that by thy coming we may be comforted. Who livest.

I. LESSON. Is. xix. 20. 22. In those days: They shall cry to the Lord because of the oppressor, and he shall send them a Saviour and a defender to deliver them. And the Lord shall be known by Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall worship him with sacrifices and offerings: and they shall make vows to the Lord, and perform them. And the Lord shall strike Egypt with a scourge, and he shall heal it, and they shall return to the Lord, and he shall be pacified towards them, and the Lord our God shall heal them.

GRAD. Ps. xviii. His going out is from the end of heaven, and his circuit even to the end thereof. V. The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands. Let us pray. Let us kneel down. R. Stand up again.

II. COLL. Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God, that we who groan under the old captivity of sin, may be freed by the new birth of thy only Son, which we are preparing for. Who liveth.

II. LESSON. Is. xxxv. 1. 7. Thus saith the Lord: The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily. It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise: the glory of Libanus is given to it, the beauty of Carmel and Saron; they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of our God. Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees. Say to the faint-hearted: Take courage, and fear not: behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense: God him self will come and will save you. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame

man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be free; for waters are broken out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness. And that which was dry land shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water, saith the Lord Almighty.

GRAD. Ps. xviii. He hath set his tabernacle in the sun: and he as a bridegroom coming out of his bride-chamber. V. His going out is from the end of heaven, and his circuit even to the end thereof. Let us pray. Let us kneel down. R. Stand up again.

III. COLL. Comfort us, O Lord, thy unworthy servants, who lie dejected under the horror of our crimes, by the coming of thy only Son, Who liveth.

III. LESSON. Is. xl. 9. 11. Thus saith the Lord: Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God: behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: behold his reward is with him, and his work is before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, the Lord our God.

GRAD. Ps. lxxix. O Lord God of Hosts, convert us: show thy face, and we shall be saved. V. Stir up thy might, O Lord, and come to save us. Let us pray. Let us kneel down. R. Stand up again.

IV. COLL. Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God, that the approaching solemnity of thy Son's birth may afford us the remedies of this present life, and obtain for us the rewards of eternal happiness. Through the same.

IV. LESSON. Is. xlv. 1. 8. Thus saith the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I

have taken hold of, to subdue nations before his face, and to turn the backs of kings, and to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before thee, and will humble the great ones of the earth: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and will burst the bars of iron. And I will give thee hidden treasures, and the concealed riches of secret places: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who call thee by thy name, the God of Israel. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have made a likeness of thee, and thou hast not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none else: there is no God besides me: I girded thee, and thou hast not known me: that they may know who are from the rising of the sun, and they who are from the west, that there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is none else: I form the light, and create darkness, I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord that do all these things. Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened, and bud forth a saviour: and let justice spring up together: I the Lord have created him.

GRAD. Ps. lxxix. Stir up thy might, O Lord, and come to save us. Give ear, thou that rulest Israel: thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep; thou that sittest upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Ma nasses. Let us pray. Let us kneel down. R. Stand up again.

V. COLL. Mercifully hear, O Lord, we beseech thee, the prayers of thy people, that we, who are justly afflicted for our sins, may receive comfort from thy kind visit. Who livest.

V. LESSON. Dan. iii. 49. In those days: The angel of the Lord went down with Azarias and his companions into the furnace: and he drove the flame of the fire out of the furnace,

and made the midst of the furnace like the blowing of a wind bringing dew. And the flame mounted up above the furnace nine and forty cubits and it broke forth, and burnt such of the Chaldeans as it found near the furnace, the king's servants who heated it. And the fire touched them not at all, nor troubled them, nor did them any harm. Then these three, as with one mouth, praised, and glorified, and blessed God in the furnace, saying:

CANTICLE. Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.

And blessed is the name of thy glory, which is holy: and worthy to be praised and glorified for

ever.

Blessed art thou in the holy temple of thy glory: and worthy to be praised and glorified for

ever.

Blessed art thou on the holy throne of thy kingdom: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.

Blessed art thou on the sceptre of thy divinity: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. Blessed art thou that sittest upon the cherubim, beholding the depths: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.

Blessed art thou who walkest on the wings of the winds, and on the waves of the sea: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.

May all the angels and thy holy ones bless thee: may they praise thee and glorify thee for

ever.

May the heavens, earth, sea, and all things that are in them, bless thee: may they praise and glorify thee for ever.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, who is worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.

R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and

ver shall be, world without end. Amen. Who is worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.

Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. V. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit.

VI. COLL. O God, who in behalf of the three young men, didst render harmless the flames of fire: mercifully grant that we thy servants may not be burnt by the flames of vice. Through. Here are said the other Collects, as directed, page 87.

EPISTLE. 2 Thess. ii. 1. 8. Brethren: We beseech you by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our gathering together unto him: that you be not easily moved from your mind, nor be frighted, neither by spirit nor by word, nor by epistle, as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God. Remember you not, that when I was yet with you I told you these things? And now you know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity already worketh: only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way, and then that wicked one shall be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

TRACT. Ps. lxxix. Give ear, thou that rulest Israel: thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. V. Thou that sittest on the cherubim, show thyself to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses. V. Stir up thy might, O Lord, and come to save us.

The Gospel, Luke iii, as in page 106.

OFFERT. Zach. ix. Rejoice greatly, O daugh