who all affure us that they were celebrated in the pri- Sect. IV. mitive times. ferved im mediately order they are placed. §. 2. The placing of them immediately after Christmas- Why obday, was to intimate, as is fuppofed, that none are thought fitter attendants on Chrift's Nativity, than thofe after Chrift bleffed Martyrs, who have not fcrupled to lay down their mas-day; temporal lives for him, from whofe Incarnation and Birth they received life eternal. And accordingly we may oba and in the ferve, that as there are three kinds of martyrdom, the first both in Will and in Deed, which is the higheft; the fecond in Will, but not in Deed; the third in Deed, but not in Will; fo the church commemorates these martyrs in the fame order: St. Stephen firft, who fuffered death both in Will and in Deed; St. John the Evangelift next, who fuffered martyrdom in Will, but not in Deed; being miraculously delivered out of a cauldron of burning oil, into which he was put before Port Latin in Rome; the holy Innocents laft, who fuffered in Deed, but not in Will: for though they were not fenfible upon what ac count they fuffered, yet it is certain that they fuffered for the fake of Chrift; fince it was upon the account of his birth that their lives were taken away. And befides, wherefoever their story fhall be told, the caufe alfo of their deaths will be declared and made known for which reason they cannot be denied, even in the most proper fenfe, to be true martyrs or witnesses of Christ. 30 : Mr. L'Eftrange" imagines another reafon for the order of thefe days. He fuppofes St. Stephen is commemorated firft, as being the firft Martyr for Chriftianity: that St. John has the fecond place, as being the Difciple which Jefus loved and that the Innocents are commemorated next, because their flaughter was the firft confiderable confequence of our Saviour's birth. To this he adds another conjecture, viz. "That Martyrdom, Love, and Innocence are firft to be magnified, as wherein Chrift is : "moft honoured." §. 3. The Collects for the days of St. Stephen, and the Their Col holy Innocents, were made new at the Reftoration; and lects, Epiftles, and that for St. John was fomewhat altered. But the * The old Collect for St. Stephen's day was this: Grant us, O 2. p. 282. G. Aug. in Natal. Steph. Martyris, Serm. 314. tom. v. col. 1260. B. Chryf. in S. Stephanum, Orat. 135, 136. tom. v. p. 864, &c. et alibi, Pa Lord, 30 Tert. de Præfcript. Hæret. 'c. 36. p. 215. A. 31 Alliance of Divine Offices, p. 137. Lond. 1690. Gofpels. Chap. V. Epiftles and Gofpels for all thefe days are the fame that we meet with in the oldeft offices; excepting that the Epiftle for St. John was firft inferted at the Reformation, instead of a leffon out of the xxvth of Ecclefiafticus. Octaves formerly obferved. The reafons of their choice are very plain. On St. Stephen's day the Epiftle gives us an account of his martyrdom, and the Gofpel affures us, that his blood, and the blood of all those that have fuffered for the name of Chrift, fhall be required at the hands of those that shed it. On St.John's day both the Epiftle and the Gospel are taken out of his own writings, and very aptly answer to one another: the Epiftle contains St. John's teftimony of Chrift, and the Gofpel Chrift's teftimony of St. John: the Gospel feems applicable to the day, as it commemorates this Evange lift; but the Epiftle feems to be chofen upon account of its being an attendant upon the preceding more folemn feftival. On the Innocents day the Gofpel contains the hiftory of the bloody maffacre committed by Herod; and for the Epiftle is read part of the xivth chapter of the Revelation, fhewing the glorious ftate of thofe and the like Innocents in heaven. SECT. V. Of the Sunday after Christmas-day-sbri It was Lord, to learn to love our enemies by the example of thy Martyr Saint Stephen, who prayed for bis perfecutors to thee, which liveft and reigneft, &c. *** In the Collect for St. John's day, after the words, Evangelift Saint John, followed, may attain to thy everlafting gifts, through Jefus Chrift our Lord, Amen. The Collect for Innocents day was as follows: Almighty God, whofe praife this day the young Innocents thy witnesses have confeffed and fbewed forth, not in fpeaking but in dying; mortify and kill all vices in us, that in our converfation or life we may express thy faith, which with our tongues we do confefs, through Jefus Christ our Lord, Amen. Octave of Chriftmas-day, the Collect then ufed is re- Sect. V. peated now; and the Epiftle and Gospel still fet forth the myfteries of our redemption by the birth of Chrift. Before the Reformation, instead of the prefent Gofpel, was read Luke ii. ver. 33, to ver. 41. But then the first of St. Matthew was appointed, which is ftill retained; excepting that the first feventeen verses, relating to our Saviour's genealogy, were left out at the Restoration. SECT. VI. Of the Circumcifion. THIS feast is celebrated by the church, to commemo- The defign rate the active obedience of Jefus Chrift in fulfilling of this feaft. all righteoufnefs, which is one branch of the meritorious caufe of our Redemption; and by that means abrogating the fevere injunctions of the Mofaical establishment, and putting us under the eafier terms of the Gospel. §. 