to the Father They said therefore What is this that he saith A little while we cannot tell what he saith Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him and said unto them Do ye enquire among your selves of that I said A little while and ye shall not see me and again a little while and ye shall see me Verily verily I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament but the world shall rejoyce and ye shall be sorrowful but your sorrow shall be turned into joy A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow because her hour is come but as soon as she is delivered of the child she remembreth no more the anguish for joy that a man is born into world And ye now therefore have sorrow but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoyce and your joy no man taketh from you The fourth Sunday after Easter The collect O Almighty God who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men Grant unto thy people that they may love the thing which thou commandest and desire that which thou dost promise that so among the sundry and manifold changes of the world our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Epistle S. Jam. 1.17 EVery good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures Wherefore my beloved brethren let every man be swift to hear slow to speak slow to wrath for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the ingrafted word which is able to save your souls The Gospel S. John 16.5 JEsus said unto his disciples Now I go my way to him that sent me and none of you asketh me Whither goest thou But because I have said these things unto you sorrow hath filled your heart Nevertheless I tell you the truth it is expedient for you that I go away for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you but if I depart I will send him unto you And when he is come he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment Of sin because they believe not on me Of righteousness because I go to my Father and ye see me no more Of judgment because the prince of this world is judged I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now Howbeit when he the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak and he will shew you things to come He shall glorifie me for he shall receive of mine and shall shew it unto you All things that the Father hath are mine therefore said I that he shall take of mine and shall shew it unto you The fifth Sunday after Easter The collect O Lord from whom all good things do come Grant to us thy humble servants that by thy Holy inspiration we may think those things that be good and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same through our Lord Jesus Christ Amen The Epistle S. Jam. 1.22 BE ye doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work this man shall be blessed in his deed If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart this mans religion is vain Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world The Gospel S. John 16.23 VErily verily I say unto you Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name he will give it you Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my Name Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs but I shall shew you plainly of the Father At that day ye shall ask in my Name and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you for the Father himself loveth you because ye have loved me and have believed that I came out from God I came forth from the Father and am come into the world Again I leave the world and go to the Father His disciples said unto him Lo now speakest thou plainly and speakest no proverb Now are we sure that thou knowest all things and needest not that any man should ask thee by this we believe that thou camest forth from God Jesus answered them Do ye now believe Behold the hour cometh yea is now come that ye shall be scattered every man to his own and shall leave me alone and yet I am not alone because the Father is with me These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace In the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world The Ascension-day The collect GRant we beseech thee Almighty God that like as we do believe thy only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend and with him continually dwell who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost one God world without end Amen For the Epistle Acts 1.1 THe former treatise have I made O Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the Apostles whom he had chosen To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs being seen of them fourty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God and being assembled together with them commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father which saith he ye have heard of me For John truly baptized with water but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence When they therefore were come together they asked of him saying Lord wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel And he said unto them It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power But ye shall
made known unto God And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus The Gospel S. John 1.19 THis is the record of John when the Jews sent Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him Who art thou And he confessed and denied not but confessed I am not the Christ And they asked him What 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 thy self He said I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness Make straight the way of the Lord as said the prophet Esaias And they which were sent were of the Pharisees And they asked him and said unto him Why baptizest thou then if thou be not that Christ nor Elias neither that prophet John answered them saying I baptize with water but there standeth one among you whom ye know not He it is who coming after me is preferred before me whose shoes latchet I am not worthy to unloose These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan where John was baptizing ¶ The NATIVITY of our LORD or the Birth-day of CHRIST commonly called Christmas-day The Collect. ALmighty God who hast 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 same our Lord Jesus Christ who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever one God world without end Amen The Epistle Heb. 1.1 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 then the angels as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent Name then they For unto which 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 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 righteousness and hated iniquity therefore God even thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl 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 remainest 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 S. John 1.1 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 a man sent from God whose 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 to them that believe on his name Which were born not of bloud 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 S. Stephens day The Collect. GRant O Lord that in all our sufferings here upon earth for the testimony of thy truth we may stedfastly look up to heaven and by faith behold the glory that shall be revealed and being filled with the Holy Ghost may learn to love and bless our persecuters by the example of thy first Martyr Saint Stephen who prayed for his murderers to thee O blessed Jesus who standest at the right hand of God to succour all those that suffer for thee our only Mediatour and Advocate Amen ¶ Then shall follow the Collect of the Nativity which shall be said continually unto New-years Eve For the Epistle Acts 7.55 STephen being full of the Holy Ghost looked up stedfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said Behold I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing 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 cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young mans feet whose name was Saul And they stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice Lord lay not this sin to their charge And when he had said this he fell asleep The Gospel S. Matth. 23.34 BEhold I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes and some of them ye shall kill and crucifie and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues and persecute them from city to city that upon you may come all the righteous bloud shed upon the earth from the bloud of righteous Abel unto the bloud of Zacharias son of Barachias whom ye slew between the temple and the altar Verily I say unto you all these things shall come upon this generation O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee how often would I have gathered the children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and ye would not Behold your house is left unto you desolate For I say unto you ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord. S. John the Evangelists day The collect MErciful Lord
