Ringing of Bells.-It appears that the bells were rung differently when there was to be a sermon and when there was not.-Ibid. p. 87. If the sick deserved the prayers of the congregation, they should be prayed for in the reading-desk and nowhere else, reading the two collects set down in the Visitation of the Sick, which was the custom (long laudably used) in Westminster Abbey. H. J. R. DEVOTIONAL. FROM THE PARISIAN BREVIARY. THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD. THE service which is here given commences, as usual, with the five Antiphones at the first Vespers-i.e., the Vespers preceding the day of the festival. The other Antiphones in this service are omitted for the following reasons:-It must be remembered that these single texts, called Antiphones, occupy that place which the Doxology does with us, occurring at the end of each Psalm, and also of the Benedictus, &c. On each of the great festivals, called "Solemne Majus," like the present, there are appointed Psalms instead of the usual Psalms for the day of the week and season; and, when this is the case, the Antiphone is always a verse from the preceding Psalm. The effect of this is very striking, but does not very well admit of illustration; and it would be of little use to give the Antiphones without the accompanying Psalms, upon which the propriety of their application greatly depends. And, indeed, the omissions which it is requisite to make in such confined limits render any account of one of these offices necessarily very inadequate. But it should be added, that half the Antiphone is said before the Psalm or canticle, and then the entire at the end; and this, I believe, in two parts, which explains the meaning of the word. When there is no singing, the Antiphones are omitted. It may be as well, on the present occasion, to call the reader's attention to a circumstance which may always be observed in these services-viz., the beautiful manner in which the subjects of the successive hymns rise one out of the other; and generally, as in the present case, they allude successively to successive periods of time, which the festival embraces, as, for instance, the first to the appearance of the star; the second to the offering of the gifts; the third to the calling of the Gentiles. SOLEMNE MAJUS. IN I. VESPERS. Psalms from the day of the week. Ant. Behold, I will extend peace to Jerusalem like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.-Isaiah lxvi. Ant. How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations?-Jer. iii.` Ant. Arise, and stand on high, and look about, and behold thy children gathered from the west unto the east by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the remembrance of God.Baruch v. Ant. Enlarge the place of thy tent: for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles.--Isaiah liv. Ant. Thou shalt see and flow together, and thine heart shall be enlarged; because the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.-Isaiah lx. Capitulum. Rom. xv. There shall be a Root of Jesse, and He that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles trust. r. Thy salvation thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. . The Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; &c.-Luke ii.; Isaiah Ixii. * a light to lighten The toil and perils, what are they? "Tis God that calls, and they obey. Star of Grace, that lead'st the way, Father, Light of lights, to Thee, In whom Thou to the world hast shone, Ant. at the Magnificat. Many nations shall come from far to the name of the Lord God, with gifts in their hands, even gifts to the King of Heaven.-Job xiii. Ant. at the nunc Dimittis. I the Lord will give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.— Isaiah xlii. (The first Nocturn is here omitted, containing the three Lessons, which are from the 55th chapter of Isaiah, with their accompanying Responsories. The appointed Psalms are omitted in this and all the Nocturns.) IN THE II. NOCTURN. SERMON OF POPE LEO. Rejoice in the Lord, my most dearly beloved, and again I say rejoice, that so soon after the celebration of Christ's nativity the festival of his manifestation hath shined upon us. Him whom the Virgin on the former day gave birth to, on this day the world hath acknowledged. For the Word was made flesh; and so gradually and quietly did he regulate this his first taking upon him of our nature, that, as soon as born, he was manifested to believers, and hidden from his persecutors. Even already had the heavens declared the glory of God, and the sound of his truth had gone forth unto the ends of the world: for the band of angels had appeared to the shepherds to announce the Saviour's birth; and the guiding star had led the wise men to worship him. So that from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the birth of the true King had gleamed, for the kingdoms of the east might become acquainted with these things by means of the wise men, and the Roman empire could not be ignorant of them. 7. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king: behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. . O Jerusalem, look about thee toward the east, and behold the joy that cometh unto thee from God: behold, there came wise men, &c.-Matt. ii.; Baruch iv. LECTIO V. For even the cruelty of Herod, when he wished to stifle the rising of a King who was the object of his suspicion, afforded an unwilling aid to the furtherance of this dispensation. For while, with his mind intent on the execution of his atrocious project, he was pursuing this Child, who was unknown to him, by the indiscriminate slaughter of the infants, the circumstance of our Lord's birth, having been announced from heaven, became more signally published and made known; and published, too, with the more readiness and assiduity both from the extraordinary character of this communication from above, and also from the wickedness of this most barbarous persecution. And, upon this, to Egypt also was the Saviour conveyed, so that a nation which had been given up to ancient idolatries might now, by means of a hidden Grace, be brought into the neighbourhood of salvation; so that a people, who had not cast aside superstition from their minds, might, nevertheless, into their hospitable protection receive the Truth. r. There came wise men, saying, where is He who is born King of the Jews? * for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. v. There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel: out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion. We have seen his star, &c.