Book of Common Prayer
88 Of understanding, for Ethan the Ezrahite.
2 The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever. I will shew forth thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation.
3 For thou hast said: Mercy shall be built up for ever in the heavens: thy truth shall be prepared in them.
4 I have made a covenant with my elect: I have sworn to David my servant:
5 Thy seed will I settle for ever. And I will build up thy throne unto generation and generation.
6 The heavens shall confess thy wonders, O Lord: and thy truth in the church of the saints.
7 For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord: or who among the sons of God shall be like to God?
8 God, who is glorified in the assembly of the saints: great and terrible above all them that are about him.
9 O Lord God of hosts, who is like to thee? thou art mighty, O Lord, and thy truth is round about thee.
10 Thou rulest the power of the sea: and appeasest the motion of the waves thereof.
11 Thou hast humbled the proud one, as one that is slain: with the arm of thy strength thou hast scattered thy enemies.
12 Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth: the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded:
13 The north and the sea thou hast created. Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name:
14 Thy arm is with might. Let thy hand be strengthened, and thy right hand exalted:
15 Justice and judgment are the preparation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face:
16 Blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance:
17 And in thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy justice they shall be exalted.
18 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted.
19 For our protection is of the Lord, and of our king the holy one of Israel.
20 Then thou spokest in a vision to thy saints, and saidst: I have laid help upon one that is mighty, and have exalted one chosen out of my people.
21 I have found David my servant: with my holy oil I have anointed him.
22 For my hand shall help him: and my arm shall strengthen him.
23 The enemy shall have no advantage over him: nor the son of iniquity have power to hurt him.
24 And I will cut down his enemies before his face; and them that hate him I will put to flight.
25 And my truth and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
26 And I will set his hand in the sea; and his right hand in the rivers.
27 He shall cry out to me: Thou art my father: my God, and the support of my salvation.
28 And I will make him my firstborn, high above the kings of the earth.
29 I will keep my mercy for him for ever: and my covenant faithful to him.
30 And I will make his seed to endure for evermore: and his throne as the days of heaven.
31 And if his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments:
32 If they profane my justices: and keep not my commandments:
33 I will visit their iniquities with a rod: and their sins with stripes.
34 But my mercy I will not take away from him: nor will I suffer my truth to fail.
35 Neither will I profane my covenant: and the words that proceed from my mouth I will not make void.
36 Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David:
37 His seed shall endure for ever.
38 And his throne as the sun before me: and as the moon perfect for ever, and a faithful witness in heaven.
39 But thou hast rejected and despised: thou hast been angry with thy anointed.
40 Thou hast overthrown the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his sanctuary on the earth.
41 Thou hast broken down all his hedges: thou hast made his strength fear.
42 All that pass by the way have robbed him: he is become a reproach to his neighbours.
43 Thou hast set up the right hand of them that oppress him: thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
44 Thou hast turned away the help of his sword; and hast not assisted him in battle.
45 Thou hast made his purification to cease: and thou hast cast his throne down to the ground.
46 Thou hast shortened the days of his time: thou hast covered him with confusion.
47 How long, O Lord, turnest thou away unto the end? shall thy anger burn like fire?
48 Remember what my substance is for hast thou made all the children of men in vain?
49 Who is the man that shall live, and not see death: that shall deliver his soul from the hand of hell?
50 Lord, where are thy ancient mercies, according to what thou didst swear to David in thy truth?
51 Be mindful, O Lord, of the reproach of thy servants (which I have held in my bosom) of many nations:
52 Wherewith thy enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the change of thy anointed.
53 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. So be it. So be it.
91 A psalm of a canticle on the sabbath day.
2 It is good to give praise to the Lord: and to sing to thy name, O most High.
3 To shew forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night:
4 Upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery: with a canticle upon the harp.
5 For thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in thy doings: and in the works of thy hands I shall rejoice.
6 O Lord, how great are thy works! thy thoughts are exceeding deep.
7 The senseless man shall not know: nor will the fool understand these things.
8 When the wicked shall spring up as grass: and all the workers of iniquity shall appear: That they may perish for ever and ever:
9 But thou, O Lord, art most high for evermore.
10 For behold thy enemies, O Lord, for behold thy enemies shall perish: and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
11 But my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn: and my old age in plentiful mercy.
12 My eye also hath looked down upon my enemies: and my ear shall hear of the downfall of the malignant that rise up against me.
13 The just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus.
14 They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.
15 They shall still increase in a fruitful old age: and shall be well treated,
16 That they may shew, That the Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him.
92 The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty: the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself. For he hath established the world which shall not be moved.
