Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 95[a]
A Call To Praise and Obey God
1 [b]Come, let us sing with jubilation to the Lord;
let us cry out to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with our songs.
3 [c]For the Lord is the great God,
the King who surpasses all other gods.[d]
4 In his hands are the depths of the earth,
and the peaks of the mountains are his.
5 To him belongs the sea, for he created it,
and also the dry land[e] that his hands have molded.
6 Come forth! Let us bow down to worship him;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.[f]
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds,[g]
the flock he protects.
If only you would listen to his voice today:
8 “Harden not your hearts as you did at Meribah,[h]
as on the day of Massah in the wilderness.
9 It was there that your ancestors sought to tempt me;
they put me to the test
even though they had witnessed my works.[i]
10 “For forty years[j] I loathed that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they do not know my ways.’
11 Therefore, in my anger I swore,
‘They will never enter my rest.’ ”[k]
Psalm 31[a]
Prayer of Trust and Thanksgiving
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David.
2 [c]In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
3 Turn your ear to me,
and act quickly to save me.
Be to me a rock[d] of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
4 You are truly my rock and my fortress;
for the sake of your name,[e] lead and guide me.
5 Deliver me from the snare that has been set for me,
for you are my refuge.
6 Into your hands I commend my spirit;[f]
you will redeem me, O Lord, God of truth.
7 You hate those who cling to false idols,
but I put my trust in the Lord.
8 I will rejoice and exult in your kindness[g]
because you have witnessed my affliction
and have taken note of my anguish.
9 You have not abandoned me into the power of the enemy;
rather, you have set my feet in the open.
10 [h]Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I am in trouble.
My weeping is laying waste to my eyes
as well as my soul[i] and my body.
11 My life is consumed with sorrow
and my years with sighing.
My strength ebbs because of my misery,
and my bones are wasting away.
12 I am an object of scorn
to all my enemies,
a loathsome sight to my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my friends.
When people catch sight of me outside,
they quickly turn away.
13 I have passed out of their minds
like someone who has died;
I have become like a broken vessel.[j]
14 I have heard the hissing of many:
“There is terror on every side,”[k]
as they conspire together against me
and plot to end my life.
15 But I place my trust in you, O Lord.
I say, “You are my God.”
16 My life is in your hands;[l]
deliver me from the power of my enemies,
from the clutches of those who pursue me.
17 Let your face shine[m] upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
18 [n]Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord,
for I have cried out to you.
Let the wicked be put to shame
and lie silent in the netherworld.
19 Let their lying lips be struck dumb,
lips that speak insolently against the righteous
with pride and contempt.
20 [o]How great is your goodness, O Lord,
which you have stored up[p] for those who fear you
and which you bestow on those who take refuge in you,
in the presence of all the people.
21 You hide them in the safety of your presence
from those who conspire against them;
you keep them safe in your shelter,
far away from contentious tongues.
22 Blessed[q] be the Lord,
for he has manifested his wondrous kindness to me
when I was under siege.
23 I had cried out in terror,
“I have been cut off from your sight.”
But you heard my plea
when I cried out to you for assistance.
24 Love the Lord, all his saints.[r]
The Lord protects his loyal servants,
but the arrogant he repays beyond measure.
25 Be strong and courageous in your hearts,
all you who place your hope in the Lord.
Psalm 35[a]
Appeal for Help against Injustice
1 Of David.
Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive against me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Grasp your shield and buckler
and spring to my aid.
3 Brandish your spear and battle-ax
against those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,[b]
“I am your salvation.”
4 May those who seek my life
suffer shame and disgrace.
May those who plan my downfall
be forced to retreat in disgrace.
5 May they be like chaff flying in the wind,[c]
with the angel of the Lord scattering them.
6 May their way be shadowy and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord in pursuit.
7 Without cause they laid a net to trap me;
without cause they dug a pit to ensnare me.
8 May ruin come upon them unawares;
may the net they laid entrap them;
may they topple into the pit they dug.
9 Then my soul[d] will rejoice in the Lord
and exult in his salvation.
10 My whole being[e] will say,
“O Lord, who is there like you?
