Book of Common Prayer
A Petition to Be Saved from Death.
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.
88 O 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 drawn near to [d]Sheol.
4 I am reckoned among those who (G)go down to the pit;
I have become like a man (H)without strength,
5 [e]Forsaken (I)among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
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. [f]Selah.
8 You have removed (P)my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an [g](Q)object of loathing to them;
I am (R)shut up and cannot go out.
9 My (S)eye has wasted away because of affliction;
I have (T)called upon You every day, O Lord;
I have (U)spread out my [h]hands to You.
10 Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Will (V)the [i]departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah.
11 Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in [j]Abaddon?
12 Will Your wonders be made known in the (W)darkness?
And Your [k]righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, O Lord, have cried out (X)to You for help,
And (Y)in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 O Lord, why (Z)do You reject my soul?
Why do You (AA)hide Your face from me?
15 I was afflicted and (AB)about to die from my youth on;
I suffer (AC)Your terrors; I am [l]overcome.
16 Your (AD)burning anger has passed over me;
Your terrors have [m](AE)destroyed me.
17 They have (AF)surrounded me (AG)like water all day long;
They have (AH)encompassed me altogether.
18 You have removed (AI)lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in darkness.
Security of the One Who Trusts in the Lord.
91 He who dwells in the (A)shelter of the Most High
Will abide 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 delivers you from the (F)snare of the trapper
And from the deadly (G)pestilence.
4 He will (H)cover you with His pinions,
And (I)under His wings you may seek refuge;
His (J)faithfulness is a (K)shield and bulwark.
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)pestilence that [a]stalks in darkness,
Or of the (P)destruction that lays waste 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 recompense of the wicked.
9 [b]For you have made the Lord, (S)my refuge,
Even the Most High, (T)your dwelling place.
10 (U)No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your [c]tent.
11 For He will give (V)His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will (W)bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will (X)tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the [d]serpent you will trample down.
14 “(Y)Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver 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 “With [f]a (AD)long life I will satisfy him
And [g](AE)let him see 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, O Most High;
2 To (AH)declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your (AI)faithfulness [h]by night,
3 [i]With the (AJ)ten-stringed lute and [j]with the (AK)harp,
[k]With resounding music [l]upon the (AL)lyre.
4 For You, O Lord, have made me glad by [m]what You (AM)have done,
I will (AN)sing for joy at the (AO)works of Your hands.
5 How (AP)great are Your works, O Lord!
Your [n](AQ)thoughts are very (AR)deep.
6 A (AS)senseless man has no knowledge,
Nor does a (AT)stupid man understand this:
7 That when the wicked (AU)sprouted up like grass
And all (AV)who did iniquity flourished,
It was only that they might be (AW)destroyed forevermore.
8 But You, O Lord, are (AX)on high forever.
9 For, behold, Your enemies, O Lord,
For, behold, (AY)Your enemies will perish;
All who do iniquity will be (AZ)scattered.
10 But You have exalted my (BA)horn like that of the wild ox;
I have [o]been (BB)anointed with fresh oil.
11 And my eye has (BC)looked exultantly upon [p]my foes,
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12 The (BD)righteous man will [q]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 courts of our God.
14 They will still [r](BH)yield fruit in old age;
They shall be [s]full of sap and very green,
15 To [t]declare that (BI)the Lord is upright;
He is my (BJ)rock, and there is (BK)no unrighteousness in Him.
Mordecai Promoted
8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, (A)the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had disclosed (B)what he was to her. 2 (C)The king took off his signet ring which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept and implored him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews. 4 (D)The king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king. 5 Then she said, “(E)If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the (F)letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. 6 For (G)how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” 7 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, (H)I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews.
The King’s Decree Avenges the Jews
8 Now you write to the Jews [a]as you see fit, in the king’s name, and (I)seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring (J)may not be revoked.”
15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king (A)in royal robes of [a]blue and white, with a large crown of gold and (B)a garment of fine linen and purple; and (C)the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. 16 For the Jews there was (D)light and gladness and joy and honor. 17 In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree arrived, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a [b](E)holiday. And (F)many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.
21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the [a]Spirit to (A)go to Jerusalem (B)after he had passed through (C)Macedonia and (D)Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, (E)I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into (F)Macedonia two of (G)those who ministered to him, (H)Timothy and (I)Erastus, he himself stayed in [b](J)Asia for a while.
23 About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning (K)the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [c]Artemis, (L)was bringing no little [d]business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity [e]depends upon this business. 26 You see and hear that not only in (M)Ephesus, but in almost all of [f](N)Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that [g](O)gods made with hands are no gods at all. 27 Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess [h]Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of [i](P)Asia and (Q)the [j]world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”
28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is [k]Artemis of the (R)Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed [l]with one accord into the theater, dragging along (S)Gaius and (T)Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling (U)companions from (V)Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the [m]assembly, (W)the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the [n]Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to [o]venture into the theater. 32 (X)So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the [p]assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know [q]for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd [r]concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having (Y)motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the [s]assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is [t]Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of (Z)Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great [u]Artemis and of the image which fell down from [v]heaven? 36 So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither (AA)robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and [w](AB)proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the [x]lawful [y]assembly. 40 For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 After saying this he dismissed the [z]assembly.
31 And (A)He came down to (B)Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and (C)they were amazed at His teaching, for (D)His [a]message was with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man [b]possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Let us alone! [c](E)What business do we have with each other, Jesus [d]of (F)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—(G)the Holy One of God!” 35 But Jesus (H)rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. 36 And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is [e]this message? For (I)with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37 And (J)the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.
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