Book of Common Prayer
A Petition to Be Saved from Death.
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the music director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.
88 Lord, the (A)God of my salvation,
I have (B)cried out by day and in the night before You.
2 Let my prayer (C)come before You;
(D)Incline Your ear to my cry!
3 For my (E)soul has [c]had enough troubles,
And (F)my life has approached [d]Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (G)go down to the pit;
I have become like a man (H)without strength,
5 [e]Abandoned (I)among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You no longer remember,
And they are (J)cut off from Your hand.
6 You have put me in (K)the lowest pit,
In (L)dark places, in the (M)depths.
7 Your wrath (N)has rested upon me,
And You have afflicted me with (O)all Your waves. Selah
8 You have removed (P)my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an [f](Q)object of loathing to them;
I am (R)shut up and cannot go out.
9 My (S)eye grows dim from misery;
I have (T)called upon You every day, Lord;
I have (U)spread out my [g]hands to You.
10 Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Or will (V)the departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah
11 Will Your graciousness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in [h]Abaddon?
12 Will Your wonders be made known in the (W)darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, Lord, have cried out (X)to You for help,
And (Y)in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 Lord, why (Z)do You reject my soul?
Why do You (AA)hide Your face from me?
15 I was miserable and (AB)about to die from my youth on;
I suffer (AC)Your terrors; I grow weary.
16 Your (AD)burning anger has passed over me;
Your terrors have [i](AE)destroyed me.
17 They have (AF)surrounded me (AG)like water all day long;
They have (AH)encircled me altogether.
18 You have removed (AI)lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in a hiding place.
Security of One Who Trusts in the Lord.
91 One who dwells in the (A)shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the (B)shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My (C)refuge and my (D)fortress,
My God, in whom I (E)trust!”
3 For it is He who rescues you from the (F)net of the trapper
And from the deadly (G)plague.
4 He will (H)cover you with His pinions,
And (I)under His wings you may take refuge;
His (J)faithfulness is a (K)shield and wall.
5 You (L)will not be afraid of the (M)terror by night,
Or of the (N)arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the (O)plague that [a]stalks in darkness,
Or of the (P)destruction that devastates at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But (Q)it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And (R)see the retaliation against the wicked.
9 [b]For you have made the Lord, (S)my refuge,
The Most High, (T)your dwelling place.
10 (U)No evil will happen to you,
Nor will any plague come near your [c]tent.
11 For He will give (V)His angels orders concerning you,
To protect you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will (W)lift you up,
So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will (X)walk upon the lion and cobra,
You will trample the young lion and the [d]serpent.
14 “(Y)Because he has loved Me, I will save him;
I will (Z)set him securely on high, because he has (AA)known My name.
15 He will (AB)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in [e]trouble;
I will rescue him and (AC)honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with [f]a (AD)long life,
And [g](AE)show him My salvation.”
Praise for the Lord’s Goodness.
A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is (AF)good to give thanks to the Lord
And to (AG)sing praises to Your name, Most High;
2 To (AH)declare Your goodness in the morning
And Your (AI)faithfulness by [h]night,
3 [i]With the (AJ)ten-stringed lute and [j]with the (AK)harp,
[k]With resounding music on the (AL)lyre.
4 For You, Lord, have made me joyful by [l]what You (AM)have done,
I will (AN)sing for joy over the (AO)works of Your hands.
5 How (AP)great are Your works, Lord!
Your [m](AQ)thoughts are very (AR)deep.
6 A (AS)stupid person has no knowledge,
Nor does a (AT)foolish person understand this:
7 When the wicked (AU)sprouted up like grass
And all (AV)who did injustice flourished,
It was only that they might be (AW)destroyed forevermore.
8 But You, Lord, are (AX)on high forever.
9 For, behold, Your enemies, Lord,
For, behold, (AY)Your enemies will perish;
All who do injustice will be (AZ)scattered.
10 But You have exalted my (BA)horn like that of the wild ox;
I have [n]been (BB)anointed with fresh oil.
