Lord from that sad deplorable end, which thy justice has prepared for the wicked: deliver us from those vain deceitful ways, that lead us to so miserable an End. * O make us always fear thy Judgements, that we never feel them; always hope in thy mercies, that we never forfeit them. Bless us, O Lord, with a happy death, that our souls may depart in peace, and go up to dwell among thy Saints and Angels: bless us, O Lord, with a holy life, and then our death cannot but be happy. * O make— Glory be, etc. O make— Te Deum as Page 16. laud's for Saints. O God incline, as Page 18. Antiph. The Just shall be as lilies planted in Paradise, Alleluja: and flourish in the presence of God for ever, Alleluja. Psal. CXIX. COme le's all bring forth our Psalms; and go together to the house of Praise: There let us meet in peace and love; and join our hearts and voices into one glad song. Come let us sing, but who shall be our theme? what worthy subject shall our Music choose? No, 'tis not conquerors we mean to admire; nor any of the Great Ones whom the world applauds: But You, Blessed Spirits, who bravely overcame your selus; and led in triumph your own passions: Who either wisely used this world; or to be safer, used it not at all. You are the illustrious worthies we desire to praise, * and gild our hymus with your bright names: Yours are the only Trophys we delight to set up; and beautify our Churches with your holy Pictures: Sing then aloud, my Soul, the glories of the Saints; and let their sacred memories be always in thine. Rejoice thou, who feelst these miseries here, * and often complainest of the dangers of this life: Rejoice at their glad delivery from all these sorrows; and heartily congratulate their secure felicity: Rejoice, and with thy best instructed thoughts admire * the exquisite wisdom of the divine Providence. Who from such low beginnings can raise so great effects; yet every step thrust naturally on the next: Behold a little seed that's buried in the earth * shoot gently out its tender leav●●; And, nourished on with the clouds and Sun, * climb up by degrees into a tall stalk: There it displays its full blown hope; and crowns its own head with a silver lily. Such is the progress of immortal souls; even those who shine now among the highest Seraphins: At first shu●● up in their mother's womb, where they lie confined close prisoners in the d●●rk: Thence they come forth to see, and h●●ar; and slowly begin to walk and speak: Next they advance to understand and discourse; then learn to fly with the wings of grace: Till they get up even beyond themselves; and believe and live above their own nature: At last the kindly hand of death gives them a stroke, and they instantly become like the glorious Angels. Instantly their dark and narrow knowledge unfolds itself, and spreads into a clear and spacious view: Where they at once shall see all the glories of heaven; at once possess and for ever enjoy them. Thus, from the humble seed of grace, connaturally spring the flowers of glory: And from this life's green stem of hope * grow just on the top of the Lillys of Paradise. Lillys that never fade, but still shine on, and fill the heavens with their beauteous sweetness: Lillys, that even Solomon, in all his glory, * was not arrayed like one of these. Sing then, my soul, but still among thy Hymns * mingle resolus to imitate their lives: Those are the laud's most deligh●●ful to Them, whose charity rejoices at the conversion of a sinner: Those are the Feasts most profitable to thee, whose weakness needs the impressions of example: Learn but of them to be humble and meek; to submit all thy wishes to the Will of heaume: To govern thy senses by a rule of reason, and thy reason by the dictates of Religion: To design thy whole life in order to thy end; and establish for thy end the blyss of eternity. These holy Lessons let thy life transcribe; and never fear their acceptance of thy praise. Saints like our service best, when our honouring them * becomes an occasion of benefiting our selus. Glory be, etc. Antiph. The Just shall be as lilies planted in Paradise, Alleluja: and flourish for ever in the presence of God, Alleluja. Antiph. Rejoice, O you Holy and Just, Alleluja: for our Lord has chosen you for his own inheritance, Alleluja. Psal. CXX. O Praise our Lord, all you powers of my soul; praise the immortal King of Saints and Angels: Praise him as the Author of all their graces; praise him as the Finisher of all their glories: Praise him in the admirable privileges of his Virgin-Mother; whom he obeyed on earth and assumed into heaven: That he might give us hope our petitions will be heard, presented by the hand of so powerful an Advocate: Praise him in the mighty hosts of Angels; whom he sets about us as the Guard of our lives: That they may safely keep us in all our ways; and carry us at last to their own home. Praise him in the sacred College of Apostles, to whom he revealed the mysteries of his Kingdom: That they might teach us too those heavenly truths; and show us the same best way to felicity. Praise him in the generous fortitude of Martyrs; whom he strengthened with courage to resist even to death: That we might learn of them to hold fast our faith; and rather lose this life, then hazard the Other. Praise him in the eminent fanctity of Confessors; whose whole design was a course of heroic Virtue: That we might raise our minds from our usual lazy flight; and with a quick and active wing mount up towards heaven: Praise him in the Angelical purity of Virgins, whose hearts he inflamed with his divine charity: That they might kindle ours with the same chaste fire; the same fe●●vent love to the spouse of our souls: Praise him in the perfect holiness of all his Saints; whose lives he moulded into so various shapes: That every size of ours might readily be furnished * with a pattern cut out, and fitted for itself. O praise our Lord all you powers of my soul; praise the immortal King of Saints and Angels: Praise every Person of the sacred Deity; and give a hearty joy to the whole court of heaven. Blessed for ever be the Eternal Father; who has fixed his Angels in so high a happiness: Triumph bright Angels on your radiant thrones; and shine continually in the presence of your God: Blessed for be ever the Eternal Son; who has crowned so gloriously his incomparable Mother: Live most miraculous Mother of the King of heaven; and dwell perpetually in the joys of thy Son: Blessed for ever be the Eternal Spirit; whose grace prefers all the Saints into glory: Rejoice every happy Saint in your own felicity; rejoice every one in the felicity of All. Blessed for ever be the undivided Trinity; whose sight alone is the heaven of heaven: Sing all you holy Citizens of heaven; sing all together everlasting hymns: Sing, and among your highest fervours forget not us; who thus in our low way remember you: Still pray our dear Redeemer to save our souls; and still we'll praise his Name for saving yours. Glory be▪ etc. Antiph. Rejoice, O you Holy and Just, Alleluja: for our Lord has chosen you for his inheritance, Alleluja. Antiph. Perpetual light shall shine on thy Saints, O Lord, Alleluja: and joy and glory for ever, Alleluja. Psal. CXXI. BUt, who are we, born here below in the dust, and still kept down with the thoughts of this world? Lord who are we, that our polluted hands * dare offer to Thee the incense of praise? We who so often disobey thy commands; and so seldom weep for our many follies: Forgive, great God, our boldness, who thus rashly presume; forgive our frailties who thus weakly perform. Plead our excuse, O you glorified Spiritis; and with your flaming charity warm our coldness: O praise our Lord, you pure unblemished Angels, * who never displeased him with the least offence; Praise him, O you freely pardoned Saints, who perfectly repented every little trespass. Praise him with the highest Office of all your Feasts; praise him with the loudest music of all your Quires. And so they do: look up, my soul, and see * the innumerable multitude of triumphing Spirits. See how they stand all clothed in white robes; with palms in their hands, and golden crowns on their heads: Behold the glorious Angels fall down before the Throne; and prostrate adore Him that lives for ever. Behold the blessed Saints lay their Crowns at his feet; and on their faces adore Him that lives for ever. Hark how they fill that spacious Temple with their Hymns, * while night and day they continually sing; Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty: who was, and is, and is to come, Alleluja. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts; heaven and earth are full of thy glory; Alleluja. Glorious art Thou in creating all things; glorious in preserving them every moment of their being: Glorious in governing them their several ways; glorious in appointing them their proper ends: Glorious in rewarding thy servants above their hopes: glorious in punishing sinners below their demerits: Glorious art Thou, O Lord, in all thy works; but infinitely more in thine own self-blessed Essence. Thus they rejoice above, thus they triumph; and may their joy and triumph last for ever. But O, were we not made, as well as they, ** to serve and glorify our great Creator? We owe him all we have, and they can owe no more; they can but do their best, and we should do no less: Your pardon, blessed spirits, if we worms aspire to sing the same bright name which you adore. We are engaged as deep as You; but cannot pay without your charity: O, in your golden Censers put our prayers; and offer them perfumed with the odours of yours: Though we are now, alas! in this land of banishment; and indisposed for those Songs of Zion: Yet 'tis our hope one day to dwell above; and hear your holy harps, and learn to sing of You: We hope to walk with you those ways of light; and follow the Lamb with you wherever He goes. Mean while we every day will join our Vow●● to Yours; and say a glad Amen to all You sing: We as Your faithful Echoes will every day repeat * these few short Ends of Your Seraphik Hymns: Salvation to our God who sits on the Throne; and to the Lamb that redeemed us with his blood, Alleluja. Blessing and Wisdom and Power be to Him that sits on the Throne; and to the Lamb for all eternity, Alleluja. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Perpetual light 〈◊〉 shine on thy Saints, O Lord, Alleluja: and joy and glory for ever, Alleluja. Capit. Apoc. 7. AFter these things I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues; standing before the Throne, and in the sight of the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sits on the Throne, and to the Lamb. And all the Angels stood in the Circuit of the Throne, and of the Seniors, and of the four Beasts: and they fell in the sight of the Throne upon their faces, and adored God, saying, Amen; Benediction and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever, Amen. Hymn XXXVII. WAke all my hopes, lift up your eyes, And crown your heads with mirth▪ See how they shine beyond the skies, Who once dwelled on our earth. Peace busy thoughts, away vain cares, That clog us here below: Let us go up above the Spheres, And to each order bow. Hail glorious Angels Heirs of light, The highborn Sons of fire; Whose heats burn chaste, whose flames shine bright; All joy, yet all desire. Hail holy Saints, who long in hope, Long in the shadow sat; Till our victorious Lord set open heavens everlasting gate. Hail great Apostles of the Lamb, Who brought that early Ray, Which from our Sun reflected came, And made our first fair day. Hail generous Martyrs, whose strong hearts Bravely rejoiced to prove, How weak, pale death, are all thy darts, Compared to those of love. Hail Blessed Confessors, who died A death, too, love did give; While your own flesh You crucified, To make your spirit live. Hail beauteous Virgins whose chaste vows Renounced all fond desires; Who wisely chose your Lord for Spouse, And burnt with his pure fires. Hail all you happy Spirits above, Who make that glorious ring About the sparkling Throne of love, And there for ever sing. Hail, and among your Crowns of praise, Present this little wreath; Which while your lofty Notes you raise, We humbly sing beneath. All glory to the sacred Three, One everliving Lord: As at the first, still may he be Beloved, obeyed, adored. Antiph. The number of Them was thousands of thousands, saying, with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction, Alleluja, Alleluja, Alleluja. O Lord hear our Prayers: And let our Supplications come to Thee. Let us pray MOst gracious God the author of all sanctity and Lover of unity, whose wisdom has established an admirable communion between thy Church Triumphant in heaven, and Militant on earth, as members of the same mystical Body, whereof thy Son Christ Jesus is the head: mercifully grant, that as thy Blessed, without ceasing, pray to Thee for us, we may continually praise Thee for them; and in correspondence to their perfect charity, with pious observance celebrate their Memory, till-we all meet before thy glorious throne, and with one hart adore the Saviour of us all, who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end. Amen. Commemorations, etc. as page 29. Vespers for Saints. IN the Name, etc. as page 33. Antiph. Pity, O Lord, the infirmities of thy servants; and quicken our slowness by the example of thy Saints. Psal. CXXII. LOrd, what a lukewarm life is this of ours, compared to the zeal and fervour of thy Saints! Often and long they fasted to chastise their bodies, and bring them under the command of reason: On all their senses they set a constant Guard; to let nothing in that might disturb their peace: Part of the night they watched, and most of the day they laboured; and both night and day continually prayed: All things about them went on in perfect measure; just fit for their pious purpose, and no more: Their clothes, their food, their sleep, their recreation; all taught to serve the improvement of their mind: Their mind, the only aim of all their cares; the only scope of all their severities: That disengaged from the embroilments of this world, they might quietly consider the felicities of the Other: That they might daily grow more enamoured of their Lord; and more inflamed with his divine perfections. Till, at the last dissolved in those holy fires, * they melted away with longings to enjoy Him. Sharp to themselves they were, but sweet to others; obliging all the world with their candid charity: Whatever any wanted they gladly supplied; and gave away at once, sometimes, both fruit and tree. They studied not here how to raise their families; but to entail on their Posterity the example of their virtues: 'Twas not their plot to leave a fair Estate behind them; but to benefit the world with their useful labours: To instruct the ignorant, and confirm the weak; to comfort the sorrowful, and protect the helpless innocent: This was their constant work, this their belov'd design, * to promote with their utmost strength the happiness of all. Lord, what a little 'tis our forwardness endures, compared to the heroic patience of the Saints! When they were reviled, they reviled not again: when spitefully scorned, they meekly held their peace: When they were cursed, they blessed their enemies: when barbarously oppressed, they prayed for their persecutors. They served their Lord in hunger and thirst; and all the incommodities of an impoverished life: Often they were threatened: and they stood the danger: often enticed, and they repelled the flattery: Prisons and chains they willingly accepted; tortures and racks they cheerfully embraced: Even death itself they undauntedly encountered; death furiously armed with every shape of terror: All this they endured, and infinitely more, * of which unmindful we keep no remembrance: All this they endured, and under all rejoiced; that they were counted worthy to suffer for JESUS. O generous Souls, who conquered heaven itself; and entered by force those everlasting gates! Who sat not down in the lowest forms; but still pressed on to new degrees of perfection: You who so freely endeavoured the salvation of others; while yet you were concerned to procure your own: Help us, O blessed Spirits, now your State is secure: pray for us, O holy Saints, now your charity is complete: Pray that the seed you have sown may take deep root; and bring forth fruit to everlasting life: Pray we may follow those who imitate you; and not be corrupted by the example of the careless. And when our prayers seem long or dry, or call us away from some vanity we love; When to forgive our enemies seems heavy to us; or any other Duty crosses our humour: Pray, we may then remember what you have done; and what you have gained by doing it: Pray, we may think what our Lord himself has done; and what he has promised to them that follow him: Their names he will write in the Book of life; and make them sit with him on his own Throne. