Book of Common Prayer
33 He turned[a] streams into a desert,
springs of water into arid land,
34 and a fruitful land into a barren place,[b]
because of the sin of its inhabitants.
35 As for his people,[c] he turned[d] a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into springs of water.
36 He allowed the hungry to settle there,
and they established a city in which to live.
37 They cultivated[e] fields,
and planted vineyards,
which yielded a harvest of fruit.[f]
38 He blessed[g] them so that they became very numerous.
He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number.[h]
39 As for their enemies,[i] they decreased in number and were beaten down,
because of painful distress[j] and suffering.
40 He would pour[k] contempt upon princes,
and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.
41 Yet he protected[l] the needy from oppression,
and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.
42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,
and every sinner[m] shuts his mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things.
Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love.
Psalm 108[n]
A song, a psalm of David.
108 I am determined,[o] O God.
I will sing and praise you with my whole heart.[p]
2 Awake, O stringed instrument and harp.
I will wake up at dawn.[q]
3 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord.
I will sing praises to you before foreigners.[r]
4 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky,[s]
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
5 Rise up[t] above the sky, O God.
May your splendor cover the whole earth.[u]
6 Deliver by your power[v] and answer me,
so that the ones you love may be safe.[w]
7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[x]
“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem;
the Valley of Sukkoth I will measure off.[y]
8 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh.[z]
Ephraim is my helmet,[aa]
Judah my royal scepter.[ab]
9 Moab is my washbasin.[ac]
I will make Edom serve me.[ad]
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”
10 Who will lead me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me to Edom?[ae]
11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.
12 Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile.[af]
13 By God’s power we will conquer;[ag]
he will trample down[ah] our enemies.
Psalm 33[a]
33 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp.
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument.
3 Sing to him a new song.[b]
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him.[c]
4 For the Lord’s decrees[d] are just,[e]
and everything he does is fair.[f]
5 He promotes[g] equity and justice;
the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth.[h]
6 By the Lord’s decree[i] the heavens were made,
and by the breath[j] of his mouth all the starry hosts.
7 He piles up the water of the sea;[k]
he puts the oceans[l] in storehouses.
8 Let the whole earth fear[m] the Lord.
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it[n] came into existence.
He issued the decree,[o] and it stood firm.
10 The Lord frustrates[p] the decisions of the nations;
he nullifies the plans[q] of the peoples.
11 The Lord’s decisions stand forever;
his plans abide throughout the ages.[r]
12 How blessed[s] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.[t]
13 The Lord watches[u] from heaven;
he sees all people.[v]
14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
15 He is the one who forms every human heart,[w]
and takes note of all their actions.
16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory;[x]
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers,[y]
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness[z]
19 by saving their lives from death[aa]
and sustaining them during times of famine.[ab]
20 We[ac] wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer[ad] and shield.[ae]
21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord,[af]
for[ag] we wait for you.
15 Now the day before Saul arrived, the Lord had told[a] Samuel: 16 “At this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin. You must consecrate[b] him as a leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked with favor on my people. Their cry has reached me.”
17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said,[c] “Here is the man that I told you about. He will rule over my people.” 18 As Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate, he said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”
19 Samuel replied to Saul, “I am the seer! Go up in front of me to the high place! Today you will eat with me and in the morning I will send you away. I will tell you everything that you are thinking.[d] 20 Don’t be concerned[e] about the donkeys that you lost three days ago, for they have been found. Whom does all Israel desire? Is it not you, and all your father’s family?”[f]
21 Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the smallest of Israel’s tribes, and is not my family clan the smallest of all the clans in the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me in this way?”
22 Then Samuel brought[g] Saul and his servant into the room and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited. There were about thirty people present. 23 Samuel said to the cook, “Give me the portion of meat that I gave to you—the one I asked you to keep with you.”
24 So the cook picked up the leg and brought it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel[h] said, “What was kept is now set before you! Eat, for it has been kept for you for this meeting time, from the time I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 When they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof. 26 They got up at dawn and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get up, so I can send you on your way.” So Saul got up and the two of them—he and Samuel—went outside. 27 While they were going down to the edge of town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” So he did.[i] Samuel then said,[j] “You remain here awhile, so I can inform you of God’s message.”
Samuel Anoints Saul
10 Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s[k] head. Samuel[l] kissed him and said, “The Lord has chosen you[m] to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord’s people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen[n] you as leader over his inheritance.[o]
30 “After[a] forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert[b] of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.[c] 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord, 32 ‘I am the God of your forefathers,[d] the God of Abraham, Isaac,[e] and Jacob.’[f] Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look more closely.[g] 33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.[h] 34 I have certainly seen the suffering[i] of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them.[j] Now[k] come, I will send you to Egypt.’[l] 35 This same[m] Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’[n] God sent as both ruler and deliverer[o] through the hand of the angel[p] who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs[q] in the land of Egypt,[r] at[s] the Red Sea, and in the wilderness[t] for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites,[u] ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’[v] 38 This is the man who was in the congregation[w] in the wilderness[x] with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors,[y] and he[z] received living oracles[aa] to give to you.[ab] 39 Our[ac] ancestors[ad] were unwilling to obey[ae] him, but pushed him aside[af] and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go in front of us, for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt[ag] —we do not know what has happened to him!’[ah] 41 At[ai] that time[aj] they made an idol in the form of a calf,[ak] brought[al] a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing[am] in the works of their hands.[an] 42 But God turned away from them and gave them over[ao] to worship the host[ap] of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It was not to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices[aq] forty years in the wilderness, was it,[ar] house of Israel? 43 But you took along the tabernacle[as] of Moloch[at] and the star of the[au] god Rephan,[av] the images you made to worship, but I will deport[aw] you beyond Babylon.’[ax]
On the Mount of Olives
39 Then[a] Jesus[b] went out and made his way,[c] as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives,[d] and the disciples followed him. 40 When he came to the place,[e] he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”[f] 41 He went away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take[g] this cup[h] away from me. Yet not my will but yours[i] be done.” 43 [Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And in his anguish[j] he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.][k] 45 When[l] he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, exhausted[m] from grief. 46 So[n] he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation!”[o]
Betrayal and Arrest
47 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd appeared,[p] and the man named Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He walked up[q] to Jesus to kiss him.[r] 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”[s] 49 When[t] those who were around him saw what was about to happen, they said, “Lord, should[u] we use our swords?”[v] 50 Then[w] one of them[x] struck the high priest’s slave,[y] cutting off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said,[z] “Enough of this!” And he touched the man’s[aa] ear and healed[ab] him.
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