Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.
95 O come, let us (A)sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to (B)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us (C)come before His presence (D)with [a]thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him (E)with [b]psalms.
3 For the Lord is a (F)great God
And a great King (G)above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the (H)depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5 [c]The sea is His, for it was He (I)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us (J)worship and bow down,
Let us (K)kneel before the Lord our (L)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (M)we are the people of His [d](N)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(O)Today, [e]if you would hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at [f](P)Meribah,
As in the day of [g](Q)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (R)tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
10 “For (S)forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 “Therefore I (T)swore in My anger,
Truly they shall not enter into My (U)rest.”
A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
31 (A)In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never (B)be ashamed;
(C)In Your righteousness deliver me.
2 (D)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be to me a (E)rock of [a]strength,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my [b]rock and (F)my fortress;
For (G)Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will (H)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my (I)strength.
5 (J)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have (K)ransomed me, O Lord, (L)God of [c]truth.
6 I hate those who (M)regard [d]vain idols,
But I (N)trust in the Lord.
7 I will (O)rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,
Because You have (P)seen my affliction;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not (Q)given me over into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for (R)I am in distress;
My (S)eye is wasted away from grief, (T)my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with (U)sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My (V)strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And (W)my [e]body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a (X)reproach,
Especially to my (Y)neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am (Z)forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the [f](AA)slander of many,
(AB)Terror is on every side;
While they (AC)took counsel together against me,
They (AD)schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “(AE)You are my God.”
15 My (AF)times are in Your hand;
(AG)Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your (AH)face to shine upon Your servant;
(AI)Save me in Your lovingkindness.
17 Let me not be (AJ)put to shame, O Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the (AK)wicked be put to shame, let them (AL)be silent in [g]Sheol.
18 Let the (AM)lying lips be mute,
Which (AN)speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your (AO)goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who (AP)take refuge in You,
(AQ)Before the sons of men!
20 You hide them in the (AR)secret place of Your presence from the (AS)conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a [h]shelter from the (AT)strife of tongues.
21 (AU)Blessed be the Lord,
For He has made (AV)marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged (AW)city.
22 As for me, (AX)I said in my alarm,
“I am (AY)cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You (AZ)heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried to You.
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
A Psalm of David.
35 Contend, O Lord, with those who (A)contend with me;
Fight against those who (B)fight against me.
2 Take hold of [a](C)buckler and shield
And rise up for (D)my help.
3 Draw also the spear and [b]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am (E)your salvation.”
4 Let those be (F)ashamed and dishonored who seek my [c]life;
Let those be (G)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be (H)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and (I)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For (J)without cause they (K)hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a [d]pit for my soul.
8 Let (L)destruction come upon him unawares,
And (M)let the net which he hid catch himself;
Into that very (N)destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall (O)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall (P)exult in His salvation.
10 All my (Q)bones will say, “Lord, (R)who is like You,
Who delivers the afflicted from him (S)who is too strong for him,
And (T)the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
11 (U)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
12 They (V)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, (W)when they were sick, my (X)clothing was sackcloth;
I (Y)humbled my soul with fasting,
And my (Z)prayer kept returning to my bosom.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I (AA)bowed down [e]mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
15 But (AB)at my [f]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The [g](AC)smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They [h](AD)slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They (AE)gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, (AF)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul (AG)from their ravages,
My (AH)only life from the lions.
18 I will (AI)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will (AJ)praise You among a mighty throng.
19 (AK)Do not let those who are wrongfully (AL)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those (AM)who hate me without cause [i](AN)wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise (AO)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They (AP)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “(AQ)Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
22 (AR)You have seen it, O Lord, (AS)do not keep silent;
O Lord, (AT)do not be far from me.
23 (AU)Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 (AV)Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And (AW)do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “(AX)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have (AY)swallowed him up!”
26 Let (AZ)those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be (BA)clothed with shame and dishonor who (BB)magnify themselves over me.
Promises of God
12 “(A)Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you [a]His covenant and [b]His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers. 13 He will (B)love you and bless you and (C)multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, [c]in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female (D)barren among you or among your cattle. 15 (E)The Lord will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you. 16 You shall consume all the peoples whom the Lord your God will deliver to you; (F)your eye shall not pity them, nor shall you serve their gods, for that would be (G)a snare to you.
Duties of the Older and Younger
2 But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for (A)sound doctrine. 2 (B)Older men are to be (C)temperate, dignified, sensible, (D)sound (E)in faith, in love, in [a]perseverance.
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, (F)not malicious gossips nor (G)enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may [b]encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, (H)workers at home, kind, being (I)subject to their own husbands, (J)so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
6 Likewise urge (K)the young men to be [c]sensible; 7 in all things show yourself to be (L)an example of good deeds, with [d]purity in doctrine, dignified, 8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so (M)that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.
9 Urge (N)bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not [e]argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of (O)God our Savior in every respect.
11 For the grace of God has (P)appeared, [f](Q)bringing salvation to all men, 12 [g]instructing us to deny ungodliness and (R)worldly desires and (S)to live sensibly, righteously and godly (T)in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the (U)appearing of the glory of [h](V)our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who (W)gave Himself for us (X)to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to (Y)purify for Himself a (Z)people for His own possession, (AA)zealous for good deeds.
15 These things speak and (AB)exhort and (AC)reprove with all [i]authority. (AD)Let no one disregard you.
Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts
35 Again (A)the next day John was standing [a]with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, (B)the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “(C)Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the [b]tenth hour. 40 (D)One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the (E)Messiah” (which translated means [c]Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of [d](F)John; you shall be called (G)Cephas” (which is translated [e](H)Peter).
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