BE

The Epistle. Jer. xxiii. 5.

Ehold, the days come, faith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King fhall reign and profper, and fhall execute judgment and juftice in the earth. In his days Judah fhall be faved, and Ifrael fhall dwell fafely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore behold, the days come, faith the Lord, that they fhall no more fay, The Lord liveth, who brought up the children of Ifrael out of the land of Egypt: but, The Lord liveth, who brought up, and who led the feed of the houfe of Ifrael out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they fhall dwell in their own land.

WHE

The Gofpel. St. John vi. 5.

HEN Jefus then lifted up his eyes, and faw a great company come unto him, he faith unto Philip, Whence fhall we buy bread, that thefe may eat? (And this he faid to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.) Philip anfwered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not fufficient for them, that every one' of them may take a little. One of his difciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, faith unto him, There is a lad here, who hath five barley-loaves, and two fmall fishes: but what are they among fo many? And Jefus faid, Make the men fit down. Now there was much grafs in the place. So the men fat down, in number about five thoufand. And Jefus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the difciples, and the difciples to them that were fet down; and likewife of the fishes, as much as they would. When they were filled, he faid unto his difciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be loft. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the frag ments of the five barley-loaves, which remained over and.above unto them that had eaten. Then thofe men, when they had feen the miracle that Jefus did, faid, This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world.

If there be any more Sundays before Advent Sunday, the Service of fome of thofe Sundays that were omitted after the Epiphany, fhall be taken in to fupply fo many as are here wanting; and if there be fewer, the Overplus may be omitted: Provided, that this laft Collect, Epistle, and Gofpel, fhall always be used upon the Sunday next before Advent.

St. Andrew's Day.

The Colle.

ALMIGHTY God, who did give fuch grace unto

thy holy Apostle Saint Andrew, that he readily obeyed the calling of thy Son Jefus Chrift, and followed him without delay; Grant unto us all, that we being called by thy holy Word, may forthwith give up ourfelves obediently to fulfill thy holy commandments, through the fame Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen.

Before Advent] There was nothing of this rubric in the common prayer-book of 1549; and in all the other old prayer-books it was only this: "If there be any more Sundays before Advent-Sunday, to fupplý the fame fhall be taken the fervice of fome of thofe Sundays that were omitted between the Epiphany and Septuagefima."

St. Andrew's Day This faint's day is the firft that is kept folemn, because he came firft to Chrift, and followed him before any of the other apostles. John i. 38. The hiftory of this faint, after Chrift's afcenfion, is as follows:-When the Apostles, in confequence of this event, diftributed themfelves to preach the gofpel to the different parts of the world, the province which came to St. Andrew's fhare, was the Northern part of the then known world, which was called by the name of Scythia, as Origen and Eufebius inform us.-Orig. lib. iii. in Gen. Eufeb. Hift. lib. iii. cap. 1. Afterwards he came back and preached the gofpel in Epirus.-Greg. Naz. Orat. in Ar. Chryf. Hom. xii. Ap. The modern Greeks are more particular in relating the acts of his Apoftlefhip. They tell us, that the Apoftles cafting lots for their miffion, St. Andrew's lot lighted to be to preach in Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia: After this he penetrated the coafts of the Anthropophagi, going up to both fides of the Euxine fea, even to the moft folitary parts of Scythia, and the very bounds of the North: Afterwards travelling backward, he preached in the country about Byzantium, (fince then named Conftantinople) going through Thracia, Macedonia, and Achaia; in which provinces he continued a long time, preaching the gofpel, and confirming it with great miracles. At laft he glorified God by his martyrdom, being crucified at gea, (where he last preached) by the Proconful of the place, a great bigot to the heathen fuperftition. He was only tied to the crofs after his fcourging, and not nailed as the ufual way was, that his death might be the more lingering. He fhewed a wonderful refignation and alacrity under his fuffering, being pleased that he should undergo the fame death as his bleffed Maiter did. The Collect This prayer, for ability to fulfil God's commandments, was compofed in 1549. The introitus was pfalm cxxix,

The Epistle. Rom. x, 9.

F thou shalt confefs with thy mouth the Lord Jefus,

him from the dead, thou shalt be faved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteoufnefs; and with the mouth confeffion is made unto falvation. For the fcripture faith, Whofoever believeth on him, fhall not be afhamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the fame Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whofcever fhall call upon the Name of the Lord, fhall be faved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how fhall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how fhall they hear without a preacher? And how fhall they preach, except they be fent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gofpel. For Efaias faith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I fay, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their found went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. But I fay, Did not Ifrael know? First Mofes faith, I will provoke you to jealoufy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Efaias is very bold, and faith, I was found of them that fought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Ifrael he faith, All day long have I ftretched forth my hands unto a difobedient and gainfaying people.

