The Scriptural BCP - The Collects

The Collects
To Be Used Throughout the Year.

Note, that the Collect appointed for every Sunday, or for any Holy-day that hath a Vigil or Eve, shall be said at the Evening Service next before.

The First Sunday in Advent through Quinquagesima Sunday.

The First Sunday of Advent.

THE Principal Holy-days as Christmas, Easter, and Whitsunday, have some days appointed to attend upon them: some to go before, some to come after: as it were to wait upon them for their greater solemnity.

Before Christmas are appointed four Advent-Sundays, so called because they are to prepare us for Christ his Advent or coming in the flesh. These are to Christmas-day, as S. John Baptist to Christ forerunners to prepare for it, and point it out.


The Gospel S. Matth. 21. 1. seems at first more proper to Christs Passion than his Birth; yet is it read now principally for those words in it, Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord. That is, Blessed is he for coming in the Flesh, the cause of all our joy, for which we can never say enough, Hosanna in the Highest.

The Epistle labours to prepare us to behold with joy this rising Sun, bidding us awake from sleep, according to the Prophet Esay 60. 1. Arise, and shine, for thy light is come.

The Collect is taken out of both, and relates to both, the first part of it is clearly the words of the Epistle, That we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, That which follows, In the time of this mortal life, in the which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us, in effect is the same with that in the Epistle: Let us put off the works of darkness, &c. because the night is spent, the day is at hand, and our salvation is near; that is, our Saviour Christ, the light of the world is coming into the world to visit us in great humility, according to the Prophet, Zach. 9. 9. which the Gospel records, Tell ye the daughter of Sion (to her great joy) that behold Her King comes unto her, meek, (or in great humility) sitting upon an Asse.

C. First Sunday in Advent.] The first initiation of our Saviour into the office of a Mediator was His manifestation in the flesh, and incarnation; a thing promised all along, from the very fall of wretched man, until, as the Apostle said, “the fulness of time was come,” Gal. iv. 4. And the more remote from this time, the more obscure the prophecies ; the nearer the more explicit. First, Gen. u., “the seed of the woman shall break the serpent’s head.” Goon to Abraham, Gen. xii. 3, “in thy seed” (declaring specificatively in whose) Gen. 22. “shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Go on toDavid, “ of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne,” Psalm cxxxii. 11. Proceed to Esay, the prophecy is more apodeictical, more demonstrative, “ behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and she shall call His name Emanuel,” chap. vii. ver. 14. Go nearer to the approaching of this time, still more Ecce’s, “ behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus,” Luke i. 31. And the Virgin Mary to herself, ‘ behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed,” ab. ν. 48. All this to keep up the hope of the long looked for theophany, and the Messias’s appearance in the flesh. God Himself having thus led in the nativity of our Saviour, with such a train of anteceding predictions to assure man that He would come, the Christian Church thought it also expedient that the day of commemoration, that ‘ He is come,” should be somewhat more than ordinarily attended. And upon this very account she hath assigned to this great festival the four Sundays preceding, (the first beginning always next before, or after, or on St. Andrew’s day,) which are as it were one Christmas Eve, or as so many heralds to proclaim the approaching of His feast, and are therefore called Advent Sundays as fore-speaking Christ’s birthday; and therefore the ancient author of the Nativity Sermon ascribed to St. Cyprian begins it with adest diu expectata nativitas, i. e. “the long looked for nativity which we expected all this time of Advent is come at length.” And upon this account proper lessons taken out of the evangelist, or gospel prophet Esay, agreeable to their design are allotted them.

This Collect is to be repeated every day, with the other Collects in Advent, until Christmas-Eve.

Ps 138:3 On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.
John 3:19-21 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."
John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
Rom 13:12 the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
Eph 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
Phil 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Col 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.
1 John 1:6-7 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Is 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined.
2 Cor 4:6 For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Jam 4:6 But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
2 Pet 1:19 So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Matt 21:5 "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Luke 1:78-79 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."
John 12:46 I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.
2 Cor 6:2 For he says, "At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you." See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!
Phil 2:5-7 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,
Ps 39:12 "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
Mal 4:2 But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
1 Pet 1:17 If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile.
Matt 25:31-32 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
John 5:28-29 Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
2 Thess 1:7 and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
1 Pet 4:5 But they will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.
Ps 45:3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty.
Matt 19:28 Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Mark 14:62 Jesus said, "I am; and 'you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,' and 'coming with the clouds of heaven.'"
Acts 10:42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.
John 11:23-26 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
1 Cor 15:53-54 For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
1 Thess 4:16-17 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.
Rev 1:18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
Matt 25:46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Rom 2:7 to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.
Rom 6:9-10 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
1 Cor 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
1 Cor 15:22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.
Heb 1:8 But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.
Rev 17:14 they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."
Rev 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, "King of kings and Lord of lords."
Acts 5:31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Col 3:3-4 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
2 Tim 2:11-12 The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us;

The Second Sunday in Advent.

The Gospel treats of Christs second coming to judgment, an excellent meditation to prepare us for the welcome and joyful entertainment of Christs first coming. A Saviour must needs be welcome to him that is afraid of damnation.

The Epistle mentions the first coming of our Lord for the Salvation even of the Gentiles, that is of us, for which all praise is by us, to be given to him. Praise the Lord all ye Gentiles, and laud him all ye nations together.

The Collect is taken out of the Epistle; and though it seems not to relate to the day, yet is it an excellent prayer for all times, and so not unseasonable for this.

2 Sam 23:2 The spirit of the Lord speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue.
Mark 12:36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet."'
Luke 11:27-28 While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!" But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!"
Rom 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
1 Cor 10:11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
2 Kings 22:13 "Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our ancestors did not obey the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."
1 John 1:4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 Sam 23:2 The spirit of the Lord speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue.
Mark 12:36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet."'
Luke 11:27-28 While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!" But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!"
Rom 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
1 Cor 10:11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
2 Kings 22:13 "Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our ancestors did not obey the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."
1 John 1:4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
John 5:39 "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf.
1 Tim 4:13 Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching.
1 Thess 5:27 I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all of them.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.
Deut 32:46-47 he said to them: "Take to heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today; give them as a command to your children, so that they may diligently observe all the words of this law. This is no trifling matter for you, but rather your very life; through it you may live long in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess."
Acts 17:11 These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so.
Jer 23:18 For who has stood in the council of the Lord so as to see and to hear his word? Who has given heed to his word so as to proclaim it?
Jer 35:13 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Can you not learn a lesson and obey my words? says the Lord.
Ps 119:73 Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
1 Pet 2:2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation--
2 Pet 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Deut 31:12 Assemble the people--men, women, and children, as well as the aliens residing in your towns--so that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God and to observe diligently all the words of this law,
Josh 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful.
Heb 2:1 Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
Ps 1:2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.
Ps 119:15 I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways.
Ps 119:48 I revere your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.
Ps 119:81 My soul languishes for your salvation; I hope in your word.
Luke 8:15 But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
John 20:31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Rom 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
Rom 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Heb 6:18-20 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Heb 10:36 For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
1 Pet 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
Rev 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.
Rev 3:3 Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
Rev 3:11 I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
Rom 5:5-6 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Heb 11:13 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth,

The Third Sunday in Advent.

The Epistle mentions the second coming of Christ; the Gospel, the first. The Collect prayes for the benefit of this light. This week is one of the four Ember weeks, concerning which see after the first Sunday in Lent.

