Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 30[a]
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
1 A psalm. A song for the dedication of the temple. Of David.
2 I will exalt you, O Lord,
for you have raised me out of the depths[b]
and have not let my enemies exult over me.
3 O Lord, my God,
I called to you and you healed me.[c]
4 O Lord, you lifted me up from the netherworld;[d]
you saved me from sinking into the pit.
5 Sing praise to the Lord, O you his saints;[e]
give thanks to his holy name.
6 For his anger lasts for only a moment,
while his goodwill endures for a lifetime.
Weeping may last throughout the night,[f]
but at daybreak there is rejoicing.
7 In time of good fortune, I said,
“Nothing can ever sway me.”[g]
8 O Lord, in your goodness
you established me as an impregnable mountain;
however, when you hid your face,
I was filled with terror.
9 [h]To you, O Lord, I cried out,
and I implored my God for mercy:
10 “What advantage would my death provide
if I descend into the pit?
Can the dust praise you?
Can it proclaim your faithfulness?
11 Listen, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
O Lord, be my helper.”
12 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken away my sackcloth[i]
and clothed me with joy.
13 My heart[j] will therefore sing
in unceasing praise to you;
O Lord, my God,
I will praise you forever.
Psalm 32[a]
The Joy of Being Forgiven
1 Of David. A maskil.[b]
[c]Blessed is the one whose offense is forgiven,
whose sin is erased.
2 Blessed is the one to whom the Lord charges no guilt
and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 As long as I remained silent,[d]
my body wasted away
as the result of my groaning throughout the day.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength withered steadily
as though consumed by the summer heat.[e] Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I made no attempt to conceal my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my offenses[f] to the Lord,”
and you removed the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore, let everyone who is faithful pray to you
where you may be found.[g]
Even if great floods threaten,
they will never reach him.
7 You are a place of refuge for me;
you preserve me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.[h] Selah
8 I will instruct you
and guide you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you
and keep my eyes upon you.
9 Do not behave without understanding
like a horse or a mule;
if its temper is not curbed with bit and bridle,
it will not come near you.
10 The wicked has a multitude of troubles,
but the man who trusts in the Lord
is surrounded by kindness.[i]
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
shout for joy, all you upright of heart.[j]
Book II—Psalms 42–72[a]
Psalm 42[b]
Prayer of Longing for God
1 For the director.[c] A maskil of the sons of Korah.
2 As a deer longs for running streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.[d]
3 My soul[e] thirsts for God, the living God.
When shall I come to behold the face of God?
4 My tears have become my food
day and night,
while people taunt me all day long, saying,
“Where is your God?”
5 As I pour out my soul,
I recall those times
when I journeyed with the multitude
and led them in procession to the house of God,
amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving
on the part of the crowd keeping festival.
6 Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God,
for I will once again praise him,
my Savior and my God.[f]
7 My soul is disheartened within me;
therefore, I remember you
from the land of Jordan and Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.[g]
8 The depths of the sea resound
in the roar of your waterfalls;[h]
all your waves and your breakers
sweep over me.
9 During the day the Lord grants his kindness,
and at night his praise is with me,
a prayer to the living God.[i]
10 I say to God, my Rock,[j]
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in mourning
while my enemy oppresses me?”
11 It crushes my bones
when my foes taunt me,
jeering at me all day long,
“Where is your God?”[k]
12 Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God;
for I will once again praise him,
my Savior and my God.[l]
Psalm 43[m]
Prayer To Worship God Anew
1 Grant me your justice, O God,
and plead my cause against a godless nation;
rescue me from those who are deceitful and unjust.
2 You, O God, are my refuge;
why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about in mourning,
while my enemy oppresses me?
3 Send forth your light and your truth;[n]
they will serve as my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place of your dwelling.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to the God of my joy and delight,
and I will praise you[o] with the harp,
O God, my God.
5 Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God;
for I will once again praise him,
my Savior and my God.[p]
The Reign of Jeroboam[a][b]
Chapter 12
Revolt against Rehoboam. 1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all of Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, heard about this in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon, he returned from Egypt.
3 They sent for Jeroboam, and when he arrived, he and the whole assembly of Israel spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy. If you make our service and our heavy yoke lighter than the heavy load your father laid on us, then we will serve you.” 5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days, and then come back to me.” So the people departed.
6 King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had stood before Solomon, his father, during his lifetime. He said, “How do you advise me to answer this people, so that I can give them an answer?” 7 They answered him, “If you become a servant to this people today and you serve them and you give them a favorable answer, then they will be your servants forever.”
8 But he ignored the advice that the elders had given him, and instead, he consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and who stood before him. 9 He asked them, “What advice do you give me so that we can give an answer to this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Make the yoke lighter than that which your father laid upon us?’ ”
10 The young men who had grown up with him answered, “Say the following to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy; will you lighten it for us?’ Say this to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! 11 My father laid a heavy yoke on you, but I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.’ ”
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all of the people returned to Rehoboam as the king had decreed when he said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king responded harshly to the people. He ignored the counsel that the elders had given him. 14 He said to them what the young men had advised him saying, “My father laid a heavy yoke on you, but I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
15 Thus the king would not listen to the people, for the Lord had brought this about to fulfill what he said when the Lord spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. 16 When all of Israel realized that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What share do we have in David? What inheritance do we have in the son of Jesse? To your own tents, O Israel. Look after your own house, O David.” So the people of Israel returned to their homes.[c]
17 Rehoboam still ruled over those Israelites who were living in the cities of Judah. 18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram who was in charge of the forced labor, but all of Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, mounted his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. 19 Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David up to the present day.
20 When all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and summoned him to an assembly. They made him king over all of Israel. No one followed the house of David except for the tribe of Judah.
Patience, for the Lord’s Coming Is Near.[a] 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Think of how patiently a farmer awaits the precious crop from his fields until they have received the early and the late rains. 8 You too must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.[b]
9 Brethren, do not raise complaints against one another lest you yourselves be brought to judgment. Behold, the Judge is standing at the gates.
10 As an example of patience in enduring hardship, brethren, consider the Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed, those who had perseverance are the ones we call blessed. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have come to understand the Lord’s purpose in this respect, because the Lord is merciful and compassionate.
12 Do Not Swear. Above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth, or use any oaths at all. Let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No.” Otherwise you may be condemned.[c]
Conclusion
19 The Peace of Fraternal Love.[a] My brethren, if one of you should stray from the truth and another succeeds in bringing him back, 20 remember this: A person who brings back a sinner from erring ways will rescue his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
33 Jesus Dies on the Cross.[a] Beginning at midday, there was darkness over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
35 On hearing this, some of the bystanders said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran off, soaked a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait! Let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”
37 Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice and breathed his last. 38 And the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion who was standing facing him saw how Jesus had breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”
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