And he instructed them, that by the Lent-fast we imitate and
commemorate our Saviour's humiliation in fasting forty days; and
that we ought to endeavour to be like him in purity: and that on
Good Friday we commemorate and condole his Crucifixion; and at Easter
commemorate his glorious Resurrection. And he taught them, that after
Jesus had manifested himself to his Disciples to be "that Christ that
was crucified, dead and buried;" and by his appearing and conversing
with his Disciples for the space of forty days after his Resurrection,
he then, and not till then, ascended into Heaven in the sight of those
Disciples; namely, on that day which we call the Ascension, or Holy
Thursday. And that we then celebrate the performance of the promise
which he made to his Disciples at or before his Ascension; namely,
"that though he left them, yet he would send them the Holy Ghost to
be their Comforter;" and that he did so on that day which the Church
calls Whitsunday.--Thus the Church keeps an historical and circular
commemoration of times, as they pass by us; of such times as ought to
incline us to occasional praises, for the particular blessings which
we do, or might receive, by those holy commemorations.
[Sidenote: His own practice]
He made them know also why the Church hath appointed Ember-weeks; and
to know the reason why the Commandments, and the Epistles and Gospels,
were to be read at the Altar or Communion Table: why the Priest was to
pray the Litany kneeling; and why to pray some Collects standing: and
he gave them many other observations, fit for his plain congregation,
but not fit for me now to mention; for I must set limits to my pen,
and not make that a treatise, which I intended to be a much shorter
account than I have made it: but I have done, when I have told the
Reader, that he was constant in catechising every Sunday in the
afternoon, and that his catechising was after his Second Lesson,
and in the pulpit; and that he never exceeded his half hour, and was
always so happy as to have an obedient and a full congregation.
And to this I must add, that if he were at any time too zealous in his
Sermons, it was in reproving the indecencies of the people's behaviour
in the time of divine service; and of those Ministers that huddle up
the Church-prayers, without a visible reverence and affection; namely,
such as seemed to say the Lord's prayer, or a Collect in a breath. But
for himself, his custom was to stop betwixt every Collect, and give
the people time to consider what they had prayed, and to force
their desires affectionately to God, before he engaged them into new
petitions.
[Sidenote: "Mr. Herbert's Saint's-bell"]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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