Book of Common Prayer
A song. A psalm by the descendants of Korah. According to Machalath Leannoth. An instruction[a] by Heman the Ezrahite.
A Cry for Help
88 Lord, God of my salvation,
by day and by night I cry out before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
listen[b] to my cry.
3 For my life is filled with troubles
as I approach Sheol.[c]
4 I am considered as one of those descending into the Pit,[d]
like a mighty man without strength,
5 released to remain[e] with the dead,
lying in a grave like a corpse,
remembered no longer,
and cut off from your power.
6 You have assigned me to the lowest part of the Pit,[f]
to the darkest depths.
7 Your anger lies heavily upon me;
you pound[g] me with all your waves.
8 You caused my acquaintances to shun me;[h]
you make me extremely abhorrent to them.
Restrained, I am unable to go out.
9 My eyes languish on account of my affliction;
all day long I call out to you, Lord,
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Can you perform wonders for the dead?
Can departed spirits stand up to praise you?
11 Can your gracious love be declared in the grave
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?[i]
12 Can your awesome deeds be known in darkness
or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
13 As for me, I cry out to you Lord,
and in the morning my prayer greets you.
14 Why, Lord, have you rejected me?
Why have you hidden your face from me?
15 Since my youth I have been oppressed
and in danger of death.
I bear your dread
and am overwhelmed.
16 Your burning anger overwhelms me;
your terrors destroy me.
17 Like waters, they engulf me all day long;
they surround me on all sides.
18 You caused my friend and neighbor to shun me;[j]
and my acquaintances are confused.[k]
A Davidic Psalm[a]
God is My Refuge
91 The one who lives in the shelter of the Most High,
who rests in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the Lord,
“You are my refuge, my fortress,
and my God in whom I trust!”
3 He will surely deliver you from the hunter’s snare
and from the destructive plague.
4 With his feathers he will cover you,
under his wings you will find safety.
His truth is your shield and armor.
5 You need not fear terror that stalks[b] in the night,
the arrow that flies in the day,
6 plague that strikes in the darkness,
or calamity that destroys at noon.
7 If a thousand fall at your side
or ten thousand at your right hand,
it will not overcome you.
8 Only observe[c] it with your eyes,
and you will see how the wicked are paid back.
9 “Lord, you are my refuge!”
Because you chose the Most High as your dwelling place,
10 no evil will fall upon you,
and no affliction will approach your tent,
11 for he will command his angels
to protect you in all your ways.
12 With their hands they will lift you up
so you will not trip over a stone.
13 You will stomp on lions and snakes;
you will trample young lions and serpents.
The Lord Speaks
14 Because he has focused his love on me,
I will deliver him.
I will protect him[d]
because he knows my name.
15 When he calls out to me,
I will answer him.
I will be with him in his[e] distress.
I will deliver him,
and I will honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with long life;
I will show him my deliverance.
A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath Day
Praise and Thanksgiving to God
92 It is good to give thanks to the Lord
and to sing praise to your name, Most High;
2 to proclaim your gracious love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3 accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument and a lyre,
and the contemplative sound of a harp.
4 Because you made me glad
with your awesome deeds, Lord,
I will sing for joy at the works of your hands.
5 How great are your works, Lord!
Your thoughts are unfathomable.[f]
6 A stupid man doesn’t know,
and a fool can’t comprehend this:
7 Though the wicked sprout like grass;
and all who practice iniquity flourish,
it is they who will be eternally destroyed.
8 But you are exalted forever, Lord.
9 Look at your enemies, Lord!
Look at your enemies, for they are destroyed;
everyone who practices iniquity will be scattered.[g]
10 You’ve grown my strength[h] like the horn of a wild ox;
I was anointed with fresh oil.
11 My eyes gloated over those who lie in wait for me;[i]
when those of evil intent attack me, my ears will hear.
12 The righteous will flourish like palm trees;
they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Planted in the Lord’s Temple,
they will flourish in the courtyard of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit even in old age;[j]
they will be luxuriant and green.
15 They will proclaim: “The Lord is upright;
my rock, in whom there is no injustice.”
The Twelve Explorers(A)
13 Later, the Lord told Moses, 2 “Send men to explore the land of Canaan that I’m about to give to the Israelis. Send one man to represent each of his ancestor’s tribes, every one of them a distinguished leader[a] among them.”
3 So that’s just what Moses did, sending them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the Lord’s instructions. All of the men were Israeli leaders.
21 So they went to explore the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob, and as far as the outskirts of Hamath. 22 They went through the Negev[a] and reached Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak lived. (Hebron had been constructed seven years before Zoan in Egypt had been built).[b] 23 Soon they arrived in the valley of Eshcol, where they cut a single branch of grapes and carried it on a pole between two men,[c] along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 The entire place was called the Eshcol Valley on account of the cluster of grapes that the men of Israel had taken from there.
The Explorers Return
25 At the end of 40 days, they all returned from exploring the land, 26 came in to Moses and Aaron, and delivered their report to the entire congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back their report to the entire congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 “We arrived at the place where you’ve sent us,” they reported, “and it certainly does flow with milk and honey. Furthermore, this is its fruit, 28 except that the people who have settled in the land are strong, and their cities are greatly fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak. 29 Amalek lives throughout the Negev,[d] while the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live by the sea and on the bank of the Jordan.”
30 Caleb silenced the people on Moses’ behalf and responded, “Let’s go up and take control, because we can definitely conquer it.”
25 For circumcision is valuable if you observe the Law, but if you break the Law, your having been circumcised has no more value than if you were uncircumcised. 26 So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the requirements of the Law, his uncircumcision will be regarded as circumcision, won’t it? 27 The man who is uncircumcised physically but who keeps the Law will condemn you who break the Law, even though you have the written Law[a] and circumcision. 28 For a person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision something just external and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, brought about by the Spirit, not by a written law.[b] That person’s praise will come from God, not from people.
Everyone is a Sinner
3 What advantage, then, does the Jew have, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 There are all kinds of advantages! First of all, the Jews[c] have been entrusted with the utterances of God. 3 What if some of the Jews[d] were unfaithful? Their unfaithfulness cannot cancel God’s faithfulness, can it? 4 Of course not! God is true, even if everyone else is a liar. As it is written,
5 But if our unrighteousness serves to confirm God’s righteousness, what can we say? God is not unrighteous when he vents his wrath on us, is he? (I am talking in human terms.) 6 Of course not! Otherwise, how could God judge the world? 7 For[g] if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness glorifies him even more, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 Or can we say—as some people slander us by claiming that we say—“Let’s do evil that good may result”? They deserve to be condemned!
The Parable about an Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came up and asked him, “Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I have to forgive him? Seven times?”
22 Jesus told him, “I tell you, not just seven times, but 77 times![a] 23 “That is why the kingdom from[b] heaven may be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he had begun to settle the accounts, a person who owed him 10,000 talents[c] was brought to him. 25 Because he couldn’t pay, his master ordered him, his wife, his children, and everything that he owned to be sold so that payment could be made. 26 Then the servant fell down and bowed low before him, saying, ‘Be patient[d] with me, and I will repay you everything!’ 27 The master of that servant had compassion and released him, canceling his debt.
28 “But when that servant went away, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.[e] He grabbed him, seized him by the throat, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ 29 Then his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’ 30 But he refused and had him thrown into prison until he could repay the debt.
31 “When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were very disturbed and went and reported to their master everything that had occurred. 32 Then his master sent for him and told him, ‘You evil servant! I canceled that entire debt for you because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers until he could repay the entire debt. 35 This is how my heavenly Father will treat each one of you unless you forgive your brother from your hearts.”
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