1945 Lectionary — Evening Prayer with Homilies

The Lectionary

According to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer

Full Sunday Readings with Homilies

Psalms, First Lesson & Second Lesson for Evensong and Evening Prayer

King James Version with Apocrypha

For the Anglican & Anglo-Catholic Tradition · According to the Table of Lessons for the Christian Year, 1928 BCP

Advent

First Sunday in Advent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 48 & 126
First LessonIsa. 62:1–12
Second LessonRev. 14:1–9

PsalmsPs 48 & 126

^48:1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.for: or, of ^48:2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. ^48:3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge. ^48:4 For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. ^48:5 They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. ^48:6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. ^48:7 Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. ^48:8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah. ^48:9 We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. ^48:10 According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness. ^48:11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. ^48:12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. ^48:13 Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.Mark…: Heb. Set your heart toconsider: or, raise up ^48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

First LessonIsa. 62:1–12

^62:1 For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. ^62:2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. ^62:3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. ^62:4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi–bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.Hephzi–bah: that is, My delight is in herBeulah: that is, Married ^62:5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.as the…: Heb. with the joy of the bridegroom ^62:6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence,make…: or, are the Lord’s remembrancers ^62:7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.rest: Heb. silence ^62:8 The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:Surely…: Heb. If I give, etc ^62:9 But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. ^62:10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. ^62:11 Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.work: or, recompence ^62:12 And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

Second LessonRev. 14:1–9

^14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. ^14:2 And 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: ^14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. ^14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. ^14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. ^14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, ^14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. ^14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. ^14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

The earth is the Lord's — so Psalm 48 opens with a declaration of ownership that the Advent season places in relief: the city of the great King, beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is the symbol of all creation held in the hands of its Maker. And the holy city is not to be seen from outside only, but entered: Walk about Zion, and go round about her; tell the towers thereof; mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. Advent is the season in which we are invited to walk about the city of God, to note its beauty before the King himself comes home to it.

Isaiah's great closing canticle of Chapter 62 pulsates with the same urgency: For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. The Lord has sworn: she shall no more be called Forsaken, nor desolate. Thou shalt be called Hephzibah — My delight is in her. The Advent eve-song is the song of a God who will not rest until his purposes are complete, until the city that was desolate is restored, until the lamp burns in every window.

And the Revelation gives us a vision of the end toward which Advent moves: The Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth — and the Evensong of the First Sunday in Advent declares that the place they follow him to is precisely Zion, the city of God, where the great supper of the Lamb is prepared and the saints are gathered into the presence of the One for whom they waited.

Evening Prayer is the natural office of Advent expectation. The day closes, the light fails, and the soul turns toward the east from which the dawn will come. For Zion's sake I will not hold my peace: and neither will the Church, keeping vigil through the long Advent nights, until the King comes home to his city and the earth is full of his glory.

Second Sunday in Advent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 119:89–104 & 67
First LessonIsa. 26:1–9
Second LessonRev. 22:6–17

PsalmsPs 119:89–104 & 67

^119:89 For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. ^119:90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.unto…: Heb. to generation and generationabideth: Heb. standeth ^119:91 They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants. ^119:92 Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. ^119:93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me. ^119:94 I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts. ^119:95 The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies. ^119:96 I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad. ^119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. ^119:98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.they…: Heb. it is ever with me ^119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. ^119:100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. ^119:101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. ^119:102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. ^119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!taste: Heb. palate ^119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

First LessonIsa. 26:1–9

^26:1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. ^26:2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.truth: Heb. truths ^26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.perfect…: Heb. peace, peacemind: or, thought, or, imagination ^26:4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:everlasting…: Heb. the rock of ages ^26:5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. ^26:6 The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy. ^26:7 The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. ^26:8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. ^26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Second LessonRev. 22:6–17

^22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. ^22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. ^22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. ^22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. ^22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. ^22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. ^22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. ^22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. ^22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. ^22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. ^22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. ^22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us — Isaiah sings in the great Evensong chapter of the second Sunday, and it is the peace of one who has waited long and seen how God keeps his promises. The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee. The waiting of Advent is not passive; it is the active expectation of those who know that the Judge who comes also justifies, that the God who weighs the path of the just is also the God who makes the path straight.

Psalm 119 takes up the same theme: Thy word is settled in heaven; thy faithfulness unto all generations. The entire created order is ordered by the divine word, and the soul that lives by that word participates in the divine ordering. The servant of the word is the servant of the settled and eternal. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

And the Revelation of St John, with which Advent Evening Prayer closes the Christian year's vision, shows us the end: Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. The great Come of Advent — Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus — is also the divine invitation to every soul: come, take, receive. The peace that the Lord ordains is not a peace imposed but a peace offered, waiting for the willing heart to receive it.

Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. This is the Advent mystery in its evening form — that the peace we await is already being wrought in us by the God who has promised it. The waiting is not empty; it is full of the hidden work of grace, preparing the heart for what is coming.

Third Sunday in Advent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 132 & 134
First LessonNahum 1:1–8 (text not included)
Second LessonRev. 1:1–8

PsalmsPs 132 & 134

^132:1 Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions: ^132:2 How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; ^132:3 Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; ^132:4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, ^132:5 Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.an habitation: Heb. habitations ^132:6 Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood. ^132:7 We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool. ^132:8 Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength. ^132:9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy. ^132:10 For thy servant David’s sake turn not away the face of thine anointed. ^132:11 The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.body: Heb. belly ^132:12 If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. ^132:13 For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. ^132:14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. ^132:15 I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.abundantly: or, surely ^132:16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. ^132:17 There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.lamp: or, candle ^132:18 His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.

First LessonNahum 1:1–8

[Text not available: Nahum 1:1–8]

Second LessonRev. 1:1–8

^1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: ^1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. ^1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. ^1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; ^1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, ^1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ^1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. ^1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. The Psalmist's vow on the Third Sunday in Advent opens Evening Prayer with a double note — mercy and judgment, the two great streams of divine activity that meet in the Incarnation. The Church gathered for Vespers knows that the One who is coming is both: the Lord mighty in battle and the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

The prophet Nahum — an unfamiliar voice in the liturgy, yet one whose singular message the Advent season requires — confronts us with the holy wrath of a God who avenges his afflicted ones: The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. His way is in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. The comfort of Nahum's prophecy, which was addressed to Nineveh in its pride, is comfort for the afflicted: God does not allow wickedness to reign forever. The coming of Advent carries with it the overthrow of every oppression.

Yet Advent does not end in judgment but in beginning: The Revelation opens with its majestic title — The Revelation of Jesus Christ — and the greeting that is itself a Trinitarian benediction: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come. Here is the Advent God: not the God who was only, whose glory lies in the past; not the God who will be only, toward whom we strain in the future; but the God who is and was and is to come — the eternal present that holds all time in his hands.

He that is and was and is to come is also he that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. The Advent Evensong holds in a single gaze the majesty and the mercy, the judgment and the love. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy: for the time is at hand.

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 33
First LessonIsa. 42:1–12
Second Lesson1 Thess. 5:1–11

PsalmsPs 33

^33:1 Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. ^33:2 Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. ^33:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. ^33:4 For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. ^33:5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.goodness: or, mercy ^33:6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. ^33:7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. ^33:8 Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. ^33:9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. ^33:10 The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.bringeth: Heb. maketh frustrate ^33:11 The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.to all…: Heb. to generation and generation ^33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. ^33:13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. ^33:14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. ^33:15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. ^33:16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. ^33:17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. ^33:18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; ^33:19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. ^33:20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. ^33:21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. ^33:22 Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

First LessonIsa. 42:1–12

^42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. ^42:2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. ^42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.smoking: or, dimly burningquench: Heb. quench it ^42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.discouraged: Heb. broken ^42:5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: ^42:6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; ^42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. ^42:8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. ^42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. ^42:10 Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.all…: Heb. the fulness thereof ^42:11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. ^42:12 Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.

Second Lesson1 Thess. 5:1–11

^5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. ^5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. ^5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. ^5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. ^5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. ^5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. ^5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. ^5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. ^5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, ^5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. ^5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. The Psalmist on this last Sunday before Christmas cannot contain himself — the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done in truth, and the ends of the earth wait for his goodness. He speaketh, and it is done; he commandeth, and it standeth fast. The God who created all things by his word is about to send his Word into the world, and the evening of the Fourth Sunday trembles with anticipation.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm. Isaiah's great image of the coming Shepherd — appointed for this last Advent Sunday — is not a picture of power but of tenderness. The arm that gathers the lambs is the arm from which the Psalmist has declared nothing can escape. The tenderness of the Incarnation — the willingness of the Almighty to be born small, to be held, to need — is not a limitation of the divine power; it is its highest expression.

And the closing word of the Christian year, from the epistle to the Thessalonians, warns against the temptation to sleep through the moment of God's coming: Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. The Advent Evensong is the vigil of those who watch — watch not in fear but in the hope that is patient, the faith that does not grow cold, the love that burns as a lamp through the long night.

Let us watch and be sober, for the time is at hand. For the Fourth Sunday in Advent is the eve of the eve, and the One who comes like a shepherd bearing lambs is already at the door.

Christmas & Epiphany

Christmas Day

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 45
First LessonMicah 5:2–5
Second LessonTitus 3:4–8

PsalmsPs 45

^45:1 My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.Maschil: or, of instructionis inditing: Heb. boileth, or, bubbleth up ^45:2 Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. ^45:3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. ^45:4 And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.ride…: Heb. prosper thou, ride thou ^45:5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. ^45:6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. ^45:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. ^45:8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. ^45:9 Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. ^45:10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; ^45:11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. ^45:12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.favour: Heb. face ^45:13 The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. ^45:14 She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. ^45:15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace. ^45:16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. ^45:17 I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.

First LessonMicah 5:2–5

^5:2 But thou, Beth–lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.everlasting: Heb. the days of eternity ^5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. ^5:4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.feed: or, rule ^5:5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.principal: Heb. princes of

Second LessonTitus 3:4–8

^3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, ^3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; ^3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; ^3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ^3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion — and now it is satisfied. Christmas Evening Prayer is the hour of the day that has earned its rest; the great declarations of the morning — unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given — have had all day to settle into wonder, and now at Vespers the wonder deepens in the quieter light. The Church gathers to sing Psalm 45 in the evening: Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.

And Micah, the prophet of smallness, gives us the Christmas theology in a single verse: But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. The goings forth from of old: the Incarnation is not the arrival of someone new, but the arrival in time of the one who was before all time. The little Bethlehem is the chosen dwelling of the Eternal.

Titus closes the Christmas Evensong with a perfect theological compressed summary: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying. The Christmas Evening Prayer is the prayer of heirs — those who have received the gift not by earning it, but by being born into it, washed into it, renewed by it.

For the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared. Christmas is the feast of this appearing — and Evening Prayer gives us time to linger with it, to let the wonder settle, to be glad.

First Sunday after Christmas

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 68:1–20 & 27
First LessonIsa. 63:7–16
Second LessonGal. 4:1–7

PsalmsPs 68:1–20 & 27

^68:1 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.before…: Heb. from his face ^68:2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. ^68:3 But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.exceedingly…: Heb. rejoice with gladness ^68:4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah, and rejoice before him. ^68:5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. ^68:6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.in families: Heb. in a house ^68:7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah: ^68:8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. ^68:9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.send: Heb. shake outconfirm: Heb. confirm it ^68:10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. ^68:11 The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.company: Heb. army ^68:12 Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.did…: Heb. did flee, did flee ^68:13 Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. ^68:14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.in it…: or, for her, she ^68:15 The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan. ^68:16 Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever. ^68:17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.even…: or, even many thousands ^68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.for men: Heb. in the man ^68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. ^68:20 He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death.

First LessonIsa. 63:7–16

^63:7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. ^63:8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. ^63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. ^63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. ^63:11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?shepherd: or, shepherds ^63:12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? ^63:13 That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? ^63:14 As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name. ^63:15 Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?the sounding: or, the multitude ^63:16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.our redeemer…: or, our redeemer from everlasting is thy name

Second LessonGal. 4:1–7

^4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; ^4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. ^4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: ^4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, ^4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. ^4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. ^4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered — the great processional Psalm 68 opens the Evening Prayer of the first Sunday after Christmas with an irruption of power that the Nativity season hardly seems to require. Yet it is precisely right: the infant in the manger is the God who rides through the wilderness, who made the earth shake, who dropped a plentiful rain upon his inheritance. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. God setteth the solitary in families. The Christmas God is the God who gathers — who sets the solitary in families, who brings out the prisoner into prosperity.

And Isaiah's great evening meditation on the mercies of the Lord extends the theme: I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. The Christmas God who bears the child in a manger is the same God who bore Israel through the wilderness, who carried his people when they could not carry themselves.

And Paul gives the evening its theological precision: When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. The fulness of time — the kairos, the moment when all the long preparation was complete — arrived, and the Word was made flesh. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

The Christmas octave at Evening Prayer is a time for receiving what has been given — the adoption, the heirship, the welcome home. God setteth the solitary in families: and we are in his family, gathered by the birth of his Son, carried by the love that carried Israel, blessed by the kindness that appeared.

Second Sunday after Christmas

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 111 & 112
First LessonProv. 9:1–12
Second LessonHag. 2:1–9

PsalmsPs 111 & 112

^111:1 Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.Praise ye…: Heb. Hallelujah ^111:2 The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. ^111:3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever. ^111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion. ^111:5 He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.meat: Heb. prey ^111:6 He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen. ^111:7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. ^111:8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.stand…: Heb. are established ^111:9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. ^111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.a good…: or, good successhis commandments: Heb. them

First LessonProv. 9:1–12

^9:1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: ^9:2 She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.her beasts: Heb. her killing ^9:3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, ^9:4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, ^9:5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. ^9:6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. ^9:7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. ^9:8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. ^9:9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. ^9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. ^9:11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. ^9:12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

Second LessonHag. 2:1–9

^2:1 In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying,by: Heb. by the hand of ^2:2 Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, ^2:3 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? ^2:4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: ^2:5 According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. ^2:6 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; ^2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. ^2:8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. ^2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord — the opening Psalms of Evening Prayer on this second Sunday after Christmas carry the Christmas praise forward into the week after Epiphany, and the double Psalm of Hallelujah and trust rings out in the winter dark: The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

The Wisdom writer's meditation on the house of wisdom is the First Lesson: Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars. Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. In the Christmas season, the identification of Wisdom with the incarnate Word is irresistible: the Word by whom all things were made, who was in the beginning with God, has come to build his house among us, to set his table, to invite the simple to feast.

And Haggai, writing to the returned exiles about the glory of the second temple, is given a word that the New Testament takes for its own: The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace. The latter house is the body of Christ; the greater glory is the Incarnation itself; and the peace given in this place is the peace that passes all understanding.

While I live will I praise the Lord: and the purpose of the Christmas octave at Evening Prayer is precisely this — to let the praise become the habit of the soul, to let the wonder of what God has done take root in us as a permanent orientation, so that when the season ends and the ordinary days return, the praise does not go with it but stays, fed by what we have seen and heard and pondered in these holy days.

The Epiphany

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 72
First LessonIsa. 61:1–9
Second LessonJohn 2:1–11

PsalmsPs 72

^72:1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.for: or, of ^72:2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. ^72:3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. ^72:4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. ^72:5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. ^72:6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. ^72:7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.so long…: Heb. till there be no moon ^72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. ^72:9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. ^72:10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. ^72:11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. ^72:12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. ^72:13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. ^72:14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. ^72:15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.shall be given: Heb. one shall give ^72:16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. ^72:17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.endure: Heb. behis name shall be…: Heb. shall be as a son to continue his father’s name for ever ^72:18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. ^72:19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. ^72:20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

First LessonIsa. 61:1–9

^61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; ^61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; ^61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. ^61:4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. ^61:5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. ^61:6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. ^61:7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. ^61:8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. ^61:9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.

Second LessonJohn 2:1–11

^2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: ^2:2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. ^2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. ^2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. ^2:5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. ^2:6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. ^2:7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. ^2:8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. ^2:9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, ^2:10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. ^2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Give the king thy judgments, O God — the great Psalm 72 is the Evening Prayer Psalm of the Epiphany, and its vision of the messianic king fills the dusk of the feast day with gold. He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. This is the evening fulfilment of what the morning showed in miniature: the Magi bringing gold and incense as the first fruits of the Gentile world coming to its King.

Isaiah 61 opens in the evening with the Servant's own declaration: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. This is the Epiphany manifesto — the anointed one declaring his commission in the hearing of a world that does not yet know its Saviour. To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Evening Prayer on the Feast of the Epiphany is the prayer of those who have heard this commission and know that it extends to them — that the acceptable year of the Lord includes this evening, this prayer, this gathered community.

In Cana of Galilee, at the marriage feast, the first sign was given, and it was a sign of abundance: six waterpots of stone filled to the brim, the best wine kept until last. This is the manifested Christ — not the Christ of scarcity and rationing, but the Christ of superabundance, who turns water into wine and transforms every ordinary occasion into a feast.

His glory was manifested; and his disciples believed on him. The Evening Prayer of the Epiphany is the prayer of those who have seen the manifestation and believed. The king of Psalm 72, the Servant of Isaiah 61, the host of the Cana feast — he is one, and he is ours, and we are his. Give the king thy judgments, O God: and in his kingdom, make us his people.