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Pity, O Lord, the infirmities of thy servants; and quicken our slowness by the example of thy Saints. Antiph. Blessed be thy name, O Lord, who hast provided us so great rewards; and strengthened our hope with so many witnesses. Psal. CXXIII. Little, O Lord, we know, is the good we do; little, the ill we suffer with patience: But what, alas, should we have done or suffered, had we not seen such divine Examples? Had not thy provident hand hung out those Lamps, * bright as the Stars, to shine before us: Had not thyself, the Sun of righteousness, appeared, * to light and warm us with thy cherishing beams: Our faith had been dark, and our charity cold; * and the flower of our hope had languished away. Now we are sure the way to heaven is easy, made broad and smooth by so many Passengers: Men clothed in flesh and blood like us; and weakened with the same imperfect nature: Now we are sure the promises of our God are true; confirmed by as many witnesses as there are Saints in Paradise: Who by their own experience are joyfully convinced; a happy argument where heavens the Question; And by the ravishing sweets they perpetually taste, * are perpetually excited to adore and sing, Faithful is our Lord in all his words: and overflowingly bounteous in all his gifts: While we lived we received the hundred fold; and now are translated to an infinity of Blyss: What he freely promised, he has fully performed: what he engaged to give us, he has abundantly paid. He told us of treasures and golden crowns; but the joys we find are incomparably greater: Joys of a far more high and noble race; which neither we can express, nor you below conceive. 'Tis enough for us that we feel them in our breast; 'tis enough for you, as yet, that you see them in your faith. Even our lesser happinesses infinitely surpas * the greatest pleasures of your dull world. O how agreeable is the Company we enjoy! how delightful the meeting of our old acquaintance! With whom we have prayed, and wept, and suffered; with whom we spoke of this day and place: With whom we now can safely sing, free from the scorn and malice of our enemies: Blessed for ever be the goodness of our God, that has brought us hither to his own place: This is not like our cottages of clay; nor the loathsome prisons where we lay in fetters: This cheerful melody is not like our old complaints; nor the threatening words of our stern Oppressors. The Scene is changed, and, for our world of miseries, * behold a Paradise of endless felicities: Here we shall live, and ever live; here we shall praise our God, and ever praise him. Thus sings the Church triumphant: and thus shall we; if we practise diligently the Lessons they have taught us. If we injure our selus to the same blessed Notes; and live in tune with our holy songs: We shall hereafter be admitted to their Quires; and sing as long and loud as they. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Blessed be thy Name, O Lord, who hast provided us so great rewards; and strengthened our hope with so many witnesses. Antiph. If God be with us, who can be against us? if He justify us, who can condemn us? Psal. CXXIV. TAke courage now, my soul, and chase away thy doubts; for more are with us then against us: God and his holy Angels are on our side; JESUS and his blessed Saints all take our parts: Our great Creator looks on to excite us; our gracious Redeemer comes down to instruct us: The blessed Spirit is within us to confirm our hearts; and the whole Trinity present to crown our victories: Whom shall we then fear thus safely guarded? who can resist so invincible a strength? None but our own corrupted nature dare contend, and the unlucky accidents that conspire with it against us: Sometimes surprising our unwary negligence; sometimes defeating even our strongest resolus: Not that they can compel our wills, unless we yield; or make the least wound without our consent: Much less prevail against the power of heaven; and frustrate the purpose of the Almighty Wisdom: Whose mercy has used more arts to save us: when the craft of Vice can invent to destroy us: Such a redemption so miraculously wrought: such holy Sacraments so often repeated: Such glorious promises so faithfully assured; and, which revives our hope, so easily attained: O infinite Goodness, how generous is thy love! how liberally extended over all the world! Thou invitest little children to come to Thee; and the lame and the blind to sit down at thy feast: None are shut out of heaven, but such as will not go in; none made unhappy but those who care not to be otherwise. Cheer then thyself, my hart, and let no fears molest thee; * nor even death itself abate thy courage: Death is a passage that was always short; and our SAVIOUR'S Cross has made it safe: By the practice of his Saints 'tis grown familiar; and by their happy success become desirable: Lose not then thy hope in so glorious an enterprise; Eternity is at stake, and heaven the reward: That heaven for which the ancient Hermits peopled the Desert; and so many Religious live buried in their Cells: That heaven for which the holy Confessors spent all their time; and innumerable Martyrs; laid down their dearest lives: That heaven where Millions of Angels continually sing; and all the Blessed make one glorious Quire. That heaven where the adored JESUS eternally reigns; and the immortal Deity shines bright for ever: That very heaven is promised thee, my soul; that blessed eternity thou art commanded to hope: Raise now thy head, and see those beauteous Prospects, that ravish the hearts of all their Beholders: Yonder far above the Stars is thy Saviour's Kingdom; yonder we must dwell when we leave this earth: Yonder must our souls remove to rest; when the stroke of death shall divide them from their bodies: And when the Almighty Power shall join them again; yonder must we live with our God for ever. O bounteous Lord, the only Author of all we have; the only object of all we hope: As thou hast thus prepared a heaven for us; O may thy grace prepare us for it: O make us live the life of the Just; and let our last end be like Theirs: That we may die the death of the Just; and live for ever in their blessed society. Glory be, etc. Antiph. If God be with us, who can be against us? if He justify us, who can condemn us. Capit. Apoc. 7. THese are they who are come out of great tribulation, & have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb: therefore they are before the Throne of God, and serve him day and night in his Temple; and He that sits on the Throne shall dwell over them. They shall hunger no more, nor thirst: the Sun shall not fall upon them, nor any heat: for the Lamb who is in the midst of the Throne shall rule them, and conduct them to the living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Hymn XXXVIII. TEll me You bright Stars that shine Round about the Lambs high Throne; How, through bodies once like mine, How are you thus glorious grown? Hark with one voice they reply; This was all our happy skill: We on JESUS fixed our eye, And his emi'nent followers still. As we clearly saw their mind Set and ruled, we ordered ours Both This state alone designed, Up towards this stremed all our Powers. Taught by Temperance we abstained From all less for greater Goods: Slighting little drops, we gained Full and sweet and lasting Floods. Armed with Fortitude, we bore Lesser Evils, worse to fly: Mortal death we durst outdare, Rather than for ever die. justice we observed by giving Every one their utmost due: That in peace, and order living, All might freely Heaven pursue. Prudence governed all the Rest; Prudence made us still apply What was fittest, what was best, To advance great Charity. On those golden wheels of grace, That loves fiery Chariot bear; We arrived at this bright place; Follow us and never fear. O sure truth! O blessed Attesters! O that a●● the world may prove Of both these such strong digesters, That both these may feed their love. Him who made us all for This; Him who made Himself our way; Him who leads us in'to Blyss; May all praise, and all obey. Antiph. Worthy art Thou, O Lord, to receive the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wert slain, and hast redeemed us to God with thy blood out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us to our God a Kingdom, Alleluja. Magnificat. as Page 44. Antiph. Worthy art Thou, etc. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, whose merciful Providence has still from the Beginning, sown the seeds of grace in the hearts of thy chosen servants; which at the Resurrection of thy Son (the first fruit of them that slept) sprung up into glory: and by his holy doctrine and admirable life, and precious death has infinitely increased the mean●● of salvation, and the number of thy Saints Grant we beseech Thee, that we, whom tho●● hast favoured with so many advantages, may by the powerful intercession of that glorious Com●●pany obtain thy grace to imitate them here, and rejoice with them for ever in thy Kingdom hereafter; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end. Amen. Commemorations, as page 29. Complin for Saints. OUr help, etc. as page 46. Antiph. Help us you blessed Citizens of heaven! direct our way, you who have attained your end! Psal. CXXV. THus we have passed another day, another step towards our long home: We have seen the Sun a few hours more; and our day is lost in its own night: But is it lost? O careless we! and all the holy words we have read and heard: Leave they no mark in our memories behind them, but make a little sound and vanish in the air? Have we not been at a solemn Feast? and do we soon forget our entertainment? Could we see nothing among all those rarities * that relished with us and stirred our appetite? Was there no fit provision for some virtue we want? no proper remedy for some weakness we have? Are we devout already as the Saints of God? and chaste, and temperate, and resigned as they? Do we despise this world with a zeal like theirs? and value heaven at the same rate with Them? Would we give all we have, just now, to be there? and part with life itself to die and go thither? Alas! how short are we of these perfections! how slowly do we follow those excellent Guides! O that we lived, I dare not say, blessed Souls, like you, * whose aim was high, and a generous heat bet in your breasts! But that our heart's desire were to live like you; and what you really did, we really wished to do: O that we lived in some degree like you; and loved to think, and read, and speak of you! To sign and publish your heroic Acts; and where we cannot imitate, at least admire: At least, let us learn to humble our selus; and check the vanity of our proud conceits: Let us mourn and blush at our many infirmities, and so much the louder call to heaven for relief: Hear us you blessed Saints who dwell secure above; and turn your eyes of pity towards us below. Look down with tenderness on our world of miseries, and bow your charitable knees to the God of mercies: That what our own unworthiness cannot obtain, we may hope to receive by your holy prayers. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Help us, you blessed Citizens of heaven! direct our way, you who have attained your end! Antiph. Fear not, my soul, our God has a blessing too for us if we have a love and obedience for Him. Psal CXXVI. LEt us humble our selus, but not grow faint, * at the sight of others so far before us: Rather let us quicken our sloth by their swift pace; and encourage our fears with their happy success: We who profess the Religion of all these Saints, who lived and died in the same Church with us: We who partake of the same holy Sacraments; and eat the same celestial Food: Why should we fear, one day, to shine above; and rejoice together with you glorious Saints? Are we not all redeemed by the same rich price, & the same eternal crowns proposed to us all Are we not bred in the same Apostolic faith; and nursed at the breasts of the same Catholic Church? The Lessons, I see, and Teacher is the same▪ but the hand is dull, and instrument out of tune; You lived indeed in a dangerous world like this; and were tied to bodies frail as ours: But by a constant vigilance you o'ercome the world; and subdued your bodies to the service of your minds. You overcame with a joyful hart; * and we thus congratulate the triumph of your victories: You overcame, but not by your own strong hand; you now triumph but 'tis by the bounty of your God? Cheer then thyself, my soul, & raise thy head, * and open thy bosom to the hopes of heaven; Fear not, our God has a blessing too for us; if we have a love and obedience for Him: If we delight in the ways of piety; and diligently attend the Offices of devotion: If we refrain from the liberties of the world▪ and curb the loose suggestions of the flesh: If we can look on gold and honour, and their flaming beams not dazzle our eyes: If we perform with them, the part of faithful servants, * we shall surely, with them, have the portion of children. Glory be etc. Antiph. Fear not, my soul, our God has a blessing too for us; if we have a love and obedience for Him. Antiph. Precious in thy sight, O Lord, is the death of thy Saints; precious to thee and themselves and us. Psal. CXXVII. PRecious in thy fight. O Lord, is the death of thy Saints; which finishes thy greatest work, the perfecting of Souls: Whom Thou esteemest as the jewels of heaven, and choicely gatherest into thine own Treasury. Precious to themselves, O Lord, is the death of thy Saints; which takes off the dusky cover that hides their brightness: Which shapes and polishes them to a beauteous lustre; and sets them as stars round about thy Throne. Precious to us, O Lord, is the death of thy Saints; which makes us heirs of so great a wealth: Which leaves us furnished with so rich variety, that every kind of want is abundantly supplied: Some teach us courage to encounter dangers; and not, for fear, make Shipwreck of our conscience: Others instruct us to converse with meekness; and patiently bear neglects and injuries: From some we learn how wisely to use this world, and make it serve us in our way to the next: From others, how more generously to renounce it; and pass our time in peace and prayer: From all we learn this best of arts, to live and die like Saints; and, in the best of methods, their own example: O gracious Lord whose love still looks about, and searches every way to save us siners! Who cam'st thyself, bright Sun of glory, * to enlighten our darkness and warm our frozen hearts! Who with thy fruitful beams still kindlest others, to burn as tapers in thy Church's hand; And by their near proportionate distance stand fit to shine into every corner of our lives! O make us bless thy Name for all these mercies, and let not one be lost by our ingratitude. Let us not see in vain the crown at the races end; and sit down lazily in the shades of ease: Let us not keep in vain these sacred memories, to be only a reproach to our unprofitable lives: But let us stretch our selus and pursue to the mark, for the glorious prizeiss that set before us: Still with our utmost speed let us follow Them, whose travails ended in so sweet a rest. And when our life's last day begins to fall; and bids us hasten to prepare for night; Then come you holy Angels and watch about 〈◊〉; and suffer not the enemy to disturb our ●●ssage: Come and receive in peace our departing souls; and bear them safely to the presence of our Lord. Then, O Thou blessed Virgin-Mother protect us with thy favour; and all you glorious Saints assist us with your prayers: Then, O Thou dear Redeemer of the world, and Sovereign King of life and death! Thou who despisest not the tears of the penitent; nor turnest away from the sighs of the afflicted: Thou who preserv'dst all that rely on Thee; and fulfilst their desires that long to be with Thee: Hear Thou our cries, and pardon our sins; and graciously deliver us from all our fears: Call us to thyself with thine own blessed voice; call us, O dearest JESUS, in thine own sweet words: Come you Blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom * prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Then O my happy soul immediately obey; and go forth with gladness to meet the Lord: To live with Him, and behold his glory; to rejoice with Him, and sing his Praise. Glory be, etc. Antiph. Precious in thy sight, O Lord, is the death of thy Saints; precious to Thee and themselves and us. Hymn XXXIX. NIght forbear; alas, our Praise, And our young beginning hope, Set to grow on these blessed days, Faint and dull requires more scope. 