Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 O Lord, (A)rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (D)no soundness in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)iniquities are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my folly.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go mourning all day long.
7 For my loins are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am (M)benumbed and [b]badly crushed;
I [c](N)groan because of the [d]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [e]before You;
And my (P)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (Q)my strength fails me;
And the (R)light of my eyes, even [f]that [g]has gone from me.
11 My [h](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand afar off.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [i]threatened destruction,
And they (X)devise treachery all day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I [j]hope in You, O Lord;
You (AA)will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I [l](AE)confess my iniquity;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [m]strong,
And many are those who (AH)hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 Make (AL)haste to help me,
O Lord, (AM)my salvation!
Daleth.
25 My (A)soul cleaves to the dust;
(B)Revive me (C)according to Your word.
26 I have told of my ways, and You have answered me;
(D)Teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So I will (E)meditate on Your wonders.
28 My (F)soul [a]weeps because of grief;
(G)Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove the false way from me,
And graciously grant me Your law.
30 I have chosen the faithful way;
I have [b]placed Your ordinances before me.
31 I (H)cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
32 I shall run the way of Your commandments,
For You will (I)enlarge my heart.
He.
33 (J)Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.
34 (K)Give me understanding, that I may (L)observe Your law
And keep it (M)with all my heart.
35 Make me walk in the (N)path of Your commandments,
For I (O)delight in it.
36 (P)Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to (Q)dishonest gain.
37 Turn away my (R)eyes from looking at vanity,
And (S)revive me in Your ways.
38 (T)Establish Your [c]word to Your servant,
[d]As that which produces reverence for You.
39 (U)Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your ordinances are good.
40 Behold, I (V)long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.
Vav.
41 May Your (W)lovingkindnesses also come to me, O Lord,
Your salvation (X)according to Your [e]word;
42 So I will have an (Y)answer for him who (Z)reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
43 And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I [f](AA)wait for Your ordinances.
44 So I will (AB)keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
45 And I will (AC)walk [g]at liberty,
For I (AD)seek Your precepts.
46 I will also speak of Your testimonies (AE)before kings
And shall not be ashamed.
47 I shall [h](AF)delight in Your commandments,
Which I (AG)love.
48 And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments,
Which I (AH)love;
And I will (AI)meditate on Your statutes.
25 “When you [a]become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land, and (A)act corruptly, and (B)make an [b]idol in the form of anything, and (C)do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord your God so as to provoke Him to anger, 26 I (D)call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will (E)surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not [c]live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 The Lord will (F)scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. 28 (G)There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, (H)wood and stone, (I)which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. 29 (J)But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him (K)with all your heart and all your soul. 30 When you (L)are in distress and all these things have come upon you, (M)in the latter days (N)you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. 31 For the Lord your God is a (O)compassionate God; (P)He will not fail you nor (Q)destroy you nor (R)forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.
23 But (A)I call God as witness [a]to my soul, that (B)to spare you I did not come again to (C)Corinth. 24 Not that we (D)lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are (E)standing firm.
Reaffirm Your Love
2 But I determined this [b]for my own sake, that I (F)would not come to you in sorrow again. 2 For if I (G)cause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful? 3 This is the very thing I (H)wrote you, so that (I)when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having (J)confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I (K)wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.
5 But (L)if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—[c]in order not to say too much—to all of you. 6 Sufficient for such a one is (M)this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, 7 so that on the contrary you should rather (N)forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For to this end also (O)I wrote, so that I might [d](P)put you to the test, whether you are (Q)obedient in all things. 10 But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes (R)in the presence of Christ, 11 so that no advantage would be taken of us by (S)Satan, for (T)we are not ignorant of his schemes.
12 Now when I came to (U)Troas for the (V)gospel of Christ and when a (W)door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 I (X)had no rest for my spirit, not finding (Y)Titus my brother; but (Z)taking my leave of them, I went on to (AA)Macedonia.
14 (AB)But thanks be to God, who always (AC)leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the (AD)sweet aroma of the (AE)knowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a (AF)fragrance of Christ to God among (AG)those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 (AH)to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is (AI)adequate for these things? 17 For we are not like many, [e](AJ)peddling the word of God, but (AK)as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ (AL)in the sight of God.
The Prodigal Son
11 And He said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me (A)the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his [a](B)wealth between them. 13 And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. 14 Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. 15 So he went and [b]hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the [c]pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. 17 But when he came to [d]his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and [e]in your sight; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ 20 So he got up and came to [f]his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and [g](C)embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out (D)the best robe and put it on him, and (E)put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; 23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was (F)dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. 29 But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never [h]neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; 30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your [i](G)wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you [j]have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was (H)dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.