Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 38[a]
A psalm of David, written to get God’s attention.[b]
38 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger.
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury.[c]
2 For your arrows pierce[d] me,
and your hand presses me down.[e]
3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment;[f]
I am deprived of health because of my sin.[g]
4 For my sins overwhelm me;[h]
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
5 My wounds[i] are infected and starting to smell,[j]
because of my foolish sins.[k]
6 I am dazed[l] and completely humiliated;[m]
all day long I walk around mourning.
7 For I am overcome with shame,[n]
and my whole body is sick.[o]
8 I am numb with pain and severely battered;[p]
I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel.[q]
9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire;[r]
my groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart beats quickly;
my strength leaves me.
I can hardly see.[s]
11 Because of my condition,[t] even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance;[u]
my neighbors stand far away.[v]
12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me;[w]
those who want to harm me speak destructive words.
All day long they say deceitful things.
13 But I am like a deaf man—I hear nothing;
I am like a mute who cannot speak.[x]
14 I am like a man who cannot hear
and is incapable of arguing his defense.[y]
15 Yet[z] I wait for you, O Lord!
You will respond, O Lord, my God!
16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me;[aa]
when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me.[ab]
17 For I am about to stumble,
and I am in constant pain.[ac]
18 Yes,[ad] I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins.
19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous;[ae]
those who hate me without cause outnumber me.[af]
20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;
though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me.[ag]
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
My God, do not remain far away from me.
22 Hurry and help me,[ah] O Lord, my deliverer.
ד (Dalet)
25 I collapse in the dirt.[a]
Revive me with your word.[b]
26 I told you about my ways[c] and you answered me.
Teach me your statutes.
27 Help me to understand what your precepts mean.[d]
Then I can meditate[e] on your marvelous teachings.[f]
28 I collapse[g] from grief.
Sustain me by your word.[h]
29 Remove me from the path of deceit.[i]
Graciously give me[j] your law.
30 I choose the path of faithfulness;
I am committed to[k] your regulations.
31 I hold fast[l] to your rules.
O Lord, do not let me be ashamed.
32 I run along the path of your commands,
for you enable me to do so.[m]
ה (He)
33 Teach me, O Lord, the lifestyle prescribed by your statutes,[n]
so that I might observe it continually.[o]
34 Give me understanding so that I might observe your law,
and keep it with all my heart.[p]
35 Guide me[q] in the path of your commands,
for I delight to walk in it.[r]
36 Give me a desire for your rules,[s]
rather than for wealth gained unjustly.[t]
37 Turn my eyes away from what is worthless.[u]
Revive me with your word.[v]
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,[w]
which you made to the one who honors you.[x]
39 Take away the insults that I dread.[y]
Indeed,[z] your regulations are good.
40 Look, I long for your precepts.
Revive me with your deliverance.[aa]
ו (Vav)
41 May I experience your loyal love,[ab] O Lord,
and your deliverance,[ac] as you promised.[ad]
42 Then I will have a reply for the one who insults me,[ae]
for I trust in your word.
43 Do not completely deprive me of a truthful testimony,[af]
for I await your justice.
44 Then I will keep[ag] your law continually
now and for all time.[ah]
45 I will be secure,[ai]
for I seek your precepts.
46 I will speak[aj] about your regulations before kings
and not be ashamed.
47 I will find delight in your commands,
which I love.
48 I will lift my hands to[ak] your commands,
which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
Threat and Blessing following Covenant Disobedience
25 After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time,[a] if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind[b] and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him,[c] 26 I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you[d] today that you will surely and swiftly be removed[e] from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely be[f] annihilated. 27 Then the Lord will scatter you among the peoples and there will be very few of you[g] among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship gods made by human hands—wood and stone that can neither see, hear, eat, nor smell. 29 But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul.[h] 30 In your distress when all these things happen to you in future days, if you return to the Lord your God and obey him[i] 31 (for he[j] is a merciful God), he will not let you down[k] or destroy you, for he cannot[l] forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.
Why Paul Postponed His Visit
23 Now I appeal to God as my witness,[a] that to spare[b] you I did not come again to Corinth.[c] 24 I do not mean that we rule over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because by faith you stand firm.[d] 2 1 So[e] I made up my own mind[f] not to pay you another painful visit.[g] 2 For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad[h] but the one I caused to be sad? 3 And I wrote this very thing to you,[i] so that when I came[j] I would not have sadness from those who ought to make me rejoice, since I am confident in you all that my joy would be yours. 4 For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not to make you sad, but to let you know the love that I have especially for you.[k] 5 But if anyone has caused sadness, he has not saddened me alone, but to some extent (not to exaggerate)[l] he has saddened all of you as well. 6 This punishment on such an individual by the majority is enough for him, 7 so that now instead[m] you should rather forgive and comfort him.[n] This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair.[o] 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.[p] 9 For this reason also I wrote you:[q] to test you to see[r] if you are obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him—for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we may not be exploited[s] by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes). 12 Now when I arrived in Troas[t] to proclaim the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord had opened[u] a door of opportunity[v] for me, 13 I had no relief in my spirit,[w] because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them[x] and set out[y] for Macedonia.
Apostolic Ministry
14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession[z] in Christ[aa] and who makes known[ab] through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. 15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing— 16 to the latter an odor[ac] from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?[ad] 17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit,[ae] but we are speaking in Christ before[af] God as persons of sincerity,[ag] as persons sent from God.
The Parable of the Compassionate Father
11 Then[a] Jesus[b] said, “A man had two sons. 12 The[c] younger of them said to his[d] father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate[e] that will belong[f] to me.’ So[g] he divided his[h] assets between them.[i] 13 After[j] a few days,[k] the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered[l] his wealth[m] with a wild lifestyle. 14 Then[n] after he had spent everything, a severe famine took place in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and worked for[o] one of the citizens of that country, who[p] sent him to his fields to feed pigs.[q] 16 He[r] was longing to eat[s] the carob pods[t] the pigs were eating, but[u] no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to his senses[v] he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food[w] enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned[x] against heaven[y] and against[z] you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me[aa] like one of your hired workers.”’ 20 So[ab] he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home[ac] his father saw him, and his heart went out to him;[ad] he ran and hugged[ae] his son[af] and kissed him. 21 Then[ag] his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven[ah] and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[ai] 22 But the father said to his slaves,[aj] ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe,[ak] and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger[al] and sandals[am] on his feet! 23 Bring[an] the fattened calf[ao] and kill it! Let us eat[ap] and celebrate, 24 because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again—he was lost and is found!’[aq] So[ar] they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field. As[as] he came and approached the house, he heard music[at] and dancing. 26 So[au] he called one of the slaves[av] and asked what was happening. 27 The slave replied,[aw] ‘Your brother has returned, and your father has killed the fattened calf[ax] because he got his son[ay] back safe and sound.’ 28 But the older son[az] became angry[ba] and refused[bb] to go in. His father came out and appealed to him, 29 but he answered[bc] his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave[bd] for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet[be] you never gave me even a goat[bf] so that I could celebrate with my friends! 30 But when this son of yours[bg] came back, who has devoured[bh] your assets with prostitutes,[bi] you killed the fattened calf[bj] for him!’ 31 Then[bk] the father[bl] said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything that belongs to me is yours. 32 It was appropriate[bm] to celebrate and be glad, for your brother[bn] was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.’”[bo]
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