Stories and Teaching on Fhe Litanv REV, J.W. HARDMÄN __ -FUNDATA *. A°. 01 KLDOCCXLir. STORIES AND TEACHING ON THE LITANY. ^toirteö attU Ceacftmg on Zfyz 3£ttartg, A BOOK TO MAKE THAT SERVICE PLAIN TO THE OLD AND INTERESTING TO THE YOUNG. " Quasi clavi in altum deßxi." Ecc. xil. ii. BY THE LATE REV. WILLIAM HARDMAN,M.A., LL.D., ETHICAL MODERATOR AND DOWNE's DIVINITY PRIZE-MAN IN THE UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN. SOMETIME VICAR OF S. KATHARINE'S, V. AND M., NEAR BRISTOL, AND LECTURER OF S. MARY THE VIRGIN'S, YATTON. GENERAL PREACHER IN THE DIOCESE OF BATH AND WELLS. WITH INTRODUCTION BY R.W. RANDALL, M.A., DEAN OF CHICHESTER. VICAR OF ALL SAINTS*, CLIFTON. •4-OI-ÖÖ . CONTAINING Suggestions for Sermons and Addresses arranged for the Sundays of a Year; and adapted for Catechising and Sunday School Classes,■■ b} questions ; ' also useful for Reading to Children at- -Home.1 r % * T ' 1 FOURTH EDITION. . . * Hautam: *1 Z ; ; ■« : , SKEFFINGTON & SON, PICCADILLY, W. 1895. DEDICATED TO THE LOVING MEMORY OF MY TWO DEAR CHILDREN, CALLED HENCE IN EARLY YEARS. O « tf * !2>><5\AS C\ri)eme for 2äse in Eträresses or Hessons for eaci) £>untiag tfjtougi) tfje $ear. Introduction for the ... ist Sunday 1 Clause I. THE INVOCATIONS. God the Father 2nd „ 5 II. God the Son 3rd M 11 11 III. God the Holy Ghost... 4th ,, 15 „ IV. Holy Trinity 5th „ 22 v.—Part I. Remember not, Lord... 6th ,, 28 V.—Part II. ,, 11 7th „ — „ VI. THE DEPRECATIONS. „ VII.—Part I. ,, VII.—Part II. ,, VIII.—Part I. ,, VIII.—Part II. ,, IX.—Part I. ,, IX.—Part II. X. ,, XI. THE OBSECRATIONS. „ XII.—Part I. ,, XII.—Part II. ,, XIII.—Part I. ,, XIII.—Part II. From all evil and mischief 8th From all blindness of heart 9th f 1 ,, „ 10th From fornication, etc. From lightning and tempest, etc. From all sedition By the mystery By Thine agony In time of tribulation... nth 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th x. page. Clause XIV. THE SUPPLICATIONS. We sinners do beseech Thee (Holy Church) 21 st Sunday 114 XV. That it may please Thee to keep the Queen... 22nd , 118 XVI. „ ,, ,, to rule her heart ... 23rd 122 XVII. f 9 ,, ,, to be her defender ... 24th 125 XVIII. >> ,, ,, to bless and preserve the Royal Family 25th 129 XIX.- —Part I. Illuminate Bishops, Priests, etc. ... 26th , 132 XIX. -Part II. „ 27th - XX. Lords of Council, etc. 28th , 140 XXI. Magistrates, etc. 29th , 143 XXII. All people 30th 147 XXIII. All nations 3ist 149 XXIV. A heart to love ... 32nd , 152 XXV. To give Thy people increase of grace,etc. 33rd 156 XXVI. To bring into the way of truth, etc. 34th , 160 XXVII. To strengthen such as stand, etc. ... 35th 163 XXVIII. To succour, help, and comfort, etc. 36th 168 XXIX.- -Part I. To preserve all that travel 37th 172 XXIX.- -Part II. .. 38th , — XXX. Fatherless children, etc. ... 39th 180 XXXI. Mercy on all men 40th , 183 XXXII. Our enemies, etc. 41st , 187 XXXIII. Kindly fruits, etc. 42nd 191 XXXIV. True repentance, etc. 43rd 194 XXXV. The short suffrages 44th 199 XXXVI. . The Lord's Prayer 45th 204 M 461h — ,, ,, 47th — Clause XXXVII. ,, XXXVIII. XXXIX. XL. XLI. For Good Friday ist Collect Ver sides 2nd Collect Prayer of St. Chrysostom Benediction ( Clause II. page. 48th Sunday 220 „ XII. —Part I. Easter Day „ XII.- -Part II. Christmas Day XI. Whit-Sunday | III. » XII. Trinity Sunday IV. Ascension Day » XII. Saints' Day „ XL. 49th 5°th 51st 52nd 225 230 234 239 Arrangement Of Hymns, from Hymns Ancient and Modern, to suit each Sunday's Lesson. Introduction 251 Clause XIX. 352 Clause I. 264 XIX.—Part II. ... 355 II. 200 XX 268 III. 207 XXI 226 IV. 160 XXII 224 v. 94 XXIII 376 v.— Part II. ... 107 XXIV 269 VI. 9i XXV 168 VII. 198 XXVI 359 VII.- -Part II. ... 344 XXVII. ... 447 VIII. 287 ,, XXVIII 274 VIII.- -Part II. ... 328 XXIX 370 IX. 170 XXIX.—Part II. ... 20 IX.- -Part II. ... 368 XXX 286 x. 215 XXXI 354 1 58 XXXII 115 XI. J ! 62 ,, XXXIII. ... 383 I 179 ,, XXXIV 47 t. 92 XXXV 187 XII. 114 ,, XXXVI. 217 XII.- -Part II. ... 332 „ XXXVI.—Part II. ... 267 XIII. 399 ,, XXXVI.—Part III.... 194 XIII.- -Part II. ... 231 ,, XXXVII 373 XIV. 216 ,, XXXVIII i65 XV. 142 ,, XXXIX. ... 276 XVI. 280 XL 448 XVII. 357 XL1 163 XVIII. 175 THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE LITANY. [" Here folioweth the Litany, or General Supplication, to be sung or said, after Morning Prayer, on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and at other times when it shall be commanded by the Ordinary." *—Prayer Book.] N the first place let us remember that " Litany" is a Greek word, meaning " supplication." This kind of service first arose in the Church in the fifth century, amongst the early Christians in Gaul—which is now called France—where, in the neighbourhood of Lyons and Vienne, St. Irenaeus, and other Missionary Saints, of the School of St. John the Apostle, had laboured. So here may be told a story of the plague at Vienne, and the introduction of Litanies into the Church. 'I' 'fc -fc '!' The heat was intense—there had not been a shower for many days, and the dust lay thick and white on the rough-paved streets of the old Roman city of Vienne, in that part of Gaul we now call the neighbourhood of Lyons. Gladly did Sulpicius—the officer of the Guard—who had just been relieved from duty, enter a cool dark chamber in his house, and where he laid aside his heavy helmet, and unbuckled his short sword. And yet, as he did so, it was with a heavy sigh that he turned to his mother, Avita, who, blind and aged, sat spinning in the corner, " Mother, 'tis a terrible time in the city. The Pestilence seems to increase daily, and everywhere there is terror and alarm. The oldest men recollect nothing like it. In some houses whole families have died, the *That is the Bishop or Dean. A 2 £t0ricä iiiiiS gTtarimig country folk are afraid to bring in food to the city; rich people who fled have been forced to return, and have been refused admittance to neighbouring cities. The Prefect has written to Aries and Massilia entreating the authorities to induce skilful physicians to come to our aid. Our chief citizens are panic-struck, and know not what to advise—old Salonicus, 4 the heathen,' goes about grumbling, and saying it is because we forsook our own gods for the religion of the Jews, and the only one who is cool and wise and collected is our good Bishop, Mamertus." "Ah!" said the aged Avita, 44 he is one of those who know it is written in the Scriptures, of the servants of the Lord, 4 He shall not be afraid for the arrow that flieth by night, or for the pestilence that walketh abroad by day.'" 44 But," said Sulpicius, 44 where is my boy?" 44 He is coming," said Avita, and a school-boy entering the room at that moment, threw down a little scriptorium, which contained his pen and writing materials. 44 Father," said he, 44 there is to be no more school on account of the plague—the few boys who came this morning looked so white and frightened." "It was reported at the Prefect's hall, to-day," said his father, 44 that they would free the prisoners in the gaol on condition that they helped to bury the dead." 44 The Lord have mercy on us," murmured the venerable grandmother. 44 But, father," said Julian, for so the boy was called, 441 have somewhat to tell you. When I had assisted in singing the Psalms at the great Church of St. Mauritius, as it was my turn to do, our good Bishop came in, and said that for a while there would be no more services in the Church, for that people were afraid to assemble there, fearing infection. But instead thereof to-morrow there will be a great procession round the whole city, of the clergy, with all pious people, and as they go, instructed by the eccle¬ siastics, they will sing a solemn supplication, in which the Bishop nit t\)t Uttang. 3 and clergy will pray for deliverance from the pestilence, and all the people will join in and re-echo their supplication." " It is a good and holy thought," said Avita. " We will gladly go, my son, with the good Bishop," said Sulpicius; " when is the appointed time ? " "An hour after sunrise on the morrow," replied Julian. " Your grandmother will only be able to accompany you with her prayers," said Avita, " but you will come and tell me all about it when it is over," she added fondly, laying her hand upon the boy's curly head. On the morrow, good Avita, whose age and infirmities did not permit her to rise as early as others, had hardly finished her earnest prayers, raising her sightless eye-balls to Heaven, and clasping her withered hands, when her grandson, Julian, eagerly rushed in to tell her all about the solemn procession of that memorable morning. " Oh ! grandmother, it was an impressive sight, which made my heart beat fast. The air was so clear I could see ever so far. Nay, I thought I could see a glimpse of the snowy mountains in the far East—like the walls of the Heavenly Jerusalem—then the multitude gathered together—good old Bishop Mamertus was arrayed in his golden mitre, which flashed with the morning light, and his robes were bordered with the sacred letters and symbols. Then came the rest of the clergy in their orders, and those who are attached to the lesser offices of the Church—then came the great Cross borne on high—and after that the Prefect and the chief citizens—then the officers and centurions of the City Guard—and then came the great body of the citizens, men, women and children, and they who had lost dear ones in the plague were arrayed in black, and wept audibly. And last of all came the 4 fossores,' or gravediggers, who, weary of their sad task, prayed with their neighbours for the removal of the pestilence. "And the prayers and services, Grandmother Avita, were unlike those we have usually. You know what a glorious voice our 4 £t0ric£ antf €eacf)tntj old Bishop has, and he first invoked the High God, the ever- glorious Trinity—and then he pleaded with God to deliver us from the plague. And when he paused in his chief petition, the voices of all the people rose up in a wild, wailing response, 4 Miserere Domine,' ' Oh ! Lord, have mercy upon us, unhappy sinners/ And then the Bishop pleaded for the sick, and the sor¬ rowful, for those in power, like the Emperor, and for the beggars, who needed daily bread, and for deliverance from all dangers to body and soul—and again and again the people responded as the long procession swept along the streets and round the walls of the city, and the voices of all, clergy and people, rose up alternately into the blue sky." " May God hear their prayers, my grandson," answered Avita. * * * * * Two days after, there came a great thunderstorm—the intense heat cooled down, and the prayers of the people being heard, the pestilence ceased its ravages—and the plan of mingled prayer of clergy and people as they walked in procession was called a " Litany, or Solemn Supplication," and grew one of the most popular forms of prayer in the ancient Church. After telling this story of the origin of the Litany, it may be well to remember that it was in dark and evil days for the Church that God put it into the heart of His people to find this consola¬ tion—and " Litanies" became the very strength, stay, and comfort of God's Church. Hooker tells us, in the fifth century, they had become very popular all over Christian Europe. But in the progress of time there were added, according to the views of the middle ages, a series of invocations to the Saints ; and, as someone has quaintly said, " the number of the good people who stood between kept the poor souls from getting a clear sight of their Saviour." But in God's good time there came changes; Arch¬ bishop Cranmer drew up the first form of our present Litany in 1544, and it is interesting to bear in mind that this was the very first portion of our Prayer Book, which was translated and " set on tbo fcttaug. 5 forth in our English tongue, wherein we were born." It was included in the first English Prayer Book of 1549, and with slight alterations has ever since been a part of our public Prayers, especially loved and valued by devout Christians. [Note.—It should be perhaps mentioned that another account attributes its origin to a period of Earthquakes.] CLAUSE I. tSotf the father, of peahen: habe lmrcg an u£, miserable sinners'." HERE is a story told of a certain Greek, who lived long ago, who was cast down with some companions by his enemies into a deep pit, the entrance jpf. a dark cavern, and thus left to perish. He alone survived the fall, and for a long time wandered in despair through the gloomy recesses of the cave, feeling his way but finding no escape. At length in the darkness he heard the movement of some wild animal. He followed the sound—he pursued the creature through the winding passages, and at last saw a little star of light shining in the distance. It was a very narrow opening in the rock, but through it he was able to escape into daylight and sunshine! How glad he must have felt to leave behind him the prospect of a slow and lingering death amidst the dead bodies of his com¬ panions, and to have once more the hope of reaching his home. Now mankind in a state of ignorance and spiritual darkness, are like the captive in the cavern, and as St. Paul described the heathen in his days, "he is without God, and without hope in the world." The Revelation of a great, a good, and Almighty God comes like that ray of light which told the prisoner of a chance of escape. We cannot be utterly without hope, so long as we feel and know that the world has a great Creator I that men have a 6 £>t0rir£ antr Crncbtng God of infinite power and love to rule over them! There¬ fore the Litany begins as it ought to do. If you want anything, it says, then lift up your eyes to Heaven. If your head is bowed with woe, raise it up in hope to the thought of a mighty Being on high ! But someone may tell us, Are you sure that there is a God to hear your petition for aid and mercy ? Now to answer this, let me tell you the old story or legend of Trajan the Emperor and the Jewish Rabbi. Trajan is said to have been a great man and a philosopher, and living at a time when the highly educated Romans had cast aside their belief in their ancient deities. He, one day, scornfully asked a learned Jewish Rabbi how he could be so foolish as to believe in a God, whom he had never seen ? The Jew, with a profound obeisance, asked leave to make his reply the next day at noon. On the morrow the Emperor stood under the shadow of a great portico—whilst outside the tall Corinthian columns the whole atmosphere quivered with the heat of the midday sun. 44 What is your answer, old Jew?" enquired the philosophic Trajan, whilst the band of courtiers stood around expecting the despised Hebrew to be triumphantly confounded 1 44 Let me beseech His Imperial Highness," asked the Rabbi, 44 to step forth from this porch and direct a steadfast gaze at the disc of the sun." 44 Fool," answered Trajan, 44 thou knowest that it would destroy my sight to look at the noonday sun." 44 If this be so then," said the Rabbi, 44 that thou canst not bear to look on the dazzling and unclouded glory of one of God's created things, how much less could'st thou behold the full effulgence of the uncreated Jehovah?" And so saith the Scripture, 44 No man hath seen God at any time," and yet, as St. Paul reminds us, 44 He has not left Himself without witness." Everywhere around us are the works of God's power and presence. A certain party of Arabs were in search, so the tale runs, of a lost camel, over a wide stretch of desert, when they met an on tl)f ftttany. 7 aged Dervish, with a white beard and venerable look, from whom at once they enquired, "Had he seen their lost camel?" "Was the strayed beast," he answered, "blind in one eye?" "Yes." " Was he lame on his left hind leg ? " "Yes." "Had he lost a tooth in the right jaw?" "Yes." " I have not seen your camel," said the Dervish. " How then," indignantly shouted the disappointed Arabs, "could you describe him so accurately?" "Simply because I observe small things," was the Dervish's defence. "On my way I noticed the track of a camel in the sand. By the lighter impression of one of the hoofs on the dust I perceived he was lame; by the manner in which the tufts of grass were eaten on one side more than the other, I learned that one eye was sightless; by the jagged edges of the bitten grass, I knew that he had lost a tooth. I saw not your camel, but I can point to you where his track was leading, so that you may overtake him." Thus, through observation, we learn to understand the history of many matters which we have never beheld. All nature—the rocks—the trees—the wonders of animal life, are books in which God has clearly written out an account of His infinite power and wisdom, for thoughtful men to read. And what shows us that things did not happen by chance or accident, nor grow and develop anyhow, is that in all God's works we can trace the wisdom which exactly devises the best means to produce certain ends. When, many years ago, The Bridgewater Essays were written for a prize offered for a book on " The Evidences of God's Wisdom," a distinguished medical man took for his text the human hand, and showed by the marvellous arrangement and adjustment of finger and thumb, joint and muscle, nerve and sinew, that it was a most skilfully contrived machine, perfectly adapted by a Divine Creator for its special work ! Here, by way of illustration, may be sketched the arguments of Harold and Bertram—youthful friends and gentleman emigrants, seeking their fortune in the far West. Bertram was of the New School, who doubted and disbelieved. Most things went wrong 8 Ätoi-K* antr Cradjtucy in this world, he argued, therefore it could not have a wise and good Ruler in Heaven. So he argued and grumbled. And one day, the two rode together over a wide extent of prairie ; they were hot and thirsty, and moreover had lost their way. The Sceptic's impatience found a topic for murmuring in their present hardship. " If there was a good God He ought to have provided every¬ where abundant springs and cooling shades." "Not so," answered Harold, who had been brought up in habits of firm belief and dutiful submission, " if it was the design of the Most High God to train men to energy and perseverance, instead of letting them be lazy savages, lying under a tree. If there had been no barren soil, how would men have learned to push into the farther world, as we are doing ; and if streams had run in every convenient direction—uphill, I suppose you would expect as well as downhill—how would mankind have ever learnt the art of irrigation, or how to build an aqueduct!" Just then something bright and glistening in the grass caught his eye, and riding up to it, he found, lying on the ground, a good old-fashioned watch, with thick silver case, which had protected it in its fall, the reason of which was clear from a fragment of a broken chain. " Hurrah !" cried Bertram, " here is hope for us. A watch tells us of a man; and that watch still, by its ticking, shows us that it is not long since he passed by !" And rousing up their weary horses, they crossed one or two more of the rolling swells of prairie land, they came into view of a distant-group of shanties, which told of the habitation of man. As they turned their horses' heads towards them—" My dear Bertram," said Harold, in a tone of deep feeling, " how is it that you so readily accept the argument of cause and effect in human matters, whilst you close your eyes to its force in religious ones ? You would not have allowed me to argue that the watch we found on the prairie grew there—was the result of the mere developing power of Nature. You would have justly said, that its very 0u fyz ftttantn 9 construction—its wheels, its main spring, its dial, and its hands, all showed thought, contrivance, construction, for a particular purpose and end, and that we could fairly reason from it that it was the work of intellectual and civilized man, and that its exist¬ ence led us to expect their presence or neighbourhood. Why not accept the same proof of a mighty Creator, and see ' in the clockwork' of the Heavenly bodies the same wondrous system of arrangement, wisdom and skill, in which both the stars above us, and the flowers beneath our feet, declare 'the Hand that made us is Divine ? ;" But when we believe in the existenceof a God, then we must needs be anxious to know His character—how does He feel towards us? A heathen monarch once asked the wisest of the sages to tell him what God was like ? The wise man requested a day for con¬ sideration, and when that day was past yet another, and another day, till the king's patience was exhausted, and the sage was com¬ pelled to acknowledge that i( the more he thought about the char¬ acter and being of God, the less He could explain His nature." But that question is answered in that title which the Litany puts into our lips when we commence to pray. It is God the Father— a name which suggests to trembling mortals the feeling of con¬ fidence and trust. Archbishop Trench suggests that God created that relationship of parent and child, with all its best accompani¬ ments of love and care, of watchfulness and tender sympathy, as a parable, to teach men the true idea of the position which God holds towards them in His infinite mercy. A very mournful funeral once took place in the Churchyard of - a New Settlement, somewhere in Canada, or the West, far away, in a recently-settled spot, where the Church was but a mere structure of wood, and the graveyard roughly enclosed. The burial was that of a recently-arrived settler, who had taken ill and died, leaving an only boy, fatherless and friendless, for the two had arrived alone. A few neighbours carried the coffin, but there was no other mourner except the boy. Late that evening, 10 antf Cracf)tns as the clergyman was crossing the churchyard, he heard in the twilight a sound of sobs, and looking in that direction, saw a little form kneeling at the rude mound over the new grave. It was the orphan lad. The clergyman's heart was filled with pity for him, and he raised him up, and comforted his sad heart by reminding him that he had now two fathers in the Heavenly land, and that His Almighty Father would bring him in the right time to rejoin the earthly father who had just been taken from him. That name, then, of Father, encourages us to draw nigh to God, and to " God, the Father," we are rightly bidden to address our first and opening petition in the Litany. There are, perhaps, two things which ought to be explained in this petition. The one is the description of God the Father as "of Heaven." The force of which is equivalent to saying, " God the Father, which dwells in Heaven." It was usual in all old documents to describe a person as of such a place, as William, of Wykeham, Henry, of Monmouth—the place of their birth or residence, or with which they were some way connected. So our Lord tells us to pray, " Our Father, which art in Heaven "—and again it is written, " Out of Heaven He hath spoken." Heaven is regarded as the home of the great All-Father—the palace of the Great King—and this language is no doubt used in Scripture, and adopted in our prayers, to make these Heavenly truths more plain and more easily realized by the simple-minded and the uneducated. The other point to be explained is the expression, "miserable sinners," which has been often sneered at, as putting into the mouths of people a confession of sin they do not feel! But if we recollect that the true meaning of miserable is simply " needing mercy or pity," it is not an overstrained and unreal statement, for there are very few who would not be willing to say that they were sinners, who require mercy, and there are none who do not really fall under this description ! As to the objection which some misguided persons have made, that it is inconsistent for a pardoned Christian to call himself a sinner, it may be fairly mx tfyz iL t tan in 11 replied that the spiritual self-complacency, which would resent such a description, does itself bring the objector into the class of those " sinners " who by their self-pride and over-assurance do indeed require the mercy of God ! QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE I. 1. To whom is the ist clause of the Litany addressed? 2. In what words does St. Paul describe the state of the heathen ? 3. How did the Jewish Rabbi answer the Emperor Trajan's question concerning his faith in a God whom he could not see ? 4. What are some of the witnesses that God has given us of His power and wisdom in the world around us ? 5. Give the heads of the arguments used by Harold and Bertram as to the creation of the world by the Divine Hand of God ? 6. What one word in this clause answers the questions, "What is God like ? " "How does He feel toward us ? " 7. What is the exact meaning of the words, " God, the Father of Heaven ? '' 8. What does this word "miserable" mean as used in the Litany? CLAUSE II. " ® <§atr tf)£ &mx, Retaemer nf tf)t toarftr: tjabe mmj) ttpan u£, miserable üixtwzxä" HE second petition in the Litany is addressed to God the Son—that is, to our Lord Jesus Christ, and He is addressed by His title of Redeemer, and to that noble title, expressing His compassion, His atoning death, and His glorious position, is added " Redeemer of the world" to explain the infinite width and value of His mighty work. The meaning of " Redeemed" is bought back, or ransomed (1 Peter i. 18), but in a free country like ours, where slaves are unknown, we do not enter into its full force and meaning, and it may help to impress on the minds of the young the full significance of this word if they read or listen to the history of one who was redeemed from an earthly captivity. By way of 12 störte* anü Cracbtnß illustration may here follow the story of one Giles Western, a poor Bristol mariner, who was a captive and galley slave for ten long years:— GILES WESTERN'S STORY. The clock of Blundell's School had just struck twelve on a bright summer day in 1675, and the eager boys of Tiverton rushed out, with a merry shout, into the great green courtyard in front of the School-house, and some, hastening down to the gate¬ way, which opened on the high road, had their attention caught by the strange look of a wayfarer, who sat resting on a stone just outside. His skin was very brown and sallow, his clothes old and ragged, and of Oriental shape, and on his head he wore a yellow turban; whilst his feet, bandaged with rags, told of their footsore state. Some of the thoughtless lads would have jeered at the strange- looking old man, but he began to talk to them, and they soon gathered round in a deeply interested group. "Ah, boys," said he, "I remember well when I was a merry lad like you, and ready, like you, to run and stare at any stranger. I am west-country bred and born, but when I was young nothing would please me but to be a sailor, and go to foreign parts. So I went to Bristol, and became a mariner, and went many a voyage. "Well do I recollect when I left England last time, and saw nigh forty miles down the Channel the white tower of Dundry Church on the hill top. We were bound for the Mediterranean, for some port in Italy, but unfavourable winds carried us near the Coast of Africa, and then the breeze dropped, and we lay becalmed; just then, from behind a point on the distant coast, there glided forth two long black vessels. Our Captain soon spied them out. 4 They are galleys from Algiers !' We hoisted every bit of canvas we had, and longed for a breath of wind, but they swiftly drew nigh and pulled up close to us. "It was vain for us to think of resistance, for they were crowded with Algereen pirates, armed with matchlocks, and an tl)t ILttaug. 13 crooked scimitars hanging by their sides, and each of these long galleys were worked by about three hundred slaves. " Oh ! how I shuddered as I looked along their ranks, chained to the great heavy oars, to notice many a white face, and to recall the terrible stories of their treatment. But I was soon to know more about this. We were taken on board the galleys, our ship was towed ashore, and plundered, and we mariners found our¬ selves slaves and captives ! " There came a terrible time of trial; if only we would become 'renegadoes,' and abjure our faith, we should have pleasant posts and happy times with our Algereen captors, but if we refused, then we must expect the worst of treatment from our Mussul¬ man masters. "I had indeed been, when young, far too thoughtless and careless about religion, but how could I dare to deny my Saviour ! I thought of my good old mother, and how she knelt and prayed every Sunday, sure as Sunday came round, in our little village Church, in her own corner, to our Blessed Saviour, and should I, her son, profess to believe that Mahomet was the true prophet, and that he should be put in the place of Christ ? " So with many a prayer to God to help me, I kept firm through those long and weary years, though only God knows what I endured. I was strong and active, so they put me aboard one of their galleys. " I have heard say that these were like in shape and plan to the ones the old Romans had. They were painted black, so as not to catch the eye, and lay low in the water, so that ofttimes the pirates would creep up, unperceived, close to some heavy-laden slow-sailing merchant ship. And if the breeze were light, or it was a calm, we could easily overhaul her, for these galleys could go as fast as twelve or fourteen miles an hour, such was the force which came from their many long oars, or sweeps, to each of which were allotted seven or eight rowers, some sitting, some standing, but all chained to the oars, perhaps near three hundred 14 •Started autr Cfac^tnjj of these miserable slaves. Some were Italians, some Spaniards, some English, but most came from the north shores of the Mediterranean; and there was no room for shirking, or laziness, for on a raised plank, in the middle of the galley, walked up and down the Algerian officers, armed with heavy whips, and down on our naked backs, as we toiled in the burning sun, came the cruel lash, if any of us ever thought of lagging at our oar. Our food was of the coarsest kind, and our bed the hard benches on which we had toiled all day! Thus many a poor fellow died from sunstroke, and overwork, and his corpse was thrown overboard, and yet we were often told that, if we only became renegades, our treatment should be of the best! " Sometimes, young masters, my courage and faith nearly gave way, but God can help us in the hardest trials, and our English messmates tried to cheer us up by telling us that once a year merchants came from Italy to traffic and barter goods, but also these merchants were entrusted with money, given by pious Christians, to ransom Christian slaves. " This was a task requiring much keenness and skill in dealing with the Moors. Sometimes excessive sums would be asked for some white slave, who, for his strength and usefulness, was very highly valued by his owner. Again, when a ransom had been fixed, and the sum agreed upon, for a certain number of the galley slaves, it was a piteous thing to choose which should be of the happy number bought back to freedom, to go once more in search of home and friends, and who must be left to pine in chains and slavery, till another sum of money should come from Christian lands and from hearts that were touched with pity, to buy back their liberty! " Ah, my young masters, many a weary day I waited, and often I saw other poor comrades bought out of slavery, and sometimes I fancied that I should die before the time came, and often I wondered, if ever I were set free, I should find sister, or brother, or any who knew me, left alive still in old England. an tfje üttanj). 15 "And at last I was redeemed. I could scarcely believe that at length my turn was come, and they took me first to Italy, and though they were foreigners, yet I knelt down in one of their grand Churches, on the marble pavement, and thanked the good Lord who had redeemed my soul from the false religion of the cruel Algerians, and my poor body from their lash and chain. And then a kind Captain brought me from Italy to Plymouth Town. " And now, with scarred back and crippled limbs, I am begging my way to my old home, and hoping soon to lay my body under the green sod where my old mother lies buried." This story may help us to understand how we have been " redeemed." ,£ There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin, He only could unlock the gates Of Heaven, and let us in." QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE II. 1. What is meant by Redeemer? 2. How were the children of Israel individually redeemed ? 3. How were our forefathers familiarized with this idea ? 4. Who were the pirates of the Mediterranean? 5. Mention the language of our Lord with regard to the subject of "ransoming ? CLAUSE III. <§ntf, tl)t $0lw <§Tj0£t, pimctfjtng from fyc jFatTjer antr tf)£ &an: hahc mcrei? ttpau u£, miserable tftmTertf!" HE Litany first appeals to God the Father—next, to God the Son, thirdly, to God the Holy Ghost. This is the order in which the Persons of the Holy Trinity were revealed. First the Great Almighty Father, then the Divine Mediator—the Son, and lastly, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit. The usual way in which in our Prayer Book the 16 £t0rte£ antr teaching Church teaches us to pray is to the Father, through the Son—by the Holy Spirit. Here, in the Litany, the three Persons are, in the opening of its petitions, separately addressed—then supplication is made to the Holy Trinity in its Triune glory. By the old English name " the Holy Ghost," we mean that Divine Person whom the Greek Scriptures call " the Holy Breath " or " Spirit." By a very natural image, the breath proceeding from a man's lips, formed into his words, was put for the invisible and spiritual part of his nature. Thus the breath of God meant the Spirit of God, or as described in the Creeds, " God the Holy Spirit." Our English forefathers translated this name, the Spirit, by their word, " Gost," or in its oldest form, " Gast" And the use of the word in its primitive signification of breath, may be noticed in that passage where St. Matthew describes the death of our Saviour—" He yielded up the Ghost"—that is, He expired, He breathed forth His last breath! And in the Catechism, Satan is called our " Ghostly," that is, our spiritual enemy. It is useful to remember the different ways in which the Bible explains to us the nature and the office of the Holy Spirit. It is compared by our Saviour to the wind. What so invisible as the wind, and yet what so powerful! Sometimes gentle and balmy like the western breeze—sometimes terrible in the roaring of the winter storm. So the Holy Spirit sometimes breathes sweet thoughts of comfort or hope into the weary heart. Sometimes by the blast of His power He lays low the pride of the sinful rebel. Likewise as the winds of earth are purifying the atmosphere, and driving away poisonous vapours, so the Divine breath is blessing the souls of men, and scattering the deadly mists of evil. Again, the power of the Holy Spirit is compared to fire. As the lofty mountain-tops were struck and split and shivered by the lightning's stroke, so the haughtiest heart and the proudest spirit could be smitten and humiliated by the power of the Divine Spirit. For instance, in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, or of St. Paul, once persecutor, and afterwards Apostle. It was our blessed an tl)z Uitan#. 17 Saviour's promise that His disciples should be " baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire." So we are prepared to learn that when the Day of Pentecost, the first Whit-Sunday came—tongues, as it were, of innocuous flame rested on their brows. Fire is not only a power to consume, or to melt, but also to warm, to cheer, and to revive, full of beneficent energy to restore our chilled limbs to activity, and to give back vitality to our stagnant blood. So the Holy Spirit not only alarms the guilty, or melts the obdurate heart, but also encourages and re-awakens the power of the half-torpid Christian. Imagine this scene. It is the dim and fast-falling twilight of a winter evening amongst the high Alps. There has been a sudden and heavy fall of snow, and all around St. Bernard's monastery is covered with white. Two brethren of the monastic body, Lawrence and Julian, are about to light their lamps, and betake themselves to their evening duties, when they are summoned to a harder task. News from a well-appointed party of travellers has reached the monastery that they had passed a traveller on foot, and fear that he may have been since lost on the mountain path in the sudden storm. The monks call forth a couple of their great dogs, and with lanterns and long staves they go forth, sinking up to their knees in the snow. It is a long and cold and weary search, but they do not give up readily, for the life of a fellow-creature may be at stake. But, hark ! Rollo, the well-trained old hound, begins to bark— he is down there, in a little hollow, behind a rock, not far from the track that leads across the mountains—he is digging among the snow with his fore-feet. Run, good monks ! every moment is of value. And now something dark appears. Clear off the snow, it is a sleeping traveller. Sleeping or dead ? One brother unslings his flask, and pours a cordial draught into his mouth—the other rubs his frozen limbs. He groans, he opens his eyes. He is not dead—with difficulty they rouse him—they drag him between them towards the Hospice. He begs to be left, to be allowed to B 18 £tnrie£ anft Cracfjtitjj lie down to sleep again—but they know too well what would be the result of such conduct. And now he is within the walls. The bright flame crackles through the dry logs, warm garments replace his snow-wet clothes, and his numbed limbs are rubbed and heated by friction, and under the glowing influence of warmth and comfort the vital energies are restored, and the lost traveller is saved. Thus it is with many sinful souls. They have lost the right road. They no longer care to seek for it—in a kind of despairing indifference, they ask to be let alone—but when some of God's earnest servants have roused them up from their dangerous torpor, when they have been brought under the influence of the Divine Spirit—and learn something of the warmth and cheerful¬ ness of a Christian life, they come to know how good and merciful is God, who willeth not the death of a sinner, and who sent His dear Son to seek and to save that which was lost! In all good works done for the souls or bodies of men, we may trace the warm, genial, helpful influence of the Holy Spirit. He is called Holy not only because He is Holy, but because also it is His office to make men Holy. Every good thought, and good wish, every good act, flows from the fountain of His inspiring grace. Light is an emblem of the Holy Spirit, and His work. Some¬ times the light warns us of danger—awakens men to the danger of a careless and irreligious life. There was once a traveller, who was called by business to a small fishing town in Cornwall. He reached the place very late in the evening; but as the night was very fine, though very dark, after supper he strolled through the town and climbed a steep hill. After pursuing the road for some distance, he determined to return. In the dim light he saw an open piece of ground— by crossing this it seemed he would lessen his way by " a short cut." He did so, and crossing the hill came to a wall at the farther side. " This," said he to himself, " is the boundary wall of nil tljc Uttany. 19 the road, and I have only to cross it, and be on the highway." He therefore got over, and was surprised not to touch the ground with his feet. He was however about to let go his hold and drop down, when it occurred to him that perhaps it might be a little deeper than he thought, and that it would be wiser for him to retrace his footsteps, and go back the way he came. He did so, and reached his inn without further incident. On the morrow, having transacted his business, he thought he would walk up the hill and see in the daylight the place where he turned back the night before. But what was his surprise to find that he had in the darkness crossed a field to the very edge of the cliff; that the wall he had thought to mark the road was really on the verge of a precipice ; that where he had hung, imagining that the highway was only a couple of feet beneath, there was in reality a depth of more than a hundred feet to the shore far below, and had he sprung lightly over as he had intended, or let go his grasp, he would have met with instant death ! Thus the light revealed to him the danger in which he had unconsciously been; and so does the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit make clear to the sinner the peril from which God has mercifully preserved him ! Man's simple nature is so weak and corrupt, that he needs con¬ stantly to be supported and trained upwards. His best resolutions have been well compared to those trailing plants which lie pros¬ trate on the wet soil unless the gardener's hand trains them round some prop or pillar, that they may grow heavenward. It is the office of Holy Spirit thus to strengthen and aid the Christian in his struggle with evil without and within. Thus we see some river flowing rapidly, and as we watch its swift broad stream we wonder why the ship is not moving in the same direc¬ tion, but a glance at the swelling sails explains that the wind is driving the vessel onwards against the current. So does the breath of the Holy Ghost enable the soul, if only we^spread the 20 antf Ccacfjtmj sails of prayer and effort, to resist the pressure of an ungodly world, or the swift current of a besetting sin. There once lived in a poor room, in a miserable part of Glasgow, an aged woman: a slave to the habit of excessive drinking. At length by God's grace she sought a better life; but how fierce was the struggle—how painful the effort to break off the ingrained habit—that terrible, maddening thirst, which none but drunkards know, again and again seized her, and seemed by its force to hurry her to the neighbouring whiskey store; but her only refuge was to seek aid from on high; to bury her grey hairs in the counter¬ pane, as she knelt by the bedside, and with streaming eyes and clasped hands to cry out, " Keep me, O keep me, my God, for I canna keep myself." And so we pray to " God the Holy Ghost to have mercy on us miserable sinners," when we feel that we need His strength to support our weakness, and that without His encouragement we are not only pitiable, but would be despairing. There were various controversies and heresies about the nature of the Holy Spirit in the early ages of Christianity, as there were about the Divine position of the Son. Some would have degraded the Holy Ghost into a mere attribute or quality of God—as we would declare of the sun that it gave warmth—or of the moon that it bestowed light—but Scripture teaches us that the Holy Ghost is a Person, for the following acts are ascribed to Him. " He makes intercession " (Rom. viii. 26), " He testifies," " He teaches," "He hears and speaks," "He gives spiritual gifts," " He inhabits the souls of men as His temple." (1 Cor. vi. 16.) These are personal acts. And He is not only a Person, but a Divine Person, for of the lie to the Holy Ghost, it was said to Ananias, " Thou hast lied not unto men but unto God !" And with the Father and the Son, there is united the Holy Ghost in the formula of Baptism and the Apostolic Benediction. A further statement is added in the Litany to the appeal to the Holy Ghost to have mercy on us, He is described as "proceeding an tf)c ftttanjn 21 from the Father and the Son"—and these few words have caused much conflict in Church history. It should ever be remembered that the words which Theologians use about the nature of the Mighty God are but feeble and earthly efforts to set forth mysterious Truths beyond our grasp. "Proceeding" is used to make us know that the Scriptures declare that the Holy Ghost is sent forth into the world as Giver of Life, both by the Father and the Son, for we read that Jesus our Lord said, "the Comforter whom I will send unto you from the Father;" and again, of "The Comforter"—"if I depart I will send Him unto you;" and again, that "He breathed on them, and saith, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Yet as this "proceeding" of the Holy Ghost from the Son had not been mentioned in the Creed of Constantinople (381), and as the Council of Ephesus in 431 had decreed that no addition should be made to the exact words of the Creed, a difficulty arose when it became usual in the Western Church to add, "proceeding from the Father and the Son." The controversy grew more fierce, till in a.D. 1053 there was a violent discussion on the point between the Pope Leo IX. and the Patriarch of Constantinople, in which they ended by mutual excommunications, and the separation arose between the Latin and the Greek Church which has lasted to the present day. For the scriptural reasons given above, the Anglican Church retains in her Prayer Book the statement "from the Son," but ever prays that all God's people may be made one. " Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever may hinder us from godly union and concord ... so we may henceforth be of one heart and one soul." QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE III. 1. State the Persons of the Trinity, and the attributes of each Person ? 