2 Thy throne is prepared from of old: thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord: the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods have lifted up their waves,
4 With the noise of many waters. Wonderful are the surges of the sea: wonderful is the Lord on high.
5 Thy testimonies are become exceedingly credible: holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, unto length of days.
12 And the Lord sent Nathan to David: and when he was come to him, he said to him: There were two men in one city, the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceeding many sheep and oxen.
3 But the poor man had nothing at all but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up, and which had grown up in his house together with his children, eating of his bread, and drinking of his cup, and sleeping in his bosom: and it was unto him as a daughter.
4 And when a certain stranger was come to the rich man, he spared to take of his own sheep and oxen, to make a feast for that stranger, who was come to him, but took the poor man's ewe, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5 And David's anger being exceedingly kindled against that man, he said to Nathan: As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this is a child of death.
6 He shall restore the ewe fourfold, because he did this thing, and had no pity.
7 And Nathan said to David: Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul,
8 And gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and Juda: and if these things be little, I shall add far greater things unto thee.
9 Why therefore hast thou despised the word of the Lord, to do evil in my sight? Thou hast killed Urias the Hethite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house, because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Urias the Hethite to be thy wife.
11 Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thy own house, and I will take thy wives before thy eyes I and give them to thy neighhour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel, and in the sight of the sun.
13 And David said to Nathan: I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David: The Lord also hath taken away thy sin: thou shalt not die.
14 Nevertheless, because thou hast given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, for this thing, the child that is born to thee, shall surely die.
21 And when these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying: After I have been there, I must see Rome also.
22 And sending into Macedonia two of them that ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself remained for a time in Asia.
23 Now at that time there arose no small disturbance about the way of the Lord.
24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver temples for Diana, brought no small gain to the craftsmen;
25 Whom he calling together, with the workmen of like occupation, said: Sirs, you know that our gain is by this trade;
26 And you see and hear, that this Paul by persuasion hath drawn away a great multitude, not only of Ephesus, but almost of all Asia, saying: They are not gods which are made by hands.
27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought, but also the temple of great Diana shall be reputed for nothing; yea, and her majesty shall begin to be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
28 Having heard these things, they were full of anger, and cried out, saying: Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
29 And the whole city was filled with confusion; and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.
30 And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
31 And some also of the rulers of Asia, who were his friends, sent unto him, desiring that he would not venture himself into the theatre.
32 Now some cried one thing, some another. For the assembly was confused, and the greater part knew not for what cause they were come together.
33 And they drew forth Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews thrusting him forward. And Alexander beckoning with his hand for silence, would have given the people satisfaction.
34 But as soon as they perceived him to be a Jew, all with one voice, for the space of about two hours, cried out: Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
35 And when the town clerk had appeased the multitudes, he said: Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great Diana, and of Jupiter's offspring.
36 For as much therefore as these things cannot be contradicted, you ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
37 For you have brought hither these men, who are neither guilty of sacrilege, nor of blasphemy against your goddess.
38 But if Demetrius and the craftsmen that are with him, have a matter against any man, the courts of justice are open, and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another.
39 And if you inquire after any other matter, it may be decided in a lawful assembly.
40 For we are even in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no man guilty (of whom we may give account) of this concourse. And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
14 And presently all the people seeing Jesus, were astonished and struck with fear; and running to him, they saluted him.
15 And he asked them: What do you question about among you?
16 And one of the multitude, answering, said: Master, I have brought my son to thee, having a dumb spirit.
17 Who, wheresoever he taketh him, dasheth him, and he foameth, and gnasheth with the teeth, and pineth away; and I spoke to thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not.
18 Who answering them, said: O incredulous generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
19 And they brought him. And when he had seen him, immediately the spirit troubled him; and being thrown down upon the ground, he rolled about foaming.
20 And he asked his father: How long time is it since this hath happened unto him? But he said: From his infancy:
21 And oftentimes hath he cast him into the fire and into waters to destroy him. But if thou canst do any thing, help us, having compassion on us.
22 And Jesus saith to him: If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
23 And immediately the father of the boy crying out, with tears said: I do believe, Lord: help my unbelief.
24 And when Jesus saw the multitude running together, he threatened the unclean spirit, saying to him: Deaf and dumb spirit, I command thee, go out of him; and enter not any more into him.
25 And crying out, and greatly tearing him, he went out of him, and he became as dead, so that many said: He is dead.
26 But Jesus taking him by the hand, lifted him up; and he arose.
27 And when he was come into the house, his disciples secretly asked him: Why could not we cast him out?
28 And he said to them: This kind can go out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
29 And departing from thence, they passed through Galilee, and he would not that any man should know it.
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