Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Psalm for the dedication of the Temple.
Thanksgiving for Deliverance
30 I exalt you, Lord,
for you have lifted me up,
and my enemies could not gloat over me.
2 Lord, my God!
I cried out to you for help
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you brought me from death;[a]
you kept me alive so that I did not descend into the Pit.[b]
4 You, his godly ones,
sing to the Lord,
give thanks at the mention of his holiness.
5 For his wrath is only momentary;
yet his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may lodge for the night,
but shouts of joy will come in the morning.
6 As for me,
I said in my prosperity,
“I will never be moved.”
7 By your favor, Lord,
you established me as a strong mountain;
Then you hid your face,
and I was dismayed.
8 I cried out to you, Lord,
and I make supplication to the Lord:
9 “What profit is there in my death[c] if I go down to the Pit?[d]
Can dust worship you?
Can it proclaim your faithfulness?”
10 Hear me, Lord,
and have mercy on me!
Lord, help me!
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you took off my sackcloth
and clothed me with a garment of joy,
12 so that I may sing praise to you
and not remain silent.
Lord, my God,
I will give you thanks forever!
A Davidic instruction.[a]
The Blessings of Forgiveness
32 How blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 How blessed is the person against whom the Lord does not charge iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent about my sin,[b]
my body[c] wasted away
by my groaning all day long.
4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night;
my strength was exhausted
as in a summer drought.
5 My sin I acknowledged to you;
my iniquity I did not hide.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin!
6 Therefore every godly person should pray to you at such a time.[d]
Surely a flood of great waters will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will deliver me from trouble
and surround me with shouts of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you
concerning the path you should walk;
I will direct you with my eye.
9 Don’t be like a horse or mule,
without understanding.
They are held in check by a bit and bridle in their mouths;
otherwise they will not remain near you.
10 The wicked have many sorrows,
but gracious love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
11 Righteous ones, be glad in the Lord and rejoice!
Shout for joy, all of you who are upright in heart!
BOOK II (Psalms 42-72)
To the Director: An instruction[a] of the Sons of Korah.
Hope in God When Times of Trouble Come
42 As an antelope pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When may I come and appear in God’s presence?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while people[b] keep asking me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I will recall as I pour out my troubles[c] within me:
I used to go with the crowd in a procession to the house of God,
accompanied with shouts of joy and thanksgiving.
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
for once again I will praise him,
since his presence saves me.
6 My God, my soul feels depressed[d] within me;
therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
from the heights of Hermon,
even from the foothills.[e]
7 Deep waters call out to what is deeper still;[f]
at the roar of your waterfalls
all your breakers and your waves swirled over me.
8 By day the Lord will command his gracious love,
and by night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will ask God, my Rock, “Why have you forsaken me?
Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”
10 Like the shattering of my bones are the taunts of my oppressors,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
for once again I will praise him,
since his presence saves me
and he is my God.
God is my Hope during Times of Trouble
43 [g]You be my judge,[h] God,
and plead my case against an unholy nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2 Since you are the God who strengthens me,
why have you forsaken me?
Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”
3 Send forth your light and your truth
so they may guide me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain and to your dwelling places.[i]
4 Then I will approach the altar of God,
even to God in whom my joy finds its source.[j]
Then I will praise you with the lyre,
God, my God,
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
because I will praise him once again,
since his presence saves me
and he is my God.
Secession of the Northern Tribes(A)
12 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem because all of Israel went there to install him as king. 2 Nebat’s son Jeroboam heard about it while he was still in Egypt, where he had fled to get away from King Solomon. Jeroboam returned from Egypt 3 after being summoned. When Jeroboam and the entire assembly of Israel arrived, they spoke to Rehoboam, 4 “Your father made our burdens unbearable.[a] Therefore lighten your father’s requirements and his heavy burdens that he placed on us, and we’ll serve you.”
5 “Come again in three days,” Rehoboam[b] told them. So the people left 6 while King Rehoboam conferred with his advisors who had worked for his father Solomon during his administration. He asked them, “What is your advice as to how I should respond to these people?”
7 They advised him, “If today you are a servant, you will serve this people by answering them and speaking kindly to them. Then they will serve you forever.”
8 But Rehoboam[c] ignored the counsel that his elder advisors had given him. Instead, he consulted the younger men who had grown up with him and who worked for[d] him. 9 As a result, he asked them, “What’s your advice so that we can give an answer to these people who have asked me, ‘Please lighten the burden that your father put on us.’?”
10 “This is what you should tell these people who asked you ‘Your father made our burden heavy, but you must make it lighter for us!’” the young men who grew up with Rehoboam[e] replied. “Tell them, ‘My little finger will be thicker than my father’s whole body![f] 11 Not only that, but since my father loaded you down heavily, I’m going to add to that burden. My father disciplined you with whips, but I’m going to discipline you with scorpions!’”
12 So Jeroboam and all the people went back to Rehoboam on the third day, just as they had been directed when the king said, “Come back again in three days.” 13 But the king gave the people a harsh response, because he was ignoring the counsel that his elders had given him. 14 Instead, Rehoboam[g] spoke to them along the lines of what the younger men suggested. He told them, “My father burdened you heavily, but I will add to that burden. If my father disciplined you with whips, I’m going to discipline you with scorpions!”
15 The king would not listen to the people, because the turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill his prediction that the Lord spoke by means of Ahijah the Shilonite to Nebat’s son Jeroboam. 16 When all of Israel saw that the king wasn’t listening to them, the people responded to the king’s message, “What’s the point in following David? We have no inheritance in the descendants of Jesse. Let’s go home,[h] Israel! David, take care of your own household!’ So Israel left for home.[i] 17 And so Rehoboam ruled over the Israelis who lived in the cities of Judah.
18 King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of conscripted labor, but all of Israel stoned him to death, and King Rehoboam had to jump in his chariot and flee back in a hurry to Jerusalem. 19 That’s how Israel came to be in rebellion against David’s dynasty to this day.
Jeroboam Reigns over Israel(B)
20 Now when all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him and invited him to visit their assembly, where they installed him as king over all of Israel. Nobody (with the sole exception of the tribe of Judah) would align with David’s dynasty.
Be Patient
7 So be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious crop from his land, being patient with it until it receives the fall and the spring rains. 8 You, too, must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain about each other, brothers, or you will be condemned. Look! The Judge is standing at the door! 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We consider those who endured to be blessed. You have heard about Job’s endurance and have seen the purpose of the Lord—that the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Do Not Swear Oaths
12 Above all, brothers, do not swear oaths by heaven, by earth, or by any other object.[a] Instead, let your “Yes” mean yes and your “No” mean no! Otherwise,[b] you may fall under condemnation.
19 My brothers, if one of you wanders away from the truth and somebody brings him back, 20 you may be sure that whoever brings a sinner back from his wrong path will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Jesus Dies on the Cross(A)
33 At noon,[a] darkness came over the whole land[b] until three in the afternoon.[c] 34 At three o’clock,[d] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, eloi,[e] lema sabachthani?”[f] (which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)[g]
35 When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “Listen! He’s calling for Elijah!”[h]
36 So someone ran and soaked a sponge in some sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus[i] a drink, saying, “Wait! Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down!”
37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 The curtain[j] in the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion[k] who stood facing Jesus[l] saw how he had cried out and[m] breathed his last, he said, “This man certainly was the Son of God!”
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