Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25[a]
By David.
25 O Lord, I come before you in prayer.[b]
2 My God, I trust in you.
Please do not let me be humiliated;
do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me.
3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.
Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted[c] and humiliated.
4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.[d]
5 Guide me into your truth[e] and teach me.
For you are the God who delivers me;
on you I rely all day long.
6 Remember[f] your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,
for you have always acted in this manner.[g]
7 Do not hold against me[h] the sins of my youth[i] or my rebellious acts.
Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord.[j]
8 The Lord is both kind and fair;[k]
that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live.[l]
9 May he show[m] the humble what is right.[n]
May he teach[o] the humble his way.
10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable[p]
to those who follow the demands of his covenant.[q]
11 For the sake of your reputation,[r] O Lord,
forgive my sin, because it is great.[s]
12 The Lord shows his faithful followers
the way they should live.[t]
13 They experience his favor;[u]
their descendants[v] inherit the land.[w]
14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance,[x]
and he reveals his covenantal demands to them.[y]
15 I continually look to the Lord for help,[z]
for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net.[aa]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone[ab] and oppressed.
17 Deliver me from my distress;[ac]
rescue me from my suffering.[ad]
18 See my pain and suffering.
Forgive all my sins.[ae]
19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me;
they hate me and want to harm me.[af]
20 Protect me[ag] and deliver me!
Please do not let me be humiliated,
for I have taken shelter in you.
21 May integrity and godliness protect me,
for I rely on you.
22 O God, rescue[ah] Israel
from all their distress![ai]
Psalm 9[a]
For the music director, according to the alumoth-labben style;[b] a psalm of David.
9 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!
I will tell about all your amazing deeds.[c]
2 I will be happy and rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to you, O Most High.[d]
3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated[e] before you.
4 For you defended my just cause;[f]
from your throne you pronounced a just decision.[g]
5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry.[h]
You destroyed the wicked;[i]
you permanently wiped out all memory of them.[j]
6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins.[k]
You destroyed their cities;[l]
all memory of the enemies has perished.[m]
7 But the Lord[n] rules[o] forever;
he reigns in a just manner.[p]
8 He judges the world fairly;
he makes just legal decisions for the nations.[q]
9 Consequently[r] the Lord provides safety for the oppressed;[s]
he provides safety in times of trouble.[t]
10 Your loyal followers trust in you,[u]
for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.[v]
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules[w] in Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.[x]
12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed;[y]
he did not overlook[z] their cry for help[aa]
13 when they prayed:[ab]
“Have mercy on me,[ac] Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me,[ad]
O one who can snatch me away[ae] from the gates of death!
14 Then I will[af] tell about all your praiseworthy acts;[ag]
in the gates of Daughter Zion[ah] I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”[ai]
15 The nations fell[aj] into the pit they had made;
their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.[ak]
16 The Lord revealed himself;
he accomplished justice.
The wicked were ensnared by their own actions.[al] (Higgaion.[am] Selah)
17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;[an]
this is the destiny of[ao] all the nations that ignore[ap] God,
18 for the needy are not permanently ignored,[aq]
the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.[ar]
19 Rise up, Lord![as]
Don’t let men be defiant.[at]
May the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Terrify them, Lord.[au]
Let the nations know they are mere mortals.[av] (Selah)
Psalm 15[a]
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may be a guest in your home?[b]
Who may live on your holy hill?[c]
2 Whoever lives a blameless life,[d]
does what is right,
and speaks honestly.[e]
3 He[f] does not slander,[g]
or do harm to others,[h]
or insult his neighbor.[i]
4 He despises a reprobate,[j]
but honors the Lord’s loyal followers.[k]
He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.[l]
5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money.[m]
He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent.[n]
The one who lives like this[o] will never be shaken.
Reminder of the Horeb Covenant
9 Again, however, pay very careful attention,[a] lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren. 10 You[b] stood before the Lord your God at Horeb and he[c] said to me, “Assemble the people before me so that I can tell them my commands.[d] Then they will learn to revere me all the days they live in the land, and they will instruct their children.” 11 You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, a mountain ablaze to the sky above it[e] and yet dark with a thick cloud.[f] 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the middle of the fire; you heard speech but you could not see anything—only a voice was heard.[g] 13 And he revealed to you the covenant[h] he has commanded you to keep, the Ten Commandments,[i] writing them on two stone tablets. 14 Moreover, at that same time the Lord commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to keep in the land that you are about to enter and possess.[j]
Salutation
1 From Paul,[a] an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia.[b] 2 Grace and peace to you[c] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Thanksgiving for God’s Comfort
3 Blessed is[d] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles[e] so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble[f] with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings[g] of Christ[h] overflow[i] toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you.[j] 6 But if we are afflicted,[k] it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort that you experience in your patient endurance of the same sufferings that we also suffer. 7 And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you share in[l] our sufferings, so also you will share in[m] our comfort. 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,[n] regarding the affliction that happened to us in the province of Asia,[o] that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of living. 9 Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us,[p] so that we would not trust in ourselves[q] but in God who raises the dead. 10 He[r] delivered us from so great a risk of death, and he will deliver us. We have set our hope on him[s] that[t] he will deliver us yet again, 11 as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God[u] on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many.
Counting the Cost
25 Now large crowds[a] were accompanying Jesus,[b] and turning to them he said, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate[c] his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life,[d] he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross[e] and follow[f] me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down[g] first and compute the cost[h] to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 Otherwise,[i] when he has laid[j] a foundation and is not able to finish the tower,[k] all who see it[l] will begin to make fun of[m] him. 30 They will say,[n] ‘This man[o] began to build and was not able to finish!’[p] 31 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down[q] first and determine whether he is able with 10,000 to oppose[r] the one coming against him with 20,000? 32 If he cannot succeed,[s] he will send a representative[t] while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace.[u] 33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions.[v]
34 “Salt[w] is good, but if salt loses its flavor,[x] how can its flavor be restored? 35 It is of no value[y] for the soil or for the manure pile; it is to be thrown out.[z] The one who has ears to hear had better listen!”[aa]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.