Morning Prayer
Autumn Ember Saturday - Day of Solemn Prayer (Violet); Eve of Trinity XVI (Green)
Psalms: Psalm 119, Pts 19, 20
King James Version
145 I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes. 146 I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. 147 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word. 148 Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word. 149 Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O LORD, quicken me according to thy judgment. 150 They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law. 151 Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. 152 Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. 153 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law. 154 Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word. 155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes. 156 Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments. 157 Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. 158 I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word. 159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness. 160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
First Lesson: Jeremiah 38:14-end
King James Version
14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. 15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? 16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. 17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: 18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. 19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. 20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. 21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me: 22 And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back. 23 So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire. 24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. 25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee: 26 Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there. 27 Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived. 28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
Second Lesson: Philippians 2:12-end
King James Version
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. 17 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me. 19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. 20 For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. 21 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. 22 But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. 23 Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. 24 But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. 25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. 26 For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. 27 For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. 29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: 30 Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.
Reflection
“I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD.” So begins this portion of Psalm 119: not with a polished prayer, nor with a detached religious exercise, but with the cry of a man who knows that he needs God. He rises before dawn; he watches through the night; he pleads for deliverance. Yet his prayer is not merely, “Save me from trouble.” It is, “Save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.”
That is a fitting prayer for this Ember Saturday, a day of solemn prayer. In these Ember days the Church has traditionally prayed for those who serve, or may be called to serve, in the ministry of the Church. We pray that God will raise up faithful men, and that those who are ordained may have courage, wisdom, and holiness. But the readings remind us that the calling to Christian faithfulness belongs to the whole Church. Every Christian is summoned to hear the word of God and to obey it.
King Zedekiah had asked Jeremiah to tell him the truth. “Hide nothing from me.” The prophet does so. The word of the Lord is plain: go forth, submit to the king of Babylon, and your life shall be spared; refuse, and Jerusalem shall be burned. It is not an easy word, and it is not a word which flatters the king. Zedekiah’s difficulty is not that he cannot understand the command. He says, “I am afraid.” He fears the opinion and the violence of men more than he trusts the promise of God.
That is the danger which meets us also. We may ask God for guidance, but secretly hope that his guidance will confirm what we have already decided. We may desire the comfort of truth without the cost of obedience. We may be more anxious about what people will say than about what the Lord has said. Zedekiah’s tragedy is not ignorance, but hesitation. He hears the word of God and then allows fear to govern him.
Jeremiah’s appeal is wonderfully simple: “Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.” The prophet does not promise that obedience will be comfortable. Zedekiah must still humble himself; the nation must still face the consequences of its rebellion. But obedience places him in the hands of God, whereas refusal leaves him to the ruin he is trying to avoid.
St Paul gives the same teaching to the Philippians, though in a different setting: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” This does not mean that we purchase salvation by our efforts, as though the mercy of God were insufficient. The very next verse guards us from that error: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Our obedience is real, but it is the fruit of God’s grace working within us. We do not save ourselves; yet the salvation God gives is not idle or lifeless. It changes what we desire and how we live.
Therefore, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings.” The Christian life is not proved merely in great acts of heroism. It is proved in faithful service, in patience, in truthfulness, in the quiet refusal to make every duty a grievance. The Church shines as a light in the world not by imitating its quarrels, but by holding forth “the word of life.”
And Paul gives us a living example in Epaphroditus: a brother, fellow labourer, and fellow soldier, who came near to death for the work of Christ, “not regarding his life.” He is to be received with gladness and held in honour—not because he sought prominence, but because he spent himself in service.
On this day of prayer, let us ask for such courage: courage to hear God’s word without bargaining; courage to obey when obedience is costly; courage to serve without complaint; and courage to trust that the God who commands us is also the God who works in us. “Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD.” By that mercy, may our wills be turned towards him, and our lives made faithful in his service.