2. How does the Church generally teach us to pray, as regards the Trinity ? 3. What is the meaning of the word Ghost ? Mention by what other name the Third Person of the Trinity is spoken of? 22 antr (Tcacl)uxpare uS, fiootr ILorfe, Spare Cbj? people, tofjom STfeou feaSt refeeemefe fottf) tJThi? most precious felaotr, auU fee not anjjrp toitb us for efeer." HE Litany has been compared to some noble river which has a winding course, such as the Rhine, or the Rhone, where the scenery seems to be divided into different portions ; each fresh turning of the stream opening up a new vista of hills and crags castle-crowned, and slopes green with vineyards, and the waters reflecting below in placid beauty the objects that stand around. The stream of supplication which has flowed thus far in the united voices of priest and people, here, as it were, takes a turn in its course, and, with a single voice, the officiating minister pleads for the people, and pleads with the Saviour Himself. It is often forgotten that this is a chief peculiarity of the Litany, that it is addressed in the principal part, and to a great degree, directly to our Blessed Lord and Saviour Himself. In this section this, its direct invocation of the Great Mediator, is marked by the address, " Lord/' as He said, " Ye call me Lord, and ye do well;" intensified in almost the next line into " Good Lord." This appellation (which the rich young man in the Gospel story employed) is yet more identified by the allusion to the redemption of the people " by the blood of the covenant." This kind of prayer to the Second Person of the Sacred Trinity is also to be found in the Prayer of St. Chrysostom, and in certain Collects. There is something very beautiful in the confidence with which the Church here realizes the position of Jesus Christ our Lord as our Intercessor: so was it that St. Stephen, when in the midst of his martyrdom, beheld his Lord standing at the Right Hand of God as his Advocate ! "Remember not our offences." Here we guard against one of the ou tfje Maim. 29 most common errors of the human heart,—the ease and facility with which we forget our faults. Man has been aptly compared by some old writer, in this respect, to the foolishness of the ostrich, which, when pursued by the hunters, conceals its head in some bush or brake, and when it can no longer discern its pursuers, fondly imagines that its whole body must be hid ! So, because we forget our sins and errors, we are apt to think that they are no longer remembered by God. But that terrible imagery of the Revelation, of "The Books" to be laid open at the last great day, must lead us to unite heartily in this prayer, lest the evil deeds which we have long since let fade into forgetfulness rise up to condemnation ! The word "offence" means to strike at, or against; it gives the notion of wilful sins, wherein we have attacked God, hit out against His laws, assailed His honour, and actively made war against His Kingdom. That such evil deeds are punished, sooner or later, is the experience of mankind, as set forth in many popular proverbs. "The mills of God grind very slowly, but exceeding fine," or the classical expression, " that retribution, though lame and halting on its way, will surely come at last! " There is a striking story, which illustrates how the vengeance of the Almighty— that is to say, His retributive justice, overtakes the guilty—in His awful remembrance. The very finger of God sometimes seems to point out the murderer, and in spite of all his precautions, brings him to a just condemnation. Many years ago a murder was committed in one of the seaport towns in the South of England. The murderer escaped by night, crossed the sea, and remained an exile from England for twenty years. Weary of absence, and confident of not being recognized, he returned. On the day he landed, he strolled through the town, and just as he reached the outskirts a heavy storm of rain drove him to take refuge from the shower in a little roadside inn. Here he found another man sheltering likewise from the storm. They sat 30 antr Ceacfjtnß by the fire chatting together for a while, as chance-met strangers often do. At length this man, leaving the newly-landed stranger by the fireside, went to the window to look out for some improve¬ ment in the weather. As he stood there and watched the drops of rain coursing over the panes of glass, he remarked that the pane had been broken and repaired with a scrap of newspaper. To pass away the time he began to read this fragment : it contained an advertisement— it was twenty years old, however—an announcement of a reward of ;£ioo offered for the apprehension of a guilty man—a murderer. He was described : height, colour, appearance, and peculiar scar on his brow, etc., etc. Suddenly the thought struck him he had seen somebody who answered this description, and that not long ago; and as he thought over it a strange idea flashed on him. He read over the description—went back to the fireplace—again returned to the window, and read once more the advertisement. Strange to say the description, colour, height, scar, etc., exactly described (time being allowed) the man who sat drying himself by the fire ! He went back, and by some adroit conversation drew from the stranger that he had only recently landed, and that he had been an absentee for twenty years. As these admissions seemed to corroborate his suspicions, he went out of the room, and told the landlord what he imagined; who, after an examination of the scrap of paper and the man, also agreed with him. A constable was summoned ; nor could the stranger dare to prevaricate, for he was conscience-stricken. Other persons, who had known the guilty man in far distant years, were brought to the house. Their evidence was conclusive, and on the very night of his return the criminal was lodged in prison ! So marvellously does God sometimes carry out the punishment of the slayer of his brother-man. The sinner may forget, but God remembers. How needful, then, is it that we should pray, " Remember not our offences ! " an the Uitaug. 31 But the next words bring before us a very solemn considera¬ tion—that we need to implore our Saviour that " the offences of our forefathers be not remembered to our condemnation." There is here a reference to that passage in the Second Commandment, in which God declares that He " visits the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate Him." A labouring man, in a little village in Somerset, was one day asked by his clergyman why he did not come to Church, and he replied that he could not accept that statement in the Second Commandment, as it appeared to him unjust. The clergyman, in answer, told him that whether he liked it or not, the fact was undeniable, that the sins of the parents brought misery on their children, and he pointed out in his very own instance that his careless and drunken habits had resulted in his sons growing up poor, ignorant, and worthless persons. This law is by God's arrangement stamped on human affairs—both as regards nations and individuals. Spain was once the most powerful and prosper¬ ous country in Europe—but the cruelty and avarice of her American conquerors and colonists brought down on the mother country a curse—and she sank, to become poor and despised, in the scale of nations. The France of Louis the XVth was the theatre of selfishness and immorality amongst the rich and the noble, and before the century closed the fearful tragedy of the Revolution was the result, and the guillotine saturated the soil of the palace gardens with the blood of royalty, nobility, gentry and clergy. The forefathers had treated the poor like brutes, the children found them to be indeed ravening wild beasts ! So with individuals. The drunkard does not only ruin himself, but very often entails on his children poverty, ill-health, and dis¬ grace. The reckless, careless man not merely reduces himself to beggary, but his descendants have to labour perhaps on the very fields their grandfathers owned. The disgrace of shameful conduct does not only rest on the guilty person, but continues after his 32 gtatteä antf STcadjtug death to mark with a stigma of reproach his innocent descendants. And the reason why God has thus ordered the course of human events in a way which at first seems to us unjust, is that we should feel that the result of our conduct does not end with ourselves. We have a heavy responsibility resting on us—the words we speak, the example we give, the deeds we do, may have far distant con¬ sequences. We cannot measure the evil one sin will set in motion. There was once a party of men—smugglers—who were secretly carrying gunpowder in small casks over a mountain pass from France into Spain. After climbing up a very steep pass, they found that one of the barrels had not been properly closed, and had left a thin black track of gunpowder, marking their road for a considerable distance. The very thing which they were anxious should not be known. A short consultation was held, after which ten or eleven of them sat down on the powder kegs to wait whilst one of their companions was sent back down the pass to find out where the gunpowder began to leak out of the faulty cask. About two miles down the path the messenger found the place where the black line began, and stooping down, without thought of the re¬ sult, he set fire to the train. The fire caught from grain to grain, ran along the ground as if a train had been purposely laid, and quickly reaching the place where the smugglers rested, it ignited the whole of the powder kegs, and blew the unfortunate band to pieces, with a tremendous explosion, which made the hills resound. The thoughtless stupidity of one man caused the destruction of the rest. And if we yield to a single temptation, commit one fault, it may ignite, and explode in many evil con¬ sequences we never dream of. How needful, then, that we should pray, " remember not the sins of our forefathers." Never was there a more striking example of this machinery of moral retribution than that which we see in the history of the Jews. When Pilate washed his hands and strove to shake off the weight of his responsibility, the excited crowd exclaimed, " His blood be upon us and our children." (St. Matt. on tfjr ILttattü. 33 xxvii. 25.) Terrible words, which found their echo in the groans of misery which arose from Jerusalem, besieged by Titus, the Roman, and re-echoed through sixteen centuries or more in the wails and lamentations of a persecuted and despised race; through¬ out Europe the scorn and victims of Christians who had little of their Master's forgiving spirit. We know not how much evil our forefathers may have done, therefore we need to pray that the dark shadow of their guilt may not fall on us. " Neither take Thou vengeance of our sins." Here the words, as it were, direct our gaze inwards, that we should not merely reflect on the errors of those who went before us, and who, it may be, had not our advantages, but that we should honestly acknowledge our own sins, and implore the Lord not to take vengeance on them. There may be here room for some mistaken views of God's character. The word "Vengeance" may suggest that He is a harsh tyrant, who takes revenge on His enemies ! But we must consider that the root idea of this word is the Latin " Vindicare," "to lay claim to." The idea of infinite justice carries with it the claim that the wicked should be punished. Each sin, in the Bible lan¬ guage, calls to Ihe Great Judge that it should be punished. " The blood of Abel cries to God from the ground." (Gen. iv. 10.) The poor and helpless look to Him as the Avenger of such as have no earthly help. By praying that God may not take vengeance on our sins we ask that the just condemnation which our iniquities have claimed by infringement of God's laws may not be exacted. God lias chained together sin and suffering; in the natural world the chain is a very short one, you place your fingers in the candle flame, and the pain of burning instantly follows. The child who has thus infringed the law of self-preservation is at once punished. But in the matters of the soul the chain is often longer, but still, sooner or later, as it is written, " Be sure your sin will find you out," comes the retribution, and it is only through prayer and repentance that God spares the soul that has sinned, but the earthly c 34 J£t0rie£ autf Crarfjtng penalties still remain, for as a great writer has said, " in the physical world there is no forgiveness of sins ! " "Spare us, good Lord, spare Thy peopleat once reminds us of the passage in the prophet Joel (Joel ii. 17), which is familiar to us in the Epistle for Ash Wednesday, when the people are bidden to prostrate themselves in the great court of the Temple—in the day of solemn assembly. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the Porch and the Altar, and let them say, "Spare Thy people, O Lord." The whole scene rises before our eye. The vast courtyard, crowded with the suppliant multitude, their white turbans bowed on the marble floors, overhead the blue eastern sky, behind the splendid Porch of Solomon, with its brazen pillars and rich decora¬ tions. In front, the great Altar, four square, and beyond, the roof of the Holiest place, all covered with golden plates, gleaming in the sunlight, and on a central platform, clad in his mystic robes, and with his jewelled breast-plate and tall mitre, the High-priest, and his attendant white-robed sacerdotal throng, chanting the Hebrew Litany, wherein they besought God to spare His chosen people. It is from this passage that the rule of the Church is taken, that the Litany should be sung from a small " fald-stool " or desk, placed between the door and the East End of the Church. " Spare Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious bloodP We here appeal to our Blessed Saviour with the prospect of His being our Great Judge at the Last Day, and we implore Him to recall to mind the position in which we stand towards Him. This is in the spirit of those pathetic prayers, which Moses poured forth on behalf of the Children of Israel, wherein he re¬ minded God of all He had already done for His people. The word "redeemed" suggests to our thoughts our miserable state as the slaves of Satan, unless purchased by the propitiatory Sacrifice of our Lord. We are so accustomed to freedom, that it is difficult for us to realise a time when multitudes of persons dwelt in serfdom—and the abolition of slavery, the redemption of on the ILttanj). 35 the serf, was chiefly the work of the Church. Especially did she press on men of wealth and large estate the duty of "manumitting," or setting free their serfs when they lay on their death-bed, and were themselves about to appear before the Great Redeemer. And so good men also often acted. Here is an example from the old Records of Bath Abbey. " In this book of Christ is made clear (the fact) that ^Elpick the Scott and ^Egelrick have been given into perpetual freedom for the sake of the soul of Abbot ^Elfsig." This Abbot died in 1087. The touching scene of the setting free of the serfs has been described in one of his poems by Longfellow, and pictured by a well-known English painter, but to illustrate our sub¬ ject more graphically it is here set forth for the young in a short tale. " It was a summer evening, yet too light to kindle the lamp, and yet too dark to spin, and the good house-mother allowed herself a little well-earned rest in the great oak chair, which the loving hands of her children, Gilbert and Alison, had dragged with much labour, for it was too heavy for them to carry, beneath the great oak just outside the homestead, for there in the far west you could see the fading tints of the glorious sunset, all ruddy gold in wide seas, as it were, and dark purple promontories of cloud, and little fleecy islands floating across the light, and there came up a sweet fragrance from the new hay-mow, and all seemed very peaceful, and the children knew that the time and the place was good to win from the mother's lips some story of the old times, such as they loved to hear, and could only coax from her in rare moments of leisure. "4 And tell us a story,' asked Gilbert, and seated himself on a gnarled root of the oak. 4 Tell us how grandfather Gurth came here, and about stern old Baron Raymond, and the kind young lord,' asked Alison, as she laid her head on her mother's lap. 44 4 Well,' replied her mother, 4 it is long years ago, and yet I remember it, as if only yesterday—it was a summer evening like 36 gtawä antr GTmötttjj this, and we were all called up to the Castle yard. I was then only about ten years old and kept grandfather's hand tight in mine—I felt so frightened. The Castle was quite new then. I recollect its being built. It took them four years, and ever so many masons were brought from far off. First they dug a great ditch round the rocky knoll near the river, and drew water into it, and then they piled the earth out of the moat into a high mound, and then they built the great keep. The walls were quite ten feet thick at the base, and after that a long line of walls and towers round the great courtyard, and the entrance gate with the two round towers on each side, and a draw-bridge, and a great iron grating, and huge oak doors, all studded with iron nails ; and my heart sank as I went in, for the Baron was a stern man—not a cruel or unjust man, but very hard, very cold; and he would have things done to a moment, and exactly as he chose—and those who disobeyed him did not like to look in his face afterwards. Once I remember grandfather Gurth displeased him. He was only a serf then, and dared not leave his lord's domain. He had a little plot of garden ground, and the Baron thought he took too much heed to it and neglected his master's cattle, and he bade him go at once and plough it up, and he had to plough up all the garden—fruit, and flowers, and herbs—and I wept bitterly when I saw my favourite rose bushes torn up by the cruel glistening plough-share ! " 4 But if the Baron was harsh, his only son, the young lord, was very different—so kind, so gentle, with ever a sweet smile and a good word for all. And then he lay very sick. All the winter long he suffered from a hacking cough, and they hoped when spring came he would be stronger, for he was the only son, and the heir to all the broad lands round; but, as the days went on, he grew even more pale and thin, and stooped, and could neither ride, nor walk, nor eat. And whether it was his own kind thoughts, or whether it was put into his mind by the Castle Chaplain, good Father Salvian, I know not, but he ofttimes pleaded with the Baron Ott tlje iLttamn 37 to set free all the churls that were on the lands around belonging to him. But his father refused. " These English villains," he said, " be surly, obstinate men. See how they fought at Sen-Lac fight, under Harold and his Thanes, and they would fain cut our throats now if we had no walls and no men-at-arms !" But again he pleaded, and he coughed and coughed till his chest bled sore, and upon a time his father came into his chamber, and he held up his kerchief all red with his life-blood, and he prayed the Baron that as God did forgive poor souls for the sake of His precious blood out¬ poured on the Rood, so his father would grant him likewise to obtain thereby the freedom of all the serfs that would have been his own. "' At this appeal his father's heart yielded, and albeit he had suffered many things from English rebels, who had slain his deer and burned his farmsteads, yet he said it should be as his boy desired, and, therefore, were we all, young and old, called that day into the Castle yard. And the young lord was carried out and laid, all pale and white, on cushions on a settle, just where the sunshine still fell warm, and his lady mother knelt beside him, and oft gave him of a rare cordial. And Father Salvian placed before the Baron the strips of parchment all written over with black letters, and a page held the candle and the wax, and Baron Raymond stamped the wax with the pummel of his sword, for he could not write, and one by one we knelt before him and gave thanks, and many a blessing was invoked on the head of the good young lord, and he spake in a faint whisper a kind word to each, and gave us a silver penny, and bade us not forget him. And I never saw him again, for he died soon after, but I hope to see him amongst the saints of God, for he was a true saint. And then your grandfather got leave to break up and tyne in this bit of land on the edge of the forest, and this oak tree marks how far it used to come. And that is how we became free tenants of our lord's manor !'" " And be not angry with us for ever A The deep feeling of humility and contrition which marks the true Christian is here 38 v £tortr£ antr Ceactjtitjj set forth. Though he trusts he is one of those who have been redeemed by the "precious blood," yet he has no pride, no self- sufficiency, no expectation to step into a high position in Heaven, but willing to endure any probation, any waiting, if God be not angry with him for ever. And here, also, may we not see a gleam of hope for some who " have not sinned a sin unto death " (i John v. 16), and for whom we pray that God may not be angry with them for ever ? QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE V. 1. To which Person of the Holy Trinity is the Litany addressed ? 2. What other passages in the Prayer Book are directly addressed to our Saviour ? 3. What is meant by the word "offence?" 4. What is meant by "vengeance? " 5. Which of the Commandments is alluded to in this Clause of the Litany ? 6. Explain why the result of sin is allowed to descend on others ? 7. What is the quotation from Joel ? 8. What is the meaning of a Faid-stool, or Litany Desk ? 9. Explain and illustrate the word " redeemed ? " CLAUSE VI. " jfram alt ebtl autr mt£cf)tef; front £tn, from tljc crafts anlr a£s'ault£ of tl)f SBrbtl; from Ch# toratl;, anfc from cbcrlatfttnjj fcanmatton." HIS "deprecation," as it is called, brings us to consider the darkest mystery in life ; the blacker spot in the world—the existence of evil. Some people have tried to get over this difficulty—the existence of moral and physical evil in a world created by an infinitely good and wise God—by supposing that all evil is good in disguise. This may be true of many apparent ills. The desolating tempest may purify the air. A painful illness may imbue a person with a contented oit tJje Hi tang. 39 spirit; but this explanation will not meet such gloomy problems as the existence of Satan, or the hateful lust of sin and cruelty, which shines out with a lurid gleam in the characters of some bad men! The best answer is that suggested by the celebrated Archbishop King : that the existence of evil is a necessary consequence of men, or angels, being endowed with the gift of free-will! If you have no free-will, you are a mere slave, whose obedience is com¬ pulsory. If you are free to choose your path, you may take the wrong as well as the right way! We start on the road of life; God places on either side the hedges of duty. We long for the ripe fruit which hangs on the other side; if we yield to our lower desires, we break through the fences of Divine Commandments, and guilt becomes the dark shadow of sin ! Thus we need pray that in the exercise of our will we may not choose that which is contrary to God's rules, and thus we pray, "from all evil, good Lord deliver us" But men have often been perplexed to note the distribution in this world of such evils as pain, sickness, and sorrow; the adversity of the good, and, on the other hand, the prosperity of the wicked. An old tract of Hannah More's contains a con¬ versation on this point between two carpet weavers. One, an infidel, argued that these evils showed that the world had no good God or wise Ruler. The other, a Christian, in reply, told him to look at the work on which they were employed. The carpet, as being woven on the loom, only showed a confused mass of patches and colours; but "wait till it is finished, and turned on the right side, and we shall see the pattern in all its beauty of tints and design. So ! " the Christian weaver fairly argued, " we now only behold the government of the world on the reverse side, but hereafter we shall see it on the right, and understand how all that seemed confused and perplexing to us was only working out a fair and well-designed pattern." " From mischief" This word has come to mean rather what is 40 JHörte*? antf f£*acf)tns foolish and injurious on a small scale, rather than great and serious evil, but we find that it originally meant a bad result. So we here pray not only to be kept from harm, but also from the evil conse¬ quences which may arise from our thoughtless acts ! There is an American writer, who illustrates this sad truth very forcibly by describing to us a child playing with fire. He is a thoughtless boy, the son of a settler, on the edge of one of the great forests. He amuses himself by lighting a fire, gathering sticks, and setting up a blaze. But there had been a long drought, the long grass is very dry, and catches the flame. It burns on till it reaches the forest. Then the fir trees catch the flame, the low drooping branches first, and then the trunks, full of turpentine. It becomes a tremendous fire. The forest for miles is one red, roaring mass of smoke and flame, leaving behind it nothing but the charred and blackened stumps. And now the conflagration reaches a little clearing on the other side of the forest, where stands a log hut, holding a family of little children. They hear the noise, they rush out and seek to escape, but they are sur¬ rounded by a fiery belt, and must perish. And all this destruction is the result of the careless act of a child ! " From Sin" is the next clause. This is the worst form of evil. When pain and suffering have done their utmost, the man who is strengthened by God's grace can still be patient, and even at intervals, perhaps, cheerful; but amidst every enjoyment and every earthly blessing a man may be miserable if his conscience is accus¬ ing him of sin, and if the dark cloud of guilt covers his soul ! Krumacher, in a volume of German parables, describes in one of these the return of a long-absent son to his parents' home. They are rejoiced to see him, they do all they can to make him happy. They give feasts to celebrate his return, and surround him with happy young companions, but in spite of all their efforts to make him enjoy himself, they remark that a settled gloom and depression seems to rest on his spirit. At last his father affectionately presses him to say why he seems so joyless an tfic Httanj). 41 and unhappy when the pleasant scene and the warm welcome of home are his. The young man at length replied : 14 O my father, a sin lies upon my conscience," and turned away with a heavy groan. All that life can offer of pleasure may be ours, but the cup of enjoyment will be embittered if the poison of sin is there! " From the crafts and assaults of the Devil." Here we are reminded of a terrible and alarming fact, the existence and work of the evil spirit—the personality of evil, once an Angel—then disobedient, and expelled, and now become the foe of God. The Spirit of iniquity is known to us in the Bible under various titles. He is the Serpent in Genesis ; Satan, the Accuser, in Job and Zechariah; the Devil, or the Slanderer, in the Gospels and Epistles; the great Dragon and Apollyon, the Destroyer, in the mystic roll of the Revelation. The work of Satan appears to be an imitation for evil, of the operations of God the Holy Ghost for good. The Divine Spirit breathes into the soul holy thoughts, lofty hopes ; the Evil One implants doubts and a poisonous crop of wicked desires and hateful thoughts. Some writer says, 44 The heart of man is not only a garden in which some native weeds grow, but one wherein many have been planted by the hand of an enemy." The name here given to the Tempter. 44 the Devil," is significant. It is the translation of " AuzßoAoy," meaning, literally, 44 one who pierces through the reputation of another." Thus the Evil One casts out a sneering remark concerning Job before the Court of Heaven, 44 Doth Job serve God for naught ?" And when he is a being so malicious, it is to be expected that his purpose is to counteract the plans of God, and to seek to make us, like himself, the enemies of our Heavenly Father. His designs are carried out by cunning and deceitful methods which do not alarm, as well as by bold efforts, to break down our good resolutions. The Litany here uses the word 44 craftf which is a word shortened from 44 handicraft," and means that skill with which an artizan handles his tools, the mason his chisel, the carpenter his plane, the weaver his shuttle—the 42 £tarte£ anü Cracfjtnjj readiness and exact adaptation of his strength to the work he is doing. This ability, which is the result of long practice and habit, is here ascribed to the Tempter in his dealings with men's souls. When we least expect his crafty temptations, he suddenly over¬ comes us, taking us unawares, which may be illustrated by a tale, founded on fact. " Bertrand de Morlaix, the seneschal of the Castle of Domville, lifted his helmet from his head, and took a long breath of relief. ' The attack is over, and they have fallen back,' he muttered, as he watched the bands of men-at-arms slowly retreating from the edge of the moat, carrying with them their scaling ladders, and removing the dead and wounded. Bertrand was one of those soldiers of fortune who earned their bread by the sword in the frequent civil wars which desolated France in the middle ages, and now he was defending the strong castle of Domville against the Burgundians. That day a strong attack had been made, and had been met with as stubborn a resistance. Molten lead, huge stones, showers of arrows, had been poured down on the assailants from the battlements, and, in spite of their courage and numbers, they had failed to leap from the scaling ladders on to the parapets of the fortress, and had at last sullenly retired to their camp, beyond arrow flight. " Bertrand, well-satisfied with the result, appointed a strong body of guards to watch the walls, saw to the care of those who had been wounded in the day's contest, called into the great hall the rest of his soldiers, and having allowed a sufficient time for food and talking, bade all lie down to rest, that they might have strength for the morrow. After once more ascertaining all was quiet and safe, and glancing with pride and satisfaction on the stalwart forms of his fighting men, as they lay in slumber, and with sword at his side, he, too, cast himself on an oak settle, and, with a feeling of security, fell asleep. " For an hour or two he slumbered, when something roused him, and, without opening his eyes, he listened. Near him was a small nil Ü)t üttang. 43 low door in the wall of the castle hill. He knew that it was bolted, and that it merely opened on a narrow stair in the wall of the keep. But now, as he listened, he fancied he heard behind the door the quiet but stealthy tramp of many footsteps. Though weary and oppressed with drowsiness, he sprang to his feet to find out what was the matter. But at that moment a loud trumpet blast woke all the sleepers, and rang through the vaulted hall. A hundred torches lit up the scene, and he perceived that the gallery, with its arched openings, was full of armed men, whilst the stern voice of their leader bade the occupants of the castle throw down their arms and yield at once! Unknown to its defenders, a secret pas¬ sage led from a spot some distance from the castle wall, beneath moat and bulwark, into the very keep itself; and, led by a traitor, the enemies had thus entered in the silence of the night, and seized the fortress when all seemed secured." So the treachery of our evil hearts admits the presence of the Tempter, and when we deem ourselves safe, we are overcome by his craft! But sometimes the assaults of the Devil are open attacks upon our faith. Such was often the trial of the early Christians. Thus we read of the martyrdom of Polycarp, how the Proconsul tried to persuade him to abandon the faith, as in the quaint language of the old chronicler we are told how " Herodes and Nicetes called him to their chariot where they sat, and said, ' What hurt shall come to thee if thou say, by way of salutation, My Lord Caesar, and do sacrifice, and thus save thyself?' But he at the beginning made none answer, but when they enforced him to speak, 41 will not do as ye counsel me I should.' But when he was to the judgment place, the Proconsul asked if his name was Polycarp? and when he said, 4 Yea it was,' he gave him counsel to deny his name. 4 Be good unto thyself, and spare thine old age, swear,' saith he, 4 by the good fortune of the Emperor.' And again the Proconsul, arguing with him to spare himself from suffering, said, 4 Take thine oath—deny Christ.' But Polycarp answered, 4 Fourscore 44 Ätörtr^ airtr Cracf)tng and six years have I been His servant, and in all this time hath He not once hurt me. How then may I speak evil of my King and Sovereign Lord, who hath thus preserved me?'" Thus did the Evil One, by the lips of men who had no reverence for truth, assault the constancy of the martyr. A few grains of incense, a few words of heathen adoration, would have been enough. But God was with His aged servant to strengthen him to " resist even unto blood." " From Thy wrath" In these solemn words the Litany sets forth the most terrible darkness that can rest on a human soul! The Book of the Revelation speaks of " The wrath of the Lamb," that is, the just indignation of the Redeemer ! It may seem perhaps for a moment that there is something inconsistent in speaking of the anger of the loving and merciful Saviour, but if we reflect, we shall see that a holy character must feel indignation against those who despise His Father's laws, and that a mercy which was indiscriminate would partake of mere weakness, not of Heavenly pity. It is the greatest proof of the power of sin that it can incur the just condemnation of Him who died to save men from its evil power ! Our Blessed Lord wept over Jerusalem, but He was forced to pronounce its doom. t; But ye would not" (St. Luke xix. 41-44), therefore " not one stone shall be left stand¬ ing upon another." "And from everlasting damnation" The last words of this clause are very awful ! The Church, as it were, draws back the curtain, and displays to the trembling soul of the Christian the dangers about his path ; the existence of evil, moral and physical— in God's world; the perils which result from our own want of thought and care ; the fatal disease of sin; the powerful enemy concerning whose warfare the Sarum Primer uses the expressive phrase, " the awaitings of the Fiend ; " and lastly, speaks of the righteous indignation of the Great Redeemer, called forth by the wilful sin of men, and the dark and gloomy chambers of guilt, punishment and woe, which are the consequences of impenitence. an the mtani). 45 There is, in these days, much talking, where silent thinking would be far better, on the awful subject of eternal punishment. But certainly here the Church seems to state her sorrowful con¬ viction of the sinner's doom, and many are perhaps tempted to reason and reply, how can an eternal punishment be consistent with the infinite mercy of God, and not an unjust amount of penalty for the sinfulness of a brief life ! In the first place, let us ever remember that it is great pre¬ sumption for us to set up ourselves as more compassionate than the All-merciful God. Next, let us find sufficient comfort and advice to cast away all doubts and difficulties by those grand words of Holy Writ, which satisfied the Patriarch of old (Gen. xviii. 25): "Shall not the Judge of the earth do right?" And lastly, let us recollect that the analogy of earthly things shows us examples of men refusing the offers of God's mercy, and hating all good, even to the end. And thus we can conceive of a similar exercise of a proud and sinful self-will likewise in a future world, keeping souls in that state of enmity against God which constitutes our chief idea of hell. It may be possible to illustrate this for the young by the following tale, so far as earthly may be compared with Heavenly things. " Hugh Dacre was gifted with many talents, and entered on life with brilliant prospects. He was handsome, clever, agreeable, beloved by his younger brothers—the darling of his father's heart— but all these advantages were counterbalanced by a most proud and obstinate disposition. How noble was the old mansion where they dwelt, as for generations back their forefathers had done. The tall gables, the mullioned windows, the spacious courts with their green turf centres. The long galleries hung with quaint pictures, and filled with antique furniture, delighted the eye of a visitor, whilst around the house spread far and wide the picturesque park with its great oaks and green glades, and waving fern leaves, amongst which the stag tossed his stately antlers to the summer breeze. But though all seemed to offer Hugh Dacre 46 Start rä antr Ccarl)tnt0rieö antr Cractjtnß (no doubt he meant in the Litany) " you would then remember my two pretty babes." Thus he wrote on Sept. ist, 1666; on the 20th of November in the same year, when the plague had ceased its ravages, he wrote, " Here there have been seventy-six families visited within my parish, out of which died 259 persons." The good rector survived unharmed, and died in 1708. So virulent were the germs of the disease, that nearly a hundred years after, when some persons incautiously dug near the graves of the plague-victims, an outbreak of fever took place ! We also deprecate or pray against famine. In many places in the Bible we read of famines, as in the days of Joseph in Egypt, and we have a very striking account of the sufferings of the poor in the famine which took place in the land of Samaria, in the time of Elisha the prophet, and the marvellous relief from its horrors as foretold by the seer. In ancient days men were dependent on the produce of their own harvests, as there was no means of conveying the plants of one country to supply the scarcity of another. Doubtless God often overruled the dearth and scarcity to be the motive for nations to move on from place to place, and thus fill and replenish the earth. Hunger was the mother of emigration as well as of invention. As civilization advanced the mariner steered his corn-laden ships to supply the wants of other lands across the sea. It was from Egypt that the teeming population of Rome was fed in times of scarcity. It was on such an errand that Caesar embarking to obtain food for his starving countrymen, in a terrific storm, uttered the noble words, " It is necessary for me to go. It is not necessary that I should live." But even with all the facilities for bringing food from afar by ships and railways which the present age affords, a famine is a most awful visitation, as they know who are old enough to recollect " the potato famine " in Ireland, in 1847. At first people did not realize the consequence of the plant 0it the ILttanrn 73 becoming diseased ; but the vast multitude of the Irish people were utterly dependent on this root for their subsistence. The disease came suddenly. A field that looked green and flourishing would in a single night turn black ! Famine brought fever, and the poor emaciated peasants had no strength to resist its attacks. Crowds of starving people sought refuge in England and Scot¬ land. In hundreds they crossed the Channel on the deck of the steamboats, but only to be sent back under the cruel mercies of the poor law to their own country, and numbers died of exposure and want. Whole villages were depopulated, and to this day everywhere in Ireland the traveller comes on the ruins of cottages and houses. The poor-rate rose to 18s. and 20s. in the pound in some places. When the full horrors of the famine were known, six millions of money was voted by the Parliament to relieve the sufferers; and also extraordinary efforts were made both by public grants and private charity, yet, through hunger, disease and emigration, the population of the unhappy country was diminished by several millions. It might have been easy to give an account of some of the great famines of ancient days, such as that at the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans, where some mothers ate the dead bodies of their children in the agonies of hunger ; but none of these seem so impressive a case as this Irish famine of 1847, for it was in our own days, under our present Queen. It was not in a distant land, but within three or four hours of England. It was not amidst poor barbarians, but in the territories of the richest country in the world. The resources of civilization, ships and railways were at hand, the efforts of a multitude of good Christian people were at work, and still all seemed unavailing to check the magnitude of misery and suffering which rolled over the doomed land where God was pleased to let disease arise in a single insignificant vegetable. The Irish nation had, by the providence of God, been fed, it seemed, as a mere matter of course, in other years; but 74 £t0m£ mts Ceacfjtttfl when God touched, as it were with a finger, one single source of food, no human efforts seemed able to arrest the terrible consequences. But as things were they would have been far worse had it not been for the almost superhuman efforts of the clergy, who not only prayed, "from famine, good Lord, deliver us," but made the rec¬ tory the very centre of help, where food was sold at cheap rates, help and work obtained from England and Scotland, and medicine and cheering words freely bestowed on all who were in equal dis¬ tress, though of different religious impressions. The single word " battle" recalls to us the long series of wars and battles which have desolated the world since its early days. When we are young the glitter and romance of warfare dazzles our judgment. We think only of the exciting music of drum and trumpet, the waving flags, the gleaming steel, and the gallant bear¬ ing of the warriors! But it is very different when we learn the dark side of the story—the horrible wounds, the thirst that tortures the wounded, their groans and shrieks when jolted along in rude carts on rough roads, the encouragement given to the worst passions of the evil heart, the burning roof and the devastated corn-fields, watched by the weeping widow and the hungry orphans ! It is very interesting to know that in ancient days such terror was felt of our forefathers the Northmen, that in the Litanies of Southern countries they used to pray to be " delivered from the fury of the Northmen." Doubtless the good qualities of courage, patience, loyalty, and endurance are developed in time of war and battle ; yet these lights only gleam forth from such dark shades, that everyone who has ever read of the horrors of war must heartily join in this petition. But as God often overrules evil for good, there have been often cases in which those who had neglected God in days of peace and prosperity learned to pray to Him for help and deliverance in the hour of peril. Often, too, have His servants been wonderfully delivered in the day of battle. -\ on tbr &ttaup. 