First Sunday after Epiphany

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 84 & 122
First LessonIsa. 49:1–13
Second LessonLuke 2:41–52

PsalmsPs 84 & 122

^84:1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!for the sons: or, of the sons ^84:2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. ^84:3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. ^84:4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. ^84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. ^84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.Baca…: or, mulberry trees make him a well, etcfilleth: Heb. covereth ^84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.strength to…: or, company to company ^84:8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. ^84:9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. ^84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.I had…: Heb. I would choose rather to sit at the threshold ^84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. ^84:12 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

First LessonIsa. 49:1–13

^49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. ^49:2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; ^49:3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. ^49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.my work: or, my reward ^49:5 And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.Though…: or, That Israel may be gathered to him, and I may, etc ^49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.It is…: or, Art thou lighter than that thou shouldest, etcpreserved: or, desolations ^49:7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.whom man…: or, that is despised in soul ^49:8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;establish: or, raise up ^49:9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. ^49:10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. ^49:11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. ^49:12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. ^49:13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

Second LessonLuke 2:41–52

^2:41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. ^2:42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. ^2:43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. ^2:44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. ^2:45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. ^2:46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. ^2:47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. ^2:48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. ^2:49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? ^2:50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. ^2:51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. ^2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! The Evening Prayer Psalms of the first Sunday after Epiphany are the Psalms of the sanctuary — Psalm 84, the great pilgrimage hymn, and Psalm 122, the Jerusalem canticle. My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Even the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself: the soul that has found God has found its home.

And Hannah's song, from the First Lesson, is the Evening Prayer's great reversal: There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill. It is the song that Mary's Magnificat echoes — the pattern of divine action that the Epiphany season reveals again and again: the proud scattered, the humble exalted, the hungry filled, the empty sent away.

And Isaiah 49, the Second Servant Song, deepens the evening's meditation: Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. The Servant who is both Israel and the One who restores Israel speaks his vocation, and it is the vocation of the Epiphany: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. Amiable tabernacles: the dwelling of God is in the One who was despised and rejected, and the kings who come to worship are the fulfilment of the Psalmist's longing and the Servant's commission.

Second Sunday after Epiphany

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 102:15 & 117
First LessonIsa. 45:1–8
Second LessonIsa. 54:1–8

PsalmsPs 102:15 & 117

^102:15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.

First LessonIsa. 45:1–8

^45:1 Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;have…: or, strengthened ^45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: ^45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. ^45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. ^45:5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: ^45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. ^45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. ^45:8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.

Second LessonIsa. 54:1–8

^54:1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. ^54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; ^54:3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. ^54:4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. ^54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.Maker: Heb. Makers ^54:6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. ^54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. ^54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me — Isaiah's great declaration of divine uniqueness is the First Lesson for the second Sunday's Evening Prayer, and it fills the dusk with the weight of monotheism at its most austere: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. The Epiphany God is the only God — and the Epiphany is his decision to be known where he was unknown, to be worshipped from the rising of the sun to its going down.

The evening Psalms — 102 and 117 — span the full range of the worshipping soul: Psalm 102 is the prayer of the afflicted, wrapping its desolation in the cloak of divine eternity — the years of thy right hand shall have no end, though the world perish — and Psalm 117 is the briefest and most universal of all psalms: Praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us. Between the affliction of 102 and the universality of 117 stands the Epiphany: the light that shines for all nations is the mercy that held even the afflicted.

And the evening's Second Lesson — Isaiah 54 — opens the evening into promise: Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. The Epiphany brings the barren into fruitfulness: the nations that were without God become the family of God, the desolate places become the place of dwelling.

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. The Evening Prayer of the second Sunday after Epiphany is the prayer of those gathered in by the everlasting kindness — none beside him, none beside him, yet gathered in by him, all of us.

Third Sunday after Epiphany

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 27 & 134
First LessonIsa. 56:1–8
Second LessonJohn 2:13–22

PsalmsPs 27 & 134

^27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ^27:2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.came…: Heb. approached against me ^27:3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. ^27:4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.the beauty: or, the delight ^27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. ^27:6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.joy: Heb. shouting ^27:7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. ^27:8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.When…: or, My heart said unto thee, Let my face seek thy face, etc ^27:9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. ^27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.take…: Heb. gather me ^27:11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.a plain…: Heb. a way of plainnessmine…: Heb. those which observe me ^27:12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. ^27:13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. ^27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

First LessonIsa. 56:1–8

^56:1 Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.judgment: or, equity ^56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. ^56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. ^56:4 For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; ^56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. ^56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; ^56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. ^56:8 The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.beside…: Heb. to his gathered

Second LessonJohn 2:13–22

^2:13 And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, ^2:14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: ^2:15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; ^2:16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. ^2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. ^2:18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? ^2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. ^2:20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? ^2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body. ^2:22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill — the Evening Psalm 43 is the prayer of the soul in exile who knows where home is. The Psalms 27 and 134 frame the Evening Prayer of this Sunday with the confidence of the dweller in God's house: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. The Epiphany light of Christ, celebrated through this season, is the light that leads the waiting soul home.

And Isaiah opens the mine of Epiphany theology again: Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, the eunuchs who keep his sabbath — precisely those who by the law of Israel were excluded — shall be brought to God's holy mountain, for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Epiphany Evensong is the evensong of the inclusive God.

And in the temple at Jerusalem, in the great court of the Gentiles, Christ overturns the tables of the money-changers and drives out them that sold doves: My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. The house of prayer for all people had been narrowed to a market for the commercially convenient. The Epiphany Christ restores the breadth of the divine intention — a house where all the nations come to pray, where the light of Isaiah's prophecy burns for Gentile as well as Jew.

Send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead all nations to thy holy hill. This is the Evensong prayer of the Epiphany season: that the light of Christ may be so clearly present in the Church that the nations are led, as the Magi were led, to find him at the centre of all things.

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 145
First LessonDan. 10:1–14
Second LessonJohn 4:43–54

PsalmsPs 145

^145:1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. ^145:2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. ^145:3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.and his…: Heb. and of his greatness there is no search ^145:4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. ^145:5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.works: Heb. things, or, words ^145:6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.declare: Heb. declare it ^145:7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. ^145:8 The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.of great…: Heb. great in mercy ^145:9 The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. ^145:10 All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. ^145:11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; ^145:12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. ^145:13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.an…: Heb. a kingdom of all ages ^145:14 The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. ^145:15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.wait…: or, look unto ^145:16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. ^145:17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.holy: or, merciful, or, bountiful ^145:18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. ^145:19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. ^145:20 The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. ^145:21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

First LessonDan. 10:1–14

^10:1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.long: Heb. great ^10:2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.full…: Heb. weeks of days ^10:3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.pleasant…: Heb. bread of desires ^10:4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; ^10:5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:a…: Heb. one man ^10:6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. ^10:7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. ^10:8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.comeliness: or, vigour ^10:9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. ^10:10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.set: Heb. moved ^10:11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.greatly…: Heb. of desiresupright: Heb. upon thy standing ^10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. ^10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.chief: or, first ^10:14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

Second LessonJohn 4:43–54

^4:43 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. ^4:44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. ^4:45 Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. ^4:46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. ^4:47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. ^4:48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. ^4:49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. ^4:50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. ^4:51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. ^4:52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. ^4:53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. ^4:54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judea into Galilee.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I will extol thee, my God, O king — and the object of the evening's exaltation is the king revealed in Daniel's vision: a great man, whose appearance was like lightning and his eyes as lamps of fire. I Daniel alone saw the vision, for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. The Epiphany season keeps showing us the vision that ordinary sight cannot see — the glory hidden beneath the ordinary, the presence that strikes awe in those who glimpse it.

Then understood I the vision — so Daniel, and so the soul at Evening Prayer on this fourth Sunday, beginning to put together the pieces of the Epiphany season: the Magi, the baptism, the Cana wine, the synagogue at Nazareth, and now this great figure that appears to the prophet beside the river. The Christ of the Epiphany is always greater than we imagined, always exceeding our categories, always requiring us to expand our understanding of what God incarnate means.

And in Cana of Galilee, at the hour of need, Jesus speaks the word and the water becomes wine: and his disciples believed on him. They saw the vision, and they believed. Evening Prayer on the fourth Sunday after Epiphany is the prayer of those who have seen — not with the physical eye that Daniel's companions kept, but with the eye of faith — and believed.

Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. The evening closes with praise for the vision given and received, for the king who reveals himself in the ordinary and the extraordinary alike, for the God whose appearance is like lightning and whose purposes are everlasting peace.

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 21 & 22:23
First LessonJoel 3:9–17
Second LessonAmos 5:14–24

PsalmsPs 21 & 22:23

^21:1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! ^21:2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah. ^21:3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head. ^21:4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever. ^21:5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him. ^21:6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.made him most…: Heb. set him to be blessingsmade him exceeding…: Heb. make him glad with joy ^21:7 For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved. ^21:8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. ^21:9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. ^21:10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. ^21:11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. ^21:12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.shalt thou…: or, thou shalt set them as a buttback: Heb. shoulder ^21:13 Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

First LessonJoel 3:9–17

^3:9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:Prepare: Heb. Sanctify ^3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.pruninghooks: or, scythes ^3:11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.cause…: or, the Lord shall bring down ^3:12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. ^3:13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. ^3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.decision: or, concision, or, threshing ^3:15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. ^3:16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.hope: Heb. place of repair, or, harbour ^3:17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.holy: Heb. holiness

Second LessonAmos 5:14–24

^5:14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. ^5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. ^5:16 Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. ^5:17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord. ^5:18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. ^5:19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. ^5:20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? ^5:21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.in…: or, your holy days ^5:22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.peace…: or, thank offerings ^5:23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. ^5:24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.run: Heb. roll

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

O Lord, open thou my lips — the evening of the fifth Sunday after Epiphany is the evening of prophetic urgency. Joel cries, Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand. The Epiphany season ends where Advent began — at the edge of the divine coming, before the consuming and refining fire of God's holy presence.

But Joel's oracle, which begins in alarm, ends in promise: it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. The day of the Lord which consumes the enemies of righteousness is also the day in which the Spirit is poured out without measure — the Pentecost that Whitsunday will celebrate is already promised here, in the darkening evening of the last Epiphany Sunday.

Psalm 21 is the king's psalm of triumph — The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice — and Psalm 22:23 invites the congregation to join: Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. The evening praise is the praise of those who have survived the Day — who have passed through the alarm of Joel's trumpet and come out into the joy of the king's salvation.

Amos, who loves justice as the prophets of Israel love justice, asks: Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate. The Epiphany ends not in sentiment but in the sharp command of prophetic religion: the light that has been shown us must now be lived.

Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 9
First LessonGen. 19:1–25
Second Lesson2 Esd. 7:26–44

PsalmsPs 9

^9:1 I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. ^9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. ^9:3 When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. ^9:4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.maintained…: Heb. made my judgmentjudging right: Heb. judging in righteousness ^9:5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever. ^9:6 O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.O thou…: or, The destructions of the enemy are come to a perpetual end: and their cities hast thou destroyed, etc ^9:7 But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. ^9:8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. ^9:9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.a refuge: Heb. an high place ^9:10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. ^9:11 Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings. ^9:12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.humble: or, afflicted ^9:13 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death: ^9:14 That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation. ^9:15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. ^9:16 The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.Higgaion: that is, Meditation ^9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. ^9:18 For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. ^9:19 Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. ^9:20 Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

First LessonGen. 19:1–25

^19:1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; ^19:2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. ^19:3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. ^19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: ^19:5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. ^19:6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, ^19:7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. ^19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. ^19:9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. ^19:10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. ^19:11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. ^19:12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: ^19:13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. ^19:14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. ^19:15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.are here: Heb. are foundiniquity: or, punishment ^19:16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. ^19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. ^19:18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: ^19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: ^19:20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. ^19:21 And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.thee: Heb. thy face ^19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.Zoar: that is, Little ^19:23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.risen: Heb. gone forth ^19:24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; ^19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

Second Lesson2 Esd. 7:26–44

^7:26 Behold, the time shall come, that these tokens which I have told thee shall come to pass, and the bride shall appear, and she coming forth shall be seen, that now is withdrawn from the earth. ^7:27 And whosoever is delivered from the foresaid evils shall see my wonders. ^7:28 For my son Jesus shall be revealed with those that be with him, and they that remain shall rejoice within four hundred years. ^7:29 After these years shall my son Christ die, and all men that have life. ^7:30 And the world shall be turned into the old silence seven days, like as in the former judgments: so that no man shall remain. ^7:31 And after seven days the world, that yet awaketh not, shall be raised up, and that shall die that is corrupt ^7:32 And the earth shall restore those that are asleep in her, and so shall the dust those that dwell in silence, and the secret places shall deliver those souls that were committed unto them. ^7:33 And the most High shall appear upon the seat of judgment, and misery shall pass away, and the long suffering shall have an end: ^7:34 But judgment only shall remain, truth shall stand, and faith shall wax strong: ^7:35 And the work shall follow, and the reward shall be shewed, and the good deeds shall be of force, and wicked deeds shall bear no rule. ^7:36 Then said I, Abraham prayed first for the Sodomites, and Moses for the fathers that sinned in the wilderness: ^7:37 And Jesus after him for Israel in the time of Achan: ^7:38 And Samuel and David for the destruction: and Solomon for them that should come to the sanctuary: ^7:39 And Helias for those that received rain; and for the dead, that he might live: ^7:40 And Ezechias for the people in the time of Sennacherib: and many for many. ^7:41 Even so now, seeing corruption is grown up, and wickedness increased, and the righteous have prayed for the ungodly: wherefore shall it not be so now also? ^7:42 He answered me, and said, This present life is not the end where much glory doth abide; therefore have they prayed for the weak. ^7:43 But the day of doom shall be the end of this time, and the beginning of the immortality for to come, wherein corruption is past, ^7:44 Intemperance is at an end, infidelity is cut off, righteousness is grown, and truth is sprung up.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice — the Evening Psalms of the last pre-Lenten Sunday before Septuagesima carry the full weight of divine sovereignty into the dusk. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion. The season of Epiphany closes with the contemplation of God's holy city, the goal toward which all the seasons of the year are moving.

And Genesis, which the Evening Prayer lessons draw upon in these last pre-Lenten weeks, confronts us with the destruction of Sodom — with what a righteous God does when righteousness is entirely abandoned: the sulfur and fire that fell upon the cities of the plain are the sign of a justice that cannot be mocked indefinitely. But the mercy runs alongside the judgment: Abraham had interceded; Lot was led out; God's purposes were not thwarted even in the catastrophe.

The Second Lesson from 2 Esdras — that extraordinary late Jewish apocalyptic, appointed because the 1928 lectionary does not fear the uncomfortable texts — speaks of the day of judgment with a seriousness that the comfortable would rather avoid: The day of judgment is decisive, and shall display to all the seal of truth. The Epiphany season has shown us the truth of God made manifest in Christ; the seal of that truth is the judgment that separates what endures from what does not.

The Lord reigneth: this is the confidence with which the Church enters the Gesimas — the three Sundays of preparation for Lent. The reign of God, established in the Incarnation, revealed in the Epiphany, is the ground on which we stand as we approach the disciplines of Lent. Beautiful for situation: and the beauty is not our beauty but his, not our achievement but his gift, held in trust for us through every season of the year.

The Gesimas

Septuagesima Sunday

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 144
First LessonIsa. 5:1–7
Second LessonRev. 9:13–10:11 (text not included)

PsalmsPs 144

^144:1 Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:strength: Heb. rockto war…: Heb. to the war, etc ^144:2 My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.My goodness: or, My mercy ^144:3 Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him! ^144:4 Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away. ^144:5 Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. ^144:6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them. ^144:7 Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children;hand from: Heb. hands from ^144:8 Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood. ^144:9 I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. ^144:10 It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.salvation: or, victory ^144:11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: ^144:12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:polished: Heb. cut ^144:13 That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:all…: Heb. from kind to kind ^144:14 That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.strong…: Heb. able to bear burdens, or, loaden with flesh ^144:15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.

First LessonIsa. 5:1–7

^5:1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:a very…: Heb. the horn of the son of oil ^5:2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.fenced: or, made a wall aboutmade: Heb. hewed ^5:3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. ^5:4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? ^5:5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:trodden…: Heb. for a treading ^5:6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. ^5:7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.his…: Heb. plant of his pleasuresoppression: Heb. a scab

Second LessonRev. 9:13–10:11

[Text not available: Rev. 9:13–10:11]

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I will love thee, O Lord, my strength — the Evening Prayer Psalm 144 on Septuagesima opens with David's cry of absolute dependence, and it is the right note on which to enter the pre-Lenten season: Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. The training for the spiritual warfare of Lent begins here, in the acknowledgement of who does the training. Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away. The creature acknowledges its creaturely limit.

The First Book of Maccabees — one of the great accounts of religious courage in the literature of Israel — gives us the dying charge of Mattathias, who looked at his sons as the Maccabean resistance was just beginning: Now hath pride and rebuke gotten strength, and the time of destruction, and the wrath of indignation. Now therefore, my sons, be ye zealous for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of your fathers. The pre-Lenten season asks us to reckon with what we are willing to spend ourselves upon — what is worth our lives, what merits our full commitment.

And Isaiah's vineyard parable — the song of the beloved concerning his vineyard — speaks with the intimate pain of disappointed love: What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? The pre-Lenten preparation is the preparation of the vineyard — the digging up of the hard ground, the clearing of the stones, the question of what kind of fruit our lives have actually produced.

Let us begin again: let us receive the training, reckon the cost, and prepare the vineyard. The God who loves with the love of a vinedresser for his vineyard is the God who will come at Advent, who was revealed at Christmas, who appeared in the Epiphany, and who now walks with us toward Jerusalem.

