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gave you by the Lord Jefus. For this is the will of God, even your fanctification, that ye fhould abstain from fornication; that every one of you fhould know how to poffefs his veffel in fanctification and honour; not in the luft of concupifcence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter; becaufe that the Lord is the avenger of all fuch, as we alfo have forwarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleannefs, but unto holinefs. He therefore that defpifeth, defpifeth not man, but God, who hath alfo given unto us his Holy Spirit.

JES

The Gospel. St. Matth. xv. 21.

ESUS went thence, and departed into the coafts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan caine out of the fame coafts, and cried unto him, faying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou fon of David; my daughter is grievoutly vexed with a devil. But he anfwered her not a word. And his difciples came and befought him, faying, Send her away, for fhe crieth after us. But he answered and faid, I am not fent but unto the loft fheep of the houfe of Ifrael. Then came the and worshipped him, faying, Lord, help me. But he answered and faid, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to caft it to dogs. And the faid, Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jefus anfwered and faid unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

W

The third Sunday in Lent.

E befeech thee,

hearty defires

The Collect.

Almighty God, look upon the of thy humble fervants, and

To dogs Jefus ufed this strong proverbial expreffion, knowing the woman's exemplary faith, and what would follow. Compare John vi. 6. The Collect] This prayer for the divine protection against our enemies is found in Greg. Sacrament. The introitus was pfalm xliii.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity fuffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itfelf unfeemly, feeketh not her own, is not eafily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth: beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they fhall fail; whether there be tongues, they fhall ceafe; whether there be knowledge, it fhall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophefy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part fhall be done away. When I was a child, I fpake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we fee through a glafs, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as alfo I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, thefe three; but the greatest of thefe is charity.

THE

The Gofpel. St. Luke xviii. 31.

HEN Jefus took unto him the twelve, and faid unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerufalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man fhall be accomplished. For he fhall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and fhall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they fhall fcourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he fhall rife again. And they understood none of these things: and this faying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. And it came to pafs, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man fat by the way. fide begging: and hearing the multitude pafs by, he asked what it meant. And they told him that Jefus of Nazareth paffeth by. And he cried, faying, Jefus, thou fon of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he fhould hold his peace: but he cried fo much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on

me. And Jefus flood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he afked him, faying, What wilt thou that I fhould do unto thee? And he faid, Lord, that I may receive my fight. And Jefus faid unto him, Receive thy fight: thy faith hath faved thee. And immediately he received his fight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they faw it, gave praife unto God.

The first Day of Lent, commonly called Ash-Wednesday. The Collect.

LMIGHTY and everlafting God, who hateft nothing

them that are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts; that we worthily lamenting our fins, and

Lent] This faft is called Lent from the time of the year in which it is kept, for Lent in the Saxon language is Spring.

Afb-Wednesday] Or, Dies Cinerum. Gregory the Great first added this day to Lent, to make the number of fafting-days completely forty, which before his time were, thirty-fix.-Bingham's Antiq. vol. viii. 106. After his time, it was the caput Quadragefima, or head of Lent; on which day the penitents were admitted to their penance, according to the following directions:-"Let all notorious finners who have been already, or are now to be, enjoined public penance, this day prefent them◄ felves before the church-doors to the bishop of the place, clothed in fackcloth, bare-footed, with eyes caft down upon the ground, profeffing thus by their habit and countenance their guilt. There must be prefent the deans, or arch-prefbyters, and the public penitentiaries, whofe office it is to examine the lives of thefe penitents, and according to the degree of their fin, to apportion their penance, according to the ufual degree of penance. After this let them bring the penitents into the church, and, with all the clergy prefent, let the bishop fing the feven penitentiary pfalms, proftrate upon the ground, with tears for their abfolution. Then the bishop, ariling from prayer, according to the canons, let him lay his hand upon them, (that is, to ratify their penance, not to abfolve them) let him fprinkle alhes upon their head, and cover them with fackcloth: and with frequent fighs and fobs, let him denounce to them, that as Adam was caft out of Paradife, fo are they caft out of the church for their fins. After this let the bishop command the officers to drive them out of the church-doors, the clergy following them with this refpond; "In the fweat of thy brows hall thou eat thy bread;" that thefe poor finners, feeing holy church atflicted thus and difgraced for their fins, may be fenfible of their penance. The Collect This prayer for contrition of heart was compofed at the eftablishment of the Liturgy in 1549. The introitus was pfalm vi.

ftretch forth the right hand of thy Majefty, to be our defence against all our enemies, through Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epiftle. Ephef. v. 1.

E ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a facrifice to God for a fweet-fmelling favour. But fornication and all uncleannefs, or covetoufnefs, let it not be once named amongst you, as becometh faints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jefting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean perfon, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of difobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them; for ye were fometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light; (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodnefs, and righteoufnefs, and truth;) proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them: For it is a fhame even to fpeak of thofe things which are done of them in fecret. But all things that are reproved, are made manifeft by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifeft, is light. Wherefore he faith, Awake thou that fleepeft, and arife from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

J'

The Gospel. St. Luke xi. 14.

ESUS was cafting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pafs, when the devil was gone out, the dumb fpake; and the people wondered. But fome of them faid, He cafteth out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, fought of him a fign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, faid unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to defolation; and a houfe divided against a house

falleth. If Satan alfo be divided against himself, how fhall his kingdom ftand? becaufe ye fay that I caft out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub caft out devils, by whom do your fons caft them out? therefore fhall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God caft out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a ftrong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a ftronger than he fhall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his fpoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When the unclean fpirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, feeking rest; and finding none, he faith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it fwept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him feven other fpirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the firft. And it came to pafs as he fpake these things, a certain woman of the company lift up her voice, and faid unto him, Bleffed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou haft fucked. But he faid, Yea rather, bleffed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it.

GRA

The fourth Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

RANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, Jwho for our evil deeds do worthily deferve to be

When the unclean fpirit] In this allegorical paffage our bleffed Lord accommodates his language to the popular opinions of the Jews; who believed that unclean fpirits haunted deferts (dry places) and folitudesand he applies thefe notions to the ftate of a nation or individual, who may feel a tranfient impreffion of penitence and religion, but quickly returns into accuftomed evil courfes; which, he obferves, will then acquire feven-fold force, and in the end produce hardened impenitence and inevitable deftruction.

The Collect This prayer for grace and pardon was adopted from Greg. Sacrament. The introitus was pfalm xlvi. These three laft Sundays in Lent are fometimes diftinguished by particular names-the 4th is called

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