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PSALM CXXXVIII. Confitebor Tibi. I will give thanks unto Thee, O LORD, with my whole heart even before the gods will I sing praise unto Thee.

I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and praise Thy Name, because of Thy lovingkindness and truth: for Thou hast magnified Thy Name, and Thy Word, above all things. When I called upon Thee, Thou heardest me and enduedst my soul with much strength.

All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee, O LORD for they have heard the words of Thy Mouth.

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Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: that great is the glory of the LORD. For though the LORD be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly: as for the proud, He beholdeth them afar off.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, yet shalt Thou refresh me: Thou shalt stretch forth Thy Hand upon the furiousness of mine enemies, and Thy Right Hand shall

save me.

The LORD shall make good His lovingkindness toward me yea Thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever; despise not then the works of Thine own hands.

Glory be to the FATHER, &c.
As it was in the beginning, &c.

FOR THE SUNDAYS AFTER EPI-
PHANY.

"Thou shalt call His Name, JESUS."-S. Matt. i. 21.

IT was not the Blessed Virgin Mother, nor S. Joseph, nor yet the Angel, who gave this Name to the Holy Child.

It was given Him by the Eternal FATHER, Who alone knows the SON, and the end for which He was Incarnate, and the office which He was to perform as man. He might have been called by many names. Isaiah had been inspired to speak of Him as Wonderful, Counsellor, the Prince of Peace, Immanuel; but the Eternal FATHER would have Him called JESUS, which means a "SAVIOUR." Others, indeed, had been called so before-Joshua especially-but these were only figures of the true-the Only-begotten SON, Who took our nature upon Him, and had His Name from above, was the only JESUS-the SAVIOUR, the Deliverer. But this Name reveals the office which He came to fulfil. It is a Name that concerns me-a Name that relates to my present and everlasting welfare; and I will seek by GOD's grace to have it revealed to me in all its fulness.

This my

I want a present Deliverer. heart assures me every moment. I want to be freed from error and ignorance; from sin, and all affection to sin; from the power of the Tempter, and from the temptations arising from my own thoughts and feelings; and the Key to deliverance from these and all evils, is the Name of JESUS. By invoking that by binding myself in the SPIRIT to Him Who is called JESUS; by keeping close to Him by faith and love; by hoping always for help from Him; there is no evil, no danger, from which I may not be saved.

But my soul cries out not simply for deliverance. I want to obtain those graces and virtues which shall keep me in a state of salvation, and perfect my salvation; and JESUS is the Name which opens the way to these gifts. JESUS is the spring-head from whence the HOLY GHOST conveys every kind of wisdom, of virtue, of grace, which makes our path clean and pure here; and JESUS is the Light Which goes before us continually to lead us into the Paradise of God.

But this Name of JESUS does something more. It presents me with a SAVIOUR Who is Almighty to save, and Who can feel with me in my need of salvation. Were He Man alone, He could not save me; were He GOD alone, He could save me by

His power and mercy; but He would be still, as it were, at a distance from me. Whereas, by being GOD and Man, He saves me by justice and by victory, as well as by power and mercy. He saves me by making satisfaction for me; by getting the victory for me and in me; by making me to partake of His human nature by grace, and through that, of His Divine nature. I can call Him, therefore, my JESUS, and my GOD. I can know Him by union with Him through His Sacraments; and I can lay my hand upon Him as the Days-man between GOD and my soul.

O most true SAVIOUR! I rejoice in that glorious Name which was given Thee, and which Thou bearest still at the Right Hand of GOD. Praise the LORD, O my soul, for the goodness of this Name. Rejoice in the LORD, and joy in the GOD of thy salvation. For He, the LORD GOD, is thy strength; He will make thy feet like harts' feet, and will lead thee to His high places, where thou shalt see Him as He is.

O JESU! Very GOD of Very GOD; Be unto me a strong Rock and House of Defence, that Thou mayest save me!

O JESU! Wisdom of the FATHER! Grant me to seek and to relish the things that are above, that I may taste and see how gracious the LORD is.

O JESU! First-Begotten among many brethren make me a joint-heir with Thee in Thy FATHER'S House.

O JESU! Son of Man! made in the likeness of man, and formed in fashion as a man; make me by grace partaker of the Divine Nature.

Our FATHER, &c.

PSALM XCII. Bonum est confiteri.

It is a good thing to give [thanks unto the LORD: and to sing praises unto Thy Name, O most Highest;

To tell of Thy loving-kindness early in the morning and of Thy truth in the night

season;

Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the lute: upon a loud instrument, and upon the harp.

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For Thou, LORD, hast made me glad through Thy works and I will rejoice in giving praise for the operations of Thy hands.

Glory be to the FATHER, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c.

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