Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16
Confidence in the Lord
A Davidic Miktam.(A)
1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You.(B)
2 I[a] said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good besides You.”[b](C)
3 As for the holy people who are in the land,(D)
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
4 The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.(E)
5 Lord, You are my portion[c]
and my cup of blessing;
You hold my future.(F)
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.(G)
7 I will praise the Lord who counsels me(H)—
even at night my conscience instructs me.(I)
8 I keep the Lord in mind[d] always.
Because He is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.(J)
9 Therefore my heart is glad
and my spirit rejoices;
my body also rests securely.(K)
10 For You will not abandon me to Sheol;(L)
You will not allow Your Faithful One to see decay.(M)
11 You reveal the path of life to me;
in Your presence is abundant joy;(N)
in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.(O)
Psalm 17
A Prayer for Protection
A Davidic prayer.
1 Lord, hear a just cause;(P)
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer—
from lips free of deceit.(Q)
2 Let my vindication come from You,
for You see what is right.(R)
3 You have tested my heart;(S)
You have examined me at night.
You have tried me and found nothing evil;(T)
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.[e]
4 Concerning what people do:
by the word of Your lips[f]
I have avoided the ways of the violent.(U)
5 My steps are on Your paths;
my feet have not slipped.(V)
6 I call on You, God,
because You will answer me;(W)
listen closely to me; hear what I say.
7 Display the wonders of Your faithful love,(X)
Savior of all who seek refuge(Y)
from those who rebel against Your right hand.[g]
8 Protect me as the pupil of Your eye;(Z)
hide me in the shadow of Your wings(AA)
9 from[h] the wicked who treat me violently,[i]
my deadly enemies who surround me.(AB)
10 They have become hardened;[j](AC)
their mouths speak arrogantly.(AD)
11 They advance against me;[k] now they surround me.(AE)
They are determined[l]
to throw me to the ground.(AF)
12 They are[m] like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.(AG)
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him; bring him down.(AH)
With Your sword, save me from the wicked.(AI)
14 With Your hand, Lord, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what You have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.(AJ)
Psalm 22
From Suffering to Praise
For the choir director: according to “The Deer of the Dawn.”[a] A Davidic psalm.
1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?(A)
Why are You so far from my deliverance(B)
and from my words of groaning?[b](C)
2 My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer,
by night, yet I have no rest.(D)
3 But You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.(E)
4 Our fathers trusted in You;
they trusted, and You rescued them.(F)
5 They cried to You and were set free;
they trusted in You and were not disgraced.(G)
6 But I am a worm and not a man,(H)
scorned by men and despised by people.(I)
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me;
they sneer[c] and shake their heads:(J)
8 “He relies on[d] the Lord;
let Him rescue him;
let the Lord[e] deliver him,
since He takes pleasure in him.”(K)
9 You took me from the womb,
making me secure while at my mother’s breast.(L)
10 I was given over to You at birth;[f]
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.(M)
11 Do not be far from me, because distress is near
and there is no one to help.(N)
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong ones of Bashan encircle me.(O)
13 They open their mouths against me—
lions, mauling and roaring.(P)
14 I am poured out like water,(Q)
and all my bones are disjointed;(R)
my heart is like wax,
melting within me.(S)
15 My strength is dried up like baked clay;(T)
my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.(U)
You put me into the dust of death.(V)
16 For dogs have surrounded me;(W)
a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;
they pierced[g] my hands and my feet.(X)
17 I can count all my bones;
people[h] look and stare at me.(Y)
18 They divided my garments among themselves,
and they cast lots for my clothing.(Z)
19 But You, Lord, don’t be far away.(AA)
My strength, come quickly to help me.(AB)
20 Deliver my life from the sword,(AC)
my only life[i] from the power of these dogs.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!(AD)
You have rescued[j] me
from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;
I will praise You in the congregation.(AE)
23 You who fear Yahweh, praise Him!(AF)
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
All you descendants of Israel, revere Him!(AG)
24 For He has not despised or detested
the torment of the afflicted.(AH)
He did not hide His face from him(AI)
but listened when he cried to Him for help.(AJ)
25 I will give praise[k] in the great congregation
because of You;(AK)
I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear You.[l](AL)
26 The humble[m] will eat and be satisfied;(AM)
those who seek the Lord will praise Him.
May your hearts live forever!(AN)
27 All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before You,(AO)
28 for kingship belongs to the Lord;
He rules over the nations.(AP)
29 All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down;
all those who go down to the dust
will kneel before Him—
even the one who cannot preserve his life.(AQ)
30 Their descendants will serve Him;
the next generation will be told about the Lord.(AR)
31 They will come and tell a people yet to be born
about His righteousness—
what He has done.(AS)
Malta’s Hospitality
28 Once ashore, we(A) then learned that the island was called Malta.(B) 2 The local people(C) showed us extraordinary kindness, for they lit a fire and took us all in, since it was raining and cold. 3 As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself to his hand. 4 When the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man is probably a murderer, and though he has escaped the sea, Justice[a] does not allow him to live!”(D) 5 However, he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.(E) 6 They expected that he would swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.(F)
Ministry in Malta
7 Now in the area around that place was an estate belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 Publius’s father was in bed suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, and praying and laying his hands on him, he healed him.(G) 9 After this, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10 So they heaped many honors on us, and when we sailed, they gave us what we needed.
Rome at Last
11 After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island, with the Twin Brothers[b] as its figurehead. 12 Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed three days. 13 From there, after making a circuit along the coast,[c] we reached Rhegium. After one day a south wind sprang up, and the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found believers[d](H) and were invited to stay with them for seven days.
And so we came to Rome. 15 Now the believers[e] from there had heard the news about us and had come to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. 16 When we entered Rome,[f] Paul was permitted to stay by himself with the soldier who guarded him.(I)
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days after these words,(A) He took along Peter, John, and James(B) and went up on the mountain to pray.(C) 29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed,(D) and His clothes became dazzling white.(E) 30 Suddenly, two men were talking with Him—Moses and Elijah. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of His death,[a] which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and those with him were in a deep sleep,[b](F) and when they became fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him. 33 As the two men were departing from Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master,(G) it’s good for us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.(H)
34 While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed(I) them. They became afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then a voice came from the cloud,(J) saying:
36 After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was found. They kept silent, and in those days told no one what they had seen.
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