Book of Common Prayer
God Sustains His Servant.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
40 I (A)waited [a]patiently for the Lord;
And He reached down to me and (B)heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the (C)pit of [b]destruction, out of the mud;
And (D)He set my feet on a rock, (E)making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a (F)new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will (G)see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
4 How (H)blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And (I)has not turned to the [c]proud, nor to those who (J)become involved in falsehood.
5 Many, Lord my God, are (K)the wonders which You have done,
And Your (L)thoughts toward us;
There is no one to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They (M)would be too numerous to count.
6 (N)You have not desired [d]sacrifice and meal offering;
You have [e]opened my ears;
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
It is [f]written of me in the scroll of the book.
8 (O)I delight to do Your will, my God;
(P)Your Law is within my [g]heart.”
9 I have (Q)proclaimed good news of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will (R)not restrain my lips,
Lord, (S)You know.
10 I have (T)not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have (U)spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your mercy and Your truth from the great congregation.
11 You, Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
[h]Your (V)mercy and Your truth will continually watch over me.
12 For evils beyond number have (W)surrounded me;
My (X)guilty deeds have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are (Y)more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my (Z)heart has [i]failed me.
13 (AA)Be pleased, Lord, to rescue me;
(AB)Hurry, Lord, to help me.
14 May those be (AC)ashamed and humiliated together
Who (AD)seek my [j]life to destroy it;
May those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight [k]in my hurt.
15 May those (AE)be [l]appalled because of their shame
Who (AF)say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 (AG)May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
May those who love Your salvation continually (AH)say,
“The Lord be exalted!”
17 But (AI)I am afflicted and needy;
(AJ)May the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my savior;
Do not delay, my God.
Prayer for Defense against Enemies.
For the music director; on stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David, [b]when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is David not keeping himself hidden among us?”
54 Save me, God, by (A)Your name,
And [c]vindicate me by (B)Your power.
2 (C)Hear my prayer, God;
(D)Listen to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have (E)risen against me
And (F)violent men have (G)sought my [d]life;
They have (H)not set God before them. Selah
A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.
For the music director. A Psalm of David, when [a]Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51 (A)Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness;
According to the greatness of (B)Your compassion, (C)wipe out my wrongdoings.
2 (D)Wash me thoroughly from my guilt
And (E)cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I (F)know my wrongdoings,
And my sin is constantly before me.
4 (G)Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is (H)evil in Your sight,
So that (I)You [b]are justified [c]when You speak
And [d]blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was (J)brought forth in guilt,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire (K)truth in the [e]innermost being,
And in secret You will (L)make wisdom known to me.
7 [f]Purify me (M)with hyssop, and I will be clean;
[g]Cleanse me, and I will be (N)whiter than snow.
8 [h]Let me hear (O)joy and gladness,
Let the (P)bones You have broken rejoice.
9 (Q)Hide Your face from my sins
And wipe out all my guilty deeds.
10 (R)Create [i]in me a (S)clean heart, God,
And renew a (T)steadfast spirit within me.
11 (U)Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your (V)Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the (W)joy of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a (X)willing spirit.
13 Then I will (Y)teach wrongdoers Your ways,
And sinners will [j]be (Z)converted to You.
14 Save me from (AA)the guilt of bloodshed, God, (AB)the God of my salvation;
Then my (AC)tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 Lord, [k](AD)open my lips,
So that my mouth may (AE)declare Your praise.
16 For You (AF)do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a (AG)broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.
The Beast from the Sea
13 And the dragon stood on the sand of the [a]seashore.
Then I saw a (A)beast coming up out of the sea, having (B)ten horns and (C)seven heads, and on his horns were (D)ten crowns, and on his heads were (E)blasphemous names. 2 And the beast that I saw was (F)like a leopard, and his feet were like those of (G)a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of (H)a lion. And the (I)dragon gave him his power and his (J)throne, and great authority. 3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been [b]fatally wounded, and his (K)fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth (L)was amazed and followed after the beast; 4 they worshiped the (M)dragon because he (N)gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “(O)Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” 5 A mouth was given to him (P)speaking [c]arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for (Q)forty-two months was given to him. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, (R)those who dwell in heaven.
7 It was also given to him to (S)make war with the [d]saints and to overcome them, and authority was given to him over (T)every tribe, people, language, and nation. 8 All who (U)live on the earth will worship him, everyone (V)whose name has not been [e]written (W)since the foundation of the world in the (X)book of life of (Y)the Lamb who has been slaughtered. 9 (Z)If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 (AA)If anyone [f]is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; (AB)if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is (AC)the [g]perseverance and the faith of the [h]saints.
Greed Denounced
13 Now someone [a]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “[b](A)You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” 15 But He said to them, “(B)Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” 16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19 And I will say to [c]myself, “(C)You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘(D)You fool! This very night [d](E)your soul is demanded of you; and (F)as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ 21 Such is the one who (G)stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”
22 And He said to His disciples, “(H)For this reason I tell you, [e]do not worry about your [f]life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the (I)ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor (J)barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a [g](K)day to his [h]life’s span? 26 Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor [i]spin; but I tell you, not even (L)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? (M)You of little faith! 29 And do not [j]seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not (N)keep worrying. 30 For [k]all these things are what the nations of the world [l]eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But [m]seek His kingdom, and (O)these things will be [n]provided to you.
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