for all the Manifestations of thy holy Will, and of that inestimable Redemption thou hast graciously condescended to work out for us; and for that thou hast been pleased to regenerate us by thy holy Spirit, to receive us for thy own Children by Adoption, and to incorporate us into thy Holy Church: And I humbly beseech thee to grant, that I being dead unto Sin, and living unto Righteousness, and being buried with Christ in his Death, may crucify the old Man, and utterly abolish the whole Body of Sin; and that as I am made Partaker of the Death of thy Son, I may also be Partaker of his Resurrection: So that, finally, with the Residue of thy holy Church, I may be an Inheritor of thine everlasting Kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

IV.

Duties

are per

O RIGHTEOUS Lord, who triest thy People Mr. Kettlewith heavy Sufferings for thy Truth and Righte-well. For ousness Sake; give me the Heart constantly to we owe to own thy Ways, and those who suffer for them. those that Oh! that whenever I see a Member of thine suffer-secuted. ing, as a good Fellow-member, I may suffer with it. That I may be among those who grieve for the Afflictions of Joseph; and come in to bear a Share of their Adversity, who are enduring Afflictions for thee; and remember those who are in Bonds, as bound with them. Let me not be ashamed of the Testimony of the Lord, nor of any of those that are his Prisoners; but rejoice to make myself a Companion of such as are bearing Tribulations for his Truths, and be glad when I can minister to their Necessities, and relieve the same. When they are sick, and in Prison, give me the Heart to visit them; when they are Strangers, and in Want, make me ready to assist them with Supplies fitting their Circumstances. And, Oh! that I may look upon such Services, as the most blessed Opportunities of shewing my Love unto thee, O blessed Jesus! knowing that thus to communicate is accepted by thee as done to thyself;

and that by having a Fellowship with the Saints in their Sufferings, I may have a Fellowship with them in that Blessedness, wherewith Thou, O Father, wilt crown both the Sufferers and their Partakers in the End; through the Merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

CHAP. XXXIII.

ST. SIMON AND ST. JUDE.-OCTOBER 28. Q. WHAT Festival doth the Church celebrate this Day?

A. That of St. Simon and St. Jude the Apostles. Q. Why was St. Simon called the Canaanite? A. This Surname hath given Occasion to several Conjectures. Some say he was so called from Cana, a Town in Galilee; and for that Reason they will have him born there. But St. Luke calling him Simon Zelotes, or the Zealot, plainly shews that the Mat. c. 10. Word Canaanite descends from the Hebrew, which signifies to be zealous, and denotes his hot and sprightly Temper.

Luke vi.

15.

Hieron. in

Q. Upon what other Account is he thought to have been called the Zealot?

A. Either because before his Conversion he was one of the Sect of the Zealots; or, as some who keep still to the same Sense of his Name, because after his Conversion he shewed great Zeal for the Christian Faith, and a pious Indignation towards those who professed Religion with their Mouths, but dishonoured it by their vicious Lives.

Q. What was the Sect of the Zealots?

A. It began in Mattathias, the Root of the Maccabean Family, and was continued among the Jews till our Saviour's Time. They looked upon Numb. xxv.Phinehas as their Patron; who, in a mighty Zeal for the Honour of God, did immediate Execution upon Zimri and Cosbi. They took upon them a Power of executing the Law upon Offenders, without any formal Trial and Accusation; and that not only by

Connivance, but with the Leave both of the Rulers and the People. Under this Pretence, their Zeal afterwards degenerated into Licentiousness and Extravagance, and they became the Occasion of great Miseries to their own Nation; as is largely related by Josephus.

Q. What Account is there of St. Simon after our Lord's Passion?

A. He continued with the other Apostles and Disciples of Christ at Jerusalem, joining in Worship and Communion with them; and did not leave that City till after the Feast of Pentecost, when they were all furnished with the necessary Gifts of the Holy Ghost, in order to the Exercise of their Ministry in all Parts of the World.