Mal 3:1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight--indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
Mark 1:2-3 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"
Luke 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
Is 40:3 A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Matt 11:7-8 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.
1 Cor 4:1 Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries.
2 Cor 6:4 but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities,
1 Pet 4:10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.
1 Cor 2:7 But we speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
Eph 6:19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
Job 28:28 And he said to humankind, 'Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'"
Mal 4:5-6 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.
Luke 1:17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?
Acts 26:17-18 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles--to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
Is 58:1 Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins.
Phil 4:5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
1 Cor 4:5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.
2 Cor 5:9-10 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.
Eph 1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
1 Tim 6:13-14 In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Heb 3:14 For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.
Heb 10:27 but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
Heb 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing--for that would be harmful to you.

The Fourth Sunday in Advent.

The Epistle and Gospel set Christ, as it were, before us, not prophesied of, but being even at hand, yea standing among us; pointing him out as S. John Baptist did to the people; Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. The Collect Prayes most earnestly and passionately to him, to succour us miserable sinners.

Ps 22:19 But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid!
Ps 80:2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!
Is 40:29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
Is 51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago! Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?
2 Cor 6:2 For he says, "At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you." See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!
Eph 1:19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.
Ps 31:10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.
Ps 119:32 I run the way of your commandments, for you enlarge my understanding.
Is 38:14 Like a swallow or a crane I clamor, I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security!
Rom 7:5 While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self,
Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
Is 59:2 Rather, your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Ps 31:2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me.
Ps 40:13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me.
Ps 40:17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.
Ps 44:26 Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
Ps 70:1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me!
2 Cor 12:9 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Ps 130:8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Is 53:4-6 Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Is 53:12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Rom 3:24-26 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
1 John 2:1-2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
James 5:11 Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

The Nativity of our Lord,
or the Birth-day of Christ,
Commonly called Christmas-Day.

THE Epistle, Gospel, and Collect are plainly suitable to the day, all mentioning the birth of Christ. Besides, this Feast hath proper Psalms, in which some Verses are peculiar to the day, as will appear, if they be well considered. The First Psalm for the Morning Service, is the 19. The heavens declare the glory of God; very suitable to the Feast, for at His Birth a new Star appeared which declared his Glory and Deity so plainly, that it fetcht the Sages of the East to come and worship him, S. Matt. 2. Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his Star in the East, and are come to worship him.

The Second Psalm for the Morning is 45. Which at the beginning of it is a Genethliack or Birth-song of Christ, The fairest of the children of men, v. 3. And of his mighty success in subduing the Devil and the world by the word of truth, of meekness and righteousness, vers. 5. &c.

The third is Psal. 85. which is principally set for the Birth of Christ. For it is a thanksgiving to God for sending a Saviour, which should save his people from their sins, the greatest captivity that is; and therefore cannot properly be meant of any but Christ, who was therefore call'd Jesus, because he should save his people from their sins, S. Matt. 1. 21. And so the Primitive Church understood it, and therefore selected it out as a part of their Office for this day, as being proper and pertinent to the matter of the Feast: For the meeting here specified, ver.10. 11. of Mercy and Truth, Righteousness and Peace, was at Christs birth, who said of himself, that he was the Truth; who as he had a birth from Heaven, to wit, his Divine nature, so had he another as Man from Earth from the Virgin; which birth drew Righteousness to look from Heaven, upon poor sinners with a favourable look, and made righteousness and peace kiss, for the delivering of sinners from their captivity. True it is, the Prophet in the first Verses speaks of this delivery as of a thing past, Lord thou hast turn'd away the captivity of Iacob.

Yet for all this it may be a prophesie of our salvation by the coming of Christ hereafter: for as S. Peter sayes, Acts 2. 30. David being a Prophet, and seeing this before, spake of Christs Nativity, as if it were already past.

The Evening Psalms are 89, 110, 132. The first and last of which are thankful commemorations of Gods merciful promise of sending our Lord Christ into the world, that seed of David, which he had sworn to establish, and set up his Throne for ever. For which, O Lord, the very heavens shall praise thy wondrous works, and thy truth in the congregation of the Saints, v. 5. Psal. 89. The Church was in affliction now, as is plain in both these Psalms: but such was the joy that they were affected with, at the promise of Christs birth and coming into the world, that they could not contain, but even in the midst of their misery, break forth into Thanksgiving for it: and how can the Church excite us better to Thanksgiving to God for the birth of Christ, upon the day, then by shewing us how much the promise of it afar off wrought upon the Saints of old? The 110. Psalm expresly mentions the birth of Christ, ver. 3. The dew of thy birth, is of the womb of the Morning; as the morning dew brings, forth innumerable fruit, so shall the birth of Christ bring forth innumerable faithful people: and therefore the Prophet here does, as we should this day, adore and praise the goodness of God for the birth of Christ, the cause of so much good.

It is admirable to behold the frame of the Churches holy Office and Service this day. In the First Lessons, she reads us the prophesie of Christs coming in the flesh: in the Second Lessons, Epistle and Gospel, she gives us the History of it. In the Collect, she teaches us to pray, that we may be partakers of the benefit of his birth: In the proper Preface for the day, as also in the proper Psalms, she sets us to our duty of Adoring and Glorifying God for his mercy. In the Lessons and Gospels appointed, holy Church does the Angels part, brings us glad tydings of our Saviours Birth, Behold I bring you glad tydings of great joy, for unto you is born this day a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord, S. Luke 2. 10. In pointing the special Hymns and Psalms, she calls upon us to do the Shepherds part, to glorifie and Praise God for all the things that this day we hear and see, ver. 20. And to sing with the Angels, Glory to God in the highest, for this good will to Men.

For the Antiquity of this day, many testimonies might be brought out of the Ancients; but, because I intend brevity, I shall be content with two beyond exception. S. Augustine, Ep. 119. witnesses, that it was the custome of holy Church to keep this day: And upon the five and twentieth of December, in Psalm 132.S. Chrysostom makes a Sermon to prove that the keeping of Christmas-day was ancient, even from the first times; and that the Church kept the true day. In the same sermon he sayes, It is a godly thing to keep this day. Nay further, that the keeping of this day was one of the greatest signs of our love to Christ. Amongst other Arguments which he uses there, to perswade his hearers to keep this day, he brings this, that the custome of keeping this day was religious, and of God, or else it could never have been so early spread over the whole World, in spight of so much opposition. Orat. in Natal. Dom. Tom. 5. Edit. Savil.

D Christmas day.] This anniversary solemnity cannot be denied to be as old as up to Gregory Nazianzen’s time, he and his great intimate St. Basil having each an excellent homily upon it, τὰ δὲ viv θεοφάνια ἡ πανήγυρις, εἴτ᾽ οὖν γενέθλια, saith one”, “this celebrity is called God’s appearance, or His nativity.” Ὄνομα θώμεθα τῇ ἑορτῇ ἡμῶν θεοφάνια, saith the other’, “we name this our festival the theophany. Nor is there in either homily one syllable inferring the either usage or institution of that day to have commenced then, wherefore we may presume it was existent long before ; indeed, Nicephorus sadly tells us so, relating no less than twenty thousand Christians massacred by fire on that day, being assembled at church, under the Dioclesianic persecution. A matter not incredible, for if it be true, as little doubt is to be made of it, what Gildas reports of us Britons, that after that persecution ceased, “the Christians began again to repair their churches, and celebrated festivals,” why should not this great day make one? What rational argument can be opposed to dissuade us that we should not think it of as long duration as any other festival (the Lord’s day excepted) whatsoever, considering that even Christianity itself resulteth from it?

