48th, and 68th. The 48th Psalm, being a Hymn in honour of Jerusalem, is, in a mystical sense, an acknowledgment of God's glorious mercies to the Church of Christians under the Gospel; of which none was greater, than the immediate inspiration of the Apostles, by the Holy Ghost, and the addition, on that same day, by means of the same Spirit, of three thousand souls to the Church. The other Psalm contains a prophetical description of the Ascension of Christ, who went up on high, and led Captivity captive, and received gifts for

men.

The Psalms for the Evening are, Psalm 104th, and 145th. The former, in as much as it is a meditation on the power of God, in making, and preserving, all the creatures of the world; so it celebrates the miraculous works of the Holy Ghost, which made the clouds his chariot, and walked on the wings of the wind. The latter, is a form of solemn Thanksgiving to God, wherein, we declare the power of the Third Person in the Trinity, and talk of his Worship, his Glory, his Praise, and wonderous Works.

The first Lesson for the Morning, Deut. xvi. to ver. 18, contains the law of the Jewish Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks, which was a type of ours; for, as the Jews received, on this day, the Law from Mount Sinai, the Christians, on this day received the New Evangelical Law from Heaven, by the administration of the Holy Ghost. The first Lesson for the Evening, Isaiah xi. is a prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles to the kingdom of Christ, through the inspiration of the Apostles, by the Spirit of God. The completion of which prophecy, is recorded in both the second Lessons, Acts x. 34. Acts xix. to ver. 21; but, especially, in the portion of Scripture chosen for the Epistle, which contains a particular description of the descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles, according to the promise mentioned in the Gospel. The Gospel, Epistle, and the Collect, for the day, are taken from the old Liturgies.

OF THE MONDAY, AND TUESDAY, IN WHITSUN WEEK.

The Whitsun Week was never made intirely a Festival like that of Easter; because the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, were Ember days, and observed as Fasts, and days of Humiliation, and Supplication, for a blessing on the work of ordination, which was usually on the next Sunday fol

lowing such fasting, in imitation of the Apostolical practice, mentioned, Acts xiii. 3. The Monday, and Tuesday were, however, observed in the same manner as those days in the Easter Week, and for the same reasons.

The Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, for both these days, are ancient. The Epistles, are concerning the Baptism of Converts; Whitsuntide, and Easter, being, as has been before said, the more solemn time for performing that ceremony; they further concern the receiving of the Holy Ghost, by the hands of the Apostles; this being the season for Confirmation, which was always done, by the imposition of hands. The Gospel for Monday, seems to have been chosen for the instruction of the new baptised. The Gospel for Tuesday, seems to be appointed, in consideration of this being one of the Ember, or Ordination Weeks.

The first Lesson for Monday Morning, is the History of the Confusion of Tongues at Babel; whereby the Church reminds us, that, as the Confusion of Tongues spread idolatry, and made men lose the knowledge of the true God, so God provided, by the Gift of Tongues, under the Gospel dispensation, to repair the knowledge of himself, and lay the foundation of a new religion. In the first Lesson for Monday Evening, is recorded the resting of God's Spirit on the seventy Elders of Israel, to enable them to ease Moses of part of his burthen; which exactly prefigured the descent of the same Holy Spirit, at this time, upon the Apostles, and others, to the same end, that the care of all the Churches might not lie upon one single person. Accordingly, the second Lesson for this day teaches, that these spiritual gifts are all given to profit withal, and must, therefore, be all made use of, to edification, as to their true, and proper end.

The first Lesson for Tuesday Morning contains the History of the Inspiration of Saul, and his Messengers by the Spirit of God; and that in the Evening, Deut. xxx. is the prophecy of Moses, how God would, in after times, deal with the Jews upon their repentance. The Morning's second Lesson forbids us to quench the Spirit of God; the second Lesson warns us, not to believe all teachers, who boast of the Spirit.'

OF TRINITY SUNDAY.

As the praises of the Trinity were every day celebrated in the Doxology, Hymns, and Creeds, the ancient Church thought

there was no need to set apart one particular day for that, which was done on each. This Sunday was therefore no otherwise distinguished than as an octave of Pentecost, till the heresies of Arius, and others, against the two persons of the Trinity, had excited the apprehensions of the Church; and then, it was thought convenient, to make the Trinity the more solemn subject of one particular day's meditation. The reason why this day was chosen, as most seasonable for this solemnity, was because, when our Lord had ascended into Heaven, and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Church, there then ensued a better knowledge of the doctrine of the glorious Trinity, which before that time, had not been so particularly disclosed.