'Twill not hear, but sullen flies, Summons all the world to sleep, Bids us close our books and eyes, What w'have gained content to keep▪ Blessed Saints! this broken rate Bids our slowness ply its wings: While your quick and active state Always wakes, and always sings. Yet even This your School, too, was; And your now unwearyed Lays, By this change of sing and Pause, Here 'mong us you learned to raise. Here you, thus, took often breath; Yet have climbed those hills of light: O may your success bequeath Hope to reach that glorious height. Though our Notes be short and few, And our Rests too oft and long; If we keep in tune with you, We at last shall sing your song. If our utmost humble powers Here our daily prayers attend: These poor Psalms shall there like yours, In a nightless Compline end. Glory Lord to Thee alone, Here below, as there above: May thy joys, Great Three in one, Ever draw and crown our love. Capit. Mat. 11. COme to me all you that labour and are oppressed, and I will refresh you: take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of hart; and you shall find rest to your souls: for my yoke is sweet, and my burden light. Antiph. The just shall shine as the Sun in the presence of God, and neither night nor cloud eclipse them for ever. V. For the glory of God shall shine upon them. R. And the light of the Lamb illuminate them. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, who, after thy servants had spent the day of their life in a course of piety and heroic virtue, didst close their evening with a holy death and eternal rewards! Grant us we beseech thee, so to imitate thy Saints in the wise bestowing our time here, that we may follow them in their Happy passage out of this world, and be admitted to thy everlasting glory with them in the other world; through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end. Amen. Vouchsafe, etc. as page 54. OFFICE for the DEAD. MATINS. PRevent. In the Name, Blessed be. Our Father, etc. I believe, etc. Kneeling, then rise and begin immediately Invitatory. Come let's adore our God to whom all things live. Come let's adore our God, to whom all things live. Psal. CXXVII. HE is the great Creator of the world; and Sovereign Judge of all mankind: He sits above on his glorious Throne; and in his hands are the key's of life and death. Come let's adore our God, to whom all things live. What ever he pleases he brings to pass; and none can resist his almighty Power: what ever he does, is still the best; and none can accuse his all-knowing Goodness. Come let's adore our God, to whom all things live. All things do live to Thee, O Lord! Thou sole preserver of universal nature: the blessed Saints rejoice in thy glory; and the imperfect souls are sustained in hope. Come let's adore our God, to whom all things live. Even the unhappy spirits declare thy justice; and the rest of thy creatures look up for mercy: expecting at last to be delivered from corruption, into the glorious liberty of the Sons of God. Come let's adore our God, to whom all things live. Lord! while we breath, make us live to Thee; and, when we expire, depart in thy peace: that whether we live or die, we be always Thine; and, after death, still live with Thee. Come let's adore our God, to whom all things live. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! And may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. Come let's adore our God, to whom all things live: Come let's adore our God to whom all things live. Antiph. Come, let us humble our selus 〈◊〉 the sight of our God; and spread before him all our complaints. Psal. CXXVIII. UNhappy we, the children of the dust! wh●● were we born to see the Sun? Why did our Mothers bring us forth to misery; and unkindly rejoice to hear us cry? Whether, alas! has their error led us? in how sad a condition does our birth engage us? We enter the world with weeping eyes; and go out with sighing hearts: All the few days we live are full of vanity; and our choicest pleasures sprinkled with bitterness: The time that's past is vanished like a dream; and that which is to come, is not yet at all: The present we are in stays but a moment; and then flies away, and never returns: Already we are dead to all the years we have lived; and shall never live them over again: But the longer that we live, the shorter is our life; and in the end we become a little lump of clay. O vain and miserable world! how sadly true is all this story! And yet alas! this is not all; but new complaints remain, and more, and worse: We begin our race in contemptible weakness; and our whole course is a progress of dangers: If we escape the mischances of a child; we pass on the rash adventures of youth: If we outlive those sudden storms; we fall into far more malicious calamities: Our own superfluous cares deliberately consume us; and the crosses of the world wear out our lives: Should we, by strange success, o'ercome all these; and still bear up our prosperous head: We are sure, at last, old age will find us; and bow our strength down to the grave: The grave, from whence no privilege exempts; nor any power controls its command: The rich must leave their wealth behind them; and the great ones of the world be crumbled into dust: The beauteous face must be turned into rottenness; and the pampered body become the food of worms: The busy man must find a time to die; though his full employment spare none to provide for't: Even the wise and virtuous must submit to fate; and the heirs of life itself be the prisoners of death. This when I see, I weep, and am afraid; since we all must drink of the same cold cup: All must go down to the same dark grave; and none can tell how soon he may be called: To day we are in health among our friends and affairs; and to morrow arrested by the hand of death: Nature may faintly struggle for a time; but must yield at last, and be buried in the earth: At last we must take our leave of our nearest Relations; and bid a long farewell to all the world: Perhaps, the people may talk of us a while; sometimes as we deserve, and often as they please: Perhaps, our bodies once laid out of sight; we no more are remembered, then if we never had been: Only our good works follow us to the grave; and faithfully go on with us beyond our funerals. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. Glory be etc. Antiph. Come let us humble our selus in the sight of our God; and spread before him all our complaints. Antiph. 'Tis not for us, O Lord, to choose our own conditions; but to manage well, what thou appointest. Psal. CXXIX. WHy do we thus bemoan our selus; and rashly utter such repining words? Seems it so hard a fate to tread the path * which all our Ancestors have gone before us? Adam the first of men; and Abraham the friend of God: David the man after God's own hart; and the blessed Mary, Virgin-Mother of our Lord: All these have paid their debt to nature; and subscribed the law of universal mortality: JESUS himself, the Eternal Son of God, expired on the Corss; * and went to his glory through the gates of death: And shall our fond self-love so blindly flatter us; to wish an exception from this general Rule? Shall we be murmuring still, our life is but a sapn; and that exposed to innumerable sorrows? Does not the very shortness abate its miseries? do not those many miseries commend its shortness? Should we not rather rejoice at the sight of death; that, when e'er it comes, still brings us advantage? If in our age, 'tis a haven of repose; and aught to be welcome after so long a voyage: If in our youth, it prevents a thousand calamities; a thousand dangers of ruining our souls: If by an ordinary sickness, 'tis the course of nature; if by an outward violence, 'tis always the will of heaven: What need we fear how many deaths there are; we are sure there can be but one for us: Dying is an act to be done but once; and once well done, we are happy for ever. Lord! we confess thy Decrees are just; and our selves the cause of all our miseries: We sacrifice our youth to sport and folly; and our manly years to lust and pride: We spend our old age in craft and avarice; and begin not to live till we are ready to die: Then we bewail the shortness of our time; when our selus have prodigally thrown it all away: We lead a loose and negligent life; and then complain death takes us unawares: Our days are perhaps too few to grow rich; or satisfy the ambition of a haughty spirit: But, to be taught the love of God, * and the meek and humble life of JESUS, Requires not so much the number of years; as the faithful endeavours of a pious mind: Could we bestow on the improvement of our souls * the time we so vainly trifle away: Our day would be short enough not to seem tedious; and long enough to finish our appointed task. And what, O glotious Lord! is our business here; * but to trim our lamps and wait thy coming? But to sow the immortal seed of hope; and expect hereafter to reap the Increase? No matter how late the fruit be gathered; if still it go on in growing better: No matter how soon it fall from the tree; if not blown down before it be ripe. O thou most just, but secret Providence! who governest all things by the counsel of thy Will! Whose powerful hand can wound and heal; lead down to the grave, and bring back again! Behold, to Thee we bow our heads; and freely submit our dearest concerns: Strike as thou pleasest our health, our lives; we cannot be safer then at thy dispose: Only these few requests we humbly beg; which O may thy clemency vouchsafe to hear: Cut us not off in the midst of our folly; nor suffer us to expire with our sins unpardoned: But make us, Lord, first ready for thyself; then take us to thyself, in thine own fit time. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. Glory be, etc. Antiph. 'Tis not for us, O Lord, to choose our own conditions; but to manage well what thou appointest. Antiph. Only our earth shall return to earth; but our better part shall live for ever. Psal. CXXX. MY Soul, all these complaints concern not thee; whom thy bounteous God has made immortal: Who, when this house of clay shall fall into dust, * and this narrow cage be broken down, Shalt soar aloft on thine own free wings; and spread thy boundless eye over all the world. If thou hast happily trained up thyself; * to aim still upwards at the highest heavens; Swift as a flash of quickest lightning, * shalt thou instantly fly to those blessed Objects: But, if thy thoughts have flagged below; and delighted to hover too near this earth: If above all things thou hast loved thy God; but not loved all things in order to thy God: Or if thy tears have been too few, to wash away thoroughly the remaining stains: Unworthy as yet of that blissful light; * whose beams endure not the least impurity; Thou must sit down in the shades of sorrow; and dwell in the vale of tears and darkness: There thou must sigh and mourn, and wait; till the days of thy purifying be fully finished. O the dear price those prisoners pay, * for neglecting here to perfect their accounts! How are their souls inflamed with anguish; and continually tortured with unspeakable pains! How do they sadly lament their careless liberties; and the little passions they too much obeyed! But, alas! their repentance comes now too late; * to meet with that mercy they so long abused: Now they must lie in this tedious dungeon; till their patience have satisfied the utmost farthing: Only this hope sustains their hart; and sweetens a little their bitter cup: That the redeeming Day is still drawing on; and will infallibly at last appear. O may that happy Day make haste to come; and cheer their darkness with its radiant beams! O may that Sun of Justice speedily arise; and disperse the mist that intercepts their sight! Come Lord, come quickly dearest JESUS! and rescue with thy power thine own Inheritance: Thou who cam'st humbly once, to redeem us sinners; come gloriously now to deliver thy Servants: Deliver them, O Lord! from the snare of the enemy; and their captive souls out of the hand of the Wicked. That they may pass from death to life; and dwell with Thee in thy blessed peace. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. Antiph. Only our earth shall return to earth; but our better part shall live for ever. Our Father etc. First Lesson. MAn that is born of a woman, lives a short time, and is filled with many miseries. He comes forth as a flower and is bruised into dust; he flies away as a shadow, and never continues in the same state: and thinkest thou fit to open thine eyes upon such a one, and bring him before thee into Judgement? Who can make clean him that is conceived of unclean seed? is it not Thou, who only art? The days of man are short, and the number of his months are with thee; thou hast appointed his limits which cannot be passed; depart a little from him, that he may rest, till as a hireling his wished-for day shall come. Who will grant me this, that in Hell thou wouldst protect me, and hide me till thy fury pass away; and appoint me a time wherein thou wilt remember me? All the days, in which I now am in warfare, I wait till my change Come. Thou shalt call me, and I shall answer thee; to the work of thy hands thou wilt reach forth thy right hand: thou hast indeed numbered my steps; but do thou pardon my sins. R. Where shall I hide me, O Lord, from the face of thy wrath? where shall I hide me when thou comest to judge the living and the dead? I tremble at my own unworthiness; I am ashamed, thus impure, to appear in thy presence. * Wash me yet more, O Lord, from my iniquities, and purge me thoroughly from my sins. I know the enemy that obstructs my way; my sins exclude me from thy Kingdom, where no unclean thing can enter, nor any clean be denied admittance. * Wash me— Second Lesson. SPare me, O Lord, for my days are nothing: I have sinned, what shall I do to thee, O thou Preserver of men? why hast thou set me contrary to thee? and I am become burdenous to myself. Why dost thou not take away my sin? why dost thou not clear me of my iniquity? Behold now I shall sleep in the dust, and if thou seek me in the morning I shall not be. My soul is weary of my life; I will let my speech pass against myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul: I will say to God, Condemn me not; tell me, why dost thou judge me so? seems it good to thee to overcharge me, and oppress the works of thy hands, and help the counsel of the wicked? hast thou eyes of flesh, or, as man sees shalt thou also see; that thou seekest my iniquity, and searchest my sin? Thy hands have made me, and framed me wholly round about; and dost thou so suddenly cast me down headlong? With skin and flesh thou hast clothed me; with bones and sinews thou hast compacted me; life and mercy thou hast given me; and thy visitation has kept my spirit. R. Woe to me, wretched sinner, what shall I do? I have committed evil in the sight of my God; I have offended the eyes of his Majesty: Whither shall I fly from the Justice of my Judge? whither, but to the mercy of my Saviour. * Have mercy on me, O Lord, have mercy on me; when thou comest in glory to judge the world by fire. My corrupt nature has brought forth sin, and sin has brought forth sorrow: where shall I seek for pardon? where shall I find relief, but in thee, my God, my hope, and portion in the land of the living? * Have mercy on me— Third Lesson. DEliver me, O Lord, and set me beside Thee; & let any man's hand fight against me. My days are past, and my thoughts dissipated, tormenting my hart: they have turned night into day; and again after darkness I hope for light. Have pity on me, at least you my friends; for the hand of our Lord has touched me: he has hedged my path round about, and I cannot pass; and in my way he has put darkness. Who will grant me that my words may be written? Who will give me that they may be drawn in a book with an iron pen, and in a plate of lead, or graven with steel on a marble stone? For, I know my Redeemer lives, and in the last day I shall rise out of the earth, and be compassed again with my skin, and in my flesh shall see God; whom I myself shall see, and my eyes shall behold, and no other: This my hope is laid up in my bosom. R. My days are declined as a shadow, and I am withered away as grass; and nothing remains but the cold grave. O let me call back that uncomfortable word! my days indeed are declined, but my eternity is safe; I am withered away as grass, but the Spring will come and revive me into a flower of Paradise: * This my hope is laid up in my bosom. Let then my body be crumbled into dust, and my soul detained for a time in sorrow: I know my Redeemer lives, and in the last day I shall rise out of the earth, and be compassed again with my Skin, and in my flesh shall see God, and in that blissful sight be for ever happy: * This my hope is laid up in my bosom. