Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18[a]
For the music director, by the Lord’s servant David, who sang[b] to the Lord the words of this song when[c] the Lord rescued him from the power[d] of all his enemies, including Saul.[e]
18 He said:[f]
“I love[g] you, Lord, my source of strength![h]
2 The Lord is my high ridge,[i] my stronghold,[j] my deliverer.
My God is my rocky summit where[k] I take shelter,[l]
my shield, the horn that saves me,[m] and my refuge.[n]
3 I called[o] to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,[p]
and I was delivered from my enemies.
4 The waves[q] of death engulfed me,
the currents[r] of chaos[s] overwhelmed me.[t]
5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me,[u]
the snares of death trapped me.[v]
6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God.[w]
From his heavenly temple[x] he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.[y]
7 The earth heaved and shook.[z]
The roots of the mountains[aa] trembled;[ab]
they heaved because he was angry.
8 Smoke ascended from[ac] his nose;[ad]
fire devoured as it came from his mouth.[ae]
He hurled down fiery coals.[af]
9 He made the sky sink[ag] as he descended;
a thick cloud was under his feet.
10 He mounted[ah] a winged angel[ai] and flew;
he glided[aj] on the wings of the wind.[ak]
11 He shrouded himself in darkness,[al]
in thick rain clouds.[am]
12 From the brightness in front of him came
hail and fiery coals.[an]
13 The Lord thundered[ao] in[ap] the sky;
the Most High[aq] shouted.[ar]
14 He shot his[as] arrows and scattered them,[at]
many lightning bolts[au] and routed them.[av]
15 The depths[aw] of the sea[ax] were exposed;
the inner regions[ay] of the world were uncovered
by[az] your battle cry,[ba] Lord,
by the powerful breath from your nose.[bb]
16 He reached down[bc] from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water.[bd]
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy,[be]
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted[bf] me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me.[bg]
19 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me.[bh]
20 The Lord repaid[bi] me for my godly deeds;[bj]
he rewarded[bk] my blameless behavior.[bl]
21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;[bm]
I have not rebelled against my God.[bn]
22 For I am aware of all his regulations,[bo]
and I do not reject his rules.[bp]
23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning.[bq]
24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds;[br]
he took notice of my blameless behavior.[bs]
25 You prove to be loyal[bt] to one who is faithful;[bu]
you prove to be trustworthy[bv] to one who is innocent.[bw]
26 You prove to be reliable[bx] to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive[by] to one who is perverse.[bz]
27 For you deliver oppressed[ca] people,
but you bring down those who have a proud look.[cb]
28 Indeed,[cc] you light my lamp, Lord.[cd]
My God[ce] illuminates the darkness around me.[cf]
29 Indeed,[cg] with your help[ch] I can charge against[ci] an army;[cj]
by my God’s power[ck] I can jump over a wall.[cl]
30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner;[cm]
the Lord’s promise[cn] is reliable.[co]
He is a shield to all who take shelter[cp] in him.
31 Indeed,[cq] who is God besides the Lord?
Who is a protector[cr] besides our God?[cs]
32 The one true God[ct] gives[cu] me strength;[cv]
he removes[cw] the obstacles in my way.[cx]
33 He gives me the agility of a deer;[cy]
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.[cz]
34 He trains my hands for battle;[da]
my arms can bend even the strongest bow.[db]
35 You give me your protective shield;[dc]
your right hand supports me.[dd]
Your willingness to help[de] enables me to prevail.[df]
36 You widen my path;[dg]
my feet[dh] do not slip.
37 I chase my enemies and catch[di] them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
38 I beat them[dj] to death;[dk]
they fall at my feet.[dl]
39 You give me strength[dm] for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me.[dn]
40 You make my enemies retreat;[do]
I destroy those who hate me.[dp]
41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them;[dq]
they cry out to the Lord,[dr] but he does not answer them.
42 I grind them as fine windblown dust;[ds]
I beat them underfoot[dt] like clay[du] in the streets.
43 You rescue me from a hostile army.[dv]
You make me[dw] a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.[dx]
44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.[dy]
Foreigners are powerless[dz] before me.
