Book of Common Prayer
Incline Your Ear to My Cry
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.
88 O Yahweh, the (A)God of my salvation,
I have (B)cried out by day and throughout the night before You.
2 Let my prayer (C)come before You;
(D)Incline Your ear to my cry of lamentation!
3 For my (E)soul has been saturated with calamities,
And (F)my life has reached Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (G)go down to the pit;
I am like a man (H)without strength,
5 Released (I)among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And they are (J)cut off from Your hand.
6 You have put me in (K)the pit far below,
In (L)dark places, in the (M)depths.
7 Your wrath (N)lies upon me,
And You afflict me with (O)all Your breaking waves. [c]Selah.
8 You have removed (P)my acquaintances far from me;
You have set me as [d]an (Q)abomination to them;
I am (R)shut up and cannot go out.
9 My (S)eye has wasted away because of affliction;
I have (T)called upon You every day, O Yahweh;
I have (U)spread out my [e]hands to You.
10 Will You do wonders for the dead?
Will (V)the [f]departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah.
11 Will Your lovingkindness be recounted in the grave,
Your faithfulness in [g]Abaddon?
12 Will Your wonders be known in the (W)darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But as for me, O Yahweh, I have cried out (X)to You for help,
And (Y)in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 O Yahweh, why (Z)do You reject my soul?
Why do You (AA)hide Your face from me?
15 I have been afflicted and (AB)about to breathe my last from my youth on;
I bear (AC)Your terrors; I am [h]overcome.
16 Your (AD)burning anger has passed over me;
Your horrors have [i](AE)destroyed me.
17 They have (AF)surrounded me (AG)like water all day long;
They have (AH)encompassed me altogether.
18 You have removed (AI)lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in darkness.
In the Shadow of the Almighty
91 He who abides in the (A)shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the (B)shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to Yahweh, “My (C)refuge and my (D)fortress,
My God, in whom I (E)trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the (F)snare of the trapper
And from the destructive (G)pestilence.
4 He will (H)cover you with His pinions,
And (I)under His wings you will take refuge;
His (J)truth is a (K)large shield and bulwark.
5 You (L)will not be afraid of (M)terror by night,
Or (N)arrow that flies by day;
6 Of (O)pestilence that moves in darkness,
Or of (P)destruction that devastates at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But (Q)it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And (R)see the recompense of the wicked.
9 [a]For you have made Yahweh—(S)my refuge,
The Most High—(T)your dwelling place.
10 (U)No evil will befall you,
And no plague will come near your [b]tent.
11 For He will command (V)His angels concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will (W)bear you up,
Lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will (X)tread upon the fierce lion and cobra,
The young lion and the [c]serpent you will trample down.
14 “(Y)Because he has loved Me, therefore I will protect him;
I will (Z)set him securely on high, because he has (AA)known My name.
15 He will (AB)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in his [d]distress;
I will rescue him and (AC)honor him.
16 With [e]a (AD)long life I will satisfy him
And (AE)I will show him My salvation.”
How Great Are Your Works, O Yahweh
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is (AF)good to give thanks to Yahweh
And to (AG)sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To (AH)declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your (AI)faithfulness [f]by night,
3 [g]With the (AJ)ten-stringed lute and with the (AK)harp,
[h]With resounding music [i]upon the (AL)lyre.
4 For You, O Yahweh, have made me glad by [j]what You (AM)have done,
I will (AN)sing for joy at the (AO)works of Your hands.
5 How (AP)great are Your works, O Yahweh!
Your [k](AQ)thoughts are very (AR)deep.
6 A (AS)senseless man does not know,
And a (AT)fool does not understand this:
7 That when the wicked (AU)flourished like grass
And all (AV)the workers of iniquity blossomed,
It was only that they might be (AW)destroyed forevermore.
8 But You are (AX)on high forever, O Yahweh.
9 For, behold, Your enemies, O Yahweh,
For, behold, (AY)Your enemies will perish;
All the workers of iniquity will be (AZ)scattered.
10 But You have raised up my (BA)horn like that of the wild ox;
I have [l]been (BB)anointed with fresh oil.
11 And my eye has (BC)looked exultantly upon [m]my foes,
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12 The (BD)righteous man will [n]flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a (BE)cedar in Lebanon.
13 (BF)Planted in the house of Yahweh,
They will flourish (BG)in the courts of our God.
14 They will still [o](BH)yield fruit in old age;
They shall be [p]rich and fresh,
15 To [q]declare that (BI)Yahweh is upright;
He is my (BJ)rock, and there is (BK)no unrighteousness in Him.
Yahweh Sends Nathan to David
12 Then Yahweh sent (A)Nathan to David. And (B)he came to him and [a]said,
“There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.
3 But the poor man had nothing except (C)one little ewe lamb
Which he bought and nourished;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat his morsel of bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,
And was like a daughter to him.
4 Now a visitor came to the rich man,
And he [b]was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd,
To prepare for the traveler who had come to him;
Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, surely the man who has done this [c](D)deserves to die. 6 And he must make restitution for the lamb (E)fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”
7 Nathan then said to David, “(F)You are the man! Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘(G)It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I also gave you (H)your master’s house and your master’s wives into your [d]care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! 9 Why (I)have you despised the word of Yahweh by doing evil in His sight? (J)You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, (K)have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. 10 So now, (L)the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; (M)I will even take your wives from before your sight and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 Indeed (N)you did it secretly, but (O)I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “(P)I have sinned against Yahweh.” And Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has [e](Q)taken away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have (R)given occasion to the enemies of Yahweh to blaspheme, the son also that is born to you shall surely die.”
Riots in Ephesus
21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the [a]Spirit to (A)go to Jerusalem (B)after he had passed through (C)Macedonia and (D)Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, (E)I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into (F)Macedonia two of (G)those who ministered to him, (H)Timothy and (I)Erastus, he himself stayed in [b](J)Asia for a while.
23 Now about that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning (K)the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [c]Artemis, (L)was bringing no little [d]business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workers of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity is from this business. 26 And you see and hear that not only in (M)Ephesus, but in almost all of (N)Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd, saying that (O)things made with hands are not gods. 27 And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess [e]Artemis be considered as worthless and that she, whom all of (P)Asia and (Q)the [f]world worship, is even about to be brought down from her majesty.”
28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is [g]Artemis of the (R)Ephesians!” 29 And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed [h]with one accord into the theater, dragging along (S)Gaius and (T)Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling (U)companions from (V)Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the [i]assembly, (W)the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the [j]Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to [k]venture into the theater. 32 (X)So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the [l]meeting was in confusion and the majority did not know [m]for what reason they had come together. 33 And some of the crowd [n]concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having (Y)motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the [o]assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 Now after calming the crowd, the city clerk *said, “Men of (Z)Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? 36 So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither (AA)robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and [p](AB)proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the [q]lawful meeting. 40 For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no cause for which we can give as an account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 After saying this he dismissed the meeting.
I Believe, Help My Unbelief
14 (A)And when they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were (B)amazed. And as they ran up, they were greeting Him. 16 And He asked them, “What are you arguing with them?” 17 And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; 18 and [a]whenever it seizes him, it [b]slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and [c]becomes rigid. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” 19 And He *answered them and *said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” 20 And they brought [d]the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around, foaming at the mouth. 21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ (C)All things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and was saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” 25 Now when Jesus saw that (D)a crowd was [e]rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, [f]I command you, come out of him and do not enter him [g]again.” 26 And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up. 28 And when He came (E)into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
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