word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having foldiers under me: and I fay unto this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my fervant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jefus heard it, he marvelled, and faid to them that followed, Verily I fay unto you, I have not found fo great faith, no not in Ifrael. And I fay unto you, that many fhall come from the east and the west, and fhali fit down with Abraham, and Ifaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom fhall be caft out into outer darknefs: there fhall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jefus faid unto the Centurion, Go thy way, and as thou haft believed, so be it done unto thee. And his fervant was healed in the selffame hour. The fourth Sunday after the Epiphany. God, who knoweft us to be fet in the midst of fo many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature, we cannot always ftand upright; Grant to us fuch ftrength and protection, as may fupport us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen. LET every The Epistle. Rom. xiii. 1. foul be fubject unto the higher powers; for there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whofoever therefore refifteth the power, refifteth the ordinance of God: and they that refift,' shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror Under authority] "For even I, though fubject to authority myself, from which fo great a prophet as you must be exempt, have foldiers under me, &c. He argues from the lefs to the greater. A centurion commanded 100 foldiers, as the name imports.-Newcome. The Collect This prayer for deliverance from and fupport under temptations was adopted from the Sacramentarium of Gregory.-See above. Some flight alteration was made at the review, 1662, in the conclufion of it. Before the Reformation the epiftle was the fame for the firft Sunday in Advent. The introitus was pfalm ii. to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou fhalt have praise of the fame: for he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the fword in vain: for he is the minifter of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye muft needs be fubject, not only for wrath, but alfo for confcience fake. For, for this caufe, pay ye tribute alfo; for they are God's minifters, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues; tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom cuftom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour. The Gospel. St. Matt. viii. 23. AND when he was entered into a ship, his difciples him. And behold, there arofe a great tempeft in the fea, infomuch that the fhip was covered with the waves: but he was afleep. And his difciples came to him, and awoke him, faying, Lord, fave us, we perish. And he faith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arofe, and rebuked the winds and the fea, and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, faying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the fea obey him? And when he was come to the other fide into the country of the Gergefenes, there met him two poffeffed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, fo that no man might pass by that way. And behold, they cried out, faying, What have we to do with thee, Jefus thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine, feeding. So the devils befought him, faying, If thou caft us out, fuffer us to go away into the herd of fwine. And The Tombs] "A people, &c. who dwell among graves, and in caverns pafs the night." Ilaiah lxv. 4. Places of refort for robbers, banditti, and melancholy perfons. Dr. Shaw obferves, that amongst the Moors the graves of the principal citizens have cupolas, or vaulted chambers, of four or more yards fquare built over them; and that they frequently lie open, and afford an occafional fhelter from the inclemency of the weather."-P. 119, quarto. And he faid unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of fwine: and behold, the whole herd of fwine ran violently down a steep place into the fea, and perished in the waters. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the poffeffed of the devils. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jefus: and when they faw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coafts. The fifth Sunday after the Epiphany. Lord, we beseech thee to keep thy Church and houfhold continually in thy true religion; that they who do lean only upon the hope of thy heavenly grace, may evermore be defended by thy mighty power, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen. PUT The Epiftle. Col. iii. 12. UT on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-fuffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Chrift forgave you, fo alfo do ye. And above all thefe things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectnefs. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which alfo ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Chrift dwell in you richly in all wifdom, teaching and admonishing one another in pfalms, and hymns, and fpiritual fongs, finging with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatfoever And perished A juft punishment on the owners of the fwine, whether they were Jews or Gentiles: If Jews, they were guilty of a breach of the law in keeping fwine; if Gentiles, they perverfely laid a foare and ftumbling block in the way of the Jews, by feeding prohibited animals within the limits of Paleftine, and in the heart of Jewish population. The Colle This prayer for the prefervation of the church in godli nefs was adopted from Sacramentarium of Gregory. The introitus was pfalm xx. ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jefus, giving thanks to God, and the Father by him. THE The Gospel. St. Matt. xiii. 24. HE kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which fowed good feed in his field; But while men flept, his enemy came and fowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was fprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares alfo. So the fervants of the houtholder came, and faid unto him, Sir, didft not thou fow good feed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He faid unto them, An enemy hath done this. The fervants faid unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; left while ye gather up the tares, ye root up alfo the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harveft I will fay to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn, The fixth Sunday after the Epiphany. God, whofe bleffed Son was manifefted, that he might destroy the works of the devil, and make us the fons of God, and heirs of eternal life; Grant us, we beseech thee, that having this hope, we may purify ourfelves, even as he his pure; that when he fhall appear again with power and great glory, we may be made like In the name] Let every important and religious word or action be spoken or done, habitually confidering Jefus Chrift as your mafter and mediator. For inftance: Give thanks to God through him. The Collect This prayer for our admittance to the enjoyment of God in heaven was added at the review in 1662, together with the epiftle and gofpel; till when if there happened to be fix Sundays after the Epiphany, the collect, epiftle, and gofpel for the fifth Sunday were repeated; though in the Salisbury Miffal, the fervice of the third Sunday is ordered to be used on fuch an occafion. In the modern Roman Miffals, the introitus on this day confifts of two verfes from pfalm xcvi. The epiftle is Theff. i. 2; and the gofpel is Matt. xiii. 24. The printed Miffal, which I have used throughout, is the Antwerp edition, ex officina Plantiniana, A. D. 1624. unto him in his eternal and glorious kingdom, where with thee, O Father, and thee, O Holy Ghoft, he liveth and reigneth ever one God, world without end. Amen. B The Epiftle. 1 St. John iii. 1. EHOLD, what manner of love the Father hath beftowed upon us, that we fhould be called the fons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the fons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we fhall be: but we know, that when he fhall appear, we fhall be like him; for we fhall fee him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whofoever committeth fin, tranfgreffeth alfo the law: for fin is the tranfgreffion of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our fins; and in him is no fin. Whosoever abideth in him, finneth not: whofoever finneth, hath not feen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth fin is of the devil: for the devil finneth from the beginning. For this purpofe, the Son of God was manifested, that he might deftroy the works of the devil. THE The Gospel. St. Matt. xxiv. 23. HEN if any man fhall fay unto you, Lo, here is Chrift, or there: believe it not. For there fhall arife falfe Chrifts and falfe prophets, and fhall fhew great figns and wonders; infomuch that (if it were poffible) they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore, if they fhall fay unto you, Behold, he is in the defert, go not forth: behold, he is in the fecret chambers, believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and fhineth even unto the weft; fo fhall alfo the coming of the Son of man be. For wherefoever the carcafe is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of thofe days The eagles, &c.] This is an allufion to the Roman ftandards, which, it is well known, reprefented thefe birds. It is alfo predictive of the dreadful ficge of Jerufalem by that power. In the book of Job, the following |