Book of Common Prayer
The Unfaithfulness of God’s People
106 Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the Lord,
since he is good,
for his gracious love exists forever.
2 Who can fully describe the mighty acts of the Lord
or proclaim all his praises?
3 How happy are those who enforce justice,
who live righteously all the time.
4 Remember me, Lord,
when you show favor to your people.
Visit us with your deliverance,
5 to witness the prosperity of your chosen ones,
to rejoice in your nation’s joy,
to glory in your inheritance.
6 We have sinned, along with our ancestors;
we have committed iniquity and wickedness.
7 In Egypt, our ancestors neither comprehended your awesome deeds
nor remembered your abundant gracious love.
Instead, they rebelled beside the sea, the Reed[a] Sea.
8 He delivered for the sake of his name,[b]
to make his power known.
9 He shouted at the Reed[c] Sea and it dried up;
and led them through the sea as though through a desert.
10 He delivered them from the power of their foe;
redeeming them from the power of their enemy.
11 The water overwhelmed their enemies,
so that not one of them survived.[d]
12 Then they believed his word
and sung his praise.
13 But they quickly forgot his deeds
and did not wait for his counsel.
14 They were overwhelmed with craving in the wilderness,
so God tested them in the wasteland.
15 God granted them their request,
but sent leanness into their lives.
16 They were envious of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17 The earth opened and swallowed Dathan,
closing over Abiram’s clan.
18 Then a fire burned among their company,
a flame that set the wicked ablaze.
19 They fashioned a calf at Horeb
and worshipped a carved image.
20 They exchanged their glory[e]
with the image of a grass-eating bull.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who performed great things in Egypt—
22 awesome deeds in the land of Ham,[f]
astonishing deeds at the Reed[g] Sea.
23 He would have destroyed them
but for Moses, his chosen one,
who stood in the breach before him
to avert[h] his destructive wrath.
24 They rejected the desirable land,
and they didn’t trust his promise.
25 They murmured in their tents,
and didn’t listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 So he swore an oath concerning them—
that he would cause them to die in the wilderness,
27 to cause their children to perish among the nations
and be scattered among many[i] lands.
28 For they adopted the worship[j] of Baal Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 They had provoked anger by their deeds,
so that a plague broke out against them.
30 But Phinehas intervened and prayed
so that the plague was restrained.
31 And it was credited to him as a righteous act,
from generation to generation—to eternity.
32 They provoked wrath at the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered[k] on account of them.
33 For they rebelled against him,[l]
so that he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips.
34 They never destroyed the people,
as the Lord had commanded them.
35 Instead, they mingled among the nations
and learned their ways.[m]
36 They worshipped[n] their idols,
and this became a trap for them.
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
38 They shed innocent blood—
the blood of their sons and daughters—
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
thereby polluting the land with blood.
39 Therefore, they became unclean because of what they did;
they have acted like whores by their evil deeds.
40 The Lord’s anger burned against his people,
so that he despised his own inheritance.
41 He turned them over to domination by nations
where those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
so that they were humiliated by their power.
43 He delivered them many times,
but they demonstrated rebellion by their evil plans;
therefore they sunk deep in their sins.
44 Yet when he saw their distress
and heard their cries for help,[o]
45 he remembered his covenant with them,
and so relented
according to the greatness of his gracious love.
46 He caused all their captors to show compassion toward them.
47 Deliver us, Lord our God,
gather us from among the nations
so we may praise your holy name
and rejoice in praising you.
48 Blessed are you, Lord God of Israel,
from eternity to eternity;
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Hallelujah!
Naomi’s Family
1 Now there came a time of famine while judges were ruling in the land of Israel.[a] A man from Bethlehem of Judah, his wife, and his two sons left to live in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and their two sons were named Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. They journeyed to the country of Moab and lived there for some time.[b] 3 Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Each of her sons[c] married Moabite women: one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. After they lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion died, leaving Naomi[d] alone with neither her husband nor her two sons.
Naomi Returns to Judah
6 She and her daughters-in-law prepared to return from the country of Moab, because she had heard while living there[e] how the Lord had come to the aid of his people, giving them relief.[f] 7 So she left the place where she had been, along with her two daughters-in-law, and they traveled along the return road to the land of Judah. 8 But along the way,[g] Naomi told her two daughters-in-law, “Each of you go back home. Return to your mother’s house. May the Lord show his gracious love to you, as you have shown me and our loved ones who have died.[h] 9 May the Lord grant each of you security in your new[i] husbands’ households.” Then she kissed them good-bye,[j] and they cried loudly.
10 They both replied to her, “No! We’ll go back with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi responded, “Go back, my daughters. Why go with me? Are there still sons to be born to me[k] as future husbands for you? 12 So go on back, my daughters! Be on your way! I’m too old to remarry.[l] If I were to say that I’m hoping for a husband tonight and then also bore sons this very night,[m] 13 would you wait for them until they were grown? Would you refrain from marriage for them? No, my daughters! I’m more deeply grieved than you, because[n] the Lord is working against me!”
Ruth Remains with Naomi
14 They began to cry loudly again. So Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye,[o] but Ruth remained with her.
Paul Greets the Church in Corinth
1 From:[a] Paul, an apostle of the Messiah[b] Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.
To: God’s church in Corinth, and to all the holy people[c] throughout Achaia.
2 May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[d] be yours!
The God of All Comfort
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah![e] He is our merciful Father and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our suffering, so that we may be able to comfort others in all their suffering, as we ourselves are being comforted by God. 5 For as the Messiah’s[f] sufferings overflow into us, so also our comfort overflows through the Messiah.[g] 6 If we suffer, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are suffering. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, because we know that as you share our sufferings, you also share our comfort.
How God Rescued Paul
8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about the suffering we experienced in Asia. We were so crushed beyond our ability to endure that we even despaired of living. 9 In fact, we felt that we had received a death sentence so we would not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has rescued us from a terrible death, and he will continue to rescue us. Yes, he is the one on whom we have set our hope, and he will rescue us again, 11 as you also help us by your prayers for us. Then many people will thank God[h] on our behalf because of the favor shown us through the prayers of many.
Jesus Teaches about the Kingdom
5 When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up on the hill. After taking his seat, his disciples came to him, 2 and he began[b] to teach them:
The Blessed Attitudes(A)
3 “How blessed are those who are destitute in spirit,
because the kingdom from[c] heaven belongs to them!
4 “How blessed are those who mourn,
because it is they who will be comforted!
5 “How blessed are those who are humble,[d]
because it is they who will inherit the earth!
6 “How blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness,[e]
because it is they who will be satisfied!
7 “How blessed are those who are merciful,
because it is they who will receive mercy!
8 “How blessed are those who are pure in heart,
because it is they who will see God!
9 “How blessed are those who make peace,
because it is they who will be called God’s children!
10 “How blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
because the kingdom from[f] heaven belongs to them!
11 “How blessed are you whenever people[g] insult you, persecute you, and say all sorts of evil things against you falsely[h] because of me! 12 Rejoice and be extremely glad, because your reward in heaven is great! That’s how they persecuted the prophets who came before you.”
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