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. * This my hope is laid up in my bosom. At laud's O God incline, etc. is not said: but begin immediately with the Antiphon, Return— laud's for the Dead. Antiph. Return, O my soul! to thy Rest again; for thy Lord deals graciously with all that love him. Psal. CXXXI. WHen we have shed our solemn tears; and paid our due sighs to the memory of the Dead: Let us wipe our eyes with the comfort of hope; and change our grief into a charitable joy: The friends we mourn are delivered from this world; and all the miseries we so justly deplore: Their bodies tremble no more with the Palsy; nor burn with the flames of a scorching fever: They cry out no more for want of sleep; nor roll up and down their uneasy beds: But quietly rest in the silent grave; till they rise again to immortal glory: Wh●●ch while they there expect in peace; their souls are enlarged to a spacious liberty: No longer confined to this prison of the body; but gone to dwell in the region of spirits: No longer exposed to these stormy Seas; but gladly arrived at their safe harbour: Where though their passage be stopped a while; they are free from all fear of being cast away: Though for a time they attend with sorrow; they are sure to rejoice at last for all eternity: They are sure at last to behold their Redeemer; and live for ever with the Blessed JESUS: O, were it not for this sweet hope; who could endure such Killing delays? Who, that but knows the beauty of God, as they all do; and sees himself detained from so great a happiness? Detained, for affecting some trifle here; if such we may call what deferrs our heaven: O glorious Lord, the free Original Source, * and final end of universal nature! Since by thy grace Thou hast thus begun, and sown in their hearts the seeds of glory: O, may the same allpowerful hand * go on to finish it's own blessed work: Ripen the fruit Thou reserv'st for thyself; and hasten the day of their joyful harvest: Send forth thy blessed Angels to reap thy grain; and lay it up safe in thy heavenly Magazine: There to supply the place of those unhappy tares, * which thy justice threw down into everlasting fire: There to assist among those holy Quires; which thy mercy established in everlasting blyss. Give them eternal rest ' O merciful Lord! And may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. Antiph: Return O my soul, to thy rest again, for thy Lord deals graciously with all that love him. Antiph. Merciful art Thou, O Lord, in all thy ways; and infinitely wise in all thy counsels. Psal. CXXXII. COme let us praise the Goodness of our God; who order every thing to the best for his Servants: Whose Providence governs us all our life; and takes so particular a care of our death: He casts us down on our beds of sickness; and draws the curtain 'twixt the world and us: Shutting out all its vain designs; and contracting our business to a little chamber: There, in that quiet solitude, he speaks to our hearts; and sets before us all our life: There, he discovers the falacies of this world and invites us now at last, to prepare for the other: Thither he sends his Messengers of Peace; to treat with our Souls, and reconcile them to heaven: Thither he sends even his only Son, * to secure our passage, and conduct us to Himself: O! how quite other will our thoughts be then; then to what they were in our careless health! How shall we freely censure what we once esteemed; and be easily convinced into wiser counsels! When our unruly senses shall be checked with pain; and our rash minds made sober with fear: When the occasions of sin shall be removed away; and every thing about us incline us to repent. Blessed for ever be thy Name, O Lord! whose mercy sanctifys even thy punishments into savours: Thou bringst us low, to persuade us to be humble; and prescrib'st us a sickness to cure our infirmities! Thou command'st the grave to dispense with none; but indifferently seize on all alike: That all may alike provide for that fatal hour; and none be undone with mistaken hopes. Thou tellest us plainly, we all must die; but kindly concealest the time and place: That every where we may stand on our guard; and every moment expect thy Coming. Thou teachest us the use of decent Funerals; and the holy charity of praying for the Dead: That we may often renew the memory of our grave; and the wholesome thoughts of our future state: So, with one Act of excellent piety; * to shorten the pains of others, and prevent our own. Let not, O Lord, these gracious acts be lost; which thy merciful Wisdom contrives for our sakes: But, while we thus remember the death of others; * make us seriously still reflect on our own: And every time we reflect on our own; make us piously still remember Theirs. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. Antiph. Merciful art Thou, O Lord, in all thy ways; and infinitely wise in all thy Counsels. Antiph. O all you works of our Lord, praise you our Lord! bless him and magnify him for ever. Psal. CXXXIII. O Praise our Lord all you Nations of the earth; whom his Providence yet sustains alive: Whom he so long forbears to strike; though our sins have often provoked his wrath: Whom he so graciously calls to repent; though our passions have hitherto neglected his voice: Making experiments by the death of others; to advise his servants into a waryer life. To clear this useful truth, we too must die; and strictly account for every idle word: We must appear before that great Tribural; and tremblingly receive our everlasting do●●m. O praise our Lord all you faithful departed; for his mercy preserus the Just: Though you dwell below in the Valley of death; and sit afflicted in the shades of darkness: Yet will he bring you up to his eternal mountains; and fill your eyes with glorious light: Though your bones be bruised with sorrow; and your hearts made heavy with faintness: Yet you again shall be clothed with beauty; and placed to sing among the Blessed Saints: O praise our Lord, all you Blessed Saints; whom his bounty already has crowned with glory: You who, entirely weaned from the allurements of this world; * found no unwillingness at your death to leave it: You who, designing your whole life for heaven, * departed with joy to possess your hopes: Millions of Angels meeting you in the way; and carrying you directly to the presence of their King. O praise our Lord all you glorious Angels; whose bright felicity began so early: Stars that a rose in the morning of the world; and still maintain your unchangeable lustre: Shining perpetually near the throne of God; as the top and Masterpiece of all his works. O Praise our Lord all you his Works; bless him and magnify him for ever: Praise his almighty Power that gave you your Being; and still preserus you from relapsing into nothing: Praise his allseeing Wisdom, that here directs your steps; and leads you on to your eternal end: Praise, above all, his boundless Goodness; that pours into every thing as much as it can hold: And though our short sight now reach not so far; but often mistake, and repine at his government; Yet at the last great day we shall clearly discern * a perfect concord in the harshest note. When our adored Redeemer shall come in the clouds; and summon all nature to appear before him: There to receive each one their proper part; * exactly fitted to their best capacity: There to behold the whole Creation strive * to express in itself the perfections of its Maker: Whose admirable Wisdom shall guide that last universal Scene; and finish the whole action in a beauteous close. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. Antiph. O all you works of our Lord, praise you our Lord; bless him and magnify him for ever. Antiph. I am the resurrection and the life; he that believes in me; though he be dead, shall live: and every one that lives and believes in in me, shall not die for ever. Benedictus. as page 27. Antiph. I am, etc. Then kneeling, say, Our Father, etc. and the Miserere, as follows. V. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy: R. And, according to the multitude of thy compassions wipe away my offences. V. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin: R. For I know my iniquity; and my sin is always before me. V. Against thee only have I sinned, and done evil in thy sight; that thou mayest be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art-judged. R. For behold, I was conceived in iniquity; and in sins my mother brought me forth. V. Behold, thou hast loved truth; the incertain and hidden things of thy Wisdom thou hast manifested to me. R. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow: V. Thou shalt give to my hearing joy and gladness; and the bones thou hast humbled shall rejoice. R. Turn away thy face from my sins; and blot out all my iniquities. V. Create a clean hart in me, O God; and renew a right spirit in my bowels. R. Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy Spirit from me. V. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation; and confirm me with an heroic spirit. R. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall declare thy praise: V. For wouldst thou have had sacrifice, I verily had given it; with burnt-offerings thou art not delighted. R. A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit; a contrite and an humbled hart, O God, thou wilt not despise. V. Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Zion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up. R Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. V. Turn not thy face away from them, O Lord; R. Turn not thy face away in wrath from thy servants. V. Behold their humiliation and their labour; R. And forgive them all their sins. V. Behold how their spirit is in anguish, R. And their hart troubled within them. V. Their iniquities have overtaken them; R. Innumerable evils have compassed them about. R. And now, what is their expectation, but thou, O Lord; R. And their substance is with Thee. V. Before Thee is all their desire; R. And their groans are not hid from Thee. V. As the Hart pants after the water brooks; R. So do their souls thirst after thee. V. Their souls thirst after Thee, the living fountain; R. When shall they come, and appear before thy face! V. Their tears are their bread day and night; R. While still 'tis said to them, Where is your God? V. Convert them, O Lord, thou God of strength; R. Show them thy face, and they shall be safe. V. Bring out their souls from prison to praise thy Name; R. The Just stand expecting till thou rewardst them: V. How long Lord, wilt thou forget them for ever! R. How long wilt thou hide thy face from them! V. Turn thee, O Lord, and deliver their souls; R. Save them for thy mercies sake. V. Save thy People, O Lord, and bless thy Inheritance: R. Govern them and raise them up to eternity. V. That they may walk in the light of thy countenance. R. And rejoice in thy presence for ever. V. That their souls may live, and sing thy praise: R. While even thy judgements lead them to their Blyss. V. O Lord hear our prayers: R. And let our supplications come to thee. Let us pray. O God who in thy mercy hast prepared immediate rewards for the Perfect; and in thy justice, immediate punishments for the wicked; and mingling thy mercy and justice together, hast ordained a middle state for those who depart in a true but weak degree of divine charity: hear, we beseech thee, our prayers for these thy afflicted servants who look up to thee, and sigh after the times of refreshment from thy glorious presence; forgive them their sins, and deliver them from their sorrows, and bring them to the possession of all their wishes, in rest and peace and everlasting joy, through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end, Amen. A Prayer for any particular person departed. BEhold with pity, we beseech thee, O Lord, the soul of thy servant N. for whom we humbly offer our Prayers to thy Divine Majesty; and grant that the offences which humane frailty has inconsiderably committed, being by thy clemency mercifully forgiven; and all impediments by a perfect cleansing from the strains of sin, thoroughly removed; the happy effect of seeing Thee face to face for ever, may immediately follow, through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who— V. Give them eternal rest merciful Lord. R. And may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. V. May they rest in peace. R. Amen. Vespers for the Dead. OUr Father. Hail Mary. Secretly and Kneeling: then rise and say Antiph. Blessed are the servants whom our Lord shall find watching; he surely will bestow on them all the mercies of heaven. Psal. CXXXIV. COme let us make our peace betimes with our God; before the evening approach too near: While it is called to day, let us faithfully labour; for the night will come wherein none can work: Let us implore his favour first for our selus; and not till then presume to beg for others. Let us look first into our own breasts; and strictly examine what passes there: Lest, while we pray for the salvation of others; * our selus become everlasting reprobates. Tell me, my soul, how stand our great account? are all things even betwixt heaven and us? Are we prepared to go meet our Judge; whose justice punishes every least defect. Is there not still some restitution to make; which the love of this world tempts us to delay? Is there not still some mis-affection to rectify; which our own false hearts abuse us to connive at? Not that we esteem, O Lord; any creature more than thee; from which abhorred ingratitude defend thy servants: But that we esteem them more than they deserve; serve; and busy our thoughts too eagerly about them: We love them in some degree for themselves; not purely as instruments to bring us to Thee: Forgive, O Sovereign Goodness, these our imperfections; and fix our whole hearts on nothing but Thyself. Why are we thus, at best, but good by halfs; for whom there's a heaven prepared worth all our labours! Why do we mingle still with thy pure grace * so much of our own corrupted nature! Deliver us, O Lord, from the tentations of this world; and mercifully save us from the wrath to come: That dreadful wrath which we so justly fear; and which so many terribly feel: Justly, they too confess; and yet they hope * in the God of clemency to meet with pity: Pity, O Lord, their miseries; Thou who hearest their cries; relieve their sorrows, Thou who seest their tears: Pity their fainting eyes that perpetually wake, * till the long expected day appear: Pity their wearied hands stretched out to Thee; and send thy blessed Angels to unloose their bonds: That they may pass away to those mansions of joy; where holy Souls rest, and weep no more. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. Antiph. Blessed are the servants whom our Lord shall find watching; he surely will bestow on them all the mercies of heaven. Antiph. Happy they who are prayed for by others: but far more happy they who pray for themselves. Psal. CXXXV. HEar these our Prayers, O Lord, for thy servants; and favourably accept our humble charity? Hear their own better prayers, O Lord, for themselves; and tenderly regard their doleful complaints: Out of that dark and dismal prison, behold they cry in the anguish of their hearts: O wretched we! what do we feel? what strange extremities do we here endure? How has the just Avenger of our crimes * severely poured his wrath into our souls! Every thing afflicts us in this sad abode; but nothing so much as our own iniquities: They like a heavy yoke oppress our necks; and keep down our eyes from looking into heaven: Lord! we confess we have followed vanity; and negligently performed the work thou gav'st us: We confess we have gone astray after the manner of men; but our chief desires were towards thee: In Thee we believed, and loved thy Name; and now we grieve that we loved no more: Quench not, O God of mercy, the smoking flax; nor break the bruised reed: Pardon the sins of the days of our folly; and supply the failings of the days of our repentance. O, were we now again on earth; and had the benefit but of one months' space: How would we spend every minute in penance; to purge away thoroughly every least impurity: How gladly would we take any cross or sickness; that might wholesomely embitter the world to our taste! How, after this experience, would we heartily strive, * at any rate to escape these pains? But we, unhappy we! have slipped our time, * which our gacious God so long indulged us: Now we are left to our sighs and tears; and the incertain charity of those few that remember us: At least, O! you our friends! send up your prayers, * to hasten the day of our glad deliverance: At least, look well to provide for your selus; that you come not hither to this place of sufferings: Sufferings, which may your Souls ne'er know; yet may they ne'er know worse than these: These are indeed extremely afflictive; but infinitely less than eternal torments: We hope in time to rejoice again; we are sure at last our God will deliver us: But O! how long delays our Lord to come! why are the wheels of his chariot so slow? Hast thou not said, O God of truth! that for thy Elect those days shall be shortened? Hast thou not said, O Lord of glory! behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me? Come, glorious JESUS! with all thy holy Angels, * and the bright attendance of rejoicing Saints: Come, and redeem the captivity of thy children; and lead them away as trophies of thy victory: Thus, dearest Lord, will we cry continually to thee; and never leave weeping at the gates of thy Palace: Till thou art pleased to open those everlasting doors, * and graciously say to our languishing souls; Behold, I am come to pardon and refresh you; your sighs and tears have provoked my pity: Behold, I am come to call you to myself, * and give you possession of the inheritance I promised: Come, come you Blessed of my Father; receive the Kingdom prepared for you: 'Tis enough that my servants have wept thus long; come, enter now into your Master's joy▪ Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. Antiph. Happy they who are prayed for by others; but far more happy they who pray for themselves. Antiph. Gracious art thou, O God, in all thy promises; and bounteously faithful in all thy performances. Psal. CXXXVI. COmfort your selus, O you heirs of hope and be not cast down at your present distress: If he defer a while, expect; * for he surely will come, and bring you relief: He justly stays to punish your neglect; when he often called, and you would not come to him: He mercifully stays till your souls be refined▪ and able to bear the splendour of his presence: Then, will his glorious light immediately appear; and open to your view that blissful prospect: Then will he graciously unveil himself; and your eyes shall see him face to face: Then will the eternal Deity shine brightly on you; and ravish your hearts with everlasting Extasys: All your great hopes shall be fully satisfied; and your long expectation abundantly rewarded: You shall remember your afflictions with pleasure; when you see they alone were your way to felicity: Even this very delay shall increase your joys; and every thing conspire to crown you with happiness. Meanwhile, our task shall be to pray for your peace; and join our humble voice to your strong cries: That both our vows, thus charitably united, * may obtain for Both the pardon of our sins. But, we, alas! are dust and ashes; and you your selus, as yet, imperfect. O pray for us, you holy Saints! whose well-prepared affections went straight to heaven: Pray for us you Quires of Angels! who assist continually at the throne of glory: Pray for us, bright Queen of heavenly Spirits, * and blessed Mother of the Son of God Pray for the faithful detained in sorrow; that the days of their banishment be no more prolonged: Pray for us siners, yet, Pilgrims in the way; that our souls may arrive at their true home. Pray that we Both may still look up to your glories; and wish and long for that happy state: Pray that, in all our eagerest desires, we may still submit to the orders of heaven: Still frame our songs of hope and patience; and still clo●●e all with these precious words; Thy Kingdom come, O glorious Lord! and yet, O Lord! thy will be done. