Book of Common Prayer
Consider the Way of the Blameless
Of David. A Psalm.
101 I will (A)sing of lovingkindness and [a]justice,
To You, O Yahweh, I will sing praises.
2 I will [b](B)consider the way of the blameless.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the [c](C)integrity of my heart.
3 I will set no (D)vile thing before my eyes;
I hate the [d]work of those who (E)fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
4 A (F)crooked heart shall depart from me;
I will know no evil.
5 Whoever secretly (G)slanders his neighbor, him I will [e]destroy;
Whoever has a (H)haughty look and an arrogant heart, I will not endure.
6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may abide with me;
He who walks in the (I)way of the blameless is the one who will minister to me.
7 He who (J)practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who speaks lies (K)shall not be established before my eyes.
8 (L)Every morning I will [f](M)destroy all the wicked of the land,
To (N)cut off from the (O)city of Yahweh all the workers of iniquity.
O God, Do Not Be Silent
For the choir director. Of David. A Psalm.
109 O (A)God of my praise,
(B)Do not be silent!
2 For they have opened a wicked mouth and a (C)deceitful mouth against me;
They have spoken to me with a (D)lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me (E)without cause.
4 In return (F)for my love they accuse me;
But (G)I am in prayer.
5 Thus they have (H)set upon me evil for good
And (I)hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked man over him,
And let an [a](J)accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him (K)come forth a wicked man,
And let his (L)prayer become sin.
8 Let (M)his days be few;
Let (N)another take his office.
9 Let his (O)sons be orphans
And his (P)wife a widow.
10 Let his (Q)sons wander aimlessly and beg;
And let them (R)search for food [b]from their ruined homes.
11 Let (S)the creditor [c]seize all that he has,
And let (T)strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.
12 Let there be none to [d](U)extend lovingkindness to him,
And (V)let there be none to be gracious to his orphans.
13 Let those who (W)follow him be [e]cut off;
In a following generation let their (X)name be blotted out.
14 Let (Y)the iniquity of his fathers be remembered [f]before Yahweh,
And let not the sin of his mother be (Z)blotted out.
15 Let (AA)them be before Yahweh continually,
That He may (AB)cut off their memory from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness,
But persecuted the (AC)afflicted, the needy man,
And the (AD)disheartened to (AE)put them to death.
17 He also loved cursing, so (AF)it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
18 But he (AG)clothed himself with cursing as his garment,
And it (AH)came into his inward parts like water
And like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him as (AI)a garment with which he wraps himself,
And for a belt with which he constantly (AJ)girds himself.
20 This is the (AK)reward of my accusers from Yahweh,
And of those who (AL)speak evil against my soul.
21 But as for You, O Yahweh, O Lord, deal with me (AM)for Your name’s sake;
Because (AN)Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me;
22 For (AO)I am afflicted and needy,
And [g]my heart is (AP)pierced within me.
23 I am passing (AQ)like a shadow when it is stretched out;
I am shaken off (AR)like the locust.
24 My (AS)knees are feeble from (AT)fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
25 As for me, I have become a (AU)reproach to them;
They see me, they (AV)wag their head.
26 (AW)Help me, O Yahweh my God;
Save me according to Your lovingkindness.
27 [h]And let them (AX)know that this is Your hand;
You, O Yahweh, have done it.
28 (AY)Let them curse, but You bless;
They arise and will be put to shame,
But Your (AZ)slave shall be glad.
29 [i]Let (BA)my accusers be clothed with dishonor,
And [j]let them (BB)wrap themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to Yahweh;
And in the midst of many (BC)I will praise Him.
Ayin
121 I have (A)done justice and righteousness;
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Be for Your slave a (B)guarantee for good;
Do not let the arrogant (C)oppress me.
123 My (D)eyes fail with longing for Your salvation
And for Your righteous [a]word.
124 Deal with Your slave (E)according to Your lovingkindness
And (F)teach me Your statutes.
125 (G)I am Your slave; (H)give me understanding,
That I may know Your testimonies.
126 It is time for Yahweh to (I)act,
For they have broken Your law.
127 Therefore I (J)love Your commandments
Above gold, even above fine gold.
