Book of Common Prayer
Confidence in Yahweh
A miktam[a] of David.[b]
16 Protect me, O God,
for I take refuge in you.
2 Oh my soul you have said[c] to Yahweh, “You are my Lord.
I have no good apart from you.”
3 With regard to the saints who are in the land,
they are the noble ones in whom is all my desire.
4 Those who hurry after[d] another god increase their sorrows.
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
nor take up their names on my lips.
5 Yahweh is the portion which is my share and my cup.
You hold my lot.
6 The measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.
Yes, my inheritance is delightful for me.
7 I will bless Yahweh who advises me;
yes, at night my innermost being[e] instructs me.
8 I have set Yahweh before me always.
Because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices.
Yes, my body will dwell in safety,
10 for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
you will not give your faithful one to see the grave.
11 You will make known to me the path of life.
In your presence is fullness of joy.
At your right hand are pleasures forever.
Prayer for Vindication and Protection
A prayer of David.[f]
17 O Yahweh, hear a just cause.
Hear my cry; heed my prayer
I make without deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come forth from you;
let your eyes see fairness.
3 You have tried my heart;
you have examined me by night;
you have tested me; you found nothing.
I have decided that my mouth will not transgress.
4 As for the works of humankind,
by the word of your lips,
I have kept from the ways of the violent.
5 I have held my steps in your path
My feet will not slip.
6 As for me, I have called on you
because you will answer me, O God.
Incline your ear to me.
Hear my words.[g]
7 Show wondrously your acts of loyal love,
O Savior of those who take refuge
at your right hand[h]
from those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye.[i]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the presence[j] of the wicked who destroy me,
those enemies against my life,
they that surround me.
10 They have shut off their calloused[k] heart;
with their mouth they speak arrogantly.
11 Now they surround us at our every step.
They intend[l]
to pin[m] me to the ground.
12 He is like[n] a lion; he longs to tear apart,
and like a strong lion crouching in hiding places.
13 Rise up, O Yahweh, confront him.[o]
Make him bow down.
Rescue with your sword my life from the wicked,
14 from men by your hand, O Yahweh, from men of this world.
Their share is in this life,[p] and you fill their stomach with your treasure.
They are satisfied with children.
They bequeath their excess to their children.
15 By contrast, I in righteousness shall see your face.
Upon awakening I will be satisfied seeing your form.
Suffering and Waiting for Deliverance
For the music director; according to The Doe of the Dawn. A psalm of David.[a]
22 My God, my God why have you forsaken me?
Why are you far from helping me, far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I call by day and you do not answer,
and by night but I have no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors[c] trusted you;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved;
they trusted you and were not ashamed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by humankind and despised by people.
7 All who see me mock me.
They open wide their lips;
they shake the head, saying:
8 “He trusts Yahweh.[d] Let him rescue him.
Let him deliver him because he delights in him.”
9 Yet you took me from the belly;
you made me trust while on my mother’s breasts.
10 On you I was cast from the womb.
From my mother’s belly you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me
because trouble is near;
because there is no helper.
12 Many bulls have encircled me;
mighty bulls of Bashan have surrounded me.
13 They open their mouth against me
like a lion tearing and roaring.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax;
it is melted within me.[e]
15 My strength is dry like a potsherd,
and my tongue is sticking to my jaws;
and you have placed me in the dust of death.
16 Because dogs have surrounded me;
a gang of evildoers has encircled me.
Like the lion[f] they are at my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones;
they gaze, they look at me.
18 They divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.[g]
19 But you, O Yahweh, do not remain distant.
O my help, hasten to help me.
20 Rescue my life from the sword,
my only life from the power of the dogs.[h]
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion,
and from the horns of the wild oxen answer me.
22 I will tell your name to my brothers;
inside the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who revere Yahweh, praise him!
Glorify him, all you seed of Jacob,
and be in awe of him, all you seed of Israel,
24 because he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
and has not hid his face from him;
but he listened to him when he cried for help.
25 From you is my praise.
In the great assembly,
I will pay my vows before those who revere him.
26 The afflicted will eat and will be satisfied.
Those who seek him will praise Yahweh.
