'The inexhaustible fountain of grace': on the Third Collect, for Grace, at Matins

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we turn to the Third Collect at Matins, for Grace. As with the Second Collect at Matins, Shepherd notes its antiquity and provenance: "The substance of this Collect was borrowed from an ancient form in the Eastern church". In other words, to pray this collect day by day at Matins is to place ourselves alongside the great Churches of the East.

Shepherd focuses on the divine titles invoked at the opening of the collect, "our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God", reflecting upon these as grounding our daily prayer and reliance upon grace in the nature of God. Yet again, it is a commentary which brings us to recognise the theological richness and depths of words prayed each day.

Grace being so essential to our happiness, we address ourselves to the inexhaustible fountain of grace, to him who is more ready to give than we to ask, under the titles of our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God. Our heavenly Father who pities and loves us, delights to do us good. He is Almighty and therefore able to relieve us. His mercy, and ability we have no reason to doubt, for he changes not, but is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. He is God from everlasting to everlasting, world without end. The care of the church in prefixing to the Collects, Attributes appropriate to the requests they contain has been already noticed. Thus, whilst she directs us, what we ought to pray for, she cheers our hearts, and enlivens our devotions; adds wings to our petitions, and gives energy to our faith.

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