THAT VICIOUS SNAKE

Ecclesiasticus 21.1-17

21  Have you sinned, my child? Do so no more,

    but ask forgiveness for your past sins.

 2   Flee from sin as from a snake;

    for if you approach sin, it will bite you. Its teeth are lion’s teeth,

    and can destroy human lives.

 3   All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword;

    there is no healing for the wound it inflicts. 

 4   Panic and insolence will waste away riches;

    thus the house of the proud will be laid waste.

 5   The prayer of the poor goes from their lips to the ears of God,

    and his judgement comes speedily.

 6   Those who hate reproof walk in the sinner’s steps,

    but those who fear the Lord repent in their heart.

 7   The mighty in speech are widely known;

    when they slip, the sensible person knows it. 

 8   Whoever builds his house with other people’s money

    is like one who gathers stones for his burial mound.

 9   An assembly of the wicked is like a bundle of tow,

    and their end is a blazing fire.

 10   The way of sinners is paved with smooth stones,

    but at its end is the pit of Hades. 

 11   Whoever keeps the law controls his thoughts,

    and the fulfilment of the fear of the Lord is wisdom.

 12   One who is not clever cannot be taught,

    but there is a cleverness that increases bitterness.

 13   The knowledge of the wise will increase like a flood,

    and their counsel like a life-giving spring.

 14   The mind of a fool is like a broken jar;

    it can hold no knowledge. 

 15   When an intelligent person hears a wise saying,

    he praises it and adds to it; when a fool hears it, he laughs at it

    and throws it behind his back.

 16   A fool’s chatter is like a burden on a journey,

    but delight is found in the speech of the intelligent.

 17   The utterance of a sensible person is sought in the assembly,

    and they ponder his words in their minds. 

THAT VICIOUS SNAKE

Lord,

From the beginning

That vicious snake

Has spoiled everything:

Sowing discord,

Causing pain,

A killer of love

Hope and faith.

Lead me not into temptation,

Deliver me from evil,

For if  I put out my hand

To touch the snake of sin

It will surely bite me

Like a lion.

AMEN

DETESTABLE CLEVERNESS

 20   The whole of wisdom is fear of the Lord,

    and in all wisdom there is the fulfilment of the law.

 22   The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom,

    nor is there prudence in the counsel of sinners.

 23   There is a cleverness that is detestable,

    and there is a fool who merely lacks wisdom.

 24   Better are the God-fearing who lack understanding

    than the highly intelligent who transgress the law.

 25   There is a cleverness that is exact but unjust,

    and there are people who abuse favours to gain a verdict.

 26   There is the villain bowed down in mourning, but inwardly he is full of deceit.

 27   He hides his face and pretends not to hear,

    but when no one notices, he will take advantage of you.

 28   Even if lack of strength keeps him from sinning,

    he will nevertheless do evil when he finds the opportunity.

 29   A person is known by his appearance,

    and a sensible person is known when first met face to face.

 30   A person’s attire and hearty laughter,

    and the way he walks, show what he is. 

DETESTABLE CLEVERNESS

Lord,

Sometimes I admit 

I am ’too clever

For my own good.’

That quick answer,

The witty and thoughtless remark,

The cutting observati

The savage joke.

Open my heart

And mind

To be transformed 

After the manner of Christ Jesus.

AMEN

CARELESS TALK COSTS

Ecclesiasticus 19.4-17

 4   One who trusts others too quickly has a shallow mind,

    and one who sins does wrong to himself.

 5   One who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned,

 6 

    but one who hates gossip has less evil.

 7   Never repeat a conversation,

    and you will lose nothing at all.

 8   With friend or foe do not report it,

    and unless it would be a sin for you, do not reveal it;

 9   for someone may have heard you and watched you,

    and in time will hate you.

 10   Have you heard something? Let it die with you.

    Be brave, it will not make you burst!

 11   Having heard something, the fool suffers birth-pangs

    like a woman in labour with a child.

 12   Like an arrow stuck in a person’s thigh,

    so is gossip inside a fool. 

 13   Question a friend; perhaps he did not do it;

    or if he did, so that he may not do it again.

 14   Question a neighbour; perhaps he did not say it;

    or if he said it, so that he may not repeat it.

 15   Question a friend, for often it is slander;

    so do not believe everything you hear.

 16   A person may make a slip without intending it.

    Who has not sinned with his tongue?

 17   Question your neighbour before you threaten him;

    and let the law of the Most High take its course. 

CARELESS TALK COSTS…

Lord,

You often stayed quiet;

Knowing the power

Of words.

Wary of being trapped

By what you said.

You are The Word

That gives Life.

Help me to place

All my words in Your Word.

Purify my speech,

Control my tongue,

May all I say

At all times

Give You glory.

AMEN

THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS!

Ecclesiasticus 18.1-14

18  He who lives for ever created the whole universe;

 2 

    the Lord alone is just.

 4   To none has he given power to proclaim his works;

    and who can search out his mighty deeds?

 5   Who can measure his majestic power?

    And who can fully recount his mercies?

