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hidden things of darkness, and
will make manifeft the counfels
of the hearts: and then hall
every man have praife of God.
The Gofpel. Matt. xi. 2.
Now the rifon the works of through Chrift Jefus.
OW when John had heard

but in every thing by prayer and
fupplication, with thankfgiving,
let your requetis be made known
unto God: And the peace of God,
which paffeth all understanding,
fhall keep your hearts and minds

Chrift, he fent two of his difciples, and faid unto him, Art tipu he that should come, or do we look for another? Jefus anfwered and faid unto them, Go and thew John again those things which ye do hear and fee: The blind receive their fight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleanfed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raifed up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And bleffed is he, whofoever thall not be offended in me. And, as they departed, Jeius began to fay unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wildernefs to fee? a reed thaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to fee? a man clothed in foft raiment? Behold, they that wear foft clothing are in kings' houfes. But what went ye out for to fee? a prophet? yea, I fay unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I fend my meflenger be fore thy face, which fhall prepare thy way before thee.

Fourth Sunday in Advent.

The Collect.

LORD, raise up (we pray thee) thy power, and come among us, and with great might fuccour us; that whereas, through our fins and wickednefs, we are fore let and hindered in running

The Gospel. John i. 19.

when the Jews fent prieits HIS is the record of John, and Levites from Jerufalem to atk him, Who art thou? And he confeffed, and denied not; but confeffed, I am not the Chrift. And they afked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he faith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then faid they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that fent us. What fayeft thou of thyfelf? He faid, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make firaight the way of the Lord, as faid the prophet Efaias. And they which were fent were of the Pharifees, And they afked him, and faid unto him, Why baptizeft thou then, if thou be not that Chrift, nor Elias, neither that prophet! John anfwered them, faying, I baptize with water: but there ftandeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whofe fhoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloofe. These things were done in Bethabara.beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The Nativity of CHRIST, called Chriftmas Day. The Colle&.

bountiful grace and mercy may
is even us
fpeedily help and deliver us,
through the fatisfaction of thy Son
our Lord; to whom with thee and
the Holy Ghoft be honour and
glory, world without end. Amen.

R

The Epiftle. Phil. iv. 4. EJOICE in the Lord alway: and again I fay, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men: The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing;

given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure Virgin; Grant that we, being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit, through the fame our Lord Jefus Chrift, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the fame Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epifle. Heb. i. I. D, who at fundry times in divers manners fpake inet unto the fathers by the tenets, hath in thefe laft day woken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom alfo he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our fins, fat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made fo much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels faid he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begot ten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he thall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firit-begotten into the world, he faith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he faith, Who maketh his angels fpirits, and his minifters a flame of fire. But unto the Son he faith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and

ever, a fceptre of righteoufnefs is the fceptre of thy kingdom: Thou haft loved righteoufnefs, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladnefs above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning haft laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They fhall perith, but thou re.nainet; and they all fhall wax old, as doth a garment; and as a velture that thou fold them up, and they thai be Changed: but thou art the fame, and thy years thall not fail.

The Gofpel. John i. 1.

N Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The fame was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of

I the beginning was the

men. And the light fhineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a inan fent from God, whofe name was John. The fame came for a witnefs, to bear witnefs of the Light, that all men through bin might believe. He was not that Light, but was fent to bear witnefs of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own re ceived him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the ions of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the fleih, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Saint Stephen's Day.

The Collect.

GRANT O Lord, that in all our fufferings here upon earth, for the teftimony of thy truth, we may ftedfafily look up to heaven, and by faith behold the glory that thali be revealed; and being filled with the Holy Ghoft, may learn to love and blefs our perfecutors, by the example of thy firft Martyr, Saint Stephen, who prayed for his murderers to thee, O bleffed Jefus, who ftandet at the right hand of God to fuccour all those that fuffer for thee, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

[Then shall follow the Collect of the Nativity; which shall be said continuallyuntil New Year's Eve.] For the Epistle. Acts vii. 55.

TEPHEN, being full of the

Holy Ghoft, looked up ftedfaftly into heaven, and faw the glory of God, and Jeius ftanding on the right hand of God, and faid, Behold, I fee the heavens opened, and the Son of man

ftanding on the right hand of
God. Then they cried out with
a loud voice, and stopped their T
ears, and ran upon him with
one accord, and caft him out of
the city, and fioned him: and
the witneffes laid down their
clothes at a young man's feet,
whofe name was Saul. And they
ftoned Stephen, calling upon
God, and faying, Lord Jefus, re-
ceive my fpirit. And he kneeled
down, and cried with a loud
voice, Lord, lay not this fin to
their charge! And when he had
faid this, he fell asleep.

The Gofpel. Matt. xxiii. 34.
EHOLD,1 fend unto you pro-

Goke

The Epiftle. 1 John i. 1 HAT which was nom heard, which we have endi vith our eyes, which we have ced upon, and our hands have "n died, of the Word of life; (for the Life was manifefted, and we have feen it, and bear witnefs, and fhew unto you that eternal Life, which was with the Father, and was manifefted unto us; that which we have feen and heard declare we unto you, that ye alfo may have fellowthip with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift. And thefe

Bphets, and wife men, and things write we unto you, that

fcribes: and fome of them ye fhall kill and crucify; and fome of them fhall ye fcourge in your fynagogues, and perfecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood thed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias fon of Barachias, whom ye flew between the temple and the altar. Verily I fay unto you, All thefe things fall come upon this generation. O Jerufalem, Jerufalem, thou that killeft the prophets, and ftoneft them which are fent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth fier chickens under her wings, and ve would not! Behold, your houfe is left unto you defolate. For I fay unto you, Ye fhall not fee me henceforth, till ye fhall

fay, Bleffed is he that cometh in

the name of the Lord.