In the determination of the precise and true day, antiquity itself hath been to seek, as well as modern times. Clemens Alexandrinus, who flourished about the end of the second century, saith that οἱ περιεργόTepot, “the most curious inquisitors after the year and day of Christ’s nativity, have fixed it, some on the twenty-fifth of the month of Pachon,” (our May,) “and some on the twenty-fifth of Pharmouthi,” (our April). The Churches of Egypt observed it constantly upon the sixth of January, celebrating both it and His baptism on the same day, which they called the Epiphany. The Asiatic Grecians, and Syrians, turned over His baptism to another day, retaining still the sixth of January for His nativity. The Church of Rome, pretending to a more perfect information from the censual rolls of Augustus Cesar, kept close to the twenty-fifth of December: from thence it was first transported to Antioch, as is evident from St. Chrysostom’s homily preached there upon that day, where he declareth the darkness of uncertainty wherein those Christians were in before, and from whence they were enlightened to the notion of the true day. Not long after, either convinced that this was the very day of Christ’s nativity, or that none truer could be assigned, it became, about anno 500, the general observation of the Catholic Church.

Since that, and near home to our times, an opinion hath possessed some very learned men that our Saviour was born in September: in such variety of judgments it is not safe dogmatically to determine one way or the other. Nihil opus est ut ea cum discrimine definiantur, que absque crimine nesciuntur, “ What necessity is there of positively defining that whereof it is no fault to be ignorant?” And the best is, there is nothing in this particular cogent to it. The exact notion of the day precise is no concernment of the duty, which consists not in observing the day, but a day. God standeth not upon punctilios with man, no, not in ceremonials of His owndesignation, wherein He dispenseth with the Church’s liberty to vary, necessity or just occasion inviting. The celebration of the blessed Eucharist is, by universal usage, mistimed from its first institution, now in the morning, then at night. So is the Lord’s day, beginning in the Apostles’ times at the evening preceding ; with us at one in the morning: why may not then the memorial of our Saviour’s nativity be celebrated on a day varying from its true original, especially considering that it is not yet infallibly discovered which it is? And if so, why may we not, conforming to the practice of the Catholic Church, observe the twenty-fifth of December, as our Church enjoineth? To stand upon such niceties is but a peevish kind of devotion, mere superstition, and the next way to bring the great mystery of our Saviour’s ἐνσάρκωσις and incarnation, first into contempt, and next into oblivion.

And whereas we are upbraided with the practice of reformed Churches, which have discontinued the solemnization of this day, not to repeat what I have instanced before out of the Churches of Helvetia and Bohemia, out of Bucer and Zanchy ; and to reach the very vitals of this objection, I must tell the opponents, that for Geneva, the place so urged against us, Mr. Calvin himself blusheth at her reformation, and is so concerned, so moved with the blemishes of it in this point, as he passionately apologizeth thus: Sancte testari possum, me inscio, ac ne optante quidem, hanc rem fuisse transactam; “I can solemly protest, that the abrogation of this festival was transacted without my knowledge, nay, against my wish.” And again, Ex quo revocatus sum hoc temperamentum quesivi, ut Christi natalis celebraretur vestro more: “from the very first of my return to this place I endeavoured this moderation, that Christ’s birthday should be observed after your custom.” If Calvin’s judgment, because single, will not be listened to, what say they to the very remarkable practice of the synod of Dort, for which in other relations they have so high a friendship? Festum natalis Domini nostri Jesu Christi instabat, propter cujus celebrationem actiones synodi, per aliquot gam dies interrumpende essent; “ the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ was now at hand, in order to whose celebration, the actions of the synod were, for some few days, to be interrupted :” which was actually done, the session being intermitted from December the twenty-second to the twenty-eighth, as appeareth by the acts of that synod. And, lest it should be thought this was done only to compliment our British divines, I shall produce the warrant itself of its establishment from the very canons of that Church.

Ecclesie observabunt, preter diem Dominicum, etiam diem nativitatis Domini, Pascha item et Pentecosten, cum die insequente ; et quoniam in plerisque urbibus, ac regionibus Belgie insuper observantur festa circumcisionis, ac ascensionis Christi; allaborabunt ministri, quibuscunque locis id nondum est usu receptum, ut volente magistratu, hac in parte reliquis accedant : “the several Churches shall observe, over and besides the Lord’s day, the day also of Christ’s nativity, Easter also and Whitsunday, with the day following; and because in many places and cities of Belgia, moreover the feasts of Christ’s circumcision and ascension are celebrated also, the minister shall use his best endeavour, that the magistrates’ consent first obtained, they, in such places where these days are not yet received into use, would conform to the practice of others.”

So this canon, confirmed with the rest, by the synodical act of Dort, anno 1619; confirmed, I say, by a ratification superinducted to a former establishment, as is evident by the Greek and Latin edition of those canons, set forth by Jacobus Revius.

To be short, let our adversaries be in their declamations against other festivals, as obstreperous and loud as they please; such clamours we can both hear and pity; but when they decry with so much noise this grand festival, together with that of our Saviour’s resurrection and ascension, and the descent of the Holy Ghost, to our Christian charity they stand obliged, if we do not justly suspect, in good earnest, some design dangerous even to Christianity itself, considering that the main fundamentals of our faith have such direct and immediate reference to those feasts, and that the yearly celebration of them is but a tacit anniversary rehearsal of the chief articles of our creed.

John 1:13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
1 Tim 3:16 Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.
Heb 2:16 For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.
1 John 4:9 God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
1 John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
Rom 8:3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
Is 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.
Matt 1:22-25 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Luke 1:26-27 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
John 3:3-5 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
Rom 6:3-4 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
2 Cor 4:11 For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.
2 Cor 5:17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
Gal 6:15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!
Col 2:11-12 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
Col 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.
John 1:12-13 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
Rom 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!"
Gal 4:4-6 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
Gal 3:26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.
Is 40:31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect.
2 Cor 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
Eph 4:23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
Tit 3:5 he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
1 Pet 1:22 Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.
2 Cor 5:5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Eph 2:18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Rev 19:4-5 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!" And from the throne came a voice saying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, and all who fear him, small and great."
Rev 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, "King of kings and Lord of lords."

The Christmastide Martyr Days.

IMmediately after Christmas follow as attendants upon this high Festival S. Stephen. S. John, and Innocents; not because this was the very time of their suffering, but because none are thought fitter attendants on Christs Nativity, than the blessed Martyrs, who have laid down their lives for him, from whose birth they received spiritual life. And there being three kinds of Martyrdom; 1. In will and deed, which is the highest. 2. In will, but not in deed. 3. In deed, but not in will: in this order they attend; S. Stephen first, who suffered both in will and deed. Next S. John, who suffered Martyrdom in will, but not in deed, being miraculously delivered out of boyling Cauldron, into which he was put before Port-Latin in Rome. Lastly, the holy Innocents who suffered in deed, but not in will: yet are reckoned amongst the Martyrs, because they suffered for Christ: whose praise these his witnesses confest and shewed forth not in speaking but in dying. [Collect for the day.]

The reason of the choice of the Epistles, Gospels and Collects for these dayes is plain, these being all priviledged dayes, that is, days which have in Scripture their peculiar histories. But for the Collect for S. Stephens day we may note in particular, That as the Church offers up some of her Collects directly to the Second Person of the Trinity, so one of them is this for S. Stephens day, and very properly; For as S. Stephen in the midst of his Martyrdom prayed to Jesus saying, Lord Jesus receive my spirit, and, Lord lay not this sin to their charge; so the Church in imitation of this blessed Proto-Martyr upon his day calls upon the Lord Jesus also desiring of him such a spirit as that of S. Stephen, to love and pray for our Enemies, which is that Heroical and Transcendant vertue which is peculiar to Christian Religion.

Before we endeavour to shew the antiquity of these days in particular, it will not be amiss to give some account of the ancient observation of Saints dayes in general.

