Morning Prayer
Feria (Green)
Psalms: Psalm 108
King James Version
1 O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. 2 Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. 3 I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. 4 For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. 5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth; 6 That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me. 7 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. 8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver; 9 Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph. 10 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? 11 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts? 12 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. 13 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
First Lesson: Nehemiah 6:1-7:4
King James Version
1 Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) 2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. 3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? 4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. 5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; 6 Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words. 7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together. 8 Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart. 9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. 10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. 11 And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. 12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. 14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear. 15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. 16 And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. 17 Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. 18 For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. 19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear. 1 Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed, 2 That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many. 3 And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house. 4 Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.
Second Lesson: 2 Timothy 2
King James Version
1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. 6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. 7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. 8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: 9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. 10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. 14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. 22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Reflection
“I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.”
Nehemiah’s answer to his enemies is one of those sentences which gathers strength each time we hear it. The wall of Jerusalem was nearly finished, but the danger had not ended. Sanballat and Geshem tried persuasion, rumour, intimidation, and finally religious manipulation. They invited Nehemiah to a meeting, not in order to make peace, but “to do me mischief”. When that failed, they spread the report that he was building the wall in order to make himself king. Then a false prophet urged him to hide in the temple.
Nehemiah recognised the real temptation. It was not merely that he might be killed. It was that fear might make him abandon the work God had given him, or cause him to act unlawfully in the name of safety. So he prayed, “Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands,” and remained at his post.
There is a difference between being busy and doing a great work. Much of our busyness can be put down, taken up, or rearranged. But the work of serving God and building up his people has a deeper claim upon us. It is not ours to abandon simply because opposition appears, nor ours to reshape merely because somebody spreads a rumour about us.
That does not mean that every project or opinion we hold is sacred. Nehemiah’s confidence rested upon the work God had actually given him. Christian steadfastness is not stubbornness for its own sake; it is faithfulness to a divine calling, tested by Scripture and exercised with prayer. The Church of England, in her ordered worship and settled doctrine, has long understood that Christians need more than passing enthusiasm. We need a rule of life, faithful teaching, and duties patiently performed. The wall is built stone by stone.
Saint Paul gives Timothy a similar charge: “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Strength does not begin in self-confidence, nor in force of personality. It begins in grace. Timothy is to receive the apostolic teaching and commit it “to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” The Christian faith is not a private invention, altered to suit each generation’s taste. It is something received, guarded, and handed on.
Yet faithful transmission is not quarrelsome repetition. Paul warns Timothy against “strivings about words to no profit” and “profane and vain babblings”. There are disputes which clarify the truth, and there are disputes which merely make noise. The servant of the Lord must be “gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient”. Even those who oppose the truth are to be instructed “in meekness”. The aim is not to win an argument, but that God may grant repentance and recovery from the devil’s snare.
This is a necessary word for any Christian who wants to stand firm. We must be immovable concerning the truth, but not harsh in spirit. We must refuse falsehood, without becoming fascinated by it. We must study to show ourselves approved unto God, “rightly dividing the word of truth”, while remembering that knowledge is entrusted to us for holiness and service, not for vanity.
The foundation, Paul says, “standeth sure”: “The Lord knoweth them that are his.” That is our deepest comfort. The work may seem fragile; the people may be few; the city may still be only partly inhabited, as Jerusalem was when Nehemiah set its gates in place. Yet God knows his own, and his purpose does not depend upon our being impressive. It depends upon his faithfulness.
The Psalm therefore gives us the right posture: “O God, my heart is fixed.” Not self-satisfied, not fearless by nature, but fixed upon God’s mercy and truth. “For vain is the help of man.” Human schemes, reputations, and temporary victories cannot finally preserve the Church. But “through God we shall do valiantly”.
So let us ask for the grace to remain at the work appointed to us: to receive the faith, practise it, and hand it on; to resist fear and distraction; to speak truth without bitterness; and to pursue righteousness, faith, charity, and peace. The Lord who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will strengthen our hands, and he will bring his work to completion.
Electric See Chapel