Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.
95 O come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2
Let us come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with songs.
3
For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
4
In whose hand are the depths of the earth;
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5
The sea is His, for He made it [by His command];
And His hands formed the dry land.(A)
6
O come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and prayer].
7
For He is our God
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice,(B)
8
Do not harden your hearts and become spiritually dull as at Meribah [the place of strife],
And as at Massah [the place of testing] in the wilderness,(C)
9
“When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, even though they had seen My work [of miracles].
10
“For forty years I was grieved and disgusted with that generation,
And I said, ‘They are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not acknowledge or regard My ways.’
11
“Therefore I swore [an oath] in My wrath,
‘They absolutely shall not enter My rest [the land of promise].’”(D)
A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Lilies.” A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the waters have threatened my life [they have come up to my neck].
2
I have sunk in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, where a flood overwhelms me.
3
I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My eyes fail while I wait [with confident expectation] for my God.
4
Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would destroy me are powerful, being my enemies wrongfully;
I am forced to restore what I did not steal.(A)
5
O God, You know my folly;
My wrongs are not hidden from You.
6
Do not let those who wait [confidently] for You be [a]ashamed through me, O Lord [b]God of hosts;
Do not let those who seek You [as necessary for life itself] be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7
Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Confusion and dishonor have covered my face.
8
I have become estranged from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons.(B)
9
For zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And the [mocking] insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.(C)
10
When I wept and humbled myself with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11
When I made sackcloth my clothing [as one in mourning],
I became a byword [a mere object of scorn] to them.
12
They who sit in the [city’s] gate talk about me and mock me,
And I am the song of the drunkards.
13
But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at an acceptable and opportune time;
O God, in the greatness of Your favor and in the abundance of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with truth [that is, the faithfulness of Your salvation].
14
Rescue me from the mire and do not let me sink;
Let me be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep waters.
15
Do not let the floodwater overwhelm me,
Nor the deep waters swallow me up,
Nor the pit [of Sheol] shut its mouth over me.
16
Answer me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is sweet and good and comforting;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me.
17
Do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in distress; answer me quickly.
18
Draw near to my soul and redeem it;
Ransom me because of my enemies [so that they do not delight in my distress].
19
You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor [how I am insulted];
My adversaries are all before You [each one fully known].
20
Reproach and insults have broken my heart and I am so sick.
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for comforters, but I found none.
21
They (self-righteous hypocrites) also gave me gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.(D)
22
May their table [with all its abundance and luxury] become a snare [to them];
And when they are in peace [secure at their sacrificial feasts], may it become a trap.
23
May their eyes be dimmed so that they cannot see,
And make their loins shake continually [in terror and weakness].
24
Pour out Your indignation on them,
And let [the fierceness of] Your burning anger overtake them.
25
May their encampment be desolate;
May no one dwell in their tents.(E)
26
For they have persecuted him whom You have struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom You have pierced and wounded.
27
Add [unforgiven] iniquity to their iniquity [in Your book],
And may they not come into Your [c]righteousness.
28
May they be blotted out of the book of life [and their lives come to an end]
And may they not be recorded with the righteous (those in right standing with God).(F)
29
But I am sorrowful and in pain;
May Your salvation, O God, set me [securely] on high.
30
I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31
And it will please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32
The humble have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God [requiring Him as your greatest need], let your heart revive and live.(G)
33
For the Lord hears the needy
And does not despise His who are prisoners.
34
Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
35
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah,
That His servants may remain there and possess it.
36
The descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name will dwell in it.
Book Three
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Truly God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart.
2
But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.
3
For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4
For there are no pains in their death,
Their body is fat and pampered.
5
They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like mankind.
6
Therefore pride is their necklace;
Violence covers them like a garment [like a long, luxurious robe].
7
Their eye bulges from fatness [they have more than the heart desires];
The imaginations of their mind run riot [with foolishness].
8
They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak loftily [with malice].
