All Saints Day
For the First
Nocturn
First Reading
(From the
Gospel of St. Mathew 5:1,2)
JESUS seeing
the multitudes, went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples
came unto him: and he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Second Reading
(From the Catena Aurea, of St.
Thomas Aquinas, the Gospel ofMathew 5:1-3)
Pseudo-Chrys.:
Every man in his own trade or profession rejoices when he sees an opportunity
of exercising it; the carpenter if he sees a goodly tree desires to have it to
cut down to employ his skill on, and the Priest when he sees a full Church, his
heart rejoices, he is glad of the occasion to teach. So the Lord seeing a great
congregation of people was stirred to teach them.
Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 19: Or He may be thought to have sought
to shun the thickest crowd, and to have ascended the mountain that He might speak
to His disciples alone.Chrys., Hom. 4: By not choosing His seat in the city, and the market place, but on a mountain in a desert, He has taught us to do nothing with ostentation, and to depart from crowds, above all when we are to be employed in philosophy, or in speaking of serious things.
Remig.: This should be known, that the Lord had three places of retirement that we read of, the ship, the mountain, and the desert; to one of these He was wont to withdraw whenever He was pressed by the multitude.
Jerome: Some of the less learned brethren suppose the Lord to have spoken what follows from the Mount of Olives, which is by no means the case; what went before and what follows fixes the place in Galilee - Mount Tabor, [ed. note: Mount Tabor is asserted by the Fathers and by tradition coming down to the present day to be the scene of the Transfiguration. But S. Jerome seems to be the only author who speaks of it as the scene of the Sermon on the Mount. The mount of the Beatitudes according to modern travellers lies near to Capernaum, and ten miles north of Mount Tabor. See Grewell Diss. vol. ii. 294. Pococke"s Descrip. of the East, vol. ii. 67] we may suppose, or any other high mountain.
Chrys.: "He ascended a mountain," first, that He might fulfil the prophecy of Esaias, "Get thee up into a mountain;" [Isaiah 40:9] secondly, to shew that as well he who teaches, as he who hears the righteousness of God should stand on a high ground of spiritual virtues; for none can abide in the valley and speak from a mountain. If thou stand on the earth, speak of the earth; if thou speak of heaven, stand in heaven.
Or, He ascended into the mountain to shew that all who would learn the mysteries of the truth should go up into the Mount of the Church of which the Prophet speaks, "The hill of God is a hill of fatness." [Psalms 68:15]
Hilary: Or, He ascends the mountain, because it is placed in the loftiness of His Father"s Majesty that He gives the commands of heavenly life.
Aug., de Serm. Dom. in Mont. i. 1: Or, He ascends the mountain to shew that the precepts of righteousness given by God through the Prophets to the Jews, who were yet under the bondage of fear, were the lesser commandments; but that by His own Son were given the greater commandments to a people which He had determined to deliver by love.
Jerome: He spoke to them sitting and not standing, for they could not have understood Him had He appeared in His own Majesty.
Aug.: Or, to teach sitting is the prerogative of the Master. "His disciples came to him," that they who is spirit approached more nearly to keeping His commandments, should also approach Him nearest with their bodily presence.
Rabanus: Mystically, this sitting down of Christ is His incarnation; had He not taken flesh on Him, mankind could not have come unto Him.
Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 19: It cause a thought how it is that Matthew relates this sermon to have been delivered by the Lord sitting on the mountain; Luke, as He stood in the plain. This diversity in their accounts would lead us to think that the occasions were different. Why should not Christ repeat once more what He said before, or do once more what He had done before? Although another method of reconciling the two may occur to us; namely, that our Lord was first with His disciples alone on some more lofty peak of the mountain when He chose the twelve; that He then descended with them not from the mountain entirely, but from the top to some expanse of level ground in the side, capable of holding a great number of people; that He stood there while the crowd was gathering around Him, and after when He had sat down, then His disciples came near to Him, and so to them and in the presence of the rest of the multitude He spoke the same sermon which Matthew and Luke give, in a different manner, but with equal truth of facts.
Greg., Moral., iv, 1: When the Lord on the mountain is about to utter His sublime precepts, it is said,"Opening his mouth he taught them," He who had before opened the mouth of the Prophets.
Remig.: Wherever it is said that the Lord opened His mouth, we may know how great things are to follow.
Aug., de Serm. in Mount. i, 1: Or, the phrase is introductory of an address longer than ordinary.
Chrys.: Or, that we may understand that He sometimes teaches by opening His mouth in speech, sometimes by that voice which resounds from His works.
