Chap. the service for the twenty-ninth of May. However, upon XVIII. King James II's Accession, the former laudable and religious practice was immediately revived; a Form of Prayer and Thanksgiving having been composed by the Bishops for this purpose, in many things agreeing with this we now use. But in the reign of King William the Inauguration festival was again disused: and it must be owned there was so much the less occasion for it during his reign, as there were large additions made to the Form of Thanksgiving appointed for the Fifth of November, to commemorate his arrival, which happened on that day. However, when our late glorious and pious Queen ANNE succeeded to the throne, there was fresh occasion to revive the festival. And therefore the day was again ordered to be observed, and a Form of Prayer with Thanksgiving drawn up, part of it being taken from King Janies's office, and part of it being composed entirely new; and is, altogether, the same (except the first Lesson) with the present office, which comes now in order to be explained.

The Sen

tences.

Of the Sentences, Hymn, Psalms, Lessons, Epistle, and

Gospel.

I. THE rubrics are the same as in the foregoing offices;

and so the Sentences are the first that need to be considered and of these it is sufficient to say, that the first is a proper introduction to the duties we are now going to perform 93, and that the other is one of the ordinary Sentences at Morning Service 94, and inserted here, in order to prepare us for the following Confession.

The Hymn. II. The Hymn is an abridgment of a much longer one that was appointed in the office drawn up for King James II. However this, as it stands, is as proper to the occasion, containing suitable petitions and praises for the King.

The
Psalms.

III. The proper Psalms are Psalm xx. xxi. ci. The xxth is a Psalm of David, wherein the people are taught to pray Psalm xx. for his good success.

Psalm xxi.

Psalm ci.

§. 2. The xxist was originally composed upon the same account for which we now make choice of it, viz. to be a form of public prayer, to be used in the congregation for God's blessing on the Prince.

§. 3. The cist Psalın is a resolution that David made to be a strict observer of piety and justice both in his private and public conduct, and is appointed here to remind us, 94 1 John i. 8, 9.

93 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2.

that whoever desires God's blessing upon his person and Chap. government, must diligently attend to discountenance im- XVIII. piety, and to nourish true religion and virtue. In the room of this Psalm, in King James's office, were appointed the lxxxvth and the cxviiith; but they being both chose with an eye to the exile, which that Prince underwent with his Royal Brother, were, in the office for Queen Anne, more properly changed.

IV. The first Lesson in Queen Anne's time was Proverbs The Lesviii. 13. to the end: but now the first of Joshua is again sons. appointed, which was the Lesson for this office when it The first. was put out by King James. Now indeed only the first ten verses are appointed, which contain the history of God's setting up Joshua to succeed Moses in the government of the Israelites, with the instructions that he gave him upon that occasion. Why the latter part was not continued as well as the former, I do not see; since certainly some part of it is as applicable as the former to the case of his present Majesty, it going on with the story of Joshua's passing with the Israelites over Jordan, to take possession of the land which God had given him.

§. 2. The second Lesson 95 is appointed upon account of the sethat part of it which is read for the Epistle on November cond. 5, of which what I have there said may suffice.

V. The Epistle and Gospel are the same with those ap- The Epistle pointed on the twenty-ninth of May, and have already and Gospel. been spoken to in my discourse on that office.

95 Romans xiii.