light of thy Gospel to shine throughout the

world ;”— Here we state,– 1. That God's Gospel is light. 2 Tim. i. 10; John, i.

4-9; ii. 19-21; 2 Cor. iv. 4-6; Luke, ii. 30–32. 2. That this light He has caused to shine throughout

the world. John, iii. 19-21; Isa. Ix. 1-3; Matt. iv. 16; Col. i. 23; Eph. v. 8–14; Luke, i. 78, 79;

iv. 18. 3. That this He did at first by the preaching of Saint

Paul particularly. Rom. x. 18; xv. 19; Acts, xiv.

27; xv. 3; Col. i. 23. 4. That this Saint Paul was a blessed Apostle of God.

Acts, xxvi. 16-20; 1 Cor. ix. l; Rom. i. 1, 5, 15,

16; Acts, ix. 15; 1 Cor. xv. 9; Gal. i. 17; ii. 8, 9. The Petition is :

“Grant, we beseech thee, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may shew forth our thankfulness unto thee for the same by following the holy doctrine which he

taught ;”— We state or imply here, 1. That the conversion of St. Paul was a wonderful

conversion. Acts, ix. 1-20; xxvi. 12-15. 2. That this wonderful conversion should ever be had

in our remembrance. Ps. lxxvii, 11-14; cxi. 2-4;

2 Pet. i. 12-15; Job, xxxvi. 21; Isa. xliv. 21, 22. 3. That this conversion should not only be matter of

remembrance, but of thankfulness also; thankfulness should be shewn unto God for the same. Gal. i. 23, 24; Phil. i. 3, 4; Col. i. 3-5; 2 Thess.

The Conclusion is :

“through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” As before.

Supplementary Questions.
What is Saint Paul here called ?
What is God here said to have made to shine throughout

the world ?
How has He done this?
What is “preaching ?”.
What is God's Gospel here said to be ?
Produce Scriptural proof of all these assertions.
What kind of conversion was Saint Paul's ?
Ought this ever to be forgotten ?
In what manner did it take place ?
And where ?
What should be shewn unto God for this conversion ?
Wherefore ?
How should we manifest our thankfulness ?
What did Saint Paul teach ?
For what purpose did he teach this?
Whose help do we need to enable us to do this?
How is it to be obtained ?

No. LXXI.

The Purification of the Virgin Mary.

A PRAYER FOR PURE AND CLEAN HEARTS.

The Invocation is :

“ Almighty and ever-living God,”— And contains no further statement. The Petition is (reaching to the end of the Collect):

“We humbly beseech thy majesty, that, as thy only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in substance of our flesh, so we may be presented unto thee with pure and clean hearts by the same thy Son Jesus Christ our

Lord. Amen." In the first clause of this Petition we declare, 1. That God's only-begotten Son Jesus Christ was presented before God. Rev. xx. 11, 12; Matt.

xxv. 31, 32; Rom. xiv. 10-12; 2 Cor. v. 10. 2. That we want, in order to be ready for such presen

tation, pure and clean hearts. Ps. xxiv. 3, 4 ; xv.; Matt. v. 8; Ps. li. 10; lxvi. 18, 19; Matt. xxiii. 27;

Heb. ix. 13, 14; 1 John, i. 7; 1 Pet. i. 22. 3. That He who can alone so present us is this same

Jesus Christ, God's Son and our Lord. Rev. i.
5, 6; v. 9; vii. 14; Matt. x. 32; 2 Cor. iv. 14;
Eph. v. 27; Jude, 24; Col. i. 14-22, 28 ; 2 Cor. xi.
2; Heb. ii. 11-13.
And hence the prayer that we may by Him be

so presented.

Supplementary Questions. What was done with God's only begotten Son on this

day? Why was this done? In conformity to what law ? What took place at the time? In what form was He presented ? What is the meaning of “substance ?” What of “flesh” here? Do we need any kind of presentation before God ? In what way do we need to be presented ? From what do our hearts need cleansing and purifica

tion ? By what instrumentality must this be done ? By whom only can we be presented in this manner to

God ?

No. LXXII.

Saint Matthias' Day.

A PRAYER THAT THE CHURCH MAY BE PRESERVED FROM FALSE, AND GUIDED BY FAITHFUL, PASTORS.

The Invocation is :

“O Almighty God, who into the place of the traitor Judas didst choose thy faithful servant Matthias to be of the number of the twelve

Apostles;"Here, after invoking God as “ Almighty,” we have it de

clared or implied, 1. That the Apostles, properly so called, were in num.

ber twelve. Luke, vi. 13; Matt. x. 1, 2, 2. That amongst that number was a traitor, Judas by

name. Matt. x. 4; Luke, vi. 16; Matt. xxvi. 14-16; 47–50; Mark, xiv. 10, 11, 21, 43-46; Luke, xxii. 3-6, 47, 48; John, xii. 4-6; xiii. 2, 27-30 ; xviü.

2,3-6; Acts, i. 15–19. 3. That when this Judas departed from this company

his place was filled by another named Matthias.

Matt. xxvii. 3-5; Acts, i. 15-18, 21-26. 4. That this Matthias was chosen to this place by God

Himself, and was a faithful servant of God. Acts,

i. 24-26. The Petition is :

“ Grant that thy Church, being always preserved from false Apostles, may be ordered and guided by faithful and true pastors ;”—