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in a cloud with power and be found faithful. But with me great glory. And when these it is a very small thing, that I things begin to come to pass, should be judged of you, or of then look up, and lift up your man's judgment: yea, I judge heads; for your redemption not mine own self. For I know draweth nigh. And he spake nothing by myself, yet am I to them a parable, Behold the not hereby justified; but he fig-tree, and all the trees; when that judgeth me is the LORD. they now shoot forth,ye see and Therefore judge nothing before know of your own selves, that the time, until the LORD come, summer is now nigh at hand. who both will bring to light So likewise ye, when ye see the hidden things of darkness, these things come to pass, know and will make manifest the ye that the kingdom of GOD is counsels of the hearts: and nigh at hand. Verily I say unto then shall every man have you, This generation shall not praise of God. pass away till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my word shall not

pass away.

THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT.

The Collect.

The Gospel. St. Matt. xi. 2.

NOW when John had heard in the prison the works of CHRIST, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? JESUS anO LORD JESUS CHRIST, swered and said unto them, Go, who at thy first coming didst and show John again those send thy messenger to prepare things which ye do hear and thy way before thee; grant see: the blind receive their that the Ministers and Stew- sight, and the lame walk, the ards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that, at thy second coming to judge the world, we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the FATHER and the HOLY SPIRIT, ever one GOD, world without end. Amen.

lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them: and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as they departed, JESUS began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? The Epistle. 1 Cor. iv. 1. Behold, they that wear soft LET a man so account of clothing are in king's houses. us, as of the Ministers of CHRIST, But what went ye out for to see? and Stewards of the mysteries A prophet? yea, I say unto of GOD. Moreover, it is re- you, and more than a prophet. quired in stewards, that a man | For this is he of whom it is

written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way

before thee.

THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN

ADVENT.

The Collect.

then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us : What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make O LORD, raise up, we pray straight the way of the LORD, thee, thy power, and come as said the prophet Esaias. among us, and with great might And they which were sent were succour us; that whereas, of the Pharisees. And they through our sins and wicked- asked him, and said unto him, ness, we are sore let and hin- why baptizest thou then, if dered in running the race that thou be not that Christ, nor is set before us, thy bountiful Elias, neither that prophet? grace and mercy may speedily John answered them, saying, help and deliver us, through the I baptize with water; but there satisfaction of thy Son our standeth one among you, whom LORD: to whom, with thee and ye know not; he it is, who, the HOLY GHOST, be honour coming after me, is preferred and glory, world without end. before me, whose shoe's latchet Amen. I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara, beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The Epistle. Phil. iv. 4.

THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD, OR
THE BIRTH-DAY OF CHRIST,

COMMONLY
MAS-DAY.

CALLED

The Collect.

CHRIST

REJOICE in the LORD alway; and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The LORD is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto GOD. And the peace of GoD, which passeth all understand-to take our nature upon him, ing, shall keep your hearts and minds through CHRIST JESUS. The Gospel. St. John i. 19.

ALMIGHTY GOD, who hast given us thy only begotten Son

and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; grant that we, being regenerate and made thy children by adoption and THIS is the record of John grace, may daily be renewed when the Jews sent Priests and by thy HOLY SPIRIT, through Levites from Jerusalem to ask the same our Lord JESUS him, Who art thou? And he CHRIST, who liveth and reignconfessed, and denied not; but eth with thee and the same confessed, I am not the Christ. SPIRIT, ever one GoD, world And they asked him, What without end. Amen.

The Epistle. Heb. i. 1.

mainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold

them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

The Gospel. St. John i. 1.

IN the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with GOD, and the WORD was GOD. The same 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 men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was

GOD, who, at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who, being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which a man sent from God, whose of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of GOD worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O GOD, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved right-to them that believe on his eousness, and hated iniquity; therefore GoD, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, LORD, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish, but thou re-grace and truth.

name was John: the same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness 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 received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of GOD, even

name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 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

THE SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS | gether, she was found with child of the HOLY GHOST. Then Joseph her husband, be

DAY.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY GOD, who hasting a just man, and not willing

given us thy only begotten Son to take our nature upon him,

and as at this time to be born

to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the of a pure virgin; grant that angel of the LORD appeared we, being regenerate and made unto him in a dream, saying, thy children by adoption and Joseph, thou son of David, fear grace, may daily be renewed not to take unto thee Mary thy by thy HOLY SPIRIT, through wife; for that which is conthe same our Lord JESUS CHRIST, who liveth and reign- GHOST: and she shall bring eth with thee and the same SPIRIT, ever one GoD, world

without end.

Amen.

ceived in her is of the HOLY

forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for he shall save his people from their sins. The Epistle. Gal. iv. 1. Now all this was done, that it NOW I say, that the heir, might be fulfilled which was as long as he is a child, differeth spoken of the LORD by the nothing from a servant, though prophet, saying, Behold, a virhe be lord of all; but is under gin shall be with child, and tutors and governors, until the shall bring forth a son, and time appointed of the father. they shall call his name Em Even so we, when we were manuel, which being interpretchildren, were in bondage uned, is, GoD with us. Then der the elements of the world; Joseph, being raised from sleep, but when the fulness of the time did as the angel of the LORD was come, GoD sent forth his had bidden him, and took unto Son, made of a woman, made him his wife; and knew her not under the law, to redeem them till she had brought forth her that were under the law, that first-born son; and he called we might receive the adoption his name JESUS.

of sons. And, because ye are

The Collect.

sons, God hath sent forth the THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of GOD, through

CHRIST.

ALMIGHTY GOD, who madest thy blessed Son to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man; grant us the true circumcision of the SPIRIT, that, our hearts and all our THE birth of JESUS CHRIST members being mortified from was on this wise: When as his all worldly and carnal lusts, mother Mary was espoused to we may in all things obey thy Joseph, before they came to-blessed will, through the same

The Gospel. St. Matt. i. 18.

thy Son JESUS CHRIST Our hath made known unto us. And Lord.

Amen.

The Epistle. Rom. iv. 8.

they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when BLESSED is the man to they had seen it, they made whom the LORD will not impute known abroad the saying which sin. Cometh this blessedness was told them concerning this then upon the circumcision child. And all they that heard only, or upon the uncircumci- it wondered at those things sion also? For we say, that which were told them by the faith was reckoned to Abraham shepherds. But Mary kept all for righteousness. How was it these things, and pondered them then reckoned? when he was in her heart. And the shepin circumcision or in uncircum- herds returned, glorifying and cision? Not in circumcision, praising God for all the things but in uncircumcision. And he that they had heard and seen, received the sign of circumci- as it was told unto them. And sion, a seal of the righteousness when eight days were accomof the faith which he had, yet plished for the circumcising of being uncircumcised; that he the child, his name was called might be the father of all them JESUS, which was so named that believe, though they be not of the angel before he was concircumcised; that righteousness ceived in the womb. might be imputed unto them¶ The same Collect, Epistle, and Gospel also: and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but also

shall serve for every day after, unto the Epiphany.

walk in the steps of that faith THE EPIPHANY, OR THE MANI

of our father Abraham, which he had, being yet uncircumcised. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect.

The Gospel. St. Luke ii. 15.

AND it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the LORD

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