Book of Common Prayer
A Cry of Distress and a Curse on Adversaries.
For the music director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mud, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, those who oppose me with lies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 God, You know (I)my foolishness,
And (J)my guilt is not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (K)be ashamed because of me, Lord [e]God of armies;
May those who seek You not be dishonored because of me, God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have endured disgrace;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers,
And a stranger to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my (R)disgrace.
11 When I made (S)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (T)a proverb to them.
12 Those who (U)sit in the gate talk about me,
And (V)songs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, Lord, (W)at an acceptable time;
God, in the (X)greatness of Your mercy,
Answer me with [g]Your saving truth.
14 Rescue me from the (Y)mud and do not let me sink;
May I be (Z)rescued from those who hate me, and from the (AA)depths of water.
15 May the [h](AB)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AC)pit close its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, Lord, for (AD)Your mercy is good;
(AE)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (AF)turn to me,
17 And (AG)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (AH)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Come near to my soul and (AI)redeem it;
(AJ)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AK)disgrace, my shame, and my dishonor;
All my enemies are [i]known to You.
20 Disgrace has (AL)broken my heart, and I am so sick.
And (AM)I waited for sympathy, but there was none;
And for (AN)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [j](AO)a bitter herb in my food,
And for my thirst they (AP)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AQ)their table before them become a snare;
And [k](AR)when they are at peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AS)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (AT)hips shake continually.
24 (AU)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [l](AV)camp be desolated;
May there be none living in their tents.
26 For they have (AW)persecuted him whom (AX)You Yourself struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (AY)You have [m]wounded.
27 Add (AZ)guilt to their guilt,
And (BA)may they not come into (BB)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BC)wiped out of the (BD)book of life,
And may they not be [n](BE)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BF)afflicted and in pain;
[o]May Your salvation, God, (BG)set me safely on high.
30 I will (BH)praise the name of God with song,
And (BI)exalt Him with (BJ)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (BK)please the Lord better than an ox
Or bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BL)humble [p]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BM)let your heart [q]revive.
33 For (BN)the Lord hears the needy,
And (BO)does not despise those of His who are prisoners.
34 (BP)Heaven and earth shall praise Him,
The seas and (BQ)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (BR)save Zion and (BS)build the cities of Judah,
So that they may live there and (BT)possess it.
36 The [r](BU)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (BV)will live in it.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 God certainly is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
5 They are (F)not [c]in trouble like other people,
Nor are they (G)tormented together with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore arrogance is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [d]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
8 They (K)mock and [e]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [f]against the heavens,
And their tongue [g]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [h]his people return here,
And (N)abundant waters are drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [i]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [j]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long,
And [k](U)punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)thought of understanding this,
It was [l]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I entered the [m](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 You indeed put them on (Z)slippery ground;
You dropped them into [n](AA)ruin.
19 How they are [o](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
Lord, when (AE)stirred, You will (AF)despise their image.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [p]within,
22 Then I was (AI)stupid and ignorant;
I was like an (AJ)animal [q]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 You will (AL)guide me with Your plan,
And afterward (AM)receive me [r]to glory.
25 (AN)Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [s]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have destroyed all those who [t](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord [u]God my (AU)refuge,
So that I may (AV)tell of all Your works.
6 And (A)Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 But the sons of Israel (B)were fruitful and [a]increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly [b]mighty, so that the land was filled with them.
8 Now a new (C)king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And (D)he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are [c]too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us (E)deal [d]shrewdly with them, otherwise they will multiply, and [e]in the event of war, they will also join those who hate us, and fight against us and [f]depart from the land.” 11 So they appointed (F)taskmasters over them to oppress them with [g](G)hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh (H)storage cities, Pithom and (I)Raamses. 12 But the more they oppressed them, (J)the more they multiplied and the more they [h]spread out, so that they dreaded the sons of Israel. 13 The Egyptians [i]used violence to compel the sons of Israel (K)to labor; 14 and they made (L)their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they violently had them perform as slaves.
15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom [j]was named Shiphrah, and the other [k]was named Puah; 16 and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, (M)if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” 17 But the midwives [l](N)feared God, and (O)did not do as the king of Egypt had [m]commanded them, but let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife [n]can get to them.” 20 So (P)God was good to the midwives, and (Q)the people multiplied, and became very [o]mighty. 21 And because the midwives [p](R)feared God, He [q](S)established [r]households for them. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “(T)Every son who is born, [s]you are to throw into (U)the Nile, but every daughter, you are to keep alive.”
12 For just (A)as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, (B)so also is Christ. 13 For [a](C)by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether (D)Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to (E)drink of one Spirit.
14 For (F)the body is not one part, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [b]any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [c]any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has (G)arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, (H)just as He desired. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 But now (I)there are many parts, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, [d]it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those parts of the body which we [e]consider less honorable, [f]on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked, 25 so that there may be no [g]division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is [h]honored, all the parts rejoice with it.
Peter’s Confession of Christ
27 (A)Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of (B)Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 (C)They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And He continued questioning them: “But who do you say that I am?” (D)Peter answered and *said to Him, “You are the [a]Christ.” 30 And (E)He [b]warned them to tell no one about Him.
31 (F)And He began to teach them that (G)the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise from the dead. 32 And He was stating the matter (H)plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, (I)Satan; for you are not setting your mind on [c]God’s purposes, but on man’s.”
34 And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, (J)take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For (K)whoever wants to save his [d]life will lose it, but whoever loses his [e]life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 For what could a person give in exchange for his soul? 38 For (L)whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, (M)the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He (N)comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
The Transfiguration
9 And Jesus was saying to them, “(O)Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God when it has come with power.”
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