Book of Common Prayer
Worship and Obedience
95 Come! Let us sing joyfully to the Lord!
Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout with songs of praise to him.
3 For the Lord is an awesome God;
a great king above all divine beings.[a]
4 He holds in his hand the lowest parts of the earth
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea that he made belongs to him,
along with the dry land that his hands formed.
6 Come! Let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel in the presence of the Lord, who made us.
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture
and the flock in his care.[b]
If only you would listen to his voice today,
8 do not be stubborn like your ancestors were[c] at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah, in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me.
They tested me,
even though they had seen my awesome deeds.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation, so I said,
“They are a people whose hearts continuously err,
and they have not understood my ways.”
11 So in my anger I declared an oath:
“They are not to enter my place of rest.”
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
Prayer for Help and Praise to God
40 I waited expectantly[a] for the Lord,
and he took notice of me
and heard my cry.
2 He plucked me out of a pit of confusion,[b]
even out of the quicksand;
he placed my feet on a rock
and established my steps.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
praise to our God!
Many will watch and be in awe,
and they will place their trust in the Lord.
4 How blessed is that strong person
who places his trust in the Lord,
and who has not acknowledged the proud
nor resorted to lies.
5 Lord, my God,
You have done great things:
marvelous works and your thoughts toward us.
There is no one who compares to you!
I will try to recite your actions,[c]
even though there are too many to number.
6 You take no delight in sacrifices and offerings—
you have prepared my ears to listen—[d]
you require no burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.
7 Then I said, “Here I am! I have come!
In the scroll of the book it is written about me.
8 I delight to do your will, my God.
Your Law is part of my inner being.”
9 In the great congregation I have proclaimed the righteous good news.
Behold, I did not seal my lips, Lord, as you know.
10 I have not ignored[e] your righteousness in my heart;
instead, I have proclaimed your faithfulness and deliverance.
I have not concealed your gracious love and truthfulness
from the great congregation.
11 Lord, do not withhold your mercy[f] from me,
for your gracious love and truthfulness will keep me safe continuously.
12 Innumerable evils have surrounded me;
my iniquities have overtaken me so that I cannot see.
They are more in number than the hair on my head,
and my courage[g] has forsaken me.
13 Be pleased, Lord, to deliver me;
Lord, hurry up and help me!
14 May those who seek to destroy my life be ashamed and confounded;
let them be driven backwards and humiliated,
particularly those who wish me evil.
15 Let shame be the reward for those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
16 Let all who seek you shout for joy and be glad in you.
May those who love your deliverance say,
“The Lord be magnified!” continuously.
17 But I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think about me.
You are my help and deliverer.
My God, do not tarry too long!
To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic instruction,[a] when the Ziphites came and told Saul, “David is hiding among us, is he not?”
A Prayer in Times of Trouble
54 God, by your name deliver me,
and by your power vindicate me.
2 God, listen to my prayer,
and pay attention to the words of my mouth.
3 For the arrogant have arisen against me;
oppressors have sought to take my life.
They do not keep God in mind![b]
4 Look, God is my helper;
the Lord is with those who are guarding my life.
5 He will turn the evil upon those who lie in wait for me.
Cut them off with your truth.
6 With a free will offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, Lord,
because it is good,
7 for he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eyes have seen the end of[c] my enemies.
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm. When the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
A Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon
51 Have mercy, God, according to your gracious love,
according to your unlimited compassion,
erase my transgressions.
2 Wash me from my iniquity,
cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgression;
my sin remains continuously before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned,
and done what was evil in your sight.
As a result, you are just in your pronouncement
and clear in your judgment.
5 Indeed, in iniquity I was brought forth;
in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Indeed, you are pleased with truth in the inner person,
and you will teach me wisdom in my[a] innermost parts.
7 Purge me with hyssop,
and I will be clean.
Wash me,
and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me know[b] joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your countenance from my sins
and erase the record of my iniquities.
10 God, create a pure heart in me,
and renew a right attitude within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence;
do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and let a willing attitude control me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors about your ways,
and sinners will turn to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of shedding blood,[c]
God, God of my salvation.
Then my tongue will sing about your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 Indeed, you do not delight in sacrifices,
or I would give them,
nor do you desire burnt offerings.
17 True sacrifice to God[d] is a broken spirit.
A broken and chastened heart, God,
you will not despise.
