Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer[b] you[c] when you are in trouble;[d]
may the God of Jacob[e] make you secure.
2 May he send you help from his temple;[f]
from Zion may he give you support.
3 May he take notice of[g] all your offerings;
may he accept[h] your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
4 May he grant your heart’s desire;[i]
may he bring all your plans to pass.[j]
5 Then we will shout for joy over your[k] victory;
we will rejoice[l] in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now I am sure[m] that the Lord will deliver[n] his chosen king;[o]
he will intervene for him[p] from his holy, heavenly temple,[q]
and display his mighty ability to deliver.[r]
7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses,[s]
but we[t] depend on[u] the Lord our God.
8 They will fall down,[v]
but we[w] will stand firm.[x]
9 The Lord will deliver the king;[y]
he will answer us[z] when we call to him for help![aa]
Psalm 21[ab]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[ac]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[ad]
2 You grant[ae] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[af] (Selah)
3 For you bring him[ag] rich[ah] blessings;[ai]
you place a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked you to sustain his life,[aj]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[ak]
5 Your deliverance brings him great honor;[al]
you give him majestic splendor.[am]
6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[an]
7 For the king trusts[ao] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[ap] faithfulness he is not shaken.[aq]
8 You[ar] prevail over[as] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[at]
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace[au] when you appear.[av]
The Lord angrily devours them;[aw]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[ax] from the earth,
their descendants[ay] from among the human race.[az]
11 Yes,[ba] they intend to do you harm;[bb]
they dream up a scheme,[bc] but they do not succeed.[bd]
12 For you make them retreat[be]
when you aim your arrows at them.[bf]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![bg]
We will sing and praise[bh] your power.
Psalm 110[a]
A psalm of David.
110 Here is the Lord’s proclamation[b] to my lord:[c]
“Sit down at my right hand[d] until I make your enemies your footstool.”[e]
2 The Lord[f] extends[g] your dominion[h] from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people willingly follow you[i] when you go into battle.[j]
On the holy hills[k] at sunrise[l] the dew of your youth[m] belongs to you.[n]
4 The Lord makes this promise on oath[o] and will not revoke it:[p]
“You are an eternal priest[q] after the pattern of[r] Melchizedek.”[s]
5 O Lord,[t] at your right hand
he strikes down[u] kings in the day he unleashes his anger.[v]
6 He executes judgment[w] against[x] the nations.
He fills the valleys with corpses;[y]
he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield.[z]
7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head.[aa]
Psalm 116[a]
116 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy,[b]
2 and listened to me.[c]
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.[d]
3 The ropes of death tightened around me,[e]
the snares[f] of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted[g] with trouble and sorrow.
4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please, Lord, rescue my life!”
5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects[h] the untrained;[i]
I was in serious trouble[j] and he delivered me.
7 Rest once more, my soul,[k]
for the Lord has vindicated you.[l]
8 Yes,[m] Lord,[n] you rescued my life from death,
kept my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.
9 I will serve[o] the Lord
in the land[p] of the living.
10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 I rashly declared,[q]
“All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
13 I will celebrate my deliverance,[r]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.[s]
16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.[t]
You saved me from death.[u]
17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117[v]
The Covenant Setting
1 This is what[a] Moses said to all of Israel in the Transjordanian[b] wilderness, the arid rift valley opposite[c] Suph,[d] between[e] Paran[f] and Tophel,[g] Laban,[h] Hazeroth,[i] and Di Zahab.[j] 2 Now it is ordinarily an eleven-day journey[k] from Horeb[l] to Kadesh Barnea[m] by way of Mount Seir.[n] 3 However, it was not until[o] the first day of the eleventh month[p] of the fortieth year[q] that Moses addressed the Israelites just as[r] the Lord had instructed him to do. 4 This took place after the defeat[s] of King Sihon[t] of the Amorites, whose capital was[u] in Heshbon,[v] and King Og of Bashan, whose capital was[w] in Ashtaroth,[x] specifically in Edrei.[y] 5 So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words:[z]
Events at Horeb
6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb and said, “You have stayed[aa] in the area of this mountain long enough. 7 Head out[ab] and resume your journey. Enter the Amorite hill country, and all its neighboring areas, including the rift valley,[ac] the hill country, the foothills,[ad] the Negev,[ae] and the coastal plain—all of Canaan and Lebanon as far as the Great River, that is, the Euphrates. 8 Look! I have already given the land to you.[af] Go, occupy the territory that I,[ag] the Lord, promised[ah] to give to your ancestors[ai] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants.”[aj]
6 Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. 7 For we have brought nothing into this world and so[a] we cannot take a single thing out either. 8 But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that.[b] 9 Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root[c] of all evils.[d] Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.
11 But you, as a person dedicated to God,[e] keep away from all that.[f] Instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Compete well[g] for the faith and lay hold of that eternal life you were called for and made your good confession[h] for[i] in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you[j] before God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who made his good confession[k] before Pontius Pilate, 14 to obey[l] this command[m] without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ 15 —whose appearing[n] the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the right time. 16 He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.
17 Command those who are rich in this world’s goods[o] not to be haughty or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain,[p] but on God who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to do good,[q] to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers, sharing with others.[r] 19 In this way they will save up[s] a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation[t] for the future and so lay hold of[u] what is truly life.
Conclusion
20 O Timothy, protect what has been entrusted to you. Avoid[v] the profane chatter and absurdities[w] of so-called “knowledge.”[x] 21 By professing it, some have strayed from the faith.[y] Grace be with you all.[z]
12 He[a] said also to the man[b] who had invited him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet,[c] don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. 13 But when you host an elaborate meal,[d] invite the poor, the crippled,[e] the lame, and[f] the blind.[g] 14 Then[h] you will be blessed,[i] because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid[j] at the resurrection of the righteous.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15 When[k] one of those at the meal with Jesus[l] heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone[m] who will feast[n] in the kingdom of God!”[o] 16 But Jesus[p] said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet[q] and invited[r] many guests.[s] 17 At[t] the time for the banquet[u] he sent his slave[v] to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ 18 But one after another they all[w] began to make excuses.[x] The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field,[y] and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’[z] 19 Another[aa] said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen,[ab] and I am going out[ac] to examine them. Please excuse me.’ 20 Another[ad] said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’[ae] 21 So[af] the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious[ag] and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly[ah] to the streets and alleys of the city,[ai] and bring in the poor,[aj] the crippled,[ak] the blind, and the lame.’ 22 Then[al] the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’[am] 23 So[an] the master said to his[ao] slave, ‘Go out to the highways[ap] and country roads[aq] and urge[ar] people[as] to come in, so that my house will be filled.[at] 24 For I tell you, not one of those individuals[au] who were invited[av] will taste my banquet!’”[aw]
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