75 There was once an officer in the army who found his besetting sin was to utter oaths and bad language in moments of excite¬ ment. He consulted a wise clergyman what he should do to cure himself from this evil habit. His advice was difficult to follow, and tested the sincerity of the soldier. " When you give way to this sin," said the divine, " cast yourself at once on the ground, kiss the earth, and implore pardon." It was a hard direction to obey, exposing him to observation and ridicule, but he found it useful as a check on his violent temper and unruly tongue. One day, however, he was called into battle. An engagement had commenced, fierce shouts filled the air, and swords were flashing brightly. He was attacked by an assailant from the opposite ranks. In the conflict his sword broke off short, and his rage and mortification burst forth in sinful words. At that instant his good resolution occurred to his mind. He was about to dismiss the idea as impossible to be carried out at that moment, but after a brief struggle he flung himself on the earth. At that instant a loud and heavy crash was heard, and a huge cannon ball struck a tree close behind him, killing several persons. Had he been standing up he could not have escaped; and humbled and thankful he rose up, full of gratitude to God, who had accepted his penitence and " delivered " him in the day of " battle." Dark as are the thoughts which come over our mind when we speak of war and battle, yet there are bright spots, when courage and patience, loyalty to a good king or a great cause, illumine the shadows; but no such gleam rests on that black crime from which the Litany next prays that we may be delivered. " From murder." The very word makes us shudder with its ominous sound, and recalls many a blood-stained atrocity to our memory. We may understand this to be, in the first place, a prayer that we may never be tempted into that most extreme sin 76 gtnrtetf aittr Cmtjtitg that we can commit against our fellow-man, and that we may be kept far from that germ of murder—the hatred of our brother— which our Blessed Lord tells us is of the nature of murder. Secondly, we pray to be preserved, and those around us, from that sad end, a violent death from the hand of our fellow-creatures. But instead of relating here any of the many chronicles of cruelty and bloodshed, which only haunt the memory with painful recol¬ lections, it is pleasant to think how God answers this prayer, often, doubtless, without our knowing it, and yet sometimes to our knowledge. Some years ago, in a country part of Essex, near the village of South Burfleet, there lived an oldish man, called Harvey. He was a baker by trade, and very saving and careful in money matters, also a man of most regular habits, always walking the same way and following the same accustomed roads. His usual practice was once a week to go round the villages which he sup¬ plied with bread and collect the money due to him. It was well-known that he always took a certain route down one lane through the village, and returning home through a steep, dark, lonely road, with over-hanging banks and a wood on either hand, to his home. From this customary journey he was never known to vary, and people were also aware that he often came home with a consider¬ able sum of money. One day, on his outward journey, he was noticed by a knot of rough fellows drinking in a village alehouse. His regular round and his pockets full of gold were discussed, till the thought arose in the minds of three or four of the most reck¬ less of the group that they would waylay him on his return. Quietly leaving the house, they took with them a spade and a pick-axe, and went to the lonely road between the oak plantations. They determined to kill him, and with this intent they dug a grave in the wood hard by, and there they waited in the dark. It was getting late—every moment he must come. He might be late, but he never deviated from his usual course. At last they heard an tfjc ftttaug. 77 a sound. They felt sure it was their victim, but it was only a stray horse that rushed past. At length, weary of waiting, and with some dread of being found lurking in the wood, they went home as the dawn began. Where was Harvey ? No fear or alarm had crossed his mind. Nothing occurred to make him choose the other road to return home. Without any motive or reason he changed his plans, and went back the way he came instead of taking his usual circuit, and in total ignorance of the plot against his life. It was not till several years afterwards that one of the men concerned in the plan, being imprisoned for another cause, confessed their dark design, and the open grave was there to prove the truth of what he told. May we not see in all this the mysterious, yet merciful, hand of God answering the prayer of His people in the Litany, and pre¬ serving one from death and others from the guilt of murder. The prayer against "sudden death" has often been objected to, and some good Churchmen have said that it was the only line in the Prayer Book that they would wish altered. It is a very natural feeling, especially when, perhaps, we have watched some very long, lingering, and painful illness; a poor sufferer very slowly worn out with weakness ; we should desire that God would be pleased to spare us such protracted agonies and grant us "sudden death." All such difficulty in using the words of the Litany will disappear if we remember, first, that from the ancient Latin form of the expression " improvisa " the idea is of unfore¬ seen, or unprepared for death; and we all must feel that it is a very terrible thing to be called from this life without space for prayer and repentance, if we have made due preparation for that great change of state which all must expect. " It is appointed unto man once to die, and after death the judgment," is the Apostle's straightforward warning. Never did the flattery of a Court Chaplain go farther than when the preacher in the Royal presence, having commenced 78 «grtartrtf antt Cmf)tng his sermon, "We must all die," suddenly altered his opening sentence, having recollected that the king disliked all mention of death, and apologetically substituted, " at least almost all." Even an adulated king of France could hardly persuade himself that he would be an exception to the common lot ! And yet, as it has been well said, "all men believe all men mortal but them¬ selves;" and too often when death draws near we are not pre¬ pared for his presence. Old Bishop Hall, in one of his books, tells an anecdote of a nobleman, who lived in the days when great men had a large retinue of attendants, and amongst their number he had, as was usual, a jester or fool, whose witticisms and jests were in high favour with his lord. His master once gave him a staff, set in silver and adorned with bells, and bade the jester keep it till he found someone more foolish than himself! Time passed on, till it came to pass that the gentleman took ill. His case proved hopeless, and he lay on his deathbed. His servants were called into his chamber to bid him farewell, which they did with tears, for he had been a kind master. Among the rest came the jester. "I must go," said the nobleman, "a long journey to a distant land." "And have you, my dear master," said the fool, "made all preparations to be received well, and live in comfort in that far-off land ? " " Alas ! no," he replied, " I have made no such preparations." Then the jester, taking his staff, or bauble, as it was called, thrust it into his lord's hand. "Take it," said he ; " you told me to give it to someone more foolish than myself, and you are the very person. About to go to a distant land, and to have made no preparation for your happiness there ! No one could be more foolish than this ! " Another reason why we may pray against " sudden death " in the Litany is for the sake of, and on behalf of most men, for there are very many persons to whom a long illness has proved a great blessing, having been the means of leading them to thought and repentance, and likewise enabling them to glorify God by nil tf)e ILttanj). 79 patience, resignation, and faith—the spiritual flowers, full of sweet fragrance, which often bloom in the sick chamber. One of those who strongly objected to this prayer in the Litany was the Puritan Lord Brooke, in the days of King Charles the First. But, remarkable to say, he was himself stricken by that visitation against which he had refused to pray. He was at the siege of Lichfield, fighting against his king and the Church's cause, when he fell dead by a shot from the central tower of the cathedral. It was fired by a deaf and dumb man, and, passing through the visor of his helmet, pierced that very eye with which he had declared his desire to see the ruin of every cathedral in England! Though we may wish to be permitted to escape from a very long and painful path to the grave, yet in this, as in all else, the Christian must try both to say and feel, " Not my will, but Thy will be done." QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE IX. 1. Why does God permit lightning and tempest? 2. What Scriptural examples have we of a pestilence ? 3. What famines are mentioned in the Bible? 4. What are the most celebrated pestilences mentioned in English history ? 5. What expression has been objected to in this Clause, and how is it best answered ? 6. What does the word "plague" mean? 7. "From murdergive the two ways in which this prayer may be answered ? CLAUSE X. "JFrcim all tfelrtttan, prth^ conspiracy, atrtr rebellion; from all faltfe fcoctrine, Ijereöy, antr schism; from l)artme££ of \)zkrt, antr contempt of Cl)ü OTtartr antr Cammantrment, jjootr ILartr, trelther us." HIS Clause of the Litany has reference to three classes of evils: those which assail and injure the State, or Commonwealth; those which poison and infect the Church, and those which ruin and destroy the individual soul! 80 g>torte£ antf Ctacjtnfi Sedition, conspiracy, and rebellion are the diseases of the State; sedition, derived from the Latin, and in its root-meaning, setting forth the going after our own way ; the preference of one's own plans and party purposes to the good of the whole community. Drawing aside from the great company of our fellow-citizens, to carry out schemes of our own in a spirit of disloyalty and wilful selfishness. The very opposite of the patriotic feel¬ ing of the old Roman citizens in their early days, as sketched by Macaulay :— "Then none was for a party; Then all were for the State; r Then the great men helped the poor, And the poor man loved the great! " Sedition gives us in its general meaning an idea of disloyalty, discontent and danger, spread through large masses of men, like an evil leaven, working against law and order; but we next pray against that dangerous feeling when it is concentrated into an active organization, and a body of conspirators carry out the wishes of a discontented section of the people. Sedition may be compared to infection or malaria in the air. Conspiracy is the disease centred with contagious power in some fever den. The words of the Litany bring before our minds the recollection of such plots and conspiracies as those which startled our fore¬ fathers when they heard of Guy Fawkes rowing across the dark river from Lambeth with his kegs of gunpowder ; or listened in imagination to the hollow sound of pick and spade, as the band of desperate fanatics toiled in the vaults under the Parliament chamber at Westminster ! The words "privy conspiracy," of course, allude to the private and secret character of such plots, which make their chief danger. Men do not fear an open enemy half so much as a secret foe, and the days in which our Prayer Book was drawn up were especially times in which politicians indulged in secret intrigues, and even an t?)t ILttaug. 81 statesmen planned and plotted to remove troublesome enemies by poison or assassination. There is a striking story told of a secret plot made against one of the Doges (or Rulers) of Venice, in the fourteenth century. His enemies employed a noted assassin, one Lascaris, who dis¬ guised himself as a cook, and obtained a post in the Doge's country mansion, into which he gradually introduced several accomplices. The suspicions of an honest country lad, who acted as scullion, named Gibbo, were aroused by finding that the head cook wore armour concealed beneath his garments, and that he possessed a richly-decorated dagger. Having heard Lascaris rise in the night, Gibbo cautiously followed him, and overhearing the plot of the conspirators to remove a panel and, entering the Doge's bed-chamber, murder him during the next night ! The boy was anxious to warn his master, the Doge, but knew not how to obtain an interview with so exalted a personage. At length he tried a desperate experiment, by climbing one chimney and descending another, which he hoped might open into the state bed-chamber of the great man. Blackened with soot, he crept into the magnificent apartment, and having awakened the sleeping Doge, he explained his errand to his startled master. The Doge, convinced of his truth, arranged that certain trusty men-at-arms should lie in waiting, and when the hour fixed by the conspirators had come, a faint sound told that the panel in the wall was being removed; an instant more, and a picture, hanging over the wood¬ work, where it had been carefully sawed through, was pushed aside, and the assassins, armed with their sharp daggers, entered, and rushed to the bedside, but only, as they were about to draw aside the heavy curtains, that they might stab their victim, to find themselves seized and disarmed. The faithful scullion was raised to a position of authority, and lived to be one of the great council of Venice. The derivation of the word conspiracy, from the Latin to breathe 82 £tarte£ antr Ctactjtng together, that is, to utter together an oath, evidently points to that customary practice of such dangerous characters to bind them¬ selves together by a mutual oath, not to betray one another. Secret societies of evil men thus banded together by awful oaths to avenge any treachery, have been a great evil both in ancient and modern times, against which we need to pray. It is said, and said on high authority, that the "privy conspira¬ tors" of Russia, called "Nihilists," are both so numerous and so secret that the Imperial family scarcely know in whom to put confidence, and though their palaces are surrounded by their most faithful soldiers, and guarded by the most watchful police, yet they cannot escape threats and dangers. A little while ago, the wax candles which were placed in the private cabinet of the Czar, were found to be below a certain point mere cases of dynamite, and the Empress was transfixed with horror one evening on finding in her oratory, adjoining her bed-chamber, and placed on her prayer-desk amidst the pages of her own book of prayers, an exquisitely-painted representation of herself on a cross, as though to inform her that though innocent she must expect a cruel death. " Rebellion" is next prayed against, a topic that must have come home most keenly to the hearts of Churchmen in the days of King Charles the First, when the monarch was beheaded ; the great and devoted Archbishop executed; Episcopacy overthrown ; Cathedrals and Churches pillaged and profaned; the use of the Prayer Book forbidden on pain of imprisonment; and of the Royalist clergy and their families, 30,000 persons, driven from their parsonages. But though God has mercifully spared us from seeing such mournful things in our own land in these days, yet there are still persons living, within whose lifetime there were enacted all the horrors of rebellion in the sister island of Ireland; old people who still count their age by reference to that epoch, and have a vivid remembrance of what they have heard from their elders of its horrors. The peasantry of certain districts, instigated by French on tbe H(taiij). 83 influence, inflamed by strong drink, and infuriated by party feeling, committed the most fearful atrocities. Thus at Wexford there was a long bridge, and on to this their prisoners were driven, and then four of the rebels with their pikes transfixed their unfortunate captives, raised them in the air, and then flung them into the river below ! Again, at Scullabogue, a barn full of unhappy loyalists was set on fire. It is in " rebellion" that man's worst passions blaze forth, and from their scorching flames may God ever deliver us ! From dangers which may befall the State, we go on to plead for deliverance against those which assail the Church. " Heresy " is derived from a Greek word, signifying a choosing for one's self; that is to say, preferring our own views to the teaching of the Church in religion. Heretics arose even in the days of the Apostle John, and he alludes to such false teachers in the early chapters of the Revela¬ tion. The early heresies were very numerous, as self-willed men strove to manufacture systems of their own, religious mosaics constructed out of fragments of Jewish, Christian, and heathen beliefs, and loosed from the holy restraints of apostolic morality. But though numerous, they were short-lived. The more cele¬ brated heresies in Church history were those which sprung up after the conversion of the Roman Empire. Arianism, which denied the full divinity of our Blessed Saviour, and was condemned by the great Councils of Nicea and Con¬ stantinople in the years 325 and 381. These were followed by the opposing errors of Nestorianism and Eutychianism, controver¬ sies concerning the Incarnation of our Lord, Nestorianism taking a lower and unsound view of His Divine nature, and Eutychianism denying His perfect humanity. To decide the true faith on these subjects the two great Councils of Ephesus in 431 and Chalcedon in 451 were held. God, in His providence, overruled these heresies for good, for they led to clear definitions of what was orthodox and Scriptural, 84 ;g>torte£ antf GTradbtnjj just as great floods cause the rising of high embankments for safety in after years. They happened also to exist amongst a people of remarkably keen intellects, and they were fully dis¬ cussed and determined in a language (the Greek tongue) of exquisite clearness, and capable of the finest shades of meaning, in all which we may gratefully acknowledge the goodness of God. The words "false doctrine" which come before " heresy and schism/'' seem to set forth the growth of errors in the Church. Like poisonous weeds, they grow faster than useful plants, and in any soil, and swiftly occupying the ground, they choke other vegetation, and develop into full-grown heresies. And often those who fell into errors treated with the fiercest severity the faithful brethren who held fast to " the faith once delivered to the saints." Quoting from an old writer, called Victor, Charles Kingsley describes the persecutions which the Arian Vandals inflicted on the Catholic party in Africa in glowing words. "Victor," he says, " tells us, for instance, the story of Dionysia, the beautiful widow, whom the Vandals tried to torture into denying the Divinity of our Lord. How, when they saw that she was bolder and fairer than all the other matrons, they seized her, and went to strip her; and she cried to them, 'kill me as soon as you like, but forbear to uncover modest limbs.' But in vain. They hung her up by the hands, and scourged her till streams of blood ran down every limb. " Her only son, a delicate boy, stood by trembling, knowing that his turn would come next; and she saw it, and called to him in the midst of her shame and agony—' He had been baptized into the Name of the Blessed Trinity; let him die in that Name, and not lose the wedding garment; let him fear the pain that never ends, and cling to the life that endures for ever.' The boy took heart, and when his turn came died under the torture; and Dionysia took up the little corpse, and buried it in her own garden, and worshipped God upon her boy's grave to her dying day." on tt)r ftttang. 85 And may we not as we read such things take up the lines of Heber: "They climbed the steep ascent of Heaven, Through peril, toil, and pain : O God, to us may grace be given, To follow in their train." Heresy deals with the vital doctrines of our faith ; but it is usual to confine the meaning of the word schism to those lesser differ¬ ences, which, alas, divide those who agree on the great central truths of Christianity. The expression is doubtless derived from the passage where we read that the soldiers at the Crucifixion refrained from tearing into parts the seamless robe of our Lord. That garment was taken as a figure of the Church—as our Lord prayed—" that it might be one," united and undivided, and the word "schism," or "rending asunder," was applied to those foolish and unhappy quarrels which make men leave the Church of God, and adopt some novel form of worship for themselves. Schism seems to carry with it a visible mark of the curse that rests on it, for it not only seems unfruitful in good works, but it lacks that foliage of art, beauty and music, with which God has enwreathed His Church, making it beautiful and venerable. What a picture we have of the sour, bitter, ignorant spirit of schism, when we read, for instance, of the Puritans employing one Dowsing to pay half-a-crown per day to a man to break and destroy the rich-hued windows of Canterbury Cathedral, where the pious zeal of ancient men had portrayed saints and martyrs, to the glory of God ! It is the nature of schism to go on dividing and separating. Thus, in a little town in the West of England, certain self-willed folk left the Church, because they insisted on adult Baptism and immersion ; but after a while they again divided into two sections, on the question whether in Baptism persons should be wholly or partially immersed in the water ! There are said to be now in England more than 150 different sects and sorts of religion ! The most numerous of Dissenters 86 £tam* antf Cracbtnjj are the Independents, or Congregationalists, who were originated by one Brown in the time of Queen Elizabeth ; the Anabaptists, who first appeared in the sixteenth century, and the Methodists, who separated from the Church at the close of the last century, in opposition to the advice of their founder, John Wesley, who said, " If you leave the Church of England, God will leave you." But those who wrote the Litany knew well that even worse than heresy and schism, which at least imply some thought and interest given to religious matters, is that cold indifference which leads men to treat God's message to their souls with utter neglect, and to despise His glad tidings, and disobey His holy laws. From this worst and most hopeless state of the human heart we pray to be delivered when we say, " From hardness of heart, and contempt of God's Word and Commandment." William Rufus, even in the rude age in which he lived, was notorious for the boldness of his impiety, and the contempt which he showed for Divine things filled even his contemporaries with horror. When he recovered from a serious illness, he scoffingly said, " Does God think that He can frighten me into being good ? " Such, too, was the contempt for "God's Word," or Revelation, of the man who offered to believe if the name of God was written in starry letters on the midnight sky, forgetting that the very meaning of faith is that it is different from knowledge. But perhaps the time when this terrible "contempt of God's Word and Commandment" rose, as it were, to a flood tide, was during the Revolution in France, now nearly a century ago, when the worship of the true God was abolished. The name and observance of the Lord's Day were obliterated out of the calendar; the words " Death is an everlasting sleep " written over the gate of the great cemetery of Paris, whilst in the apse of the noble Cathedral, once dedicated to the pure Virgin Mother of our Lord, at a festival of liberty, there was seated a wicked woman on the Altar, and she was worshipped as an impersonation of the genius of Liberty ! Such impious profanity brought its punishment on the country, cm tfje Ettanjn 87 and bloodshed and humiliation overtook the nation, when it seemed to be at the very height of its glory ! Whilst the people who were most instrumental in its punishment were the inhabitants of that island, in whose ten thousand Churches continually was uttered, and, doubtless, by many a devout soul, this prayer, "From con¬ tempt of Thy Word and Commandment, good Lord, deliver us." QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE X. 1. What does the word " Sedition " mean, and from what is it derived ? 2. To what do the words " Privy Conspiracy " allude ? 3. Where does the Apostle St. John speak against heresy, or false teaching ? 4. What heresies were condemned by the Council of Nicea and Con¬ stantinople, of Ephesus and Chalcedon, and what were their dates ? 5. How were these heresies overruled for good ? 6. Define the difference between heresy and schism ? 7. How many Commandments are there in the Old Testament ? 8. How are they explained and enlarged in our Lord's teaching ? CLAUSE XI. "13p t&c mptfterp ai Cbp fjnXp £ncarnattou; hp £f)P holp $attbttp an & Ctmimcutftau; hp 3Tf)p Jfoptttfm, jfatftittjj, auh Cemptatian, goatr Hartf, teliber tttf." HIS and the next two clauses of the Litany are called by Ecclesiastical writers the obsecrations, a word signifying entreaties, or petitions, grounded on certain pleas, or reasons. Thus we, in the following prayers, beseech our Blessed Lord to deliver us, alleging and pleading on our own behalf the great events in the Life of our Saviour, when on earth. An ancient author, Saint Leo, says, "that all our Lord's acts were sacramental as well as examples ; they were each links in the golden chain of salvation, by which the Son of God raised a ruined world from its perishing state! " This portion of the Litany has ever been felt by earnest Christians to be its most pathetic, solemn, and serious part—a very jewel of 88 autr Cracbmg prayer set in the casket of the Church's devotions. We must keep in mind that we are addressing our Saviour, God and Man, and first we plead the wondrous fact of His twofold Nature—Man to feel, God to hear. This we rightly call a mystery, guided by the passage in which St. Paul (i Tim. iii. 16) eloquently declares "great is the mystery." "A mystery being that which has a deep and true meaning, though only known to those who are thought worthy to have the secret revealed to them." Some of the old Litanies had—by Thy Advent—by Thy Annunciation; but all this is included under the word Incarnation, meaning a Divine Being taking the raiment of flesh—the Son of God assuming a human form. He, who held it no robbing of God the Father's glory to claim equality with Him, emptied Himself of that glory—became a slave, a serf; and condescended, being in the likeness of man, to the death of the Cross ! This is the marvel of the Christian religion —its difficulty in the eyes of the unbelieving world—its glory and grandeur in the sight of the adoring Church. In the very early pages of the Bible, we see the streaks of the coming dawn. The child of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent. The great Lawgiver, Moses, was called to his typical task, by beholding the mystic Acacia tree, which burned with a bright yet unscorching flame—emblem of the Divinity dwelling in an earthly form. In the once desolate valleys of the wilderness, the wandering Ishmaelites, with startled amazement, beheld the countless tents of Israel, and rising in their midst the holy Fabric—the sacred Tabernacle, with its tall pillar of vapour by day, of flame by night— type of Jesus Christ, the Heavenly Light, tabernacling in the mortal texture of a human body 1 So St. John writes (St. John i. 14): " God was manifest in the flesh," and " tabernacled with us;" and in the old Hebrew Ritual, where we find that the Tablets of the Law were placed within the Ark (Heb. ix. 4), we see a figure, or parable, of the perfect righteousness of our Lord, who was the oil tfje Ettang. 89 True Ark of the Covenant—the abiding presence of God with His people. We are taught to speak not only of His Incarnation, but of His Holy Incarnation, for the nature He took upon Him was not like ours—stained and polluted—it was not a fallen nature with an innate disposition to evil, just as the earth has a natural tendency to produce weeds ; but it was an Holy Incarnation, through His miraculous Birth from a Virgin Mother. Traveller tells us that the River Rhone flows through the Lake of Geneva in one rapid stream, without mingling its waters with those of the Lake. By its different colour, its course can be traced through the wide sheet of water, till it emerges on the opposite end. So our Blessed Saviour was in the midst of sinners, yet without sin. Made like unto us in His Humanity, and yet different from all other men in the purity and infinite Holiness of His character. The word " Holy," it should be remembered, is derived from " wholly," and signifies the completeness and thoroughness. A holy person is one whose piety is through and through, not merely a surface righteousness. In the character of our Lord Jesus Christ there was no flaw or defect—it was complete and holy, wholly good and beautiful. It was, we must suppose, impossible for man to behold the full glory of God. The sun's orb must be veiled by the mist, or cloud, or evening vapour, before we can gaze on its disc. So the Humanity of the Incarnate Son of God enables us to look on Him with steadfast eyes, and to learn something of the goodness and mercy of our God. He, as the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us, is " the very image of His substance." The idea seems to be of the relation of a coin, or medal, to a die, in which it has been struck, or moulded. That which comes forth exactly shows the design and impression of the mould. So our Saviour, by the Incarnation, makes it possible for us to understand something of the Nature of God 1 Earthly things can only feebly illustrate Heavenly truths, yet may sometimes be of aid. In the little Dutch village of Saardam, there is a poor, low, one- 90 £tnrte£ antr ftracljtnfl storied wooden cottage, which is, however, very carefully preserved from weather and decay by an elevated roof, supported on pillars. It is thus protected on account of its very interesting history. In this lowly cabin once dwelt the famous Czar Peter, Emperor of Russia. For a space of time he left his dominions, and, disguised, sought the great maritime States of Holland and England. He desired to make Russia a great power in Europe, and, as a part of this scheme, to supply his country with a Navy. He was determined to know and understand the whole matter for himself, and used to work with his own hands. It was in gaining a practi¬ cal knowledge of ship-building, in the dockyards of Holland, that he was content to live for a time in this poor cottage, and to lay aside all the pomp, splendour, and implicit obedience of a court, or a camp, to which he had been accustomed. We may not be able to approve of much of his conduct, but we cannot deny the zeal and the patriotism of the Czar Peter; and we can, in that humble cottage, where he laid his imperial head on a rude pillow, see an illustration of the King of Heaven stoop¬ ing to the cradle of Bethlehem, and the workshop of Nazareth. And because, through His Incarnation, He enabled Himself to sympathise with man, we venture to plead with Him by these sacred marvels and memories. " By Thy Nativity." This word occurs in the Prayer Book in connection with Christmas Day—the Nativity, or birthday of our Lord. In Italy it is the custom to bring the recollection of the Saviour's birth before the unlettered peasants by placing in the churches a representation of the scene at Bethlehem. They call it a " Presepio." The figure of the Holy Infant is set in a rude cradle or manger, and a live ox and ass, or representations of these, are placed near at hand, and hymns and carols are sung by the choristers. In England the recollection of old Christmas carols has never died out; and now, as sung in many churches, they wake up, by their bright, sweet melodies, the thoughts of that Saviour's love, who condescended to be born of a pure an tf)£ ftttang. 91 virgin, and to become man, that by His birth, His life, and His death, He might bring salvation to a guilty world. "By Thy Circumcision " sets forth that as our Saviour, by His nativity, became man, the second Adam, our brother, and one of our race; so, by submitting to the Jewish rite of circumcision, He entered into the national covenant or agreement with God. The noble position of the old Hebrew people ought to be re¬ membered by us. They stood forth to the heathen world like a tall beacon-light shining through a gloomy night. They were a single people, separated from all others; selected by God for the high office of declaring the unity of the Godhead, as contrasted with the multitude of the false gods adored by the Polytheistic nations. The Jewish people were prepared by God to be the depository of true religion before the advent of Christ, and to be the cradle of the developed Church of Christ after His coming. In the old dispensation our Lord " fulfilled all righteousness " by being circumcised and presented in the Temple. In the new dispensation He set forth an example for His disciples by being baptized for a like purpose by His herald, John, the desert prophet. The Litany, as with reverent and adoring footsteps it follows the earthly pilgrimage of our Redeemer, names next after His infant Consecration His Baptism. There is a very interesting fragment of an ancient manuscript, supposed to be a portion of the lost " Gospel of the Hebrews," which some authorities consider was a life of our Blessed Lord written in that language by St. Matthew, which records an addi¬ tional circumstance, that when St. John was baptizing our Saviour at the Jordan a Heavenly light shone upon the waters. There is no reason why this should not have been so, for it was necessary that the evangelical histories should be very short and compact, in order for their easy transmission through the world ; and, on the other hand, some faint rays of tradition have transmitted to us a little additional light across the first ages of persecution and conflict. 92 auft Ccacfffnfl It is strange that any persons calling themselves Christians should refuse to be baptized, when our Lord has given them His own example. In the old cities of Italy, where ecclesiastical traditions carry the traveller back to almost primitive days, it is very striking to see the large buildings erected as Baptisteries, with a great marble font as large as an ordinary bath standing in their midst, remind¬ ing us of the days when pagan converts were brought in from the villages to be baptized in the great Church festivals. The word " pagan,"—a villager, in its original meaning—points to the gradual progress of Christianity in out-of-the-way and rural regions. When we gaze on the beautiful effects produced by light acting on water—whether it be the sunshine on the fountain, or the moonlight on the wave, or the gleam in the dewdrop, or the many-coloured robe of the rainbow—let us recall how our Saviour has employed this clear, pure element of water to be in baptism the emblem of His cleansing grace, and the instrument of His enlightening teaching, and that His baptism is our example—our baptism a following of that example. After His double consecration to His great mission, both by the sacramental office of John the Baptist, and by the mightier signs from Heaven of the Father's approving voice and the flutter¬ ing wings of the Holy Dove, our Lord entered on the lonely trials of the wilderness—the fasting, which was to humiliate the body, and the conflict with the Spirit of Darkness, which was the crisis of His temptation. And these circumstances in the Redeemer's struggle are not forgotten in the Litany, for it puts into our lips the words " by Thy fasting and temptation." Our Lord's fasting was doubtless to teach us the value of this means of lessening the sway of the lower or bodily part of our complex nature over that portion which is more lofty and spiritual. Gluttony and drunkenness, though little noticed by the world, are serious enemies of the spiritual life. an tt)t 3Lttanj). 93 That our Saviour should meet with temptation has been a difficulty to some minds. Could it be possible for the Son of God to be tempted ? The right answer is, to remember the express limit set down in the Epistle to the Hebrews, " He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin." (Heb. iv. 15.) He passed, like the three Hebrew youths mentioned in Daniel's history, " through the flames of the furnace, yet on Him was there no smell of fire." He experienced for a while the force of temptation in order that He might sympathize with those who were tempted; but within His pure nature there was nothing to echo back or to respond to the evil without. And yet how much comfort has flowed to the tried and tempted from the thought that the Captain of their Salvation feels for them. It has ever been the habit of great heroes to show their followers the reality of their sympathy. When the soldiers of Charles XII. had to undergo cold, hunger, and weary marches, they found their enthusiasm awakened, and their courage animated, by seeing their young king marching on foot by their side, and eating the same rations of hard black bread as were served out to themselves. As we speak of temptation in connection with our Lord, a very comforting thought arises. We are often cast down and humiliated to the very dust by reflecting on the temptations to evil that arise in our souls, sometimes even in the most solemn moments; but temptation is not sin. Christ was tempted, and He was sinless. It is only when we let it remain and nestle in our hearts that it becomes wrong, and, if not cast out, will eventually lead on from the evil thought to the sinful act. Of our Lord's temptations, and of His personal contest with the great enemy of man, we only know what He vouchsafed to tell His Apostles (St. Matt. iii. 1; St. Luke iv. 1); and these three, perhaps the final deceits of the Devil, are told us as specimens or examples of what is not further revealed. But it has been well suggested that even the very external scene 94 g40rte£ antr <£*acfofnjj around—the barren wilderness and the howling of the wild beasts (specially mentioned by St. Mark)—were in themselves incentives to doubt of the goodness of God. Yet whilst Adam, amidst the beautiful Garden of Paradise, and surrounded by docile animals, yielded to the Tempter, our Lord foiled his keenest thrusts in the most marvellous duel between good and evil the world ever saw. The three temptations of which we read were, first, to impatience, " command that these stones be made bread." This was answered by submission. Man is to live by the direction of God. Secondly, to presumption, " Cast Thyself from the tall tower of the temple," the Divine reply was humility. The third was to ambition and indolence combined, to acquiesce in the sway of evil, and obtain the crown without the cross, and the Saviour dismissed it, in all its glittering subtlety, by the grand ideal of duty, " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." The Captain of our Salvation fought clad in the radiant armour of a Heavenly purity. We enter into the dark and terrible conflict weak, and oft with a faltering resolution. Wherefore we pray— 44 By Thy days of sore distress In the savage wilderness ; By the dread, mysterious hour Of the insulting Tempter's power, Turn, O turn, a favouring eye; Hear our solemn Litany." QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XI. 1. What are Clauses XI., XII. and XIII. called, and what does the word mean ? 2. What does the word 44 Incarnation " mean ? 3. Mention the error of the Arians, the Nestorians, and the Eutychians ? 4. Why do we keep Christmas Day ? 5. Mention the institution of Circumcision ? 6. Describe the Song of Simeon, and its cause ? 7. On what occasions in our Lord's life was a 44 voice from Heaven " heard ? 8. What does our Saviour's fasting in the wilderness teach us ? 9. Mention the chief incidents of the temptation as revealed to us ? an tT)e ftttartjn 95 CLAUSE XII. "38p Cftms Igoiig anft ftloofti) ^toeat; ftp Cfti? Crastä antf paääton; lip C^p I9mioug 30ratl) antr 38urial; ftp Cftp glortoutf &cäurrrctton auft &£cntstan; aitft ftp tfte coming of tfte ?