No rippling wave of triumph transitory,
But pealing on and on the blessèd story,
Sung by heaven's choir,-
Hearts, lips afire,—

Rises an everlasting hymn

From hosts of light and wingèd cherubim,
Glory to God alone!

Who sleeps? Wake, men and brothers!
Awake, my soul !
Awake and sing!

Let freemen tell heaven's charter forth to others,
And smiling infants learn it from their mothers;
Till tidings roll
From pole to pole,

And Jesus, born in Bethlehem,
Assumes the throne in great Jerusalem,
Emmanuel our King.

Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace,

Good will toward men.

O listen, weary, lonely heart, that sighest,
Till, ravish'd with the song, thyself repliest,—
I lift my face

To Christ's embrace.

Our Father, now no voice is dumb,—
Now hallow'd be Thy name, Thy kingdom

come,

Amen, amen, amen.

SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY.

Lessons Genesis iv. 1-11; 2 Chron. xxiv. 15-23; Acts vi., viii. 1–9.

For the Epistle: Acts vii. 55. Gospel : St. Matt. xxiii. 34.

THE COLLECT.

GRANT, O Lord, that, in all our sufferings here upon earth for the testimony of Thy truth, we may stedfastly look up to heaven, and by faith behold the glory that shall be revealed; and, being filled with the Holy Ghost, may learn to love and bless our persecutors by the example of Thy first Martyr Saint Stephen, who prayed for his murderers to Thee, O blessed Jesus, who standest at the right hand of God to succour all those that suffer for Thee, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

"And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.' Acts vii. 59, 60.

Heaven's glory in his heart and eye,

Mid crushing stones and taunting foes,
The martyr knelt in prayer to die;
And as he sank to God's repose,

Breathed," Jesu Lord, receive my spirit."

And on from age to age, since then,
Have saints their torches lit from his,
And children, maidens, matrons, men,
Pass'd with this watchword into bliss,

"O Jesu Lord, receive our spirit."

Dear Master, kneeling at Thy cross;
They learn'd that they were not their own;
For Thee they held the world but loss,
Rich in this daily prayer alone,

Be Thine our body, soul, and spirit.

They died in peace, they sleep in Thee,
They wait the resurrection morn,
When clothed with immortality

Thy mystic Bride, the Church first born,
Shall wear Thy likeness, flesh and spirit.

In life and death, Lord, may I trust
My spirit where they trusted theirs?
O foolish heart, thy may is must,
And love in holy venture dares

Pray, When Thou wilt, receive my spirit.

SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST'S DAY. Lessons Exod. xxxiii. 9;

Epistle: I John i. I.

Isaiah vi.; St John xiii. 23-3 Rev. i.

Gospel: St. John xxi. 19.

THE 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.

"Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved."-St. John xiii. 23. O Light of Light, whose glory is to dwell, Effulgent God, with God Invisible:

O Life of Life, whose fountain unexplored
Flows where archangel's wing hath never soar'd :
O Love of Love, whose uncreated rest
Is the fruition of Thy Father's breast:

O Light, whose Dayspring, dawning from on high,
Shone in Thy loved apostle's heart and eye :
O Life, whose quickening Spirit breathed the wor
Of heavenly wisdom in his accents heard:
O Love, whose bosom, in its woes serene,
Suffer'd his love and sorrow there to lean :
O Life, Light, Love, unchanging evermore,
Upon Thy Church Thy grace and glory pour;
Until, beyond all storms of earthly strife,
She gains the light of everlasting life.

THE INNOCENTS' DAY.

Lessons Jer. xxxi. 1-18; Baruch iv. 21 - 31. For the Epistle: Rev. xiv. 1—6. Gospel: St. Matt. ii. 13-19.

THE COLLECT.

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.

"I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps."-Rev. xiv. 2. "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou perfected praise.”—St. Matt. xxi. 16.

Sweet in a mother's ears

Is the first ripple of her baby's laughter;
And, when her sunny smile has kiss'd its tears,
Sweet is the cooing that comes after.
And as her group of rosy innocents

Around the cradle, girl and boy,
Clap hands for very joy,

And find innumerable merriments

In every ray of light that floods the room And every wild flower's many-glancing bloom Surely that mother's heart may be forgiven, If in her children's voices soft and strong She hears an echo of the angels' song And deems it not unheard in heaven.