Book of Common Prayer
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
40 I waited patiently for the Lord.
He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
2 He pulled me out of a horrible pit,
out of the mud and clay.
He set my feet on a rock
and made my steps secure.
3 He placed a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see this and worship.
They will trust the Lord.
4 Blessed is the person
who places his confidence in the Lord
and does not rely on arrogant people
or those who follow lies.
5 You have done many miraculous things, O Lord my God.
You have made many wonderful plans for us.
No one compares to you!
I will tell others about your miracles,
which are more than I can count.
6 You were not pleased with sacrifices and offerings.
You have dug out two ears for me.
You did not ask for burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.
7 Then I said, “I have come!
(It is written about me in the scroll of the book.)
8 I am happy to do your will, O my God.”
Your teachings are deep within me.
9 I will announce the good news of righteousness
among those assembled for worship.
I will not close my lips.
You know that, O Lord.
10 I have not buried your righteousness deep in my heart.
I have been outspoken about your faithfulness and your salvation.
I have not hidden your mercy and your truth
from those assembled for worship.
11 Do not withhold your compassion from me, O Lord.
May your mercy and your truth always protect me.
12 Countless evils have surrounded me.
My sins have caught up with me so that I can no longer see.
They outnumber the hairs on my head.
I have lost heart.
13 O Lord, please rescue me!
Come quickly to help me, O Lord! [a]
14 Let all those who seek to end my life
be confused and put to shame.
Let those who want my downfall
be turned back and disgraced.
15 Let those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be stunned by their own shame.
16 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad because of you.
Let those who love your salvation continually say,
“The Lord is great!”
17 But I am oppressed and needy.
May the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my savior.
O my God, do not delay!
For the choir director; on stringed instruments; a maskil by David when people from the city of Ziph told Saul that David was hiding among them.
54 O God, save me by your name,
and defend me with your might.
2 O God, hear my prayer,
and open your ears to the words from my mouth.
3 Strangers have attacked me.
Ruthless people seek my life.
They do not think about God. Selah
4 God is my helper!
The Lord is the provider for my life.
5 My enemies spy on me.
Pay them back with evil.
Destroy them with your truth!
6 I will make a sacrifice to you along with a freewill offering.
I will give thanks to your good name, O Lord.
7 Your name rescues me from every trouble.
My eyes will gloat over my enemies.
For the choir director; a psalm by David when the prophet Nathan came to him after David’s adultery with Bathsheba.
51 Have pity on me, O God, in keeping with your mercy.
In keeping with your unlimited compassion, wipe out my rebellious acts.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my guilt,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 I admit that I am rebellious.
My sin is always in front of me.
4 I have sinned against you, especially you.
I have done what you consider evil.
So you hand down justice when you speak,
and you are blameless when you judge.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty.
I was a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 Yet, you desire truth and sincerity.
Deep down inside me you teach me wisdom.
7 Purify me from sin with hyssop,[a] and I will be clean.[b]
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear ⌞sounds of⌟ joy and gladness.
Let the bones that you have broken dance.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and wipe out all that I have done wrong.
10 Create a clean heart in me, O God,
and renew a faithful spirit within me.
11 Do not force me away from your presence,
and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me,
and provide me with a spirit of willing obedience.
13 ⌞Then⌟ I will teach your ways to those who are rebellious,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder,
O God, my savior.
Let my tongue sing joyfully about your righteousness!
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will tell about your praise.
16 You are not happy with any sacrifice.
Otherwise, I would offer one ⌞to you⌟.
You are not pleased with burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.
O God, you do not despise a broken and sorrowful heart.
18 Favor Zion with your goodness.
Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—
with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
Young bulls will be offered on your altar.
Job Continues: My Glorious Past
29 Job continued his poems and said,
24 “If I put my confidence in gold
or said to fine gold, ‘I trust you’….
25 If I enjoyed being very rich
because my hand had found great ⌞wealth⌟….
26 If I saw the light shine
or the moon move along in its splendor
27 so that my heart was secretly tempted,
and I threw them a kiss with my hand,
28 then that, too, would be a criminal offense,
and I would have denied God above.
29 “If I enjoyed the ruin of my enemy
or celebrated when harm came to him
30 (even though I didn’t speak sinfully
by calling down a curse on his life)….
31 “If the people who were in my tent had said,
‘We wish we had never filled ⌞our stomachs⌟ with his food’….
32 (The visitor never spent the night outside,
because I opened my door to the traveler.)
33 “If I have covered my disobedience like Adam
and kept my sin to myself,
34 because I dreaded the large, noisy crowd
and because the contempt of the ⌞local⌟ mobs terrified me
so that I kept quiet and didn’t go outside….
35 “If only I had someone who would listen to me!
Look, here is my signature!
Let the Almighty answer me.
Let the prosecutor write ⌞his complaint⌟ on a scroll.
36 I would certainly carry it on my shoulder
and place it on my head like a crown.
37 I would tell him the number of my steps
and approach him like a prince.
38 “If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept….
39 If I have eaten its produce without paying for it
and made its owners breathe their last,
40 ⌞then⌟ let it grow thistles instead of wheat,
and foul-smelling weeds instead of barley.”
This is the end of Job’s words.
12 The whole crowd was silent. They listened to Barnabas and Paul tell about all the miracles and amazing things that God had done through them among non-Jewish people.
13 After they finished speaking, James responded, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simon has explained how God first showed his concern by taking from non-Jewish people those who would honor his name. 15 This agrees with what the prophets said. Scripture says,
16 ‘Afterwards, I will return.
I will set up David’s fallen tent again.
I will restore its ruined places again.
I will set it up again
17 so that the survivors and all the people who aren’t Jewish
over whom my name is spoken,
may search for the Lord, declares the Lord.
18 He is the one who will do these things that have always been known!’
19 “So I’ve decided that we shouldn’t trouble non-Jewish people who are turning to God. 20 Instead, we should write a letter telling them to keep away from things polluted by false gods, from sexual sins, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from eating bloody meat. 21 After all, Moses’ words have been spread to every city for generations. His teachings are read in synagogues on every day of rest—a holy day.”
30 (Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him.) 31 The Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave. So they followed her. They thought that she was going to the tomb to cry. 32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who were crying with her, he was deeply moved and troubled.
34 So Jesus asked, “Where did you put Lazarus?”
They answered him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus cried. 36 The Jews said, “See how much Jesus loved him.” 37 But some of the Jews asked, “Couldn’t this man who gave a blind man sight keep Lazarus from dying?”
38 Deeply moved again, Jesus went to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone covering the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Take the stone away.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Jesus, “Lord, there must already be a stench. He’s been dead for four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see God’s glory?” 41 So the stone was moved away from the entrance of the tomb.
Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. 42 I’ve known that you always hear me. However, I’ve said this so that the crowd standing around me will believe that you sent me.” 43 After Jesus had said this, he shouted as loudly as he could, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 The dead man came out. Strips of cloth were wound around his feet and hands, and his face was wrapped with a handkerchief. Jesus told them, “Free Lazarus, and let him go.”
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