TUESDAY. Of the Proverbs of Solomon. Lesson I. Chap. v. MY son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding that thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not them. know Ry. My son, give Me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe My ways: for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head. y. My son, attend unto My wisdom, and bow thine ear to Mine understanding. For. Lesson II. HEAR me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; and thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, and say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! Rz. The fear. p. lxxiii. in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. Ry. Remove. p. lxxiv. WEDNESDAY. Of the Proverbs of Solomon. Lesson I. Chap. viii. DOTH not wisdom cry? and under standing put forth her voice ? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. and my Unto you, O men, I call; voice is to the sons of man. simple, understand wisdom: and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. Ry. O LORD, Father. p. lxxiv. 0 ye FOR my mouth shall speak truth; to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. and wickedness is an abomination RZ. Great are Thy. p. lxxiv. IWISDOM dwell with prudence, and : find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. R. Thine eyes. p. lxxiv. THURSDAY. FRIDAY. Of the Proverbs of Solomon. Lesson I. Chap. x. Of the Proverbs of Solomon. A WISE son maketh a glad father: EVERY wise woman buildeth her but a foolish son is the heaviness house but the foolish plucketh of his mother. Treasures of wicked- it down with her hands. He that ness profit nothing: but righteousness | walketh in his uprightness feareth the delivereth from death. The LORD LORD: but he that is perverse in his will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked. He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame. Ry. The LORD possessed. p. lxxii. BLESSINGS are upon the head of the just but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot. The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall. He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known. He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow but a prating fool shall fall. By. I alone. p. lxxiii. Lesson III. ways despiseth him. In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. Where no oxen are, the crib is clean : but much increase is by the strength of the ox. A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies. Ry. Give me. p. lxxiii. A Lesson II. SCORNER seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth. Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge. The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit. Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour. The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy. The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish. Ry. The fear. p. lxxiii. Lesson III. covereth the mouth of the wicked.THERE is a way which seemeth Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding. Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. The rich man's wealth is his strong city the destruction of the poor is their poverty. The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin. Ry. Send, O LORD. v. lxxiii. right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness. The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself. The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going. A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident. Ry. Remove. p. lxxiv. A DIVINE sentence is on the lips of the king his mouth transgresseth not in judgment. A just weight and balance are the LORD's: all the weights of the bag are his work. It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness. Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right. The wrath of the king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it. In the light of the king's countenance is life and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain. Ry. Thine eyes. p. lxxiv. SECOND SUNDAY IN AUGUST. FIRST NOCTURN. Here beginneth the Book of Ecclesiastes. Lesson I. Chap. i. THE words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. Ry. The LORD possessed. p. lxxii. ALL things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. Ry. I alone. p. lxxiii. Lesson III. THE Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath GOD given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the pleasures, nor called enjoyment of sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. Ry. Send, O Lord. p. lxxiii. SECOND NOCTURN. Lesson IV. superfluities a vain thing; neverthe- A Sermon of S. John Chrysostom. SOLOMON, when he was held fast by the desire of worldly things, thought them great and admirable, and spent much labour and trouble upon them, I in building magnificent houses, in heaping together great piles of gold, in collecting choirs of singers, in gathering to himself all kinds of servants for his table and kitchen, in seeking pleasure for his mind from the beauty of lovely gardens, and in following, so to speak, every path of enjoyment and ease. Ry. Give me. p. lxxiii. Lesson V. BUT when he came to himself, and was able to look again as it were, from some dark abyss, towards the light of true wisdom, then he uttered that lofty speech, worthy of heaven itself, saying: Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity. You, too, will utter this speech, and if you wish it, a still loftier one, touching the unseasonable pleasures of this world, if once, for however little a time, you separate yourselves from evil habits. Ry. The fear. p. lxxiii. Lesson VI. BUT although, in former ages, before the time of Solomon, there was not much zeal for wisdom required, for the ancient law neither prohibited Ry. Remove. p. lxxiv. R. vii. O LORD, Father. p. lxxiv. Of the Book of Ecclesiastes. Lesson I. Chap. ii. SAID in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. I made me great works; I builded me houses: I planted me vineyards. Ry. Leave me not. p. lxxiv. Lesson II. I GOT me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. Ry. Great are. p. lxxiv. Lesson III. and enjoy the good of all his labour, it AND whatsoever mine eyes desired is the gift of GOD. I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. Ry. Thine eyes. p. lxxiv. TUESDAY. Of the Book of Ecclesiastes. Lesson I. Chap. iii. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. Ry. My son. p. lxxv. Lesson II. Ry. The fear. p. lxxiii. Lesson III. I KNOW that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and GoD requireth that which is past. And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. I said in mine heart, GoD shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. Ry. Remove. p. lxxiv. WEDNESDAY. Of the Book of Ecclesiastes. Lesson I. Chap. iv. So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun; and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, WHAT profit hath he that worketh that for this a man is envied of his in that wherein he laboureth? I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, neighbour. This is also vanity and Ry. O LORD, Father. p. lxxiv THE fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit. Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother; |
