Book of Common Prayer
Save Me, O God
For the choir director. According to [a]Shoshannim. Of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)clay, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my calling out; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 O God, it is You who knows (I)my folly,
And [e](J)all my guilt is not hidden from You.
6 May those who hope for You not (K)be ashamed through me, O Lord Yahweh of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have borne reproach;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers
And a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made (R)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (S)a byword to them.
12 Those who (T)dwell at the gate moan about me,
And I am (U)the drunkards’ songs.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Yahweh, (V)at an acceptable time;
O God, in the (W)abundance of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with the truth of Your salvation.
14 Deliver me from the (X)mire and do not let me sink;
May I be (Y)delivered from [g]my foes and from the [h](Z)deep waters.
15 May the [i](AA)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AB)pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, O Yahweh, for (AC)Your lovingkindness is good;
(AD)According to the abundance of Your compassion, (AE)turn to me,
17 And (AF)do not hide Your face from Your slave,
For I am (AG)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and (AH)redeem it;
(AI)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AJ)reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are [j]before You.
20 Reproach has (AK)broken my heart and I am so sick.
And (AL)I hoped for sympathy, but there was none,
And for (AM)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [k](AN)gall [l]for my food
And for my thirst they (AO)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AP)their table before them become a snare;
And [m](AQ)when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AR)eyes darken so that they cannot see,
And make their (AS)loins quake continually.
24 (AT)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [n](AU)camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have (AV)persecuted him whom (AW)You Yourself have struck down,
And they recount the pain of those whom (AX)You have [o]wounded.
27 Add (AY)iniquity to their iniquity,
And (AZ)may they not come into (BA)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BB)blotted out of the (BC)book of life
And may they not be [p](BD)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BE)afflicted and in pain;
[q]May Your salvation, O God, (BF)set me securely on high.
30 I will (BG)praise the name of God with song
And (BH)magnify Him with (BI)thanksgiving.
31 And this will (BJ)please Yahweh better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BK)humble [r]see it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BL)let your heart [s]revive.
33 For (BM)Yahweh hears the needy
And (BN)does not despise His who are prisoners.
BOOK 3
The Nearness of God Is My Good
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet had almost stumbled,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the boastful,
I saw the (E)peace of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [b]body is fat.
5 They are (F)not [c]in trouble as other [d]men,
And they are not (G)stricken along with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore lofty pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [e]bulges from (J)fatness;
The delusions of their heart overflow.
8 They (K)scoff and [f]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [g]against the heavens,
And their tongue goes through the earth.
10 Therefore [h]his people return here, to his place,
And waters of (N)fullness are [i]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [j]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [k](U)reproved every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will recount thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)gave thought to know this,
It was trouble in my sight
17 Until I came into the [l](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cause them to fall to [m](AA)destruction.
19 How they become (AB)desolate in a moment!
They are completely swept away by (AC)terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [n]form.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [o]within,
22 Then I was (AI)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [p]an (AJ)animal [q]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (AL)lead me,
And afterward (AM)take me [r]in glory.
25 (AN)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [s]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart fail,
But God is the rock of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have [t]destroyed everyone who [u](AS)is unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is my good;
I have set Lord Yahweh as my (AU)refuge,
That I may (AV)recount all Your works.
David Anointed King over All Israel
5 (A)Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and [a]said, “Behold, we are (B)your bone and your flesh. 2 Previously, when Saul was king over us, (C)you were the one who led out and brought in Israel; and Yahweh said to you, ‘(D)You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be (E)a ruler over Israel.’” 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David (F)cut a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh; then (G)they anointed David king over Israel. 4 Now David was (H)thirty years old when he became king, and (I)he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron (J)he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
6 (K)Then the king and his men went to (L)Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to [b]David, “You shall not come in here, but the blind and lame will turn you away”; [c]thinking, “David cannot enter here.” 7 Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, that is (M)the city of David. 8 And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul, through the water tunnel.” Therefore they say, “The blind or the lame shall not come into the house.” 9 Then David lived in the fortress and called it (N)the city of David. And David built all around from the [d](O)Millo and inward. 10 (P)And David became greater and greater, and Yahweh, the God of hosts, was with him.
11 (Q)Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and craftsmen of wood and craftsmen of stone walls; and (R)they built a house for David. 12 Thus David knew that Yahweh had established him as king over Israel, and that He had lifted up his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.
Paul and Silas in Thessalonica
17 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to (A)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And (B)according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three (C)Sabbaths reasoned with them from (D)the Scriptures, 3 [a]explaining and setting before them that the [b]Christ (E)had to suffer and (F)rise again from the dead, and saying, “(G)This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that [c]Christ.” 4 (H)And some of them were persuaded and joined (I)Paul and Silas, [d]along with a great multitude of the (J)God-fearing (K)Greeks and not a few of the (L)leading women. 5 But (M)the Jews, becoming jealous, taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, and forming a mob, set the city in an uproar. And attacking the house of (N)Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the assembly. 6 And when they did not find them, they began (O)dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset [e](P)the world have come here also; 7 [f]and Jason (Q)has welcomed them, and they all act (R)contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And they disturbed the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. 9 And when they had received the bond from (S)Jason and the others, they released them.
In Berea
10 (T)And the brothers immediately sent (U)Paul and Silas away by night to (V)Berea, [g]and when they arrived, they went into (W)the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in (X)Thessalonica, [h]for they received the word with [i]great eagerness, [j]examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 12 Therefore (Y)many of them believed, along with not a few (Z)prominent Greek (AA)women and men. 13 But when the Jews of (AB)Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in (AC)Berea also, they came there as well, shaking up and disturbing the crowds. 14 Then immediately (AD)the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and (AE)Silas and (AF)Timothy remained there. 15 Now (AG)those who escorted Paul brought him as far as (AH)Athens; and after receiving a command for (AI)Silas and Timothy to (AJ)come to him as soon as possible, they left.
A Gentile Woman’s Faith
24 (A)Now Jesus stood up and went away from there to the region of (B)Tyre[a]. And when He had entered a house, He was wanting no one to know of it; [b]yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a [c]Greek, of Syrophoenician descent. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not [d]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this [e]answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And going back to her home, she found the child [f]lying on the bed, the demon having left.
The Deaf Hear, the Mute Speak
31 (C)And again He went out from the region of (D)Tyre, and came through Sidon to (E)the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the (F)Decapolis. 32 And they *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *pleaded with Him to (G)lay His hand on him. 33 (H)And Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after (I)spitting, He touched his tongue; 34 and looking up to heaven with a (J)sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” 35 And his ears were opened, and the [g]impediment of his tongue [h]was removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And (K)He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He was ordering them, the more widely they (L)continued to proclaim it. 37 And they were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
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