we beseech thee to cast thy bright beam of light upon thy Church that it being enlightned by the doctrine of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John may so walk in the light of thy truth that it may at length attain to the light of everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Epistle 1 S. John 1.1 THat which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life for the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and shew unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ And these things write we unto you that your joy may be full This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you That God is light and in him is no darkness at all If we say 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 fellowship one with another and the bloud of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin If we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness If we say that we have not sinned we make him a liar and his Word is not in us The Gospel S. John 21.19 JEsus said unto Peter Follow me Then Peter turning about seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following which also leaned on his breast at supper and said Lord which is he that betrayeth thee Peter seeing him saith to Jesus Lord and what shall this man do Jesus saith unto him If I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee Follow thou me Then went this saying abroad among the brethren that that disciple should not die yet Jesus said not unto him He shall not die but if I will that he tarry till I come whâ—… is that to thee This is the disciple which testifieth of these things and wrote these things and we know thâ—… his testimony is true And there are also many other things which Jesus did the which if they should be written every one I suppose that even the world it self could not contain the books that should be written The Innocents day The collect O Almighty God who out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast ordained strength and madest infants to glorifie thee by their deaths Mortifie and kill all vices in us and so strengthen us by thy grace that by the innocency of our lives and constancy of our faith even unto death we may glorifie thy holy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen For the Epistle Rev. 14.1 I Looked and lo a Lamb stood on the mount Sion and with him an hundred fourty and four thousand having his Fathers 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 sung as it were a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders and no man could learn that song but the hundred and fourty and four thousand which were redeemed from the earth These are they which were not defiled with women for they are virgins these are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever 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 The Gospel S. Matth. 2.13 THe angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring thee word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him When he arose 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 spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying Out of Egypt have I called my Son Then Herod when he saw that he was mocked of the wise-men was exceeding wroth and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof from two years old and under according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise-men Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet saying 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 Sunday after Christmas-day The collect ALmighty God who hast 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 Sprit through the same our Lord Jesus Christ who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever one God world without end Amen The Epistle Gal. 4.1 NOw I say that the heir as long as he is a child differeth nothing from a servant though he be lord of all but is under tutours and governours until the time appointed of the father Even so we when we were children were in bondage under the elements of the world but when the fulness of the time was come God sent 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 sons And because ye are sons God hath sent forth the 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 The Gospel S. Matth. 1.18 THe birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost Then Joseph her husband being a just man and not willing to make her a publick example was minded to put her away privily But while he thought on these things behold the angel of the Lord appered unto him in a dream saying Joseph thou son of David fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost And she shall bring forth a Son and thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet
to us such strength and protection as may support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Epistle Rom. 13.1 LEt every soul be subject unto the higher powers for there is no power but of God the powers that be are ordained of God Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation For rulers are not a terrour to good works but to the evil Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same for he is the minister of God to thee for good But if thou do that which is evil be afraid for he beareth not the sword in vain for he is the minister of God a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil Wherefore ye must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake For for this cause pay you tribute also for they are Gods ministers attending continually upon this very thing Render therfore to all their dues tribute to whom tribute is due custom to whom custom fear to whom fear honour to whom honour The Gospel S. Matth. 8.23 ANd when he was entred into a ship his disciples followed him And behold there arose a great tempest in the sea insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves but he was asleep And his disciples came to him and awoke him saying Lord save us we perish And he saith unto them Why are ye fearful O ye of little faith Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm But the men marvelled saying What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him And when he was come to the other side into the countrey of the Gergesenes there met him two possessed with devils coming out of the tombs exceeding fierce so that no man might pass by that way And behold they cried out saying What have we to do with thee Jesus thou Son of God art thou come hither to torment us before the time And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeling So the devils besought him saying If thou cast us out suffer us to go away into the herd of swine And he said unto them Go. And when they were come out they went into the herd of swine and behold the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea and perished in the waters And they that kept them fled and went their ways into the city and told every thing and what was befaln to the possessed of the devils And behold the whole city came out to meet Jesus and when they saw him they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts The fifth Sunday after the Epiphany The collect O Lord we beseech thee to keep thy Church and houshold continually in thy true religion that they who do lean only upon the hope of thy heavenly grace may evermore be defended by thy mighty power through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Epistle Col. 3.12 PUt on therefore as the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercies kindness humbleness of mind meekness long-suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave you so also do ye And above all these things put on charity which is the bond of perfectness And let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which also ye are called in one body and be ye thankful Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God and the Father by him The Gospel S. Matth. 13.24 THe kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field But while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit then appeared the tares also So the servants of the housholder came and said unto him Sir didst not thou sow good seed in thy field from whence then hath it tares He said unto them An enemy hath done this The servants said unto him Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up But he said Nay lest while ye gather up the tares ye root up also the wheat with them Let both grow together until the harvest and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers Gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn The sixth Sunday after the Epiphany The collect O God whose blessed Son was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us the sons of God and heirs of eternal life Grant us we beseech thee that having this hope we may purifie our selves even as he is pure that when he shall appear again with power and great glory we may be made like unto him in his eternal and glorious kingdom where with thee O Father and thee O holy Ghost he liveth and reigneth ever one God world without end Amen The Epistle 1 S. John 3.1 BEhold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew him not Beloved now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law for sin is the transgression of the law And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins and in him is no sin Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not whosoever sinneth hath not seen him neither known him Little children let no man deceive you he that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous He that committeh sin is of the devil for the devil sinneth from the beginning For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil The Gospel S. Matth. 24.23 THen if any man shall say unto you Lo here is Christ or there believe it not For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect Behold I have told you before Wherefore if they shall say unto you Behold he is in the desert go not forth behold he is in the secret chambers believe it not For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even