Evening Prayer
Autumn Ember Saturday - Day of Solemn Prayer (Violet); Eve of Trinity XVI (Green)
Psalms: Psalm 119, Pts 21, 22
King James Version
161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word. 162 I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. 163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love. 164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments. 165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. 166 LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments. 167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly. 168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee. 169 Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. 170 Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word. 171 My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. 172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness. 173 Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts. 174 I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight. 175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me. 176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.
First Lesson: Jeremiah 39
King James Version
1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. 2 And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. 3 And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon. 4 And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain. 5 But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. 6 Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. 7 Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon. 8 And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained. 10 But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. 11 Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, 12 Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. 13 So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rab-saris, and Nergal-sharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s princes; 14 Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people. 15 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 16 Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee. 17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. 18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.
Second Lesson: John 11:45-end
King James Version
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. 46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. 47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. 49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; 52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. 53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. 54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples. 55 And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. 56 Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast? 57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.
Reflection
“My heart standeth in awe of thy word.” That is a fitting prayer for this Ember Saturday, a day set apart for solemn prayer: prayer that God will raise up faithful ministers, and prayer that his whole Church may remain faithful to the charge entrusted to her.
The readings place before us the seriousness of God’s word. Jerusalem had been warned, and at last the warning was fulfilled. The city was broken up, the temple and houses were burned, the king was taken captive, and the people were carried away. Jeremiah’s message had not been popular, but it had been true. The word of the Lord is not made false by being unwelcome, nor made true by being fashionable. It stands when every human confidence has fallen.
There is a solemn lesson here for the Church of England, and for every Christian household. We must not imagine that outward privilege, ancient institutions, or a recognised name can preserve us if we turn away from God. Jerusalem had the promises, the worship, and the visible signs of the Lord’s favour; yet these were never given as permission to despise his commandments. The Church is not kept by sentiment, nor by political success, nor by human cleverness, but by hearing and obeying the voice of her Lord.
Yet Jeremiah 39 is not only a chapter of judgment. In the midst of ruin, the Lord remembers two men. He preserves Jeremiah, the servant who had spoken his word, and he preserves Ebed-melech, who had trusted in him. Ebed-melech had good reason to be afraid: the city was collapsing, and the men who had opposed him still had power. But the Lord says, “I will surely deliver thee… because thou hast put thy trust in me.”
That promise does not mean that faith makes us strangers to danger or sorrow. Ebed-melech lived through the fall of Jerusalem; he was not promised an easy life, but he was promised that his life was held in the hand of God. Faith is not confidence that nothing painful will happen. It is confidence that, whatever happens, the Lord has not ceased to be Lord.
The psalm gives us the shape of such faith. “Great peace have they which love thy law.” Not great peace because circumstances are calm, but because the soul has found a sure foundation. “Let thy hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.” And at the very end comes the humble truth: “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant.” The person who loves God’s word is not the person who claims never to have failed. He is the person who knows where to turn when he has failed: to the Lord who seeks the lost.
The Gospel takes us to the threshold of our Lord’s Passion. The raising of Lazarus has brought many to faith, but it has also provoked the rulers to their final decision. Caiaphas speaks with cold calculation: “It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people.” He means that Jesus must be removed to preserve their position and their nation. Yet, as Saint John tells us, the high priest spoke more truly than he knew. Jesus would indeed die for the people—and not for that nation only, but to gather into one the children of God scattered abroad.
Here is the great mystery of divine providence. Human beings act with fear, malice, and self-interest; yet God is not defeated by their wickedness. The cross is not an accident, nor merely a tragic miscarriage of justice. It is the appointed sacrifice of the Son of God, by which sinners are reconciled and the scattered people of God are gathered into one. The rulers intend to silence Christ; God makes his death the proclamation of salvation.
So on this day of prayer, we pray for the Church’s ministers: that they may have Jeremiah’s courage, Ebed-melech’s trust, and above all a faithful devotion to Christ crucified. We pray also for ourselves, that we may stand in awe of God’s word, rejoice in it as treasure, and receive the peace which belongs to those who love it. The world’s calculations pass away. The word of the Lord endures; and in the crucified and risen Christ, those who trust him are never finally lost.
Electric See Chapel