and prejudice' and of thy great mercy' vouchsafe' we beseech thee' sò to direct' sanctify and govern us in our prèsent work' by the mighty power of the Hōly Ghōst' that the comfortable gospel of Christ' may be truly preached' trùly received' and truly followed' in àll places' to the breaking down the kingdom of sin' satan' and death" till' at length' the whole of thy dispersed sheep' being gathered into o`ne fold' shall become partakers of everlasting life' through the merits and death of Jesus Christ' our Saviour"" It has been deemed sufficient, under this head, to have selected and marked, those occasional prayers which are most frequently used. CHAPTER IV. THE ORDER FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER, OR HOLY COMMUNION. THE COLLECT. Almighty God' unto whom all hearts are open' all desires known' and fro`m whom no secrets are hid" cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy holy spirit" that we may perfectly love thee' and wo`rthily magnify thy holy name' through Christ our Lord= THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Gōd spake these words' and said" I' am the Lord thy God" thou shalt have none other Gods but me" Lord have mercy upon us' and incline our hearts to keep thi's law"" Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image' nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or in the earth beneath' or in the waters under the earth' thou shalt not bow down to them' nor wo`rship them" for I' the Lord thy God' am a jealous God' and visit the sins of the fathers' upon the children unto the third and fourth generation' of them that hàte me' and shew mercy unto thousands in them that lo`ve me' and keep my commandments"" Lord, &c. A passage in this commandment Sheridan directs to be read, according indeed to the usual mode, both of reading and pointing it,—" visit the sins of the fathers' upon the children' unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;" which mode of reading destroys the sense, by making a pause at "children," and none at "generation;" for this implies that the third and fourth generations, who suffer these judgments, are themselves such as hate the Lord, instead of being merely, as is meant to be expressed, the children of such; "of them that hate me," is a genitive governed not by "generation," but by "children" the reading given above, expresses the true sense of the threatening; i. e. "I-visit the sins of the fathers, who hate me, upon the third and fourth generations of their descendants." Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" for the Lord will not hold hi'm guiltless' who tàketh his name in vain" Lord, &c. Remember' that thou keep hòly the Sabbath day" six days shalt thou labour' and do all that thou hast to do" but the seventh day' is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God"" In i't' thou shalt do no manner of work" thou' and thy son' and thy daughter" thy man-servant' and thy maid-servant" thy cattle' and the stranger that is within thy gates"" For in six days' the Lord made heaven and earth' the sea' and all that in them is" and re'sted the seventh day" wherefore the Lord ble`ssed the seventh day' and ha'llowed it"" Lord, &c. Honor thy Father and thy Mother' that thy days may be lo`ng' in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee" Lord, &c. Our Author sanctions a very common error in the reading of this commandment, by adopting this faulty punctuation—" that thy days' may be long in the land' which the Lord thy God giveth thee:" the pause, as well as the emphasis, should be at "long," not at "land." No one would say in ordinary conversation, "I hope you will find enjoyment in the garden'— which you have planted." "I think you will be comfortable in the house'-which your father has given you." Thou shalt do no murder' Lord, &c. Thou shalt not commit adultery'"' Lord, &c. Thou shalt not steal"" Many Clergymen in reading the negative, or prohibitory commandments, are in the habit of accenting the word "not." And here it may be worth while to remark, that in some cases, the copula ought to be made the emphatic word; (i. e. the "is," if the proposition be affirmative, the “not,” if negative,) viz. where the proposition may be considered as in opposition to a contradictory one. If, for example, it had been a question, whether we ought to steal, or not, the commandment in answer to that, would have been rightly pronounced, "thou shalt not steal :" but, the question being, what things we are forbidden to do, the answer is, that "to steal" is one of them; "thou shalt not steal." In such a case as this, the proposi tion is considered as opposed, not to its contradictory, but to one with a different predicate: the question being, not, which copula (negative or affirmative,) shall be employed, but what shall be affirmed, or denied of the subject: for example, "it is lawful to beg; but not to steal:" in such a case, the predicate, not the copula, will be the emphatic word. |