Sexagesima Sunday

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 147
First LessonDan. 3:13–28
Second LessonRev. 12:1–12

PsalmsPs 147

^147:1 Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. ^147:2 The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. ^147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.wounds: Heb. griefs ^147:4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. ^147:5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.his…: Heb. of his understanding there is no number ^147:6 The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. ^147:7 Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: ^147:8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. ^147:9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. ^147:10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. ^147:11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. ^147:12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. ^147:13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. ^147:14 He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.He…: Heb. Who maketh thy border peacefinest…: Heb. fat of wheat ^147:15 He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly. ^147:16 He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. ^147:17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? ^147:18 He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. ^147:19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.his word: Heb. his words ^147:20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord.

First LessonDan. 3:13–28

^3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego. Then they brought these men before the king. ^3:14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?true: or, of purpose ^3:15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?dulcimer: or, singing: Chaldee, symphony ^3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. ^3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. ^3:18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. ^3:19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.full: Chaldee, filled ^3:20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.most…: Chaldee, mighty of strength ^3:21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.coats: or, mantleshats: or, turbans ^3:22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego.commandment: Chaldee, wordflame: or, spark ^3:23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ^3:24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.counsellors: or, governors ^3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.they…: Chaldee, there is no hurt in them ^3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.mouth: Chaldee, door ^3:27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. ^3:28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

Second LessonRev. 12:1–12

^12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: ^12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. ^12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. ^12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. ^12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. ^12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. ^12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, ^12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. ^12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. ^12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. ^12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. ^12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God — yet the Psalm of Sexagesima Evening Prayer is Psalm 147, which moves between consolation and command: He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds; He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names. The God who is infinite enough to number the stars is intimate enough to bind up the broken. This double knowledge — the immensity and the tenderness — is what the Church carries into the discipline of Lent.

The three young men in the fiery furnace — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — face the music in Daniel 3 with a courage born of exactly this double knowledge: Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods. The pre-Lenten week teaches the hardest lesson: faithfulness that does not depend on immediate deliverance, love that does not require reward. But if not.

And the Revelation's great vision of the woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars — a sign of cosmic proportion, the Church travailing in the birth pangs of the new age — is the Evening Prayer's reminder that the suffering of the pre-Lenten season is not meaningless. The dragon stood before the woman to devour her child: and the child was caught up unto God. The powers that oppose cannot ultimately prevail.

The Sexagesima evening is the evening of those who know both the fiery furnace and the God who walks in it with his servants. Praise ye the Lord: for he telleth the number of the stars, and he also healeth the broken heart, and it is the same love that does both.

Quinquagesima Sunday

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 119:33–48
First LessonLev. 19:1–18
Second LessonIsa. 51:1–11

PsalmsPs 119:33–48

^119:33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. ^119:34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. ^119:35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. ^119:36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. ^119:37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.Turn…: Heb. Make to pass ^119:38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. ^119:39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. ^119:40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness. ^119:41 Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word. ^119:42 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.So…: or, So shall I answer him that reproveth me in a thing ^119:43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments. ^119:44 So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. ^119:45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.at liberty: Heb. at large ^119:46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. ^119:47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. ^119:48 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.

First LessonLev. 19:1–18

^19:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ^19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. ^19:3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. ^19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God. ^19:5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, ye shall offer it at your own will. ^19:6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. ^19:7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. ^19:8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the Lord: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ^19:9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. ^19:10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God. ^19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. ^19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. ^19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. ^19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord. ^19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. ^19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord. ^19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.and…: or, that thou bear not sin for him ^19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

Second LessonIsa. 51:1–11

^51:1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. ^51:2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. ^51:3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. ^51:4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people. ^51:5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. ^51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. ^51:7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. ^51:8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. ^51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? ^51:10 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? ^51:11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me — but the Evening Prayer of Quinquagesima opens not with Psalm 39 but with Psalm 119 and its great meditation on the divine law: Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. The eve of Lent is the eve of learning — learning the statutes, keeping the commandments, inclining the heart to the testimony rather than to covetousness.

The Levitical call — Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy — is the First Lesson's great charter: When ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord. The commandments of Leviticus 19 are not merely ritual but relational — they govern the edges of the field, the welfare of the poor, the dignity of the disabled. The holiness of God is expressed in justice to the neighbour.

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people — Isaiah 51 is the Evening Prayer's Second Lesson, and in the last hours before Lent begins, the Church hears again the great Advent comfort applied to the penitential season: Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Remember Abraham, remember Sarah, remember that the God who called them out of nothing can make something from our poverty.

For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. The Lent that begins this week is the prelude to an Easter, and the Easter is the restoration of Eden. Teach me, O Lord: and I will keep it unto the end.

Lent

Ash Wednesday

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 102 & 130
First LessonJonah 3
Second LessonMatt. 6:1–18

PsalmsPs 102 & 130

^102:1 Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee.of: or, for ^102:2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily. ^102:3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.like…: or, (as some read) into smoke ^102:4 My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread. ^102:5 By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.skin: or, flesh ^102:6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. ^102:7 I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. ^102:8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. ^102:9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, ^102:10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. ^102:11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. ^102:12 But thou, O Lord, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations. ^102:13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. ^102:14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. ^102:15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. ^102:16 When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. ^102:17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. ^102:18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. ^102:19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; ^102:20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;those…: Heb. the children of death ^102:21 To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; ^102:22 When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord. ^102:23 He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.weakened: Heb. afflicted ^102:24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. ^102:25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. ^102:26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:endure: Heb. stand ^102:27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. ^102:28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.

First LessonJonah 3

^3:1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, ^3:2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. ^3:3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.exceeding: Heb. of God ^3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. ^3:5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. ^3:6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. ^3:7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:published: Heb. saidnobles: Heb. great men ^3:8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. ^3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? ^3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Second LessonMatt. 6:1–18

^6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. ^6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. ^6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: ^6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. ^6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. ^6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. ^6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. ^6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. ^6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. ^6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. ^6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. ^6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. ^6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. ^6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: ^6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. ^6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. ^6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; ^6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord — the Evening Psalms 102 and 130 are the most fitting of all Psalms for the evening of Ash Wednesday, the evening on which the Church has heard itself addressed as dust. Lord, hear my prayer; and let my cry come unto thee. Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble. The brokenness that the day's ashes confessed is laid again before God at Evensong, with the same honesty and the same hope.

Jonah's preaching to Nineveh — Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown — produces the most remarkable response in all of prophetic literature: the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. Even the king arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. The Ash Wednesday Evening Prayer is the Nineveh prayer — the prayer of a city that has heard the word of judgment and responded with total, unhesitating penitence. And God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

The Evening Prayer closes with Christ's own teaching from the Sermon on the Mount: Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them. But when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret. The Ash Wednesday Evensong is the closet prayer — secret, unhurried, stripped of performance, offered to the Father who sees in secret. And thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Out of the depths have I cried: and from the depths, the God who made the heavens and the earth hears. He heard Nineveh; he hears us. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Ash Wednesday Evening Prayer rests on this mercy.

First Sunday in Lent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 15 & 92
First LessonJer. 17:5–18
Second LessonDan. 9:3–19

PsalmsPs 15 & 92

^15:1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?abide: Heb. sojourn ^15:2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. ^15:3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.taketh…: or, receiveth, or, endureth ^15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. ^15:5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

First LessonJer. 17:5–18

^17:5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. ^17:6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. ^17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. ^17:8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.drought: or, restraint ^17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? ^17:10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. ^17:11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.sitteth…: or, gathereth young which she hath not brought forth ^17:12 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. ^17:13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters. ^17:14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. ^17:15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now. ^17:16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.to…: Heb. after thee ^17:17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil. ^17:18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.destroy…: Heb. break them with a double breach

Second LessonDan. 9:3–19

^9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: ^9:4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; ^9:5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: ^9:6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. ^9:7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.belongeth…: or, thou hast ^9:8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. ^9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; ^9:10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. ^9:11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. ^9:12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. ^9:13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.made…: Heb. intreated we not the face of the, etc ^9:14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. ^9:15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.gotten…: Heb. made thee a name ^9:16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. ^9:17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. ^9:18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.which…: Heb. whereupon thy name is calledpresent: Heb. cause to fall ^9:19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? The opening Psalms of the First Sunday in Lent's Evening Prayer — 15 and 92 — set the standard and the confidence together. He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart: this is the one who abides. It is good to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: this is the confidence that sustains the walker. The Lenten journey is not a journey of despair but of the soul toward the tabernacle where it longs to abide.

Jeremiah's meditation — Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is; for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters — sets the great Lenten theme of trust against the background of prophetic accusation: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways. Lent is the season of the searched heart — the season of allowing God to find what we have been concealing from ourselves.

And Daniel's great prayer of confession in chapter 9 is the model of the Lenten heart: O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him. The confusion of face — the honest acknowledgement of failure — is the precondition of receiving the mercies that belong to God.

O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God. Daniel's urgency is the Church's urgency at Evening Prayer in the first week of Lent: not the leisurely repentance of one who has plenty of time, but the urgent turning of one who knows that the God who hears and forgives is also the God who will act, and who asks only that we turn.

Second Sunday in Lent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 26 & 119:1–16
First Lesson2 Sam. 1:1–27
Second LessonEcclus. 2:1–18

PsalmsPs 26 & 119:1–16

^26:1 Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide. ^26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. ^26:3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth. ^26:4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. ^26:5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked. ^26:6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord: ^26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. ^26:8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.where…: Heb. of the tabernacle of thy honour ^26:9 Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:Gather…: or, Take not awaybloody…: Heb. men of blood ^26:10 In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.full…: Heb. filled with ^26:11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. ^26:12 My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.

First Lesson2 Sam. 1:1–27

^1:1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag; ^1:2 It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. ^1:3 And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. ^1:4 And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.How…: Heb. What was, etc ^1:5 And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? ^1:6 And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. ^1:7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I.Here…: Heb. Behold me ^1:8 And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. ^1:9 He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.anguish…: or, my coat of mail (or, my embroidered coat) hindereth me, that my, etc ^1:10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord. ^1:11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: ^1:12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. ^1:13 And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. ^1:14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed? ^1:15 And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. ^1:16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord’s anointed. ^1:17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: ^1:18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)of Jasher: or, of the upright ^1:19 The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! ^1:20 Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. ^1:21 Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. ^1:22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. ^1:23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.pleasant: or, sweet ^1:24 Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. ^1:25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. ^1:26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. ^1:27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

Second LessonEcclus. 2:1–18

^2:1 My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation. ^2:2 Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure, and make not haste in time of trouble. ^2:3 Cleave unto him, and depart not away, that thou mayest be increased at thy last end. ^2:4 Whatsoever is brought upon thee take cheerfully, and be patient when thou art changed to a low estate. ^2:5 For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity. ^2:6 Believe in him, and he will help thee; order thy way aright, and trust in him. ^2:7 Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and go not aside, lest ye fall. ^2:8 Ye that fear the Lord, believe him; and your reward shall not fail. ^2:9 Ye that fear the Lord, hope for good, and for everlasting joy and mercy. ^2:10 Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded? or did any abide in his fear, and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him? ^2:11 For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, longsuffering, and very pitiful, and forgiveth sins, and saveth in time of affliction. ^2:12 Woe be to fearful hearts, and faint hands, and the sinner that goeth two ways! ^2:13 Woe unto him that is fainthearted! for he believeth not; therefore shall he not be defended. ^2:14 Woe unto you that have lost patience! and what will ye do when the Lord shall visit you? ^2:15 They that fear the Lord will not disobey his Word; and they that love him will keep his ways. ^2:16 They that fear the Lord will seek that which is well, pleasing unto him; and they that love him shall be filled with the law. ^2:17 They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and humble their souls in his sight, ^2:18 Saying, We will fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men: for as his majesty is, so is his mercy.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord — but the Second Sunday in Lent's Evening Prayer offers us the more searching depths of Psalms 26 and 119. Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide. The claim of integrity is not self-righteousness; it is the testimony of one who has placed his confidence in God rather than in his own strength. The Lenten Psalm is the Psalm of those who walk into the fire of self-examination with faith rather than with fear.

David's lament for Saul and Jonathan gives the first lesson its unexpected tenderness: The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. The Lenten season includes grief — the honest grief of those who mourn what has been lost, the authentic sorrow of those who have loved what cannot be kept. The Lent that is only about sin and penitence misses this dimension; David's lament opens it.

And Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) speaks the wisdom of the Lenten hour: My child, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation... For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity. Trust him, and he will help thee; make thy ways straight, and trust in him. The furnace of adversity is the Lenten furnace — not sought for its own sake, but received as the refining that the gold requires before it can adorn the sanctuary.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life. The Second Sunday in Lent's Evening Prayer is the prayer of those who are being tried — and who know that the trying is not the end but the preparation for the crown.

Third Sunday in Lent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 119:113–128 & 143
First LessonAmos 5:1–15
Second LessonProv. 2:1–22

PsalmsPs 119:113–128 & 143

^119:113 I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love. ^119:114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. ^119:115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God. ^119:116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. ^119:117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. ^119:118 Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood. ^119:119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.puttest…: Heb. causest to cease ^119:120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments. ^119:121 I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors. ^119:122 Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me. ^119:123 Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness. ^119:124 Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes. ^119:125 I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies. ^119:126 It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law. ^119:127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. ^119:128 Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.

First LessonAmos 5:1–15

^5:1 Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. ^5:2 The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. ^5:3 For thus saith the Lord God; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. ^5:4 For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: ^5:5 But seek not Beth–el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer–sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth–el shall come to nought. ^5:6 Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth–el. ^5:7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, ^5:8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name: ^5:9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.spoiled: Heb. spoil ^5:10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. ^5:11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.pleasant…: Heb. vineyards of desire ^5:12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.a bribe: or, a ransom ^5:13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. ^5:14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. ^5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

Second LessonProv. 2:1–22

^2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; ^2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; ^2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;liftest…: Heb. givest thy voice ^2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; ^2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. ^2:6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. ^2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. ^2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. ^2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. ^2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; ^2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: ^2:12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; ^2:13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; ^2:14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; ^2:15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: ^2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; ^2:17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. ^2:18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. ^2:19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. ^2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. ^2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. ^2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.rooted: or, plucked up

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. The Psalm 119 sections appointed for the Third Sunday in Lent's Evening Prayer return us to the deep source of Lenten strength: the law of God as the delight of the soul that has made it its own. The testimonies of the Lord are righteous and very faithful: Amos, the prophet of justice, is the first lesson, and his cry is the cry of one who loves the law too much to watch it violated: Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you.

The wisdom of Proverbs is the second lesson, and it speaks with the assurance of one who has found in divine wisdom a life worth living: Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid; yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. The Lenten discipline is not merely the wearing of ashes and the keeping of fasts; it is the active pursuit of wisdom that makes the whole life straight and the sleep sweet.

Surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off — Proverbs' assurance to the soul that fears God is the assurance the Church needs in the middle weeks of Lent, when the end seems far and the fast seems long. The expected end is certain; the hope that waits is not disappointed. But the path to the expected end passes through the wisdom that Amos demands and Proverbs commends: justice in the gate, love in the household, integrity in the market, and above all, the daily meditation on the law of the Lord that makes the whole life cohere.

O how love I thy law: it is my meditation all the day. At Evensong, on the third Sunday of Lent, the day closes and the meditation continues, quietly, in the God who knows the path that leads to life.

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 116
First LessonIsa. 55
Second Lesson2 Esd. 2:33–48

PsalmsPs 116

^116:1 I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. ^116:2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.as long…: Heb. in my days ^116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.gat…: Heb. found me ^116:4 Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. ^116:5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. ^116:6 The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. ^116:7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. ^116:8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. ^116:9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. ^116:10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: ^116:11 I said in my haste, All men are liars. ^116:12 What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? ^116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. ^116:14 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. ^116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. ^116:16 O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. ^116:17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. ^116:18 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people, ^116:19 In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.

First LessonIsa. 55

^55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. ^55:2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.spend: Heb. weigh ^55:3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. ^55:4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. ^55:5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. ^55:6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: ^55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.the unrighteous…: Heb. the man of iniquityabundantly…: Heb. multiply to pardon ^55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. ^55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. ^55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: ^55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. ^55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. ^55:13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Second Lesson2 Esd. 2:33–48

^2:33 I Esdras received a charge of the Lord upon the mount Oreb, that I should go unto Israel; but when I came unto them, they set me at nought, and despised the commandment of the Lord. ^2:34 And therefore I say unto you, O ye heathen, that hear and understand, look for your Shepherd, he shall give you everlasting rest; for he is nigh at hand, that shall come in the end of the world. ^2:35 Be ready to the reward of the kingdom, for the everlasting light shall shine upon you for evermore. ^2:36 Flee the shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of your glory: I testify my Saviour openly. ^2:37 O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto him that hath led you to the heavenly kingdom. ^2:38 Arise up and stand, behold the number of those that be sealed in the feast of the Lord; ^2:39 Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have received glorious garments of the Lord. ^2:40 Take thy number, O Sion, and shut up those of thine that are clothed in white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord. ^2:41 The number of thy children, whom thou longedst for, is fulfilled: beseech the power of the Lord, that thy people, which have been called from the beginning, may be hallowed. ^2:42 I Esdras saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could not number, and they all praised the Lord with songs. ^2:43 And in the midst of them there was a young man of a high stature, taller than all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he set crowns, and was more exalted; which I marvelled at greatly. ^2:44 So I asked the angel, and said, Sir, what are these? ^2:45 He answered and said unto me, These be they that have put off the mortal clothing, and put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God: now are they crowned, and receive palms. ^2:46 Then said I unto the angel, What young person is it that crowneth them, and giveth them palms in their hands? ^2:47 So he answered and said unto me, It is the Son of God, whom they have confessed in the world. Then began I greatly to commend them that stood so stiffly for the name of the Lord. ^2:48 Then the angel said unto me, Go thy way, and tell my people what manner of things, and how great wonders of the Lord thy God, thou hast seen.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications — on the Fourth Sunday in Lent, the great Psalm 116 of thanksgiving and trust brings the Laetare note of joy into the Evening Prayer. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints: spoken in the middle of Lent, these words are a declaration that even the suffering of the saints is precious to God, that no death is wasted, no sacrifice is lost.