That the observation of Saints days was very ancient in the Church will appear by these testimonies following. The Councel of Carthag. 3. c. 47. tells us that the Church did celebrate the Passions and Anniversaries of the Martyrs. This Counc. was held in S. Augustines time. S. Aug. in Psal. 88. Attend therefore my Dearly Beloved; All of you unanimously hold fast God your Father and the Church your Mother. Celebrate the Saints Birthdays (so they Anciently called the dayes of their Death and Martyrdom) with sobriety, that we may imitate them that have gone before us, that they may joy over us, who pray for us, that so the Blessing of God may remain upon us for ever. Amen, Amen.

Chrys. Hom. 66. ad. Pop. Antioch, The sepulchres of the Saints are honourable, and their dayes are known of all, bringing a festival joy to the world.

Before these S. Cyprian, l. 4. ep. 5. We celebrate the Passions of the Martyrs and their days with an anniversary commemoration. And before him Anno 147. the Church of Smyrna says the same Euseb. Hist. l. 4. c. 15.

If it be demanded why the Church kept the days of the Saints deaths, rather than of their Birth or Baptism? The answer may be: 1. Because at their deaths they are born Citizens of Heaven, of the Church triumphant, (which is more than to be born either a man or a Christian, a member of the Church Militant) whence (as above said) these days were usually styled by the Ancients, Their Birth-days. 2. Then do they perfectly triumph over the Devil and the world, by which the Church Militant hath gained, to her comfort, an example of persevering constancy and courage, and the Church Triumphant hath gained a new joy by the addition of a new member. For surely if the Saints and Angels in heaven joy at the conversion of a sinner, much more do they joy at the admission of a Saint into Heaven.

Thus much of the Saints days in general. For these three holy days in particular, that they are ancient, S. Augustine shews us, who hath Sermons upon all these days, Tom. 10. And Chrysol. who hath Sermons upon S. Stephen, and Innocents: And Origen in his Comment upon these words, A voice was heard in Rama, tells us, the Church did, and did well in it to keep the Feast of Innocents, and there is as much reason for the keeping of S. Stevens day, who was the first Martyr, and of S. Johns the beloved Disciple and Evangelist, as for the keeping of Innocents, and therefore it is to be thought, that the Church did then as well observe them as this, since, as we have proved, she did keep the days of Martyrs.

F. St. Stephen, St. John, St. Innocents.] Eopth τὴν ἑορτὴν διαδέχεται, τοῦ κυρίου τὰ θεοφάνεια καταλαμβάνει ἡ τοῦ δούλου τιμὴ, saith Proclus upon St. Stephen, “ here is one festival upon the neck of another, the servant’s honour attends his master’s birthday :” and this is the only account we have from antiquity of his waiting upon Christ’s nativity in his own solemnity. The Constitutions called Apostolical, reckon St. Stephen’s in the catalogue of holy days, τὴν ἡμέραν Στεφάνου τοῦ πρωτομάρτυρος ἀργείτωσαν, “let them cease from labour upon St. Stephen’s day ;” but when that his anniversary was to be celebrated, only Proelus informeth us. As for St. John, though there be no clear and express mention of his festival in elder times, yet considering that all the Apostles had their set days assigned, he is in all reason to be supposed to have had his share of honour equal to the rest. As for Innocents’ day, that homily upon Matt. which if not Origen’s, is yet very ancient, speaketh express, horum et memoria semper ut dignum est in ecclesia celebratur secundum integrum ordinem sanctorum, ut primorum martyrum pro Domino occisorum: “the memory of the Innocents also is always, as fit it is, celebrated in the Church, according to the order of the saints, as of those who were first slain for the Lord.”

This juncto of festivals are not here placed as evidences of the times of the death or sufferings of those persons. For if tradition faileth not, St. Stephen was stoned in August, and St. John died on the feast of St. John Baptist. Durandus, and from him other ritualists, why these feasts rather than others were ordered to accompany Christ’s nativity, assigneth this reason, “ There is,” saith he, “a threefold martyrdom ; in will and deed; in will, but not in deed; in deed, but not in will.” The first was undergone by St. Stephen, the second by St. John, the third by the Innocents; and who fitter to attend our Saviour than His martyrs? for if “right : dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of all His saints,” then most precious certainly to Him must the death of them be, who not only die in, but for Him. This reason of Durandus is founded upon the tradition that St. John was miraculously preserved in a caldron of boiling oil, to which he was condemned at Rome; might I interpose mine own thoughts, I should rather conceive that St. Stephen had the first place, because he was the proto-martyr of Christianity; St. John the second, because his death falling upon the festival of another John, the Baptist, and reason good they should be honoured with days apart ; no day could be assigned to this John more proper, that he might be nigh his Master, he being the disciple whom Jesus loved. And the Innocents might well pretend to the third, because as St. Cyprian saith, nativitas Domini a martyriis infantium statim cepit, “the slaughter of the Innocents was the first considerable consequent of His birth.” Nor will I omit what else seemeth a specious exposition upon the original of these three, viz. that martyrium, amor, innocentia, “martyrdom, love, and inno- cence,” are first to be magnified, as wherein Christ is most honoured.

Saint Stephen's Day.

Matt 24:9 "Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.
John 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you, 'Servants are not greater than their master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
Acts 5:41 As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
Rev 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given;
Mark 10:29-30 Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions--and in the age to come eternal life.
John 16:33 I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!"
1 Pet 3:14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated,
Ps 5:3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.
Is 45:22 Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
Acts 7:55-56 But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
Rom 8:18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.
2 Cor 4:17-18 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
2 Cor 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
1 Pet 4:13-14 But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.
1 Pet 4:19 Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Prov 25:21 If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink;
Matt 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Luke 23:34 [[Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."]] And they cast lots to divide his clothing.
Acts 7:57-60 But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he died.
Rom 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Heb 2:18 Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.
Heb 7:25 Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
1 Pet 3:21-22 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you--not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
Acts 9:17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

Then shall follow the Collect of the Nativity, which shall be said continually unto New-year's Eve.

Saint John the Evangelist's Day.

John 1:4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."
1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.
Ps 43:3 O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Luke 2:32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
Luke 6:13-14 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,
John 21:24 This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.
2 Cor 4:6 For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Eph 5:8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light--
1 John 1:1-3 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us-- we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Rev 1:1-2 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
Rev 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth--to every nation and tribe and language and people.
1 Tim 3:15 if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.
Ps 36:9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
Is 60:1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Is 60:19 The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
John 12:35 Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going.
Rom 6:22-23 But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Col 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
1 Pet 1:9 for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 John 1:6-7 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Rev 21:10 And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.
Rev 21:23-24 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
1 Pet 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Then shall follow the Collect of the Nativity, which shall be said continually unto New-year's Eve.

The Innocents' Day.

Ps 8:2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
Matt 21:15-16 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became angry and said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself'?"
Matt 3:9 Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
Rom 9:25-26 As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they shall be called children of the living God."
Matt 2:16-18 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."
2 Kings 4:18-37 When the child was older, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. He complained to his father, "Oh, my head, my head!" The father said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother." He carried him and brought him to his mother; the child sat on her lap until noon, and he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, closed the door on him, and left. Then she called to her husband, and said, "Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again." He said, "Why go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath." She said, "It will be all right." Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Urge the animal on; do not hold back for me unless I tell you." So she set out, and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, "Look, there is the Shunammite woman; run at once to meet her, and say to her, Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?" She answered, "It is all right." When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi approached to push her away. But the man of God said, "Let her alone, for she is in bitter distress; the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me." Then she said, "Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, Do not mislead me?" He said to Gehazi, "Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If you meet anyone, give no greeting, and if anyone greets you, do not answer; and lay my staff on the face of the child." Then the mother of the child said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave without you." So he rose up and followed her. Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. He came back to meet him and told him, "The child has not awakened." When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and closed the door on the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. Then he got up on the bed and lay upon the child, putting his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and while he lay bent over him, the flesh of the child became warm. He got down, walked once to and fro in the room, then got up again and bent over him; the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite woman." So he called her. When she came to him, he said, "Take your son." She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground; then she took her son and left.
Mark 5:23 and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live."
Matt 18:3 and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Rom 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.
Rom 6:11-12 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.
Rom 8:13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
1 Cor 9:27 but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.
Col 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).
Deut 30:6 Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.
2 Cor 12:9 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Eph 3:13-16 I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit,
Phil 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
2 Tim 2:1 You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus;
Ps 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Is 41:10 do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
Ps 37:38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
Phil 2:14-15 Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.
2 Tim 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Heb 12:4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Rev 2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Rev 3:11 I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
Rev 12:11 But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
Rev 14:4-5 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless.
Prov 20:7 The righteous walk in integrity-- happy are the children who follow them!
Acts 7:59 While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
John 21:18-19 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."
1 Cor 6:20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
Phil 2:20 I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.
1 Pet 2:11-12 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.
1 Pet 4:14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

Then shall follow the Collect of the Nativity, which shall be said continually unto New-year's Eve.

