No. IV. Fourth Sunday in Aduent. A PRAYER FOR DIVINE ASSISTANCE IN RUNNING THE CHRISTIAN RACE. The Invocation is: "O Lord," Simply, and contains no statement. The Petition is: "raise up (we pray thee) thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sin and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; In this petition the following truths are involved: 1. That there is a race set before us for all of us to run. Heb. xii. 1, 2; 1 Cor. ix. 24-27; Phil. iii. 13, 14. 2. That in running that race we are sore let and hindered. Ps. xxxi. 10; vi. 2; lxxiii. 2, 3. 3. That these lets and hindrances are our own sins and wickedness. Prov. v. 23; Matt. xiii. 22; Rom. vii. 5-24. 4. That to overcome these lets and hindrances we must have the power and might of our God raised up for our succour. Isa. xxxviii. 14; Gal. ii. 20; 2 Cor. xii. 9. 5. That the grace and mercy of God are so bountiful, as to lead us to hope that this He will speedily do. Ps. xxxix. 7; xxxviii. 15-22; cxlvi. 5-9; ciii. 6-11; Heb. iv. 15, 16; Isa. lxv. 24. The Conclusion is: through the satisfaction of thy Son our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen." Here we state also: 1. That God's Son is our Lord. 1 Cor. viii. 6; Rev. xix. 16; Acts, ii. 36; John, xx. 28. 2. That this Son has rendered a satisfaction which gives us a hope of obtaining what we desire. Eph. ii. 13-16; 1 Peter, ii. 24; Isa. liii. 4-6; 1 John, ii. 1; Rom. iii. 24-26. 3. That to this Son, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, honour and glory are to be ascribed. Rev. iv. 9-11; v. 12-14. 4. That this is to be now, and continually, world without end. (See same texts.) Supplementary Questions. What does this Collect say we have set before us? By which of the Apostles is this figure repeatedly used? Are there any hindrances in the way of those who are running this race? What are they? And in what way do they hinder ? What is needed in order to overcome them? Is there anything in the character of God, or in His attributes, which warrants the hope that what we need will be bestowed? What do we say in the conclusion of this Collect that God's Son is to us? What is He here said to have done for us? To what satisfaction do we here refer? When was it made, and how? What led to it? And what consequences follow from it? (Isa. lxiii. 5, 7-9; Eph. ii. 12–18.) What is here ascribed, or given, to the three Persons in the Godhead ? Is this practice or duty ever to terminate? No. V. Christmas Day. A PRAYER FOR A DAILY RENEWAL BY THE The Invocation is: "Almighty God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin," Here we address God as an" almighty" God, and state as a motive for the prayer which follows: 1. That he has given to us his Son. John, iii. 16; vi. 32; Rom. viii. 3; 2 Cor. ix. 15. 2. That this Son whom he has given is his only-begotten Son. John, i. 14, 18; Heb. i. 4, 5. 3. That this Son was given to take our nature upon him, and be born into the world as a man. John, i. 14; Rom. viii. 3; Matt. i. 20-23; 1 Tim. iii. 16; Heb. ii. 16. 4. That this took place "as at this time," i.e. at a time to which this present season corresponds: and 5. That it was of a pure virgin that he was born. Mutt. i. 18-23; Isa. vii. 14; Luke, i. 26, 27. K The Petition is: 66 grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit;" In this petition are contained the following propositions: 1. That we are not by nature the children of God. Eph. ii. 3; Ps. li. 5. 2. That we are made God's children by regeneration, adoption, and grace. Matt. xviii. 1-4; John, iii. 3-5; Rom. viii. 14-16; Gal. iv. 4-7; Eph. ii. 8; Tit. iii. 5-7. 3. That when regenerate, a Spirit is still required. daily renewal by the Holy Tit. iii. 5; ii. 12; 1 Peter, i. 2; 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20; 2 Cor. vi. 14-18; vii. 1; Col. iii. 9, 10; Eph. iv. 22-24; Isa. xl. 31; Rom. xii. 2; 2 Cor. iv. 16; 1 Peter, i. 22. For which, therefore, we pray. The Conclusion is: 66 through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen." Here is also stated: 1. That this Son, born as at this time and of a pure virgin, is the same Jesus Christ who is our Lord. Acts, ii. 22-36; 1 Cor. viii. 6. 2. That this same Jesus Christ is now living and reigning with the Father, and with that same Spirit whose daily renewals we need. Acts, ii. 33; 1 Cor. xv. 25; Heb. i. 4. 3. That these three Persons are yet but one God, and ever the same, world without end. 1 John, v. 7; James, i. 17; Heb. xiii. 8; ix. 14; Deut. vi. 4. Supplementary Questions. What is God here said to have done for us? What is said with respect to God's Son? For what purpose was this Son given? How did he take our nature upon Him? At what time is this said to have taken place? And of whom was Christ born? What prophecy was hereby fulfilled? How, in the petition which follows, are we said to be made God's children? Whose children are all by birth? What, when regenerate, do we further require? In what relation does the concluding portion of the What is His present occupation here said to be? How long will this union subsist? No. VI. Saint Stephen's Day. A PRAYER FOR A FAITH AND A SPIRIT OF LOVE LIKE THAT OF THE MARTYRED STEPHEN. Here we again invoke Christ, the second Person in the Godhead, and acknowledge him our Lord. The Petition is (running to the end of the Collect): 66 Grant. . . . that in all our sufferings here upon earth for the testimony of thy truth, we may stedfastly look up to heaven, and by faith |