Book of Common Prayer
Davidic[a]
A Prayer for Help and Forgiveness
25 I will lift up my soul to you, Lord.
2 I trust in you, my God,
do not let me be ashamed;
do not let my enemies triumph over me.
3 Indeed, no one who waits on you will be ashamed,
but those who offend for no reason will be put to shame.
4 Cause me to understand your ways, Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me;
for you are the God who delivers me.
All day long I have waited for you.
6 Remember, Lord, your tender mercies and your gracious love;
indeed, they are eternal!
7 Do not remember my youthful sins and transgressions;
but remember me in light of your gracious love,
in light of your goodness, Lord.
8 The Lord is good and just;
therefore he will teach sinners concerning the way.
9 He will guide the humble[b] to justice;
he will teach the humble[c] his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord lead to gracious love and truth
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.[d]
11 For the sake of your name,[e] Lord,
forgive my sin, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?
God[f] will teach him the path he should choose.
13 He[g] will experience good things;
his descendants will inherit the earth.
14 The intimate counsel of the Lord is for those who fear him
so they may know his covenant.
15 My eyes look to the Lord continuously,
because he’s the one who releases my feet from the trap.[h]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am lonely and oppressed.
17 The troubles of my heart have increased;
bring me out of my distress!
18 Look upon my distress and affliction;
forgive all my sins.
19 Look how many enemies I have gained!
They hate me with a vicious hatred.
20 Preserve my life and deliver me;
do not let me be ashamed,
because I take refuge in you.
21 Integrity and justice will preserve me,
because I wait on you.
22 Redeem Israel, God, from all its troubles.
To the Director: Accompanied by female voices.[a] A Davidic Psalm.
A Cry for God’s Justice
9 [b]I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
I will declare all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praises to your name, Most High!
3 When my enemies turn back,
they will stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have brought about justice for me and my cause;
you sit on the throne judging righteously.
5 You rebuked the nations,
you destroyed the wicked,
you wiped out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy has perished,
reduced to ruins forever.
You uprooted their cities,
the very memory of them vanished.
7 But the Lord sits on his throne[c] forever;
his throne is established for judgment.
8 He will judge the world righteously
and make just decisions for the people.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of distress.
10 Those who know your name will trust you,
for you have not forsaken those who seek you, Lord.
11 Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion;
declare his mighty deeds among the peoples.
12 As an avenger of blood, he remembers them;
he has not forgotten the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, Lord,
take note of my affliction,
because of those who hate me.
You snatch me away from the gates of death,
14 so I may declare everything for which you should be praised[d]
in the gates of the daughter of Zion,[e]
so I will rejoice in your deliverance.
15 The nations have sunk down into the pit they made,
their feet are ensnared in the trap[f] they set.
16 The Lord has made himself known,
executing judgment.
The wicked are ensnared
by what their hands have made.
17 The wicked will turn back to where the dead are[h]—
all the nations that have forgotten God.
18 For he will not always overlook the plight of the poor,
nor will the hope of the afflicted perish forever.
19 Rise up, Lord,
do not let man prevail!
The nations will be judged in your presence.
20 Make them afraid, Lord,
Let the nations know that they are only human.[i]
A Davidic Psalm.
Welcomed into God’s Presence
15 Lord, who may stay in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy mountain?
2 The one who lives with integrity,
who does righteous deeds,
and who speaks truth to himself.
3 The one who does not slander with his tongue,
who does no evil to his neighbor,
and who does not destroy his friend’s reputation.
4 The one who despises those who are utterly wicked,
but who honors the one who fears the Lord,
who keeps his word even when it hurts and does not change,
5 who does not loan his money with interest,
and who does not take a bribe against those who are innocent.
The one who does these things will stand firm[a] forever.
Rahab Receives Two Scouts
2 After this, Nun’s son Joshua sent two men from the Acacia groves[a] as undercover scouts. He told them, “Go and look over the land. Pay special attention to Jericho.” So they went out, came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and lodged there.
2 Then the king of Jericho was told, “Look! Israeli men arrived tonight to scout out the land.”
3 So the king of Jericho sent for Rahab and ordered her, “Bring out the men who came to visit you and lodged in your house, because they’ve come to scout out the entire land.”
4 Now the woman had taken the two men and hid them. So she replied, “The men really did come to me, but I didn’t know from where they came. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gates, the men left. I don’t know where the men went. Go after them quickly, and[b] you might overtake them.”
6 But she had taken them up to the roof and had hidden them among stalks of flax that she had laid out in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued them along the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan River. As soon as the search party had left, they shut the city gate after them.
Rahab Seeks Protection
8 Before the scouts[c] had lain down, she went up to them on the roof 9 “I’m really convinced that the Lord has given you the land,” she said,[d] “because we’re overwhelmed with fear of you. All the other inhabitants of the land are demoralized at your presence, 10 because we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Reed[e] Sea right in front of you as you were coming out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other[f] side of the Jordan River—to Sihon and Og—whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard these reports,[g] we all became terrified and discouraged[h] because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, since I’ve treated you so kindly,[i] please swear in the name of[j] the Lord that you’ll also be kind[k] to my father’s household by giving me this[l] sure sign: 13 Spare my father, my mother, and my brothers and sisters, along with everyone who belongs with them so we won’t be killed.”
A Promise of Protection
14 So the men told her, “Our life for yours—even to death—if you don’t betray this mission of ours. Then when the Lord gives us this land, we’ll treat you graciously and faithfully.”
God’s Love for His People
11 So I ask, “God has not rejected his people, has he?” Of course not! I am an Israeli myself, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he chose[a] long ago. Do you not know what the Scripture says in the story about Elijah,[b] when he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and demolished your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life.”[c] 4 But what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for myself 7,000 people who have not knelt to worship Baal.”[d] 5 So it is at the present time: there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if this is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of actions. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
7 What, then, does this mean?[e] It means that Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking, but the selected group obtained it while the rest were hardened. 8 As it is written,
“To this day God has put them into[f] deep sleep.
Their eyes do not see, and their ears do not hear.”[g]
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a punishment for them.
10 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and keep their backs forever bent.”[h]
The Salvation of the Gentiles
11 And so I ask, “They have not stumbled so as to fall, have they?” Of course not! On the contrary, because of their stumbling, salvation has come to the gentiles to make the Jews[i] jealous. 12 Now if their stumbling means riches for the world, and if their fall means riches for the gentiles, how much more will their full participation mean!
The Parable about the Ten Bridesmaids
25 “At that time, the kingdom from[a] heaven will be comparable to ten bridesmaids[b] who took their oil lamps and went out to meet the groom.[c] 2 Now five of them were foolish, and five were wise, 3 because when the foolish ones took their lamps, they didn’t take any oil with them. 4 But the wise ones took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 Since the groom was late, all of them became sleepy and lay down. 6 But at midnight there came a shout: ‘The groom is here! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all the bridesmaids[d] woke up and got their lamps ready.
8 “But the foolish ones told the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out!’
9 “But the wise ones replied, ‘No! There will never be enough for us and for you. You’d better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “While they were away buying it, the groom arrived. Those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet, and the door was closed. 11 Later, the other bridesmaids[e] arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘I tell all of you[f] with certainty, I don’t know you!’ 13 So keep on watching, because you don’t know the day or the hour.”[g]
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