Book of Common Prayer
God abases the proud, but exalts the righteous.
For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
75 We give thanks unto thee, O God;
We give thanks, [a]for thy name is near:
Men tell of thy wondrous works.
2 When I shall [b]find the set time, I will judge uprightly.
3 [c]The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved:
I have [d]set up the pillars of it. Selah
4 I said unto the [e]arrogant, Deal not arrogantly;
And to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
5 Lift not up your horn on high;
Speak not [f]with a stiff neck.
6 For neither from the east, nor from the west,
Nor yet [g]from the [h]south, cometh lifting up.
7 But God is the judge:
He putteth down one, and lifteth up another.
8 For in the hand of Jehovah there is a cup, and the wine [i]foameth;
It is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same:
Surely the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall drain them, and drink them.
9 But I will declare for ever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off;
But the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
The victorious power of the God of Jacob.
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
76 In Judah is God known:
His name is great in Israel.
2 In Salem also is his [j]tabernacle,
And his [k]dwelling-place in Zion.
3 There he brake the [l]arrows of the bow;
The shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah
4 Glorious art thou and excellent,
[m]From the mountains of prey.
5 The stouthearted are made a spoil,
They have slept their sleep;
And none of the men of might have found their hands.
6 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
7 Thou, even thou, art to be feared;
And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
8 Thou didst cause sentence to be heard from heaven;
The earth feared, and was still,
9 When God arose to judgment,
To save all the meek of the earth. Selah
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee:
The residue of wrath shalt thou [n]gird upon thee.
11 Vow, and pay unto Jehovah your God:
Let all that are round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
12 He will cut off the spirit of princes:
He is terrible to the kings of the earth.
Jehovah the psalmist’s shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside [a]still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of [b]the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou hast anointed my head with oil;
My cup runneth over.
6 [c]Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah [d]for ever.
A psalm of fearless trust in God.
A Psalm of David.
27 Jehovah is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
Jehovah is the [a]strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil-doers came upon me to eat up my flesh,
Even mine adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host should encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear:
Though war should rise against me,
[b]Even then will I be confident.
4 One thing have I asked of Jehovah, that will I seek after:
That I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life,
To behold [c]the beauty of Jehovah,
And to [d]inquire in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion:
In the covert of his [e]tabernacle will he hide me;
He will lift me up upon a rock.
6 And now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me;
And I will offer in his [f]tabernacle sacrifices of [g]joy;
I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto Jehovah.
7 Hear, O Jehovah, when I cry with my voice:
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee,
Thy face, Jehovah, will I seek.
9 Hide not thy face from me;
Put not thy servant away in anger:
Thou hast been my help;
Cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10 [h]When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then Jehovah will take me up.
11 Teach me thy way, O Jehovah;
And lead me in a plain path,
Because of [i]mine enemies.
12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine adversaries:
For false witnesses are risen up against me,
And such as breathe out cruelty.
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah
In the land of the living.
14 Wait for Jehovah:
Be strong, and let thy heart take courage;
Yea, wait thou for Jehovah.
5 There was a certain Jew in Shushan the palace, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, 6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives that had been carried away with [a]Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. 7 And he [b]brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maiden was fair and beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter.
8 So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken into the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her.
16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a [a]release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the [b]bounty of the king.
19 And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate. 20 Esther had not yet made known her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him. 21 In those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that kept the threshold, were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus. 22 And the thing became known to Mordecai, who showed it unto Esther the queen; and Esther told the king thereof in Mordecai’s name. 23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, and it was found to be so, they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with them that met him. 18 And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, What would this babbler say? others, He seemeth to be a setter forth of [a]strange [b]gods: because he [c]preached Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took hold of him, and brought him [d]unto [e]the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by thee? 20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers sojourning there [f]spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.) 22 And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said,
Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that ye are [g]very religious. 23 For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, To an Unknown God. What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you. 24 The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in [h]temples made with hands; 25 neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: 28 for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said,
For we are also his offspring. 29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that [i]the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. 30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he [j]commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: 31 inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge [k]the world in righteousness [l]by [m]the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, We will hear thee concerning this yet again. 33 Thus Paul went out from among them. 34 But certain men clave unto him, and believed: among whom also was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
44 And Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. 45 And he that beholdeth me beholdeth him that sent me. 46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me may not abide in the darkness. 47 And if any man hear my sayings, and keep them not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day. 49 For I spake not from myself; but the Father that sent me, he hath given me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is life eternal; the things therefore which I speak, even as the Father hath said unto me, so I speak.
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