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. Antiph. Gracious art Thou, O God, in all thy promises; and bounteously faithful in all thy performances. Antiph. I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in our Lord; from henceforth now saith the Spirit, that they rest from their labours, for their works follow them. Magnificat. as page 44. Antiph. I heard a voice, etc. Then kneeling, say, Our Father— and De profundis, as follows, From the depths, O Lord, have I cried to thee; O Lord, hear my voice: Let thy ears become attentive, to the words of my petition: If thou shalt mark our iniquities, O Lord; O Lord, who can sustain it? But with Thee there is propitiation; and for thy Law I have expected thee, O Lord: My soul has expected in his word; my soul has hoped in our Lord: From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in our Lord: For with our Lord is mercy; and with Him is plenteous redemption: And He shall redeem Israel, from all its iniquities. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord! and may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. V. Have mercy on them, O Lord; have mercy on them: R. For their souls confide in Thee: V. And in the shadow of thy wings shall they hope: R. Till their iniquities pass away: V. Have mercy on them, O Lord, and bless them; R. Show them the light of thy countenance, and be merciful to them: V. Turn not thy face away from them; R. Lest they become like those who descend into the lake: V. Keep thou their souls, O Lord, for they are holy; R. Save thy servants who put their trust in thee: V. They shall praise thee, O Lord, with their whole hearts; R. And glorify thy Name for ever: V. For thy mercy already has been great towards them; R. Thou hast delivered them from the lowermost hell: V. Yet hast thou set them in obscure places; R. As the Dead of the world: V. Thy arrows are stuck deep in them; R. And thou hast fastened thy hand upon them: V. Their iniquities are gone over their heads; R. And keep them down as a heavy burden: V. But thou, O Lord, art their strong sustainer; R Their glory, and the lifter up of their heads: V. Thou art always near to relieve the afflicted; R. And wilt save the humble of spirit: V. Thou raisest those that are fallen; R. And bindest together the broken hearts: V. Show them thy mercy, O Lord, who call on thy Name; R. Make them rejoice, who lift up their souls to thee: V. To thee, O Lord, they lift up their souls; R. In thee is their confidence; let them not be ashamed. V. Let not their enemies triumph over them; R. For all that expect thee shall not be confounded: V. Though they walk in the midst of the shadow of death; R. Let them not fear, for thou art with them: V. Thou art their God and their Deliverer; R. O Lord delay not thy coming. V. O Lord hear our prayers: R. And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, who, in thy mercy, hast prepared immediate rewards for the Perfect; and in thy justice, immediate punishments for the wicked: and mingling thy mercy and justice together, hast ordained a middle state for those who depart in a true but weak degree of divine charity! Hear, we beseech thee, our prayers for these thy afflicted servants, who look up to Thee, and sigh after the times of refreshment from thy glorious presence: forgive them their sins, and deliver them from their sorrows, and bring them to the possession of all their wishes, in rest and peace and everlasting joy; thorough our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end. A Prayer for any particular Person departed. BEhold with pity we beseech thee, O Lord, the soul of thy servant N. for whom we humbly offer our prayers to thy divine Majesty: and grant that the offences which humane frailty has inconsiderately committed being by thy clemency mercifully forgiven, and all impediments, by a perfect cleansing from the stains of sin, thoroughly removed; the happy effect of seeing Thee face to face for ever, may immediately follow, through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end, Amen. V. Give them eternal rest, O merciful Lord▪ R. And may thy glorious light shine upon them for ever. V. May they rest in peace. R. Amen. Pause a while; to reflect on what you have said; and renew your attention: then begin the Complin of the day. Our help, etc. as page 46. PROPER of FESTIVALS, etc. Sundays in Advent. All, as in the Office of our Saviour, except Invitatory. Behold the day of our Lord draws nigh; Come let's adore him. Then recite the Psalm, Bring to our Lord. page 318. 1. Antiph. Behold our Lord will appear, and not fail to make good his promises: if he delay a while, expect; for he surely will come and deliver us: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. Come, O thou Sun of righteousness, and Fountain of eternal light! come and illuminate those that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death; and guide our feet into the ways of peace: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. Come, O Thou hope of the Gentiles; and the desired of all Nations: come and redeem us from the vassalage of sin, into the only true liberty of serving Thee: Alleluja. Antiph. for Benedictus and Magnificat. Prepare now thy ways, O my soul, before our Lord; make thy paths straight before the face of our God: for he will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; and blessed all they who are ready to meet him: Alleluja, Alleluja. At laud's recite Benedictus, page 27. and at Vespers Magnificat, page 44. Then, after each, repeat the Antiphon. Prepare, etc. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to thee. Let us pray. O God, by whose providence thy Church has appointed the solemn time or Advent, to forerun the Commemoration of our Saviour's Nativity, and prepare its way in our hearts! Grant us, we humbly beseech thee, so devoutly to employ this holy season in meditating on the Prophecies and gracious preparations of the world for the coming of the Messias, and on the infinitely greater mercies he brought along with him, and has left behind him: that our spirits may be raised to celebrate the great Feast with due joy and exaltation, and thereby better disposed to expect his second coming, who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end. Amen. S. Andrew. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. Soon as the holy Apostle S. Andrew saw afar off the Cross prepared for his Martyrdom, he was transported with joy, and triumphingly saluted it, as the happy instrument of his approaching glory: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. O blessed Cross, dearly by me beloved, and earnestly desired, and often sought; and now at length ready to satisfy my longing soul take me up into thy arms, the Disciple of Him who was crucified on thee: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. Take me up into thy arms, O blessed Cross! and bear me to my glorious Master; that by thee He may receive me, who by thee has redeemed me: Alleluja, Alleluja. 3. Antiph. Take me up into thy arms, O blessed Cross! and bear me to my glorious Master; that by thee He may receive me, who by thee has redeemed me: Alleluja, Alleluja. Antiphon for Benedictus and Magnificat, as in the common Office of Saints. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to thee. Let us pray. O God, whose grace kindled in the B. Apostle S. Andrew so ardent a love of his Master, that it flamed out in vehement desires of his Cross! Grant, we beseech thee, that our devout celebrating the Memory of his Course and Crown may quicken thy Charity in our hearts; and encourage us with confidence and joy to undergo whatever sufferings thy Providence casts in our way towards the glorifying Thee and advancing thy truth, and secure attainment of our own eternal salvation: through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with thee and the H. Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end. Amen. S. Thomas, Apostle. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. The merciful and almighty JESUS came in, the doors being shut, and said to Thomas, put in thy finger here, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be no longer faithless, but believe. 2. Antiph. O admirable sweetness of our Saviour's Spirit! Thomas was absent, and incredulous; and peremptory: and our Lord forgives him all; and restores him to his favour, with the easy penance of a gentle reproof. 3. Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed: Alleluja. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, whose condescendence to convince the incredulity of thy Apostle S. Thomas has turned his hardness to believe into a means of facilitating more the faith of thy Church! Grant, we beseech Thee, that this festival Memory of his glorious Attestation to our risen Saviour may quicken our hearts, not only in words, but in life and death like him, exemplarily to confess thy Son JESUS our Lord and our God; to whom with Thee and the H. Ghost be all honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen. Christmas-day, and the fourth and fifth days in the Octave. All, as in the Office of our Saviour, except 1. Antiph. O joyful tidings, worthy an Angel's mouth! Behold, this day was born to us a Saviour, who is Christ our Lord: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. Wonderful signs, to seek this newborn King of heaven and earth! you shall find him wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger: Alleluja. 3. O blessed harmony of the celestial Quires! Glory be to God on high, in earth peace towards men of good will: Alleluja, Alleluja. Antiph. for Benedictus and Magnificat. This is the day which our Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice therein; Alleluja: This is the day which made our Lord, let us exalt and triumph therein; Alleluja, Alleluja. O Lord hear our prayers: And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, who every year giv'st a fresh birth to the devotions of thy Church, by the welcome Festival of our Saviour's Nativity! Grant us, we beseech Thee, with such tender affections to entertain this first humble Rising of the Sun of righteousness to us, as may better dispose and stronglier engage us to follow Him through the whole painful course which like a Giant he rejoiced to run, enlightening the world with thy truth, and inflaming it with thy love; till in the end we arrive at his eternal Rest: through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the H. Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end. Amen. S. Stephen. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. Stephen full of grace and courage wrought great miracles among the people, and none could resist the Wisdom and Spirit by which he spoke: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. And looking steadfastly up, he saw the heavens opened, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God; he saw, and entered: blessed are they to whom the heavens shall be opened: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. While they stoned him, he called up on God, and prayed Lord Jesus receive my soul: and kneeling down cried out with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who in thy first Martyr S. Stephen hast vouchsafed thy Church an eminent example of perfect Christianity! Kindle, we beseech Thee, in our hearts a zealous emulation of his graces: that imitating here his constancy in asserting thy truth, and his charity in praying for our persecuters, even to death, we may with him hereafter receive the crown of eternal life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, etc. For Commemoration of Christmas-day, recite the four Antiphons' and Prayer of Christmas-day. S. John, Evangelist. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. This is that favourite Disciple, who learned on our Lord's breast at his last supper; and to whom were revealed the secrets of Heaven: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. This is He in whom meet all those glorious Titles, of Apostle, Evangelist, and Prophet; of Martyr, Confessor, and Virgin: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. This is He, who, above all those glorious Titles, delights in this One, incomparably greater than them all, The Disciple whom JESUS loved: Alleluja: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, by the prerogative of whose special grace the B. Apostle S. John obtained that transcendent character of Beloved of his Master; and after became the great Doctor of mutual charity over all the world! Grant, we beseech Thee, that his sacred Memory may excite us also, and encourage us by the same purity of body and mind, and steady love of Thee, and sincere charity one with another, to aspire to some share in that blessed Title, and its happy consequents, thy grace here, and thy glory hereafter; through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who, etc. For Commemoration of Christmas-day, recite its four Antiphons' and Prayer. SS. Innocents'. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. God withdrew his only Isaac, and left a thousand happy lambs to be sacrificed in his stead, and accepted for his sake: Alleluja▪ 2. Antiph. A voice was heard in Rama, lamentation and great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted, because they were not. Antiph. 3. Weep not for thy children, Rachel! behold they are: be comforted, they are Kings, and reign with Christ for ever: Alleluja: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who, by the Martyrdom of the H. Innocents', hast taught thy Church that no age or occasion of suffering for our Saviour is exempt from high reward! Grant, we beseech Thee, that our celebrating their Festival may make us adore this gracious Ordination of thy Providence: and however severely it may seem, at any time, to treat us or our relations, confirm our hearts in a hopeful resignation to thy Will, and assured trust that all leads to eternal advantage; through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who, etc. For Commemoration of Christmas-day, recite its four Antiphons' and Prayer. S. Sylvester. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. This is the holy Pope, who miraculously healed the great Emperor Constantine; and by the sacred laver of Baptism, cleansed him at once from the leprosy of his body, and the sins of his soul: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. The sign of the Son of man in the heavens, which, copied on his Banner; made him a Conqueror; displayed on his forehead did incomparably more, made him a Christian: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. O happy times, when Paganism was abolished, and Arianism condemned; when persecution ceased, and public liberty was given to profess and practise as Christians and Catholics: Alleluja: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, whose bounty crowned, even on earth, thy holy servant Pope Sylvester with the glory of baptising the first Christian Emperor Constantine, and the happiness of obtaining liberty and encouragement for Christianity over all his Dominions! Grant, we beseech Thee, that our celebrating his Festival may refresh in us the memory of that high mercy to the world; and render us more tenacious of that primitive Faith, so eminently, at length, victorious over all persecutions: through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who, etc. For Commemoration of Christmas-day, recite its four Antiphons' and Prayer. New-years-day. 1. Antiph. To day our B. Saviour, who was Lord of the Law, and by his perfect purity absolutely exempt, undertook for us the smart of Circumcision, and dishonour of being reckoned among siners: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. To day was given Him the Name above every name; that at the Name of JESUS every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things on earth, and things under the earth: Alleluja, Alleluja, Alleluja. 3. Antiph. O B. JESUS, make good to us thy precious Name, and save us from our sins: that now we may begin a new year of virtue▪ and cancel by repentance all the failings of the old: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who for our example, commandedst thy beloved Son to submit his pure and innocent flesh to the rigour of the Law, and, for encouragement of our hope, madest choice of that sweet and amiable Name JESUS! Teach us, we beseech Thee, with readiness and humility to obey thy sacred Laws, how cross soever to our unmortifyed passions; and in all our necessities with joy and confidence call on that holy Name, in which whate'er we ask we are promised shall be granted: through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, etc. Twelfthday; and during the Octave. 1. Antiph. Alleluja, Alleluja, Alleluja: This is the privileged Festival, that comes forth adorned with the glory of three miracles. To day the Wisemen were led by a Star to the cradle of our Lord; and falling down adored Him, and offered Him their royal Presents of Gold, Frankincense and Myr●●: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. To day our gracious Redeemer vouchsafed his presence at a Marriage-feast; and there first published to the world his divine power, turning water into wine: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. To day our B. Saviour was baptised by S. John, and the H. Ghost descended visibly upon Him, and a voice was heard from heaven. This is my beloved Son in whom I am w●●l ple●●'d: Alleluja, Alleluja. Antiph. for Ben●●dictus and Magnificat. To day the first fruits of the Gentiles, were consecrated to our Lord; and that sacred Prophecy happily fulfilled, In his light shall the Gentiles walk, and Kings in the brightness of his rising: Alleluja, Alleluja, Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who, by the guidance of a miraculous Star in the heaven, leddest the Gentiles to the sight of the more miraculous Son of righteousness newly risen to the world in a Stable! Grant, we humbly beseech Thee, that, enlightened and inflamed by the memory of this wonderful providence, our eyes and hearts may be more lively fixed on thy goodness, still as graciously working towards the accomplishment of thy promises, to call at length the Jews and all the earth to the saving knowledge and love of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; who with Thee, etc. Candlemas. All, as in the Office of our Saviour, except 1. Antiph. To day the immaculate Mother humbled herself to the common rites of Purification, and presented her firstborn JESUS in the temple: and for the little price of a pair of Doves redeemed the world's inestmable Redeemer: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. To day the devout Simeon took our Lord in his arms: and knowing nothing now could make him happier but the joys of heaven, sung aloud this glad farewell to all the world, Now let thy servant, O Lord, depart in peace according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. To day the holy Widow and Prophets, Anna, who had spent her life in fasting and prayer and in the service of the Temple, came happily in, and saw our Lord; and spoke gloriously of Him to all that expected the redemption of Israel: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who vouchsafest us this day to commemorate the B. Virgin's presenting, in the Temple, herself to be purified, and her Son to be redeemed according to the Law! Give us grace, we beseech Thee, to adore and praise the condescendence of thy providence, that by such great Examples teaches us our evident duty of submitting to thy Discipline, though seeming perhaps unnecessary for our selus: and grant that, as we bear in our hands these hallowed candles, we may confess in our lives our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, to be the light of the Gentiles and the Glory of thy people Israel; who with Thee and the H. Ghost, etc. Ash-Wednesday. All, as in the Office of Wenesday, except Invitatory. Come let us fast and mourn and pray; for our Lord is merciful and just. Antiph. 1 2 3 Remember, O man, that dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return. Say this one Antiphon before and after every Psalm at Matins, laud's, Vespers and Complin. Prayer. O God, whose providence introduces thy Church to the grave discipline of Lent by the mortifying Memento of the vile and frail matter we are made of! Grant, we humbly beseech thee, that the Cross of our Redeemer, formed to day in ashes on our foreheads, may lay all our proud conceits in the dust, and make flesh and blood feel itself highly honoured, if by whatever crosses or mortifications it may be tempered and raised to become a fit instrument for ripening souls in they love, the immediate disp●●sition to eternal felicity; through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who, etc. Sundays in Lent. All, as in the Office of our Saviour, except Invitatory. Come let us fast, and mourn, and pray; for our Lord is merciful and just. 1. Antiph. Now is the time of acceptance; now are the days of salvation: let us not re-receive the grace of God in vain, but in all things approve our selves his servants; in labours, and watchings, and fastings. 2. Antiph. Now let us take a just and holy revenge on our sins past, and strive for the future to bring forth fruits agreeable to our penance; in purity, meekness and temperance, in charity, patience and obedience. 3. Antiph. Let us follow, as we may, our divine Master, in his forty days retirement and fasting: who needed not, as we, the arts of religion, but all he did was for our example, that we might learn to fly from the danger of occasions, and take away the fuel from our passions; and by using to contradict the appetites of sense, inure our selus to obey the commands of reason. Antiph. for Benedictus and Magnificat. Convert us, O God of our salvation! and turn away thy anger from us; hear us in thy mercy, and speedily forgive us: lest prevented with death we find no time to repent, and without repentance eternally perish. Prayer. O God, whose gracious Providence has ordained us to lighten the oppressive weight of our corrupt bodies on our souls, by the long and solemn Abstinence of Lent! Grant us, we beseech Thee, conscientiously to observe the wholesome discipline now prescribed us; and with the due mortification of our flesh, so tojoyn the quickening of our spirit by frequent devotions, that all our carnal appetities may be fitted for burial in our Saviour's grave, and all our affections ready to rise with Him to immortality, at those sacred Feasts for which this season is to prepare us; through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who, etc. S. Mathias. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. Let them that stand take heed lest they fall: Judas was an Apostle, yet betrayed his Master, and died in despair, and another took his Bishopric. 2. Antiph. The lot fell on Mathias, a continual Follower of JESUS, from the baptism of John▪ till the day of His ascension; and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles. 3. Antiph. He lived their life, and died their death, and sits with them in glory to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Prayer. O God, by whose special grace the B. Mathias was chosen to supply the room of the Traitor Judas, and complete again the number of the Apostles: Grant we humbly beseech Thee, our celebrating his memory may raise our ambitions, every one by steady following him, to fill up▪ the breaches made by our falling Brethren, and advance towards accomplishment the happy number of thy Elect, through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son, who etc. S. Joseph. All as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. This is that wise and faithful servant, whom our Lord appointed over his Family. 2. Antiph. This is He who was honoured with the title of Father of our SAVIOUR and Spouse to the B. Virgin-Mother. 3. Antiph. This is He who knew decently to join a carriage becoming these titles with all reverence to Their Persons. Prayer. O God, who hast rewarded the blessed S. Joseph with glory in heaven, worthy these high graces vouchsafed him on earth, of Spouse to the B. Virgin, and Father to thy eternal Son, and faithful Guardian to them Both! Grant, we beseech Thee, that as we celebrate the Memory of his glorious Titl●●s, we may imitate the Virtues of his holy life; and by the like perfect fidelity in whatever thy Providence entrusts to our charge, secure our hopes to attain hereafter the same everlasting felicity; through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son, who etc. Anunciation. All as in the Office of our Saviour, except. 1. Antiph. To day the Archangel Gabri●●l was sent from God to the Virgin Mary; and entering her little chamber humbly presented Her this honourable salutation; Hail full of grace, our Lord is with thee, Blessed art thou among Women. 2. Antiph. To day the B. Virgin Mother gave her ●●●st consent to that glorious Embassy, t'behold the Handmaid of our Lord, be it to me according to thy word. 3. Antiph. To day the H. Ghost came upon Her, and the power of the most High overshadowed her; and untouched of man, she conceived in her pure Womb the Son of God. Prayer. O God, who, by the mouth of the Archangel Gabriel didst so graciously woe humble Handmaid, Marry, that her Virgin-Womb immediately conceived the WORD, ●●ested thy eternal Son with our humanity! Grant us, we humbly beseech Thee, with such devout admiration to celebrate the memory of this highest Mystery, as may feed and increase thy charity, begotten in our hearts by thy Spirit; and ripen it, to bring us forth partakers of his Divinity, who with Thee and the same H. Ghost lives and reigns one God world without end, Amen. Passion Sunday. All, as in the Office of our Saviour, except Invitatory. Behold the Passion of our Lord draws nigh, Come let's adore Him. 1. Antiph. Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes; that day and night I may weep for my own sins, and for my Saviour's sufferings! 2. Antiph. What, O my JESV, could our weakness want that Thou hast not done! what could our malice invent that Thou hast not suffered! 3. Antiph. Far be it from us to glory in any thing but the Cross of our Saviour, in whom is our life and health and resurrection. Instead of Lessons read the Passion according to St. Matthew, Chapters 26 & 27. Antiphon for Benedictus and Magnificat. LOok up, my soul, on thy crucified Lord; look up and see the utmost extremity of divine love: already He had carried on, to a fair degree, the work of our redemption, in fasting and praying, in travailing and preaching, in doing miracles and bearing injuries; but now to finish all with one incomparable charity, behold He suffers even death itself, and death upon the Cross. Prayer. O God, who, by the mortifying discipline of Lent, hast graciously disposed us for the solemn season of closer preparation to celebrate the memory of our Saviour's bitter Passion! Make us, now, we beseech Thee, so devoutly attend to, and thoroughly meditate every circumstance of this dear Mystery, That our Lord JESUS may appear crucified even before our eyes. and melt our hearts with such tender compassion, as may kill in them all sin, the sole cause of his sufferings; and fit us by perfect love of Him for a happy part in his glorious resurrection: through the same our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son, who, etc. Palm-Sunday. All, as in the Office of our Saviour, except. Invitatory, To day our Saviour entered Jerusalem in triumph; Come le's adore Him. 1. Antiph. Rejoice, O Daughter of Zion! shout for gladness, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold thy King comes to Thee, the Just One and thy Saviour; he comes to Thee meek and lowly, and riding on a Colt the foal of an ass. 2. Antiph. As he road, a very great multitude spread their garments, and boughs in the way; and they that went before, and followed after; cried aloud, Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is He that comes in the name of our Lord, Hosanna in the Highest. 3. Antiph. Behold this is our Lord whom we have long expected, He himself is come to redeem us: this is our God whom we long have looked for, let us sing and rejoice in his salvation. Instead of Lessons, read the Passion according to St. Mark, which begins Mark 14. 12. and ends Mark 15. 46. Antiphon for Benedictus and Magnificat. COme let us join our voices too with this pious multitude, and sing Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he that comes in the name of our Lord, Hosanna in the Highest: blessed is He that comes, for he is our Lord, Hosanna in the Highest. Recite the Canticle, Repeat the Antiphon, then pray. Prayer. O God, who by this days solemnities revivest to us the memory of our Saviour's Triumph, ushering in his Passion! teach us, we beseech Thee, from this perfect instance, the fickleness of this world's justest glories; and mortify our esteem of its best deserved applauses; and bring our hearts cheerfully to expect a Cross after them, as the highest way to our eternal glory with Thee, through the same our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son, who etc. On Monday in holy Week, instead of Lessons read the Passion according to St. Luke, which begins Chap. 22. vers. 1. and ends Chap. 23. ver. 53. On Tuesday in holy Week, instead of Lessons, read the Passion according to St. John, in the 18 and 19 Chapters. On Wednesday in holy Week, instead of Lessons, read the Passion according to St. Matthew in the 26 and 27 Chapters. Maundy Thursday. All as in the Thursday Office, but omit all Antiphons' and Hymns, and Glory be etc. instead whereof, at the end of every Psalm, say kneeling, Christ was made for us obedient to death: and instead of Lessons, read the Passion according to St. Mark, which begins Mark 14. 12. and ends Mark 15. 46. When you have done the third Psalm, at laud's, say this following Antiphon, and so to the end. Antiphon for Benedictus, Our Lord JESUS rose from the Table, and laid by his garments, and girt himself with a towel, and poured water into a Basin, and washed the feet of his Disciples, and wiped them with the towel, which having done, he took his garments, and sat down again, and said to them, do you know what I have done to you? you call me Master and Lord; and you say well, for so I am: if therefore I, who am your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you ought also to wash one another's: for I have given you an Example, that as I have done to you, you also do. Say the Canticle Benedictus, then repeat the Antiphon: then kneel, and say, Christ was made for us obedient to death. Our Father. all silently: then in a low grave tone, say. V. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy: R. And according to the multitude of thy compassions, wipe away my offences. V. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sins. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. Against Thee only have I sinned and done evil in thy sight; that thou mayst be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art judged. For behold I was conceived in iniquity; and in sins my Mother brought me forth. Behold Thou hast loved truth; the incertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast manifested to me. Thou shalt sprinkle me with Hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Thou shalt give to my hearing joy and gladness; and the bones thou hast humbled shall rejoice. Turn away thy face from my sins; and blot-out all my iniquities. Create a clean hart in me, O God and renew a right spirit in my bowels. Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation; and confirm me with an heroic spirit. O Lord open thou my lips; and my mouth shall declare thy praise. For wouldst thou have had sacrifice, I verily had given it; with burnt-offerings thou art not delighted. A Sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit; a contrite and an humbled hart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Zion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up. Then shalt thou accept sacrifice of justice, oblations of holocausts; then shall they lay calves upon thine Altar. Look down, O Lord, we beseech Thee on this thy family, for which our Lord JESUS Christ vouchsafed to be betrayed into the hands of the wicked, and undergo the torments of the Cross— who with Thee and the holy Ghost lives and reigns one God, world without end, Amen. So end the laud's and Vespers for these three days. Antiph. for Magnificat. Our Lord Jesus, the night wherein he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke it, and said, Take and eat This is my Body which shall be given for you; do this in commemoration of me: Likewise the Cup also, after He had supped, saying, This Cup is the new Testament in my Blood; this do, as often as you drink it, in commemoration of me: for as often as you eat this Bread, and drink this Cup, you declare our Lord's death till he come. Christ was made for us obedient to death. Our Father, etc. Have Mercy on me, O God— Page 523 Look down as Page 525 At Complin, begin with the first Psalm without Antiph, and instead of Glory be, etc. say, Christ was made, etc. Our Father. Have mercy. Look down. as Pag. 525 and so for the two following days. Good Friday. All as in the ordinary Office of Friday, omitting all Antiphons' and Hymns, and Glory be, etc. instead whereof at the end of every Psalms say Kneeling; Christ was made for us obedient to death, even the death of the Cross. Instead of Lessons, read the Passion according to S. Luke, which begins Luke 22. 1ST and ends Luke 23. 53. When you have done the third Psalm at laud's and Vespers, say this following Antiphon. Antiph. for Benedictus and Magnificat. Look up my soul, on thy crucified Lord: look up and see the utmost extremity of divine love: already he had carried on, to a fair degree the work of our Redemption, in fasting and praying, in travailing and preaching, in doing Miracles, and bearing injuries; but now, to finish all with one incomparable charity, behold He suffers even death itself, and death upon the Cross. Recite the Canticle. Repeat the Antiphon then Kneel and say. Christ was made for us obedient to death, even the death of the Cross. Our Father. Have mercy. Look down. and so end as on Ma●●ndy-Thursday. Holy Saturday. All as in the ordinary Office of Saturday, omitting all Antiphons', Hymns, and Glory be, etc. Instead whereof at the end of every Psalm, say Kneeling, Christ was made for us obedient to death, even the death of the Cross; wherefore also God has exalted Him, and given Him a Name above every Name. Instead of Lessons, read the Passion according to S. John in the 18. and 19 Chapters. When you have ended the third Psalm, at laud's and Vespers, say this following Antiphon. Antiphon for Benedictus and Magnificat. Death is swallowed up in Victory. Death where is thy victory? Death where is thy sting? the sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the Law: but thanks be to God who has given us victory by our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us therefore be stable and immovable, abounding always in the work of our Lord: knowing our labour is not in vain in our Lord. Recite the Canticle. Repeat the Antiphon▪ then Kneel and say, Christ was made for us obedient to death, even the death of the Cross; wherefore also God has exalted Him, and given him a Name above every Name. Our Father. Have mercy. Look down. and so end, as on Maundy Thursday. Easter day, and during the Octave. All as in the Office for Sunday, except. 1. Antiph. Christ is risen from the dead, alleluja; and become the first fruits of them that slept, alleluja. 2. Antiph. Fear not, I know whom you seek; He is risen, he is not here, alleluja; Come see the place where our Lord was laid, alleluja. 3. Antiph. He that raised up JESUS will also raise up us, alleluja: and refine our vile flesh into the likeness of his glorious body, alleluja. Antiph. for Benedictus and Magnificat. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing for ever and ever, alleluja, alleluja, alleluja. Prayer. O God, whose gracious Providence restores to thy Church the face and voice of holy exultation, by the triumphant Festival of our Saviour's resurrection! Grant, we humbly beseech Thee, that the joy which shines in our looks may flame in our hearts, and purify them worthy those high and glorious hopes, so firmly sealed to us by this days experience, of Rising again at last from our graves, and rejoicing thenceforth for ever in state of blissful immortality, through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son: who with Thee and the H. Ghost lives and reigns One God world without end, Amen. SS. Philip and Jacob. All as in the Office of Saints, except. 1. Antiph. Now it suffices thee Philip, our Lord has shown thee the Father, and henceforth for ever thou shalt see Him face to face: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. And thou holy Jacob the Brother of our Lord art gloriously happy; enjoying for ever the same blissful Vision: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. These are Two of those precious stones that found and adorn the walls of the heavenly Jerusalem. Alleluja. Prayer. O God, by whose grace the B. Apostles S. Philip and S. Jacob watered, as this day, with their blood the heavenly seed which they had long sweat in sowing o'er the world: Redouble, we beseech Thee the devotions of thy servants by celebrating together their happy Memories, and grant that our Faith sopreciously confirmed may fructify into holy lives & deaths worthy such glorious Masters; through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son, who— Invention of the H. Cross. All, as in the Office of our Saviour, except 1. Antiph. Glorious art thou, O B. Empress Helen; whose devotion so miraculously restored to the world the standard of Salvation: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. This holy Sign shall be in the heavens; Alleluja: when our Lord shall come to Judgement; Alleluja. 3. Antiph. Far be it from us to glory in any thing but the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; in whom the world is crucified to us, and we to the world: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who, as this day, vovehsafedst to raise again even the Cross of our Saviour from its ignominious grave, to become a close and striking memorial of his Passion! Grant, we beseech Thee, that our devout celebrating this thy special providence may still more deeply imprint in our hearts its gracious design; of making us often reflect on the great benefit of our redemption, and the infinite love and mercy of our Redeemer: through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who, etc. Rogation Week: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. All, as in the Weekly Office, except 1. Antiph. Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you; says our Lord, whose word cannot fail: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. Thou knowst we need all these things; but more, but more, by these our needs to be drawn to look up to Thee: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. Seek first the kingdom of heaven; and all things else shall be added to you: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, by whose H. Spirit thy Church ordains this a solemn time of supplication for all our necessities! Open, we humbly beseech Thee, thy gracious ears to the prayers thou inspir'st and drawest from our hearts: and by granting us those Goods which thy Children with humility and resignation ask of Thee their heavenly Father, so encourage our devotion and obedience, and so increase our hope and love; that transcending all Particulars, as safely to be trusted in the hand of thy Providence, our whole souls may thirst after Thee thyself alone, who art our All in All for ever: through our Lord— Ascension; and during the Octave. All, as in the Office of our Saviour, except 1. Antiph. I have finished the work which my Father commanded me; and now 'tis time I return to him that sent me: let not your hearts be troubled; I go to my Father, and your Father; to my God, and your God; Alleluja. 2. Antiph. Let not your hearts be troubled; I go to prepare a place for you: and I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there may my servants be; Alleluja. 3. Antiph. Meanwhile, I will not leave you desolate; but will pray to my Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, the Spirit of truth, to dwell with you for ever: Alleluja. Antiph▪ for Benedictus and Magnificat. Why stand we looking downwards on the things of this world? behold our Lord is ascended into heaven, and sits in glory at the right hand of his Father, Alleluja. Why stand we idle with our accounts unprepared? behold the same JESUS shall come again to judge the living and the dead, and give to every one according to his works: Alleluja, Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who hast inspired thy Church to celebrate, this day, the memory of our Saviour's Ascension; when, having finished on earth the great work of our Redemption, He carried up his glorified Humanity above the clouds to its eternal Rest! Grant, we humbly beseech Thee, that taking off our eyes from these vanities here below, we may stand continually looking after Him into heaven; and, heartily expecting his appearance thence again at the last great day, be always ready to obey his call, and meet him in the clouds, and follow him into those blissful Mansions which he went to prepare for us at thy right hand for ever, through the same our Lord, etc. Whitsunday, and during the Octave. All, as in the Office of the H. Ghost. Trinity-Sunday. All, as in Sunday Office, except 1. Antiph. There are Three that bear witness in heaven; the Father, the Word, and the H. Ghost: and these Three are One; Alleluja. 2. Antiph. The Father is God, and the Son is God, and the H. Ghost is God: yet are they not three Gods, but One God; Alleluja. 3. Antiph. In this adorable Trinity none is before or after; none greater or less than Another: but all the Three Persons are coequal among themselves, and coeternal; Alleluja. Antiph. for Benedictus and Magnificat. To thee the eternal Father, made by none; to thee the increated Son, begotten by the Father alone; to thee the B. Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son; One holy, consubstantial, and undivided Trinity; be ascribed all power and wisdom and goodness, now and for ever. Alleluja. Prayer. O Eternal Father, who by the visible dedescent of thy Son to redeem the world, and of thy H. Spirit to sanctify the Elect, has wonderfully made thy Churches own experience facilitate our faith of the incomprehensible Trinity! Grant us, we beseech Thee, in hart and voice to profess this most high and supernatural truth, and rejecting all the fallacious suggestions of short reason, humbly adore Thee, Three every-way-coequal Persons, in the same indivisible Deity; till we come hereafter to thy blissful presence, and see the Mystery revealed in thine own glorious face; through our Lord, etc. Corpus Christi; and during the Octave. All, as in Thursday Office, except 1. Antiph. I am the living bread that came down from heaven: if any one eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day: Alleluja. Antiph. for Benedictus and Magnificat. O sweet and sacred Feast, wherein Christ himself is received, and the memory of his Passion renewed; our minds are filled with grace, and our future glory secured to us with a dear and precious Pledge: Alleluja, Alleluja. Prayer. O God, whose infinite mercy has wonderfully contrived the very Body of our Saviour, which glorified sits at thy right hand in the heavens, to become still the daily visible Object and Solicitor of our adorations on earth! Grant us, we beseech Thee, so devoutly to celebrate this glorious Festival, instituted by thy Church in memory of that stupendious providence, as may sanctify us every day to feed more strongly with it our faith and hope and charity; and raise in us a higher appetite of that clear unveiled Vision, to which our hidden God thus miraculously now condescends to invite us; through the same our Lord, etc. S. John Baptist. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. This is the great Precursor of the world's Redeemer, the miraculous Son of age and barrenness; in his Mother's womb he was sanctified, and in his nativity many shall rejoice; Alleluja. 2. Antiph. This is a Prophet, and more than a Prophet; of whom our Saviour said, Never did there rise among the children of women, a greater than John the Baptist: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. This is that burning and that shining light, who, despising the pleasures and conveniences of the world, chose his garment of camels hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his meat was locusts and wild honey: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, whose gracious providence summons us this day to celebrate the Nativity of the great S. John Baptist, thy Son's holy Precur●●or! Grant, we beseech thee, that as we fulfil the Prophecy of thy holy Angel by rejoicing in his Nativity, we may improve both our selus and others by imitating his life; while every one of us, in our several conditions and capacities, faithfully endeavour to learn of him those excellent lessons of retiredness and mortification, of humility and self-denial, of zeal for justice, and courage in defending the truth, and generous and industrious charity in all our actions; through our Lord, etc. SS. Peter and Paul. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. This day the Prince of the Apostles was nailed to the Cross, and in reverence to his Master, with his head downwards; imitating with that humble difference, Him in his death, whom in his life he so dearly had loved; Alleluja. 2. Antiph. This day the Doctor of the Gentiles bowed his head to the sword; and received of our Lord the crown of Martyrdom: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. These are they who taught us thy Law, O Lord! thou shalt establish them Princes over all the earth, and they shall propagate thy Name to the end of the world: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who this day vouchsafest to refresh and excite the devotions of thy Church by the glorious Festival of its principal Founders, thy Son's great Apostles, S. Peter and S. Paul! Grant us, we beseech Thee, both humbly to adore thy powerful Providence in rendering frail men so firm a rock of saving truth, that the gates of hell neither have nor can prevail against it; and duly submit to that eminent Authority of the supreme Bishop of the Christians, which thy infinite Wisdom has ordained, as the fittest means to establish order, and preserve unity in thy Church: through our Lord, etc. S. James. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. No sooner was he called by our Lord, but immediately he obeyed, and left nets, and boat, and father, and all to follow JESUS: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. This was the first Apostle who laid down his life for our Lord; and received at his hand the crown of Martyrdom: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. Now, glorious Apostle, thou enjoyest thy Mother's desire, and for ever shalt enjoy it, seated at the right hand of JESUS in his Kingdom: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who by the feast of the H Apostle S. James revivest in us the memory of thy great mercy to the world in so glorious a seedsman of thy saving truth! Cultivate so our hearts, we beseech thee, by the solemn devotions of this day, that the blessed seed may bring forth more abundant fruit in our lives and deaths, worthy thy grace vouchsafed us in such eminent Masters: through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who— S. Ann. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. Blessed art thou among women, O holy Ann; and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Marry; Alleluja. 2. Antiph. Rejoice, O glorious Matron, for thy prayers are heard, and thy barrenness comforted: thou hast brought forth the Mother of all our hopes, the Mother of JESUS; Alleluja. 3. A●●tiph. I will pour out my Spirit on thy seed, and my blessing on thy Offspring, saith our Lord; Alleluja. Prayer. O God, whose peculiar Providence sanctified the womb of the barren and devout S. Ann to bear the blessed among women, thy Son's Virgin-Mother! Grant us, we humbly beseech thee, in venerating her memory to adore thy free grace, which vouchsafed her so glorious a privilege from thee, and so high an honour in thy Church; through our Lord, etc. S. Laurence. All, as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. This is the glorious Martyr, S. Laurence, whose courage remained invincible in the midst of his torments; they broiled him on a gridiron, and he confessed our Lord; they tried him with fire; and he was found true: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. They sought his treasures, but his charity had laid them out of their reach: the hands of the poor had carried them into heaven; Alleluja. 