Lesson II.

AN
ND the mountains shall be molten
under him, and the valleys shall
be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as
the waters that are poured down a
steep place. For the transgression of
Jacob is all this, and for the sins of
the house of Israel. What is the
transgression of Jacob? is it not
Samaria? and what are the high
places of Judah? are they not Jeru-
salem? therefore I will make Samaria

as an heap of the field, and as plant-
ings of a
and will pour
down the stones thereof into the
valley, and I will discover the founda-

tions thereof.

Ry. Look down. p. cxlviii.

Lesson III.

ΑΝ
ND all the graven images thereof
shall be beaten to pieces, and all
the hires thereof shall be burned with
the fire, and all the idols thereof will
I lay desolate for she gathered it of
the hire of an harlot, and they shall

return to the hire of an harlot.

Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls. For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people,

even to Jerusalem.

Ry. Behold. p. cxlviii.

who have committed much evil in this

life, certain terrible and unsightly angels, with fiery countenances, and breathing forth fire, appointed for that purpose, shewing the bitterness of their will, with countenances black like the night, on account of their severity and hatred against the human race.

Ry. I have. p. cxlix.

Lesson VI.

THIS fear of the LORD the Prophet

promised that he will openly teach; but he did not promise to teach it generally, but only to those who were willing to hear him; not to those who have wandered far away, but to those who with an eager desire for salvation hasten to present themselves; not to strangers from the

Lesson IV.

WHEN the desire of sinning has promises, but to those who have been

assailed thee, I would thou shouldest consider that awful and intolerable judgment seat of CHRIST, in which the Judge will preside on a throne high and lifted up, and every creature will stand before Him trembling at His glorious aspect. We shall also be brought up one by one to give an account of those things which we have done in this life. Afterwards there will stand, by those

reconciled and united to the Word Himself by the baptism of adoption. Wherefore, he says, Come, (that is, draw near to me by good works,) ye children, ye, who by regeneration have been made worthy to be children of light; hearken unto me, ye who have the ears of your heart open, I will teach you the fear of the LORD; namely, that fear which we described before in our discourse.

SECOND NOCTURN.

From a Sermon of S. Basil the Great on the Thirty-third Psalm.

Lesson V.

AND, besides, consider the deep pit, the endless maze of darkness, fire without brightness, yet having the power of burning though deprived of light; then the multitude of crawling things discharging deadly poison, devouring flesh, eating insatiably, and able pains by their gnawing. And never feeling satiety, causing intolerlastly, that which is the heaviest of all lasting confusion. Be full of fear for punishments, the. shame and the everthese things; and, restrained by this fear, hold back thy soul, as it were by a bridle, from lusting after sinful things.

Ry. With Thine. p. cxlix.

Ry. We looked. p. cxlix.
Rz. vii. Blessed are. p. cxlix.
Ry. viii. Two Seraphim. p. xxviii.

MONDAY.

Lesson I. Chap. i.

THE

Here beginneth the Book of Nahum THE burden which Habakkuk the the Prophet. prophet did see. O LORD, how Lesson I. long shall I cry, and thou wilt not burden of Nineveh. The book hear! even cry out unto thee of of the vision of Nahum the Elko-violence, and thou wilt not save! shite. GOD is jealous, and the LORD Why dost thou show me iniquity, and revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and cause me to behold grievance? for is furious; the LORD will take spoiling and violence are before me: vengeance on his adversaries, and he and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. Ry. At Thy. p. cl.

reserveth wrath for his enemies. The

LORD is slow to anger, and great in
power, and will not at all acquit the
wicked: the LORD hath his way in
the whirlwind and in the storm, and

the clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it
dry, and drieth up all the rivers.
Ry. He hath. p. cl.

Lesson II.

BASHAN languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation?

and who can abide in the fierceness of

his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.

Ry. I am straitened. p. cl.

TUESDAY.

Here beginneth the Book of Habakkuk the Prophet.

Lesson III.

TH
THE LORD is good, a strong hold in
the day of trouble; and he
knoweth them that trust in him. But
with an overrunning flood he will
make an utter end of the place thereof,
and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
What do ye imagine against the
LORD? he will make an utter end:
affliction shall not rise up the second
time. For while they be folden
together as thorns, and while they are
drunken as drunkards, they shall be
devoured as stubble fully dry.
Ry. My Gov.. p. cl.

Lesson II.

BEHOLD ye among the heathen,
and regard, and wonder marvel-
lously for I will work a work in your

days, which ye will not believe, though
it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the ·
Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty
the breadth of the land, to possess the
nation, which shall march through
dwelling places that are not their's.
They are terrible and dreadful: their
ceed of themselves.
judgment and their dignity shall pro-

Ry. Gird about. p. cli.

Lesson III.

THEIR horses also are swifter than

the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. Ry. On a sinful. p. cli.

WEDNESDAY.

THURSDAY.

the Prophet.

Here beginneth the Book of Zephaniah Here beginneth the Book of Haggai the Prophet. Lesson I. Chap. i. THE word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD. I will consume man and beast: I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD. Ry. He hath. p. cli.

Lesson II.

