MATINS.

(Rerum creator omnium. No. 33.)

CREATOR of mankind,

Thy promised help we claim,
That so our life Thou may'st not find
Unworthy of our name.

If Thou thy grace deny,
We cannot rightly strive;
In Thee alone to sin we die,
In Thee alone we live.

Our goings, Lord, uphold,

Till this dark vale be passed;

Till in thy fear for ever bold,
We reach thy rest at last.

Oh, happy, peaceful rest,

Prepared for saints above!

Where they with all thy joys are blessed, And drink thy streams of love.

Oh, Trinity divine,

To Thee our hearts we raise: May we thy ransomed people join, And share their songs of praise!

EVENSONG.

(Supreme motor cardium. No. 34.)

SUPREME disposer of the heart,
Thou, since the world began,
With heavenly grace hast sanctified
And cheered the heart of man.

Here faith, and hope, and love, unite
To lift the soul above;
But love alone for aye abides,
Eternal, changeless love!

Oh, holy love! unfading light!
Oh, shall it ever be,

That after all our sorrows here,
Thy Sabbath we shall see?

Here, yet awhile, with many a tear
The precious seed we sow:

There treasured lie the promised fruits,

The harvest of our woe.

Triune Jehovah! God of might!

Thy present gifts increase;

And crown them, in the world to come, With endless joy and peace.

MORNING HYMN, by St. Ambrose.

(Splendor paternæ gloriæ. No. 35.)

O JESU, Lord of heavenly grace,

Thou brightness of Thy Father's face,
Thou fountain of eternal light,

Whose beams disperse the shades of night!

Come, holy Sun of heavenly love,

Shower down thy radiance from above;
And to our inward hearts convey

The Holy Spirit's cloudless ray.

And we the Father's help will claim,
And sing the Father's glorious name;
His powerful succour we implore,
That we may stand, to fall no more.

May He our actions deign to bless,
And loose the bonds of wickedness;
From sudden falls our feet defend,
And bring us to a prosperous end.

May faith, deep rooted in the soul,
Subdue our flesh, our minds control :
May guile depart, and discord cease,
And all within be joy and peace.

And Christ shall be our daily food,
Our daily drink his precious blood;
And thus the Spirit's calm excess
Shall fill our souls with holiness.

Oh, hallowed be the approaching day!
Let meekness be our morning ray:
And faithful love our noon-day light;
And hope our sunset, calm and bright.
O Christ, with each returning morn,
Thine image to our hearts is borne ;
Oh! may we ever clearly see
Our Saviour and our God in Thee.

MORNING HYMN.

BY BISHOP KEN.

AWAKE, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run:
Shake off dull sloth, and early rise
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

Redeem thy mispent moments past,
And live this day as if the last;
Thy talents to improve take care,
For the great day thyself prepare.

Let all thy converse be sincere,
Thy conscience as the noon-day clear,
For God's all-seeing eye surveys,
Thy secret thoughts, thy works and ways.

Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing,
High glory to the Eternal King.

D

I may add, at a time when men's minds reverted with more uniform frequency to their religious exercises than appears to be the case at present.

The Nocturn, or night service, was intended, not merely for the secret meditation of the individual Christian, “if in the night he sleepless lay," but for the benefit of all those who might be disposed to meet together, even at that unseasonable hour, for the purpose of worshipping God.

"Matins," and "Lauds," seem to be convertible terms; they began at the cock-crowing, or as I may also call it, the "bird-singing," at that time when, in summer, it is broad daylight, but before the sun has risen, and which is the time of all others when the birds seem most earnestly engaged in their lauds or song of praise to their great Creator.

Ad Primam, or by 6 A.M., the sun is supposed to have risen, and the labours of the day to be regularly commencing; the hymn accordingly contains petitions for assistance, guidance, and protection, through the course of it.

Ad Tertiam, or 9 A. M., is invariably a hymn to the Holy Spirit, as being the hour in which, on the day of Pentecost, He came down on the Apostles. This seems to have been observed from the very earliest times; most likely the "Veni Creator," of St. Ambrose, was merely a new hymn written by him on a subject already familiar to the Church, from the Apostles downwards.

Ad Sextam, was 12 o'clock, or mid-day; allusion