The First Lesson from Isaiah 55 opens the evening with abundance: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. The Fourth Sunday in Lent, which the old liturgical tradition called Refreshment Sunday, is the Sunday of divine abundance breaking into the Lenten fast.

My word shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please — and the word sent into the desert of Lent is the word of spring: the rain that cometh down from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

The Evening Prayer of Laetare Sunday is the prayer of those who have glimpsed the end of Lent and found Easter already shining through it. I love the Lord, because he hath heard: and he will go on hearing, through the remaining weeks of penitence, until the night is past and the dawn of the great Day breaks upon us.

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 42 & 43
First LessonHosea 14
Second LessonJer. 29:1–14

PsalmsPs 42 & 43

^42:1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.Maschil…: or, A Psalm giving instruction of the sons, etcpanteth: Heb. brayeth ^42:2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? ^42:3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? ^42:4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. ^42:5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.cast: Heb. bowedpraise: or, give thanksfor the…: or, his presence is salvation ^42:6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.the hill…: or, the little hill ^42:7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. ^42:8 Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. ^42:9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? ^42:10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?sword: or, killing ^42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

First LessonHosea 14

^14:1 O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. ^14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.receive…: or, give good ^14:3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. ^14:4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. ^14:5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.grow: or, blossomcast…: Heb. strike ^14:6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.spread: Heb. go ^14:7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.grow: or, blossomscent: or, memorial ^14:8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found. ^14:9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

Second LessonJer. 29:1–14

^29:1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; ^29:2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)eunuchs: or, chamberlains ^29:3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, ^29:4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; ^29:5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; ^29:6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. ^29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. ^29:8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. ^29:9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.falsely: Heb. in a lie ^29:10 For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. ^29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.expected…: Heb. end and expectation ^29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. ^29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. ^29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. On the Fifth Sunday in Lent — the Sunday that in the old calendar began Passiontide, the final approach to the cross — the Evening Psalms of longing and grief frame the service with appropriate pathos. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Yet praise him.

Hosea — appointed for the First Lesson on this Sunday — gives us the pattern of return and healing that the last Lenten week is about: O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously. The prophet's words were given to Israel, but they are the Church's words too, and the soul's words — the words that every penitent brings to God in the final week before Palm Sunday.

Jeremiah's letter to the exiles, from the Second Lesson, opens with the practical counsel of a God who meets us where we are: Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. The Lenten exile is not permanent; the return is promised. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. On the Fifth Sunday evening, with Palm Sunday approaching, with Calvary beyond it and Easter beyond that, the soul settles into hope — not the hope that has not yet been tested, but the hope that has come through the panting and the tears and still says: I shall yet praise him.

Palm Sunday

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 130 & 138
First LessonIsa. 52:13–53:12
Second LessonMatt. 26:36–56

PsalmsPs 130 & 138

^130:1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. ^130:2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. ^130:3 If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? ^130:4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. ^130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. ^130:6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.I say…: or, which watch unto ^130:7 Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. ^130:8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

First LessonIsa. 52:13–53:12

^52:13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.deal…: or, prosper ^52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: ^52:15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

Second LessonMatt. 26:36–56

^26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. ^26:37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. ^26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. ^26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. ^26:40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? ^26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. ^26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. ^26:43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. ^26:44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. ^26:45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ^26:46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. ^26:47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. ^26:48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. ^26:49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. ^26:50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. ^26:51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. ^26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. ^26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? ^26:54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? ^26:55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. ^26:56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord — the Evening Prayer of Palm Sunday begins in the depths where the evening of this day always ends. The palms are laid down, the hosannas are silenced, and what remains is the figure going on ahead toward Jerusalem, toward the cross. Out of the depths: and the cross is the deepest depth, the lowest point to which the love of God descends.

Isaiah 52 and 53 — the great Passion prophecy, the Suffering Servant at his most concentrated — is the proper Evening Lesson for Palm Sunday: He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Palm Sunday Evening Prayer is the first moment when the Church names openly what the week ahead contains — the stripes, the bruising, the wounding. Not as spectators but as those who are part of the story: we have gone astray; his stripes heal us.

And at Gethsemane: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. The disciples who could not keep watch one hour are the image of our own failure. Yet even in the failure, he came to them again and again. He cometh unto his own. Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit: it is the Evening Prayer of the whole week that is coming.

Eastertide

Easter Day

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 98 & 114
First LessonIsa. 55
Second Lesson1 Cor. 15:1–28

PsalmsPs 98 & 114

^98:1 O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. ^98:2 The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.openly…: or, revealed ^98:3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. ^98:4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. ^98:5 Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. ^98:6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King. ^98:7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.the fulness…: or, all it containeth ^98:8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together ^98:9 Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

First LessonIsa. 55

Second Lesson1 Cor. 15:1–28

^15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; ^15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. ^15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ^15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ^15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: ^15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. ^15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. ^15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ^15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ^15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. ^15:11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. ^15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? ^15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: ^15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. ^15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. ^15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: ^15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. ^15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. ^15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. ^15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. ^15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ^15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. ^15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. ^15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. ^15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. ^15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. ^15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. ^15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Sing unto the Lord a new song — the Evening Psalms 98 and 114 burst upon the Easter Evensong with a joy that the morning services have been building toward all day. Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters. The God of the Exodus is the God of the Resurrection: the one who opened the Red Sea and the Jordan has now opened the tomb.

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people — Isaiah 55 returns at Easter Evening with an abundance that is now no longer promise but fulfilment: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. The invitation which in Advent was anticipation is now reality: the living water has been poured out, the bread of life has been broken, the banquet is spread. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven... so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void. The Word that went into the tomb did not return void; it returned with the new life of the Resurrection.

And the First Epistle to the Corinthians gives the Evening Prayer its doctrinal foundation: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. The chain of delivery — received, delivered, received — is the Easter Evensong in its most condensed form.

Sing unto the Lord a new song: for he hath done marvellous things. This new song is the oldest song — the song of the redeemed, begun in Israel, fulfilled in Christ, now offered by the Church at every Evensong until the end of time. O sing unto the Lord a new song, for wonderful are his works.

First Sunday after Easter

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 33
First LessonZeph. 3:14–20
Second Lesson2 Esd. 2:42–48

PsalmsPs 33

First LessonZeph. 3:14–20

^3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. ^3:15 The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. ^3:16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.slack: or, faint ^3:17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.rest: Heb. be silent ^3:18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.reproach…: Heb. the burden upon it was reproach ^3:19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.get…: Heb. set them for a praisewhere…: Heb. of their shame ^3:20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.

Second Lesson2 Esd. 2:42–48

^2:42 I Esdras saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could not number, and they all praised the Lord with songs. ^2:43 And in the midst of them there was a young man of a high stature, taller than all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he set crowns, and was more exalted; which I marvelled at greatly. ^2:44 So I asked the angel, and said, Sir, what are these? ^2:45 He answered and said unto me, These be they that have put off the mortal clothing, and put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God: now are they crowned, and receive palms. ^2:46 Then said I unto the angel, What young person is it that crowneth them, and giveth them palms in their hands? ^2:47 So he answered and said unto me, It is the Son of God, whom they have confessed in the world. Then began I greatly to commend them that stood so stiffly for the name of the Lord. ^2:48 Then the angel said unto me, Go thy way, and tell my people what manner of things, and how great wonders of the Lord thy God, thou hast seen.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy. Psalm 33 and the great thanksgiving Psalms of the Eastertide Evening Prayer carry the resurrection joy into the first Sunday after the feast, and Psalm 121 adds the note of divine protection for the journey: He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. The God of Easter does not sleep; his vigilance sustains the risen life in the soul.

Zephaniah's vision of the restored Zion — Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem — is the Easter Evening canticle that the prophet prepared for this very day: The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. Fear thou not: the Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

And 2 Esdras, that great late Jewish apocalyptic with which the 1928 lectionary does not hesitate, gives the Evening Prayer its eschatological dimension: I, Ezra, saw upon the mount Sion a great people whom I could not number, and they all praised the Lord with songs. And in the midst of them there was a young man of high stature, taller than all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he set crowns, and was more exalted. And I held my breath in wonder: who are these? And he that guided me answered: these be they that have put off the mortal clothing, and put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God.

They all praised the Lord with songs. The Easter Evening Prayer is this vision — the redeemed who say so, the kept who do not stumble, the crowned who sing upon the mount Zion. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

Second Sunday after Easter

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 145
First LessonEzek. 34:1–16
Second LessonRev. 7:9–17

PsalmsPs 145

First LessonEzek. 34:1–16

^34:1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ^34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ^34:3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. ^34:4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. ^34:5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.because…: or, without a shepherd ^34:6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. ^34:7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; ^34:8 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;because…: or, without a shepherd ^34:9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; ^34:10 Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. ^34:11 For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. ^34:12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.As…: Heb. According to the seeking ^34:13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^34:14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. ^34:15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. ^34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Second LessonRev. 7:9–17

^7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; ^7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. ^7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, ^7:12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. ^7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? ^7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ^7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. ^7:16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. ^7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. The Easter Psalms 145 and 16 frame the second Sunday's Evening Prayer with the twin notes of gratitude and confidence: The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

The great Good Shepherd text of Ezekiel 34 — Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep — is the First Lesson of the second Sunday after Easter's Evening Prayer, and it fills the spring evening with the scent of the open fields where the shepherd walks. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. The Easter shepherd seeks what was lost; the scattered are gathered; the strayed are brought back.

And the great vision of 2 Esdras shows the Evening Prayer's second lesson: the Bride coming forth adorned with many ornaments, the vision of the City and its glory — a city twelve furlongs broad, adorned and prepared. The Easter confidence is not only the confidence of individuals restored to life; it is the confidence of the whole new creation being prepared. The resurrection of Christ is the first fruits of the new city, the first stones of the new Jerusalem.

I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up. The second Easter Sunday at Evening Prayer is the prayer of the lifted-up — those who were bowed down and are now raised, who were scattered and are now gathered, who were lost in the wilderness and are now fed in green pastures. And the great Good Shepherd leads them still.

Third Sunday after Easter

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 68:1–20
First LessonWisdom 5:1–16
Second LessonRev. 21:1–8

PsalmsPs 68:1–20

First LessonWisdom 5:1–16

^5:1 Then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made no account of his labours. ^5:2 When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for. ^5:3 And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves, This was he, whom we had sometimes in derision, and a proverb of reproach: ^5:4 We fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be without honour: ^5:5 How is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints! ^5:6 Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us. ^5:7 We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction: yea, we have gone through deserts, where there lay no way: but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it. ^5:8 What hath pride profited us? or what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us? ^5:9 All those things are passed away like a shadow, and as a post that hasted by; ^5:10 And as a ship that passeth over the waves of the water, which when it is gone by, the trace thereof cannot be found, neither the pathway of the keel in the waves; ^5:11 Or as when a bird hath flown through the air, there is no token of her way to be found, but the light air being beaten with the stroke of her wings and parted with the violent noise and motion of them, is passed through, and therein afterwards no sign where she went is to be found; ^5:12 Or like as when an arrow is shot at a mark, it parteth the air, which immediately cometh together again, so that a man cannot know where it went through: ^5:13 Even so we in like manner, as soon as we were born, began to draw to our end, and had no sign of virtue to shew; but were consumed in our own wickedness. ^5:14 For the hope of the Godly is like dust that is blown away with the wind; like a thin froth that is driven away with the storm; like as the smoke which is dispersed here and there with a tempest, and passeth away as the remembrance of a guest that tarrieth but a day. ^5:15 But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High. ^5:16 Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the Lord’s hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them.

Second LessonRev. 21:1–8

^21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. ^21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ^21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. ^21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. ^21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. ^21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. ^21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. ^21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet — but the Third Sunday after Easter's Evening Prayer anticipates the coming Ascension with the Easter Psalms of praise: Psalm 68 is the great processional hymn of God's kingly march, and Psalm 115 is the Psalm of divine uniqueness: Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

The First Lesson from the Wisdom of Solomon on this Sunday confronts the great mystery of the righteous who suffer and seem to perish: In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace. For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality. Having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded. The Easter Evening opens this hope to its fullest extent: the apparent defeat of death is not final; the hope of immortality is full.

And the Revelation gives the Evening Prayer its vision: After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. This is the Easter Evening Prayer in its fullest form — the answer to every suffering, the fulfilment of every hope, the end of every exile.

Fourth Sunday after Easter

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 18:1–20
First LessonDan. 12:1–3, 13
Second LessonIsa. 60:13–22

PsalmsPs 18:1–20

^18:1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. ^18:2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.my strength: Heb. my rock ^18:3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. ^18:4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.ungodly men: Heb. Belial ^18:5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.sorrows: or, cords ^18:6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. ^18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. ^18:8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.out of his nostrils: Heb. by his, etc ^18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. ^18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. ^18:11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. ^18:12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. ^18:13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. ^18:14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. ^18:15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. ^18:16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.many: or, great ^18:17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. ^18:18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. ^18:19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. ^18:20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

First LessonDan. 12:1–3, 13

^12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. ^12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ^12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.wise: or, teachers

Second LessonIsa. 60:13–22

^60:13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. ^60:14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. ^60:15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. ^60:16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. ^60:17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. ^60:18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. ^60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. ^60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. ^60:21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. ^60:22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Fourth Sunday after Easter's Evening Prayer begins with Psalms 18 and 27 — great psalms of confidence and triumph — and it is right that the growing Eastertide confidence should move toward this high point. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip. In the Easter life, the feet are sure; the way is clear; the light shines ahead.

The vision of Daniel 12 gives the First Lesson its eschatological note: And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Isaiah 60 closes the evening with the glory of the fulfilled city: Thy sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. No more shall thy sun go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

The Lord shall be thine everlasting light: and at Evening Prayer on the fourth Sunday after Easter, the evening star is rising and the last rays of the day are fading, and the soul knows that the darkness is not the last word. The Lord shall be thine everlasting light. And the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

Fifth Sunday after Easter

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 147
First LessonEzek. 36:22–36
Second LessonRev. 22:1–17

PsalmsPs 147

First LessonEzek. 36:22–36

^36:22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. ^36:23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.their: or, your ^36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. ^36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. ^36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. ^36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. ^36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. ^36:29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. ^36:30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. ^36:31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. ^36:32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. ^36:33 Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. ^36:34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. ^36:35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. ^36:36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.

Second LessonRev. 22:1–17

^22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. ^22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ^22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: ^22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. ^22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. ^22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. ^22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. ^22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. ^22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. ^22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. ^22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. ^22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. ^22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. ^22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. ^22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. ^22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. ^22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Psalm 147 opens the Fifth Sunday after Easter's Evening Prayer with the call to the entire cosmos to join the Easter praise. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds: the Easter God who raised the dead also heals the broken, and the same power that called Lazarus from the tomb binds up the wounds that we carry into each Evensong.

The First Lesson from Isaiah 48 gives the evening its Easter theology: I am the first, I also am the last. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning. The God of Easter is not a latecomer to history; he has been there from the beginning, laying the foundations, spanning the heavens, calling his own out of Babylon and Egypt and Babylon again and the tomb.

And Ezekiel's great vision of the valley of dry bones — So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone — is the Second Lesson's Easter proclamation: And he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves.

O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. At Evensong on the fifth Sunday after Easter, the bones hear, and the breath comes, and the life returns, and the great army stands upon its feet. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: and from the earth, from the graves, from every place of dryness and death, the Easter praise rises.

Ascension Day

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 24 & 47
First LessonIsa. 33:5–6, 10–22
Second LessonHeb. 4:14–5:10 (text not included)

PsalmsPs 24 & 47

^24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. ^24:2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. ^24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? ^24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.He…: Heb. The clean of hands ^24:5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. ^24:6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.O Jacob: or, O God of Jacob ^24:7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. ^24:8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. ^24:9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. ^24:10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

First LessonIsa. 33:5–6, 10–22

^33:5 The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. ^33:6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.salvation: Heb. salvations

Second LessonHeb. 4:14–5:10

[Text not available: Heb. 4:14–5:10]

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. The Evening Psalms of Ascension Day — 24 and 47 — are the Psalms of the triumphant procession: God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. The King of glory has entered the gate, and the gate is the gate of heaven, and the entry is the entry of our humanity into the heart of the divine life.

Isaiah's vision of the enthroned King — The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high — is the Evening Lesson that frames the Ascension: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us. The Ascension is not the departure of Christ from the earth but his arrival at the throne from which he will save and judge; and that throne is also the throne of our risen humanity, held at God's right hand.

The Letter to the Hebrews closes the Evening Prayer with the priestly theology of the Ascension: Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

This is the gift of Ascension: that our great high priest, having passed into the heavens, intercedes for us from within the divine life. The Evening Prayer of Ascension Day is the prayer offered through this intercession — held in the hands of the one who was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and who holds them now before the face of the Father in the holy of holies.