I WILL also stretch out mine hand
upon Judah, and upon all the in-
habitants of Jerusalem; and I will
cut off the remnant of Baal from this
place, and the name of the Chema-
rims with the priests; and them that
worship the host of heaven upon the
housetops; and them that worship
and that swear by the LORD, and
that swear by Malcham; and them
that are turned back from the
LORD;
and those that have not
sought the LORD, nor enquired for
him.

Ry. I am straitened. p. cl.

Lesson III.

HO

OLD thy peace at the presence of the LORD GOD; for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel. In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their master's houses with violence and deceit.

Ry. My God. p. cl.

Lesson I. Chap. i.

IN the second year of Darius the
king, in the sixth month, in the
first day of the month, came the word -
of the LORD by Haggai the prophet
unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
governor of Judah, and to Joshua
the son of Josedech, the high
LORD of hosts, saying, This peo-
priest, saying, Thus speaketh the
ple say, The time is not come, the
time that the LORD's house should be
built.

Ry. I saw the LORD. p. cxlviii,
Lesson II.

THEN came the word of the LORD

by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with

holes.

Ry. Look down. p. cxlviii.

Lesson III.

THUS saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.

Ry. Behold. p. cxlviii.

FRIDAY.
Here beginneth the Book of Zechariah
the Prophet.
Lesson I. Chap. i.

IN the eighth month. in the second
year of Darius, came the word of
the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of
Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet,
saying, The LORD hath been sore
displeased with your fathers. There-

fore_say thou unto them, Thus saith AN

the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me,
saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn
unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
Ry. I have set. p. cxlix.

Lesson II.

BE ye not as your fathers, unto
whom the
have
cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of
hosts; Turn ye now from your evil
ways, and from your evil doings: but
they did not hear, nor hearken unto
me, saith the LORD. Your fathers,
where are they? and the prophets, do
they live for ever?

Ry. With Thine. p. cxlix.
Lesson III.

BUT my words and my statutes,
which I commanded my servants
the prophets, did they not take hold
of your fathers? and they returned
and said, Like as the LORD of hosts
thought to do unto us, according to
our ways, and according to our doings,
so hath he dealt with us.

Ry. We looked. p. cxlix.

saith, We are impoverished, but we
will return and build the desolate
places; thus saith the LORD of hosts,
They shall build, but I will throw
down; and they shall call them, The
border of wickedness, and, The people
against whom the LORD hath indigna-
tion for ever.

Ry. Blessed are. p. cxlix.
Lesson II.

ND your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel. A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith

the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests,
that despise my name.
Wherein have we despised thy name?
ye say,
Ye offer polluted bread upon mine
altar; and ye say, Wherein have we
polluted thee? In that ye say, The
table of the LORD is contemptible.

Ry. I am straitened. p. cl.
Lesson III.

AND if ye offer the blind for sacri

fice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. And now, I pray you, beseech GOD that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts. Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for

SATURDAY.

Here beginneth the Book of Malachi nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. the Prophet. I have no Lesson I. Chap. i. pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. Ry. My God. p. cl.

THE burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom

Homilies

FOR THE SUNDAYS IN ORDER,

FROM THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT.

SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. Lesson of the Holy Gospel according to S. Luke.

Lesson VIII.

FOR spiritual pleasures increase

desire in the mind, while they satisfy; because the more their savour is perceived, the more is it recognised that it should be eagerly loved: and therefore when they are not possessed they cannot be loved, because their savour is unknown. For who can love what he knows not? Hence the Psalmist admo

A Homily of S. Gregory the Pope.

Homily 36 on the Gospels. There is wont to be this difference,

beloved brethren, between the plea-nishes us, saying, O taste and see sures of the body and those of the how gracious the LORD is. As if he soul; namely, that bodily pleasures, were saying plainly, Ye know not this when they are not being enjoyed, sweetness if ye taste it not; but touch kindle a strong desire for themselves the good of life with the palate of the but when they are greedily devoured, heart, that, making trial of its sweetthrough satiety they beget a distaste in ness, ye may be able to love it. For the eater. But on the other hand, man lost these delights when he spiritual pleasures, when they are not sinned in paradise: he went out when possessed, are distasteful, but when he closed his mouth to the food of they are possessed are desired; and by eternal sweetness. so much the more they are hungered after by the eater, the more are they devoured by the hungry. In the former, appetite pleases, experience displeases; in the latter appetite is nought, and experience the rather pleases. In the former, appetite begets fulness, and fulness distaste; in the latter, appetite produces fulness, and fulness appetite.

Lesson VII. Chap. xiv.

AT that time: JESUS spake this parable unto the Pharisees: A certain man made a great supper, and bade many. And that which follows.

This Ry. is said to-day instead of Ry. vii. xxviii. p.

Ry. A certain man made a great supper, and sent his servant at supper-time to say to them that were bidden, Come, * for all things are now ready. y. Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. For. Glory. For

Lesson IX.

WHENCE we also who have been
born in this toilsome pil-
grimage come hither now with distaste:
for we know not what we ought to
desire. And the more this disease
of distaste from which we suffer is
increased, the more the mind with-
draws itself from feeding on that
sweetness. And the less appetite
does it now feel for internal delights,
the longer it has been unaccustomed
to feed upon them.
We pine away
therefore through our distaste, and
we are worn out through our long and
deadly fast. And because we will not
taste inwardly the sweetness that has