Peace; and its Effect, Quietness and Affurance for ever 1.

The latter Collect, taken in Part from an Office of the Greek Church, prays more particularly for the Safety of the enfuing Night: that God's Favour may fhine upon us, and lighten our Darkness; that is, protect us, while we are unable to help ourselves, or even to know our Danger. The fame Phrafe is twice used in the Book of Pfalms. Unto the Godly there arifeth up Light in Darkness. And again, The Lord fhall make my Darkness to be Light*.

Next to the Morning and Evening Service in our Prayer-Book ftands the Litany, or more earneft Supplication for averting God's Judgements, and procuring his Mercy. This Earneftness, it was thought, would be best excited and expreffed by the People's interpofing frequently to repeat with their own Mouths the folemn Form of befeeching God to deliver and to bear them: in which however the Minifter is understood to join equally; as the Congregation are in every Particular specified by him. Such Litanies have been used in the Church leaft 1400 Years. And they were appointed first for Wednesdays and Fridays, these being Pf. cxii. 4. * Pf. xviij. 28. appro

* If. xxxii. 17.

at

appropriated to Penitence and Humiliation, and for other Fafts: but not long after for Sundays alfo; there being then the largest Congregation, and most folemn Worship; and our Litany is further directed to be used at fuch other Times, as the Ordinary fhall think proper. Originally it was intended for a distinct Service; to come after the Morning Prayer, as the Rubric of our Liturgy ftill directs, and before the Office for the Communion, at a proper Diftance of Time from each of which Custom a few Churches preserve still, or did lately, some Remains. But in the reft, Convenience or Inclination hath prevailed to join them all three together excepting that in fome Places there is a Pfalm or Anthem between the first and fecond; and between the second and third almost every where: befides that the latter Part of the Morning Prayer is, moft of it, ordered to be omitted, when the Litany is faid with it. But ftill by this close Conjunction several Things may appear improper Repetitions; which, if the Offices were feparate, would not. However, as it is, they, who ufe extempore Prayers in public, have fmall Right to reproach us on this Head. For doth it not frequently happen, that, during one Affembly of theirs, dif

ferent

ferent Minifters praying fucceffively, or the fame Minister in feveral Prayers, or perhaps in one only, fhall fall into as many Repetitions, as are in the different Parts of our Liturgy, or more? But be that as it will, to these laft all Persons would easily be reconciled, if an Interval were placed, in their Minds at least, between the Services; and they would confider each, when it begins, as a new and independent one, just as if it were a fresh Time of meeting together.

The Litany of our Church is not quite the fame with any other: but differs very little from thofe of the Lutherans in Germany and Denmark. It is larger than the Greek; but shorter than the Roman, which is half filled up with the Names of Saints invoked: whereas we invoke, firft the three Perfons of the holy Trinity, feparately and jointly; then in a more particular Manner our Redeemer and Mediator, to whom all Power is given in Heaven and Earth1.

Him we pray, that he would not remember our Offences, nor the Offences of our Forefathers: which he may not only with Juftice permit to intercept from us (as they naturally

Matt. xxviii. 18,

often

often will) the Bleffings, that we might elfe have inherited; but, if we have imitated wicked Ancestors, instead of taking Warning by them, he may with equal Juftice punish us more feverely, not indeed than we deferve, but than he would have done otherwise, to prevent the Contagion from growing general and inveterate. Accordingly the fecond Commandment threatens to vifit the Iniquities of the Fathers upon the Children: and the Pfalmift, according to the Marginal, and perhaps righter Translation, prays as we do: O remember not against us the Iniquities of them, that were before us ".

The Words, and be not angry with us for ever, beg, that the Corrections, which he doth see fit to inflict on us, (for furely we all feel fome) he would in Mercy shorten. It is common Language to speak of Afflictions, that last any Time, as if they were endless. And the Expoftulation of David in the just quoted Pfalm, How long, O Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever"? fully vindicates this Petition, which was doubtless taken from thence.

Having, after this, befought our bleffed Lord to deliver us from all Evil and Mischief in general, that is, from every Thing bad and hurt

Pf. lxxix. 8.

n Ver. 5.

ful

ful to us: we defervedly rank Sin the foremost of fuch Things; and pray, first against the original Caufe of human Wickedness, the secret Crafts and open Affaults of the Devil, and its dreadful Confequences, God's Wrath and everlafting Damnation; then against the principal Tranfgreffions of his Laws by Name, fubjoining, and all other deadly Sin. By this we mean not to deny, that the juft Wages of every Sin is Death: (though there are, as we learn from St. John, Sins, not unto Death, that is comparatively) but only to pray against the peculiarly deadly with peculiar Earneftness. But ftill, that we may leave out none, we petition laftly to be delivered from all the Deceits of the World, the Flesh and the Devil: every Iniquity every Kind and Degree.

of

:

Then we proceed to deprecate the prefent Sufferings, that our Sins have merited and intreat our merciful Redeemer to preserve us, both from fuch, as God's immediate Hand inflicts; Lightening and Tempeft, Plague properly fo called, Peftilence, or epidemic Diseases of any Sort, Famine and fudden Death; and from such alfo, as Men's unreasonable Paffions produce; whether they be temporal, as Battle and MurP1 John v. 16, 17.

• Rom. vi. 23.

der ;