Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 O Lord, (A)rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (D)no soundness in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)iniquities are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my folly.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go mourning all day long.
7 For my loins are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am (M)benumbed and [b]badly crushed;
I [c](N)groan because of the [d]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [e]before You;
And my (P)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (Q)my strength fails me;
And the (R)light of my eyes, even [f]that [g]has gone from me.
11 My [h](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand afar off.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [i]threatened destruction,
And they (X)devise treachery all day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I [j]hope in You, O Lord;
You (AA)will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I [l](AE)confess my iniquity;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [m]strong,
And many are those who (AH)hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 Make (AL)haste to help me,
O Lord, (AM)my salvation!
Daleth.
25 My (A)soul cleaves to the dust;
(B)Revive me (C)according to Your word.
26 I have told of my ways, and You have answered me;
(D)Teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So I will (E)meditate on Your wonders.
28 My (F)soul [a]weeps because of grief;
(G)Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove the false way from me,
And graciously grant me Your law.
30 I have chosen the faithful way;
I have [b]placed Your ordinances before me.
31 I (H)cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
32 I shall run the way of Your commandments,
For You will (I)enlarge my heart.
He.
33 (J)Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.
34 (K)Give me understanding, that I may (L)observe Your law
And keep it (M)with all my heart.
35 Make me walk in the (N)path of Your commandments,
For I (O)delight in it.
36 (P)Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to (Q)dishonest gain.
37 Turn away my (R)eyes from looking at vanity,
And (S)revive me in Your ways.
38 (T)Establish Your [c]word to Your servant,
[d]As that which produces reverence for You.
39 (U)Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your ordinances are good.
40 Behold, I (V)long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.
Vav.
41 May Your (W)lovingkindnesses also come to me, O Lord,
Your salvation (X)according to Your [e]word;
42 So I will have an (Y)answer for him who (Z)reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
43 And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I [f](AA)wait for Your ordinances.
44 So I will (AB)keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
45 And I will (AC)walk [g]at liberty,
For I (AD)seek Your precepts.
46 I will also speak of Your testimonies (AE)before kings
And shall not be ashamed.
47 I shall [h](AF)delight in Your commandments,
Which I (AG)love.
48 And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments,
Which I (AH)love;
And I will (AI)meditate on Your statutes.
Isaiah’s Vision
6 In the year of (A)King Uzziah’s death (B)I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, (C)each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said,
4 And the [b]foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the [c](F)temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said,
“(G)Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of (H)unclean lips,
And I live among a (I)people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the (J)King, the Lord of hosts.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the (K)altar with tongs. 7 He (L)touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and (M)your iniquity is taken away and your sin is [d]forgiven.”
Isaiah’s Commission
8 Then I heard the (N)voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then (O)I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on (P)listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
10 “(Q)Render the hearts of this people [e](R)insensitive,
Their ears [f]dull,
And their eyes [g]dim,
(S)Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “Lord, (T)how long?” And He answered,
“Until (U)cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
12 “The Lord has (V)removed men far away,
And the [h](W)forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an (X)oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The (Y)holy seed is its stump.”
Thanksgiving for Faith and Perseverance
1 (A)Paul and (B)Silvanus and (C)Timothy,
To the (D)church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 (E)Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We ought always (F)to give thanks to God for you, (G)brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the (H)love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; 4 therefore, we ourselves (I)speak proudly of you among (J)the churches of God for your [a]perseverance and faith (K)in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. 5 This is a (L)plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be (M)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. 6 [b]For after all (N)it is only just [c]for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted [d]and to us as well [e](O)when the Lord Jesus will be revealed (P)from heaven (Q)with [f]His mighty angels (R)in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who (S)do not know God and to those who (T)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of (U)eternal destruction, (V)away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be (W)glorified [g]in His [h]saints on that (X)day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our (Y)testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end also we (Z)pray for you always, that our God will [i](AA)count you worthy of your (AB)calling, and fulfill every desire for (AC)goodness and the (AD)work of faith with power, 12 so that the (AE)name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
53 [[a]Everyone went to his home.
The Adulterous Woman
8 But Jesus went to (A)the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and (B)He sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, 4 they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now in the Law (C)Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6 They were saying this, (D)testing Him, (E)so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7 But when they persisted in asking Him, (F)He straightened up, and said to them, “(G)He who is without sin among you, let him be the (H)first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. 10 (I)Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, [b]Lord.” And Jesus said, “(J)I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on (K)sin no more.”]
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.