Lo, this is the man that took not God for his strength: but trusted unto the multitude of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

As for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: my trust is in the tender mercy of God for ever and ever.

I will alway give thanks unto thee for that thou hast done: and I will hope in thy Name, for thy saints like it well.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, &c.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever &c.

The Collect.

GRANT us, O Lord, to learn to love our enemies, by the example of thy martyr Saint Stephen, who prayed to thee for his persecutors; which livest and reignest, &c.

Then shall follow a Collect of the

Nativity.

Then shall follow a Collect of the Nativity, which shall be said continually unto New Year's Day.

The Epistle. Acts vii.

AND Stephen, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly with his eyes into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens open, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they gave a shout with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him all at once, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling on, and saying, Lord Jesu, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had thus spoken, he fell asleep.

The Gospel. Matt. xxiii.

BEHOLD, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes ; and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city; that upon you may come all the righteous blood which hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee: how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as the hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till that ye say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

1 prayed for his persecutors to thee 1552.

For the foundations will be cast down and what hath the righteous done?

The Lord is in his holy temple the Lord's seat is in heaven.

His eyes consider the poor : and his eyelids tryeth the children of men.

The Lord alloweth the righteous but the ungodly, and him that delighteth in wickedness, doth his soul abhor.

Upon the ungodly he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, storm and tempest: this shall be their portion to drink.

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness: his counte

nance will behold the thing that is just.

Glory be to the Father, and

to the Son, &c.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever &c.

The Collect.

MERCIFUL Lord, we beseech thee to cast thy bright beams of light upon thy Church, that it being lightened by the doctrine of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist John may attain to thy everlasting gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1

The Epistle. 1 John i.

THAT which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of life; and the life appeared, and we have seen and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and appeared unto us; that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us, and that our fellowship may be with the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ. And this mwrite we unto you, that ye may rejoice, and that your joy may be full. And this is the tidings which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, That God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but and if we walk in light, even as he is in light, then have we fellowship with him, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we knowledge our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

n

The Gospel. John xxi.

Peter turned about,

JESUS said unto Peter, Follow thou me. and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following; (which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?) when Peter therefore saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what shall he here do? Jesus said unto him, If I

1 Lord. Amen. 1552.

m we write unto 1552.

n

say we 1552.

will have him to tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, That that disciple should not die : yet Jesus said not to him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? The same disciple is he which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose the world could not contain the books that should be written.

The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the air: and the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the land.

Their blood have they shed like water on every side of Jerusalem: and there was no man to bury them.

We are become an open shame to our enemies a very scorn and derision unto them that are round about us.

Lord, how long wilt thou be angry shall thy jealousy burn like fire for ever?

Pour out thine indignation upon the heathen that have