Book of Common Prayer
A Petition to Be Saved from Death.
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord, the (A)God of my salvation,
I have (B)cried out by day and in the night before You.
2 Let my prayer (C)come before You;
(D)Incline Your ear to my cry!
3 For my (E)soul has [c]had enough troubles,
And (F)my life has drawn near to [d]Sheol.
4 I am reckoned among those who (G)go down to the pit;
I have become like a man (H)without strength,
5 [e]Forsaken (I)among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And they are (J)cut off from Your hand.
6 You have put me in (K)the lowest pit,
In (L)dark places, in the (M)depths.
7 Your wrath (N)has rested upon me,
And You have afflicted me with (O)all Your waves. [f]Selah.
8 You have removed (P)my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an [g](Q)object of loathing to them;
I am (R)shut up and cannot go out.
9 My (S)eye has wasted away because of affliction;
I have (T)called upon You every day, O Lord;
I have (U)spread out my [h]hands to You.
10 Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Will (V)the [i]departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah.
11 Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in [j]Abaddon?
12 Will Your wonders be made known in the (W)darkness?
And Your [k]righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, O Lord, have cried out (X)to You for help,
And (Y)in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 O Lord, why (Z)do You reject my soul?
Why do You (AA)hide Your face from me?
15 I was afflicted and (AB)about to die from my youth on;
I suffer (AC)Your terrors; I am [l]overcome.
16 Your (AD)burning anger has passed over me;
Your terrors have [m](AE)destroyed me.
17 They have (AF)surrounded me (AG)like water all day long;
They have (AH)encompassed me altogether.
18 You have removed (AI)lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in darkness.
Security of the One Who Trusts in the Lord.
91 He who dwells in the (A)shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the (B)shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My (C)refuge and my (D)fortress,
My God, in whom I (E)trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the (F)snare of the trapper
And from the deadly (G)pestilence.
4 He will (H)cover you with His pinions,
And (I)under His wings you may seek refuge;
His (J)faithfulness is a (K)shield and bulwark.
5 You (L)will not be afraid of the (M)terror by night,
Or of the (N)arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the (O)pestilence that [a]stalks in darkness,
Or of the (P)destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But (Q)it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And (R)see the recompense of the wicked.
9 [b]For you have made the Lord, (S)my refuge,
Even the Most High, (T)your dwelling place.
10 (U)No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your [c]tent.
11 For He will give (V)His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will (W)bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will (X)tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the [d]serpent you will trample down.
14 “(Y)Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will (Z)set him securely on high, because he has (AA)known My name.
15 “He will (AB)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in [e]trouble;
I will rescue him and (AC)honor him.
16 “With [f]a (AD)long life I will satisfy him
And [g](AE)let him see My salvation.”
Praise for the Lord’s Goodness.
A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is (AF)good to give thanks to the Lord
And to (AG)sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To (AH)declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your (AI)faithfulness [h]by night,
3 [i]With the (AJ)ten-stringed lute and [j]with the (AK)harp,
[k]With resounding music [l]upon the (AL)lyre.
4 For You, O Lord, have made me glad by [m]what You (AM)have done,
I will (AN)sing for joy at the (AO)works of Your hands.
5 How (AP)great are Your works, O Lord!
Your [n](AQ)thoughts are very (AR)deep.
6 A (AS)senseless man has no knowledge,
Nor does a (AT)stupid man understand this:
7 That when the wicked (AU)sprouted up like grass
And all (AV)who did iniquity flourished,
It was only that they might be (AW)destroyed forevermore.
8 But You, O Lord, are (AX)on high forever.
9 For, behold, Your enemies, O Lord,
For, behold, (AY)Your enemies will perish;
All who do iniquity will be (AZ)scattered.
10 But You have exalted my (BA)horn like that of the wild ox;
I have [o]been (BB)anointed with fresh oil.
11 And my eye has (BC)looked exultantly upon [p]my foes,
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12 The (BD)righteous man will [q]flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a (BE)cedar in Lebanon.
13 (BF)Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish (BG)in the courts of our God.
14 They will still [r](BH)yield fruit in old age;
They shall be [s]full of sap and very green,
15 To [t]declare that (BI)the Lord is upright;
He is my (BJ)rock, and there is (BK)no unrighteousness in Him.
17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the [a]company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a [b]company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’” 18 So a horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “(A)What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” And the watchman [c]reported, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.” 19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu [d]answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” 20 The watchman [e]reported, “He came even to them, and he did not return; and (B)the driving is like the driving of (C)Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”
21 Then [f]Joram said, “[g]Get ready.” And they made his chariot ready. [h](D)Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and found him in the [i](E)property of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 When [j]Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he [k]answered, “What peace, (F)so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?” 23 So [l]Joram [m]reined about and fled and said to Ahaziah, “(G)There is treachery, O Ahaziah!” 24 And (H)Jehu [n]drew his bow with his full strength and [o]shot [p]Joram between his arms; and the arrow went [q]through his heart and he sank in his chariot. 25 Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Take him up and (I)cast him into the [r]property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I remember when [s]you and I were riding together after Ahab his father, that the (J)Lord laid this (K)oracle against him: 26 ‘Surely (L)I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the Lord, ‘and (M)I will repay you in this [t]property,’ says the Lord. Now then, take and cast him into the [u]property, according to the word of the Lord.”
Jehu Assassinates Ahaziah
27 (N)When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, “[v]Shoot him too, in the chariot.” So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at (O)Ibleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there. 28 (P)Then his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.
29 Now in (Q)the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.
30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and (R)she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window. 31 As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “(S)Is it [w]well, Zimri, [x]your master’s murderer?” 32 Then he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three officials looked down at him.
Jezebel Is Slain
33 He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her under foot. 34 When he came in, he ate and drank; and he said, “See now to (T)this cursed woman and bury her, for (U)she is a king’s daughter.” 35 They went to bury her, but they found nothing more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 36 Therefore they returned and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘(V)In the [y]property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; 37 and (W)the corpse of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field in the [z]property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.”’”
Teaching on Marriage
7 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is (A)good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. 3 The husband must [a]fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 (B)Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and [b]come together again so that (C)Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But this I say by way of concession, (D)not of command. 7 [c]Yet I wish that all men were (E)even as I myself am. However, (F)each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is (G)good for them if they remain (H)even as I. 9 But if they do not have self-control, (I)let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their (A)many words. 8 So do not be like them; for (B)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 “(C)Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘(D)Your kingdom come.
(E)Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘(F)Give us this day [a]our daily bread.
12 ‘And (G)forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but (H)deliver us from [b](I)evil. [c][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
14 (J)For if you forgive [d]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But (K)if you do not forgive [e]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
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