-Matt. ii. ; Numb. xxiv. LECTIO VI. Let us therefore acknowledge, my most dearly beloved, in this adoration of the wise men, the first-fruits of our Christian faith and calling; and, with joyful minds, let us celebrate this beginning of our blessed hope. From this moment, we begin to enter upon our eternal inheritance; from this moment, the mysteries of scripture, which speak of Christ, are laid open; and the Truth, which the blindness of the Jews received not, hath conveyed its light to all nations. Let, therefore, this most sacred day, in which the Author of our salvation hath appeared, be duly honoured by us. And let us adore Him, now all powerful in heaven, whom the wise men worshipped in the cradle. And as they out of their treasures offered unto God mysterious kinds of gifts, so let us, out of the treasury of our hearts, bring forth things worthy of God. r. Lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. * When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. v. The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. * When they saw the star, &c.-Matt. ii. ; Isaiah Ix. Lectio from the Sacred Gospel according to Matthew. LECTIO VII. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is He that is born King of the Jews? Et reliqua. Homily of Pope Gregory. In all the signs which were displayed both at the birth of our Lord and also at his death, we cannot but remark the hardness of heart which was evinced by the Jews, who acknowledged him not, notwithstanding the prophecies which were given them, and also the miracles. For all the elements bore testimony to the coming of their Maker. For, that I may speak after the manner of men, the heavens knew him as God, and forthwith sent forth the star. The sea knew him, and made itself a way to be trodden by his feet. The earth knew him, and trembled at his dying. The sun knew him, and hid the rays of its light. The rocks and walls knew him, for they were rent in twain at the time of his death. Hell knew him, and gave up the dead that it had received. And yet, though the senseless elements perceived him to be their Lord, the hearts of the unbelieving Jews knew him not as God; and, more hard than the rocks themselves, were not rent by repentance. And to add to the accumulation of their guilt, they had, for a long time, fore-known his birth, whom they now despise when born; and not only did they know that he was to be born, but also the place of his birth. So that their very knowledge itself should be to them a witness to their condemnation; and to us a support and assistance towards believing in him. r. When they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary his mother : and fell down and worshipped him; and, when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts,-gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. v. They from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. *And they fell down, &c.-Matt. ii.; Isaiah lx. LECTIO VIII. When the birth of our King was made known, Herod has recourse to schemes of subtilty, that he might not be deprived of his earthly kingdom. He requires word to be brought him where the child might be found; and thinks that, under the pretence of a desire to worship him, he shall be able to discover, and thus to destroy him. But what are the wicked designs of men against the counsels of God? For it is written, "there is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord." For the star that had appeared leads on the wise men ; they find the King, and present unto him gifts, and are admonished in a dream not to return to Herod. Thus he finds not Jesus whom he seeks. And in this character of Herod, who else are designated but the hypocrites, who, as they seek the Lord under a false pretence, are never allowed to find him? 7. They presented unto him gifts: and, being warned of God in a dream, that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. v. The Lord casteth out the counsels of princes. The counsel of the Lord shall endure for ever.-Matt. ii.; Psalm xxxiii. LECTIO IX. The wise men present unto him gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. For gold is suitable to the King; and frankincense is an offering made to God; and with myrrh the bodies of the dead are embalmed. Him, therefore, who is the object of their worship, the wise men set forth, and preach with mystical gifts-by gold, the King; God by frankincense; and by myrrh, the mortal. Let us, therefore, offer gold to our Lord by, on all occasions, making confession of his kingdom. Let us offer him frankincense, by believing that He, who, in fulness of time, hath appeared, existed before all time as God. Let us offer him myrrh, by believing Him, whom we believe, in his own nature, to have been incapable of suffering, to have been in our flesh born a mortal. r. The mystery of Christ, which, in other ages, was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ. * That now might be known the manifold wisdom of God. v. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, saith the Lord, my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. That now might be known the manifold wisdom of God.-Ephes. iii.; Zeph. iii. AT THE LAUDS. (There are no proper Psalms, but they are the same as the Sunday; but, besides the Antiphones, which are here omitted, is the Canticum, which is from the 49th Chap. of Isaiah.) Capitulum. 2 Tim. i. He hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began: but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Hymnus. "Linquunt tecta Magi principis urbis." From princely walls, in eastern pomp arrayed, But yet no ivory here, no glowing gold, Others let kingly pomp and power adorn, Lo, at his humble cradle, on bent-knee, Glory to God the Father, Fount of Light, All equal in mysterious Unity! "The Prayer," which here occurs, is translated in our Collect with great harmony and beauty of expression, and is as follows:· "Deus, qui hodiernâ die unigenitum tuum Gentibus, stellà duce, revelasti: concede propitius, ut qui jam te ex fide cognovimus, usque ad contemplandam speciem tuæ celsitudinis perducamur; per eumdem Dominum." (Omitting the intervening hours of the day.) AT THE II. VESPERS. Capitulum. Romans ix. Us hath He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. As He saith also in Ozee, I will call them my people which were not my people, and her beloved which was not beloved! v. The people shall give thanks unto Thee, O Lord.-Psalm xlv. r. World without end. Ant. at the Magnificat. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, Allelujah.-1 Tim. iii. Mention has been made of the Canticum. When it occurs at the Lauds, as in this instance, it is between the third and fourth of the five Psalms. It is an appropriate passage taken from scripture, generally approaching to the character of a hymn, such as that of the Benedicite |