Prayer and Fasting for GAFCON - Day 14

Opening Sentence
LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

Psalm 26:8

A Psalm of Ascent
Psalm 124
Nisi quia Dominus

If the LORD himself had not been on our side, now may Israel say; * if the LORD himself had not been on our side, when men rose up against us;

2 They had swallowed us up alive; * when they were so wrathfully displeased at us.
3 Yea, the waters had drowned us, * and the stream had gone over our soul.
4 The deep waters of the proud * had gone even over our soul.
5 But praised be the LORD, * who hath not given us over for a prey unto their teeth.
6 Our soul is escaped even as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; * the snare is broken, and we are delivered.

7 Our help standeth in the Name of the LORD, * who hath made heaven and earth.

(USA, The Book of Common Prayer, 1928)

Collect
Assist us mercifully, O Lord, in these our supplications and prayers, and dispose the way of thy servants towards the attainment of everlasting salvation; that, among all the changes and chances of this mortal life, they may ever be defended by thy most gracious and ready help; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

from “Collects,” The Book of Common Prayer (USA, 1928)

Lesson (from Morning Prayer, BCP 1928)
Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they took it up and went ahead of them….

And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."

So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Joshua 3:1-6, 13-17 (NIV)

From the Great Litany
O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for thy Name's sake.

O God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us, the noble works that thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them.

O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for thine honour.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
From our enemies defend us, O Christ.
Graciously look upon our afflictions.
With pity behold the sorrows of our hearts.
Mercifully forgive the sins of thy people.
Favourably with mercy hear our prayers.
O Son of David, have mercy upon us.
Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear us, O Christ.
Graciously hear us, O Christ; graciously hear us, O Lord Christ.

O Lord, let thy mercy be showed upon us;
As we do put our trust in thee.

Let us pray.

We humbly beseech thee, O Father, mercifully to look upon our infirmities; and, for the glory of thy Name, turn from us all those evils that we most justly have deserved; and grant, that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy, and evermore serve thee in holiness and pureness of living, to thy honour and glory; through our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



Second Lesson (from Evening Prayer, BCP 1928)
I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days….

There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him." So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer….

On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days.

On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and the sacred articles into the hands of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, and so were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.

Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs and, as a sin offering, twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. They also delivered the king's orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God.

Ezra 8:15a, 21-23, 31-36 (NIV)

Third Lesson (from Evening Prayer, BCP 1928)
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 11:19-30 (NIV)

A Meditation
After three days, Joshua and the wandering Israelites followed the Ark of the Covenant through the Jordan, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

For three days, Ezra and the returning exiles camped outside the city and proclaimed a fast, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

And because of the greatest of all “Three Days,” those scattered by the persecution continued to spread the gospel, And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

Even in the midst of wanderings, exiles, and when scattered by persecution, let us not lose heart, for Our help standeth in the Name of the LORD, who hath made heaven and earth.



A Heritage Reflection
“Appropriately, it is added that when those who came up from Babylon arrived at Jerusalem, they remained there for a period of three days and only then offered and weighed out in the Lord’s house the silver and the gold and the vessels that they had brought. For the three days of tarrying in Jerusalem are the excellent virtues of faith, hope and love that all the faithful should possess. Teachers, therefore, must first of all manifest these in themselves and only then offer those whom they have taught and educated in these same virtues to the Fathers who have preceded them in Christ for their approval. For when the holy church finds that those whom we are catechizing are sound in faith and action, it is as if, on weighing the vessels that we offer in the temple through the hands of the priests, [the church] discovers them to be both of pure metal and of perfect weight.”

The Venerable Bede (673-735)

On Ezra and Nehemiah

[NOTE: This ‘Heritage Reflection’ comes from Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Old Testament, V: 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Marco Conti (Ed.), Thomas C. Oden (Gen. Ed.).]