9
They set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue swaggers through the earth.(A)
10
Therefore his people return to this place,
And waters of abundance [offered by the irreverent] are [blindly] drunk by them.
11
They say, “How does God know?
Is there knowledge [of us] with the Most High?”
12
Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who always prosper and are at ease [in the world]; they have increased in wealth.
13
Surely then in vain I have cleansed my heart
And washed my hands in innocence.(B)
14
For all the day long have I been stricken,
And punished every morning.
15
If I had said, “I will say this,” [and expressed my feelings],
I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
16
When I considered how to understand this,
It was too great an effort for me and too painful
17
Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood [for I considered] their end.
18
Surely You set the wicked-minded and immoral on slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19
How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are completely swept away by sudden terrors!
20
Like a dream [which seems real] until one awakens,
O Lord, when stirred, [You observe the wicked], You will despise their image.
21
When my heart was embittered
And I was pierced within [as with the fang of an adder],
22
Then I was senseless and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
23
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24
You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to honor and glory.
25
Whom have I in heaven [but You]?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the rock and strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27
For behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful and have abandoned You.
28
But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him,
That I may tell of all Your works.
The Return to Egypt
43 Now the famine was very severe in the land [of Canaan]. 2 And it happened that when the families of Jacob’s sons had finished eating [all of] the grain which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” 3 But Judah said to him, “The man [representing Pharaoh] solemnly and sternly warned us, saying, ‘You will not see my face [again] unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down [to Egypt] and buy you food. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down there; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 And Israel (Jacob) said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man that you had another brother?” 7 And they said, “The man asked us straightforward questions about ourselves and our relatives. He said, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we [a]answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down [here to Egypt]’?” 8 Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the young man with me and we will get up and go [buy food], so that we may live and not die [of starvation], we as well as you and our little ones. 9 I will be security (a guarantee) for him; [b]you may hold me [personally] responsible for him. If I do not bring him [back] to you and place him [safely] before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever. 10 For if we had not delayed like this, surely by now we would have returned the second time.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this; take some of the choicest products of the land in your sacks, and carry it as a present [of tribute] to the man [representing Pharaoh], a little balm and a little honey, aromatic spices or gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take double the [amount of] money with you, and take back the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take your brother [Benjamin] also, and get up, and go to the man; 14 and may [c]God Almighty grant you compassion and favor before the man, so that he will release to you your other brother [Simeon] and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children [Joseph, Simeon, and Benjamin], I am bereaved.” 15 Then the men took the present, and they took double the [amount of] money with them, and Benjamin; then they left and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
Teaching on Marriage
7 Now as to the matters of which you wrote: It is good (beneficial, advantageous) for a man not to touch a woman [outside marriage]. 2 But because of [the temptation to participate in] sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 The husband must fulfill his [marital] duty to his wife [with good will and kindness], and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have [exclusive] authority over her own body, but the husband shares with her; and likewise the husband does not have [exclusive] authority over his body, but the wife shares with him. 5 Do not deprive each other [of marital rights], except perhaps by mutual consent for a time, so that you may devote yourselves [unhindered] to prayer, but come together again so that Satan will not tempt you [to sin] because of your lack of self-control. 6 But I am saying this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all the people were as I am; but each person has his own gift from God, one of this kind and one of that.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, [that as a practical matter] it is good if they remain [single and entirely devoted to the Lord] [a]as I am. 9 But if they do not have [sufficient] self-control, they should marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
Jesus Stills the Sea
35 On that [same] day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee].” 36 So leaving the crowd, they took Him with them, just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him.(A) 37 And a [a]fierce windstorm began to blow, and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already being swamped. 38 But Jesus was in the stern, asleep [with His head] on the [sailor’s leather] cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?” 39 And He got up and [sternly] rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still (muzzled)!” And the wind died down [as if it had grown weary] and there was [at once] a great calm [a perfect peacefulness]. 40 Jesus said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith and confidence [in Me]?” 41 They were filled with great fear, and said to each other, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
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