The Sunday after Christmas-Day.

THis Sunday hath the Collect with Christmas-day; and the Epistle and Gospel treat about the same business, the birth of Christ; for we have not yet done with the Solemnity of Christmas. Thus great Solemnities have some days after them, to continue the memory of them, in prorogationem Festi.

John 1:13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
1 Tim 3:16 Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.
Heb 2:16 For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.
1 John 4:9 God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
1 John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
Rom 8:3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
Is 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.
Matt 1:22-25 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Luke 1:26-27 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
John 3:3-5 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
Rom 6:3-4 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
2 Cor 4:11 For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.
2 Cor 5:17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
Gal 6:15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!
Col 2:11-12 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
Col 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.
John 1:12-13 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
Rom 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!"
Gal 4:4-6 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
Gal 3:26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.
Is 40:31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect.
2 Cor 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
Eph 4:23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
Tit 3:5 he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
1 Pet 1:22 Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.
2 Cor 5:5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Eph 2:18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Rev 19:4-5 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!" And from the throne came a voice saying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, and all who fear him, small and great."
Rev 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, "King of kings and Lord of lords."

The Circumcision of Christ.

THe Feast of the Circumcision is affirmed by Learned men to be of a later institution: for though many of the ancients mention the Octave of Christmas and Newyears-day, yet they do not mention or seem to keep it, say they, as a Feast of the Circumcision. But suppose it be so; yet surely it cannot be denied that there is reason enough for the keeping of this day solemn, as it is the Feast of Christs Circumcision: For as at Christmas CHRIST was made of a woman like us in nature, so this day he was made under the Law, Gal. 4. 5. and for us took upon him the curse of the Law; being made sin for us, and becoming a surety to the offended God, for us sinners. Which suretiship he seal'd, this day with some drops of that precious blood which he meant to pour out whole upon the Cross.

As by his Birth we received the adoption of Sons; so by his Circumcision, the redemption of the Law: and without this, his Birth had not availed us at all.

The Epistle, Gospel, and Collect are plainly fit for the day.

This Holy day hath no fast before it, the Reason we shall shew: and to save trouble, we will here once for all shew:

Why some Holy-dayes have Fasts before them: and then, Why this and some other have none. For the first. It was the religious custom of the primitive times to spend the night (or a greater part of it) before the Holy-dayes, in watching and prayers and tears, partly to prepare them for the more solemn and religious observation of the Holy-day following; partly to signifie that we should be as the blessed Saints were, after a little time of mortification and affliction, translated into glory and joy, according to the Psalm, Heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.] Thus after a Vigil comes a Holy-day. These Vigils, or night-watches, being in continuance of time, abused by the wickedness of some, who under colour of those holy nightly exercises stole a liberty of intemperance, lust and other villany, were, say some, by the wisdom of holy Church, to avoid scandal, turn'd into Fasts, which still retain the old name of Vigils. The truth of this Assertion I question; for neither do I find any decree of holy Church forbidding these Vigils: (the 35. Can. of the Counc. of Eliber; and the fifth Can. of the Counc. of Altisiodorum or Auxeres, which are usually produced to this purpose, coming far short of such a prohibition) nor is it so probable, that the Church should, for some particular mens abuse, forbid a practice so religious, commanded by our Saviour, S. Matth. 25. 13. commended to us by his practice at Gethsemaine, S. Matth. 26. 38. S. Luke 6. 12. earnestly urged by the Fathers of the Primitive times. I therefore rather think, that, whereas it was the ancient custome to fast the day and watch the night before the Holy-day, as S. Bernard tells us. Ser. de Vigil S. Andrei: in time, as charity and devotion grew cold, through sloth and restiness, this more troublesome part of devotion, the nightly watches were laid aside, and the Fast only retained, and that but slenderly observed. But it were to be wished, that, as the Fast might be retained, and more strictly observed, so the holy Vigils might be in part at least revived. For the night was not made only for sleep. Tradesmen, Mariners, Merchants, will tell you so much; they spend a good part of the night in watching for gain; will not you do as much for your soul? Besides, the darkness and silence of the night, are helps to compunction and holy sorrow; helps to meditation and contemplation: the soul is the more free from outward distraction. The sight of men lying a-sleep in their beds, like dead men in the grave, suggests a meditation of Doomsday. Let me therefore perswade men and women; Bend your knees, sigh, watch and pray in the night, Blessed is he, whom our Lord when he cometh shall find so doing: and because we know not what hour he will come, watch therefore. See Chrys. Hom. 26. in Act. This for the first; why some Holy-dayes have Fasts before them.

Now why this Feast of CIRCUMCISION, and some other have no Fasts, the reason is double. First, because sometimes the signification of the Vigil or Fast, mentioned above, ceases: and the signification or mystery failing, the Vigil or Fast is omitted. For example, S. Michael upon this account hath no Fast, because the Angels did not by sufferings and mortifications, enter into their joy, but were created in the joy they have. But then secondly, though this signification and Mystery of Vigils and Fasts holds good in S. Mark, S. Philip and S. Iacob, and some other, yet they have no Fasts for another reason; because they fall either betwixt Easter and Whitsunday, or betwixt Christmas and Epiphany, which holy Church held for such high times of joy and Festivity, that they would not have one day among them sullied by pensive sorrow and fasting: Con. Turon. 2. c. 13. Epiph. in brevi expos. Fidei.

If the Fast for a Holy-day, fall upon a Holy-day; that is, if the day before the Holy-day upon which the Fast regularly is to be kept, be it self also a Holy-day, then the Fast must be kept the day before that. Decretal. l. 3. Tit. 46.

G. The Feast of Circumcision.] I dare not affix any remote antiquity to this holyday. The first mention of it under this title occurreth in Ivo Carnotensis, who lived about the year 1090, a little before St. Bernard, and who hath a sermon upon it: under the name of the Octave of Christ’s nativity, we find it in Isidorus four hundred years before. The reason why it was not then observed was, as I conceive, because it fell upon the calends of January, which were solemnized among the heathens with such disorder, revellings, and profane appendants of idolatry, that St. Chrysostom’ called it ἑορτὴν διαβολικὴν, “ the devil’s festival,’ and the sixth general council absolutely interdicted the observation of them. Τὰς λεγομένας καλένδας καθάπαξ ἐκ τῆς τῶν πιστῶν πολι- τείας περιαιρεθῆναι βουλόμεθα, “we decree that the feast called the Calends, be utterly taken away from the custom and society of the faithful.”

