Occurring Scripture for the
Hour of Matins
Sunday
Lesson i
Here Begin the Proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs 1:1-6 7-19
The parables of Solomon, the son of
David, king of Israel. To know wisdom, and instruction: To
understand the words of prudence: and to receive the instruction of
doctrine, justice, and judgment, and equity: To give subtilty to
little ones, to the young man knowledge and understanding. A wise man
shall hear and shall be wiser: and he that understands, shall possess
governments. He shall understand a parable, and the interpretation,
the words of the wise, and their mysterious sayings.
Lesson ii
Proverbs 1:7-14
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools
despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of your
father, and forsake not the law of your mother: That grace may be
added to your head, and a chain of gold to your neck. My son, if
sinners shall entice you, consent not to them. If they say: "Come
with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us hide snares for the innocent
without cause: Let us swallow him up alive like hell, and whole as one
that goes down into the pit. We shall find all precious substance, we
shall fill our houses with spoils. Cast in thy lot with us, let us all
have one purse."
Lesson iii
Proverbs 1:15-19
My son, walk not with them, restrain
your foot from their paths. For their feet run to evil, and make haste
to shed blood. But a net is spread in vain before the eyes of them
that have wings. And they themselves lie in wait for their own blood,
and practice deceits against their own souls. So the wage of every
covetous man destroys the souls of the possessors.
Lesson iv
From the Treatise of Saint Ambrose, Bishop
on the Psalm CXVIII Sermon 5, n. 36-37
The Prophet said that "the fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom." And what is the first act of wisdom but to
renounce the world since to love the things of the world is folly. So indeed
said the Apostle "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (1
Corinthians 3:19). But the very fear of the Lord itself is useless, nay,
harmful, if it be not according to knowledge. The Jews have a truly fervent
zeal for God, but since they have not knowledge, their very zeal and fear do
cause them to do things contrary to God's will. That they circumcise their
children, that they keep holy the Sabbath-Day, shows how they fear the Lord,
but knowing not the spiritual meaning of the Law, they circumcise the body
and not the heart.
Lesson v
But wherefore should I
speak of Jews? There are those among ourselves who have the fear of God, but
not according to knowledge, and set up hard ordinances which the weakness of
man is not able to bear. They fear God in this, that they seem to themselves
to be looking to discipline, and to be enforcing the practice of godliness,
but they lack knowledge, in that they feel not for the weakness of nature,
nor consider whether a thing can, or cannot be done. Let not then the fear
of God be unreasonable. True wisdom begins with the fear of God, neither is
it spiritual wisdom without the fear of God, but neither ought the fear of
God to be without wisdom.
Lesson vi
Holy fear is the
foundation of all good instruction. Just as a statue is set up upon a
pedestal, and thereby receives both beauty and strength, even so it becomes
the word of God to be set forth based upon a holy fear, and it is in the
heart of him that fears that it gets the firmest root, a home from which it
does not drop, neither do the birds of the air come and carry it away, as
from the heart of him that is careless and deceiving.
The remaining lessons and collect
are from the current Sunday after Pentecost
Monday
Lesson i
From the Proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs 3:1-6
My son, forget not my
law, and let your heart keep my commandments. For they shall add to
you length of days, and years of life and peace. Let not mercy and
truth leave you, put them about your neck, and write them in the tables of
your heart: And you shall find grace and good understanding before God
and men. Have confidence in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not
upon your own prudence. In all thy ways think of Him, and He
will direct your steps.
Lesson ii
Proverbs 3:7-10
Be not wise in your own conceit: fear
God, and depart from evil: For it shall be health to your navel, and
moistening to your bones. Honour the Lord with your substance, and
give him of the first of all your fruits: And your barns shall be
filled with abundance, and your presses shall run over with wine.
Lesson iii
Proverbs 3:11-15
My son, reject not the correction of
the Lord: and do not faint when you are chastised by Him: For whom the
Lord loves, He chastises: and as a father in the son He pleases Himself.
Blessed is the man that finds wisdom and is rich in prudence:
purchasing of them is better than the merchandise of silver, and their fruit
than the finest and purest gold: She is more precious than all riches:
and all the things that are desired are not to be compared with her.
Tuesday
Lesson i
From the Proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs 5:1-6
My son, attend to my wisdom, and
incline your ear to my prudence. That you may keep thoughts, and your
lips may preserve instruction. Mind not the deceit of a woman.
For the lips of a harlot are like a honeycomb dropping, and her throat is
smoother than oil. But her end is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a
two-edged sword. Her feet go down into death, and her steps go in as far as
hell. They walk not by the path of life, her steps are wandering, and
unaccountable.
Lesson ii
Proverbs 5:7-13 20-23
Now therefore, my son, hear me, and
depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove your way far from her,
and come not near the doors of her house. Give not your honour to
strangers, and your years to the cruel, lest strangers be filled with your
strength, and your labors be in another man's house....
Lesson iii
Proverbs 5:20-23
Why are you seduced, my son, by a
strange woman, and cherished in the bosom of another? The Lord beholds
the ways of man, and considers all his steps. His own iniquities catch
the wicked, and he is fast bound with the ropes of his own sins. He
shall die, because he has not received instruction, and in the multitude of
his folly he shall be deceived.
