Book of Common Prayer
Davidic[a]
A Prayer for Help and Forgiveness
25 I will lift up my soul to you, Lord.
2 I trust in you, my God,
do not let me be ashamed;
do not let my enemies triumph over me.
3 Indeed, no one who waits on you will be ashamed,
but those who offend for no reason will be put to shame.
4 Cause me to understand your ways, Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me;
for you are the God who delivers me.
All day long I have waited for you.
6 Remember, Lord, your tender mercies and your gracious love;
indeed, they are eternal!
7 Do not remember my youthful sins and transgressions;
but remember me in light of your gracious love,
in light of your goodness, Lord.
8 The Lord is good and just;
therefore he will teach sinners concerning the way.
9 He will guide the humble[b] to justice;
he will teach the humble[c] his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord lead to gracious love and truth
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.[d]
11 For the sake of your name,[e] Lord,
forgive my sin, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?
God[f] will teach him the path he should choose.
13 He[g] will experience good things;
his descendants will inherit the earth.
14 The intimate counsel of the Lord is for those who fear him
so they may know his covenant.
15 My eyes look to the Lord continuously,
because he’s the one who releases my feet from the trap.[h]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am lonely and oppressed.
17 The troubles of my heart have increased;
bring me out of my distress!
18 Look upon my distress and affliction;
forgive all my sins.
19 Look how many enemies I have gained!
They hate me with a vicious hatred.
20 Preserve my life and deliver me;
do not let me be ashamed,
because I take refuge in you.
21 Integrity and justice will preserve me,
because I wait on you.
22 Redeem Israel, God, from all its troubles.
To the Director: Accompanied by female voices.[a] A Davidic Psalm.
A Cry for God’s Justice
9 [b]I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
I will declare all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praises to your name, Most High!
3 When my enemies turn back,
they will stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have brought about justice for me and my cause;
you sit on the throne judging righteously.
5 You rebuked the nations,
you destroyed the wicked,
you wiped out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy has perished,
reduced to ruins forever.
You uprooted their cities,
the very memory of them vanished.
7 But the Lord sits on his throne[c] forever;
his throne is established for judgment.
8 He will judge the world righteously
and make just decisions for the people.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of distress.
10 Those who know your name will trust you,
for you have not forsaken those who seek you, Lord.
11 Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion;
declare his mighty deeds among the peoples.
12 As an avenger of blood, he remembers them;
he has not forgotten the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, Lord,
take note of my affliction,
because of those who hate me.
You snatch me away from the gates of death,
14 so I may declare everything for which you should be praised[d]
in the gates of the daughter of Zion,[e]
so I will rejoice in your deliverance.
15 The nations have sunk down into the pit they made,
their feet are ensnared in the trap[f] they set.
16 The Lord has made himself known,
executing judgment.
The wicked are ensnared
by what their hands have made.
17 The wicked will turn back to where the dead are[h]—
all the nations that have forgotten God.
18 For he will not always overlook the plight of the poor,
nor will the hope of the afflicted perish forever.
19 Rise up, Lord,
do not let man prevail!
The nations will be judged in your presence.
20 Make them afraid, Lord,
Let the nations know that they are only human.[i]
A Davidic Psalm.
Welcomed into God’s Presence
15 Lord, who may stay in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy mountain?
2 The one who lives with integrity,
who does righteous deeds,
and who speaks truth to himself.
3 The one who does not slander with his tongue,
who does no evil to his neighbor,
and who does not destroy his friend’s reputation.
4 The one who despises those who are utterly wicked,
but who honors the one who fears the Lord,
who keeps his word even when it hurts and does not change,
5 who does not loan his money with interest,
and who does not take a bribe against those who are innocent.
The one who does these things will stand firm[a] forever.
Jeremiah Warns the Refugees in Egypt
44 This is the message that came to Jeremiah for all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, who were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the land of Pathros,[a] saying, 2 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have seen the disaster that I brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. Look, they’re in ruins today, with no one living in them, 3 because of the[b] wickedness that they did, provoking me to anger by continuing to offer sacrifices and worship other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors had known. 4 Yet I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again,[c] saying, “Don’t do this repulsive thing that I hate.” 5 ‘But they didn’t listen or pay attention[d] by turning from their wickedness and not offering sacrifices to other gods. 6 My wrath and my anger were poured out, and they burned in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem so that they have become a ruin and a desolate place, as is the case today.’
7 “Now, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Why are you doing great harm to yourselves so as to cut off from Judah[e] man and woman, child and infant from you, leaving yourselves without a remnant? 8 And why have you provoked me to anger by the works of your hands,[f] by offering sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to settle so that you cut yourselves off and become an object of ridicule and scorn among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the evil deeds of your ancestors, the evil deeds of the kings of Judah, the evil deeds of their[g] wives, your evil deeds, and the evil deeds of your wives, that they did in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? 10 To this day they haven’t humbled themselves, they haven’t shown reverence for the Lord,[h] and they haven’t lived according to my Law and my statutes that I set before them and before their ancestors.’
11 “Therefore, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Look, I’ve determined to bring disaster on you[i] and to cut off all Judah. 12 I’ll take the remnant of Judah that determined to go to the land of Egypt to settle there, and all of them[j] will come to an end in the land of Egypt. They’ll fall by the sword, and they’ll come to an end by famine. They’ll become a curse, an object of horror, ridicule, and scorn. 13 I’ll punish those who live in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem—with the sword, with famine, and with plague. 14 Of the remnant of Judah that came into the land of Egypt to settle there, no one will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah where they long to return and live.[k] Indeed, they won’t return, except for some[l] refugees.’”
30 And why in fact are we being endangered every hour? 31 I face death every day! That is as certain, brothers,[a] as it is that I am proud of you in the Messiah,[b] Jesus our Lord. 32 If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus from merely human motives, what do I get out of it? If the dead are not raised,
“Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”[c]
33 Stop being deceived:
“Wicked friends lead to evil ends.”[d]
34 Come back to your senses as you should, and stop sinning! For some of you—I say this to your shame—don’t fully know God.
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come back?” 36 You fool! The seed you plant does not come to life unless it dies, 37 and what you plant is not the form that it will be, but a bare kernel, whether it is wheat or something else. 38 But God gives the plant[e] the form he wants it to have, and to each kind of seed its own form. 39 Not all flesh is the same.[f] Humans have one kind of flesh,[g] animals in general have another,[h] birds have another,[i] and fish have still another. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of those in heaven is of one kind, and that of those on earth is of another. 41 One kind of splendor belongs to the sun, another[j] to the moon, and still another[k] to the stars. In fact, one star differs from another star in splendor.
16 “To what can I compare the people living today? They’re[a] like little children who sit in the marketplaces and shout to each other,
17 ‘A wedding song we played for you,
the dance you all did scorn.
A woeful dirge we chanted, too,
but then you would not mourn.’
18 Because John didn’t come eating or drinking, yet people[b] say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Absolved from every act of sin,
is wisdom by her kith and kin.”[c]
Jesus Denounces Unrepentant Cities(A)
20 Then Jesus[d] began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had taken place, because they didn’t repent. 21 “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! Because if the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 Indeed I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on Judgment Day than for you!
23 “And you, Capernaum! You won’t be lifted up to heaven, will you? You’ll go down to Hell![e] Because if the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 Indeed I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on Judgment Day than for you!”
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