Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.
A Psalm of David.
25 To You, O Lord, I (A)lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You (B)I trust,
Do not let me (C)be ashamed;
Do not let my (D)enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, (E)none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
[a]Those who (F)deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
4 (G)Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in (H)Your truth and teach me,
For You are the (I)God of my salvation;
For You I (J)wait all the day.
6 (K)Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been [b](L)from of old.
7 Do not remember the (M)sins of my youth or my transgressions;
(N)According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your (O)goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8 (P)Good and (Q)upright is the Lord;
Therefore He (R)instructs sinners in the way.
9 He (S)leads the [c]humble in justice,
And He (T)teaches the [d]humble His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are (U)lovingkindness and truth
To (V)those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For (W)Your name’s sake, O Lord,
(X)Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who (Y)fears the Lord?
He will (Z)instruct him in the way he should choose.
13 His soul will (AA)abide in [e]prosperity,
And his [f]descendants will (AB)inherit the [g]land.
14 The [h](AC)secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
[i]And He will (AD)make them know His covenant.
15 My (AE)eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will [j](AF)pluck my feet out of the net.
16 (AG)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am (AH)lonely and afflicted.
17 [k]The (AI)troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me (AJ)out of my distresses.
18 (AK)Look upon my affliction and my [l]trouble,
And (AL)forgive all my sins.
19 Look upon my enemies, for they (AM)are many,
And they (AN)hate me with violent hatred.
20 (AO)Guard my soul and deliver me;
Do not let me (AP)be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
21 Let (AQ)integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For (AR)I wait for You.
22 (AS)Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all his troubles.
A Psalm of Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.
For the choir director; on [a]Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
9 I will give thanks to the Lord with all (A)my heart;
I will (B)tell of all Your [b]wonders.
2 I will be glad and (C)exult in You;
I will (D)sing praise to Your name, O (E)Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and (F)perish before You.
4 For You have (G)maintained [c]my just cause;
You have sat on the throne [d](H)judging righteously.
5 You have (I)rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked;
You have (J)blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 [e]The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very (K)memory of them has perished.
7 But the (L)Lord [f]abides forever;
He has established His (M)throne for judgment,
8 And He will (N)judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
9 [g]The Lord also will be a (O)stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
10 And [h]those who (P)know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not (Q)forsaken those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who (R)dwells in Zion;
(S)Declare among the peoples His deeds.
12 For (T)He who [i]requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget (U)the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord;
See my affliction from those (V)who hate me,
You who (W)lift me up from the gates of death,
14 That I may tell of (X)all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may (Y)rejoice in Your [j]salvation.
15 The nations have sunk down (Z)in the pit which they have made;
In the (AA)net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has (AB)made Himself known;
He has (AC)executed judgment.
In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. [k]Higgaion [l]Selah.
17 The wicked will [m](AD)return to [n]Sheol,
Even all the nations who (AE)forget God.
18 For the (AF)needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the (AG)hope of the afflicted perish forever.
19 (AH)Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be (AI)judged before You.
20 Put them (AJ)in fear, O Lord;
Let the nations know that they are (AK)but men. Selah.
Description of a Citizen of Zion.
A Psalm of David.
15 O Lord, who may [a]abide (A)in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your (B)holy hill?
2 He who (C)walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And (D)speaks truth in his heart.
3 He (E)does not slander [b]with his tongue,
Nor (F)does evil to his neighbor,
Nor (G)takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 In [c]whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But [d]who (H)honors those who fear the Lord;
He (I)swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 He (J)does not put out his money [e]at interest,
Nor (K)does he take a bribe against the innocent.
(L)He who does these things will never be shaken.
Job Chides His Accusers
12 Then Job [a]responded,
2 “Truly then (A)you are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
3 “But (B)I have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And [b]who does not know such things as these?
4 “I am a (C)joke to [c]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and (D)blameless man is a joke.
5 “[d]He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
6 “The (E)tents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God (F)are secure,
[e]Whom God brings (G)into their power.
Job Speaks of the Power of God
13 “With Him are (A)wisdom and (B)might;
To Him belong counsel and (C)understanding.
14 “Behold, He (D)tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He [a](E)imprisons a man, and [b]there can be no release.
15 “Behold, He (F)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (G)sends them out, and they [c]inundate the earth.
16 “With Him are strength and sound wisdom,
The (H)misled and the misleader belong to Him.
17 “He makes (I)counselors walk [d]barefoot
And makes fools of (J)judges.
18 “He (K)loosens the [e]bond of kings
And binds their loins with a girdle.
19 “He makes priests walk [f]barefoot
And overthrows (L)the secure ones.
20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speech
And (M)takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 “He (N)pours contempt on nobles
And (O)loosens the belt of the strong.
22 “He (P)reveals mysteries from the darkness
And brings the deep darkness into light.
23 “He (Q)makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He [g]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 “He (R)deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people
And makes them wander in a pathless waste.
25 “They (S)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (T)stagger like a drunken man.
The Church at Antioch
19 (A)So then those who were scattered because of the [a]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way [b]to (B)Phoenicia and (C)Cyprus and (D)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of (E)Cyprus and (F)Cyrene, who came to (G)Antioch and began speaking to the [c](H)Greeks also, [d](I)preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And (J)the hand of the Lord was with them, and (K)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The [e]news about them [f]reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent (L)Barnabas off [g]to (M)Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and [h]witnessed (N)the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with [i]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and (O)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And (P)considerable [j]numbers were [k]brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for (Q)Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to (R)Antioch. And for an entire year they [l]met with the church and taught considerable [m]numbers; and (S)the disciples were first called (T)Christians in (U)Antioch.
27 Now [n]at this time (V)some prophets came down from Jerusalem to (W)Antioch. 28 One of them named (X)Agabus stood up and began to indicate [o]by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine (Y)all over the [p]world. [q]And this took place in the reign of (Z)Claudius. 29 And in the proportion that any of (AA)the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the [r]relief of (AB)the brethren living in Judea. 30 (AC)And this they did, sending it [s]in charge of (AD)Barnabas and Saul to the (AE)elders.
21 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and (A)you will seek Me, and (B)will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So (C)the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘(D)Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 And He was saying to them, “(E)You are from below, I am from above; (F)you are of this world, (G)I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you (H)will die in your sins; for unless you believe that [a](I)I am He, (J)you will die in your sins.” 25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “[b]What have I been saying to you from the beginning? 26 I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but (K)He who sent Me is true; and (L)the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” 27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you (M)lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that [c](N)I am He, and (O)I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; (P)He [d]has not left Me alone, for (Q)I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30 As He spoke these things, (R)many came to believe in Him.
The Truth Will Make You Free
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “(S)If you continue in My word, then you are truly (T)disciples of Mine; 32 and (U)you will know the truth, and (V)the truth will make you free.”
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