Book of Common Prayer
33 He [a](A)changes rivers into a [b]wilderness
And springs of water into a thirsty ground;
34 A (B)fruitful land into a (C)salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He [c](D)changes a [d]wilderness into a pool of water
And a dry land into springs of water;
36 And there He makes the hungry to dwell,
So that they may establish [e](E)an inhabited city,
37 And sow fields and (F)plant vineyards,
And [f]gather a fruitful harvest.
38 Also He blesses them and they (G)multiply greatly,
And He (H)does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they are (I)diminished and (J)bowed down
Through oppression, misery and sorrow,
40 He (K)pours contempt upon [g]princes
And (L)makes them wander (M)in a pathless waste.
41 But He (N)sets the needy [h]securely on high away from affliction,
And (O)makes his families like a flock.
42 The (P)upright see it and are glad;
But all (Q)unrighteousness shuts its mouth.
43 Who is (R)wise? Let him give heed to these things,
And consider the (S)lovingkindnesses of the Lord.
God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
108 (T)My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my [i]soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your (U)lovingkindness is great (V)above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 (W)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.
6 (X)That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7 God has spoken in His [j]holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem
And measure out the valley of Succoth.
8 “Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [k]helmet of My head;
(Y)Judah is My [l]scepter.
9 “Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”
10 (Z)Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who [m]will lead me to Edom?
11 Have not You Yourself, O God, (AA)rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?
12 Oh give us help against the adversary,
For (AB)deliverance [n]by man is in vain.
13 [o]Through God we will do valiantly,
And (AC)it is He who shall tread down our adversaries.
Praise to the Creator and Preserver.
33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (G)is upright,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6 By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their host.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [a]as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [b]stood fast.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The (S)counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of men;
14 From (Y)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)fashions [c]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who [d](AE)hope for His lovingkindness,
19 To (AF)deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)waits for the Lord;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
According as we have [e]hoped in You.
False Prophets Denounced
9 As for the prophets:
My (A)heart is broken within me,
All my bones tremble;
I have become like a drunken man,
Even like a man overcome with wine,
Because of the Lord
And because of His holy words.
10 For the land is full of (B)adulterers;
For the land (C)mourns because of the curse.
The (D)pastures of the wilderness have dried up.
Their course also is evil
And their might is not right.
11 “For (E)both prophet and priest are polluted;
Even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore their way will be like (F)slippery paths to them,
They will be driven away into the (G)gloom and fall down in it;
For I will bring (H)calamity upon them,
The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.
13 “Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an (I)offensive thing:
They (J)prophesied by Baal and (K)led My people Israel astray.
14 “Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a (L)horrible thing:
The committing of (M)adultery and walking in falsehood;
And they strengthen the hands of (N)evildoers,
So that no one has turned back from his wickedness.
All of them have become to Me like (O)Sodom,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets,
‘Behold, I am going to (P)feed them wormwood
And make them drink poisonous water,
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
Pollution has gone forth into all the land.’”
Solicitude for Israel
9 (A)I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For (B)I could [a]wish that I myself were (C)accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen (D)according to the flesh, 4 who are (E)Israelites, to whom belongs (F)the adoption as sons, and (G)the glory and (H)the covenants and (I)the giving of the Law and (J)the temple service and (K)the promises, 5 whose are (L)the fathers, and (M)from whom is [b]the Christ according to the flesh, (N)who is over all, (O)God (P)blessed [c]forever. Amen.
6 But it is not as though (Q)the word of God has failed. (R)For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children (S)because they are Abraham’s [d]descendants, but: “[e](T)through Isaac your [f]descendants will be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are (U)children of God, but the (V)children of the promise are regarded as [g]descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise: “(W)At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 (X)And not only this, but there was (Y)Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that (Z)God’s purpose according to His choice would [h]stand, not [i]because of works but [j]because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “(AA)The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written, “(AB)Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 (AC)What shall we say then? (AD)There is no injustice with God, is there? (AE)May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “(AF)I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who (AG)runs, but on (AH)God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “(AI)For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed [k]throughout the whole earth.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He (AJ)hardens whom He desires.
60 Therefore many of His (A)disciples, when they heard this said, “(B)This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, (C)conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this (D)cause you to stumble? 62 What then if you see (E)the Son of Man (F)ascending to where He was before? 63 (G)It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; (H)the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are (I)some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus (J)knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and (K)who it was that would [a]betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have (L)said to you, that no one can come to Me unless (M)it has been granted him from the Father.”
Peter’s Confession of Faith
66 As a result of this many of His (N)disciples (O)withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to (P)the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” 68 (Q)Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have (R)words of eternal life. 69 We have believed and have come to know that You are (S)the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “(T)Did I Myself not choose you, (U)the twelve, and yet one of you is (V)a devil?” 71 Now He meant Judas (W)the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, (X)one of (Y)the twelve, [b]was going to betray Him.
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