The First Sunday in Lent.
The
Collect.
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O
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LORD who for our sake didst fast
forty days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our
flesh being subdued to the Spirit we may ever obey thy godly motions in
righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and
reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
The first day of Lent, commonly
called
Ash Wednesday.
The Collect.
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A
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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost
forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and
contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.
1 Knowest thou the time
when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds
do calve? 2 Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? or knowest thou
the time when they bring forth? 3 They bow themselves, they bring forth
their young ones, they cast out their sorrows. 4 Their young ones are in
good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them. 5 Who
hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his
dwellings. 7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he
the crying of the driver. 8 The range of the mountains is his pasture, and
he searcheth after every green thing. 9 Will the unicorn be willing to
serve thee, or abide by thy crib? 10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his
band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? 11 Wilt thou
trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
12 Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it
into thy barn? 13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings
and feathers unto the ostrich? 14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and
warmeth them in dust, 15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or
that the wild beast may break them. 16 She is hardened against her young
ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear; 17 Because
God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
18 What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and
his rider. 19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his
neck with thunder? 20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the
glory of his nostrils is terrible. 21 He paweth in the valley, and
rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. 22 He
mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he
that it is the sound of the trumpet. 25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha,
ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the
shouting. 26 Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward
the south? 27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on
high? 28 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock,
and the strong place. 29 From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes
behold afar off. 30 Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain
are, there is she.(Job 39:1-30)
God continues to bombard Job and his fellows with questions that cannot be
fathomed by man. The point is not to ridicule Job and his friends, but to
awaken them to the mystery and might of the God by whom they are being
addressed. All of these questions are not addressed to Job and his fellows
alone, but to every person who seeks to know God – past, present, and future.
If we think deeply on these questions of God, perhaps we will come away knowing
ourselves better "as a many looking into a mirror – the mirror of God's
Word." If we cannot know how infinitely great God is we cannot know how
infinitely small we are.
Beginning at Job 38:39, God begins to survey by question the characteristics of
wildlife and living nature, and He continues this line in this chapter. (vers
1-12) God then changes the subject to include the mysteries of the remarkable
ostrich. (vers 13-18). He then proceeds to the royal breed of creature – the
horse. (vers 19-15) In conclusion, God reverts to the subject of fowl of the
air. (vers 26-30).
1 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring
forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? Do you
have a presence, Job, in the cleft of the rock, or on the lonely defile, where
and when the wild goats conceive and bare young? Do you, Reader? 2 Canst
thou number the months that they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they
bring forth? 3 They bow themselves, they bring forth their young
ones, they cast out their sorrows. 4 Their young ones are in good
liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them. 5 Who
hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his
dwellings. 7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither
regardeth he the crying of the driver. 8 The range of the mountains
is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. 9 Will
the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? 10 Canst
thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the
valleys after thee? 11 Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is
great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? 12 Wilt thou believe
him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
Pick out just one question above and give an answer…. The question is not of
the biological clock, but of the MOMENT of these events. Who placed the
wisdom of in the heart of the young hind to search for food the day it is born
and to know its way from forage back to parents? Can man endow that beast with
such innate wisdom, or is man the recipient of the same blessings as the hind?
The hind does not find populated areas appealing. Perhaps we would be better
advised to remain separate from the larger part of society as well. The hind,
unlike man, cannot be made a slave by the driver. The only wisdom he has is
that given by God in his inward parts. But man attempts to develop his own
wisdom – and woefully fails in the attempt. What of the unicorn (perhaps,
Hippodromes)? Can you place this strong creature in a holding crib? If you try,
please let me know ahead of time…. Will you domesticate the unicorn to become
your slave as a mule? I think not. The law of liberty is written in the hearts
of these brute beasts. Man might take a simple lesson from them in freedom.
13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and
feathers unto the ostrich? 14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth,
and warmeth them in dust, 15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush
them, or that the wild beast may break them. 16 She is hardened
against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain
without fear; 17 Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither
hath he imparted to her understanding. 18 What time she lifteth up
herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider. Can
you attire a creature with the beauty of the peacock (not referring to Anglo-Romans
here) Are we more intelligent than the ostrich of very low intellect? She
labors very little, yet accomplishes her life's purpose. She leaves her eggs,
and her young, in the keeping of the Lord and worries not over them. Who taught
her to be so? She does not care for her young (let many modern Americans) yet
they survive under the Lord's care. She is deprived of the wisdom God has given
higher creatures, yet, she survives well because God creates nothing for which
He does not provide a way. Compared to the wisdom of God, we stand in no better
stead than the ostrich. Even the ostrich can hold its head above the mounted
rider, and run just as fast.
19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck
with thunder? 20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the
glory of his nostrils is terrible. 21 He paweth in the valley, and
rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. 22 He
mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth
he that it is the sound of the trumpet. 25 He saith among the
trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the
captains, and the shouting. What of the untarnished valor of
the war horse? Have you the courage to run into the heat of battle without your
own personal arms? The horse has a great spirit, given by God, which suits him
for battle or travel. He is strong – so strong that we measure power in
Horsepower. He is not easily shunned when his ears are perked for battle. He
shuns both saber and cannonade. Though hundreds of swords are raised ahead, he
charges on undaunted with his warrior mount. The war horse goes into battle
with heated passion. The greater the threat of the battle line, the faster and
more fiercely he charges into battle. Even the bugler's call to Retreat will
not convince him to quit the battle field. He seeks the contest rather than
shrinking from it. Perhaps we need Christians of the same caliber for our
perilous times.
26 Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward
the south? 27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her
nest on high? 28 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the
crag of the rock, and the strong place. 29 From thence she seeketh
the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. 30 Her young ones also suck
up blood: and where the slain are, there is she. What beautiful and
descriptive language here! True the wisdom of the hawk knows direction of
flight to surprise her prey. Unless on the equator, the sun generally shines
from the north. The hawk flies down-light so that her prey cannot distinguish
her in the sun. Now, the eagle is mentioned – a very inspiring and wonderful
creature of the heavens, indeed. If there is a sovereign of the skies, it would
be the eagle! Who told the eagle to make her nest on the high places and the
rock of the mountain? The eagle can see for many miles. Its vision is far
superior to man. The great wings of the eagle enable it to fly above the storm.
The wings of the Holy Spirit enable us to do the same without effort. The eagle
rides upon the winds and updrafts of God without flapping their wings continually.
So can we if we let our labors be God's instead of our own. The eagle will only
eat the prey that it kills, not another's. Would this not be a good rule for a
free society? She is on the wing daily to provide for her young unlike the
oyster that lies at the bottom of the murky waters to consume whatever, with
open mouth, falls down to her. Are we a nation of eagles, or of oysters? The
eagle is sacrificial on behalf of her young. If she finds no prey, she will cut
her own flesh to feed her young (Her young ones also suck up blood).
I am so pleased that our Founding Fathers chose the great Bald Eagle as our
national symbol and not the lazy and immovable oyster. Would it not be edifying
if parents today were as sacrificial for their children as the great Eagle?
