Book of Common Prayer
Consider the Way of the Blameless
Of David. A Psalm.
101 I will (A)sing of lovingkindness and [a]justice,
To You, O Yahweh, I will sing praises.
2 I will [b](B)consider the way of the blameless.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the [c](C)integrity of my heart.
3 I will set no (D)vile thing before my eyes;
I hate the [d]work of those who (E)fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
4 A (F)crooked heart shall depart from me;
I will know no evil.
5 Whoever secretly (G)slanders his neighbor, him I will [e]destroy;
Whoever has a (H)haughty look and an arrogant heart, I will not endure.
6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may abide with me;
He who walks in the (I)way of the blameless is the one who will minister to me.
7 He who (J)practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who speaks lies (K)shall not be established before my eyes.
8 (L)Every morning I will [f](M)destroy all the wicked of the land,
To (N)cut off from the (O)city of Yahweh all the workers of iniquity.
O God, Do Not Be Silent
For the choir director. Of David. A Psalm.
109 O (A)God of my praise,
(B)Do not be silent!
2 For they have opened a wicked mouth and a (C)deceitful mouth against me;
They have spoken to me with a (D)lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me (E)without cause.
4 In return (F)for my love they accuse me;
But (G)I am in prayer.
5 Thus they have (H)set upon me evil for good
And (I)hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked man over him,
And let an [a](J)accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him (K)come forth a wicked man,
And let his (L)prayer become sin.
8 Let (M)his days be few;
Let (N)another take his office.
9 Let his (O)sons be orphans
And his (P)wife a widow.
10 Let his (Q)sons wander aimlessly and beg;
And let them (R)search for food [b]from their ruined homes.
11 Let (S)the creditor [c]seize all that he has,
And let (T)strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.
12 Let there be none to [d](U)extend lovingkindness to him,
And (V)let there be none to be gracious to his orphans.
13 Let those who (W)follow him be [e]cut off;
In a following generation let their (X)name be blotted out.
14 Let (Y)the iniquity of his fathers be remembered [f]before Yahweh,
And let not the sin of his mother be (Z)blotted out.
15 Let (AA)them be before Yahweh continually,
That He may (AB)cut off their memory from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness,
But persecuted the (AC)afflicted, the needy man,
And the (AD)disheartened to (AE)put them to death.
17 He also loved cursing, so (AF)it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
18 But he (AG)clothed himself with cursing as his garment,
And it (AH)came into his inward parts like water
And like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him as (AI)a garment with which he wraps himself,
And for a belt with which he constantly (AJ)girds himself.
20 This is the (AK)reward of my accusers from Yahweh,
And of those who (AL)speak evil against my soul.
21 But as for You, O Yahweh, O Lord, deal with me (AM)for Your name’s sake;
Because (AN)Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me;
22 For (AO)I am afflicted and needy,
And [g]my heart is (AP)pierced within me.
23 I am passing (AQ)like a shadow when it is stretched out;
I am shaken off (AR)like the locust.
24 My (AS)knees are feeble from (AT)fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
25 As for me, I have become a (AU)reproach to them;
They see me, they (AV)wag their head.
26 (AW)Help me, O Yahweh my God;
Save me according to Your lovingkindness.
27 [h]And let them (AX)know that this is Your hand;
You, O Yahweh, have done it.
28 (AY)Let them curse, but You bless;
They arise and will be put to shame,
But Your (AZ)slave shall be glad.
29 [i]Let (BA)my accusers be clothed with dishonor,
And [j]let them (BB)wrap themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to Yahweh;
And in the midst of many (BC)I will praise Him.
Ayin
121 I have (A)done justice and righteousness;
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Be for Your slave a (B)guarantee for good;
Do not let the arrogant (C)oppress me.
123 My (D)eyes fail with longing for Your salvation
And for Your righteous [a]word.
124 Deal with Your slave (E)according to Your lovingkindness
And (F)teach me Your statutes.
125 (G)I am Your slave; (H)give me understanding,
That I may know Your testimonies.
126 It is time for Yahweh to (I)act,
For they have broken Your law.
127 Therefore I (J)love Your commandments
Above gold, even above fine gold.