Third Reading
(From the 39 Articles of Religion)
WE are
accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings: Wherefore, that
we are justified by Faith only is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of
comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.
ALBEIT that
Good Works, which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justification,
cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's Judgement; yet are
they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of
a true and lively Faith; insomuch that by them a lively Faith may be as
evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.
VOLUNTARY Works
besides, over, and above, God's Commandments, which they call Works of
Supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety: for by them men
do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to
do, but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required:
whereas Christ saith plainly, When ye have done all that are commanded to you,
say, We are unprofitable servants.
For the Second
Nocturn
Fourth Reading
(From the
Gospel of St. Mathew 5:3-9)
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for
their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall
be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed
are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be
filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the
pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they
shall be called the children of God.
Fifth Reading
(From the Rt. Rev. J.C. Ryle’s
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel Matt 5:1-12)
The three chapters which
begin with these verses deserve the special attention of all readers of the
Bible. They contain what is commonly called the "sermon on the
mount."
Every word of the Lord
Jesus ought to be most precious to professing Christians. It is the voice of
the chief Shepherd. It is the charge of the great Bishop and Head of the
Church. It is the Master speaking. It is the word of Him who "spoke as
never man spoke," and by whom we shall all be judged at the last day.
Would we know what kind
of people Christians ought to be? Would we know the character at which
Christians ought to aim? Would we know the outward walk and inward habit of
mind which become a follower of Jesus? Then let us often study the sermon on
the mount. Let us often ponder each sentence, and prove ourselves by it. Not
least let us often consider who they are that are called BLESSED at the
beginning of the sermon. Those whom the great High Priest blesses are blessed
indeed.
The Lord Jesus calls
those blessed, who are poor in spirit .
He means the humble, and lowly-minded, and self-abased. He means those who are
deeply convinced of their own sinfulness in God's sight. These are they who are
not "wise in their own eyes and holy in their own sight." They are
not "rich and increased with goods." They do not imagine that they
need nothing. They regard themselves as "wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked." Blessed are all such! Humility is the very
first letter in the alphabet of Christianity. We must begin low, if we would
build high.
The Lord Jesus calls
those blessed, who mourn . He
means those who sorrow for sin, and grieve daily over their own short-comings.
These are they who trouble themselves more about sin than about anything on
earth. The remembrance of it is grievous to them. The burden of it is
intolerable. Blessed are all such! "The sacrifices of God are a broken and
contrite spirit." One day they shall weep no more. "They shall be
comforted."
The Lord Jesus calls
those blessed, who are meek . He
means those who are of a patient and contented spirit. They are willing to put
up with little honor here below. They can bear injuries without resentment.
They are not ready to take offence. Like Lazarus in the parable, they are
content to wait for their good things. Blessed are all such! They are never
losers in the long run. One day they shall "reign on the earth." (Revelation
5:10.)
The Lord Jesus calls
those blessed, who hunger and thirst after
righteousness. He means those who desire
above all things to be entirely conformed to the mind of God. They long not so
much to be rich, or wealthy, or learned, as to be holy. Blessed are all such!
They shall have enough one day. They shall "awake up after God's likeness
and be satisfied." (Psalms
17:15.)
The Lord Jesus calls
those blessed, who are merciful . He
means those who are full of compassion towards others. They pity all who are
suffering either from sin or sorrow, and are tenderly desirous to make their
sufferings less. They are full of good works, and endeavors to do good. Blessed
are all such! Both in this life and that to come they shall reap a rich reward.
The Lord Jesus calls
those blessed, who are pure in heart . He
means those who do not aim merely at outward correctness, but at inward
holiness. They are not satisfied with a mere external show of religion. They
strive to keep a heart and conscience void of offence, and to serve God with
the spirit and the inner man. Blessed are all such! The heart is the man.
"Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the
heart." (1
Samuel 16:7.) He that is most spiritual-minded will
have most communion with God.
The Lord Jesus calls
those blessed, who are peacemakers .
He means those who use all their influence to promote peace and charity on
earth, in private and in public, at home and abroad. He means those who strive
to make all men love one another, by teaching that Gospel which says,
"love is the fulfilling of the law." Blessed are all such! They are
doing the very work which the Son of God began, when he came to earth the first
time, and which He will finish when He returns the second time.
Lastly, the Lord Jesus
calls those blessed, who are persecuted for righteousness
sake . He means those who are laughed at,
mocked, despised, and ill-used,because they endeavor to live as true
Christians. Blessed are all such! They drink of the same cup which their Master
drank. They are now confessing Him before men, and He will confess them before
His Father and the angels at the last day. "Great is their reward."