£olp <£fto£t, gootr Hortr, ftrltfter tt£." E have in these clauses relating to our Blessed Saviour's life on earth a number of petitions, which in ancient Litanies were kept separate, and each followed by a response from the people. Thus we can understand how Litanies could be lengthened, if it was desired that a pro¬ cession should wind round the aisles of some great cathedral or pass through the streets of a city. But though we have many sacred circumstances clustered together in one clause, there is no reason why we should pass them over, as perhaps we are often tempted to do, without the reflection. Each word and phrase is full of meaning and teaching. " By Thine Agony and Bloody Sweat" Here we implore our Blessed Redeemer by the remembrance of Gethsemane. The garden near Jerusalem where the Saviour was wont to take shelter, overhung, as tradition and travellers tell us, by great olive trees. Some of our greatest painters, such as Rembrandt and Ary Schefler, have exerted their utmost skill in portraying the scene— the dark shadows of the garden, the Divine Sufferer on His knees with His hands outstretched to received the cup of anguish, and the ministering angel approaching. The word "agony" signifies a contest—a struggle—and Holy Scripture seems to imply that there was in that hour a conflict between the two natures of the Redeemer. That which was human recoiled from, and dreaded the pain and suffering of the Cross. That which was Divine enabled the Mediator to overcome all human weakness by a Heaven-born patience and resignation. The severity of the struggle was evidenced by the physical pheno¬ menon of the life-blood passing through the pores of the skin. 96 gtaxitä aritt 5£racf)tng; Some writers say that this has been known in other instances of severe mental strain, and a parallel is given in the case of Charles IX., the wretched King of France, on whose conscience lay the horrors of the Bartholomew massacre. But some com¬ mentators have thought that there was a deeper cause for the Saviour's agony in the garden than the mere dread of earthly suffering could produce. They deem that in some mysterious manner the shadow of the guilt of all human sin rested on the soul of Jesus, so as to hide from Him for a season the bright sunlight of His Divine Father's favour. We read in the Prophet Isaiah (Is. liii. 6) that, as we all have gone astray, the Lord has laid upon Him our iniquities ; caused them (literally translated) to meet upon His head. So the High Priest confessed the sins of the nation over the head of the scape-goat on the great day of atonement once every year. An American writer, in illustrating how the sufferings of the Saviour plead for us, tells a story, that in one of the great cities a young man employed in an office had been found out to have forged his employer's name, and was committed to prison. At that time the punishment for forgery was death. The trial came on. The witnesses were in attendance, but were not needed, for the prisoner pleaded guilty. Then the judge arose and asked the criminal if he had anything to say against the just sentence of the law being carried out. The unhappy youth, with a trembling voice, answered, " If my own lot was solitary I would say nothing. I would not ask for my unhappy and shame-stricken life to be spared. But— but, far from this city, in a distant valley, stands a humble yet decent little home, overhung with roses, the very picture of peace and repose. There lives an old man, an old soldier. His right arm is gone. He lost it in the service of his country. He is an upright, honest old veteran, who dreads disgrace more than death; and he lives there in peace, and knows not that his only son has disgraced him by a shameful crime. If on tftc Uttam). 97 he knew that his boy, of whom he was so proud, had died on the gallows, his head would be bowed—his heart would break with shame. Spare that old man, and, for his sake, spare me. For the sake of his wounds and scars and mutilated body, for the sake of the blood he so freely shed in other years for his country's cause, spare his guilty but repentant son !" And, for the sake of the old veteran, the judge listened kindly to the prisoner's pleading. Even so, through the merits of Christ Jesus, our Saviour, our sins are pardoned. " By Thy Cross and Passion." The words seem to grow more solemn as we proceed. The word "passion" has strangely changed in its common meaning. By passion we usually imply a violent and evil temper. We speak of one who gives way to it as "a passionate person." But its derivation is from the verb to suffer, and only at a later period was applied to those who were suffering from the effects of some very strong outburst of the feelings. " The Passion of our Lord " was at the time the Prayer Book was translated an expression signifying all that long series of ill-treatment, insult and cruel torture which our dear Lord underwent after the treachery of Judas Iscariot, culminating in the crucifixion. In old mediaeval churches we have what are called "the arms or emblems of the passion," by which is meant the representations on shields of the principal objects mentioned in the scriptural narrative, such as the lantern, the scourge, St. Peter's cock, the ladder, the nails, etc., etc. In some churches in Cornwall these emblems are carved on the bench ends, and in Ireland they are often placed on ancient tombstones. And to the pious hearer of those days the words " the passion " would bring before their minds all the implements of, and the whole long course of our Saviour's sufferings. " The Cross." Nothing can more clearly show the utter and hateful depravity of the human heart than that men should have invented so slow, so lingering, so torturing a method of slaying their fellow man, for often the crucified wretch lingered in anguish G 98 £tort£ä antr ÜTcacfjtnfl for many days. It was indeed confined to the lowest and most degraded of criminals. " Place the slave on the cross" says the Roman satirist. And yet there was something of wondrous sig¬ nificance in the form of the Cross in the case of our Redeemer, for the arms of the Sufferer seemed stretched out, as it were, to embrace and welcome returning sinners. Nothing can more show the triumph of Christianity than the way in which it had exalted the once-despised Cross to be the very symbol of our faith, the emblem that crowns our tallest spires, receives our reverent gaze, and comforts with its tender associations the dying disciple. Jesus Christ dying for His people on the Cross is the very central fact of our religion. So deep a mystery can only be illustrated most imperfectly, and with the most reverent touch! Swiss history tells us of one who died for his people, and pro¬ cured their freedom by the sacrifice of his own life. Arnold was one of the band of patriotic Switzers who united to throw off the yoke of the Austrian Arch-duke. The battle was fought at Mor- garten, near the lake side. The force of heavy men-at-arms was drawn up in a solid mass. On every side their immense spears, ten or twelve feet long, formed a wall of iron, against which the bold mountaineers rushed again and again, without producing any effect. They were losing hope, finding themselves unable to force an entrance at any side of that bristling square, when Arnold darted forward, and, "not counting his life dear," suddenly grasped in a powerful embrace half-a-dozen of the pike points. In an instant they were centred in his body, but before they could be withdrawn his comrades, sword in hand, sprung in through the gap made by Arnold's sudden effort, and once within the square, and behind the line of lances, or pikes, they soon overcome their enemies, and returned to tell that the victory had been won by Arnold's self-devotion ! But our Blessed Saviour died not for His friends only, but for those who were as yet His foes, that He might reconcile them unto God! an fyc Ettang. 99 This crowning action of the life of our Saviour in dying for us and our salvation, has ever made the symbol of the Cross dear to the Christian. When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, and landed on an unknown land, it is touching to read how he raised a Cross on the strand, as it were, to take possession of it for Christ, its Heavenly Ruler. There is a well-known story of a distinguished man, while yet in his guilty career, being arrested by the sight of a picture of the crucified Saviour, stretching forth His pierced Hands, with the inscription below: " All this have I endured for thee, O sinner; what hast thou done for Me ? " When Charles Simeon, of Cambridge,was dying in his chamber, at King's College, he requested that a picture of the Crucifixion should be placed within reach of his eyes, to teach him patience and hope ! The very shape of the Cross is full of teaching, as has been before suggested; there is length, setting forth the extent of that condescension of mercy which stoops from the utmost height of Heavenly glory, down to the lowest degradation of human misery. (Ps. ciii. ii.) The width of the horizontal line, which seems to symbolize the benefits of Christ's mediation extending from East to West and blessing the whole race of mankind. The words of the poet Lyte, written shortly before his own death, have comforted many souls— i 1 Hold Thou Thy Cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies." "By Thy precious Death." The word precious, meaning that which has a price, and is of value, brings before our minds the comforting truth that the Death of our Redeemer has a propitia¬ tory weight and value! "No man can save his brother's soul," writes the Psalmist of men ; but with the Divine Redeemer it is different. He was able and willing to die for His people ! In the ancient history of Athens, we read of its last King, Codrus, a man who had a noble and self-denying love of his 100 £t0rie£ antr Emling country. There was war between the Athenians and a neigh¬ bouring nation, the Heraclidae. The latter people had consulted an Oracle, and the voice of the Oracle, or Priestess, had declared that if Codrus remained uninjured the Heraclidae would conquer. Hence strict directions were given to take every care lest spear or arrow should be aimed at Codrus. But he, learning the prophecy of the Oracle, and being convinced that his own death would ensure victory for his own people, determined voluntarily to sacrifice his life for the welfare of his subjects. He laid aside the golden diadem and the gorgeous robes he wore, arrayed himself in mean apparel, and took his way alone, unknown and unsuspected, into the camp of the foe. Meeting some of the common soldiers, he entered into a quarrel with them, allowed himself to be struck down, and when mortally wounded revealed his name ! The Heraclidae, awe-struck at his courage and devotion, gave up the war ; and the. Athenians, filled with admiration, declared they would have no more kings; for none could be found to equal the self-sacrifice of Codrus. May we not see in this brave old hero's conduct some faint illustration of that mightier Monarch, who laid aside a more radiant crown, who wore a yet meaner disguise, and died by the hands of His enemies on the Cross, " for us and for our Salvation ? " Many martyrs have died nobly for the faith, but the Divinity of Christ our Lord gave to His human sufferings an infinite value. Thus, it has been said—as a cheque becomes valuable only when it is signed by a solvent person—so the Divine signature gave to our Redeemer's mortal sufferings a unique power and efficacy, so that the Blood He shed was for the remission of sins " for the many." " By Thy Burial." Here the Litany touches the lowest point of humiliation to which our Redeemer stooped, when it mentions His Burial. Nothing could more have tended to produce despairing thoughts in the hearts of His Apostles than to behold their Master, whom they had deemed u would have delivered Israel," laid cold PLAN OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 1. The Portico, nine feet in the square. 2. A doorway into the Cave, or Tomb. Three feet high from the floor, by two feet wide. 3. North side of the Tomb where the Body of the Saviour is supposed to have been laid. Over which space is a table by way of Altar, that goes the whole length of the Tomb, and occupies rather more than half its breadth. The Tomb or Inner Chamber is about eight feet long and seven wide. 4. The other part, where three or four may stand, or kneel. 5. The rock, cased with marble within and without, and adorned with ten pillars without. The surrounding rock has been hewed away, and it now stands in the centre of the round part of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. cm tf)c Uttang. 103 and lifeless in the tomb ! Many an English Sunday School child, accustomed only to one of our village churchyards, with its grassy mounds, or flat gravestones, has been perplexed to understand the history of our Saviour's Burial and Resurrection, as told by the Evangelists. The form of the sepulchre requires our careful con¬ sideration, to enable us to understand the Sacred Narrative. The Rabbins, in their rules, lay down that a Hebrew sepulchre should have a court before it, through which you are to pass to the door of the cave, or proper place for burial. This court they direct to be made nine feet square. This agrees with the size of the porch of the ancient tomb, venerated at Jerusalem as the Holy Sepulchre. There is much to be argued in favour of its being what it claims to be; but at any rate, it is a very old tomb, and of the same character, so that it illustrates clearly the history of our Saviour's Burial and Resurrection. The sepulchre is now in the centre of the Church, under the great dome, originally erected by the Empress Helena. The rock has been hewn away, and shaped into the form of a mausoleum, covered without and within with slabs of polished marble, and adorned with pillasters. The sepulchre is divided into two portions; the outer one, wherein the soldiers watched before the Resurrection, and where afterwards Peter and John entered. Then there is the small opening (which was closed by the stone placed against it) ; and the inner small chamber, where the Sacred Body was placed. With this plan of the arrangements of an Eastern sepulchre before us, it is easy to understand all the circumstances of the Resurrection history, and how the Apostles had to stoop to look into the inner chamber. " By Thy glorious Resurrection." The darkest hour of the night is just before the dawn. The disciples of the Crucified Nazarene were at their lowest ebb of hope, and all seemed over, for He, whom they had trusted in, lay silent in the tomb in the icy grasp of death. What a contrast when, a few hours later, the open tomb, and the empty slab, had filled their hearts with 104 £t0ric£ antr UTearf)tnjj a glow of hope that soon brightened into the full radiance of certainty ! The Crucified Sufferer, resigning His soul in weak¬ ness, now appeared as the glorious conqueror of sin and death ! Not even the long lapse of centuries has quenched the joyous character of the Resurrection festival to Christian hearts. This is especially the case in Russia, and throughout the Eastern Church, where, on Easter morning, everyone greets his neigh¬ bour, 44The Lord is risen," and the answer back is, "The Lord is risen, indeed," and all rejoice as though it were the immediate anniversary of their Saviour's Resurrection. It is very interesting to observe in many of our old churches a carved and decorated archway, with a tomb beneath. This was called the " Easter Sepul¬ chre," and here, from the evening of Good Friday till Easter Monday, the consecrated bread was placed, in memory of the Saviour's entombment. At Lincoln Cathedral the " Easter Sepulchre " is very richly carved, and has sculptured on it the figures of the Roman soldiers keeping watch. In most of the Churches in Italy at Easter time a very tall candle, seven or eight feet high, is placed in a candlestick of similar proportions. It is called the "Paschal Light," and it is to symbolize, by its being lighted, our Blessed Saviour rising to life, and becoming thereby "the Light of the World." 11 And Ascension." It is curious to observe that in many spots famed for their scenery, such as Malvern, the cottages of the original inhabitants are often placed so as to have no view. They were so accustomed to see the noble landscape that it ceased to interest them or attract their notice. So, too, is it with many of the most striking facts in the Gospel histories. From very familiarity, we cease to take full measure of their grandeur and importance. Thus we read, without full con¬ sideration, the narrative of our Lord's Ascension. We ought to mark not only the dignity of the Divine Priest and King as He gives His benediction to His disciples, but also the display of His an tf)c ILttang. 105 sovereign power. There is no need of the chariot and horses of fire, symbolic of Divine power, as described in the transit of Elijah; but, by his own inherent will, our Lord overrules all the ordinary laws of the natural world. The mighty law of gravitation holds sun, moon, planets, the universe in its all-pervading chains; but, in defiance of that almost infinite influence, the Saviour (who had been crucified in a voluntary weakness) assumes His true position, and claims His rightful power, and, as the Master and Creator of the natural world, slowly, yet with equal might and dignity, departs from the scene of His incarnate work, and the clouds hid Him from the straining gaze of His loving followers. " And by the Coming of the Holy Ghost" The great series of events connected with the salvation of mankind, which began with the cradle throne of Bethlehem, ended not with the Ascension of our Saviour. Its last act was to be the fulfilment of His promise, the inauguration of a new dispensation—the birthday of the Church. The departing Redeemer had bidden them "wait for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost." Day after day passed, and nothing strange or unusual took place. We can picture them to ourselves as they daily assembled in that " Upper Chamber " which was the first Church—how sacred should we deem them, could we find these walls !—and still their patience was tried, still their hopes were unfulfilled, daily their faith was more strained. A week had elapsed, and yet no sign from Heaven. But at last came the festival of Pentecost. A great day in the Jewish system had arrived. The sheaves of corn, all new and golden, were offered in the Great Temple; and the little band of the believers in the new religion assembled, and felt that a crisis might be near. Then came the sound as of a mighty tempest, and yet no leaf on any tree was stirred! The sound was within; and lo ! the glistening flames of light and harmless fire rested on the brows of the Apostolic band ! Before this manifestation of the Holy Spirit, they were weak, frail men; afterwards, they were heralds of a Great King, and messengers of a Mighty Power— 106 £t0rieö autr Ccacfjtng the visible descent of the Divine Spirit under the threefold sym¬ bolisms of the "mighty rushing wind"—the tongues in shape, and of flame in form—was thus declared to the world. It was "the coming of the Holy Ghost;" and, having come to earth as a blessed influence, He still abides with us in His Church ! As we sometimes see the earth utterly parched and dried up under a long season of drought, the grass turned brown, the streams dry, all Nature languishing, and then there comes a day of rain, that cools and refreshes everything, and makes all around green and healthful, so, at various periods of the Church's history, have there been " times of refreshing," and the vineyard of the Lord has become green and luxuriant under the influence of the Holy Spirit. And by the memory of His first manifestation in the Church, and by His other gracious visitations during her history and course, we pray, " Good Lord, deliver us." QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XII. 1. Where was the Garden of Gethsemane? 2. From whom did our Lord seek sympathy ? 3. Where does Isaiah prophesy our Lord's sufferings ? 4. What does the word "passion" mean as here used? 5. Gives some types from the Old Testament of our Saviour's death ? 6. What does the shape of the Cross teach us ? 7. What do we here mean by "precious ? " 8. Describe the tomb of our Saviour ? 9. Mention the circumstances of His burial ? 10. Who were the witnesses of the Resurrection ? 11. What is the doctrinal value of the Resurrection? 12. What is the evidential value of the Resurrection ? 13. Mention the circumstances of the Ascension ? 14. Describe the Day of Pentecost ? an tbr ftttang. 107 CLAUSE XIII. "Unallttme af nur tribulation; tu all time nf nur inealtf): tu tf)£ baurnf treaty, antr tu tbr trag of jutrgmcut, gnotf Unrtf, Xjeltbcr u&" HE Litany having summed up those great events in the life of our Saviour which we venture to plead, so to speak, as arguments why our Great Mediator should aid His people, we now proceed to set forth those critical periods in human life when we have the greatest need of Divine succour. The four times during which the soul of the Christian especially needs assistance are specified as the time of tribulation, the season of prosperity, the hour of death, and the final day of judgment. First, " The time of Tribulation " is mentioned ; and the word " tribulation " is, as Archbishop Trench explains, a term full of meaning, being derived from the Latin name given to the rude implement used by the Italian farmers for threshing their corn. It was, in the days of primitive agriculture, a block of wood in which sharp flints were inserted, which, being dragged by oxen over the scattered sheaves of corn, separated the wheaten grains from the chaff and straw. Hence it was applied to signify that process of affliction and discipline whereby God improves and benefits our souls by troubles and sorrows ; separating the better part of our character from that which is foolish and frivolous, and making us, as it were, good grain, meet for the garners of Heaven. We see in life that afflictions come in turn to all men, and are sent for wise and merciful reasons, to chasten and to improve us. Hence Christianity teaches us to call them tribula¬ tions, and, as St. Paul tells us (Rom. v. 3), " tribulation worketh patience;" and the great Bishop Butler beautifully remarks that "resignation is the very atmosphere of Heaven." King David out of his own experience, tells us, " it was good that I was afflicted." And what a contrast there is between David, the self- 108 ^tortetf antf Ccacfjtng indulgent adulterer, planning the death of Uriah the Hittite, and David the fugitive, humbled and repentant, flying before the advance of his treacherous son Absalom. The way in which the spiritual life of the soul is benefitted by affliction and trials is taught us under many different figures in the Bible. The vine, by being pruned, brings forth more fruit; the precious ore is purified by the furnace-heat of suffering; the wilderness must be passed through ere the Promised Land be gained, and long years of conflict with the heathen dwellers in the land must be " fought through " ere the days of peace could come. A well-known hymn admirably points out that the beautiful carvings which adorn a palace were produced by many a stroke from the chisel and mallet; the character of the greatest Christians likewise is formed and shaped by many a painful trial and sharp time of tribulation. A quaint old author, living, no doubt, in the days when our great-great-grandmothers were skilled in producing the sweet- perfumed essence of roses, which are still found in many a tall jar of Oriental china, writes thus:—"As little children, when they see a heap of beautiful and sweet roses lying upon a table before them, and their mother goes and puts them in a mortar, and therein beats them all to pieces, the children cry out, and think the mother spoils them, though she does it merely to make a con¬ serve of them, that they be more useful and durable, thus it is that we think we have comforts like buds of roses, yet when God takes them from us we are apt to conceive that they are all spoiled and destroyed, and that we are utterly undone by it, whereas God intends it to work for our greater benefit." And how often the words of the well-known poetess come true— "That lips say ' God be pitiful,' that ne'er said 1 God be praised.' " And the time of affliction has often brought men to their knees; but not always so. There are cases where sorrow 0ii tf)c üttan£. 109 seems to harden instead of softening, and a sullen spirit of rebellion and hatred against God, to embitter the sinner's nature, instead of leading him to submission and humility. Wherefore it behoves us to pray earnestly that in the time of tribulation God would deliver us from such spiritual perils. It is true that often we cannot see how the trial that oppresses us is for our good. But here lies the work of faith and trust, whereby God helps us in the time of tribulation. An old writer says, a stick placed in the water looketh crooked, and no longer straight; but this is because we see it through the medium of the water. Even so, considering the dealings of God merely through the atmosphere of this life, many of the trials He sends seem to us unfair and unjust; but when, hereafter, viewed in the light of Heaven, we shall see that it was only the medium through which they were beheld that caused them to seem strange and distorted. Even in this world we are sometimes permitted to see how God delivers men in " the time of tribulation," and even brings good out of evil. A couple of centuries ago a party of Spaniards were on a journey through a part of South America, when one of them fell ill of fever. For some time, when unable to walk, they carried him along with them; but at length, unable to be burdened with the sick man any longer, they laid him on the ground, under a tree, with a store of food beside him, and on the edge of a pool of water, thinking he had only a few hours to live. It was a bitter feeling for the poor wretch to find himself thus forsaken, and left to die alone; but yet a further trial seemed to befall him, for, as agonized by thirst, he dragged his body, burning with fever, to the pool, he found the water was most bitter and nauseous. Compelled, however, by dire necessity, he drank deeply and often; and, strange to say, as he did so, found his pains subside, his feverish symptoms decrease, his strength return ! The tree under which he had providentially been left to die was the chinchona ; its leaves and fragments of its bark had fallen into the little pool 110 £t0rte£ antf GFeachtng of water, making it, in fact, an infusion of quinine, which restored the fever-stricken traveller, and led to the discovery of that wonderful medicine, which has, under God, saved the life of so many, and given them back health and strength. "In all time of our wealthBy the word " wealth" in Tudor English was meant welfare, or prosperity, as we may see it is so used in the Second Collect for the Sovereign in the Communion Service. It may at first seem strange to a child, that he should be taught here to pray for God's deliverance in the season of prosperity, yet the thoughtful and experienced Christian feels how much true wisdom there is in such counsel! There is even in success and prosperity a tendency in the heart to grow hard— to lose the power of sympathizing with others, and to feel less keenly than we ought that our home is not here ! There is also danger from want of watchfulness in "time of prosperity." Many a vessel has been wrecked on the smoothest sea, and in the calmest weather, because no one dreaded any disaster, no one kept accurate watch; a gentle current unperceived swept the ship a little out of her course, and with all sail set she floated straight upon some hidden mass of rugged rock, and in a few moments the voices of merriment and security were silenced, as she sank beneath the waters! There is an anecdote in Grecian history of a certain ruler of some famous city, who, in the pride of his high estate and great position, knew not of the plots of his secret foes. In the midst of his grandeur, a conspiracy was made to assassinate him. The plot, however, became known to one of his friends, who sent a special messenger with a letter to warn him; and as he was on his way, in his lofty chariot, crowned with roses, to a great banquet, the bearer of it handed him the scroll telling of the traitors'plans. But in the calm security of long-continued pros¬ perity he carelessly cast it unopened to a slave, saying, as he did so, " pleasure to-day, business to-morrow." Alas! no morrow came, for he was that very night stabbed by the daggers of the an ttjc Sitang. 111 conspirators. Equally dangerous to the soul is that time of wealth and success which makes us forget to be prayerful, and leads us to neglect self-examination! " In the hour of death, good Lord, deliver us" There is no petition in the Litany which more comes home to the heart of the Christian! The Apostolic axiom, "it is appointed unto all men to die," is acknowledged by us all ! In the far distance it is easy to regard this termination of earthly life with comparative indiffer¬ ence, but when the time comes near, even the true Christian must feel it to be a very solemn moment. Though, like good old David, he feels that God's " staff is in his hand," yet he realizes that it is " the valley of the shadow," and looking forward to this period, he prays earnestly that " in the hour," or crisis, of his departure, his Redeemer may be near! The Christian has, by God's grace, often been enabled to contemplate death with the utmost calmness. There is an anecdote told in the life of Fletcher, the once well- known Vicar of Madeley, in the last century. One day his nephew, a wild and worthless young man, entered his study, and showed him a draft for a sum of money, signed by another uncle, Colonel Fletcher. The Vicar asked to look at the paper, and when he had read it he quietly folded it up and placed it in his pocket, observing that he believed it had been extorted by threats from his brother. The young man was furious, and drawing a pistol from his pocket, pointed it at the Vicar, and declared he would shoot him at once, unless he returned the cheque. But the clergyman remained unmoved; " I am not afraid to die," he said, " but I consider it my duty to retain this paper." For awhile the youth stormed and raged, but was awed by the quiet determination of the Vicar, and at last confessed that he had extorted the money from the Colonel by a similar threat, which had intimidated the military man, though it had failed to produce any effect on the courage of the Christian, who was not alarmed at the thought of death ! Calmness and confidence have marked the closing hours of 112 JHnrtetf antf Cracljms many devoted Christians. Hooker, the great Anglican Divine, whispered, " I feel that inward peace which this world can neither give nor take away." A noble death was that of Francis Xavier, worn out by his Missionary toils, and expiring on the sea-shore of an island in the Indian Archipelago. " In Te Domine speravi," " In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped," his last words. " And now, Lord—Lord, receive my soul," was the last aspiration of the holy George Herbert. It is part of God's merciful arrangement for us that we do not know "the hour," or manner of our death. As the Rabbins amongst the Jews used to say, "God keeps in His own hands the keys of birth and of death." And our Lord Himself declares, " I am the first and the last, and have the keys of Hades and of death" (Rev. i. 18); but though we know not when "the hour" may come, we cannot prepare better for it than by always uttering with true and devout earnestness "in that hour," "good Lord, deliver us." "And in the Day of Judgment." "Tribulation" is a painful thought even to the patient Christian. "The time of wealth," a time of anxiety to the wise Christian. " The hour of death," a very serious prospect even to the man of faith ; but the anticipa¬ tion of the great " Day of Judgment " must be a very awful subject of meditation to every humble Christian, who feels that the words of the Church's confession are written over the records of the life of each of us ! " We have done the things we ought not to have done, and we have not done the things which we ought to have done!" A great soldier was able to have inscribed on his tomb, " Here lies Henry Lawrence, who tried to do his duty," which no doubt was true of the hero in regard to his country; but of how many of us, in regard to the service of God, it could not be even written with truth, that " we tried to do our duty! " So, looking forward to that solemn event—the great close and winding up of this world, the Christian must, with a deep sense of his own failures and infirmities, exclaim, " good Lord, deliver us." on tf)t lütang. 113 The subject of the Last Judgment was much in the minds of ancient Christians, and it is much to be regretted that this doctrine of the Christian faith is so little thought of. Popularly speaking, people seem to imagine that a departed soul is at once conveyed to Heaven, or Hell, and no room is left for the day of Judgment, as set forth in the Holy Scriptures ! Rather we should remember that the Bible lays down, and the Church teaches about, a mysterious intermediate state where souls await the Judgment, and where we may hope that many ignorant and irresponsible persons, like the heathen, are schooled and educated for a higher state. Even amongst the Pagans there was a belief in the doctrine of rewards and punishments. In ancient Egypt, on the tombs, and in the manu¬ scripts buried with the dead, there is found a representation of the weighing of the soul of the dead man ! When Seneca remonstrated with Nero on his crimes, he replied, "Do you think I should act thus if I believed that there were any gods?" The belief in God has ever been associated with the conviction that He will punish the guilty, and reward the righteous. The Creed of St. Athanasius sets forth this truth in the plainest of language. In the mediaeval Churches it was usual to paint over the Chancel arch this subject: Christ in majesty judging the souls of men; and the sublimest hymn ever written, the " Dies Irae," depicts its awful grandeur, and points out to us our only ground of comfort, that He who will be our Judge is that Divine Person who was our Redeemer ! Thus, though trusting fully in His mercy and com¬ passion, we should not forget that the anticipation of a coming Judgment should be a strong motive towards a holy life. In early Church History we read of "a certain Persian noble, of the name of Usthazanes, who, when the King Sapores commenced to persecute the Christians, was so terrified that he abandoned the Christian faith, which he had before held. But sitting at the gate of the court he saw one Simeon, an ancient holy Bishop, led away to prison, and, from old habit, rose up to salute him, which the bishop, observing, met with a frown, and turned away his face H I 114 £tartr£ antr Ccacbtng with indignation, as being loth to look upon a man who had denied the faith. Usthazanes fell a weeping, went into his chamber, laid aside his courtly attire, and brake out into these, or like words, 'Ah ! how shall I appear before the great God of Heaven, whom I have denied, when Simeon, but a man, will not endure to look upon me ? If he frown, how will God behold me when I come before His tribunal?' The thought of God's judgment wrought so strongly upon him that he recovered his spiritual strength, and died a glorious martyr." And the old writer of this story con¬ cludes, " Let everyone, then, in all his doings, remember his end, and so he shall never do amiss." QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XIII. 1. What is the meaning of the word "Tribulation? " 2. What is the object of trial and temptation ? 3. What is meant by wealth ? 4. Where is the word used in a similar sense in the Prayer Book ? 5. What common mistake is made in regard to the state of the dead ? 6. What is the Scriptural view of the intermediate state ? 7. What parables of our Lord allude to the Day of Judgment ? CLAUSE XIV. " Wit gtimertf tra &\)tc to hear uä, ® Hart! (golf; auti that ft may pleaöe CI)tt to rule antt gabern Cby tjoly Church uutbergal tu the rtgbt foay." ERE is another of those windings, to which we have alluded, when illustrating the progress of the Litany by comparing it with a great river's course. We now come to what are called " The Supplications, or Petitions," but we approach with deep humility. The Throne of the Great King is placed on steps, that we may kneel as we draw nigh! We acknowledge that we are " sinners," and this is in accord with the parable which tells us on tl)C ILttang. 115 how the publican found approval, who smote upon his breast, and said, " God be merciful to me, a sinner." When the offending burgesses of Calais implored pardon from the English king, they knelt before him with halters round their necks, as though con¬ scious of the just penalty they had incurred ! But realizing that as Ahasuerus held forth the golden sceptre to encourage Esther, so our Lord's sympathy is willing to listen to the petitions of the congregation, we proceed to plead for the Church, that is, for the society of Christians which our Lord founded, organized, and left to be His witness on earth. This Church has two descriptions given of it, that it is Holy, and that it is Catholic or universal. That it should be a " Holy " body needs no explanation, for it belongs to God, and as all the vessels in the Temple were to be of pure gold, so must all those who serve God be holy and devout members of His Spiritual Temple. That it should be universal,\ is its noble characteristic, in contrast with the Jewish Dispensation, when the religion of the true God was chiefly centred in one race, and its worship located at one spot. But the Church of Christ is to be found in all lands, its truths are taught in many languages, and believed in by men of various races. It may be compared to a great tree, stretching forth its branches far and wide. Even our own branch—the Church of the English tongue, has overshadowed a vast extent of territory ; and as the sunlight goes round the world, it is followed by the Mattins and Evensong of our Prayer Book. An, interesting anecdote illustrates the world-wide influence of the " universal Church." On a high hill, a couple of miles above a Yorkshire town, lived a worthy couple, who had one only son, a fine lad, who daily went down into the valley to the national school, and climbed the hill again in the evening. But one day he did not return ! How anxiously his parents waited, and after¬ wards searched for him; but no tidings could they get, save that someone had noticed some sailors in the town. 116 jg'tarteä antr Cracking Day after day passed, and two long years wore away, so slowly, so sadly, in a terrible suspense, when the postman brought a foreign letter. It was from a clergyman, who acted as Chaplain to a hospital in one of the seaport cities of Australia. He wrote at the request of a dying youth, who had been allured by some sailors to run away from home, and then there came a touching message asking for their pardon. It was sad news, but yet far better than the terrible suspense. And the next mail brought further tidings, that the sick lad had departed, but humbly repentant, receiving the Holy Communion, and trusting to meet his parents in a better life : separated by half the circuit of the globe, and yet united again in the one faith, one hope, one Sacramental grace of the universal Church. But though the Church of Jesus Christ, like her great Master, cannot die, or become fatally diseased, yet she has had seasons of torpor in her career through eighteen centuries, and dreary times of weakness and ignorance, from which it has again and again pleased Göd to restore her by His rule and governance. There was a time of great gloom and depression when, in the fifth and sixth centuries, the fierce flood of the Barbarians over¬ whelmed the most civilized parts of Europe, and, amidst the general ruin, it seemed to human foresight impossible for the Church to survive the Empire, yet God turned the hearts of the warriors of the North. For instance, Clovis, when entering on the battle of Tolbiac (a.D. 496) was yet undecided, and vowed he would, if a victor, become a Christian; and, having conquered, was im¬ mediately afterwards baptized at Rheims. These races, which had threatened to destroy Christianity, became her greatest defenders, and under the mild teaching of the Cross, learned better lessons than their old belief in Woden and Thor had ever taught them. Farther on in the history of the middle ages, when ignorance had degraded the clergy to their lowest point, and pride and riches had greatly corrupted the bishops, then God in His rule and govern¬ ment put into the hearts of many men to seek holy and useful lives on tbc SUtami. 117 in the monastic orders. Such men as St. Bernard, St. Francis, and many other souls, full of devotion to their Saviour, and love to their fellow men, lit up by their lives the gloom of sin and ignorance around. Thus, in some deep valley, or lonely spot, would be seen emerging from the shade of the primaeval wood the cowl and habit of the monastic settlers. Then the forest gave place to the field and the garden ; the shadows of the oak or willow to the arches of the cloisters; the song of the wild bird to the Chant or Psalm ; the Church, the library, the infirmary, were erected; education for the young, and help for the suffering, were freely given, and so the mighty and reviving power of the Holy Spirit throbbed through the pulses of the mediaeval Church, in an instrumentality fitted to this particular period. Again, when monasticism had lost much of its first power and usefulness; when, in the progress of time, the modern world was coming into existence, and the old learning had revived after the fall of Constantinople, another critical period arose in the history of the Church, when God's governing hand opened the great sluice gates, through which poured that tide of mingled good and evil, which easily-satisfied persons call the Reformation ; and when, in place of much that was swept away, there floated in on the minds of men the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and the common- sense system of God being publicly worshipped in the language "wherein we were born." Passing over other critical points, wherein God's hand on the helm is plainly visible, we come to that remarkable guiding by God's power of our own Church into the path and practice of devotion, which had in the last century grown cold and frozen. Could our grandfathers look into some of our Churches, which in their days were whitewashed and neglected, with high pews and heavy galleries, and the service a dull duett between parson and clerk, how surprised they would be to see the change to the beauty of holiness in many of our sanctuaries, with their painted windows, white-robed choirs, free and open seats, and kneeling 118 gtaxitä mxtr teacfjütß worshippers pouring forth their hearts in solemn music or heart- stirring hymns ! And yet this great change and movement has come within fifty years from the day on which a haughty enemy of the Church in the House of Peers scornfully bade " the Bishops set their house in order," sarcastically implying the rest of the prophetic sentence, " for thou shalt die and not live;" but God was pleased " to rule and govern His Church in the right way," and it has, therefore, prospered in the thing whereunto He sent it. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XIV. 1. What parable teaches us that to confess our sinfulness is an accept¬ able approach to God ? 2. Explain the words " universal Church," and show that the Church of Christ was such in contra-distinction to the Jewish Church ? 3. Over what portions of the world does the branch of the English Church spread her shade ? 4. Describe the Conversion of Clovis to Christianity ? 5. Describe the monastic life, and what was its work and results ? 6. What was the period of "the Reformation," its work and results? CLAUSE XV. " Efjat tt may plca£r &\)tz to top auti strengthen tu the true foor^btpptug of Cfjee, tu righteousness antr IjuItnrjEte of Itfe, Cbg ^erbaut, our mo£t grartuutf Fluren antf tSobernur." jHENweread the directions given by St. Paul (ist Epistle to Timothy ii. 1-3) for prayers and supplications to be made for those in authority and royal place, it gives great force to the Apostle's command, to remember that the imperial throne was then occupied by Nero. If it was the duty of the Christian raising "holy hands" to pray for that monster of crime and bloodshed, how much more is it right that we should ask God's blessing on Sovereigns who are not stained with iniquity, as were many of the Roman emperors ? Monarchs need prayers for two reasons. On the one hand, nit tf)t ILttanp. 