April 25, 2023 :: Morning Prayer
Saint Mark's Day
Here beginneth the 4th chapter of Sirach.
My son, defraud not the poor of his living, and make not the needy eyes to wait long.
Make not an hungry soul sorrowful; neither provoke a man in his distress.
Add not more trouble to an heart that is vexed; and defer not to give to him that is in need.
Reject not the supplication of the afflicted; neither turn away thy face from a poor man.
Turn not away thine eye from the needy, and give him none occasion to curse thee:
For if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard of him that made him.
Get thyself the love of the congregation, and bow thy head to a great man.
Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine ear to the poor, and give him a friendly answer with meekness.
Deliver him that suffereth wrong from the hand of the oppressor; and be not fainthearted when thou sittest in judgment.
Be as a father unto the fatherless, and instead of an husband unto their mother: so shalt thou be as the son of the most High, and he shall love thee more than thy mother doth.
Wisdom exalteth her children, and layeth hold of them that seek her.
He that loveth her loveth life; and they that seek to her early shall be filled with joy.
He that holdeth her fast shall inherit glory; and wheresoever she entereth, the Lord will bless.
They that serve her shall minister to the Holy One: and them that love her the Lord doth love.
Whoso giveth ear unto her shall judge the nations: and he that attendeth unto her shall dwell securely.
If a man commit himself unto her, he shall inherit her; and his generation shall hold her in possession.
For at the first she will walk with him by crooked ways, and bring fear and dread upon him, and torment him with her discipline, until she may trust his soul, and try him by her laws.
Then will she return the straight way unto him, and comfort him, and shew him her secrets.
But if he go wrong, she will forsake him, and give him over to his own ruin.
Observe the opportunity, and beware of evil; and be not ashamed when it concerneth thy soul.
For there is a shame that bringeth sin; and there is a shame which is glory and grace.
Accept no person against thy soul, and let not the reverence of any man cause thee to fall.
And refrain not to speak, when there is occasion to do good, and hide not thy wisdom in her beauty.
For by speech wisdom shall be known: and learning by the word of the tongue.
In no wise speak against the truth; but be abashed of the error of thine ignorance.
Be not ashamed to confess thy sins; and force not the course of the river.
Make not thyself an underling to a foolish man; neither accept the person of the mighty.
Strive for the truth unto death, and the Lord shall fight for thee.
Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy deeds slack and remiss.
Be not as a lion in thy house, nor frantick among thy servants.
Let not thine hand be stretched out to receive, and shut when thou shouldest repay.
Here endeth the first lesson.
Here beginneth the 22nd chapter of Acts.
Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,
The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.
And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?
When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.