Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death.
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.
30 I will (A)extol You, O Lord, for You have (B)lifted me up,
And have not let my (C)enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God,
I (D)cried to You for help, and You (E)healed me.
3 O Lord, You have (F)brought up my soul from [a]Sheol;
You have kept me alive, [b]that I would not (G)go down to the pit.
4 (H)Sing praise to the Lord, you (I)His godly ones,
And (J)give thanks to His holy [c](K)name.
5 For (L)His anger is but for a moment,
His (M)favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may (N)last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will (O)never be moved.”
7 O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You (P)hid Your face, I was dismayed.
8 To You, O Lord, I called,
And to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my blood, if I (Q)go down to the pit?
Will the (R)dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?
10 “(S)Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me;
O Lord, be my (T)helper.”
11 You have turned for me (U)my mourning into dancing;
You have (V)loosed my sackcloth and girded me with (W)gladness,
12 That my [d](X)soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will (Y)give thanks to You forever.
Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.
32 (A)How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord (B)does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c](F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night (G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d](H)vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I (J)did not hide;
I said, “(K)I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You (L)forgave the [f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [g](M)in a time when You may be found;
Surely (N)in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are (O)my hiding place; You (P)preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with [h](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will (R)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you (S)with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be (T)as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the (U)sorrows of the wicked,
But (V)he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, O God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go along with the throng and [e]lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5 (J)Why are you [f](K)in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become (L)disturbed within me?
[g](M)Hope in God, for I shall [h]again praise [i]Him
For the [j](N)help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is [k]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [l]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will (S)command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go (W)mourning [m]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [n]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[o]Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The [p]help of my countenance and my God.
Prayer for Deliverance.
43 (AA)Vindicate me, O God, and (AB)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[q]O deliver me from (AC)the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the (AD)God of my strength; why have You (AE)rejected me?
Why do I go (AF)mourning [r]because of the oppression of the enemy?
Babylon’s Idols and the True God
46 (A)Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;
Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle.
The things [a]that you carry are burdensome,
A load for the weary beast.
2 They stooped over, they have bowed down together;
They could not rescue the burden,
But [b]have themselves (B)gone into captivity.
3 “(C)Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all (D)the remnant of the house of Israel,
You who have been (E)borne by Me from [c]birth
And have been carried from the womb;
4 Even to your old age (F)I [d]will be the same,
And even to your [e](G)graying years I will bear you!
I have [f]done it, and I will carry you;
And I will bear you and I will deliver you.
5 “(H)To whom would you liken Me
And make Me equal and compare Me,
That we would be alike?
6 “Those who (I)lavish gold from the purse
And weigh silver on the scale
Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
They (J)bow down, indeed they worship it.
7 “They (K)lift it upon the shoulder and carry it;
They set it in its place and it stands there.
(L)It does not move from its place.
Though one may cry to it, it (M)cannot answer;
It (N)cannot deliver him from his distress.
8 “(O)Remember this, and be [g]assured;
(P)Recall it to [h]mind, you (Q)transgressors.
9 “Remember the (R)former things long past,
For I am God, and there is (S)no other;
I am God, and there is (T)no one like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘(U)My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
11 Calling a (V)bird of prey from the (W)east,
The man of [i]My purpose from a far country.
Truly I have (X)spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, surely I will do it.
The Armor of God
10 Finally, (A)be strong in the Lord and in (B)the strength of His might. 11 (C)Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the (D)schemes of the devil. 12 For our (E)struggle is not against [a](F)flesh and blood, but (G)against the rulers, against the powers, against the (H)world forces of this (I)darkness, against the (J)spiritual forces of wickedness in (K)the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up (L)the full armor of God, so that you will be able to (M)resist in (N)the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, (O)having girded your loins with truth, and having (P)put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having (Q)shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 [b]in addition to all, taking up the (R)shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the (S)flaming arrows of (T)the evil one. 17 And take (U)the helmet of salvation, and the (V)sword of the Spirit, which is (W)the word of God.
18 [c]With all (X)prayer and petition [d](Y)pray at all times (Z)in the Spirit, and with this in view, [e](AA)be on the alert with all (AB)perseverance and (AC)petition for all the saints, 19 and (AD)pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me (AE)in the opening of my mouth, to make known with (AF)boldness (AG)the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an (AH)ambassador (AI)in [f]chains; that [g]in proclaiming it I may speak (AJ)boldly, (AK)as I ought to speak.
21 (AL)But that you also may know about my circumstances, [h]how I am doing, (AM)Tychicus, (AN)the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. 22 [i](AO)I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know [j]about us, and that he may (AP)comfort your hearts.
23 (AQ)Peace be to the brethren, and (AR)love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ [k]with incorruptible love.
The Gerasene Demoniac
5 (A)They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. 2 When He got out of (B)the boat, immediately a man from the tombs (C)with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. 6 Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and shouting with a loud voice, he *said, “[a](D)What business do we have with each other, Jesus, (E)Son of (F)the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” 8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is (G)Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now there was a large herd of swine feeding [b]nearby on the mountain. 12 The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 13 Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.
14 Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They *came to Jesus and *observed the man who had been (H)demon-possessed sitting down, (I)clothed and (J)in his right mind, the very man who had had the “(K)legion”; and they became frightened. 16 Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the (L)demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. 17 And they began to (M)implore Him to leave their region. 18 (N)As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been (O)demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might [c]accompany Him. 19 And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “(P)Go home to your people and report to them [d]what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to (Q)proclaim in (R)Decapolis [e]what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
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