2. The obfervation of this feaft is not of very great The antiantiquity: the first mention of it under this title is in Ivo quity of it. Carnotenfis, who lived about the year 1090, a little before St. Bernard, which latter has alfo a fermon upon it. In Ifidore, and other more early writers, it is mentioned under the name of the Octave of Christmas. The reason why it was not then obferved as the feaft of the Circumcifion, was probably because it fell upon the calends of January, which was celebrated among the heathens with fo much diforder and revellings, and other tokens of idolatry, that St. Chryfoftom calls it ogry diaboxxy, the devil's feftival. For which reafon the fixth general council abfolutely forbade the obfervation of it among Christians 32. §. The proper fervices are all very fuitable to the The Lef first feffon for the Morning gives an account fons, Epiof the inftitution of Circumcifion; and the Gofpel of the cle, and Circumcifion of Chrift: the firft Leffon at Evening, and the fecond Leffons and Epiftle, all tend to the fame end, viz. that fince the Circumcifion of the flesh is now abro gated, God hath no refpect of perfons, nor requires any more of us than the Circumcifion of the heart. The Collect, Epiftle, and Gospel for the day were all first inserted in 1549. day! 3. SECT. VII. Of the Epiphany. Gospel. THE word Epiphany in Greek fignifies Manifeftation, Epiphany,' and was at first used both for Christmas-day, when what it fig nifies. Chap. V. Christ was manifested in the flefh, and for this day, (to which it is now more properly appropriated,) when he was manifefted by a ftar to the Gentiles: from which identity of the word, fome have concluded that the feafts of Christmas-day and the Epiphany were one and the fame: but that they were two different feasts, obferved upon two feveral days, is plain from many of the fathers 3. The an of it. But befides this common and more ufual name, we find cient names two other titles given to it by the ancients, viz. rà aya para 34, the day of the Holy Lights; and rà Oeopávesa, the Theophany, or Manifeftation of God 35. The first name was given it, as being the day whereon they commemorated the baptifm of Chrift, who from that time became à Light to thofe that fat in darkness: upon which account this day was as folemn for baptizing the catechumens among the Latins, as Eafter and Whitfuntide among the Greeks. And for the greater folemnity of fo high a feftival, it was the custom to adorn the public churches with a great number of lights and tapers, when they came to perform the fervice of the day. The reafon of the other name is very plain, the feaft being instituted in commemoration of the first manifeftations of our Saviour's divinity. The feaft of it, to what end inftituted. Three Ma of Chrift commemo §. 2. The principal defign of the church's celebrating this feaft, is to fhew our gratitude to God, in manifefting the Gofpel to the Gentile world, and vouchfafing to them équal privileges with the Jews, who had been all along his peculiar people; the first inftance of which divine favour was in declaring the birth of Chrift to the wife men of the Eaft. §. 3. But, in all, there are three great manifestations of nifeftations our Saviour commemorated on this day; all which, St. Chryfoftom tells us, happened on the fame day, though rated. not in the fame year: the firft of which was what I just now mentioned, viz. his manifeftation by a Star, which conducted the wife men to come and worship him, which we commemorate in the Collect and Gofpel. The fecond fons, Col- manifeftation was that of the glorious Trinity at his Baptifm, mentioned in the fecond Leffon at Morning Prayer. The fecond Leffon at Evening Service contains the third, which was the manifestation of the Glory and Divinity of The Lef le&t, Epiftle, and Gospel. 33 Aug. Serm. 102. tom. v. col. 914. F. Greg. Naz. in S. Lum. Orat. 39. tom. i. p. 624, &c. et alii, 34 Greg. Naz. in Sanct. Lum. mini. Christ, Chrift, by his miraculous turning Water into Wine. The Sect. VII. firft Leffon contains prophecies of the increase of the church by the abundant accefs of the Gentiles, of which the Epistle contains the completion, giving an account of the mystery of the Gofpel's being revealed to them. The Collect and Gofpel for this day are the fame that were ufed in the ancient offices; but the Epiftle was inserted at the firft compiling of our Liturgy, instead of part of the lxth of Isaiah, which is now read for the first Lesson in the Morning*. SECT. VIII. Of the Sundays after the Epiphany. FROM Christmas to Epiphany, the church's defign in The design all her proper fervices, is to fet forth the Humanity of the of our Saviour, and to manifeft him in the flesh: but from Epiftles and Gospels. the Epiphany to Septuagefima-Sunday (especially in the four following Sundays) the endeavours to manifeft his Divinity, by recounting to us in the Gofpels fome of his firft miracles and manifeftations of his Deity. The defign of the Epiftles is to excite us to imitate Chrift as far as we can, and to manifeft ourselves his difciples, by a conftant practice of all christian virtues. §. 2. The Collects, Epiftles, and Gospels for the five The Colfirst Sundays after the Epiphany, are all the fame as in lects, Epithe Sacramentary of St. Gregory, except that the Collect ftles, and Gofpels. for the fourth Sunday was a little amended at the Restoration †, and that before the Reformation, the Epistle for that day was the fame with the Epiftle for the first Sunday in Advent. to *In the Common Prayer-Books of King James, and down to the Restoration, Isaiah the xlth was by mistake (as I prefume) set down for the Morning firft Leffon, inftead of the lxth, from whence the fame error is continued, in fome of our present books. The lxth chapter was undoubtedly defigned, being in all the books of King Edward, Queen Elizabeth, the Scotch Liturgy, and the fealed Book at the Reftoration. And in those books of King James, where the xlth chapter first appears in the table of the Leffons appointed for Holy-days, the Ixth chapter ftands against the day in the calendar. The old Collect was this: O God, which knoweft us to be fet in the midst of fo many and great dangers, that for man's frailnefs we cannot always ftand uprightly; grant to us the health of body and foul, that all thofe things which we fuffer for fin, by thy help we may well pafs and overcome, through Christ our Lord, Amen. |