Page images
PDF
EPUB

Mo

For the Epiftle. Isaiah vii. 10.

Oreover the Lord fpake again unto Ahaz, faying, Afk thee a fign of the Lord thy God; afk it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz faid, I will not afk, neither will I tempt the Lord. And he faid, Hear ye now, O houfe of David, Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God alfo? Therefore the Lord himself fhall give you a fign, Behold, a virgin fhall conceive and bear a Son, and fhall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey fhall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

A

The Gospel. St Luke i. 26.

ND in the fixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin efpoused to a man, whofe name was Jofeph, of the houfe of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and faid, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee; bleffed art thou among women. And when the faw him, fhe was troubled at his faying, and caft in her mind what manner of falutation this fhould be. And the angel faid unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou fhalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and fhalt call his name Jefus. He fhall be great, and fhall be called the Son of the Higheft; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he fhall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there fhall be no end. Then faid Mary unto the angel, How fhall this be, feeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and faid unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest fhall overfhadow thee: therefore alio that holy thing which shall be born of thee, fhall be called the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elifabeth, fhe hath alfo conceived a son in her old age; and this is the fixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing fhall be impoffible. And Mary faid, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from

her.

Saint

[ocr errors]

Saint Mark's Day.

The Collect.

Almighty God, who haft inftructed thy holy Church with the heavenly doctrine of thy Evangelift Saint Mark Give us grace, that being not like children carried away with every blaft of vain doctrine, we may be established in the truth of thy holy Gofpel, through Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen.

UNT

The Epiftle. Ephef. iv. 7.

INTO every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Chrift. Wherefore he faith, When he afcended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he afcended, what is it but that he alfo defcended firft into the lower parts of the earth? He that defcended is the fame alfo that afcended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things) And he gave fome apostles, and fome prophets, and fome evangelifts, and fome paftors and teachers; for the perfecting of the faints, for the work of the miniftry, for the edifying of the body of Chrift; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the meafure of the ftature of the fulness of Chrift; that we henceforth be no more children toffed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the fleight of men, and cunning craftinefs, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but fpeaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Chrift: From whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted

PARAPHRASE.

On the COLLECT for St Mark's Day.

O almighty God, who out of thy great mercy haft thought proper to enlighten thy church by thofe divine truths and doctrines contained in the gofpel written by the evangelift St Mark, we beseech thee to grant us thy grace, that our belief of thofe facred truths may be founded upon fo firm a foundation, that we be not like children toffed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, (Ephef. iv. 14. but that we may be eftablished in the prefent truth, (2 Pet. i. 12.) which is revealed unto us by the gofpel; and this we pray for Jefus Chrift his fake. Amen.

PARA

by that which every joint fupplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love.

[ocr errors]

The Gofpel. St John xv. 1.

Am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itfelf, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the fame bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is caft forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and caft them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall afk what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; fo fhall ye be my difciples. As the Father hath loved me, fo have I loved you; continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye fhall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlafting life; Grant us perfectly to know thy Son Jefus Chritt

PARAPHRASE.

On the COLLECT for St Philip and St James's Day. Omnipotent Creator who being the only true God, it is eternal life to know thee, (John xvii. 3.) enable us by thy grace to acquire a perfect knowledge of the admirable pattern which our bleffed Lord hath left us in this world, and caufe us always to acknowledge him to be the way, the

truth

to be the way, the truth, and the life; that following the fteps of thy holy Apoftles, Saint Philip, and Saint James, we may steadfastly walk in the way that leadeth to eternal life, through the fame thy Son Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen.

J

The Epiftle. St. James 1. 1.

AMES a fervant of God, and of the Lord Jefus Chrift, to the twelve tribes which are fcattered abroad greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations: knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wifdom, let him afk of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it fhall be given him. But let him afk in faith, nothing wavering: for he that wavereth is like a wave of the Sea, driven with the wind and toffed. For let not that man think that he fhall receive any thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is unftable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted; but the rich, in that he is made low; becaufe as the flower of the grafs he fhall pass away. For the fun is no fooner rifen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grafs, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perifheth: fo alfo fhall the rich man fade away in his ways. Bleffed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he fhall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

A

The Gofpel. St John xiv. 1.

ND Jefus faid unto his difciples, Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe alfo in me. In my Fathers house are many manfions; if it were not fo, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you :

PARAPHRASE.

truth, and the life, (John xiv. 6.) and that following the steps of thy holy Apoftles, St Philip, and St James, and all holiness of living, we may fhun the broad way which leadeth to deftruction, and enter the narrow way which leadeth unto life; (Matt. vii. 13, 14.) and this we pray for the fake of Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen.

PARA

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myfelf, that were I am, there ye may be alfo. And whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas faith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jefus faith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father alfo; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip faith unto him, Lord, fhew us the Father, and it fufficeth us. Jefus faith unto him, Have I been fo long time with you, and yet haft thou not known me, Philip? He that hath feen me, hath feen the Father; and how fayeft thou then? Shew us the Father? Believeft thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I fpeak unto you, I fpeak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me or elfe believe me for the very works fake. Verily, verily I fay unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do, fhall he do alfo, and greater works than these fhall he do; because I go unto my Father And. whatsoever ye fhall afk in my Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye fhall ask any thing in my Name, I will do it.

Saint Barnabas the Apoftle.
The Collect.

Lord God Almighty, who didft endue thy holy Apoftle Barnabas with fingular gifts of the holy Ghoft; Leave us not, we beseech thee, deftitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to ufe them alway to thy honour and glory, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen.

PARAPHRASE.

On the COLLECT for Saint Barnabas.

O Lord, the almighty God who by thy holy Spirit, didft confer upon the apostle Barnabas fuch extraordinary and fupernatural gifts, as made the heathens acknowledge that they were poffeffed of a divine power; we

G%

befeech

« PreviousContinue »