Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25
Dependence on the Lord
Of David.
1 Lord, I appeal to you.[a](A)
2 My God, I trust in you.
Do not let me be disgraced;(B)
do not let my enemies gloat over me.(C)
3 No one who waits for you
will be disgraced;(D)
those who act treacherously without cause
will be disgraced.(E)
4 Make your ways known to me, Lord;
teach me your paths.(F)
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,(G)
for you are the God of my salvation;(H)
I wait for you all day long.(I)
6 Remember, Lord, your compassion
and your faithful love,
for they have existed from antiquity.[b](J)
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth(K)
or my acts of rebellion;(L)
in keeping with your faithful love, remember me
because of your goodness, Lord.(M)
8 The Lord is good and upright;(N)
therefore he shows sinners the way.(O)
9 He leads the humble in what is right(P)
and teaches them his way.(Q)
10 All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth
to those who keep his covenant and decrees.(R)
11 Lord, for the sake of your name,
forgive my iniquity, for it is immense.(S)
12 Who is this person who fears the Lord?(T)
He will show him the way he should choose.(U)
13 He will live a good life,
and his descendants will inherit the land.[c](V)
14 The secret counsel of the Lord
is for those who fear him,
and he reveals his covenant to them.(W)
15 My eyes are always on the Lord,
for he will pull my feet out of the net.(X)
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am alone and afflicted.(Y)
17 The distresses of my heart increase;[d](Z)
bring me out of my sufferings.(AA)
18 Consider my affliction and trouble,(AB)
and forgive all my sins.(AC)
19 Consider my enemies; they are numerous,(AD)
and they hate me violently.(AE)
20 Guard me and rescue me;(AF)
do not let me be disgraced,
for I take refuge in you.(AG)
21 May integrity and what is right
watch over me,
for I wait for you.(AH)
22 God, redeem Israel, from all its distresses.(AI)
Psalm 9
Celebration of God’s Justice
For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.
1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous works.(A)
2 I will rejoice and boast about you;(B)
I will sing about your name, Most High.(C)
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before you.(D)
4 For you have upheld my just cause;(E)
you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.(F)
5 You have rebuked the nations:(G)
You have destroyed the wicked;(H)
you have erased their name forever and ever.(I)
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
you have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.(J)
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;(K)
he has established his throne for judgment.(L)
8 And he judges the world with righteousness;
he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.(M)
9 The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,
a refuge in times of trouble.(N)
10 Those who know your name trust in you
because you have not abandoned
those who seek you, Lord.(O)
11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;(P)
proclaim his deeds among the nations.(Q)
12 For the one who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;(R)
he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.(S)
13 Be gracious to me, Lord;
consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.(T)
Lift me up from the gates of death,(U)
14 so that I may declare all your praises.
I will rejoice in your salvation(V)
within the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.(W)
16 The Lord has made himself known;
he has executed justice,(X)
snaring the wicked
by the work of their hands.(Y)Higgaion. Selah
Psalm 15
A Description of the Godly
A psalm of David.
2 The one who lives blamelessly, practices righteousness,
and acknowledges the truth in his heart(C)—
3 who does not slander with his tongue,(D)
who does not harm his friend
or discredit his neighbor,(E)
4 who despises the one rejected by the Lord[a]
but honors those who fear the Lord,(F)
who keeps his word whatever the cost,(G)
5 who does not lend his silver at interest(H)
or take a bribe against the innocent(I)—
the one who does these things will never be shaken.(J)
9 “Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves,(A) so that you don’t forget(B) the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind[a] as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.(C) 10 The day you stood before the Lord your God(D) at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people before me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me(E) all the days they live on the earth and may instruct their children.’ 11 You came near and stood at the base of the mountain,(F) a mountain blazing with fire(G) into the heavens and enveloped in a totally black cloud.(H) 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the fire.(I) You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn’t see a form; there was only a voice.(J) 13 He declared his covenant(K) to you. He commanded you to follow the Ten Commandments,(L) which he wrote on two stone tablets.(M) 14 At that time the Lord commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to follow in the land you are about to cross into and possess.
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will,(A) and Timothy(B) our[a] brother:
To the church of God at Corinth,(C) with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.(D)
2 Grace to you and peace(E) from God our Father(F) and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The God of Comfort
3 Blessed be(G) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies(H) and the God of all comfort.(I) 4 He comforts us in all our affliction,[b] so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as the sufferings(J) of Christ(K) overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.(L) 6 If we are afflicted,(M) it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer.(N) 7 And our hope(O) for you is firm, because we know that as you share(P) in the sufferings, so you will also share in the comfort.
8 We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia.(Q) We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength(R)—so that we even despaired(S) of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God(T) who raises(U) the dead. 10 He has delivered(V) us from such a terrible death,(W) and he will deliver us. We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again 11 while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our[c] behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.
The Cost of Following Jesus
25 Now(A) great crowds were traveling with him. So he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me(B) and does not hate(C) his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross(D) and come after me cannot be my disciple.
28 “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost(E) to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce[a] all his possessions(F) cannot be my disciple.
34 “Now,(G) salt(H) is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty? 35 It isn’t fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out. Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”(I)
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