128 Therefore I deem all Your (K)precepts concerning everything to be right,
I (L)hate every false way.
Pe
129 Your testimonies are (M)wonderful;
Therefore my soul (N)observes them.
130 The (O)unfolding of Your words gives light;
It gives (P)understanding to the simple.
131 I (Q)opened my mouth wide and (R)panted,
For I (S)longed for Your commandments.
132 (T)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
According to Your judgment [b]for those who love Your name.
133 Establish my (U)steps in Your [c]word,
And do not let any wickedness (V)overpower me.
134 (W)Redeem me from the oppression of man,
That I may keep Your precepts.
135 (X)Make Your face shine upon Your slave,
And (Y)teach me Your statutes.
136 My eyes [d]shed (Z)streams of water,
Because they (AA)do not keep Your law.
Tsadhe
137 (AB)Righteous are You, O Yahweh,
And upright are Your judgments.
138 In (AC)righteousness, You have commanded Your testimonies
And in exceeding (AD)faithfulness.
139 My (AE)zeal has [e]consumed me,
Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words.
140 Your [f](AF)word is exceedingly refined,
Therefore Your slave (AG)loves it.
141 I am small and (AH)despised,
Yet I do not (AI)forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And (AJ)Your law is truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have found me,
Yet Your commandments are my (AK)delight.
144 Righteous are Your (AL)testimonies forever;
(AM)Give me understanding that I may live.
9 Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, (A)Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. 10 And at the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was (B)the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured. 11 Then the king of Assyria took Israel away into exile to Assyria, and put them in (C)Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they (D)did not listen to the voice of Yahweh their God, but trespassed against His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded; they would neither listen nor do it.
Sennacherib Comes Up Against Judah
13 (E)Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. 14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “(F)I have done wrong. Turn away from me; whatever penalty you give to me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria set a penalty on Hezekiah king of Judah [a]three hundred talents of silver and [b]thirty talents of gold. 15 (G)Thus Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of Yahweh and from the doorposts, which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
17 Then the king of Assyria sent (H)Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a heavy military force to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the (I)conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway of the [c]fuller’s field. 18 Then they called to the king, and (J)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and (K)Shebnah the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them.
19 Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “(L)What is this trust that you have? 20 You say (but they are [d]only empty words), ‘I have counsel and might for the war.’ Now on whom do you trust, (M)that you have rebelled against me? 21 Now behold, you [e](N)trust in the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his [f]hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ is it not He whose high places and (O)whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? 23 So now, [g]come, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to give riders for them. 24 How then can you [h]turn away one [i]official of the least of my master’s servants, and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 So now, have I come up [j]without the approval of Yahweh against this place to make it a ruin? Yahweh said to me, ‘Go up against this land and make it a ruin.’”’”
Take Care with Your Liberty
8 Now concerning (A)things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have (B)knowledge. Knowledge (C)puffs up, but love (D)builds up. 2 (E)If anyone thinks that he has known anything, he has not yet (F)known as he ought to know; 3 but if anyone loves God, he (G)has been known by Him.
4 Therefore, concerning the eating of (H)things sacrificed to idols, we know that [a]an idol is (I)nothing in the world, and that (J)there is no God but one. 5 For even if (K)there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us (L)there is one God, (M)the Father, (N)from whom are all things and we exist for Him, and (O)one Lord, Jesus Christ, (P)by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
7 However, not all men (Q)have this knowledge; but (R)some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 But (S)food will not [b]commend us to God. We neither lack if we do not eat, nor abound if we do eat. 9 But (T)see to it that this [c]authority of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the (U)weak. 10 For if someone sees you, who have (V)knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be built up to eat (W)things sacrificed to idols? 11 For through (X)your knowledge he who is weak (Y)is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. 12 (Z)And in that way, by sinning against the brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin (AA)against Christ. 13 Therefore, (AB)if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again—ever, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.
The Narrow Gate
13 “(A)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of the (B)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are (C)ravenous wolves. 16 You will [a](D)know them by their fruits. [b]Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, (E)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 (F)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will [c]know them (G)by their fruits.
21 “(H)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
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