11 And my eye has (BC)looked at my enemies,
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12 The (BD)righteous person will [o]flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a (BE)cedar in Lebanon.
13 (BF)Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish (BG)in the courtyards of our God.
14 They will still [p](BH)yield fruit in advanced age;
They will be [q]full of sap and very green,
15 To [r]declare that (BI)the Lord is just;
He is my (BJ)rock, and there is (BK)no malice in Him.
Abimelech’s Conspiracy
9 Now (A)Abimelech the son of [a]Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to his mother’s relatives, and spoke to them and to the entire family of the household of his mother’s father, saying, 2 “Speak, now, in the hearing of all the [b]leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you: for (B)seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, to rule over you, or for one man to rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am (C)your bone and your flesh.” 3 So his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the [c]leaders of Shechem; and [d]they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is (D)our relative.” 4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of (E)Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, and they followed him. 5 Then he went to his father’s house in Ophrah and (F)killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, (G)seventy men, [e]on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he hid himself. 6 All the [f]leaders of Shechem and all [g]Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the [h]oak of the memorial stone which was in Shechem.
7 Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on the top of (H)Mount Gerizim, and raised his voice and called out. And he said to them, “Listen to me, you [i]leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 Once the trees went to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I give up my fatness with [j]which God and mankind are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ 10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You, come, reign over us!’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I give up my sweetness and my good [k]fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’ 12 Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You, come, reign over us!’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I give up my new wine, which cheers God and mankind, and go to wave over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You, come, reign over us!’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If you [l]really are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out of the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’
16 “Now then, if you have acted with [m]honesty and integrity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with (I)Jerubbaal and his house, and [n]have dealt with him [o]as he deserved—
19 so if you have acted with [a]honesty and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his house this day, be joyful about Abimelech, and may he also be joyful about you. 20 But if not, may fire come out of Abimelech and consume the [b]leaders of Shechem and [c]Beth-millo; and may fire come out of the [d]leaders of Shechem and from [e]Beth-millo, and consume Abimelech.” 21 Then Jotham escaped and fled, and went to Beer; and he stayed there because of his brother Abimelech.
Threat and Release
13 Now as they observed the (A)confidence of (B)Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and (C)began to recognize them [a]as having been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. 15 But when they had ordered them to leave the [b](D)Council, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, “(E)What are we to do with these men? For the fact that a (F)noteworthy [c]miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let’s warn them not to speak any longer to any person (G)in this name.” 18 And when they had summoned them, they (H)commanded them not to speak or teach at all [d]in the name of Jesus. 19 But (I)Peter and John answered and said to them, “(J)Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; 20 for (K)we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) (L)on account of the people, because they were all (M)glorifying God for what had happened; 22 for the man on whom this [e]miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.
23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind and said, “[f]Lord, it is You who (N)made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them, 25 who (O)by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
‘(P)Why were the [g]nations insolent,
And the peoples plotting in vain?
26 (Q)The kings of the earth [h]took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His [i](R)Christ.’
27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy [j](S)Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both (T)Herod and (U)Pontius Pilate, along with (V)the [k]Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and (W)purpose predestined to occur. 29 And [l]now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to (X)speak Your word with all (Y)confidence, 30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and [m](Z)signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy [n](AA)Servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the (AB)place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all (AC)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to (AD)speak the word of God with (AE)boldness.
Miracle at Cana
2 On (A)the third day there was a wedding in (B)Cana of Galilee, and the (C)mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His (D)disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus *said to her, “[a](E)What business do you have with Me, (F)woman? (G)My hour has not yet come.” 5 His (H)mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He tells you, do it.” 6 Now there were six stone waterpots standing there (I)for the Jewish custom of purification, containing [b]two or three measures each. 7 Jesus *said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the [c]headwaiter.” And they took it to him. 9 Now when the headwaiter tasted the water (J)which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the groom, 10 and *said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the guests (K)are drunk, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This beginning of His [d](L)signs Jesus did in Cana of (M)Galilee, and revealed His (N)glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
12 After this He went down to (O)Capernaum, He and His (P)mother, and His (Q)brothers and His (R)disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
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