119 because they are exposed to peculiar temptations from the flattery of the self-interested persons around them ; on the other hand, because their example has so much influence on others of lower station. There was, in former days, a tendency to treat kings with adulation and servility, as is illustrated by the legend of the courtiers of Canute; but in these days there is an opposite reaction, which denies to great personages the credit which they justly deserve. It may be fairly argued that kings and queens must be, on an average, quite as good and clever as other people; but it seems to an impartial reader of history that amongst the lists of royal personages more than an average can be marked out for eminent ability, piety, and other high qualities. What an example of charity was the "old English" king who ordered the food of the royal banquet to be given to the poor, and then the silver dishes on which it had been served to be broken into frag¬ ments and likewise distributed. How quaint is the anecdote told of that saint and king, Louis VII., having a poor beggar to sit at his feet at dinner time to eat the superabundance of the royal dinner, a kindness ill repaid, as we are told, by the cunning mendicant taking the opportunity to steal the golden lace from the garment of the innocent-minded king. What a picture we have of the fatherly character of the same monarch, sitting the whole day long under a great oak hearing and reconciling the differences of his subjects till he nearly fainted with hunger. Doubtless the prayers of devout people for the benefit of their Sovereigns are often answered; and the Englishman thinks with pride of the great Alfred, the wise Edward, first of that name. He sees how much his country owes to the shrewd patriotism of Elizabeth, and to the calm courage of Charles I. on the scaffold. There is an interesting anecdote told of old King George III., that, riding through Windsor Forest, he accidentally took a different road from his attendants, and was met by a little ragged 120 £tnm£ antr GTnirfjtng child, who, weeping bitterly, begged him to come to her mother's aid. The good-hearted king at once turned aside with her, and made his way to a gipsy encampment. A poor woman of that race lay dying. There was no one to attend her. But the king, jumping from his horse, raised her head upon his shoulder; and when his retinue, turning back to look for the king, found out the place, he was kneeling on the ground and tenderly supporting the poor sufferer. A deed of humanity which does him more credit than the splendid victories of some military despot. Even in the case of monarchs who have been selfish and ambitious, there are often gleams of nobility and largeness of heart that do much to redeem their characters and explain the secret of their influence. For instance, Napoleon Buonaparte acted in life too much on the same principle on which he played chess— that the rules of the game must be disregarded when his chief pieces were in danger of being checkmated. But there is a story told which shows that he could sometimes act generously. A certain high official had been found out to be carrying on a treacherous correspondence with the enemy. He was at once arrested, and his life hung in the balance. His wife, ignorant of his real guilt, made her way to the Imperial Cabinet, threw herself on the ground before the Emperor, and assured him of the perfect innocence of her husband. The Emperor handed to her a letter of her husband, which had been intercepted, and which unmistak¬ ably proved his treachery. The poor wife, now convinced of his traitorous conduct, had nothing more to plead but her tears. " Put the letter in the candle," said Napoleon kindly, "and there will be no evidence of his crime." The various blessings which we implore for our Sovereign may be distinguished and explained, each word having its force and meaning. We desire that, as the Scripture says "the hearts of kings are in the hands of the Lord" (Prov. xxi. i), so thus our Queen may be "kept and strengthened." The thought and imagery is taken on tbc Httauj). 121 from the times of defensive warfare. The castle, on which floated the royal standard, needed to be guarded night and day with the stout mail-clad men-at-arms, and if the forces of the foe drew nigh, to be further strengthened with fresh entrenchments and new bulwarks. In life, as it goes on, whether with the monarch or the peasant, each stage and season of existence brings new and different spiritual perils. The temptations of childhood cease to have power, but those of youth rise in their place. " Grown-up life," advancing years, old age, have all their own difficulties and their own peculiar dangers, so that we ever need to have our souls u kept " and garrisoned, by God's help, and as the attacks of our ghostly enemy alter or grow more fierce, to be "strengthened" the more against them. What a noble commencement of his reign was made when the late Czar of Russia, in the grand Cathedral of St. Petersburg, pro¬ nounced the decree which gave liberty to two millions of serfs. Alas ! not being "kept and strengthened,"as he might have sought to be, this reign closed in gloom and terror, when the mangled body of the most powerful ruler in the world, torn and bleeding from the explosion of the dynamite conspirators, was carried into one of his splendid palaces, only to die in agony. There are two respects in which we pray that our Chief Ruler may be "kept and strengthened," "in true worshipping of God," by which we must understand right and sincere views of religion, as understood by the head, and accepted by the heart; and " right¬ eousness and holiness of life," by which is meant the framing of the life and actions in accordance with the commands of Christ our Lord. Too often kings have professed great zeal for the true faith, fought battles, and spent blood and treasure in religious wars, whilst their lives were utterly untouched by its power and influence ! Louis XI. used to go about with his hat surrounded by little images of the Madonna and Saints, before which he prayed most devoutly, but his conduct was full of meanness, cruelty, 122 ^tnrietf aufc &cacl)tntarte£ ants Crac!)tng CLAUSE XX. " 5Tl)at tt map please Cljce ta mtfur tbe EarUö af tt)r Council, a»fc all t$ofnlttg, frittl) flracc, totetrom, antr untertftanlrtttß." T is not the will of God that all men should be equal in rank. He has created men with natural inequalities. Some are tall, some short; some can see almost any distance, some are short-sighted, some even are blind! And men's minds are as various and unequal in their powers as are their bodies. It is impossible to deny that some are born to rule, and some to obey; but Christianity supplies something far better than an imaginary equality, namely, the brotherly love which those feel who own one great Father in Heaven—the sympathy which those feel for one another, who realize that they are redeemed by the same loving Saviour. So that "the brother of low degree rejoices that he is exalted, and the rich in that he is made low ;" each alike acknowledging that the wise and just hand of God has placed them in that relation toward one another which is best for their eternal welfare. Moreover, the reader of history sees how God has arranged men in various ranks and orders for their good, giving to some an influ¬ ence and power over others which has often been exercised for their common benefit. Thus, in the conversion of the Northern nations, it was often the example of some king, which induced the circle of his chieftains to follow him to the font, and be baptized. Some would say this was a mere outward form, but not so, when men learned to put before them, as the object of their worship, not the bloodthirsty Woden, but the gentle Redeemer, who died forgiving His enemies. What a picture of the transition state of those fierce souls is the anecdote of the Frankish Chief, who, hearing with rapt interest the history of the Saviour's Crucifixion, at length burst out, " If I and ten thousand of my Franks had been there we 0tt ti)f üttaiiin 141 would not have let Him suffer ! " But where there are ranks and classes of men, it is natural that the governors of a people should be selected out of the number of those who are most influential by wealth, intellect, or station. We pray "for the Lords of the Council," and the expression here, and in the Church Militant prayer, carries us back in its form of words to the mode of govern¬ ment in the Tudor days. From the earliest times our kings used to gather round them some of their favourite nobles, and to these they added the advice of some of those reputed to be wisest, when cases were brought before the royal court to be settled. There is an ancient illuminated MS., which has a very early picture of the monarch in robes and sceptre, sitting with his chief advisers around him. The royal court in those days went from place to place. The king spent Easter in one city, Christmas in another, receiving all the homage and gifts he could get, and administering rude justice to claimants. The nobles in attendance on the king gradually became his counsellors, and thus grew up the arrangement of a body of favourite courtiers, or specially influential nobles, who conducted the affairs of the country. The early Parliaments seem chiefly to have confined their work to granting money, or passing laws, and were of very short duration, and it was by very slow degrees that the present plan of conducting public affairs grew up. The privy council seems to have conducted the business of the country, its members being chosen by the Crown. At length the governing work was given to a few statesmen, called "the Cabinet," which was selected out of the larger num¬ ber of Councillors. "The Cabinet," so called from the idea of a small body of the king's friends sitting in his private closet, formed a party in Parliament to support their views. But at length it was found practically impossible for a Govern¬ ment to rule, unless supported by a parliamentary majority, that majority being supposed to represent the wishes of the country. And so, after the time of King George III. we come 142 anfc ÜTeachinß to the present arrangement, when the Sovereign requests some leading statesman, who is supposed to have the confidence of a large section, if not the majority, of the House of Commons, to act as first Minister of the Crown, and fill up from his followers the chief offices of the State ; these persons are called "the Ministry," and may be looked upon as answering to the expres¬ sion, " the Lords of the Council," in the Litany. They hold a very important and responsible position. Wise statesmen have done much for the greatness and glory of their native land, and our country can reckon many such. The wisdom of Cecil, during his long administration of forty years, was the great strength of Queen Elizabeth's reign. Often he withstood the violent spirits who would have plunged the country into war. A favourite maxim of his was : "War is the curse, Peace the blessing of God, upon a nation ;"—" that a realm gains more by one year's peace than by ten years' war !" There is an anecdote about him that in the Council, when Essex was strongly urging on the war with Spain, Cecil took from his pocket the Book of Common Prayer, and in silence pointed to the words, " Men of blood shall not live out half their days !" The word endue, which we use in this petition, means " to put on;" "to clothe;" and this expression gains force when we remember that by the old Plantagenet times the nobles of the realm had their dignity conferred by the king girding on the sword, and putting on a cap of fur under a coronet of gold, when he created a Duke. This was called " the investiture," or solemn dressing; and still at a coronation they wear robes of velvet, lined with white, and trimmed with ermine. But the Litany desires for them better things, "the enduing" "with grace, wisdom, and understanding." By grace is meant that help which the Holy Ghost bestows ; by wisdom that knowing the right rules of conduct so needful for those in high places; and here we are reminded of Solomon's choice, when he asked of God, " Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out nit tf)£ ILttanp» 143 and come in before this people" (2 Chron. i. 7-13); and with " understanding" that is, with the application of that know¬ ledge of what is right to all the practical matters of daily life. Amongst the list of England's nobility have been many names remarkable for goodness and piety—responses to this constantly offered prayer. For instance, there was a nobleman, Lord Wharton, who left an estate to buy Bibles for poor children, in the North of England—a bequest still religiously observed ; or we might speak of that Earl of Shaftesbury who identified himself with the Ragged School Movement, and many other philanthropic efforts ; and if we go back we find innumerable instances of good works originated by our ancient nobles. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XX. 1. Are all men intended by God to be of equal rank ? 2. Why has God placed men in different ranks and conditions ? 3. What is the real use of rank and wealth ? 4. How has the inequality of men promoted the early spread of Christ¬ ianity ? 5. What was the origin of the Royal Council ? 6. What was the Tudor method of Government ? 7. What is the present system ? 8. Whom do we pray for as " Lords of the Council ? " 9. The meaning of the word "endue? " 10. The difference between "wisdom" and "understanding?" CLAUSE XXI. "ftljat tt map ptrasc to autf kcrp tf)£ jWagtetrateg, cjtbtns tficm firace ta ejreatte jutfttce antr tn maintain trutfj." HEN we read the history of our old kings before the Norman times we find that the king was supposed to decide on difficult cases, just as the question of the two children was brought before Solomon in the Bible narrative. He usually kept around him in his Court learned men to advise him, and as the Court moved from place to place he 144 gtorietf ami GTeacbutfl administered justice in different localities. But it was soon found convenient to appoint judges to represent the monarch, though the highest court was still called "The King's Bench." The judges used to go on circuit round the country, and as the roads were in these days too bad for wheeled carriages, they went on horseback. An old version of the Litany alludes to this, " That Almighty God may send them grace so to govern and ride the land." By the word " magistrates" here used may be understood all who hold office under the Sovereign to act as judges and magistrates. No greater curse can befall a country than when the fountains of justice are poisoned by bribery and corruption. This causes the greatest suffering and oppression in the East, where the guilty can often escape punishment by paying the judge; and law suits are settled, not by equity, but by bribes. Against this evil system the Old Testament prophets speak out very strongly. Even in England, the great Bacon, philosopher as he was, did not escape the influence of evil customs, and was at length dismissed for receiving gifts from suitors. Of our celebrated English lawyers, we have alluded to Judge Gascoigne elsewhere, who had the courage to rebuke Prince Henry. Another was the famous Sir Matthew Hale, whose lines are often quoted— " A Sunday well spent Brings a week of content, And health for the toils of the morrow; But a Sunday profaned, whate'er may be gained, Is the certain forerunner of sorrow." That, too, was a noble decision of an English magistrate, who declared that no slave could exist in our land; and thus, by stepping on England's shore, the slave became free. We ask for our judges and magistrates two things—"grace to execute justice," and "grace to maintain truth." Often on Itjc ftitani). 145 justice is foiled by the cunning of some evil-doer ; and it requires the greatest skill to unravel the tangled skein of some dark series of crimes. It is, therefore, well for us to pray that grace—that is, Divine aid—may be given to those who have to sit in judgment, and on whose fiat hangs life or death. Some years ago, for instance, there was a question before the court of the genuineness of a will. The judge was convinced that it was a forgery, and yet there was nothing in the evidence to prove it false. In vain the judge examined the document. All seemed perfect and in order, and the signatures seemed indisputable. But at length an idea suddenly flashed across his mind. He held up the paper to the light, and looked at the water-mark in the paper, which is usually impressed with the date. That date he carefully examined, and saw that it was of later date than the time men¬ tioned in the will as the period of its signature. Thus it was proved to be a forgery, and the wicked plot was discovered by this acute thought of the judge. There is a curious Oriental story how the keen-wittedness of a child led to a right decision being made by a court of justice. The Caliph of Bagdad was puzzled one day as he sat on the judgment-seat, by the counter-claims of two applicants. Ali said he had, before starting on a three years' journey, left a jar of dates with his neighbour, Cogia, to be kept till he came back, but he concealed below the fruit a sum of money. On his return he received back the jar, quite full, and apparently untouched, but the gold was gone. Cogia denied that he had ever opened the earthen vessel. Both protested vehemently their truthfulness. The Caliph deferred judgment, but pondered over the matter. He was, the tradition says, in the habit of wandering about in disguise through the main streets of Bagdad, and in an open space he paused to watch a group of boys at play. " We will play at judge and prisoners," said one. "Yes," cried another, "we will try over the hard case which everybody in the city says puzzled the Caliph the other day." So the children went through the K 146 £t0rirj9 auft Ccacljtug mimicry of the court, appointed one as judge, and others to act as Ali and Cogia. And when they had stated each their side of the question, the child who was judge said, "Where is the jar of dates ? " They " made believe " to bring it. Then the pretended judge gave orders, "Summon hither several date merchants, and let them give evidence if the dates are four years old, as Cogia declares, untouched since he received them, for if not, it is a proo I that the jar has been tampered with, and Ali has been robbed of his store of money." The Caliph had been listening unnoticed by the young folks, and at once perceived that the boy had struck out a method of discovering the truth in this difficult case. It is God who bestows on men the intelligence needful to meet the schemes of evil persons, and to protect the rights of the innocent. The quick and easy administration of justice has ever been a great boon to the poor and oppressed. Thus we find there is in the ancient city of Bristol a court of justice which has existed from the oldest times, which is called the Court of Pie-Poudre, that is, of the dusty foot, for it was instituted to meet the wants of the traffickers at the great fairs, and held originally in the open air, to meet the wants of those who came all dusty-footed to ask immediate settlement of their disputes. Of the rankling and evil effects of bad judges we read in the history of the sons of Samuel, (i Sam. viii. 3.) QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXI. 1. What is meant by magistrates ? 2. Examples of conduct of English judges ? 3. Sir Matthew Hale's advice ? 4. Why do judges need " grace ? " 5. What old form of Litany alluded to their circuits ? 6. What was the most ancient form of the " King's Bench Court ? " 7. What was the accusation against the sons of Samuel ? on tfie ftttany. 147 CLAUSE XXII. " tt mag ptatfe GTbrc to fcle££ antr keep all CI)£ $zo#\z." HE Litany having prayed for those on the throne and in the palace, for the ordained ministers of God in the threefold order of the clergy, for the councillors and statesmen of the realm, and for all who administer law and justice, then implores the blessing of Heaven on the multitude, on the dwellers in the land who belong to none of the classes before-named, but who are the great majority—the masses of the people, as we say now-a-days. We should here remark that "the people" are named as God's people. At the time these words were written in the Prayer Book the English people were all baptized. The mournful neglect of baptism is a great evil in the present day. The effect of baptism is to put the infant into covenant with God. In baptism we become His people. In one of Cicero's fine orations he eloquently describes how it was the pride of the Roman people to be the citizens of so great a city and empire, to be able to say, " Civis Romanus Sum," and that whenever they met with ill-treatment or oppression they fell back on this proud position, that they were Roman citizens, and that all the force and power of that mighty empire would be sum¬ moned to avenge their wrongs. But far higher and nobler is the position of the baptized member of Christ's kingdom. For him the Saviour has died. To him the grace of God the Holy Ghost is given. He is a soldier who fights under the eye of a Heavenly King. He is a servant who works for a Divine Master. An old writer describes how the Christian can look around on all nature and admire its beauties with keener enjoyment than others, for He feels that it is his Father in Heaven who made and owns it all. To be God's people is a high privilege, but it demands the high 148 &taxitä nnts GTrarfjtnfl standard of a holy life. There is a great deal of meaning in the old French saying, " Noblesse oblige," that is, if we claim a noble position, we must live worthy of it. If we rejoice to think that God is in a special manner regarding us as His people, then we must seek His glory and the spread of His kingdom. What a striking scene is that which the historian describes of Columbus, after his long and toilsome voyage, reaching the first land of the New World, and leaving the weather-beaten " Caraval," attired in scarlet, and holding the Royal Standard of Spain, and after the keel of his galley had grated on the shore of the strange land, kneeling down to thank God, and rising up to plant the banner of his country in the soil, and thus claiming possession of the new territory in the name of his Sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella ! Just so should we strive to promote Christ's kingdom, to enroll new souls under His banner. To name only one example, how much might be done by Sunday Scholars and Sunday School teachers to ensure the baptism of infants ? How many parents neglect this holy Sacrament through mere indolence ? How often the offer of some kind-hearted Christian to act as sponsor would ensure the little one being brought to the holy font ! How well it would be to form a guild and confraternity having for its object the seeking out of the unbaptized infants, and supplying them with watchful Godparents. How many might, like Columbus, place a new island of an individual life under the care of Christ our King, and over a freshly-added soul might float the banner of His love, expanding under the breath of the Divine Spirit. But if we consider the petition that God would " bless His people " in this land in an historic sense, and reflect how it has been answered, what cause we have for grateful reflection. We see a land where justice is done to the poor and weak ; where, by the law of the land, no man in real want can be refused food and shelter; where there is provision made for the aged and the help¬ less ; where there are free hospitals for the diseased, asylums for the insane ; together with a multitude of voluntary efforts to help nil tfje ILttang. 149 the distressed, such as orphanages, almshouses, and charitable societies. A country which is divided into parishes, each with an appointed clergyman to shepherd the souls therein, with a House of God in its midst, always with some, often with many, services, prayers and Eucharists offered within the walls of that Sanctuary. A nation where the influence of our Lord's teaching has made a remarkable interflow of sympathy between all classes. These benefits result from God's blessing the work of His Church and answering our prayers; and we here fervently ask that He would both bless and " keep" or protect His people by preserving and prolonging the enjoyment of these blessings. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXII. 1. What makes a nation God's people ? 2. Into what relation to God does baptism place us ? 3. Why does this petition come in this place? 4. What gives the petition an individual character ? 5. In what ways can we enlarge the number of God's people? 6. Name some of the principal blessings which God has given England as a nation ? 7. As a Church ? 8. Meaning of "keeping" His people? CLAUSE XXIII. " Cljat tt mag plratfc 5Tfjec to cjtbe to all natianä unttg, peace, attft cournrtr." F we picture to ourselves in a Church standing on the edge of the shore, the worshipper raising his eyes, and looking forth through the window, he sees the wide expanse of the sea, and beyond this he knows that there are other lands, with men of different tongues and diverse races. Many of their nations, he knows, belong to the Christian Faith, and bound as those dwellers beyond the sea are to us in the bands of a common humanity, and some by the closer tie of a common religion, he feels that the Litany is right to pray for cc all nations." The child, as he listens 150 gtavizä antr to these words, will naturally think of men of varied colour ; of the red Indian, and the swarthy Turk, or the yellow-faced Chinese, and the coal black negro in the centre of Africa. The thoughtful man will reflect on the curious fact in history that the spirit of nationality has survived the efforts of conquerors and lawgivers. One great distinction between the ancient and the modern world is, that the notion of a single universal empire has so wholly disappeared. There was a time when the sway of Nebuchadnezzar extended over the most populous regions of the earth. His sceptre passed into the hands of Cyrus and the Persians, to be succeeded by the fiery conquest of the young Alexander. Then on the ruins of the Greek supremacy rose the majestic form of imperial Rome. The results of which Empire are still felt, yet in its decay the separate nations of Europe emerged from the flood which over¬ whelmed the past. This remarkable change was clearly foretold by the Prophet Daniel. He explains the vision of the great statue, with its golden head, silver chest, brazen loins, and iron limbs turning into clay (Dan. ii.), as the course of the four great Empires, and the remarkable way in which the might and strength of Rome separated into the European nations, as, for the most part, we see them now existing. Once, by means of one language, and the same kind of money, and under the same laws, and over the same system of roads, a traveller might journey from the shore of the Tay to the cataracts of the Nile. Now he must use many languages and many different coinages, and pass through the dominions of many rulers. Every¬ where we read and hear of nations, nowhere of an universal empire over the civilized world. And this breaking up of mankind into different bodies, having often opposing interests, makes it easy for wars and conflicts to arise. Hence the greater need for prayer in the followers of the " Prince of Peace." History records, since the days when our Litany was first sung in its English form, many a terrible war amongst the nations. Such was the dreadful struggle called " The 151 thirty years' war," when the Palatinate, the most fertile part of Germany, a rich plain, smiling with cornfields and vineyards, and thickly inhabited with prosperous peasants, was rendered a perfect wilderness, and utterly ravaged by fire and sword. Then there was another conflict, which was called " The seven years' war." A painter has executed a picture of war times, in which he shows what no doubt was a common sight either in "the thirty years" or "the seven years' war." A pretty cottage is on fire, the flames bursting through the thatch; a band of foreign soldiers are riding through the trampled cornfields, and driving before them a miserable band of captives—men, women, and children—bound with cords. Around lie many dead bodies, and from a tree is swinging the corpse of a man who has been hung, perhaps the owner of the little farm. But often the horrors of war are intensified by religious hatred. The followers of Mahomet have attacked Europe with fanatic fury. It was a terrible time when the citizens of Vienna looked forth from their walls and saw everywhere around the black tents of the Turkish army. Day by day their fears grew stronger, their hopes weaker. The Emperor came not to their relief. The siege became closer, food became scarcer, and fighting men died on the walls or in the sorties. They had sent messengers to brave old Sobiesky, the King of Poland to come to their aid ; but day went past after day, and no help came. When all their hopes had nearly faded into despair, the watchman from the tall spire of St. Stephen's Cathedral, whose weary eyes had long watched in vain, saw the signal fires begin to blaze on the distant hills, and the morning sunlight glistened on the far-off lances of the brave Poles drawing near to their deliver¬ ance. From that day the advance of the Turks has ceased. They have been driven back towards the confines of Europe, and that great continent is for the most part under the influence of the Cross. The different sections of Christendom have, to their shame, fought with one another with almost equal rancour. Religious wars are the blackest pages in all history. 152 £t0rtr£ antf (Teach ma " - ä ' " ~ a - - - ' - - -.5 *2 e- Our Lord's solemn prayer was tor His people that 'l they might be one," and the Church re-echoes the Saviour's aspiration that to the nations might be given unity, the blessed power of spiritual vision to see all truth on the same side and in the same light. And by unity the Litany here means oneness in religion. But how many divisions and dissensions still require us to pray for " Unity" as well as "Peace" amongst even our neighbouring "Nations." And for the nations individually we ask that they may dwell "in concord;" for civil war is a most terrible curse, when families and neighbours are divided, and perhaps meet sword in hand! Concord signifies being all of one heart. There used to be gold rings made for gifts, and their form was that of two hearts joined together on a gold hoop—an emblem of Concord. For this precious blessing for all nations, that they may be preserved from fierce internal struggles, we therefore humbly pray at the close of this clause. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXIII. 1. A great difference between the ancient and the modern world ? 2. What preceded, and what has followed, the existence of great empires ? 3. What were the four great empires of antiquity ? 4. Who described them in prophecy, and how ? 5. What were some of the most celebrated wars of modern times ? 6. When, and how, did our Lord pray for Unity ? 7. What most stopped the invasion of Europe by Mahometans ? 8. Derivation of " Concord ? " CLAUSE XXIV. " STIjat tt may pica£e QLfytt tcr jjthe u£ a Ijeart 10 labt antr trreati Cljer, antr tftltjjently 10 Itbe after Cljy Commantrmente." N the first place, remark here a proof of that knowledge of the human heart, which was a special possession of the theologians of old. That whilst we are thinking of the spiritual state of others, we are apt to be filled with self- on tt)t 3Utait£. 153 pride, and forget our own weak points and need of improvement. From praying for and thinking about all nations, their ignorance, their bloodshed, their feuds and misery, perhaps with somewhat of that insular vanity which has ever been the failing of John Bull, the Litany, with a sudden change, turns our thoughts upon ourselves, and tells us to ask for a " heart," that is a spiritual state or frame of feeling, which should be full of the "love and fear" of God. What our feelings ought to be towards God we are told in the words of our Saviour. (St. Mark xii. 30.) We may not be able, through the weakness of our nature, to live up to this noble ideal of man's relation to his Great Maker, but we must seek to rise to it, if not here fully, yet hereafter in a higher degree. " When I see Thee as Thou art, I'll praise Thee as I ought." But it is a lower step in the religious life, and one to which we all may attain—to reverence God—which is the meaning of the word " dread," as here employed, for the Christian's motive is higher than a mere selfish dread. It is not the feeling of the slave crouching before the lash, but the awe and reverence which a good son feels towards a wise father. And this spirit of deep reverence ought to be felt towards all connected with God—His Holy House, His Day, His Name, His Sacraments, His Book, His Ministers. In the early churches there was an outward porch, called the Narthex, which was entered before coming into the church itself. So there ought to be a space for thought and solemnity before we rush into the immediate presence of the Most High. Whilst all laughter and worldly talk is indecent within sacred walls ! The Holy Name of our blest Redeemer should never be re¬ peated lightly or carelessly. The well-known Dr. Johnson never repeated God's name with¬ out uncovering his head. It is painful to hear our Saviour's name often so carelessly used. The apostles, after His ascension, 154 ^torträ anü flTeacl)tnjj seem to have spoken of Him generally as the Lord Jesus; and we should remember that in the original Greek the article always precedes the name. It is "The Jesus," and there is none of that apparent familiarity which misleads readers of the English translation, and which has perhaps sometimes led persons to forget that He who was made man for our salvation is also God. The Seventh Canon of 1640 wisely advises us to show our reverence to our Lord's name by bowing our heads as we utter it or listen to its mention. With regard to God's Book, so ill-treated because it is bought so cheaply, the Mahometans might give us an example, who will not wantonly destroy any fragment of paper, for they say the name of God may be written on it. With regard to the Lord's Day, many of the present disputes about its observance might be settled by remembering that our Saviour has claimed it as His own, and therefore it is not well to look upon it as our own, as the self-indulgent spirit of the age seems to wish. Those solemn Sacraments, which the Lord Himself has ordained by outward sign and symbol, meeting the requirements of a being who is compounded of body and soul, should ever be treated with the utmost reverence ! No wonder men's respect for these holy institutions grew cold, when the old stone font was turned into a receptacle for candle ends, torn books and rubbish, and baptism was administered from a little crockery basin, put on the Altar Table ! Or that a rickety table, a ragged cloth, a common black bottle for a flagon, and a rare performance of the holy rite, led to persons forgetting the importance of the sacred Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. There is an interesting story told of a heathen king who sent two of his chieftains to the Court of the powerful Frankish King at Paris, who were to bring back an account of the new religion. They returned, and told of the solemn services they had witnessed. DU tbe Httany. 155 The Bishop in his gorgeous vestments and glittering mitre, the sacred vessels of precious metals gleaming with jewels, the clouds of fragrant incense floating round the representation of the Cruci¬ fied God, and above all the intense devotion with which the powerful King himself knelt in prostrate adoration. And they reasoned—"how mighty must be the Divine Being, before whom the powerful Monarch of the Franks thus bows with such dread, and whom he serves with such magnificence ! Our counsel is that we should follow his example." We may rest assured that "a heart" full of "love and dread," or reverence to God, will not only yield peace to ourselves, but also exercise a powerful influence over others to lead them towards devotion and piety. But the clause we are considering goes on, as it should do, to remind us of practical duties—" to live diligently " after, or accord¬ ing to God's "commandments." The word "diligently " comes from a Latin one, signifying " loving or choosing," and the idea is that a man applies himself with the greatest energy to that work which he himself chooses or loves. Nothing is commoner than to hear said of a man, " his heart is in his work." So we should not do our duty coldly, but love to do it. It is related of a good old judge, Sir John Branston—who, in the time of Cromwell, withdrew into private life, and was attended on his deathbed by one of the persecuted clergy of the Church— the Divine was using the Litany, and came to this part of the prayers, "diligently to live after Thy commandments." "Ah," said the dying judge, " what a word is that diligently ! " as con¬ science suggested how much was implied in the expression. Keble, annotating on this clause, reminds us of the plain direc¬ tion of our Saviour to the young men, if thou would'st enter into life keep the commandments (Luke xviii. 18-27), and points out that dutiful children do not choose which of their parents' com¬ mands they will mind, but strive to obey all. There is a story that the holy Leighton, Archbishop of Glasgow, was once, in very lowly attire, overtaken by night in a journey, and 156 £?t0rifö an & Cmljtnfl sought refuge in a small farmhouse. He was kindly received, and after supper sat with the family round the fireside. The pious master of the house, as was his custom, began to catechise his children and the farm servants, and, as the questions went round, the inquiry came in turn to the stranger, " How many command¬ ments ? " to which the traveller's answer was "eleven," replying, to their surprise, by quoting, " A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another" (St. John xiii. 34); so the rustics found out they had a theologian in the "inglenook." This in¬ junction to Christian charity, which is the sum of all the second table is perhaps the hardest to obey! QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXIV. 1. How did our Lord sum up the Ten Commandments ? 2. What does " dread " here mean ? 3. How should we show our reverence in Church ? 4. How should we show our reverence towards God's Holy Name ? 5. How should we show it as regards His Day ? 6. How as regards the Sacraments of the Church ? 7. Give the derivation and meaning of " diligently ? " CLAUSE XXV. 44 Chat tt mag please CI)zz tn gtbt t0 all Chg peaple tncrtatfe nf flratz ta hear mrrklg Chg Mtortr, antr t0 xztzibz tt fotth purz affection, antr ta fcrtng forth the fruits of the Jrptrtt." N annotating on this passage, Keble points out that we are making an advance on the preceding prayer. Then we ask for a heart or disposition to live accord¬ ing to God's laws. Here we go on to implore help for further progress in the Christian life. For this intended march forward on the battlefield of an earnest Christian life, we make preparation by seeking for an " increase " or addition of " grace." " Grace " seems to mean favour or kind¬ ness, with the further idea that it is given freely, unbought and undeserved. 0ii tbe ftttaug. 157 The story of good Queen Elizabeth, of Hungary, taking up in her arms the loathsome and shrunken form of a leper, and carry¬ ing him with much exertion into one of the rooms of her stately Castle, is a faint reflection of the compassion which the Lord on High bestows on the sin-diseased souls of men, and on whom He bestows the invigorating power of the Divine Spirit. The additional help we ask for is to enable us to do these speci¬ fied duties ; to hear meekly, to receive rightly, and to use profitably God's message or revelation, which we briefly name His Word. If asked what was meant by God's "Word," many would at once answer, the Bible, but Christians place themselves at a dis¬ advantage with the assailant of our Holy Faith, who argue from the Bible only, and forget that there are other ways in which God has also revealed His Will and Nature to us. The Book of Nature is written also for our instruction, and the records of history for our edification, and the living and undying Church whispering to us in her old age the lessons the apostles and martyrs taught her in primitive days. In all these ways God speaks to listening souls. The Bible may well be compared to organ music—in that noble instrument are many pipes, some large and some small, all have their place and purpose, but all are breathed through by the same air. Thus the breath of the Divine Spirit influenced the individuality of the divine writers of Holy Scripture, and produced the grand music of their writings. In the Bible, omitting for a moment the Apocryphal, or rather Deutero-canonical Writings, are 66 books, written by many men of different ages, ranks, and characters, the period of the writings extending over many hundred years. Sometimes infidels attack this wonderful collection of inspired writings, and attempt to point out errors and mistakes. The Christian can find a reply to their attacks by remembering, firstly, that the Bible nowhere promises that it should be kept free from the accidents which happen to other ancient manuscripts; 158 antr Csarijtnjj secondly, that parts of it are matters of revelation, in which God speaks directly, while other portions are inspired only, such as historical accounts; and thirdly, that the Christian religion rests wholly on facts. Were it possible for the Bible to be des¬ troyed, the Church of Jesus Christ would still remain as His representative ! To " hear meekly " points to the duty of receiving the instruc¬ tion contained in the Bible in a meek and peaceable spirit. There was once a very self-opinionated old lady, who laid down her views and opinions very strongly, and when a passage from one of the Epistles was quoted in direct contradiction of what she had stated, she coolly replied, " Ah, that's where St. Paul and I differ." It is one of the glories of the Church of England that she loves to read the Scriptures aloud to her people daily and in their own language. Next to listening comes the duty of receiving with "pure affection" the teaching of God which has been well explained, " with a single and simple purpose to please Him." Often may be seen the gardener's effort in very dry weather to water some plant, but the ground is so hardened that the water will not soak into it, but runs off; and so, too, in the parable of the sower we read of the seed which fell on the hard ground. " Pure affection " means a disposition of mind not hardened or embittered, or twisted in a wrong direction, but healthily open to receive good impressions. There is a story told of one of Spain's great painters, Velasquez, that he had a slave, an Indian boy, employed in his studio to rub the paints, and do similar work ; but the lad, his mind open to ambition, determined both to become a painter and to obtain his freedom. Secretly, and very stealthily, he watched the artist and his pupils, and learned to paint. Often the king himself visited the studio of Velasquez, and had the pictures, finished and in progress, placed before him. Amongst a on fyt Uttang. 