Book of Common Prayer
A Promise to Act with Integrity
Of David. A psalm.[a]
101 I will sing of loyal love and justice;
I will sing praises to you, O Yahweh.
2 I will give attention to the way of integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will walk in the integrity of my heart
in the midst of my house.
3 I will not set before my eyes
any wicked thing.
I hate the work of those who fall away;[b]
it will not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart will depart from me;
I will not know evil.
5 One who slanders his neighbor in secret,
him I will destroy.
One haughty of eyes and arrogant[c] of heart,
him I will not endure.
6 My eyes will be on the faithful of the land,
that they may live with me.
He who walks in the way of integrity,
he shall minister to me.
7 There will not live in the midst of my house
a worker of deceit.
One who speaks lies
will not remain[d] before my eyes.
8 Each morning,[e]
I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
cutting off from the city of Yahweh all evildoers.
A Prayer for Help against Enemies
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
109 O God of my praise, do not keep silent,
2 for wicked and deceitful mouths[b]
have opened against me.
They speak to me with a lying tongue.
3 They also surround me with words of hate,
and fight me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
though I am in prayer.[c]
5 So they inflicted evil against me in return for good
and hatred in return for my love.
6 Appoint over him a wicked man,
and let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him come out guilty,
and let his prayer[d] become as sin.
8 Let his days be few;
let another take his office.
9 Let his children be orphans,
and his wife a widow,
10 and let his children wander aimlessly and beg,
and let them plead from their ruins.
11 Let the creditor seize all that is his,
and let strangers plunder his property.
12 Let there be none who extend to him loyal love,
nor any who pities his orphans.
13 Let his descendants[e] be cut off.
Let their name be blotted out in the next generation.
14 Let the iniquity of his ancestors[f] be remembered before Yahweh,
and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out.
15 Let them be before Yahweh continually,
that he may cut off their[g] memory from the earth,
16 because he did not remember to show loyal love,
but he pursued anyone,[h] poor or needy
or brokenhearted, to slay them.
17 Because he loved cursing, let it come upon him.
Because he did not delight in blessing,
let it be far from him.
18 Because he wore a curse as his robe,
let it enter his body[i] like water,
and into his bones like oil.
19 May it be for him like a garment in which he wraps,
and a belt he continually wears.[j]
20 Let this be the punishment for my accusers from Yahweh,
even those who speak evil against my life.
21 But you, O Yahweh my Lord,
deal with me for your name’s sake.
Because your loyal love is good, deliver me,
22 for I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
23 Like a lengthening shadow I am passing away;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees buckle[k] from fasting,
and my body grows lean without fat.
25 And so I am a disgrace to them;
when they see me, they shake their heads.[l]
26 Help me, O Yahweh my God;
save me according to your loyal love,
27 that they may know that this is your hand,
that you, O Yahweh, you have done it.
28 Let them curse, but you bless.
When they arise, let them be put to shame,
that your servant may be glad.
29 Let my accusers put on disgrace,
and let them cover themselves with their shame as with a robe.
30 I will give thanks to Yahweh exceedingly with my mouth,
and in the midst of many I will praise him,
ʽAyin
121 I have done justice and righteousness;[a]
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Pledge good for your servant;
do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes long for[b] your salvation,
and your righteous word.[c]
124 Deal with your servant according to your loyal love,
and teach me your statutes.
125 I am your servant; give me understanding,
that I may know your statutes.
126 It is time for Yahweh to act,[d]
for they have broken your law.
127 Therefore I love your commands
more than gold, even fine gold.
128 Therefore all your precepts of everything I regard as right;
I hate every false way.
Pe
129 Your testimonies are miracles,
therefore my soul keeps them.
130 The unfolding of your words gives light,
giving understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your commands.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is proper for those who love your name.
133 Direct my steps in your word,[e]
and do not let any iniquity gain power over me.
134 Redeem me from the oppression of humankind,
that I may heed your precepts.
135 Shine your face on your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
136 Streams of water flow down from my eyes,
because people do not heed your law.
Tsade
137 You are righteous, O Yahweh,
and your ordinances are upright.
138 You have ordained your testimonies in righteousness,
and in exceeding faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me,
because my enemies have forgotten your words.
140 Your word is very pure,
and your servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and your law is truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have found me;
your commands delight me.
144 The righteousness of your testimonies is forever;
give me understanding that I may live.
9 It happened in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, that is, the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came against Samaria and laid siege against her. 10 At the end of three years, he captured it in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel; Samaria was captured. 11 Then the king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Habor, in the river regions of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh their God, and they transgressed his covenant; all that he had commanded Moses, the servant of Yahweh, they did not listen to nor did they obey.
Sennacherib of Assyria Invades Judah
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all of the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me. What you impose on me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria imposed on Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 Then Hezekiah gave all of the silver found in the temple of Yahweh and in the storerooms of the house of the king. 16 At that time, Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple of Yahweh and the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and he gave them to the king of Assyria. 17 So the king of Assyria sent the commander in chief, the chief eunuch, and the chief advisor[a] from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a heavy army. They went up and came to Jerusalem, then they went up and came and stood at the aqueduct of the upper pool which is on the main road of the washer’s[b] field. 18 Then they called to the king, so Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was over the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them.
Assyrians Advise against Trust in Yahweh
19 Then the chief advisor said to them, “Please say to Hezekiah: ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What is this confidence that you trust? 20 You think only a word of lips, ‘I have advice and power for the war.’ Now, on whom do you trust that you have rebelled against me? 21 Now, look! You rely[c] on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, which when a man leans on it, it goes into his hand and pierces it! So is Pharaoh the king of Egypt for all who are trusting on him! 22 But if you say to me, ‘On Yahweh our God we trust,’ is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, and he had said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘In the presence of this altar you shall bow down only in Jerusalem?’ 23 So then, please make a wager with my lord, with the king of Assyria, and I will give to you a thousand horses if you are able on your part to put riders on them.[d] 24 How can you repulse a single captain among the least of the servants of my master[e]? Yet you rely for yourself on Egypt for chariots and horsemen! 25 Have I now come up against this place without Yahweh to destroy it? Yahweh has said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it!’”’”
Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols
8 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols, we know that “we all have knowledge.”[a] Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone thinks he knows anything, he has not yet known as it is necessary to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by him.
4 Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that “an idol is nothing in the world” and that “there is no God except one.”[b] 5 For even if after all there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many gods and many lords,
6 yet to us there is one God, the Father,
from whom are all things, and we are for him,
and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things, and we are through him.
7 But this knowledge is not in everyone. But some, being accustomed until now to the idol, eat this food as food sacrificed to idols, and their conscience, because it[c] is weak, is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us close to God. For neither if we eat do we have more, nor if we do not eat do we lack.[d] 9 But watch out lest somehow this right of yours becomes a cause for stumbling to the weak. 10 For if someone should see you who has knowledge reclining for a meal in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, because it[e] is weak, be strengthened so that he eats the food sacrificed to idols? 11 For the one who is weak—the brother for whom Christ died—is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 Now if you[f] sin in this way against the brothers and wound their conscience, which is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin, I will never eat meat forever[g], in order that I may not cause my brother to sin.
The Sermon on the Mount: The Narrow Gate
13 “Enter through the narrow gate, because broad is the gate and spacious is the road that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it, 14 because narrow[a] is the gate and constricted is the road that leads to life, and there are few who find it!
The Sermon on the Mount: Recognizing False Prophets
15 “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inside are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits: they do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do they?[b] 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree is not able to produce bad fruit, nor a bad tree to produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 As a result, you will recognize them by their fruits.
The Sermon on the Mount: False Followers
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
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