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- and the life was the light of men. And the light fhineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man fent from God, whofe name was John. The fame came for a witnefs, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him 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 received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the fons of God, even to them that believe on his 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 grace and truth.

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Saint Stephen's Day.

The Collect.
Rant, O Lord, that in all
our fufferings here upon
earth, for the teftimony of thy
truth we may ftedfaftly look up
to heaven, and by faith behold
the glory that shall be revealed;
and being filled with the Holy
Ghoft, may learn to love and
blefs our perfecutors by the ex-
ample of thy first Ma tyr Saint
Stephen, who prayed for his
murderers to thee, O bleffed Je-
fus, who ftandeft at the right
hand of God, to fuccour all thofe
that fuffer for thee our only Me-
diator and Advocate. Amen.

Then fall follow the collect of
the Nativity, which shall be
Said continually unto New-year's
Eve.

For the Epiftle. A&ts 7.55. Stephen being full of the Holy Ghoft, looked up stedfaftly into heaven, and faw the glory of God, and Jefus 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 ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and caft him out of the city, and ftoned him: and the witneffes laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whofe name Saul. And they ftoned Stephen, calling upon God, and faying, Lord Jefus, receive 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.

was

The Gospel. S. Matth. 23. 34. Bphets and wife men, and 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 fhed 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 these things fhall 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 her chickens under her wings, and ye 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.

Ehold, I fend unto you pro

Saist

Saint John the Evangelift's Day. not finned, we make him a lyarş »

The Collect.

Erciful Lord, we

and his word is not in us. Gospel. S. 21,

M thee to caft thy bright JEfus faith unto Peter, Follow

beams of light upon thy Church, that it being enlightened by the doctrine of thy bleffed Apoftle and Evangelift Saint John, may fo walk in the light of thy truth, that may at length attain to the light of everlafting life, through Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epiftle. 1 S. John 1. 1. ΤΗ HAT which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have feen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled 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 fellowship with us; and truly our fellow fhip is with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift. And these things write we unto you, that 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 darknefs, we lye, and do not the truth But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowthip 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 ourselves, 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 unrighteoufnefs. If we fay that we have

Then Peter turning about, feeth the difciple whom Jefus loved, following; which alfo leaned on his breaft at fup per, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter feeing him, faith to Jefus, Lord, and what fhall this man do? Jefus faith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. Then went this faying abroad among the brethren, That that disciple fhould 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 thee? This is the difciple which teftifieth of these things, and wrote thefe things, and we know that his teftimony is true. And there are alfo many other things which Jefus did, the which if they fhould be written every one, I fuppofe, that even the world itfelf could not contain the books that should be written.

The Innocents Day.

The Collect.

Almighty God, who out of

the mouths of babes and fucklings haft ordained strength, 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 Chriít our Lord. Amen.

For the Epiftle. Rev. 14. 1. Looked, and lo, a Lamb food on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

C 2

And

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

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learn that fong, but the hun- ALmighty God, who haft gi

dred and forty and four thoufand, which were redeemed from the earth. Thefe are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins: thefe are they which follow the Lamb whitherfoever he goeth: these were redeemed from among men, being the first-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.

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ven 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. Gal. 4. I. N long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a fervant, though he be lord of all; but

OW I fay, that the heir as

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 fulness of the time was come, God fent 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, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a fervant, but a fon; and if a fon, then an heir of God through Christ.

The Gospel. S. Matth. 2. 13. HE angel of the Lord appeareth 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 deftroy him. When he arofe, 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, faying, Out of Egypt have I called my Son. Then Herod when he faw that he was mocked of the wifemen, 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 The Gofpel. S. Matth. 1. 18. had diligently enquired of the HE birth of Jefus Chrift wife-men. Then, was fulfilled Tw was on this wife: When that which was spoken by Jere- as his mother Mary was efpous my the prophet, saying, in Ra、ed to Joseph, before they came

toge.

together, the was found with child of the Holy Ghoft. Then Jofeph her husband, being a juft man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on thefe things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to 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 fhall bring forth a Son, and thou fhalt call his name Jefus; for he hall 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, faying, Behold, a Virgin fhall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they fhall 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 fhe had brought forth her first born Son: and he called his Name JESUS.

The Circumcifion of Chrift.

The Collect.

Almighty God, who madeft thy bleffed Son to be circumcifed, and obedient to the law for man; Grant us the true circumcifion 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

Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epiftle. Rom. 4. 8. Leffed is the man to whom

fin. Cometh this bleffednefs then upon the circumcifion on

ly, or upon the uncircumcifion alfo? For we fay, that faith. was reckoned to Abraham for righteoufnefs. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcifion, or in uncircumcifion? not in circumcifion, but in uncircumcifion. And he received the fign of circumcifion, a feal of the righteousness of the faith, 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 imputed unto them alfo: and the father of circumcifion to them who are not of the circumcifion only, but alfo walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcifed. For the promife, that he fhould be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his feed, through the law, but through the righteoufnefs of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promife made of none effect.

The Gofpel. S. Luke 2. 15.

ND it came to pafs, as the

A angels were gone away

from them into heaven, the fhepherds faid one to another, Let us now go even unto Beth

lehem, and fee this thing which is come to pafs, which the Lord hath 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 hepherds. But Mary kept

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praifing God for all the things that they had heard and feen, as it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplifhed for the circumcifing of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was fo named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

The fame Collect, Epifle, and Golpel fhall ferve for every day after unto the Epiphany.

The Epiphany, or the Manifefta-
tion of Chrift to the Gentiles.
The Collect.

God, who by the leading
of a ftar didft manifeft thy

only-begotten Son to the Gen

tiles; Mercifully grant, that we, which know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen.

The Epifle. Ephef. 3. 1.

F OR this caufe, 1 Paul, the

prifoner of Jefus Chrift for you Gentiles if ye have heard of the difpenfation of the grace of God, which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Chrift,) which in other ages was not made known unto the fons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apoftles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles fhould be fellow-heirs, and of the fame body and partakers of his promife in Chrift, by the Gofpel: whereof I was made a minifter, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am lefs than the leaft of all faints, is this grace given,

that I fhould preach among the Gentiles the unfearchable riches of Chrift; and to make all men fee what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jefus Chrift: To the intent that now untethe principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Chrift Jefus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and accefs with confi

dence by the faith of him.

The Goffel S. Matth. 2. 1. WHEN Jefus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wife-men from the eaft to Jerufalem, faying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have feen his ftar in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerufalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and fcribes of the people together, he demanded of them, where Chrift fhould be born. And they faid unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou, Bethlehem in the land of Juda, art not the leaft among the princes of Juda: for out of thee fhall come a Governor that hall rule my people Ifrael. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wife-men, enquired of them diligently what time the ftar appeared. And he fent them to Bethlehem, and faid, Go, and fearch diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him alfo. When

they

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