Matt 3:13-15 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.
Matt 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Luke 2:21 After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Heb 5:8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered;
Gen 17:11-12 You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring.
Josh 5:2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites a second time."
Jer 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the foreskin of your hearts, O people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else my wrath will go forth like fire, and burn with no one to quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Rom 2:29 Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart--it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.
Col 2:10-11 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ;
Deut 10:16 Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer.
Deut 30:6 Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.
John 17:15-16 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
Rom 2:29 Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart--it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.
Gal 6:14 May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Col 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).
1 Thess 4:2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
1 Pet 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul.
1 John 2:15-16 Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world--the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches--comes not from the Father but from the world.
Ps 51:17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Ps 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.
Joel 2:13 rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.
Rom 6:12-13 Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness.
Rom 6:18 and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Gal 5:24-25 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
2 Tim 2:4 No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier's aim is to please the enlisting officer.
1 Pet 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world;
1 John 5:3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,
Ps 119:32 I run the way of your commandments, for you enlarge my understanding.
John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
1 Thess 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication;

The Epiphany,
or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.

THis Greek Word signifies Manifestation, and hath been of old used for Christmass-day, when Christ was manifested in the flesh; and for this day, wherein the Star did appear to manifest CHRIST to the Wise men: as appears by Chrys. and Epiphan. Upon this identity of the word, some unskilful ones were misled, to think that anciently the Feasts of Christmas and Epiphany were one and the same: but plain it is by Chrys. Epiphan. Nazianzen in their Sermons upon this day, that these two Feasts were observed, as we do, upon several days. Nazianzen calls this day on which Christ was baptized, [The holy lights of Epiphany; which to day we celebrate, says he, having already celebrated the holy Feast of Christmas.] S. Chrysostome says the day of Christs birth is not so usually and properly called Epiphany, as the day of his Baptism.

This Feast is called in Latin Epiphaniae, Epiphanies, in the plural; because upon this day we celebrate three glorious apparitions or manifestations, all which happened upon the same day, though not of the same year. Chrys. Serm. 159.

The first manifestation was of the Star, (mentioned in the Gospel) the Gentiles guide to Christ. The Second Epiphany or manifestation was that of the glorious Trinity at the baptism of Christ, mentioned in the second Lesson at morning prayer. S. Luke 3. 22. The third was of Christ's glory or Divinity, by the miracle of turning water into wine, mentioned in the second Lesson at Evening prayer, S. John 2.

The Collect is plain. The Epistle and Gospel mention Christs manifestation to the Gentiles; for this was the day of the Dedication of the Gentiles Faith, Chrys. in diem.

For the antiquity of this day, we have already seen Nazianzen Chrysost. and Epiphan. to which I shall adde only S. August. de temp. Ser. 32. [The solemnity of this day known throughout all the world, what joy doth it bring us? But the Donatists, says he, will not keep it, both because they are Schismaticks and love not unity, and also because they hate the Eastern Church, where the Star appeared.]

H. The Epiphany.] This feast hath several appellations amongst the Greek fathers; sometimes it is called ta ἅγια φῶτα, so Gregory Nazianzen, “the day of sacred illumination,” this being in the eastern Church a day as signal for baptism as Easter or Pentecost in the western. Sometimes it is called τὰ θεοφάνεια, “the manifestations of God,” so Horolog. Grec. upon the sixth of January place τὰ ἅγια θεοφάvera; it is confessed this word very often imports Christ’s birthday, τὰ δὲ viv θεοφάνεια ἡ πανήγυρις, εἴτ᾽ οὖν γενέθλια, “now is the festival of the theophany, or Christ’s nativity,” saith Nazianzen ; yet sometimes they are evidently distinguished, as in that imperial constitution‘, ἄπρακτοι ἡμέραι, ἡ Χριστουγένα, καὶ τὰ θεοφανία, &c., “ the nativity of Christ, and the theophany, &c., are to be accounted for holy days.” Most clear is that of Epiphanius, πρώτη ἑορτὴ κατὰ σάρκα τοῦ Χριστοῦ γένησις, δευτέρα ἑορτὴ ἡ τῶν θεοφανίων : “the first festival is that of Christ’s birth, the next is that of the theophany ;” where not only this feast is manifestly differenced from the nativity, but the feast of circumcision, as I said before, remarkably excluded. But of all the names most usual and most frequently applied to it is this of Epiphany, which though the Egyptians, and such as were under the patriarchate of Alexandria communicated both to the nativity and baptism of Christ, (possessed with an opinion that He was baptized upon the anniversary of His birth,) yet in other places it passed only current for the day of His baptism; St. Chrysostom* puts a question to himself in these terms, τινὸς éveKEV, οὐχὶ ἡ ἡμέρα KAP ἥν ἐτέχθη ἀλλ᾽ ἡ ἡμέρα καθ᾽ ἣν ἐβαπτίσθη ᾿Επιφανεία λέγεται : “how comes it to pass that not the day of Christ’s birth, but of His baptism, is called the Epiphany?” and he resolveth it thus, ody’ ὅτε ἐτέχθη, τότε πάσιν ἐγένετο κατάδηλος, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε ἐβαπτίζετο : “ because His birth was obscure, but at His baptism He manifestly appeared to all men.” The like hath St. Jerome’; Epiphaniorum dies huc usque venerabilis est,non (ut quidam putant) natalis in carne, tune enim absconditus est et non apparuit :“the day of the Epiphany is at this day venerable ; I mean not Christ’s nativity (as some suppose) for then He rather hid Himself and appeared not.”

By what hath been already said, the day is without all question of no late edition. Now for the grounds upon which the solemnity is founded? St. Augustine delivered them to be four, sive quod in celo stella ortus sui nuncium prebuit: sive quod in Cana Galilee in convivio nuptial aquam convertit in vinum: sive quod in Jordanis undis aquas ad reparationem humani generis suo baptismo consecravit : sive quod, de quinque panibus quinque millia hominum satiavit : “either because a star in the heavens became the nuncio of His birth; or because He turned water into wine at the marriage feast ; or because being baptized in the river of Jordan He consecrated the water for the regeneration of man; or because He fed five thousand men with five loaves.” The three first causes our Church seems to own in the conformity of her divine offices; the collect for the day mentions the coming of the wise men to worship our Saviour, by the convoy of the star, and the gospel is a narrative of the story. The second lesson at evening service being John ii., recounts the miracle wrought at the marriage feast; and the second lesson for morning prayer being Luke iv. is a relation of His baptism. But as for the first, though it be delivered by St. Augustine quoted before, and by Isidorus after him, to have been a con-cause of this day’s solemnity, yet I find the Greek fathers of another judgment, these celebrating the coming of the wise men and appearing of the star on the day of Christ’s nativity. So Nazianzen*, μετὰ τοῦ ἀστέρος δράμε, καὶ μετὰ μάγων δωροφόρησον : “ follow the guide, the star, and offer thy gifts with the wise men ;” applying the most remarkable occurrents of that day as incitements to rejoice upon it. Consonant is that of St. Basil, who reckoning the special events on Christ’s nativity, saith, ἄστερες διατρέχουσιν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, μάγοι κινοῦνται ἐκ τῶν ἐθνῶν : “ the stars from heaven came to behold Him; the magicians among the Gentiles made haste to adore Him.”

Is 50:3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and make sackcloth their covering.
Matt 2:1-2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."
Matt 2:7-11 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Luke 2:30-32 for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
1 Tim 3:16 Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.
2 Pet 1:19 So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Hab 2:4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.
John 14:7-11 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.
John 16:27-30 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father." His disciples said, "Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God."
John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
2 Cor 4:6 For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Cor 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Gal 2:20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Eph 5:8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light--
1 John 2:13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one.
Matt 25:21 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
1 Cor 13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
Rev 22:3-4 Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Matt 19:28 Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.
Rev 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.

The First Sunday after the Epiphany.

