Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Praised for Giving Deliverance.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, [a]who spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,
18 “I love You, O Lord, (A)my strength.”
2 The Lord is (B)my [b]rock and (C)my fortress and my (D)deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My (E)shield and the (F)horn of my salvation, my (G)stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is (H)worthy to be praised,
And I am (I)saved from my enemies.
4 The (J)cords of death encompassed me,
And the (K)torrents of [c]ungodliness [d]terrified me.
5 The (L)cords of [e]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my (M)distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice (N)out of His temple,
And my (O)cry for help before Him came into His ears.
7 Then the (P)earth shook and quaked;
And the (Q)foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up [f]out of His nostrils,
And (R)fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He (S)bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick (T)darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a (U)cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the (V)wings of the wind.
11 He made (W)darkness His hiding place, (X)His [g]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the (Y)brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and (Z)coals of fire.
13 The Lord also (AA)thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He (AB)sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and [h]routed them.
15 Then the (AC)channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were [i]laid bare
At Your (AD)rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the (AE)breath of Your nostrils.
16 He (AF)sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of (AG)many waters.
17 He (AH)delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were (AI)too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in (AJ)the day of my calamity,
But (AK)the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a (AL)broad place;
He rescued me, because (AM)He delighted in me.
20 The Lord has (AN)rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AO)cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21 For I have (AP)kept the ways of the Lord,
And have (AQ)not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all (AR)His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His (AS)statutes from me.
23 I was also [j](AT)blameless with Him,
And I (AU)kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore the Lord has (AV)recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
25 With (AW)the kind You show Yourself kind;
With the [k]blameless (AX)You show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You show Yourself (AY)pure,
And with the crooked (AZ)You show Yourself [l]astute.
27 For You (BA)save an afflicted people,
But (BB)haughty eyes You abase.
28 For You (BC)light my lamp;
The Lord my God (BD)illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can [m](BE)run upon a troop;
And by my God I can (BF)leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is [n](BG)blameless;
The (BH)word of the Lord is tried;
He is a (BI)shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For (BJ)who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a (BK)rock, except our God,
32 The God who (BL)girds me with strength
And [o]makes my way [p](BM)blameless?
33 He (BN)makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And (BO)sets me upon my high places.
34 He (BP)trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can (BQ)bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me (BR)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your (BS)right hand upholds me;
And (BT)Your [q]gentleness makes me great.
36 You (BU)enlarge my steps under me,
And my [r](BV)feet have not slipped.
37 I (BW)pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back (BX)until they were consumed.
38 I shattered them, so that they were (BY)not able to rise;
They fell (BZ)under my feet.
39 For You have (CA)girded me with strength for battle;
You have [s](CB)subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also made my enemies (CC)turn their backs to me,
And I [t](CD)destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was (CE)none to save,
Even to the Lord, but (CF)He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine as the (CG)dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the (CH)contentions of the people;
You have placed me as (CI)head of the nations;
A (CJ)people whom I have not known serve me.
44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners [u](CK)submit to me.
45 Foreigners (CL)fade away,
And (CM)come trembling out of their [v]fortresses.
46 The Lord (CN)lives, and blessed be (CO)my rock;
And exalted be (CP)the God of my salvation,
47 The God who (CQ)executes vengeance for me,
And (CR)subdues peoples under me.
48 He (CS)delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You (CT)lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the (CU)violent man.
49 Therefore I will (CV)give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,
And I will (CW)sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great [w](CX)deliverance to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to (CY)His anointed,
To David and (CZ)his [x]descendants forever.
17 “The [a]afflicted and needy are seeking (A)water, but there is none,
And their tongue is parched with thirst;
I, the Lord, (B)will answer them Myself,
As the God of Israel I (C)will not forsake them.
18 “I will open (D)rivers on the bare heights
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make (E)the wilderness a pool of water
And the dry land fountains of water.
19 “I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia and the (F)myrtle and the [b]olive tree;
I will place the (G)juniper in the desert
Together with the box tree and the cypress,
20 That (H)they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the (I)hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 “[c]Present your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your strong arguments,”
The (J)King of Jacob says.
22 (K)Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the (L)former events, declare what they were,
That we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
23 (M)Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
That we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, (N)do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.
24 Behold, (O)you are of [d]no account,
And (P)your work amounts to nothing;
He who chooses you is an (Q)abomination.
25 “I have aroused (R)one from the north, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon (S)mortar,
Even as the potter treads clay.”
26 Who has (T)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
Surely there was (U)no one who declared,
Surely there was no one who proclaimed,
Surely there was no one who heard your words.
27 “(V)Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a (W)messenger of good news.’
28 “But (X)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no (Y)counselor [e]among them
Who, if I ask, can (Z)give an answer.
29 “Behold, all of them are [f]false;
Their (AA)works are (AB)worthless,
Their molten images are (AC)wind and emptiness.
11 Therefore remember that (A)formerly (B)you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “(C)Uncircumcision” by the so-called “(D)Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, [a](E)excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to (F)the covenants of promise, having (G)no hope and (H)without God in the world. 13 But now in (I)Christ Jesus you who (J)formerly were (K)far off [b]have (L)been brought near [c](M)by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is (N)our peace, (O)who made both groups into one and broke down the [d]barrier of the dividing wall, 15 [e]by (P)abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is (Q)the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might [f](R)make the two into (S)one new man, thus establishing (T)peace, 16 and might (U)reconcile them both in (V)one body to God through the cross, [g]by it having (W)put to death the enmity. 17 And (X)He came and preached (Y)peace to you who were (Z)far away, and peace to those who were (AA)near; 18 for through Him we both have (AB)our access in (AC)one Spirit to (AD)the Father. 19 So then you are no longer (AE)strangers and aliens, but you are (AF)fellow citizens with the [h]saints, and are of (AG)God’s household, 20 having been (AH)built on (AI)the foundation of (AJ)the apostles and prophets, (AK)Christ Jesus Himself being the (AL)corner stone, 21 (AM)in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into (AN)a holy [i]temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being (AO)built together into a (AP)dwelling of God in the Spirit.
The Paralytic Healed
2 When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. 2 And (A)many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. 3 (B)And they *came, bringing to Him a (C)paralytic, carried by four men. 4 Being unable to [a]get to Him because of the crowd, they (D)removed the roof [b]above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the (E)paralytic was lying. 5 And Jesus seeing their faith *said to the paralytic, “[c]Son, (F)your sins are forgiven.” 6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; (G)who can forgive sins [d]but God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus, aware [e]in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, *said to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the (H)paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He *said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” 12 And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and (I)were glorifying God, saying, “(J)We have never seen anything like this.”
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