159 number of his master's canvasses the youth had concealed one of his own. On the next royal visit this was turned over for inspec¬ tion. "This is no work of thine, Velasquez," said the king ; but at that instant the slave fell at the feet of the king, and explained his efforts with the brush, and implored his liberty. " The sons of art should be free," answered the king; and, having obtained his freedom, the youth pursued the study of art, and rose to be a successful artist. So should we, by nature slaves to evil, seek ever to imitate the work and life of our Lord and Master, painted as it is in Divine colours, and so shall become at length freed from all bondage of sin, and followers of His life. Lastly, we have " to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit,"—an image often found in Scripture, where man is compared to a tree, either fruit-bearing and useful or else barren and worthless. The typical history of the fig-tree on the road to Jerusalem, and various other passages, will at once recur to the mind as illustrating the words of this passage. (St. Matt.vii. 18, 19; St. Mark xi. 13, 14, 20.) But there is sometimes a temptation to acknowledge the general duty, and yet to excuse ourselves on the ground that we can do so little. But the smallest effort made in God's service— even giving a cup of cold water—shall not pass unnoticed and unrewarded. • There was once a poor widow, living in a small seaside village in Scotland, who maintained herself with great difficulty by spinning. Her husband, a fisherman, had been drowned by his boat striking against a dangerous rock at the entrance of the harbour. Gladly would she have erected a lighthouse on the spot to save others. But this was impossible ; but she did' what she could. She worked an hour longer every day at her wheel to enable her to buy a candle, which nightly she lit and placed in the uncurtained window of the cottage, high on the cliff, that at least the fisher boats out late on stormy nights might have some little beacon to guide them homewards. 160 ants Cracbtng QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXV. 1. What is the Scriptural meaning of the word " grace ? " 2. Into how many books is the Bible usually divided ? 3. To what different ranks and occupations did the writers belong? 4. What are the Deutero-canonical books of the Bible ? 5. What is meant by affection ? 6. In what passage of Scripture is the Christian compared to a fruit tree ? 7. What parable and what miracle illustrates this comparison ? 8. Where are the " fruits of the Spirit " enumerated by St. Paul ? CLAUSE XXVI. " €f)at tt mag plea<& QLtyz ta bring tntn tf)£ foag oi trutf) an tfuri) atf f)abr rrrrtr an ft arr trrmbetr." N explaining this passage the author of the " Christian Year" says, "After praying for all people that they may become good, and then that they may go on better and better, we proceed to pray for different sorts of persons who more particularly need our prayers," and amongst them first are placed wanderers in spiritual matters— those who have lost the right road in things religious, and who, therefore, although they themselves perhaps are ignorant of their danger, do indeed require our sympathy and prayers. The pure faith of our Blessed Lord is here regarded as a road— the way of truth firm and well made, straight as an arrow across the marshes of doubt and over the hills of difficulty, like one of the famous old Roman roads, which crossed the country direct, and turned aside for no obstacles. The Litany here meets that growing error of our times—that we cannot know what is truth. We must struggle against that mental indolence, which says, "Truth may or may not lie at the bottom of the well, but we shall not take the trouble of drawing it up." on tf)c Ettsng. 161 Everywhere God rewards labour, and there will be no exception in this case. The honest quest after truth will meet with its guerdon. But there are many who have lost their way; some through ignorance, and some who have been deceived by false lights, and led astray by untrustworthy guides. Many are the stories which travellers relate of the perils of leaving the right path. A visitor recently arrived in New Zea¬ land, ascended to the top of a mountain overgrown with the huge ferns of that country. He had climbed up by a winding road, cut through the bushwood, and was advised by the rest of his party to return by the same circuitous route; but he was tempted to make a short cut, and go straight down the side of the moun¬ tain. So he started, and went on rapidly for awhile, but soon he found that the ferns of New Zealand were far taller than those of England. They rose over his head. They shut out light and air. Beneath their palm-like leaves the heat was suffocating, and soon he panted for breath. To retrace his steps was impossible. He could not see in any direction, but tried to follow the rapid slope of the ground, hoping to meet some open space. But his progress among the innu¬ merable tall stems of the ferns was necessarily slow. The ground was so steep, it was difficult to keep on his feet, and in the dim green twilight he felt himself getting more and more exhausted; and when, in a fainting condition, he emerged at last on to a pathway, he had bitterly regretted his folly in wandering from the usual road. Self-pride and self-interest have often made foolish and am¬ bitious men seek to be religious leaders. Mahomet has had his myriads of followers, and perhaps the portion of truth in his system, like salt, has preserved the rest from decay. But how mean and degraded does his religion appear, when compared with the pure and lofty teaching of our Saviour! Mahomet lowered his system to suit the fallen passions of men. Our L 162 started antr Cfacbtiig Redeemer raises men by the moral lever of His Gospel to aspire to higher things. Because one of his wives refused to believe in his prophetic character, Mahomet, in his Koran, excludes women from Heaven. How mean a revenge. Yet in this false prophet tens of thousands yet believe; and we can, on account of their bigoted and exclu¬ sive pride, do little beyond praying for them that God would bring them into the way of truth. To "err" means to wander, to go astray, and the Church is full of pity for those in this condition. Thompson, the poet, has, in one of the most touching passages in "The Seasons," described the poor labourer perishing in the snow. He has, in the deep snowdrifts, mistaken the path ; and though he sees in the far distance the light of his cottage, he can no longer struggle on, but sinks, exhausted, to die within sight of home. So, even within earshot of our Church bells, often there are dwelling those who have erred, or who have been deceived. We should not regard such cases with apathy. Books, papers, con¬ versation are all useful in undeceiving those who have been mis¬ led with false views on religious matters, and such efforts, when accompanied by prayer, may be crowned with success. Bishop Butler, the great pride of the Church as a philosophic writer and defender of Christianity, was a youth brought up out¬ side the pale of the Church; both he and his friend, Archbishop Seeker, with many another valuable teacher, have doubtless been brought back into the true fold of Christ by such prayers as this clause in our Litany. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXVI. 1. What is the meaning of "to err? " 2. Who was the false prophet ? 3. What book of precepts did he leave for his followers ? 4. What is the great difference between the Koran and the New Testament ? 5. What great Bishop of the Church was in early life a Dissenter ? nu ti)e Uttan». 163 CLAUSE XXVII. " GTf)at it mag plrase EI)pp tn tftrnifltfjen £ucl) a£ trn s'tanti; antr to comfort antr Ijclp the foralut)eart£tr; autr to ratee up ttjcm that fall; antr fmallg tn fteat trntou J^atan tmtrer our fret." HE Bible describes the followers of the Saviour as pil¬ grims, travellers, and soldiers, and teaches us not to expect ease and rest, but dangers, difficulties, and temptations, and it is easy to find a dozen texts to illustrate this truth. And yet, as we reflect on the difficulty of doing our duty, and keeping to the narrow path, there is much comfort in remembering that our fellow Churchmen are praying for us con¬ tinually, and especially in this particular prayer in the Litany. " To strengthen such as do stand," implies that they are hard pressed ; it seems to describe a very sore struggle, " they stand," but it is with much effort, and they greatly need the aid of God. This is often the case with Christians, especially young Christians, who, for a season it may be, are placed in some post of great danger, some circumstances of fierce temptation; how cheeringly does St. Paul write, that " God will, with the temptation, make a way of escape." On this point may be told a story. There was a gentleman? who went out one day to try and shoot wild birds on the shore of Southampton Water, near which he lived. The estuary is at high tide a wide sheet of water; but when the tide ebbs it leaves vast banks of mud, and stretches of sand, which are for several hours quite dry and hard. Across these spaces the gentleman, absorbed in the pursuit of the wild fowl, wandered, till he was a long distance from the shore, and what was worse, he perceived that the tide had turned earlier than he had expected. He began to retrace his footsteps, but when he came towards the land, to his dismay he found that the spot on which he stood was a mud-bank, higher than the intervening space, through which 164 g>t0rtr£ autf 5Tcar!)tng the rising tide was now pouring, with considerable speed, making it into a wide stream, which, after various trials, he found was already too deep for him to ford ! What could he do ? He shouted for aid, but there was no one passing through the lonely marshy fields near that part of the shore. There was no boat or vessel sailing by, and the twilight of a late autumn evening was fast settling down ! Still he determined to make an effort to save his life, as he perceived that there was no wind, and thought that perhaps it would not be a " spring tide." He sought out the highest point of the bank on which he stood, which was quickly becoming a very narrow island, and taking his gun, which had an unusually long barrel, he drove it into the mud and sand, with all his power, to a considerable depth, and then, tearing his silk handkerchief into strips, he bound himself to his upright gun, and with occa¬ sional shouts for help, and prayers for God's mercy, he watched the approach of the rising tide. Silently but swiftly the tide rose, the little island was quickly covered, and then the cold water began to immerse him. In the deepest anxiety, he watched its progress, as he clung to his frail support. At length, button after button of his coat was submerged, and when the last disappeared, and his head only was above the wide waste of waters, he felt that his case was hopeless, and already each ripple sent its foam over his head. But just then, in the moment of his most trying anxiety, he saw, to his intense joy, the uppermost button reappear. With trembling suspense he watched; yes, it was true, the tide had reached its height, and had commenced to recede. And so, after several more weary hours of waiting, he was able to escape, half-dead with cold and hunger, across the once again drying sands, to the shore, and reach his home. This was an escape from peril to the body. God did " strengthen him that stood " solitary in the rising tide, without human help or aid. But the dangers which assail the soul are far more to be 0it the Ettang. 165 dreaded ; and yet amongst these temptations God can " strengthen them that do stand." Then the prayer pleads with our heavenly Father, that He " would comfort and help the weak-hearted." There are many persons who try to do their duty, but they are " weak-hearted," they have little confidence or resolution, and they have scarcely courage to persevere cheerfully in the course they have entered on. They need not only to be " helped," but also to be " comforted." There was a German pastor, in the sixteenth century, when Germany was split up by fierce quarrels between those princes and dukes who adhered to the Pope, and those who supported Luther, and the new system. The pastor got notice from the Prince of the territory where he lived, that unless he could make his religion agree with that which the Prince had adopted, he must quit parsonage, and glebe-lands, and seek some other principality. His conscience would not let him remain, and ten days after, amidst the sobs and prayers of his people, the clergyman packed his wife, children, and household goods and possessions, on a great waggon, and started away to seek some new home. They had a long journey that day, to their first halting place; and early the next morning the pastor took his way into a little wood, to lay his troubles before God, and his thoughts were very heavy, and his heart much cast down, for was he not homeless, helpless, and friendless ? But as he despondingly thought of his troubles, and all the uncertainties before him, and his dear ones, there came into his head the text, " Put thou thy trust in the Lord, and be doing good, dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." Here God was u comforting the weak-hearted," but He was also about to " help," for as the clergyman returned to the village inn, a horseman in splendid livery rode up, and inquiring for him, handed him a letter from a neighbouring duke, who, belonging to the " reformed religion," had heard of his expulsion, and hastened to offer him and his a comfortable refuge. 166 antf Ccacfniijj The next part of the prayer appeals to one of God's noblest attributes or qualities, His willingness to receive and restore the penitent sinner. When a man has fallen into crime, or disgrace, his fellow men do not care to touch the fallen wretch ; they despise him, as a degraded being, and leave him to his fate. Yet the sympathy of the good has often saved the erring wanderer from total ruin. A lecturer, standing on a platform, with an immense crowd of persons hanging on his words, began thus, when all were silent: "Seven years ago, I was a miserable, hopeless drunkard, leaning against a wall in a small town in one of the Western States of America. I had no friends, no home, no money, not a hope in the world. "Just as I stood, ragged and miserable, a kind hand was laid on my shoulder, and a friendly voice invited me to come that night to a temperance meeting. The kind touch of the hand on the shoulder of a ragged drunkard touched my heart. I went to that meeting; I signed the pledge, and here I am ; and you see what kindness and sympathy have by God's blessing done !" Here was an explanation of the " fallen being raised," and the degraded slave of strong drink being elevated to become a great power for good ! Thus does God often answer this prayer in our Litany. The concluding words are a request that God " would finally beat down Satan under our feet." " Satan," a name which means the " adversary," is that fallen angel whose aim and work is to influence our souls for evil, even as the Holy Spirit would educate them for Heaven. And the image set before us is, without doubt, taken from the paintings on old glass in church windows, and the sculpture in Gothic Cathedrals, where very often the Archangel Michael was represented with sword and spear, trampling down the Wicked One under his mailed feet. One of the noblest pictures of Raphael, the great Italian painter, which hangs in the celebrated gallery of the nil the ftttanj). 167 Louvre, at Paris, depicts this conflict. But they who wrote the Litany, knew that the struggle between God and Satan, between good and evil, was not yet over; so they told us to pray that finally, if not in our day, the fight might be over, but meanwhile, as the Baptismal Service tells us, "we," each of us, must be "Christ's faithful soldiers and servants." But these words may be illustrated by a homely example, taken from English village life. There was a cobbler in a Yorkshire hamlet, a plain, honest fellow, but fond of the public-house. The cheery fire, the amusing gossip, led him on to frequent it more and more, till he found that habits of intoxication were becoming chains dragging him downwards body and soul. However, by God's help, he stopped short, nay, he turned round. He broke off, by a mighty effort, his old habits, and it was soon the village talk that the cobbler had " turned tee¬ totaler." By-and-bye he had to undergo a great deal of sarcasm and many witticisms from his old friends; but one of them stung him a good deal, for one of his old companions taunted him with being afraid to look at a bottle of drink or all his good resolutions would fail. "You shall see," said the cobbler, and instantly taking out the money, he went and bought a bottle of brandy. This he placed in front of him, in the window of his workshop, and there it stood for years, unopened, untouched, for his good resolutions, strengthened from on high, stood firm, and he was able to tread under foot, as it were, the evil habit which had wasted his money, destroyed his health, and led him astray from the service of God. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXVII. 1. In what language does the Bible describe the followers of the Saviour ? 2. x\nd what lesson is to be drawn from it ? 3. What is the meaning of the name " Satan ? " 4. Where does the name occur in Scripture ? 5. What is the method of his evil work ? 6. From what artistic representation may the language of this Clause be taken ? 168 £ton>£ an tr Ccacfjtitjj CLAUSE XXVIII. " (Eljat tt man plratfe CTfjer to Succour, fjslp autf comfort all that arr tu traujjcr, nmAtftg autr trifmlatum." N eminent writer says: " We should all look at the Prayer Book as though we were little children kneeling at our mother's knee to learn how to pray;" and in the Litany we are led on from one subject to another, just as it used to be the custom in old cathedrals to pass in long procession with waving banners and clouds of incense from shrine to shrine, from chapel to chapel, with appropriate psalms and prayers at each, till the whole building had been perambulated. Having interceded for the tried and militant Christian, we now plead with God for "all that are in danger, necessity and tribulation." Danger is derived from a word meaning "the power to harm," and how often we are exposed to perils of one kind or other. How many men lead lives of constant " danger " to supply us with comforts and luxuries. How little do we think, as we stir the fire, of the collier, whose days are spent in darkness, and surrounded with all the perils of "fire-damp," suffocation, explo¬ sions, and even entombment in the depths of the earth. As we sip our tea, we do not remember the poor mariners, whose services have brought it across 10,000 miles of stormy ocean. We sit at ease in the swiftly rushing train, and do not recollect that the lives of those who drive it are at stake if any accident occurs ! In many ways our fellow men, for our benefit, are exposed to risk and danger—it is but a slight thing on our part to remember them in our prayers. There is a touching custom growing up in many churches built in seaside places to sing on stormy nights that beautiful hymn, " For those in peril on the sea." In a recent colliery accident, when a number of men were im¬ prisoned in the earth for many hours, one of them who survived an tf)£ iUtang. 169 said that their chief comfort was the thought that their friends were praying for them. " Necessity," from the Latin, {t no room to escape," Dr. Johnson defines as meaning "want, need, poverty," and the words called up to us the picture of hungry children crying for bread, and many another sad scene in human life. Sometimes we try to harden our hearts by saying that these miseries are the result of men's own crimes and follies. This may be true, but how many of the innocent suffer through the faults of the wicked, and for these helpless ones our prayers should arise ! The word tribulation has been before explained, and though it implies much sorrow and many tears, yet there is in the expression a gleam of hope. It is a black cloud ; but there is a fragment of the silver lining showing. In its original signification of a thresh¬ ing instrument, to separate the corn from the chaff, it reminds us that troubles do not come by chance, but are sent to discipline and improve us, and to prepare the good for the garner of Heaven. How different the compassion and patience of God from the sternness of man to his offending fellow. Frederick, the warlike King of Prussia, had, on an occasion when an attack was expected, ordered, on pain of the severest punishment, all lights in the camp to be extinguished, but on going round the entrenchments that night he noticed a faint # gleam. Entering the tent from which it proceeded, he found an officer writing a letter to his wife. He knelt at the king's feet and implored pardon, but the stern monarch bade him add to the end of his letter that in two hours more he would be shot for disobedience ! How unlike the patience of our Heavenly King, to whom we may draw nigh, and knowing His character, ask that He would " succour, help, and comfort poor suffering humanity!" To " succour " is a striking derivation, to run under—that is, to hasten to raise one that is falling. On the one hand, the picture 170 £t0rt>3 mis Ceacfjtttfi of the sufferer, sinking exhausted with cold or hunger or disease, on the other, the strong, warm-hearted Christian hurrying to lift up the falling figure. There is a Church in Spain called the Church of the Cup of Cold Water, to which an interesting tale belongs. A certain good-hearted but very poor priest, living in a little village not far from the mountains, was one day startled by two or three gen¬ darmes entering his house, and carrying with them a bleeding brigand, with a broken arm. The priest hastened to bind up the wounded arm, though the captors seemed to care little whether or no their prisoner lived. The injured man, who bore his sufferings without a groan, then begged for a drink of water, and, as he raised his head to receive it, encouraged by the priest's kind manner, he whispered that his two children were left friendless on the edge of the wooded hills. When the prisoner had been dragged away, the Cure went in search of the poor children, found them crying and hungry, and brought them to his humble home. Then, poor as he was, he sent the boy to school, and the girl to a neighbouring convent; and by much self-denial, and in spite of many severe remarks on his folly, provided for their support. Years passed away, and the children were almost grown up, when one day a magnificent carriage stopped at the door of the humble parsonage. A fine-looking man in uniform, his breast covered with glittering decorations, stepped out. He explained that he was once the wounded brigand, that he had escaped, and in one of the many Spanish revolutions had chanced to be of the winning party, now held a high office, and had returned to claim his chil¬ dren. And when he had affectionately greeted them, he asked permission of the good old priest that he might build him a new church in the place of the shabby little mountain chapel, and that it might, in remembrance of his kindness to the suffering, be called " The Church of the Cup of Cold Water." The word "help" has a curious origin, from the root-idea of an tf)c ftttaui?. 171 being able. We may get sympathy from the weak, but help must come from the strong, and so when man is in some dire necessity, when he feels his utter want of power to aid himself, it is then that he welcomes most the power of one who is "able to help to the uttermost." We also ask for those in tribulation that they may receive comfort. And God consoles His servants by enabling them to realise that their sufferings happen not by chance, but for wise reasons. In some operations in our hospitals, when the surgeon is at work, another medical man keeps his finger on the patient's pulse to learn how long he can bear the pain without fainting, so we may trust the Divine Physician " will not suffer us to be tempted beyond that which we can endure." Sometimes, even in this world people are allowed to see how good comes out of their afflictions. There was a spot somewhere in South America, where some poor but industrious labourers had formed a large vineyard. With much toil they had terraced the hill, and carried up soil, and tended and trained their vines, but just as the fruit was ripe it caught fire, and the whole was consumed. It was a bitter dis¬ appointment, but, after a while, beginning to till the ground once more, they discovered to their joy that the earth was full of silver ore, some of which had been fused by the fire, and had in a melted state appeared on the surface, and so they discovered a rich mine. The word "comfort" meaning to strengthen in company with one another, reminds us how we may patiently endure our "tribu¬ lations" if God is our helper. It reminds us of the description of the re-building of the walls of Jerusalem, when the citizens toiled together, though in fear and dread. Nehemiah came round with the trumpeter by his side to cheer them in their work. If we are raising the fortifications of faith and patience and a holy life we shall find that God is " fortifying together with us " our hearts! 172 Jktcirtrs? autr Ccacfjtng QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXVIII. 1. Mention some examples of dangerous occupations ? 2. The meaning of the words " necessity " and " tribulation ? " 3. The derivation of " succour ? " 4. Of " help " and of "comfort ? " 5. What was the promise of the Saviour concerning a cup of cold water ? 6. What does St. Paul promise concerning trials and temptations ? CLAUSE XXIX. " GTljat tt mag pteatfe EJjcr tu prrörrhr all tf)at trahrl bg lanh or bg foater, all toomcii labouring of rbtltf, all £tib pcrtfnntf, autf gouug rljtlhren; anb la sljob) GTi)g pttg upon all prt^tincr^ antr capttbctf." UMAN nature is essentially selfish—when we are in comfort at home we think little of those exposed to danger and weariness, as they journey on their way. When in health, we often forget those who are tossing wearily on their sick beds. The Litany does well to remind us of those who need our prayers. There was a trace of piety in the old custom for ships to set sail on Sunday, doubtless, originally in the desire that they should be " conveyed" and sent forth with the orisons of their friends and neighbours. We have now grown so accustomed to easy and rapid travelling, that we forget how much our forefathers often suffered from cold and exposure on unavoid¬ able journeys. There is an old autograph letter in one of the glass cases at the British Museum, which shows this—it is from Judge Parker, written in the year 1766, and describing his efforts to reach York, to preside at the Assizes. " We had a very bad journey all along. The ways having never been so bad since the memory of man. On Monday, it rain'd all day, from morning to night. On Tuesday, ye ways were so deep, and being all clay, that the fore-wheels going over the plowed ground cut in to the axis, and by degrees the clay fill'd up the spaces between the spokes, so that the wheels became solid globes nu tlje ftttanp. 173 of clay. Drawing this prodigious weight in soft ground, I thought it would have broken my horses' hearts. On Thursday night there fell a great quantity of snow; and on Friday, it snow'd all day, with a strong easterly wind. We could not travel above two miles an hour most part of the way. But Saturday was a terrible day; it continued snowing all that day also; and having in com¬ pany the stage coach, in which were the councel, they were got fast two or three times, and there must have remained, if we had not lent ym horses to draw 'em out, tho' they had six horses, and myself but four. "We were six hours and a half getting to Ferry Bridg, which is but nine miles, because of the great drifts of snow in which we were forced, by horses going before and riding in them backwards and forwards, to make a track for the coaches. When at Ferry Bridg, we had eighteen miles to York, and ten of them as bad as any we had come ; and conferring together, we were all of opinion, it was impossible to get to York that night in our coaches. " Finding this to be ye case, and that my Lord Chief Baron could not think of riding, because it snow'd very fast, and a strong northerly wind driving it with great force; I offered of my own accord to ride on horseback, tho' it was now al'most four o'clock, and charg'd thro' all the way and weather, which nobody can describe the badness of; a strong northerly wind all the while blowing the snow in my face. But having a very good horse under me, I got to the place where the Sheriff was before it was dark, being very wet and weary. After ye Commissions were read, I took care of myself, and, thank God, am now very well." From such hardships the railway has almost entirely delivered us; but it has dangers of its own—the breaking of a rod, the failure of an axle, the sinking of a sleeper—may turn the flying train into a mass of ruin. The slightest confusion in the mind of the signalman may convert the crowd of passengers, dreading nothing, into a number of mangled, bleeding, and dying persons, scorched or crushed to death. 174 anü &aci)tnfl A railway accident, which happened many years ago, by its appalling character fixed its memory on those who were then alive. An excursion train broke down in a long tunnel on the Brighton line. Before it could move on, a second thundered into it, and threw the carriages of the first train across the other line : when, a few minutes after, they were dashed into by a third train, proceeding in the opposite direction. All was in suffocating dark¬ ness, and a great number of persons were killed, besides those who were more or less injured. It was on a Sunday morning, and we must trust that the prayers of the Litany in the many thousand churches of the land were heard for those poor souls thus suddenly and awfully hurried into another world ! And then we pray for those "that travel by water," whose perils are far greater. Whole volumes are filled with the dismal records of wrecks, burning ships, lonely mariners dragging out their existence on some sea-surrounded rock; or, worse still, escaping the sea only to fall into the hands of cruel savages. We never kneel in Church but at that very moment thousands of ships are crossing the ocean in one direction or another; many crowded with emigrants, seeking a distant home ! Sometimes no living soul remains to tell the sad tale of perils by the sea. For instance, a sailor writes this account :— " At night the weather was so thick we could not distinguish any object twice the length of the ship. I kept lights at the mast head, and a constant watch. There was a strong breeze, and we were going at a great rate through the water. Suddenly the watch gave the alarm of 'A sail ahead !' It was scarcely uttered before we were upon her. We struck her amidships. The greater size, the weight of our vessel bore her down below the waves; we passed over her, and were hurried on our course. As the crashing wreck was sinking beneath us, I had a glimpse of two or three half-naked creatures rushing from her cabin. They just started from their beds to be swallowed, shrieking, by the waves. I heard their drowning cry mingled with the wind; I shall never forget that cry. an tbr ^Litany. 175 " It was some time before we could put about. We returned, as nearly as we could guess, to the place; but all was silent. We never saw or heard anything of them more." There is one class of those who "travel," who particularly deserve to be mentioned in our prayers. Those who, in the interests of religion and civilization, like Livingstone, and others, devote their health and strength to explore wild and savage lands ! The celebrated African explorer, Mungo Park, tells us, that once when lost in the desert, without food, help, or guide, he was ready to give way to despair, when his eye caught sight of the tender grace of a solitary little flower, and the thought, an answer perchance, to some far-off uttered prayer, rose into his heart; that if God had so cared for this little blossom, nourished it in the wilderness, and clad it with colour and beauty, He would not fail to help his human child, lost in the desert. So comforted he rose up, and struggled on till he found help ! Next we implore God's mercy for mothers in the hour of suffer¬ ing—a phase of trial which obtains the Apostolic sympathy, (i Tim. ii. 15.) How little do we think what a debt of gratitude we owe to our mothers ! That is a pleasing example of consideration which is told of the chivalrous Edward Bruce, halting his whole army for a day on account of the illness of one poor woman who was amongst the camp followers ! Then comes a petition which is very often accentuated by a pause, in order that the congregation may add to these general supplications the thought of some sick persons whose case or name has been laid before them ; and we should recollect that the sick are often too ill to pray for themselves. The promise of Scripture, "The prayer of faith shall save the sick" (St. James v. 15), is full of encouragement. There was once a poor Irish woman who, nearly fifty years ago, took her way to a house where comfort and competence abounded, but where lay the shadow of great troubles. The master of the house had died recently. Two dear little maidens 176 anü l!Tracl)tng had been laid beside him in the cemetery, and his widow—her refined face and sweet eyes bearing the marks of her deep sorrow—was hanging in almost hopeless suspense over the sick¬ bed of her only boy. He was a very delicate child, already tried by very severe illness, and it seemed impossible that he could survive. And when the poor woman entered the house, and heard all the sad tale, her warm heart glowed with sympathy. She fell on her knees in the hall; and, though she belonged to a different faith and a different race, she poured forth to Heaven a fervent appeal for the recovery of the dying child. The prayers then offered by her and others were granted, for the little sufferer regained health and strength, though not without traces of what he had passed through ; and when grown to man's estate, he lived to build a church in a neglected hamlet on the edge of a wild moorland to the memory of the mother who had nursed him so tenderly through that illness. And that church, with its many services, its painted windows, and its summoning bells, may be regarded by the trustful Christian as an answer to " prayer for the sick." " Young children " are next brought before our thoughts; their very helplessness must touch our hearts. They cannot pray for themselves; therefore we must pray for them. And how often, when cruelly treated, they cannot even complain. In these days of huge " Board Schools," from which the kindly eye of the parson is so often excluded, this petition is very needful. There is perhaps no sphere in life in which the devil seems to have triumphed so utterly as when he destroys the very instincts of motherly love. The horrible system of " insuring the lives " of infants has, alas ! often insured their deaths. For the sake of the money to be obtained for their burial, unnatural mothers condemn the unfortunate babes to die. No violence is used which can be detected. They are simply suffered to expire for want of food, the wretched parent spending her time elsewhere, and leaving the infant to pine and wail itself away. au tl)c Httang. 177 These crimes, though suspected, are hard to prove ; but we have the remedy of prayer, to commend to the care of God "the young children" of our land. " To shew Thy pity upon prisoners and captivesp is a petition that shows how much the Church was in advance of the age in which the words were first printed, as during that time, and for nearly a couple of centuries after, the condition of prisons was most terrible. There was no classification of criminals. Their cells were dark and pestilential. Gaol fever was a frequent disease; and on one occasion, at the Oxford assizes, not only did the prisoners suffer, but the judge, jury, lawyers and officials caught the infection, and more than forty persons died! They were often loaded with irons, their food was scanty, and little effort was made to reclaim them. Even those who were only imprisoned for debt were often almost starved ; and the citizen of old London was accustomed to see a begging box held through the iron bars of the prison by some poor debtor. But God answered this prayer by raising up John Howard, the philanthropist of the last century, who devoted himself to the noble work of improving the prisons of Europe, and of intro¬ ducing order, decency and humanity within their gloomy walls. Sometimes, we are told, when he visited a prison the unhappy criminals would crawl, so far as their chains permitted, to kiss his feet in gratitude; and for their sakes he pleaded before kings and nobles, and raised, by his writings and efforts, so great a sensation on the subject, that the former evils can never return in civilized lands. Another servant of God was raised up to remind Christians how much might be done by kindness to raise fallen souls—Elizabeth Fry, a benevolent woman, who devoted herself to softening and elevating the female prisoners in one of our gaols, and the good feeling she aroused still survives ! The compassionate words of the Litany, pleading with God "for prisoners," must have often struck the ears of Englishmen M 178 £tartc£ antr Grsachtncj with great force in the stormy days of old. When, for instance, within the gloomy walls of the Tower the gallant Raleigh spent his weary years, or when it contained the loyal-hearted Strafford, or the Sainted Laud, or the noble "Seven Bishops." And may we not trust that many a sad heart, pining in imprisonment, has found comfort in listening to the words of the Litany, and remembering that for their sad case prayers were being uttered. (Acts xii. 5.) There is a touching story told that at the end of the long French war a rough sailor landed near London Bridge, and meeting a man selling larks in a cage, bought the whole lot, and then, opening the door, let the birds fly free. The bystanders remonstrated, but he replied with a laugh, " If you had, like me, spent six years in a French prison, you would learn to feel for caged things!" But though we may not have had personal experience, yet a little reflection will make us feel more deeply in this matter. When our forefathers heard in this passage the word " captives " they would think, naturally, of the poor Christian slaves who were forced to row in the galleys of the Algereen pirates, or of the sufferings of our early colonists, who were carried off into the woods by the blood-thirsty Red Indians of North America; and fearful indeed were the stories of their cruelties to the white settlers who in time of war fell into their hands. The romantic history of Captain Smith, one of the early colonists of Virginia, would be familiar to many a seventeenth century hearer of the Litany; he, when made a captive, and doomed to be tor¬ tured and scalped, only escaped by the compassionate feeling which, rising in the heart of Poccahontas, the chiefs daughter, made her protect him, and enable him to escape. In our own times these words have had a terrible significance, when certain of our kindred in India were "captives" during the horrors of the Sepoy mutiny. And now we may think, as we use the words, of the horrors of Central African slavery; the miser¬ able bands of "captives" who, tied together neck to neck, are an tf)£ ILttang. 179 driven from their village homes, already in flames, and condemned to a life of slavery. There is a very striking narrative in the memoirs of a gentle¬ man in the Civil Service, in the early part of this century, which tells of God "showing mercy on the prisoner " in a remarkable way. The writer tells us that he was employed in the office of the Secretary of State, and that one night he could not sleep. He was quite well, had no anxiety on his mind—could not in any way account for his restlessness. At length, weary and utterly unable to sleep, he rose, dressed, and walked forth in the early summer morning, between three and four o'clock, across St. James's Park. Passing near the office in which he was employed, a sudden whim seized him to go inside. A latch-key was in his pocket, so he let himself in. All was still, silent, and deserted, and he was just about care¬ lessly to go away, when his eye rested on a paper lying open on one of the desks. It was a reprieve! and he started to see that it had not been sent. A moment's glance told him it was for a convict sentenced to the gallows on that very day. He seized the document, and rushed, full speed, across the park to the private house of the head of the office. Knocking furiously at his door, he insisted on seeing him in bed, found out that by some mistake it had not been sent, and obtained the necessary authority to try and remedy the omission. All this had taken a considerable time, and the prisoner's life hung on a thread. In those days there were no railways, no telegraph wires. He hastened to the proper department, and despatched a mounted express, full speed, to the distant town where the execution was to take place. The messenger arrived as the condemned man was being led on to the scaffold. Thus, by a remarkable chain of circumstances, did the Almighty save the life of this prisoner, and give him space for an amended life. 180 £tortc£ antf Cradjtncj QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXIX. 1. What occupations involve continual danger? 2. How does the Litany correct our natural selfishness ? 3. In what Epistle is prayer for the sick inculcated ? 4. Mention special reasons why we should pray for the sick and the young ? 5. Who was an eminent philanthropist of the last century ? 6. Mention the names of remarkable prisoners in the Bible ? 7. What alteration has Christianity made in our opinion of slavery between the ancient and modern world ? CLAUSE XXX. " Chat tt mam please CI)tt tu trefcutr, antf prubttre for, tbc fatherly antJ bntrab)£, autr all that arc ttctfalatc antr upprcÄtetr." TILL before us wends the long procession of those who need our sympathy, who require our intercession on their behalf. In all ages the defenceless have been the prey of the selfish and the grasping. The old fable of the wolf and the lamb is true to human nature. Any excuse is sufficient to justify harshness and oppression to those who have no strong arm to " invoke " in their behalf. And fatherless children and ividows are especially subjects of this kind of wrong. It was to prevent injustice of this sort that in the middle ages the plan was devised of making orphans the wards of the crown—the origin of our modern system of "wards in chancery." We ask for the fatherless children from God, in the first place, that they may be "defended" from oppression and injustice, and secondly, that God would " provide " for their wants. There is an interesting account of the way in which a little fatherless lad was sheltered, during the Wars of the Roses, in the home of a shepherd, and passed many of his youthful days looking after the sheep on the wild hills of the North. He was of the race of the warlike Baron Clifford, and when his father had nit tbc ILttang. 