Page images
PDF
EPUB

thy Holy Ghost, and pour into my heart that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee: Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

COLLECT FOR UNITY.

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace; give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly Union and Concord: that as there is but one Body, and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may henceforth be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of Truth and Peace, of Faith and Charity, and may with one mind, and one mouth glorify Thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

H. AND A. HILL, TYP. STANDARD OFFICE, BRISTOL.

No. 7.

SCRIPTURE TRACTS

FOR THE

FASTS AND FESTIVALS.

THE

HOLY INNOCENTS.

BY A LAYMAN.

"From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.-2 Tim. iii. 15.

LONDON:

J. G. F. AND J. RIVINGTON.

STRONG, BRISTOL; COMBE, LEICESTER. PRINTED BY H. AND A. HILL, CASTLE GREEN, BRISTOL.

MDCCCXXXIX.

Price Two Pence, or Fourteen Shillings per Hundred.

THE HOLY INNOCENTS.-CHRISTIAN YEAR.

Say, ye celestial guards, who wait
In Bethlehem, round the Saviour's palace gate,
Say, who are these on golden wings,
That hover o'er the new-born King of kings,
Their palms and garlands telling plain
That they are of the glorious martyr train,
Next to yourselves ordain'd to praise
His name, and brighten as on Him they gaze?

Ask, and some angel will reply,

These like yourselves were born to sin and die,
But ere the poison root was grown,

God set his seal, and mark'd them for his own.
Baptiz'd in blood for Jesus' sake,

Now underneath the cross their bed they make,
Not to be scared from that sure rest

By frighten'd mother's shriek, or warrior's warring crest.

Mindful of these, the first-fruits sweet
Borne by the suffering Church her Lord to greet;
Bless'd Jesus ever lov'd to trace

The innocent brightness of an infant's face.
He rais'd them in his holy arms,

He bless'd them from the world and all its harms:
Heirs though they were of sin and shame,

He bless'd them in his own and in his Father's name.

THE HOLY INNOCENTS.

COLLECT FOR THE DAY, DEC. 28.

O ALMIGHTY GOD, who out of the mouths ́of babes and sucklings hast ordained strength, and madest infants to glorify thee by their deaths; mortify and kill all vices in us, and so strengthen us by thy grace, that by the innocency of our lives, and constancy of our faith even unto death, we may glorify thy holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

GOSPEL FOR THE DAY, ST. MATT: II. 13.

The Angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, arise, and take the young child, and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet (Hosea,) saying, Out of Egypt have I called my Son. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the

wise men, was exceeding wrath; and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

PROPER LESSON, JEREMIAH XXXI. 15. Thus saith the Lord: A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy; and there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord; that thy children shall come again to their own border.

:

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.- -Even so it is not the will of your father, which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.-St. Matthew xviii.

Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them,

« PreviousContinue »