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Office of Devotion for Christmas Day.
To be used in private, or in the family.

OFFICE FOR THE MORNING.

TO-DAY for us our Lord was born-come let us adore

him.

1. Bring to our Lord, all you his servants, bring to our Lord the sacrifice of praise; bring to our Lord, all ye nations of the earth, bring hymns of glory to his great name.

To-day for us our Lord was born-come let us adore him. 2. O joyful tidings, worthy of an angel's mouth! "Behold, to you is born this day, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord."

To-day for us our Lord was born-come let us adore him. 3. Let us learn of him, and he will teach us his ways; let us follow him, and we shall walk in his path-for the law and its types were given by Moses; but giace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

To-day for us our Lord was born-come let us adore him. 4. Come, let us ascend to the house of our Lord, where he is truly worshipped, and celebrate this day with a holy joy--imploring his mercies for all we need, and blessing his bounty for all we enjoy.

To-day for us our Lord was born-come let us adore him.

PSALM.

How early, O my God, didst thou engage to redeem us! The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent. How often didst thou repeat thy promises to Abraham ! In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. How many methods did thy mercy invent; by unquestionable tokens to give notice of thy coming!

Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son; and his name shall be called Emanuel.

There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse; and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; the spirit of wisdom and understanding.

The spirit of counsel and might; the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.

The Lord thy God shall raise up unto thee a prophet of thy brethren; unto him shall ye hearken.

But thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be least among the thousands of Judah; yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, who is to be the ruler in Israel;

Whose goings forth have been of old; even from the days of eternity.

Hark, how the Almighty Father introduces his Son, commanding first all the angels of God to worship him.

Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee; thou art my Son, and I will be thy Father.

I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance; and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Thou art mine elect, my servant whom I have chosen, to raise up the tribes of Judah, and to restore the preserved of Israel.

I will give thee a light for the gentiles: that thou mayest be my salvation to the ends of the earth.

Hark, how the ancient prophets rejoice in the Messiah; and in soft and gentle words foretel his compassionate office. He shall come down as rain into a fleece of wool; and as drops of dew distilling on the earth.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; and gently lead those that are with young.

He shall gather the lambs with his arm ; and carry them in his bosom.

The bruised reed shall he not break; nor quench the smoking flax.

Righteousness and peace shall flourish in his days; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened; and the ears of the deaf be made to hear.

Then shall all the tongues of the dumb be loosened; and the lame man shall leap as an hart.

Thus, O Jesus, did thy holy prophets prophesy of thee; thus did thy servants sing thy praises.

Wonder, O my soul, at the mercies of thy Lord; how infinitely transcending even our utmost wishes.

The eternal Wisdom himself comes down, to clothe himself with our miserable nature.

Had thy Saviour been less than God, we could never have believed the mysteries of his doctrine.

Had he not been man, we could not have had a suffering Redeemer; nor the powerful motives of his holy example. Had he been merely man, his sufferings would have want

ed that infinite merit, by which they atoned for our transgressions.

Had he been only God, he could never have died upon the cross, nor suffered the least of those afflictions he so gloriously overcame.

O blessed Jesus! both God and man art thou in thy glorious person; teach us, as both, to adore and follow thee. Be thou our God, and teach us to adore thee; be thou our guide, and teach us to follow thee.

O thou eternal King of heaven, display towards us thy grace and glory.

So rule us here, that we may obey thy grace; so favour us hereafter, that we may enjoy thy glory.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

THE LESSON.-From ISAIAH.

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain. O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say anto the cities of Judah, Behold your God. Behold, the Lord will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity the meek of the earth. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid. They shall not burt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Thus, holy Jesus, did the ancient prophets foretel thy perfections, and the blessed changes thy doctrines should produce; the cruelty of the proud should be softened into meekness, and the innocency of the weak be protected by the strong.

This was thy wise and gracious design; to make us happy, by making us holy.

Thou who alone art mighty in power, verify, we beseech thee, these glorious predictions: defend the good, and rebuke the wicked, and fill the earth with thy knowledge; that all discord and animosity may utterly cease, and truth and justice govern the world.

This was thy wise and gracious design; to make us happy, by making us holy.

THE HYMN.

Hither, ye faithful, haste with songs of triumph;
To Bethlehem haste, the Lord of life to meet:
To you this day is born a Prince and Saviour-
O come and let us worship at his feet.

O Jesus! for such wondrous condescension
Our thanks and praises are an offering meet;
Now is the word made flesh, and dwells among us,
O come and let us worship at his feet.

Shout his Almighty name, ye choirs of angels,
Let the celestial courts his praise repeat;
Unto our God be glory in the highest,

O come and let us worship at his feet.

God! who every year renewest the holy joy of thy Church, by the welcome festival of her Saviour's birth; grant, we beseech thee, that we may, with devout affection, welcome this first rising of the Sun of Righteousness, and, with holy sincerity and zeal, follow him through his suffering yet glorious course, increasing in knowledge, in truth, and in love; till in the end we arrive at the perfect glories of his heavenly rest; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who, with thee, and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

[Add the Collect for the Day.]

OFFICE FOR THE EVENING.

[Repeat the introductory Devotions, in the Morning Office, marked 1, 2, 3, and then add]

4. Blessed be thy glorious name, O glorious Son of God, and blessed be thy mercy for ever; thou hast graciously fulfilled what thy prophets foretold, and entered on the office of man's Redeemer.

To-day for us our Lord was born-come let us adore him.

[Then repeat the Psalm in the Morning Office.]

THE LESSON-TITUS ii. 11.

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men; teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly

in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Thus, O Jesus, thou dost teach us to remember that thou art a spiritual Redeemer, come to enlighten our dark minds, to renew our depraved affections.

For thou hast bought us unto thyself, to be a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

O may the light of thy truth shine into our hearts, and the beams of thy grace purify and redeem them; that so we may humbly and joyfully expect the eternal fruition of thy glorious presence.

For thou hast bought us unto thyself, to be a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

THE HYMN.

How matchless is thy form, O King!
Thy mouth with grace o'erflows;
Because fresh blessings God on thee
Eternally bestows.

Gird on thy sword, most mighty Prince,
And clad in rich array,

With glorious ornaments of power
Majestic pomp display.

For thy firm throne, O God, is fix'd
For ever to endure;

Thy sceptre's sway shall always last,

By righteous laws secure.

To Father, Son, &c.

Holy and ever blessed Jesus! who, being the eternal Son of God, and most high in the glory of the Father, didst vouchsafe for us sinners, to be born of an humble virgin, and to be subject to the weakness, the wants, and sorrows of our nature, to accomplish our redemption; excite in us, we beseech thee, a due sense of thy infinite love, that adoring thee as our Lord and our God, and believing in thee as our all-sufficient Saviour, we may evermore trust in thy infinite merits, imitate thy holy example, and obey thy righteous commands; that thus we may finally enjoy thy glorious promises, living and reigning for ever with thee, who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest, God blessed for ever, world without end. Amen.

[Add the Collect for the Day}

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