Book of Common Prayer
You Will Not Abandon My Soul
A (A)Miktam[a] of David.
16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I (B)take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
(C)I have no good apart from you.”
4 The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or (E)take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is (F)my chosen portion and my (G)cup;
you hold my (H)lot.
6 (I)The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who (J)gives me counsel;
in (K)the night also my (L)heart instructs me.[d]
8 (M)I have (N)set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my (O)right hand, I shall not be (P)shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my (Q)whole being[e] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to (R)Sheol,
(S)or let your (T)holy one see (U)corruption.[f]
11 You make known to me (V)the path of life;
in your presence there is (W)fullness of joy;
at your right hand are (X)pleasures forevermore.
In the Shadow of Your Wings
A (Y)Prayer of David.
17 Hear a just cause, O Lord; (Z)attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2 From your presence (AA)let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
3 You have (AB)tried my heart, you have (AC)visited me by (AD)night,
you have (AE)tested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have (AF)held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
6 I (AG)call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
(AH)incline your ear to me; hear my words.
7 (AI)Wondrously show[g] your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from (AJ)their adversaries at your right hand.
8 Keep me as (AK)the apple of your eye;
hide me in (AL)the shadow of your wings,
9 from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who (AM)surround me.
10 (AN)They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they (AO)speak arrogantly.
11 They have now surrounded our (AP)steps;
they set their eyes to (AQ)cast us to the ground.
12 He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion (AR)lurking in ambush.
13 Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14 from men by your hand, O Lord,
from (AS)men of the world whose (AT)portion is in this life.[h]
You fill their womb with treasure;[i]
they are satisfied with (AU)children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
Why Have You Forsaken Me?
To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
22 (A)My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so (B)far from saving me, from the words of my (C)groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by (D)day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are (E)holy,
(F)enthroned on (G)the praises[a] of Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they (H)cried and were rescued;
in you they (I)trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am (J)a worm and not a man,
(K)scorned by mankind and (L)despised by the people.
7 All who see me (M)mock me;
they make mouths at me; they (N)wag their heads;
8 (O)“He trusts in the Lord; let him (P)deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he (Q)delights in him!”
9 Yet you are he who (R)took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth,
and from (S)my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Be not (T)far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is (U)none to help.
12 Many bulls encompass me;
(V)strong bulls of (W)Bashan surround me;
13 they (X)open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am (Y)poured out like water,
and all my bones are (Z)out of joint;
my (AA)heart is like (AB)wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is (AC)dried up like a potsherd,
and my (AD)tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For (AE)dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers (AF)encircles me;
they have (AG)pierced my hands and feet[b]—
17 I can count all my bones—
they (AH)stare and gloat over me;
18 (AI)they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O Lord, (AJ)do not be far off!
O you my help, (AK)come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of (AL)the dog!
21 Save me from (AM)the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued[c] me from the horns of (AN)the wild oxen!
22 (AO)I will tell of your name to my (AP)brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who (AQ)fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, (AR)glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of (AS)the afflicted,
and he has not (AT)hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he (AU)cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great (AV)congregation;
my (AW)vows I will (AX)perform before those who fear him.
26 (AY)The afflicted[d] shall (AZ)eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts (BA)live forever!
27 All (BB)the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all (BC)the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For (BD)kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All (BE)the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall (BF)bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not (BG)keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming (BH)generation;
31 they shall (BI)come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet (BJ)unborn,
that he has done it.
The Ten Commandments
5 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2 (A)The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 (B)Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you (C)face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5 (D)while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For (E)you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:
6 (F)“‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7 “‘You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to (G)thousands[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but (H)the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, (I)that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 (J)You shall remember that you were a slave[c] in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there (K)with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, (L)that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
17 (M)“‘You shall not murder.[d]
18 (N)“‘And you shall not commit adultery.
19 “‘And you shall not steal.
20 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.’
22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly (O)at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And (P)he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
Concern for the Corinthian Church
11 (A)I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was (B)not at all inferior to these super-apostles, (C)even though I am nothing. 12 (D)The signs of a true apostle were performed among you (E)with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. 13 For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that (F)I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!
14 Here (G)for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for (H)I seek not what is yours but you. For (I)children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but (J)parents for their children. 15 (K)I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If (L)I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granting that (M)I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. 17 Did I take advantage of you (N)through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 (O)I urged Titus to go, and sent (P)the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?
19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is (Q)in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and (R)all for your upbuilding, beloved. 20 For I fear that perhaps (S)when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those (T)who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, (U)sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.
13 (A)“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy[a] that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and (B)the way is hard that leads to life, and (C)those who find it are few.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 (D)“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are (E)ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them (F)by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, (G)every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 (H)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them (I)by their fruits.
I Never Knew You
21 (J)“Not everyone who (K)says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will (L)enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who (M)does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.