To profess my belief in the incarnation and death of our Saviour.

8. Why do you say at the same time, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"?

To remind me that I was baptized in the name of the most holy Trinity.

7. Sign of the cross.-'

-To the Jews the cross of Christ was a scandal, to the Gentiles a folly: but the Christians considered it, with St. Paul, the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Cor. i. 23, 24.) Hence arose among them the practice, which in the early age of Tertullian was ascribed to apostolic institution, of making on almost every occasion the sign of the cross. "Whithersoever," he says, 66 we move, or are borne, whether it be that we come in or go out, that we dress to remain at home, or to go abroad; in the bath, at table, on the introduction of lights, when we retire to our beds or to our seats, in a word, whatsoever may be our occupation, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross."-De Cor. p. 102. 8. To remind me.-In ancient times, when men were often baptized at an adult age, the union of this invocation with the sign of the cross, could not fail to remind them that by belief in the death of Christ, and regeneration in the name of the blessed Trinity, they had become children of God. (Gall. iii. 26, 7.) Such reminiscence was calculated to inspire them at their prayer with confidence in him, who had thus adopted them for his children; and the same ceremony ought to have the same effect on us, who have participated in the same blessing.

9. Why does the Church generally end her prayers with the words, "through Jesus Christ our Lord"?

Because we do not ask through our own merits, but through the merits of him, who has said, "whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, the Father will give it unto you." (John xv. 16; xvi. 23.)

10. Do you pray for yourself alone?

No, not only for myself, but for all mankind; and not only for the living, but also for the dead.

11. Is it then lawful to pray for the dead?

Yes: "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins." (2 Mac. xii. 46.)

10. For all mankind.-I exhort that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. (1 Tim. ii. 1.)

11. But also for the dead. Thus St. Paul prayed, first for the house or family of Onesiphorus, that the Lord would give mercy unto them. (2 Tim. i. 16), and then for Onesiphorus himself, that the Lord would grant unto him that he should find mercy of the Lord on that day (ibid. 18): he prayed first for the living, in return for the benefits which he had received from their master, and then for the master himself, who was dead. This conclusion that he was dead, may be very justly inferred from the reason given of the apostle's prayer for the family, from the change in the wording of his prayer for Onesiphorus, and from his subsequent salutation of the family without any salutation of the master. (2 Tim. iv 19.)

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

1. Which is the best of prayers?

That which was made for us by our Lord himself.

2. Say the Lord's prayer.

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."

3. What means the first of these petitions, "hallowed be thy name.".

But independently of this passage, we know from the ancient liturgies and the ancient writers, that before the Reformation there never existed a Christian church which did not pray for the dead. So consonant, indeed, to the sprit of Christianity, and to the best feelings of our nature, did this charitable duty appear to the first reformers in England, that it was admitted into the original book of common prayer, but was afterwards expunged, because they were unable to reconcile it with the disbelief of purgatory, which had been already made a doctrinal article of the new church. 3. May honour the name. It is a misfortune that, from frequency of repetition, men often acquire a habit of reciting this most holy prayer without paying the least attention to the subjects of the several petitions. Hence it is difficult to excuse from impiety those who, in this first petition, pretend to feel a wish that the name of God may be

By it we pray that all men may honour the holy name of God.

4. What is the meaning of "thy kingdom come"?

By it we pray that the knowledge and worship of God may be spread over the whole earth.

5. What means "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" ?

By it we pray that the holy will of God may be obeyed by men on earth, as it is by the blessed in heaven.

6. What means "give us this day our daily bread" ?

By it we ask of God to grant us our food of each day, and to bless our daily labours and endeavours.

7. What means "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them who trespass against us"?

hallowed, though at the same time they profane it without scruple in their daily conversations; or those who pray in the second that God's will may be done, while they live in the constant habit of offending him by sin; or others who, in the fifth, beg to be forgiven as they forgive their enemies, while, instead of forgiving, they are meditating evil against those who offend them. A little attention to the words which they utter, would open their eyes to the inconsistency and profaneness of such conduct, and warn them of the necessity of repentance and amendment, before they presume to offer such petitions to the acceptance of the Almighty.

7. Forgive. The duty of forgiveness has been noticed in Part II. c. iv. No. 10.

By it we pray for the pardon of our sins, but are at the same time reminded that, to obtain it, we must forgive our brethren. 8. What means "lead us not into temptation"?

By it we pray that we may never be tempted above our strength.

9. What means "deliver us from evil"? By it we beg for deliverance from all evil of soul and body.

CHAP. III.

PUBLIC WORSHIP.

1. Besides private prayer ought we not to attend at the public worship?

Certainly for thus we make open profession of our religion, and by our example edify and instruct our neighbour.

8. Lead us not.-These words are not to be taken literally, as if God tempted man to evil. Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted of God. God is not the tempter of evil, nor doth he tempt any man. (James i. 13.) Hence this petition, both in the ancient Church, and in the English Catholic Church as late as the days of Bishop Bonner, was often translated, "let us not be led into temptation." We use verbs of causation strictly; the Jews used them very loosely, attributing events to men who were not really the authors, but only the remote occasion of those

events.