 6   It is not possible to diminish or increase them,

    nor is it possible to fathom the wonders of the Lord.

 7   When human beings have finished, they are just beginning,

    and when they stop, they are still perplexed.

 8   What are human beings, and of what use are they?

    What is good in them, and what is evil?

 9   The number of days in their life is great if they reach one hundred years.

 10   Like a drop of water from the sea and a grain of sand,

    so are a few years among the days of eternity.

 11   That is why the Lord is patient with them

    and pours out his mercy upon them.

 12   He sees and recognizes that their end is miserable;

    therefore he grants them forgiveness all the more.

 13   The compassion of human beings is for their neighbours,

    but the compassion of the Lord is for every living thing. He rebukes and trains and teaches them,

    and turns them back, as a shepherd his flock.

 14   He has compassion on those who accept his discipline

    and who are eager for his precepts. 

THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS!

Lord,

You suffer with

Every living thing:

Even the sparrow

Falling to the ground.

Every atom has its origin

And finds its purpose

In You.

It is Your

Will and desire

That all creation

Shall be reconciled 

In Christ

To You.

AMEN

AWE AND FEAR

Ecclesiasticus 17.1-24

17  The Lord created human beings out of earth,

    and makes them return to it again.

 2   He gave them a fixed number of days,

    but granted them authority over everything on the earth.

 3   He endowed them with strength like his own,

    and made them in his own image.

 4   He put the fear of them in all living beings,

    and gave them dominion over beasts and birds.

 6   Discretion and tongue and eyes,

    ears and a mind for thinking he gave them.

 7   He filled them with knowledge and understanding,

    and showed them good and evil.

 8   He put the fear of him into their hearts

    to show them the majesty of his works.

 10   And they will praise his holy name,

 9 

    to proclaim the grandeur of his works.

 11   He bestowed knowledge upon them,

    and allotted to them the law of life.

 12   He established with them an eternal covenant,

    and revealed to them his decrees.

 13   Their eyes saw his glorious majesty,

    and their ears heard the glory of his voice.

 14   He said to them, ‘Beware of all evil.’

    And he gave commandment to each of them concerning a neighbour.

 15   Their ways are always known to him;

    they will not be hid from his eyes.

 17   He appointed a ruler for every nation,

    but Israel is the Lord’s own portion.

 19   All their works are as clear as the sun before him,

    and his eyes are ever upon their ways.

 20   Their iniquities are not hidden from him,

    and all their sins are before the Lord.

 22   One’s almsgiving is like a signet ring with the Lord,

    and he will keep a person’s kindness like the apple of his eye.

 23   Afterwards he will rise up and repay them,

    and he will bring their recompense on their heads.

 24   Yet to those who repent he grants a return,

    and he encourages those who are losing hope. 

AWE AND FEAR

Lord,

Your creation

Is a fear full thing;

So infinitely vast

And yet so

Immeasurably small.

Full of both staggering beauty

And sickening violence.

In awe of You

It is not wrong

To sometimes feel

Afraid of You.

AMEN

OUT OF MIND

Ecclesiasticus 16.17-end

 17   Do not say, ‘I am hidden from the Lord,

    and who from on high has me in mind? Among so many people I am unknown,

    for what am I in a boundless creation?

 18   Lo, heaven and the highest heaven,

    the abyss and the earth, tremble at his visitation!

 19   The very mountains and the foundations of the earth

    quiver and quake when he looks upon them.

 20   But no human mind can grasp this,

    and who can comprehend his ways?

 21   Like a tempest that no one can see,

    so most of his works are concealed.

 22   Who is to announce his acts of justice?

    Or who can await them? For his decree is far off.’

 23   Such are the thoughts of one devoid of understanding;

    a senseless and misguided person thinks foolishly. 

 24   Listen to me, my child, and acquire knowledge,

    and pay close attention to my words.

 25   I will impart discipline precisely

    and declare knowledge accurately. 

 26   When the Lord created his works from the beginning,

    and, in making them, determined their boundaries,

 27   he arranged his works in an eternal order,

    and their dominion for all generations. They neither hunger nor grow weary,

    and they do not abandon their tasks.

 28   They do not crowd one another,

    and they never disobey his word.

 29   Then the Lord looked upon the earth,

    and filled it with his good things.

 30   With all kinds of living beings he covered its surface,

    and into it they must return. 

OUT OF MIND

Lord,

The wonder and purpose

Of Your creation

Is beyond the 

Human mind.

Yet,

I believe,

I know;

That my life,

My story,

My hidden self,

Is not beyond

Yours.

AMEN

THE DIVINE ANSWER

St. Matthew 22.34-end

WHEN the Pharisees had heard that Jesus had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, who was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, the Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy foot-stool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word; neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

THE DIVINE ANSWER

Lord,

In all my

Seeking and

Questioning:

For truth and

For meaning,

You are the

Answer.

‘For in You

Is the Yes

To all the promises

Of God.

