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.
2 And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber, which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, (A)inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, (B)whether I will live from this sickness.” 3 But the angel of [a]Yahweh said to (C)Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of (D)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Now therefore thus says Yahweh, ‘[b](E)You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” Then Elijah departed.
5 So the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, “[c]Why have you returned?” 6 And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending (F)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore [d]you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”’” 7 And he said to them, “What [e]kind of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” 8 And they said to him, “(G)He was a hairy man with a leather girdle girded about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 Then the king (H)sent to him a commander of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10 And Elijah answered and spoke to the commander of fifty, “If I am a man of God, (I)let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” (J)Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
11 So he again sent to him another commander of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and spoke to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.’” 12 And Elijah answered and spoke to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
13 So he (K)again sent the commander of a third fifty with his fifty. Then the third commander of fifty went up and came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and he begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two commanders of fifty with their fifties; but now let my [f]life be precious in your sight.” 15 (L)Then the angel of Yahweh spoke to Elijah, “Go down with him; (M)do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 Then he spoke to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Because you have sent messengers (N)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?—therefore [g]you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”
Jehoram Reigns over Israel
17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of Yahweh which Elijah had spoken. And because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place (O)in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.
16 (A)Do you not know that (B)you are a [a]sanctuary of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the [b]sanctuary of God, God will destroy him, for the [c]sanctuary of God is holy, and [d]that is what you are.
18 (C)Let no man deceive himself. (D)If any man among you thinks that he is wise in (E)this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. 19 For (F)the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is (G)the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; 20 and again, “(H)The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.” 21 So then (I)let no one boast in men. For (J)all things belong to you, 22 (K)whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or (L)life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23 and (M)you belong to Christ, and (N)Christ belongs to God.
11 “Blessed are you when people (A)insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for (B)in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but (C)if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men.
14 “You are (D)the light of the world. A city set on a [a]hill cannot be hidden; 15 (E)nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a [b]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may (F)see your good works, and (G)glorify your Father who is in heaven.
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