181 been slain in battle, the family lands confiscated, and the child's life was scarcely secure, he escaped notice in a lonely cottage, and grew up strong, yet gentle. " . . Long compelled in humble walks to go, Was softened into feeling, soothed and tamed, Love had he found in huts where poor men lie." But when the red rose again came into power, he was found and restored to his lofty inheritance of castle and demesnes; but to quote Wordsworth's lines, who has written a well-known poem on the history of " the Shepherd Lord " :— " He kept in lofty place the wisdom which adversity had bred, And ages after he was laid in earth— ' The Good Lord Clifford ' was the name he bore." How many are the passages in the Scriptures in which the widow and the fatherless are mentioned ! A gentleman looking over an old Bible one day, found in it a slip of paper. The book had belonged to a widow, and she had carefully noted on this loose sheet the many passages of Holy Scripture bearing on God's care for these two classes, and they formed a long list. One that is familiar to us all is, " God is the Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows." (Ps. lxviii. 5.) Perhaps it is on the coasts of our island home that the saddest scenes of widowhood arise ! A spectator of one of those mournful catastrophies, that often spread sorrow amongst our fisher-folk, writes thus : "There were five young wives who stood anxiously looking out to sea, their hands shading their eyes, and straining their eyesight to watch a small fishing boat, now rising on the waves, and now sinking low out of sight. "Still the anxious wives wait amidst the sympathizing crowd on the cliff. All the other fisher-boats have reached the harbour, but the last boat, containing the strongest, boldest young fishermen, still plunges and struggles amidst the rolling surges. But at last it rose no more. The poor women turned away their eyes in agony, 182 jg>t0rirä antr Crac!)tnfl and slowly, with many a sob and shriek, the five young widows returned to their desolate homes, where none could comfort them with any gleam of hope !" But it is when the lamp of human joy is utterly extinguished that the God of all consolation " can raise the heart that lies pros¬ trate in the dust, with the hope of re-union, and unceasing joys in a better world than this ! " The entreaty for the widows is fitly addressed to that thoughtful Redeemer, who, even in His agonies on the Cross, entrusted His widowed mother so tenderly to the care of His dearest earthly friend. The words were introduced in the edition of 1549, and are suggested by many passages (Ps. cxlvi. 7 ; Jer. xlix. 11) in Scripture. And those touching words, "all that are desolate and oppressed," strike on the heart like a distant bell, plaintive and pleading. It is those who have none on earth to cheer and comfort them whom we recommend to the consolations of Heaven. " Desolate " signi¬ fies to make lonely. In how many a miserable drunkard's home are the hungry children left desolate ! How often the good and the gentle have been sorely oppressed, yet sometimes in answer to the Church's prayers unexpected relief has come. In the life of good Bishop Bedall, we read a pathetic history of his trials from the Irish rebels in 1641. "The Bishop still relieved many poore people in his out-houses, but it was a most grievous burden to his heart, that he was forc'd to hear the cries and see the cruel sufferings of these poore and naked people daily under his walls. One time amongst the rest, when a company of Irish, of whom some few had musquets, were rifling and tearing amongst those almost naked people, the cry was so great and dolefull that the good Bishop would needs go out himself to their rescue. Those about him judg'd it very hazardous, and labour'd to dissuade him. But notwithstanding all these persuasions, he would go out, taking three others in his company, all unarmed; only the Bishop 0ii the ftttano. 183 himself had a good long staff in his hand, handsomely carved and coloured. As soon as they perceived the Bishop they left harassing the poor English, and fled about a stone's cast; and then two or three of the musqueteers made a stand, and pre¬ sented their musquetts right against the Bishop's breast. But the Bishop still went on, and clapping his hand above his breast bid them shoot there, rather than offer violence to those miserable people. And God was pleas'd hereupon so to awe them, that they dismounted their musquets, and went away." QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXX. 1. What are the two blessings implored on behalf of the "fatherless children and widows? " 2. Give some Old Testament examples of the Divine care and protec¬ tion vouchsafed to the " fatherless and widows ? " 3. Give some New Testament instances of the same ? 4. What passages in the Old Testament illustrate this clause ? 5. What is the derivation of the word " desolate ? " CLAUSE XXXI. "£f)at tt mag irteatfe ÜTTjee ta Tjatie mercg 01t all mm" N this petition it has been well said that it is the greatest glory of the Litany. The brightest jewel in that diadem of prayer! One great Churchman says of it, "The Church here spreads her wings, as it were, to gather under them the whole world of sinners, beseeching the God of all to have mercy upon ally It has been remarked that English people have little idea of the size and population of the world. A day's travelling in most directions brings us to the sea-shore. And it is only when we land on one of the great continents, and travel on day after day, seeing continually new cities, and new districts, that we begin to realize how large the world is, and then, when the mind sinks oppressed by the thought of the multitudes of our human brethren, what a 184 antf Csarfjtnfl comfort is it to raise our eyes aloft, and rest our souls by the thought of the might, the love, and the compassion of the great God who knows and pities them all! We little realize what a multitude of human beings people this world of ours, and yet the thought of their all depending upon God for each breath they draw gives us a grand idea of the omnipotence of the great All-Father. It has been calculated that the population of the globe is about thirteen hundred millions. Now, supposing this number of persons to pass through a turn-stile at the rate of one in every two seconds, or thirty a minute, and to pass forward at this pace for twelve hours a day, and for seven days a week, it would take one hundred and sixty-five years for them to pass through ! And yet each of this vast multitude has his own individuality : his own joys, trials, sins, experience, and the great heart of God beats with Divine compassion for each, whilst the Church on earth reflects its Master's loving-kindness, and prays for all men ! The celebrated French painter, Ary Scheffer, has selected for one of his noblest paintings the representation of Christ our Lord as the Consoler of the world, and he paints sufferers from all regions looking to the Saviour; the negro slave dropping off his chains ; the mother, holding up her dying child; the widow, wiping her tear-stained face ; the martyr, lifting up his eyes in confidence ; all from all regions looking to the Great Redeemer as the Being who, by His death and sufferings, has won the confidence of men! At one time it was an argument against the Bible's truth, that all the races of mankind, so different in colour, in stature, language, and habits, could not descend from one origin. But now men of science have changed their note, and been obliged by the very force of scientific research to confess that facts point to the unity of the human race, and this has been shown "out of the mouths of babes and sucklings; " for the remarkable resemblance of nursery stories, legends, and " folklore," customs, found in most distant parts of the world, and amongst the most dissimilar races, 0U the üttanp. 185 points as its solution] to the oneness of the human family! This petition " for all men," seems to have in it a breath of Divine inspiration, for that age (1544), when the Litany began to be known in the English tohgue, was a time of narrowing ten¬ dencies, when men were engaged in that painful home struggle between the accustomed form of the faith, and the disturbing influences of the new learning, when the severance of England from the lands which still remained under the Roman obedience, though it brought with it certain benefits, yet did indeed insulate our religious thought, and made many good men more proud of their Anglican angularities than anxious to hold broad loving views of Catholic verities. Yet it was at this exact period when we were becoming very isolated, though perhaps not from any fault of our own, that our own English Mother Church began to teach us to pray for "all men." And perhaps it was so inspired, to prepare the minds of men to take kindly thought of those multitudes of heathen and strange nations with whom her England's sons were about to become acquainted, as mariners and merchants. The placing of this prayer in the Litany just precedes that rise of English adven¬ ture, which made the flag of our country float in the breezes of either Indies, and inaugurated that outburst of our island's commerce and discovery over the whole world. Thus we read of the rapid rise of the great trading companies— " The Eastland Company," " The Muscovy Company," " The East Indian Company," "The African Company," "The Mer¬ chant Adventurers' Company." When commerce and discovery had made us acquainted with "all men," then the spirit of Christianity gradually stirred up the conscience of Englishmen, and we may trace answers to this supplication in the freeing of the slaves in the dependencies of England. The introduction of justice and protection through the wide empire of India, and the great efforts of our Missionary Societies. Those of high rank have sometimes been disposed to 186 £t0rtr£ autr Cracbtnjj look with contempt on the masses of mankind, and to think "the common herd," with their ordinary cares and interests beneath their notice. Not so with God, whose mercy and in¬ dividual care extend to the lowliest and the most neglected of the multitudes. This finds illustration in the apologue of the Eastern Dervish, who was entrusted with the training of the king's son. They wandered through the borderlands of India, and saw many men and divers strange sights. " How foolish must the natives of this district be," remarked the prince, " who spend their time in feeding a multitude of contemptible worms ! " " Prince," answered the Dervish, "are you not aware that it is to the labour of those insignificant worms you are indebted for the shining silken robe that enwraps you!" Journeying on, they came to the dried-up bed of a torrent, where many men were carefully searching amidst the sand, and sifting the gravel with eager looks. "Why," said the prince, "do these idiots work amongst the sand of the torrent when they might till the fertile ground on the banks ? " " Know you not," said the Dervish, "your Royal Highness, that they find oftentimes amidst the pebbles and sand of the stream gleaming diamonds, fit for your diadem !" Even so amongst the unnoticed crowds there are many patient souls weaving for themselves robes of light, and amidst the masses of mankind—numberless as the sand—there are sweet and noble souls who shall one day glisten amongst the jewels of their Saviour's celestial crown. " Lights which earth-born mists have darkened, There are shining full and clear, Princes in the courts of Heaven, Nameless, unremembered here. " None can tell us, all is written In the Lamb's great Book of Life, All the prayer and faith and patience, All the toiling and the strife. on tbe IHtang. 187 "There are told Thy hidden treasures; Number us, O Lord, with them, When Thou makest up the jewels Of Thy living diadem." QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXXI. 1. What is the supposed population of the world ? 2. Why should we scarcely have expected to find in the Litany a petition of such wide sympathy ? 3. Why does this petition assume now an almost prophetic aspect ? 4. What passage in the Epistle of St. Paul bids us pray for "all men ? " 5. What period in English history was distinguished for adventure and discovery ? 6. When were our Church Missions established ? CLAUSE XXXII. "ÜTijat tt mag pleatfe Cijee ta farfltbe our euemtetf, persecutor^ antr Slantrerertf, anfc to turn fyttt Ijearttf." HE Litany here calls us to pray for grace to carry out the most difficult of Christian duties—the "forgiveness of our enemies." This was a flight far beyond any heathen virtue. The natural instinct of man is to retaliate, to strike back again, to give blow for blow. Nay our fallen nature leads us to be proud of cherishing a revengeful spirit. Men take a pride in never forgiving or forgetting an injury. In savage lands the Red Indian will hunt down his enemy with a relentless pursuit, waiting, it may be, for years to find an oppor¬ tunity of stealing forth from the dark forest, and, tomahawk in hand, of falling on the unsuspecting foe, and then carrying off his bleeding scalp as a trophy of gratified vengeance. But the religion of Jesus tells us, "forgive our enemies," and the Great Founder of it led the way by praying for those who 188 J£tartr£ antr ÜTfacbtng were nailing Him to the Cross, " Father, forgive them," even adding an excuse for their conduct, "for they know not what they do." And it is our duty to follow in this matter the blood¬ stained footsteps of our Blessed Saviour. But how hard it is to do so. There is an interesting story of the exercise of this forgiving spirit in the life of St. Francis de Sales. The story is this :—Once in Padua there was a midnight brawl amongst a body of the wild students in that Italian city. Swords were drawn, and in the darkness a young man received a deadly thrust. The student who had given the stab had fled to the house of a widow lady, with whose son he was most intimate, and asked her to shelter him, and she promised to give him a refuge. But by and bye the sound of hurrying footsteps was heard. They halted at her door. A dead youth was carried in. It was the corpse of the widow's son. His friend came forth from his hiding-place, and finding what he had unwittingly done, offered to give himself up to the hands of justice, but the mother, with wondrous command over her natural feelings, told him to remain, and even assured him of her pardon. And her Christian effort was rewarded, we are told, by a vision which came to her soon after, in which she saw her dead son, who assured her that in recognition of her forgiving spirit, his soul was in peace. " Our persecutors." As an example of the difficult duty of forgiving our persecutors, we have the history of St. Stephen. (Acts vii.) But many another martyr has shown the same noble spirit, in which matter we see most distinctly that God does give His servants power from on high to overcome the strongest instincts of our nature, and replaces the natural feelings of revenge, hatred, and indignation with those plants of peace, charity, and forgive¬ ness, which are of Heavenly growth. And yet, just as we see how the gardener, by great care, gets some delicate exotic flower to grow in our cold, bleak climate, so does the Divine Spirit cultivate in our souls that patience which on tfir UttanjK 189 suffers long and is kind, and the spirit of pardon which overlooks injury and ingratitude. It is most touching to read the record of the last hours of the martyr, Archbishop Laud, and the noble words of his prayer on the scaffold for his persecutors. He prayed, " Lord, pardon them all, and those especially who have drawn down this present judg¬ ment upon me;" and in his dying speech he concluded, "I forgive all the world, all and every one of those bitter enemies which have persecuted me." And seeing through a chink in the boards of the scaffold that some persons were standing under the place where the block was fixed, he requested the officer in attend¬ ance either to stop the crevices with dust, or remove the people thence, for it was not his wish " that his blood should fall on the heads of the people," no doubt remembering the Scripture words on the subject, lest it should happen to their condemnation; and putting some money into the hands of the headsman, he said, " Here, honest friend, God forgive thee, and I do!" But there are persons whose power to injure us cannot be dignified with the importance of a persecution, and yet whose words often cause us much pain and mortification—those who slander and misrepresent us. Often this is the work of mean and malignant minds, and it is behind our back that they take the opportunity of speaking evil of us. The derivation of the word "slander" is said to be from the name of the spring of a trap. We can easily imagine the alarm with which a timid bird hears the noise which shows that it is suddenly caught, and realizes the cruel cunning which has im¬ prisoned an unsuspecting captive. Just so a slander is often a mixture of cunning and unkindness, planned so as to injure the innocent. In the life of that well-meaning authoress of the last century, Mrs. Hannah More, we read how much she was wounded by the way in which her benevolent efforts to teach the ignorant peasantry in Somerset was attacked and described as revolu- 190 anti Cracfjütß tionary and dangerous. In one of her letters she describes, with some humour, the narrow-minded, ignorant farmers going to a fortune-teller to consult him about the new school which these good old ladies had started, and objecting even to the tunes to which the children sang hymns, " For if the hymns were not Methodistical, the tunes were !" whilst one rich farmer affirmed " that the poor were fated to be wicked and ignorant, and that wise as Mistress More was, shfe could not alter what was decreed ." But under all provocations to anger or impatience the Litany teaches us "a better way." We are to pray that it may please God to turn their hearts. That He would alter the direction in which the feelings flow, change the channel of their bitter and angry passions, and lead them from evil to good. The same natural energy which might make a wicked man a dangerous enemy might, under Divine grace, cause the same individual to be an active worker in good things. The zeal of Saul in persecuting the Christians was fiery and glow¬ ing. The same fervour glowed in the enthusiasm of St. Paul after his "heart was turned" in answer to the Prayer of St. Stephen. A martyr's death has often resulted in the conversion of his enemies and persecutors—a victory purchased by his life-blood. We are told that for some time after the Roman Empire had become Christian the horrible combats of the gladiators still con¬ tinued in the great amphitheatre at Rome. Conflicts only ended by the death of one of the gladiators. But one day a brave monk, full of Christian fervour, rushed down into the arena and stopped the fight, denouncing its cruelty, and declaring it unfit for Christ¬ ians. The people's anger at this interruption of their savage amusement blazed forth, and they overwhelmed and slew the good man who had rebuked them, with stones and missiles. But his death was not in vain, for when their impatient anger had cooled they acknowledged the justice of his rebuke, they repented of his death, and from that day forth abandoned those barbarous and bloody sports, which terminated in the death of their fellow men. an tf)t ftttang. 191 QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXXII. 1. Describe the difference between heathen and Christian virtues? 2. Give Scriptural injunctions as to the forgiveness of our enemies ? 3. How has our Blessed Lord given us an example of His conduct to His enemies ? 4. Mention some examples of the forgiveness of persecution by Martyrs ? 5. What is the derivation of the word*" slander ? " 6. Show how the hearts of evil men were "turned" by the death of brave Christian martyrs ? CLAUSE XXXIII. " ÜTfjat tt mag pleaäz Cfjee ta fltbe antr pretferbe t0 our tiste tl)e fttntrtg frutttf 0f tf)t eartl), £0 a£ tn hue ttme foe mag enjag tf)em." HIS is one of the few petitions which has reference to temporal matters, perhaps to teach us of how much less importance are the things of earth compared with the interests of the soul. We ask that the produce of the soil may be given to us, which means that the corn should germinate and grow, and not perish in the ground, and also that it should be preserved from the many dangers to which it is exposed, before it can be placed safe in the garner. There is something very remarkable in the way in which God has ordained that the ear of corn should grow on so tall and fragile a stalk, which bends before every blast, and is so easily laid low. By its very character and growth it bids us remember our dependence on God's preserving care. The word "kindly" is often misunderstood—it means "natural," "produced after their kind," so Wicliffe, in his translation of Rom. xi. 21, "Thekyndlie branches." This prayer represents in shorter form many fuller requests in the old Western Litanies. "Give us serenity of sky," asked one ; " Good temperature," was the plea of another. The Sarum Primer has, " wholesome and reasonable air." In former times the whole parish went in procession through the fields at Rogation-tide, imploring God's blessing in Litanies. 192 stories? antr Cmfnntj This is still legal, though it has degenerated into the custom of "beating the bounds" of the parish, which is still practised in Oxford and elsewhere. In Brittany we are told the ceremony of blessing the fields in the early spring is most picturesque, as with uplifted cross and slowly rising clouds of incense the clergy and choristers take their way through the wide stretches of arable land with prayer and chant. In God's good time we must hope that such exhibitions of faith and prayer will be seen in our land also. The seasons and the weather are in the hands of God, so the Christian believes ! Upon the Divine mercy in this matter the comfort, and often the lives, of thousands depend. For instance, in Egypt the population watch with intense anxiety the rising of the Nile, on the height of whose flooded waters the prospects of the harvest hang, and yet that inundation is caused and influenced by the temperature amongst the moun¬ tains of Central Africa. Thus link after link we follow the chain, but He, in whose hand the first motive power rests, is the Almighty God we worship and acknowledge. In the Isle of Man, under good Bishop Wilson, an addition was here made in the Manx Prayer Book, " and to restore and continue to us the blessings of the seas," in reference to the " harvest of the sea," to benefit by which the fleets of Manx fish¬ ing boats used to sail forth. When we reflect on the words "give to us the fruits of the earth," we may for a moment with grateful hearts observe how much God has been pleased to increase our resources in the way of food since commerce has brought the products of distant lands to be " gifts " for our daily food ; our tea, our coffee, our cocoa, our sugar, our potatoes; the very commonest requisites of our table were luxuries which the great Elizabeth never enjoyed, whilst the disappearance of leprosy, that scourge of the middle ages, is traced to the introduction of many wholesome vegetables, and nn tt)£ ftttaug. 193 to the constant supply of fresh meat, the result of root crops, which enable the farmer to support his cattle during the winter. The many blessings with which God has enriched our daily table should not be received with sullen and selfish indifference, but should awaken thankfulness. " So as in due time we may enjoy them," as the prayer continues, implies that we do not ask from God miracles, but that He would so order the course of nature as to continue to us " the appointed weeks of harvest." And thus, when God has heard our prayers, we can thank Him with loving hearts, and " enjoy " what He has bestowed. There are few things more cheering than to notice how the custom of holding Church Harvest Festivals is spreading over the land. It seems to cheer our hearts that when some are denying that there is any God, and many doubt that He takes any active Government of His world, yet in parish after parish the merry bells ring forth, the old church is decorated from font to altar with fruits and flowers, and the voice of praise and thanksgiving resounds through the aisles, acknowledging the Lord of the Harvest, and young and old seek to "enjoy" the blessings which He has given. It is said that in several Indian languages there is no word signifying "gratitude," a fact which, as in a mirror, reflects the cold depravity induced by heathenism. So does St. Paul, in counting up the sad list of Pagan vices, add, " neither were (they) thankful." May God both give and provide us the fruits of the earth, and give us grateful hearts to " enjoy them in due season," QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXXIII. 1. Which petitions of the Litany refer to temporal wants? 2. What does the word "kindly" here mean? 3. On what day of the year were Litanies in former times sung in procession, imploring God's blessing on the crops ? 4. What additional "fruits of the earth" have been given us during the last three centuries ? 5. What services of thanksgiving have become frequent and popular? 6. What did St. Paul enumerate as among the crimes of the heathen ? N 194 £tom£ autr C*acbtng CLAUSE XXXIV. " CTjat tt mag pirate Cljcc to gtbe uä true repentance; to forgtbe u£ all our ö(n*9 ntgltgrnceö antr ignorance^; antr to entfue u£ fcottf) tbe grace of HE long list of our supplications here fitly ends with a confession that even our prayers are unworthy, and that our best efforts to be devotional need pardon, both on account of our ignorance as to what we should ask, and of the right way in which to ask. Likewise for our wandering thoughts. There is a parable of an angel who gave to a saint the power to hear all the real prayers which were uttered in a whole crowd of kneeling persons, and there were but one or two which were real and earnest, the worldly thoughts and wandering attention of the rest allowing indeed their lips to move, but their hearts to be straying far away from God. We ask, therefore, here, in the first place, for repentance—a word now, alas ! too much neglected. "It would be better," says a preacher of to-day, "if we heard less talk about the Gospel and more frequent mention of repentance, which is its true outcome." Repentance is a very full and forcible word in the original Greek, meaning, as it does, a change of disposition. We are told in the life of the well-known Paley (whose writings were more familiar to the last generation than to the present) that when he first went to Cambridge he entered fully into the careless, thoughtless life of boisterous merriment, which was usual amongst the students of those days. One night, when Paley had gone to bed, after a long and noisy supper-party, and was sleeping very heavily, he was suddenly awakened by one of his boon com¬ panions standing by his bedside. " Paley," said he, "somehow I could not sleep, thinking about you. You are different to the rest of us. Even if we tried to learn, we have small brains, and flu tfje ILttang. 195 couldn't do much; but you have splendid abilities, and it is a perfect shame for you to waste them by going on as we do." Paley was struck by this warning. He made fresh plans and gave up former follies, and applied himself so diligently to his books that he rapidly rose to distinction in the University and eminence in the world. This anecdote exhibits chiefly an intellectual phase of repent¬ ance—changing from a life of pleasure and carelessness in order " to live laborious days," and to win the golden spurs of scholar¬ ship. But there is more needed in man than an acute intellect and a well-stored brain. To please God, it is required of us that the whole moral nature should be turned towards Him. The sunflower is said to turn its blossoms towards the great orb of light and heat, and so the soul of man should look towards his Creator. It is not enough that there should be repentance, but it needs to be true, that is, lasting and sincere. Judas repented, and cast down the silver coins; but it was not a true repentance, for it ended in despair, and not in amendment. The criminal im¬ prisoned in his gloomy cell regrets that he committed the crime which brought him to conviction, but if his grief is only because he was found out, it is not worthy of the name of true repentance. Again, we must observe that it is a gift of God; the tendency of sin is to harden the heart, to make it callous, as the frost turns the ground to iron. But it is the sunshine of God's Spirit that softens the soil of the soul again. Through the gate of " repentance " the returning sinner seeks that his sins may be forgiven. There is a pathetic story told of a couple of aged parents whose only daughter ran away from home, and lived far away in misery and degradation. But the old folks cherished the hope that some day she would repent and return, and they never barred or locked the door of the cottage when they went to bed at night, for they said, " Perhaps she might this night come back, and it shall 196 starte* antf Cracljtnfl never be that the door of her old home be found barred against her ! " But parental love is only a faint reflection of the merciful compassion of God on High, "Who desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness." But the great evil of our popular religion is to ignore the importance of a real penitence for sin, and a deep abasement of the soul before the offended Majesty of High Heaven. People have heard so much of " free pardon," and God's willingness to forgive, that they forget that such promises are conditional on a " true penitence," and that God is not to be mocked by a few empty words. Even if of His great pity He condones the eternal punishment of our sins, He justly leaves us to suffer the " tem¬ poral " penalties, which, by the working of His great Moral Law, descend on transgressors. But not only must we seek the forgiveness of sins, but also of our negligences. When good Bishop Hammond was on his deathbed, he prayed, "Forgive especially my sins of omission." How often a little carelessness and neglect has been the commencement of the ruin of a soul! There was once a Canadian boatman who, waiting on the river's bank, stepped into his canoe, lightly casting a cord from the bow round a stake on the bank. Soothed by the ripple of the water, he fell asleep. But the current began to act, the cord to tighten— it had been negligently fastened. Presently it uncoiled under the pressure. The boat drifted down the stream, and the man only awakened, when it was too late, in the roaring rapids above the Falls of Niagara. "Ignorances " is a very heart-searching expression, probing our consciences, for it speaks of faults committed ignorantly, but it implies that we are responsible for such ignorance. There was once a household who seemed to enjoy every advan¬ tage for health. Their house, built on the edge of the ocean, with on tt)c Etting. 197 the fresh breezes from the Atlantic meeting the pure keen air of the Devonshire hills, and the wild heathery country around was free from all breath of infection; the water was brought with care from a distant spring in the hills, that it should be kept from any chance of contamination near the house. But the beloved and only daughter of that lovely mansion—one of the most beautiful in England—sickened and died, and when they sought for some cause it was found that some careless labourer had emptied a load of manure across the little stream which supplied the house, and the poison thus communicated had brought death and desolation into that delightful home. It was doubtless done ignorantly, but for such ignorances there is little excuse. How watchful should we be, lest by our words, without intending it, we do others harm—not considering what an example may effect, we lead others astray. "The young man drank nothing when he first came amongst us, but I soon laughed him out of his scruples," said one, but though the seasoned drinker went on, the youth, less able to stand on the slippery edge of the precipice, ere long filled a drunkard's dis¬ honoured grave! But against these dangers we must arm ourselves. The brave soldier of old time had not only a shield to protect himself, but a sword to defend others. We ask our great Captain " to endue us with grace" from on high. A distinction should be observed between enduing and endowing. We do not ask to be endowed, for it is our duty to be content with those natural gifts which God has bestowed on us, but we may have a noble ambition to be endued, that is invested with Heavenly privileges, and the knightly robes of a spiritual crusader. Let us try and paint a scene, which may often have occurred in mediaeval times. Imagine with what interest some sick child, lying in his bed in the tower of the castle, would listen for the clatter of horses' hoofs, which told of news. How eagerly would he hear how the Hermit Peter stood by the old stone cross, and, 198 antr Cradjtng; in impassioned tones, thrilled all the great crowd; how he told them of the Christian pilgrims, robbed and scourged, and in¬ sulted ; how the sepulchre of the Blessed Redeemer was daily profaned by the insolent pride of the Saracens, till the strong men clenched their fists in wrath, and the women wept and groaned. And then as the enthusiasm fired the multitude the ardent young spirits cried aloud, " We will go ! " " Dieu le veult," "God wills it," and the Hermit had to tear his cloak into shreds that he might fasten the sacred emblem of the Cross on the shoulders of the volunteers, till they could be fully endued and clothed with the red-cross cloak which would distinguish the crusader. And the sick child would pray that he might some day also bear the red cross, and go forth to the Holy War. The grace and gift of the Holy Spirit is the Christian's great need, to be his armour and his robe in the fiery conflict which he must wage. Especially he needs the Holy Spirit to aid him to form good resolves, and to keep them firmly. Resolution is a noble trait in a character. In the life of Pizarro, we read that he and his companions had, after many hardships and much sickness, reached a small island in the Pacific. A council was held on the shore; the adventurers had grown weary of seeking to realize their golden dream of reaching Peru and possessing themselves of its wealth. They were most of them dispirited and home-sick, and longed to return, but Pizarro drew a line on the sand with his sword point, and crossing it said, with unconquerable determination, " I go to the south, let who will follow me." And one by one his com¬ panions followed him across the line and stood by his side, influ¬ enced by the power of his determination. So should we make, in the strength which God supplies, firm resolutions "to amend our lives." And there is a pattern set before us, just as in the days of Moses, when the workers in metal commenced to fashion the golden vessels and the mystic ornaments of the Tabernacle, there was cm tijc Uttanp. 199 a Heavenly pattern and model set before the artificers. So with us, we are to amend our lives " according to His Holy Word;" to frame and fashion them in humble imitation of " the blessed steps of His most Holy Life," who took flesh, and dwelt amongst men, that He might be their example. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXXIV. 1. What is the meaning of " repentance " in the original Greek ? 2. What is the difference between true and false repentance ? 3. Distinguish between sins of negligence and sins of ignorance? 4. Draw a distinction between "endowing" and "enduing?" 5. What is the pattern given for our amendment in life ? 6. Mention seven distinct persons in the Bible who said " I have sinned ? " CLAUSE XXXV. " £>an of (gab: toe begmh Cbce to Ijrar ug. £on of (gab: toe fce£eerf) Cfjee to hear ug. (B Hamb of (gob: that taitcgt atoap the gtng of the toarlh ; (grant ug Cbp Peace. #erbant#, hetug hurt hp no persecution#, map efaermore gthe thank# unto Chee tu t£hp holp Church; through 3e#u# Christ our 2Lortf." S the Litany approaches its close, like some stream, which for a while impetuously rushed along and was broken, as it were, by the rocks into short swift portions, but which when it reaches the plain subsides into a deep, full, steady flow; so we have now certain longer collects or prayers, added to the brief fervent suffrages which went before. This prayer is chiefly adopted from a collect which was originally in the Sarum Book for a Service compiled for the benefit of those who were " in trouble of heart," and it is significant of the anxious days that seemed before and around them, that made the compilers of the English Litany, in 1544, adopt it for frequent use. How tender is the trustfulness of the opening line, " God, the merciful Father." How musical, like the moaning of the wind, are the pathetic words, "the sighing of a contrite heart, and the desire of such as be sorrowful." nil tl)t iLitang. 221 " Contrite " signifies bruised, ground down as it were by afflic¬ tion, till all the natural pride and spirit is gone. How powerfully has our dramatist Shakespeare painted such a broken spirit, when he describes the once powerful and pompous Wolsey asking from the Abbot of Leicester a brief shelter, that he might die in peace! " A bruised reed shall He not break," was one of the prophetic descriptions of the Saviour, and it is still true. The world loves those that are prosperous, but the sorrowful can seek the sympathy of the Divine Man of Sorrows. There was a pious woman, in a hospital in London, who had to undergo a dreadful operation. She begged that as it was near Easter it might be performed on Good Friday, that she might take comfort in remembering her Lord's voluntary sufferings! But in such times too often our faith sinks—we seem to have no longer strength to bear our cross; thus we must, as this collect says, ask that our " prayers may be assisted." " The troubles and adversities which oppress us." How full of meaning are these words: " Trouble," from the old English, to thrash or beat out, as is the corn ; " adversity " reminding us of the complaint of old Jacob : "All these things are against me;" and the forcible word, " oppress," giving us a feeling of the crushing weight of afflictions, which bow the back and whiten the hair! But sometimes these troubles have a power to save men from spiritual dangers of pride and worldliness. When Thornhill the painter was executing his pictures on the dome of St. Paul's, he worked on a lofty scaffold. Pointing out to a friend certain effects of colour in his cartoon, he began to step backwards, not remarking that he had almost reached the very edge. His friend, trembling with horror at his imminent danger, feared to alarm him by any sudden exclamation, but catching up a wet brush, hastened to daub the paint on the picture. Thornhill rushed up to snatch away the brush, and he then learned his terrible peril, and the quick-witted device of his friend to save his life. So does God 222 ^tartetf antf &racl)tnjj sometimes seem to destroy a brightly-coloured plan, or a high hope, in order that our soul's real welfare may be secured. The prayer then asks that the " evils" wrought by the Devil and his agents, wicked men, may be " dispersed," that is, scattered or rendered harmless by the good providence of God. Here we have, on the one hand, the powers of darkness, on the other the compassionate care of God. The amount of power for evil allowed to the Wicked One is a very mysterious subject, but it seems certain that it is lessened as the religion of Jesus advances ; so the shadows depart as the sun rises higher. " The craft and subtilty " of the Devil seems to have met with apt pupils and imitations in the sixteenth century in Italy, when Christianity seemed almost to decay under the influence of revised Paganism, and become, as someone said, " mere gilded heathenism." One of the Popes is reputed to have said, "What a fine thing for us is this fable of Christianity ! " Historians tell us that politicians calmly in their councils discussed the assassination of troublesome enemies as a convenient resource of statecraft, and the stiletto, or the slow poison, were equally convenient expedients. There is a story that contrivances for poisoning enemies, or inconvenient indi¬ viduals, were planned with the utmost "subtilty." There were poisoned gloves which it was fatal to wear, and hollow rings filled with deadly fluid, which, when a foe's hand was pressed, gave a tiny scratch, ejecting its venom, that ere long caused an unsus¬ picious death ! Days when the Italian statesmen coined the maxim, that " words were given us to conceal our thoughts." Very thankful ought we to be if God has cast our lot where the craft and cunning of evil men does not entangle our lives with their dangerous webs. But though living in a Christian land, where better morals prevail, and law and justice are supposed to protect both rich and poor, we cannot escape the deceits of the Tempter. Many a one who never dreamed of danger is lulled to sleep, and forgets to watch, and neglects to pray. And then, when deceived by his own self-confidence and the flattery of the an tfjr ILttanj). 223 Wicked One, he falls before the attack of a sudden temptation. In war times there is always need of precaution. On one occasion, in one of the wars of France or Flanders, before the fortified gate of a city appeared a train of country carts, laden with hay and provisions. No danger was suspected; the draw¬ bridge was lowered, the portcullis was raised, the gates were flung open. But just as one of the waggons of hay reached the arch of the gateway a wheel came off, and whilst the guard was examining the supposed accident, the drivers threw off their smock frocks and appeared in armour. The portcullis could not be lowered, nor the gates closed. The enemies, who had been concealed under the hay and straw, crept out, sword in hand, and the town was in a few minutes in their hands. Against earthly perils we must ever watch, but with dangers that assail the soul we must not only "watch" but also "pray" that those dangerous crafts of the Wicked One may " be brought to nought." Over against them this collect places the comforting thought of God's " Providence," the loving eye, as the word suggests, guarding over His people. As Moses encouraged the people of Israel in his last noble address to remember, "The Eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." Under God's good oversight and foreseeing eye we trust that our perils may be "dispersed," that is to say, "scattered abroad" and reduced to nothing, as the snow melts and disappears. There was once a town in an Alpine valley threatened with destruction, for a mass of ice had blocked the outlet of a mountain torrent. Behind this barrier a huge mass of water accumulated and threatened to sweep away the obstacle, and at the same time overwhelm the town below. But a skilful engineer devised a remedy. He bored holes through the icy barrier, and let the water gradually flow through, and, as it flowed, enlarge each aperture by its current, and so the dangerous mass of water was dispersed. Lastly, we express a hope that "unhurt by persecution " we may "give thanks in Thy Holy Church." 