Not the beloved John could rest

With more delight upon that breast, Nor THOMAS pry into those wounds with more intense de

sire.

Kindly he opens me his ear,
And bids me pour my sorrow there,

And tell him all my pains.
Thus while I ease my burdened heart,

In every woe he bears a part, His arms embrace me, and his hand my drooping head sustains.

WATTS.

SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELISTS DAY.

DECEMBER 27.

COLLECT. Merciful Lord, we beseech thee to cast thy bright beams of light upon thy Church, that it, being enlightened by the doctrine of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John, may so walk in the light of thy truth, that it may at length attain to the light of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HYMN.

AMONG the planets heavenly bright,

Which round the Sun of glory shine;
No orb emits a purer light,

A holier radiance, John, than thine.

Apostle thou of Christ the Lord;

Prophet of scenes to come decreed;
Historian of the incarnate Word;

Martyr in will, if not in deed.

Yet by another name we deem

Thy claim to high renown approved,
A name, of equal praise the theme,

“ Disciple, by thy Master loved.”

Be ours to mark His portrait fair

Whom thy recording pencil drew;
Be ours to mark thy faithful care,

To his divine commandments true;

To note thy life ; to see thee fling

The beams of sacred truth abroad;
And soar with thee on eagle wing,

And view unblamed the throne of God.

And may our faith, blest Saint, like thine

By love to God and man be proved ;
That we in some degree may shine,
“Disciples by our Master loved.”

BP. MANT.

ANOTHER

"Peter, seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." John xxi. 21, 22.

· LORD, and what shall this man do?”.

Ask’st thou, Christian, for thy friend ?
If his love for Christ be true,

Christ bath told thee of his end.
This is he whom God approves ;
This is he whom Jesus loves.

Ask not of him more than this;

Leave it in his Saviour's breast,
Whether, early called to bliss,

He in youth shall find his rest,

Or armed in his station wait
Till his Lord be at the gate;

Whether in his lonely course,

(Lonely, not forlorn) he stay,
Or with love's supporting force

Cheat the toil and cheer the way;
Leave it all in his high hand,
Who doth hearts as streams command.*

Gales from heaven, if so he will,

Sweeter melodies can wake,
On the lonely mountain rill,

Than the meeting waters make.
Who bath the Father and the Son
May be left, — but not alone.

Sick or healthful, slave or free,

Wealthy, or despised and poor,
What is that to him or thee,

So his love to Christ endure ?
When the shore is won at last,
Who will count the billows past ?

Only, since our souls will shrink

At the touch of natural grief,
When our earthly loved ones sink,

Lend us, Lord, thy sure relief;
Patient hearts their pain to see,
And thy grace to follow thee.

KEBLE.

*“The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water; he turneth it whithersoever he will.” Prov xxi. I.

N

SAINT MATTHIAS'S DAY.

FEBRUARY 24.

COLLECT. O Almighty God, who into the place of the traitor Judas didst choose thy faithful servant Matthias to be of the number of the twelve apostles; grant that thy Church, being always preserved from false apostles, may be ordered and guided by faithful and true pastors, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HYMN.

Who is God's chosen priest ?
He who on Christ stands waiting day and night,
Who traced his holy steps, nor ever ceased,

From Jordan banks to Bethphage height;

Who hath learned lowliness
From his Lord's cradle, patience from his cross ;
Whom poor men's eyes and hearts consent to bless ;

To whom, for Christ, the world is loss ;

Who both in agony
Hath seen him, and in glory; and in both
Owned him divine, and yielded, nothing loath,

Body and soul to live and die,