October 8, 2023 :: Evening Prayer
Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
Here beginneth the 24th chapter of Ezekiel.
Lord came unto me, saying,
Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.
God; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:
And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.
God; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
Wherefore thus saith the Lord For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;
That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.
God; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.
Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.
In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God.
I the Lord came unto me, saying,
Also the word of the Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.
So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?
Lord came unto me, saying,
Then I answered them, The word of the God; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.
Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.
God.
Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,
That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?
Lord.
In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the Here endeth the first lesson.
Here beginneth the 7th chapter of 2 Corinthians.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.
I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.
Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.
For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.
Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.
For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.
Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all.
For if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth.
And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.
I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things.