You deliver those who are weak
from those who are too strong for them,
and you protect the poor and needy
from those who seek to exploit them.”
11 False witnesses step forward
and question me about things I do not know.
12 They give me back evil in place of good
and leave my soul in sorrow.
13 Yet, when they were ill, I put on sackcloth[f]
and afflicted myself with fasting,
while I poured forth prayers from my heart.
14 I went about as though in grief,
as though for a friend or brother.
I bowed down in sorrow
as though lamenting for a mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and came together;
they came together and struck me unawares.
They slandered me without letup.
16 They mocked me with ever increasing fury
as they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 How long,[g] O Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from these ravening beasts;
preserve my precious life from these lions.
18 I will offer you thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise you amid the vast throng.
19 Do not allow my treacherous enemies
to gloat over me;
do not permit those who hate me without reason[h]
to wink their eyes at me.
20 [i]For they do not speak words of peace,
but they contrive deceitful words
to lead astray the peaceful in the land.
21 They open wide their mouths shouting, “Aha! Aha!
We have seen it with our own eyes.”
22 You have seen, O Lord; do not be silent.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Awaken and be diligent in my defense;
come to my aid, my God and my Lord.
24 [j]Defend me, O Lord, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and do not let them gloat over me.
25 Do not let them think,
“Aha! This is just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up.”
26 Let all those who rejoice at my downfall
be put to shame and dismayed.
Let those who rise up arrogantly against me
be covered with shame and dishonor.
27 But let those who desire my vindication
shout for joy and be glad.
Let them cry out continually,
“Exalted be the Lord
who delights to see his servant in peace.”
28 Then my tongue shall proclaim your righteousness
and sing your praise all the day long.
12 Blessings of the Covenant. If you obey these decrees and carefully observe them, then the Lord, your God, will preserve his covenant of mercy with you, as he promised to your forefathers. 13 He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the crops on your land, your grain, your wine and your oil, as well as the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks, in the land that he promised to your forefathers to give to you. 14 You will be more greatly blessed[a] than any other people. None of your men or women will be childless, none of your cattle will be without young. 15 The Lord will protect you from all illnesses. He will not inflict upon you any of the terrible diseases that you encountered in Egypt, but rather he will send them upon everyone who hates you. 16 You must annihilate all of the people whom the Lord, your God, delivers over to you. Do not look with pity upon them; do not serve their gods, for this would be a snare for you.
Proper Conduct for Christians
Chapter 2
Teach What Is Consistent with Sound Doctrine.[a] 1 As for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. 2 Exhort the older men to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love, and in perseverance.
3 Similarly, exhort the older women to be reverent in their behavior, not to be slanderous or slaves of drink, and eager to teach what is good. 4 They can then instruct the younger women to love their husbands and their children, 5 to be self-controlled and chaste, to be diligent homemakers, to be agreeable, and to respect the authority of their husbands so that the word of God may not be derided.
6 Likewise, exhort the younger men to exercise self-control. 7 Show yourself to them in all respects as a model of good works, while in your teaching exhibit integrity and dignity 8 and a soundness of speech that cannot be criticized. Then any opponent will be put to shame when he can find nothing evil to say about us.
9 Exhort slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give them satisfaction in every respect. They are not to talk back to them, 10 nor are they to steal from them. Rather, they should show themselves to be completely trustworthy so that in every way they may add luster to the doctrine of God our Savior.
11 The Grace of God Has Appeared.[b] For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to the entire human race. 12 It teaches us to reject godless ways and worldly desires, and in the present age to lead lives that are temperate, just, and godly, 13 while we await our blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.[c] 14 He gave himself for us in order to deliver us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people as his own who are eager to do good.
15 The Goodness of God Our Savior.[d] These are the things you should expound. Exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
35 We Have Found the Messiah.[a] The next day John was standing there with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus pass by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” 37 On hearing him say this, the two disciples began to follow Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which, translated, is “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 He answered them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him for the rest of that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.[b]
40 One of the two who had heard John speak and had followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to seek out his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah”[c] (which, translated, is “Christ”), 42 and he took him to Jesus. Jesus gazed at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas”[d] (which, translated, is “Peter”).
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