Wednesday
Lesson i
From the Proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs 8:1-6 7-11 12-17
Does not wisdom cry aloud, and prudence
put forth her voice? Standing in the top of the highest places by the
way, in the midst of the paths. Beside the gates of the city, in the
very doors she speaks, saying: "O you men, to you I call, and my voice
is to the sons of men. O little ones, understand subtlety, and you
unwise, take notice. Hear, for I will speak of great things: and
my lips shall be opened to preach right things."
Lesson ii
Proverbs 8:7-11
"My mouth shall meditate truth, and my
lips shall hate wickedness. All my words are just, there is nothing
wicked nor perverse in them. They are right to them that understand, and
just to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not
money: choose knowledge rather than gold. For wisdom is better than
all the most precious things: and whatsoever may be desired cannot be
compared to it."
Lesson iii
Proverbs 8:12-17
"I, wisdom dwell in counsel, and am
present in learned thoughts. The fear of the Lord hates evil: I hate
arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double
tongue. Counsel and equity are mine, prudence is mine, strength is
mine. By me kings reign, and lawgivers decree just things,
By me princes rule, and the mighty decree justice. I love them that
love me: and those that watch for me in the early morning shall find me."
Thursday
Lesson i
From the Proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs 10:1-5
A wise son makes the father glad: but a
foolish son is the sorrow of his mother. Treasures of wickedness shall
profit nothing: but justice shall deliver from death. The Lord will
not afflict the soul of the just with famine, and he will disappoint the
deceitful practices of the wicked. The slothful hand produces poverty:
but the hand of the industrious gains riches. He that trusts to lies feeds
the winds: and the same runs after birds that fly away. He that
gathers in the harvest is a wise son: but he that slumbers in the summer, is
the son of confusion.
Lesson ii
Proverbs 10:6-10
The blessing of the Lord is upon the
head of the just: but iniquity covers the mouth of the wicked. The
memory of the just will be praised: and the name of the wicked shall rot.
The wise of heart receive precepts: a fool is beaten with his own lips.
He that walks sincerely, walks confidently: but he that perverts his ways,
shall be manifest. He that winks at a fault shall cause sorrow: and
the prating fool shall be beaten.
Lesson iii
Proverbs 10:11-16
The mouth of the just is a vein of
life: and the mouth of the wicked conceals iniquity. Hatred stirs up
strife: and charity covers all sins. In the lips of the wise is wisdom
found: and a rod on the back of him that lacks sense. Wise men lay up
knowledge: but the mouth of the fool is next to confusion. The
substance of a rich man is the city of his strength: the fear of the poor is
their poverty. The work of the just is unto life: but the fruit of the
wicked, unto sin.
Friday
Lesson i
From the Proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs 14:1-5
A wise woman builds her house: but the
foolish will pull down with her hands that also which is built. He
that walks in the right way, and fears God, is despised by him that goes by
an infamous way. In the mouth of a fool is the rod of pride: but the
lips of the wise preserve them. Where there are no oxen, the crib is
empty: but where there is much corn, there the strength of the ox is
manifest. A faithful witness will not lie: but a deceitful witness
utters lies.
Lesson ii
Proverbs 14:6-11
A scorner seeks wisdom, and finds it
not: the learning of the wise is easy. Keep away from the foolish man,
for he knows not the words of prudence. The wisdom of a discreet man
is to understand his way: and the imprudence of fools is their own
deception. A fool will laugh at sin, but among the just grace shall
abide. The heart that knows the bitterness of his own soul, in his joy
no one else shares. The house of the wicked shall be destroyed: but
the tabernacles of the just shall flourish.
Lesson iii
Proverbs 14:12-16
There is a way which seems just to a
man: but the end of it leads to death. Laughter shall be mingled with
sorrow, and mourning takes hold of the end of joy. A fool shall be
filled with his own ways, and the good man shall be above him. The
innocent believes every word: the discreet man considers his steps. No good
shall come to the deceitful son: but the wise servant shall prosper in his
dealings, and his way shall be made straight. A wise man fears and
declines from evil: the fool leaps over and is confident.
Saturday
Lesson i
From the Proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs 16:1-5
It is the part of man to prepare the
soul: and of the Lord to govern the tongue. All the ways of a man seem good
to his own eyes: the Lord proves the spirits. Lay open thy works to the
Lord: and thy thoughts shall be directed. The Lord has made all things
for Himself: even the wicked for the evil day. Every proud man is an
abomination to the Lord: though hand should be joined to hand, he is not
innocent.
Lesson i
Proverbs 16:5-10
The beginning of a good way is to do
justice; and this is more acceptable with God, than to offer sacrifices. By
mercy and truth iniquity is redeemed: and by the fear of the Lord men depart
from evil. When the ways of man shall please the Lord, he will convert
even his enemies to peace. Better is a little with justice, than great
revenues with iniquity. The heart of man disposes his way: but the
Lord must direct his steps. Divination is in the lips of the king, his
mouth shall not err in judgment.
Lesson i
Proverbs 16:11-15
Weight and balance are judgments of the
Lord: and His work all the weights of the bag. They that act wickedly
are abominable to the king: for the throne is established by justice.
Just lips are the delight of kings: he that speaks right things shall be
loved. The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: and the wise man
will pacify it. In the cheerfulness of the king's countenance is life:
and his clemency is like the latter rain.