Book of Common Prayer
A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David.
1 ¶ I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; thou gavest me life from my descent into the grave.
4 Let his merciful ones sing unto the LORD, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
5 For his anger endures but a moment; in his will is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
6 ¶ And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
7 LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong; thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
8 I will cry unto thee, O GOD; and unto the Lord will I make supplication.
9 What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth?
10 Hear, O LORD and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.
11 Thou hast turned my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness;
12 to the end that I may sing glory unto thee and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
A Psalm of David, Maschil.
1 ¶ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my green growth is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and I have not hid my iniquity. I said, I will confess (against myself) my rebellions unto the LORD, and thou shalt forgive the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
6 For this shall every one that is merciful pray unto thee in the time when thou may be found; surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come near unto him.
7 ¶ Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will fix mine eyes upon thee.
9 Be ye not as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in subjection with bit and bridle, or they will not come near unto thee.
10 There are many sorrows for the wicked; but he that waits in the LORD, mercy shall compass him round about.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, ye righteous, and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
To the Overcomer: Maschil, for the sons of Korah.
1 ¶ As the hart pants after the water brooks, so does my soul pant after thee, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
4 I will remember these things; I will pour out my soul in me. When I shall be included in the number; I will go with them to the house of God with voice of joy and praise, dancing in the multitude.
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted against me? Wait thou for God, for I shall yet praise him for the wellbeing of his presence.
6 ¶ O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I will remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the mountain of Mizar.
7 Deep calls unto deep at the voice of thy waterspouts; all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
8 Yet the LORD will command his mercy in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
9 I will say unto God, My rock, why hast thou forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
10 It is as death in my bones when my enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?
11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Wait thou for God, for I shall yet praise him, who is the saving health of my countenance and my God.
1 ¶ Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against those who are not merciful; O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2 For thou art the God of my strength; why dost thou cast me off? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 O send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto the mountain of thy holiness and to thy tabernacles.
4 Then I will enter in to the altar of God, unto the God of my exceeding joy; yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Wait for God, for I shall yet praise him, who is the saving health of my countenance and my God.
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes, king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.
11 This is the copy of the letter that they sent: Unto Artaxerxes, the king: Thy servants, the men of the other side of the river, and of Cheenet.
12 Be it known unto the king that the Jews who came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have founded the walls thereof and joined the foundations.
13 Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city is rebuilt, and the walls founded, they will not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so the revenue of the kings shall be reduced.
14 Now because we are salted with the salt of the palace, and it is not just unto us to see the king’s dishonour; therefore, we have sent to make this known unto the king,
15 that search may be made in the book of the records of our fathers; so shalt thou find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city and hurtful unto kings and provinces and that from old time they form rebellions in the midst of her, for which cause this city was destroyed.
16 We notify the king that if this city is built again, and its walls founded, the portion on the other side of the river shall no longer be yours.
17 ¶ The king sent this answer unto Rehum, the chancellor, and to Shimshai, the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria and to the rest of those of the other side of the river and to Cheenet.
18 The letter which you sent unto us has been plainly read before me.
19 And I commanded, and search has been made, and it is found that this city of old time has made insurrection against kings and that rebellion and sedition have been made in her
20 and that there have been mighty kings in Jerusalem, who have ruled over all that is beyond the river, and that toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.
21 Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease and that this city not be built until another commandment shall be given from me.
22 Take heed now that ye not fail to do this; why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
23 Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai, the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews and made them to cease by force and power.
24 Then the work of the house of God which was at Jerusalem ceased. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.
1 ¶ Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother, unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellowlabourer,
2 And to our beloved sister, Apphia, and Archippus, our fellowsoldier and to the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} in thy house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
5 hearing of thy charity and faith, which thou hast in the Lord Jesus and toward all saints;
6 that the communication of thy faith may become effectual for the knowledge of all the good that is in you by Christ Jesus.
7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy charity because the bowels of the saints have been refreshed by thee, brother.
8 ¶ Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command thee that which is expedient,
9 yet for the sake of charity I rather beseech thee, being such a one as Paul the aged and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
10 I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds,
11 who in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now is profitable to thee and to me,
12 whom I send again unto thee; therefore, receive him, as you would receive me.
13 I desired to retain him with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel,
14 but I did not want to do anything without thy counsel, that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.
15 Perhaps for this, he departed from you for a season, that thou should have him again forever,
16 not now as a slave, but above a slave, a brother beloved, especially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord.
17 If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.
18 If he has wronged thee or owes thee anything, put that on my account;
19 I Paul have written it with my own hand, I will repay it; albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.
20 Therefore, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord, that thou might refresh my heart in the Lord.
21 Having confidence in thy obedience, I have written unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.
22 In the same manner prepare me also a lodging; for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
23 Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus, salutes thee.
24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.
25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35 The good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things, and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
38 ¶ Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we desire to see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah;
40 for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
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