From Christmas to Epiphany, holy Churches design, is, to set forth Christs Humanity, to make Christ manifest in the flesh, which the offices do, as we have seen; but from Epiphany to Septuagesima, especially in the four next Sundays after Epiphany, she endeavours to manifest his glory and Divinity, by recounting some of his first miracles, and manifestations of his Deity, so that each Sunday is in this respect a kind of Epiphany.

The Gospel of this day mentions Christs manifestation to the Doctors of the Jews, astonishing all his hearers with his miraculous answers. The Epistle exhorts us to make a spiritual use of the wisemens mysterious offerings, especially of Myrrhe; which signifies very rightly the mortifying of the flesh, and the offering of our bodies as an holy Sacrifice to God by Christ. The Collect prayes for grace to enable us thereunto.

Ps 6:9 The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer.
Ps 69:13-14 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
1 John 5:14 And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
Ps 4:1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
Ps 4:3 But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
Ps 80:14 Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine,
Ex 33:13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people."
Job 34:32 teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more'?
Ps 25:4-5 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
Ps 27:11 Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
Ps 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Ps 119:18 Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.
Col 1:9-10 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.
Judges 13:8 Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, "O Lord, I pray, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born."
Is 30:20-21 Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Acts 9:6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."
1 Kings 8:57-58 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors; may he not leave us or abandon us, but incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors.
Phil 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Heb 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe;
Heb 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
1 Pet 1:14-15 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct;
Rev 2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Ex 33:14 He said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
Ex 33:19 And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, 'The Lord'; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
Ps 68:35 Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!
Is 40:29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany.

The Gospel mentions Christs turning water into wine, by which, he manifested both his glory by the miracle, and his goodness in ministring to the necessities of others: to which virtue, the Epistle exhorts us, that whatsoever gifts we have, we should use them as Christ did, to the good and benefit of others. The Collect as divers others recommends to God the supplications of the people, &c. See more of the Collects in general.

Ps 22:28 For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
Ps 103:19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
Dan 4:17 The sentence is rendered by decree of the watchers, the decision is given by order of the holy ones, in order that all who live may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of mortals; he gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of human beings.'
Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.
Gen 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.
Ps 24:1 The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
Ps 75:7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
Ps 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Is 63:16 For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O Lord, are our father; our Redeemer from of old is your name.
2 Chron 6:21 And hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; may you hear from heaven your dwelling place; hear and forgive.
2 Chron 6:35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.
Ps 4:1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
Ps 141:2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
Ps 55:1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; do not hide yourself from my supplication.
Ps 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you.
Ps 147:14 He grants peace within your borders; he fills you with the finest of wheat.
Prov 16:7 When the ways of people please the Lord, he causes even their enemies to be at peace with them.
John 14:28 You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
Rom 5:1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Rom 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Phil 4:6-7 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
2 Thess 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.
Gen 28:15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
Ex 34:24 For I will cast out nations before you, and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany.

The Gospel is concerning our Lords healing of the Leper that believed in him.

The Epistle at first sight seems not to agree to the Gospel; but yet, if rightly applyed, it suits well with it in the mystical sense. For the healing of the Leper, signifies, that Christ will heal us from the Leprosie of sin, if we believe in him, and come to him for cure as the Leper did. The Epistle labours to prevent the most over-spreading leprous sins of pride (against which the first verse is directed: Be not wise in your own conceits) and wrath and revenge in the following words, rendring to no man evil for evil. Or rather, the Epistle doth remove the two great impediments of Christs cure of our sinful leprosie: namely pride, which God resists. S. Iames 4. 6. and malice or revenge which makes us unpardonable and uncurable, For unless we forgive, Christ will not forgive us, S. Matth. 6. 15.

The Collect prayes to God through Christ to heal us.

2 Chron 20:12 O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."
Ps 25:18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
Heb 4:15-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Ps 40:11 Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.
Ps 103:13-14 As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust.
2 Chron 14:11 Asa cried to the Lord his God, "O Lord, there is no difference for you between helping the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let no mortal prevail against you."
Ps 37:39-40 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
Ps 60:5 Give victory with your right hand, and answer us, so that those whom you love may be rescued.
Ps 60:11 O grant us help against the foe, for human help is worthless.
Is 40:29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
Jer 14:8-9 O hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler turning aside for the night? Why should you be like someone confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot give help? Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us!
Matt 6:13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.
Josh 24:17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed;
2 Cor 12:9-10 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany.

The Gospel treats of Christs miraculous stilling of the waves and the wind. By the tempest on the Sea, may be signified the tumultuous madness of the people, which endangers the peace of the Church, Christs ship: so the Psalm expounds it, Thou stillest the raging of the Sea, and the madness of the people: which would never be quiet, unless Christ by his word and power should command it to be still: And because he does now rule the peoples madness by Ministers of his vengeance to whom he gives his power: therefore the Epistle teaches and exhorts us to submit conscientiously to that power of Christ, that so the ship of the Church may be still and safe.

The Collect prayes to God to keep the Church safe amidst the many storms and waves that shake it.

Mic 7:2 The faithful have disappeared from the land, and there is no one left who is upright; they all lie in wait for blood, and they hunt each other with nets.
Mic 7:7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
Luke 22:31-32 "Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
Phil 2:15 so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.
1 Pet 5:8 Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.
2 Pet 2:1-2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves. Even so, many will follow their licentious ways, and because of these teachers the way of truth will be maligned.
2 Pet 3:17 You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability.
1 John 5:19 We know that we are God's children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.
Ps 139:2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
Jer 12:3 But you, O Lord, know me; You see me and test me--my heart is with you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
Ps 103:15-16 As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
Matt 8:25-26 And they went and woke him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.
Matt 26:41 Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Matt 26:69-70 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before all of them, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about."
Mark 14:29-30 Peter said to him, "Even though all become deserters, I will not." Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times."
Mark 14:66-72 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, "You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth." But he denied it, saying, "I do not know or understand what you are talking about." And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, "This man is one of them." But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, "Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean." But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I do not know this man you are talking about." At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and wept.
Gal 5:17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.
Gen 12:12-13 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account."
Gen 26:7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister"; for he was afraid to say, "My wife," thinking, "or else the men of the place might kill me for the sake of Rebekah, because she is attractive in appearance."
Ps 106:33 for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke words that were rash.
Deut 33:25 Your bars are iron and bronze; and as your days, so is your strength.
Ps 34:17-19 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all.
Ps 94:17-18 If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, "My foot is slipping," your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
Ps 94:22 But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
Is 40:29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
Is 40:31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Matt 14:29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.
Matt 14:31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
1 Cor 10:13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
2 Cor 12:9 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Eph 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Col 1:11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully
2 Tim 4:17-18 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
2 Pet 2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment
2 Kings 6:15-17 When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, "Alas, master! What shall we do?" He replied, "Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them." Then Elisha prayed: "O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see." So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Ps 17:5 My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.
Ps 86:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; save the child of your serving girl.
2 Cor 11:23-33 Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman--I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus (blessed be he forever!) knows that I do not lie. In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.
Phil 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Jam 1:12 Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany.

The four precedent Sundayes have manifested Christs glory to us in part, by the miracles He wrought while He conversed with us on Earth: The Gospel for this day mentions his Second coming to judgement, when he shall appear in his full glory, and all the holy Angels with him: which glorious appearance, as it will be dreadful to those who have resembled the Tares, for they shall then be burned with unquenchable fire: So it will be a joyful appearance to such as the Epistle perswades us to be, viz. The Meek, and Gentle, and Charitable. And the Collect is for such, praying God to keep his Church and Houshold continually in the true Religion, &c.