Such are the eight
foundation-stones, which the Lord lays down at the beginning of the sermon on
the mount. Eight great testing truths are placed before us. May we mark well
each one of them, and learn wisdom!
Let us learn how entirely
contrary are the principles of Christ to the principles of the world. It is
vain to deny it. They are almost diametrically opposed. The very characters
which the Lord Jesus praises, the world despises. The very pride, and
thoughtlessness, and high tempers, and worldliness, and selfishness, and
formality, and unlovingness, which abound everywhere, the Lord Jesus condemns.
Let us learn how
unhappily different is the teaching of Christ from the practice of many
professing Christians. Where shall we find men and women among those who go to
churches and chapels, who are striving to live up to the pattern we have read
of today? Alas! there is much reason to fear, that many baptized people are
utterly ignorant of what the New Testament contains.
Above all let us learn
how holy and spiritual-minded all believers should be. They should never aim at
any standard lower than that of the sermon on the mount. Christianity is
eminently a practical religion. Sound doctrine is its root and foundation, but
holy living should always be its fruit. And if we would know what holy living
is, let us often bethink ourselves who they are that Jesus calls
"blessed."
Sixth Reading
(from Wesley’s Explanatory Notes: Matt 5:3-9)
3. Happy are the poor - In the following
discourse there is, A sweet invitation to true holiness and happiness, Matthew
5:3-12 . A persuasive to impart it to others, Matthew
5:13-16 . A description of true
Christian holiness,Matthew 5:17 ; Matthew
7:12 . (in which it is easy to observe, the
latter part exactly answers the former.) The conclusion: giving a sure mark of
the true way, warning against false prophets, exhorting to follow after
holiness. The poor in spirit - They who are unfeignedly penitent, they who are
truly convinced of sin; who see and feel the state they are in by nature, being
deeply sensible of their sinfulness, guiltiness, helplessness. For theirs is
the kingdom of heaven - The present inward kingdom: righteousness, and peace,
and joy in the Holy Ghost, as well as the eternal kingdom, if they endure to
the end. Luke
6:20 .
4. They that mourn -
Either for their own sins, or for other men's, and are steadily and habitually
serious. They shall be comforted - More solidly and deeply even in this world,
and eternally in heaven.
5. Happy are the meek -
They that hold all their passions and affections evenly balanced. They shall
inherit the earth - They shall have all things really necessary for life and
godliness. They shall enjoy whatever portion God hath given them here, and
shall hereafter possess the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
6. They that hunger and
thirst after righteousness - After the holiness here described. They shall be
satisfied with it.
7. The
merciful - The tender - hearted: they who love all men as themselves: They
shall obtain mercy - Whatever mercy therefore we desire from God, the same let
us show to our brethren. He will repay us a thousand fold, the love we bear to
any for his sake.
8. The pure
in heart - The sanctified: they who love God with all their hearts. They shall
see God - In all things here; hereafter in glory.
9. The peace
makers - They that out of love to God and man do all possible good to all men.
Peace in the Scripture sense implies all blessings temporal and eternal. They
shall be called the children of God - Shall be acknowledged such by God and
man. One would imagine a person of this amiable temper and behaviour would be
the darling of mankind. But our Lord well knew it would not be so, as long as
Satan was the prince of this world. He therefore warns them before of the
treatment all were to expect, who were determined thus to tread in his steps,
by immediately subjoining, Happy are they who are persecuted for righteousness'
sake. Through this whole discourse we cannot but observe the most exact method
which can possibly be conceived. Every paragraph, every sentence, is closely
connected both with that which precedes, and that which follows it. And is not
this the pattern for every Christian preacher? If any then are able to follow
it without any premeditation, well: if not, let them not dare to preach without
it. No rhapsody, no incoherency, whether the things spoken be true or false,
comes of the Spirit of Christ.
For the Third
Nocturn
Seventh Reading
(From the
Gospel of St. Mathew 5:10-12)
Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness' sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye,
when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is
your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you.
Eighth Reading
(from Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible: Matt 5:10-12)
10.Happy are they who suffer
persecution The disciples of Christ have very great need of this
instruction; and the more hard and disagreeable it is for the flesh to admit
it, the more earnestly ought we to make it the subject of our meditation. We
cannot be Christ’s soldiers (369) on any other condition, than to have the greater part of
the world rising in hostility against us, and pursuing us even to death. The
state of the matter is this. Satan, the prince of the world, will never cease
to fill his followers with rage, to carry on hostilities against the members of
Christ. It is, no doubt, monstrous and unnatural, that men, who study to live a
righteous life, should be attacked and tormented in a way which they do not
deserve. And so Peter says,“Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” (1 Peter 3:13.)
