Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 Lord, (A)do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
And do not punish me 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 healthy part in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)guilty deeds have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my foolishness.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go in mourning all day long.
7 For my [b]sides are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no healthy part in my flesh.
8 I feel (M)faint and [c]badly crushed;
I [d](N)groan because of the [e]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [f]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 [g]that [h]has gone from me.
11 My [i](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand far away.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [j]threatened destruction,
And they (X)plot deception all day long.
13 But I, like a person who is deaf, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)person who cannot speak, who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a person who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I wait for You, Lord;
You (AA)will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would exalt themselves over me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I (AE)admit my guilt;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [l]strong,
And those who wrongfully (AH)hate me are many.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)become my enemies, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not abandon me, Lord;
My God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 (AL)Hurry to help me,
Lord, (AM)my salvation!
Daleth
25 My (A)soul clings 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,
And 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 judgments before me.
31 I (H)cling to Your testimonies;
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, the way of Your statutes, Lord,
And I shall comply with it to the end.
34 (K)Give me understanding, so that I may (L)comply with 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 my (R)eyes away from looking at what is worthless,
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)Take away my disgrace which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.
40 Behold, I (V)long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.
Vav
41 May Your (W)favor also come to me, Lord,
Your salvation (X)according to Your [e]word;
42 So that I will have an (Y)answer for one who (Z)taunts 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 judgments.
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 will (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.
David and Jonathan’s Covenant
20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and he came and (A)said [a]to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?” 2 He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die! Behold, my father does nothing either great or small [b]without informing me. So why would my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!” 3 Yet David (B)vowed again, [c]saying, “Your father is well aware that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Jonathan is not to know this, otherwise he will be worried.’ But indeed (C)as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is [d]just a step between me and death.” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever [e]you say, I will do for you.” 5 So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is (D)the new moon, and I am obligated (E)to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go (F)so that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. 6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly requested leave of me to run to (G)Bethlehem, his city, because it is (H)the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ 7 If he [f]says, ‘That is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, (I)be aware that he has decided on evil. 8 So deal kindly with your servant, for (J)you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But (K)if [g]I am guilty of wrongdoing, kill me yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?” 9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I in fact learn that my father has decided [h]to inflict harm on you, would I not inform you?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will inform me [i]if your father answers you harshly?” 11 Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let’s go out to the field.” So both of them went out to the field.
12 Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, is my witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow or the third day, behold, if he has a good feeling toward [j]you, shall I not then send word to you and [k]inform you? 13 If it pleases my father to do you harm, (L)may the Lord do so to [l]me and more so, if I fail to [m]inform you and send you away, so that you may go in safety. And (M)may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. 14 And if I am still alive, will you not show me the faithfulness of the Lord, so that I do not die? 15 And (N)you shall never cut off your loyalty to my house, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “(O)May the Lord demand it from the hands of David’s enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because (P)he loved him as he loved his own life.
18 Then Jonathan said to him, “(Q)Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed since your seat will be empty. 19 When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain beside the stone Ezel. 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target. 21 Then behold, I will send the boy, telling him, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, because it is safe for you and there is nothing to harm you, as the Lord lives. 22 But if I [n]say to the youth, ‘(R)Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, because the Lord has sent you away. 23 (S)As for the [o]agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, (T)the Lord is between you and me forever.”
18 Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to [a]what could have become of Peter. 19 When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they (A)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to (B)Caesarea and was spending time there.
Death of Herod
20 Now he was very angry with the people of (C)Tyre and Sidon; and with one mind they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because (D)their country was supported with grain from the king’s country. 21 On an appointed day, after putting on his royal apparel, Herod took his seat on the [b]rostrum and began delivering an address to them. 22 The people repeatedly cried out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And immediately (E)an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and [c]died.
24 But (F)the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.
25 And (G)Barnabas and (H)Saul returned (I)when they had fulfilled their [d]mission to Jerusalem, taking along with them (J)John, who was also called Mark.
13 And He went out again by the seashore; and (A)all the [a]people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.
Levi (Matthew) Called
14 (B)As He passed by, He saw [b](C)Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He *said to him, “(D)Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.
15 And it *happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and [c]sinners were [d]dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. 16 When (E)the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the [e]sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “(F)Why is He eating with tax collectors and [f]sinners?” 17 And hearing this, Jesus *said to them, “(G)It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
18 (H)John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they *came and *said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “While the groom is with them, [g]the attendants of the groom cannot fast, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the (I)days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast, on that day.
21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, [h]the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”
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