45 Foreigners lose their courage;[ea]
they shake with fear[eb] as they leave[ec] their strongholds.[ed]
46 The Lord is alive![ee]
My Protector[ef] is praiseworthy.[eg]
The God who delivers me[eh] is exalted as king.[ei]
47 The one true God[ej] completely vindicates me;[ek]
he makes nations submit to me.[el]
48 He delivers me[em] from my enemies.
You snatch me away[en] from those who attack me;[eo]
you rescue me from violent men.
49 So I will give you thanks before the nations,[ep] O Lord.
I will sing praises to you.[eq]
50 He[er] gives his king magnificent victories;[es]
he is faithful[et] to his chosen ruler,[eu]
to David and his descendants[ev] forever.”[ew]
Naomi Instructs Ruth
3 At that time,[a] Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure.[b] 2 Now Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative.[c] Look, tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor.[d] 3 So bathe yourself,[e] rub on some perfumed oil,[f] and get dressed up.[g] Then go down[h] to the threshing floor. But don’t let the man know you’re there until he finishes his meal.[i] 4 When he gets ready to go to sleep,[j] take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs,[k] and lie down[l] beside him.[m] He will tell[n] you what you should do.” 5 Ruth replied to Naomi,[o] “I will do everything you have told[p] me[q] to do.”[r]
Ruth Visits Boaz
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do.[s] 7 When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap.[t] Then Ruth[u] crept up quietly,[v] uncovered his legs,[w] and lay down beside him.[x] 8 In the middle of the night he was startled[y] and turned over.[z] Now[aa] he saw a woman[ab] lying beside him![ac] 9 He said, “Who are you?”[ad] She replied, “I am Ruth, your servant.[ae] Marry your servant,[af] for you are a guardian of the family interests.”[ag] 10 He said, “May you be rewarded[ah] by the Lord, my dear![ai] This act of devotion[aj] is greater than what you did before.[ak] For you have not sought to marry[al] one of the young men, whether rich or poor.[am] 11 Now, my dear, don’t worry![an] I intend to do for you everything you propose,[ao] for everyone in the village[ap] knows that you are a worthy woman.[aq] 12 Now yes, it is true that[ar] I am a guardian,[as] but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am. 13 Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you,[at] fine,[au] let him do so.[av] But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you.[aw] Sleep here until morning.”[ax] 14 So she slept beside him[ay] until morning. She woke up while it was still dark.[az] Boaz thought,[ba] “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.”[bb] 15 Then he said, “Hold out the shawl[bc] you are wearing[bd] and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds[be] of barley into the shawl[bf] and put it on her shoulders. Then he[bg] went into town, 16 and she returned to her mother-in-law.
Ruth Returns to Naomi
When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi[bh] asked,[bi] “How did things turn out for you,[bj] my daughter?” Ruth[bk] told her about all the man had done for her. 17 She said, “He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me,[bl] ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”[bm] 18 Then Naomi[bn] said, “Stay put,[bo] my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today.”
Timothy’s Ministry in the Later Times
4 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves[a] with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings,[b] 2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars[c] whose consciences are seared.[d] 3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creation of God is good and no food[e] is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 5 For it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.
6 By pointing out such things to the brothers and sisters,[f] you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, having nourished yourself on the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.[g] 7 But reject those myths[h] fit only for the godless and gullible,[i] and train yourself for godliness. 8 For “physical exercise[j] has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.” 9 This saying[k] is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 10 In fact this is why[l] we work hard and struggle,[m] because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people,[n] especially of believers.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness,[o] and purity. 13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture,[p] to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you have,[q] given to you and confirmed by prophetic words[r] when the elders laid hands on you.[s] 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that everyone will see your progress.[t] 16 Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach.[u] Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.
Going to Jerusalem
31 At that time,[a] some Pharisees[b] came up and said to Jesus,[c] “Get away from here,[d] because Herod[e] wants to kill you.” 32 But[f] he said to them, “Go[g] and tell that fox,[h] ‘Look, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day[i] I will complete my work.[j] 33 Nevertheless I must[k] go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it is impossible[l] that a prophet should be killed[m] outside Jerusalem.’[n] 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,[o] you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you![p] How often I have longed[q] to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but[r] you would have none of it![s] 35 Look, your house is forsaken![t] And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[u]
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