The Collect. ERCIFUL Lord, we befeech thee to caft, thy bright beams of light upon thy Church, that it being enlightened by the doctrine of thy bleed Apoftle and Evangelift Saint John, may fo walk in the light of thy truth, that it may at length attain to the light of everkafting life, through Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen.

your joy may be full. This then is the meffage which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, That God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we fay that we have fellowship with. him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowfhip one with another, and the blood of Jefus Chrift his Son cleanfeth us from all fin. If we fay that we have no fin, we deceive ourfelves, and the truth is. not in us. If we confess our fins, he is faithful and juft to forgive us our fins, and to cleanfe us from all unrighteoufnels. If we fay that we have not finned, we make him a liar, and his word, is not in us.

The Gospel. John xxi. 19. JESUS faid unto Peter, Follow Ther Peter, Then Peter, turning about, feeth the difciple whom Jefus loved following, which alfo leaned on his breaft at fupper, and faid, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter feeing him, faith to Jefus, Lord, and what thall this man do? Jefus faith unto him, if I will that he tarry till 1 come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this faying abroad among the brethren, That that difciple thould not die: yet Jefus faid not unto him, He fhall not die; but, If I will that he,

tarry till I come what is that to h! This is the difciple which teftifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his teftimony is true. And there are alfo many other things which Jefus did, the which if they thould be written every one, Í uppole that even the world itfelf could not contain the books that thould be written.

The Collect. ALMIGHTY God, who out of the mouths of babes and fucklings haft ordained firength, and madeft infants to glorify thee by their deaths; Mortify and kill all vices in us, and fo ftrengthen us by thy grace, that by the innocency of our lives, and conftancy of our faith even unto death, we may glorify thy holy Name, through Jefus Chrift

our Lord. Amen.

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For the Epistle. Rev. xiv. 1. LOOKED, and, lo, a Lamb ftood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from

heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they fung as it were a new fong before the throne, and before the four beafts and the elders: and no man could learn that fong but the hundred and forty and four, thoufand which were redeemed from the carth. Thefe are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. Thefe are they which follow the Lamb

were redeemed from among men, being the firfi-fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

The Gospel. Matt. ii. 13. HE angel of the lord appear Teth to Jofeph in a dream!, faying, Arife, and take the young

child, and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will feek the young child to destroy him. When he arote, he took the young child, and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was fpoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my Son. Then Herod, when he faw that he was mocked of the wife men, was exceeding wroth, and fent forth, and flew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coafts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wife men. Then was fulfilled that which was fpoken by Jeremy the prophet, faying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY God, who haft Son to take our nature upon given us thy only-begotten him, and as at this time to be born of a pure Virgin; Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit, through the fame our Lord Jefus Chrift, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the fame Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epiftle. Gal. iv. 1.

TOW I fay, That the heir, as

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fereth nothing from a fervant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors, until the time appointed of the father. Even fo we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: but when the fuinefs of the time was come, God fend forth his Son made of a woman, made

under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of fons. And becaufe ye are fons, God hath fent forth the

Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Faiher. Wherefore thou art no more a fervant, but a fon; and if a fon, then an heir of God through Chrift.

The Gapel. Matt. i. 18. HE birth of Jetus Chrift was THE on his wife. When as his on this wife: When as his mother Mary was elpoufed to Jofeph, before they came toge ther, he was found with child of the Holy Ghoft. Then Joseph her husband, being a juft man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on thefe things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, faying, Jofeph, thou fon of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghoft. And the thall bring forth a Son, and thou fhalt call his name JESUS: for he thall fave his people from their fins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was fpoken of the Lord by the prophet, fayings Behold, a Virgin thall be with child, and thall bring forth a son, and they thall call his name. Emmanuel; which being interpreted, is, God with us. Then Jofeph, being raifed from fleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife and knew her not till the had brought forth her firftborn fon: and he called his name JESUS.

The Collect. LMIGHTY God, who madeft thy bleffed Son to be circunicited, and obedient to the law for man; Grant us the true circumcition of the Spirit, that our hearts and all our members being mortified from all worldly and carnal lufts, we may in all

things obey thy bleffed will, through the fame thy Son Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen.

The Epiftie. Rom. iv. 8.

BLESSED is the man to whom

the Lord will not impute fin. Cometh this bleffednefs then upon the circumcifion only, or upon the uncircumcifion alfo? For we fay that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteoufness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in cir cumcifion, or in uncircumcifion! Not iu circumeifion, but in un circumciúon. And he received the righteoufnefs of the faith the fign of circumcifion; a feal of which he had, yet being uncircumcifed; that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcifed; that righteoufnefs might be imfather of circumcifion to themwho puted unto them alfo: and the are not of the circumticion only, but who alfo walk in the fieps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had, being yet that he thould be the heir of the uncircumcifed. For the promife, world, was not to Abraham, or but through the righteoufnels to his feed through the law, of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promife made of

none effect.

The Gospel. Luke ii. 15.

ND it came to pafs, as the

angels were gone away from them into heaven, the thepherds faid one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and fee this thing which is come to pafs, which the Lord bath made known unto us. And they came with hafte, and found Mary and Jofeph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had feen it, they made known abroad the faying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at thofe things which were told them by the fhepherds. But Mary kept all thefe things, and pon dered them in her heart. And

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