Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Praised for Giving Deliverance.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, [a]who spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,
18 “I love You, O Lord, (A)my strength.”
2 The Lord is (B)my [b]rock and (C)my fortress and my (D)deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My (E)shield and the (F)horn of my salvation, my (G)stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is (H)worthy to be praised,
And I am (I)saved from my enemies.
4 The (J)cords of death encompassed me,
And the (K)torrents of [c]ungodliness [d]terrified me.
5 The (L)cords of [e]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my (M)distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice (N)out of His temple,
And my (O)cry for help before Him came into His ears.
7 Then the (P)earth shook and quaked;
And the (Q)foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up [f]out of His nostrils,
And (R)fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He (S)bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick (T)darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a (U)cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the (V)wings of the wind.
11 He made (W)darkness His hiding place, (X)His [g]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the (Y)brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and (Z)coals of fire.
13 The Lord also (AA)thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He (AB)sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and [h]routed them.
15 Then the (AC)channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were [i]laid bare
At Your (AD)rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the (AE)breath of Your nostrils.
16 He (AF)sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of (AG)many waters.
17 He (AH)delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were (AI)too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in (AJ)the day of my calamity,
But (AK)the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a (AL)broad place;
He rescued me, because (AM)He delighted in me.
20 The Lord has (AN)rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AO)cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21 For I have (AP)kept the ways of the Lord,
And have (AQ)not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all (AR)His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His (AS)statutes from me.
23 I was also [j](AT)blameless with Him,
And I (AU)kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore the Lord has (AV)recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
25 With (AW)the kind You show Yourself kind;
With the [k]blameless (AX)You show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You show Yourself (AY)pure,
And with the crooked (AZ)You show Yourself [l]astute.
27 For You (BA)save an afflicted people,
But (BB)haughty eyes You abase.
28 For You (BC)light my lamp;
The Lord my God (BD)illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can [m](BE)run upon a troop;
And by my God I can (BF)leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is [n](BG)blameless;
The (BH)word of the Lord is tried;
He is a (BI)shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For (BJ)who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a (BK)rock, except our God,
32 The God who (BL)girds me with strength
And [o]makes my way [p](BM)blameless?
33 He (BN)makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And (BO)sets me upon my high places.
34 He (BP)trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can (BQ)bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me (BR)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your (BS)right hand upholds me;
And (BT)Your [q]gentleness makes me great.
36 You (BU)enlarge my steps under me,
And my [r](BV)feet have not slipped.
37 I (BW)pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back (BX)until they were consumed.
38 I shattered them, so that they were (BY)not able to rise;
They fell (BZ)under my feet.
39 For You have (CA)girded me with strength for battle;
You have [s](CB)subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also made my enemies (CC)turn their backs to me,
And I [t](CD)destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was (CE)none to save,
Even to the Lord, but (CF)He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine as the (CG)dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the (CH)contentions of the people;
You have placed me as (CI)head of the nations;
A (CJ)people whom I have not known serve me.
44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners [u](CK)submit to me.
45 Foreigners (CL)fade away,
And (CM)come trembling out of their [v]fortresses.
46 The Lord (CN)lives, and blessed be (CO)my rock;
And exalted be (CP)the God of my salvation,
47 The God who (CQ)executes vengeance for me,
And (CR)subdues peoples under me.
48 He (CS)delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You (CT)lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the (CU)violent man.
49 Therefore I will (CV)give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,
And I will (CW)sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great [w](CX)deliverance to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to (CY)His anointed,
To David and (CZ)his [x]descendants forever.
Boaz Will Redeem Ruth
3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek [a]security for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Now is not Boaz (A)our [b]kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. 3 Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 It shall be when he lies down, that you shall [c]notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do.” 5 She said to her, “(B)All that you say I will do.”
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 When Boaz had eaten and drunk and (C)his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and [d]bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a [e]close relative.” 10 Then he said, “(D)May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you [f]ask, for all my people in the [g]city know that you are (E)a woman of excellence. 12 Now it is true I am a [h]close relative; however, there is a [i]relative closer than I. 13 Remain this night, and when morning comes, (F)if he will [j]redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to [k]redeem you, then I will redeem you, (G)as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”
14 So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, “(H)Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 Again he said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then [l]she went into the city. 16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “[m]How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 She said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” 18 Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter [n]turns out; for the man will not rest until he has [o]settled it today.”
Apostasy
4 But (A)the Spirit explicitly says that (B)in later times some will [a]fall away from the faith, paying attention to (C)deceitful spirits and (D)doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars (E)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who (F)forbid marriage and advocate (G)abstaining from foods which (H)God has created to be (I)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For (J)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is (K)received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of (L)the word of God and prayer.
A Good Minister’s Discipline
6 In pointing out these things to (M)the brethren, you will be a good (N)servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the [b](O)sound doctrine which you (P)have been following. 7 But [c]have nothing to do with (Q)worldly (R)fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of (S)godliness; 8 for (T)bodily discipline is only of little profit, but (U)godliness is profitable for all things, since it (V)holds promise for the (W)present life and also for the life to come. 9 (X)It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed (Y)our hope on (Z)the living God, who is (AA)the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
11 [d](AB)Prescribe and teach these things. 12 (AC)Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, (AD)love, faith and purity, show yourself (AE)an example [e]of those who believe. 13 (AF)Until I come, give attention to the public (AG)reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through (AH)prophetic utterance with (AI)the laying on of hands by the [f](AJ)presbytery. 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16 (AK)Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will [g](AL)ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
31 Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for (A)Herod wants to kill You.” 32 And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I [a](B)reach My goal.’ 33 Nevertheless (C)I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a (D)prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem. 34 (E)O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, (F)just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! 35 Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘(G)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
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