18 Show favor to Zion in your good pleasure;
and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices,
with burnt offerings, and with whole burnt offerings.
Then they will offer bulls on your altar.
Pharaoh’s Two Servants
40 Some time later, both the senior security advisor[a] to the king of Egypt and his head chef[b] offended their master, Egypt’s king. 2 Pharaoh was so angry with his two officers—his senior security advisor and his head chef— 3 that he locked them up in the prison dungeon operated by the captain of the guard, the very place where Joseph was imprisoned. 4 The captain of the guard entrusted them to Joseph’s custody, who took care of them, since they were to remain there in custody for a number of days.
5 Then the two of them each had a dream. They both had their dreams the same night, and there were separate interpretations for each dream—the senior security advisor and the head chef to the king of Egypt, who had confined them in prison. 6 When Joseph came to see them in the morning, he noticed how downcast they looked! They were both very sad. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers, who were with him in prison in his master’s house, “Why are you so sad today?”
8 “We had a dream,” they replied, “but there’s no one to interpret it.”
“Interpretations belong to God,” Joseph told them, “so please tell me your stories.”
The Security Advisor’s Dream
9 So the senior security advisor related his dream to Joseph. “In my dream,” he said, “all of a sudden there was a vine in front of me! 10 On the vine were three branches that budded. Blossoms shot out, and clusters grew up that produced ripe grapes. 11 Then, with Pharaoh’s cup in my hand, I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, then handed the cup directly to Pharaoh.”
12 Then Joseph told him, “This is what your dream means:[c] The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days, Pharaoh will encourage you[d] and return you to your responsibilities. You’ll attend to Pharaoh’s personal wine cup, just as you did when you were his senior security advisor. 14 But keep me in mind when things go well for you. Be sure to extend kindness to me by remembering me to Pharaoh. Bring me out of this prison,[e] 15 because I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. Not only that, I haven’t done anything that deserves me being confined to this pit.”
The Head Chef’s Dream
16 When the head chef heard that the interpretation was good, he told Joseph, “I was also in my dream. All of a sudden, there were three baskets with white bread stacked on top of my head. 17 There was all kinds of food in the basket that was on top, including baked food for Pharaoh. The birds were eating them from the basket on my head.”
18 Joseph replied, “This is what your dream means:[f] The three baskets are also three days. 19 Within three more days, Pharaoh will behead you and hang you on gallows,[g] where birds will eat your flesh from you.”
The Dreams are Fulfilled
20 On the third day, which just happened to be Pharaoh’s birthday, he threw a party for all his servants. He lifted the head of both his senior security advisor and of his head chef in front of his servants— 21 that is, he restored his senior security advisor to his former responsibilities, including attending to Pharaoh’s personal wine cup, 22 but he beheaded and[h] hanged the head chef, just as Joseph had interpreted for them. 23 Despite all of this, the senior security advisor not only didn’t remember Joseph, he deliberately forgot him.
16 You know that you are God’s sanctuary and that God’s Spirit lives in you, don’t you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s sanctuary, God will destroy him, for God’s sanctuary is holy. And you are that sanctuary!
True Wisdom
18 Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in the ways of[a] this world, he must become a fool to become really wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is nonsense in God’s sight. For it is written,
“He catches the wise with their own trickery,”[b]
20 and again,
21 So let no one boast about human beings, since everything belongs to you, 22 whether Paul, Apollos, Cephas,[e] the world, life, death, the present, or the future—everything belongs to you, 23 but you belong to the Messiah,[f] and the Messiah[g] belongs to God.
Jesus Calls Matthew(A)
13 Jesus[a] went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd kept coming to him, and he kept teaching them. 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector’s desk. Jesus[b] told him, “Follow me!” So Levi[c] got up and followed him.
15 Later, he was having dinner at Levi’s[d] house. Many tax collectors and sinners were also eating with Jesus and his disciples, because there were many who were following him. 16 When the scribes and the Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat and drink[e] with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard that, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a physician, but sick ones do. I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners.”
A Question about Fasting(B)
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees would fast regularly. Some people[f] came and asked Jesus,[g] “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”
19 Jesus replied, “The wedding guests[h] can’t fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they can’t fast. 20 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.”
The Unshrunk Cloth(C)
21 “No one patches an old garment with a piece of unshrunk cloth. If he does, the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will make the skins burst, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured[i] into fresh wineskins.”
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