Chapter 4: Of the reinstatement of man, and the promise of Christ's coming

O ALMIGHTY and most gracious God, Whose nature is goodness, Whose Will is power, Whose property it is to have mercy, I bless You, and render thanks to You for Your infinite love, and for Your free and undeserved goodness, in that You did lose no time in calling back man, who had been taken captive in the snare of the devil, and brought low by the poison of a mortal disease, from his manifold wanderings from the right way, and from the defilement of his sins, into the way of repentance, and a state of righteousness; by giving to him, through the saving promise of Your coming, the hope of pardon, and the prospect of a remedy to be brought within his reach.

And lest man should at any time seek to plead ignorance as an excuse for the malice of his sin, You did give him frequent warning of the error of his ways, by revealing to him Your law, by smiting him with Your heavy hand, by exercising open judgements upon sinners, by working frequent miracles, and by promising good things to come; that so they might be without excuse who should not turn to You as their God, and to a knowledge of the truth. For all through the five ages of the world,[1] by means of Patriarchs, of Judges, of Priests, of Kings, and of Prophets, from righteous Abel even unto John the Baptist, Your forerunner, You did never cease, by wonderful miracles and manifold prophecies, to foretell, to promise, and to prefigure Your coming, without which we are undone: that so, by means of so many witnesses going before You, and proclaiming Your mysteries, You might implant in our minds the grace of faith, and by the lively examples of so many ancient Fathers, might kindle in our dull cold hearts the fire of Your love.