of the establishment of the Messiah's kingdom, and a confirmation of the truth of his promises. As surely, therefore, as you judge of the coming of summer by the budding of the leaves, so surely may you judge the approach of these events by the signs I have given you. Heaven and earth are not more established than my words: even this generation shall see them fulfilled. THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. The Collect. This collect, for success upon the labours of the ministry, was composed, and introduced into the Liturgy, in the time of Charles the Second. O Lord Jesu Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee, grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; that at thy second coming to judge the world, we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end, Amen. our victory." Josephus says, that not fewer than eleven hundred thousand persons perished during the siege! The tremendous curse which the Jews imprecated on themselves at the condemnation of the Messiah, "His blood be on us, and on our children," now awfully fell on them. This siege has no parallel ; and the dispersion of the Jews from that time to the present, still attests the fact, and proves the prediction to be yet in force. Heaven and earth may pass away; but the word of God shall not pass away! Jerusalem was taken A. D. 70., not more than thirty-seyen years after the prophecy was delivered.-See Murphy's Tacitus, Hist. b. 5.; and Appendix, sec. 5 to 19 inclusive; and Josephus's Wars of the Jews, b. 6. The Epistle.-1 Cor.* iv. 11. We who are the appointed apostles of the gospel, look upon ourselves in no higher light than as the stewards of our blessed Lord. For myself, if I be found faithful in my office, it is all I desire. As to the censures passed on me by others, they have little weight with me. I am more inclined to join them in censuring myself. For though I am not conscious of having neglected my apostolic trust, yet my own sentiments are no justification of my actions. Let us not, then, be forward in passing censures on each other, but leave all judgment to that time, when a very different light shall be thrown on the characters of men from any which they now receive, and when the motives of our actions shall be examined, and every man's real desert shall appear in the sight of God. The Gospel.-Matt. xi. 2. John the Baptist,† who had been some time in prison, having probably long observed, a jealousy subsisting among his followers, against Jesus, and being desirous of removing it now at the close of his * Corinth, the capital of Achaia, was a celebrated city, on the isthmus that separates the Peloponessus from Attica. The Corinthians were proud, ostentatious, effeminate, and luxurious. The object of St. Paul's epistle to them is to reprove them for their vices. It had the desired effect; for it produced in the Christians there abundant sorrow, great vigilance against the vices reproved, and a salutary dread of the anger of God, -See Calmet. The virtue of John the Baptist was so eminent, that many of the Jews took him for the Messiah: but he plainly declared he was not. He preached the doctrine of repentance; obliged persons to confess their sins, baptizing them in the river Jordan; telling them to believe in Him who should come after him, and who would baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire.-See Calmet, life, and of giving them those exalted notions of the Messiah which he himself entertained, sent two of them, to inquire whether Jesus were the real Messiah; or, whether some other was still to be expected. Jesus, instead of answering John's disciples directly, performed many miracles in their sight, and bad them tell John what they had seen; adding, by way of gentle rebuke to the inquirers, that they who took offence in the midst of such manifest means of conviction, lost sight of their real interest. After they were gone, Jesus thus spoke to the people about John. It was not, said he, a trifling matter, or the expectation of seeing any worldly pomp or parade, that carried such numbers of you into the desolate regions of the wilderness. You expected to see a prophet; and indeed you saw one of the greatest that ever appeared; one who was himself the subject of prophecy; the predicted forerunner of the Messiah. THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. The Collect. This prayer, for grace and assistance in our Christian cause, is compiled principally from the service of the Greek church; it is to be found in Edward the Sixth's and James the First's prayer book, varying a little from its present form. In the reign of Charles the Second, it was arranged as it now stands in our prayer book. O Lord, raise up (we pray thee) thy power, and come amongst us, and with great might succour us; that whereas through our sins and wickedness we are sore let and hindered (i. e. cruelly opposed and prevented) in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may especially help and deliver us, through the satisfaction (i. e. atone, ment) of thy Son our Lord; to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen. The Epistle.-Phil.* iv. 4. I now exhort you to rejoice in the Lord, under all your distresses. Let your moderation be evident to all. Every controversy will soon be carried from an earthly to a heavenly tribunal; therefore be not anxious about worldly affairs, but lay all your requests before God, never omitting thanksgiving for past mercies. Thus the peace of God, which can be felt only, not described, shall keep both your affections and your understanding in a blessed composure through Christ. The Gospel.-John i. 19. Prefuce. St. John begins his gospel by declaring the nature and power of Christ; he next expatiates on the work of redemption; and then proceeds to give the testimony of John the Baptist in favour of Christ's being the Messiah.-See the gospel for Christmas day. John's testimony to this great truth was given on this occasion. The austerity and holiness of his life and doctrines having spread his fame through Judea, the council at Jerusalem thought it proper to send certain priests and Levites to inquire whether he were the Messiah. John with great earnestness de * Philippi was a city of Macedonia, and a Roman colony, not far from the borders of Thrace. It was the first place at which St. Paul preached the gospel upon the continent of Europe. After thanking the Philippian church for their kindness to him, St. Paul exhorts them to live in harmony with each other, and to practise the virtue of humility, after the example of Christ. + The word Christ, which is a title of office, derived from the Greek, signifies anointed, and answers to the Hebrew word Messiah. See Calmet. clared he was not. They then asked whether he were Elijah (whom the Jews supposed would rise again to introduce the Messiah), or any of the old prophets. He assured them he was not. They desired then to know who he was, that they might return an answer to those who sent them. John answered from the prophet Isaiah, that he was "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord."* The Pharisees (for of that sect were the inquirers) then desired to know on what authority he baptized, as his baptism certainly implied assumption of extraordinary powers. John told them it implied nothing as from himself, but had reference entirely to that superior person who should soon make his appearance among them, and whose coming he was directed to proclaim. This transaction passed at the ferry or passage place on the river Jordan, where was commonly a great resort of peo ple, and where John at that time fixed his station. CHRISTMAS DAY. The Collect. This prayer for regeneration was composed and introduced into the Liturgy in 1549. Almighty God, who hast given us thy only begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at * This alludes to the custom of princes, who, when they were going on an expedition, sent harbingers before them, to make the roads easy and commodious for their passage. And it must be added, that the very words exactly describe the office of John the Baptist, who prepared the way of the great Redeemer of mankind, by preaching in the wilderness.-See Hewlett's Bible. + Christmas day is a festival of the Church, observed on the 25th of December, in memory of the birth of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, and it has no doubt been denominated Christ's mass, from the name Christ having been added to that of Jesus, meaning that he was the Messiah or Anointed, so long and anxiously expected in the world.-See Clavis Calendaria. |