AMEN.     See 2 Corinthians 1 v 20

VICTIM OF CHOICE

Ecclesiasticus 15.11-end

 11   Do not say, ‘It was the Lord’s doing that I fell away’;

    for he does not do what he hates.

 12   Do not say, ‘It was he who led me astray’;

    for he has no need of the sinful.

 13   The Lord hates all abominations;

    such things are not loved by those who fear him.

 14   It was he who created humankind in the beginning,

    and he left them in the power of their own free choice.

 15   If you choose, you can keep the commandments,

    and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.

 16   He has placed before you fire and water;

    stretch out your hand for whichever you choose.

 17   Before each person are life and death,

    and whichever one chooses will be given.

 18   For great is the wisdom of the Lord;

    he is mighty in power and sees everything;

 19   his eyes are on those who fear him,

    and he knows every human action.

 20   He has not commanded anyone to be wicked,

    and he has not given anyone permission to sin. 

VICTIM OF CHOICE

Lord,

Such is my

God-given liberty

That I can rejoice

Or become the

Victim of

My own choice.

I desire to put

My will in Your will

That it may

Be done in me

As it is in heaven.

AMEN

LIKE A HUNTER

Ecclesiasticus 14.20-15.10

 20   Happy is the person who meditates on wisdom

    and reasons intelligently,

 21   who reflects in his heart on her ways

    and ponders her secrets,

 22   pursuing her like a hunter,

    and lying in wait on her paths;

 23   who peers through her windows

    and listens at her doors;

 24   who camps near her house

    and fastens his tent-peg to her walls;

 25   who pitches his tent near her,

    and so occupies an excellent lodging-place;

 26   who places his children under her shelter,

    and lodges under her boughs;

 27   who is sheltered by her from the heat,

    and dwells in the midst of her glory. 15  Whoever fears the Lord will do this,

    and whoever holds to the law will obtain wisdom.

 2   She will come to meet him like a mother,

    and like a young bride she will welcome him.

 3   She will feed him with the bread of learning,

    and give him the water of wisdom to drink.

 4   He will lean on her and not fall,

    and he will rely on her and not be put to shame.

 5   She will exalt him above his neighbours,

    and will open his mouth in the midst of the assembly.

 6   He will find gladness and a crown of rejoicing,

    and will inherit an everlasting name.

 7   The foolish will not obtain her,

    and sinners will not see her.

 8   She is far from arrogance,

    and liars will never think of her.

 9   Praise is unseemly on the lips of a sinner,

    for it has not been sent from the Lord.

 10   For in wisdom must praise be uttered,

    and the Lord will make it prosper. 

LIKE A HUNTER

Lord,

Help me to be

A Hunter

For Your Spirit:

I will leave my usual path

And be willing

To search in the

Hidden places

Of my heart.

I must pursue You

As if my life

Depended on it:

For I know it does.

AMEN

AT THE END…

Ecclesiasticus 11.7-28

 7   Do not find fault before you investigate;

    examine first, and then criticize.

 8   Do not answer before you listen,

    and do not interrupt when another is speaking.

 9   Do not argue about a matter that does not concern you,

    and do not sit with sinners when they judge a case. 

 10   My child, do not busy yourself with many matters;

    if you multiply activities, you will not be held blameless. If you pursue, you will not overtake,

    and by fleeing you will not escape.

 11   There are those who work and struggle and hurry,

    but are so much the more in want.

 12   There are others who are slow and need help,

    who lack strength and abound in poverty; but the eyes of the Lord look kindly upon them;

    he lifts them out of their lowly condition

 13   and raises up their heads

    to the amazement of many. 

 14   Good things and bad, life and death,

    poverty and wealth, come from the Lord.

 17   The Lord’s gift remains with the devout,

    and his favour brings lasting success.

 18   One becomes rich through diligence and self-denial,

    and the reward allotted to him is this:

 19   when he says, ‘I have found rest,

    and now I shall feast on my goods!’ he does not know how long it will be

    until he leaves them to others and dies. 

 20   Stand by your agreement and attend to it,

    and grow old in your work.

 21   Do not wonder at the works of a sinner,

    but trust in the Lord and keep at your job; for it is easy in the sight of the Lord

    to make the poor rich suddenly, in an instant.

 22   The blessing of the Lord is the reward of the pious,

    and quickly God causes his blessing to flourish.

 23   Do not say, ‘What do I need,

    and what further benefit can be mine?’

 24   Do not say, ‘I have enough,

    and what harm can come to me now?’

 25   In the day of prosperity, adversity is forgotten,

    and in the day of adversity, prosperity is not remembered.

 26   For it is easy for the Lord on the day of death

    to reward individuals according to their conduct.

 27   An hour’s misery makes one forget past delights,

    and at the close of one’s life one’s deeds are revealed.

 28   Call no one happy before his death;

    by how he ends, a person becomes known. 

O Lord God, when thou givest to thy servants to endeavour any great matter, grant us also to know that it is not the beginning, but the continuing of the same, until it be thoroughly finished, which yieldeth the true glory; through him who for the finishing of thy work laid down his life for us, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sir Francis Drake