128 Therefore I deem all Your (K)precepts concerning everything to be right,
I (L)hate every false way.
Pe
129 Your testimonies are (M)wonderful;
Therefore my soul (N)observes them.
130 The (O)unfolding of Your words gives light;
It gives (P)understanding to the simple.
131 I (Q)opened my mouth wide and (R)panted,
For I (S)longed for Your commandments.
132 (T)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
According to Your judgment [b]for those who love Your name.
133 Establish my (U)steps in Your [c]word,
And do not let any wickedness (V)overpower me.
134 (W)Redeem me from the oppression of man,
That I may keep Your precepts.
135 (X)Make Your face shine upon Your slave,
And (Y)teach me Your statutes.
136 My eyes [d]shed (Z)streams of water,
Because they (AA)do not keep Your law.
Tsadhe
137 (AB)Righteous are You, O Yahweh,
And upright are Your judgments.
138 In (AC)righteousness, You have commanded Your testimonies
And in exceeding (AD)faithfulness.
139 My (AE)zeal has [e]consumed me,
Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words.
140 Your [f](AF)word is exceedingly refined,
Therefore Your slave (AG)loves it.
141 I am small and (AH)despised,
Yet I do not (AI)forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And (AJ)Your law is truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have found me,
Yet Your commandments are my (AK)delight.
144 Righteous are Your (AL)testimonies forever;
(AM)Give me understanding that I may live.
David Brings Back Absalom
21 Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, (A)I have done this thing; go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom.” 22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrated himself and blessed the king; then Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, O my lord, the king, in that the king has performed the word of his servant.” 23 So Joab arose and went to (B)Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 However the king said, “Let him turn to (C)his own house, and let him not see my face.” So Absalom turned to his own house and did not see the king’s face.
25 Now in all Israel was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; (D)from the sole of his foot to the top of his head there was no defect in him. 26 When he (E)shaved the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he shaved it, for it was heavy on him so he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at [a]200 shekels by the king’s weight. 27 (F)And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was (G)Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance.
28 Now Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, (H)and did not see the king’s face. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he was not willing to come to him. So he sent again a second time, but he was not willing to come. 30 Therefore he said to his servants, “See, (I)Joab’s portion of land is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the portion of land on fire. 31 Then Joab arose, came to Absalom at his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set my portion of land on fire?” 32 And Absalom [b]answered Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me still to be there.”’ So now, let me see the king’s face, (J)and if there is iniquity in me, let him put me to death.” 33 So Joab came to the king and told him, and he called for Absalom. Thus he came to the king and prostrated himself on his [c]face to the ground before the king, and (K)the king kissed Absalom.
15 Now after these days we got ready and (A)started on our way up to Jerusalem. 16 And some of (B)the disciples from (C)Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of (D)Cyprus, an (E)early disciple with whom we were to lodge.
In Jerusalem
17 And after we arrived in Jerusalem, (F)the brothers welcomed us gladly. 18 And the following day Paul went in with us to (G)James, and all (H)the elders were present. 19 And after he had greeted them, he (I)began to relate one by one the things which God did among the Gentiles through his (J)ministry. 20 And when they heard it they began (K)glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many [a]thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all (L)zealous for the Law; 21 and they have been told about you, that you are (M)teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them (N)not to circumcise their children nor to [b]walk according to (O)the customs. 22 What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who [c](P)are under a vow; 24 take them and (Q)purify yourself along with them, and [d]pay their expenses so that they may (R)shave their [e]heads. Then all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. 25 But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, (S)having decided that they should keep from [f]meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul [g]took the men, and the next day, (T)purifying himself along with them, (U)went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.
The Rich Young Ruler
17 (A)And as He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and (B)knelt before Him, and began asking Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to (C)inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments, ‘(D)Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept (E)all these things from my youth up.” 21 And looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have (F)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But at these words [a]he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “(G)How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples (H)were amazed at His words. But Jesus *answered again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 (I)It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were even more astonished, saying to [b]Him, “[c]Then who can be saved?” 27 Looking at them, Jesus *said, “(J)With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
28 (K)Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, (L)there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30 [d]except one who will receive one hundred times as much now in [e]the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions—and in (M)the age to come, eternal life. 31 But (N)many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”
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