Sunday after Ascension

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 93 & 96
First LessonWisdom 9:1–12
Second LessonDan. 7:9–14

PsalmsPs 93 & 96

^93:1 The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. ^93:2 Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.of old: Heb. from then ^93:3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. ^93:4 The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. ^93:5 Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.for ever: Heb. to length of days

First LessonWisdom 9:1–12

^9:1 O God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word, ^9:2 And ordained man through thy wisdom, that he should have dominion over the creatures which thou hast made, ^9:3 And order the world according to equity and righteousness, and execute judgment with an upright heart: ^9:4 Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne; and reject me not from among thy children: ^9:5 For I thy servant and son of thine handmaid am a feeble person, and of a short time, and too young for the understanding of judgment and laws. ^9:6 For though a man be never so perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded. ^9:7 Thou hast chosen me to be a king of thy people, and a judge of thy sons and daughters: ^9:8 Thou hast commanded me to build a temple upon thy holy mount, and an altar in the city wherein thou dwellest, a resemblance of the holy tabernacle, which thou hast prepared from the beginning. ^9:9 And wisdom was with thee: which knoweth thy works, and was present when thou madest the world, and knew what was acceptable in thy sight, and right in thy commandments. ^9:10 O send her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present she may labour with me, that I may know what is pleasing unto thee. ^9:11 For she knoweth and understandeth all things, and she shall lead me soberly in my doings, and preserve me in her power. ^9:12 So shall my works be acceptable, and then shall I judge thy people righteously, and be worthy to sit in my father’s seat.

Second LessonDan. 7:9–14

^7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. ^7:10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. ^7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. ^7:12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.their lives…: Chaldee, a prolonging in life was given them ^7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. ^7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice — the Sunday after Ascension at Evening Prayer gathers up the whole Eastertide vision in Psalms 93 and 96: O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name.

The Wisdom of Solomon on this Sunday opens the First Lesson with a prayer that is the model of the waiting Church: O God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word... Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne; and reject me not from among thy servants. The disciples who wait between Ascension and Pentecost are waiting, like Solomon, for wisdom to be given — for the Spirit who is also the Wisdom of God to descend upon the assembled community.

Daniel's vision of the Ancient of Days is the Second Lesson's overwhelming image: His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. And one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven... and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him.

The Sunday after Ascension at Evening Prayer holds these two visions together: the ascending Son of Man given dominion, and the waiting disciples praying for wisdom to serve that dominion. We are between the departure and the coming — between the last sight of Christ and the first touch of the Spirit. O give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne: and when the Spirit comes, we will know what to do with what we have been given.

Whitsunday

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 104
First LessonIsa. 11:1–9
Second Lesson1 Cor. 12:1–13

PsalmsPs 104

^104:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. ^104:2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: ^104:3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: ^104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: ^104:5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.Who…: Heb. He hath founded the earth upon her bases ^104:6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. ^104:7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. ^104:8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.They go up…: or, The mountains ascend, the valleys descend ^104:9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth. ^104:10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.He: Heb. Whorun: Heb. walk ^104:11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.quench: Heb. break ^104:12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.sing: Heb. give a voice ^104:13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. ^104:14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; ^104:15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.oil…: Heb. to make his face shine with oil, or, more than oil ^104:16 The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; ^104:17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house. ^104:18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies. ^104:19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. ^104:20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.beasts…: Heb. beasts thereof do trample on the forest ^104:21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. ^104:22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. ^104:23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening. ^104:24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. ^104:25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. ^104:26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.made: Heb. formed ^104:27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. ^104:28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. ^104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. ^104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. ^104:31 The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.endure: Heb. be ^104:32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke. ^104:33 I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. ^104:34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. ^104:35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.

First LessonIsa. 11:1–9

^11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: ^11:2 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 of the fear of the Lord; ^11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:quick…: Heb. scent or, smell ^11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.reprove: or, argue ^11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. ^11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. ^11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ^11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.cockatrice’: or, adder’s ^11:9 They shall not hurt 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.

Second Lesson1 Cor. 12:1–13

^12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. ^12:2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. ^12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. ^12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ^12:5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. ^12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. ^12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. ^12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; ^12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; ^12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: ^12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. ^12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. ^12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great — the Psalm 104 of Whitsunday Evening Prayer is the creation Psalm, the Psalm of the Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. The same Spirit who hovered at the creation now hovers again at Pentecost, creating the Church as once he created the world, breathing into the waiting disciples the breath of new life.

Wisdom — the Spirit described in Wisdom of Solomon 7 — opens the First Lesson with her sevenfold character: holy, alone in kind, manifold, subtil, lively, clear, undefiled... omnipotent, overseeing all things, pervading all intelligent, pure, most subtil spirits. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty. The Whitsun evening meditates on the character of the Spirit given at Pentecost — not a force but a person, not a power but a presence, full of the wisdom and purity and subtlety of God.

Isaiah 11 is the great Messianic promise of the Spirit's sevenfold gifts: 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 of the fear of the Lord. And the outcome of this anointing is a transformed creation: The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and a little child shall lead them.

On Whitsunday Evening, the gathered Church rests in what has been given — in the Spirit who has been poured out upon all flesh, in the wisdom that has been given freely to those who ask, in the new creation that has already begun and will not stop until the wolf and the lamb lie down together in the eternal peace of God. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Trinity

Trinity Sunday

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 98 & 100
First LessonEcclus. 43:1–12, 27–33
Second LessonJob 38:1–18

PsalmsPs 98 & 100

First LessonEcclus. 43:1–12, 27–33

^43:1 The pride of the height, the clear firmament, the beauty of heaven, with his glorious shew; ^43:2 The sun when it appeareth, declaring at his rising a marvellous instrument, the work of the most High: ^43:3 At noon it parcheth the country, and who can abide the burning heat thereof? ^43:4 A man blowing a furnace is in works of heat, but the sun burneth the mountains three times more; breathing out fiery vapours, and sending forth bright beams, it dimmeth the eyes. ^43:5 Great is the Lord that made it; and at his commandment runneth hastily. ^43:6 He made the moon also to serve in her season for a declaration of times, and a sign of the world. ^43:7 From the moon is the sign of feasts, a light that decreaseth in her perfection. ^43:8 The month is called after her name, increasing wonderfully in her changing, being an instrument of the armies above, shining in the firmament of heaven; ^43:9 The beauty of heaven, the glory of the stars, an ornament giving light in the highest places of the Lord. ^43:10 At the commandment of the Holy One they will stand in their order, and never faint in their watches. ^43:11 Look upon the rainbow, and praise him that made it; very beautiful it is in the brightness thereof. ^43:12 It compasseth the heaven about with a glorious circle, and the hands of the most High have bended it.

Second LessonJob 38:1–18

^38:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ^38:2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? ^38:3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.answer…: Heb. make me know ^38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.hast…: Heb. knowest understanding ^38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? ^38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;foundations: Heb. socketsfastened: Heb. made to sink? ^38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ^38:8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? ^38:9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, ^38:10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,brake…: or, established my decree upon it ^38:11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?thy…: Heb. the pride of thy waves ^38:12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; ^38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?ends: Heb. wings ^38:14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. ^38:15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken. ^38:16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? ^38:17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? ^38:18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the earth. The Trinity Sunday Evening Psalms 98 and 100 open the Evensong with universal acclamation: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. The feast of the Blessed Trinity is not primarily a feast of intellectual contemplation; it is a feast of praise — the response of the creature to the Creator who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, whose being is love, whose action is gift, whose presence is life.

The Wisdom of Sirach, in the great doxology of chapter 43, provides the Evening Lesson with a counterpart to the Psalms' praise: Who can see him and can describe him? or who can extol him as he is? Many things are hidden greater than these be; for we have seen but a few of his works. For the Lord hath made all things; and to the godly hath he given wisdom. The praise of the Trinity is always partial — we see but a few of his works; the hidden things exceed what is revealed — but the partiality of our vision is no excuse for silence. Bless the Lord in all his works.

And Job, from the great concluding theophany of chapter 38, hears the divine voice from the whirlwind: Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. The Trinity Sunday challenge is this: can we locate ourselves in relation to the One who laid the foundations, who set the sea its bounds, who made the Pleiades and Orion? And the answer of Trinity Sunday Evening Prayer is the answer of Job in chapter 42: I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

The seeing of the Trinity — the encounter with the holy, holy, holy Lord — produces always the same response: adoration, humility, and the new life that follows from both. Sing unto the Lord a new song. It will never be finished.

First Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 119:33–48 & 49
First LessonDeut. 30:1–10
Second LessonJob 21:17–34

PsalmsPs 119:33–48 & 49

First LessonDeut. 30:1–10

^30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, ^30:2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; ^30:3 That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. ^30:4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: ^30:5 And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. ^30:6 And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. ^30:7 And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. ^30:8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. ^30:9 And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: ^30:10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

Second LessonJob 21:17–34

^21:17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.candle: or, lamp ^21:18 They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.carrieth: Heb. stealeth ^21:19 God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it.his iniquity: that is, the punishment of his iniquity ^21:20 His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. ^21:21 For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? ^21:22 Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high. ^21:23 One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.his…: Heb. his very, or, the strength of, his perfection ^21:24 His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow.breasts: or, milk pails ^21:25 And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. ^21:26 They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. ^21:27 Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me. ^21:28 For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?the dwelling…: Heb. the tent of the tabernacles ^21:29 Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, ^21:30 That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.wrath: Heb. wraths ^21:31 Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done? ^21:32 Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.grave: Heb. gravesremain…: Heb. watch in the heap ^21:33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. ^21:34 How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?falsehood: Heb. transgression?

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. The Trinity season begins its long course at Evening Prayer with Psalm 34's constant praise — a praise that does not depend on circumstances, that continues through the drought of ordinary time as through the feast. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. The long Trinity season is the season of tasting and seeing, of testing the divine goodness in the ordinary.

The Book of Deuteronomy — which the Lectionary draws upon heavily in the Trinity season, the season of the long journey through the wilderness toward the promised land — begins its great covenant charge: Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. The Trinity season at Evening Prayer is the Deuteronomic season — the long journey of learning to live by the law of God.

And the Book of Job, in the first chapter, presents the test of faith in its starkest form: Doth Job fear God for nought? The question of the Adversary is the perennial question about religious motivation: do we love God for his gifts, or do we love God? The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job's response to the first wave of catastrophe is the response the long Trinity season is teaching us to make — not the forced cheerfulness of those who deny the reality of loss, but the deep faith of those who know that the Lord who gives and takes away is still worthy of blessing.

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together: I sought the Lord, and he heard me. The Evening Prayer of the first Trinity Sunday is the prayer of a tasting and seeing that has not yet reached its terminus, but that trusts the destination because it trusts the guide.

Second Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 112 & 113
First Lesson1 Sam. 2:1–11
Second Lesson2 Kgs. 4:8–37 (text not included)

PsalmsPs 112 & 113

^112:1 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.Praise…: Heb. Hallelujah ^112:2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. ^112:3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever. ^112:4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. ^112:5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.discretion: Heb. judgment ^112:6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. ^112:7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. ^112:8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. ^112:9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. ^112:10 The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

First Lesson1 Sam. 2:1–11

^2:1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. ^2:2 There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. ^2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.arrogancy: Heb. hard ^2:4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. ^2:5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. ^2:6 The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. ^2:7 The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. ^2:8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them. ^2:9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. ^2:10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. ^2:11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.

Second Lesson2 Kgs. 4:8–37

[Text not available: 2 Kgs. 4:8–37]

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. The Evening Psalms of the Second Sunday after Trinity — 112, 113, and 147 — frame the long season with the character of the blessed life. Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; that he may set him with princes. The Trinity Evening Prayer knows that the character of God — who lifts the poor and sets the needy with princes — is the character that the blessed life reflects.

Hannah's song, in the First Lesson, is that same character expressed in human praise: The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory. The Second Sunday after Trinity at Evening Prayer holds this great reversal before the soul as the pattern of God's action in every season.

And the healing of the Shunammite's child — the great miracle story of 2 Kings 4 — is the Evening Lesson's concrete enactment of what Hannah sings: the dead child, the desperate mother, the man of God, the prayer, the restoration of life. It is a very small Easter, and it is meant to be: the Trinity season is full of small Easters, small signs of the resurrection power that works through the ordinary ministry of those who walk in the way of the Lord.

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord: the praise of the Trinity Evening Prayer is the praise of those who have seen enough of the divine reversals to know that no situation is beyond the reach of the God who raises the poor and restores the dead.

Third Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 32 & 36:5
First LessonJer. 23:1–8
Second LessonEzek. 34:1–16

PsalmsPs 32 & 36:5

^32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.A Psalm…: or, A Psalm of David giving instruction ^32:2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. ^32:3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. ^32:4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. ^32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. ^32:6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.when…: Heb. of finding ^32:7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. ^32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.guide…: Heb. counsel thee, mine eye shall be upon thee ^32:9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. ^32:10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. ^32:11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

First LessonJer. 23:1–8

^23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. ^23:2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord. ^23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. ^23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. ^23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. ^23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.THE LORD…: Heb. Jehovah–tsidkenu ^23:7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; ^23:8 But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

Second LessonEzek. 34:1–16

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases. The Third Sunday after Trinity at Evening Prayer offers Psalms 32 and 36 alongside the great Psalm 103 — psalms of pardon and steadfast love. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. The Trinity season, which is also the season of the long walk through the wilderness, is sustained by this knowledge: the Father pitieth.

Jeremiah's vision of the good shepherd — Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them — prepares the Evening Prayer for the Great Shepherd who comes. I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

And Ezekiel's great parallel vision in chapter 34 fills the evening with the same assurance: I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick. I will feed them with judgment. The shepherd who binds up and strengthens is the shepherd who also judges — who does not allow the strong to bully the weak within the flock — and the judgment is itself a form of love.

For we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture — so the Trinity Evening Prayer rests in this knowledge. We are the sheep of his pasture, scattered and gathered and tended and judged and loved, forever in the care of the Shepherd who never sleeps.

Fourth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 51
First LessonIsa. 29:9–24
Second LessonProv. 27:1–12

PsalmsPs 51

^51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. ^51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. ^51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. ^51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. ^51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.conceive…: Heb. warm me ^51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. ^51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. ^51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. ^51:9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. ^51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.right: or, constant ^51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. ^51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. ^51:13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. ^51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.bloodguiltiness: Heb. bloods ^51:15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. ^51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.else…: or, that I should ^51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. ^51:18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. ^51:19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

First LessonIsa. 29:9–24

^29:9 Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.cry ye…: or, take your pleasure, and riot ^29:10 For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.rulers: Heb. heads ^29:11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:book: or, letter ^29:12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. ^29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: ^29:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.proceed: Heb. add ^29:15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? ^29:16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? ^29:17 Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? ^29:18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. ^29:19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.increase: Heb. add ^29:20 For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: ^29:21 That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. ^29:22 Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. ^29:23 But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. ^29:24 They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.come…: Heb. know understanding

Second LessonProv. 27:1–12

^27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.to…: Heb. to morrow day ^27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. ^27:3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.heavy: Heb. heaviness ^27:4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?Wrath…: Heb. Wrath is cruelty, and anger an overflowingenvy: or, jealousy? ^27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love. ^27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.deceitful: or, earnest, or, frequent ^27:7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.loatheth: Heb. treadeth under foot ^27:8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. ^27:9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.by…: Heb. from the counsel of the soul ^27:10 Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. ^27:11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me. ^27:12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51 opens the Fourth Sunday evening with the great penitential hymn, and the companion Psalm 139 adds the searching knowledge of God: O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. The Trinity Evening Prayer does not shield us from the knowledge of our own sin; it brings us into God's presence precisely with that knowledge, trusting the mercy that blots out.

Isaiah 29 gives the First Lesson its warning: Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes. The Trinity season includes the risk of spiritual torpor — the sleep that falls upon those who are going through the religious motions without the living engagement of the soul. The Lord's warning is the warning of a lover: Wake up; I am here.

And the First Book of Samuel, in the story of Saul's anointing, gives the Evening Lesson its narrative of divine election: And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. The Trinity season is the season in which the soul discovers its divine election — not the election of spiritual pride, but the election of the One who searches and knows us and chooses us nonetheless.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. The Fourth Sunday evening is the prayer of the searched and known soul — known in its sin, chosen in its poverty, led in the way everlasting by the mercy that blots out and the love that will not let go.

Fifth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 66
First LessonProv. 3:1–26
Second LessonJudg. 6:1–24

PsalmsPs 66

^66:1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:all…: Heb. all the earth ^66:2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. ^66:3 Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.submit…: or, yield feigned obedience: Heb. lie ^66:4 All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. ^66:5 Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. ^66:6 He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him. ^66:7 He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah. ^66:8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: ^66:9 Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.holdeth: Heb. putteth ^66:10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. ^66:11 Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. ^66:12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.wealthy: Heb. moist ^66:13 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, ^66:14 Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.uttered: Heb. opened ^66:15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.fatlings: Heb. marrow ^66:16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. ^66:17 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. ^66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: ^66:19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. ^66:20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

First LessonProv. 3:1–26

^3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: ^3:2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.long…: Heb. years of life ^3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: ^3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.good…: or, good success ^3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ^3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. ^3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. ^3:8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.health: Heb. medicinemarrow: Heb. watering, or, moistening ^3:9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: ^3:10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. ^3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: ^3:12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. ^3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.that getteth…: Heb. that draweth out understanding ^3:14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. ^3:15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. ^3:16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. ^3:17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. ^3:18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. ^3:19 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.established: or, prepared ^3:20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. ^3:21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: ^3:22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. ^3:23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. ^3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. ^3:25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. ^3:26 For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Second LessonJudg. 6:1–24

^6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. ^6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.prevailed: Heb. was strong ^6:3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; ^6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.sheep: or goat ^6:5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. ^6:6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. ^6:7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, ^6:8 That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;a prophet: Heb. a man a prophet ^6:9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; ^6:10 And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice. ^6:11 And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi–ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.Gideon: Gr. Gedeonto hide…: Heb. to cause it to flee ^6:12 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. ^6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. ^6:14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? ^6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.my family…: Heb. my thousand is the meanest ^6:16 And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. ^6:17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. ^6:18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.present: or, meat offering ^6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.a kid: Heb. a kid of the goats ^6:20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. ^6:21 Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. ^6:22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. ^6:23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. ^6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah–shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi–ezrites.Jehovah–shalom: that is, The Lord send peace

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Psalms 66 and 65 on the Fifth Sunday after Trinity begin the Evening Prayer with praise that is rooted in the experience of God's action: Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him. The praise of Trinity Evening Prayer is not abstract; it is the praise of those who have been through the flood on foot.