Yet, in consequence of the unbridled wickedness of the
world, it too frequently happens, that good men, through a zeal of
righteousness, arouse against them the resentments of the ungodly. Above all,
it is, as we may say, the ordinary lot of Christians to be hated by the
majority of men: for the flesh cannot endure the doctrine of the Gospel; none
can endure to have their vices reproved.
Who suffer on account of righteousness This is descriptive of those who inflame the hatred, and
provoke the rage, of wicked men against them, because, through an earnest
desire to do what is good and right, they oppose bad causes and defend good
ones, as far as lies in their power. Now, in this respect, the truth of God
justly holds the first rank. Accordingly, by this mark Christ distinguishes his
own martyrs from criminals and malefactors.
I now return to what I said a little before, that as,
all that will live godly in Christ Jesus “(Paul informs us), shall suffer
persecution,” (2 Timothy 3:12,) this admonition
has a general reference to all the godly. But if, at any time, the Lord spares
our weakness, and does not permit the ungodly to torment us as they would
desire, yet, during the season of repose and leisure, it is proper for us to
meditate on this doctrine, that we may be ready, whenever it shall be
necessary, to enter the field, and may not engage in the contest till we have
been well prepared. As the condition of the godly, during the whole course of
this life, is very miserable, Christ properly calls them to the hope of the
heavenly life. And here lies the main difference between Christ’s paradox and
the ravings of the Stoics, who ordered that every man should be satisfied in
his own mind, and should be the author of his own happiness: while Christ does
not suspend our happiness on a vain imagination, but rests it on the hope of a
future reward.
11.When they shall cast reproaches on you Luke 6:22 When men shall hate you, and separate you, and load you
with reproaches, and cast out your name as evil By these words Christ intended to comfort those who
believe in him; that they may not lose courage, even though they see themselves
to be detestable in the eyes of the world. For this was no light temptation, to
be thrown out of the Church as ungodly and profane. Christ knew that there is
no class of men more envenomed than hypocrites, and foresaw with what furious
madness the enemies of the Gospel would attack his small and despised flock. It
was therefore his will to furnish them with a sure defense, that they might not
give way, though an immense mass of reproaches were ready to overwhelm them.
And hence it appears, how little reason there is to dread the excommunication
of the Pope, when those tyrants banish us from their synagogues, because we are
unwilling to renounce Christ.
12.Rejoice ye, and leap for joy The meaning is, a remedy is at hand, that we may not be
overwhelmed by unjust reproaches: for, as soon as we raise our minds to heaven,
we there behold vast grounds of joy, which dispel sadness. The idle reasonings
of the Papists, about the word reward, which is here used, are easily refuted: for there is not
(as they dream) a mutual relation between the reward and merit, but the promise
of the reward is free. Besides, if we consider the imperfections and
faults of any good works that are done by the very best of men, there will be
no work which God can judge to be worthy of reward.
We must advert once more to the phrases, on my account, or, on account of the Son of Man, (Luke 6:22;) and lying, shall speak every evil word against you; that he who suffers persecution for his own fault (1 Peter 2:20) may not forthwith boast that he is a
martyr of Christ, as the Donatists, in ancient times, were delighted with
themselves on this single ground, that the magistrates were against them. And
in our own day the Anabaptists, while they disturb the Church by their ravings, and
slander the Gospel, boast that they are carrying the banners of Christ, when
they are justly condemned. But Christ pronounces those only to be happy who are
employed in defending a righteous cause.
For so did they persecute This was expressly added, that the apostles might not
expect to triumph without exertion and without a contest, and might not fail,
when they encountered persecutions. The restoration of all things, under the
reign of Christ, being everywhere promised in Scripture, there was danger, lest
they might not think of warfare, but indulge in vain and proud confidence. It
is evident from other passages, that they foolishly imagined the kingdom of
Christ to be filled with wealth and luxuries.(371) Christ had good reason for warning them, that, as soon
as they succeeded to the place of the prophets, they must sustain the same
contests in which the prophets were formerly engaged. The prophets who were before you This means not only, that the prophets were before them with respect to the order of time, but that they were of
the same class with themselves, and ought therefore to be followed as their
example. The notion commonly entertained, of making out nine distinct
beatitudes, is too frivolous to need a long refutation.