3. Antiph. While they were burning his flesh, he generously said to the Tyrant; I worship my God, and him alone I serve; therefore I fear not thy torments: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, by whose grace the glorious Deacon, S. Laurence, sustained the cruel torments of a lingering death on a gridiron, rather than betray the Goods of the Church deposited in his hands, or deny the truths of Religion conserved in his hart! Grant us, we beseech thee, in solemnising his Feast, both to praise thy Name for so great and early an example of Christian courage: and be strengthened by it, against all possible temptations, to preserve inviolate our fidelity to thee and our spiritual trusts: through our Lord, etc. Assumption of our Lady; and during the Octave. All, as in the Office of Saints, except Invitatory. Come let's adore the King of Saints, whose Virgin-Mother was assumed into heaven; Alleluja. 1. Antiph. To day the Mother of our Lord was assumed into heaven; Alleluja: and seated in glory above the highest Angels: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. Behold from henceforth all generations shall call thee blessed; Alleluja: for he that is mighty has done great things for thee, and holy is his Name: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. Blessed, O holy Virgin, art thou among women; Alleluja: and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, JESUS; Alleluja, Alleluja. Antiph. for Benedictus and Magnificat. Come forth now all you glorious Angels and blessed Saints of heaven; come forth, and behold your Queen, with the crown wherewith her Son has crowned her in the day of her Espousals, in the day of the gladness of her heart: Alleluja, Alleluja. Prayer. O God, whose gracious Providence would not suffer the sacred womb that bore thy Holy One to see corrution; but, raising from the grave the B. Virgin's body, assumed it with her soul to the highest Throne in heaven! Grant we humbly beseech thee, that devoutly celebrating the memory of this thy grace to her, we may inure our minds to raise and fix themselves there, where at length we hope also to ascend; through our Lord etc. S. Bartholomew. All as in the Office of Saints, except 1. Antiph. His skin, and all he had, and even life itself he freely gave for the testimony of the truth, and for the love of JESUS: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. At the last day he shall rise from the earth, and be compa'st again with his skin, and in his flesh shall he see God: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. His body must expect for a time, in hope; but his soul went immediately away to enjoy the blissful Vision: Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who by the Martyrdom of thy B. Apostle Saint Bartholomew, refreshest in our memories the glorious attestations which thy providence has vouchsafed the world for c●●●rmation of thy truth: Grant us, we humbly beseech Thee, with such concern to reflect on the excesive pains he took and suffered for propagating the Gospel, and the superabundant rewards he now enjoys in thy blissful Presence; that our faith may be strengthened and more actively applied to carry us on in the same race to the same happy end; through our Lord JESUS Christ thy son, who— Nativity of our Lady All as in the Office of Saints, except Invitatory. Come le's adore the King of Saints whose Virgin Mother was born to day: Alleluia. 1. Antiph. To day was born the B. Virgin Mary, of the seed of Abraham and tribe of ●●da, and Family of David: Alleluja. 2. Antiph, To day was born the B. Virgin Mary. spouse of the H. Ghost, and mother of the Son of God, and daughter of the eternal Father: Alleluja. 3. Antiph. Let all the world rejoice in the Nativity of the B. Virgin Mary Alleluja: of whom was born the Redeemer of all the world▪ Alleluja. Prayer. O God, who this day callest us to celebrate Her Nativity of whom thy only Son vouchsafed to take our flesh, and be born the world's Redeemer! Grant us we beseech Thee so devoutly to rejoice in the dawn of her immaculate birth, as more fitly may dispose us to behold and walk by her light, which every moment increasingly shined before men through the whole day of her life here, and follow it setting hence into eternal glory; through our JESUS Christ thy Son, who— S. Matthew. All as in the Office of Saints, except. 1. Antiph. Be not discouraged, O my soul, nor make thy past offences unpardonable by despair. 2. Antiph. This is he who of a sinner became a Preacher, and of a Publican was called to be an Apostle. 3. Antiph. Fear not the power of the grace of God; but take heed▪ of delaying to embrace it, take heed of refusing to obey it. Prayer. O God, whose powerful call drew Matthew the Publican from the very receipt of Custom to become an eminent Apostle and Evangelist in thy Church; grant us we humbly beseech Thee in celebrating the B. memory of his life and death, worthy his high and extraordinary vocation, both to advance thy praise for so glorious an example of thy Grace, complying readily and faithfully with thy grace, imitate to our utmost capacities so glorious an example; through our Lord JESUS Christ thy Son, who— S. Michael. All, as in the Office of Saints, except Invitatory. Come let's adore the King of Angels— 1. Antiph. He has commanded his Angels to keep us in all our ways; they shall bear us it●● their hands, lest at any time we dash our feet against a stone: Alleluja. 2. Antiph. Take heed you despise not any of my little Ones, says our Lord; for their Angels continually behold the face of my Father who is in heaven; Alleluja. 3. Antiph. In the sight of thy Angels will I sing to thee, O my God; Alleluja. I will adore at thy holy Temple, and confess to thy name; Alleluja. Antiph. for Benedictus and Magnificate. Praise our Lord all you Angels, Archangels and Thrones; praise him all you Dominations, Principalities and Powers; praise him all you heavenly Virtues, Cherubins and Seraphins▪ praise him all you glorious Quires of blessed Spirits; praise him and magnify him for ever: alleluja, alleluja, alleluja. Prayer. O God, who by the Feast of S. Michael the Archangel, Prince of the Church, summonest us to commemorate all the glorious Host of heaven, ranged under his standard to assist thy Elect against the powers of darkness! Grant us, we beseech Thee, both to admire and praise thy grace for so high a providence; and in faith of such Guardians, with firmer hope pursue the holy ways of increasing their joy by advancing our own Bliss; through our Lord— SS. Simon and Judas. 1. Antiph. These are they who planted the Church of God with preaching, and settled it with miracles, and watered it with their blood: alleluja. 2. Antiph. They ventured their lives among barbarous Nations, and converted vast Regions to the faith of Christ: alleluja. 3. Antiph. They rejected the flatteries of the world, and despised the menaces of their Persecuters; and now, for all they did, and all they suffered are eternally rewarded: alleluja. Prayer. O God, who, as this day, by a glorious Martyrdom called'st the B. Apostles Simon and Judas from their eminent labours in thy vineyard, to blissful rest in thy kingdom! Grant us thy grace we beseech Thee, to improve this d●●vout opportunity of celebrating their Memories, both by praising thee for such excellent Masters, and pressing more lively on our selves their saving doctrine and examples; through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who— All-Saints; and during the Octave. All, as in the Office of Saints. All-Souls. All, as in the Office of the Dead. A Prayer for a Family at night. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the H. Ghost: Amen. Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity now and for ever: Amen. Our Father. Hail Mary. I believe. O Eternal, infinite, and almighty God, whose gracious wisdom vouchasafes to command such things as are necessary to fit us for everlasting Blyss; & forbid such as are apt to render us eternally miserable! we wretched sinners, the frail offspring of disobedient Adam, humbly prostrate our souls and bodies before thy adorable Majesty, and with a true and hearty sorrow, each of us particularly thus accuse and condemn our selus. I confess to almighty God, to the B. Virgin Mary, to 〈◊〉 B. Saint Michael the Archangel, to the B. Saint John Baptist to the holy Apostles S. Peter and S. Paul, and to all the Saints; that I have grievously sinned in thought, word, and deed, through my fault, through my fault, through my exceeding great fault. Here pause a while to examine and repent, and make holy purposes: Then say, Therefore I beseech the B. Virgin Mary, the B. Saint Michael the Archangel, the B. Saint John Baptist, the holy Apostles S. Peter and S. Paul, and all the Saints, to pray to God for me. The great and glorious Lord of heaven and earth have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life: Amen. Lord have mercy on us. Christ have mercy on us. Lord have mercy on us. JESUS receive our prayers. Lord JESUS grant our petitions. O God the Father, Creator of the world, have mercy on us. O God the Son, Redeemer of mankind, have— O God the Holy Ghost, Perfecter of the Elect, have— O Sacred Trinity, three Persons and one God, have— O God, the eternal Fullness of all Perfection— O God, the overflowing Source of all Being— O God, the bounteous Author of all our Good— O God, who hast chosen us in thy Son before the constitution of the world— O God, who hast created us of nothing to thine own similitude— O God, who preservest us every Moment, that we return not again to nothing— O God, who hast made all the world for the use of us, and us for the enjoyment of Thyself— O God, who hast redeemed us by the death of thy Son; and sanctified us by the grace of thy holy Spirit— O God, who hast brought us to the knowledge of thy truth; and blest us with so plentiful means of working our salvation— O God, who hast prepared for us a glorious inheritance, if we love thee and keep thy Commandments— O God, who art thyself that glorious inheritance— O God, the only end of all our labours— O God, the only Rest of our wearied souls— O God, the only joy of our time and eternity— O God, our God, & all things, have mercy on us. Have mercy, O Lord, and spare us. Have mercy, O Lord, and hear us. From all evil, deliver us, O Lord. From all sin deliver— From all occasions of offending thy divine Majesty— From the particular temptations to which we are most exposed— From sudden and unprovided death— From everlasting death— By thy almighty Power, deliver— By thy unsearchable Wisdom— By thy adorable Goodness— By all thy glorious Attributes— By all thy gracious Mercys— By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation, and humble Nativity— By the sanctity of thy heavenly Doctrine, and miraculous Life— By the merits of thy bitter Passion, and all reviving Death— By the joys of thy victorious Resurrection, and triumphant Ascension●●— By the glory of thy eternal Kingdom, and incomprehensible Majesty, deliver— In the hour of Death, and in the day of Judgement, deliver us, O Lord. We sinners beseech Thee hear us. That it would please Thee to give us a true and hearty sorrow for all our offences, we— That it would please Thee to work in us a firm and sincere resolution of amending our lives, we— That it would please Thee to pardon our sins past; and prevent us by thy grace for the time to come, we— That it would please thee to have pity on the weakness of our nature; and in all our necessities, temptations and dangers, to strengthen and relieve us, we beseech Thee hear us. That seeing every day our many imperfections, we may quicken our diligence, and humble our selus, and learn to depend on Thee, we— That acknowledging all we have is derived from thy free bounty, we may praise and glorify Thee, and above all thy benefits love Thee our Benefactor we— That knowing all we hope proceeds from the same free bounty, we may faithfully endeavour to serve and please Thee, and secure to our selves thy everlasting rewards we— That considering thy Providence does all things for the best; we may thankfully accept whatever Thou assign'st us; and not murmur at our part, but strive to act it well we— That we may diligently observe the Rules of our several places; and contentedly stoop to the meanest work of our condition; sweetening all our labours with this glad hope, if we be innocent here, we shall be happy hereafter. we— That we may live in peace and charity with all the world; especially among our selus, so particularly engaged by our union into one Family; patiently forbearing, and freely forgiving, and readily assisting one another we— That often, in the midst of our business, we may steal up our thoughts to Heaven, to renew and increase our desire of that glorious eternity, we— That whether we sleep or wake we may still be safe in Thee; and whether live or die, be always thine. We beseech Thee hear us. Son of God, we beseech Thee hear us. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, spare us O Lord. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, hear us O Lord. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, V. Lord have mercy on us. R. Christ have mercy on us. V. Lord have mercy on us. Our Father etc. V. And lead us not into temptation: R. But deliver us from evil, Amen. V. Bless we beseech thee O Lord, thy spouse the Church: R. Bless her with the graces of unity and truth and holiness. V. Bless thy servant our Sovereign Lord King Charles: R. Bless him with the spirit of wisdom and courage and piety. V. Bless all the Nations subject to his Government: R. Bless them with the gifts of peace, and truth, and unfeigned charity. V. Bless our kindred and acquaintance, our friends and benefactors. R. Bless our enemies and standerers, and all that despitefully use us. V. Have mercy, O Lord, on the Nations who never knew Thee: R. And Those who knew Thee once, but now are fallen from the Truth. V. Have mercy on the poor, and helpless, and afflicted: R. And comfort them with hope, and patience, and relief. V. Have mercy on the living, and govern them by thy grace. R. Have mercy on the Dead, and bring them to thy glory. V. Have mercy on us thy servants here assembled in thy presence. R. And Thou who art our Refuge, be our Defence. V. Into thy hands, O Lord, we commend our spirits: R. Into thy hands, O Lord, we commend our spirits. V. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, thou God of truth: R. Into thy hands, O Lord, we commend our spirits. V. Preserve us, O Lord, as the apple of thine eye: R. Under the shadow of thy wings protect us. V. Save us O Lord, waking; defend us sleeping: R. That we may watch with Christ, and rest in peace. V. Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin: R. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us. V. Lord, let thy mercy be on us: R. As our hope is in Thee. V. O Lord hear our prayers: R. And let our supplications come to Thee. Let us pray. O God, the comfortable Repose of thy servants in Hope, and their blissful Rest in thy everlasting Possession! obedient to thy Call by the voice of our nature, behold we retire to lay down our weary heads; and instructed by thy grace confidently resign up all we are and have, while we sleep, in the h●●●s of thy everwaking Providence; most humbly beseeching Thee, that, if it please Thee to take us hence this night, our souls eyes, as our bodies, may be found absolutely closed to all this world's Goods, and wide open to receive thy ardently-expected Vision: or, if thou vouchsafest by convenient refreshment to protract still our lives, we may rise from our Beds, cheerfully disposed, by good works in our 〈◊〉 vocations, to make our Election sure, and advance our glorious Mansion for ever with Thee; through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with Thee and the H. Ghost lives and reigns world without end. Amen. V. O Lord hear our prayers: R. And let our supplications come to Thee. V. Bless we our Lord. R. Thanks be to God. V. May the souls of the Faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace: R. Amen. O. B. Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, pray for us. O glorious Angels whom our Lord sends in mission for the good of his Elect, pray for us. O holy Saints who perfectly secure of your own happiness, are charitably solicitous of ours, pray for us. O all you blessed inhabitants of heaven, who continually behold the face of God, and readily dispense his benefits to us, pray for us. God the Father sustain and protect us. Jesus Christ illuminate and govern us. The H. Spirit sanctify and perfect us to life everlasting. Amen. Pause a while. Then rise. FINIS.