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fold and great mercies; for his name's sake; the priest follows with Psalm xLiv. 1: "O God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us, the noble works which thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them." In these words David alluded to the wonderful deliverance of God's people in his driving out the heathen from before them from the land of Canaan, and planting his own chosen generation therein in their stead, and humbly rests, upon this recital of God's mercies of old, his hope of deliverance in time to come. Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? Arise, cast us not off for ever. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake." The priest, having ventured to put forward the same argument for mercy as this of David's, the people respond to it: "O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for thy honour." In consideration of thy great glory, of thine almighty power, which thou hast ever declared chiefly in showing mercy and forgiveness; for thine honour; O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us.

Having made these solemn and earnest appeals for help in all time of our tribulation, and knowing, with the Psalmist, how great is his goodness which he hath laid up for them that love Him, which he hath wrought for them that trust in Him before the sons of men, we feel comforted; we feel

inspired anew with strength and hope; we feel that our prayers have been heard and accepted; the clouds which have been lowering above and around us are dispersed, all is brightness and gladness; the priest devoutly and gratefully ascribes glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; to which the people give their hearty assent, by fervently adding, Yea, glory unto them, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!

But, though the eye of faith has been enabled to soar, for a moment, into the heaven of heavens, we are soon forced back upon the painful realities of earth, from which we proceed again to beseech deliverance; priest and people joining in the alternate touching supplications which follow, for defence in our afflictions, pity in our sorrows, favourable acceptance of our prayers; finally, for "mercy, as we do put our trust in Him." Let all remember the condition which they voluntarily recognise and impose upon themselves in this last petition. As they had before prayed for mercy, only so far as they showed it, only so far "as they forgive such as trespass against themselves;" so do they now beseech Christ's mercy, in as conditional a manner, only so far as they put their trust in Him;" that is, only so far as they have that faith in Him, which is dead, which is no faith, unless practically shown by works. This, it is true, is the only condition upon which God's mercy was ever promised, large

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and liberal as Calvary has made that promise; but let it not be overlooked that every worshipper imposes upon himself this condition afresh, each time he offers the above prayer.

This startling but scriptural mode of praying for mercy appears to have been duly appreciated by the pious composers of the Litany, for they recur to it in the prayer which follows: where, after humbly beseeching God to look upon our infirmities, to turn from us all evils, in whatever they may consist, and however righteously we may have deserved them, we beseech Him to endue us with such grace, "that we may put our whole trust and confidence in his mercy;" and that, however we may be reviled and persecuted for our faith, we, like these persecuted Christians of the primitive Church, may be able to point, in our defence, to our holiness and pureness of living, as a proof that we have no selfish ends in view, all we desire and devote ourselves to, being His "honour and glory."

Finally, in the prayer of St. Chrysostom, we beseech God to grant the desires and petitions which we have thus been permitted to lay before Him, in whatever way he may deem most expedient for us. We have prayed to be delivered from many evils; we have interceded for many blessings; we have prayed for his aid under all persecution and affliction; we now beseech Him to pardon our ignorance in asking, if we have asked for anything amiss, that is, with improper views and feelings;

and to fulfil our petitions in whatever way his superior wisdom may deem best calculated to promote our real welfare; so that he will but grant us-what we know from Scripture we must all of us need and pray for-in this world knowledge of his truth, and in the world to come life everlasting.

The whole concludes with that touching benediction of the apostle's, in the prayer of which let us now, each for himself and for all, cordially unite; yea, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost-that Unity in Trinity whom we began by invoking-be with us all, evermore. Amen.

THE END.

LONDON: JOHN W. Parker, ST. MARTIN'S LANE.

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