Ninth Reading
(from a Sermon by St Bede the Venerable)
TO-DAY, 1 beloved, we
celebrate in the joy of one solemnity, the festival of All Saints, in whose
companionship the heaven exults; in whose guardianship the earth rejoices; by
whom triumphs the Holy Church is crowned; whose confession, as braver in its
passion, is also brighter in its honor—because while the battle increased, the
glory of them that fought in it was also augmented. And the triumph of
martyrdom is adorned with the manifold kind of its torments, because the more
severe the pangs, the more illustrious also were the rewards; while our Mother,
the Catholic Church, was taught by her Head, Jesus Christ, not to fear
contumely, affliction, death, and more and more strengthened—not by resistance,
but by endurance—inspired all of that illustrious number who suffered
imprisonment or torture, with one and equal ardor to fight the battle for
triumphal glory. 1
O truly blessed Mother Church! so illuminated
by the honor of divine condescension, so adorned by the glorious blood of
triumphant martyrs, so decked with the inviolate confession of snow white
virginity! Among its flowers neither roses nor lilies are wanting. Endeavor
now, beloved, each for yourselves, in each kind of honor, to obtain your own
dignity—crowns, snow white for chastity, or purple for passion. In those
heavenly camps, both peace and war have their own flowers wherewith the
soldiers of Christ are crowned. 2
For the ineffable and unbounded goodness of
God has provided this also, that the time for labor and for agony should not be
extended—not long, not enduring, but short, and, so to speak, momentary; that
in this short and little life should be the pain and the labors, that in the
life which is eternal should be the crown and the reward of merits; that the
labors should quickly come to an end, but the reward of endurance should remain
without end; that after the darkness of this world they should behold that most
beautiful light, and should receive a blessedness greater than the bitterness
of all passions; as the apostle beareth witness, when he saith, “The sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be
revealed in us.” 3
With how joyous a breast the heavenly city
receives those that return from flight! How happily she meets them that bear
the trophies of the conquered enemy! And with triumphant men, women also come,
who rose superior both to this world, and to their sex, doubling the glory of
their welfare; virgins with youths, who surpassed their tender years by their
virtues. Yet not they alone, but the rest of the multitude of the faithful
shall also enter the palace of that eternal court, who in peaceful union have
observed the heavenly commandments, and have maintained the purity of the
faith. 4
But above all these things is the being
associated with the companies of angels and archangels, thrones and
dominations, principalities and powers, and the enjoyment of the watches of all
the celestial virtues—to behold the squadron of the saints, adorned with stars;
the patriarchs, glittering with faith; the prophets, rejoicing in hope; the
apostles, who in the twelve tribes of Israel, shall judge the whole world; the
martyrs, decked with the purple diadems of victory; the virgins, also, with
their wreaths of beauty. But of the King, who is in the midst, no words are
able to speak. That beauty, that virtue, that glory, that magnificence, that
majesty, surpasses every expression, every sense of the human mind. For it is
greater than the glory of all saints; but to attain to that ineffable sight,
and to be made radiant with the splendor of His countenance, it were worth
while to suffer torment every day—it were worth while to endure hell itself for
a season, so that we might behold Christ coming in glory, and be joined to the
number of the saints; so is it not then well worth while to endure earthly
sorrows, that we may be partakers of such good, and of such glory?
5
What, beloved brethren, will be the glory of
the righteous; what that great gladness of the saints, when every face shall
shine as the sun; when the Lord shall begin to count over in distinct orders
His people, and to receive them into the kingdom of His Father, and to render
to each the rewards promised to their merits and to their works—things heavenly
for things earthly, things eternal for things temporal, a great reward for a
little labor; to introduce the saints to the vision of His Father’s glory; and
“to make them sit down in heavenly places,” to the end that God may be all in
all; and to bestow on them that love Him that eternity which He has promised to
them—that immortality for which He has redeemed them by the quickening of His
own blood; lastly, to restore them to Paradise, and to open the kingdom of
heaven by the faith and verity of His promise? 6
Let us consider that Paradise is our country,
as well as theirs; and so we shall begin to reckon the patriarchs as our fathers.
Why do we not, then, hasten and run, that we may behold our country and salute
our parents? A great multitude of dear ones is there expecting us; a vast and
mighty crowd of parents, brothers, and children, secure now of their own
safety, anxious yet for our salvation, long that we may come to their right and
embrace them, to that joy which will be common to us and to them, to that
pleasure expected by our fellow servants as well as ourselves, to that full and
perpetual felicity…. If it be a pleasure to go to them, let us eagerly and
covetously hasten on our way, that we may soon be with them, and soon be with
Christ; that we may have Him as our Guide in this journey, who is the Author of
Salvation, the Prince of Life, the Giver of Gladness, and who liveth and
reigneth with God the Father Almighty and with the Holy Ghost.
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