This mystery was not clearly delivered to the Jews; who, being surrounded by idolatrous nations, might perhaps have mistaken it for a plurality of Gods; it was not, however, so hidden, even in those times, but that a person, with a spiritual eye, might discern glimmerings of it dispersed through the Old Testament. The first Chapter in the Bible seems to set forth three persons in the Godhead, which makes this a very proper Lesson for the solemnity of this day. For besides what is said of the Spirit of God which moved upon the waters, ver. 2, we find the Creator himself, consulting with others about the greatest work of the Creation, the making of man, ver. 26. The reason of the choice of the other first Lesson, Genesis xviii. is as obvious; it records the appearance of the great Jehovah to Abraham, in company with two other persons, which, it is supposed, was designed to shew him the Trinity of persons. But this sacred mystery is no where so plainly manifested, as in the second Lesson for the Morning, Matthew iii.; which at one and the same time, relates the baptism of the Son, the voice of the Father, and the descent of the Holy Ghost; and these, though they are, as appears from this Chapter, three distinct persons in number, yet the second Lesson in the Evening, 1 John v. shews, that they are but one in essence.

The Epistle and Gospel are the same, as, in ancient services, were assigned for the octave of Whit Sunday. The Gospel seems suited to the season, as being the last day of the more solemn time of Baptism; neither the Epistle or Gospel is improper to the day, as Trinity Sunday; for in both are mentioned the three persons of the Trinity; and that remarkable hymn of the Angels in Heaven, mentioned in the portion of

Scripture chosen for the Epistle, has of itself seemed to many to be a sufficient manifestation of three persons, and but one God. The Collect is plainly adapted to this day, as it is Trinity Sunday.

OF THE SUNDAYS FROM TRINITY SUNDAY TO ADVENT.

The whole time from Advent to Trinity Sunday, is chiefly taken up in commemorating the principal acts of Providence in the great work of our Redemption; and, therefore, such portions are selected for Gospels, as are thought most suitable to the several solemnities, and most likely to confirm our faith in the mysteries we celebrate. But, from Trinity Sunday to Advent, the Gospels are not chosen, as peculiarly proper to this, or that Sunday, only such passages are selected, out of the Evangelists, as are proper for our meditation at all times, and may conduce to the making of us good Christians.

The Epistles tend to the same end, being frequent exhortations to an uninterrupted practice of all Christian virtues. They are all of them taken out of St. Paul's Epistles, and they observe the very order, both in Epistles and Chapters, in which they stand in the New Testament, with the exception of those for the five first Sundays, that for the eighteenth, and the last for the twenty-fifth.

Those for the first five Sundays (except that for the fourth) are all taken out of St. John, and St. Peter; and they are placed first, that they may not, afterwards, interrupt the order of those taken from St. Paul. The eighteenth, was one of the Dominica vacantes, that is, without any service at all, owing to the duty, and fasting, on the preceding Saturday, and the performance of ordination, which lasted so late on the Saturday night, as to require rest, for the Clergy, on the next day. This day had, afterwards, a particular Epistle, and Gospel, allotted to it, suitable to the solemnity of the time. The Epistle hints at the necessity of Spiritual teachers, and mentions their requisite qualifications; the Gospel treats of our Saviour silencing the most learned of the Jews, by his questions, and answers, thereby, also, shewing how his Ministers ought to be qualified.

The last Sunday, which has an Epistle that varies from the order of the rest, is the Twenty-fifth. This Sunday, being considered as a sort of preparation, or forerunner to Advent (as Advent is to Christmas,) an Epistle was chosen

for it, not according to the former method, but such a one, as so clearly foretold the coming of our Saviour, that it was afterwards applied to him by the common people, as appears, by an instance mentioned in the Gospel, for the same day, This is of a truth, that Prophet, that should come into the world; and it is, no doubt, for the sake of this Text, that this portion of Scripture, which had before been appointed as the Gospel for the fourth Sunday in Lent, is here repeated, because they thought this inference of the multitude, a fit preparation for the approaching season of Advent. The Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, are thought so appropriate to this season, that it is directed, by a Rubric after the Gospel, that if there should be more than twentyfive Sundays before Advent, the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel of this day, shall always be used on the Sunday before Advent.

All the Collects for these Sundays, together with the Epistles, and Gospels, are the same as they were taken out of the Sacramentary of Gregory the Great, excepting, that some of the Collects, were a little corrected at the last Review, rather to amend, and smooth the expression of them, than to make any material change in the sense.

OF THE IMMOVEABLE FEASTS.

It remains to speak of some Immoveable Festivals, which are subjoined in the common Prayer Book, to the Sundays after Trinity. These are set apart for the commemoration of the Apostles, the first Martyrs, or other Holy persons. It will be sufficient to make a few Observations on some of them.

ST. ANDREW'S DAY.

It may be observed, that as St. Andrew was the first, who found the Messiah, John i. 38, 42, and the first who brought others to him, so the Church, for his greater honour, commemorates him first in her anniversary course of Holy-days, placing his Festival at the beginning of Advent, as the most proper to bring the news of our Saviour's coming.