224 £tcirie£ antf STearljmjj Many days of persecution has the Church of Jesus endured. The Pagan cruelties of the early Roman Empire, the vindictive rage of heretics when in prison, the savage inroads of the bar¬ barians, and in later days, a couple of hundred years ago, in our own land, the harsh and bitter treatment experienced in Crom¬ well's time by our clergy and bishops, who held fast to the Prayer Book and their king. Few people now seem to know the cruel persecutions inflicted by schismatics on churchmen. Few know that it was a legal crime, punishable by imprisonment, even to use a Prayer Book in a private family; whilst its public em¬ ployment was suppressed by heavy penalties. How noble was the conduct of Hacket, Rector of St. Andrew's, Holborn, who, when a fanatical soldier placed a pistol to his head as he read the prayers aloud, calmly remarked, " Do your duty, and I will do mine," and went on reading, whilst the rufflan, at length abashed by his courage, withdrew. Even within a few months back, devoted servants of the Church have been punished with imprisonment for obeying the plain letter of the Prayer Book, in their desire to do honour to the Church's Master. And for every opportunity of serving God un¬ fettered by the restrictions of evil or mistaken men, we should " give thanks." But how better can we give thanks in His Holy Church than by attending and partaking in that " sacrifice of praise and thanks¬ giving," to which the early Christians gave the name of the Eucharist, or celebration of thanks. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXXVII. 1. For whom and what service was this prayer originally composed? 2. What does "contrite" signify? 3. What did the word "adversity" mean in Old English ? 4. What does the word "providence" signify? 5. Give scriptural examples of the "craft and subtilty of the devil?" 6. What does "Eucharist" mean? an t\)c Httanp. 225 CLAUSE XXXVIII. Response. " 43 Harb, art£r, fjeTp u£, anb trrltber u£ far &bi? $amc'^ tfafto. Versicle. 43 <§ab, b)e ijabe tjrarU b)tti) attr ear£, anb our fatbrr^ babe bedareb unto u£, tbe unfile bmrfe£ tbat (Ebatt Xrttf^t in tbetr baa£, anb tu tbe alb time before tbem. Response. <3 Ilartf, ari£e, b^lp uä, aub beltber uä far UHbtne bauaur. Versicle. (gtara be ta tbe jfatber, antr to tbe ^an, autf ta tbe ^ala (§bfjst. Response. <&£ it b)a£ tu tbe befltmittig, ts> nab), autf ebcr au af ISabtb, Ijabe mercy upon tt*. Versicle. 28atb nab) autf eber baucb*afe to bear ti*, 43 Cbrt*t. Response. <§ractau*ly bear u£, 43 Cbrtst; tjractau*ly beat u*, 43 Harb Christ. Versicle. 43 Harb, let Cby mercy be sbabirb upon u*. Response. <&£ b)e ba put nur trust tu Cbee." N the old arrangement of the Litany, as sung in York Minster, this response from the last verse of the forty- fourth Psalm, was sung in their seats in the choir before the choristers began their procession on Roga¬ tion Monday. What a picturesque sight it must have been to see the long procession, with gleaming cross and jewelled banners, and clouds of incense, passing through the vaulted aisles to the font, and winding round the whole length of the Church. The order of the procession seems to have been as follows : " First, an acolyte, as cross-bearer; then two taper-bearers; then a censer- bearer ; two boys in surplices, with book and taper; two deacons with oil and chrism ; two sub-deacons; a priest in a red cope; and five chanters of the Litany." p 226 £tnrtcja antr Ctacljtug The words, "Arise, O Lord, and help" remind us of the time when our Saviour lay sleeping in the stern of St. Peter's fishing vessel, and was called on by His alarmed disciples. So here we ask Him to calm the " waves of this troublesome world." When we plead for " Thy Name's sake," we take up the example of Moses, who interceded for the children of Israel, not for their own merits, but for the glory of His own great Name. The people's quotation from the Psalms is here succeeded by the Priest reciting that noble passage, which forms the opening of the forty-fourth Psalm—a verse which has been described as one of the noblest specimens of rhythm in the English language. "The noble works" of old time, to the pious Jew, would recall the deliverance from Egypt ! the marvellous march through the wilderness ! the return from Babylon ! the glories of the Macca- bean heroes ! To the older Christians it would bring back the proud moment when the mighty Constantine presided over the Church's Council at Nicaea, or when the pride of the awful Alaric bowed before the yet more solemn dignity of the Roman Pontiff. The English Churchman thinks of the deliverance of our Church from the greed of foreign ecclesiastics; our nation from the sway of Spain ; our theology from what was as bad—the chains of an iron Calvinism; our public services from the cold gloom of Puritanism ; our faith from the deadening latitudinarianism of the eighteenth century; and our religion from becoming a mere invertebrate pietism in the nineteenth. " Noble works" hath God wrought for our Church, both in the sixteenth, seventeenth, the eighteenth, and also in our nineteenth century ; and as the holy Keble beautifully says: "One generation has handed on to another 'the lamp of Truth, and the watchword of Hope.'" It is remarkable to find amidst these earnest petitions for help, which almost suggest that it was in days of special trouble that these forms of supplication were put together, an element of praise and adoration, for we almost suddenly are called on to glorify God by reciting in His honour the Doxology. nil tf)t üttang. 227 The Doxology means "the words of glory "—the declaration that praise and glory is due to God. Perhaps it is here intro¬ duced to remind us that no matter how dark our troubles may be, there is still room for us to praise God. A good old man used to say that if we could see all the trials and afflictions of all Christians cast into a great heap, we should gladly again pick out our own ; and therefore we may always find something for which to thank God. The Doxology, which is so familiar to us, as sung after every psalm, has a very remarkable history. It is one of the declarations which the Church has made against the great wave of Arianism, which in the fourth century nearly overwhelmed the Catholic faith. It remains like a mighty dyke which marks the efforts once re¬ quired to repel the tide. The Arian formula was " Glory to God the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Ghost," and the orthodox Christian was carefully taught to understand the difference, and to give equal glory to the three persons in the Holy Trinity. Arianism would have lowered the Son to be a created being, although allowing Him a certain amount of glory and honour. But God always raises up the right man in the crisis of His Church's history; thus, to meet the subtle arguments of Arius, the great theologian, Athanasius, appeared on the scene. For the definition of doctrine the providence of God has pro¬ duced a wondrous instrument in the language of ancient Greece, capable of giving the very finest shades of meaning. And the keen metaphysical character of the Greek intellect also supplied a race of theologians, who worked out to the very utmost bounds of human reason the most abstruse doctrines of the faith, and crystallized in creeds those dogmas of the Christian faith which the great Councils enunciated. By their labours, and on their conclu¬ sions, the solid foundation of the orthodox belief was raised. But this was not done without many a struggle, many a persecution ! Of Athanasius, we read that when only a child he attracted notice by playing at being a bishop in games with other children. 228 £tarie£ antf (Tcacljtng; When ordained a deacon, he showed the greatest zeal and the most brilliant eloquence in defending the Divine position of his Saviour. Forty-six years was he Bishop, during which time he was thrice banished. Often he was exposed to the greatest danger by the malice of powerful enemies. They on one occasion accused him of the murder of a certain Bishop who had dis¬ appeared. The accusation was made in the public courts, and Athanasius charged with the crime, but he overwhelmed his accusers with ridicule by calling in the supposed murdered man, who had only sought refuge for a time in retirement. For years Athanasius remained concealed in a dry cistern, his wants supplied by faithful friends, but after years of persecution and trial, of anxiety and struggles, he died in peace at Alexandria, and his name is honoured as one of the great pillars of the Church, and his work is seen in that "gloria" which is continually chanted in our ser¬ vices. "To the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost," co-equal and co-substantial, we give "glory." Can we increase the glory of the Mighty God ? That is the most elevating truth that Revelation displays. How it raises and exalts man to learn that he is a being who can yet do honour to his Creator, and reflect back glory to His Name. Just so the fragment, small though it be, of a mirror, can throw back a glisten¬ ing ray of that splendour of the sun which has shone upon it ! There is a story of three German Princes meeting together and discussing the relative merits and advantages of their different principalities. One boasted of the rich corn-fields and abundant clusters in the vineyards of his territory. Another spoke of the deep mines, the precious ores, the sparkling gems, which enriched his realm. The third spoke nothing of such treasures, but said that a few nights previously he had lost his way in passing through a forest, and tired out with efforts to discover it had at last lain down under a tree and fallen asleep; but when he woke in the morning, he found his head pillowed on the breast of a poor labourer, and his cold limbs covered with the wood-cutter's cloak 1 0tt the üttatiin 229 And at once his companions agreed that the principality which supplied such faithful and loving subjects amongst its rudest inhabitants had indeed the most glorious treasures. So we believe our love and loyalty to our great King—our prayers, our praises, our efforts to do His will, add fresh lustre and new glory to His might and majesty. The succeeding short prayers and responses are, for the most part, very plain and easily understood. " From our enemies defend us," means, especially, the foes of the Church. There are, and have been, exalted and influential men, who have used their elevated position for evil. No human power could restrain them. The Church's only refuge was in prayer. Such, for instance, was the critical moment when Arius the heretic, in the fourth century, obtained, through court influence, an order from the Emperor, that he should be admitted by the Bishop into Com¬ munion in the great Church of Constantinople. The aged Bishop Alexander, in his 90th year, knew not what to do—the heretics, exalted by imperial favour, triumphed in their approaching success. The orthodox Catholics were almost in despair at the insult offered to their Blessed Lord. But earnest prayers were uttered, and on the way to the Cathedral, on the very day appointed, amidst a crowd of his supporters, Arius died suddenly and miserably. The petition, " O Son of David," has not only a Scriptural association as carrying us back to the appeal of Bartimseus, but it is curious also to learn that it was a very favourite form of devotion in the Tudor times ; as, for instance, Henry VII. endowed University College, Oxford, with money, that certain Fellows should sing in the Mass, " Jesus, Son of David." May not the history of David have struck very powerfully the imagination of the obscure Welsh youth, who, like David, so unexpectedly obtained a crown. One more old-fashioned word demands our notice—"vouchsafe." "Vouch" comes through the French from the Latin "vocare," to call, and was used for summoning a person to one's aid in a Court 230 starte* anfc Cearhtng of Law. "Safe" meant a warranty of safety and protection ; and thus originally " vouchsafe" meant to ask for a safe conduct through a hostile land ; and so, by degrees, to bestow a favour, in which sense we now implore our Redeemer to listen to us. The last two prayers are from Psalm xxxiii. 21, and close these very earnest entreaties to our Saviour, which, alas ! we often utter with careless lips—for which, may God pardon us. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXXVIII. 1. Where is the forty-fourth Psalm quoted in Litany ? 2. What special deliverances might be commemorated by the pious Jews ? 3. What by English churchmen ? 4. What was Arianism ? 5. What was the Arian doxology ? 6. Who was the great champion of the true faith against Arianism ? CLAUSE XXXIX. " Hot u£ prap. bumbln bctfcech CI)zc, Jattjer, merctfullp to loafc upon aur tnfirmrttetf; antr far the glarp af Chp $ame turn front ug all t§a$z ebtltf tfjat tor most rtghteoutflp habe Ur^crbeO; antr grant tfjat tu all nur trouble foe map put our fohole trutft aub coufibence tu Chp wercp, anb ebermore £crbe Chee tu holtueöö anb purenetftf of Itbtug, ta Chp honour anb glarp; through our onlp jtörbtator anb &bborate, gctftuS Christ our Horb. <&mzu" F this Collect Keble says that it contains a "resume" of the whole Litany compressed into a few words ! In its historical aspect it is, in its germinal state, taken from the Sarum Book of Offices, where it was used in " the Memorial of all Saints." In explanation of its structure we may observe that it is addressed to God the Father, and implores Him to take a merciful view of our infirmities. The thought nil tfir Hitani}. 231 seems to be derived from the 103rd Psalm, " Like as a father pitieth his own children, He remembereth that we are but dust." " Infirmity " describes that want of strength and power to resist, which is so characteristic of human nature. Some years ago the noble spire of Chichester Cathedral fell, It was a lofty structure in the pointed style, raised on the massive columns of the older Norman tower. These columns looked sufficiently ponderous and huge to bear any weight ; but a few days before the catastrophe ominous cracks began to show them¬ selves, and streams of white powder began to pour from the joints in the masonry. The inside of the Norman piers was filled up with mere rubbish, the huge weight rested entirely on the thin outward casing of Cseen stones, which was being actually ground into powder ! The architect, who was hastily summoned, tried to prop up the failing stonework with huge baulks of timber. But they only bent and crashed, and with a solemn roar the tall spire subsided in a cloud of dust and ruin ! So, often, the lofty character—the fair fabric of a Christian life, has given way suddenly, and the cause was some unsuspected weakness, some neglected evil habit, some besetting sin, concealed and not renounced. The Christian ought resolutely to make him¬ self acquainted with his own " infirmities." There is painted on the walls of that curious old black-timbered edifice, Speke Hall, in Lancashire, the following sound advice:— " Sleepe not till ye have considered how you have spent the daye past. If you have well done, thank God: if other wayes, repent ye." Even a heathen sage could advise, " Know thyself;" but there is little use in knowing the frailty and infirmities of one's own temper or character unless we ask our sympathizing Master to aid us. There was once a very skilful mason, who was employed to build a bridge over a river in South Wales. Full of ambition to pro¬ duce a noble work, he erected it as a single arch of extraordinary 232 gtavitä antr Cr acting width, which attracted the admiration of all who saw it. But it shortly commenced to show signs of weakness, the weight of " the haunches," as they are technically called, or ends of the arch, began to force up the centre of the structure. Many a builder would have pulled it down in despair, but the man who had designed it could not bear to abandon his masterpiece; so by dint of thought and reflection he struck out the happy idea of lessening the thrust of the abutments by perforating them with three holes or openings on each side. The expedient answered, and the bridge still stands lofty and wide-spanned, and yet firm. So does the Great Master-Builder, taking notice of the weakness and infirmity which oftentimes threaten the ruin of His noblest work, the soul of man, devise means whereby our strength may be restored, our usefulness increased. For these merciful aids the Litany here prays and speaks in the tone which we often find used by Moses in his enthusiastic intercessions for the people of Israel, " For Thine own honour, and for the glory of Thy Name." " Turn from us the evils that we have most righteously deserved." "Righteously" here of course means justly, that is to say, the evils which befall us are the just and natural recompense of our own faults and follies. If we act in a wrong and foolish manner, God has so arranged things that suffering and misery will overtake us as a necessary result. If we stand recklessly under a wall and undermine it at the same time, it will surely fall and crush us. A village, which we may call Aubourne, had many a charm to the stranger's eye. The pleasant fields and hills around, its warm sunny aspect, its houses covered with clustering roses, and their gardens bright with flowers, all combined to draw people thither. Many strangers settled there, and many a pleasant cottage and trim villa rose under the busy builder's hands. And for a long time Aubourne enjoyed a reputation for healthfulness and pleasant¬ ness combined; but one summer ere long there came a change. Disease appeared in the village, and household after household an tf)e iL tang. 233 was attacked. A dangerous and fatal epidemic spread through¬ out the whole place. At last a skilful physician was summoned from London. He analysed the water, and examined the sanitary conditions, and then told the people—your sufferings are self- earned, your epidemic disease is the just result of neglecting the plainest laws of health; you have provided no system of drainage, you have arranged no supply of water except from your polluted and poisonous wells. But though pointing out to the people the consequences of their ignorance and neglect, the man of science did not leave them unaided. He suggested an easy method of obtaining an ample water supply, and designed a simple but thorough system of drainage. So when we have justly deserved our troubles yet we may seek guidance from the Great Physician, and " put our whole trust and confidence" in His mercy. These words seem to bring before one's mind the record of some terrible shipwreck. Often we read how the doomed ship comes drifting on to the cruel rocks, then she strikes on the first reef, then the waves force her on, every blow shattering the timbers, the surges sweeping across her deck, and washing away the unhappy wretches who still cling to the broken rigging. But now she approaches the cliffs. There an effort is being made for the rescue of the mariners ! The rocket apparatus has been brought to the edge, and many brave hearts and willing hands are there to help. The red rocket flares through the tempest, and it has carried with its course the con¬ necting cord, and now a communication is established. Swinging in the fierce blasts, suspended over the pitiless surges, wet with the high-tossed foam, is the single rope which offers deliverance to the shipwrecked—it is " their whole trust and confidence." So, amidst "the waves of this troublesome world," must the Christian rely on the mercy of his Saviour. Then the prayer concludes by painting the course of the Christian's life. A " service of holiness and purity," in the number of Christ's servants, reflecting, by our conduct, honour 234 £torte£ ants GTcracfitug on the religion we profess, and relying on the merits of the mighty "Advocate" who pleads for us on High. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XXXIX. 1. From what Missal is this prayer taken ? 2. What does the word "righteously" as used in this prayer mean ? 3. What is meant by " infirmities ? " 4. Mention a passage in the New Testament where our Lord is called "An Advocate ? " 5. From what psalm is the principal idea of this prayer derived ? 6. What does the word " Mediator " mean ? CLAUSE XL. Prayer of St. Chrysostom. " &lmtgf)tw <&otr, SSäfio fja£t gtbcu u£ grace at tf)t£ time fottf) 011c accorh to mafcc our cnmntan äuppltcattoutf unto Cficc; antr Oast pramt^e, that tfoo or three are gathereO together tu Chi» Same Chau fcatlt grant thetr regue^: JFuIfit uofo, 3Lartr, the Oe^treS anO petition^ af Cfjg tfcrbanb», a£ maw he mo£t eppeOtent far ifian; granting us? in tht£ foorltr hnafcaleOge of £f)w truth, antr tu the foarltr ta rarne Itfe eberlaöttug» gmeu." T is a very interesting feature to find in our Prayer Book (which is chiefly derived from the offices of the Western Church), a Collect drawn from some of the Greek Litur¬ gies. It was first introduced by Cranmer, in 1544. In the Greek, it is found in the Liturgies of St. Basil and St. Chry¬ sostom, and is used in the Churches of the East whenever the Holy Communion is celebrated. Few lives of great Churchmen are more interesting than that of St. John, surnamed u The Golden Mouthed," on account of his eloquence. He was born in the year 347, and in his youth spent a long time in a cavern in prayer and frequent fasting. At length, his health failing under such austerities, he betook himself to the more useful work of a priest and pastor, and his fervid eloquence Oll tf)£ Httatig. 235 did much good, for he hesitated not to denounce the prevailing sins of his age, and even their follies—as, for instance, the ladies used to wear shawls embroidered with scenes out of the Scriptures, but sometimes their religion seemed to end there. Appointed Bishop of Constantinople, his zeal and fidelity soon produced a crop of enemies. Some of them employed a certain wily ecclesiastic, called Theophilus, but nicknamed from his crafty character, " Right and Left," to get Chrysostom into disgrace. Shortly after, a pious woman at Alexandria having given a thousand pieces of gold to clothe poor women—vexed at this sum not coming into his own hands, Theophilus raised a disturbance, and when certain injured parties appealed against his arbitrary interference to the Archbishop of Constantinople, Theophilus and his servile followers condemned Chrysostom in a pretended synod, and accused him of having called the Empress Eudoxia "Jezebel." After some oscillations of the people, in the favour of their eloquent Bishop, the Court, and his intriguing enemies, got him banished to a desolate little town in Armenia. When thus persecuted by Eudoxia, the wife of the Emperor Arcadius, in answer to the condolence of a friend, Chrysostom writes: " Be it, that the Empress banished me from the Empire—there is the world before me ? Be it, she confiscates my goods—naked came I into the world, and naked must I return ! Be it, she condemns me to be stoned to death. The Martyr Stephen thus entered into everlast- ing glory ! Be it, she condemns me to the headsman's axe; the Baptist joined thus the blessed company of the Martyrs, when he was released from prison. Eudoxia can take from me only that which perishes in the using; she cannot even touch that better part, which is the heart's true treasure." But not even then could the hatred of his foes rest satisfied. He was ordered to be removed to a more distant spot, Pityus, on the far shore of the Black Sea. His military escort were encouraged to expect promotion if he should die on the road. For many years before he had been weak and sickly, and now 236 £t0rie£ autr fEracljtnjj Chrysostom was growing old, and unable to bear hardships. When the rain was pouring down he was forced to travel on. Nor was he allowed to rest when the sun was oppressive. The journey took three months. Most pathetic in their patience, their faith, their courage, are his letters (still extant) written on this journey, when his only human solace was to communicate thus with his friends. But the privations and exertion of the journey told more and more on his feeble frame. One day he could go no farther. His stern escort had to take him back to the place whence they had that morning started, and lay his exhausted frame in a small church close at hand. He asked to be clothed in white raiment, and received his last Communion, and uttered his last prayer, ending, "Glory to God for all." Thus died one of the best and noblest of the Church's fathers. It is indeed pleasant to think how his words enshrined in our Prayer Book are channels for the devout aspirations of many generations of Englishmen, whose forefathers were complete heathens when he wrote this inimitable prayer. It is quite plain that the language of this prayer was suggested by that passage in the Gospels, where our Lord says, "That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in Heaven ; for where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them." (St. Matt, xviii. 19, 20.) From this saying, it has ever been held that three persons consti¬ tute a church—thus, when three native Chinese became converts it was said that "the Church of China "came into existence. What a wide difference is here seen between the way in which the world despises "a mere handful of worshippers" and the way which our Lord values them and adorns their devotions by His presence. Nothing shows more the want of faith in this cold age than the popular contempt cast upon daily services because the congre¬ gations are often necessarily small! "What was your congregation this morning ?" asked a cynical worldling of a country parson on t\)t ILttam>. 237 returning from Mattins. " The visible congregation was one old woman and the sexton. The invisible congregation was, I believe, made up of departed saints, of ministering angels, and the Great Master of the Church Himself," was the reply. There is a tendency in many people's minds to turn religion into a selfish matter. Their own soul's progress, their own trials, their own progress—all is solitary and isolated. They live, as it were, on a little spiritual island of their own. Perhaps it was in foresight of this current of feeling setting inward entirely, and likely, in the case of monastic or solitary Christians, to develop to a most unwholesome degree, that our Saviour laid down so emphatically that the union of devout persons in prayer with a single aim should have extraordinary weight. Some American writer tells a touching story of a party of rough "navvies" employed in making a railway across some of the swamps on the Isthmus line. The region was terribly unhealthy, the air from the marshes under the tropical sun was fever-breeding, and it was a saying, that every sleeper that was laid cost a life. It was with the greatest difficulty that even, with enormous wages, the engineer, who had charge of the laying of that section, kept the labourers from deserting when men began to drop and die of the fever. He was a noble-hearted young fellow, determined to do his duty, and with the yet higher principle of Christian brotherhood, which made him ready to sit down and read the Bible together with a negro labourer on Sunday afternoons, who was the only man in that rough gang who professed any religion. It was weary work, forming the line through that desolate fever-stricken tract of country, but still they pushed on hard at the work, and were approaching its close when the young engineer was pros¬ trated. The negro at once volunteered to take charge of him, and groaning and delirious he lay in his little hut, whilst all that was good in the minds of the navvies was drawn out by their sympathy with the sick man, and they toiled on with grim and 238 £ttn te$ antr Cracfitng silent endurance. But morning and evening they came to enquire after their sick master. White and senseless lay the engineer on his bed, as the anxious group looked in at the open door, and someone remarked, " Guess we've done all we can for him." But Abel, the tall old negro, came to the front. " No you ain't done all, nor near all," he said, "you ain't prayed for him. I've prayed, but de Lord He waits for de two or tree." There was a falling back. How could they pray, many of whom had never bent a knee for long years ? " Could you speak for us?" said one great fellow, at last, in a stammering way. Then Abel at last said, hesitatingly and slowly, " I could make de prayer if you all go along wid me; but I can't see into your hearts. Mates, say 'Amen' at the first, and 'Amen' at the end, and den de Lord will know." He softly closed the door behind him and waited. "Amen!" cried the tall Yankee, who stood nearest, and all followed. " Lord hear de Amen," said Abel, and went on to ask from God life and health for the poor fellow whose life seemed trembling in the balance, and a deep, hoarse, sobbing sound marked the last " Amen " as it came from the hearts of these rough men. That prayer was heard, and by and bye, placed on a mattress, and laid on a trolly, he was able to be taken by friendly hands from the poisonous swamps down to the seaside, and once more, with increasing health, drank in the reviving sea breezes, and regained health and strength. It is to be observed of this prayer, that placing all things in the hands of our dear Saviour, who knows what is best for us, there are only two things for which we venture to ask boldly and decidedly. These are, " in this world the knowledge of His truth ; " and in the next " life everlasting." And, in reference to these closing words of deep and fervent prayer, may not we think of that picturesque legend of the good woman, who, called away from illuminating a missal, laid aside her work, with that patience so difficult to attain under the small aggravations of life, to attend to some common-place duty for a an tf)£ üttang. 239 sick or poor person ; and who, when she returned, heard the rustle of angel wings departing, and found that a Heavenly visitant had continued to imprint the prayers in letters of purest gold. Could such a legend be true no angel could find more pathetic words of faith and trust to emblazon in the gold and azure of the sunset tints, than those concluding aspirations of the prayer of the great and good St. Chrysostom. QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XL. 1. In what part of the Greek service was this prayer used ? 2. What is meant by a Liturgy ? 3. What passage in Scripture suggests the language of this prayer ? 4. What office did St. Chrysostom hold ? 5. Where was he banished, and where did he die ? . What are the two things asked for in this prayer? CLAUSE XLI. The Benediction. " (grace of our ILorh CIjrts'L autr the lobe af (grtr, antr tje fellofosffitp of lf)e |&olg (gi)o£t, be ffittf) u£ all ebcrmore* ^rnen»" ERHAPS there are few words in the Prayer Book which are so familiar as these, and possibly few so little thought over. In some congregations, where the people have not been taught to be devout, there is, as the priest utters these words, a kind of " rustle/' as though every¬ one was preparing to assume a more comfortable position at the first decent moment! Yet this is a most important part of Divine Service. It is the benediction or blessing. In the old Mosaic law it was one of the great functions of the High Priest " to bless" the people. (Lev. x. 22; Numb. vi. 25-27; Deut. x. 8; xxi. 5.) And in the fully-developed Church of Christ our Lord, His disciples were instructed to solemnly bless the homes into which they entered. And observe, also, in 240 anü Ceatfjütfl this connection, the deep and loving spirit of benediction which breathes in the concluding passages of St. Paul's Epistles. As the clergy of the New Testament share the priesthood of Melchisedec, so they have, like him, the authority to bless (Heb. vii. i); and instead of our people regarding " the benediction " as a mere form, it should be looked upon as a very real and true " means of grace," for a blessing is a prayer on behalf of one or more persons, and it is written, "The fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much and a benediction is a blessing pronounced with authority by one to whom such power and office is given. As the clergy bless in the Name of God, and as God has revealed Himself in His triune character, so the Benediction is threefold—the grace of Christ, the love of God the Father, the fellowship of the Divine Spirit. This form which we use is chiefly derived from the concluding words of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, and it has been suggested that very possibly St. Paul quoted it from some of the Liturgies used in the Primitive Church, for we must remember that Liturgies are forms of prayer, and, as employed in celebrating the Holy Communion, are probably older than even the Apostolic Epistles, for there must have been a body of Christians, and these Christians must have been worshipping the Saviour before St. Paul found it needful to write to them pastoral letters. This Benediction is found even now in very ancient Greek Liturgies, and in the old English Church it came in the service called "Tierce," used at nine o'clock in the morning in those churches where they observed " the seven times of prayer." It was added at the close of the Litany in the revision of 1559. (Queen Elizabeth's Prayer Book.) The word "Grace" is one of those Scripture expressions which has almost lost its force from being obscured by a cloud of con¬ troversial theology. In its simplest significance it denotes the spontaneous kindness and compassion of our Blessed Saviour. "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He an tljc ftttairjh 241 was rich, yet for your sake He became poor." (2 Cor. viii. 9.) A year or two ago, a paragraph which appeared in the news¬ papers sent a thrill of admiration through the hearts of many. A child was carried sick into one of the great London hospitals— the dangerous symptoms of diphtheria appeared—the little patient rapidly grew worse—the case was hopeless. Nay, one only "chance" was left—to make an incision in the throat, and for someone to suck away the poisonous matter which was choking the poor sufferer. To do this was more than hazardous; it would be at the risk of the operator's life. Ah, many a young fellow will face the storm of bullets in some " forlorn hope," when the inspiriting music of bugle and drum are heard, and bayonets flash in the light, and the cheers of thousands of brave men on either hand make the heart bound with enthu¬ siasm. But to face death in the gloomy ward of the hospital, for some unknown little stranger, not for the glory of a nation, but for what some would call a life of no value, is a far higher test of courage and of heroism. But forth stepped from the little group of doctors and students round the bed of the child, a young man, who calmly undertook the desperate resource, and alas! receiving himself the deadly poison into his own system, died a few days after. They have set up a memorial to that heroic deed in the hospital, and rightly so ; but such deeds of self-sacrifice draw their inspiration from the great example of the Crucified Saviour. His grace, His compassion, has been the germ and seed from which has grown up the great Tree of Self- devotion and Self-sacrifice, bearing its fragrant fruits in many ages, and over-spreading many lands. Christ has, for the relief and cure of sin-diseased souls, "tasted death for us," and the infusion of His love into individual hearts seems to fulfil the meaning of the prayer, when we desire that " the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you." Often we see, at some distance from our great towns, Man¬ chester, for instance, a series of large lakes formed in the recesses Q 242 stories autr Cracking of the lonely hills. This is the great reservoir, an image of the mighty work of the Redeemer on the Cross, with its infinite value. And though we cannot discern it, a large channel con¬ veys that pure water for a long distance, emblem of the Church, which hands on from age to age the power of Christ, and then also, though invisible to us, a system and network of pipes and communications takes that wholesome water, which comes from the heathery hills and moors far away, into each house and building of the crowded city. Even so "the grace" of Christ is distributed by the Divine channels of Sacraments and Ordinances to myriads of individual souls. Next we invoke " the love of Godf even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some writer says the horizon of the sky, the circle which sur¬ rounds us wherever we go, is an emblem of the love of the Eternal God. Yet too often we forget to notice the many mercies which the love of our Creator has placed around our path, and think only of the trials, which, after all, may be either the consequences of our own faults, or sent as a useful discipline. A quaint preacher advises that when we are inclined to grumble we should take a sheet of paper and write down a list of the bless¬ ings we still enjoy, and we shall soon find our paper too small ! There is a great proof of God's love to man in the beauty with which He has clothed this world. He has not only given us the necessary bounties of life, but He has made our earthly home rich with glories ; and these are bestowed on all alike. He " causeth His sun to arise," with all its splendour of purple and gold, on all— on the wicked, to remind him of his Creator, and recall him from his intense gaze on the things of the earth ; on the servant of God, to fill his heart with gratitude for the splendour of His Father's House, where he hopes to dwell for evermore. " The fellowship of the Holy Ghostf are words which perhaps do not convey a clear meaning to the children of our times, as on ti)t Ettaug. 243 they did in earlier days. During the fifteenth and preceding centuries, the principle of community and fellowship was greatly developed. Every trade had its guild, or company; people were gathered into confraternities. They used to have chapels or aisles, in the Churches, where they worshipped together. They had their own festival days, their chaplain, their special services, and their banner. Thus the children were accustomed to see the elders united together in communities, holding the same views, and having the same objects. Hence their young minds could easily rise to understand that higher fellowship—the communion of the Holy Ghost, by which we understand the sharing together of those blessings which the Divine Spirit bestows. In the Benediction we desire that all may grow under the dew of the gracious Spirit of God—all may be warmed under the sunlight of His blessed influence. And these blessings we ask not for a day or hour, but for evermore—gazing forward to the long perspective of eternity. And not for ourselves alone do we ask, but with the authority and in the spirit of Him, who was Lord of #//, we seek that "the tender grace" of the ever-blessed Trinity may fall, like a ray from Heaven, " upon all." QUESTIONS ON CLAUSE XLI. 1. With what words did the High Priest bless the children of Israel ? 2. In what words were the disciples of our Lord commanded to bless the houses into which they entered ? 3. Why may Liturgies reasonably be older than the Epistles ? 4. Mention remarkable passage in the Epistles, illustrating the words " the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ ? " 5. What Greek word does " Fellowship" represent ? 6. What were the seven " canonical hours ? " Ü3i> ti)e late 2fteb. OTL Hartman, 3LH.I3. STORIES AND TEACHING ON THE MATTINS AND EVENSONG. A Book to make those Services plain to the old and interesting to the young. This new book contains an enormous amount of material for the Preacher, the Teacher, and the Catechist. Cr. 8vo, 5/-. This volume, like the Author's preceding book on " The Litany," forms a veritable storehouse. There are 52 chapters on the Prayers, Creeds, Versicles, Canticles, etc., etc., all profusely illustrated with carefully- selected and very original Stories and Anecdotes, etc., and each chapter is followed by Catechetical Questions, which may be used at Children's Services. It includes, for instance, two chapters on the Confession, two on the Absolution, three on the Lord's Prayer, six on the Te Deum, eight on the Creed, each practically forming a complete Sermon; besides Ser¬ mons on the other portions of the Service. " It teems with a rich fund of pithy and pointed illustrations and anecdotes." —National Chureh. "A capital book for Cateehists."—Church Times. " Is worth buying as a repertoire of well-chosen stories for the use of the preacher." —Literary Churchman. By the same Author. LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OP CHURCH HISTORY; from the Apostolic Times to the Present Day. A series of Twenty-Three Short Sermons. Pull of valuable teaching, information, etc., and illustrated with numerous anecdotes; a most valuable volume for Church Defence, etc., purposes. Second Edition. Cr. 8vo, 4/-. "A valuable addition to educational literature."—Literary Churchman. By the same Author. "MARK WELL HER BULWARKS;" or, "The Fortifications of the Faith; " being Explanations and Illustrations of the Creed commonly called " Nicene," in Sixteen Short Sermons. Cr. 8vo, 2/6. These Sermons were undertaken in accordance with a suggestion of the Bishop of Lichfield. They are full of definite teaching, but at the same time abound in illustration, etc., and are written in a style sure to interest and attract any congregation. "The author deals with the great truths which this creed contains in a sound and forcible manner."—Guardian. "Treated popularly, and introducing illustrative stories more or less helpful." —Church Times. " We think Dr. Hardman's attempt a successful one."—Literary Churchman. By the same Author. THE PARSON'S PERPLEXITY. What to preach about. A complete set of Sixty Short suggestive Sermons for the hard-working and hurried, including all the Sundays and chief Holydays of the Christian Year. These Sermons are thoroughly interesting, varied, and full of judicious illustration and anecdote. Second Edition. Cr. 8vo, 5/-. "We know few volumes more calculated to deliver the parson from his weekly perplexity."—Literary Churchman. " Is likely to be found helpful .... short and practical."—Guardian. "Mr. Hardman has done his work carefully and well."—Church Times. " The subjects are well chosen, and often strikingly treated."—Church Bells. By the same Author. CAUGHT AND TAUGHT, or New Nets for the Fishers of Men. A series of Allegorical Sermons, including Advent, Christmas, Lent, Good Friday, Easter, Ascensiontide, Whitsuntide, Sacramental and General. Cr. 8vo, cloth, 2/6. "Instructive and attractive. While the style is eminently plain, pointed and simple, the tone is intensely earnest."—National Church. ^ 40158 'iii weeks without renewal. 2. Books may be renewed for two weeks only. 3. Students who damage or lose books must pay for them. 4. A fine of two cents will be imposed for each day that the book is overdue. 5. Reserved books withdrawn at 9:00 P. M. must be returned at 8:00 A. M. next morning. Failure to return reserved books on time, will re¬ sult in a fine.