Book of Common Prayer
I Love Your Law, O Yahweh
Aleph
119 How blessed are those whose way is [a](A)blameless,
Who (B)walk in the law of Yahweh.
2 How blessed are those who (C)observe His testimonies,
They (D)seek Him (E)with all their heart.
3 They also do not (F)work unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have (G)commanded us,
To keep Your precepts [b]diligently.
5 Oh may my (H)ways be established
To (I)keep Your statutes!
6 Then I (J)shall not be ashamed
When I look [c]upon all Your commandments.
7 I shall (K)give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not (L)forsake me utterly!
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By (M)keeping it according to Your word.
10 With (N)all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me (O)stray from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have (P)treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Yahweh;
(Q)Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have (R)recounted
All the (S)judgments of Your mouth.
14 I have (T)rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
[d]As much as in all riches.
15 I will (U)muse upon Your precepts
And look upon (V)Your ways.
16 I shall [e](W)delight in Your statutes;
I shall (X)not forget Your word.
Gimel
17 (Y)Deal bountifully with Your slave,
That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
19 I am a (Z)sojourner in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed [f](AA)with longing
For Your judgments at all times.
21 You (AB)rebuke the arrogant, [g]the (AC)cursed,
Who (AD)stray from Your commandments.
22 (AE)Take away reproach and contempt from me,
For I (AF)observe Your testimonies.
23 Even though (AG)princes sit and talk against me,
Your slave (AH)muses on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my (AI)delight;
They are [h]my counselors.
Yahweh Will Set the Needy in Safety
For the choir director. According to the [a]Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
12 Save, O Yahweh, for (A)the holy man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They (B)speak worthlessness to one another;
With a (C)flattering lip and with a double heart they speak.
3 May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [b]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says Yahweh; “I will (H)set him in the [c]safety for which he [d]longs.”
6 The (I)words of Yahweh are pure words;
As silver (J)tried in a furnace on the ground, refined seven times.
7 You, O Yahweh, will keep them;
You will (K)guard him from this generation forever.
8 The (L)wicked strut about on every side
When [e](M)vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
How Long, O Yahweh?
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, O Yahweh? Will You (N)forget me forever?
How long (O)will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I (P)take counsel in my soul,
Having (Q)sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 (R)Look and answer me, O Yahweh my God;
(S)Give light to my eyes, lest I (T)sleep the sleep of death,
4 Lest my enemy (U)says, “I have overcome him,”
And (V)my adversaries rejoice that I am shaken.
5 But I have (W)trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall (X)rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will (Y)sing to Yahweh,
Because He has (Z)dealt bountifully with me.
There Is No One Who Does Good
For the choir director. Of David.
14 The [f]wicked fool (AA)says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They act corruptly, they commit abominable [g]deeds;
There is (AB)no one who does good.
2 Yahweh (AC)looks down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is anyone who [h](AD)has insight,
Anyone who (AE)seeks after God.
3 They have all (AF)turned aside, altogether they have become [i]worthless;
There is (AG)no one who does good, not even one.
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “[a]Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers; and he [b]served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied (A)and had some left. 15 Then she rose to glean, and Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not dishonor her. 16 Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and [c]leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an [d]ephah of barley. 18 She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and (B)gave [e]Naomi what she had left after [f]she was satisfied. 19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you [g]work? May he who (C)took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had [h]worked and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “(D)May he be blessed of Yahweh who has not forsaken his lovingkindness to the living and to the dead.” Then Naomi said to her, “The man is [i]our relative; he is one of our kinsman redeemers.” 21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “[j]Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You should [k]stay close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’” 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not oppress you in another field.” 23 So she [l]stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until (E)the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Overseers and Deacons
3 (A)It is a trustworthy saying: if any man aspires to the (B)office of [a]overseer, he desires a good work. 2 [b](C)An overseer, then, must be above reproach, (D)the husband of one wife, (E)temperate, sensible, respectable, (F)hospitable, (G)able to teach, 3 (H)not addicted to wine [c]or pugnacious, but considerate, peaceable, (I)free from the love of money; 4 (J)leading his own household well, having his children in submission with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to lead his own household, how will he take care of (K)the church of God?), 6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become (L)conceited and fall into the (M)condemnation of the devil. 7 And he must (N)have a good reputation with (O)those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and (P)the snare of the devil.
8 (Q)Deacons likewise must be dignified, not [d]double-tongued, (R)not indulging in much wine, (S)not fond of dishonest gain, 9 (T)but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 (U)And these men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. 11 [e]Women must likewise be dignified, (V)not malicious gossips, but (W)temperate, faithful in all things. 12 (X)Deacons must be (Y)husbands of only one wife, (Z)leading their children and their own households well. 13 For those who have served well as deacons (AA)obtain for themselves a [f]high standing and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you soon, 15 but [g]in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how [h]one ought to conduct himself in (AB)the household of God, which is the (AC)church of (AD)the living God, the (AE)pillar and support of the truth. 16 And by common confession, great is (AF)the mystery of godliness:
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven
18 Therefore, (A)He was saying, “(B)What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden, and it grew and became a tree, and (C)the birds of the [a]air nested in its branches.”
20 And again He said, “(D)To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 (E)It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in [b](F)three sata of flour until it was all leavened.”
The Narrow Door
22 And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and (G)proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, 24 “(H)Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 Once the head of the house gets up and (I)shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘(J)Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘(K)I do not know where you are from.’ 26 Then you will (L)begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 And He will say, ‘I tell you, (M)I do not know where you are from; (N)depart from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness.’ 28 (O)In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being cast out. 29 And they (P)will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, (Q)some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”
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