May your[i] heart live forever.
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to Yahweh.
All the families of the nations
will worship before you.
28 Because the kingship belongs to Yahweh,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the healthy ones[j] of the earth will eat and worship.
Before him all of those descending into the dust will kneel,
even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30 Descendants[k] will serve him.
Regarding the Lord, it will be told to the next generation.
31 They will come and tell his saving[l] deeds
to a people yet to be born, that he has done it.
Basic Stipulations
5 And then Moses summoned all of Israel and said to them, “Hear, Israel, the rules and the regulations that I am speaking in your ears today,[a] and you shall learn them, and you must observe them diligently.[b] 2 Yahweh our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our ancestors[c] that Yahweh made this covenant, but with these of us who are here alive today. 4 Face to face[d] Yahweh spoke with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire. 5 I was standing between Yahweh and you[e] at that time to report[f] to you the word of Yahweh, for you were afraid because of the presence of[g] the fire, and so you did not go up the mountain. He said,[h]
6 ‘I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 7 There shall not be for you other gods besides me.[i]
8 ‘You shall not make for yourself a divine image of any type of form that is in the 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, and you shall not serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, punishing the guilt of fathers upon their children and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of those hating me, 10 but showing loyal love to thousands of those who love me and of those who keep my commandments.
11 ‘You shall not take up the name of Yahweh your God for a worthless purpose, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who uses his name for a worthless purpose.
12 ‘Observe the Sabbath day[j] to make it holy,[k] just as Yahweh your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall work, and you shall do all of your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto Yahweh your God; you shall not do any work, or your son, or your daughter, or your slave, or your slave woman, or your ox, or your donkey, or any of your domestic animals, or your resident alien who is in your towns,[l] so that your slave and your slave woman may rest as you rest. 15 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm; therefore, Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath.[m]
16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God commanded you, so that it will be good for you[n] in the land[o] that Yahweh your God is giving to you.
17 ‘You shall not murder.
18 ‘And you shall not commit adultery.
19 ‘And you shall not steal.
20 ‘And you shall not falsely bear evidence against your neighbor.
21 ‘And you shall not covet the wife of your neighbor, and you shall not crave the house of your neighbor, his field or his slave or his slave woman or his ox and his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’[p]
22 “These words Yahweh spoke to your whole assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire and the very thick cloud with a loud voice, and he did not add anything,[q] and then he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
Paul’s Concern for the Christians at Corinth
11 I have become a fool! You compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you, for I am in no way inferior to the preeminent apostles,[a] even if I am nothing. 12 Indeed, the signs of an apostle have been done among you with all patient endurance, both signs and wonders and deeds of power. 13 For in what respect are you made worse off[b] more than the rest of the churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong! 14 Behold, this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you. For I am not seeking your possessions, but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 But I will spend and be expended most gladly for your lives. If I love you much more, am I to be loved less? 16 But let it be. I have not been a burden to you, but because I[c] was crafty, I took you by cunning. 17 I have not taken advantage of you through anyone whom I sent to you[d], have I?[e] 18 I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he?[f] Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit?[g] Did we not walk in the same footsteps?[h] 19 Have you been thinking all this time that we are defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and all these things, dear friends, are for your edification. 20 For I am afraid lest somehow when I[i] arrive, I will not find you as I want, and I may be found by you as you do not want. I am afraid[j] lest somehow there will be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, pride, disorder. 21 I am afraid lest when I[k] come again my God will humiliate me in your presence[l], and I will grieve over many of those who sinned previously and have not repented because of their impurity and sexual immorality and licentiousness that they have practiced.
The Sermon on the Mount: The Narrow Gate
13 “Enter through the narrow gate, because broad is the gate and spacious is the road that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it, 14 because narrow[a] is the gate and constricted is the road that leads to life, and there are few who find it!
The Sermon on the Mount: Recognizing False Prophets
15 “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inside are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits: they do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do they?[b] 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree is not able to produce bad fruit, nor a bad tree to produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 As a result, you will recognize them by their fruits.
The Sermon on the Mount: False Followers
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
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