Morning Prayer
Jerome, Doctor, Presbyter in Rome and Bethlehem, Translator of the Scriptures, 420 (White or Green)
Psalms: Psalm 145
King James Version
1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. 5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. 6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. 7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. 8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. 9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. 10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. 11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; 12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. 13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. 14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. 15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. 16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. 17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. 18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. 20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. 21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
First Lesson: Ezekiel 13:1-16
King James Version
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; 3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. 5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. 6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. 7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. 9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter: 11 Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. 12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it. 14 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; 16 To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.
Reflection
The sharpest contrast in these readings is between a word that is true and a word that merely sounds comforting. Ezekiel speaks against prophets who “prophesy out of their own hearts”, claiming, “Thus saith the LORD,” when the Lord has not spoken. They build a wall, and then cover it with “untempered morter”: a thin coating which makes a weak structure look sound. But when the storm comes, the wall falls, and its builders are exposed.
The sin here is not simply that these prophets were mistaken. They gave false confidence to God’s people. “Peace,” they said, “and there was no peace.” They offered reassurance without repentance, comfort without truth, and religion without the living God. Their words were pleasant for a time, but they could not bear the weight of reality.
That is a warning which reaches beyond ancient Jerusalem. We are always tempted to prefer a message which confirms our wishes to one which corrects our lives. We may wish to hear that all is well, when God is calling us to return to him. We may wish for a faith which asks little of us, speaks gently of our sins, and leaves our private kingdoms undisturbed. But such a faith is only paint upon a failing wall.
Against this false peace, Psalm 145 gives us the solid foundation of praise. “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.” The Psalm does not praise an idol made in our likeness, nor a god who exists to approve us. It praises the Lord whose kingdom is everlasting, who is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works. His mercy is not sentimental indulgence: “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy.” His goodness and his holiness belong together.
Therefore the true word of God does not merely flatter us. It tells us the truth about God, and so tells us the truth about ourselves. Yet it does so not to crush the penitent, but to bring the penitent home. The Lord “upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” There is no need to hide our weakness beneath untempered mortar. The God who sees us clearly is also the God who hears those who call upon him in truth.
This is especially fitting as we remember Jerome, a presbyter and translator of the Scriptures. His work reminds us that the Church must be continually brought back to the actual word of God—not to the private inspirations of teachers, not to fashionable opinions, and not to our own hearts. The Scriptures are not given to provide religious decoration. They are given to judge, instruct, comfort, and make us wise unto salvation. The Church of England, in her sober and scriptural inheritance, has rightly insisted that God’s word must be heard in the congregation and tested by the faith once delivered to the saints.
So let us ask: what are we building? Are our convictions founded upon the Lord’s word, or merely daubed with phrases which sound devout? Do we receive the whole counsel of God, including those passages which humble us? And when we speak to others, do we offer the Lord’s truth with the Lord’s compassion, or do we promise a peace which has no foundation?
The answer is not to become harsh, suspicious, or eager to denounce. Psalm 145 calls us to declare God’s goodness from one generation to another. Truth is not opposed to mercy; truth is what makes mercy trustworthy. We proclaim the holy God who judges falsehood, and the gracious God who saves those who call upon him.
Let the storms come, then, but let us build upon the Lord. His word is not a fragile covering. His kingdom endures through all generations, and his mercy is over all his works. “My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD”; and by his grace, our lives may speak it too.
Evening Prayer
Jerome, Doctor, Presbyter in Rome and Bethlehem, Translator of the Scriptures, 420 (White or Green)
Psalms: Psalm 144, 146
King James Version
1 Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: 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. 3 LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him! 4 Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away. 5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. 6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them. 7 Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children; 8 Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 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. 10 It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. 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: 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: 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: 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. 15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD. 1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. 2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. 5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: 6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: 7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners: 8 The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: 9 The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. 10 The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.
First Lesson: Ezekiel 14
King James Version
1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. 6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: 8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; 11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD. 12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: 14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD. 15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: 16 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. 17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: 18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. 19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: 20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. 21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? 22 Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.
Second Lesson: John 18:28-end
King James Version
28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. 29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? 30 They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. 31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: 32 That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. 33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? 36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. 39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 40 Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
Reflection
“To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.”
Our Lord speaks these words before Pilate, at the very moment when earthly power appears to have the upper hand. Jesus is bound; his accusers are confident; Pilate sits in judgment. Yet the question is quietly reversed. Pilate asks whether Jesus is a king, but it is Pilate—and every earthly ruler—who stands before the true King.
Christ’s kingdom is “not of this world”: not founded upon force, intrigue, or the weapons by which worldly kingdoms defend themselves. But this does not mean that his kingdom is unreal, or irrelevant to this world. He has come into the world. He bears witness to the truth within it. His reign reaches into the human heart, into the places where we decide whom we shall trust, what we shall worship, and whether we will hear his voice.
Pilate’s reply is familiar: “What is truth?” It may be the question of a sceptic, or of a weary man who no longer expects an answer. But truth is standing before him. Truth is not merely an idea to be discussed; truth is Christ himself, the faithful King who does not save himself by violence, but gives himself for his people.
That is why the warning in Ezekiel is so searching. The elders come to enquire of the Lord, but they have already “set up their idols in their heart”. Their worship is outwardly directed towards God, while inwardly they have made terms with other masters. The Lord will not be used as a religious ornament, consulted while the heart remains committed elsewhere. “Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols,” he says.
An idol need not be a carved image. It may be anything which commands our deepest loyalty: reputation, comfort, money, power, resentment, or the desire to be approved. We may still say our prayers and attend the Church’s worship, yet quietly reserve some part of ourselves from the rule of Christ. Ezekiel reminds us that the Lord sees beneath appearances. He calls us not merely to ask religious questions, but to surrender our hearts to the answer.
The psalms provide the right alternative. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” Human strength fades; earthly authority passes; every mortal breath returns to the earth. But “the God of Jacob” is our help, and our hope is in the Lord our God. He keeps truth for ever. His kingdom does not depend upon the permanence of any human institution, however venerable. Yet because it is his kingdom, we may serve him faithfully within the institutions and duties he has given us, seeking not our own glory but his truth.
Today we remember Jerome, a presbyter and translator of the Scriptures. It is fitting that his commemoration should fall alongside these readings. The Scriptures are not given to us merely to furnish information, nor to provide pious language for our lips while our hearts belong elsewhere. Through the written Word, the living Lord bears witness to the truth and summons us to hear his voice.
We are especially blessed to receive that Word in the language of the Church, read publicly in worship and prayed through in the Daily Office. Let us therefore receive Holy Scripture with reverence and obedience—not treating it as a collection of opinions, but listening for the voice of the King. We need not ask, with Pilate, “What is truth?” as though truth were forever beyond our reach. We are to come to Jesus Christ, who is Truth incarnate, and ask for grace to follow him.
The world may choose Barabbas: the noisy, violent, self-asserting substitute. The Church must choose Christ. And so must each Christian heart. May the Lord cast down our idols, establish us in his truth, and make us faithful subjects of the King whose kingdom is everlasting.
Electric See Chapel