Q. Where is it thought St. Simon planted Christianity and suffered Martyrdom?

4. Some say he went into Egypt, Cyrene, and Africa, and there preached the Gospel; and after some Time, from thence into Lybia and Mauritania, for the same Purpose. He is said also to have passed into Britain, where, after having converted many to the Faith, and suffered many Persecutions, he was crucified by the Infidels, and there buried. Others, in their Martyrologies affirm, that the idolatrous Priests put him to Death at Suanir, a City of Persia; though where this City stood in Persia, Histories mention not.

Q. What Account have we of St. Jude?

333

De Bel.
Jud. lib. 4.

A. That as to his Descent and Parentage, he was of our Lord's Kindred, being brother to James the Less, and styled himself Brother of Jesus Christ. It Mat. xiii. is not certain when he was called to be an Apostle, 35. nothing appearing of him till we find him in that Catalogue. But from that Time he became a constant Attendant upon Christ's Person and Ministry, which was a probable Evidence, that he was emiaent for his Zeal in the Christian Faith.

Q. In what Sense was he Brother of our Lord?

John xvi.

22.

Ver. 23.

ST. SIMON AND ST. JUDE.

A. Some of the Ancients would have it understood to be a Cousin-German, though the greatest Part of them make him, and them that were styled Brethren of our Lord, Children of Joseph by a former Wife.

Q. By what Name is St. Jude described?

A. By two besides Jude, Thaddeus and Lebbæus: It being usual for the same Person in holy Writ to have more proper Names than one. These Names were given him partly to distinguish him from Judas the Traitor; and partly as a Commendation of his Wisdom and Zeal. Lebbæus, according to St. Jerome, denoting Prudence and Understanding; and Thaddeus signifying a Person zealous in praising God.

Q. What is particularly recorded of St. Jude at our Lord's last Supper?

A. That upon our Saviour's having told his Disciples what particular Manifestations he would make of himself after his Resurrection to his sincere followers, St. Jude asked him, what was the Reason he would manifest himself to them, and not to the World? Which seems to hint at some Expectation of our Saviour's temporal Grandeur.

Q. How doth our Saviour answer St. Jude's Inquiry?

A. That because the World had no Respect for him and his Doctrine, therefore they should not enjoy the Happiness of his Presence: but since they, who had been his constant Disciples, had shewed their Love to him, by obeying his Laws, and attending upon his Person, he would make them the comfortable Returns of his Love, by' revealing himself to them.

Q. What may we learn from this?

A. That after the Resurrection of our Saviour, his Appearances were necessary to be made to the Apostles, because they were to be the Witnesses of his Resurrection to the World: but not to his

Enemies, who had rejected him and his Doctrine. That good Men, Persons of God-like Tempers and Dispositions, religious Observers of God's Laws, are qualified to be admitted to particular Acts of God's Grace and Favour.

Q. What Province was allotted to St. Jude for the Exercise of his Ministry?

A. It is most probable that he preached in Judea and Galilee, and from thence went through Samaria into Idumæa; and to the Cities of Arabia, and neighbouring Countries, yea, to Syria and Mesopotamia.

Q. Where did he suffer Martyrdom?

A. By the general Consent of the Writers of the Latin Church, he is said to have travelled into Persia, where, after great Success in the Labours of his Ministry, he was, for his free and open reproving the superstitious Rites of the Magi, cruelly put to Death.

Q. What Account have we of his Family?

A. That he was a married Man, and that his two Grand-children bore Evidence to the Truth of Christianity before Domitian the Emperor; who being jealous of any Co-rival in the Empire, summoned them before him, as some of the Remains of the Posterity of David, and of those that were related to Christ.

Q. How did they escape when they appeared before the Emperor?

A. They were dismissed without any severe Usage; for, answering with great Sincerity, and owning themselves of the Race of David, but that they were very poor, and lived by Husbandry, as was manifest by the Hardness of their Hands; and that as to the Messiah, though he was a King, yet it was in Heaven, not on Earth, where his Kingdom should not appear till the End of the World, when he should come in Glory both to judge the Quick and Dead: Domitian despised their Poverty and Meanness, as below his Jealousies and Fears.