Proverbs — the wisdom literature that sustains the Trinity season — speaks of the blessed life in terms of practical character: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. The wisdom of the Trinity season is not primarily intellectual but dispositional — the orientation of the whole life toward God, leaning on him rather than on our own understanding.

And the story of Gideon's calling — And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour — is the Second Lesson's gift of unexpected election. Gideon was threshing wheat by the winepress, hiding from the Midianites, the least in his father's house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. The Trinity season is full of Gideons — unlikely people, hiding in unlikely places, suddenly called to unexpected faithfulness.

Thou crownedst the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. The Evening Prayer of the Fifth Trinity Sunday is the prayer of those who are walking in paths that drop fatness — who have found that the ordinary way of faithful life, sustained by wisdom and trust and the mercy that blots out, is richer than they had imagined.

Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 57 & 130
First LessonExod. 24:1–11
Second LessonGen. 4:1–16

PsalmsPs 57 & 130

^57:1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.Al–taschith: or, Destroy notMichtam: or, A golden Psalm ^57:2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. ^57:3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.from the…: or, he reproacheth him that ^57:4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. ^57:5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth. ^57:6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah. ^57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.fixed: or, prepared ^57:8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. ^57:9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. ^57:10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. ^57:11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

First LessonExod. 24:1–11

^24:1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. ^24:2 And Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him. ^24:3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. ^24:4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. ^24:5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. ^24:6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ^24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. ^24:8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words. ^24:9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: ^24:10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. ^24:11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

Second LessonGen. 4:1–16

^4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.Cain: that is, Gotten, or, Acquired ^4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.Abel: Heb. Hebela keeper: Heb. a feeder ^4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.in process…: Heb. at the end of days ^4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:flock: Heb. sheep, or, goats ^4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. ^4:6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? ^4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.be accepted: or, have the excellencyunto…: or, subject unto thee ^4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. ^4:9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? ^4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.blood: Heb. bloods ^4:11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; ^4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. ^4:13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.My…: or, Mine iniquity is greater than that it may be forgiven ^4:14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. ^4:15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. ^4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. The Evening Psalms 57 and 130 frame the Sixth Sunday evening with contrasting prayers — the trusting praise of Psalm 57, whose heart is fixed though enemies surround, and the depths of Psalm 130, crying from the deep place. Both are needed: the Trinity season includes both the fixed heart and the depths, both the confident praise and the cry for mercy.

The First Lesson from Exodus 24 gives the evening its covenantal solemnity: Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. Then Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words. The covenant sealed in blood is the foundation of the whole Lenten and Trinity journey — and the blood of the new covenant, spoken of at the Last Supper, completes and fulfils it.

And Genesis 4, in the Second Lesson, confronts us with the first consequence of the Fall: Cain's murder of Abel, the first death by human hand, the question God asks still: Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? The Trinity season does not let us forget this question. The long weeks of ordinary time are the weeks in which we discover, in the face of our neighbour, the question that God continues to ask.

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. The Sixth Sunday evening is the evening of the choice that faces every soul in the ordinary course of life: to do well or not to do well, to keep the brother or to deny him. And the blood of the covenant is the assurance that the doing-well is possible for those who are held in it.

Seventh Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 50
First LessonDan. 5:1–28
Second LessonMicah 7:1–20

PsalmsPs 50

^50:1 The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.of…: or, for Asaph ^50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. ^50:3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. ^50:4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. ^50:5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. ^50:6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah. ^50:7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. ^50:8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me. ^50:9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. ^50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. ^50:11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.mine: Heb. with me ^50:12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. ^50:13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? ^50:14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: ^50:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. ^50:16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? ^50:17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. ^50:18 When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.hast…: Heb. thy portion was with ^50:19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.givest: Heb. sendest ^50:20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son. ^50:21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. ^50:22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. ^50:23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.that…: Heb. that disposeth his way

First LessonDan. 5:1–28

^5:1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. ^5:2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.father: or, grandfathertaken: Chaldee, brought forth ^5:3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. ^5:4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. ^5:5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. ^5:6 Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.countenance: Chaldee, brightnesseswas changed: Chaldee, changed itjoints: or, girdles: Chaldee, bindings, or, knots ^5:7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.aloud: Chaldee, with mightscarlet: or, purple ^5:8 Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. ^5:9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.countenance: Chaldee, brightnesses ^5:10 Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: ^5:11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;father: or, grandfather ^5:12 Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.interpreting: or, of an interpreterdissolving: or, of a dissolverdoubts: Chaldee, knots ^5:13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?father: or, grandfather ^5:14 I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. ^5:15 And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing: ^5:16 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.make interpretations: Chaldee, interpret, etc ^5:17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.rewards: or, fee ^5:18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: ^5:19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. ^5:20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:in pride: or, to deal proudlydeposed: Chaldee, made to come down ^5:21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.his heart…: or, he made his heart equal, etc ^5:22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; ^5:23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: ^5:24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. ^5:25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. ^5:26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. ^5:27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. ^5:28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Second LessonMicah 7:1–20

^7:1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.when…: Heb. the gatherings of summer ^7:2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.good: or, godly, or, merciful ^7:3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.his…: Heb. the mischief of his soul ^7:4 The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. ^7:5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. ^7:6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. ^7:7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. ^7:8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. ^7:9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. ^7:10 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.Then…: or, And thou wilt see her that is mine enemy, and cover her with shameshall she…: Heb. she shall be for a treading down ^7:11 In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed. ^7:12 In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.and from the fortified cities: or, even to the fortified cities ^7:13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.Notwithstanding: or, After that it hath been ^7:14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.Feed: or, Rule ^7:15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things. ^7:16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. ^7:17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee.worms: or, creeping things ^7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. ^7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. ^7:20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. The Seventh Sunday Evening Prayer opens Psalm 50 with the note that runs through all the Trinity season's Evening Prayer: the glory belongs to God, not to us. And Psalm 116 adds its testimony of the rescued: I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

Daniel 5, in the First Lesson, gives the evening its solemn dramatic reading: the handwriting on the wall, the terrified king, the forgotten prophet Daniel called at last to give the interpretation. Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. The mystery of God's judgment on Belshazzar's pride is the same mystery that runs through every Sunday of the Trinity season: the God who weighs and finds wanting is the same God who offers to every penitent the balances of mercy.

Micah's great declaration is the Second Lesson: Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

The depths of the sea where sins are cast: that is the promise that the Trinity Evening Prayer lives in — the God who delights in mercy rather than retaining his anger, who casts sins into the sea, who performs the ancient covenant truth. Not unto us, not unto us: but unto thy name be the glory, for ever.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 25
First LessonEcclus. 1:18–27
Second LessonProv. 8:1–21

PsalmsPs 25

^25:1 Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. ^25:2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. ^25:3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. ^25:4 Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. ^25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. ^25:6 Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.tender…: Heb. bowels ^25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. ^25:8 Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. ^25:9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. ^25:10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. ^25:11 For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. ^25:12 What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. ^25:13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.dwell…: Heb. lodge in goodness ^25:14 The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.and…: or, and his covenant to make them know it ^25:15 Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.pluck: Heb. bring forth ^25:16 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. ^25:17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. ^25:18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins. ^25:19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.cruel…: Heb. hatred of violence ^25:20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. ^25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee. ^25:22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

First LessonEcclus. 1:18–27

^1:18 The fear of the Lord is a crown of wisdom, making peace and perfect health to flourish; both which are the gifts of God: and it enlargeth their rejoicing that love him. ^1:19 Wisdom raineth down skill and knowledge of understanding standing, and exalteth them to honour that hold her fast. ^1:20 The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord, and the branches thereof are long life. ^1:21 The fear of the Lord driveth away sins: and where it is present, it turneth away wrath. ^1:22 A furious man cannot be justified; for the sway of his fury shall be his destruction. ^1:23 A patient man will tear for a time, and afterward joy shall spring up unto him. ^1:24 He will hide his words for a time, and the lips of many shall declare his wisdom. ^1:25 The parables of knowledge are in the treasures of wisdom: but godliness is an abomination to a sinner. ^1:26 If thou desire wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord shall give her unto thee. ^1:27 For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and instruction: and faith and meekness are his delight.

Second LessonProv. 8:1–21

^8:1 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? ^8:2 She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. ^8:3 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. ^8:4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. ^8:5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. ^8:6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. ^8:7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.an…: Heb. the abomination of my lips ^8:8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.froward: Heb. wreathed ^8:9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. ^8:10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. ^8:11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. ^8:12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.prudence: or, subtilty ^8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. ^8:14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. ^8:15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. ^8:16 By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. ^8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. ^8:18 Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. ^8:19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. ^8:20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:lead: or, walk ^8:21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Shew me thy ways, O Lord — the Evening Psalm 25 on the Eighth Sunday opens the prayer with the fundamental Lenten and Trinity petition: teach me thy paths. The way of the Lord is not known automatically; it is taught, and to be taught it must be asked for in humility. The wisdom of Sirach 1, which is the First Lesson, reinforces this: All wisdom cometh from the Lord, and is with him for ever. The fear of the Lord is a crown of wisdom, making peace and perfect health to flourish.

It is good to give thanks unto the Lord — Psalm 92 adds the note of sabbath praise: it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High. The Eighth Sunday at Evensong is the Sunday of those who have learned in the Trinity season to sing on the sabbath — not because they have nothing to complain of, but because they have found in gratitude a way of orienting the whole soul toward the one who gives every good gift.

And Proverbs, in the Second Lesson, unfolds the praise of divine wisdom: Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him — wisdom speaks of herself as the joy of the Creator, the child at play in the presence of the Father. The Eighth Sunday Evening Prayer is the prayer of those learning to be wisdom's disciples: seeking early, finding, dwelling in the place where wisdom rejoices and makes the whole creation good. Shew me thy ways, O Lord: and I will walk in thy paths.

Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 119:9–24 & 51
First LessonProv. 9:1–12
Second LessonLam. 3:1–33

PsalmsPs 119:9–24 & 51

^119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. ^119:10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. ^119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. ^119:12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. ^119:13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. ^119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. ^119:15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. ^119:16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. ^119:17 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. ^119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.Open: Heb. Reveal ^119:19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. ^119:20 My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. ^119:21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments. ^119:22 Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. ^119:23 Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. ^119:24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.my counsellors: Heb. men of my counsel

First LessonProv. 9:1–12

Second LessonLam. 3:1–33

^3:1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. ^3:2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. ^3:3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. ^3:4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. ^3:5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. ^3:6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. ^3:7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. ^3:8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. ^3:9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. ^3:10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. ^3:11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. ^3:12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. ^3:13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.arrows: Heb. sons ^3:14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day. ^3:15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.bitterness: Heb. bitternesses ^3:16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.covered…: or, rolled me in the ashes ^3:17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.prosperity: Heb. good ^3:18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord: ^3:19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.Remembering: or, Remember ^3:20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.humbled: Heb. bowed ^3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.recall…: Heb. make to return to my heart ^3:22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. ^3:23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. ^3:24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. ^3:25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. ^3:26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. ^3:27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. ^3:28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. ^3:29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope. ^3:30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach. ^3:31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever: ^3:32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. ^3:33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.willingly: Heb. from his heart

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. The Ninth Sunday Evening Prayer opens with Psalm 119's first section — the great morning of the Psalm, in which the young man is counselled to cleanse his way by taking heed to the word of God. Psalm 51 adds the evening's depth: Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. The Trinity season returns again and again to the theme of the clean heart, because the cleansing is never complete and the renewal is always needed.

The wisdom of Proverbs 9 — in the First Lesson — gives us the two competing invitations: Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars... Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. And Folly also calls from her seat in the high places of the city: Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. The Trinity season is the season of choosing between these two voices, each of which sounds similar at the doorstep, but one of which leads to life and one to death.

Lamentations 3, in the Second Lesson, opens the deepest place of the book: I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Yet amid the unsparing honesty of the lament comes the great turning: It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Great is thy faithfulness: and at Evening Prayer on the Ninth Sunday, with the night coming on and the light failing, it is this faithfulness that the soul rests upon — the mercies new every morning, the portion that does not fail, the hope that is not disappointed.

Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 15 & 46
First LessonIsa. 44:1–23
Second LessonLam. 1:1–12

PsalmsPs 15 & 46

First LessonIsa. 44:1–23

^44:1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: ^44:2 Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. ^44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: ^44:4 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. ^44:5 One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel. ^44:6 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. ^44:7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. ^44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.God; I: Heb. rock, etc ^44:9 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.delectable: Heb. desirable ^44:10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? ^44:11 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. ^44:12 The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.with the tongs: or, with an axe ^44:13 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. ^44:14 He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.strengtheneth: or, taketh courage ^44:15 Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. ^44:16 He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: ^44:17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. ^44:18 They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.shut: Heb. daubed ^44:19 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?considereth…: Heb. setteth to his heartthe stock…: Heb. that which comes of a tree? ^44:20 He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? ^44:21 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. ^44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. ^44:23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

Second LessonLam. 1:1–12

^1:1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! ^1:2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. ^1:3 Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.because of great…: Heb. for the greatness of servitude ^1:4 The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. ^1:5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. ^1:6 And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer. ^1:7 Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths.pleasant: or, desirable ^1:8 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.is…: Heb. is become a removing, or, wandering ^1:9 Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O Lord, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. ^1:10 The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation.pleasant: or, desirable ^1:11 All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O Lord, and consider; for I am become vile.to…: or, to make the soul to come again ^1:12 Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.Is it…: or, It is nothingpass by: Heb. pass by the way?

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The Evening Psalms 15, 46, 42, and 43 gather around the Tenth Sunday like a company of faithful witnesses: though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, God is a present help. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, God is in the midst of the city. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee: and the God who is a very present help in trouble is also the God who satisfies the thirsty soul.

The First Lesson from Isaiah 44 is the great anti-idolatry passage: Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. The making of idols — the craftsman who uses half the tree for fuel and half for a god, who prays to the work of his own hands — is the absurdity that Isaiah exposes with devastating irony. The God who has no rival is the God of Evening Prayer.

Lamentations opens the Second Lesson with the grief of the ruined city: How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me. The Tenth Sunday Evening Prayer does not look away from the suffering of the Church in every age — the city sitting solitary, the widow abandoned. But the God who is a very present help is also the God who sits in the midst of the ruined city and hears the lament and is moved.

O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me, let them bring me unto thy holy hill. Even from the depths of the solitary city, the prayer ascends. God is our refuge and strength. This is why.

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 68:1–20 & 123
First LessonEcclus. 3:1–18
Second LessonEccl. 3:1–15

PsalmsPs 68:1–20 & 123

First LessonEcclus. 3:1–18

^3:1 Hear me your father, O children, and do thereafter, that ye may be safe. ^3:2 For the Lord hath given the father honour over the children, and hath confirmed the authority of the mother over the sons. ^3:3 Whoso honoureth his father maketh an atonement for his sins: ^3:4 And he that honoureth his mother is as one that layeth up treasure. ^3:5 Whoso honoureth his father shall have joy of his own children; and when he maketh his prayer, he shall be heard. ^3:6 He that honoureth his father shall have a long life; and he that is obedient unto the Lord shall be a comfort to his mother. ^3:7 He that feareth the Lord will honour his father, and will do service unto his parents, as to his masters. ^3:8 Honour thy father and mother both in word and deed, that a blessing may come upon thee from them. ^3:9 For the blessing of the father establisheth the houses of children; but the curse of the mother rooteth out foundations. ^3:10 Glory not in the dishonour of thy father; for thy father’s dishonour is no glory unto thee. ^3:11 For the glory of a man is from the honour of his father; and a mother in dishonour is a reproach to the children. ^3:12 My son, help thy father in his age, and grieve him not as long as he liveth. ^3:13 And if his understanding fail, have patience with him; and despise him not when thou art in thy full strength. ^3:14 For the relieving of thy father shall not be forgotten: and instead of sins it shall be added to build thee up. ^3:15 In the day of thine affliction it shall be remembered; thy sins also shall melt away, as the ice in the fair warm weather. ^3:16 He that forsaketh his father is as a blasphemer; and he that angereth his mother is cursed: of God. ^3:17 My son, go on with thy business in meekness; so shalt thou be beloved of him that is approved. ^3:18 The greater thou art, the more humble thyself, and thou shalt find favour before the Lord.

Second LessonEccl. 3:1–15

^3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: ^3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;to be…: Heb. to bear ^3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; ^3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ^3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;to refrain from: Heb. to be far from ^3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;get: or, seek ^3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; ^3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. ^3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? ^3:10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. ^3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. ^3:12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. ^3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. ^3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. ^3:15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.that which is past: Heb. that which is driven away

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered — but the Eleventh Sunday's Evening Psalms 68 and 100 move quickly from the terrible God to the joyful one: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. The long Trinity season accumulates these assurances — we are his; he knows his sheep; the Lord is good and his mercy endures for ever.

