No. LII. Ceuth Sunday after Crinity. A PRAYER THAT OUR PRAYERS MAY BE ACCEPTABLE, AND ACCEPTED. The Invocation is: "O Lord," Simply, as before. The Petition is: "Let thy merciful ears be open to the prayers of thy humble servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please thee;" In the first portion of this Petition we declare: 1. That we are our Lord's humble servants. Matt. xxiii. 8-12; 1 Cor. xv. 9; 1 Pet. v. 5, 6; Jam. iv. 10. 2. That our Lord's ears are merciful ears. Ps. lxxvii. 1; Isa. lix. 1; Neh. i. 6-11. And so ask that those ears may be opened to our prayers at all times. Ps. xxxiv. 15; Jam. v. 4. In the second portion of the Petition we teach or declare: 1. That to obtain our petitions we must always ask such things as shall please God. 1 John, v. 14; 1 Kings, iii. 5-9, 10; 1 Chron. iv. 10; Luke, xxii. 42; Jam. iv. 3; Acts, x. 2-4; Ps. lxvi. 18-20; Jam. v. 15-17, 18. 2. That to do this we need His help. Luke, xi. 1; Rom. viii. 26; Zech. xii. 10. For which help, therefore, we here offer a prayer. The Conclusion is: 66 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." As before. Supplementary Questions. What do we here profess to be? Is humility a proper spirit for us to manifest? How are our Lord's ears characterised? Are we to understand the word "ears" in a carnal sense? What do we wish to obtain ? In order to that, what kind of petitions must they be? i. e. What must we petition for ? Can we do this alone? What do we require? No. LIII. Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. A PRAYER THAT WE MAY BE MADE PARTAKERS OF GOD'S HEAVENLY TREASURES. The Invocation is: "O God, who declarest thy Almighty power most chiefly in shewing mercy and pity;" Here it is stated 1. That God is a God of Almighty power (see page 72, Part I.) 2. That this power He is pleased from time to time to declare or make known. Isa. lii. 10; Ps. xcviii. 1,2; Ex. vii. 3-5; xv. 11-16; Ps. cvi. 7-9; Isa. lxiii. 12-14. 3. That this He does most chiefly in shewing mercy and pity (i.e. He uses this power most for performing acts of mercy and pity: e.g. raising the dead; healing the sick; feeding the hungry; all which are acts of Omnipotence). Rom. i. 4, 16; Eph. i. 19, 20. (The life of Christ is a perpetual exemplification of this sentiment.) The Petition, therefore, is: 66 Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running the way of thy commandments, may obtain thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure;" In this Petition it is stated 1. That God's gracious promises and His heavenly treasure are the objects of our desire. Ps. lxxiii. 25; Phil. iii. 13–15; Heb. xi. 13-16; vi. 12; 20or. iv. 16-18; v. 1,2; Matt. vi. 20, 21; Ool. iii. 1, 2. 2. That to obtain a share of, and in, these, we must run the way of His commandments. Ps. xxxvii. 4; lxxviii. 7, 8; cxix. 32; Matt. vi. 17-20; 1 John, iii. 24; v. 3. 3. That to do this we need a due measure of God's grace. Ps. xxxvii. 5, 34; Ps. xxv. 4, 5; Cant. i. 4; Eph. iv. 7; Rom. xii. 6; Zech. iv. 6. For this grace, therefore, we here offer our prayer. The Conclusion is: "through Jesus Christ our Lord. As before. Supplementary Questions. Of what is God here said to be the possessor? And what from time to time to do? Amen." For what purposes especially does God declare or make known His power? Illustrate this assertion, and shew its correctness. What do we desire to obtain ? What kind of promises are they called, and why? Of what do we wish to be made partakers? How must we act in order to this? What do we mean by "running the way of God's commandments?" What do we need to enable us so to do? What is there to hinder us? Will God's grace enable us to overcome these hindrances ? How are we to run on this way? Heb. xii. 1, 2. No. LIV. Twelfth Sunday after Crinity. A PRAYER FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN, AND THE GIFT OF GOOD THINGS. The Invocation is: "Almighty and Everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve;' Here, invoking God as "Almighty and Everlasting," we state in addition to what is involved in these titles, 1. That He is always more ready to we to offer them. Isa. lxv. 24; Dan. ix. 20-23; Acts, ix. 10, 11; hear prayers than 2 Kings, xx. 1–5; Ps. x. 17; xxi. 3. S 2. That His gifts usually exceed both our desires and deserts. Ps. cxxx. 3, 4; 2 Chron. i. 7-12; Ps. xxi. 4-6; Luke, xv. 17-19, 22-24; Ps. xxxi. 19. Encouraged by which considerations, we proceed to ask in The Petition (reaching to the end of the Collect): "Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid; and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen." In this Petition is implied, or acknowledged,— 1. That there are certain things whereof our conscience is afraid, and for which we require forgiveness. Heb. x. 22; Job, xlii. 5, 6; Ps. xxxviii. 4-8; xl. 12; lxxix. 8; li. 3; lv. 4, 5; cxxx. 3, 4; Ezra, ix. 6; Dan. ix. 5-8; 1 Sam. xxviii. 15-20; Isa. lxiv. 6; Hos. xiii. 1; Acts, xxiv. 25; 1 Cor. xv. 56, 57. 2. That there are certain other things, and those good things, which God has it in His power to bestow, but which we deserve not; and in ourselves are not worthy to ask. Gen. xviii. 27; xxxii. 10; 1 Cor. xv. 9; Isa. lxiv. 6; Luke, i. 48; Ps. xxxi. 19; xxxvi. 7-9; 1 Cor. ii. 9; Rom. iii. 19; Ps. ciii. 3-5, 8-12. 3. That though in ourselves unworthy, yet, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Lord, we become so; and, therefore, in His Name may make bold to seek the gift of the one, and the forgiveness of the other. Eph. i. 6; ii. 18; Heb. iv. 15, 16; ix. 13, 14; x. 14, 16, 17, 19–22; 1 John, ii. 1, 2; Col. i. 20; John, xiv. 14; Acts, xiii. 38; 1 John, iii. 20, 21. 4. That still, if God be pleased to do for us what we desire, He will be acting in mercy; and pouring down upon us His mercy, which is abundant, in all its abundance. Gen. xix. 19; Joel, ii. 13; Lam. iii. 21, 22; Ps. cxlv. 7-9. And for this we earnestly put forth our prayers. |