Ps 119:117 Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually.
Ps 119:128 Truly I direct my steps by all your precepts; I hate every false way.
Is 27:3 I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it. I guard it night and day so that no one can harm it;
Is 30:21 And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Ezek 36:27 I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.
Matt 13:25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.
Luke 22:31-32 "Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
Eph 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Phil 1:6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
Heb 3:14 For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.
Heb 13:9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings; for it is well for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about food, which have not benefited those who observe them.
2 Kings 18:21 See, you are relying now on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.
Ps 16:8-9 I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.
Ps 17:7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
Ps 25:5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
Ps 62:5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
Ps 138:8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Prov 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.
Song 8:5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother was in labor with you; there she who bore you was in labor.
Lam 3:24-26 "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Joel 3:16 The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.
1 Tim 4:10 For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
1 Pet 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.
Prov 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.
Is 26:1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; he sets up victory like walls and bulwarks.
Is 26:4 Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock.
Is 63:1 "Who is this that comes from Edom, from Bozrah in garments stained crimson? Who is this so splendidly robed, marching in his great might?" "It is I, announcing vindication, mighty to save."
John 17:15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.
1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Ps 68:35 Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!
Ps 121:8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.
Is 33:16 they will live on the heights; their refuge will be the fortresses of rocks; their food will be supplied, their water assured.
Is 40:29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.

The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany.

Dan 9:24 "Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city: to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.
Luke 10:17-18 The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.
John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
Heb 2:14 Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
1 John 3:8 Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel."
2 Thess 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming.
John 1:12-13 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
Gal 4:4-6 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
1 John 3:10 The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
Rom 8:17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ--if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Tit 3:3-4 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
Tit 3:7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
1 Pet 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
2 Cor 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.
1 pet 1:14-16 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."
1 John 3:3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Matt 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Phil 2:5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
Tit 1:2 in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began--
Matt 24:30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see 'the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory.
Matt 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
1 Cor 15:49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Phil 3:21 He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
Col 3:4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
Mark 14:16 So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.
Phil 2:5-6 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
1 Thess 4:16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Ps 29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
Heb 1:8 But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.
Rev 4:8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing, "Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come."
Rev 19:6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Ps 11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind.
Ps 24:8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.
Ps 24:10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.Selah

The Sunday called Septuagesima,
or the third Sunday before Lent.

MAny reasons are given of this name; but in my apprehension the best is a consequentia numerandi, because the first Sunday in Lent is called Quadragesima, containing about forty dayes from Easter; therefore the Sunday before that being still farther from Easter, is called Quinquagesima, five being the next number above four; and so the Sunday before that Sexagesima, and the Sunday before that Septuagesima.

This and the two next Sundayes and weeks were appointed as preparatives to the Lenten Fast, that when it came, it might be the more strictly and religiously observed. And the Regulars and those of the strictest life did fast these weeks, though the common people began not their Fast till Ashwednesday. Bernard in Septuages.

The observation of Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima, are to be sure as ancient as GREGORY the Great.

The Epistle perswades us to works of penance and holy mortification; and lest we should shrink from these hardships, it encourages us by propounding the reward of these religious exercises; namely, an everlasting crown. The Gospel is much to the same purpose. It tells us that Gods vineyard is no place for idle loyterers; all must work that will receive any penny or reward.

Job 33:26 then he prays to God, and is accepted by him, he comes into his presence with joy, and God repays him for his righteousness.
Ps 13:3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
Ps 69:16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
Ps 77:7 "Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?
Jer 29:12-14 Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Ezek 20:40-41 For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land; there I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred things. As a pleasing odor I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations.
Rev 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
Ezra 9:13 After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this,
Neh 9:33 You have been just in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly;
Ps 106:6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.
Ps 107:17 Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
Lam 3:39 Why should any who draw breath complain about the punishment of their sins?
Judges 2:11-17 Then the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and worshiped the Baals; and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; they followed other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were all around them, and bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord, and worshiped Baal and the Astartes. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them, and he sold them into the power of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them to bring misfortune, as the Lord had warned them and sworn to them; and they were in great distress. Then the Lord raised up judges, who delivered them out of the power of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen even to their judges; for they lusted after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their ancestors had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord; they did not follow their example.
Ps 22:4-5 In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
Ps 25:7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O Lord!
Ps 52:1 Why do you boast, O mighty one, of mischief done against the godly? All day long
Ps 80:3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Ps 106:44-45 Nevertheless he regarded their distress when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
Judges 2:18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord would be moved to pity by their groaning because of those who persecuted and oppressed them.
Ps 103:13 As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
Ps 106:4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; help me when you deliver them;
Jam 5:11 Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Ps 115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.
Jer 14:7 Although our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name's sake; our apostasies indeed are many, and we have sinned against you.
Dan 9:17-19 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his supplication, and for your own sake, Lord, let your face shine upon your desolated sanctuary. Incline your ear, O my God, and hear. Open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that bears your name. We do not present our supplication before you on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of your great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act and do not delay! For your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people bear your name!"
Num 14:12-19 I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they." But Moses said to the Lord, "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for in your might you brought up this people from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people; for you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go in front of them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people all at one time, then the nations who have heard about you will say, 'It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them that he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.' And now, therefore, let the power of the Lord be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying, 'The Lord is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children to the third and the fourth generation.' Forgive the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now."
Josh 7:9 The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will you do for your great name?"
Ps 79:10 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.

The Sunday called Sexagesima,
or the second Sunday before Lent.

The Epistle propounds the example of S. Paul, who was eminent for works of mortification, and Lenten Exercises: and lest we should think that there is no need of such strictness and holy violence in Religion, the holy Gospel tells us what danger we are in of coming short of heaven, how that scarce one of four that profess Religion, and hear the word, brings forth fruit to salvation, most losing it after they have received it, for want of due care and heed.

Job 22:2-3 "Can a mortal be of use to God? Can even the wisest be of service to him? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?
Ps 20:7-8 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.
Ps 125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
Ps 141:8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
Is 64:6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Matt 25:37-39 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'
John 21:17 He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
2 Cor 1:9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
Heb 4:13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
Neh 4:20 Rally to us wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God will fight for us."
1 Cor 3:5-6 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
Gen 48:15-16 He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm, bless the boys; and in them let my name be perpetuated, and the name of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude on the earth."
2 Sam 4:9 David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity,
Ps 3:7-8 Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people!Selah
Ps 32:10 Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
Ps 59:9 O my strength, I will watch for you; for you, O God, are my fortress.
Ps 59:16 But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress.
Ps 89:13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
Ps 89:19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said: "I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people.
John 17:15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.
Rom 16:20 The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Heb 7:25 Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Ps 79:8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
Ps 119:76 Let your steadfast love become my comfort according to your promise to your servant.

The Sunday called Quinquagesima,
or the next Sunday before Lent.

Septuagesima and Sexagesima Sundays have perswaded us to fasting and other exercises of mortification in the Lent following; and because all these bodily exercises profit little, unless we adde faith and charity, or faith working by love, therefore this day the Epistle commends charity, the Gospel faith in Christ, by which our darkness is enlightned, as the blind mans eyes were, who wisely desired that he may see, for in sight of God consists our happiness.

Matt 22:37-40 He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
1 Cor 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
1 Cor 13:13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
1 Tim 1:5 But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.
1 John 3:17-18 How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
1 John 4:20 Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
1 John 5:3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,
Matt 22:37-40 He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
1 Cor 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
1 Cor 13:13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
1 Tim 1:5 But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.
1 John 3:17-18 How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
1 John 4:20 Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
1 John 5:3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,
Gal 5:14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Eph 4:3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Col 3:14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
2 Tim 1:7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
1 Pet 4:8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.
Matt 5:44-45 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
Matt 7:12 "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.
1 Tim 5:6 but the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
Jam 2:15-16 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?
Jam 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death.
1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Rev 3:1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead.
Matt 5:46-47 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
John 15:12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 17:20-21 "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.