Sirach's wisdom in the First Lesson explores the character of the wise person: He will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and be occupied in prophecies. He will seek out the hidden meanings of parables, and be conversant in the dark sayings of the parables. He will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients — and the Evening Prayer of the Trinity season is precisely this seeking: the turning of the soul toward the ancient wisdom that has sustained the faithful in every generation.

Ecclesiastes, in the Second Lesson, speaks with its characteristic searching honesty: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. The Trinity season is a time season — the long time of ordinary faithfulness, neither the heights of Epiphany nor the depths of Lent, but the steady middle time where most of life is actually lived. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time.

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart. The Trinity Evening Prayer is the prayer of those who have received the world set in their hearts — who look at the beauty of the created world and find in it not the distraction from God but the sacrament of his presence. Make a joyful noise: serve with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 27
First LessonTobit 13:1–10
Second LessonIsa. 29:1–12

PsalmsPs 27

First LessonTobit 13:1–10

^13:1 Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said, Blessed be God that liveth for ever, and blessed be his kingdom. ^13:2 For he doth scourge, and hath mercy: he leadeth down to hell, and bringeth up again: neither is there any that can avoid his hand. ^13:3 Confess him before the Gentiles, ye children of Israel: for he hath scattered us among them. ^13:4 There declare his greatness, and extol him before all the living: for he is our Lord, and he is the God our Father for ever. ^13:5 And he will scourge us for our iniquities, and will have mercy again, and will gather us out of all nations, among whom he hath scattered us. ^13:6 If ye turn to him with your whole heart, and with your whole mind, and deal uprightly before him, then will he turn unto you, and will not hide his face from you. Therefore see what he will do with you, and confess him with your whole mouth, and praise the Lord of might, and extol the everlasting King. In the land of my captivity do I praise him, and declare his might and majesty to a sinful nation. O ye sinners, turn and do justice before him: who can tell if he will accept you, and have mercy on you? ^13:7 I will extol my God, and my soul shall praise the King of heaven, and shall rejoice in his greatness. ^13:8 Let all men speak, and let all praise him for his righteousness. ^13:9 O Jerusalem, the holy city, he will scourge thee for thy children’s works, and will have mercy again on the sons of the righteous. ^13:10 Give praise to the Lord, for he is good: and praise the everlasting King, that his tabernacle may be builded in thee again with joy, and let him make joyful there in thee those that are captives, and love in thee for ever those that are miserable.

Second LessonIsa. 29:1–12

^29:1 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.Woe…: or, O Ariel, that is, the lion of Godthe city: or, of the citykill: Heb. cut off the heads of ^29:2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. ^29:3 And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee. ^29:4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.whisper: Heb. peep, or, chirp ^29:5 Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. ^29:6 Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. ^29:7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. ^29:8 It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. ^29:9 Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.cry ye…: or, take your pleasure, and riot ^29:10 For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.rulers: Heb. heads ^29:11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:book: or, letter ^29:12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

The Lord is my light and my salvation — the Evening Psalms 27 and 32 gather the Twelfth Sunday around the twin themes of trust and forgiveness: One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. The Trinity season holds these two together: the longing for God's presence and the honesty about our separation from it, both held in the mercy of the One who forgives and the One in whose house we long to dwell.

Tobit's great prayer of praise — chapter 13 — gives the First Lesson its doxological warmth: Blessed is God that liveth for ever, and blessed is his kingdom. For he doth scourge, and hath mercy: he leadeth down to hell, and bringeth up again: neither is there any that can avoid his hand. Confess him before the Gentiles, ye children of Israel: for he hath scattered us among them. The exile is real, the scourging is real, but the mercy is more real still: he hath scattered us, and he will gather us.

Isaiah 29 in the Second Lesson brings the Evening Prayer to the great promise: The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off. And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity. The Twelfth Sunday Evening Prayer looks forward to the day when the promises are complete — and finds in that looking-forward the energy to live faithfully in the time between.

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. The hiding place and the songs of deliverance are the Evening Prayer's gift to the soul that needs both shelter and praise in the ordinary difficulties of the long Trinity season.

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 11 & 12
First LessonDeut. 15:1–15
Second LessonDeut. 24:10–22

PsalmsPs 11 & 12

^11:1 In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? ^11:2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.privily: Heb. in darkness ^11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? ^11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. ^11:5 The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. ^11:6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.an horrible…: or, a burning tempest ^11:7 For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

First LessonDeut. 15:1–15

^15:1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. ^15:2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord’s release.creditor: Heb. master of the lending of his hand ^15:3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release; ^15:4 Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:Save…: or, To the end that there be no poor among you ^15:5 Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day. ^15:6 For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee. ^15:7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: ^15:8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. ^15:9 Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee.thought: Heb. wordwicked: Heb. Belial ^15:10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. ^15:11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. ^15:12 And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. ^15:13 And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: ^15:14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. ^15:15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.

Second LessonDeut. 24:10–22

^24:10 When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.lend…: Heb. lend the loan of any thing to, etc ^24:11 Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. ^24:12 And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: ^24:13 In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God. ^24:14 Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: ^24:15 At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.setteth…: Heb. lifteth his soul unto it ^24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. ^24:17 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: ^24:18 But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing. ^24:19 When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. ^24:20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.go…: Heb. bough it after thee ^24:21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.afterward: Heb. after thee ^24:22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. But the Thirteenth Sunday Evening Prayer adds Psalms 11, 12, 20, and 23 — the psalms of royal confidence and divine help — and the service builds from Psalm 23's intimacy to Psalm 20's intercession: The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; send thee help from the sanctuary. The Trinity Evening Prayer is a community prayer: we pray not only for ourselves but for one another, that the Lord may fulfil all our counsel.

Deuteronomy 15 opens the First Lesson with the extraordinary economics of the sabbatical year: At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. There shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee. Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. The Deuteronomic vision of social life is a vision in which no one is permanently disadvantaged, because the covenant community practices the release that mirrors the divine release of debt. The Thirteenth Sunday is a Sunday of release.

Deuteronomy 24, in the Second Lesson, extends this ethics of release to the most vulnerable: When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. The gleaning laws — which gave Ruth her living, which sustained Naomi, which are the human face of the divine generosity — are the Trinity season's practical programme.

The Lord is my shepherd: and the shepherd's economics are the economics of the gleaning — the forgotten sheaf left in the field, the corner of the field left for the poor, the release every seven years. The Evening Prayer of the Thirteenth Sunday is the prayer of those who have received the shepherd's care and have learned to extend it to those in their field.

Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 50
First LessonJer. 7:1–15
Second LessonDeut. 8:1–20

PsalmsPs 50

First LessonJer. 7:1–15

^7:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ^7:2 Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. ^7:3 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. ^7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. ^7:5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; ^7:6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: ^7:7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. ^7:8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. ^7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; ^7:10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?which…: Heb. whereupon my name is called ^7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord. ^7:12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. ^7:13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; ^7:14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. ^7:15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.

Second LessonDeut. 8:1–20

^8:1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers. ^8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. ^8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. ^8:4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. ^8:5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. ^8:6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. ^8:7 For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; ^8:8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;of oil…: Heb. of olive tree of oil ^8:9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. ^8:10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. ^8:11 Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: ^8:12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; ^8:13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; ^8:14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; ^8:15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; ^8:16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; ^8:17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. ^8:18 But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. ^8:19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. ^8:20 As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Praise the Lord, O my soul — the Evening Psalms 50 and 92 on the Fourteenth Sunday open the Evening Prayer with the double call to worship that the Trinity season repeats and deepens. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. It is good to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High. The gathering and the thanks belong together in the Trinity season: the community gathers at Evening Prayer to give thanks for the covenant that has gathered it.

Jeremiah 7 gives the First Lesson its searching edge: Amend your ways and your doings... Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; if ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place. The Fourteenth Sunday Evening Prayer is a prophetic check on the temptation to substitute liturgical correctness for ethical faithfulness.

And Deuteronomy 8 closes the Trinity Evening with Moses's great caution: When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments... Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein... Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God.

Beware that thou forget not: the Evening Prayer of the Fourteenth Sunday is the prayer of those who know how easily the heart is lifted up in fullness, how easily the blessing is mistaken for a possession. Gather my saints together: and in the gathering, remember.

Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 26 & 128
First LessonEccl. 5:1–12
Second LessonJoel 2:21–32

PsalmsPs 26 & 128

First LessonEccl. 5:1–12

^5:1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. ^5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.thing: or, word ^5:3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. ^5:4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. ^5:5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. ^5:6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? ^5:7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God. ^5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.at the…: Heb. at the will, or, purpose ^5:9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. ^5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. ^5:11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? ^5:12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

Second LessonJoel 2:21–32

^2:21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.will…: Heb. hath magnified to do ^2:22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. ^2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.the former rain moderately: or, a teacher of righteousnessmoderately: Heb. according to righteousness ^2:24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. ^2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. ^2:26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. ^2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. ^2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: ^2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. ^2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. ^2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. ^2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. The Evening Psalms 26 and 128 on the Fifteenth Sunday bring together the soul's integrity — I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord — with the soul's contentment in the covenant life: Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

Ecclesiastes 5, in the First Lesson, speaks of the discipline of religious life: Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. The Fifteenth Sunday Evening Prayer is a school in reverence — in the weight and cost of words before God, in the willingness to be silent in the divine presence.

And Joel 2, in the Second Lesson, gives the Evening Prayer its great promise of restoration after the locusts: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. The Fifteenth Sunday Evening Prayer holds this promise before the soul in the long ordinary time: the pouring out of the Spirit is not only Pentecost's event; it is the ongoing gift to the community that keeps its foot when it enters the house of God.

Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord: and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom that ends in dreams, visions, and the Spirit poured out on all flesh. Evening Prayer rests in this promise.

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 90
First LessonEzek. 33:1–16
Second Lesson1 Kgs. 17:1–24 (text not included)

PsalmsPs 90

^90:1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.A Prayer…: or, A Prayer, being a Psalm of Mosesin…: Heb. in generation and generation ^90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. ^90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. ^90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.when…: or, when he hath passed them ^90:5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.groweth…: or, is changed ^90:6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. ^90:7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. ^90:8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. ^90:9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.passed…: Heb. turned awayas a…: or, as a meditation ^90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.The days…: Heb. As for the days of our years, in them are seventy years ^90:11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. ^90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.apply: Heb. cause to come ^90:13 Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. ^90:14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. ^90:15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. ^90:16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. ^90:17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

First LessonEzek. 33:1–16

^33:1 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ^33:2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:When…: Heb. A land when I bring a sword upon her ^33:3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; ^33:4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.whosoever…: Heb. he that hearing heareth ^33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. ^33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. ^33:7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. ^33:8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. ^33:9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. ^33:10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? ^33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? ^33:12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. ^33:13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. ^33:14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;that…: Heb. judgment and justice ^33:15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. ^33:16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

Second Lesson1 Kgs. 17:1–24

[Text not available: 1 Kgs. 17:1–24]

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalm 90 opens the Sixteenth Sunday Evening Prayer with the great meditation on time and eternity, and Psalms 142 and 146 add the cry of the desperate and the praise of the trusting: the Lord executeth judgment for the oppressed; the Lord looseth the prisoners; the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind.

Ezekiel 33 brings the First Lesson's prophetic charge: Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if he see the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people... But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned... his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. The Sixteenth Sunday Evening Prayer confronts the Church with its watchman vocation — the responsibility to speak, to warn, to intercede.

The story of Elijah — the barrel of meal that does not waste, the cruse of oil that does not fail, the widow's son restored to life — is the Second Lesson's gift of miraculous provision in the most reduced circumstances. The woman who had only enough for a last meal is the same woman who, at the end of the story, has her dead son alive again in her arms. The Sixteenth Sunday Evening Prayer is the prayer of those reduced to the last meal — and who know that in the hands of God even the last meal becomes the first.

Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. Even at Evensong in the ordinary weeks of Trinity, the bounty of God persists — through the watchman's trumpet and the widow's son, through the meal that does not waste and the oil that does not fail.

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 36:5 & 130
First LessonMal. 2:1–16
Second LessonEcclus. 1:1–18

PsalmsPs 36:5 & 130

^36:5 Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.

First LessonMal. 2:1–16

^2:1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. ^2:2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. ^2:3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.corrupt: or, reprovespread: Heb. scatterone…: or, it shall take you away to it ^2:4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. ^2:5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. ^2:6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. ^2:7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. ^2:8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.stumble at: or, fall in ^2:9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.have been…: or, lifted up the face against: Heb. accepted faces ^2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? ^2:11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.loved: or, ought to love ^2:12 The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts.the master…: or, him that waketh, and him that answereth ^2:13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. ^2:14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. ^2:15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.residue: or, excellencygodly…: Heb. seed of Godtreacherously: or, unfaithfully ^2:16 For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.that he…: or, if he hate her, put her awayputting…: Heb. to put away

Second LessonEcclus. 1:1–18

^1:1 All wisdom cometh from the Lord, and is with him for ever. ^1:2 Who can number the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, and the days of eternity? ^1:3 Who can find out the height of heaven, and the breadth of the earth, and the deep, and wisdom? ^1:4 Wisdom hath been created before all things, and the understanding of prudence from everlasting. ^1:5 The word of God most high is the fountain of wisdom; and her ways are everlasting commandments. ^1:6 To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed? or who hath known her wise counsels? ^1:8 There is one wise and greatly to be feared, the Lord sitting upon his throne. ^1:9 He created her, and saw her, and numbered her, and poured her out upon all his works. ^1:10 She is with all flesh according to his gift, and he hath given her to them that love him. ^1:11 The fear of the Lord is honour, and glory, and gladness, and a crown of rejoicing. ^1:12 The fear of the Lord maketh a merry heart, and giveth joy, and gladness, and a long life. ^1:13 Whoso feareth the Lord, it shall go well with him at the last, and he shall find favour in the day of his death. ^1:14 To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and it was created with the faithful in the womb. ^1:15 She hath built an everlasting foundation with men, and she shall continue with their seed. ^1:16 To fear the Lord is fulness of wisdom, and filleth men with her fruits. ^1:17 She filleth all their house with things desirable, and the garners with her increase. ^1:18 The fear of the Lord is a crown of wisdom, making peace and perfect health to flourish; both which are the gifts of God: and it enlargeth their rejoicing that love him.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. The Seventeenth Sunday Evening Prayer begins with Psalms 36 and 130, holding together the lovingkindness of God that extends to the heavens and the depths from which the soul cries. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice.

Malachi 2 gives the First Lesson its prophetic edge: Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? The Seventeenth Sunday Evening Prayer is the prayer of the covenant community being called to account for the breach of covenant — the treachery that manifests itself in the small daily faithlessnesses of ordinary life.

And Sirach, in the Second Lesson, gives the evening its practical wisdom: Honour thy father with thy whole heart, and forget not the sorrows of thy mother. Remember that of them thou wast begotten; and how canst thou recompense them the things that they have given to thee? The wisdom of the Trinity season is domestic as well as cosmic — it governs the particular relationships of daily life with the same care that it governs the great themes of redemption.

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Out of the depths, the cry is heard; from the place of treachery and faithlessness, the soul returns; the father and mother honoured in the ordinary life are the human sign of the divine Father whose steadfast love endures for ever. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens: and it reaches even here, even now, even to this Evening Prayer offered in the ordinary week of ordinary time.

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 147
First LessonDeut. 11:1–25
Second LessonDeut. 5:1–22

PsalmsPs 147

First LessonDeut. 11:1–25

^11:1 Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway. ^11:2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm, ^11:3 And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; ^11:4 And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord hath destroyed them unto this day; ^11:5 And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place; ^11:6 And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel:substance…: or, living substance which followed themwas…: Heb. was at their feet ^11:7 But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the Lord which he did. ^11:8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; ^11:9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. ^11:10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: ^11:11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: ^11:12 A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.careth…: Heb. seeketh ^11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, ^11:14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. ^11:15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.send: Heb. give ^11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; ^11:17 And then the Lord’s wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you. ^11:18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. ^11:19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ^11:20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: ^11:21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. ^11:22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; ^11:23 Then will the Lord drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves. ^11:24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be. ^11:25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.

Second LessonDeut. 5:1–22

^5:1 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.keep…: Heb. keep to do them ^5:2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. ^5:3 The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. ^5:4 The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, ^5:5 (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you the word of the Lord: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying, ^5:6 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.bondage: Heb. servants ^5:7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. ^5:8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: ^5:9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, ^5:10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. ^5:11 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ^5:12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. ^5:13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: ^5:14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. ^5:15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. ^5:16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. ^5:17 Thou shalt not kill. ^5:18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery. ^5:19 Neither shalt thou steal. ^5:20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. ^5:21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s. ^5:22 These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. The great Psalm 150 — appointed alongside Psalms 147 and 139 for the Eighteenth Sunday Evening Prayer — opens the Vespers of late Trinity with the most expansive doxology in the Psalter. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Thou hast searched me, and known me: and everything that is searched and known is also called to praise.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord — Deuteronomy 11 begins the First Lesson by recalling the great confession with which every day should begin and end. Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway. And the promise attached to this love is the promise of the land, of abundance, of rain in its season, of grass in the fields, of length of days. The Trinity season at Evening Prayer is the season of the love that follows on this hearing.

And Deuteronomy 5, in the Second Lesson, recalls the foundation of the whole covenant life: And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, that the mountain did burn with fire, that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; and ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.

We will hear it, and do it: the Eighteenth Sunday Evening Prayer is the prayer of those who have heard from the fire and are still trying, in the long ordinary weeks of Trinity, to do what they heard. Praise ye the Lord: for the hearing and the trying and the mercy that sustains us in the gap between what we heard and what we have done.

Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 80
First LessonJer. 5:7–31
Second LessonWisdom 11:21–12:2 (text not included)

PsalmsPs 80

^80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.of: or, for ^80:2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.come…: Heb. come for salvation to us ^80:3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. ^80:4 O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?be…: Heb. smoke ^80:5 Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. ^80:6 Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves. ^80:7 Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. ^80:8 Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. ^80:9 Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. ^80:10 The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.goodly…: Heb. cedars of God ^80:11 She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. ^80:12 Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? ^80:13 The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. ^80:14 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; ^80:15 And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. ^80:16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. ^80:17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. ^80:18 So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. ^80:19 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

First LessonJer. 5:7–31

^5:7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. ^5:8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife. ^5:9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? ^5:10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord’s. ^5:11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. ^5:12 They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: ^5:13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. ^5:14 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. ^5:15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. ^5:16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. ^5:17 And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. ^5:18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you. ^5:19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. ^5:20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, ^5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:understanding: Heb. heart ^5:22 Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? ^5:23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. ^5:24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. ^5:25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. ^5:26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.they lay…: or, they pry as fowlers lie in wait ^5:27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.cage: or, coop ^5:28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. ^5:29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? ^5:30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;A wonderful…: or, Astonishment and filthiness ^5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?bear…: or, take into their hands

Second LessonWisdom 11:21–12:2

[Text not available: Wisdom 11:21–12:2]

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great. The Nineteenth Sunday Evening Prayer returns to Psalm 103 — one of the great recurring Psalms of the Trinity season — alongside Psalms 80 and 46. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble: and in the Nineteenth Sunday of the long ordinary time, when the year is drawing toward its close and the autumn is in the air, the presence of God as refuge and strength is the bedrock truth.

Jeremiah 5 opens the First Lesson with a searching examination: Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. The Trinity season's Evening Prayer confronts the soul with the perennial refusal — the turning away from the old paths to the new paths that lead nowhere. The good way is old; the rest is at the end of the ancient road.

And the Wisdom of Solomon, in the Second Lesson, opens the great meditation on divine mercy that is the proper conclusion of the Nineteenth Sunday: Having power, thou judgest with temperance, and orderest us with great favour: for thou mayest use power when thou wilt. But by doing thus thou hast taught thy people that those who are righteous must be kind. And thou madest thy children to be of a good hope that thou wouldest give repentance for sins.

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. The old paths lead to the God of Jeremiah 29, whose thoughts toward us are thoughts of peace; they lead to the God of Wisdom, who is merciful with great favour. Bless the Lord, O my soul, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.

Twentieth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 145
First LessonJer. 31:31–40
Second LessonJer. 2:1–13

PsalmsPs 145

First LessonJer. 31:31–40

^31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: ^31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:although…: or, should I have continued an husband unto them? ^31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. ^31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. ^31:35 Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: ^31:36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. ^31:37 Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord. ^31:38 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. ^31:39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. ^31:40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

Second LessonJer. 2:1–13

^2:1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^2:2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.thee: or, for thy sake ^2:3 Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord. ^2:4 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: ^2:5 Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? ^2:6 Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? ^2:7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.a plentiful…: or, the land of Carmel ^2:8 The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. ^2:9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and with your children’s children will I plead. ^2:10 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.over: or, over to ^2:11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. ^2:12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. ^2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. The Evening Psalms 145, 111, and 112 on the Twentieth Sunday bring the Trinity Evening Prayer to one of its richest gatherings of praise: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. The Trinity season's praise is the praise of those who have found in the commandments a delight, not a burden.

Jeremiah 31 gives the First Lesson its extraordinary promise: Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

The new covenant written on the heart is the covenant that makes the law a delight — because when the law is within us, it is no longer an external imposition but the expression of our deepest nature, the shape of our deepest desire. And I will remember their sin no more. The Twentieth Sunday Evening Prayer is the prayer of those who live by the new covenant — who have the law written on their hearts and find in it not a burden but a home.

His praise endureth for ever: the praise of Psalm 111, the delight of Psalm 112, the whole-heart praise of Psalm 145 — all are the fruit of the law written within, the covenant established from eternity, the mercy that blots out and remembers no more.

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 25
First LessonGen. 15:1–21
Second Lesson2 Kgs. 19:14–36 (text not included)

PsalmsPs 25

First LessonGen. 15:1–21

^15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. ^15:2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? ^15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. ^15:4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. ^15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. ^15:6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. ^15:7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. ^15:8 And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? ^15:9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. ^15:10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. ^15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. ^15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. ^15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; ^15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. ^15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. ^15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. ^15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.a burning…: Heb. a lamp of fire ^15:18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: ^15:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, ^15:20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, ^15:21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Second Lesson2 Kgs. 19:14–36

[Text not available: 2 Kgs. 19:14–36]

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. The Evening Psalms 19, 67, and 25 gather the Twenty-First Sunday around the knowledge of God — in creation, in mission, and in personal guidance. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. The Trinity Evening Prayer returns again to the petition for guidance — for the knowledge of the ways and paths that the Trinity season has been exploring all these months.

The First Lesson from Genesis 15 gives the evening its great covenant vision: the Lord brought Abraham out and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And Abraham believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. The faith of Abraham — the faith of the one who looks at the stars and believes the promise — is the faith the Trinity Evening Prayer calls every soul to.

And the Second Lesson from 2 Kings 19 — Hezekiah's prayer in the temple when the Assyrian army surrounds the city — is the great Evening Prayer of trust in extremity: O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.

The prayer of Hezekiah is the prayer of every Evening Prayer: that the God who dwells between the cherubims may save, and that in his saving, all the earth may know that he alone is God. Cause his face to shine upon us; that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 51
First Lesson1 Kgs. 8:54–9:9 (text not included)
Second LessonZech. 7:1–14

PsalmsPs 51

First Lesson1 Kgs. 8:54–9:9

[Text not available: 1 Kgs. 8:54–9:9]

Second LessonZech. 7:1–14

^7:1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; ^7:2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem–melech, and their men, to pray before the Lord,pray…: Heb. intreat the face of ^7:3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? ^7:4 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying, ^7:5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? ^7:6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?did not ye: or, be not ye they that ^7:7 Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?Should…: or, Are not these the wordsby: Heb. by the hand of ^7:8 And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying, ^7:9 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:Execute…: Heb. Judge judgment of truth ^7:10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. ^7:11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.pulled…: Heb. they gave a backsliding shoulderstopped: Heb. made heavy ^7:12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.by: Heb. by the hand of ^7:13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts: ^7:14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.pleasant…: Heb. land of desire

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness — the Evening Psalm 51 on the Twenty-Second Sunday opens the prayer of the penitent soul that is also the prayer of the gathered Church, the community of the perpetually forgiven. Psalm 7 adds the cry for justice and protection, and Psalm 65 provides the harvest note: Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water. The autumn abundance is the visible mercy of the God of the covenant.

The First Lesson from 1 Kings 8 gives the evening Solomon's great prayer of dedication — the prayer that is also the charter of all Christian prayer: But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee. Every Evening Prayer is this prayer: the prayer of those who know that no house can contain God, yet who know also that he hearkens to the cry of his servant.

Zechariah 7 closes the Trinity Evening Prayer with a searching word: Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

These are the things that they would not hear, the Lord says of those who refused the ancient message. Let not our Evening Prayer be the liturgy of those who would not hear. Have mercy upon me, O God: and let the mercy I receive be the mercy I extend, to the widow and the fatherless and the stranger and the poor.

Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 19 & 67
First LessonEzek. 39:1–22
Second LessonWisdom 11:21–12:8 (text not included)

PsalmsPs 19 & 67

^19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. ^19:2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. ^19:3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.where…: or, without these their voice is heard: Heb. without their voice heard ^19:4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,line: or, rule, or, direction ^19:5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. ^19:6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. ^19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.law: or, doctrineconverting: or, restoring ^19:8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. ^19:9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.true: Heb. truth ^19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.the honeycomb: Heb. the dropping of honeycombs ^19:11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. ^19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. ^19:13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.the great: or, much ^19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.strength: Heb. rock

First LessonEzek. 39:1–22

^39:1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: ^39:2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:leave…: or, strike thee with six plagues: or, draw thee back with an hook of six teeththe north…: Heb. the sides of the north ^39:3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. ^39:4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.sort: Heb. wingto be…: Heb. to devour ^39:5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.the open…: Heb. the face of the field ^39:6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord.carelessly: or, confidently ^39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. ^39:8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. ^39:9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:handstaves: or, javelinsburn them…: or, make a fire of them ^39:10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God. ^39:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon–gog.noses: or, mouthsHamon–gog: that is, The multitude of Gog ^39:12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. ^39:13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. ^39:14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.men…: Heb. men of continuance ^39:15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon–gog.set up: Heb. build ^39:16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.Hamonah: that is, The multitude ^39:17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.unto…: Heb. to the fowl of every wingmy sacrifice: or, my slaughter ^39:18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.goats: Heb. great goats ^39:19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. ^39:20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. ^39:21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. ^39:22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.

Second LessonWisdom 11:21–12:8

[Text not available: Wisdom 11:21–12:8]

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Psalm 67 opens the Twenty-Third Sunday Evening Prayer with the great missionary Psalm: God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. And Psalms 72 and 99 add the kingly note: Give the king thy judgments, O God. The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble.

The First Lesson from Ezekiel 39 confronts us with the great eschatological battle: Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord. The Twenty-Third Sunday at Evening Prayer stands near the end of the Trinity season and catches the note of apocalyptic intensity that precedes Advent: the nations shall know that I am the Lord, and that knowing will be the end of all that opposes the divine purposes.

And the Wisdom of Solomon, in the Second Lesson, opens the great meditation on the divine mercy that is the deepest ground of the Church's mission: For thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made: for never wouldest thou have made any thing, if thou hadst hated it. Thine incorruptible Spirit is in all things. Therefore chastisest thou them by little and little that offend, and warnest them by putting them in remembrance wherein they have offended, that leaving their wickedness they might believe on thee, O Lord.

Thou lovest all the things that are: the Evening Prayer of the Twenty-Third Sunday rests in this love that cannot hate what it has made. The nations are drawn to the saving health not by fear but by the love of the God who made them and chastises gently and warns by remembrance. God be merciful unto us, and bless us: that all the ends of the earth may fear him.

Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 139
First LessonDeut. 34
Second Lesson2 Chr. 6:14–42

PsalmsPs 139

^139:1 O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. ^139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. ^139:3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.compassest: or, winnowest ^139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. ^139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. ^139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. ^139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? ^139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. ^139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; ^139:10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. ^139:11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. ^139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.hideth…: Heb. darkeneth notthe darkness and…: Heb. as is the darkness, so is the light ^139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. ^139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.right…: Heb. greatly ^139:15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.substance: or, strength, or, body ^139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.all…: Heb. all of themwhich…: or, what days they should be fashioned ^139:17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! ^139:18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. ^139:19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. ^139:20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. ^139:21 Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? ^139:22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. ^139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: ^139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.wicked…: Heb. way of pain, or, grief

First LessonDeut. 34

^34:1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,Pisgah: or, the hill ^34:2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, ^34:3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. ^34:4 And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. ^34:5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. ^34:6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth–peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. ^34:7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.natural…: Heb. moistureabated: Heb. fled ^34:8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. ^34:9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses. ^34:10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, ^34:11 In all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, ^34:12 And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.

Second Lesson2 Chr. 6:14–42

^6:14 And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: ^6:15 Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. ^6:16 Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.There…: Heb. There shall not a man be cut off ^6:17 Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David. ^6:18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! ^6:19 Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: ^6:20 That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.toward…: or, in this place ^6:21 Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.make: Heb. praytoward…: or, in this place ^6:22 If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;and an oath…: Heb. and he require an oath of him ^6:23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. ^6:24 And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;be put…: or, be smittenin: or, toward ^6:25 Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. ^6:26 When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;toward…: or, in this place ^6:27 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance. ^6:28 If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:in the cities…: Heb. in the land of their gates ^6:29 Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:in: or, towardtoward…: or, in this place ^6:30 Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) ^6:31 That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.so long…: Heb. all the days whichin the land: Heb. upon the face of the land ^6:32 Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;toward…: or, in this place ^6:33 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.this…: Heb. thy name is called upon this house ^6:34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; ^6:35 Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.cause: or, right ^6:36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;they carry them away captives: Heb. they that take them captives carry them away ^6:37 Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;bethink…: Heb. bring back to their heart ^6:38 If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: ^6:39 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.cause: or, right ^6:40 Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.unto…: Heb. to the prayer of this place ^6:41 Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. ^6:42 O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me — the great Psalm 139 opens the Evening Prayer of the last Sunday in the Trinity octave before the pre-Advent weeks, and it is the right note on which to close the long season: all that we have done and been and thought in this long Trinity time has been searched and known by the God who cannot be escaped and from whom there is nowhere to flee except into his arms. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

The great closing charge of Deuteronomy 34 — Moses ascending the mountain, seeing the promised land, dying in the Lord's sight, being buried by God in a valley no one knows — is the First Lesson's gift of the gracious end: So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. The Trinity season ends with Moses — the greatest prophet, the servant of the Lord, whose sepulchre is known to God alone.

And Solomon's prayer from 2 Chronicles 6 closes the Evening Prayer with the great Eucharistic petition: O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts. Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God. Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength.

Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: the Evening Prayer of the Twenty-Fourth Sunday sends God to his rest as the Trinity season ends, and God goes to his rest in the resting place that is also our home — the house of God where the searching and knowing becomes the dwelling and the dwelling becomes the praise that has no end.

Sundays Before Advent

Third Sunday before Advent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 21 & 22:23
First LessonJoel 3:9–17
Second LessonAmos 5:14–24

PsalmsPs 21 & 22:23

First LessonJoel 3:9–17

Second LessonAmos 5:14–24

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands — the Evening Psalms 21, 22:23, and the odd pairing of Psalm 7 frame the pre-Advent beginning with a royal note and a prophetic note together. The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice. As the year turns toward Advent, the sovereign whose strength and salvation we celebrate is the coming King, whose joy in God is the pattern of our own.

Joel's great cry — Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near — is the First Lesson's urgent pre-Advent text: the Day of the Lord approaches. The Assembly in the Valley of Jehoshaphat is the image of the final gathering, the last summons, the eschatological moment before which the Trinity season's ordinary time gives way. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

Amos, in the Second Lesson, gives the Evening Prayer the prophetic word of justice and warning: Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

The Third Sunday before Advent at Evening Prayer is the prayer of the remnant that has heard the summons from the valley, that seeks good and hates evil, that stands in the judgment of the approaching Day as those who have been found in the Lord. The king shall joy in his strength, and in his salvation we shall greatly rejoice, as we turn the corner toward Advent and begin again to wait.

Second Sunday before Advent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 9
First LessonGen. 19:1–25
Second Lesson2 Esd. 7:26–44

PsalmsPs 9

First LessonGen. 19:1–25

Second Lesson2 Esd. 7:26–44

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice. The Evening Psalms of the Second Sunday before Advent — 9, 76, and 96 — bring together the pre-Advent note of divine sovereignty: Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. The earth rejoices not because all is well, but because the Lord reigns — because the sovereignty of God is the ground on which the earth can stand even when it shakes.

The First Lesson from Genesis 19 — the destruction of Sodom, the escape of Lot, the terrible monument of Lot's wife — is the pre-Advent reading of judgment. Remember Lot's wife: the warning against turning back, against clinging to what God has said to leave behind, against making a monument of what is already condemned. The pre-Advent Evening Prayer is the prayer of those who are walking away from what must be left, not looking back.

And 2 Esdras, in the Second Lesson, opens the eschatological vision of those who have waited well: They put off the mortal clothing, and put on the immortal, and were clothed in the life of God. This is the promise toward which the whole year has been moving — the putting off of the mortal and the putting on of the immortal, the completion of the journey that Advent begins and every following season deepens.

O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things. The second Sunday before Advent at Evening Prayer holds the destruction of Sodom and the putting on of immortality in a single vision: the end of what is condemned and the beginning of what endures. The Lord reigneth: and his reign is the end of all that opposes life and the completion of all that seeks it.

Sunday next before Advent

Evensong · Evening Prayer · Psalm, First Lesson & Second Lesson

PsalmsPs 90
First LessonEccl. 11:1–12:8
Second LessonIsa. 25:1–9

PsalmsPs 90

First LessonEccl. 11:1–12:8

^11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.upon…: Heb. upon the face of the waters ^11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. ^11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. ^11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. ^11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. ^11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.shall prosper: Heb. shall be right ^11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: ^11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. ^11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. ^11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.sorrow: or, anger

Second LessonIsa. 25:1–9

^25:1 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. ^25:2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. ^25:3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. ^25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. ^25:5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low. ^25:6 And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. ^25:7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.destroy: Heb. swallow upcast: Heb. covered ^25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. ^25:9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Homily· for the reading of these scriptures

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Psalm 90 opens the last Evening Prayer of the Trinity season and the last Evensong before Advent with the great meditation on time and the eternal: The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. And Psalm 103 adds the mercy: He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

Ecclesiastes 11 and 12 — Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days; Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth; Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man — is the First Lesson that closes the whole year of ordinary time with the wisdom of the Preacher. This is the whole duty of man: to fear God and keep his commandments. The year has been teaching this; the Evening Prayer has been practising it; the whole duty of man is not complex but it is deep, and a lifetime is not enough to plumb its depth.

And Isaiah 25 closes the year at Evening Prayer with the great banquet vision: And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.

He will swallow up death in victory: this is where the year ends and where Advent begins. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations: and thou wilt be our dwelling place in the generations to come, until the banquet is spread on the mountain and the veil is lifted and the tears are wiped away and we see thee face to face.

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