JES

The Gofpel. St. Matt. iv. 18.

ESUS, walking by the fea of Galilee, faw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the fea: (for they were fifhers :) And he faith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fifhers of men. And they ftraightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he faw other two brethren, Jame he fon of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a thip with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and

he called them. And they immediately left the fhip and their father, and followed him.

St. Thomas the Apoftle.

The Collect.

LMIGHTY and everliving God, who for the more

thy holy

Thomas to be doubtful in thy Son's refurrection; Grant us fo perfectly, and without all doubt to believe in thy Son Jefus Chrift, that our faith in thy fight may never be reproved. Hear us, O Lord, through the fame Jefus Chrift, to whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghoft, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore. Amen.

The Epiftle. Ephef. ii. 19.

NOW therefore ye are no more strangers and fo

reigners, but fellow-citizens with the faints, and of the houfhold of God; and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jefus Chrift himself being the chief corner-ftone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye alfo are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

The Gospel. St. John xx. 24.

THOMAS,

"HOMAS, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jefus came. The other dif

St. Thomas] After Chrift's afcenfion, Thomas's apoftlefhip was exercifed in preaching the Gofpel to the Parthians.-Orig. in Gen. lib. iii. Eufeb. lib. iii. cap. 1. Nazianzen fays, that he travelled in his preaching as far as India.-Greg. Naz. Hom. ad Arian. St. Chryfoftom intimates his preaching in Æthiopia, when, fpeaking of St. Thomas, he fays, "And Thomas has whitened the Ethiopians."-Chryf. Hom. xii. Apoft. Theodoret attributes the converfion of other nations to him; as of the Perfians and Medes; and afferts that he preached among the Indian Brachmans. Theod. de ver. Ev. lib. ix. And indeed relations of travellers into India (fince in the laft ages commerce has been established there) do confirm, that there is a tradition among the Indians of St. Thomas's preaching among them.-Ofor. Hift. lib. ii. His martyrdom is reported to have happened in India, occafioned by the Brachmans, the Indian priests, who hated him for his preaching the Gospel, and therefore stirred up fome of the rabble of foldiers to murder him.

The Collect This prayer, for fincere faith, was compofed in 1549. The introitus was pfalm cxxviii.

ciples therefore faid unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he faid unto them, Except I fhall fee in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thruft my hand into his fide, I will not believe. And after eight days again his difciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jefus, the doors being fhut, and flood in the midft, and faid, Peace be unto you. Then faith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my fide: and be not faithlefs, but believing. And Thomas anfwered and faid unto him, My Lord, and my God. Jefus faith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast feen me, thou haft believed: bleffed are they that have not feen, and yet have believed. And many other figas truly did Jefus in the prefence of his difciples, which are not written in this book: But thefe are written, that ye might believe that Jefus is the Chrift, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his Name.

O

The Converfion of St. Paul.

The Colice.

God, who, through the preaching of the bleffed Apoftle St. Paul, haft caufed the light of the Gofpel to fhine throughout the world; Grant, we beseech

St. Paul This great Apoftle propagated the Gofpel of Christ throughout all Greece and the. Lefler Afia, in Italy, Spain, and Illyricum, eftablifhing Chriftian churches in the principal towns thereof. Ancient writers affirm, that he fuffered martyrdom at Rome, under Nero, at the fame -time with St. Peter.-Eufeb. Chron. Epiph. Hæref. xxvii. Hieron. de Script. Eccl. The most probable reafon affigned for his condemnation was, his infecting feveral Roman ladies with a foreign religion, as the Romans ufed to call Chriftianity, and particularly fome ladies with whom Ners had had formerly an unlawful familiarity, but who after their converfion.to Chriftianity, refufed his embraces; (Ambrof. in Auxen.) which itory is not improbable, fince Suetonius, Tacitus, and Dio, and indeed all that write of Nero, fpeak of his debauching numbers of ladies, as well of chief quality as others. Our Apotle for this pretended crime being condesined to death, he being a Roman citizen, could not be crucified by the Roman laws, as his colleague St. Peter was, and was therefore be headed by a great fword, which gave the occafion for his being pictured with fuck a word.in his hand. Nicephorus defcribes this Apottle to be of a little body, and fomewhat crooked, of a pale face, and fhewing more years Dan, h. redly was, of; his head was but of a moderate fize; a parkling vigour played in his eyes; the hair of his eye-brows turned a