Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush therefore shall they fall among them that fall; in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? Hear the word of the Lord, O people that enter in by these gates;

Thus saith the Lord, Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.

And many nations shall pass by, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus ?

Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him; but weep sore for him that goeth away.

Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

That saith, I will build me a wide house, and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion !

Shalt thou reign because thou closest thyself in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?

He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then, it was well

with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord.

But thine eyes and thy heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.

I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear this hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyest not my voice.

Surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

O earth, hear the word of the Lord.

O Lord, open thou our ears!

That we may hear meekly thy word, and receive it with pure affection.

PSALMS.

O GOD, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth:

That thy beloved may be delivered, save with thy right hand, and answer me.

God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice;

Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly; for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;

For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened: they have spoken with a lying tongue.

They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.

For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.

Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy

mercy;

That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, Lord, hast done it.

I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.

For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.

BENEDICTION VII.

SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY.

0

COLLECT.

LORD God, who seest that we put not our trust in anything which we do; mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PROPHECIES.

JEREMIAH AND LAMENTATIONS.

THE sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart.

Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is:

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

O Lord, the Hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.

Thus said the Lord unto me, Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; Hear ye the word of the Lord, all that enter in by these gates. Thus saith the Lord: Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath-day;

Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath-day, neither do ye any work; but hallow ye the Sabbathday, as I commanded your fathers.

And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath-day, but hallow the Sabbath-day, to do no work therein;

Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses; and this city shall remain for ever.

And they shall come from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing sacrifices of praise unto the house of the Lord.

But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath-day and not to bear a burden, then will I kindle a fire, and it shall not be quenched.

How is the gold become dim; how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.

The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!

The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us that we have sinned!

For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim. Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.

Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.

O Lord, open thou our lips;

And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.

PSALMS.

O GIVE thanks unto the Lord; call upon known his deeds among the people.

Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

Seek the Lord, and his strength; seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;